Post by bluesnailok on Feb 4, 2022 22:16:47 GMT
Finally, after almost two months of seemingly endless walking, survivalism and being caught off-guard hours into uneventful walking by strange sounds or occurrences, Paskin came into sight of the village: Anaritch. The little settlement must’ve been populated by little more than 120 people at best. It was nestled into the back of the canyon, split by the river that ran through it from the bumpy mountains that loomed over the area in all directions. As Paskin finally came to a halt before his final stop, an old Teliran lady stood waiting to meet him.
“Welcome sir. I was told that a stranger was approaching, but not one quite as strange as you! You speak our language yes?” The old woman joked with a senile titter before giving the best bow she could.
“Might I ask what brings such an armoured alien to this little rustic settlement of ours?” Unlike the nobles that Paskin had met before, this lady was clearly not of a high-standing class. The Echotian even needed to use the translator the Governor had provided to even understand her as she questioned him in her native tongue.
Paskin eyed the woman, wary from the journey, but gave a smile as he stopped walking.
"I have my ways." He began, his macrys and the translator doing its job to translate his Echotian,
"Just making my way, Echos dont stay in one place too long, lest they get fat and slow."
He took the pack from his back, wiping a bit of sweat from his cheek before taking a bite of some root he had come across. It was bitter and hard, but apparently had nutritional value according to the macrys, so he ate it nonetheless.
His upper torso had been stripped of its armour, leaving only the remaining cloaks to cover his chest and shoulders.
His stomach and upper hips were exposed, revealing the intense musculature of his species. His legs still were armoured, providing him with a more travelled look, and he knelt in the dirt to look once more at his company.
"The name is Yavris. What's yours?"
"My name is Shereza, it is a pleasure to meet you young man. Any newcomer to Anaritch is a guest in our books! Come, come, you must be hungry eating stuff like that!" The old lady announced with a eager grin as she gestured for the hulking freelancer to follow. Madam Shereza began to waddle down the dirt pathway along the river and into the village. More and more citizens began to come out and look at Paskin as they moved further into the settlement and towards a small village hall that sat upon a particularly large roche moutonnée in the valley.
Entering in, the Echotian would've been greeted by the sight of a roaring fire that sat in a hearth at the center of the hall as vents roared overhead to fan out the smoke. An arrangement of meats were cooking ontop as if the place were straight from the pre-industrial era.
"We put on what we could before you arrived, you'll have to forgive us!"
"Nothing to apologize for, though I was not expecting a welcome. You knew I was coming?"
Paskin kept his eyes on those around him, wary of anyone who might look out of place. The last thing he wanted was to blow his cover this early.
“You don’t exactly blend in, young man!” The old woman joked with a little chuckle. The meal took another quarter of an hour to be finished. All the while the crone was warbling on about the ailments of the village over reed growth and pests. She was finally handed a platter of sweetened meats and powdery leaves that formed a rich dish of food. Shuffling over, Shereza offered over the platter with a smile.
“Please eat up, you have come a long way, the least we can do is allow you a chance to put your feet down and have a nice rest with a belly full ‘o’ food!”
"You are too kind, Shereza'vo."
Paskin took the platter, finding a place to sit before gorging himself on the generous offering, but slowing himself to prevent sickening. He probably looked the part he was playing now, covered in dirt and weathered by the time spent walking. His braids had lengthened, but he had kept them sorted. A true nomad.
His senses searched for anything in the food that may affect him negatively, but worried about it little.
The meal was well cooked, though charred in certain places where the meats had not been shifted over the fire regularly enough. The dish had been placed upon edible, powdery leaves and drenched generously in a sweet, syrupy liqueur. The aroma produced from the latter ingredient was so pungent it made it almost impossible to consume the meal without breathing through one’s nostrils.
Finishing up the food, Paskin was then approached by the old, grinning lady. Shereza then gave an inquisitive look to the Echotian.
“Now that you’ve got a full belly perhaps you’d like a chance to sleep in a comfy bed; you do look quite tired… I’m sure you have a big day ahead of you once you’re up and refreshed!” She remarked, raising a brow. Indeed, Paskin was beginning to feel very tired.
Paskin felt... unnerved by the woman, uncertain whether or not he actually wanted to partake in this womans hospitality any longer.
He stood, still holding the empty platter, before moving for the exit.
"As much as I would enjoy a nights rest on something real, I think my presence here has reached its conclusion. Enjoy your night."
At the same time, he allowed his O'ren to begin flooding his body with adrenaline to offset his onset of fatigue, and possibly cleanse his bloodstream of any toxins he may have just ingested.
“Ohhh dear… You should know it’s rude to reject one’s hospitality!” The old lady remarked cheerfully before waving him off, keenly staring as the Echotian made his way out of the village hall and boosted himself with adrenaline. Shifting outside, Paskin was now greeted with the orange sky of dusk and even more citizens of the settlement coming outside. It did make sense, considering the Telirans were a nocturnal people.
The more troubling development, however, was the increasing doziness of the Echotian as he stumbled down from the steps of the hall. No amount of adrenaline was countering this; he had been sedated. Stumbling for a few more steps, the powerful effects of what Paskin had consumed knocked him out for the count.
Paskin did not experience anything else and the blackness ended in what felt like a blink of an eye. The Echotian’s eyes would once more force themselves open, his body aching like he had slept for too long. His blurry eyes would clear within a few moments as the Echotian regained his bearings. All of the alien’s armaments had been taken from him, including his armour as he found himself at the bottom of a wet, puddled pit. The cave echoed with drips and distant, reverberating voices from somewhere above.
Were it not for a pair of roaring torches clasped by sconces on either side of the exit that sat upon a ledge some distance up above Paskin, he would’ve been left in pitch black. But looking up to the ledge, the mercenary was met with the sight of a young, silhouetted female that watched him from above. As the warm light licked around her frame and the Echotian’s eyes adjusted, he could begin to make out the scars that broke the smoothness of her face, her braided tribalistic hair and one white, milky eye.
“You’re a snorer, y’know that?” The woman simply remarked as she stared down upon the increasingly restored Echotian, “Why have you come for us?”
Paskin looked around the bottom of the pit, claws flexing with rage as his eyes searched for his belongings, before glaring up at the woman.
"Ral'Shak'es! You dare?! I told you, I was just passing through! My name is Yavris Vro'tal, of the House of Steel!"
“You’ve told me nothing, my friend, in fact this is the first time you’ve ever seen me…” She purred back down to him as she went to sit down upon the overlook, swinging her legs over the edge like some playful schoolgirl on a treebranch.
