The Finer Things in Life

[LancerZero]

Once the temperature inside the Sabre's cockpit finally dipped near the freezing point of water, Katashi decided they'd waited long enough. "Okay...time to get going again. Ren, are you ready? No telling what we'll see when we power everything back up."

She yawned and cracked her knuckles before replying. "Yeah. Fire it up."

He did so with the flip of a switch and the pressing of a few buttons. "Nothing seems the worse for wear...see anything?"

"Nope. Not on short-range, long-range, or emissions other than a patrol a few hours ago. I think this is as good as it's gonna get...time to make a break for it." After the hectic flight from enemies and unknowns in Gallia, the final departure was a bit anticlimactic...but life often is, rarely providing the dramatic ramp-up and climax humanity tends to crave. They whipped around the border station before it could decide if it should shoot them or not, and into the narrow mine-free channel. Same story after jumping - no interference. Reunion Station even bade them "safe travels" as they passed, either not recognizing or not caring about their Outcast IFF.

A pair of Scimitars met them outside the asteroids this time, and escorted them the rest of the way in. They were met by somebody different when they landed: a woman this time, who appeared to be in her mid-40s. Since she was on cardi, that likely meant 70s or 80s. She shrugged, smiled, and spoke in a slightly raspy voice. "Expecting Manuel? We thought you two'd died, you were out there so long...so he left. He'd been a day shy of rotating back to Malta when you arrived, you see. Oh!" she held out her hand to be shaken. "My name's Florinda."

They shook her hand in turn, still taken aback at how very different their new hostess' demeanor was than their previous one. "What about-" Katashi began - but before he could finish, Florinda cut him off with a gesture. Not for the first time, Ren wished she had a sidearm, enjoying being at the mercy of such potentially vicious strangers even less than Katashi.

Yet again, Florinda's words weren't what they'd expected. "You guys are exhausted and smelly. Here," she handed Katashi a scrap of paper with a few diagrams on it. "This'll help you get around...sorry, we're out of datapads at the moment. Anyway, your room is on floor 9, wing C...number 113. Spartan, but it's got a bed, shower, food, and cardi. Rest up, wash up, and meet me in the tertiary briefing room at 0900 hours sharp. Any questions?"

They stood in silence while a hangar crew swarmed over their Sabre, plugging in diagnostic wires and fuel hoses, while others removed damaged armor panels for repairs. "Why are you being so nice?" Ren blurted, immediately wishing she hadn't worded it in quite that way.

She needn't have been concerned; Florinda smiled in sympathy. "Just because some of us are vicious s.o.b.'s who'd kill you as soon as look at you doesn't mean we all are, my dear. And those of us that are vicious...aren't necessarily vicious all the time." Her expression suddenly hardened, and her eyes narrowed...and just as quickly went back to their sparkling normality. "So! We Maltese are just as diverse as any House. Imagine that!"

Katashi glanced over at Ren, and saw the doubt in her eyes. Turning back to their hostess, he asked the question Ren had been intending to ask in the first place. "I think what she meant is that you don't have any reason to trust us, beyond the word of a Lane Hacker and the contents of our gun cameras & sensors. So why the red carpet?"

"Red carpet?" Her jaw dropped in what appeared for all the world to be genuine surprise. "Just what kind of treatment are you used to? You just undertook a dangerous mission for us...yes, we knew where the hole was and wanted to see if you were able to find it yourselves, but the situation on the other side is volatile. There's never any telling what you'll find on the other side, so in that respect, the information you gathered is useful."

"We'll talk about that later," she continued, shaking her head. "The point is, I'll want to hear your full story tomorrow, both of your circumstances and the scouting you did today and yesterday. But for now, we need to analyze your sensor readings and camera footage. So, why shouldn't we give you even as much as the least among us receives? Since when's a basic room with one bed and one shower, plus a little food and cheap clothing, royal treatment?"

"We've had...something of a rough time."

"I gathered. Well, relax, for tonight at least. Off you go. Oh, and I heard Manuel said you could name the fighter...think about what you want to call it. Goodnight." Her tone brooked no further discussion, so the pair continued into the corridor beyond Florinda, leading into the heart of Kirkwall Base.

* * * * *

First order of business was to scarf something down - neither of them had any idea what the food that'd been left them was called, but it was mildly spicy and - seeing as neither of them'd had squat to eat in a day - delicious. Second order was to shower. It was a tiny glass stall and they were both filthy, so they went one at a time, sorely disappointing Katashi...though, given how bad I smelled before I got in, it's probably just as well.

Then, still exhausted but at least fed and clean, they plopped down on the bed next to each other and took care of the final order of business before sleep. Something that they felt they needed to do, in spite of their fatigue, and something that required the best efforts of them both...naming their fighter, of course! "We could do the 'ole adjective.noun again," Katashi suggested.

"That's way overdone."

"For a reason! How about..."

The discussion lasted for more than an hour. Eventually, they decided on Void.Spectre, after the hours they spent drifting in the powered-down Sabre...and because avoiding detection seemed like something they'd have to be doing for some time.

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Current Stories
Linus' Lackadaisical Logs(upd.3-1-10)
Archived Logs
In the Queen's Service(upd.4-21-10) | The Finer Things in Life (upd.4-8-10)
Silvy's Story(upd.2-29-08) | Conrad's Flight & Fight(upd.1-14-08)