Hi everyone. sorry it took a few more days than I usually update the chapters. Hope you've liked this so far. So Kara's first mission on Daxam begins now! buckle up!
just one note, there's a slight trigger warning for violence towards the end.
CHAPTER 5: Don't Hold Your Breath
"Ehm."
Kara turned her head left and found Alex staring at her with a raised brow. "What?"
"You've been awfully quite since you came back."
"Just trying to focus on the mission."
Alex kept looking at her with sharp hazel eyes, as if they could see right through her. Kara wasn't really in the mood. "Oh come on Alex. What do you expect me to say?"
"The truth! What's on your mind?" Alex pressed.
"I told you! I'm trying to be serious about this mission."
"Then why's the crinkle still there?"
"Oh for Rao's sake, not the crinkle again!"
Alex chuckled and decided to tease her further. "One day your cover will be blown by that crinkle!"
Kara frowned, making her crinkle got even dipper.
Alex broke into a laugh. "Just kidding! So tell me what's up?"
Kara didn't say anything for a moment and turned her head to gaze into the expanse of darkness of the window before her. They were sitting in their seats in a Daxamite shuttle, strapped down by belts, while they were reaching the outer borders of Krypton's strong gravitational field. This part of the launch required them to be in their seats and the small shakes of the ship indicated the strain on the shuttle while escaping the planet.
Kara couldn't see any stars at this point with everything a blur in the front reinforced window. She was a bit stressed at the ship's tremors. Kryptonian pod's never had such problems when they were speeding out of the atmosphere, but Daxamite ships were old fashioned. Alex had assured her that they will get to their destination safely. Kara had just scoffed at that.
There was no other choice and this ship was also necessary for their cover, as they couldn't simply land on Daxam with a shiny and fancy Kryptonian pod. Kara thought about the past few hours; from her hard and awkward farewells to getting ready for the launch in a hidden hangar in one of SKIS bases. She just felt overwhelmed, like for the first time she wasn't sure anymore.
"Just feeling overwhelmed. The goodbyes were really awkward. Mother barely said anything and Kal looked really sad. I don't know-"
Kara started opening up without looking at Alex, but Alex cut her off. "Hey look at me."
Kara stopped her rambling and looked back at Alex, seeing understanding in those eyes.
"It's normal to feel this way. You think I wasn't scared the first time? I was terrified! But I believe you keep fighting! So instead of getting drowned into yourself, let's focus on our work. I'm pretty sure you can get through this and all of your missions to come. It won't be easy, but you can do it."
Kara smiled and nodded just as the monitors showed that they had past the gravitational zone and were almost 100 thousand miles away from Krypton's surface. The rattling had stopped and the gravity simulator was active so they could finally get out of their seats.
Alex piloted the spaceship, while Kara watched her doing that, trying to learn as much as she could. They also contacted their base to report and then the ship was on auto pilot, on its route to the capital city of Daxam, the city of Telos.
"Okay, now go over all the details of our cover for me." Alex demanded and Kara rolled her eyes.
"Oh not again Alex! We just did that before the launch!"
"Yes, but you need to focus and I want you ready when we land. There's no time for practice anymore. You can be very bad at lying and it will only get better if you keep the facts ready in your head. So go over all the details."
"Okay. My name is Marley Danvers. You are my sister Lexie Danvers. We are from planet Earth and we decided to agree the offer of an alien to visit planet Euphorix with a teleportation gate five years ago, but the portal got damaged and we got lost in the galaxy and now we are stranded on Daxam looking for a way to go back to Earth. You are a doctor on Daxam and I will become a waitress. You happy now?"
"No. who are our parents?"
"Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers. "
"How old are we?"
"I'm 25 you're 28."
"Where did you live?"
"On planet Earth."
"What city?"
"Midvale."
"What did you do on Earth?"
"I was studying journalism."
"What did I do?"
"You were studying to become a doctor."
"How did we come to Daxam?"
"After a few days on planet Euphorix, a travelers accepted to take us back to his planet, Durlan. Then we hitch hiked a few times with different people, but no one went in Earth's direction and finally we have been stranded here on Daxam and we hope to find a way to go back to Earth."
"How long have you been on Daxam?"
"About two years. I was in another city, but I'm coming to Telos to be with you."
"What do you do on Daxam?"
"I work in a bar."
"Good."
"Are we done?"
"For now."