“You won’t find your stuff down there big lad. I might be a commoner but I ain’t stupid. Which is why I also know you weren’t just passin’ through… Any further and you’d be crossin’ into Kataleni Colonial territory hun.” Her voice echoed down.
“And if you intended to get into their lands, you certainly wouldn’t have landed in the capital on the other edge of the continent. I’m not gonna murder you if I know I can trust ya, honesty is your best friend here, mate. Why has an Echotian, a race that has never before even stepped foot on this planet, set foot on this planet and made an immediate route from the capital towards some unimportant backwater in the mountains? The only answer I can think of is that you got sent out here to kill me.”
With that, the silhouette looked down upon Paskin as she rose from the ledge and asked with a stern tone,
“So i’m going to ask you one last time, who are you? Tell me and then i’ll let you up… I think the least I owe you is a talk face-to-face.”
Paskin snarled, but relented. His pacing continued, like a caged animal he wanted to badly to be free.
"My name is Paskin Brell. I'm a freelancer. Your Govenor Brod hired me to hunt in the nearby colony. I was told it was pristine proving grounds and that no one was off limits. You must understand that my skills have to be kept honed lest I slow and die, as is the way of all Echos."
He stopped pacing, staring up at the woman. He could probably climb out given enough time, hit there was no telling what he would find at the top.
"So kill me, or release me, but I am not to be toyed with."
“Well… ‘Paskin Brell’, Governor Brod isn’t the sort to hire madmen or bloodthirsty monsters. If he hired you, he hired you because you’re smart and disciplined.”
With that, the silhouette moved back before chucking down a rope ladder which dangled from the ledge. The scarred female once again looked over the edge and called out,
“Come on up… Paskin… Or whoever you really are.”
Once the Echotian made his way up, he would get an easy sight upon the Teliran woman. A young adult female, scars upon her face, Paskin could confirm that this indeed who she seemed to be: Shereza. The warlord give a little smile as she looked up to the alien before offering out a hand,
“It’s nice to meet you Mister. If you intend to kill me without hearing me out, I suppose now is a better time than any. Otherwise we can talk while I take you to your stuff.”
The Echo loomed over her as she extended a hand, which he took before pulling her towards him a few inches.
"You have a lot of nerve to treat me like some lesser creature."
He held the silence for a moment, before releasing her.
"Take me to my gear, then we can talk."
Shereza looked the Echotian up and down, rather impressed by the warrior’s physique and size as she gave a rather teasing whistle before gesturing for him to follow.
“You’re no animal, believe me. But the people I deserted… Well, they might see you otherwise. An expendable creature perhaps… Or worse.”
She muttered as the pair began to stroll away from the pit as they began to navigate a labyrinth of snaking tunnels, dimly lit by the candlelight that Shereza carried. Every so often they would pass another insurgent who would nod to the pair or bow.
“Forgive me for my precautions. With the responsibilities I hold… The amount of people I protect, well, there’s a lot at stake. It’s for that reason I can’t exactly just greet an armed warrior on the payroll of the oppressor’s of Sakha to meet me fully armed… Not until I can know their intentions.”
She explained. The pair now found themselves in a large open cavern. To the left was a small section-off area with a couple of metal chests inside containing Paskin’s armour. Shereza waltzed over and into the area, opening up the boxes for the Echotian to retrieve his apparel.
“...You’ve got some good armour there. I bet you’ve seen your fair share of battles.”
"More than I care to remember." Paskin said, kneeling as he opened the first chest to inspect his armour.
The small diamond shape was placed on the back on his neck, which instantly formed the helm around his head, allowing him to breath more suitably again.
Through the helmets slightly more mechanical voice box, the Echotian turned back to the Teliran.
"I used to think my armour was a symbol of my accomplishments. To an extent I still do, but the notion is tainted now."
He pulled the rest of the leg armour into place and threw the cloak over his shoulders. His multi-limbed torso seemingly sewing it back together with a fluid motion as it was laced into place.
As he sheathed the weapons on his hips, he looked up to Shereza.
"Under normal circumstances, this is where we would try and kill each other. I've never had the fortune of speaking with a captor of mine without it being through their gurgled last breathes. So if you have some proposition for me, now would be the time."
“...Well, I have no intention of attempting to kill you. Not so long as you don’t intend to kill me. If you are who you claim you are, and all you’re here to do is cross the border for some ‘training’ then we will not stop you. All that I ask is that you omit any awareness of our rebel cell if interrogated by the imperialists.”
With that, the Teliran gestured for Paskin to leave the barred away and began escorting him back towards the exit of the cave network, with the rebel presence getting more and more numerous towards the entrance of the place. Finally arriving at the slit into the cave, Shereza squeezed through and stepped out onto the slope of a rocky mountain amidst a range of peaks. The wind was whistling through the few, scraggly trees that clinged to what little there was upon the rocks as the ex-soldier turned and muttered,
“Unless you were sent here for this cell, I don’t think we have anymore business with you. I trust you are an honourable man, I understand our precautions cannot have been pleasant… I’m sorry you got wound up in this.”
Paskin clicked to himself, readjusting one of his shoulder guards once more before turning to Shereza.
"Shereza'ra, I do have a question if you are willing to entertain me for a moment?"
His helm turned to look at her, his body following suit as the cloak tips swayed with his movement.
"Why exactly are you here? The Governor alluded to your presence, but not of your intent. Why stay planetside?"
“What is it?” Shereza had inquired upon the Echotian’s request. She seemed rather moved by the question, almost saddened by the recollection of what she was actually doing on a windy mountaintop overlooking the valleys below.
“I left the Aphanesian army; it's not like I can just stroll back into the spaceport and take a ticket to anywhere.”
For a moment she paused, clearly thinking for a moment. The warlord proceeded to look straight up to Paskin and suddenly ask,
“Did the Governor tell you what army, which officers, gave me these scars?”
Pausing, Shereza added once more averted her gaze. Turning away to wander over to one of the nearby trees; gazing upon the roots that burrowed into the cracks in the rocks.
“...My commanding officer back in Aphanesia was… Let’s say not the most understanding man. He degraded, he berated, he never congratulated… I don’t know- Maybe it was just bottling up inside me. One day during an inspection, he was shouting me down as usual, I just broke… I just… Couldn’t be silent anymore. I threw myself at him.”
