Bad Reputation [Closed] - Printable Version
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Bad Reputation [Closed] - Tindome - 08-18-2015
Kreska's brow furrowed at the enigmatic message on her tablet, startled despite herself at a strange sound from above.
This seemed like it was becoming a situation that she could not type quickly enough to keep up with. She sidled sideways to retrieve her earpiece, hooking it back on and backing away from the sound in the ceiling, closer to Sascha. She did not, however, stand up, and her cigarette was still perched in her mouth. "Y'wanna tell me what th'fuck that was?" she asked, sounding irritated as she always did when she was alarmed. Surely he would have been more specific if it was a danger to them?
If, for instance, bringing in his friend had lured in a threat unintimidated by a Krotazi?
"Yeh," she agreed, not understanding what that had to do with anything just yet. "D'ja just figure't out, or…?"
She watched part of the ceiling fall in, landing in the little pond near to where she'd settled herself. Which wasn't going to do wonders for the water, she had to think. She tilted her head sort of sideways and upside down to try and see through the hole without getting closer, until it spoke.
Immediately, she started to cackle. Loudly, and not particularly kindly. "Fuck's'ake," she said, still laughing, dropping her cigarette. "This was your fuckin' plan? Fuckin' – wow. Real fuckin' smart guy." She set down her tablet, rose to kneeling so she could lean forward to look up. She still wasn't planning to get directly underneath the whole situation, because she didn't need things landing on her. Soup, droids, or otherwise. "Better o' actually brought some good shit," she warned.
The security breach would have almost certainly alerted Grilka to goings-on. Would have, except that ey was actually already heading over, unbeknownst to anyone. Ey knew well enough to put two-and-two together, particularly when the two were Kreska not being at Ix's apartment and someone unlocking a less-used saferoom.
"Ahahaha, an' you're a ginge, too, right? You're so literal fucked." If she did not seem terribly concerned, it was at least in part because she'd lost any real fear she might once have felt toward em. Even if ey was, basically, a tentacle monster demon naga. "'less ya got somethin' useful t'give up for sorries't ain'tcher ass. Ey fuckin' loves gossip, iffat helps."
Kreska paused to look back over at Sascha. "S'fine," she assured the other woman, much more considerate than with Fate. "I broughtcha, ain't anybody gonna get weird at ya."
This seemed like it was becoming a situation that she could not type quickly enough to keep up with. She sidled sideways to retrieve her earpiece, hooking it back on and backing away from the sound in the ceiling, closer to Sascha. She did not, however, stand up, and her cigarette was still perched in her mouth. "Y'wanna tell me what th'fuck that was?" she asked, sounding irritated as she always did when she was alarmed. Surely he would have been more specific if it was a danger to them?
If, for instance, bringing in his friend had lured in a threat unintimidated by a Krotazi?
"Yeh," she agreed, not understanding what that had to do with anything just yet. "D'ja just figure't out, or…?"
She watched part of the ceiling fall in, landing in the little pond near to where she'd settled herself. Which wasn't going to do wonders for the water, she had to think. She tilted her head sort of sideways and upside down to try and see through the hole without getting closer, until it spoke.
Immediately, she started to cackle. Loudly, and not particularly kindly. "Fuck's'ake," she said, still laughing, dropping her cigarette. "This was your fuckin' plan? Fuckin' – wow. Real fuckin' smart guy." She set down her tablet, rose to kneeling so she could lean forward to look up. She still wasn't planning to get directly underneath the whole situation, because she didn't need things landing on her. Soup, droids, or otherwise. "Better o' actually brought some good shit," she warned.
The security breach would have almost certainly alerted Grilka to goings-on. Would have, except that ey was actually already heading over, unbeknownst to anyone. Ey knew well enough to put two-and-two together, particularly when the two were Kreska not being at Ix's apartment and someone unlocking a less-used saferoom.
"Ahahaha, an' you're a ginge, too, right? You're so literal fucked." If she did not seem terribly concerned, it was at least in part because she'd lost any real fear she might once have felt toward em. Even if ey was, basically, a tentacle monster demon naga. "'less ya got somethin' useful t'give up for sorries't ain'tcher ass. Ey fuckin' loves gossip, iffat helps."
Kreska paused to look back over at Sascha. "S'fine," she assured the other woman, much more considerate than with Fate. "I broughtcha, ain't anybody gonna get weird at ya."
Bad Reputation [Closed] - danixiewrites - 09-07-2015
Sascha's heart crashed into her ribs when the ceiling caved in. She was immediately in a crouch, her feet underneath her and the weariness driven out on a surge of adrenaline. That immediately crashed the moment the bottom of a circular serving tray began to descend and Kreska cackled across the room.Fate.
"He didn't," she gasped. "He didn't just put a hole in our hideout."
But of course he did, of course he had, whyever would he NOT do something completely mentally unstable to prove he could?
The tray came to a stop a little over head level and she kicked herself off the ground, brown and black locks bouncing against her back. She stepping carefully closer to Kreska to retrieve the damned thing from whatever robotic creation he'd stolen to get this done. Raising her palms to the bottom of the small platform, she brought it down to reveal a burger and fries and a bowl of some kind of soup. No drinks, but then, there wasn't a whole lot of room on the tray.
"All this fuss, and there's not even alcohol?" Sascha was going to need a whole lot of alcohol to bolster her nerves from the ceiling-is-falling incident. "Seriously, where's--"
A second tray descended as Kreska seemed to threaten Fate for the incursion--and Sascha had a lot of thoughts about the 'literal fucked' sentiment. She brought the second down, this one with two glass bottles of beer, an unopened and shimmery bottle of Venusian rum, and a mixed pack of chilled sodas.
>>Couldn't tell how hot it was in there.
>>Seemed bright.
>>And there was a lot of stripping.
>>Thought you might cool down easier with refreshments.
And of course with a hole it'd be easier for him to watch if there was more stripping. She rolled her eyes at the green text on her wrist as she sank to the ground and set the trays between her and where Kreska was standing. "Your place--first dibs. Except for the rum." That was already in her hand with the top off and making its way to her lips. Oh cards, how are you going to fix this mess, Fate?
>>They say toothpaste fixes walls.
>>I'll send a case over.
She almost sputtered over the rim of the bottle and quickly tapped back:
>>NO. NO MORE BOTS.
>>These aren't bounty goons--these are CORPORATE. Stop playing with fire, Fate.
>>I wasn't playing with fire.
>>I was playing with robots.
>>Did you at least look?
>>He's quite handsome.
She cursed under her breath.
>>And that's worth your having to move again?
>>Because it sounds like you've just gotten in a lot of trouble.
>>worth it.
Cards above. He never made a mistake like that. Sascha stared at her screen even after the green characters faded away.
>>...
>>Fate, you forgot a capital letter.
>>Exactly how bad is this?
Sascha didn't want to lose him to the underground again. Didn't want to go another interminable stretch of time having to wonder if her cheeky friend was dead or alive. Moving was hard for Fate; it'd mean he had to be outside, sitting on sensory overload. His agoraphobia would mean slow, painful going, and despite his precautions, he'd lack enough of his usual contact with the Net to filter--no matter how diligent he tried to be he'd suffer.
"Guess that's reassuring," she told Kreska. And if Fate wasn't going to tell her the truth, maybe her new companion would. "I hesitate to ask though...just how 'literal' 'literal fucked' is--and by what?"
---
>>Glad you like it, Greenie.
>>Eat up.
He typed the words even though he was certain her glee was focused more on the certainty of his very near actual fate than on anything he'd contrived.
"It'd have been easier if I wasn't trying to work just from the camera on your pad, sure," Fate said, his teeth gritted as he maneuvered the meal downward as far as the bot's more limited range would provide. The bag of optional clothing changes would come crashing down beside the pair--narrowly missing their food and drinks, now that he had eyes and could actually aim into the room.
Damn it, he normally loved his hair. But the idea that a Krotazi might have a preference for it as well...he shuddered, and a waver definitely snuck into the first few words of his next sentence before he could smother it with his usual bravado. "Gossip I can do. I can definitely acquire gossip. Knowing what kind of topics I should hone in on would be particularly helpful, mon haricot vert."
>>Fate.
>>Yes, Sassy-thing?
>>You're mentally damaged.
>>Good thing you love me.
He wondered if the woman he considered family would actually bring herself to say it this time--then chuckled when she had multiple ways to not say the thing she meant.
>>Don't put words in my mouth.
>>Put NOTHING in or near my mouth.
>>Nothing you can't put there yourself anyway, eh?
>>Exhibit A.
>>And that would normally be real damn expensive, so you know. Enjoy.
While I try not to panic and research a heaping helping of how to hide from a giant monster-snake.
Bad Reputation [Closed] - Tindome - 09-07-2015
Anyone else might have been discouraged by all the heavily armed men and droids distributed throughout their path. A Krotazi, as a general rule, was discouraged by little. Attempts at discouraging em tended to backfire, making eir goal yet more tempting than it might have been. Grilka was worse than Kreska when it came to not wanting to walk along the floor. It was easier this way, really, wrapping eirself around pipes and cables and other such things, more comfortable than 'walking' along a flat surface. And there was something so wonderfully fun about descending on prey from above.
Kreska, meanwhile, was squinting up at the droid now in the ceiling. "Didja hijack a dude, or a dummy droid?" she wondered, the faintest hint of disapproval. She'd always had a soft spot for droids, and a particular empathy for how horrifying it seemed like it would be to get hacked into.
