Preparing For Launch/Cygnus

And he survived.

Maybe his negotiation skills weren't all that bad at the end of the day, as even among those powerful titans and gods, he managed to still use his sharp tongue and walk away not only with his life, but with a brand new spacepod. Of course it wasn't the top tier mothership with Gravity Chamber he was hoping to steal on the first place, but all things considered, the tiny spacepod was better than the one he had stolen from that stupid saiyan monkey a few weeks ago. He couldn't wait until he got the hell out of Planet Bris. The memories this place brought to him were nothing but terrible and yet, he was there. Life could be quite messy and unpredictable he had to admit, but part of the beauty on it was that the next day would always be a mystery, for good or for worse.

Right now his "faction" was nothing but a joke, especially after meeting those titans the day before, he thought that maybe he should give up on his plans, but such thought was quickly swoop away from his mind as he had a spark. "As a matter of fact it's quite the opposite! With so many powerhouses around the universe in this era, my goals will be more easily accomplished! I will likely be under their radar and when they least expect, years from now, they will be licking my boots and begging me for a bargain on a planet. Yes... One day I will work my way around them! Hehe. Just wait and see. I'm patient, I've always been patient!" and to think about such a scenario was enough to get him in high spirits again, and high spirits always demanded some wine!

After getting into a local bar and talking his way with the Rana bartender, he managed to sneak away with the bottle without the need to pay. Obviously they would later realized they were scammed, but he would be far gone from this place by them. In any case, with the downfall of his race, he was delighted with how much he could get away with as nobody remembered which clans were considered royalty and which clans were considered scum. "Serves them right. My race should suffer. In the end, I don't give a shit about them. I will build my own lineage and I will even name ourselves something else. Gone are the days of the Kolds." and he smiled between a sip and another. Annoyed him the fact that a gentleman such as himself as lowering himself to drink from the bottle, and not a glass, but not everything was perfect at all times.

Finally, after taking some time, he made it to the docks, where Lemo was still struggling with his lame ass excuse of a ship. He approached with a gentle smile on his face, grabbing the water mug near his working station and throwing away whatever the crap he was drinking while working, and poured some of his stolen wine in it. "Alas, my friend, a toast!" he said, making himself noticed. "For you won't have to dirty your hands with the monkey pod anymore!" he said in a theatrical tone, not explaining the reason why his work was not needed anymore yet; he liked the aura of mystery.

It bothered him midly that his companion didn't have a good taste for alcohol, preferring to drink things that were more akin to spaceship fuel rather than a decently brewed and aged wine in a barrel made with wood from the Tree of Life. His race was good at brewing wine, he had to give them that, but that was one of the few positive traits they had and not enough to put them in his bight spot whatsoever. "Enjoy a good taste in your mouth, my friend! Maybe one day I can educate you in the delicate art of oenology." and even him knew that hoping Lemo to acquire a sophisticate taste was wishful thinking, but what was he if not a dreamer?

The news of the stolen pod were as bad as he expected, but that didn't bother him anymore and he chuckled, disregarding that ship completely with a wave of his hand as he took another long and tasteful sip of his wine. "Fear not, my dearest mechanic, for your skills will no longer be wasted on the filthy monkey pod! As I said, I found us a... Well, rather underwhelming but yet a appeasing solution to this little... Inconvenience of ours!" he continued, on his naturally dramatic tone, taking a pause to pour some more wine in his cup as he requested it on his naturally etiquette lacking ways. "And worry not, for I managed to do this with the magic of my tongue and with no ill will that can backfire on us! A glorious day, my friend! A first step, yet tiny, towards our dreams of wealth and prosperity!" he said, spreading his arms open with a large smile on his face.

Chuckling once again, he finally revealed his tiny accomplishment. "I was gifted a ship from the person who is currently pulling the strings in this Planet!" he revealed, quickly revealing the controller to the spacepod that was hidden inside his armour. With the press of a button, a brand-new spacepod ignited nearby. It was small, yes, but it was top tier with amazing technology, a real piece of art. "You see? This is but the beginning!" and as underwhelming as it was, Cygnus seemed to be really satisfied with that, which was quite odd, considering he came with the goal of stealing a much larger ship, but he would quickly begin to explain. "And the other good news is... The Kolds fell from grace. They no longer rule this place or have an Empire to call it their own. Isn't that fantastic?! Hohoho!" he laughed in delight as he drank from the bottle one more time.

