So according to Bhenn, these don’t need too much maintenance, Chiyo noted to the others as they looked over the small tank of Copperbacks that the rancher had somehow managed to persuade them to adopt when they left. It had been a difficult task for Jack and the others to carry the tank back with all of the animal products they had been paid with, but they had managed it eventually.
The little creatures heavily reminded Jack of tortoises from Earth, being reptilian and possessing thick, shiny metallic shells, though these creatures were smaller and considerably more energetic, happily chasing each other around the tank and tiring themselves out. Bhenn had explained that the long-lived creatures were often poached for their valuable shells, and that he had raised this clutch that the Greenwardens had brought to him following a bandit attack. Bhenn had already given most of the clutch away as pets and animal companions to other people that he deemed trustworthy, and was quite eager to release a bonded pack of three siblings into their group’s care.
“That’s right, though they will need to be let out from time to time,” Alora noted. “They’re herbivores that can subside on grass, and they’ll occasionally shed their shells as they grow, which can be sold or used as magical components.”
Do they do anything else? Chiyo asked, an unamused expression plastered on her face. It will take some time to get used to their auras.
“Well they won’t be moving around like Dante and the Screediips do,” Alora reasoned. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”
Well at least their minds are not as scattered. Chiyo sighed as she tentatively lowered some grass into the tank, where the three little creatures quickly started chowing down. A simple life of eating and sleeping. How I envy them.
“Speaking of sleeping, we’ve worked hard today!” Nika sighed from the side, stretching her limbs after having slumped several bundles of wool into the corner. “Good thing we got the rooms all sorted before we left since most of us are exhausted.”
“I agree.” Alora nodded. “Now remember everyone, no showers since we have to ration the water. We’ll aim to leave earlier in the morning to allow anyone who wants a shower to take them at school until we get the supply issue sorted.”
“Better bust out the scented candles then!” Sephy grinned. “If we’re gonna be on a high-dairy diet for the next week or two thanks to tonight, it’s gonna stink up the place real good!”
“That’s not a bad idea.” Alora sighed. “Who’s taking the first watch?”
“I’ll take it with Sephy.” Nika shrugged. “Someone’s got to make sure she stays awake for it!”
“I guess I’ll take a watch with Dante later.” Jack shrugged. “You up for that boy?”
“Woof!” Dante agreed.
Several hours later, the alarm that Sephy had helped Jack set on his commlink buzzed, signifying the beginning of his shift. Jack groaned as he quickly got out of bed and stretched before he was tempted to ignore it. Dante quickly came over to him and kept quiet as they crept downstairs, careful not to wake up their new housemates. It had been quite an adjustment for the both of them to now be living with so many people, having been used to the general quiet and isolation of the district before, but both of them had adjusted well and done their part.
Hearing some subtle noises from downstairs, Jack and Dante cautiously approached the figure sitting on the sofa, who was quietly sniffling as she watched the Copperbacks sleeping in the tank.
“Hey Vanya,” Jack called to her, gently alerting her to his presence.
“Hey Jack.” Vanya smiled softly. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
“Nope.” Jack chuckled as he walked over to her. “Just changing over the shifts. Nika and Sephy are on the tower at the moment keeping watch. What about you?”
He looked at Vanya, trying to look as understanding as he could, though being as socially inept as he was, knew he was completely out of his depth. He had been woken up by the muffled crying from next door late the previous night when Vanya thought nobody was awake to hear, yet instead of knocking on her door as he knew he should have done at the time, he had just privately let Alora know the next morning.
‘I won’t do that again.’ Jack had vowed to himself. ‘But what the hell could I even do? Alora is the social butterfly, not me!’
“I just couldn’t sleep,” Vanya whispered back as she tightened the sash on her thin purple nightgown while subtly wiping her eyes, believing that Jack hadn’t seen the tears in the darkness. “I thought I’d have a drink and take a walk, but I’m not feeling tired right now…”
“I guess you can keep watch with me and Dante if you want…” Jack shrugged, then gulped.
