Sheetal watched the people around her. After their decision, they had all moved into the stormless bubble she had created. After a minute or two of Sheetal standing around watching them and the armoured people looking back awkwardly. Taran E65 moved his people to the side to confer with them. None of them spoke aloud, but with their postures and twitches, Sheetal knew they were conversing.
Taran E65 looked at the squad surrounding him. They had effectively broken both the warder’s line of sight of him and his uncovered face.
Taran turned his gaze to Paravati 333 and stated “Major, this is not what we agreed to.”
“Plans change E65. You need to be more flexible.” Tar shrugged.
Taran E65 ignored his older variant and continued looking at the Major “Why are you changing our plans so haphazardly? Our job here is almost done, Major. Let’s just get these two some water, some fish, and a shard or two, and go home.”
Parvati 333 gestured to the gate “Have you taken a look at the gate, E65? It is a waterfall. An unlimited source of water in this gods cursed desert. Fresh water, without any beasts. The continuum always needs fresh water. And here it is.”
Taran E65 “It’s in a trial major. One wrong move and the trial will disappear.”
“And that’s why we will not make a mistake and you will keep those two buffoons from the beasts in there.” Parvati 333 said sternly.
E65 stiffened “Are you seriously relegating me to a babysitting mission Major?”
Parvati 333 snorted “I didn’t do that, our leaders did that and you agreed.”
“My mission was to procure two assets and bring them in quietly with your support. I can ask Marshall Lara to repeat the orders I received for everyone’s benefit.” Taran held up his hand with the glowing AI.
“Do not threaten me with the ATI, Taran E65.” Parvati 333 snarled and in a more measured tone continued “You might be favourite of the command but to me you are just another unaugmented grunt. Do you seriously think I will get reprimanded if somehow you got lost in the desert?”
Taran E65’s eyes widened and in a confused tone he asked “Are you threatening me Major?”
Parvati 333 took in a deep breath “Threatening you? Not quite. But I am reminding you that the desert is a hard place for one unaugmented man without any support.”
E65 looked at all the members of the superb seven squad. They had all closer ranks with their leaders and were waiting for his next move.
Taran E65 shook his head and muttered “This is a mistake, Major.”
“No, you are being shortsighted E65. It’s because at the end of the day you are an engineer. And unless something is lying scattered in front of you, it doesn’t grab your attention. And that is why you can’t see new possibilities when they are even pressed close to your face.”
Ash ran a gaze over the huddled continuum people, he looked at the stiff body language of the robot soldiers and then went back to looking at the metal carvings on the metal gate. Sheetal hovered next to him and looked at the carving. There was a huge waterfall that ranged from the top of the arched gate to the bottom. Before the waterfall were numerous floating platforms. And that was it. No beast. No enemies. And no glowing eyes.
Something about that rubbed Ash the wrong way and he asked Sheetal “Hey She? Do you think the situation inside this gate is going to be as simple as it appears?”
Sheetal looked at the gate and then dismissed the thought as not important. There were more important things to be addressed right now. More important like the metal armoured people with large guns strapped to their back and her br…, no, friend… No, that was too impersonal. Her bratty little Ash was dying.
Her bratty little Ash? What the heck was wrong with her.
“She?”
Sheetal shook her head to dismiss the wayward thoughts and tried to address the developing situation “Ash, I want to talk…”
“Not now, She. Let’s wait until our new friends start the conversation.”
Sheetal looked baffled for a moment and then turned from Ash to the continuum squad.
“Could you not look?” Ash said in annoyance.
“Huh?”
“You just gave up the fact that we are talking about them. And now that they know, let's start gossiping.”
“We didn’t want to talk about them?” Sheetal asked while folding her arms.
Ash chuckled “Yes. But now that we know that they can hear everything we say, let’s say something spiteful.”
Sheetal from the corner of her eyes saw one of the continuum soldiers glance at them and then hide his movement.
“Spiteful?” Sheetal asked.
“Yes, like how do you think they pee and poop with all that armour.”
“That’s spiteful?”
“Okay, how about, their armour makes them look like big black…”
“Ash!” Sheetal hissed.
Ash chuckled “Still annoyed about that?”
Sheetal snarled “That was not yours.”
“I know. That’s why I stole it.”
Sheetal closed her eyes “Do you think that this is the time to discuss your kleptomania”
“No?” Ash asked and then shrugged “Okay. Fine let's get to the point.
“Point? What point?”
