[IC] The Depths of Deception

[Muttonhawk]

"No more wine? Aww..." Shiva whined at Rareth's announcement, "But I was going to be more irresponsible! Oh well..." Shiva slowly stood up and stepped hard to regain her balance, but she was steady as a fortress after but a moment. "I'll see what there is to eat," Shiva said as she walked over to what appeared to be a chilled cupboard. "I could go for...hmm...what is that human spice thing? Vanilla?" Shiva didn't expect there to be anything of the sort in a military vessel, but she didn't mind.

Shuo was someone who held a tough posture just like any model sovereignty soldier, at least to Shiva. To see him so wobbly and vulnerable was nothing short of hilarious. Even the simple question that he asked about Shiva's spike sent the tipsy medic into a short laugh. It was a wonder she could answer at all. "Why do you think I have my spike cut, idiot? They don't just hand tempu crims a sharpened spoon when they walk into their first day at prison. Shen forbid they allow masulus to be any less worthless." Shiva opened the cupboard and was refreshed by the cool air that escaped. There was a selection of things that she leaned down to get a closer look at. "They don't mind so much when you're drafted, for whatever reason, but it's said the parole office prefers it when you keep it filed down."

[Leon5431]

Telmeck chuckled at Shiva's offer, "No...no thanks I think I'll pass there...I've felt one or two in the past...though...it usually hasn't gone over well for either party." Telmeck said chuckling lightly as he did.

After Rareth also corrected him on his description of head-stinger, Telmeck jokingly rolled his eyes,"Okay okay it's a head-tail, dagger, stabby, stinger thing." He joked before downing the remainder of his glass.

As Rareth got up and walked back to the cabinet, Telmeck watched her go out of the corner of his eye shamelessly admiring her as she did. He continued to follow her until she announced they were out of wine by which point he turned his gaze back to his empty glass and frowned. "Aww...the wines gone...feels like we just got it..." He whined along with Shiva.

Then he heard Shuo respond to his comment about the head spikes asking him what it was like to have a tail like his own. To which Telmeck with a furrowed brow looked down at his tail wiggling it side to side as he did contemplating Shuo's question before eventually losing track of that thought and just staring at his tail as he wiggled it.

He was knocked out of his sort of trance when Rareth laid across his lap which caused a happy smile to spread across his face. Then he remembered Shuo's question and looked back up to him. "Oh ugh yeah tails, uhm....I guess I didn't really think about that, maybe it feels the same as my tail just coming out of the top of your head. I guess we'll never know." He commented before trying to sip from his glass only to find it was still empty he frowned again and placed his empty glass on the table as Rareth spoke up.

He giggled as Rareth commented on his implants, "Heh yeah, I've gotta have something to level the playing field with that magic of yours." He joked looking down at her with a grin on his face.

But her comment about his implants sparked a thought in his hindered mind. He still had his pain-block implant active and hadn't turned it off since returning to the ship. With that thought he turned his implant off and was greeted by a wave of pain from his back and shoulders. He flinched noticeably as the pain set in.

"Oh wow." He said a little louder than intended thanks to his somewhat inebriated state. He was pretty sure nothing was broken, from what he could tell nothing was, but there was no way for him to be certain unless he was checked out.

'That can wait until tomorrow or at least until I'm sobered up. Then I will pay a visit to the med bay' He thought to himself before reactivating his implant, blocking out the pain from his back as he did his body relaxed once again and he let out a sigh.

Just then he heard Shuo and Shiva's conversation about why she had he head spike cut off, something that he had been itching to ask. As he heard Shiva's response it took him several moments before he could actually understand what she had just said, but even the he still wasn't entirely sure. As she continued a few moments later it seemed what he had been thinking was true and she was actually admitting she was a criminal.

He sat there with a bit of a dumbfounded expression as he processed everything she was saying, during which he glanced from Shiva to Shuo, to Rareth then to a random spot somewhere on the far wall and back again.

"Wait a minute." Telmeck said his confusion present in his voice. "Are you saying you're a criminal?" He continued in an unsure tone.

