The station floated adrift, far above the dune-covered planet below, as many civilized peoples came to trade and sell their goods. Others came for housing, while others came for good times. This was normal on the stations Potrosi ran, because the stubby things thought it would be too much of a cost to put an actual policing force on their floating platforms. The only things that could possibly be considered a policing force were the small squads of cat-sized Spindle-Smokers, which tip-toed from rooftop to rooftop, spewing out a vile black smoke from their vents as their rivets clicked loudly with each step of their six legs. Every now and then, one would let out a shrill squeak to the others, giving out orders from command in a too-quick-to-comprehend line of 0's and 1's.

From a tall tower in the center of the city station, one of the short rulers of the station looked down upon the streets filled with traders. He grinned from behind his piglike gas mask as he watched his spiderlike machines apprehend a man who was about to shoot several innocent traders for "stealing his money". He watched as people traded and slowly his profits could be reaped for greater times. He watched for the people who heeded his call. "Need able-bodied men/women/organisms of any species willing to do anything in return for galactic currency/ supplies of anything desired." He said and sent the message across the galaxy to select stations that were bound to have people willing to risk life and limb for profit. Sure, the tycoon already had Rippee, a native of their new problem world, but a single man was not enough; the Potrosi knew that the infestation would spread quickly, and most likely already has a powerful root in his planet's deep, red-hot innards.

Jamithon Rippy stepped through the sliding doors several meters away, a hunchbacked look to him thanks to the massive jet thrusters he insisted he must carry everywhere he goes inside the tower. "'Ello boss," Rippee said in his usual non-sensical tone , flipping up his mask to reveal his roughened face, covered in thick soot, dust, and flakes of sand, "Rippee's 'ere!" The dwarf businessman did not turn to Jamithon, which irked the Prowler. "Err, sir?" Rippy once again tried to get the attention of his boss, trying to be as nice as possible.

The second time Ripee spoke to him, the Potrosi turned and fluently spoke. "Welcome back, Jamithon. I do hope that you are willing to help with the Whitland issue? I need as many people as possible tackling this problem, seeing as our machines cannot do so with any resemblance of success." The small alien began to trudge across the room towards a large throne, "As king, I cannot be embarrassed by not being able to deal with a little infestation." The Potrosi King sat on the small throne, now flipping a switch on the left arm. Blackening smoke began to billow from dual vents on the back to the throne, as the entire metal machine began to float about a foot off the ground, a dark red cape pinned to the throne's back dragging against the ground as it went.

"But, King Balthamar," Rippee began, "This is no ordinary infestation. You said so yourse-" The king pointed a long staff ending in a small golden statue of an earth-eagle's head, beak wide open, at Jamithon, pulling a lever on the staff to make the eagle's jaws snap shut loudly. Rippee nodded quietly, before replying, "I'll go wait for the other mercs then, your Highness," then bowing for about five seconds, and then leaving the room in a bit of the hurry.

Balthamar turned back to the window that overlooked the city from the comfort of his hover-throne, contemplating the possible failure of this operation. He then shook his head at the notion of failure; he had sent that message to the exact places he needed to get the perfect exterminators for himself.

Oh As the Varanus began to explore, a man-sized version of the small robots clambering around the roofs stepped up to Kaiyan. Every step it took made a loud click, with several of them even making sparks as they went. 

A grinding noise began to emanate from the machine's insides, before a regal fanfare played for about ten seconds. The Spindle-Smoker then lowered one of its long legs underneath its metal shell, pulling out a small envelope, and forcefully placing it into the alien's hand. The envelope had some royal insignia on it, a golden earth-eagle, with amethyst glazed eyes (yes, there were two purple jewels imbedded into the paper), behind a dark red background.

The machine stepped backwards several small steps, its ocular sensor locked on the reptilian alien, anticipating an action or series of actions.

--

King Balthamar grinned behind his mask as he watched what his machine saw. The screen was a bit hazy, but it gave enough detail to show who it was, and what species they were, and to Balthamar, that was enough information. He waved a hand, and a pack of Spindle-Smokers hopped off a wall adjacent to him, skittering from the room, out of the tower via an open window, and began to make their way towards Kaiyan's position at the shipdocks.

