Continued From E3:P1

Balinski walked to the exit with Daryon, the two of them walking in relative silence for the first leg of the journey. As they reached the street level and stepped out onto it he felt an arm on his shoulder. “I think we should be careful how we approach this. I have heard about this place, I knew an older officer who got dispatched here to settle a fight and ended up crippled for life.” her story didn't exactly fill him with dread, he was already crippled for life.

She didn't seem to notice the irony of her statement and instead started to walk off with that strange alien gait of hers. Her many legs seemed to move in waves, pushing her first this way then the other, in this slightly wending manner she advanced along the sidewalk next to him.

They crossed the majority of the space like this before she nudged him. “You are way too sstill, loosssen up. Relax up a little, your possture screamsss cop. You need to sslouch a little, maybe even add ssome ssswagger to your step.”

She seemed to do just as she suggested, adding a slight sway to her upper body as she walked. He just took a breath and tried his best to relax. But it was difficult to do when he knew with a surety that he was walking into a dangerous situation.

With her casual clothing and the light sparkling from her polished blue eyes he had to admit that she made for a striking figure. Her back was colorfully patterned as was typical of the females of her species. The thick plates of her carapace had a thick yellow streak running down the middle with what almost looked like lightning bolts that flared off at each new segment of her back plates. All of this was accentuated with a dull orange highlight that seemed to make the yellow glow all the more spectacular. It made her easily distracting to walk behind and so he hurried to catch up to her side.

She looked his way slightly and he noted the way her antenna rose. She seemed to hiss slightly louder than normal and he got the impression she was stifling a laugh. He grimaced and tried once more to act natural.

They crossed the street and the atmosphere changed as soon as they rounded the next corner. The bright opulence of the garish casinos on the main street were now hidden from view by the much more mundane looking buildings that lined the smaller road. He glanced at a few and realised that many of them seemed to be either abandoned or condemned.

“What is this place? Why does it feel so.. ominous?” He hunched a little.

Daryon just gestured to one of the nearby buildings. “All of thesse were owned by the casinoss a few decadesss ago. But when the current financial downturn happened at the sstart of the rebellion most of them had to closse their doorsss. Ssmall businesss and the entire damn community ripped up by the rootss due to the actionss of that damnable conflict.” She paused, stopping for a moment as she looked full at him.

Several of her hands went to cover her mouth as she apologised to him quickly. “Oh, ssorry. I didn't mean to ssound so disresspectful. I think that combat veteranss are great and all, you did a wonderful thing defending the Union from..” he had to cut her off with an aggressive wave of his hand as he stopped in his tracks and looked at her directly.

He stepped closer to her causing her to back up a pace, she seemed to gasp slightly at the anger that flared in his eye. Her spiracle lungs sucking in a large intake of breath from the many small breathing holes along her lower sides.

She was nearly backed into the nearby wall as he spoke, “Protecting from what! From the damn overbearing bureaucracy of our own corrupt congress? Or are you referring to those genocidal maniacs that c-call themselves the true patriots. They all make me sick in my mind, Daryon.”

He stopped and took a deep calming breath. He looked down at his hands which had balled into fists at his sides, they were shaking and he realised with a jolt just how close he was standing to the large vinarfelien. His chest was inches from hers and her body language suggested less fear and more confusion.

He unclenched his hands as he turned away and put them on his head. He tried to take a few deep breaths to calm himself. Without turning he began, “I-I.. I’m sorry, Daryon. You didn’t deserve that. I just.. I can’t talk about the war, the things I saw. The things we did?” Balinski found himself shivering slightly.

‘No, not now.’ He thought to himself desperately as he felt the beginnings of panic seeping into his mind.

As he was afraid he might lose his grip on reality he felt something brush against the back of his head slightly. Before he could really think about it he felt a strong hand on his shoulder as Daryon moved to stand by his side. Her long body trailed behind him out of sight still, but the raised forward third of her body was nearly the same height as he.

