132: Mecha Combat – Fifteen
Rhea usually woke up before her alarm, a habit she picked up long before she was captured by the Thalatte. In her youth, she'd used the extra minutes of silence to just quietly daydream away, before the rest of the household kicked up into a fervor of noise. Between herself, her parents, and her three sisters, that type of stillness in their home was a rarity, and she jealously guarded every scrap of it she could get.
During med school, and during her years under Thalatte control, those precious few minutes were the only times she wasn't beholden to the rigorous schedules and demands of others, the only moments where she was allowed to just exist as herself without the obligations that would strangle her waking hours.
But now, freed from everything but her own goals, Rhea had something better to occupy the dutiless minutes before her alarm started the day: her wife, sound asleep in her arms.
True to her threat at dinner, Malakh hadn't remained conscious long after retiring to their room, barely having time to get through her pre-bed routine and change into a pair of pyjamas before she was dead to the world. By the time Rhea had finished in the bathroom herself, Malakh was asleep and snoring, half under the blankets on her side of the bed. Rhea had dimmed the lights and laid down as gently as she could, to not disturb the slumbering woman, but even in sleep, Malakh had reached out for her once Rhea had tugged the blankets up over the both of them, slotting into her side as if there was no other place she could be.
In the night, they'd only curled further into each other, legs tangled together, Rhea's arm draped across Malakh's back, while Malakh's arm was slung over Rhea's waist, her head tucked under her vedja's chin.
In the still calm of the morning, Rhea splayed her hand across Malakh's back, feeling her ribs expand and contract with each slow breath she took, every exhale ghosting warm across her collarbones. Rhea would have happily spent the rest of the day like this if she could.
So of course a ringing sound would have to start playing from her private console and shatter her gentle morning repose.
Malakh huffed against her before the first ring even had a chance to finish, her years under the Thalatte having her blinking awake at the unfamiliar sound. Rather than seeking out the source, her eyes immediately found Rhea's, and even though the look she gave her was one of confusion rather than adoration, Rhea's heart stumbled over itself at the sight of it.
Malakh made a questioning noise in the back of her throat, too groggy to be coherent, and Rhea leaned down to whisper, "I've got it," against her lips before placing a soft kiss against them, reluctantly sliding out from under the covers and padding over to her ringing console. Even though the room was comfortably warm, she immediately missed the heat of her wife curled up against her.
She ran a quick hand through her hair to try and look a little more presentable as she sat down, tapping the screen to accept the incoming call. It was her private line, secured and encrypted with the best protocols the Kith could get their hands on, and she'd only given out her frequency to a handful of people. And this early in the morning, she was all but certain she knew who would be on the other end of the line.
"Wakey wakey, eggs and bacey!" Came Leto's singsong voice from where she was leaning over Phoebe's shoulder, Selene on the other side of their sister. While Leto grinned in mischievous delight, Phoebe and Selene both shot Rhea an apologetic look.
"I hope we're not catching you too early," Phoebe said, taking in Rhea's sleep rumpled appearance, "I hear you're on Trowsorab at the moment?"
"Yeah, taking on a contract in Ahesa of the Telum's memory. They were set to compete in a mech fighting tournament, but didn't survive the assault on the Mercatus." Rhea told her.
Selene nodded in recognition, her expression falling slightly as she said, "We were sorry to hear about their loss. We'd flown more than a few missions with them and their crew. And the fallout of the Mercatus is the reason we're calling you."
Coming up behind Rhea's shoulder, looking far more awake and aware than she had moments ago, Malakh asked, "I take it there's bad news?"
The triplets lit up at the sight of her, but their good cheer didn't last long as Phoebe explained, "Unfortunately. Another ship involved in the assault, the Athame, had a run in with a pair Thalatte assassins. They managed to kill one and subdue the other before they could do any harm to their crew, and they had a neural siphon that they used on the one they captured."
