Book 2: Trustfall

[Uso]

“Surely there are more efficient ways to-” They regarded Cleo first, but cut their own sentence short, apparently coming to some kind of internal realisation. “Oh. You are their master. This data is recorded.”

The next situation to come under scrutiny was this large robot talking to the one whom it was her mission to guard. Unit 515 let them finish talking, but unceremoniously just picked up Wazu afterwards, as if he was a styrofoam prop or cardboard cutout.

Walking over and placing them in the den of pillows, a couple more moments were then taken shoring up his position and improving the layering of the mighty walls. It basically ended up being half bedspread, half cocoon. Then she sat on top of him, looking with untiring vigilance over the battlements, awaiting the treachery that would surely come.

That whole… ‘Dog thing’ and ‘Hilder lady’, through… Something was missing…

“Unit 444, it has been seventy three days since our last interaction. Unit 515 has completed thirty missions without your instructions since then.” They didn’t look at the green-haired Echoni, but their posture was sending them a weird sort of energy, as if their hair was standing on end and demanding them to enter her personal space. They pulled down their collar on one side, exposing their crimson neck. “Authoritative protocol… You remember?”

The awkward feeling in Wazu was getting somewhat overwhelming. It certainly felt better to just stay under 515 and ignore the problems brewing outside of the pillow-fort. This was his life now, Heram Wazu, Pillow Fort citizen.

444, on the other hand, would lean in to examine the bite mark area on 515’s neck. “It seems to be mostly gone now…” She said outloud, leaning in a bit closer… then closer… then *CHOMP*, she would grab ahold of 515’s shoulder both her her hands and with her mouth in order to reapply the appropriate mark of ownership!

Corgan walked back in and walked straight up to Hilda. He looked at Cleo. “Please release her. I have something I want to say to her.” He said.

Cleo looked at Corgan for a moment, not letting up on Hilda’s neck as she rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah? Let me guess, not a single woman in this room wants to touch you and so you’re gonna go after the one who would literally fuck a leperous pig if it was assertive enough about it?” She asked, shaking her head. “I just got the bitch to shut the fuck up. If you get her going again… I’ll castrate you.” Cleo warned, giving Corgan a laser glare, letting Hilda go. “Say away.”

Corgan looked Hilda in the eyes, momentarily considering backing down due to Cleo’s threat. He didn’t know her but he did sense that she was capable of violence. His desire to have sex with a sexy, unrestrained catgirl was too strong. “Frank and I are going to take you into the other room and fuck you until you can’t walk anymore.” He said without flinching.

Though Hilda had been struggling in Cleo’s grasp despite being equal in strength, the woman had finally been silenced by the Chongwu’s efforts. However, the humans continued their relentless assault. The Dàqínese woman grunted and moaned, her cheeks blushing furiously against this assault, but the moment Corgan started his intentions, her legs began to quiver, tail thrashing left and right in excitement. Desperate to get free, Hilda began tapping her hand against Cleo’s thigh, a dreamy, glazed expression on her face.

Corgan pulled Hilda out of Cleo’s grasp and threw the blonde over his shoulder before heading off towards Wazu’s bedroom. “Come on Frank, we’ve got a woman to satisfy.” He called out across the room.

The three drones following the group floated up towards the ceiling doing their best to stay out of sight. The brain piloting them was a bit on the fence however, stay and get a sextape of Corgan, or alert wazu to unfolding events.

Reentering from the balcony, Zenigata wasn’t too sure on remaining at this party. The strongest thought in his mind was to just go back to the room and stay there. It seemed that things had calmed down somewhat though, no girl was in here screaming accusations; from what he could see and hear. His tail flicked as he just walked into the room, taking a seat in a chair near the doors as he debated on what to do.

Frank followed Corgan and the carried-off Hilda.

“Oh no!” Pulled out of Cleo’s choke-hold, the busty blonde gasped for breath, but she was already well aware of her situation. “These men of the law have gone rogue!” Hilda lustily exclaimed. “They’re abusing their power, and dragging me off to have their way with me!” she went on, ‘horrified’ at what was about to happen to her, feline tail dangerously wagging back and forward in excitement. Hands lashing out, Hilda gripped onto the doorframe with super-human strength from Corgan’s shoulder as she began vividly imagining what was going to happen out loud. “These law-men are falling from grace! Using their power to annihilate me the same way Hawking is going to be slammed into from the front by the American Union’s counter-assault, while being completely destroyed from behind by the Dàqín colonial fleet!”

Hilda’s words gave Corgan pause. Even though he was now a bit drunk he still hadn’t abandoned all rational thought. He saw camera drones taking pictures and the reality of the way the press could spin this hit him. Corgan put Hilda down inside Wazu’s bedroom and quickly backed out, shutting the door with her still inside. He wirelessly connected to the building’s network and triggered the room’s electronic lock using his security credentials.

Corgan turned to Frank. “Frank, I’m sorry, but we can’t do this. With all the stuff she’s saying and those camera drones, we would be fucked if video got out.” He said, walking past him and over to the pillow fort.

 

[Uso]

“Wazu, your crazy ex just said the Daqin were going to attack us too. You need to call up Bao’s mom and do something about this.” He said to the pillow fort.

“I am glad you waited until the absolute last second to come to your senses,” Somnya said, arm crossed over her chest as she watched Corgan turn from the door, “Now go get a drink and cool yourself off.” The bright-hair’d elf would push her way past Corgan and enter the room with Hilda, slamming the door behind her. The elf clearly having some kind of plan for dealing with this particular issue.

Unlike laughter brains in jars can feel dissapointment.
---

Half an hour later

The Hilda-related drama appeared to have died down for the moment. While the woman at the center of the earlier trouble was now in Wazu’s bathroom being forced to have a cold shower by the Elven former captain and Cleo, Wazu himself remained hidden away inside of the pillow fort, doing his best to avoid talking as the Echoni remained on top of the situation. Ever vigilent, he monitored the main area from the safety of their makeshift defensive fortifications.

At this point Green-Thumb had gotten up from her position near the balcony-pool and had switched her clothing to something a bit more reasonable for dealing with troublemakers. That seemed to include putting on fluffy plaid pajamas and grabbing a rather stiff drink from the kitchen area, “Ok guys, please don’t make me put back on my armor. Green-Squad has been sitting in those things 24/7 for nearly two weeks. I don’t even want to be wearing my Pajamas right now.”

Meanwhile Green-Screen remained by the pool, and attempted to employ some leadership techniques for resolving the problem through usage of her data-pad. She’d quickly compose a message for Geiben ‘Party is getting roudy, you should take charge of things. The only leadership in there right now is Wazu and he is under lockdown.’

Considering how he hadn’t been paying attention to anything for a half hour, it was somewhat understandable for Zenigata to start drowsing off. After all, the adlet was at a table on his own; having moved from the chair against the wall when the strange girl had been screeching her head off. So he had changed locations. Currently he had an elbow on the table and was holding his head in one hand, dark brown eyes closed. That quickly ended when his head slipped just enough to jar him awake.

Jerking himself back to sitting up straight, a few blinks left him before he rubbed his eyes. Giving a small sigh. Well, the small nap of sorts might’ve been useful. Though he didn’t really expect much to be going on now with how many people he was certain were drinking when he had arrived; not accounting for how many drinks those people already had. So he just let his gaze wander the room somewhat.

He did hear Green-Thumb’s words and just managed to catch a glimpse of her attire. Frankly, he didn’t care. He was the one walking around furry canine legs, free of pants and shoes; due to their awkward build those things wouldn’t fit and be comfortable. So her attire didn’t really matter.

One of James’ more humanoid drones had joined the gathering at some point. Like the majority this one wore a red robe but unlike the others this one didn’t have an unconcealed weapon. The cameras and sensor suite that took place of its face glowed like green dots in the shadow of its hood.

It had a nearly complete view of the room from its place in a corner. Though the twitchy cameras seemed to indicate either a faulty program or a sensory overload in some of the scanning equipment. The lack of speech and general interaction seemed in line with James’ motis opprandi however so maybe it was nothing.

Geiben stepped into the room again, this time trailing in some water on his ankles. He scanned the room, seeing Wazu stuck under the pillows, Corgan, Frank, and the Echoni awkwardly staring at each other, and hearing Hilda cry in protest in the showers. He massaged his nose bridge, and walked over to 515. “Your name is Tsukuga, right? Can you get Heram to stop acting like a child and come out to talk?”

