Heavy Weapons - Sweet Venom

Robin surged towards Tivy as she screamed for help, snatching her under his arm and sprinting through the ship towards the kitchen. Tivy wriggled in his hands and tried to pull herself free, but he kept a spitefully firm grip on her as chaos erupted within behind him. The sound of the crew scrambling to their stations meant little to him as his back-up plan came together. He skidded into the kitchen and eyed up the metal freeze door at the back of the room.

As the others screeched into the kitchen, the sound of the freezer room door slamming met their entrance, along with Robin's cocky, smiling face showing through the square glass panel in the middle top of the door.

As Seeth, Diego and Trent charged for the door, he lifted Tivy into their vision, his elbow hooked around her throat. The handle of the door creaked with an icy crackle, solidifying under the psyker's frigid touch. A wave of realisation hit everyone at once as Robin grew a long claw on his other hand and pointed it straight at Tivy's face, who flinched away from it instinctively.

"I'm going to leave this ship without any hassle, or Tivy's going to pay the price for your stubbornness!" He shouted, his voice heavily muffled by the door. "I always get what I want, and it's time you all started to realise that."

"What the fuck is that little prick doing on my ship?" Seeth spat, venom dripping from her lips.

"Little prick? You know him..? Has he frozen the handle?!" Diego gripped the handle and pulled, but the door didn't budge.

"Venner's ex-husband. Ice psyker and absolute prick. He tried to chat me up last week." Seeth growled, subconsciously flexing her claws.

Diego snorted with anger, pacing back and forth outside the door, staring Robin down furiously. "Oh, I am NOT in the mood for this. You hurt her, and it'll be the last thing you ever do!"

"Can we all just calm down?" Geralt pleaded. An uncomfortable pang of guilt struck the feline deep within his stomach as his gaze landed on Tivy's terrified expression. Maybe I should have left this well alone... He thought to himself as he recollected his and Oxyi's conversation about the crisis couple. I've caused nothing but trouble... "If he just wants to leave, can't we just let him?"

"You all owe Venner money for her destroyed ship, which means you owe me." Robin sneered; not even the appearance of victory was enough to feed his bastard ego. "I want money for my own vessel, so I can actually leave you fowl vermin behind!"

"Excuse me?!" Seeth retorted, offended.

Through the chaos, Trent managed to find Tivy's gaze and held it. Despite the fear and cold, she felt a warm reassurance from the fox's eyes as they softened, for just a moment.

We'll get you out of there, Tiv. I promise.

"You want to bargain? Fine." Trent was surprisingly calm for the situation he was in. "We'll give you your precious dies. But if you so much as harm a hair on her head -" Trent gestured towards Diego and Seeth, who were barely holding themselves back from tearing the door off its hinges. "Then the deal's off. Do we understand each-other?" He turned to address Seeth directly as Robin's eyes narrowed. "Do we have any money left to give this dick-head?"

"I'll see what I've got." Seeth growled again. Vermin... I'll turn you inside out you little creep.

Trent shifted his focus back to Robin. A malicious grin was now spreading across his face, upon hearing the group relent to his demands.

Behind Trent, Wex hooked Diego's arm and pulled him and Seeth in.

"Options?" He asked under his breath. "Time is on his side, he can choose to hurt your friend whenever he wants."

Seeth turned her head and assessed the size of the freezer with Robin, but more importantly Tivy within it.

I can't teleport in there without potentially hurting Tivy, plus everyone is watching him...

"I've got nothing right now, aside from ripping the door off, but there's too much risk Tivy will get hurt. What about your psyonic defenses, Diego?"

But the lizard shook his head.

"I can armour Tivy up, but it'll affect him too because of how close together they are. It'll make things more complicated... Maybe that's the right call though? It'll still protect Tivy but... I don't know how advanced Robin's psyonics are. I'm a far cry from full strength right now. He might still be able to hurt her through my protection."

"How much do you care about hurting this guy?" Wex asked, tilting his head.

"Hurt, not at all. Killing? I'd say that isn't for the best." Seeth glanced towards Venner, who was crying loudly into Geralt's chest.

"Gotcha. Leave it to us. Once we do our thing, get that door open and get your girl out." Wex grinned, patting both Seeth and Diego on the shoulders. He calmly went over to Hammand, who was standing on the work surfaces in a state of deep alarm, staring into the freezer room through the single window.

