Ayeniner
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Post by Ayeniner on Dec 10, 2022 0:44:34 GMT -8
Kin need not have worried. The sturdy form of Motti, hidden though it was underneath a long shawl, approach and tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry I'm late, Korr. There was traffic. I hope I haven't missed anything!"
Kin almost frowned. 'Korr'? Then the nature of the mission provided context and he smiled. She's good...
"Not at all, Celly. I've not seen much that has caught my eye but I'm told that there's more to see near the spaceport."
She linked his arm. "Then to the spaceport! Perhaps the others are already there."
The others were already there. Chall sported greased cargo pants and a well-worn jacket; completely at odds with her sedentary office-based job. Less likely to be recognised. Jensen, however, stood proud in his grey imperial uniform. Standard First Order issue was darker than the older style. It wasn't a very safe bet. They approached.
"Kaligula," Kin said. "You're very recognisable in that pristine uniform of yours! Could spot you a mile away!"
Jensen adopted the given name immediately. "I'm very fond of it. I hope that it leaves an impression when I'm out and about."
Ah, so that's the reason, Kin realised. He wants the First Order to know it's someone with allegiance to a different imperial ideology.
Motti made a show of looking over some second-hand datapads before frowning. "There'll be more things further along, nearer the spaceport. Let's go!"
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Ayeniner
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Post by Ayeniner on Dec 11, 2022 4:02:11 GMT -8
The target Zeta heavy shuttle was, according to the plan, to be berthed in one of the local spaceport's circular bays. Kin spotted some security patrolling, but no First Order stormtroopers yet. They were in luck. He said as much. "No bucketheads in sight," he whispered.
Jensen did not break stride but his voice lowered in both volume and tone. "Stormtroopers are a symbol of peace and order; the First Order has warped their purpose to be expressions of their power. That is not the fault of the stormtroopers themselves and they deserve respect."
Won't stop you killing them if you need to, though Kin thought back. Audibly he said "I respectfully suggest that we hurry along. I'm not sure how much longer our luck will hold."
Jensen agreed and led Kin into the circular berth, leaving Motti and Chall next to some unpacked cargo containers. Kin drank in the vista; it was a large ship; impressive and vicious-looking. He understood why Jensen would want it. "One loadlifter and one supervisor," Kin pointed out the large droid carrying boxes that would crush a normal human and the alien directing it. "We stick to the plan?"
"The plan is everything," Jensen replied and marched up to the supervisor. Though he wasn't wielding it, his blaster sat very visibly at his hip. He reached the pale blue Twi'lek and cleared his throat. "The First Order believes this ship and its cargo to be equipment used by dissidents. I am here to confiscate it."
Kin had to admit that the imperial way of commanding underlings came very easily to Jensen.
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Ayeniner
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Post by Ayeniner on Dec 11, 2022 7:23:07 GMT -8
Kin watched as the supervisor blinked in confusion. Kin didn't understand when it replied in its own tongue, but Jensen seemed to have no problem. "What part of my sentence was unclear?"
The loadlifter continued its appointed task. Knowing where the shuttle had been diverted from he could guess those large containers held missiles in them. If they could steal some of those, too, then Kin knew someone who would pay handsomely for them. He stepped forward. "Sir," he said, "it appears the droid is continuing to unload potentially stolen cargo. It should stop at once."
Kin could feel Jensen bristle at his interruption, but he adapted to the narrative nonetheless. "It appears so, commander." Jensen gestured to the droid. "Order it to place those containers back into the shuttle. This ship is now property of the First Order. We will be leaving with it in fifteen minutes. Obstruction or protestation will be dealt with in the finest First Order manner. Please don't make me fill out cadaver paperwork - it is ever so tiresome. Am I understood?"
Kin watched as the Twi'lek began shouting in its own tongue at the droid. The loadlifter paused while it absorbed new instructions, then began placing the cargo containers back into the shuttle.
