A Soldier’s Gambit

[Izak Archer]

The Planet Constance
A local bar
0030 Hours Local Time

Izak rubbed two chips between his thumb and forefinger, deciding what his bet would be. The other four players looked at him with a mix of annoyance and expectation on their faces. Izak paused; catching himself staring at the condensation on the side of his drink slowly running down the side of the glass.

"I will see you,", he said as he flicked the two chips he was playing with into the center of the table. One man visibly relaxed. "And I will raise you." Izak put another six chips in the table and finished his drink. Two players pushed their chairs out, two others continued. The hand continued for another half an hour, Izak had two doubles of whiskey and came away richer than he expected. He had a room across the street though, so he was in no real hurry to leave. He pocketed his winnings, paid his tab, and chose to spend the rest of the time before they close enjoying his drink in an empty bar with his feet up on a table. The life of a privateer may just suit him yet. The money was good, the hours were good, and he did not have to deal the daily task of being an officer.

As he strolled out of the bar at closing time however, that feeling disappeared very quickly. He glanced to his left, seeing a familiar blonde, and kept walking across the street.

"Go to hell Turner," he bellowed in the dark of the morning.

[Melody]

Melody had managed to track down one Izak Archer, pleased that unlike the last person she'd had to track down, it had been a much easier endeavor. The Alliance liked to keep track of its former Officers and all she'd had to do was look him up in their overly organized and creepily invasive system.

While she'd been able to zero in on his general location on Constance, it had taken her a little longer to figure out where exactly he was staying once she got dirt side. The pilot had peered into several bars and asked a handful of hotel managers for their guest lists before she'd finally found both the hotel he was staying in and the bar he was currently gambling inside of.

Knowing how they'd just been the best of friends, Melody had chosen to wait him out and let him get good and drunk (and maybe wealthy or despondent at losing money) before she'd bother him.

So, the poor woman had to spend several hours leaning against the outside wall of the bar glaring at passers by and occasionally teaching drunkards who tried to get too handsy with her on their way out some manners in the form of her knuckles meeting the bridges of their noses. Maybe she enjoyed marking idiots with crooked noses and bruised eyes, or maybe she just liked hitting people.

Finally, the man of the hour meandered out of the bar, the last patron to leave, and Melody pushed off the wall with a deep sigh and squaring of her shoulders.

"Go to hell Turner," he yelled back at her, continuing on his way. Mel couldn't help but laugh, slipping her hands into her pockets and walking after him. Having been at work earlier in the day, she still had on her Alliance issued pants, boots, and under shirt, her jacket left behind on the shuttle she'd taken down to the planet.

"Archer," she called after him, following him across the street, "You've gained weight," she told him, fiery mischief in her eyes and a grin pulling at her lips. "The private sector's been good to you," she observed, unable to keep herself from poking the bear.

[Izak Archer]

"Funny," he said sarcastically. "You're still that same pistol I met back then, and I guess that's putting it politely." He turned to face her.  He really had no desire to deal with her garbage. What was she here to do? Ask him to re-enlist? No real reason otherwise to follow him out to this planet. Unless...

He crossed his arms. The scam that introduced them to each other was a simple one. A ship wanted to get ahead of others on the usual resupply garbage. They hired her and her Captain to do the dirty work. No love lost and both parties got screwed over when some documents got 'misplaced' by the base commander who was ripping off someone higher up the chain of command. Neither lost their jobs, but Izak left the military soon afterwards.

He crossed his arms. "Alright, two things," he began. He untucked his right hand from his elbow and held up his thumb. "One, what's the bloody scam you've got planned?" Then his index finger came up, "Two, why the hell are asking for my help?"

[Melody]

Mel grinned to herself, stopping when he turned to face her, a brow lifting curiously. She was a little surprised he hadn't retreated into his hotel room and slammed the door in her face. That might've been fun and Mel sure would have enjoyed trying to kick his door in, but she supposed this was better for the necessary discretion of the plan.