Alex sneered at her, turning to check over the monitors and make sure everything was alright. Kara huffed and tried to free her mind, but not letting it go back to her sad and rather cold goodbyes.
They had 12 more hours to get to Daxam. Alex made Kara sleep a few hours and then they were both back in their chairs an hour before the anticipated landing. Alex seemed more relax than Kara, neither talking for long minutes.
Kara and Alex were both wearing Daxmite dark colored clothes. Dark tight pants and black old heavy boots with lace. Daxam was covered with deserts in most parts, with sand everywhere. Alex was wearing dark top and a dark leather jacket – her usual style, all black – while Kara was wearing a simple dark blue long sleeve shirt without any buttons and her dark red jacket was laying somewhere else. Kara was already sweating, looking at Alex's clothes one more time, she wondered how can Alex pass as a doctor in this outfit?
They hadn't brought any Kryptonian clothing with them, never taking the risk of someone finding them by accident. Kara was going over the mission once more in her mind, when Alex broke the silence.
"Okay there's something I need to tell you, and it's very important that you listen."
Kara was alarmed. What was so important that Alex had to break it to her just before they were about to land and not in all those briefings? She just nodded nervously, waiting for her to continue.
"As you know, Daxam is crawling with crime and slave abuse and all the awful things you've seen in the holograms, but what you're about to get into is very different up close and since I know you better than anyone, I know you're gonna get upset and you will want to react. But you need to keep your emotions in check Kara. You hear me? You will not get angry!"
She punctuated each of her last words like she was hammering them into Kara's brain and she held her stare with blazing ferocity. Kara forgot to breathe for a moment then she nodded again, gripping the chair belts that held her shoulders, but Alex seemed far from convinced.
"I need to hear your words Kara."
Kara tried to mirror Alex's expression and look dead serious.
"I will not get angry!"
"Good. Because we're here for the mission not to fight street criminals. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves and going around getting into trouble with thugs on the street is the opposite of that!"
Kara was kind of confused. Alex said all these to her, like she had already gotten herself into trouble, but she didn't complain. Alex was her superior and Kara needed to obey her to get through this mission. Her very first mission.
After that Alex piloted the shuttle in Daxam's orbit and contacted their base on Krypton one last time. They would go radio silent for the time being, until they had any useful Intel. After that they radioed a landing request and got permission to land on a small public hangar, located on the west side of Telos.
They landed without any problem – the shaking and vibrations sure were driving Kara crazy, but according to Alex this was all normal. Finally the ship's doors opened and Kara drew in a breath for the first time in the air of Daxam. Ugh! It smelled like garbage. She wanted so bad to cover her nose and mouth, but when Kara saw Alex didn't even flinch, she decided to follow her example.
Everything she had worked on these past two years were all preparation. It was time for action.
The Music was too loud as usual in the small bar and Kara was frustrated. All she had to do all day from afternoon to the early hours in the morning, was standing ready, fetching orders, cleaning tables and smiling.
What the hell? Wasn't she a bad-ass agent? It's been a whole month of learning how to make those damn drinks and put up with the noise and the smell. And Rao the smell! What the hell was she even doing here?!
Kara rubbed her forehead to wipe the sweat. It was like a swamp in this small bar with not even one damn window and some people were smoking some very stinky things, producing green and red smokes that swirled around the closed space, making it even harder to breathe.
Kara flinched a bit at the screeching noise that was called music, deciding to use her ten minutes break to gather her bearings for the rest of the night. She still had five more hours on her shift. Heading for the back door as fast as she could, Kara dodged the weird customers and the other waitresses with trays full of bubbly colorful drinks. When she stepped out, the door slammed shut behind her with a gust of powerful wind outside.
There was another sand storm on the way, getting more frequent these days. Apparently it happened a lot when seasons changed on Daxam. Kara used the red scarf in her apron to cover her face, she screwed her eyes shut, sitting on a wooden box next to the wall and leaned back. Fortunately the wind wasn't directed towards her, so the sand grains wouldn't get into her eyes. She muttered kryptoninan curses under her breath. Ten minutes was far too short to ease her nerves. Kara tried to go through all that had happened since they landed.
"Kara! Breathe!"
Alex shot at her in a low, but accusing voice. She must have noticed Kara was turning purple as they were walking out of the old hangar which was located next to the biggest pile of garbage Kara had ever seen in her life and its stench was giving her dizzy – or was it the lack of oxygen since she was holding her breathe.
