145: First Worst Dread – Six
True to Rhea's prediction, it wasn't until afternoon the next day that she and Malakh emerged from their room, the both of them looking wrecked but satisfied, while any strain from their activities was alleviated by a quick stint in the healing beds in the medbay,
"I'm so sorry about that," Malakh said over lunch, understandably ravenous, "Of all the times for this to happen..."
"Better yesterday than tomorrow," Nevara pointed out, "At least here you could do something about it."
Malakh groaned, envisioning that nightmare scenario, and Elytra nudged her in the side, saying, "And at least the next one won't hit you until a year from now."
"True, but with our luck, it'll happen right in the middle of when we're fighting the Omega, and I've got no idea how that would affect the rest of you if we're all Storlayacas at the time."
Taking a sip of her drink to clear her throat, V'tala suggested, "Mind orgy?"
That got a cackle out of Rhea.
"Holy shit, could you imagine!?" She gasped, "What if it got the individual Storlayacas units into heat too? Or pregnant!? Is that how Hyttan objects are made?!"
"Oh that's gotta be it!" Viatrix giggled, her avatar ricocheting around in her usual console, "Ring up the research institutes, we've cracked the code!"
"Not to segue away from this highly academic topic," Pryseia said, barely able to hide her smile, "But I was thinking about our device for tracking down Hyttan made objects. Rather than hoarding it for ourselves, as the Necupole had, what are your thoughts on releasing the blueprints to the aforementioned Hyttan research institutes?"
"I'd been thinking of that myself," Rhea said, hastily swallowing her mouthful of food, "We've got a working model as is, so its not like sharing it is going to prevent us from finding Hyttan artifacts on our own time."
Clicking her mandibles together in thought, Nevara added, "I would recommend only sharing it with the research institutes, and no one else. We hardly want the Thalatte war effort to get their hands on the like."
"A valid point, on a subject we can deliberate further when we are not under a deadline," Pryseia said, "I'd merely hoped to allow you all ample time to ruminate before we settle the matter. For now, there are still preparations to be made. Rhea, are you fit enough to install the comm chips within us?"
"Yeah, don't worry, we took as long as we did so we could sleep in after all we got up to last night," Rhea told her, already piling a second helping onto her cleared plate, "We're both fit for duty, and I can start getting those chips installed after lunch. It shouldn't take long for the lot of us."
"Spectacular," Pryseia beamed, "The time for our operation draws ever nearer."
And sure enough, the day of the charity event arrived all too soon, but thankfully the crew of the Pelekys were adept at preparing for covert operations at this point, so they were all set to go for a timely arrival.
Seated in the bridge, the others still in the process of getting ready, Pryseia watched the view screen as Nevara brought the ship in for a landing on Tekhuniz, the small moon named for the family that privately owned it.
Calling it a moon, however, was generous. A large asteroid was more apt, space enough on the surface for the sprawling mansion and the ship port around it, the entire surface of it paved over, giving it the appearance of an artificial construct.
"Have we the funds to purchase a moon like this for ourselves?" Was Nevara's dry query, her voice laden with condescension. Her delivery, coupled with the sharp suit she wore, the angular lines of it playing to her tall and narrow appearance, had her seeming more Grim than Nevara at the moment. The plates of her carapace had been shined to a particularly glossy finish for the occasion, her subtle makeup highlighting her more alien features. As the dress list had insisted, the colour palette was pulled from her own appearance, her grey suit matching her carapace, with the teal designs that ran across it, and the silk shirt she wore beneath her jacket matching the flesh between her plates. She'd even gone so far as to have teal lacing on her grey dress shoes to complete the ensemble, and Pryseia couldn't help but admire the look of it on her oldest, dearest friend. It had been a long time since she'd seen her in such a getup, not since she'd attended Nevara's graduation from college. The colours of the suit she'd worn then had been different, but the cut was similar enough that Pryseia felt a bubble of nostalgia welling up within her. They were a long way from the reckless girls who had joined up with a transport company together.
"Undoubtedly, with the number of Leviathan bounties we are able to fulfill," Pryseia told her with a quiet laugh, "But would you really wish to be the owner of a private moon?"