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Ayeniner
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Post by Ayeniner on Dec 11, 2022 9:58:46 GMT -8
The quarter hour passed slowly, but the time eventually came to make their move. The loadlifter hadn't finished returning all the cargo containers - one or two were still scattered about the berth - but they had more than what they came for. Kin followed Jensen as he approached the corrugated ramp. "The First Order thanks you for your service, berthmaster."
Motti and Chall followed. Kin saw the supervisor eyeing them suspiciously. "Insurgency experts," he offered quickly. "Directly from the Core Worlds to help root out enemies of the First Order." Kin didn't think that the excuse found purchase in the mind of the Twi'lek and so hurried aboard. Jensen was already pressing buttons on the many dashboards. "I thought Motti was our pilot?"
A few more toggles were flicked. "She is, however any imperial officer worthy of the station knows how to do pre-flight checks." He gestured to the pilot seat. "Make yourself comfortable, Motti. Kin, sweep the interior for any surprises."
Kin considered the request. "What am I looking for?"
Jensen strapped himself in the copilot chair as Motti coaxed the engines to life. "Any surprises."
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Ayeniner
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Post by Ayeniner on Dec 11, 2022 12:21:30 GMT -8
Kin placed a hand on the bulkhead to maintain balance as the shuttle gently lifted into the air. The interior was rather standard - the two seats in the cockpit and the tech station just behind them gave way to a smooth metal ladder that led down to the auxiliary communications terminal. The décor was distinctly imperial; utilitarian. Further sternward the interior of the shuttle opened up into the detachable cargo bay where all the missile-filled cargo containers were stored. Kin took note of the netted walls either side for crew storage before entering. "Nothing unusual yet," he shouted up into the cockpit.
He spoke too soon, however. The cargo bay door sighed open with a press of a button and he was face-to-chest with the loadlifter droid. It looked at him silently. "What are you doing here?" Kin asked.
"I was returning a cargo container when the ship took off. I assumed - "
Kin held a hand up to silence it. "Never mind," he said while craning his neck backwards. "Sir! I've found a surprise!"
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Ayeniner
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Post by Ayeniner on Dec 11, 2022 12:56:37 GMT -8
Jensen provided coordinates to Motti via his copilot station. Chall had begun a system diagnostic via the tech station behind them. "Stay low. We don't want to attract any more attention than is necessary."
He had to admit that Motti was a good pilot. She handled the cargo hauler like a natural. For such a large shuttle it was turning out to be a very smooth ride. Adumar's terrain sped past the viewport as Kin returned. "You seem to have picked up a companion," Jensen observed as he turned his chair around. "Can you explain?"
Kin nodded. Jensen noted that he was beginning to fall more and more in line with his orders and suggestions. Good. "In a nutshell: we took off with it onboard."
Jensen looked the loadlifter up and down. It coudl be useful, especially with their newfound cargo. "Very well. Shut it down, however. Who knows whether Keth Mali Missiles has tracking devices on their droids. We'll need to complete a thorough sweep once we've landed. We'll have to survey the shuttle, too."
The droid's photoreceptor shrunk into blackness as Kin found the switch. "Where are we landing?" Kin asked.
Jensen sat back down and swiveled to look out the viewport. Rocky hills gave way to forests, which began to carpet mountains. "You'll see shortly."
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Ayeniner
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Post by Ayeniner on Dec 12, 2022 2:54:04 GMT -8
The Zeta shuttle landed softly, if loudly. Waves of kinetic energy propagated through the wind and, most visibly, through the grass as repulsorlifts worked hard to manage the descent. Jensen eyed Motti. "An excellent landing." Motti nodded her thanks.
Chall stood from her technician's station. "Sir, the diagnostic is complete and the results suggest there is native software that allows for asset tracking and location."
Jensen also stood and headed for the ladders. "Can you shut it down?"
"Yes sir. Give me a few hours."
"You have thirty minutes, Chall. We will be moving on shortly and I cannot tolerate the risk of being found. I have every faith in your abilities."
Kin was waiting for him outside. The green grass and trees in the distance were a novel sight - at least in comparison to the duracrete jungle of the big cities. "Mission accomplished," Kin said and smiled.
