A Meerca's Mission

     “Pleasure to meet you,” she had said, holding out her hand for the royal Lupe to shake.

     “You aren’t afraid of me?” Chuychu asked, curiously eyeing the Aisha.

     “Not really. I’ve met the Space Faerie personally and I know about all the other faeries of Neopia.” Aishtra shrugged, making full eye contact with Chuychu without any fear. “It’s not like it’s that much different.”

     “She’s got a point,” Killua said. “Guess I didn’t think of it that way when I first met her.”

     That meeting going well led everyone to meet as a full group in Aishtra’s dorm the next day. Everyone was present: Chuychu, Matatat, Aishtra, Killua, Macer, and Eliv 2.

     “So first off, Aishtra is going to take you all to Althrax with her ship,” Chuychu said, gesturing to the Aisha at her left.

     “As I said, I’ve never been there myself, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find. I’ve dropped civilians and employees off at nearby planets. The trip should only take six hours,” Aishtra explained.

     “Then, Aishtra will scope out the place first. She’ll exit the ship and do a quick scan to see how tight security is and if you’re adequately prepared to face whatever’s there,” Chuychu went on to say. “Now, I won’t be able to go with you on the trip, and I’m not familiar with the layout at all. That means I’m not going to be able to give you any instructions on where to go and who might be there waiting for you once you’ve gotten in.”

     “So we might go through all this and Sloth may not even be there?!” Matatat shouted in disbelief. He was immediately shushed by Killua and Macer.

     “I can’t guarantee that he’ll be there at all,” Chuychu replied with a sigh. “But look at it this way: you’ll still learn some new information, and maybe you’ll gain enough trust with his followers that they’ll let you come back at another time when he is there?” Her voice went up at the end, as if she was questioning whether that idea would even work at all. Killua just shrugged while Macer shook his head in doubt.

     Matatat seemed satisfied with her answer. “Oh yeah, makes sense.”

     “Then,” Chuychu said, resuming her previous explanation, “you’ll be able to… befriend any of the Sloth followers there. Aishtra can give you a heads up so you all can have some good… conversation.”

     Macer and Killua looked at each other, both thinking the same thing - that they’d likely have to fight the security team there instead of becoming best friends with them.

     “And once you’ve sufficiently… befriended everyone, then you can have them lead you straight to Sloth. Whatever happens after that is completely up to you, Matatat,” Chuychu said, finishing her explanation and relaxing back into her seat.

     “Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. What do you think, Eliv 2?” Matatat asked, looking up at his now-lively plushie friend.

     “Good plan,” he said simply.

     “Is that satisfactory to everyone?” Chuychu asked, making brief eye contact with everyone in the room. Matatat nodded eagerly, while Aishtra, Killua, and Macer nodded slowly, as if there were more questions they wanted to ask. Aishtra was the first to raise her hand, but Chuychu cut her off. “Why don’t we all get something to eat? Matatat, let me give you some neopoints and you can head over and pick us up some lunch. Is that okay?”

     Matatat leapt up from his seat. “Yeah, yeah, sounds good!” He took the small bag of coins from Chuychu and left Aishtra’s dorm with Eliv 2 lumbering behind him.

     “So I’m guessing you had him leave for a reason?” Aishtra asked, tilting her head with curiosity.

     Killua nodded with a sigh. “Yeah. I think Chuychu had to hold back a little bit. There’s gonna have to be more to this plan than he knows about. We’re not exactly going to go in there and walk out holding hands with Sloth.”

     “Didn’t think so,” Aishtra asked. “I was starting to wonder how you all were so naive to believe that.”

     Chuychu giggled into her palm. “Oh, trust me, we’re aware of the full situation. What I’ve asked of Killua and Macer is that they keep Matatat as safe as possible. Obviously there are some limitations to how much they can do, but all I ask is that they make an earnest effort. If you’d like, I can offer you the same deal.”

     “Oh yeah?” Aishtra asked, her antenna ears twitching.

     “Keep Matatat safe. I’m not asking you to lay down your life, but make it look realistic. If you think you can do that, then name your price,” Chuychu explained.

