They loaded up in the car once more and took off. Callum was right behind Bel's seat with Valencia pressed up against him and Mikan next to her. He couldn't help glancing at their legs surreptitiously, even though it was making him uncomfortable. 'Stop it,' he told himself, fruitlessly. It wasn't like he could do anything with either one of them. The complications would be too much.
Bel set down her car in front of one of the widest buildings that Callum had seen on the ship. There was a train stop right in front of the building and Callum watched as it disgorged a mass of people and was boarded by another mass. They all got out and Bel led them toward the doors. "This is the big market," Bel said. "You can find just about everything available on Shimayasumota inside. I normally prefer going to smaller shops myself but for a large purchase like this, the big market is the easiest." They stepped inside and all three humans stopped and stared. It was enormous and yet somehow jampacked with both people and things. Callum's head spun and Mikan actually put a hand to her brow as if she was feeling faint.
Bel left them for a moment and came back with two large, floating baskets. She pushed one toward Mikan and the other to Callum. Then she conducted them around the market. The baskets filled up quickly, with all of the humans trusting Bel as she placed things into them. The fie woman told them she was getting them food that could be eaten without any preparation or with simple heating. There was a fruits and vegetables section, a meat section, a dry foods section, a drinks section and many others that Callum barely understood.
Many fie recognized Bel and came up to speak to her. She handled them all deftly, barely pausing but leaving them all with a smile. It seemed Bel was very popular and Callum could understand why. He didn't think he could ever have a way with people like that. He, Mikan and Valencia got plenty of strange looks and even some stares and glares but nobody really bothered them. The fie seemed to be a polite people.
Once they were done with the food, Bel took them to still more sections of the store. Callum didn't understand what almost any of it was. There was one section where he was told to mind the baskets while the three women went alone. He didn't get why and he didn't recognize anything that they bought. In the next section though, they got him a "shaver." Callum inspected the little black thing with doubt. It didn't even have a blade! Bel assured him that he would never have a closer shave, though.
When they were all done, they took the two almost overflowing baskets to the "packing section." There a small army of fie packed up their things in boxes. Bel gave them commands with a smile and a laugh and all of the packers gained a grin of their own and a pep in their step. They carted out the boxes and loaded them into the car.
Callum felt tired when he sat down. It wasn't even midday yet but there were only so many new experiences he could handle at one time. He could tell by their faces that Valencia and Mikan felt the same way. When Bel got in, he leaned forward and asked. "Are we going to be going home now?" As soon as he said it, his incongruity hit him. Home? Was that apartment really home now? It felt so strange to think.
Bel flashed an apologetic grin. "We have one more place to go but, trust me, it is a place you'll want to go." Without further explanation, she lifted off and took them wherever she was taking them.
It turned out to be a tall tower. Taller than any of the others around it. It seemed like the kind of place a princess might inhabit. Bel set the car down on top of the building and Callum was surprised to see two other cars nearby. It was the first time he'd seen another car where they parked. Both of them were bigger than Bel's and colored a bright crimson.
Bel led them to a door and she pressed her hand to the side of it, though Callum could see nothing that marked the spot apart from any other. A light pulsed and the door slid open. Bel waved them inside and Callum entered into what he recognized as an elevator. Bel selected a button and then had to put her hand above the bank of buttons. Another light pulsed and then the elevator began to move.
A few moments later the door opened and Bel walked out, waving them to follow. Callum did so and then started when he noticed women to either side of the elevator. They were both in what seemed to be jumpsuits augmented with extra armor. They both held guns but neither one raised them. Their hard faces didn't change but they did nod greeting to Bel. All of the security convinced Callum that they probably were being taken to Princess Tsyrinsaku.
So it was a complete shock when they entered a room off the long hallway beyond the two guards and found Chajin floating in a healing tank. He stopped short and the two girls ran into his back. "What the hell, Callum?" Valencia muttered. Then she looked around him and hissed in displeasure. Even though she'd helped Callum save the carcha woman's life, it seemed she still hated her. During the fighting at Ragrun, Chajin had been nearly killed saving their lives. The wound she'd taken had opened up a gash on her back so deep Callum had been able to see spine through it. The fie had taken her away and promised to treat her but Callum had been worried. The fie and the carcha were enemies after all.
"How is she doing?" Bel asked. Callum looked at her and saw that she was speaking to a fie woman in loose, pale orange garments. The woman was older with a stern face and violet hair in a tight bun.