“Points actually. Points like they might not say anything aloud but their gestures are loud enough to let us know they are fighting?”
Sheetal watched the continuum soldiers pause for a second and look at them.
In response Ash waved “Hey, tough guys. We can’t hear you but we can see you.”
Sheetal snorted “Yeah, that might be embarrassing but its not spiteful.”
“Hmm… Okay, how about how bad they stink when they come out of all that stuffy armour?”
“Really?”
“Said like someone who has never worn a bulletproof jacket? You reek after taking that off.”
“I am trying to be serious here.”
“And I am trying to distract you.”
Sheetal gave Ash an annoyed look but she soon realised that he was looking past her, Sheetal turned and watched two of the continuum people walking towards them. One of them looked at the gate and then turned to Ash.
“Warders.”
“Yes?” Ash said in the same tone.
“You are right. Our armour can pick up audio, cancel the ambient noise and relay the important speech even if it is whispered. That’s how we know what you have been talking about.”
“Oh I figured that out already. Tell me something I don’t know.” Ash made a dismissive gesture.
“Very well. Our digestive functions in our body have been revamped. We don’t need to excrete out the waste anymore. It is a well known fact that we, the ascended, don't need toilets. And for that matter, neither do you.”
“What?” Sheetal asked.
“I know that too.” Ash muttered and gave Sheetal a pointed look.
The woman inside the armour looked from Sheetal to Ash “Okay how about this. Our armour regulates our temperatures inside. It keeps us two degrees cooler than our optimum body temperature. That means we are never dehydrated or have the need to lug around litres of water in battle.”
“Nice!” Ash nodded in appreciation.
The woman stood up tall. Her face might have been covered but her body language looked smug as she continued “That means when we come out of it, we smell fresh and clean. And we definitely do not reek.”
“That one got under your skin, didn’t it?”
Parvati M141 lifted her right hand and one of her fingers parted to reveal a scalpel “How about I get under your skin?”
“Needles.” The one in command said warningly.
Ash turned to look at the woman on the right. And realised that the one who he was talking to wasn’t in command.
“Sorry Trips, I mean Major. But that reek comment did get under my skin.”
“Needles?” Ash asked with a quirk of his lips.
The woman sighed “I am Parvati M141. My call sign is needles.”
Ash giggled goofily “Needles and Trips.”
Parvati 333 sighed and shot her medic a look.
Ash’s eyebrows rose into his forehead. They both glared the same way. Were they sisters? He looked from one to the other. Then he turned to look at the others. There were two large men standing on each side of the party. Ash ran a quick gaze over them. They had the same musculature structure and the same sort of gait. Then there was Taran E65 and the man the was arguing with. They both had the same sort of posture. And even the rapid gestures they were making at each other looked the same. So much so that if E65 didn’t have his helmet off he wouldn’t have been able to make out which one was which. The last one was the only one who looked different. He was a tall lanky man standing at the periphery of the group.
“Hmmm…” Ash turned back and looked back at the two women in front of him.
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“Since I have answered some of your questions, may I ask some of mine?” Parvati M141 asked.
“What do you want to know?” Sheetal asked.
The woman turned to Sheetal and asked “How many shards can your body take?”
Ash cleared his throat before Sheetal could respond “I don’t know. How many can yours take?”
“Eight. Now, will you tell me how many?” Needles asked in a challenging voice.
“Eight?” Sheetal muttered looking at Ash.
Ash grinned “It’s more than eight. A lot more than eight. But why do you want to know?”
“The ‘M’ in my name stands for medico. I am a healer. I am responsible for the health of this group. I need to know everything about you if we want this trial to go smoothly.”
Ash looked at the woman “You are coming into the trials with us? I thought only Taran E65 was heading in with us.”
“There has been a change of plans. This trial has water. We need water. We will go in and fill up our tank.”
“What tank?” Sheetal asked.
In response Major Trips hit a button on her forearm. Nothing happened for a second. Then a space just outside Sheetal’s bubble of air rippled and three vehicles appeared out of nowhere.
The sandstorm had mostly passed and only wayward gusts of sand remained that meant when the vehicles turned visible Sheetal and Ash had a clear line of sight at the woman sitting inside the lead transport with a rifle pointing towards them. The woman turned her head left and then right. For a moment, the short woman looked at all the people looking at her and then cursed.
“Trips! A little warning before you make me visible?”
Parvati 333’s shoulders drooped “Sorry, Rub. I was making a point.”