The two of them communicated quietly, Hammond buzzing through several quick responses. In a brief flap of Wex's coat, Hammond had already scuttled out of the room, something short and chunky clutched between his larger hands.

Wex turned back towards Diego and Seeth, with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Remember, act quick and stay cool. Ice-pop over there is too engrossed in hamming up his win, let's keep our surprise to ourselves."

Back at the freezer door, Trent was continuing his negotiations with Robin, only to the increasing satisfaction of the human.

"So we'll give you whatever dies we've got, and we promise to let you go safely. But you have to give us Tivy back without hurting her."

"Oh please, I wasn't born yesterday. The second I let our precious little soup bug go, you'll bring me to the floor! No, Tivy comes with me. Only once I'm safe and sound will I even consider letting her go."

"Tivy is going nowhere!" Trent replied, his voice rising. "You want a hostage? Take me instead."

"Fuck off, fox. What the hell would I do with you? I think... I need a replacement wife for the one you brainwashed away from me! So no. I won't be letting Tivy go until I'm done with her. That's the price."

His response almost floored the fox. A fierce snarl wrinkled his muzzle as his anger bubbled to the surface.

"You let her go right now you disgusting perverted PSYCHOPATH!" It was getting too personal now; the cracks were starting to show in the fox's resolve. He lurched forward and slammed his fist hard against the window, and Tivy jolted at the sound.

Robin laughed, satisfied with his reaction. "Ahah. What makes you think you're in a position to bargain with me, fox?!" Tivy squirmed in Robin's grip again, and this time, he hauled her up onto his shoulder, so she was facing away from the window - away from Trent.

Trent took a step back, cradling his injured hand. Not only had he hit it hard, but Robin's psyonics had left an icy burn against his skin.

"Awh, did the wittle fox hurt himself?" Robin chortled. "Not everyone can handle being under pressure, Trent. Maybe you should step aside and let someone more competent do the talking?"

As the pain seared against his skin, something suddenly clicked on the fox's mind. The running. The hiding. The bargains, the failed deals, and the burn... And despite the rage that boiled and threatened to overspill, a voice in the back of his head spoke with a warm, commanding clarity:

Cat and mouse.

And she focused him. After all, he knew how to play this game...

With all the might he could muster, he channeled the heat flowing through his heart into the hottest form he knew.

He laughed.

"I love it. You're hammering the nails into your own coffin and asking us to sign your headstone." Trent grinned back at the human. "No. You've fought for some leverage, but it's time to cash that in, or prepare for the heat. You let Tivy go, and we'll let you go. That's the deal. Be grateful that we are even giving you a choice."

"Fuck you! You're not winning this!" Robin yelled, now slamming his free fist against the freezer door. "Maybe I'll just take your fucking woman right here in front of you!"

Despite Robin's threats, Trent appeared composed. His shoulders relaxed, a calm, almost scary confidence seemed to overtake him as he stared at Robin's face, squared perfectly in the frosted window.

"Still handling that pressure okay in there? You know you should be dead, Robin. I don't know what you were planning, but obviously it went wrong. But you've pulled it back, you've managed to get yourself a bargaining chip and you're working your game. Fine. You get to live and we'll pay you some dies for the ship. Fine. But take the win - before we take it from you."

Robin's eyes narrowed as the two of them stared each-other down. Standing just behind him was Diego, leaning on his fists threateningly over the kitchen surfaces, muscles tensed and ready to strike, like a hellhound protecting its pack. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of the lizard, from all he'd heard both in rumour and within the ship... But the death stare he was getting through the glass made him glad there was an inch of metal between them right now. His patience wouldn't last forever. Robin's ego wouldn't let him admit it, but deep down, he knew Trent was right...

Hauled up on his shoulder, Tivy shivered from head to toe, buzzing both from the fear and the cold. Robin's clammy shoulder offered no respite from the cold, his slimy voice and the boxy insides of the freezer cubby rattling around her senses.

I need to stay calm. I need to stay calm. The crew will help! I-I just... I need a distraction...

She turned her focus to the various goods and products stocked on the metal shelves that lined the two walls either side of her. Vegetables and pre-frozen soups lined the lowest shelves, with Tivy in mind. The middle shelves were a little more sparse, with the odd cut of meat or sealed box of canned goods stored against the very back. She glanced up to see some large frozen turkeys stored on the very top shelves, almost as big as she was.

