A big thanks to Deathra for supplying some welcomed humor for this chapter!
Hope you all enjoy.
Mar.
Chapter 28: Exposed Elements
"HA! YOU COULD NOT CATCH THE TAIL OF A THREE LEGGED DRONE!"
"You are certainly learning the insulting part of your language very well…" mumbled Syn
Cass laughed, feinted to her left and sidestepped around her male, he swore as she made for the door of the kehrite. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Syn was in pursuit before she snarled with a new found passion and flexed her powerful legs; in a flash she was gone…
It was the second day since Syn'kra-vaal had awoken from his encounter with the Dark Hunter; the first night had been rather pleasant, for both Cassandra and Syn. They had had nothing to plague them, and they could both relax though Cass' desire to learn more about the Yautja lasted through the evening meal they shared with Daan'sha and Saa'retah and late into the night. The next day, Syn spent a good part of the morning sleeping; Cassandra on the other hand woke early, like an eager youngling the day after their braiding ceremony. The attractive bodied female spent the morning with Saa'retah, who finished instructing Cass on the basics of how to operate Yautja technology, correctly. Thanks to her persistent, abnormal learning ability, she was almost as fluent in even the most technical functions as her friend was. Cassandra learnt much from the data stored in the Yautja network, of course she was restricted from accessing some of the information, but she was not interested in the secrecy of the facility, it was the history and events that she enjoyed.
Anything that had happened in Yautja recorded history was accessible from such consoles as the one Cassandra occupied, if she could have, she would sit until she could learn no more. It was simply mind blowing for her, learning the history of her new race was a mental adrenaline rush like no other, Saa'retah joked that she should stay on at the facility as a full time researcher. Cass laughed with her new friend, but she knew that the academic in her was only a past time; she would surely go mad if she was not out in the thick of it all.
After half of the day had passed, Cass had figured out how to use the console in 'her' lab to its full extent, as well as working her own powerful mind to its limit. All three of the displays played out different parts of important events in Yautja history, and Cassandra followed them all at once, while she paced around the chamber. Standing still or sitting was nothing something she was interested in. She really wanted to test out her body, physically, but decided that wandering around the facility by herself wasn't a good idea at the time.
By the time Syn'kra-vaal had come to find her, she knew more about his history then he did; one of the displays had been only displaying pertinent information to the Dark Blade Clan. It was here that Cass learnt about the O'ka'an Elder Bre'ta'ak and also the details of her males demotion and exile from his clan. And as her male had walked into the chamber, she ran straight up to him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing his body into her own without hesitation.
"Syn… My Syn, I understand now, I am so sorry!" she whimpered.
"Wait, wait, what are you sorry for My Heart?"
"Your exile, I understand now, just how much it means to our kind for such a thing to happen… To be stripped of honour. And such an honour you have…" she pulled away from him and looked down into his eyes.
"Pay it no heed." He replied with a caring smile "In the past that part of my life is, now I have you, and I have a fresh start."
"But what about what your reputation…? My Syn, according to the Yautja Code of Decree, as depicted by the Leading Colony Elders on Yau'te, a formal injunction of honour on a militant Yautja can only be lifted with evidence of the completed tasks asked of the offending Yautja."
Syn started wide eyed at his female for a second before he burst out laughing.
"What in his name has gotten into you?" he exclaimed.
"Oh be silent!" she smiled "I was looking at your history and one thing may have led to another, then I decided to seek this 'Code of Decree' that was mentioned. I can understand now, how honour is such a part of your lifestyle."
"Shit…" growled Syn "You are a squint!"
"I just wanted to learn about my species." She poked him with a sharp claw.
"Our species," He corrected "And besides, I already knew how I was going to regain my honour."
"Oh really? Does it involve bursting in and killing all the O'ka'an Council members and over throwing the entire Guard Force? Because that is the only other way! Though I have heard that you are rather 'talented' in that respect."
