Behind the Curtains (New Babylon)

[Shay Cormac]

An hour of dead silence passed between the original three Primes sent out for this mission. Dead, cold and unforgiving silence.

Shay almost forgot the three of them were still driving at this point. Looking around this new vehicle they had entered in after that incident, he wanted to think about how perhaps he could learn to drive one of these, but the thought of Daxter being so angered stopped that thought into a screeching halt in his brain.

Sitting back in his seat as the bumpy drive continued onward, Shay sighed a bit, wondering if he could have prevented that. That, and he wasn't so sure on this Jak individual either. Daxter obviously wasn't pleased, but if Jak came back just as angry, then New Babylon would have one more problem on their shoulders, and that meant one more for Shay as well.

Looking to his sides, Shay could see Agnès just as distraught by what had happened. Surely, Victor was right, Jak would come back in a few days time, but seeing him fall felt so real it almost broke the small Dax creature right where he stood. Even Shay could admit it hurt seeing somebody they had picked up so soon and got them this far just die, for as much as that counts for in the Omniverse.

Victor though, the more Shay looked at Victor, the more he just looked aggravated. Shay couldn't entirely blame him this time, Daxter was overreacting given the circumstances, but even then, it just didn't seem right to go off on the little guy that hard. As Shay continued to ponder to himself, Victor changed gears, turning his head slightly.

"We should be arriving soon," Victor chimed in, before turning his head back to his front, continuing to drive along the sands. Agnès quickly looked at Shay, almost nodding. He could only assume from then on whatever that gesture meant was something good.

. . .

After the Nippur gate guards let Victor and his passengers in, almost everybody in the city had to think twice before realizing the Empire supply truck was being drove around by Victor. Not only that, but the few who actually knew the three Primes to be out on this mission were surprised at how quickly they had accomplished their task, which Shay could only hope impressed Gilgamesh when they got to him.

Well, at least Shay could say he was proud of himself for doing this with such efficiency. He knew this because it didn't get any less hot than the moment in which they all started. Driving through the crowded city streets as the citizens of the small city got out of their way, Victor found a nice place to settle down and park in, somewhat close to Gilgamesh's palace.

Opening the door beside him, Shay was glad he even remembered how to open the thing, still quite embarrassed at how new this technology seemed to him. As Agnès scurried out of the truck, she quickly walked up to both Victor and Shay, both of which still adjusting to the heat now that they were out of the air conditioning of the vehicle.

"I must ask, how will we inform Gilgamesh of... Daxter's...?" Agnès stopped herself, expectantly looking at the both of them whilst Victor closed the door behind him. Shay's expression turned into slight concern, his eyebrow raising a bit. Victor opened his mouth, but stopped as Shay turned to face Agnès.

"We might as well just tell him how it is. Knowing that man, he probably won't be the one to care that much," Shay hesitantly replied, before continuing full force, "If you're worried he'd be disappointed in us losing Jak, then just remember he wasn't a part of New Babylon when he died."

The harsh truth of that made Agnès squirm a bit, but soon enough, she nodded. Victor sighed soon after Shay finished, adding onto his words.

"Speaking of which, let's get these supplies to the King as quickly as possible," Victor finished off, before walking off to the general direction of the palace looming over the rest of the city's buildings.

Shay looked over to Agnès, only shrugging a bit before walking off to where Victor was headed.