A Day of Firsts

Shaad stayed true to his word, and did not contest being arrested with much veracity, allowing himself to be roughly handled by the overconfident, under worked marines of the base. Neither did he flinch when they took advantage of him being handcuffed to land a few cheap shots while escorting him through processing and to a cell three stories below ground. All the pain and humiliation he suffered paid off though, at least for Raine, as the marines paid her the 20 million beli for turning in 'The Little Hellion' after a brief but heated dispute over Shaad's actual identity as such while Shaad himself only acquired a tacky, ill-fitting prison jumpsuit to cover his nakedness.

After being thrown into his cell, Shaad's eyes gradually adjusted to the dark environment, enabling him to see vague outlines up close with the little light that seeped in. "I wish they'd taken these cuffs off; for some reason I feel drained." He spoke to no one in particular, though he was sure he heard at least one other person in the cell next to his. A thick concrete wall separating them, his voice still carried through the bars and along the smooth, barren stone walls.

"With these cuffs on, I don't think I'm getting out of here," Shaad stated absently. "Looks like it's up to you," he continued to the person on the other side of the dividing wall, losing no confidence or interest despite not getting an answer. "So, what are you in for?" Shaad asked the person whom had still yet to confirm if there even was anyone else down there. Shaad waited several seconds for an answer that never came before continuing, "Yeah, me too. Though, mine got me a 20 million beli bounty. I'm Rashaad by the way. What's your name?"

The conversation continued in a similar one sided manner with Shaad talking to the walls and only the sound of crickets coming as a reply. Shaad didn't mind, though. For one, he was used to talking to himself. Also, during his time stranded he came to trust his peripheral vision and his ears as much as any reality to keep him aware of his surroundings, and he was sure he glimpsed a figure in the corner of the adjacent cell when they escorted him down there. But, even more than that, he trusted the air he felt coming from the cell to be the real deal, not the stale, rotten air that lolled about or that of some weakling content to die in a place like that. With those instincts distracting his thoughts, Shaad decided to go ahead and relax a bit. "Alright then, I'll leave it to you." Before he knew it, Shaad had dozed off, slumped against the rough, rocky walls. He stirred too upon feeling a rat nudging his leg, looking to crawl up the prison pants he was wearing. He shooed the rodent away before returning to pestering the character he presumed to be in the next cell over. "So, thought about how we're gonna get out of here?" The silence had become expected, and Shaad continued on undeterred. At the very least, this exercise kept him occupied until he did figure out a way to escape. Shaad finally heard something aside from the echo of his own voice as footsteps resonated from the stairway followed by a quiet shuffling on the opposite side of the wall he was reclined against.

The sound of footsteps became the only sound as the guard arrived to the bottom of the stairs, stepping through the door and onto the cobbled floors of the prison. "I thought I heard something," he thought out loud. "Scum should shut it and accept your fate now."

His voice was serious and demanding, but Shaad responded nonetheless. "Sorry, sir, I saw a rat. You know, rats and the dark are a scary combination." The guard was initially angered by Shaad's perceived insolence, but that took a backseat as he looked into the cell adjacent to Shaad's.

"Where are you? There's no way you could've escaped without being seen by the surveillance snails." The guard spoke audaciously despite the nervous shaking of his weapon and not seeing the prisoner.

The next thing Shaad heard was a pained oomph followed by the jostling of keys before the cell door was closed again. Looking to his right, he spotted a hauntingly lanky figure dangling the ring of keys mockingly from one of his bony fingers. "Why?" he asked simply, his voice as distant and mysterious as his eyes.

"Awe, don't be like that. Me and you together, we'll be like Batman and Robin or the Lone Ranger and Tonto."

"What?" the man replied, donning a confused expression at Shaad's statement. But he quickly disregarded it as gibberish, tossing the keys through the bars before walking off. "Name's Jin Sun."

"Thanks; I'm sure I'll be seeing ya, Jin." Shaad picked up the keys and ran through them until he finally got the one that opened his cuffs. "Finally; aah, that feels so much better," he exhaled, massaging his wrists a moment and relishing the unfettered feeling he got. "What's with those weird cuffs," he rhetorically questioned, shooting a scornful glare at the open cuffs before moving on to the cell door.