The female Teliran calmly watched as a small bird bounced from branch-to-branch as she sat herself down on a rock. Returning her attention to the Echotian she murmured,
“While my commanding officer passed down the offer to execute me for being a ‘barbaric savage’, the tribunal inflicted more damage to my body than any enemy combatant I’ve faced. I began to detest the colours I fought under; especially when they posted me off world as a final insult for my mistake. The government’s plan to throw the settlers on Sakha off their land in favour of military testing sites was the last straw. I could say I abandoned my flag and began this independence movement because it was to oppose the elitism of Aphanesia, or out of a moral spur to bring the people of Sakha the justice they deserve… But the main reason I abandoned my uniform…?”
The Teliran once more stood up,
“...I guess I just couldn’t stand risking my life for officers who wouldn’t do the same for me anymore.”
She placed her hands behind her back, strolling back over to Paskin, squinting up to him,
“But what about you, Paskin Brell, what do you fight for?”
Paskin shadowed her movements, almost mirroring her until she sat, standing a respectable distance while keeping close enough to hear.
"Once I fought for a King, a brother, someone I looked up to, but now I fight for myself. Suppose it to say, when my loyalty was questioned, I remained loyal to those who had earned it. I would be no blind raptorian, biting at anything I was directed at."
His helm clicked as his mouth opened and closed once more, unsure of what else to say.
"I understand your plight. Sadly I must admit that once I was an uncaring enforcer of law and order, killing those like you among my own people without question. Duty does that to you, as I'm sure you understand."
He turned back to the direction of the city, taking a step towards it down the rocky hillside before stopping and looking back at Shereza.
"Suppose it to say I've taken a liking to you, Teliran. Here I was led to believe you simply were some thug."
Paskin laughed, his chuckle came out like a wheeze, though he seemed jovial.
"You wouldnt happen to be in need of a mercenary, would you? One who works for decidedly less than your average Echotian?"
“You’re not that bad yourself, big guy." The Teliran chirped with a frail happiness about her.
"As for poor choices in the name of doing your duty… Well, let’s just say i’ve done my own fair-share of things I regret...” The warlord muttered to him with a tired look on her face. She seemed to spike her interest upon hearing the Echotian offering his services to her, squinting up to him through the blustery wind as she inquired,
“You’re serious?” She paused.
“...If you’re really serious about lending a hand, I can’t offer you cash in hand… But I can promise you a good fighting cause, booty and a family who will accept you as a mortal who bleeds but fights anyway… Not as a killing machine expected to never question your commands for the sake of ‘honour’.” Once more she stopped, admiring the mountainous view that stood before them.
“On your way here you crossed a military outpost… Do you remember it?”
The Echotian thought back to his travels through the countryside, believing he had passed the outpost she was referring to.
"What about it?" Paskin said, turning his head towards Thereza as he spoke.
“The station presently operates as a command post to maintain the military’s scant presence over this region of the Sakha colony. While not a major problem, it is the only current foothold that government forces have over controlling this region of their empire. Removing it would not only liberate ourselves of any competition for control over the region, but it would offer up to us a surplus of munitions from which to further support our war effort.”
Shereza squinted as she rose to her feet, moving close to Paskin,
“I would like you to join me in taking that station. Consider it an initiation and confirmation that you are truly part of this family and its cause.” She was deadly serious as she gazed up and into the Echotians helm.
Paskin thought for a moment, weighing his options, before speaking aloud.
"I've done a lot of bad things for bad people in my life. Some of it will never stoop haunting me. If I take you up on this, I will be directly going against my current employ. I do hope you can back this stance of yours when the time comes. Use me, and I will not take it pleasantly. Do we have an agreement?"
Shereza smiled as she began to head once more to the entrance of the hideaway; looking back to Paskin to state,
“Do this and you will be as close as the rest of our family, and we do not turn our backs on family. I will be waiting among the brush to the West of the place for your arrival in 48 hours. For now I recommend you take some time to rest; you haven’t done so since you set down on this planet.”
Paskin nodded to her, though he could have sworn he had been drugged into unconsciousness only an hour before.
"Perhaps you are right. I will ready myself for the task ahead. Best of luck to us both."
With that, Paskin turned to leave. He needed some rest, that much was true, but now he also needed to plan his next move.
Later that night, under the cover of darkness, Paskin spread his armaments around him peice by peice; taking inventory and ensuring his current plan of action wouldnt be hitched. He cleaned his weapons and equipment, and ensured that the tracking device he had been given was still tucked into the under-arm compartment of his armour.
Going over everything, Paskin would note that nothing had been tampered or taken from his accoutrements. It would seem that the insurgents had merely taken his equipment as a precaution rather than as part of a greater plan to sabotage him.
The Echotian’s rest at the base was uneventful. But he was rarely left alone in the chambers as other members kept their distrusting eyes upon the outsider at all times. These Telirans had likely never even seen a xeno in their life, let alone been expected to trust them and welcome them into their home. Things weren’t much better traveling back through the village. The facade of the cartoonish welcoming village was gone; replacing by scared or concerned locals who simply watched the threat from the beyond walk back out of their community as he trekked back down the rarely-trodden pathway.
It felt like an eternity until the Echotian arrived back to the familiar sight of the outpost on the horizon. The site wasn’t a large compound. A combination of meshed fence, barbed wire, a few metal walls and a single watchtower were the pittant protection that housed likely only a couple dozen troops at best.
It took some time for Paskin to locate the figure of Shereza hiding among the rocks that overlooked the station on the horizon. But her signals and Paskin’s effort to find her eventually brought the two once more together. It was midday by the time the mercenary had arrived; arguably the least convenient time for an attack on a military position if it weren’t for the nocturnal tendencies for the Telirans.
“I’m glad to see you’re here; all set?” Shereza muttered. The guerrilla wasn’t wearing much in the way of armour, a simple kevlar vest and a visored helmet to cover the sunlight as she sat in her cranny, watching the target from a generous distance. Looking the Echotian up and down, the bat muttered,
“You remember the objective, right?”
Paskin wore his standard black armour and robes, his weapons concealed, as he crept up to Shereza's position. As he looked out over the base before them, he responded.
"Take the base, secure the goods within, relinquish what grasp it poses to the area."
Beneath his axe-shaped helm, he looked to Shereza and raised a brow.
"Any insight into how we should go about it?"
Shereza gave a slight grin to the Echotian’s lack of hesitation towards the task at hand.
