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[Horizon's Key] Job 01: Shakedown (Chapter 1)

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Ice grinned softly, nodding her head. The reason she had not spoken much, is she felt the off worlders really did not care about what the Kohanians had to say, but now, Gem was showing true interest, and this warmed the lioness' heart slightly.

"No, Mistress, I have not been up here long, only a few months. I used to be a servant to a Lord down on the planet, but his people rose up against him, for he was a very unfair ruler, and when they all rose up to overthrow him, one of them took me to the Holy City Anethronn, and I was put on a great journey to this, the City in the Stars. I have not been here long enough to find a spot to call my own, but there are many places that fascinate me. Most of them belong to the Furless Ones, who inhabited this vast city before we joined them. The things they do boggle my brains. Metals that cannot even be scratched with swords, that is made into great moving people who take the Furless ones into their bodies to keep them safe...It is all so amazing."

She smiled sheepishly, an innocent little smile, and then led Gem into the more Nepleslian area of the station, with many people wandering around in SMoDIN uniforms, and out the viewports many ships were docked, coming and going as cargo was offloaded, or loaded and bound for who knows where.

==~~==

Slowly, the mare turned back to look at Nicholai.

"You have not heard of the Avatar? This is very strange. The Avatar is like our High Priest. He speaks directly with the gods and the spirits within the planet. He is believed to be able to make it rain upon the Great Plains, or cause the ocean to teem with fish. His powers are near limitless, and that is why the Darkpaws, led by the Avatar's old student, Laughing Rain, wishes him dead.

It is a long story, Nicholai, but suffice it to say that out here," She motioned around with her hooflike hand. "Out here, things seem to be very much like a flat surface of glass. But as you will see when you visit my homeworld, it is much more like a wave. There will be great examples of the light, but be careful, because for each great show of the light, there will be a creature of the dark lying in wait to do horrible things to you, or those who follow the light. It is a constant battle, one that we try to hide from offworlders. They come here, believing we live in a paradise. That to live upon Neo Kohana is to know true and everlasting peace. It is a harsh reality when they see a small one torn to peices by the Shadowbeasts, the Mokoi, or when they witness an wise one robbed and beaten, left for dead on the side of the road for a few gold coins..."

She sighed and shook her head, taking another bite of her meal, and a small sip of the wine she had brought.

"Please, Mr. Nicholai, when you are down on the planet, remember this. Your guns may not always work on the things that you face down there. There are things that are not just flesh and blood. Things that feast on hate and violence like we feast on the food now. Be careful Mr. Nicholai, and make sure you look out for your queen, and the others who join you. I wish I could go down there with you to help locate The Administrator's goods, but I must remain here, to greet other travellers and explain some of our customs and give them warnings as I am to you."

She smiled, but it did not erase the look of fear from her eyes. Blazing Sky was really and honestly worried for the safety of her new friend.
 
Nicholai bit down on something before speaking again. "No matter what you do, or where you go, there is always risk. You just trade the currency that's all." Nicholai relaxed his shoulders a bit, "Either way, thankyou for the warnings, it helps to at least know what the danger is." When Nicholai finished speaking he gobbled down the rest of his stim burger before talking to the mare again. "Do you get visitors very often?" the ID-SOL asked offhandedly.
 
Gem followed Ice into the 'Nepleslian sector', listening to the lioness' brief description of the planet life. Despite the silence Ice had shown at the start, with the ice broken (so to speak) Gem found her to be a rather open person. It wasn't hard to figure out some of the more unusual things the Kohanian said ("great moving people who take the Furless ones into their bodies"?) and it was interesting to find a new set of eyes on Nepleslian ways.

"Y'r lord? Wha' kind o' gover'ment d'ya have down there?" she asked, still following Ice.
 
Ice rubbed at the back of her neck, not entirely sure how to answer the question that had been posed to her. As they walked through the Nepleslian Sector, they were forced to weave between people just walking around in SMoDIN uniforms, those in casual gear, and those in power armors working security, or just loading cargo onto ships.

