((You guys are amazing ^_^ And yeah, poor Fletch... I guess I won't be meeting him...))
The cloaked man walked up to Trey and Belzar at the door, and, catching a glimpse of what appeared to be a bar inside, muttered something barely intelligible about being there to drink as he slid past them to get inside.
***
Team 1 made their way cautiously towards the large, grounded craft, though they seemed a little unsure of what to do with themselves with all their weapons holstered. One of the humans noticed Paul standing there, and motioning to some of the Hork-Bajir in the group to watch his back, began walking slowly towards him, his hands in the air to clearly show that he had no intention of attacking this... whatever it was. The rest of the group continued to keep a sharp eye out around them, nervously staying close to potential cover.
***
Team 2 began knocking on spaceship hulls. Each time, three or four others would fan out, focused on the door, fingering their now-holstered Dracon beams. At the same time, the large landing craft began scanning the area, attempting to get a look inside some of the landed craft. Two of the Hork-Bajir marched over to Temrash, making a point not to reach for their weapons. They weren't sure what the commander was so worried about, but they'd learned to trust his instincts.
"We're looking for a fugitive. A human. Have you seen any suspicious newcomers lately? Is there a commanding officer we could speak to?" Asked one of the black-and-crimson-banded Hork-Bajir, in flawless Gallard that made it sound like he'd gone to Princeton. The other was watching the area, being sure to keep Temrash in his peripheral vision.
***
Team 3 made for the bar, carefully watching each other's backs, though again, it was clear they were used to moving with weapons drawn. A few of them moved in what could almost be martial-arts stances, but most of them just trekked forward noisily, keeping a wary eye out around them. One of the humans bent to pick up a small, burnt piece of electronics near where the cloaked man had crouched, and raised his eyebrows at one of the Hork-Bajir watching him. He put his finger to his lips, and made some motions with his hands. Even though there wasn't any way for most of the team to see him, they all fell silent and began to fan out around the bar, fingers drifting towards their Dracon beams.
***
The commander walked towards the tiny craft. As he did so, the ****pit opened, and a creature climbed out unlike anything he'd seen before. As it continued to emerge from the craft, it seemed ridiculous that it had been crammed into a ship so small. It was nearly fifteen feet tall, and light brown or dark tan in color. It had an almost humanoid torso, with four spider-like legs. It had four long, thick arms, and coiled at it's waste were five of what almost looked to be coils of razor-wire, except that they were part of its anatomy if one looked close enough. Its head was almost human-shaped at the base, but at the top it split into two lobes, giving the head a V-shaped appearance. On the outside of each lobe were three black compound eyes, looking in all directions. The lower portion of the creature's head, its pointy "chin," contained its mouth, which was ringed with razor-sharp teeth, and had two insect-like pincers at its sides. The commander sighed. What had it called itself? Zong?
At the same time, Thienal caught up to him, gasping out "welcome, commander!"
"Hello, Thienal. Hello, Ikakek. I believe this is the end of the line for our little fugitive friend," the commander said.
The large creature spoke in a hissing tone that made his Gallard hard to understand unless you were ready for it, "Look at all of this. Look at this motley collection of spacecraft. I bet I could collect a dozen bounties here."
The commander laughed shortly "No, you overgrown insect. We are after one thing here. If we can capture this fugitive, I can convince the Council to let me move the Empire out of the dark age its stuck in. If you screw this up for me, I will have your ugly head mounted on my wall. You can come collect bounties on your own time."
He then began receiving concise reports from the teams scattered about. A few of them were running into locals, and wanted direction. To each communication, he simply responded "proceed with caution," until one came in from the landing craft itself. Apparently the sensors had picked up what might be a cloaked ship.
"See if you can hail them. Keep the Bugs powered and ready."
Finally, the team that had moved towards the bar contacted him. One of the humans spoke softly, "commander, I believe we have him."
"I'm on my way," the commander said into his communicator. Sighing, he looked at Thienal and Ikakek. "You're with me, I guess."
The two creatures fell into step behind him as he walked purposefully towards the building.