[EliteCommander]

Shortly after Telmeck finished speaking, Rareth reached up and lightly smacked the end of his muzzle. She gave him a moderately annoyed expression, though the issue she was agitated about did not involve Shiva.

"Telmeck I've told you not to keep that thing on after a fight. Pain's a really important sense and...stuff. You'll just end up hurting yourself more. Promise me you'll go to the med bay when you wake up, or I'll have to put you in more pain later tonight." Rareth warned with a chuckle before turning her head and glancing to Shiva.

"Oh, and her? Yeah, she is, but it's not that bad. She was just charged with betraying the Sovereignty or something." Rareth said somewhat dismissively. Her criminal past was not much of an issue for Rareth, but her brief answer did not do much to actually clarify what happened. While she was not nearly as drunk as Shuo, her current state meant she was not thinking about what Shiva's background actually meant to her. Although, depending on how much she had been drinking, Shiva might not even be worried about what it usually meant to her.

"Personally, I don't know why anyone would want to cut anything off themselves. It's all there for a reason, you know. Tails are great for balance, and other stuff." Rareth added as she reached over to grab her own tail, though she ended up grabbing Telmeck's. Nevertheless, she pulled it close to her chest as she closed her eyes to relax.

[Muttonhawk]

Shiva's shoulders tightened when Telmeck asked her whether she was a criminal. Perhaps the information hadn't been permeated as she expected. She would have to thank Shuo and Rareth later for respecting her secret, but in the meantime, this was awkward. She turned and looked over her shoulder to Telmeck, not really sure what to say past her tense expression.

"Umm-" Shiva was cut off by a chastising slap to Telmeck's nose courtesy of Rareth from his lap. The way Rareth spoke about Shiva's history made it seem much more forgivable than it had been before. Rareth being drunk probably caused that, but it at least took the edge off the shame. "Heheh, I guess you didn't know," Shiva said nervously and quietly. She glanced between two points on the floor, then raised both her palms with an uneasy grin. "Surprise!" Shiva did not exactly sound enthusiastic.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shiva spotted something in the food cabinet that she recognised as a tin of synthetic red meat. It wasn't the most luxurious of food, but it was familiar. After taking it and fumbling around for a piece of suitable cutlery, she brought it back to her chair and began eating. The first swallow helped her to regain her social courage.

"Hey Shuo, what would happen if you turned off your implants?" Shiva asked to keep the changed subject in place.

[cqbexpt]

Shuo brought his head spike to his arms grabbing it mid swing as Shuo was beginning to experience a slight delay in movements. He looked over to the blobs across from him and then at the slightly less blob-y Shiva. He knew he was rather drunk at this point and was struggling to process things. He was entirely wondering if he had over done it maybe just a little. He took his sharp thumb and dug it into his antler like bone that segmented up his head spike. He leaned back into the chair for a moment before hearing the comment about Shiva being a criminal. Pointing to his own forehead with his free hand and not being able to move his head at the moment Shuo said."That's what the markings are for, they get cut down.....or something later after something....traitor in sand scripts or something......can't remember."

It was a struggle for Shuo to produce words but he was atleast pretty sure they were coming out clear. He then heard a stir in front of him and he assumed someone got up. He wondered if Rareth had food in her room. At that moment hunger struck Shuo so he attempted to get up as well. He held onto the arms of the chair and attempted to throw himself up out of the chair. All that ended up happening was that he flopped up and then back down into the chair. At that point Shuo resigned himself to his fate of sitting in the chair and leaned back once more. From the distance Shuo heard what he guessed was Shiva's voice ask him about his implants. "I can't turn them off or anything.....it's liiiike your hear beating.....can't turn it off really. If did though......woould probably be mooooore drunk and then passss out and asphy...xi...ate. Cancer maybe too? Too fucked can't......recall."

[Leon5431]

Telmeck watched Shiva as she eyed him over her shoulder with a tense and nervous posture. But he was surprised by a light smack that came from below him. He flinched as Rareth smacked his muzzle and he proceeded to stare as best he could at the tip of his muzzle with wide eyes as he tried to process what had just happened.

