Chapter 80: Revelations
He scrunched up his face as he stirred, his back stiff from sleeping in the chair in his office. He drew a breath, lazily opening his eyes with a roll to shake off the weakening hold that sleep stubbornly held on him. The unexpected closeness of a brown-furred paw to his face had him react on reflex, a hand grabbing the wrist as he bucked the seat. He tilted as it fell backwards, a knee brought up to catch the torso of whoever thought it was a good idea to try something.
A brief tumble ended with him bracing his arm across the chest of a surprised Raine, the perpetual ‘customer service’ smile replaced by a blank blink, her arms pinned to the floor by his knees as he maintained the mount.
“Jesus fuck, Raine. Don’t startle me,” he sighed out as the shot of adrenaline passed. She smirked when it became clear that he wasn’t going to do anything else.
“Of course, sir. Though, I was attempting to wake you.”
He offered a hand once he had gotten to his feet, tugging her upright with a single pull. “Any particular reason?”
“The young mistress seeks an audience.”
Joseph cracked his back, groaning as his body complained about the awkward sleeping position and his irritation of the healing wound. It wasn’t his intent to pass out in his chair, but that’s what had apparently happened. He supposed that’s what he got for staying up late every night drafting things for Toril to work on and schematics for Bratik. “You know you don’t need my permission to let her in.”
Raine nodded. “The complication is in regards to her accompaniment.”
He pulled his chair upright, plopping himself into it and checking that the reports he was going over hadn’t been disturbed by his drowsy acrobatics. “Let me guess, Tel? You would have just told them I wasn’t seeing anyone otherwise.”
The brown-furred female chuckled as she fixed her uniform, a dagger being pushed back into its sheath after having been pushed out by his sudden submission. “The mistress would have little issue forcing her way in. We are as beholden to her wishes as we are yours.”
The Human conceded the point. “I’m more surprised that she hasn’t, if I’m honest,” he drolled, a hand rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “So, if it’s not Tel, who?”
“Huntress Pan is seeking some time as well.”
He drew a breath before hissing it out between his teeth. She was the only one who knew the actual reason he had locked himself away, though it was in part due to the whole ‘hey, you’re actually considered religiously significant and we just so happened to not tell you because we thought you might be mad about it’ thing. Well, yes, he was mad about it. Mad enough to stomp out after yelling at everyone for not warning him that some people would treat him like some minor deity walking among them, then lock himself in his office for a while out of spite.
In actuality, he had kind of gotten over it a few days ago. Now he was using the opportunity to test a few theories he had. From the verbal reports given by the Bla— Wraiths, Sahari was starting to get a little worked up about his prolonged absence, and Nalah was slowly following suit, which lent credence to a theory he had ever since he learned the blond-furred female had divulged that she was bonded to the former. Harrow seemed surprisingly unnerved as well, but he wasn’t sure if that was because of whatever happened in her past or not. The only one who seemed fine with his absence was Jax, but he was a bit of a moot point due to the injury to his nose.
“Let them in,” he decided after a moment, sorting out his reports into stacks and placing the rough designs on their own. Raine bowed lightly before she left the office, returning after a minute with Violet and Pan in tow. The young Queen wasted no time with greetings, choosing to tackle him in his chair and chitter in her excitement. It was all he could do to prevent a repeat of earlier, the seat tipping dangerously until he managed to shift his weight forward enough to set it down again.
“Are you well?” Pan asked from across the room, her expression showing that she wasn’t quite sure if it was okay to copy their adoptive daughter. He raised a brow at her before remembering that him losing his shit was likely still on her mind.
“Yeah,” he replied, a hand rubbing Violet’s back. “Passed out in my chair again, but otherwise fine.”
Seeing that he wasn’t opposed to her presence, she allowed a smile as she crossed the room, waiting for Violet to have her fill before claiming her own hug. She nuzzled into his neck, her paws gripping into him a bit more than he would have expected. He should have seen it coming, mostly due to the state she was in being away from him for so long after his trip to Trill’s, but it was still a bit surprising to have her hold him so tight after just a few days of him diving face-first into paperwork without coming up for air.
He returned it as best he could from his seated position, his fingers working through her fur under the flowing shirt she put on for the day. Satisfied with reestablishing contact with her bond, she separated, the smile upon her face now more genuine.
“Will you be joining our rest this moon?”
He shook his head, trying not to notice the look of disappointment it earned. “I want to confirm something first, you know that.”
