As everyone else filtered out of the War Room, Stryker fiddled with the holotable controls, loading up the images and data files he'd need for Taleste's briefing.
"Alright" he began, beckoning her to step in for a closer look "So for this mission to even have a chance of succeeding, you're gonna have to blend in perfectly with these pirates. Like I said in the briefing, they're mostly human and have a bizarre obsession with an ancient Earth civilization called the Vikings."
A hologram of several pirate women popped up from the holotable.
"Thanks to that Aliance squad's recon, we know that they've finished raiding the settlement, so in keeping with their cultural beliefs, they're celebrating. They'll still be armed but unarmored. We have this imagery of some of their female warriors, to give you an idea of what they look like out of armor: common hairstyles, clothing, the way they show off their bodies to men they want to take as their own, and most importantly, the war paint they wear on their faces. I don't have any exact data, but the common belief is the patterns of the paint denote things like tribe, rank, belief in the gods, stuff like that. Having this paint be picture perfect is perhaps the pass or fail moment of this job. If a single line is out of place, anyone of stature will know, but that's nothing to worry about for a woman of your talents."
The hologram women shrunk and shifted off to the side as an overhead image of the settlement filled the holotable. Taleste was watching intently, completely serious for the first time that Stryker had ever seen her. Here was an actual job with a lot at stake resting solely on her shoulders. What was more important was that it was a true test of the proud thief's skills.
"As you can see, there's really just one main entrance to the township, so you'll have to pass right through the gates and through the celebrations to reach the target. Here." he pointed at a stately, three-story building "On the top floor, main office, there's a computer terminal. They sent me login credentials so you can gain access. That terminal is the only exterior control point for the doors to the subterranean facility, you get in there, access the controls, then get out, simple right? There's one possible obstacle, that all depends on what this particular gathering believes in. Usually the leaders of the hunting party will take a building that signifies power as their living quarters for the duration of the raid and the celebrations. If that's the case here, common members of the hunting party wouldn't be allowed inside, but there's a simple way around that, look for the biggest, meanest woman you can spot, odds are she lays with one of the leaders, accuse her of some slight against yourself, then slit her throat, in full view of the men. One of them will be impressed, it's just their way, and he'll want you to join him inside. Incapacitate him once you're alone and proceed to the terminal. Any questions?"
Taleste nodded, staring at the holograph. "Sev'ral questions. First, do we 'uve any information on 'ow they act? Whut's acceptable and taboo? In fact, lit'rully any information on them, no matter 'ow seemingly irell'vant, I'd like access to. It's thuh little things that give you away in these situations. Secon', 'ow am I meant to win a fight against a fully-trained warrior who I've made marself the focal point of? I wouldn't say I'm a bad fighter but my specialty is stealth."
"I'll give you a copy of the files we have on them for you to study up. I'll summarize the chapter on behavior really quickly- act like an absolute savage, walk around that camp like you own the place. As for how you'll deal with the warrior, we've already cooked up a little cheat for you." Stryker reached in his pocket and pulled out a small palm-sized black box, he pulled up the cover and handed it over to Taleste, inside was a golden ring with a long thin needle protruding out from the side of the band.
"You'll wear this ring as part of the disguise, the needle should fit neatly between two of your fingers. It's loaded with a neurotoxin Harriet made that'll disorient, or maybe even paralyze the woman you choose to fight. The key will be to hit her first, blind side her if you have to, jab it in her neck and the fight is yours. I guess fight wouldn't exactly be the best word, execution is probably more fitting."
Talest took the box, shut it and grinned. "So, I discreetly nip thuh whun in the neck with this, then I make a large public showing of guttin' her neck with a knife when everywhun's watching?" she asked.
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Stryker said as he shifted his attention to copying all the intel files to a portable datapad "Oh, and you'll probably get some blood on yourself during the act, don't wipe it away, apparently it's considered quite a.... pleasing look among some of the more vicious males, if you catch my drift. And since this is a culture that revolves around the taking of life, it wouldn't be too much of a leap to assume that the vicious ones are the ones in charge, ergo they'll have access to the building with the terminal. Consider it the art of seduction.... through the eyes of complete savages anyway. Keep the ring on too, should be enough in the needle's storage capsule for a second dose, if you want to play it that way once you get one of these leader-types to bring you inside. Last thing before I leave you to get ready, have your comms earpiece close at hand, but don't wear it outright. The rest of us will be quite a way out from the town, but once you've accessed the door controls, get in touch and I'll send someone back to rendevous."
