Everything seemed to go silent when the behemoth let off a low bellow. Everyone nearby seemed ready to jump the lone human woman should the order be given. But, no order came. Instead, she was given permission to remain here. At least, she would be allowed to leave in one piece. That was about all she was getting. Apparently word of her presence would spread like wildfire soon enough. "I assume that was the one I traded with earlier," Alexandra replied, "I will head out as soon as he has the cargo sent to my ship." That was about all she could promise. Unfortunately, the one spreading the news was the one who decided when she could leave. She just had to hope the trader kept his end of the deal with the intention of having future dealings.

"Standard fare..." she repeated before turning back the way she came. The agent would return to her ship to see if the cargo had been loaded yet. If not, she would ask the guard if there was a way to inform when the cargo arrives. If she was stuck here, she may as well see what is around. But, it may be safer to just wait in the ship for the goods to arrive. Of course, nothing would stop those who intend her harm from attacking her ship upon leaving the asteroid. But, it was doubtful that much planning ahead was made. It was apparent that the patrons here were just as shocked about her presence as Cambian's.

Cambian nodded. "The payment registered on the motherboard a minute ago. It's yours now, legally. You probably should have confirmed shipping, though, because that's what's going to hurt you." He turned about as the woman left, heading back towards the rigging that connected the central platform to the outer ring, and climbed up it with the dexterity of something half his size, both feet and hands digitigrade and made for gripping. The black form was soon lost amongst the electrical rigging, no longer bothering himself with the ADD agent's troubles.

Except, of course, that he had left the microphone on as the woman spoke, and she had been close enough that it had picked up every word. Al-Him might have crushed his transmitter, but it was still an open frequency.

"I didn't think it was the ADD." he said finally, into the silence on the line. "That's complicated. I know Al-Him thought she was a ringer, but I know for a fact he'd come after her if he'd known she was one of those girls. Probably just thought it was industrial espionage, that happens often enough. Or - shit, I don't even know. This just isn't good juju."

STANDING BOUNTY BY CORROSCATE CONGLOMERATE FOR EIGHTEEN THOUSAND. The slime on the other side rumbles. CONGLOMERATE SLATED TO ARRIVE IN TWO DAYS. PURSUE DETAINMENT?

Cambian snorts. "I meant it when I said I was neutral in this affair. No killing and no stealing. You all settle your own affairs. I've already balanced the field - she knows to get out, and you all know who she is. My role has ended."

NOTED. Marlin replies, and presses the Forward button on the audio log, before levitating out of the security office.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

A computer blinks red. A face sheathed in white ebony turns to it and scans the message - gurgles with amusement, then rises to a stand. Reverse-kneed, it lopes down the cramped hallways, past choked cries and sobbing cages, until it reaches a rec room filled with its brethren, the canine Preta, lounging about with their scattered shock-staves and plates of armour used as backscratchers. A sharp yip rouses them, and the group is called to the hunt.

Ahriman: slavers. Their black ships are the infamous bane of the colonies, trading lives for coin, their vicious nonlethal weaponry and thick armor proving more than enough to disable most prey. Electricity crackles from their fur, each strand metallic and carrying charge, as they suit up and march out of their soot-colored barge onto the dock, besides where an unmarked shuttle sits, with the dark-skinned human guard waiting beside it.

They scent the air, then begin running deeper into the asteroid, sparks pinging from their armor and staves, as Doge watches with a sort of practiced indifference.

Alexandra did not even get to the dock before seeing the Ahriman slavers flow out onto the outer ring. She could think of several reasons why there may be slavers here on Umbral. There could very well be slave trading here. Or they could just be hired guns that a patron kept on standby should potential prey arrive. With the shock-staves, it was apparent that they were here to capture someone and that someone was most likely her. Guess word about her being an ADD traveled faster than expected. Either that or someone was really jumping the gun on Cambian's judgement.

With an entire group of Preta between her and her ship, getting through was not an option. Their choice of weapon also technically broke no rules here. They intended on taking her alive. That was perhaps her only advantage besides the fact that these slavers were using electric based weapons and armor. For now, Alexandra moved further outwards in the ring. Perhaps they will scatter in order to track multiple scents. Having walked all the main areas of Umbral, that may delay their tracking slightly. Either way, she would take the long way around to the docks until she was certain she had a clear sprint to her ship.

The slavers split up in pods of three, attaching their staves to their backs and running on all fours like armoured calvary, with one point-man and two covering his flanks on either side. That means a total of five pods: three roaming the station, while two remain back at the dock, guarding both their ship and the agent's own. It's a practiced formation, obviously one they've employed in the past. The pods split further to cover both arms of the ring, with one pod proceeding down either while one clambers to the top stage.

