[Kallile]

Her eyes watched him carefully as she rested her head one crossed arms from on top of the Rathril's mane. Drali rumbled, keeping an annoyingly slow pace behind the human man she trailed to keep a set distance. It was obviously annoying to the creature to be moving so slow, her third set of legs held up by her chest, twitching irritably. Even more irritating was the fact that while Spike was constantly wading his way out of the sand, Drali seemed to glide over it with her large, webbed feet. "And here I thought you didn't like my form of torture." She chided at him.

"Oh, just consider us your insurance policy. We're either going to pick up your sad little broken body and bring you to the base...or cut our losses and get some good out of this experience. That Nexu will only last Drali through today--she could use another meal."

Her frown continued. She could be taunting him with the fact that she had water and food up there...and his armor. but she decided against it for now. "Tell you what--you can make it easy and just pass out now. Do that and you'll get all your armor back. Otherwise...your gauntlet ships may get lost." She couldn't let the GSP be used against her tribe, after all. As it was, the chips were not in the gauntlets anymore anyway. But...she'd cut her losses and move her family quickly if it meant making this trip easier.

[26, 45]

[MillietheWarrior]

Spike rumbled in annoyance, closing his eyes briefly as his legs continued churning in the sand, guiding him blindly forward. “I didn’t like it. I never said I did. It was stupid, and ridiculous, and a waste of time for both you and I. I don’t know why you dragged me out here; look what you’ve accomplished. Nothing, that’s what. The only thing you managed to do was get me torn to pieces and make me mad. If your goal was to annoy someone to the point of wanting to strangle you, then I guess you’ve pretty much done that by now. Congratulations! You’ve won the solid gold Kewpie doll.”

He threw his good arm up in the air in exasperation, continuing to trudge through the sand. It was hot, and scorching, and he could feel the heat through his boots. But just beneath the sand’s surface, as his boots sunk into it, it was cool and comforting. Spike knew that if he never saw a grain of sand for the rest of his life, it would be too soon. “If your my insurance policy, I want to switch carriers, because I am extremely dissatisfied with your services. Just cut your kriffing losses here, and leave me alone.” He suddenly turned, stopping in front of the massive beast and waving an arm. He didn’t seem frightened by it or the fact that it could almost swallow him whole. Frankly, he didn’t care.

“Why?! Why are you following me? Why are you so annoying? Why did you bring me here in the first place?! You didn’t even get any information out of this, and your still following me!” He seemed fed up and frustrated. “You keep saying you can kill me anytime or you’ll cut your losses and leave me in the desert, or your stupid beast is going to eat me. Well then, do it already! Do it, or leave me alone, because I’m sick of listening to you! I’m sick of you following me around like a lost puppy. If I’m no more use to you, either get rid of me, or leave me in peace!” He kicked sand at the beast frantically, as if trying to bury it alive, wishing he could kick it high enough to hit Tracyn in the face.

Turning, Spike stomped off through the sand, feet sinking into the desert. “Either give me my armor back or don’t! I don’t care anymore! Just get away from me! Go away, go back to your stupid tribe and stop following me. If you care about me that much, then why in the name of all that is holy did you knock me out and leave me in the desert to get eaten in the first place?!” Spike was very nearly screaming at her now, his voice rising with every word. He turned and shouted back over his shoulder. “You and I should never have had anything to do with one another, yet because of you, we do! I want you…To. Go. Away! How many times do I have to say it before you get it through your thick skull that I don’t want you here?!”

[31]

[Kallile]

"Ah, but there is where you're wrong." Tracyn drawled, idly braiding a small section of Drali's mane as she listened to his rant. She couldn't say she blamed him--she never did care for the "by the book" torture that involved bloodshed. People broke down, much like Spike was now, much easier with her method. Even if it called for her to remain calm, impassive and wholly uninterested in boundaries or anything of the sort. "See, you've told me, by everything you've been doing, that you and your base apparently don't know or care about this tribe of shapeshifters. Therefore, I have no choice but to indulge my clients sick and twisted needs for new, dangerous game to hunt. So you just got me a higher paycheck. Far from empty handed if you ask me. Thanks in advance for your permission."

