The New Arrival's Guide to Common Things

by Jorbon Delivas

Outside of organizations, many planets have laws both social and official. Official laws are passed by whatever organization owns the planet. Often, a planet's laws match their owner organization's closely - though there are exceptions. Some planetary laws directly favor beings within the faction itself, creating a direct class system of citizen vs. non-citizen. Some planets have planetary citizenship which is unrelated to organization membership. Planetary enforcement is generally refereed to simply as the 'guards' or 'police'. Some organizations attempt to increase legitimacy, downplay legalism, or otherwise alter the optics of their planetary enforcement by naming them directly - but most such attempts are utter failures.

To find a list of the laws of the planet you currently inhabit, I recommend purchasing the 'Localized Legal Informant' module for your UICI. It will automatically charge you a few SG or EB, depending on which you have more of, each time you arrive in a new world and will provide you a summary of the most pertinent laws. LLI also provides a full breakdown of planetary laws which you can peruse at your leisure.

Naomi

Frella's Base, Second Layer, Chimera M 63

"So we should start with the one that's that way…" Piper pointed behind Naomi, presumably through the wall, "…then if it's the wrong gnoll Hama shaman, we can loop around and try the one that way, and then that one, and so on."

Nodding slowly, Naomi asked carefully, "And you can lead us to them?" Piper began nodding excitedly, the head bobbing slowing as Naomi continued, "Through existing tunnels?"

"Maybe? Probably! I think so. If not, just ask Madrick to blast new tunnels open for you! He's great at it!"

"Piper, I don't know if you've noticed, but Madrick isn't exactly helpful to us."

The little pink floating woman tilted her head in confusion, "Have you asked him for help? He helped me when I asked!"

Naomi stopped, considering. In all honesty, she'd never even considered asking the man for help with anything directly. It was unlikely Willow had, either, given her general desire to succeed without her "master's" help. She supposed it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Turning toward where Piper had zipped over from, she saw Willow and Slyth both flushed and staring at each-other. Jonah stood further back, looking miserable. She'd hoped the time away from Willow, and then finding her clearly interested in someone else, would have helped him move on from his crush. Perhaps not. Unfortunately, Naomi found herself ill equipped to try and help him, beyond trying to be there for him if needed.

In the spirit of support, she sent him a message through the party channel, "There, there." She accompanied the message with an image of herself patting his head. It was gratifying to see his expression shift from sad misery to baffled surprise. She'd done her part.

Moving on, she told him, "Piper's got a direction for us. We'll move out in an hour or so, assuming all goes well. I'm going to solidify our agreements with Frella and her team before we leave. I'll submit the forms Madrick provided and that should be enough to transfer their contracts once it's all cleared by Chaven."

Shaking his head, Jonah replied while only glancing at Willow and Slyth a few times, "It still seems way too convenient that there just happens to be common clauses we can exploit… And that we met someone both willing and able to help us exploit them."

"Chaven is only willing to help us exploit contract terminations because he's obsessed with ensuring they're followed to the letter, and loopholes 'are intentional fail-safes meant to be used when necessary'."

"He said that?"

"More or less. Anyway let's-"

She stopped as Jonah suddenly about-faced, his entire body tensing. He sent a message through the entire party link, even including the newest members of the 'party'. "Alert, everyone. There are monsters closing in from the entrance side of the base."

Willow

Campsite, Second Layer, Chimera M 63

Jonah's alert broke Slyth and her staring match, causing him to blink. She cracked a slight grin. "Truce?"

"For now." He replied with a smirk of his own.

She nodded her agreement and they both moved toward Jonah, falling in beside Naomi. Piper flitted above Willow before dropping unceremoniously on her head, taking handfuls of hair and pretending to pilot her.

Ignoring the pink menace's antics, Willow asked through the party line, "How many?"

Jonah's eyes had that distant look to them, the one he got when he was either messing with the UICI or mostly focusing on his overhead view. Given the current circumstance, she was sure it was the later.

"Looks like two packs of ten. It's a mix of creatures. Giant burrowing worm-looking things, there's one of those with each group. From what I've seen they seem to be mostly mouth with endless rows of teeth all the way down the inside of their bodies." He began reporting the enemy's position.

"Those are probably grubuers." Loivl the Minotaur provided, her surprisingly gentle voice somehow even more pleasant through the mental chat. "They usually stay in one place buried in the earth to ambush anyone or anything which steps over wherever they've positioned themselves. Their insides are significantly stronger than their outer skin. Don't let yourself be swallowed by one, or it's a near guaranteed respawn."