Sniffing for scents, the two lower ring pods come across her trail soon enough, and begin tracing her path, though the work is slow - though the carpet holds odor well, the air bakes out chemicals very quickly, and their quarry has moved quickly and without pause.

The other merchants ignore the ruckus; the crystals have finished their construction, a shining house of minerals that now rings softly with phantom chimes, and a new party of humanoids with no natural faces or features, that come in bearing large racks of black bags which they hang in rows. Their pale garb and silence lends an ominous air to their procession.

The rest of the Umbral went as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. A new group of patrons had finished setting up. Alexandra had no time to figure out who they were or what they were offering. But, what other choice did she really have? There were still six canine creatures waiting at the dock entrance. Until she knew more about their fighting capabilities, charging them would be a huge risk. The hunting groups were at least taking the long routes around, tracking old scents that were barely remaining through the blistering heat.

Sighing, she quickly moved to this new booth. She bowed her head politely. "Forgive my curiosity," she began, "But, I wish to know what you are selling inside those bags." Alexandra was taking a rather long shot with this. But if it was something useful that could be purchased quickly, she could use that to help deal with her pursuers. If not, she would just have to hideout and deal with the hunters one group at a time until the ones on defense are forced to join in. If there is no opening, she will just have to improvise and create one.

The pale patrons continue about their business; only one, who differs from the rest only in that a bright red pin rests upon his breast, turns to welcome Alexandra. It bows elaborately, then gestures towards a rack and leads her over to it, unzipping it.

Skin.

Human skin, cleaved whole from the body, fluttering loosely on a wire hanger that holds it aloft inside the bag. It is a woman's, and where the light does not fall through the white hull it dances on freckles and dimples, beauty, severed, surgical, bereft. A head of broad hair dangles loosely at the back of the head, where the hanger slides through the mouth and the back of the night, pinning it in place.

And there are eyes; eyes that turn and look at Alexandra, wide and dry, beyond fear and pain and rationality, held in place by tiny stitches that have sealed them in place between the eyelids. It does not blink.

The red-brooch gestures at the skin, its head turned towards Alexandra inquisitively.

Alexandra's eyes grow wide at the horrible sight. Animals being skinned was nothing out of the ordinary though seeing human skin in such a way certainly did not appeal to a human such as herself. The truly disgusting thing was the severed heads that had eyes that followed her. Were they really alive? The sight was sickening and it took effort to keep herself from losing the contents of her stomach right then and there. The agent could only shake her head. There was nothing that could be done for them. But, their presence added further human scents to the area. They could not be saved but maybe that can help her if only a little.

"N-No... No thank you..." she said as politely as she could to the pale creature. The agent walked around the booth for a bit. Perhaps other patrons would come by to purchase these 'goods' and carry them with them, adding more trails for the slavers to follow. Alexandra took her leave after a bit and continued to follow the outer edges of the ring. It may delay the canines or perhaps even cause conflict with them and the patrons for suddenly invading their shop. Then again, the patrons could very well point them in the right direction of where the agent went. It could go any way at this point. Alexandra was in the dark here and it was only a matter of time before she would be forced to fight. For now, she would make her way towards the docks to see if the six were still guarding the exit.

The red-brooch bows and zips up the bag as Alexandra leaves. One pale hand within flutters up, as if on a breeze, and begins to reach, before the bag closes again.

Unfortunately the delay has not helped the ADD agent - her red hair stands out amongst the pale patrons, and an excited bark from the central stage marks her discovery, as the pod atop that vantage point spots her. They sit back and howl, long and ululating, a call that reverberates through the closed station and perks the ears of the other pods. The pale patrons draw away from her seamlessly, carrying their racks with them, as the two pods on the outer ring begin to converge on her location.

The Preta atop the stage set up a firing position quickly, deploying a low armored wall just barely high enough for the dogs lying down, which they throw themselves prone behind. The tips of their shock-staves poke over the edge a moment later and begin collating light into a point on the tip of the stave, accompanied by a creaking hiss as pressure builds within them.

Cambian, standing not a dozen feet from the pod on his stage, ignores them studiously, fiddling with a holoscreen that's currently on the fritz, displaying flashing colors at an eye-aching rate. He grumbles in frustration.

The howls echoed through the Umbral as one of the hunting parties found their target. Nothing could be done now. As the center group sets up their firing position, Alexandra broke into a run through the various booths between her and her destination. As long as those shots did not hit her in the head, the agent had little to worry about the shocking firearms. None of her pursuers knew about the suit she wore and how it used electricity through various means. If anything, Alexandra at least had several means to recharge the suits batteries and capacitors.

Alexandra kept out of sight as best as possible while waiting for her pursuers to catch up. She had no choice but to deal with the six rushing for her position before moving on to deal with the six guarding the exit.

