As summoned by Captain Kaze Dagon of the Bretonia Armed Forces for the cooperation a day ealier, the Apahanta found itself at the requested coordinates.
The atmosphere was rather tense. Ezrael and Sherry were moving through the hallways of the ship, heading for the hangar. "Apahanta, please stream a copy of all surveillance footage on Captain Dagon on the ship to the CV-Apotheosis. Just in case she uses an EMP or something."
"Will that be necessary?" Sherry asked him as they headed for the lift. "I thought she is an ally."
"We treat her as such as long as she is behaving like a Bretonian," Ezrael clarified. "The circumstances of this meeting have changed, Sherry. It's not happening on the Ark Royal, but outside of Bretonia in a spot where nobody will find us that easily. If that doesn't sound fishy at all..."
They entered the lift and Sherry pushed the button for the hangar deck. "What do you think she's up to?"
"I don't know. We'll just play along for now. If she's doing something weird, we can fuck her over later." The lift moved and stopped, opening the doors and they moved out. "She's willing to do anything and everything to get Bretonia an advantage. Admiral McIntire seemed to have great trust into her. However she isn't a person of trust but of control. So we'll make her think she's in control. No guns, nothing suspicious. This needs to look like we're welcoming an ally to our ship."
Understanding, Sherry nodded while the Apahanta performed the tasks Ezrael ordered her to. Hiddein in the shadow of Eris, the Apahanta uncloaked the moment Kaze would appear on the ship's sensors. Docking lights indicating the way to the Mako's hangar, the snub moved to land on the capital ship. The hangar was not too big, offering only space for two small ships. Right now, there was only a black Gitano-class snubcraft in there, one of the Apahanta's Rovers. Enough space for a Templar was given. Yet, it was not a Templar that entered the bay. It was an all black clad Marlin, with the HN-C11 Edge Worlds engine leaving a red plume as it shut down. Less than a minute later, the entrance door to the cockpit opened and a pilot slid down the stairs, reaching the floor in less than two seconds. Removing the helmet, the dark brown hair, almost black, swung to the side as Kaze Dagon combed it with her fingers, looking around for whoever was there to greet her. It was two people who would await Kaze. One was a woman dressed in one of the skin-tight black-blue Apahanta suits. Long chestnut-colored hair, firm countenance, her hands folded behind her back. She was as tall as the person next to her was: Ezrael. Just like her, he was wearing the ship's unique uniform, having his arms folded infront of his chest as Kaze appeared on the scene. They stood about twenty meters away from her, obviously expecting her to close in to them, not the other way around. Ezrael was not smiling, and mostly eyeing the Marlin. It was a long time ago a Code snub had found its way into this hangar. "Welcome to the Apahanta, Captain Dagon," the athletic Commander sounded to greet the, what Ezrael perceived as grumpy, woman.
Placing the helmet into a small security container that seamlessly protruded from the Marlin's hull, it closed in and the access staircases to the cockpit entrance did the same. Not even looking back twice, she walked towards the persons that were awaiting for them, removing her gloves, both her hands seemingly normal. Kaze stopped in front of them, steel like face and looked at both the man and the woman. Nodding, she rose her hand in greeting. "Thank you for having me. I hope the Core... tech is not an issue?"
"It's not," Ezrael replied, looking at the explosion of emotions readible from Kaze's face. "Just an uncommon sight. Anyway, welcome aboard. This is Commander Sherry Aguilar, the second-in-command here on the Apahanta. If you don't mind it, she will be with us for the duration of the debriefing," the Curacaoan explained, scanning Kaze with his eyes without hiding it. Both Sherry and Ezrael ignored the hand.
"Not at all." Kaze replied, removing the hand that she offered and placing her self straight in a military fashion. "Commander Aguilar."
For the glimpse of a second, there was a hint of a smile on Sherry's face. The last time she was met with military fashion was more than two years ago. Before the defection. "Captain Dagon." Nodding slightly, she then remained quiet as she was only the second fiddle here.
"I am afraid I never got to get myself an office on this ship, Captain, so I would like you to follow us to the canteen. It is not far from here and offers everything we need for the debriefing," Ezrael explained, only to add a smirk. "Tea and coffee will be there, too."
