[Flashback] The treasure of the cat kind

[Nabra]

Pirates find out that the "salesman's legend" about the ring stolen from the catlord mafioso by Alice is, in fact, true. But the ring isn't enough to get to the treasure. They need help from the Max, the Catlord Mobster himself. Thankfully, he is quite as much of an advanture-seeker as they are. Unfortunately, he is quite as much of an advanture-seeker as they are.

[Amir Delion]

- ...Then Max... - Amir drew the line with a finger through his throat, - Ended the fight, and insisted that I had to eat the viper, because "the best medicine is the hair of a dog that bit you"
- It's about alcohol, and it doesn't work anyway! Not about snakes!
- Whatever... Max insisted I eat the viper, so I ordered it pan-fried. But it came out overcooked, and didn't taste good anyway, so I drank a bit more whiskey to make it go down easier. Then I wanted to try some of that catnip liquor thing Max was drinking, but all it did to me was make me sleepy...
- By the way, is Max orange in cat form?
- No... Why?
- It would explain you having one freaking brain cell among two of you, that was required elsewhere that night!
- We just had a negotiation meeting at the restaurant and drank a bit too much. That happens. Don't make too much out of it!
- Drunk to the point of going wrestling a viper and getting bitten by it three times. And then asking your vis-a-vie, who was high like a dear in the headlights, to give you a ride.
- Both were important diplomatic decisions! And I went straight to the med bay and asked to give me an IV.
- Because you didn't want to feel all of that in the morning, not because you realized it was dangerous.
- Whatever... - Amir rolled his eyes. Somehow, the Crazy Cat Kamil ended up being the adult one this time. - We made an agreement, by the way. 50/50, he has priority for anything with extreme cultural significance. The ring stays with us until we open the treasure room, then it's his. I feel like Alice won't like the last part...
- If you want to sell something to Arkham, I can bring it with me when I return there.
- I'm not sure we will get there before you leave. Max is working on the Ilatri system defense line now. We can start preparation without him, but we will need him to be free before we go directly to sight.
- Do we need to care about him finding out about... The Black Sun and stuff?
- I don't think so. I believe he isn't that mad, actually. They are working on the defense line, but they aren't, like, fighting, I believe there's a lot of negotiation going on right now - which they couldn't really do before, he even tried to enlist me before finding out that my "special ability" was just "making stuff more complicated and hurting myself in process". Besides, they wanted to do about the same thing with the Sphere

[Alice]

Alice, as expected, did not like the last part. But not so much as to give up the idea of ​​​​searching for an even more valuable and interesting treasure.

"Okay. The fact of the theft is enough to put your Max in his place". Alice finally conceded. "If he helps find the treasure and does not deceive, then so be it, I will return it".

The story of how the negotiations went seemed crazy. Alice did not hide her surprise when she listened to it. Could one drinking bout really make Amir and the mafia catlord such friends? Alice did not believe in this friendship. But for pirates, it was sometimes normal to side with former enemies. Therefore, she was not against joint treasure hunting. Maybe, after common dangers, she will be able to understand why Marla speaks so warmly of Max and loves him so much. Perhaps Alice would prefer not to have anything to do with Max, but if Amir needs her, she will be there for him and for Max too.

"What will be required of me?" Alice asked. She hoped that the question did not sound too cold. "Except not to quarrel with him. I will try to behave politely".

Of course, Alice would prefer not to have anything to do with Max, but the treasure attracted her much more than the old grievances repelled her. Because of the treasure, she was ready, if not to reconcile, then at least not to spoil Amir's relationship with a potential partner.