"Diversification of revenue streams, isn't that what it's called?" Nevara huffed out a laugh of her own, "We buy one, renovate it, and then rent it out for a ludicrous price."
"Oh yeah, because being a landlord pays for itself," Viatrix joked, her avatar tucked politely away in the corner of the view screen, "That's totally a career aspiration that any of us would want."
The door had slid open in the middle of that statement, and Rhea asked, "We switching jobs now?"
Coming around to lean against Pryseia's seat, Elytra and Malakh trailing in behind her to their own usual spots, Rhea shot Pryseia a curious look. She was wearing a long dress, the skirt of it reaching down to her feet, light and billowy enough that it flared out with every step she took, with bell sleeves to match, and a structured bodice that Malakh was having difficulty keeping her gaze away from. That and the simple flats she wore were a shade of deep, rich brown like her hair and eyes, a pleasing contrast to her olive skin, the panels and decorative elements within it all in shades of brown different enough to elevate it into something that looked far from plain. She'd gone for a subtle and smoky makeup look as well, her hair teased out and cascading down her back, her entire ensemble making her look like she'd been plucked out of time.
"Getting into property management." Viatrix told her, and Malakh made a cartoonish retching sound at that.
For her own attire, Malakh had gone for a suit as well, the bulk of it red as her mane, the short and structured jacket overtop an orange shirt with cream embroidery running down the front of it to match the markings on her short coat of fur, while orange and cream embroidery ran along her outer legs from hip to ankle, and across the open double breast of her jacket. The same embroidery was carried on to her heeled boots, the height of them making the difference between her own and Rhea's less pronounced. Her hair had been brushed back to keep it out of her eyes, but it was a far more voluminous look than the slicked back one she went for as the Queen's Red Left Hand. At the moment, she had her tail looped loosely around her waist, though with the way the tip of it was twitching, that hold probably wouldn't last very long.
The only jewellery either Malakh or Rhea were wearing were their wedding bands and vedja pendants, and the colours of those tied their two distinct outfits together, making it clear to everyone that they belonged to each other.
"I don't know, I think we could make the switch pretty easy," Elytra said, her voice light and teasing, "After fighting nightmare creatures and stealing from the elite of the galaxy, how hard could collecting rent even be?"
She'd decided on a dress as well, a comfortable, broad strapped thing that came down to her knees, pink as her flesh and patterned with a lavender floral design to match her carapace. To complement this, she wore a lavender jacket with a pink floral pattern, with pumps to match. Her own makeup was a little more bold, highlighting the magenta of her eyes, the matte look of her own carapace giving her a softer look.
"Easy enough, I'm sure," Pryseia replied, shaking her head fondly, "Perhaps we can ask our soon-to-be host once it's time to begin our operation?"
The door slid open once more as V'tala stepped in to join them, and Pryseia turned to her, some joking statement settled against her tongue, but when she caught sight of the other woman, every single thought she had fled Pryseia's mind.
V'tala looked stunning. With her entire outfit as white as the rest of her, she was wearing wide legged trousers, the seams crisp and precise, along with stiletto heels that she had absolutely no difficulty navigating in. The suit jacket she wore was open and loose, tapering at the waist and accentuating the powerful breadth of her shoulders, while below it she wasn't wearing a shirt at all. Pryseia found her gaze travelling up from the silver buckled and white belt around her waist, up the expanse of her abs to the swell of her breasts, the edges of which were peeking out from the jacket. It was only under this scrutiny that Pryseia realized V'tala was wearing a bra, the colour of it matching seamlessly with the tone of her skin. She wore no jewellery, her makeup highlighting her sharp jaw and high cheekbones, her hair slicked back to hang in a curtain behind her, her crest of horns a crown along the back of her head.
