Labyrinth

[Xin Boa]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9mJ82x_l-E

https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/a/a7/Necromunda_by_ANARKYMAN.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110415190950

The Hive City of Androbus had been a sight to behold on the shuttle in. A marvel that had stood for hundreds of years. The rest of the arid world was almost uninhabited beyond a few habitation domes. Bacteria was about the only thing to survive under the harmful rays of the system’s star. The inside of the City was less compelling Xin found out.

The corridor leading from the landing platform had standing water in it. Then it was a maze of noisy walkways down to the living quarters. Steam kept hissing from loose pips and making him jump as he went. From time to time a walkway would open up over a drop several hundred metres deep and the Nautolan had to keep his eyes gazing firmly forwards. This was around half way up the city. The upper classes literally lived on top of these beneath them here. Even if the people he wanted to meet had lived up there he wouldn’t have been able to pass the background checks or afford the mooring fees to get in there.

As he continued he found the population density increasing. There were close to a billion souls in this city. From one walkway he could see a wall of windows from small abodes. It stretched as far as he could see in all four directions. What he hadn’t realised was that this was also the perfect site for an ambush. The criss-crossing walkways could give a team who were prepared time to get high and get the drop on their bounty. Gangs were prevalent in this region of the city and someone had sliced traffic control and been skimming it for potential bounties. Xin had been flagged the moment his ship had touched down.

The sounds of the market reached him from a distance. People on stalls shouted out to the crowd in twenty different languages that he could discern. The scents of delicacies from a hundred cultures mingled in the air. Street performers didn’t form a harmony together but a discordant melody.

Xin came to a halt at a stall selling jackets and looked over them. It gave him a chance to spare a glance over his should and pick out the two men above him keeping their distance. Both had rifles slung over their shoulder. Hair cropped tight and dyed turquoise. Perhaps a gang marking. Not the gang marking for the woman he was here to make contact with either. Xin needed to cross this marketplace and make for the residential district several levels up. That meant moving through a nice quiet ambush spot. His headtails coiled slightly from the root in annoyance. The tips of them all lifting a few inches together as they bunched over his scalp. Xin hurried his pace through the crowd and tried to weave enough to lose his tails.

 

[Mirax]

[member="Xin Boa"]

There was a soft clinking sound, the scratch of metal against metal and then a soft curse. There was a metallic tang in the air, not to mention all other sorts of unmentionable scents that had everything to do with the standing water here and there around the marketplace.

Two wide, orange tinted goggles were brought up to rest against a wild mane of bright orange hair, set there by the dark brown salvager gloves of the tall woman hunched over the two seater speeder. It might not be the fastest out there, but it did its job in hauling this month's salvage over to the marketplace. Her leather satchel was full of carefully plucked power cells made of high-quality Isotope-5, carefully stabilized but worth at the very least two thousand credits each. She had five. It was a good haul, and if she managed to barter well, then she could do what she could to make ends meet and then some.

An even louder nose and laugh came cackling from her right, then a blur of bright red and blue went streaking from under a stall straight for her speeder. As did a pissed off vendor shaking his hand.

"You blasted beast, I'm gonna smash your head!" The Woostri male shouted, blue fist shaking and anger in his eyes. That red and blue streak spun his broad flat face, long floppy ears bouncing with every step and his wide, beak like mouth screeching out another maniacal laugh.

"Not again..." Mirax said under her breath, sending the strap of her satchel down to turn towards the commotion. Tiny claws dug and scratched against the dura-steel floor, the Kowakian Monkey-Lizard fleeing towards Mirax, jumping up and crawling up her body to come perch on her shoulder.

"AHAHAHAahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAAHahhahaahaha!" The lizard pointed and mischevious grin, his entire crimson face twisted into a mocking expression.

"That your Monkey Lizard!!!??!" an angry finger came rushing up to point at Mirax with a long finger, prompting the large, catlike yellow eyes of the Felacatian to swivel over towards the Wroostri and his jiggling, portly bits. Her hand began to drift to her waist.

"You really shouldn't point at people, it's rude" there was a slight hint of an accent to the woman's speech, once couldn't quite put their finger on it. For sure the guy turning his face blue yelling likely wasn't going to; he just might end up losing it. Skreech, of course, only antagonized the situation, bouncing from Mirax's right shoulder to the left, like a mocking parrot pointing and parroting back, "That your monkey-lizard?! You're a monkey lizard! A big, fat, monkey lizard!" that annoying, hyena laugh ensued.

