Pax Galactica - A Space Opera

Chapter 12 - Fennel and Columbine

Ophelia led the way through the borderlands between the forest and the savanna. Bugs ate Decker alive but seemed to avoid Ophelia for a reason she chose not to reveal.

After a good twenty minutes of more casual walking Ophelia put her finger to her lips to ask for silence, and began to stalk carefully forward with apparent skill. Decker followed behind her. He had a small amount of stealth training beaten into him by Aranarth so he was able to keep up without making a complete fool of himself.

With Ophelia in the lead the two crawled into a cluster of foliage and peered out through it.

Decker could feel Ophelia's brain implant asking permission to establish a mind link with his. He didn't really want to grant it but he figured she was just looking to talk silently. That was the best way. With the flick of a mental switch he conceded permission.

<See those two people over there?> Ophelia signaled Decker's implant with her own. At the same time she pointed at a camp at the edge of a nearby clearing.

A sticks-and-mud lean to was set up against a convenient cluster of three trees. A few strides from this primitive shelter was a crackling fire over which a fat, succulent looking six-trunked quadruped was roasting on a wooden spit.

Not far from the fire a man and a woman were hard at work building a wooden frame. The frame was large and pretty elaborate looking. It seemed like the two had their work cut out for them but what they had already built looked sturdy. It would make for a very fine shelter when it was finished.

They were both dressed in the same basic outfit as Decker and Ophelia, although theirs were muted brown like Decker's. This included pistols worn on their hips. They both wore deathwards. Thanks to Decker's enhanced vision he could see that the woman's ward was in the shape of a silver wolf's head in profile, or possibly a fox. The man's was in the shape of a teal treble clef.

<We're going to steal their guns and maybe their food too I haven't decided yet,> signaled Ophelia. <I got the idea from you.>

<There's no way in the universe I'm going to help you rob fellow aspirants,> Decker signaled back.

<I'm sorry, did you not moments ago swear on the honor of the Neutronium Dragons that you were going to help me? Doesn't that lodge have a sense of honor?> asked Ophelia.

<Doesn't yours?>

<I'm with the Violet Motley we don't tie our hands with inflexible systems. You're the gravitylubber with the behavioral restrictions. QX?>

<I can't,> signaled Decker.

<Oh but you can Sam-Sam. And you will. We both already know it. So give all the feeble pleading a rest and I'll explain the plan.>

Decker sighed internally.

<You're not worried you're going to be disqualified for stealing from other aspirants?>

<I don't remember being told that rule. How are you so sure this isn't what we're supposed to do? There's as much surface area on this orbital as a decent sized planet. Do you think it's a coincidence that now four aspirants have all been dropped close enough together to run into one another? This is all part of the game. I intend to win.>

<And your winning strategy is robbery?>

<You keep saying rob. I never said we were going to rob them,> signaled Ophelia, <that implies violence which implies we're going to get caught. And we're not going to get caught.>

<Fine, I'll help, but no violence,> signaled Decker.

<You'll do as you're told,> signaled Ophelia. <You're just lucky that my plan doesn't happen to include violence.>