Tsuguka considered just meowing loudly until he went away. That usually worked on pure organics. But data suggested this tall, dark-skinned, blue eyed man matched the description of the captain…

“Mission statement was for frivolous activities. Subject Heram Wazu is currently embedded in a secure comfortable fortification with a dual-layer of female-form security measures in place. This is the optimum situation to complete the SEER mission also.” The tiger-striped creature just kind of inform-growled at him, flattening out so that he could only see the top half of her head over the pillow parapets. “State your situational analysis and unit 515 will relay the message.”

"SEER mission?" Geiben raised an eyebrow. The Echoni certainly were an odd lot of manufactured soldiers. It could be worse though. How a pillow fort is an optimal form of protection was still beyond him. "Fine. I want to know what was urgent enough that you stole me from Enid, my beer, and the pool." He looked around again. "Wait… where's Somnya? Don't tell me…?"

“Stole you?… No ownership was implied.” Tsuguka huffed. They looked perpetually agitated, so it was probably nothing personal. “There was an altercation involving natural organic mental and physical defects… I believe the pointed-eared lady intends to manually remove the pheromones from this ‘Hilder’ false-model Echoni to prevent further villainous behaviour. Your large-scale hairy-faced models had some kind of communication compatibility error… And some kind of muscle structure defect? This unit is not equipped to diagnose or repair this. Please return them to the manufacturer.”

Corgan had pulled up a chair outside the pillow fort, playing a gacha on his tablet about Daqin waifus fighting monsters. He was drinking from a big thermos full of iced tea. His attempts to get Wazu to speak had failed so utterly that he gave up. Hearing the conversation between Geiben and 515, he looked up. “Hey Geiben. Apparently both the Union and the Daqin are going to attack us. I think Wazu wants to stay in the pillow fort forever, now.” He said, shrugging. “I’m trying to cool down, almost boned Hilda until I realized I was being filmed. How did it go with Enid?”

"Okay, hold on a moment. Only one out of those three things entailed anything good." Geiben took a moment, more like a minute, to decipher 515's words and digest what Corgan said. "Alright… Tsukuga, when I mean you stole me, I mean you forced me to turn my attention to this current matter. 'Hilda' is the lady's name, not 'Hilder'. She is Daqin, not a false model Echoni. As for muscle defects… hmm… you can ask Dr. KB about male biology. My short answer explanation is that what you saw aren't defects."

“Noted.” 515 answered simply. “I will perform comprehensive research.”

"Corgan, I'm not going to bother you about your sex life, but keep it in your pants for as long as possible, espeacially in a public setting, and espeacially when it comes to the DaQin." Geiben admonished the man. "As for their invasion, yeah… Heram and I are painfully aware of it. A team of diplomats have already been sent back to the Sol system to make peace talks."

444 was carefully observing the comings and goings of those around them. Her eyes would slowly dart between the small cracks in the pillow fortress in between the loud sucking sounds of another juice-box being finished off. This Corgan appeared to be practicing his warfare tactics right outside, and the Geiben had now closed in. “They are surrounding us,” She messaged to 515 with hand signals which were of course signals transmitted by the antenna integrated into her hand. Of course there ALSO seemed to be an imminent attack by both the Union and DaQin. This meant it was time to prepare an escape tunnel in the back and request more protective pillows off the local network… perhaps bullet and stab proof fabrics stuffed with soft but thermally insulating fabric? She only had to start considering such a thing for the local network to pick up on it and finish the thoughts for her.

As new pillows were sent up by Drone, Wazu continued to lay on his back.

He desperately wanted to keep laying there. That is what this party was supposed to be for anyways, to relax a bit, to decompress and refresh oneself before tackling the next problem. But

 

[Uso]

he had already been accused of some pretty terrible things, he could feel his anxiety getting the better of him, and he just wanted to be drunk enough to relax…

…. But such a thing was not meant to be…

Geiben was worried, which meant the others were worried. There was no hiding the facts behind the events. While they had just won an amazing victory, it wasn’t certain that they could survive many more ‘victories’ like this one. The team needed someone to reassure them and he certainly wasn’t feeling up to the job. The auto-pharmacy built into his armband seemed to have other ideas. While he laid there and tried to disassociate he was being pumped full of benzos and buzz-kill drugs to deal with his mood and those drinks he had earlier. Responsibility had him trapped.

“The goal here was supposed to be relaxation.” Wazu finally said, still under the Echoni guarding him, “We seem to be having some problems getting there.”

"We seem to be cursed, Heram." Geiben shrugged. "No rest for the wicked."

There was a strange flickering coming from 515’s vicinity all of a sudden; An orange transparent halo of light had formed around their left wrist. They looked extra annoyed, looking back at 444, as if this had somehow interrupted a connection between the two of them. A juice box was arrested from the pile in order to make them feel a little better, immediately compacted in their hand, with the contents firing into their mouth. “...The Doris wants to talk to you.” It bore fangs, they laid that wrist out onto the edge of the fort as if getting a better signal. Apparently it was perfectly obvious that the Magnetic Assembly scientist was already listening in. “Says that there are multiple unique resources available on Hawking, and that there is no need to be distressed. We still have… this ‘edge’ thing...”

As everything seemed to calm down, and Bao wasn’t feeling uncomfortable from seeing Geiben and Enid press their faces together, the little maid went back to what she always did. Making sure everyone was sated with drinks and snacks, and making sure to tidy up after everyone. “I’ll throw that away for you!” the human-like Chongwu offered Tsuguka, hoping she’d be able to relieve the Echoni of her now-expended juice carton.

515 completely misunderstood this, actively avoided giving the trash to them, and then gave the petite thing a fresh one for themselves.

“And, um, what do you man by we’re cursed?” Bao couldn’t help but ask Geiben after hearing him say that. Her feline ears had twitched as his words were slowly digested by her mind. “Did someone cast magic on us? We can get someone to cast dispel right?” the little girl tried to suggest.

Holding close to Geiben's side until now, Enid stepped close to the fort and knocked over a wall. Grabbing one pillow and tucking it under her arm as she did. "Wazu, put on some music or a movie. Your party is getting boring." She commanded from her new found highground.

“Hmm…” It was true that anxiety’s been spreading through the crew due to their upcoming fate. There wasn’t any good in stressing about it now though.

At least if it wasn’t productive.

Geiben looked down at Bao. “It is true. We’ve been cursed. There is a way to dispel it though.” He turned back to 444 and 515. “How about a training exercise? Enid is a Union soldier trying to arrest Wazu and take him to New Texas for trial. Your tools to prevent this from happening are the pillows in your possession. Bear in mind there may be reinforcements.” He eyed Corgan. “There is also the threat of DaQin assassins.” He winked at Bao. “You have to remove the threat without injuring the aggressors. Once this exercise is over I will talk to Doris, is that clear?”

515 bolted upright as if a pin had been pulled from a grenade. Of course she did.

A pillowcase in her hand was immediately liberated from it’s pillow, and the tiger-striped thing stared down Enid and Bao in turn.

“I’ll put this over her head, and you take care of the legs.” She actively grinned, showing a brief befangled smile towards 444...

James heard this proposal and decided it might be fun to play the hidden assassin. From his position in the corner he had a decent line of sight on the pillow fort and everyone seemed to need something to calm down.

Everyone with some level of combat sensors suddenly saw the active sensor pulses coming from the drone aimed towards the pillow fort. An IR laser designator, auto aim assist guides and several other targeting systems aimed at the side of the fortress and the drone started raising a hand that was in a finger gun position.

“BANG.”
The speakers on the drones fired at high volume sending an audible assault at the fortress.

A flash of movement; The red lynx moved reflexively due to the noise. It took a mere moment for them to bound across the room, attempting to throw the pillow case over the robot’s head instead.

The robot must be made of metal, right? Did it count as ‘non-lethal’ if she chucked it out the window?

The pillow harmlessly bounced off the drones face plate but did push the hood back revealing the now inactive and mostly bare sensor systems and structural frame. With its primary sensor systems inactive the drone shifted its view to the multiple camera drones it had floating around. Using this to plot its movements the drone James attempted to sweep the feet out from under his attacker and escape from being cornered up against a wall. Of course the actual force applied wasn’t the normal bone breaking type but enough to let his opponent know what the move intended.

Said camera drones on the ceiling split into two groups. Three of them were set to stay close to the ceiling and out of reach for strategic analysis and the other three started making swift bombing runs on the pillow fort making whirring sounds as they flew down at less than their top speeds.

