AN: So, anyway... I figure it might take me a little longer than a month to get this thing to where I'm happy enough with it to publish (or maybe not.) Either way, I decided to put up a new chapter. I may eventually break this chapter into two and expand the different aspects, however.

So, thus begins what I am going to consider... the first chapter of volume 2. It'll still be another 2 weeks or so before the next update, but you've been good so I decided to give you one today. :)

Chapter 17: Return of the Legend

Deep, deep, within the seemingly mundane confines of an apparently normal office building, a discussion of paramount importance occurred. It was a conversation that would change the very foundation on which those speaking, stood.

"Come on, do you really want to pack up and move? We just got comfortable here." asked Daedra with a slight pout.

"Now, sister dear, you do know that we have to continue upgrading to bigger and better locations. It's necessary for our public image." replied the Grand Emissary.

Daedra blew out a frustrated breath. "But we already did it eighty-three years ago. Why the rush?"

Her dear brother merely lifted his hand and showed her the back of it in a casual manner. "Sister, we're doing this. Stop complaining about the fact that you have to actually pack up all of the crap in your room."

She groaned loudly. "It's not crap! It's memorabilia..."

"Right. Memorable crap is still crap." said the Grand Emissary, a long suffering sigh upon his lips.

Daedra unleashed an overpowering pout at her elder brother. "But!"

"No buts. Go clean your room!" commanded the emissary. "We'll need to be moved within the next six years or so."

"That's so little time, dear brother!" cried Daedra. She leaned forward, her most obvious maidenly assets presented like a promise. "Can't you see fit to allow your sweet lover a little more time?"

"If she asked me, certainly. However, as you are my sister and not my lover... Go. Clean. Your. Room." stated the emissary with finality.

"Bully." she said with a pout. Her pout shifted to a beautiful smile, and then to a lecherous one. "Please bully me more..."

He sighed loudly once more and shook his head. "You get worse by the decade, sister."

She threw one of her hands into the air then said, "Fine. Fine. I'll clean my room."

"Good. See that you do." he said in an even tone of voice.

Daedra pouted at him again. They were quite for a time. The emissary looked away from her after the moment began to pass, and started to work once more. It was not long before she said, "You never play with me anymore."

"You're a grown goddess Daedra. You'll just have to learn to play with yourself." said the emissary without thinking.

"But brother..." she said in a sweet tone. "I do that all the time..."

"Daedra, dear sister... You're being creepy again." said the emissary before he waved his hand through the air. An information screen appeared before him. "Why not go pick someone from this list and stalk them for a while instead."

She made a disgusted noise. "Following those pathetic mortals around again?"

"It's what we do, sister."

"But they're all so boring. You've had me seek out dozens of them who have entered the game, and most do nothing more than spend most of their time gibbering in a corner before reluctantly going out to avoid death." she said, her pout becoming ever so much broader.

"All of them?" he asked her curiously. "They are all boring? You found not a single one of them interesting enough to at least keep you busy, and away from me while I do my work?"

She began to repeat her previously assessment but then a brief smile flickered across her face. "Well, actually... There is that one..."

"That one?" asked the Grand Emissary. Suddenly, he was quite intrigued. It was not every day that his overly affectionate little sister found someone who interested her even slightly.

"Ah, he's on your list, my master." said Daedra. She highlighted a name then showed it to him.

He glanced at the name then made a curiously intrigued humming sound. "This one... The one who likes to tip toe around parking lots, and bore me to tears?"

"I followed him for a while, as you commanded of me, my dark and sexy master." said Daedra lightly.

A tired sigh escaped the elder brother as he dealt with the strange affections of his sister. "I have not read your report, yet. What did he do that was so interesting?"

"Well, instead of sitting in a corner and crying like most of the champions who chose to enter the game, this fellow actually makes the occasional joke and actually seems to enjoy some of the missions that he goes on."

"That's hardly unique. There are several hundred thousand champions who actually enjoy their new lives." said the emissary in a less curious tone.

Daedra giggled sweetly. "Well, actually... I also sort of spoke with him a little."

The emissary's eyes went wide. "You did what? Daedra, you know that is forbidden! It violates the rules."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, brother dear. He never saw me. Plus, I did not give him any actual aid or advice." said Daedra.

"No, no... Clearly you have done a terrible thing and violated the sanctity of the contest." said the Grand Emissary.

"Brother...?" asked Daedra, her eyes going wide.

The emissary stood up then took a deep breath. "Daedra, for violating the rules I must punish you."

A hint of drool trickled down the corner of her lip. "Yes! Please do!"

He smiled brightly as he said, "For the remainder of that champion's life, you will be his personal manager."

"What? No!" she exclaimed, mortified at the very thought of it.