“A good question. The last thing we want to do is be spotted… Especially with the large coverless stretch from here to the camp itself…” She murmured; gripping her rifle close to her. Looking the alien up and down, the guerrilla looked somewhat interested before she asking, “Well. One of us can either try and take the guardtower out at a distance and then rush for the compound before the rest have taken their positions…”
Looking back to the compound, she sighed unsurely, “But that would be risky. If we miss the shot or don’t get across the open in time, I don’t think we’d have a chance… And we’d be on a timer before support arrives…”
“The other option.” She added, “Is stealthing it… If that armour of yours allows it. I can give overwatch from here…”
"Unfortunately for the both of us, I relinquished what active-camouflage armaments I possessed when I accepted my previous contract. The idea that I could possibly be captured was too much of a risk, as I am sure you understand...", Paskin's words grumbled out at the mention of his possible capture,
"I have completed countless training exercises outlining this exact scenario however, claiming territory from superior numbers was what my House was intended for. I can take the guard-tower, of that you have my assurance."
Paskin looked out to the defenses, sizing them up as merely deterrents for the locals rather than quality fortifications. His eyes looked back to Shereza,
"Should you believe my talents would be better put to use after the tower is taken, you should say so now."
The warlord gave a small smile and a quick nod as she buried herself back behind some of the rocks, gesturing for Paskin to approach at his discretion,
“The watchtower is all yours… But we’ll need to act quickly once they know they’re under attack… We can’t afford to waste time if reinforcements are sent en-route.”
Nothing seemed to have changed with the outpost, with a single bored trooper still watching out over the open plains from his station.
Paskin gave a nod as a chilling, chuckle-like clicking reverberated from his chest. His helm twitched back to look at his new target: the lone watchtower.
The Telirans had poor vision in the daylight, so the echo used that knowledge to his advantage, straying from the shadow cast by the tower, moving slowly through the scrub that lightly decorated the ground around him. Years of covert training, combined with Paskins macrys maintaining a visual on the watchtower, helping him move only when the probability of success was highest and the possibility of being spotted was equally as unlikely. His footwalls were muffled, his actions calculated and precise, careful not to disturb his surroundings as to reveal his location; a silent aspect of death, encroaching on a target.
The slow predatory approach of the Echotian through the brush would take longer than ideal, but patience evidently prevailed. Given time, the guard would occasionally check other directions; giving Paskin windows of opportunity as he slithered towards the compound, the sounds of the plains around him disguising his advance. Finally the Echotian found himself up against the wall of the compound. It was, this section atleast, a solid wall rather than mesh fencing like much of the outer perimeter, allowing the mercenary to take a moment of respite. Beyond the fencing stood two other Teliran troopers conversing. The gated entrance was undoubtedly locked.
Now the question faced Paskin on how he would go about trying to get in.
Paskin readied himself, his splayed boots deploying sharp, 'talon-like', climbing pitons, as he prepared to scale the tower. From the position he steadied himself from, he doubted that any inside the compound would be able to view him if he ascended here. He steadied his breathing, before a wrist mounted grappling blade emerged from his armour.
In one swift motion, Paskin turned and fired up at the base of the parapet, the small barbed blade just barely began sinking into the buildings exterior as he leapt upwards. The cord retracted as he swiftly belayed upwards towards the top of the tower, digging his clawed feet into the wall as he pressed upwards with his muscular legs.
In a matter of seconds, the Echotian assassin was mere feet from the top, kicking off the wall and sending himself up and over into the guards position, hopefully catching them of guard as he readied two energized swords to begin his butchery.
The response was quick, but confused from the Teliran. The trooper quickly turned to the source of the sound, but the thought didn’t occur to him to instinctively raise their weapons. Instead the conscript was left looking bewildered at whatever had just entered the compound.
“Hey who the fuck are you-?” He called out, not understanding what was happening as he looked at Paskin as though he were some unexpected inspector. The alarm was not yet raised.
The Echo assassin vaulted the railing, drawing his blades from their sheathes even as the lone guard questioned his presence. He launched into the teliran, his o'ren sending a brief pulse of supernatural speed into Paskin's body. His strikes were surgical, slicing at the guards throat to silence him, before slashing lengthwise at his stomach, hoping to spill his guts and send him crumpling to the ground.
The slashing frenzy quickly sent the standing guard collapsing upon the floor. The soldiers below had not yet detected Paskin's presence, nor the jeopardisation of their own safety. Instead, they continued talking. There were about five troopers down in the courtyard below. Two were close to each other; talking, the others were sparsely spread, they either were patrolling the perimeter or going between cabins to handle chores.
One cabin was particularly notable. Its exterior indicated it to be some sort of electronics shelter; likely where their long-range communications with headquarters was being handled from.
Paskin crouched low to the floor of the tower, bringing a blade down into the neck of the incapacitated guard before giving the weapon a good twist to ensure that the guard didn't stand back up. His nostrils flared at the feeling of a good kill, and he moved to the cover of the low wall to peer at the compound below.
Five guards was hardly a challenge, but their dispersal meant that he would have to either sneak down and take them out one by one, or fire at them from up here while he had to height advantage. He thought for a moment, before looking back towards Shereza's position. Carefully, he made his way to the outer edge of the tower, signalling to the watching Teliran that the coast was clear for now.
An idea occurred to Paskin, and he took a step back towards the dead guard, looting through what belongings could be found.
Perhaps there would be something of use on you, yes?
There was little about the soldier’s accoutrements that made him particularly unique. For equipment the Teliran had been armed with a standard assault rifle, alongside a combat knife and a single fragmentation grenade. His binoculars were still intact, as was his radio. Aside from this equipment, the soldier’s pockets carried little on him besides a picture of what one would presume was his family alongside a packet of cigarettes and their lighter.
From the cliffs came a glint of Shereza’s own scope. The sign from Paskin was quickly responded to by the figure of the Teliran making a dart through the brush and towards the Echotian. The warlord made little effort to hide herself, evidently trusting the Echotian on his tactical assessment of safety. One the Teliran had made it to the perimeter she began clambering her way up the tower as stealthily as Paskin had, though significantly slower to ensure she didn’t slip up. Reaching the top of the tower, Shereza came to Paskin’s side and whispered as she withdrew her pistol,
“...All good?”
"Five targets, dispersed by unaware. Thought you may have some interest in how they are dealt with."
The Echotian inspected the gear momentarily, disregarding the grenade entirely, claiming the radio andthe small knife as his own. He slid the rest to Shereza to pick over should she care for it, though he did not seem to be eager to wait for a response.
Paskin held up the radio, considering an idea he had before turning to look at Shereza.
"We can pick them off easily from up here, or I can take out the rest by myself? I can also refrain from slaughtering them if it would suit you?"