Another exterminator would be great, Balthamar thought, but it wouldn't be enough to solve a problem of such a magnitude. Or would it?

The King could not risk such a failure. He pulled a long wire from a hook above him. The Potrosi spoke into the transponder on its end. "Prepare two War-Smokers for transport to Whitland," he ordered, "In preparations for upcoming events."

A voice from the other side confirmed his demand, and the King let out a sigh of relief, sinking slightly back in his throne.

Bahn as he always was thinking to himself, "More exploring the more excitement rather than just sitting around doing nothing but files and paper work for most of the day but other than that I barely get to go freely wherever I want by myself." Taking a step out onto the shipdock, taking in a breath noticing that the air was more polluted than he'd expected. He stood tall at 7'8" glancing around at the surroundings. The Yeormian Ordriey noticed the robot walked up to someone who looked quite familiar to him. "The Varanus is here to? Hmm interesting." He took long strides until he was standing next to Kaiyan, "Ahem hello there I see you're here to Kaiyan. More of your business I'd assume?" He saw the envelope that the Varanus was handed by the robot.

He snorted out of curiosity of the robots that patrolled the rooftops, "I suppose those are the guards? Heh this place should be interesting but if not I'll go find some other place for some excitement." He sounded as if he was expecting to be highly disappointed and was ready to leave at any moment. His long red furry tail swished around in anticipation as he began to walk back and forth with his hands behind his back. With each step his hooves made heavy clomping sounds and the ordriey grunted as more thoughts came to mind.

The Shadow Serpent docked unto the floating Potrosi station, its magnetic locks clamping down into the landing bay. The ship’s back vents opened up and release pressure, hissing loudly, though not loud enough to drown out the constant noise coming from all the strange machines and gadgets littering the smog filled station. Once the Shadow Serpent had gone through the landing procedure and a quick diagnostics check, it lowered its ramp with a single man walking down. The man was tall, well built, rugged, and had a dark leather duster on, his lower face covered in a breathing apparatus and the top of his face covered by a wide brimmed hat, tastefully lowered at the front.
 
Ryckert slowly scanned the station, taking in its general lack of health regulations and thick, gray haze clinging to everything. Not the kind of place Ryckert liked being in, but the people who ran these types of operations usually paid well, seeing as they had a fortune with all that corner cutting. Ryckert reached into the breast pocket of his duster, took out a cigarette, was about to light it when he remembered he had a breather on. Ryckert’s brow furrowed, he sighed and tossed the cigarette to the floor. Ryckert had heard the call for action in one of the stations he was docked at a few systems away, and with nothing better to do, he decided to come and check out what this job was all about.
 
Ryckert hadn’t dealt with Potrosi before, so he thought of it as a chance to do some networking, establish his name on this sector of the galaxy and see about earning some credits. Ryckert looked around once more and noticed a large reptilian alien and another alien that looked somewhat familiar talking to one of the odd robots wandering around the place.
“Don’t look like no Potrosi to me,” Ryckert said under his breath.
 
Must be some type mercenaries, Ryckert though, probably here for the same reason he was here. Ryckert decided to head over to the talking duo and see what was what. Ryckert strode with confident, purposeful steps, waved a few steps before reaching them and pointed at the robot.
 

“I reckon you’re the man to see about a certain call going out across the galaxy.”

Kaiyan opened his eyes from meditation to find an larger machine clicking it's way towards him,he raised his horn head and watched the machine stop an few meters from him,it played musical sounds before revealing an envelope which it placed it Kaiyan's claws without delay.

Kaiyan looked at the strange piece of paper,which contained an seal he was unfamiliar with it contained the image of some sort of Avian creature...It's embroidered eyes surprised Kaiyan "Is that jewels?" He thought. Whomever embedded jewels in their envelopes was either immensely rich or had no idea of the value of these jewels. Using the metallic claw of his gauntlet he began to unseal the envelope just as an familiar figure approached him. Kaiyan recognized the tall figure an Ordriey....But not just any Ordriey...it was Bahn Rue Kahone whom Kaiyan met earlier on Allui station an few months ago.The Ordriey king instantly recognized the fully armoured Varanus which was not surprising considering he was the only Varanus Bahn has met.