The Preta converge swiftly now that their prey is located, though the overwatch position holds its fire, waiting for a proper opportunity. One pod pulls ahead of the other, its trio of members spreading out in a net to hassle the agent; but the other bypasses the stalls entirely, continuing along the path to cut Alexandra off on the choke point of the carpets linking each stall section.

The remaining three lift themselves bipedal again, working through the stalls a bit more cautiously now; the current section is made for beings that stand at least twice the height of a man, blocking sight lines and turning it into a maze. They follow her scent trail patiently, staves crackling and ready for anything they should encounter. The point Preta in particular pants with eagerness, his saliva dripping upon the ground and steaming there from the ambient heat.

Once she was deep inside the shops and stalls, the ADD agent slowed down. With three looking for a clean shot to take, the other six would no doubt try to surround and cut her off. Alexandra turned back the way she came and moved closer towards the group searching for her before hiding behind a booth. She drew out her blaster. Weapons were fine as long as she did not kill anyone. She waited in her hiding place for the first Preta to show himself. If spotted, Alexandra would take aim and fire at the Preta's knees. With how much they rely on running on all fours, the joints would need to be less armored in order for those limbs to bend properly.

It's Alexandra's suit that makes her ambush work - with so little skin exposed, she releases less scent than most of the Preta's prey do, which is their primary hunting sense. The energy lances from her blaster and smashes into the lead Preta's knee, throwing it out from beneath the canid with a pained yelp; he catches himself with one hand on the ground, and throws himself bodily behind a nearby counter in an awkward, noisy roll.

His teammates react instantly, racing forward with staves extended like spears, one armored shoulder thrust forward to present the smallest, toughest profile possible. The first jabs straight-on at Alexandra, trying to catch her with the electrified prongs in her stomach, while the second swings a little wide, cocks his stave over one shoulder, and swings it like a bat at Alexandra from six paces away. With a bang the tip detonates and throws a web of wires out, seeking to entangle and trip the agent, then disable her with the sparking electricity that dances between the fibers.

Ahead at the cutoff, the Preta sniff at the carpets, then yip in excitement. Using their staves, they shove two of them off to the side, breaking the pathway that runs about the outer ring and leaving a baking-hot stretch of metal in its place. Satisfied, they turn to join their brothers in battle.

Her shot hit dead on, taking the first Preta down temporarily along with damaging his knee. That should slow him down a little. The other two immediately launched themselves at the lone agent. Alexandra rushed forward to meet them. She let the suit make the necessary calculations to time when to sidestep and weave past the thrusting staff. She fired her blaster at point blank range, trying to take out both of the second Petra's knees while also using him as cover from the net that was swinging around to entrap her. If she timed it right, perhaps he will capture his partner instead of the human woman.

Alexandra's suit is sufficient to dodge such a basic attack as the stabs, but her attacks yield her no good; after having seen how their ally was dispatched, both Preta remaining are in deep stances, their armoured, overhanging greaves thick enough to take the handheld blaster's bolts without failing, though it leaves a scorch mark and slaps that leg to the ground midstep, enough to make him stumble.

That stumble does get the Preta into the swathe of his comrade's net, but it doesn't harm him at all - the Preta howls giddly as the electricity courses through him, hairtips springing to quill-like tension as static charge dances through his fur and Now actively crackling with energy, the lightning-charged Preta blurs forward in a charge, discarding his stave and attempting to simply ram Alexandra bodily - trailing the crackling shock-stave with its wires behind him, as he drags it out of his partner's hands. Irritated, the other Preta barks sharply, then takes the stave his partner had discarded instead.

At the end of the line of stalls, the second pod rounds the corner, howls a war cry, and bowls forward, swiftly seeking to reinforce their allies.

Realizing that they won't be able to get off a shot in the thickly crowded stall, not to mention that their prey is now effectively trapped, the overwatch group begins to climb down as well, though it will take them longer to join the fight.

Her blaster did little beyond scorch her opponents armor. But it did delay him long enough to be caught in the net. As she thought, the net was electrified though it seemed to cause no discomfort to the Petra. Looks like they were practically immune to electrical current as well.

Still wrapped in a net, the first Preta charged forward to slam right into the ADD agent. Alexandra dropped her blaster and readied herself. Her hands reached out to grab the rushing attacker. Electricity surged from the Preta down her arms but Alexandra showed no signs of discomfort. Instead, the excess energy was used to fuel the suits capabilties, boosting her physical output and reaction time. The red haired woman twisted her body, using the Petra's own momentum to help power the agent's throw. Holding the creature by the electrified net, she swung him around and released him towards his irritated partner.

Alexandra's suit crackled with energy while her coat was nothing but smoldering tatters now. Ripping it off, the agent revealed the tight fitting suit she wore as she quickly picked up her blaster again. She opened fire in hopes of taking out a few more limbs. Already, she could hear the approach of another pack. Things were going to get messy.