"Our government is difficult to explain. We have those who look over certain portions of land, and then once a year they report to the Avatar things that are worrysome, or that need his attention. But underneath those people, they have others who own and look after land that the poorer people live on. The Lords do not charge taxes to their people, but encourage them to remember the Lord when a bountiful crop is harvested, or the fishing nets are especially full. We pay tribute, and in return we are protected and cared for by many levels of providence."

She shrugged her shoulders and walked over to sit on a bench next to what seemed to be a Nepleslian Machine Shop, with sparks lighting up the inside as something was welded back together, or very possibly was being stripped down.

~~==~~

"No, we don't really get many visitors through here. At least none that want to visit the Kohanian Sector of the station. Most just dock, and remain, in the Nepleslian Sector. It is my opinion that nearly everyone who visits is afraid of us."

Sky took a bite of her food, which was by now nearly gone, and then sipped at the wine as she leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree. She let her eyes sort of go unfocused and continued.

"I guess I can't really say that I blame them. From the stories that I have heard tell of my people, we are not being shown in a very flattering light. If anything, we seem to be nothing more than savages to the people in the rest of space. I don't know how to remedy that, and even if I did, I am only one woman."

She shrugged her shoulders again and began to clean up after their meal, standing up and once again putting the large bar over her shoulders and hung her foodpots and baskets off of them, and began to slowly walk out of the park like setting, back onto the cold metal and thin carpetting of the stations main corridors.

"I will pray to the gods that you return safely, Mr. Nicholai. Someone like yourself has much to live for, and that is a rare quality in this part of space." She said, more to herself, than actually to the ID-SOL.
 
His brief awe over the massive bowl handed to him rapidly waning, Eliot quickly moved down the line, shovelling ponderously large piles of venison, beef and other meats and vegetables into the wide bowl. Following Mud, Eliot moved down the line to where the large men with the sticks were shoving food around a hot metal plate. Following her example, Eliot tipped the food onto the plate where a huge cloud of scent caught the cargo manager hard upside the face. He stood there, in stunned scented bliss, until the food slid onto the plate much like Mud's did. Exiting his dazed mood, he turned back towards Mud.

"So, shall we continue?"
 
Mud grinned happily to see Eliot had such a healthy appitite, and that he seemed more than eager to try out the Warrior Castes way of preparing food. While they were cooking the food, the chefs again turned to Mud and said something in their language, which the mare translated to Eliot as them asking if he wanted Firebloom spice on it.

"It's stuff they mix in to make it spicey, your mouth will feel like it's on fire!"

But seeing as he did not seem interested in that, the chefs just finished cooking up the meal, and then handed the plate to the gentleman with a smile. Mud, on the other hand, was beaming with happiness.

"Of course, Mr. Man! Let's find someplace nice to sit down." She then began to weave through the bamboo tables and chairs, and led the cargo specialist out into the walkway again, where they sat down at a picnic table with a tall umbrella over it. What the umbrella was protecting from was anyone's guess, but it was there, and Mud liked it. After sitting down, Mud did not even seem interested in her food, just watching her new friend until he took his first bite and told her what he thought, then she too would dig in with gusto, grin plastered on her face.
 
Eliot fondled the various eating implements on the table; many of them being completely foreign to his knife-and-fork heritage. Eventually he got the hang of it and began shovelling the food into his mouth- an obvious sign that he liked it.
 
Nicholai grew silent as the mare spoke. "I don't think you're savages. So you're a little behind the times as far as technology is concerned. Whoopee. Sometimes it's nice to not have so much to get in the way. Hell, we're all savages in a way. We just traded our sticks and swords for guns and warships. I mean, hell, even the Yamataians jus' traded in fer guns, but we're jus' the same on the inside." Nicholai said solemnly as he stood to walk with the mare.

"I will pray to the gods that you return safely, Mr. Nicholai. Someone like yourself has much to live for, and that is a rare quality in this part of space." She said, more to herself, than actually to the ID-SOL.
Click to expand...

A thought of the first time he held Whisper in his hands flashed through the ID-SOL's mind as he considered just what he had to live for. "You know, you'd be kinda surprised. I bet you have somethin' worth living for." Nicholai said before turning to the mare one last time. "Thanks fer the tour...I liked it." Nicholai wore a large smile on his face before doing something completely unexpected even to him. The master of languages that he was, Nicholai tried to say thankyou in Yaree, of course he completely butchered the pronunciation since he was....a 'master' of languages. "I think that came out wrong." The ID-SOL mumbled after he had spoken.
 
