088: Bullets and Boards – Three
Osatiawjo was gorgeous, even from a distance. As small a world as it was, it had a wide array of biomes - forest, desert, grassland, mountain, glacial, seaside, Osatiawjo seemed to have it all, a blue green gem caught in the light of its yellow sun.
"Reminds me of home, you know, except for the size." Rhea said from where she was leaning against the back of the gunner seat where Malakh was sitting, all of them gathered in the bridge while Nevara brought them into the system, "Really need to get back to a world with a gravity level like I'm used to."
"What do you mean by that?" V'tala asked from where she was leaning next to the door.
Smiling fondly at the memory of her birthplace, Rhea explained, "Terra, where I was born, has higher gravity than most of the other races' homeworlds. That's the reason humans are, on average, physically stronger than the other races out there. A lot of that power comes from the fact that we're built denser in order to withstand the gravity of where we were born, and being out here in space, artificial gravity notwithstanding, really does a number on us. I've had to be on a steady diet of supplements in order to not literally waste away. It's an inconvenience the Thalatte were willing to put up with, as the net gain of a human's superior strength was something they were more than happy to exploit."
"I'd no idea," V'tala admitted, "You've a gentle touch."
"Years of practice, believe you me!" Rhea laughed, "Studying xenobiology, it was something that was drilled into us."
"We will have to find a higher gravity world for you later, because it's far too late to change our vacation destination now," Pryseia said, nodding at the view screen, "Unless you'd prefer to be dropped off elsewhere?"
"Absolutely not!" Rhea kicked out halfheartedly at her, "For a vacation, I am completely fine with chilling on a low gravity world!"
"Good, because we're being contacted with docking coordinates. One beach side hotel coming up." Nevara told her as she confirmed a text hail on her console.
Popping her avatar up in the corner of the main view screen, Viatrix said, "So what's the first thing you all want to do?"
"Swimming," was Rhea's immediate reply, "Give me one afternoon at the beach, and I will happily do whatever you want for the rest of our time here!"
From her spot at the other gunner station, Elytra said, "There are a number of local events happening near enough to walk to from the hotel - a couple comedy shows, several nightclubs with an assortment of live music-"
"Any plays?!" Viatrix cut in excitedly.
Scanning the information she'd brought up on the console in front of her, Elytra said, "Not locally, but it looks like there are a couple elsewhere on the world in the coming days. We've got the option of taking a shuttle or taking our ship, so transportation won't be an issue."
"Then we shall make it a point to seek these performances out," Pryseia announced, before she said, "If it's agreeable for the rest of you, I would like to go either skating or skiing at some point."
"Sweetheart, we're not on a time limit here, so we may as well do both." Rhea replied, "If I get my sea, you should get your snow."
Pryseia conceded that point with a smile and a nod.
"What are the hiking trails like?" Nevara asked, not taking her eyes off the screen as she brought the Pelekys into Osatiawjo's atmosphere.
"Plentiful," Elytra told her, "Looks like there are some in pretty much every environment type across the planet, so anything in particular you're looking for?"
Nevara's voice grew wistful as she said, "Something in a forest. It has been far too long since I've walked among the trees."
"There are some very highly rated forest trails," Elytra said with a grin, "Again, not in walking distance, but there's ship parking available."
"Collating all this information must have led you to something you would like to experience while on this world." Pryseia said, shooting Elytra a pointed look.
"Naturally," Elytra shot back, "There are a couple of museums I was hoping to check out. Not to steal from this time, however!"
Frowning at that, V'tala asked, "You've stolen from a museum before?"
"Yeah, for our first proper Kith mission, when we liberated Castore," Rhea said, gently shaking Malakh by the shoulders, "Speaking of, you're being awfully quiet there, babe."
Malakh let out an embarrassed little laugh, shooting the others an uncharacteristically shy glance as she said, "I was having a peek at the upcoming events down there too, and there's… well, a formal gala coming up, a real fancy dress type deal. But it seems pretty frivolous so-"
"So we shall be in attendance," Pryseia cut her off before Malakh could talk herself out of it, "A vacation is a chance to experience things we haven't before, and a formal event such as this is something I certainly haven't been to. I will be selfish and insist we go."
