Archie nervously turned the wheel of the Gemmer, driving the rig into a narrow canyon. His head occasionally looked over his shoulder, eyeballing the dangerous new passenger. She had nestled Rontu and Shen into a corner and was now rummaging through Rontu’s belongings, much to his annoyance.
“Why does every person who comes in here have to mess with my stuff?”
The Jagged Shutok had dismissed her armor, the woman now idly opening drawers and pocketing various stones Rontu had accumulated. She was pretty indiscriminate, though nothing seemed to really catch her interest.
“Is this really all you have? Just a bunch of rocks?”
Rontu shrugged, wincing as the razorwire dug itself a bit deeper. Neither he nor Shen had returned to normal, fearful of what the wire might do to their bare flesh. “Rocks are kinda my thing.”
She made a face that was a mixture of a grimace and pity, one that was none too complimentary of her angular features.
“You still have not mentioned what you plan to do with us,” Shen said with a muffled voice, his face pressed into a nook between the bunks.
The woman sat down on Rontu’s bunk, letting out a long sigh. She reached back and unclipped her hair, letting the dark strands fall down the back of her neck. “Probably because I’m not sure yet. What do I look like, some sort of supervillain? I just wanted this rig, I didn’t expect to run into two Shutok in the process.”
Rontu considered bringing up the fact that he was currently being held prisoner after having his ass kicked, but held his tongue. The Jagged Shutok didn’t seem like she was too invested in keeping her identity hidden. He found it odd that she hid her name, but not her appearance. She was young and seemed incredibly disorganized, perhaps he could leverage off of that.
“So, Jaggy. You like my ride huh?”
Her eyes seemed to bug out at the new nickname, her lip curling in an almost-snarl.
“What did you just call me?” She asked. It wasn’t angry-sounding, more so very taken aback.
“Jaggy. It’s not like I have anything else to call you.”
She found it hard to wrap her head around the nickname. Not because of the fact that it sounded awful, but because she had never really been given one. That was if you didn’t count the numerous people who referred to her as “that bitch.”
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“Don’t call me that.”
“Well Jagged Shutok is a damn mouthful,” Archie said, clearing his throat. “Jaggy sounds a lot more fun.”
He didn’t have space nor reaction speed to dodge the rock sample that was chucked at him.
“Shut up! I said don’t call me that!” the woman growled, clearly agitated as she stood up and towered over Rontu.
He looked up at her, the only sound being the soft rumbling of the Gemmer as it drove along the canyon. Things were quiet for a few seconds, and she thought understanding had been met.
“Jaggy.”
She swiftly kicked Rontu in the head, sending both him and Shen to their sides. Even though she wasn’t transformed, he could still feel his brain rattling like a paint can after the impact.
“Fine. You want something to call me? It’s Serratia,” She said, folding her arms across her chest. “Call me Jaggy one more time and I’ll start pulling that wire tighter.”
Rontu seemed to get the message, especially after her boot pinned his head to the floor. Serratia released him after a few seconds, flopping back down onto the bunk and laying back. Normally a smug thought or two might have entered his head about bringing a girl home to the Gemmer, but Rontu didn’t tend to spring for homicidal maniacs.
He heard a slight shuffling, like things moving around. Serratia’s hand suddenly poked through the railing to the side, waving something in his face.
“What’s this?” She asked.
It took a minute for Rontu’s vision to adjust with how close it was, not to mention the fact that it was being waved around carelessly. He recognized it as the little gray cylinder he had found the day Lowlam was attacked.
“Not sure. Found it while digging. Haven’t had a lot of time to really study it. I’ve been a little…”
She leaned her head forward, peering at him. Rontu could barely make out her eyes between the railing.
“Tied up,” he finished.
Archie snorted, quickly slapping a hand to his mouth. Rontu’s smart mouth was going to get him into serious trouble someday. Maybe today was time.
Serratia stared at him hard, her brow furrowed into a deep crease. He felt uncomfortable in the gaze like he was being sized up. After a moment though, he swore he saw a flicker of a smirk before she laid back down.
---
The windows of the Gemmer were now dark, Archie piloting the rig through the canyon carefully. It had been mostly flat plateaus they traveled along, but the last thing he wanted to do was find the vehicle tumbling down the side of a cliff.
In the distance, Archie noticed a pair of lights flashing in front of him. Then another. And another. Two of them circled around the sides of the Gemmer, Archie spotting them on the rear camera as they boxed the rig in. The one that remained parked inches from the front of the Gemmer, a compact buggy that looked like it had been welded from the remains of several others. A tall and gruff man stood up from the passenger seat, stepping out as he grabbed what appeared to be a rifle from the back.
Archie’s knuckles were white on the wheel, the man taking a deep breath as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it closed. His chubby fingers fumbled with the buttons but eventually clasped every last one of them.
Serratia stood up and stretched, giving Rontu a pitying smirk as she trudged toward the side door and kicked it open.
“Hey, Horn. You’ll never believe what I found.”