Advent's Release
by pj wolf

Characters borrowed from Field T. Mouse

The footsteps came down the hallway, but Advent ignored them. The only ones it could have been were either the food guard or somebody special. There were multiple footsteps, so maybe it was the latter. In any case, it didn't do for her to show any interest in anything that was happening around her. So remained sitting, tailtip flicking about randomly without a care in the universe, despite the fact that she was sitting in a jail cell, waiting to be executed.

"Advent, right?" asked the voice. A smooth voice, which made the jaguar think it was a fellow feline. Other species could mimick a cat's smoothness, but only a cat could perfect it. That was promising, but still she declined to even give her visitor an earflick. "Mmhm. That's fine, I don't need you to talk. I just need you to listen. If you can do that, just continue to flick your tail around like you aren't hearing me." Bastard. Well, whatever, Advent didn't have to care about anything he was going to say. "Tell me, Advent, how would you like to go free?" Unless he said something like that. The jaguar's ear flicked toward the other without her conscious input, but she didn't bother to hide it. He had her attention, but just the barest amount.

"I knew that would interest you. Listen, we all know that your charges are fabricated, and the Federation just wanted to punish whoever blew up an abandoned piece of fed property. Or, excuse me, a "vital piece of Federation military hardware" or somesuch, right? Mm... I can tell you with certainty that no one cared about that installation until it exploded. Then it became convenient." There was movement, and Advent resisted the temptation to look at him. "Were you even there? I mean, on the installation, not the trial. By the time they caught you, you were already being convicted. That show trial thing you were in?" The other cat scoffed, which put Advent in mind of a leopard. "Mm... but such is what passes for justice when it comes to those outside the Federation. And quite frankly, there are those in the Federation that suffer the same justice. Like those bats. Pity, really. But you don't care about bats, do you?"

Advent's tail finally hit the wall. "I do care about why you're here, wasting my time."

The other cat chuckled. "Oh you do have a temper, don't you? I was told it took five fine Federation officers to subdue you."

"Ten. Half of them were prey."

"Is that so? Well, don't let those Prey Rights activists get to you."

"Why are you here?" Advent was starting to grow tired of this charade.

"Ah yes, I got ahead of myself again. I'm here, Advent, to offer you a deal. As a token of trust between us, I offer you this." There was a rattle, and the door opened. The jaguar didn't move, waiting for the catch. A minute later, she gave in and looked, and the door was still open, a well dressed lion standing next to it. Ignoring the lion, she stood and walked to the doorway, stopping just outside it.

"What's the catch?" she said, staring straight ahead.

"No catch, Advent, no catch. Your effects will be returned to you, and you will be given a shuttle with enough fuel to get you back to the Uncharted Territories."

The jaguar couldn't stand it, and stared into the lion's brown eyes. "So why are you here?"

The lion dipped his head slightly. "As I said, to offer you a deal. A job, really."

Lunging, Advent grabbed the lion by his fancy lapels and dragged him forward, nose-to-nose while she snarled. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't tear off your arm and beat you with it."

The lion hid it well, but Advent caught the faintest whiff of fear from him. Good. "Because if you do this job for us, for the Federation, we will give you a ship."

"A ship?"

"Oh yes. A ship. All your own. You'll be the captain." His voice strained slightly, and the grin was just a bit fixed.

All told, Advent smelled truth. She didn't resist, however, poking holes in that fancy suit before letting the lion go. To his credit, he didn't stumble and spent his time readjusting the suit to some of its former splendor. "So what's the job?" she asked.

"You're interested?"

"You will tell me what the job is, and I'll tell you whether or not I'm interested."

The lion grinned, but Advent gave him nothing back. "Hah. Trust me, the job is simple. All you have to do is go to Redwing station."

"Redwing? That hunk of junk?"

"Indeed. Since the wasps came from the UT, High Command had the idea of setting up a station at the edge of it."

"So they picked Redwing?"

The lion shrugged. "It was available and unoccupied, and resources are strained after the war. It makes the kind of logical sense the snow rabbits are known for, and they've opened up the crew to those outside themselves. The Federation was given a slot to fill with a representative of our choosing."

"And you want me."

"Indeed."

The jaguar stared at the lion for a minute, tail flicking from side to side. "To do what?"

"Simply, scout it. Tell us what you find, and more importantly what anyone else finds. Anything you deem interesting."

"Why me?"

The lion chuckled. "Simple, really. You're a fur from the area. With your experince, you'll probably have a better chance of finding something truly interesting than any of our normal operatives. Although," and here he reached into his pocket, pulling out a datapad, "there is perhaps some extra incentive for you. We've received word that a fur you may know is going to be on Redwing station. Security detail, I think." He tapped it a few times, then expanded a picture. "Does she seem familiar?"

He handed the pad to Advent. It was a picture of a wintery landscape, taken from some kind of spy satelitte, no doubt. The area was dominated by arctic foxes, some injured. There were some snow rabbits interspersed, appearing to give medical care to the foxes. But in the middle of them all, with a mouse and a pink bat, was a hare. One with silver fur.

Sheila.

Advent gripped the pad so hard it cracked.