"As if you've got a selfish bone in your body." Malakh's voice was nothing but fondness as she rolled her eyes at Pryseia. Turning to V'tala, she asked, "Just you left. What do you want to get up to while on vacation?"
V'tala tipped her head back far enough to clack her horns against the wall behind her as she thought for a moment, finally saying, "I would like to check out what the markets are like here, perhaps? To be blunt, I don't have a point of reference as to what one does on a vacation, so I'm not sure what to suggest. What the rest of you have decided upon sounds engaging enough, and I would be happy to accompany you on these outing."
"And we would be happy to have you with us." Pryseia spoke for all of them, "Stressful as our lives have been, we more than deserve some time to enjoy each other's company without dire threats crawling from our shadows. Especially with the looming threat of whatever the hand that swatted the Hyttan away actually is."
"I'm gonna cut that train of thought off before it gets any further out of the station," Rhea said sternly as the hotel they'd be staying at came into view on the main screen, "No apocalypse talk while on vacation! It's waited for who knows how many millennia at this point, it can hold off for a few days longer!"
The Hallusdinas Hotel was absolutely brimming with modern conveniences: a subspace pocket anchorage big enough to hold a hundred ships the size of the Pelekys, state of the art spa facilities, auto-tailors and fabricators in every room, all encompassing entertainment suites, and shuttles on standby to take guests to and from the various local destinations.
They'd managed to get a group suite of five rooms joined together by a spacious sitting room, and thanks to the odd, geometrical layout of the building itself - a strangely pleasing Fiskaz style where the entire building looked like slabs stacked on top of one another, twisted at slightly different angles - all of their rooms had views that either looked out on the lush jungle or winding coast that lay beyond the hotel.
Standing at the window of their sitting room, data pad in hand as the others finished laying claim to their own rooms, Rhea said, "There's semi-private picnic areas running all along the beach - seating and shade and cooking equipment included - and our suite came with one assigned to it!"
Holding up the data pad so the others could get a look, Rhea continued, "All we need to do is get changed, grab our gear, swing by the grocery store that's along the path to the beach, and we'd have everything we'd need for a real picnic day of it!"
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to go!" Viatrix said, giving her current drone a spritely little turn. Malakh had fabricated it for her before they reached the system, a sleek, watertight and weatherproof model better suited for a day on the beach rather than armed combat. It was lozenge shaped with a screen on the front end of it that Viatrix was currently displaying her floral avatar on, with two arms with articulated hands that could pop out of its sides, and was small enough that any of them could carry it off in one arm if Viatrix had to abandon it for whatever reason. Wanting something a little more vacation-worthy than the slate grey of her regular drones, Viatrix had requested a "fun finishing" for it, and Malakh had provided one with an iridescent gold paint job that would gleam pink, purple, green, or blue, depending on the angle of light that caught it.
"Sunglasses and sunscreen," Rhea announced, before rounding on V'tala, "Especially you! Stasis obliterated your natural pigmentation, so you'll need protection so you don't fry!"
V'tala could only raise her hands in surrender at that.
Getting ready for their outing wasn't a lengthy affair - their en suite bathrooms had sunscreen dispensing settings built into their showers - as they'd fabricated more than just Viatrix's vacation drone before they left, including all the carrying cases they could possibly need. A quick stop at the grocery store for whatever beach treats they desired, and in less than an hour after their arrival to Osatiawjo, they were setting up at their designated picnic area.
Nestled in a surprisingly private little cove, on the sand but far enough from the high tide line that they wouldn't have to worry about their gear getting waterlogged, were seats and tables enough for a party thrice their size, shaded over by the twisted, broad-leafed trees that had been clearly cultivated to grow into a living awning. There was a solar powered camping stove just outside the reach of the trees, as well as a fire pit if beach goers were feeling like getting real old school with their cooking.
"Luckily for us, we've come in the off season, so there isn't a fire advisory warning in affect," Elytra told them as she finished tucking away their food items in the storage locker that was next to the cooking implements (they been advised by their cashier at the grocery store to do so, as there were apparently benign local creatures who had made a habit out of running off with unattended foodstuffs), "There's also way less people around than there would be during their busy season, so we'll have a lot of places all to ourselves, for the most part."
"That's a blessing." Nevara's mandibles flared with the force of her relieved smile. Getting caught up with a crowd of other vacation goers was not something she had been looking forward to.