Cygnus didn't seem bothered by Lemo's more pressing concerns and just laughed at that. "Ohohohohoho, but us acquiring our wealth is an imminent fact, my friend! But what is wealth if we can't allow ourselves to enjoy the simple pleasures of life?" he added before introducing the new ship. The fact that Lemo liked the ship at first look was enough for him to be at peace with its quality; Cygnus, although a space pirate, was not the most acknowledged at craftsmanship and ship mechanics. He was an okay pilot, yes, and he could do some small, emergency repairs, but that was pretty much the extent of his ability and knowledge, and the approval of a seasoned mechanic such as Lemo meant that the Vampire did live up to her end of the bargain. Of course she would come to collect, but hopefully by the day she came he would either be far from her grasp so he could just not fulfill his promise, or powerful enough so it wouldn't cost him dearly to do so. Either scenarios were fine by him and he would bother himself with the issue when it came, not before.

"And that's why you do the crafting and I..." he touched his chest and bowed theatrically, as if he was standing on a stage in front of a huge crowd. "Do the talking!" he finished by saying that, only to take another large sip of his bottle of wine. He raised his index finger, stopping him from complaining about his pattern, and quickly added a better explanation. "I struck a bargain with the new ruler of this place. A simple thing, and she gifted me that masterpiece. As simple as that. Of course it will have a future cost, but if everything flows according to plan, we might be able to prevent her from collecting the favour. But that's something to be mindful in the future since, as you wisely pointed out, we have more pressing concerns!" he said, cracking a large grin on his thin lips.

To be fair, Cygnus was oblivious to the fate of Earth and he was glad for that. That tiny planet, although wealth in resources, was a magnet for problems. "A wrecked galaxy is a galaxy of opportunity to the now underdogs such as ourselves, dear Lemo." he slyly pointed out, chuckling lightly, and when asked who was in charge and if he was big, he laughed. "Ohohohoho! Au contraire!" he shook his head. "She is a odd looking Vampire lady. Beautiful I assume, for those monkey looking creatures, as she had many servants. But her Power Level. Oh lord, It was one of the highest I've ever sensed. And the most scary part was, she managed to make it vanish completely, but at the same time, the pressure form her energy was choking!" and that was the best way he could describe what she called a "God form". "Way out of our league I take, but for that we should be glad, as she didn't see me as a threat and was actually absurdly kind. Some sense of regal etiquette, one I can easily mimic, though I come from mud. Hohohoho!" and he laughed at the fact that, despite his rich tastes, he was originally from a lower clan, and everybody back at their day new that as he made it no secret.

Cygnus quickly nodded in agreement. "You are most definitely right, my friend. We won't weasel out unless we have the resources to back it up, no. But if we can, why not? Hohoho! A free gift is always more profitable, and while enemies are unwanted, they come with the job, don't you agree?" he said, shrugging with a carefree smile on his face. Cygnus was not carefree at all, he was a true survivor and he knew how to play the game in order to keep himself - and with luck his allies - alive, and he wouldn't make foolish choices to jeopardize something as priceless as living, but he was also someone who liked to come out on top and if he could get away with it, nine times out of ten he would do it; it was just within his treacherous nature. And also, he was quite clever. This docking bay was quite forsaken, one of the lowest and least secured, and that was precisely why he docked there in the first place and also why he requested his gift to be delivered there, so he and his ally could talk without the fear of being spied upon.

It was all according to plan - kind of - until now, and he was happy.

A final sip of his wine until he just threw it to the side, ignoring the cracking bottle and the wreck it left; he couldn't give two shits about this stupid planet and his stupid people. If anything he desired them to suffer under a tyrannical rule, but the Vampire lady didn't strike him as the most ruthless of rulers, though he wouldn't like to cross her right at this moment. In any case, the remarks of Lemo were quite right and he nodded again. "It's quite saddening that we cannot outlive her, as her kin has quite the long lifespan... But who knows, my dear friend. There are many powerhouses in this universe and they don't tend to like each other. But yes... She is quite the scary creature, although still capable of providing a decent opportunity for conversation and negotiation. So... If anything, I think we are lucky it was her, and not another, that is now ruling this place." and he feared the idea of a saiyan in her place. He didn't think he could survive such an encounter.

