Crossed the Line

[Kella]

Naavechi twisted the small dial, tweaking the second lense until it ligned up with the first. Horizon and reference point aligned, she turned her head to eye the dial.

"23.54 degrees," she told Rusty. He nodded his large, scaly head in agreement. With the memory all Graarl's had, Rusty was practically a living sticky note. She turned the tool slightly, and fiddled with the knob again. "21.98 degrees."

And so they continued, Naavechi taking measurements and relating them to Rusty, who carried the instruments not in use.

It was a quick job (one that did not give Naavechi nearly as much time on Kinyen as she would have liked) and was almost complete. A simple matter, settling a property barrier despute between two of Kinyen's landowners. Though the planet was predominantly owned by the Republic, terraformed and used for agriculture, a few estates had been sold to private owners to make a profit. This was a barrier between two such estates.

Because the boundaries were based on mathematical dimensions and not on the lay of the land, finding the exact property line was often difficult. Apparantly, there'd been a significant amount of debate over this particular property line, and Naavechi had been contracted by the Kinyen government to settle it. It was more of a surveying job than a cartography job, but Naavechi was more than qualified, and Kinyen's wide, rolling plains were a nice break from jungles, of both the natural and durasteel kind.

Last measurement taken, Naavechi packed the final instrument away. She pulled out her datapad and entered the angles as Rusty returned them to her. Everything checked out. Naavechi looked back the way she had come, at the neat little row of red flags, standing at attention, disappearing into the distance.

It had not taken her long to notice the disparity between the claims of the more vocal of the two landowners and the actual property line. He was overstepping his bounds by a full clik. No wonder there was dispute. Naavechi wasn't surprised, however. She'd suspected as much since the day before, when she'd first driven up to the property...

"Hey, you the surveyor who's gonna clear my name?" The man was tall and well-groomed, clean shave, short hair, long nose, dark eyes. He sounded jovial, but the conceit in his comment gave Naavechi pause.

"I am." Naavechi smiled, and Rusty came up to stand next to her.

"So, how you liking Kinyen? Beauty of a planet, isn't it. Weather treat you well?"

Naavechi studied his eyes. She considered him a long moment, until the man began to seemed to be made uncomfortable by the silence. Naavechi was unperturbed, however, and said abruptly, "You do not care about my answers, there is something else you want to ask me, and that is the reason why you are here, though you should not be. What is it that you want?"

The man's eyebrows raised, but he seemed more impressed than startled. "You're a direct sort, arent' you? As you know my name's Harold McKinley. I own this land, use most of it to grow ingredients for my pharmaceitical com--"

"How about you get to your point so we can get to our Job?" Rusty asked, and cocked his head. This time, the man looked both startled and purturbed, but the disturbance lasted for only a moment, before he faded back into his amiable nature.

"Alright then. You see, I use every inch of my property. My property, mind you. There are valuable crops on every square foot of my land, and I don't want to lose a single one."

"If you have stayed within your rightful property, then there won't be any problem," Naavechi said plainly.

"Of course, of course," Harold nodded. "But, I think you will find that, wherever my crops are, is my rightful property." He gave her a significant look. A very significant look. "My profit is very important to me. However, I'm also a very generous man. If you look out for my profit, then I think I can significantly... supplement yours."

"I will lay the line as it is recorded in the Republic property deeds, and not a centimeter different." Naavechi's tone was strong, her eyes steady.

Harold scoffed, "The Republic? They're barely paying you above minimum wage aren't they? Why just cover your expenses when you can treat yourself? You're a pretty girl, buy some new clothes! Maybe some jewels. Some new toys for your pet--" he gestured at Rusty-- "The possibilities are endless."

"I am more than content with what the Republic is paying me," Naavechi said, and at the same time, Rusty exclaimed,
"I am not her pet!"

Harold eyed them closely, but did not seem dissuaded. "Just think about it," he said alluringly, and started to walk off. A thin smile curled his lips, like a fisherman reeling in his hook, a man with an offer that could not be refused.