For their beach outing, she and Elytra had ended up fabricating similar swimwear: one piece suits with no sleeves and shorts that came to about mid thigh on each of them. Nevara's was decorated with a bright, leafy green print, while Elytra's was a deep plum colour. Elytra had accessorized hers with a sky blue, silky thin lounge coat and a matching colour wide brimmed, floppy hat, while Nevara had a simple, sea foam wrap that had a subtle damask pattern that was only visible when the light caught it right.
V'tala had gone a similar route with her own swimwear, only hers had sleeves to the elbow and shorts to the knee, all to provide better protection against the sun's rays now that her body had been stripped of pigment. She'd gone with a bright ocean blue colour for it, remarkably close to the shade of the sea before them, as well as a cream coloured usgaisjan style hat, which was as wide and floppy as Elytra's, only with a built in ridge along the back where her crown of horns could fit comfortably. She'd paired it with a lightweight, breezy poncho in bands of brown and teal, which made her look like whatever a gunslinger was, according to Rhea.
Pryseia and Malakh had both gone for two piece ensembles, cropped and sleeveless halter tops with matching shorts, Malakh in a simple black set while Pryseia's were a summery orange. Malakh had paired her outfit with a thin and tan hooded jacket, while Pryseia had chosen a wrap of sheer black bedecked in white stars.
Rhea, meanwhile, had gone with a bikini, the rich brown of the fabric complementing her dark golden skin, over which she was wearing a loose and overlarge button up that was patterned with tiny flowers in every colour of the rainbow against a white background, and a burgundy sunhat that she'd pinned up along the sides and back so that it came to three points ("Pirates in antiquity on my world used to wear hats like these!" She'd informed them with glee when they'd asked her about it before they left the hotel). There was only the faintest discolouration between the rest of her body and the segment of her torso Malakh had to painstakingly reconstruct after the Briddbragnan's surprise attack on Lichhaemleas, the only reminder of how close to death she'd come that day. Malakh's eyes kept darting to it as they settled into the picnic area.
But they were also drawn to the rest of Rhea, to the surprise of absolutely no one.
She was startled from her staring by Rhea's balled up shirt striking her in the chest, and Malakh caught it with a chirp of surprise escaping her.
"Wanna see something that would piss my sisters off every time I did it?" Rhea asked once Malakh caught her eye, and pinned under her stare with so much of her on display, it was all Malakh could do to nod at Rhea's question.
Shooting her a wink, Rhea spun on her heel and walked directly into the water, straight and steady, not stopping until she went out far enough that she vanished beneath the waves.
"That would have pissed off my sisters too." Elytra said with a laugh, waving as Rhea bobbed to the surface a little closer to shore, waiving for them to join her.
It wasn't long before the seven of them were in the waves, splashing around and goofing off in a manner that would have had the people who had once enslaved them apoplectic with rage.
Malakh and Pryseia quickly discovered that both of their species had a game where they linked tails and tried to tug one another under the water. Rhea had been quick to egg them on, cheering for Pryseia to win.
"You're not cheering for me? Your wife?!" Malakh had gasped, all mock offence.
"Nah. I wanna see you wet." Rhea had drawled, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
That got a bark of laughter out of Pryseia as she said, "As if you require my assistance in that regard!"
Their tail tug of war ended with them both getting dunked several times over, retaliation cut short when Elytra got Rhea in the back with a blast from one of the water guns they'd brought along. Shrieking about revenge, Rhea had given chase, and Nevara had been quick to pass out the rest of their aquatic weaponry.
A victor to their impromptu water war was crowned when Viatrix hovered just above the water guns' range and proceeded to fire down on the others until, cackling wildly, they'd been forced to surrender. She was then blasted from all sides once she floated down to gloat.
They'd broken up to do some swimming and sunning after that, and Nevara got to work on preparing something for lunch. V'tala had joined her with the intent of helping her cook, but she ended up having to stand guard as a host of local creatures, drawn by the smell, had posted up in the trees, very obviously eyeing up their food.
