NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2777938" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 308: Unarmed and DangerousGenerally, the hangar was empty. It was very, very large, and it was hard to get a good view of anything until they were down on the deckplates. The few lights that were scattered around were angled in just the right way so that they were picked up when you were down lower to the deck. In the very large hangar, which was probably three times the size of most hangars, there were about five other ships of various size and design. A few people moved here and there, none really bothering to give the new arrivals any attention.    Not that it mattered to Jyren or Shadow. It was the six men, dressed in some kind of heavy, composite armor and very interestingly designed helmets with black visors, that had their attention. Or rather...it was the weapons.    [Ah...] Jyren said through the link. [So that’s what a disrupter rifle looks like.]    They looked just like the pistols, really, only bigger. It was amazing how doubling the size of the weapon actually made it look that much more dangerous. All six of the ones holding the weapons were human, or at least near enough human that the armor and helmets masked any odd features, and roughly of average height and build. They walked over to the two Alraxians slowly before coming to a stop a good five meters in front of them...probably because, at that point, the six humans realized just how tall these two Alraxians were.    There was a moment of tense nothingness before one of the six, the one of the rightmost edge of the line they formed, stepped forward and aimed his disrupter rifle squarely at Jyren. In a gruff, obviously angry voice, he said, “We told you never to come back here.”    Jyren’s eyes immediately darted to Shadow, though his head stayed facing forward and his hands remained calmly at his side...though ready to move at a second’s notice. This was one of those times that the link was very, very handy. [I should have known!]    If Shadow could have presented a weak smile, she would have...instead, she held her neutral expression and just sent the feeling, along with a feeling of a shrug, through the link. [You should have. Some days I just think you’re never going to learn how things work with me.]    It took a lot of effort for Jyren to force himself not to roll his eyes. [Oh, of course. Is there anywhere in the galaxy we can go without getting blasters, or worse!, pointed at us before we have a chance to speak a word?!]    The pause that resulted here was really only a few half seconds, but it felt so much longer considering the situation. [Probably not. Corporate Space is probably our best bet for a blaster-less vacation, but word travels fast from their border planets...probably no where, actually.]She didn’t wait for a response. It had been long enough of saying nothing and these men didn’t look very happy. By now, all six were aiming their disrupters. Slowly, Shadow raised her hands up to show she had no weapons...not that she needed any, a fact of which these guards would know, especially if they could recognize her after all these years. But really, even though she was an adult now and much taller, Alraxians had a distinct look to them. Even the other feline races of the galaxy didn’t look all that much like Alraxians, which had too much human in them to really be feline. So Shadow wasn’t too surprised to be noticed.    In the calmest voice she could put together, Shadow said, “I’m not here to kill anyone. In fact, I just want to see Garrol and then I’ll leave.”    “You said that last time,” the same guard answered, motioning at her with his rifle.    Shadow sighed. It wasn’t any surprise that the same guards were here...it was a good job that paid far too well. And besides, they got to use disrupters. What mercenary could turn that down?    “This time, I mean it,” Shadow knew it was pathetic but she was starting to get annoyed and was working out a way to fight through to where they needed to be, “You can follow us if you want. Just here on business, and then you’ll never see me again.”    Another long, tense moment passed, but eventually the guards stepped to the side to allow the two Alraxians to pass. The guard that had stepped forward nodded towards the other end of the hangar, “You have half an hour to get finish your business and get off the station.”    Shadow simply nodded and them made a mental poke at Jyren to get him to walk next to her instead of a step behind as he usually did when she knew where to go and he was just tagging along. But as they passed the guards, he couldn’t help asking a question. Thankfully, Jyren was intelligent enough to just ask it over the link as the walked towards a pair of doors at the opposite end of the hangar. [If they’re so picky about people coming and going, why not have some kind of docking control or security measures beyond guards just standing in the hangar?]    Through the link, Shadow sent the equivalent to a shrug. [This has always worked here. Besides, would you have ever found this without knowing exactly where it was and exactly how to land?]    [Good point.] Jyren couldn’t argue with that logic.    