Taka was really beginning to wonder if she'd made a terrible mistake. She'd seen a chance to get out from under the thumb of her overbearing and unbearable father–the disgusting dog that had driven her mother away–and she had taken it. But maybe she had leaped too soon. She was on a train, ostensibly headed toward this "Jella" person, though the fact that the speakers kept blaring, "Warning, train currently operating emergency routes only. Please exit the train and proceed to the nearest evacuation shelter," made her wonder if it really would take them there. The train was packed with fie, only a few getting off at each stop and much more pressing to get on. Taka was pressed up against a window and sandwiched between Shargi and a fie woman. It was incredibly unpleasant. Made all the more so by the fact that the fie woman was hardly wearing any clothing at all. And Shargi was hardly any better.
That was the crux of Taka's worries that she may have entered into a situation just as bad as the one she left. The fie really did not seem to like wearing the proper amount of clothing. Men and women alike! Everywhere she looked she saw exposed midriffs, bared thighs and way too much cleavage. 'Are they an entire species of sluts?' And this Shargi woman seemed to fit right in. Her dress was so short she couldn't bend over without flashing the piece of floss that was apparently her underwear and her boobs seemed to be perpetually on the edge of falling out. No bra, of course. And the worst part was that she was running around barefoot. Who did that?
Or what did that? Taka had seen all manner of aliens aboard her father's ship but she'd never seen one like Shargi. Her reddish skin and long canine teeth made her look slightly demonic but her personality was the exact opposite. The eyes were the strangest part, though one was almost swollen shut. Taka wondered how that had happened. She was almost positive that it hadn't been Callum that had hit her. Taka knew that every person had a dark side of themselves but she would have been shaken to her core if Callum turned out to be a woman-beater.
Of course, her faith in Callum had already been shaken somewhat, which was the other reason she'd been wondering if she joined up with the wrong group. After Callum had rejected her father's proposal of a threeway–an idea only the most diseased of minds could have come up with–Taka had wondered if she'd finally found that most elusive of creatures: a pilot that had actual sexual morals. Callum had seemed to be in a monogamous relationship with Valencia–who wasn't even a pilot! Yet he was powerful. Not as strong as her pervert father but who was? How had Callum gotten that power, if he wasn't banging every pilot that would have him? Her father had tried to convince her that a human could only boost their ether via sex but Taka was sure that couldn't possibly be true. The universe wasn't so disgusting. There had to be another way. And if Callum, who was strong, was also monogamous with a non-powered person, then he had to know the way.
Taka had been certain of this before they arrived on Shimayasumota. Yet she'd seen some disturbing things since. The first had been that fie Bel-something. The way Callum looked at her and she at him…the way Valencia had grown noticeably flustered…was there something there? And then, the Shargi creature. She had been in his room with him, alone at night, dressed the way she was dressed. Was there something there? Was Callum just more discreet about his fucking harem? Maybe he had only refused the threeway with her father because he was grossed out at the thought of having another dick in the mix. What was Taka going to do if that was the case? At least on Tianlong, she knew what was what. She was a total fish out of water here. And the thought of crawling back to her father…'I would rather die.'
"The next stop!"
Taka blinked, shaken from her maudlin musings. "What?"
"The next stop!" Shargi repeated, shouting to be heard over the din, even though they were right next to each other. "Mistress and Shargi must get off!"
"Right." Taka glanced down at the android Myna, who was sitting down at Taka's feet, arms wrapped around her legs to make herself as small as possible. "Did you hear that, droid?"
"Affirmative."
Taka sighed. What was she doing? Rescuing someone she'd never met with the help of a slutty alien and a tiny android girl. 'Why am I doing this again?'
The train slowed down and halted, then the doors sprang open. Taka was shocked at the stampede for the exit. Apparently this was the stop the others had been waiting for as well. She forced her way out, using her elbows judiciously to get onto the platform. Myna stayed in her wake but Shargi was carried off by the force of the stampede. It took some time for them to reunite and by then, the crowd had scattered, most of them sprinting toward whatever destination they had in mind.
"This way," Shargi said, after she had caught her breath. "Follow Shargi." 'And what is with the third-person stuff? Alien thing?'
