"How you feeling?" The sound of his voice drew her out of her slumber,her body fully rested and her mind so ready to explore; but only at the promise of breakfast in bed.
"Not too bad actually!"She smiled back at him, and the male let out a grin so wide.
"So then, you might be up for a job?" His grin grew even wider, Navina swore his jaw was going to break.
"What sort of job?"She inquired with a yawn, stretching her arms up and above her head as he tugged at the flimsy blankets that covered her.
"You get to play with guns!" He laughed, and tossed a scroll on the bed."We've been contracted out! Harris says these guys need extra eyes on his job, and we're it!"
Really? A job? Like, a real job?It had been weeks since they'd seen any coin; and she got to play with guns? Like Lync and his comics, Navina had her guns. A sawed off she had picked up in the market place, one she liked to call Lyla,and then there were the twins, as Lync called them, a pair of nine millimeter handguns that fit nicely into the chest holster he had gotten her a few years back. They were lucky, or at least she thought so, with fifteen rounds in each, give or take a few as she could never keep track, they were a blessing to have on her when she needed them.
"So what's the job?" She asked again.
"You sure you're up for it?"
"Won't know until you tell me!"She glared back at him, but she couldn't help the grin that had weaseled its way in there.
"Well..." He started, climbing back into the bed, sliding his chest across her knees, up higher so his eyes were gazing in to hers and his lips were so devilishly close. "There was talk of a ship..." He went on, nipping at her neck. "And a short trip to one of those private islands..."
"Wait..." She stopped him, "Is this a job, or a vacation?"
She wasn't about to play games here, if he meant to say that they were heading out past the reef, to those island... Oh, she was so down for that, regardless of the so called job. Sun, beaches,males.... A female could look, couldn't she?
"It's a job,Vina!" He laughed, and then took her lips against his own. "It's a very, very good job!"
"And?" There was always an 'and' when it came to something this good. It was a well known fact that Navina's life was one tragedy after another; save Lync.
"And, all we have to do is make sure some talk show host makes it through the night!" He added, a little too, nonchalantly.
"Excuse you?" Navina blurted out, "What host?"
The look on Lync's face told her he wasn't too keen on telling her any more, but he had opened that can of 'OMG' and he wasn't about to leave her hanging.
"Lync? Baby? What host?" She let out with a soft purr. "Who is he?"
"She!"
Navina had to laugh,more than a decade and the male was still nervous when mentioning another female round her. He was loyal, and she knew that, but it was absolutely hilarious the way he mumbled and fidgeted when it came to subjects like this.
"Oh?" She giggled, "And does, She,have a name?"
"Not that I'd remember, but her Ex is kind of super stalker crazy, if you know where I'm going with this?" He paused a moment to nip at her neck once more. "He's made some threats, and she wants extra security while she hosts her birthday shindig!"
"Shindig?"
"Okay, an elegant ball,with weekend long party afterwards!" He admitted with a grin. "On the beach!"
"And the Ex?" Navina couldn't help but whimper as he nibbled on her ear.
"Ever heard of aKalvashian?" He cocked a brow at her, "No shitting you, they're blue!"
"I know what a Kalvashian is..." She mumbled, her mind taking her back to an earlier encounter with a rather drunk male, who wouldn't take no for an answer. "So when do we leave?"
"How fast can you get dressed? Kember's gonna meet us at the ship!" He grinned again, and pulled away from her. "Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Yes, fun!" She let out, and hoisted the rest of the blankets out of the way. "Give me a bit to take a shower at least!"
"No, time! Besides, you can shower on the ship!"
"You said it was going to be a short trip!"
'Twenty four hours is a short trip!" He laughed, and threw a duffel in her direction. "Get ready, pack light! They'll have uniforms for us when we arrive." And with that, he was out of the room and humming his way down the hall.
"Uniforms, great!Who are we pretending to be this time?" She sighed again as her feet touched the cold floor; well aware, that she was speaking to herself.
***
Darkness surrounded her as she stood overlooking the shallow bay. The water had all but completely receded, and the life that had once lingered here, had been swallowed up by the sands that were left behind. This was what happened when the final waves of battle had subsided and the dead were but mere specks of dust on the wind.
A desolate wasteland, brought upon the planet by the inhabitants themselves, forcing them underground for safety as the sand storms raged on, there was just no telling what now lurked beyond the massive sand dunes that had been created of their foolishness; or, what lay beneath them. They had corrupted their world with technology and greed, destroying the hopes of their once mighty race as a whole with the warring nature of their clans; their civilization barely holding on to what was left of their home planet, Insidia
They had been warned though, the Gods themselves giving voice to growing concerns, but the Insid did not listen; but then,had they really expected the war hungry race to acknowledge anything, but their own pride?
