PART V: Who We AreUNNAMED LAWLESS LANDS COLONY, LUSTROUS GEM, MAIN CABIN

  After introductions, everyone sits around a Yamatoan chabudai table in the Lustrous Gem while eating a light snack. Since this was only a short reprieve, they didn’t remove their armor. Khan was currently on his fourth portion and scarfing it down with arming speed. He hasn’t tasted Human food in months.

  “So… you’re the new Vice General?” he says to Avon with his mouth full. “Bull says you’re an engineer, too. I bet you helped design this impressive ship. Looking forward to working with you.”

  “Yes, yes, yes, and likewise,” Avon replies ftly. “Now, slow down, or you’ll choke.”

  As Khan continues to eat, Avon inspects the sniper rifle on his back. It was an impressive amalgamation of Human and Deldraka technology, a firearm fitted with synth-psi power cells and custom heat sinks. As if that wasn’t strange enough, some parts were covered with a fine yer of ice.

  “It may no longer be a standard weapon, but I believe your gun used to be an MSR-21,” she observes. “You modified it yourself, didn’t you?”

  “I did, indeed,” Khan answers proudly. “I call her Absolute Zero, and she’s one of my best works. I’ve relied on her for years.”

  “Your gun’s a girl?” Caldera chides. “And here I am, thinking Veorz was the weirdest one here.”

  “Besides, your other ‘girls’ caused quite a ruckus on the ship recently,” Bull adds with a frown. “You and I are gonna need to talk about that when we get back.”

  Khan mumbled something that sounded like “understood,” but suddenly choked on a piece of bread. Veorz gently hits him on the back as he coughs.

  “Ahem… Sorry, wrong way.”

  “If you throw up on my ship, Hoarfrost, I’ll break your neck and sell your corpse to the Scythe.” Khan swallows, and not just because he had food in his mouth.

  “Uhhh… is she joking?”

  “I have no idea.” Rokov shrugs. Avon’s morbid sense of humor could send shivers down anyone’s spine, especially because she’d have no qualms about doing that.

  “General, wasn’t our mission to pick up Khan and his buddy and hightail it outta this cesspool?” he asks.

  “Keyword: ‘was.’ This is a search and destroy mission now, Rokov.”

  “And it’s doable.” Khan crumples up the wrapper from his sixth sandwich, finally done eating, to Avon’s relief.

  “I checked it out. This base only has a barebones Anneru garrison. Mexaklye doesn’t trust non-scientists near his research.”

  “The real problem is its synth-psi perimeter barrier. Unless Vice General Hayton keeps a supertank cannon in her trunk, breaking it isn’t an option.”

  “Maybe the Scythe have something we can steal?” Rokov suggests. “They do make the biggest guns.”

  “Easier said than done. The Scythe here are led by Quajho the Clown. And trust me, he’s not someone you’d want to fight.”

  “Quajho the Clown?” Caldera mocks. “What, does he kill you with a bad joke, or some shit?”

  “Quajho is no joke, Caldera,” Khan warns.

  “He’s an extremely agile fighter who wields a pair of synth-psi Rippers: one imbued with lightning, the other with fire. He’s way more powerful than any enemy we’d encounter here.”

  “An overloaded fighting style…” Avon muses. “Besides, we might not need to face him. I don’t have a tank, but I do have a 3-D printer.”

  The Vice General points to a rge machine in the back, vaguely shaped like a clothes dryer. Khan is visibly impressed by the quality of the device.

  “If we combine our knowledge, Hoarfrost, we can fashion a device to disrupt the barrier. Still, I know this ship best, so I’ll probably be doing most of the work.”

  “Already tried that. They reinforced it after I failed.” Avon thumps the table in frustration.

  “No wonder you tried to ingratiate yourself with me. What do we even pay you for?” she snaps.

  “Avon, cut it out.” Bull silences her with a dirty look. “Given the scant security measures, I doubt Mexaklye is inside.”

  “Of course not. He’s on the Surpasser with Edrahz, lightyears from here. That’s half the reason why they can’t capture Veorz, even though I’m her only protection.”

  “About the Deldraka…” Avon looks at her thoughtfully. “Could she do something about the barrier with her powers? You did say she’s as strong as a Zirvorix.”

  Veorz answers in Deldrakan, so Avon puts on her helmet to transte for the others:

  “‘I can disable it,’” she reads aloud. “‘If I am not caught.’”

  Khan nods, able to understand her without a Transtion Matrix.

