A place in time

[Riahmant]

Riahmant fans, I bring you the story of my trader zissouu and his being on rubi ka. Not in the traditional form of riahmant humor but I hope ya like it.

The dust begins to whirl in an unfamiliar fashion at the city gates in Newland City. A slender yet oddly shaped opifex stands in the gateway. The sun barely catches his eyes a glint shines across the street. “Hehe oh my god! He looks so goofy” “Nah mate he just looks lost haha” two men snicker and point in his general direction thinking that he doesn’t notice them with all the hustle and bustle of the crowded city streets. The slender figure stands there motionless as if reliving memories of a forgotten past, the wind whips faster around him.

The two men decide they want to cause a little trouble for the figure seeing as how he’s ignored all their slanders and jokes. “Oy mate! What’s up with this goofy get up you look like a bloody rubbish bin.” “Nah man he looks like he came from the rubbish bin.” The two men obviously making refrences to our figures rather large brimmed hat and rather large backpack Yet our figure still does not speak, instead he just stands there looking on, deep in thought looking at the all too familiar city streets.

“What are you dumb or deaf or a little of both!” the one man then pushes the figure out of spite for a lack of reaction to their barrage of jokes and insults. The other man laughs onward. In a motion as fast as a bolt of lighting our figure makes a movement fully extending his arm to knock down the first man with a rush of dust surrounding them both. “Oh so you wanna die?” the second man shouts through the dust a second later as he makes his way through the dust he finds himself face to face with a barrel of a rather old yet very exquisite weapon. With his partner on the ground with the opifex’s foot over his throat pinning him down. “You’d be wise to walk away now, she may be old yet she’s always shot striaght.” the opifex mutters in an almost unaudiable tone. The second man quickly runs away out of fear.

The opifex’s attention and barrel quickly turn directions to the man squirming under his foot. “Look mate honestly we were just messin around no hard feelings.” He begs and pleads to the opifex. “Why is it that men like yourself think they can act in a manner such as you have right here today?” the Opifex mutters. “Im going to let you go but first I want to know something from you. “Sure mate anything you want its yours just please don’t hurt me.” The face of the opifex says he’s intent on letting the man get away with his crime. “Where is she?” “WHO’S SHE? I mean I know lotsa women man the man screams out. “She the one who I once knew here, I loved her” the emotionless face leaks a tear. Just then a few members of the Newland militia stroll by.......

[Riahmant]

YOU THERE FREEZE LET THAT MAN GO!

With guns raised and pointed at the opifex he realizes that he may be out gunned at the moment. “Sir are you okay?” A rather large atrox guard barks out. “One word and no cell will ever hold me” the trader whispers. “Yeah yeah yeah we’re fine me and my mate here were just jokin around is all” the man says with a rather certain hint of fear in his voice. Well clean it up or take it to the bedroom these are city streets and we intend to keep them clean the guard barks at the two men as the guards walk away. “Don’t ever let me catch you picking on anyone ever again or I wont ask and I wont just knock you down do you understand me?” “Ye yea yeah sure I do.” “Now scamper along” the opifex shouts as he kicks the man in his rear end.

With a rather heavy sigh the opifex begins to move along the city streets. Maybe I can find some information in the trader shops my fellow traders have always had a keen ear to the streets and the location of certain people that might be hard to find. Or maybe I need to go to Neuters we used to love to hang out there and waste the night away. All I can think of is her, why in the hell did those things have to kidnap me? What could I possibly give to them or do for them. ARRRGGGGHHHH dammit! What?! The trader begins to shout he points his gun to the air and squeezes the locked trigger in a rapid motion. Sure I’m fast now but I wasn’t fast enough back then.

I can’t quit looking for her, I know she’s out there waiting for me. I wonder what she’s doing right now, I hope its not vexing my name for the mistakes of the past. I guess I’d settle for her vexing my name though just because it would mean that she hasn’t forgotten me, or better yet forgotten us. The slender trader begins to climb up to the rooftop of a rather high building without fear or hesitation. I guess I’ll sit here and watch where we used to spend our time here and maybe she’ll show up again. As he kicks back and relaxes against a chimney shaft looking downward onto the busy city streets.