Kaze breathed in, nodding. "Yes, it is of no issue." She scanned the bay, mostly automated. "I am certain this will not take long." She turned her head back at both of them.
"Please follow, then," Ezrael said invitingly, turning around to lead the way to the next-best corridor. They would require to use a lift and then walk a minute until they would arrive at the canteen. So they began to move. "You could of course yell at me here already," he joked as aimed for the corridor. Sherry waited for Kaze, intending to walk behind her.
Kaze rose an eyebrow. "There is a time and place for that, Mr. Vertiga." Placing her hands behind her back, the nano skin from her bionic hand receded and showed the truth beneath. Black cold hard metal.
Such sights weren't new to Sherry. During her time with the Core, she saw things like that on a daily basis. On Yaren, the Apahanta, the Athena, on Durban. Guiding the former Commodore, Ezrael lead her to the first lift. Enough space for three people without body contact. "When do you expect to be Commodore again, Captain?" he asked her, smirking slightly. "Following the pattern, the next meeting after this is on one of your ships again." The pattern he refered to was based on the fact the first meeting they had was on the CV-Apotheosis, his GMG gunship, at the Ark Royal. The second meeting was at the York, in her office. This was the third meeting, again on one of his ships.
Kaze's eyes were fixated on the far wall, and she folded her arms over her chest. "My current rank, previous or future one is of no consequence to me. I will do my duty in any circumstance. Today as well." She finally blinked and looked at Ezrael. "As for patterns, yes, it is a curious one. But I wanted to conduct this debriefing here for two reasons." Her eyes looked at Sherry and then back at Ezrael. "One, you value your privacy and I wanted it to happen far from prying eyes. That is why I said initially to be in the Ark Royal, and for that I am sorry for misdirecting you."
"I noticed there is a certain distrust between you and the SIS. They informed me to not disclose any details about the recent event with anyone. Agent Skirka explicitly mentioned your name after that." The lift doors opened again and Ezrael moved first. Sherry was waiting for Kaze once more. They would enter a similar hallway as before. White lights illuminated the way. "Why is that? What caused your change of rank, if you allow that question, Captain Dagon?"
Kaze unfolded her arms and resumed her military style, arms behind her back, following Ezrael. "Nothing sordid, I can assure you. As you well know, I initiated the SIS project, and my..." She paused her sentence. "Experience is of much use to a burgeoning Intelligence agency. I was called upon every once in a while." Her eyes looked to the side and she stopped, to a specific panel in the wall. Much like the others around. "Automatic defenses. Self-powered, Commander Aguilar?" Kaze asked without turning her back.
"Detroit Munitions' finest," Sherry responded. Clever woman, she thought, having expected nothing less.
"This puts me into a very uncomfortable position, Captain Dagon. How do we talk about something we both witnessed but aren't permitted to talk about? Both BAF and SIS have been reliable allies to us, and hopefully vice versa. Would be a shame if I was forced to displease one of them," Ezrael said, smirking at her before turning around again to guide her to the canteen. It was already in sight.
Kaze resumed her walk, following Ezrael. "While I do understand that you are used to be in comfortable positions, Mr. Vertiga, I am not here to force you to take actions that will damage your current position with Bretonia. Be it with the Armed Forces or the Service." Her eyes kept looking at the surroundings. "And with that said, I must say that I am sorry, once again."
"A lot of things you're sorry about," Ezrael sounded as the two doors to the canteen opened automatically, revealing the wide room with multiple tables and benches, a long counter with two Kishiro Service Robots behind them. There were decorative plants in all corners, monitors at the walls on stand-by and most importantly, three cups and two pots on the counter. Ezrael lead them to the first-best table next to the counter, gesturing them to take a seat while he aimed for the pots.
Two cups were in a metallic design, basic military fashion. The third cup was white and had a cartoon cat on it, sitting on a cartoon-version of the Apahanta. That was Ezrael's cup, a gift from someone. "Tea or coffee, Captain?" Ezrael asked her, placing the pots on the table.
"Tea, thank you." She sat, putting both hands on top of the table. "In this line of work, Mr. Vertiga, one is sorry of many things. Necessary things, but still something to be sorry about." She looked around. " I lied to you in Tau-31 as you lied to me the last time we met."