V'tala looked stunned, and it had Pryseia's pulse juddering against her ribs. As she stood there next to her seat, hands in her pockets, V'tala's irises were blown wide, and she swallowed thickly, equally at a loss for words. Pryseia couldn't allow herself, wouldn't allow herself to read into that reaction. It could only be shock at seeing what she'd chosen to wear for the event - a dark navy sheath dress, high collared and sleeveless with a slit running up one side, both the dress and the navy heels she wore scattered with gold like a spray of stars. She'd twisted her hair back into an elaborate braid, gold makeup to match with her freckles, and with her prostheses swapped and her scars covered, she simply no longer looked like herself. That was the only reason V'tala was staring at her so. The electric tension that coiled through Pryseia was not the reaction she should be having. She'd been through this with herself already; she was reading into things that simply were not there.
Nevara's voice was a distant thing as she said, "Transport shuttle is on the way," and it was all Pryseia could do to tear her gaze off of V'tala as she stood. On the view screen, she could see other ships coming in for a landing at the starport on Tekhuniz, the mansion off in the distance.
Drawing in a steadying breath, she asked, "Does anyone have any outstanding preparations to make?"
"We're good," Rhea replied, running a hand down her back, her smile knowing, "Time to go be distractingly pretty."
Nodding at that, Pryseia turned to lead them out of the bridge, her every sense lighting up when she felt V'tala fall into step beside her. Against her better judgement, against her own will, her gaze drifted back to V'tala, who was already looking at her. It was on instinct alone that Pryseia kept herself walking forward, instinct that kept her from stumbling when V'tala offered up her arm, her own hand looping in to rest at the crook of her elbow as if there was no other place for it to be.
Ahead of them, rising off the floor was Viatrix's Hyttan drone, her avatar blinking onto the screen as she said, "I'll be hovering around above you all until we're ready to head off. I'll also keep an eye out for anything suspicious, just in case."
"Smart, especially if we're unlucky enough to have Thalatte assassins sneaking around in the area." Malakh growled, and Pryseia felt V'tala tense against her.
The heat of her body pressed against her back, the weight of her arm looped around her middle. V'tala had held her when her heart had stopped beating, had anchored her to the life she'd fought so hard for, the sensation branded into her memory. With everything that had happened since then, they'd barely had a chance to talk privately. Pryseia hadn't had the chance to ask the other woman if she was alright. She'd tried to keep herself away, keep herself busy, to keep the endlessly expanding inferno of her desire for the other woman from burning them both, but that sort of treatment was hardly fair to V'tala. She was part of her crew, and Pryseia needed to be there for her, her own feelings be damned. She would be there for her, as V'tala's friend, and nothing more.
She squeezed the arm in her grip, and V'tala's stare was a heavy thing when it landed on her. Giving her a faint smile, Pryseia called over her shoulder, "Comm check?"
MALAKH: Mine's online.
ELYTRA: Same here.
RHEA: Well I should hope so!
NEVARA: There's a first time for everything.
VIATRIX: Thankfully that's not this time!
V'TALA: Indeed.
PRYSEIA: Good. Let us be on our way.
"I'm excited to see what the wine selection is going to be like here," Rhea said as the personnel ramp opened up before them, Viatrix's drone vanishing from sight in an instant, "Rich schmuck like this, je should be carrying the good stuff."
The shuttle that was waiting for them when they all stepped down was a sleek craft, a deep red colour that caught gold in the light, fully automated as its doors swung open at their approach.
VIATRIX: Don't rush into the shuttle, I'm going in first!
Keeping their pace casual, the six of them followed after their unseen companion, and found the seating inside to be three plush, two-person couches, all of them of a light brown leather that matched the warm wood trim in the interior, gold piping glinting in the amber light coming from within. Pryseia and V'tala settled side by side, Pryseia's arm never leaving that of the other woman's. With how absent she'd been in the past month, Pryseia was going to start making it up to V'tala now. She owed her that and so much more, and so she would happily weather the brunt of the socializing that was to come.
The trip to the mansion didn't take very long at all, other shuttles pulling up beside them as they disembarked, joining the sizeable crowd that was meandering up the broad, grey marble steps. Above them towered the mansion, more grey stone rising up like a monolith before them, the exterior looking more like some castle from antiquity than it did the home of a modern age arms dealer and jis family.
