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Author Topic: Rule Two [Lion]  (Read 938 times)

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Paladienne

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Rule Two [Lion]
« on: April 24, 2018, 05:55:42 pm »
“Kit? I’m detecting something strange.”

For a moment, Kyrian didn’t answer. Then in his typical monotone tenor, he asked, “Strange with you or strange in general?”

She appeared before him, a holographic image of a young woman with short purple hair dressed in a skintight black jumpsuit, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. “I can’t believe you would think it was something wrong with me, you jerk. No.” She shifted, lifted her hand and swept it through the air.

On the monitor across from the pilot’s chair where Kyrian sat, an image appeared of the cold black depths of space, peppered with the glow of distant stars and galaxies. A red box then appeared on the screen, zeroing in on a specific quadrant of empty space. Kyrian peered at it, but he couldn’t see anything.

“I’m detecting a distress signal.” The box flashed and the quadrant grew to take up the whole screen. Still, Kyrian couldn’t see anything, and he raised a brow at her. “It’s coming from this sector here.” She continued. “Our path takes us right by it.”

Kyrian leaned back in his seat and pinched the bridge of his nose, narrowing his sapphire blue eyes at the holograph. “Midi, we aren’t on a pleasure cruise. We have a job to do. Need I remind you that it needs to be done in a timely fashion?”

Midi huffed out a breath. “Need I remind you that it’s on our way? It’s not like it’d take long. We stop and check it out. If it’s a lost cause, we just move on.”

“We’re not charity workers.”

“We’re also not heartless criminals.”

Kyrian pressed his lips together into a thin line. He focused on Midi’s heart-shaped face, her pleading eyes, and the knowledge that she could shut off the life-support systems with a flicker of thought if she got upset warred with the knowledge that, for all they both knew, the distress signal was a trap set by their enemies to lure them in in order to destroy them. That it could be the very last thing they ever did. And yet...

Rule Two: Help those who can’t help themselves.

Kyrian squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment, then opened them and focused on that quadrant. It wasn’t actually that far out of their way. It might delay their arrival by a day or two, give or take an hour, but it wasn’t like they were really on that tight of a schedule. And things happened. His friend could just deal with the delay. It’d be passive-aggressive revenge for that incident two weeks ago, when Kyrian and Midi had had to shoot their way out of a blockade trying to prevent them from leaving with merchandise his friend had “procured” from rather questionable sources. Granted, Kyrian hadn’t asked what he was going to pick up, and he probably should have, considering it was his life and Midian’s on the line, but his life was already so fraught with danger he hadn’t seen the point.

But this...

This is exactly the same, so don’t you even start. Kyrian sighed and dropped his hand to the controls of the ship.

“Kit-“

“Fine. We’ll go.” Kyrian said, interrupting Midi before she could find another of his heart-strings to pull. “We’ll check it out. First sign of bad shit, we’re getting out of there, no arguments. Deal?”

“Deal!” Midi replied, her tone excited.

Kyrian shook his head as he pushed on the thrusters. The Midian obeyed his silent command to go faster, her holographic avatar’s eyes focused on that lit-up quadrant.

It took them a little over an hour to traverse the open space to the object that was emitting the distress signal, but Kyrian and Midi were able to make out what the object was before they had even come within reach.

It was a ship.

A little skiff meant for quick space walks, not interstellar travel.

Kyrian studied the damaged hull of the skiff with a critical eye. It looked like the ship had seen hell and had somehow survived. There were cracks running through the glass shielding of the skiff’s cockpit, dangerously close to shattering and it was a miracle it hadn’t already. The left side was completely crushed, and there were signs of pieces having been ripped off by some incredible force. If there was anyone alive in there, they’d be extremely lucky to still be breathing. There was no telling how long this skiff had been floating in deep space emitting that signal. It could be hours. Days. Months. There was a good chance the occupant was already dead.

“Kit? I’m detecting life signs. Faint, but there.” Midi turned to look at him. “Single occupant. I can’t get a read on the occupant’s exact condition, but they’re still alive.”

For now went unspoken between them.