Once that was open as well, Shaad made a surprising move and lay down on the sorry excuse for a mattress in the cell, asleep within moments, the keys still in his grasp, though he was free of any constraints.

After sleeping for a few hours, Shaad awoke refreshed, relieved of any lingering weakness he may have felt. With the door still unlocked, he left his cell to check the situation outside and take his leave. There was nothing but silence as he moved through the line of cells leading to the stairway. 'Do they have another area for petty criminals or something?' Shaad wondered, looking around briefly now that his eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting. 'This place is desolate.'

Upon ascending the stairway, Shaad followed the line of sprawled out guards, just now regaining consciousness, strewn about the hallways to find his way out. 'Either that Jin fellow did a number to this base or they're really slacking on the job around here.' he thought to himself as he came to the front door, stopping as he heard a man's voice from the other side.

"Hey, James, if you're sleeping in there, our new CO will really be on your ass." he spoke while opening the door. Shaad and the stranger stood face to face, blinking the surprise away, before the man stammered a reaction. "Wha- Who a-!"

Shaad punched him in the face and threw him inside with the others before he could raise his voice and bring attention to the area, but he didn't notice one of the waking marines press a button behind him until he heard the base's alarms blaring all around.

"Damn it," he muttered, hurrying around the corner and hopping over a wall. He landed in a bush just as two marines ran by and peeked out to make sure the coast was clear before scurrying for cover behind a tree. Wary of his surroundings, Shaad proceeded through the brush trying to get to the base's main office which was near the entrance.

It was a slower progression than the young man would have liked, but necessary to prevent further commotion. The only saving grace was that there forces near the front gate had thinned considerably thanks to the blaring siren. But as he came to the building he was looking for, he was nearly spotted by a lean, sloppily dressed marine. When the hulking figure alongside the first started towards him, Shaad crept back into thicker bushes with more shade. He lurked there as the first marine came over to assist in the search.

Knocking out the two men from cover, Shaad slipped into the main building without being seen. He had to quickly dispatch the five Ensigns gathered there, but that posed little problem for the escaped prisoner. After ransacking the front room, Shaad found what he was looking for sitting neatly in a cubby behind the front desk: a crisply folded pair of clothes and his swords, sharpened and in their new sheaths, leaning against the cubbies. After changing into the loose, white long sleeved shirt - which had a deep V-neck exposing the top of his chiseled chest and sparse chest hair as well as ruffled cuffs - and black pants, slipping his feet into a pair of wooden sandals, and strapping the swords to his back, Shaad let himself relax a bit, exhaling a loud sigh as he walked back to the front door, only to have it thrown in his face.

Removing the door from atop him, he caught sight of what he thought to be the most beautiful set of ruby red, almond eyes glaring back at him. Withdrawing his focus, he saw that the alluring pair of eyes belonged to a tall and slim young woman with fiery, shoulder length red hair. She wore a simple yet conservative, deep maroon suit that showed off her womanly figure, and although she lacked the overt sexuality that Raine exuded through her almost exaggerated curves and teasing manner, the dauntless female possessed a demure attractiveness about her. Shaad, too lost in his own mind, didn't even seem to notice the katana she had pointed at him. "You're cute," he innocently commented.

"My name is Miko Kusanagi, the Captain of this base," the woman announced commandingly. "You must be the one who's run amok in this base; I will not be looked down on by the likes of you."

Shaad, finally realizing the severity of the situation as Miko tightened her grip on the handle of her sword, jumped to his feet and attempted to talk his way out. "Ohh. . . No, you got it wrong. I ain't attacked anybody (except for the two outside... and maybe one more). I ain't done nothing," he attempted to placate the marine.

Fed up with what she saw as his demeaning behavior and with her frustrations reaching an apex, Miko rushed Shaad while he still held his hands out trying to calm her. But, Shaad reacted fast enough to quickly draw both swords and block the attack just in time to prevent having his stomach sliced open. The attack was still strong and sudden enough to push Shaad back and knock him through the wooden front desk.

Shooting out from the resulting wood pile, Shaad struck at Miko from below, knocking her back enough to allow him to switch to a traditional grip on his swords. "Fractured Memories!" he yelled, swinging the blades like a giant pair of scissors diagonally across Miko's body. The Marine Captain showed her skill, expertly deflecting both katana while simultaneously dodging backwards, though the force of the attack cut through the building's front wall.

