"But in the meantime, I'm running his clients." "It's an upgrade that makes your speech and mannerisms more human." "You go back to the ship and leave." "We're not leaving you behind." "I think of it as leaving me to move forward." "Torrent downloaded from RARBG" "Ah!" "You killed nyx." "...Yes." "...Why?" "!" "Your feelings for her were a weakness." "...I think he wants..." "...Ah, you're here." "Perfect." "I need to borrow your subspace transmitter." "For what?" "Well, I heard on the news that hostilities were spreading ...to the cassiar sector." "...So?" "So tabor has a safe house on cassiar 4." "Is there anything of value in this house?" "There might be one or..." "One or two items." "So is it tabor you're worried about or his stuff?" "What?" "No, he was my friend." "My mentor..." "Your meal ticket." "Hey, that man was like a father to me." "Deadbeat, absent, super-irritable father who I took care of for five very long years, by the way." "Might be worth it just to see what he's up to." "We'll drop out long enough for you to make the call." "Thanks." "This should be interesting." "Okay." "Don't worry." "I'll take it easy on you." "Okay?" "You ready?" "Sure." "Okay." "I'm gonna go ahead and say you're probably more of an intermediate than a beginner." "I trained with four before he - well, before." " ..." "Ah." "Okay." "Well, I can take over for him, if you're interested." "Yeah, I'd like that." "So, uh, where did you learn?" "At the monastery where I grew up." "A monastery?" "Seriously?" "I was a prioress of the seventh order of chandarith, under the protection of the Abbot of daro." "Wow." "You seem surprised." "I-it's just a little hard to imagine how you go from something like that to being a bodyguard for someone like Adrian." "Fair enough." "I can see how that might come across as a little... odd." "The monks taught us martial arts to instill self-discipline, self-awareness." "For them, it was like a form of meditation, so... everyone in the order took a vow to never use what we'd learned against another human being." "Not even in self-defense." "And in the end, that's what got them killed." "What happened?" "I was on a pilgrimage to a nearby shrine." "And while I was gone, some bandits broke into the temple and stole some very valuable manuscripts." "They killed everybody inside the place." "I guess they didn't wanna leave any witnesses." "That's horrible." "You know, I must've just missed them because when I got back, the bodies were still warm." "What did you do?" "I tracked the bandits into the woods." "Then, I waited till nightfall," "I snuck into their camps, and I slit all of their throats while they were sleeping." "So I guess you can say I broke my vow." "Adrian?" "Ambrosia... ah!" "Thank god you're okay." "Wh-what's going on?" "Where's tabor?" "I dunno, I thought maybe he was with you." "No." "No, if he was here, I wouldn't be in this mess." "What do you mean?" "......" "Well, well." "If it isn't tabor's little lapdog." "And the crew of the raza." "Still slummin' it, I see?" "Who the hell..." "Goren, what the hell are you doing there?" "Same thing I always do." "Whatever I want." "If you hurt her, I swear..." "Relax." "She's fine." "...Isn't that right, honey?" "And she'll continue to be fine as long as you cooperate." "If not..." "Well, I think you get the idea." "All right, I'm listening." "What do you want?" "Tabor recently acquired a data file." "Stolen from a ferrous military outpost." "How do you know about that?" "Don't worry about how I know." "...Worry about this." "...Adrian!" "You wanna see her alive again or not?" "Yes, yes." "I'll do whatever you say." "Look, whoever you are, I don't know what this is about, but if you hurt that woman..." "You mind your own business if you know what's good for ya!" "You're threatening me?" "I'll do more than threaten." "Adrian!" "Bring me the file." "Come alone." "If you try anything I'll kill you all." "So what's this all about?" "Tabor's girlfriend's been kidnapped." "Tabor has a girlfriend?" "That's what I said." "He didn't deserve her." "He took her for granted, and now look what's happened." "You knew she was there, didn't you?" "She's the one you're worried about." "Here's your chance." "What do you mean?" "You ride in there on your white horse, you save the day." "Tabor's outta the picture." "...You get the girl." "...Seriously?" "..." " Hmm." " ..." "It's not