If he didn’t act, Kyrian knew he would hate himself for the rest of his life for breaking Rule Two. Someone was in there, still alive by some miracle of the universe, and if he just went on his merry way, then he was no better than the people he’d fought to escape.

“Kit?”

Rule Two.

Kyrian took a deep breath and pushed himself out of his seat. “Let’s pull our friend in, then. Get medical ready, would you, Midi?”

“Sure. Kyrian, shall I prepare the cables, too?”

“Yeah.” Kyrian headed out of the bridge, down the short hall that brought him to the elevator, and from there, into the hangar bay of the Midian when the elevator opened to the huge room. He ducked into the locker room and pulled on his spacesuit, fitting the helmet over his head and securing it in place. “It’ll be easier to drag the entire damn thing inside than go out there and try to crack that egg open to get at our friend.”

“And lessens the chance you might get shot at.”

“Lessens, doesn’t erase completely.”

“Smart ass. Be careful anyway, Kit.” Midi replied. A heartbeat of silence followed before she said, “Sealing off interior hatches. I’m depressurizing the hangar now. Three... two... Depressurized. Opening the doors now. Cables are set for manual launch.”

“Right. Watch my back.”

Kyrian left the locker room and pushed off, his body floating toward the open doors of Midi’s hangar. There, two huge cables with heavy clamps on the ends were floating, waiting for him to grab them. Once he had them both tucked under his left arm, he used his right hand to manipulate the jet thrusters on his suit to propel him and the cables toward the skiff.

Offline Lion

Re: Rule Two [Lion]
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2018, 08:32:43 pm »
It was easy to tell himself that this wasn't even the worst thing he'd gone through. Sure he'd lost his arm in a violent ketchup incident. Sure he'd had to get his liver and lungs replaced with their respective prosthetic counterparts. Yeah, it was completley possible the spider-webbed veiny cracks in that glass could rupture at any time and he could get sucked out like yesterday's garbage and become another floating body nobody would remember or care about. Back home, he might have been revered, a hero even, but out here he was a sitting target on an open quadrant.

No one gave a shit out here. You were fodder, or target practice, or just became space dust.

Grisham's eyes had long since closed, and his breathing was shallow and labored, trying to conserve every breath he could. Minimal power meant the chill from without was strating to permeate the inside and even his void suit would only do so much to keep his vitals regulated. He wasn't wounded, save for the scratch on his forehead and bruising that followed.  Dazed, hungry, waiting, and half wondering if what little fuel he had would even set him on a trajectory on home.

At any moment a meteorite or even more debris could smash into his fuel reserves and completely obliterate him. So overall, even with the tension building, he had to say he was doing pretty fucking good. Good enough to close his eyes and actually sleep. Or maybe he was just so bored out of his mind that sitting there with that rifle in his lap hadn't done much for entertaintment and singing those awful pop parodies Yavul sang to him as bedtime lullabies. Only to watch Mr. Dynamo to turn into Mr. Tomato-face.

Grisham's breathing was slow and even, this was all a dream and he'd wake up to the smell of bacon and eggs and maybe a side of toast and some coffee. Yeah.  Yavul would give him googly eyes and they'd shower together before going to a movie or something. Amristah movie houses were nothing to scoff at, but they were cute and had plenty of the latest blockbusters. And they could grab dinner on the way home and probably go mudboarding if they went down to Solarta the next day. That'd be nice.

Anything would be nice. He'd be home. And home was where the heart was. or so that stupid saying was. Even if it wasn't wrong. Even if his tin can prison was abruptly disturbed and he awoke with a violent shake as he felt something latching on to the skiff outside.

He immediately grabbed his rifle, was lurched slightly forward at the feeling of his ship abruptly being pulled. The small skiff was momentarily powerless until he turned the power back on and lunged for the comm system. There was another ship in his proximity and he broadcasted out to them.

"Who the fuck are you?!"

Paladienne

  • Guest
Re: Rule Two [Lion]
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2018, 09:59:49 am »
“Midi, we’re secure. Bring us in.”