She snickered down at him, watching as he kicked sand onto Drali's scales. the beast snorted at him, grumbling in low chirps as if pleading with her rider to let her devour him alive. Sure, he may kick, scream, and bite at her stomach...but a stomach ache was a small price to pay for this current indignity. Tracyn gave a slight tug to the braid she was working on; a clear sign to her mount that no such thing was permissible.

"I brought you here to get honest answers about your relationships with these half-human people my clients are getting ready to hunt and kill. Apparently you're so stuck on commando mode that you wouldn't let yourself realize all the help I was trying to offer and have instead fought me tooth and nail. If that's the way you act towards you allies; then maybe they're better off dead or enslaved before you used them for fodder for the tinnies."

This time she gavea  sharp kick to Drali's neck and the Rathril bucked, murder sparkling in her eyes. With her higher third set of legs she swiped out with Spike as  her sole target, claws angled away from him for little damage beyond initial impact.

"Congratulations, Spike." Tracyn whispered softly as her mount moved to complete her attack. "How does it feel to have signed the death warrant to an entire species?"

[27, 46]

[MillietheWarrior]

Spike glared over his shoulder at her as she started towards him on the creature. Frankly, he was tired of all her lies. He didn’t believe her for a second. “What kind ally kidnaps someone and drags them off? If you’re my ally, then you would’ve spoken to me civilly about it, and maybe I’d have been more inclined to listen to you and believe you. As it is, I want nothing to do with you and your lies,” he hissed, dancing forward to get out of the creature’s range. He knew those powerful kicks were aimed his way, and he knew if one of them hit, he’d be out cold again.

He did not want to spend the rest of his day passed out. He wanted to get home…And maybe lead a battalion out into the desert to destroy her stupid little village. He snarled at her, flashing his fanged teeth. “Feels a bit like having an annoying pain in the butt following you through the desert,” he shot back, dancing away from the creature with a bit of difficulty. He couldn’t quite move fast enough, and a claw nicked his arm. He hissed in pain, and picked up his pace to hurry away from the creature.

[32]

[Kallile]

Tracyn narrowed her eyes at him, tugging down the wrappings at her face so they hung below her chin and effectively masking exactly where her neck and jugulars were. What she was planning was slightly stupid, and if he found her knife she'd need that masking to keep herself alive. "I never said I was your ally, now did I? But I'm certainly far from an enemy." She mused, watching him dance away from Drali.

As amusing as it was, this needed to come to an end. All he was doing was getting himself weaker and more injured. As Drali continued to move forward, swiping at the man she had been given permission to target, Tracyn added the finishing tie to the braid in her mane and gave a resigned sigh. Time to wrap this nonsense up.

Grabbing fistfulls of Drali's mane Tracyn swung herself over the side of the beasts neck and went sailing through the air--straight at Spike.

[28, 47]

[MillietheWarrior]

Spike was more busy dodging the animal than noting where it’s rider was. And he wasn’t expecting Tracyn to literally jump him. He twisted slightly, turning to dodge another swipe from Drali, when a solid, smaller body collided with his, sending them tumbling into the sand, literally head over heels. Spike found himself grunting as his head starting spinning with dizziness, the wounds on his stomach tearing open once more. Why, oh, why did things like this happen to him? When they landed, Spike found himself beneath her, but the momentum of their fall and the tumbling gave him enough leverage to get his boots just under her ribs and give a mighty push.

Spike felt the weight lift off of him, and rolled over on side as she sailed over him, propping himself up with an elbow and struggling to his knees. “Are you insane?! If you really want to help me, you’ll stop doing stupid things like that and just go away!” He snarled, one arm still supported in the sling, while the other was holding his torso up. He sank back on his haunches, breathing heavily; he could already feel the burning pain in his stomach rise to an inferno. Wonderful; that idiot had just reopened his wounds again.