"No!" he laughed "I will do as they have asked of me. And the you will have your revenge…"
"My Revenge? Syn, I do not underst…" Cass gasped as she realized what he meant "You mean to say we are going back there, to the facility where you found me…?"
"Indeed…" he growled.
Cass laughed as she streaked along the large corridors, Syn close on her heels, it wasn't really a wide open space, but she was able to push her new body a little harder. The able bodied female could hear her male gaining ground behind her and pushed a little harder, her hearts pumping rhythmically. She felt the blood flowing to her powerful legs, bringing with it fresh energy to burn, her laughter flooded the passageways, resonating from the strangely ornate walls. Never before had she moved this fast, it was simply mind blowing for her, little did she know, this was nothing of her capable speed. Again, Cass was granted surprise with another visual trait, it seemed the faster she moved, the clearer her visual field became, it was rather odd to begin with, but like everything else; she was becoming accustomed to it.
They had been in the kehrite all morning, and Cass was really getting the hang of the basic manoeuvring techniques that Syn had been showing her. She couldn't wait until he would decide that she was ready to start learning the ancient Dark Blade martial art, the thing that made it most enjoyable, is that she KNEW she would succeed. No matter how long it took her, with Syn'kra-vaal as her teacher, she knew that she would not fail. And the fact that this body was already capable of such things put her in a sound frame of mind.
The Yautja female closed her eyes for a moment as she ran; she grinned at the feeling of the air rushing past her body and she listened to the rhythm of her hearts beating in her chest. The rhythmic beating seemed to provide somewhat of a background noise for the clicking of their claws on the polished floor, she could hear Syn gaining ground. Cass opened her eyes and looked quickly over her shoulder to see how close her male was; she smiled playfully at him then effortlessly put more distance between them. Syn returned her mischievous gesture, and then nodded forward at her, as if to be indicating something, when she turned around, she yelped in surprise.
A large hauler, being pushed by an older male exited an open freight elevator right in front of her, Cass didn't even have time to think, and she just acted. Syn's eyes went wide as he watched his female counter her speed with a half step then launch herself into the air all within a micro second of noticing her path was blocked. The Yautja pushing the hauler didn't even notice Cass diving overhead, but he growled in surprise as she landed near him and rolled gracefully forward before springing back to her feet. A second later, not wanting to be outdone, Syn'kra-vaal shifted his stride rapidly and sprang from one powerful leg to the other, catapulting himself toward the wall, but still preserving his forward velocity. It had been a while since the Yautja male had attempted such an exercise and he wasn't sure if he could still pull it off. But as the wall became Syn's floor for a moment, he grinned and pumped his legs harder, the key to 'wall riding' as Bre'ta'ak had taught him, was velocity.
Though it was somewhat successful, Syn only managed three strides before gravity decided that it was the boss again. As the operative felt his body falling, he simply leant forward and sprung off the floor with his hands while kicking his legs out so they swung overhead in a wide arc. Syn'kra-vaal landed silently, leading with his left, then right foot on the polished floor, he smiled with delight and kept on walking without breaking stride. He took several steps, as if to prove his point, and then turned sharply on his heel, Cass looked back at him with raised eyebrows and her hands on her hips. Syn laughed loudly and pointed at the wall.
"That is how it is done, youngling…"
"Cursed Pups…" growled the other Yautja as he walked away.
Cassandra laughed at the older male's irritable expression and stepped to where Syn waited for her, she playfully shoved him.
"Could not help yourself could you?" she teased.
"I have no idea of what you are talking about…" smiled Syn.
"It did look impressive nonetheless."
"What is impressive is your reaction time Cass…" he purred up at her "I have not seen anyone counter that quickly in many years!"
"If you teach me to run on walls as Kainde Amedha do, then I will teach you how to improve your reaction time." Cass laughed.
"You may teach me anything you want…" winked Syn as he bumped into her playfully.
