((Just curious - what did the Beakys do? Saka was just talking to them. ))
((Oh. Right))
Antero was almost relieved. He hadn't wanted to suspect the worst of Saka when they had heard the scraping noise from the cargo bay, and it was good to know that the threat, at least at the moment, wasn't her. On the other hand, they now had these bounty hunters to deal with. That's what they were, obviously; Scio Kio frequently contracted private corporations or even individuals to deal with... situations.
"I don't know that there's anything we can do, Saka." Antero replied grimly. "We don't know how many hostiles are on that ship, and they don't know that Arkhew... Kaya... Uh, Batali is here. As long as we stay here, out of sight, we have an advantage. They think you're the only one here right now. So we stay put." Batali, however, was not deterred. Despite Antero's protests, she jumped into action, moving quickly to the other side of the cargo bay, and crouched behind a crate, her gun at the ready. The Raptor had a blind spot, and Batali had exploited it efficiently. Not only was she impossible to see from her current position, but she had a perfect view of the boarding ramp which, as if on cue, began to open.
"Mabi Saka'kah!" One of the hunters inside called out. "We are coming out. We are armed, but we've no intention to injure you. I sincerely hope the sentiment is mutual." The Katamain's segmented legs became visible first, followed by the bare, furry paws of the Farbian. The two bounty hunters were an odd looking pair: A tall, unusually gangly Katamain, with four small pistol raised and a rifle slung over her back. And the Farbian, with his pitch-black fur, fiery eyes, and a gun that looked too large for him to hold.
And the third person to exit the ship... Another Katamain, with light blue skin, still wearing his GMPF uniform and a strained, nervous smile, his hands raised in submission. Antero would recognize him anywhere. It was his second-in-command, Esco Attle.
"Mabi Attle!" He stepped forward, out of his hiding spot. "Kata diet, let him go! He's done nothing!"
The Katamain bounty hunter, upon noticing Beaky, smiled slightly. "Ah, Captain Antero Beaky, I presume? I believe this is yours." She indicated the soldier. "Would you care to retrieve him?"
"What the hell do you think you're doing, holding GMPF officers captive? This is ten kinds of illegal!"
"So is terrorism and murder." the Farbian replied cooly, taking a few steps closer to Antero. The trio, two mercenaries and their captive, moved to the center of the room, a few feet from Saka. With the Katamain's four arms, they were able to keep their weapons trained on both Saka and Antero.
But not Batali, who was still hidden. If Antero wanted her to make a move, they would need a distraction.
Antero was almost relieved. He hadn't wanted to suspect the worst of Saka when they had heard the scraping noise from the cargo bay, and it was good to know that the threat, at least at the moment, wasn't her. On the other hand, they now had these bounty hunters to deal with. That's what they were, obviously; Scio Kio frequently contracted private corporations or even individuals to deal with... situations.
"I don't know that there's anything we can do, Saka." Antero replied grimly. "We don't know how many hostiles are on that ship, and they don't know that Arkhew... Kaya... Uh, Batali is here. As long as we stay here, out of sight, we have an advantage. They think you're the only one here right now. So we stay put." Batali, however, was not deterred. Despite Antero's protests, she jumped into action, moving quickly to the other side of the cargo bay, and crouched behind a crate, her gun at the ready. The Raptor had a blind spot, and Batali had exploited it efficiently. Not only was she impossible to see from her current position, but she had a perfect view of the boarding ramp which, as if on cue, began to open.
"Mabi Saka'kah!" One of the hunters inside called out. "We are coming out. We are armed, but we've no intention to injure you. I sincerely hope the sentiment is mutual." The Katamain's segmented legs became visible first, followed by the bare, furry paws of the Farbian. The two bounty hunters were an odd looking pair: A tall, unusually gangly Katamain, with four small pistol raised and a rifle slung over her back. And the Farbian, with his pitch-black fur, fiery eyes, and a gun that looked too large for him to hold.
And the third person to exit the ship... Another Katamain, with light blue skin, still wearing his GMPF uniform and a strained, nervous smile, his hands raised in submission. Antero would recognize him anywhere. It was his second-in-command, Esco Attle.
"Mabi Attle!" He stepped forward, out of his hiding spot. "Kata diet, let him go! He's done nothing!"
The Katamain bounty hunter, upon noticing Beaky, smiled slightly. "Ah, Captain Antero Beaky, I presume? I believe this is yours." She indicated the soldier. "Would you care to retrieve him?"
"What the hell do you think you're doing, holding GMPF officers captive? This is ten kinds of illegal!"
"So is terrorism and murder." the Farbian replied cooly, taking a few steps closer to Antero. The trio, two mercenaries and their captive, moved to the center of the room, a few feet from Saka. With the Katamain's four arms, they were able to keep their weapons trained on both Saka and Antero.
But not Batali, who was still hidden. If Antero wanted her to make a move, they would need a distraction.
these addled up bounty hunters thought they were. Stepping forth, she observed the three armed mercenaries, making sure to move up in between them and Antero. She was the intimidation factor after all. She stared the Katamain holding their friend prisoner and promptly spoke up.
"I agreed that you can come down and take them. Not throw another one of these nakra into the mix. And don't even dare preach a word to me about law and what is 'right' and 'wrong'. I was a Vanguard. We are law incarnate. And I have slain lesser creatures for preaching to me about the colour of my suit." she crossed her arms over her chest, feathers ruffled like an overzealous peacock.
"Antero. Do you know these nice gentlemen? Maybe before they point their guns at a high ranking member of the Vanguard they should be well aware of the fact my people will hunt them down and raze whatever planet they are on just to get their revenge if they shoot me. And you can ID me if that's a problem, INSECT." she hissed that last part out, almost bending over to look into each of his eyes.
It was a long shot, but it was hopefully good enough to keep them busy. By the time they'd ID her and find out she's in fact not a member of the Vanguard anymore...but in fact ALSO likely has a bounty on her head , then hopefully by then Batali or whatever her name was now would be able to do something to help get the jump on these creeps. As much as she loved a good hostage to keep the ol' targets entertained and their weapons trained firmly on the ground, she also hated it when enemies felt that sense of pride and safety whilst using someone's head as a shield.
But this one...maybe they could save this 'Attle', they could have yet another ally on their side. Throw them a gun, have them turn on these nakra and secure a bit of freedom. Then she'd be free to bonepick with the survivors. Or they could get killed, and there'd be a second body to all of this. All she knew is that there would be more bloodshed soon, which presented another opportunity for her to show off. And for once, it was out of actual spite.
These people had not only disrupted her day, but also were trying to intimidate her. It was officially turning into a crest-waving contest, and the Sans'karah had brought her brightest feathers.
"I agreed that you can come down and take them. Not throw another one of these nakra into the mix. And don't even dare preach a word to me about law and what is 'right' and 'wrong'. I was a Vanguard. We are law incarnate. And I have slain lesser creatures for preaching to me about the colour of my suit." she crossed her arms over her chest, feathers ruffled like an overzealous peacock.
"Antero. Do you know these nice gentlemen? Maybe before they point their guns at a high ranking member of the Vanguard they should be well aware of the fact my people will hunt them down and raze whatever planet they are on just to get their revenge if they shoot me. And you can ID me if that's a problem, INSECT." she hissed that last part out, almost bending over to look into each of his eyes.
It was a long shot, but it was hopefully good enough to keep them busy. By the time they'd ID her and find out she's in fact not a member of the Vanguard anymore...but in fact ALSO likely has a bounty on her head , then hopefully by then Batali or whatever her name was now would be able to do something to help get the jump on these creeps. As much as she loved a good hostage to keep the ol' targets entertained and their weapons trained firmly on the ground, she also hated it when enemies felt that sense of pride and safety whilst using someone's head as a shield.
But this one...maybe they could save this 'Attle', they could have yet another ally on their side. Throw them a gun, have them turn on these nakra and secure a bit of freedom. Then she'd be free to bonepick with the survivors. Or they could get killed, and there'd be a second body to all of this. All she knew is that there would be more bloodshed soon, which presented another opportunity for her to show off. And for once, it was out of actual spite.
These people had not only disrupted her day, but also were trying to intimidate her. It was officially turning into a crest-waving contest, and the Sans'karah had brought her brightest feathers.
Kiri waved one of her pistols in the air threateningly, while keeping two of the others trained on the bird's face. "I think I've made clear that I don't care who you are or who you're affiliated with. You're standing between a huntress and her prey." She took a few threatening steps towards the bird, drawing one of the guns almost inches away from Saka'kah's beak. It was a stun pistol, designed to subdue instead of kill, but Saka'kah couldn't know that. Besides, at this range, a blast from the gun would give the little birdy a headache that would put every hangover she'd ever had to shame.
"Now I am going to make things very simple for you. Our friend, Attle, is here in case Antero and the girl decide not to come quietly. If that happens, you will be standing directly between me and the man I am here to capture, and, however strong or dangerous you may be, that's not a good spot to be in. So things are going to work like this; You will step aside and let us take this piece of tarrak in to the police. In return, we will leave you alone with the Darasis-Ali. We lose fifteen percent if we don't bring Beaky's stolen ship in with him, but that's a fifteen percent dock I'm willing to take if it means one less criminal to worry about: You. Are we agreed?"
That was the precise moment with a bright bolt of light caught Kiri's eye from the corner of the room, and she turned around just in time to catch a stun bolt in the chest. There was a sharp impact like a sledgehammer, and a shudder that shook her whole body as she fell back onto the ground, dropping two of her guns.
"Korma-fet," Fiercely gripping consciousness, Kiri was dimly aware of Yale screaming. "It's a frickin' bushwhack!"
