The Black Steel RP. Rated R.

[Jim Gamma]

Pedras launched the Prakeshi shuttle using the Firestorm shuttle's secondary console; surely the skitters had to have seen this. He set the conrols for the city, at low enough altitude to avoid setting off the defences; there was a chance the skitters could change course and intercept, but they'd never be able to breach its defences.

The Firestorm shuttle was coming in to the shuttle bay at last, and the batt doors were closing. Though he trusted Daxia's piloting skills, he still braced himself - hot dock-and-launch manoeuvres were tricky at best.

[Chatty]

As soon as they docked, Kellen went to the bridge of the Firestorm and took the Captain's seat. He then had communications opened to the two skitters.

"This is acting Captain Caros of the Firestorm. You have exactly five seconds to turn around and leave before I start using you for target practice. This bounty is ours. 5....4....3...."

[Jim Gamma]

Pedras followed Kellen to the bridge, and took a secondary console. Re-establishing the control link with the shuttle, he waited for the skitters to react to Kellen's ultimatum.

[Mikoto]

Daxia took a seat at the sensor station of the bridge once they'd boarded the Firestorm. She watched the progress of the Skitters via the Firestorm's sensors. When Kellen made his threat both Skitters slowed down considerably as their pilots evidently considered what to do. A few moments later they sheared away from the Firestorm. One dropped down to the forest floor to pick up the two bounty hunters that had survived the attempted assault on the Firestorm while the other continued back towards the city of Gillu. "Not as dull as I thought they were then." Daxia remarked. Meanwhile Darren, sitting in the pilot's seat, activated the Firestorm's engines and waited for them to warm up and for pre-flight checks to be done.

When all was ready he launched the Firestorm and began flying it towards the city. Daxia kept a close eye on sensors but nothing seemed out of place as the cargo ship flew. "We might want to stay alert while we're in the city." She mused thoughtfully. "The surviving bounty hunters may try again to steal our prize." She almost wished she could explain how difficult it would be for anyone to do that as the Black Steel had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure Varrus was securely held. Finally after a few minutes they entered city airspace and Darren landed the Firestorm in its desegnated landing pad. She was confident that Sophie could straighten things out with the Gillu authorities. Typically the Genioset weren't unreasonable.

[Jim Gamma]

The skitters turned away from Firestorn and back to the city; Pedras watched their course closely, but they took a wide arc around his shuttle. He sent a quick communication to the dock master to let them know it was a Firestotm shuttle they'd used in responding to the distress call, and obtained permission for it to land.

Once the shuttle was down on the next pad to Firestorm's, he released the door locks and allowed Crimson out. No tamper alerts had sounded, but he was still going to go over the ship with a fine-tooth comb, before using it, just in case.

[Mikoto]

Sylen had gone and found the nearest member of the Black Steel that he could find once he was aboard the Firestorm and not in the company of the others. That member happened to be David, the ship's cook. Together they decided that the best thing to do would be to put Sylen in an empty set of quarters for the moment until Sophie or Kellen could decide what to do with him. Once inside the quarters David assured the Di'Lekk that nobody would mind him adjusting the quarters' climate controls to hot and humid to simulate the natural conditions of Lekkis. As soon as the cook had left, Sylen did just that then lay on the bed in the quarters as the room started to heat and become more humid. He started to relax and ate some sandwiches from the limited supplies in his backpack, then drank some juice from a flask. Finally Sylen lay back on the bed and relaxed again. Finally he became a little too relaxed and dozed off entirely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what seemed like an eternity, Talia was finally done extracting the bullet from Sophie's ankle and completed some repair work on her damaged tissue. Although dermal regenerators were a commonly used medical technology, serious injuries were too much for it. She would be in and out of the infirmary over the next several days getting her injurieis fast-healed. Even as Sophie pushed herself up into a sitting position, fully intending to grab a pair of crutches and go back to work, Talia put a cautioning hand on her shoulder.

"No so fast Captain." The medic smiled. T'Sarrina would never forgive me if I let you out of here without first feeding you and seeing that you get a bit of rest." She chuckled. "Or before she'd examined your injuries herself." Sophie didn't protest although she sighed as she finished propping herself up with pillows and generally making herself comfortable. She did smile however when Talia brought over two plates of food from the warmer and gave one to Jessan. "See that your mate doesn't go anywhere."

