We Need a Deathworlder!

“Did you see all those looks we were getting? I’m used to the fearful glances but… that was different.” Brandy says as she locks the luggage locker.

“Well, a once on-the-run Cali princess with a full Deathworlder escort strolling publicly as if it’s completely normal is gonna do that.” Simone points out as she takes a seat in the common area.

“Still on the run, considering the price on ‘er head.” Thorn corrects while scanning through cupboards and vents with this glowing cyan eye, “We may be running in the other direction, but the rest of the universe ain’t clued in yet. Be sure we use that fact if we can.”

“Indeed. Though I’m certain my reemergence is bound to ignite rumors and speculation as to the ‘why’. No doubt I will be closely monitored once we arrive. Speaking of which… Thorn?” Chak says, turning to look at the older Terran for a confirmation.

"Haven’t picked up on any bugs. But I'd still keep the more sensitive garbling to a minimum." Thorn replies before pressing a panel to open the complimentary snack and beverage fridge, "There’s more than a few ways for nosey pricks to listen in."

“Understood.” Chak agrees, “Can’t be too careful.”

“Yup, gonna be a boring ride. Anyone want a ‘fancy’ snack that’s really just cheap crap with a pretty package?” Thorn offers with a chuckle.

“Yo.” Simone indicates with a lifted hand, to which expertly catches a flung crinkly bag.

“Here!” Troy follows, narrowly snatching a wrapped item darting straight for his face, “Ha!”

“Cold drink.” Devin requests, to which a cylindrical container is tossed on the seat next to him.

“Oh! We have crunch snack! Much crunch!” Meeki demands as she waves her clawed hand wildly.

“Crunch it is!” Thorn replies before tossing a bag extra high, sending Meeki up into catch it in mid air.

“I’m good for now-Wah-hah!” Brandy tries to decline before another launched drink finds itself juggling in her hands. After she gets a firm grasp on it she gives the smirking old man an unamused stare.

“You, Princess?” Thorn offers.

“Uhmmm… are you going to throw it at me?” Chak responds in concern.

“Who knows…” The older Terran teases with a wink.

The Cali and Terran maintain a mutual stare off and the playful tension rises within the room.

“Kul dew tea, please.” Chak finally says.

Raising an eye tuft, Thorn slowly pulls out the requested item. Then with an underhand toss sends it in an easy arch. Reaching out with all four limbs the Cali catches it with a relieved sigh.

“Thank you.” she chirps.

“No problemo.” Thorn grunts while picking out his own prize before sitting himself down, “You know, in all my years of getting into binds and crazy happenstance… never would I have expected to be in this one. Hell, seeing Simone all dressed up and proper alone is throwing me.” he chuckles.

“Yeah, it’s kinda uncanny in a way…” Troy adds.

Rolling her eyes, Simone bit into her snack.

“Guys I dressed like this all the time at the academy, it’s not that weird. I’m just not a fan of how constricting these types of clothes feel.” she argues.

“Bull. You wear snug leather jackets as a staple.” Brandy counters.

“Leather can be broken into. It stretches as you wear it, and gets to be a perfect satisfying fit.” the redhead says as she adjusts her uniform coat.

“Yeah, well still. In the time we’ve known eachother I haven’t seen you wear much else. When are we gonna see you fit into a dress huh?” Brandy pushes.

Troy snorts and covers his mouth to suppress a laugh. He then reels away as Brandy sends him a death glare.

“Sorry! Hard to imagine that and not see Simone hating every second of it.” he defends.

“I think she might like it if she were to give it a try!” Brandy says as she points a scolding finger at the man.

“Guys… I’ve worn dresses before.” Simone interjects.

Both Brandy and Troy snap their attention to her with the utmost curiosity.

“Really! Do tell!” Brandy pushes.

Leaning to the side to rest her head on her fist Simone eyes everyone, including the very clearly glowing red eyes of her fiance.

“Well… the last time I wore a dress was at prom… If that counts.” she explains with a shrug.

“Of course it does! Oh my goodness, that must mean there’s images of you somewhere out there!” Brandy excitedly says as she activates her Lens.

Simone sits up a bit, eyes widening in instant regret.

“Hey now, okay. We really don’t need to- Chak!” she starts to say before noticing that the Cali is now also in search for the evidence on the Net, “Come on! Seriously, it’s all probably deleted data anyway. The colony didn’t really-”

“Got it.” Devin voices, surprising everyone.

“Motherfucker, don’t you d-” Simone begins to warn before everyone is sent the image files via messaging.

Everyone else's Lenses light up to view them all at once. Other than Simone of course, who ends up leaning forward to bury her face in her hands.

“Oh… my… stars…” Brandy whispers in disbelief.

