Ikiru: To Live (Hand of the Empire)

[Hiro Protagonist]

The transportation from the Nexus was sudden and lurching. The hacker felt a deep and wrenching yank deep within his gut, and his view twisted and wobbled as he hurtled through the otherworldly portal. It spat him out after a few seconds with a bit of force, enough for him to have to land on one knee. At least his entrance was stylish. He rose to his feet and just stood there, blown away. It was glorious.

Spiraling glass towers scraped the blue horizon, the streets made of some sort of pristine uniform material that did not suffer any marks. The sound of the city filtered into his ears even as he gazed upon the multitude of shops, restaurants, and greenery! Huge swaths of parks and trees!

Hiro's world had been one of conspicuous overconsumption, and as technology had advanced nature had been molested in sacrifice. Some of the devastation had been so bad that the remnants of the government had designated them "Sacrifice Zones", places whose clean up cost outweighed any further profit from them. But this was like an ideal vision of those technological pioneers. Incredibly advanced, enough to preserve and maintain nature. Any plants or trees back home had been sickly, damaged by pollution. This was truly something wonderful.

A commanding voice jolted him out of his reverie. "You the Prime that was just cleared to come through? Step over here, please."
A uniformed EPD officer put a strong and guiding hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. "Gotta get a few details and register you in the system."

The hacker nodded slowly, still a bit overwhelmed by the vision of his world's failed goal reaching fruition in front of him, walking over to a small, square building. Noticing his demeanor, the officer chuckled. "Really is something, huh? Not many Primes appreciate it, they just bluster through and start imposing their will. I guess achievement loses its luster when you got Omni-given powers like that."

They proceeded through a waist high entry gate, a few more armored troopers waiting inside. The atmosphere was definitely one of a corporate workplace. Hiro guessed this must be the first checkpoint for the local law enforcement, and responded, lifting up his techno lenses. "Yeah...It's amazing. Pretty much what the people of my world envisioned before they fucked it up...I have to imagine this is a great place to live for Secondaries, too....I did some reading before I came to this verse. Let me apologize on behalf of this one Prime, for everything you must deal with." He gave a respectful Nipponese bow, and straightened up, extending a hand.

"Hiro Protagonist, hacker, swordsman, and wet behind the ears."

The officer nodded to a man seated behind the desk, and he came out to stand next to them. Shaking Hiro's hand, his escort responded. "Overseer Jentral. And thank you, but you don't need to apologize. You haven't done anything....yet. We've got a few of the good Primes on the EPD. If you feel like serving the Empire and the people of Coruscant, I'll point you in the right direction after your registration. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get back to monitoring the entry plaza." And with that, Jentral turned and left the hut, grabbing a cup of something brown and steaming hot as he exited.

Jentral's subordinate poked at a digital tablet, not looking up as he lofted a few questions at Hiro. "So...full name, Hiro Protagonist, got it. Occupation/specializations, systems penetration, and martial arts...anything else? I'll need a statement as to your abilities, and a visual inspection of your weapons. Then, a DNA sample and fingerprint, and you're good to go."

That was it? That was pretty lax, especially compared to the requirements for citizenship in Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong back home. "Alright...um. I'm actually not sure as to what else...are you saying people get extra abilities when they arrive in the Omniverse? Cuz right now the extent of my abilities is computer systems and this sword."

He presented his weapon, and the aide scanned it with the tablet, a green light shining over the entire length of it. "Alright, good. Simple. And non-reactive. If this had been some sort of fancy shmancy explosive or firearm or laser or whatever, we would have to restrict it's use. Just be smart about where you take it out, and for Omni's sake don't even think about using it on one of our troops or a citizen." Hiro rolled his eyes at that. "I've also listed you as cooperative, so that's a plus." The aide smiled, a bit unsettlingly. "And that's the DNA sample and fingerprints as well. Have an enjoyable stay, Mr. Protagonist."