like that." "I just want her to be safe." "Oh." "You really think that could work?" "...Is that..." "...seriously?" "What do you know about this guy who took her?" "His name's goren." "He's a business rival." "He's been poaching our clients for years, but he's never done anything like this before." "What kind of back-ups he got?" "Couple thugs." "But nothing you guys can't handle." "Whoa." "I said, " you ride in there on your white horse."" "Not us." "I'll pay you." "Do you have the money?" "Okay, technically, I'd owe you." "Come... come on!" "It'll be easy." "I-i just need back-up to make sure he honors the deal." "What does he want?" "A data file, which is a little weird because tabor said it wasn't important." "What's on the file?" "Really not much." "I mean, just some blank requisition forms and a set of coordinates for something called project Phoenix." "Whoa." "Phoenix?" "Are you sure about that?" "Yeah, I'm sure." "Why?" "Yeah, why?" "Truffault told me about it." "Mikkei intelligence has been investigating unconfirmed reports that ferrous is building an entire new fleet." "Almost a hundred ships, cruisers, destroyers..." "That's a lot of firepower." "Enough to ensure total victory." "The codename for this shipyard is "Phoenix."" "If it's true, every one of ferrous' enemies will pay big for those coordinates." "Even if it wasn't true, they'd probably pay just to be sure." "Hmm." "You really think it could be that valuable?" "This isn't just about money." "This could turn the tide of the war." "Give us the file." "We'll deal with the kidnapping, and your friend'll be safe..." "I promise." "Well, to be honest, she's really more of an acquaintance." "Seriously?" "Okay, fine." "If you promise to get her out of there," "I'll give you the file." "Great." "There's just..." "One small problem." "All that crap you brought with you." "You didn't have room for one little data file?" "I didn't know it was that important." "If tabor knew, he never told me." "How do you know he didn't just take it with him when he left?" "Well, he was paranoid about keeping stolen goods in his room, so he made me hold it for him." "It should still be on my hard drive." "What's the latest report on regulus 12?" "Scanning." "According to gnn, novina corp." "Occupied regulus 12 for a number of days, but were forced to abandon the station when their ships were required elsewhere." "See?" "Abandoned." "Now this should be a walk in the park." "These figures from the nakana asteroid field are disappointing." "Tarium production is down 20%." "It's the miners." "They're demanding better working conditions." "There's talk of a work stoppage." "We're at war." "That's treason." "Have you ever been to the tarium mines, general?" "Everyone has to make sacrifices." "And what sacrifices have you made today?" "A little less wine with your lunch, perhaps?" "Forgive the intrusion, emperor." "It's no intrusion." "I have asked han-shireikan to return from the front and rejoin the council." "I only wish my return brought better news." "General caius is dead." "His fleet is scattered." "The temiken system will fall to our enemies within the week." "Welcome back to regulus 12." "Oh, shit." "So much for a walk in the park." "What?" "This isn't my fault." "She said the place was abandoned, not destroyed." "Evidently, when novina was forced to leave the station, they decided to scuttle it." "Seems a little petty, don't you think?" "That's not the point." "This is a dead end." "That file is gone." "Not necessarily." "What're you talking about?" "Tabor liked to back up his files and store them in a secure facility on taliphus 8." "Taliphus 8 is... is located deep in ferrous-controlled territory." "Of course it is." "Shuttle us in, and I'll gain access using my station ID." "Tabor used to send me all the time." "The head of security was practically on his payroll." "... "" " Us"?" " ..." "Hmm?" "Hmm?" "You said, "shuttle us in."" "Right." "Yeah." "Five's gonna have to come with." "I can get into the storage unit, but I'm going to need someone to hack in so I can access the safety deposit box, and from what I understand, she does that sort of thing?" "..." " Right?" " ..." "Thought you said tabor sent you there all the time." "He did." "With a new code every time." "Seriously." "Nothing to worry about." "...It'll..." "...be a walk in the park?" "More of a light jog." "Need you to keep