Don't know why, but it's just been hard to buckle down and just do it! Well, after I had to repair my laptop, holidays, and just juggling several other stories, but enough about me. Lesgo.
TopPriority: We'll see if Ammie's mastery at stealth serves her well in the trials ahead.
Lunalove25: Your patience will be rewarded, friend.
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Their names were Cicinia, Misa Misa, and Gogmagog.
This was the trio of telepathic cat-people that Amelie had very much fallen in love with. Tala watched the half-wraith and the Nekorians stare at each other and exchange facial expressions, while the amazon tried her best to keep her mind out of the gutter.
'One! Just one stray thought!' That was enough for them to avoid her like the plague, and when Amelie gave a look like Tala had just puked on her cats at home, she knew very well what it was. But of course, in Tala's high-strung, all-or-nothing mind, a stray sexy thought was followed by a mental fantasy of epic proportions.
It started as herself and Celeste, but as the fantasy ate away at her self-control, Amelie, the telepathic trio, and even Team Feroza got in on the mix. But somehow, Venus was there too, and found herself at the top of the pile by the end of it.
It was glorious.
It was sexy.
And now, they hated her.
But Tala just shrugged as she got back to training. 'Their loss.'
"They hate me, Celeste." Tala mused as she took point with her training shield and focused on defending from the Norai's onslaught.
But the bounty huntress was unfazed as she began striking low with her dual swords. "If your thoughts are half as volatile as your body in my presence, are they truly at fault?"
"But it's because they tuned into me that it got outta hand! Once I caught that look Ammie gave me, I couldn't help myself!" Whether or not she was met with contempt at her thoughtcrime, the scene, for her at least, was nothing short of hysterical. In all honesty, they should be grateful she hadn't dreamed about her hunies; that'd be a show for the ages.
When Amelie joined them in their new, more spacious quarters, the half-wraith was far from impressed. "An orgy, vraiment? Ah introduce you to a group zhat could help us escape zhis space prison and your first thought iz, 'I'd tap zhat'?"
"Well... wouldn't you?"
It took a solid five minutes for Amelie to wind down from rant about "Ahmericans" and their many cultural obscenities. Celeste finally stepped in as moderator. "The Nekorians, will they allow us to join in their escape attempt?"
"Zhey will," Amelie affirmed. "Though to make up for our leader's dizgusting thoughts, ah had to promise zhem certain ... how do you say? ... favors."
Tala's eyebrows popped up like springs. "Whoa, Miss Delacroix! Never thought you'd have it in you to go that far. Keeping those cat-girls all to yourself, eh?"
Amelie gave a modest cough. "Well, after ah gave them a ... sample of my services, zhey insisted I be part of zheir plan." Thoughts drifting back in memory, it was impossible to fight off her stupid grin.
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Misa Misa, the smallest of the cat-person trio, looked pleadingly into Amelie's eyes.
"Give it to me, Mizz Amelie. Hard as you can!"
"You azked for it," she shrugged before chucking the ball of yarn across the room. Three Nekorians squealed in delight as they scrabbled in pursuit, dive-bombing the colourful ball and tangling it in their paws. Three pink tummies wiggled skyward as three spellbound kittens mewled and fought for a piece of the stringy toy.
Amelie's grin was a full-on cuteness overload.
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Tala pursed her lips. "I wanna say I got the wrong thoughts down, but then again, maybe I don't."
"You do." Amelie insisted, but straightened up when she realized both sets of eyes were now on her. "Ahem, ze plan."
"Yes," Celeste commented. "What have they shared of their plan to escape this gladiator station?"
"Well, firzt thing's firzt, we mus' dizpose of our collars."
Tala had honestly forgotten about the collars. One would think that metal discs around one's neck rigged to blow would be hard to forget, but after the first day they were locked on, they fell to the wayside. Clinging to her neck, she couldn't see hers, and now that she thought about it, she couldn't even feel it. A scary thought haunted her at the idea of an escape attempt that forgot to account for them.
The amazon swallowed, massaging her neck. "Yeah, uh... good first step." Her voice was laced with unease.
Amelie flashed her an empathetic smile. "Relax, mon'amie. Not a move will be made until we've une plan to dizpose of d'em."
"So whadda our friends know so far?"
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"Ugh! So far, ah got the translatah werkin', but the holo only does subtitles!" Kate groaned as she typed away at the now English-labeled key terminal at a fevered pace.
Captain Boor chuckled, stepping back from over her techie's shoulder. "Sounds like you prefer dubbed over subbed. But either way, I'm not much help. Keep me posted. Bound to be something." And with that, the leader left.