"I have thought about it," Naavechi said, and Harold turned around, smiling widely. Hook, line, and Sinker. "Let me repeat myself as you did not seem to have heard me the first time. I will lay the line as it is recorded in the Republic Property deeds. And not a single centimeter different."

Harold's smile melted in the heat that was emanating from his eyes. Rusty got the distinct impression that no one ever told Harold McKinley 'no'.

"Well." Harold said, forcing an only half-successful friendly look. "We'll just see about that."

And Harold McKinley walked away.

Naavechi's final matter of business was to hold a small camera aloft and snap a picture of the line of little red flags. A copy of that picture, a detailed description of the location of the property line in relation to the surrounding landforms, and her own personal statement as to the words of Harold McKinley would be sent to both Neiman Walker, the other landowner, and the official Kinyen Records Room. Walker would get his rightful share of land, Naavechi would see to that.


Of course, Harold McKinley was seeing to the exact opposite. Very actively. Very, Very actively.

A flash and a crackle, Naavechi spun to see Rusty knocked to the ground by a cattle rod. She heard a rustle behind her and whipped around again, to see a man rushing towards her. Naavechi's heart started racing, she side-stepped and the man stumbled by. But he quickly turned, and came at her, this time she stepped backwards, then kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over, but another man appeared, and then another.

"Rusty!" she yelled. He was beginning to stir, to thrash and flail, but men covered him like ants on gumdrop, and began to hog-tie him. Naavechi began to yell, for help, for them to leave her alone, for Rusty, for anyone.

Naavechi was scared. But she was also angry. The first man got an elbow to the chin, the second grabbed her shoulders but got a Knee to the groin. He was out of the game, but by this time, the first man was getting up off the ground, and the others were finished with Rusty. Naavechi struggled and kicked, scratched and tugged, but to little avail. They first caught her right wrist, then her left arm, then her shoulders and finally the back of her neck.

They had been concealed in the grass, waiting for Naavechi and Rusty to be alone, waiting for her to pass the point of no repentance. McKinley's men. And then they'd struck.

Rusty Growled and Naavechi thrashed. But they were caught tightly. An hand came around from behind Naavechi, almost an afterthought, holding a white rag. She struggled against it, but it found her, the acrid chemical smell that made black spots on her vision and twisted her thoughts in swirls.

So much for a quick job.

Everything went black.

[Jazen]

"No, no, take that power line and reattach it there. No..no...no...little to the left...that's right.....now gently nudge it....oh frack."

Almost as soon as Shine said the words, he vacated the space he was occupying at the power line swung down past him, just barely missing his head. The second he hit the ground, he rolled away until he was clear of the the cabling by at least a good five feet or so before daring to lift himself up. Luckily, the cable that Vis had dropped was already losing the power of its pendulum motion when he'd rolled away...its last few flails dying out as he came to stand once more.

With a deep sigh, he shook his head slowly and moved over to where the cable was dangling, making sure his gloves were on tightly before grabbing it. Lifting his eyes to the under hanging's of the Cat, Shine grumbled under his breath before lifting the coated metal to Vis's waiting paws. "My apologies...I don't think they designed my paws with handling power cables in mind. I believe I will be able to achieve the result this time."

"Don't fret over it Vis. Just....be a little more careful with it this time. I know someone said I could do with a new hairstyle, but I don't think they meant an electric do...literally." Both Shine and Vis...at least he thought Vis did it.....huffed a small chuckle before turning to the task at hand. This time, Vis was slower, more careful with the cable...and it helped that he knew where it had to go this time. With a small pop and hiss as Vis sealed the cable in place, Shine lifted his arm to him once the work was done to help him down...and then admired the work.

"Perfect. That should deal with the power loss to the shield couplers. Let's take five, then we'll hit the checkup on the engines before we get off this rock. I don't wanna have to deal with that blasted McKinely anymore then I can help, so the faster we're away from him, the better."