The inseparable pair walked close to one another as they made for the refectory, it was hard for passersby not to notice just how taken for one another the two were. Both Syn and Cassandra were almost in constant physical contact as they walked and laughed about Cass' morning of training. Syn would brush almost accidentally against her, letting his touch linger on her skin and she would look down at him and smile with her wonderful eyes, making his hearts pound.
As Syn had slept a good part of the previous morning, he introduced Cass to the kehrite in the afternoon and started her with a series of basic combat manoeuvres. They continued to work on her training late into the night, then started again early in the morning, Syn loved to watch her move and learn what he was teaching her. Maybe it was the fact that her body already knew most of what he had to teach, or whether she was just that good, but she was acing everything he asked of her. And she did it with all the other Yautja staring at her like she didn't belong. It made the blade operative feel a little uneasy and he had expressed his distaste for the opinions of the Yautja involved, Syn expected to hear from Daan'sha regarding such matters.
Syn'kra-vaal listened with intent as Cass picked his brain with another barrage of questions, he found her thirst for knowledge a little overpowering at times.
"… So the Dark Blade was the first Clan to settle on more than one planet…? It never said anything about that in the Network."
"I doubt it would." He grinned "You see, the political mess of the Blade Clan was fucked long before my shaming."
"You do not have to call it a shaming…" she soothed.
"That's exactly what it was. Now, it was the Dark Blade Clan that was the first to offer their services as a privatized, fully independent military entity. That happened tens of thousands of years ago, on Yau'te, our militant and political centre."
Cassandra had learned of a great many of the main planets that Yautja inhabited, the prime being Yau'te, a large, politically centred planet, home to millions. Again she found herself mentally amused by just how naïve the Ooman were; they were basically clueless to the existence of Yautja. She continued to listen to her male while her thoughts wandered.
"The Blades were welcomed by many, but as stronger clans began to establish, they challenged the authority that the early Colony Elders entrusted them with. Most argued that every clan should be entitled the same as what the Dark Blades received, so before a political abortion took place, the earliest Blade Elders scattered. They did this because they thought it was time to step down from Yau'te and let them establish their own 'trust'."
"And after that, the Elders began to establish on other developing planets?"
"Indeed, they felt that the Blade Clan could help to develop seedling communities, giving them support where they needed it while other clans populated and created a viable economy."
"I can see why it would get political… What was to stop the Dark Blade Clan from a hostile takeover…?"
"Exactly correct," Nodded Syn "Still to this day, clans like the Ayn'kra of O'ka'an seem constantly paranoid that we are conceding to do the wrong thing. Though they took a step too far this time… But we shall take care of that, when the time comes." Syn smiled, certain of his statement.
Cassandra nodded and looked down at him, she knew she held a special place in his heart, but the Blade Clan was his life and she would stand by him no matter what. Though she was more than able to physically take care of herself, her intelligence was also a powerful tool, one that she would lovingly use when the time was right. Cass had gotten used to the fact that there were certain things they shouldn't talk about while in the presence of other Yautja. Syn had explained to her that he thought there was a turncoat among Daan'sha's ranks, and that they should be cautious. Of course she listened to him, but it didn't help that most Yautja looked at her in a strange way, almost like they thought she was something to covet. It was somewhat unnerving at times.
As they entered the large refectory chambers, Syn stole her touch by stroking the small of Cass' back gently, making her quiver slightly.
"Really…? Here?" she hissed.
"Well they are all looking at us, we should give them something to look at…" he mumbled, through a playful grin.
"Are all Yautja as perverted as you?" she giggled.
"One of a kind I am!" grinned Syn.
They continued to walk close together towards the centre of the chamber where a large circular serving counter stood, laden with all sorts of food. Cass had been into the chamber several times now, yet it still took some getting used to seeing so many Yautja in one place at the same time. The whole of the large floor area was used for dining purposes, there were many square tables that appeared to be incorporated into the floor itself, she had been meaning to ask Syn how they were made. Not many of the tables were occupied; Saa'retah had explained to her that most of the Yautja just eat whenever they get the chance, as sometimes their work could not be left unattended.