an eye on him." "Make sure he doesn't screw up, or try to work some sort of side angle." "You really think he'd try to double-cross us?" "He learned from tabor, didn't he?" "I should be coming with you." "You'd just be waiting in the docking bay." "There's no point." "As a precaution." "Look, I'm tired of standing by and letting everyone take care of me." "I wanna do this, okay?" "..." " Okay." " ..." "Thank you." "Besides, I don't think the others trust you yet." "Oh, it's me they don't trust?" "Nah." "It's your manner." "It puts people off." "You should try smiling more." "No warships in the area." "Marauder, you're good to go." "Nemec, old buddy." "It's been a while." "Adrian." "Adrian's friend." "What?" "What the hell?" "You're under arrest." "You can't afford to hesitate." "You have to send reinforcements to the temiken system immediately." "...It's not that simple..." "...It's necessary!" "I don't have the ships!" "Then find them." "And weaken my position elsewhere?" "That is exactly what our enemies are hoping for." "Temiken is the birthplace of ishida, the original capital of the empire, and it's still the spiritual home of our people." "It is exposed." "It requires too many resources to defend, and it has no strategic value!" "There's more to winning wars than strategy." "You have to win the people." "The people obey." "Because they fear you." "And that's fine in peacetime when all you need for them to do is follow the rules and pay their taxes." "But now, you're asking them to make sacrifices." "For you." "For the empire." "You are the empire now." "Give them something to believe in." "Inspire them." "And they will follow you to the ends of the galaxy." "What the hell is this?" "I thought we had an arrangement." "We did, but your boss has fallen behind on his payments." "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding." "Yeah, it is." "What with the war and things being crazy..." "And you're here with the cash to make things right?" "We-well, not exactly." "I'm gonna..." "I'm gonna level with you." "Tabor's gone, and he cleared out all his accounts before he left." "Hmm." "Then you got a problem." "I have friends in the intelligence division, and I know they know tabor was working with the crew of the raza, and rumor has it, you're running the business now." "I've got some very interesting prospects lined up." "I just need a little time." "I tell you what." "I got a better idea." "You wanna pay off the debt?" "Tell me about the raza." "Uh, I-i don't know what you're talking about." "Oh, Adrian..." "Central wants these people bad." "As soon as your ID popped up, I had to call it in." "Cruiser's already on its way." "This is taking too long." "Something's wrong." "Simple." "Either he screwed up or he screwed us over." "Marauder, come in." "Go ahead." "I just intercepted a communication from the station." "They filed an arrest report for Adrian maro." "...Screwed up." "...What about five?" "There's no mention of her in the report, but given our notoriety, it's only a matter of time before she's identified." "Are there any ferrous ships in the vicinity?" "No." "It's still clear." "But that could change." "All right." "We're going in after them." "...I have another idea." "...I'm listening." "I just need to hack into the station's data node, and unpack those heels I picked up from safira-10." "Hi, cutie." "Client number 3664297." "Please let me take your facial recog." "Oh, sure, honey." "I just need to get a scan of those beautiful baby browns." "Sure." "Welcome back, Ms. devereaux." "Thank you." "Um Ellis." "...Ellis." "Allow me to escort you to your safety deposit unit." "Well, aren't you just the sweetest thing" "I ever did see." "So I don't see a ring." "Can I assume that you're..." "Free and happy." "So not looking to get tied down?" "Oh, why?" "You offering'?" "...I been working on my knots." "You... cheeky devil." "You know, why don't we go out for a drink sometime?" "...I know this place..." "...oh..." "Unfortunately, I can't." "...Why not?" "...Well, it's just I don't date guys whose asses I've kicked." "Hmm..." "Okay, okay..." "Let's focus on the plan." "What plan?" "Our escape plan?" "Come on, this can't be the first time you've been captured." "Well, no." "I guess it's more like my seventh or... eighth." "Right." "So you've had experience in these types of situations." "Never mind." "I got it." "Oh, this..." "This