Gem didn't sit but just watched the people around her. There was a little bigger Nepleslian presence on the station than she expected, since the station was noted as under Kohanian control.

"S' whadday'all use this place for, anyway?"
 
Mud made a happy sounding squeal as she watched Eliot shovelling the food into his mouth.

"You like?? Oh, Mr. Man, I am so happy that you like our munchies. At first I thought you would only like the stuff that was Nipple, Nepal, Your kinds food."

The brown mare had finished her meal, the entire enormous bowl, within minutes, and now was just staring at the cargo specialist as he feasted. When he got about halfway through his bowl, she moved over to his side of the table and leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and laid her head on his shoulder, nickering happily.

"I am so happy to have meeted you, Eliot. You are lots of fun and so squishy to hug. I hope you have lots of fun times when you go down to my house."

Of course she did not mean her actual house, but in her simple little mind, the planet could be thought of as her house...if you really stretched...

==~~==

Her eyes went a little wide when the words passed Nicolai's lips, but Blazing Sky was actually quite impressed. She had never really considered herself a teacher, so the fact that the male had learned to speak the language of the warrior made her heart swell with pride.

"Good, Good" she replied, also in Yaree. "That was very good Mr. Nicholai, a little rough, but at the very least being able to say thank you could get you recognized as a new member of the Warrior Caste, and that can open many doors when you get onto the planet."

Standing, she began to walk down the paths leading out of the park like atrium setting. Over her shoulders she carried the large pole, with the little pots that had once held her lunch. As they exitted, she would motion towards a large dumpster like bin for the garbage, as she moved to another little bin that she would put the dutch oven sized bowls in so they could be returned to the Yaree eatery. Then she would begin to leisurely stroll down the main walkway back towards where the Key was docked.

"Is there anything else you wish to learn from me, Nicholai? I will answer or teach anything you wish to know. That is, if I know it."

==~~==

The lioness was fidgetting with her shirt when the question was asked, not very comfortable here in the Nepleslian sector, and it showed. She looked over to Gem as if to answer the question, when another voice would come from behind the pair.

"Our station is used as a gateway between our world, and the vast space belonging to Nepleslia and her allies. We're a stopover point for those who wish to travel towards Yamatai, Lor, or even the lands of the people like your small navigator, Freespacers, I believe they are called."

Turning around, Gem would see the tall, well dressed, Administrator standing there, signing a few datapads before handing the electronics back to three Nepleslians, obviously some sort of manifests.

"We don't get many people coming by who wish to stay and find out about our people, that is why we have this area, totally catering to the crowd who want a Stim Burger, some booze, and maybe a quick night of rest, before they head off to more important places. But the Kohanian half of the station is reserved for those who are willing to stay for a little while, and come to our portion of space.....on purpose."

The aged looking jackal grinned and stepped up beside the captain of the exploration vessel. Leaning slightly against a black mahogany cane, topped with a silver ball, the administrator of the station seemed to be taking the place of the lioness as the captains tour guide. This was further shown when Night nodded curtly to the femme, and she scampered off back the way they had come, towards the Kohanian Sector.

"Oh, and Ice, please round up the others on your team and go to my office. I have prepared a list of supplies that I want you to begin collecting for our guests to take with them down to the planet."

The lioness nodded and then dropped to all fours, sprinting off down the pathway, as Night Watches Over turned back to Gem.

"I apologize for earlier, but you must understand that I thought you were sent to help us. I never would have even hinted at our burden, if I had known you were just a passing ship. A thousand apologies." He bowed over his cane, holding that position until the captain made indication of whether he was forgiven or not.
 
Nicholai walked with the mare a little before speaking again. "Well, there are lots honestly, so many I can't even begin to think or name them all right now. Though one does stand out. You mentioned beasts that fed on fear, that were hard to kill. How do you go about killing them?" Nicholas asked. If guns weren't going to work, it was probably his job to find out what would.
 
