Welcome to another exciting installment of Spacemon, the tale of a Pokemon TRPG campaign! This is the first installment of a mini-series that was written concurrently with the final volume, but it has been inserted at the appropriate point in the story. You can get caught up on the entire Spacemon saga here!
“Detonate on my mark.”
Arlon Jett stood with his back against the wall alongside his compatriots as they prepared to breach the door. Kiril Zhukov nodded at his Genevan comrade.
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
“Breach!”
The Romanov explosives expert flipped the switch, causing the tactically placed charges to detonate.
“Ironhide, you’re up! Arlon commanded his Pokemon. The Aggron charged forward at the door. In its weakened state, the door was quickly flattened by the large Pokemon.
“Sleva, Prava, time to explode,” Kiril commanded his pair of Electrodes. The two Ball Pokemon rolled into the room, then split, rolling to opposite sides of the room. Before any of the pirates inside knew what was happening, both Pokemon exploded, scattering debris and wounded men across the room.
Arlon and his three Red Suns compatriots moved into the room, firing their weapons at any pirates left standing. Most of them managed to dive for cover, but some of them weren’t so lucky.
“Don’t just stand there!” Edgard Reinert, the pirate captain shouted to his men. “Shoot them!”
The pirates jumped into action and greeted the Red Suns with a flurry of laser fire. Arlon dove behind Ironhide, whose armor could withstand the punishment. “Alright, mate, let’s rush that table!” he shouted to his Aggron as he hopped up onto the Pokemon’s back. Ironhide charged forward full speed at a group of pirates hiding behind an upturned table, crushing them against the far wall.
“Useless! The lot of you!” Reinert yelled at his men. “What do I pay you for?!” He reached for a pair of Pokeballs and threw out a Toxicroak and an Arcanine. The four other pirates left standing encircled the Red Suns in the center of the room and sent out their own Pokemon: A Magneton, a Golbat, a Rampardos, and a Druddigon.
“It seems your pathetic little assault has failed,” the pirate captain taunted.
“Are you kidding, mate?” Arlon asked him. “This is where the fun begins! Ironhide, use Iron Head!” The Genevan mercenary’s Aggron lowered his head, and charged full speed at the Rampardos and pierced its rocky hide with his long horns, dealing a nasty blow. The Rampardos retaliated against the Aggron pinning it to the wall by bashing its plated skull against the metallic Pokemon, denting his armor.
The remaining Red Suns seized the moment to release their own Pokemon. Rena Bordeaux, the team’s sniper, sent out her Alakazam; Luke Anderson, the most recent member of the team, sent out his Feraligatr; and Kiril sent out his Gengar.
The pirates shouted orders to their Pokemon and they descended upon the Red Suns and their Pokemon. The Golbat swooped down at Rena’s Alakazam, but the psychic Pokemon telekinetically shifted himself out of harm’s way. “Sorcier, use Psychic!” the Parisian sniper commanded her Pokemon. The Alakazam let out a powerful blast of energy at the Golbat, sending it flying back into the wall, fainted.
Reinert’s Toxicroak ran up behind Ironhide and landed a powerful punch. Thinking quickly, Rena, a latent psionic, conjured up a defensive barrier to soften the blow, allowing Arlon’s Pokemon to stay in the fight. Arlon nodded at her, then fired off another flurry of laser blasts at the pirates, taking a couple of them down.
Reinert’s other pokemon, the Arcanine, charged for Sorcier with its fiery fangs. Just before the Arcanine landed its attack, the Alakazam teleported behind it, revealing Luke’s waiting Feraligatr. “Sobek, use Aqua Tail!” the heavily muscled Alliance mercenary commanded him. The large reptilian Pokemon spun around and whacked the Arcanine directly in the face with his powerful tail, taking it down in one hit.
“Thunderbolt!” one of the pirates shouted. The Magneton discharged a surge of electricity at Sobek, severely injuring the Feraligatr. A tenacious fighter, the Pokemon managed to stay standing, but sparks were still running along his body, making it hard to move.