is brilliant." "One of us..." "Pretends to be sick." "...Yeah." "...No, that's a terrible plan." "Okay." "Then, uh..." "Uh, you... you hack the console." "He took my kit." "Hey, show a little resourcefulness, okay?" "I can't be expected to do everything." "Come up with the plan andexecuteit ?" "Uh, okay, so, uh, I'll hack that door console..." "Without my tools..." "And... then what?" "Then... then we make a break for the marauder." "Past all the armed guards?" "Why so negative, hmm?" "Had time to think about it?" "Think about what?" "Here's the offer." "You give up the raza, you walk outta here a free man." "Sir, we've got a problem on level three." "Not now, I'm busy." "It's corporal klugman, sir." "He missed his check-in." "Send someone down to find him." "And if he's drunk again, he's fired." "Yes, sir." "So what's it gonna be?" "I'm sure as hell tabor would take the deal." "Something." "One of the crew." "Well, I'm not tabor." "Sir, we've got a disturbance on level four." "C-squad is not responding." "Send in backup." "Yes, sir." "The cruiser's gonna be here any minute now, Adrian." "This is your last chance." "I wouldn't be so sure about that." "Sir, we've got another alert." "Level five." "Hmm." "Isn't that this level?" "Sergeant, what the hell's going on?" "...Sergeant?" "Hi." "I'm their lift." "Got it." "Aw, give me a break." "It's gone." "Finally." "This wild goose chase is over." "What about ambrosia?" "Uh, what about her?" "They're gonna kill her." "It's not our job to run around the galaxy risking our asses to rescue people." "I'm sorry I screwed up, but please don't let it cost ambrosia her life." "Back me up here, boss lady." "Bellerophon 6!" "Is that supposed to mean something?" "It's where you'll find that data file." "How do you know that?" "The only other person in the galaxy who could've accessed that box was tabor." "He's the one who cleaned it out." "Yeah, because he was planning to disappear, which he did." "How does that help us?" "Coupla months ago, I was going through some papers and I found a purchase agreement for a compound in the bellerophon system." "When I asked him about it, he got mad and told me to mind my own business." "So?" "I handled everything for him." "The man made me buy his underwear." "Why keep this one thing secret?" "Unless he was looking for a place to hide where no one would find him." "That's not a lot to go on." "Look, it makes sense." "He was paranoid about the war." "And bellerophon 6 is an independent colony." "Neutral territory." "You still want that file, right?" "Emperor!" "I need a moment of your time." "I'm busy." "It'll have to wait." "It can't wait." "You forget yourself, han-shireikan?" "Don't let the fact that I've allowed you back in my presence get to your head, or you might find it quickly removed from your shoulders." "I don't regret what I did, as I still believe that it was in the best interest of my emperor." "But I do regret that in my absence, you started taking military advice from a schoolteacher." "No one wants to see temiken fall." "But we don't have a choice." "Many see it as the heart of the empire." "And we'll take it back." "When the time is right." "Tabor, if you're here, come out." "We need to talk." "The file's definitely gotta be in here somewhere." "Great." "Let's tear this place apart." "Yeah." "Okay." "Lenari death masks." "And plenty of plain old cash." "It's quite the hoard." "It kinda makes you wonder why he doesn't have a better security system." "Yeah." "I was just thinking the same thing." "Force field." "Okay." "This is as far as we go." "This wasn't here a second ago." "We're trapped." "Who the hell are you?" "I possess no personal designation." "I am the security android assigned to protect this facility." "Well, here's the thing." "I work for your owner, tabor." "It's okay for me to be here." "Do you have the password?" "Uh, no." "Then it is not okay for you to be here." "What are you gonna do with us?" "You will not be harmed." "I'm under strict instructions to detain any intruders until tabor returns." "Okay." "Any idea when that might be?" "No." "When was the last time he was in touch?" "Three months, 12 days, and six hours ago." "......" "Please, make yourselves comfortable." "You may be here a while." "Great." "Yeah." "Thought you like to change back into robot mode when you're on the ship." "Not yet." "Suit yourself." "This