Rise of the Typhons
2869
Chapter 1
by 
The Marksman
RISE OF THE TYPHONS IS CURRENTLY HALF DONE. CURRENT UPDATES ARE NOT NEW CONTENT. THEY ARE DUPLICATE BRANCHES, QOL OR REFORMATTING. THE BACK HALF WILL BE PUBLISHED ALL AT ONCE, SO YOU CAN ENJOY THE BRANCHING NARRATIVE. DATE: TBD
PLEASE SEE THE FORUM PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS.
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
There was blood everywhere. That was all Adam could think about, the blood. Most of it looked like his. Bright red ichor slathering the floor, garnished with darker bits of flesh sprinkled like salad dressing. Some vulture was going to be thrilled to find him. His shirt and pants were warm and pasted to his skin. He tried to slither out from underneath IT, but his strength was gone. He reached down at the gaping holes in his side, guts gushing past his fingers. How could his body even hold all this blood? Did someone come in and throw some extra around? Did this worthless rock even have birds? He started laughing despite himself, his imminent demise suddenly much more amusing in his mind.
'Standard Slay and Pay', that's how Ms. Fox described it. Just another quick and dirty job to pay the bills his family were so keen to ignore. How happy they were to take what he brought them time and time again, only to condescend the second the money left his hands. Didn't they know that it was all for them. Adam would have done anything, for his family.
Silver and black flowed off the headless THING crushing him, burning, blinding, drowning all at once. The chrysalis IT had torn its way out of, was somehow wrapped around his arm, its touch almost cooling, almost gentle; but insistent, dragging him closer to its broken web. This place was a fucking nightmare and Adam was going to be eaten after all.
He had to get out of here. The edges of his vision were growing dark and his body began to shiver. Not long now. He pulled his thoughts back to happier times, teaching his kid sister how to fire a blaster, the proud look in his mother's eyes when he gained early acceptance at the Guardian. Furious back to back fistfights with Sam and often ... against Sam, his Aunt Kat's warm smile and tender doctoring after said fights with Sam. God, how he wanted to see them all one last time. Just to say a few words. Just to-
He collapsed into a dark red puddle.
12 hours earlier
Adam weaved through the crowded avenue outside the Gegis Starport as fast as he could without drawing attention. It wasn't hard, most of these poor wretches were human like him, and Adam's brown hair and average height were common among poor folk who couldn't afford cosmetic grafts. Adam kicked stray pieces of garbage out of his path and pushed through beggars and bastards alike. Head down, eyes up, get to the ship. Pickpockets were the least bad thing you could run into in a place like this, and he didn't want to find-
“ADAM CARTER!”
The most bad was a dozen feet behind him with most of the rapidly scattering crowd already gone. Jdics, the filthy xeno, was fatter than anything on his starving moon had any right to be; he was fatter than he was tall, though he towered over Adam. He was also ugly as Lucifer himself, dark boil ridden skin and unnatural tufts of hair leading to a truly hideous face whose only recognizable feature was a pair of beady eyes. Jdics wore only a skirt, made of dozens of leather strips, some of them animal, some ...not. He looked angry, so did the half dozen guards that came with him.
Adam feigned nonchalance, hands wide, turning slowly; he'd been running and gunning for ten years, he'd figured out a few things. Rule number one, Don't get surrounded. He was fucked there. Two more assholes on the rooftop to his right. Another cutting him off from the hangar. Flattering, did they really think he could gun down ten people and get away? He was better than decent with that old piece of iron on his hip, but it only held eight bullets.
“Jdics, my old friend." He took a step forward. " You're looking larger than ever.”
"I have been waiting for you, Adam CARTER." His voice had a melodious quality, like he was projecting for an audience. What a fuckwit. "You owe a debt that must be payed with blood, not words."
"Sure. Sure. But twelve goons, that's not what I call a fair fight." For the record, Adam hated fair fights. He preferred, shoot 'em in the back, then run away. Maybe loot the corpse, or fuck its girlfriend, if there was time.
"There are ten of us."
"Oh? My mistake. You're so fat I counted you as three."
The fat thing's thugs raised they guns.
“Those were solemn last words, I'll share them with your family when I come for them.” His alien voice boomed, rage burning deep in his eyes. But his ornate Jian still in its scabbard. Gross fucker had a real hard on for Earth-Home Eastern culture. The way of the samurai or some bullshit like that. It hadn't mattered to Adam, he'd made a small fortune when transporting stolen artifacts to this over sized grub. And then a large fortune by double crossing him to steal some of it back. Jdics wasn't pleased. Still...