The cables went taut and Kyrian held tight to the skiff as it lurched forward. The great maw of Midian’s hangar loomed wide open before him, and in just a few minutes, he and the skiff and the skiff’s occupant would be safe inside. Then, the real challenge would start.

“Who the fuck are you?!”

Kyrian winced as the male voice sounded in his helmet, loud and angry at the same time it sounded panicked. It surprised him the skiff’s occupant was even conscious after the damage the craft had sustained. He’d have bet his paycheck that the person inside would be unconscious or at least too weak to do anything but sit there and try to breathe. And it made his job just that much harder, because an awake person was far more uncooperative than an unconscious person. Still, he couldn’t blame the occupant of the skiff; he’d be pretty pissed off too if someone just happened to come by and started dragging him in without even a hail.

“Excuse you!” shouted Midian, her voice echoing in the wake of the man’s outburst. “I think we’re saving your life!”

Kyrian knew better than to say anything, either to try and mollify Midi or to remind her this had been her idea, and he didn’t see the point in wasting the breath trying to get either of them to calm down and convince them that it would be just fine, let’s all just cooperate, and things would work out. The truth was, it was happening, whether the man in the skiff wanted it or not, and they were rescuing him because that’s what Midian had wanted to do. They both would just have to live with the consequences, and so would he. He would just have to be extra cautious when he met the man face-to-face. Even injured, a person could do quite a bit of damage if they felt threatened and cornered.

They were pulled into the hangar and Kyrian released his hold on the skiff to take hold of one of the cables so he could pull himself to the floor. As soon as the skiff cleared the hanger doors, they began to close.

Midian’s voice huffed out. “Hangar doors sealed. Pressurizing in three... two... one... Breathable atmosphere is now available. You can take off your helmet now.”

Kyrian nodded, pulling off the helmet and setting it on the floor out of the way. Then he slowly approached the skiff, hands up in a sign of peace and showing he was, currently, unarmed. He stopped at a decent distance in front of the cracked window, allowing the man inside to see as much of him as he could. First impressions meant quite a bit in Kyrian’s line of business, and he didn’t want to end up shot, which was usually how these kinds of things went.

He took a deep breath. “Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, but I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to do anything to you. You’re safe now. So, you can come out of that tin can, get some medical attention, something to eat. Some real rest.”

He wasn’t sure if his words reached the man, or even if the man understood him. He also wasn’t sure if the occupant of the skiff would be able to get out on his own. That one side was completely crushed, and there was no telling what internal damage had been done by the man’s attempt to survive. Never mind that neither he nor Midian knew exactly how injured the occupant himself was, and wouldn’t until they could get him into medical and give him a proper scan. But Kyrian could - and likely would, if the man took too long to come out, or if Midian picked up the physical signs of distress or detected the man had passed out - get in there with some effort. But he didn’t want to just start ripping panels off the skiff if the man would come out on his own. People tended to react badly when they saw him lifting something no human should ordinarily be able to lift.

“I promise,” Kyrian continued, “we’re not going to hurt you. Let us help you.”

He stayed where he was, hands up, waiting to see what the man in the skiff would decide.

Offline Lion

Re: Rule Two [Lion]
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2018, 01:10:36 pm »
"FUCK YOU! WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU ARE! DON'T TELL ME WHO I OUGHT TO OWE MY GRATITUDE TO, YOU FUCKWAD!" The aggression that took the edge of his voice left him hoarse and thirsting for water. The little bit left he had in his canteen wasn't going to last and pissing wasn't ideal when your bed was going to end up being your toilet. The skiff wasn't designed for long distance travel. Didn't even have a jump drive.

And despite that aggression he knew that bark was going to do him no good.

Grisham didn't give two fucks who they really were or if they were going to try and 'help him'. Help themselves it was more like it. Grisham kept the charge on the rifle handy as the skiff was gradually pulled into the larger ship's hangar. He was half tempted to activate whatever was left in his fuel reserves to resist the tethers and pull himself back out into space.

Maybe if the trajectory was right he'd land right on Cancer station and he could swindle his way back to Aedolis.

But then the ship was in and he could see the other guy that was speaking between the male and female voices on the comm, take his helmet off, still standing in his void suit.  Grisham's heart was throbbing wildly in his chest and he knew that any desperation would make his trigger finger itchy and someone would end up a nasty splatter on the wall. 