Time for the contingency plan. She thought. Rolling out of the way, just clear of Saka'kah's reach, Kiri stumbled to her feet, pulling her vest back to reveal two silver pans stitched to the inside. A click, a whirr, a whine of charging capacitors, and-
"Directional flashbang, you filthy piece of-" The profanity was drowned out by a thundering crack and a bright flash of light blasted right at Antero and Saka'kah's face. As a Katamain, however, her compound eyes and antennae were unaffected by the flash grenade. Turning to face whoever had attacked her initially, Kiri had just enough time to dodge another stun bolt. Getting her bearings, she sprinted for the Raptor, all six legs clicking on the floor. As she passed Yale, she pulled him by the hand, and he blindly held on. In the middle of the cargo bay, Attle stood by Yale's side, confused. She grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and, stumbling under Yale's weight and Attle resistance, reached the Raptor. Attle served as a human shield from the stun gun in the corner of the bay. Within seconds, the docking bay was closed and the two bounty hunters and their hostage were safe.
"Well," Kiri panted heavily. "That was an adventure."
The whole escape had been hardly ten seconds.
"Now I am going to make things very simple for you. Our friend, Attle, is here in case Antero and the girl decide not to come quietly. If that happens, you will be standing directly between me and the man I am here to capture, and, however strong or dangerous you may be, that's not a good spot to be in. So things are going to work like this; You will step aside and let us take this piece of tarrak in to the police. In return, we will leave you alone with the Darasis-Ali. We lose fifteen percent if we don't bring Beaky's stolen ship in with him, but that's a fifteen percent dock I'm willing to take if it means one less criminal to worry about: You. Are we agreed?"
That was the precise moment with a bright bolt of light caught Kiri's eye from the corner of the room, and she turned around just in time to catch a stun bolt in the chest. There was a sharp impact like a sledgehammer, and a shudder that shook her whole body as she fell back onto the ground, dropping two of her guns.
"Korma-fet," Fiercely gripping consciousness, Kiri was dimly aware of Yale screaming. "It's a frickin' bushwhack!"
Time for the contingency plan. She thought. Rolling out of the way, just clear of Saka'kah's reach, Kiri stumbled to her feet, pulling her vest back to reveal two silver pans stitched to the inside. A click, a whirr, a whine of charging capacitors, and-
"Directional flashbang, you filthy piece of-" The profanity was drowned out by a thundering crack and a bright flash of light blasted right at Antero and Saka'kah's face. As a Katamain, however, her compound eyes and antennae were unaffected by the flash grenade. Turning to face whoever had attacked her initially, Kiri had just enough time to dodge another stun bolt. Getting her bearings, she sprinted for the Raptor, all six legs clicking on the floor. As she passed Yale, she pulled him by the hand, and he blindly held on. In the middle of the cargo bay, Attle stood by Yale's side, confused. She grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and, stumbling under Yale's weight and Attle resistance, reached the Raptor. Attle served as a human shield from the stun gun in the corner of the bay. Within seconds, the docking bay was closed and the two bounty hunters and their hostage were safe.
"Well," Kiri panted heavily. "That was an adventure."
The whole escape had been hardly ten seconds.
Leathery lids narrowed as she glared right at Kiri whilst she held a gun to her beak. Tough as she was, a gun to someone's face usually was a good deterrent. It stopped the birdy from continuing her little tweeting, allowing Kiri to continue. She tried her best not to divert her gaze to see what Kiri was doing. This was a distraction after all! She was hoping the girl could attack BEFORE the distraction turned into her getting a hole through her head.
BAM! The Sans'karah almost jumped at the shot as her assailant was flung like a ragdoll, her guns dropping. Bingo. Rolling for them, she had attempted to pick up the pistols before Kiri could pick them up. A futile effort as a moment later she was getting up with another plan. What the frakking raak were those things supposed to-
THE CLOAKING DEVICE, IT DOES NOTHING! Saka's pain in that moment likely equalled or topped that of her fellows considering her race's immensely sensative eyesight. There was a reason everything on their worlds was black. Other then the moody aesthetic. Cawing out in pain, Saka quickly began firing in Kiri's general direction, still able to hear her running. Of course, one of her senses were out at the time and the shock she'd recieved threw her off, so none of those shots likely even got close to her. Her sight recovered right on time to see the Raptor's door close up.
Oh no! Nonono! They were not getting away from this. Hissing loudly, Saka leapt up onto her feet and activated her energy blade and narrowly almost slicing the gun she was holding in half, making her way towards the door. The only thing stopping her from trying to pry it open was their promise that turrets were on the other side. But she couldn't just sit there looking dumbfounded...confused as she was.
"GRR! Damned nakra got away with their prisoner. If I just had one more second I could have added their body to the pile." she hissed, clearly displeased by her failure.
Clearly the Sans'karah wasn't a very good loser. In fact she seemed almost on the verge of throwing a tantrum. If she had some sort of hat she'd be jumping on it. Turning her gaze up towards the hidden assailant, before glancing back at Antero with an annoyed look.
"Do we just let them get away? You know they'll just come back for us later. Break a hole in their hull and let me at them, I won't leave a single strand of their DNA unbutchered." Saka's bloodlust was clearly getting a bit ahead of herself. At this point she was just so frustrated, she'd almost forgotten to dispense with the usual 'Are you okay's and 'What now's. Though she did seem to calm down when gazing upon the little girl again. That ...fantastic shot earned her an entire new level of respect. Seems the whole lie thing was far behind her for the time being.
She seemed to calm down, crest lowering as she also lowered the pistols and de-activated her blade.
"Your call."
BAM! The Sans'karah almost jumped at the shot as her assailant was flung like a ragdoll, her guns dropping. Bingo. Rolling for them, she had attempted to pick up the pistols before Kiri could pick them up. A futile effort as a moment later she was getting up with another plan. What the frakking raak were those things supposed to-
THE CLOAKING DEVICE, IT DOES NOTHING! Saka's pain in that moment likely equalled or topped that of her fellows considering her race's immensely sensative eyesight. There was a reason everything on their worlds was black. Other then the moody aesthetic. Cawing out in pain, Saka quickly began firing in Kiri's general direction, still able to hear her running. Of course, one of her senses were out at the time and the shock she'd recieved threw her off, so none of those shots likely even got close to her. Her sight recovered right on time to see the Raptor's door close up.
Oh no! Nonono! They were not getting away from this. Hissing loudly, Saka leapt up onto her feet and activated her energy blade and narrowly almost slicing the gun she was holding in half, making her way towards the door. The only thing stopping her from trying to pry it open was their promise that turrets were on the other side. But she couldn't just sit there looking dumbfounded...confused as she was.
"GRR! Damned nakra got away with their prisoner. If I just had one more second I could have added their body to the pile." she hissed, clearly displeased by her failure.
Clearly the Sans'karah wasn't a very good loser. In fact she seemed almost on the verge of throwing a tantrum. If she had some sort of hat she'd be jumping on it. Turning her gaze up towards the hidden assailant, before glancing back at Antero with an annoyed look.
"Do we just let them get away? You know they'll just come back for us later. Break a hole in their hull and let me at them, I won't leave a single strand of their DNA unbutchered." Saka's bloodlust was clearly getting a bit ahead of herself. At this point she was just so frustrated, she'd almost forgotten to dispense with the usual 'Are you okay's and 'What now's. Though she did seem to calm down when gazing upon the little girl again. That ...fantastic shot earned her an entire new level of respect. Seems the whole lie thing was far behind her for the time being.
She seemed to calm down, crest lowering as she also lowered the pistols and de-activated her blade.
"Your call."
Antero couldn't suppress a feeling of annoyance. Pushing past Saka, he stomped across the bay to where Batli stood behind her crate, looking pissed.
"What the hell was that?" He said. "We agreed we go deadly. Why would you use a stun rifle?"
"Simple, Father. Your daughter is a chorpin. I was about to take the shot on that Katamain lady, but no, she decided that we need to try to take them alive. 'No more killing' and all that Tarrak."
"And you couldn't have hit her or the Farbian while they were retreating?"
"It's a bit hard to concentrate when you've just been on the edge of a flashbang blast and there's a nine-year old screaming at you inside your head while she tries to take control!" Batali snapped. "This is exactly what I warned you about!"
"Don't snap at me, young lady!"
"Go to hell!"
The two Chipi stood a few feet away from each other, teeth bared, eyes furious. For a moment, it seemed like one of them was going to strike the other, but the moment passed. Antero sighed, falling back against a crate and sliding down to the ground.
"I'm sorry," Batali broke the silence, paused for a moment and repeated, "I'm sorry, Father."
"No, don't be. I know you tried. If you couldn't hit the bounty hunters, they couldn't have been hit."
"Kaya and I, we make for a dangerous combination." The Chipi chewed her bottom lip and glanced over at Saka. "Are you all right? You were pretty close to that blast. Doesn't help that I almost hit you with the stun rifle."
"What the hell was that?" He said. "We agreed we go deadly. Why would you use a stun rifle?"
"Simple, Father. Your daughter is a chorpin. I was about to take the shot on that Katamain lady, but no, she decided that we need to try to take them alive. 'No more killing' and all that Tarrak."
"And you couldn't have hit her or the Farbian while they were retreating?"
"It's a bit hard to concentrate when you've just been on the edge of a flashbang blast and there's a nine-year old screaming at you inside your head while she tries to take control!" Batali snapped. "This is exactly what I warned you about!"
"Don't snap at me, young lady!"
"Go to hell!"
