(Untitled)

[governorkang]

The few times that Kang had gone to the Sensoriums and imagined up bits of home, he'd been careful to limit the appearances of anyone he was particularly close to. So far, only Granak and Riel had shown up; the only people he'd expressly banned were his mate and hatchlings. He'd felt that it would be too uncomfortable, too... depressing, seeing

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[we_deliver]

In the course of finding an empty Sensorium for the pilots' regular training exercises, Trudy had to poke her head in several of the rooms, finding them already in use. She left as soon as she came - from every room except this one.

The number of draconians wandering around this simulation prodded her to step through the door, looking around in interest. Kang had seen Pandora, and had promised to 'take' her to Teyr at least once. Now, it seemed, was the time.

"'Scuse me," she said, waving down one of the passing draconians. "Can you tell me where I can find Kang?"

[governorkang]

As luck would have it, the draconian that Trudy happened to wave down knew Kang personally. After giving the woman a quick once-over (very attractive, for a human), he grinned, "I can, but what business do you have with the Governor, ma'am?"

[we_deliver]

Governor, eh? She filed that away for future reference, grinning. "Personal visit, is all," she said. "We're old friends, I guess you could say."

She looked around the village with interest, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her uniform. She would have expected the service rifle slung over her shoulder to draw attention, but so far the fact that she was human seemed to draw more attention than anything.

[governorkang]

No one on Krynn knew what a rifle was, and it was assumed that any non-draconian that had managed to get into the city had either been disarmed at the gates or was clear to carry a weapon.

"An old friend that even I don't know about. A Knight?" he asked, curiosity piqued. "And what would your name be, Ms. Old Friend?"

[we_deliver]

"Trudy," she said, extending a hand to the draconian to shake. "And who, me? Nah, I'm just a soldier."

Just a soldier, she says, with the stripes of a general on the shoulders of her uniform. No matter what culture you came from, it was pretty clear that Trudy was more than 'just' a soldier.

[governorkang]

"Well met, then, Trudy. I am General Slith," after shaking her hand, the sivak gave a short little bow, wings flicking in an almost gallant manner. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to his house."

Of course, not without a little bit of a chat on the way. Kang had told him before, multiple times, that his curiosity was going to get him killed one day, and he really couldn't refute that. "Where do you serve? I've never seen a uniform quite like that."

[we_deliver]

Slith's bow made her raise her eyebrows. Kang was mostly uncomfortable around human females, and she'd assumed their two species just didn't interact, that way. "Oh, no place you've ever heard of," Trudy said. "Pandora. Very small, out of the way."

She never thought she'd refer to any part of Pandora as 'small,' but there it was. Glancing around the town, she noticed that quite a few of the draconians watched her as she passed. Huh.

[governorkang]

"Must be far away, for me to have never heard of it. Maybe even on that other continent we keep hearing rumors about, up north," Slith commented, casually. A few of the draconians they passed that were staring at her particularly more noticably, he gave pointed looks to, as if to say to watch it. Even though he was the general now, he wasn't afraid to still bash someone's head in for misconduct.

"What's this Pandora place like?"

[we_deliver]

"Oh no, it's south - way south of here. Tropical. Lots of big predators." It was easier to construct a lie if you made it as close to the truth as possible, and Trudy wasn't going to say anything about Stacy. If Kang wanted to preserve the simulation as it was, she wasn't going to mess that up.

She chose not to comment on the nonverbal exchange that seemed to be happening around her, just walked with her head up, ignoring it.

[governorkang]

Aaaaaand Trudy was caught. Slith didn't show it yet beyond an intrigued nod, and a moment later, they were in front of a large house. Odd that the guards were dismissed. Shrugging, he knocked on the door once, paused, and knocked again.

Ten seconds passed, and Kang opened the door, frowning, "Yes, Slith?" He hadn't noticed Trudy yet.

"There's a human female here, claiming she knows you. She says she's from a place way down south, called Pandora. Problem is, you and I both know there's nothing down south but a hell of a lot of ice." Moving much faster than he looked like he could, Slith grabbed her wrists and pinned them behind her back, "Who are you, really?"

[we_deliver]

"Aw, hell," Trudy said. Caught in the lie.

Despite full knowledge that Kang was standing right there and would probably bail her out in an instant, the grip on her wrists provoked an immediate and violent reaction. Trudy didn't like being grabbed. She threw her head back and up with force, aiming for the draconian's snout. Getting hit in the nose wasn't pleasant for many species and she was willing to bet draconians were one of them.

[governorkang]

"Ow! Son of a - hold still before I slit your throat," Slith growled, keeping a strong grip on Trudy's wrists with one hand and pressing a dagger to her throat with the other.

Kang cursed in a mix of Nerakese and Common, and using his sons-of-bitches voice, he barked an order, "Let her go. I do know her, and she's no threat."

[we_deliver]

"Hey, I resent that no threat business," Trudy said, yanking at Slith's grip on her wrists. And, because she just couldn't resist, she added, "You heard the governor, put the toys away."

She certainly didn't sound like someone with a knife to their throat. Trust Trudy to think that messing with Kang was more important than making sure she didn't have any new holes to breathe out of.

[governorkang]

Kang quirked an eyebrow ridge, "You know what I meant, General. Slith, let her go."

Trudy was released, and the sivak scowled, rubbing at the end of his snout. He was a little impressed, though. Most human women wouldn't have even attempted to fight back, and she'd hit him hard. "What in the Abyss is going on?"

[we_deliver]

Trudy made a face at the title, rubbing her wrists as Slith let her go. "Sorry about the nose," she muttered. "I don't like being grabbed."

At his question, she glanced sidelong at Kang. "You want to take this one?" To be honest, she probably should have been as vague as possible until they got here. Kang would have known how to lie about this world far better than she did.

[governorkang]

"I've had worse," Slith snorted, resheathing his dagger and crossing his arms over his chest.

Sighing, Kang waved Trudy in, holding up a hand when the sivak made to follow. "I'll explain later, old friend. Over drinks." He was lying, of course.

"...alright. But you're buying."