Just the Fiction: Notorious Actual Play - Part 7

The Nomad reached the carcass of the old Empire starship just before dawn. The jagged wreckage jutted upward from the sands like a shard from the heavens. Once a gleaming example of imperial power, now a pitted and twisted ruin.

Malachi made his way inside the massive skeleton, the halls and metal twisted into maze of corridors. Malachi navigated his way to the remains of the bridge. An open expanse dotted with metal in which the valuable electronics and metals had long been scavenged.

Malachi froze as he pulled himself up to the main platform. A silhouette barely illuminated by the rising orange star. A Talok, but not just any Talok.

"Ivee?" The Nomad muttered.

The Talok turned slowly at the sound of his name, his blue leathery tail leaving a clean wipe in the dust of the platform. "In the flesh old friend."

Malachi's mind raced back to memories of that fateful day. Ivee V'uush and Malachi Das, two up and coming hotshots in the Trade Alliance on their way to broker a lucrative business deal in fringes of empire space. Ivee convinced Malachi to head down planet side first as he was better with introductions and to overstate the price of deal then Ivee would arrive with a better offer, a ruse to still get the contract done at a higher price. Malachi agreed and took the lander down only to be greeted by no one. Ivee had left a note for Malachi in the landing zone, apologizing for the betrayal but the writing was on the wall that only one of them was going to remain employed after the deal and Ivee was hedging his bets. The lander then self-destructed, leaving Malachi marooned on an irradiated planet.

Anger filled Malachi, he growled, "I spent years on that planet, Ivee. Do you know what solitude and radiation can do to the mind and body?!"

"Honestly... I assumed it would kill you, Malachi," Ivee responded bluntly. "But apparently it makes you join the Nomad guild."

"Why are you here, Ivee? To kill me? To finish the job this time?"

"Well, yes. But not for the same reasons I left you on that planet. This is totally different. You see, the Cartel doesn't only want Devine because of that lost cargo but mainly because he has been helping the Trade Alliance as well. The Targs found out, they got pissed, and they hired you. And the Trade Alliance needs to protect our investments like Kwame Devine. So that's why I am here to kill you."

Ivee unsheathed a terrifyingly large blade. 

"Can I ask you something before we try to kill each other?" Malachi asked as his plasma staff hummed and crackled to life.

"Go ahead," Ivee said with a lizard toothy grin, tail twitching and readying the shining blade in one clawed hand leaving the other claws free as a secondary weapon.

"Didn't your skin used to be green?"

"Normal species get older Malachi, don't rub it in."

Suddenly a massive explosion shook the ruined ship. Ivee and Malachi both glanced up as an Empire versus Uprising battle raged in skies overhead. Lasers and missiles streaked across the sky while debris and stray shots rained down to the planet's surface. By the time Malachi returned his gaze to the Talok, Ivee was already closing the distance and bringing his sword to bear upon the Pellucid.

Malachi parried the blow and pushed back, the plasma staff crackling with energy. The two combatants traded blows, their movements a blur as they danced around the unstable and debris-strewn bridge platform.

Another explosion rocked the ship, knocking Malachi off-balance. Ivee seized the opportunity and slashed Malachi's chest, causing crystalline shards to spread and sparkle in the air. Ivee followed with a closed fist uppercut under the chin of the Nomad, knocking him backward.

Malachi stumbled, his vision blurred and he was on the verge of losing consciousness. He dropped down to one knee to avoid falling completely. Ivee approached cautiously, blade at his side as fire from the battle above fell like meteorites all around them.

Meteors falling from a dark sky above hilly terrain
Photo by Fernando Rodrigues on Unsplash

Meteorites? Like the vision from the Murian mystic! Dodge, roll, duck, run, slide! The Talok came down from above with his blade and Malachi dodged to the left. Then the Nomad rolled forward avoiding Ivee's slashing claws passing just over his head. He ducked as another explosion rocked the ship, sending debris across the bridge. Malachi ran towards the other side of the bridge platform and slid under a heavy control console. He looked back to see Ivee running towards him when a laser blast hit directly between the two of them. A hot expansion of air followed the blinding light. The console protected Malachi while Ivee was blasted completely off the ship into the desert sand outside.

Ivee lay still in the sand below the below the bridge while Malachi painfully climbed down the twisted metal of the starship. Ivee's body was battered, legs broken, tail broken, scales singed from the blast, black blood streaming from his nostrils.

Ivee coughed and drew in short, painful breaths. "I'm sure you thought about this moment for a long time Malachi. Before you kill me, let me help you first. A Murian named Tulu Saluun is also looking for Devine. Maybe you can ask the Targs about him." Ivee winced in pain as he grabbed his midsection. "Ok, now's the time. You finally get the revenge you rightfully deserve. Go on. I'm ready. Finish it."

"Nomads only kill when necessary, Ivee. It's part of the code." Malachi switched off his plasma staff and placed back into the strap on his back.

Ivee pleaded, "No. No. Malachi please. You can't leave me like this."

"You know, I once said those exact same words to you."

With that, Malachi began his return into the desert, not looking back as war still raged in the sky.

-- 

This fan fiction was generated from my playthrough of Notorious.

Part 8 - Finale

Start at Part 1

You can find my review of Notorious here.

You can find Notorious through this affiliate link if you want to force Drive Thru RPG to give me some pennies when you buy something.

Or you can find Notorious on itch.io here if you want to let Drive Thru RPG off the hook.

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