This took a little longer than usual, for that I apologize, but work has been riding me like a bitch lately!
Enjoy - Mar. ___________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 24: Playing God.
Syn'kra-vaal had done as Daan'sha previously suggested and reported in at the main security station as he and Cassandra passed by. It only took a moment for the on duty guard to upload the new security details into Syn's wrist device as planned. Cass had watched, intrigued as the guard accessed the wrist device, she had taken quite a liking to the Yautja technology; it was horrendously advanced, albeit most of the time appeared to be quite easy to operate. The guard looked down at her from behind the console as she had her sticky beak, she couldn't detect any hostility from him.
After they left the security station, Syn'kra-vaal's mood seemed to lighten a little and he looked down at Cassandra as they walked, he started intently at her as she constantly observed the goings on of the facility. When she felt his eyes on her, she looked back up at him, and he turned away, pretending that he showed no interest, Cass smiled and used her shoulder to push him playfully;
"Lightened up a little have we…?"
"A little." He mumbled
"You know Syn, for some hardcore, covert, badass hunter, you really do need to loosen up every now and then."
"I was, before I met you…" he grinned
"Oh piss off." She said trying to trip him with her foot
As they walked, her Yautja explained to her some of the operations that took place in the large complex. Cassandra used her uncanny multitasking ability to absorb all that she saw going on as they walked, while at the same time, listening to Syn. The Yautja operative pointed out certain things as they went on their way, heading west apparently to the living quarters. It was only after three quarters of and hour of walking that Cassandra realized just how big the Yautja complex was, sure for them it was different, they walked at twice the speed Cass was able to in her present state. She saw the large training hall as they walked past the entrance, according to Syn, it was quite well equipped.
Just past the kehrite Syn pointed out his favorite chamber of the whole facility, the dining area, Cass laughed at this and made a joke about her Yautja being 'A killer in the kitchen as well', Syn'kra-vaal didn't understand, but smiled politely. A short distance past the dining facilities sat a set of large doors, there was something displayed in Yautja script above them, 'Personnel Quarters'.
The doors opened automatically as they approached, the corridor seemed to be smaller in this sector, with more of a homely architecture. Cass had noticed previously how the architecture changed in every quadrant but never found out why;
"Hey Syn, you know how the walls are different in every quadrant?"
"They are made that way, that is how they are different…" he said, confused
"No!" laughed Cass "I didn't mean it like that; I meant are they different so you know where you are?"
"Something like that." He chuckled
They kept walking straight ahead, through several corridor intersections right to the end of the hallway and turned right. Several Yautja that passed them gave sideways looks; Cass put it down to the fact that they probably don't see many 'Oomen' in their living quarters. Syn was still prattling on about the facility, pointing at certain things here and there as they passed them, when they came across a slight incline in the floor, Syn pointed forward and grinned;
"Elites live in this section."
Cass wasn't exactly sure why he was smiling, but she went along with it either way, after the incline, the corridor ended then intersected again, this time, they turned left and continued to the very last door, the most western point of the facility. Cass was quietly grateful that their exercise for the day was coming to an end;
"There isn't another corridor behind this door right…?"
"No, no more walking little one." Grinned Syn
Cassandra leaned against the wall next to the door as her Yautja tapped a few sensor pads on the small entry console. Like many of the other closed doors that Cass had seen in the Yautja facility, the doors in the residential quadrant were all topped with a text display, for obvious reasons.
Syn stood back from the door and looked down at Cass as she tapped her fingers against the wall, she was about to ask him why the door wasn't open when it silently slid back into the wall. The first thing she noticed was a the gust of fresh air that flurried through the open entrance, it was becoming second nature to her to scent everything as she breathed, as the Yautja did. The air was clean, and the room beyond the doorway, appeared to be quite well lit. Cass followed close behind as Syn stepped through the opening, as they entered she stood beside him and could smell a familiar scent, she wasn't certain, but she was quite sure it was the skinny male, Daan'sha. As she exhaled spent gasses and drew in another breath, there was an unfamiliar scent on her palate, from what she understood it was defiantly male. From the corner of her eye Cassandra saw Syn tense up, and before she even had a chance to see who the stranger was, her Yautja guardian snarled from deep within his chest, a genuinely feral, dominant warning.
Syn stepped in front of Cass and growled a heinous blood curding sound as he pointed a finger at the intruder and spat in his own tongue;
"What is he doing here?!"
"Just be calm." said Daan'sha, getting to his feet and standing between them
"Be calm?! I have no doubt tha…"
"At the moment I do not care what you think Syn! He is here because I asked him to be."
Cassandra sighed, pushed her Yautja out of the way and stepped forward, at a quick glace the stranger seemed to be sitting as a guest at a large circular marble table. His scent was not hostile, and as he got to his feet, she realized he was different from the rest. Cass looked him up and down while paying close attention to the constant growling coming from behind her, she was flattered that Syn was acting like an over protective dog, but it was obviously not necessary.
The Gene-Tech nodded politely at the stranger as Daan'sha took a step backward and gestured toward him;
"Cass, this is my Rylt'ah, Avaal'ekan."
"Rylt'ah…?" she asked
"Uhhh, he is our Guard Chief, it means he is in charge of security."