Talia mock-ordered him with a wink as she went back to her medical duties. As Sophie ate, Stiyl returned from the brig where it had finished inserting Varrus' feeding tube and catheter. As a Genioset, a plant alien who didn't breathe, it hadn't been affected by the sedative gas being pumped through that section. Sophie nodded once in approval between bites of food. Now their prize would be delivered to the governing Council of Aipas in pristine condition.

[Chatty]

"Yes ma'am." Jessan said, his voice reflecting his amusement. He then worked on eating the plate of food he'd been given. He had no intentions of going anywhere since they were landed and safe. He'd go inspect the engines later, after T'Sarrina gave Sophie the okay to walk on crutches. As the backup engineer, that duty was his when Squa was unavailable. But it could still wait till morning if the doctor kept her overnight.

*************************

T'Sarrina finally finished reattaching Squa's tentacle, and now she moved him to the infirmary and put him in a bed next to Sophie's. Their engineer was still loopy from the anesthesia, and would be for some time yet. The reattachment had gone well and now he had a bandaged, but functioning tentacle. At least it would be functional once it healed over. For the time being he would have to stay off it, but he knew that from the times he'd had to have other reattachments.

T'Sarrina then smiled as she walked to Sophie's bed and examined the work that Talia had done. "Very nice job." She commented on Talia's work. "You might as well stay overnight and rest. We're back in spaceport, so we're safe. Kellen has everything under control."She knew Sophie was eager to get out of bed, but she'd had a pretty bad injury and T'Sarrina wanted to keep an eye on her a little longer.

*****************************

Kellen breathed a sigh of relief once they landed in spaceport again and they had no more trouble from people trying to poach their bounty. He was under no illusions though, with the bounty at one mil there were people out there who would try to steal Varrus out from under them. What they didn't know was the precautions that had been taken to insure that didn't happen.

He then stood and stretched, wincing a bit when he felt some sore muscles. A hot shower seemed in order to wash off the rest of the goo and grime and to loosen those muscles, but he had other things to do first. David had sent him the message that Sylen was in a set of empty quarters, and sensors indicated he was sleeping, so Kellen first informed the authorities that his captain was incapacitated and would settle with them tomorrow, then he went to the infirmary. He knew that Sophie would want an update on what had been going on.

He walked in and found her sitting up and eating, with Jessan at her side. Half-smiling he walked over to her bed. "Captain." He greeted her. "Everything is under control. Varrus is trussed up in his bed and we're safe back at the docks. We had a little more trouble out of some latecomers who thought they could poach him, but we managed to drive them off."

[Mikoto]

Once the Firestorm was back in Gillu's spaceport, secured and locked down for the night Daxia relaxed. It was evening now at the sun was setting over the city. She was looking forward to some food, a hot shower and getting some sleep. She glanced at Pedras and smiled. "You can either return to your shuttle or you can stay in an empty set of quarters for the night."

She offered. While he thought about it Daxia sent a message to Crimson, explaining that the Firestorm wasn't going anywhere until morning and that he could contact them then to make further arrangements concerning the trip back to Aipas and his portion of the bounty money. With that done she turned back to Pedras to await his answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sophie ate her dinner and listened attentively to the detailed report that Kellen gave her concerning what had happened while she had been in surgery. She didn't blame Pedras for wanting to have a proper send off for his friends and made a mental note to see it done before they went on to Aipas. She was particularly impressed with the way Daxia had behaved and come up with a workable plan.

Mentally she'd made up her mind that if Pedras or Sylen wanted to join the Black Steel she would welcome them. "Interesting report, thank you. I think tomorrow I'll waive the rest of Daxia's probationary period. She proved herself today." She decided. It was rare for her to waive a probationary period. She didn't think she'd done so since Kellen himself.

"Anyway." Sophie smiled at him. "I think you've in the very least earned yourself some downtime. With the rival bounty hunters out there I can't grant shore leave to the crew but once we're back on Aipas that'll be a different story." She decided. "I'm to stay here tonight so go on and have your downtime." She encouraged.