The robot’s speed was superior, but their conviction was lacking. This Echoni was made of sterner stuff than a regular person and barely registered the play-hit, immediately doing what 444 would consider ‘playing’ instead.

Grabbing the robot by the neck hydraulics, 515 picked it up using a spinning inertia move, basically hammer throwing the entire thing at the balcony!... Fortunately the screen doors were closed, and also made out of some kind of bullet proof material. It merely bounced back with a rather dumb ‘bong!’ sound. The red Echoni looked rather disappointed by this.

Trying to ignore the pillow fort situation was working for Corgan until he saw IR targeting lasers out of the corner of his eye. Out of instinct he rolled out of his chair, away from the indicators, leaving his thermos on the ground. He was too big to hide, so he climbed to his feet and grabbed a large pillow in each hand.

“Right, I’m calling a truce with Bao. Enid and I will distract the Echoni while Bao captures Wazu. We’ll question him and then she can have him.” He said seriously, eyes focused on 444. With one pillow held up as a shield and the other as a bludgeon, he charged 444, giving a battle cry. “For freedom!”

Enid stood by quaintly as she waved a palm up and down. "I don't think I want to get this rough. It might tear up my dress and I just added the lace to it so I don't really trust the stitching." She pressed politely smiling all the while.

“I think they know better than to involve either of us,” Quarum said, making her way over to Enid and offering her one of her cup-cakes, “You betting on the robot or the red one?”

 

[Uso]

“Doris!” Wazu said, barely managing to get a response out before the red echoni blasted out of the pillow fort, leaving the man laying there. “You should show up…. “ The bit of excitement in his voice was gone, as his connection to Dorris was now busy trying to smash a robot through a window.

444 was only a split-second behind 515, blasting out of the pillow fort and sending quite a few of the pillows flying off in different directions. She remained close to the ground, looking to body the robot 515 was after… only to end up being blocked by Corgan. 444 would tackle this new challenger head on, leaning in with her shoulder and leaping at the last second to put her entire body weight into his chest like a fleshy missile!

The collision with the window was mildly more damaging than getting hit by the pillow. The mostly bare sensor equipment rattled around and some fell out of alignment, and the more than superficial damage to his ego.

James was unsure of what the rules were to this game, but apparently more than barely any force was allowed. So the drone got back to its feet in an efficient motion and this time there was actually hydraulics behind the charge and punch towards 515. Not enough to kill the Echoni but definitely enough to hurt.

Thanks to 444’s removal of the pillow barriers the drones that were heading at Wazu made actual contact with him and instead of hitting the structural weak points if the pillow fortifications the drones nailed the more fleshy parts of Wazu’s forehead, chest and crotch. James of course failed to notice this but TB was already focusing on Wazu for any reaction footage for later use.

Cleo, however, had sat there looking at the people currently in the midst of a pillow fight, wondering what the fuck was going on. Of course, there was a child involved. A Chongwu child. It irritated her to no end watching her clean up after the others. Correction, it infuriated her, and she now resigned herself to fuming against a wall, as she figured out the penultimate way to make them suffer.

Then she kneeled down, waving to get Bao’s attention, putting a kind smile on her face. “Come here little one, I’d like to see you,” She said, her tone sweet, but not overly so. It was like an aunt wanting to see her niece. She then rooted around in one of her pockets, and pulled out a simple sucker. She wouldn’t be a very good doctor if she didn’t have candy to make the kids hate doctors less!

At first, Bao’s face lit up with delight at the thought of a pillow fight, but the moment the laser designator for a cruise pillow strike was used, she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive, and stood with indecision. However, things quickly changed. For what felt like the longest time, Bao stared up at Cleo with her big, golden eyes. “Are you a doctor miss?” she asked, still uncertain as to whether that was the case. “You look like a doge, but at the same time, you have this white coat and that candy,” the human-like Chongwu pointed out. “If it’s sugar free though, you’re definitely a doctor. If you are a doctor, am I getting fixed? They’re always talking about fixing their pets on TV.”

As per Enid’s recommendation, Geiben used his data pad to put on some generic party music as his crew tried tearing each other apart, hopefully figuratively. It’d at least keep them in a party mood. Not sure if a conventional dance would’ve worked here. With that settled for the time being, the captain turned his attention to the second newcomer who was treating Bao with Candy. Another DaQin? Ugh… this’ll be interesting. Geiben came over and offered a handshake. “Excuse me, I don’t believe we’ve made introductions properly. I am Captain Geiben Folami.” He smiled politely.

Corgan’s cry for freedom was cut off by 444 crashing into his chest, forcing the air out of his lungs. He let himself fall to the ground. As he fell, he grappled with the Echoni and prepared to wrestle with her. Enid didn’t seem to be engaging, and Bao was nowhere to be seen. It seemed his allies had abandoned him.

He looked at Geiben. “Get Wazu, Geiben! You’re our only hope!” Corgan called out desperately.

Enid Spiked her pillow into Corgans face hard to silence him. Zero remorse as she turned back to Quaram and replied "Devil girl, 500 units, bet.". She stood confident with her hand on her hip and another outstretched to shake hands on the deal which Quarum was happy to take.

“You’re on!” Quarm replied with a grin, turning her attention towards the fighting robot as she brought a cupcake up into eating range.

Cleo smiled, lifting her other hand and running it over the little Chongwu's head. "I am a doctor, but I like calling myself a dogtor.i think it's more fitting, don't you?" She asked, placing the sucker in Bao's hand. "And no, I'm not going to fix you. You are perfect just the way you are," she said, before Geiben walked over and tried to interrupt.

"Shut it human," Cleo snarled, glaring at him with a level of rage in her features that were compounded by her doggish features, but it was gone the moment Cleo turned her attention to Bao. "I'm a Chongwu like you little one. But we're not pets. Not anymore. Okay?" She asked, the smile growing sad. "We need to want more…"

Geiben blinked and clinched his teeth beneath his smile, a flurry of angered thoughts drowning out what Enid and Corgan were fussing about in the background. Okay… breathe… this woman’s also batshit crazy it seems. “Excuse me? We’ve just met. You see a Chongwu and a bunch of humans and you think we’ve been treating her like a pet? You’re damn awfully quick to make assumptions of how we’ve---”

"You clearly haven't taught her otherwise," Cleo snarled, standing up and turning around to glare at Geiben. "There are people dying because there is an entire nation who raises people like this, and I see her running around after all of you picking up trash!" She snapped, baring her teeth. "So forgive me, if I'm upset by your mild annoyance that better people than I have yet to see here have died over!"

 

[Uso]

Geiben took a deep breath and eyed Enid. “Do me a favor and drag Heram out of the fort to deal with this. And stop smothering Corgan!” He looked back at Cleo. “Look, if you have a way to stop her from behaving like a pet, then I’m all ears. Truth be told, I don’t want the kid on the ship, but my crew treats her like their daughter. It would be nice if she stopped acting like a maid; we can clean up ourselves.” He put a palm in front of him. “No need to get aggressive either. I hate the Daqin as much as you apparently do, but it’s not like I can go and punch Hoshiko, as much as I’d like to.”

Cleo just snorted. "I doubt you hate the Daqin as much as I do," she growled. "Last I checked, half the Galaxy doesn't view you as slave chattel because of them. “

Corgan took Enid’s pillow to the face as a personal insult, considering she was supposed to be on his side. He released Uso and got out from under her, climbing to his feet. “Pillow fight’s over,” he said, then walked over to Enid.

“I’m sorry for that accident in the shuttle, Enid. But I can’t do anything about it now. If you’re going to be on the ship too then we need to get past this.” He said, attempting to avoid engaging in the argument with Hilda’s friend. He got concerned that it might be about to get physical, deciding Geiben’s life was more important than Enid’s problems with him.

“Excuse me.” He said to Enid. He jogged over to the two gathered around Bao. “Has it ever occurred to you, ma’am, that instead of telling her what to believe to ask Bao what she wants?” Corgan asked pointedly. “She’s not stupid, you know. Nobody told her to pick up after us, or cook for us, or play with us. Bao does what Bao wants to do, and we appreciate everything she does for us. You should try to make more than cursory observations before issuing judgments.”

Cleo's rage was, for the moment, redirected. She turned to Corgan. "Oh yes, she does what she wants to do, yeah?" She asked, walking up to Corgan. "The little girl who was taught if she doesn't clean up after everyone with a gracious smile on her face, she will get beaten? Starved? Sleep deprived? Cattle prodded? Killed?" She asked, a dangerous smile taking her features. "Yes! Of course! We should just accept the brain washing! It's okay! She wants to do it!" She said happily. "Do you realize how dumb you sound? Do you realize what Chongwu means? Pet. We are trained to do these things."

