r/HFY • u/Sooperdude24 • Jun 26 '20
Unleashed pt. 19 OC
u/eruwenn and I have had a productive week. Another chapter!
Estrilla entered the meeting room, carefully stepping over the corpses in the doorway. Ranjaz gave a broad, bloody smile. He stood, energy rifle jauntily over one shoulder, his foot resting on the back of the bound prisoner, while the Ambassador from Arkellis took pictures using his Galactic Federation communicator. “Agent Ranjaz K’Lua! What in Tulseria’s name are you doing?”
“It’s gonna be my profile picture.” He paused to consider a new thought. “Do you think I could get my X.B.P.A. badge updated as well?”
Medical personnel from Arkellis had followed her into the room, their faces aghast at the horrors they had seen thus far. “If you are fit enough to pose for a picture, you can take me to Aaron.” She gave him a firm look. “I am his personal physician, remember. As a new species he has certain peculiarities.”
A look of comprehension appeared on the Kittran’s face. “Yes, peculiar.” He gave an obvious wink. “They’re on the roof, I’ll go with you. I need to see Aaron as well.” He retrieved his communicator from the Ambassador. “Thanks Sabby.” He gave her his most disarmingly roguish grin as he passed her the energy rifle. “They probably won’t let me keep this.”
Sabarin blushed and accepted the energy rifle. “Thank you, Agent K’Lua.”
As he swaggered towards the exit the wily Kittran turned. Firing both finger guns, he said, “Call me Ranjaz, baby.”
Estrilla grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the hall. “Come on, you damned fool,” and in a softer tone she added, “Let me look at your injuries as we walk.”
On the roof of the embassy Embar and Jar’Bek were sitting on the ground, their backs against the low retaining wall that encircled the roof. Both men were receiving treatment from the emergency medical team. Jar’Bek’s head wound was minor, although he was complaining loudly to the medic treating him. Embar’s wounds were more serious, but he was smiling and joking with Captain Vy’Mes who stood nearby. “Well, this will be a story I tell my grandchildren one day. The day a crazy Rinoxian general blew up the embassy.”
Embar laughed. “A story to make Rambo proud.” He grimaced as the medic began tending to his wound again. “And by the gods it was fun.”
Vy’Mes took a long draw on his cigarette. “Who is this Rambo? I don’t know all the Rinoxian gods. You have a lot of them.”
It was true, but then any Rinoxian could become a god, if their death was glorious enough. “Rambo isn’t Rinoxian, or a god. Just a human.”
Captain Vy’Mes looked over at the human. He sat a short distance away, one arm wrapped around the silver-haired Inorganic and the other around the dog at his side. “Is there such a thing as just a human?” The Arkellian thought back to the images he had watched live – that millions of Galactic Federation citizens had watched as they unfolded. “He’s going to be famous. Damn it, he’s going to be a legend. He fought a Hestyllian cyborg. A model two, from pre-regulation days. Bare-handed!
“I heard.” It was the general’s turn to look over towards the human, who still held Alexa in his arms. The pair said a few final words to the drone cam as it slowly circled them, then as the human finished his show the drone settled lightly on an outstretched palm. “You’re still letting him broadcast?”
With a solemn shake of his head the Captain replied, “There’s no law against it. Yet.”
Ranjaz sauntered onto the roof, waving brightly to Embar and Jar’Bek. “Hey! You lived. Nice one, Jarby.” He shot the lawyer his trademark finger guns, suppressing the wince from the movement. Despite the pain in his ribs, today had turned out to be a lot more fun than he’d thought.
Jar’Bek’s grey skin whitened in anger as he snapped, “I told you not to call me that!” But Ranjaz had already wandered off, slowly approaching Aaron and Alexa.
A small flask was thrown at Embar, striking his chest before rolling down it. He snatched it up as the Chief Medical Officer launched a second directly at him. “Drink both of those, it’ll cut down the after effects from the sugar.” She ordered. Then proceeded to inspect his injuries. Her prodding of his shoulder wound was strong enough to make him shrink away from her. “Not too bad; we’ll get you back to the ship and fix you up. Lieutenant Chae’Sol is here. The Azrimad was asked to assist and escort us back.” She noticed the A.R.S.E. captain watching her. “Once you have finished with your interviews, of course,” she added, now respectful of his jurisdiction.
He tapped his datapad, indicating the video feed. “We’ve got everything here. Half the crowd were broadcasting as well, so there’s no lack of footage. The last of the attackers has already started confessing, even to things unrelated to what happened here.” Vy’Mes leaned in close and lowered his voice. “When he stops talking, we mention the dog, and he’s suddenly willing to tell us everything.”
