((Same deal as last time, this is in story form. It is NOT a testimonial to the event, but more the story of it though Falikos' eyes. Please use good sense with what would be ooc type info and what wouldn't be. I know it's long, but hey, it was a long event.Anywho, there it be. ))
The street was crowded and things felt like they were starting to go back to normal. Bridee and Ion had gotten hitched, the dresses hadn’t been pink, and I managed to do my part without tripping and making an ass of myself. Things were looking up. Someone was shouting over the din they needed help with a nano-program, someone else that they wanted to buy new gear; just pleasant and busy Borealis.
I was standing and talking with some of the others in Shattered Dreams near the Fair Trade. Apparently something had happened at the wedding reception that I’d missed, but no one there was willing to talk. Ysabelle was squirming under the attention her ‘secret’ was getting, her face flushing pink exaggerated by the white of her armor. I started to get a feeling about the reason for her blushing, but I let her be about it; she’s talk about it when she was ready… not that the guys seemed to agree.
I was just about to chastise them for the teasing when someone interrupted.
“Fali, behind you.” Ramid said, nodding to someone standing just behind me. I turned and was face to face with Quickjerk… err… Quickstart.
“Sneaking up behind people is rude you know.” I said giving him the toned down version of the ‘evil eye’.
He either didn’t notice or didn’t care because he went carried on with what he was doing like everything was peachy keen. Eventually he got around to why he’d dragged himself all the way to Borealis, and handed me Bio-analyzing computer. A crowd was starting to gather, as it always does when you’re trying to be discrete.
“What do you propose I do with it?” I asked, dropping pretense that something wasn’t up, really was no point with that many bodies hovering around like angry bees.
Either taking note it was pointless to try, or just for a lack of tact Quick explained.
“You root a Dustie, work him over with that thing without him knowing and you got a DNA print we can track planetwide.” He was smiling a little, nearly cheerful about it as he continued.
“Thing is....you got to be careful with this....if they figure out they're tagged...” He ran a finger across his throat, the universal sign for getting very dead in a painful way.
“Sooooo....you gotta be subtle. You know that, right? I know Clanners tend to have difficulty with the concept.”
I was looking at the computer in my hands, I could do this right? Eeeeasy. Yeah. Right.
“Yeah, I can do subtle..”
Fleat had bounded up to the crowd and greeted her husband; she didn’t seem to know what was going on. The look on her face was enough to know that everyone else standing there was secondary, she loved the guy; I didn’t get it, but it was no less true. I guess she could see beyond his monochromatic wardrobe, real pity she couldn’t be a fashion influence on him.
“Sorry if I Interrupted something.” She said, still looking at Quickstart.
“Just telling Falikos how to catch Dusties.” He replied with that same gooey look she had.
She gave me a quick wave and I smiled and nodded in greeting. Fleat knew what it was to do something dangerous and stupid to keep people safe, and what I was about to do would probably be both.
Quickstart was talking again as I turned my attention back to him, “Alright....what it comes down to is..let them think they scared you while you tag them and then let them lead you to the bigger fish and kick them in the bejeezes.”
“And pray.. you forgot that.” I said.
He looked at me like I’d grown a second head a minute then replied with, “Nah, I'm driven by a force much greater than faith. So...know any way to get the dusties to wake up?”
I stomach did a 360 and I was a little glad I’d not had time for breakfast. Yeah, I knew a way to get the Brigade to show up, sixty-four thousand credit question was going to be if I’d live to talk about it. Good times. Itel and Ramid were discussing ways of baiting them to show up by getting Midia here, they had seemed hot and bothered to talk to her about something. I realized I had missed a few minutes of the conversation; thinking too hard? Who? Me?
“Well, we could try disarming their tracker.” I blurted out interrupting.
“Long as it doesn't involve the missus, I'm listening.” said Quick like the poster boy for the typical male. It rubbed me the wrong way and I wondered if it bothered Fleat… nope, none of my business.
“No, my hide that'll be tanned, not hers. Last time they paid a visit they tagged me with a tracker.. told me if I tried to remove it, they'd make me pay for it.”