“S you were a hunk even back then…” Troy remarks.

“You are so cute!” Chak chirps in admiration.

“Girl, did your father ever tell you to brush your hair!?” Brandy scoffed in a laugh, “And what are those work boots!? Oh my goodness… no…” she squeals.

Simone shakes her head as she still hides her burning red face.

“I… don’t know… teen-me really liked those boots… I wore them everywhere…” she confesses in a muffled whine.

“That awkward smile is just precious…” Thorn teases.

“Shut up…” the redhead grumbles.

“The dress looks lovely though.” Brandy says, granting Simone some mercy, “Other choices aside you wore it well! I’m already thinking of ideas… what were you two planning on wearing for your wedding ceremony?”

Simone instinctively lifts her face to meet Chak’s gaze.

“Good question… Uhm… Not sure.” she answers, thankful to be off the Prom topic.

“Question. What is a prom?” Meeki asks, to Simone’s despair.

“It’s an old school dance tradition for some Terrans. My school had a few dances and festivals, but we didn’t really do ‘prom’. Kinda a relic thing, really only seen in ancient movies for the most part.” Brandy answers.

“Oooh… youth dance? What does it celebrate? Coming of age?” Nodrin inquires.

“Kinda… I suppose it is. It marks the end of the oldest grade in highschool.” Brandy answers before her eyes land back on Simone, “How was dancing in those boots by the way?”

“Fine. Cuz I hardly danced at all. Boots or no I’m a hazard on the dance floor.” the redhead says as she crosses her arms.

“Again, bull. You’re a trained marine. Isn’t leg coordination kinda important in hand to hand combat?” Brandy contests.

“I wasn’t a damn marine at the age of sixteen, genius. And it’s different. I haven’t really ‘danced’ since, not like that at least.” Simone argues.

“Then maybe I ought to give you some lessons! I think seeing you and the lil’ princess here dance on your wedding night would be wonderful, right Chak?” Brandy turns to the Cali for support.

“Oh… Oh… oh. Yes.” Chak agrees with both of her hearts racing each other, “That would be wonderful…” her lowers then reach up to scratch at the sides of her head.

Simone sees the glowing red eyes turn her way and takes a deep breath.

“Yeah, sure. Fine.” she grants.

“Excellent! I’ll look into possible dress options for you too.” Brandy notifies.

“Wait, you don’t have to-” Simone says before Chak chirps up in excitement.

“Oh! Here, we have a childhood friend of Simmone helping to plan it all out. I’ll share her contact information with you!” the Cali bounces already sending the information.

“That’s perfect!” Brandy accepts.

Rubbing her brow, Simone huffs in a tired laugh.

“Alright… Well.” she says as she grunts up into a standing position, “Have fun, but y’all are giving me a headache so I’m gonna go nap it off.”

“Sorry… But I’ll send you what I find, if anything catches your eye let me know!” Brandy replies as the redhead passes her by.

Troy steps up to Simone’s side and playfully pats the back of her shoulder.

“Hey if you feel self conscious about it then I’ll wear a dress at your wedding too.” he genuinely offers, though it takes Simone way off guard.

“Is… that your way of asking to be my best man?” she responds, hardly keeping her shocked laughter at bay.

“Nah dude I’m serious! We’ll get like, matching colors and shit! It’ll be sick!” he reaffirms.

Simone stares at him for a few standard seconds.

“Troy. I fuck’n love that idea.” she pats his back in return before continuing on to the resting room to lie down.

-

“How’s it fit?” a voice calls from the other side of Simone’s bedroom door.

“Better, I guess…” the sixteen year old mumbles just barely loud enough to be heard.

“Can I come in and see?”

Simone stares at the mirror for a few moments, trying to put on a good smile.

“Yeah.” she replies.

Sliding open the door, her elderly Terran neighbor woman steps on in.

“My-my! Looks like my little adjustments did the trick! Do a turn for me would you?” she asks.

Nodding, the young lady lumbers in place to show the woman that everything fits.

“You look absolutely stunning dear, though maybe we ought to run a quick brush on your head?” the elderly woman says, gesturing her hand through her own gray head fur.

“No thank you. I like it like this.” Simone responds softly.

“Oh… alright then hun. Do you have another pair of shoes that you could wear? I’d hate for you to trip while you’re out having fun. If you’d like, we can see if any of my old pairs fit ya.”

“No thank you, ma’am. These are comfortable. I’m not going to dance much anyway.” Simone reassures, tapping her boots together as if they were ruby slippers.

The expression on the woman is initially hesitant, but swiftly picks back up.

“No dancing? Well, I’m sure your prom date is gonna have something to say about that.” she winks, “Did Sam say when she and her folks were comin’ to pick you up?”

