Orion was just as Sasha remembered it, the giant blue ball hovering in front of the command deck’s view window. Even from space, she could feel the signals below. Whatever jammers had been in place before had been deactivated.
“No AIC ships detected,” said one of the pilot droids.
"Right. And I'm not sensing graduates either..."
She narrowed at the world, concentrating on it to no avail. Any signals she could pick up were faint. Stale. She searched and searched for Alexander or her liaisons or even Mercury, but couldn't pick up anything familiar. But then, they were mixed in with a sea of others. Maybe she just needed to get closer.
“Take us in, PD 1," she said. "PD 2, keep your radars on high alert. Might be a second ambush.”
They chimed in response, Sasha clicking the button for the intercom and putting on her acting commander’s voice.
“All droids, we’re making our descent! Buckle down and get ready for some action!”
She stepped away as the many robotic whirls echoed back at her. Whether she could sense them or not, she knew she had to stay alert.
This was it. Time to finally save her liaisons for a change. For all she knew, they were second away from execution. Or maybe they were getting interrogated by that evil goddess. I swear if she hurts them, I'll pay her back ten hundredfold. She glanced at Iris. The wolf looked away. Right. She walked past her.
Can't worry about her now. Got a mission, Sash. Gotta save my friends no matter what.
Though as she said those words, she found herself sneaking more glances the wolf's way. She was slow to trail behind, but she was following her.
“Breaching planetary atmosphere,” the bots called through the intercom.
Several droids had assembled near the exit hatch, armed with blaster attachments, tazer limbs, and whatever other weapons they could graft on with such short notice. It made her proud to be there with them. Her own mini-Black Web. GT appeared in her hand, the panther bracing as the hatch finally began to rise. Here we go, Panther. She launched out, staff first.
To an empty field.
"Huh?"
She dropped to the ground, the other droids filling out behind her.
"W-what the? Where's...everybody?"
They'd landed in the exact same spot they'd departed. She remembered clearly how there were more AIC soldiers than grass surrounding them. But now, here the panther was, staff out and ready for a fight. Yet the lot of ships stood bare. Only her little vessel and an empty expanse of gravel.
Her whiskers twitched, the panther sensing around to no avail. Even up close, Orion felt no different than any other world she'd been to.
“G-GT," she said. "You sensing any familiar signals, by chance?”
“Not particularly, no,” the staff responded.
She looked to her robotic companions, who suddenly were all looking to her for insight. She quickly straightened up.
“A-alright!” she said. “Everyone be on your guard and...uh...Form up and start searching!”
They all chimed, splitting apart in different directions, much to Sasha's relief. At least they were still willing to indulge her 'leadership'. But even as she tried not to look, she could feel Iris lingering beside her. She still refused to say a word.
“Perhaps we should retrace our steps, Ms. Sasha,” GT suggested. “We may get lucky.”
She looked out towards the city. And the amphitheater within. It wasn’t too far with a few zips. But the way Iris was acting…Maybe walking wouldn't be so bad. At the very least it'd give her plenty of time to figure out how to broach the subject of...everything.
Cripes.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She was surprised the wolf hadn’t tried to run.
***
Though the signs of the AIC were nonexistent, the same could not be said for the rest of Ursa. As opposed to the eerily quiet streets she’d encountered during their fight with Alexander, the city felt much more lively this time around.
Vehicles streamed by, the heavy music blaring through both her and Iris’s ears. Shops extended far and wide with smells Sasha didn't quite recognize. And the people. She knew she stood out like a sore thumb, but did they have to stare so hard? One guy practically broke his neck doing a double take at the two of them. By the time they reached the amphitheater, Sasha was ready and willing to escape back to the orbit.
But even as she looked within, she didn't see a single AIC member in sight.
“Cripes.”
She jumped into the stands, ears twitching for at least a droid or something to pop out. They stood up, Sasha whirling with staff in hand.
“Easy there, kid. I'm just a civy.”