The man waved Hiro off, handing back his sword. The hacker ronin left the building and stepped out into the entry plaza once more, his lenses now tuned to full scan mode. They tagged and extrapolated, numerous locations being labeled as points of interest on a rapidly populating map. Making a few quick movements in the air with his hands, the swordsman started to clean up the list and itemized a few things, just as Officer Jentral walked up to him with a tired smile. "All registered? Wonderful. Now, if you were looking to help..."

With a nod of his head, Hiro answered. "Yep. I see it on the map. That seems like a good first stop to me, although I might check out some of your tech shops later." The lawman nodded, and sent him off with a final goodbye. Stepping into the flow of pedestrian traffic, Hiro disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the city.

(Hand of the Empire quest progress: 954 words)

[Hiro Protagonist]

The crowd of people was finally beginning to thin out as it moved further and further away from the Nexus gate, deeper into the heart of the city. Coruscant was tremendous in size, and from what Hiro's map told him, at the very least more than fifty miles in diameter. Luckily, there seemed to be a shopping plaza located near to his location that specializes in what he was looking for. He'd have to check it out later, marking it's location on his HUD. These lenses functioned amazingly well, and Hiro hadn't encountered any glitches or software problems that had plagued earlier models in his world.

Moving with the crowd of tourists, he edged out to a less densely populated section of the street, which eventually deposited him right in front of the local Empire Peace Division station, designated on the map at T1 Sigma Nine. The exterior of the building was shiny and utilitarian, imposing and modern at the same time. Glass sliding doors parted in front of Hiro as he entered the building, approaching a front desk manned by a female peacekeeper. She looked up from her computer terminal, but continued to type. "Hello, sir. What business do you have here?"

The hacker-ronin cleared his throat, looking around with his lenses. Strangely, they weren't giving any information about the office or the people around the room. "Uh....Overseer Jentral by the Nexus Gate sent me...said you were accepting recruits." He tapped his glasses, a little annoyed at this sudden glitch.

The desk sergeant nodded, and pointed towards a row of chairs in the corner. "If you'll wait over there, I'll have one of the patrol specialists meet with you. And if you're using scanning equipment don't be worried if it's not working." She smiles sweetly. "There's suppression fields active throughout the building." Hiro grumbled good-naturedly as he made his way over to the seats. His katana sheath rode up high on his hip, so he removed it, adjusting the strap so it hung over his shoulder. After about five minutes, the aforementioned patrol specialist came out of the back, holding a digital tablet much like the one in the satellite office by the Nexus.

"Hiro Protagonist, huh? You made a good impression on the Nexus Overseer, he sent your details over. Yye EPD is always in need of Primes willing to lend a hand with the problems inherent in having such a tremendous society." The officer led him through a network of hallways and offices in the back of the building. "Check that dossier; that's all the information we've got on your target, a mister Joon Yi also known as Cleaver. He's stepped up his game on Tier 4, really muscling in on the smuggling racket. Additionally, he's been selling to rebels and anti-establishment reactionaries." He grimaced, as Hiro swiped through the dossier info. Included next to the photo of Joon were several photos of shrouded bodies, and explosive debris. Casualties from the last rebel attack.

Hiro wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. He was by no means a lockstep conformist, but he'd seen what happened to a society when it broke down. It wasn't pretty, and order was definitely better than pure chaos. In order, things thrived. Given safety and security to thrive, most people did. There were always the rogue elements that wanted to tear it down, and run things the way -they- thought was best. It never ended well.

They arrived at a small room, with a half door opening into what seemed like a large warehouse. "Armory." The officer grunted. "If you require a sidearm you can check one out. We'll also give you a pair of plasteel cuffs, but that's it. This is a test of your abilities, and your resourcefulness." The officer nodded to the quartermaster behind the door and he disappeared into the back rows.

Looking Hiro over with a practiced eye, he gave one final set of instructions. "This guy is a real piece of work, and a Prime to boot. So you'll be up against more than just a pushover, you hear? You are authorized to detain him and bring him here for questioning and sentencing. Use any force necessary, but DO NOT kill the target, because he'll just end up in the Nexus and escape to some other verse. Do this, kid....and you've got a bright future ahead of you in Coruscant."