She seemed to scrutinise him for a moment before she too apologised. “I ssee that I have upsset you. I apologise as it was not my intention to do sso. I can see that the war took itsss toll out of both your body and mind. I can undersstand having painful memoriesss that you wissh would just go away. But the harder you try and let them go the more they seem to grow like a cancer in your memoriess.” She paused, it had sounded as if she were going to say more but stopped short.

He wanted to ask her to elaborate but found that he didn't have the will. She removed her hand as he stood still, he sucked in a breath. “Maybe.” That was all he said. It was all he had to.

Without a word he turned and started towards their destination. She caught up with him and they continued walking, he felt a little awkward. He rarely lost his temper, at least on friends and people he respected. He glanced at the tall centipoid alien, he did indeed consider the woman as his friend. One of his few friends that he could reliably count on.

He rubbed his shoulder as a strange tingle seemed to seep through the joint, he cleared his throat to get her attention and then spoke softly. “Daryon? I wanted to apologise. I shouldn't have shouted at you, it wasn't fair to you. Would you accept my apology?”

She seemed a little curious, her insectoid head cocking ever so slightly as she gazed up at his face. Her antennae twitched, a symphony of emotions played out over that rigid, chitinous face of hers before she responded to him. When she did her voice seemed a little lower than usual, “Yess, Balinsski. And I too apologise for talking about.. what I talked about. I was told by Ssiyel that mentioning certain articless from your passt might bring you pain. I am sssorry for not listening to her advice, I accept your apology. Would you accept mine?” He looked at her curiously as she finished speaking.

He looked into that strange alien face and saw no animosity at all. Her faceplates cracked apart slightly as she waited for his response. “Yea. I do.” Was all he muttered.

She smiled, her antennae popping up slightly. With her rigid faceplates and lack of movable facial features she expressed her emotions differently. Not so differently that he couldn't tell in general how she was feeling. All social creatures discovered by the Union so far had physical social cues. Even the crystalline jeseo with their hard bodies made of living superconductor often used their manipulator tendrils to accentuate or punctuate their electronic speech.

He reached out and gave her shoulder a slap after the thought, “Alright. Now that we are back on the same page what say you we knock some heads.” She raised a hand in what looked like a contemplative gesture. He grinned, “A figure of speech is all it was.”

Daryon seemed to settle, her burning comment assuaged. They reached a hole in the wall alley and she put out an arm and looked around. Leaning close she hissed, “Alright. Walk around thiss corner and we are at the bar. Act natural.”

Balinski glanced down at himself and asked, “And how am I supposed to act? Like a private military contractor?”

The comment was disingenuous, he knew, but he wasn’t sure how to voice his concerns to her without sounding as inexperienced as he was. He wasn't a private eye detective like in the stories, he was a void warden. As close as one could get to a hired gun while still being legally able to work with law enforcement.

She looked around again and then hissed in mild frustration. “I don’t know? Act like my boyfriend then, let me do the talking. I have done thiss before, clearly you haven't.”

The annoyed tone in which she spoke made what she had said go over the top of his head for a few seconds before he realised exactly what she had just said. “Be your what? What do you mean?” He looked at the alien woman, his remaining eyebrow raised in mild confusion. He tried to think what that meant he was supposed to do, what was being her boyfriend even supposed to look like. He had never dated an alien before, especially not one so different physically from himself.

He saw her throw up a few arms and mutter. “Men.” She turned and gestured to the alley, “Jusst walk with me and forget what I ssaid. Let me do the talking and if anyone asksss you why you are here jusst tell them that you are with me. Alright?” She placed all four lower hands on the sides of her torso, the closest thing she had to hips.

Balinski frowned slightly, he didn’t like not being in charge of the situation. But in light of her experience was forced to be on the back foot. It wasn’t all bad at least he thought to himself as they started around the corner. Daryon seemed to know what she was doing, of course delta force operatives were recruited from other field operations and he had to take a moment to wonder what department she had been recruited from.

