[IC] Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

[Penny]

It took nearly a week for the Karma Hazu to complete the voyage to Cylonieka. Partly this was to do with the distance as Hahn was an unusually isolated system, but mostly it was because the megafreighter simply didn’t accelerate to the kind of speeds that would be a matter of course for smaller vessels like the Highlander. Without friction there was no practical limit, short of the speed of light, to the speed a vessel could attain, but even in zero gravity inertia had to be accounted for. There was little point in accelerating for two or three days to build up speed, and then decelerating for the same amount of time, if it would only save you two or three days in transit even before you factored in the cost of fuel you had expended.

“Extracting,” Taya reported as the countdown clock on her terminal flicked down the last few seconds. Sayeeda felt her soul leave her body as the ship continued to accelerate away from her, attenuating her for long and agonising seconds before she snapped back into place. Indra, sitting in one of the infrequently used jumpseats was moaning quietly and Taya appeared gray and vacant for a moment before she blinked and straightened up. Neil and Saxon seemed unaffected by the extraction, though that was as likely to be because their discomfort was more internal than that it hadn’t occurred. Science was unable to adequately explain the hallucinations and delusions that accompanied transitions to and from the RIP but no sentient race yet discovered was immune to the effect. That an effect was so consistent across so many radically different biologies kept philosophers babbling but in practical terms it just meant all races found space travel equally unpleasant.

The Highlander shuddered as the Karma Hazu began to fire its attitude thrusters, correcting its course toward the systems distant sun. Precision jumping over long distances was not easy and all but the most elite naval units usually had to make a supplemental jump with more accurate positioning data to arrive at their destiation. Fortunately for the Highlander, luck appeared to be on the side of the Karma Hazu and her unwitting passenger as they were less than a light minute from the primary world of the system.

The Cylonieka system had six planets ranging from a sunbaked rock that was perpetually bathed in the light of the systems blue white star, to an icebound dustball barely ensnared by its gravity. Unusually, the system boasted two habitable worlds, Cylonieka itself, a primarily ocean world scattered with thousands of islands ranging from a few acres to several thousand hectares, and Coreyana, a moon of the gas giant Covax. Coreyana was a volcanically active moon, with wild crags and impressive mountain ranges. Although it had been terraformed at some point in the past, it remained sparsely populated.

Unlike Hahn, the system teemed with traffic and the Highlander’s sensor board lit up with dozens of contacts. Cylonieka itself was a producer of export grade protein, mostly deep sea krill that were gathered by the ton by large automated submersibles before being processed on the surface. The world also boasted a chemical and electronics industry, largely reliant on mining on the more mineral rich Coreyana and the asteroid belt that had developed around the gravity well of the gas giant. Intra-system freighters coasted along the orbital approaches, in weeks or month long arcs before orbital tenders carried the ores down to the surface to be processed.

“Alright lets ditch this cow and be on our way,” Neil said with a grin. Indra smiled lusciously at the pilot as he worked the controls and the Highlander shuddered as the gravity rings sucked her up and away from the Karma Hazu. The mega freighterer began to fall away as it fired its breaking thrusters, though Taya’s sensor program meant they would probably remain unaware of their former passenger. Junebug watched Indra thoughtfully. The woman had spent a considerable amount of time with Neil in the past week and she wasn’t sure what if anything she should make of it.

“Should we broadcast to someone?” Taya asked as Neil fiddled with their course bringing them in to a long orbit of Covax to scrub velocity from the ship.

“I have private codes that will allow us to land at my families island,” Indra replied, “I was kidnapped once and would rather not announce that I am back.”

Indra had been somewhat reticent about how exactly she had been kidnapped but as she was paying that did not particularly concern Sayeeda.

“So long as they aren’t going to shoot us down on the way in,” Junebug commented. Indra waved her hand dismissively.

“My father values discretion,” she explained.

“Ships come and go from our island all the time, we also have a repair facility there, it is small but it should be sufficient to meet your needs,” she assured them.

“You have your own shipyard?” Sayeeda wondered aloud.

“Politics on Cyloneika is very fractured Captain, most of the major houses have learned that it is best to be as self sufficient as possible, lest a political intrigue cut you out of some vital resources.”

“Powerful noble families, no strong central government, what could go wrong,” Sayeeda observed wrly. The ship began to shudder as it orbited the gas giant, an impressive swirl of blue white and gray, before settling into a ballistic course that would put them in orbit above Cylonieka itself within a half hour.

“Is there really enough shipping to make it worth it?” Taya asked curiously. Indra nodded.

“My family owns dozens of vessels, and our clients hundreds more, besides the facilities are also used to maintain submersibles. Trust me, you will find everything you need to repair your ship just as soon as you have delivered me home.”

[POOHEAD189]

"Well that's good news for me because I have been meaning to get a chance to fix the ship for awhile," Neil said, his mind now exploring the possibilities of working on the Highlander. Yes, mechs were his passion, but there was a class to fixing a starship that you couldn't match. He switched off the main power to let the ship slingshot toward the planet at the proper speed to gain the orbit velocity. To see the planet of Cylonieka with the lights dimmed was breathtaking.

It was a blue and green marbel, and Neil whistled. The oceans were vast. It was almost an ocean world, except for the innumerable archipelagos and a myriad of robust islands of mountains and forests. They looked to be the closest things to continents on world. Taya gasped at the sight, her hands clapping onto her mouth. "It's beautiful!" she said, before Lonney pipped in, detailing the planets basic aspects.