She was uncharacteristically patient as he laid out his questions, hands sliding out of her pockets to settle against the sides of her waist, one hip cocking to the side and her cobalt gaze flickering between his eyes, his mouth, and the area behind him.

"Who said anything about a scam?" she asked, pursing her lips a little and glancing down at the fingers he held up. "Maybe I just wanted to get a drink with an old 'friend'?" Mel countered, slipping past him and making her way toward his hotel, already well aware of what room he was staying in. If she had a scam, she surely didn't want to be telling him about it out in the streets.

The pilot threw a look at him over her shoulder and cracked her knuckles as she walked, moving in a straight line for his rented room and figuring he'd follow her if he didn't want her breaking into his room and going through his things. Which she might have done just to annoy him further. She did so like seeing him angry.

[Izak Archer]

He sighed. She and Isa were always a pain in the ass...then again, where was Isa? It seemed odd that Melody just showed up by herself. He could add that to his list of questions.

"Fine," he said walking past her. "Perhaps talking inside is the better idea anyway."

Slipping into the boarding house past Melody with what could be considered the Black's most obvious side-eye glare he grabbed his key from his pocket and opened the door to his surprisingly well furnished room for the area.

"Take a seat," he said gesturing to the sofa and coffee table as he reached for the light switch. "I'd say make yourself at home but I have a feeling your offer might include me moving soon." He grabbed a glass and filled it with water.

"So, you know my questions already, and you can add a third. Where's Isa?"

[Melody]

Melody meandered past him once the door was opened, fighting the urge to grin. She enjoyed getting under his skin and the angrier he got with her the more she felt like she was doing her job. Flopping down onto the couch, the pilot picked up her feet and set them atop the edge of the coffee table, her hands still tucked into her pockets.

"So, you know my questions already, and you can add a third. Where's Isa?" he asked.

Taking a hand from her pocket, the woman held up her thumb, mimicking and maybe mocking the way he'd done earlier. "Unsanctioned privateering," she began, prettying up the word 'pirate' with some official language. "You have a keen understandin' of the Alliance, havin' been an Officer and the like, and I think that and your experience will be awful helpful during our future...endeavors," she continued on, holding up her index finger as he had.

Next came her middle finger, joining the other two, "Queen Isa is in the wind until it's time to put our plan in action. Can't have her gettin' into trouble before it's time," she told him, lowering her index finger and thumb and idly flipping the man off for a moment before she tucked her hand back into her pocket, grinning dangerously.

"Can you say you're happy with the Alliance? As it is now? After that broadcast?" she asked, raising her brows and tilting her head. "Would you really be all that upset if we took a ship from 'em and gave 'em some Hell?"

[Izak Archer]

Izak shook his head and put his glass down on the counter. She had a habit of getting under people's skin, and she was good at it. Izak had no need to wonder why she was a fighter jockey.

Or for that matter, why Isa could get promoted instead of her. Actually it was a surprise that her attitude had not gotten her shot yet.

He leaned back and crossed his arms, the counter creaking as he did so. "You know that you're simply putting lip stick on a pig when you call piracy that right?" He began, his core accent seeping through. "I will admit, it's a lucrative, I'll give you that." He chuckled as he moved on to the next part. "I'm good with Alliance policy and procedure, but I doubt I have the connections Isa has." He paused a moment then continued. "I am better with running a ship's weapons than many would expect however." He picked up his glass of water and finished it. "As for the Alliance? It is an overgrown bureaucracy that can no longer provide the protections it offered in the first place, all because of an experiment gone awry."

"So what's the plan?"

[Melody]

"You know that you're simply putting lip stick on a pig when you call piracy that right?" Izak observed and Melody didn't bother to hide the rolling of her eyes. She was sure he was plenty familiar with putting lipstick on a pig and calling it something else. A grin pulled at one corner of her lips, mischief in her eyes as she imagined the tidy man singing his heart's truth to some border world woman in a dingy bar and imagining, through the power of alcohol, her to be a Companion. Her grin broadened and the pilot forced herself not to laugh, although the sparkle of it was apparent in her gaze.