Okay, maybe Mirax could have deflated the situation, but if there was one thing Skreech was great at, was pointing out the obvious. Mr. Jigglgy blue bits did indeed, appear to be a rather FAT monkey lizard. Don't laugh, don't laugh.

The corner of Mirax's mouth gave a twitch.

"You think that's funny!?" He wailed, gathering more looks from bystanders. Mirax's tail from under her shawl gave a twitch, curling and flicking in amusement. A small hand went curling around the Morp's gun grip.

"Yeah... yeah." ahh, frak, this was going to end well.

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Mirax"]

Xin rounded the corner into a more enclosed market street. There were no gangways up above now that his pursuit could use to keep an eye on him. Now he had a few choices: find some back way out of a shop or other building to get out of the area; accelerate through and hope to outrun his tails whilst they couldn't keep him in view; or wait a time and double back.

Xin turned and corner and instantly knew he'd walked into a rodian stand off. He could feel the tension in the air through his sensitive headtails. There was anticipation moving through the crowd like a current. Xin wasn't here to be a hero or to mediate disputes. His only thought should have been his own skin, but the momentary distraction meant he didn't see the two humans coming at him from a side street.

"Boa?" One called out. Xin turned sharply, headtails swinging out behind him. He turned to face the two men, hand in the grip of the holstered Glie44.

One of them held out a hand for calm but he could sense their nerves jangling. They had the same hairstyle as the two he'd seen following from above. Neither pointed a weapon at him, yet they were well armed.

"Just come with us greeny."

Xin took a couple of steps back away from them. Unfortunately that had him moving closer to the other altercation. His back was just a few feet from the back of the irate Wroostri. The crowd held its breath waiting to see what happened next. Xin looked for an exit and failed to find one.

 

[Mirax]

[member="Xin Boa"]

"Guess someone has to teach you and your damn monkey lizard a lesson!" Big, jiggly, and clearly a brute. Not too much between the eyes. Mirax's tail gave a swish and then a twitch, before quivering in anticipation.

"Big lesson. You get big lesson. So big and stupid! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Skreech, of course, went in a sing song, his large floppy crimson and green tipped ears bouncing. Broad, flat face almost pecking at the man with mocking expressions, the tiny blue tuff of fur at the top of his head bobbing with glee.

"Maybe you should just get back to your stall." Mirax suggested, a clawed thumb moving to delicately unlock the safety from her Moph gun. These types of drunken Mynocks were typical for Mirax to come across. And okay, maybe Skreech had a tendency at getting on people's nerves, but he meant well.

Skreech immediately blew a raspberry at the man.

Okay, so maybe not.

"No, I'm gonna have to teach you and your monkey a lesson and --" this was about the time [member="Xin Boa"] was backing his way into the little commotion that was congregating in the middle of the market. Any closer and he'd soon bump into Mirax --- save Skreech would notice him first.

Unaware if this new guy was going to come harm him, Skreech did what Skreech would do. He gave a large banshee screech and launched himself from Mirax's shoulder over towards the Nautolan, fully intending to land on his back and claw his way up to the top of his head.

That was when the Nine Hells broke loose.

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Mirax"]

It was a perception of motion rather than actually seeing the lizard. Perhaps Xin wouldn't have acted of the lizard hadn't come screaming at the top of its little lungs. The noise also made the two men trying to talk him down rather trigger happy.

Xin ducked and a bolt hissed through the air just over his head, a wash if heat passing over his headtails. Screech didn't seem all that deterred and managed to get a claw into his jerkin. It scrabbled around and upwards and prevented Xin from firing back. He stumbled towards a stall and another bolt barely missed his shoulder. Xin caught the lizard by the scruff of its neck and tossed it towards the ground. He went tumbling to the ground in the other direction. Another bolt cut through the space the pair had just occupied.

On his back Xin sighted his pistol down over his toes and fired twice. The first gang member took a bolt to the chest and head and dropped. The other ran for cover and backup. Xin let him go. He needed to run rather than win this fight.

 

[Mirax]

[member="Xin Boa"]

The shrill laughter went echoing as Skreech went tumbling to the ground, the Kowakian Monkey Lizard running at a half hop as it gave a roll and stumbled. Not far from [member="Xin Boa"], cat like yellow eyes turned as large as saucers, the gold bands of the irises almost enveloping the entirety of her eyes.

Oh, karking...