At the mention of McKinely, Shine felt a slight shudder of revolt find its way up his spine. Ever since he met the man about a week ago, the mere thought of being in his presence made Shine want to both gag and knock his teeth in. Sure, the man had the air of a professional businessman and the manners of a well trained gentlemen...but that was his surface face. The face he showed to the public so they'd buy the products his company made. Heck, if Shine didn't know any better, the man could easily have been just that, using the land here on Kinyen to grow and develop medicines that would benefit the whole galaxy.

But he'd seen the face beneath the mask. The real face of Harold McKinely. All that good nature and professional company stuff were a front for his true desire.....black market dealings. And not all those plants out there were for helpful products.....a good portion of them were for illegal chemicals and addictive substances that McKinely sold out into the galaxy at large.

Shine had to admit, it was a brilliant scheme, fronted by the perfect setup. But there was something about the man, the way he dealt and handled his transactions, that made his opinion of the man otherwise sour. If the credit he'd been offering to bring some of that material he dealt so well in and delivered hadn't been enough to add to Shine's retirement fund so well, Shine probably would have passed the job up. Or at least, asked to transfer some of his better product. Alas, the man had wanted stuff picked up, dropped off and then several items returned to him specifically. And plenty of that stuff would have probably landed Shine a one way ticket to the nasty house...if he'd been caught.

Which he hadn't, though it had been close back on Fondor. Too close. Which is why Shine was effecting some minor repairs now instead of getting as far away from here as possible. He'd done his job and gotten well paid for it....now he just wanted to hit the stars and go relax for a bit. Maybe with some company if he could find someone willing to join him for a drink or two.

"Five minutes has elapsed. Its time to check the engine, as we planned."

"Five minutes is just a loose time frame you know. Alright, so let's see....the engine check should be simple enough. Then...where should we go? Visit Coruscant for a spell or maybe....hit Kuat? We can pop a message in to your daddy so you can visit home while I see if a certain lady has any time to....." He never finished his sentence as something nearby caught his ear.

"A certain lady? Do you mean Ms Sam? I could pass a message in advance for," Shine's hand to his friends snout silenced Vis before he could utter another word, his ears straining to hear. He could have sworn he heard something out in the fields. A moment....nothing....no...wait, there. Something that sounded like a scream. And wherever a scream was, there was often trouble....okay, there were certain times where a scream might not mean trouble. But most the time...and out here on the plains at this time....it wasn't likely to be a good scream.

"Well....I should be going away from a scream. But, what kind of man would I be to leave someone who might be in danger to suffer alone?"

"When did you start speaking so deeply?"

"Call it bed time reading. With all the high class people I keep running into, figured it might come in handy to try using my brain now and then. Now hush up and let's go take a look. It couldn't hurt." Making sure his blaster was firmly in place and that he had a few extra tricks or two stowed away just in case, Shine started off in the direction of the sounds. The plain's didn't afford much cover as Shine approached...but the mass amounts of crops and small hills here and there gave him just enough.

Taking care to make his approach as silent as possible, Shine came upon the situation at hand. Hunkering down, with Vis curling up beside him to look upon the scene. They had arrived at the end of the show apparently; a bunch of not so friendly looking men ganging up on two beings. One a woman....and..."What in the frell is that thing?" he muttered under his breath at the sight of the winged creature collapsing to the ground.

"Based on the creatures features...and crossing it with known species in my database...it appears to be a Graarl. A sentient race of avian creatures." Shine kept his chuckle from coming out, but he couldn't help but grin. Vis, as always, proving himself useful in the strangest of moments. The men were hefting the lady over their shoulder while several of them surrounded the limp Graarl, working together to shackle and net the thing before it got back to its feet. Once they were sure they had both of them, the group gathered up and started moving off....up towards a path that Shine had recently taken.

"Are we going to be assisting them or retreating and calling for help?"

Shine took a moment to mull it over...but only a moment. "Of course we're gonna try to help. But not yet....the odds aren't good. They have all the cards right now and we've got a lousy hand. For now, we follow them...and when we have a good enough play, that's when we throw in the pot." Before Vis could comment on that, Shine hushed him again and turned to watch the group as they left.

