Project - Prometheus Ch. 05

"Speaking of which, more details girl! I want to hear all of it!" the cat-girl bubbled. Sighing good naturedly, Natalya picked up where she left off, filling her friend in on every detail she could remember. As she went on, Talon's eyes got wider and her mind churned with the possibilities of what she would do, once Nats let her.

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Kasumi McKenzie stewed in her own thoughts as the rail car traversed its path smoothly, towards the brig block of the Perseus. Though she had dearly wanted to, she knew that she couldn't do or try anything physical against Natalya. Not only was there the ominous threat of Korsa, her adoptive mother, hanging over her, she also respected the young woman too much.

Natalya had gone through some seriously tough shit and had nearly wound up dead as a result. She shuddered at the thought of the situations that Nats had found herself in. Few women could go through events that traumatic and come out like the ebony woman had. She supposed that she had Korsa's underlying, motherly nature to thank for that. Though the Khontaran hadn't displayed it while she was aboard the Perseus, she could tell that it sat just beneath the surface, waiting to come out.

Her thoughts drifted back to her captain and the things she'd heard both him and Natalya discuss. She could scarcely believe that he was a survivor of the Toronto Massacre! She was just a baby, living in Edinburgh when it had happened. She remembered reading about it in her school textbooks and from her father's stories, when he had fought in the Unification War.

It was small wonder that the two of them would be drawn to each other, the both of them having almost nothing of their families left. The same could be said for her, but at least she knew her parents, growing up. Her mother's gentle touch and her father's stern, yet well meaning, demeanor. She remembered the look of pride on William McKenzie's face, when she had joined up with the Human Systems Alliance, as a marine. Though her mother was apprehensive, she was glad that her daughter had chosen her own path.

A slight jolt shook Kasumi out of her recollections as her rail car came to a stop in the brig area. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and walked out of the opening doors, stepping lively as she made her way to a nearby elevator. Walking through another set of swishing doors, she turned on her heel to face them and called out, "Deck three-three-seven."

A slight dropping sensation showed that the lift had started its descent, and Kas turned back to the inner turmoil she felt. She was mooning after Captain Alexander Tomisic like a high school girl on her first crush, but it felt deeper than that. There was something about him that drew her to him, almost like a moth to the flame. Yet the biggest problem was not in approaching him, it was in crossing Natalya, which she didn't want to do, but may yet have to.

She was mulling over her decision on what to do, just as the lift car stopped, doors opening. Putting that train of thought on hold for the moment, Kasumi steeled herself and walked towards the active cell with all the discipline of a soldier. As she approached, the doors unlocked and opened for her, as she had set them to do so the day before.

The cell was as she had left it, with the two Brig Guards standing at attention as she entered. The blocky robots looked almost comical in their emulation of a crisp salute, but Kas waved away any levity, maintaining her stoic façade. "At ease," she barked, and both guards went back to a casual, vigilant stance over the cell.

The sound of her voice must have woken Shazza up as the mound that was tucked underneath the blanket of her bed stirred. Sitting up, the ebon skinned woman cracked her head side to side, working any knots out of her neck as she awoke. Breathing loudly, she shirked the blanket and gracefully popped out of her bed. Eyeing Kasumi balefully, she stood before her captor in nothing but red panties, having dispensed with her shirt, as it had begun to stink. Kas was a little taken aback by the woman's boldness, but eyed her physical form properly.

Standing nearly as tall as Taal'ani, at around six-foot three, there was barely an ounce of fat on the Xuul'khani woman that wasn't necessary. Her legs were clearly strong, as the defined muscles in them tensed and flexed, though the shape of them was unique. They were shaped like the rear legs of a quadruped animal, like a wolf or a goat, though she had flat, human-like feet, with five toes and toenails.

Her hips were nicely rounded and curved, just as heavily muscled as her legs, they looked to be about forty-four inches around. Eyes roving upwards towards a well-defined abdomen and heavy, turgid breasts. They stood proudly on her chest, inviting and sizable, seeming to be a large E cup. Solidly, defined arms and shoulders rounded out the woman's frame, making her easily one of the fittest women that Kasumi had ever seen.