They were odd little things, small enough that V'tala was able to hold one in a single hand (she'd found that out when one had swooped down towards Nevara's cutting board, and she's snatched it mid flight, lobbing it back towards the trees), looking like a cross between a lizard and a bird. Their four limbs had claws that they used to cling to the trees, each limb also a feathered wing that they used to try and get past V'tala's guard, but as nimble as they were, V'tala was quicker. By the time lunch was ready, the small green and orange beasts had retreated to sulk further up the treeline, V'tala having proven to be too potent a deterrent.
"As happy as I would be to paddle around all day, I don't wanna monopolize our entire vacation, so what do the rest of you wanna do next?" Rhea had asked after she'd helped V'tala pack away their lunch supplies.
"The local nightlife sounds pretty fun," Elytra said, nodding over to where the sun was descending towards the horizon, the sky beginning to fill with reds and golds as sunset drew ever closer, "We've got time enough to head back and freshen up before heading out to see what they have?"
Her suggestion had been met with approval, and after a little more time spent among the waves, they packed up their things and headed back to the hotel.
Not long after, a short walk had them at a pop up market, local vendors selling all kinds of handmade pieces, from artwork to furniture. While they'd all found something that tickled their fancy, V'tala ended up walking away with the biggest piece, an illegally comfortable couch upholstered in a rich, orange velvet, the frame of it carved from some locally sourced driftwood, pale and gleaming under layers of protective varnish. Thankfully the market had a business arrangement with their hotel, and an automated agent was able to deliver their purchases to the Pelekys (Viatrix confirming the delivery herself).
After that, they'd found a restaurant with a live band set to perform, the upbeat music proving to be a spectacular accompaniment to their meal.
They'd found their way to a nightclub as the evening wore on, where they'd discovered that V'tala had never had a drink of alcohol in her life.
"Libations were for the enjoyment of others, not dregil," she'd said, pulling a face at the wine Rhea had offered her, "Though if that's what alcohol tastes like, I don't think I was missing out on much."
The others began sharing their drinks as well, and V'tala found that she liked a drink more the less she could taste the booze within it.
"Why bother getting drunk?" She asked Elytra at one point, the other woman leaning against her, quite tipsy by then.
Elytra had hummed thoughtfully, eyeing where the others - Viatrix included - were getting down on the dance floor. "It's not a terrible feeling? Kind of floaty, kind of out of it. Sometimes it isn't so bad to just bob along with the current instead of fighting it, y'know? There are FOR SURE people who get wasted all the time in order to escape their lives, but a lil' drink now and then isn't a bad time."
Pressed up against someone she was growing increasingly fond of with every passing day, the buzz of alcohol making her feel pleasantly syrupy in her own body, V'tala had to acknowledge that point. The impairment to her motor control wasn't something she was keen on, but the warmth that had settled within her, surrounded by people who would watch out for her as much as she would them, she could see the appeal.
Their night wound down in fits and bursts after that. Nevara had excused herself once her social battery ran dry, Viatrix accompanying her back to the hotel, jokingly calling herself Nevara's service animal. Rhea and Malakh had followed not long after, eyes intent on one another in such a way that it was clear they wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.
The remaining trio wended their way back not hellishly long after, V'tala and Elytra on either side of Pryseia, as the deupazing had looped an arm around each of their shoulders, pulling them into her sides.
"It's a sentiment that bears repeating, but I am truly grateful that the machinations of the Storlayacas have brought you both into our lives," Pryseia said, squeezing them fondly, "I haven't the faintest idea what our path forward will look like, but I am glad to be walking it alongside you."
"It wasn't exactly a pleasant way to get here," Elytra said, the weight of all the myriad horrors they'd faced throughout their lives evident in her voice as she patted Pryseia on the back, "But I'm glad here is where I ended up."
"As am I." V'tala told them.
Letting loose a watery laugh, Pryseia tugged the both of them down briefly so she could plant a noisy kiss against each of their temples. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that our lives will never again be plagued by the darkness that haunts our pasts. We're more than due a spot of joy."
V'tala, still so unsure as to how to respond to the easy affection the others shared with her, followed Elytra's lead and patted Pryseia on the back.
All too soon they were back at their hotel, and after bidding goodnight to the others, V'tala retired to her room.
She quickly found that she was too wired to sleep, the alcohol still buzzing in her system, and so, grabbing her data pad, she settled into the chaise lounge that was nestled up next to the window, and under the light of those alien stars, she perused the Pelekys' message board once more.