Though saying goodbye was hard, there was one silver lining to their departure. By the time they returned to the ship, Training Bot was fully repaired, the machine greeting them upon the jump to warp space.

Despite being responsible for its crushing incident, it didn't seem to hold a grudge. Even so, she was quick to gift the bot with motor oil as an apology. It accepted the offering with a few beeps, Sasha smiling and lowering the canister into Training Bot's engine compartment. It was the first time she'd ever done so, but Mr. Erin was there to coach her in the proper fueling method.

"Not too much, Sasha," he warned. "There. That should be enough."

Training bot chimed, Sasha sighing with relief. Maybe it was strange, but she felt the bots were as much a part of the crew as her liaisons. They were all rouges together, traveling through space and fighting monsters. And sometimes befriending locals. Between the bots, the kids of Khapree, and both her liaisons, she'd certainly amassed a chaotic circle of locals. Especially when accounting for Bison and Kairo. And possibly Gabriella.

Her smile fell when she thought of her. As it usually did.

Her name was saved in her commpad, the human only a short call away. But that was easier said than done, especially considering the last time they spoke. When she'd punched her in the face. When she'd almost been crushed to death. She knew Madame Dyre had forgiven her, but Gabriella was always a question mark. And the more she thought of her, the more she worried it wasn't the case.

Mr. Xan returned to the command deck, Mr. Erin heading for his room. Sasha stopped him.

"H-hey Mr. Erin," she said.

He looked back. "Hmm?"

Training Bot was still between her arms, Sasha leaning against it for support. Though it didn't seem to register anger or joy, the bot didn't try to shake her off either.

"Have you and Mr. Xan ever fought?"

He raised a brow at the question, though he did give his most honest answer.

"Have you met, Xan?"

She smirked. "You know what I mean. Like a real fight."

The weasel thought a moment, stroking the furs of his chin. Though the two did seem close, Sasha couldn't think of anyone else besides her liaisons who argued as much. Except for her and Cici. But they'd never gotten to serious blows before. Never to the point she was trying to kill her. Never like...that. He leaned against the wall.

"Well, I guess there was that time he broke my wand," Mr. Erin said. "Or that other time he broke my wand. Or that other other-"

"Besides the wand stuff?"

He chuckled. "Alright. How about the time we almost leveled a city trying to kill each other?"

That immediately caught her attention, her ears perking up. A city? Mr. Erin smiled.

He was a lot of things, but he wasn't one to exaggerate. Or lie. Not typically, at least. But the idea of her two liaisons destroying a city? Like she could ignore something like that. Mr. Erin made a gesture to follow, both Sasha and Training Bot obeying.

***

They stopped in his room, a mug of dark liquid split between her and the weasel. It smelled of cinnamon but tasted like honey. Mr. Erin said it was called tea.

"So?" she asked. "What's the story?"

He smiled, leaning back on his bed.

"Well, for starters," he began, "we were both really young. Not quite as young as you, but most bars would turn us away."

"What's a bar?"

"I'll tell you when you're older."

She groaned, sipping at her mug.

"I was in my second year as general," Mr. Erin went on. "At the time, Command had assigned me to investigate a rouge smuggler. Reports said anyone who got close ended up in pieces. Lucky me, I suppose. As a general, I had enough skill with a weapon to deal with most threats. And I was a tad less brittle in those days than I am now. Unfortunately, so was he."

She couldn't help but giggle at that, both for the image of a strong Mr. Erin and of Mr. Xan somehow being brittle. It was easy to forget just how young she was compared to them. Sure they dwarfed her in height, but so did every other adult she'd met. And some people her own age. Iris for sure always stood a fraction of a foot taller. Fortunately, she and Cici were always neck and neck in the growing game.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"So what happened?" she asked. "I'm guessing you didn't kill each other?"

"Oh, but we certainly tried," the weasel chuckled. "I tracked him to what I thought was a dead planet. All signs of life had been exterminated. But low and behold, that panda's crew had set up an artificial station. Completely off the records. They weren't happy when me and my people showed up. Things quickly turned violent, I'm afraid."

Sasha nodded, sipping at her drink. Mr. Xan had mentioned being a former member of the Black Web. He never told her why he left, though given his fight with Madame Dyre, she doubted it was for anything pleasant.

"We had him cornered," the weasel went on, "but Xan had no intentions of backing down. Neither was I. That panda fought like a demon that day, his wind attacks nearly beheading me several times. But I was no pushover either. It didn't matter how many people we lost, we kept coming at each other until we were both limping through the streets. And after. We would have really killed each other if Saturn had never shown up."