Kaiyan stood and bowed his head to the Ordriey king. "Well met King Bahn....I'm investigating the message sent across the galaxy...I'm glad to see your highness is good and well." Kaiyan then raised his head to look up to the Ordriey king. "Whatever information should be in this enve....."

“I reckon you’re the man to see about a certain call going out across the galaxy.” Said an unfamiliar human.

Kaiyan turned his head to Ryckert grinning underneath his closed helm before he spoke. "Ah yes it seems another has joined our party,welcome Zodarrin as an matter of fact I was about to read the envelope this machine gave me.I believe this letter should contain what to do next."

Kaiyan then removed the letter from the envelope and began to read it aloud.

The machine quickly gave Bahn another envelope, the same as the other, before skittering up to the Shadow Serpent, playing fanfare, before handing the pirate another envelope.

Each envelope held a single note, embroidered with the same insignia minus the color.

The letter hidden in each envelope read,

"If you are reading this, then you have replied to the royal call for mercenary for hire. If you head to the main tower of the station, you will be greeted by my lesser associate. Do mind his psyche, as it is possible to break at will. More details of your reward for hiring will be discussed after my associate brings you to me. Please be advised; you will most likely have to work with other mercenaries." 

The larger spindle-smoker skittered away, disappearing among the crowd of traders and travelers not too far from the docks, as a group of five of the normal machines slowly creeped on the roofs above the people brung by the call, watching them with cold, unblinking cameras.

--

Balthamar laughed; he had not thought an Ordriey came to these areas, even more impossible a king. The Potrosi thought about the implications of this. If the king dies, his people may go into anarchy, and easy for the taking. If he doesn't and he succeeds with the plan, he will go down as a hero, and no retaliation will come from his people.  Either way, King Balthamar had little to fear.

Bahn flicked his long tail in the same manner that of Danihg. Carefully examining the envelope handed to him being cautious of the possibilities that could very well happen, "Em this is.. This is.. This should be entertaining enough to see what wild things be going about this place." He glancedat the pirate Ryckert, "Now I do hope you do not mind my being an ordriey human. Some people do consider us... Mmm... Obnoxious and wild..." The ordriey king paused as he tried putting the words together, "Don't you think we should get moving now? I think we should. I as king myself am interested in meeting with this royalty..." His footsteps were heavy as he passed the two up following the directions to get to the main tower. He sneezed as he was walking which caused his red mane and tail to rise on end making it look fluffy. "Damn I better not be sneezing practically my whole visit here and given that it's quite stuffy here."

Ryckert took the envelope that was handed to him and was surprised by how beautiful and intricate it was. The jewels were pristine and finely cut, about the only pretty thing in this smog filled station, and were of vibrant colors. Ryckert almost didn’t want to rip the seal, but he knew he had to, making sure to do it carefully. Ryckert gave the letter a quick glance over and carefully put it back into the envelope, then called one of his small drones from his ship to take the envelope back into the ship. After everyone was done reading their letter the large, furry creature declared himself King and an Ordriey.
 
“So, these things are called ordrieys,” Ryckert thought to himself, remembering the one he had fought a few months back in that medieval world.
 
The giant creature was impatient and lumbered off toward the tower the letter had spoken of.
 
Ryckert turned to the reptilian mercenary next to him and tipped his hat to him.
 
“Guess we will acquaint ourselves inside.”
 

Ryckert followed the Ordriey king to the tower and pressed the intercom box outside, letting those inside the tower know that they had guest. Ryckert studied the large Ordriey, wondering if it really was a king. A king of his people? If so, what the hell was it doing way out here and what the hell was it doing taking in a merc job? This galaxy was full of surprises; who knew Ryckert would be hunting down baddies for money alongside a king.

