1y11m4d BV, morning
East landing, Whitecrest Clan Encalve, Wi Kao, Gao
Chuck Byse
Chuck entered the shuttle to find an unfamiliar Gaoian sitting in the pilot’s seat. This Gaoian looked ready for war, with a fusion saber and pulse rifle at his side. “You must be Ronovin.”
The Gaoian nodded slightly, his eyes focused on Chuck. He motioned for Chuck to sit beside him. “Buckle up, I’ll be taking us over a little faster than this craft usually goes. The sooner we arrive, the sooner we can return.”
There was a jolt, then the shuttle lept into the air, climbing rapidly. For the first few minutes, Chuck marveled at the landscape and architecture surrounding the Whitecrest Clan Encalve. Too quickly, the ground, and the breathtaking views, fell away as the shuttle left Gao’s atmosphere.
Chuck turned to his pilot. “I didn’t think we’d have to leave the planet to access the hangar.”
Ronovin turned to him. “We don’t.” He stopped, clearly considering what information he was willing to share. “The hangar is twenty minutes closer on a ballistic trajectory. Generally this path is avoided, as the ride on such a trajectory is considered too rough for comfort.”
“Is the landing that rough?”
The Gaoian’s left ear perked up slightly in puzzlement, before he turned back to the window ahead. A few minutes later, Chuck again tried to break the silence. “What do you do for Whitecrest?”
Ronovin again looked at him, eyes studying Chuck. “Envoy Escort.”
“Oh, so you are my bodyguard?”
The Gaoian grunted slightly in amusement, then sat silent for several seconds before responding flatly. “Something like that.” He turned back to the window.
They traveled the rest of the trip in silence.
1y11m4d BV
Ironclaw Hangar, Gao
Chuck
After an uneventful landing, Ronovin led Chuck towards a hangar. “Assistant Quartermaster Sermil and one Whitecrest technician will be present. Once your business is complete, we will return immediately to the Enclave.”
Chuck stopped walking. “I was hoping to we could stop and grab something to eat while we were out here. Try to live the local culture a bit.”
“Absolutely not, it is too dangerous.” Ronovin scowled as he spoke. “Get inside before we lose the…” He checked his datapad. “fifteen minutes we gained on the flight.”
Chuck frowned, but entered the hangar after only a moment’s hesitation. Inside he saw four Gaoians having a discussion. Three of the Gaoians, Sermil among them, had the signature white mohawk of Whitecrest, but the forth one, slightly larger than the others, did not. This larger one saw Chuck as he walked in. Its eyes widened before its ears perked up in enlightenment. It shook his head and chittered. The other 3 Gaoians turned to see what the excitement was about. Sermil hurriedly barked some commands to the others, and one of the Whitecrest hurriedly pulled the larger Gaoian away.
Curious, Chuck jogged towards the two retreating Gaoians. They ran down a hall, with Chuck in close pursuit. He rounded a corner then stopped for a moment to regain his bearings.
Suddenly, something landed on his shoulders, dropping him to a knee. He caught himself on one hand, then stood, easily bearing the weight in Gao’s low gravity. There was a yelp of surprise as he stood, ah… it must be one of the Gaoians. He had read that the they love to wrestle, but still… Why him? Why here? Why now? No matter, the Gaoian on his back seemed to mean him no harm. If this was what counted for ‘diplomacy’ on Gao, well, Chuck could handle the negotiations.
The being on his back was coiling up and throwing itself again and again in an apparent attempt to pull Chuck to the ground. “Hey now.” Chuck braced himself, widening his stance, moving carefully in an attempt to avoid injuring the Gaoian on his back. It took no more effort than a father wrestling with his son for Chuck to retain his footing. “What are you doing back there?” Chuck turned around to face the Gaoian… oh right. The Gaoian would still be behind him. Chuck suddenly felt a sharp pain in both shoulders as claws dug in. Chuck yelped in pain, throwing his shoulders forwards and down in an attempt to dislodge his assailant. “What’s your problem?” He then saw Ronovin fly over his shoulders, impacting the ground with his back, yelping in pain.
a few seconds later
Ronovin
Damn that human is tough. Ronovin had expected it to be difficult to knock the human down, but his efforts had been completely futile. It was so much easier to fight when the opponent’s survival was unimportant.
