Halfbreed Ch. 06

"The ship that was delivering the Shield Generator to us was not even scheduled to land on Ukavar." Lashvara's face pulled down into a frightening snarl. Her face scrunched up, and she bared her long teeth. "It was to be delivered directly to my Tribe, brought to the very same landing pad we just lifted off from." She shook her head back and forth in disgust. "For it to even be there in the first place is no coincidence. If we can gather the evidence we need, we may be able to bring this directly to the Imperial Senate."

"The Hail Mary." Mike murmured, "My kind of tactic."

Lashvara tilted her head to one side. "Hail Ma- what words do you blather from your mouth half the time, Smuggler?"

Allynna sighed. "Perhaps what my Captain intended to say is that your approach to this situation is foolhardy at best. You are hoping to resolve the issue with an inadequate and threadbare plan, one that does not solve the fundamental problem of your missing shield generator and the benefits it would have brought you."

"Do you have a better one?" Lashvara asked. Allynna was taken aback.

"Well, no. But this is not something I-"

"Then please, take some time to consider our options." Lashvara replied, adopting an amiable smile, "While you come up with a more adequate and foolproof plan, we can proceed with mine for the time being." Allynna's eyes narrowed on the Orc. She set her jaw and said nothing. "There's no purpose served in pouting, Elf. I long ago learned not to fear your kind's glares."

"I'd be more afraid of the knife that follows the glare, to be honest." Mike said.

Lashvara guffawed. "And who would command her to do something like that? Her Captain?"

"Only if he insisted." Allynna said in a quiet tone.

"And here I thought you were as cheerless as the rest of your kind." Lashvara said, smirking. "Don't get any funny ideas. I feel your anger when you focus on me. Mind that it doesn't become murderous, or I will be forced to restrain you."

"Heruen help me, are even your handcuffs psychic?!" Mike said, tugging at the band around his wrist.

"That leash you're wearing is connected to mine." Lashvara said, holding up her muscled arm to display a similar, thicker band wrapped around her wrist. "The last thing I want is for more bloodshed, but should either of you decide to act rashly upon your emotions, you'll face the consequences."

"How?" Mike said, making a show of feeling the surface for structural weaknesses. His fingernail caught on something indented near the palm, but he pretended like he hadn't noticed. "You install a torture field in one of these things?"

"A significant shock, applied directly to the nervous system, strong enough to knock you unconscious." Lashvara's smile deepened when Mike pulled his hand away from the wrist band, a nervous tingle running through his bones. Painful experiences working first at a Star Port and then later the local Goblin Frontier Patrol station in orbit as a mechanic left him leery of being shocked. "Much less complicated than a torture field. But no less effective."

"These devices are Goblin slave collars, illegal in Elven space." Allynna said, her eyes remaining fixed to Lashvara's. The Orc casually groped the rock formation in front of her. "...How did you acquire them?"

Lashvara let out a laugh, "Your people are much better at making up rules rather than enforcing them, Elf. Given your own acquired profession, you of all people should know how we got it."

"Her name's Allynna." Mike corrected her.

The Orc's hand clenched around a particular bulby protrusion atop the rock. "I'll extend to her the same courtesy she has extended me." Lashvara countered, folding her arms and staring directly at the recalcitrant Elf. "Do you think I am ignorant of your contempt for me, girl?"

"I am no girl." Allynna said, her tone of voice becoming icy. Her face was flat, expressionless and cold.

The Orcs' tone grew hotter in response. "Nor am I a savage beast. Yet all I feel from you is scorn and loathing. Your kind may be able to hide your ugliness from others, Aly. But not from me."

"Do not use that name." Allynna said in a low voice. "You wear my people's clothing, appropriate our technology like it was your own, and now you think to judge two hundred thousand years of history over a single, lost Shield Generator?" There was a strain of lethal anger in her words, one that caused Mike to rise up out of his chair. He clapped his hands as loudly as he could, startling the two and interrupting their stare down.

"Not a good method of garnering our support, Lass." Mike said. The Orc swiveled her gaze to him. "Imprisoning us after beating on me, restraining us with illegal tech, goading my first mate." He grinned at her, "Would you rather we dispense with the tribal justice, and instead have a nice, long chat with the local authorities when we land on Charity?"