Taka glanced up at the sky as they walked. There seemed to be a running battle within the ship itself, in addition to the one going on outside of it. She watched as a mech sliced the thruster away from a transport ship, sending it careening into a building. 'Damn, even if the fie survive this, they are going to be hurt.' Taka wondered how the Tianlong was doing. She did have a few people she liked on that ship. She'd also heard what the Rukh did. Taka assumed most of it was exaggerated but even so…
A few minutes into their trek, Shargi suddenly stopped with a hiss of alarm. Taka followed her gaze and saw why. Three fie, a man, a woman and a child, were pressed up against a wall by three creatures Taka assumed were Rukh. They were all very different though. One was short and portly with scaly, orange skin, one was tall and lean with smooth, gray skin and the last was tall and wide with craggy, green skin. The tall, wide one laughed and said something. Either it was too far away for Taka's translator to pick up or it didn't know the language.
Shargi stepped close to Taka and whispered, "Let's go this way." She pointed in the opposite direction of the Rukh. "Before they notice."
"Right," Taka muttered. They were there to save this Jella-thing, not every fie they came across. It made sense to avoid fights. Taka followed Shargi for a few steps and then stopped. 'God damn it.' The kid was crying. She turned around and shouted, "Oy, fuckers! Why don't you come play with me if you're so keen!"
"What is Mistress doing?" Shargi hissed. She clutched Taka's arm.
Taka shook her off. She walked forward, her hands in the pockets of the longcoat she was wearing over her jumpsuit. The three Rukh talked among each other and they all started laughing. The short, orange one came out to meet her. Taka was relieved. He was short and fat, so he should be the easiest one to take down. 'If I can take him out quick, then it's only two on one.' They stopped just a step apart. Even though he was the shortest of the three, he was still taller than her. He was only wearing a loincloth and he stank something fierce. "Couldn't wait, bitch?" His voice was like grating rocks. "We would have gotten to you eventually."
Taka was surprised her translator could understand. Who would take the time to translate the Rukh language? She sure wasn't about to have a conversation with the disgusting thing. She did as she'd been taught and focused all of her ether into her right fist. A dull ache started in her chest. She slowly removed her right hand from her pocket and then swiftly punched the Rukh as hard as she could, right where a human's liver would be. It felt like punching a steel bulkhead. The fat didn't give at all. Taka recoiled, cradling her hand. It felt like she'd broken it.
The Rukh grinned nastily and lifted his fist. Before Taka could even think of getting out of the way, he swung down, hitting her in the right arm. The blow left her sprawled across the ground and dazed. 'What the hell?' How had her punch done nothing? She knew she was weak but not even a flinch? She rolled over, cradling her broken arm as the Rukh loomed above her. He grinned and put his hands on his loincloth. Tears of frustration sprang to Taka's eyes. This was how it was going to end? She wasn't going to let the freak rape her. She would make him kill her or she would kill herself first. 'Sorry, Jella. Sorry…Callum.'
"RM-Blade." The voice was the android's, girlish but slightly disembodied. A second later, the point of a blade appeared from the stomach of the orange Rukh. It sliced upward through the chest and head. The Rukh split in half and fell into two different pieces, revealing Myna standing behind him. Her expression was placid as ever. The only difference was the fact that her left arm was now a blade. Red blood dripped from it. Taka goggled at her. She'd heard androids from Zalm were nasty in a fight but she didn't know they could do something like that. As Taka watched, the sword shifted back into a regular-looking arm and hand. "Request for future," Myna said, "please inform me when you will be engaging with the enemy."
"Behind you!" Taka shouted. The other two Rukh were charging at her.
Myna calmly wheeled and lifted her right arm. "CE-Cannon." Her hand and arm rapidly shifted into a barrel and a beam of ether shot out, impaling the tall, thin Rukh through the chest. He dropped instantly. The other one came on, swinging wildly at Myna. She casually leaned out of the way. Her right arm changed back and she swung her other fist. "RM-Hammer." Her left hand shifted into a hammerhead and a pole came out of her elbow. The pole slammed forward at the same time her hammer-fist came in contact with the Rukh's chin. The blow obliterated the Rukh's head and he toppled backwards. Taka stared at the corpses, unable to believe what she had just seen.
Shargi rushed over and kneeled down next to her. She waved her hands over Taka's injured arm, distress twisting her face. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Why did Mistress do that? What should Shargi do?"