“I challenge you to Wuxia. Single combat.” Adam blurted out, his mind racing. Was that a thing? He was at least 40% sure it was a thing.
Jdics didn't seem to know either, his skin flaps ruffled in confusion, then swept back like a wave. “I ACCEPT. MY BLADE WILL SING IN THE AIR AS IT CARVES-
Blah blah blah, Adam feigned casual interest and took that moment to scan for... there. Unlucky henchman number four. Hanging on his belt was a Flasher. It would be a tough shot, he'd have to take it first and fire the rest of his shots blind. The comforting weight of his old-fashioned Wheelgun was hanging low on his hip. Eight tungsten carbide .454 custom rounds with smiling skulls waiting inside, Lifetakers, Adam called them; and they were just begging to be let loose.
“ WILL BE YOUR ONLY SOLACE FROM FEAR. I SHALL DRINK THE BLOOD FROM YOUR VEINS-” Did this guy ever shut the fuck up? Adam held up left hand.
“Hold on. Let me just grab my sword.” Adam gave himself a quick pat down. Playing at looking for his weapon. Jdics' face split into a cruel smile.
“IT SEEMS-
“Hold on, one sec.” Adam looked side to side, turned a quick circle and back again. Still no sword.
“PERHAPS YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT WHAT YOU STOLE FROM ME.” Jdics eyes were hard now. He reached for his blade.
“Oh wait. Adam slapped his forehead and thrust a finger out to the guy with Flasher. “He's got it.”
Five heads involuntarily snapped to the unlucky henchman, who had just enough time to look confused before Adam's third round smashed into the Flasher and everyone went blind.
Adam slammed his back against the wall, he was leaking red stuff from at LEAST two holes, and he was running a real risk of breaking rule number three-
Brick rained down around him, as tracers spit just above his shoulder. He fired back blind. Once. Twice. Three times. clickclickclick. 'No, bullets Hans?' When had he watched that ancient holo with Sam? Oh, god. Sam would be so helpful right now. He should call her more. And call ya mother!
Adam laughed as he started to go into shock. He slide his left sleeve back to the elbow, to reveal the personal pad, punched in a few buttons and felt the tiny bite of a hundred micro needles. Sweet, crushing dopamine flooded in, followed by a surge of adrenaline. He was woozy, but back in the fight. The newer pads, had auto-doc, but this rig was old enough to be someone's mom. Probably was, somehow. Things were starting to speed up. The amphetamines were kicking in now.
Gettotheship. GetgetgetgetgettotheSHIIIIIIIIIIIIP! The fear, his wounds, old holos, everything was starting to fade away. It was so simple, just get to the ship. Quickest path is always a straight line.
Adam flicked the still hot cylinder from his gun, into his pouch and drew out another, full of rounds, all with cute little hearts. Heartbreakers, he called them, dangerous and VERY illegal. Perfect. He took aim and BLAM BLAM BLAM, three little holes in the wall in front of him appeared. Of course, they didn't stay little. Oozing larger all the time, the silver nanobot payload ate everything it touched, until it burned out of reagent. The holes grew to fist sized, then as large as his chest, until finally they merged, chunks of silver rotting wall falling between them. At last there was enough room for him to get through.
Bullets still tearing through the air, Adam waited another full breath, if any of that silver shit got on his skin, he'd be lucky if amputation could save him. Hopefully one of those shitbags chasing him stepped in a big puddle. Still, the shouts and footsteps were getting closer. A LOT closer. He offered a prayer to a god he didn't believe in and dove through.
As Adam dashed through a very confused family's hovel, he triple tapped the comm, a signal for emergency, and barked a hello. "Morning sexy. You ready to get out of here?"
A cool clipped voice answered, "You've found some new mates, dreamboat?"
"Old ones. They just can't get enough of me. Wheels up in five?" He panted as he ran. "And warm welcome, please."
"I'll leave the kettle on." She disappeared, no doubt running to cold start the reactor and pre flight check.
Adam risked a glace back, the idiots had touched silver all right. Well that simplified things. The smile was wiped off his face when bullets shredded the fruit stand to his left. And the shopkeeper. Fuck. A better man would have turned back. His father would have. Adam put his head down and ran.
Adam burst into sunlight minutes later, blood still oozing down his back, his pursuers hot on his trail. But in front of him, on the far end of the starport pad, was the most beautiful sight in the world. His ship, the Roundabout, ugly, misshapen with half the hull patched and repatched, and an red hot engine that was already guzzling He3. She was a steady little bird, took a lot on punishment and still kept on fighting.
