The next two days of travel were quicker than before, but still nowhere near fast. They moved beyond the full moons and therefore the possibility of Ahnasha's child becoming a Senche, but that hardly erased all concerns from her mind. The birth itself was fast approaching and could start at any moment. As they walked through the swamp, she felt wrong in many ways, though oddly enough, she felt more energetic and could breathe more easily. Her feet and joints were constantly sore, to the point that she used up Sabine's treatments faster than she could gather the ingredients. Since she had eaten so much during her transformation, the pack had no choice but to stop and hunt in the middle of the first day of travel. It wasn't too lengthy of a distraction, but it was a distraction nonetheless. When the pack stopped in camp on the second night, the weather was fair, and would hopefully remain so for the duration of the next day. By this point, Stormhold was close enough that they would arrive before nightfall the next day.
Ahnasha did not awaken peacefully the next morning. It was early, before the sun had even risen, and she felt wrong in about every way. She felt a pain in her abdomen unlike any she had felt before. She sat up breathing rapidly and looking around in a panic. When she noticed that she felt more wet than she expected, even in the marsh, she knew immediately what was happening. Frantically, she looked to Fendros beside her, grabbed his shoulders, and started shaking him violently. "Fendros! Get Meesei! Get Sabine and her potions, get...everyone and everything! NOW!!"
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Yeah, I'll move us on in the next one, though I am playing Destiny at the moment.
Ahnasha smiled and put her arm around Fendros as they started to walk. . "Always trying to encourage me, aren't you? Can't you just let me sulk in peace?" She joked. Even she had to stop and admit she was being too hard on herself at times, but regardless, she still did not like the idea of being weak. She had hated it ever since her pregnancy had started influencing her mobility, she hated it now, and she would continue to hate it until the day she died. She was just not the kind of person who could deal with inactivity and inaction, and she had been putting up with months of it. Of course, that would all be ending soon.
Kaleeth had been silent while she gathered up her belongings and put on her armor. She did not much like to wear it in camp, but she never liked to move anywhere without it. She only spoke up when Janius questioned her, and even then, she was quiet and kept her head held low. "It was...scary. The beast, I've never felt it so strong. I remember some of it, but other parts are just...black. I don't like that feeling. I don't like that it can take over my mind so much that I don't even remember what I did. I...I'll be fine, though. I just didn't expect it. You said it will get better, and...I trust you."
Kaleeth had been silent while she gathered up her belongings and put on her armor. She did not much like to wear it in camp, but she never liked to move anywhere without it. She only spoke up when Janius questioned her, and even then, she was quiet and kept her head held low. "It was...scary. The beast, I've never felt it so strong. I remember some of it, but other parts are just...black. I don't like that feeling. I don't like that it can take over my mind so much that I don't even remember what I did. I...I'll be fine, though. I just didn't expect it. You said it will get better, and...I trust you."
The representatives waited patiently while each member of the team signed their contract, with each holographic screen deactivating once they submitted the form. Once every form was signed, Ghirn continued from where he left off.
"Alright, with that settled, we can move on. my name is Ghirn'Lors. The other representatives are Aminata Faye of the United Nations, and Zinzech and Beni of the Sovereignty." Ghirn introduced.
Unlike some of the other members of the team, neither of the Sovereignty representatives showed any reaction to August's question. Of course, that did not mean they did not pass judgement on him, it simply meant they were practiced enough in politics to avoid displaying their inner thoughts. Beni, the Tempu representative, took a glance at a few reports on his screen, then continued onto the subject of the meeting.
"Now, as for why you are here. The purpose of this meeting, and indeed this entire initiative, is to stop a new threat that has come to light in recent months. They are a cell of rebels, insurrectionists. Sovereignty citizens are among them, so normally, we would handle the situation promptly, but this situation is not so simple, and the Assembly has reconciled that no one government has jurisdiction here."
