To become a true hero [private]

The fever of FLARP has got down the past sweep, mostly for all the damage the players have caused around the planet and to the inhabitants, it is from how many trolls have died to the monetary loses other have suffered.

One of those is a sea dweller of Violet caste named Albali Kursal, once known as The Commander for her skills on this game, she lost her hive, an airship known as The Caelus in the game, losing most of her fortune to rebuilt the thing that seems to be even older than the current Empress. Looking at how damaged her homeland has been left for this game, she decided to join The Request Central and be a helpful troll.

She has been preparing all her life to become a Flighter, elite pilots that use robots as weapons for close combat and rumors say than even mutants can apply to become one if they show true skills. This kind of fighters even has their own division in the Imperial Fleet and not many can get the license and much less get into the Fleet. This young female sea dweller, at her short age of 6 sweeps got her license, nothing alike has been seen since the actual Empress had taken the thrown with also a female Violet troll.

Near the harbor town she likes to spend time, The Request Central has set up an Request Board, these boars have set special "missions" for exclusive members of Request Central, known as Rescue Teams, they are sent to help people in need, it could be to rescue a lost treasure in a Bounty Hunting fashion, to actually go and save trolls stuck in places and such, also, these teams get power as police members too if dangerous trolls need to be caught, pretty much the best job a troll of good will can get.

But sadly, Albali can't do anything of that and get a good payment form Request Central, she needs at least 1 partner to register as a team and, is not like she has a lot of friends at all... But a message calls her attention, it's one of those notes that are open for everyone, quite rare to see on the boards, and more on the ones in sea shores and harbors. She picked up the note and started reading it, is from someone named Sielus Shales...

Sielus Shales sat om a large rock on the side of the beach, glaring at his text book in the moonlight as he attempted to understand its contents. he rarely ever studied in the past but recently he found a exception to this. the Flighter exam was coming up again and Sielus intended to pass this sweep.

after failing the exam terribly last sweep, he scraped and saved to raise the currency again to pay for the entrance fee for the exam, a sizable amount for any wealthy seadweller on the first try, double if they fail and retake the test

worried about failing the test again, Sielus left a notice on that weird bounty board for anyone to help him study, not that he had much faith that a troll would actually take the job...

The sound of metal could be heard in the sand, at the distance, a quite big machine with the shape of an Angel, or better said, a big snake with wings and arms, was slowly getting closer to the guy sitting on the rock. The robot was covered in a red armor and had a quite enormous Jade stone on the chest. Above it was a rather small troll compared with the machine, she fluttered her earfins as she looked curious at the guy



"<Y> Excuse me my good Sir, by any chance are you Sielus Shales? I came here to take your request! I'm a brand new Flighter who got her license just a sweep ago, so I could be of help maybe? ~"

looking up at the enormous mech, and having to squint a bit to see the troll on top of it, Sielus gave a smile and waved to the pilot, fluttering his fins back, this night just got a whole lot better it seems

ﾒ_0 well hell0 there, i didn't really expect ss0me0ne w0uld really take that j0b, i guessss im sstill lucky then, yess im SSieluss, and wh0 might y0u be missss flighter?

<Y> About taking your request... Is not like I have another choice either, one sling is being a Flighter and other is being licensed to do Job Request from the Requests Boards unless they're open for the general public, yah see. I want to form a Rescue Team to help anyone who had played FLARP and is in need now! Yet... I don't have any partner for such, so looking at your open request gives me something to do while I meet someone who wants to create a team. Yah wanna be a Flighter, uh? I'm the troll yah need! I graduated with honors and all that fuzz, I'm a bookworm, hehe. Oh, my bad, I haven't even introduced me! I'm Albali Kursal! a pleasure Sir Shales! ~

She got off of her robot and offered her hand to him as she now fluttered her fins in happiness.

stepping off his rock, Sielus accepted the other seadwellers hand in kind with his still fleshy hand, taking in her appearance and garb.

ﾒ_0 like wisse, itss awess0me that ya g0nna help me with thiss sstudying sstuff, i cant really aff0rd t0 pay an0ther entrance fee again next ssweep, ss0 thiss might be my lasst ssh0t t0 be a flighter. ss0 thankss in advance

thinking for a moment, forgetting that he was still shaking her hand, he mulled over the possibility's of what a 'rescue team' meant

ﾒ_0 ssay, that team y0u menti0ned, what iss that ab0ut? d0ess it pay well?

<Y> Yah seem interested in a rescue team, uh? I can explain yah better details if yah come to my hive! Yah have anywhere to stay in the first place?My airship is not that big but it can host 2 trolls rather fine so, if yah gonna be my apprentice yah shall be near for the training! ~

She kept shaking his had not really caring he was still do, until his metallic arm called her attention but decided not to ask about it yet.

