really see him. He was directly below and balancing in an almost hysterically funny
and certainly ridiculously precarious position.
Both Ca’rrakk and Belgrum Naxos were holding onto the side
of their shuttle port doorway with one hand, and gripping Marcus’s holster–harness
with the other. Half suspended out of the shuttle’s entry, Commander Marcus Perez
had both arms outstretched towards her. The hilarity of the situation really
lay in the fact that the shuttle itself was practically hovering on its
starboard side, gradually de’celling to match her fall speed.
“Avara. To me; grab on !” Marcus’s golden–brown eyes
were dark with worry, the muscles of his neck popping as he stretched steel and
sapphire armored arms towards her.
Getting her darting emotions under control, the Captain
inhaled and, exerting effort, focused much as Z’arr had done earlier but in a
different variant, causing her entire body to be sheathed skin–close in the
dark blue colored energy of a K–Shield. Serros stretched out her fingers and
felt them almost painfully crushed by Perez’s life–or–death grip. With a
jarring thud, Avara smacked into his body, causing both of them as well Lieutenant
Naxos and Major Ca’rrakk to all crash into the port side of the shuttle.
“You guys okay?” Serros spat out a second later, pushing
herself into an upright position and stamping out the black–threatening pain of
her lacerated hands.
“Tolerable.” Ca’rrakk answered with a grunt, fur flat in
anxiety and irritation.
“Yeah, great. Let’s not do that again, okay?” Perez remarked,
rubbing a bruised jaw.
“No promises, buddy.” Serros answered with a shaky grin.
“ So not surprised.” Her EXO retorted.
“Major Hadarr, status?” Serros asked after having Commed her
CPA.
A crashing sound could be heard over the channel, followed
by several moments of silence and then another crashing sound reminiscent of a
stack of steel crates filled with seashells tumbling down the side of a cliff,
smashing into the rock face again and again before finally hitting turf.
“Lost her, Captain Serros. And my STV.” Major Hadarr’s
strained voice echoed throughout the shuttle, her tone frustrated and slightly
embarrassed.
“All right; we’ll pick you up and regroup. It’s not over
yet, people.” Serros replied.
* * * * *
“According to Odass, the meeting between Lieutenant K’llan Z’arr
and our unknowns will take place tomorrow night at the Adrenix Factory at two
in the morning, local time. That was all he knew.”
“Do we trust his information?” Lieutenant Commander Diana Adeline
asked over the Comm, worry etched in her voice.
“Yes. He’s proven a valuable resource to Quorum Strategic
High Risk, Intelligence and Enforcement.” Hadarr answered the Ops and Intel Officer’s
query.
“Just like that?” Commander Marcus Perez asked, surprise
evident as he paced around the hotel room Nova Squad had rented for the day, the
team having decided it was better to not draw too much attention to themselves by
ferrying back and forth from Ophere to Excalibur . As accommodations
went, their quarters and the Harmunn Hotel were anything but impressive.
“Ha. Just like that with a promise to not look too closely
into some shady business dealings and a generous fee for his information
services.” Avara added dryly, issuing her signature, crooked half–smile.
“Did the fence have any intel regarding what kind of forces
we can expect at the meet?” Lieutenant Naxos asked, his vibrato gently rolling
through the room.
“Unfortunately not.” Major Hadarr answered. “And setting up
recon tech may very well give the game away.”
“Captain, please hold still.” Major Ca’rrakk
admonished, his large, fur–covered, four–fingered hands surprisingly gentle as
he adroitly treated first Serros’s ear then lacerated hands.
“Sorry.” Avara answered the Excalibur’s Senior
Science Officer and Nova Squad’s prime Field
and certainly ridiculously precarious position.
Both Ca’rrakk and Belgrum Naxos were holding onto the side
of their shuttle port doorway with one hand, and gripping Marcus’s holster–harness
with the other. Half suspended out of the shuttle’s entry, Commander Marcus Perez
had both arms outstretched towards her. The hilarity of the situation really
lay in the fact that the shuttle itself was practically hovering on its
starboard side, gradually de’celling to match her fall speed.
“Avara. To me; grab on !” Marcus’s golden–brown eyes
were dark with worry, the muscles of his neck popping as he stretched steel and
sapphire armored arms towards her.
Getting her darting emotions under control, the Captain
inhaled and, exerting effort, focused much as Z’arr had done earlier but in a
different variant, causing her entire body to be sheathed skin–close in the
dark blue colored energy of a K–Shield. Serros stretched out her fingers and
felt them almost painfully crushed by Perez’s life–or–death grip. With a
jarring thud, Avara smacked into his body, causing both of them as well Lieutenant
Naxos and Major Ca’rrakk to all crash into the port side of the shuttle.
“You guys okay?” Serros spat out a second later, pushing
herself into an upright position and stamping out the black–threatening pain of
her lacerated hands.
“Tolerable.” Ca’rrakk answered with a grunt, fur flat in
anxiety and irritation.
“Yeah, great. Let’s not do that again, okay?” Perez remarked,
rubbing a bruised jaw.
“No promises, buddy.” Serros answered with a shaky grin.
“ So not surprised.” Her EXO retorted.
“Major Hadarr, status?” Serros asked after having Commed her
CPA.
A crashing sound could be heard over the channel, followed
by several moments of silence and then another crashing sound reminiscent of a
stack of steel crates filled with seashells tumbling down the side of a cliff,
smashing into the rock face again and again before finally hitting turf.
“Lost her, Captain Serros. And my STV.” Major Hadarr’s
strained voice echoed throughout the shuttle, her tone frustrated and slightly
embarrassed.
“All right; we’ll pick you up and regroup. It’s not over
yet, people.” Serros replied.
* * * * *
“According to Odass, the meeting between Lieutenant K’llan Z’arr
and our unknowns will take place tomorrow night at the Adrenix Factory at two
in the morning, local time. That was all he knew.”
“Do we trust his information?” Lieutenant Commander Diana Adeline
asked over the Comm, worry etched in her voice.
“Yes. He’s proven a valuable resource to Quorum Strategic
High Risk, Intelligence and Enforcement.” Hadarr answered the Ops and Intel Officer’s
query.
“Just like that?” Commander Marcus Perez asked, surprise
evident as he paced around the hotel room Nova Squad had rented for the day, the
team having decided it was better to not draw too much attention to themselves by
ferrying back and forth from Ophere to Excalibur . As accommodations
went, their quarters and the Harmunn Hotel were anything but impressive.
“Ha. Just like that with a promise to not look too closely
into some shady business dealings and a generous fee for his information
services.” Avara added dryly, issuing her signature, crooked half–smile.
“Did the fence have any intel regarding what kind of forces
we can expect at the meet?” Lieutenant Naxos asked, his vibrato gently rolling
through the room.
“Unfortunately not.” Major Hadarr answered. “And setting up
recon tech may very well give the game away.”
“Captain, please hold still.” Major Ca’rrakk
admonished, his large, fur–covered, four–fingered hands surprisingly gentle as
he adroitly treated first Serros’s ear then lacerated hands.
“Sorry.” Avara answered the Excalibur’s Senior
Science Officer and Nova Squad’s prime Field
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