Reflecting

 Reflecting

It was a rare clear day on the barren planet Caligula. Usually the skies were full of dark clouds and crackling electrical storms and seldom any rain. Indeed, even on a clear day there were usually stormclouds in the distance with a dazzling crackle of lightning within them.

But they were still a ways off.

On the flat roof of her combined home-come-office, Red the Daedalian lay on a deck chair. Many humans compared Daedalians to bipedal jackals, the resemblance was easy to see, the canine muzzle, long pointed ears, fur and tails. Though most Daedalians found the comparison insulting. Red was unusual among the rest of her spacefaring species for having brilliant red fur instead of the usual brown, gray, or black fur.

The hunting guide was taking a well-deserved break from her arduous job. She wore no footwear, and was clad only in fraying shorts and a sports bra. She saw no need for modesty alone on her roof.

The guide sipped at her bottle and sighed in contentment enjoying the warming rays of the sun as she left all her worries behind. How long had it been? She thought back to how she’d ended up on Caligula, how the invading Sh’ra had forced her from her homeworld of Daedalia, how she’d left behind a life of luxury.

She had been alone, a refugee of a terrible war in an apathetic galaxy. But she had survived, she had found her way to Caligula, a mostly human planet and found her sense of smell and excellent hearing made her invaluable. She could track the dangerous beasts with ease, and oftentimes hunted the outlaws of the badlands too.

Her jade eyes glanced down at her toned body seeing patches of grey in her fur, scars from the battles she had fought and the wounds she had taken. How long had it been? Some days Red wasn’t sure if she was Red or the other person she had once been, the scared girl that fled Daedalia.

Shaking the melancholy thoughts from her mind, Red flipped over on her stomach, her back fur had a beautiful black and silver pattern to contrast with the rest of her red fur. As Red relaxed, one of her ears twitched as she heard an irritating sound. A low buzzing.

Annoyed, the Daedalian rolled over and flattened her ears. There flying high above was a drone. Not a military drone, or research, but a recreational drone. Red wouldn’t have minded but the thing was just idling over her building.

“Fly off already!” Red growled. The drone lingered.

Her fur bristled as she thought the operator was probably enjoying the view a bit too much, now she wished she’d been a bit more modest. Red made a rude gesture she had learned from the humans.

The drone idled some more before it started to descend. Red wished she had her rifle, but it was downstairs and she wasn’t going to let her leisure be ruined by a drone. Nor did she want to discharge a blaster in the town of Chohe.

Subtly her right hand moved down to her now empty glass bottle. Red watched the drone lower judging the distance and trajectory, she stayed still.

“Getting a good view?” She asked. “Good.”

With a flick of her wrist, the markswoman sent her bottle flying in an arc, the drone tried to move but was far too slow as the bottle hit it and sent it tumbling end over end to crash into a neighboring roof where it lay still.

“Served you right.” Red grinned as she went back to basking. She hoped they would try to retrieve it later, then she would give them some advice. Her comm link chimed, and from the tune she knew it was something serious.

“Figures. Nice while it lasted.” Red grumbled, time to get dressed it seemed.

A short piece with Red enjoying a rare clear day. A bit of fanservice and humor for one of my otherwise serious characters.