As Rareth spoke up his confused stare became one of mock annoyance. He rolled his eyes before responding. "I know, I know, it's just...sometimes I forget about it. With how long I've had it no pain has become about as normal as feeling pain. But, I promise you I will go to the med bay tomorrow, if too late it is to go tonight." He said before pausing and furrowing his brow as he tried to decipher what he had said.

Then he heard Shiva speak up again and he glanced up to her with a confused expression, not actually remembering exactly what it was she was talking about. He knew there was something...something that he was doing something about or trying to find something out about something....or something like that...he wasn't sure, he was still mostly caught up on what he had said a few moments ago. Was he going to go to the med bay tonight tomorrow or some other time.

Then he saw Shiva put her hands up and heard her say something about surprise. Though her tone did not quite enforce the words, Telmeck, being in the drunken state he is, still managed to get excited and glance around the room with something that could possibly be considered a smile.

Seeing nothing involving a surprise he frowned and looked back to Shiva disappointed. "You're terrible at surprises." He commented with a forced disappointing glare. He kept up the charade for a moment or two before smiling drunkenly and saying, "But it's okay, I forgive you, no harm here." He said smiling happily. In his current state it hadn't occurred to him that Shiva could possibly misconstrue the things he was saying and doing.

Then he heard Rareth speak up and he looked down at her, he watched as she reached down and grabbed his tail before bringing it up to her chest and closing her eyes. He smiled endearingly down at her and couldn't help but admire how cute she looked right now. Gently he brushed her cheek with his hand smiling at her all along.

Then he was knocked out of his endearing trance by Shiva who spoke up from across from them. She was now seated in her chair munching on some sort of meat thing that he had no chance at identifying from this distance. She said something about implants and was looking at Shuo as she did so he assumed she was asking him about his implants but he wasn't entirely sure it was the best guess he could make in his current state.

As Shuo attempted to stand and only succeed in floping back down in the chair Telmeck chuckled, he looked like an animal he had seen ages ago in a human zoo. He had no chance at even recalling the name of the animal, all he remembered was it had a big shell, scales and walked on all fours.

Then as Shuo answered Shiva, Telmeck's attention was knocked away from the animal and instead brought to the topic at hand. As he named all the things that could happen if he turned his implants off Telmeck frowned. "Implants are magical things aren't they?" He commented not really sure if that sentence would be relevant.

[EliteCommander]

"No." Rareth said abruptly, opening her eyes and letting out a yawn. She was rapidly growing more and more fatigued, though she was still convinced she could stay awake. She had only been half-listening to the conversation, but something about mentioning the word "magical" made her inject herself back into the conversation.

"No, implants aren't magic at all, they're...scientific. They're the opposite of magic; if they weren't, I could actually use them. Or...I could use the good ones. I've got some smaller implants, but they're not as helpful as yours. You can get...super strong, super fast, cancel out pain, or...use your brain to operate machines really accurately. It sounds great; all I can do is...bend, break, or punch holes in spacetime with my mind. It's boring by comparison." As Rareth's voice trailed off, she let out another yawn and closed her eyes. She wanted to avoid falling asleep, but in her current state, she was not thinking clearly enough to actually do something to help keep her alert. Instead, she was allowing herself to become more relaxed.

Seemingly randomly, Rareth let out a chuckle as a thought came to her mind. "You know, Shuo, you're really drunk. Better be careful not to...pass out." She warned, interrupting herself with another yawn. "I don't know what you Sovereignty people do, but I've had a lot of fun before messing with people who fall asleep at...celebrations like this. My pranks aren't too mean, but...they are...funny. It's not a...good idea to be the first to...fall..." Rareth's voice trailed off to nothing as fatigue overtook her. Within minutes, she was entirely unconscious, still clutching tightly onto Telmeck's tail.

[Muttonhawk]

While chewing and swallowing quietly, Shiva listened on to the ramblings of her teammates with a small smile. They were all of course extremely professional, and it was amusing to see that bubble through even when they were getting their rocks off and drinking. Rareth's trailing off was met by a short silence. Shiva even leaned forward to double check that she had actually fallen asleep.

