While the cat's away...

Where: Archivers ship, en route to the Dwarf
When: Just after Seymour flounced off

Frowning, Cass blinked and slowly shook her head, trying to clear the weird sense of dissociation she was feeling, but to no effect – It felt pleasantly like she had been on a day long session on some very heavy duty recreational chemicals
She raised her glass and took another swig of her wine before relaxing back into the recliner with a deep sigh, idly caressing Jay's face with her free hand as she smiled into his brown eyes
“How're you doing?” she purred
Jay took a moment to respond, as if her words were somehow reaching him too slowly; maybe he was feeling kinda weird too?
“Have you ever seen a hamster dance like that?” he suddenly blurted, pointing across the room at Whitewolf
Cass turned, and tried, blearily, to focus on the massive hamster cavorting around the floor, strutting his stuff in his leather speedo's
She had to agree that she had indeed never seen a hamster dance quite like that – she didn't even know they had the right anatomy for those kind of hip movements!
“He's smegging brilliant!” Jay cackled, his face creasing with a huge grin, sweat beading on his brow
Swigging back the remainder of her wine, Cass tossed the glass over her shoulder and with some effort sat woozily up and turned towards him, her green eyes alight with whatever the hell was in the wine, or the grapes... or whatever?
“You're smegging brilliant...” she breathed, trailing a hand across Jay's chest and downward, hooking her finger tips into his trouser waistband “How about you and I go somewhere ...more private?”
<snip>
“Miss Jones, may I trouble to ask you a favour? I know you have a way with these people, they have such great technology, would you ask them if they could give me some new legs? You see, this wheelchair isn't very stylish and my favourite pinstripe suit doesn't fit anymore.”
</snip>
Cass turned to stare uncomprehendingly at Seymour sat by her side in in his wheelchair
“What?” she frowned
“My legs?” Seymour tried again
Cass glanced down at where his legs should be
“Tha's weird; where the smeg are they!?”
“Well, that's the thing” Seymour wheedled “I was wondering if you could ask these Archivers if they wouldn’t mind giving me a new pair?”
“Ah'll engineer you a new set!” Cass slurred as whatever was in that last half glass of wine hit her hard “'Ow many do you want? Eight? Twelve? I'll smeg with your brain, and enhance your motor cortex! You'll be able to co-ordinate 'em all! Be brilliant! Climb walls an' stuff!”
“What!?” Seymour recoiled in confused horror “No! I only need two!”
“Oh, piss off Seymour!” Jay growled lazily “Can't you see we're busy?”
“What!?” Seymour spluttered
“Piss off” Jay repeated “I don't want you around here!”
Cass tilted her head to one side and grinned at Seymour
“You heard the man!” she said simply “Bye bye!”
“Oh, fine! Suit yourselves!” Seymour huffed, wheeling himself around “If neither of you are going to help to me, I'll have to jolly well help myself!”
“Whatever...” Jay waved him away as Cass hauled herself further up the recliner to straddle him and kiss him deeply
“You're amazing” she breathed “I smegging love you”
In the instant that followed, before Jay could even begin to frame a reply, Cassandra's eyes widened in shock and she abruptly pulled away from him to clap a hand over her mouth
They regarded each other in electric silence for an eternal second or two before Cass hurriedly scrambled down off the recliner to lurch out of the room
“Cass!” Jay called to her back, but she was gone before he could manage anything else
He sighed and massaged his forehead with a trembling hand
“Aw, shit...”

...

Where: Blue Dwarf, corridor B237#9 / EE945 intersection
When: Same time

The black HK hissed into existence with a crackle of immense and unseen energies, followed closely by a further eleven of the devices, each phasing in to hover darkly in the corridor, their force shields occasionally shimmering in the half-light
They remained there, silent for a moment, before as one, they noiselessly departed, three each shooting away down each direction of the intersection and vanishing into the Dwarf's gloomy darkness

Ten more minutes passed before the air hissed and shimmered again, with a squad of six identical, black clad figures materialising this time; each armed to the teeth with an array of high energy weapons
One of them, possibly a woman judging from her build, ducked down to pull out a control panel, which she used to interface with the HK's as the others scrambled to take up positions, training their weapons down each corridor of the intersection
“Perimeter's secure sir” the woman announced “The HK's report no human activity, but have had to waste five lizard-like creatures and one entity that appeared to be composed of faeces”
“Excellent news” the commander replied, standing proudly in the middle of the intersection with his hands on his hips “I can feel it in my blood, Enforcers: Today's the day we bring the traitors to justice!”

<tag and tbc/>