As he ran, sharp staccato notes rang out and bad guys dropped like Venusian flies. Perched on ramp was his friendly overwatch, Ms Fox. Clad head to toe in a form fitting jumpsuit, crimson hair blowing free in the wind, smooth hand on the trigger, she was a goddess of . Beautiful, terrible, immaculate.
"Move your arse!" She called out, shots never stopping.
And just like that it was over. Adam slumped into a chair in the Roundabout's cockpit, stripped to the waist, medi-gel oozing over his gunshot wounds, which Ms. Fox had rather cooly pronounced 'flesh wounds'. The synth-leather felt good. Everything felt good with Morphamine pumping through his veins. Actually, he couldn't really feel anything at all. That was good right? His trip was interrupted by a literal crack across his cheek from Ms. Fox.
"Wake the fuck up, zombie."
"Worst. Doctor. Ever." Adam tried and failed to rub the sting out of his cheek. Gone was the lovely haze.
"I'm your medic, not your fuckin' mum." She had the crisp vowels and elocution of the British Isles; pretty common back home in the Alliance, not so out in the ass end of the galaxy. That was rule number 2 though, Don't ask, you don't wanna know.
"Just how badly are we fucked?"
"Well, I gave the contact every credit we had for the cargo." Adam confirmed. "And we don't have the cargo."
"The Cooperative will kill us if we don't deliver that Venom."
"I know", Adam replied, his brain already felt tired from the come down. God he just wanted to fucking sleep. "We can figure this out."
"These aren't the people that 'figure it out'. They'll cut our bloody heads off first if we're lucky, if we're not...." Ms. Fox didn't collapse into the copilot seat. She folded herself down gracefully, legs crossed hand perched on her knee. Their lives had mere hours counting down and she looked like she couldn't be bothered.
"I said i know!" Adam snapped back. Too loud, too sharp, too much emotion. He risked a glace at Ms. Fox, unperturbed as always, a single eyebrow raised, as if to say, oh, really? She drove him crazy, ice queen, didn't do her justice.
"Just find us a job. Any job as long as its close." Adam staggered out of the cockpit, "Something that pays up front."
Across the galaxy, deep in the human held worlds of the Alliance, in the region know as the Core, another Carter was hurting too. Charlotte looked down at a flimsy of her family, whole and together, she traced the smiling figures, remembering better times, her husband was gone and she hadn't seen her children in YEARS.
Cindi left over two years ago, she was always so gifted, such a quick study. Now she was working on her thesis on some god forsaken space station outside the safety of the Alliance. And Adam, the thought of her only son, cut through her like a knife. She lost her baby long ago, but he at least used to visit. Part of it was her own fault, after she lost her husband, and the business failed, she'd remarried his partner. Adam hadn't been pleased.
"Hey there, gorgeous." Charlotte always felt something was ...off about Keith Martell, he was too smooth, too shiny. 'Beware of shiny things', that was something Francis used to say. Shiny or not, Keith was there when Francis died. He was there when the business dried up and he was there, now that she was all alone in an uncaring galaxy. In 42 long years, Charlotte had never been truly alone and she wasn't going to start now. She could put up with creepy Keithy.
"I was just thinking about the children. I miss Adam." She did NOT mention her daughter.
"He's a tough one, that boy. There's a big load of his papi in him." Keith was supposedly from the Alliance like her, a blue blood from the Core with a claim to being part of the 40 families. He laughed. "I suppose you know what that's like."
Charlotte smiled uneasily. Their wedding night had been quick and efficient. And curiously their nights together were few and far between in the years since. But she didn't like that Keith's smiles that never touched his eyes.
"Say," Keith began, as if the idea had just come into his head. "Isn't it our little girl's birthday this week?"
HER little girl, NOT HIS. She felt a shiver start in her spine. She'd always noticed. Hugs that lingered a little too long. An accidental brush of the hand. A squeeze that wasn't just affection. And the looks, men truly thought women were blind. But she needed Keith. Her family needed Keith.
"Last week. She just turned 18." She answered reluctantly.
"I remember when Francis and I found you, why you must have been of an age yourself." His smirk was not kind. "Well I've been meaning to give her a special gift, to mark the occasion."
Meanwhile, on a spindly space station, orbiting the pulsar Vega, Cindi Carter stepped out of the shower to a ringing alarm. Either x-rays from her Pulsar experiment had slipped past the shielding on this hunk of junk station, or she was about to be boarded and into into next week by pirates. Either way she didn't have time to dry her hair.
