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Chapter 5
...
RE:MEET
It didn't take long to pry open the cockpit, nor to drag the dark-skinned woman out by her arms, kicking and screaming all the while.
-10 HP
-11 HP
-13 HP
Seiko fell to the ground at the kicking, braced her arm before herself to defend from any more.
The woman was still kicking, still shouting gibberish in some unknown language.
Zark dropped her to the ground. She quickly dragged herself up, held a plasgun out at him, and barked an order.
He threw his hands up. Shit, I forgot I had two in there!
Seiko threw her gun like a boomerang. It struck the woman's hand, sent both of their guns clattering quietly to the dirt.
[Precision Shot]
[Disarming Shot]
[Thrown Weapon Proficiency]
<2.5>
[Class Unlocked: Marksman]
Seiko Marksman [2.5] Skills > Social > More >
She fist-pumped to herself as the small fireworks popped over her floating HUD. Zark cast her a wary smile, a careful chuckle, then turned again to the other woman. "You don't speak Starkind, do you?"
The dark-skinned woman did not reply.
"Wait," Seiko dug into her pockets. Her inventory HUD came up automatically, released a [Space Age Token] into her hand. She flicked it over to the woman. Zark did not look too pleased with that development.
The woman swiped it out of the air. Immediately, it glowed a fierce light. Her eyes funneled that same golden light for a long moment, and then everything went dark all throughout the clearing, all throughout the starlit forest.
She looked up with a menacing scowl. "I am Rié. I thank you for your Token. I'll be commandeering this vessel."
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"Oh? Even with the Token, you'd rather make things difficult for all of us? Weren't you just looking for a quick level up?"
The woman shook her head. "I am not. I'm looking to bring my colony into the next Stage."
Zark lifted his eyebrows. "Presumably you're in the Tribal Stage? Then, the next would be the Medieval Era, no? But that Token has enough value to take you straight off this planet, you'd skip, what, four, five eras!?"
"Some of us are not so selfish as you are." she hissed.
Zark shrugged, cast his casual expression over to Seiko.
Seiko said, "Her business is her own. I'm just glad we can talk to our new friend." She smiled warmly, held a hand out.
The woman scowled at the hand. She turned back to the ship, placed a hand against it.
"We can help you bring that to your tribe, if you'd like."
Zark staggered backward, "Eh!? What are we going to do, drag it!?"
Seiko nodded, "Mhm!"
Rié seemed to light up somewhat at that suggestion.
"So, what do you think? Want a hand with that? My only ask is, well..." She waved her still-extended hand back and forth.
The woman shifted her eyes between them suspiciously. Then she finally took Seiko's hand.
...
"HAAAAAAAAAAAH...!" groaned Zark with a desperate tug of the rope they'd stuck to the ship's thrusters.
"OUR STRENGTH..." Seiko howled through another strained step forward, yanking her own rope with her waist, "...WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS!"
"I don't think... that's how it... WORKS!" Zark pulled harder.
Seiko was panting. She wiped the sweat from her brow. Then she cast a glance to Rié. "Rié... Are you okay!?"
She was completely pale faced, completely worn down. And then...
THUD.
She collapsed into the dirt.
"No!" Seiko threw the rope off from her body, sprinted over to Rié.
"Her stamina must have drained out... She's probably not high enough level..." Zark fell to the ground on his butt, dropped the ropes aside.
"Do you have any food items? Any drinks?"
"Only a [Protein Bar]." He waved his hand and it sparkled into existence there, wrapped in a bright green wrapper. "But it's mine. I need the energy."
"She needs it more!" Seiko took Rié's gun from her holster, turned it over to point at Zark's hand.
He threw the bar to the ground in an immediate rush of fear. Seiko swept it up from the ground in a swift motion and turned it over to Rié. She held it to her mouth.
"Eat, eat!"
But the woman did not move. She was completely still.
Seiko's arms fell limp. "Dammit..."
"We'll just have to split the bar. Here, gimme some."
She glared back.
"Our strength is high enough! We can get the ship back on our own! But my stamina is running out, as well."
"Fine. Fine, fine, fine." Seiko petulantly stood, stomped over to him, slapped half of the energy bar down into his hand.
Zark shifted his lips dejectedly. Then Seiko dropped to the ground beside him, close enough that he could smell her light floral perfume, and began to munch on her bar.
He started on his as well. Then, with an uneasy glance to her, he asked, "You want something nicer to wear?"
"Nicer?"
"I've got a bodysuit in my ship's cargo. Think it's a [Blacksteel Bodysuit +1]. You know, like the one Palindrome used to wear."
"Mm. Pass." She continued to eat.
Zark silently munched away. It's a wonder anybody ever really thought she was a woman. Her personality, her scent, her... He glanced over at her breasts. Yeah, that. Was anybody ever really convinced...? Or were they pretending not to know?
"Done." She suddenly stood up.
Zark still hadn't finished his own bar, he'd gotten so distracted. He quickly shoved it into his mouth and hopped up. "Alright, let's get this thing back to her village."
Seiko gave a confident "Mm!" and brought the rope up to her waist again.
Off they went into the rising sun, off they went into their intwined destiny...