Kaiyan watched as Bahn made his way towards the large tower where they were supposed to go,turning to see the human pirate tipping his hat to him.Kaiyan at least knew it was an gesture of respect popular among the humans in the frontier regions.He formally nodded back to Ryckert as they both followed Bahn to the large metallic doors of the tower.

The design of this station in some ways mirrored that used in the Imperium,where an centralized building would usually tower over the city or town both as an sign of dominance and protection..At least for most.

They stopped behind Bahn and the armour-clad Varanus stood back watching both the sigil embroidered doors bearing the very same markings as the seal on the envelope and at Ryckert whom seemed to be interested in King Bahn for some reason,he suspected ulterior motives from the human but figured he would be more respectable then that....Whatever the case may be Kaiyan thought he would make an interesting figure to observe and document in his dossiers to the Imperium.

"Considering the chance we may work together on this mission,I do think it would be customary to introduce myself." Kaiyan said under his closed helm that hissed as it recycled the air. "My name is Kaiyan Vivar...." He bowed his horned head slightly armour slightly creaking,to Ryckert and awaited his response.

NAs the massively thick, gold-embroidered doors of the tower lethargically opened, a scrawny man stood before them, hunchbacked and thin, with spindly arms and legs, and a disheveled face, covered in dirt and grime. Rippee said, "You must be the new exterminators, yeah? Follow me and I'll show you to King Balthamar," before walking back to a lift, beckoning the others to follow him onto the large open elevator.

Various machines were docked around the main room. All of their cameras seemed to follow specific people in the group, never altering their angles away from the newcomers as they got onto the elevator.

--

As the elevator reached the top of the tower, its gate opened up to a large, open chamber, with a long carpet leading up to a massive, grey and gold encrusted throne, standing about 10 feet tall, where the 3 foot Potrosi sat in a regal pose, staring at the men he was hiring from behind his environmental protection mask. He let out a raspy cough, before he spoke;

"Greetings. I am King Balthamar, one of the four Kings of the Whitland operation. You understand that you are here for a job?  Well, as my associate stated on the way up, this is more of an extermination job than anything else. But do not fret, for I know you men love your action. You will not be exterminating earth-roaches or your demons which I've heard so much about, but a threat I doubt any of you have heard of before. Come, follow me to the examination room."

As he finished, his throne disconnected with the ground, hovering a good foot off it, with a red cape dragging from its back. Smoke spewed from several upwards-facing pipes on the back of the throne, but the height of the room made this pollutant little to worry about. The throne fluttered clumsily up to the door, which slid open to reveal the cool blue lighting inside, along with a sharp chill emanating from its interior.

Bahn greeted the potrosi king back, "Ah yes I'm certain we know?" He looked to the two others who had followed him before following the king to the door. 

The cold didn't bother the ordriey much which it felt pleasant to him, "I am interested in seeing this threat you speak of. Would this be of the examination room?" 

He then turned to Kaiyan and Ryckert walking back to them, "Hmm I find it interesting that I'm about to work alongside a Varanus and a Human this time and not a Yorgsh or a Dreamurrian... Have you ever worked with those? They tend to be very difficult to work with when the help is needed. Very aggravating."

He felt anxious for what he was about to see. The ordriey king kept shifting his eyes back and forth from the group as thoughts entered his mind. His breathing started to quicken as he felt a pain inside his body. He took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before releasing it out slowly before he went back to his quick breathing. The ordriey had his back turned to them now and was waiting for the next thing walking back to the door that was just opened.

Ryckert gave a rather impressive bow, extending both arms wide on either side and introduced himself to the Varanus named Kaiyan.
 
“My name is Ryckert Crimson, mercenary, bounty hunter, lover, and a man who appreciates a good challenge and a good drink, at your service,” Ryckert raised his hat a bit with the tip of his fingers and gave Kaiyan a roguish smile.
 
The Ordriey king was fidgeting around the room as the potrosi king talked about what this little mercenary group was about to get into.
 
“Hmm I find it interesting that I'm about to work alongside a Varanus and a Human this time and not a Yorgsh or a Dreamurrian... Have you ever worked with those? They tend to be very difficult to work with when the help is needed. Very aggravating."
 
