Dinner with the Devil

<snip>
After Jaxx made it to the smoke screen he used his sensors to see what was around him. As he passed by the miners he whipped his chain to whip the miners in the head and then sweep them off their feet to knock them out quickly. As the combat mechs followed him from behind they quickly killed the unconscious miners. Jaxx used his speed and small size to take the miners from surprise one by one. However he prayed he wouldn’t come across the crew-members as he advanced with the combat mechs.
<snip>

Jaxx continued to subdue the miners with his chain as he sped by them in the smoke screen. Each time he knocked a miner out he muttered in his Vader voice, “Forgive me dude.” Even though Jaxx wasn’t killing the miners out right he knew the combat mechs would finish them off as they passed them. The guilt would have sent most men screaming off the battlefield, but luckily since Jaxx only had an IQ of 2 he was able to stay focused on protecting Evelina. As he raced on forward he focused on his happy place of being on stage with Evelina singing karaoke at Whiskerman’s Ball. Jaxx began to hum their song in his head as he continued his attack on the miners.

“Yummy, Yummy, Yummy.
I got love in my tummy,
And I feel like a-lovin you:
Love, you're such a sweet thing,
Good enough to eat thing
And that's just a-what I'm gonna do.
Ooh love, to hold ya,
Ooh love, to kiss ya,
Ooh love, I love it so.
Ooh love, you're sweeter,
Sweeter than sugar.
Ooh love, I wont let you go.”

Meanwhile the two support canary squads behind Jaxx were advancing with no casualties. Evelina watched over the crazy Boyd as he was having an imaginary conversation with Jaxx right next to her. Evelina tried to interrupt the conversation several times but was told by Boyd to wait till he was done. Victoria asked Evelina, “What is wrong with your friend?” Evelina shrugged and replied, “Dunno he was like this when we found him. Of course according to Artemis he used to be a lot worse before they had to detoxify him.” Victoria shook her head at the crazy Boyd and said, “What a smeg head. I am beginning to see a pattern in your fellow crew mates.” Then Victoria returned back to leading her squad forward.

Jaxx had just run into Jacky who was stumbling while trying to run away from the attack. Jaxx pursued him relentlessly as he forced Jacky to head in a certain direction. Jaxx even made it a point to ignore the other miners he passed as he chased after Jacky. Sweat dripped down Jacky’s face as he ran for dear life from Jaxx in his little skutter body. In a desperate attempt for mercy, Jacky cried out he was sorry for all the bad things he said and did to Jaxx as he was running away in hopes Jaxx would give up the chase. However Jaxx remained relentless as he hunted Jacky like a land shark after a human. Eventually Jacky found himself at a dead end and dropped to his knees in exhaustion. As Jacky looked back he saw Jaxx behind him and a flood of emotions ran through Jacky’s head as he saw his impending doom. Jaxx remained still as if he was waiting for something to happen. The only sound Jaxx made was the sound of asthmatic breathing from his Vader voice. Suddenly Jacky remembered his future self and gained some confidence as he looked at the emotionless Skutter who was about to kill him.

<snip>
".....fine, they live for now. But you better come through with my damn family"
Lindstrom tapped a button on his wrist-mounted control device, sending an automated stand-down order.
"I still expect you all to show up for dinner, It'd help me regain some face. Like a charity case or some shit like that..." Lindstrom said, leaving the room.
Artemis heaved a sigh of relief and returned to the lab. He and Frank had to think of how they were going to manipulate the DNA security system.
<tag>
Dinner is now mandatory! (go ahead and start, we're to arrive before Lindstrom does)
We'll be eating in some sort of grandiose dining hall, eating high-end food (each is tailored to your specific taste). The dining room will be locked down tight, with some heavy security around the corner.
Don't worry about getting the DNA, I've got that covered
<SNIP>

As Lindstrom’s orders filled the air all the combat mechs stopped their attack. The remaining miners hid till they saw the combat mechs head back to their ships. Jacky closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he exhaled in relief. Jacky looked at Jaxx as he asked, “Were you really gonna kill me?” Jaxx replied in his Vader voice, “Naw bro I totally chased ya here cause this place totally messes with my scanners and stuff, so I was hoping to hide ya and stuff. However, we totally lucked out since that Lindy dude called us off from this most harsh fight. Well I’m off to find Eve babe so see ya around goggles.” Jacky watched as Jaxx zoomed off and left him alone. After Jaxx met up with Evelina and Boyd they boarded a drop ship and headed back to the prison. Evelina cuddled with Jaxx on the flight back as she tried to cope with the stress of prison life.

After arriving at the prison, Victoria ordered the squad to return their weapons and head to the locker rooms and freshen up before dinner. Jaxx and Evelina said their goodbyes as Evelina headed off to the locker room. Jaxx followed the combat mechs to the maintenance hanger for an oil bath and good buffing. Jaxx sat quietly as the maintenance droids cleaned all the dirt, grime and blood off him. All he could think about were the miners he had help send to their grave. It pained him to know he aided in their demise and this would haunt him for quite sometime. His only saving grace was that Evelina was unharmed and he didn’t have to kill any of his crew mates.

Back at the women’s locker room Evelina and the other canary women were washing off the dirt and sin of aiding in the killing their own comrades. The showers were the only sound in the locker room as the women were to depressed and shocked to talk to each other much less look each other in the eye. The shame from being used in such a sickening manner by Lindstrom cut many of the women deep. Eventually some of the women began to break down and cry. This led to many more nervous breakdowns and some consoling by the women who managed to keep it together. Victoria eventually made her way in and ordered the women to stop crying or Lindstrom will use it against them. The women eventually gained control over their suffering and went back to being silent again. After Evelina was cleaned up, she was escorted by a mech guard to Lindstrom’s dining hall. Once Evelina arrived at the door she was greeted by Jaxx as they were shown their seat next to a few other crew memebers. The huge dining table was covered with a beautiful spread of food. It was odd to see such a formal buffet including Steak Tar Tar, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Kebabs and Spaghettios on the same formal dining table. One of the service droids brought a power cell and plugged it in to Jaxx to recharge him during dinner. Evelina looked at the food and whispered to Jaxx, “Is it safe to eat?” Jaxx scanned the food and nodded his head yes. As more crew members walked in and nodded hello, Evelina put her quivering hand under the table and on Jaxx’s chassis for comfort. Her stress level was at an all time high and being with Jaxx was the only thing keeping her from a totally melt down. Jaxx was relieved to feel Evelina’s hand on him since he knew this whole trip was beginning to take it toll on her. Other than a little whispering Evelina and Jaxx tried to keep their conversation down to quick answers since they were not sure what Lindstrom was up to.

TAG