Mirax, drew out her stun gun, her hand snapping up to send a pot shot right at the Wroostri peddler. Her tail gave a swift swish flick, irritation and alarm rushing through her lithe body. A catlike species, she was built for speed, muscles bunching and coiling as she took a sudden strafe to the right. Of course, the salvager was not expecting a sudden show down with more than one individual.

A blur of crimson and green came clawing the ground over to Mirax, taking another leap to climb up her leg, torso, and then to her shoulder.

There was a whirl of green and black tattoos, was he also a part of --

Another volley of blaster fire came flying in their direction. There had been a third gang member on the hunt for the Nautolan. Moving to rush out of the way, the Felacatian scrambled to flop herself behind her speederbike.

Of all the blasted....

Wide eyes met those of the Nautolan, and as he was still holding the blaster, he found himself at the wrong end of her stun gun when she pointed it straight at him.

"Ah, ah... don't move. I don't need another blast hole on my skin."

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Mirax"]

"Me neither!" Xin called out. He let the pistol spin around his index finger on the trigger guard to show that he wasn't about to fire on the wide eyed woman with a shock of fiery hair. The nautolan hoped the little shrieking beast was going to stay with her this time.

That thought was cut off by a blaster bolt striking the ground beside him. A wisp of smoke curled up from the blackened starburst on the metal deck. Xin stayed prone but rolled away until he was behind a stall. With luck the woman was about to shoot him. Two more bolts struck the ground but he wasn't sure where they came from.

As soon as he was off the main street he crawled between the legs under the stall. He lifted the sheet covering it with his left hand and aimed with his right. He snapped off a few sheets at the gang member, forcing him to take cover. But the one Xin had let run was back. He came from the opposote end of the street and had a clear shot at Xin. On instinct the nautolan turned and snapped off a high shit to keep the bright blue hair ducking down.

"Kark."

 

[Mirax]

[member="Xin Boa"]

[SIZE=9pt]Lips drew thin, Mirax’s mind racing from sending a stun bolt at the Nautolan to leaving him be. As he had so eloquently confirmed that he ALSO didn't want to end up with an extra hole in his hide, and proved he wasn’t out to shoot her, Mirax gave another curse and dropped her arm. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Only to point her Moph stun blaster right back up to aim at the blue haired gang member coming right up and over them. The scent of charred flesh and questionable puddles on the floor smacked Mirax’s delicate olfactory senses like a ton of permacrete, forcing a snarl from the Felocatian and the rustle of nerves that curled the nape of her neck in growing stress. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Shit, shit, SHIT -- she did NOT need this right now.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Skreech contributed in his own way, sending a handful of dark sticky shit aimed at another figure coming their direction. Just how many of these arseholes were here? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]The dark sludge hit a male right over his right eye, causing a shit storm of curses and confusion. Patrons along the marketplace as well as vendors began to scatter. Mirax took to finding better shelter than a speeder full of Isotope 5 powercoils. One stray shot would make the entire thing blow with the energy of five thermal detonators. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Not the exact way Mirax wanted to find her end. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“Skreech, go find an exit!” A jutted chin motioned for the Kowakian Monkey lizard to follow suit under the vendor stalls, following the Nautolan. Both began to scurry under the heavy carpets and baskets of salvage material. Her bracelet made of Ketal beads gave a small jingle, the token trinket she used to help calm herself in stressful situations. It wasn’t helping much here as adrenaline went slingshotting through her veins and making her muscles coil and tense. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“Go!” She yelled, startling the small creature to dart under the vendor stall and scout ahead. His tiny claws digging onto the duracrete with a scrambling scratching sound as he almost caught up to Xin. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]With her clothes already soaking up the piss stains and stagnant water, Mirax followed in pursuit. The wild mane of bright orange hair flicking back and forth as she scrambled away from her speederbike.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Gorram it… A glance back at her speeder bike and she cursed at herself. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Maybe she could come back and get it later. [/SIZE]

 

[Xin Boa]

Xin was in a tight spot. The gang member he’d allowed to leave had him right in the open and was just going to sight him and bring the day to a bad end. That was until he got a glob of something dark and sticky across the eyes. The nautolan wasted absolutely no time in putting a bolt in the man’s left kneecap. His blaster wasn’t all that powerful so at least it didn’t take the leg clean off at the knee. The noise the man the made as he dropped to the ground and started wailing was hopefully something of a distraction.