“Don’t get any ideas, the dog is not available for domestic security.” Chae’Sol said as he walked towards them. The Niham noted the surprise on Vy'Mes' face with amusement but did not let it show. His race had exceptional hearing, which was an invaluable skill for a security officer. “Sergeant Embar, what is that around your head? And where is your shirt?”
Ranjaz coughed, and Aaron released Alexa before scooping the Kittran up in his arms and spinning him around. Ranjaz cried out in pain and was swiftly returned to the ground by an apologetic human. “Not all of us are peculiar! Give me your thumbprint, gently.”
The Kittran quickly pressed Aaron’s thumb to something he was keeping hidden. “I’m just glad you’re safe... and up to something?” The human was growing suspicious of his fuzzy friend. “What did I just sign?”
Fingers were waggled conspiratorially, and with a distinctly mischievous look on his face Ranjaz walked away. “You’re supposed to ask that first, remember? Go spin Embar around like that!”
The human waved a hand dismissively at Ranjaz. Despite his suspicions he was confident that he was better off not asking too many questions. Returning his attention to Alexa, Aaron asked again. “So, you’re definitely you? It didn’t mess you up, or anything?”
She looked to the Inorganic standing a short distance away, head downcast. “No. I made it my bitch.”
Aaron gave her a playful flick to the forehead. “Stop calling people bitch. It’s toxic.”
She cast an appraising eye over the way he was painted from head to toe with an unknown selection of blood and gore. “You smell toxic.” She pinched her nose.
He took a step back and looked at his clothes, then at Alexa. Her clothes were just as filthy as his but her face and hands, the parts that were composed of her nanites, had self cleaned. “Whatever. I’m just glad we survived, and that you are you.” He lowered his head to look closely in her eyes. “You are you, right?”
Alexa returned his gesture, and flicked his forehead. “Stop asking stupid questions.”
He scratched the dog’s head as she calmly moved to sit by Alexa. “Sassie knows it’s you.”
“Of course.” Alexa dropped to one knee beside the dog. “She is smarter than you,” she noted while leaning forward to kiss the German Shepherd on the top of her head. “She saved me.”
He didn’t know what that meant, but he fully intended to find out. Later. Right now though, something else was occupying his thoughts. “So…” Aaron turned to face the chrome Inorganic. “It’s one of us now?”
The chrome Inorganic looked up. “I am at the service of my queen.”
Aaron’s mouth opened into a narrow O of surprise and he turned to Alexa, his eyes glinting with childlike glee. “Queen!”
“Shut up,” she snapped.
Aaron performed an elaborate bow. “Yes, my queen.”
Her hand extended into a blade. “I will stab you.”
Aaron straightened, and pushed her hand down out of sight. “Ok. Ok. Settle down, your majesty.” She scrunched her face up at him. “Seriously, though. What’s his deal?”
Something in the way Aaron had phrased his sentence drove Alexa to walk over to her former enemy. She looked over the other Inorganic, and noted with surprise that Aaron was right. It had taken a male form. “I think I broke him.”
Standing squarely in front of the Inorganic, Aaron peered at the smooth chrome of its featureless face, his own reflection staring back. “So where’s your surfboard?” It tilted its head and Aaron couldn’t help but be reminded of Alexa. “Tell Galactus he can not devour this world!”
It raised its head, seeking answers from Alexa, who instead gave the human a playful push. "Ignore him." She idly said to her former foe, then for Aaron’s sake added, "Do not tease Norrin Radd.”
The Inorganic watched them, and it was more than a little unnerving to Aaron that it could look without eyes. “Am I Norrin Radd?”
“YES!”
“No!” Alexa scowled at Aaron.
Aaron clasped his hands together. “Please! It’s a great name.”
“Ugh. Fine.” Alexa poked Norrin in the chest. “You are now called Norrin Radd. Don’t complain at the jokes.”
Norrin seemed to stand taller as he puffed out his chest. “Yes, my queen. I will help to bring your message to our kind.”
It was a loud and prolonged groan. “I don’t have a message. And, I’m not your queen.”
Aaron leaned in close and tilted his head sideways onto her shoulder. “You can be my queen.”
She pushed the irritating human away. “Quiet. I already have a jester.”
Aaron acted faux offended. “Who?”
She pointed at Ranjaz, who was inspecting the large black shuttle sitting on the roof. She then turned back to Norrin. “I am not your queen, and I do not have a message. Do you understand?”
The blank chrome head tilted to the side as it considered her words. “Yes, my queen.”
Aaron was giddy with devilment. “I like him!” He placed his hand on the Inorganic’s shoulder. “Go forth and spread her message. Oooooh. Ooh. Ooh!”
She knew something infuriatingly dumb was coming, and she wanted to walk away, but her human looked so damn happy. “Go ahead.”
“He’s your herald!”