"That is something you need to explain," Ezrael said, filling Kaze's cup with tea. It was curacaoan tea, naturally sweetened without additional sugar. The scent of honey was noticable. Sherry filled her cup with coffee, while Ezrael filled his own cringy cup with tea as well. "About what have we been lying?"
"I had need to speak with you, thus I arranged an excuse there and then. I know very well you fired in self-defense after you uncloaked three clicks in front of the Osiris. A bait, true, but you held your fire until the last moment." She smelled the tea, and sipped it. "You lied to me back then to protect people you obviously love. No harm no foul on that chapter, was slightly expecting it."
"I see. So this confirms my fear of this not being a simple disciplinary speech about the bretonian hierarchy on the battlefield and the bretonian etiquette," Ezrael concluded, putting the pot aside, placing his gloved hands left and right on the cup. "What is it you actually want to talk about, then."
Kaze sipped some more of the tea. "The future, Mr. Vertiga. I have finished my assessment on the path that this war will take." She produced a small case of cretan cigars and looked at Sherry. "May I?"
Sherry nodded, knowing though that Ezrael didn't like that at all. The only smoke he enjoyed was the black smoke released by an exploding Osiris-class warship in Tau-31 a day ago. "Go on, tell us about the future," Ezrael said, eyeing every little movement of her.
Kaze removed one of the cigars and lit it, exhaling the smoke. The cigar produced a lazy tendril going up to the ceiling. "Gallia will amass their strength for a complete and utter annihilation of all forces in New London. They will be looking to make a statement to Sirius. All of it." She looked around for an ashtray, finding none. She then placed the ash onto her bionic hand. "The moment the jump-gate is done in Leeds, their battlegroups will pour into New London. I expect less that then two weeks after that event, they will attack."
"They will need an exit point in New London, won't they?" he asked her, looking at the ashes in her hand. Sherry stood up, as she was here just to watch over them. While they didn't have ashtrays on the ship, as nobody here was smoking, she figured there probably was something else in the kitchen behind the counter for the ashes. "I believe the Newcastle gate once was connected with with Leeds. Both systems are in that general direction."
Kaze nodded. "Yes, Newcastle will be cut off according with the little intel I have. Still to be confirmed, but it is logical since Newcastle has the Ark Royal battlegroup. Cutting that from the equation is more than a decent idea." She smoked again. "Since they will be pouring everything into New London, they will still try to guarantee that Newcastle does not get into the fight. So I assume that either the Dax or Guillestre battlegroups will be placed in Newcastle to tie the Ark Royal and the Newcastle assets in place." Once again, ash fell into her bionic hand.
Ezrael took a deep breath, nodding in understanding. "So what do you suggest? An attack on the gate construction site in Leeds? The Apahanta is not strong enough to deal significant amounts of damage to such structures," he clarified. It was sort of true, with the current equipment. He didn't want to mention that there are other possibilities in those regards.
"No, nothing of the sort. I am not looking for dangerous maneuvers capable of costing us too much that will only delay the inevitable." She took another smoke and proceeded to put it out in the bionic hand. Kaze carefully crunched it, as not to let any ash fall, and then suddenly, she closed her fist and a brief red hue was shown. Kaze opened the hand, and nothing else was residing in its palm.
Time passed fast, as Ezrael perceived it. Captain Dagon took a while to get to the point, explaining the situation in detail. A little too much detail for his concern. She had an elaborate plan that involved the unique capabilities and a possible upgrade for the Apahanta, sponsored by certain funds available to Kaze. In the end, they shook hands, yet the meeting was not over yet. There were other topics to talk about.
As they parted, she crossed her legs and laid her hands in her lap. "So, what did the brilliant mind of Skirka thought I shouldn't know about?"
Ezrael cleared his throat and looked at Sherry for a moment. Then he hid half of his face behind his cup. Instead of him, Sherry began to talk. "Agent Skirka classified the entire incident, beginning from the very moment the Apahanta picked up the Order signatures in New London until the very moment the Apahanta was about to moor with the Ark Royal for the initially planned meeting. Since that didn't happen, we jumped to our little hideout and began the repairs. In the meantime, Ezrael and I filed a report to the SIS. The Captain is sadly not permitted to tell you anything about it, however I didn't sign anything yet, neither verbally nor on paper." For a moment, Sherry smirked at Kaze, then she stood up and moved over to one of the walls with monitors. "Apahanta, please load up my prepared report to the SIS and display it on this monitor."