He finished copying the data files for her and slid the datapad across the holotable.
"Everything we have on them is there for you to read. Like I said to everyone before, you've got a few hours to read up and get your disguise ready, I'll find you just before we enter the system to go over any last minute questions and details."
The next three hours passed in relative silence, Stryker kept himself occupied by reading over the intel files again, looking for any additional information that could make Taleste's job easier. With just under an hour to go, he pulled on his armor and marched up to the cockpit to help Tibulus guide the ship through the planet's atmosphere. The plan was to come in on the far side of the planet and cruise to the landing zone in low-power, not give the Skaldurm any inkling they were coming. Looking below, Stryker caught his first glimpse of the lush forestry that covered most of the planet and he began a radar scan to locate a clearing big enough to set the ship down. Five minutes out, Stryker left the cockpit and headed down to the crew quarters to grab Taleste. He stopped in front of her room and knocked on the door.
"Hey, you ready?"
A viking emerged from Talestes room. It took a few seconds of close scrutiny to see the thief underneath her makeup. The only shortfalling in her appearence, dress, body language or facial expression was that she was a little on the scrawny, slender side. Even when she spoke, her voice contained none of her natural accent and was mimicking perfectly the recordings she had listened to.
"Let us go forward," She replied pushing past him as she walked ahead with a masculine air of power she had never shown before.
The disguise was impeccable, Stryker wouldn't have recognized her at all, if not for knowing beforehand what she would look like when the door opened. The attitude and accent were spot-on as well. He grinned as he set off behind her.
"Wait for me down by the shuttles, I've gotta grab something from upstairs."
He went on ahead of her and clambered back up the steps to the Command Deck. One last check on the radar scans up in the cockpit and a quick stop by the armory later and Stryker was on the elevator headed down. As instructed, Taleste was waiting for him in the Cargo Bay.
"Your weapons" he said holding up a small black case "Grayson did a complete tune-up on your gun and knife. He also managed to whip up a little something to help you fit in- a fully-functioning Skaldurm Vibro-axe. Let's get moving."
They hopped inside the foremost shuttle, with a few flicks of the wrist and a quick call up to the cockpit, the cargo ramp began to lower and the shuttle's engine hummed to life. They darted out from the ship over the tops of the trees, keeping as low as possible to avoid premature detection.
"The township is about ten kilometers out, can't bring you right up to the door obviously, but I think we'll be safe if I let you out just under a kilo away. Don't be nervous, I know you can do this, you've got everything you need: the neurotoxin ring, the terminal login key, comms if you run into any trouble at all. The look, the accent, the mentality.... fits you like a glove."
He was mostly talking to fill the silence, but part of it was to satiate his own nervous feelings. The entire mission rested on her success. Stryker was confident in the woman's abilities, how could he not be after working alongside her for all this time? But still there was that nagging in his head.... what if she couldn't pull this off?
He kept the conversation light the rest of the way, finally he spotted the spotted the town shining like a beacon in the dull evening light. He started to pitch the shuttle down for a landing, setting off a radar pulse to make sure they were alone.
"Alright, this is your stop... Good luck." he said as the shuttle touched the ground and the side hatch popped open.
Taleste showed no nerves. It was as if she had stopped being a usually careful thief playing the part of a viking and had become a viking. She naturally held little conversation, for under the facade, Taleste was indeed nervous, but this was not the first time she had done something like this, and it would not be the last if she could help it. Survival was, as always her first loyalty. The crew came second. If she had to join the vikings in order to be spared, then she was going to do it.
Leaving the hatch and walking for about ten minutes gave Taleste her last pocket of time to shed her true self and become a native. By the time she reached the settlement, she was practicaly indiatinguishable from the real deal.
