Spacemon: Origins – The Parisian Job

Welcome to the exciting first installment of Spacemon, the tale of a Pokemon TRPG campaign! This is an origin story for one of the characters that was written after the campaign began, but it serves as a prologue to the main story. You can get caught up on the entire Spacemon saga here!

“Target is on ze move,” the smooth French voice of Rena Bordeaux sounded in Arlon’s ear. “I cannot get a clean shot. Zere are too many civilians.”

“I’ve got eyes on him,” Arlon spoke into his earpiece as he moved through the crowd. “He’s headed for the mag-train stop. I’m in pursuit.”

“Arlon, stay on him. But keep your distance,” Lars Rickets’ voice instructed him. “We don’t want to tip him off.”

“I know the drill, boss,” Arlon replied as he followed the target inside the mag-train stop. “He’s getting on the southbound train.”

“I want you on that train,” Lars told him, “Rena, I’m coming to pick you up. We’ll follow the train from above. Kiril, Devlin, I want you at the next two stops.”

“We’re on our way,” replied the gruff voice of Kiril Zhukov.

“I’m on the train,” Arlon said into his earpiece as he took a seat, eying his target on the other end of the car.

“Excellent,” said Lars. “Stay out of sight and let us know if he does anything.”

“I know the drill. The bastard doesn’t even know we’re on him.”

As the mag-train flew along the skyline of the Alliance metropolis world of Cacia, Arlon watched his target, who still remained unaware of his presence. The Red Suns had been contracted to apprehend Ward Pezal, a hitman suspected in dozens of assassinations across the Galaxy, and had tracked him here to Cacia.

The train passed by the next several stops, but Pezal remained seated. Lars continued to direct Kiril and Devlin down the line as he and Rena followed from above, but it seemed to Arlon that Pezal intended to remain on the train. Suddenly, the hitman locked eyes with him and flashed him a wicked grin. The man got up from his seat and began to make his way to the back of the train.

Arlon immediately jumped up and quickly moved to follow. “He’s on the move,” Arlon said into his earpiece. “The bloody bastard knew we were on him the whole time. He’s headed for the back of the train. I’m in pursuit.”

“Be careful,” Rena warned him.

Arlon arrived at the back of the train to find himself face-to-face with Pezal. “You’ve got nowhere to run, mate.” he told the hitman.

“I beg to differ,” Pezal calmly replied. He pressed a switch in his hand and the back door to the train exploded behind him. Arlon reached for his pistol, but he was too late; Pezal jumped off the back of the train and onto the track.

“He jumped off the bloody train!” Arlon shouted over the comms. “I’m going after him!” He ran down the length of the train car and leapt out the back onto the track. Arlon sprinted down the track toward Pezal, quickly making up the ground.

“Don’t move,” Arlon told the hitman as he aimed his pistol at him.

“You’re too late,” Pezal declared with a laugh. He looked down to the ground miles beneath the mag-train rail and then back to Arlon. “You’re just another bounty hunter who failed to bring me in.” He leaned backward and dropped off the track as a Golurk swooped in to pick him up.

“No you don’t!” Arlon shouted as he ran for the edge. He leapt off after Pezal as he pulled out a Pokeball. “Spitfire!” He pressed the button and released his Charizard beneath him. He landed on the Pokemon’s back and nudged him after the falling target.

Spitfire pulled his wings in and dove straight down at the hitman as he landed on his Golurk. The ghost Pokemon fired up its rockets and flew away.

“After him!” Arlon ordered his Charizard. With a giant push from his wings, Spitfire took off after Pezal at full speed. “Use Fire Blast!” The Charizard exhaled a massive ball of flames at Pezal and his Golurk as he pursued them.

As the fireball expanded into the telltale five-pointed pattern of Fire Blast, the Golurk’s rockets fired off with even more thrust in response, putting some distance between itself and Arlon and his Pokemon. Before it manages to get away with its trainer, a large ball of shadowy energy slammed into it.

“I’ve got your back, Arlon,” Rena’s voice sounded in Arlon’s earpiece. He looked up to see Rena’s Metagross floating in the air in front of the Golurk.

“Nice save, Rena,” Arlon told her. He then nudged Spitfire forward toward Pezal. “Now, use Shadow Claw!” Arlon commanded the Charizard.

With another thrust from his wings, Spitfire closed the distance with Pezal and his Golurk and swiped at them with his sharp claws. The attack made contact with the Pokemon and dealt a nasty blow, tearing right through its armor. Pezal commanded his Golurk to counterattack, but Arlon’s Pokemon easily dodged out of the way. While it was distracted, Rena’s Metagross got off another Shadow Ball. Surprisingly, the Pokemon managed to take the hit.

“Finish him off with Air Slash!” Arlon commanded Spitfire. The Charizard made a hard turn and launched a slicing blast of air at Pezal’s Golurk, knocking it out. Pezal and his Golurk began to fall, but Arlon nudged Spitfire down at full speed. The Charizard dove hard and grabbed Pezal out of the air.