"It is a pleasure to meet you." She smiled, punctuated by an antagonistic growl from behind her.
Both Daan'sha and Cassandra turned to glare at Syn'kra-vaal who huffed and sulked to the opposite side of the large table;
"He means no harm Syn. Surely you can sense this?" said Cass
The Blade operative didn't get a chance to respond as the one called Avaal'ekan turned and spoke to Daan'sha in the Yautja tongue, the skinny male nodded and looked to Cassandra;
"Avaal'ekan can not speak your language, I will translate for him."
"I have no problem with that, but I will sit down first, I don't feel too great." Cass said as she sidestepped Daan'sha and sat down beside Syn at the large table. "Okay…?"
"Avaal'ekan says that he is sorry, but he has given Syn'kra-vaal no reason to trust him, and that it is just his nature to be over protective."
"I am sure he will get over it." She replied with a weak smile
The Guard Chief returned the gesture as Daan'sha interpreted what Cass had said, Avaal'ekan looked at her, rather intently as he sat down. Just from his gaze, the Gene-Tech could tell why he was the head of security; his stare was so piercing she felt as if he could read everything about her just by looking. Avaal'ekan sighed and took something purple and egg shaped from a large, odd looking bowl in the center of the table and began to eat it. Cass' eyes widened in shock as she realized what the bowl was made from, she looked up at Daan'sha who remained standing;
"Is that made from what I think it is?!"
"The skull of an eight legged beast we call an O'ljin-ka." He grinned with pride
Avaal'ekan coughed politely and began talking in their strange language once more; Daan'sha hesitated before translating it back to Cassandra;
"Avaal'ekan apologizes for being a little bit forward, as he does have other duties to attend to, but before he leaves he wishes to ask you a few questions."
"That is fine." Swallowed Cass, nervously, again a rumbling growl punctuated her
"He asks you to relax, there is nothing to worry about, he merely wishes to clarify what I have told him about what we intend to do to help you."
Cass looked up at Daan'sha, even she wasn't exactly sure how they were going to help her but she couldn't hesitate too long, she could feel that menacing gaze of Avaal'ekan, he would pick up any deceit faster than she could think. She could feel Syn'kra-vaal tense up beside her, under the table she rested a hand on his thigh in an effort to calm him;
"You'll have to forgive me, the Yautja drug Saa'retah is giving me to numb my pain also appears to cloud my short term memory. It sometimes needs a few reminders to get back on track."
Cassandra sounded so innocent that even she believed it, and if she believed it, her pheromones wouldn't give her away. As Daan'sha translated her response, she answered Avaal'ekan silently with her own incisive stare. Daan'sha looked at her hesitantly for a moment as Avaal'ekan spoke calmly; the skinny male gave a barely noticeable nod and continued;
"He says that he is surprised that a synthetic being is affected by such things."
"Really? I think that you can explain to him better than I can that yes I am synthetic but my body still works in an identical manner to that of a human."
"Including creating pheromone signatures?" Daan'sha questioned on the guards behalf
"Hmmm." Cass narrowed her eyes at her interrogator "Quite obviously this is a trust issue, so let's start with this: I didn't even know I wasn't human until a little while ago. And yes, I understand you are just trying to do what you have been chosen to and I am sure it is a great honor and all that other bullshit. But, you have no idea how stupid it would be for me to dishonor any of you, all I want to do is survive, if you are worried about security issues I may cause, then you are more than welcome to terminate my life."
Syn howled his distaste for Cassandra's comment and was rewarded with only a frown from Daan'sha;
"He has no intent on ending your life." Avaal'ekan's tone was calm as Daan'sha translated for him "But he is curious, now that you know you are a non-organic life form, you must now understand why you are able to interact with technological devices as you do." Daan'sha almost didn't repeat Avaal'ekan's entirety "When I connect you to a Yautja console in order to repair you, is it possible for you to infiltrate our systems?"
"Seriously?" Cass mentally cuffed herself, flying off the handle wasn't the right way "Ok, lets start over; I am not here under anyone's jurisdiction but my own, I do not mean to harm you in any way shape or form. And that is the truth… But yes, I believe it would be possible for me to do what you have said."
After Daan'sha finished translating Cassandra's last remark Avaal'ekan sighed and got to his feet, he looked down at Cass and Syn and smiled politely, Daan'sha interpreted once more;
"Avaal'ekan is sorry if he appeared rude. Like you said little one, he was just fulfilling his duties."
"It is no problem." Smiled Cass trying the best she could to contain her sour mood
The Guard Chief nodded and continued to smile, at first Cassandra thought he was just being polite, but his scent was completely genuine. As he turned to leave he pointed at Syn and spoke in their natural tongue, this time the skinny male didn't interpret;
"I know you have no reason to trust me, but I am hoping that someday you might, after all, we could learn a lot from each other."
Syn'kra-vaal said nothing in response, and when the door had cycled closed after the Guard Chief had left, Cass let out a sigh of relief; Daan'sha laughed and slapped an open palm down on the table top;
"That was amazing!" he beamed at her "I think you are the first being to ever successfully stare down Avaal'ekan."
"There is something about his eyes is there not?" smirked Syn, his own relief becoming quite obvious "Even I was feeling as if he was interrogating me."