Father Busani had described the human to him, had described its personality; its strengths and weaknesses. Ronovin’s job was simple: Kill the human if he threatens to kill a Gaoian. His loadout was based on that mission. Rifle, saber, nervejam grenades. Hell, he even had an incredibly off-the-books syringe of rotgut.
But he had nothing for this fight. Nearly nothing in his loadout was designed for a non-lethal encounter. There was a Gaoian threatened, but certainly not in a way that required lethal action.
So he had sought to immobilize the Deathworlder. A pounce that should have flattened a Locayl was merely shrugged off.
And then, after he had bared his claws, he had been shrugged off as well.
Re-entering the world around him, Ronovin regained his senses and noticed the human standing perplexed. Ronovin leaped to his feet, grunting in pain, quickly drawing his fusion saber as he stood. “As much as I love seeing an Ironclaw brought to his knees, you will not be harming Pekin today.”
He paused a moment, studying the human’s response. Surprisingly, the human did nothing; It grunted, amused, then just stood there with a dumb look on its face. Whatever, the longer it waited, the less painful his spinal injury would be. The human… its stance was all wrong. It looked ready to fight, for sure, but its current stance… it seemed to be toying with him. Was it simply trying to unnerve him?
Its face suddenly changed to one of amusement. It spoke. “Harm him? I merely wanted to talk with him. I wanted to catch him before I lost sight of him.”
Ronovin’s eyes narrowed as he replied, venom in his voice. “I cannot let you do that. His safety is my responsibility.”
“So that’s what you meant.” The human chuckled grimly. “You were sent here to keep me away from anyone outside Whitecrest.” The human grinned. “Well, OK, I won’t chase him down. Yet.”
Ronovin stopped for a moment to consider. Surely the human could not be trusted. Father Busani had warned of the human’s deceptive nature. Though that did give him an idea. He began to cautiously approach the human.
The human took a step back. “Woah now. I’m not letting you near me while you wield that sword. You did just attack me.”
Ronovin stopped again for a moment. Reluctantly, he deactivated and sheathed the blade, keeping his eyes on the human. He again slowly approached the human. “I’m told that grasping each other’s hands is a sign of peaceful greeting among humans.” He carefully palmed a high-dosage stick-and-sleep as he approached, the only weapon he had that was probably non-lethal.
The human approached to match the greeting, before stopping suddenly. Ronovin took that moment to leap at the human, attempting to apply the narcotic device.
Faster than he could see, the human suddenly, and painfully, grabbed his wrist, turning his paw upwards to inspect its contents.
“What is this?” it exclaimed angrily.
Ronovin took that moment to feign a thoughtful look, while retrieving another patch in his other hand. He had always considered himself to be skilled at sleight of hand, but the human’s perception was just too Keeda damned strong. Soon his other wrist was grabbed as well. “Uh…” he stammered, unable to rapidly think of a response. The pain in his wrists was certainly not helping.
He could still recover, he just needed to free himself. He quickly yanked his wrists down, but the human responded immediately crushing his wrists. The human reduced its grip pressure in response to his yelp of pain.
“I don’t think so, not without some answers. That is the second time you have attacked me.” The human inspected the sticker in Ronovin’s hand. “Now what is this thing you keep trying to hit me with?” The human then transferred both of Ronovin’s wrists to one hand. With his newly freed hand, he took one of the stickers and moved it slowly towards Ronovin.
Ronovin again yelped, and dove out of the way, causing another jolt of pain as the human resumed his vice grip.
“Alright, Explain.” The human lowered Ronovin to the ground; He hadn’t even noticed that he had been hanging from the human’s hand.
Suddenly Sermil appeared from behind a corner, behind the human’s back. “Ronovin, are you alright? I know you said to stay back, but I heard yelping.”
The human kept its back to Sermil and smiled deviously at Ronovin, its full set of teeth bared. It spoke calmly, in a way that made it clear that the human knew exactly what it was doing. “Why yes, why don’t you tell him about your attack against me.” It paused for a moment, the wide smile never leaving his mouth. Ronovin stammered, trying to come up with a suitable response. He had attacked the human. Threat or no, the human had not actually endangered any Gaoian… except Ronovin… in self-defense. There would surely be hell to pay when he returned to Father Busani.
