The Dreadnought

[Ridley]

Ridley looked back to his passenger as he finally flew in to Mesa Roja. he hadn't seen Lilith's expression since he'd stuck her in that exo-suit and flew off with her into space, but whatever her feeling on the matter, it hadn't stopped her from grabbing on tight and holding close to the Dragon.

He told himself it was a matter of warmth and safety, afraid of being lost in the void. It wasn't, but it kept the Space Pirate's sanity reasonably intact.

Now, though, they had once again found themselves in Ridley's native territory, as the vault opened beneath them.

"So is that your secret pirate base? Or is this your, eh heh… mating grounds~"

Ridley recalled a certain form of lizardmen that worked with the pirates in the past that could temporarily cease all brain activity for later, allowing them to hibernate while essentially dead. For perhaps the first time, he’d found a species he could truly envy.


"this is a xenomorph vault, still filled with crawling monsters and parasites unfriendly to anyone. tread lightly."

"Ooooh, ominous! And kinda kinky!” Lilith said with a short giggle, before Ridley dove for the bottom of the vault, getting another squeak of joy from the corrosive terror as they struck the ground.

With a growl of satisfaction, as the dust was cleared, however temporarily, Ridley arced his back to allow Lilith exit - demand it, rather - and the two looked around the vault.

“Bit, uhh… dusty. Not exactly my thing, but I can dig it.”

Ridley’s eyes turned to her, then back.

“We’ll be leaving soon.” Ridley would note. “After I get what I needed to know.”

“Oh right! You mentioned your science girl had found something big or… whatever.”

“Call me Liv. Or Doc Ock, if you’re, ya know, feeling it.” Olivia’s crisp voice flew through the landing as she walked through.

Ridley looked to her with calculating eyes. “In a hurry, doctor?”

Olivia gave a nervous laugh. “Well, you’re always about efficiency, and some of my projects are on halt, so I figured I’d get everything ready. I know you’re really eager about the ship and I’ve found some promising leads-”

“Wait wait wait. So you do own a boat?”

Ridley’s lips curled into a sneer. “The Dragon’s Gaze was a starship I once commanded. It was blown to smithereens by… someone.” Ridley finished, an ominous level of hatred filling his voice on that last pair of syllables. If the dragon noticed it, it didn’t show as he continued.

“Until Doctor Octavius found it’s signal here, within the crossroads.”

The Doctor gave a satisfied nod. “Sure did. And, uhh, about the payment for the location…”

Ridley didn’t let the doctor finish as he threw a black body-bag in front of the doctor. “The Weaponry is in separate pockets. Prioritize the laser technology. The guns were likely the first systems to fry after the self-destruct sequence.” Ridley snapped.

The Dragon was quick to turn to Lilith before giving a raised, horned eyebrow. “As for you…”

Lilith looked up, expectantly. “What do you need. Clandestine operations? assassination?...Diplomacy?” Lilith asked, her face turning a little sour on that last one.

“I’m dropping you off on Erde nona. This ship will need weaponry, and I don’t expect to construct it all myself. I’ve been keeping track of some older weaponry. Anti-matter missiles… oversized designs they placed on their fighters.”

“Is… there any issue with me being a little, ya know, loud? It’s hard to hold it in but I don’t always want to wake the neighbors…”

Ridley’s scowl turned into a grin. “Get the mission done. Secure the missiles safely. and make sure those who see understand the fear of Lord Ridley. Put your obnoxiousness to full display, along with the corpses of your foes.”

Lilith gave a shiver at the statement, biting her lip. “Oh, you know how to get a girl ready.

“-And you’ll be doing it on your own, for now.” Ridley will note. “I’ve a ship to unbury.”

“Literally.” Olivia will note. “I found it under what looks like two hundred meters of rock. It might be impossible to excavate without months of work on your own.”

“Then suggest alternatives, Doctor.”

Olivia gave a nervous smile. “Well… I know one. But he isn’t cheap. And given recent experience… well. It’s not the first time you’ve met, necessarily.”

 

[Ridley]

Ridley’s clawed feet made contact with the harsh sands of Uruk with a puff of sand and dust. The pirate approached cautiously, as he furled his wings.

“State your business!” one of the guards snapped, as the Dragon walked forward. Part of him was certain he could walk straight past the worm, but the dictations of business required him to stop. For now, at least.