Little did any of them know; the three Yautja or the Gene-Tech; but someone else was listening in on them, someone who feigned innocence. One of the very beings who every Yautja in the complex entrusted with their safety…
Cassandra looked wide eyed around the large chamber from where she sat while Syn and Daan'sha talked quietly among themselves. When the other Yautja, Avaal'ekan, was in the room, there was nothing she could do but pay her attention to him. But now, she surveyed the technically adorned chamber, specifically the large section of the wall that didn't appear to be there.
Syn'kra-vaal and Daan'sha watched with mirth as she got gingerly to her feet and walked toward the large opening, she had never seen outside the facility before and she didn't really know what to expect. She looked somewhat pensive as the beautifully rugged volcanic landscape stared back at her. To Cass, a volcanically active planet seemed like a rather irresponsible place to build anything at all, but the Yautja clearly knew what they were doing.
Because a gentle breeze blew through the apparently open section of the wall, Cassandra had no reason to believe there was anything there at all, so she stood several paces back from the opening. She was so taken in the otherworldly beauty of this place that she failed to hear Syn'kra-vaal sneaking up behind her. The Gene-Tech gave a small squeal as he pushed her gently forward. Instinctively, Cass put her hands out in front of her to halt her falling, it seemed like forever as she lurched forward uncontrollably, but as her hands contacted with something solid she sighed in relief. Her hearts beating more un-rhythmically than normal, Cassandra cursed quietly as Syn began to laugh;
"Thought you were going to die you did!"
"When I am better, I am so going to kick your ass!" she growled
Daan'sha watched the two of them together; there was something about the chemistry between them that made him understand that failure wasn't an option. They had to be possibly the most inconceivable partnership of all existence, yet Syn'kra-vaal and Cassandra paid it no heed, Daan'sha smiled to himself and stepped quietly toward his sleeping chamber, he needed to rest.
Cassandra leaned against the wall right near the large opening in the wall idly tapping her finger against the invisible shield; she was still rather taken with this section of the Yautja facility, and its views. She heard a door slide close as Daan'sha left the room, Cass smiled to herself as felt Syn's soft breath on the back of her neck, knowing that their destinies were entwined made her feel strangely at ease. She didn't know how to think of Syn, he obviously wasn't trying to run away from her as such, but she still found it hard to read his emotions, even with the help of his natural pheromones. She just took a deep, calming breath and tried to fight the smile on her face;
"That didn't take long; Daan'sha was only out of the room for two seconds."
"I think it was one second." Replied Syn as he rested against the wall behind her.
"I think maybe you are right…" She sighed, leaning backward into his warm body
Syn'kra-vaal enjoyed the touch of her body against his own, unlike a Yautja female, she was much smaller, and less likely to cause him injury if he teased her too much! But on the other hand he was constantly worried if he had caused her pain every time he touched her, yes she was small and Ooman or not, she was still fragile compared to him. The Yautja male hadn't given much though to the fact that Cass may end up as a Yautja, truth be told, it really hadn't sunken in that well. But as they both looked out in silence at the rugged landscape, Cassandra leaning against him, Syn caught the wisp of a scent from her that reminded him briefly of Ju'lyn-zal, it was at that exact moment that he smiled and wrapped a large arm around Cass' abdomen, gently pulling her into him.
Cassandra had lost track of time as they had stood together, neither one of them had said anything they just watched the universe go by from their well adorned viewing platform. It wasn't hard to tell the time of day, from where they had been standing, Cass had been watching the position of the dark orange sun through the patchy geomagnetic cloud formations, and she guessed it was the middle of the afternoon. The Gene-Tech sighed mentally though was quite grateful there was something to distract her. She knew there was a conversation she had to have with her Yautja, but giving in to the idea of that conversation was almost like saying she wasn't going to fight, Syn noticed the change in her mood almost immediately;
"What is bothering you?"
"I am never going to be able to hide anything from you am I?" she spoke to the landscape
"What would like me not to know?" he questioned
"Syn…" she sighed and looked up over her shoulder. "I may not survive much longer. You understand that… don't you?"
"I understand why you may not survive." he looked down into her eyes "But going to happen, that is not."
"But…"
"Nothing but." He interrupted her "You are part of my life now, surrender is no option."
At that point and time, Syn'kra-vaal's stubbornness was the only thing that really gave her strength, it made her smile as she imagined him wanting something so much that he just willed it to happen. She stood up from her large warm leaning post and stretched, she could feel Syn watching her;
"I can see you, you know."
"Of course you see me; my cloaking field generator is in the armory on my shuttle…" He winked
"That's not what I meant." she blushed, partially annoyed that he had no shame in the matter
"I know what you mean." He smiled "Come, you are tired, I will show you where you can rest, your energy you will need."
Cass followed her Yautja as he led her out of the large, aristocratic looking chamber and into another where he had slept previously, it was somewhat darker. As they entered, large panels on the ceiling began to lighten, shedding a gentle, warming glow on their situation. Cassandra observed the change of architecture yet again, albeit this time, the strange fiber optic wall panels were much more of a relaxing tone. The chamber itself was bigger than what she had first thought, and a large raised section of the floor joined with the eastern wall on her right. The raised section was large, rounded and rectangular in shape; Cass estimated it sat about two feet off the floor. As she walked further into the chamber, it became apparent that it was a bed of sorts, in the far left corner part of the floor was recessed in an octagonal shape, she didn't know what to make of it. Cassandra turned and looked back as the automated door silently slid closed behind them.