“Sure!” Vanya had happily perked up a little too quickly in a complete reversal of her previous sadness, as the voluptuous form of the Chuna stood up with a wide smile.
“Um…We might want to take a few blankets if there are any left around,” Jack pointed out. “It gets pretty cold at night.”
‘That and you’re not dressed for it.’ He thought to himself, though Vanya showed no indication of returning to her room for some extra clothes. Then again, he was just in an old t-shirt and shorts and she had thick brown fur, so who was he to judge?
“I’ve got a blanket here.” Vanya grinned as she grabbed one off the sofa. “Shall we go?”
“Thank the gods!” Sephy yawned as she used her wings to lazily float to the ground. “I was just about to fall asleep…”
“You did, at least five times!” Nika snorted as she slid down the ladder. “Oh, hey Vanya. What are you doing here? I thought it was just Jack and Dante after us?”
“Hey Nika! I can’t sleep so I offered to join! I’ve gotta contribute somehow! How was your watch?” Vanya smiled.
Nika looked suspicious, but shrugged. “Spotted two small groups moving past our district in opposing directions, didn’t seem like they paid us any mind so our magical defences are secure. Got a few fires in the distance from the Myrodin Magitechnology workshops to the East, and there’s definitely something big happening to the North around the richer districts…”
“Yeah, bunch of gangs and corps are going at it, but the biggest threats aren’t doing anything right now, so maybe they know something we don’t?” Sephy added. “There’s a lot of chatter about what the Redeemer is up to, who the fuck this ‘King’ is that he kept referring to when he called out fucking everyone on TV, and apparently Commander Cocaine’s been going ham all over the city!”
“I’m sure we’ll get the news in the morning,” Nika pointed out. “But yeah, things are starting to heat up. There’s nothing we can do anyway, just keep your eyes open, and if there’s anything suspicious close by or if anything big happens, call it in. Don’t engage unless you really have to.”
“Will do.” Jack nodded, as the two guards made their way back to the house.
“I wonder how bad it is…” Vanya began, as she started climbing the ladder.
“Only one way to find out…” Jack replied as he moved to climb up after her, but quickly did a double take when he made the tactical error of looking up…
‘I’m not going to be able to unsee that!’ Jack thought to himself in that moment. ‘But I’m not sure I want to!’
“Don’t look at me like that!” Jack whispered to Dante, who grinned before he quickly blinked to the top of the tower. “Damn, wish I could do that…”
As he climbed up to the top, Vanya had already sat down, leaning against the back wall facing home with the blanket partly wrapped around her, with Dante on the other side, keeping watch.
“Come here.” Vanya beckoned with a sly smile, patting the ground in front of her.
“Vanya I can’t…” Jack began, and the Chuna’s expression fell. “My relationship with the others is already complicated enough as it is even without them being mad at Luvia, and I don’t think it’d be a good idea after...”
“After the attack you mean...” Vanya bowed her head, and judging from the sniffling and crying, Jack knew he had cocked up, as Dante quickly padded forward, nudging his muzzle into her face to bat aside her hands covering her face, licking at her cheek until she absentmindedly started stroking his fur.
“Hey…” Jack tried, closing the distance and sitting next to her.
“I’m sorry.” Vanya sniffed. “I try, I really do. I know it should be behind me and I try to stay strong, but every time I go to sleep it feels like I’m back there. Even when I’m awake I don’t feel safe.”
“I felt something similar when I first arrived in this world,” Jack admitted, before remembering he wasn’t on a planet. “Well, you know what I mean. During those first few days I never left the room they gave me and I was too terrified to talk to anyone that wasn’t High Priestess Cornelia, then slowly, I extended that to Inquisitor Faegleal, Brother Arguinious and the rest of the Church of Astara before they introduced me to Alora.”
Jack tried hard to carefully formulate the words and what he was trying to say in his mind without making things worse. Outside of what he had personally gone through he knew nothing about working through trauma or what to even say to someone who had been attacked in the way Vanya had been. “The point is that I think you’ll heal over time, and having good people around you who care and want to help will make it better.”