"This is not a discussion. You are now bound to him. Whenever he engages in a mission, you will follow him around and try to create the best possible footage to improve his follower count." said the emissary.

"No, no... If you assign me to such a fate, I won't be able to come to see you as often! Brother!" she exclaimed with a sad little wail.

He sighed languidly then took a moment to affect a sad expression. "I will try not to do anything too interesting while you are gone, my dear sister."

"Brother! No!" she cried once more, before he casually dismissed her and she faded out of sight.

The Grand Emissary stood alone in the room for a moment. His breathing came a little quicker after a brief few seconds passed. His eyes widened and a bubbly laugh escaped his lips. He drew a hand to his mouth then lowered it after a moment even as he threw his head back. This time the laugh was joyous and exuberant. "Free! For a short time, I am free!"

He hopped back down into his comfortable office chair then slapped the table with his palm. "I should get that beautiful mortal bastard a nice thank you gift."

For the first time in quite some time, the Grand Emissary smiled for reasons that had nothing to do with profit shares and follower counts. He was free. Finally, for a little while at least, he was free!

**

It was a strange thing, living life on rails. For well over a week Scott had been forced to take mission after mission, rarely given the chance to actually spend time with another human being. Everything he had done had been about survival, and the mission. Now that he had the better part of a week to do whatever he pleased, it was hard to decide what to do first.

In some ways, it was like what happens when a puppy is born and raised inside of a house. The puppy might look out of a window, but there is always a barrier. The puppy is always safe inside its little house-box. However, a day comes when the little thing put out into the yard. The puppy, suddenly exposed to a world without perceivable boundaries is likely to crouch low, likely to whimper and look around uncertain of anything.

There are so many options, and some of them quite terrifying, in the brave new world that the poor little puppy has been thrust into. In that way, life shows hints of what it is like for a man to be tossed into an alternate world. At the moment, Scott was a confused pup uncertain of himself and what he wanted to do first.

In the end, the first thing Scott chose to do was to make a sandwich. Certainly it was not the most exciting option, but it was a choice that he could make. While he ate, he considered the exact next step that he needed to take, and he also absent-mindedly read his engineering book.

After his meal, Scott finally decided to stop being a confused little puppy and made another decision. "It's time to go shopping." he said, before a decisive nod of his head.

He went to the recreation room and checked into a few things. "So, I can purchase a life in Bounty Star?" he asked lightly.

Getting a life basically meant documentation. He could purchase credentials that would be perfectly acceptable in that world setting. As such, he would be able to buy or sell things with no issue, and even rent or buy land in federation areas.

"So, I'll be buying that for a hundred EXP..." said Scott, before converting one thousand more EXP to Credits. In the process of getting a life, he was given an ID card. "I see, it acts like a physical debit card as well..."

As far as the setting of Bounty Star was concerned, he was Scott Davidson, a man from the outer-rim. Basically, the galactic equivalent of an extreme rural area. He might be viewed as an interplanetary hick, but few people would be surprised by his lack of knowledge.

"So, I'm now a millionaire. Let's go see what a million credits can buy." said Scott. He selected Bounty Star as his world of choice then stepped through the recreation room door. Hellespont, the free space port, now stood before him. The simulated daylight was a nice touch, though he could still see the stars shining through the massive glass-like dome overhead. It was a terrible design for something that existed in space, but it was also glorious.

He walked out of the small alleyway that he had arrived in, and noticed a multitude of people wandering around. Most were human, but there were also all manner of creatures floating about. Some of them literally floated, as they puttered along on an anti-gravity device. The frog man sitting on something that resembled a skateboard was the most interesting. He had the sort of look one might have if he was bored of everything to do with life. Of course, as far as Scott knew the frog man might have been deliriously happy at the moment. He had no point of reference for that particular species.

After he took in the sights for a moment, he immediately began to walk around the massive complex with a purpose. He needed to find the local equivalent of an ATM. The identity that he had purchased, had come with a modest mental download as well. He knew what specific items would look like in federation areas. It did not take long to recognize the weird little device that acted as a credit transfer station for the galactic bank. There would be one near any major retail outlet.

The local equivalent of an ATM was a floating bubble with a little hovering screen inside of it. Scott touched the bubble and it wrapped around him. Encased inside, no one could see his banking information save for him.

"Hell yeah, one million credits it is..." Scott grinned moronically at the screen. For all he knew, that was enough to buy sci-fi toilet paper. Though, he suspected he was worth a decent amount of money right now. Samantha wanted considerably less for her payment, and mercenaries like her were probably not cheap.

It was not long before Scott discovered just what his million credits was actually worth. His grin nearly exploded into an expression of orgasmic bliss. "You have got to be shitting me..." he said, a ridiculous and entirely unmasculine giggle burst from his lips.

