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On the Rim, Ch 20: Cedric "Leo" Calico

2020 copyright comidacomida

Cedric Calico had always considered his upbringing superior to that of many other Gens; although the vast majority of them had been liberated from corporate control at least 40 years before he was born, most space-born Gens were still fabricated by the businesses that held a license to construct them. Cedric, however, was both a free-born Gen and he had the distinct honor of being the only one to his knowledge born on Jupiter Station, the premier mining platform orbiting the gas giant within the Sol system.

Then again, most of that was just for show since, in Cedric's opinion (as well as most of the people living there), the station was a complete piece of shit. Cedric was raised by his mother and father, both miners, and he grew up sorting rocks since they had all expectations that he'd be joining them in their life of thankless labor and toil for barely enough to get by; such was the life for most Gens.

Jupiter Station wasn't racist and didn't mistreat Gens any more than it mistreated anyone else-- and it mistreated EVERYONE equally. Despite his parents' wishes, the moment Cedric had the opportunity to find a way to leave that life behind he snatched it, up to and including introducing himself as 'Leo' at every opportunity. He even managed to attach himself to an up and coming interstellar corp as a cadet for their security team. Although he lacked most of the drive and discipline required to become a security officer he had everything he needed to become a procurement officer: an interest in sitting at a desk all day and doing the bare minimum amount of work required to get by.

He'd considered his time within the procurement office on board the Venture a 'decent' period in his life. True, it was boring and tedious but he was not called on to do much beyond keeping his chair from floating off the floor and, truth be told, the artificial gravity did all the hard stuff in that regard. Things changed for him when the pirates raided the ship and he found himself cast down to Planet A. He was beyond fortunate that his pod came down a short distance from an LLC marketplace and that the folks there were so willing to take him in.

His relaxed approach to life and disinterest in keeping up with the mound of assigned chores they kept pushing on him made him less than likable to most of the workers, and to those who ended up liking him 'enough', his casual approach to sex meant that they ended up getting hurt feelings-- it was all in a matter of days, and he quickly realized that, once he was assigned to scouting duty, that they didn't really want him there. All the luckier for him: he found the other survivors from the Venture at the Relegra cave base, and the rest was history.

The Lion had his share of trials and tribulations so getting on the wrong side of the lowest rank member of the security team (other than himself) wasn't of any great concern; truth be told, Leo didn't really worry about much at all since things always had a way of working themselves out. When Grizz called him for a sortie it was proof enough to the Lion that everything was going to be just fine... so long as he put up with marching however many kilometers to whatever site the Overseer decided would be worth investigating.

The search squad, as it turned out, consisted of just four people including himself. The Captain decided to stay at base since he and the Overseer had "plans to discuss". Grizz was given command of the scouting team, which, in addition to Leo included Missy (and her pet wolf) and the newcomer to the group Lizzy. Leo smiled to himself, walking along at the back of the party as he kept his eyes on the Cytkus' tail weaving back and forth in front of him in counter point to her gait. He'd never nailed a Cytkus before, but he heard from multiple sources that they were usually the horniest of the non-Teran species.

The Lion also admired the view of Missy. The Lynx was young and sporty and, if the sounds Leo'd heard from the room she shared jointly with Grizz was any indication, she also liked to get freaky. He didn't mind the idea of a threesome; truth be told, the procurement officer had a feeling he could probably do things to the Bear that Missy couldn't even think of. His thoughts were cut short as the party came to a stop; Grizz waited for Leo to catch up before gesturing ahead to what looked like a leveled path through the forest. "Up ahead... we have a group headed this way."

Sure enough, as Leo glanced down the road he saw a small party of five tribesmen leading what looked like a pair of exceedingly puffy cows. At first, the Lion thought that the cattle were overly hairy but, as the other group slowly approached he saw that they were, in fact, wooly... like huge sheep. He mused immediately if the tribesmen used Velcro chaps, but he kept those thoughts to himself. Instead, he fingered the pistol he'd brought with him, commenting to the Corporal, "They have weapons..."

Grizz held a paw out to calm him. "Hold. We don't know that they're dangerous. No need to start anything if we can stay on their good side."

In any life threatening situation Leo always preferred to shoot first and ask questions later (sometime between rounding up survivors and putting a hole in their head-- dead enemies didn't come back to cause a threat later). Rather than make any further comments, the Lion simply kept to the back of the group making sure that the Cytkus (being the largest member of the team) was between him and the tribals. It was an unnecessary precaution since, as Grizz had suggested, they were peaceful.