"Cylonieka. The surface is 89% water. The atmosphere is 76.01% nitrogen, 22.95% oxygen, 1.01% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small traces of other gases. Gravity is the galactic average. Main exports are seafood, Cyloniekan wine, textiles, and art. It has 4 moons. Vastus, Regonieda, Kulvor, and Rexus respectively."

"Military?" Junebug asked, and Neil listened more intently. He was interested too.

"The Island nations hold their own ground forces through fiefdom loyalty. They do not use the Corp organization, as they don't have sufficient landmass for such a large body of soldiers. They separate themselves intp separate divisions and, more rarely, regiments. They have advanced Anti-Air and Orbital defenses, and formidable navies. However, these are only in reference to the Island nations. The archipelagos are controlled by lesser militia or Paramilitary groups."

"Thieves and pirates," Indra spat, her full lips snarling in distaste. The planet grew larger on the display, and Neil suddenly realized the breadth of what the intrigue had to be like in such a divided world. Neil chuckled at Indra's words, though. "You act like it's a bad thing." He said, smirking. He turned the thrusters on for a moment to slow their descent, and within moments they were caught in the planet's orbit, taking a short time to float across the surface of the planet before they were above her home Island.

"Well, some commit acts with better style," She conceded, and then she gasped and pointed at the screen. "There!" She stood up and leaned forward, her large bosom pressed to Neil's shoulder, and suddenly his heart began to race as fast as it had when he'd been working on the mech, or last she smiled at him. She pointed at the screen. "There, see it? It's the one that looks like a crab from above. Do you see?"

Incredibly, Neil did see it, despite her long dark hair dangling in front of his eyes. "Yeah, but we need to stay in our seats for safety."

"Sorry," She said, and plopped down. "I got excited. I haven't been here in months."

"I'm excited too!" Taya said, and she and Indra began to talk about all they would do once they landed, Indra adding in the sights she wanted to show Neil and asking if she could watch him repair the ship. Neil had to pipe in. "We might want to add we have a Hexanagallion on the ship. He might be ugly, but he still counts. Let's tell your father's men not to shoot him."

"Oh, my father would probably want to hire him." Indra said, snorting. Neil could see the logic in it. Hex's made for incredible mercenaries and shock troops. Though Saxon was less...agreeable than most Hexanagallions. Sure, they weren't a race known for their happy-go-lucky attitudes, but Saxon worked alone, even away from others of his species. He was glad the Xenos wasn't in here now. He'd given up trying to squeeze into the cockpit corridor. "I'm certain he'll want to extort all of you to some extent, though he'll probably let up for you saving me." It was obvious she was exaggerating to a degree, but still something good to note. Neil placed in the codes Indra gave him, and phoned in the request.

As they lowered onto the planet surface, the world blew up in their vision until they could see nothing but ocean. Minutes passed as they slowly glided lower and lower until they passed a small mountain that scythed out of the surface of the ocean to reveal the sprawling palace of Indra's home.

Impressive spires of opulent design framed the location, with various circular pads to land on for any approaching ship. They could see their surface to air missiles lowering, having locked on only to be called off as the Highlander used the last of its power to lower and slowly land atop the highest landing bay of the Palace, unevenly clanking against the pristine surface as its module ran out of juice.

"Think they got bathrooms here?" Neil joked.
@Penny

[Penny]

Junebug heaved a sigh of relief as the Highlander clattered to rest on the landing pad. The metal hull pinged as it cooled and machinery whine as the onboard systems began to power down. Though she and Neil had both agreed that the radical modifications they had made would work, the word ‘probably’ had been very heavily implied. She wanted to congratulate him but he was busy answering some question or another that Indra had breathlessly put to him. Pursing her lips she popped her restraints and stood up.

The landscape outside was picturesque. The steeply rising sides of the mountain were clad with something that approached a Terran fir tree, though their were odd metallic bronze inclusions in the bark that meant it was either a native, similar evolution to answer similar circumstances, or some kind of hybrid. Broad stone steps climbed the mountain in an elaborate spiral and doors of some sort of polished crystal were set into the mountainside to give access to less picturesque but more practical elevators. The frangible nature of the volcanic rock that formed the mountain had allowed human engineers to enhance naturally occuring tiers, sculpting the rock to permit space for landing pads and other structures, such as the anti-aircraft emplacements they had seen on the way in, and other small structures. The base of the spire, where the rock met the greenish sea was half rimmed with pristine beaches, and half surrounded by an industrial dockyard at which a dozen vessels lay moored at short jetties that protruded like spines. A pair of them were obviously pleasure yatz but there was also a large gray vessel painted in a disruptive pattern that was clearly a surface going warship, another smaller pair of hydrofoils might easily have been escorts though Sayeeda lacked the technical knowledge to say for sure.

In a world where plasma guns could reach out to line of sight and smash anything that was light enough to move, surface vehicles, like the tanks of Andor’s armored were the primary method of fighting modern wars. Aircraft struggled due to the fact that sensors could pick them up when they cleared the horizon and the couldn’t carry enough armor to survive targeted shots, though certain stealthy models, observation drones for the most part, could sometimes be of use. On a world where there was ocean rather than land, wet navies could provide the same service as tanks, mechs and other armored vehicles did on other worlds, providing mobile artillery and direct fire capabilities. The islands and archipelagos would provide bases and tall spires like this one would provide vantage points from which heavy weapons could reach out many hundreds of miles, providing natural bastions, not unlike medieval castles, for the aristocracy that controlled them. In areas where there were few tall islands, the pirates and smugglers Indra mentioned could find havens. On some worlds a united world government would have installed a satellite network that made such activity impossible, but anyone with basic sensors could pick off satellites with ease be they rival noble or pirate either way. Indra’s insistence they use clearance codes to approach suddenly made a lot more sense.