[33]

[Kallile]

Tracyn narrowed her eyes as she made contact--a vain attempt to both watch her target and keep sand from her eyes. As they toppled a few times over the dunes she did her best to spin them so she landed on top, but the effort was for naught when Spike managed to kick her off. Though, that seemed to matter little to Tracyn.

The bludgeon staff was in her hands--the ripped wrappings that had bee holding it to her back fluttered off into the desert. She was ina  half crouched position above his head from where he had flipped her up and over, but the staff was held at the ready. "You're tired of talking? You've done plenty of talking and none of it of any importance. So, wish granted Clone boy...here's some action for you."

The staff sailed through the air at him (though at the speed, it might be hard for one to tell the bludgeon was at the opposite end) as Tracyn gave it a hefty swing and prepared herself to make another if needed.

[48]

[MillietheWarrior]

Spike had expected her to leave him alone, not try to kill him. He smirked darkly; this he could handle. This was warfare, this was fighting, killing, bloodshed. This was what he knew and understood. Spike could deal with this, because he was a soldier, and he knew exactly what to do. When the staff swung at him, his instincts and kicked in, and he ripped his arm from the sling; fighting one handed was going to be difficult, and even if his stomach burned and his muscles screamed at him to stop, he couldn’t just lie there and take it.

He was used to fighting on through the pain; it was the reason he hadn’t collapsed completely by now. He was able to ignore it effectively and get on with the job. The staff sailed close to him, nicking him lightly, but enough for Spike to know he definitely had to avoid that from now on; one whack to the head and he’d either be in a coma, or his skull would be crushed. He was still on his knees, though by now he’d fallen to his side to avoid the first swing. He could see her muscles bunching as she prepared for the next one, and scrambled to his feet with a bit of effort.

He had no weapon but his bare hands, and as long as she was swinging that staff around, he didn’t have a chance of getting close to her. So he’d dodge, and he’d wait for his opening. He stepped back away from her, clutching his stomach as he watched her with dagger-sharp ruby eyes. “What happened to treating your allies with respect?” he asked mockingly, breathing heavily from the effort of keeping on his feet. “Thought you didn’t want to kill me; now it seems like your actually trying.”

[34]

[Kallile]

His weaponless state was abundantly apparent to Tracyn, and her mind ticked peacefully into the life she had been brought up in. Madalorian ways of war and battle. Above all, he would be seeking a weapon. And above all else, she did not have the luxury of offering him the chance to take one.

He was bred for this; the very fibers of his genetics had been mutated and rearranged for bloodshed. Even with her upbringing she had her doubts that she could best him even with his injuries. He was like a beaten fighting dog--he may be down for the count but he would go out snapping and trying to draw blood until he drew his own last breathe. That made him doubly dangerous.

"For all the whining you've done you don't desire an ally, and I have no intentions on killing you. If that happens," she mused with a grin as she thrust the staff at him and quickly whirled it by to spin it threateningly above her head, "I promise you, it was purely accidental."

Around them, Drali made wide and silent circles as if she herself was a moving boxing ring. In truth she was slowly moving the dueling pair--directing them towards the base. She knew her masters desires and she would not allow them to stray from the desired course.

Her muscles bunched and relaxed--an attempt to keep him on his toes, not knowing when she would stop the spinning and bring the bludgeon staff down for a powerful blow--as she slowly stalked towards him. "No, Clone boy. I really have no interest in fighting a dying man. I'm just waiting you out and using up your energy the best way I know how. Considering you've been without food or water for a day, I don't think this little dance will take long."

It was mid-speaking on her last word that her muscles bunched with purpose and the staff came sailing down.

[29. 48]

[MillietheWarrior]

Spike snorted, then sucked in a deep breath, nearly choking on the sand he inhaled. He wasn’t used to fighting without his armor, but he could definitely adapt and adjust. He was made to improvise in battle; ARCs were crazy, unpredictable, and, as many put it, ‘funny fellows.’ Spike decided he fit that to a ‘T.’ Spike dodged the thrust of the staff as it zoomed past his shoulder, right where his head had been a moment before. He was out of breath, panting, and his stomach burned like fire. It’d been a long time since he’d been in a situation like this; the last time he’d been in such dire straights, he’d been on a mission on Fest. It was a nasty planet; cold, brutal and unforgiving and Spike would be quite glad to never see that planet again.