The two Chipi stood a few feet away from each other, teeth bared, eyes furious. For a moment, it seemed like one of them was going to strike the other, but the moment passed. Antero sighed, falling back against a crate and sliding down to the ground.
"I'm sorry," Batali broke the silence, paused for a moment and repeated, "I'm sorry, Father."
"No, don't be. I know you tried. If you couldn't hit the bounty hunters, they couldn't have been hit."
"Kaya and I, we make for a dangerous combination." The Chipi chewed her bottom lip and glanced over at Saka. "Are you all right? You were pretty close to that blast. Doesn't help that I almost hit you with the stun rifle."
Kiri Tadis was not happy. Yale was even less so.
"How did that go to hell so fast?" she wondered aloud.
"What?" Yale raised a canine ear and shot her an angry glance. "I can't hear you over the sound of somebody setting off two flashbangs five feet from me."
"Oh, shut up. They weren't even pointed at you."
"I have very sensitive hearing!"
Ignoring the Farbian's complaints, Kiri glanced out the airlock window. Saka'kah and Antero were talking. Suddenly, Antero stepped forward and moved across the cargo bay. He looked angry.
"So, what do we do now?" Kiri asked Yale without turning around. "We can't run; We're so close to getting the criminals. But that bird isn't turning tail, and we can't fight two warriors at once. Kaya and Saka'kah will rip us to shreds."
"Kaya didn't kill you." The voice wasn't Yale's. She turned around to see Attle, who Yale had neatly tied up, looking thoughtfully at her. "The girl had a shot on you and she tried to knock you out instead."
"Yeah, I know." Kiri said. "Doesn't exactly fit the profile of an assassin."
None of this made any sense.
"How did that go to hell so fast?" she wondered aloud.
"What?" Yale raised a canine ear and shot her an angry glance. "I can't hear you over the sound of somebody setting off two flashbangs five feet from me."
"Oh, shut up. They weren't even pointed at you."
"I have very sensitive hearing!"
Ignoring the Farbian's complaints, Kiri glanced out the airlock window. Saka'kah and Antero were talking. Suddenly, Antero stepped forward and moved across the cargo bay. He looked angry.
"So, what do we do now?" Kiri asked Yale without turning around. "We can't run; We're so close to getting the criminals. But that bird isn't turning tail, and we can't fight two warriors at once. Kaya and Saka'kah will rip us to shreds."
"Kaya didn't kill you." The voice wasn't Yale's. She turned around to see Attle, who Yale had neatly tied up, looking thoughtfully at her. "The girl had a shot on you and she tried to knock you out instead."
"Yeah, I know." Kiri said. "Doesn't exactly fit the profile of an assassin."
None of this made any sense.
Well. They were certainly greatful for her helping to scare off a great threat to them. But then again - who rewards heroism these days. Ungrateful nakra... for a moment she was tempted to empty the entire pistol into the hull above her just to get their attention and stop them from bickering. Family arguments...when they could be trying to finish off the people who were likely going to come back for them.
"This...is why I do not miss my family." Saka murmured aloud as she watched them, crossing her arms over her chest for a moment as she blinked repeatedly. Her eyes were still a bit off from the blast, tearing up quite significantly. Thankfully tear glands weren't foreign to her kind. Couldn't be hit...oh she could beg to differ. IF only there weren't the smart kind of bounty hunters that knew how to fight dirty just like she did.
"It's not me you should apologize for missing, it's them." she hissed in annoyance, before giving a little grunt , seemingly becoming more passive "You did well...all things considered you're as good of a shot as you are a liar. And I like that."
Saka, however , was not going to pass up this opportunity. She took her time to access her arm mounted device, murmuring to herself as she started to tap away at it. Within moments the 'wrecked' ship at the edge of the cargo bay suddenly lit up, engines whirring quietly as they entered passive mode, causing it to hover above the ground slightly and the cockpit to close up.
"However I should have destroyed this thing earlier. No doubt it made you easier to find. No matter..." she peered over at the two, letting the ship charge up.
"I can still turn what's left of this thing against them and send them running. Unless you want them to regroup and attack us again...knowing our strengths. Alternatively we can talk them to death." Saka's fingers tapped a single button three times as the ship had begun to glow from two small emitters at the front. A powerful laser blast building within them.
Even if they didn't have the initiative, she wasn't going to just let this happen. She was going to save them, like it or not. She owed them that much at least.
"This...is why I do not miss my family." Saka murmured aloud as she watched them, crossing her arms over her chest for a moment as she blinked repeatedly. Her eyes were still a bit off from the blast, tearing up quite significantly. Thankfully tear glands weren't foreign to her kind. Couldn't be hit...oh she could beg to differ. IF only there weren't the smart kind of bounty hunters that knew how to fight dirty just like she did.
"It's not me you should apologize for missing, it's them." she hissed in annoyance, before giving a little grunt , seemingly becoming more passive "You did well...all things considered you're as good of a shot as you are a liar. And I like that."
Saka, however , was not going to pass up this opportunity. She took her time to access her arm mounted device, murmuring to herself as she started to tap away at it. Within moments the 'wrecked' ship at the edge of the cargo bay suddenly lit up, engines whirring quietly as they entered passive mode, causing it to hover above the ground slightly and the cockpit to close up.
"However I should have destroyed this thing earlier. No doubt it made you easier to find. No matter..." she peered over at the two, letting the ship charge up.
"I can still turn what's left of this thing against them and send them running. Unless you want them to regroup and attack us again...knowing our strengths. Alternatively we can talk them to death." Saka's fingers tapped a single button three times as the ship had begun to glow from two small emitters at the front. A powerful laser blast building within them.
Even if they didn't have the initiative, she wasn't going to just let this happen. She was going to save them, like it or not. She owed them that much at least.
"Okay, so Vexel tells us this girl is a psycho - No morals, willing to kill anyone if it means staying out of captivity." Kiri said thoughtfully. "And then she goes and tries to incapacitate us with nonlethal weapons..."
"Maybe they just don't have any real guns?" Yale suggested.
"No," Attle frowned. "We have a decent stock of guns n' ammo. If Captain Beaky's daughter wanted to kill you, she could have." He sighed. "I don't get any of this. I mean, Beaky's a good man. He always has been. And then he just goes off the rails like this and-"
"Uh, Yale?" Kiri had been keeping an eye on their enemies outside the wall. Now, something outside the window was moving. A damaged, but still deadly-looking black fighter ship. "How long will it take the weapons to charge up?"
"The auto-turrets are already on, but the combat weapons take about a minute, why?"
"So, if a fighter were to, hypothetically, open fire on us right now..."
Yale followed Kiri's gaze. "Oh, Tarrak..." He leaped to his feet. "They're going to blow us up!"
"You don't say?" Kiri tossed a radio to Yale and sprinted out of the airlock receiver room, climbing the ladder outside to the cockpit on the second deck. "We have to run out of the hanger. We don't know how much damage that ship can do before we get the anti-fighter guns up. We can hard burn in eight seconds."
Yale was already running in a different direction, towards the gunner post below the ship. "No, no, if we burn tetra, we toast everyone on the ship. We need Kaya and Beaky alive."
"Fine, sixteen seconds for cold burn." She reached her controls and got straight to work. The engines had just powered up with the first volley of shots from the enemy fighter hit. The kinshields partially blocked the shots, but an alarm began to blare, warning them that the ship was under attack. Helpful little UI, isn't it?
After what seemed like forever, the engines were ready for a cold burn. Since the ship would be propelling itself with energy instead of combusting gasses, it wouldn't hurt those inside the cargo bay with them. The Raptor lifted off, slamming into the ceiling of the cargo bay. Two more shots from Saka'kah's fighter knocked the ship's kinshield out of commission, and the Raptor tumbled out of the cargo bay door into space.
They had lost the Darasis-Ali. They had lost Kaya.
"Maybe they just don't have any real guns?" Yale suggested.
"No," Attle frowned. "We have a decent stock of guns n' ammo. If Captain Beaky's daughter wanted to kill you, she could have." He sighed. "I don't get any of this. I mean, Beaky's a good man. He always has been. And then he just goes off the rails like this and-"
"Uh, Yale?" Kiri had been keeping an eye on their enemies outside the wall. Now, something outside the window was moving. A damaged, but still deadly-looking black fighter ship. "How long will it take the weapons to charge up?"
"The auto-turrets are already on, but the combat weapons take about a minute, why?"
"So, if a fighter were to, hypothetically, open fire on us right now..."
Yale followed Kiri's gaze. "Oh, Tarrak..." He leaped to his feet. "They're going to blow us up!"
"You don't say?" Kiri tossed a radio to Yale and sprinted out of the airlock receiver room, climbing the ladder outside to the cockpit on the second deck. "We have to run out of the hanger. We don't know how much damage that ship can do before we get the anti-fighter guns up. We can hard burn in eight seconds."
Yale was already running in a different direction, towards the gunner post below the ship. "No, no, if we burn tetra, we toast everyone on the ship. We need Kaya and Beaky alive."
"Fine, sixteen seconds for cold burn." She reached her controls and got straight to work. The engines had just powered up with the first volley of shots from the enemy fighter hit. The kinshields partially blocked the shots, but an alarm began to blare, warning them that the ship was under attack. Helpful little UI, isn't it?
After what seemed like forever, the engines were ready for a cold burn. Since the ship would be propelling itself with energy instead of combusting gasses, it wouldn't hurt those inside the cargo bay with them. The Raptor lifted off, slamming into the ceiling of the cargo bay. Two more shots from Saka'kah's fighter knocked the ship's kinshield out of commission, and the Raptor tumbled out of the cargo bay door into space.