“Junebug?” Taya repeated as Junebug snapped out of her ponderings.

“We got company.”

The party that met them at the bottom of the Highlander’s forward hatch was part formal greeting part familial reunion. A quartet of women, each wearing gilded breastplates and carrying round ornamental shields as well as very functional looking plasma pistols escorted a beautiful woman in a tailored business suit and a hard faced athletic looking man with a short iron gray beard and an official looking robe.

“Mother!” Indra cried and rushed to hug the other woman. There was little in their apparent ages to suggest a maternal relationship rather than a sisterly one, but this was obviously a testament to whatever anti-aging drugs the older woman employed. She caught up her daughter in a relieved hug. The granite faced man managed a smile of his own, though it was obviously not his usual expression.

“We didn’t dare believe it when we received your private code,” he intoned gravely, nodding his thanks to the assembled crew of the Highlander. Sayeeda was dressed in her usual combat pants and boots and while she wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘smooth operator’ she also wore a black jacket with silver piping that gave her a slightly more formal and dignified look. Though she didn’t openly carry a weapon, she had a pistol tucked into her waistband concealed by the jacket.

“We rescued your daughter from a bit of difficulty,” Sayeeda said graciously. The old mans eyes were searching as they regarded her, flicking left and right to take in Neil and Taya and Saxon.

“She hired us to bring her home.”

[POOHEAD189]

"Be grateful, patriarch, that she was not harmed enroute." Saxon rumbled threateningly. That certainly changed the mood from happy to ominous. Neil kicked the Hex's leg, in one of the areas where it was unarmored. It still didn't really harm the Xenos, but it made him slightly uncomfortable and he cast a baleful gaze at Neil. It was what Neil intended, because the pilot mouthed the words. "We. are. here. to. help." And he gave the most sarcastic smile one could imagine.

"I am grateful," her father said, looking past the Xeno's words, taking his measure of the crew. As he did so, Neil took his measure of the sweet plasma pistols the guards carried. They looked ion charged. Even wearing carapace armor, one would be hardpressed to survive a shot from one of those babies. He wondered why the guards were women, as well. Not for any sexist prejudices, but he hadn't expected a feminine culture when the father looked to be the one calling the shots.

"My name is Gredorius Fullwark, and this is my wife, Gabriella." He said, motioning a hand to the lovely well dressed woman, who gave a light curtsy. Indra had inched up closer to her father, as if to reel him in if he got too ambitious or angry at her saviors. Neil wasn't sure they were making a good impression, so he couldn't rightly blame her worries over it. The Pilot wore a black T-shirt he often loved, with a Mecha on it that said 'Metal as Fuck'. Her father didn't seem to mind, continuing. "Before I gather your names, what was the price my daughter promised you for returning her to us safely?"

"Fuel for our ship." Neil pipped in first, wanting to start off small. "Access to your shipyard and time to repair it."

"And 50,000 galatic credits for the trouble." Junebug finished with.

At that, Gredorius gave a menacing chuckle, though his face had not changed expression. "I see you're not greedy. Good, perhaps this will be a fruitful exchange."

Neil didn't know if the admiral looking fellow was fucking with them, but then he recalled that the mercantile wealth of any individual Island nation here was astronomical compared to most mid-tier worlds. 50,000 was a fair price for the Highlander, but just low enough to be mere pocket change for someone like Indra's father. "Come, we will get all of you situated." The man said, motioning them forward.

Taya practically bounced. She was all for a vacation, and she gave a curtsy of her own. "Thank you, my Lord."

"It is your Grace, but fear not. I can grant a small measure of leeway to rescuers of my daughter."
@Penny

[Penny]

Sayeeda awakened on warm sheets so smooth they felt liquid against her tan skin. The dinner the previous night had been sumptuous in the extreme. Courses of seafood, ground fowl and other delicate meats competed with pastries, shaved chocolate and pies filled with sweet tart berries. The feast had been paired with wines of a dozen styles and worlds of origin, all of which would have cost as much as Sayeeda would have made in a month, or six months when she had been a Captain in Andor’s Armored. Gabriella and Gredorius had toasted their daughters return from her ‘travels’ and thanked her ‘friends’ for conveying her home safely and for their ‘loyal service’ whilst she had been away. It was obvious that the fact Indra had been kidnapped was being kept quiet for political reasons, though Sayeeda neither knew nor cared what the were. Junebug did not know much about wine, but she did know a lot about drinking and after eight or nine toasts it all tasted pretty much the same.

Unfortunately the aftereffects were also similar. Sayeeda let out a groan and rolled over to curl up in the fetal position. She was dressed in her bra and the formal silk skirt she had worn the night before and had a vague memory of marching arm and arm down the hallway to her suite with Taya who was expansively detailing her claim to the ancient and defunct throne of Fornax. After a few minutes she marshalled the will to crack open an eyelid.

The room was sumptuously appointed with high ceilings and floors that seemed to be sheets of solid marble, though that was doubtlessly a cast rather than a natural occurrence. Tall arches looked out over a balcony with a stunning view of the sea and the steep drop down to the beach. There was a slight shimmer around the edges of the archways, a tell tale sign of sophisticated force fields that kept weather out without compromising the aesthetics.