Ruby F435 grumbled, got out of the vehicle and slammed the door behind herself.
Major Trips pointed at the second vehicle in line “Jay 83 and 84. Turn that one into a tanker. Ruby F435 assist them please.”
Sheetal hud instantly identified the vehicle.
Transport Vehicle
Category Class 1
Type - Modular
Sheetal watched in awe as the two large men trudged to the vehicle and opened up a panel. One of them held a button while the other one pushed on the vehicle from one side. The vehicle’s width compressed. Ruby walked to the front of the vehicle and pushed on the grill. A set of tires slowly descended next to the first ones. She walked to the back and another set came down. Ruby walked inside and one by one, the vehicle’s windows disappeared. Soon the vehicle had transformed from a normal transport to a blocky rectangle that could be driven inside of the gate.
While her team worked Major Trips continued “We have come here to tell you that we will not be battling the beasts inside. If we do that, the trial will disappear. And we need water from the trail.”
“Doesn’t that mean we won’t be getting any shards then?” Ash asked.
“Yes, its unfortunate but water is more important than a hunt.”
Sheetal turned an annoyed look at Major Trips “So, everything that Taran guy just said was nonsense?”
Parvati 333 stiffened “I wouldn’t go that far.”
Sheetal rolled her eyes “Yes it was. Tell you what, you all do what you want to. We’ll go in, get ourselves a drink and then we’ll be off.”
“No.” Major Trips replied in a stern voice.
“What do you mean, no?” Ash in a neutral tone.
“You need to come with us.” Needles quickly jumped into the conversation and continued “We have a base. You will be safe there.”
“Safe?” Sheetal asked.
“Yes, none of the Raks would dare assault our based.” Parvati M141 nodded and elaborated “There are hundreds of us there. We also have automatic defences that protect us against any dangerous flora and fauna that escaped the trials. Food, water, and shards? We can get you all that in the base.”
“That may be so. But you have just broken your word. The first word you gave to us. All the business experience I have is screaming at me to not to deal with you. You can not be trusted.”
Ash watched the others while Sheetal spoke. The two large men were now folding the vehicle’s chairs until they looked like bumps on the floor. Taran E65 was standing alone looking defeated. They weren’t the issue.
The issue was the other man Taran had been arguing with had taken a position on the periphery of the bubble with his rifle in hand. His rifle was pointed at the ground but was aimed towards them. And the last man, Ash did not know when, had positioned himself behind Ash and Sheetal and was eyeing them with a hand on his pistol.
The Major leaned towards Sheetal confrontationally “You will come with us if you know what is good for you.”
“Or else?” Sheetal asked.
“Or you will die slowly of hunger and dehydration.” Parvati M141 added.
Ash saw the building confrontation and quickly waved to Taran E65 “Hey, E… Something, something number guy. What do you think we should do?”
Taran E65 raised his head and looked at Ash “Um… You are asking me?”
“Yeah, man. You are the only other guy who looks as disappointed as us.” Ash smiled and added “Okay, you look more disappointed than us. So, what should we do?”
Taran licked his lips “I suggest you come with us. We do have food and water. We can discuss with the command group about the shards.”
“Okay.” Ash nodded easily.
Sheetal turned to Ash with a questioning look “Ash?”
Ash shrugged “She, they want to give us food, water and shards. Without us having to run from one place to another. Let’s take the deal before the nice people change their minds.”
Sheetal stopped and then nodded “Uh… When you put it like that…”
Ash grinned “I know. Told you I am awesome.”
Sheetal rolled her eyes and asked “What makes you think they will keep their promise this time?”
Ash began to walk towards Taran E65 and Sheetal followed him. He pointed at E65 “E something didn’t break his word. The others did. Let’s trust in our new buddy. He is still going to get us food and water right?”
Taran E65 nodded “Yes.”
“Good because I am hungry.”
“And thirsty.” Sheetal licked her lips.
“You mean right now?” E65 asked.
“Yes.” Ash and Sheetal said together and looked at each other. Then they laughed.
Taran E65 opened his mouth and said “Uh…I’ll see what I can do for you.” and walked to his trike.
Ash heard a shuffling sound and turned. The man that had been arguing with Taran E65 stepped closer to them.
“Hello?” Ash asked.
The man turned his head down to look at Ash “You are smarter than you look.”
“And you are?”
The man invaded Ash’s personal space and in a growl muttered “I am Taran A197. Unlike the youngling fetching you food, I am an assault class.”