She groaned, finding a somewhat familiar face sitting nearby. The same informant she remembered Mr. Erin and Mr. Xan negotiating with. The bullimian was kicking his legs up and lounging about, tilting a cold glass down his throat.
“Mr. Tracy."
Sasha raised an immediate brow, looking over as Iris landed beside her. They were the first words she'd spoken during their entire trip.
"Surprised you’re still hanging around,” she said.
“You know him?” Sasha asked.
The wolf shrugged. “As well as you can an info broker. Figured he would have jumped worlds to avoid the AIC.”
The bullimian finished sipping with a satisfied breath.
“If I’d done that, I would have been taking a one-way trip to command like the rest.”
Sasha’s ears twitched. “Command? What are you talking about?”
Mr. Tracy went back to sipping, though he held a hand out to her, which Sasha looked at a little confused. That was, until Iris gave her a nudge, pulling out a stack of chets. Sasha immediately understood. The man traded info for a living. He wasn't a charity case. Sasha fished through her pockets, pulling out a few chets as well. The bullimian took it all, counting it up as he finished drinking with another breath.
“50 chets?" he asked.
"It's more than enough,” Iris said. “Talk.”
He shoved the money in his coat pocket, finally setting the drink down.
“Command,” he said. “As in AIC command. You girls missed the big round-up.”
Sasha frowned. “So that’s why it’s so quiet. Were there any stranglers? Any left behind?”
“Not that I know of. Those guys were pretty thorough. I hear they got a god’s blessing. Pretty hard to beat that.”
She nodded. Elisia. So you took 'em back to base, huh? She squeezed GT close. Guess that's where we need to be. Cripes. She could already imagine the army of soldiers defending the AIC's headquarters. Maybe not just regular people. Graduates. Liaisons. Maybe even other gods besides just Elisia. It was where the literal bulk of the organization resided. Cripes. Things can't ever be easy, can they?
She looked to Iris, who once again avoided her gaze.
“Anything else?” Sasha asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Try not to die. Wanted or not, all money's good in my eyes. Still not selling to you kids, though, so don't ask.”
Having said that, the bullimian immediately grabbed his drink and stood up. He didn't offer so much as a farewell before jumping down the stands and disappearing through the exit.
Huh. Wonder if all bullimians are like that.
She shrugged the thought away, finally noticing the return of silence. Iris still wasn't looking at her, but she could tell there was something she wanted to say. The wolf's tail brushing against hers was the clearest indication of that. Sasha finally decided to break the silence.
“You can leave if you want to,” she said.
The wolf finally looked up at her.
“This hunt for my friends,” Sasha said. “It’s stupid. And selfish. I know. So I'd understand if you'd rather not join me on this one.”
The wolf still didn’t respond, only staring back at her. Why was she always like that? She opened her mouth to say something, but the words died in her throat. Sasha sighed, knowing all too well how good Sulky could stay quiet. She'd already told her more than enough during their fight. Even if it hurt to hear, Sasha knew she couldn't ignore what her friend wanted. What she thought of her.
"You are really strong, y'know," she said. "That's probably how you made it on your own. You don't need liaisons."
Given the funds she’d saved from both working with the AIC and the Black Web, Sasha had enough chets to buy a shuttle off-world. It wouldn’t be very flashy, but it would get her friend back on the trail of the Comet Man. Far away from her. She felt like she owed the wolf that much.
“You can go back to-"
She cut off as Iris grabbed her hand, the wolf still refusing to look her in the eye. But she did finally find her voice again. One that made Sasha’s idea die before she could finish voicing it.
“Don’t, Sash,” Iris said. “Just don’t.”
It didn’t even sound like a demand. Or an aggressive request. Her voice sounded almost…sad. Sasha waited for her to elaborate, but the wolf didn’t say another word, letting go of Sasha’s hand as quick as she took it. It made her even more concerned, but she knew pressing for more wouldn't help matters. She could only give a small nod in response.
“Okay,” she said.
The quiet returned between them.