2nd Lieutenant Flint J. Kader - Southern Cross
Tade Efh
((Shuttlecraft Iago, Space))
He checked, his readings were right and the course was clear. His mark was hiding dead ahead. It had to be.
Kader: =/\= Shint fighter, this is the Commonwealth shuttlecraft Iago. Do you read me? =/\=
No sound, no answer, nothing. Just the ticks on his watch.
It was about time for the man wearing his face to chime in to make a stupid remark. At least that’s what he expected.
Shint Fighter: =/\= You’re a long way from home, Iago. =/\=
The man wearing my face: =/\= That shouldn’t be possible, where is he? =/\=
Contact with the enemy. A death sentence under any other circumstances. In the later years of the war the Commonwealth got increasingly paranoid and deranged, completely abandoning any hope or attempt of negotiating in any capacity. A very unusual turn of events, even in the human countries of old; nations at war with each other would still cooperate in some capacity using envoys or other means. But then again, the Commonwealth was not a human institution, despite the opinions of its most loud critics.
This brief historical notion kept his heartbeat from going too fast after actually receiving a reply. He had to come up with a reply as well. This was unusually lighthearted from the stories he heard. Or was it? He never spoke to a Shint before. ‘’I could say the same about you’’. Would that be too much? Would not responding in kind be perceived as weakness?
The man wearing my face: =/\= Hey did you doze off in there? =/\=
That annoyance was the jolt he needed to keep things going.
Kader: =/\= Why don’t you show yourself, let’s talk. No one but us here. And no one else needs to know =/\=
Shint Fighter: =/\= You will find that I cannot be persuaded to surrender. =/\=
Kader: =/\= That’s not why I am here. We have a problem. I just want to talk, soldier-to-soldier =/\=
Another long pause.
Shint Fighter: =/\= Very well Iago, soldier-to-soldier. =/\=
Like a leaf, falling from a tree, the shape of a fighter craft dropped quietly in a harmonic fashion from above. It's dark underbelly meshed perfectly with the darkness between the stars. It was only after it moved that it became visible. It took its place in front of Iago and Perseus like a leaf on the surface of a pond.
Now that could get a good look at it while still, only now he could admire the fine craftsmanship of a species that came from another galaxy. How many worlds have these crafts been on? How many galaxies?
But he couldn't let himself get carried away by that.
Kader: =/\= Good, good. I gave you my name, may I have yours? =/\=
Shint Fighter: =/\= You gave me a name. You are Iago about as much as he is Perseus. It is best I do not know more. =/\=
The man wearing my face: =/\= He was listening in. =/\=
Shint Fighter: =/\= Indeed. I need a name your species would comprehend but would also be appropriate to my circumstances ::long pause:: it should be Southern Cross. =/\=
That was a very specific reference. Was the Shint aware he was human?
The man wearing my face: =/\= You are well-read =/\=
Southern Cross: =/\= Do you not study your enemy? =/\=
Kader: =/\= You spoke about your circumstances, what did you mean by that exactly? =/\=
A long pause ensued. The fighter did not make any movements.
Southern Cross: =/\= You should turn your instruments back online. =/\=
oO what? How did he? Oo
He flipped the switch of the radiation detector. Before it was just an annoying repeating blip. Now it was a full-on solid note filling the interior of Iago with its ominous message.
Southern Cross: =/\= We have less time than you think, Iago. Why are you here? =/\=
Navigator
CIC Desdemona
A240004FK4