Shiva glanced her eyes to Shuo and Telmeck in turn. "Well, she's out," Shiva remarked, regarding the states of Shuo and Telmeck as well. They weren't far off either. Mischief gleamed over Shiva's face for a moment as she took on an inspiring motivation to have Rareth realise her own advice, but it was an excitement not often exercised. She was like a dog that never learned to hunt and finally caught a bird. She didn't know what to do. "Do you two have any ideas before you fall asleep in your seats?"

[Leon5431]

Telmeck chuckled at Rareth, "No, no, I didn't mean literrrallyyy magical, I meant like fig-uhm..figativ-err figura-ahh...figuratively. Wow...words are hard....but yeah...like...they can do lots of stuff and stuff... I know...their not magical...I was just saying magical in a non magically magic way." He paused as he tried thinking over what he just said. "Wait a second..." He said as he furrowed his brow and starred intensely at the floor his inebriated brain struggling to make sense of the sentence he had just said.

Just then Rareth spoke up and Telmeck lost track of what he was thinking about as he looked at her again smiling dumbly as she warned Shuo not to fall asleep only to be doing so herself. As he voice died down she soon relaxed and seemed to have fallen completely asleep. Shiva spoke up announcing Rareth was asleep, Telmeck smiled and shook his head at Rareth, "And then there were three." He said before looking up towards the others. They seemed to be awake for the most part, about as awake as he was.

Shiva spoke up once again with a mischievous grin asking if anyone had any ideas of what they could do to her. He thought for few moments before answering, "Hmm, I'm not sure, maybe we could carry her to the hanger and put her in the cargo hold of the Hummingbird?" He said with a shrug looking down and Rareth as she snuggled his tail. He was tempted to tickle her noes with the tip of his tail, but decided it was best he didn't if they actually did want to move her to the Hummingbird.

[cqbexpt]

Shuo managed to throw himself from his chair on to a reasonably stable stance. He put his hands in front of him as he watched them shift into their correct space and he looked up at the lizards which he could kind of see now. For a second Shuo thought he would lose his balance and he jumped rather sloppily into a wide standing position and threw his arms to his sides. Standing was hard now for Shuo which nearly surprised him until of course he remembered that he had been drinking. Shuo looked at the lizards as he heard that Rareth had gone to sleep. Atleast he thought that was what was happening. He couldn't tell very well faces were impossible to read at this point and body language was all but lost on him. He managed to strain and hear Telmeck speak. Putting her in the bird or something.

After a moment the pieces clicked together in Shuo's head. They wanted to prank Rareth put her in the Hummingbird."Ooooooh, sounds fuuun. Thu-though let me paint sm-something on herrr face. S-she could use a smile!" Shuo said with a chuckle as he began stumbling in the direction he thought maybe food was. He rummaged through a few shelves and cabinets looking for something to draw with. Eventually, Shuo produced a sphere that felt squishy to the touch. He wondered for a brief moment why a Rothian had fruit but that thought was quickly replaced with his task. He squeezed the fruit tightly and held it on a counter. He brought his head spike around and began sawing at the fruit at the most ridiculous angle. Satisfied that the fruit was cut Shuo walked back over to Rareth. Though not before banging his leg on a chair.

He knelt down next to the sleeping Rareth and with a snicker fell onto the floor. He placed his thumb into the bigger of the two halves he had cut and withdrew some slimy yet grainy substance from the fruit. He looked at the squished fruit stuff on his thumb and noticed it was green. He then drew 3 incredibly sloppy lines on Rareth's face. But he curved the bottoms of the two outer lines inward making what Shuo thought was a smiley face. Shuo laughed for a second before managing to choke out more slurred words. "Weee shouuld tak er to the bhird now that she smiles!" Shuo then placed his hands on the ground and managed to stand up from that position successfully and kept it which was even more impressive.

[Muttonhawk]

It turned out that Shiva was just tipsy enough to not think that Telmeck and Shuo's behaviour wasn't a horrible idea. She couldn't help but try to stifle her own laughter behind a hand. Shuo's crooked lines drawn on Rareth's face was just too much, though. She had to turn and lean forward to hide her face as she laughed out loud.