Missy exchanged a few words with their leader and, after a pleasant exchange, the two groups parted; the tribesmen proceeded down the road while security team continued onward toward their destination in nearly the opposite direction. It was the only interesting event on the way to the outpost to save Lizzy's friend, but Leo was fine with a lack of 'interesting things'; he could play the hero just fine, but it was a lot easier when there wasn't any danger around to face.

It was dusk by the time they arrived at the outpost, guided by Lizzy. Observing the camp as the sun began to set, the group noticed four of the lizard people; they were easily as large as a Cytkus, but they had large spines and thick, angular scales all over their bodies. The small collection of huts was built on a raised section of swampy land amidst large pool of muck. Movement had been slow for everyone so it took less time for the Lion to catch up. Once he did, Grizz began planning out the approach.

Their attack position would involve Grizz engaging first. Missy would travel further east to circle the encampment while Leo himself was sent west so, between the three of them, they could get a solid firing arc on the opposition. Lizzy, at her own request, would go in to draw the tribesmen out; they appeared to have only primitive weapons and she was unconcerned for her safety since she'd seen them take hostages. Although Grizz didn't much like putting her in danger, he did let her have her way since it was her friends they were saving.

The execution of the plan went off like clockwork, except for one small detail. Lizzy went in and the four lizard people at the camp came out to threaten her; Leo wasn't very close but from what little he heard, the Lion had a feeling he wouldn't have understood the language. The first set of shots were singular ones, carefully aimed; Leo didn't need to see who fired to recognize the expert marksmanship of a combatant as two of the lizard fell, drilled right in their heads. The third one was taken down by a brief spray of small arms fire as Missy took down the one closest to her. That, in Leo's mind, left the 'one small detail': the remaining one turned tail and ran.

In Leo's mind, the only thing worse than taking a prisoner, who had a chance of escaping and stabbing him in the back, was letting an enemy get away to inform other possible enemies. He waited until the Lizard rushed by him before stepping out, aiming low. His triple tap found its target and the tribesman fell over with a scorch mark from the energy weapon on its knee, thigh, and hip. He approached it, pistol trained on the fallen foe. The Lizard spoke quickly at him between winces, tossing aside the spear it held and it raised its arms up, talons facing him as it spoke.

The Lion nodded. "Right. Better target that way."

He only needed one shot at close range to put a hole in its head. A moment later Missy's approach was heralded by her wolf loping into view; a second later she came running, smg held near her body at the ready. The Lynx slowed to a stop when she saw Leo standing over his kill. Her eyes went from it to him. "You okay?"

He flashed her a winning smile as he stowed his gun and offered her a wink. "No problem, babe. Got this guy trying to make an escape."

She looked as if she was going to comment about his casual response but she was interrupted by a shout of surprise and dismay. Missy ran in that direction immediately and Leo strolled after, pausing long enough to draw his pistol again, just in case. As it turned out, the gun wasn't needed; Lizzy had apparently found a survivor and learned that the rest of her prior coworkers had been eaten-- the lizard people had been cannibals.

The Cytkus sat on the ground holding a woman in her arms as the two cried together. Leo stood off to the side, pondering just what was so strange about Lizzy's friend, and that was when he noticed the two large frills poking through the woman's hair. Although he was going to inquire about them, Grizz beat him to the punch. "Lizzy... who's your friend? She a NHH?"

Neo-Human-Hybrid was the name given to the results of illegal genetic experimentation designed to splice Human DNA with those of another race. Unlike the very rare but 'natural' result of a Human and Voljoi coupling, NHH experiments created hybrids that couldn't be made in a more 'traditional' manner; Leo found the thought kinda hot. Most others didn't, and the experiment were blacklisted; the results were usually aborted or hunted down very early on.

That thought was likely on Lizzy's mind as she stood up and blocked view of her friend. "Kurta's fine. I'll vouch for her."

Grizz shrugged, not bothering to raise his rifle. "Not my call. I'm not gonna do anything-- we're outside the core systems so I doubt anyone cares at this point, but it's the Overseer's decision what happens from here."

Leo looked toward the Bear while fingering his pistol, seeking any indication that the Corporal wanted him to do in the NHH but Grizz didn't so much as glance his way. Realizing that the senior officer honestly had no plans to put her down, the Lion sighed, stowing his gun. "Guess we look for salvage before heading back?"

Missy was way ahead of him but, then again, that wasn't anything new. Leo headed off to loot what he could within the time allowed.