Jensen walked far enough away so that when he turned around he could see their new shuttle in its entirety. He took a deep breath. "Not quite. We have, however, completed the big milestones in the plan. You all played your parts magnificently; well done."
Kin seemed to sense the 'but'. Jensen felt his eyes on him as he considered his next sentence. "Kin, tell me. What is your background? I know Motti is a pilot, and I know Chall works in a spaceport. You, however... appear to have skills and knowledge that have surprised me."
Kin shook his head. "Not ready to talk about that yet, sir."
Jensen narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "It is better that I know what you are capable of so that you may best serve the Vanguard, but I also respect a certain element of privacy. We will revisit the topic at a later date."
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Ayeniner
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Post by Ayeniner on Dec 13, 2022 8:23:20 GMT -8
Jensen had had no reason to doubt Chall's capabilities. She had located and neurtalised the software by the twenty ninth minute. They were now ready to go home.
"I'm feeding you the coordinates now," he said from his copilot station. Motti nodded an acknowledgement and fired up the engines. "Chall, I'll also need you to erase the current transponder and obtain a list of black market ones that we can use."
"Sir?"
Jensen swiveled in his seat. "What part was unclear?"
Chall looked uncomfortable. "I'd be stealing from my employer, in a sense."
"The Vanguard is everything. You are not stealing, but providing. It's necessary, unfortunately, or we'd be caught before our movement truly takes off. There will be a time where we can declare ourselves openly as an imperial organisation. Until then, lest we be strangled at birth, we need to do things that make us uncomfortable. Do you think your conscience can be overcome?"
The spaceport worker took a moment before gulping and nodding.
"Excellent. I knew I could count on you."
The shuttle took off once more.
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Nem Yin
The First Order
The dark expanse of the intergalactic void is not as empty as they would have you believe...
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Post by Nem Yin on Feb 7, 2023 9:13:41 GMT -8
In the distant past... A pack of mounted farumme galloped across the rolling hills of the grass lands beyond Yedagon City. On the back of a dozen of the reptilian riding beasts were Gamorrean mercenaries, large axe-wielding war-boars with steaming snouts and gold banded tusks, bedecked in makeshift armour that bore the mark of their villainous leader. At the head of the riding column was none other than He, the Great Swine himself, General Porkus the Rotund. The porcine warband leader had been camped in the forest outside the city for weeks, conducting raids on the local human population of Yedagon, which had resulted in a strike on the Tarrvin-on-Kallik corporation. During the raid, the ham-handed fiend made off with the Director of the starship manufacturer's daughter, the fair maiden Josephine Béatrice Guinevere. Porkus and his band of mercenary bandits snorted and squealed in merry gamorrese, laughing in their piggish way as they easily evaded the local militia and made corpses of anyone foolish enough to come after them. On the back of Porkus' farumme beast the maiden shrieked, sobbing into the mounts scales as fear and hopelessness consumed her.For if Adumar's men-at-arms were unable to save her, what hope did she truly have of rescue? Answering that call was a single rider, tracking the band across the plains all the way back to their den of villainy. Porkus and his boars knew the figure was there. They could spot him just at the edge of their vision every time they looked over their shoulder. What's more, that individual soul appeared to be getting closer, allowing more details to be made out. Like the gamorreans, the rider was mounted on a reptilian creature, though his was no native farumme. This mount was larger, faster, and far more frightening. Its snout ended in jaws full of sharp teeth, while its clawed feet tore up the terrain under foot, quickly making up the distance between them. Mounted on the back of the saddled predator was an even more intimidating looking figure, clad from foot to neck in a glossy black carapace armour that seemed to swallow the glare of the mid day sun beating down overhead. The figure's face was hidden by a hood and some starfish shaped breathing device sealed over their mouth. Only the intense green glow of the armoured rider's ocular implants pierced that shrouded veil, focused on the fleeing band of brigands.Porkus looked over his shoulder at the