Harlech Interstellar DropPort, Harlech
Outreach, Chaos March,
1st May 3068
A slender man stood at a distance, watching the warriors go over the flimsy piece of paper, trying to interpret the message within. He wore a faint smile, confident that the warriors were unable to see him.
Oh, certainly they could see him, but they were just unable to realize that what they’re seeing was actually a person and not part of the scenery.
Thanks to another of his… talents, he could hear every word of their discussion, as they argued about what to do next. A handy skill to have.
“Feeling very smug, are you?” The voice startled him from behind.
He turned around quickly to see a young woman with short cropped red hair grinning mischievously at him. He was not amused.
“Alyss! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
“Serves you right for being so cocksure about yourself.” She inspected her hands nonchalantly as she spoke, seemingly more concerned about their appearance than about the conversation she was having. “You know, there’s this very useful cure for overconfident people over at…”
“Okay, okay! I get it! Sheesh, I can’t do anything without you hollering in my ear.” He grumbled. He liked having her around, but not when he was doing important business.
“What? Are you complaining now? Maybe I should stop checking in on you every few days and see if your so-called ‘important business’ succeeds at all.” She paused. “After all, this has been one of the most hare-brained schemes I have ever heard of in my entire existence. I think lizard-brained would be a better description, or even fish-brained. It really does suck. Big time.”
The slender man ran a hand through his yellow hair, trying to buy time for a retort. “Hey! I seem to remember that some of your schemes weren’t so… ouch!”
She poked a finger into his chest, the nails somehow puncturing through the clothing. “I did get you and that other fool out alive every time, right?”
This relationship of ours gets more dysfunctional by the year. “Right.” He sighed. “But what’s so bad about this current plan?”
She tilted her head slightly, considering the question. “Too complicated. Too many variables, too many angles, too many statistics… sorry, got carried away there for a moment. Anyway, it’s like you guys are basing too much on the actions of these new idiots to come out exactly the way you want. That’s not very workable.”
“Still, it’s better than walking up to them and spilling everything at once. And we know how well that worked in the past.”
“Hmm, so how about the dinner you promised me?” She quickly changed the subject, which he took to be a concession to his previous point. “There was something about ambient surroundings, nice cutlery, and lousy food…”