Lashvara returned Mike's smile with equal vigor. Her hand lightly patted the top of her Grandfather's monument, running up and down the furrowed grating like rolling hills."I'm sure they'd be excited to speak with the two of you." She retorted, "Two criminals with the paper trail to prove it. What would the Gwaith Tracking Authority think: a licensed Captain leading his precious ward astray into smuggling? They'll take your license."

Mike shrugged. "I'll let you know when it starts to bother me. What do I care what the Elves think of me?"

"I'd ask your Mool'Gwaith that question." Lashvara said, turning to look at the stone-faced Elf sitting across the table. "She's the one who chose to lay with you."

Allynna moved to rise. Mike snapped his fingers and pointed at her seat.

"Aly, sit down." He said, using his Captain's voice. She stopped her motion and collapsed back into her seat, smoldering. Mike set his jaw and turned his chest to face the smirking Orc, no longer faking a smile. "Present company aside, I couldn't give a credit chit what they think of me. Their licence was a 'gift' that I didn't want from them in the first place. Allynna can tell you that herself."

"-But what of her?" Lashvara said, her tone of voice softening as she struck a chord in Mike's chest. "Do you wish to see her recalled by her people, shamed for the crimes you've committed by bringing her into your smuggling?" Mike said nothing. "You and I are bartering for something exceedingly valuable right now, Michael. I trust you to understand and fully comprehend the stakes of this deal."

"It's Mike." He said.

"A deal made under duress is not a deal at all." Allynna said, the tension in her voice shining through every syllable that filtered through her gritted teeth.

Lashvara shrugged, "It is still a choice you get to make, and one I allow you to do freely. The fact that this 'deal' has so few options is a result of your mistakes, not mine." Her face softened, "...I am not ignorant to your plight, nor am I attempting to make light of the difficult situation you have been thrust into, however unwitting your actions ultimately were. But these are the circumstances in which we find ourselves, and for the sake of my people, we must see it through."

"How far into this Black Hole of an investigation are we going?" Mike said, "Fignet is not a Dwarf to be crossed, and he has contacts with the Loupian Cartels."

"We go until my people's honor has been sated." Lashvara said. "We have been wronged, and that wrong must be put right. This is your penance. And while I wish I could simply ask you to repay it without the need for coercion, I know that Aliens have a fickle sense of responsibility at the best of times."

"You don't say." Mike said, sitting back down in his chair as he quietly fiddled underneath the table with the band around his wrist.

"...You said Fignet runs the Opal Eye." Lashvara said, pursing her lips. "Where is it?"

For the first time since crashing the Halfbreed, Mike seriously considered the prospect of meeting Fignet Opalbraid face to face. "Not far from the Spaceport, just on the other side of the Alien Quarter." He said, putting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers. "It's a hub for tourists and overnight visitors. Popular with the local gangs too."

"Then we head there the moment we land." Lashvara said.

Mike let out a contemptuous laugh. "And do what, exactly? Demand a refund for the stolen goods?"

"Seek answers." Lashvara said.

"You'll find none." Allynna replied. "Beyond Fignet being a criminal, Dwarves value business discretion above all else. He will not give you the details of his transactions."

The Orc let out a growl. "-Then the two of you will return to Votar and endure a short trial, followed shortly thereafter by a firing squad. Would you rather I foster your hope, or revel in your misery?"

"I'd probably take my chances with the airlock at this point." Mike said, planting a boot against the table once more. "At least the cold void of space won't harp endlessly at me about honor and feelings for an hour before killing me."

Lashvara let out a gruff chuckle. "Deflect with humor if you must, Mike. When a blade is at your throat, it is ill-advised to laugh." Mike watched as the Orc stood up once more and made for the door leading into the ship's thoroughfare.

"Where are you going?"

Lashvara spared him a glance. "I need to check on Tennik and Mazoga. We'll be landing shortly."

Mike's eyebrow rose. "They're piloting this hunk of junk?"

Lashvara guffawed, "-As opposed to you? At least with Mazoga piloting, we're less likely to crash."

"Says you." Mike said, giving her his winning smile, "Give me the pilot's seat, see if I can't get us there faster."

Lashvara laughed as she punched in the code to unlock the door and stepped through. The bulkhead sealed shut behind her, leaving Mike and Aly alone in the room together.