"Saturn?" Sasha remembered the color-changing hexigian. "She was there?"

"Naturally. Anywhere Dyre or her people go, Saturn isn't far behind. Guess we should be glad for that, all things considered."

He sipped at his drink, his gaze rising to the ceiling as he seemed to recount the events. A death match in an artificial city.

"How come you never mentioned this before?" Sasha asked. "Had no idea my liaisons were so fight-hungry. Geez."

He smiled. "Pride's a strong motivator, Sasha. And to be fair, you never really asked."

She groaned at that. Such a tail brained response.

Still, if those two could go at each other's throats and come out as friends, maybe there was hope for her yet. She pulled out her commpad, pulling up Gabriella's name in her contact list. Alright. She took a small breath. You can do this, Panther. And her fingers started to move over the device, a quick message typed and sent.

A response came moments later.

I'm free now if you'd like to talk.

Her heartbeat rose, Sasha realizing she was still leaning against Training Bot. She quickly let it go.

"I have to make a call," she said. "Thanks for the advice, Mr. Erin. I really appreciate it."

He looked up from his drink. "Hmm? Oh. Anytime, Ms. Panther."

She gave a final wave before running out the door, making a B-line for her own room.

***

Even with the message on screen, Sasha still hesitated. She had to force her finger over Gabriella's name, the commpad buzzing as she sat on her bed. Cripes. No turning back now.

A shadowed projection hovered over her screen. As she rocked in place, the hologram slowly took shape. What was once a blank avatar took the form of a girl in a red blouse, her hair hanging at her sides. Though she was a tad smaller than Sasha remembered, there was no mistaking the voice that greeted her.

"H-hey, Sasha."

Her response was just as hesitant.

"H-hey, Gabriella."

Her whiskers twitched, a silence falling between them.

"I-I got your message," Gabriella said. "I'm glad I did, actually. After what happened...I've been meaning to clear the air with you."

Sasha shifted. "Yeah." She finally forced out the words. "Gabriella. I'm really sorry for hitting you. And for wrecking your room. And running away."

The avatar shook her head. "No, I'm the one that tried to lock you away. And before that, I had you drugged. If anything, I'm surprised you'd still want to talk to me. I figured you'd hate me."

"But you at least apologized. I was too scared to even see you until now."

"I was scared too, Sasha."

She shrank, the silence returning between them.

Though Gabriella was responsible for her induction into the Black Web, she was also the first friend she'd made in the group. The person who made her feel welcome. Like she wasn't alone in a sea of strangers. Even if the circumstances weren't ideal, she liked having her as a friend for the short time they were on the same ship. She didn't know if Gabriella felt the same, but the fact she stayed on the call seemed a good sign. Sasha quickly changed the subject.

"Oh, I've been watching that show you told me about," she said. "Adventures of Deliah Grace. It's really good so far."

Gabriella brightened. "Oh? What episode are you on?"

"Last one I remember was the robot heist. Season 2, I think."

The human giggled. "Oh wow. You're on....Oh. Probably shouldn't spoil anything."

Sasha straightened up. "What? What's going on? What's gonna happen?"

"If I told you that, it'd be a spoiler."

"Well you not telling me's a bigger spoiler."

Gabriella didn't relent, the human refusing to reveal details no matter how much Sasha begged. What had begun as an apology soon spiraled into a bigger discussion on the finer points of Deliah Grace and her fantastical adventures. Sasha laid back in bed, her earlier apprehension melting away the longer she and Gabriella talked. The girl's avatar grew more and more animated as their discussion grew heated. Sasha couldn't help but smile at its flailing arms.

"Have you read the Battle Cappy comics?" Gabriella asked. "It's the spin-off series."

"They have comics!" She jumped on her bed. "Why didn't you say so? You gotta show me!"

"I can't now, Sasha. I'm on the job. Madame Dyre would get mad."

"Oh, is she there with you?"

"Yes, but she gave me the okay to call. And...now she's telling me to wrap this up."

Sasha frowned. "Alright. Then bring those comics next time we see each other, okay."

The avatar smiled. "Deal. I gotta go, but I'll see ya', Sasha."

She gave a last wave, and then the avatar disappeared, the hologram shrinking back into her commpad.

Sasha squealed. A new comic collection? If she'd known Gabriella had that, she would have called her much sooner. She bounced up and down just thinking about it. All her current issues had been read and reread several times. And finding new ones was next to impossible with so many shops selling intergalactically. She was lucky if she found something in her language, let alone if they were any good.

She hugged her commpad, already anticipating their reunion. Though there was no telling where Gabriella was, she could only hope they ran into each other sooner than later.