But the human had continued. “How you couldn’t resist the chance to wrestle with a human.” The mischievous grin was still there, but its teeth were now hidden. The human… had given him an out. Why?
As he contemplated this, Sermil chittered in amusement. “You’ve lost your edge Ronovin… I thought for sure you could dance circles around Chuck.” Sermil suddenly hardened, and spoke in a quivering voice as he backed slowly around the corner. “Ron… Ronovin… This is just a friendly scuffle… right?”
Ronovin glanced quickly back and forth between the human and Sermil. Would the human harm Sermil if he spoke out? Was it trying to keep the quarrel a secret? Ronovin could not think of a good reason to let the truth come out at this point. “Of course… why don’t you return to the ship and continue the preparations, I’ll just be a minute here.”
Sermil calmed down immediately and chittered. “Interesting place to lose a fight, Ronovin.” He contemplated for a moment, as Ronovin’s ears flattened against his head in a mild indignation. “I suppose the shuttle was not a suitable location.” Sermil pondered a little while longer. “Ah, there are no cameras here.” He nodded, finding a reasonable explanation. “Don’t worry though, I’ll make sure word gets around.” Sermil’s ears perked up as he departed, chittering softly.
After Sermil had left, the human spoke, smiling maliciously. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
Ronovin suddenly returned to the situation at hand. The human had him on his back, both wrists in one hand. His other hand still held the stick-and-sleep patch.
The human spoke again. “Now then, what is this I am holding? You seem to be rather interested in keeping it away from you.”
The human sought information. As long as it still had questions, he was likely to be safe. What questions would it have? Which one could he stall the longest?
“Well?” it spoke again, with mild annoyance.
Ronovin responded. “It’s a… tranquilizer.” He thought for a moment before deciding that he could very well die if he left out the next part. “The dosage on this one is high enough to kill a Gaoian!”
“Is that so?” The human spoke, with rising anger in its voice.
“Yes… but a dose of that size should not be harmful to humans!” Ronovin began to panic again, noticing the human holding the patch terrifyingly close to him.
Suddenly and without warning the human calmed and lowered the patch. How could any being have emotions shift that quickly? “OK then, this is how this is going to work. I’m going to let you go, and you will not attack me again.”
Ronovin’s left ear perked up in surprise. Surely this was a trick.
The human continued. “But I need some answers first. You attacked me, twice.” It accented the word by pushing two fingers just in front of his face. “With apparently ‘non-lethal’ attacks.” This time, it gestured with a flexed pair of fingers. “I know you have lethal weapons. Why didn’t you use them?”
Ronovin stopped for a moment to think. “My job is to ensure the safety of everyone here. Some Whitecrest believe that your death would cost us dearly.” He paused. “Non-lethal containment was the only option available.”
“You drew your sword.”
Ah…yes, that may have been a mistake. Drawing a weapon that you did not intend to use was a sign of weakness. It would be quite an embarrassment if any of his peers had seen it. “…I should probably apologize for that, I had a moment of weakness…” He ignored the human’s grunt of amusement. Ronovni now spoke with restored conviction. “But I will not apologize for my other actions, they were warranted at the time.”
“Acceptable. I will apologize for injuring your wrists. You are the first Gaoian that I have fought. I am not familiar with Gaoian robustness.” The human moved close to Ronovin, its breath felt hot in his face. “I have one more question before I let you go, but before I ask you, let me tell you a story. I could kill you right now if I wanted. I could stick this patch to you, maybe kick you a few times. No problem. With Sermil’s help, I could probably even claim it was an accident. After all, how would I know what that patch does? You must have accidentally stuck yourself.” The human held its face near Ronovin’s a short time longer, grinning, before backing its face away. “But I won’t. That is not how I work. For a number of reasons, some of which I’m sure you have already figured out.” It chuckled slightly before continuing. “I’ll give you one hint. When you ambushed me, you could have killed me if you had used your blade. I was unarmed and not expecting an attack. But you didn’t. Who am I not to return the favor?” Its face hardened. “Now, as for that question.” It paused for effect. “If I let you go, will you attack me again? Think carefully before you answer. Whatever you decide, I will hold you to it. Do not force my hand.”