Picking through a few of the things, Shereza looked down to the rest of the outpost occupations before going silent for a few moments and leaving the pair to nothing but the sounds below and the breeze of the plains. The warlord seemed to cock a brow to the offering of options to her, her response was simple.
“Kill them.”
“Welcome sir. I was told that a stranger was approaching, but not one quite as strange as you! You speak our language yes?” The old woman joked with a senile titter before giving the best bow she could.
“Might I ask what brings such an armoured alien to this little rustic settlement of ours?” Unlike the nobles that Paskin had met before, this lady was clearly not of a high-standing class. The Echotian even needed to use the translator the Governor had provided to even understand her as she questioned him in her native tongue.
Paskin eyed the woman, wary from the journey, but gave a smile as he stopped walking.
"I have my ways." He began, his macrys and the translator doing its job to translate his Echotian,
"Just making my way, Echos dont stay in one place too long, lest they get fat and slow."
He took the pack from his back, wiping a bit of sweat from his cheek before taking a bite of some root he had come across. It was bitter and hard, but apparently had nutritional value according to the macrys, so he ate it nonetheless.
His upper torso had been stripped of its armour, leaving only the remaining cloaks to cover his chest and shoulders.
His stomach and upper hips were exposed, revealing the intense musculature of his species. His legs still were armoured, providing him with a more travelled look, and he knelt in the dirt to look once more at his company.
"The name is Yavris. What's yours?"
"My name is Shereza, it is a pleasure to meet you young man. Any newcomer to Anaritch is a guest in our books! Come, come, you must be hungry eating stuff like that!" The old lady announced with a eager grin as she gestured for the hulking freelancer to follow. Madam Shereza began to waddle down the dirt pathway along the river and into the village. More and more citizens began to come out and look at Paskin as they moved further into the settlement and towards a small village hall that sat upon a particularly large roche moutonnée in the valley.
Entering in, the Echotian would've been greeted by the sight of a roaring fire that sat in a hearth at the center of the hall as vents roared overhead to fan out the smoke. An arrangement of meats were cooking ontop as if the place were straight from the pre-industrial era.
"We put on what we could before you arrived, you'll have to forgive us!"
"Nothing to apologize for, though I was not expecting a welcome. You knew I was coming?"
Paskin kept his eyes on those around him, wary of anyone who might look out of place. The last thing he wanted was to blow his cover this early.
“You don’t exactly blend in, young man!” The old woman joked with a little chuckle. The meal took another quarter of an hour to be finished. All the while the crone was warbling on about the ailments of the village over reed growth and pests. She was finally handed a platter of sweetened meats and powdery leaves that formed a rich dish of food. Shuffling over, Shereza offered over the platter with a smile.
“Please eat up, you have come a long way, the least we can do is allow you a chance to put your feet down and have a nice rest with a belly full ‘o’ food!”
"You are too kind, Shereza'vo."
Paskin took the platter, finding a place to sit before gorging himself on the generous offering, but slowing himself to prevent sickening. He probably looked the part he was playing now, covered in dirt and weathered by the time spent walking. His braids had lengthened, but he had kept them sorted. A true nomad.
His senses searched for anything in the food that may affect him negatively, but worried about it little.
The meal was well cooked, though charred in certain places where the meats had not been shifted over the fire regularly enough. The dish had been placed upon edible, powdery leaves and drenched generously in a sweet, syrupy liqueur. The aroma produced from the latter ingredient was so pungent it made it almost impossible to consume the meal without breathing through one’s nostrils.
Finishing up the food, Paskin was then approached by the old, grinning lady. Shereza then gave an inquisitive look to the Echotian.
“Now that you’ve got a full belly perhaps you’d like a chance to sleep in a comfy bed; you do look quite tired… I’m sure you have a big day ahead of you once you’re up and refreshed!” She remarked, raising a brow. Indeed, Paskin was beginning to feel very tired.
Paskin felt... unnerved by the woman, uncertain whether or not he actually wanted to partake in this womans hospitality any longer.
He stood, still holding the empty platter, before moving for the exit.
"As much as I would enjoy a nights rest on something real, I think my presence here has reached its conclusion. Enjoy your night."
At the same time, he allowed his O'ren to begin flooding his body with adrenaline to offset his onset of fatigue, and possibly cleanse his bloodstream of any toxins he may have just ingested.
“Ohhh dear… You should know it’s rude to reject one’s hospitality!” The old lady remarked cheerfully before waving him off, keenly staring as the Echotian made his way out of the village hall and boosted himself with adrenaline. Shifting outside, Paskin was now greeted with the orange sky of dusk and even more citizens of the settlement coming outside. It did make sense, considering the Telirans were a nocturnal people.
The more troubling development, however, was the increasing doziness of the Echotian as he stumbled down from the steps of the hall. No amount of adrenaline was countering this; he had been sedated. Stumbling for a few more steps, the powerful effects of what Paskin had consumed knocked him out for the count.
Paskin did not experience anything else and the blackness ended in what felt like a blink of an eye. The Echotian’s eyes would once more force themselves open, his body aching like he had slept for too long. His blurry eyes would clear within a few moments as the Echotian regained his bearings. All of the alien’s armaments had been taken from him, including his armour as he found himself at the bottom of a wet, puddled pit. The cave echoed with drips and distant, reverberating voices from somewhere above.
Were it not for a pair of roaring torches clasped by sconces on either side of the exit that sat upon a ledge some distance up above Paskin, he would’ve been left in pitch black. But looking up to the ledge, the mercenary was met with the sight of a young, silhouetted female that watched him from above. As the warm light licked around her frame and the Echotian’s eyes adjusted, he could begin to make out the scars that broke the smoothness of her face, her braided tribalistic hair and one white, milky eye.
“You’re a snorer, y’know that?” The woman simply remarked as she stared down upon the increasingly restored Echotian, “Why have you come for us?”
Paskin looked around the bottom of the pit, claws flexing with rage as his eyes searched for his belongings, before glaring up at the woman.
"Ral'Shak'es! You dare?! I told you, I was just passing through! My name is Yavris Vro'tal, of the House of Steel!"
“You’ve told me nothing, my friend, in fact this is the first time you’ve ever seen me…” She purred back down to him as she went to sit down upon the overlook, swinging her legs over the edge like some playful schoolgirl on a treebranch.
“You won’t find your stuff down there big lad. I might be a commoner but I ain’t stupid. Which is why I also know you weren’t just passin’ through… Any further and you’d be crossin’ into Kataleni Colonial territory hun.” Her voice echoed down.