There was no further time to dwell on the idea as they walked down the strangely clean and well maintained alley. The dark and water stained brickwork of the surrounding buildings met the cracked concrete of the alley at crisp right angles, the dark city-plate above was as dark as the night sky overhead. The profusion of trash and general debris one might have expected from such a gloomy place was conspicuously absent. They soon reached a recessed area where a couple of very burly looking Yeown females in skin-tight padded fighting gear stood with their backs leaning on the wall. They were flanking a nondescript black door, the kind with the heavy blast visor that could be slid back to look through it.

The one on the left had a dark red scar across her face that ran from her left eye diagonally to the corner of her short muzzle-like jaw. Her fur was a pale, almost silvery white and her eyes glinted like polished blue gemstones in the dim light of the alley.

She took a heavy step forwards, her powerful predator muscles swimming beneath her thin fur like waves under her skin. She spoke in a thin growl, not overtly hostile but dripping with barely veiled aggression. “Stop right there. You two don't look familiar to me, and I hate talking to strangers. State your purpose here!” Balinski was at once taken aback and a little relieved. He was expecting the bar to be some run down bait shot, this looked more like the entrance to a private club.

Daryon motioned to the yeown and spoke boisterously, her entire demeanour changed as her normally sharp manner became loose and almost bawdy. Her voice was different too, a salacious tone hissing along with her slippery words that made his shoulders prickle uncomfortably. “Ah, hello there ladies. I was referred to this reputable establishment by a Mr. Encore. I am sure you have heard the name?”

The woman that had spoken took a step back and glanced to her companion nervously. The other yeown now flicked away the small toothpick she had been chewing on and growled, “And what makes you think that some cocked up streetwalker such as yourself is savvy enough to know a hard ass like that?”

Balinski looked at the second yeown, they seemed a little more subdued. Their cream-colored fur was streaked with russet stripes and their eyes seemed somehow older. He glanced at Daryon and she spoke up once more. This time adding a little bit of sass to her tone now.

She swayed from side to side slightly, her ten arms punctuating her movements as she gestured animatedly, “Who are you calling streetwalker you two ton burrowraiding carrot-muncher. I may not have such a reputable job as yours, standing next to a door.” She punctuated it with a small dismissive flick as if the very thought made her sick. “But I do my job well and I love it. Don't I, dear?” The furry alien’s canine-like features narrowed in anger at the insult, her bright green eyes flashing dangerously.

She reached over and tapped his shoulder, he suddenly realised that everyone’s attention was on him and he felt a trickle of sweat roll down the back of his neck from the sudden pressure. He cleared his throat and tried to act as casual as he could. He wasn’t really sure what was happening but he had a suspicion. “Oh, yeah. She is the best, at.. ya know..”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Silence. Both the yeown were now staring at him suspiciously. He tensed slightly, getting ready to throw hands if he needed too. Before it came to blows, Daryon spoke up once more. This time her voice took on a more conspiratorial tone and she covered her face with a hand in his direction, as if she were trying to speak without him hearing. He pretended not to hear even though his cybernetic implants easily picked up on the woman’s speech.

“He is one of the big man’s new projects. Still in the original packaging if you get my meaning.” She muttered.

The first yeown smiled wide, her sharp teeth glinting in the light as she seemed to appraise him with a practiced eye. He shifted a little, suddenly a touch uncomfortable due to the scrutiny. She licked her lips slightly and cackled, “Yes, I see. He’s a mere stripling, not even taken first overnight watch at the den of another.”

Balinski frowned at that. He wasn't all the way up to speed on vague yeown euphemisms, but that had sounded distinctly like she had just called him a virgin. The second woman with the stripes chuckled at the other’s comment and then raised a hand for quiet. “Alright brightscales. I am doing you a favor, when you are done with him feel free to send big boy here our way. I am sure we could show him a thing or two even you haven’t thought of.”

