A bumpy ride

[Mr. T]

Terrence kept to himself most of the way. He liked the silence, he found it comfortable, he wasn't one of those that needed to fill every second with meaningless conversations. He didn't care whether this bothered his companion or not, but he hoped that like him, she would use these tiny moments of silence to plot, dream and most importantly for strategic measures.

As the neared the station, Terrence saw something that was unusual, there was a line. A line could only mean one thing, an ID Check. It was odd. Stations that were far from New Babylon didn't usually perform ID Check, but for some reason several members of RULE were scanning everyone trying to board the shuttle.

Why are you being so careful? Don't tell me Aidan's plan has actually ruffled your feathers. Could you be really scared of him or has something much bigger penetrated your country?

"Damn it... We're gonna have to get creative, any ideas?" he asked Aurora, though he had already a few ideas himself, he wanted to test her.

[Aurora Nightshade]

She looked at the line thoughtfully. Taking note of the RULE robots doing ID scans one-by-one as people entered. She turned to Terrence and spoke calmly and very quietly.
"Drainage tunnels. There are two tunnels, no further than half a mile from the rear of the stations. Normally these aren't guarded even when they run random ID scans. Now, if there's going to be anything watching it'll be a single human guard. If it's a RULE robot, a single shot to the back of it's head will disable it without alerting any others. In the main systems it will register as a malfunction and a second unit will be sent to replace it. In that window we can sneek into the drainage tunnels that lead directly into the station, and bypass the security. They won't check the people inside. They take them before they get into the station."

She scanned the people in the line as they searched for thier ID cards. She knew the tunnels were filthy and only a desperate person would use them but she figured Terrence's ID was no good and her's was so old it was nearly useless, if it was even valid anymore. She looked again towards the line. A woman she'd met and hated spotted her and walked towards them. She was a pretty blond, and very perky in appearnce and attitude.
"Oh no, not Fiona..." she muttered, instantly disgusted. Aurora pulled the triangle of fabric from her head and let her short hair cover the scar on the right side of her face, putting on a look of disinterest as Fiona walked up to them.

[Mr. T]

She had done this before. Terrence found her reasoning once again impressing and well planned. It was good, she would balance his more reckless and hasty nature. The only thing that she didn't seem to be counting on was an alarm status. Terrence didn't have a silencer and once he fired his gun, surely security would be increased and if they found the body near the drainage tunnel they could very well double check passengers inside. Perhaps if it was a human guard, they could bait him or her into moving away from the tunnel and perhaps try breaking their neck when they turned. With that plan they prevented from making too much noise, they could stash the body inside the drainage and would be able to get inside without much suspicion or scrutiny.

However things seldom went the way they were planned. And the appearance of the perky blond only made Terrence squirm as he silently tried to fix the plan. She knew them or at least Aurora and had identified her and couldn't be trusted to keep her mouth shut, or at least Terrence wouldn't trust her. As far as Terrence was concerned there were two options: kill her or take her with them and so far from her frame and the way she carried herself, he was more inclined towards the former.

"Friend of yours?" muttered Terrence annoyed.

[Aurora Nightshade]

"More like a business aquantance. She's the neice of the head of RULE security. Her father runs a merchant business. My aunt and I did some trade business with them a few times when we were admited into New Babylon," she said quietly while Fiona was still out of earshot.
The perky blond gave them a sassy smile and looked at Aurora with obvious superiority. She was dressed in a nice business suit that only enhanced her near-perfect figure.
"Aurora, we haven't seen you in the city lately. I suspect business isn't going quite as planned," she had a mocking tone to her voice.
"What do you want Fiona?" Aurora kept her expression calm but that woman made her blood boil.
"Just to chat. Judging from you and your companion not being in line, I suspect you two don't have valid ID cards and won't pass security. You know I could help with that, if you make it worth my time," she eyed Terrence, giving him her best come-hither look.
"Acctually, we just got here and were contemplating where we wanted to go. Our ID cards are just fine,"
"Well, so much for profit. Do make an effort to come back to New Babylon, father very much loved the books you sold us. See you inside, Aurora," she sent Terrence another sweet smile and turned, walking back towards her bodyguards and the crates she was transporting.
Aurora silently wished she still had her knives, it would have cost her her life but killing Fiona and her 'I'm-better-than-the-world' attitude would have been well worth it for all the insults she'd just tossed around.