“And if you intended to get into their lands, you certainly wouldn’t have landed in the capital on the other edge of the continent. I’m not gonna murder you if I know I can trust ya, honesty is your best friend here, mate. Why has an Echotian, a race that has never before even stepped foot on this planet, set foot on this planet and made an immediate route from the capital towards some unimportant backwater in the mountains? The only answer I can think of is that you got sent out here to kill me.”
With that, the silhouette looked down upon Paskin as she rose from the ledge and asked with a stern tone,
“So i’m going to ask you one last time, who are you? Tell me and then i’ll let you up… I think the least I owe you is a talk face-to-face.”
Paskin snarled, but relented. His pacing continued, like a caged animal he wanted to badly to be free.
"My name is Paskin Brell. I'm a freelancer. Your Govenor Brod hired me to hunt in the nearby colony. I was told it was pristine proving grounds and that no one was off limits. You must understand that my skills have to be kept honed lest I slow and die, as is the way of all Echos."
He stopped pacing, staring up at the woman. He could probably climb out given enough time, hit there was no telling what he would find at the top.
"So kill me, or release me, but I am not to be toyed with."
“Well… ‘Paskin Brell’, Governor Brod isn’t the sort to hire madmen or bloodthirsty monsters. If he hired you, he hired you because you’re smart and disciplined.”
With that, the silhouette moved back before chucking down a rope ladder which dangled from the ledge. The scarred female once again looked over the edge and called out,
“Come on up… Paskin… Or whoever you really are.”
Once the Echotian made his way up, he would get an easy sight upon the Teliran woman. A young adult female, scars upon her face, Paskin could confirm that this indeed who she seemed to be: Shereza. The warlord give a little smile as she looked up to the alien before offering out a hand,
“It’s nice to meet you Mister. If you intend to kill me without hearing me out, I suppose now is a better time than any. Otherwise we can talk while I take you to your stuff.”
The Echo loomed over her as she extended a hand, which he took before pulling her towards him a few inches.
"You have a lot of nerve to treat me like some lesser creature."
He held the silence for a moment, before releasing her.
"Take me to my gear, then we can talk."
Shereza looked the Echotian up and down, rather impressed by the warrior’s physique and size as she gave a rather teasing whistle before gesturing for him to follow.
“You’re no animal, believe me. But the people I deserted… Well, they might see you otherwise. An expendable creature perhaps… Or worse.”
She muttered as the pair began to stroll away from the pit as they began to navigate a labyrinth of snaking tunnels, dimly lit by the candlelight that Shereza carried. Every so often they would pass another insurgent who would nod to the pair or bow.
“Forgive me for my precautions. With the responsibilities I hold… The amount of people I protect, well, there’s a lot at stake. It’s for that reason I can’t exactly just greet an armed warrior on the payroll of the oppressor’s of Sakha to meet me fully armed… Not until I can know their intentions.”
She explained. The pair now found themselves in a large open cavern. To the left was a small section-off area with a couple of metal chests inside containing Paskin’s armour. Shereza waltzed over and into the area, opening up the boxes for the Echotian to retrieve his apparel.
“...You’ve got some good armour there. I bet you’ve seen your fair share of battles.”
"More than I care to remember." Paskin said, kneeling as he opened the first chest to inspect his armour.
The small diamond shape was placed on the back on his neck, which instantly formed the helm around his head, allowing him to breath more suitably again.
Through the helmets slightly more mechanical voice box, the Echotian turned back to the Teliran.
"I used to think my armour was a symbol of my accomplishments. To an extent I still do, but the notion is tainted now."
He pulled the rest of the leg armour into place and threw the cloak over his shoulders. His multi-limbed torso seemingly sewing it back together with a fluid motion as it was laced into place.
As he sheathed the weapons on his hips, he looked up to Shereza.
"Under normal circumstances, this is where we would try and kill each other. I've never had the fortune of speaking with a captor of mine without it being through their gurgled last breathes. So if you have some proposition for me, now would be the time."
“...Well, I have no intention of attempting to kill you. Not so long as you don’t intend to kill me. If you are who you claim you are, and all you’re here to do is cross the border for some ‘training’ then we will not stop you. All that I ask is that you omit any awareness of our rebel cell if interrogated by the imperialists.”
With that, the Teliran gestured for Paskin to leave the barred away and began escorting him back towards the exit of the cave network, with the rebel presence getting more and more numerous towards the entrance of the place. Finally arriving at the slit into the cave, Shereza squeezed through and stepped out onto the slope of a rocky mountain amidst a range of peaks. The wind was whistling through the few, scraggly trees that clinged to what little there was upon the rocks as the ex-soldier turned and muttered,
“Unless you were sent here for this cell, I don’t think we have anymore business with you. I trust you are an honourable man, I understand our precautions cannot have been pleasant… I’m sorry you got wound up in this.”
Paskin clicked to himself, readjusting one of his shoulder guards once more before turning to Shereza.
"Shereza'ra, I do have a question if you are willing to entertain me for a moment?"
His helm turned to look at her, his body following suit as the cloak tips swayed with his movement.
"Why exactly are you here? The Governor alluded to your presence, but not of your intent. Why stay planetside?"
“What is it?” Shereza had inquired upon the Echotian’s request. She seemed rather moved by the question, almost saddened by the recollection of what she was actually doing on a windy mountaintop overlooking the valleys below.
“I left the Aphanesian army; it's not like I can just stroll back into the spaceport and take a ticket to anywhere.”
For a moment she paused, clearly thinking for a moment. The warlord proceeded to look straight up to Paskin and suddenly ask,
“Did the Governor tell you what army, which officers, gave me these scars?”
Pausing, Shereza added once more averted her gaze. Turning away to wander over to one of the nearby trees; gazing upon the roots that burrowed into the cracks in the rocks.
“...My commanding officer back in Aphanesia was… Let’s say not the most understanding man. He degraded, he berated, he never congratulated… I don’t know- Maybe it was just bottling up inside me. One day during an inspection, he was shouting me down as usual, I just broke… I just… Couldn’t be silent anymore. I threw myself at him.”
The female Teliran calmly watched as a small bird bounced from branch-to-branch as she sat herself down on a rock. Returning her attention to the Echotian she murmured,
“While my commanding officer passed down the offer to execute me for being a ‘barbaric savage’, the tribunal inflicted more damage to my body than any enemy combatant I’ve faced. I began to detest the colours I fought under; especially when they posted me off world as a final insult for my mistake. The government’s plan to throw the settlers on Sakha off their land in favour of military testing sites was the last straw. I could say I abandoned my flag and began this independence movement because it was to oppose the elitism of Aphanesia, or out of a moral spur to bring the people of Sakha the justice they deserve… But the main reason I abandoned my uniform…?”