Malakh frowned at the unfamiliar terms, and so Leto explained, "It's a device of Fuglaz origin. They were trying to replicate zymeth telepathy, which eventually led to the creation of a contraption that can sort of read minds. It's not anywhere even remotely close to what the zymeth can do, and it only works if the person you're using it on is so doped out of their mind that they won't have any kind of mental defences up, but you are able to get some information out of a person. So long as you understand how the other person thinks, that is. It's real dicey, because it's difficult to tell the difference between dreams and memories, unless the person was dreaming something obviously gonzo, so there's no way to guarantee that the information you're pulling is actually legit."
"Thankfully they were able to get enough usable information for the Kith intelligence division to track down what's going on," Selene continued, "As part of the anti-Kith task force that the Dolabra is the centrepiece of, they're having their own intelligence division scouring Kith broadcasts to track them down and send assassins after them. And given that you've got new uploads, we wanted to warn you to keep an eye out."
"We appreciate the heads up," Rhea said, shooting Malakh a look, "Especially since we're going to be stuck at our current location for a few more days."
Giving a helpless shrug, Malakh added, "We are in Necupole territory, so hopefully that will act as something of a deterrent for anyone trying to come after us?"
"It should," Phoebe agreed, some of the tension bleeding out of her shoulders, "The Necupole are very keen on their sovereignty, and one wrong move by a Thalatte agent in their territory could lead to a litigation too costly for the Thalatte to afford. Especially with how thinly spread they always are. But it's something to be wary of when you're behind less secure borders."
Nodding at that, Rhea promised, "We will be. Getting killed by assassins would put a real dampener on our mission, after all."
Rhea and Malakh informed the others about this fun little development at breakfast, and by the time they got through their morning exercises and got ready to spend the day in the activity centre, Viatrix had already prepared the ship for the potentiality of assassins.
"Thankfully I was able to get information on just what kind of gear a Thalatte assassin would have," Viatrix announced as her six crew mates made their way towards the personnel ramp, "So I know what kinds of signals to look out for when it comes to anyone coming close to the ship. They use stealth tech, and rely less on guns and more on getting up close and personal with their kills - knives, poisons, things like that. If anyone gets too close to the Pelekys, even if they're being stealthy, I'll be able to detect'em!"
"We greatly appreciate your efforts on this matter," Pryseia said, a night of rest having her back to normal, "What of the information we wish to forward to the Kith?"
Her floral avatar spinning on one of the screens set into the hallway, Viatrix told her, "Oh, I got that sorted out in the middle of the night, already sent off! Kith lawyers are going over it all as we speak, seeing what they can release and where to get some of this Thalatte pressure off our backs!"
"That's marvellous to hear," Nevara said, her mandibles flaring with her grin, "Your efforts today have already proven to be more productive than our own."
Flickering cheekily, Viatrix giggled, "Yeah, you slackers! While you're all off on your second vacation, I'll be digging through all that data we swiped yesterday."
"Believe me, if it wouldn't look wildly suspicious, I'd be staying behind on the ship to help you go through everything," Malakh's tail slashed in agitation behind her, "Fucking around with a bunch of mercs while there's work to be done is not how I wanna be spending my day, that's for damn sure!"
Nudging her side, Elytra said, "Hey, just think of all the work you'll get to go over tonight as the prize for getting through a day of socializing! The heist went off without a hitch, the Necupole are none the wiser, and after this we've just got one more day of lazing around sandwiched between two days of matches. The time will fly by so fast, just wait and see!"
"It better," Malakh replied, trying to look stern, but the look was spoiled with how her ears had excitedly perked up at the thought of getting to go over their stolen research later, "I really hate doing nothing when there's so much I could actually be doing!"
Mercifully, Elytra's prediction ended up being proven true, as she managed to rope the lot of them into the video game she and V'tala had been powering through over the course of the tournament, and it ended up being enough of a distraction that dinner and an acceptably early exit from the activity centre came around quicker than Malakh had feared. Keeping up the ruse they'd maintained so far, Malakh and Nevara left as early as possible, while the others mingled for a bit longer.
Feeling experimental, V'tala had sampled a little more liberally from the open bar that evening, narrowing down further on the types of alcohol she actually enjoyed (mixed cocktails with complex flavour profiles), and those she couldn't stand (beer). N'ang had swung by as V'tala was in the middle of her fifth drink of the night, a glass in her own hand and a hopeful grin on her face as she said, "Hey there, you plannin' on sticking around for another go with the girls tonight?"