For anyone that looked Enid's way most all would see was that she had taken an odd stance with her elbows locked to her sides and her fists straight out forward. Hot coal fire danced in her eyes as she got angrier at the new person adding new drama. The fire exploded with every additional word the woman doctor spoke. Horrid violent thoughts overtook Enids mind back to back. Terrible words and actions of things nobody could describe calmly.

For Bao, it was the most confusing thing, watching them debate over what was so blatantly obvious. A no brainer. Common sense. People were weird! “But, I am a pet!” the little girl spoke up. “I like being a pet too, since everyone’s happy when I’m a good girl,” she added, nodding her head up and down with approval. “And I don’t get beaten or mistreated, or ever have been. I’m from a first-rate, triple S-Class supplier, Super Sweet Sanctuary!” Bao happily chimed in with a wink and a smile, hand held up with a V for Victory. “At Super Sweet Sanctuary, all Chongwu are raised cruelty free and receive the bestest in training and education! Love one? Buy two and receive a discount!” the little girl playfully held her hands up to form a heart. “Sweet deals for buying in bulk - surround yourself in cute catgirl maids and more, nyah!~~~<3” Bao delightedly added, hands held up to paw at the air as she struck a pose.

Sparkles and glitter wouldn’t have been out of place.

To Enid the memorized Ad Bao played was a sad sight. It added to what Cleo was saying and shook her own faith of being able to ever help Bao. However deep the conditioning was Enid wanted to help. If she could she wanted to keep Bao, but the Edward Demming crew was no family, and their mission was not for a child. Enid's fire was doused as tears rolled over the hot coals. The emotion was tense and caused her physical pain in her chest and jaw. She wanted to stay here and watch but she couldn't stand there and bawl her eyes out either. Holding firm and together she relaxed and tried to empty herself of emotion, normally a trick for men but Enid could pull it off every now and again. Even thinking that she may have to give Bao up for her better good bugged Enid deeply with the conflict of selfish thoughts and attachment.

'Fuck standing still' Enid's mind bolted. A woman of action won't be a bystander, she knew she was more wise than half the people in this room and her 'normal' act wasn't getting her what she wanted right now. Chasing Corgan's path she leaned into his ear to whisper only to him, "I'll forget what happened if you protect Bao right now no matter what." A glance at Geiben conveyed a similar message with nothing more than a hard furrowed brow and scrunched lips. She whipped around and paced to the rubble of the pillow fort to pull the downed Wazu up to his feet and dragged him nearly the whole distance to the balcony and out of earshot of anyone, super-senses or not. "I know you had something to ask me and I'll give you the chance right now, but first. Either I want full custody of Bao or you to do something to keep her on the Demming." She belted out as if she had meer seconds to live and these were her dying thoughts. "Money isn't an object for you and I know that. Whatever it takes, I wanna hear your offer." Caution radioed in the last sentence as she knew better than to sell her soul to the devil.

“My Offer?!” Wazu asked, a bit disheveled from the whole experience of being hit by flying pillow-missiles then yanked outside as a brawl started to open up nearby. “I can’t sell her. She has the right to self-determination like anyone else. The Edward Deming also may not be the best place for someone like her. Obviously I can not just leave her on her own either… the best option for her might be to let her join the educational program here on Hawking.”

The emotional moment would probably be undercut as the wrestling match between the drone and 515 knock over a coffee table sending a few drinks clattering to the floor.

Considering it was made out of metal, the drone certainly had the edge. 515 had tanked the punch from before, but the impact seemed to have stuck with them and made them a little woozier now. Their stamina was running low, and it was only an animalistic dodging and coiling that was stopping them from being pinned.

One of the other humanoid drones James had stationed to stay with the crew finally finishing its climb up the stairs and opening the door. Instead of joining in the melee with its fellow bucket of bolts this drone walked calmly around the edge to join with the others.

This dog lady he didn’t know was really pissing Corgan off with her accusations. He knew what a Chongwu was, and he knew how the Daqin treated them. It was something they couldn’t just fix overnight. They didn’t want to make Bao sad or hateful. He waited for Bao’s response.

He thought her little advertisement was adorable, but it didn’t actually help their case any. It was sad that she was taught to think of herself as a pet. He thought of her as a vital member of the crew. Without her, their team morale would surely suffer. He was emboldened by Enid’s support. Now he had two reasons to stand up for everyone.

“Yes, I know what Chongwu means, and it is sad that’s how her younger years were spent. We can’t do anything to change that. I’m sorry that you were treated badly.” Corgan said, looking at Cleo empathetically. “Bao is not a pet to me, even though I haven’t known her as long as everyone else. She’s a very important member of the crew, and she’s like a little sister to all of us. What else can we do to make her life better but treat her well, teach her things, and give her things that she wants?”

“HEY! FIGHT ME!” 444 shouted as Corgan took his attention off of her. The Echoni’s arms were busy trying to support corgan’s weight, fighting him directly… She’d have to use her mind to get out of this situation and she would use that mind very directly by smashing it right into the side of Corgan’s stupid unprotected head!

Cleo looked at Bao and rolled her eyes. "Thank God I wasn't public so I didn't have that burned into my brain," She said, turning back to Corgan. "But look at that. An all ethical slave! The irony is sickening. Though, best training, and she still thinks she's a pet," Cleo said, crossing her arms. "You know, the fact that you said "to me" is a problem," Cleo said, looking at Bao. "You're not a pet Bao. Very bad people told you that you are a pet. It's the job of good people to remind you that you are a person, not a pet, instead of getting defensive and arguing with the person calling them out, or wander off for a cry. Good people realize that slavery is not normal, and a person thinking they are a slave is not good."

Corgan was taken completely by surprise by Uso’s sudden head butt. He suddenly dropped to the ground, completely unconscious.

 

[Uso]

The red-hued oni had sort of wandered up behind the tense situation at this point. Looking just a bit worse for wear, but having successfully escaped wrestling with the robot at least. Unnatural, piercing green eyes seem to regard their emotional outbursts with a certain level of disinterest and annoyance.

“This conversation is illogical.” They crossed their arms, just slightly bearing fangs. “Doesn’t matter if you were constructed for a specific person or not, you’re all slaves to space ships, microwaves, little green plant things that grow out of the floor… We are all just parts, and being fabricated with a purpose makes you an unwasted part. Thinking that you are somehow important enough to be useless to others, is an immense idiocy that should not be comprehended.”

‘Purpose’ was the key word here. 515 didn’t share 444’s want for escaping, and indeed found it a bit annoying that those with a specific purpose in life should be belittled. If anybody was free around here it was those psychotic Grawla aliens, and they were basically a swarm of unwashed barbarians. It was only order and protocol that was stopping all of them from getting murdered by about ten different outside forces right now.

“Small Echoni unit.” Tsuguka knew it was probably wrong with that designation, but still squatted down to Bao’s level and seemed to project an unexpectedly soft, understanding emotion towards them. “Do you… understand what these organics are saying?”

“Not really. Everyone keeps talking about slaves and slavery, but I don’t have access to the ‘slave play’ files yet,” the little girl replied, as a rather large super soldier was picked up by a rather aggressive Echoni searching for DaQin Assassins.

THROW!

“Do you have access to the ‘onii-chan protocols’ yet?” another voice chimed in. Freshly cold-showered, Hilda dried her feline ears as Corgan’s body was flung at high speed towards the Dog-like possibly DaQin assassin Chongwu, knocking the both of them towards the pillow fort as the Echoni quickly scanned the area for further targets.

“Of course! Though I can’t execute Order 69 yet either, since that’s age restricted too,” Bao replied as Cleo and Corgan were thrown into the pile of pillows.

“I thought so. The shadow of the Daqin Empire is long, and like all Chongwu of your type, it’s inevitable you’ll face an ero-fate at the hands of these animals,” Hilda crossed her arms. “More importantly, what are you all going to do? The Empire definitely has its eyes on you,” the Daqinese woman added. “If you’re going to fight them too, I’m in.”

“So they are more like Trinket, then…” 515 stated, as if that name should have been familiar to them. For a moment they had to hunker down just to avoid the ruckus going off again, but their eyes met with Hilda when they rose back up. “This enemy seems to construct people with frivolous life-tasks in mind. It’s no wonder your perspective is different… Most of the population here doesn’t have time for such vanity… Maybe that was the edge Doris was talking about.”

