"Pushing the Limits"

[Kansas_Jones 0]

8.28.06

ISS Agincourt ICC-81762

“Pushing the Limits”

 

(Takes place sometime during Agincourt third shift, after the events of “Mercenary Ties”)

 

For the second time in so many nights, JoNs found herself gazing into the distance at some remote village on the surface of Psi Velorum. How do I get myself into these situations? Oh yeah. You’re a mercenary with a day job as an Imperial fleet officer. The Caitian smirked at the bad joke, but it was the truth.

 

Her personnel comm line had received and stored a single cryptic message hours earlier. The message had simply stated that supplies were needed, provided the co ordinates, and had one contact name. She knew that Uztach, the medical contact that she had dealt with the other night, had no doubt passed her information along to this second village, and that was fine. Business was business, no matter where it came from.

 

She had taken a bit more of a risk this time around, both exposure wise and due to the fact that she had a small time frame to work with. Medical supplies and some minor engineering parts were located and “borrowed” until she could finagle some replacements. Paying off certain people also was on the agenda, particularly Doctor Levy before she discovered the unscheduled missing med supplies and “hit the roof” as the Terrans said. Codes had been quickly subverted, and transporter logs re-worked.

 

She moved out from under cover and began to walk toward the village. She had had a feeling of unease since she had beamed down a few kilometers away, and really couldn’t pin the dread down until a Sahvess suddenly came hurtling out of the darkness toward her. The simian like beast, reptilian scales glinting in the moonlight, only outweighed the Caitian by about twenty pounds, but there was no way she could compete with the predator’s surprise attack. JoNs whirled, and her claws slid out, intending to strike, but the Sahvess was on her before she could fully turn to meet the oncoming threat.

 

The beast was either mad or starving to be attacking this close to the village. The feline went down as the beast swiped at her. Using her travel cylinder as a makeshift shield, she managed to connect a lucky punch to the things nose. For the two seconds it was stunned she scrambled up and bolted for the village. The beast recovered and leapt at her a second time. The Caitain cried out as the Sahvess slammed into her again, raking its claws diagonally down her back, shredding the back of her civilian tunic. Three ragged crimson lines appeared diagonally from her left shoulder down to her right lower back, gouging through fur and flesh. By now, a few of the villagers had appeared and ran out onto the plains area waving torches; the beast howled at the fires and ran back toward the undergrowth it had appeared from.

 

Kansas lay belly down on the cold ground, panting and trying to ignore the fiery pain in her back. Thank the gods the beast had not been larger, otherwise she might not be alive to feel the pain.

 

Fool. You pushed the limits. You got too greedy. The prep time was rushed. The two jobs were too close geography wise. The signs were all there; you should have passed on taking this job. There’s no way you can reach and correctly repair the wounds yourself. Now, how the hell are you going to explain this to the third shift medical staff?

 

Well Doctor, it would seem that my date and I got a wee bit too frisky tonight.

 

Wait. That explanation does have some potential.

 

Shaking the wandering thoughts from her head, JoNs painfully got up and regarded the lizards who were now staring at her. She held the travel cylinder up to show them she had brought the goods. “Take me to your leader. Otherwise I’m going to bleed all over your lovely brown grass.”

 

Lieutenant (sg) M.S. "Kansas" JoNs

Chief Tactical-Assistant Security Officer