Ridley turned to the two eyeing him. They seemed to be lacking in fear, a feat, given the difference in size and Bulk. He experimentally flexed an arm, revelling in his increased size. Desert hunting had done the dragon some good, and as he’d recovered from Karl Jak’s cloning chamber, his body had recovered more of it’s old bulk.

Despite this, the Uruk guards in front of him were clearly willing to fight him. It lacked the fire of the Helldivers, but it disgusted him all the same. He came to a halt just before their blades, as he looked down to them.

“...I come on business.” Ridley states. “I’ve a proposition for your king.”

“Whether the king will see you is his business, but he is quite busy. You’d have to hope he find the time.”

Ridley’s grin broadened, as he held a bag aloft, one standing half as large as the Dragon’s own body.

“I did not come empty-handed.” Ridley added with a wicked smile, opening the bag loosely to show the shine of gems from the desert’s beginning. While there was a certain hope that it would appeal to the desert king, the Dragon’s eyes still narrowed as he remembered where the majority of these gold pieces and gems came from - Karl Jak’s payment intended to let him ‘feel more like a real dragon’.

Insufferable to the last, that one.

The guards looked at the jewels splendor, and while their faces stayed serious, their suspicions went down. As could be expected of all exchanges between sentients, a community becomes more friendly to the individual when something to gain is presented.

“...We will have men behind you, mister…”

“Lord Ridley.” The Dragon stated.

“Very well, then. Do not cause trouble in the town. You may beg your audience to the king, but it is up to him whether or not he will deign to see you.”

“And so it is! Welcome, dragon, to my home of Uruk!” a booming voice echoed from behind the guards, and the two soldiers turned and kneeled immediately.

Ridley recognized the arrogant, loud, and undeniably distinctive voice as he turned his eye towards it’s source. It had been a long time, but how could he have forgotten the arrogant commander… as well as the winner of their power struggle not so long ago.

“Gilgamesh…”

Ridley’s intonation showed neither hostility nor friendliness, for the Dragon had made no relation with the man. He had been shown an effectiveness and viciousness he could respect, and no more.

“And you would be the dragon I met from the Island. Ridley, you said?” The Blonde king stated with a grin. “I assume you don’t bear a grudge from the island those months ago you’re trying to fulfill?”

“Not to you, no.” Ridley responded, looking the king in his eyes. Yellow eyes struck red, and between the two neither party looked away, Gilgamesh’s smile seeming to widen instead.

“Then let’s take a walk, you and I. Tell me of the bargain you would like to strike, and I, as King, will judge it’s value.”

----


The conversation went on for several minutes, but Ridley knew he was being watched every second. Gilgamesh’s intensity and silent movements of guards and others in the background, noticed only by his sense of smell, kept him aware the king trusted him as far as he could throw him - not much of a distance, indeed.

Still, his focus was on matters of business, and as they discussed, Ridley found Gilgamesh to be a shrewd but capable negotiator. Were it not for Ridley’s own skill in the subject, he was certain he might have been bullied down to quite a great number, but as the negotiations went the two found themselves to be matched to some degree.

“Still, there is one thing that sticks out like quite a sore thumb, Ridley.”

The Dragon’s eyes narrowed.

“After all, from what you’re saying, this is quite the ship. Large enough to attempt to besiege Uruk itself. What promise can you make me, that this starship of yours will not simply cause me headache later after my men have to clean several thousand tons of scrap from outside of Uruk’s walls.”

Ridley stifled a growl at the audacity of the statement, but the motion was made clear. “You’ve use as a builder. One I will require in the future. I will not harm your desert sanctuary.”

“Can I trust you?”

Ridley narrowed his eyes. “I am not so weak to need to lie. You’ve my word, on the honor of my race, my position, and my true name, builder. I don’t harm potential assets. So long as Uruk remains under your rule, it shall endure no hardship from me.”


Gilgamesh studied Ridley’s eyes closely, looking for any signs of treachery and falsehood in Ridley’s eyes. Ridley, for all his faults and hatred, was not lying, and the intensity within his eyes made it clear to see.

“Then the deal is struck, Ridley. Uruk thanks you for your generous donation. Now, is that all, or do we have any other business?”

“Only the counting of gems. One I will oversee personally.” Ridley adds with a dangerous intonation.

Gilgamesh made a casual motion with his hand, as a few more of his men moved forward, as he gave a soft incline of his head, standing up straight.