And so it came to pass that their once beautiful figures had turned horrid in the dark recesses of their new homes, their eyes squinting to see, their foreheads wrinkling and their bodies bulging, ever growing larger with each boulder they carried out; their once strong backs now stronger, and yet with a curve from the never ending circuit of low hanging passageways. Their skin had taken on a green tinge from the lack of protein, unable to hunt on the wasteland of a surface, and hardening as they worked throughout their days, digging away at the endless miles of dirt and rock. Long, scraggly dark hair fell away from the tops of their heads, held back with pieces of leathers so they could concentrate on the task at hand; oily and smelling of filth they were a sight for...
Their need to survive took over, the conditions above still too harsh to hunt, to live, and there was water to be found underground; water that was scarce above the soil line. It pushed them towards building longer, more elaborate tunnels, carving out large caverns in hopes of finding lost pools or hidden rivers; and with each new section, came a new family to fill it, as those who did not dig, took to repopulating what they could of their race.
Those were but two of the three concepts that made up their new regime. They would dig, they would mate, and they would prepare for the day they could take back their planet; and so many more. 'A true warrior never lays down his sword, but to pick up a shovel and build,or lay with a female and hope for many sons.'
Noble, yes; if they hadn't almost wiped themselves out.
But it was, what it was, and she was here to witness this moment of first contact; a moment that would bring a whole new chaos to this little piece of the universe.
She could see the ground trembling, and she watched as the sand began to fall away and the creature emerged from its dusty confines. It was gigantic, blob like looking beast, covered in cracks and creases, and a slime coating that it used to propel itself beneath the surface. Like a giant slug, it moved across the surface in hunt of its prey, it was one of the largest, living abominations, that now roamed the carnage of Insidia; a magnificent specimen of what could go wrong with a world, and yet, a miracle that it had survived at all.
Basking in the the rays of daylight,soaking up what it could before the next storm blew over, it almost seemed to relish the seconds that passed all too quickly, before it began its decent beneath the deafening silence of the Insidian sands. Such a sight to see, she had to wonder if the beast itself called upon the winds to mask its trail, for not a sign that it had been there remained when it was all over.
It was not the beast itself that play a significant role in her being here, rather its destination, and what would happen once it got there. A meeting of minds it was to be, as a young Insid soldier happened upon the beast in one of the new tunnels. He had never seen such a thing, so lost in wonder as the thing came closer; he didn't notice how close it was until it was too late, its hold on his mind too great to pull away.
The fool was to act as an envoy, to bring his leaders back to the beast; to a place where others of its kind still slumbered beneath the surface...
The more she watched, the more she learned about these new creatures, these 'reasons' behind her being here,they were more than the Order had expected; they were, more intelligent than previously thought. They had taken the Insid Leaders, uniting the Clans under one banner, though each would have its own Lord.
Hosts, they would soon be called, their minds so powerful, one could talk to the stars...
If only the Insid had seen it for what it truly was, the way she could see it now; they were being used. Instead, the Hosts were worshiped. The Insid believed their Leaders immortal within these great beasts, the mightiest of feats it had been, to capture the mind of another on the battlefield...
'Unite the clans! Bring forth the bounty from your loins and build your armies strong.' She could hear them chanting as time passed her by.
These were the laws that had been laid down by their new, so called Leaders, the Hosts, speaking as if they truly were the masters, of the Insidian race; but she could see it now, she could see the terror that would be unleashed before it came to an end.
These minds were not like the others.There were too many voices, and they were far too powerful. Hosts indeed; but not to the Insid, rather, something far worse.
She could feel it...
"Vina? Wake up!" She heard the shout as the fist came over and plowed into her shoulder.
"What the hell?" She called back, rubbing at said shoulder as she tried to peel her eyes open.
"Sorry! I got a little excited!" Kember grinned wildly, "Lync said we should get in to our uniforms and get ready. We're landing soon!"
"Already?"Navina grumbled, "But I just fell asleep!"
"Like twenty hours ago, maybe!" Her friend laughed as she dug through the small closet by the door to their 'suite'.
A single bed, a chair and desk, and a closet. Not even a bathroom. So, not a suite.
"Bullshit! I've only been sleeping for an hour, tops!"
"Uh,huh!" Kember laughed again, pulling out one of two black duffel bags. "You're playing security tonight!"
"It's bodyguard, not security guard!" Navina groaned, and slunk back into the flimsy pillow. "A uniform only draws attention." She added and shook her head.
"Fuck off!" Kember let out as she opened the duffel that was meant for her. A moment later, she pulled a hot pink jumpsuit from inside the black mass, followed by a neon green and purple, ruffled skirt. "This is a fucking joke, right?" The female added, retrieving the hot pink, fuzzy slippers and wrist bands as well.
"Oh, my!" Was all Navina could get out, before an insane bout of the giggle took over.