“Prizrak, Focus Blast!” Kiril ordered his Gengar. The ghostly Pokemon unleashed a massive blast of energy at the Magneton, knocking it right into the Romanov’s line of fire. Kiril hefted up his flamethrower and released a rush of flames at the Magnet Pokemon, taking it down.
Then, the Druddigon charged into the middle of the fray, and took a nasty bite out of Prizrak with its powerful jaws. “Time to return the favor, Zhukov!” Luke shouted to Kiril. “Sobek, Ice Fang!” The injured Feraligatr fought through the pain and lunged at the Druddigon. The Pokemon’s fangs froze over as he opened his jaws. He clamped them tightly around the Druddigon neck, and took it out. The two collapsed together, both down for the count. Luke followed up his Pokemon’s attack by firing off a few bursts from his laser rifle, taking out the remaining pirates.
“Ironhide, use Iron Tail!” Arlon commanded his Aggron. “Take that Rampardos out!” The Iron Armor Pokemon lifted his massive tail and slammed it into the Rampardos, taking it out of the picture.
Now, Reinert and his Toxicroak were all that remained. “Things don’t seem to be going your way, mate,” Arlon taunted him as he aimed his pistol right between the pirate’s eyes. “You might as well surrender.”
“I’ll never surrender to you!” Reinert spat back. “Blight, use Poison Jab!” The pirate’s Toxicroak lept right at Arlon, but stopped mid-air, held up by the powerful psychic power of Rena’s Alakazam. Sorcier launched the Toxicroak back into the wall, taking it out with ease.
Reinert quickly raised his pistol to shoot, but Arlon was faster. The Genevan mercenary shot the gun right out of the pirate’s hand. “Your claim to the Red Suns is at an end,” Arlon declared. He raised his pistol once more, and pulled the trigger.
“You cannot be serious,” Arlon said in disbelief.
“Why wouldn’t we be?” Rena asked him. “Over ze past month you ‘ave turned things around for us.” She placed her hand on Arlon’s shoulder. “What you ‘ave done … It is simply incredible.”
“It would be great honor to keep fighting under your command,” Kiril added, slapping him hard on the back.
“So whaddya say, boss?” Luke asked him.
Arlon glanced around the room at his companions. With his name cleared, Arlon had been able to patch up his relationship with Rena and Kiril. Rena was the one who asked him to return in the first place, but Kiril had been a bit more difficult.
The Romanov had been quite upset with Arlon for allowing his Helix crewmates to Wonder Trade his Pokemon away. Before they could even begin dismantling Garth’s pirate empire, Arlon had to divert a significant amount of resources to hack into the Wonder Trade network and track down Kiril’s Pokemon. Arlon had to buy the man several more drinks after that in order for him to even consider working together again.
And then there was Luke Anderson. Arlon turned his gaze to the large, dark-skinned Alliance merc. Garth had hired him after the job on Parisia to fill one of the vacancies left by Arlon and Lars. At first, Arlon had some doubts about the man’s loyalties, but, over the past month, Luke had proven himself to be a very capable fighter and loyal to the goal of restoring the Red Suns.
Together, the four of them had spent the past month dealing with the power vacuum that Garth left behind. All the pirate factions that he had brought in— from Crossbones to the Quasars— were vying for control of the whole organization. One by one, Arlon and his compatriots had, with help from various allies, taken down the pirate leaders in one way or another. Reinert had been the last, and with him out of the picture, the Red Suns had asked Arlon to lead them.
“Very well,” Arlon finally said. “I would be honored to lead the Red Suns and I am grateful that you have welcomed me back. However, we’re not going back to being bounty hunters. My time away has shown me that there are greater forces at work in the Galaxy. I want to drag them into the light, and I am asking you to join me in this mission. Are you with me?”
Rena was the first to speak up. “I’m with you,” she said firmly.
“So am I,” Kiril followed shortly.
“Count me in, too,” said Luke, throwing his hat in as well.
Arlon looked each of his companions in the eye and saw the same determination burning there. A slight grin appeared on his face. “Fantastic. I knew I could count on you. Since my return, you have been key to rebuilding the Red Suns, and I would like you to continue to do so by serving as my lieutenants. All the men we’ve recruited from our defeated enemies … all the men we’ll need to pull this off … I can’t lead them on my own.”
