I_L: Chapter 8

 

"The Telecopter is utilizing PURI to secure our landing, they're on a tight watch right now so keeping themselves hidden is going to be like tiptoeing through broken glass right now." The Merchant said, walking through the halls of the spacecraft with Psi and Noelle.

She stopped, the other two staring at her. "W-what?"

 

Psi looked at Noelle and whispered to her, "It's the Merchant's acumen. It's sharp, but I can see erogenous patches pop into her mind.."

"What? Excuse me, that's private!"

 

"The Merchant's using you, she's manipulating you for her own purposes...But most importantly, she's in love with you. That's why she didn't report or turn you in earlier. The Society of the Mind are doing their best to save you. But her objectivity has been personally compromised."

They began to walk again, and Noelle turned to the Merchant. "W-wait...you can see into her head...Is this real? Why would she be in love with me?"

The Merchant pushed them both apart. "E-enough of this moronic talk! Well I need a bit of time to figure out the intricacies of the plan. I need time to know if I can trust you both."

The elevator dinged and they got out, walking past a few startled security guards.

"Well it's not like we have anything to hide at this point. Let's get going. Seems they found their in, so we can warp to SOTM and land now." The Merchant said. The trio put the conversation on hold and soon disembarked on the ship, which was on a grassy knoll on Venus. Curved assemblies of buildings and long stainless steel strips made up the flat architecture ahead, the largest chambers visible outside being pyramid-shaped centers connecting the strips. In no time at all they were let into the Society of the Mind's inner sanctum. Psi put her head next to a high-ranking leader with a crystalline mask, going silent for a moment.

"Hey, if you're going to have conversations without us atleast-"

 

"It's fine." Psi silenced the Merchant. "We were just greeting. Sit. We have much to discuss." The Merchant and Noelle looked at each other, before taking a seat around a round meeting table, low enough to go to one’s waistline.

"My name is L'hahy. I take it you're well acquainted by now with our friends at Paramor Frontia United. You've heard of it? Good. So our goal is to have the world at peace again, and to undo the rule of Xi. We're the first wave of true Peacekeepers, but we are not alone.” She pressed a button on a projector, showing a fully rendered visualization of an individual Noelle recognized.

"Hubblood?" She squinted.

 

"He was taken to the The Order of Eden's Headquarters. Both them and us, are funded and supported by only a single member of the 6 Pillars."

"I see.." She scratched her head, seeing him rendered unconscious in and wrapped fully in leather bandages. "Why? There's no reason for Xi to transfer him to some preservationist.."

L'hahy cleared her throat. "Xi doesn't know that, for the most part. This information was kept on the downlow by the Merchant Guild, and it's a highly guarded secret. Believe us, they're no allies of ours, although we have something of a history of working with them. The reason Hubblood is significant himself is because he's in possession of a powerful Virus."

 

 

 

Noelle's eyes widened and she sat up straighter in her chair. "Is that related to the vial he was trying to exchange with that unfortunate incident?"

The psychic nodded. "We believe that was a red herring.. testing proved later that it was of no real consequence, but he was attempting to buy himself time by passing the vial itself as the Virus. In actuality the solution is much more potent."

Noelle scowled at her. "And you guys are trying to protect him? Why do you give a damn? Why do you care?"

The host leaned back, her face becoming pensive. "It's VIVE, Inspector. S.A.M.T.O.R. knew about the possibility for ages, and Hubblood used to work for them. Records reveal he entered the light of what's believed to be a Tachyon incident, and the source code for VIVE was buried in the deepest depths of his psyche." She tapped the side of her head, spinning her painted pink fingernails into her skin like a screwdriver. "The Virus was an advanced synthotechnology weapon developed by the Order of Eden centuries ago to deal with X.I.M.A.S. It's long been lost since, until now. It can effectively eliminate Synths, AI, algorithms, pretty much any digital technology will be infected and botched beyond repair. G.H.O.S.T. will crash overnight and the economy will die. It'll send us back to the stone age."

 

 

 

"So you're saying, this guy's been holding VIVE inside of him his whole life? That's what the rest of you are living with? Is that right? You're not just saying that, you actually believe that?" She remembered Baron talking about it once, the Synth's equivalent of smallpox he said.

