EliteCommander

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

There was a lot about this that felt conflicting to Senjen. This...large Checkeri was apparently a leader of FGC. With all the cloak and dagger, Senjen felt like he was about to learn some dark, seedy secrets about the organization’s true intentions, or something of that nature. Yet, this job that the Quadrarch was describing sounded actually perfectly in-line with the FGC’s usual goals. Frankly, the amount of secrecy seemed like it was a bit much. Although, thinking about it, they were talking about something that would almost certainly require running a blockade, at the very least. That probably was not going to be legal, but like everyone else on Korit, the FGC probably had to get used to bending the rules if they wanted to get anything done.

“Well, I suppose having a machine and a QV in a sealed suit makes a lot of sense to help investigate a virus.” Senjen remarked, looking more at Ruknar since she was the one talking. She was the last one Senjen would have expected to be involved in any sort of clandestine affairs, but if it was for the greater good, he supposed it was not too far from how he saw her. Actually, if she was willing to take these kinds of risks to do the right thing, then he supposed that was even more admirable.

“It doesn’t sound like any kind of work I would be opposed to. You want us to help stop it; what exactly would you need us to do? What is your plan?” Senjen asked.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen had a feeling that would do it, and maybe they would appreciate his discretion. In any case, it felt like they were being led on quite a journey through the halls just to get to where they were going. Frankly, it felt like a bit much, but that could probably describe most of what they had been through so far. An encrypted message, a clandestine meeting location, a password...why not have a winding walk into the backrooms too?

Stepping into that last room was disorienting with how it affected Senjen’s sensors. Looking around...he wondered if they weren’t in need of a good reset, given what he saw. Out of everything he had expected he might see, which was not a short list, Ruknar was not one of them. He did not know what to say to her. Should he say anything to her? He never would have thought she would be involved in business like this. Granted, he did not actually know what this business was just yet.

The large Chekeri was obviously the centerpiece of this meeting. They seemed to be someone who felt they should be recognized, but Senjen was drawing a blank from any angle he thought about it. The only thing that stood out was a symbol, four claws grasping a heart, that he could just barely see through the Chekeri’s cloak, but that was not enough for him to know. “I can’t say I recognize you. All I can say is that I keep my word.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen kept himself relaxed. Light was getting worried, clearly. Perhaps it was not a surprise for a QV, but he had a hard time keeping much of anything hidden. If the Chekeri were trying to intimidate them, though, Senjen did not seem particularly intimidated. He stood his ground, and did not back off a step. “There’s no reason to get off on the wrong foot here. I do like your look, you know. A nice, bold color to contrast over obsidian feathers.” He said, studying the expression of the one who had approached him.

“I know you can’t take my measure like you do to other organics, but you’ve just got to have some faith, like the rest of the species do. I can’t honestly say I know who sent the message, but I know we’re meant to be here tonight.” Senjen said.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen was on-guard when a Chekeri started to approach, though he kept his posture neutral and tried not to show it. A Utaysi was always going to stand out in a place like a restaurant, but he could at least try to blend in. At the very least, he could give reasonable excuses.

The fact that someone was bothering to approach the two of them to begin with was suspicious. He supposed it was possible they were just territorial locals looking to get rid of outsiders, but they could also be involved with what was going on. Maybe Senjen needed to signal her somehow? Something subtle, with plausible deniability if she ended up not being a part of it.

“Eh, I’m not used to restaurants, myself, but I’d say we are here for good cause. Let’s just say we were invited.” Senjen replied.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Well sure, but it doesn’t have to be brutal anymore, does it? Or...is the meat cloned or something? Still, even if it was, it just feels like a weird way to present it to me.” Senjen shrugged.

Regardless of Senjen’s opinions on the matter, the pair did have something more important to worry about. They were here, but now they needed to figure out why they were here and what it was they even needed to be doing. For now, he decided to stick close to Light. If someone wanted to set a trap for them, they would not have encrypted the message, but still, it was safer for them to stay together.

As they headed closer to the back, Senjen noticed something about the restaurant around them. It was getting more difficult to discern what others were saying if he tried to listen in on the conversations around him. The general noise level was staying the same, but there had to be some sort of interference, and Senjen doubted it was accidental.

“You hearing what I’m hearing?” Senjen leaned in close to Light. “I feel like this place is meant for private conversations. Maybe there’s someone wanting to meet us here?”

Senjen kept a particular lookout in the back of the restaurant for anyone that looked like they were paying close attention to them, or trying to get their attention. As Light pointed out, some of the people around were wearing the same shade of clothing, beyond what was likely coincidence. They could have been associated with one another.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

This restaurant they were heading to was in the next city over from Setia, about an hour away. Admittedly, Senjen understood why Light was hesitant to get up and spend their time chasing a flimsy lead. Senjen was someone with a lot more free time, compared to Light, so giving up his time did not mean as much to him. Still, he had a feeling that there was something to this, and if that was the case, then it could be worth it for the both of them.

Senjen was a bit sad to see the state of the horticulture around the building. He could have imagined it being beautiful, once, but as it stood, it was getting chaotic and overgrown. Still, he doubted it would get in the way of their business...whatever that business might be.