"I CAN'T!"
Kara finally let out the breath she was holding, but her eyes were turning wet and red as the smell burned her nose. Alex frowned at her and ordered.
"Yes you can! And since it won't be the only time, keep it in mind not to react so dramatically to these situations! I did tell you, remember?"
"You said crime and heart breaking scenes! Not monstrous hills of garbage and poisonous GASES!"
Kara spat out, but tried you keep calm at the same time. Her lungs were burning and the dizziness was turning into nausea.
Alex looked at her calmly. "I know it's hard the first time and it's not poisonous, it just stinks. So just try to get used to it."
And she walked faster towards a speeder with worn colors that had seen better days. Now that they had put some distance between themselves and the damn source of smell, Kara could think more clearly and took in the sight around them with trained eyes.
The hangar wasn't crowded. They had paid for the ship in cash – it was a rental ship and SKIS had hacked its system, so it seemed as if the ship had been to the planet Calaton instead of Krypton – walked out without any problems and went to find Alex's speeder bike (Alex had informed Kara she had bought this bike before and it was parked here ever since she had departed Daxam to return to Krypton.)
"How is it not stolen?! It must have been here for a few days!" Kara asked in a bewildered tone.
Alex opened the lock on the rear part and gave Kara a smirk before answering.
"It seems old and worn, so no one gives it a second look. That's why I've chosen it. But don't look at her like that! The engine is a brand new Alstairanian model for jets. This grandma is a devilish babe under this wrinkled skin!"
Kara just stared between Alex and the grandma speeder bike which she had just called BABE! It wasn't every day you saw agent badass Alex like this. Kara just nodded with a smile and hopped on Grandma Babe behind Alex.
Alex stationed Kara at a small rental room – which she had arranged and had paid the first month rent. Kara was supposed to live in that dirty studio flat for now and next thing she knew, Alex took her to that filthy bar and talked to the manager and after that Kara was handed an apron and had to come into work tomorrow.
When they stepped out of the bar, Kara took some deep breaths and turned to look at Alex expectantly. Alex had been forward about the plan. Kara was supposed to work and earn her money to pay for the rent and food and spend some time to get comfortable with the surroundings, before being introduced to the rebellion members. Alex wasn't supposed to be around her for much longer. Alex had a mission that was far more dangerous than hers. She was supposed to get close to the Beasts and gain their trust, therefore Kara wouldn't be seeing much of her unless they had emergency meetings. Alex cleared her throat.
"Okay so that was it. Now you have a job and a place to sleep."
"How did you get the place and the job so fast?" Kara had to ask. How could Alex make all these seem so easy?
Alex shrugged. "Well I used to work here for a while and Gab knew me."
"Who?"
"Gab the manager. I was talking to him."
"You worked here? I thought you were a doctor!"
"I am, but before that I needed money and couldn't find any positions. So I worked here a few months until I could start as a night shift nurse in that rickety infirmary. Gab knew me so he was glad that my sister Marley would work here as well as I could."
Kara found a new admiration for Alex at that moment. She hadn't realized before, exactly how much Alex had worked her way from scratch in this place and she was helping Kara without her asking. Kara felt she should have been stronger and suddenly felt ashamed at acting so immature at the smells.
"Now that we're talking about my history here, you should also know that your landlord Mr. Kar, is an ars. If you pay him even one hour late, there's no guaranty you will have a place to sleep at. So make sure you pay him on time."
"Mr. Kar? You know him too? Let me guess, you used to stay in that room."
"Yeah, for some months, though not in that exact room. Well, he has cheap rooms and gets money in cash, so there's no trace and it's safer. Just ignore the sounds at night and you'll be okay."
Kara shivered, but didn't complain. Fortunately her room was fairly close to the bar, where she was a waitress at, and didn't need any transportation vehicle. Alex dropped her at her room and told her some more tips, assuring her things would get easier and ordered her to just do her job at the bar and appear normal, (her exact words were 'as normal as Kara could seem' at which Kara rolled her eyes.) and the next time they would meet Alex would take her to a rebellion base to introduce her.
Alex mounted on her "Old Lady" and before igniting the bike, stared Kara square in the eyes and said. "Stay out of trouble."