The host didn't answer immediately. "It could be true."

 

"I can see that.." Noelle scratched her cheeks. "But why does Xi want that? Or you guys and the PFU, for that matter."

She flipped the projection to numerous asteroids. "The Lavalites. Xi wants VIVE to be able to infect and utterly crush their presence. We'd like that not to be possible, and having a weapon of mass digital destruction in our pockets doesn't hurt either. The Order of Eden, isn't entirely onboard with using it on the offense but they'll come around, they'd like to preserve its memory and contain it permanently, at the very least."

"So, we need to retrieve Hubblood from the Order of Eden and pull the computer virus out of his brain?"

L'hahy folded her arms. "Yeah, we sent some members to negotiate but they turned us down. We'll need him here under extensive study with our telepathic experts to decode the neural sequence however, and the OoE doesn't just want some sloppy body with a buried code. They want the source code itself."

"The Lavalites know about this?" The Merchant asked. "Is that why they attacked the Merchant Guild?"

"It's not entirely a matter of necessity. We believe it's part of a larger system of theirs at work. We think that they're aware that we'll be on high alert for any hint of a potential threat, and he knew we'd come looking for him." "He?" Noelle asked.

"The Hivesman."

 

"Right.. forgot you have him in that ship of yours right now."

 

"He was very agreeable. Not like Hubblood who knew his secret was discovered, starting with the destruction of S.A.M.T.O.R. a little bit ago. Which is why he needed to buy himself time. He was the only one who knew anything."

"Wait.. SAM is just gone, what? What do you mean their destruction?""

 

L'hahy cleared her throat, as the room went silent. "Mypai, show the surveillance."

 

The projection showed various soldiers and lab workers attacked by a mysterious assailant, but one Noelle recognized all too well. Flashbacks from the mine crept in.

"Xi wanted to keep the news hush, they always do. As recent as in the last week, S.A.M.T.O.R. was attacked and utterly decimated as a branch. They had secret contracts to build weapons and devices specifically designed to counter Tachyon Cascade activity, even predict it. This was kept top secret, even as it was utilized into devices that have already been built and shipped out.. for a long long time now. Garmite Industries was providing them many of the resources for these deals, but after their mining incident that was cut short. And now they've verifiably collapsed."

The imagery of the attacker, with their visor and bladed armor, the shoulderpads and arm cannon. It made Noelle tremble with agitation.

Seeing it, the Merchant folded her arms. "The news would've been out for a while now if it were Xi's doing, you'd have noticed the chatter and all the conspiracy stories around S.A.M.T.O.R. And I don't think it's any coincidence that this was right after the Merchant Guild got attacked! These Lavalites were behind the whole thing, and were probably involved in the S.A.M.T.O.R. collapse as well."

"IT WASN'T THE LAVALITES." Noelle slammed her fists, teeth practically grinding in a fury. "Atleast.. please trust me, I have reason to believe it wasn't them." The room went silent, everyone trying their best not to make eye contact with the Inspector.

L'hahy closed the projected imagery up. "Soon we will be faced with nothing short of war. The Hivesman and his followers will wage it, and they will be met with a force strong enough to even the scales. The PFU intended to strike sooner, but this would merely lead to the Lavalites taking advantage of the inherent divisions. Instead the Hivesman and the 4 Pillars of the PFU intend to strike an alliance, for their common interests."

"War with the Federation?" Noelle tried to calm herself. "I'm afraid so."

"Can we win?" The use of 'we' felt uneasy, but she felt it was the best choice of words at

the

 

moment.

 

"We will. But it won't come easily. If we have Hubblood and can examine him, our odds go up. We'll have some powerful insurance." L'hahy said it with pride, no trace of remorse.

L'hahy closed the projection. "That's all we know."

"And if we do lose?" The Merchant rolled her neck, as if she couldn't care less what the answer was.

There was a loud buzz in the room.

 

"They'll try to destroy us," The Inspector said, finally. Noelle's head dropped into her hands. "They'll try to destroy this city. They'll call up every division of theirs and wager the military. The whole Federation will be upon us. Their only concern is the destruction of dissidents. All else is secondary."