“I hope so.” Vanya nodded. “I can’t keep going like this, can I still stay up here with you?”
“Sure you can!” Jack smiled softly. “No offence, but Dante doesn’t make the best conversation, and maybe you can tell me more about what I’m seeing.”
“Woof!” Dante quietly barked in indignation.
“Can…can we cuddle?” The Chuna asked, reaching out to him. “I feel safe here with you, and it is kinda cold…”
“Fine.” Jack agreed with a sigh. “You joining us Dante?”
Eventually they were able to find themselves a position where they would be comfortable, with Jack making sure he could keep watch as best as he could with his axe and gun within reach.
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‘Hope I’m not going to have dead legs after this!’ Jack thought to himself as Vanya entwined her own thick-furred legs around his and wrapped the blanket around them both. ‘Though I’ve gotta admit, this is both warm and comfortable!’
Dante, for his part, looked quite amused as he kept his eyes on Jack’s blind spot. Though their amateur guard posting would probably give any military veteran an aneurysm from its shambolic nature, it was sufficient enough to be able to hear and see your average asshole approaching.
They sat there in silence as Jack took in the view of the neon-lit streets in the distance, bathed in a vibrant glow from holographic advertisements and billboards that seemed to regularly change, praising and denouncing the same companies in quick succession, and illuminated skyscrapers that occasionally flickered on and off. Vastly different from that of when he had first arrived, it was clear that the night was full of activity.
Putting on his shades and playing around with the magnification feature allowed him to focus on a literal dumpster fire in the distance, where roughshod gangsters were picking fights with one another, though fortunately they were far off into the distance. On the other side was another large crowd, but these people didn’t seem to be part of any ongoing conflict; instead they were holding up placards and placing their hands to their mouths to chant out slogans that Jack couldn’t make out.
“You’re not used to this, are you?” Vanya asked as she followed his gaze. “Things are likely going to get worse, you know that, right?”
“Not used to it at all,” Jack admitted. “And how the hell could it get any worse than this?”
“Clearly you haven’t been on the Ring for long.” Vanya sighed as she began playing with his hair. “It can always get worse.”
“Let’s hope not.” Jack sighed as he gazed out towards the city, where there was a new glow in the distance from where someone had set a large bonfire. They stayed there in silence for a few moments before Jack felt like he should start a new topic.
“So how did you get into journalism?” Jack asked, latching onto one of the few things he really knew about the Chuna. “You’ve spoken about serial killers before, and I know you’ll be asking us some questions at some point - Do you have a podcast or something?”
“Sort of.” Vanya giggled. “I do work for the school paper, but that isn’t exactly a paid thing…”
“You do it for the experience then?” Jack asked. “Like an intern?”
“Yes and no.” Jack felt her shrug beside him. “I’ve always had an interest in investigative stuff and following the footsteps of my mum and dad. While experience is great, I also do work on the school paper to build my reputation and following, but the really big reason is building up my sources and connections. I can also tap into them for my podcast and my NetTube channel where I usually cover interesting topics people want to know about that the Corps won’t cover.”
“That probably means you’ve got some interesting stories to tell?” Jack teased, and Vanya giggled again.
“Well, most of it is stuff I’ve managed to piece together rather than the full story,” the Chuna began, as even Dante cocked his head with interest. “It started when an anonymous source told me that there may have been something more going on with some local gang activity in my neighbouring district that got put down by the local Militia.”
Vanya allowed a pause, possibly to allow Jack to prompt her or ponder what happened next, before she continued.
“When I was able to get hold of one of their commlinks that had been smashed in the fighting, I found out that they had been hired by a manager within the corporation that owned the district, and I quickly determined that they just wanted to make themselves look good for a promotion. When I published the information it caused a fuss and the executive was quickly fired, though I now realise I should have taken precautions to protect myself. Luckily for me there wasn’t anybody else working with them to seek revenge, and after that I got some more viewers. It pretty much snowballed from there, and I sell adspace and take the occasional sponsor to make a living from it too!”