"I appreciate the invitation, but I think I've had my fill of that kind of thing." V'tala told her, and N'ang raised her glass in response.
"Fair enough," she said, shooting V'tala a knowing look, "What's that Human saying... why buy juice when you have the jug at home?"
V'tala frowned at that. "I think I'm too drunk to decipher what that's supposed to mean."
"I'm sure tall, hot, and married would be able to sort it out for you," N'ang said with a nod over to Rhea, who was across the room in the middle of an animated conversation with Elytra and a few of the mercs they'd been gaming with that afternoon, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to partake of the pleasures of the flesh as much as I can before my shore leave runs out!"
And with that, N'ang was back mingling through the crowd, zeroing in on another woman who had caught her eye. With the way the woman lit up at N'ang's approach, V'tala knew N'ang would be partaking sooner than later.
Just as V'tala let her eyes drift across the crowd, seeking out a specific shade of blue, she caught movement out the corner of her eye, a knot of mercs parting to allow Pryseia to make her way over to where V'tala was leaning against the wall.
"Their stamina for this sort of thing is frighteningly impressive," Pryseia said as she posted up against the wall next to V'tala, gesturing out at the crowd with the drink in her hand, "What is this, the fourth night of the tournament? And yet they're as raucous as they were on the first."
"This lifestyle really isn't for me," V'tala agreed, "I'm glad you and the others went Kith instead of merc."
"As am I." Pryseia said with a private smile, reaching over to clink their glasses together.
Pryseia tipped her head back to finish her drink, eyes closed and hair falling loose over her shoulder, her horns coming dangerously close to the wall behind her. V'tala found her gaze drawn to the curve of Pryseia's neck, the way her throat bobbed as she downed the last of her alcohol. V'tala's blood felt like kerosene in her veins, her heartbeat ringing in her ears over the pulsing sounds of the dance music that filled the activity centre. She knocked back the rest of her own drink, and the motion had her equilibrium sloshing in a way it shouldn't have. Licking the last of the sweet concoction from her lips, V'tala admitted, "I think I might have overdone it with these things."
"Has nausea come to claim you?" Pryseia asked, her voice pitching low in concern.
Taking a breath as she took account of herself, V'tala replied, "Not yet, at least, but I think I can feel how fast this planet is rotating under our feet."
Pryseia leaned over her once again, this time to take her empty glass, and V'tala was struck by the strange, alien scent of her. It wasn't the heavy perfume or cologne that many of the mercs were wearing, but something subtler, maybe just her hair care products, and the warm smell of her skin. Something on the edge of floral, but darker, richer. It reminded her of the beach back on Osatiawjo, the sharp smell of the sea and the wild growth of the jungle that had surrounded it. It was gone before she had a chance to draw in a full breath, Pryseia stepping away to place their empty glasses on down on the closest table for the automated cleaning drones to deal with later.
Turning back to V'tala, Pryseia asked, "Shall we call it a night?"
V'tala pushed herself away from the wall, her first step forward heavier than she intended it to be, completely misjudging the distance as the world unexpectedly lurched around her. A hand was wrapped around her elbow a moment later, and V'tala braced against it, momentarily boggling at how starkly dark it looked in this lighting, against the pale expanse of her own skin. Lifting her eyes up to Pryseia's, V'tala said, "Yeah. I think I need to drink water."
"A wise course of action," Pryseia said, linking her arm more securely through V'tala's before leading her through the crowd, "Some more substantial food than what the necupole fed us would not go amiss either. We'll do what we can to head off the affects of the alcohol, but should you develop a hangover on the morrow, Rhea will be able to tend to it."
"Good," V'tala replied, concentrating on keeping her steps steady, "From what I've heard of them, I don't think I want to have a hangover."
Walking as closely together as they were, V'tala felt Pryseia's laugh rattle through her own ribs before the other woman said, "You really don't. As Rhea is wont to say, they fucking suck."
The next morning dawned hangover free, for the crew of the Pelekys, that was. Many of the mercenaries didn't fair quite as well. There were many bleary eyes squinting at Tolla and Kassi's announcement about the matches for the day - or rather match, singular, as there were three contestants left in the running.