The hacker gripped the hilt of his sword and gave a quick nod. Man, this was taking him back to his days as a Burbclave cop, except this....this actually mattered. He was aiding an incredibly advanced and prosperous society, not just a gaggle of fat, lazy joes who were slaves to consumerism. This meant something, and that filled him with a determination he hadn't felt since he started coasting between jobs. What a way to make a difference. Sure, he had stopped the global takeover of his world by religious fanatics, but all he accomplished was freeing society to continue driving themselves into the dirt.

Taking the proffered cuffs, Hiro clipped them to his belt as he was escorted out of the building. Raising his gloves in the air, he was glad to see that his lenses were functioning again. Reconfiguring the readout, Hiro optimized his scanners for threat assessment and combat efficiency. The elevator to Tier 4 was marked on his map, and he made his way through the crowd towards it and whatever encounters awaited down there.

The ride took a surprising amount of time, and Hiro had to transfer to another elevator on Tier Three. Apparently the residents of the upper tiers were a bit discerning about just how many levels could be hopped at once. He stepped out of the building that housed the transports and was overcome with a feeling of familiarity. Loglo washed the street in brightly colored advertisements, and a light rain left shallow puddles on the street. This felt like home. He supposed he shouldn't be too surprised, as sometimes advancement was made on top of others. Not to mention the existence of varied social classes, but that was humanity. Hell, that was society, really.

Hand on his sword hilt, he started walking down the sidewalks, smirking at the discarded beverage containers and cigarette butts on the street. Some things never changed.

Hand of the Empire Quest Progress: 954 + 1059 = 2013

[Hiro Protagonist]

The digital dossier on Joon Yi and his operation was far from comprehensive, although it gave Hiro a few good starting points. First of which was a bar about forty minutes walk from the elevators, or so his map told him. Judging from the neighborhood, a forty minute walk at night in a light drizzle was a nice and easy way to end up in a gutter without any teeth, so Hiro ducked into a relatively safe looking alleyway. Ten minutes later (after accidentally scaring the shit out of a hobo sleeping in the corner), Hiro emerged on a copy of his sleek, powerful motorbike. He gunned the engine and it responded with a roar that tore through the gloomy hum of the lower tier. 

Keeping his vehicle at a moderate speed as he cruised through the streets, kicking up pieces of paper in his wake, he read the personal file on Joon Yi and his associates, setting a silent alert if his lenses identified any of them in his field of view. Cleaver, as the smuggler was known, had a small crew between 4 and 8 men of mainly street thugs with one other individual involved in the business. Curiously, his only known alias was...

"Are you fucking kidding me? Mr. Sorry Sorry?" Hiro laughed to himself, and waved the dossier off his vision field. Just then, his HUD flashed red and the hacker looked in his rearview mirror. Coming up fast behind him were three other bikes, not nearly as fancy or new as his. The riders, though, they were a problem. Whooping and yelling, two of them whirled long chains above their heads while the third brandished a rudimentary sword above his head. They were gaining on the racing ronin, and he kicked the throttle further, nearing the top speed limit of 80 mph. His other hand lay on his sword hilt, ready to draw and unleash hell when the time was right. Going this fast, however, required a lot of concentration and weaving around debris and wrecks piled on the street, or the occasional tired vehicle plodding along with no regard for the bloodthirsty motor conflict occurring on the street. It slowed him down...too much.

A Death Race Through Deserted Streets

The three riders pulled up alongside him, screaming above the noise of the road and the engines. "PULL OVER, FANCY BOY! OR WE'LL DO IT FOR YA! HA HA HA HA!" The speaker took a useless swipe at Hiro as he tried to get close enough to land a hit, but the only purpose it really served was to let his lackeys known it was time to shine. Scrapsword pulled further ahead and took up a position in front of Hiro, trying to block any evasive action he could take.

Long, clanking chains made vicious swipes at him from either side, the hacker ducking his head to avoid one that came too close. He let out a yell of pain as the thug on his left tagged him in the ribs with a deflected strike, but his reinforced jacket took most of the impact and prevented any broken bones. He had to get rid of this chain punks, or he'd soon be skittering across the pavement.