Once Shiva recovered and wiped the tears from her eyes, she motioned to Telmeck and Shuo to help her lift Rareth from her spot on the couch while she held onto her legs. "Let's go. Hopefully we won't run into any questioning people."

[EliteCommander]

The next morning, Rareth did indeed awaken confused in the Hummingbird's hold with a dried, fruity residue on her face. Although, the effectiveness of their prank was perhaps mitigated by the fact that Ashley had been there to witness their drunken behavior. Rareth was not angered by their "prank." In fact, the only form of retaliation she made was to laugh at the others for not being able to come up with anything more inspired. Although she did not try anything for the remainder of their trip, Rareth did dedicate some thought to coming up with ways she might pull some jokes on the others in the future, should she get the opportunity.

There were no more drunken nights for the rest of the journey back to Pax, mostly because there was no more alcohol. Since the mission was essentially over, their duties on the return trip were even more mundane, apart from the few instances where the captain called on them to clarify something in their report. The ship dropped out of FTL in a civilized system a few days into the journey in order to get a secure connection back to Pax to send their report as soon as possible, but otherwise, it was a nonstop trip.

After a week, the Boundless Light was once again back at Pax, this time docked in orbit instead of at Concord. Unsurprisingly, Rareth's team was being called in for a meeting to discuss the mission, though Rareth guessed that the future of this entire initiative would also be a point of discussion. They were told that they could leave whatever they needed to aboard the ship, so Rareth brought only her formal clothes and personal electronics. She guessed that meant their superiors intended for all of them to be returning to the ship, which would suggest their team was in fact sticking together. Although, they did say their belongings would be delivered to them if needed, so it was not guaranteed.

Rareth waited outside the shuttle they would be taking to Concord so she could stretch her legs while she waited for the others to arrive. Depending on how urgently they were needed, they may or may not be rushed through customs, so Rareth readied herself to be seated for a while.

[cqbexpt]

After the awkward and hazy activity of three drunk soldiers carrying a large lizard through the hallways of a military ship the three of them spent little time setting Rareth down in the hold of the Hummingbird and running clumsily like a bunch of idiots. Or atleast that was all Shuo could remember as he awoke face first on the floor of his room. He picked his head up and felt the dry saliva give little resistance to his mandible. He stood up and looked around trying to get his bearings as his eyes adjusted from a cross eyed position. After realizing the alcohol had already worn off of him thanks to his implants Shuo decided to check a clock on one of the data pads next to his bed. It was still the same "day" as when they had started drinking but not being sure when they had started Shuo guessed it had nearly been a day. This was going to be a long trip.

After cleaning up and heading off to the armory like he had originally intended Shuo spent the next couple of days stripping apart his armor as much as he knew how to and fixing what wasn't fried from plasma and fusion rounds. While he couldn't take everything apart in the suit he knew enough to reliably take most of it apart and put it back together. Though there were many electronics that while he had access to he dared not touch them for fear of the techs messing with his armor once they got back to Pax, that was a lesson he had learned the hard way. Though most of the armor's electronics were intact he would have to get a new chest and shoulder plate as they were melted beyond what his field repair nanites could fix.

Since his armor was squared away and he had nothing else to do Shuo spent most of his time in the small gym the ship had. He also managed to help pass time by talking to other Masulu and Tempu crewmates swapping war stories, drinking stories, and general stories of messing around. While the idea of swapping old stories was not that appealing to Shuo during his early years he had come to appreciate the ability to know what someone else felt every once in a while. Once the time came to go meet their commanders on Pax Shuo made doubly sure to have his uniform in clean pressed condition and rank denotations polished then pinned promptly to his chest. When he arrived at the hanger he noticed that Rareth was also dressed up but more importantly had beaten him there. As he walked up the ramp of the shuttle and found a seat across from the lizard, noticing that she had the same idea as him to bring nothing with him besides a data pad. After tapping a news story Shuo looked up across to Rareth and said. "Let's hope we didn't pack light for nothing."

[Leon5431]

After the group placed Rareth in the hold of the Hummingbird and fled like drunken fools Telmeck trudged into his and Rareth's quarters starting to struggle to get out of his clothes as soon as he was safely in the room. By the time he plopped drunkenly into the bed his clothes were scattered about fro, the door to the bed.

