At last, Vlqtrn broke the awkward silence as Lus awaited a viable escape route. "I can disable part of the window security system while leaving the floor system off, but the only thing I can turn off is the motion sensor. If you touch any part of the window, the alarm will trigger," he explained.
"You mean I have to jump out the window?" Lusac did not like that idea at all, but he started to back up anyway.
"Relax. I'll catch you," Wsr replied.
"Suck it up, Lusac. We don't have time for anything else," Cewi said forcefully.
"Motion sensor is off, whenever you're ready," Vlqtrn notified him.
Lus tightened his backpack straps, took a breath, and then ran towards the square of moonlight. As he reached it, he dove forwards, slipping through the opening without even brushing the edges. He didn't fall long before landing in Wsr's muscular arms. The catch jolted his injured shoulder, reminding him that he would need to get that checked out back on the Argo.
The Kremel set him on his feet, patting his injured shoulder in celebration. "Great job, kid. We're on the homestretch now."
Lus grit his teeth against the shots of pain. "Thanks, Wsr."
"Don't get too comfortable yet. We still have to get off this blasted rock," Cewi-Bano reminded them. "I can see the guards coming your way. Vlqtrn, are the cameras still out?"
"Yeah. I have them looping again. You guys are safe to move," the Kremel confirmed.
"Which way is safe, Cewi?" Wsr questioned, taking the lead on getting herself and Lus out of the museum gardens.
"Go east. There are still some tight spots you'll have to slip through, but there's a lot less to deal with. You'll also need to hop the fence. Going through the gate is a bust," the Nemarian explained.
Wsr did as Cewi suggested, quietly sulking towards the eastern fence with Lus only a few steps behind. They paused behind a bush every now and again at Cewi's urging when guards were looking their way, but all in all things were going much better than their exit from the warehouse.
Soon they were at the metal bars enclosing the grounds. The fence was too tall for Wsr to boost Lus up so they had to use the grappling system in Wsr's pack. It was modified from a standard repelling anchor, and instead of shooting a sturdy hook into the solid ground, it launched a grapple upwards at a high velocity.
Lus couldn't count how many horrific injury stories he'd heard about the device, but Wsr was steady with the device and casually shot the hook up to the top rung of the fence. The claws immediately latched deep into and around the metal, and they were free to start their ascent. Lus went first, mainly because Wsr was a better fit for handling guards if anyone noticed and came to stop them.
He attached the metal cord to his belt that doubled as a safety harness, and then Wsr activated the lifting mechanism which yanked him directly upwards, stopping suddenly as it reached the claw. Lus then climbed over the top of the fence and gave Wsr a thumbs up. In the next second, the rope let itself fall, though at a more manageable speed, and stopped once his feet were on the ground. After he released the hook from his belt, he tossed it over the fence back to Wsr so she could repeat the steps for herself.
In less than a minute, the Kremel was standing next to Lus.
"You two head back to the base. Stay close, but not right together. I'll be only a few minutes behind you. I want to see if the guards notice anything during their checks," Cewi informed them.
Lus was more than happy to comply. The farther away he got from the museum, the safer he would feel. Wsr seemed of the same sentiment and insisted she go first while Lus lagged behind.
The walk back was painfully slow with him having to shadow Wsr. She played it smart and took a rather indirect path back, but Lus couldn't help feeling that they should go straight there and get packed. The sooner they got off the planet, the safer they would all be. If they could make it onto the Argo and the Argo could make it into the Astral Highway undetected, there would be no chance of them getting caught. Yet getting to that point was where the last of the risks for this mission lay, and Lus couldn't help worrying about it, especially after running into Shent. Cewi made it sound like she'd followed Shent and was confident he was satisfied with Lusac's story. If that really was the case, they were in the homestretch, just as Wsr said.
At last, the pair arrived back to the run-down part of town where their safe house lay. It wasn't long after that that they were marching up the creaking stairs back to the apartment to greet Vlqtrn.
"Good job out there," he said upon their entrance. "And sorry again about all the mixups, Lus. I had no idea a museum this minor would have such good security."
"It's alright. All's well that ends well," Lus replied with a smile.
"Assuming it does end well," Wsr said as she sat on one of the chairs. It threatened to break under that kind of load, but miraculously it still held together. Lus half wished he knew where the previous occupants bought this furniture, thinking that in a few decades when he was a Runner captain himself he might be interested in getting something as sturdy.
They all waited in silence for Cewi-Bano's return. Once she was back, they would know how successful the stealth part of the operation had been. After ten minutes, Wsr was noticeably uneasy, shifting in her seat which sent squeals throughout the room.
"Shouldn't Cewi be back by now?" Vlqtrn dared to ask the question everyone was wondering.
Lus forced himself to shrug as though unconcerned by the obvious delay. "She might have found something else to investigate or tie up before coming back."
"Or she ran into trouble," Wsr argued.
"What kind of trouble could delay someone like Cewi-Bano?" Vlqtrn thought aloud.
"She's fine. It's Cewi we're talking about," Lus reminded the group.
"She's not invincible. As good as she is with a blaster, she's still just one person," Wsr said softly, clearly thinking of certain memories she had with the Nemarian. As far as Lus knew, Cewi chose Wsr for every mission she possibly could due to their long running friendship after two decades of working together on various Runner crews. They'd been on the Argo for five years before Lus came along.
"Are you going to go after her? How would you even know where to find her? She's not answering her comms which leaves us no way to track her," Vlqtrn pointed out.
Wsr shook her head. "We'll give it a full hour, and then we'll decide what to do. Cewi will come through. She always does."
And so they waited, the seconds crawling by as tension continued to build in the room. Wsr hadn't said she'd go after Cewi-Bano, and Lus got the impression that if it came down to it, the Kremel would prioritize the mission over her friend out of duty, both her own and Cewi's. Lus couldn't imagine leaving Cewi behind, but if she never came back, they didn't have many other options.
Only five minutes of the promised hour remained when the door rattled. Vlqtrn smiled and stood from his chair. Wsr did the same, but Lus noticed her reaching for her pistol at her hip and taking a defensive stance. She relaxed however, when a purple Nemarian burst in, bristling with anger.