Syn watched with budding pride as Cassandra surveyed her new surroundings, he had noticed her observation skills were much more intense than that of any other Oomen. And he was absolutely certain that when her brilliant mind was combined with the powerful body of Ju'lyn-zal, she would become an amazing Dark Blade operative. But until that time, her well being was the highest of his priorities. The Yautja male walked to his left, to the western wall of the chamber, Cass watched as he turned to face the direction they had entered, near the corner where the southern and western sides joined she noticed a control panel. As Syn briefly tapped a few sensor pads, a section of the wall began to retract into itself like that of the viewing panel in the main chamber. Though unlike the main chamber, this section only opened up to half of the existing walls length.
Cassandra welcomed the familiar breeze that wafted through the large opening, the invisible barrier filtering out all impurities. The fresh air helped her lightheadedness somewhat; she looked at her Yautja with question in her eyes. Syn pointed to the raised bed as he himself stepped toward the octagonal, recessed section of the floor;
"I gather you know what that is for?" He said, still gesturing toward the bed
"You gather right…" she mocked
"Good, you may wash here, the controls, they are simple, you will understand them."
He pointed to the roof and tapped a claw to one of the few buttons on a small panel; water began to cascade from the ceiling, but not from a small shower head, but a large area at least two feet in diameter. Cassandra nodded in understanding, but began to fidget;
"One question Big Guy. Where do I …umm." she coughed uncomfortably "You know…?"
"I know what?"
"Dispose of waste!" she snapped, embarrassed
"Ahh, I understand now." Syn smiled
Cass watched as he waved to the panel where the shower controls were and jabbed a single sensor pad. On the northern wall, right next to the large octagonal, recessed section of floor, a panel of the fiber optic looking wall slid open revealing waste receptacle amenities that looked curiously familiar, the Yautja were humanoid in subsistence after all.
The Yautja grinned as Cassandra pushed past him impatiently and sealed the door behind her, while she did what she had to, Syn stepped back over to the bed and slumped down onto it. Like the surface of the med-haulers, the padding used in the bed was a suspended polymer, but multilayered in construction. Each layer was very thin in comparison to the haulers; this dispersed the user's weight very evenly and made for an extremely comfortable surface. Syn purred contently, then after a short moment Cassandra reappeared. As the small doorway slid closed, she yawned and looked down at Syn as he sat up from his resting position. The Yautja male got back to his feet and stepped over to where Cass was standing, she watched as he again jabbed at another pad on the shower control panel. Another of the panels, on the northern wall slid silently open, Cass was closer to the opening than Syn, so she stepped closer so she could see;
"God, how many more hidden compartments are there in here?!"
"Hidden they are not." Grinned the Yautja male "Biologically, your eyes cannot see where they are. Our eyes are much more atoned to various chemical markings, these markings we use for many different purposes. Our vision is also a lot more predatory I think." He finished with a smile
"I will take your word for it." She looked over her shoulder at him as he approached
Syn playfully shoved her out of the way and reached into the open compartment to retrieve something that looked like a large blanket. As he turned around, Cassandra was waiting with a mischievous smile and she jabbed the Yautja male in the gut unexpectedly, Syn began to giggle, making Cass burst out laughing. She was laughing so hard that she couldn't even think about reacting as Syn quickly unfurled the large, heavy blanket and grabbed both her wrists in one large hand. He easily pinned her arms to her chest and wrapped her up in the thick mantle, Cassandra continued to laugh as he pushed he backwards onto the soft bed;
"Wow… Holy shit! This is comfortable! Oh my god!" she nestled down into the blanket as a small child might "Where have you been all my life?"
"No idea I had that I was supposed to find you until I did…" Replied Syn
"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to the bedspread thing you wrapped me up in." She smiled. "But I am now, what is it made from?"
"It is made from the pelt of an Il'kun'ta calf. That is why the skin is so soft."
"This whole thing was made from one animal?"
"Indeed. We Yautja usually do not use such items unless the weather is extremely cold."
"That's mental, I thought it was synthetic."
Syn'kra-vaal looked down at Cassandra with mirth as the small female tried to free herself from the heavy wrapping. He began to laugh as she floundered around like a fish out of water, eventually she managed to get one of her arms free then pulled the rest of herself out. The Gene-Tech female lay on the bed still laughing, but looking rather ruffled as Syn walked to the other side of the sleeping platform and removed the light weight specialist armor from his chest. He pretended not to notice that Cass had stopped laughing rather abruptly, he enjoyed teasing her in such ways. The Yautja male stretched more dramatically than he normally would have and stepped toward the viewing panel, the natural light showing off his body tone in a deeper contrast. He heard a chuckle from behind him and turned around to face Cassandra as she did her best not to stare at him;
"Are you ok Cass…?" asked Syn, smiling intently
"Of course, I was just wondering why you removed your armor." she said, raising her eyebrows
"I intend to sleep as well. The bed has ample room for two. After all, you are much smaller than I."