“Can’t say that I have, not really sure what a Yorgsh is anyway,” Ryckert said as he followed the Potrosi throne into the examination room.
 

Something none of us have ever faced before, eh, Ryckert thought, this should be very interesting as long as the pay is good.

Kaiyan was rather impressed...smiling even under his closed helmet which hissed with each breath of air it recycled.

The Human introduced himself as Ryckert Crimson...an bounty hunter...an rogue...But his actions carried merit...whether or not it was because of overconfidence or sheer experience was hard to say to the trained Varanus Guardian.While Kaiyan did not trust the race that much he could'nt help but enjoy the company of this rogue....He had an certain...Charm.

Kaiyan would nod in acknowledgement of Ryckert's formal greeting. "If you used that bow among the nobles you would certainly gain their attention Ryckert Crimson."

The king greeted them and without delay led them to the next room.

The doors would open to an blue-lit interior,Kaiyan could feel the touch of the chilly air but his power armour kept his temperature to comfortable levels.Turning his head to listen to the comment made by King Bahn.

"I do not believe I have worked with those Zodarrin before....Forgive my lack of experience about the subject."

Kaiyan noticed the sudden spike in breathing that the Ordriey king....Anxious? No......Erratic breathing usually attributes to.....reactions of pain.....If he remembers his Tactical Assessment Training correctly.He would have to confront King Bahn either privately or before this mission begins...For what little he knew of Bahn he cared for the safety of the Ordriey king.....His code compelled him to protect the weak and those worthy to lead them.....He had yet to determine of Bahn was indeed worthy but still......The safety of this party should be Kaiyan's current concern.

Truth be told Kaiyan enjoyed an challenge that could test his steel.....He hoped this "job" would not disappoint.

The Potrosi king gestured to a large examination table in the middle of the room. On it was something under a large tarp. "Behold," King Balthamar stated as he pulls back the tarp, "The specimen..."

On the table was a large reptilian creature, with two gangly arms, which ended in three large claws, and covered in thick, dark red scales. Its mouth was lined with many sharp teeth, including two long fangs on the upper jaw. There were no eyes, and armored scales covered the place where eyes would be. The reptilian's body continues on, narrowing until it reaches a long fluke scale.

"These are the vermin I want you fine men to exterminate for me," Balthamar explained, "These are a plague upon my lands. They came from who-knows-where, but I know they fell from the sky. They only started to show up after a meteor shower. Then they started to eat our livestock, and then our people..." He turned for a moment, before continuing. "They live underground, which you could probably gather from their rather subterranean appearance. I know not how far they go, but I know they make large caves right under the surface thanks to some sonar imaging. This is where I believe they keep their eggs. If you can get down there, kill their eggs and as many adults as you can, I think that will devastate their population to the point where they will die off, and my profits can continue. That sound good to you all?"

Rippee laughed from behind the group, "Sounds like a knock-off idea, boss." The king smiled, though this could not be seen under his environmental suit, "Excellent. Now, head over to the station's armory, then head down to the ship port when you're ready. A cargo ship will be waiting for you there. Dismissed, boys. Hope to see Whitland free of these earthsnakes." The Potrosi hovered out of he room with his throne, and the door to the examination room closed behind the last person out.

Ryckert was examining the room they were in, unimpressed, when the Potrosi king pulled back the thick tarp that covered the strange, scaly creature that the king wanted gone from his planet. It was a strange fucking looking thing but Ryckert studied it carefully, its sharp teeth and claws looked like they could tear through flesh, maybe even light armor. Being surrounded by these damn things would mean a quick and very painful dead as one was torn apart, so facing these things in its caverns would be dangerous, especially if they were going after the creatures eggs. Ryckert scratched his chin, thinking things over when the Potrosi king pretty much signed them up for the job and quickly exited the room.
 
“Well, this certainly doesn’t bode well, facing these things in their caverns is a dead wish unless we take heavy weaponry to cut back their numbers, though I won’t feel safe taking rocket launchers or flame throwers down there. Those weapons would kill us too if we fired them wrong once, so I think we will need some heavy duty machine guns and some thick armor, unless you boys like being mincemeat?” Ryckert said, raising his eye brow at both of his new companions.
 