The doors swung open and an android walked in.

 

L'hahy sighed. "The Hivesman and the Merchant Guild. Lavalites. PFU. The Society of the Mind I Shepard here. You. All of us have one goal. To make sure that all of this does not happen. To make sure that the resistance doesn't fall. That is our goal."

The android came behind L'hahy, tapping her on the shoulder. His pitchblack brain and bio-synth organs could be seen behind plastic armor and mechanics, she nodded and went with him. "I'll be right back. It seems we have word from our comrades in arms." And she promptly left the room.

Noelle looked at Psi with a confused, concerned look, which the psychic seemed to reciprocate.

"That cannot be good.."

 

"Being unable to read them, we keep drones for such occasions when we wish messages

to remain undeciphered."

 

They saw L'hahy turn back to them once on the other side of the door, and the android was pointing at Noelle.

⍟

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Reading a more experienced member of our Society is an ordeal aswell.. but as a basic safe guess.."

"I think we should leave." The Merchant said, grabbing both their arms and starting to slowly pull them towards the door.

"Perhaps she'll have an explanation."

 

"What do you want to find out?" The Merchant yelled. "Leave!" And she booted the three of them out into the halls.

A girl with a clipboard, pearl necklace and smaller cloaked hood walked by the Merchant in a hurry. Her name was Nianx, and she had an air of innocence about her that the Merchant found somewhat attractive.

"Good day, my friend."

"A good morning to you, Nianx. Not the best time for greetings, what news do you bring?" Psi said while they sprinted through the halls, others looking on.

"Sheesh, why do you mind nerds have to be so formal?" The Merchant groaned.

 

"Psi, I saw the Morselynk before L'hahy was informed. We just got a message from the PFU. Now that they have “Pawn”, or the Hivesman as he’s known, allegiance guaranteed, they want Noelle, and right now they're willing to hold the Order of Eden and Hubblood hostage to get her."

Noelle scowled. "Damn. And I was hoping for some help from other people.. I could really use a strong ally right now."

"The Order of Eden also knows the PFU will use force if needed. I know we have an alliance, but these things are not usually nice, trust me. There's more.."

"More?" Noelle saw the exit ahead. They managed to make it out, and started to trek towards the Telecopter.

"It has to do with your, old crew Noelle.. they've been detected in PFU's airspace. Likely they didn't shoot them down because they intend to use them as hostages or prisoners, but by the time we get there they'll likely have been captured."

"So.. what? They left me to rot." Noelle asked, already understanding the situation was

 

dire.

 

"Nianx, we've got to go.." She heard one of the drones buzzing, before a group of security drones appeared surrounding the Telecopter. The Merchant ran off to the Telecopter, and Nianx raised her blaster with an 'eep'. "Cannot you-" Noelle turned her head to Psi.

"They're machines, so absolutely not."

 

 

 

 

L'hahy walked behind the security drones, lowering some of their guns with her own

 

arms.

 

"Noelle! Wait, stay. This was a simple misunderstanding."

 

The inspector rolled her eyes. "Really? Because from what I understand you were about to sell me out and use me in a hostage exchange."

The psychic shook her head. "We weren't going to give you up that easily. I will not harm you, so do what you need to do, but I implore you, please do not leave this area. The PFU might have other intentions. "

A long sigh left Noelle's lips, and she raised a RIOT stick at her pursuer. "Shame you weren't going to.. cuz I'm heading over there right now myself. No need for hostages, kay thanks."

L'hahy lowered her arms. "Do what you think best, Noelle. But I am here with you, as are many here in the Society of the Mind."

The Hivesman appeared behind Noelle and the Merchant, several Lavalites pointing guns at the security drones as the hatch started to close up.

"Good morning, my friends." He said. "You have a special guest." He lead them down the halls and towards the cockpit, and sitting in the deck chair was none other than Meeks.

"How the hell did you- what the hell is Meeks doing here?" Noelle gasped. The ship's warpdrive started to rumble and rev up.

L'hahy outside stepped towards the console of the Telecopter, a holographic view of a Federation ship appeared in front of them indicating it was just outside the planet's atmosphere. "Pantheon IV.. that's a Y.O.U. vessel." She folded her arms and looked down sullen.