“It would be our pleasure.” A large grin flashed across Kiril’s face as he spoke.
“Back in the day, there were only five Red Suns,” Arlon continued. “With all the men now under our command, it seems fitting that there be five of us now.”
“Uh, boss, there’s only four of us here,” Luke pointed out.
“Exactly,” Arlon replied. “We’re short one, and I know just the woman for the job.”
Smog hung heavy in the air as Petra Azarov pursued her target across the rooftops of the Harmonia slums. Having grown up on Xiaou, the Romanov bounty hunter didn’t mind. The slums of this Alliance world were nothing compared to her home planet.
The countless neon billboards and signs flew past as Petra closed the distance on Alliance thief she’d be contracted to capture. The young woman had proven elusive, but Petra had finally tracked her down. The Romanov woman unholstered her pistol and fired off a few stunning shots but was unable to land a hit.
The pair soon arrived at the edge of the building, overlooking the massive skyway. Petra had her quarry cornered now, or so she thought. Just as she raised her pistol to take the shot, the young Alliance thief leapt from the rooftop. Petra quickly ran to the edge of the roof to see the woman riding away on the roof of a passing skytruck branded with the logo of an Alliance beer company.
“Blyat!” Petra cursed as she watched her target fade into distance. “You’ve got to be kidding me …” If there was one thing the Romanov bounty hunter hated more than anything, it was losing a target. She had a reputation to keep up after all.
Petra sighed as she turned away from the ledge. “Time for plan B,” she said aloud as she began to long walk back to where she had parked her skycar. It had taken weeks to track down her target, and she had slipped through her fingers just like that.
By the time Petra returned to her skycar, the Romanov woman’s mood was quite sour. She also had the strong feeling that she was being followed. Petra placed a hand on her pistol, ready for anything.
“Excuse me, luv, but I think you dropped something.” The voice was unmistakable. Petra turned to see her old friend Arlon Jett standing behind her, with her target in hand.
“Arlon?” Petra asked, feeling quite surprised. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I believe the words you’re looking for are ‘thank you,’” the Genevan mercenary chided her as he pushed the Alliance woman over to her.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I had it under control.”
“Sure you did,” Arlon taunted her. “It looked to me like she got away from you. What’s she wanted for anyway?”
“This one made the mistake of stealing from Markovic,” Petra explained.
“You still work for that fat shit?” Arlon asked.
“Markovic may be a shit, but he still pays well,” Pera countered.
“Fair enough,” Arlon laughed.
“So what brings you out here?” Petra asked her old friend. “I heard you’re in charge of the Red Suns now.”
“Indeed,” Arlon replied. “I’m here to offer you a job. I want you to come help me run the Red Suns.”
“You know I prefer to work alone,” Petra responded. “I’m sorry, but I’m gonna have to decline.”
“Petra, I’m working on something big,” Arlon pushed. His expression turned quite serious as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “I need people I can trust. I wouldn’t be here if there was anyone else I could rely on.”
“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?” Something about Arlon’s words troubled her.
“Yes,” Arlon replied. “Why don’t you at least come back to the Corsair with me? We shouldn’t talk about this here. Please hear me out before you make a decision.”
“Alright, then. I’ll listen, but it doesn’t mean I’m saying yes just yet.”
Arlon scanned the war room aboard the UAS Corsair, looking into the face of each of his compatriots. It was time to bring them into the loop. He stepped forward and placed his Pokedex on the table. It projected out a holoscreen filled with all the information the Red Suns’ leader had been gathering.
“What are we looking at here?” Petra asked.
“This … is everything I know about the man known as Mr. Silver,” Arlon explained. He turned his gaze toward Rena and Kiril. “I believe some of you may already be familiar with him. For those who aren’t … he seems to have his hand in every facet of galactic events, and I intend to find out why.”
“And ‘ow, exactly, do you expect to achieve zis?” Rena asked.