"Noted." Naomi said calmly before beginning to give commands, "System, keep explaining what we're up against. Phoenix, Quiz, positions. Everyone else, we're headed toward the base's gate. If you'd like to join us, it sounds like we'll have enough monsters to go around."

Willow took a breath and let it out as she took point for their party, trying to shift her mindset into 'Phoenix mode' and out of playfully-chatting-with-Slyth mode. Not that that's an actual mode or anything.

Jonah's voice continued, breaking her from classifying persona-modes, "The majority of each group is comprised of those things Willow was calling assids-"

"-They're called esquien" Loivl interjected.

"Esquien, then." System bit off, clearly a little annoyed at the interruptions. "The parties are mainly esquien riding creepy looking things that are somewhere between a hairless cat and wolf. Four of each for each party. The last creature in each group is a dog-sized green toad looking thing with three eyes sitting atop long antennae-stalk things."

Once System had finished, Loivl added more details. "The hairless cat-wolfs are probably hocheth, they're extremely fast and dexterous but not very strong. Their claws are incredibly sharp, but they can't bring too much force to bear. I'm surprised esquien can even ride on them, honestly. The toad thing with long eye stocks are called woislls. They aren't very dangerous and generally prefer to defend and flee rather than fighting, they can generate strong barriers anywhere they can see. Each one can hold up to three barriers at once."

"System, you keep saying 'each group' as if the monster swarm is actually coordinated." Frella part stated, part asked.

"They are, they're distinctly different groups and they're in formation. Mounted esquien on hocheth in a spear-point formation, with the woislls behind them, and the grubuers following behind, surfacing rarely. They'll arrive in less than a minute, I'd estimate."

Waving at the gate, Phoenix sent, "Slyth and I can keep them bottled up at the gate, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Agreed." Prism answered, adding, "The walls are wide enough for us to stand on, too. Frella, is there a way to get up there?"

"Accesses built into the walls, they're hidden by simple illusions. Disabling them now. We'll join you in two minutes." As Frella answered, a few sections of the wall blurred and shifted, revealing small square staircases set into the stone every thirty meters or so along the inside edge of the wall.

Sliding to a stop half through the gate, Phoenix glanced up to verify the metal gate wasn't directly above her. It'd suck to die by being impaled from above by heavy steel gate spikes.

Slyth took up his position on her left, a meter or so away so they could cover the four meter gap between the two of them. It was honestly a near-perfect amount of space for two people to cover without getting in each other's way. Perhaps slightly too large, as she thought it might be possible for enemies to slip past if they were sufficiently engaged and distracted.

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Moments later, she heard them. Then smelled them. Then saw them. The snarling screeching groups of rotten-smelling monster rushed around the final bend in the tunnel approaching the cavern where Frella's camp had been deployed.

Just as System had noted, they were organized. Moreover, the assids - my name for them is better. Well, funnier. - were the variant versions they'd fought en-mass to gain access to the 'second layer'. The sight was somewhat exciting, there was a chance this was an actually challenging fight!

Falling into a ready stance, Phoenix glanced toward Quiz to confirm he was likewise prepared. She braced as a group of howling and shrieking monsters spotted them, eyes dilating, yet she was caught off guard when they veered off instead of immediately striking.

The entire squad sprinted right past Phoenix, past Quiz, and around the edge of the stone gate. The two gate guardians exchanged baffled looks. The beasts had clearly been furious and excited to attack, yet they hadn't.

"Did you guys see that? System, Prism?" She asked through the channel, uncertain.

Prism answered in the affirmative, before relaying to the others, "One squad of monsters ignored the gate and went around the edge of the wall. The right side, when facing in toward the base."

"Got it. Koll, investigate." Frella ordered.

"Yes." Came the reply, the gremlin's mental voice just as scratchy and disused as Phoenix imagined his real voice would be, given its obvious disuse.

Before she could think much more, the second group of monsters arrived in much the same manner as the first. Except, this time she saw one of the grubuers as it emerged from the dirt floor like a dolphin leaping from the ocean's surface. The massive creature was big enough to swallow a horse, and four times as long. Its leap reached the ceiling of the cavern at its lowest point, where it connected to the tunnel. The worm vanished from sight in a blur of displaced earth, though not a mote of dust was disturbed by its passage.

"That's probably bad." Piper - What was her call sign? It was some kind of goddess… Iris! - Iris, noted.

Phoenix just nodded in agreement, while keeping the majority of her attention on the rapidly approaching second group of enemies. Their eyes were fixed. This time they would surely- They veered off too. This group took the opposite side, going to Phoenix's right along that side of the wall.