[Mr. T]

Terrence watched the exchange carefully. He was glad Aurora decided not to take her offer. Terrence didn't like favors. Favors meant that you were at the mercy of the other person and now-days that was worse than death. There was also a problem now, this woman saw them, she would be watching them and if she notice or suspected some foul play she could try to 'offer help' once more.

"Damn it! What I wouldn't give for a silencer," cursed Terrence as he gripped his gun. One bullet straight through her head and all their future troubles could be prevented. But unfortunately the cards had simply played out against their favor.

"Let's wait until she boards, I don't trust her kind..." Perhaps if they waited enough, the woman would forget them and board her shuttle. Perhaps... wasn't good enough, Terrence knew, but it was the only thing they had.

[Aurora Nightshade]

Aurora looked and him and cocked her head to the side. She noted he would kill her given the chance and random killing was a good way to get noticed in the wrong way. It would have taken less than a mineut before RULE disposed of the both of them if he killed Fiona.

"Killing Fiona will only cause trouble. I may hate her but I like living a little more than I'd like to kill her. She'll bypass security quickly because of her status. With me she can't spot a lie from a hole in the ground. She believed me, but she'll be looking for us inside the station, so after she enters, we'll have to move fast,"

Just as Aurora predicted, minuets later the blond entered the station, casting a glance over her shoulder directly at Aurora and Terrence. Aurora looked at Terrence and tied her hair back.
"Time to move," she didn't waste anytime and started for the drainage tunnels that shouldn't be too far from the station, hoping that they would be unguarded and unblocked by metal grates.

[Mr. T]

Terrence followed Aurora felling a little sour that she was right. Though he wanted to kill her, it would only cause more trouble, especially if she was someone important enough to skip security detailed. Though he was bitter, the root of it lied in his own mistakes. Fifteen years of inactivity had dulled his senses, rusted his strength and clouded his judgment. Back then before Roger Beams and any of this messed up world, he was in the army were he was a top notch soldier, considered one of the best in the battlefield. Terrence was bitter because he missed his old self and his old life.

The drainage tunnel wasn't very far from their original position. As soon as he spotted it, he gestured for Aurora to wait and looked around. There seemed to be no one there for now and they were out of sight from the guards posted outside the station. But Terrence scouted again and when he was sure he slowly made his way towards the tunnel.

"Get in," ordered Terrence while his yellow eyes kept a close watch on the surroundings.

[Aurora Nightshade]

She slipped out of her trench coat and shoved it into her backpack before she crawled into the tunnel, shoving her backpack in ahead of her. She crawled on her hands and knees, scooting her backpack ahead of her, slowly making her way threw the tunnel. She hated inclosed spaces and being in the darkness. And here she was dealing with both the darkness and an enclosed space.
Though ahead of her she could see the dim light of the station and would soon be in the light. The tunnel was cramped and slanted instead of angled. Which made it easier to get into the station. Once she reached the end she shifted onto her back and poked her head up just enough to scan the station and make certain no one would spot them. They were behind one of the pillars in the back of the station.

[Mr. T]

Terrence looked around before heading in after Aurora. It was hard for him to fit his much larger body through the tight tunnel. Somehow he managed to force himself through, but before he reach the end he heard a shout echo through the tunnel: "Someone's in the tunnels, sound the alert status!!"

"God damn it! Hurry up and be careful. Try to blend in with the people inside!" ordered Terrence as he continued forcing his way out of the tunnel.

[Aurora Nightshade]

Aurora put her trench coat back on and helped Terrence out of the tunnel.
"You needn't curse. I know how to become a fly on the wall and how to blend in!"
She knew how to be invisable and how to look unthreatening. She pulled the triangle of fabric from her hair so that it covered the right side of her face, concealing her scar. She'd heard the echo and knew that if they didn't board soon, they may not get the chance to if RULE started to check ID cards inside.
"Your turn. I got us into the station, it's your job to get us the rest of the way there," she whispered to him. She'd always played by the rules when it came to New Babylon's security robots; even before she'd seen what they do to people who's ID cards aren't valid.