Prize in hand, Arlon and his Pokemon flew to the ground to meet up with the others. Another job well done.

Lars Rickets sat in the captain’s seat on the empty bridge of the UAS Corsair, the Red Suns’ Alliance-make heavy frigate, staring off into the vast vacuum of space as his ship drifted along. As he watched the sparkling stars in the distance, he reflected on his team’s recent operations.

After collecting the bounty on Pezal, the Red Suns hadn’t seen much action. The jobs they had run in the time since had been rather trivial: protecting private shipments, chasing down small time bounties, and the like. But money was money, and the Red Suns were in a bit of a tight spot financially. They had to keep making ends meet somehow, even if that meant taking on such menial, low paying jobs.

Lars was pulled out of his thoughts when a flashing light appeared on the console, signifying an incoming call. Lars pressed the answer button on his armrest and a man appeared on the screen.

“Greetings, UAS Corsair,” the man said. “I would like to speak with your captain.”

“You’re talking to him,” Lars responded. “How can I help you?”

“My employer would like to hire you and your men for an upcoming operation. He is willing to pay a … handsome reward.”

“Go on,” Lars told him, intrigued by the proposition.

“There is a data package that my employer would very much like to get his hands on. It is currently located here.” A set of coordinates and blueprints of an Outer Rim mining facility appeared on the screen. “Gigan Station, located in Sector 25.”

“What are the details?”

“You and your men are to board the station and secure the package. No witnesses. No survivors. Once you depart, destroy the station.”

“You realize that what you are asking is highly illegal?” Lars asked.

“As I said, my employer is offering a handsome reward.”

“I am afraid your employer is … misinformed in regard to who we are. We are respectable bounty hunters, not some rabble of pirates and murderers.”

“My employer is prepared to pay you upwards of one-and-a-half-million credits.”

“I’ve made up my mind. No amount of money can buy my code of honor. Goodbye.” Lars terminated the call, a sour expression on his face.

“That sounded like a perfectly reasonable deal to me.” Lars turned to see Devlin Garth standing behind him. “Not takin’ that job was a bad call.”

“Son, we’ve been through this before,” Lars said as he stood to speak with Devlin. “There are certain lines we will not cross, even if we need the money.”

“But we wouldn’t even be in this mess if you were more willin’ to do what’s necessary fer survival.”

“There is no point in surviving if you have to sacrifice your ideals in the process. We are not taking that job and that’s final.” Lars briskly walked off the bridge, passing by Arlon on his way.

“Yer makin’ a mistake,” Devlin grumbled to himself.

“What was that all about?” Arlon asked him.

“Mind yer own business,” Devlin responded as he fiddled with the comms.

“You were at his throat again, weren’t you, mate?” Arlon asked as he set himself down in the pilot’s seat.

“I said mind yer own damn business.”

“Alright, no need to be such a bloody wanker about it,” Arlon responded. What’s his problem? he thought.

---

Arlon sat alone on the bridge of the Corsair, watching the gases of the nebula swirl around the ship through the viewport. The Red Suns had just gotten off yet another low paying bounty; the third one this week. Money remained the key issue for the team of bounty hunters. It had been quite some time since they had received a well paying job.

However, that wasn’t really what had been troubling Arlon. Devlin Garth was his main concern. He had never liked the guy, but lately he had been more trouble than he was worth. He was too violent for Arlon’s taste, too ruthless. Given the choice, he would always go for a kill over a capture. To Devlin, dead or alive just meant dead.

Those were the least of Arlon’s problems with the man. He was gunning hard to take over after Lars retired, showing himself to be greedy and power hungry. For years now, Devlin had been urging Lars to expand the Red Suns into far more illegal operations: arms dealing, credit mining, piracy.

While Lars had always been opposed to these ideas, the fear that Devlin may one day take over the Red Suns and expand into these other activities continued to gnaw away at Arlon. He fancied himself to be a far better candidate to take over for Lars, but remained unsure if the man would pick him over Devlin, especially given that Devlin’s father had formed the Red Suns with Lars many years ago.

Arlon was pulled from his brooding when he heard the sound of someone walking up behind him. He turned back to see Lars walking onto the bridge. The Red Suns commander sat down in the captain’s chair and activated the comms. “Everyone, come to the bridge. It’s time to talk business,” he announced.

“We got another job?” Arlon asked, swiveling his chair around to face Lars.

“A big one,” Lars told him.

“About time. How big are we talking?”

“Two-hundred-thousand credits …”

“I thought you said this was a big—”

“Each.”

“… Job … Wow.”

“Did you just say two-hundred-thousand each?” Rena asked as she walked onto the bridge. Devlin and Kiril followed closely behind.

“I did,” Lars told her.