encroaching rider. His green sweat slick brow narrowed as he glared with two beady black eyes, then squealed in alarm as he recognized their pursuer. "It's the Crab Knight!" Squealed Porkus in primitive pig-speech. The gamorrean snapped the reigns, urging the farumme between his legs to increase its relentless pace.All nefarious underworld types in the Outer Rim, or at least those in and around Adumar, had heard the tale of Sir Crabus the Crusty. Originally a pirate-reaver from beyond the edge of known space, the Crab Knight had been swayed by the regal majesty and purity of purpose of the First Order Grand Admiral, Jenia Kasalle. On a small inlet at the centre of a mystical lake deep in the heart of Adumar's forest, Executor Nem of Domain Yin, pledged himself to her cause and was sworn in as one of the first Knights of the Imperial Table. Bending the knee to the Lady of the Lake, he promised to defend the weak and take up his amphistaff against those that would commit foul acts of injustice.Nearing even closer now, more of the Crab Knight's features could be made out. The carapace armour he wore was actually a modified suit of vonduun skerr kyrric, otherwise known as crab plate among the infidel races. Calcified knuckles protruded from the corpse pallor flesh of his hands, gripping leathery reigns that he snapped with enthusiasm, forcing the bissop between his legs to increase its already frantic pace. Foam trailed from the reptilian hound's slathering jaws, while wisps of steam bled from its flaring nostril slits. He would be on them in minutes.Raising a porkchop sized wrist, Porkus squealed into his communicator, calling for assistance from his camp which they had almost reached. In the forest beyond, a screeching whine of twin-ion engines echoed across the woods as the lush green canopy shook and was parted by a rising TIE Fighter. This particular starfighter had originally belonged to the First Order, but was latter stolen during of the the Great Swine's midnight raids. The TIE had been redecorated with tribal gamorrean décor. Bone charms rattled from its solar panel wings and its hull was marked by muddy hoofs. Despite the primitive paint job, it was no less deadly than when it had belonged to the Imperials, and was now gliding over the forest in the direction of our lone hero. Kill Him! Squealed an enraged Porkus into his communicator. A green light blinked into life on the device as the pilot responded in the affirmative. Veering on an intercept course, the TIE Fighter accelerated towards the galloping bissop. It opened fire, directing emerald green blasts of energized gas into the ground in front of the lone rider. Grass and dirt erupted in an expanding blast wave of fire and debris, obscuring the starfighter pilot's vision with a rising cloud of smoke. Amazingly, obsidian hooked claws sliced through the choking cloud and pulled behind it the rest of the bissop's form and the rider atop its back. Nem and his mount charged from the cloud, appearing singed but otherwise unscathed.Screeching as it dominated the sky, the TIE began to bank as it turned around in a wide loop before once more attempting to gain a firing solution on the Crab Knight. Reaching down to a plasma eel coiled around his crab plated waist, serving in some capacity as a belt, Nem pulled the biot free and snapped it rigid with a flick of his wrist. With his left hand on the reigns, he held the eel in his right overhead and leaned over the saddle to the left, causing his bissop to begin to turn in that direction. When he had enough of an angle on the TIE Fighter streaking back towards him, he pulled back his arm and swung it forwards with all his strength, releasing the eel at the apex of his cast. It was a good throw, though most of the credit had to go to the biots ability to home in on a target. The eels head glowed cobalt blue as it charged plasma, venting excess energy from its tail to propel it faster at the last moment. The organic spear struck the cockpit window of the TIE and exploded with the force of a thermal detonator, blasting the transparasteel window inwards before transforming the occupant inside into cooked ground pork. The TIE exploded in a ball of fire and crash into the mostly vacant grass plains below.The Gamorrean warband leader's eyes went wide with terror. He turned his snout forwards, his body letting out a sigh of relief as he realized they had reached the camp. Thirty or so broad chested war boars emerged from the forest, each wielding a more deadly variety of blastsword, known as a blastaxe. It's exactly what you are thinking. The herculean hogs had taken the more lame sword part of the blastsword and effectively replaced it with a much cooler axe. Their sausage fingers were wrapped in spiked