Part Three ~ Kelida
The transfer from jumpship to dropship went easily, and soon enough Kelida
found herself slinging a small bag over her shoulder and stepping out onto
the planet proper. She'd been given suitable cold-weather gear to make the
landing in subzero temperatures, but nevertheless she felt the sharp sting
of icy wind as she made her way off the ship, emerging into the dark, ice-glazed
night.
A hovercar was waiting to take the passengers quickly to their destinations,
and Kelida scrambled into it with an ease that would not have been possible
a week ago. The med tech had spent the long week before them working tirelessly
on her wounds, and she was still so doped-up on painkillers that she would
have most likely not even felt a gunshot wound to the gut.
The bag she carried even contained mostly medication - a first aid kit
overflowing with various patches, detailed instructions on how to remove
the stitches when she felt them tearing the healing skin, and a few useful
tools. The remaining space in the bag was filled with some warm clothing
and a holovid or two of her family (so her sibkin teased her about being
a sentimental freebirth - Kelida responded to their taunts in kind, asking
whether or not too much of one chemical had been dumped into their vat).
Food was to be provided at her temporary home.
The hovercar flew smoothly down the deserted streets, depositing passengers
at pre-assigned locations. By remaining silent on the dropship and keeping
a low profile, Kelida had overheard that most of them were travelers looking
forward to skiing on Kikuyu's slopes. Her own traveling attire was nondescript,
so no one could tell at first glance that she was both a mechwarrior and
clanner - they would have needed to see under her parka to find the coolant
vest she'd smuggled with her when the med tech wasn't looking, or even the
heavy, slug-throwing firearm she'd cinched tightly under her
belt.
Vacations, even work vacations, especially work vacations, be damned.
She wasn't about to leave her last lines of defense on the jumpship. Then
again, Kelida was known to be somewhat more paranoid than most.
She couldn't help but snicker somewhat as the hovercar reached her destination.
Her quarters were located in the building that housed the town's (and likely
the entire planet's, considering its few civilized areas) garrison force
of militia soldiers, although she was in a different wing entirely. Thank
god for small graces.
The buildings on Kikuyu were mostly kept short and sprawling - closer to
the ground for less wind, and long to make up for the lack of several floors.
Most of them had very few windows, and many of them were connected by underground
tunnels for the days when too much snow buried exits and entrances. It was,
in the long run, a rather cozy place - a world she had loved to spend her
time on as a child with her parents.
The world had become her prison.
Muttering under her breath, Kelida slung her bag over her shoulder and jumped
off the hovercar, following a few other men who were likewise heading into
the same building. Entering the building, she observed quietly as they strolled
over to a set of doors blocking the north wing and punched in a clearance
code. Moving to the south wing doors, she dredged up the code the med tech
had made her memorize and was duly granted her own access.
Her private quarters were located halfway down the long hall, mixed in with
rooms given to upper class civilians visiting Kikuyu on whatever Lyran business
dragged them so far from home. She would be written off as one of those business
women (perhaps a lady who had wisely invested in the crayon stock years ago),
and thus would be left alone while she attempted to gather her thoughts and
remember the visions that had assailed her after the battle.
Punching another code into the keypad by her door, Kelida stepped into her
room once the doors slid open. Small, sparse, and nicely warm, it would be
perfect for collecting her thoughts and meditating, but not much good for
anything else. With a sigh, she dropped her bag on the floor and stepped
out of her parka.
Without bothering to shrug off her coolant vest or set aside her firearm,
Kel flopped back on the bed, kicking her boots off in one fluid
motion.
She hoped she could figure out what it was that compelled her to return to
this barren planet. Not yet in the condition to ski or otherwise play on
the snowy slopes, she could only pray that she'd either fully heal quickly
or that the time would fly. It would be a long three months.
