Nov 28, 2024 7:37 am
The plaza outside the palace of Governor Zimius is packed with protestors, mostly reptilian. Dirt can see the commotion from a distance, on his way to the outer rings of the station for training. Yoshi can see the same thing on the TV screens in the bar across the way from where he awaits his mark. Hundreds of lizards, all holding signs bearing angry slogans and thrusting their clawed fists into the air as they chant:
"ZIMIUS!! WITHERSPOON!!
KILLING US AND KILLING YOU!!!"
They appear to be protesting, among other things, the apparent firing-upon of Chukka Croque, the elderly lizard from the Records Office, by a blended force of station security and the colonial army. Details about the alleged victim have been scarce in the news coverage thus far, neglecting to include, for example, the not-insignificant fact that the lizard in question was very much alive. A few lizards hold signs depicting the image of Chukka’s wrinkled, leathery face, captured somehow in a rare moment of not entirely off-putting laughter.
The atmosphere on the station has been even more tense than usual, with armed security guards at every corner and constant scuffles in the streets between every disparate faction imaginable. One would be hard-pressed to find a single public surface not covered with some flavor of political graffiti, or a single shopping-block without a single cracked window.
***
"How you feeling, geck?" Mellie asks Yoshi through his ear-piece. "You see our boy yet?"
As it had turned out, Yoshi’s info on the source of the Ruby Sun’s weaponry had been impressive indeed. Yoshi could tell it ate Shin Bowser alive to have to tell him he did a good job. It hadn’t resulted in a promotion *yet*, but things were looking good. Bowser, armed with Yoshi’s intel, had discovered that a certain minor noble, a Prince Sable of the House of Corvid, had a reservation at Mountain Bird that afternoon. House Corvid had a long reputation for neutrality when it came to the colonial government, but rumors were stirring that they were now leaning towards the Talon. Yoshi was to tail Sable to and from his meeting, and determine if this was true.
***
"Hostage, huh?" Twintail asks Dirt, not taking her eyes off the fighters sparring in front of her. "Bad luck, Ziawk. I took some hostages once, back during the Struggles. Different time, obviously. No need for that kind of thing these days. TUCK THOSE ELBOWS, CLOUDCHASER! NICE!"
Dirt is sitting back on the bench with a towel and a bottle of water, recovering from his recent match. Any minute now, Ensign Kwiark and his co-pilot would be returning from their run, and it would be his turn. Just him and Zrain, out there in the inky black. Flying.
"That’s the thing with these Talon types, Ziawk, you see? They’re fighting an old war, one we lost a long time ago. Old war, old tactics. But the war’s over, see? We fight for ‘peace’ now. YES, CLOUDCHASER, EXCELLENT! Huh… that kid’s been practicing."
Dirt looks past the sparring ring, where Zrain has just felled his opponent and won his very first match, up at the row of shiny HK-213 "Redtail" fighter jets, waiting to dive one by one over the lip of the station and into the void. Waiting for *him* to take the controls.
"You remember what to do, right?" Twintail asks Dirt, following his gaze. "First take the Emperor’s Channel, passing through every ring, then dive left into the asteroid vein marked with the blue lights. Follow it to the clearing, destroy both drones, secure the flag, and return, taking less than 20% hull damage. You got that?"
"ZIMIUS!! WITHERSPOON!!
KILLING US AND KILLING YOU!!!"
They appear to be protesting, among other things, the apparent firing-upon of Chukka Croque, the elderly lizard from the Records Office, by a blended force of station security and the colonial army. Details about the alleged victim have been scarce in the news coverage thus far, neglecting to include, for example, the not-insignificant fact that the lizard in question was very much alive. A few lizards hold signs depicting the image of Chukka’s wrinkled, leathery face, captured somehow in a rare moment of not entirely off-putting laughter.
The atmosphere on the station has been even more tense than usual, with armed security guards at every corner and constant scuffles in the streets between every disparate faction imaginable. One would be hard-pressed to find a single public surface not covered with some flavor of political graffiti, or a single shopping-block without a single cracked window.
***
"How you feeling, geck?" Mellie asks Yoshi through his ear-piece. "You see our boy yet?"
As it had turned out, Yoshi’s info on the source of the Ruby Sun’s weaponry had been impressive indeed. Yoshi could tell it ate Shin Bowser alive to have to tell him he did a good job. It hadn’t resulted in a promotion *yet*, but things were looking good. Bowser, armed with Yoshi’s intel, had discovered that a certain minor noble, a Prince Sable of the House of Corvid, had a reservation at Mountain Bird that afternoon. House Corvid had a long reputation for neutrality when it came to the colonial government, but rumors were stirring that they were now leaning towards the Talon. Yoshi was to tail Sable to and from his meeting, and determine if this was true.
***
"Hostage, huh?" Twintail asks Dirt, not taking her eyes off the fighters sparring in front of her. "Bad luck, Ziawk. I took some hostages once, back during the Struggles. Different time, obviously. No need for that kind of thing these days. TUCK THOSE ELBOWS, CLOUDCHASER! NICE!"
Dirt is sitting back on the bench with a towel and a bottle of water, recovering from his recent match. Any minute now, Ensign Kwiark and his co-pilot would be returning from their run, and it would be his turn. Just him and Zrain, out there in the inky black. Flying.
"That’s the thing with these Talon types, Ziawk, you see? They’re fighting an old war, one we lost a long time ago. Old war, old tactics. But the war’s over, see? We fight for ‘peace’ now. YES, CLOUDCHASER, EXCELLENT! Huh… that kid’s been practicing."
Dirt looks past the sparring ring, where Zrain has just felled his opponent and won his very first match, up at the row of shiny HK-213 "Redtail" fighter jets, waiting to dive one by one over the lip of the station and into the void. Waiting for *him* to take the controls.
"You remember what to do, right?" Twintail asks Dirt, following his gaze. "First take the Emperor’s Channel, passing through every ring, then dive left into the asteroid vein marked with the blue lights. Follow it to the clearing, destroy both drones, secure the flag, and return, taking less than 20% hull damage. You got that?"