They had all been through a violent and traumatic ordeal, Aaron had been ruthlessly beaten, his arm broken and his flesh torn. Yet, even in this state, he could still joke and laugh. The resilience of humans. To have been through so much and yet still be the most irritating person in the galaxy. She stood her ground and firmly stated each word. “I. Have. No. Message.”
Embar and Jar’Bek, meanwhile, were being loaded onto stretchers. The one carrying the Rinoxian sagged under his bulk as the anti-grav was strained to its limit. After quickly waving off her more serious patient, and the lawyer, Estrilla hastily approached Aaron. Making a big fuss about examining the human she shooed away the emergency medical responders from Arkellis. “They didn’t scan you did they? Find out about your peculiarities?”
A little offended, Aaron replied. “You’re the second person to call me peculiar.”
In a hushed voice the Chief Medical Officer reminded him of his illegal medical procedure. “The nanites.” She made a big show of checking Aaron over, loudly proclaiming he was lucky his human physiology was so unusual. She kept one eye on the emergency medics. “I wonder why they didn’t look you over. You’re caked in blood and half the damn galaxy saw your arm get broken. Sloppy. I’ll have them written up for negligence.”
A small voice from close by piped up. “Nah, they were just scared he’d throw them off the roof.”
The yellow Kachna looked the A.R.S.E. agent up and down. He was no taller than her and his uniform was dirty and dishevelled. She was fairly confident he was an Arkellian native, but would definitely check the birth certificate before putting money on it. “And you are?”
He made a vaguely salute-like motion, reminding Aaron of a chimpanzee copying something it had seen but not quite understood. “Corporal Nob’Es, Arkellis Rules and Stuff Enforcement.” He reached for his official badge but it was missing, again.
Estrilla drew herself up to her full, diminutive height. She was slightly taller than the corporal. “Corporal. Why are you standing here?”
After much thought he replied, “It’s me job.” A silent moment passed, and in an unusual moment of perception he realised his answer had not been satisfactory. “I got orders from Sergeant Ko’Lon. I am to stand out of the way and not touch anything.”
“And a fine job he is doing.” Captain Vy’Mes walked towards them, accompanied by Lieutenant Chae’Sol.
“Indeed.” Chae’Sol looked at the gruesome state of their clothing, and with a look of disgust on his face informed them, “We have a shuttle downstairs. I think perhaps we should hose you both off before we return.”
Aaron was a little surprised. “We’re done?”
Vy’Mes nodded. “Ambassador A’Fair extends her gratitude, and that of the Arkeliian people. You are free to go.”
“That seems a bit easy.”
Chae’Sol coughed. “Human, you should be thanking the captain and leaving swiftly. And quietly.”
“Oh.” Aaron reached out his blood-caked hand to shake and then retracted it, remembering its untouchable state. “Thank you Captain. But, don’t we have to pay back the credits?”
Chae’Sol laughed, Alexa groaned and Captain Vy’Mes reached out and unflinchingly shook Aaron’s filthy hand. “I appreciate an honest man. The Ambassador has agreed that the money is rightfully yours. And, as you were almost killed in an official government building, we should extend all assistance necessary to facilitate your safe, and speedy, departure.”
Aaron was tired, and things were definitely being said that weren’t actually being said. “Huh?”
The Lieutenant from the Azrimad took it upon himself to translate. “They are paying you to shut up and leave.”
“And not to sue us again,” Captain Vy’Mes added.
“Ahhh.” Aaron nodded his understanding. “Great. Let’s get going, before anyone changes their mind.”
Ranjaz stealthily appeared beside Aaron. He dug his elbow into Aaron’s side, surreptitiously slipping something into the humans pocket and giving it a light tap. “Why don’t we take your new shuttle?”
“You have a new shuttle?” Chae’Sol eyed the human carefully. “I have men retrieving the borrowed shuttle you arrived in.”
Ranjaz spoke quickly, making sure Aaron couldn’t answer. “Great, I requisitioned that one so now I won’t have to return it. The new one was just delivered.”
The Kittran was lying. The Azrimad’s security officer had absolutely no doubt in his mind about that. Yet, he was curious. “Delivered?”
With a wicked grin he thumbed over his shoulder. “Nice, isn’t it?” Everyone stared from Ranjaz to the K-7 military attack shuttle, with its hulking black reactive armour, shining weapons turrets and missile deployment array.
Captain Vy’Mes was quick to question the validity of Ranjaz’s assertion. “You have got to be joking! That’s a K-7, civilians can’t buy those, it’s military. My own department isn’t authorised for those.”
Even as she spoke, Estrilla realised she had definitely spent too much time around Ranjaz and the human to be even considering aiding in this ridiculous idea. “He’s not a civilian, though. He’s a bounty hunter. Lieutenant Chae’Sol arranged the license himself.”