She looked down at the tray with a faint wrinkle to her nose. "Ick. Keep th' meat. Totes gonna steal a fry, tho. Izzat really beer soup?" She frowned down at her tablet. "On my–? Th' fuck?" She squinted at her tablet, but it looked like a solid glass screen; the camera was not obvious in its build, so she couldn't just cover it unless she wanted to set her foot on it. "What th' fuck, dude. Don' be all spyin' on me an' shit, that's creepy." It occurred to her to be self-conscious about the amount of skin she was baring only then, wrapping her injured arm around her bared midriff and crossing her ankles with a frown. A foot nudged the tablet further away from her. She recoiled a little from the bag of dropped clothes, blinking at it.
She snorted, because her own discomfort was much less amusing than anyone else's. "Anything anybody ain't s'posed t'know's fine. Th' less they want folk t'know an' th'more important th' person, th' happier'll ey'll be. 'magine ya've got somethin' lyin' around." She might have complained about the nickname, if she knew what it meant. She didn't want to admit to not knowing what he was saying, in case it was something obvious. She crouched down to set aside her cigarette and grab a brown glass bottle, squinting at it. Fonts on labels were always such bullshit. It was definitely some kind of beer. She was pretty sure it was root beer. She cracked it open and took a sip.
"Literal like tentacles," she clarified for Sascha, wiggling a few fingers demonstrably against the bottle. "Scaly an' in awkward places. Loves em a ginge. Specially dudes, ey don' get dudes much I guess."
Then she frowned, because she thought she heard a noise outside.
She shouldn't have been able to hear a noise outside.
She had a sinking feeling she knew what it was.
"Shit," she said, setting down her drink and getting up to return to her abandoned clothes. "Shit fuck cock ass damn fuck shit dicks." She picked up her jeans, looking back to Sascha and the bag of clothes. "If ya wanna change, do it fast," she advised, shoving her own legs into her jeans and nearly tipping over in her haste. "No skirts," she added, though she doubted it was a risk.
She wasn't going to take the risk, with a possible time crunch, of digging through and trying to find something she'd like that would fit. She wasn't the one stuck in a catsuit, anyway.
Something tapped on the door, a ringing sound throughout the room originated from a precise point on the door. Tap tap-tap-tap tap.
Shave and a haircut.
"Fuck off," she yelled at the door, rather than the traditional 'two bits'. Ey wouldn't be able to hear her anyway, but it was the thought that counted.
Kreska, meanwhile, was squinting up at the droid now in the ceiling. "Didja hijack a dude, or a dummy droid?" she wondered, the faintest hint of disapproval. She'd always had a soft spot for droids, and a particular empathy for how horrifying it seemed like it would be to get hacked into.
She looked down at the tray with a faint wrinkle to her nose. "Ick. Keep th' meat. Totes gonna steal a fry, tho. Izzat really beer soup?" She frowned down at her tablet. "On my–? Th' fuck?" She squinted at her tablet, but it looked like a solid glass screen; the camera was not obvious in its build, so she couldn't just cover it unless she wanted to set her foot on it. "What th' fuck, dude. Don' be all spyin' on me an' shit, that's creepy." It occurred to her to be self-conscious about the amount of skin she was baring only then, wrapping her injured arm around her bared midriff and crossing her ankles with a frown. A foot nudged the tablet further away from her. She recoiled a little from the bag of dropped clothes, blinking at it.
She snorted, because her own discomfort was much less amusing than anyone else's. "Anything anybody ain't s'posed t'know's fine. Th' less they want folk t'know an' th'more important th' person, th' happier'll ey'll be. 'magine ya've got somethin' lyin' around." She might have complained about the nickname, if she knew what it meant. She didn't want to admit to not knowing what he was saying, in case it was something obvious. She crouched down to set aside her cigarette and grab a brown glass bottle, squinting at it. Fonts on labels were always such bullshit. It was definitely some kind of beer. She was pretty sure it was root beer. She cracked it open and took a sip.
"Literal like tentacles," she clarified for Sascha, wiggling a few fingers demonstrably against the bottle. "Scaly an' in awkward places. Loves em a ginge. Specially dudes, ey don' get dudes much I guess."
Then she frowned, because she thought she heard a noise outside.
She shouldn't have been able to hear a noise outside.
She had a sinking feeling she knew what it was.
"Shit," she said, setting down her drink and getting up to return to her abandoned clothes. "Shit fuck cock ass damn fuck shit dicks." She picked up her jeans, looking back to Sascha and the bag of clothes. "If ya wanna change, do it fast," she advised, shoving her own legs into her jeans and nearly tipping over in her haste. "No skirts," she added, though she doubted it was a risk.
She wasn't going to take the risk, with a possible time crunch, of digging through and trying to find something she'd like that would fit. She wasn't the one stuck in a catsuit, anyway.
Something tapped on the door, a ringing sound throughout the room originated from a precise point on the door. Tap tap-tap-tap tap.
Shave and a haircut.
"Fuck off," she yelled at the door, rather than the traditional 'two bits'. Ey wouldn't be able to hear her anyway, but it was the thought that counted.
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - danixiewrites - 11-06-2015
Fate misunderstood Kreska's concern, being that his own was more of the "protect thyself" variety rather than the "I'm invading someone's brainspace" sort.
"Droid," he assured her, "Don't worry, I'm sending him back and no one will notice he's missing."
He chuckled as a pissed off Jobari got up close and personal with the tiny camera. "It is not creepy if it's research."
"I know a lot of things people aren't supposed to know. The question is, does your snakey overlord already know it." Fate started compiling his folder of please-be-gentle-I-don't-get-out-much-anti-Krotazi secrets and paused as the files flickered across his retina. Research. Actually...that probably made it sound worse. He shrugged, sending cords and dreads tumbling over his shoulders. "Researching the room, not the two of you stripping down. I didn't see any of that. Unfortunately. Hey, maybe you could--"
Luckily he was stopped from finishing that sentence by a beeping sound that had him changing several monitor perspectives in a complicated series of blinks. Perimeter alert. Company inbound. "Oh. Darn."
The mining bots had gone back to work as he'd planned, attempting to repair the hole with minimal noise. Only someone had heard. He thumbed through the droid's controls and set it to defense mode--dapper waiter-slash-baggage handler or no, the hunk of metal had a bit of heft to him, and he'd need it to obscure the hole.
--
"Looks like sludge," Sascha said with a grimace. "Smells like...well. It's all yours."
She wasn't the type to shun free food, especially when she was in a bind as seemed to be the case so often these days, but something that looked like it might be able to get up and ooze itself out of the bowl for a nice afternoon walk was a meal she didn't want crawling around in her stomach, much less any other part of her digestive tract. "Burger, though. Mine."
She dug in after another swig of rum, setting the bottle down only to swipe open the bag of gear. First thing on top was a pair of cargo pants--MUCH more her style than anything skin tight. She didn't investigate any further, just shoved half the buger between her teeth and headed toward the nearest tall plant to strip down.
Literal like tentacles, she considered as she wiggled into pants destined to hold all manner of tech gadgets she wasn't able to secure inside the catsuit. Swallowing another bite of burger Sascha asked, "That is a joke, yes? Tentacles? I don't know you well enough to judge, and the danger I'm most familiar with is more from netjockeys and laser fire as opposed to overly-cozy alien appendages."
Sure, there were things in dark places. But it wasn't like they were...
...her teeth clenched around the next bite of burger, her fingers frozen around the button of her pants as a knock came from the wall. Because yeah, they kind of WERE in one of those dark places, weren't they? She just hadn't been paying attention to the ins and outs of the station while on the run from the hunters and corporate guns.
And Kreska's suddenly colorful swearing didn't exactly inspire a girl with sudden confidence.
--
Figuring on sending a warning that things might get noisy topside, Fate tapped to Sascha's wristcomp:
>>Sass.
>>Not now.
>>Don't nurse the rum, yeah?
Though he didn't have her on comms, he could hear her faint swearing through Kreska's. "Don't you dare tell me I don't have enough time to drink myself blind because you screwed up!"
>>Cards, this is never going to be my day, is it?
>>We've got our own problems. Whatever you did, fix it.
"Problems?" A reddish eyebrow shot upward as he checked some cameras and murmured to himself. "No, they're secure down there."
>>Problems? Do tell.
No answer, save some less than creative cursing from Sascha's companion.
>>I can cover this with both hands behind my back so you better spill.
No answer, save a curious thundering of metal.
He both typed and spoke to try to get a grasp of whatever situation all of his monitoring had obviously missed, each scenario conjured by his brain more terrifying than the last. "One of you better answer me. Use your words, ladies."
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - Tindome - 11-07-2015
Grilka had none of Kreska's trouble getting the door open, because the door and its lock had been designed with Krotazi fingers – and tentacles – in mind. Kreska's displeasure at eir arrival was ignored, as her displeasure always was, making eir way inside as if ey owned the place.
Because ey did.
The first thing ey caught sight of was Kreska, her jeans not quite high enough and her shirt still tied into its impromptu tube top. "Am I interrupting something?" ey asked, sounding quite pleased by the prospect, all sibilance and clicking teeth. Ey did not wait for an answer to eir question, still moving to bring the full length of eir tail into the room. There was something very deliberately ominous about the way ey shut the door behind em, letting it lock itself again.
"Fuck off," Kreska said again, and ey clicked eir teeth in disapproval. Ey actually had interrupted, but certainly not what ey was insinuating. Fate probably ought to have been grateful for the new target for her ire. Sascha, however, was lacking explanations that might have made the situation slightly less… terrifying.
Slightly.