“Okay.” Ash watched Sheetal from the side of his vision prepare to take flight.
“You think you can sweet talk your way out of anything do you?”
“Sweet talk? I don’t sweet talk man. I am annoying. Even I know that.” Ash shook his head hoping Sheetal would take the hint.
Tar pocked Ash with a finger “Well, what makes you think that we will give you the shards you want?”
“Uh… Your boss said she would?”
“What makes you think that you are worth it?” Tar brought his gun up and pointed just a few inches away from Ash’s chest.
Ash looked at Sheetal “Hey She?”
“Yes?”
“Am I worth it?”
“Most probably not.”
“Then why did this man’s boss said she would give me the shards?”
“Most probably to shut you up.”
“Yeah, that tracks.”
Taran pressed his helmet visor on Ash’s forehead “You think you are funny?”
Ash gave the man a confused look “Mate I don’t know what you are on about… Wait your name is Taran too? What gives?”
Taran A197 who had started audibly growling stopped and just looked at Ash “Maybe you are not as smart as I thought.”
“Yeah, I am not.” Ash turned from A197 to look at E65 who was jogging back and asked “Are you both related?”
A197 leaned back “You are a dunce.”
Taran E65 walked back with a bag and scowled “Shut up Tar.”
Taran A197’s shoulders shook as he laughed “Yeah, a dunce and an E class. Sounds like the start of a bad joke.” He straightened and then asked “So, you both agreed to our conditions quite quickly. Why is that?”
Ash shrugged “You have water. We need water. Also, I have been running a lot. And my shoes are one step from giving up.”
Tar looked at Ash’s sneakers. They had holes in their fabric and a cracked sole.
Sheetal blinked “Ash, when did that happen.”
Ash sighed “When I did the speed thing with the mental guy.”
“You mean the mentalist constable” Taran E65 corrected Ash.
“Huh?” Ash asked
Sheetal shook her head “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Ash turned from E65 to Sheetal “She, with everything strange happening around us all the time around us, my shoes were the least of our problems.”
Sheetal flung her hands in the air “Communication, that is the bedrock of collaboration.”
Ash gave Sheetal a look “Okay, corporate HR conference lingo.”
Ash from the corner of his eyes saw Tar lower his rifle on his back and relax his shoulders.
Sheetal grumbled something inaudible.
Ash turned to Taran A197 “Hey, Tar man. You got your helmet up. Did you understand what she just said?”
Tar chuckled “Yes, your friend here just called you a stubborn basket case.”
“Oh, then that’s okay.” Ash nodded “That’s normal for her.”
Tar gave Ash a look “You know agreeing to come with us was the right move.”
“I know. Look at all the food E something got us.” Ash peeked in the bag “Is that a cold drink? Robot guy, you are the best.”
From the side of his vision, Ash watched Tar slam his gun to his back and walk away. Ash sat down on the sandy ground and pulled Sheetal down with him. He watched the continuum people look at them for a moment and dismiss them as a concern when he began taking out tins of food while smacking his lips.
Ash popped a can open and handed it to Sheetal and muttered “Hey chill out dude. You are not the first guy who has been railroaded by a superior and you won’t be the last.”
Taran E65 blinked and looked down when he realised that Ash was talking to him.
“Are we talking?: Sheetal asked tentatively.
Ash shook his head.
Taran pointedly flexed the wrist which was glowing blue and muttered “Sure we can talk. But I would suggest not saying something that would cause problems.” He paused for a second “The superb seven are touchy.”
“Superb seven?” Sheetal asked with raised eyebrows.
“That’s what they call themselves.”
“Wait, and you are not a part of their team are you?”
“No, why?”
“Because their name doesn’t track. There are only six of them.” Sheetal looked at the squad milling around and stated.
“Yes.” E65 scowled and after a moment muttered “They say they keep a position open for someone who would impress them. But to impress them you have to beat one of the Jays.”
“The Jays?” Ash asked.
“The big guys. They are… Well, they are good.” E65 said with grudging respect.
Ash nodded “Well, that’s fire and all, Taran E some numbers. But enough of them. We are with you. So when are we going in?”
Taran E65 looked at Ash “It’s E65 and do you still want to follow me? After…”
Ash looked at E65 slumped shoulders and lingering frown “Hey, it happens. Especially with strong powerful women. They huff, puff, and take over without any consideration, and soon all you are left just holding your dong. If you are lucky. If you are not, you are left clutching your berries, in a ball.”