Ronovin stopped to consider. Would the human stick to its word? Would it let him go and not attack him immediately after? He shook out his head, that would be stupid, if the human wanted to kill him, it would have, hell it even described exactly how it would do so… It wanted him to know that. For some reason this human had disclosed his intentions. Why had it given away such a strong bargaining chip? “Why are you telling me this?”
“Telling you what?”
Ronovin raised an ear. “Telling me that you do not intend to kill me?”
The human grunted in amusement. “Have you ever heard of a veiled threat? This is… similar. The concept is likely too subtle to cross the gap between our cultures, so I toned down the ‘veiled’ part a bit. It is a warning and nothing more. I have no intention of harming you.” It stopped to look at the Gaoian in pain before it. “…Harming you further. It is a reassurance that I do not mean you harm, and will only strike in retaliation.”
“Why do you take that risk? Why not kill me if you already know how to excuse my death?” He paused a minute. “What do you want from me?”
“I have already told you. That is not how I work. This was simply a misunderstanding. You are clearly clever enough to see that. As for what I want from you? At this time, I merely seek peace. In the future? I do not know yet. I see no reason to burn a bridge that I may need someday.”
Ronovin was not familiar with this metaphor, but the context was clear enough. He sighed. “Very well. I will not attack you unprovoked.”
The human narrowed his eyes and leaned in again. “What do you mean by ‘unprovoked’?”
Ronovin panicked again slightly, why did that detail matter so much? What was the human worried about? “Fine! I will not attack you unless you directly threaten a Gaoian that means you no harm!” He stopped suddenly, embarrassed again by his lack of composure.
Chuck backed up and nodded. He released Ronovin’s wrists and helped him to his feet.
Ronovin dusted himself off and turned to face Chuck.
Chuck spoke before Ronovin could begin. “I apologize for throwing you.” He smiled and let out a quick grunt of amusement. “Bart was right, those claws are sharp. Do you need medical care?”
Ronovin was stunned. The human before him was not the same one he had just seen. He had changed somehow. As he stopped to think about this, he came to a more shocking realization. The human had been hostile, even angry just a moment before, but now… Chuck was behaving exactly as he had back in the shuttle! If the subject is the same, yet the observation is different…
“How… did you do that?”
“Do what?” asked Chuck, grinning smugly.
“…Nevermind.” He paused before continuing. “I’ll be fine.” Ronovin carefully avoided showing pride as Chuck winced touching his shoulders. “I’m surprised you haven’t run off chasing down Pekin.”
“Nah, no point now, he’s probably miles away. Mind you, I would have chased after him if you hadn’t told me who he was. Impressive work stalling for time, by the way. I’m sure your expert distractions would have kept anyone else at bay.” Chuck closed one eye briefly as he said this.
“Stalling?” Ronovin stopped to consider. What response would be best? “Yes… Right. I kept you busy while he escaped.” Chuck chuckled and shook his head. Ronovin put his paw to his face and sighed. “… And now that I’ve promised not to attack you, I have no choice but to let you run off after him.” There was still a way out of this. “Wait. If you stay here, I’ll invite him back. It is my duty to protect everyone here. If that requires a meeting with an Ironclaw, so be it.”
“That’ll work for me.” Chuck said smiling.
Ronovin boggled. “If I had not offered this, how were you planning on contacting him?”
“I don’t think it would be too hard. Look up Ironclaw’s number, call someone there, ask for a technician named Pekin.” Chuck stared at the ceiling as he continued. “If that failed, I’d ask about the custom ship that Whitecrest was having them build. I’m sure someone would know something there.” He dropped his eyes to stare at Ronovin. “I imagine you would rather avoid having me talk to anyone higher up in Ironclaw than this tech.”
Ronovin dropped his ears in frustration. “Yes, yes, I already agreed to invite Pekin to return.”
“I know. I’m just letting you know, again, what favors I am doing for you.”
Ronovin sighed, defeated. “I’ll make the call.”
After the call was made, he and Chuck sat down in the hall.
The two of them stared at the wall for a while.
The silence gave Ronovin a moment to think. Thalias believed that Chuck would be an invaluable asset; one that could easily be coaxed and controlled. Father Busani believed that Chuck was an incredible danger to the Gaoian people, one that should be isolated to prevent disaster. Both of them were somewhat correct, but more importantly, both were dead wrong.