[Chatty]

"Thank you, Captain." Kellen said, once Sophie had made her decisions. He thought that Sylen or Pedras would make fine additions to the crew as they'd proven their worth during the struggle to get to Varrus. He understood, and had figured, that no shore leave would be given until Varrus was securely transferred to the Relexal government. "You rest easy tonight, I've already stationed guards on a rotating basis at the airlock and at Varrus' quarters." He then headed off towards his quarters, unusually happy that Daxia's remaining probation had been waived. That meant she was a full member of the crew now.

Once he reached his quarters, he stripped off his armour and clothes and stepped into the small, but serviceable shower and turned it on as hot as he could stand it. Then he started washing off the grime, goo and other stuff that had accumulated on him during the battle, using some tweezers to get at some embedded wood splinters in his face. Well, at least he'd been wearing goggles to protect his eyes.

******************************

T'Sarrina smiled as Kellen came in to give his duty report. He still looked like he'd been in a fight with a tree and lost, but she knew he could take care of himself. She contemplated going to check on Crimson, but he'd opted to leave instead of coming to the infirmary to have his bullet extracted. Why he would insist on having it extracted in such unsanitary conditions without anesthesia she would never know, but at least the pain reliever she'd given him when she'd first patched him up had probably still been working at the time. She'd told Irwin not to worry, it wasn't his fault, and at least he had the good sense to give the man a strong antibiotic injection before he left.

So, since she wasn't sure where he was at, she went to the warmer and got herself some food. She had enough to do keeping up with the patients she did have anyway.

[Jim Gamma]

"Thanks Daxia," Pedras answered, "But I really think I should check my shuttle - there were no problems reported, but that doesn't mean Crimson didn't do anything." Extending all four arms forward in a gesture of Prakeshi respect, hands clasped together, he added, "It's an honour to work with you and the rest of Black Steel. If it's acceptable, I'll come back tomorrow morning to see how your injured crew are faring?"

When Daxia had responded, he left the bridge and headed for his shuttle. A quick scout around the control area, engine room and sleeping pods revealed that the latter two had not been entered - otherwise the doors' booby-traps would have triggered - and nothing was amiss in the control cabin. To be safe, he ran a full computer diagnostic, and retired for the night.

[RJDiogenes]

Though it was a little brighter in the infirmary than he liked-- or was that a side effect of the chemical interfering with his decentralized nervous system?-- Squa was able to open his smaller eye and look around. He found himself reposing on a bed next to Sophie. His tentacles felt like ocean swells at the moment, so he settled for a biped-style wave of greeting. He also realized that the chemical had disrupted his biorhythmic sense of time and it would probably take a few currents of salt showers and bluwhale song to get his bearings again-- but whenever it was, his stomach had feelings of hunger. Being very careful of his movements, he used his third and seventh pseudopods to ask if there was any smoked anemone left in the galley.

[Santaman]

As soon it could be arranged Crimson left the ship, he had wasted too much time already and needed to disappear quickly.
He very much didn't want to be around anyone.

The second he came on board his own old ship he prepared to lift off, he just needed to wait for the old thorium reactor to warm up so it provided enough power together with the more modern fusion reactor.

After some pre flight checks the antigravs made his ship lift off without a sound, he fired the ion boosters as late as possible and slowly but surely the ancient vessel reached enough speed to clear orbit.

The money from the bounty would not enough to make his plans possible, Crimson cursed about that and the loss of an expensive motorcycle.

He sighed, switched the ship to automatic and went to sleep.

[Chatty]

T'Sarrina smiled when it looked like Squa regained consciousness, though he seemed to be squinting, so she reduced the light glare down to a more comfortable level. Then he asked for some smoked anemone, so she indicated that she would be right back. She hurried to the messhall and picked some up that David had made just for him. Smiling her thanks, she went back to the infirmary and set it on a table before him. "There you go, Squa." She said affectionately.

*********************************

Kellen stepped out of the shower when his sore muscles started feeling better, then he toweled himself dry and then pulled on a pair of shorts before falling onto his bed. Now, if he could just relax, he'd get to sleep off the battle.

[Mikoto]

Time Jump: The following morning.

Time Stamp: 10:48 am

After breakfast Sophie had been allowed to leave the infirmary and was currently using a pair of crutches to aid her in walking and keeping the weight off her injured leg. She'd also been given some mild painkillers that eased the pain and caused minimal haze in her mind. After a shower and a change of clothes Sophie immediately set out with Kellen and Twyla as protection to see the governing council of Gillu.

