Post by Arhiem the Owl on Jul 25, 2009 1:49:57 GMT -5
The pilot of the CS-12k had no idea who he had in the cabin. He hadn't been told anything except that it was apparently some VP of the Republic. Some senator or ambassador or something. The matter had been extremely hushed and just as suspicious.
For starters, he had picked up the man in the Kuat Drive Yards from a public terminal of all things. There was no sign of military guard or any presence whatsoever that might have cued in the onlooker as to the affiliation of the passenger, or was that the point? Then there was the two Venom fighters escorting him. This wouldn't have seemed strange if it weren't for the fact that the pilots' uniforms were out of date. By several decades in fact.
But then that was the life of a shuttle pilot, and he had long learned to expect this kind of thing. Unnerving at times, but alas it must be done by someone. Besides, the station was just ahead.
The shuttle hovered smoothly into one of the vast hangers, the Venoms remained just outside stoic in their guard. Almost the moment the craft set down, the bay doors flew open and several armed guards took point scanning the crowd for any possible threats. Again, however, the uniforms were not of standard issue; the finery of which was simple and utilitarian but unmistakable bulges marked copious amounts of concealed armor beneath. Their rifles seemed similar to the standard republic issue, but heavily modified with several attachments with god knows what purpose.
The next figure to emerge was an elderly gentlemen utterly unremarkable to the naked eye. He was dressed in an expensive suit and tie that looked as if it had never seen a wrinkle in its existence and carried a somewhat large briefcase. The man looked to the guards and gave a curt nod at which the guards slowly backed towards the transports.
It was that moment that a young female Zeltron took to rushed quickly forward to celebrate the man's arrival. The guards were quicker and in the blink of an eye, the woman was surrounded by rifle barrels. She froze, her breathing faint and quick.
That is quite enough, lieutenant. I appreciate you doing your job, but I can assure you this lovely young lady isn't going to throttle me with those beads.
The guards remained still for a moment longer before the lieutenant called them off and they reluctantly lowered their weapons. The Zeltron relaxed noticeably. "Apologies, sir."
You have no fault, you're doing just what you were hired for. Thank you for ensuring my well being. But if you don't mind, this is a party and I intend to enjoy myself as long as I'm out.
The man turned to the still shuddering woman and smiled, his eyes flashing to a deep purple for a barely noticeable moment I'm very sorry about that. You spooked them is all, but thank you for the warm welcoming.
The man accepted the beads and the customary kiss and nodded to the guards a second time. The men took one last look around and stepped back into the shuttle. Several other Zeltron rushed up to grab a suitcase from the hatch and took them off to the man's room at his consent, though he refused to give up his briefcase assuring them that its contents were much to important to him. The pilot gazed once more at the mysterious passenger before engaging the throttle and making his exit. He would have loved to stay, it looked like a wonderful party, but it was also an invitation only party.
The shuttle shrank out of sight and the Venoms followed shortly after. The old man waved after them and began his walk towards the lifts. Even the hangar was lavishly decorated with beautiful glowing flora and a stunning hologram of the galaxy. He had no doubts the stairway would be no less interesting but his back really just wasn't what it used to be so he pressed the call button for one of the many lifts that traveled to the separate floors.
As comfortable as this is, is it clear yet? said the briefcase.
I would hope that it would be since you picked it specifically for this use, but yes I don't believe your presence would be a danger to me here.
You told me to select a briefcase that would be best suited to transport "an object of great value" safely. You didn't tell me that I was the object of great value.
Oh, but you are. You know I'd hate to lose you, Phae. The man set down the briefcase and winked at the bellboy in the lift that had just arrived who was staring at him like he was mad. The bellboy's eyes widened when the man opened the briefcase and a small bird hopped out and stretched out a set of metal wings.
Thank you. Wow, this is one hell of a party... The bird scanned the surroundings with a visored pair of photoreceptors and ended on the bellboy. Hi. The bellboy kept staring with his mouth partially open and said nothing.
Only the best for us, bird. Level 4, please.
It took a moment for the bellboy to snap out of it and realize what he had said. "Oh! Yes, sorry! Level 4."
The bird hovered up with some sort of micro-repulsor drive and alighted on the man's shoulder. Making sure his friend was settled, the man checked his reflection in the spotless mirror that made up one wall of the lift. All was perfect; straight suit, modest tie, shined shoes, sparkling cufflinks.
...and a stylized silver nameplate with a single word engraved into it: "ʍızɐɹp"
He turned it right side up: "draziW"
Why the subtlety, Arza?
