Cath

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“I was hoping for more info too; maybe the others will know more. The security team or the science drone that the Quadrarch mentioned…I diiid do a little digging in the haulier channels I have access to. Myrmidon do indeed operate a geosync terminal in orbit around Veppecantel, which all the autonomous transports dock at. To keep costs down, they distribute some of the resources directly to 3rd parties in a public-access trading area. That could be a way in, if we choose to go down the…you know…theft route. How do you feel about nabbing a ship ID, now you have your inhibitor?”

There was a loud knock on the cargo bay door that echoed around the ship despite the weather outside. Tindrel ships were famously reverberant, owing to their unique communication style. Light gasped, checked the external cameras and gasped again. There was a tall biped wearing a hooded brown cloak right in front of the fish-eye camera on the exterior door control panel. Though it was dark and wet out, he caught the contours of a Human face in the shadow of the hood. For some reason they made Light shiver. Behind them and slightly away from the ramp, he could see maybe half a dozen other figures.

“We’ve got company!” Light warbled, exiting the cockpit in a hurry. He sloshed through the dimly lit tunnels of his ship to the bright box of the cargo bay. There he grabbed the Bangstick from where it leant against the wall and hit the two-way communicator on the control panel. Immediately the tinny sound of wind and rain came through. “What do you want?” He asked. After a moment the gruff reply came through. “Our mutual acquaintance told me you could use some help squashing a bug.”

Light studied them again through the cameras. “Alright. Stand back, keeping your hands where I can see them.” The figure spread both gunmetal hands down by their waist and Light pressed the big red button which lowered the ramp. Fat drops of water drummed the metal ramp the moment it appeared before the sky. Light held his weapon at the ready until the lead figure’s head appeared and then pointed it squarely at them. They did not flinch. He could make out the mass of figures and luggage waiting behind.

“How many good causes are there?” Light asked levelly. The figure pushed their hood back, revealing a balding grey head of hair beneath a lined face. A hint of a smile played at their thin lips, and they raised four fingers. Light dropped the Bangstick and waved them up. The group trudged up towards the warmth of the cargo bay, and the biped in the brown robe strode over with a hand extended.

“You must be the pilot, and the Myrmidon. You can call me Major.” He said.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

She nodded at Senjen’s repeated offer. “I’ll message you if I run into trouble but I think I know just the thing.”

Her features softened as she listened closely to him. “Thank you. I believe you – you couldn’t have known this would happen, except by taking the cynical view that all things in Korit are bad in the end. I’m glad you didn’t. Your optimism is…infectious. We can make a success of this bad situation, and return as heroes.”

Ruk stood up and shook out her feathers. They returned to their usual sleek form. She patted his head tenderly. “I’m going to go and rest, then go shopping. I’ll meet you at your ship when its time to leave.”

---

Two days passed in a flurry of checks and preparations. Light ordered in enough supplies to last them a few months. The surpluses he stored in the cargo hold. A storm rolled in from the mountains on the second day, bringing with it rolling thunder, howling winds and driving rain. As the afternoon turned to evening, he began to feel nervous.

“Where is everyone? You gave the address, right?” He asked Senjen from the cockpit.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“I’ve been on enough assignments to know that Corporate Korit expects workers to purchase their own gear sometimes. It is one of the side effects of not paying taxes.” Ruknar chuckled morosely.

“I’ll go find a suit tomorrow then, and save money by not buying a weapon. I’ll leave the shooting to you.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Despite her anxiety, Ruk’s feathers fluffed up contentedly at the compliment. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I’ll try my best to reciprocate, though you and Light have a lot more protection that me!” Red and green fireworks rippled over the valley this restaurant looked out over. Soft music tinkled speakers fixed to awnings that hung over the bar area.

She gave a wry smile at Senjen's offer. "You may regret offering now - I need a protective suit. Vitality wouldn’t give me one; said all FGC suits are identifiable, and this was supposed to be a black op. Do I need a weapon too? I’ve never used one before, but then I’ve never been anywhere this dangerous. Maybe its best left to the security team… What else do you need?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Two days. We’ve been given two days to prepare for the most consequential trip either of us may ever may.” Ruk corrected Senjen. “And one of those days is going to be spent with Jess fiddling around with your insides.” The sounds of merriment were ramping up as the evening progressed. Some glass smashed to raucous laughter. Large bugs buzzed around the long strings of festoon lights.

“Besides, even if we have time its not like we’ll be able to just find Vitality. You saw tonight – she is secretive and careful outside of her inner circle at the FGC. I never hear anything certain about her, only rumours.”