Why couldn't things ever just be easy? Oh right...they wouldn't be any fun otherwise.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Okay soooo…I’m taking a few liberties since I don’t really see Rah being in any other way… (and omg sorry it's WTF long )

For clothing reference: Link here Rah will be in #3 uniform series, Commander (senior grade) with the officer’s mantle and her companion will be in fatigues series, Lieutenant. Yes…I know these aren’t typical Empire uniforms (obviously) buuuut…I don’t really care xD ….work with me here. Obviously all insignias and rank bars would be of Sith design.

Note on Rurragh’s accent: vaguely growly, purred, quasi-russian? That’ll be the attempt anyway. Almost all A’s should be ‘ah’ sounds but I won’t write them all that way or it’ll be just too confusing/difficult to read.

---

“Does zaht blahsted drroid have to come vwith us?”

”I am right here you know, Rurragh.”

”If you don’t like it you can go home…?”

“Blahsted chiss…if zis vwerren’t ahn orderred mission I just might. I don’t like zaht singh.”

”I’m still sitting right here…I can hear you, you know.”

Crimson eyes shot a glare at her dark grey companion that was more felt than it was seen…and she wasn’t glaring at the trianii. With a belabored and long suffering sigh the bird turned down the proverbial volume of his audio receptors. That was one good thing about being a droid…you could turn your ears down. Or off, if need be. His cerulean counterpart was busying herself with final preparations on her appearance and in reciting key words and phrases as she paced the length of the unmarked transport calmly while their shadowy black and grey compatriot manned the helm. At least, that’s what had been happening until they dropped out of hyperspace over Kinyen…

”That ‘thing’, Rurragh, is my partner, my spotter and my recon.”

”In order of most to least important I hope.” Sender immediately hunkered down and cut the power to his HUD visor to make himself as small as possible after his muttered comment as two sets of eyes turned on him. ”Well I do…”

Exasperated, Rahja simply huffed heavily and turned her glare back to Rurragh. Despite all of his gruff and growling, the former Trianii Ranger wouldn’t leave this mission simply because of a droid, orders or no. The two certainly didn’t always see eye to eye, but they’d been through too much previously for either of them to just turn their back and walk away. Certainly the Hell Hounds were all lone wolves, Rahja especially was a diehard one, but there was…something…that bound them together more firmly than any orders could when it was required.

As a Familiar, more importantly Rahja’s Familiar, Sender was still attempting to wrap his processors around it fully, even after so many years. His partner was certainly never any help in explaining it either. So, it was the rough times like these that he tried to learn. Not…that it always worked well, as was made obvious by the glares he received after butting in.

“Damn singh makes me uncomforrtable…too ggorrrahm rrealistic. It just isn’t nahturral, Kel. Not forr ah drroid.”

His heavy sigh and the few soft growls he emitted were cut short by the unexpected sound of chuckling. It certainly wasn’t Sender chuckling, either.

”Go and get ready, Rurragh. We can’t have you stalking about half-naked, and I believe I can handle orbit without you looking over my shoulder.”

Golden-yellow eyes looked back at her as that raven hair was pinned firmly into a bun that would allow the formal cap to be worn comfortably. With a lift of one brow from her, Rurragh hefted himself up and grumbled something that sounded like an annoyed purr (or perhaps it was a softened growl?) as he brushed past her and toward the small bunks in the aft of the ship. The sentiment he conveyed, even if she couldn’t discern the exact meaning of his ‘words’, was understood well enough.

Quite a bit was riding on this meeting.

Months of preparation and role playing and memorization, hours of long distance visual and voice comms with the man (and others behind the scenes) and some very elaborate setups had led up to this one point in time.

This one chance.