She nodded, though she still seemed let down. He stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes, dragging his ass out of the chair to wrap her in a more complete hug.
“Look, I’m not mad about the whole ‘Guardian’ thing anymore.”
“I know, I just miss you,” she responded quietly while allowing his arms to envelop her. “Tel misses you.”
He snorted as he released her. “I was expecting her to barge in here to drag me out by now.”
Pan returned with her own giggling, her wrist covering her mouth. “She has mentioned considering as much. I believe she wishes to respect your desire for solitude.”
He shrugged, tossing a tablet he was finished with to the side. “Mostly just fucking annoyed with everyone keeping shit to themselves.” He glanced out to the ‘secret sanctum,’ the enclosed outdoor meeting area currently populated by Scarlet in the process of feeding several birds that had made a habit of visiting her. It was odd to watch at first—whatever sparked the routine being lost on him—but now he found it kind of soothing to watch the occasional raven-like avian hop around the area. “That being said, I get why you guys wouldn’t want to drop that on me, and it doesn’t really change anything for me. I just wish that I had a heads up.”
“I’m sorry.”
He waved it off. “Damage is done. Now I’m just getting a bit of revenge while I use this as a test.”
[Don’t be mean.]
He blinked at the English on the new tablet Violet displayed in front of his face, the wax coating the frame being a darker colour so that it would reveal the lighter silver underneath when she scratched out the characters. “I’m not being mean.”
She wiped the surface flat with her blade before replacing the text. [You’re making them sad.]
Joseph tried to ignore Pan laughing as their daughter chastised his—admittedly petty—retaliation. A raised finger was clutched back to his fist as he had to allow her the point. “I’ll give it up soon. I just want Sahari to come out with it first.”
“Would you like me to encourage her?” Pan offered when Violet stamped her legs in disapproval. He tried not to look so discouraged in disappointing the Atmo, chewing his cheek as he considered dropping the act and being more direct about his suspicions.
“Maybe, I don’t know,” he responded with a hand running through his hair, a sigh escaping his lips. “I guess it’s not even a big deal to begin with. I’m probably just being childish.”
Violet, pleased that her scolding had the intended effect, quickly changed topics. [Are you still hurt?]
He furrowed his brow as he worked his shoulders, wincing at the movement. “Not as bad as before, but I’ll still need to be careful for a bit.” He hissed as a particular movement caught on the healroot. “Speaking of, I should clean it.”
“I will fetch a replacement bandage,” Pan offered, stopping when Joseph held a palm up.
“It’s fine. Raine, could you go grab some for me? I’d say it’s about time I go grab a bath or something, so I’ll hit the bathhouse.”
The Wraith bowed. “Shall I ensure none of the Heads are within proximity?”
He shook his head, giving a side-eyed glance to the smug Queen in the room. “I’ve screwed with them enough as it is, I guess. I wasn’t joking about Tel barging in to drag me out if I kept this up, that’s an actual concern now.”
She smirked at him, turning on her pads and leaving the office. Joseph looked between Violet and Pan. “Want to grab a wash with me?”
The bonded female lit up. “I would love to.”
[Bath time!]
He snorted, rolling his eyes at the excitement displayed. “Alright, come on. Hopefully I don’t get tackled or something.”
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Luckily, he wasn’t assaulted; neither on his way to the bathhouse, nor when he exited it feeling much better about existing now that the sensation of cleanliness had worked out a lot of his stress. It was a bit of a task corralling Violet into behaving in the smaller tub—the Atmo used to having free reign of the larger baths within the outpost—but it was the most fun he had since he locked himself in the office, so he wasn’t too bothered by it. Having Pan there to laugh along when their daughter decided to see how much water she could displace was also a moment that he enjoyed thoroughly, even if cleaning up after it was a pain.
Wearing a fresh change of clothes that Raine fetched for him, the female having far better foresight than he possessed, and a new strip of healroot over the long wound on his back, he blinked away the brightness of the sun. Letting his eyes adjust, he took stock of what the settlement was looking like, nodding his head in approval with their progress over the last little while.
The barn was done, several enclosures for various animals they were expecting soon contained within, as well as a fenced portion outside for any outdoors time that would be required. Toril rendered animal fat, using the moss extract, and some of their ink to make what ended up being the tablets that Violet and Mama now used. It had also led to him making torch-like structures with a bit of help from the carpenters, so they had proper lighting throughout the pathways besides the odd fire. Joseph wasn’t quite sure what the chemist added to make them burn for so long, but whatever it was, it was working great, and the melted excess was collected into a shaped container in the bottom to be removed and reused with a new wick.