They had lost the Darasis-Ali. They had lost Kaya.
Saka could only watch with a smug amount of pleasure as her ship's weapon arrays fired enough high concentration beams to start blasting their shields appart. They'd gotten away, much to her disappointment. This would have been the perfect opportunity to watch one of those shots fire a hole right through them. That would have really left them licking their wounds. But as they retreated, she was satesfied. Her tail flicked behind her, the feathery fan of a tip stirring up a tiny wind behind her, her fingers moving back to her device as she would speak into it.
"Computer. Disengage automatic lock and power down." she hardly waited for any confirmation before closing the channel, the ship slowly powering down it's weapons systems before settling back down on the surface of the cargo bay.
Saka turned towards the two she was with, hands upon her hips as she would peer over at Kaya, whom she was now giving the most curious eye to. Something about what the aliens had said really caught her interest.
"They seemed to be prioritizing you. How odd. You'd think they'd want to get rid of your friend here. But no, it's all about you." she grunted, before she'd gesture to herself.
"You don't need to tell me any specific details. Anyone that tries taking possession of someone else is welcome to fight them for it. If they want to take it away from you by these ridiculous measures, then they're my targets." she peered back over towards her fighter, still beaming with pride.
The little tyke still hadn't failed her yet. All of that damage and it was still working like a charm. Could be repaired after a while but she had different ideas for it. Should they show her the proper hospitality of course. She turned her head back towards them, gancing over at Antero.
"They'll be back, you can be that. But we can give them a ruin for their money if they can't find us. The nakra couldn't detect my ship without sniffing up close. So imagine what that technology would do to a ship like this..."
Microcircuitry's finest points were in it's adaptability department. That's why it was so highly demanded within their trade. And people would have died to get their fingers on the secrets to it's creation.
And now she was giving away free samples. It was risky, espcially since this meant taking her ship apart.
"Computer. Disengage automatic lock and power down." she hardly waited for any confirmation before closing the channel, the ship slowly powering down it's weapons systems before settling back down on the surface of the cargo bay.
Saka turned towards the two she was with, hands upon her hips as she would peer over at Kaya, whom she was now giving the most curious eye to. Something about what the aliens had said really caught her interest.
"They seemed to be prioritizing you. How odd. You'd think they'd want to get rid of your friend here. But no, it's all about you." she grunted, before she'd gesture to herself.
"You don't need to tell me any specific details. Anyone that tries taking possession of someone else is welcome to fight them for it. If they want to take it away from you by these ridiculous measures, then they're my targets." she peered back over towards her fighter, still beaming with pride.
The little tyke still hadn't failed her yet. All of that damage and it was still working like a charm. Could be repaired after a while but she had different ideas for it. Should they show her the proper hospitality of course. She turned her head back towards them, gancing over at Antero.
"They'll be back, you can be that. But we can give them a ruin for their money if they can't find us. The nakra couldn't detect my ship without sniffing up close. So imagine what that technology would do to a ship like this..."
Microcircuitry's finest points were in it's adaptability department. That's why it was so highly demanded within their trade. And people would have died to get their fingers on the secrets to it's creation.
And now she was giving away free samples. It was risky, espcially since this meant taking her ship apart.
((Interesting how Saka doesn't seem to notice that Kaya is referring to herself in third person under two different names:) Anyway, long post infodump ahead.))
Antero didn't know what to say. "You'd do that? You really want to go against the police to protect us?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I appreciate this, but you can't. We're being pursued by both the GMPF and Scio Kio, the most powerful, ubiquitous corporation in the galaxy. I've already gotten too many people involved in this. The men under my command have apparently been taken captive, and at least two people have been killed because of my actions." At this, he cast a nervous glance at Batali.
"Father," the Chipi said, holstering her stun rifle. "I know you're trying to be nice, but the Sans'karah is clearly a competent warrior. We could use her on our side."
He considered this for a moment. “I suppose... I suppose if you're going to be teaming up with us, you need some context. Tell me, have you ever heard of Terikapta Syndrome?”
“Of course she hasn't.” Batali said. “It's obscure enough on its own, and it's not exactly the sort of thing a Sans'karah would know about. It's not dinner conversation.” Turning to Saka, she explained, “It's a disease. After the bombing of Queseto ended the second Chipi War, our species was put through a genetic bottleneck. It caused a resurrection of several rare genetic disorders, Terikapta among them. It's undetectable, unpredictable, and unavoidable. At an arbitrary point in a victim's life, usually their thirties, they will suffer a rapid decline of health, and die within a week.”
Antero paled. “It's horrible, but it's not even the worst part. In an effort to control the genetic condition, they required anyone related to a Terikapta victim to be labeled with a black stripe. It's more than just a mark. It's a stigma. Nobody with the Terikapta mark will be accepted by Chipi society. They're ostracized and hated.”
“It's actually very clever,” Batali remarked, the slightest hint of admiration in her tone. “See, if you tell people that the mark is bad, they'll feel sorry for those with it. They'll befriend them, possibly marry them, and spread the disease. But if you integrate into the culture that those with the mark are, themselves, bad, then nobody will ever get emotionally close enough to marry them.”
“I... I'd like to pretend that I knew about Darasis.” Antero said, his voice almost shaking. “I'd like to pretend that if I'd known that she had Terikapta, I would have married her anyway. But I don't think that's true. As it stood, the condition had escaped detection in my wife's family; She didn't even know she had it. Two years after Kaya's birth, Darasis died, and Kaya was marked.”
Batali stepped forward to pull back her sleeve. A spot above her bicep had an intricate design of black lines winding its way down her arm. “Lovely, isn't it? So Mother passes away, and Father knows there's at least a coin flip's chance that Kaya's got the disease. That's when Scio Kio contacts him, says they're working on a treatment. Says they need test subjects-”
“You have to understand,” Antero interrupted. “I was willing to try anything to avoid losing my daughter. I couldn't... I can't lose her. So when they came to me, saying that if I let her volunteer for the program, they'll give her top priority when a treatment is found... I had no choice. I had to save her.”
“Only that's not what Scio Kio is doing. They needed test subjects, all right, but not for Terikapta research. Nobody cares about the Terikapta victims, so they can round us up, use us as guiana pigs, and nobody will notice we're gone.”
“To make a long story short, I noticed.” Now Antero's eyes grew angry, furious even. “I alerted the GMPF, but they said I was paranoid. Blamed it on the stress of losing Darasis. They stripped me of my command, so I waited, got control of the first military frigate I could, and damn it, I got Kaya back.”
“But he didn't.” Batali said. “He got Kaya plus one. See, the experiment I was part of was a brain modification program designed to stimulate extreme intelligence and emotional stripping for use as assassins. But they screwed it up, and I ended up what they call a 'framenter.' Kaya's still in here with me, but we coexist independently, and share a brain.”
“Now, Scio Kio knows I have her, and they know I intend to bring this whole thing into the open. They will do everything they can to stop us. Everything. Anything.”
The long explanation complete, Antero and Batali watched Saka for a reaction.
"Now that you know," Batali's sharp eyes met Saka's. "Neither of us would blame you if you wanted to leave. We'll drop you off on the nearest planet, and you can be on your way home. You owe us nothing. But if you choose to stay, we will gladly accept your help."
Antero didn't know what to say. "You'd do that? You really want to go against the police to protect us?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I appreciate this, but you can't. We're being pursued by both the GMPF and Scio Kio, the most powerful, ubiquitous corporation in the galaxy. I've already gotten too many people involved in this. The men under my command have apparently been taken captive, and at least two people have been killed because of my actions." At this, he cast a nervous glance at Batali.
"Father," the Chipi said, holstering her stun rifle. "I know you're trying to be nice, but the Sans'karah is clearly a competent warrior. We could use her on our side."
He considered this for a moment. “I suppose... I suppose if you're going to be teaming up with us, you need some context. Tell me, have you ever heard of Terikapta Syndrome?”
“Of course she hasn't.” Batali said. “It's obscure enough on its own, and it's not exactly the sort of thing a Sans'karah would know about. It's not dinner conversation.” Turning to Saka, she explained, “It's a disease. After the bombing of Queseto ended the second Chipi War, our species was put through a genetic bottleneck. It caused a resurrection of several rare genetic disorders, Terikapta among them. It's undetectable, unpredictable, and unavoidable. At an arbitrary point in a victim's life, usually their thirties, they will suffer a rapid decline of health, and die within a week.”
Antero paled. “It's horrible, but it's not even the worst part. In an effort to control the genetic condition, they required anyone related to a Terikapta victim to be labeled with a black stripe. It's more than just a mark. It's a stigma. Nobody with the Terikapta mark will be accepted by Chipi society. They're ostracized and hated.”
“It's actually very clever,” Batali remarked, the slightest hint of admiration in her tone. “See, if you tell people that the mark is bad, they'll feel sorry for those with it. They'll befriend them, possibly marry them, and spread the disease. But if you integrate into the culture that those with the mark are, themselves, bad, then nobody will ever get emotionally close enough to marry them.”
“I... I'd like to pretend that I knew about Darasis.” Antero said, his voice almost shaking. “I'd like to pretend that if I'd known that she had Terikapta, I would have married her anyway. But I don't think that's true. As it stood, the condition had escaped detection in my wife's family; She didn't even know she had it. Two years after Kaya's birth, Darasis died, and Kaya was marked.”