Most of my memories are a bit of a blur to me bits and pieces of a somewhat forgotten past. My name is Zissouu Im an opifex trader. I originally came to rubi ka the first time via the morning star space station. Although the second time I came here it was by less “pleasant” means. Lets see I was born in a wonderful omni science lab to a test tube mother and a petri dish father. So yeah childhood was a laugh a second by those standards. I often just spent most of my childhood serving the ole royal blue just like my other opifex brothers and sisters, usually having to run what are probably useless documents from one office to the next. I got in a lot of trouble often for having a mouth that was as quick as if not quicker then my feet. But then at the age of 12 I decided to better my life and that where things get interesting............................

[Riahmant]

At 12 I decided I wouldn’t be a slave to omni anymore and decided one day after our work shift to take a left instead of a right and that left lead me in a rather sneaky and fast running motion to my new life. I guess that was the first crime I’d ever committed I stole from omni tek, wonder how many years I’d get for stealing myself? At 13 I found myself walking through the streets of a dust settlement in Mort called Hope. A name that couldn’t better describe what it did for me. I met a man while trying to pick his pocket actually so we didn’t meet on the best of terms but as he looked down on me he must have seen something I didn’t know even existed in me. He decided to give me a name vs. the number that omni had given me, He called me Zissouu he said it’s the name of a legendary sailor/actor of early earth films being a pirate himself he admired the seas (even the black ones with tiny glowing dots in them) and anything related to them.

His name was Captain Jim Salabim, he used to be a pirate. Well a modern day pirate although he always called himself a Corsair he said it was a gentleman’s pirate. He had long since hung his hat and shotgun up. Now he mainly crafted and perfected the art of shotgun sculpture. His signature piece was the Salabim shotgun. A carefully sculpted machinery piece that if you ever asked Jim where the materials came from you’d be met with the business end of it. I lived with Jim for 7 years, in that time he showed me the ways of the Corsair. “We must be quick, shoot straight, never flinch and always be just and fair to oneself!” was what he taught me.
He didn’t just teach me weapons and the way of the Corsair, he also taught me the ways to make his signature gun, the salabim but mine are no where near the quality of his. Don’t get me wrong mine are as excellent as can be, they come highly regarded as the best but his were perfection. On my twentieth birthday he gave me his most prized possession, His own personal “Captain” as he called it. It was a Salabim shotgun the likes of which the world has never seen, and never will see until my time has passed here on Rubi Ka. This shotgun has a scope attached to it and has the memories of Captain Jim himself almost “sewed” into it with a special called dead aim in it. With my natural skills for speed and accuracy it seemed a “perfect fit” by Captain Jim’s standards.

After his death, I headed out into the world on my own, a trained instrument of combat finely tuned in a way that earth and further more other planets might not have been ready for. By the time I got to Rubi Ka the planets factionary system was clearly in place Clans hated Omni and Omni hated Clans. This being said I went the way of the neutral, gave me a better chance to do things of great wonder for those that would need it. And that where I met her, my friend and best companion. But you need not concern yourself with her, that best left to me..........................

[Riahmant]

As the first rays on sunshine start to spread across the surface of Rubi Ka and reflect off the Dixxon River we see the sun hitting and then reflecting off of our hero Zissouus helmet. Its now almost overly apparent as to why he actually uses second tier trader helmet as his headgear of choice......its so bright out!. Silent and motionless he stares off endlessly into the river. Its not that he isnt paying attention to the things around him when its more of that hes getting in tune with them.

With his eyes closed and his shotgun safely secured he brings his hands back in and as he exhales he slowly pushes his hand out, we can see tiny glimpses of bright blue notum flecks surrounding his hands and arms. From his vision though everything is blue like the notum swirls around him. The notum flakes outline everything around him making the world glow with a light blue hue. Everything as far as he could see was turning blue.....but then something began to turn black.

At the second he noticed the black he heard the familiar pop of a long distance rifle and quickly dodged to the side. No sooner did he dodge then a bullet pierced the earth tossing dirt everywhere with a small explosion and he knows a second is coming * pop* *pop* *pop* three others follow to the sides almost in expectation of him dodging but somehow he keeps avoiding these brushes with death.

