They began raising the cargo entrance the second Tamsin came into sight, jogging along the landing track and easily hopping the gap between the tarmac and the rising platform.
"Please tell me you have something," Kenzi pleaded, standing at the top of the cargo deck and looking down at Tamsin. Tamsin brushed dust off her blazer and grinned up at Kenzi, her cockiness interrupted as she ship's take off began in earnest, making her grab for the railing of the steps.
"Of course I do," she sighed, regaining her composure.
"Thank god: we can't leave this hell hole fast enough." Kenzi directed the last part of the exclamation down the corridor to the cockpit. Tamsin rolled her eyes.
"Is there any city you enjoy?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Kenzi frowned.
"Yeah!" She protested. "One or two," she conceded, as Tamsin raised her eyebrows in disbelief.
"Whatever." Tamsin waited patiently as the ship cleared the atmosphere before she braved the walk to the cockpit.
"You got something for us?" Bo asked, titling her head. Tamsin leaned on Bo's chair and looked over her head at the edge of the planet that they were leaving behind. Tunis was one of the smaller planets and its ground was marshy and completely uninhabitable, which is why it's only two cities were huge cities suspended in the sky. The two cities, named (very cleverly) Sky #1 and Sky #2 were almost completely controlled by the Dark these days, making it an unsafe place for Dyson. It was also a "disgusting" place in Kenzi's opinion, who was terrified of the science that "claimed" the city would remain elevated.
"I just don't wanna be the straw that broke the camel's back, you know?" Kenzi had claimed, loudly waving her arms around. Bo had shook her head.
"Are you okay to do this on your own?" She'd asked, uncertain. Tamsin had smirked.
"More than happy."
"Of course I have things for you," Tamsin told Bo, running a hand through Bo's hair. Bo leaned into the casual touch.
"Can you tell me the thing?" Dyson asked, raising an eyebrow at Tamsin. Tamsin left Bo's side, to Bo's unhappiness (expressed in the cutest pout) and pulled up her sleeve.
"Warner was able to get me her last known coordinates." Dyson titled his head at the numbers scrawled across Tamsin's skin.
"Atlantis?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "A strange place to hide for a human. Are you sure this information is correct?"
"I saved Warner's skin a few years back. He owes me this. It's legit."
"You know what they say about honor among thieves," Dyson commented, wry smile pulling at his lips.
"Amen to that," Kenzi chimed in from the entrance. Tamsin gave Kenzi and incredulous look.
"I don't think you, of all people, can talk." Bo put her hand on Tamsin's hand, a calm reminder to be cordial.
"Play nice, Tamsin." Bo chided. "Kenzi's nervous because she doesn't like hunting."
"Hey! What! No! That's not true at all! I really like hunting! It's just…" Kenzi floundered for words. "Difficult?" She offered. "More difficult than I expected."
"The Dark would not have hired us if the only thing we had to do was order her like some cheap coffee," Tamsin sneered. Bo tightened her grip on her hand. Tamsin sighed in exasperation. "But I suppose you weren't to know this."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're human, Kenzi."
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Kenzi huffed, crossing her arms moodily. Dyson shot Tamsin a dark look.
"That was low," he murmured. She rolled her eyes.
"Low? It's true! She's human, and so she just doesn't understand some things!"
"Things like how hard it is to be a bounty hunter?" Kenzi laughed, dryly. "Yes, of course, that knowledge is privilege to only fae like you."
"That's not what I meant."
"Good." Kenzi turned around and left, tapping down gangway with measured footsteps that eerily reminded Bo of a cat. Dyson sighed.
"Just tell me where I'm going, Tamsin," he snapped, annoyed at her treatment of Kenzi. Tamsin glared at him.
"Don't look at me like that! That wasn't my fault!" Dyson's expression didn't change.
"Direction," Bo repeated. Tamsin growled and slammed down a note on the control panel, ignoring Bo's outstretched hand defiantly.
"One of Warner's contacts heard of a human woman hiding in the brothels of Atlantis. Some traders had their eye on her, but Warner sent out an alert that she's ours, so we'll get contacted if she moves from the town."
"Contacted?" Dyson raised an eyebrow. Tamsin sighed.
"I'll tune to the frequency and listen to the chatter. That's how the underbelly are doing it right now, anyway."
"Radio waves?" Dyson chuckled. "How delightfully old fashioned."
"And inconvenient," Bo sighed. "What happens when you sleep?"
"I don't care." She stalked off. Bo rolled her eyes and sighed. Dyson opened his mouth, but Bo's eyes flew open to fix Dyson with a ready glare.
"If you're about to say what I think you're going to say about hormones then I'm going to kick you." Dyson closed his mouth, confused, and gave Bo a genuinely surprised glance.
