Monster Quest (Deviant(x)Umbrale)

No one ever said the retirement would be easy, especially when retiring from the military. You spend sixteen years of your life dodging bullets, dealing with dickhead superiors and years away from home. Then you retire and it’s like flipping the switch, you’re bored everyday of your life and you feel as if there’s nothing else to live for. Everyone tried to give their opinions on what to do and they all involved getting a job, finding a lover and settling down. No, that wasn’t the life for Melina. She wasn’t the settling type, not the one to be a family person.

One day though, a fellow retired soldier gave her an idea she just had to run with. Purchase a ship, work by yourself and hire crew members when needed. Become a Mercenary, use the skills you already have and make a shit ton of cash doing what you love. Melina loved the idea and went with it, she purchased a large ship with her retirement money and savings and began putting her name out there. The jobs slowly came in, starting small at first and slowly picking up speed as her name kept getting out into the galaxy. Some jobs required hiring some help and as soon as the job was done Melina kicked them off her ship. On her ship the pink haired beauty had a well equipped arsenal of weapons and tools she often used on missions. She had armored suits and of course the living needs such as a bedroom, kitchen and master bathroom. It was her home after all and she wanted it to feel like home. She used all her money on the ship and had no choice but to treat it as such.

Melina was enjoying her new life, it felt like her old life but more satisfying, probably because she had more control over her new life than her old life. Yes, life was good for Melina, until it wasn’t…All she remembers is dropping off some fellow Mercs who helped her with a job and on her way out of the solar system she was taken by surprise by a group of Pirate Ships. They had fired upon her and while she fought back she knew she had to get out of there. Once light speed was engaged she hit the button and vanished into the stars, not knowing what direction she was heading or what system. She remembers coming out of hyper space and her electronics going haywire. It was something she had never experienced before and while trying to get things under control she steered the ship towards a lush looking planet. She wasn’t sure what it was called but could have cared less as she prepared her ship for a rough landing. The large ship grazed over water and ending up crashing into a clearing. Melina, tossed from her chair and hitting her head against one of the consoles laid on the ground, unconscious and with a gash on her head she slept for hours.

When she finally awoke her finger touched her head, engaging a wince as she felt the gash. Her face was covered with blood as she got to her feet and went over to a first aid box. After cleaning up the pink haired beauty went to her console and saw the planet she landed on was not named. The air was breathable and the land was lush with green but she still had no idea where she was. When Melina tried to turn the engines on they just sputtered and stopped. It seemed the electronics would work but not the engines, it was weird to her but the woman had to figure out where she was. Was this planet hostile or friendly? She had no idea, but a small part of her was hoping for a bit of both.

Unnamed, un-reigned, and untamed; it was a colonist's wet dream. Of course, for a mercenary, it wouldn't quite be the example of paradise. For, when there were no pirates to murder, bounties to collect, or jobs to fulfill, what was there to do? Hell, when one made money like that, there wasn't much to do other than violence. Making money shooting, beating, or other jobs along the lines of physicality that proved suspicious in the common eye. Of course, Melina was a mercenary; that was what she did. So, to crash land on a planet, where there was no job to do... well, the back-burners of her career kicked in. When the going got tough, mercenaries had to survive.

Luckily enough, as the powerful woman poked her head outside; she'd find it not exactly desolate. As she had noticed from orbit, the planet was lush, and green. Concurrently, she had landed in one of the more vibrant areas; a forest of towering greenery. Of course, as an advanced safety mechanism, her ship had engaged after-burner-like brakes from the angle of the crash; slowing their descent enough to make a survivable upright landing. No long, shredding trail to scar the landscape for decades to come; just a bit of an impact crater, and some felled trees around the area.

Yet, as neat as the land was about her fallen ship, there were no obvious trails. Almost overgrown in its nature, there was a thick underlying level of leaves. Bushes and small hedges weaved between the spiraling bulks of organisms that thrived off from the glaring sun. A glance around wouldn't bring much to one's eyes, except for that of a rather trained look. A part of that thick underbrush, a bit lighter than the rest. As if tamped down, and trampled; a game-trail, if one could ever notice. Other than that, had Melina an urge to explore, rather than try to fix her ship, she would be set to peruse around at random, and find her way through the weavings of foliage.