“So what kind of stuff are you covering right now?” Jack asked, and Vanya sighed.
“Technically I’m taking a break at the moment. Even if my mind was in a better place, I had been working with Svaarti on a few things, and I was hoping to resume it once she wakes up. I know she was keen on doing an exposé on the Red Legion since she and her brother left, but I think work on the history of the Klowns would be better considering the current time. What I know I really need to do is write about the latest attack at the party, but it’s been going slow for me. ”
“I’m not surprised.” Jack nodded understandingly.
“Hasn’t just been my account,” Vanya pointed out. “I interviewed Obeda earlier, and after a while I was able to get a full account of his actions that night, including when he witnessed Torvin Bharzum’s last stand. I’ve already done my notes on the Bharzum Triplets accounts and I’m going to try and talk to Luvia tomorrow.”
“And you’ll be talking to us as well,” Jack noted.
“And Svaarti and her brother, though I think I’ll only do that if she wakes up.” Vanya shrugged. “And though I want your accounts of what happened, I also wanted to get the scoop on the other things your group got up to since you arrived.”
“Well, we’re not doing anything better right now,” Jack pointed out. “If you want to get my account and ask questions, you might as well ask them now. I was on my own for most of it.”
“I think I’ll do that while I have you to myself!” Vanya chucked, and Jack heard the sound of rummaging behind him as the Chuna got out a pad, pen and recording device, presumably from that magic pocket-storage thingy she could do.
“Alright.” Jack sighed. “Where do you want me to start?”
They lost themselves over the course of several hours as Vanya very methodically asked him detailed questions, which he wouldn’t have thought to ask as he struggled to think about the answers. Weirdly enough, when they had gotten to the end where he had been found by Ivar Bharzum, Vanya then went back in reverse order to try and replay the events, occasionally going back to specific points during the attack. Despite the questioning, Jack still kept his watch. Though the sound of movement approaching came nearby, upon checking it Jack had seen that it was just a wild critter, and hadn’t detected anything else since.
“Alright.” Vanya finally sighed, having no further questions at that point. “That was helpful, and it does confirm a theory of mine that the Klowns are much more cunning and devious than they appear to be in recruiting outside help. It makes me wonder what other dealings go on with the Klowns...”
“Hopefully whatever happens they get their comeuppance.” Jack sighed.
“Yes, they certainly did last time when they attacked Corvin Enterprises and were led right into an ambush.” Vanya shrugged. “Like I said, things could always get worse.”
At that point, they were interrupted by a familiar form telekinetically floating up from the ground with highly raised eyebrows.
What in the name of the gods are you two up to? Chiyo asked unamusedly, as they heard the sound of Alora climbing the ladder.
“I couldn’t sleep so I joined Jack on his watch!” Vanya cheerfully replied, as Alora got to the top and saw what was going on. Jack, for his part, just kept quiet.
Vanya.
“Yes Chiyo?” the Chuna nervously asked.
Why are you cuddling with my Deathworlder?
*****
“Guys!” Sephy whispered across the lecture theatre. “I think we’ve got a job!”
“Really?” Nika whispered back slightly quieter, as several of their nearby classmates told them to shush while the movie was playing.
“Yeah, someone found our DataNet page and emailed us for a local search and rescue job.” Sephy grinned gleefully. “Time-sensitive though, we’ll need to haul ass home and load up before we visit the client.”
You know I don’t like it when we go into danger with no information! Chiyo pointed out, having not spoken much since the previous night.
“Nobody does.” Sephy shrugged. “We could always turn it down, but it’s definitely worth checking. It’s not like we have anything else going on that’s more important.”
“What information do you have?” Alora asked, leaning around Jack to look at the others. “We need more details to work with.”
“Hasn’t given us much, says that he might have a location but it’s in a rough area. Wants to meet to discuss details.”
“Meet where?” Jack asked, having a suspicious feeling in his gut.