"As well as can be expected," the woman said. "Her wound was stable but it was such a deep gash that it will take time to regrow the flesh. The doctors are still examining the possibility of surgery."
Mikan walked around Callum and Valencia and put her hand on the glass. "She's alright," she said. "What a relief." Callum shook his head. Mikan had as much right to hate Chajin as Valencia. Or at least Callum thought she did. Mikan never seemed to react the way he assumed she would.
Callum gazed at Chajin. She was tall and extremely thin, with waist-length night black hair. It was the first time he'd ever seen a carcha woman naked. Her blue-gray skin was smooth, even across the chest. She had no nipples or breasts. He wondered how carcha babies fed. Probably on blood. If he thought he might not understand Mikan, he knew he did not understand Chajin. She was as confusing a creature as Callum had ever encountered. But most carcha seemed to be insane to one extent or another. Callum glanced at Bel. "I'm glad you are taking care of her," he said. "Thank you." He hesitated but had to ask. "What will you do with her once she is healed?"
Bel's face went absolutely blank. "That will be up to Lady Tsyirinsaku."
Callum nodded glumly. He didn't really expect any other answer. "She saved my life," he said, even though he'd said it before. "And Valencia's. I doubt any of us, including Yemoramato would be alive without her."
Bel nodded but her face still held no expression. "That will be taken into account."
Callum sighed. "What about D--?" A sharp shake of Bel's head cut him off. He frowned at her questioningly but trusted her. He glanced at the stern woman and noted she had a tight-lipped suspicious frown.
"Come," Bel said. "Chajin was not the only one who I brought you to see." She led them out of the room and stopped when they were just outside. In a whisper, she said, "Do not mention that other matter where anyone but me can hear you. I will explain further when there are no ears that might overhear." Bel looked each of them in the eye until they nodded. Then she brightened. "Now, I think you'll be very happy to see what awaits you in the next room."
They followed her into the next room down and Callum stopped just inside. He felt like he'd been clubbed over the head and like a giant hand was squeezing all the breath out of him. Just like in the other room, there was a woman floating in a healing tank. A woman he'd never expected to see again. Mikan cried out from behind him and then pushed past, sprinting up to the tank and falling on her knees in front of it. "Nita," she breathed. And then louder, "Nita!"
It was. Callum had been holding out the merest sliver of hope that she might somehow still be alive but he hadn't actually believed it. A carcha had skewered her mech right through the cockpit and her mech had gone silent instantly. After seeing how Chajin's mech had stabilized her gaping back wound, Callum had had some hope that Nita might be alive. But Chajin had remained conscious through all of it and Callum had thought he was being childish to keep hoping the same was true of Nita.
"My God," Valencia said. "Her arm." Callum had been so overwhelmed that he hadn't really taken everything in but as soon as Valencia said it, he saw it. Nita's right arm was completely gone. 'All those lovely flowers,' he thought, remembering her tattoos and not able to fully absorb the implications of her losing an arm. It was worse than even that, though. Not only was her right arm gone, but her right ear and most of the skin on the right side of her face. The blade must have punched through the cockpit and hit her right in the face and shoulder. No wonder she instantly lost consciousness. It was a miracle she was still alive.
Callum looked at Bel, whose face was grave. "Is she going to be alright?" Bel glanced at the woman in the room in those same orange clothes and repeated the question in fie. This woman was slender and older, with pink skin and very pale blue hair cut short.
"It's too early to be certain but we think so. She is remarkably strong. Even with the PFC liquid, most would have died after receiving such an injury. She still has a long way to go, however."
Callum nodded. "She'll live. She's way too stubborn to let something like this kill her." He glanced at Bel. "Once she's up and about, you'll have another pilot." She nodded but somehow didn't seem to be agreeing. It occurred to Callum that not having an arm might make it hard to pilot but if anyone could figure out a way around that, it was Nita.
Mikan was still on her knees and her shoulders were shaking with soft sobs. Callum glanced at Valencia, unsure of how to handle a crying woman. Valencia seemed torn. She jerked, almost like she would go to Mikan but a look of anguish crossed her face and she looked away. Callum's heart sank. He understood how she must be feeling. So he walked to Mikan and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Mikan. She's going to be alright."
"B-but her a-arm," Mikan said between soft hiccups. "Her arm is g-gone because she had to s-save me. Because I was so stupid!"