  “It’ll take a lot of time, though. The Scythe or Deldraka will inevitably detect her psionic signature.”

  So, Avon goes back to the drawing board in her mind, staring into space and tapping her lower lip as she contemptes. She mentally assesses her problem, evaluates her resources, and connects the dots to form a solution, something she’s done countless times before.

  “Okay, I have a pn.”

  Given the absence of a tactical dispy, Avon gathers an assortment of items to use as visual aids. After clearing the garbage off her table, she pces an empty coffee can on its side and points to the lip.

  “This is the base, and this side is the entrance. The Lustrous Gem will hover over here while cloaked–” Avon puts a small candy bar near the can to represent her ship. “–where the Deldraka will dispel the barrier unseen.”

  “My ship was built with state-of-the-art electromagnetic scramblers which could mask her psionic signature. At the same time, Caldera, Rokov, and I will approach from this direction to draw Alliance soldiers away from the base.”

  Avon takes her signet ring out of her belt and pces it to the left of the coffee can.

  “While the General and Hoarfrost will remain with the Deldraka. Once she finishes her work, we’ll regroup in the middle and storm the base.”

  Bull carefully listened to Avon while mentally analyzing her tactics. “Not a bad strategy, Avon.”

  While her reliance on untested tech might pose an issue, there was another, more pressing problem:

  “Still, even if the Deldraka force is small, you’ll be severely outnumbered.”

  “Not if you account for the fact that the Scythe are here too,” said Rokov. “If we can get them to join the fight, I’d bet they’d rather fight an army of Deldraka than two Humans and a half-robot.”

  “The proper term is ‘cyborg…’ half-wit,” Caldera jeers. Rokov sulks at her grumpy tone. Even after fighting aliens with her, the Lieutenant still doesn’t think highly of him.

  “Also, your scramblers will need to be modified for psionic energy frequencies,” said Khan. “Luckily, I’ve collected a few spare parts that should do the trick.”

  Bull cps his hands. “So, are we all in agreement?”

  “Hey, don’t look at me. I’m just the muscle.” The cyborg shrugs indifferently but suddenly flinches. “Ow! And I just felt a weird pain in my shoulder…”

  “That didn’t look good. I better take a look at it,” said Avon.

  “Then, while Avon fixes up Caldera, Khan can start modifying the ship. Rokov, you and I will stand guard,” Bull orders everyone. “Dismissed!”

  “Um, we don’t have anywhere to go, General,” murmured Rokov.

  “Oh…”

  UNNAMED LAWLESS LANDS COLONY, LUSTROUS GEM, OUTSIDE (LATER)

  “Hrrrgh…”

  Rokov desperately tries to overpower Bull, but the General holds him back without breaking a sweat. Despite being older and somewhat skinny, he was also surprisingly strong.

  “You only waste energy by grunting,” he cautions.

  “Hrrrrrrrgh…”

  THUMP

  “I win.”

  “Tch…”

  Rokov rubs his sore wrist. Bull just beat him in arm wrestling three times in a row.

  Even though he said they had to keep watch, the Commander was certain their surroundings were secure. If not, surely they’d have seen signs of an attack by now. And they wouldn’t be arm wrestling on a rock out of boredom.

  “How long has it been?” he asks impatiently. Bull looks up from sharpening his knives.

  “Ten minutes.”

  Rokov groans. “This is dumb. I don’t enjoy being useless, sir.”

  “We’re not useless, Gregori. We’re keeping watch.”

  “You made that up so we wouldn’t be in the way,” Rokov retorts.

  “Well, yes, but I did have another reason–” Bull sheathes his knives. “I wanted a moment with you.”

  Ever since Rokov came to the Legend, he never had a chance to talk to Bull one-on-one. Between his duties and spending time with Avon, he just never found the time. This revetion made him feel a little guilty.

  “Avon’s lucky she found you.” Bull’s voice breaks Rokov’s training of thought. “Making friends is difficult when you’re not a normo.”

  “What?”

  “A normo,” Bull repeats. “It’s a term used for people without special abilities.”

  “No, not that. I meant…” Rokov pauses.

  “What do you mean Avon ‘found’ me, Bull? I was the one who approached her first.”

  “It’s not… I wasn’t being literal…” Bull trails off. “Never mind.”

  “Hey, I might be a normo, but that doesn’t mean I was born yesterday!” he grumbles angrily, having dreaded this conversation for some time.

  “You don’t think Avon and I should be friends because she’s a Hayton and my superior, don’t you?”