"OH COME ON!" She roared, frustrated. She took off after them, furious. Stupid monsters aren't even going to engage us?!

"Phoenix!" Prism's voice snapped harshly, "Hold your position. We don't know what else is coming yet."

Stumbling a few steps, Phoenix spun and sprinted back, grumbling all the while. Quiz gave her a sympathetic smile and shook his head. She stuck her tongue out at him, which he rewarded by dramatically rolling his eyes.

"BREACH!" Koll's scratchy scream was painful, Phoenix saw Quiz wincing as they both turned in toward the base.

A series of images and scents immediately followed. Acrid burning, chemical burning. Stone melting in large sections. Mounted esquien urging their horrifying furless mounts through the gaps.

"Don't engage alone." Prism spoke at the same time as Frella warned, "Wait for reinforcements."

A half beat of silence, then, "They're trying to flank us. Regroup in the center of the base."

"They'll destroy my base!" Frella argued angrily.

Prism hesitated, before acquiescing, "We'll need to split our forces to engage either side, then. Phoenix, System, take the left side - Frella, they're effective damage and support. They need additional defense. Quiz and I will go to the breached wall. Defensive fighter and medium range control damage hybrid."

It was an impressively concise set of orders and information, but Phoenix hardly had time to admire Prism's ability to think so clearly under pressure. She had a new position to be in, so she took off, activating her focus to enhance her physical abilities. She knew System would catch up quickly, his focus on mobility paired with never tiring from movement giving him a sharp edge that nearly let him keep up with her over short distances. Over longer distances his advantages would massively outshine hers.

"Loivl, Hosh, and I will join Koll, Prism, and Quiz at the breached wall. Hosh and Poli will meet System and Phoenix." Frella reported and commanded simultaneously.

As buildings and stone wall blurred past her, Phoenix wondered why Frella had said it'd take them two minutes to get to the gate. It took her and System just under thirty seconds. Even so, they arrived to find the wall already full of acid-burned holes with monsters climbing through.

Phoenix roared and charged the nearest, a mounted assid. This one had yellow skin which appeared to be peeling and melting, though she was pretty sure it was an optical illusion. The mount was nightmare fuel of its own. Like System had noted, it was kind of like a hairless cat mixed with a wolf. What he hadn't mentioned was that every inch of exposed skin was glistening with a greenish slime, or that its claws were each a half meter long with a massive mouth full of matching teeth. Nor did he mention that they had no eyes, similar to their assid riders. In fact, they shared quite a few disturbing features which made Phoenix question whether they were related in some way.

A gob of steaming yellow liquid spewing with shocking accuracy from the assid's chest-hole was enough to convince her that such questions were left for later. She ducked under the hissing fluid, which when she took a breath smelled of a riotous mix of rotting and bleach.

Testing whether the mount was as unconcerned with her ability as its rider, Phoenix activated her full moment of focus. Annoyingly, the hocheth was unaffected as its master. However, Phoenix had learned some things since her last solo scuffle against the monsters.

Dropping the ability for a moment, she immediately re-activated it, this time imbuing it with the intent to freeze her enemies. It didn't quite work, not actually halting them, but it did slow them. Something is better than nothing!

Then she was upon the creatures. Her fist flashed out, catching the biting, twisted, mutt below its jaw and exploding upward as her imperative command enhanced punch tore through it without losing much power. Not wanting to lose the advantage of momentum, Phoenix followed through with her motion by shoving off the ground. Her fist and arm exploded through the slimy creature's now entirely destroyed head and she landed a firm kick on the assid as she descended. A follow-up snap-kick infused with imperative command ended the creature. She felt the raw potentia rushing into her even as she pivoted, searching for new enemies.

"Around the corner of the building directly in front of you, Frella's house I think. They're going in circles chasing something they see from my trick spell." System immediately informed her.

Following his direction, Phoenix rushed the group of disoriented assid-meltdogs - hocheth is way worse than meltdogs - and got to work. Her first targets went down as easily as the first pair. As she struck out at a second pair, her fist impacted with something that felt like pure steel and she screamed at the unexpected pain, staggering back.

A slight haze in the air was the only indication that there was anything at all to hit. It was only after that very painful reminder that Phoenix remembered Loivl mentioning the frog-things could make shields. It took almost no time to locate the culprit. A squat, but massive toad creature squatted near the opposite corner of the building she'd just rounded. Its skin was nearly the same shade of gray, which was enough for Phoenix to forgive herself not noticing it immediately. The large blazing purple eyes sitting at the end of stalks of onyx black, though, not so much.