Senjen idly watched some of the nests as they passed by. He did not go into restaurants particularly often, and frankly, what he saw still felt odd to him. “So you take an animal, kill it, and cook it in its own embryos. I know you like it, but this whole ‘eating’ thing still feels frighteningly brutal sometimes.” He remarked.

In any case, Light got them on task quickly enough. “I don’t know, I saw the same message you did. It said ‘tonight’...is it night yet? What time is it?” He gave another look around to see if he could spot anything out of the ordinary. “I guess we can just do what you would normally do here until something happens.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Marketing trick?” Senjen said. The skepticism was palpable in his tone as he gave another look over the message, and the data that had come with it. “Sending someone a puzzle is unique enough, sure, but I doubt it. That keyword was buried pretty well in the metadata. That’s not a message you send to someone if you want random idiots to understand it. No...I think that’s what you send to someone if you want to make sure they’re not a random idiot.”

Senjen scurried over to Light and stood over him. “Look, I think someone wants to meet us. Not exactly sure who or why...but I doubt it’s a trap. No, it could be an opportunity. What if someone out there has picked up on the kind of work we’re doing?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Interference?” Senjen questioned before checking the comms net. “It looks like gibberish, but...no, I don’t think interference. It looks a bit too ‘ordered’ for that, doesn’t it? I think it does look like a message, just...maybe encrypted?”

The message had successfully captured Senjen’s curiosity, so he left behind the plants he was watering and opened up a few decryption algorithms to run in parallel. “An anagram maybe...no. Simple ciphers...also no, nothing on frequency analysis. Maybe an anagram and a cipher? Not getting anything there...hold on, let me check the full logs and see if anything else came with it.”

Sure enough, when Senjen went through the full content of the message logs, he found some other data buried in the message, most prominent of which was the word “obsidian” that stood out in the files’ metadata. It was rather deeply buried, if he was being honest, and might not have even been related, but he could try it regardless. His first thoughts were that it might be a hint and tried different variations of ciphers to try and turn the eight-character word into “obsidian”, but found no luck. Whatever was going through Light’s head, he did come up with his own suggestion after a minute. Rather than being a part of the answer, obsidian could be a key instead. It did not take long of trying cipher methods with keywords before Senjen found an answer.

“Ah wait, I’ve got something here: Wervel House, Bakaran Parkside. Tonight.” Senjen said, looking over to Light.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen tilted his head with a glance in Light’s direction. He ran his hand over the back of his neck, sounding a bit skeptical as he spoke. “Um, I’m not sure if smugglers normally advertise themselves through foot traffic. I think that’s more word-of-mouth advertising...right? How does that work? I mean, the really well-paying jobs are the ones like Jess gave us, but I’m not really sure how to get more of those that aren’t from Jess.”

“Buuut…” Senjen hummed to himself, taking an extra few seconds of thought. “...we can still work for FGC, right? And there’s that Myrmidon job board. I get what you’re saying about wanting to move somewhere new, even not because of just advertising ourselves, but maybe we should still keep our expenses down until we’ve gotten through a few more of those jobs? Get a nice, healthy bit of savings going?” He suggested.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

To be honest, Senjen did not particularly like being watched like their run through the ship had been a show, but the Human kept his bargain, at least. They had the turrets, they had the parts, they just needed to get them fixed up and installed. Compared to what they had been through to get them, that would be easy...hopefully. Jess could do it, no problem, but he hoped he would be as lucky as he thought he would be when it came to getting a discount.

Senjen took the control panel and stowed it away. He would have to make sure to get a good handle on how to use them, especially if they required any crew input to function. He probably would not want to make Light have to worry about turrets and piloting at the same time if they ended up in a fight again. Also, it would be a good idea to double-check their security and make sure no one would be able to remotely access them. That would be the last thing they would need in a firefight.

In any case, the pair did not linger around any longer in Rodion’s scrapyard. The Humans, in their dealings, had been entirely truthful, and Senjen could not really point to anything that he could say was a “trick”, but he could not help but to feel like he did not want to stick around.

---

Back at their landing pad, Senjen and Light were lounging back outside their ship. Senjen was pacing back and forth in front of Light while on a call with Jess, though Light was only catching Senjen’s half of the conversation. “I know, I know, Jess, but just...think about it, right? You’re out there with us, right in the line of fire if we get ambushed again. Don’t you want to have some way to shoot back? Yes, I...I know...just let me...I know you don’t do ‘friend discounts’, but that’s not really what this is, is it? It’s more of an...investment, yeah? It’s about the business, getting more tech. Would you really leave those turrets behind when we go out again? I...no I...listen Jess, I wasn’t ‘assuming’, I just figured you would want to install some defenses to make us safer on the job. Yes I...yes I am aware that is the literal definition of ‘assuming’. Just promise you’ll think about it, alright? You promise? I know I am.”

Senjen stood still for a second, then let his shoulders relax before walking back over to Light and sitting back down next to him. “She’ll do it.”