The ship did as she commanded and the large monitor displayed all eight attachments that were sent to the SIS by Ezrael a day earlier. "We found the Order not too far away from Kensington Shipping Platform, near the Devon Asteroid Field. The OCV Golanski, under command of an invididual called Inquisitor Darkness, was talking with a woman in a Sichel-class LWB VHF, designation Megaera. The name refers to the ancient greek mythological character of the same name, a fury with jealousy and envy as main traits. SIS wants us to have an eye on her and report any activities of her, reason unknown. Megaera appears to be befriended with Golanski. The OCV Golanski, a Geb-class carrier-battlecruiser-hybrid, was containing, according to our sensors, human organs and a whole load of people in the cargo bay. It also was in the possession of two rare and expensive guns called Breaker."
Sherry continued like that, with the Apahanta visualizing what she was refering to the entire time. Basically, everything mentioned in the report, was explained to Kaze. Sherry didn't wait for any possible questions coming up and sat down next to Ezrael when she was finished. She didn't tell the Apahanta to turn off the visuals yet.
Kaze looked at the transcripts and nodded in thanks to Sherry. She then looked at Ezrael. "You do know that technicalities like the one you just executed will get you into trouble one day?"
"Likely. I leave it up to you whether you want an ally to suffer consequences for that," Ezrael simply said, as pretty much everything between the Apahanta and Bretonia was based on Kaze and the decisions she would make. "If you do not make me regret this, I will not make you regret it either. Fair deal."
Kaze nodded. "I do not. I am fine with it, to be honest." She looked again at the transcripts. "The Official Secrets Act. Oh Webber."
"Weber. Rheinlandian name," Sherry corrected her.
"How is Admiral McIntire, by the way? Didnt get to see the good man in a while, I hope he is still standing," Ezrael asked her. McIntire was a nice fellow.
"He stands tall. Tallest of us all. He is very well. I give thanks for him." She replied, looking with a slight smirk at Sherry for her correction. "Webbie, as it is, has a mouthpiece in the form of Skirka. A nosy ferret if you have not noticed." She uncrossed her legs and leaned back. "And as all ferrets, if you squeeze too tight, they all sing. Weber will want you to sign the OSA."
"Skirka mentioned we will need to sign some paper for the bretonian burocracy. Do you think that will be a problem for us?" Ezrael asked her, obviously rather relaxed about it.
"Yes and no." She replied, looking back the screen. "The OSA is basically a non-disclosure agreement covering you and the SIS. As in, the one signing is under obligation not to speak a word of current and past work for the Service. Failure to comply can range from a fine to death." Her bionic rubbed its own palm. "You should ask for something in return."
"Well, on one hand, a little bit of monetary compensation for the battle in Tau-31 would be nice, to cover the repair costs. On the other hand, I did request permission to use bretonian shipyards for repairs and maintenance. Doubt there is more I can get out of that," Ezrael told her, not being worried about shady actions from Bretonia's side.
Kaze shrugged slightly. "It is a good counter-offer, something that Weber can probably accommodate. Either way, I wouldn't be worried about it from the Bretonian side." She looked at Ezrael. "We don't tend to ride people like Loyola rode you."
He couldn't help but smirk at her about that. "I bet she was angry for it appearing on the media. Her own fault," Ezrael said, thinking the first parts of those videos were strongly in his favour. "Well, now that we finished that topic, is there anything else you want to talk about, Captain Dagon?"
"Well, apart that this meeting consisted of me being very angry, almost decapitating you for not following orders, even threatening Command Aguilar there of banning her from Bretonia..." She looked at Sherry and nodded. "Only enquiring on Ms. Sweetwater."