No one in the Republic had been able to pin him down yet. However, “yet” was the operative word, and two operatives were being sent in to change that word. They had verbal confirmation that there was at least drug running involved, but physical proof of it (and proof of reported dealings in bio or chemical weapons) was necessary before definite action was taken. Every precaution had been taken in their cover, including the activation of a sleeper agent (en lieu of the operatives’ arrival) whose land adjoined Harold McKinley’s on the side, and cattycorner to the division that had so recently come into question. The sleeper had been there for years already and, while McKinley had encroached upon his lands the sleeper had never said a word to the man…simply watching as he was meant to. Still, words about this new division dispute had been mentioned to ‘family’ recently who had passed those words along to the military, and thus trickled the information until it reached the Hounds.

He’s walking directly into his noose, the idiot...thinking he can bully others is simply going to tighten it until he’s strangled. A soft wash of warm air heralded the approach of Sender as he settled on the back of the pilot’s seat, which she’d taken up residence in. ”Do you have everything in place, Rah?” A simple nod was given as she watched the planet spin below them through flickering crimson eyes. ”The new earpiece is working well? Fits well?” Another stoic nod as she glanced to the ship’s readouts and their orbital position, one hand gently moving the control column to make a correction in their heading. ”Are you certain you don’t want to try and put a m—“ Bloody red gaze turned slowly with her head to look coldly at the charcoal colored bird-droid, silencing him swiftly.

A soft, digitized, sigh escaped as Sender’s processors and soul-drive managed a very sentient emotion: concern.

”Aren’t you at all worried about not being able to contact me if something happens, Rahja?”

”No.” It was a bit of a lie, certainly, but it was her answer…both for his sake and her own. ”Rurragh will be with me and I’ll be able to hear you. If you find any danger I’ll be perfectly forewarned. We’ve faced worse than McKinley, Sender…”

”But I won’t be able to hear you…and if there are chemical or biological weapons...which there likely are…what if something happens?”

The sound of heavy footsteps coming up from behind was accompanied by a low, feral, sort of growling purr which seemed to roll and echo along the single pathway through the transport. “If somesingh happens she has ahn experrt in zat field vwith herr. Howeverr, nosingh vwill happen to herr.” The coal grey uniform looked uncomfortable on the massive, furred, body, but Rurragh wasn’t about to say a thing about it if it was. He had too much pride and knew too much rested on this for him to even think about complaining…beside, he just wasn’t that sort of man. In truth, Rahja couldn’t think of a time she’d ever heard him complain about something, with the exception of Sender. Of course, he didn’t realize how useful Sender was, either.

Still, the man had a point. He was one of the ‘resident’ toxin experts of the Hounds, and with his build it would be easy to see him in the roll of security officer assigned to an Imperial commander. That was who McKinley was going to be meeting with today, after all…not CSM Rahja Kel and SGM Rurragh. No, he was meeting with Captain Zaree Nem and CW2 Garrlen of the Imperial Special Forces. The arrangements had been made between the two parties via a secure channel that had so few identifiers as to which faction it was actually from it was almost suspicious. Unless he’d hired a specialist…in which case they’d taken precautions. The signal…under all the coding built around it to insulate it from being broken into by unwanted listeners…was an Imperial code, if they managed to strip that insulation away enough to spot it.

The military had spent good credits to get it through one of their moles.

With a nudge to her shoulder, the fatigue-clad male got her up and out of the pilot’s seat, though she hardly moved far, only shifting over to the co-pilot position as he slipped past her. In moments he’d shifted the transport, eying the time, into a subtle descent while Rah got herself buckled, Sender hurriedly affixing himself to the arm of the copilot’s seat as the ship tilted forward further as they angled in toward their predestined landing point. It wouldn’t take long, nor was it overly troublesome, to get to a decent altitude where they could flatten out again and bleed off some heat from the entry. They were still a little early, but early was on time since they had one more thing to do before they could meet with McKinley.

With a soft snap, the buckles came lose from around her, allowing the cerulean woman to stand and make her way aft, the grey and black form of Sender gliding along behind her. ”Alright, Sender, you have the meeting coordinates, correct?”

”Of course.”

”The blueprints of the farming compound and the house?”

”Yes and yes…”

”…The acreage and boundaries of the lands?”