“That is a very good question,” Arlon responded. “Mr. Silver seems to know everything before everyone else. I first encountered him during my travels aboard the Dunsparce. He provided us with coordinates that lead us to the location of Earth.”
“Earth?” Luke asked. “Like, the origin planet Earth?”
“Precisely, mate. We provided him with artifacts from Earth, and ever since I have been doubting that decision. I even suspect that he was the one behind the Romanov rebels’ Genesect attack on Solace Prime. His technology is far beyond anything I’ve seen and that project seemed sketchy, even for the bloody Romanovs.”
“Da,” Kiril agreed. “Romanov scientists work closely with government, but not these ones.”
Petra simply crossed her arms. “So, if what you’re saying is true, finding out anything about this guy is going to be damn near impossible,” the Romanov woman pointed out.
“Well, it won’t be a bloody walk in the park, that’s for sure,” Arlon conceded. “But I believe that we can do this.”
“So, what’s our play then?” Luke asked. The Alliance mercenary cracked his knuckles, appearing eager to get to work.
“Simple,” Arlon replied. “We start working for the man. Garth was already working jobs for Mr. Silver when he was in charge, and I have worked for Mr. Silver myself, so that’s the easy part. What happens next places each and every one of us in danger. We will use what we learn working for Mr. Silver to begin uncovering his operations on our own. I know it’s asking a lot, but I trust each and every one of you with my life.”
“We’re with you, Arlon,” Rena told him. Judging from the expressions on his lieutenants’ faces, Arlon knew that she spoke for all of them. That just left Petra.
“Well, Petra, are you in?” Arlon asked.
“If this Mr. Silver is as dangerous as you say he is, I’ve got your back,” Petra answered.
“I knew I could count on you,” Arlon responded. “Remember, this conversation never leaves this room,” he continued, addressing each of his lieutenants. “Not even our own men can know what we’ve discussed here; they’ll be safer that way … and so will we.”
Arlon stepped off the UAS Corsair into the large hangar. The Red Suns’ leader gazed around the familiar space for a moment before walking off toward the door. The guards nodded and allowed him to pass into the immaculate white hallway.
Arlon walked through the corridors, deeper into the heart of the high-tech ship. The guards waved him along at each intersection until he arrived at a set of doors. As soon as Arlon approached the doors, they slid open, revealing the dimly lit office. The familiar silhouetted figure of a Mr. Mime stood facing out the viewport.
“Hello, Mr. Silver,” Arlon said as the door shut behind him.
“Greetings, Arlon Jett. I understand you are now the leader of the Red Suns,” the distorted voice responded as the augmented Pokemon turned to reveal its screen-face. “We have much to discuss.”
“Indeed we do, mate. Let’s get to business then, shall we?”
Author’s Notes: This is a series I’ve wanted to do for a while now, but I only got inspired to start writing it once we reconvened for the start of Volume 3. Now that we’re only meeting every other week, I have the time to work on this concurrently with the regular Spacemon posts. This series will be following Arlon and the Red Suns through various adventures that take place concurrently to the events of the main story. This part takes place during the months immediately following the end of Volume 1, during which Arlon worked to rebuild the Red Suns and laid out his plan to uncover Mr. Silver’s plans. Specifically, this part occurs a little while after Chapter 16 of Volume 1, between the events Part 1 and Part 2 of DragonStorm’s mini-series, Tempore Ex Machina.
With this series, I’m looking to give you a look at what Arlon’s been up to since leaving the crew of the UAS Helix, expand upon the other members of the Red Suns who have made several cameos in the main series, and tie the overarching narrative of Spacemon together. Prepare yourselves for gritty space action, fun, and excitement!
Update 9/28/21: Not much work needed here. I wrote this series in past tense and used consistent character perspectives, so it was just a matter of fixing a couple of rogue typos and adding a few clarifying details. Other than that, Edgard Reinert is a character I have since expanded on as a villain in my Rising Stars spin-off campaign so I added the use of his Toxicroak’s nickname in the one spot where he issued a Pokemon campaign in dialogue. I also expanded a bit on the pirate power struggle in that campaign, so I included some references to that, mainly mentioning a couple of the names of some of the pirate organizations.
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!
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