Many transactions were automated in the Bounty Star world setting. After buying a small floating device that acted as a city map, Scott went to one of the moderately luxurious residential towers in the upscale part of the city. He moved through the tower while looking for a room. The topmost floor, the penthouses, came with their own private docking pads. However, they were far beyond his price range. Instead, he picked a corner room on one of the middle floors. It had a nice view, and could have fit a family of ten easily.

In order to buy his happy new home, he had placed his hand to the door. A little screen had popped up that told him how much it would cost to buy the apartment. Six hundred thousand credits lighter, Scott now owned his own swanky, luxury apartment in Hellespont.

"Hot damn. If I can't get laid here, I might as well die alone." said Scott as he strolled through his new home. His new apartment was larger on the inside that the entirety of his current Home Point.

"How the hell do you get this much space on a space station for a few hundred thousand credits?" The exchange rate was ridiculous.

His bedroom had a huge bed, a huge comfortable bed. Scott launched himself onto it the moment that he saw it. He flailed his arms and legs around spastically then rolled around a bit. He made little happy grunting noises and laughed himself silly. "A real bed! A really real, bed!"

Sleep was the last thing on his mind, but his new bed was simply amazing. Eventually, he stopped rolling around like a moron and hopped back to his feet. He explored the other rooms, taking special delight in the massive bathtub, and the ever so fancy toilet. The thing had a menu interface and even talked to him in a cheerful British accent.

"Greetings, sir. How may I assist you today?" asked the toilet in a crisp and polished tone.

Scott stared at the talkative sci-fi toilet for a moment then shrugged. He did not have to use the facilities at the moment, so he told the toilet that he had no needs.

"Very good, sir." replied the toilet of the future, before entering standby mode.

Originally, he had wanted to try it out. He had a slight suspicion that it would shoot laser beams up his backside like some sort of bidet of the future. Scott turned away from the professional sounding device after a moment. Despite all of its fanciness, he was fairly certain that the overachieving toilet was still just a chair to poop in whenever the urge struck him. He would have to learn whether there was a laser light show involved at a later time.

Scott meandered his way through his new home, and tested out a few items. The kitchen equipment was quite interesting. He could order food on a menu, and the wall would open up to reveal a set of robot arms. The arms would take groceries that he supplied in the refrigeration unit, and then prepare the meal on his behalf. The beautiful machine would even clean the dishes and cookware afterward.

"Man, if I didn't have to play a death game I would get so fat living here." remarked Scott with a laugh. This was exactly what he had needed, a little break from the doom and gloom.

Eventually, he had seen enough of his new house. He had stuff to do. The first thing that he did after leaving the apartment was to head to the shopping district. It took a while to find his way to a store that sold armaments, as most of the items on sale in the shopping area were souvenirs, food, or clothing.

"Hellespont Assault and Associates, huh?" asked Scott curiously as he wandered into the weapon store. Inside he discovered a fancy looking retail establishment with weapons on open display. He knew from previous experience in the other shops, however, that the items hovering in the air were actually holographic images. Robot attendants would bring purchases from the back of the store.

"Greetings, home owner. Would you like to see something special?" asked a robotic voice that sounded slightly auto-tuned.

Scott turned to see a small metal ball hovering in the air. It had a bright yellow smiley face painted on the front. He blinked at the weird little thing then shrugged. "Sure, got any power armor?"

"Power armor? If you wish to see power armor, I can show you several styles and varieties. Do you wish to proceed?" asked the smiling customer service bot. There were other customers in the store, yet they did not seemed to be disturbed by the conversation. If anything, they were too busy shopping to care what he did.

"Sure, I'd like that." said Scott.

The little smiling robot bobbed up and down then turned away. "Follow me, sir."

Scott followed the little ball-bot and was led to a door in the back. A dinging noise, sounded off when he walked through, followed by several lights turning green. "What was that?"

"If you are referencing the light and sounds, sir, it was a detection system to determine whether or not you are a preferred customer."

"Am I?" asked Scott curiously.

"Of course, sir. You are a home owner." said the little ball without missing a beat.

Glad that he had bought a house first, Scott continued to follow his guide until he entered a large room that held dozens of suits of armor. There were even a few oversized suits in the back that looked more like bipedal battle tanks than armor.

"Sir. Starting from the front, we have the items on sale. The further back you go, the more powerful and expensive the items. Sale items are not customizable." said the device. It rotated back toward Scott then bobbed up and down. "If you wish to see if a sale item will fit your body specifications, please use the scanner in the center of the room."