"Well, what are you doing here?" Noelle asked her. Meeks glared are her furious and raised her fist, shaking it. She turned to her compt and contacted

"Meeks is in our ship. I'm coming back to you. We can kick her off or I can get off, either way she can be quite a nuisance. She and I haven't got off on the best terms, but there's no reason to let that poison run in our blood."

"I would not recommend that, Inspector." L'hahy watched the smaller Patrol ships leave Pantheon IV, heading down towards the surface. "Xi found us out. Y.O.U. are racing down as we speak, you should get out of here immediately." She cut the comm link.

Noelle looked furious at Meeks. "You! You overgrown RAT!" She kicked Meeks away from the chair. The ship shuddered with the warpdrive activation, and then started to rapidly accelerate. Noelle grabbed a seat, with a thud.

"I should have kicked you off my team sooner." She said.

 

Meeks snarled. "I didn't call them in, don't go blaming me for your own incompetency." She started to move, and sat in front of Noelle, "You're a disgrace to law enforcement, to Xi and to the Lots, and I'm here to end you. Do you understand? I'm here to take you out of my life. It's over. You can't fix anything, so you might as well be dead."

"You're right. I don't know how to fix myself." Noelle sighed. "You're right. I don't know what I'm capable of, so there's no point trying. You think I'm a good person? Look, that's not my fault. I was stuck with what I was dealt." She looked down, folding her arms. "But that said, the rest of you guys headed to the PFU anyway. So who looks bad there?"

Meeks started combing the fur of her arms over her hooves. "We were looking for you.

 

The doctor from the Merchant negotiations swore they had you tagged and traced. She had a chip in your arm."

"W-what?"

 

Noelle recalled the time she visited Paramour's base, the injection sample that was taken out. "Dr. Dessner.. even they were keeping tabs on me?" That stung in deep. The woman laid back, feeling the confusion and anguish of these past weeks all weigh on her at once.

She gave a sigh. "I was never good at making friends, it was easier to keep my distance and get on with life." She ran her hand through her hair, then over her face. Turning her head, looking into the mirror and her hand passed over her cheek. She stopped at her eyes, they felt dull.

Noelle's eyes focused on Meeks, who gently stroked her mane, the tension had left her and she found herself smiling as the tears slid down her cheeks. "We're all just... all just people who are... screwed up. Like nothing matters."

Meeks slapped her. "Geesh, shutup. It almost makes it hard to hate you when you keep moaning and complaining like this."

She looked around, Lavalite soldiers standing in place. She knew if she acted and attacked now against Noelle, there'd be no question who they'd fire at and defend.

The antler girl resigned herself, slumping back in her chair. "Just try and forget this damn dream. It doesn't exist."

"But... I know it does." Noelle sniffled a little.

 

With that, Meeks stepped forward and hugged Noelle, and felt Meeks' breath on her neck, the soft touch of her hooves. She closed her eyes, and the two stood there for a while, until she hugged her twice as tight. "Please, just let me go." Then thrice, until she was full on gripping the inspector and trying to strangle her, hooves pressing against Noelle's neck. Noelle coughed, feeling the girl's ridiculous strength trying to crush her ribs and windpipe. The girl felt a little dizzy. "Please, Meeks. I'm begging you. Let me go." The guards raised their guns. Meeks groaned before pulling back, looking at the others, giving them a half smile and shrugging.

Noelle just looked down and gasped. "Truce?" Noelle asked.

She looked back down to Noelle. "Nah. I don't have it in me to care about holding grudges like the other morons, chief. Meeks, reporting for duty? I ain't your loyal servant either. Never was. Don't be a bad person anymore. Do what you want to. And we're good."

They grumbled abit, but eventually let the silence wash over and all lingering bitterness fade away inbetween.

⍟

The Telecopter finally completed all PURI measures and then transitioned outside the PFU base, opening the hatch and letting Noelle out alone. She felt like no time had passed at all since she saw the silver gate of the entrance she'd walked through before, the peace and quiet of nature outside the base deceptively carefully in contradiction to the hotpot of a revolution brewing beneath. The Merchant, Meeks and Psi stood on the cool grass as they looked out into the breeze. "I'm going to sneak in and go look for the rest of the guys. I'll get them out, you do what you need to do."

