Post
Wed Jul 10, 2019 11:53 am
#296
by Talvieno
Gamma
Sukava shouts back, "We know not your name but your need for our services! We come from those who know, but are not known! We do not attack you first, but we respond to attack in kind!"
This last is said despite knowing full well that the fysar on the balcony hadn't actually been intending to "shoot to kill". They were just warning shots. Sukava and Vynkor, however, initiated actual combat. These people actually seem quite cautious and reasonable for a bloodthirsty gang, actually, but the dastardly duo continues to try their patience.
Vynkor decides to add, "You guys need something shot or unshot or acquired or disposed of, we're the ones to ask. And you don't even have to leave the luxury of your home!"
The gang's speaker gives the two a flat stare in response, seeming thoroughly unimpressed. The inmates have cleverly succeeded in failing to satisfactorily answer any of the four questions she had asked. "So, my questions have no answer to you," she muses slowly, deliberately. "You are Kriivar; you have no... dobiri. We had think you maybe someone... ikaffi mikika - someone of power, or of friends with power. But no. You are lish." She stares for a moment longer. Finally she shrugs, turning away as though the entire incident is of little consequence, and lazily raises a hand for a signal. "Sishae kwakiil," she speaks, in a thoroughly bored tone.
A dozen aliens charge at her command.
Beta
After Big Daneelo speaks, Caleb quickly processes the information and nods. "I guess we'll need to stay at least until the FMU's fleet is occupied by the fighting or something. That might not be feasible though; I'm not sure, I'm no admiral."
Pale-faced, Frank adds, "What do you need - What do you want to use us for?"
"Need? Use?" Big Daneelo chuckles. He says something else - something the bhezian does not translate - and then chuckles again before replying, "I have no 'need' of you. I think, perhaps, you overestimate your importance here. You are merely pawns - powerless tokens to be moved about, as in a game. And one of you has been taken. It upsets the balance."
Saoirse interjects, "Is t-there anyone who benefits f-from t-this mess? All w-we've heard s-so far just m-makes me t-think someone is m-manipulating us to st-stir up shite..." Her eyes are red, but she's trying to hold off and save her grieving for later. She's managing it fairly well, now that she's trying.
The plodus gives Saoirse a long, steady stare, as though sizing up her intelligence. She seems an intelligent enough girl, really - for a human, anyway. He finally says, "In the real world, only one party benefits from anything, Sairsa. If others believe they benefit, they are fooled." He pronounces her name incorrectly, but the bhezian gets it right upon translation. "It remains to be seen who will benefit from this, but if I have it my way, it will be neither Rebirth nor the mercenaries. The pirates of the Hy'sak Viscari have cut their allegiance to the local mercenaries entirely in a quest for power. They are not local, though," he adds, clarifying. "They're part of a larger network, more powerful than any on Fuhodo. It is not good to make enemies with them. We pay them tribute for protection, and you would have been protected if you'd stayed on your ship." This last is punctuated by a spiteful glare.
"Then where do you stand?" Frank asks. "We're still alive, instead of being driven out to further the conflict."
Big Daneelo starts to speak, but stops. When he finally answers, he seems to say a good deal more than the bhezian translates - and some of it may not be specifically to Frank and his peers, but to Almina or the bhezian instead. "I protect Fuhodo and its people. I take no side that does not benefit the station." The inmates get the feeling that there may be a lot more to this than is being said.
The inmates stand silently for a moment. Finally, Caleb mutters,"I don't exactly like the idea of sitting around and waiting for someone to come looking for us." He's managing to keep a relatively straight face through all this. "Is there anything we can do that won't make things even worse?"
"Yes, actually," the plodus says slowly, thoughtfully. He glides closer to his desk and begins working with his computer. "I'm not keeping you here. That hurts my business. Instead, I have an errand for you run."
Caleb doesn't like this idea, given everything he's heard - and rightfully so. "If we're too active out there we'll be found and killed regardless," he warns.
"Which is why you will stay quiet." Big Daneelo presses a button on his desk.
Immediately, the door behind the trio opens and two people walk through - a human mercenary escorted by a hiltorel guard. The guard soon leaves, and the mercenary - a scarred man with close-cropped auburn hair - moves to stand near the other three REKT members.
"I mentioned I knew of the cryo, the Nemesis, and so on," Big Daneelo says, waving it away with a hand like it's trivial. "This human, Nilo, was also from cryo. He will replace your fourth party member. He came aboard with the other people earlier - the ones that sought to trade hi-plat. He became separated, and I captured him."
((Going to give you guys a break from the infodump to briefly introduce your characters to each other. Nilo already knows all of what's said above regarding the situation on Fuhodo. Your characters will have more time to become better acquainted later - which, I figure, will be an important thing if your characters plan to work together for any length of time.))
((Also, sorry for how choppy everything got in regards to "who said what when". arranging things chronologically in a story-friendly manner is hard, but doing it now saves me a lot of time later))