The little device left, and Scott was now free to see what he could find. The first thing that he did was scan his specifications at the scanner. There were thirty suits of armor on sale at the front of the room, but after his scan was complete, he saw most of them fade out of sight, slightly.

"Wonder how this works when other people are in the room?" he asked curiously.

There were three items on sale that would fit his specifications. Scott checked their price information then nearly passed out. "Yeah, even on sale, power armor is expensive."

The cheapest suit, a blocky looking hunk of crap with multiple dings and dents, would set him back eighty thousand credits. Its sole claim to fame was that it could double the strength of a normal human being. Scott already had several times the strength of a normal human being. He would basically pay eighty thousand credits for a one point boost to his strength if he bought the hunk of scrap.

The sale items turned out to be unworthy of his attention. They added a nice bit of defense, but were basically designed to allow someone to wear it without it being too heavy. That was useful for normal armor, but Scott wanted something more dynamic if he was going to spend money on it.

He moved along and checked the price for other items. Most power armor ranged between two hundred fifty thousand to four hundred thousand credits. The massive suits in the back were worth twelve million, however. They were listed as high-grade military models.

After seeing their specs, Scott was partially inclined to go get the money. However, buying one would require a thirty day waiting period and a government permit. He had identification, but had no idea how to get a permit, or even if he was qualified for one.

While he wandered through the power armor section of the store, he eventually came across a little platform in the far corner that he had not noticed before. "Why is this thing transparent?" he asked the empty air.

Congratulations! You've discovered a hidden secret treasure. As the first to unlock the Hellespont Free Space Port Hub-Location, several hidden treasures are exclusively available to you and remain unclaimed.

While you must purchase the item discovered due to the location, if you wish to take it with you, it will remain available to you and only you for thirty days.

Unclaimed treasures will remain invisible to any other champion for the remainder of your exclusivity period. Once that period ends, any champion who enters this hub-location may claim them, upon discovering their existence.

"A new treasure item? Wow, these things really can pop up anywhere." Scott looked at the pillar then noticed that there was a small nearly invisible bracelet floating in the air above it. It only slightly distorted the air, so he had not seen it until now.

Scott reached out to claim the bracelet, but a sales menu popped up. His eyes widened. "Two thousand EXP...?"

He ran a hand down his face. On the one hand, it was a treasure item. They were rare pieces of equipment with typically superior upgrade potential for their item tier. On the other, it would cost him two thousand EXP and he would not even know what the thing did until he purchased it.

"A little over fourteen thousand left... I can still work with twelve thousand." Scott made his decision. It was a treasure item. The likelihood that it would be pure garbage was low. He did not want to squander his precious points, but he had to take this risk. Besides that, he could always earn more through side missions.

Scott purchased the nearly invisible item, and then smiled when it faded into view. "So, what do you do?" Taking it in hand, he was not surprised when the world went black and white around him. A message screen popped up.

Nano-Cloud Battle Suit MK I

Level: 1/4

EXP: 0/400

Damage: 40

Durability: 40/40

Hit Points: 0.40

Special Option

Assault Field Intensity: 1

Suit Integrity: 1

All Attributes: 1[No Upgrade]

Combat Suit Integration: 1 [No Upgrade]

Environmental Normalization: 10% [No Upgrade]

Warning- If the suit loses its integrity, it will require four hours for the auto-repair function to complete unit repairs.

Scott nearly slapped himself when he saw what he had gotten. After checking the various bits of information that he could click on, he shook his head. "Hot damn..."

For some reason he would not be able to actually use it until he went back to his home point, but he chose not to question that too much due to what it was capable of doing for him.

His treasure was truly remarkable. It was a plug suit, similar to the one that Samantha wore. By itself it was not meant to be a heavy combat item, just a preparatory one. It was the armor worn underneath real power armor.

The difference was that Scott's new treasure was a system item that would completely integrate with one suit of armor. It would make it a summonable item that he could equip or unequip at will. The best part was that once he maximized his new suit's level, it would provide more than twice the hit points that all of his current armor provided, combined.

Of course, there were draw backs. If he equipped the cloud suit, it would unequip everything else that he currently wore and store it in a sub-spatial pocket. That meant that using it would only allow for usage of the power armor and its equipped weapon system. He could not easily mix and match. Though, he could screw around with it a bit to see what sort of workarounds he could find. Either way, it was the sort of thing that worked best if used as intended.

"Dammit, now I have to save up to buy system generated power armor." muttered Scott. He loved his new upgrade. He truly did. It would even simplify his armor situation quite a bit if he upgraded the suit integrity. One level increase focused on that aspect would make his suit completely immune to his plasma pistol. If he went full defense, even a high-caliber rifle might not pierce his armor. That alone was worth the paltry sum of two thousand EXP for access. If he chose full offense instead of defense, his unarmed attacks would hit with similar force, if not the same level of penetration, as those high-caliber rifles.

