The time is... ah. 15:53. 7 minutes early. As I enter the launch bay, I see shuttle craft of all make and model in the giant bay. There were 3 in loading procedures, aaaand. There. The middle one. It had some personnel loading up, with a few scant boxes. I begin my slow march forward.

  I have my gun now. It was extensively modified from its base model. I can change the acceleration through my link if needed. So it can go from mach 10 to mach 40. I had the barrel length reduced, so if I want the higher speeds, I would need to equip a barrel extension. Without, it was nine feet. With the extension, it is 13 feet 5 inches. Max I can get without it was 20.

  While at first glance it was both an upgrade and downgrade, I saw it purely as an upgrade. It looked like a martini henry, was made safer due to replaced materials and a new base. It was now completely made out of Necrodermis. This allows some shaping to fit it better to my personal preferences.

  I'll admit freely, did I need this? No. Did I need to copy an ancient gun from the 1600s or whatever? No. There are newer designs that allow more ammo, faster fire rate, more power availability, and so on. But, me, I now have style. And style is priceless.

  I almost ordered a bayonet made, but... it would be somewhat complicated to fit it to two barely lengths. A needless complication. My contemplations stop as I reach the shuttle. It waaas... 15:58. Ah. Perhaps I should have sped up. Hmmm.

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  As I enter, I see 7 people strapped into seats on the sides of the shuttle, and I see Carl and a woman, a seat open in the middle. I aproach, and bow.

  "Is this seat taken?" I ask politely. The woman looks at me for the first time and I see her freeze for a fraction of a second. Curious... She continues to stare, her heart rate elevated, and on retrospect... she is giving off no warp presence... not curious, interesting. As we star at each other, Carl speaks up. The staring lasting for just about 2.64 seconds.

  "Ah, Verotep. Yes, it is. Please sit. We leave imminently. Oh, and this is scout Sargent Freshki Zarcono." He states in a friendly tone.

  "Thank you commander." I smile with my voice, and sit. I begin to buckle up and turn to Freshki. "Good day miss. I am Verotep. Noble! Hunter! And many things besides!" I chuckle. "Are you perhaps my leader in the field?" I enquire. She hasn't stopped staring.

  It takes another second for her to respond. "I don't know." She states.

  ...That's it? 3 words? Thats... moderately disappointing. I nod politely, and turn to Carl. "Ah, speaking of, I must admit. Though I have been recruited, I haven't looked at what type of company we are, nor this latest job. Could you elucidate?" And he did.

  Turns out, that we were rich compared to other companies, even those who were larger. We used advanced tech acquired through personal connections made via the leadership. We were an all round company. We could guard, assault, negotiate and more. And our latest mission was to guard a resource rich plant from all aggressors, local and other.

  It was mildly interesting. I smiled internally. Freshki glancing at me occasionally dimmed that smile. She was nervous. Sweating, elevated heart rate, the works.

  This wouldn't do. I won't have those I associate with fear me. This will have to be addressed.