The large circular serving platform in the centre of the room was actually a telescopic lift from the floor below; this was where the actual food preparation area was. The first time Cass had heard this, she thought that there must have been a many Yautja working on the floor below, Saa'retah had laughed at her, there was only two permanent workers, and they managed quite easily. A lot of the food that was served was already prepared and stored in stasis off world, so when it was needed it was a simple matter of opening which ever stasis crate contained the desired food item and removing it. There were some items that were preferred fresh such as meat and certain varieties of fruit, these were stored in stasis for the journey to the facility, then moved to a cold storage unit upon arrival.
There was a small queue waiting at one end of the large serving platform, Cass and Syn joined the end of the line, both of them ignoring the stares that came from the more curious ones. It didn't help that all Syn wore was a tight fitting pair of short legged training bottoms, much like what Cassandra was donning, the females at the facility were few and far between, but every one that Syn had seen, had been looking at him, wide eyed. He often joked with Cass that the males here didn't get enough exercise, she happened to agree with him, only a few of the guards she was getting familiar with had anything close to the physique of her male.
Cass poked Syn with a claw as he eyeballed the food, she had to prod him quite hard to get his attention, it was like he hadn't eaten in a decade, and the male hadn't been lying when he told her of his lust for meal time. He looked up at her and clacked in question, his eyes darting back toward the fare that awaited him.
"Tau'ken-re is actually eating today." Cass pointed to one of the far corners of the room
"It would do him some good, he will never find a mate if he is that skinny…"
"I think he may be doing rather well, a female with him there is."
"Where?" Syn tip toed so he could get a better look. "I cannot see him."
"Is something wrong…?" teased Cass "Did you get shorter?" She shoved him playfully then yelped as he growled and tried to nip her arm. "You must be hungry!"
"Why do you say that?" he looked up at her and smiled "I think you would taste amazing…"
Cass blushed at his remark as several others turned to look at them; if there was one thing she had learnt about her male, it was his lack of shame. He stroked the small of her back again, as if to embarrass her further, she just smiled and reached over for two serving platters. Syn laughed as Cassandra held his out to him and as he grabbed for it, she pulled it away and cracked it on his head.
"Excellent!" growled Syn.
"What?"
"They have maan'tak fruit…" he replied eagerly; Cass watched with a smile as he snarled loudly and pushed his way past several others
"We need to get you armour engraved that says 'Does not play well with others!'" laughed Cass as Syn returned to her side with a large bright green sphere.
"Why? If I growl, they get out of the way…" he grinned, breaking the sphere in half.
Cass watched Syn flare his mandibles and take a big bite, he began to purr contently as he chewed, making his female laugh. She was silenced suddenly as he broke off a small piece and held it to her mouth, as Cass caught the scent, her eyes widened and she leant forward and took the fruit from Syn's hand, nibbling his finger playfully as she did so. As she began to chew she growled softly and tilted her head back, she stifled her laughter as she saw Tau'ken-re and the others of the table where he sat, staring at them, wide eyed.
After much picking, choosing and a near duel over the last maan'tak, both Syn and Cass walked to where Tau'ken-re sat both carrying rather laden serving platters. The Yautja medic greeted them with a smile as they sat down, the two others at the table looked up at them, with polite smiles.
"I think you may have enough food…" laughed Tau'ken-re.
"Half of mine is his," replied Cass nodding at Syn as she sat down.
"I surprised you are not as hungry as he." smiled an older looking female "Word has it that you two have been breaking down the walls of the kehrite."
"Syn'kra-vaal, Ju'lyn-zal, this is Yyaj'nsa." Nodded Tau'ken-re, then pointed at the male who sat next to her, "And that is Le'avth, both are fellow medical researchers."
"It is an honour to meet you both…" mumbled Syn over a mouthful of food.
"I am sorry about that…" Cass jabbed a thumb at her male.