He didn't believe him of course. He didn't care what rules he had or what he was promised. Grisham had seen those tactics before. Had used them. And it was just as well that he promised food and sanctum only to turn around and throw him into the brig.  His head hurt, and that feeling of disconnection made his vision foggy.  Grisham blinked hard, wishing Haruxhir could hear him. Feel him still.

But all there was was silence, and it made his head throb from the withdrawal.

A low slow and steady breath in, and a slow and steady breath out.  Then his hand hit exit panel, the door unlocking from where it'd been previously stuck, the exit chamber equating pressure, and he held the gun across his chest, leveled with his eye, helmet still firmly screwed into place on his void suit.

"What the fuck do you want?" he demanded levelly, managing to remain this calm and not reach into that man's mind to tear out his thoughts. Just enough. The lack of connection with his dragon made it difficult to even focus the gun sights on him. But he remained level as he stepped out the side of the skiff, remaining part of the way in, the only thing visible was the maw of that plasma rifle.  "Why? Why bother? I don't need fucking exposition. Just a quick answer 'fore I turn you into tomato soup."

Paladienne

  • Guest
Re: Rule Two [Lion]
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2018, 01:57:39 pm »
Well.

It was going about as expected.

Kyrian kept his hands up and kept himself still, even as he could hear Midian growling about ungrateful jerks.

That was expected, too. He only hoped the other man couldn’t hear her, because he really didn’t want this situation getting any worse.

He almost found himself wishing that the guy would just pass out, but he wasn’t sure if that would be a worse option than what he was already facing. Probably was.

Kyrian tensed as he heard the skiff door’s unlocking mechanism whirr and then open. He wasn’t sure what to expect. The man inside obviously didn’t enjoy the fact that he’d been picked up, and he didn’t enjoy the fact that he was essentially trapped with no way out. Midi was already in a huff over the man’s attitude toward her, and the fact that Kyrian took off his helmet was all that was keeping her from deciding that she regretted her decision to pick up the asshole and shoot him back out into the vacuum of space. Couldn’t very well suck all the air out of the hangar and not kill him, too, now could she?

Then he saw the shadow of the man in the doorway, still in his void suit, still helmeted, and now wielding a plasma rifle.

Well, shit.

Situation now thoroughly worse.

But, that, at least, he understood. After all, the man was somewhere unfamiliar, being held by unfamiliar people, all after experiencing whatever bad he’d experienced. It was little wonder the guy was so suspicious. Kyrian would be, too, if he was just suddenly scooped up by unknown entities. But he also saw the way the gun wavered, how the man was leaning more against the skiff than standing on his own power, and how he seemed just barely strong enough to stay upright. The man was practically dead on his feet, and it was pure stubbornness keeping him upright. However, Kyrian knew better than to make a sudden move. He knew that a situation like this was ‘shoot first, sort ‘em out later’, especially when the person wielding the gun seemed a little unstable. After all, it could be all an act.

Didn’t seem like one, but could be.

Keeping his hands up, Kyrian stared, not down the barrel of the plasma rifle but at the helmet of the man, as if he could see the man’s eyes. “She,” he waved his index finger to one side, “wanted to pick you up. I would’ve left your sorry ass to rot in that tin can.”

Midi’s image flickered into existence then, her hands on her hips, her expression decidedly angry, upset by the man’s reaction to her heroics. Her eyes were narrowed as she glowered at the man holding the rifle, and she snapped out, “Sorry for being a good samaritan! Gee, I don’t know, maybe we don’t want anything! Why do people always have to want something for doing a good deed? Maybe we just felt like it!”

Kyrian sighed quietly, silently hoping Midi hadn’t just escalated their situation. He looked back to the man. “Look, did you really want to die out there? Or do you want to look at this like a chance to get back to wherever you came from?”