While they hadn't appreciated the general chaos, explosions, damage to the forest and the fact the Firestorm had flown pretty much where it wanted, they WERE happy that Varrus had been apprehended and there would be no more bounty hunters roaming around messing up their forests. The Genioset council let Sophie and her crew off with a warning not to do it again. As that seemed unlikely she was very happy with that outcome.

Finally she'd returned to the Firestorm and her crew who'd been preparing to launch when she was gone. Sheryl sent a brief message Crimson informing him of the Firestorm's departure. Pedras indicated that he wanted to spend the journey aboard the Firestorm so they waited while his shuttle was loaded into the shuttlebay. When that was done and the Prakeshi was aboard Daxia launched the Firestorm into orbit and jumped to hyperspace, heading for the Relexal world of Aipas...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daxia kept her hands on the controls of the Firestorm as she guided the cargo ship through hyperspace. She was feeling happy and quite proud because just before they'd taken off, Sophie told her that she'd waived the rest of her probationary period and she was now a full member of the Black Steel. This did change things slightly for the Mikoatty. Being accepted as an equal member of a group was something that would never happen now on her homeworld or any Mikoatty colony back within the Empire.

She was having thoughts about never going back even when her period as one of the Disgraced ended for she'd forever have a black mark against her name that she didn't have out here. She glanced over momentarily at Kellen. Though he was human, she still wanted to pounce on him, drag him into a set of quarters and have her way with him. If she wasn't going to ever return to Mikoatty territory she began seriously contemplating pursuing a relationship with him... if he were interested.

Daxia returned her attention to the controls then jumped out of hyperspace at exactly the right moment to reappear in normal space on the edge of the Aipas solar system. She directed the Firestorm towards the sun in the centre of the solar sytem and let Sheryll take care of arranging permission to perform a Prakeshi funeral ritual using the sun, then later, landing permission in the capital city of Intrita. Once the Firestorm had permission to approach she flew the cargo ship towards the sun before parking it in a broad geosynchronous orbit well away from the dangers of an active star. She couldn't attend the funeral because she had to remain at the pilot controls but she wished Pedras the best all the same.

[Jim Gamma]

Pedras returned to the Firestorm when he was woken by Sophie's comm call, and asked her to wait while he loaded the shuttle into their ship; he did so quickly, and went to talk to her briefly.

Once the Firestorm had emerged from hyperspace, the crew were asked by Sophie to assemble in the weapons control room, if they weren't attending to other duties. She made it a request rather than an order - this was a favour to Pedras, and she wouldn't compel her crew to comply for the sake of someone they didn't know that well.

Honus and Berek, the two Prakeshi who had died in the initial assault from the security drone, had no remaining family. Thus, it fell to Pedras, their colleague and friend for six years now, to decide on the appropriate way to bid them farewell. As their job entailed no small amount of danger, the trio had discussed how they would like any funeral to proceed, if it were possible; in this instance, it was, so Pedras made up his mind to comply with their wishes. It was to his great relief and gratitude that Kellen and Sophie had agreed to permit the funeral to proceed on the Firestorm; it meant that he would have the chance to convey a few words to the Black Steel on their behalf.

In line with Prakeshi tradition, the remains of Berek and Honus were each laid side by side in a plain, metal box. These two boxes were simple cuboids, just large enough to contain one Prakeshi. The boxes were placed squarely on two sleds, both facing torpedo hatches.

Pedras stepped forward onto the dais that had been built between the coffins, acknowledging those crewmembers who had been able to attend with a quick bow of the head. He may be a communications expert, but this was to be the hardest communication of his life so far.

"We are gathered to pay our respects to Berek and Honus S'taris, late of the Prakeshi colony world of Xarantine. They were true, honest and selfless Prakeshi, who chose to take action where no others would; in their final hours, they were honoured to meet so many honourable individuals in the Black Steel ground crew. They would have found it a great honour that so many of you have come here to say farewell, even though many of you did not know them in life."

