MSNPC Leda: Dying by Inches, Dying by Miles
Sarah Terry
((At the Orion Perimeter, Drakos Prime))
There was something deeply galling about the casualness - the nonchalance - of the Orions packing up their camp. Put-upon nobodies carting boxes, joking and sniping without a care in the goddamn world, barely watching their perimeter, seemingly unconcerned about the cave complex they stood at the mouth of, while her people were dying by inches on that frozen chunk of space debris and dying by bloodsoaked miles down here to the Grevad. It was almost more fury than her aging body could stand. Everything she’d given to the Orions in exchange for a home here on Drakos Prime and this is what they were doing? Her heart raced and her hands clenched into tight fists.
Leda: He… what the hell could be in that...? ::She turned to the rest of the group with wide eyes::
Willow: They are grunts, likely working for another individual to which they don’t ask many questions. Saves time that way. Yet, we do have names. ::Haukea whispered them back to herself, hoping to memorise them and prevent the names from slipping from her memory:: Onzion, Wora, Nysari. Onzion, Wora, Nysari. Onzion, Wora, Nysari.
They were trying to memorize names she already knew. She’d shaken Onzion’s hand. Looked him in the eye. She used to pride herself on being such a judge of character. How could she have been so wrong?
Sylvax: More than names. ::He kept his voice low.:: We have a chain of command, a scientist, and someone dangerous enough that even Orions seem reluctant to cross her.
Leda: ::a seething whisper:: Wora-Reence. She runs the Syndicate in this sector of space. Onzion is her nephew.
Ivalyan: Response
Willow: We can’t get much closer without running the risk of being caught. However, we may do well at following them for a time.
This equipment… the strange vials in those crates… she wanted to burst into the camp and start tearing the place apart with her bare hands, but she had no doubt the Orions would make short work of her.
Sylvax: If they're abandoning the site, whatever answers we're looking for may be leaving with them.
Leda: We can’t let that happen.
Ivalyan: Response
Willow: What do you say?
The Trill kept his eyes on the camp for another moment before answering.
Sylvax: I say we follow. ::A slight pause.:: Quietly. ::His gaze shifted toward the nearest shuttle.:: We came here looking for answers. Right now, those crates appear to be carrying them away.
Leda: Follow the shuttle? Unless Lurtz has access to cloaking equipment I don’t know about, I don’t see how we could.
Ivalyan: Response
Leda looked at Sylvax for a response, but his gaze was focused on the camp. As she followed his line of sight, she caught on what had so captured his attention. A partially open crate. Full of strange transparent cylinders and sealed data modules. His eyes narrowed.
Sylvax: That's not mining equipment.
Leda: Then what the hell is it?
She asked the question even though she was starting to suspect the answer. It was just that her mind was doing everything it could not to believe it.
Willow/Ivalyan: ?
Sylvax: They're moving research.
Her nostrils flared. Research on what? Samples packed in strangely-colored liquid, equipment that looked… medical in nature? She could feel bile rising at the back of her throat.
Leda: ::a strangled growl:: They were never trying to stop these monsters, were they…
Willow/Ivalyan: ?
Below them, one of the Orions grunted as he hefted another container.
Orion 1: Careful with that one. Onzion said if those cultures get contaminated he'll have our heads.
Orion 2: Better ours than Nysari's.
The two laughed nervously, and Leda practically hissed.
Sylvax: Leda...::His voice remained barely above a whisper.:: Did the Grevad exist before the Orions arrived?
She had to take a moment to calm herself enough to speak coherently.
Leda: I… I didn’t think they could possibly… All our orbital scans of the planet were within safety limits, but… We sent expeditionary parties down to the surface and they reported creatures living in the caves, but we hadn’t pressed forward yet to see what they were. When the Orions turned up, they said those creatures were the Grevad. It made sense with the reports I had so far and they had physical evidence and I…
Her voice trailed off. She’d been so sure. Hadn’t she? Or had she just wanted a solution so badly that she believed the first person who came along with an answer to her settlement problem? It suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe. Like her chest was caving in. Every Temurian who had been torn apart by those wretched monsters. Every Temurian who had believed her when she’d told them those Orion power cores were going to be their salvation. Every Temurian she’d marked down as “missing in action” during a routine trade mission, when in reality, she had sent them to the Orions when they demanded labor. Every Temurian… and Kiro. Kiro, who had looked at her with wounded eyes, wanting so desperately to believe she couldn’t have done what he knew, deep down, she must have.
Ivalyan/Willow: ?
Without a word, Leda reached into her canvas bag for another flashbang. Her vision was red. All she wanted was to make them pay. But as her hand closed around the cold metal, she felt her heart lurch. As badly as she wanted to sate her desire for revenge, nothing would be gained by attacking recklessly. If she ever wanted this place to be a home for her people, they needed to know the truth about the Orions and the Grevad. She reluctantly let go of the grenade and sunk down to her knees in the evergreen needles.
Leda: What can we do? Distract them long enough to get closer? Maybe I… I could speak to them. They may not know me personally, but they know of me. They know they’re breaking our deal by leaving. It would make sense for me to have questions.
Ivalyan/Willow/Sylvax: ?
Leda bit her lip.
Leda: And if they’re distracted, we might be able to disable the shuttle. Keep them grounded as long as possible. Or even get in the cockpit and figure out their destination. Their watch on the perimeter is slack at best - if I approach them from the western side of camp and you sneak through the woods on the eastern side, you might be able to access the back of the shuttle without them noticing.
Ivalyan/Willow/Sylvax: ?
She fixed them all with a steely gaze.
Leda: This is my fault. ::far more than they knew:: I owe my people something better. Let me help you do this. Please.
Ivalyan/Willow/Sylvax: ?