As the scarred yeown laughed again the other banged on the door four times in rapid succession. A moment later the armored slit slid open and a pair of glowing eyes looked out. A wholly inhuman voice seemed to speak from the recess, “What is it. You have guests?”

The yeown growled, “Yes, why else would I be banging on the door like that?”

The synthetic voice answered without a seconds delay, “It is possible that you wanted to talk, I don't have anybody to talk to in here.”

The second yeown palmed her eyes in muted frustration as she muttered, “In the name of Frine, I swear..” She spoke up louder now, “Just open the fuzzing door you maladroit fart breather.

The glowing eyes seemed to grumble as they disappeared and the visor shut. The yeown that had spoken turned and let out a loud huffing sigh. “I really hate that guy. What an absolute asswipe, right Terri?” She nudged her companion whose name seemed to be Terri.

Terri shrugged her shoulders and then cocked her head and seemed to frown. “He isn’t all that bad, you don't always have to be so mean to him.”

The older yeown growled in annoyance and seemed about to rebuke Terri but was stopped as the door opened and an inhumanly tall figure gestured to them to enter. Balinski’s eyes widened as he saw them.

Daryon stepped forwards and nodded to them politely, Balinski followed directly after as the two yeown started to argue with each other. The figure was tall, likely more than a meter taller than nis own two-hundred-and-one centimeters and covered in a strange suit. It had the obvious bulk of exoskeletal supports as well as a large powered backpack that looked to be some sort of atmospheric condensing unit. He realised what it was at the same time he recognised the species, it was an umraghj wearing an environmental compensation unit.

The ECU suit hissed and whirred slightly as the tall, thin figure gestured towards the hallway they were already in. “Just go-on down that way and you can't miss it. Thanks for coming.” they said sadly.

Balinski was ready to go but Daryon stopped him as she turned and stepped closer to the sad looking umraghj. He was pressed back, he couldn't help but feel like she was getting back at him for his earlier actions as he had nowhere to go. The door had been closed and he wasn’t going to step into the door tender’s personal space, so his only option was to stand as far from Daryon as he politely could.

The vinarfelien woman gestured for the umraghj to lean down, which they did. “What’ss your name?” She asked them.

They responded slowly, their synthetic voice making it a little hard to hear the inflection in their tone. “My name? It is Dunmec ma’am. Begging your pardon, but why do you care? I’m just the door watcher.”

She raised a few hands and gestured towards the door. “Nothing wrong with that Dunmec, I have watched more than a few doors in my time. One of her antennae flicked, she continued. “I wass curiousss about what'ss going on between you and Terri?”

Balinski watched as the suited figure’s body language immediately changed. They went from slightly hunched and drawn into themselves to standing straight and looking for all intents and purposes as if they had just eaten something incredibly sour. Their face was only just visible through the visor they wore, and the slightly bovine features he could see looked to be fully taken aback by the vinarfelien woman’s comment.

Dunmec looked around quickly, a deep sucking breath coming from their speakers as they failed to conceal their shock. “H-how did you, what do you mean?” Balinski smiled as he realised what she was doing.

Daryon gestured again and spoke even lower, once more causing the figure to have to stoop towards her. This time they slumped not in dejected misery, but in a near conspiratorial slouch that was strangely at odds with the way they spoke. She stated clearly, “Well, it iss incredibly obvious that sshe feelsss ssome sort of way for you. The way sshe sspoke out in your defensse against her sssuperior..”

Dunmec nodded. “Her older sister, Missy. She hates me, calls me weak and clawless. She is the worst kind of bully, the kind that makes the ones you love dependent upon their cruelty.” he didn't seem to be looking at either of them anymore. The poor lovestruck fool was caught in his own world.

Daryon shook her head. “And yet when Terri heard her insssult you sshe stepped in to defy her ssissster. That has to count for ssomething, otherwisse what would be the point of ssaying what sshe sssaid.”

The alien man looked a bit more interested now. He leaned forwards a little more as he asked in his quiet partially synthetic voice, “What did she say.. about me? What do I do?”