"I was going to say something else," he explained, brow furrowed. Bo raised an eyebrow.
"What were you going to say?" She demanded, turning back to her star charts and quickly searching for the fastest route to Atlantis.
"I was talking to Hale earlier." Bo looked up, surprised.
"Hale? Isn't he busy ruling Ithaca?" Dyson chuckled wryly, directing the ship around a small asteroid that floated by.
"That's causing him more trouble than expected." Bo scoffed. "Anyway, he was actually communicating with me because he has some information that you might like."
"Information?" Bo glanced at Dyson and raised an eyebrow mockingly. "Information for the unaligned succubus?"
"Yes," Dyson replied, narrowing his eyes at her. Bo looked back at the star charts, smirk playing on her lips.
"Do we endorse that kind of King-ly behaviour?" She asked, eyebrows raised at the stars. "I hear gossiping with the enemy isn't good form…" Dyson sighed in exasperation.
"You're not the enemy," Dyson corrected wearily. "Anyway," he continued loudly before Bo could interrupt him, "Hale's in line for kingship, but right now the Ash is still ruling, Bo. You should really know this about fae politics."
"Light fae politics, Dyson," Bo corrected icily. "And why? They have very little bearing on my life."
"You're deluding yourself, Bo. You will have to choose a side, eventually." Bo growled at the statement and stared aggressive at the star charts so she didn't snap at Dyson.
"Seriously? We're having this conversation now?"
"Why not? Bo sighed loudly and rolled her eyes.
"Because right now, I am enjoying my freedom from restrictive interspace politics," Bo snapped. Dyson shook his head.
"Except, right now, you're deluding yourself. You're tangling yourself in that web as much, or even more, than I am."
"What web?" Bo was getting annoyed, so she turned away from Dyson again, this time adjusting the thrusters. "Stop being cryptic." Dyson rolled his eyes.
"Bo, the girl we're hunting? The human doctor? Yeah she is property of the Ash." Bo's head snapped around too fast: she narrowed her eyes at the wording Dyson had chosen.
"Property?" She repeated, confusion and anger tinging her voice.
"Unlike you, the rest of the galaxy still strongly believes in the notion of ownership of the weakest." Bo scoffed. She didn't know what annoyed her more: Dyson's scathing tone, or the very notion itself.
"That's because the rest of the galaxy are idiots. Anyway, humans aren't the weakest." Dyson raised an eyebrow belligerently. "They clearly haven't met Kenzi with a hangover." Dyson chuckled but shook his head wryly.
"You know what I mean…" He dismissed her. Bo glared at Dyson and closed down the star chart systematically and slowly turned towards Dyson, attributing him her full attention.
"No, Dyson, I don't." Bo kept her voice even. "Explain this to me." She gestured at the now dark screen which had had the doctor's face on it only seconds ago. "Explain to me why a human is working for your Ash, and explain to me why she's a doctor. Explain why the whole galaxy is out looking for."
"It's not the whole galaxy…"
"Dyson!" Dyson was getting angry too – he narrowed his eyes and the pupils seemed to dialate.
"I don't know, Bo!" He snapped. She scoffed. "I really don't! I've been travelling with you for three years now, which means I'm not exactly in the Light's good graces."
"Then stop defending them!" She stormed out of the cockpit, her hands shaking with anger. It was stupid it was all so stupid. She wasn't part of this binary – she was just
"I live the life I chose," Bo whispered fiercely, reminding herself that one key truth.
The blonde looked over the tablet and narrowed her eyes. Lauren swallowed and waited nervously for the scrutiny to end. "Your name is Amber?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Lauren muttered, looking at her feet awkwardly.
"And you're a skunk fae?" She raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"Yes." Lauren shifted her weight from one foot to another. The blonde, Crystal, laughed.
"How did you even get here?" Lauren's head snapped up, but she quickly realised the question was disbelieving and teasing, not interrogatory. Crystal continued: "Most of your ilk lives out in the swamp countries!" Lauren swallowed; her tongue felt heavy in her mouth.
"I got bored of the color green," Lauren muttered lamely. Crystal chuckled.
"Green?" She looked around the bright white diner, and then outside to the wet, rainy, industrial streets of Pacific. "You won't get to see any of that here, Princess." She smiled wryly. Lauren gulped and nodded, staring at the checkered white and red floor again.
"That was the point," she muttered. Crystal was silent: Lauren tried again. "I needed to get away."
"Well, away you did get. I'll get Norbert to make you a name tag and you can start working tomorrow."
Tomorrow. It was weird how much hope one word could encompass.
AH im so sorry its so short and its been such a wait but i wanted to get this out before finals - expect more over christmas PROMISE (also who loves Crystal I LOVE CRYSTAL)
xoxox a vERY stressed undergraduate