Next Phase Completed

Posted on Sat Apr 29th, 2023 @ 5:34am by Lieutenant Josey Wales & Commander Raiden Kosugi & Lieutenant Obav th’Villos & 1st Lieutenant Kyle Walken

Mission: The Goddess
Location: Shuttle
2791 words - 5.6 OF Standard Post Measure

/ON/

Ascaso felt some of her previous tension slightly ease away. They were finally inside the asteroid belt, away from their 'pursuer'. For the moment all was quiet in the shuttle, as if they were taking a breather, waiting for the next part of this undercover mission to take place. Not one person has broken their cover. All being escapees from a Federation vessel. Once more Ascaso looked around the shuttle, trying to get a read of those there. Her eyes settled upon Tiger Lily, who seemed to be calm and in some sort of repose despite her not being in her regular chair.

'With our pursuer gone, may I ask where we will be going next? I-I feel such a hunger to know more and to be one with the Goddess. She had saved us from those who wished to stop us." Ascaso remarked, her voice low and humble.

Tiger Lily smiled serenely, at Ascaso "It will be revealed at the other side of this asteroid belt. We must travel the Path of Obstacles to test our faith and our worthiness." then Tiger Lily looked at Josey "I will need you to be in the cockpit with her." nodding towards Tarala, "It will take both of you to coordinate to get to the other side, and here are the coordinates we must take, in order to prove to the Goddess that we are worthy, for the next part."

Tiger Lily then looked at the one who knelt before her. "Please come sit beside me." indicating the seat near her, also in some aspect dismissing Ascano who gave a nod moved in order for Walken to sit besides Tiger Lily.

"May the journey be swift and peaceful." Ascano said quietly. Though in her mind she thought, If we have the coordinates why can't we just knock her out and we go the rest of the way?

As if in answer to the unspoken question, Tiger Lily added. "When we get to the other side of the asteroid belt and it being the shortest way there, I will give you the code for us to pass safely through the Guardians. Otherwise we will be facing judgement day."

Walken is slow to his feet as he silently sits down next to Tiger Lily, he turns his head to look the woman in the eyes now.

Tiger Lily looked at Walken, "What is it you truly seek, what are you looking to escape from?" the woman asked, returning his gaze.

Ascaso was wondering if Walken was buying into all of the malarky but she wasn't going to break character either.

"What I seek?" Walken asks aloud. He takes a moment and lowers his head. "I don't know anymore, after the loss of my wife...I just don't know what is left for me." Walken went back to the story he told Lily when he first met her.

"You lost your wife and..." her brow furrowed as she went back in her memory, "And what happened to your baby girl, you had told me that you had lost her to the impurities of the universe." her voice soft and low.

"I don't know...I been searching but in my heart I know she is gone." Walken answers in a whisper as he stares at the floor.

Tiger Lily reached out a slender hand, placing it gently on Walken's shoulder. "You will find peace, you are well on your way." squeezing his shoulder in a comforting way, then moved her hand towards Walken's head, "May you find the peace in the Goddess that you are looking for."

"That is why I looked for this group, I fear only through the Goddess I will find the answer to that question." He mumbles.

"Tell me about your wife, and what happened? How did you lose her?" Tiger Lily asked, as she drew her hand away from Walken's head.

Kyle almost smiles, "Here name was Lauren, we grew up together back on Earth. She...she had the sweetest smile, at least until some half-breed killed her." His almost-smile completely fades. "I never should have let her go on a cargo run alone...we were a team and the one time I'm away she is taken from me. When they found her they didn't take the cargo, they just killed her to kill her."

Tiger Lily gasped, holding up one hand to her mouth, and pushing a strand of her long blackhair behind her ear. "That is horrid, how dare they do such a thing." her eyes widened, "Wh-wh- what happened to your baby girl?"

"I don't know...she was with a friend...watching her while I dealt with the situation with Lauren. When I got back, they were gone." He just glares at the floor now. "I don't know why my family was targetted...I don't even know if my little Charlie is still alive."

Tears welled up in Tiger Lily's expressive eyes, several slipping dowm her cheeks, a quiet sob as she pulled Walken close to her, in an embrace of sympathy. "You poor unfortunate man, the Goddess will heal your hurt, she will rain down her judgement upon your enemies. Of that I am most assured."

Walken is quiet now, "I can only hope so."