Ezrael looked down at his cup as Kaze mentioned Nancy. It was no secret at this point anymore, there was no reason to hide it. Grabbing the tea pot, he refilled his cup with slightly steaming deliciousness, then looked up again to face Kaze. "Miss Sweetwater is, within her conditional limits, fine. I can assure you she is not on this ship, and to be honest, I don't see her often anymore. We reached the limits of improving her quality of life. Her memory issues are still there and triggered by physical and emotional stress. As you probably know, I have been working towards her redemption in Bretonia for the things her former self did, but circumstances have caused her to not trust that clearing her criminal records can redeem her fully. People know her face and her name. She would never be safe in Bretonia with a history like hers," Ezrael explained, lifting his cup again. "She was actually mad at me for trying to get something done with the SIS to help her, not trusting them. Because of that, she refuses to enter the Apahanta again and will most likely leave for good, to a location I don't know about."
Kaze crossed her legs again, folding her arms, in thought. "I see. That is problematic." Her eyes trailed Sherry and Ezrael. "The Witch... I am certain you have met her. Does she know?"
"Kalliste knows, yes," he confirmed.
Kaze nodded, her jaw tensing. "A storm is brewing, Mr. Vertiga. And I am not talking about the war." She sighed and finally got up. "I believe we are done. Evidently, I ask that what we discussed here not to be shared with anyone. Anyone. The knowledge I imparted onto to you is vital for the survival of Bretonia." Her eyes trailed Sherry. "This meeting and contents of it must remain between us three."
"It will. Just tell me about the storm and what Nancy and Kalliste have to do with that," he said, giving her a firm look.
Kaze placed her hands into her pockets, and sighed. "There are some things that I distance myself on purpose, Mr. Vertiga. Others, I place myself right in front. This one, I felt the pull. But I chose to ignore it, to keep myself focused." Her eyes trailed the screen still spewing the camera feed from the Tau-31 battle. "I do know Silver is heading towards it. She cannot resist it. Like a siren call, we all feel it in our bones. I am afraid Ms. Sweetwater is feeling it too." She turned to Vertiga, looking straight at him. "Gallia?" She asked.
"Answer my question and I answer yours," Ezrael said, trying to allow any intimidation from Kaze. The Core was filled with people like her, and he still ended up in bed with many of them.
"It is as I said, Mr. Vertiga. I feel it. Silver feels it. Anyone that dwelled as deep and as long like we have... We're drawn to the linchpin of conflict. To the core of it all." She looked at Aguilar and shrugged. "And I feel it tugging me towards Gallia. Silver is already heading there, with another Reaver in tow. I am afraid Ms. Sweetwater feels it too."
"What's your color," he asked, not really pronouncing it as question. She just confirmed she indeed is, or was, a Reaver.
"Hm. I am afraid I do not trust you sufficiently for that, Mr. Vertiga, even although I just did confirmed it." She looked back at the screens. "I wasn't a color. I was the one Silver sent to kill Reavers, when they would have step out of line, when they had forgotten who we were." She folded her arms, focusing on a detail in the screen. "All that is there to know is that Reavers take care of their own if they are in need."
"I take it Admiral McIntire knows about your past?" he asked her. "He seemed to have full trust in you. So I guess Nancy wouldn't have been the first Reaver that had a change of heart accepted by Bretonia."
"McIntire knows, of course. As did O'Brian." She nodded. "I did had to prove myself, countless times. And the way I was introduced... it was not the customary one. I was incarcerated for years. And I never hunted in Bretonia or Bretonians."
"I see." Ezrael leaned back slightly, taking a sip of his tea, then looked at Sherry for a second. She was patiently sitting next to him, keeping her eyes on the guest. "So, you expect the Reavers to move to Gallia. To do what?" This was the very question.
"I do not know. What I know is being told by experience. Sephardi. Rhade. Omega-3 War. Katz. Tau. Hale. Mercenary Wars. Kogen. Delta. Loyola." She eyed the exchange of looks and placed her hands in her pockets. "This... instinct, this feeling pulls us towards the eye of the storm, even without us noticing it." She shrugged and turned around, her eye glinting a hue of green for a split second as the light shifted. "I expect than in a few months we will know."
"Mhm," he sounded in agreement. "Well then. I think we talked about everything. I will sign that paper tomorrow. My request to you would be to not put me again into a situation where I have to choose who to side with. Maybe Skirka, Weber and you should have a talk about it," Ezrael stated and stood up, emptying his glass with the next sip as he was at it.