She glanced back to Shazza's legs in fascination, fully understanding how this intruder had outpaced the crew while they chased her down. She brought her eyes to meet the prisoner's and found that, while beautiful, her oval face was set in a scowl. Her green eyes stared at Kas as though she was trying to bore a hole into her skull. An odd thing she noticed, was that the Xuul'khani's eyes had a slight glow to them, which fascinated the Commander to no end, but she shook herself straight and remembered why she was here.

Handing the tray to one of the guards, who automatically took it from Kasumi and held it straight. Kas then placed her hand on the panel that sat to her left on the wall, right on the edge of the containment field. Entering several commands, the edges of the cell hummed, as the hidden machinery whirred to life.

On both sides of the field, long metal arms reached out from the left and right, sliding towards each other. Just before they touched, the arms bent in such a way, to slip into an L-shape, which when connected, formed a rectangle. Once the arms on both sides were aligned, they pressed the rectangles together, causing the field within the metal shape to wink out.

Moments later, a small pedestal rose inside the cell, latching onto the bottom of the metal window, connecting it. Kasumi took the tray from the guard holding it and proffered it through the opening, lifting the lid which kept the food warm and toasty. The smell of breakfast filled the cell and after a few experimental sniffs, Shazza walked forward, her hunger evident. She hesitated for a moment as though unsure if the food was safe to eat.

Shrugging, Kas reached in, snatching a sausage from one plate and popped it in her mouth. She let the sweet and savory tang of the maple dipped meat roll across her tongue, moaning in appreciation at the Earth delicacy. Seeing this, Shazza was convinced and pulled the food in so fast, that she nearly toppled the glasses of coffee and juice all over herself.

Taking a moment to steady the tray, Shazza sat down on the edge of the bed and ate, forgoing the utensils. The small grunting noises she made showed that she was enjoying the taste of the food, or that she didn't care and was just happy to have something to fill her belly. Regardless, it wasn't long before she had demolished the meat on the tray, but stared at the waffles, not understanding what to make of them.

Picking one of the breakfast pastries oddly, she gave it a lick, grimacing at the taste of fried batter. Kasumi, barely suppressing her laughter at how the Xuul'khani woman was eating, tapped the podium, getting the black-skinned woman's attention. Pointing directly at the small pitcher that held the maple syrup, Kas made a tearing and dipping motion with her hands.

Making a face, Shazza decided to try it anyways, thinking it was a strange way that these humans consumed their food. Tearing the waffle into four smaller pieces, she dipped one piece in the syrup, popping it into her mouth. Surprise smacked her face, the light, earthy and caramelized flavor wreaking havoc on her taste buds. She had never tasted something so exotic or delicious before! In mere seconds, she had torn apart the rest of the waffles and bathed them in what remained of the maple syrup.

This time, the red-headed soldier couldn't help herself, as she laughed out loud at the heathen way that the prisoner was attacking her breakfast. Shazza only stopped gorging herself long enough to swallow what was in her mouth and stick her tongue out at Kasumi. That only made the human woman laugh harder, chuckling all the while, as the robotic sentries looked at her strangely.

It wasn't long before the Xuul'khani prisoner had cleaned off the plates of any trace of food, having been ravenously hungry. She sipped at her juice for a few moments, before chugging the whole glass, enjoying the taste of the bright liquid. After Shazza had finished the beverage, she set it down, looking at the mug of coffee oddly.

Like with the juice, she sipped at it, letting the taste of the drink coat her tongue. Though bitter, Shazza found that she rather enjoyed the taste and drank the black liquid without missing a beat. Setting her mug down, she then looked forlornly at the empty tray.

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Though she had a discerning palette, the exotic and unique flavors had won her over. The breakfast that Kas had brought to her, was easily being one of the most delicious things she'd ever tasted. Another set of tapping had sounded, and she looked over to where her captor stood. She'd drawn her pistol and held it casually, before using it to tap the podium again.

