ORIGIN

The e-verse

Some ghost agents on Citadel got together to develop a search for the weapon. They asked Cannon Spurza to start by wiring into the  "e-verse" - a vast realm of cyberspace navigated like virtual reality. But they knew that going deep enough into the e-verse was dangerous, especially since Alpha Maximus was nothing less than an autonomous virus that thrived in cyberspace. Anyone or anything under his viral control would be used to stop their efforts by any means. While being a minority in the galaxy, Origin Project had to use every muscle on its side. They had Cannon to use his knowledge and expertise in their search.

Meanwhile, Ezrith was in his private chambers doing a search of his own. He was looking up information on the two Brigade officers from the Metroid Zone on a hologram linked to his wrist gadget. With the help of some code formulas he was given at the cyber market by Firewall, he easily got access to some extra background information on the officers. This included everything from personal addresses to their shopping habits. Their names were Mike Hizbin and Jason Stone. Stone had an extensive criminal rap sheet around a couple of Plumoritan planets. He had been affiliated with both the Darksiders and Cowboy Syndicate since his early teens. Hizbin was just a petty thief born on the planet Nebulis. Ezrith figured that Mike Hizbin was only misguided and probably not a true villain. Firewall must've been an extraordinary hacker. The code formulas he gave Ezrith could only be acquired through a private network accessed only by high-ranking Star Brigade officials in Plumorita.

Back in Plumorita, the Shinobi Nobles and the Darksiders were still at war, off and on. They were killing each other like they had been ever since the dragonwing's attack on Baino Helzer's fleet. Although their numbers were slowly dwindling, WarFace was still the leader of the Darksiders. But he had been recruiting children from all over the star system at the Darksiders' training facility in the Bangorian asteroid field.  Cowboy Syndicate was the new outlaw band on the rise in Plumorita though. They were competing with the Darksiders in the arms market and their weapons were better. Their leader was a proud biozoid they called Black Horse. There were rumors among higher-ups that, during his days as a human, he wanted to become a cyborg. But he was only 40 percent cybernetically enhanced. Alpha Maximus wanted him to earn the rest of his upgrades.

Alpha Maximus ordered Laughing Shadow and WarFace to call a truce. He also made them join forces with Black Horse and his band to try to eradicate the Origin Project collectively, along with many other bands under his control. The machine god knew that he had to destroy the Omega Weapon before anyone in the galaxy knowingly found it. It was designed so that he couldn't detect its location or even its presence. He thought that it was destroyed with Bangora and Liberty Point but he started to suspect otherwise.

Back on Citadel, Ezrith met with Max to discuss the information he gathered on the Plumoritan Brigade officers and what to do next with it. Max told him that he thought Mike Hizbin probably had more potential to be flipped with the right kind of pressure. Ezrith said he was thinking about making another trip to Plumorita for that very purpose. He said he wanted to bring Ato along for the mission. Max suggested that he bring Oasis along, too. Ezrith said: "Uncle Max, you know how I feel about taking Oasis on missions. He's just too inexperienced! He's not even ten yet!" Max responded: "Me and your father took you and Ezron along with us before you could walk. Experience has to come early and firsthand. What are you so afraid of?? He's almost smarter than anyone on this whole space station!" Ezrith replied: "I know but..." After that, he went silent and put his head down with a long sigh. Then he raised his head and met eyes with Max again, realizing that they both already knew what the issue was. Max put his hand on Ezrith's shoulder, saying: "We all understand your fears, but you're not your father. You're a family-first revolutionary! But if the kid's gonna carry the torch, it has to start now. You and I know he'll be safe."  After a few more words, Ezrith agreed to allow Oasis to get more involved but only after a few more Potion Arts lessons and another omni-chamber session.