Robin barked something at the door, his words long since blended into paste in her head. He was angry, and she didn't like it, that was all there was to know... She could feel him tense under her, his shrill voice vibrating through the entire freezer, echoing back and forth. She just wanted it to end...

When something caught her eye. A small rectangular vent on the back wall lifted open, a pair of honey and red claws gently lifted the flap open and Hammond emerged silently. He gently lowered himself to the floor, he had something clasped in his other hands as he straightened himself out and shook off the frost. How the bug had fit into such a small space was beyond her, the vent was miniscule, even for them! More and more questions rattled around her head when she suddenly recognised the short object -

Tivy's eyes bolted wide open as Hammond raised a sawn-off shotgun and pointed it at the back of Robin's legs. But before the bug pulled the trigger, he looked up at Tivy, using his smaller hands to mimic covering ears. Tivy nodded slowly, her jaw clenching tight as she grimaced and clasped her hands over her ears.

She squeezed her eyes shut...

BANG

Robin's leg was swept out from under him, his knee blasted to pieces as he collapsed to the floor along with a smattering of blood and bone. Tivy scrambled away the second they hit the floor together, her little claws scraping against the frost-covered metal as she tucked herself away on one of the middle shelves. She felt a bubbling froth of sick rumble in her stomach as she noticed the splash of crimson, rapidly crystallizing against the door along with a smattering of buckshot impacts.

The freezer filled with a reverberating scream as he immediately began to thrash about on the floor, a set of razor claws shot out from his fingers and he lashed out in surprise and panic. His claws slashed through the shelving legs as Hammond landed in his furious sight.

"YOU - YOU FUCK! HOW DARE YOU!"

Hammond leapt back, pressing his back against the wall as Robin's razors slashed back and forth, inching closer to him like a desperate wounded animal. The metal around them creaked loudly as it became unstable. Cans began to tumble down, crashing onto Robin's shaking frame, but he barely noticed. Blinded by rage and red, there was no rhyme or reason to his attacks; he continued to thrash violently, with both his pride and preservation at risk.

Trent rushed to the freezer door, squeezing the metallic handle downwards, but still it refused to shift. Diego charged forward, taking the handle from Trent and pressing down on it, the handle giving way after only a couple of seconds and the lizard hauled the door open in one powerful motion.

In front of them lay a furiously swiping Robin, his daggers of ice whipping back and forth, slashing through the legs of shelves and surrounded by fallen, dented cans. A terrified Tivy, curled into a ball on the middle shelf. A similarly worried Hammond, clearly considering if he needed to reload and climb up where he could to avoid the icy swipes below -

And a turkey.

Mid-flight.

Or rather, mid-fall.

CRACK

Several kilograms of frozen solid bird crunched straight into the back of Robin's head unceremoniously. His flailing stopped in an instant as the turkey stuck its landing.

The room fell into a jaw-dropped silence. Slowly, Diego and Seeth edged forward together, unsure of what to do.

"Robin...?"

Diego knelt down beside Robin's body. He placed his hands gently out, his fingers dancing with orange crackles. When Robin didn't respond, Diego glanced back at Seeth and Wex, with an awkward 'we may have fucked up' grimace on his face.

Tivy peered between the gaps in her fingers with a shy squeak, glancing around cautiously, trying to see what was going on from her shelf.

"R-Robin?"

Venner stumbled forward slowly, her eyes wide in disbelief. Oxyi and Geralt were too stunned themselves to try and stop her.

And out from the wreckage of the walk-in freezer, cool as a cucumber, Hammond nonchalantly stepped over the floored body. Amidst the silence he casually entered the kitchen, turned around, pointed at the turkey and buzzed proudly to the room:

"B-I-R-D."

*

Oxyi hefted a heavy cardboard box onto the table in front of her, which creaked lightly in protest. It was densely packed, sealed only minutes ago. Venner was standing off to the side, her eyes red and puffy, but dry for the time being.

Oxyi sighed softly under her breath as she played with the corner of the white cardboard, gathering the courage to speak.

"A-Are you sure about this, Ven? I-It's not too late!"

"I'm sure, Oxyi. I need a break, need to stay with my family for a bit. Haven't spoken to my parents in... too long. I'll be okay, I promise."

