Chapter 9: The Calm Before
Paulie sat up a little straighter as his commie buzzed. Jakiikii’s buzzed at almost the same time.
Checking his message, which was written on the screen in plain black English letters he read aloud, “Sasfren is back. She is about to reach your room, make yourselves decent.”
Jakiikii flashed a little paler as she chuckled. “Decent? What did they think we were doing in here?”
Paulie blushed slightly as they stood up from the couch where they had been cuddling together watching the alien television. Brushing himself off he shrugged. “Something indecent I guess.” She slapped him playfully while her chromatic skin flashed pale white again.
“Maybe later, come on.”
Paulie’s mouth opened slightly but before he could pursue the topic any further she shouted to him from the other side of the room, “Come on Paulie. I want to see what she says!”
He smirked and did as she said. Pulling on his shoes as he did so. They got to the door and opened it to see Mursk with his head slightly bowed toward the figure that had been just arriving at their apartment door.
Sasfren nodded to them as the door swung open, her expression petals flashing a deep crimson and pink. “Oh, you two are together already. Good, makes it easier. It is time for your night walk, if you two still wanted to go?” She seemed to smile without moving her lips, though how she managed it was beyond him as her pupilless eyes conveyed virtually no emotion.
He nodded. “Oh, yeah. I should put on my gear then probably?” Sasfren and Mursk made different gestures at him that meant varying levels of ‘affirmative’ and ‘duh’.
He rushed off to grab his greatcoat and chest rig, the heavy armour settling over his shoulders like lead weights. He cursed himself for coming up with the idea, it had saved his life before. But damn was the thing getting to be a massive pain in his neck. Grabbing a last quick drink of water from the sink, he leapt from the room and skidded into the hall.
“Okay, ready!” He said calmly though with great volume.
Sasfren’s expression petals snapped open in surprise and Mursk just seemed to shake his head with a small, jerky movement. The alien royal guard reached down and opened the case on the floor, grabbing Nemesis and offering it to Paulie.
Junior Detective Sasfren spoke up, “That is not protocol.”
Jakiikii seemed ready to interject but Paulie raised a hand. “No, she is technically correct. I am not supposed to have that unless we are leaving the area with proper escort.” He looked at the weapon longingly though, he may not have needed it for a walk around the neighborhood, but he wanted it. The gun was an extension of himself, a small piece of his own soul perhaps. A reminder of home lost.
Mursk chittered in annoyance as they spoke with enough force to be heard over the translator translating their words. “And I am the higher authority whom you seek for permission when the protocol is to change.” Sasfren nodded, slithering back slightly as she made an attempt to look smaller. There was the barest flash of pink on her expression petals before she snapped them closed again.
Mursk could really be intimidating when he wanted to, Paulie’s eyebrows rose a little as he reached out and took the offered weapon. He glanced up at the other man, “Are you sure I need it? Did you guys see something dangerous?”
“If they had we would not be going outside.” Sasfren grumbled. “I still don’t like it..” she paused. “..but I understand why. Fine, Paulie take it. It will only come in handy or be useless.” She shook her head a little, “I hope it is the former. The last thing we need right now is more excitement.”
He nodded and settled the gun’s belt holster around his middle before readjusting his greatcoat to cover it entirely. It would not be visible to spectators, but he would have nearly instant access to it in the case of an emergency.
Jakiikii glanced at Sasfren and then asked, “Well. Is nobody going to ask me if I want to be armed?”
Paulie looked at her, she was wearing her sidearm already but had not grabbed the electron rifle she often carried when on patrol. “You already are.” He told her, pointing to the MDF pistol on her hip.
She tossed her head, letting out a small huff she acknowledged his remark. “Yes, but it would have been nice to have been asked anyways.”
He groaned in only somewhat pretend annoyance as she just smiled at him with her eyes. Sasfren hissed and then gestured to the end of the hall, “Okay, now that we are all sufficiently settled may we go?”