Huffing in annoyance, but finding she had no real choice, Shazza picked up her empty tray and returned it to the pedestal. She had made sure to return the cutlery that had been supplied to her, figuring there was no sense in angering her captors. Not when they had full command of that veritable army of robots that roamed this ship. After depositing the tray on the metallic surface, Kasumi gestured with her weapon again and she backed away, complying.

Sliding the tray out towards her, Kas stepped back to where she had placed her hand. As quickly as they had come into being, the arms and pedestal that had been used to serve her breakfast were gone, pulled back into the ship. Holstering her sidearm, the young woman that stood outside the cell started chattering away in her language again, though Shazza hadn't a clue what she was saying.

Suddenly, the dialect changed into something else. Another tongue of human construction, but the words and inflection were different. Some of them seemed almost familiar in some ways, but Shazza was sticking to her guns and decided against talking. Though in some ways, it was difficult, especially since she had found the redhead attractive.

Red skin amongst her people was uncommon but so much so that it wasn't something that stood out that often. Red hair though that was something entirely new. She also noticed how the young soldier stood. Like someone who knew that she was gorgeous and wanted you to know it too.

She would have been a favored toy among the various Lords and possibly, even ladies of the Xuul'khani. Her body was adequate enough to drive anyone who gazed upon it into lewd and corrupt thoughts. Thoughts that Shazza let herself get drawn into, with the various ideas and kinks that raced through her head, she just stared at the frustrated human and smiled.

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Alex stood before the holographic projector, taking in the galactic map that lay before him. He zoomed into the sector of space where Humanity's influence was at its strongest. Since the Dark War, humankind had splintered from the once proud ideal that had unified it. Since then, no one had tried to rally his race back into what it should be.

He was pleased that the Xuul'khani's nihilistic crusade was halted, and that humanity was saved, but there were still many problems it faced today. Alex was quite disgruntled with the way it had fractured since he, Kas and their new prisoner had gone to sleep. He highlighted certain factions in differing colors, outlining which ones he deemed would be safe to contact and which were not.

He made sure to outline the Human Confederacy in red, deciding against contacting them entirely. Having read the reports from the logs and news articles had Jaesa download from the Darkstrider, it was immediately off the list. They were on neutral terms with most of the other races that populated the galaxy and that was the best that could be said about them.

There were many incidents where they had violated both cultural and proper laws and had used every diplomatic trick they could muster, to weasel out of the proper repercussions. They were also quite focused on the fact that the rest of humanity should unify under them, by any means necessary. The only reason that there wasn't a current ongoing war against them was because they possessed one of the largest fleets in the galaxy. There were few races who could challenge them and win, so though altruism demanded they be put in their place, practicality won with keeping a neutral stance.

Captain Tomisic continued to cycle through the various facets that humankind had dissolved into. Most of them were small fiefdoms or independent worlds that were too far for any real fleet to properly enforce the laws of any larger factions that tried to lay claim to them. So far, they retained their independence, but even then, it was a hard-won thing for many of them. There were only two other major human factions he took note of; the United Human Federation and the Alliance Remnant.

The Federation was where Inari, Priya and Natalya had originated from and it was a relatively peaceful and orderly society. Much of what comprised it was the various politics and ideals of old Earth, having stuck to many of the norms that governed humanity in ages past. Though they had progressed much further, both socially and culturally, that would have made the staunch traditionalists of his age roll over in their graves.

Gone were many of the gender restrictions and biases; cultural, religious and otherwise, that had held humanity back. Many things, which were considered new back when he was a young man, were commonplace in this time. Gay, lesbian, transgender and polyamorous unions were the norm, along with traditional ones between a man and woman.

Many political ideals and rights, along with religious freedoms were also commonplace. The governing body of the Federation did everything it could to make everyone's voice heard. Though advanced, it still had its fair share of problems and issues, on top of being on a constant state of alert, with the occasional border skirmish against the Confederacy.