The huntress stood and reached over the table to accept the gesture from the female, Yyaj'nsa, Cass clasped the forearm that was offered to her as Yyaj'nsa did the same, a formal greeting of friends. She repeated the gesture when the male offered his arm to her. Tau'ken-re cleared his throat.
"Ju'lyn-zal…? Yyaj'nsa and Le'avth both provided assistance during your surgery."
"Is that true?"
"Indeed." Replied Le'avth, this was the first time the older male had spoken; his voice had a quite deep, soothing tone. "In all honesty, we were quite surprised when we heard the news of your rapid recovery."
"Such a way with words you have," said Yyaj'nsa with raised eyebrows.
Cass laughed, she didn't care what they thought, if they actually knew what she was and how she came to be then things would have been worse. She ate slowly while she listened to them talking amongst themselves, Syn had remained silent next to her, apart from the sounds he made while eating. When she glanced quickly over and saw that he had almost finished his food, she pushed her own platter toward him so it was between them both.
"You are sure…?" asked Syn "You have not eaten much."
"I will eat; just make sure some is left for me. So feral you should not be… Your food is dead; it will not run from you."
Tau'ken-re and the two other medical Yautja burst out laughing at Cassandra's remark, Syn grinned shamelessly and continued to eat, though at a slightly slower pace. Cass was really starting to get into the Yautja food, whether it was because of her over-tuned senses she did not know, everything just tasted so damn good. Cass continued to eat slowly, savouring the flavours of the food she answered politely when asked questions, just praying they didn't ask her something she didn't know yet. Her saving grace was the fact that Syn had finished most of the food left on her platter, apart from some she had shimmied to one end and guarded with her hand. Aside from her protected fare, the only thing left was the last maan'tak fruit from the serving platform, Cass watched her male as he stretched idly and yawned, but a sharp eye would have seen his hand creeping closer and closer to the maan'tak. The able bodied female waited for him to edge a little closer before she lashed out with speed that surprised everyone, including herself, Cass sat with a big grin on her face, maan'tak in hand.
Syn looked sideways at Cass with mock ferocity and growled a low warning to her, she could see him getting ready to try and snatch the maan'tak from her.
"You are sure you want to ride this shuttle…?" he taunted.
"Give me your best," hissed Cass.
"Here we go…" groaned Tau'ken-re "Did you not lose the last round Syn?"
"Technical disagreement…" he corrected "Not lose."
Both Le'avth and the female sitting next to him chuckled as Syn's left arm shot out, trying to grab the fruit, Cass' reaction time was beyond anything her old body was capable of but she wasn't quite fast enough and the maan'tak was knocked into the air. Cass smiled; she still had the advantage, and snatched the fruit in mid-flight before Syn could even come near it.
"Still need to grow a little more…" she winked.
Cass yelped and readied herself as she saw Syn preparing to dive at her but a polite clicking from behind them stopped his assault. They both turned to see Avaal'ekan's second in command, Kur'rel-taa standing with his arms folded, a smile on his face.
"You two were not about to disturb this chamber were you?"
"No!" Cass smiled innocently and shook her head.
"I would never think of doing such a thing!" seconded her male.
"Good." chuckled the guard "Daan'sha would like to see both of you in the Black Hole chamber, immediately."
Both Cass and Syn looked at each other in question then out of nowhere the male snatched the maan'tak from Cassandra and streaked from the chamber in fits of laughter. Cass grinned at her male's actions and nodded to Tau'ken-re and his two colleagues.
"It was nice meeting you; perhaps I will see you again. Goodbye Tau'ken-re."
Cassandra had only seen Kur'rel-taa a few times before and had never really had time to talk to him, but seeing as Syn had taken off with her maan'tak, she decided that she would find her own entertainment.
"Lead the way." She smiled at the guard, noticing that her smile affected Kur'rel-taa in much the same way that it affected Syn'kra-vaal.
"Avaal'ekan… Wake up thick skull!"