As I look in the general direction from which the shots came I know its time to move again but I want to see the flash I want to know where its coming from. *Bang* ha got em *click click beep* are the only sounds I make from my saftey point as I take my shotgun from my holster on the beeping backpack. *Thwap* a bullet pierces through the tree trunk I'm hiding behind. Well I guess its my turn, but now for the dilema moving from behind a tree trunk under fire and towards my would be assassian. Heh I remember now what jim showed me to use with such situation. Based around my quick opifex build I quickly resort to using "opening" a fast burst of speed to break through enemy defense. I charge towards my hitmans hill shots firing all the time past me. I chase him into a small shack abandoned shack setup. YOU'RE CLOAKING YOURSELF WELL. WHY DON'T YOU COME OUT AND TELL ME WHO SENT YOU AND I'LL SPARE YOU, I shout out.
I hear a slight creek of the boards fire a quick shot into them then a sudden scream pierces the air. I've hit my hitman, as I kick the door open of the shack I see my hitman....rather woman lying on the ground.
I kick her rifle away from her and move in to take her mask off to look hger in the eyes while I question her. The first thing that comes to my attention is that she is also an opifex. Alright we're gonna play a game here m'am I question you answer and if you cooperate I'll let you live. "Never!" she shouts out. Yes you will or else I'll leave you here to the shade outlaws with one bullet in the gun, and you know what will happen to you. I see her starting to ponder so I go to unload her rifle, she's young I know this will break her. "OKAY OKAY OKAY just dont leave me here to them."
First things first who sent you? "I'm not sure I just was sent the assignment from an unkown sender who paid in advance and paid very well." Well them let me see your com link, so I can inspect where it came from. "Can't the thing fried out the second I deleted the mission" And that didnt strike you as wierd? "No look at the field I'm in, it struck me as my favorite kinda job no strings nice quick...." Stop right there ok killing people isn't right and you talk about it so carelessly which concerns me. "Yeah but they paid alot in advance I figured you had made a grudge somewhere that needed to be settled." I have made alot of grudges, so you must have some great skills, they were impressive earlier. Alright well next question is, lets see you batch number. "Wha what does that have to do with anything? Just let me see it remember you havent given me enough information yet to go back on our deal. "What are you smirking for?" Payday, see look we're from the same batch *I roll up my sleeve and show off my batch 10310R. "Yeah but we're from different labs Im 10310G." So I know that but our test records are going to have the same identical medical director signatures, see all of mine happeded to be missing since I left the labs.
Look whatever they have paid you won't be enough to keep you alive for long once Im snuffed out Im sure they'll tie up all loose ends. So how about instead you come to work for me? "But you don't even know anything about me" I know you think you have great combat skills but they aren't good enough and I do need a legecy to pass them along to. "PFFFT she interupts I don't need your help Im one of the best agents in my field." Funny seeing as how Im the one standing here and your the one with a leg full of buckshot. "You got lucky is all!" Luck? luck had nothing to do with whats gone on here, do you even know who I am. "Yeah your zissouu the pirate of newland city." Ha is tht all you know because if thats so then you're more wrong then right the only thing your have right on is I'm Zissouu, I am a corsair first off, secondly as you know now Im from Rome Red. "Well your file is fairly blank." Yeah and you know why? Because I was supposed to live under OT control where a record isnt needed.
Here let me fill in the blanks for you, Im Zissouu a corsair, a trader trained by the great Jim Salabim. "You were trained by Jim Salabim?!" the young agent blurts out in shock. Yes and this shotgun was his final masterpiece, and he didn't just teach me how to shoot but how to manipulate my natural surroundings to benefit them to a matter of aiding my combat skills. "Im going to use them now to heal you some this may hurt a bit, but you've lived up to your end of the deal? Im sorry all along I've yet to get your name?" "Kiroa, is my name" Well then Kiroa should we partner up and I can teach you more about combat then you ever wanted to know? "Sure, but only because Im slightly intrested in why someone wanted you so dead, and because I know I've failed my mission which means they might come for me next" Well don't worry if your with me and you are willing to learn it will be you going after them if they try anything.