Telmeck rolled on to his back and starred up at the ceiling before sighing happily. "Hehe...I'm really going to come to regret that stupid little prank there." Telmeck said with smile.

He tried to the best of his abilities to keep his eyelids, which were slowly getting heavier and heavier, open. All the while his inebriated mind struggled to maintain his pleasant thoughts about the night he had just had. He had far more fun then he had originally anticipated he would have with the pair of Soverignty soldiers.

He really enjoyed Shiva, though it felt like he was forgetting something important about her, he wasn't sure if it was something bad or good, all he knew was that it was something to do with her. Shut on the over hand? Well he did but didn't like Shuo, he certainly respected him, he was a hell-of-a soldier according to his file but his personality just put Telmeck on edge sometimes. He wasn't all too talkative and when he was talking it was, for the most part, quick and to the point, at least when he was sober.

Slowly Telmeck's resistance weakened and his eyes began to close and he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning when Telmeck awoke he could faintly feel the after affects of the drinking from the night before, any pain he should feel was blocked, but still he could feel some of the other affects, though they were easy to shrug off. Considering Rareth wasn't in the bed or room with him that suggested she still hadn't woken up yet or at least just hadn't come to the room yet which gave Telmeck a chance to delay her rant about how uncreative and boring their prank on her was, an opportunity Telmeck didn't not kind taking advantage of.

He quickly cleaned up his mess of clothes and changed into something more presentable, he was no longer military so he wasn't required to wear a uniforme, but still he felt he might as well wear one which was a pleasant the change of pace.

Once dressed and overall more decent Telmeck made his way to the medbay looking to fulfill his promise and to remove himself of the pain he was blocking. Upon entering he flagged down one of the medics and explained his situation. Soon enough he was laying across one of the many cots as two medics, a Human female and Tempu male set to work in identifying his wounds.

Unfortunately he didn't have a medic with magical capabilities here to heal his wounds as Rareth did so his treatment would take a bit longer then it had in the past. But before too long the medics had identified his wounds, he had three fractured ribs in his back and some minor tissue trauma. Which could easily be taken care of with a stiminjection or two.

As the Tempu went about preparing the stims for injection the Human explained that they were going to use the medical equipment to apply the stims more directly to the affected area which should help the wound heal faster. Telmeck nodded his head in agreement as she explained the procedure. Soon the Tempu came back into view and said everything was set.

With that Telmeck removed his over shirt and undershirt as instructed and laid down on his stomach before relaxing and waiting for the equipment to do its job. He lay there on his stomach for several seconds as the machinery moved around above his back getting into position to inject the stims.

"There's going to be a slight pinching sensation." The Medic explained. Telmeck nodded in response, resisting the urge to make a comment that he knows what it feels like.

Sure enough moments later the pinching sensation came and went.

"Alright just two more injections and we'll be all ready to stir up some more trouble." Said the Tempu, Telmeck chuckled in response.

Telmeck gazed off down to the far side of the room as he waited for the final two injections to be administered. Soon enough there was a pat on his back and the Human medic spoke up.

"Alright big guy, you're all set." She said before handing him his clothes as he sat up.

"Thank you." Telmeck said happily as he started putting his clothes back on.

"Alright, well if you find anymore wounds after this just let us know and we'll fix right up." She said with a friendly smile, "And from a medical standpoint it's probably best you don't keep that implant of yours on all the time. Pain is pretty useful as much as it is aggravating." She added with a chuckle.

Telmeck jokingly rolled his eyes, "I know I know, trust me I've been yelled at about that before. Trust me, that's being hammered into my brain on the daily." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

After saying his goodbyes he was off on his way to the armory to go check on his gear and make any repairs needed and schedule any repairs he couldn't do himself. Once done with that he was back to his regular duties and passing time until their arrival to Pax. He spent most of his time in the small gym aboard the ship along with Shuo and whatever other time performing his duties or with Rareth.