Noelle scratched her head. "Are you sure? They threw you into the Pods and turned you in with me. Not sure they'll be happy to see you."

The Merchant laughed. "Oh? Didn't I tell you? They never did that. I volunteered to take you and then surrendered myself. They would've let me go free.. but if you were alone, that would've been bad right? I planned to break us both out from the get-go."

Meeks looked away sheepish. "It's.. true actually."

 

Noelle rolled her eyes. "Fine whatever. Do as your conscience, or lack of dictates."

 

From the hatch, peaked a sight they'd somewhat been overlooking. The Hivesman cleared his throat.

"You 3 should all be back here soon. This place will be swarmed before long." He announced with no confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Noelle was floored why he said that.

"I see in many shades of time. The future, although often unstructured and chaotic presents clearly to me when it needs to. The Xi High command will be firing upon this place within an hour. But Miss Noelle do not worry. You will have another assist on the way."

"Delightful." And with that exchange, Noelle made her way towards the base. The gate opened, splitting down the middle and retreating halves vertically as she approached. She started down the path that lead into the wide, empty vaunted halls. She thought about what had happened since she visited here last, what she had said to survive, what she had done to get her way, and how she should feel about all of it. She tried to feel. She tried to feel, but nothing came to her.

The guards nodded to her as she walked, leading her towards the same Foyer she'd peaked into before.

All she knew was that she wanted to be free. . Free, the word repeated in her head. She tried to feel it. Freedom. She'd felt free here for a little bit. Now, here in this place, in her room on this side of the gate, she felt different. That freedom fluttered, just of view, close enough to touch but not firm or solid enough to hold.

Noelle walked through the halls, the soldiers whispering around her. She sighted someone in a PFU uniform and beret, looking her way with a knowing grimace.

“Cutie!” Ellie said.

 

“Aren’t I always?” The wrecker replied. “Where’s the rest of the gang?”

“After they let us into the PFU, we all ran some tests. Everyone else got shipped out to different posts, but I think we’re making this work.”

“That’s really cool.” Noelle said.

 

Cutie continued. “You know, after my parents died, this was the one thing I was sure I wanted to do. Be a hero, join the rebellion. Now, I know what it takes to keep doing it, and I’m good with that. I think they would’ve been proud of me. I want to see the day when Xi finally falls and the skies are freed again. All of us in the wreckers have got that chance now.. thank to you.”

Noelle patted her on the head gently. “I didn’t really do anything. You guys would’ve been fine on your own honestly.”

Cutie nodded. “True, your dance with us was very brief... but maybe sometimes being the right person at the right time is all you need, even if you don’t do anything else..”

“Thanks... now, if you’ll excuse me, I got some work to do.” After she left, Cutie patted the Inspector back. “Thanks for everything, friend.”

⍟

 

 

 

 

When she arrived at the Foyer, the doors were wide open and four individuals were waiting for her. After she passed through, it closed behind her.

Dagda the Great Mother. Nyx Blackwater. White Talon. And the forth Pillar, Lord Gnomon.

She remembered his mugshot, far less tortured however. The great survivor, the rustic rouser of hearts, the one who failed to reclaim a world. His eyepatch hung low, his scars sunk in deep, the navy-colors of his jacket full of ripped linen. The ginger of his hair seemed miraculously unaged, as if he'd kept the fire from his veins alive even today. A failed military commander, one whose revolution Noelle knew to have been crushed over a decade back- he seemed all too eager to reprise that role.

"Hello Ms. Noelle. How are you feeling?" His deep throaty voice asked.

 

Dagda inquired, looking at Noelle closely, almost like she was trying to tell the truth without actually lying. Noelle wasn't sure if the inquisitive stare were meant as a way to get her to speak, or if it were part of her character. She supposed it didn't really matter.

"I don't know." Noelle whispered, "How am I feeling?"

 

"I don't know, either. What I can tell you, Ms. Noelle, is that you must be very popular." Dagda explained.

