It was a quiet day on Allui station. Three battleships floated in space outside vaguely circular and pillar like station. Dozens of Kyodain combat frigates as well as other alien and Kyodain ships buzzed about the hundreds of docking bays. Each modular bay could hold anything from shuttles to large cruisers while still allowing individuals to safely load cargo and board their ships without risk of getting caught in the deadly vacuum of space. The station itself stood protected by the comparatively powerful Kyodain fleet as well as the station's own hidden deployable bolt-cannon turrets and shock-missile tubes. Many who laid eyes on the station saw it as a bastion of peace and safety for the quadrant.

Only part of the station itself was open to the public: The outer ring. The ring itself towered over those who entered. Once one boarded the station, they were greeted with a large, brightly lit marketplace where aliens had set up dozens of colorful stalls to sell their goods. It's roof towered to the top of the ring with bridges ringing around it, providing access to lodging for those who wished to stay on the station multiple days. There was one part of the wall cordoned off with a smaller room within. While the ceiling was still tall at ten feet compared to most races, the seven foot tall Kyodain were perfectly comfortable to discuss the nature of their clan and even become potential employers of individuals who wished to work with their cause. Everyone went about their business in peace and without fear of attack.

Revereth walked calmly through the public section of Allui station. He had taken a passenger freighter to the station in hopes of finding work. he had heard that the owners of the station, a clan of Seraphim calling themselves the Kyodain, were looking for mercenaries. If there was one thing he was good at, it would be fighting dangerous people. He took a puff of his cigarette, before putting it out and dropping it in the trash, letting smoke the nicotine-laced smoke be exhaled from his lungs as he did so. It would be a shame if such a clean environment ended up with cigarette butts littering the ground.

He glanced at the directions he had written onto a piece of paper, and then looked back up. He casually walked towards the room in front of him. If the directions were correct, this was the mercenary center. He walked inside, and took a look around.

"Who's the one to talk to if a man needs a job?" he asked,

A cluster of men from the recent passenger transports approached the spacious white information center. Some were young, armored in the latest models of mercenary gear. Others, clearly grizzled with rough and tumble weaponry that would be sure to last them in a fight. Others were dressed as mystics or magic users of sorts, attempting to advertise their mastery of the arcane arts. Many, however, weren't interested in mercenary work at all. Rather, they wanted in to Clan Kyodain to work as an extra pair of hands on the benevolent faction's ships. One stood out by stating his business right away.

"Of course, friend," Master-Guardian Zak greeted an especially rough-and-tumble looking individual, "Clan Kyodain always has use for more workers, follow me." Zak guided the being to a holographic table and opened a few displays, each detailing the kind of work mercenaries would like to do. Most of it was protection work, though Kyodain did have contracts to preemptively take out threats the fleet didn't have time for as well as participating as odd job warriors in combat scenarios where operatives not working in direct cohesion with the rest of the army might be a good thing. If a mercenary chose so, he may be equipped with certain Seraphim gear based permissions granted by higher ranking Kyodain. "Master-Guardian Zak," The Kyodain introduced himself, pointing a finger at his chest, "What are you called?"

Revereth looked over at the Master-Guardian, turning to face him properly.He nodded as he was told to follow, following the Kyodain to a holographic display, looking at the selection in front of him. He was better equipped mentally and skill wise for the more aggressive jobs, but he kept his options open. he turned back to the Master-Guardian."A pleasure, Master-Guardian. Former bounty hunter, Revereth. You can call me Rev if you'd like."

He looked back at the job-list. "What would a man do to get hired on as a merc here? Been out of work after some... Unfortunate events occurred. I got caught up in the cross-fire." he said, grimacing at the memories. The gear that the Clan offered was certainly effective, and deadly. "Out of curiosity, I haven't heard of you before a couple of weeks from today. What brings you folk to the Milky Way galaxy?"

The individual named himself Revereth, a bounty hunter. Or at least a former one. Bounty hunters in the so called milky-way glalaxy had proven to be unreliable at best, though they seemed to admire the collection of comparatively useless carbon stones. Gems as they called them.

"You simply have to prove you will fight for Kyodain when we ask. Equipment and Gemstones will be given as reward as your species especially seems to enjoy the latter-" Master-Guardian Zak was cut off by the crash of an explosion and a wave of heat. The cracks of ballistic gunfire were multiplied by the relative confines of the station, easily piercing through screaming crowds of aliens. Soft blue lights and soothing alert sounds began playing. "It appears you may prove your worth. Battle with Kyodain." Zak said to Revereth. A drone loaded with weapons dropped from the ceiling. Zak grabbed paired arc-pistols, a kinetic shield, and his personal arc-sword. Nearby Guardians and Riggers alike unloaded the drone and headed off towards the attackers. Kinetic shields raised, the Kyodain Guardians quickly moved forward to defend the civilians and escort them to safety.

The attackers themselves were dressed in normal alien clothing, though they were clearly wearing a thin layer of combat armor beneath baggy civilian clothes, and their weapons largely consisted of light SMGs and pistols.

Rev stared at the gems on the screen for a moment. For Dragons, gems were the most valuable payment one could receive. And the equipment here was nice. "Well, luckily for me, fighting is what I do best." he said. He blinked once or twice, looking back at the Master Guardian, and smiled. "It seems we've reached an accord." he said, holding his hand towards the Master Guardian, when an explosion wracked the station. He looked outside to see aliens raiding the corridors.