Finally as they arrived at Pax, Telmeck put on some more formalish clothes deciding to finally try and exercise his privilege of not having to wear a uniform. Once properly dressed Telmeck grabbed his wrist computer and made his way to the shuttle they would be taking. He wasn't entirely sure what the plan was, but seeing as Rareth was packing light he decided he might as well do the same. Once they were ready Rareth began making her way to the shuttle, but Telmeck broke off to go check on the repairs to his gear which caused him to arrive some time behind Rareth.

As Telmeck neared the shuttle he noticed that along with Rareth, Shuo had already arrived. As he neared the shuttle he came up behind Rareth, making little effort to hide his footsteps before he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly "Hello darling, well my equipment is all set. Sorry it took me a bit." He said happily before taking a step back and looking over to Shuo, "Hello Shuo." He said with a nod of his head. "How are you today?"

[Muttonhawk]

Despite the drunken night being a real risk to Shiva's position on the team, it turned out not only to be worth it, but a cherished memory. The team felt like friends to her now, even the no-nonsense Shuo. Additionally, she was surprised how well Telmeck seemed to take finding out about her criminal history. It was a little easier to relax now.

When Shiva woke up the next morning with arguably less of a hangover than the was expecting, she sighed and laughed slightly to see Shuo spread across the carpeted floor. She sort of wished she hadn't fallen asleep on her cot so quickly, else she might have been able to help him into his bed and prevent the inevitable aches he would have.

As was expected, the rest of the journey back to Pax was business as usual. Shiva kept up her training regime and spent much of her spare time reading. There was occasionally time for socialising, but they were far from on a holiday, so her teammates were more often than not as busy as she was.

The day that the ship reached Pax was the same day that everyone in the team was to be called to a meeting. It sounded like a formal debriefing more than anything. Shiva had spotted Shuo laying out his ArmSpecWar dress uniform for the occasion, so Shiva decided not to make the same mistake as last time. Her dress uniform was far less decorated and certainly displayed a lower rank than Shuo's, but she kept it as prim and polished as any soldier.

Shiva emerged to meet the others in short order, brushing off one last ball of lint from her sleeve as she walked. She took a deep calming breath in anticipation. "Alright, time to be formal."

[EliteCommander]

Rareth heard Telmek approaching behind her, and did not stop him from wrapping his arms around her. She turned her head, rubbing her muzzle against the end of his just slightly. “I can handle ten minutes apart from you, don’t go worrying your tail off. I rather like your tail.” She said with a slight chuckle before pulling away from him and taking her seat in the back of the shuttle. Apparently, their superiors in the Assembly had already received their report, so they likely had already made their decisions on what would become of their team. This time, Rareth knew no more about what was happening than the rest of the team, so she was just as curious as they about the upcoming meeting. Hopefully, the others would arrive shortly so they could get moving.

Looking to Shuo, Rareth could see he was packing light as well. Of course, if they weren’t returning to the Boundless Light, it would be easy enough to have someone deliver their belongings to them. “Your guess is as good as mine. I think we did quite well, but you never know with bureaucrats. They might restructure us just for the fun of it. “

Telmeck was still standing nearby, with his tail resting on the seat next to her. Out of curiosity, Rareth subtly reached out, then suddenly gave it a sharp pinch to see if he was still blocking out his pain.

[cqbexpt]

Shuo leaned against the bulkhead and rolled his eyes at the two lovers he was sitting across from. Under his breath he swore to Shen that if that relationship got him killed he would find a way back just to punish them. It wasn't that Shuo had personal reservations, it was simply unsound from a tactical stand point for two members of a larger squad to be "involved". Though there were the old stories where the entire army as "involved" with each other. Shuo gave off a quick look of disgust as the the thought passed in and out of his mind, the idea was just......messy. He turned his attention to the recently arrived Shiva he gave her a quick look up and down he had never actually seen her in dress uniform until now, that would certainly be a good impression on the higher up that was going to be informing her of the recent lifting of her full traitor sentence. Even if that mark wouldn't be washed away her legal status as a citizen would be restored, after all couldn't have a criminal charged with sensitive information now could you. He turned back to Rareth and said "Let's hope they were as efficient as we were atleast. Though I doubt it will be much fun." Turning back to Shiva "Glad to see you in uniform soldier."

