Civil Takeover [DE]

Abo's massive palms hastily rummaged through the refrigerator, snatching at the various expired foods and downing them in gulps: raw eggs, ketchup… Some not-so-cold cold cuts… With no way off of Kanassa, and nobody here to barter with, it was hard to find any good food. So rummaging through refrigerators was the only way to subsist.

"It's auays food this food that—" Jasper, Abo's sentient arm blaster, complained, "When are we ganna find a working outlet so i can get a good night's charge?"

"Just a minute, heh?" Abo barked at his blaster, licking his massive lips, "This is the first good grub I've gotten in days."

But just then, Jasper began blinking like a madman. "Aw shaddap will ya?" Abo barked at his sassy companion.

"You big oaf, it aint my fault—" Jasper shot back, "Someone's trying to call your dumb arse."

Immediately, Abo turned away from the refrigerator, lowering his lanky legs to the ground and sitting down, pressing the hologram on his blaster. A crackling hologram sprang to life, revealing a sickly green Majin who's head was deformed and shaped into an amalgamation of different animals, as if he'd done a few too many absorptions in his time.


"Abo," crackled the hologram. "Abo!"

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the majin could hear him. But since call had still gone through, there was still a chance Abo was listening to his words, so the Majin continued to speak. "Listen Bullet," He spoke quickly, "It's Wand. I've been invited to a little gathering tomorrow with a bunch of other shitbags from around the rock. Seems as if it's a setup, but I can't be too sure. I want you here on the vigilant— Good pay for good work. Get back to me soon." The radio signal cut out, and Abo blinked dumbly for a second. Wand was gonna pay him to watch his back at a meeting on Zacro, but he had to get there first.

"Don't even think about it," warned Jasper, "There's no way we can get off this rock alive in just a days time."

But Abo was already on his feet, his lanky form instantly bursting into a streak of violet light as he sprinted off towards uncertainty— Maybe the worn-in pod he'd gotten an eye on earlier would be good for one trip?

---

"I can't believe you even fit in this thing," Jasper taunted the seven foot tall fish face, "Hell, I can't believe this thing hasn't fallen apart. I swear to shit, if this piece of crap cracks in the middle of no-town, you're in for it. Even before you fuckin suffocate, I'll shoot ya balls awff."

The rickety old pod careened through the stars, vibrating rather uncomfortably and shaking Abo's brains to a near concussion. Not that he had many brains to begin with. There would be no rest on this twenty four hour trip.

---

"Abo?" A familiar voice woke the alien from his trance, and reminded him of the unfortunate situation he was in, "Oh thank shit— I can actually see you now."

"You needed me? I'm on the way now." Croaked the alien, adjusting his cramped legs uncomfortably.

"I'm supposed to show up to this thing in a couple of hours. I don't trust it for a second, I don't think any of us do. Some no-name casino owner bringing us in without any of us knowing so much as his name? Everyone's mercs are gonna be waiting outside, and I want you there too."

"Touching down in forty minutes, heh." Abo replied with a nod.

"Marvelous. I'll signal you on my scouter-band when shit goes awol, and I want you to be the first one busting down the door." The ugly majin grinned slightly. "At this point, it's a reputation race to see who can put this asshole out of business the fastest."

"Aye aye," the alien nodded to his boss, "Signing off."

This seemed like it would be an easy job. Wand was barely even concerned about this rookie. But there was no telling what could go down if you didn't pay attention. Sometimes lions came wearing the clothes of a fox.

---

The only good part about landing on Raiti Zacro was that there was no atmospheric entry shock: because there was no atmosphere. Abo's rusty pod dropped like a lead weight, slamming hard onto an empty area of the asteroid with a crack.

"Aw shit—" The door of the pod swung open, and Abo quickly climbed out, examining the damage. The pod was totaled: a crack climbed up the side of the main vessel, meaning oxygen would run out quickly if he ever tried to take it in space again.

"If this goes well enough, Wand'll buy you a new one," Commented Jasper hopefully.

"Heh."

---

Abo's ridiculous size made it rather hard for him to remain stealthy: he had to rely on hiding in plain site. Slowly, he circled the Casino in the dense Raiti Zacro city, pacing along and casually clicking detonators onto the walls of the back half of the joint. He double checked the address: this was definitely the spot.

