It was an especially bright day in Tuptree. Xan upped the darkness on his shades, sipping his coffee as he watched the athians drift by. How did they stand all this light? Or the humans? He pulled up his hood as Erin came out.
“Let her know she can keep the clothes,” the mother athian said. “I haven’t worn them since grade school.”
The weasel was stuffing his commpad in his jacket, somehow greeting the deadly rays from above like just another gentle breeze. Morning folk. Xan spat at the thought. What did a panda have to do to get some clouds on this stupid planet?
“Your help is greatly appreciated, Ms. LukLuk. Give my regards to little Liili.”
Erin waved a two-fingered salute. Xan was already getting back in the hovercar. Save the pleasantries for the tail kissers. The minute the weasel fell into the driver’s seat, his chipper salesman voice left.
“Sweet whiskers,” Erin muttered.
“That bad, eh?”
He rubbed his forehead. “Yeah. Apparently, the cat’s exploring the city.”
Xan nodded. “Huh. Yeah, she’ll be dead in a week.”
Erin whirled on him, but the panda ignored the glare, siping at his coffee. It was a generous estimate anyway. One graduate with no experience, no contacts, and no clue how anything in the galaxy worked? It was a miracle their tracker wasn’t flashing gray already.
They'd only just gotten the assignment from the top. Another world had been lost, though a few grads managed to make it out alive. Theirs in particular was supposed to be some cat-girl. Another feline sub-specious, no doubt. But according to their records, she'd never been off-world before. Or seen a space ship. Heck, they didn't even have commpads on her rock of a planet.
For all intents and purposes, that kid was doomed to die the minute her planet got hit. What, did Erin want him to lie?
“Xan.”
“I’m just being honest, is all.” The panda put aside his drink. “What, you gonna put your chets on Elisia saving the day?”
Erin rolled his eyes, starting up the ignition.
“Would it kill you to try for once?”
“Yes.”
The car hummed to life, propellants pushing them forward and across the street. District 2/7 ended in a magnetic ramp, of which Erin drove over to send them into the skyward highway. Being a melting pot for different races, Tuptree’s traffic always leaned on the slower side. Lights flashed ahead, vehicles stopping and starting as the controllers guided everyone. Erin turned up the radio.
“So where is she now?” he asked.
Xan checked his wrist tracker, the white dot being miles away.
“Halfway across town,” the panda said. “Think she stole a car?”
“Be serious, Xan.”
The panda flipped the tracker's screen, the rectangular device revealing a flat 2-D map. He squinted at the icon appearing next to a spread of jagged buildings.
“Huh. She’s in the Crial Zone.”
“What!”
“I said she’s-”
“I heard what you said! Sweet whiskers. Why didn’t you lead with that?”
Erin jerked the wheel, their car splitting from the others and falling from the highway. The pull from the streets below kept them from inadvertently crashing into a building. Xan shrugged.
“Eh, the Crial Zone isn’t that bad. Plenty of cool spots there if you go looking.”
The weasel shot him a glance but said nothing. As far as Xan was concerned, the Crial Zone was no different than any other district. Sure you had a 75% chance of getting stabbed and robbed, but it wasn’t a total death sentence. As long as you kept your head down and weren’t stupid, you’d be fine. Then again, this was a new graduate they were talking about.
“Sweet whiskers,” Erin said. “Dangit, Xan. What happens if she dies on us?”
The panda tapped his chin a moment. They’d never lost a target before. Then again, they mostly dealt with low-level rookies who took care of themselves. Maybe they’d need a day or two to adjust, but after that, they'd usually figure it out, leaving the two of them to sit on their hands. It was perfect. The best job in the galaxy. But this was different. Their target was a rookie who never made it to the grad ceremony. She had no next of kin or outside supporters. She was alone, confused, and more than likely dying in a ditch somewhere.
"Maybe..."
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“Oh, sweet whiskers!” Erin snapped. “That was a rhetorical question, Xan!”
He came out of his thoughts. Why did he ask if he didn’t want answers? He could never understand the man. Always so touchy. He leaned against the window, continuing to debate the merits of a swift failure.
***
The car drifted through the intersection of Eris Way to Tel Plaza. The markets were full of the usual sorts. Mostly anthians and humans, though Xan spotted the occasional hexagian here and there. The hovercar turned into Greasy Sal’s parking lot. It was the cheapest place nearby, so Xan couldn’t complain.
“Now, which entrance did she take?” Erin asked, stepping out.
Xan turned his shade’s darkness back up, pulling on his hood. According to the tracker, the target’s signature lingered a few feet ahead.
A telepad sat squarely between two buildings, the sign floating above plain to see. Entrance to Crial Zone. Authorized Personnel Only. Of the many people passing by, not one of them approached the spot. One child looked at it for a bit too long, but his guardian was quick to pull him away.
“Stay away from the Crial Zone, sweet heart,” he said. “Only bad kids hang out there.”