"I have no problem with that. Just as long as you don't think you are going to get lucky or anything." She grinned
Syn'kra-vaal didn't quite understand what she meant, but he was a little taken aback as she moved herself around so she was lying with her head pointing toward the wall. The Yautja's eyes widened as Cassandra pulled the heavy, pelt looking blanket over herself and began to fidget around in a strange manner. Moments later she pulled her well worn shirt and drill pants from under the cover and threw them to the ground. Syn fought back his urge to growl, Cass knew the games he played, and this was her way of showing him that she too could participate, effectively.
The small female knew she had hit him out of the park, so she smiled up at him innocently and lay back with her hands behind her head. The pelt was very large in size and when spread out, covered the whole bed quite readily, only Cassandra's head and shoulders protruded from the warm environment it created, leaving much to Syn's imagination.
The Yautja stepped back toward Cassandra and leisurely removed his mask from his utility belt and sat it carefully on the floor next to the bed. He grinned down at his small companion as he uncoupled the belt and let it drop to the floor, he had the home field advantage and loosing wasn't really an option for a Dark Blade Operative. The armor shards around his waist and lower extremities came off next, then finally his tech net, leaving him standing only in a plain loin cloth. He stretched again, this time flexing the powerful muscles on his legs, stealing a quick glance at Cass, he saw she was biting her lip and staring rather intently at the light panels on the ceiling in an attempt to ignore her Yautja;
"We Yautja most of the time like to sleep with no clothing…" purred Syn, Cass stared at him, wide eyed. "I win…" he grinned, triumphantly
"This round." She smiled
Syn chuckled quietly as he sat down on the edge of the bed and stretched toward a small remote panel above the head of the bed. Cassandra stared at his back as he reached over to the control board, now with his armor removed; she could see the full extent of the scarring she had seen previously on his battle hardened body. There was a moment's silence where Cass wasn't sure exactly what to do, and then just as Syn shut down the lighting panels on the roof, she reached out with an unsteady hand.
The Yautja male flinched away from her touch, making Cass whip her hand back from him. Syn blushed with a barrage of buried emotions; only one had touched his wounds since they had been ever so violently inflicted. With his back still facing to Cassandra, he turned and looked down at her. Without the artificial lighting, the room was bathed in the dull, musty yellow afternoon sun that only just managed to penetrate the fierce geomagnetic storm clouds of the upper atmosphere. This dull light shaded the Yautja male's features into darkness, bathing him in a visually unnatural malevolence. Cass was fast to react; she carefully began to shift away from him slowly, like she had startled a dangerous animal.
Syn could sense the fear from his small female and even though it wasn't intended, she needed to understand that when he was outcast, his life was built on animosity, trepidation and violence. That blind, selfish, unkempt behavior was something that he was still coming to terms with himself and before she could move too far from him, Syn leaned close to her. With lightning speed, he grabbed her by the hand, not firm enough to harm her, but enough for her to know that he was no longer at play;
"I am sorry Cass. I did not mean to cause you alarm. You startled me…" he sighed and looked into her eyes "Only Ju'lyn-zal has touched my wounds... Brought back a lot of old feelings you did."
"I should be apologizing. It was a stupid move on my part." She breathed, nervously
"No…" he said with a sad smile "Not stupid, it was bound to happen; you wanted to know my past. Not a better place to start there is." He bowed his head closer to her and nuzzled his cheek into her hand as he held it. "Besides, your touch I like, a lot."
As Syn made to pull away from her, she brought up her free hand and gently stroked his other cheek, or where his cheek would have been if he were human. There was barely an inch between them and he could taste everything about her, even the spent gases she exhaled were marked with her scent. The Yautja male pushed his face harder into her open hand, in a rather canine like bid for affection; Cass laughed at his actions then lay back, waiting for Syn to settle. He fidgeted around for a few moments, stopping every now and then to scent the heavy pelt that covered them, eventually he lay back and closed his eyes, sighing at the ceiling.
As Syn'kra-vaal rested briefly, his hands under his head, he could feel the small mass of Cassandra's body creeping closer to him and he smiled as he felt a stray hand move slowly across his bare chest. The small female wasted no time, she enjoyed his warmth and his scent too much to avoid, and soon she was nestled next to him, her arms draped around the Yautja's shoulders. Syn could taste her scent stronger than ever, it made him smile;
"Comfortable are you?"
"Like you wouldn't believe." She yawned
"Then you are ready to listen to my past." He purred softly at the ceiling "…The reason I could not bare you to touch me, is every time I feel the scarring, I am forced to relive everything that came with them. Over four turns ago, I was sent to the same Ooman complex I rescued you from, but I was sent with others, I was not used to working with so many Yautja." He shook his head and growled quietly, "Some of them were not Blade warriors; they listened badly to my advice, and were ambushed. When we, the Blades, came to their aid, we learnt that it was all a farce, the Oomen knew we were coming and a trap had been set. Your kind call it EMP, at that time, it was hazardous to our technology, I managed to escape the blast, barely… My sight was marred and my coordination was affected. Any Yautja technology I had, useless it was, and so, I removed it all and started running…"
A gentle snore from somewhere near his chest interrupted him, somewhat grateful that he didn't have to regale his tormented past, Syn purred gently and wrapped his right arm around the small female compassionately. Moments later he followed suit and drifted into his own slumber.