     Aishtra was quiet for a moment as she looked up at the ceiling, mulling over the possibilities. “A halfway decent weapon,” she finally said. “And add a 25% increase on what I’m being paid for the trip.”

     “Done and done,” Chuychu said. With a wave of her hand, a bag of Neopoints appeared in her lap. “That’s half. The other half will arrive in your dorm when the job is complete.”

     Aishtra opened up the bag and took a few coins from it, as if to make sure that they were real. Satisfied, she placed the bag next to her. “And what about the weapon?”

     “You’ll find it on your person when you need it most,” Chuychu said with a strong nod.

     “And what does that mean?”

     “Trust me.”

     Aishtra’s eyes narrowed. “Why should I?”

     “Because I know why you need it.”

     That statement got the attention of both Killua and Macer, who leaned forward in anticipation. Chuychu stood up, crossed the room, and leaned down to whisper in Aishtra’s ear.

     The Aisha slowly nodded, a small smile beginning to spread across her face. “Ah. I see. That’ll do quite nicely. Fine, then. As long as I get it in my hands when the time is right.”

     With irritated sighs, both Killua and Macer collapsed back in their seats. “Man, we don’t get to know anything, huh?” Macer asked, scowling.

     “It’s all on a need to know basis. And this is one thing you don’t need to know,” Chuychu said simply before sitting back down. “Aishtra will get everything she wants for this mission so she can keep all of you safe. Doesn’t that sound fair?”

     Killua groaned and crossed his arms. “Fine. Whatever. As long as we get what we want.”

     “By the end of this little trip, I think all of you will be satisfied,” Chuychu told him. “But I cannot guarantee the same for our little Meerca friend.”

     As if on cue, there was a flurry of loud knocks at the door. When Aishtra opened it, Matatat came bounding in with Eliv 2 behind him, carrying a tray of food. To everyone’s surprise, he had made some decent choices for lunch. Eliv 2 carefully put the tray down on the table, and everyone quickly grabbed their choice. Eliv 2 took a Galaxy Cupcake but didn’t bite into it, only awkwardly rotating the pastry in his plush hands.

     “Did I miss anything good?” Matatat asked, biting into his Floating Pigs In A Blanket.

     “No, just chatting about the weather,” Chuychu lied, glancing around at the rest of the room to make sure everyone was on board with her statement.

      “Yeah, weather in space, crazy stuff,” Macer added, nodding a little too vigorously.

      “So when do we leave?” Matatat asked excitedly, bobbing up and down. “Is it tomorrow? I hope it’s tomorrow. I’m ready to go, go, go!”

      “Have some patience, Matatat,” Chuychu said, raising one paw to try and calm him. “Wouldn’t Sloth want you to be patient for him?”

      Matatat stopped bouncing and nodded. “Oh yeah, you’re right as always. I hope he’ll be impressed with how patient I was!”

      Ignoring his comment, Chuychu continued. “I think the best time to do this will be in three days. Aishtra, you mentioned that there was a reason for that, correct?”

      “Right. There’s about five scheduled flights out of the Space Station that day. I may be a bit freelance, but that doesn’t mean I can go wherever I want at any time. If I’m leaving to go somewhere and there’s nothing else going on, I get curious or bored Grundos asking about where I’m going and what I’m doing,” Aishtra explained. “So leaving at a time where most of the other Space Station employees are occupied will give us the best chance at going through unnoticed.”

      “Oh, okay,” Matatat said, giving another slow nod. “I get it, I get it. You guys are so smart. I wish I was smart like you.”

      Killua let a small snort of laughter slip out, but Macer smacked him on the side to silence him.

      “Each of us has something to contribute to the team. I have my magic, Killua and Macer have their strength, Aishtra is Space Station savvy, Eliv 2 is hardy, and you’re courageous,” Chuychu said.

      Matatat’s face lit up. “I’m courageous!” He exclaimed, as if he had been told he’d just won the Altador Cup. “Hear that, Eliv 2? I’m courageous!”

      As he whooped and hollered with excitement, Killua looked over at Macer. “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

      “It will be soon,” Macer said, his voice low to keep anyone else from hearing. “Either he’ll be coming home disappointed or he won’t be going anywhere ever again. I don’t think I particularly care which.”

To be continued…