Thalias believed that Chuck could be controlled. This was not going to happen. Whitecrest had been lucky so far, and yes, as long as their priorities aligned with Chuck’s, he would be a tremendous asset, easily worth any reasonable investment. But Chuck would not allow himself to lose. As their relationship progressed, Chuck would either move away from Whitecrest influence, or become incredibly costly to maintain without careful diplomacy.
Father Busani believe Chuck to be dangerous. This was very true. Yet Chuck had shown surprising restraint, even when it put him at a disadvantage. Chuck would only be a danger if Whitecrest acted irresponsibly. If they were careful with their treatment of him, it was entirely possible he could be a great asset. He hoped that his Father would be receptive to this new intelligence.
Several minutes later
Hangar, Gao
Chuck
Ronovin and Sermil were having a most lively debate, as Chuck stood to the side, watching the spectacle. Suddenly, Sermil bared his teeth and dove at Ronovin. Ronovin ducked back to dodge the lunge. He moved forward quickly, yanking the smaller Whitecrest from its feet, shoving it to the ground, before diving on top, pinning him. After a few hushed words, Ronovin relented, allowing Sermil to stand. They each pulled out their respective datapads, presumably contacting their superiors. Ronovin pocketed his device, and walked over to Chuck.
Ronovin spoke calmly. “Sermil agreed to your meeting. Pekin will be arriving shortly.”
Chuck replied, amused. “I’m surprised he’s willing to return to Whitecrest property so soon after you kicked him out.”
Ronovin glanced back and forth. “I got a little secret for you.” He lowered his ears, sighing. “This is an Ironclaw hangar. We convinced them to vacate this wing while our ‘customer’ was present, as to not ‘frighten’ him away due to the Ironclaws’ ‘intimidating physique’.” Ronovin punctuated his speech with single handed air quotes, while displaying an awkward open-toothed smile. He learned fast. It had been only minutes since Chuck’s ‘discussion’, and here was Ronovin, already using the techniques that Chuck had demonstrated earlier.
Chuck tilted his head with a sly grin. “I don’t understand you guys. Someone else builds your ships. Big deal. Why try to hide something as trivial as that?”
Ronovin shrugged. “That’s… not my call. But I’d imagine that little secret was out as soon as you arrived here.” He shrank slightly… embarrassed. “Something would have given it away, even if I hadn’t brought you here a bit too early.”
Chuck chuckled in response.
Ronovin stood upright, offended. “Does my misfortune amuse you?”
Chuck shook his head. “No, you have it all wrong. I’m laughing at the situation. It’s… kind of a human way of… sharing in the misfortune of others. Well laid plans foiled by a slight timing error, which in turn was caused by… impatience I’m guessing?”
Ronovin blinked. “Uh… Ya know, I actually don’t recall.”
“Bullshit. You were adamant about returning to the Clanhouse as soon as you could.”
Ronovin stood motionless, staring at Chuck.
“You don’t have to tell me, if it makes you uncomfortable.”
This seemed to offend the poor Gaoian. “Alright, fine, yes, I wanted to get away from you as quickly as possible. My briefings had described you as dangerous, impulsive and irrational.” Ronovin paused a moment. “Those descriptions are not inaccurate, but woefully incomplete.” Ronovin smiled mischievously. “I think we both know how the encounter would have gone if I had been a little less… misinformed.”
Suddenly, Ronovin swept his leg around the back of Chuck’s knee, catching him off-guard. Chuck fell backwards, but Ronovin caught him in his arms. The Gaoian crashed on top of Chuck, unable to even significantly slow Chuck’s fall. Ronovin smiled at Chuck said two simple words before rolling off. “I win.”
As Chuck struggled to his feet, he responded in kind. “I seem to recall saying in our earlier conversation that if you attacked me again, I would not hold back.” He leaped at Ronovin, who deftly dodged his attacks.
“You should know that Gaoians study each other through combat. It’s how we learn about each other.” In response to Chuck’s angry glare he added, mockingly. “Don’t be like that, I’m not even using my claws, need to keep it interesting. Now let us continue this… dissertation.” He dove at Chuck, aiming to unbalance him yet again.
Chuck tried to dodge out of the way, but the Gaoian was too fast. Ronovin had ducked down and rammed his shoulder into Chuck’s leg, pushing off the ground to gain the leverage needed to topple Chuck. He leaped on top of Chuck, attempting to hold him down.