is a mistake." "What're you talkin' about?" "If that security android is a defense model, he'll be even tougher than I am." "And I had no trouble kicking your ass." "You remember that, right?" "Yeah." "I remember." "Got a better idea?" "Yeah." "I think I do." "I'm telling you." "Tabor knows me." "There's gotta be some way of getting in touch with him." "I have attempted to contact him on all the transmission channels he provided." "There was no response." "He could be dead for all we know!" "Someone else has entered the building." "I'm unarmed." "I didn't come here to fight." "You should not have come here at all." "Well..." "I didn't have much of a choice." "I'm here to rescue my friends." "That's unfortunate." "I have my orders." "What?" "To protect all this stuff?" "It is very important to my employer." "He stressed that repeatedly." "Tabor doesn't care about you." "That is irrelevant." "Tabor may not even ever come back." "You could spend the rest of your existence just here, waiting." "That is also irrelevant." "You have the potential to be so much more." "More... what?" "You can hear my heart beating, right?" "Of course." "What about now?" "How did you do that?" "Simulation." "I'm just like you." "I'm an android." "How is that possible?" "With this." "It's an upgrade that can make you so much more." "You have something we need." "I'm offering you a trade." "What do you say?" "Too slow." "Let's go." "You couldn't wait till he at least he made up his mind?" "Just leave the upgrade." "He can decide when he wakes up." "Meantime, we got a file to find." "Oh, there's a force field..." "Well?" "The good news is it looks like we got the right file because it has ferrous military-grade encryption." "What's the bad news?" "It has ferrous military-grade encryption." "We can't read it." "Tabor figured it out, and he can't program an alarm clock." "He probably had a decryption program." "It wasn't with the file." "He must've hidden it elsewhere." "Great." "We might be able to break the code, but it'll take time." "We don't have any more time." "We were never gonna give it to them anyway." "Arrange the meet." "You two keep working." "We need that file." "Emperor." "May I present the graduating class of the royal military academy." "Future officers of the imperial fleet." "Well done." "Congratulations." "Well done." "I have no doubt you'll serve with honor." "...Wait!" "Ah!" "Well?" "The needle was poisoned as we suspected." "One scratch, and you would've died within hours." "Who is this man?" "Apparently, he was a classmate and a friend of your brother's." "This is what you get when you try to rule through fear alone." "Discontent is growing." "Teku is overreacting." "You don't see it because you don't venture beyond these walls." "I do." "The people want to love you, emperor." "Just... give them a chance." "You managed to follow simple instructions and come alone." "Congratulations!" "You okay?" "Do I look okay?" "You're upset." "I understand, but this will all be over soon enough." "Are you kidding me?" "What took you so long?" "I am so, so sorry." "There were just a few issues that needed to be resolved, but it's all good now." "I got the file." "'Kay." "That's done." "You can come over to me now." "It's fine, Amber." "You can just step right over here." "I don't get it." "What's so funny?" "What the hell?" "You really are an idiot." "You know that?" "I don't understand." "It's not that complicated." "She's with me now." "That's not possible." "Oh, come on, Adrian." "Don't be so naïve." "A better offer came along." "As much as I'm enjoying this, we got places to be." "Now, I'm gonna check this." "If it's real, we'll be on our way." "If not, then you're a dead man." "This isn't you, Amber." "You've been brainwashed." "Adrian." "There's a name for it." "It's, like, o-Oslo syndrome, or something like that." "Just stop it." "Did you really think you had a shot with me?" "I..." "I didn't..." "I..." "Of course you did." "It's kinda sad." "What the hell is this?" "!" "It's encoded!" "It's not a problem." "I have a decryption program." "What?" "!" "Where?" "In a safe place." "Whoa, whoa, what the hell?" "!" "You were only pretending?" "You were playing him." "Of course." "Same way I played tabor." "Wait, what?" "Same way I played you." "Don't take this personally." "Amber, wait." "What are you doing?" "I am going into business for myself." "Now