Batali stepped forward to pull back her sleeve. A spot above her bicep had an intricate design of black lines winding its way down her arm. “Lovely, isn't it? So Mother passes away, and Father knows there's at least a coin flip's chance that Kaya's got the disease. That's when Scio Kio contacts him, says they're working on a treatment. Says they need test subjects-”
“You have to understand,” Antero interrupted. “I was willing to try anything to avoid losing my daughter. I couldn't... I can't lose her. So when they came to me, saying that if I let her volunteer for the program, they'll give her top priority when a treatment is found... I had no choice. I had to save her.”
“Only that's not what Scio Kio is doing. They needed test subjects, all right, but not for Terikapta research. Nobody cares about the Terikapta victims, so they can round us up, use us as guiana pigs, and nobody will notice we're gone.”
“To make a long story short, I noticed.” Now Antero's eyes grew angry, furious even. “I alerted the GMPF, but they said I was paranoid. Blamed it on the stress of losing Darasis. They stripped me of my command, so I waited, got control of the first military frigate I could, and damn it, I got Kaya back.”
“But he didn't.” Batali said. “He got Kaya plus one. See, the experiment I was part of was a brain modification program designed to stimulate extreme intelligence and emotional stripping for use as assassins. But they screwed it up, and I ended up what they call a 'framenter.' Kaya's still in here with me, but we coexist independently, and share a brain.”
“Now, Scio Kio knows I have her, and they know I intend to bring this whole thing into the open. They will do everything they can to stop us. Everything. Anything.”
The long explanation complete, Antero and Batali watched Saka for a reaction.
"Now that you know," Batali's sharp eyes met Saka's. "Neither of us would blame you if you wanted to leave. We'll drop you off on the nearest planet, and you can be on your way home. You owe us nothing. But if you choose to stay, we will gladly accept your help."
((Oh, she's noticed. She's just keeping it to herself. At this rate she was a little more preoccupied with dealing with the people trying to kill them and calming things down. Just thought I'd post that quick little note before I turned in. No worries, I'll post later!))
Why did it feel as if this was a mess only she'd get dragged into? Saka found herself stared at the two , particularly annoyed at Antero's question of her wanting to go against the police. Part of her wanted to point out the obvious that she'd already done so willingly...and that used to be part of a police force. And now this little multi-eyed morsel's telling her she can't come along because of a biiiig baaaad corporation.
But, at lease the girl was backing her up. She knew just how far her abilities could reach, and she'd made her at least seem a little bit on the useful side. She could already feel a story coming on the moment Antero mentioned giving her some context. So she moved to settle down upon a nearby crate and lean forward, peering between the two and keeping her thoughts to herself as they spoke.
Terikapta Syndrome...now that sounded nasty. Her people were aware of a biological incident over on this side of the galaxy, but this shed some light on it that would have gotten her promoted had she still been back with the Vanguard. No, no time to think about personal gratification. Still, biological warfare on that level sickened her. To a species that trived on continuing their genetic superiority, the thoughts of someone swooping down and tainting those genes was absolutely atrocious even for THEM.
"Psychological warfare. My people would have been happy about that one. Likely give kudos to whoever thought it up...until they'd hear about the whole biological mutations aspect." she murmured aloud as they went on, keeping her focus on the two of them, glancing at one and the other as they talked like a curious, wide-eyed parrot.
So, the girl's father mated with the mother out of pity? And diseased his own offspring as a result. She wasn't sure if this was something she should mock him for or simply feel sorry for them. Now the father was talking about doing anything to avoid losing his daughter. Perhaps he should have never conceived her. Either way , that cynical part of her soon faded as she realized that if she too had a daughter, she WOULD be fiercely protective of her. Trying to hide her shock from the fact she was actually relating to them, she rubbed the back of her sore neck, trying to take all of this in.
So, the usual story of a corporation lying about having a cure to lure in unsuspecting test subjects. That on the other hand, was not something her people were below. Her throat seemed almost caught on words as she was almost tempted to point out that her own people had once abducted some of his own amongst various other species to test one of their most potent defensive weapons. The Stormlord. THAT was a messy test. She'd actually been there to see various 'prey' get vaporized as an incomplete Stormlord created a field of atmospheric electrodes that fudged up and ended up terminating the entire moon they were testing it on.
Still...this explains their running. And it explains why these people were after them. Further more, it also explained why the ship had that name. A tribute that was not lost on her. Ugh...it was so annoyingly touching.
"So...this explains the radical changes of personality and the way you keep referring to yourself...Part of me just wanted to think you were both going crazy from some sort of strain, but this all sheds a lot of light. So allow me to do the same for you." she began, tilting her head back a little and shutting her eyes.
This was less a gesture for anything and more of a mental exercise. Attempting to plumb out any repressed memories.
"So, you know half the story about me. I was once a member of the Sans'karian Vanguard for the Colony World of Thokka Prime. My father was Narin'oy Kreein, Second Admiral of The Fleet and a decorated hero of our people. But he was old, and he needed to create a fitting legacy. So he took my mother as his mate. She was in fact one of his subordinates, grown rather fond of her...he took her as his first wife. They had me and three others." Saka's hand ran idly over her arm-mounted device, the odd piece of equipment seemingly helping her remember. It was, after all, standard issue for Disciplines of Ska'rah.
"We were diagnosed as genetically superior and fit, thus were allowed to follow the Host's tradition of serving within the Vanguard. But I was a little bit of an oddball...always was. Brother would tease me endlessly. Little narka that he was...Anyway, I chose to take the appropriate exams and become part of the Disciplines of Ska'rah. I always did love a good bit of subtlety and working as a member of the legacy of our great god was considered something worth doing. So I did. I killed my way to where I am now. Stole information...helped us broker it...made first contact. Hell of an experience. Except..."
"Look, the Vanguard isn't what people like you might have heard of. We advertise ourselves as the strength of the people. The ones protecting them for their own good. In reality the Vanguard is nothing more then a scapegoat for people to do as they please. Did you know that a Vanguard cannot be accused of any crimes? They have immunity. Killing one is a capital offence, but if they break into your home to take what they want and kill your own, do they receive punishment? No. They are ENCOURAGED. Our government believes that the Vanguard are a high priority due to their superior genes. Thus , as our philosophy goes, they are stronger...so they can take whatever they please. The weak must deal with this."
"The only people who have anything on them are the high ranking Hosts. Unfortunately, me being a hotspur, I ended up pissing them off. I was...a little too overzealous on one mission. As per our traditions within the Disciples, if an assassination is ordered we are to desecrate the body after we kill. In our culture beheading is eternal damnation. Unfortunately, my attempts to be completely thorough in my assignment lead me to accidently behead the heir for our Ruling Host..." At this, Saka seemed to tense, her voice almost sounding sorrowful as she went on.
"My...grave miscalculation lead to some grave consequences. Host Kreein were seen as attempting to wipe out the Ruling Host. So they exiled any of us off-world and the rest of my Host were all hunted down and executed for my mistake. I was only spared being hunted this far out because my father used his final moments to claim that he had slipped me false orders."
Pushing herself up, Saka approached the two of them, her crest ruffled slightly. Her eyes were...actually moistened. Close enough to crying.
"So, me and the law don't get along very well. If you want to resist them we're both in the same boat. A Vanguard without duty is nothing, I have no purpose...with this, I will have new purpose. So yeah. I WILL help you."
And a promise was a promise.
But, at lease the girl was backing her up. She knew just how far her abilities could reach, and she'd made her at least seem a little bit on the useful side. She could already feel a story coming on the moment Antero mentioned giving her some context. So she moved to settle down upon a nearby crate and lean forward, peering between the two and keeping her thoughts to herself as they spoke.
Terikapta Syndrome...now that sounded nasty. Her people were aware of a biological incident over on this side of the galaxy, but this shed some light on it that would have gotten her promoted had she still been back with the Vanguard. No, no time to think about personal gratification. Still, biological warfare on that level sickened her. To a species that trived on continuing their genetic superiority, the thoughts of someone swooping down and tainting those genes was absolutely atrocious even for THEM.
"Psychological warfare. My people would have been happy about that one. Likely give kudos to whoever thought it up...until they'd hear about the whole biological mutations aspect." she murmured aloud as they went on, keeping her focus on the two of them, glancing at one and the other as they talked like a curious, wide-eyed parrot.
So, the girl's father mated with the mother out of pity? And diseased his own offspring as a result. She wasn't sure if this was something she should mock him for or simply feel sorry for them. Now the father was talking about doing anything to avoid losing his daughter. Perhaps he should have never conceived her. Either way , that cynical part of her soon faded as she realized that if she too had a daughter, she WOULD be fiercely protective of her. Trying to hide her shock from the fact she was actually relating to them, she rubbed the back of her sore neck, trying to take all of this in.
So, the usual story of a corporation lying about having a cure to lure in unsuspecting test subjects. That on the other hand, was not something her people were below. Her throat seemed almost caught on words as she was almost tempted to point out that her own people had once abducted some of his own amongst various other species to test one of their most potent defensive weapons. The Stormlord. THAT was a messy test. She'd actually been there to see various 'prey' get vaporized as an incomplete Stormlord created a field of atmospheric electrodes that fudged up and ended up terminating the entire moon they were testing it on.
Still...this explains their running. And it explains why these people were after them. Further more, it also explained why the ship had that name. A tribute that was not lost on her. Ugh...it was so annoyingly touching.
"So...this explains the radical changes of personality and the way you keep referring to yourself...Part of me just wanted to think you were both going crazy from some sort of strain, but this all sheds a lot of light. So allow me to do the same for you." she began, tilting her head back a little and shutting her eyes.
This was less a gesture for anything and more of a mental exercise. Attempting to plumb out any repressed memories.