"We're gonna miss you. I'm gonna miss you." Oxyi sniffed loudly, blinking the beginnings of her own tears away.

"You guys will be fine. I'm not sure anything in the universe can stop you. I'll stay in touch. You haven't heard the last of me." Venner smiled weakly, but genuinely.

"You better. Or I'll send Tivy over to sort you out! You'll catch those spatchy hands, I swear!"

The rat's smile grew at the threat, then dropped from her face entirely as the two girls threw their arms around each-other in the middle of the DA battleship's staging hanger. It was mostly quiet at this time of day, with the few soldiers that were around giving the girls plenty of space to say their goodbyes. Theo had hauled the rest of Venner's bags off to her own private room, where they'd remain for the duration of her journey home.

On the other side of the hanger, Seeth sighed gently and cast a look over her shoulder at the pair.

She caught Venner's eye, and the rat gave her a small, deeply tired smile. Somewhere in her exhausted red eyes, there was a hint of genuinely thankfulness. Seeth returned the smile along with a subtle, knowing nod before turning her attention to her front once again.

"You sure you're okay with this, Jace?"

"Absolutely." The commander replied. "It's my pleasure to assist one of your crew. We'll get her where she needs to go."

"Thank you. I appreciate it, Jace." She gave a forced laugh then. "This hasn't been the best start of my captain career, has it? Less than a week in and already someone's died on my ship."

Jace laughed too. "My first week as commander, I accidentally had an entire regiment of dragoons scrapped, including custom models. The pilots were absolutely furious. Fucking up is a rite of passage as far as I'm concerned." He paused for a moment, then - "can I ask, how's Diego doing?"

"Better, I think. I think he just needs some time." But the hesitation and worry in Seeth's voice was palpable; it had hit her just how little she knew about her boyfriend, meeting a brother she didn't even know he'd had. She had no idea how the last six months had been for him either really, whilst in DA territory.

And he didn't know much about her either.

They had a lot of catching up to do. And while that was exciting, she felt... oddly anxious about it.

"That's understandable." Jace replied, surprisingly softly, picking up on Seeth's apprehension. "I'd give him my regards, but I can't imagine he wants anything from me right now."

Seeth sighed again. Despite the day already demanding so much, she wanted to address the niggling itch in the back of her mind. She looked Jace straight in the eyes, sending a shiver up and down the dragon's spine.

"Jace, listen, we really do appreciate you doing this... but I'm sick of you feeling like you owe me already so... can we call us even after this?"

Jace raised an eyebrow; it sounded a little too good to be true.

"If you're sure?" He extended an arm out to her, which the Controller shook firmly.

"I'm sure. I don't like people being indebted to me."

"You might be in the wrong business, Lockblade. But so let it be. I appreciate that. Speaking of which -" Jace peered around the Controller to see if Seeth's companions were no longer in ear-shot, which they weren't. "I'm glad you stopped by before we departed the moonstop. I had a couple of things I wanted to speak to you about, privately."

"Go ahead." Seeth replied casually.

"The Rewritten striking within our territory, the attack on the colony, those were the exact coordinates I shared with you. I only shared them with you - "

Seeth felt a defensive urge take her, but held her tongue. It was clear the dragon's demeanour was non-accusority.

" - Did you share those coordinates with anyone at all?"

"No one. I kept them private." Seeth confirmed instantly.

"...I was worried you'd say that. Could you do me a favour and have your gear checked for any taps? Because someone accessed that data and it was either through you or... well... me."

Shit! I didn't even think to ask Leech about that! How the fuck did they know where he was?! "I'll get my stuff checked." Seeth replied calmly. "You'd be wise to do the same though, if you haven't already."

"The issue is finding someone I know I can trust... but yes. Please let me know once you have. But onto my next point, I am aware that you lost some property in defence of our colony?"

Seeth raised an eyebrow, shrugging her shoulders. On que, a burly-looking rhargnorn soldier arrived behind Jace carrying a secure looking crate in his arms. He held it out towards the pair and Jace punched in a code on the front, releasing a couple of latches and the lid popped upon.

Within lay two keys. A single baron master key, complete with rust and old blood, and a much sharper looking new key, forged from bright silver with a delicate blue gem inserted at the top. It was obviously not functional but instead was inscribed with the words 'Thank you, Lockblade!' down the shaft in sparkling, black letters.