“How’d you get sick anyways, aren’t you Captain Shin-Ra?” Satori paused to roll her eyes while listening to the voice on the other end of her Shindroid. “Right, of course, I must be delirious to make such a mistake. It’s just when you asked me to do you a favor I didn’t think it would be this boring,”
It was early morning and the docks were finally waking up. The morning mist seeped up from between the rickety wooden planks and clutched at their pounding feet as they traveled to and fro, this deep into the slums the only ships to be found were archaic wooden vessels that swayed precariously on the waves and gave truth to the ferocity of the ocean or those that had some reason to disguise themselves as such. All the same to the local flavor though, peddlers beginning to set up their stalls or haulers filled to the brim with energy, the taverns wouldn’t see their first visitors until at least noon but a few still had their doors open if only to let the local drunks stumble out and the prostitutes catch a breath of fresh air. But in the dark alleys where criminals would normally fester in the wounds of society there was an eerie silence.
These alleys now belonged to our dear Shadow Queen Satori, looking horribly out of place in this low-rent high-seas adventure with her back mounted against a wall and legs shifting steadily from one position to the next; the cutting image of cool. She was a tall girl, just a few inches beneath six feet, with a thin frame and skin as pale as a ghost. The broad set of her shoulders and the wide stance she took whenever numbness began to settle in and she had to pace about betraying her aggressive nature where the suit hid the lean muscles of her frame, though anyone who strayed close enough to listen to her phone conversation already knew that. She wore a dark red business suit cut by the finest tailors in Neo Midgar, much the same as the other Knights when they were on assignment, with a black dress shirt and a red tie underneath and a rich golden trim lining the edges. Her tie was a loose noose worn unwillingly around her neck, the sleeves of her suit haphazardly rolled up, and her coat unbuttoned to reveal a dress shirt only half tucked. It was with great reluctance that Satori dressed the part.
Her face though pretty was childish and that would likely never change in her adult life thanks to the thin layer of baby fat around her cheeks, the wide too friendly set of her mouth, and a pair of large golden-red eyes. Her black hair was set in that style she had co-opted for quite some time, braided close along the right side of her head while the bulk combed over and into the left, what couldn’t fit hung loosely over either shoulder. She was it seems unarmed save for the phone in her left hand.
“So… did you get Sapphire to cook you a meal?” the voice on the other end raised a pitch until even the bleariest eyed dock worker was forced to turn his head and glance. Satori’s subsequent laugh was as sharp as a knife, “Okay, calm down, at your age you shouldn’t get too worked up. Besides I’m not so sure she wouldn’t poison you. Your lead hasn’t arrived yet, Ijok was his name right? Not that I even know what he looks like but you said I’d recognize him when I saw him and the only thing I recognize are the kind of people who don’t know what the meaning of the word sobriety is.”
Enki, affectionately known as Captain Shin-Ra to his comrades, had been pursuing a lead for months now. The company had made contact with an alien government known only as the Guild and the Knights had been given task of playing ambassador. It was an unprecedented decision given that their division had been in existence for little over half a year and in that short time they had built up a track record of wonton violence, anarchy, and general chicanery. To say that feathers had been ruffled was something of an understatement and for a time it seemed like the protests would hold weight and the Knights would stay grounded in favor of safer investments but that was before the President had stepped in and when President Beryl spoke the board of directors listened.
Among the unhappy was our Queen of the Shadows…
Satori had a bad feeling about the Guild from the very start, well not so much them but about something in their midst though she wouldn’t explain what even if she could, and when the order to mobilize had been passed down the Shadow Queen had gone missing. In typical teenage fashion she refuse to say a word when she left and when she returned months later and there had been questions from just about every angle, only the Scarlet Breaker had remained silent and that’s because Solus never seemed to give a damn. She only let it be known that her business was important and while that was hardly enough explanation it was all that anyone had come to expect from her. Timing could not have been more fortuitous though for Enki had a punishment in mind.
Without a bad cough to disguise his wicked smirk the commander revealed that things had just become a whole lot more interesting in Guild Space but he had come down with the Choco-Pox and was unable to be present. An unnamed someone—who boldly called herself leader without shouldering any of the responsibilities—had been earning a paycheck without reporting their hours for far too long.
“This is what I get for being a good friend,” A bit more shouting and coughing followed by an exasperated sigh. “You’d think hunting a God Slayer would be good enough for you… Why don’t you tell me that that means?” Rhetorical, “No I don’t have the sword on me, I left it in the ship, weapons and diplomacy don’t usually go hand in hand.”
“… Tell Sky to mind his own business, I don’t need lu—what the hell is going on here.” The chatter seemed determined to cut her off but she pressed the issue, “No, stop, I can taste lies Enki and yours are awful so what aren’t you telling me? Because I swear if I’m going into danger to save your ego then I am going to rip your head off…” The silence was telling.
“Oh you son of a whore.”