"…"
The Guard Chief or Rylt'ah, Avaal'ekan awoke with a start and looked groggily down at his wrist device, a flashing projection indicated an incoming communication. He rubbed his eyes and growled, it was the middle of the day, and he had only slept a few hours as he had been on patrol the entire previous night. Because there were always shipments to and from the research facility plus other goings on, security was rather exaggerated, so the guards worked in shifts between day and night. Even though he was the Guard Chief, Avaal'ekan was still required to work which ever shift he had been allocated by a completely random list generated on a monthly basis by the security network. The Rylt'ah groaned again and sat up in his sleeping platform as the grating voice of Ul'teh blared over the communication system of Avaal'ekan's personal console.
Any Yautja that owned and used a wrist device had their own communication conduit, or channel, different devices and commands influenced how one could use the wrist unit to commune with another. Most active Yautja spent a lot of time using their masks or helmets, depending on their trade, in conjunction with their wrist device to communicate. But if they were not donning their headgear as they were sometimes referred, then the wrist unit would default to its second priority programmed device, whether it be a personal communication hub in one's home, or personal console in Avaal'ekan's case. If no devices were detected, the wrist unit itself could be used to commune.
"AVA!"
"What? Fuck! What?" snapped the Guard Chief.
Ul'teh clicked to himself as Avaal'ekan's hoarse voice replied; he knew that his friend had been on duty the previous night. Ul'teh also knew that as a Guard, Avaal'ekan was required to keep his communication channel open at all times.
"Are you awake?"
"I am now…" growled Ava.
"I know you were on patrol last night, but there is something you need to see."
"Can it not wait but a few hours?"
"No, you need to see what I have found."
"Arrrrgh…" the Guard Chief was getting frustrated "Can you send it to me in a data burst?"
"I do not think I can trust that you would receive it… intact."
"What are you saying? Your impenetrable defences have let you down?"
"Sarcasm should not be on your tongue my friend. It is one of yours that has been betraying us, not us per se but Daan'sha…"
"Who?" Avaal'ekan barked, now awake and on his feet, pulling on his armour, "Tell me who, Ul'teh! What have they done?"
"You cannot fly off the handle until you have seen what evidence I have gathered, come and see me in the Spire and I will show you."
Avaal'ekan was out the door before he had even pulled his mask on, the thought of one of his own betraying him made him feel physically sick, especially seeing as he was supposed to be an excellent judge of character. He walked briskly toward the main security console on the ground level, where all the main corridors of the facility intersected. He mumbled to himself as he walked, his razor sharp intellect going over each and every guard under his command, analysing their attributes and trying to think why any of them would betray the trust he and Daan'sha instilled in each of them.
As the Rylt'ah approached the 'Hub' as it was referred to by most, he noticed that the security centre was unattended, he knew it was Kur'rel-taa that was supposed to be on duty. He shook his head at the thought of his second in command being responsible for this betrayal that Ul'teh spoke of. Usually he would have called the younger male up for leaving the station unattended, but in his present mood, the chances of him saying something without thought were most certain.
Each of the wings, north, east and west had a main and a freight elevator in the Hub where the large corridors intersected. The south quadrant was different; it didn't have a corridor like the others, instead, where everything intersected at the 'Hub' the southern wing was just a large, semi recessed continuation of the east – west corridor, with the exception of a great armoured door, which was the only way in or out. Apart from the several specialist researchers that worked the southern test laboratories, Daan'sha, Avaal'ekan and three other higher ranked guards including Kur'rel-taa were the only ones with access to that sector. And as the communication spire was built into the mountainous landscape atop the roof of the complex, Ul'teh was permitted access, but only to the spire, not to the subterranean levels.