"I'm fine," Taka said gruffly, using her left hand to help gain her feet. Just moving hurt her arm and hand so bad that she was sure she had multiple broken bones. She grit her teeth to keep from crying out.
"You have suffered fractures in your humorous and fifth metacarpal," Myna said.
'What does she have fucking x-ray vision?' "I'm fine," Taka repeated sourly. She carefully put her hand in her coat pocket. This time she had to bite her bottom lip to hold in a whimper. "Let's go. We have to save that Jella."
"Is Mistress sure she is alright?" Shargi asked, doing that annoying thing where she waved her hands close without actually touching Taka.
"Stop that!" Taka snapped. Shargi flinched away.
The female fie jogged up to them and bowed low. Taka could see all the way down her low-cut blouse. "Thank you so much," the woman blubbered. "You saved our lives." Taka didn't know what to say. She wished the conversation was over. The woman straightened up and said, "You don't seem to be from here," she said, wiping away tears and snot. "Are you lost? The shelter nearby is full but we were headed for another one. We can take you there."
"We're fine," Taka said. "We're doing something else."
"Are you sure? It's not safe." The woman stretched out a hand toward Taka. Toward her injured arm.
"Get away!" Taka yelled, jerking back. A wave of nausea-inducing pain ran up her arm. "Fuck! Leave us alone!" The woman was obviously bewildered but bowed again and then hurried away. "Stupid bitch," Taka grumbled, turning to Shargi. "Let's go. Before more fucking Rukh show up." Shargi nodded, wringing her hands together. She turned and sped forward. A little too fast for Taka, who couldn't keep her arm immobile at the pace. Myna jogged next to her. Taka side-eyed her, wondering what all the little freak was capable of. 'If she hadn't been here, I would've…' Taka shook the thought away. She couldn't think about it.
They reached a very tall building a few minutes later. Taka saw why Bel was worried. There was a transport craft crashed into the entryway of the building right across the street. Taka didn't see any movement inside but she somehow doubted that any Rukh died during the crash. Shargi pulled the door open when she couldn't get it to activate via motion sensor. 'Is the power out?' Taka got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that was proven accurate when they couldn't summon an elevator. "What floor does Jella live on?" she asked, somehow knowing the answer already.
"The top floor," Shargi said, cringing away from Taka.
"Perfect. Fucking perfect." Taka steamed for a moment and then snapped, "Well, let's get to it already." Shargi jumped and then skittered over to a side door. She pulled it open and started up the stairs. Taka followed and looked up at the seemingly never ending switchback staircases. She hardened her resolve. 'No way can that tubby slut climb all those stairs and I can't.' Taka started up.
It would have been tough going without her broken arm. With it, it was nearly impossible. She jostled her arm with every stair and it got worse as she grew tired. Soon, she wasn't aware of anything but the burning pain in her leg muscles, the sharp pains in her arm and hand, the nausea in her stomach and the desperate attempt to get enough air into her lungs. Shargi kept stopping and running back down to fret over her, then running back ahead. 'How does she have the energy?'
Taka soon lost track of where she was. Her vision started to darken around the edges. All she could remember was that she had to get to the top of the stairs. Only stubbornness kept her going as her vision grew more and more dark. The good thing was, her pain had grown distant. That was a good thing, wasn't it? Her vision went black.
Taka came too a few moments later and gasped. She was still going up the stairs but she was horizontal now. A brief panic caused her to struggle until her arm screamed its protest. Taka froze and swiftly realized what was happening. She was in the arms of the android. The ersatz little girl was carrying her like she were the child. Intellectually, Taka understood that the android was several times stronger than she looked. But it still felt humiliating. Any other time, Taka would have instantly forced the android to drop her but with her arm the way it was, she realized she had no choice. It was only Shargi that was seeing anyway. If it had been Callum or, god forbid, her father, she wouldn't have been able to take it. She was going to have to have a conversation with Shargi about never, ever speaking of it.
They reached the top of the last staircase and found a short ladder that led up to a small hatch. "Shargi believes this comes out in a utility room."
"Cool," Taka said, her voice thick with barely suppressed rage. Her frustration was on the verge of boiling over. "Get up there."