"Man, my equipment really was shit..." said Scott. "This one thing is better than all my crap combined."

He rubbed his chin for a moment, then clamped the bracelet around his wrist. It would need to be upgraded to max level before it would be truly useful, however. Using it as it was now, would lead to a drastic reduction in hit points. Once back Home he could upgrade it, though it would set him back another twenty-eight hundred or so EXP. Even with that extra cost, however, it was the singular best piece of equipment he was going to get for the price at the moment.

"Better see what power armor costs back home, if it's available at all, it would be better to buy that to integrate with my bracelet." said Scott thoughtfully. The stuff he could buy here would not be upgradeable through the system. He had only intended to buy it because it would be an upgrade, but it would be better to upgrade as much as possible in the future.

Scott left the power armor area and worked his way over to the weapon's section. No happy little treasure items appeared, but he did find interesting pistols and rifles. There was even a laser knife and energy sword section. He purchased a little over one hundred thousand credits worth of explosives, energy shields, and energy weapons of various types. He was not certain just how destructive they would be, but it would be fun to find out.

"Ah, med-packs are a thing." Scott looked through the medical treatment section then grinned. "Definitely not as good as a healing potion... but this will do." Scott ordered a few dozen trauma packs, and then acquired a nice foot locker. The smiling robot told him that his items would be delivered to his apartment by the end of the business day, since he had ordered too much stuff to carry.

Scott was about to enter a different door when a familiar female voice called out to him. "Well, if it isn't Scott."

He turned to see that Samantha Jeran had walked back into his life. "Hey, you."

"Hey, you?" she said with a light snort. "He doesn't write... Doesn't call... Now I see him spending money like it's going out of style."

Scott grinned at her. She was wearing her skintight body suit today, just as he had seen her before. "Sorry, been busy with work. How are things?"

She tilted her head slightly to the side. "Work? Now, I recall you saying that you would help me find some of that?"

"I have plenty of it. Though, I intend to take a day or two off from doing any of it while I stock up on the essentials." said Scott.

Before she could say anything, smiley-bot floated back over to Scott. "Pardon the intrusion, sir. The Delta Aeon Disruptor Mk IV unit that you ordered is currently out of stock in your color preference. If you will accept one that is blue with gold-trim, we will give you a five percent discount."

"That's fine." said Scott.

"Delta... Wha—?" asked Samantha, her eyes going wide. "That... What?"

"Hmm? Are you alright?" asked Scott curiously.

"Those things cost forty-six thousand credits." she said in mild surprise. Her eyes suddenly shifted to the left. "Say, Scott... Have you had dinner, yet?"

"I could eat." he said. "Though, if you want to get dinner with me, could we do it back at my place? I want to wait for my shipment to arrive."

"Your place? You rented a motel room, here?" asked Samantha curiously.

Scott shook his head. "Nah, I bought an apartment. Figured it would be easier to store my crap there, without having to worry about maids trying to get in."

"Really..." Samantha stepped forward then took him by the arm. "So, then... dinner."

He grinned a little then said, "Sure, far be it from me to deny a hungry woman."

"Ah, a man with common sense." she said, before practically dragging him out of the room.

Scott regained the lead from the overly enthusiastic mercenary, and he herded her off toward the fancy part of town. Samantha looked around curiously as they passed several of the nicer apartment buildings, only to end up at once of the better known of the modestly high-end establishments.

"Here? You bought an apartment, here?" she asked, curious to hear his reaction.

"Yeah, was that bad? I didn't want to spend a couple million just to get a slightly better room somewhere else." said Scott lightly.

She blinked owlishly at him. A moment of silence passed between them, and then she gripped his arm tighter, her bountiful feminine bounty pressed against him like his arm was life itself. "Is that so?"

He glanced at her then tried to fight down a laugh. Apparently he had guessed right when it came to her love of money. She would hold on tight to any credits that she earned.

Once they reached his apartment, her eyes widened once again. "Whoa, nice."

"I like it." said Scott with a smile. "Beats the hole I've been living in between missions."

Samantha turned her head toward him so swiftly that her ponytail practically went horizontal. A superb feat due to the short distance. "You said that would have work for me?"

"I always have work." said Scott.

"You some kind of interplanetary mob boss?" she asked quickly.

"Not that I know of?" he responded thoughtfully.

"Assassin for hire?" she asked, curiously.

"Well, no more than you I suppose." he responded at a moment.

"OK, tell me how you're able to earn all of this." she said. "I go to some of the most dangerous places around and I don't make anywhere near the kind of credits it would take for something like this."

"You have a spaceship." pointed out Scott.

