EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, well it may be best to wait until we decide for certain what we intend to do before alerting the clan as a whole. We have not yet reached an agreement to leave, Gallus." Meesei remarked before turning her attention back to Ri'nakhad. "I should let you begin your cataloging. Hopefully, either we will have enough resources that can be easily sold for the journey, or another solution will present itself."

Ri'nakhad looked to his lieutenants for a few moments, waiting to see if they had any more to say before answering. "Of course, we should have a report ready by tomorrow. This one hopes we will be able to come to an agreement that suits us all."

With the meeting adjourned, Ri'nakhad stayed to speak with his lieutenants about their specific tasks, while the rest of the group began to disperse. Meesei stepped outside just behind Do'ajee, but waited by the railing nearby for Gallus, as she had a few thoughts on her mind that she felt she needed to discuss.

---

The first to notice Tzirret among the group was a light-furred boy a few years older than him, but smaller due to being a Suthay. He had stripes that were quite dark in contrast to the rest of his fur and an average build for a lycan. He turned around and looked up at him strangely. "Um...hello? I don't think I know you." He responded. His accent was distinctly Cyrodilic, though he spoke in Ta'agra confidently. He turned his head towards his friends and gave a questioning gaze to confirm whether or not this new visitor was someone any of them knew.

After a few seconds, another of the group squinted her eyes as she leaned forward and stared at his face. She was a Suthay-raht with light brown fur and light spots, and did not look to be particularly athletic. "This one...thinks she does recognize him, actually. From last night...are you a member of the Champion's pack?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Since Ra'kalesh was not well-informed on the clan's current state of affairs, he had been rather quiet thusfar, but he could see where Gallus was going with his suggestion. "Actually, it is more profitable than you might think. Jo'rashaad has told this one of what it was like to live there. A popular import was wood, and products made from it. It is usually shipped to Valenwood, as it is not far away and fetches a higher price."

Miranor had been quite skeptical thusfar, and while she was not yet convinced, this idea did cause her to raise her brow. "Yes...in Valenwood, the Green Pact prevents the destruction of any of Valenwood's own trees, but there are no restrictions on imported wood. It is in high demand. You wouldn't be able to get as high of a price in Torval, but it would still be profitable. Some of our carpenters did survive the attack."

"That is encouraging, but there is the concern of time." Meesei commented. "If you are suggesting that the clan's carpenters construct wooden pieces like furniture, that will have to be done near Torval, and will take time. We may be able to spare that time, but I am unsure. What about just the raw materials, the wood itself? What kind of a price would it bring in comparison to finished goods?"

"It would be less, unfortunately." Ra'kalesh responded. "It would still be profitable, but the furniture could be sold at a higher price, if well-made. But of course, it would be much faster."

"I see." Meesei said. She gave a light sigh and looked one more time towards the map. "In that case, if there is nothing else, we should probably make these decisions once we know exactly how much we will need. Ri'nakhad, how quickly do you think you will be able to take stock?"

"We already have lists of most of our usual supplies, we will just need to go over our more...static resources, like furniture and lumber. If we start soon, it should be finished by tomorrow." He explained.

---

"That's fine, I need a few minutes too." Peiter commented once Sabine turned for a drink of water. He sat up in the bed and took a moment to stretch out his muscles while she thought, though he quickly laid back down with her when she turned back to him. And, once she agreed, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his chest tightly against hers. "Hmm, keep up? I think I'll be, uh, outrunning you. With all the...physical conditioning I have." He responded with an ever widening smile.

The pair's words ceased with a long, passionate kiss. They took some time to recover in each others' arms, but once that was done, their embrace quickly turned into something more.

Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

I decided to give a cramped, uncomfortable opportunity for anyone to say something if you like. I will say that we will be moving somewhere less frantic where people can actually relax. For the moment, I included the frightened woman so you wouldn't be without something to do.

Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

The Turian commander motioned quickly to one of his men. "Get a medic over here as soon as possible." He ordered before returning his attention to those in the shuttle. "The enemy hasn't moved on our position yet, but we think it's only a matter of time. Our fleet gave them more trouble than they were probably expecting, but they're regrouping as we speak. I don't know the exact coordinates of where we're going, but the orders came down from General Artus himself, just before we lost contact with his cruiser. Until we know more, we're following that order."