Shargi nodded and scampered up the latter. She had been breathing a bit hard but seemed generally unaffected by the climb. Salt in Taka's wounds. Shargi pushed at the hatch and then knocked. "Jella, can you hear? It is Shargi!" She tried a few more times but nothing happened. Shargi slid back down the ladder. "Shargi does not think it will open from this side with no power. The hatch is in the back of the penthouse. Jella will not hear Shargi."
'God, her way of speaking makes me want to punch her in the mouth.' "Put me down, android." Myna carefully set her down and Taka managed to keep her feet with sheer willpower. "Now, go open that hatch. Whatever it takes."
Shargi's fingers wiggled rapidly. "That might scare poor Jella."
"Do you have a better idea?" Taka demanded. "Because, unless you do, it is either this or we leave her alone."
Shargi bit her lip and nodded. "Shargi understands. She apologizes for challenging Mistress. Mistress may punish Shargi later if she wishes."
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Shut up. Fuck." Taka glanced at Myna. "Get to it, android."
The little girl android nodded and climbed the ladder. "CE-Torch." Her right hand shifted to a smaller barrel than it had been before and a small flame appeared from it. She carved around the edges of the hatch and then kicked the hatch up. The android jumped through the new opening and then poked her head through. "Please be aware of the edges of the hatch as they will remain hot enough to burn unprotected skin for several minutes."
Taka gestured for Shargi to go ahead and the alien woman hurried up the ladder. At the top, she put her hand near the edge of the hold Myna had cut and flinched back. Shargi seemed at a loss for a moment but then gathered herself and attempted to jump through the hole. It didn't really work that well and she touched the sides of the hole a few times scrambling through the hole. Shargi cried out and Taka winced in sympathy. Yet as soon as she was through the whole, Taka heard her cry out, "Jella! It is Shargi!" Her retreating voice told Taka she was running deeper into the apartment. 'I guess she's a little tougher than I gave her credit for.'
Taka climbed the ladder, very slowly, since she didn't have the use of both her arms. When she got to the top, she shouted, "Android! Come here." Myna poked her head over the hatch. Taka carefully balanced herself on the ladder and then stretched her good hand through the hole. "Lift me up." Myna reached down and clasped her hand. Then she pulled Taka up rapidly. It hurt but Myna did keep her away from the hot edges and deposited her onto the floor next to the hatch. Taka wished she could rub her aching shoulder. She stood up. 'Should I thank the android?' It seemed pointless. Taka walked deeper into the dark apartment.
Shargi was in the middle, still calling out for Jella when Taka entered the living room. A small girl entered from the other side at the same time she did. It was obviously Jella, and not just because it would have been strange to find a different little fie girl. She resembled her mother strongly and even Taka had to admit she was an incredibly cute kid. Her puffy eyes and tear streaked face notwithstanding.
"Shargi?" the girl hiccuped.
Shargi fell to one knee and spread her arms out wide. "Yes, it is Shargi." Jella cried out and sprinted across the room and into Shargi's arms. Shargi wrapped her in a tight hug. Taka ambled over next to them and sat down heavily on the couch. 'Fuck, I'm tired.' At least there didn't seem to be any Rukh in the vicinity. 'We should probably block up that hatch just in case, though.'
"Where is Callum?" That snapped Taka's attention back to the moment. The voice hadn't come from Shargi or Jella or even Myna. Taka looked to the pair that had been hugging a moment before. Jella had stepped back and her hand display was active. Bel was on the screen.
"Master was ordered to his mech by Mistress Yemoramato," Shargi said. "Master sent Mistress Taka and Mistress Myna to help. Shargi guided them."
"I see," Bel said tightly. "Thank you for coming, Shargi. It means the world to me. Taka, I am in your debt as well."
"Save it," Taka said. "I didn't do jack shit. Me and Shargi would be Rukh meat if the little android hadn't turned out to be a murder machine."
Bel seemed taken aback, which Taka took as a win. "Well, be that as it may, I am in your debt. If you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask." She glanced at something off-screen and sighed. "I'm sorry, baby, but I need to go. Stay with Shargi and do whatever Taka says, okay?" Jella nodded, somewhat despondently. "I love you, Jella."
"I love you too, Mommy."
"Wait!" Taka cut in before Bel could cut the call. "How is the fight going?" Bel didn't answer but the look on her face before the call cut to black told Taka all she needed to know. 'I guess my stay of execution at the hands of the Rukh might not have been postponed for very long…'