[Leon5431]

Telmeck returned the gentle rub in kind with a happy smile, as she spoke up he chuckled and sighed, "Oh and here I was hoping you would actually miss me." He mocked before he released her as she began to pull away. As she took her seat Telmeck remained standing and rested his tail on the chairs behind him. He crossed his arms and listened as Shuo and Rareth spoke. He never was a fan of bureaucrats, everything was so difficult with them it was never simple everything was a huge ordeal and debate, they always had to stick their fingers in every aspect of a situation.

He let out a sigh that might have been mistaken for a light growl to some as he thought of always having to report to them after every mission. Perhaps with time he would grow used too the ordeal he tried to reassure himself. But the idea of growing used to hearing endless debates felt so far away that the known universe couldn't compare.

Just then he felt a sharp pinch near the end of his tail and retracted it away instinctively before looking over his shoulder. "Well excuse you miss, first last night now this? The future is seeming rather grim for my poor tail." Telmeck joked as he smiled back at her.

[Muttonhawk]

Shiva was carefully making her way to an unoccupied seat in the transport shuttle when Shuo addressed her. She looked up for a moment, but waited until she was seated before answering. "It's not normally my look, I know, but it's likely the most effort I'll be ever putting into clothing." Shiva's voice lowered, "You're not looking too bad yourself, Shuo."

"Hmhm," Shiva chuckled lightly at the frisky reptilians in front of her. For lack of anything better to do while they waited for takeoff, she tried contributing to the conversation that appeared, "I think 'search and destroy' might have different ways of being efficient than 'push datapads'."

Personally, I just hope they keep the team together, Shiva thought to herself. The onset of anxiety about that possibility made Shiva lean forward in her seat to ask Rareth a question. She waited for a pause in Rareth and Telmeck's games. "Hey, Rareth. Just to check, no one found out about the...unofficial debriefing, right?"

[EliteCommander]

"Just checking." Rareth said simply to Telmeck. The others were quickly arriving, so it would not be long before they set out. Shiva still seemed particularly worried about the night they all had after the mission, which did make sense, though Rareth wasn't nearly as worried. "I don't think so, though it's hard to say for sure. You did carry me all the way to the hanger through the ship. What I can say, though, is that if anyone did know, it wouldn't matter. No one is going to attempt to contradict me on the small things." She explained.

Once the last of the team had arrived, the shuttle set off immediately for Concord. Thanks to their government clearance, they were able to bypass most of customs and save a few hours of waiting. The windowless hold of the shuttle offered no kind of view of the descent, but they could hear the pilot being directed to the same building they used during their first visit to the city. The shuttle set down on one of the landing pads reserved for diplomats and other officials near the top of the building. As the shuttle's ramp lowered, Rareth immediately saw a familiar face at the front of the welcoming party.

As usual, Ghirn was in his professional, formal attire. He always seemed to carry with him an air of authority, but this time, he also looked to be in a noticeably good mood. "It is good to see that you are all alive and unharmed. Well, currently unharmed. I have read your reports, just as the other representatives have. As such, there currently is no need for any formal debriefing with all of the representatives, so I volunteered to fill you in on all that has happened. Follow me; I reserved a few rooms for you."

It was a short walk and elevator ride to the apartments the team would be using. They were different rooms from their last visit, but all of the rooms were rather similar, so it did not matter. Ghirn picked one of the rooms and led them inside, waiting a few moments before he began his briefing. "Overall, the mission was a great success, so our respective governments have taken a great deal more interest in this program. We've been rebranded three times over the past few days. Currently, we are the Office of Joint Species Affairs, and I am at least sixty percent certain that we will be keeping the name. But, the part you most likely want to heard about is how things will change for you. There has been a lot of restructuring in our organization, and is has impacted your team, though a lot of you will be staying together. Currently, your team consists of Rareth, Telmeck, Shiva, Shuo, Bitheroi, and Ashley. The rest of you will be receiving separate assignments. Also, I would like to note that it is very likely that you will be receiving new team members before your next mission."