No longer saving face for the sake of an audience, Mike's calculated smile faded away. He glanced over at Aly, who stared at the table, her face an empty shell. It was inscrutable enough that even Mike had trouble reading it. He stood up and circled the table, plopping down into the seat next to her. He let out a long sigh.

"...You okay?" He asked.

Allynna stared at the table. "You told me to sit down."

Mike let out a huff of air. He reached out with his right hand, placing it atop her left and filtering his fingers through her own. "I did. You were about to do something we'd have both regretted."

"She's using us." She said.

"And?" Mike said. "Can you honestly blame her, given what's happened? We're her only lead on an investigation that impacts her entire species; I'm still shocked we were ever even allowed out of our prison cell in the first place."

"My people don't lie, Michael." Allynna said, her voice filled with a peculiar kind of guilt. "She all but accused us of sabotaging the Orcs."

"Whether or not they did is sort of beside the point at the moment." Mike replied, causing his Elf to look up at him. "We need to talk to Fignet."

"He won't be pleased to see us." Allynna said.

Mike chuckled. "That makes two of us. I intend to have some words with that duplicitous little snake." Allynna's face did not change. Mike could see she was in firm control of her expression. "-You sure you're okay?"

"I do not know, Michael." She said. His fingers played across the surface of the metal leash around her left wrist. "She did not lie about the consequences, should the Orcs inform the Tracking Authority about our recent activities."

"That just keeps things interesting." He said, flashing her his winning smile. "We wouldn't want things to be too easy for us, would we?"

Allynna let out a soft sigh and glanced away. Mike caught glimpse of a growing smirk before it dissipated across her neutral expression like a morning fog.

"No." She said, putting her right hand atop his own. "I suppose we wouldn't."

Mike glanced down at her hand, quirking an eyebrow. "Brazen." He said. When he looked back her blue eyes were fixed to him.

"I have no idea what you are referring to, Captain." She said, squeezing his hand.

"No indeed, my lovely first mate." Mike said, leaning forward. Her eyes lidded and she did the same. "You never were much for innuen-" Allynna silenced him with a kiss.

It was odd, kissing an Elf. Maddening in its familiarity, yet at the same time bafflingly alien. Her head moved differently, her lips were shaped just off from what a human's felt like. It almost felt like he was balancing his mouth on the head of a pin, yet the Elf clung to him all the same.

Her arms went around him, her fingers curling on his shoulders as she held him in place, her tongue sliding in to meet his own in his mouth. She was suddenly in his lap. His hand went to her hip, her palm touched his shoulder. They both pulled away at the same moment, their eyes clinging to one another for longer than their bodies did.

Allynna kept her face even. Mike grinned at her, causing the cultivated look to collapse into an annoyed scowl.

"Later." She said, scolding him as if he had been the one to initiate. Mike let out a snort.

"Think you can last that long?"

Allynna quirked an eyebrow, "...Do you intend to leave me begging?"

Mike grinned. "Only if you get down on your knees when you do it." She lightly slapped his face. "Hey! Peace treaty!"

"Elves don't deal with savages." She said, a dangerous smile growing on her lips.

"Given the circumstances, I can personally attest to that not being the case." Mike said, brushing the back of his hand across her cheek for a moment before his touch drifted to her intricate braid. "Cute look. I never took you for the basket-weaving type."

She batted his hand away. "Your constant criticism of my culture is both relentless and unasked for."

"Too bad you like both those traits when we're alone, huh?" Mike said, getting a last playful kiss on her nose in before the Elf reluctantly peeled herself off of him. "Think you can manage to keep your knife in its holster for the duration? Odds are good our Orcish friend is going to keep poking you like this."

Allynna set her jaw as she took her seat once more. "I will attempt a modicum of civility."

Mike laughed. He reached out, tugging at her left hand to pull it closer to him on the table. "You aren't exactly filling me with confidence here, Aly."

Allynna watched as he began to poke and prod at the band around her wrist, turning her gloved hand over so that the white palm faced upwards. "Perhaps you simply do not trust me to act accordingly, Captain."

"Oh, I trust you fine." Mike said, finding the same groove that he had before in his own band. He formed a precise gesture with his right hand, creating a thin, needlelike implement with the liquid metal at his wrist. "It's your temper that I'm worried about."