Dashing through the cold station barefoot, she fired up the first console she could find. Or tried to anyway. Nothing really worked on this heap. She gave the panel a bit of percussive maintenance with a loose wrench. To her shock, it flickered to life and showed a battered transport locking into the airlock with heavy clunk. Not a pirate then. It wasn't the Princess either, running supplies out to her. The screen flashed an incoming wave-comm, and she flicked it open.
The bright, toothy smile of Viola Vasquez, socialite and heiress stared back at her. "Cindi! Can. You. Hear. Me."
Cindi rolled her eyes. Viola was trouble, sometimes the trouble was fun, sometimes it wasn't, and Vi, never seemed to be the one who paid for it. Still, they were 'friends' kinda, sorta, AND if she was going to be the next Marie Curie, or the next, next Curie after Phena Nichols got there first, bitch- she'd need money and connections. And more importantly, she'd never ever ever been this bored in her entire life. Trouble sounded nice right now.
"Viola, how-
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!" The grin split Viola's face. "I am throwing you the greatest birthday bash in the quadrant."
"Is my family coming?" Cindi beamed. Things had kind of, sort of ....fallen apart the last few years. Dad died, Adam left, Sam and Kat moved away. Home all alone with Keith and mom, jumping on an advanced placement program and getting out of the house, had seemed natural, but now she really missed her kin.
"What? No! So dim." Cindi turned crimson as she laughed with someone off-screen. "Be right in, Cindi-cin."
This was going to be fine, right? She was lonely. And a party would be AMAZING. She just had to lock up anything sensitive first. And maybe patch the hull so they all didn't die.
Minutes latter the airlock burst open and out poured Cindi's closest friends. Bianca practically leapt into Cindi's arms. She even wrapped her legs around her and laid her head on Cindi's neck, luckily the station was set to a half G. She wasn't light, this little oriental flower. Dark, brooding Imani was next, a keg over one shoulder and a stuffed duffel in the other. "Where can i dump this?"
"Just not-
"Oh just put that anywhere." Viola sashayed on board, hips popping, boobs nearly spilling free. She had stripped down to just bra and panties. "Sorry, girl. This transport is a wreck, I was sweating like a Tomian at the Opera."
Cindi tried not to wince when the heavy bag crashed down on a processor that ran life support. She could almost hear the system have a mini stroke.
This would be fine.
"Oh EM GEEEEE!! This place is perfect." Viola turned to Bianca who let go of Cindi rather reluctantly. "It's like pirate chic, that's the theme, pirates and their boo-tay!" She twerked relentlessly until Cindi was to laugh.
"Speaking of family and pirates, is your brother coming?" Cindi regretted ever showing her that flimsy of Adam. It had been just after he dropped out, and suddenly, here she was, the Academy girl whose brother was a pirate.
"He's not-
"He's not a pirate!" Bianca squealed, eyes gleaming. "He's a smuggler and he's soooo dreamy."
Viola rolled her eyes. "So no pirate brother?"
"He's ... working." Cindi didn't know where. Most of the time she tried not to think about it. Adam had just up and left, and when he did, he'd cut all ties. No visits, no wave-comms, just a credit transfer every month 'for the family'. It had been years since she saw Adam; why she might not even recognize him anymore. Imani saw her face fall, but before she could speak, Viola cut right in.
"Girl this is gonna be totally Nova! We've got the drinks, and the perfect set-up. The transport is going back for the guests now." Sure enough the tired old windrider was unfurling solar sails and pulling away from the station. "We just have to get set up. I only need a couple things from you...."
As Viola listed off item after item, Cindi couldn't help but wince.
This would be fine.
Sam Carter was a woman with only one thing on her mind. Getting this disgusting field gear off, before she got fungus, well, everywhere. It was 50°C during the day here, 35°C at night and it hadn't stopped raining since she got here three months ago. Colonel 'Hardass', CO groundside had told Sam, this was actually one of the better seasons. All Sam knew was that it fucking rained even when the sun was out, fucking bullshit water cycle. Where was all that liquid even going? How was there even mist if it was always pouring rain? Peeling out of her third combat rig, ruined today, Sam only hoped she would drown soon. Her misery was interrupted by a hug attack.
"My baby!" A flash of bushy brown hair and vivid green eyes, before her sweaty form was folded into a bear hug by a slightly shorter, though much bustier version of herself. Kisses ensued. couldn't come quick enough.
"Mo-mom. M-MOM!" Sam struggled to break through the lip based fury, some of those were lip to lip! Gross. She managed to get an arm bar into her mother's cavernous cleavage and hold her back. "WHAT are you doing here?"