The outfit looked like it had been created in a candy factory, by a bunch of Fairies going through puberty. Throw in a pair of pom poms and a set of pigtails and let her run wild through the streets, the authorities would pick her up in no time and throw her in the cracker house, right quick!
"This, is supposed to be my uniform?" Kember was still a little confused as she held it up, piece by piece, just one more time; if only to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
"And,what is it exactly, that your job is here?" Navina was dying to know.
Dancer? Waitress? What kind of job required a tu-tu?
"I'm supposed to be serving drinks to the guests!"
"I'm guessing the Party Princess, wants her drinks delivered by walking candy sticks!" That was it, if Navina had thought she'd been laughing before...
She laughed so much her stomach hurt.The thought of Kember, with her long dark hair and those devilish blue highlights, geared up in a hot pink and neon number, with fur and ruffles, and guns galore; bloody priceless.
"Oh, keep laughing, Sunshine!" Kember howled as she opened the duffel meant for Navina. "I think I'll call this one, an Island Princess affair!" She added, with a hit eating grin a mile wide.
What the hell, was she talking about?
"I see feathers in your future, my friend!" The female laughed again, pulling the long purple, blue and green two piece out of the bag. "And the shoes..."She couldn't help herself, sliding them out, one at a time. "Oh,these are divine!"
Shut the front door!
"Body guard,remember?" Navina shook her head, "Not, body dancer!"
"The pumps look comfy..."
"I'll kill him!" Navina grumbled, closing her eyes as Kember brought out what looked like ahead bands with wobble balls attached to it. "What kind of fucked up party are we going to?"
"My my, the language, Vina!"Kember teased.
Sure, dropping the F Bomb wasn't exactly her way of doing things, there were hundreds of other more colorful words she could have used; but this was a special case of 'what the fuck' that she was prepared to handle.
"I need more sleep for this crap!"
"Nope! Not happening! You sleep any more and Lync'll have my ass!" Kember mumbled. "It was all I could do, to keep him from worrying over you himself! You were dreaming again..."
"Was I?" Navina lied.
Oh, she had been dreaming alright, and by the looks of those outfits, she feared she still was.
"You were whimpering again!"
"Shit!" She sighed, "Seriously?"
"I had to send him to the galley for something to eat, or he was gonna pace a hole in the hall just outside the damn door!" Kember told her, "That male of yours is something else, Vina!"
"I know! But I'm still gonna kill him! And I am Not wearing that, that, thing!" She tried to kick the long green... Was it a pant leg? A sleeve? Either way, she wasn't wearing it.
"He didn't choose these outfits, Vina!"
Oh, I know, but he's still getting a kick out all this!" She groaned, rolling over in the small bed, trying to get comfy again.
"Come on, Vina! We get fifty large, each! It's an easy in and out, and I hear there are some incredibly yummy males down by the beach!"
"I don't think Lync would approve!"
"Not for you, Smartass! For me!" Kember grinned, "And with or without these..." She rolled her eyes as she held up the shards of mismatched fabric, "I will find some entertainment, Vina, mark my words!"
"Or your potions!" Navina laughed, trying to figure out which way was up in what the hostess called a shirt. "Do we really have to wear these?"
"Do you really, want to get paid?" Kember shot back, "Cause I need to restock my supplies before we leave this shit hole for good!"
"Shit!" She let out under her breath as she undid the black leather jacket she wore. "This isn't worth fifty large!"
"No! It's not! But it'll be enough to get us our own ship and crew, and then we can finally break free of the stupid Order and actually live."
"You can't just leave the Order, can't you see that by now?" Navina rolled her eyes, the sudden wave of nausea washing over her."They banished me, and yet still they torment my thoughts, turning my dreams to nightmares while I sleep and confusing the hell out of me. Why?"
"They're not going to give you answers, Vina!And if we don't leave soon, they might make it, so that you can never leave to find any yourself!"
"It gets worse the further I go!" Navina sighed, running the fabric between her fingers. "The dreams are so vivid... Even just now, I was dreaming of bloody Insid! Like that is what you want to wake up thinking about in the morning!And it was so clear, like I was really there..."
"Were you? At some point?"
"No! I've never been to Insidia, let alone seen an Insid in real life." She replied with a shudder,grotesque, Ogre looking beasts; enough to scare even the bravest of souls.
"Then it is a memory, not your own, and you should wipe it from your mind!" Kember smiled and lay a hand on Navina's shoulder, "And get your ass dressed, cause we're landing!" She added, just before the Commander came over the com and announced their arrival.
Outfit aside, Navina could tell this wasn't going to be like any of the other assignments they'd gone on; there was a feeling that was growing inside her, a warning of sorts that she'd have rather listened so, if not for the promise of some serious coin.