“Not this time.” Chuck spoke in a unnerving voice, as he shoved the Gaoian upwards as hard as he could. Ronovin yelped as he flew several feet into the air. Chuck may have been slow compared to the Gaoian, but he knew exactly where Ronovin would be a second later. He steadied himself, and readied a crushing hug for the Gaoian’s inevitable descent. Ronovin, it seems, was fully aware of the predicament. He extended his coiled limbs just as they came in contact with Chuck’s outstretched arms, pushing himself to safer ground. Just as Chuck started to stand, Ronovin plowed into him, knocking him back to the ground. This time, Ronovin did not try to pin Chuck, he skillfully rolled away from Chuck, back to his paws.
As Chuck again stood, he stared down his opponent. Ronovins eyes were wide, ears perked, exactly like a playing puppy. “Come over here, I’m going to pet you!” Ronovin tilted his head in confusion. This momentary distraction was enough for Chuck to close the distance and leap at Ronovin, knocking him to the ground. Chuck carefully landed around Ronovin, but nevertheless held him down. He began to stroke the Gaoian’s fur. “So… Soft.”
“Uh… Chuck. What are you doing?” Ronovin asked as he carefully tried to find a way out from under the bulky human.
“Let me have this!” yelled Chuck. “It’s not fair to be so adorable and not let me have a pet!”
“Adorable?” Ronovin questioned.
Chuck had trouble determining if the Gaoian was disturbed, or merely confused. Either way… “Nevermind, the moment is ruined.”
Chuck’s lapse in attention gave Ronovin the chance he needed to escape. As he scrambled away, Ronovin called out to Chuck. “I see how it is, psychological warfare.”
“Wha?… Oh, yes. Definitely that.” Chuck grinned at his sparring partner.
Ronovin squinted momentarily lost in thought. “Hey, Chuck, you look like a shaved bano!”
“… What’s that supposed to…” Chuck suddenly found himself on the ground.
Ronovin grinned at him from his perch atop Chuck’s chest. “Psychological warfare.” He said, tauntingly, before rolling back to his feet.
The two wrestled for several minutes. At first, Ronovin easily bested Chuck. Diving in and out, weaving around Chuck’s attacks. Chuck was driven to the ground again and again. But as the scuffle progressed, Ronovin began to slow. Finally, Chuck managed to hook his arm around the Gaoian’s waist. He pulled Ronovin into a headlock.
Chuck laughed. “That’s two to zero.”
“I don’t think so, I won that second round.” Ronovin growled as he struggled to break free, but Chuck had him firmly controlled.
“That was not a round, that was only the opening move, he has you, Ronovin.”
Chuck looked around for the source of the comment. Sermil approached the two of them, excited grin on his face. A dozen other Gaoians stood off to one side, having apparently gathered during the fight. ”He’s beaten, Chuck, you should let go now.” He moved to grab ahold of Ronovin.
Chuck looked down at Ronovin. Oh shit. Ronovin was struggling to breathe. Chuck immediately let go. Sermil gently guided Ronovin to the ground. After a moment, the battered Gaoian carefully stood back up.
“Ugh, that’s three things to avoid in a fight with humans.” Ronovin sputtered before glancing around. “Uh, Sermil, who are these?”
Sermil glanced behind him. “I’m not sure.” Soft chittering was heard coming from the group.
Ronovin put his paw to his face. “Alright break it up. This is supposed to be a private hangar.” He stood a minute longer, looking defeated. “Fine, anyone who isn’t Pekin can stay if you beat me.” He grinned menacingly.
The chittering slowly transitioned to murmuring as the crowd began to leave. One of the Gaoians approached calmly, and slowly wrapped his paw around Ronovin’s wrist. Ronovin cautiously considered the larger, though softer, Gaoian as it moved, just as slowly, to grab his other wrist.
Ronovin spoke out, confused. “Are you… going to challenge me?”
The Gaoian tilted his head. “Haven’t decided yet.” He stood a moment longer, glancing back and forth at the wrists he held. “Oh, by the way, we do have cameras in that hall.” He bared his teeth as he suddenly extended his claws and squeezed. Ronovin yelped in pain and sank to his knees.