He’d grown a little more serious, like a second person was peeking out of his slimy exterior, “u-huh...you willing to risk that?”
I thought a moment, looking at the faces around me. Lips moved, faces filled with concern, but I didn’t hear any of it. “Yeah, Ill risk it if it might mean they're safer.”
It was decided that Itel would see about removing the tracker so I could play live bait. He made me order him to do it, because like always he was pitching a fit about my safety. He poked at it and looked it over eventually just yanking it free. It stung a bit like a low electric current, and I thought to myself “Hell I could of done that,” but I kept my mouth shut. No going back now, the bait was ready and I was it. I checked to make sure my armor was sealed, hopefully it would matter when the first cries of “Incoming!” rang through my ears.
A male commando appeared in front of me, nearly out of thin air. “Falikos. I bring a message for you. She knows what you're up to. She knows what you're trying to do.” I started to ask who and he nearly shouted at me “SHE does.” Ookay, I got the picture, no more messin around for me.
I palmed the computer and brushed his back with it as he turned to walk away from me. “Stop trying to remove it, or bad things may happen. She won't let you continue. You've been warned.” This guy obviously had seen one to many old world cinemas but whatever, he was tagged and I wasn’t a bloody mass. Life is good.
We had tailed them to the whampa but they seemed to vanish as they exited into Newland. I really hate how they do that. We hauled back to where Quick was pouring over a read out, and he handed me a disc.
“They went here. Newland desert, Coordinates 300, 3000.”
I was smiling from ear to ear; we got ‘em. “Well, why don't we pay them a visit then.”
“Tell them I said hi” he said grinning. He wasn’t coming. I wasn’t sure if I should chew him out or be grateful he wasn’t going to be watching my back. Quickstart isn’t exactly on my list of people I’d want to be making sure I didn’t end up dead.
I shouted, “Everyone, check your insurance... goin on a little walk.”, as people made ready for the assault.
A smile was creeping over my face, and I dimly realized that it wasn’t a pleasant one. I wasn’t the only one that noticed either. Fleat was looking at me, “Falikos? Something the matter?”
“Lets go see who's hand we can take.” I muttered and took off for the whampa. I didn’t know what Fleat or anyone else thought about it, and in that moment, I didn’t care a bit.
I got there just as the attack got under way; people were firing into the camp and others running headlong into it with blades drawn. This was going to get messy fast. Elite masked commandos charged around covering people in plasma burns and sending people to reclaim. Battle cries and cries of pain were heard over the gunfire and rush of nanobots exploding targets. We were all out here fighting, together, and we were a vicious force. People stumbled back onto the battle field, still sick from a quick insurance trip firing their weapons and trying to recover. Wet spots dotted the sand where someone had bleed out onto it creating a red firmness as the ground sucked it in. RubiKa would be getting it’s quart of blood and then some.
The last commando was swarmed, being beaten and torn apart by the crowd as an explosion rocked us and we saw the facility crumble. Some ran to see if anything could be salvaged while others beat the last inches of life out of the last of them till he lay twitching on the sand. I stood, horrified and pleased at the area laid waste. The body stopped twitching as I bent slicing free his hand and tossed it in a backpack. I looked up from the corpse and saw everyone watching me. Sure, it was gross, but I highly doubted it was the worst any of them had ever seen. They were all splattered with blood, some more than others as we all caught our breath while the adrenaline faded.
Someone was shouting at me “Falikos?!” It was Red. I blinked at him and he continued. “What are your thoughts? Were these Midia's Dusters or that nasty group from a week ago?”
He wanted me to think now? That seemed a little unfair, but that’s how it goes. “I believe they were the real deal.”
People began to talk, speculating about what we’d accomplished, and how sure we could be that they were the ones that had tortured some of us a few weeks ago. Red looked at me again and said, “But, Falikos.. I have a couple concerns.”
I heard the sound of rushing air and a dull thud; blackness was creeping across my vision as a woman’s voice spoke into my comm line. “Thanks for killing my tail.”
~Ashes to ashes, blood to dust~