"Ungrateful little bitch, anyway," ey said, descending on her to hook a talon in the loop of her jeans and pull her closer. "Taking advantage of my hospitality." Talons framed her face, even though she wasn't the sort to go averting her gaze; it still looked dangerous. "You're lucky I'm so nice." Eir tail had slowly been moving closer, not quite looping around her.
"You're a saint," Kreska said flatly.
"Yes," Grilka agreed, as if ey did not understand sarcasm. Ey darted both tongues toward her face, and yet another of eir four hands went to her wrist to lift her hand and get a better look at it. Ey cocked eir head to the side, the delicate chains draped along eir horns dangling as they did so. "You look like shit," ey informed her.
"Thanks," Kreska said. "Y'wanna lemme go, now?"
"No," Grilka said. Tendrils emerged from the mass of eir tail, picking her up off the ground to set her atop it as eir hands left her person. "I don't trust you, now," ey said, sounding quite put-out. "You were supposed to be with the Lawyer, little Captain's Daughter."
"I had shit t'do," she said, crossing arms and legs both and refusing to look offput by her precarious position.
"You must be very tired," ey said, "to go through all this trouble."
"M'fine," she muttered.
Grilka's attention was drawn elsewhere, darting tongues in the direction of Sascha. "Oh – but you brought a girl. Is she pretty?" Immediately ey was moving closer to investigate, but Kreska interrupted with a kick to eir tail. It didn't hurt, but ey hissed at her in rebuke, tendrils seeming to burst forth from where she'd kicked to wrap around her leg and restrain it.
"Leave her 'lone," Kreska said. "She's… anxious."
Tongues darted at Kreska. "Liar."
"She's with me, a'ight? S'gonna look bad, I letcha scare th'shit outta her."
"Oh, but I'm not scary," Grilka said, as if this were self-evident. Ey began to move again toward the human, a mere ten feet off the ground as a conciliatory measure. This, clearly, was the best way to look unintimidating. "I'm very friendly."
Kreska spared a glance toward the hole in the ceiling. If Grilka had noticed it, ey hadn't said anything. Her tablet was on the ground, and while she still had her earpiece, it wasn't as if she had any way of saying something without drawing attention to Fate's 'presence'. Best to deal with one crisis at a time.
"Were they here for her, the ones outside? I didn't care for them. Gamey."
"Y'know y'can't eat people'n self-defense, right?"
"They threw themselves on my talons," Grilka said airily, as if ey had not moments before been threatening Kreska with the very same paralytic venom. "I tried to warn them. Does she belong to anyone? She's very expensive, if they were for her."
Because ey did.
The first thing ey caught sight of was Kreska, her jeans not quite high enough and her shirt still tied into its impromptu tube top. "Am I interrupting something?" ey asked, sounding quite pleased by the prospect, all sibilance and clicking teeth. Ey did not wait for an answer to eir question, still moving to bring the full length of eir tail into the room. There was something very deliberately ominous about the way ey shut the door behind em, letting it lock itself again.
"Fuck off," Kreska said again, and ey clicked eir teeth in disapproval. Ey actually had interrupted, but certainly not what ey was insinuating. Fate probably ought to have been grateful for the new target for her ire. Sascha, however, was lacking explanations that might have made the situation slightly less… terrifying.
Slightly.
"Ungrateful little bitch, anyway," ey said, descending on her to hook a talon in the loop of her jeans and pull her closer. "Taking advantage of my hospitality." Talons framed her face, even though she wasn't the sort to go averting her gaze; it still looked dangerous. "You're lucky I'm so nice." Eir tail had slowly been moving closer, not quite looping around her.
"You're a saint," Kreska said flatly.
"Yes," Grilka agreed, as if ey did not understand sarcasm. Ey darted both tongues toward her face, and yet another of eir four hands went to her wrist to lift her hand and get a better look at it. Ey cocked eir head to the side, the delicate chains draped along eir horns dangling as they did so. "You look like shit," ey informed her.
"Thanks," Kreska said. "Y'wanna lemme go, now?"
"No," Grilka said. Tendrils emerged from the mass of eir tail, picking her up off the ground to set her atop it as eir hands left her person. "I don't trust you, now," ey said, sounding quite put-out. "You were supposed to be with the Lawyer, little Captain's Daughter."
"I had shit t'do," she said, crossing arms and legs both and refusing to look offput by her precarious position.
"You must be very tired," ey said, "to go through all this trouble."
"M'fine," she muttered.
Grilka's attention was drawn elsewhere, darting tongues in the direction of Sascha. "Oh – but you brought a girl. Is she pretty?" Immediately ey was moving closer to investigate, but Kreska interrupted with a kick to eir tail. It didn't hurt, but ey hissed at her in rebuke, tendrils seeming to burst forth from where she'd kicked to wrap around her leg and restrain it.
"Leave her 'lone," Kreska said. "She's… anxious."
Tongues darted at Kreska. "Liar."
"She's with me, a'ight? S'gonna look bad, I letcha scare th'shit outta her."
"Oh, but I'm not scary," Grilka said, as if this were self-evident. Ey began to move again toward the human, a mere ten feet off the ground as a conciliatory measure. This, clearly, was the best way to look unintimidating. "I'm very friendly."
Kreska spared a glance toward the hole in the ceiling. If Grilka had noticed it, ey hadn't said anything. Her tablet was on the ground, and while she still had her earpiece, it wasn't as if she had any way of saying something without drawing attention to Fate's 'presence'. Best to deal with one crisis at a time.
"Were they here for her, the ones outside? I didn't care for them. Gamey."
"Y'know y'can't eat people'n self-defense, right?"
"They threw themselves on my talons," Grilka said airily, as if ey had not moments before been threatening Kreska with the very same paralytic venom. "I tried to warn them. Does she belong to anyone? She's very expensive, if they were for her."
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - danixiewrites - 11-09-2015
Sascha ducked behind the greenery, cargo pants blessedly over her hips, top missing and the quarter of a burger clenched between her front teeth yanked out in a hurry. Not exactly the most flattering introduction but then neither was winding one's tail around an acquaintance like she was to be a next meal exactly a polite greeting. In her albeit uneducated opinion as far as snake people went these days. Eyes cracked through with emerald streaks widened comically.
Thinking she hadn't yet been noticed, Sascha slid the burger's remains to the ground and with an inward sigh wrapped the cat suit hideously around her breasts. Not even time to shred the damn thing. Should've grabbed more from the fraggin' pack.
Except she had been noticed, and the enormous thing was talking about her like she wasn't standing right there. Sascha rolled her eyes. Not scary. Yep. That was--"Eep!" She peered around the plant to find the newcomer far higher aloft than she'd expected, and suddenly much, much closer. It was only by fortune of a sturdy fern at her back that she didn't tumble backward and land flat on her ass.
"Oh nooo, they were just in the neighborhood, I'm sure," Sascha was quick to interrupt, not sure if it was wise when she wasn't being directly addressed, nor if it was a good thing her hunters had been removed at all, given the imposing creature that had taken their place and now held Kreska in its tentacles. Would she be bait, now? Owe in some way for this unorthodox rescue? When wasn't she owing her life to someone else in one way or another? "People have much better things to do than hunt me down."
Like putting my head on a stake and mounting it on the front of a monstrous truck, for example.
--
The sibilant words came easily over the audio link that remained open, but the only glimpse he had was a terrifying flicker of tentacles that shot into view and then receded. He hadn't considered that the bounty hunters and corporate flacks had been eaten. Distracted into leaving as planned, he'd have taken all the credit for as they left his sights. But EATEN? He felt a little queasy at the prospect and couldn't discern without seeing the Krotazi's features whether or not xe was joking.
"Not that I would regardless," he said with his fingers stabbing into keys in a desperate flurry.
Fate was frantically trying to get through to the women he'd deemed himself protector of, but he suspected Sascha had turned off her comm screen and knew Kreska was now just flat out ignoring him. Not that he blamed her. If he was trapped in a room with...that...he'd be pretty single focused too.
"Do not let her eat and/or poison Sass. You hear me, Kreska?"
It was probably the only time he used a person's actual name: in moments of actual concern. He wasn't anywhere near their hideout so for the moment there was no threat of tentacles invading his private spaces. Fate swallowed hard at the double meaning and closed his eyes for a moment.
"I will program horrible things onto all of your tech forever."
Fate's best course of action, when there seemed to be no course of action and most especially when his current assortment of droids were unable to fit through certain holes, was to continue acting as though everything was fine. And so he keyed back into the mining drones, setting them to lower the piece of ceiling back into place. At least if that was intact, HE'D be fine...not that it brought him any closer to figuring out what to do for the imperiled ladies.
"Every time you play music you'll be interrupted by unrelated adverts of varying and obnoxious volumes, see if I won't!"
In his effort to recover some ground and cover his tracks, Fate had forgotten an important fact: the mining droids didn't exactly do their job...quietly.
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - Tindome - 11-09-2015
Her little shriek of surprise delighted em, tongues darting towards her to smell the air. Eir head cocked to the side to look her over. "What are you wearing?" ey asked, sounding faintly offended. Clothes were a bizarre enough habit without their also being... hideous. Scales and slender chains all glittered across eir torso, and the effect was such that ey looked more bare than if ey'd worn nothing at all. Still, ey made no clothes at all look fashionable and extravagant.
Tongues darted at her again as she spoke, pink eyes narrowing. "Liar," ey said matter-of-factly. It was not an accusation. Ey leaned lower and closer to see her face better, tail rearranging to bring more of it closer instead of letting it sprawl around the room – bringing Kreska with it. "Most of them made it away, you know," Grilka informed her. "They'll finish what they started, once I'm not in the way."