She laughed at him. "That thing's mortgaged up to my eyeballs. If I ever have kids, their grandkids will be paying it off."

"Maybe you need higher paying work?" he asked her lightly. Now was the time to reel her in, when she was at her most money hungry.

"That would be great." she looked up at him, her lips lightly parted. "Got anything big lined up for me?"

It was Scott's turn to laugh a little. "Well, I can think of a few things."

"I." she tapped his chin.

"Bet." she touched his nose.

"You." she lightly placed a finger to his lower lip.

"Can..." she said before offering a seductive smile.

Scott enjoyed the attention for a moment, but unfortunately there was business to discuss as well. "I'm not really sure you want to get involved with it, though."

"Oh? I'm a big girl." she said in a husky tone.

"Are you big enough to participate in an interdimensional death game?" he asked her curiously.

She froze in place briefly, and then blinked. "I... Did I just hear you, right?"

Scott nodded to her. "There's a lot to explain about the situation. If you can hold back your perfectly understandable animal lust for me, I'll try to fill you in." he said with a cheerful smile.

"I'll do my best." she said lightly.

"First, about dinner... Any preference?" asked Scott.

"Doesn't matter, to me. Maybe some pasta?"

Scott led her over to the robo-chef and then asked her, "Spaghetti?"

"Sure."

"Yo, robo-chef. Make enough spaghetti for four people." said Scott.

"More people coming?" asked Samantha.

He laughed softly then waved at the air. "Nah, I just haven't had a properly cooked meal in a week or two."

Her soft laugh joined his briefly, while they headed off toward the living room. Headless of their interaction, the robo-chef went about his task as silently as possible.

In Scott's new sitting room, then lounged on the couch while facing each other. He explained the situation to her, while stopping constantly to answer questions.

"It's hard to believe." she said after he finished relating his story.

Scott released a slow breath. "Yeah, if I hadn't lived it, I wouldn't believe it either."

She shook her head. "No, not that." Samantha bit her lower lip even as her face became slightly flush. "What I can't believe is how easy it would be to make money that way."

"Oh yeah, money is not even remotely a problem. Surviving, and the E.X.P. gathering is what is hard." he said with a nod of his head.

Samantha took a deep breath then sat up straight. "Look. I know we don't know each other, but I want in." She leaned forward and heavily accentuated her positives. "What do I have to do?"

Scott reached out and put his hand to her shoulder. She did not even so much as flinch. "You already are. Hell, if you wanted to work with me full time we could do that."

"I'd be happy to work under you full time." she said, her expression still serious.

Perhaps it was his own wishful thinking, but he would have sworn that she had emphasized the word 'under'. "Well, if you want, I can take you to the place I have been doing most of my work recently. Maybe to one of the other places, too, so you can see the differences between here and there?"

"Scott, if I earn as much as you claim that I can earn, you can take me anywhere you like." she said without a hint of hesitancy.

Samantha leaned in closer, her lips slightly parted. Her eyes closed softly even as her face lifted upward just a little. She waited for a moment before she blinked, and then her eyes fluttered open completely. "Scott...?"

He looked at her with a hesitant expression. "Look, you don't have to do that."

She leaned away quickly like she had been slapped. "Right."

"You really expect me to believe that you'll be the one guy offering me the job of a lifetime who doesn't want to get into my pants?" she asked, her demeanor becoming as cold as her piecing gaze.

It was Scott's turn to scoff at something that had been said. "Oh, please. Everybody wants to get into your pants."

"So, you admit it?" she asked, without defrosting in the slightest.

He looked at her carefully for a moment. "If all I wanted was to get laid, I think I could go procure the services of someone reasonably exciting."

That caused her eyebrow to rise up slightly. She did not speak, however.

"I won't lie. You're probably the most attractive women I've ever met." admitted Scott. Before she could say anything he leaned forward, "But what I need is your ability to kick ass."

Her eyebrow lowered slightly, but then the other one rose upward just a little. "Is that so?"

"Yes. I've nearly died so many times that it's ridiculous. I never have backup. It's always go in and deal with it till it's done." Scott waved his hand from side-to-side. "Thing is, it doesn't have to be that way. I can bring other people in, people like you."

"You almost sound serious." she said after a moment.

Scott scooted toward her. She did not move away, nor did she invite him closer. She merely observed him casually. "I don't know how these negotiations usually go for you. Maybe I'm either failing a test, or passing one, maybe I'm just missing out on something great."

Her lip quirked upward slightly, for a brief moment, but then her icy demeanor returned. She refused to show sign of weakness at the moment.

"If, for some bizarre reason, you can't enter into business with me without our pounding each other till we pass out, then bring it on... Otherwise, what I want from you isn't your tits." Scott leaned forward a little. "It's the kickass, power armored, mercenary who helped me get out alive once already."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "What if I said that the only way I will work with you is if we have sex?"