The deal had been struck. The ship was in his grasp. Whatever it’s condition, the Dragon’s Gaze would return to the fold, and Ridley’s first step in rebuilding his empire would be complete.

Even amidst the humiliation of having to bow to one who stood shorter, Ridley couldn’t stop a wicked grin across his features, one that showed the curved teeth behind them.

He was the king, and he’d reclaimed his crown.

 

[Victor Wolfe]

The oppressive heat blazed down from the midday sun as Ridley, flanked by a group of guards, proceeded down the street. They stopped occasionally to pick up those who would be useful to the mission. By the time they reached the gate they had picked up engineers, demolition experts, and even someone who claimed to be a project manager. Willing to put up with the field trip-like atmosphere from the crowd of nerds he had just spent a large sum on, the space dragon remained tolerant for now; he had invested too much to allow anything to mess up his plans.

Passing through the shadow of the gate his nose was drawn to a new scent, unlike the usual smells on the air in a city, those of industry, fresh food, and soaps. This was a sickly sweet smell, a scent of lavender originating from a spot to the group's right. His eyes darted to the spot and his legs freezing in place, but he saw nothing.

“Everything okay, sir?” The leader of the guards, a tall well built man with long dark hair and a deep tenor voice asked, his hand reaching towards his sword as he turned to look in the same direction.

“Oh I think everything is just fine Zaidu, our friend just happens to be more perceptive than you.” Peeling away like a cloak in front of their eyes the blonde hair, red eyes and smiling face of Sutor Woriyia came into view, the invisibility slipping down their body to reveal their hand slowly waving her fingers, and her black and red robes.

The guard captain had dealt with this individual before. Storming into his office with an entire mafia family in chains and demanding a mansion for the bounty. He had informed the King of this violent vigilante running military-style black ops on their citizens but apparently that didn’t matter, they had gotten the job done.

“No.”

“You have not even listened to what I have to suggest yet, please do be reasonable.”

“I do not need to listen to what you have to say. King Gilgamesh told me to help so that's what's happening. You can go and throw another party or something, just stay out of our way.”

“If this is about the parties I swear your invitation must have gotten lost in the mail, I did ask Flavia to give you one.”

“Oh no- I got it. Some of us just have actual work to do, rather than indulging our baser urges, my lord.” Zaidu said in a mocking tone.

“Some of us are competent enough to work hard and play hard, you really need some work-life balance Zai, how about you take the day off... And leave this one to me?” Sutor fired back, the polite smile on their face starting to crack a little.

“Let me think about it… No.”

“Well as the head of the diplomatic branch of the Babylonian Government I, Lady Sutor Woriyia, declare this a diplomatic issue due to the nature of dealing with fostering relations with our neighbours, so I order you to go home and have a long think about your life choices!”

“And I would happily take that order but according to the last document, it would be a ‘Lord Victor Wolfe’ who would be in charge of the diplomatic branch. Shame he isn’t around to clear this up, looks like we will need to discuss this with the King once we get back.” Sutors fist tensed, shaking from the rage that they felt from being spoken down to.

Ridley started tapping his foot, not amused at being left waiting whilst the two figures in front of him postured.

“Two assassination plots, and one smuggling operation.” Sutor smiled.

“Two assassins plots and three smuggling operations.” Zaidu shot back, his tongue as sharp as his sword.

“Sorry, I ain’t got that.” The Goddess gave a half-hearted shrug

“Bullshit.”The guard captain said, calling the goddesses bluff.

Sutor relaxed a little, their fist unclenching. Questioning their position was out of the question, but a little bribery never hurt anyone.“Two assassination plots, one smuggling operation, and two cases of extortion.”

Zaidu mirrored Sutors sadistic smile, copying their hand wave as he turned “Everyone go back to your business. Same place as usual, Lady Sutor?” a low chuckle came from the ripped gentleman.

“Flavia will have the information as usual.” A sigh came from the assassin goddesses lips as they watched the crowd break apart. They had been alerted to Ridley's presence as soon as they had set foot in the city thanks to the security network she had invested in.

With that the crowd disappeared and the captain of the guards left with a smile knowing he had won a small victory today.

“So was your mother a xenomorph and your father a very not-picky dragon? Because I'm not sure what I expected when I heard space dragon but… well not this. Anyways, Sutor Woyria, goddess of potential at your service!” Sutor gave a polite bow handing out a small laminated card. Seemingly mundane at first with their name, company name, contact info, but then leading into an increasingly ridiculous list of titles and accolades.