<Y> Yah better climb my loyal mech! His name is Vasuki and he has been my life companion along with orcamom. Oh, is your lusus around? I can tell my mom to look for they~

Albali took a whistle she had hanging and hiding on her ascot and called, in the sky, and a lovely young female sky dweller orca came from a cloud and got into the water

looking out over the water at the lusus that just fell from the sky, sielus couldn't help but stare in awe, taking a few moments to realize that Albali had asked him a question, a few questions actually



ﾒ_0 0h! err yeah, sserpent dad iss ar0und here ss0mewhere, he likess t0 keep t0 the 0cean m0sstly th0, he'ss a bit big t0 fit in t0 a n0rmal hive. ah, and i d0 ss0rta sstill have a hive, i jusst need t0 dig it 0ut 0f the cliff it crasshed in t0, life lessss0n, never fall assleep while ssailing...

he gave a little grin at the small joke

ﾒ_0 ss0 yeah, id l0ve ta vissit ya hive, that mech l00kss pretty ssweet t00, i d0n't think ive sseen a m0del like it

he continued as he walked around the mech, drinking in its design, sielus didn't know a lot about mechs aside basic operations in the testing models, but he could tell this one was pretty unique, following her instructions he climbed up on the mech and sat where the thought a passenger might sit

ﾒ_0 apprentice huh? thiss ssh0uld be fun~

Albali gave instructions to her mom about Sielus' lusus while he was looking at Vasuki.

... SSemss like you enjoy what you're looking at, kid...

Albali giggled at what Vasuki said, is not like anyone could hear him...

It would be a good lesssson for this guy if we help him to resscue hiss hive, don't you think Albali?

<Y> That's a good idea! Sielus, by any chance can we go where your hive is? This could be yah first lesson as flighter and Rescuer! ~

sielus cocked his head to the side, rescue his hive ship? well if that's what she wants to do, then he guessed he better comply

ﾒ_0 itss l0dged under a cliff ab0ut a mile n0rth 0f here

he called pointing south, his lack of direction acting up again

ﾒ_0 it might n0t fl0at anym0re but i guessss it w0uld be better 0ff ssunk then sstuck 0n ss0me r0ck inviting a accident t0 a curi0uss tr0ll

But that'ss not the north you fool!

<Y> erm... Are yah sure of the direction pal? You said "North" but you're pointing to the south so...

Said Albali as she made her way into Vasuki, actually Sielus was sitting in the pilot seat, the robots for Flighters are not mean to carry more that 1 troll so they were in a sort of uncomfortable situation

<Y> ... We have to get you a mecha as soon as possible, Vasuki won't do it for we both as my own hive could do...

ﾒ_0 0h, really? heh that'ss a bit embarrassssing... i meant that way th0

blushing a bit with shame he pointed south again, the way he had walked from when his hive crashed. realiseing where he was sitting, Sielus shifted back as far as he could go so Albali could still pilot with relative comfort

ﾒ_0 heh, when i passss the exam and get my licensse, then i'll be auth0rized t0 get 0ne fr0m the imperial f0rcess, unlessss y0u kn0w a black market dealer?

<Y> I shall lose some weight too... anyways, I always owned Vasuki, yah see... He is not even a model from the imperial fleet, he is... well, him! Unless yah want to apply for the imperial fleet as well, yah must get your own mech. The payment done when applying on the exam is for borrowing the mechas they have, it will be cheaper if you present the exam with yours, tho is hard to find people willing to built one out of scratch... ~

Albali... You're quite redundant in your sspeech! Look at the poor guy, he lackss ssensse of direction and your blathering just confussess him more. Sso, I sshall fly to where he iss pointing, right?

<Y> Ready for your first experience flying? Hold form whatever you can pal and enjoy the trip!~

She then made the wings of her robot to display as it started to float, little power canons in his sides provided the power needed to start moving at a reasonable fast speed to where Sielus was pointing to.

with Albali sitting in front of him piloting, sielus looked around for something to hold on to so he didn't fall off of Vasuki, finding nothing promising, tho moment the mech lunched it's self in tho the air, sielus wrapped his arms around the only thing he could find, Albali herself! holding her firmly but gently, he tried to distract himself from the closeness of the other with the scenery that now presented it's self to the mech and crew, but its hard to ignore hoe close he was to her.

ﾒ_0 heh, l0ssss ss0me weight if it make y0u feel better, th0 y0u l00k rather awess0me ass y0u are...

the moment he finished that sentence his cold blood turned to ice, did he really just blurt that out? oh, he hoped he didn't just offend her, maybe he could bite off his tongue to stop further comments? nah that would hurt to much

A natural reflex was getting some blush on he cheeks as soon as he wrapped her, but was her own fault for saying what she did, tho she didn't mind it that much either. And her violet tone danced as he said what he did, making her shrivel her earfins, ashamed since no one had complemented her ever.

