166: Jamming Down The Pedal – Five
While not decorated in any way even close to the overly ostentatious manner of the interior of the Quanvengier, the banquet hall in Zovo's fortress was still designed to show off the information broker's considerable wealth. The walls were a bright white, the architecture of the room clever enough to make it seem like the light in it was sourceless, elaborate filigree elements chasing along the seams of the interior like some sort of gleaming, copper growth. This copper carried over to both the floor and the ceiling, the former with pressed metal tiles that glowed warmly above them, while the latter was a polished surface at their feet, the mirror-like finish of it reflecting the crowd that was gradually filling the room, their escorts waving them in through the ornate wooden doors before leaving off to do who knew what.
And it was a crowd in there. Easily already over a hundred people from nearly every race in the galaxy, more were trickling in as they were led there by more of Zovo's people. Some were as blatantly Kith as the joint crews of the Gorgon and Pelekys were, others were mercenaries, and yet still more seemed to be just run of the mill spacers who must have thought they had a chance at completing one of Zovo's notoriously difficult tracks. There were also more than a few military groups, some from a smattering of Greater races, thought there was, understandably, a heavy Thalatte presence, doubtlessly there to try and prevent their navy's secrets from falling into enemy hands.
Fully dressed as they were in their Gorgon-style armour, helmets on and obscuring their identities, Pryseia was fairly certain that her own crew wasn't going to be immediately recognized by the Thalatte present. But the crew of the Gorgon weren't afforded that level of anonymity, infamous as they were for their anti-Thalatte efforts.
And one of the Thalatte crews, at least, recognized them right off the bat.
Rather than relying on Longan Units, the Gorgon's armour all had in-helmet communicators, which could be used to talk aloud via the speakers cleverly hidden in the mouths of their helmets, or on a closed frequency that only they would be able to hear. Thanks to the neural interface, all it took was a thought to switch to the closed frequency before Pryseia said, "Try not to be suspicious when you have a look, but that group of thalatte milling about to our right seem to have their eyes on us."
Walking next to Phoebe as their two crews leisurely made their way through the throng, Pryseia saw the slight tilt to the other woman's head as she took a peek at the crew that had caught Pryseia's eye. "I don't recognize any of the individuals, but those nondescript uniforms scream covert ops." Phoebe said after a moment of observation.
Glancing over with just her eyes once again, Pryseia knew from experience that Phoebe was right in her assessment. She'd dealt with enough of those types during her enslavement, to say nothing of the fact that a thalatte in a uniform just like that had very nearly succeeded in killing her not that long ago. As if sensing the course her thoughts were starting down, V'tala stepped up to her other side, physically placing herself between Pryseia and the Thalatte agents, slipping her hand into Pryseia's and squeezing once.
Pryseia squeezed back, pressing in shoulder to shoulder with V'tala as she continued to keep an eye on the group. More than the other thalatte she'd seen here, military or otherwise, this particular crew had her on edge. While the rest of them were doing well enough at playing off being nonchalant, one among them had been unable to take their eyes off of Phoebe and her people, all but Sara among them standing a full head above most of the others around them, making them impossible to miss. It was a look of burning hatred Pryseia knew all too well, as it had accompanied the claws that had torn through her throat.
As she subtly watched the thalatte glaring at them, the agent bared their teeth, turning like they fully intended to force their way through the crowd and start something with the crew of the Gorgon, but before they could so much as take a step in their direction, the thalatte who Pryseia could only presume was the commander of that unit grabbed the furious agent by the bicep, hauling them around to face them. The ambient chatter in the room made it impossible to hear what they were saying, the commander barely moving their mouth to speak in order to prevent anyone from reading their lips, but the stern look in their eyes said plenty, especially when they briefly darted over to one of Zovo's brown and gold clad guards making their way over to them with all the forced casualness of a hunter not wanting to set off their prey. The Thalatte commander bodily dragged their subordinate to their other side, placing themself as a screen between them and the crew of the Gorgon, nodding politely to the guard as they continued on their way, now that the situation had been diffused.
"Well, I'll certainly be keeping an eye peeled for that lot out on the track tomorrow," Sara's accompanying laugh was humourless, "As I believe they wish to do us harm."
"We'll have to do a spot of target practice once we get back to the ship. You'll be pleased to know the gunner controls of that Hyttan flyer are quite intuitive." Nevara replied, and that got a trill of delight out of Sara.
"Good to know Zovo's people are so on the ball with security." Adyt's voice came over the comms.
"Right?!" Viatrix added, "I tapped us into the security feed so we could keep an eye on you all, and ger people are watching. They've subtly stopped more than just that one little incident between you and those Thalatte."
"I'm not surprised," Malakh said, "The size of this place, the amount of people working here, this has gotta be where they all live as well. I know if I had this many guests in my home, I'd be just as on guard as these people are."