Arzahiem Farweulf smiled his eyes only holding a slight twinge of the customary grey. If there's one thing I've learned from not existing my entire life, it's that subtlety is actually fun. Come on, Phae, lets go scream our subtlety to the galaxy.
For starters, he had picked up the man in the Kuat Drive Yards from a public terminal of all things. There was no sign of military guard or any presence whatsoever that might have cued in the onlooker as to the affiliation of the passenger, or was that the point? Then there was the two Venom fighters escorting him. This wouldn't have seemed strange if it weren't for the fact that the pilots' uniforms were out of date. By several decades in fact.
But then that was the life of a shuttle pilot, and he had long learned to expect this kind of thing. Unnerving at times, but alas it must be done by someone. Besides, the station was just ahead.
The shuttle hovered smoothly into one of the vast hangers, the Venoms remained just outside stoic in their guard. Almost the moment the craft set down, the bay doors flew open and several armed guards took point scanning the crowd for any possible threats. Again, however, the uniforms were not of standard issue; the finery of which was simple and utilitarian but unmistakable bulges marked copious amounts of concealed armor beneath. Their rifles seemed similar to the standard republic issue, but heavily modified with several attachments with god knows what purpose.
The next figure to emerge was an elderly gentlemen utterly unremarkable to the naked eye. He was dressed in an expensive suit and tie that looked as if it had never seen a wrinkle in its existence and carried a somewhat large briefcase. The man looked to the guards and gave a curt nod at which the guards slowly backed towards the transports.
It was that moment that a young female Zeltron took to rushed quickly forward to celebrate the man's arrival. The guards were quicker and in the blink of an eye, the woman was surrounded by rifle barrels. She froze, her breathing faint and quick.
That is quite enough, lieutenant. I appreciate you doing your job, but I can assure you this lovely young lady isn't going to throttle me with those beads.
The guards remained still for a moment longer before the lieutenant called them off and they reluctantly lowered their weapons. The Zeltron relaxed noticeably. "Apologies, sir."
You have no fault, you're doing just what you were hired for. Thank you for ensuring my well being. But if you don't mind, this is a party and I intend to enjoy myself as long as I'm out.
The man turned to the still shuddering woman and smiled, his eyes flashing to a deep purple for a barely noticeable moment I'm very sorry about that. You spooked them is all, but thank you for the warm welcoming.
The man accepted the beads and the customary kiss and nodded to the guards a second time. The men took one last look around and stepped back into the shuttle. Several other Zeltron rushed up to grab a suitcase from the hatch and took them off to the man's room at his consent, though he refused to give up his briefcase assuring them that its contents were much to important to him. The pilot gazed once more at the mysterious passenger before engaging the throttle and making his exit. He would have loved to stay, it looked like a wonderful party, but it was also an invitation only party.
The shuttle shrank out of sight and the Venoms followed shortly after. The old man waved after them and began his walk towards the lifts. Even the hangar was lavishly decorated with beautiful glowing flora and a stunning hologram of the galaxy. He had no doubts the stairway would be no less interesting but his back really just wasn't what it used to be so he pressed the call button for one of the many lifts that traveled to the separate floors.
As comfortable as this is, is it clear yet? said the briefcase.
I would hope that it would be since you picked it specifically for this use, but yes I don't believe your presence would be a danger to me here.
You told me to select a briefcase that would be best suited to transport "an object of great value" safely. You didn't tell me that I was the object of great value.
Oh, but you are. You know I'd hate to lose you, Phae. The man set down the briefcase and winked at the bellboy in the lift that had just arrived who was staring at him like he was mad. The bellboy's eyes widened when the man opened the briefcase and a small bird hopped out and stretched out a set of metal wings.
Thank you. Wow, this is one hell of a party... The bird scanned the surroundings with a visored pair of photoreceptors and ended on the bellboy. Hi. The bellboy kept staring with his mouth partially open and said nothing.
Only the best for us, bird. Level 4, please.
It took a moment for the bellboy to snap out of it and realize what he had said. "Oh! Yes, sorry! Level 4."
The bird hovered up with some sort of micro-repulsor drive and alighted on the man's shoulder. Making sure his friend was settled, the man checked his reflection in the spotless mirror that made up one wall of the lift. All was perfect; straight suit, modest tie, shined shoes, sparkling cufflinks.
...and a stylized silver nameplate with a single word engraved into it: "ʍızɐɹp"
He turned it right side up: "draziW"
Why the subtlety, Arza?
Arzahiem Farweulf smiled his eyes only holding a slight twinge of the customary grey. If there's one thing I've learned from not existing my entire life, it's that subtlety is actually fun. Come on, Phae, lets go scream our subtlety to the galaxy.