Vases of fresh cut flowers stood on ornately carved wooden furniture, apparently out of the same fir trees that lined the mountainside. A side board of expensive looking liquor lined one wall, above which were a series of old fashioned paper books. On the bedside table lay a silver platter on which sat a high end but otherwise perfectly normal drug infuser. A folded card beside it was marked ‘use it in good health’. Sayeeda made an undignified scrambled for the infuser, pressed it to her wrist and triggered it. There was a sharp hiss as the contents pumped into her veins. Anti-hangover cures varied tremendously throughout the galaxy and Sayeeda had tried many, but for personal choice an alcohol kelator paired with a hydration agent and a non-narcotic analgesic, couldn't be beat. She felt better almost immediately and within a minute or too she was on her feet.

The room was equipped with a large bathroom including a hot tub and a shower. She luxuriated under cool water, allowing it to wash the dust of Hahn away. It felt like the first time she had been clean in weeks and she spent a good twenty minutes allowing the water to dispel the last of her hangover.

“Sayeeda?” came a call from the main room. Sighing she terminated the shower sequence and wrapped a towel around her waist and chest, and quickly towled her hair dry. She stepped back into the main room to find Neil waiting in the antechamber.

“Whats up?”

[POOHEAD189]

Neil hadn't had quite the relaxing time Taya and Sayeeda had. Though he had to say, it was better than anything Hahn would have for him. He'd eaten like a pig at a trough with the rest of the crew. Even Saxon had a small (in a word) place ordained for him to eat at the end of the table. A small spherical area had raised up from the ground, seeming almost to be a cage were he not stated to be a guest.

However, Indra and her parents had disappeared halfway through the meal, letting the crew eat at their leisure. After having nothing but dwindling rations, they had an incredibly satisfying meal. Once it was done, they broke out the drinks. And that was when Neil was grabbed by one of the servants and guided out of the room as Junebug and Taya were two bottles in, and Saxon had a reptilian food coma after having gouged five times the amount the other three had eaten, combined.

He found himself being taken to a balcony, where Gredorius stood, standing vigil over his realm as if he needed to watch it at all times. What followed was a conversation that had even Neil trying to behave. He made sure to stand up straight, clear his throat and even did his best to not scratch himself in less than public places upon his anatomy. It was odd, because he didn't know why the Duke was speaking to him, asking him about his goals, business prospects, and how good of a pilot he was.

And then he made the offer.

Cut to now, with Neil standing outside of Junebug's quarters akwardly. He had expected her to be in some manner of disheveled undress, but seeing her fit body in nothing but a towel had his eyes widen for a moment before he could rightly find the words he was trying to say.

"Sorry I wasn't around to drink earlier, but...seeing as you're Captain I thought I'd run by a big decision and...offer I was given by the Duke." He said, deliberating for a moment before continuing. "Once the repairs are made on the Highlander, he wants to hire us for a merc job."

"That's great news, but why are you bringing this up now and not in the morning?" She asked.

Neil took a deep breath. "In exchange, he'll double our 50,000, and make us both high ranking officers in his administration. He also will give you a specialized plasma weapon they have been working on, which I recommended. And he also wantsmetomarryIndraperherrequestandbeinductedintotheirfamily."

"WHAT!?"

"LOOK. I NEVER SAID YES!"

He realized they were both yelling at the dead of night. He looked around and then spoke more quietly. "Look..." He sighed and crossed his arms, clearly not in his usually smooth comfort zone. "I don't marry people I just met. Do I think Indra is cool? Yes. Hot? Everyone does. But I'm bringing it up and talking alot because I am uncomfortable with my next question which is, should I say no?"

"I know we never talked after Hahn, after the whole...thing before we got caught up with the Dervishes and I got the hoverboard. So don't bullshit me. Do you have a problem with his offer for me?"
@Penny

[Penny]

During her life Sayeeda had survived by making split second decisions. If an artillery strike had crashed into the room, if an extraction team had breached the door with explosives, if a sniper had opened fire, she would have known what to do. Neil’s words however, caught her completely flat footed. A number of details settled into place in her mind, the female guards, the respect paid to Gabriella, a dozen snatches of conversation at the feast. Cylonieka passed its nobility down through the female lines, but marriage to other nobles was prohibited, perhaps due to genetic concerns, or just because the political reality could not continue if the isolated island states began to knit together through matrimonial alliances. Instead they chose husbands for their skills and perhaps for their aesthetic value as well. Administrators, Admirals, and, apparently, mercenary pilot types.

Junebug sat back on her bed in confusion struggling to take it all in. She hadn’t had a chance, or more truthfully had been refusing to take the time, to sort out her feelings for Neil since their brief conversation on Hahn. Now she found herself confronted with the question point blank with an immediate response required. It took a moment to wipe the chagrin off her face and return to her normally controlled look.

“Neil if you say no it might jeopardize our agreement with…” she began but he rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in frustration.

“For once in your life stop thinking about the mission or whatever it is in your head and tell me how you feel!” the last few words were bitten out like rounds snapping out of a machine gun. Junebug was silent for a long moment.

“Neil I…” she looked away unwilling to meet his eyes for a moment. Unfortunately the beautiful artwork hanging on the wall didn’t provide any answers.

“Look I think I’m wrong… you know in the head,” she explained tapping the side of her temple in emphasis.

“I don’t know if its some sort of combat fatigue or if I was always like this ,” she went on turning back to look up at the pilot.

“Neil, I do care about you and if I’m being honest, more than care, but I don’t think I have it in me to make anyone happy.” Her smile was bleak and her body shuddered as she made the admission, her dark eyes uncharacteristically vulnerable.

“You shouldn’t throw away the chance of a lifetime on a batshit burnout like me.”

[POOHEAD189]

That wasn't the response he had been expecting. He'd imagined she might have pulled rank on him, or maybe brushed it off like she always had. But this was different, and it was more intimidating than the other two options. Did she really think that she was more of a basket case than he was!? He figured the amount of explosions and problematic decisions he'd caused would have tipped her off. But it seemed like she had stuff she hadn't even begun to unpack.