Nyx interjected. "It's a shame that you couldn't even do the hard part." Noelle was curious. "What hard part?"

"Kill her." Dagda advised. The room grew silent.

 

 

"We cannot, or we won't atleast. Our generous provider and patriarch here, has a vested interest in Miss Noelle." Gnomon lit up a cigarette and took a quick smoke. "Now that we have

Hubblood and VIVE, we can secure the Hivesman's loyalty. The speaker of the Lavalites, what are a mere set of planets compared to the scattered, armed vectors of every asteroid out in our system? And then there's the matter of transportation.. the Tachyon Cascade, which the Lavalites have mastered is said to be untraceable. There are ways to stop a warpfield and detect a drive- by.. There are no ways to prevent a sudden fold in spacetime allowing for the devil himself to walk through."

Noelle stood blinking. Everything, this revolution, the Federation of Xi, these important men before her, it all felt as if it meant nothing to her.

"Where are my crew?" She asked, not sure why she cared exactly.

 

Dagda looked down at her, his eyebrow furrowing. "Noelle, there is a revolution going on in this base. You can't feel that?"

"No, there's nothing. I can't feel anything." Noelle repeated. "Where's the group that arrived here searching for me?" She furrowed her brow, trying to fold her arms and vocalize it like she meant it.

"They're in a holding cell right now. Don't worry about them. Your crew will be saved, but you will not be allowed to interfere in our operations, if I'm allowed to say anything at all."

"Not allowed, you say? Then what is it that you want from me?" She asked.

 

Dagda shrugged. The other 3 pillars looked at one another, and Lord Gnomon cleared his throat. "It's not 'us' that wants anything from you. It's our patriarch, our great provider. They funded this operation, they pulled the strings within Xi and have been generously pushing our movement forward since the start."

Noelle paused. "The 6th Elder Dragon." A tear of annoyance in her voice as she said it. "He organized and funded all of you, and he wants to see me finally."

White Talon, the other leader of the group, now wearing pins full of red and blue colors with latin inscriptions, laughed, "What for? Who knows. You've always had his blessing, I'm sure you knew that and figured it all out by now."

Dagda, who was the quietest bunch, replied, "He even wanted to make you a Pillar. You were supposed to be our leader, Noelle."

"I would never do that." She replied. "Politics, not my thing."

 

Gnomon said, "That's what's so good about you, Noelle. You don't bend easily. If there is a revolution going on, a cause worth fighting for, then you're the only one willing to go all the way through to the bitter end."

Dagda nodded, "It's true. We want you to join our cause, Noelle. A war that has raged for a thousand years has now been unleashed. The time to pick a side has come. Pick our side, Noelle. Make it our side."

"No." Noelle shook her head, and then, very calmly and purposefully, she said, "I won't fight for your cause, Dagda. It's a noble cause, so thank you, but it's not mine."

Dagda let her voice be the last part of the sentence. "Then it will be done without." There were a flurry of conversations amongst the five people, as all had their say.

The Merchant overheard the bits and scraps, peaking through the crack in the gate. "Looks like she's got them occupied, c'mon lets head to the holding cells." Meeks nodded,

heading to a nearby steel gate. She clapped her hooves together, placed them to the door and with a wave of effect, began to expand it until it slipped like cheap plastic, able to be pried open easily. Several guards looked in their direction, but saw nothing- Psi concentrating and blocking their presence from any sensory detection.

"I cannot alter their truth if they bump into us. Do not touch them at all. " She warned. Noelle and the 4 pillars had reached an impasse.

"We all have other beliefs, Noelle, other beliefs. You owe us nothing, but we will never give up on you, we have no choice. But you, you're the only one who can get us out of this, so you're the only one we can depend on. We want to believe that you'll fight for us, but we're not completely naive, Noelle. You're free to be who you want, and you're free to do what you want, but all we can ask for is your help. You owe us that." Gnomon didn't blink. He just stood there, waiting for a response.

Noelle was now becoming more agitated. She didn't want to hear this, didn't want to say anything, but she felt like she had to. "I have no intention of playing soldier. Not anymore. I don't believe any of you are stupid enough to think that I would do that. You know that. I don't owe anything to any of you."