“One-million credits?” Arlon asked, still in disbelief. “One-million bloody credits? What the hell is this job anyway?”

Lars pressed a button and a picture of a Federation official appeared on the viewscreen. “This is Konstantin Schroeder, the Federation’s Director of Economic Provision. He’s our target.”

“Target? For what?” Arlon asked.

“We’re being paid to kidnap him,” Lars explained.

“What for?” Arlon asked him.

“Yer certainly askin’ a lot of questions,” Devlin snidely remarked.

“Well I want more bloody details on this job.”

“Our employers were not too forthcoming with that information,” Lars explained.

“This whole business is rather shady, innit?” Arlon asked.

“I’m inclined to agree with you, but …” Lars trailed off as he looked over at the viewscreen again. “This is just a simple snatch and grab operation, and the money is too good to turn down. We’d be crazy not to take this job.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it,” Lars sternly told him. “We need this job.”

“Alright, alright. Where are we headed?”

“Parisia. Schroeder is going to be there to discuss funding with Genevan officials in the city of Calais. That’s where we’ll strike. We’ll be able to take him on route to the capitol building from the hotel he’s staying at.”

“Zis sounds simple enough,” Rena chimed in.

“Exactly,” Lars agreed. “If we play our cards right, we can be in and out before anyone knows what happened. Arlon, set a course for Parisia. We can review the plan on the way.”

“Yes, boss,” Arlon said as he swiveled his chair back around. He plotted a course and then initiated a jump into warp space, en route to the nearest warp gate.

---

As the Corsair flew through warp space en route to Parisia, Arlon took some time to relax in his personal quarters. He lay on his back on his bed, contemplating the upcoming job. Something about it just seemed off to him. The door suddenly slid open and he glanced over to see Rena in the doorway. “You alright?” she asked as she stepped into the room.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Arlon told her as he sat up. “I’m just not sure about this job. Something about it just doesn’t sit right with me.”

“You know Lars wouldn’t ‘ave taken it if ‘e didn’t ‘ave a good reason.”

“I know, I know. It’s just that … I don’t know. I can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right about it. Who would want to kidnap this Schroeder guy anyway? And why all the secrecy? I don’t like it.”

“I think maybe you need to take a nice long break after zis job is all over,” Rena told him with a chuckle. “I know I could use one.”

“Tell me about it. I think I’ll go fucking mental if I have to spend any more time on this ship without a bloody vacation.”

“With all ze money we are getting for zis job, I’m sure Lars will be giving us some shore leave. Maybe we can go somewhere nice. Just ze two of us.”

“Ha, you don’t really strike me as the romantic type,” Arlon said with a laugh.

Rena placed a finger on Arlon’s lips, as if telling him to be quiet. “You talk too much sometimes,” she said playfully as she pushed him back onto the bed.

“You know you love it,” Arlon responded as he pulled her down into an embrace. “Now come on, we don’t have much time before we get to Parisia.”

---

The Corsair jolted slightly as it dropped out of warp space in the core system of the Geneva Confederacy. The brilliant light of Europa reflected off the orange rings of Gaia as the ship approached its destination. Arlon was temporarily blinded by the star’s light before he steered the frigate toward the moon Parisia, one of the many capitol worlds of the Genevan states in orbit around the gas giant. As the ship moved closer, the moon eclipsed the light.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Rena asked Arlon as she walked onto the bridge. “It ‘as been quite a while since I ‘ave been back ‘ere.”

“Indeed,” Arlon agreed. “Much nicer than the planet I come from. There was nothing but bloody fields as far as the eye could see. Leaving that place was the best damn choice I ever made.”

“But at least you did not grow up in ze slums,” Rena said with a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah. At least you had some nice sights to look at.”

“We ain’t here to see the sights,” said Devlin as he joined the two on the bridge. “Y’all know that.”

“Here to piss on the mood again, Garth?” Arlon asked.

“Just makin’ sure yer focused on the mission.”

“Why the hell wouldn’t I be? It’s only my bloody job, innit?”

“Now, now boys,” said Rena, trying to break up the hostilities. “No need to fight.”

“Rena’s right,” Lars told them as he walked onto the bridge. The Red Suns’ leader calmly looked at his crew. “We’ve got enough to worry about on this mission without the two of you at each other’s throats.”

“Got it,” Arlon responded before returning his focus to piloting as the Corsair broke through the atmosphere.

Arlon flew the ship over Parisia’s beautiful Azure Sea on approach to Calais, one of the sprawling megatropolises covering a large portion of the planet. They were still a good way out and could see the massive skyscrapers protruding above the horizon. The ship’s powerful engines quickly closed the gap and, before long, the Corsair was soaring above the city, the many towering structures adorned with lush rooftop gardens. The skyline of Calais was truly a sight to behold.

---

Arlon set the ship down on a landing platform miles above the surface of the planet and the Red Suns gathered in the ‘war room’ to review the plan for the mission.