Hiro started weaving drunkenly left to right, scraping exhausts with one of his assailants. The man struggled to keep his bike's balance and still maintain enough momentum to swipe out with his chain, resulting in a less powerful attack towards the hacker samurai. Slow enough to grab, Hiro yanked the end of the chain out of it's arc and pulled hard, squeezing his own brake and slowing significantly. This had a desired effect, which was that the chainpunk on his right swerved sharply left, across Hiro's front wheel, and into the path of the second assailant.

Time slowed as both cycles crashed into each other, the two that had been boxing him no longer a threat as they skidded past the entrance to some sort of club. Two men who had been standing outside smoking watched as the wreck slid by them right into a parked taxi. Hiro zipped right by them, and focused his attention on his remaining pursuer, who by now was trying to accelerate ahead of the street samurai. Damn that speed limit, right?

Pulling up beside him, the reinforced glass katana came out of it's scabbard and across the front wheel of the adjacent bike. However, it wasn't enough. The tires were made of some sort of thick and heavy material. He'd have to puncture them if he wanted to slow the other bike. This maneuver almost cost him heavily, as the lead thug took the opening and sliced towards Hiro's head. The katana was brought up just barely in time to deflect the blow, and suffered some damage, glass chips whipping backwards in the wind. He stowed it back in it's sheath, the red light clicking in to show it had entered the repair cycle. Instead, he drew the entire locked blade and used the titanium weave scabbard as a long club to parry Scrapsword's blows.

They raced along the streets, blowing by parked cars and the odd pedestrian, heading up an on ramp to a poorly maintained skyway as they traded blows, sparks flying from each clash. "I WANT THAT BIKE, TOURIST!" The thug hollered as he sent another swipe towards the hacker. "WE RUN THE CYCLE GAME DOWN HERE!" Hiro countered with a block from his sheath and, sweat beading on his forehead, took a risk. He pulled his remaining hand off the steering column, and keeping balance with his knees, redoubled his blunt assault. The thug couldn't keep up with steering and defending with only one hand, and a particularly powerful blow from Hiro elicited a naaty sounding crunch and a scream of frustration from the thug as his sword dropped, arm useless. He peeled off and slowed down, shouting at the hacker as he faded from sight. "YOU'RE FUCKED NEXT TIME WE SEE YOU, TOURIST. THE TIER FOUR FALCONS ARE GONNA STOMP YOUR ASS IN!" He flipped him off with his remaining good arm, and Hiro sped off towards his actual destination.

Breathing heavily, adrenaline surging through his body, Hiro pumped a celebratory fist. That was..wow. Talk about excitement. Not that he was jacked up on violence and adrenaline...but he hadn't fought that well in a long time. Maybe there was something that had changed about him when he got here. He had been ready to kill that guy, and those others that had crashed, if not dead, were probably seriously hurt. But Hiro didn't feel too bad about it. He'd killed in real life, in self defense, and here, man, it was might makes right. Which is why it was good he wasn't a criminal attacking travelers on their motorbikes. No sir, he was an officer of the peace. A real John Lawman...just with a more unconventional sidearm. He ruminated on these new developments and how his life being threatened brought out a powerful new attitude. He really was feeling like an old time samurai..just a man, his sword, right and wrong.....

Hand of the Empire quest progress: 954 +1059 +1223 = 3236

[Hiro Protagonist]

Ten more minutes brought Hiro back on track to his target: a local bar and lounge called "The Tea House". Pulling into the small parking lot adjacent to the building, he took a few moments to familiarize himself with Cleaver's entourage, especially that Mr. Sorry Sorry guy. From surveillance photos, he was at least a head and a half taller than Hiro himself, and was never far from Joon's side, unless he was on a run. Apparently he was the main transporter, and the Cleaver's only Secondary.