[Amir Delion]

"I don't trust him" Clarified Amir when everyone involved already left the med bey. Pirate wasn't at all hangovered, but his hand and leg were still swollen.
"Well, apparently I trust him enough to check why exactly drinking at work is a bad idea together - it is a bad idea, btw, you are right, - but not in big things. But we need him for this plot... Well, him or the Cat's Eye scientists, but in the latter case we will barely get anything, and it's not like I trust them either."
The ring got linked to the Maxim by DNA. This part pirates managed to figure out; but how, why and what to do about it remained a mystery.
"You may need to help with computers. If they had direct interface - it's probably biological, because, well, catlords' technology. I know that they do completely different things than anere-taio, but you are the only person I know who has any experience with biological interfaces at all... But I understand that you are pissed off at him, and it's completely fair, so if you don't want to deal with him - you don't have to"

[Alice]

“I definitely won't give the ring away for free, even to the scientists. It's not just a trophy. I like it. But I'm willing to exchange it for a piece of the treasure. That's why Max is better than the scientists. And it's better not to quarrel with Max unnecessarily. I'm friends with Marla, Marla looks after my cat when I'm away, and Marla is friends with Max. That's why I'd also prefer to be friends with him, or at least not to be enemies. If we go to the scientists, my relationship with Max definitely won't improve.”

Alice thought for a long time. She weighed the options in her mind, but Amir was right that in such a delicate matter it was risky to turn to outside specialists if it was possible to do without them. Alice wasn't an expert in catlord technology, but she knew more about it than Amir himself or anyone else on the ship's crew.

“I've dealt with human technology. I'm pretty good at it. The catlords have different technology that they use for werecats. I can't promise that I'll be able to figure it out, but if you don't want to go to outside specialists, I'm willing to try. You're right, it will be difficult for me to deal with Max. But I once doubted whether it was worth dealing with you.” She smiled. “So I'm willing to give him a chance and work on one side. I'm in”

[Amir Delion]

"He isn't a vampire at least, or at least I hope he isn't", Amir hesitantly smiled, not being sure if the joke was funny.
One vampire, the self-proclaimed candidate to become fourth in their little cozy ménage à trois, was due for being saved from whatever deep shit he got himself into (the only problem with that being that he never informed pirates about what that shit was exactly), and another "vampire" (in heavy air quats) drunk significantly more blood out of pirates figuratively than he did literally. It was enough vampires for the current period, thank you very much.

...It's been three weeks since the negotiation went weird with the Catlord mafia boss.
It happend to be kinda quiet on the ship. Kamil returned to the uni. Mark - still an active mercenary - was somewhere on the periphery, resolving some rogue AI accident (it could be more to it and it could link to one of the two imperium dissolutions that were just finalised, but Mark insisted that everything was under control now, and if stuff were to go weird - he would contact either the team or the Orion themselves). Aik was on the same planet where Alice and Amir got their enhancements not so long ago; turned out, he couldn't reliably distinguish between hot and cold after fishing in red tide many years ago, and eventually decided to get it fixed.
It was almost suspiciously convenient time to go on an adventure, and of course it was the time when Max showed up.
Amir honestly wasn't sure what he expected to see, and probably would be surprised anyway, so two persons approaching the meeting point was not all that unexpected in comparison.
"Hi! I guess you know Rimmer already. An extra pair of hands won't hurt." Young werecat with green eyes flinched about the same way Alice did when Maxim participation in the mission was discussed. Amir and Maxim have never been prisoners in each other's bases. Alice and Rimmer have been.
"So, you have a map and I can use the key. Sounds about right. Let's go! I guess that's gonna be fun."

[Alice]

They both sometimes thought of Kurt. A vampire who had gone on a suicidal journey and left Alice with a bequest that was enough to modify, upgrade the ship without saving and set up a small base on a warm seashore. Another former enemy who had become a friend. A vampire who needed to be saved, but it was completely unclear where to fly. Even Alice and Riley couldn’t find any traces through their channels. The search continued, but so far without success.

Now Max had turned from an enemy to an ally. But if Kurt’s motives were clear and simple, then Max remained a dark horse.

- I wonder if he specifically found a time when our team was not at full strength? I don't believe in such coincidences.
Alice did not trust Max despite the agreement with Amir. Perhaps she voiced the question that had already appeared in Amir's head. Max was cunning, and Amir knew this no worse than Alice.