"In the end, me, Weber and his mouthpiece, we are for Bretonia. But worry not. I do ask that you share whatever reports you send their way. The more knowledge, the more informed decisions I can take." She turned around again and pointed at the screen. "That weaponry knowledge, how much do you have of it?"
"We have access to many weaponry blueprints," Ezrael told her while moving to the counter to place his cup there. Remaining there, he leaned his back against it to face Kaze. "Up to NEMP warheads. We have a catalogue for this, as some additional funds are always quite handy. Apahanta, load up the Advanced Weaponry catalogue and put it on the screen," Ezrael ordered. And the file showed up.
Kaze started to view the data presented to her. "Any production capabilities, or you only deal the schematics?" She asked, without turning her head.
"The production of these state-of-the-art weapons is extremely costly in terms of materials. They require some elements that are very rare in Sirius, which is in most cases the reason why these weapons never made it to massproduction. The Apahanta's workshop is fully able to construct any of these weapons as long as the materials are provided," Ezrael explained. "We're usually selling the blueprints only."
She removed her hands from her pockets and placed them behind her back, her eyes still glued at the screen. "How much for everything, Mr. Vertiga?"
"100.000.000 Credits per blueprint. No discounts," the Curacaoan said, naming the typical price. "Two billions and three hundred million Credits for all of them together, not including the NEMP blueprints as you seem to have them already."
"Where do you want the money sent to?" She replied without batting an eyelid.
He smirked at that. "That is enough money to hire a shipyard to build a warship, Captain, talking from experience here," Ezrael told her. "Are you sure about that?"
She replied without turning her head, her eyes fixed on the data in front of her. "I am." Her face finally turned to the side. "Money is a non-issue for me. I may not hunted in Bretonia or Bretonians, but I did brought down Houses to their knees, twice. And I will do it again." Her body turned to completely face Ezrael, her face, almost as a royal bust of a forgotten queen. Serious and grave. "Endpoint of the account?"
"One billion to the account Charming.Rover, one billion to the Attractive.Rover, the remaining 300.000.000 Credits to the Handsome.Rover. In times of Lane Hackers, I rather have the money split on different accounts."
She nodded. "You should change the account names however. Patterns are a liability." Her eyebrow rose. "Now, was this meeting being recorded? Just for security sakes."
"The Apahanta's internal sensors record everything happening on this ship," Ezrael confirmed.
Kaze smirked. "Did it? Please, do confirm such, Commander Aguilar." She said to Sherry, while she pulled the sleeve of her bionic arm. The nano-skin retracted as well up until the elbow. The armored plates separated and a small electronic device emerged. Kaze picked it up with the good hand and placed it in her pocket.
Ezrael frowned, for a moment having played with the thought of doing anything about it. "Don't!"
Sherry however smirked. "Captain Dagon," she began, eyeing her movements with precision. "That would cause unnecessary damage without destroying the evidence. We're not using ancient technology on this ship."
Ezrael looked at Sherry who seemed to be calm, for good reason. Trying to calm down himself, he took a deep breath. "She's right. If anything, doing something stupid here would result in you not leaving the ship alive."
"If you want us to delete the recordings of this meeting, just say so," the Commander informed.
"All Reavers are already dead, Mr. Vertiga." Kaze rose an eyebrow. "However..." She removed the device, causing Sherry to start running towards her, preparing herself to put the threat down. Yet, right as she reached within an arm length, that bionic arm moved with a speed that was almost imperceptible to the human eye, catching her face, halting her momentum. "Easy Commander. I am not aiming to hurt anyone or anything. This is not an explosive." She smirked and threw it towards Ezrael. "It is a gift. An electro-magnetic pulse emitter. One of a kind." The bionic hand removed itself from Sherry's face, and fixed her collar. "Do check if your sensors if they did managed to record anything within the room, Commander." Kaze looked back at Vertiga, her nano-skin covering her arm again, while she placed the sleeve back down again.
Ezrael looked at the device, actually having expected it to be some kind of EMP generator. He was however more concerned about Sherry, who was visibly shaken by the inhuman speed of interception. "I trust that's not necessary," Ezrael sounded, while Sherry made a step back. Then another step. "You know, if Sherry or I just had taken physical damage, hell would have gone loose here. The ship monitors our vital signs and is intelligent enough to analyse the cause of possible harm. Your Marlin wouldn't have like the results," he explained, not mentioning the other results.