“In an hour.” the redhead replies as her face flushes.

“Oh good. Well, just in case you change your mind I’ll run next door and dig out some more shoes. If you’re still hungry after getting home I left some lasagna to re-heat in your fridge.” the woman informs.

“Thank you so much, Ann. I can pay you back if I hear back from-” Simone replies.

“Don’t fret about it dear. I have more than I could possibly need at this point in my life.” the woman dismisses as she turns back around to leave.

It was the weirdest thing. Ann had been their neighbor for as long as Simone can remember. She was always a bit scary to the redhead growing up because she always seemed angry. Even when talking to Simone’s father she acted a bit blunt in temperament. Always grumbling and muttering when Simone would fall under her gaze. As if she resented her for some reason. Granted, Simone wasn’t the nicest kid either. But she was just a kid.

However much like everything else, things changed dramatically between the two. Ann would visit often, almost every day by this point. Simone in turn finally got to see what the home of the ‘scary neighbor’ looked like as well. Which is pretty much like her’s, it just smelled much more like floral detergent.

“Ann?” Simone finds herself saying.

The woman turns back.

“Yes, hun?”

“Thank you… you know… for the dress. It looks great.” the teenager stammers, the red in her face reigniting.

Ann’s smile smirked up one side.

“You’re very much welcome sweetheart. I met my late Henry in it when I was about your age, I like to think it gives good luck.” she replies, “You are free to keep it if you like it.”

Simone’s smile grows, but then fades back down.

“Uhm… thank you… but… I got another call from the Union Academy… I… I think I’m going to accept. And I don’t think they’ll let me keep it.” she says with a shrug.

“Ah, I see… It will be hard to see you go hun.” Ann says as she walks back up to the teenager, placing her hands on the girl’s forearms, “But such an opportunity for a full paid scholarship and career doesn’t come around for many out here. I think you’re making the right choice. Go live your life hun. Take risks, make mistakes, and see where you finally land.”

Simone’s eyes start to wet, and her face twitches into a dower expression.

“I feel like I’m leaving him behind…” she whispers on the brink, walls coming down.

Covering the streaks of running makeup, Ann cups her incredibly soft hands on the girl’s face.

“No hun… no…” she softly coos, “Every bird leaves its nest, but you take what’s left of him wherever you go. Because it’s you, hun. Alright?”

Simone reflexively nods, but her chest still felt like it was going to explode. It takes everything within her to not let all the building pressure out then, but her brain has been holding back so much it forces words to involuntarily boil up. Her fears, her regrets and her pain all mix together screaming to be heard by someone.

“He was supposed to teach me how to dance… he promised, Ann… And now I’m going to look like a big stupid idiot because I don’t know how! He’s supposed to be here! I don’t know what to do without him and I don’t want to leave because this is what’s left! I- I feel like I’m running away because it hurts so much being here!” she rants in angry cries.

Ann pulls the much taller teenager’s head down to rest on her shoulder and hugs her, not caring about the smudging of makeup on her shirt. She allows the girl to run her course of this surging released emotion until the redhead collects herself again.

“You’re not running away. You’re living your life and choosing what’s best for you. You’re right, he should be here, but he’s not. But that’s neither of your faults, that’s just life sometimes.” the elderly woman says almost sternly, allowing the teenager to pull away.

“I’m sorry…” Simone sniffs.

“Don’t be, hun.” Ann sympathetically smiles as she pulls out a wet wipe to start cleaning the teen’s running makeup, “We don’t have time to re-apply this back on, so how about we do something more simple and I’ll give you a quick and dirty course on basic dancing before Sam comes knocking?”

-

“Simone? It’s time.” Chak’s voice speaks, breaking the veil of sleep.

Rubbing her face and sitting up the Terran bites back a heavy yawn.

“Ah shit, how long was I out?” she asks.

“Oh, the whole jump I’m afraid, but we figured you must have needed the sleep. You’re still physically recovering after all.” the Cali notifies, “We will be landing shortly.”

“Got it.” Simone nods before checking her head fur and adjusting it back into proper place. She stands and moves to a nearby wall mirror to check her work.

“Did you have any more weird dreams?” Chak inquires.

“Uhm…” The redhead utters as she stares into her reflection, “No, actually. Pretty normal ones. Have I said any Manarian lingo lately?”

“Not that I’ve heard. I’m hopeful that’s a good sign. At the very least it’s not an apparent progressing condition.” the princess replies.

“Well it’s not something that I’d expect to just go away. Could come and go. Just keep an eye on me, ‘kay? Oh shit I forgot!” Simone activates her Lens in a hurry.

“Forgot what?” Chak chirps in concern.