The four went utterly silent. Having let that drama reach its conclusions, they all seemed to reach the same concession.

White Talon coughed. "I told you we shouldn't have gotten our hopes up. We should have known you wouldn't be ready for this type of thing, it's time for us to leave." She seemed resigned, her holographic presence flickering before continuing. "We've said all we could. There

isn't much more for us to do here." She walked to Noelle, starting to fade out of view with the others. "Walk up the stairs. The only leadership actually physically here right now is our patron."

Noelle watched all of their holograms fade away, Gnomon's eyes watching her until he finally turned away.

She was alone.

 

But she knew the truth was just ahead. Noelle started to make her way up the stairs, the marble architecture reflecting her in its glossy steps. Someone whistled from behind her.

It was the Merchant, alongside Brick, Vengeful, Blackbox, and even Blackbox. She took on a defensive stance and tilted her head down. “I came this far to find the truth! I’m not stopping now just because you’re all dogpiling me. Don’t try to stop me!”

Brick rolled his eyes. “No one’s trying to stop you, Inspector.” “Oh..”

Blackbox squeaked her fingertips together. “Personally I’d want you screaming in agony.. everyone else seems unfortunately more forgiving.“

She saw the Merchant give a scowl. “You weren’t even going to say goodbye?”

 

Noelle rolled her eyes. “Not like you guys tried to send me to a brainwashing camp or anything..”

“Hey! I rescued you from that camp!”

 

“You did not! Psi did. You were just kinda there.”

The Merchant stomped her foot and her lip quivered. “So that’s it then? You’re just going to walk up those stairs and never come back down? With your little rebel friends?”

The Inspector’s arms folded. “What do you want with me?”

 

The Merchant put her hands on her hips. “Look.. don’t pretend you don’t know what we’re talking about. Don’t act all ignorant. You’re going to abandoned us, the Lots, the people of these planets even.. for this?” She leaned in closer and the Inspector had to look up. The Inspector’s eyes sparkled a bit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not joining the P.F.U., I just want answers. Why should I care about the Lots?”

With a sigh, The Merchant slapped her hand to her face. “Because.. you lived and breathed with them for 3 years… and us for about 3 weeks.”

Noelle paused, the Merchant now close enough that she could smell her perfume-y

breath.

 

“Sometimes stories end uneventfully. There’s an old saying in the universe… If your story goes bad, it’s because you didn’t tell it loud enough.”

The Merchant blinked.

 

“I’m not sure about the third line. The rests lost in my mind.” Noelle put her hand to her cheek.

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s fine. It’s your life. You go do whatever you want.” The Merchant replied.

Noelle looked down at the ground, her eyes growing sadder. “Do you have a name?” The room went silent for a brief.

“Kuya,” She replied.

 

“Oh. Ok. So what’s your story, Kuya?” Ellie asked.

 

“Me? Idunno.. My mother abandoned me in a spaceship. She said she could make a better life for herself and left. I tried to get her to come back for me but.. she never returned. I joined a pickpocket gang, worked my way up and when I grew, joined the Merchant’s guild”

Noelle nodded. “So what do you plan to do with yourself now, Kuya?” “I’m.. not sure yet.”

The Inspector nodded in understanding. “I like your story. Maybe you and I could be friends?”

The Merchant, that is to say Kuya sniffled, throwing her arms around her for abit. Noelle patted her hair and held her tightly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

The rest of the group looked on, taking gaze at the person who had lead them through this wild ride, thick and thin over the past few weeks. “It was, very interesting meeting you all! Sorry I couldn’t be more dependable, but you were all pretty stellar folks. Go find your own stories!

Best of luck.“ Noelle stood. She straightened her jacket as the others stared. Her clothes, she knew, didn’t make her look that much different from the way they’d found her the last time. “Alright.” Brick nodded at Noelle. “Go ahead. You’re an okay sonnabitch, ‘spector.”

Ragnor’s warm motherly smile seemed to agree as she waved back “Go.” she said, Vengeance grunting and nodding. Blackbox flipped her the bird, giving her a brief chuckle.

“Goodbye everyone!” Her voice chirped.

 

With a look of determination, she stared up high and simply kept moving forward.