He paused for a moment, to gather his nerve once more. "Like all of us here, they knew that they could be killed at any time, on any mission. They risked their lives willingly, to uphold their beliefs and values; they are to be commended for that unswerving loyalty. They died as they lived - unflinching in the face of overwhelming odds." He turned around, now facing the coffins. "In accordance with the traditions of the Prakeshi people, we commit their bodies to the life-giving stars, that they may fuel the lives of others as they were themselves fueled." He extended his arms forward in the traditional sign of respect. "Journey well to your final rest, friends."

Two large grapples came down and took hold, lifting the boxes from the sleds. They were moved slowly forward, and lowered into empty torpedo casings, which had been brought from Pedras' shuttle. The casings closed automatically, and the torpedo tube hatches opened.

As the torpedoes moved into the tubes, a screen lit up, showing a view of the star. The tubes closed, and a dull clunk was heard as the firing mechanism was primed. Pedras had one last role to fill in this ceremony. "As one journey finishes, so another begins. We cannot see what lies beyond death's embrace; we can only continue our lives."

The screen was suddenly a blur of motion as the two torpedoes were ejected into space, directly toward the corona of the system's sun. A few seconds later, they were swallowed by blazing fire.

Pedras turned and exited the room silently, and walked to the temporary cabin that had been assigned to him.

[Chatty]

Kellen had awoken that morning feeling much better and rested than he had the evening before, and he got dressed in his normal clothing of plain black jeans and t-shirt before strapping on his sidearm and going to get breakfast. As soon as Sophie had been released from the infirmary, he walked with her and Daxia as his captain hobbled on crutches to soothe the ruffled leaves of the Genioset ruling council. He was glad they wouldn't have to pay any fines for destroying part of the forest, though most of that was caused by the exploding motorcycle.

Now he was back at his tactical station on the Firestorm as Daxia was piloting them through hyperspace towards Aipas, and he had time to think. He glanced over at Daxia now and then as she piloted and he smiled. She'd seemed happier now that she'd been made a full member of the Black Steel after her exemplary performance in apprehending Varrus. He had a feeling that Pedras would be asked to join as well, as he had shown himself to be of the quality of person that Sophie always looked for.

He contemplated Daxia again as she transited out of hyperspace and flew towards the sun after gaining permission for Pedras to perform his services for his fallen comrades. He found himself inordinately fascinated by her golden skin and orange eyes, so exotic-looking compared to humans, and he wondered if she would consider seeing a human, namely him.

He went to the services out of respect for what they'd done, and he was glad he had. Pedras made a moving and wonderful speech commemorating their lives and deaths, and then he sent them to their final rest into the star.

Now, as they landed in their designated pad, he got ready to assist in turning over Varrus to the authorities.

[Chatty]

Jessan manned engineering after they took off in order to make the journey to Aipas to turn over Varrus for the bounty. He would be glad to get that particular piece of humanity's underbelly where he belonged. If they hadn't had to keep him alive, Jessan would have loved to have buried him in the cave he was found in. Only the fact that they were getting a mil for bringing him back in pristine condition kept him from finding a gas mask and going in his cell and beating the stuffing out of him during the trip back. It made him smile that Sophie had told him that she was going to get more out of the government for deliberately failing to warn them about the drone, plus they would all (well most all) get to choose a toy or two from the crates of prototypes before she sold the rest on the black market.

When it was time for the funeral, he attended, although he had never met the Prakeshis until after Sophie had been released from the infirmary. He felt it would be respectful, and he was glad he had, the service was a beautiful sendoff. He would make it a point to try to get to know Pedras once he had the time to introduce himself, as Sophie had indicated that she might ask him to stay on.

Once they landed, he shut down the engines and started to give them a once-over while Sophie and the others got ready to claim their bounty.

[Chatty]

T'Sarrina spent the trip to Aipas keeping an eye on Squa. She would keep him for a few more days while she monitored his reattached tentacle and made sure he was kept pain-free. It would be quite awhile, even after she released him from the infirmary, before he would be allowed to go back to work as she didn't want him to injure it further.

After she had released Sophie from the infirmary, with orders to take it easy on the injured leg, she sat at her desk and completed the patient files for the injuries treated during the last battle. She knew it wasn't entirely necessary to keep detailed files like they did in hospitals or military ships, but it helped her to be able to refer to them in case she needed to treat them again. Those she treated no on the crew went into a 'guest' file just in case they ran across them again. Any who then joined the crew would get moved to a crew file. She found herself hoping that Sylen would consider joining, as she wanted to get to know him better. She couldn't remember ever meeting a Di'Lekk quite like him, but most of her contacts had been from the scientific side and not the military side while she grew up and went to school, and then the hospital.