It couldn't really be called a threat, when Grilka hadn't threatened to do anything. A warning, maybe. But it certainly sounded threatening. Ey did not clarify what had happened to those who did not make it.
Kreska was trying not to verbalize her irritation with the voice in her ear, crossing her arms in an expression undeniably petulant. Fate was significantly overestimating the amount of power she held in this situation. Which was, she supposed, better than the alternative. Nonetheless: irritating.
But then there was the noise.
Kreska and Grilka both looked upward, then at each other – though with very different intentions. Grilka moved upward, closer to Kreska before rising up enough to investigate the ceiling. Kreska pointedly refused to look intimidated. Her leg was still trapped.
"And what is this?" Grilka asked, looking down at her.
Goddammit. "Someone doing me a favor."
Grilka did not call her on the lie, this time. "Hm." Ey pointed one talon at her, then a second to Sascha, and finally a third to the hole in the ceiling in the process of repair. "Three favors you owe me, then?" ey asked. Ey watched her to see if she'd change her mind, disavow all responsibility.
"… yeah." Kreska huffed. "Sure."
"Hmm." Ey moved lower, and with one swift motion snatched away her earpiece.
"Hey!"
Ey ignored her complaint, eyes skimming the floor until ey found her tablet. Tentacles unwound from eir tail to collect it, lifting it to one of eir hands. Earpiece in one hand and tablet in another, yet another hand tapped a red gem on eir necklace to activate a holographic display. Geometric shapes with no apparent rhyme or reason, but ey manipulated them with purpose, twisting and tapping and turning and discarding them.
The digital equivalent of a knock on Fate's walls, slender alien snippets of code that could not quite break through – but they did try. Doing considerable damage, in the meantime, corrupting data as a natural consequence of converting it to something readable by eir hardware.
There were ways to get around that, if ey was trying to be sneaky, but this time ey didn't mind leaving a trail.
Ey clicked eir teeth in irritation as ey gave up on that line of inquiry, tossing the earpiece back to Kreska but holding on to the tablet. As ey deactivated eir display, slitted pupils once again fixed on Sascha. Almost certainly related. A much easier line of inquiry to pursue.
Grilka descended on her with the speed of a strike, face brought close to hers as talons framed her face to hold her still and get a better look at her. "Careful," ey warned. "I'd hate to scratch you." Tongues nearly brushed her face as they darted at her. "Introduce yourself."
Tongues darted at her again as she spoke, pink eyes narrowing. "Liar," ey said matter-of-factly. It was not an accusation. Ey leaned lower and closer to see her face better, tail rearranging to bring more of it closer instead of letting it sprawl around the room – bringing Kreska with it. "Most of them made it away, you know," Grilka informed her. "They'll finish what they started, once I'm not in the way."
It couldn't really be called a threat, when Grilka hadn't threatened to do anything. A warning, maybe. But it certainly sounded threatening. Ey did not clarify what had happened to those who did not make it.
Kreska was trying not to verbalize her irritation with the voice in her ear, crossing her arms in an expression undeniably petulant. Fate was significantly overestimating the amount of power she held in this situation. Which was, she supposed, better than the alternative. Nonetheless: irritating.
But then there was the noise.
Kreska and Grilka both looked upward, then at each other – though with very different intentions. Grilka moved upward, closer to Kreska before rising up enough to investigate the ceiling. Kreska pointedly refused to look intimidated. Her leg was still trapped.
"And what is this?" Grilka asked, looking down at her.
Goddammit. "Someone doing me a favor."
Grilka did not call her on the lie, this time. "Hm." Ey pointed one talon at her, then a second to Sascha, and finally a third to the hole in the ceiling in the process of repair. "Three favors you owe me, then?" ey asked. Ey watched her to see if she'd change her mind, disavow all responsibility.
"… yeah." Kreska huffed. "Sure."
"Hmm." Ey moved lower, and with one swift motion snatched away her earpiece.
"Hey!"
Ey ignored her complaint, eyes skimming the floor until ey found her tablet. Tentacles unwound from eir tail to collect it, lifting it to one of eir hands. Earpiece in one hand and tablet in another, yet another hand tapped a red gem on eir necklace to activate a holographic display. Geometric shapes with no apparent rhyme or reason, but ey manipulated them with purpose, twisting and tapping and turning and discarding them.
The digital equivalent of a knock on Fate's walls, slender alien snippets of code that could not quite break through – but they did try. Doing considerable damage, in the meantime, corrupting data as a natural consequence of converting it to something readable by eir hardware.
There were ways to get around that, if ey was trying to be sneaky, but this time ey didn't mind leaving a trail.
Ey clicked eir teeth in irritation as ey gave up on that line of inquiry, tossing the earpiece back to Kreska but holding on to the tablet. As ey deactivated eir display, slitted pupils once again fixed on Sascha. Almost certainly related. A much easier line of inquiry to pursue.
Grilka descended on her with the speed of a strike, face brought close to hers as talons framed her face to hold her still and get a better look at her. "Careful," ey warned. "I'd hate to scratch you." Tongues nearly brushed her face as they darted at her. "Introduce yourself."
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - danixiewrites - 11-10-2015
"Fashion victim couture," Sascha replied faintly, most, if not all, of her would-be bravado lost behind the quaking in her muscles. Her lot this week--crappy clothes scrounged from the depths of other people's collections, when all she wanted was something slim enough to not get caught in maintenance tunnels--or wherever else she had to hide in--while holding the recording gear she normally needed. Cargo pants were closer but perfect datathief-wear didn't, in her opinion, feel like slinging a burlap bag around her waist and topping it off with whatever-the-frag was around. "I promise your eyeballs are the only offended parties here."
Terrifying eyeballs.
Terrifying...everything.
She sighed. "It couldn't be that easy." Because her emotions and adrenaline had been shredded repeatedly over the past week, because that beautiful, glowing bottle of even more beautiful, taste-indulging rum was in danger of being nudged by slithering appendages, because life just wasn't fraggin' fair. Tugging self-consciously on her fingerless gloves, she tried again for nonchalance. "Did you happen to eat the big one, by any chance? Mostly metal, went by the name Supay--probably tasted a bit like battery acid. At least, I imagine--"
When Fate's absconded robotics did something overhead, the room's attention split, and she did what she did best: headed for the exit. If her hunters were gone, it meant her path was clear. She could bolt, hunker down until the bounty cleared up, then skip station. Though she tried to keep the cat suit from dragging behind her, she hadn't gotten more than three steps when a claw loomed in her direction. No, that wouldn't do. It was obvious she wouldn't be able to sneak away clean. The alien's attention might have seemed to be solely on Fate's massive screwup, but it was total, and Sascha had no idea whether poison and eating people whole were jokes or not. She retreated to the useless shield of greenery. Best to play it back to lowkey and unassuming. As unassuming as one could be with a catsuit hanging off one's upper body like a deranged scarf.
She stared at the symbols coalescing in the air and hoped almost feverishly that whatever the being was doing wouldn't hurt her friend. Could just as well have been reading back through Kreska's messages as attempting to reach through the screen and pull Fate through it. The latter on the heels of his relocation...
Sascha had made a valiant effort not to scream. But a strangled sound escaped her all the same as Kreska's...whatever xe was to her helpless companion...dove toward her face with claws outstretched. For at least a minute, the only sound that emerged was a series of squeaks. "Scratching. Pass. I. Uh. Sascha Bennett. At your service."
Which was a standard introduction when she was in a bit over her head, but as soon as it left her mouth it occurred to her that xe had mentioned favors and seemed to take things more literally than Sascha was inclined. Not the standard stash for the price on her head and have Fate get her loose situation, not this time.
---
>>Do not run, chiquita.
>>Krotazi can catch you.
Not that she'd see it, with her wristcomp shielded.
Fate swore a blue streak as one of the mining bots clanked the piece of wall into place and its torch sputtered loudly in his ears. If he could hear it, how much worse was it from the ground? "Not good. Not good. Not good."
And even more not good, as it wouldn't be enough to distract the Krotazi. More and more not good as his eyes on the ceiling got a close up of the horror both ladies faced. "You're a shiny one, aren't you?" he asked before slamming his hand on the comm switch and hoping xe hadn't brought the earpiece xe had stolen from Kreska close enough to catch the words.
His tech screeched. All of it at once and none of it in a tone that said it'd be a-okay when the sound stopped. Fate chased data packets and corralled them into places he could work to address the flaws, but the strange interrogation of his firewall setup would take full restores in spots he hadn't wanted to take the time to beef up. At least now he had an excuse to install his heavier servers--and a chance to comprehend what had assailed his system. The second time xe tried it, things would not begin to buckle so easily.
The warning volley was not missed and Krotazi memory--and grudges--were long. Fate half-wished he were somewhere far, far, far away instead of sticking close enough to retrieve Sascha. Except that would mean abandoning her to...this. "Fine, then. If xe wants to run around knocking on doors, I will too."
The jaunty little bot upstairs strolled out of its unit and made its way down to the corridor where the hunters had been stalking. Fate swore once again as the eyes on the machine caught what his other shoddy underground cameras had missed: no more waiting guns and no bodies in evidence.
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - Tindome - 11-10-2015
"Hmm." Ey considered untying the impromptu top to be rid of it entirely, but decided against it. For now. "I could get you something better," ey suggested. "Of course, nothing would also be better. You could wear nothing." This would obviously be an ideal solution for everyone involved, ey thought.