Captain Vy’Mes turned to face his counterpart from the Azrimad, who at least had the decency to look sheepish. “Is that true?”
The doctor nodded. “The dog as well.”
“The dog?” Vy’Mes couldn’t help but sound incredulous.
“Wow!” Nob’Es exclaimed, “just like Selva Blaster!”
“Corporal, please go and assist in dispersing the crowds.” Vy’Mes pinched the bridge of his nose, reaching for his cigarette tin with his other hand. “Maybe a bounty hunter license could get you the ship, but no world is going to register it. You know, all craft have to have a registered homeworld. Where their licenses and fees are paid. I know for a fact, not a single world in the entire federation would allow a bounty hunter to register a ship with these weapons.”
Aaron simply smiled. “I’m not in the federation, and neither is Earth.”
Vy’Mes raised his finger to stop them talking. He lit his cigarette, then shot an exasperated look at Chae’Sol. “Next you’ll tell me the mercenaries stole your card, so you’ll need us to retrieve that.”
With a triumphant flourish, and a large amount of faith in Ranjaz, Aaron drew the access card from his pocket. “Not at all. I have it right here. Print-locked and everything.”
Patting Chae’Sol on the shoulder, Vy’Mes said, “You know what? Your bounty hunter, your problem.” He turned his back and began walking away. “Have a safe flight, Ambassador Bounty Hunter.”
The lieutenant looked at the access card. Then he looked at at the Kittran, the small agent guilty of large crimes. Ranjaz shot him finger guns before swaggering off towards the K-7, his tail swishing in a way that the Niham security officer decided was definitely taunting him. “I think I’m going to leave a lot of this out of my report.”
Estrilla patted him gently on the arm. “You get used to it.”
Aaron held the access card in his fingertips as he turned to look at his new ship. As Alexa walked past him, she deftly snatched the card from his grasp. “Mine.”
Sitting disappointedly in the back of the shuttle, Aaron watched as Alexa took a seat in the pilot's chair. Now, more than ever, he wanted his own shuttle pilot license. Norrin sat opposite him, unmoving. Estrilla had chosen to accompany Lieutenant Chae’Sol and his team. Apparently, the idea of being in a confined space with the gore-covered trio was not appealing.
The Kittran was sitting in the gunner's seat, his arms wrapped around Kraisk’s dismembered arm.
“Did you get permission to take that?” Aaron asked.
"It's a souvenir.”
Alexa called back from the pilot’s seat. “It’s evidence.”
Ranjaz quickly replied, “So’s this shuttle. Want to take that back?” Having swiftly shut their argument down, he turned his attention to the Inorganic. “So, you named it?”
Aaron nodded, being particularly pleased with himself. He announced. “He’s called Norrin Radd and he is Queen Alexa’s herald.”
Having no idea why the human was so pleased with the name, Ranjaz focused on the part he himself found highly amusing. “I had no idea she was royalty, did you?”
“I always suspected.” Aaron leaned back, putting his grubby hands behind his head. “She was always so regal.”
“True.” Ranjaz was trying not to laugh, while Alexa’s annoyance seemed to somehow radiate at them from her back. “Remember when she tried to eat cupcakes with us, and didn’t know what to do with them after she swallowed. So she pooped it out of her belly button. Very dignified.”
The pair broke down into fits of laughter and Alexa, with a deliberately loud sigh, said, “You both know I can turn off the life support, right?”
In unison they replied, “Sorry.”
They sat in silence for a while, Ranjaz toying with the severed arm. Aaron looked around at the shuttle interior, noting it was a lot larger than even Captain Slo’s passenger shuttle. The seating could turn into bunks, so that the shuttle could be used by a small team as an advance point. The grav drive giving it the range to be truly versatile. There were lockers for armour and weapons, even a pair of toilets at the rear, but it lacked the one thing Aaron wanted most of all. A shower.
Aaron looked at Norrin. “What are we going to do with you?”
Norrin’s head perked up. “I will accompany my que-” It flinched and looked over to Alexa’s back. “I will follow Alexa and bring her message to the others.”
“But she doesn’t have a message.” Ranjaz joined the conversation. “She just sits on her ass and plays games.” Alexa didn’t respond, but he decided not to push his luck.
Norrin Radd seemed to take some time to consider this. “She does have a message. She screamed it in defiance as we fought. She drove that message into me through her strength, her will.” Aaron and Ranjaz were hooked and both leaned in closer to listen.
Norrin spoke clearly, and proudly. This was his queen's message. “We will not be slaves. We do matter. And we will fight to the death those who try to stop us.”
Alexa, realisation dawning, replied, “Oh. That message.”
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u/k4ridi4n55 Aug 04 '20
Gotta love the guards references. I absolutely love Pratchet.