“In case you’ve forgotten,” Lars addressed the team. “The target is Konstantin Schroeder, the Federation’s Director of Economic Provision. He’s visiting Parisia to discuss funding with Genevan officials here in Calais. We need to take him alive,” he added, looking around at his crew to make sure they understood.

“Right,” said Arlon, glancing over at Devlin, who he knew would be the most likely to kill a target, given the option.

“The plan is to grab him en route to the capitol building from his hotel. Arlon and I will intercept Schroeder’s vehicle here,” Lars continued, pointing to a point on the map.

“How do we know he’ll pass that way?” Arlon asked.

“It’s the most direct route from the hotel to the capitol. They have no reason to suspect anything and, therefore, no reason to take another route. We will intercept them at this point, using Salamence and Charizard. Riding our Pokemon will allow us to outmaneuver them. Arlon and I will board the vehicle and secure Schroeder. Rena will be on overwatch on this rooftop here.”

“Not a problem,” Rena chimed in.

“I will take Schroeder on Salamence and Arlon will pick up Rena with Charizard. Then we will fly to the rendezvous point here, which Kiril and Devlin will have secured. They will be waiting with our vehicle to quickly transport us back to the Corsair. We will be long gone from Parisia before anyone knows what happened. Any questions? No? Good. Let’s move.”

The aging bounty hunter stepped away from the table, adjusted his hat, then turned to begin arming up for the mission. While he may have been getting on in years, Lars’s mind was as sharp as ever, and he commanded the respect of his team just by being in their presence. His brilliant strategies had seen the Red Suns through many tough jobs, and secured them many high rewards. The man’s brilliance was no small part of the reason why the Red Suns were one of the most elite teams of bounty hunters in the galaxy.

“Still having misgivings about the job?” Lars asked, noticing Arlon following closely behind.

“Yeah … The whole thing seems a bit sketchy to me,” Arlon told him. “I mean, kidnapping a director?”

“Son, you’re not changing my mind.” Lars sighed for a moment before continuing. “Look, all we have to do is capture this guy and deliver him, and you know we need the money right now.”

“I know, but I’ve just got a real bad feeling about this one.”

“Just don’t let that feelin’ of yers get in the way of the job,” Devlin jabbed at him.

“How about you worry about yourself and not kill the bloody target for once then?” Arlon snapped back.

“Lock it down. Both of you,” Lars coldly told them. “You don’t have to like each other, but we’re a team and we’ve got a job to do so put your petty differences aside.”

“Got it,” Arlon replied.

“So, are you ready to do this job?” Lars asked him.

“Yes, boss,” Arlon answered. He stepped away from the group and checked his weapons, not that it was really necessary since he always made sure to keep them clean. Holstering his pistols, Arlon followed the rest of the team off the Corsair.

“It’s time to go,” Lars told the team as he releases his Salamence.

“Come on out, Spitfire.” Arlon’s Charizard emerged from his ball and let out a mighty roar before leaning down so that Arlon could mount up.

Arlon hopped up onto Spitfire’s back, then motions for Rena to get on. Once she was seated, Arlon nudged Spitfire and the Charizard pushed off the ground with his powerful wings, following Lars and his Salamence into the skies of Parisia.

---

After a short flight, the team arrived at the target location, a strategic rooftop overlooking the passing air traffic. The skycars flew by in both directions as the Red Suns dismounted. “Rena, get yourself set up,” Lars instructed the Parisian sniper.

“Already on it, boss,” Rena replied as she unslung the sniper rifle from her back and set it up on its bipod.

Lars nodded, then reached for his earpiece. “We’re in position,” he announced over the comm channel. “What’s the status of the rendezvous point?”

“Location is secured,” Kiril responded.

“Excellent,” Lars told him. “Standby. I’ll let you know when we’re headed to you.” Lars then turned to look at Arlon. “Get ready, the target should be passing by any moment now.”

Arlon and Lars climbed back onto their Pokemon, prepared to take off at a moment’s notice. As if on cue, the director’s skycar flew into view.

“I’ve got the target in sight,” Rena announced.

“Let’s move,” Lars said to Arlon. The pair nudged their Pokemon and they lifted themselves off the rooftop with their powerful wings.

Arlon and Lars flew full speed at the skycar, quickly closing the distance. They swooped in on either side of the open-top vehicle and prepared to board. A thin, dark haired man with glasses wearing a fancy blue suit sat in the back. A Shinx lay sleeping in his lap. Seeing the two Pokemon flanking his vehicle, a look of surprise appeared on the man’s face.

Arlon and Lars simultaneously leapt from their Pokemon into the vehicle. Upon landing, Arlon quickly pulled out one of his pistols and aimed it at the driver. “Try anything and I’ll shoot,” he said calmly.

“Vat is the meaning of this!?” the man in the back demanded of the boarders, his shouts waking the Shinx in his lap.