”Really, Rahja? Why are you asking me all of this when you already know the answers?”

Pausing at her small cabin, the door slid open and she reached around inside, withdrawing a heavy mantel (which was concealing the cloak stitched between its top and bottom portions so that it could easily be uncovered should it be required for its…actual…purpose. No sooner was the heavy cloak clipped over her shoulders than she reached in and pulled out a sharp looking cap and pinned it under one arm, looking back at him. ”Because I want to be sure you have everything necessary. As you said before, we won’t be in contact with you…”

”How sweet…you do care!”

That earned a stern look…which only made him chuckle as she headed further aft and paused near the hatch. With a sharp whistle Rurragh slowed the craft enough that said hatch wouldn’t go flying off completely as Rahja opened it. The sweet smelling, cool, air that came rushing in through the open door battered against both of them as Sender’s talons pricked sharply at her arm as he clung to it, even through the thick uniform jacket and undershirt. Giving him a smile that was drenched in impish nature belied the honesty behind it…something he’d learned, over the years, to decipher.

”Of course I do. Now go on…and don’t be late!”

It was difficult to hear anything over the howling of the wind as it blew past, picking up even the heavy mantle. With a stout nod from Sender, that HUD visor across his photo receptors flickered a little as readouts flashed swiftly across it, his wings stretching out and tipping up and down to not only keep himself balanced, but get a feel for the lift already provided by the wind that was billowing in.

Running System Diagnostics:

Scanning systems (cont) –
Enrivonmental\37692E\001.scn
Thermal\48T233\292.scn
Biometric Recognition\facial\732B84\883.scn
\retinal\733B84\884.scn
\pheromone\734B84\885.scn
\fingerprint\735B84\886.scn
\palm print\736B84\887.scn
\voice\737B84\888.scn
Particulate\0P1643\040.scn
--operational--

Flight systems online
--operational--

Starting Runners Respite programming
…
…
…

“Take you’rre time bach zere. Not like vwe have somevwherre to be…”

A glare of red death was shot back up toward the cockpit before those glinting eyes were back on Sender again. Behind that tinted visor she could see the last words blink then vanish as he nodded curtly to her. A heated blast of repulsors and the tight grip on her arm was gone as he rose into the air, wavering for a moment in the battering wind, before pulling his wings in tightly and diving out the hatch, a miniature comet. Strong-arming the door closed again, she took a moment to straighten her hair again and settle her cap on her head as the ship lept forward again, closing the distance between them and McKinley’s land in little more than three minutes.

“Vwelcome bach, Rreaver. I sought you vwere maybe goingh to jump out vwith him, or keep him vwith us.”

”Are you ready?” Already she was pulling on her white dress gloves and shifting her daggers to the back of her belt, her blaster sidearm the only thing that might possibly be seen if she moved the mantle.

“Ov course. You vwere the one slackingh back zere vwith the drroid.”

A gentle shudder of the transport indicated their timely (barely) arrival on the private landing pad of the farming compound. As the engines whirred to an unimpressive halt, the snakelike hiss of hydraulics would be heard as the short ramp lowered.

”Come on then, Garrlen, let’s get this foolishness over with.”

Rahja…she never missed a beat.

“Ov courrse, Cahpten.”

His heavy blaster already on his hip, all Rurragh had to do was grab his sword and slip the belt of it around his waist. It would be his hulking form that would be seen first (large, muscular, and brutish but with a fluidity that hinted just slightly at his agility) coming down the ramp, followed (after a moment) by his chiss companion. Angled, sharp, and strict (almost to the point of cruel) looking, her bearing was one of an aloof woman who was used to being obeyed. Even still…if one could get past all of that…she certainly wasn’t half bad looking.

[Kella]

Naavechi was dreaming, misty... swirls... at the edge of her vision, the world spun and somersaulted... She was dreaming of a strange place... white, smooth walls, sawdust on the floor and piled into corners... a glass door reinforced with a dark metal grid...