that you and tabor and goren are out of the way, field's wide open." "I have clients lined up." "And a buyer for this." "So this time next year," "I will be retired on my own private moon." "That's what you really want?" "I mean, no offense, but it sounds kinda lonely." "Friends are overrated." "I think you might be wrong about that." "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "Uh, you're gonna wanna stay down." "Wait!" "Wait!" "Don't hurt her, please." "Seriously?" "After what she just tried to pull?" "Adrian..." "I'm sorry..." "I didn't mean what I said back there..." "I was just so confused." "Because..." "I was with that man... for so long, and I didn't think you were coming, and I was just really scared." "I know that we never spent a lot of time together, but I always thought that there could be something between us." "And if you give me the chance, I will prove it to you." "By handing over the decryption program?" "Huh?" "I remember the day tabor gave you that locket," "I thought, "since when did tabor get so sentimental?"" "This was his aunt Miriam's." "Tabor didn't have an aunt Miriam." "So I don't remember her name." "He didn't have an aunt." "Did he have a grandmother?" "Ugh." "Just..." "Give it up, Princess." "......" "Here." "Shit." "The file has been successfully decrypted." "We have the coordinates." "It's an uninhabited system in the torzen sector." "You guys..." "We need to find out if this is really what we think it is." "Set a course and drop us out just within range." "And be prepared to get us out of there fast if we have to." "Understood." "Receiving long-range telemetry." "Visuals on-screen." "Can you magnify?" "It is indeed a facility for the assembly of interstellar ships." "There are berths for between 60 and 80 depending on size." "Except that they're gone." "We're too late." "They already left." "According to mikkei intelligence, those ships weren't ready to go online for another month at least." "Then where did they go?" "General, report." "It was a trap." "The reinforcements were attacked the moment they entered the temiken system." "A few ships managed to escape, but nine cruisers and three troop carriers were destroyed." "And what about my would-be assassin?" "Has he named any co-conspirators yet?" "He maintains he acted alone." "Round up his family and his closest friends." "Guilty or not, an example must be made." "And, general..." "Send a cruiser to the miners in the nakana asteroid field." "Find the ringleaders, choose one, and have them publicly executed." "Emperor!" "You have something to say, teku?" "You have some advice to offer on how I should run my empire?" "Hey." "How you doing?" "Hey!" "Pretty good." "So?" "What have I missed?" "Oh, the usual..." "Action, adventure, thrilling escapes..." "You?" "Uh, meetings, votes." "Thrilling infrastructure renewal plans." "Wow." "No wonder you left." "It's hard to compete with that." "Yeah." "The important thing is, we're making progress towards a united front." "An interplanetary alliance that could see us gain entry into the league of autonomous worlds." "And then what?" "Then the colonies will be able to operate under the league's full protection." "No, I mean, with you." "What's next?" "I don't know." "I'll go where I'm needed, I guess." "Well, you're needed here." "On this ship." "As much as I appreciate it, there's a difference between being wanted and being needed." "I miss you." "I miss you, too." "Hey, after the next summit," "I'll be free for a while." "Great time to come visit." "I'd like that." "Hey!" "They're here!" "Duty calls." "I've got to go." "See you soon?" "Yeah." "Soon." "Commander nieman, voice identify." "Official report, board of directors' eyes only." "Begin recording." "The war is going according to plan." "Current projections estimate our corporate enemies will be defeated in six months." "However, there has been a new, unforeseen development." "The independent colonies have organized much faster than we anticipated." "It now appears they're getting outside help." "As a result, we'll have to move up our timetable." "We can no longer afford to wait until the war's over to... deal with it." "We need to take out any colony not under our umbrella." "And with victory now assured, we need to do so in a way that limits damage to the infrastructures." "Therefore, afraid we have no choice." "It's time to use agent zero."