Re: The Fearsome Encounter (GBS3G8) [Round 2: Oh Two Oh]
05-24-2012, 01:19 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.
The room she was in was dark and small and cramped. She could feel something pressing against her side.
With some thuds and some banging that made something fall on her head, she balanced on two legs and maneuvered a few of her arms around until one of them was in front of her face, clutching a piece of paper. She blinked through her coin and through her goggles. The little slip read ‘please obtain one (1) spacebot.’
She really didn’t appreciate any of this. She really wasn’t obligated to do anything for some guy who teleported her in some cramped closet and ordered her around without even any payment up front. She wanted to know what this supposed job was, she guessed, but only because she was curious. And she had to admit that she wasn’t one to not show off her skills. Even if she didn’t know whatever the hell a ‘spacebot’ was.
Her musings were suddenly interrupted by somebody opening the door. She just barely managed to avoid sprawling out on the floor by quickly propping a foot down before she fell. The being that had opened the door was annoyingly unfamiliar to her, vaguely shaped like a vole, but noticeably nothing like one. Its plated shell was jet black and covered its entire back. Its snout seemed to actually be its mouth, which opened three ways and was ringed by thin tendrils that twitched in the air. Its underside held a pouch.
None of this was especially interesting to Cepra, who quickly reached over and clamped its mouth shut with one hand and held a threateningly sharp claw to its throat with another. It was only then she took the chance to casually look around.
What she had just tumbled out of was some sort of storage room, holding what seemed to be a surprisingly large number of weapons. Looking back, she saw that the not-vole was unfolding a third arm from behind its back and trying to silently prepare some other sort of weapon. With a swift backhand, it went clattering to the ground.
“Nothing personal,” she said, sounding vaguely distracted. “You were just unfortunate.” And she slit its throat before tossing it into the storage room she had so recently been transported in. After a second thought, she took a sizeable pouch off of the not-vole’s belt. It jingled.
Cepra pushed her way through some sort of rug that served as a doorway to the stall outside, which happened to be decorated with colorful fruits. A rather small alien paused in the middle of snatching away something plump and yellow, but she waved a jangling hand and stepped over the wares. The little alien kid blinked some exceedingly large eyes before dashing off.
Despite some unfamiliar surroundings, Cepra knew a black market when she saw one. And she relaxed. She knew this. She knew her way around this place, metaphorically if not physically.
She walked, doing her best to tower over the crowd, and made a beeline for another stall, making eye contact with the owner and giving a curt nod. The owner nodded in return and rolled backwards to pull aside the curtains for her and they both ducked in.
“Tell me where to find spacebots,” she said before the stall owner had a chance to reveal his secret stock.
Behind a face that looked like a gas mask, the alien hesitated. “Hhhhhwon’t be easy. Hhhhhnot open to public.”
Cepra flipped a few of the recently-pilfered currency at the thing. “That’s fine. Just tell me where.”
“Hhhhhyou want military stuff. Hhhhhbehind high-clearance. Hhhhhhcloser to the bridge, to the Admiral.”
It didn’t really mean anything to her beyond one of the words sounding like a word she had half-heard while mostly ignoring whatever the squishy employer said. But it certainly sounded challenging.
She left. It didn’t occur to her to ask what a spacebot looked like in the first place.
The room she was in was dark and small and cramped. She could feel something pressing against her side.
With some thuds and some banging that made something fall on her head, she balanced on two legs and maneuvered a few of her arms around until one of them was in front of her face, clutching a piece of paper. She blinked through her coin and through her goggles. The little slip read ‘please obtain one (1) spacebot.’
She really didn’t appreciate any of this. She really wasn’t obligated to do anything for some guy who teleported her in some cramped closet and ordered her around without even any payment up front. She wanted to know what this supposed job was, she guessed, but only because she was curious. And she had to admit that she wasn’t one to not show off her skills. Even if she didn’t know whatever the hell a ‘spacebot’ was.
Her musings were suddenly interrupted by somebody opening the door. She just barely managed to avoid sprawling out on the floor by quickly propping a foot down before she fell. The being that had opened the door was annoyingly unfamiliar to her, vaguely shaped like a vole, but noticeably nothing like one. Its plated shell was jet black and covered its entire back. Its snout seemed to actually be its mouth, which opened three ways and was ringed by thin tendrils that twitched in the air. Its underside held a pouch.
None of this was especially interesting to Cepra, who quickly reached over and clamped its mouth shut with one hand and held a threateningly sharp claw to its throat with another. It was only then she took the chance to casually look around.
What she had just tumbled out of was some sort of storage room, holding what seemed to be a surprisingly large number of weapons. Looking back, she saw that the not-vole was unfolding a third arm from behind its back and trying to silently prepare some other sort of weapon. With a swift backhand, it went clattering to the ground.
“Nothing personal,” she said, sounding vaguely distracted. “You were just unfortunate.” And she slit its throat before tossing it into the storage room she had so recently been transported in. After a second thought, she took a sizeable pouch off of the not-vole’s belt. It jingled.
Cepra pushed her way through some sort of rug that served as a doorway to the stall outside, which happened to be decorated with colorful fruits. A rather small alien paused in the middle of snatching away something plump and yellow, but she waved a jangling hand and stepped over the wares. The little alien kid blinked some exceedingly large eyes before dashing off.
Despite some unfamiliar surroundings, Cepra knew a black market when she saw one. And she relaxed. She knew this. She knew her way around this place, metaphorically if not physically.
She walked, doing her best to tower over the crowd, and made a beeline for another stall, making eye contact with the owner and giving a curt nod. The owner nodded in return and rolled backwards to pull aside the curtains for her and they both ducked in.
“Tell me where to find spacebots,” she said before the stall owner had a chance to reveal his secret stock.
Behind a face that looked like a gas mask, the alien hesitated. “Hhhhhwon’t be easy. Hhhhhnot open to public.”
Cepra flipped a few of the recently-pilfered currency at the thing. “That’s fine. Just tell me where.”
“Hhhhhyou want military stuff. Hhhhhbehind high-clearance. Hhhhhhcloser to the bridge, to the Admiral.”
It didn’t really mean anything to her beyond one of the words sounding like a word she had half-heard while mostly ignoring whatever the squishy employer said. But it certainly sounded challenging.
She left. It didn’t occur to her to ask what a spacebot looked like in the first place.