After that Kara had done as Alex told her. She went to the bar which was called "Garata Head" an ominous name, and Kara thought it did smell like Gararta dragons in there. She learned how to make drinks and handle orders, though not without difficulty. Sometimes Kara would irritate Gab with her mistakes, but since Alex had been such a fantastic employee, he had given her more chances. Kara would receive her allowance weekly – which wasn't that much, but sufficed her expenses – and kept her money safe and paid extra attention to pay Mr. Kar on time. It had been going like this for a whole month now and every day Kara was getting more restless.
Today she was tired of everything and worried for Alex.
Where was Alex? Was she okay? Should I call her on an emergency? No, better not risk it. She said it would take some time. I have to be stronger. I will wait.
She let out a long breath and took a look at her watch. Shoot! She was late! She jumped up to get to the door, when she hear a weak cry. A cry for help. Kara stopped dead with her hand on the door knob. Despite the roar of wind in hear ears, she could hear her heart beating.
Next thing she knew, Kara was running involuntarily towards the sound – which seemed to be coming from around the corner. She sneaked her head from the edge of the wall and inspected the narrow ally way.
Kara saw an ugly looking alien, twice her size with grey skin, gripping a young girl by the throat and laughing. The poor victim was franticly clawing and shouting at her attacker with tears running down her face, choking at the strong grip on her neck that silenced her.
Kara knew what was about to happen and saw red.
Alex's word rang into her mind. DO NOT GET ANGRY.
But it was too late. All the logic drilled into her simply flew out of the window and with one skilled move, Kara ran up to huge man and punched him in the ribs. The man grunted in pain and let go of the girl. He turned his ugly head to see who had dared to assault him. He shouted and waved his hand to slap her or smack her in the head, but Kara was quick to dodge his slow moves and with a hard kick to the back of his knees, brought him down to ground, pummeling him on the head and he went limp.
Kara panted, turning to see how the girl was doing. She was crouched beside the wall, looking terrified and trembled. Kara brushed away the loose hairs on her face and moved to knelt in front the girl.
"Hey it's okay. He can't hurt you anymore."
The girl just kept taking in shallow breaths, her green eyes wide with disbelief, like she wasn't sure what had happened or if Kara wanted to hurt her. Her eyes traveled from the motionless hip on the ground back to Kara and didn't say anything. Kara tried to check if she was injured, but she seemed fine. Her clothes were ragged and ripped. The wind kept dragging their long hairs to its direction and the grains of sand obscured their view. At last the girl started moving her lips.
"… You saved me…"
Her Daxamite accent was not of a native. Kara heard whispers and turned her head to see some people were standing ten feet away, looking alarmed. They must have been coming out of the bar and saw Kara took down the abuser. Kara thought at least half her face must be covered by the scarf she had put on earlier, but when her hand reached to her face, she realized in the heat of the fight the fabric had jerked away.
The over-sized body on the floor started to grunt and stir, making Kara almost panic. She turned back to the girl again and asked if she could stand. She shuffled to her feet and Kara dragged her with herself to the back door – where she was sitting in what seemed like hours ago. Kara sat the girl on the wooden box and gripped her shoulders.
"Look you need to get yourself to safety now!"
The girl shook her head. "No… I can't go anywhere!"
"Why not!?"
"He…he's my master!"
And Kara felt her insides turned into ice. Everything was going really wrong. Kara had hit a man for abusing his slave in broad daylight and everyone had seen her face. Without a doubt there would be consequences. There was no time and it was all in the past now. The only thing Kara could do, was to somehow free this girl.
"Okay then you run! He's not here right now. You have time to-"
"No! I won't run away!" The girl shoved Kara away with a look of total disbelief, her green eyes sparking.
"But he –"
"No I won't leave my family behind! And don't you know what happens to escaped slaves!?"
The girl was panicking. Kara felt sick to her stomach. She had seen rows of hanged slaves at some inferior parts of the city – while going through pictures back on Krypton. Some bounty hunters would find escaped slaves to receive money from their masters and usually the poor souls would be hanged as a punishment.
The girl got up and limply walked back to where she was before. She glanced tearfully one more time at Kara, who was rooted to the ground, speechless, before disappearing to get back to his master.
Kara didn't know how long she stood there, reeling in helplessness, anger and confusion, trying to calm herself, before she headed back into the bar – ten minutes late – hoping, in that dark, noisy and smelly bar no one would recognize her.
Everything seemed normal in there, like nothing had ever happened. How could all that happened in just ten minutes?
What has Kara gotten herself into? :)
Thank you for reading. I appreciate everyone's comments.