Eliot said nothing as Mud observed him eating. However, when the mare latched onto him, his eyes bugged out and his full mouth of food went splattering back into the bowl at high velocity.

"HEUKAGERGERK!" he spluttered as the food landed in the bowl.
 
"Ah wasn' angry or nothin', jus' surprised is all," Gem said, smiling a little, unsure of how to react to someone bowing to her. "Th' Key's 'ere t' be 'ere. We're freelance cargo, an' ah thought we'd check the potential market and sample the local culture. Didn' hear nothin' 'bout a problem, but ah b'lieve we can 'elp..." She paused. "Bein' that we are for hire, there will be a bit o' a price."

Work was work and a paycheck spoke volumes to one's wallet when one was freelance.
 
Canting her head to the side as they walked, the mare tried to think of an answer to Nicholais question.

"Well, guns MIGHT work, I suppose. We don't have many on the planet, so there is no data on just how easily one would dispatch a Mokoi. Other than that, the only thing that we know will kill it, are the Twin Blades, but they have been lost for centuries. After the Chosen Smith, Black Leaf Forest, forged the blades, they were used by a skilled warrior whos name has been lost to the ages, to carve out land to build our cities and temples where the gods willed. After the warrior carved us out a place to live, he and the blades, disappeared."

Blazing Sky shrugged apologetically and then looked to her friend.

"The Twin Blades are the only thing that we know of, that is guaranteed to kill one of the shadowbeasts. Other than that, we just hunt it as if it were a beast of the land. It is difficult to kill with spear or axe, but if the warrior shows no fear, it has nothing to feed off of to heal it's wounds, thus, it dies."

She smiled to him, hoping that would satisfy his question.

==~~==

Mud kept her hug for just a little bit longer, child like smile on her maw as she slowly sat back up. Then, she would just sit and watch the Nepleslian Cargo Specialist go back to his food.

To anyone who gave the mare a look, it was obvious she was scheming, the wheels turning slowly within that head of hers. Slowly, but they were turning.

With another squeal, she got up and ran off towards one of the shoppes nearby, an armor shoppe. The sounds of metal being hammered would slowly die off, and then some arguing in Yaree. Then the mare came skipping back out with a breastplate, and some gloves, which were dropped on the table beside Eliot.

"For you." She said simply, and with no more explanation, she sat back down and started licking her food bowl with a long, thick tongue, murring at the flavors.

==~~==

Night slowly stood back up, right paw coming to his jaw to rub it softly.

"Payment, hmmm. So you are like the others, only interested in money. You have the opportunity to do a good deed, and it is the money you care about."

With a shrug, he chuckled.

"Fair enough. I will pay you the normal rate that I would pay the caravan leaders to bring the goods to the Holy City. I think the rate of exchange is something close to fifteen thousand DA per load that is recovered. Then of course, there are things that are not part of that manifest that if you bring me, will add to your totals, but we could talk about that at a later time, after you convene with your crew to find if they wish to engage in a little 'treasure hunting'."

The Administrator said the last part with emphasis, and a sly smile. He had dealt with people like Gem before, knowing her type well. The type who looked for a paycheck in any way that they could get. The privateer, the mercenary, the rogue. The jackal leaned on his cane, and his mirth seemed to fade to business.

"If you should decide to take the mission, I will pay you for each item, as well as a sort of danger pay, upfront. I feel that I can trust you, Captain, and that is why I am extending this offer to you. You do us a great service by bringing the food and supplies from the surface, but to try and hunt down the people and items on the secondary list, that would be doing a greater service to the future generations who wish to look back and see what was, and what could be. I will allow you to think it over and speak with your crew. I must go meet with your previous guide to make sure that the supplies you will need are gathered, as well as the refueling and restocking of your ship is going smoothly."

And without another word, he turned and started back the way he had come, cane tapping the ground.
 
The dropped armor shook the table just hard enough to make the now-empty bowl jump into the air. The word empty is, of course, to be taken lightly, as some steaming residual from the meal, liquid and hot, flew straight into Eliot's face. Of course, mystified by the armor, Eliot didn't see the jet of hot liquid flying at him with vehemence.