Once they left hyperspace and flew towards the star, and Sophie invited the crew to the Prakeshi last rites, she went. She couldn't help but smile at such a beautiful sendoff. It was almost as beautiful as some Di'Lekk last rites and she hoped they rested in peace as she said her own, silent farewell to them. She then went back to the infirmary to check on Squa and see if he needed another dose of painkiller.

[Mikoto]

Sophie had attended the funeral of the two fallen Prakeshi, dressed in a shipsuit coloured in the deepest black. As Captain of a company of mercenaries she had presided over or at least attended several funerals of fallen crewmembers during the last four years. She'd stood respectfully next to Sylen and Talia who'd both come to attend the funeral. Pedras gave them a proper and touching sendoff.

She watched as he silently left after it was over and decided that while she did want to invite him to join the Black Steel, she would wait and let him grieve in peace. An opportunity to ask him would come when she brought him his share of the bounty. In the meantime she let the rest of the crew know he had basic access to the Firestorm's public areas though sensitive places like engineering and the bridge would require an escort.

She beckoned to Sylen and led him outside into the corridor. "I'll get straight to business." She told him simply. "You performed well back there on Carpatha IV and there's a position available within the Black Steel ground team if you want it." She offered. "As we've seen you in action we'll forgo the aptitude test but I will have to run a background check. That passes, and you're on probation for three months." She explained.

"During that time your performance will be monitored and you'll be let go if you do poorly. Don't stress too much. So long as you do adequately you'll be fine." She assured him. Sylen thought about it for only a moment before answering. "I accept, thank you. The short version of the story is that I served as part of the Di'Lekk army and fought in the Avalanche conflicts. A few months ago I was made redundant and have been working as a lone mercenary since. I think I'll do better as part of an organised group."

Sophie nodded absently as that did explain a few things. It wasn't uncommon for her take on ex-soldiers and ex-cops into the Black Steel. "Fair enough." She replied. "If you could go see T'Sarrina she can give you a basic medical and get you on-file. You can also see about getting appropriate computer passwords from her." She observed that his head tentacles shifted and writhed a bit much like T'Sarrina's did when she was pleased about something. "Of course Captain, thank you." He inclined his head to her respectfully then headed for the infirmary.

Sophie smiled as she used her communicator to tell Daxia to get them landed. She also paged Kellen to meet her at the airlock as they would be going to see the Council. She also had Stiyl, Logan and Alex prepare to transport Varrus when the authorities arrived to take him into custody. While she waited for the ship to land and for Kellen and Daxia to arrive at the airlock she headed for a weapons locker to collect her stun gun. Once that was done she went to the airlock to meet the others.

[Mikoto]

Sylen was surprised when Sophie had approached him and offered a job after the funeral of the two Prakeshi. He'd been expecting at best to be allowed to remain on board until he got his share of the bounty then they would part ways. But evidently the little human female saw potential in him. After the initial surprise he accepted the offer, trying to remain as calm as possible on the surface. It was true that he was used to working in groups with trained comrades opposed to on his own. The Black Steel seemed like the right place for him to be at this time in his life.

Once the conversation was over he headed for the infirmary. And, once alone he allowed a small smile to quirk his lips. Sylen had been wanting to get to know T'Sarrina and while the examination might be a little difficult he could certainly talk to her. When he walked into the infirmary she was checking on Squa so he stood politely at the doorway and waited for her to finish her check before he would speak to her. Instead he took the opportunity to subtly admire her.

[Chatty]

Kellen made his way to the airlock, where Sophie had paged him to meet her, so they could transport Varrus to the authorities. He couldn't wait to get this particular bounty and get out, he'd had about enough excitement to last him awhile. But at least they were being paid handsomely, more handsomely than the government knew.

He greeted Sophie as he reached the airlock and waited for Stiyl to bring their drowsy guest along. "I can't wait to get this over with." He told Sophie.

