[SE] Evan Delano – The Pilgrim’s Way

[Cameron O.]

(( Flashback. Stardate 239301.30 ))

(( Shadow’s Edge. Drosera Settlement. ))

:: By reputation, Evan was certain Drosera was one of many small settlements scattered throughout the garden world that operated under false pretenses. But as he walked through the walkways between the decades old prefabricated buildings, Evan had a hard time picturing that kind of brutality from the people he saw. ::

:: For starters, most of the people he saw were children. Even the few adults he saw were young. He doubted many were more than 30. Evan’s obvious deduction was that the majority of adults were off practicing their trade. But, Evan wondered if there was more to it than that. ::

:: Officially, Drosera was home to a group of salvagers who made their living by recovering scrap - and anything else they could salvage - from the Shadows. At any given time, a dozen or so ships would be out braving the dangers of the Shadows for weeks at a time. When they returned it was with salvaged ships in tow, and cargo holds full of rare materials. ::

:: Unofficially, the place was a safe harbor for a gang of pirates calling themselves the Shadow’s Teeth. They were a small band compared to most of the other pirate groups in the region, but they were still infamous enough for Starfleet to have a small dossier on file.  

:: It was limited to a few paragraphs and a single testimony based on a single report from a freighter captain. She’d been baited by a distress call from another freighter, which claimed to have drifted into the Shadows after a navigation system failure. Two weeks later, the captain and her surviving crew were found drifting in a disabled life boat left at the edge of the Shadows. ::

Child: Hey, Yas. You lost?

:: Evan turned back at the voice. It belonged to a humanoid kid with bright pink skin and deep blue eyes. Evan wasn’t sure of the gender of the person he was looking at, but the clothes and attitude made him think boy. There was a strange accent there that Evan hadn’t heard before, but the universal translator did it’s job. Mostly.  ::

:: Evan shrugged. ::

Delano: No. I need to find passage through the Shadows and was told this was the best place to go.

:: The kid smiled, showing off a wide mouthful of strangely flat teeth. ::

Child: Heh, you are lost. Just don’t know it yet, Yas. Come on. I’ll show you where to go.

:: Evan hesitated as the kid started towards a steep set of stairs leading to a narrow metal skyway. He tentatively reached under his jacket to make sure the old phaser he’d stashed there could be accessed quickly. In a place like Shadow’s Edge, this was just as likely to be a setup for a mugging than leading him into an ambush than a good line on an adult he could talk to. ::

:: But, the truth was, he had no idea what he was looking for, and judging by the looks he’d been getting from some of the gruffer looking locals, this kid was probably a safer bet than randomly wandering through the settlement looking for someone in some position of authority. ::

:: With a quiet curse, Evan started after the boy. Though he was always careful not to stay too close, the kid had a good set of legs on him. Evan had to work hard not to get left behind, and he had the distinct impression that was the whole point of this little game.  Particularly when Evan found himself sprinting down the same skyway he’d jogged down the other way just a few minutes earlier. ::

:: Some fifteen minutes later, the kid finally stopped and began climbing down a ladder that led onto the metal roof of one of the prefabs. Each rung of the ladder was painted a different bright color, and Evan had a sneaking profession that the child he’d been following was responsible. ::

:: Evan’s heavy bootfalls echoed loudly on the metal roof as the kid ran to a doorway and knocked hard. ::

Child: You one of the pilgrims?

:: Evan was slightly winded, though he tried not to show it as he stopped a few feet behind the boy. ::

Delano: Yeah, I guess I am.

Child: ::Grinning:: I knew!

:: There was a mechanic clicking sound of the door unlocking before it abruptly slid open, revealing a narrow, brightly decorated hallway. The woman who answered the door had the same pink skin as the boy, who bounded inside and smiled back at him with that Cheshire grin. ::  

:: The woman blinked at him a few times, but any shock she showed faded quickly. ::

Woman: Dazzed! What have I told you about running on the skyway.

Dazzed: Yassa'yazza. Is fine. Was showing a pilgrim.

:: She turned her narrowed blue-eyed on Evan. ::

Delano: I’m looking for pass--

:: She cut him off sharply as she leaned outside, apparently checking for any eavesdroppers. ::  

Woman: :: Voice low :: Don’t say it. ::Break:: You want the same thing all the greenbloods want. Come in.

:: Evan frowned, but gave a curt nod as he made his own survey of the rooftop. There was no one else in sight, but he supposed there could always been bugging equipment. Or maybe these people were prone to paranoia. ::

:: Again, Evan hesitated to enter what he assumed to be this strange woman’s home. He knew nothing about her, or the child. He couldn’t even say what species they were. Every instinct he’d honed during his years as a security officer told him this was a bad idea. And yet, she seemed to know what Evan needed. Maybe this woman wasn’t the one that was paranoid. ::

:: With a measured breath, Evan shoved his doubts aside and stepped inside. ::

((TBC))

===

Evan Delano

On Leave

Shadow's Edge

ID: T239007ED0