The Alliance Remnant, was the last remaining battle fleet from their golden age. Comprised of a fleet of battleships, cruisers and destroyers, along with carriers and various other support ships, they were a force to be reckoned with. They were not interested in enforcing the laws of any one side of humanity though. They acted more like arbiters and judges, stepping in to deal with or de-escalate conflicts before they got truly out of hand.

The Remnant mainly stuck to human space, settling various disputes between its peoples. They never settled any actual worlds, despite having the option to do so. They believed that until humankind could settle its differences amicably and peacefully, there would always be a need for the Remnant to deal with conflicts as they arose. It was because of the constant presence of the Remnant that had kept the Confederacy's ambitions in check. Alex was sure many of those living out of the Confeds' borders, were thankful for that.

From time to time, they were called out to the Unified Coalition of Worlds, to help with settling disputes among some of the other races in the galaxy. The UCW was a coalition of free races that had stayed unified in their belief to keep the galaxy a safe place. It was the same coalition that had first formed to fight the Xuul'khani Black Crusade during the Dark War. The fact that they had hung on this long meant that not only had they managed some sort of peace amongst themselves, but they had also thrived after all these centuries.

Taking these various factors into account, Alex had concluded that both the Federation and the Remnant would be the best options for making contact with. Provided that he could find some trustworthy types in the upper echelons of the governments. There was also the UCW, which could be fruitful, but he had to tread carefully, as several of the races in the Coalition were a cutthroat bunch, eager to take what they wanted, no matter the cost.

He also kept his eyes on some smaller, independent worlds on the fringes of human space. Some of them were little more than regressed backwater worlds, wanting nothing to do with the galaxy at large, but others, could be a help. Provided that he offered the correct incentives of course.

Deciding to take a quick break from his analysis, he brought up the various progress reports on the Perseus. The hole that their lone prisoner had blown in the ship's hull was finally patched and was going through the final test phases to ensure that it would hold against the vacuum of space.

The containment field was still up as a sensible precaution to keep the atmosphere in the ship contained. It also ensured that none of the cryo pods were sucked out into space. He'd just finished going over the final statements about the repairs when Jaesa popped up, looking chipper as ever.

"Excuse me Captain, but I have some news I'm certain you'd want to be made aware of sir," the cheery AI chirped.

"Very well Jaesa. Let's hear it," Alex commanded of the shipborne program.

"The cleanup from the battle where we encountered the Xuul'khani is complete, sir. All the weapons and armor belonging to the Perseus and his crew has been collected, accounted for and secured. The Xuul'khani technologies left behind by their boarding party has also been collected and placed into quarantine, awaiting inspection," Jaesa reported.

"Excellent Jaesa. Was there anything else?"

"Yes sir," the digital construct continued tenuously. "All the crew's remains have been gathered, sorted and are ready for internment."

Nodding somberly, the young captain replied, "Thank you Jaesa. One last thing though. What is the state of both the sensors and engines?"

"The engines, thankfully don't need anything serious done to them to bring them online. All it requires is a manual calibration to align the power coils and grids and we have full engine capacity. Chief engineer Vostrikov has already been informed of this and will make the appropriate adjustments before the scheduled day is over. We have retro thruster control though and I have since corrected our course to maintain a stable orbit around the planet, sir."

"And the sensors?"

"Sensor function is sporadic, though only about half of them are online," Jaesa informed her captain. "Though we do have the capability to detect any new ships of contacts within the system, should anyone stumble upon our location at this time. Though our ability to detect life signs on any planet we hold orbit over is still offline. I am attempting a workaround for it though, until both Chief Vostrikov and Specialist Taal'ani can affect the needed repairs, as centuries of atrophy have degraded the actual sensors."

"Very good Jaesa. Speaking of which, I need to raise the Darkstrider and see how they are managing down there. Patch me through, if you please," Alex requested.

A near silent beep sounded just before Jaesa replied, "Go ahead, sir."

"Darkstrider, this is the Perseus, come in please," Captain Tomisic spoke out, loud enough so they could hear him. The only thing that came back through the airwaves was static. Odd, they should be there, he thought to himself. He called out, trying to raise them again, "Darkstrider, this is the Perseus, check in please and give us an updated sit-rep."