“Our potential client has an apartment in a quiet zone, and would like for us to meet him there.” Sephy shrugged. “Everything else is a potential red flag though.”
“Maybe they’re new to hiring mercs.” Nika shrugged. “Might mean we can haggle, especially if we point out the lack of info being provided.”
“Reply and accept the meet, but try to phish for some more details,” Alora told Sephy after a few seconds to think about it. “This doesn’t mean we’ll accept, we’ll hear what the client has to say then make a decision.”
“Will do!” Sephy grinned as she began typing away.
“Better have a plan for the others to follow while we’re gone,” Nika added. “I want the watches doubled if we’re heading out. None of them have joined us for sentry duty since arriving, though we had planned on training them up. At least Vanya technically has some on-the-job experience!” She grinned.
Then she shall have no problems observing all the watches for the evening until we return and are able to resume our duties, Chiyo huffed in response. As for everybody else, have them assist the Squa’Kaar in expanding the garden and set up sleeping space for any additional guests.
“Yeah, this whole situation is getting a bit nuts,” Nika warned. “We’ve officially run out of beds, so anyone that wants to stay with us should bring a bedroll if they have one.
“At least we have the wool from the ranch that can serve as a mattress, though it won’t be the greatest to sleep on,” Jack pointed out. “Hopefully things will calm down soon so they can go back home, it’s getting pretty wild at the moment.”
At this point, the group had completely lost count of the number of fellow students who needed shelter thanks to the prolonged MegaCorp conflicts, but they were confident they still had the space. The resources, however, were growing thinner much more quickly. They had already accepted offers from several of their guests to repay them for their kindness once they were able to return to their normal lives, but until then they had to tighten their belts.
“Maybe we can have Obeda register what our guests can do and see if they have any useful skills we can make use of while we’re gone - and if they’re gonna be staying,” Jack added. “Having a few cooks would make things easier on us.”
“As long as they can make soup, that’s fine.” Alora nodded. “Provided we have enough water to work with, of course, it’s the best way to cook for so many people.”
“And power too,” Nika added. “I’d place a ban on non-essential use until the food gets made.”
I did suggest that everybody charge their devices here while they can, Chiyo pointed out, gesturing at the extension leads plugged into the walls with smaller cables leading to several of the sat down students.
“Good call.” Nika nodded in approval. “We’ve also got to get them working and pulling their weight, even if it’s just tidying the place up.”
“I don’t want them rummaging through the ruins of my family estate without me present,” Alora pointed out. “However, if they could help the Squa’Kaar prepare the field for planting crops that would save us a lot of time. Rayle and Zayle know the places I’ve assigned them, so the sooner we get that done, the better.”
We won’t be able to benefit from that right now, but it will be invaluable for next time. Chiyo shrugged.
“Dare I ask…” Jack began.
“How likely is it that there’s gonna be a next time?” Sephy finished for him. “The Killer Klown isn’t the only major threat to the city. There’s always the next disaster around the corner…”
“So we’d better be prepared for it.” Alora sighed.
Don’t worry too much, Jack. Chiyo tugged on his arm to get his full attention, seeing his hands start to shake slightly. Just as there are threats to the city, there are also those that work to protect it, or at least protect their own interests. Though the second Klown attack was unforeseen, the first was predicted and repelled, as have numerous others over the years.
“Yeah,” Nika added. “Once the MegaCorps stop fighting things usually get back to normal.”
“And then we can enjoy ourselves some more.” Alora sighed. “We need the reprieve. I just hope the economy bounces back so we don’t have to keep going out on jobs. And I would really like to show Jack some of the good things about living here. I fear that you arrived at the worst possible time.”
Agreed, I would very much like to partake in that hot tub, Chiyo added. And get some peace and quiet around our home once again!
“But until then, it looks like we’re working tonight.” Sephy sighed. “Client got back to me straight away, it looks like a lost family member and he’s getting desperate.”
“Oh crap.” Nika sighed.
Alora nodded. “Well in that case…Better get some sleep now while you can!”