She sighed again and ran her fingers, such as they were, through her ruffled feathers. Then she looked Senjen dead in the eyes. “Listen to me, its sweet that you think I might be some special ace in the hole, but really I’m nobody special. I help people feel better. I understand people; my Sthrirad is healthy. Apart from that I’m out of my depth. You just know this Seraphim is going to be a sociopath, all the new AI specialists are. Maybe I’m a good counterweight to her, or maybe i'm not. Who knows!”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Ruk shrugged morosely. “I hope you’re right. It would be kinda incredible if it does come off that way though, right? There are a lot of ‘ifs’ still.” She took another sniff of her bowl and lounged out slightly on her chair. It wobbled gently on uneven ground.#

“I can’t think of any reason my skillset particularly commends me. There are many people more experienced than me in the field of medicine. My virology credentials are shaky at best. I’ve not even managed an AI specialist yet…I did work in a couple of conflict zones after I graduated, but nothing particularly heroic. I was treating laser burns and trauma miles from any kind of action.”

She ran a talon along the cracked cobblestones beneath her chair, scooped up a millipede which she studied closely for a moment before returning.

“It doesn’t make any sense, but I don’t think Vitality will back down now. The die is cast; you’ll only piss her off trying to renegotiate now. She doesn’t strike me as the kind of Chekeri you want to see angry.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Ruknar sighed, scratched her head. She perched on a discarded chair that creaked under her weight, suddenly very tired. “I don’t know…The FGC is an impossibly complex organism. Like a body really, lots of different cells…Some fine balances and total imbalances.”

She pulled a drug bowl from her red knapsack, peeled back the lid and let the fumes waft into her nose holes. After a shuddering breath, she calmed a little further. After a moment of contemplation, she spoke again.

“I’ve only met Vitality once, but I already get a sense of her aura. It is strong and well formed. She is old enough to care only about the health of the organism - She doesn’t care about the individual cells. She will happily sacrifice us and others if it means saving billions. Does that make her good? Or evil incarnate?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Ruknar made a beeline for Senjen when she noticed him, her whole frame shivering with pent up energy. She wanted to punch his silly metal head but thought better of it; she’d be quite likely to break her arm. In the end she smacked a small vase of flowers off a nearby table and then got right into Senjen’s face, talon pointing under his chin.

“How am I feeling?! Gee, Senny, I dunno, maybe I’m feeling like I never should’ve fraternised with a couple of criminals! Like I should’ve never let you buy that stupid suit, or helped Light get fixed up so good. My whole life is in jeopardy because you have what Vitality needs – a way in. And if I say no? If I do anything wrong at all? Well… I’ll never practice medicine in this sector again. She is something like my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss’s boss! Plus, she’s nearly a thousand years old, so she know everyone who is anyone in my profession! It’s not even like I’m best qualified to handle Seraphim – I’m only there as leverage over your sorry asses.”

Ruk removed her talon, feeling scared and ashamed and angry still. She cawed loudly, making several restaurant goers jump. It made her feel a bit better, but she still cast Senjen a hurt look. “Maybe you should’ve just said no. Then at least we would’ve been just unemployed and not dead too.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light shivered at the thought of a bank vault that was open for the looting, and the series of events that must have happened to make it so. He was curious as to how the surface of the planet looked now that tragedy had befallen the citizens there. He could only conjure up a few pretty pictures from tourist adverts pinned to various lavatories offered for free around the city.

Then he received a surreptitious message from Senjen and honestly didn’t know what to reply. Eventually he thought: “There is nothing about this that I’m completely ‘fine’ with. But it doesn’t feel like we have much of a choice. This lady could terminate our contract with FGC today if she wanted; then where are we? We can’t survive just waiting for Jess to come up with another job.”

Finally, after a few moments of contemplation he returned to face Vitality. “We’ll do what you ask, ma’am. But your drone has to give us the location of the vault once we are safely on the surface of Veppecantel. It may take some time for Seraphim to complete her mission, and it seems to me that conditions on the ground could change quickly. We need time to plan how we extract our payment before we leave.”
Vitality harumphed, before consulting Ruk.

“You vouch for them?” Their friend hesitated. This really wasn’t anywhere near her comfort zone. She stared at them both in turn for a second.

“Yeah, I do. As vagabonds go, these two are good.”

Vitality nodded. “Very well. It is agreed. Go and get checked out. You leave in two days.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“I’ll allow it. Just don’t take long! You must get going as soon as possible. The situation is already delicate and is poised to get worse!
Vitality coughed with a wide open beak, tongue out. Light wondered if there might be a limit to what medical science was supposed to do, and that this elderly Chekeri was reaching that limit. Ruk took her another drink, of water this time, that she turned her nose up at.

“Yes yes, Seraphim will set you up with all the necessary equipment. It is imperative the Holophage does not make it off Veppecantel. You will use all means necessary to protect the galaxy, is that understood?”

“Yes ma’am. I think we understand. There are lot of conditions to this mission, and a lot of risk. What do we get out of it?” Light asked. This seemed in a totally different league to their regular FGC work.

Vitality laughed and coughed again. “You mean you’re not doing this from the goodness of your heart? No, of course not. Your arrangement with my organisation is one of necessity. We fix you up and this is how you repay me? Pah!...Well, I have none to offer you here, but on the planet? Well, let’s just say a little birdie told me of a bank vault with BILLIONS in gold and silver completely unguarded. The location is locked In Seraphim’s head. Help her complete her mission and she will tell you where it is. Do we have a deal?”