"Gee, thanks Mud, this is really nice of y- OH GOD THAT'S HOT!" Falling backwards off the bench, the cargo specialist clawed at his face with a threadbare bandanna, trying to get the hot liquid off quickly. When the burning sensation died off, Eliot was left with a nice red mark on the side of his face. Nevertheless, he was still mystified.

"Thanks, Mud. What's this for, anyways? I didn't think maybe half an hour wandering around a space station merited a gift of armor."
 
Nicholai nodded before sighing. "I dun' know everything I'll should know down there. But fer now, I think this is good. 'Specially since I can't think of nuthin' more to ask you." Nicholai said. "Thanks fer the help. Take care of yerself while we're gone, it'd be good to talk again before we head back." Nicholai said, unsure exactly of what to do next.
 
AoK said:
Night slowly stood back up, right paw coming to his jaw to rub it softly.

"Payment, hmmm. So you are like the others, only interested in money. You have the opportunity to do a good deed, and it is the money you care about."

With a shrug, he chuckled.

He had dealt with people like Gem before, knowing her type well. The type who looked for a paycheck in any way that they could get. The privateer, the mercenary, the rogue. The jackal leaned on his cane, and his mirth seemed to fade to business.
Click to expand...

Gem bristled inside as Night spoke. Her eyes turned cold, her head angled slightly down as she locked her gaze on him.

How dare he! How dare he judge her!

But the tension stayed in her chest and back of her neck, where it wouldn't be visible except through her subtle change of head posture and her eyes. The commander's hands and arms remained relaxed, and her body's posture was unchanged as Night spoke. But the jackal might smell or sense her anger all the same.

I dunno how you keep this station powered an' yer people fed, but my ship needs cold, hard creds to keep it flyin' an' crewed. Get back t' me when ah'm independently, frakkin' rich b'for wavin' your "Good Ol' Sam" morals in my face! 'Til that happens, it's cash, or goods to sell, that keep th' Key in th' stars 'steada th' scrapyards...

Gem said not a word, but struggled to hold her peace until the haughty jackal walked away. Her temper had flared more than what Sabot had talked her down from back on Pisces when Kassi had applied, but Gem had held herself back here for one important reason: As hard a blow to her pride as that was, she needed this job. More important than that, her _crew_ needed this job. And it certainly sounded like it would pay off.

One consolation that she held onto as she tried to calm down was that the other Kohanians didn't seem to have the high-and-mighty attitude that their station administrator did, so maybe he was an exception to the majority...if not, Keira thought to herself, then this was going to be a short job, no matter what her crew said.

She sighed, thinking back to how the welcoming party had behaved instead of how their leader had acted. The other Kohanians seemed rather surprised that her crew took so much interest in the native culture. Ice had mentioned that the Nepleslians and other beings had mostly used this place like a through-way, a short stop on the path to somewhere else and not caring about what this place offered.

They're almost like kids wantin' t' find out who th' neighbor kids are but instead are locked away inside their own home...

Gem closed her eyes and tried to finish relaxing. She could dwell on this all another time, but there was work to be done. Taking out her datapad, she typed up a quick notice to Nicolai, Eliot, and Kassiopea (wherever the little 'spacer had gone).

Code: 
Deal's on the table. A good payout per load, but we have to find the cargo first. Meet back at the Key in five, message if you need longer.
--Gem
 
Eliot looked around as his datapad buzzed, attempting to lock the breastplate and greaves onto his person with Mud's help. Working his left hand out of one of the greaves, he lowered the now naked hand down to his thigh and pulled the datapad out.

He read over Gem's message and quickly tapped out a reply:

Code: 
What, you mean the Kohanians are playing hide-and-seek with our paycheck now?  Never mind, I'll go ahead and find it- I have a nose for this kind of thing.

--Eliot--
 
Nicholai's datapad buzzed and he looked down at the message that he had recieved. "Well, looks like we're leaving soon." Nicholai said as before glancing back up at the Kohanian mare. "Thanks for the advice, it really does help. It's been good meetin' ye, I hope that it's not the last time we meet though. G'luck." Nicholai winked before starting to head back to the Key. As the rather large ID-SOL walked through the halls of the station, he knew they'd be in for an interesting ride once they got planetside.
 
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