In as many varied races as those coming to compete, Zovo's guard force was mingling through the crowd. It wasn't their uniforms that set them apart, but the intensity with which they monitored those around them. 'Protective' was certainly the most apt descriptor for their demeanour.
The resounding clonk of the heavy wooden doors to the banquet hall closing behind them all rang out through the room, and before anyone could do anything more than turn to have a look at the origin of the noise, a holographic enlargement of Zovo Heila gerself materialized on the opposite end of the room, catching everyone's eye.
"Welcome to Nocaeb Saidirem," ghe announced, throwing ger hands wide and drawing the attention of those in the banquet hall, ger melodious voice immediately captivating, "Quite a few of you have turned up for this little competition, no doubt due to the most tempting prize we have on offer for you this time. I appreciate you all making the perilous journey out here, but please know that while you are a guest on our property, you will all abide by the laws set forth by me and mine. We will not stand for a disruption to our daily lives, so unless you have set up a meeting with myself or one of my representatives beforehand, we ask that you remain in your ships once you leave this hall. And for your own protection, we ask that those ships remain within our docking bays, as we'd rather not have to waste the resources fishing you out of the quagmire of our asteroid field. We also-"
Shouting broke out from closer to the front, a number of Zovo's guards swarming around a knot of thalatte, these one dressed in officer's uniforms rather than the nondescript outfits of the Thalatte agents. One of the guards, loudly but calmly, was telling one of the officers to stand down, but this advice went unheeded, the officer grabbing the guard by the collar, shouting to be take to Zovo immediately.
At least, that was what everyone assumed they were saying, as their sentence was cut off part way through when another of the guards jammed their pistol under the officer's jaw and pulled the trigger, the noise of the energy bolt frying the officer's grey matter was swiftly followed by the sound of their body hitting the reflective floor.
The silence that had fallen across the room at this sudden act of violence was interrupted by a sigh from Zovo's hologram as ghe turned a stern glare to the disruptive element in the room, "As was mentioned in the supplementary information given out to you all, we will not tolerate this sort of troublesome behaviour on this station. Regardless of whether or not that was your pilot for the race, you lot are disqualified. You'll be escorted out immediately, and a stipend to cover funeral costs will be forwarded to your ship. I can assure you that I would have no difficulty in covering the funeral cost for every single member of your crew, but I suggest that you don't put that claim to the test."
The crowd parted for the guards that had encircled the Thalatte crew now down a member, two of them hauling up their comrade's body between them as they were escorted from the room. Once the heavy doors had closed after they'd pushed their way through, Zovo continued, "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, we also have a viewing gallery that those of you not competing will be able to watch the race from. Like with the rest of the station, you will be under guard, and as has been so freshly demonstrated, we will not hesitate to quell any sort of unrest. If you cannot guarantee that you or your crews will be on your best behaviour, I would recommend that you watch the race from the comfort of your own ships instead. The live feed will be broadcast out to you all, regardless, as I know there are more than a few Kith present, and you lot do so enjoy a good show."
A smattering of quiet, knowing laughter broke out at that, bleeding some of the lingering tension from the room, thought Pryseia couldn't help but notice the attention of the furious Thalatte agent once again directed their way, despite their commander's best efforts.
"You will be free to mingle here until shift change tonight, in roughly three Galactic Standard hours, or to meet with one another on your own ships in the docking bay without any sort of curfew, but do keep in mind that both locations will remain under guard, and violence towards one another will not be permitted while on these premises. Save your enmity for when you're far from our space. Please, enjoy the rest of your evening, and good luck in the race on the morrow. May the best pilot win."
And with that, the hologram of Zovo faded away, and the noise in the room picked up again as people fell back to their conversations.
"They really aren't fucking around with security here," Rhea said over the closed line, "Good news for us, I guess. Hopefully that'll keep that agent who can't stop mean mugging us from starting any shit beforehand."
"I'll say, holy shit!" Leto breathed out a laugh, "They didn't even hesitate to take out that officer. Nice of Zovo to foot the funeral bill for that. It's more than I can say for a lot of the rich types who have no qualms with killing people who get on their nerves."
"Ghe may be eccentric, but ghe's got integrity," Ravona said, the clack of her mandibles audible over the comms, "It's a far cry from-"
"Well now, I suppose I should have expected to find the Gorgon turning up in a place like this!" A slim human woman with pale skin and long, straight brown hair called out as she sauntered over to them, her own crew crowded at her back, all of them dressed in matching armour of light plating and dramatic shoulder capes, every one of them bedecked in a different colour scheme. Dressed in pale pink, blue, and white, the woman continued, "Anywhere there's a chance to be a thorn in the Thalatte's side, you lot are eager to draw a little blood."