Spike kept a close watch on the creature circling them out of the corner of his eye; he didn’t trust the rider or the beast. Spike wasn’t sure where the next strike would come from, but he was slowly beginning to lag, his heart thudding painfully against his chest. The intense heat of the desert and the constant physical exertion, coupled with his torn and possible infected body, dislocated shoulder and lack of nourishment or hydration for a whole day were beginning to wear on him. He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, eyesight blurring for a brief moment, before it refocused on Tracyn’s staff.

She’d been speaking to him, hadn’t she? Spike couldn’t hear what she was saying. His body swayed involuntarily, the strike missing him as he stumbled back. But he kept his feet, and shook off his dizziness, determined not to be taken out by this annoying woman. He had no idea they were slowly moving towards the base; all he knew was that his vision was starting to get fuzzy…and…and the desert sand looked awfully inviting as it rushed up to meet him as he fell face first into it.

[35]

[Kallile]

For a third time, calm and steady ruby eyes watched her opponent fall. Only this time there was a great deal of concern in those eyes; he'd passed out from his wounds, that much she knew for a fact. It had to be the just cause and that meant only one thing for the strangely dressed Raider.

Time was short and of the essence.

Drali sensed it to, and without a word passing between them the mount had scooped up her rider's enemy into her third set of arms as if he were simply a sleeping infant. Tracyn grabbed onto the beast's mane and swung herself up onto the Rathril's back--looking worn and tired for the first time in months. So began what she had so hoped this man might be willing to stop.

"Let's move, Drali."

~*~

No one was sure how an all but mummified looking woman could sneak into the base and by-pass the cameras. Or how she knew the room codes or got past Kadala in the medical ward. But somehow, Spike wound up lying on a white linen bed waiting to be tended to with his armor neatly piled beside him and a note tied around his neck with the same strange cloth the woman had been wearing.

On it, the note simply said:

"Spike,

I told you so.

~Tracyn"

[30, 49]
(Permission given by Millie and all that to move the plot along. x3)

[MillietheWarrior]

Spike woke to the feel of a blinding headache and a pair of red, angry eyes hovering over him. He only had a second to get his bearings before a bright spotlight fell on his face. He blinked, shielding his eyes as he growled. “Agh, what are you trying to do, blind me?” he growled, batting at the light in his face. An equally growly, equally annoyed voice replied back, and Spike found himself staring into the same angry red eyes. “With all due respect commander, shut up.” The base’s doctor, Kadala, a specially trained medical Clone, stared down at him, a scowl on his face. The dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than Spike had ever seen them; the man was literally married to his work, and having a case like Spike dumped on him without any knowledge as to how he came to be in this state probably didn’t help the doctor’s sleepless nights.

“What are you doing here, and what happened to you?” the white haired clone demanded, pointing down at the loosely wrapped wounds on his stomach. Spike winced as he sat up, his body screaming in protest; Kadala seemed more intent on finding out how it came to be than treating the wounds that were slowly eating away at Spike’s life. “Doc, can you just-” he panted, struggling for breath in the effort to keep himself upright. Kadala waved him off, a growl in his voice as he went to fetch medical wraps, bacta patches, and what looked like a breathing apparatus. Spike closed his eyes, wondering what happened. The last thing he remembered, Tracyn was circling him, and then he…passed out. He felt something tickle at his throat and looked down to see a small note of paper attached to a familiar looking wrapping.

He picked at it, eyes skimming over the hastily written note, before a low growl rent itself from his throat. “Stupid idiot…” he muttered. She’d gotten the last laugh. Kadala returned with the wrappings, bacta and breathing mask, and began to patch up his stomach wounds. “Who’s a ‘stupid idiot’?” he asked. “Because if your referring to yourself, sir, then I couldn’t agree more.” Spike was too tired and in too much pain to reply as he tore the note from his neck and let it flutter to the floor. He hardly registered Kadala’s voice as the doctor yanked him into a sitting position.

