Empyrean Iris

Chapter 14

Captain Vir's leg burned as they pushed their way through into the second docking port, this one closer to the surface, based on the sheer amount of steps they had been forced to climb.. Standing there, huffing and puffing with the rest of the marines, he couldn't help but wonder why, no matter how much he worked out, he never got used to going up stairs.

Sweat glistened on the back of the other Marines' necks making them a walking biohazard for any Rundi within a ten foot radius,

Up ahead, the Tesraki turned to look at them, "The night is almost half over, but we should have plenty of time." He patted the side of the shuttle and then turned to open the door. There was a loud metallic hiss, and the hatch popped open.

Captain Vir eyed the shuttle with some measure of skepticism. The metal of the hull was warped and bent with heat, discolored where flames had licked at its sides.

He wasn't familiar with this model of cruiser, likely making it of an alien construction, but he could tell by the rusted outer hull, and the grime coated about the engine exhaust that this was not a first class ride: less Star Trek and a little more junkyard sheik "Are you serious?"

The Tesraki didn't bat an eye, "Of course I am serious. I know she doesn't look pretty, but think about it, better ugly than eaten up by flames. Anyway, our time is running low, so we can either stand here, or we can get moving and find your quarry before time runs out. What do you say?"

He looked at the Tesraki very carefully weighing the pros and cons. He didn't trust the little creature, not completely, but he had information, and a way to get them where they needed to be, and he had several marines with him.

So it seemed the odds were on his side.

He stepped onto the ramp; The Tesraki held out a hand to stop him, wagging his bejeweled fingers, "Ah, payment first."

Captain Vir paused at the top of the ramp dumbfounded, "Are you serious? We have no idea if you're lying or not, and you want us to pay you upfront?"

Noctus leaned back against his shuttle blocking the door, "Look, you either pay me, or you don't, and if you don't you can go right ahead and find someone else to drive you, besides, you already managed to cheat your way out of at least a quarter of my normal profit."

He held up his hands in frustration, "Ok, ok, we get it."

He lifted his arm, holding it out to the Tesraki, whose ears perked.

"That's a good human." He took a few steps down the ramp.

Captain Vir pulled back his arm, "We get it, but we aren't stupid. You get half upfront and then half when we get back."

The Tesraki pasted his ears back against his head, "You are in no position-"

"Then we will find someone else, and you will get nothing. I am sure there is someone else out there who knows just as much as you claim to." The Tesraki glowered at him, its small beady eyes narrowing in anger, but it finally gave in, reaching forward and scanning his arm for the requisite credits.

Captain Vir could feel the unease radiating off his fellow humans, but he trusted his decision, or at least trusted this creature to love money more than he loved the idea of stabbing them in the back.

Looking back at the others he could see the way they stared at the little Tesraki was nothing save absolutely distrusting and he honestly had no idea how the little creature managed to stay so calm, with all the humans staring angrily at him from the base of the ramp.

He could understand their distrust, but he was confident that money and greed was going to be their safety net. So with the ease of someone who knows they are safe, he walked past the Tesraki and up the ramp into the absolute trash can of a surface cruiser.