Shaad was intent on not letting the swordswoman breath, jumping and attacking from above with a heavy swing. Using her block, he cartwheeled in the air, landing just in front of the door, before jumping outside to give himself more room.

"I'm not letting you get away," Miko declared heatedly as she pursued Shaad outside.

"I'm glad to hear you say that. I got some time to spare; let's have fun." he replied with a smile, readying himself for a fight.

They clashed with each other, and Shaad quickly looked to take the upper hand, pushing her back with a flurry of heavy swings. He attacked from every angle, but could not break her defense. Putting his momentum behind a wild strike from the left, he attempted to spin around to her back. Miko caught the brief opening and swung for his back.

Shaad felt the cold steel slice his flesh, cutting through like a knife through butter, and he flipped the sword in his right hand to momentarily stop the sword, providing him enough time to create separation. "This was a new shirt," Shaad complained, launching forward with impressive speed. With an upward swing, the top two buttons of her top were sliced apart, exposing her impressive cleavage, but doing no actual damage. "Sorry; I got a bit ahead of myself."

Miko shifted the cut flaps of her top before charging Shaad, immediately putting him on his heels. He used his two blades to lock her in a power struggle, but Miko finagled her katana and aimed a thrust at Shaad's throat that forced him off. He returned the favor with a charge of his own which was quickly snuffed out.

Shaad took a moment to compose himself, before going in for another shot. "Crossroads Kill," he called, simultaneously bringing one sword down and the other across horizontally at a 90 angle from the first. Miko pivoted backwards and caught the blades at their intersection, using the chance to swing Shaad's swords and arms around and up, creating an opening to bring her own blade down for a finishing strike. Shaad looked to be finished, but somehow escaped the blade's range, though the pendant chain he wore was cut. As he watched the pendant fall to the ground, Miko attacked again with a powerful rising angled thrust. Shaad barely reacted in time, crossing his swords to stop the strike, but still being pushed back.

Miko would not be denied, though, lashing out with a furious flurry that Shaad struggled to keep up with. He attempted to move in to disrupt the flow of her attacks but was struck in the shoulder by her katana's flower guard and hilt before being knocked aside by a decapitation blow that he managed to block. Shaad was knocked back, but not without landing a strike of his own, slicing the heel of her shoe as he blocked her blade.

Miko was ready to continue, but Shaad was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily with a hand held up for pause. "You got me. I can't compete with your swordsmanship," he panted out, never loosening his grip on his two swords.

"You admit defeat, then?"

"Na, no such thing," he responded calmly as he stood up. "I was just sayin' I'm a have to do better; my skills have gotten sloppy these last three years."

Miko didn't understand the meaning of his words, but had no time to ponder it as he charged her in a crouched position, holding his swords with a reverse grip. "Cross Cleaver," he declared, moving even faster than Miko could react. Bringing both arms around, he aimed to slice her legs, but she jumped over the attack. Shaad immediately followed after, jumping even higher and faster to drive his knee into her abdomen. Flipping his grip on the swords, he reversed his swings and trapped her throat between the sharpened blades without piercing the skin before driving her to the ground, burying his knee beneath her ribs.

As all of the air in her lungs was suddenly forced out, her eyes popped open, almost bugging from her skull, and watched as the tips of both Shaad's blades came down on her.

"Death's Bite," he yelled, pushing his blades deep into the ground on either side of Miko's head. Miko was taken aback as Shaad looked into her eyes with a serious expression. "You've taught me quite a bit," he stated stiffly, kicking her sword away and turning his back to her, walking over to his pendant. Once he'd picked the object up, he spoke again, more pleasantly this time. "I'm sorry we must part under such circumstances. Hopefully, if we meet again, it will be under more pleasant conditions." As soon as those words left his mouth, he flashed a smile her way and was off out the front gate, leaving Miko stunned on the ground still sucking in air by the mouthful.

"Well, that took longer than intended," Shaad lamented. "I'll have to hurry."

Within minutes, he was at the coast, looking across the docks. He scanned the area for a bit, his eyes stopping on Raine. Looking at the boat she was standing in front of, he saw a twin sailed schooner with what looked to be about six cannons on either side. He then approached the curvaceous woman with a smile and a wave.

"So, you ready to go, navigator?"