Tomorrow he would regret not telling her she was wrong, and he didn't kiss her right here. But no matter what he thought, she hadn't given him a yes, and he wouldn't hold it against her. Even vulnerable, she had his respect. He held his hand out for her to shake, and he had on a solemn look. "Friends," he told her, and when she shook his hand back, he continued with. "Just remember, if it doesn't work out with Indra, or you change your mind, you have my number." He had on his signature grin then.

"Now get out of here before someone asks why you're talking to me in nothing but a towel." She said, her usual control back. He gave her a salute, and he pulled his jacket around him tighter and made his way toward her door, before he stopped and paused.

"Once the Highlander is fixed, we'll go and probably die for a treasure most people could ever dream of...where have I heard that one before?" he said.
@Penny

[Penny]

Sayeeda watched as Neil turned and left the room. Apparently content to fall back on Indra without a second thought. She fell back onto her bed sprawling out across the silken sheets. It was just Neil’s way, she told herself, he just fixated on whatever woman was nearby, Quetzalli, Woods, Indra. Rightfully speaking she should be offended, but the peculiar melange of emotions evaded immediate description. She blew out her breath from between her teeth. Over the years she had known plenty of men and a smaller number of women, but rarely had she formed real lasting relationships. The reality of mercenary service was that you could called up a a moments notice and be hundreds of miles away in a day and hundreds of light years away in a week, never to return.

While individual troopers sometimes fraternized with their peers, officers were expected to avoid relationships with their subordinates and their peers alike, a policy that was strictly enforced in the Armored. That meant finding locals and those relationships could never be about more than sex. Was Neil a subordinate, a peer, should she care at all if he was so easily able to move from paramor to paramor? She blew a lock of hair out her face in frustration. As usual, she had made a mess of things.

Junebug opened her eyes as sunlight streamed in through the windows warming her face with a pleasant heat. She had fallen asleep where she lay and the damp towels were still coiled unpleasantly about her. Reluctantly she rose and poured herself a glass of clear springwater from a carafe on the liquor laden sideboard.

“Good morning Captain Cyckali,” a pleasant female voice announced. Sayeeda nearly jumped out of her skin, scrambling for a weapon for a moment before she realised there was no threat and felt foolish.

“I apologize for startling you, I am Luxa, the AI assistant here,” the voice explained. Junebug glance around, for the source of the voice, though if there were speakers they were too well concealed for her to detect.

“I guess I’ve had more unpleasant surprises in my life,” Junebug said in a conciliatory tone.

“The Chancelor has requested your presence at breakfast, shall I let him know you will be attending?” the AI asked. Junebug shrugged her shoulders, wondering if Neil and Indra would be there.

“Provided there will be coffee you may,” Junebug replied, pulling open cupboards to find clothing, apparently tailored for her.

“I will inform the chefs of your dietary requirements.”

“What is the dress code?” she asked, uncertain of what to wear.

“Breakfast will be served on the beach, swimsuits are customary,” Luxa replied.

“Perfect,” Junebug said with a sigh.

[POOHEAD189]

Neil had walked out of the room, his mind abuzz with if he had said the right thing or the wrong thing. Of course he had said and done the wrong thing. When had he ever actually said the right thing when it was important? All he knew how to do was bullshit. He made it out of the door, and once he closed it, he leaned on it heavily and even slid down it to plop onto the floor. Rubbing his eyes, he groaned.

Why did he have to obsess over things? Particularly things he was regretful about. "Look, you did it because she didn't want you to mess up the deal. Don't fuck this up. You made the right call." He told himself, but he knew he didn't believe it. Junebug was wanting him to disagree with her and he rolled right over because he thought it was what she wanted. "Don't focus on this shit, just get up and go back to bed, idiot."

"Beg pardon?"

Neil jerked, looking like a stray dog that had been kicked out of the front door, his hair wild from running his hands through it. The servant who had found him looked at him skeptically, and they both looked at the doorknob. Neil blinked. "I uh, I can't get into my room." He lied, and the servant took the bait, replying with. "That is because this isn't yours, Master Edwards. Yours is down the hall and to the left. Allow me to escort you."

"Thanks," he said, getting to his feet.

---

Neil sleep was troubled, having dreams he never would have gotten, even in Hyperspace. For some reason, changing realities wasn't hard on his brain but fucking up with a girl he...liked? Loved? It messed with him. His dreams switched between Junebug ordering his expulsion from the Highlander to having her order Saxon to kill him, and while realistically he knew neither would ever happen, it didn't make his subconscious any more comfortable.

He woke up to the sun suddenly streaming through his window, and the covers were pulled off of him as a soothing voice said "wake up, sleepy head."

He opened his eye, and saw Indra there, as beautiful as another 3 hours of sleep, wearing a simple white top and form fitting breeches. She poked his nose. "Come on, we have breakfast ready and then we're going to the beach." She said, pulling at his arm. He had almost forgot he was shirtless and his hair even wilder than it had been last night. "I'm so excited to show you all around the island. Let's go!"

He felt like he was in one of Taya's melodrama Vidcasts.
@Penny

[Penny]

“Junebug!”

Sayeeda turned to see Taya hurrying up behind her. The young noblewoman was dressed for breakfast, wearing a single piece swim suit that wrapped her in a series of slashes allowing her pale skin to peak through in a dozen places while preserving her modesty. Junebug had donned her own swimsuit, a two piece in a pale white that set off her tanned skin, though for the moment she was also wrapped in a sari of light blue silk.