Once the lanky alien finished setting up the small bombs, he walked out into the bustling streets of the asteroid, sniffing the familiar scent of smoke and liquor. He leaned against the front wall of the Casino, crossing his arms and waiting for his signal. There were a couple other burly looking mercenaries standing around out front as well. They exchanged tacit glances, each one employed by one of the crime bosses inside but not loyal enough to hold any disrespect for each other.

Abo decided to head inside to wait. In the meantime, he lost a couple games of slots.

---

Just before they were about to deal Abo into a game of cataract, Jasper blinked discreetly but distinctly. Immediately, Abo pushed out of his seat, extending his legs to his full menacing height and mercilessly striding to the back of the Casino. Over his shoulder, he caught glances of several of the mercenaries from outside entering through the main door, pushing aside the Casino's customers.

In one effortless motion, Abo flicked a switch on Jasper.

The entire Casino shook as the detonators released. Inside the back room, the red rifle lights on the foreheads of the crime lords flickered out like dying stars. The door to the back room smashed open with a hefty kick.

Smoke cloaked the room and each of the crime lords smirked smugly, expecting it to be their own mercenary who had come to put this bozo out of commission. When Abo walked through the door, Wand let out a chuckle and pushed up onto his feet. "This has been real fun," commented Wand with a rasping voice and condescending smile, "But the game is over, chump."

On cue, Abo lifted his blaster up, pulling the internal lever to trigger his sentient cannon to fire. Jasper whirred to life, a yellow light crackling menacingly at his tip. The barrel locked on Marquess, and a blinking yellow dot appeared on his forehead, mocking his own plan.

Seconds later, various other mercenaries pushed in the door, but when they saw Abo's blaster already lifted in the air, they simply stood along the wall with their hands on their hips, watching what was going to go down. Abo had done the dirty work and gotten there first: unless he became overwhelmed, the mercenary code dictated that this was his job to take. 

Abo's face remained completely blank. He may have not been the brightest bulb in the warehouse, but his instincts for mercenary work were finely honed over years of practice. If he wasn't an expert at navigating situations like this, he would've been dead a long time ago. And so when the self satisfied mastermind started with him, he was prepared.

The marquess' words fell on deaf ears: Abo hadn't be told to speak, and so he wouldn't. The fish faced alien simply pushed Jasper into a better aim, locking the target on Marquess' forehead and letting the blaster whirr with anticipation.
Wand chuckled, realizing he had the upper hand. "You fucking deaf, buddy?" Started the green Majin, brushing off the human's insult. "You're finished. Over. Donezo. Completadore. Nada. Nilch. Fin." Although it didn't get to him on the outside, Wand's anger at his former captor's pretentiousness was growing. "You're gonna do exactly what I say." Wand's eyes narrowed dangerously as he smirked slightly. "Do I make myself clear?" The majin punctuated himself, pulling off one of his gloves and lifting his palm into the air threateningly.

In a single dangerously spastic motion, Wand would swing his palm, ringed bubblegum fingers going for a bitch slap across the Marquess' face. Whatever the outcome, Abo would keep his blaster trained directly on his target's forehead, unwaveringly. The frog faced alien couldn't help but chuckle at the situation. "Heh."

Abo's blank eyes watched Wand gargling bragadociously. With Abo in the room, Wand felt pretty sure of himself: the green majin went in to assert his dominance over Maquess, but it seemed like the masked man was prepared for anything.

In the blink of an eye, Wand swung his palm out, but Marquess ducked expertly, avoiding the blow and immediately sweeping up. The majin's arm was caught in the hold, and twisted back so that his body served as a shield between Jasper and his intended target.

Of course, being a majin, holding him in place wasn't exactly an effective strategy. The vomit-green majin's body trickled through the masked man's arms like syrup, reforming just outside of his grip and stumbling away angrily. "All of you—" The majin demanded of his fellow crime bosses and their mercenaries, embarrassed, "Get out of here. Go— NOW!"

For a second it seemed like the gang lords standing around the table hesitated. Abo twitched suddenly, his formerly still body giving a shock throughout the lowlifes of the room. It seemed as if they ultimately decided that getting out of the casino before the firefight would be the best solution, even if it meant missing more embarrassment for Wand. And so, bosses filed out of the room, and Abo stood still as a statue, his blaster still fixed on the Marquess' forehead.