The hacker got off the bike and removed the starter fob. Debating how to approach the unknown situation, he thought back to his old flame, Juanita, and one of her favorite sayings..."Condense fact from the vapor of nuance...." Get the facts first. A place like this probably had a security system, and although he was still getting used to the systems of the Omniverse, he figured he could take a crack at piggybacking the camera system. Spying a battered, tan utility box mounted near the dumpster, he walked over nonchalantly and popped it open. Switching his lenses to filter out unneeded info, he saw through the data cables to their sources- several cameras hooked up to a main surveillance system...one of which was pointed at the parking lot he was crouched in.

"Shit!"

Working quickly now, he patched into the camera network with his lenses and quickly set the parking lot feed back three minutes, to before he arrived. With that camera looped, he was safe for now, unless someone had been looking at the cameras before he got to them. Fortunately, there were no active alarms on the surveillance system, so he flipped through several feeds, watching the main bar floor, the cash room, the hallway outside the bathrooms...and there! Right in the kitchen....Mr Sorry Sorry.

The lumbering man was arguing with a cook over a plate of food, sitting on the counter. Hiro couldn't hear them, but from what he could tell about their body language, the cook was pissing himself and Mr SS was just plain pissed. If the Cleaver's Secondary was here, then Joon wouldn't be far. It looked like the EPD's intel had been good. Scanning the rest of the cameras quickly and sending in a few timed commands to be executed later, he disconnected and withdrew from the utility box, walking around to the front of The Tea House. The bouncer standing out front was tagged in Hiro's HUD as associated muscle, but a brisk confident walk up to the front door and a curt nod got him inside with no hassle.

The interior of the lounge was dimly lit with neon and blacklights. A water feature burbled quietly just inside the door, with a host podium in front of it. Low, cushioned couches clustered around tables ringing the dance floor. Suspended above it was a large disco ball, tacky but in an ironic way. The back wall had a second story balcony attached to it, with velvet drapes and other finery across the guardrail. Hiro could hear feminine giggling and a strong male voice laughing upstairs, but the lighting was too dim to make anything else out. The lounge wasn't too full, with a few groups at the tables, a couple people dancing to the thumping techno music, and several people perched on stools at the bar. Hiro made his way over to an empty stool, waiting for the bartender to take his order. Scanning the room, he spotted another identified associate, standing in front of a closed door. He had been positioned underneath the camera, out of it's sight range.

The bartender came over to Hiro and asked for his order. The distracted hacker mumbled something about "The house special", busy trying to retrieve a floor plan for the lounge from the municipal data files, and was surprised to see a fizzing pink alchemical marvel served to him a few minutes later. The bartender grinned a crooked smile and nodded. "House special. Cherry fusion bomb! Drink slow, man." The hacker picked it up with one hand while setting a few chips of Omnilium on the counter, which the bartender swooped up quickly. He raised the glass to his lips and took a large gulp, recoiling as the sweet liquid fizzed down his throat and made foam come out of his nose. Man, that was strong!

Hiro ignored the bartender's instruction, downing the rest of the drink in a minute. The alcohol, whatever it was, went right to his head and loosened his nerves up a bit. They had already frayed some, with the high speed chase across the streets, and the adrenaline was leeching energy from his nervous system. He couldn't stop now, though. Even if everything went perfectly tonight, he still needed to operate at the very best of his skills. Looking around the room, he waited, letting the ambiance wash over him. Occasionally, he glanced at the guy guarding the door, but looked away before it got suspicious. Then, a small timer appeared in the corner of his lenses, ticking down from 5....4....3....2....1...vvwweeeEEEEPPP! VWEEEEEEP! VWEEEEPPP!

The hacker grinned. Any good security system was tied into the fire alarm, and could be activated automatically. You just had to know which relays to set off. People got up from their tables and began voicing loud complaints as strobe lights flashed and speakers emitted a high pitched keening. Reluctantly and grumpily, the patrons left drinks, food, and gorgeous women behind as they started to file towards the exit. A twenty dollar cover charge was one thing but no one wanted to die over it.