“What is wrong?” Taya asked as she fell into step. Sayeeda shrugged, Neil obviously hadn’t told her his news as yet and it wasn't her place to share it.

“Rough night I guess,” Sayeeda explained, which was true, though probably not in the sense Taya understood it.

“You were really putting it away there, I was glad we didn’t have a repeat of the panties incident,” Taya jibed Junebug smiled as the younger woman led her down the path towards the beach. To her surprise the air was noticabley warmer here and she could see a small pavilion had been erected on the sand below. Feathered palms waved in a gentle breeze and as they reached the bottom of the stone steps. Indra and Neil were not yet present but the Chancellor and Gabriella were already sitting at a small table drinking water from tall fluted glasses.

“Ah, Captain, Marquessa, a pleasure to see you this morning,” Gabriella called. Both of them were dressed in bathing suits, Gabriella a red two piece that showed off her considerable assets and her husband in swim shorts. He might be an administrator but his stomach was flat and tan, evidence that he worked to maintain is rugged good looks.

“Warm weather for a wrap around my dear,” Gabriella said with a smile to Junebug. Sayeeda removed her sari to display her bare midriff. Gabriella stiffened with surprise. The skin was mottled in places and three promient plugs of scar tissue stitched her from right hip to her left flank above her belly button. The noble woman looked embarssed by Sayeeda only shruged.

“I was burned a few years back, and these,” she explained, fingering the scars.

“Hyper velocity armor penetrators. I was manning a gunnery station and the first shot through me into the air before they riddled me,” she explained, trying to keep her mind away from laying in the dusk of Kymnara, bleeding out as her vehicle was ripped to pieces twenty meters away.

“And you didn’t get surgery?” Gabriella asked, clearly curious.

“Medics did the best they could,” Sayeeda explained, aware that the idea of not getting cosmetic surgery done was alien to her audience.

“For some reason the synthetic skin never quite counterfeits the real thing.”

“A warrior is marked by their scars, they are a mark of pride,” Saxon grated. The hex sat up, having been buried in the sand nearby. The golden flecks streamed off him as he stood, clearly having been bathing in the stuff. Membranes closed sideways to clear his eyes as he stood. The approval of the scars clear in his voice and in the way his throat sacks puffed out.

“Thank you Saxon,” Sayeeda said politely.

“Mostly I was just happy to not be splattered over half an acre of countryside they way I would have been if they had punched through my LAV and started spinning before they hit me,” she admitted, giving the Hex a wry smile.

[POOHEAD189]

Neil had been taken to a large dressing room, where Indra clapped and over a dozen servants took his measurements, washed his hair, and put swimming trunks on him, all at the same time miraculously. His bride-to-be waited outside for him, the servants hustling to please her as much as anything, regardless of how they handled Neil.

He was practically shoved out of the dressing room, but as per his style, he had managed to grab a pair of sunglasses off a rack. Indra placed her hands together, delighted at how he looked. Neil was delighted at how she looked too, in her two piece red bikini with a translucent sarong around her ample hips. He wished he could enjoy it more, but he still had last night in his head.

"Let's go," she said, grabbing his hand. "I want to show you the beach."

"Whoa whoa, wait wait," he said to her, keeping grounded. She looked back at him, confused and curious.

"You do know your parents want me to marry you, right?"

"Yes...?" she said.

"That's not our custom on my planet, so...we should take it slow. Ok?" he asked her, gauging her reaction. She seemed to sober, looking down and nodding. She pulled him to the side of the hall, looking around. "Look, Neil...my father needs me to be married. I suggested you because, well I like you. I like you, and you wouldn't use me...would you?"

Neil sighed. "No, I wouldn't."

Indra smiled. "Let's go. You'll relax more on the beach."

Spoiler warning, he did not relax more on the beach. Rather, seeing Sayeeda flirting with Saxon had his blood boiling, though he tried not to show it as Indra showed him to her parents and walked him up and down the beach. The worst part, other than the obvious, was that if this was any other time he would be enjoying her company. What's more, he had a feeling that Junebug knew she was annoying him, and he knew he needed to get some energy out.

"Do you guys surf?" Neil asked Indra when they sat down next to her parents. Her mother raised an eyebrow. "Surf?"

"Yeah like, ride the waves on a board?"

"Waveboarding?" Indra asked, and Neil theorized it had to be the same thing. "That sounds right. Do you guys have a board?" Neil used to be one of the best surfers among his group of friends back on Fortus. It was his natural agility and his lack of self preservation that really helped him on the waves. Indra seemed ecstatic to watch him surf, and once he got a board it took him no time to make it to the water. To think, 10 days ago he was on a desert planet thinking he would never want to see the sand again. and now he was running across the sand to leap into the ocean.
@Penny

[Penny]

Indra clapped her hands excitedly as Neil paddled out on his board. The waves immediately began to grow in intensity as hidden grav panels buried beneath the sea floor began to agitate the water. Junebug realised that the unseasonably warm water must be a deliberately created condition. The amount of money that was required in order to achieve such an effect was staggering, especially as this place seemed to be the private preserve of Indra’s family.

“Were you just flirting with Saxon?” Taya asked sotto voche. Junebug glanced at the girl, she had merely been polite to the Hex in her mind.

“Not deliberately,” she responded. Taya nodded with some relief on her face.

“Good because Neil looked none too happy about it,” she observed. Junebug gave the young noblewoman a speculative glance.

“Yeah well Neil dosen’t get to control who I flirt with,” she responded, her voice a little tighter than she had intended. Taya looked a little chagrined, having clearly stumbled into territory about which she knew nothing. Indra cheered as Neil caught a wave and began to ride it in towards the shore.