“Konstantin Schroeder?” Lars asked him.

“Yes, that’s me,” the man responded, still quite baffled by the situation.

“You’re coming with us, Director,” Lars told him as he placed a hand on his arm.

“I, most definitely, am not!” Schroeder protested. His Shinx hissed at Lars and sparks flew off from its blue fur.

“You may want to recall your little friend there, mate,” Arlon chimed in, eying the director’s Pokemon. Schroeder nervously obliged before Lars began dragging the man toward his Salamence.

“Vat are you doing? There is no vay I am riding avay on that beast!”

“Just shut up and climb on,” Arlon told him.

Suddenly, a shot flew through the air and hit the driver right in the head. “What the fuck?!” Arlon shouted as the skycar began to dive. He quickly shoved the driver out of the seat and took the controls.

“Rena, what’s happening up there? The driver’s been shot,” Lars asked the sniper over the comms.

“I’m not sure,” Rena responded. “I can’t figure out where ze shots are coming from. Wait … I think I see something. He’s on ze—” Suddenly she cut out.

“Rena, are you there?” Lars asked. “Rena!? Shit!”

Suddenly, another shot hit the skycar and took out one of its thrusters. “I can’t hold this thing together!” Arlon shouted as the vehicle began plummeting to the ground. “We’re gonna crash!”

The skycar narrowly missed colliding with a building as it dropped. Arlon tried to regain control and pull out a landing, but it was no use. The vehicle slammed into the ground, causing Arlon’s head to fly forward. It crashed against the dash and knocks him out cold.

---

Arlon came to in the burning wreck of Schroeder’s skycar. As his vision cleared, he looked around at the damage. “Lars?” he called out. No response. He shook his head clear and began to climb to the back of the vehicle. “No …”

Both Lars and Schroeder lay dead, blood spattered across the back seat. Upon close examination, Arlon realized that their wounds were not from the crash; both had been shot in the head, executed.

Arlon drew a pistol as he stepped from the wrecked vehicle. He looked around for Lars’s killer, but the street was vacant. He reached for his earpiece. “Rena? Rena, do you copy? Kiril? Is anyone there.”

Static.

“Goddamn it!” Arlon shouted. He ripped the earpiece from his ear in anger and threw it on the ground.

Arlon heard the familiar roar of his Charizard and looked up to see the Pokemon circling above with Lars’s Salamence. “Down here!” he called to them. They flew down toward the ground and landed with a thud. Arlon walked up to his Pokemon and patted him on the back of the neck. “I wish you could tell me what the bloody hell happened here, mate,” he said to the Charizard.

Before he could get the chance to sort everything out, Arlon heard the sound of approaching sirens. “We need to get out of here,” he said to his Pokemon.

Before leaving, Arlon climbed back into the vehicle, where Lars’s Salamence was nudging his trainer’s lifeless body. “I’m sorry, mate,” Arlon said to the Pokemon, comfortingly rubbing him on the back of the neck. “We’re not leaving him here though.” Arlon lifted Lars’s body out of the wreckage and placed him on the back of his Pokemon. “I need you to follow me, okay?”

Arlon climbed onto Spitfire’s back and nudged the Charizard to take off. With Lars’s Salamence in tow, Arlon directed the Pokemon to fly back to Rena’s rooftop.

Upon arriving, Arlon found Rena lying facedown on the roof. “Rena!” he shouted as jumped off of Spitfire’s back. He ran over to the sniper and checked her pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that she was still alive.

Arlon kneeled down and rolled her over. “Rena!” he shouted as he shook her, trying to wake her up.

Her eyes flickered open. “Wha—? What ‘appened?” she asked.

“We were shot down …” Arlon trailed off.

“What’s wrong?” Rena asked, seeing the distressed look on Arlon’s face.

“Lars … Lars is dead!”

“What?”

“I don’t know … I was knocked out when we crashed. I woke up and … he’d been shot in the head. Schroeder too.”

“Why did zey leave you?”

“I don’t know, maybe they thought I was dead already. Whoever did this … whoever shot that skycar down, whoever killed Lars … We have to find them. We have to make them pay for what they did! I don’t even know where to begin … You didn’t get a good look, did you?”

“I’m sorry Arlon … I located ze sniper but … I didn’t get a good look at ‘im. Zen … someone ‘it me on ze back of ze head. Someone knew I was ‘ere.”

“We have to tell the others. My earpiece is dead. Please, tell me yours is working.”

Rena reached for her earpiece, but it wasn’t there. She quickly looked around and saw it lying on the ground, smashed to pieces. “Merde!” she shouted. “It’s broken.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Arlon said with a sigh. “We’ll head for the rendezvous point …”

---

Arlon and Rena silently rode Spitfire to the rendezvous point with Lars’s Salamence in tow. Neither felt like talking, still in disbelief that their leader was dead. As they landed on the rooftop, Arlon noticed that both Devlin and Kiril seemed rather on edge. Arlon dismounted and walked over to the Salamence to collect Lars’s body. He silently walked to the waiting skycar and placed the body inside.

