049: The Tools of Acquisition – Four
The normally cavernous cargo hold seemed less so with the three Storlayacas within it. Standing on the walkway leading up to them, Queen Kaizoku braced herself against the railing, her expression unreadable as she regarded the machines before her.
The sound of footsteps growing closer broke the ambient whir of noise that always filled the space, and the Queen moved only her eyes to see who was joining her.
"My Queen, I've just had word from the crew of the Sudoxe. They've completed preparations on their end and stand ready for the operation to commence." General Grim said once she pulled to attention at the Queen's side.
"As they should," Kaizoku replied without turning to face her, "Tell me, General, what is your measure of these, our temporary allies?"
General Grim frowned slightly, her mandibles flexing in thought a moment before she spoke. "They seem... chaotic, if I'm being generous. Ruled by their emotions. But I do not doubt their dedication to seeing this mission through."
Queen Kaizoku nodded slightly at that. "My thoughts wander along similar trails. The thirst for revenge is a powerful thing, General, as you are well aware."
Taking in a slow, measured breath, General Grim turned to match the Queen's position, staring out at the Storlayacas, before saying, "And I hope you will be just as accommodating when it comes to slaking my own thirst for vengeance."
A short laugh of incredulity escaped Queen Kaizoku. "Rest assured, your time will come. First we must collect the rest of these Storlayacas, and then our path to retribution will be laid open to us. Once we retrieve this latest find, the machine that demands the presence of the Chancellor, we will be one step closer to locating your own. And then there will be nothing that can stop us."
Mandibles twitching with barely restrained emotion, General Grim's gauntleted hands screeched against the railing as she tightened her grip. She stared intently in the direction of the Storlayacas, seeing past them to some older, darker memory.
Beside her, Queen Kaizoku took in the sight of the massive machines once more, one finger of her mechanical hand tapping a steady rhythm against the railing.
Before them, the Storlayacas stood silent, impassive. In the harsh, industrial lighting of the cargo hold, the alien, almost organic shapes of their build were thrown into harsh light and shadow. There was a palpable tension to them, as if they were coiled tight, ready to spring to life without need for a pilot to guide them. Though of Hyttan make, sharing the same organic-looking construction, it was readily apparent that there was something the Storlayacas had that the more plentiful Odazaen lacked.
Breaking the silence as she leaned forward slightly, Queen Kaizoku asked, "Tell me, do they appear different from when we first found them?"
General Grim blinked, a look of confusion falling across her face for an instant before she forced her expression back to neutrality, her eyes focusing in on what stood before her as she returned, "The Storlayacas?"
Queen Kaizoku nodded, gesturing out at them with her hand of flesh as she said, "They were all shades of grey when we first lay claim to them, but there seems to be a tint coming into their forms."
Regarding the ancient mechs once more, under the bright lighting, it was apparent that there was the slightest of variation to colour between the three Storlayacas. The one in the centre was the most obvious when it came to a difference, a pale blue cast to its colouring. The one to its right had a faint lavender tint to it, while the one to its left had the barest hint of distant red. It was an easy thing to miss, when the mechs were in motion, but with them here, at rest side by side, the change was unmistakable.
And striking, for how it reflected the colouration of those they had claimed as pilots.
"Were it not for the fact that no fluid flows within them, I would assume it were a flush of blood." Queen Kaizoku continued, head tilted as she stared at them, "How curious, these relics of a vanished people."
General Grim let out a short, humourless laugh. "Unlike our revenge, I don't think the questions we have about these things will ever be fulfilled."
Returning the laugh, Queen Kaizoku replied, "What else can one expect from the remnants of the Hyttan?"
"I do offer my apologies for my unexpected tangent, but I applaud you for improvising around it." Pryseia said to Nevara as the final edit Elytra had put together came to an end.
Seated on the couch next to her in the rec room, Nevara shrugged, replying, "Practice for when we broadcast these things live."
From her own seat on the next couch over, Elytra frowned, saying, "But that's weird, right? The colour change? Odazaen don't do the same?"
"They certainly don't." Malakh said from where she was curled up against the arm of the same couch, scrolling through something on the data pad she had balanced against her knees, "I've done what poking around that I can, but I can't seem to find a mechanical reason for this development."
"And my system scans have turned up just as much nothing," Viatrix said from her normal console, "The fact that the Storlayacas seem to be taking on each of your pigmentation… I don't know what to think about that."
"Well, like Grim said, it's probably a question we won't ever have answered." Malakh grumbled as she tipped her head back against the couch, "Unless there's some breakthrough in deciphering Hyttan tech, but who knows how long that's going to take."
"It hasn't seemed to affect their capabilities, which is the only thing that matters to us." Nevara pointed out.
Pryseia slouched down in her seat, tail tapping idly against the cushions as she said, "Agreed. I suppose we will have to see if Rhea's Storlayacas follows this trend or bucks it. Speaking of, we will be filming more today in regards to her, yes?"