"No," Callum said. He opened his mouth to say more but he couldn't think of the right words.
Bel saved him. "You can't think like that, Mikan. You cannot!" Everybody turned to look at her. He thought it was the first time he'd ever heard Bel raise her voice. "The carcha did this to her. They and no others. You can't let yourself take the blame for what they do, no matter what. You will eat yourself alive that way and become no good to anyone. I've seen good women become husks because they could not move past a mistake. But none of us is perfect. If you made a mistake during the battle, reflect on it and do better but it wasn't you who punched a sword through her cockpit." Bel walked around Mikan and knelt in front of her, taking her head gently in her hands and peering in her eyes. "You did not do this to her." She said each word slowly and after a moment, Mikan nodded. "Good."
"Will I be able to visit her sometimes?" Mikan said, after a moment. Callum noted that she wasn't crying anymore. 'I'll have to thank Bel later.'
"You'll have to be escorted," Bel said. "You don't have the security clearance to enter this building." Then she smiled. "But let me know when you want to come and I will find the time to bring you."
Callum's heart soared. Bel was such a lovely person. He glanced at Valencia, expecting to share a smile, and was surprised to see a look of dissatisfaction on her face. He gave her a questioning look but she just shook her head, mouth twisting a little. What could that possibly be about?
They stayed for a bit longer but with both Chajin and Nita unconscious, there wasn't much to do. They returned to Bel's car and went to a small eatery for lunch. The owner knew Bel much like Jina and fussed over them all. The food was excellent, even if Callum didn't know what he was eating. There was a flat, square thing with some kind of sauce that was savory and tangy and delicious, along with a salty, sweet mash of something and some crisp green things. He also had a tart drink to wash it down and a very sweet, soft dark red cake or something for dessert. Callum ate it all and wished there was more.
After lunch, they returned home and had to carry up all of their groceries. Callum handled most of them, of course, and therefore had to stop by Valencia's and Mikan's rooms before returning to his own last. And that's how he found himself alone with Bel.
It hit him a moment after the door closed behind her and he suddenly felt very nervous. They put away the groceries with Bel chatting amiably about what needed to go in which cold box and reminding him about what he needed to heat before he ate. Callum did his best to respond but felt tongue-tied. When they were finished, they stood together silently and Callum realized he didn't want her to leave.
He cast about for something to talk about and remembered the conversation she cut short. "Would now be a good time to talk about...the thing we were talking about earlier?"
Bel's lips twitched in an almost smile. "Sure. We can talk about her in your apartment."
"Dahri's here?" Callum asked. "She's alright?" He hadn't realized until back in the hospital that he'd developed a soft spot for the odd carcha.
Bel nodded. "We have her here but we're keeping her secret. She's agreed to help us but everyone on this ship has lost someone to the carcha and too many of them just see them as one ubiquitous enemy. She'll need to remain a closely guarded secret."
Callum frowned. He understood and he wanted to trust Bel. Still, he had to ask, "Can I see her sometime? She is a friend."
Bel arched an eyebrow. Maybe she didn't think a human could have a carcha friend. Callum would have thought the same thing before he met Dahri. "Yes, I think it can be arranged. I'll need to speak to Lady Tsyirinsaku, though. You might need to, too."
"I'd like to talk to her anyway." He'd been so overwhelmed by everything that he didn't remember to thank her for coming to rescue him and the rest of the humans on Ragrun.
"Yes, I think she'll want to speak to you, too." Bel smiled slightly and said, "I enjoyed today. You humans are interesting. You should have your aides by tomorrow to help you get used to life aboard the Shimayasumota but we'll have to get together again sometime soon." She touched him gently on the arm and then began to walk toward the door.
"Wait," Callum said. She stopped and glanced at him over her shoulder. Callum froze. He'd asked her to wait with no clear reason other than he didn't want her to go. At least not without an idea when he was going to see her again. Thinking furiously, he was hit with sudden inspiration. "Do you think you could teach me to speak fie?"
She studied him for a long moment and he prepared himself to explain why he wanted her to teach him but then she grinned and said, "Sure. Why don't you come over tomorrow night? I'll send you a message."
"Really?" Callum gasped, grinning like a fool. "Alright. Great! I can't wait!" With a final smile, Bel disappeared through the door. Callum stared after her for a long while.