The Teliran once more stood up,
“...I guess I just couldn’t stand risking my life for officers who wouldn’t do the same for me anymore.”
She placed her hands behind her back, strolling back over to Paskin, squinting up to him,
“But what about you, Paskin Brell, what do you fight for?”
Paskin shadowed her movements, almost mirroring her until she sat, standing a respectable distance while keeping close enough to hear.
"Once I fought for a King, a brother, someone I looked up to, but now I fight for myself. Suppose it to say, when my loyalty was questioned, I remained loyal to those who had earned it. I would be no blind raptorian, biting at anything I was directed at."
His helm clicked as his mouth opened and closed once more, unsure of what else to say.
"I understand your plight. Sadly I must admit that once I was an uncaring enforcer of law and order, killing those like you among my own people without question. Duty does that to you, as I'm sure you understand."
He turned back to the direction of the city, taking a step towards it down the rocky hillside before stopping and looking back at Shereza.
"Suppose it to say I've taken a liking to you, Teliran. Here I was led to believe you simply were some thug."
Paskin laughed, his chuckle came out like a wheeze, though he seemed jovial.
"You wouldnt happen to be in need of a mercenary, would you? One who works for decidedly less than your average Echotian?"
“You’re not that bad yourself, big guy." The Teliran chirped with a frail happiness about her.
"As for poor choices in the name of doing your duty… Well, let’s just say i’ve done my own fair-share of things I regret...” The warlord muttered to him with a tired look on her face. She seemed to spike her interest upon hearing the Echotian offering his services to her, squinting up to him through the blustery wind as she inquired,
“You’re serious?” She paused.
“...If you’re really serious about lending a hand, I can’t offer you cash in hand… But I can promise you a good fighting cause, booty and a family who will accept you as a mortal who bleeds but fights anyway… Not as a killing machine expected to never question your commands for the sake of ‘honour’.” Once more she stopped, admiring the mountainous view that stood before them.
“On your way here you crossed a military outpost… Do you remember it?”
The Echotian thought back to his travels through the countryside, believing he had passed the outpost she was referring to.
"What about it?" Paskin said, turning his head towards Thereza as he spoke.
“The station presently operates as a command post to maintain the military’s scant presence over this region of the Sakha colony. While not a major problem, it is the only current foothold that government forces have over controlling this region of their empire. Removing it would not only liberate ourselves of any competition for control over the region, but it would offer up to us a surplus of munitions from which to further support our war effort.”
Shereza squinted as she rose to her feet, moving close to Paskin,
“I would like you to join me in taking that station. Consider it an initiation and confirmation that you are truly part of this family and its cause.” She was deadly serious as she gazed up and into the Echotians helm.
Paskin thought for a moment, weighing his options, before speaking aloud.
"I've done a lot of bad things for bad people in my life. Some of it will never stoop haunting me. If I take you up on this, I will be directly going against my current employ. I do hope you can back this stance of yours when the time comes. Use me, and I will not take it pleasantly. Do we have an agreement?"
Shereza smiled as she began to head once more to the entrance of the hideaway; looking back to Paskin to state,
“Do this and you will be as close as the rest of our family, and we do not turn our backs on family. I will be waiting among the brush to the West of the place for your arrival in 48 hours. For now I recommend you take some time to rest; you haven’t done so since you set down on this planet.”
Paskin nodded to her, though he could have sworn he had been drugged into unconsciousness only an hour before.
"Perhaps you are right. I will ready myself for the task ahead. Best of luck to us both."
With that, Paskin turned to leave. He needed some rest, that much was true, but now he also needed to plan his next move.
Later that night, under the cover of darkness, Paskin spread his armaments around him peice by peice; taking inventory and ensuring his current plan of action wouldnt be hitched. He cleaned his weapons and equipment, and ensured that the tracking device he had been given was still tucked into the under-arm compartment of his armour.
Going over everything, Paskin would note that nothing had been tampered or taken from his accoutrements. It would seem that the insurgents had merely taken his equipment as a precaution rather than as part of a greater plan to sabotage him.
The Echotian’s rest at the base was uneventful. But he was rarely left alone in the chambers as other members kept their distrusting eyes upon the outsider at all times. These Telirans had likely never even seen a xeno in their life, let alone been expected to trust them and welcome them into their home. Things weren’t much better traveling back through the village. The facade of the cartoonish welcoming village was gone; replacing by scared or concerned locals who simply watched the threat from the beyond walk back out of their community as he trekked back down the rarely-trodden pathway.
It felt like an eternity until the Echotian arrived back to the familiar sight of the outpost on the horizon. The site wasn’t a large compound. A combination of meshed fence, barbed wire, a few metal walls and a single watchtower were the pittant protection that housed likely only a couple dozen troops at best.
It took some time for Paskin to locate the figure of Shereza hiding among the rocks that overlooked the station on the horizon. But her signals and Paskin’s effort to find her eventually brought the two once more together. It was midday by the time the mercenary had arrived; arguably the least convenient time for an attack on a military position if it weren’t for the nocturnal tendencies for the Telirans.
“I’m glad to see you’re here; all set?” Shereza muttered. The guerrilla wasn’t wearing much in the way of armour, a simple kevlar vest and a visored helmet to cover the sunlight as she sat in her cranny, watching the target from a generous distance. Looking the Echotian up and down, the bat muttered,
“You remember the objective, right?”
Paskin wore his standard black armour and robes, his weapons concealed, as he crept up to Shereza's position. As he looked out over the base before them, he responded.
"Take the base, secure the goods within, relinquish what grasp it poses to the area."
Beneath his axe-shaped helm, he looked to Shereza and raised a brow.
"Any insight into how we should go about it?"
Shereza gave a slight grin to the Echotian’s lack of hesitation towards the task at hand.