As the little red creature came skittering towards him Xin braced and prepared to have to fight it off. Instead it shot right past him, weaving between the legs of the stalls. That was probably the best way to go. The gang clearly had both directions of the main alley through the market covered, so a side street was the best bet. This place was a labyrinth of levels and structures that had grown almost organically over a thousand years. That was before they started taking sections apart and rebuilding them. It must have been a monumental task just to keep delivering power, water and air to all sections of the hive city.

Another bolt struck the stall above him. Xin tucked his shoulder against the edge of the table to test the weight of the products on top. It was actually a stall of holodiscs so didn’t weigh much at all. Long powerful legs for swimming straightened out and tossed the entire table through the air. The sheets draped across it flapped through the air and provided some measure of cover as he turned and ran. He leaped over several tabled, knocking several displays over to cries of protest. Another red bolt hissed through the air over his head. The orange haired girl who had deliberated over downing him with her own blaster was heading in the same direction just a few metres to his left.

Xin stopped suddenly, turned and fired at pursuit. He aimed high to avoid hitting any bystanders. A couple of bright blue haircuts dropped from sight as they took the hint and found cover. On instinct Xin rolled his right shoulder back just as a bolt hissed past him, the warmth bathing his face. He turned and ran, making down an alley. He caught another glimpse of orange and red before there was another flash. Xin pressed himself into an alcove and caught sight of the two first men he had seen. The backalley was removed from the main foot traffic, but it was also less covered. A gangway ran overhead and those two men had found their way there.

“Fethdamnit,” he grunted. They knew the area well and he didn’t at all. Trusting his luck he fired blindly around the corner and was rewarded with a scream of pain. He grinned to himself. Wasn’t quite out of the stuff yet.

 

[Mirax]

[member="Xin Boa"]

The Kowakian monkey lizard gave another laughing shriek, only to bound back up along several boxes. Their direction was at a dead end, so they would need to climb over. Nimble clawed hands went up and up, turning around to try and catch of glimpse of Mirax.

"Come away! Kekekeke!" his tuff of crimson and green feathers gave a bob, claw beckoning.

Mirax spun her head towards the direction Skreech cawed. Damnit. Already she could feel the pull of anxiety, the rush of her heartbeat hammering in her chest. It made muscle spasm, making her fumble.

Behind her, the cries of the gang in pursuit grew louder.

It's okay. Just calm down. Just run and then you can double back and --

The sudden blast of an explosion sent a shockwave across the market. One stray blaster shot too many resulted in what Mirax feared the most.

Isotope-5 powercoils were already volatile enough. They packed more than enough power to put any thermal detonators to shame, without the fixed radius that would mitigate the damage of the latter.

The blastshock sent vendor stalls tumbling, a few set on fire. The Felacatian herself felt her body lift, flying in the air only to come crashing down.

Pain immediately went lancing through her torso, bursting a cry of pain from her mouth. Glancing below, she found out the reason.

A metal shaft protruding from the right side of her belly.

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Mirax"]

Having pressed himself out of the line of fire Xin didn’t get hit by the full blast of the explosion. One moment he had been trying to wait for the best moment to take another shot. There was still one gang member with a scatterblaster up on the gangway. The next moment he was encompassed in a wave of heat, pressed up against metal grills and doing his best to shield his face and eyes.

When he shook his head and tried to open his eyes again he had been carried down the alley a few metres. His ears were ringing but he could hear a cacophony of different alarms blaring together. On a normal planet the air would have been filled with dust. But the hive city was almost entirely metal and plastic. Instead steam was now being vented from several burst pipes. Girders and signs had been knocked free.

Xin lifted his chest from the ground, looking up to where the gangway had been. It was no longer there. Good. Hopefully they had both fallen and been incapacitated.

The notion was quickly dispelled. Xin saw the bright turquoise hair appear right before the snarling blood face. The weight of the gang member landed heavily upon him and the two rolled across the ground.

“Can we…talk…about this…” Xin managed to utter. He didn’t seem to want to talk about this. Strong hands tugged at headtails and scratched at his scalp until they found Xin’s neck. In return Xin managed some sharp punches to the man’s sides that didn’t seem to deter him. Xin struggled and managed to get one arm between his opponents, driving his forearm up until he broke the lock. Idiot probably didn’t realise that with lungs full of oxygen rich air a Nautolan could go for a good ten minutes without air and the arteries that served the brain were not as easy to restrict as they were for a human.

