OUTER SPACE > Open Space

Arrival [Rhi]

(1/2) > >>

GIR:
To the casual observer, the desert was empty for miles around the coordinates Sarah had sent, the sand apparently undisturbed by even so much as animal tracks, the wind little more than a gentle breeze. Beneath the seemingly undisturbed ground, however, three rings of turrets protected by several layers of shielding based on her most recent designs for the Sassy Juice's own formed a virtually unbroken perimeter around the area, ensuring that any spot within it and the mile radius around it was covered by at least three turrets of each of several types, designed to provide as impenetrable a defense as the better part of two days of near-sleepless (for her species, anyway) work could accomplish, what with two similar sites being set up in other areas as decoys, one of which had been set up close enough to a fortress to provoke a response and, if it functioned as planned, tie up the forces of that clan to lower the chances of a patrol blundering into the true LZ, and reinforced with enough artillery to (hopefully) make it too much of a threat to ignore.

Sarah herself waited for the arrival of the Sassy Juice in a bunker buried deep beneath the sand, its thick walls coated on the outermost layer by a shell of nahrium to absorb any ground-penetrating radar or heat from the pressure of the earth and stone around and above it, tinkering with her latest project as she mentally counted down the time until the ship would arrive, making adjustments to what looked suspiciously like the torso, legs, and tail of an android made in the image of one of her own species, an incomplete skull lying nearby.

As the time until the ship was supposed to be landing drew into the tenths of a second, Sarah climbed the ladder that lead to a hatch near the surface, then converted enough earth and sand into earth magic, and then rock walls to hold the sand out over what she'd already made around the hatch before installing it to climb the rest of the way, arriving on the surface at precisely the moment the Sassy Juice should have reached the landing site, every sense alert for any hint of an enemy presence.

Rhi-Rhi:
After scanning to ensure a safe landing, the Sassy Juice touched down, sand and dust billowing up all around it and creating a small dust storm.

Which, of course, wasn't ideal. Ari knew they were going to have to be quick, because there was no way this wouldn't draw attention, if those oversized lizards were near. But these were the coordinates he'd been given, and he knew Sarah was a smart cookie; she wouldn't hide out somewhere where she'd be a sitting duck.

Inside the Sassy Juice, Sitara was an anxious wreck. She paced her room, her bag with her meager supplies slung over her shoulder, and tried her best to calm down and not have a bloody heart attack. It was difficult, though; this was the last place in all the universe that she wanted to be, on a suicide mission. Yet here she was, because she really had no goddamned choice.

A knock came at her door, making her violently jolt.

"Alright, princess. This is your stop," came Ari's voice. "Hurry up now, I ain't got all day."

And it wasn't going to get any easier by stalling, was it?

Either way, she didn't really have a choice. Ari had been tasked to deliver her, and she didn't see any way out of this.

"Don't gotta nag me, I know," she growled back before she punched the door open and marched out past Ari, tail floofed in agitation.

Minutes later, she found herself outside with Ari, practically dancing in place with nerves as a being who looked, to Sitara, very much like a Rividean came climbing out of her makeshift bunker. Her heart lodged itself in her throat and she edged back away from the Draconian even as Ari flashed the reptile a bright grin.

"Hey there, sugartits," he greeted with a wink, a joke because Sarah was neither sweet nor did she have tits. "Miss me? 'Cause I missed ya. C'mon, darlin'! Gimme a hug!"

GIR:
<Forget my name again, Captain?>, Sarah groused privately to Ari as she switched her sight to the magical plane to give the ship a once-over. There likely weren't any Rivideans in range even if she used public telepathy, but Sarah knew well and good that it didn't pay to take unnecessary risks when playing the rebellion game. <I see your monkeys have been taking care of the ship decently enough. You, however, haven't. Something's put a lot of stress on one of the docking ports recently.>, she continued, making a note to inspect that when she got back. As she waited for a response, Sarah switched her sight back to the physical to look over the new scent she'd caught. A Feylini, practically reeking of sweat and fear and altogether looking almost nothing like a pirate, a filecase of Sarah's design hovering near her.

Several things happened in rapid succession as Sarah noticed the Feylini was wearing what was unmistakably a slave collar of Hestari design. The first was Sarah storming up to Ari, a fresh eruption of sand between her afterimage and Ari the only sign that she hadn't teleported, with a telepathic yell too fast to register as more than a sharp screech accompanying a roar laced with destruction magic that cracked parts of the ship facing them and kicked up another blast of sand. The second was that she caught the familiar scent, a tree native to Hesta that was typically used to carve ship insignias to give to those officers lucky enough to command flagships. The third was Sarah, tail blade at Ari's throat, appearing in front of the Feylini and taking a closer look at the crest on the collar. All in the space of a tenth of a second. <Does the name Rhevi Varrah mean anything to you?>, Sarah asked the Feylini privately, teeth bared in an almost-grin in a very Hestari way, all 5'1" of her in a very aggressive posture, <Answer carefully. His life depends on it.>, she continued, checking the insignia on the medallion. <That's the one for the Teshari. That's Rhevi's ship alright.>, she thought to herself in Hestari.