Daryon seemed to glance at Balinski now, her head movement so fast and subtle that he thought he may have missed it. But no, she had indeed been telling him something.

Balinski stepped a little closer as he took the cue, his chest practically pressing into Daryon’s side as he offered his own advice. “You should go and talk to her, man. Show her your inner strength, stand up to her sister. I can guarantee you that if you do that she will come to you, protect you even I am willing to bet.” Daryon gave him a small head nod, she realised that he had seen through her plan and seemed pleased that he had picked up on it so fast.

Playing matchmaker seemed like a general distraction to their mission, but it would be helpful to have the ear of the man guarding the only known exit to the building should they get into a spot of trouble. And fate seemed to have put the perfect idiot into their path. Balinski smiled, for what it was worth, he hoped it went well for the guy. Balinski hadn’t seen any other umraghj in Cheenha before, much less another receptive female. They were the least populous species in the Union after the jeseo after all.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw that the tall alien had placed a hand on both of their shoulders. His demeanour had changed and he puffed out his scrawny looking chest as he thanked them in a much more confident voice, “I will do it. What’s the worst that could happen, and she did seem very nice to me the other day when we met in the breakroom for lunch..” they pondered and then took a step back. “Thank you for that, now move along, don’t let my problems keep you from enjoying yourselves.”

Dunmec waved them through to which they gratefully complied. As they moved out of sight of the tall, suited alien Daryon nudged his arm. “Good work, I wasn’t ssure you were going to pick up on that.”

He just gave her a little half smile. “Yeah, playing matchmaker was a little bit of a surprise, but after you started talking I figured it out as you pointed out.” She smirked in her own way, faceplates cracking slightly as they made their way around a corner.

The music he had heard upon first entering the building grew in volume and power till he could almost feel it in his bones. Daryon seemed similarly affected, the woman slowing and seeming to cringe inwards. He stopped and looked at her, “Are you alright, Daryon?”

She shook her upper body slightly and covered her eyes with her two upper hands. “Yea, just.. g-give me a ssecond.” He could hear her take a deep breath, the spiracles along the sides of her body sucking in a rush of air. She covered her eyes and looked at him directly. “I have bad memoriess of places like thiss. Promisse you won't leave me alone in here?”

He nodded instantly, he could immediately recognise the look of somebody in deep emotional distress. He did the only thing he could think of, he reached out and took one of her hands in his. Holding it tightly he felt her squeeze his hand in return. It was a damn good thing his fingers were made of alloy as she might have broken them otherwise.

Balinski gave her a small smile. “Never, we are partners right? We need to look out for each other.” He didn't miss the way her mouth opened slightly or the way her body seemed to draw slightly towards him. Maybe it was the trauma speaking, but she needed his help and he would support her like Caesar normally supported him to the best of his own ability.

The thing about it was, he wasn’t entirely sure he could. He had a suspicion about her recent behaviour towards him, ever since what she had told him at the memorial. He shook the thoughts from his mind as he stepped forwards and around the corner.

At the end of a short hall was a set of double doors, the small windows on them flashing brightly with multicolored lights as some manner of club music leaked through the gaps between them and the wall. So the Slimehut wasn’t just some dingy bar, it was an entire underground club. He glanced at Daryon, her hand still tightly wrapped around his own. He wasn’t sure he could have pried her inhuman strong grip loose with a pry bar at that point. What must have happened to her to make her so apprehensive, she didn’t seem afraid. He had never seen her look afraid, but he did indeed understand the bone weakening uncertainty that having one’s reality crushed brings.

So he stood tall and straight as he gave her a final nod. “We got this Daryon, don't you worry. Nobody is going to hurt you when I am with you, that is a promise you can take to the bank and have minted in osmiridium.”

She swallowed but seemed in a better state, her hydraulic grip on his hand loosening, though she didn’t let go of it. They walked forwards and he pushed open the doors into a land of strange excess and neon flashing lights.

