A Sleepover?

An hour after crash landing on Taris, the two parties of Mandalorian and Hyperlane Hustlers finally met above the ruins of what had once quit possibly been the bustling homes of Taris residents. Beskar boots and armour clinked as the group of thirty mercenaries looked out into the surrounding jungle, the trees poking out all around them as thick tree roots made walking a living nightmare.

Thick foliage wet with fresh rain squeaked against their armaments as Ned and Mark climbed up onto the hill through thick gnarls in the trees and terrain. Animals blithered above as the thick atmosphere of war lingered dangerously on the edge of perception, dull vibrations from planetary defences shuddering to their feet even this far out from them.

"You didn't die, good job. Now, what is our plan now and when will we be payed?" Yuna queried in a scolding tone, her persona as the leader of Mandalorian Clan Wren taking precedence given the feelings of her fellow clan members. 

Mark and Ned looked at each other, Ned exhaling before reaching before him... Pulling out a thick sack filled with clinking noises. "Here is half the pay. We still want to embed our faction here in some way, I think the best thing for us to do is to journey towards the Research district... Republic activity had been noted there."

There was some slight movement of heads among Yuna's clan members before she turned to the members of the Hyperlane Hustlers. 

"Right, we'll escort you to the research district." Three from her clan quickly started scanning the surroundings as the other 24 clan members walked over and around the two of them, some checking on their physical conditions whilst others quickly began a measured security circle. 

The chat incessantly ranted on and on to Ned, the teen looking at the time on his screen and grimacing. It seemed he would be slightly late in meeting with Peter in real life. The weekends were supposed to be dinner at his place... May having usually gone to the effort to make roasted beef or pork.

If he was lucky he would reach the research district and have to sign out.

"Yuna," He pulled her aside and felt really shitty for having to do this to her, "I have to go soon, within the hour, do you think we can make it to the research district and make camp?"

Behind her helm she was shrouded from all attempt to detect her emotional state... Her 'T' shaped visor simply faced in his direction for a good minute or two. He knew he shouldn't have done all this if he had so little time, but he wasn't meant to fall from the sky or have to trek through jungle.

"Y- For fucks sakes Ned... If you want to reach the Research District, the quickest way would have to be our ship. That option risks being shot down again." One of her clan members heard the conversation and looked over at one of their fellow warriors, a conversation no doubt beginning.

"I-i'll pay double what the guild offered. My friend will kill me if I miss this event." He wasn't lying, Peter would be obliged to be unhappy with him on behalf of May. In the past he had only missed one event... Bad things happened after that... For one he broke his leg whilst falling down the stairs and that wasn't even speaking about the loss in grades he had due to a sickness he got soon after. He had to make it.

Ned blushed but also paled at the same time after Crimson's comment. May was certainly hot, but not someone he would even think of hitting on... He knew she was way past his league and beyond that was old enough to be his mother.

"Fine, we'll go the quick route. EVERYONE, were heading back to the ship."

"Aren't we just asking to be shot down chief?" One of the Mandalorians inquired loudly, the other clan members nodding slightly.

"Possibly, but if we skim across the top of the canopy and shut off every viable system, then there is less likelihood we would be spotted and shot at. Not to mention that our reward just got advanced to 1,000,000 Credits." The clan members all chatted with eachother for a few moments and quickly shuttled their way over towards where they had first journeyed to get here.

"Well, come on then chief." Laughing a little at her clans antics Yuna simply trudged behind them and slowly emerged at the front of the formation, Ned and Mark following behind.

And an hour later the friends all set down on a segment of the research district where Ned could quickly logout, the Mandalorians more than happy to set camp for the night at the prospect of earning so much money. A simple mission becoming a pay day for all? A rarity, one they would all cherish and feel it worth to spend a couple days of discomfort over.

"Ned, I'm going to explore some of the research district with Markiplier, see if we can find anything whilst your doing whatever you are doing. Send me a message when you are getting back on, or if you aren't."

"Sure Yuna, sorry about this!" She huffed and merely walked off, her helm sliding back over her head as she went to go talk to her second in command. 

"I apologise to all you guys as well, chat... Life gets in the way at the most inconvenient of times..."

Ned smiled at his chat. While it was a massive pain in the ass sometimes and completely annoying at regular intervals, at the end of the day they were his greatest supporters.

"Thanks guys, I'll see you all later tonight, no doubt." With that the chat said their goodbyes and so did he, his vision of Taris fading as his eyes blinked open and he was met with his fancy computer setup, the glowing neon lights reflecting off of a nearby mirror and refracting all around the room.

'I need to get ready...' His foot hit some rubbish below his table, some empty packaging for chocolate bars scraping along his bare feet as his computer slowly lowered in activity. The connection to the game had finished fully now and he was now forced to face the realities of his life once more... Such as his weight and the fact that he lacked some elements of hygiene.

His mood soured as he considered the luxury inside of the game and the living conditions he had there. A sleep mode was present for the game, allowing the brain to get rest inside of the game itself in luxury, but that wasn't the same as being physically comfortable... He still would wake the next day with aches and kinks in his neck.

'I should start trying to fix this situation, putting some money towards a better house for my family could be good?' He quickly checked his bank account and noticed over $100,000 sitting there, his Twitch Donations pooled in his PayPal account which was sitting at $400,000.

'Talking to mom is the best idea no doubt...' He looked at the clock and quickly rose from his seat and ran off to get dressed, Peter's Aunt coming to pick him up in only five minutes...

Five minutes passed in very little time as he ran down the stairs, his parents arguing with one another on the couch, his sister depressingly watching her phone as she tried to dull out her parent's grating shouts.

"The truth is… I am Iron Man." The Television blared out, yet the words passed over him in his flurried movements, the doorbell ringing just as he opened the door and looked May in the eyes.

"Ah, Ned, good to see you. Got your sleepover supplies?"

"Yeah! I got everything, even got a laptop so we can play games together." May blushed at the mention of a 'game', but she passed it off as a smile and quickly backed away, heading to the car as Ned quickly yelled his goodbyes and followed after. The two entered the car and drove off into the early night-scape of New York, traffic still blaring as choppers and other vehicles created rackets all over the place. 

'I wonder if Peter has gotten to Taris yet?' Those were the only thoughts travelling through his mind as sirens began blaring across the entire city, more and more helicopters flying overhead as all of the advertisement boards began to flash with government messages...

| The United States Federal Government, in coordination with the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and emergency response agencies, has declared Martial Law in the State of New York, effective immediately. This decision follows the unprecedented and unexplained emergence of Force-sensitive abilities in an estimated amount of 10%, of the global population.|

The text was soon replaced by military personnel explaining what lead to this decision...

"Reports indicate that individuals affected by this phenomenon exhibit enhanced reflexes, telekinetic abilities, precognition, and other unverified capabilities. It is now required that every citizen in the United States of America is to follow curfews. No one is allowed out after 9PM local time, if you are found outside you will be arrested indefinitely and medically tested! I repeat if you are found outside after 9PM you will be arrested indefinitely and medically tested!"

Shouts and screams began to resound as sirens wailed in the distance, Ned and May literally a minute away from her house.

"What the hell!?"

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