Offline Lion

Re: Rule Two [Lion]
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2018, 06:29:02 pm »
If only the fuzz in his brain would go away. If only the ringing in his ears would just stop. And if only that shrew of an AI would just shut the fuck up. Because other wise, dealing with Mr. Captain Savior Man over here would be easy peasy booby squeezy. Grisham’s hand on the rifle almost buckled with the effort he needed to concentrate. But at least leaning on the skiff helped mitigate that. Ugh, for once in his life he was glad he got divorced.

This guy…whatever his name was, he was all right. Straightforward and to the point. He could deal with that. It was easier to know what the intention was without a harpy cawing down at him. But just when Grisham was about to respond, the harpy showed up. And not even the hot Kiers sister either.

Grisham was too irritated to focus, and the drowsiness of not having eaten and drank anything decent for the last…however long…was starting to get to him. He could shoot the guy, probably would if he gave him a reason too, but then that damn AI would likely take command of the ship in the event of his likely death, and throw him out the airlock.

Those weren’t good odds for getting back.

Maybe finding a way to override her sorry annoying ass was ideal, then he could kill him, and commandeer the ship back to Aedolis.  Yeah, that seemed like a much better idea. In either case Grisham had a hard time believing that this ‘good samaritan’ just didn’t happen to want anything. Because that was either true and he was biggest idiot in this quadrant of the galaxy. Or he was really shit at taking prisoners.

Grisham pushed himself from where he laid perched against the skiff, only holding the rifle halfway up, but clearly having no intention to fire. He walked passed Kyrian, and gave the holographic image of the ship’s AI a half-grinned sneer. “Boy I do not miss that. Call off your wife, then we can talk,” he growled, easing the gun down against his chest and having enough energy to cross the flight bay.  The logos on his flight suit and armor were evident, he wasn’t going to take them off just yet. Nor was he going to allow himself to be disarmed.

Paladienne

  • Guest
Re: Rule Two [Lion]
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2018, 08:00:38 pm »
Wife?” Midian started. “I’m not his-“

“Stop.” Kyrian snapped, his low voice a thunder-crack despite its monotone. “That’s enough.”

The look in her eyes warned him that he was treading on thin ice. Well, that was just fine, because Kyrian felt like he was already treading on thin ice anyway, what with their “guest” giving him what amounted to an order. The way he carried himself, despite his exhaustion, was that of a proud man, a man who expected his orders to be followed, who expected to be obeyed. Kyrian recognized the way the man walked past him as being predatory, the swagger of his step exposing those logos emblazoned upon the man’s flight suit and armor like a wolf exposed his teeth to warn off potential enemies. A silent warning of the potential danger, as if the gun wasn’t deterrent enough.

Kyrian quite disliked being threatened, silently or otherwise. But, he knew he’d already made it seem as if he wasn’t much of a threat to the man, that he was either an idiot, a fool, or both. Better to play along until he had no other choice but to reveal what he was, and what he was capable of.

Kyrian quickly signed a few words to Midi, and it was with a huff that her image flickered out of existence. He knew she was still watching, still listening. Kyrian couldn’t be sure if the man had figured out that Midi was the ship, the vessel’s own sentience, and not just a typical AI, but there was no reason to reveal that secret, either, if he hadn’t figured it out. Let the man believe what he would. He had his secrets and Kyrian would keep his. No point in sharing if neither were interested in learning, after all.

No point in offering up the information if there was nothing really to gain by it, either.

There wasn’t much in the hanger to be used as common furniture, mostly large crates that were tied or bolted down or smaller crates kept still by thick netting, so Kyrian wasn’t quite sure what the man’s intentions were, or where he thought he was going. Anything more comfortable wouldn’t be found here, but rather in the deeper interior of the ship, and Kyrian wasn’t about to start escorting this stranger through his home until they figured out what kind of deal they were going to make and had irrevocably agreed to it. But, ever cautious, Kyrian followed the man across the hangar, keeping the same amount of distance between them as one would a rattlesnake, out of striking distance but still close enough to hear that telltale rattle and know possible death was lurking nearby. Even a hunting hawk had to beware when taking on something that dangerous, despite the fact the hawk’s talons could cut faster than the snake’s fangs.

“All right,” Kyrian said after enough silence had passed, “let’s talk.”

 

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