Nikki looked over the Aussie girl's other shoulder, eyes bouncing around the holo screen as Kate worked the search bar like no tomorrow, skipping from channel snippet to channel snippet. After taking a moment to rack her mind over everything she and the other autodidact linguist had searched in the last week, the nerd girl shook her companion's shoulder. "Hey uh, can I try searching for something?"
The hacker obliged and Nikki was in her element, clacking keystrokes at lightning speed. "The last alien Tala messed with ran a combat arena, right? Maybe, if we find any broadcasts about death sports, we might just -"
"Wait, go back!" That was Tiffany, gripping the head of Nikki's chair and pointing at the holo-vid like she'd seen a ghost. "It was just for a second but I swear I saw -"
"Tala!" Nikki exclaimed. She was rendered in holographic blue and sporting an unfamiliar bodysuit but there was no mistaking those determined eyes. "Rika, everyone - come quick! I found her!"
The video feed was a post-match commentary, not unlike a human sports broadcast. According to the subtitles, the commentators were pleasantly shocked by the string of victories from the terran upstart.
"Ann-Marie, you're a natural," Rika nodded. "So the Unreal Tournament, eh? If they have a galactic internet, now would be a good time to use it. Finding out where they're broadcasting from is the next step."
They could only hope Tala's string of victories would hold out until their arrival.
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"You know, the longer I'm here, the more it's just like home," Tala reflected. People just trying to get by, 'kids from all over are tuning in to watch', and the cheers and jeers at her declaration of war against the absent Feroza, Tala bet people would tune into this on Earth and not bat an eyelash. In fact, they'd be on the edge of their seats.
But Amelie kept her reservations. "Ah didn't zhink you'd be such an affable person when conversing with our captors."
Tala wasn't sure whether or not Amelie approved. "Well, there's probably just regular people at the other end of the tele watching." It even stands to reason the galaxy at large at least have humanity as a footnote somewhere.
"Regula' people?" The half-wraith rolled her eyes, shaking her head as they walked down the winding halls. "Mizz Stone, your lax relationship wit' different species is somezhing to be admired."
"Says the woman who throws yarn with three alien cats."'Hard as you can', they would say. And Tala would laugh.
"Says ze woman who makez violent, grunting love to a giant alien lizard."
...
"Touche." Did she watch?
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But while Tala and Ameli intended to train some more, Celeste had a different agenda today. A summons to the administrative ring. Rogan's office.
"So good of you to join me, Tendricite. Enjoying your new quarters and privileges?"
"They are functional," Celeste replied, unfazed by Rogan's lavish bureau. With the explosive collar around her neck, she couldn't make a move against her captor. Her eyes traced over the room for layout and equipment of note, determined to use this summons to mine any potential data.
"Functional, that's good," Rogan chirped back. "I always wonder how the undeserving react to veteran privileges."
His comment pricked the bounty hunter's nerve. "Undeserving? My team and I have successfully completed -"
"Rookie teams, each of your opponents," Rogan interrupted. "Oh, my apologies. You assumed you were fighting the upper echelon? Opponents that could challenge the great Celeste Luvendass, bounty hunter extraordinaire?" The Agorian chuckled to himself. "My technicians may have made some ... errors in data entry. When it comes to arena battles, your team is barely wet behind the ears."
He stood and posed dramatically in front of his panoramic windows. "When I saw the brutal beating my Silver Blade gave your leader - when I realized how easily your team was going to be slaughtered - I took it upon myself to buoy your spirits, give you a little shot of confidence to keep you going. No fun in a challenger who's knocked out before they can make the bets interesting. So I set you up against fresh meat - overworked slaves and defective clone laborers. And now, you've made it all the way to the finals of my new event - the Tower of Power!"
Rogan sauntered over from behind his desk to hiss in her ear. "Do you understand, Tendricite? Your team is going up against Feroza and her squad and you're nowhere near their level. You don't deserve those extended privileges or fancy new suits. You're not veterans, you're the biggest practical joke in this star system! The minute you step into the tower, you and your pitiful terrans are going to die!"
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When Celeste was finally dimissed, she found it difficult to process what she was being told. 'We are as much warriors as any creature on this station!' Her alpha was a great warrior and a born leader, celebrated among those she surrounds herself with! Amelie was a master of stealth, and may very well have the most impressive power of anyone she has ever seen. And herself...
Celeste stopped, searching the windows that stretched the dimly lit hallway. She'd visited many of those stars and claimed the heads of the most unruly of criminals and creatures. She was precise, efficient, and above all, lethal. She didn't merely defeat her enemies. She destroyed them.
At least, that's what she told herself.
Wordlessly, she focused forward again and continued walking.
'I need my alpha.'