The walkway around the walls was completed, allowing several of those on patrol to see over it effortlessly, as well as have a better line of sight within the settlement. This included being able to easily see the two extra dens that had been made recently, bringing the total up to eight. There were suggestions about adding guard towers throughout the area, but he wasn’t quite sure it was something they would really benefit from at the moment. He would need to speak with Nalah regardless—she was the one who arranged those kinds of things.
His idle observations were disrupted when Pan grabbed his hand, a curious glance revealing the pointed tilt of her head towards the gate. He followed the gesture to see Jax and Sahari discussing something, though he was too far away to even hope to parse whatever was being said. They were both facing away from him, so he could only go off their body language, but it didn’t seem like it was an overly heated conversation.
“Doesn’t look like a fight,” he muttered, mostly to himself. It wasn’t quiet enough apparently, his white-furred girlfriend chuckling at his observation.
“Shall we see what has them so invested?” she offered with a squeeze of her paw.
He cycled a breath, exhaling it in defeat as he abandoned the idea of having more time alone with her and Violet, though the Atmo was quick to dash those hopes as well with a quick hug before departing to do whatever it was she felt like doing. His eyes followed his daughter before he shunted them closed and nodded.
“Might as well. Hopefully, I don’t get hit.”
“Would you like me to interfere?” Pan asked with a tipped ear. Joseph shrugged with a snort.
“Only if they don’t stop with one.” He paused to consider what that ‘one’ might be. “Or if it’s going to break something.”
She giggled, nodding her assent to saving him more time in the medbay.
It was a short walk to meet up with the two black-furred Lilhuns, both seeming to be having a rather serious discussion in their native tongue. Given that he hadn’t had the chance to have more than a lesson or two since they brought Bratik back, he wasn’t much better at translating it than before. As luck would have it, he was able to catch most of it once he was within range.
“How long?”
Jax’s eyes followed the passing crowd. “Perhaps a sun.”
“Which suggests we should alert him.”
“That would be preferable, yes.”
Sahari fidgeted, a claw scratching her shoulder absently. “Would he humour an audience?”
“Unlikely, given how cross he was regarding everything.”
The female sighed in annoyance. “How long will he sequester himself?”
“Until he has forgiven us.”
“And if such never comes to be?” Sahari snapped, a slight snarl exposing her teeth. She blinked as she caught herself. “Apologies.”
Jax chuckled as he shook his head. “I believe you would do better if you were to tell him about-”
“I am not risking his hatred,” she interrupted.
“Or,” Joseph interjected in the same growled tongue, mildly amused by being downwind. He was pretty sure she would have noticed him before he got close enough to startle her otherwise. What wasn’t amusing, however, was the black-furred female reflexively sending a kick to his head when she heard the unfamiliar Lilhun.
The action caught him off guard, Pan's swift intervention being all that spared him a headache for the rest of the day. She bolted forward, one paw catching behind the knee to reduce the range and another pressing against Sahari’s side to tip her over. The sudden change in weight distribution sent the black-furred female crashing to the ground, Jax blinking as he looked back and forth between the Human and the now-flat person he had been speaking with.
“As I was saying,” Joseph continued in English with a nod of thanks to Pan, his mate helping an embarrassed Sahari to her feet, “Or, you could just tell me before I get pissed off with pretending I don’t know.” He paused to place a knuckle to his lips. “I guess I already am, considering I just gave it away.”
“Grand Hunter, My apolo-”
“Don’t care. Drop the title,” he interjected with a glare. Sahari shrunk a bit, a slight panic working into her expression that seemed to combat a relief that he was close enough for her to scent.
“What might you know?”
Joseph blinked slowly, rubbing his face with his hands before letting them drop to his sides. “I fuck off for five days and you look like a drug addict itching for their next fix. Seriously? ‘What might I know?’”
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Sahari fumbled with her words, a mix of irritation and remorse making it difficult for her to respond. Jax rested a paw on her shoulder with a sympathetic expression. “It would seem that he has known for some time, Sahari. There is nothing to gain by feigning ignorance.”
The female deflated, her eyes refusing to meet the Human’s. “How did you discover it?”