Xin rolled on top, and managed a sharp strike to the jaw before rolling away. Couldn’t get to his feet before the bounty-chasing gangster launched at him. Xin got both powerful legs up. He wrapped one arm and the head in a leg lock and twisted the gangster down. The man struggled and struck him several more times but his writhing became weaker until he went limp. Xin gave one last powerful twist and the dragged himself away.

His head was thrumming, ears were ringing. Every part of him hurt. He started to limp away, pausing to retrieve his blaster. Those closest to the blast wouldn’t be coming after him and the route ahead was clear. A cry to the side caught his attention. It was the red-headed woman who had nearly shot him.

The nautolan paused. She was pinned down by a metal shaft, her lifeblood trickling down its length. She hadn’t exactly deliberately helped him. If he left her there she might get some treatment. Or the gangsters who seemed to run this district and had decided to hunt down Xin might put a bolt between her eyes and be done with it.

“Damnit,” he approached slowly. “Stay still, very still,” he said as he knelt down beside her. The bar ran right through her. “Please, nuh gonna hurt yuh. Need to keep that in. Gotta get out of here.” Unless stopped he would very slowly draw his blaster and point the muzzle against the beam a few inches from her body. One bolt would likely shear it off. It would also heat the metal enough to burn her skin and hopefully seal the blood vessels around the metal. That was going to hurt, but it would keep her alive.

 

[Mirax]

Stay still?

By now Mirax was trembling from head to toe. She could feel the change at the onset, the heighten stress already shifting and elongating bones and teeth. It might not be so evident under her spacer clothes, but the expression of incredulity at the Nautolan’s words shone light upon the elongating fangs as she spoke.

“Stay still?! Sure, figure being gutted like a poke sheskabob would ensure that!” Anger and panic laced the phrase, each breath a drawing a shuddering lance of pain from her belt and beyond.

“Not like i have any choice in the matter now.” Mirax wasn’t sure just what the Natolan was thinking. He had drawn out his blaster, moving it point near her direction. Needless to say, her own stun blaster again, barely held steady as she pointed it once again at Xin.

Not like either of them were the most trusting of folks right now. She’d lost her salvage, her speeder bike, and now she had a blasted pole right through her gut.

Not her best of times.

“Just what are you intendin’” she barely managed to spit out, those large yellow irises taking up the bulk of her eyes and leaving precious little white beside them. They almost were too large for her face. Underneath her, her tail flicked and twitched and went stiff in wariness.

A sudden crimson face tipped with emerald burst forward alongside Mirax. It was Skreech again, his broad beak like mouth opening up to give a sudden screech, as if trying to scare [member="Xin Boa"] back. Overly protective, he bounce back and forth around the Felacatian, chittering and eyeing him with intelligent dark eyes, ready to pounce at the next moment.

“Skreech… “ came her warning, not wanting her friend to end up hurt. Not that Skreech was listening. The chaos continued to spread across them, and Xin was fighting against time if other blue haired gang members were out to get him.

Hopefully the Nautolan spoke quick. Well, sort of, another lance of pain made the woman writhe, grunting and closing her eyes shut as she did her best to try and keep her shifting at bay. The stun blaster fell from her hands and clattered to the floor.

“Gorram it!”

 

[Xin Boa]

Xin’s left hand came up, palm out towards the onomatopoeically named Skreech. “Easy there.” Her blaster had been dropped so at least that wasn’t going to be a problem anymore. Still didn’t want to have the little beats scratch out his eyes whilst he was just trying to help.

“I’m just going to cut the pole down so we can move you,” Xin explained quickly. Xin ignored all everything she had said but the key points. He figured she could be allowed some spite after being run through with the metal pole. She also had a point, she wasn’t going anywhere quickly pinned like that.

He was very careful to keep the muzzle pointed away from the woman and her angry little friend. The thing appearing out of nowhere and schouting at him had very nearly had him letting off a shot by accident. That probably would have resulted in her firing the stun blaster and then him dropping on top of her. Probably would have been the end of all of them.

“Haven’t got a welder so going to use this. Might stop the bleeding.” He gave a sharp shrug then grimaced before making one final statement. “Will hurt.” She was writhing in an odd manner and her canine teeth seemed longer than they should have been in her mouth.

[member="Mirax"]

 

[Mirax]

[member="Xin Boa"]

"Like it doesn't already karking--" Mirax would snarl through clenched teeth, writhing just as [member="Xin Boa"] made the shot. It was a good thing that it wasn't any steal of any quality, the pole sheering in half close to her belly. The plasma of the bolt resulted in a white-hot flare across the metal, searing black against her belly and forcing a cry of agony from the Felacatian.