He nodded. Mursk and Jakiikii followed as they walked down the short hall to the stairwell. As the door opened one of the local defense troopers stepped back a bit. The same tall heechian from before Paulie noted. He cocked his head slightly and stopped by the alien who glanced at him with the three eyes on the nearer side of its dog-like head. It flicked its eyes away almost immediately. Was the blue and purple skinned alien afraid of him?
He could tell by the length of their tusks that protruded downward from their upper jaw that the heechian was a female of their species, and so he elected to go for the less aggressive invasive questioning.
“Nice night for a walk, don’t you think?” He spoke, glancing their way as if only semi-interested in if they heard him or not.
He heard them shuffle a little on their long legs, padded feet making little sound on the carpeted flooring. “Uh, excuse me?” She muttered, small huffing grunts translating into recognisable speech via the miracle of the small alien worm in his skull.
He nodded towards one of the nearby windows, through the small slit of which the sky outside was only just visible as a line of dark teal and scarlet. “Nice night, outside. For a walk?”
The alien glanced down the stairs and then spoke quickly, “You need to get moving, sir. Or we will fall behind.”
Paulie frowned for only a brief second before plastering a warm smile over the consternation. “Yes. Yes of course, down we go.”
As they descended the stair he tried to pry more at his mysterious guard or protector. He was curious why they were being accompanied by actual army units all of the sudden when he had only ever seen Mursk and adjudicators forces before. Something must have changed, but what?
He was determined to get to the bottom of this new mystery. And so he asked again, “So how long have you been working for the, uh.. planetary army?”
She glanced at him suspiciously but he gave her his most winning smile. It must have meant a similar thing in their culture as she reciprocated the gesture, her upper lip curling slightly to reveal more sharp teeth. Her posture relaxed minutely however and she actually responded after another few seconds.
“I joined when I was thirty five.” She hesitated. “That was almost thirty-six years ago now, it has been a long time and a short while.” She snapped her jaw closed with a click as they reached the bottom of the stairs and Mursk glanced at them.
Paulie nodded to the mendagoonian royal guardsman and the two of them walked out of the stairwell into the main hall area of the ground floor. “I know how you feel.” he grumbled under his breath, though he wasn’t sure he said it loud enough for the lanky alien to hear it. The heechian seemed to relax slightly as they passed another PDF trooper that had been standing at the exit of the stairwell. So he tried again, fishing a little deeper.
“So what do I call you then? I can’t just say ‘hey you’ whenever I need to get your attention can I?”
The tall alien looked at him and then glanced at their lapel upon which was written something in falling lines of alien text. She gestured to it.
“Oh, I uh, I still can’t read yuuvian. Sorry, alien and all here as you know.” He smiled in what he hoped she understood as an apologetic manner.
The trooper nodded her canine-like head. Long ears flicking slightly as she spoke again, her growling speech translated into something he could understand via the dark biomancy of the GGI’s finest. “My name is Trooper Dail. And I know you are a urre.. a human.” She seemed to chew on the word with difficulty. Not one she was familiar with.
He nodded. “Yes I am that, and as many seem to have underestimated me before it is nice to be seen as a person. Not some dark predator from beyond the stars if you get me.” he said with a smile and chuckle. “And my name is Paulie.”
She showed her teeth again. “Yes, I can understand that. My people are not always so readily accepted by all. There are many that see us as too aggressive for civilised society, but we earned our spot on the great galactic board just as all the rest did. And nobody will take that from us.” She spoke now with greater passion, her face turning into a light snarl as she growled out the last part.
“Trooper Dail, what are you doing? Watch the front entrance.” A voice called out.
Paulie saw her duck her head reflexively at the sound and then she nodded to him, “Apologies, human. I have to go.”
“Paulie.” he said again, gesturing to himself.
She mouthed it and nodded before shambling off back in the direction they had come. He turned and saw a familiar figure storming his way. It was Sergeant Aril, and she didn’t look terribly happy.
He instinctively took a half step back, something in her face or tone alerting him to danger. She was a little smaller than him, and much slighter. But he had no doubt she would have been able to put him flat on his ass in three seconds flat should she decide to, so he aired on the side of caution as he spoke.
Waving in a neutral manner, he spoke, “Hello Aril. I thought you were called away?”