"You're th'only one thinks that's better," Kreska muttered, arms still crossed over her chest.
"Prude," Grilka accused. A tendril tugged lightly at Kreska's shirt, and she batted it away in irritation, nearly hurting herself in the process. She kept forgetting that one of her hands was nonfunctional.
"Battery acid?" Grilka repeated with a glint in eir eye. "Nothing like that, no. I would have held on to that. Especially big. Wouldn't want to lose something like that. Must have gone running, left his little ones behind. Such disloyalty." Ey made a note of the name, Supay. Big, metal, lots of guns. An item of interest, if nothing else, something to look up later as a potential lead. A threat, an opportunity, something to keep track of in case it came up again. Information was always good.
Sascha's abortive escape attempt did not go unnoticed, but Grilka was merely amused by it. If she'd attempted an escape in earnest, ey might have had to put a stop to it, but she'd realized the error on her own. It was hard to miss anything, when the room was so small and eir tail was so large, unconsciously tracking everything in the room through vibration and sound. Though the irritable Jobari was a little distracting.
Kreska was replacing her earpiece, though she doubted there was much point. Fate would have clammed right up, if he had any sense. Still, it was the principle of the thing.
Sascha seemed very easy to frighten – or else, not as good at some at hiding an inevitable fear. It was so terribly rare these days to meet someone so new, someone who did not come to em with purpose, someone not deliberately avoiding em. She was avoiding em, but only in the most general sense, in that she seemed to be avoiding everyone. There was no recognition in her fear, no respect beyond that which fear always brought.
"Sascha Bennett," ey repeated, crisp clicking consonants and elongated vowels. "I like it," ey declared. "A good name. Sascha Bennett, at my service. How friendly you are. I like it. I can think of a way you could service me – oh, yes." Ey hooked a spare talon in the top of her pants to pull her closer, talons at her jaw guiding her to turn around so that she stood almost beside em. An arm draped over her shoulders, covered in bracelets and rings worth almost as much as the station itself, an illusion of friendliness. It made it easier to hold aloft Kreska's tablet so that she could see the screen.
If one did not know better, it would almost look like they were taking a friendly selfie.
"I would know you, if you were one of Kreska's friends – and this one, I would know, too." Ey tapped the screen to indicate whatever person was on the other end of it. "So you know them, I think, Sascha Bennett – this clever little thing hiding from me. I would like to say hello – a friendly hello, you know. Perhaps, if you are friends, they will say hello if you ask." Eir fourth hand, the only one not occupied, toyed idly with her hair; eir eyes and eir smile were still on the little camera ey knew was in the tablet. "Could you ask them for me, Sascha Bennett? That would be a very nice service, I think."
Ey could have just asked Kreska. But the information itself was only half the point. Kreska could do nothing but sit, biting the thumbnail of her good hand and hoping that Grilka would let her go soon. She would have liked to reassure the woman that she would almost certainly be fine, that Grilka was mostly harmless in these situations – but she was on thin ice as it was. Three favors, and dangerously close to Grilka's bad side; the last thing she needed was another cloud of purple smoke for her trouble, in the state she was in.
"You're th'only one thinks that's better," Kreska muttered, arms still crossed over her chest.
"Prude," Grilka accused. A tendril tugged lightly at Kreska's shirt, and she batted it away in irritation, nearly hurting herself in the process. She kept forgetting that one of her hands was nonfunctional.
"Battery acid?" Grilka repeated with a glint in eir eye. "Nothing like that, no. I would have held on to that. Especially big. Wouldn't want to lose something like that. Must have gone running, left his little ones behind. Such disloyalty." Ey made a note of the name, Supay. Big, metal, lots of guns. An item of interest, if nothing else, something to look up later as a potential lead. A threat, an opportunity, something to keep track of in case it came up again. Information was always good.
Sascha's abortive escape attempt did not go unnoticed, but Grilka was merely amused by it. If she'd attempted an escape in earnest, ey might have had to put a stop to it, but she'd realized the error on her own. It was hard to miss anything, when the room was so small and eir tail was so large, unconsciously tracking everything in the room through vibration and sound. Though the irritable Jobari was a little distracting.
Kreska was replacing her earpiece, though she doubted there was much point. Fate would have clammed right up, if he had any sense. Still, it was the principle of the thing.
Sascha seemed very easy to frighten – or else, not as good at some at hiding an inevitable fear. It was so terribly rare these days to meet someone so new, someone who did not come to em with purpose, someone not deliberately avoiding em. She was avoiding em, but only in the most general sense, in that she seemed to be avoiding everyone. There was no recognition in her fear, no respect beyond that which fear always brought.
"Sascha Bennett," ey repeated, crisp clicking consonants and elongated vowels. "I like it," ey declared. "A good name. Sascha Bennett, at my service. How friendly you are. I like it. I can think of a way you could service me – oh, yes." Ey hooked a spare talon in the top of her pants to pull her closer, talons at her jaw guiding her to turn around so that she stood almost beside em. An arm draped over her shoulders, covered in bracelets and rings worth almost as much as the station itself, an illusion of friendliness. It made it easier to hold aloft Kreska's tablet so that she could see the screen.
If one did not know better, it would almost look like they were taking a friendly selfie.
"I would know you, if you were one of Kreska's friends – and this one, I would know, too." Ey tapped the screen to indicate whatever person was on the other end of it. "So you know them, I think, Sascha Bennett – this clever little thing hiding from me. I would like to say hello – a friendly hello, you know. Perhaps, if you are friends, they will say hello if you ask." Eir fourth hand, the only one not occupied, toyed idly with her hair; eir eyes and eir smile were still on the little camera ey knew was in the tablet. "Could you ask them for me, Sascha Bennett? That would be a very nice service, I think."
Ey could have just asked Kreska. But the information itself was only half the point. Kreska could do nothing but sit, biting the thumbnail of her good hand and hoping that Grilka would let her go soon. She would have liked to reassure the woman that she would almost certainly be fine, that Grilka was mostly harmless in these situations – but she was on thin ice as it was. Three favors, and dangerously close to Grilka's bad side; the last thing she needed was another cloud of purple smoke for her trouble, in the state she was in.
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - danixiewrites - 11-13-2015
Nothing? Not likely. Sascha didn't think answering that offer would have said much about her intelligence so she clenched her jaw. She couldn't catch Kreska's eye one way or the other, and felt like regardless of the strange interaction between the two non-humans, she was treading on rather thin wires. Hopefully Fate was out there, shoring them up like usual.
"Yeah, Supay's gallant like that." They were nearer the trash collection down here. Maybe he got magnetized over to the junk heap. One can always dream. Her lips tilted upward a bit.
Now would have been an excellent time to give her a sign Fate had a way out--and not by making a bunch of useless noise. Lame, if that had been his intent. Now, the whole ceiling coming up and a ladder shooting down from the sky--that would have been epic. Sascha could've gone for some 'epic' right about now. Or at any point that week. Was he slipping? He'd definitely sounded a little frightened himself before she'd ghosted her wristcomp.
Yep. Should not have offered 'service'. Woefully underprepared to deal with a giant snake whose emphasis on the words 'service me' sounded far more involved than Sascha was inclined to provide, she half-yelped, half-protested as she was dragged forward. It was lucky ey made eir intentions clear before Sass really embarrassed herself by preemptively turning down a sexual advance that didn't even exist. And dealing with the consequences of saying no.
She swallowed hard, anything to quell the feeling of dread. Out Fate? "No" in any sense would be the wrong word when one was held in the embrace of a creature with poisonous claws and ambitious tentacles. "You sure there's someone there? It looks a little quiet if you ask me." Sascha stared at her reflection and willed him to do anything but answer as she put on a sappy grin and did a little fingerwave. "Hey there! Anybody home? Nope," she said as she dropped her hand. "Doesn't look like it! Since you were so kind to take care of those strangers out there following me about, I wouldn't dare impose on you further...I can escort myself home."
Wherever the next hideyhole might be.
---
His droid was almost to the door and would've made another foolish distraction when Fate's tablet view shifted drastically.
Her eyes were huge, wide as a plant-eating earth creature hunted by a hungry, massive cat such as the one tattooed on his hand. Emerald-fractured and full of fear. Damn it, he hadn't seen that look since...
...and it probably had everything to do with how much very sharp claws could remind one of needles.
>>I suppose we've all learned
>>a very valuable lesson about asking permission
>>Don't you think?
>>We should all go our merry way, yes?
A flicker in Sascha's eyes. Disappointment? Or was that her "idiot!" look? He always got those confused. What, so she was comfortable being snuggled up nice and cozy? It wasn't like he'd offered her rum as compensation or anything.
This was, of course, his fault. For making a mess of things. Or wait, no. Maybe it was Kreska's. It could be. Just this once. He let out a huff of annoyance. "You know, if you'd told me sooner there was a Krotazi on the lease, I might have come up with an alternate solution to your impending starvation and hydration woes." Not that she could hear him.
Fate shook his head and toggled the audio on Kreska's earpiece so it amplified the microphone and he'd have easier access to what was being said in the overbright sanctuary.
>>Sorry about the ceiling.
>>It seemed prudent.
>>Since the orc and the top hats weren't working anymore.
>>And if I'd been hungry enough to eat the opposition
>>I probably would've settled for the burger.