"So, you know half the story about me. I was once a member of the Sans'karian Vanguard for the Colony World of Thokka Prime. My father was Narin'oy Kreein, Second Admiral of The Fleet and a decorated hero of our people. But he was old, and he needed to create a fitting legacy. So he took my mother as his mate. She was in fact one of his subordinates, grown rather fond of her...he took her as his first wife. They had me and three others." Saka's hand ran idly over her arm-mounted device, the odd piece of equipment seemingly helping her remember. It was, after all, standard issue for Disciplines of Ska'rah.
"We were diagnosed as genetically superior and fit, thus were allowed to follow the Host's tradition of serving within the Vanguard. But I was a little bit of an oddball...always was. Brother would tease me endlessly. Little narka that he was...Anyway, I chose to take the appropriate exams and become part of the Disciplines of Ska'rah. I always did love a good bit of subtlety and working as a member of the legacy of our great god was considered something worth doing. So I did. I killed my way to where I am now. Stole information...helped us broker it...made first contact. Hell of an experience. Except..."
"Look, the Vanguard isn't what people like you might have heard of. We advertise ourselves as the strength of the people. The ones protecting them for their own good. In reality the Vanguard is nothing more then a scapegoat for people to do as they please. Did you know that a Vanguard cannot be accused of any crimes? They have immunity. Killing one is a capital offence, but if they break into your home to take what they want and kill your own, do they receive punishment? No. They are ENCOURAGED. Our government believes that the Vanguard are a high priority due to their superior genes. Thus , as our philosophy goes, they are stronger...so they can take whatever they please. The weak must deal with this."
"The only people who have anything on them are the high ranking Hosts. Unfortunately, me being a hotspur, I ended up pissing them off. I was...a little too overzealous on one mission. As per our traditions within the Disciples, if an assassination is ordered we are to desecrate the body after we kill. In our culture beheading is eternal damnation. Unfortunately, my attempts to be completely thorough in my assignment lead me to accidently behead the heir for our Ruling Host..." At this, Saka seemed to tense, her voice almost sounding sorrowful as she went on.
"My...grave miscalculation lead to some grave consequences. Host Kreein were seen as attempting to wipe out the Ruling Host. So they exiled any of us off-world and the rest of my Host were all hunted down and executed for my mistake. I was only spared being hunted this far out because my father used his final moments to claim that he had slipped me false orders."
Pushing herself up, Saka approached the two of them, her crest ruffled slightly. Her eyes were...actually moistened. Close enough to crying.
"So, me and the law don't get along very well. If you want to resist them we're both in the same boat. A Vanguard without duty is nothing, I have no purpose...with this, I will have new purpose. So yeah. I WILL help you."
And a promise was a promise.
((Terikapta wasn't genetic warfare, it was just the unfortunate result of the gene pool being reduced to a kiddie pool. Just clarifying. Also, Saka seems to be quickly turning from morally gray to Just-Plain-Evil 
))
Antero listened to Saka's story with a frown on his face. He didn't like what he heard. Antero was a military commander. In commanding his men, he had killed people, and he wasn't squeamish. But an assassin trained to desecrate her corpses' victims? Suddenly he wasn't so sure he wanted Saka's assistance. How could they trust someone who killed so easily, who committed crimes without a second thought, who-
Wait, Tarrak, that's Batali. Maybe this Saka wasn't so different from them. Still, it seemed like everything bad he had ever earned about the Sans'Karah people was ringing true, and then some. These Vanguard people were like the GMPF with every limit taken away.
When Saka got to the important bit, the bit that found her on the run from her own species, Antero's ears perked up. This was interesting. It was sad, and he felt a little bad for her, despite her violence, but it was also interesting, and not in a good way. If they befriended this criminal, would the Sans'Karah empire be looking for them? Could they afford to make more enemies?
No, Antero decided. We need her help. Let her bring whatever history she may, but we need somebody.
“Well,” Batali was the first to speak once Saka reached the end of her tale. “That was very gripping. Now that we've gotten our tragic stories out in the open, howsabout we get the hell out of here before those bounty hunters catch up? I believe, Mabi Saka, that you had an idea?”
))Antero listened to Saka's story with a frown on his face. He didn't like what he heard. Antero was a military commander. In commanding his men, he had killed people, and he wasn't squeamish. But an assassin trained to desecrate her corpses' victims? Suddenly he wasn't so sure he wanted Saka's assistance. How could they trust someone who killed so easily, who committed crimes without a second thought, who-
Wait, Tarrak, that's Batali. Maybe this Saka wasn't so different from them. Still, it seemed like everything bad he had ever earned about the Sans'Karah people was ringing true, and then some. These Vanguard people were like the GMPF with every limit taken away.
When Saka got to the important bit, the bit that found her on the run from her own species, Antero's ears perked up. This was interesting. It was sad, and he felt a little bad for her, despite her violence, but it was also interesting, and not in a good way. If they befriended this criminal, would the Sans'Karah empire be looking for them? Could they afford to make more enemies?
No, Antero decided. We need her help. Let her bring whatever history she may, but we need somebody.
“Well,” Batali was the first to speak once Saka reached the end of her tale. “That was very gripping. Now that we've gotten our tragic stories out in the open, howsabout we get the hell out of here before those bounty hunters catch up? I believe, Mabi Saka, that you had an idea?”
((That first one is my fault for not reading the first part of the explanation clearly enough but , that second one isn't my intent 
. For one if she was just-plain-evil like the rest of the people she'd described she wouldn't have helped them. She'd likely have taken their medical attention, killed them both or traded them in to the bounty hunters for some profit which she'll need now that she's out and about. From her standpoint it's literally the only life path she was given. Her family has a set role in society.
Secondly, the entire point of the character is that she's trying to move away from her previous duties. She's already started to show some change during this, so I wouldn't judge a character's alignment simply based on backstory alone. That's not saying she isn't morally unsound. She just isn't friggin-all-out-evil anymore.
Sorry if that came off as long and rambly
, I just don't want a character judged before proper character development even fully kicks in.))
"...Why couldn't you be my younger sister? You'd have all the toys right now." Saka quipped as she hopped onto her feet, making her way over towards her fighter and placing her hand upon it.
"It might take several hours but I might be able to extract the circuitry from my fighter but given enough time, I'll be able to also integrate it into your ship systems. With that you'll be virtually invisible to the naked eye and harder to detect with any form of sensors. A reminder : Difficult to detect. NOT invisible. If someone gets close to us, notices something's up and scans or even gets too close to us - and we'll be caught. But this should help us squeeze by." she explained whilst wandering back over towards them, pointing down to her arm-mounted device next.
"Using this I might be able to also give us an edge. It is a long shot but I might be able to configure your ship to emit a false signal by scrambling it's current one. This'll be useful amongst other ships so if you feel we have go pass through a crowded area of space and pray...we've got something on our side." she continued, before tilting her head towards Antero.
"Most of these are internal changes, so you can feel free to start getting us moving while I work on them. I just wouldn't suggest stopping for a lunch break if I turn on our little bit of invisibility for a while, it can glitch out at first and leave you apparently sitting on an invisible bench in the middle of space eating a burger."
She remembered the first time something like that happened to her. Certainly not the best thing for the bowels there ever was. But she was confident she'd at least keep that from happening.
"...And thank you for letting me come along."
. For one if she was just-plain-evil like the rest of the people she'd described she wouldn't have helped them. She'd likely have taken their medical attention, killed them both or traded them in to the bounty hunters for some profit which she'll need now that she's out and about. From her standpoint it's literally the only life path she was given. Her family has a set role in society.Secondly, the entire point of the character is that she's trying to move away from her previous duties. She's already started to show some change during this, so I wouldn't judge a character's alignment simply based on backstory alone. That's not saying she isn't morally unsound. She just isn't friggin-all-out-evil anymore.
Sorry if that came off as long and rambly
, I just don't want a character judged before proper character development even fully kicks in.))"...Why couldn't you be my younger sister? You'd have all the toys right now." Saka quipped as she hopped onto her feet, making her way over towards her fighter and placing her hand upon it.
"It might take several hours but I might be able to extract the circuitry from my fighter but given enough time, I'll be able to also integrate it into your ship systems. With that you'll be virtually invisible to the naked eye and harder to detect with any form of sensors. A reminder : Difficult to detect. NOT invisible. If someone gets close to us, notices something's up and scans or even gets too close to us - and we'll be caught. But this should help us squeeze by." she explained whilst wandering back over towards them, pointing down to her arm-mounted device next.
"Using this I might be able to also give us an edge. It is a long shot but I might be able to configure your ship to emit a false signal by scrambling it's current one. This'll be useful amongst other ships so if you feel we have go pass through a crowded area of space and pray...we've got something on our side." she continued, before tilting her head towards Antero.
"Most of these are internal changes, so you can feel free to start getting us moving while I work on them. I just wouldn't suggest stopping for a lunch break if I turn on our little bit of invisibility for a while, it can glitch out at first and leave you apparently sitting on an invisible bench in the middle of space eating a burger."
She remembered the first time something like that happened to her. Certainly not the best thing for the bowels there ever was. But she was confident she'd at least keep that from happening.
"...And thank you for letting me come along."
((I see. Apparently Antero and Saka have different perspectives on the nature of evil))
"I'm going to kill that kormein bird, I swear." Yale Greskel was curled up in his patchwork beanbag chair sitting in front of the rec room table. He was busy filing his claws into sharp points with a penknife.