“Nalah told me,” he replied flatly, Pan mirroring his placid demeanour. He held a hand up when she looked like she was getting worked up. “She told me when I initially encouraged her to try for a relationship with you. Honestly, the poor thing spent most of it sobbing out of joy, so I doubt she really thought much about it.”
Sahari failed to speak, her muzzle opening and closing uselessly a few times before her ears fell guiltily. “I wished not to burden you.”
He nodded sternly. “Yeah. Seems to be a fucking theme here.” She flinched at his tone. “So what’s going on in about a day?”
Jax paused, his supportive presence shattered as he roared in laughter, Sahari staring at him wide-eyed. “You...”
“Learned a bit, yeah. Keep it to yourself for now,” he dismissed with a roll of his eyes. She glanced at Jax, the male wiping a tear from his eye.
“You knew?”
“I have been teaching him.”
“You did not think it prudent to inform-”
“Day from now!” Joseph raised his voice to cut her off. “We can talk about the irony of this shit later.”
She drew her lips thin, but nodded anyway, a paw gesturing to Jax. “His hunting party noticed a caravan heading towards the settlement.”
The Grand Hunter raised a brow, an edge to his tone. “I take it that I wasn’t told yet because this is new information?”
“As well as your willing isolation, yes,” she confirmed hesitantly.
“The girls were told to respond if called. They would have passed it along.”
Sahari seemed more and more dejected with every counterpoint he put forward, her confidence waning in turn. Pan grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, her expression asking him to go easier on her. He cycled a breath to cool himself down.
“Look,” he started in a much softer tone, “I was just pissed off having all this responsibility dumped on my lap, then all the important information withheld. It makes it hard to trust you guys when it seems like I’m constantly behind like this.”
The black-furred female nodded, her eyes fixed downward. “It is my own burden to bear. I requested those who knew to refrain from divulging it.”
Joseph chewed his cheek before freeing his hand from Pan’s paw, offering her a small smile in the process. As he closed the distance between himself and Sahari, the female seemed to shrink, her expression shifting to surprise as he wrapped her in a hug, his hand patting her back.
“Just let me know when things are going on, okay?”
She nodded, tentatively returning the embrace. Though he knew the sniffing was likely her catching up on whatever scent-based fuckery the bond worked off of, it was still putting him somewhere between amused and uncomfortable, something that Jax found infinitely entertaining. He scowled at the chuckling male, but his annoyance died out when Pan seemed to be equally unsuccessful at hiding her mirth.
“Anyway,” he called out with a final pat, Sahari reluctantly allowing him his freedom, “caravan is a day out. We know what they’re doing out there?”
“We suspect it is coming to fulfill a portion of the trade agreement,” Jax explained, his smirk still firmly in place.
“What are they carrying?”
“Animals, as well as a fair portion of unarmed Lilhuns.”
He blew a breath as he rolled his eyes in thought. “We have the barn up, so hopefully we won’t be making anything last minute. Unarmed people would mean either tradesmen here to learn our methods or more servants. Probably both.” He clicked his tongue a few times. “Any numbers?”
“Unfortunately not, Grand Hunter.”
“That’s fine,” he allowed with a shrug, raising one arm to snap his fingers. The sound pierced the air, Scarlet and Faye slipping from the shadows and bowing in greeting. Joseph glanced at Jax. “Which way?”
The male blinked, pointing roughly towards where his expedition had observed the caravan. The Human nodded before turning his attention to the girls.
“There’s some visitors we’re expecting soon. I want two of you to catalogue everything about them and get back to me with the report. Numbers, arms, cargo, and any Blades you find. Don’t let them know.”
Scarlet raised a paw, speaking when Joseph gestured his acceptance of her inquiry. “Which of us shall go?”
“Yeah, right. The watch over Toril,” Joseph muttered. “Kaslin is mostly dealing with him, right?”
Scarlet nodded.
“You two deal with this. Get Raine to take over for Kaslin when it’s time to switch out.”
“What of yourself?”
He waved it off. “I’m sure Tel has noticed I’m around by now. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear you were under order to let her know when I left my cave.”
The dark-red-furred female smirked, Faye mirroring the expression with a more subtle inflection. “It is as you suspect, though you are well within your rights to be informed of the objectives she assigns us.”
“Don’t care,” he deadpanned, “Let me know if it’s something important, but her making sure I didn’t die while locked in my office seems pretty standard for her. You two get ready and head out.”