war gauntlets and their forest green flesh was mostly hidden away beneath a layer of crude iron plate armour. Some even carried blast doors as shields on their barrel shaped forearms. They snorted and oinked in savage glee like a pack of feral watch-beasts, banging their stone sharpened blastaxes against their primitive but thickly armoured chest-pieces. Porkus and his eleven brigand companions unsaddled as they reached the line of armoured swine, joining them in facing down the approaching Crab Knight.Nem pulled back on the reigns, slowing his beast's stride to a trot. A long shimmering cape of glistaweb hung from his carapace pauldrons down over the back of his bissop, a sparkling black tapestry a match for the starry night sky. Behind him swaying in the wind was a bone pole attached to the saddle, from which a robeskin flag waved in the breeze. Upon its surface was the majestic emblem of Imperial House Crabus, a red pincered crustacean on a pearlescent white backdrop. Hot gouts of steam blasted from the sides of the gnullith breathing device painfully clamped over the Executor's mouth, pumping the former reaver full of invigorating Ossus Kush, heightening his awareness of the moment. His furious green mqaaq'it glowed intensely bright like two boiling volcanic calderas, partly obscured with each smoking exhalation of ragged breath. Raising a crab covered arm to his chest, the intendant wrapped one hand around a coiled length of his slumbering amphistaff Shem-Veesu, and began to unwind it from around his chest. Its long serpentine length draped down over the side of the saddle, until an expert stroke of the biots reflex by Nem's thumb sent an electrical impulse through the snake that caused its semi crystalline cell structure to realign. It straightened into a rigid three meter long halberd that the Crab Knight spun around in his grip, pointing the spear tip shaped tail in the direction of Porkus."I give yee this one chance, General Porkus." Hissed Nem through his rebreather, black veins pulsating across his tight face as the indignity of his present situation offended his moral sensibilities. "Release the girl now, and I will spare your lives this day. Refuse and face the uncompromising hand of Imperial justice, you villainous swine!" His bissop whinnied in support, snapping its dagger length jaws at the air.At the forests edge, Porkus and his small army of oinkers snickered and snorted. There was only one obvious outcome. No matter how fearsome the Crab Knight's reputation, he couldn't hope to face down the Great Swine's iron war pigs and survive. Taking his own blastaxe into his hammy fists, the Gamorrean Warchief swung the blade's head forwards and squealed a terrible cry to battle. "Kill Him!!!" SQUEAL!!! The air between the forests edge and the thirty or so feet away that Nem and his bissop stood erupted in a storm of energized hail. Blaster bolts shrieked from the ends of poorly aimed blastaxes, their barrels resting on the top of blastshields or otherwise gripped in two hands, held at waist level. The Crab Knight responded in an instant, twirling his amphistaff in his hands faster than the eye could see, deflecting and simultaneously redirecting blaster bolts back at the boars that had fired them. Barely more than a handful of bolts made it through this near-impenetrable barrier, only to be turned aside by his rigid crab plate. Despite his success, his serpentine-staff was not able to completely protect the bissop beneath him, and it collapsed as several bolts burned their way through its scaly hide and set its flesh ablaze.Nem fell behind his dropping mount, and was just fortunate enough to pull his leg free before it became trapped beneath the expired beast of burden. He used its body as a meat shield, its scaly flesh swallowing up the incoming fire, or at least that which was lucky enough to have been inexpertly aimed in his direction. After a few more second of this the fire began to slacken until it eventually ceased entirely. Several gamorrean boars lay dead, having been hit by returned blaster bolts, but the bulk of the brigands remained intact. Porkus held a ham sized hand to his brow as he tried to see through the residual smoke. The air was heavy with the scent of scorched ozone. Had the Crab Knight been vanquished? Mmmm, not quite. A corpse grey hand plucked a razor shelled nang-hul free from his armour and tossed it away, causing the winged beetle to buzz through the air and swing around in a wide loop. Like a precision guided rocket, the flying insect streaked past the front row of the gamorrean line, dragging its razor edged shell across green skinned necks, opening throats in a sequence of silenced-squeals. Sir Crabus' hand shot up, catching the blood soaked