********************

T'Sarrina finished checking on Squa, making sure he was comfortable and pain-free, then she stood and turned, and stopped when she saw Sylen standing in the doorway. She smiled and felt her tentacles writhe just a bit as she regarded him. "What can I do for you?" She asked him. It didn't look like he needed any medical attention, so she wondered what he was doing in the infirmary.

[RJDiogenes]

Although the medical advice he had received from T'Sarrina was to remain in the infirmary for several cycles of currents, and he always acquiesced to her expertise, Squa nevertheless left the chamber. Sophie had mentioned that the surviving insectoid intended to perform funerary rites for his deceased shipmates. In the fight outside the land cave, the insectoid had successfully prolonged Squa's existence by providing covering fire, so Squa felt collegiality.

He undulated slowly and a bit awkwardly through the corridors, as the chemical injections he had received to disrupt the pain of his reattached pseudopod also disrupted his decentralized nervous system, but he made it to the chamber of weapons control. Pedras the insectoid performed a ceremony which was primarily oral and communicated his high opinion of the other insectoids. He then ejected them from the ship and let them sink into the depths of the star. How strange and exotic it was, thought Squa, that the dead should descend into light rather than darkness. He lowered himself to the deck and curled all his tentacles backward so that the tips touched his head in the final salute; his injured one didn't quite make it all the way.

He then crawled back to the infirmary and his bed, where he returned to floating in slowly throbbing blue currents.

[Mikoto]

Sylen smiled as T'Sarrina finished checking over Squa once he returned to the infirmary and asked what she could do for him. "Sophie offered me a job on the ground team of the Black Steel and I accepted." He began. "Then she sent me here for a medical examination. She also said you'd set me up with relevant computer passwords and such." He explained, never taking his eyes off her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Me either." Sophie agreed with Kellen as they waited for Daxia to join them at the airlock. "The sooner we have the bounty money and he's off my ship the better." Almost as soon as she finished saying that, Daxia arrived. And so Sophie hobbled out of the airlock onto the spaceport landing pad. She went over to the nearest computer console and hired an air-taxi to transport them to the Council building.

It was a short wait before the air-taxi arrived and landed nearby. Getting aboard was awkward with her injured leg but she managed. Daxia sat next to her. The flight to the council chambers took about ten minutes and the air-taxi dropped them off just outside the main entrance. It was apparent that Intrita was an older city and that Aipas was one of the older Relexal colonies.

Most of the city was constructed from aging stone and glass rather than steel and crystal. Indeed as she'd looked out the window during the journey she still saw old-fashioned street vehicles driving on the ground below. "Here goes." She said out loud as she and her two designated protectors began walking up the ornately carved steps leading into the council chambers.

[Chatty]

T'Sarrina smiled happily, and her tentacles writhed just a bit as she nodded and led him over to an examination table. "I wondered if she would offer you a job." She said as she started the examination. She started with a basic scan, which showed he was in excellent shape, something she had seen with her eyes. "You're a very fit and healthy Di'Lekk." She said, smiling at him. "I've never seen such strong frontal tentacles before." She said, admiring them and very tempted to stroke them or entwine her own with them. "Do you exercise them?" She asked. She could feel her face flushing a bit darker blue as she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

*****************************

Kellen stood by the cab while Sophie clambered up into it as best she could. He stood ready to catch her in case she lost her balance and fell, but she managed to get inside, even if she was a bit clumsy with her injury. Then he got inside after Daxia, and they were on their way.

He glanced around the city as they flew to their destination and he kind of liked the different, older architecture as opposed to the newer, sleeker architecture of the newer cities. Once the cab stopped and they got out. He stayed on one side of Sophie to give his support if she needed it as they headed inside.

[Jim Gamma]

Pedras didn't know whether he wanted to be alone or not. He had developed great respect for the members of the Black Steel, and wanted to show his appreciation for their attendance at Honus and Berek's funeral - especially Squa and Sophie, who had battled injuries to join the ceremony - but at the same time, he felt that conversation with others might be cheating on the brothers.

Eventually, he decided that he couldn't sit around staring at the four walls of his cabin waiting for Varrus to be delivered to the authorities, and the landing team to return. He wandered along to the mess hall for some food; though he wouldn't intrude on ongoing conversations, he would still be available if anyone wanted to talk to him.

Picking the vegetarian option, he sat at a table not too close to the edge of the room, and began eating.