Skreech's hollar and yelp echoed Mirax's cry, the crimson and emerald tuff of feathers and fur jingling as he bounced from left to right. He was at a loss, confused if whether to attack or stay close to Mirax.

Not that it mattered.

A shadow drew over them both. There stood the remaining gang member. His blue hair a bloody black matt against the half shaved skull. His eyes were wild, bright burning sapphire embers in the dim light of the fiery chaos that surrounded them.

"Shou'dve come along, Tailhead." the man spat, bringing his blaster up to eye level of the Nautolan. He'd already considered the broad on the ground a loss. Bleeding out her gut with that pole stuck in her meant that she wasn't someone to worry about. Not with her writhing and snarling in pain.

No his attention was solely on Xin.

"Get up. Don't matter if you be alive or slightly damaged, your bounty is still the same." He made a gruff grab for the Neiomodian, moving to drag him off away while holding him down at blaster point.

That was his mistake.

The snarl and growls only seemed to deepen in tone, dropping a few octaves. There was a cry of agony, one that might have been due to Mirax's injuries but was by all account something more. Tendons and sinew lengthened, muscles and bones would shift. The sound of ripping fabric was barely discernable if barely, a clue to what came next. The large, wild, predatory golden eyes that went flashing with a distinct, primal instinct were next.

With powerful hindquarters, the Felacatian launched itself at the gang member. Large canines barely flashed under the strobe of a multitude of bazaar lights before they came latching down upon the blue-haired gangmember's face.

There was barely any chance to even register what was happening. It was all a blur of a feline as large as a Bha'lair, coming down with a ferocity of sharp extended claws, teeth, and a spiked spine. The scream turned into a choked, gurgling sound, air wheezing pitifully through a torn windpipe. With a massive shake of its head, powerful jaws shook the body until it lay limp, a savage jerk sending it falling with a distinct thud not a few meters away.

With a bloody maw, the Felacatian, now shaped shifted into a massive cat, swung her attention back to Xin Boa. There she gave a snarl, a jingle around her right paw where a thick bracelet of red beads lay, perhaps, one of the few items that hadn't been destroyed in the change.

Just as if it appeared that the feline might feast on Xin next, the Felacatian gave a shudder. A half stumble, and once more the light shone upon the charred wound on her abdomen where the remainder of the steel pole lay.

A blur of crimson and green went flying, bounding up towards to settle on top of the predatory cat. In the next instant, barely discernable through the series of sharp, bloody teeth, Mirax grunted out, " karkin... 'ell"

A sway then the great feline fell to the sodden floor, her body resonating with a great thud. As the seconds went ticking by, slowly, her figure began to shift anew, becoming smaller, until all that was left was the unconscious half-naked woman in tattered clothing.

 

[Xin Boa]

Xin narrowed his eyes and grimaced as the figure loomed behind him. Whilst he had a blaster in hand the angles didn't stack up. By the time he'd turned the gangster merely had to have given that trigger a light squeeze. Stupid. He'd heard the cry, known he'd struck the man but hadn't check before turning his back on where they had been. Times like this he wished he lived a more simple life. Most of the time he found the notion of a regular job incredibly tedious. The same routine every day, listening to the same people telling you what to do. Yet when he was inevitably staring down the barrel of a blaster he sometimes imagined a simple world. Maybe a rich son of an executive - or some other frightfully dull job - set to inherit a fortune. Who would live on the edge like this if you have everything you wanted?

Wait for your moment Xin, he told himself. His blaster clattered to the deck. Opportunities always came and usually he saw them coming. Wasn't going to get anything but most of his head blown off if he tried anything now. Woman before him was probably going to die here before any medic arrived, but that couldn't be helped now.

It was the sudden drop of her growl a few octaves that made him tense up. The fingertips that had brushed his neck stopped instead of taking a handful of his jerkin. His eyes couldn't widen but they went from a light clouding of confusion to swirling grey storms out of right fear. Thinking the feline was coming for him he threw himself aside, snatching up his blaster once more.

As he started to level it at the creature it stopped and spoke. Xin had watched it literally shake a man to pieces with raw power. Once again he could only watch in disbelief as she transformed. This couldn't be possible. Why did impossible things keep happening around him recently?