Sheetal looked at Ash and shook her head “And still some men never learn.”
“She, if a man learned, you would lose all respect for him. It’s like when you women say to men, be open with your feelings, talk about things, and cry if you need to. But as soon as a man does that, you all cringe, block his number and delete him from your lives.”
Sheetal opened her mouth and closed it. Then grumbled “Not all of us.”
“Are you going to tell me that you don’t do that?”
Sheetal bit into something that looked like a baby corn “I can tell you I have never done that.”
“Right, of course. You are a virgin.”
Sheetal glared at Ash “And you are a hoe.”
“Prude.”
“Dunce.”
“Nerd.”
“Blockhead.”
Taran E65 looked at the two warders with an open mouth and said “Uh… Um… I am just going to go and talk to the major. Try not to kill each other while I am away, okay?”
E65 took a step and realised that he was being ignored by the insults flying back and forth.
“Geek.”
“Slut.”
“Hardhead.”
“That’s not even an insult, you airhead.”
Taran E65 shook his head and wondered if the two people behind him were insane. He walked to the corner of the barrier and looked outside. A line marked the difference between the inside and outside. There were footprints and tyre tracks on one side, on the other was wavy sand. The storm was gone and with the flex of his hand he realised that the warders had completely lowered the strange bubble they had created.
He stood there for a moment looking at the starry nebula overhead and then he heard someone walking to him. He turned around and looked at Parvati 333 making her way to him.
For outsiders it was hard to tell one continuum soldier from another but to one who was born and brought up in the continuum it was easy to spot the difference. And then there were the arguments and their advantages. Parvati 333 had both spinal and cranial augs. That made her both surefooted and fast. Not as fast as Ash had been. The man had almost teleported but he could bet that the major could outrun him in stamina.
Parvati 333 stopped next to Taran E65 and looked at him “I didn’t mean to snap at you E65.”
Taran looked at the officer “Yes you did Major. You don’t like the unaugmented. You look down on us.”
Parvati 333 pursed her lips and nodded “I don’t look down on you. It’s your abilities I question. You could be so much more.”
Taran E65 chuckled “I have performed my duties better than anyone in the demolition core and yet I face criticism everywhere I go.”
“That may be so but you are one bad day away from turning into ash.”
Taran shook his head “Major, don’t you think I haven’t tried to get augs? I three thousand seven hundred sixty eighth in number to get cranial augments. The assault commander has promised that if I get these two back home she will get me the augs I need. That is why I want to complete this mission so bad.”
Parvati 333 looked at Taran E65 for a moment and nodded “Okay E65, we will go in first.” Parvati 333 said in a low voice and while looking at the warders continued “You can bring up the rear with those two weirdos.”
Taran E65 frowned “Major, I am asking you once again to reconsider.”
Maor Trips scowled “E65, I have already decided that we are going in.”
E65 opened his mouth to argue only to be stopped by the harsh glare Parvati 333 shot him. He slowly backed up a step and gave her a disgruntled look.
Parvati 333 sighed “Taran E65, I agreed to your conditions before we knew that these two warders had stumbled onto a trial with pristine water. Water, E65. We need water. The continuum needs water much more than it needs two bumbling fools. And I am ready to stake my career on that.”
“What about my job Major. I am supposed to bring in the warders without any conflicts. No matter how easy a trial looks, it’s still a trial.”
“Then why did you agree to take them in?”
“To show them that it was dangerous. Then I was going to drag them out and be on our way.”
Parvati 333 made a dismissive gesture “Whatever the case E65 I don’t see any issue in bringing them in. They have agreed to that already. Now, if all that is stopping you is your bruised ego I suggest you take a step back and take a wider view.”
Taran E65 clenched his jaw and stepped back “As you wish Major Trips but have you considered one simple fact? Why are the high councillor and assault commander interested in the warders if they are just two simple fools?”
Parvati 333 rolled her eyes “I don’t know but I like to give my superiors much more than what they demand of me. So I am not only going to come back with two wayward lost lambs but also the location of freshwater and a tank full of it. They will praise us when they don’t have to bargain for water from the Rundheers. And I will put in a recommendation for you too.”
E65 shook his head and sighed “Very well major. I will follow your lead. You want me to bring in the rear? I will do so. My only recommendation is that you take Marshall Lara with you. She will help you assess the best possible spot to pump the water into the tanker so that we can get out of here as fast as possible and bring the warders to the councillor.”