[Mr. T]

They made it and that was good enough. If anything happened they could always run for it, once they were inside the Shuttle little could stop them. But for now Terrence focused on blending in as best he could and making his way towards the nearest Shuttle without arousing any suspicion. He didn't even bothered checking with the destination of the shuttle as long as it got them out of there before more trouble showed up, especially one dressed with a bad attitude an yellow hair.

"Yo driver! How much to leave now, I got a sick kid to tend to!" grunted Terrence. The lie came naturally and though he knew the driver wouldn't care at least he could mask his hastiness that way. Afterwards he took a handful of coins and placed them in the man's hand. The man eyes Terrence for a few seconds, sighed and called everyone into the Shuttle.

"Come on Aurora let's get in before anyone spots us!" he whispered as he grabbed her arm to prevent being separated by the crowd of people storming into the Shuttle.

[Aurora Nightshade]

Aurora didn't argue or resist but she loathed being dragged around. In fact she hated anyone touching her at all. It was from her being alone for so much of her life that any form of physical contact usually resulted in her having to knock someone's lights out or some other form of physical violence.
She also hated crowds and push-and-shove situations just as much, But since she'd met Terrence, most of the situations that they got into, resulted in her having to endure the things she hated most.
Aurora kept watchful as the crowd closed in around them, and people started to board the shuttle. She allowed Terrence to lead the way into the shuttle; she was small and experiance had taught her that you can get lost easily in big crowds so she silently tolerated being dragged by her arm even if she resented it.

[Mr. T]

Terrence continued dragging Aurora until they were both inside the shuttle. Just after they found their seats, they engines blasted on and the shuttle left the station behind. The first few minutes were harsh, but Terrence had been through worse when he piloted jets in the army. Then the shuttle continued moving at a more subtle pace.

Terrence looked at Aurora and couldn't even guess what was she plotting. She was so quiet, rarely said a word, less it was needed. Terrence didn't feel the need to fill the void, but there was some information he needed to know. But with time all would be revealed, for now, they just need it to ride this out.

"We'll have to wait a few more hours now, while the shuttle gets to new Anchorage. If there's anything you need to do before we get to Anchorage, we better do it now, I have plans for later on," whispered Terrence avoiding mentioning details is such a crowded place.

[Aurora Nightshade]

Aurora looked at him and nodded, than turned her green eyes away from him. She didn't feel the need to say anything, being on her own since the age of ten meant that she'd rarely had a conversation with anyone in that entire span of time since.

"Plans change. They always do," she said quietly rubbing absently at the scar on her cheek. It was a mark she'd never be rid of and one she'd learned a lesson from as was the case with nearly all of the scars on her body.
Aurora needed to get to the device that she'd kept hidden since her aunt had died. The one that her aunt and her mother had died for. It would be helpful to them if they really wanted to take down Roger Beams. But since so many people were around she kept her mouth shut. She'd wait until they were in Anchorage to reveil the existance of one small peice of lost technology that no one, except her, knew existed.

[Mr. T]

Terrence grunted in response. The rest of the way was uneventful and Terrence decided to get some rest. At first he stayed alert, waiting to see if Aurora did anything strange while he rested, but afterwards he drifted off into a deep slumber. He dreamed of that place again. The pair of empty and unmarked graves in the cold lands of Anchorage. He had been there many times, though he knew there was nothing he could do and there was no one watching over him, nor anyone buried underneath.

When the Shuttle landed he woke up and shook the sleep away. He stretched out his arms and legs and gave the driver another tip before stepping into the unforgiving cold that was Anchorage. Before walking another step he took a large furry jacket and offered it to Aurora.

"It's probably gigantic on you, but it'll keep you warm, till we get to my house..." Terrence had lived here fifteen years and though he was cold, he figured he was more use to it than her, though perhaps she too had visited the cold lands before...