Daan'sha hadn't even heard his guests, Saa'retah was right, as usual, he had been running himself ragged over the last few days. Between trying to get beneath Syn's armor, not in a literal sense of course, and making sure the Gene-Tech didn't die, he still had all of his regular chores to catch up on. As soon as his body had hit the bed, it shut down into sleep mode, not even the ongoing stress of an attempt at moving a living consciousness into a totally alien body could keep him awake. For a moment while his body wavered on the edge of sleep, the Yautja genius thought of the dreams Cassandra had explained, maybe the Dark Hunter would pay him a visit and put this all to rest. Alas, Daan'sha dreamed peaceful dreams.
Hours later, the skinny male was awoken as the door to his bed chamber slid open and his female, Saa'retah ambled in, trying to be as silent as possible, albeit, unsuccessfully. Daan'sha growled quietly into the darkness;
"Did you have any success?"
"Ohhh do not even start… I am so tired of programming. If I see another mass input projection…" Saa'retah was so waspish she didn't even finish.
"How much more remains?"
"None." yawned the female, turning on a small light panel next to bed "It is complete. I moved it all into 'Cassandra's Lab', the main console there is running through every simulation I could imagine. In isolated format." She finished
"Cassandra's Lab?" parroted Daan'sha, sitting up in bed
"Why not? I think she deserves to have something named after her. Really Daan, when have you ever seen anything as resilient as her?"
"You are right…" his voice trailed off
"You are not confident, my male?"
"No my heart, I am not." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes
"Well get confident!" she poked his shoulder playfully "I get nervous when you are not convinced you are always right! Nonetheless, we will know when the new day breaks if it is going to work, the console should be finished with the simulations by then."
"Hmmm… What is the hour?" questioned Daan'sha, idly scratching himself
"Late, it is almost a new day." Saa'retah didn't have to rely on her natural ability to scent her males mood, she could see it in his eyes "Daan'sha, this is going to work, you must not doubt, after all, we are only trying to relocate a consciousness of unknown proportion into another body." She smiled
"Oh, don't remind me." Replied Daan'sha, rubbing his eyes again
"You are telling me, that a Yautja as mentally ill as yourself, a Yautja that found a way to stabilize volcanically active planets… A Yautja that is attempting to draw power from the event horizons of dark portals is afraid of a little body substitution."
"I like the part about the volcanically active planets… at least that actually happened." Said Daan'sha with his familiar grin.
Saa'retah smiled down at him as she removed her light, uniformed armor and fell face down onto the bed, exaggerating her exhaustion. Daan'sha looked down at her naked body and grinned wider, quietly thankful he had Saa'retah as his mate. The skinny male's thoughts wandered as he began to trace the outlines of the subtle mottling on her back with a gentle claw.
As soon as Syn'kra-vaal awoke and took a breath, he knew something was wrong, he sat bolt upright in bed and felt next to him for his small human counterpart, she wasn't there. The Dark Blade operative was on his feet before he could even think.
Very weak, pale red, early morning light flickered through the open viewing panel, illuminating the chamber enough for him to see quite clearly. The Yautja male was startled to see Cassandra leaning against the wall, looking out into the early morning sky, she wore the same soiled standard issue cargo pants, but she had her shirt clutched under her nose. She seemed to be oblivious to Syn's presence as he approached, and as he did so, he noticed the tears rolling silently down her face. Within a heartbeat he was on his knees next to her, he placed a careful hand on her shoulder as she looked up at him and smiled, she talked quietly, though her voice was somewhat muffled from the shirt;
"You're awake…" she mumbled, the tears still coming "I have been up for a little while, I couldn't sleep, but I didn't want to wake you. You look so peaceful when you sleep." She smiled
He looked sideways at her and pulled the shirt from her nose briefly, he saw blood, too much blood. Syn growled;
"Cass, what is wrong…?"
"It's just my time… that's all." she looked up into his eyes, "I am truly sorry for all the trouble I have caused." She stroked his face softly and smiled up at him in sorrow "It's happening Syn…"
"S'yuit-de pauk pup…!" he cursed her quietly "I told you that surrender was no option!"
Before she could even think, Syn'kra-vaal had bundled her up in the large pelt that was still warm from their body heat. He growled loudly and stabbed at the door controls, with one hand, supporting Cass with his other arm. It seemed like an eternity for the door to slide open, but when it did, Syn'kra-vaal dashed forward and repeated the process at the entry to Daan'sha's sleeping chamber. Before it had even opened all the way, Syn bellowed out in his natural tongue;
"DAAN'SHA!! IT IS HAPPENING, NOW!!"
The skinny male was on his feet before he was even awake and Saa'retah followed to suit, they both looked apprehensively at each other in the early morning light, Daan'sha's voice was still hoarse from sleep;
"Now we find out if this is going to work, I will get to the lab and start the set up, my heart; you must raise Tau'ken-re and bring the body of Ju'lyn-zal to the chamber!"
"I made a cable that will connect Cassandra directly to the main console, it is on one of the med-haulers, the simulations will have finished by now."
They both left Daan'sha's quarters at a run, but nowhere near fast enough to catch up with their Dark Blade visitor. The moment he knew what was happening, Syn's body automatically switched into offensive mode, he ran faster than he had ever run before but still managed to keep Cassandra safe in his arms.