. “Up and at ‘em, Commander. You need to get into the tanks if you want to make it through the night.” Kadala didn’t seem ruffled by the fact that he had a half-dead clone commander in his ward or that Spike might not possibly make it until morning. Spike decided, despite the man’s roughness, that if he made it through this, he was so sending Kadala a fruit basket. He winced as the doctor hefted him to his feet, slinging an arm over his shoulders and walking him to the back where the green, glowing tanks waited.

[35/1]

[Kallile]

Tracyn watched silently from outside one of the small, slit windows as the medical physician saw to Spike. A smirk danced over her face: she couldn't hear Spike, but she knew exactly what his lips were saying when he finally discovered her note. Leaning back, she sighed and looked up at Drali.

"Well, not the answers I wanted..." She mused softly as she stroked the soft, almost leather scales on her mounts' muzzle. Drali only rumbled in response as her ears swivelled to keeps tabs on all activity around them. Shifts were changing and the time to leave was quickly approaching. Tracyn sighed again and plucked a small comlink from her wrappings.

"Bring 'em back to real-time, Ziris. Our work here is done. I owe you one."

"You better believe you owe me one--that wasn't even amusing!" A feminine voice answered jokingly back. Tracyn smiled sadly.

"Com me when you think of something. Tracyn out."

Placing a hand on Drali's side Tracyn walked beside her beast. She'd need to get a little back into shape if this next outing was going to be successful. But first, she had to make sure her tribe was on the move. And it just so happened that she'd "liberated" enough food to make a 24-hour straight move worth their while.

"Let's go home for now."

[31, 50]

[MillietheWarrior]

Kadala was a blurry figure outside of the Bacta tank. Spike’s eyes were wide open as he floated in the greenish colored liquid, arms folded over his chest and in nothing but his black boxers. The room was illuminated only by the glow of each tank, colored blue and green and even some red, depending on the healing intensity of the Bacta contained within. He could already feel the tank and it’s contents taking affect; the wounds in his stomach had gone from a burning, blinding pain, to a dull, numb tingle. His shoulder no longer ached, and his muscles had begun to relax as the cool liquid flowed around his body.

His ruby gaze settled on the red eyed man beyond the glass. Kadala was scribbling something down on a data pad, glancing up at the readings on the tank every now and again; he‘d only come back into the room a few minutes ago. Spike, the breathing apparatus over his face, simply floated like a scuba diver in the green liquid. He was, to be quite frank, surprised he was alive. He was equally surprised he was back at base. He wasn’t quite sure what it was Tracyn was playing at, but for the moment, Spike was glad to put her out of his mind.

He’d had a long, trying few days, and he was glad he was finally rid of the woman who he’d quickly come to dub ‘the bane of his existence.’ Or at least, he imagined he was rid of her…at least for the time being. Spike closed his eyes as Kadala waved at him, mouthing the words ‘Two more hours’ and h0olding up two fingers. Spike smiled behind his mask; he’d been in here for the past six hours now. Another two couldn’t hurt, right?

[37/2]

[Kallile]

He tribe had made good time from what Tracyn could tell and from the speeds of the wind their tracks and even their heat signatures would be difficult to read. The winds whipped up such super-heated sand from the day just beginning to set around them that the entire area would scan a mass of yellow. Anything else might as well be a cluster of rocks.

With a sigh she draped herself over Drali's back as the beast whimpered out after her clanmates. She had gotten used to a more solitary life with her bonded rider, but that didn't stop the Rathril from missing a herd-setting. Tracyn tightened her fingers in the creature's mane; willing her to stop.

"Someday we'll stay for good. Eventually. Don't let it get to you." The human mused to her mount as if the creature was fully comprehensive. Tracyn looked up at the night sky and sighed. Ina  few months time there would be so much carnage, even the sky would be painted red.

"Let's get moving--need to have everything properly staked."

[32, 51]