"I am better with running a ship's weapons than many would expect however," he continued and she nodded a bit, tilting her head from side to side as she thought that over. He was right, and she didn't doubt his knowledge of larger ships workings and their weaponry rivaled her own. Her expertise was mainly relegated to the smaller vessels.

"As for the Alliance? It is an overgrown bureaucracy that can no longer provide the protections it offered in the first place, all because of an experiment gone awry," he explained and again, Mel nodded. She'd thought the Alliance was an overblown mess ever since she'd met a certain redheaded spitfire out in the snow. But she hadn't joined from some sense of deep rooted patriotism. She'd only joined out of necessity.

"So what's the plan?" he asked and her dark smile returned. Mel shrugged her shoulders a bit and bit her lower lip in violent excitement.

"Got all the documents Isa hid from the top Brass who wanted her out. Lists of clients inside the Alliance who wanted things smuggled, where they wanted stuff to go, and the routes they suggested. Perfect for pickin' off when they're not expecting it," she began, pointing at his water glass. "Got anything harder than that?" she asked, hunkering down in her seat and getting comfortable.

"Got ourselves a tech expert tailing the ship...eh...electronically. Keepin' tabs on it until I have enough of us gathered up to go follow it and wait for the opportune moment to snatch it out of their hands. Leave the Alliance looking mighty foolish," she told him, laughing a little.

[Izak Archer]

Izak pulled a beer out from below the counter. "This is, unfortunately, the best I've got. I know it's warm but I didn't go to the market today," he said as he leaned over and put it on the table. "I'm surprised you don't carry your own alcohol."

Izak had to admit, he was impressed, and the crew was the only thing Melody and Isa were really lacking. But stealing a ship? That was going to be an interesting endeavor. The electronic tracking was nice touch.

"I'm guessing your plan will mostly be based on the intel you get while we are on the ground, so what's the timetable look like?"

[Melody]

"I'm surprised you don't carry your own alcohol," Izak pointed out.

Melody eyed the warm beer bottle with a sneer before finally exhaling in defeat and leaning forward to wrap her fingers around its neck. "Had it confiscated recently," she explained sourly, looking up at him with narrowed eyed. The pilot lowered the glass bottle and set the side of its cap on the edge of the table. A mischievous grin lit up her baby blues and the woman kept constant eye contact with the ex soldier as her fist came down atop the bottle. With a hiss, the cap flew off, leaving a nice little dent in the table's rim.

The chair creaked softly when she leaned back into it once more, grimacing into her bottle of beer, the glass pressed against her lips and warm alcohol sliding over her tongue and down her throat. Her body shivered in barely contained disgust as the bottle was lowered and Mel shot Izak another irritated look, as though the beer's temperature were somehow his fault. Or a personal attack.

"What's the timetable look like?" he asked.

Mel shrugged one shoulder and stood up, setting the bottle onto the table and brushing her hands over the front of her pants before shoving both fists into her pockets. "You got a couple days to prepare. I'm heading to a ship yard tomorrow to get myself a throwaway shuttle. I'll send you the information then. You'll likely be working with our tech..." she wagered, one shoulder lifting and lowering and her lips pursing in thought. "In any case. I'll let you know," she told him curtly, beginning to walk for the door.

[Izak Archer]

Izak cared little about the table, though he was surprised Melody failed to notie the beer was one of those core world screw tops. Oh well, he thought.

As Melody watched out, he rather unexpectedly found himself smiling. From one of Turners plans no less! This could be his chance to finally enjoy being on a ship in the black. And why not have a little fun at the expense of his previous employer?

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be waiting, let me know when you need me," he said. It was time to start packing. This could be very interesting indeed. "I'd walk you out, but I think you'd find that more offensive than polite at this point." Izak moved from his spot at the counter though, just make sure the door closed after she left.