He had to stop and stare for a moment, the sight that greeted his eyes was like something out of a holodrama. All around the large brightly lit room were tables arranged around a central stage upon which several large tanks of water sat. It was in these that several slaaveth swam and spiralled around each other in some manner of exotic and fluid dancing. Their gills allowed them to breathe under the oxygenated liquid and their bodies were covered in lines of glittering fluorescent paint and nothing else.

He cleared his throat, while the slaaveth were technically completely naked, their internalised genitalia combined with the clever application of paint at once hid and accentuated their lithe forms. He had to physically move his head to tear his gaze away from the captivating aliens, as he did so he took a second to look around the room. Taking in the other clientele and looking for anything that screamed danger.

Well, he found it. There were so many obvious criminal types in the room he was surprised that the doors were not being knocked down by siege rams and the place flooded with tear gas. Daryon tugged on his hand, getting his attention. She used one of her nine free hands to gesture across the room to what looked like a ragged pile of blankets. Using his cybernetics he was able to get a clearer look through the slightly hazy atmosphere of the room.

Sitting at a nearly concealed round table near the back of the establishment sat a ragged looking skorp drone. He was a bit surprised to see one of the strange insectoids on their own as they were generally known to be quite social. They had evolved from eusocial insects after all, where one could be found, many others often followed.

As he followed her he felt somebody grip his shoulder and turned to see a slim nerivith woman in a bright blue sparkling dress. She gave him an appraising look and licked her lips lavisciously, clearly attempting to undress him with her eyes as she flashed pearly white molars. As the dominant sex of their species, nerivith women tended to be much more forward, but not quite this much so in his experience. He balked slightly as the women pressed both hands against his barrel chest and let out a slight sigh.

“Oh, you are a big one. Look at you. Hey there big boy, what are you doing tonight.” he cocked his head slightly. What in the name of Lady Luck had he been dragged into?

He shook his head and did as Daryon had instructed him earlier and gestured towards her. “Oh, I apologise. I’m actually here with her.” As the woman’s beatific features looked over to Daryon they seemed to twist. Contorting into something much less desirable, her magenta eyes now filled with a look of profound disgust.

The skimpy dress-clad woman shook her horned head and swore, “What the hel, all the good ones are already taken. Have fun then bugfucker.” She spat as she stormed off leaving them alone in the noisy and confusing atmosphere.

Balinski just shook his head in disbelief. Did her routine usually get her better results? He had seen more subtlety from an InfernoTrooper in a room full of hay bales. Daryon just hissed in amusement, “What a complete floozy.”

He nodded, not really sure what else he could say other than that she was right. A little unsettled by the close encounter, he stuck a little closer to Daryon as they finally made their way around the exotic centerpiece and to the rear of the room. As they reached it the ratty old skorp looked up at them and seemed to narrow its vision even with their inexpressive orange compound eyes.

The skorp had a strange body shape compared to most other known sapients. Their bodies were covered in thick chiton plates and arranged in a vaguely centauroid shape with their torso rising from a wide tailless abdomen with six segmented legs. Their four arms were set to their sides and their head sat perched atop a short flexible neck that supported their mandibled head. Their cutting mandibles were small and relatively delicate in comparison to the size of their heads, their reflective compound eyes were very large and seemed to look everywhere at once.

The aged looking alien raised a five fingered hand, the digits sharp and wide. They were clearly evolved to dig through soil, burrowers like the vinarfel. Maybe that was why the two species seemed to get along together so well. He watched as the alien spoke, their mandibles and mouthparts moving subtly as a slightly scratchy voiced wheezed from their throat.

“Now look who came crawling back. This one takes it that you are not back into the field?” The aged alien sounded slightly feminine, but it was almost impossible to tell as the males and female drones looked so impossibly alike. The familiarity in which they spoke to Daryon made him immediately on edge, it wasn't the casual banter of a stranger. But instead it was the knowing smirk of one who knows too much of your past.

Continued In E3:P3