The door slid open in front of them as they approached thanks to a small sensor that was above it, opening up into a large, circular shaped corridor that looked to be centered around a small cantina of sorts in the very center. Shadow nodded to the left, and they headed along the circle that way, passing all sorts of creatures along the way. The place was surprisingly well kept up compared to what one would have expected. Sure, there were the necessary crates and other small pieces of junk scattered in the corridor, but other than that, it really was left clean. Well...except for most of the doors having some kind of graffiti on them...years and years worth of graffiti, from the looks of it.    They got probably about a fourth of the way around the main circle before Shadow stopped and mentally motioned towards a door towards the outside wall. Jyren stepped over to it with her, noting that this had some much graffiti on it that it was more like a single layer of colour rather than any distinguishable symbols. There was a sign of sorts above the door, but it was in a language that Jyren didn’t even recognize.    [This guy may be a bit...jumpy.] Shadow said through the link before pressing the small button to open the door. [Just don’t do anything to make him call the guards. It would be nice to get through all of this without getting shot at.]    Jyren agreed. So, of course, he nodded. Taking that as a signal, Shadow hit the switch and the door slid up and out of the way. It revealed a rather large room filled with a thousand times more junk than what was strewn about the corridor. Shadow stepped in first, with Jyren just a step(a careful one, of course, as some of the things on the ground looked very sharp) behind.    “Yes...yes...what do you want?!” the voice came from...somewhere. Jyren was only able to identify the source of it through some movement off to the left side of the room where what could have been a desk sat. Behind it and facing the other direction was a slightly small humanoid figure that had a very slight hint of a tail, purple coloured skin, and impossibly scruffy white hair hat seemed to go every direction. It was a...a...Jyren wasn’t actually sure.    [He’s a Ryn.] Shadow commented through the link. That triggered Jyren’s memories. Yes, he’d heard stories. Wanderers...merchants, musicians, scouts. Generally considered trash amongst the galaxy and, from the smell that seemed to be emitting from this Ryn, Jyren understood why that was.    The Ryn was turning around during this short interchange, and when he turned around to reveal his face(which was much like any humanoids, just with the added features of a bushy, white mustache and a long, beak-like nose) his eyes went wide and he let out a loud screech. Two hands scoured the ‘desk’ in front of him, and in a second a blaster was up in the air. Through the screech, the sound of a blaster bolt rang out.    “DOWN!” Shadow suddenly yelled, grabbing Jyren by the shoulder and literally yanking him down so that the completely unaimed shot didn’t make a lucky hit. There wasn’t a second shot, though, and Shadow hadn’t stopped yelling, “Dammit, Garrol, put the gun away! I’m not here to kill you!”    There was the sound of shifting metal and Jyren looked up to see the small Ryn, who was trembling violently, not pressed against the wall behind him and aiming the blaster that looked ready to shake out of his hands, “Y-y-you said that last time!!!”    Shadow rolled her eyes. It would just be easier to get all these people in one room instead of having to repeated herself, “I mean it this time,” the words did nothing, and so Shadow did the same motion she’d made to the guards and raised her hands to show she was unarmed, “I just need your help on getting a hold of some equipment...that’s all.”    “I-I-I think you’re li...li...lying!” Garrol stammered, his eyes now darting around the mess of a room, “And now you’re...you’re all...big! Bigger! Don’t need weapons!”    [He’s got you there.] Jyren couldn’t help it.    Shadow shot him a quick glare. [Shut up.]    Then, she turned back to the Ryn and tried again, this time talking much more slowly, “The sooner you tell me whether you have the things I need the sooner I’ll leave...and besides, you’re more likely to shoot yourself at this rate. I don’t think you were ever very well known for your aim.”    “I...I was!” Garrol mumbled, slowly peeling himself off the wall, “Mostly for my uh...um...lack thereof.”    “Exactly,” Shadow said with a nod, very slowly attempting to step a little closer to the Ryn, “Now, are you going to help?”    “What....what do you need?”    Shadow took a moment to give Jyren a quick glance before turning back to Garrol. This was it, really. If he didn’t at least have an idea of where to find what they needed, Alraxia was pretty much already gone. Forcing back the stupid emotions for the moment, Shadow just said, “I need a hundred orbital mines and I need them now.”    The Ryn’s eyes had gone wide again, “...now?!”    “Now.”    Silence. It was an insane thing to ask, truthfully.    In the silence, Garrol was very slowly putting the blaster pistol back down on the pile of...of...things on the ‘desk’. Then, after he gripped another something to attempt to stop the shaking, the Ryn very carefully said, “I could take some work...but I might be able to get you what you need.”</blockquote>

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