Max's Corner

Digital Artist/24/French Doodle alot of things left and right, NSFW or not. I love sci-fi stuff, space western, cars, coffee and other stuff.. Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/maxmaxoucat21.bsky.social Kofi: ko-fi.com/maxmaxoucat21

[maxmaxoucat]

Fantasy Short Story - 1 - Watchdog

The old man sits on a log at the edge of the encampment, the sound of his knife carving a small piece of wood. At his sides rest his packing as well as his blunt rusted blade. The only dim light coming from the hand rolled tobacco stick he's smoking, the orange glow of the tip coming and going.

*Shrk Shrk Shrk* The knife sculpt away.

The few young infantry and squires hurry when walking past the old man, avoiding his gaze. whether it was terror or disgust was unclear. After-all his very existence was a stain in the holy order.

His armor of leather and metal bits cobbled together is a stark contrast from the clean and gold trimmed armor Issued to the most noble, brave knights and paladins. what would otherwise blend in and help one survive now does the opposite.

"The Watchdog". That was his title, his name. Tales Circle around taverns and campfires, his majesty's right hand doing dirty work. The kind that makes your stomach twist and lose faith in the gods above.

*Shrk Shrk Shrk* The Knife Etch.

In the middle of the camp near the bonfire, is the hero. THE Hero. Golden armor, blond flowing hair, Holy sword at the hips. On a grand speech about anything and nothing but mostly about how great he was, and the soldiers ate it up. Some in awe and other looking at him as if he was a god himself.

A Lion of light and righteousness guided by the gods themselves, A beacon. The other was a dirty Mutt of blood and mud doing the king's bidding, a Pawn.

*Shrk Shrk Shrk* The Knife Reveals.

[maxmaxoucat]

Short Story - 1 - "A fate worse than death"

"Crimson Valliant" An Old Cargo hauler.

The command deck is filled with tension, The pilot (a human) exchange glances at the navigator (An Exotic), The looping sound of machinery and electrical hum interrupted by the drumming of fingers on metal from behind them.

Captain Oto An old War-dog past his prime, growls, slumped all the way back in the armchair His other hand covering his muzzle. The old Dog's Dirty white fur is covered in the blue hue of the Starway gate.

Slumping ever more in the captain's chair, Oto glances up at the metal ceiling of the deck. the few somewhat clean spots that remained acting as a stained mirror.

He can recall vividly his young pup days, jammed with 20 other young pups or so in some improvised boarding shuttle, a container with some rocket strapped to it. launched at impossible speeds with a certain death. Those were the days.. Covered in blood of his enemies.

The old dog's eyes then slides down to the gate again, one long tired heavy sigh escaping his dried scarred snoot. Oh where have the years gone..

Sitting, Stuck, Cursed even.. in the worst possible scenario, something everyone fret sooner or later.. Even in the future, this far out in the system..

A traffic Jam.

[maxmaxoucat]

Skeletons.

Let me introduce you to one the most common artificial "life" you'll find across the system, The "Multipurpose Autonomous Droid" or M.A.D for shorts, Although people came to call them skeletons as they're often used to fill in ranks on most places.

Standing between a war-dog and a human, those towering robots can be seen dutifully working on ships, stations, colonies and much more. Able to swap parts for the assigned task and cheap to repair, let's not forget its without need of a salary. From Infantry Support in armies, Hauling cargo in a ship, Refueling and repairing ships, they're basically everywhere.. so what makes a captain choose regular crewmen rather than M.A.Ds to this day?

Developing Personality and Culture.

After a few decades in use, some people noticed that their M.A.Ds started developing and mimicking personalities of the person most close to them, the copy isn't exact either but enough to weird people out.

A few more decades passed and the M.A.Ds started developing a culture of their own. For example, Two M.A.Ds greeting each other comes in a form of flashing lights of colors and playing various sounds. While very capable of basic language speech, they apparently found a way to make and use their own language.

Its also known that skeletons can detect each other in a certain radius and use a private channel of sort to speak to one another. multiple test to find it has been done to do avail.

Another part of their culture, Soon after they copy a personality, M.A.Ds will paint their hull with various colors and symbols as to stand out from others, some covering the more used areas while others embellishing them. They will "Sing" while applying said paint as a sort of ritual of passing.

M.A.Ds have also been found worshiping a "maker" by the name of "Lupacis" Depicting it as a being of white cloth and giant goggles.

Sentient?

Kind of.. Like i said previously they tend to get a personality of sort based on the closest being they have. So its not really sure weather they're truly sentient in the way we know of, Some Theorized a hivemind of sort.

Origin?