"No revenge fantasies, Greks." Kiri eyed him warily across the table, gnawing idly at a cube of food. Yale's ear twitched in irritation at the nickname. "We can't afford to lose our heads. The Sans'Karah on Beaky's ship makes two major threats. And I think we proved with that little stun blast I took to the chest that Kaya is, indeed, as good a shot as Vexel warned us. She nailed me from across the hanger with a close range weapon, and nearly hit me again twice on our way out."
"Not to mention lil' miss Ninjablade." Yale swore as his hand slipped, nicking the tip of his finger with the knife. "What did it take her, three seconds to dismember our buddy, Dako?"
"Oh, right, him," Kiri had forgotten about the decapitated serial killer. "We'll have to make sure to grab his head on the way out. After we deal with the Beakys and the bird."
"Yeah, how exactly are you two going about doing that, anyway?" Mabi Attle sat at Kiri's right, his arms and legs tied to his chair. She wasn't sure why the officer was still out of his cell. It had been some sort of unspoken agreement between Yale and herself. In any case, she didn't mind the company.
"Well, it certainly won't be easy." Kiri had picked up the art of tracking a spaceship from living with her father on a civ ice hauler in the Seilik asteroid field. "On one hand, frigates are designed for skirmishes, not stealth. On the other hand, when they tossed us out the window, we got tumbled around a bit, and I'm having a bit of trouble finding them. I'm pretty sure we're headed in the right way, but after they picked up the Sans'karah, they stopped hard burning. With a cold burn, their engines aren't leaving a heat trail, so all we have to go on is radiant heat."
Yale sat up from his bean chair. "Now, Kiri's a hell of a pilot, and she can spot a skarish in a nebula-"
"Thanks, Greks."
"Call me that again and I'll start leaving the lights off." It was an old joke between the two of them. Katamains had terrible night vision, but Farbians were excellent at seeing in the dark. "In any case, Kiri's good at what she does, but I'd say finding the Beakys is a coin flip. That's where I come in. I can drop a spy crawler into the Serik network - that's just a little script that hunts for stuff in news broadcasts - but I'm not optimistic. My crawler works great, but it eats a ton of bandwidth."
"So you can't find them?" Attle asked the question innocently, but Kiri knew he was trying to get any info he could on his captors. Not that it mattered. What could he do, warn the Beakys? He'd have to get free, get off the ship, and find them first. So for now, it didn't matter what they told him.
"Not necessarily. See, based on their past few gates, it looks like they've been heading to Schlora. And their current course was towards a gate near Schlora before we got tossed out. So if we limit our search to any moonbases, colonies, and cities in between here and Schlora, the crawler could do a lot better. After all, they have the bird with them, and a Sans'Karah sticks out like a sore thumb. If they do anything even remotely newsworthy, we have their exact location in minutes."
"Whatever happens, Beaky can't run forever. For now, we follow loose, and wait."
"I'm going to kill that kormein bird, I swear." Yale Greskel was curled up in his patchwork beanbag chair sitting in front of the rec room table. He was busy filing his claws into sharp points with a penknife.
"No revenge fantasies, Greks." Kiri eyed him warily across the table, gnawing idly at a cube of food. Yale's ear twitched in irritation at the nickname. "We can't afford to lose our heads. The Sans'Karah on Beaky's ship makes two major threats. And I think we proved with that little stun blast I took to the chest that Kaya is, indeed, as good a shot as Vexel warned us. She nailed me from across the hanger with a close range weapon, and nearly hit me again twice on our way out."
"Not to mention lil' miss Ninjablade." Yale swore as his hand slipped, nicking the tip of his finger with the knife. "What did it take her, three seconds to dismember our buddy, Dako?"
"Oh, right, him," Kiri had forgotten about the decapitated serial killer. "We'll have to make sure to grab his head on the way out. After we deal with the Beakys and the bird."
"Yeah, how exactly are you two going about doing that, anyway?" Mabi Attle sat at Kiri's right, his arms and legs tied to his chair. She wasn't sure why the officer was still out of his cell. It had been some sort of unspoken agreement between Yale and herself. In any case, she didn't mind the company.
"Well, it certainly won't be easy." Kiri had picked up the art of tracking a spaceship from living with her father on a civ ice hauler in the Seilik asteroid field. "On one hand, frigates are designed for skirmishes, not stealth. On the other hand, when they tossed us out the window, we got tumbled around a bit, and I'm having a bit of trouble finding them. I'm pretty sure we're headed in the right way, but after they picked up the Sans'karah, they stopped hard burning. With a cold burn, their engines aren't leaving a heat trail, so all we have to go on is radiant heat."
Yale sat up from his bean chair. "Now, Kiri's a hell of a pilot, and she can spot a skarish in a nebula-"
"Thanks, Greks."
"Call me that again and I'll start leaving the lights off." It was an old joke between the two of them. Katamains had terrible night vision, but Farbians were excellent at seeing in the dark. "In any case, Kiri's good at what she does, but I'd say finding the Beakys is a coin flip. That's where I come in. I can drop a spy crawler into the Serik network - that's just a little script that hunts for stuff in news broadcasts - but I'm not optimistic. My crawler works great, but it eats a ton of bandwidth."
"So you can't find them?" Attle asked the question innocently, but Kiri knew he was trying to get any info he could on his captors. Not that it mattered. What could he do, warn the Beakys? He'd have to get free, get off the ship, and find them first. So for now, it didn't matter what they told him.
"Not necessarily. See, based on their past few gates, it looks like they've been heading to Schlora. And their current course was towards a gate near Schlora before we got tossed out. So if we limit our search to any moonbases, colonies, and cities in between here and Schlora, the crawler could do a lot better. After all, they have the bird with them, and a Sans'Karah sticks out like a sore thumb. If they do anything even remotely newsworthy, we have their exact location in minutes."
"Whatever happens, Beaky can't run forever. For now, we follow loose, and wait."
((That's to be expected 
Two different races, two different people. They both have their own definition of evil. Also just to check - are you going to post as Antero and Batali or should I post?))
Two different races, two different people. They both have their own definition of evil. Also just to check - are you going to post as Antero and Batali or should I post?))
((I did kinda leave you hanging there, didn't I? Okay, here's Antero. Btw, not sure if I gave to the Outrun Time link))
"Thank you, Mabi Saka." Antero was anything but comfortable with this Sans'Karah on his ship, but the way he saw it, they needed her help, and there wasn't anything they could do to get rid of her, anyway. In any case, he was grateful for any edge Saka could provide them in eluding Scio Kio, the GMPF, and the bounty hunters pursuing them. He just hoped he wouldn't regret this decision.
"Well, Saka," Batali gave a slight half-smile, the most emotion Antero had ever seen her display that wasn't irritation or annoyance. "I think you've more than proved your loyalty. You have full run of the ship. See what you can do with that cloaking device." A slight nod to acknowledge Saka before she turned towards the hanger door, motioning for Antero to follow. Obediently, he set off after Batali at a slight jog, casting a glance back at the Sans'Karah as he left.
"Mabi Saka, we'll be eating dinner at 3000 hours." The Darasis-Ali ran on Queseto's 50 hour spin, and he briefly wondered whether that would be a natural mealtime for Saka. "There are a few clocks on the wall if you don't know Queseto time. Most non-Chipi don't." With that, he left their strange guest to her work, waving as he stepped though the door from the hanger into the hallway.
"So, what do you think?" Batali was waiting for him on the other side of the door.
"I trust her," Antero said reluctantly. "But I don't like her. Culture or not, She's a killer. And desecrating corpses? That's sick."
"Kaya didn't like it either." A frown crossed Batali's face.
"What about you?"
"Me?" The other person in his daughter's brain glanced up at him. "I don't know. I'm not really a person, so I don't think I'm supposed to have ethics."
"Not a person?" Antero was surprised at these words. "You have a name and an identity, though."
"That's for Kaya's sake. She wanted me to have a name, so I do. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Whether we approve of Saka's history or not, she's on our side now." Then, the abrupt question that caught Antero off guard; "Would you like to speak with her?"
"Again?"
She shrugged. "Let's get up to the bridge and set up our gate. You can talk with your daughter once we're set. I think we should be cold-decelerating soon, if we want to hit our gate; Don't want to have to hard burn and light us up like a firework for every IR sensor in the Tara system."
"Good point. Can I talk to Kaya on the way there?"
"Sure." And he did.
"Thank you, Mabi Saka." Antero was anything but comfortable with this Sans'Karah on his ship, but the way he saw it, they needed her help, and there wasn't anything they could do to get rid of her, anyway. In any case, he was grateful for any edge Saka could provide them in eluding Scio Kio, the GMPF, and the bounty hunters pursuing them. He just hoped he wouldn't regret this decision.
"Well, Saka," Batali gave a slight half-smile, the most emotion Antero had ever seen her display that wasn't irritation or annoyance. "I think you've more than proved your loyalty. You have full run of the ship. See what you can do with that cloaking device." A slight nod to acknowledge Saka before she turned towards the hanger door, motioning for Antero to follow. Obediently, he set off after Batali at a slight jog, casting a glance back at the Sans'Karah as he left.
"Mabi Saka, we'll be eating dinner at 3000 hours." The Darasis-Ali ran on Queseto's 50 hour spin, and he briefly wondered whether that would be a natural mealtime for Saka. "There are a few clocks on the wall if you don't know Queseto time. Most non-Chipi don't." With that, he left their strange guest to her work, waving as he stepped though the door from the hanger into the hallway.
"So, what do you think?" Batali was waiting for him on the other side of the door.
"I trust her," Antero said reluctantly. "But I don't like her. Culture or not, She's a killer. And desecrating corpses? That's sick."
