Origins of an Icer

Chapter 1

Former Solaris System

Inside the Iron Maiden, Fighter Corridor, Room 13

"It is now 0500 am of Antique Earth Standard Time. Repeat: it is now-" A hand shot out from the covers, smacking the clock as a groan echoed from the bed, rolling over to illuminate his room by the bright neon green of the wall screen. It depicted his vital signs, an image of his current license (showing his job, alliance, and his home system), and even the temperature of his home planet: Alpha Horahkty of the Ra Solaris system. He grumbled low, sighing as he rolled back over, running a dark tanned skin though his bright silver hair, ruffled and wavy from wearing it in braids. He sat up, the black sheets slowly pooling around his waist to reveal a built body with gold tattoos pulsing softly along his back, neck, and arms. On his home-world, these tattoos were set into his skin by a laser and hot scalpel made from a meteorite, giving Akifa the blessing of the sun gods to pilot his way through the star system. What most didn't know, it kept his health in check (gold for healthy, orange for not well, green for ill and contagious, and black for dying), and also acted as a tracker for him. If Akifa did something to upset the Elder Council, they sent out assassins from his family's planet to execute him, saving his family's honor and allowing them to save face in front of the Elders of the system.

Akifa Dbakarem, from the Set Alpha tribes, was the only system resident to get out of the Ra system, even intact with his gold runes, and became a mercenary to the Iron Maiden. Originally from the last military outpost posted by the Earth's military next to Charon of Pluto, the Iron Maiden was piloted by a mysterious woman claiming to be the "last Earthling" from the original, antique Earth. While Akifa had never really seen the woman, only once when he was first initiated into the service of the Maiden, he only caught a glimpse of a hologram featuring a woman with pale skin, long flowing violet hair, and bright lilac eyes with a red marking on her forehead. Akifa didn't quite want to believe in her fully, never really having a complete faith in authority figures in his life, but this one seemed to be a bit too mysterious, even for him and his superstitious upbringing.

However, having complete control over his personal fighter, having at least 20% of all loot when he went on missions, and being able to control which missions he wanted to take: salvage, rescue, or fighting alongside/with a neutral enemy, he couldn't complain. As essentially a pirate, he loved having a safe place to lay down for the night, completely healing and feeding himself safely without worrying about being killed or back stabbed during the night. Rubbing his eyes, Akifa slowly got out of bed, scratching away on his arms or chest as his head desperately tried to clear the sleep fog from his brain. He headed over to the door, pulling on a black leather jacket over his chest before heading down to the chow hall, ignoring the pilots stumbling out for breakfast. For a mysterious boss, she loved being punctual about everything, even installing a miniature electromagnetic pulse to disrupt everything for "curfew" hour. He hated that the first night it took out his latest gaming system he managed to snag, but he quickly found a way to resist the pulses with some boredom and tinkering. One thing his mother loved praising others to about her son was his technical tinkering, being able to upgrade something with simply a box of scraps and maybe a couple candles.

"Morning Anubis!" chirped a cheery female voice, causing his ears to twinge in pain as he turned to face a young woman with synthetic skin to match an Antique-Earthling Japanese girl (some new fad in the Andromeda system was grafting synthetic skin of Antique Earth cultures to match the various ethnicities). Oracle was her codename, but that's all they were able to say, their captain saying it was forbidden to say their real names to each other in case one of them was taken for ransom. Akifa smirked softly, seeing her skip up to grab her food in the same bright, halogenic pink suit she adored with vibrant green light coursing over her suit.