Ryckert would have to go back to his ship and switch out to his tactical gear, maybe grab a machine gun drone or two before getting on that transport ship, now way he was going down there with just his hand cannons and a couple grenades.

Bahn turned and looked at the human being, "I do not believe that anyone here would be that insane unless you were to refer to my own son who has death wishes running around like the other savages living in the wild. Heard once that he may have rampaged through a lowlife low tech world tearing people apart trying to save an elf. It's very difficult to find him since he's on the move constantly. Would appreciate any kind of weapon that would be useful. Grrreeeaaat... underground... Just perfect... Yeah the last thing I need is to be surrounded by. These... things." His words were obviously sarcastic as he examined the creature. He poked at the sharp teeth, "Em... A beauty you got there especially those teeth!" He showed off his fangs trying to compare them to the bizarre alien creature that lay there before him. Then clacked his teeth loudly before exiting the room the same behavior that the other ordriey would exhibit Ryckert had met before.

The yeormian ordriey began to walk to the transport ship but stopped thinking maybe he should follow Ryckert to his ship before going anywhere else. The pain in him was still there but he just brushed it off thinking of it as nothing to worry about but it until he suddenly felt the urge to drop down on all fours and a tingling sensation that bugged him. Bahn did look a bit uncomfortable and started to lower himself to the ground. Anybody who were to see him right now would have thought he would be on the verge of falling down. He kept repeating in his mind, "Keep control. Keep control of yourself until it is necessary."

Kaiyan neared the table taking his time to observe the corpse,it was indeed reptilian....Thick scales providing natural armour,what took his interest was the fact that the creature had no ocular senses...Eyes that he could see,considering they where subterranean creatures they probably used echo-location or another sense to navigate and detect prey.

Despite Kaiyan already being well armed there was one major concern about the location....And that was simply going into the nest with an limited force,he knew Bahn had some combat skill but did not wish for him to become harmed....As for the human....There was an aura about him,he seemed skillful but in the few dealings Kaiyan had with humans they seemed mostly untrustworthy and frail....He could be wrong....He was proven wrong before.

Kaiyan had little choice in the matter anyways....He needed the help of these Zodarrin.....He had yet to learn to trust others as much as he respected them. 

"I have full faith in my own equipment Ryckert Crimson....But it never hurts to be more prepared....Either way I will meet you all at the transport."

The fully armoured reptilian saluted by placing an fist against his chest as he turned to walk towards the ship port.Taking notice of Bahn's inner conflict.

"Lord Bahn.....I cannot help but ask if everything is alright....Forgive my intrusion but if you are wounded or tired I think it's best for you to remain here your majesty."

As the two entered the transport, they would notice two large versions of the spider-like machines that policed the city from its roofs. On each of them was a large cylindrical object with a light emanating from one end of the object. The other side was attached to the machine's frame underneath by a series of pivots and wires. Both were obviously offline, having no smoke billow from their tops.

A voice began to filter through the transport. "Hello, exterminators. It is I, King Balthamar, once again. I know that you two are waiting for your human friend, but I have some bad news. My newest scans of the world have one of the tribes of prowlers is heading towards Vox, the place I'm sending you to stop the creatures. Prowlers are what the rest of the universe will call savages, raiders, tribals, whatever you call scum who attack anyone who isn't one of their own. I need you all down there as soon as possible. As for the human, well, I assume he will be able to follow the coordinates to the area in which you will land. The transport will now leave, so please keep all hands inside the dock. Do not fail me, exterminators. My livelihood depends on it."

Slowly, the transport's back door shut to the space station, releasing the ship into the cold recesses of outer space. Once detached, the engines of the vessel kicked into use, letting out a light purr as it descended towards the desert world of Whitland.

Meanwhile, a small spider-like machine ran up to Ryckert's ship, placing a note, which explained the situation and gave the pirate coordinates to follow, onto the spacecraft's door, before skittering back onto a nearby roof.