Xan snorted at that. If they thought CZ was bad, they should have seen Liosha. Both he and Erin walked over the pad, the scenery shifting in an instant. Tall skyscrapers became run down and ragged. Hovercars turned to piles of scrap metal. People disappeared entirely. They were still around, but Xan knew most wouldn’t be dumb enough to show their faces in the open. If only he could say the same for their target.
“So on a scale of 1 to 10, how dumb do you think this girl is?”
“Would you focus up, Xan,” Erin hissed. “You see those portals, don’t you?”
He gestured ahead. It was hard to miss the giant purple gates floating in the distance. And in the sky. The legionaries were already here. Even more evidence that cat was dead. Still, the sun wasn't a problem anymore. He removed his sunglasses, smiling up at the clouds of the Crial Zone keeping him bathed in sweet shade. He could even take his hood off.
“Xan.”
He sighed. “Can’t let me enjoy anything can-”
A crash from one of the buildings drew both their attention. White shadows fell from the opening, a cascade of tendrils and wings all flowing after what Xan could barely see from his vantage point. But a quick glance at his tracker confirmed his theory. There was a person on the receiving end of that assault.
“Target spotted, I guess.”
The torrent of bodies crashed onto the floor.
Erin raced over to help, but Xan lingered back a bit. Both because he refused to run and since he saw mist rising from the ocean of wiggling bodies. A legionnaire flew backward. And another. He saw a black figure fly out from the pile, landing less than gracefully atop a wrecked hovertruck. Her clothes were in tatters, and she could barely stand on her own two legs, but the girl was alive. A tough cookie. Xan smiled.
“Oy, panther!” he called.
Her ears twitched. She finally seemed to notice them. As did the legionnaires, though they were too busy clamoring around the feline, clawing and swinging at her from below. She swatted at their appendages, but that was about all she seemed able to do. The girl had simultaneously trapped herself and ran out of steam. Not a great way to go. But they had a nice view of the action.
“Hang on, miss!" Erin called, sliding to a halt. "I’m in range!”
He pulled out his magic stick. Or wand, as he called it. Xan always saw it as more of a stick since the thing would usually break. One little misplaced sitting and suddenly Erin would be at Xan’s throat about restitution. It wasn't his fault the man kept leaving his stuff in random spots around the ship. The weasel shut his eyes, light shining from the tip of his useless stick. A glyph had began to appear in the air, the hands of a clock floating atop a golden circle projection.
“You’re gonna use that now?” Xan asked.
“I’m not letting her die! Are you helping me, or not?”
The panda groaned. To pull something like that off required a partner's help. And Erin knew that. With no other choice, Xan stretched back his good arm, pulling out Sledge. The straps undid themselves automatically.
“You really are the worst, Erin,” he grumbled.
“And you’re a lazy tool, Xan. Now do your job.”
The clock glowed, and the weasel thrust out. A tremor of light blew through the glyph, passing through everything in a twenty-foot radius. Xan shivered at the odd twinge. He squeezed Sledge for comfort. She always had a way of putting him at ease. The panther had taken notice of the light, but she was too busy fighting to do much about it. Flying legionnaires came her way, the girl reading to swing on.
But the monsters froze in place before they got close
“Displacement complete.”
Erin lowered his wand.
The panther kept readying for the swing, but the flying legionnaire didn’t approach. She stood hunched over for several seconds while Xan wandered over, dragging Sledge against the ground and swinging away at everything as he passed. How long did he have? Five minutes? Three? It always seemed to vary depending on how panicked his partner activated the skill. And considering he started to scream for him to hurry things along, Xan could only assume it was the latter. Maybe less.
He parted the sea of legionnaires, climbing onto the hovertruck to join the damaged feline.
“Yo,” he said.
Considering the circumstances, her surprise wasn't unexpected.
She looked around at the frozen legionaires. The portals still moved, along with the rest of the world. But the monsters themselves had already been trapped, some hovering in midair while some were frozen mid-attack, tongues and appendages refusing to move an inch forward. The girl lowered her staff.
“H-hello,” she said.
Xan couldn’t help but smirk. Such a simple greeting from the girl beaten, bruised, and facing down a squad of monsters. She was already a major step above that annoying weasel. He put away Sledge.
“I’m Xan,” he introduced. “The guy there’s Erin. We’re your liaisons.”
She looked around him to the weasel, who was standing behind the now blinking glyph. Xan extended his hand out, making sure to choose his words carefully. No need to freak out an already panicked cat.
“Good to meet you. And don't worry. You're as good as safe now.”
As he finished, he heard the familiar dissolving effect of the glyph vanishing. An instant later, every monster he’d struck burst into white mist, the area flooding with a blanket of cloudy legionnaire remains. The panther jumped, Xan dusting himself off with his free hand. The other remained extended.
“You gonna leave me standing here, or what?”
The feline gave him a bewildered look. He smiled a toothy grin, which seemed to get her to relax, if only slightly, finally taking his hand.
"S-sasha," the girl said. "I'm Sasha the Panther."