“Of course, sir,” they replied in unison, both disappearing into the shadows as easily as they had appeared. Jax raised a brow at him, causing Joseph to return it.
“What?”
“You have gotten rather accustomed to commanding them,” the male commented plainly, Sahari showing her agreement with the assertion. He shrugged, not overly concerned about the observation.
“Feels natural with them,” he admitted with a lingering glance to where the pair had left. “I don’t really get it either, but they’re happy with the arrangement, so, whatever.”
Jax grunted in understanding, though he still seemed curious. Sahari looked to be more accepting of his answer, though that was likely because she knew exactly how he felt about it. The only one who didn’t show a shred of doubt was Pan, the white-furred female simply happy that her mate was interacting with the pack again.
“Anyway,” Joseph sighed as he disrupted the moment of contemplation, “I should probably go check on everyone before they try to take my head off too.”
Sahari flattened her ears in shame as he walked away, Jax laughing at her expense.
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She held her tablet braced to the crook of her arm, her free paw jotting down short notes to keep track of what the caravan had brought with them. True to their suspicions, it was the second trade shipment they had been waiting on, the rest expected to occur on a slightly more regular schedule as acceptance of their offer to move into the settlement increased.
Joseph had met with the female in charge of the group, the meeting apparently going rather smoothly, all things considered. The only part that worried Sahari was a whisper travelling through the escorts.
Some knew of the Atmo, and not through circumstances that would make the Human happy.
There were suggestions that some Grand Hunters had implemented them as a labour force, if not eliminated them as a potential threat like they would with any other dangerous wildlife. The only good news was that, as limited as it was, the summons Bratik had distributed have begun to appear far beyond the original scope of what they were expecting, mentions cropping up within other territories.
It was a hopeful bit of news for them, the likelihood of the messages reaching those who it was intended for skyrocketing with the confirmed existence of the insects. She just hoped that those chances paid off.
“You five will be distributed amongst the Heads in line with your preferences,” she announced to the five workers sent to uphold Joseph’s offer of a work exchange. “The two of you will fall under Harrow, she will likely have you assist Heralt, our metalworker and smith. You will be under Nalah to assist with our constructions. You will be working under Tel as a cook...”
She checked her notes again, a brow raised at the name. It itched at the back of her mind that she might have heard it before, but given that she had heard many names over the course of her life, she shrugged it off as a coincidence. Looking at the female, she wasn’t quite sure what to think of her.
Light brown fur over the majority of her coat that shifted to a deep black under her jaw, the coloration continuing down her torso and disappearing under her lower clothing. The attire itself was a bit of an oddity—as far as what was to be expected from visitors, anyway. Instead of utilitarian leathers, and perhaps a tunic or cloak, she was draped in a treated material.
The shirt was form-fitting to her body, a series of purposeful patterns removed from the material to display her natural colours underneath. The garment stopped at her shoulders, seeming to barely be supported by her frame at all, and the sleeves billowed out past the elbow, giving her the impression of someone who would be better suited to a fashion show. Her pants were slim, though didn’t accentuate the curves like Tel or Pan preferred, instead only suggesting the feminine appeal they covered in a restrained, yet still tasteful, way.
Given that the confident gaze directed back to Sahari remained unwavering, she double-checked that the requested assignment was indeed correct, mentally shrugging as she surrendered to the whims of the female.
“You will be working under Huntress Pan as a seamstress,” she finalized, taking another look at the outfit. “Is that your work?”
The female smiled politely. “It is.”
Sahari nodded her approval. “I believe your expertise will be appreciated then.” She shifted her regard back to the group as a whole, gesturing to indicate where they should go. “Those under Harrow, proceed to the workshop; Heralt will be the brown-furred male and likely stretching metal into wire for one of her projects. You can accept his directions until she has a moment to speak with you. For Nalah, you will find her near any construction, though I believe she is speaking with someone regarding the animals near the barn over there.”
She waited for those three to leave before continuing, scratching the completion of their assignments with a claw before she remembered that she should be using her quill. Shrugging to herself, she returned to directing the remainders. “Tel is, for the moment, unavailable due to some conflicting duties. If you wish, Kelth—another cook within our settlement—should be able to assist until she finds herself of time to properly induct you into her purview. He can be regularly found at the hunter’s lodge that way.”