"Kaya didn't like it either." A frown crossed Batali's face.
"What about you?"
"Me?" The other person in his daughter's brain glanced up at him. "I don't know. I'm not really a person, so I don't think I'm supposed to have ethics."
"Not a person?" Antero was surprised at these words. "You have a name and an identity, though."
"That's for Kaya's sake. She wanted me to have a name, so I do. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Whether we approve of Saka's history or not, she's on our side now." Then, the abrupt question that caught Antero off guard; "Would you like to speak with her?"
"Again?"
She shrugged. "Let's get up to the bridge and set up our gate. You can talk with your daughter once we're set. I think we should be cold-decelerating soon, if we want to hit our gate; Don't want to have to hard burn and light us up like a firework for every IR sensor in the Tara system."
"Good point. Can I talk to Kaya on the way there?"
"Sure." And he did.
((Thanks! Sorry, I love both your pairs of characters ^^ But it's kinda hard to post without knowing the situation around me . Also, yes you have! Do I have to send any specific application VIA PM or...?))
A gleam seemed to fill Saka's eye as she recieved gratitude, a pride that was almost unmistakably still there. The sort of silly pride that a child gets when you pat it on the head and say it did a good job. Oh, she could tell something was off. And they likely didn't like her in the slightest. Part of her was okay with this. After all, who needed their complete approval at the moment? She was serving her purpose and they would come to depend on her in time.
Yet part of her - still not consumed by her own pride - still yearned for a bit of acceptance. Not that she expected to get it due to her background. But the thing about the Sans'Karah is that whilst they were violent and bloodthirsty, they also held a love of their Host and their children. She had neither. And now following her exile, this was the closest thing to a family she was ever going to get...
"I'll use that honour well and get your ship all fitted up for the cloak within a few hours. Just be ready to cut the engines on my first test, otherwise we might end up frying them." she pointed out, having moved to squat down beside her fighter, peering up at the two.
As Antero left her a little extra message about dinner, Saka's belly reacted almost like a thing of irony. An almost unfittingly high pitched growl. If she could, she would have blushed at that. It was considered a vulgar sound.
"Er, thanks. I'll be sure to get the conversion down once I extract the microcircuitry. OH! And try to stick to meat! We don't eat anything else! You do NOT want to feed me anything else." As she opened another small compartment nearby and pulled out the jumbled up solid great square filled with tools that substituted a toolbox , her eyes were filled with a forlorn stare that said 'Feed me Vegetables and your ship will never be clean again.'
They left. Part of her wanted to spy on them. It'd be a simple task, she was still confident about her ability to sneak , and she could just listen in on part of their conversation then head back to work. But she learned she'd best start trusting them if she was ever going to make any sort of living here. And thus - she got to work on systematically trimming down her ship's circuitry.
It was a long and annoying process that involved carefully triggering nanodecouplers within the circuits themselves and then burning away the biosynthetic gel that held it all together. A tiny bit like micropaste! Then once that was done, she would set it aside upon the top of a nearby crate, carefully setting it upon a small metal tray that came with the set. In a way , with the way the colours and the almost paperlike slips of floppy microcircuitry looked, it was almost she'd created a computerized lasagne.
There was no doubt she'd gotten some decent progress before she had to stand herself up slightly, peering down at her handiwork. She'd begun to regret doing this in her suit. Wondrous equipment aside, it was awfully hot. Panting a little from exhaustion, she made her way towards her quarters and took her time to change into her newly assigned clothing. It was simple, but comfortable. A little bit different from the usual robes she wore back home, but pants definitely didn't feel that bad. Now she could discuss the eithics of 'Does this shirt make me look fat?' and 'Does my butt look big in these?'. Rivetting.
On her way out, she took her time to glance up at one of the clocks. The device she'd always carry with her helped to translate their time to her own and help her get a better idea on how things worked. It seemed relatively mundane and simple to understand in the long run. Somehow checking the clocks felt like a fine way to recover after that invasion. The faces of the bounty hunters still fresh in her mind - the one that was speaking to her with a gun to her head. Oh, they were good. Smart prey was always the best kind. Part of her hoped they would find them again, so she'd be able to finish the job with a bit of a glorious battle!
But alas, now it was food time. The hungry Sans'Karah couldn't work on base emotions alone. And seeing as food time wasn't quite there yet, she set out to find one of the other two crew members. Time to learn some more.
. Also, yes you have! Do I have to send any specific application VIA PM or...?))A gleam seemed to fill Saka's eye as she recieved gratitude, a pride that was almost unmistakably still there. The sort of silly pride that a child gets when you pat it on the head and say it did a good job. Oh, she could tell something was off. And they likely didn't like her in the slightest. Part of her was okay with this. After all, who needed their complete approval at the moment? She was serving her purpose and they would come to depend on her in time.
Yet part of her - still not consumed by her own pride - still yearned for a bit of acceptance. Not that she expected to get it due to her background. But the thing about the Sans'Karah is that whilst they were violent and bloodthirsty, they also held a love of their Host and their children. She had neither. And now following her exile, this was the closest thing to a family she was ever going to get...
"I'll use that honour well and get your ship all fitted up for the cloak within a few hours. Just be ready to cut the engines on my first test, otherwise we might end up frying them." she pointed out, having moved to squat down beside her fighter, peering up at the two.
As Antero left her a little extra message about dinner, Saka's belly reacted almost like a thing of irony. An almost unfittingly high pitched growl. If she could, she would have blushed at that. It was considered a vulgar sound.
"Er, thanks. I'll be sure to get the conversion down once I extract the microcircuitry. OH! And try to stick to meat! We don't eat anything else! You do NOT want to feed me anything else." As she opened another small compartment nearby and pulled out the jumbled up solid great square filled with tools that substituted a toolbox , her eyes were filled with a forlorn stare that said 'Feed me Vegetables and your ship will never be clean again.'
They left. Part of her wanted to spy on them. It'd be a simple task, she was still confident about her ability to sneak , and she could just listen in on part of their conversation then head back to work. But she learned she'd best start trusting them if she was ever going to make any sort of living here. And thus - she got to work on systematically trimming down her ship's circuitry.
It was a long and annoying process that involved carefully triggering nanodecouplers within the circuits themselves and then burning away the biosynthetic gel that held it all together. A tiny bit like micropaste! Then once that was done, she would set it aside upon the top of a nearby crate, carefully setting it upon a small metal tray that came with the set. In a way , with the way the colours and the almost paperlike slips of floppy microcircuitry looked, it was almost she'd created a computerized lasagne.
There was no doubt she'd gotten some decent progress before she had to stand herself up slightly, peering down at her handiwork. She'd begun to regret doing this in her suit. Wondrous equipment aside, it was awfully hot. Panting a little from exhaustion, she made her way towards her quarters and took her time to change into her newly assigned clothing. It was simple, but comfortable. A little bit different from the usual robes she wore back home, but pants definitely didn't feel that bad. Now she could discuss the eithics of 'Does this shirt make me look fat?' and 'Does my butt look big in these?'. Rivetting.
On her way out, she took her time to glance up at one of the clocks. The device she'd always carry with her helped to translate their time to her own and help her get a better idea on how things worked. It seemed relatively mundane and simple to understand in the long run. Somehow checking the clocks felt like a fine way to recover after that invasion. The faces of the bounty hunters still fresh in her mind - the one that was speaking to her with a gun to her head. Oh, they were good. Smart prey was always the best kind. Part of her hoped they would find them again, so she'd be able to finish the job with a bit of a glorious battle!
But alas, now it was food time. The hungry Sans'Karah couldn't work on base emotions alone. And seeing as food time wasn't quite there yet, she set out to find one of the other two crew members. Time to learn some more.
((I added a quick charrie sheet on the OP. Since the charries will be developed throughout the story, you don't really need much detail. Also, sorry it took so long to post 
In a few posts, I'm going to expedite the plot, but for now I want to give us a chance for our characters to collect themselves.))
Antero was bored. After a long conversation with Kaya, she had become tired and gone to sleep. That left him sitting on the bridge, watching the ETA tick down and reading a book. Soon they would reach the Schlora gate. They could disappear there, and be safe. Everything would be fine.
The book wasn't a very interesting one. A history book, about a Schloran Farbian named Grae who had some connection to the Serik War, or something. Since he couldn't turn on his pocket computer to access the Serik Network, he was left with whatever hard copy reading materials remained on the ship.
He was just about to put the book down and search for something else when he something flashed in his peripheral vision. He looked up to see Saka's reflection in the bridge window. Startled, Antero turned his chair around, half expecting an attack.
"What do you want?" He blurted out. Realizing the outburst had been someone rude, he cleared his throat and began again. "Good evening, Mabi Saka. Is there something you need?
In a few posts, I'm going to expedite the plot, but for now I want to give us a chance for our characters to collect themselves.))Antero was bored. After a long conversation with Kaya, she had become tired and gone to sleep. That left him sitting on the bridge, watching the ETA tick down and reading a book. Soon they would reach the Schlora gate. They could disappear there, and be safe. Everything would be fine.
The book wasn't a very interesting one. A history book, about a Schloran Farbian named Grae who had some connection to the Serik War, or something. Since he couldn't turn on his pocket computer to access the Serik Network, he was left with whatever hard copy reading materials remained on the ship.
He was just about to put the book down and search for something else when he something flashed in his peripheral vision. He looked up to see Saka's reflection in the bridge window. Startled, Antero turned his chair around, half expecting an attack.
"What do you want?" He blurted out. Realizing the outburst had been someone rude, he cleared his throat and began again. "Good evening, Mabi Saka. Is there something you need?
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