Josey called out from the helm station. " Heads up!! We're about to clear the asteroid field. " He checked the sensors. " It appears that's we've lost those that were in pursuit of us. " He said with a grin. " Praise be the goddess is with us. " He said. " So where to next? " He asked.

"297.695 x 8.867" Tiger Lily giving the other coordinates, and with said numbers she also added, the numbers code for getting through the shieldings without harm. she called out a series of numbers, "890337" then she turned her attention back to Walken. "We will be embraced by the arms of the Goddess. Praise be."

Ascaso looked at Wales, and Tarala, feeling her heart start to race she echoed what Tiger Lily said, "Praise be to the Goddess" She then spoke to Tarala, "Can you believc it we're almost to our new home."

A curious thought crossed Ascaso's mind, and she spoke up. "Tell us about where we will be going, what is its climate like? "

"It is paradise, subtropical with plenty of trees around the temple, majestic mountains not too far. It is indeed heavenly being there." Tiger Lily replied.

Walken lets out a sad laugh, "Paradise...things like this do exists to me anymore."

"Oh but it is heaven and paradise where the Goddess walks." Tiger Lily responded.

As the journey of the shuttle progressed, Tiger Lily's eyelids drooped and her head drifted to one side, leaning against Walken's shoulder. The woman was tired and she felt spent. "Let me sleep but wake me up before we land." her voice fading away.

Ascasa took a look at the now slumbering form of Tiger Lily, glancing up at Walken who was now a human pillow, then she looked over towards Wales. She didn't know how deep of a sleeper Lily would be and didn't think it safe enough to talk normal.

Walken keeps his groan to himself as he remains still and silent to let Tiger Lily sleep.

Josey tapped out the code for all federation ships to use to avoid the anti ship weapon system and get through safely and sent the message out in text form to prevent suspicion. To all federation ships, transmit the code 890337 to prevent being targeted by defense system. Lieutenant Wales.

Josey glanced over his shoulder and noted that Tiger Lily had fallen asleep on Walken's shoulder. He dimmed the interior cabin light to a soft glow and turned on some soft violin music at low volume so as not to disturb the sleeping Tiger Lily. " Aww... It looks so romantic and comfy back there, It even looks natural. " He said with a grin. " If you'd like I can slow the speed down and take a little longer if you'd like. He said softly with an amused twinkle in his eye.

Kyle shifts his eyes to Wales, and a glare forms. He was about to shout something about flying home with only one hand but he controlled himself and didn't go for the combat knife in his boot. "Going on my list." He mumbles in a whisper.

Josey cut the violin music and chuckled. " If the situation were reversed, I know you would have said something yourself. " He said in a whisper barely able to be heard. " I've got a bottle of Rye Whiskey with your name on it when we get back. Besides you make a cute couple. " He said. " Now let's see if these codes work. " He transmitted the codes and slowed the speed down a bit. " Well they aren't tracking or targeting us, So it looks like we're in the clear for now. Landing at 297.695 X 8.867. We'll be landing in about ten minutes. " He looked directly at Walken. " All kidding aside, Do we take her with us incase we need her to get past security? Or do we hit her with a heavy stun and leave her here? "

Kyle nods as he mentions bringing her with them in case of security, he didn't want to risk her being awake and hearing him.

Ascasa rolled her eyes at hearing the romantic music, then she shook her head at the quiet dialogue. She was feeling a bit antsy and wondered why they weren't hitting her with a hypospray and knocking her out that way. Then again could they actually explain how they had the hypospray in the first place.

"You know we could just use something to keep her asleep." Ascaso said very quietly.

Just at that moment, Tiger Lily stirred making a quiet noise her eyes fluttering open.

"Oh gosh, we are here aren't we?" Tiger Lily said softly watching the shuttle get closer to the ground then settle down gently. Red dust kicked up in wispy clouds from the shuttle's thrusters having utilized them to land.

There was the unspoken question of now what which went through Ascano's mind. They needed to meet up with the others if possible, and regroup. it all hinged upon the decision of Wales and Walken, Ascano was feeling impatient, she wanted to get this done. To be finished.

Walken offers his arm to Lily, "Your people...no. Our people await your return." He spoke softly. In Walken's mind, it was safe to keep up the ruse and it would be easier for the assault if they had people working on the inside.

Lily accepted Kyle's arm, "I will have trouble walking, the gravity is a bit much for me. Would you be so kind to help me out?" a pleading expression in her eyes.