Scott looked at her for a moment then shrugged. "Did you bring lube?"

She blinked at him, and then snorted in wry amusement. "You're serious, aren't you? Gonna hire me to do the most lucrative job of my career and won't even try to convince me to get on my knees to get it?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll try get into your body suit at some point. I just don't want you to think that fucking me has anything to do with whether or not we make an epic shit ton of money together." said Scott.

The ice melted something in her demeanor. "I'll take you at your word, even if it's hard to believe."

They shook hands, but then just as Scott was about to release his grip, she pulled him toward her and kissed him passionately. His eyes widened considerably and then slowly closed. Even after she finished sealing the deal so to speak, he kept kissing the empty air.

Her laughter was what brought him out of things. His eyelids fluttered open. "Howzat?" he asked, slightly confused.

Samantha reached out and lightly gripped his chin in her hand. "I'm glad you passed. That was just adorable."

"Passed?" he asked her.

"Well, yeah? I wasn't kidding when I said most of my potential clients try to get me on my knees for work." she said. Samantha shook her head. "I don't want to be some rich man's plaything. I want to get paid, and get my own playthings."

"Do those playthings explode?" asked Scott curiously.

She gave him a saucy wink and a warm smile. "The best ones do."

Samantha stretched languidly, like a lazy cat. "Anyway, since you didn't turn out to be a perverted loser, I'll be glad to work for you."

"Don't work for perverted losers then I take it?" he asked her with a smile.

"I make it a rule to never work with someone who thinks having me on the payroll means they own me. I've never slept with a client, and don't plan to start." she said lightly.

Scott leaned back then placed his hand to his lips like a lady who has heard a terrible thing. "Goodness! My hopes and dreams..."

Samantha laughed again then lunged forward and slid and arm around his shoulders. "You're the one who kept turning me down."

"My dreams are already dead... Do you really have to salt the Earth so they can never grow again?" he asked with a light hearted laugh.

She patted him on the shoulder gently while nodding. "Yeah. I do."

Scott shook his head a little then stood up. "Well, I'll just have to come up with a new dream."

Samantha stood up as well, ignoring what he had just said. Instead she said, "I hope this works out. It's sort of nice."

"What do you mean?" he asked her, curiously. "Is this unusual for you? I mean other than the getting paid to run around the multiverse."

"Yeah, my clients are usually pervy old men who don't understand my business model, and end up trying something stupid. The military contracts are usually better, but they have no sense of humor at all."

A soft dinging noise echoed through the room before Scott could say anything. "Sir, dinner preparation has been completed. Please eat at your leisure." said the robo-chef.

"Oh good, I'm starving." said Samantha before she raised her arm up toward Scott. "Care to escort a lady to dinner, kind sir?"

"Why certainly, madam. And might I add, what a lovely ensemble you are wearing." They interlocked arms then smiled pleasantly at each other before strolling off to dinner.

She raised her free hand into the air then said, "This old thing? Ah ha ha ha."

They sat down to a nice spaghetti dinner. At some point, Scott brought out a few bottles of wine that came with the apartment and allowed the lady to pick the one that she wanted.

After a few, well more than a few, glasses Samantha let her hair down. The pony tail was released and her hair cascaded down around her shoulders. Her cheeks had become a little flush due to the strong drink that she had consumed. Somewhat tipsy, she pointed to Scott and said,

"You getsh it."

Scott finished his sip of wine then smiled at her. "What do I get?" he asked. His cheeks were a little flush as well. Both of them had drunk a little more than either of them would normally drink, though Scott was not quite to the point of slurred speech.

"S'loney job." she said, before she released a slight hiccup then told Scott to excuse himself for doing such a thing in front of a lady.

"Sorry." he said with a giggle. He did not remember hiccupping, but if she said he did then he probably did.

"S'okay." she nodded her head cutely. "I hate men, but you sheem alright."

"You hate men?" he asked.

"Shyeah... I do... Men jusht." she pounded her fist down onto the table. "They shuck, ya know?"

"If men suck, why did you kiss me?" asked Scott while wobbling slightly.

She blinked several times, while she also wobbled. "Cuz."

"Cuz?"

"Shut up, that's cuz." she said before she hiccupped once more. Samantha leaned sideways then giggled a little. "You've shuccee- shucko- shuckcedo?" Her eyes narrowed in a thoughtful way for a moment then she managed to say, "Shuckceeded in getting me a little drunky..."

"Looks like my master plan to eat spaghetti and get drunk is working..." said Scott, still wobbling a little.

She pointed her fork at him and wobbled it up and down a little. "Donchas dare take 'vantage of me."