Chuck intervened immediately, shoving the conniving beast away. He then yanked the Gaoian backwards, holding its forepaws behind its back. “Now that’s not very sporting. Ronovin, do you want to talk to this guy before he leaves?”
Ronovin winced, but struggled to his feet after a moment, glaring at the offender. “No, I have a better idea. He wants to stay, he can stay.” He turned and shouted “Hey, Pekin!”
Pekin, who had already been moving towards the three of them, replied. “Yes?”
“Do you have any tape? Something…strong.” Ronovin had malice in his eyes.
The poor large Gaoian gulped.
Ronovin continued. “If he wants to stay, he can stay. I’m thinking… that wall.” Ronovin pointed to a wall that had a clear view of the room.
The Gaoian in Chuck’s grasp stammered. “N…n… no I… I think I’ll just go.”
Ronovin moved his muzzle right up to its face. “Nah, I don’t think that will work for me. I still owe ya. Hey Chuck, how small of a ball do you think you could fold this guy into?”
The captive had a good of horror on his face.
“Enough!” Pekin interrupted glared at the two of them.
Chuck and Ronovin turned to the Pekin with similar looks of shock.
Pekin quickly softened his stance, and stood, embarrassed. “Erm… What I mean is… I would appreciate it if you and Errial could come to a more peaceful resolution.” His look of embarrassment slowly changed to a look of fear as he continued to glance back and forth between Chuck and Ronovin. “…Please?”
Chuck spoke first. “This isn’t my call.” He pointed to Ronovin. “That is the man your friend shanked, I’m just keeping the peace.”
Ronovin stood, thoughtful. “You know what, Chuck, I don’t think there is anyone here more capable of inflicting the appropriate level of torment than you. Why don’t you… figure something out. Take your time, we have plenty of it.” Ronovin grinned with malevolence. “I’m sure his… anticipation will be most comforting.” Ronovin mocked nursing his wrists.
Chuck quickly wiped the surprise off his face. He turned Errial around to look him in the eyes, full open smile displayed. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.” He moved his captive closer to him. “Do you have any ideas, Errial?” Chuck moved yet closer, studying the terror in Errial’s eyes. He held him there for a minute longer, then let him go. “How badly did he hurt you, Ronovin?”
Ronovin tilted his head and replied, his voice hesitant. “Not… badly.”
Chuck nodded. “I think he’s had enough then.”
Ronovin ears perked up, indignant. But you haven’t done anything yet!”
Chuck grunted in amusement. “Did you not see his face? I scared the shit out of him. I don’t think he’ll be able to sleep tonight.”
Errial and Pekin stood confused.
“Alright, how about this. I’ll find Errial sometime, soon, when he doesn’t expect it, and dive-tackle him into the ground.” He paused and looked at Errial with malicious inquisitiveness. “I wonder just how strong your bones are?”
Ronovin interjected. “That won’t work, now that you’ve ruined the surprise!”
Chuck grinned at Errial. “He doesn’t know when, he’ll be watching his back wherever he goes. Only takes a second to miss a stalker.”
Ronovin took a moment to calm himself. “Alright, It’s a deal.” He sighed. “Though, I was hoping for something more… inspired.”
“Trust me, this will be plenty.” Chuck grinned at Errial and narrowed his eyes.
Errial gulped.
“Errial, Ronovin delegated his disagreement with you to me. I’ll be taking on his wrestling offer as well.” He cracked his knuckles. “Care to dance?”
Errial decided that he did not, in fact, want to dance and beat a hasty retreat.
“So, when are you going to jump him?” Ronovin asked, once Errial had left.
“I’m not going to.”
Ronovin glared at Chuck.
“A few days of pants-wetting terror should be more than enough to make up for his assault. Speaking of that.” Chuck turned to Pekin. “Don’t tell him that for, let’s say, three days.”
“But…” Ronovin stammered before Chuck silenced him.
“You delegated to me, I made a decision. You said it yourself, it was only a minor injury. Escalating minor injustices is how you start wars. Besides, have you forgotten how terrifying a human can be? Physical violence is not the only way to prove a point.” Chuck said as he bared his teeth in a particularly gruesome smile at Ronovin briefly, his point made. “I’m more worried that I overdid it. Poor guy won’t be able to crap without crapping himself.”