Parvati 333 looked at Taran E65 for a long moment and then asked “You want to actually give away the privilege of holding the Marshall?”
E65 smiled curtly “I like to give my superiors exactly what they ask for, nothing less and nothing more. If that requires me to give away some honour, so be it.”
Parvati 333 nodded and held out her right arm. Taran reached out and touched her forearm with his. The blue glowing light blinked in between their arms and then transferred to Parvati 333’s armour.
Taran E65 took a few steps back and turned back around to look at the stars.
The major watched him for a moment and then muttered “You are not bad, kid. You just need to be more.”
By the time Taran turned to look at the major she was walking away.
E65 sighed in relief and then quickly opened a secure channel. He tried to get in touch with General Athena 8. When his channel didn’t connect he tried in getting in touch with Pretty.
Beep. Beep. Ding.
“Hey T.”
E65 smiled at the familiar voice “Please don’t call me that.”
“You sound grumpy. Ew. Grumpy T. Not my favourite.”
“Pretty, I need to talk to the general.”E65 tried to keep the conversation on track.
“Oh well that’s going to be impossible. General Athena got shot in the head with a soul spike.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Some Rak scum thought he could take out the general like that. What a ninny. All he did was mess up her helmet and destroy her comm links.”
“Oh, thank the gods.”
“Yeah. The dingo was aiming at me too. She saved me, T.”
“Why?”
“Very funny, T.”
E65 could hear the scowl in her words and he could feel himself relaxing by just talking to his friend. He shook himself to get back on track.
“Pretty, I have just gotten rid of the Marshall so that I could talk to you so I need to make this quick. The superb seven have hijacked my mission. I can’t bring the warders to the fire city. I will need to take them to the forward operating base after I am done here. Also, I don’t know how to say this but the warders, they feel a bit strange.”
Pretty was silent for a moment “Okay, I just told the General what you said. She says keep the warders away from here. There are too many Nishachars here. And she is expecting a push by the Rakshasas. Take them to the FOB. We will get them out of there as soon as we can. She doesn’t expect that Jay 7 will do anything to them. And what do you mean by strange?”
Taran chewed on his lip for a moment “They might be insane.”
“What? What makes you think that?”
“A lot of things. They keep joking even when people are threatening them. They look at guns pointing at themselves and shrug it off. They also keep casually insulting each other while all that is happening. It’s like something is broken inside them.”
Pretty relayed his words to General Athena and came back “Okay, here is what the General says. It’s most probably normal. But we saved people they know and we will inquire about them and their behaviour from them. But right now you need to keep them safe and get them to the FOB.”
Taran sighed “Okay. Tell her I will protect them with my life. But I can’t promise anything. The suburb seven found water and they are now fishing for a promotion.”
“Oh, those dingos.”
“Yeah.”
E65 heard the engine of the tanker start with an electric wheeze and turned around to look at the vehicle. The Jays had taken point with Tar and his laser rifle. Then came the vehicle with Parvat M142 and Rubs sitting inside it. Behind the tanker, the major and the silent Aditya 101 brought up the rear.
Taran looked at the warder getting to their feet and quickly added “Pretty I got go. I am bringing up the rear with the warders.”
“Stay safe T”
“You too Pretty.”
Parvati turned to look at him “E65, give us five minutes to check everything out inside and then come in.”
Taran nodded and jogged back to the warder’s side. They all watched the two Jays push the gate open and jump in. The vehicle followed the two large men and Tar. With one last look at E65, Parvati 333 jumped into the trail.
E65 stood there for a moment and then let out a long sigh.
“Okay, so now the harpy and her sheep are gone. Why don’t you tell us what is going on, spy?”
Taran blinked and looked at Ash who was standing with his hands on his waist.
Sheetal looked at Ash and shook her head “Don’t stand like that.”
“What, why?”
“You look like an anime girl.”
“You mean a waifu?”
“I don’t know what that is but stop.”
Ash rolled his eyes dramatically and turned back to look at E65 “Well, Mr. bad spy, are you going to talk or what?”
“How do you know I am a spy?” E65 asked.
Sheetal snorted “Because Ash is one. I guess he knows how to spot one too.”
“She, you don’t tell people that I am a spy. Well now you can since I am not one anymore.”
Taran looked from one warder to the other and sighed. He did not know even where to begin. He opened his mouth and said “So…”