CAPERNUM: Moving to Rejoin

Posted on Wed Jul 16th, 2025 @ 8:07pm by Lieutenant Griffon Resch & Lieutenant Ainkara "Kara"

Mission: CAPERNUM: {CD&MISSION} On Duty
Location: Dark Harbor
Timeline: Current

ON:

On Dark Harbor, Ainkara had led Resch through the keep's market and into the shadowed areas of the inner sanctum of government. Leading him though her little secret entrances and down into the bowels of caverns and old stone construction to her private little campsite. She had to guide him by letting him hold her shoulder since it was pitch black down here, and ever since she had caused guards to disappear without a trace, no more patrols dared to venture down here...for now. Once she had lit the fir pit and a few sconces she had placed she offered Griffon a place to sit on a stool she had procured. "Here. Have a seat."

Resch, glad for the opportunity to rest his legs, sat down. He saw the discarded shells of some form of critter down here, and as he continued to glance around his eyes caught sight of the cauldron hanging over the fire pit. ~Damn, she's been eating these things?~

Catching her moving closer to him out of the corner of his eye, Resch looked up at her, and then quickly stood and moved away while steering his eyes away from her. "Damn," he said as he looked around the area with pseudo-interest. "This is a really big chamber.

Ainkara, standing there buck naked, tilted her head. She could sense his sudden unease. "Griffon, why are you upset?"

Griffon turned his head enough to show he was speaking to her, even with his back still to her, but he did not look back over his shoulder. "Kara, you're naked. It caught me off guard and I'm just trying to be polite."

"Have you never seen a naked female?" She arched an eyebrow at him, her query one of curiosity. Had he never had relations with a woman before?

Resch could not help but give a light laugh. "No, no, that's not the case. I've seen my share of naked women it's just that you are a friend, not a lover, so it surprised me is all." He then had a question of his own. "Is there a reason you chose to be naked?"

"Yes," Kara answered, matter-of-fact. "I'm going to go bathe, then come back and change into something less noticeable than all white." She grinned to herself since he still would not look at her, a teasing side he was not used to now a part of her being. "Be warned, I air dry. I shall return shortly." She went off into the darkness.

Once she was out of sight Resch sat down heavily on the stool, talking to himself. "Man, this is not going to be easy." Catching movement, Griffon looked to the source, seeing a larger member of these shell creatures moving about at the edge of the halo of light from the fire and torches. For caution's sake he released the snap on his tactical holster so as to draw his phase pistol if needed in a pinch. The animal did not seem to care about him as it appeared to be searching for tidbits of grub along the perimeter of the camp. He kept an eye on it but relaxed while Ainkara was off bathing.

After about twenty minutes the Voran came back to her camp, noting that Resch was sitting and staring at the floor as he sat forward with his elbows on his knees. Since her nudity had caused him some anxiety, Kara decided to remain where he could see her, but she would be in the shadows. "I'm back. Do not react as I call items to myself. And, please, do not kill my shellback friend."

When Kara had announced herself Resch had sat up and glanced her way, and seeing she was heavily shadowed, he then set his gaze that direction. However, even with shadows, the light would reflect off of her skin in certain instances, revealing the swell of a breast here, a butt cheek there, and lots of leg to be seen. Even as he waited he began to see items fly from inside her shelter/teepee/lean-to, and she caught them as she had done as Captain Green. Used that Force shit to move things with her mind. "So, what's the plan, Kara? I have duties to get back to. Are you coming back with us, or not?"

Ainkara continued to get dressed and don her gear while they spoke. "Of course I'm coming back, Lieutenant. I just need to let the Overseer and Guard Captain know that I am leaving. I would be most grateful if you would accompany me." She began to slip on her boots and button-zip them up, now wearing her all black leatheris catsuit.

"You expecting trouble?" Resch had to ask since there were others waiting on him, and who needed to be informed. "Commander Loewen and Doctor Holbrook are with me, too. I think it would be wise to let them know first, before we go say goodbye, don't you?"

Walking back into her campsite, fully dressed even as she zipped up the front of her catsuit over the cleavage she had been showing as she did so. All the way up to the neck she zipped up. "I will defer to your judgement on that. After all, you are here to rescue me, correct?"

Griffon stood up, tired of sitting now that a plan was coming to fruition. "Yes, we are. We've been here for over two weeks, and I'm sure our ride is long gone. Could take time for them to return. We gotta play this right or we'll be stuck in enemy territory with no back-up."

"There are the grunts, which make up the majority of the guard force," Kara explained. "Not the brightest lot, but effective in numbers. It's the squad leaders, ex-Starfleet, that are the real danger. They have made Dark Harbor their home, helped clean up a lot of the streets, and they are not above killing when they have to to protect what they see as their home now."

"I see," said Resch. That gave him things to ponder. "Loewen is Meji as well as Starfleet and can use some power called the Force. His instincts often guide him in the right direction."

"So, he is like Captain Green?" Ainkara was now completely interested. If what Griffon was saying was true, then this Loewen would be her polar opposite according to the dark spirit she had been communing with. "Interesting," she said, playing it off as mere curiosity. A tingling went through her body as she envisioned a saber duel between herself and this Loewen. Which, of course, was what her spirit Mistress would want. Her feelings told her so but, before she allowed herself to fully embrace that feeling, Kara caught herself and focused on all that Green and the others had done for her over the past year. So, she forced those negative thoughts away, to be revisited later. "I, too, can use the Force now. Something I discovered while a slave in the pens, laboring away at digging up dilithium. See," she patted the hilt of her saber hooked to her belt.

"Yeah, I caught sight of that earlier," Resch admitted. He had to admit to himself that this new Kara was taking some getting used to. Even without some mystical energy field, his own instincts were telling him to be cautious and alert. "Let's get moving, meet up with them, then go from there. Deal?"

"Deal," answered Kara. Dousing all her fires and leading Resch back out again, they got to the street level and began to move through town.

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