Ronovin backed down. “I… I suppose you are correct.” He turned to Pekin. “You will keep our little secret, yes?”
Pekin had stood, transfixed on Chuck’s face. He shook his head out. “Y… yes… Of course.”
“Excellent!” Chuck interjected. “Now let’s look at my ship!”
Several minutes earlier
Ironclaw Compound, Gao
Pekin
A human! By Fyu’s whiskers, a real, live, living and breathing human! Pekin could barely contain his excitement. Here he was, just simple technician tasked with reviewing the customer’s order… And the customer turns out to be a human! It was all could do to avoid jumping off the walls.
He had known there was something special about this order. Whitecrest orders a custom ship. They send out a few of their research techs to aid in construction and design. They request that all manned fittings be replaceable. Then, on top of that, they demand that they be allowed exclusive access to the hangar while the customer visits.
Whitecrest never orders custom ships. They have a few specific models that they purchase, each only having subtle changes to design over their decades-spanning lifecycles. This meant the ship was being built for someone special. The request for replaceable fittings almost certainly meant that the vessel was meant for a non-Gaoian end-user. However, very few races would comfortably fit in a Gaoian designed vessel. The request for absolute secrecy likely implied a Corti in hiding, or something similar. But why would a Corti want a Gaoian ship?
Then a human walks into the hangar, about 5 minutes before every non-Whitecrest was supposed to be gone. Pekin absolutely loved watching a Whitecrest plan fall apart. The Whitecrest agent he was with hurriedly dragged Pekin away once the human showed up. He didn’t care. There would be time to deal with that later. It’s amazing how many times a ship’s launch can be plausibly delayed.
Ironclaw was sure that Whitecrest had intended to plant bugs in their hangar. What other possible reason could there be for demanding the complete evacuation of this wing as part of the ship procurement agreement? Cameras had been set up in preparation, they had even prepared a bug for the Whitecrest shuttle once it arrived. It was not likely to help, but it certainly couldn’t hurt. All his superiors had asked of him was that he try to identify the customer. Check. But… this could be so much fun! A chance to play Whitecrest! A chance to try out some of the gadgets he had acquired!
Pekin was sitting in a lounge near the hangar with his ‘handler’ when the call came. Whitecrest had assigned this operative to Pekin once he had been assigned as the point of contact for the ship construction process. This project was his only focus for the next few days and having a customer representative on call made the inevitable changes and delays resolve themselves much more efficiently. The two of them had been waiting in this lounge since the human had arrived. The agent with him told him he should leave for the day, but Pekin insisted that he remain. He had tried coaxing information out of the Whitecrest agent while in the lounge, but the other Gaoian had not budged.
And then, with one call, the stoic Gaoian before him fell apart. It perked its ears in interest, then exasperation. After several frantic and confused seconds, the agent told him that they would be returning to the hangar. Pekin chittered and followed his escort.
As entered the hangar, the two of them could not help but let out a slight yelp of surprise. The human and the Whitecrest he had arrived with were beating the crap out of each other. Well, the Gaoian was beating the crap out of the human. The human was taking pounding after pounding, never wavering, always getting back up and goading the Whitecrest into attacking him, again and again. The human tried several times, unsuccessfully, to engage, but the Whitecrest was no slouch. He attacked with such speed and ferocity… this was not your average Whitecrest agent.
A small crowd began to gather, as techs and mechanics from nearby hangars gathered in the room. The Whitecrest that had been escorting him looked at the approaching group with a panicked look. Pekin chittered, there was nothing that agent could do now to cover this up, and his escort knew it.
Oddly, the wrestling Whitecrest never tried to hold a pin. He would just knock over the human, then break away before the human could retaliate. The fight went on longer than any he had seen. Surely, they would soon be too tired to continue.
Yep.
Apparently, the human had been waiting for just that moment to arrive. With a sudden burst of speed, he grappled the poor Gaoian around the waist and threw his opponent into his grasp. Pekin couldn’t help but gasp at the shear brute power being displayed. The fight was over.
There was a bit of a tense stand-off, in which the human had shown, again, why he was not to be trifled with. The crowd quietly thinned, leaving only him, four of the Whitecrest, and the human in the hangar.
“Right this way.” Pekin replied, chittering softly.