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - Tindome - 11-13-2015
Ey clicked eir teeth in disapproval, tugging gently at the hair in eir talons. Not enough to be painful. "Must be a precious thing," Grilka said, "to lie to a Krotazi." Tongues darted to taste the air, but it didn't tell em anything ey didn't already know. Fear, and lots of it. "You don't trust me," ey said. "Have I not been friendly? Have I not been nice? I have been very careful not to hurt you, even though you would be so easy to hurt, Sascha Bennett." Eir tail was moving again, bringing Kreska closer in the process of drawing a wide circle around the conversation. Tendrils emerged to collect the bottle of rum rather than tip it over, transferring it between them in a hypnotic display that brought the bottle to one of eir hands. "Here," ey said, "this is yours, yes? Finish, if you like. Then, maybe, you can go outside – with the people who like that you are easy to hurt."
The screen lit up with text, and Grilka smiled. "You are already your merry way, I think," ey said – assuming, based on circumstances, that they could hear em. "It makes it very hard, when I would so much like to meet you."
Kreska, despite Fate's misapprehensions, could hear him loud and clear. She scowled at nothing; she'd been trying not to move, because sometimes if she stayed still enough for long enough Grilka would forget about her and lose eir grip. "Din' think ya'd wanna cut holes inna fortifications," she muttered, more concerned with being certain that Grilka wouldn't hear her than that Fate would. Ey watched the notifications appear on her watch, flashing briefly before disappearing, the messages he was sending to her tablet. She couldn't read them quickly enough, valuable and permission and merry and ceiling and burger. Something about top hats?
What a weird thing that would be to try to explain to Grilka.
Grilka looked briefly up at the ceiling. "I think that you must be very clever," Grilka said, "but you seem also very stupid." Ey looked back at Kreska, still sitting trapped on their tail. "Will you tell me what you know, Captain's Daughter?"
"No," she said immediately.
"Rude girl." Tongues darted between the two women in the room. "I will guess, then," ey decided, because it would be easy enough to gauge by their reactions when ey had struck true. "Must be organic, I think, or else you would like me much better. Kreska Ido… hm. Very surprising to be male, to be Human. Not unheard of, but very strange. More sense for a woman. Or maybe very femme. Supervisor, watchdog. Clever, hiding. Ideas, but not the followthrough." Ey returned attention to Sascha, petting her hair. "Maybe that is what these ones are for. Yes? Why she is here, pretending she does not know you are watching."
Then they brought the tablet closer to type out their next messages, talons swiping across the screen.
♕» I would never hurt her, of course.
♕» But she doesn't know that.
♕» She is very frightened.
♕» I don't know if you can tell, since you can't taste her like I can.
♕» She thinks she is in terrible danger, but she isn't asking for help.
♕» Is she very loyal, or does she think you can't?
♕» I can keep her safe for you, if you'd like.
♕» I am very good at keeping my friends safe.
The screen lit up with text, and Grilka smiled. "You are already your merry way, I think," ey said – assuming, based on circumstances, that they could hear em. "It makes it very hard, when I would so much like to meet you."
Kreska, despite Fate's misapprehensions, could hear him loud and clear. She scowled at nothing; she'd been trying not to move, because sometimes if she stayed still enough for long enough Grilka would forget about her and lose eir grip. "Din' think ya'd wanna cut holes inna fortifications," she muttered, more concerned with being certain that Grilka wouldn't hear her than that Fate would. Ey watched the notifications appear on her watch, flashing briefly before disappearing, the messages he was sending to her tablet. She couldn't read them quickly enough, valuable and permission and merry and ceiling and burger. Something about top hats?
What a weird thing that would be to try to explain to Grilka.
Grilka looked briefly up at the ceiling. "I think that you must be very clever," Grilka said, "but you seem also very stupid." Ey looked back at Kreska, still sitting trapped on their tail. "Will you tell me what you know, Captain's Daughter?"
"No," she said immediately.
"Rude girl." Tongues darted between the two women in the room. "I will guess, then," ey decided, because it would be easy enough to gauge by their reactions when ey had struck true. "Must be organic, I think, or else you would like me much better. Kreska Ido… hm. Very surprising to be male, to be Human. Not unheard of, but very strange. More sense for a woman. Or maybe very femme. Supervisor, watchdog. Clever, hiding. Ideas, but not the followthrough." Ey returned attention to Sascha, petting her hair. "Maybe that is what these ones are for. Yes? Why she is here, pretending she does not know you are watching."
Then they brought the tablet closer to type out their next messages, talons swiping across the screen.
♕» I would never hurt her, of course.
♕» But she doesn't know that.
♕» She is very frightened.
♕» I don't know if you can tell, since you can't taste her like I can.
♕» She thinks she is in terrible danger, but she isn't asking for help.
♕» Is she very loyal, or does she think you can't?
♕» I can keep her safe for you, if you'd like.
♕» I am very good at keeping my friends safe.
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - danixiewrites - 11-15-2015
Krotazi. Sascha carefully cocked her head to one side, craning in eir claws. That was most assuredly different from genetically modified snake; any of the creatures she'd run into while...on the run. Did that mean xe wasn't working for the corporation? If Fate was apologizing rather than pulling the whole front wall off the place or blowing out the lighting...perhaps she had misjudged the situation. A creature could be entirely imposing, invoke concern, and command a room while still being as genial as a courtesy droid, right?
Then again, she considered as she watched the glowing bottle come tauntingly closer, offering her rum as a consolation prize before allowing her to run right back out into whatever Hunters remained--calculating. That's what xe was. And Sascha was so, so tired of trying to outguess, outsmart, outrun, out-survive the whole fragging station.
"Last time I met a scaly...person...she was corporate. Wanted to rummage through my head for information then rewire it & give me entirely new memories and she wasn't nearly as..." Large. Very, very large with sharp claws and a smile that didn't feel like a smile. "Grand as you." Sascha shrugged. "I guess it made me a little tail shy."
She held out her hand for the Venusian delicacy then, bringing her chin upward. "I would like my drink, yes. Not the running, but the drink."
---
He caught her explanation and groaned. He'd been offline during the incident in mention. One more thing he owed her, one more terror she'd faced down alone. Her eyes would've been heartbreaking and wide then too.
Squinting at the display as the picture moved and won him an eyeful of the slick fabric Sass had tied over her chest, he let out a loud snort. It was so much worse than any stash bag he could've filled, which of course meant the next pack he made for her--and there would be more, damn it--would sport handy gear in a similar style.
Stash bags took money and planning. So did dealing with corporations, known foes, and unknown Krotazi who he'd unwittingly ruffled. Fate hated that he was so low on funds and resources post-move. Truthfully, the last job should have set him and Sass both up for life, but. But! There was the small matter of funneling money back into Radius for repairs. The arduous wrangling to pay off the Heat through proper gang channels. The annoyance of removing the less committed Hunters from play by bringing up some ill-invested accounts. There was a public transit station and vehicle to replace entirely, and someone had to take care of the slotted housing upset that had displaced almost an entire block. With all those chits in motion he had no way to make sweeping gestures.
Fate hated even more that Grilka was right: the Hunters might have been down, but they were not out--the bounty was too large to simply wipe off the boards through electronic means. Sascha would forever be on the run, at least here on station. The bot he'd sent to the doorway froze there instead of barging through as it dawned on him that someone who had so much power could indeed be a force to help give his friend some breathing room.
And he'd have been able to speak to that, perhaps, if he hadn't blown a hole in eir property.
"The perimeter was secure, toots--you'll notice no bounty hunters came tumbling through the rafters," Fate explained quietly, trying not to trigger feedback on the device, "Besides. You wouldn't let me render medical attention. And I owed you that beer soup. You earned it, you know. And it's important," he finished as if offering someone a beer for running from accidental target practice was a sacred vow, "to keep promises."
Not that Kreska had apparently needed his help at all. Not when her backup meant Grilka.
Why had he thought helping a flexible little scrap of green across the underbelly of the station was a good idea? Oh right. Boredom. He flexed his fingers. Definitely not boring now.
>>This is as close as my friends get.
Which wasn't strictly true, as it seemed to firstly include Grilka in that number and secondly ignore the fact that Sascha had indeed crashed on his couch. Multiple times. But his acquaintances--certainly he had a very closed door, off-grid policy. Less chance any of his gigs could be compromised, less chance of the outside world coming inside.
He tried very hard not to respond during the Krotazi's guessing game. The only kind of baiting Fate normally fell into headfirst was code-based, but xe made it difficult when xe was referring to his inability to protect that which was his. Sass, too, made it difficult, as she seemed to be accepting whatever tentacled sort of olive branch Grilka was offering. Fate hoped she was just playing along. But she'd been through so much and the slump in her shoulders made him feel like, whether through her own volition or her body's surrender to sleep, she was on the edge of giving up entirely.
Giving up on him?
Would she?
Fate ran a hand over the stubble on his jaw and sighed. No, Sass was trying to keep him safe, even after she'd been through hell. And someone had to tell Grilka something.
>>There was trouble.
>>I helped.
>>It's a thing I do.
>>Without needing to be asked.
He tugged on a dreadlock and frowned, knowing however he responded next would be swooped down on like he'd left a massive hole in his defenses. But Kreska's whole 'all the information in the galaxy' plan wouldn't work now. They'd all seen the ceiling. It hadn't been mentioned, which meant the Krotazi was far too interested in the reason rather than the damages, and xe wasn't falling for the disconnected strangers approach. And possibly that the other shoe--insomuch as Krotazi had shoes--hadn't yet dropped.
>>What does that entail, exactly, and does it involve more tasting?
>>She doesn't like that.