“So Mister Ridley, shall we get this show on the road?” The goddess held out her hand offering a shake.

 

[Ridley]

They smelled of the sand, of the river, of ground Ridley knew lay not on this planet. There was, too, healing compounds and exotic materials he had never smelled emanating from someone’s cells. The enigmatic figure known as Sutor smelled of the land, a medical closet, an indescribable touch of magic, with just the slightest amount of fine alcohol mixed in.

It was this that stayed the Dragon’s hand from exiting his little sojourn into Karim upon seeing the assassin’s interest, though she seemed to know it. They were studying him from the start, looking for tells, though if they expected to find any he expected he merely disappointed them. Lord Ridley did not have thumb-screws.

“So, is Space Dragon your species’ actual name? Seems a bit… derivative. ” Sutor mentioned with a half-cocked smirk, to which Ridley rolled his eyes.

“It’s the name those outside our species have known us. We don’t share our species name to… other beings.” Ridley said, walking slowly through the sands with Sutor Woriya, watching her pace. To Ridley’s surprise, he’d only noticed a few tells - and most of those, he suspected, were fakes. It was clear when they were enthusiastic, or bored, but little else, and he suspected she saw no value in concealing that knowledge.

“Ohhh. so like how Only Lilith knows your-”

“Do not. Finish that sentence.” Ridley snapped with a glare. It was a reaction that only caused Sutor’s grin to grow broader, and the reaction immediately increased the dragon’s fatigue.

“Oh ho, sorry about that. Though it certainly isn’t the kind of reaction that helps your case, ya know?”

“My relation with the acidic psychopath is professional.” Ridley would snap back.

“But the crush is useful, right? Hence why you’re leading her on. I’ve heard that one a lot, before someone fell for their mark. Not that I’m saying you would, certainly don’t know you well enough for that.” Sutor taunted, a smug look draped across her face.

“Where is this needless drivel going, woman?” Ridley snapped, already disliking this one. It seemed the universe had made certain that blonde women, without exception, would always grow to piss him off.

“Absolutely nowhere! That’s the point of needless drivel, Lord Ridley.” Sutor would say back with an overly cheery smile. “Don’t misunderstand too much - I’m not doing this for any particular immediate reason. I was bored, I saw an opportunity, and an adorable little dragon like you for future favors? It happens to be a good deal on the horizon.” Sutor added.

Ridley simply glared, waiting for the woman to get to the point she claimed not to have.

“But, you know, needless drivel establishes a couple things about a person. What pisses them off, what doesn’t, what they want, what they can’t stand, all those things. So it happened to confirm to me that there’s some sort of code going on in there. After all, Lilith seems the type of gal you’d control so much easier if you held her just a little closer. But you can’t, can you? Too much pride in your…”

Sutor took a deep breath, and Ridley could swear the little imp was suppressing a snort.

“space dragon heritage. Even if the lie is just to us mere humans. Humanoids? Goddess.”

“Does your mouth stop, at some point?”

“About here. I’ve dealt with some terribly nasty people who don’t respect any of the rules. They’ll take kindness and then slap you in the face with it later. People who don’t respect deals or try to play everyone against eachother simultaneously. Sort of like those Darkseid lovers.” Sutor explained, causing Ridley to flinch at the latter name. This simply emboldened the woman as she leaned in with a smile.

“Point is, I don’t bother with deals if the other person doesn’t know the proper respect. Not ones that benefit them, anyways.” Sutor would explain. “You’ve got some sort of code, you’re pretty convinced your word has worth, and you have an interest in doing actual business. That means that getting a couple concessions from you in exchange for helping you with your little spaceship problem will actually get me those, and I don’t have to go through the extra step of hunting you down when you fail those concessions.”

“Then name your concessions.”

“Now we’re getting down to business. First off, as Gilg has no doubt told you, I expect this thing to turn it’s lasers off near Uruk. If you start a problem with us using this ship, I’ll make sure you never have a gold piece to your name.”

Ridley’s glare didn’t waver, but there was a process in his head at the strangeness of that threat.

“Done.” he finally answered.

“Secondly, when I need to go somewhere, and when I choose to ride in style, you will be my Chaffeur. I get to ride your spaceship when I went, where I want.”