Aminata, the Human representative, activated a three dimensional holographic model of what appeared to be a space station in the center of the table, then proceeded with her part of the briefing. "This station was recently the target of an attack by these rebels. It is located close to the border of Rothian, Human, and Sovereignty territory, not all that far from Pax. The world it orbits is an uncolonized, terrestrial planet with a toxic atmosphere called 39048 Sarentanza. It does not yet even have a common name. The only thing of interest about the world is its high mineral wealth, which was the purpose of the station. Its inhabitants were mostly geologists and other employees of a mining corporation based out of Pax, along with their families. Now, we have reason to believe those people are being held hostage by this rebel group. The planet does not yet officially belong to any of the governments, and both the insurgents and civilians contain citizens of all of our nations, so we have come to the conclusion that it would be mutually beneficial for all involved that we all work together."
Ghirn sent each team member a copy of the intelligence on the station and the attack, which both appeared in the form of a screen in front of them. "These are the scouting reports we have on the situation. You may read over them now, and we will also make sure to forward the information to your ship before you leave. The basic plan is this: you will infiltrate the station undetected to locate the hostages. From the plans the corporation that built the station has provided, we have determined a way to jam the station's communications and sensors, so you should be able to slip in undetected. Provided most of them are still alive, there are too many hostages for you to extract alone. As such, your task will be to locate where on the station the hostages are being held. If they are smart, the rebels will be holding them in various locations across the station. We will also be sending a modest sized joint-species fleet with your team. You will relay the hostages' locations to the fleet, then signal their attack. Provided you are fast enough, you should be able to extract the hostages with minimal casualties. From there, you will then aid the assault force in recapturing the station. That is the summarized version of the plan, does anyone have any specific questions?"
"Alright, with that settled, we can move on. my name is Ghirn'Lors. The other representatives are Aminata Faye of the United Nations, and Zinzech and Beni of the Sovereignty." Ghirn introduced.
Unlike some of the other members of the team, neither of the Sovereignty representatives showed any reaction to August's question. Of course, that did not mean they did not pass judgement on him, it simply meant they were practiced enough in politics to avoid displaying their inner thoughts. Beni, the Tempu representative, took a glance at a few reports on his screen, then continued onto the subject of the meeting.
"Now, as for why you are here. The purpose of this meeting, and indeed this entire initiative, is to stop a new threat that has come to light in recent months. They are a cell of rebels, insurrectionists. Sovereignty citizens are among them, so normally, we would handle the situation promptly, but this situation is not so simple, and the Assembly has reconciled that no one government has jurisdiction here."
Aminata, the Human representative, activated a three dimensional holographic model of what appeared to be a space station in the center of the table, then proceeded with her part of the briefing. "This station was recently the target of an attack by these rebels. It is located close to the border of Rothian, Human, and Sovereignty territory, not all that far from Pax. The world it orbits is an uncolonized, terrestrial planet with a toxic atmosphere called 39048 Sarentanza. It does not yet even have a common name. The only thing of interest about the world is its high mineral wealth, which was the purpose of the station. Its inhabitants were mostly geologists and other employees of a mining corporation based out of Pax, along with their families. Now, we have reason to believe those people are being held hostage by this rebel group. The planet does not yet officially belong to any of the governments, and both the insurgents and civilians contain citizens of all of our nations, so we have come to the conclusion that it would be mutually beneficial for all involved that we all work together."
Ghirn sent each team member a copy of the intelligence on the station and the attack, which both appeared in the form of a screen in front of them. "These are the scouting reports we have on the situation. You may read over them now, and we will also make sure to forward the information to your ship before you leave. The basic plan is this: you will infiltrate the station undetected to locate the hostages. From the plans the corporation that built the station has provided, we have determined a way to jam the station's communications and sensors, so you should be able to slip in undetected. Provided most of them are still alive, there are too many hostages for you to extract alone. As such, your task will be to locate where on the station the hostages are being held. If they are smart, the rebels will be holding them in various locations across the station. We will also be sending a modest sized joint-species fleet with your team. You will relay the hostages' locations to the fleet, then signal their attack. Provided you are fast enough, you should be able to extract the hostages with minimal casualties. From there, you will then aid the assault force in recapturing the station. That is the summarized version of the plan, does anyone have any specific questions?"