The worker nodded their appreciation and headed off to bother the male of Mi’low’s pack, Sahari exhaling in relief when she wasn’t asked what exactly was currently keeping their culinary expert occupied. As worked-up as the pack had gotten by the temporary estrangement Joseph imposed, Tel had seemed to be the most aggressively upset. Hearing that the male had ended his protest, she apparently made a point of punching him in the stomach to convey her dissatisfaction before Pan mediated a less violent method of communication. Though, from the laughter that followed, Sahari figured that the issue had resolved itself, leaving Tel to resume her usual position as a hidden guard for her mate whenever there were guests in the settlement.
Scratching off the next member from her tablet, she let it rest against her side as she breathed out in consideration. Pan should be with Joseph, given that most of her work at the moment was acting as a translator—not that it was as necessary as before. It was a bit shocking to learn that the male had actually been taking lessons in Lilhun, more so that he had actually managed to keep it from most everyone, but he insisted it remain a secret until he had some semblance of mastery over the language regardless.
She wasn’t comfortable hiding it from everyone, though she hardly had any room to argue. Joseph had not fully forgiven her for hiding her bond, but he also did not hold it against her. It was a conflicting set of emotional responses that made her uneasy, betrayal mixed with understanding and sadness, like he accepted her reasoning yet still felt scorned for her reticence. It would be a long time to earn back that which she squandered away, but it was something she wished to regain. If only for her own peace of mind.
“Huntress Pan will be accompanying the Grand Hunter for majority of his interactions throughout the sun, and we are lacking a secondary authority for me to assign you, so do forgive us for having nowhere to direct you for the moment.”
The female smiled, the loose fabric of her sleeves swaying as she dismissed the concern with a wave of her paw. “It is no trouble. Few understand the intricacies and importance of our craft. If someone like myself is placed in high station, I can only await meeting them with excitement and expectation.”
Sahari tried not to let the concern show on her face, a moderate confusion battling for dominance in its display, but some seemed to have leaked through her eyes anyway, the new seamstress giggling in response. Shaking off the feeling that she was overlooking something, she gave an apologetic tilt of her head and gestured towards the barracks. “In the meantime, you can find your accommodations within that building. We are still working to supply individual dens for our number, but it has become something of a secondary objective due to other projects that have become a requirement. There is a personal storage chest for any items you may have, though do mind that there are no locks and we operate upon a trust system for ownership of possessions.”
The female nodded, sauntering towards the directed construction with a level of grace that did not belong to a mere trades-worker. Sahari furrowed her brow before cycling a breath. There were still four servants to orient, then she would need to oversee their distribution to facilitate an optimal progression for each of the projects currently underway.
A smile of fulfillment crept upon her face, acknowledging that she had become rather busy recently with tasks such as these. It wasn’t all that long ago that she lamented her uselessness, herself but a mere replacement for the more competent of the den when they were otherwise occupied. Now, she was the one assigning others to do as much, all because Joseph gleaned some use for her that she herself did not notice.
The elation faded as she thought of the Grand Hunter, quickly replaced by guilt. She would have to make it up to him at some point, but she wasn’t sure how she could. For now, all she could do was her job, and make sure to do it well enough that he would not be burdened with cleaning up after her.
She fixed the tablet under her arm as she moved towards her next destination.
One thing at a time.
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A shower of sparks came from the electrical panel on the roof, Keet admitting that he was rather happy to remain on the ground as Malaxus dealt with the tricky stuff. It had been a task that was numerous suns in the making, and one that he did not feel confident in doing alone—not after the last time he blew a fuse because he had gotten impatient with how long it took Malaxus to bathe. He only had enough self-confidence to show his face around the settlement when he wasn’t shaved bald, after all, and he felt that doing that once was more than enough.
“Still alive?” he called out to the older male, a vibrant blue tail being all he could see from this angle. The tail twitched, a gruff voice responding.
“Seems so. A shame, really. Would have loved to laugh at whatever she did to you.”
Keet winced, not really wanting to picture it. “Suppose we’ll never know. Are you done?”
Malaxus popped up, some of his fur singed by the sparks, though he didn’t seem to mind if he had noticed. “I would hope so, kit. Only so much of this I have the body for.”
“Yet your mouth runs eternal.”
The blue-furred male jabbed a claw down at him. “And you’ll be on the receiving end of it until the Hunt Mother claims me, kit. Now, come help me down from here. I don’t trust that ladder.”