Before he knew it, Syn'kra-vaal was at the main elevators; the guard stationed behind the security desk looked on, unaware, his head cocked to one side in confusion. As the Yautja operative entered an open elevator car, he realized that all he was wearing was a loin cloth; he paid it no heed as the car began its rapid decent into the lower northern wing. He stroked Cass' face gently and mumbled to her in his own tongue as the transport finished it's travel. She was fading in and out of consciousness and as soon as the doors were open wide enough, Syn surged forward on powerful legs, his feet barely keeping traction with the polished granite like floor.
It was a short stretch to the lab where Cassandra had been previously, and when he reached the large chamber door, Syn was surprised to see it was already open. All the light panels on the ceiling were bright and as he entered, the Yautja stealth operative noticed an extra med-hauler had been brought, on its surface lay Ju'lyn-zal, a Yautja medical telemetry display connected to her. The three haulers sat parallel to each other in the center of the chamber, Tau'ken-re sat on the end of the one closest to the main console, and as Syn looked up from Ju'lyn-zal, the Yautja medic met his gaze. There was surprise written all over his face;
"Syn'kra-vaal? What has transpired?"
"It is happening, now. Cass is passing over."
"…Now!?" he choked out "Get her onto the hauler! Next to Ju'lyn-zal!"
Syn'kra-vaal did as Tau'ken-re instructed, and as he laid her flat she came to and looked up at Syn, her eyes were distant as she spoke;
"…There isn't much time…"
A loud growl erupted from Tau'ken-re's chest as he reconnected the remaining medical telemetry device to the small Gene -Tech female, it took a few seconds for the signal to stabilize and begin sending data. Syn stood at the end of the hauler, his arms folder tightly across his chest, his hearts thumping anxiously. The medic growled again as he rapidly analyzed what was being displayed and shoved Syn out of the way so he could access the compartment under the rear of the hovering trolley.
The Yautja operative didn't even see what Tau'ken-re removed from the storage locker, but watched wide eyed as he returned to Cassandra's side and stabbed something into her chest. Tau'ken-re looked intently at the medical monitoring device and then at Syn'kra-vaal;
"She has an extra minute, maybe two. What ever Daan'sha is planning, he better do it and fucking soon."
"I INTEND TO!!" yelled the skinny Yautja as he bolted into the chamber, Saa'retah hot on his heels "How long to set up, Saa'retah?"
"A few moments…"
"Do it!"
"Tau'ken-re! How is the female! How is Ju'lyn-zal?!"
"Perfect, the implantation was flawless. The device is ready. She is fine."
"Let's do this!" growled Daan'sha, a fierce look on his face
Syn took a step back and watched nervously from a distance as Daan'sha and Saa'retah began their work, Daan'sha worked like madman, his long thin fingers on one hand rapidly inputting commands, and his other hand manipulating the projected directives. The Blade operative wondered if they had actually talked among themselves of how this would work, it didn't seem like they had had much time to prepare. Saa'retah growled with hostility at Syn as he stepped in closer, making him back away further, he hated not being useful, especially when it was something so important.
Daan'sha talked to himself as he worked, something that Syn was becoming more and more familiar with, all of a sudden he barked;
"I am ready, connect her!"
Saa'retah growled in response and retrieved the cable she had fabricated the night before, she was a little nervous as it hadn't been tested and the Ooman hardware to wetware technology was hideously primitive. Syn howled apprehensively as Saa'retah handed one end to Daan'sha, who bent down behind the console briefly before reappearing and nodding to his female. Saa'retah took a calming breath as she picked the freckle out of the wetware port on Cassandra's arm and carefully inserted the fiber optic connection probe. A warning message flashed up on the main display a second later and Daan'sha's fingers began to dance across the interactive projection once more.
It all had happened so fast that Syn's brain was still processing everything, it was like a strange, twisted dream, he knew this was coming, but it still didn't seem real even though it was unfurling right before his very eyes. The Yautja operative didn't know where to look, his place was supposed to be camouflaged, deep in enemy territory, winning battles from the inside, not stuck in a research chamber where he could do nothing. Daan'sha's voice punctured his nervous thoughts once more;
"I have her connection, it is stable… Much more stable than the connection we had previously. It's up to her now…"
"We are so running out of time!" spat Tau'ken-re, his voice shaking
"Just be calm…" glared Saa'retah, she walked over to Syn and placed a caring hand on his shoulder. "Talk to her, she will need you now more than ever."
Syn'kra-vaal looked from Daan'sha to Saa'retah then down at Cass' unconscious form, he nodded almost fearfully as he stepped around to the head of med-hauler and bent down so his face was next to Cassandra's. The Yautja male took a deep breath of her scent and exhaled before he closed his eyes and began to whisper in her ear in his natural tongue. This turn of events seemed all too familiar for his liking.
Daan'sha watched in surprise as the programs both he and Saa'retah had written began to analyze and accept an incoming data stream from Cassandra's wetware port. The skinny male almost roared in triumph;
"In the name of the Dark One… This is actually working."
"I told you!" snapped Saa'retah
They all watched with strained attention as the actual transfer began to take place, except for Syn who continued to murmur to his small female. Eventually it was Saa'retah who placed a hand on his back, disrupting him;
"Syn, it is working. The console is accepting her as raw data."