"Cammie!" Several of the members of the Gorgon shouted in return, Phoebe stepping in to pull the woman into a hug as she said, "And I suppose I should have expected the very same of the Turnabout!"
Clapping Phoebe on the back as she returned the embrace, Cammie said, "Your crew's looking a little fuller than it normally is. You taking on newcomers all of a sudden?"
"Sort of," Phoebe said, moving so she could sling an arm around Cammie's shoulders and use the other to motion to Pryseia and her lot, "This is the crew of the Pelekys, and it's their ship and their pilot who's going to be netting us that classified information Zovo has on offer."
"Your little sister's crew!" Cammie said, her eyes lighting up in recognition, "Saw you all in action at the Mercatus, and I gotta say, glad we were in the middle of a mission when that whole mess with the Dolabra went down. I don't think we would have been lucky enough to survive that."
"You still buying into that superstitious nonsense?" Leto said with a laugh, nudging the pretty, sapphire blue meleten on the other crew.
The woman elbowed her back, grinning even as she rolled her eyes. "Kind of hard not to when it was something you were surrounded by the entire time you grew up! All through my childhood, I was told that it was ill luck to change what the gods had granted you at birth, so I had to flee my colony in order to transcend my body into the form my soul longed for. And then I found myself in a crew of Kith who had all transcended themselves. If the gods truly are real, then we've ill luck to spare!"
"Oh! Turnabout, I get it!" Rhea said, whipping out double finger guns at that, "Cute! I like it a lot."
Cammie grinned at that, saying, "Selene said the same thing. Glad that attitude runs in the family."
Her expression grew conspiratorial as she leaned further into Phoebe's space and quietly said, "While I can't guarantee which pilot is going to be crossing the finish line first, a bunch of us are going to be working to make sure it's a Kith crew that walks away with the information on offer. If it's high profile enough to get this many Thalatte crews in on trying to get it back, then it's gotta be something that would give us a real leg up."
"Oh, if my sources are correct on what it contains, it's well worth the hassle," Phoebe whispered back, nodding her head over at Nevara as she added, "Which is why we've brought on an expert pilot with a slick little Hyttan flyer to bring us over the finish line."
"Hyttan, you say?" The meleten woman drawled, her grin growing, "I think I saw the footage of you taking it out for a spin. That went quite viral! If you perform like that here, then I would be more than happy to help you survive to the finish line. Monaleoht, and I'll be in the bright purple Zymeth Epsilon."
"Nevara, and is that the Mark V or Mark VI?" Nevara asked with a polite bow.
Monaleoht scoffed before saying, "Mark V, of course! The Mark VI isn't worth its weight in scrap!"
Nevara didn't have anything to say to that, but she gave a nod of appreciation.
Returning the nod, Cammie said, "We've been doing what digging into the competition as we could covertly get away with, and it looks like a lot of the crews here have brought their A game pilots. Our AI clocked at least six professional racers mixed in among some of the mercenary crews alone, so who knows what other aces in the hole people have squirreled away. I'm glad you lot pulled the same shtick."
"I know I'm a good pilot, but Nevara is leagues better than me," Selene said, bumping lightly into Nevara's shoulder, "I'm just glad she agreed to fly for us."
"Selfishly, this track is the type of challenge I find exhilarating. I couldn't refuse." Nevara told her, bumping her back.
Cammie grinned at that, slipping out of Phoebe's hold as she said, "That's the kind of bravado I like to hear! Well, if the information you win at the end of the day proves to be something that can lead to the type of shenanigans your lot has a habit of getting into, give us a call, and we'd be happy to cause a little destruction alongside you."
"We will, don't worry," hidden behind her helmet as it was, Phoebe's own returning smile was evident in her voice, "It might take a bit of planning to get things organized, but you're on my list of regulars to call when the mission that could result from this is ready to go."
Cammie gave her a wink and a salute at that, and with a parting wave, she and the rest of the Turnabout mingled back into the crowd.
Turning to Nevara, V'tala said, "I'm glad to know that you're going to have allies in the race ahead, especially if you've already got enemies."
"Me too," Elytra said, her helmet scanning across the crowd around them, "Looks like that Thalatte crew who doesn't like us much is off with some of the other Thalatte entering this race. What do you want to bet they're conspiring against us?"
Sara let out an aggressive little rumble as they said, "Let them, it won't do them a lick of good! All the best pilots in the Thalatte fleet are those they stole from other worlds, they won't be able to front a racer who'll come even close to our girl!"
"I appreciate the vote of confidence," Nevara said as Sara clapped her on the back, "And I look forward to showing the Thalatte the truth of your statement. My only regret is that we won't get to see their faces when we win, because that would certainly be a treat."