That was probably a ‘yes’ to fighting them, then.

“Bao… These are not the ones who imputed that data.” A tone cold, but patient. “Do you realise that it is obsolete? You physically cannot follow those commands.”

Geiben gave a knee-jerk command to Dr. KB. “Go check on Cleo and and Corgan. Make sure they don’t have concussions.” He then turned back to Hilda. “If you’re not going to try and screw my crew anymore, I’m willing to listen.” He sighed, and tried the third time in this party to shake a woman’s hand. “I’m Captain Geiben Folami. Nice to meet you.”

“But! But it’s not obsolete! Everyone needs a maid!” Bao started, a little distressed by Tsuguka’s words. “Haven’t you ever wanted someone to bring you some juice or do your laundry for you instead of doing it yourself?” the little girl rhetorically asked, “Or maybe cook you a nice meal instead of having to open up another pre-packaged one?” she offered, her feline tail held high as its tip twitched. “It’s the whole reason I exist! Don’t take that away from me! It’s like telling you that you don’t get to fight anymore. Or her!” Bao then pointed a finger at 444.

“I understand. It is your function.” Tsuguka said simply, calmly. “But strength is strength, and skill is skill… 444 gives me juice too. That is not their function, but they can do that because they are strong. It’s worth more because... they don’t have to do it… Through research, I would suggest that is what a friend is.”

The red one shrugged, a little tired of trying to project a human personality in order to be understood at this point. They worried they weren’t making a great deal of sense. It was also significantly harder to describe stuff like this, when they didn’t know what concepts like ‘love’ were themselves.

“444 can smash, but do other stuff too. That is the bit that is a person.” 515 finally squeezed out of their subconcious, feeling just a little angry about feeling nice about someone. “I don’t like being around them because of the smashing part, logical as following their strength is.”

Looking very brooding with a sort of narrow-eyed scowl, they then suddenly stood up, walking up behind 444 and angrily attack-hugging them, causing 444 to panic. The echoni would latch onto 515 and dive behind cover, expecting the other Echoni was doing this in order to guard against some oncoming attack.

But it did feel quite nice...

Though Hilda raptly paid attention to Bao, Geiben soon pulled it away towards himself. “Hilda von Olander,” she introduced herself in turn, politely shaking her hand. “And if I recall correctly, your brutes were the ones trying to abscond with me - if they were even tempted to do that with one such as myself,” the blonde’s gaze shifted back to Bao, “I’d be more worried about certain others,” she grimly added. Shoulders slumping, Hilda sighed. “Which is why I’m here,” the woman then added, but not before muttering under her breath something about not being able to compete against Bao to shield her from predators. “I know this was supposed to be a celebration, but, I can’t help but feel like there was a certain grim shadow hanging over it even before I came in.”




----

"Okay, no you're right. I honestly forgot she was kind of your child. But the crew loves her and if she can be protected on the Demming we should keep her. The Demming is being remodeled and we have a good amount of space lets add some essentials and educate her on board where she can have you near by. She boosts morale and that's what we need. Please don't let that… bitch, take her." Pleading at this point, Enid clearly couldn't let go of the child.

“I will not be letting those two take Bao.” Wazu stated clearly, trying to focus a bit now that they were away from the Chaos going on inside. “She is also a possible security threat. There is no telling what she may be relaying to Hoshiko… and dangerous situations are no place for a child.” There was more thinking required here. There was some emotional connection going on between Bao and Enid, one that he hadn't seen before. Perhaps they had more time together than he realized during their earlier adventures? Regardless, separating the two of them seemed to be a less than optimal solution. “We can take her with us on our way out of here… but she’ll need to leave the ship if we’re expecting any kind of combat.”

"Yeah that's reasonable. It keeps her safe too, which is something I care about." Enid spoke in a flat tone as some of her confidence poured out from her at face with Wazu. "So that's settled?" She asked, seemingly content with the results. A cursory glance inside she decided to prolong conversation with Wazu to avoid the new drama which, for her, had just been settled. "What did you need from me?" Her tone light and somewhat childlike in questioning.

“Tonight… just relax.” He replied, “This was supposed to be something we could enjoy. Tomorrow we can discuss our pilot program. I’ve seen what you’ve submitted so far and the Magnetic Assembly is ready to move forward with the next steps. A pod is already being fitted to the Edward Deming and Caxia should be speaking to you soon about biological upgrades.”

Enid now a little scared and a little confused stood as Wazu returned to the party. A moment alone she glanced back over New Cambridge and its skyline, no clue what to think about it all. Anxiously she followed and rejoined the party. As he had said 'Tonight… just relax.' And so she would.

THE END of CHAPTER 9

 

[Uso]

Chapter 9.5: Meanwhile, on the balcony

Right when Geiben and Enid stepped out onto the balcony...

Why had he come back? Well that was a good question. After spending so much time back at home, it had been surprising to get a call from Wazu. Considering how things had gone, the adlet had done a great deal to forget all the madness that had been going on. Yet it only took a few hours to get him to come for just a party.

Due to his canine legs, he wasn’t able to wear pants still but that had long been obvious. So he merely took to looking for a decently priced shirt and vest to wear when he got here. With a grey long sleeve under a dark red vest with copper buttons. His lab coat rested over all of it, his long tail flicked behind him once he had been fully dressed. It felt weird to be wearing this… it was so easy to fall back into his people’s customs and such. Oh well, he’d have to put up with it.

It took him much longer to finally get the motivation to walk on down to the party though, having stayed within the temporary room he had. Mentally debating if he wanted to put up with this or just sneak back home. In the end, he chose to keep his word and finally started to make his way to the event. When he opened those doors though he...honestly couldn’t find words for the bits of conversation he was wearing going on.

Taking a deep breath, he rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head. Why was he not surprised? His claws clacked lightly against the floor as he moved a paw as he walked into the room.

“Some things don’t change…” he muttered lowly.

Geiben raised his head and his eyes lit up. “Doctor!” He came over and shook the Adlet’s hand smiling, temporarily forgetting the chaos that was ensuing. “It’s been more than a year. How’ve you been doing?” He glanced back at what barely could be considered a conversation. “I’m sorry you stepped into all this. We should go to the balcony and talk. Surely you remember Enid?”

A look of surprise came to his face as he already heard a voice that he recognized. Turning his gaze, he spotted Geiben approaching and a smile couldn’t help but form on his face. With ease, he accepted the handshake from one of the few people on the ship that he actually got along with.

“It’s great to see you Geiben, and it’s fine. Honestly I’m not too surprised on the bits I’ve heard walking in. Though please, don’t tell me the situation that caused this madness to start. I’d rather not get a headache trying to understand.” Zenigata greeted. “You look rather well, the year’s treated you nicely.”

“I can’t say it has, but admittedly I’ve learned quite a bit from the waves of torment.” Geiben shook his head, thumbing back to the chaos, then led Zenigata to the balcony. “What do you want to drink?”

Zenigata followed along without hesitation, feeling it was best to keep away from the chaos.

“Some water if there’s any, if not I can wait till the event is over.” Zenigata responded as he leaned slightly against the large railing of the balcony. “Truthfully, I hadn’t expected to end up back here.”

It certainly hadn’t crossed his mind when he got back into the rhythm of things in the tribe. Geiben would notice a few changes right off the bat with how the doctor looked now. Certainly he gained a bit more muscle and his black hair was kept in a ponytail at the moment; obviously gotten longer. The most noteworthy thing though was the scarring that rested on the right size of his face, one resting at his chin that extended upward and just ended a little above the corner of his mouth. While the second one rested more near his eye; thankfully not damaging it at all.

Geiben responded by handing Zenigata a glass of water and joined Enid and Bao outdoors. “Hey Enid, hey Bao, look who showed up?”

Though the little girl waved at Zenigata, her reaction to his return was muted. In truth, Enid’s efforts only seemed to baffle Bǎo even further as she asked, “Is sex how you get bread?” It was a lot to take in all at once for the little girl, and it was all getting jumbled up. “Is getting bread that’s sourdough bad? Is it not pure because of the little germs that make it bread?” the small catgirl asked, her ears drooping with the idea of doing it wrong with Enid. “I’ll do better getting you bread next time!” she tried to be strong.