He was left with a barely conscious woman and a clearly agitated monkey lizard. The turned its beak head between him and its master. She hadn't gone for him, he reminded himself. She'd clearly had some conscious control in that form and she had gone for the gangster. At least that was how it had appeared from his perspective.

“Yuh speak basic?” He asked the creature. It screeched something back at him. There seemed to be a glimmer of understanding. “Well, we have ah situashan here. Need to get out of here.” Xin holstered his blaster and took a step closer. “Not gonna hurt her.”

It snapped its beak at him and shifted in agitation. But at least it didn't bite him when he scooped the woman up off the deck. With a grunt he carried them both down a side street. There was a door there that was posted to lead to a set of stairs. He didn't know how far this gang's territory extended so Xin just headed down. Needed to find a terminal to try and get in touch with his contacts and escape this man hunt.

 

[Mirax]

[member="Xin Boa"]

Skreech gave a warble and then a snap of his beak. There was little he could do in this situation besides stay close enough to his mother. Crimson and emerald feathers on top of his head gave a bob, the loud clicking of his beat following the Nautolan once he set towards the entrance that would lead them down a stairwell. His tiny claws went clacking against he durasteel in a quick pace, all four paws allowing the Kowakian Monkey Lizard to keep up.

The Felacatian in Xin's arms was completely out. The scent of charred skin and copper of her blood saturated the senses, along with the gray water that went dripping down along open walkways and the corners of the stairs. Inside, the Nautolan would be able to see a series of steel grate walkways and stairs that lead up as well as down. There were hundreds of levels here, each with their own purpose be it for industrial, residence, or market.

The hiss of steam venting from overhead pipes along with the wails of distant emergent vehicles hung to the ear, the former increasing in volume while the latter became a distant memory. The market place would be a chaotic mess of a clean up and investigation. It would be prudent to get away as soon as Xin could. The last thing he needed was more blue haired gang members or probing questions.

There were metal workers down here. The scent of industry and clang of metal working echoing with every stair level that Xin descended. Through it all, there was a distinct jingle with every step he took. It was the bead bracelet that the woman had in a series of chains around her right wrist. That it hadn't broken with her shapeshifting was curious enough. Perhaps it had been made to stretch along with her? It wouldn't have been much, but her feline form certainly had been a bit more brawnier. As it was, it took some ensuring to keep eyes level for some form of decency; nevermind that despite the change, the fine coat of fur, and the tail, the woman in his arms was clearly female.

Two more floors and tehre were be a wide atrium of sorts. There, about ten meters under a flickering light, lay a terminal. Question was, did it even work?

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Mirax"]

Xin stepped out from the stairwell and gavee the area a good look. After the gangster had got the drop on him he was taking no more chances. He could hear the sound of industry below. Right now he couldn't go running through a populated area with the woman in his arms like this. If he was still in gang territory they would probably hear about it.

The immediate area on this level seems almost abandoned. There was scaffolding up and semi-opaque plastic sheeting hung from everything. Perhaps the area was being repurposed. Maybe someone needed to be paid for work to continue. Regardless, he needed to change direction to throw off pursuit and check the terminal.

Yet Xin changed direction as he approached it and turned into the skeletal frame of a building. He pushed through several plastic sheets, leaving a bloody handprint on the last. There he set her down and took stock. Her lizard scrabbled through after him and continued to be agitated. Xin shushed it. Finally, as he slid his arms out from underneath her, did he realise he state of dress. Pulse quickened but he had things to do.

His jerkin and trousers had well filled pockets. The first thing he did was take a spare power pack from a pocket on the left of his chest. He slid it home and kept the old one. Those things cost credits and could be recharged. Then Xin in unbuttoned a pocket on his thigh and took out a slim box of medical supplies. The other side had tools and credits. He had a bacta patch or two, though he wasn't sure how to apply them. In the end he settled for puncturing the middle of the patch with the pole and sliding it down to stick in place around the wound. He had a small stim patch he applied to her shoulder. If she survived she could deal with peeling off and tugging free some downy hair.

"Stay here," he told the lizard. He left the supplies on the floor and took up his blaster.

 

[Mirax]

Skreech gave a chitter, beak moving rapidly as his beady dark eyes would follow [member="Xin Boa"]’s movements. After a moment of suspicious appraisal, the Kowakian Monkey Lizard went bounding up towards Mirax, it’s four legged gait taking it just alongside to perch near her head.