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - Tindome - 11-17-2015
Grilka preened. "Yes," ey agreed, "I am very grand." Ey handed her the rum, petting her head approvingly. "Drink, pretty girl. I am not corporate, no need to be shy." Hands let her go, rising up taller to bring eir tail forward and bring it underneath her, tendrils wrapping around her legs so that she wouldn't fall as ey lifted her up into an impromptu lap. "I am an ambassador; I am… ah. Foreign soil? What a silly phrase. But you are outside Allied law while you're on me – isn't that fun? Make yourself comfortable, if you would like. I am very hospitable."
Kreska was rolling her eyes, but not at Grilka. At toots. Of all the goddamned things. Not having her tablet was a colossal pain in the ass for a lot of reasons, but not being able to easily quietly continue the conversation was pretty high up there. "Tch. 'Scuses."
He was far from the only person she knew who felt strongly about promises. She, too, kept her promises. She tried not to make them. Grilka always kept eir promises, but they came with a price that Kreska did not like to pay if she could avoid it. She'd gotten very good at it, not giving openings for things to be offered that she would need to refuse. She didn't like the debt that favors implied, regardless of whether they were acknowledged as such.
Yet here she was, owing three favors to a Krotazi and theoretically to blame for getting two practical-strangers into deeper shit than they'd bargained for. Even if she didn't think it was her fault. She hadn't asked for intervention, for assistance, for someone to fall on her head. Yet here they were.
Toots.
Even without Fate's response, Grilka could tell where ey'd hit the mark and where ey'd fallen short – if not from Sascha, then from Kreska, whose responses ey knew so much better. Ey rattled a laugh toward Kreska, who curled in on herself in an irritable ball. "He must be very special," ey teased, to which she gave another roll of her eyes. "Oh, yes – I want him, I think." How exactly this was intended was left vague, as ey usually preferred.
It wasn't like Kreska had high standards. It was only that human men had a remarkable tendency to fall short even of the shortest things. Was all.
"You do not know Krotazi, Sascha Bennett," ey said, answering one question by pretending to speak to another. "I will explain to you how it works here, then." Kreska fished a cigarette out of her pocket, settling in for the long haul. "The Krotaz Empire is not an Allied system, and so I am here as ambassador – only ambassador, unless I would like to renounce one citizenship for another. Yes? But that makes things very tricky, on an Allied station. Limitations on commerce. Can't have me buying out the system, making it Krotazi. Buying, owning, hiring – a very complicated process, to do any of these things. So I don't. Easier, that way. I am very law-abiding, you know."
"No law against having friends, though," ey said, and without asking ey brought Kreska closer, drawing her into the conversation. "Like this one. Kreska Ido is very special, you know. There is only one of her. Makes things complicated for the Alliance – complicated to arrest her. Big news, very embarrassing, angry Jobari. Easier to ignore her. But very unsafe."
"Y'know'm right here, right?" Kreska said.
"Very unsafe," Grilka emphasized, reaching out to wrap talons around her wrist and hold higher her injured hand, "when little half-human girl likes to run her fucking mouth." Ey let her go, and Kreska wrapped her arm under her knees, bad hand hidden behind her calves as she rested her chin on her knees to keep smoking. "But she is my friend! And friends look out for each other. I do her little favors, here and there, and give her gifts, and so she does me favors and gives me gifts – we must keep things even, for karma."
Kreska snorted.
"It is the closest word you have, in Standard," Grilka continued, ignoring her. "It is an important thing, for Krotazi. Very unforgiving. Balance is important. Karma punishes a lack of balance. Too many favors given and not returned, and terrible accidents happen. It is very tragic. Kreska owes me little favors, now, and if she is good then karma will not get her. She can even ask for more, if she wants. I am her friend, after all, and I am very nice. If we were not friends, I would do her no favors, but that would be a very lonely thing. It is always easier to have friends. Friends who are special, like Kreska. She is very quick, Kreska Ido. Aren't you?"
"Fastest thing't ain't time travel," Kreska said, because petulance did not dampen her pride in certain things.
"Very good at delivering gifts, Kreska Ido. I have a friend who used to be a lawyer, and so he is very good at explaining things to people who might misunderstand. Another friend, she is very sweet, and so she lets me keep a few things at her restaurant. Another is very friendly, and so he knows lots of very fun gossip. There is a human girl with spots who has very pretty orgasms." Kreska made a face.
"I wonder, Sascha Bennett: what is it that you are good at?"
Kreska was rolling her eyes, but not at Grilka. At toots. Of all the goddamned things. Not having her tablet was a colossal pain in the ass for a lot of reasons, but not being able to easily quietly continue the conversation was pretty high up there. "Tch. 'Scuses."
He was far from the only person she knew who felt strongly about promises. She, too, kept her promises. She tried not to make them. Grilka always kept eir promises, but they came with a price that Kreska did not like to pay if she could avoid it. She'd gotten very good at it, not giving openings for things to be offered that she would need to refuse. She didn't like the debt that favors implied, regardless of whether they were acknowledged as such.
Yet here she was, owing three favors to a Krotazi and theoretically to blame for getting two practical-strangers into deeper shit than they'd bargained for. Even if she didn't think it was her fault. She hadn't asked for intervention, for assistance, for someone to fall on her head. Yet here they were.
Toots.
Even without Fate's response, Grilka could tell where ey'd hit the mark and where ey'd fallen short – if not from Sascha, then from Kreska, whose responses ey knew so much better. Ey rattled a laugh toward Kreska, who curled in on herself in an irritable ball. "He must be very special," ey teased, to which she gave another roll of her eyes. "Oh, yes – I want him, I think." How exactly this was intended was left vague, as ey usually preferred.
It wasn't like Kreska had high standards. It was only that human men had a remarkable tendency to fall short even of the shortest things. Was all.
"You do not know Krotazi, Sascha Bennett," ey said, answering one question by pretending to speak to another. "I will explain to you how it works here, then." Kreska fished a cigarette out of her pocket, settling in for the long haul. "The Krotaz Empire is not an Allied system, and so I am here as ambassador – only ambassador, unless I would like to renounce one citizenship for another. Yes? But that makes things very tricky, on an Allied station. Limitations on commerce. Can't have me buying out the system, making it Krotazi. Buying, owning, hiring – a very complicated process, to do any of these things. So I don't. Easier, that way. I am very law-abiding, you know."
"No law against having friends, though," ey said, and without asking ey brought Kreska closer, drawing her into the conversation. "Like this one. Kreska Ido is very special, you know. There is only one of her. Makes things complicated for the Alliance – complicated to arrest her. Big news, very embarrassing, angry Jobari. Easier to ignore her. But very unsafe."
"Y'know'm right here, right?" Kreska said.
"Very unsafe," Grilka emphasized, reaching out to wrap talons around her wrist and hold higher her injured hand, "when little half-human girl likes to run her fucking mouth." Ey let her go, and Kreska wrapped her arm under her knees, bad hand hidden behind her calves as she rested her chin on her knees to keep smoking. "But she is my friend! And friends look out for each other. I do her little favors, here and there, and give her gifts, and so she does me favors and gives me gifts – we must keep things even, for karma."
Kreska snorted.
"It is the closest word you have, in Standard," Grilka continued, ignoring her. "It is an important thing, for Krotazi. Very unforgiving. Balance is important. Karma punishes a lack of balance. Too many favors given and not returned, and terrible accidents happen. It is very tragic. Kreska owes me little favors, now, and if she is good then karma will not get her. She can even ask for more, if she wants. I am her friend, after all, and I am very nice. If we were not friends, I would do her no favors, but that would be a very lonely thing. It is always easier to have friends. Friends who are special, like Kreska. She is very quick, Kreska Ido. Aren't you?"
"Fastest thing't ain't time travel," Kreska said, because petulance did not dampen her pride in certain things.
"Very good at delivering gifts, Kreska Ido. I have a friend who used to be a lawyer, and so he is very good at explaining things to people who might misunderstand. Another friend, she is very sweet, and so she lets me keep a few things at her restaurant. Another is very friendly, and so he knows lots of very fun gossip. There is a human girl with spots who has very pretty orgasms." Kreska made a face.
"I wonder, Sascha Bennett: what is it that you are good at?"
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - danixiewrites - 11-21-2015
Sascha bit her tongue as she found herself lifted and seated on the ambassador. Tentacles and coils and everything she'd been running from, really--but not. Fate hadn't pulled her out. Kreska wasn't stopping it. And none of them were stopping her from accepting a drink and guzzling from the bottle like it was a glass of homebrew instead of a fine meant-to-be-savored delicacy. Liquid courage was always nice. A bit of fire running through her veins, even if it didn't start to touch her until she'd hit near the bottom of the bottle. But she needed it. After running, always running, this was nice.
She sucked in a deep breath after swallowing the fiery liquid and sent Kreska a less shaky thumbs up. Despite the fact it seemed rude, somehow, to be sitting on someone, regardless of what that someone was or what ey said by way of invitation, it really did feel like she could relax, finally. No danger here.
"Outside the law is nice," she agreed carefully. Outside the law meant no extra worries about Heat for data stolen, data corrupted, data retrieved. Outside the law meant she could do her job and get a legal wage, rather than scraps. "But usually when you're outside one set of rules, there's another to take its place."
Indeed, it seemed there was, as the Krotazi explained one such set of rules to her. It seemed very similar to the set she followed with Fate. Do job. Get paid. Except Grilka's payments were in deeds rather than coins. "Money is handy to have about, though." She'd yet to see a situation not diffused at some level by money changing hands. Case in point: freedom of a biological AI. Case in point: her very large bounty. But if someone else were behind the money.........as a favor......Sascha's eyebrows went up. And then they quickly shot back down as accidents were mentioned. "What sort of favors are very...karma heavy ones?"
