The Reaper Chronicles

Goob the Dreadful

    Samson landed next to Lee, his right heel striking the floor first, and the two continued walking forward as if floating through the uncaring, empty void of space had been no more than a brief hiatus from solid ground. "That's what I'm saying," Samson continued, using a slight motion of his arms to give his opinion emphasis. "There's got to be some monster or corrupt official or something around here that somebody wants dead." The garage was huge. Occupying the entire bottom level of the two and a half story ship, it was the single largest room in the entire spacecraft and housed the vast majority of weapons, armor, planetary vehicles, and general gear that the pair owned.

    "I have heard rumors of Incarthrid pirates around these parts." Said a slightly metallic voice over the ship's speakers.

    "Thank you ASASN." Samson said as he and Lee wove around a rover on opposing sides.

    "I'm not against you." Lee said with upraised hands as they wove back together in stride. "We just can't afford any major costs before Big G. If you can find an easy bounty with a decent reward I'm all for it. Another Arurian artifact in the gear locker couldn't hurt." The two had made it over toward the ladder that led to the upward levels and entered their exo suit stations. Lee's suit's removal was the same as its application, but in reverse.

    "Yeah as long as it doesn't up and start talking or anything when we turn it on we should be fine." ASASN chimed in. Samson let out a low chuckle as his exo station stripped off his layers of armor. Lee scowled. The cursed AI on this ship always took the side against the voice of reason (A.K.A Lee).

    When Samson's exo machine finished removing his battle suit he reviewed every seal and seam meticulously before leaving the pieces alone. Despite having top of the line safety features and seal ratings, Samson had created inside pockets of emergency sealant just to make extra sure he was never exposed to the cold vacuum of space. Lee had never known or even heard of anyone who inspected their exo suits with such zelous scrutiny. He also knew however, that being sucked into the void without ample protection was Samson's greatest fear. For obvious reasons, they had never tested whether the near indestructible reaper could survive being in the vacuum of space and come out alive. Funny how someone essentially immortal could get so hung up on the one thing that might be able to kill them whereas those who led regular lives didn't worry so much about those things. For the average person, death could come at any moment from a multitude of sources.

    Only after everything looked to be in top shape did Samson remove his under suit. Having finished stripping down, the pair changed into their casual clothes that they'd left in the garage before heading back up. Samson wore a black tank top, cargo pants, and federation style military boots. Lee favored a pair of harem pants, no shirt, no shoes, and a hair tie at the crown of his head that kept his long, dark brown, wavy mop of hair out of his eyes. Instead of hanging down in a wild pony tail like any reasonable person would expect it to, Lee's hair stuck straight out, seeming to explode from the base of his skull--channeled by the small hole in the hair tie. Samson wore his white, straight, hair fairly short so as not to interfere with his helmet like a sensible sentient being.

    Everything about the way the two looked seemed to be polar opposites. Samson, the shorter of the two, was nearly twice as broad in the shoulders as Lee. Whereas Lee had pale skin and long, dark hair, Samson was olive-toned, with his white hair being arguably the only soft feature on his body. Lee stood tall, fairly well muscled for a human, and fairly lean--what most would consider an intimidating presence. Next to Samson he looked to be both fat and anorexic at the same time. Samson was big. His upper arm was roughly the size of Lee's head, give or take a few units. Not only that but Lee wasn't even sure if Samson even had body fat beneath that taught, tough, and hairless skin of his. Perhaps they'd scooped it all out and replaced it with some sort of other nutrient storing, lubricating material. That was another thing, where Lee's hands were usually cool to the touch, Samson gave off immense body heat. Something of up to fifteen degrees higher than the average human. The two made eye contact for a moment. Lee's face was pointed, with smooth, prominent features like his high cheekbones and pointed chin. Samson's were rough, squared-off, and strong; his eyes a fierce yellow.