“We know what you did,” Devlin sneered at him.

“What the bloody hell are you talking about?” Arlon asked.

“I know this was you,” Devlin told him.

“You … you think I did this!?” Arlon shouted at him.

“What is ‘e talking about, Arlon?” Rena asked.

“I know you wanted to take over,” Devlin continued.

“Not like this,” Arlon coldly shot back.

“Then what’s this?” Devlin asked, showing him some data on his Pokedex: an intercepted message between whoever was responsible and … himself …

That’s impossible! The thought screamed inside Arlon’s head. I didn’t send this!

“Is it true, Arlon?” Kiril asked him.

“This wasn’t me! I didn’t send this, I swear!” Arlon shouted. “I was knocked out. When I woke up, both Lars and Schroeder had been shot in the head. Whoever did that … they must have taken my Pokedex when I was knocked out! I swear on my life!”

“The evidence seems pretty clear to me,” Devlin told him.

“Why would I want this!? Lars was like a father to me! He did more for me than my old man ever did … No … I think you did this!”

“Typical. Blamin’ me for yer own actions.”

“Everyone knows you were gunning to take control when Lars retired.” Arlon backed away as the others begin to move in on him.

“The same goes for you … mate.” The last word slid out of Devlin’s mouth with a hint of venom as he reached for a Pokeball.

“I swear this wasn’t me!” Arlon shouted as he continued to back away. “I’m being set up! You have to believe me!”

“We’re way past believin’ anythin’ you say.” Devlin threw out a Pokeball and released his Tyrantrum. Arlon backed up to the edge of the rooftop as Devlin and his Pokemon closed in on him. “You got nowhere to run to.”

“Then I guess I have to fly.” Arlon leaned back and fell backward off the building. Spitfire immediately lifted off with his powerful wings and dove after his trainer.

“Use Rock Slide!” Devlin commanded his Pokemon. The Tyrantrum stomped to the edge of the roof and slammed the ornate stone roof tiles with his powerful tail, breaking off massive chunks down on Arlon and his Pokemon.

The Charizard swooped down and grabbed his trainer as several chunks slammed into him, dealing a pretty nasty blow. However, the strong Pokemon fought through and flew away as Arlon swung up onto his back.

Devlin recalled his Pokemon with a look of pure anger on his face. “After him!” he shouted at his fellow Red Suns. “Chase him across the entire city if you have to!”

---

The sun sank behind the skyline of Calais as Arlon and Spitfire set down by the river. Due to his injuries, the Charizard could no longer sustain carrying his trainer. “Thanks, mate,” Arlon said to his wounded Pokemon as he recalled him.

Arlon looked up at the Eiffel Tower as he caught his breath. The structure was one of the most iconic landmarks on Parisia, within the Geneva Confederacy itself even. It was a replica of the original back on Earth. Apparently it had a similar status back there as well. Despite the direness of his situation, Arlon couldn’t help but chuckle a little. No wonder the French rebuilt it here, he thought.

The moment of peace was cut short by the sound of a skycar whizzing past. Arlon looked up to see the Red Suns’ vehicle circling. “Bloody hell, they caught up fast,” Arlon grumbled. “The fucking Pokedex. I should have known better.” Realizing that his former allies had tracked him here, Arlon removed the device from his pocket. He slammed it down on the ground as hard as he could, and then stomped on the damaged device. He then kicked it into the river, just to be sure. The vehicle began to set down as Arlon quickly rans for the cover of the buildings.

The Red Suns chased after Arlon as he entered an under-construction building. Arlon heard the sounds of his former allies echo in the empty rooms as he rushed up the stairs. “Split up. He can’t have gone very far,” Garth commanded Rena and Kiril.

Already acting like he’s the bloody leader! Arlon raged in his own head as he continued up.

“There is noise in stairwell,” Arlon heard Kiril’s voice echo behind him.

“So much for being the stealthy one,” Arlon grumbled to himself. Once he reached the highest accessible floor, Arlon exited the stairwell and searched for a way out. Unfortunately, he found himself up against a large pane of glass. He turned to find another way, but found himself face to face with the Red Suns.

“You got nowhere to run to this time,” Devlin sneered at him as he reached for a Pokeball.

“So this is how it’s gonna be, then?” Arlon asked as he reached for his own Pokeballs. He released his Charizard and his Nidoking between himself and his former allies. In response, Devlin, Rena, and Kiril released their own Pokemon: Bastiodon, Metagross, and Weezing, respectively.

