Space Odyssey: Spectre-Chapter 514: Goodbyes III

Bartholomew Crystal took a deep breath as he stared at the blank screen before him. Then it lit up and he smiled. "Cassy!"

"Dad!" His young daughter smiled up at him. She was the last remaining bloodline relative he had. Her grandparents- his mother and father-in-law- were still alive. But every other member of their family had died. So of all things, she was the precious thing to him.

"How are you doing? Are you being good for your grandma and grandpa?" He asked her.

"Great, but this is awesome. How are the Victorium transmitting a live message across so many systems? We used to have to play video tag to communicate." Cassy pointed out with a giggle.

"Yeah... the Victorium are definitely outmatching anyone in our galaxy with their technology. But apparently our galaxy is behind the curve." He told her, "but enough about that. How are you holding up since...?"

Her expression faltered for a moment and she smiled weakly. "I am doing better. Having Grandpa and Grandma to share my pain with has helped. So has talking about what happened. I wish you were here though to do the same."

He smiled back at her. "I am sorry. But I can’t stay with you when I know danger is lurking around the corner. It was people not doing something that led to... well what happened." He reminded her. "I am in a position, and fully able to do something. So I will."

She smiled weakly again and nodded with a hum. "I know. You want to do all you can so that I can grow up safely. But..." She looked conflicted for a moment. "Nevermind. Just be careful."

"I will. Now tell me a bit about how living with grandma and grandpa has been. Have you been playing any of those video games you love?"

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K bowed her head in apology towards the hologram of General Trentwood. "I am sorry. But that was how it went down. Even from my brief interaction with him, he seemed unstable."

"Haa... I apologize we were not able to warn you in time. His field commander informed us as soon as she was able to about his desertion. Apparently they encountered a number of Xenar artifacts and one of them caused his altered state of mind." General Trentwood explained while making a fist. "That was the moment my son died. All Colonel Jace Hex did was put down an enemy."

K nodded and then looked over at her handler. Shepard, who seemed to be deep in thought. Then she looked back at the Union General. "What should I do now?"

"Haa... see if the Mortella are an enemy that we need to unite against. There is nothing underhanded we could do to gain anything at this stage. We need to be as transparent as possible instead." He sighed.

"K." She looked over at Shepard. "Do not hold back any longer. There is no reason to limit yourself."

She blinked and then closed her eyes and let out a breath of air as she could feel the tension leave her body. Then she opened her eyes. Both her mindset and gaze had changed. She no longer cared what they thought. Instead she was thinking about the best ways to take them down with her beloved karambits. "Understood." She answered before waving her hand and the holograms disappeared as she stretched and sighed with a grin. "I suppose that means I can break those out."

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Sol Astro kneeled before his king.

"If you do this thing for me and come back alive. I will give you an opportunity to slay your kin that has gone astray." King Montez informed his subject as they stood in the throne room of the king’s warship. Or rather the king sat on his throne and Sol kneeled below him.

"Thank you, your majesty. I promise to finally rid our kingdom- no, my family line of that stain. She should be warming your bed instead of running around the galaxy as a mercenary." Sol apologized. They had struggled to follow her. Not realizing she had eloped with a Vexical Empires politician. Even then they had been struggling to find information on her after coincidently running into her aboard this station.

"Hmm..." The King smirked as he seemed to remember something amusing. "I understand why you are angry. But I myself am quite satisfied with her performance. She secretly ran a mercenary group and then killed my elder brother when he ran afoul of her. It takes grit to not only kill a member of royalty but to drown him in a barrel of oil... I do admire her style."

Sol flinched slightly but said nothing else.

"Too bad she is already tainted. She might have been a nice addition to my harem if that Vexical Politician had not already had a child with her." The King of Montez groaned in annoyance.

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"Your imperial majesty. You called?" A young shinobi kneeled before his king. He had no one to say goodbye to, because shinobi were typically already ready for death the moment they started wearing the mask. For most it was expected they would never return.

"Yes. I believe you have not been assigned to a member of the royal family, correct?" Emperor Oda asked. A look of amusement on his face. He had worn the same one ever since the first meeting for the Gathering of Kings. Almost like he had already won.