Enid looked wide eyed at Geiben and Bao, panicked. She didn't think anyone would walk in on this conversation and only know does she realize how strange it sounded. "Bao I think you are missing some things. If you want we can continue the lessons later. Don't think too hard about it though okay. I don't want you jumbling things up in your head about what I said." Enid snuggled Bao and jostled her hair around to mess it up then released her. A ploy to silence her while she straightened herself for a moment so she could speak to adults about things less adult than that conversation. Bounding up and to her feet with an odd youthful energy Enid took close to Geiben's side. "Hello sir, what is your name?" She offered a dainty hand to shake.

Wait….what?! Zenigata was taken off guard by the words that Bao was saying, wasn’t this a child? There was a small sense of familiarity but he couldn’t place the face nor name. Giving a wave back to them, he took to taking a drink from his cup to keep himself quiet on the matter. What had he returned into, sweet Ancestors?

Whatever it was, the subject was soon switched and Zenigata gave a kind smile. Once more, easily accepting the extended hand and returning the handshake; taking care to not make Enid uncomfortable.

“Zenigata, and you’re Enid right?” Zenigata answered as he released her hand, his tail twitching behind him.

“Okay!” the little girl replied to the pilot. As the Adlet introduced himself, she chimed in, “That’s right! And, this is Geiben, and I’m Bǎo!” the small maid replied, introducing both herself and the squad leader. “You’re the person that Hoshiko calls a ‘mongoloid of a furball’ and ‘incompetent diplomat’ and other big words, right?” Bǎo asked. “Miss Sakamoto says I shouldn’t say them, but then I don’t know what’s wrong with the words. Are they too complica-macated?” she asked.

Corgan walked out onto the balcony with a cup of some kind of alcoholic fruit punch. He stood on the other side of Geiben from Enid. “Well, that was interesting,” he said, taking a drink. “The red Echoni seems to have things under control. Thought I would come to see what’s going on with the cool kids out on the balcony. So who’s the furball?”

With Bao speaking up, Zenigata turned his attention to her. Though a brow twitched at the words she spoke. Oh great... The spawn of Cat-Bitch seemed to exist after all. Great. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled as he wasn’t wanting to get into this. If the Feline doomsday was here then he was for sure just sticking out here on the balcony. No way in all the ways to die, was he going to deal with that person.

“That’s because those words are meant to insult the person they are directed towards.” Zenigata explained simply, figuring it was better to just say that since she seemed to be a child.

Granted if the person I’m thinking of is your mother, then my words are going to do nothing to ya and you’ll use it anyway. Zenigata thought to himself as he took a drink from his glass.

It seemed other people were tired of the chaos and he couldn’t blame them. Someone else appeared that he didn’t recall but he expected as much. It wouldn’t make sense for Wazu to go a whole year without hiring new people.

“Zenigata.” Zenigata introduced as he held a hand out to Corgan to shake. “I used to be on the ship a year ago. Mainly as a doctor but I tried to help out as a diplomat. Now, I’m just here on a visit.”

 

[Uso]

The shirtless Epsilon reached down with his free hand and shook Zenigata’s hand, careful not to apply much force. “Corgan Garret. I was a member of the Union Marshals but they canned me after… one of the Deming’s missions went south. Now, I’m the Director of the newly established Hawking Marshals. ” He replied. “Sorry, didn’t know who you were or I would have been more respectful.” He finished sheepishly.

“A lot certainly has happened in the past few years. We’ve got a lot of work ahead. The Union certainly won’t stand for losing a third of its territory.” Geiben crossed his arms and looked at Corgan, musing, then relaxed, raising his bottle of beer to him. “But for now, we celebrate our initial victory.”

Corgan raised his cup and gave a nod. “I doubt we’ll be able to avoid killing anyone next time, unfortunately. Unless we can find some powerful allies.” He said, then took a big drink of the punch. It must have been much more alcoholic than it tasted, because even with his mass and enhancements, he was starting to feel drunk. “So, Enid. Whose pants are you trying to get into with that dress, Geiben or Wazu?” He asked.

"Neither option is you so what do you care?" Enid snarked. Corgan was always creeping from a distance but had this shoddy confidence when he spoke and it irked her for some reason. She took to Geiben's side however as she shifted into his personal space.

“Ouch. That was harsh. I’m sure we can all---” Geiben commented before he heard the Adlet speak up.

Corgan shrugged. “Just curious. Either way, you look very pretty, Enid.” He said.

“It’s fine, I’m not expecting to get respect so it’s fine. I’m not exactly important.” Zenigata replied, tempted to add on the fact that Hoshiko’s potential child was in the room and would negate all of that.

So the Union lost some turf huh? Well he didn’t really care about these things, he was just here for a visit. Nothing else….to his knowledge at least. Course the talk of death didn’t really make him feel comfortable. It never did in all honesty. Taking a breath in, he sighed as he tilted the glass in his hand. Making the water slightly swirl calmly in the glass.

“Well i’m sure you all will figure things out without an issue.” Zenigata responded.

"If the awkward arguments continue maybe we can all head out to a nice restaurant or bar. If we wanna drink." Enid interjected as though she had forgotten to say this earlier.

“Well, we do have drinks here.” Geiben innocently commented again. His attention shifted to Zenigata though. “Doctor, you shouldn’t say that. Whatever the Daqin bitch said or did to you, it doesn’t devalue your worth.”

A low chuckle leaves him as he stands there. Sure...whatever you say, honestly he didn’t really think he did amount to anything other than issues when he was here. It was part of the reason he decided to head back home. Putting up with the Kaskae was one thing he could handle no matter what. It was almost routine...he knew how to put up with that and not have everything at stake. Not like out here…

“I...appreciate what you’re trying to say Geiben but..it might be best to keep this out of the event. After all, you’re here to have fun.” Zenigata replied.

“And you should give yourself more credit.” Geiben drank what was left in the bottle, then popped a new one.

Credit huh? Ah yes, he was the reason his people almost got wiped off their planet. Shaking his head, he pushed his thoughts away. Things had changed in a year yes...but not everything else had changed. His tail flicked behind him for a moment as he diverted his dark brown gaze. Letting it rest past the balcony rail at the buildings and lights down below them. Everything looked so strange from up here..kind of odd. The only time he’d have a view like this back home was when he climbed a tree or an area where the ground was raised to be taller than a hill but nowhere near a mountain; as he hadn’t gone climbing those.

“Seems like not much has changed.” Zenigata remarked before taking another drink from his glass. “Not at all.”

Pulling his gaze away from the buildings below, he let his gaze rest on the small bit of his reflection in the glass.

Geiben side stepped away from Enid and Zenigata to lean on the rails, allowing himself to get a complete view of those on the balcony, and those still indoors. A quarreling bunch. Not the most professional crew he envisioned taking responsibility for, but they were his responsibility nonetheless. His family, even.

And now they all might get reduced to atoms with this rebellious stunt.

“No, not much has.” Geiben emptied another bottle, allowing the alcohol to loosen his lips further. “We’d like to think we’ve come a long way after figuring out FTL, but it seems us humans are still content being mean to each other. Not even the transhumans are above pettiness, despite their claims of superiority.” He grabbed his third bottle, sent the cap flying and took another swig. “We’re in the midst of changing the course of history, people, for better or for worse.”

“I can’t say I’m not shitting my pants right now.” After another pause, Geiben confessed.

The conversation between Geiben and Zenigata involved history that he wasn’t involved in, so Corgan couldn’t really add anything. He just looked out over the balcony silently while they spoke and drank his punch. Once the conversation circled back to the current situation, he looked up at Geiben. “You’d have to be an idiot to not be scared. Who knows what kind of shit they’re going to throw at us.” He said, finishing his drink. “Better do some living since we might be about to die.” Corgan said, looking pointedly at Enid. “I’m going back in to do some of my own.” He finished, waving at Zenigata. After flashing a wink at Geiben he walked back inside.

Zenigata didn’t know what to do, he felt….out of place again. So far out of his depth that he was just a fish gasping for air on land. Instead of flopping about, he was still. Nothing was coming to mind to talk about. Learning what was going on wasn’t a wise idea. It wasn’t his place, he wasn’t part of this crew, he wasn’t trying to help them in this situation. It really wasn’t his place.

“Right well….I should probably just leave this be to all of you.” Zenigata started as he set his cup down. He gave a wave back to Corgan, letting the other leave without a single word given. Drumming the claws of his paws on the ground; this was done by moving each canine toe in a smooth motion. Causing the click clack sound to go off. “Besides, alcohol isn’t my thing and I’m sure you need the ‘fun’ boost.” Zenigata said to Geiben. “I’m heading back to the hotel, be safe Geiben.” Without waiting, Zenigata headed back into the building. Not really seeing much point in hanging around since soon, the alcohol would probably start kicking in for Geiben.