The guy he had previously missed looked up at the flashing strobes, and throwing his hands up in exasperation, turned and entered the doorway. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, noise, and mild chaos, the hacker ronin slipped off his stool and followed him into the hallway. Creeping up behind him and detaching his sword, Hiro brought it down on the back of the guy's head with a soft "thwack". The unfortunate door guard yelped and fell face forward, out for the count.

Stepping over the man, Hiro continued down the long hallway. There was a back door at the very end that most likely pre into the parking lot. Possible escape route, so he flicked his lenses and tagged the door with a marker. 

Just then, the chef he'd seen previously on the camera came out of two double steel swinging doors and froze when he saw the trenchcoated figure in the hallway. A hand on his sword hilt and a finger on his lips, Hiro nodded at the man. Mouth open, the guy debated his options and chose the one that would get him to safety before things got hinky, moving past the intruder and out to the main bar.

The street samurai moved up to the doors the poor cook had come out of and pushed the open. It was indeed the same kitchen he'd seen on the camera, with pots and pans bubbling on stoves, chopped meat and vegetables discarded on their tables, and two figures coversing animatedly at the other end; Mr Sorry Sorry and Joon Yi the Cleaver himself.

Cleaver was wearing an incredibly tacky purple leopard print shirt, tan chinos, cowboy boots, and had black hair with silver frosted tips. He stopped speaking and watched Hiro enter, a vein on his temple bulging. Noticing the hacker's katana, he pulled a cleaver out of a chopping block and hurled it, screaming all the way. "WHO DA FUCK IS THIS?! WHY YOU HERE?!? THIS PRIVATE ESTABLISHMENT!!"

Hiro dove behind a table and the whirling meat knife embedded itself in the wall behind him. Joon turned around and threw his hands up in exasperation, calling out behind him as he walked out the door. "Sorry! You take care of this fucking punk, I have to go fix alarm and tell the nice ladies there no problem. Ai! Fucking upstarts try to come in here and knock me down!

Mr. Sorry Sorry nodded and reached behind his back withdrawing two foot long blades with a soft -shing-. Hiro's lenses told him they were made of Omnilium treated steel, were quite fast, and that he was at a severe disadvantage due to the cramped space of the kitchen. The smuggler's enforcer grinned evilly and started walking towards Hiro, knives outstretched and hungry.

Sorry About The Mess...Sharp Blades Cut Deeper

The street samurai gritted his teeth and climbed quickly onto one of the connected steel tables. He ran across the polished counter tops, sending dishes of rice and vegetables flying across the kitchen. As he neared his foe, he leapt into the air and withdrew his blade for a powerful and quick slash as he passed by and landed behind Mr. Sorry Sorry. Sharp, wet pain oozed out of his side, and Hiro saw blood staining the black leather of his coat, his blade slightly chipped as well. The enforcer had parried his slash and tagged him in the ribs as he flew past him. Stupid, flashy move.

Those whirring tanto came at him from multiple angles, Hiro and the muscular smuggler trading sharp and deflected blade hits. His titanium scabbard was more effective at blocking the stabs and slashes, but it was heavier and his arm was beginning to burn. Over and over they clashed, moving forwards and backwards across the kitchen floor until Hiro felt his foot slip on a puddle of oil and his own blood. He fell backwards, flat on his ass and the thug took his chance. Stabbing downward with both knives, he aimed for the hacker's shoulders to disable his arms for good.

Only one chance to avoid a double amputation, and the ronin took it, his boot lashing out and catching Mr. Sorry Sorry right on the jaw. His head whipped back as he raised his hands to paw at his face and protect it with the sharp knives, buying Hiro enough to scrabble backwards and get to his feet. Then, it happened.

He'd only meant to take a few steps back to open the distance between them for another clash, but the kitchen around him blurred and he was all the way back against the rear wall. That was....really fast. Talk about not knowing your own strength, jackass. Hiro realized what he had already assumed to be true. Omni had given him a power boost upon his arrival and it seemed that this speed dash was one of them. Possibilities floated around his mind, but they would have to be addressed later.