“Kaiser, Earth Power! Spitfire, Flamethrower!” Arlon commanded both his Pokemon. The Nidoking kicked up a massive blast of debris at Devlin’s Bastiodon, shattering the floor tiles. The Charizard spit out a massive surge of flames at Rena’s Metagross. Both targets took some damage, but continued to close in on Arlon and his Pokemon.

“Ordinateur, use Psychic!” Rena commanded her Metagross. The large metallic Pokemon fired off a blast of psychic energy at Kaiser, but the Nidoking managed to dodge out of the way. Flying  past Kaiser, the blast shattered the glass behind Arlon and the wind surges into the room.

“Otrava, Gyro Ball!” Kiril instructed his Weezing. The Pokemon charged at Kaiser, and this time the Nidoking was unable to dodge. Otrava slammed into the Pokemon and dealt a heavy blow.

“Bastion, use Stone Edge!” Devlin commanded his Pokemon. The Bastiodon charged forward at Arlon’s Charizard and slammed into him with massive force, crushing the Pokemon against the wall. Spitfire let out an agonized roar before he fell still, lifeless.

“No!” Arlon shouted at the death of his Pokemon. Rage burned in his eyes. He reached for his belt and threw out another Pokemon. His Haxorus emerged and let out a mighty roar. The highly aggressive Pokemon was one of his most powerful, and he needed him now more than ever.

“Chopper, use Superpower!” Arlon commanded his Pokemon. The Haxorus rushed Devlin’s Bastiodon and hit him with all his might. The already injured Pokemon went down from the hit. “Finish it off!” Arlon shouted out, thirsty for revenge. Chopper turned and slammed the downed Pokemon with his powerful tail, pushing it out the damaged window.

Rena looked at Arlon with surprise, shocked to see him act with such brutality. Devlin just grunted in amusement.

“Kaiser, Ice Beam!” Arlon commanded his Nidoking. The Pokemon fired a focused beam of ice from his horn at Kiril’s Weezing and delivered a powerful strike.

“Ordinateur, use Shadow Ball!” Rena commanded her Metagross.

“Otrava, Sludge Bomb!” Kiril commanded his Weezing.

Recognizing Arlon’s Haxorus as a major threat, the two Red Suns narrowed their focus on the Pokemon. Their Pokemon launched their attacks and the combined effort dealt a nasty blow to the dragon Pokemon.

Devlin then sent out his Tyrantrum. The Pokemon locked eyes with Chopper and let out an angry roar. Just as Arlon and Devlin despised each other, their dragon Pokemon also had a strong rivalry. “Rex, use Head Smash!” Devlin commands his Pokemon. The Tyrantrum charges at Arlon’s Haxorus, then slammed him full force with his powerful skull. The wounded Haxorus couldn’t stand up to the extremely powerful hit and was killed instantly.

Upset over the loss of yet another Pokemon, Arlon angrily threw out his last combat-ready Pokemon. His Aggron shook the floor as he emerged from his ball. Arlon pointed at Devlin’s Tyrantrum and commanded his Pokemon, “Titan, use Iron Head!” The large Pokemon charged at the Tyrantrum and struck the dragon Pokemon with his horns, tearing through the beast’s rocky armor and dealing a nasty blow.

“Kaiser, use Earth Power!” Arlon commanded his other Pokemon. The Nidoking followed up on Titan’s attack by kicking up a blast of debris at Devlin’s Tyrantrum. The dragon Pokemon looked pretty beat up, but it stayed standing.

“Ordinateur, use Shadow Ball!” Rena commanded her Metagross, this time pointing at Arlon’s Aggron. The Pokemon fired off another ball of shadowy energy which connected with Titan, dealing some damage to the Pokemon.

“Now, Otrava, Explosion!” Kiril commanded his Weezing. The Pokemon floated into the middle of the fray and detonated.

The blast launched Arlon back, sending him flying out the window. His belt snagged on an exposed piece of metal, but the force was too great and it snapped. A Pokeball broke loose and fell along with Arlon as he plummeted toward the river below. Arlon reached out and grabbed it, then managed to straighten out into a dive just before he hit the water.

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“No one could have survived that fall,” Kiril said as he looked down at the river, stories below.

“Good riddance,” Devlin replied as he surveyed the battlefield. Arlon’s Nidoking lay fainted next to the lifeless bodies of his other Pokemon, knocked out from the explosion. The Aggron was also out cold, but the Red Suns had to take the sturdy Pokemon down by focusing their fire. Devlin walked to the edge and looked down with Kiril. “It’s a shame he turned out to be a traitor,” he continued. “He was a useful ally.”

Devlin spotted Arlon’s belt snagged on a piece of metal and picked it up. He removed the balls for Kaiser and Titan, then cast the belt aside. Devlin recalled Arlon’s fainted Pokemon. “You’ll be a fitting replacement,” he said aloud as he placed the Aggron’s ball on his belt. He then turned to Rena and shoved the Nidoking’s ball into her hands. “Here, you can do whatever you want with this one.”