When the Master Guardian told him to prove his worth, he smirked. "With pleasure." he said, drawing his handguns and stepping outside. He'd walk quickly away from the door, firing at the pirates that were invading the station, drawing their fire away from the recruiting center. Hopefully the Master Guardian could muster his troops and get them out of the choke point before the Pirates would realize what he was doing. He took aim at a cluster, firing into it with both handguns, making sure to not hit civilians. The certainly weren't well armed- his armor and tough skin would likely stop any major damage from the pirates.

In addition to Rev, any alien on board with a gun and a sense of dignity joined the firefight against the sudden pirate threat. The cracks of ballistics, thumps of lasers, and the sharp pings of Arc-fire rang throughout the central marketplace. Sparks of bullets either collided with arrogant Alien defenders or clinked and sparked against Kyodain Kinetic shields and pressure suits. The advance itself was slow and the Kinetic shields often fell for several moments under concentrated fire, but the Kyodain warriors slowly advanced. Their arc rounds slicing through enemy armor with little more than small bursts from their Arc-rifles.

"They are assaulting from the southwestern public docking bays," Zak said, his voice broadcasted to the other Guardian defenders and they slowly shifted their push to travel down the ring's main boulevard to their left. However, their flank was slowly being exposed to a team of ten pirates holed up in a makeshift fort of crates and metal sheets. "Rev," The Master-Guardian called, "Eliminate the threat to our flanks." Zak charged ahead of the Kyodain lines, slicing three pirates clean in half before they could get to a crying female individual and her offspring. The Tech-Master's kinetic shield flared to life to protect the pair from being peppered with ballistic gunfire.

Rev glanced to the side only long enough to take in the heroic alien. "Keep your head down if they shoot at us. It's only a matter of time until the Clan reinforcements arrive." he shouted, ducking behind a stack of metal crates. As he reloaded his handguns, a few particularly brave pirates opened fire, their rounds pinging and ricocheting off of the crates. He dove out of the cover, rolling into a crouch where he shot down the pirates.

The shooting coming from behind him alerted him to the situation in the docking bays before the Master guardian did. "With pleasure." he said, crouch running to the docking bays and out of the fighting. There were dozens of civilians hiding between the combat zones. He wouldn't let the pirates make it to them. 

He entered the docking bay. It was chaos. Bullets and arc rounds whizzed around, pinging off of walls and the floor. He opened fire from the door, dropping the closest enemies first, making sure the pirates couldn't make it past him. "You're gonna have to try harder than this ya damned pirates!" he shouted.

As the advance continued, there became the distinct quiet screeching of atmosphere escaping Kyodain pressuire suits. Some were falling, even with the might of their far superior firepower and kinetic shields, the withering hail of bullets from the enemy side continued to batter down on the Kyodain and mercenary ranks, who responded by stepping further with the assistance of four newly arrived Seijo Battlesuits armed with bolt-sub guns as well as their own personal weaponry. With the additional firepower, it didn't take long for the advancing Defenders to break through a tall and wide bulkhead, revealing a set of four unusually large cargo transporters, each with a consistent flow of pirates. 

In the middle of the battle stood a hulking, serpentlike giant bellowing fire on the defenders. Their raised kinetic shields easily batted off the flames, but Rak saw it as an immediate threat and charged. The hulking beast's leathery grey flesh proved to be a match for Rak's arc-sword as the two duked it out in the thick of fighting.

Rev watched at the Kyodains and their mercs pushed the pirates back to their roots, smiling. And then he saw it. A massive creature- not a dragon, it had skin and no wings, but it spewed fire from its mouth, melting Kyodain and Pirates alike. He thought for a moment. If he didn't do something a lot of people would die. He sighed, calling out to the Master guardian.

"Clear your men from the Salamander. I can handle this, but it'll get real dicey for anyone caught underfoot." he said, holstering his handguns.

He walked forward, his body transforming into a thick black smoke, more and more appearing with each step, until his body was gone, armor and all. And then, with a snap, it reformed as a dragon. he glanced around. "I can take the salamander, but keep your men away." He said, flaring his wings and letting out a roar as he spewed fire into the lizard's face. he knew it wouldn't do much, but it wasn't supposed to do damage. He lunged forward, using the flame as an obscuring force as his teeth moved rapidly at the Salamander's throat.

Rev hadn't even needed to warn the Kyodain Guardians of his transformation, the warriors had already scattered to more defensive positions around the sides of the doorway to better survive the relentless hail of ballistics flying from the transports' boarding ramps. None of the guardians could believe the sight before their eyes. A Dragon, the single legendary creature consistent between both Kyodain's own history and that of this galaxy, was living and breathing before their eyes.
And it was fighting for them.

The moment Rev ripped out the throat of the hulking enemy beast, Kyodain took the oppurtunity to charge. With the monster slaughtered, the pirates had lost all morale. Their gunfire slowed to a hault as Arc-round tore through their meager armor and few remaining ranks. Those that could escaped inside the transports and launched. Their red ion engines flared to life as the ships streamed out of the docking bay. Master-Guardian Zak held up his arm, prompting Kyodian forces to cease their assault.

"These pirates will bother us no more," Zak said, "Watch." There was a distant thud from the ceiling above and blinding beams of white light streaked from above the docking bay. The railgun rounds pierced clean through the hull of the pirate's transports. Each exploded with a flash soundless fire and Zak turned towards Rev. "Welcome to clan Kyodain, friend Rev." He said.

[End]