“Hey Saxon,” she called. The lizardman’s head swiveled towards her, forked lounge questing as though tasting the air.

“I have a few questions about your people,” she began.

[POOHEAD189]

Neil had nearly hit an Algodade, one of the semi-aquatic giraffe like creatures that fed on both normal and underwater vegetation. Its head had popped up out of the water at just the wrong second, but Neil had managed to maneuver out of its way to keep himself from falling off, and from putting another damaged creature's life on his conscience. The maneuver sent him in a spin over a wave, impressively keeping his balance and landing to slide across the following tide toward the shallows.

Indra and her parents gave an applause, even her father seemed somewhat approving of his agility. Neil was just glad he still had it in him, though his happiness would be short lived when he saw Sayeeda poking at Saxon's arm, a curiosity evident in her eyes.

"What does your language sound like? I never asked," the Captain said with interest. Taya, having grown tired of tanning, had gone over to speak to Indra, taking her attention for the moment. Saxon's neck glowed a faded red, and his dewlap extended. Neil knew far more about Hexanagallions than most people, and it didn't sit well with him. She might as well have an extended dewlap neck too by the way she smiled.

None of my business though, he thought, trying to walk past them.

Goddamn, this was a big beach. Goddamn, he wished there was WIND, so he didn't have to listen to it.

Saxon began to do what could best be described as a warbling call that banged at the eardrums of anyone within 2 dozen yards, of which Neil was in the blast radius. Somehow, Sayeeda didn't seem to mind other than give a small wince. "Interesting...and what's your home planet like?"

Neil turned, unable to handle the rest. But he continued, describing the tropical wetland of a world his species evolved on. The world was evidently high gravity and filled with monstrous beasts, where only the strong survive.

He decided to walk away when Saxon began describing his early life. He'd read it all before, and he didn't like the gleam in Sayeeda's eye, though she did well to look at Neil when he wasn't looking to make sure he was in ear shot, until he wasn't.
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[Penny]

Sayeeda found herself growing more enthralled the more Saxon talked. She didn't think she had ever heard the Hex talk so much in the entire time she had known him. The alien phrased things in terms that reminded her of sagas or perhaps ritualistic recitation boasts. It fired her imagination, making her see an ancient and primordial forest though which hunters stalked great beasts. She wondered if they might ever get close enough to visit, although a whole planet full of Saxons...

"Join us Captain," Gabriella called, waving her to the table where servants were laying down platters of breakfast foods. Platters of meat cheese, and tropical fruit in a dazzling variety of colors. Bottles of what appeared to be juice cooled with fresh ice were lain in small buckets of decorated porcelain.

"Let us talk of business," she said with a nod to her husband and then cast a smile at Indra.

"And celebrate my daughters engagement, of course," she said raising her glass towards Neil and Indra. Taya's mouth fell open, though she managed to avoid actually gasping.

"Neil is getting married?!" she asked with a shocked look at her captain.

[POOHEAD189]

"Isn't it wonderful?" Junebug asked, her face plastered with a smile that could only fool those bewildered like Taya, who honestly didn't know what to think. She had always pushed for Neil and Junebug to stop running circles around each other, but...if he was getting married.

Before 'business' could begin, Indra grabbed Neil and kissed him full on the lips in celebration, much how Neil had kissed Junebug not two weeks ago when they had managed to get off of Hahn. Neil flailed, not entirely knowing where to put his hands or what to do at all, being kissed in public and in front of Junebug, and also before their was even an agreement!

"So, what we offer Neil is obvious." Indra's mother said without even looking. "What we offer you is a very prized, highly sought after plasma weapon. A new rifle we are developing. My husband can give you the details." She said, and gaudily sipped her wine glass. Meanwhile, Saxon had begun to dig a very large hole in the sand a few paces off to the west for some unknown xenos purpose. It almost looked like a hole that a terran sea turtle would dig to lay eggs, but Neil knew that even with his alien biology, the Hexanagallion males didn't lay eggs.

Junebug's vision of Indra kissing Neil would be replaced by a portable vidcaster Gredorius placed in front of her face. It was a triple action, burst fire carbone. Triple action meaning the third action was DNA specific, and only she would be allowed to fire it. It also didn't necessarily fire plasma rounds. It was plasma fueled. The rounds were displacer rounds, that tore the targets apart atom by atom. It was a weapon, junebug knew, that most military's had laws against their usage within the branches.

"So, will you do it?"

"What about Saxon and Taya?" The Captain asked.

"I have an agreement with the Hexan. I could always use top enforcers in my line of work. Taya and I will discuss her employment, but I can only get to each of you so fast, and there is the reward for my daughter's safe return to consider. You will have it, and be ready to go on your assignment in three days time. Is this acceptable for you?"
@Penny

[Penny]

“We can work with that. Can you give us any more details about this assignment?” Sayeeda asked. Gregorious smiled an avuncular smile.

“Your eagerness does you credit Captain, but today is for celebrating my daughter’s betrothal. A toast to the happy couple!”

It was nearly noon by the time Junebug was able to make her excuses and slip away from the gathering. Mostly to irritate Neil she invited Saxon to join her. The Hex agreed with what Sayeeda thought was enthusiasm but she was still having difficulty reading the alien’s moods and emotions. They made their way down to the shipyard where the Highlander had been moved from its landing pad.

The slip the Highlander was moored in was a dry dock, evidently used to repair the ocean going warships of this world. Dozens of armored plates had been removed by hydraulic derricks and technicians swarmed over the ship, replacing wiring and refitting the components damaged in the blind RIP jump from the Terran Cruiser.

