Day: 49 since the beginning of on-board recording (same day at that last one)

Year of event: 22+ 10^(10.1395)

Notes: n/a

Cassie’s door slid close, locking both the Human and the Faklar outside. Dorothy walked forward, with confidence, and stopped in an empty space between ships. Several pairs of eyes followed the duo, but none of the workers or armed personnel did anything to try and stop or incapacitate them. While Dorothy waited, hands on her hips, Re’A took the time to fully examine the hangar.

It was an industrial station like any other. Not that the Faklar had been on many, but she had passed through enough to get the general idea of how claustrophobic and cold these places could get. Judging by the four large, almost ship-sized, fans slowly bringing fresh air into the hangar, and the gentle but persistent hum of a gravity regulator, this space saw regular foot traffic. The dryness of the air further suggested that most, if not all, of said traffic was Human.

Re'A’s mandibles twitched ever so slightly, as she picked up a strange scent. It stood out against the blandness of Human and Vimlen pheromones in a strange sour and yet sweet way. But then the blades of the fans spun around again, and the scent vanished.

Suddenly Re’A became very aware that she should have been thinking of a way out, a way to get past the guards or take control of one of the five small shuttles on standby. That was what she had been trained to do, not stand here and admire the architecture. Although, she did not fail to notice that a metal grid had been installed behind each of the fans, preventing anyone larger than a dock-roach from climbing through.

Dorothy impatiently tapped her foot against the floor. It seemed like she too had spent some time examining the place and had also come to the conclusion that whoever was behind their arrival here had not yet graced them with his presence.

“It’s rude to make your guests wait, you know.” Dorothy suddenly spoke.

Her voice echoed through the hangar, bouncing off the metal walls, and polished hulls of atmospheric ships, before being slowly blown away by the ever-rotating oversized fans. Re’A wondered if the Human too had suspicions about the identity of the one who wanted to get his hands on her, or if she’d used Common English out of habit.

No answer came from any of the workers, who began retreating away in a wannabe discreet manner, or the several guards, a few of whom exchanged a look, as if they had been wondering the exact same thing.

With fewer people around, Re’A finally visualised a plan of action, if Dorothy’s idea of negotiations were to fail. From where she was, Re’A would throw the crowbar someone had left behind at that guard by the left-most ship, then she’d take cover while the other shot at her, and while they recharged, because thankfully they only carried outdated EMP revolvers, she’d dash for the fallen guard, and get his weapon. From there –

“Listen, I don’t mean to sound rude, but both me and Re’A are busy women, so if you’re done wasting our time, we’d love to talk to you.” Dorothy spoke again.

Right, that woman was here too, and from what Re’A knew, the Human was utterly unable to fight for herself. There was even a chance that she wouldn’t take cover if the guards were to open fire. Re’A’s tails curled even further around one another, as she began thinking of a new approach.

She didn’t have the chance to think for long, as one of the airtight doors on the side of the hangar slid open, and two men came through. The one walking in front was a tall, fairly young, human. He was followed by a Vimlen. Although the latter held himself with a lot of dignity, Re’A couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between his clothes, and those of a Human child from the inner circle she had kidnapped under her previous boss. That misplaced amusement was short-lived as the duo was promptly followed by half a dozen more guards, who this time were armed with proper weaponry.

“Ah, my apologies for the delay.” The human spoke. “You are of course absolutely right, it is very, very rude of me to keep my guests waiting. Even when those guests are sneaky little thieves who buy fake documents at remote outposts.”

Re’A didn’t say a word, as she watched the group approach them. They stopped a few meters away, seemingly wanting to continue this conversation here. They were close enough though for her to easily leap over and snap bother their necks. Well, at least the human’s neck. The Vimlen had a 50/50 to make it out before the rear-guard opened fire.

“Thief? Has the definition of that word changed while I was flying around?” Dorothy spoke.

Her voice was steady, but Re’A could smell fear in the air, an emotion she hadn’t perceived from the Human since she boarded her ship.

The male Human smirked before adding:

“Well, that all depends on how long you’ve spent in one of those stasis pods you promised our common friend.”

Re’A inadvertently locked eyes with the Vimlen. He seemed extremely annoyed with the situation, as if his mere presence here was a waste of everyone’s time, and especially his own. He also did not look familiar in the slightest, which was strange considering how much of the underworld Re’A knew on a one-sided first-name basis.

“That guy from that run-down space station?” Dorothy replied, having calmed down a little, “Pff, don’t tell me you’re friends with him.”

Re’A almost reached out to the other woman’s shoulder to tell her not to speak like that. No matter who these people were, they were better left unprovoked.

“Hm. You seem very bold.” The human replied. But his words were not directed at Dorothy, they were directed at the one standing right behind her. “That shall be corrected.”

“I think there is some sort of misunderstanding.” Dorothy spoke again. “You seem to think that Re’A is somehow your property. I believe there was some logistic error. Some paper lost in transit, or in the trash. Perhaps you have the wrong Faklar. Or perhaps you will once you notice the very interesting thing going on in the other direction.” Dorothy said as he nodded to the side, accentuating her point.

The male Human nodded, as his expression shifted from bemusement to a serious one.

“I would have looked for two dozen boxes of white snow, or 80 million UE credits. But I’m afraid not this time.”

“Well how-”

“No.” He cut the woman short with a disdainful tone. “But you are right, you are my esteemed guest. So Grish here will give you a tour of our outpost while Re’A, such a lovely name that is, will come with me.”

Re’A hesitated, as she briefly considered expressing her own opinion on the subject. But, before either she or Dorothy had had the time to speak or protest, the man gestured to the guards behind him, and they raised their weapons at the duo.

“You are my esteemed guest.” He repeated in a tone that suggested that if Dorothy did not go with the Vimlen right that instant, she would be shot on the spot.

Thankfully this time the Human was smart enough to keep it shut.

“Then right this way.” The Human man spoke one more, as he gestured to Re’A to follow him.

As the Falkar followed him out of the hanger, she gave the Human- Dorothy – one last glance. She hoped that she would not get shot on the spot by the guards that had been left behind.

Notes:

The good news is that no one has died, contrary to what me and my colleagues speculated in the comments of the last entry of this report.

The other good news is the fact that I have figured out how to edit and redact the notes that my colleagues make, so there won’t be any more inappropriate messages in the future.

The bad news are that I am, very unfortunately, still struggling with this digital system. This report has been the sole thing occupying my mind these past weeks, to the point where I’ve forgotten to grade several assignments (apologies to my entry-level exo-mycology students). I will admit that in a moment of weakness I have briefly considered passing on the role of head editor onto one of my two colleagues, but I have come to the realisation that one of them is way too busy, while the other might be just a tad underqualified to take on such a responsibility.

Hence, for the time being I will be maintaining my role as editor while eagerly awaiting the return of my predecessor, as well at the time when I will finally get the chance to read and grade those (I am sure to be) amazing essays.

Current year: 22+e^(23.347)

Redactor signature: Mathew, Lark