Projecting a visual call to the wall Simone stands at the ready. After a few moments the cranium of Seven comes into view.

“Greetings Simone! And to you, Chak. Have there been-en complications?” they say.

“Nope, sorry. Overslept. Everything is going as smooth as butter so far. How’re the kids?” Simone replies.

“Essjay is well. They have started-ed to draw historical Terran animals-als called ‘dinosaurs’, however with artistic liberty-ty have armed them with lasers. But fear not, they seem-em to be enjoying a positive social celebration.” the bot reports, “Jamie was initially very upset, vocalizing-ing his discontent constantly. However with Essjay’s assistance we have-ave found ways to entertain and distract-act him while you’re away. They are both sleeping-ing at the moment.”

“Dinosaurs with party lasers? I should look into that to see what Essjay has been looking up on the Net…” Chak mumbles.

“Ahhh sorry… hope it’s not too much trouble. With any luck we shouldn’t be away for more than a few days, week tops. Have they been eating alright?” the redhead questions.

“Indeed. In fact, Jamie has proven-ven to be very food-motivated. Very helpful-ul for his care and temperment.” Seven assures.

“That’s good! Thanks again for sitting. Hate for this to be so short but we gotta go. I’ll call back when it’s safe to do so.”

“Bye Seven!” Chak waves.

“Understood. Farewell, and good-od luck. You can trust the children under-er my care, just focus on saving the galaxy and coming back.” the bot says with blinks of their cranium lights.

“You bet.” Simone says before the call ends.

-

Stepping out of the transit station and to a connected yard of parking platforms, the gang looks up to the pillars of skyscraper-like structures that connect fully into a distant ceiling. All of which are interconnected via a network of crossing bridges and sky tunnels. Personal transport crafts flow around in streams of constant traffic like an army of traversing flying ants.

There’s a general hum of technology and life in the air, to which tasted especially crisp for it being artificially generated.

“Just as I remember it.” Chak speaks, noticing the awe of her present company.

“And I thought Vapor’Perna was impressive…” Simone says with her tufts raised.

“We’re gonna get so lost.” Troy adds with the same tone of voice.

“Much lost… yes.” Nodrin agrees.

“An’ this is just a sector of the outer hub. Lot’s more to see.” Thorn comments.

With that Chak takes the lead, guiding the group towards a designated platform. With a few moments on her Lens, the center of platform opens up and an off-white vehicle ascends into view.

“Welcome to the Center of Central, the CSH. The oldest and largest station in the galaxy.” the princess introduces as the side of the vehicle scrolls open to allow access, “This will be our personal transport. For now I recommend we rely on the automated navigation.”

“Good call. I’d hate to have to personally drive through that traffic.” Brandy says before stepping on first.

Reminding Simone of the transport craft she rode on in Vapor’Perna, she is pleasantly surprised to find the inward facing seating to be far more comfortable.

“Where to first?” Simone asks.

“We have been granted temporary diplomatic-class accommodations. We should head there first and ensure it’s secure.” Chak replies as everyone settles in.

“Mean’n Devin and I have more work to do. Shouldn’t be an issue.” Thorn says as he fully leans back in his seat.

“We meet Gratt Ambassador today maybe?” Nodrin proposes.

“Perhaps, but let’s first get our bearings. I’m also expecting a sort of courdual welcome upon landing.” the Princess advises as the craft lifts up into the air.

“Yep. The local Net is buzzing about us and our arrival.” Devin confirms as he works through a data pad and his Lens, “Second only to the Squilla business. Gotta say, a lot of eyes are going to be on us. Act accordingly.” he turns to look at the female Gratt obliviously sitting backwards in her seat to watch out the window as the vehicle flies.

Simone adjusts herself in her seat, feeling unease. This could all go wrong in so many ways, especially since covering their trail in a place like this seems nearly impossible. For a moment she almost regrets the plan altogether.

Chak then takes hold of the Terran’s hand with her own. Confidence in their mission blazing in her eyes, she communicates to her fiance that she is in her element and to trust her.

“Could we stop at a fly-thru or something on the way there?” Troy asks, breaking the tension.

-

Looking out upon the bustling CSH traffic, and older Terran man contemplates as he deactivated his Lens. His bright, focused, aged eyes almost seem to glaze as he considers the next step. Reaching at his side he picks up a shallow glass of bourbon resting on a desk’s surface and takes a smooth, slow sip.

With a smack of his lips he hums a droning tune, his mind made up.

The door behind him slides open allowing his subordinate to enter.

“Admiral Sir, intel was spot on. They’re here.” the arrival updates.

Harkon swirls the drink in his hand and taps his pointer finger on the rim.

“The operation will continue as planned. Give Ember the green light. Basket of birds, one stone.”