"Oh, I asked if I could stay with my best girl. I've missed you so much my sweet treasure. I swear I won't be a bother, but of course, you want you space. Do you have a ...friend ... coming over later?" Her mother's voice poured out like a river, unceasing, unstoppable pushing aside Sam's feeble attempts to resond. "You were always so forceful with the boys, you know some times they need a gentle touch. They aren't all like your cousin, you know." When did she even breathe? "Have you heard from Adam, at all?" Her mother continued without so much as a shake. "You would tell me if you had? Your aunt is worried to since he started going into Wild Space for runs. I am too, to be candid. Family belongs at home. That's what i say! What is it dear, you've such a look on your face."
Sam was a recon marine in the Alliance Navy, and she still couldn't keep up with this woman. She wouldn't bet her drill Sgt. at basic could have either. She know if she didn't direct this conversation, her mother could talk (or cook, or wrestle or tell stories) for hours once she got on a tear. Where did all that energy come from?
"I meant what are you doing here, on Thiidian?
"Oh its just the ticket! I was at university, getting ready for the semester, when these rather large brutes in suits came in and asked me to examine a protein chain-
Sam felt her brain turn off. She was really more of the look, decide, act type. Save the brainy stuff for her pint sized cousin Cindi. Shit, she did miss that little twerp, and ...Adam. When were those guys gonna visit? Probably never when it came to him. He was always such an asshole about never asking for help when they were kids. Except for that one time. That one and only one time he had BEGGED Sam for help. Only she had been scared. Scared to leave it all behind, scared to lose everything; scared even to be alone with him. They had been best friends since before she knew what that word meant. Something inside her ached. She was still gonna kick his ass when they met up, but damn, next shore leave, she would hope on a shuttle and chase him down. She smiled, he barely could keep up with her when she was just a coltish girl, now- she traced the hard, lean muscles of her body -it wouldn't even be a contest.
-and so here I am! Isn't this wonderful, cinni-roll?"
"It's great mom. Every 20 year old, Gunnery Sergeant. wants to have their mom live with them, and shadow them on duty calling them pastries."
She missed the sarcasm. "I KNOW. Just you wait, I'm cooking us up some dinner, and then I want you to show me around the base, and I'll meet all you're little friends and we can make mud pies, just like when you were a girl..."
The floodwaters couldn't possibly come soon enough.
"Well?" Staring down at her in that blouse, six months without any companionship other than his hand, even with bullet holes stuffed with gel, Adam was painfully aware he'd never got the chance to spread Miss Fox's legs. And he probably never would. Funny thoughts crossed your mind when you were headed for certain .
Fox shook her head.
"Nothing? Let me see." Adam squished into the seat beside her, he scanned the names and locations of various jobs in the sector.
"We kept rolling the dice, taking those big risk jobs, eventually..."
"I don't remember you complaining when we were putting credits in your pocket." Adam stopped scrolling. He sorted by price instead. Right there, top of the list was a very enticing number. "What about this one?"
Ms. Fox gave it a look. "Standard slay and pay, half the money up front, but I've never seen the client before, bit dodgy that and slim on the details too. Sounds like easy money."
"Like picking it up off the ground."
"A little too easy, maybe."
Adam ignored her and punched in the coordinates. It was close. Close enough at least. "A couple days there, a couple back, the Cooperative wouldn't ever know the difference.". He could feel her flat stare. "What?"
"Since when do we trust easy money?"
She was right about that, just reading about it was making his hair stand on end. But the Cooperative would be worse.
"We're not gonna trust it, we're gonna take it."
Ms. Fox swallowed. "We don't ...have to do this, you know?"
"I don't follow."
"We have other options."
"Such as?"
"We could sell the Roundabout."
"Sell my ship?"
"Our ship."
"That wouldn't even get us halfway-
"I've got enough script saved to cover the rest."
"And then? Without a ship, how the hell am I supposed to earn?" Adam bounced out of his chair, his hands tugging at his hair.
"We could sign on with someone-
"Risk out necks for Deciceds, while someone else gets rich off us? That's the life you want?"
"It wouldn't have to be forever-
"Not to mention then I'd have to pay YOU back-
"I don't expect you to-"
"-because you know I can't right? I don't have some secret stash of coin hidden awa-"
"I'm not like them. You don't have to buy me with sodding credits!"
The air thickened in the cockpit.
Adams voice was hard. Cold. "I'm not your charity case, Valerie."
Ms. Fox pulled back like she had been slapped, then stood up and left the cockpit without another word- and all the better for it -because he knew she wasn't lying, and that only made him angrier. Adam gripped the flight controls so hard it hurt. The pain felt appropriate. He'd make it right. He'd fix this for her and for them and then... And then things would be different. He just had to get through this next part.
"Let's go kill people."