It stared at her, unblinking. She snarled at the challenge, her back into it skill finishing its job of healing her within the moments it had taken her to locate the new threat. She rushed toward it, barely arresting her sprint before running face-first into a new mostly invisible wall as it appeared in front of her.

Before she could try again, System called, "Phoenix! Little help!"

A quick glance behind her found System being surrounded by snapping, furious, meltdogs and their riders. Riders which appeared to all be preparing to release their flesh destroying payloads all at once.

Disengaging the toad immediately, she spun and raced toward her friend instead. This time, she didn't notice the fuzzy wall of force in time. She rammed straight into it, staggering back with stars in her eyes.

Ignoring the pain, ringing, and feeling of cotton in her head, Phoenix struck the wall. This time, though, she struck flat-palmed with the intention to touch the construct only. She sent her favorite imperative command through it. 'Break.' The air became clear and she reached the circle of enemies.

Unhesitatingly, she tore through the pair. Unfortunately, that only brought her to the epicenter of the upcoming deluge of acid and who knew what other elements with System, rather than saving him from it.

"Sorry, this is gonna suck." She called at the same time she impacted him. Bowling him over and tackling him to the ground, she slapped a meltdog-slime covered palm to his chest while the other found her own. This time the imperative command was 'survive!'.

Pain. Pain like nothing she'd ever experienced tore through her already destabilized mind, ripping through the gauze wrapping her brain and searing into it. Her entire body burned and froze simultaneously, her flesh sloshing off of exposed white bones, which themselves distorted and bent as the chemicals dousing them achieved their grizzly purpose.

Hosh

Frella's PBoO, Second Layer, Chimera M 63

Hosh and Poli heard the screaming just before they found Phoenix and System. Or, what was left of them at least. Two esquine and hocheth pairs were surrounding what looked like a badly mutilated pile of flesh.

Shock rolled through Hosh as said pile shifted. Just slightly, but it was enough to suggest one of them had survived. Barking and growling an appropriate Lycanthi war cry, Hosh raised both of his hands and fired beams of condensed prismatic luminescence from each. One beam found its mark, removing the torso of an esquine and the back half of its mount. The other struck an invisible, but solid, wall.

Ears flattening in anger, Hosh's keep eyes flicked across the tableau and found a set of blazing purple orbs which seemed to float in the shadowed alcove which the woisll was obviously hiding within. Both of his clawed hands lifted together as he cast a stronger variant of his path's signature spell. The beam tore through both layers of shielding the creature attempted to erect to defend itself. The light from his spell illuminated the cooked remnants of the prey creature for a brief moment, but he didn't spare it a thought. Instead, he turned his wrath toward the last remaining pair of monsters.

Said monsters were trying to finish off System and Phoenix, but were stymied at every turn by solid barriers of yellow light.

"Window!" Hosh barked, and Poli complied, opening a small window into the cube prison he'd forged around the final two enemies. A pulse of prismatic luminescence ended both creatures instantly.

These kinds of monsters were high damage, but low defense. Though, the woisll accompanying them had certainly offset their relative vulnerability somewhat. It was fortunate prismatic luminescence was so overwhelmingly powerful against all but specialized defenses.

Carefully making his way toward the bodies, Hosh bent on his haunches and carefully reached out. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do, maybe try and shift the pile of melted flesh off of the survivor? It was clear that one of Prism's party had defended the other with their body. A brave, if fatal, gesture.

Before his claws reached the disfigured viscera, though, Hosh froze. The pile of slush wasn't just shifting, it was writhing, twisting and moving about in an absolutely unnatural manner. The edges were smoothing, becoming taught caramel skin. Sitting back in shock, he watched as the pile of deformed flesh-goo reformed and took on Phoenix's groaning form.

With a shove, she pushed herself off of an injured, but living, System. He looked delirious, eyes unfocused in pain and likely shock.

Looking up, Hosh found Phoenix standing with hands on hips, observing the battle field with hard blue eyes. She was clearly upset, but he felt the anger was turned more inward than anything. She sighed and muttered something about hoping her pack was undamaged as she moved to cover her modesty - the armor she'd been wearing had been entirely destroyed.

She turned to him and smiled, "Thanks! I totally had them, but I always appreciate an assist."

She flashed a cheeky smile and Hosh found himself uncertain whether she was joking or serious. He'd watched her regenerate from a state he was certain was not possible to heal from, so perhaps she really could have come back and defeated the remaining enemies. Who knew.

All he was sure of was he finally understood why she was called 'Phoenix'.

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