The gears turned in Sarah's head even as she waited for the Feylini's response. The medallion wasn't something Rhevi would give to just anyone, and there was no way a Feylini with a Hestari slave collar would have been able to overpower him to steal it. The fact that he'd given it to the Feylini, a slave, meant he'd wanted to send a message. A message Ari and his crew wouldn't necessarily know the meaning of, but that Sarah would. Sarah's tail blade moved slightly away from Ari's throat as she worked out the meaning of the medallion, and Sarah immediately grabbed the filecase and slid the data card within into her wrist terminal, going over the contents in a matter of milliseconds, mostly just skimming the contract to get the important bits. As soon as she finished, Sarah waited for the Feylini's response, now less interested in the content and more interested in how she spoke, her tail returning to its usual position of all but the last four feet of it wrapped around her waist as she glared at Ari. <Did you know?>, she hissed privately to him.

Rhi-Rhi:
Well, how's that for a fine how do you do.

For not the first time, Ari found himself at the end of Sarah's tail blade, head ringing from her silent--but still thunderous--roar. A roar that didn't quite cover up the sound of his ship cracking in places. A full-body cringe went through him that was punctuated by the cool sensation of Sarah's blade against his throat. Though he wanted nothing more than to turn and survey the damage done to his baby, he also sort of valued his life and respected her blade.

What.

The.

Fuck?

Sucking in a sharp breath and blinking dust from his eyes, his fingers brushed against the gun at his thigh holster. Sarah wasn't looking at him, was instead rounding on the Feylini, but he waited, kept his calm even as his heart beat a steady, heightened rhythm. Wouldn't be the first time someone had fucked him over, and he wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in Sarah's skull if that's how this was going down. Whatever the hell was going down. He didn't have a goddamned clue.

But not yet. He knew what she was capable of. Wouldn't do to be hasty.

"Rhevi delivered me to him!" Sitara was saying, obviously in response to something Ari couldn't hear. She was trembling, startled by how blindingly fast Sarah was, every prey instinct firing off in her brain and telling her to run, run, run. But her legs felt too heavy, too shaky, and instead she just stood there, frozen, as Sarah inspected her collar and the medallion she wore. "He gave me all this! The case and things! Said you'd understand."

Oh gods, she could practically count all of Sarah's teeth!

She seemed to be calming, though, and Ari could breathe again as soon as she'd lowered the blade.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talkin' 'bout. Did I know what?" he growled as he rubbed his neck, all humor gone, hand still at his gun. "What the shit was that about? Because I'm about five seconds off from decidin' ya ain't welcome back."

Oh, they'd gotten physical, sure. He was pretty damned sure he still had some old bruises lingering from when she didn't take a joke so well. But there'd been no joking about that.

GIR:
As Sarah listened to Sitara's answer, she surveyed and repaired the damage to the ship, realizing that she had judged the situation far too quickly and owed Ari an apology. For the moment, however... <Yeah. I skimmed over the contract while I was waiting for an answer. It's why my tailblade isn't at Ari's throat right now.>, Sarah answered, including both Ari and Sitara in the response, <Did you know that Rhevi was delivering a slave?>, she clarified, <If so, why didn't you warn me?>, she asked.

<As to what that was, and before you answer,>, Sarah began privately to Ari before he could answer, her head lowering slightly, <I've never told anyone but you this, and would appreciate you doing the same.>. Sarah took a few breaths, a surprisingly human gesture, if it had been slow enough to be seen, <Sarah isn't the name I was born with. It was given to me. By Rhevi's older sister.>, she explained, <There's a reason I've always hated humans, Ari, and it's not just because of how slow and weak they are. My... Thing they called me. Not a name. Names are for things that matter... It was Delta-23. I was just one of 23 eggs stolen from a ship I don't remember. The slavers weren't Rhevi's sort. They were more like the Rivideans, if the Rivideans kept their end of contracts.> Sarah's 'voice' was quiet, in stark contrast to her usual loud, brash 'tone'.

<The less said about them, the better. The point is, I hate humans. I hate slavers more. The only reason Hestari are different is because they aren't cruel without reason. At least, Kelly wasn't. Everything I know about machines, she taught me. Science, robotics, math, measurements, even a decent bit of programming and how to read and write. I wouldn't know any of it if it weren't for her. She's even the one who set me free.> Sarah's 'voice' had a strong note of admiration as she spoke of Kelly, <Long story short, you delivering a slave was like me serving you human flesh. Worse, even. It was a confirmation of everything I hate about humans, and I reacted before thinking. Honestly, if I hadn't caught the scent of that medallion, you'd be dead, and it wouldn't even be justified. I... Vahreh Sarah senahlu ekahsenei. I don't know how to say it in your language. Deeper than 'sorry'.>. The Hestari words had a deeply apologetic 'note' to them.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page