There, contrasting his earlier behavior, he gave a worried crone, his hands extending to pat the bright shock of orange hair the Felacatian had, moving it away from her face to reveal the lighter geometric patterns of that downy fur across her face. The shock and the stress had blanched her features, a thick fringe of lashes hiding the wide gold eyes she had before. Her mouth and chin was covered in blood, sanguine trails that had gone dribbling down to her neck along with the blood splatter from that earlier bite. Likely a grisly sight compared to what lay below, but one that had saved the Nautolan’s life.

Her chest rose and fell rather erratically, a thin sheen of sweat already forming across that downy fur. That pole would need to be removed before the day was done, and that bacta patch would only start healing around it, which meant that the extraction could be that much worse for the Felacatian. If she survived it, it would scar terribly so.

Perhaps in a few minutes, she’ll come to, but for now, Xin Boa found himself in a rather compromising position. With a bounty on his head and a half naked wounded woman at his feet.

What will he do?

 

[Xin Boa]

“Keep quiet, stay here,” he murmured in the hope that one or the other could hear and understand him. The sight of the small monkey lizard trying to soothe the wounded woman changed his opinion of it a degree. Xin did still have scratch marks down his shoulder from it.

Pistol in hand he pushed through the plastic sheets that were draped over the scaffolding. Perhaps someone had started to rebuild this area and then been run out by the gangsters. Perhaps they had just run out of credits.

Big, dark eyes checked every corner of the room before he moved closer. Whilst he was good at spotting trouble it tended to find him quickly. The terminal had a physical keyboard with steel buttons and a rolling ball to select functions. It was old fashioned and robust. He rolled the ball to move through the options until he could pick a voice call. The terminal still seemed to be connected.

A female face appeared in a blue-tinged monochrome display.

“Who is this?”

“Sylthane, it's Xin Boa.”

“I'm expecting you in half an hour.”

“Got into some trouble.”

“Not my problem,” the woman replied sharply. For a second she did nothing but stare at him through the screen. “You're in Blue Hawks territory. What did you do?”

“Nothing but…”

“You have a small bounty. Those idiots probably picked it up through someone. Yes?”

Now Xin wasn't sure if this had been a mistake. Was he going to get the Fleet in trouble with their contact? Then again did those here have much influence outside the spire city? They likely had local turf wars to contend with.

“Yes, had five of the ones with blue hair ambush me.”

“And you're still alive. Alright then…” she turned away and the signal was muted. “You're about thirty levels above us. The problem is you have an industrial sector and then floors and floors that have mostly been abandoned. They might have given up by now. You either backtrack up and get to the long distance turbolift or you go down on foot. If you go back they might be guarding the way. Go forwards and they chase you...that's a killing field. We'll stay where we are, but I'll bring a few more friends. They won't push into our levels. We'll see you, or we won't.” The signal was cut off abruptly. Xin swore quietly.

He pushed back through the plastic sheets. It wasn't a good hiding place as it had bloody handprints down the sheets.

“We need to go,” he whispered, not expecting a reply. He returned to inspect the wound. If he removed it he could kill her. If he left it in she wouldn't be able to walk and if she changed again he imagined it would get worse. All he had was sticky stitches, what she needed was a solid staple.

 

[Mirax]

[member="Xin Boa"]


[SIZE=9pt]His reply was the sputter and squawk of a very loud Kowakian Monkeylizard. Skreech’s head gave a series of quick bobs. His tiny paws were delicately set beside Mirax’s hair, obviously fretting between titters and crones. If [member="Xin Boa"] was looking to get anything from the young woman, he wouldn’t. The change took a large part of the Felacatian’s energy. She was young, she wasn’t used to being able to control her changes yet. Stress only seemed to provoke the change and where normally she’d be able to use her Chaka beads as a worry stone to try and calm her down, they were not able to work in the wake of her injuries. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]In a few minutes, she would stir -- likely full of piss and vinegar as any wet feline left in a bag. However, Sylthane’s words ran with the bitter truth; Xin would need to get to safety fast. He was stuck in a piss poor kettle of Giju, and every choice from now on would mean anywhere between a blaster bolt between the eyes or burning lines in the sky with the goods required for the Vagrant fleet. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]It just would have been a little bit easier of the strange woman didn’t have a pole in her belly and her crazed pet hadn’t gotten into the thick of things.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Then again, would have he have survived that last Blue Hawk had it not been for her unusual methods of violent interruption?[/SIZE]