A surreal moment came and went, and Naavechi realized she was, in fact, not dreaming, though that vague nagging sense of unreality lingered. Everything hurt. Naavechi rubbed her--

She couldn't move. Her arms were tied behind her back. She tested her legs; her ankles were tied as tightly.

Rusty! Naavechi tried to yell, but she couldn't move her tongue. A gag ran taught between her teeth, choking her voice. Her eyes darted around in the darkness. There was nothing but herself, the walls, and the door. She twisted her body around, pushing herself towards the door. The sawdust drug across her face, sticking in her sweat.

Naavechi hauled her body upwards, leaning heavily against the glass. Her muscles throbbed and ached and a sharp pain drove through her temple. Whatever drug they'd used...

Her eyes searched beyond the door, looking for any clues, any signs... She saw a narrow hall, and across it, other cells, like hers. There was a small, furry lump in one, and she could barely make out... scales, in another.

Rusty?!

The creature shifted, to reveal a sleek, smooth head, and beady black eyes. Its tongue flicked out, and it curled again. Naavechi huffed. She twisted her body so that her back was to the door, and pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her mind swirled and her vision went blank for a moment, and then returned. She took a deep breath, and began to struggle against her bonds. Whatever reason these animals were here, Naavechi was not sure she wanted to know...

----

Animal testing. That was the answer. Rusty was slumped on a table, every muscle fiber in his body relaxed. He'd been awake for the past fifteen minutes, but no one else knew that. He was, apparently, too large to put in a cage, so they had him shackled to a table. Lot of good that'd do them.

When his head stopped throbbing. And his body stopped feeling like it had been sent through the ringer a few times. Yeah, they would be scared then.

One of his guards' radios crackled. "The girl's coming to. Let Point know."

"Roger that," the guard replied. He was nervous, on edge. That eased Rusty's ego. Even flat-out unconscious he was still scary. He strained to hear more. Right now, it was best to play dead. But that could change very, very quickly.

What could not change quickly was the fact that Rusty wasn't sure whether he could move very well, even if he wanted to. So he redoubled his listening efforts. Anything to figure out how they'd gotten into this, and if there was a way to get out...

[Jazen]

The return trip back towards McKinley's homestead wasn't as easy as the first trip had been, but that was to be expected. After all, he wasn't making his way there down the open paths with an invitation this time. No, this time he was crossing through the farmlands, through crops that at times were as thick as any brush Shine had ever seen. Shine wasn't a stranger to doing a little legwork like this to get from once place to the next...but he was going to be picking corn and grass out of his drawers for a week after this.

The crops did serve a purpose though. Seeing as this trip to McKinley's was going to be off the books, he didn't want to telegraph him approach by marching up to the front door. The crops were tall and thick and as long as Shine was careful in making his way through them, they didn't sway much. The perfect cover for an approach. And as long as he was careful, he could linger near the outskirts of them to make sure he was on the path still and watch for people coming and going.

Because avoiding detection was his concern this time, the trip took longer then it should have and it wasn't long before he lost sight of the group he'd been tailing. But like he said before, he knew where they were going. McKinley's goons were still fresh in his mind and that was just who had taken the pair. Good thing they seemed to be all muscle and no brains, otherwise this might have seemed like a bad idea. No wait, it was still a bad idea. But a bad idea with a just cause at least..

Finally, the lights and outline of McKinley's house came into view from behind those mass of stalks, Shine's golden eyes gazing out from his chosen perch near the edge. Close enough for him to take a look at what he would have to pass, what he was up against and how to get there without standing out like a sore thumb. Again, a wonderful treat that the crops were as thick as they were. If only they didn't make his itch from head to toe, they would have truly been perfect. And here I sit, sneaking up to the house of a guy who gives me the creeps, about to stick my nose into business I don't fully understand. If my gut didn't agree with me on this, I wouldn't even be here. Thanks for that lovely trait Dad.

Turning his head a bit to look at Vis, who was perched on his shoulder, Shine gave him a slight nod. "Remember what I told you to do?"