“It looks like a partially stripped kill,” Saxon observed. Sayeeda shook her head.

“No, she is strong, she lives,” Sayeeda disagreed as she walked down into drydock, ignoring the iodine smell of old seawater and the acrid byproducts of welders and soldering irons. It felt somewhat sacrilegious to have other people working on the ship, but the damage had been severe for the four of them to put right. She wondered how Neil would find it, living on Chalcedon with Indra, perhaps Taya would stay too make some kind of life for herself. A world with such a porous nobility would suit her. Junebug lay a hand on the hull of the Highlander feeling the cold metal under her finger tips.

“She is your X’anada,” Saxon hissed behind her.

“My what?” Junebug asked.

“A steed for a warrior,” the Hex hissed. Junebug trailed her fingers along the ship’s armored plate.

“Something like,” Junebug agreed. Whatever Neil decided to do this was no place for her. She didn’t know that there was any place for her. Once this job was settled and the Highlander was repaired she would leave, although how she would do that without her pilot she had no idea.

[POOHEAD189]

Neil was lucky the hallway wasn't overly wide, or he would never have been able to pull off such a maneuver. He used to do this back in school often, when the teaching officials looked for him to mete out punishment. Now he found himself doing this to avoid Indra and the guards that she had ordered to find him as to invite him to some frivilious activity he had no idea of. It was a simple one, where he placed both arms out, along with both legs out, keeping the pressure on both sides to keep himself elevated above a normal human's field of vision within the hallway.

His rump touched the ceiling, he was so far up there. About a dozen feet or so, and as the multitudes of guards hustled past him and out of his chambers, he breathed a sigh of relief and still waited for a minute or two, just to be certain. Sure enough, two guardsmen hustled back in to see if he had been in there and had come out of hiding, but when they found nothing, they left. He'd been in too many hairy situations to not know how to get out of one.

"Goddamn..." he growled to himself, unable to even speak more than the single word, but he wanted to add 'Sayeeda' after it. She was making him jealous, and what's more he couldn't even blame her. She had bared her heart and soul and he had been too stupid to realize she had wanted him to tell her she was wrong. Granted, if she had talked to him about it back on Hahn this wouldn't be happening, but it had been a quick confession and-

"Shut up" he told himself, and dropped down to the floor. "Just stay out of sight and do what you need to do."

And so he did. He had to scale the outer walls of the palace, raking in more sweat than he cared to admit and nearly falling twice, but he made it to where he intended to go. It would be just at the cusp of evening when Sayeeda would make it back to her chambers, and she decided she needed to shower. She would have heard some small talk of him being missing, but nothing too serious. Once she was done with her shower, wrapped within her towel, she found the pilot sitting at the edge of her bed.

"You're wrong." He said to her before she could even give a question to why he was there. He looked up at her. "You are worth it. I'm just too stupid to realize that I should have said it yesterday." Rubbing his temples, he stood up. "Fuck all this. Fuck marrying her, fuck any of this. I'm sorry I'm braindead, but you mean a lot to me. More than any woman. So tell me off or order me to leave, but don't look at me like that. You said the same thing to me yesterday. I'm tired of doing this dance, and I'm tired of my part in it. So..."

He crossed his arms, looking at her. "What do you say?"

Not exactly romantic, but she was definitely a conundrum when it came to traditional romance.
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[Penny]

Sayeeda froze in shock for an instant as she emerged from the luxurious bathroom to find Neil sitting on her bed. She recovered almost instantly with the cavalry of charging forward when things got hairy. The afternoon had been spent looking over the work on the Highlander, which, given the budget of Indra’s family and the workforce they had at their disposal, was proceeding at a more rapid pace than she could have hoped for. After that she had spent the afternoon with Saxon, she had been drinking and he had been chewing the odd herb which seemed to fill the role for his people that alcohol did for humans. He had taught her several words in Hex, mostly curses, which she could pronounce only with a great deal of hissing and spitting. It had been a pleasant way to pass the afternoon, distracting herself from the prospect of the upcoming wedding and the fact that she would be leaving Neil and probably Taya once the job here was done.

After that things had gotten complicated, though not, unfortunately, as complicated as they were likely to become in the next few minutes.

“You were all set to marry Indra yesterday,” she said her voice steady despite the alcohol and the sense of spiralling disaster.

“You don’t like the in-laws and are looking for a consolation prize?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

The smart move would have been to order him to leave but despite her best efforts she was unable to do so. Steam rose from her skin as the vapors of the hot bath she had been taking cooled in the sub tropical air.

[POOHEAD189]

At first he was somewhat surprised. He had expected her to be furious, not shocked he was there. He didn't quite know what to make of it, and decided to pay no heed to it at the current time. He needed to breathe easier though. She wasn't going at him like a Ranaak serpent from Zolas. "I wasn't set to her marry her, I thought that's what you wanted. I know, I know, I am an idiot." he said, holding his hands up.

"Just..." he didn't rightly know what to say, honestly. Though the consolation prize insult did get his blood boiling a bit. He'd been with multiple women but only because she had kept rejecting him!

"Hey!" he barked, stepping forward. "You're not a fucking prize. And I couldn't care less about these people. They could be thrown into a vat of boiling iron, I don't give a fuck." Briefly he wondered how smart it was to throw caution to the wind and speak like that aloud, but he realized if they had cameras or had the room bugged, they would have confronted him yesterday. "I'm throwing all the shit they want to give me away for you, does that sound like you're just some prize on my belt?"

He was very close at the moment. He could feel the heat from the shower emanating off of her, but he only looked her straight in the eyes.
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