I did kind of post that one quickly, as I had an assignment to do. You can post preparations if you like, but I'll be sure to add more or make another post tomorrow. Though I have a lot to do tomorrow too.
"Well, among Khajiit, it is pretty much to be expected. I wouldn't say single births are rare or anything, they still probably make up more than half of births, but, well, the other half is twins, triplets, and so on. Now, when the father isn't Khajiit, that can make it more complicated. I'm not an expert on this or anything, but I think which race the father is will affect it differently. With a human father, multiple births would still be fairly common, but not like normal. With you being a Dunmer, I doubt it is very likely at all. Dunmer women can only have a few children in their lifetimes, right? I personally don't think I've ever heard of Dunmer twins, though I'm sure it has happened. If I had to guess, I would say the likelyhood of twins would be small, but still a possibility." Ahnasha explained. She really wasn't sure if everything she was saying was factually accurate, she was just making educated guesses based on her experiences. Besides, she would probably know by now if she was carrying twins.
Kaleeth returned only a few minutes later, more quickly than they were expecting. As luck would have it, her beast spirit had stuck to the same river, so she was able to swim back in about the same time as it took to get there. The intensity of her first full moon made her silent once more to everyone except Janius, though it was more due to shock than anything and would likely pass in time. Most of the pack, save Ahnasha, had to then finish up packing their belongings. If they wanted to have even a chance of getting to Stormhold in time, they needed to move quickly, something that Ahnasha was decidedly terrible at currently. As they were about to leave, Ahnasha approached Fendros once more, this time with more of a saddened expression. "I guess it's back to traveling, and me inevitably holding the rest of you up. I'm surprised Meesei hasn't insisted on the others carrying me yet. I've been useless at every other task, and now it seems I can't even walk right."
Kaleeth returned only a few minutes later, more quickly than they were expecting. As luck would have it, her beast spirit had stuck to the same river, so she was able to swim back in about the same time as it took to get there. The intensity of her first full moon made her silent once more to everyone except Janius, though it was more due to shock than anything and would likely pass in time. Most of the pack, save Ahnasha, had to then finish up packing their belongings. If they wanted to have even a chance of getting to Stormhold in time, they needed to move quickly, something that Ahnasha was decidedly terrible at currently. As they were about to leave, Ahnasha approached Fendros once more, this time with more of a saddened expression. "I guess it's back to traveling, and me inevitably holding the rest of you up. I'm surprised Meesei hasn't insisted on the others carrying me yet. I've been useless at every other task, and now it seems I can't even walk right."
Sorry for the delay, but I have been a bit busy as of late. I only just got home recently. I'll try to work on my next post today, but it probably won't be done until tomorrow.
Sharee's officers were prompt in arriving at her cabin, a quality she was glad had developed among them. Almost everyone present, save one, was an officer, as it seemed like most of them had left their team members behind: a wise decision, likely. With the information they had collected over the past few days, they had developed a few plans for how to approach the situation. Given the numbers Sharee had at her disposal, she figured a stealthy approach would be best. Since an entire crate of skooma was not exactly a light object, they wouldn't be able to sneak out with it, but they could at least formulate a surprise attack.
Sharee, who was already armed and ready, stood up from her table once everyone had arrived. "Okay, that looks like everyone. Since only one of you has brought any of your teams here, I'm guessing you don't think the others are ready. That's probably accurate, and as long as we're coordinated, we won't need them. I've looked over everyone's reports, and unfortunately, it looks like we only have one real good option here. The Dominion is too smart to leave their moon sugar fields lightly defended, and the Miriam's crew are too smart to leave their skooma unattended, so that means we need to go after the one stupid group left on the island: the bandits. From your reports, they look like a small clan, less than two dozen in all, but that's still more than us. They operate out of a cove on the east side of the island. From the glimpse Malakaus' scout got of the place, they have a wooden dock set up inside the cove, with a door that looks like it heads into a cave in the back. Now, the fact that they seem to keep most of their supplies and loot out on the dock suggests that cave is small, maybe enough for a room or two, but you never know. From what I've been told, these bandits should have at least a crate of skooma, maybe more, hopefully not less. Now, thing is, I don't have any more information other than what I just told you. That means we're going to have to make up a plan once we're there and can survey the situation. One of the issues with this camp being in a cove is that it can be difficult to get a good look inside without being spotted, which is probably why they picked it. We might have to do some improvising, but that's why I selected you all as officers, you have judgement. I'm assuming you all armed yourselves already. If not, do that now. Also, to answer Sarel's question, we need to be quiet on the approach, so we will be walking. This island isn't that big, so it won't take long."