"I long ago learned to keep such base emotions in check." She said in a haughty tone.

"Huh..." Mike said, leaning close to the metal band as he squinted at it with one eye. "You know, this is the first time I think I've ever heard an outright lie from an Elf before. It's weird, like seeing an ocean that's the color yellow."

"You insult my people with an aggravating frequency, Michael." Allynna said, shifting in place as he held her arm steady.

"Who said anything about your people?" Mike said, his eyes flicking up to meet hers for a long, teasing moment before focusing back on his work. The metal tool jolted around the indent on the band as it searched for weak points.

Allynna scowled. "So you admit that you intentionally insult me, specifically."

Mike shrugged, "According to you, that's better than saying something bad about your Great-Grandmother thrice removed, cause Freya forbid something happens that sullies the honor of your father's House."

Allynna's expression softened. "Michael-"

"Look Aly," He said, jostling the tool around in the small gap he'd made in the metal. "You can't make me like him just because he's got the same over-complicated last name as you do. He's not coming to rescue us, and he sure as hell wouldn't try to if he knew what was happening."

"That's not true." She whispered. The Elf fell silent. Mike continued to fiddle with the band, but could make no significant progress. At last he pulled back, releasing his grip on her hand as he let out a frustrated sigh.

"Fucking Gobbo tech." Mike muttered, "Those slop-headed gene splicers really know how to make an incomprehensible device."

"It's a modified version of a slave collar that they used to manufacture, back before the Madness." Allynna said, lifting her hand and pointing to specific points on the band. "If what Lashvara told us is true, the Orcs have removed the device's lethality, and toned down the electric shock. The latch rests on the palm side of the hand, but there's a small kinetic barrier keeping the two pieces welded together. Conventional methods of removal wont work."

"Hm..." Mike said, rubbing his chin, "So we can't pick the lock, and I'm assuming the circuits are insulated from electricity, for obvious reasons."

"You could short-circuit the kinetic barrier." Allynna said, her lips flattening. "...But a slight mistake would cause the device to go off, defeating the purpose entirely."

"I like those odds." Mike said, smiling.

Allynna shook her head back and forth and sighed. A soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Of course you would."

"Hold on." Mike said, lifting his left hand up to examine his leash as he formed another hand gesture with his right. The liquid metal reshaped into a thicker tool. "Let me see if I can-"

"What are you doing?" The Elf asked him. She held out her left hand. "Use mine. You'll have better leverage, and have both hands to work with."

Mike paused. "...I'd rather not."

"Yet you'll cut your own, already abrupt life cycle short for the sake of an uncertain escape." Allynna said, quirking an eyebrow.

Mike grinned, "I gotta stay consistent, at least."

"My translator made that out to mean 'overly obstinate and foolish to the point of idiocy.'" Allynna retorted, a playful gleam entering her eye. She held out her wrist in an insistent manner. "Use your hands, Michael. You'll have a better chance to free us both this way."

Mike let out a sigh. "Jeez, enough with the guilting already! You're worse than a Fairy with that stuff." He pulled her hand to him, examining the band as he looked for the indent. His fingers trailed across her palm, her own fingers curled gently around his in response. "Stick some wings on your back and you could become a citizen of the Federation of the Fae."

He jutted it into the device, working around its innards till he felt an unnatural resistance from the metal he tried to push against. "All right, there's the barrier." he said, twisting his wrist just slightly to the left as he prodded at its edges. "Now where's that circu-"

He felt the indent again, jabbing his instrument deep into the band. There was a loud, sickening snap, and the band popped open, splitting apart and freeing Allynna's wrist. She lifted her hand, rubbing at the free skin. "You... succeeded." She said, a note of marvel in her voice.

Mike snorted, "Because you thought I'd fail? Thanks for the vote of confidence, my loyal first mate."

Her Elven eyes snapped up to glare at him. "That is not what I meant and you know it."

"Do I?" He said, trailing off the final syllable while wearing an insufferable smile on his face. Allynna scowled.

"I am beginning to regret offering you my hand to tinker with." She said in a haughty tone.

Mike laughed and turned his hand over, preparing to repeat the process upon himself. "It's a little late for expressing regrets with me, Aly. That might have been better served - oh, I don't know, sometime before last night?"