"She is probably fully aware," Sherry sounded, calming down while staring expressionless at Kaze.
Kaze finished buttoning and sleeve and adjusted her outfit in a very military like fashion. Looking at Ezrael she finally spoke. "That device is not only a jammer. It already slaved all emitters and receivers within this room thanks to its A.I.. For them, you are having a nice chat with Commander Aguilar here about yours truly. Your bio-metrical signatures are being emitted from that as well." She placed her arms behind her back again. "The battery lasts for three months. It cannot be tampered or energized." Kaze imitated a explosive sound. "It renders you a ghost to any device with a circuit attached to it. Last toy that came out of the T&G Department of the Armed Forces. Do have fun with it."
Ezrael put the device on the counter. "I do hope this is the last time you treat us like that, Captain Dagon," he sounded, slightly annoyed. "Notify me when you, if any, transfered the money. I'll send the blueprints to you directly after that." He exhaled audibly, chewing slightly on the inner walls of his cheek.
"Fool me once, shame on you... Fool me twice..." She let the sentence finish itself. "I hope I have not injured you, Commander." Kaze looked at Sherry.
"I'm fine," Sherry sounded, her expression and voice remaining neutral.
"Well then. Time for you to return to Bretonia," Ezrael sounded, nodding towards the door while keeping his eyes on Kaze. "Or do you want to show us more magic tricks? Do you have a bunny hidden somewhere?" He was obviously not very amused by her display.
Kaze raised an eyebrow. "I do have a carry-on NEMP somewhere." She started tapping her pockets.
"Not the kind of bunny-from-the-hat-trick I want to see on my ship," he told her. "Now, can we move?" Expecting her to follow him, he moved to the automated doors. Sherry, of course, was waiting for Kaze.
Kaze looked back and smirked somewhat. "No one really gets Bretonian humor." She said to Sherry, as she started to follow Vertiga.
Both Sherry and Ezrael remained rather quiet as they escorted Kaze back to the lift, down to the hangar bay and to her Marlin. As they entered the hangar, Ezrael glanced at the Core snub. "I'd have offered you a jump to Newcastle, but I guess you can fly there on your own just fine," he sounded as they made their steps towards the black snub.
"Very well." She continued to walk looking around at the Apahanta. "How old is she?" Kaze asked.
"Technically a bit more than two years," Ezrael said, figuring she was refering to the Mako. "It has a bit of a history, the ship. The chassis was supposed to be dismantled for a better Mako version. With my funds we decided to take what is already there and just finish it as best as possible. And now it is one of the most advanced warships in Sirius."
Kaze nodded, and knelt, putting her bionic hand onto the floor, slightly giving a jump to both Ezrael and Sherry. "I have spent some time with the Crayterians, superstitious folk." She gently brushed her hand against the cold hard metal that composed the floor of the bay. "They always said that ships do have souls. Poured in, bit by bit, by the ones that built it and by the ones that fly it." Kaze got up and donned her gloves, finally looking at Ezrael. "And if you love her, she'll fly true."
"It is a flying nomad graveyard, like any APM ship. This ship has more soul than I like it to have," Ezrael clarified, recalling the words of a certain incubus calling the Apahanta this way, and how the pain of nomads was lingering in it. "Nevertheless it is also the home of my crew and myself. A sanctuary."
She looked at the bay door, looking like she was reminding something. Soon she broke off the reverie and looked at Ezrael. "Treat her well, Mr. Vertiga." She extended her hand to say goodbye.
This time, he took her hand, grabbing it firmly to shake it. "Safe skies, Captain Dagon. Maybe we skip the show and trickery with the next meeting," he said, smirking into her face. The distrust was still there.
Sherry remained in the distance, simply nodding at Kaze. She shook it back. "I will. But.. it is hard to trust each other is it not?" She nodded back at Sherry.
"It is," he said in agreement. Each of them was playing with other rules. With that done, he let go and made a few steps back to watch Kaze entering her Marlin. Once she was in her cockpit, Captain and Commander left the hangar bay to allow her to leave.
The Marlin finally ignited its engines and off it departed at last from the Apahanta.
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