Whatever they might have been, they were probably too rich for her blood. And if such a favor didn't work out? The absolute last thing she needed was to be in debt to a friend--make that "friend", right? The Venusian blend was rather strong this time. She took another swig and smiled unevenly. Friend. She didn't keep many of those. But a Krotazi seemed eminently capable of handling xyrself.--on top of running from the galaxy.
She tried to catch a glimpse of the datapad for a hint as to what xe might be sending Fate, even to see if he'd sent something that would tell her just how much she could tell the alien. When nothing was forthcoming, she chewed on the inside of her cheek, then took another drink to finish the bottle.
"I'm good at sneaky things," came the unfiltered response. "Datathieving, inside job stuff not the things you can find on the regular Net, you know? Data rewriting, breaking and entering, security hacking, security making, running..."
---
Fate tried not to shudder as Grilka mentioned wanting him. As kinky as he could be, as many breasts as he enjoyed his holograms having, he couldn't see himself suspended in those tentacles and having a good time of it. Especially with the way he'd mucked things up.
But damn if he'd let Sascha pay for his mistakes.
She risked enough just being outside, out THERE, in the world, on a daily basis. No, he'd watched Sascha's face, when he'd managed to catch glimpses of it from the swinging tablet, go from frightened to more and more comfortably reasonable as the conversation went on, and he left messages on her wristcomp for her to STOP NOW STOP despite the fact she wasn't even looking at it. Blanching at the mention of keeping someone around because they were good at orgasms, he typed,
>>She's not the one you want.
Just as Sascha herself responded with horrifying litany of law-breaking admissions that, if recorded, were certain to be used against her to fuel her ever-growing budget for the ever-growing assortment of bounty hunters. And then he realized she'd downed the entire bottle of rum.
"Fuck." He said aloud, and slammed a fist on his desk. "FUCK."
She wouldn't go down for this. But to get her out--how much was it going to cost him?
>>I can't come to you.
>>So you'll have to come get me.
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - Tindome - 11-22-2015
Kreska's eyebrows arched high as Sascha drank, and the thumbs-up she returned was as much to express how impressed she was as anything.
She was accustomed enough to these sorts of situations, at this point, to feel very little concern on Sascha's behalf. It would have been one thing if she'd been some civilian, someone otherwise unused to unsafe behavior and tricky negotiations. But from where Kreska was sitting, this frying pan wasn't much worse than any other. Or maybe she was biased by the devil she knew.
She was unaware of Fate's relative panic. But it wouldn't have surprised her, if she'd known. A strange gender divide in the fear Grilka evoked, one she'd seen before and would again.
"Krotazi do not have many laws," Grilka said, which was putting it mildly. Winner-takes-all, might-makes-right, eye-for-an-eye; Krotaz had found little need to move beyond those first and most basic of laws. "We do not own people," ey said, "and we take people at their word, when they say that they are people. This is the disagreement we have with the Alliance."
It had always been true that slavery as a concept was foreign to Krotazi, but the formalization into law was a recent development. Grilka's recommendation, in fact, to the Empire at home... as a favor to one very persistent Siladen. A fact very few were aware of, and half of them were in that bright room.
"Money is useful," ey agreed, sounding mournful, "but I have only trinkets." Ey pulled a single ring from one talon to demonstrate, a slender slip of crystosite easily worth several thousand credits. "It is not so versatile a thank-you gift, I think," ey said, "but one does what one can." Ey put it back on and admired the way it reflected the light, infinitely small fractal structures of rainbows. Eir tail adjusted to try and make Sascha as comfortable as possible, like a particularly accomodating couch. Under other circumstances, ey might try to find more interesting ways to touch her - but between Kreska and Fate, it did more good to leave that as nothing more than an unspoken threat, one for Sascha to remain unaware of. "Karma is fluid," ey said, "based on difficulty. Yes? If I go through much trouble as a favor, it is only fair that you go through much trouble - or many little troubles. No time limits, nothing like that; only a matter of need."
On the hook for as long as ey wanted, waiting for as long as pleased em for the other shoe to drop, never willing to refuse for fear of seeming less than grateful.
"What a clever girl," Grilka praised, while Kreska flinched at the shouting in her ear. The first time she'd heard him angry, that outburst, and she wished she hadn't heard it all. "We could be wonderful friends, I think. Not that I would ever ask you to do anything illegal – I am very law-abiding." Ey read the latest messages on the tablet, and with a pleased grin, handed the device back to its surprised owner. Ey stole her cigarette while ey was at it, trading the one for the other and taking a drag.
"Would you like to visit your new friend?" Grilka asked Kreska as she read what was on her screen, taking too long as she switched her settings all back to her usual.
"Don' see's't's necessary't all," she muttered, and Grilka laughed.
"Not so special, then, you only like him at a distance. What good is a courier that doesn't deliver?"
"M'fuckin' tired," she said defensively, as if that was the only reason she might have for not wanting to go chasing alone after someone that did not sound particularly pleased with her.
"Do you want me to take you home?" Grilka asked, leaving unspoken that ey would need to take care of the trouble waiting for her there.
"M'fine," she lied.
"Between friends, Sascha Bennett," Grilka said, transferring eir attention, "I wonder what it is that you did, to piss off so many very well-armed people."
It sounded as if she had taken something. It sounded as if it was very valuable. It sounded as if Grilka wanted it, whatever it was that it was. If ey could get it from her without needing to go after a hidden hacker, all the better. For now, ey wanted their knowledge and their skills more than their bodies. The one could wait until ey had the other.
No need to rush. Ey had plenty of time. Grilka petted Sascha's hair again.
Kreska's hand hovered over her tablet's screen. She felt like she ought to send Fate a message, now that she had it back. She couldn't think of what. The screen dimmed automatically before she thought of anything.
She was accustomed enough to these sorts of situations, at this point, to feel very little concern on Sascha's behalf. It would have been one thing if she'd been some civilian, someone otherwise unused to unsafe behavior and tricky negotiations. But from where Kreska was sitting, this frying pan wasn't much worse than any other. Or maybe she was biased by the devil she knew.
She was unaware of Fate's relative panic. But it wouldn't have surprised her, if she'd known. A strange gender divide in the fear Grilka evoked, one she'd seen before and would again.
"Krotazi do not have many laws," Grilka said, which was putting it mildly. Winner-takes-all, might-makes-right, eye-for-an-eye; Krotaz had found little need to move beyond those first and most basic of laws. "We do not own people," ey said, "and we take people at their word, when they say that they are people. This is the disagreement we have with the Alliance."
It had always been true that slavery as a concept was foreign to Krotazi, but the formalization into law was a recent development. Grilka's recommendation, in fact, to the Empire at home... as a favor to one very persistent Siladen. A fact very few were aware of, and half of them were in that bright room.
"Money is useful," ey agreed, sounding mournful, "but I have only trinkets." Ey pulled a single ring from one talon to demonstrate, a slender slip of crystosite easily worth several thousand credits. "It is not so versatile a thank-you gift, I think," ey said, "but one does what one can." Ey put it back on and admired the way it reflected the light, infinitely small fractal structures of rainbows. Eir tail adjusted to try and make Sascha as comfortable as possible, like a particularly accomodating couch. Under other circumstances, ey might try to find more interesting ways to touch her - but between Kreska and Fate, it did more good to leave that as nothing more than an unspoken threat, one for Sascha to remain unaware of. "Karma is fluid," ey said, "based on difficulty. Yes? If I go through much trouble as a favor, it is only fair that you go through much trouble - or many little troubles. No time limits, nothing like that; only a matter of need."
On the hook for as long as ey wanted, waiting for as long as pleased em for the other shoe to drop, never willing to refuse for fear of seeming less than grateful.
"What a clever girl," Grilka praised, while Kreska flinched at the shouting in her ear. The first time she'd heard him angry, that outburst, and she wished she hadn't heard it all. "We could be wonderful friends, I think. Not that I would ever ask you to do anything illegal – I am very law-abiding." Ey read the latest messages on the tablet, and with a pleased grin, handed the device back to its surprised owner. Ey stole her cigarette while ey was at it, trading the one for the other and taking a drag.
"Would you like to visit your new friend?" Grilka asked Kreska as she read what was on her screen, taking too long as she switched her settings all back to her usual.
"Don' see's't's necessary't all," she muttered, and Grilka laughed.
"Not so special, then, you only like him at a distance. What good is a courier that doesn't deliver?"
"M'fuckin' tired," she said defensively, as if that was the only reason she might have for not wanting to go chasing alone after someone that did not sound particularly pleased with her.
"Do you want me to take you home?" Grilka asked, leaving unspoken that ey would need to take care of the trouble waiting for her there.
"M'fine," she lied.
"Between friends, Sascha Bennett," Grilka said, transferring eir attention, "I wonder what it is that you did, to piss off so many very well-armed people."
It sounded as if she had taken something. It sounded as if it was very valuable. It sounded as if Grilka wanted it, whatever it was that it was. If ey could get it from her without needing to go after a hidden hacker, all the better. For now, ey wanted their knowledge and their skills more than their bodies. The one could wait until ey had the other.
No need to rush. Ey had plenty of time. Grilka petted Sascha's hair again.
Kreska's hand hovered over her tablet's screen. She felt like she ought to send Fate a message, now that she had it back. She couldn't think of what. The screen dimmed automatically before she thought of anything.