Gamma.Girl/GammaPirate
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
The Coast Guard had hard time in and around Paragon City.
The big problem was that the bad guys were of a higher caliber than other places. They were smarter and more experienced at smuggling. They hid things better and they also knew the legal ins-and-outs of search and seizure.
Like most Law Enforcement Agencies, the Paragon Coast Guard had to have probable cause before boarding a vessel. And even when they had what they needed to take action, the bad guys often knew they were coming in advance.
This is where Heroes came in. The Coast Guard and other Agencies would leak information to select contacts in Striga, Independence Port and Talos Island. Those contacts would then pass on the information to their favorite Heroes.
Heroes had a little bit of flexibility. Sure, if they wanted to make legitimate arrests they had to follow the rules, too. But a lone Hero had a better chance of getting on board and catching them in the act than Coast Guard Cutter firing a warning shot over the bow.
And if they couldn't get the legal authorization, well... they could always just pop in and at least destroy the shipment. Most of the time, the bad guys would not file any complaints because the investigation might expose their illegal activities. And if they did make a complaint, well, Heroes know how to cover their legal tracks too.
Gamma.Girl got a tip from Long Jack that something big was passing through Striga on the way to Independence Port. It was the kind of something big that goes "BOOM" and kills lots of people. They didn't have any authority on this one, but that device had to be stopped.
Aribella skimmed over the waves at high speed. She loved the ocean, always had. She let her jacket fall open to feel the splash of ocean water against her skin as she flew. She plunged through the tops of some whitecaps just to savor the sensation.
The target vessel came into view and Abby immediately saw that something was wrong. The ship was listing badly, as if it had taken on a lot of water. But it was still steaming forward in spite of that. Something else was wrong too. Abby had done a lot of extended voyages with her family before becoming a crime fighter and unless this ship changed course… it would not make port in Striga. It would miss Striga and crash right into Talos.
All of Abby’s “Wow this is really bad” instincts were screaming at her. The sheer amount of “oogie” coming from that boat made her want to turn tail and run away.
She wouldn’t be much of Hero then, would she?
Gamma.Girl touched down on the deck of the ship headed for the doorway that lead to the interior. All these cargo ships seemed to be basically the same. What you would expect to be the bridge was usually nothing more than a door to a massive hold. And that door was hanging off it’s hinges. The damn thing was bent in half.
The door lead to a catwalk above the floor of the hold. Lights swung and flickered on and off casting chaotic shadows over the big cargo containers scattered around.
Gamma hovered over the first section, looking for anything unusual, any movement. The only thing she noticed was that all of the containers where opened.
She cautiously entered the next section of the cargo ship and almost let out a scream when she saw some kneeling on the floor. They were facing away from her and seemed hunched down over something. She took a few steps closer and the person suddenly looked up and over their shoulder at her.
From the nose down, they had no skin, and the skin above was decrepit and flaking away in chunks. The bare boned teeth were covered in glistening blood and bits of flesh. It held a human arm in it’s hands, that it had apparently been gnawing on. It dropped the arm and slowly stood up, shambling towards Gamma.
“Unnnnnnnggggg…. Pfffffffffyyyyyyyyyy”.
Gamma did let a out a screech then. She couldn’t help it. This was not a Vhazilok or Banished Pantheon. This was more of your classic, “Evil Dead” type of thing.
Gamma’s swords were designed for poking. She didn’t think they’d do much to this thing. She needed to put this thing down and fast. She concentrated and called up her radiation. She hadn’t mastered this trick yet but damn it she needed it now. A green glowing cutlass and long dagger appeared in her hands. In three quick moves she cut it’s legs out from under it and took it’s head off it’s shoulders. As the head rolled away, the teeth continued to snap, as if still trying to bite her. The torso began pulling itself along the floor with it arms and the legs just twitched in place.
“Ugggh! It won’t die”!
“You have to burn them”.
Gamma spun around and held her weapons up.
The newcomer stepped forward so Gamma could see her. A petite blond girl in a sexy pirate outfit holding a really big gun… and a Hero registration. Gamma glanced at it.
“Nassau Kate”
“Yep”.
“So, got anything to burn them with”?
“Yep”.
Kate held out her hand and the dismembered still moving body of the zombie burst into flames.
It was then that Gamma noticed Kate’s artificial leg. A rather cliché, pirate peg leg to be exact. But somehow it looked good on her and didn’t impede her movement at all.
A loud scream sounded from deeper in the vessel and Gamma and Kate, against all their combined instincts to flee, ran to investigate.