The Turian's gaze shifted towards the two interceptors on either side of the shuttle. "You also have fighters. Those will be useful, just have your..." He began, but interrupted himself when he saw into the cockpits. "...where are your pilots?"

"These interceptor craft were piloted remotely." Avatar answered simply. The commander, finally noticing the Geth among the group in the shuttle, regarded it strangely. "Um, right. Well, we have pilots in need of ships, so we can make use of them. Just stay here in your shuttle; we will get moving shortly." He responded.

The soldiers left quickly, though the medic they had called for was not far behind. As she was properly supplied and trained, she was able to give Voira and the other wounded more comprehensive medical attention. At the very least, their bleeding was stopped completely and they were given an anesthetic to dull most of the pain. They would need time to recover, but they were all stable.

After the medic left, several civilians, and one or two soldiers, from the settlement were directed into their shuttle as well. The vessel had already been crowded, so by the time the pilot was ordered to close the loading ramp and prepare for takeoff, there was standing room only in the shuttle's hold. Those who were not in the best physical condition, such as Raa and Voira, were given priority for seating, but most were not given that luxury.

Because of the crowding most in the shuttle could not see clearly out of the windows, but the sounds of the engines roaring to life around them told them that they were taking off. Presumably, they would be flying over the ground vehicles in a convoy to whatever destination the Turian general had given them. Other than that, however, they had not been told much of the plan. Pretty much everyone who was not sitting was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with someone else. Many of the civilians from the settlement seemed to be only a few steps short of panicking. Some tried to keep it to themselves, some sobbed quietly, while others did what they could to give support to those who needed it. Despite these conditions, this was the first chance that anyone from the station had to actually stop and rest, mentally and physically.

Near to Raa, a young, nervous, blonde-haired Human woman glanced down to the unconscious Quarian nervously. A few minutes passed in silence, but she eventually spoke up shakily. "S-she looks sick. What does she have? Is it...contagious?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Every city has corruption, but it is not like Senchal." Jo'akith answered. "It is our capital, however, and the seat of the Mane. Its port is not as large as Senchal's, but it of course has much trade. Its largest crop by far is moon sugar. There are fields of it farther than the eye can see, even beyond the Mane's private crop at the palace. Most of the naive businessmen in Torval try to purchase and export it, because of its low price in the city. Trying to trade in large amounts of food and other supplies might seem strange...though, this one supposes you might be able to evade suspicion by buying food with moon sugar. Even so, we have to consider the cost of this plan. We do have resources to trade, but they are not endless."

Ra'jorr nodded in agreement. "Yes, to make such a journey, even moving along the fastest route between oases, we will need to purchase a great deal of supplies. Food, water barrels, and not to mention something to keep them preserved. We would need to take stock of what exactly the clan has in its possession, but even if we do have enough, this one thinks that we will have very little left over afterwards. Few weapons, hides, materials for our camps. We will have nothing but scraps of food and empty water barrels when we arrive at the Orcrest clan."

Meese was glad to hear Ri'nakhad and his lieutenants at least entertaining the idea, but the points they brought up were certainly valid. "Based on the last reports, the Orcrest clan is in a strong position. They recently expanded their stronghold, and should be able to supply us once we arrive. I certainly understand the concerns of how it will affect us during the journey. To see where we stand, could you take stock of what you have available for trade?"

Although he was hesitant about the idea over all, Ri'nakhad nodded. "Of course, Champion, though it will take time."

---

Peiter began to laugh as he ran his hands across her form. "I don't know, I have to...think of some words to describe it. Enraptured, ecstasy? Those work pretty well. I feel closer to you than I've ever felt with anyone."

At the moment, it seemed like neither of them could speak for long without interrupting themselves with a kiss. There was still energy and passion between them, so even after he stopped his kiss, he showed no signs of wanting to let her go. They had already undone much of the work they had put into bathing themselves at the river, but that was an inconsequential concern at the moment for Peiter. "I feel energized, excited. I feel like I never want to let you go." He added, giving a brief pause as another thought entered his mind. He gave a grin, and another kiss before continuing. "You know, we could try to make a day of this, if you think you can?" He suggested in much the same playful tone as he would if he were challenging her to something like a race. What they were doing was new, and exciting. Now that he had moved past the fear of trying it for the first time, he found himself approaching it differently. If they continued, it was possible that others might wonder where they had been all day, but that was the furthest thought from his mind, as he was too caught up in the moment.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Jo'akith looked at Gallus with an expression that was, unfortunately, not encouraging. "As far as actual gold is concerned, the amount we have available is negligible. We took only what we had in our pockets when we fled after the attack, and we have not had any outside trading since we settled down here. It would be possible to find resources at our other outposts, but...that may not be a good idea. Only this outpost was kept out of our records. Vile's forces certainly know about the others, and may be watching, or even using them."