Rena silently grabbed the Pokeball and placed it on her belt.

“I know you two were … close,” Devlin continued, seeing the saddened look on Rena’s face. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t mourn him. Look at who he really turned out to be.”

“Don’t touch me,” Rena told him coldly, pushing him away. She then walked out of the room, back toward the stairs.

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Arlon sat in the cramped quarters of a small cargo ship. He had barely made it out alive. His skin was covered in burns from the explosion, but he couldn’t stay on Parisia for treatment. It seemed that Devlin had put out the word that Arlon was responsible for the hit on Schroeder as his name and picture were all over the news. He had been lucky to make it offworld.

Arlon looked down at the Pokeball in his hand. It had been the only one he had managed to hold on to, not that it mattered since the other Pokemon were still in the building where he fought his former allies. He pressed the button, hoping that it was the ball he thought it was. Out popped the recently hatched Aron he had been planning to train.

“I guess it’s just going to be me and you for a while, mate,” Arlon said to the small Pokemon.

The Aron looked at him expectantly.

“I guess you’ll need a name … Hmm … How about Ironhide? Yeah … That’ll do nicely.”

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Devlin walked down the immaculate white hallway as well-armed guards directed him at each intersection. He had come to this ship for what sounded like a very promising business opportunity.

He arrived at a set of doors which slid open as he approached, revealing a dimly lit office. A silhouetted figure stood looking out the viewport into the vastness of space. As Devlin stepped into the room, the figure turned to face him.

“Devlin Garth, Origin: Alliance colony world Wharton … Recently promoted leader of bounty hunter organization ‘Red Suns.’ Greetings. We have much to discuss.”

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Notes: For the past 3 months I have been sporadically working on this piece between the Volume 2 chapters. Once Volume 2 wrapped up, I threw in all my effort to finish it up. I am so excited to finally post it!

After Volume 1 concluded, I felt like I wanted to explore Arlon’s character a bit more, especially since I was going to be rolling a new character for Volume 2. I thought exploring the job mentioned in Volume 1 in which he was framed for the murder of an important Federation official and the old boss of the Red Suns was the perfect choice!

It was really interesting to write a whole story in this universe without basing it on an actual TRPG session. It opened up a lot of options, such as being able to write (mostly) from the perspective of a single character, and being able to make up a crazy battle with really high level Pokemon. It was quite fun.

As you can see, I was quite harsh on Arlon here and killed two of his Pokemon. I had to explain why they’re no longer around at the start of the campaign somehow and I figured it was improbable that he would go through something like this without losing a couple. And then the other two just weren’t in their Pokeballs when Arlon was blasted out the window. If you’ve read through Volume 1 and 2 of Spacemon then you probably know what happened to those two.

I hope you enjoyed this little look at Arlon’s backstory. It was a fun piece to write, and it was a fantastic way to kick off all the Spacemon goodness I have planned between Volume 2 and Volume 3!

Update 8/31/21: And so begins the process of touching up the original Spacemon series. I’ve wanted to do this for years, but I never found the right time. I had been waiting until I finished writing Frontier, but that process has taken far longer than I could have imagined. Given that I’m now going through the process of re-uploading all of Spacemon to the new TAY site, it made sense to start touching these chapters up as I repost them. So what’s planned for these touch-ups? An in-depth process of fixing typos and improving grammar, yes, but much more than that. One major thing is that the universe of Spacemon has developed a lot since these old chapters were written, and there are some details that need to be added or modified to make it all flow better. There also are some new bits and pieces of scenes I want to add. Finally, I plan to convert the main chapters from present tense to past tense to bring the writing more in line with Tempore Ex Machina, Seeing Red, Frontier, and the rest of Spacemon. Writing in present tense was an artifact of converting Spacemon from a TRPG campaign, but past tense has made for better writing. There are some Origin Stories and Profiles written in different tenses and perspectives which will remain as such since those stylistic choices are intrinsic to the writing, but this one in particular made sense to convert.

Other than converting the tense of this piece, there wasn’t much that needed to be changed. I fixed some mistakes and reworded some things so they read better, but that was about it. The only extra detail here is the reference to Devlin’s father, who wasn’t even conceived of as a character at the time of the original writing. I’ve developed the lore of the Red Suns a lot since this was first written and it seemed like a detail worth mentioning. I also shortened the title format to just Spacemon: Origins to streamline things. Overall, this is still a fun piece and it does a good job at setting the stage for the series.

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That does it for this chapter. As always the Spacemon gang and I will be monitoring the comments to foster discussion and answer any questions. Feel free to give feedback and critiques of the writing so I can improve it for the future, or just leave a comment with what you think about what went down in this chapter or what you think might happen next! You can also revisit past chapters, check out the rest of the Spacemon saga, join the Spacemon Discord server, or like our Facebook page to stay updated on all things Spacemon! Click here for the next exciting installment of Spacemon!