“A good question. The last thing we want to do is be spotted… Especially with the large coverless stretch from here to the camp itself…” She murmured; gripping her rifle close to her. Looking the alien up and down, the guerrilla looked somewhat interested before she asking, “Well. One of us can either try and take the guardtower out at a distance and then rush for the compound before the rest have taken their positions…”
Looking back to the compound, she sighed unsurely, “But that would be risky. If we miss the shot or don’t get across the open in time, I don’t think we’d have a chance… And we’d be on a timer before support arrives…”
“The other option.” She added, “Is stealthing it… If that armour of yours allows it. I can give overwatch from here…”
"Unfortunately for the both of us, I relinquished what active-camouflage armaments I possessed when I accepted my previous contract. The idea that I could possibly be captured was too much of a risk, as I am sure you understand...", Paskin's words grumbled out at the mention of his possible capture,
"I have completed countless training exercises outlining this exact scenario however, claiming territory from superior numbers was what my House was intended for. I can take the guard-tower, of that you have my assurance."
Paskin looked out to the defenses, sizing them up as merely deterrents for the locals rather than quality fortifications. His eyes looked back to Shereza,
"Should you believe my talents would be better put to use after the tower is taken, you should say so now."
The warlord gave a small smile and a quick nod as she buried herself back behind some of the rocks, gesturing for Paskin to approach at his discretion,
“The watchtower is all yours… But we’ll need to act quickly once they know they’re under attack… We can’t afford to waste time if reinforcements are sent en-route.”
Nothing seemed to have changed with the outpost, with a single bored trooper still watching out over the open plains from his station.
Paskin gave a nod as a chilling, chuckle-like clicking reverberated from his chest. His helm twitched back to look at his new target: the lone watchtower.
The Telirans had poor vision in the daylight, so the echo used that knowledge to his advantage, straying from the shadow cast by the tower, moving slowly through the scrub that lightly decorated the ground around him. Years of covert training, combined with Paskins macrys maintaining a visual on the watchtower, helping him move only when the probability of success was highest and the possibility of being spotted was equally as unlikely. His footwalls were muffled, his actions calculated and precise, careful not to disturb his surroundings as to reveal his location; a silent aspect of death, encroaching on a target.
The slow predatory approach of the Echotian through the brush would take longer than ideal, but patience evidently prevailed. Given time, the guard would occasionally check other directions; giving Paskin windows of opportunity as he slithered towards the compound, the sounds of the plains around him disguising his advance. Finally the Echotian found himself up against the wall of the compound. It was, this section atleast, a solid wall rather than mesh fencing like much of the outer perimeter, allowing the mercenary to take a moment of respite. Beyond the fencing stood two other Teliran troopers conversing. The gated entrance was undoubtedly locked.
Now the question faced Paskin on how he would go about trying to get in.
Paskin readied himself, his splayed boots deploying sharp, 'talon-like', climbing pitons, as he prepared to scale the tower. From the position he steadied himself from, he doubted that any inside the compound would be able to view him if he ascended here. He steadied his breathing, before a wrist mounted grappling blade emerged from his armour.
In one swift motion, Paskin turned and fired up at the base of the parapet, the small barbed blade just barely began sinking into the buildings exterior as he leapt upwards. The cord retracted as he swiftly belayed upwards towards the top of the tower, digging his clawed feet into the wall as he pressed upwards with his muscular legs.
In a matter of seconds, the Echotian assassin was mere feet from the top, kicking off the wall and sending himself up and over into the guards position, hopefully catching them of guard as he readied two energized swords to begin his butchery.
The response was quick, but confused from the Teliran. The trooper quickly turned to the source of the sound, but the thought didn’t occur to him to instinctively raise their weapons. Instead the conscript was left looking bewildered at whatever had just entered the compound.
“Hey who the fuck are you-?” He called out, not understanding what was happening as he looked at Paskin as though he were some unexpected inspector. The alarm was not yet raised.
The Echo assassin vaulted the railing, drawing his blades from their sheathes even as the lone guard questioned his presence. He launched into the teliran, his o'ren sending a brief pulse of supernatural speed into Paskin's body. His strikes were surgical, slicing at the guards throat to silence him, before slashing lengthwise at his stomach, hoping to spill his guts and send him crumpling to the ground.
The slashing frenzy quickly sent the standing guard collapsing upon the floor. The soldiers below had not yet detected Paskin's presence, nor the jeopardisation of their own safety. Instead, they continued talking. There were about five troopers down in the courtyard below. Two were close to each other; talking, the others were sparsely spread, they either were patrolling the perimeter or going between cabins to handle chores.
One cabin was particularly notable. Its exterior indicated it to be some sort of electronics shelter; likely where their long-range communications with headquarters was being handled from.
Paskin crouched low to the floor of the tower, bringing a blade down into the neck of the incapacitated guard before giving the weapon a good twist to ensure that the guard didn't stand back up. His nostrils flared at the feeling of a good kill, and he moved to the cover of the low wall to peer at the compound below.
Five guards was hardly a challenge, but their dispersal meant that he would have to either sneak down and take them out one by one, or fire at them from up here while he had to height advantage. He thought for a moment, before looking back towards Shereza's position. Carefully, he made his way to the outer edge of the tower, signalling to the watching Teliran that the coast was clear for now.
An idea occurred to Paskin, and he took a step back towards the dead guard, looting through what belongings could be found.
Perhaps there would be something of use on you, yes?
There was little about the soldier’s accoutrements that made him particularly unique. For equipment the Teliran had been armed with a standard assault rifle, alongside a combat knife and a single fragmentation grenade. His binoculars were still intact, as was his radio. Aside from this equipment, the soldier’s pockets carried little on him besides a picture of what one would presume was his family alongside a packet of cigarettes and their lighter.
From the cliffs came a glint of Shereza’s own scope. The sign from Paskin was quickly responded to by the figure of the Teliran making a dart through the brush and towards the Echotian. The warlord made little effort to hide herself, evidently trusting the Echotian on his tactical assessment of safety. One the Teliran had made it to the perimeter she began clambering her way up the tower as stealthily as Paskin had, though significantly slower to ensure she didn’t slip up. Reaching the top of the tower, Shereza came to Paskin’s side and whispered as she withdrew her pistol,
“...All good?”
"Five targets, dispersed by unaware. Thought you may have some interest in how they are dealt with."
The Echotian inspected the gear momentarily, disregarding the grenade entirely, claiming the radio andthe small knife as his own. He slid the rest to Shereza to pick over should she care for it, though he did not seem to be eager to wait for a response.
Paskin held up the radio, considering an idea he had before turning to look at Shereza.
"We can pick them off easily from up here, or I can take out the rest by myself? I can also refrain from slaughtering them if it would suit you?"
Picking through a few of the things, Shereza looked down to the rest of the outpost occupations before going silent for a few moments and leaving the pair to nothing but the sounds below and the breeze of the plains. The warlord seemed to cock a brow to the offering of options to her, her response was simple.
“Kill them.”