"Yeah, once she's done with her transformation," Elytra said, scooping up her data pad from where she'd thrown it against the couch earlier, checking through her notes, "We've got to get some images of her over to the Sudoxe so they can get those squared away in the false identity they've got drafted. I got word from Husan, and she's got the genetic masking serum ready to go, but for maximum efficacy it's best to be administered on the day of."
"Wild stuff," Malakh chuckled, her tail twitching beside her, "And way over my pay grade. Is there anything we need to fabricate before filming starts?"
"A couple minor things for set dressing, mostly." Elytra told her as she read off her data pad, "As for filming itself, there's some stuff about going over the plan in a vague enough way to tease but not tip our hand, the Sudoxe's crew have some interpersonal stuff that they want to shoot, and then some scenes with the Shareholder that they're going to release after the mission's pulled off."
"You really got into that role!" Malakh laughed as she swatted at Elytra with her tail, "Should we use you as a secret villain for us as well?"
Elytra grinned back at her, saying, "Well, we never see Madame Augury's face, so who's to say the Shareholder doesn't have a secret twin who could come looking for revenge?"
"Or a clone, or a child, or someone so obsessed with her that they got cosmetic surgery to look the part, or a version of herself from an alternate timeline," Pryseia listed off on her fingers, "There have been wilder things done within Kith story lines for the sake of audience titillation."
"Good to keep in mind for the future, I suppose." Nevara said with a quiet laugh.
"Speaking of things for the future," Viatrix announced, "Our new undercover agent is about to make her debut!"
The others had time enough to turn around before the door to the rec room slid open, and Rhea stepped inside. The change was jarring, to say the least.
Her wavy, dark brown hair was now palest yellow, limp and straight. Her golden brown skin was bleached to a sickly white, her normally vibrant tattoos nowhere to be seen. Her dark brown eyes were now an alien blue, startlingly so. This washing out of her colour seemed to diminish her physical stature as well, as she looked smaller somehow. Standing there in a short sleeved shirt and practical pants, she looked less herself and more like an alien had raided her closet.
Ears pinned back and a slight grimace on her face, Malakh said, "The lights are going out tonight."
That shocked a laugh out of Rhea so forcefully that she threw her head back as she cackled, and that made her look more like herself.
"That bad, huh?" She got out after a moment, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, "You never fantasized about sleeping with another woman?"
Malakh shot her a flat look that clearly said, "Be so fucking for real right now."
"Well you look the part, to be certain," Pryseia said as she got up to get a better look at the other woman, "It's… unsettling, if I may be so blunt."
"Yeah, blonde was never really my shade," Rhea said as she gave a little turn, "Had a period in my teens when I wouldn't stop dying my hair, but it was always some gonzo shade you couldn't find in nature."
"Really? Is this a common practice among your people?" Elytra asked, trying to imagine Rhea as a youth.
The woman in question hummed noncommittally, seesawing her hand back and forth. "Yes and no. Most humans stick to more natural hair colours for our kind, others go a little nuts with it. I had a real bad girl alt phase, so I was doing whatever I could to buck the norm."
"That rings truer to your character than…" Nevara trailed off, waving a hand at Rhea's current appearance.
"Well, it's just until the auction," Rhea said with a little laugh, "So you'll have to deal with this for a couple days. Speaking of which, we should probably get the ball rolling now that I look the part!"
The time between when the door to the command centre opened up and when Captain Sharp looked to see who was entering was less than a second, but it was time enough for her instincts to have her gun filling her hand and pointed at the intruder before they could so much as take a step into the space.
Pale, ring adorned hands lifted in surrender out from the confines of an iridescent dark gold cape as Chancellor Bathory said, "Relax, it's just me."
Beside Sharp, Verge and Averral relaxed from the tense posture they'd fallen into the second their captain had moved, shooting each other a surprised look.
Smirking, Bathory stepped into the room, the Queen's Red Left Hand and the Queen herself following after her.
"As you can see," Queen Kaizoku said as she stepped up to the table in the middle of the room, "Being accepted as one of the Necupole's own will not be an issue for the Chancellor."
Crossing her arms across her broad chest, Verge huffed out an incredulous laugh. "It takes more than a bit of gilding to fool a jeweller."
"Thankfully I have the skills to pull off this ruse." Bathory said as she shot the deorviran a condescending little smile.
Averral gave the Chancellor a long, appraising look, eyes dragging up her body as an appreciative smirk ticked up the left side of her mouth. "I can't wait to see you in action."
The Hand's eyes snapped to her, pupils narrowing to nothing but faint black mar against the burnished copper of her irises, but the rest of her remained unnaturally still.
Averral caught the look, lifting an eyebrow in response, and nothing more.
Either unaware of or uninterested in this interaction, Queen Kaizoku touched a hand against the table, bringing up the blueprints for their target once more. "Our event begins in naught but a few days, and so it would behoove us to run through the details of the plan once more. None of us can afford mistakes at this junction."