"No I have not. Despite being the best in the latest set of graduates, I have not found a master I am willing to call my lord." The shinobi explained. He had protected, worked for, or been around at least a hundred lords and ladies of varying rank. But he never felt a need to protect them.

"Good!" The Emperor clapped his hands and bounced slightly in his chair like a giddy little kid. "You are going to the Mortella’s ship. You will be our representative. While you are there with the others. I wish for you to see if Colonel Jace is deserving of your loyalty."

"What? But he is a foreigner!" The shinobi pointed out in shock. It was one of their few rules. They could not work for someone of foreign blood.

"He is also a descendant of the Oda bloodline. Although, everyone seems to be forgetting that. Not to mention he has managed to awaken through training and dedication." The Emperor grinned madly. "You know how impossible that is. It would be like paving a new path all on your own."

The shinobi was shocked into silence. They only knew how to control spirit because of the records passed down by their ancestors. But was the Emperor saying... "He learned how to control his spirit without external assistance?"

"Not just his spirit." The Emperor of Oda smiled. "He has accessed his soul as well."

The shinobi gulped in shock and horror. There was a technique to access one’s soul that was only passed down in the imperial family from ruler to ruler. Because it gave them longevity and a way to train their mind and techniques even when they were asleep.

He bowed his head. "I will see if he is worthy... but what if he is not?"

"Then... nothing." The Emperor shrugged.

"But the soul and spirit technique-" The shinobi stopped speaking and bowed his head when he felt the murderous aura descend upon him. "I apologize I spoke out of turn."

"Well, it did come out of a place of worry." The aura disappeared just as quickly. "Do not worry about it. I am not concerned about it spreading. The Hex bloodline is like a greedy goblin. They would not share anything if they could not benefit in some way." The Emperor explained before waving him off. "Now go prepare, this could be your most dangerous assignment yet."

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"Cain."

"Ignius."

The two artificial intelligences in mechanical bodies bowed their heads at each other.

Cain as per usual was in his robotic body. Although this newest one was a lot less silvery looking with the rope like mechanical musculature visible. Instead there was a layer of white metal that almost shimmered like other colors when exposed to the right light. Along with some more flexible orange portions that would allow for a range of movement.

Ignius was a hunched over bipedal figure with a mechanical tail and a lizard-like head. Claws in the place of hands. He was modeled after a dragon initially but developed a sense of self and began making its own unique appearance. With portions of dark red and black plating visible over some of the more sensitive parts of the body.

"Why did you request a meeting? Do you not have anyone that you have to say goodbye to? I thought as one of the founders of the Rogue Metal Legion, that you would have at least one or two that you would turn to when you believed you would leave this world." Cain asked the other AI.

"I do. But I calculated this outcome ahead of time and have already said my goodbyes." Ignius answered honestly. "There was a single human woman I had taken an interest in. Along with the two human children I adopted and a single AI that I programmed to take over some of my tasks."

"Hmm... I see. What did you need?" Cain asked.

"I wanted to know what he plans to do. Why is he bringing you? Because as far as I am aware, he would not need to bring you. He can do the same things as you but far more quickly." Ignius asked.

"He is bringing me because we can do the same thing. He believes he will get tied up in battling the Mortella and will not have time to split his attention between the enemy and being able to send the data back to the Victorium." Cain explained.

"Really?" Ignius made a whirling noise. "Then I suppose they must be powerful enemies for even the great Spectre to recognize them." He rose for a moment before lowering his body again. "How about you? Do you have anyone you need to say your goodbyes to?"

"Yes." Cain nodded his head. "My master adopted two little tykes that are like my little siblings. I wish to say goodbye to them before leaving to infiltrate the Mortella’s ship." Cain explained. "So if this is all..."

"It is. I apologize for interrupting your time." Ignius bowed his head before turning away. Cain then turned away as well and he was back in the garage. He looked at the table where Cho and Jordan were talking and giggling with Vana. He felt something, but he did not know what to describe it as. He walked over to join them at the table.