Keet shook his head as he moved to humour the male, grabbing the rope to assist in the rappelling down. “You trusted it until you tried climbing it after six moons without rest.”
“And it betrayed me!” Mal shouted in defiance, a hint of mirth in his voice. “My heart was stolen and crushed!”
“By a ladder?”
“My one true love,” the male responded mournfully, a grin breaking the facade as Keet lowered him to the ground carefully.
“Are you sure you don’t just like making me work?”
“Perhaps,” Mal admitted with a shrug, “you’re hardly useful up there.”
“I just know my skills,” Keet refuted as he crossed his arms, dropping them as the blue-furred male waved him off and headed towards the doors of the outpost.
“You have none.”
“I’m a great singer.”
“Yet no one asks you to sing.”
“They just don’t appreciate true art.”
“Or they appreciate their hearing,” Mal grinned over his shoulder as he pushed open the door, holding it just long enough that Keet would need to intercept it behind him. The shock to his arms stung, but it was a harmless bit of ribbing between them.
Keet and Mal had met while still aboard the ship, the two being assigned to communications and maintenance respectively. Once they found themselves stepping off their Atmospheric Entry Craft and subsequently taken under the Grand Huntress, they were given the task of making the communications terminal operational again. It wouldn’t have been such a difficult task, but the warp-spike deployed somewhere on, or near, the planet had effectively cut the range of any device trying to send a signal outwards to nil.
So began the endless task of rerouting power and cannibalizing Atmospheric Entry Crafts to boost the strength of their message. They had spent most suns simply trying to fit as many generators and batteries into the circuitry as they could, ruining several in the process thanks to the alien materials involved. After far more error than trial, they had managed something that should pierce clean through the interference and allow them to send some information back to the fleet.
Keet scrunched his snout as he thought for a moment. “Didn’t the Union steal our warp-spike tech?”
Mal paused, the hexagonal skylights filtering light through his rare fur in sharp beams. “And we stole their translation tech in turn, yes.”
“Why deploy it here?” he questioned, an arm broadly gesturing to everything.
Malaxus exhaled a shot of air through his nose, turning on his pad to continue to the terminal room. “They caught us, didn’t they?”
“Just seems like a bit much,” Keet muttered under his breath as he sped up to walk side-by-side, ignoring the rolled eyes Mal gave in return.
“Once they know what they’re dealing with, we’ll be able to get some help without a repeat of the incident.”
“Hopefully,” Keet corrected.
“Hopefully, yes,” Mal allowed with a sigh. “They’ll be able to offset its effects, but until we find it, it’ll sit there tossing our efforts for more into the Void.”
They entered their destination, Keet quickly claiming his chair and letting the maintenance worker lean on the backrest as he navigated the operating system he had learned over the suns. He still couldn’t read any of it, but there were some things that just needed a bit of persistence to sort out.
Malaxus reached into his pockets and produced a bag of jerky, offering a strip to Keet. Accepting, he popped it into his mouth as he worked out the phrasing of his request for aid. It needed to be as short as possible while still conveying all the important details. Too long and it would take more power than they could produce, the signal dying out before it reached Lilhun occupied space. Too sparse in details, and they’d just have another ship stranded there with them.
It wouldn’t be so stressful if they had more than one shot.
“You sure the whole thing is going to go up?” Keet asked over his shoulder, Mal grunting in return.
“Boom.”
He turned in his chair to look at the male, his expression nearing horrified. “What?”
Mal clipped him over the head and pointed back at the monitor. “We’ll be fine. That won’t. Don’t mess it up.”
Keet rubbed his ear to work off the sting, glowering at the male until he reluctantly returned to his task. Converting this mess of a language into something recognizable by the fleet was his sole task since he was taken in, and now was his only chance to prove he knew what he was doing. Assuming it worked at all, that was. He went over it several times, revising small portions to be more concise or removing what might be superfluous. After the tenth check, he nodded to himself, adding the callsign of the habitation ship and hovering over the confirmation.
“Ready Mal?”
The male grunted, the tension in his jaw making Keet nervous. Praying to the Hunt Mother, he hit confirm, clenching every muscle in his body as the generators and power banks hummed loudly.
The room went dark, every fuse in the building popped at once, and several batteries wired on the roof went up in a fireball. And yet, the two laughed, their ears ringing from the noise.
They had seen it. That fraction of a frame before everything blew up.
It worked.