"Agreed." Sharp said, tapping the table herself, bringing up the image of a small shuttle of Necupole make. As with much of their architectural designs, the shuttle was all artful, curving lines built more for form than function, a gold plated work of art that would look more at home on a pedestal at an art gallery rather than plying the stars. Glancing between Bathory and Averral, Sharp continued, "We've gotten our hands on a shuttle that will allow you to slip in unnoticed. It's flashy, but it's honestly a junker. That won't matter, however, as the two of you will be escaping by other means."
Sharp swiped a hand against the table to bring up images of the ship and the Storlayacas they were after. "Averral, once you're in the warehouse proper, you shouldn't have any trouble getting to the ship. Bide your time in the cockpit until the chance to make a break for it arises."
"That will come down to you," Kaizoku said as she glanced at Bathory, "Once you're in the Storlayacas, clear a path for our associate to escape through, and we will be waiting at the designated coordinates to render aid in your escape."
Averral leaned casually against the table, glancing across it at her partner for the event. "This is shaping up to be a most entertaining evening."
"It certainly is." Bathory replied with a smirk of her own, locking eyes with the other woman.
Beside her, the Hand didn't so much as blink.
Later, Captain Sharp sat alone at the bar in the Sudoxe's mess hall, a bottle before her, as well as a full shot glass. She stared at it, hands resting lightly on the bar top, her eyes staring off into the depths of her memories.
Before she could move to take the drink, a brown furred hand reached around her, pilfering the glass. Sharp let out an amused snort as Averral took the bar stool next to her, knocking back the shot as if it were nothing more than water.
"You're playing a dangerous game with that one." Sharp said as Averral reached over the counter to rummage around in the glassware.
The brown furred deorviran pulled back with another shot glass in hand, and reached across her captain for the bottle. Uncorking it and pouring them both a shot, she replied, "Please, I know how to handle myself around a little liquor."
"That's not what I mean and you know it." Sharp said with a fond eye roll, downing her shot with a slight wince.
Averral shrugged carelessly, refilling her captain's glass before taking an unbothered sip from her own. "So I do, but you don't have to worry about it. We may be two swords crossing, but we have our own sheaths to return to at the end of the match."
"And into whose sheath will your blade be plunging into, I wonder?" Sharp said as she raised her shot glass.
A wicked scowl crossed Averral's face as she said, "Nowhere else but the Shareholder's heart."
The pair of them clinked their glasses, downing the shots as one.
The vaulted arches of the Pelekys, the ornate windows letting in not starlight, but the fiery orange of sunset on an alien world. Cast in silhouette against this backdrop, the Hand was flowing through a series of precise sword forms. She didn't so much as flinch when a voice interrupted her routine.
"And so we cross paths once again."
The Hand didn't bother sparing a glance at Bathory, once again leaning against the opening to the room, arms and legs casually crossed.
"Here to surrender more information?" The Hand said as she executed a tightly controlled turn, bringing her blade up in a devastating sweep.
A low rumble of a laugh hummed out of the Chancellor as she unfolded herself, striding over to weapon rack and selecting a long, slim blade to match the one the Hand was currently using. She unclipped her cape, letting it pool on the floor before stepping out of it, then took up a ready stance across from the other woman.
"We'll have to see, now won't we?"
Calmly, methodically, the Hand brought her blade through her latest maneuver, before unhurriedly stepping into place across from the Chancellor. Cast in shadow due to the sunset they stood against, Bathory looked more herself than the pale mockery she had to assume for the sake of the mission.
Unlike their first match, the Chancellor throwing her all into it while the Hand deftly matched her move for move, Bathory was forced on the defensive as she was deluged in the Hand's lightning fast strikes. Their blades limned gold from the setting sun, they advanced and retreated across the empty hall, a dance only they could hear the music to.
The Hand lunged in close, trying to get under Bathory's guard to end the match, but the human seemed to have been anticipating this, for she grabbed the Hand's sword arm with her off hand, twisting enough to send the blade flying from her grip, before forcing the other woman to the ground. Kneeling over her, chest heaving with her forearm pressed against the Hand's clavicle, she smiled down at the woman pinned beneath her, a thing of dark promise as she asked, "Does our wager from the previous bout still stand?"
Looking mildly put out, the Hand huffed out a sigh as she said, "Ask your question and I will answer it truthfully."
Tilting her head to the side as she eyed the Hand up, Bathory asked, "Aren't you concerned?"
"No." Was the Hand's immediate reply.
The Chancellor rolled her eyes at that. "Not this, about the mission I am about to go on, and the company I'll be keeping."
"No." The woman beneath her reiterated, "I have seen what you are capable of, and know that your skills are well suited for the infiltration you're going to be undertaking. As for who will be accompanying you-"
The Hand twisted, her knee coming up to Bathory's hip, tipping her off balance enough to flip their positions. One hand against Bathory's throat, the other pinning her sword arm to the ground, the Hand said, "I'm not thinking of her at all."
Even with the reversal of their positions, a hand wrapped around her throat, Bathory did nothing to stop the slow smile from spreading across her face.