As for their next destination, he already had something in mind. "Well, I think it would be wise for us to go to a faraway place, so if the favour is asked for, we can have some excuses to take our time and prepare." he explained, walking towards his new pod and touching it with his right hand, mildly satisfied with the gift; again, it was no mothership, but also no junk. "Namek!" he exclaimed, before turning his eyes to stare at the Apel once more. "What do you think? I've heard they are taking everyone in these chaotic days! Opportunity, friend!" he suggested as he awaited for Lemo's input; despite the gap in power and his more natural role as a leader, Cygnus was known for taking into account his allies opinions and sometimes even be swinged by it; he was quite the chill Kold to deal with, unlike most of his kin.

Back at the glorious days of the Planet Trade Organization, they could easily call for back up whenever they found themselves outnumbered. It was quite handy to have such a tool at their disposal. Moreover, their crew was much bigger and their resources far better. Motherships, Gravity Chambers, training facilities (despite the fact that Cygnus never really liked training often, he could recognize the perks it could bring to one aiming so high), they had everything. Now they had but two and a half spacepods and nothing else. It was a rough start, but it was a start nonetheless, and he wouldn't let his spirits come down because of that, greatness was waiting for them. "We are on our own for now, dear Lemo. Soon enough we will be able to recruit new members to our glorious cause! Don't lack faith, old friend!" he said with a confident smile on his thin lips and shortly after that he nodded. "And of course you are right! We need to be civil for now. We need allies, even if the bargain does not favour us at the moment. We need to know where we aim to be, but never forgetting the position we are currently occupying." he added.

He couldn't help but to laugh when Lemo went down to the "no offence to your home world" route and he waved his hand, showing he didn't really care about this place. "No offence, Lemo! I loathe this place, you know that!" he reminded him briefly, only to quickly agree with him again. "And thus why I love to have you by my side! You are quite the capable mind!" he complimented the Apel. In any case, as they continue the conversation, Cygnus' smile got a bit bitter as he mentioned the fact that the saiyans were growing there again. "They are like cockroaches, those saiyans... So hard to get rid of them." he sighed, shaking his head in annoyance, but didn't interrupt Lemo's line of thought and he nodded in agreement. "They are strong, those rascals. I wouldn't mind having one in our ranks, as long as they are kind of like me, nurturing a deeply rooted despise for their kin." he added, only to laugh at Lemo's final remark. "Hohohoho! You are priceless, Lemo! Can't appreciate some good cuisine! But to each their own, I suppose! Then, let's waste no more time!" and as he said that, he walked towards his new spacepod and, with the press of a button, he opened the door.

"We depart at once! We should be in Namek within a few days I believe." he said, with quite the enlivened look in his red eyes.

Cygnus didn't yet enter into the spacepod as he needed to finish his conversation with Lemo before it. The reason was he had lost his scouter in the battle against the saiyan who owned the old spacepod he had stolen and now he was deprived of his electronic means of communication and even though he could still use his telepathy to reach Lemo, if the Apel wanted to reach him instead he wouldn't be able to, so it would be better to just clear everything up before they departed. "I'm positive there must be some survivors. The saiyans did a very good job wiping us out, but even them can't really fully eradicate us all. Our numbers were too great and even if most our forces were heading back to Brench to fight them off, quite a few, just like us, refused to answer the call and die in vain." and that was the main source of motivation behind Cygnus not appearing there. He had defected the organization, yes, but he still had some esteem and care for it, but definitely not to the point of risking his life for a losing cause.

Then as he mentioned home, Cygnus looked around and shook his head, taking a deep breathe. "Home is what your heart makes it be. This place was never my home. I spent most of my life away from it. The closest thing I had for home was Brench and it is gone. It is what it is, and there's no solace in crying over spilled milk. We need to move on. But yes, even this place is a mess and again, I say that chaos generates opportunity. We will thrive from the ashes, my friend." and when he said that he managed to smirk with the corner of his mouth, chuckling lightly at the prospect the future had reserved for them. "And as scary as she was, this Rukia person seems reasonable enough, so yes. We may have a place to come if problems overwhelms us again, as much as I loathe the idea of ever docking in this cold orb of spite." he shrugged but without losing his smirk.

He had to agree with Lemo regarding being the remnants of the Planet Trade Organization, though and that made him think for a fer seconds, rubbing his shin with the side of his index finger and the print-side of the thumb. "I believe we should introduce ourselves as merchants. It's not a complete lie, so we can make it believable. We sell ship parts and we can get away with that due to your great knowledge. And that will be our cover, what do you think?" he asked as he finally positioned himself inside the spaceship, sitting comfortably in the one chair it had and analyzing the controls. Luckily, the controls were all familiar to him, although slightly updated and with a way better interface than what he was used to.

They were almost ready to depart.