But just then, a voice bubbled into his head, the same tone that the masked man had spoke in only moments earlier. But instead of emanating from his mask… It seemed to ooze into Abo's skull itself. The zoon-seijin cringed at the invasion of privacy. He wasn't particularly intelligent, and the concept of having someone else in his head made him nervous.

"Abo," husked Wand in a huff, his eyes turning viscously on Marquess, "Let's finish up here."

The alien considered his options. It seemed that in a moment, the chewed bubblegum would order Abo to fire on the masked man. But the marquess spoke convincingly. The casino was worth money, that much was true. Abo wanted his own money back, the zeni he'd lost only minutes earlier at the slot machine.

He had two paths. He could follow through with wand's demands and kill the Marquess right here right now. Or he could make money off this casino… He could own this casino.

Would that be a dangerous demand to make? No, there was nothing to lose. This strange man was completely at his mercy, there was no way that it could turn against him.

I'll negotiate with you, Abo began, his eyes narrowing as his blaster hovered in the air, his left arm bracing his right, You give me ownership of the casino, I'll make sure you're still breathing in five seconds, heh?

Otherwise…

Abo cocked his head to the side at Wand, who was even more on edge now that the Marquess had humiliated him. Regardless of Abo's willingness to negotiate, he wouldn't hesitate to kill the Marquess. His finger hovered over Jasper's trigger. Putting the masked man down could even mean a bonus from Mylo.


The Marquess

The seven foot tall Zoon Seijin stood quietly, waiting for the slender man across the room from him to make a mental reply to his proposition. But the Marquess' next move surprised Abo.

The Marquess spoke, but instead of communicating on the mental plane, his voice came out loud. Abo's eyes narrowed instantaneously. He wasn't about to risk his entire career with the crime lords of Raiti Zacro asteroid for some shitty deal with a lowlife casino owner.

In an instant, he twitched and clicked the trigger on Jasper's underside.  A flux of yellow light erupted from the tip of his blaster, the entire duration of the beam visible for only a millisecond; the blaster's sight was pointed directly at Marquess' forehead.

If he'd aimed well, the masked man's head would've blown off before he could utter a full word. Wand lept back, his shocked eyes turning towards Abo, who stood with slightly narrowed eyes at his target. He couldn't let the pompous casino owner speak: if he revealed Abo's disloyalty to Wand out loud, it would've ruined his reputation and chance for any more work on the asteroid.

Abo was completely unphased outside of the momentary anxiety that accompanied his possible outing as a disloyal mercenary. The alien slowly lowered his blaster from the line of sight, before letting it fall to his side. His face was calm again. It was a close call, but nowhere near his closest.

"Shit-" Wand was obviously sweating, but didn't want to show his fear, "No warning? What if I still needed information out of him?"

"Sorry," Abo croaked apologetically, "Saw him make a move, thought he had a blaster."

Wand crinkled his face with frustration, looking around the office. Blood splattered everywhere from the human's instantly exploded skull. "Well shit-" the green Majin put his hands on his hips, dissatisfied, "I suppose all's well that ends well. Maybe he did have a blaster."

"We're still good here, heh?" Abo asked apologetically.

"Yeah-" Wand grumbled, looking around the bloody room and becoming a bit squeemish, "You did a good job with the detonators. Very clean. Don't worryabouddit." Wand grunted, turning towards the door. "You'll be payed in full. I'll have some boys in here to clean the place up in a bit. From now on, I'll be running this joint."

"Aye aye." Abo said blankly, as Wand began walking out the back door. The majin began thinking of a suitable story to spread around the asteroid about his power and ferocity. Whatever the rumors were, the fact was he had a new asset in his grasp.

"You can take whatever you want from here," Wand commented over his shoulder as he shut the door, "My boys'll be here in ten with your money. Grab that blaster, if you find one."

The door clicked coldly behind him.

"A bit much, dontcha think?" Now that they had their privacy, Jasper spoke. Even Abo's own blaster was surprised by his itchy trigger finger.

"I'll explain later," Abo croaked, taking Jasper off and plugging him into a wall socket to charge

"Don't tell me youse loosing your edge, old boy." He teased.

"Aw shaddap will ya?"

Without expression, Abo paced to the center of the room. The mercenary looked down at the bloody corpse, and then at the hole in the wall.

...Might as well see if he had any zeni in those desk drawers.