Sasha.

She sat up, whiskers twitching at the sudden voice in her head. It felt like someone had just spat water in her face, the sensation fading just as quickly as the panther grabbed the edges of her covers. What the heck? Her eyes adjusted to the darkness of Cici's room, the place decorated with the figurines and statues they'd started making. None of them finished.

"Ms. Sasha."

She finally realized whose voice she was hearing, her staff appearing by the bed.

"GT?" she asked. "Something up?”

She picked the staff up, letting it rest over her lap. Though she was always connected to the weapon, it was rare for it to interrupt one of her dreams. She couldn't even remember what she'd been dreaming of, though she vaguely recalled rivers of soda. Cici did have a near-limitless supply of cans stashed in the cooler under her bed.

“Ms. Sasha," the staff said. "May I ask you a question?”

“Sure, I guess. What’s up?”

GT paused a moment. “Sasha. Do you remember your creator?”

She raised a brow at the weapon. "My...creator?" Was he talking about her birth giver?

Even the adults on Shiny wouldn’t have known that. All births planet-side were IVF. For as long as anyone could remember, no students were born naturally on the island. New kids would simply pop up in the dens every year or so. The closest thing to birth givers she had were her guardians. And she hated them.

“Not a big fan of 'em,” she said. “Why?”

The staff paused again. Despite its mechanical voice, she could tell something was on her weapon’s mind. Since when did it call her Sasha?

“I believe in the will of my maker,” GT said. “But it occurs to me I don’t have many memories of them. Only of you.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I’m not sure. Sometimes it feels as if she's a stranger. I feel her eyes on us on occasion, but she never approaches. I'm not entirely sure why.”

Sasha nodded. When it put it like that, no wonder the staff was having trouble. She was fine not knowing about simple stuff. Who made her? Why was she made? Was GT's maker a spirit or a god? Why was she chosen? All that stuff was lumped together in the pile of headache-inducing garbage she was better off not dealing with. But not everyone could be like that.

It wasn't that easy for Iris. Or Cici.

“Sorry for the sudden question,” GT said.

“No, it’s fine." Sasha gave the staff what she hoped was a comforting pat. "I know I’m probably not the brightest cat in the box, but I’m always ready and willing to chat. We’re in this together now, GT. You, me, Mr. Erin, and Mr. Xan.”

There was a snort from her side.

“Oh, and Cici, of course.”

The fox rose from her slumber, letting out a low yawn as she peeled off her sleeping mask.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Sash?" she mumbled, rubbing her droopy eyes.

Sasha shook her head. "It's nothing. Go back to sleep, Foxie."

Cici responded by poking Sasha in the side. "Will you stop calling me that?" And then she was rolling over again, slumping under the covers to whatever dreams she'd been having.

Sasha stroked her staff, still unsure if it could feel her hand or not. In fact, she'd always assumed the staff didn't feel anything. It was a robot, wasn't it? Emotions and the like weren't part of their programming. But then, the bots on her old ship already disproved that theory. The way they flocked to the injured Mr. Erin couldn't have been simple programming. Even back on Dyre's ship she'd had to persuade the drones to help her. Maybe there were wants and desires in some of the bots in the universe. Not all of them, but enough to take notice.

“Thank you, Ms. Sasha,” GT said. “I am grateful for your insight. I’ll try not to disappoint.”

The staff disappeared, Sasha smiling as she laid back in bed.

I guess I better start paying more attention. Can't let it think I don't care.

She pulled the covers under her chin, letting the quiet of the room lull her back to sleep. For the time being, the name of the game was making memories with Cici before takeoff day.

***

By the time the ship was space-worthy, Sasha had made enough statues with Cici that they'd both never forget their small vacation together. Nor would the citizens of Nimbla, who begrudgingly allowed them to make a single piece out in the open. It was a statue of the two of them flashing peace signs to all the avian people. Compared to the one in Khepri, it was a vast improvement.

Now, all that was left was to go out and find Iris. As bittersweet a goodbye it was, Sasha knew she had to get back on the wolf search.

“Don’t even think about losing your commpad,” Cici said as they prepared to depart. "We check in every night, alright. I don’t hear from you, and I’m busting a planet down to give you a knuckle full of rocks. Got it.”

“Yeah yeah," Sasha said. "But the same goes to you, mutt. You do some crazy crap like starting a war, and I'm gonna whack you in the face.”

As they spoke, the two were practically glued together, the last hug they'd get finally interrupted by both their liaisons pulling them apart. Sasha promised herself she'd keep from crying, but Cici made no such commitments, pulling out the waterworks as she waved goodbye.

"I'll be back for you," Sasha called as Mr. Erin carried her away. "When I find Iris, we’re all taking a beach trip to the nearest planet!"

"You dang right we are, feline! Don't forget!"

"Stay safe!"

"Stay alive!"

The exit hatch was closing as they both called to each other, the tears rolling down Sasha's cheeks despite her promise. The minute Mr. Erin put her down, she slumped to the floor. It felt so much easier to say she would leave than to actually do so.

"Sasha?"

She sniffled, wiping her eyes. Cripes. Even if it hurt, she knew she had to be strong. She wouldn't stand a chance of finding Iris otherwise.

"I'm okay," she said.

Mr. Xan's voice came from the cockpit.

“Alright, losers, we're taking off,” he shouted. “Sasha, pull it together. We got planets to see and monsters to kill.”

"Xan."

"No, he's right." Sasha hopped to her feet, squeezing her fists with an affirmative nod. "He's right. We got planets to see. Monsters to kill! And a friend to find!"

"That's the spirit, Panther!"

The ship rumbled to life, rockets igniting as their new vessel began its first ascension.

From the window, Sasha could see everyone waving. Cici had stopped crying and was instead shouting something impossible to hear over the engine. Even so, it made Sasha happy. She watched as the fox and all the people of Nimbla shrunk in size. As the buildings drifted away, pyramids becoming dots and nations becoming jagged stretches of sandy brown.

They rose and rose until they were parting the clouds. The atmosphere. Clearing the vacuum of space. And finally, with a small jerk, they were launching out into the familiar terrain of Warp Space. Sasha's commpad rumbled.

She quickly turned it on, beaming the instant a holographic fox appeared. A message box was floating over its head.

Good luck, Sash. See ya’ soon.

-Cici

She smiled, quickly sending back a reply.