Due to how completely thorough her decimation of N'ang and the Ferntide mech was, Pryseia had automatically been bumped to the final round, and today, Gelimp and Bulle would go head to head for the chance to take her on.
Despite not being in a match that day, the officials still had Pryseia get suited up and accompany the other two to the arena, and she watched from the locker room as Gelimp put up a truly valiant effort, but nevertheless fell to Bulle's superior skills.
The three of them were welcomed back like conquering heroes, and now that xe was out of the running, Gelimp proceeded to show that, while xe may have been bested at fighting, no one could hold a candle to xir when it came to drinking.
The crew of the Pelekys would only learn about that the next day, however, as they all ducked out of the party before the drinking gauntlet was cast.
Another day of repairs for the mechs, and leisure for those who had piloted them and their crews, the persistent evening party drawing all eyes away from the lone Kith ship and those aboard it.
Delving through their stolen data in their evening hours, Malakh and Viatrix found as much useful programming as they found useless. Anything that could improve their systems was compiled for upgrades they could implement once they were away from the scene of the crime, while data packets were prepared for dispersal over the wider network, open source directories bookmarked and standing by for upload.
Fabrication of their own Gheluc device went smoother than Malakh had dared to hope. The programming, once she and Viatrix had dug into it, proved to be ingeniously simple, and they managed to get a working prototype before Malakh had to go to bed on the second night. Testing it, however, proved to be a little more difficult, as their ship was now technically a Hyttan artifact in and of itself, and so they weren't able to get any readings beyond the overpowering signal of the Pelekys' hull. A proper field test would have to wait until they were back in the open void.
And then finally, at last, the day of the deciding match dawned, Pryseia in the dusty orange and midnight violet Aeon on behalf of Klettur Erkanschlde and MGJX Corp, up against Bulle in the pale green and bright orange mech of Pihka Geislischlde and FHN Systems. Bulle had trounced Gelimp so masterfully that the betting office had the two remaining mechs at equal odds of coming out the victor.
The crew of the Pelekys, however, knew exactly which of those mechs was walking out of the arena intact.
"Almost home free," Rhea said at the table in their mess hall, "But what's the plan after you hand Bulle their ass?"
Swallowing her mouthful of tea, Pryseia said, "There's to be some type of awards ceremony, for the Necupole citizens, of course. Not for us. For our kind there is set to be a more formal party than the one the mercenaries have kept alive every evening this week, during which all participants will receive the payment befitting their standing in the bracket. After that, we are free to return to the stars, where I would suggest we seek out some known Hyttan site so that we might properly test the capabilities of our new scanner."
"I've almost finished up on the dramatization of the heist," Elytra told them, nodding over to Nevara and Malakh as she said, "I've just gotta get your lines recorded and the music track synced and it'll be good to upload. I should have it done tomorrow, and we can have a viewing party before the upload."
Ticking off their options on her fingers, Malakh recited, "We've got Leviathan fights we can always fall back on, the potential of acting as a bodyguard on some Hyttan archeological dig, and the option of just going off and finding Hyttan stuff of our own, once we figure out if that scanner actually works or not. With Elytra's upload, we'll have a bit of time before we need to do another one, and hopefully that's time enough to get the testing done to see which direction would be best for us to go in."
"So our future's on hold until we're done with this place." V'tala summed up.
Nevara let out a quiet laugh, placing her fork down on her plate as she said, "Given that Pryseia's victory is assured, we'll be off world by this evening. I can't speak for the rest of you, but I've certainly grown tired of the mercenary's non stop celebration. And I've barely attended them."
"Same, but from what I've been watching over the security feed?" Viatrix's avatar shivered on the screen she had it displayed on, "Makes me very glad that I can't consume alcohol!"
Rhea leaned back in her seat, her smile sad as she said, "Given how bleak their daily lives seem to be, I can't really blame them for going all out while they have the opportunity. Thankfully we've got a career that's a little more fulfilling than relying on figuring out when our next chance to get shitfaced is. Even with all the apocalyptic visions the Storlayacas have given us, I've honestly never been happier in my life."