She snorted and came to a sudden halt before him. “Indeed I was, fraudulently it would seem. There were no summons in the system, not that I could find upon arrival.” she paused. “Well, there was the original report, but when I dug into it there were discrepancies with the times and authority codes. Probably nothing most would have seen, but I was trained in special tactics and covert warfare. Such sloppy work was immediately apparent to me, the adjudicator’s complex has been infiltrated. I am sure of it.” She turned as Jakiikii and Sasfren walked over.
Jakiikii cocked her head a little. “Sure of what, Aril?”
Sasfren and Sergeant Aril shared a look before they shook their heads. “Not now. When we get back. There are too many ears out here, I promise I will tell you both more when we are back inside.”
Now it was Jakiikii’s turn to complain. “Not without a walk. I have been cooped up inside all day, I am going crazy stuck inside all day long.” She nearly whined and Paulie nodded his head.
“I have to agree. It is nice out, we are fine here. Mursk and the other guards are on the lookout. We even have a few army guys sitting nearby too just in case there is a rouge butterfly or something that rushes us. Come on, a short walk at least?” He noticed that their usual adjudicator escort was gone, replaced in its entirety now it would seem by the tactical geared ground troops of the planetary army.
He could tell that Aril was vehemently against the idea. She frowned but was stopped as Sasfren shrugged her tentacle-like arms. “Fine, but only a fast one. It is late and there is still a lot to discuss.” She folded her arms and Paulie smiled as her frills flashed a muted green and yellow. A sign she was likely not as upset as she was making herself out to be.
Paulie shrugged. It was as good as he was going to get anyway, might as well make the best of it. He stuck out his hand toward Jakiikii and smiled, “May I have this walk my lady?”
She giggled and shifted from foot to foot for a moment before she covered her upper chest with four hands and spoke, “Oh but of course, my lord.” He smiled again even wider. They technically did have titles bestowed upon them by Holy Nastrica after their battle in the palace just last week. He did not insist that others call him ‘Lord’ Paulie, but having it as an option was certainly interesting.
A small part of him wondered if he could get away with it without having Aril or Sasfren kick him in the ass to knock his ego down a peg.
Jakiikii took his hand in two of hers and they started walking off in the direction that Sasfren and Aril indicated. They might be as good as prisoners in their own city for the moment, but that didn’t mean they had to have a bad time. He leaned over and gave Jakiikii a little smooch on the side of her head just in front of her middle eye on that side and she giggled again. A deep throaty burr that made his heart swell to hear.
“Oh you stop it, you are embarrassing me. And yourself.”
Paulie shook his head slightly and glanced at the others. Sasfren was grinning widely, long sharp teeth showing as her scaly lips peeled back. Aril didn’t seem to care but he saw the severe looking nerivith flick her tail in annoyance with his antics.
Gesturing at them he shrugged. “I don’t think I feel all that embarrassed right now, but what if I were to..” He reached for her stealth-suited bottom with a hand fully intending to give her a flirty pinch and she gasped, deflecting his hand with one of hers.
“Paulie Marmook, you devious human devil. How dare you try to touch a lady in that manner, and in public too.” She flicked her bubblegum-pink tongue out of her mouth slightly and gave him a sharp look that quickly softened as she did her best impression of a whisper. “Maybe later though I will let you.. accost me.”
He chuckled and glanced around. “Oh? Is that what we are calling it now? I seem to recall earlier, while we were sitting together on the couch you..” He lowered his voice in a pseudo conspiratorial tone and she reached up quickly to cover his mouth with a hand, shushing him as she flashed pure white, four of her eyes flicking back toward the other two women as she did so.
“Paulie!” She said, clearly embarrassed for real this time as Sasfren hissed in laughter.
“Sshaaa! You two are certainly made for each other. Paulie you are certainly getting more comfortable here by the day.” She nodded to him, her lower body making a soft scraping sound as they moved down the duracrete sidewalk and arrived at an intersection one block from the apartment. Sergeant Aril didn’t say anything, she just scrutinised their surroundings. But as Paulie looked at her he thought he saw the tiniest smile tug at the corner of her mouth.