"I'm not that kind of guy." said Scott, while squinting his eyes and staring off into space.

Samantha nodded her head a few times. "Yeah, 'K."

"I mean it, though." said Scott, his facial expression never changing.

"Mhmp, yeah." she nodded to him. "Cuz, yeah."

"Hey... Donchu have like a girlfriend or shumptin?" she asked him suddenly.

"Nah." said Scott. "Kinda hard to have a girlfriend when you spend all your time trying not to let rotten corpses bite you on the ass."

Samantha blinked a couple times. "Izzat so?"

"What about you?" asked Scott.

She laughed obnoxiously and slapped the table. "Nuh uh, no." She sobered up a little in order to look at Scott seriously and say, "Money ish my boyfriend, and exploshuns is my lesbians."

"Oh." said Scott. The room had started to spin a little. "I like explosions."

"Don't you like exploshuns! They're mine." she said, before releasing another hiccup.

"I like money, too." said Scott.

"Money's my bitch." said Samantha. She pointed her fork at him again. "Donchu go trying to take my bitch from me! Jes' cuz you.. Ya... you-you/"

She blinked once then widened her eyes a little. For a moment she kept mouthing the word 'you' in an attempt to figure out what she had tried to say.

The night wore on. Eventually, Scott said, "Go to bed Sam, you're drunk."

Her eyes fluttered open and she slumped backward in her chair. "Where is it?"

"Wazzit?" asked Scott.

"Bed-bed." she mumbled.

Scott got up and staggered over to where she was slumped then lifted her up. He supported her all the way to the bedroom while she stumbled around drunkenly.

"Catch me if I fall?" she whispered to him.

"Sure." said Scott.

"S'okay? Good." she mumbled.

Scott allowed her to slump down on the massive bed then without thinking too much about it, he crawled in as well. Samantha mumbled something about money being her bitch, and Scott muttered something about her sharing the sheets.

"Nuh uh, no. S'mine." she said before rolling over and taking the sheet with her.

"I bought it." mumbled Scott.

"S'mine now." she said.

Scott took hold of the sheet and pulled on it a little. "No."

It was then that the loudest, and most obnoxiously foul, bit of flatulence that had ever been released in that room chose to be released. Scott started to gag a little. "God damn!"

"Scuse yourself." she said loudly before she released another hiccup.

"What the hell was that?" asked Scott as he wriggled away in drunken horror.

"Wha?" Samantha rolled over and looked at him through squinted eyes. "I introduced you to mah lesbian and you don't even introduce yaself."

"Your lesbi— Oh, explosion..." muttered Scott while trying to hold the scent at bay by absentmindedly flapping a pillow around.

She wriggled a little closer to him then mumbled, "Should 'troduce yaself, money."

"Money?" asked Scott sleepily.

"Ya-huh." she said, her head wiggling a little like she had intended to now.

A thought occurred to him despite the mental fog he was under. "Thought money was your boyfriend?"

She sniffled a little then said, "Yah-huh." once more.

Scott tried to process that briefly, but he had trouble making heads or tails out of it due to his drunken state. His train of thought was derailed when she wriggled closer and whispered sweetly into his ear, "My butt hurts, you pervert."

"I didn't do it." mumbled Scott. "It was the spaghetti fart lesbian."

"S'okay." she said in another whisper before she wiggled even closer. "Still hurts."

His eyes widened a little as a coherent thought finally made its way through the fog. "Want me to rub it?"

"Mhmph." she wiggled closer still.

Scott's hand flopped around a little until it found her aching posterior. He patted it a little and rubbed it a bit. "Yah, better?"

"Ya-huh." she said softly. "My nipples hurt."

Scott blinked slowly then asked, "Want me to rub them, too?"

She seemed to sober up suddenly as she spoke to him in a clear and authoritative tone. "You touch my tits and I'll kill you."

"No. Don't wanna. Kill me. No dead, no." said Scott without thinking.

"Shut up, money." she mumbled before nuzzling against his cheek.

Scott continued to lie there for a moment, while patting her on the ass. Just before they both finally fell asleep, she raised a hand up and lightly stroked his cheek. "Fuzzy money." she said before blowing a raspberry against his neck. pbbbbt.

"Wazzat a lesbian?" asked Scott.

"You're a lesbian, now." she mumbled.

Scott shook his head a little bit then said, "I'm not a spaghetti fart."

She laughed a little then started to snore. Soon after, Scott began to snore as well. Spaghetti and wine had struck another victory for ridiculous drunken dinner conversations everywhere. At some point, Scott's packages arrived, but as it turned out, he did not need to be there to get them. There was a sub-spatial storage attached to his door for parcel post.