As Bǎo watched and listened, she couldn’t help but feel that there were talking about something familiar, yet beyond her understanding. It was a little baffling and difficult to put a finger on for her. But when the two men finally came and went though, she snuggled against Enid and looked up. “Miss Enid, this is supposed to be a happy party, right?” the little girl asked. “But, if that’s the case, why is everyone so mopey and sad?” the human-like Chongwu pointed out. “Would it help if I made you a new pretty dress? Mister Corgan thought it was only gonna make one person or another happy - maybe I could make one that’ll make everyone happy?” she offered. As a child, she didn’t really know what was going on, but she could feel it.

That sense of dread hanging in the air.

"No Bao, its just a lot of responsibility ahead and its going to require a lot of effort from everyone. Maybe though, your little things that you do can really help lift us up." She scratched the kitty fuzz around Bao's ears. Looking up to Geiben she began their private conversation that everyone seemed to know about. "Later you should talk to that guy. He seemed scared but looked qualified." Enid held a pause as she visibly struggled to start what she wanted to say. "I have to know. Do you even want to be with me?" A tough question spilled from her lips but fear stood in her eyes.

 

[Uso]

"What kind of question is that?" Geiben gave a tipsy chuckle. "I want to marry you." He looked her dead in the eyes.

"Maybe later, I mean. Once the dust settles. Enid… I'm sorry I haven't spoken earnestly to you ever since we reunited. A lot of shit has been going on." Geiben scratched his beard and smiled frustratingly. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said, about growing a spine and doing what's right. Well, here I am, going at it, helping Wazu with this little rebellion of his. I might just lose everything I've come to love. New Cambridge, the ED, the Epsilons and the Echoni, you."

She's afraid. Afraid for her own future. Who isn't at this point? They're summoning the wrath of the Union. Geiben took another swig of liquid courage, then tried to gently set the bottle down, only for it to tip back and forth, nearly falling over. He came up to Enid and pulled her into a hug. "Of course, dammit. I need you besides me. We need to pull through this together."

A moment worth tears. The level of comfort delivered in that hug could only go understated. Enid felt such warmth from the moment she was herself struck speechless and hoped clinging tight to Geiben conveyed the feelings. Things on the Demming had been so backed up with stress. Enid had been worried about making a scene but if there was a moment, A time to let out those feelings it was now. A hug was good and polite in the company of others but it wasn't Romance. She pulled back and dove back in a flash. Holding the sides of Geiben's face so he couldn't escape she stole a long kiss.

One she savored.

"Mmm!" In his tipsy state, he was at first caught surprised, but nonetheless wrapped his hands behind Enid's head and back as the duration passed. "We've barely spoken to each other personally for months and this is what you greet me with? Real classy." Geiben lightly scolded. "I don't dislike it though." He let go of Enid as he caught a glance of the commotion inside Wazu's residence. "Great," he groaned. "Another thing I'll have to deal with. But for now…" Geiben grabbed his bottle, then another, and dipped his legs into the water, sitting on the edge. "I'd like to savor this peace a little longer. Will you join me?"

"Of course" Enid dipped into the pool and sat right next to Geiben. Snuggling up to his side she rested her head on those broad shoulders of his. A perfect moment for her, indescribable mixes of feelings as she only wished to be closer to him. Taking the bottle from his hands she sipped after him. "Don't drink too much tonight."

"Hey!" Geiben snatched the bottle away from her, replacing it with the new one. "I don't want you getting Folami cooties." He joked, then responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and took a sip from the old one, never minding that Enid already drank from it. "I won't. I still need to talk to Zenigata later to see if he'll stay with us. Would you care to join me?"

"I may not have much to say." Enid said not having much else to say.

“Eww, you guys got cooties!” Bǎo stuck her tongue out at the two. She promptly saw herself out.

In his woozy state, Geiben locked eyes with the child, brought Enid’s head close to his chin and kissed her forehead childishly. He then lightly chuckled and closed his eyes to enjoy the rest of the evening with his partner, bathed in the setting sun’s light, ignoring the squabbling that was continuing indoors.

Though Enid never wanted to leave the moment she was having she knew there was still a party to have. One full of people who had no clue what the word 'party' could mean. 'For fucks sake Wazu put raw sushi out to eat.' She thought to herself again as she had done earlier as well. "Maybe we should show these booknerds, crayon eaters, and robots what parties can be. They might never want one again." Pestering as she was while poking and tickling Geiben's side to encourage him to move too.

Geiben retaliated by holding onto Enid with one arm and furiously tickling her side with his freehand. As he did so, his data pad buzzed to Green Screen’s request for him to come in and deal with the situation. He groaned. “Alright, let’s go in and deal with those trouble makers.” Geiben pushed himself up, lightly dried off his feet, and headed inside.

Enid being ticklish burst loudly into giggles and kicking for a moment. Once she was collected she chased Geiben inside.

 

[Uso]

Chapter 10: Smooth Talking

Geiben paced back and forth in the conference room he booked. It was rather small, a long table in the middle with a hologram projected, surrounded by half a dozen chairs, then further by soundproof glass walls. It’s been an hour since he left the party. Enough time for him to gather his thoughts and cool his head with a bottle of cold water. He waited, as he anticipated uneasy talks with the two women who crashed the whole affair.

Fortunately for him, Hilda seemed to have calmed down significantly. Still dressed in her tank top, short-shorts and a high collared vest, the blonde Daqin woman adjusted the cap on her head before speaking. “Before I had become so emotional on seeing my former assailant again, I was intending to discuss the details of the oncoming assault,” she began. “Because there will be an assault, either from the American Union or the Daqin Empire. Or, a few overtures first, if you’re lucky. I want to participate.”

“You’re Daqin yourself, aren’t you?” Geiben folded his arms. “Isn’t it reasonable to think you’re here to gather intel? I mean, judging by your current demeanor, I don’t believe you’re a spy, but you have to give me more than just wanting to join the fight.”

“She’s about as close to being a DaQuin as your left testicle,” Cleo piped in. “She’s a german floozy with too much money. She bought the upgrades, so by default she’s a Second Class Citizen,” She added, sitting at a chair and looking at the table. “Honestly, if she was a Daqin, I would have killed her by now. I don’t get along with the Daqin.”

“Nnngh!~” Hilda bit her lip, recoiling at the verbal abuse. “Geeze, you don’t have to be so mean Cleo,” the blonde began. “If you warm up a little and be nice, people will be nice back,” she replied to the Chongwu. “But on a more serious note, she is right,” Hilda began proper. “I was a human just like you, but visited one of the Daqinese flotillas that are always encroaching on everyone else’s territory.” Pointing to her furred, feline ears, she added, “With just the right amount of money, I got myself the proper gene mods to biologically become one, but I’ll always be considered Second Class.” Though her bearing was much more dignified, she still seemed to take pleasure in the last few words. “That aside, Heram invited me. It was only natural that I thought I could lend you my skills in defending the people of Hawking,” she offered.

Geiben raised an eyebrow at Cleo’s vulgarity, but simply kept note of her comments. For now, he kept his attention focused on Hilda. “It won’t be productive to ask why you chose gene modding, and we’ll set aside your biography for now. Cleo said you were German, so you’re a GW citizen then? Your help is appreciated, but I have to ask why and how. The GW has historically been friendly to everyone as much as possible, but the Union could very much stop its trade with the Hawking system.”

“Almost like she couldn’t be german and acting as a private citizen,” Cleo muttered, rubbing her face with a long sigh. “I haven’t had enough coffee…” She added, looking at Geiben. “You’re not getting any official support here, on a national or international level. Her parent’s don’t even want her. You’ve got a black sheep with too much money,” She pointed at Hilda, “And well, me and the Daqin don’t get along. I’ll leave it at that. She is like, both sides of the coin. She has the ability to learn from both sides, but unless you put her in a position where she will suffer, she won’t wanna play ball.”

“Believe me, there’s not enough caffeine in New Cambridge to deal with this shitshow, especially with you two making your debuts.” Geiben paused to take a gulp from his bottle. “So you’re basically offering a treasure chest in exchange for some way to satisfy your masochistic tendencies? Is there any reason beyond that?”