The next chamber was a charnel house. Dead bodies littered the floor, most of them obviously chewed and half devoured. They all seemed to be female, when you could even tell. They wore olive drab unitards with various equipment belts and vision enhancers. Kate and Gamma saw a few zombies shuffling through passage to the next chamber, drawn by the screams from the interior of the boat.
“Knives of Artemis”, said Gamma.
“Who”?
“I think they started as a faction of the Malta Group but then went all ‘Amazon Nation’ and broke away. Sometimes they still work with Malta and other times against. I don’t know if anyone has really figured out their agenda”.
The two Heroines continued on in pursuit of the zombies, hoping to save whoever was left alive.
In the central chamber the zombies seemed to be gathering around one spot. Gamma went airborne and lifted Kate so she could see. In the middle of the chamber stood three women, in the Knives of Artemis uniform, standing back to back in a triangle and holding out swords. Each zombie that advanced was quickly cut down but it was clear that it would only be a matter of time before the women were overwhelmed.
Kate signaled to Gamma to hold steady in the air. The three Artemis mercenaries looked up and spotted them.
“Cover as best you can,” shouted Kate, and pumped a few incendiaries into the group of zombies. The undead horde began to scatter but Kate used her control over fire to make it chase them.
“Time to get down and dirty”, she said.
Gamma nodded and floated them back down.
“Chop ‘em up as best you can, I’ll burn the rest”.
Gamma nodded again and summoned her radiation once more. She smile when saw that Kate had developed a similar trick with fire, forming it into a blazing sword.
The two of them began chewing through the zombies from one side while the Artemis mercs carved big holes in the line from that was closing in from the opposite side. Kate planted a few more incendiaries over on their side, too, and spread the flames to engulf the twitching remains.
It was the most harrowing fight Gamma had been in since rebooting her career as a scrapper. But it felt good to know she could do it, that she could still make a difference. It was also nice to know she didn’t have to rely on the impervium rapiers she usually employed. She had no intention of getting rid of them because they were awesome blades, but it comforting to know she could summon weapons whenever she needed them.
Gamma and Kate approached the Artemis mercs but they held up hands to keep distance. Their uniforms were torn and they were bleeding from multiple bites.
“It is too late for us. We’ve been infected and there is no cure. The Sisterhood knows what you have done to help us and, in the future, if you cross paths with us again, you’ll be considered Sisters first and only enemies if our goals truly diverge”.
With that the three women turned to face each other and with quick slashes, ensured they would not rise again as undead.
“Damn it”, said Gamma, “what the hell happened here”?
Kate shrugged.
“I got a tip that this ship was carrying some sort of plague that was to be released in Talos”.
“And I was told it had big effin’ bomb”.
“Looks like plague was closer”.
They made a sweep through the ship to make sure there no more living victims then began planting explosives. There was no way this ship could be allowed to reach Talos. The zombies might be toast but who knows what other microbes or nastiness it could be carrying. Gamma was sure she’s have to spend a week in decontamination just to get rid of the willies.
Gamma and Kate hovered high over the ship and watched the fire burst through the hull and consume it. They stayed there in mid-air until the Longbow cruiser came to pick them up and they went straight into a decontamination chamber.
Gamma and Kate sat in the chamber. Kate was none to happy when her clothes were confiscated and tossed into an incinerator.
Gamma seemed perfectly comfortable and was actually making a show of it for the Longbow troops.
After resting for a while they made some small talk until Kate seemed to be considering some idea.
“The Paragon Coast Guard seems to rely on us Heroes for a lot of things. There’s a lot of stuff that makes its way into Paragon by way of the ocean. I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time there was group of Heroes dedicated to this”.
“That’s a great idea, Kate. We seemed to work together ok, why don’t we put a team together”?
Kate nodded thoughtfully, “an objection to a Pirate theme”?
“Not at all, I love pirates”.
“How about making it an all-girls club”?
“I’d be fine with that, too, I love girls”.
Gamma giggled and winked at Kate who did an impressive full body blush.
“Ok, so… like, Pirate Ladies, or something”?
Gamma let loose a full belly laugh.
“I don’t think anyone has EVER referred to me as a ‘Lady’. If we’re using archaic terminology, I’m definitely a ‘Wench’”.
Kate chuckled, “Ok, then ‘Pirate Wenches’ it is”.
as the wreckage of the of the cargo vessel settled into the soft silt of the ocean floor, one pair of decaying feet began treading away from it, headed for Talos Island.
/que pipe organs and fade to black