The leader of the Skaldurm raiding party, a hulk of a man named Nico Chareon, guffawed deeply from his hastily-constructed throne of sandbags and bedding. One of his war chiefs had suggested pitting the surviving soldiers against one of their warriors in a series of gladiator-like battles. They'd told the soldiers if any of them won, they and the civilians would be free to go if any of them won, not that any of them had even the slighest chance of victory.
He clapped, cheered, and drank deeply from his ale as his warrior slew yet another of the worthless
rybak. The pile of bodies grew greater. As he awaited the next fight, he glanced up and looked around the town square. Bonfires dotted the landscape, his warriors drinking and dancing, revelling in another glorious victory. Some were still raiding, tearing through the empty houses for unclaimed treasures to bring back to the fleet. His captains sat around him, on similarly constructed seats of bedding and pillows, drinking and enjoying the sport in the cool night air.
Taleste had little trouble sneaking into the camp in the midst of the celebrations. Once in, she strutted around, grinning and twirling her axe in her hand as she circulated around. She had little trouble locating the leader and his captains. Now she just had to find the largest, meanest looking woman she could find, and make sure that they were visible to the important men.
Nico stroked at his beard, pulling at a knotted tangle as he watched the fight unfold rather uneventfully. The Alliance soldier wasn't fighting to kill, rather he was simply trying to survive. That would not suffice. His tankard was empty and in a bid to invoke some excitement, stood suddenly and tossed it at the Alliance soldier.
"COME ON!" he bellowed "FIGHT FOR YOUR HONOR MAGGOT, FIGHT FOR YOUR PASSAGE TO VALHALLA!"
He cast his gaze over to the huddle of still-living Alliance soldiers and continued.
"ODIN DECREES THAT ANY MAN OR WOMAN WHO DOES NOT FIGHT WITH EFFORT WILL NOT DIE WITH HONOR, THEIR LIFE WILL BE SPARED ONLY UNTIL IT LEARNS HUMILITY, THROUGH A PAIN WHICH IT HAD NEVER KNOWN BEFORE!"
He sat again, and noticed that the Alliance man currently fighting with Deivar was suddenly much more aggressive, as intended by his little speech.
"Sinara," he said to the woman on his left, one of his many warrior-wives "Would you please fetch me more ale? In fact, fetch us all more ale, and you shall be granted the glory of the next fight when Deivar tires."
Sinara, before leaving the men's line of sight, would be stopped by a much smaller woman, who quickly and subtly smiled a mocking smile before discreetly bringing her hand up to the amazon's neck. She would feel a small pinching stinging sensation. That's when Taleste got back into character and began angrily shouting, attracting the attention of the men towards the two of them. "Sinara!" she bellowed with more power than her frame semed to allow, whilst poiting er axe at the larger woman. "We did not finish our last battle when you left me for dead! Now you will pay for your insult of not finishing me off!"
Taleste waited for the viking to draw her weapon, before knocking the sluggish toxin-affected strike that came her way away as if it required no effort on her part, before performing an almost theatrical leaping spinning axe blow right between Sinara's eyes. Blood and brain showered Taleste, and all of those standing nearby. Taleste then gave a kick to the dead viking's chest, separating them from the axe and sending them sprawling to the ground.
Nico had just given a quick signal to Deivar to stop toying with the soldier when he heard the shouting and the hum of the vibro-axe. the distraction gave the Alliance soldier and opportunity to knock Deivar down and stood poised to deliver a killing strike. However, Nico caught the flash of movement in the corner of his eye, drew out an energy pistol from behind him and quickly shot the soldier in the head. He stood and walked over to the dimunutive blood-soaked woman who stood over Sinara's corpse. He felt a slight sadness, seeing her lying dead, without glory, but his face reflected no emotion. He stood over this unknown woman and reached up to gently grasp her chin, pulling her face from side to side as he observed her. Through the blood splatter on her face, he studied the markings and learned that she flew with the berserkers, was lowborn, and was fairly new to their ranks. He certainly wasn't expecting to find a woman so small among his berserkers, but stranger things have happened. With a hand still on her face, he spoke in a low voice.