The small droid shook his head up and down in acknowledgement. On the way here, Shine had given Vis a simple duty for once they arrived back at the homestead. And that simple duty was to use his enhanced vision to scope out the situation, to look for things one might not see with normal eyes, as well as scan the home and see what other surprises might be in store. In short, to look for anything that stood out of the ordinary and then make a note of it.

Which was what Vis was doing; his eyes had already switched to zoom in on the house, the setting going through ultraviolet and thermal and night vision to look for things not seen in the normal spectrum. He partially wished he had attempted to download a schematic of the building earlier in case the deal Shine had been a part of earlier had gone sour...but wishing changed nothing. He would work with the tools available to him and make do from there. Already those thermal scans were picking up body heat, allowing Vis to identify guards lurking the outside of the home.

But was more interesting was that there appeared to be more heat then there should be emitting from -beneath- the home. A LOT of heat. The kind of heat a laboratory or something of the like emitted. Whoever this McKinley was, it appeared like the man's visage, there was more below the surface then what you could see with your eyes. Tapping Shine to get his attention silently, he tilted his head closer to his ear so he could speak quietly.

"I see guards, at least a half dozen within range that aren't blocked by other sources of heat. The yard...I'm not sure, but it doesn't look natural in some places. Marked as points of interest. And there appears to be another facility other then the home before us beneath the surface, though I can only speculate as to what its purpose may be. My suggestion is that trying this ourselves is unwise. But I'll keep looking for possible flaws in the defenses."

"You've done wonders already Vis, keep it up. Remember, keep looking for anything out of place. No matter how small, it could mean something later."

"Understood. Also, we need to do this more often. I like seeing in red and purple like this."

"Right, you can practice on the Cat okay thanks. But I'm sure we'll find use for it again soon enough. Now back to work while I think."

Work which Vistal went happily back to. Since he had looked at the base of the building before, he started making his way up this time. There were several clear signatures as he did, others were masked by larger sources of heat within the structure itself. By defining outlines though, Vis was able to make out a few more bodies as his search continued.

He was looking around the roof area when something caught his eye. Really caught his eye actually. At first glance, the heat signature in the sky circling around into his field of view at the time was that of your average bird; its distinct shape and wings easy to make out. And he would have left it at that...save for that sudden flutter of heat from behind it. Vis froze his gaze there, thinking at first he had merely mistaken its residual heat for the flutter....until he saw it again. A clear sign of excess heat being expended from the bird's rear. Switching his vision over to a night vision to see clearer in the night, Vis then zoomed in on the bird and let his scanners go to work.

He almost jolted off of Shine in surprise. Running the frozen image of it through his database, he found a clear match for the being. The shape of one of his Familiar cousins, the AER class to be specific. That was all he was able to get though, as something blocked his ability to get more then a basic outline. If he hadn't used that still image, he might not have figured it out at all. And by using that image he was able to recall which of the droids it was....AER-04, codename Sender. Owned by one Rahja Kel. And if Sender was here, that meant she was too. Could that mean they had a possible ally on world? Either way, it was something worth telling Shine about.

"There's another Familiar here. Up high, I believe it is AER-04, Sender. I believe you've met her owner before, Rahja Kel?"

The name certainty rung a bell, Shine had to admit. The surprise at knowing another of the Familiars was here had caught him off guard for sure, but considering his current situation, he brushed it aside quickly. His mind played through the faces he remembered better from the meeting...and then the one of a blue skinned women clicked into place. Oh, he'd met her, if briefly. Now the only question remained....WHY was she here? Well, one way to find out. "Well then Vis, guess we'd better say hi."

Vis simply nodded and turned his head skyward again. He couldn't get a clear signal on Sender, likely because of his ability, known as Repsite, that shielded him from outside scans. Still, there was a way to signal him; through the Familiars coded channels. Drawing up a simple message that included a greeting and a query as to what they were doing here, Vis quickly sent the message on its way. Oh, and he made a signal with his photoreceptors; one that only Sender, who was above, would be able to spy. And then it was back to searching for trouble as he waited for a reply.