Sharee, who was already armed and ready, stood up from her table once everyone had arrived. "Okay, that looks like everyone. Since only one of you has brought any of your teams here, I'm guessing you don't think the others are ready. That's probably accurate, and as long as we're coordinated, we won't need them. I've looked over everyone's reports, and unfortunately, it looks like we only have one real good option here. The Dominion is too smart to leave their moon sugar fields lightly defended, and the Miriam's crew are too smart to leave their skooma unattended, so that means we need to go after the one stupid group left on the island: the bandits. From your reports, they look like a small clan, less than two dozen in all, but that's still more than us. They operate out of a cove on the east side of the island. From the glimpse Malakaus' scout got of the place, they have a wooden dock set up inside the cove, with a door that looks like it heads into a cave in the back. Now, the fact that they seem to keep most of their supplies and loot out on the dock suggests that cave is small, maybe enough for a room or two, but you never know. From what I've been told, these bandits should have at least a crate of skooma, maybe more, hopefully not less. Now, thing is, I don't have any more information other than what I just told you. That means we're going to have to make up a plan once we're there and can survey the situation. One of the issues with this camp being in a cove is that it can be difficult to get a good look inside without being spotted, which is probably why they picked it. We might have to do some improvising, but that's why I selected you all as officers, you have judgement. I'm assuming you all armed yourselves already. If not, do that now. Also, to answer Sarel's question, we need to be quiet on the approach, so we will be walking. This island isn't that big, so it won't take long."
I was wrote part of my next post earlier, but got caught in other things. I have a long day tomorrow, so it will be later int he day before I can finish it. For those who we haven't heard from in a while, if you still want to be a part of it, feel free to post in the meantime .
Ahnasha had thought about what Fendros asked before, and it was not an easy question to answer. The various forms of Khajiit were radically different, and while she was worried that she wasn't qualified to raise any of them, she did have somewhat of a pragmatic view on which would be easiest on both of them. Of course, she would love her child no matter what it ended up being. That much was ingrained into her mind as a mother.
"Well, I suppose it would be easier to raise the forms most like me, since I am obviously familiar with myself. Unfortunately, there is no chance of this child being born as a Suthay-raht. If I had to pick one form...that would be hard. A Cathay would be closer to a Suthay-raht like myself. They do tend to be larger, but not too much larger than we are. On the other hand, as a Cathay-raht, our child would be a strong, powerful individual. I believe we saw one back in Vos, so you know how big they can get. I know that can create its own challenges, especially in civilizations outside Elsweyr, but for our lifestyle, out in the wilds, it would be an advantage that would make for an easier life. I don't know if I can decide between the two, I just...I am hoping that it doesn't happen today. If it does, it would be a Senche and...I know you said you would love our child no matter what, but I know you wouldn't be comfortable with that." Ahnasha answered.
"Well, I suppose it would be easier to raise the forms most like me, since I am obviously familiar with myself. Unfortunately, there is no chance of this child being born as a Suthay-raht. If I had to pick one form...that would be hard. A Cathay would be closer to a Suthay-raht like myself. They do tend to be larger, but not too much larger than we are. On the other hand, as a Cathay-raht, our child would be a strong, powerful individual. I believe we saw one back in Vos, so you know how big they can get. I know that can create its own challenges, especially in civilizations outside Elsweyr, but for our lifestyle, out in the wilds, it would be an advantage that would make for an easier life. I don't know if I can decide between the two, I just...I am hoping that it doesn't happen today. If it does, it would be a Senche and...I know you said you would love our child no matter what, but I know you wouldn't be comfortable with that." Ahnasha answered.
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