"When it is successful, then it worked." He growled, looking over his shoulder at her
"Such optimism…" mumbled the female, "Typical thick-skull."
Syn'kra-vaal stepped back and looked down at Cassandra one more time before turning and walking curtly to the console where Tau'ken-re and Daan'sha were both watching the interactive display. Daan'sha looked at him with a warm smile;
"She has to move her entire consciousness to the console before we can continue. I knew this was going to be urgent, so when I created the directives I coded instructions into the program so Cass would know what I required her to do." He ran shaking hands through his messy, unkempt locks, "Then once she is ready, it is up to her to execute the final part of the transfer, to Ju'lyn-zal, once the console recognizes the correct signal it should not take long, the second half is fully encrypted Yautja signal code-width."
Syn said nothing, he just nodded, the cold, distanced look had returned to his eyes, out of nowhere they all spun around as the medical monitor attached to Cassandra began to beep a shrill warning, the Yautja operative snarled;
"What is happening?!"
"Relax…" sighed Tau'ken-re "I knew this was going to happen, that body cannot survive without her mental ability…"
"He is right," Mumbled Daan'sha, moving the display around and creating another, "I think it is safe to assume that she has successfully incorporated to the console." They all looked up as the display changed, Daan'sha smiled nervously "And it appears she doesn't want to stay there long, she has progressed to the final stage of the transfer, now we wait…"
Daan'sha had been correct, the final division of the transfer was over very soon after it had begun, and like they had rehearsed it, they all looked down at Ju'lyn-zal unison. No one dared even move, they just waited in anxious silence, after a few moments Daan'sha began to shake his head;
"No… No this is not right, we should have seen response by now… It is complete, she should be conscious!"
Syn'kra-vaal felt an uncontrollable panic building up inside him, something completely alien for him, which escalated his feeling of anxiety ever more. Saa'retah was about to speak when the monitor that was connected to Ju'lyn-zal began to shriek its foul caution, Syn watched in slow motion as both Saa'retah and Tau'ken-re rushed to her aid. The Yautja operative stood in shock, he felt a pain in his chest, rising from his gut to his throat, like he was about to vomit, there was no sound to his ear slits, just the dismal ringing noise.
Daan'sha couldn't bear to look upon Ju'lyn-zal, he stepped quickly from the raised console to Syn's side and shook his friend by the shoulders, but Syn was as unresponsive as his female. Saa'retah looked to Daan'sha, fear in her eyes;
"There is nothing wrong with her… PHYSICALLY THERE IS NOTHING WRONG! WHY IS SHE DYING?!"
Another growl rumbled from Tau'ken-re's throat as he began to compress Ju'lyn-zal's chest in a last ditch attempt to restart her hearts. Syn could feel Daan'sha trying to pull him from the chamber and he brushed away the skinny males attempt with ease. Everything seemed to spin around him as the Yautja operative stepped toward Ju'lyn-zal, he could hear Saa'retah screaming, but it sounded distant, like she was far away. Tau'ken-re stopped the compressions and looked to the medical monitor; he roared out in frustration and struck the monitor with a closed fist, Saa'retah rushed to restrain him as he continued to vent his anger on the telemetry device.
It was then, at that exact moment that Syn knew, Cassandra was gone, the Yautja operative dropped to his knees, the pain in his chest, almost unbearable. Slowly his hearing returned, he could hear Saa'retah sobbing, he could hear Tau'ken-re's ragged breathing and he could hear Daan'sha talking to him, but he couldn't make out any of the words that came from his mouth. Syn'kra-vaal could hold his own weight no longer; he fell forward, using his arms to support himself, silent tears began to fall from his eyes.
A sharp intake of breath caused Syn'kra-vaal to look up; he saw both Saa'retah and the medic, Tau'ken-re looking to Daan'sha in shock. Near the main console a ghostly dark vapor had begun to swirl out of what appeared to be an invisible vortex, the three scientists cautiously backed away from the unnatural phenomenon. Syn looked up, astounded as the Dark One began to materialize before them; the Yautja operative soon felt the shock dissipate as he looked at the being who would be his god. Syn could feel his anger building; he looked down at the polished floor and saw the small droplets from the tears he cried. He had done everything that the Dark One had asked of him, yet still he had taken Cassandra away, Syn'kra-vaal felt himself slipping away as Thei-de Ka'antyra began to take over once more, rising from the depths of an anger fueled soul.
The three remaining Yautja looked on in absolute astonishment as Syn'kra-vaal, still on his knees balled his fists so tight it looked as if his knuckles were going to pierce the skin. His head snapped up and he stared right into the very being of the Dark Yautja, hot tears of rage falling from his eyes. The entire chamber was filled with Syn's scent, so wrath fueled and murderous that even the Dark One's golden glowing eyes widened in shock. A heinous, feral snarl ripped from the Yautja's throat as he got to his feet;
"This time… You feel my pain!"
Syn'kra-vaal didn't even think, he just wanted to inflict as much damage as possible, the chances of him actually surviving a hostile encounter with the Dark One were miniscule, but at least if he was dead, he would be with Cassandra. Syn hissed with bloodlust as he kicked out with his powerful legs, sending himself streaking toward the tall shadowy figure, both of his fists drawn back to strike.