- Don't worry. I promised to be polite to him and not show distrust, so I will. Since our last meeting, I have become stronger. Now he will not be able to neutralize me as easily as he did last time. If he breaks the agreement, I will have something to answer with. But as long as you consider him an ally, I will not be the first to remind him of the past.

Alice also did not expect Max to come to the meeting with Rimmer. Alice did not show surprise, only smiled politely. She recognized the guy, and noticed how he flinched. So he recognized her too.

"Hi," she said calmly.

It was not easy for Alice to remain calm, unpleasant days that she spent at Max's base came up in her memory, but Max and Rimmer did not need to know about this.

Catlord was in a playful mood. Alice tried to remain silent and watch. Let Amir communicate with him, and she will join the conversation only if asked.
However, the adventure really promised to be interesting.

[Amir Delion]

"Kinda... I mean, Kamil wouldn't go with us this time of year even if he happened to be on the ship, and it's not really a secret, but with others... Doesn't have to be on purpose, but it's not unlikely"
Kamil, unlike Amir and Stanley, was studying full-time, and also volunteered in a Blue Star search and rescue squad, not accounting for any of his personal projects. Cat was on the ship from time to time and was helping out as much as he could, but adventuring during the exam session was a hard pass.
"I'll be careful. And no more meetings in the forest"
It was not Max who abducted them in the forest, but still.

"Hi. You don't like me. Fair, I wouldn't like myself too" Max just nodded. Maybe he wanted to add some comment about how exactly he knew that or to remind that pirates couldn't blame him for not trying to make the situation better, but he only said this.
"Let's get down to business, shell we?"
"We should. So, we are flying to the planet, then you, us and a couple more people go down there on star fighters, we enter the temple, sort out what's the deal with computer systems, you open the volt with the ring, we take stuff, leave and then divide the prise. Yeah, and one more thing: we work as a team where it's part of the plan, but just being on our ship - you are passengers. We will make sure not to take unnecessary risks along the way, but you don't command and don't snoop around beyond the living area"
"It's a bummer, I hoped to see some pirate attack, and looking what you hide in a broom clothed would be fun... If being serious - I'm fine with it, but we are dividing
the prise on the planet - doesn't have to be in a temple, but not on your ship"
"Deal!"

[Alice]

“It's all right,” Alice answered. “I'm not offended. I hope you are not either. Let's call it a draw”.
She didn't want to discuss the past, and she promised Amir not to remind his new partners of the bad. But she was unexpectedly pleased that Rimmer had been on the Black Phoenix in the same position she had been on Max's base, and Max's ring was hanging on a silver chain around her neck under her clothes. If the ring was too big for Max, then it was even bigger for Alice, and Alice didn't want to lose it.

While Amir and Max were agreeing on further actions and the rules of staying on the Black Phoenix, Alice couldn't get rid of the memories. Max was incredibly charming, he joked cheerfully, and if Alice had met him under different circumstances, she would have completely fallen under his charm. Understanding this was a little frightening.

Alice was glad that Max had agreed to fly on the Black Phoenix. Alice didn’t want to go into Max's territory but she was prepared for this outcome of the negotiations. Max hadn't done her any harm when she was his prisoner, but the effects of the implant-disabling drugs, coupled with the resentment that Max was going to use her as an argument in negotiations with Amir, left a very unpleasant aftertaste. Alice tried not to show her joy, but Max and Rimmer could see how the tension left her face when the four of them walked towards the Black Phoenix.

The passengers were placed in separate cabins. This time, no one locked Rimmer in, but access beyond the living quarters was closed to both of them. A lot had changed since Rimmer had been on the ship last time. Even though the guy hadn't seen much when he was a prisoner on the Black Phoenix, he could see that the ship had been heavily modernized since then. It had become more comfortable, there were green areas in all accessible corners, the interior paneling of the living quarters had been updated and now sparkled with the cleanliness of a fresh renovation.

"How well is the temple we're going to infiltrate guarded?" Alice asked Max when they arrived on the ship.
That was the first question she dared to ask.
"I'm interested not only in perimeter security, but also in network security. If I'm going to work online, I'd like to know what we might encounter".