He sheathed his katana, letting the repair systems flash-reforge the chipped edges and stared at his opponent, who was running his knives against each other to make a scraping, slicing noise. "Before I kill you....I have to ask. Why Mr. Sorry Sorry?" The man spat on the ground and flipped his knives into a reverse grip before answering. "Because that's all anyone can say after I get my hands on them...now let's finish this, lapdog!"

They charged at each other from across opposite ends of the kitchen, as the smuggler raised his knives in a throat tearing motion that would have half decapitated our Hiro. But he was ready for it and took advantage of his newly discovered speed, dashing forward and dropping to his knees. He sailed past the astonishned man at waist height, so that was what he aimed for. The katana slid out with a brand new edge and in one motion sliced entirely through Mr. Sorry Sorry's lower spine, showering the floor and Hiro with hot red blood as the man fell over in two halves.

Hand of the Empire quest progress:  +2004 words

[Hiro Protagonist]

-drip-
-drip-
-drip-

The only sound Hiro could notice was the soft plips of blood dripping off his katana, and his own heavy breathing. He heaved himself off his knees, blood staining the lower half of his pants and turned around to see the twitching corpse of Mr. Sorry Sorry, neatly bisected. Shaking spinal fluid and blood off the blade, he stowed it in it's scabbard and took a deep breath. A violent, violent death. He felt sick for a moment, but thought back to his time on the Raft. Those men had been trying to kill him too. Self defense. They deserved anything they got. Just like this man.

How many men, women, and children had his wares killed? He handed over the lethal instruments the rebels had used, and that made him just as complicit in their deaths. No. No mercy. No regret. Just a problem that had been solved. Next!

As Hiro walked over the body, hands trembling a little bit as he caught his breath, his foot hit something that went skittering over the tiles. It was the tanto he'd almost been gutted with, gleaming inches from the dead secondary's outstretched hands. The street samurai leaned down and picked them up, then searched the body for their sheaths. He locked them back together, the twin blades fitting neatly on his equipment belt. Spoils of war, taken from an fair duel between enemies. Exiting the kitchen through the same door Joon Yi had used, the hacker drummed his fingers on his katana hilt. Hiro Protagonist was coming to chop the Cleaver.

The door led out into the other hallway he'd seen before, the one with the bathrooms. However, there was a staircase just before the main hallway, going up, with a velvet rope stanchion tossed aside in front of it. Hiro heard a voice up above, cajoling and whining. 
"See, ladies? I shut off alarm, now no one bother us! We have whole club to ourselves!"

Hiro smirked. So Joon Yi thought he was safe now, huh? The samurai ran up the stairs on the balls of his feet, popping up out of the stairs and landing stylishly on the upp VIP balcony. The women screamed, falling over themselves to get away, and Hiro stepped to the side as Cleaver stood up, shaking with rage. "HOW DARE YOU! WHAT YOU DOING, RUINING MY LEISURE TIME!" Tapping his glasses, the hacker taunted the smuggler. 

"I killed your secondary, Cleaver. But I'm not going to kill you. No. You're going to rot in an Imperial prison for treason."

Joon Yi paled slightly, then snarled and reached behind his back. Laughing, he pulled out two large meat cleavers and brandished them. Then, all around the tackily dressed smuggler, green flames coalesced from the air, forming into ghostly flaming copies of the weapons in his hands. He stared Hiro down and let out a keening shriek. "Okay, mr. fucking imperial shithead.....COME AND TRY! I CHOP YOU INTO SASHIMIIIII!"

A Hacker's Potential...In A World Of Thought

The samurai's encounter with Mr. Sorry Sorry had taught him an important lesson. Unless he had tried something here and it didn't work, nothing was beyond him. As Joon powered up his phantom knives, Hiro input a few commands into his wrist mounted datalink. Vector graphics, the most simple inage format, had been the foundation of the Metaverse. They were simple, clean....and formed a flexible cage around whatever you wanted to define. Heh. 

Suddenly, a green wire mesh enveloped Hiro's body, pulsing with energy. The hacker dashed forward as the Cleaver hurled his namesake, ghostly blades spiralling towards him with lethal aim. The vector cage did it's job though, and the blades flashed, were turned aside, or embedded themselves before falling to the floor and disappearing. The room around him blurred as he sped forward in a short burst, drawing his katana and striking hard at the rival Prime.