nang-hul in his palm as it completed its circular loop, which was followed by fifteen thuds as an equal number of boars dropped dead into the dirt."I warned yee, Porkus!" Shouted Nem from behind the dead bissop as he returned the razor bug to his chest plate. "You might have bested Yedagon's militia, but now yee face Sir Crabus the Crusty!"Angry snorts were his only reply. The remainder of the savage swine took that as the sign to charge, raising their weapons in hand as they rushed towards the Crab Knight in cover. Nem rose from behind the bissop with his rigid amphistaff held in both hands, once more twirling it with incredible speed and precision. When the first charging boar reached the Executor and the edge of their blastaxe met the atom thin edge of his amphistaff, the gamorrean's blade was sheered clean through with a shower of sparks. Nem then slammed his hard forehead ridges into the gamorreans face, shattering their snout in a welter of green skin and thick red blood. Then the next fell to his spear, and the next, and the next. Each foe that charged the Crab Knight was soon parted from their life as Shem-Veesu sliced cleanly through their thick iron plate as though it were parchment. Every move of his was well thought out and careful, each step preplanned with acute tactical awareness. Despite the organic nature of his equipment, Nem fought like a machine. In short order he had cut down the last of the primitive pigs, until it was only Porkus and himself left standing."Porkus!" Roared Nem, circling the porcine war chief that stood between him and the fair lady Josephine Béatrice Guinevere. The Crab Knight held his amphistaff diagonally across his chest, every few seconds giving it a twirl in one direction or the other, always maintaining eye contact with the Gamorrean brute. "On my oath as a Knight of the Imperial Table, this is where you meet your end!"The brigand chief concealed his fear with a confident piggish oink. Porkus' chest seemed to swell as he tensed and gave his blastaxe a few swings. "I'll enjoy gutting you, Crab Knight. Then I'll have my way with the Director's daughter. She'll bear me a whole drove of porklings! Ahahaha! Squeal! Squeal! Oink!"Fiend!" Snarled Nem, and then their blades met in a flashing dance of songsteel and crystal scale, trading blows faster than the naked eye could follow. For all his bulk, Porkus was able to match the intensity of the Executor's speed, while returning each blow with a hammer strong strike of his own. Chitin particles scattered across the forest floor as the Gamorrean's blastaxe nicked chips out of his crab plate, forcing him to give ground. Smelling a quick victory, the war chief raised his blastaxe overhead in a two handed grip, preparing to swing it down and cleave the Crab Knight in twain. At the last minute, Nem drove the haft of his amphistaff into the chin of the boar's snout and snapped back Porkus' head, before twisting 180 degrees to thrust the tail end of his organic polearm through the brigands guts. Shem-Veesu's tail carved clean through to the other side, emerging in a welter of gore from the pig's back. Nem pulled his amphistaff free as Porkus fell to his knees, hammy hands holding in sausage string intestines. The Executor then cracked the flat side of his staff against the Great Swine's horned head and was satisfied as he toppled over dead with a meaty smack.Finally, the citizens of Yedagon were free from the Great Swine's reign of terror. Once more Imperial justice triumphed over lawless disorder.Upon seeing her rescuer, the fair maiden Josephine Béatrice Guinevere recoiled in terror. Unfortunately the Crab Knight's somewhat demonic appearance had that effect on honest Imperial citizens. Nem raised his hands to his hood and removed it, revealing his bald scalp. He then reached to the starfish shaped gnullith over his mouth and pried it free with a wet squelch. His skeletal nub nosed visage was now exposed in its horrifying entirety. "Fear not, milady. Tis I, Sir Crabus the Crusty." Josephine ceased beating her fists against the intendant's chest plate and finally looked up into the Yuuzhan Vong's ocular implants, recognizing him at once. She let out a cry of relief and threw her arms around the Crab Knight. "Oh it is you, Sir Crabus! Thank the Emperor! You saved me from that dastardly swine." She gazed into his glowing eyes, a sultry look writ across her comely feminine features. "However might I repay you?"And so ends this tale of the Crab Knight, who would later leave the Knights of the Imperial Table in disgrace after it was determined that he had made off the fair maiden Josephine's virtue before returning her to her highly positioned nobleman father.
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