Built and Worked By a company named "Lupacis", A once giant among robotic industries now defunct and redacted all over by the C.A. The name is spoke in hushed tones, no one trully knows what happened to any of the employees and scientist there.. and digging around is a sure way to paint a target on your back, getting shoved in an Alliance ship never to be seen again. Therefor people tend to just accept their existence as is.. And trying to open the skeletons up ended in a few crushed skulls.

[maxmaxoucat]

Key Location In The System. (1)

C-Station aka "Crimson Station"

Location: Edge of the system, Orbiting Vicdon.

Vicdon Is the small Moon orbiting the gas giant "crimson star". The moon itself has a lot of colonies to this day due to the low cost of habitats as a consequence of the mining operations dying centuries ago.

C-Station Is one of the oldest artificial place around, initially started as a shipyard/boneyard to dump ships and low lives it grew into one of the largest HUB, rivaling the Oasis in the cheer amount of people. C-Station has remained neutral despite the long history of conflicts that the system suffered.

The station itself started as this small outpost on a rock, New Sections kept being added throughout the years, the Lower you go, the older and more used it gets. This resulted in C-Station looking like an amalgamation of different style and technology all blending together into one big clump.

The Population living there are for the most part Low to Middle class people, different species and different background. From runaway criminals to deserting C.A Soldiers, C-Station doesn't discriminate as long as you're willing to put in the work Because of this the culture is a mixture of many different parts of the system.

If you find yourself wandering the streets and halls you'll spot the logo and uniform of R&S "Crimson Star Repair & Service". Its One of the first companies that were settled on C-Station during its very early days, as a result the company holds some power for anything related to the station.

The Shipyard/Boneyard Around extends far, cluttering the moon's surrounding. Millions of ships from different eras can be found in various states of disrepair thus ship-breaking became one of the most popular and common gig to do.

Enrolling in R&S is the Second most popular gig on the station, While it started as a simple repair and service akin to human's gas station, the station constant growth forced the company to branch out in different areas such as Private Security, Cargo Transport and Habitat Construction.

Despite its distant location, you will most likely end up docking or traveling there. Be it for a small gig, refueling, hunting a target or simply because there's nowhere else quite like Crimson Station.

[maxmaxoucat]

Introduction On The Main Factions.

The Center Alliance

Originating from "Terthra" and with a good hold on most of the system, it consists of a union of countries both from said planet and its moon "Alpha". Firm believers in Human supremacy you'll likely spot their campaign against "Exotics and Humanoids" on posters, ads and radios.

it can be easily spotted for sporting Blue/White/Black Colors. Aside from Their main planet and moon, The C.A owns multiple relay stations across the system as well as its own private starway.

The Regency Of Firmond

For centuries the Firmond royal family has ruled over both Adralia and its moon Lirthe as well as its neighboring Planet Churiam with its moon Lucius. The regency is home for many exotics and Humanoids, it makes for a big mix of culture and diversity, cities will have varying looks from district to district.

The Holy Knight Order is composed of mechas specifically made for and by noble families serving the Firmonds. The Royal Navy sports multiple ships from different makers native to Adralia but will wear the recognizable Emblem as well as the purple color.

The Oasis Syndicate

The Oasis started as a shady union of different gangs,families,mafias,pirates on one artificial colony and then slowly but surely it grew its influence in the shadow across the entire system. Some centuries ago it claimed a somewhat official stance waving a flag around and a name, to earn a seat among the politics and diplomacy.

Unlike most, the oasis doesn't sport the green/yellow/white color of its flag, ships for example will rock the symbol and colors of what sub group they belong to. Its also prone to in fighting among its people.

Forsake Federation

After Centuries of oppression from both the Regency and Alliance with their constant war, Some Colonies, Stations and outposts decided to unite under a common goal: Freedom & Revenge. While Fewer in number than the bigger names, the Federation carved itself a reputation by their almost Guerilla tactics and Barbaric mindset.

Feds come from many backgrounds and occupations, more often low/middle class people yearning for something more than a shift at the boneyard or mining asteroids. Feds Will repurpose just about anything, You'll spot them by the hastily painted colors and emblem on hulls and clothes.

Greater Peace Communwealth

The G.P.C is a very recent faction, being space-able only about 15 years or so, But appeared 30 ish years ago when the farm planet Baetune declared Independence. This started a long civil war splitting the planet in two groups, even to this day some countries still disagree with the current situation.

it was an open secret that the C.A was funding the independence in hope to claim what was left, while the Regency Loudly Supported any country willing to side with them. Most of the G.P.C Navy's are outdated ships with a fresh coat of paint, both literally and figuratively.