The guests ascending the stairs along with them were an eclectic group, Enlightened, Greater, and Lesser alike, enough from their own races that they didn't stand out from the crowd. When they reached the top, V'tala pulled their tickets from her jacket, handing them off to the guard at the door, who smiled politely as ghe took them.
"Ah, the crew of the Ascia," the lacertus guard said as ghe motioned them to the door with a wave of ger hand, "Please, enjoy your time at Chateau Tekhuniz."
Their cover story of being a small time band of mercenaries had been pushed through the system by Viatrix herself, their ship's registration temporarily being activated for this caper, something that they'd kept shut off since taking the Pelekys over. With the temporary name change, they hoped to avoid any Thalatte attention, Viatrix monitoring the communication signals in the area to see if anyone had clued in to the fact that none of them - not even their ship - were who they said they were.
VIATRIX: We're looking good so far, no suspicious activity.
RHEA: And hopefully it'll stay that way! I really like this dress, and I don't want to get it damaged in a gunfight.
The interior of the mansion was just as extravagant as the social media posts had shown, all of it crimson and gold, warm brown wood under warmer lighting. Palatial though it was, there was a homey air about it, which shouldn't have been a surprise, given that Labhi and jis spouses lived there.
"That must be our hosts." Elytra said as they entered into a large banquet hall, private seating at individual tables scattered across the floor, while on a raised platform at the far end was a large table, four lacertus sat there greeting guests as they approached, Labhi in the leftmost seat with who could only be jis spouses to jis right.
"How do you wanna play this," Rhea murmured as they made their way further into the room, "Keep our distance, become the life of the party?"
"Distance for now," Pryseia whispered back, "Not everyone seems to be availing themselves to our host's graces. We shall mingle enough to not draw attention by being too standoffish, nor will we become the spectacle on which all eyes land. We are here to have a good time, after all."
Floating above every table was a holographic banner, the names of each party emblazoned across them. Finding the table assigned to the Ascia took no time at all, other guests trickling in to the tables around them, some politely ignoring them, while others stopped to chat.
Though she'd let go of V'tala's arm when they sat down, Pryseia still found herself keyed in to everything the other woman did, how she tensed whenever another of the party goers drew near enough to strike up conversation, how her hand would twitch towards where she usually kept her gun holstered, the weapon - all their weapons - left back aboard the Pelekys so as to not trip any of the security sensors. Without thinking, Pryseia slipped her left hand into V'tala's right beneath the table, the woman snapping her gaze towards her with a questioning look.
PRYSEIA: Given the popularity of these charity events, I am all but certain that we are the only disruptive element present here.
V'TALA: And given that the last time we were in a so-called safe space, I held you as you drowned in your own blood, so I think my paranoia is justified.
PRYSEIA: A valid counterargument. My mistake for separating from the rest of you.
V'TALA: One that won't be repeated here. I'm staying at your side the entire night.
A possessive heat flared through Pryseia as she read that, some part of her that she was desperately trying to ignore blooming awake at that promise. Before she could stop herself, low and quiet enough so that only V'tala would hear, she told her, "Good."
V'tala's hand twitched in hers at that, eyes darkening as she shifted forward, taking a breath to speak. But before she could do more than draw in a breath, the lights in the room dimmed, a spotlight drawing all attention to the table where Labhi and jis spouses sat, the arms dealer rising as the noise in the room died down.
"Honoured guests," je said, jis voice slow and melodic, "My family and I welcome you to our home. Your generous donations to the Lacertus war effort are greatly appreciated, and it is through your efforts that, someday soon, we will drive the Thalatte invaders from our borders."
Polite applause broke out at that, but neither V'tala or Pryseia moved to join in.
Raising jis hands to motion everyone to silence once again, je continued, "But, for the rest of this evening at least, we shall push the threat of war from our minds. We shall feast, we shall drink, and we shall revel, for here today, no misfortune shall cross our path."
Louder applause broke out at that, and with a wave of jis hand, Labhi motioned for the first course, and the first act of entertainment to begin.
The crew of the Pelekys joined along, giving no outward indication that they were there to prove that last statement very, very wrong.