"You're very new, yet not green enough to be without dispute, or blood on your hands. You are familiar with the laws of Odin, yes?" From the sultry smile on her face, he knew the answer was yes. turning back to the onlooking crowd, he made a declaration.
"Sinara has stood by me for years, she always fought with an exudence of bravery and a beauty of skill, but she knew the laws, as do I. And in keeping with those laws, this woman has earned her chance to stand where Sinara once did. Continue with the fights, or kill them all, I don't care. as I now retire for the night."
He returned his gaze to Taleste.
"You want to be a queen do you? I shall grant you your opportunity personally. Come."
After her positive responce of nodding and smiling slyly, he took her hand and began to walk, guiding her to the tall marble-white building he had claimed as quarters. The door was locked down via usual Alliance methods, keycard access and biometric scans. His guard at the door produced a severed hand and the key to unlock the steel-reinforced door, and stepped out of the way to let Nico and Taleste through. The door swung shut behind them, Nico guided the berserker into a large, dimly-lit room a few doors removed from the main hall. Just a few days ago it had been someone's office, now all the furniture was either upended and stacked against the wall, or removed entirely, replaced with bedding.
Now alone with her, Nico shrugged off his fur-lined coat and tunic, exposing his scarred and tattooed chest to her. With arousal apparent on his face, he stepped over to her.
"You're very beautiful, and if your display against Sinara is anything to go by, we'll have lots of fun together. You must tell me your name
shusaan" he ducked his head sideways to lap at a rivulet of blood running down her neck, as his hands ran up her back tugging lightly at the hem of her shirt.
"You wish to know my name first?" Taleste asked in a sultry tone. "In that case, consider it my honor to remind you of your priorities." And with that, she lifted his chin and kissed him hungrily. But this was to serve another purpose. This was to stop him shouting out, as she lifted her ringed hand and jammed the needle into his neck. She had only used enough to make Sinara a little sluggish, so there was plenty of the drug left for this pervert. To stop him trying to struggle free, she bit his tongue, and kept a tight hold of him until the effects of the drug carries out and then lowered his unconscious body onto the bed.
With that done, she then, without as much worry, made her way upstairs to the computer terminal, then took out her comms device, switching it on and raising it to her mouth. "Stryker. I'm in the Terminal room. Tell me what I'm looking for."
Over on the desolate plateau, Stryker and the others were sitting around, guns at the ready in case the mission went pear-shaped. He jumped like an electric current had ran through him when Taleste's voice filled his ears.
"Good to hear things are going well." he said, bringing up the mission details on his suit's HUD "Ok, with the Alliance login credentials you should have access to Level 9 clearance. There's a secondary password to access that server, ready for it? Ok enter XD8FC06431BLUI. Find the file coded RDF-003 and inside that will be the command list. Engage the Gateway Override Protocol and get out of there. I'll spool up the shuttle and head out for the rendevous point as soon as you're ready."
Taleste sat down at the terminal, and followed the instructions, engaging the Gateway Override Protocol. Once that was done, she stood up and headed swiftly to the exit of the room. "It is done," she spoke into her comms, resuming her viking persona.
Pounding footsteps echoed down the empty hallway as Skaldurm warriors came stomping into view. At the head of them, holding a double-bladed vibro-axe was Nico. Blood streamed out of both corners of his mouth, and his shoulders were sagging greatly. His movement and the greenish tinge on his face suggested he was feeling the effects of the neurotoxin, but the large dosage hadn't been enough to keep him out for long.
"GRAB HER!" He yelled as he spotted Taleste. His warriors moved in quickly, dashing past him to secure the imposter. As he staggered forward, using every effort to stay standing under his own weight, a flash of light caught his eye. Turning to the window, he saw a sporadic pulse of red light flashing out over the plains away from the settlement, disappearing into the night sky.
'So there are more of them he thought.
"They got me," spoken in a cheery, relaxed tone was the simple, ominous reply that Stryker's comms would pick up above the background noise of angry Skaldrum warriors rushing into the terminal room. Taleste then switched her comms off and dropped her axe, readily surrendering. Smiling with the confident aura of a woman who knew that her life was not in danger as long as she could make a case for her own survival being profitable.