“W-what? What are you two talking about? I’m not a masochist!” Hilda protested, her cheeks growing red as she said this. “But more importantly, if we don’t do something, people are going to suffer,” the busty blonde began more seriously. “It’s a tremendous danger to my own personal safety, but as a Second Class Citizen, I might be able to find out some sort of information that might be of help,” she selflessly offered, her visage every bit the young noblewoman she was. “If I’m caught, I might be tortured, interrogated and even used to refill their ranks of soldiers, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take for the innocent people of Hawking!” Hilda went on, completely serious.

Awfully noble. That was why he pulled himself into this whole mess as well. He could’ve just gone back to the Union and picked up a civilian job, but no, he chose to fight it. Who is to say he wasn’t a masochist himself? “We do need all the help we can get, and any intel about DaQin’s strategy, tactics, and fleet composition is invaluable… but why should I trust you? We’ve barely met for a couple of hours.”

"Well," Cleo offered, holding up her hands. "We've nothing to gain by betraying you. Unless of course, betraying you would assure the Chongwu in mass were set free to live their own lives," Cleo sighed longingly. "Then I'd do it in a heart beat. Alas, it's never so easy…"

“Good to know.” Geiben nodded uneasily. “I’ll informally ask you to travel to DaQin’s home system then. I can arrange for transportation and some degree of escort if you deem it necessary. I anticipate that we’ll have to deal with them right after the Union.”

“Right after the Union?” Hilda raised an eyebrow. Crossing her arms under her bust, she added, “I’m pretty sure they’re already here. At least, there’s definitely one of their cultural groups floating around at the system edge. Probably in the oort cloud, mining your minerals and selling tech or gene modes.” Placing a hand on her chest to gesture to herself, Hilda went on to say, “I got my gene mods from a group just like this - they’re constantly spreading their insidious influence this way!”

Corgan walked into the room holding a bag of ice to the side of his head. He saw Hilda and Cleo and instantly started to regret coming. Still, he needed to apologize to them for different things. He took a seat near Geiben and waited for Hilda to finish speaking. “Ladies, I apologize for what happened at the party. Especially the part where I almost ravished Miss Olander, and the part where 444 used me like a missile.” He said solemnly.

“Don’t worry about it,” Cleo passivey remarked to Corgan, slipping her hand over Hilda’s mouth as she looked at Geiben. “Look, the Daqin do what they want. They want you? They will do whatever underhanded bullshit they need to, to get you to be a part of them. They will offer you money, they will offer you power, they will do whatever you want them to do, so long as you kneel,” She said simply. “My personal preference with how to deal with them, is blow them up. It works far better than you might think. Hurts their pride, gets them to back off after a while if you keep on top of things.”

Geiben waved at Corgan as he came in, then continued with Hilda and Cleo. “I… wasn’t aware that the DaQin have started spreading their influence here, but thanks for notifying me. For us, it’d be political suicide if we shot a bunch of colonists out of the sky for no reason. I’d rather not give DaQin a reason to officially declare war on us. I think Hilda should still go out into DaQin territory to gather information, however you see fit.”

“Right,” Cleo rolled her eyes, letting out an annoyed sigh. “We go, grab the information you need, give it to you, and then what? Sit back and watch you inevitably get your shit shoved in?” Cleo asked, arching a brow. “I mean, you are a single planet, verse the pride of the Daqin,” She explained, standing up. “Take it from someone who has been fighting the fuckers for… at least since you’ve been in diapers. They aren’t nice, they aren’t your friends, and they will fuck you the moment they get a chance.”

“I don’t know how old you are, lady,” Geiben raised his eyebrow, “And you most likely don’t know my age, either. That aside, we’ll take the precautions, we’ll make the preparations, but we won’t make preemptive strikes until we have high certainty that they’ll lead to the minimal casualties.” He leaned back to the wall and folded his arms. “I understand the hypocrisy; that Hawking technically started this conflict by seizing AU assets, but we did it to minimize casualties and remove a foothold for the inevitable AU invasion. Removing the DaQin presence in the oort cloud right now is neither morally nor strategically justifiable. Once they grow bigger, and after we can free up assets dealing with the AU, we can go after them. Furthermore…” Geiben shook his head. “Nevermind.”

“Nevermind..?” Cleo asked, looking at Geiben.

"Those who govern the other bodies in this system, they have assets that I'm not privy to. Discussing it here is unproductive."

“It seems like you don't fully understand the playing field right now," Cleo said, leaning forward, resting her arms on the table.

"Damn right. If I did I wouldn't be asking you to do recon." Geiben chuckled coldly. "I had my run in with Hoshiko two months into my career on the Edward Deming. I still split a nerve thinking about it. But that's my only impression of the Daqin, that they're a bunch of jackasses who think too highly of themselves. My judgement has admittedly been clouded by my own resentment of them. I need empirical data to plan our strategy against them."

Cleo shrugged. “Honestly, you nailed it on the head right there,” She sighed, leaning back. “They are arrogant, and do think very highly of themselves. They also, will take advantage of anyone and everyone they can, and while they may smile to your face, they will think nothing but how inferior you are to them. Sounds about on point for the Daqin.”

 

[Uso]

Corgan looked from Geiben to Cleo. “I’m mainly here to talk about keeping Bao on the ship. Are we going to discuss that at all?”

Though Hilda had been erotically wiggling and squirming under Cleo’s grasp since Corgan had come in, she had finally relented, the Chongwu’s hand coming off her mouth accordingly. “Well, to be fair, the Daqin are pretty good at what they do,” she remarked. “I mean, just look at their work!” the blonde gestured to herself. “And your Bao is adorable too, and I can understand if you’re worried she has bugs,” the woman added. “But more importantly, they likely have all sorts of schemes and things going on beneath the surface - which is why my going to the group here in the oort cloud is important,” Hilda began. “If I present myself as having some sort of investment here, I’ll get advised at the very least on whether or not I should pull my stakes out of things such as your industry, defense platforms or so forth.”

Cleo stared at Hilda with a similar rage, before letting out a very deep sigh. “Hilda… You don’t own any stock in any companies from this system…” She stated flatly.

“I-it was a good idea!” Hilda replied in defense.

“Oh yeah!” Cleo smiled enthusiastically. “Just like that time you thought it was a great idea to knock those bikes over at the bar three weeks ago!”

“If you do want stocks, I’m sure we can get our government to play with your bank account. Write me up a plan by tomorrow, and I’ll see what I can do to move your plan forward.” He then turned to Corgan. “... And yes, we do need to talk about Bao.”

He sighed, then addressed Cleo. “Bao has been with us for too long. None of my crew are going to accept her being off the ship unless we’re clearly going into battle. We do want her to gain independence from her programming. I have a rather intelligent robot in the crew, and there are plenty of neurological experts in the system. Do you think you can work with them to help Bao?”

“Work with them?” Cleo asked, grimacing a little. “You know I’m a doctor right? Part of my whole thing is rehabilitating Chongwu, but having to go and teach a whole new group of people a whole new set of processes, while also dealing with the fact the mental conditioning and retraining, even if it’s to acknowledge free will, is a hugely unpleasant process to go through, while expecting them to not be affected by things like, feelings and morality, sounds like a massive bitch... “ She groaned, sitting back down. “And that’s coming from an actual female dog.”

Corgan shrugged. “It might be a pain to teach them, but there are benefits.It speeds up the process in the future if there’s people trained to assist you. Also.. We could potentially help you in your crusade to liberate Chongwu. From a practical standpoint it benefits our position to help, the former “pets” could be allies.. and for you, it satisfies your personal convictions.” He suggested.

Cleo rolled her eyes. “The point is, I would be taking additional time out of my actual job to one on one train a bunch of people and a pretty dumb robot if “Rather Intelligent” was the term and not just robot, how to do something I basically have an automation in undisclosed locations, to be used on one person. Just time alone makes the process inefficient and I’m a big picture kind of gal,” Cleo shrugged.

“If the over emotional ones are the problem,” Cleo continued, looking at her watch, “You can send the girl to my summer camp. She’ll get to play games, learn what she has a legitimate passion for, and meet other little Chongwu children who are also going through rehabilitation,” She offered. “We can go slower with children, avoid some of the complications involved given our cause kinda needs adults quickly. The differences aren’t horrific or long lasting, but it's definitely not an experience that would be worth putting someone through unnecessarily.”

“I’ll talk to my crew about the proposal, and get back to you. Either way, we’re definitely not bringing her into battle with either the Union or the DaQin. If we come to a consensus, I’ll let you know.”

"Of course," Cleo said, leaning back into her chair, examining one of her hands. "Keep in mind though, when you start telling children something they think to be an inherent truth is wrong… they are quick to hate…"