Joon deflected his katana blows and Hiro barely managed to dash backwards away from a lethal hack. He twinged, the wound in his side bleeding again, sapping his strength. He had to finish this quick, but he couldn't just slice the man in half again.  The vector cage sizzled as another cleaver hit it, and disappeared. Now Hiro was manually dodging the telekinetically hurled blades as Joon advanced on him. His burst speed was putting a lot of strain on his body, and the last cleaver actually hit it's target, leaving a nasty gash on the side of his face. His blood mixed with that of Mr Sorry Sorry's still dried in driplets.

His mind racing with ideas, Hiro summoned his last burst of speed, running straight at the other Prime. Joon Yi's shocked expression quickly turned to one of pain and anger as the hacker went the low route and knees him right in the privates. While the smuggler was bent over and wheezing, he was quickly tapping on more commands to his wrist interface. And a mesh vector cage formed around them, trapping them both in close quarters. 

Leaving his katana be, Hiro drew his two claimed tanto, and raising them up, stabbed downwards right at Joon's shoulder blades in a copy of the manuever that had almost killed him. He was too late to stop the smuggler's blades from biting deep into his sides, one knive exacerbating his already bleeding wound. But it was enough. The tanto had sliced deep enough to render Joon's arms useless, and the cleavers dropped to the floor.

Grabbing the man's lapels, ignoring the stinging, agonizing pain and the feeling of hot blood soaking his clothes, Hiro drew back his fist and socked the Prime right in the jaw. He shoved Joon backwards into the wall of his immobile vector cage, and began mercilessly beating the shit out of him. Over and over his fists slammed into the man's ribs, torso, head, ears, and chest, until the Prime coughed up blood and finally slumped over, out cold.

The cage fizzled and disappeared. The Cleaver fell backwards and lay there, Hiro on his knees in front of him. He pulled out the cuffs that the EPD had given him and locked Joon Yi's hands behind his back. Then, removing his coat and taking off his shirt, he started to rip it into strips, wrapping it tightly around his waist to staunch the blood flow. It seemed to help, and after a minute Hiro could stand up. Picking up the surprisingly light Prime and slinging him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, he headed down the stairs, through the kitchen, and out to the parking lot.

The bouncer was nowhere to be seen, and neither was anyone else, apparently. A fire alarm had a way of ending nights at a spot, and even so, there were plenty of other bars for patrons to drink themselves silly in. Hiro mounted his motorbike and slung his bounty over the back, cringing with pain as he sped unsteadily out of the parking lot and back towards the elevators up top.

Hand of the Empire quest progress: 954 + 1059+1223+2004+1222= 6462 words

[Hiro Protagonist]

It was an uneventful ride back to the elevators, and then back up to Tier 3. However, he was stopped coming off the elevator by a squad of stormtroopers. Understandable, considering he was shirtless, wounded, and covered in blood. Not to mention his bruised, beaten and handcuffed target. One of the troopers raised his weapon and asked him for ID. 

Hiro's voice was raspy and tired, and he dropped his unconscious cargo unceremoniously on the ground with a thud. "I'm a registered Prime...Hiro Protagonist. On assignment from the EPD." The troiper lowered his weapon and gestured to his men, who stepped forward and picked up the unconscious Joon Yi. "Sorry...I just got confirmation. Congratulations on your success, we'll take the prisoner from here."

He looked the ragged hacker over and gestured. "If you'll come with me to the local stationhouse, we can get you formally recognized. Patch you up, too." Hiro let out a long sigh of relief and followed the officer down the street. They didn't draw as many looks as he thought they would, but he chalked it up to his imperial escort.

He was beaten, bloody, and bruised, but he felt great. Off to an amazing start here in the Omniverse, and he could feel the extra Omniliun surging through his body. He couldn't wait to rest up and see a warm bed, though. Maybe he's get an apartment. Really become a citizen....