Ri'nakhad rubbed his mane, staring absently at the map as he contemplated the situation. "Those are fair points, Jo'akith, but it is worth mentioning that, while we do not have gold, we do have other resources that could be traded for it."

"Then that may be the way we could accomplish this successfully." Meesei commented. "If our greatest danger is the desert, then we can prepare against it. Ra'jorr, what would you say about this plan if you had more food and water available to you?"

Although Ra'jorr still seemed skeptical, his tone suggested that they could be on the right path to convincing him. "Well...those two resources would be our greatest concern. Water is the most important resource in the desert, but we can refill it completely at every oasis. We just need to ensure we have enough water storage to make every leg of the journey. Food would actually be harder to replenish. This one knows of a few locations where we could definitely trade for more, but overall, we would have to carry most of what we need for the journey. That too would take a lot of storage space."

Meesei nodded. "So storage space may be an issue. Are there any beasts of burden that can be used in the desert?"

"Yes, there are. It is not traditional for Khajiit, but camels have been used ever since they were brought here from the Alik'r. But purchasing camels would only reduce the amount of food we could buy." Ra'jorr answered.

"My pack still has a fair amount of gold from what we were allotted in Bruma, plus what we scavenged from Vile's outposts. We were going to use it for our journey back home, but we can use it to purchase these camels. Beyond that, Gallus' plan to trade for resources may work, but I do worry about the expense of hiring a ship to transport the cargo. If we could obtain the goods through Torval instead, we could simply move the entire clan closer to the city, so that no long distance transport would be needed. We would not need to divert far out of our path, and it is more than short enough of a journey that the clan should be able to make it without issue. Do you believe you could acquire goods from Torval in the same way, Gallus?" Meesei asked.

---

Peiter was laying in bed with Sabine, immediately following their second attempt. It had lasted longer this time, and he had not been as nervous through it. He laid facing her, staring into her eyes with a blissful smile. Despite the physical exertion, he felt energized. His heart was pounding, and his mind racing with thoughts almost exclusively about her. He simply felt alive.

"I...I wish I could think of more ways to say 'I love you.' How are you feeling this time?" He asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I also may add a short bit for Peiter. It will be interesting writing for Meesei if she learns of certain events. Some realizations may or may not hit her like a truck.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

We can do either one. Depending on how long the meeting lasts, we could have a short scene or two going concurrently.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Certainly. It means La'khay won't need to go find Colors." La'khay answered as she wrapped her arms around Tzirret, then quickly untied his loincloth. Releasing her grip on him, she quickly looked around for a comfortable place to lay down, then lowered herself down onto her back again in a similar pose to before. "Take all the time you like."

---

The reactions of the lieutenants to Gallus' explanation was varied, from silent contemplation, to visible distaste. Miranor in particular had a worried expression. "Surely...this cannot be the best choice? We do not know for sure if Vile's forces are even looking for us. They may be dedicating their forces to more valuable targets. There has to be a way for us to just send warriors who can handle this journey?"

Ra'jorr shook his head. "No, in that, Ra'jorr believes they are correct. There is no way we could send a meaningful amount of warriors without weakening our defenses far too much to be safe. But, this one is still not comfortable with the idea. We do not have the food or water stores to make such an excursion safely.

Meesei nodded in understanding. "I...regret that this is the situation we find ourselves in. It is my greatest purpose to protect the lives of my fellow lycans, my brothers and sisters in blood. To take an option that is likely to cause deaths is not something I would ever consider lightly. But, as Gallus said, we are low on options. Vile has the advantage in Elsweyr, and if we do not regain it soon, many more deaths will follow. If you do not have the resources to travel, then perhaps we can find a way to gain them?" She said, looking to Gallus briefly to see if he had any suggestions.