Ridley would give a glare back at the statement. “When we are conducting routine operations, done.”

“Oh, of course. I’m not about to ask you to come here with the police chasing you, or bringing a space battle along. But when you hear I need your time, you better find a way to make time fast.”

Ridley just rolled his eyes, but gave a slow nod to the comment. “What else?”

“I want a little room. Nothing big, just enough to put my feet up, enjoy myself, avoid looking at your horrible bug monsters.”

Ridley privately avoided mentioning he had wanted to give her a private room anyways for very similar reasons - one with sound-proofing - but just gave a slow nod instead.

“And I need a comm line to you, as a result. Might use it if a job comes up you’d be interested in, though naturally our official stance is that I’ve never asked you to do a thing in your life.”

Ridley just glared as the list continued. “Anything else?”

“Other than the amount we agreed on? Not at all.” Sutor would respond with a wicked grin. “Unless you’d like to enjoy some wine and women…”

“I’m affected by neither.”

“-and that’s only because Lilith hasn’t figured out how to get you into the booze yet, but I’m sure she’ll figure it out. In that case… let’s go pluck a battleship out of the sand!”

 

[Victor Wolfe]

The pair reached their destination, a gargantuan bolder all that now blocked the way from Ridley and his goal, Sutors expression turned serious for once.

“Well, Victor would be super jealous of me if he ever saw what I am about to do.”

Ridley turned to the goddess, Sutor certain that if Ridley had eyebrows, one would have been raised. Sutor just shrugged. “He always did want to destroy the Rock. Anyways it is a good thing that I came along, would have taken the engineer’s old Goldie tried to give you a few days or even weeks to clear this mess.”

The earth goddess raised her hands into a triangle shape, moving with unnatural speed around the bolder studying its shape and the angles of the valley it filled. Quickly counting on their fingers, bringing a finger to their chin as they pondered to themselves.

“What are you doing?” Ridley questioned.

“Oh just deciding how I want to do this… the safe way or the cool way. And no, you do not get to decide for me, not even Gilgamesh gets to do that.” Sutor chuckled as they dashed up the slope of the valley judging out what they hoped was a safe distance.

“Cool way it is, you may want to back away” Sutor smirked.

Once their client was a safe distance away Sutor took a deep breath, summoning up their innate power, lightning sparking around them before they were enveloped in a familiar golden aura, the ground humming from the power of their aura and their hair glowing gold.

Spreading out their feet they steadied themselves, leaning their hands backwards as they started to gather ki energy into their palms, a blue orb radiating with power as it grew in size. The earth beneath their feet shook as they focused on charging up this new technique the power in their palms threatening to burst loose and consume everything around them.

“Ka”

They gasped, a quick release of air as they uttered the words that were screaming out in their head, begging to be unleashed.

“Me”

Sutor gritted their teeth, the feeling of excitement and terror filling them equally at what they were about to try.

“Ha”

The energy continued to swirl in their palm, now almost as large as their torso.
“Me”

The charging was now at its zenith, the goddess knew that if they poured any more energy into the attack they would not be able to contain its force, with a wicked grin and shaky muscles they pushed their arms forward sending a wave of force crashing into the rock.”

“HAAAAAA!”


There was a blast of bright light and force causing Ridley to have to steady themselves as they watched the rock start to fall to pieces under the force of the wave.

Sutor laughed out loud as their granite foe disappeared from their view collapsing into smaller rocks, pebbles and then dust. A wild idea crossed the fusions mind.

*How often do I get to really go all out like this, hehe, how about we really push this form!”

With a flex, the beam seemed to get bigger, and then bigger again as the goddess poured more and more energy into their new technique. Ridley now starting to look a little worried that this display of strength might just go a bit too far and damage what he had come here to obtain.

He watched as the goddesses form shifted subtly, their hair changing shape a little, and blue sparks of lighting start to dance around her. He also noticed the earrings they wore start to crack.

Reaching a new peak of power Sutor chuckled, no one would be able to stand in her way again, her jubilation was however short-lived, overloading from the stress of their new forms power the earrings that held them together crumbled into dust.

As the dust settled on the scene where the assassin empress once stood there were now two figures, and no rock to be seen.

“So, we showed off a new skill, and reached a new form, just to find out my dollar store Potara copies couldn’t handle the stress? Will need to workshop that one!” Came a distinctly male voice.