<Y> ?! heheh... Thank yah for the kind words, Sir... Yet, if we're gonna use Vasuki for short trips and missions, I should or we won't fit inside him, tho... Your metallic arm is pretty cold actually. What happened to yah to get it? ~

ﾒ_0 0h! ss0rry ab0ut that

sielus shifted his hand placement so it rested on top of his own so it wasnt touching her so much

ﾒ_0 i g0t waylaid in the f0resst 0nce by a very territ0rial indig0 tr0ll, it g0t very vi0lent fasst and ended in ss0mething like a draw, i managed t0 get away but l0sst my arm in the pr0cessss, i think he ate it later becausse i ss0metime'ss get ss0me really weird c0mpulssi0nss t0 d0 sstuff, there eassy t0 sshake 0ff but very sspecific and 0ut 0f place, like 'g0 eat my weight in h00f beasst meat' while im playing FLARP, but i left my 0wn sscarss 0n him ass well ss0 im ssatissfied. g0t me a new handy arm with ss0me b0nuss featuress ass a c0nss0lati0n prize

Albali seem to shiver at the very idea of eating another troll's flesh

<Y> Welp, to be a good fligther yah have to be skilled in close combat so that could count as experience, tho we will have training as well. So is good to hear yah left some regards to that indigo, heheheh, and I could imagine how awesome that arm of yours is, I mean, look at my friend!~ -She said as she papped the side of her robot, and it sort of... purred?- <Y> Also, something that called my attention is your eye, did yah lost it in that fight too?~

ﾒ_0 0h, heh, that wass fr0m a different tr0ll, sstill have n0 idea what their deal wass, back a few ssweepss a tr0ll br0ke in t0 my hive and and attacked me, kn0cked me 0ut and dragged me 0ff ss0mewhere, i d0n't remember much 0f what happen then, m0sst i can remember iss that i wass in a lab 0f ss0me ss0rt with the ssame tr0ll p0keing me with ssmall knivess bef0re i passssed 0ut again, w0ke up again back in my hive in a p00l 0f my 0wn bl00d, c0vered in cutss, and missssing my right eye...

sielus shuddered at the memory, how helpless he was against the unknown attacker

ﾒ_0 ss0 when i wass well en0ugh t0 m0ve again i m0ved hive'ss t0 a sship and sstayed 0n the 0cean, th0 that diddnt w0rk 0ut ss0 well ass y0ur ab0ut t0 ssee

<Y> Golly! You've been in a lot of stuff pal, the most harcorde stuff I've ever done is being a FLARP player so far, with little scars here and there, but not much of anything else since I kept studying and training for the Flighter exa-- wow! is that your hive!?

They were soon to arrive to whenre Sielus had his hive stuck, and Albali started questioning things in her mind

I won't be able to take that out not breaking it in piecess, look how bad it landed there Albali!

the 'hive' was in fact a schooner class ship, wedged between two huge rocks beneath the cliff, with a third impaling its rear section and pining it in place. sielus looked at the ship grimly, he doubted if it would ever float again, even if they were able to get it out of there with out damaging it further.

ﾒ_0 heh, i ssure kn0w h0w t0 crassh a sship, it d0essn't l00k t0 g00d right n0w, th0 there iss ss0me gear 0n b0ard that might be handy? i sseri0ussly d0n't think we can ssave the sship ssadly

Albali flew around the ship giving a look at it, indeed, not much could be saved, but she won't leave her client abandoned! This was her first mission before becoming a Recuer so she was up to give her best and help him all she could.

<Y> There, there... What about yah start taking off the goodies you think could be saved and I fast for my own hive? Yah can save things on The Caelus for a while as yah find a new place to live in! ~

ﾒ_0 heh, that w0uld be awess0me, thankss Albali, ill make thiss up t0 y0u after thiss, maybe a r0und at the pub?

chuckling a bit at his half serous joke, sielus waited until the mech was about to pass over the shipwreck before hopping up out of the shared seat, rolling back on to the body of the robot and sliding off the side, down to the deck of the ship. it wasn't until he landed on the deck that he realized the what he just did was incredibly dangerous. hoping he wouldn't get a scolding, he looked up at Albali on the mech and gave her a thumbs up to let her know he was fine

WHAT IN THE NAME OF HECK IS HE DOING!? ALBALI, SAY SOMETHING!

<Y> SIR SHALES! WHAT...!?

All what she ended doing was double facepalming and containing the laughs till she was sure herself he landed fine, she then gave a glance down where he was and gave him a thumbs up back and made Vasuki to get the flight again. A short while later the Orca he saw first arrived and started to float/fly in circles around Sielus' ship, maybe Albali was about to arrive too.

watching Albali leave on the the mech, sielus gave a short wave then set to work gathering his things together, a job that didn't take very long using his erratic yet uber spaceous modus to capatchlog whole box's and furniture, despite the fact you might never see it again with how glitchy it was. by the time he had finished cleaning out the ship and returned to the deck, sielus saw that Albali's lusus was now circling overhead, which still amazed him

taking the Orca's appearance as a signal that Albali would be arriving soon, sielus decided to lay down on the deck and watched the lusus while he waited

Out of curiosity, Orcamom flew closer and closer to the point of giving her side to him and staring at him with such a curious light in her eyes, then, she nuzzled him softly and gave some happy cries that just other lusii would understand.

As soon as she did, a rather big airship with a sort of menacing globe broke into the place. It landed on the water a bit far away and then made its way back to where Sielus and his ship were, Albali could be seen from the control cabin waving at Sielus.