Avaal'ekan turned a blind eye as he walked toward the empty security console then turned to his right to face the large door into the southern sector. The automated security instilled upon the weapons development laboratories was something of a prototype, developed by Daan'sha while the facility was being constructed. Not only did it initially depend on the user's wrist device to have the correct security encryption, but it also scanned for D.N.A compatibility. Only once the system had completed its initial scans, did it give the user access to the control panel on the outer side of the large door. Then something Daan'sha was very proud of would take place, when the Yautja would enter his or her unique encryption, the security system would scan their brain activity, sensing for any deception, by analysing their recent memories and comparing them to the conscious mind. Admittedly, there had been some minor development issues with new users and Ul'teh often being still under the influence of C'ntlip from the previous night; sometimes his conscious mind and his memories were interpreted as deception. But this was simply because he could not remember half of what had happened.
The Guard Chief waited impatiently for the automated defences to decide whether he was allowed access or not, eventually the large door retracted into the wall, allowing Avaal'ekan access. Beyond the armoured door was a simple, yet oversized freight elevator, instead of going down, like most of the users would have, Ava instructed the car to travel upward. After a short journey, he stepped out of the large opening into a circular shaped chamber, the north facing section of the circular wall, was open, allowing fresh air and natural light in, while the incorporated shield kept everything unwanted out. Banks of telemetry and signal analysis equipment adorned the walls.
Avaal'ekan was greeted with a cough from behind him, as he turned he saw the skinny form of Ul'teh, though the two males shared almost nothing in common apart from their liking for C'ntlip, they were great friends. Ul'teh stepped forward on uneasy legs and grasped Avaal'ekan's forearm in a formal greeting. Avaal'ekan raised his eyebrows at his friend.
"You are under the influence?"
"Only a small amount under the influence…" winked Ul'teh
"Your scent says otherwise." corrected Avaal'ekan, "Does Daan'sha know you are drinking on the job?"
"Where do you think I got it from?" laughed the communications technician
"What about the fact that it is only slightly after midday?"
"What makes you think that I have slept yet?" grinned Ul'teh "For the last three days I have been watching…"
"You have not slept… in three days?"
"I doze off every now and then." Shrugged Ul'teh "But… come, look at this…"
Ul'teh had already prepared the evidence he had collected, and as he suspected, Avaal'ekan's eyes darted back and forth from several large projections before he shook his head and reached for a nearby C'ntlip flask and took a long draught.
"This cannot be so…"
"Believe it my friend." Purred Ul'teh "At first I did not want to believe such things, hence the reason I lived such a sleep deprived life for the last few days."
"But… Siy'kaa…" Avaal'ekan flared his mandibles in anger "That little…"
Avaal'ekan was lost for words, though he was relieved to learn that it wasn't Kur'rel-taa.
"How…?"
"At first I noticed some discrepancies in some of the audio communications data; I thought it was nothing at first, perhaps some interference. But the it kept happening, all on the same channels, yours, Daan'sha's, Saa'retah's, Tau'ken-re, Kur'rel-taa… just to name a few."
"All higher ranked Yautja…" stated Avaal'ekan with a sigh.
"Indeed so." Shrugged Ul'teh "It was then I decided to trace it to a source, and found that the deceptive little fuck had placed a hack into my communications network. I do not know if he was so sure that I would not find it or not, but he made no effort to cover his tracks, the hack lead me straight to his personal console in his quarters…"
"Maybe he doubted your skill Ul'teh."
"Maybe, he would not be the first, and he would not be the first to be wrong either."
"What else have you learnt?"
"I thought you would never ask…" smiled Ul'teh "I started doing a little digging of my own, and it appears that Siy'kaa has been trying to access the surveillance network as well, but has been thus far, unsuccessful." Ul'teh wore a proud expression "But he is looking for something, and it has to do with the newcomers."
"I do not doubt it…" scowled Avaal'ekan "I know Daan'sha is hiding something about those two, and this proves it."
"Not just them; the Dark Blade Clan in general… any information pertaining to them is Siy'kaa's target. He just happened to be in luck when the most infamous Blade Operative happened upon our doorway."
"How do you know all of this…?"
"You think I am going to let that little parasite cut into my networks without repercussions?"
"You have viable evidence against him…?"
"Every discussion that has bounced through his wrist device while he has been here…"