Kyle shifts his arms as he lifts Lily into the air bridal style. He steps forward with her giving a nod to both Wales and Ascasa to lead the way out of the shuttle

Josey took up position behind Walken and followed closely. He reached forward with a hypospray and made contact with Tiger Lily's slender neck as the hypo hissed. Tiger Lily slumped as Josey was able to grab her with the assistance of Walken and lower her to the floor gently before she could fall. " Let's handcuff her and leave her in the shuttle, She might be a cultist but I'll still treat her as a lady. Besides, she's going to have to stand trail for her crimes. Now let's get everyone together and finish this job. " Said Josey with grim determination on his face,

"Wasn't my first choice, would have been easier to get in hidden. Chaos from the inside." Walken shrugs as he watches Lily. He pauses for a moment, wondering what life would have been like had she avoided the cult. "Load up."

Tarala had been quiet for some time, but now that they were down and she'd put the shuttle in standby mode. She looked over the team as they discussed sticking her in the shuttle. "I thought she was our ticket in."

"Well she isn't much use now, we come in carrying her we look just as suspicious. So we adapt and we overcome. Unless you have something to wake her up? I pick her up we all look concerned."

" We could wake her up. " Said Josey. Or they know who she is and we tell them something is wrong with her and take her to Sickbay to treat her. We'll be inside and able to raise hell from the inside, and if we get into their security area we can disable they're systems and get our people inside without and automated defenses to slow them down. As you said adapt ,overcome and improvise. Either way we get in and help our people. " He turned to Tarala. " Send this message to the landing force that they will have operatives inside and will let them know when to strike. Understood? "

"Wake her up, I don't want to take a chance on them suspecting us carrying her back in just after she was captured. Besides, she is basically our all-access badge. She is their voice, bring her to where she needs to go. Then we spread out and handle security quietly." Walken adds.

Ascano looked from Tarala, Wales to Walken then to the unconscious Lily. "We'll just let her know she'd fainted, afterall we've not really eaten anything during our escape. This way she won't be suspicious and we can go to the next step. Something pure, plain and simple. And we
can be done with this mess."

Walken lifts Lily into his arms and stands up, "Do what you have to do to wake her, I will explain it to her."

Josey switched out the vial in the hypospray and gently placed it on her neck as it hissed out it's medicine. " Alright she should wake up in a minute or two. Let's start walking towards the compound. " Josey glanced at Tiger Lily. " She is a petite thing isn't she? Your statement made me think of what she would have been like if she wasn't a member of this cult. Why would she join a cult like this? Was it for power? Acceptance? Or was it just the feeling of hope that she found when she was accepted into the group? " He asked. " But my main question is did she know what those missionaries were doing when they went out to those ships? Or was she innocent in believing they were being helped in some way? "

"Well don't drive yourself insane, Wales." Ascano remarked. "We have a job to do and lets get to the next stage, I'd like to finish up this mess. " she noted that Tiger Lily was starting ot stir. "Okay its time to put the game face on again. She's coming around. And I will be right there with her." moving over to stand watch with Tarala.

Tiger Lily started to stir, feeling dizzy "Oh what happened?" weakly raising her hand to her head. She looked up towards Walken's face.

Tarala arched one of her brows, she was weighing on jumping in and blaming the whole thing on hitting her head due to turbulence or letting Walken handle it. Of course she'd have no bump to go along with the story. Tiger Lily seemed rather taken with the young Marine and so she thought it best to let him handle it and focus on watch with Ascano.

"This is going to be fun," She muttered more to herself.

"I'm no doctor but it looked like you fainted, when was the last time you had a meal?" Walken asks.

"Um, I actually do not recall" Tiger Lily answered rather softly. "Do any of you have something to eat? I do feel a bit woozy."

Ascano called back over her shoulder, "We got some rations that we stole when we escaped, maybe something there."

"It will do for now, grab it and let's get moving," Walken ordered.

Ascano whispered towards Tarala, "finally we're getting somewhere" then turned to trot over to the shuttle grabbing some ration bars and water handed them out to the others.

Tiger Lily received her ration bar and opened it up eagerly and took a bite of it. "This is good thank you." blushing slightly. "Once we eat this we will head inside, for you to be welcomed into the fold." she said brightly.

Walken nods his head but doesn't speak.

Josey nodded his agreement . " well we've been through a lot and have come a long way to be here, let's get this lady inside and do what we need to help out where we are needed. "

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