  Bull might be a military leader, but it was not his way to interfere with personal retionships. On the contrary, he encourages them, knowing (from personal experience) that the right people can bring out the best in each other.

  He shakes his head at Rokov’s accusation.

  “Not even close, Gregori. Rather, I’m very proud of you. My Vice General has needed a real friend for a long time.”

  Rokov grins while looking back at the Lustrous Gem. He could faintly hear Avon and Caldera talking and exchanging the occasional swear word inside.

  “She’s not just a real friend, sir… She’s my best friend.”

  And you don’t know how valuable that is, Rokov, Bull thinks. So, don’t make the same mistakes I did. Always support her and never leave her side… or let her leave yours.

  UNNAMED LAWLESS LANDS COLONY, LUSTROUS GEM, MAIN CABIN (MEANWHILE)

  While taking off her power armor, Avon asked Caldera many questions about her impnts, many of which the simple soldier couldn’t answer. She’s always been interested in RavenTech technology but has never had a chance to observe it closely. Hayton Industries and RavenTech are competitors, and the tter’s corporate neutrality discourages the Confederacy from supporting them.

  At the same time, Avon also diagnosed Caldera’s pains; her cybernetics hadn’t been cleaned in nearly three months.

  “Okay, I’m going to yank it out on three, understand?”

  “Wait, wait, I’m not ready!” Caldera protests. Avon carefully tightens her grip on her pliers.

  “One… three!”

  *crack*

  “Aghh–!! Holy shit, that hurt!!” Caldera shrieks.

  Avon’s pliers hold a small shard of shrapnel she pulled from her back, and she nonchantly drops it into her garbage can. Unbeknownst to Caldera, it was pinching one of her synthetic nerves, causing her pain.

  “You bleach-brained whore! You said ‘on three!’”

  “It hurts less if it’s a surprise. So, hold still; there are still many to go.”

  After painfully removing all the debris from Caldera’s impnts, Avon switched tools to repair her wiring. The Lieutenant’s sophisticated components must take a beating nearly every day, but they haven’t been repaired properly in a long time. In addition to shrapnel, the garbage can started to fill up with duct tape, rubber bands, and zip ties.

  “Have you been repairing yourself?” Avon asks Caldera.

  “A little bit, yeah…”

  “This technology inside you is very delicate, you could’ve stopped your heart! Only a trained professional would know how it works, and you’re a commando, not a cyberneticist!”

  “Yeah, I know that…” Caldera lowers her head sadly. “The thing is, I’ve just not been comfortable in my own skin tely. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love being a cyborg. It’s just–”

  “Oh, fuck it. You ain’t gonna help, anyway.”

  “Try me,” Avon challenges. “In exchange, I’ll forget that you called me a bleach-brained whore.”

  “Well… you see, when Raven rebuilt me, she said I might have trouble feeling Human again,” Caldera expins. “She called it ‘cognitive dissonance,’ or somethin’.”

  “So, with all the recent strangeness going on, I couldn’t help but remember that I’m strange, too. That’s why I stopped letting the engies poke at my insides.”

  Surprisingly, Avon can rete to Caldera. In her experience, she learned that there’s no difference between being “freakish” and “special.” People are going to ostracize those who stand out, deliberately or otherwise. At the same time, they also depend on them to solve the problems they cannot.

  “Caldera, I am a Hayton, a millionaire, a polymath, a Silencer, and a Vice General,” Avon lists while soldering a capacitor. “But I wouldn’t give up any of that to be a normo.”

  “Heh… easy for you to say.” Caldera’s face falls further. “You’re an elite. I’m just a gal from skid row.”

  “Being an elite doesn’t mean life was a breeze for me.” She stops what she’s doing and gres into the cyborg’s red eyes.

  “And being from a slum doesn’t mean you can treat my friend rudely.”

  “Dammit, you noticed?” she groans.

  “Hard not to after over four fucking days of you yapping at him.”

  Finally, Avon closed the panels on her left side. “There, try moving.”

  Caldera lightly rolled her shoulder and was impressed by how smooth it felt. She then unfolds and retracts her left missile uncher with simir amazement.

  “Ooh, damn, girl… That’s actually a lot better!”

  “Of course, it is. I know what I’m doing.” Avon opens up Caldera’s other side to do the same thing. “Now, about your problem with Gregori…”

  “Oh, that?” Caldera stares at Avon bnkly. “Yeah, I dunno…”

  “You… don’t know?”

  “I just don’t like the sucker. No particur reason.”

  Caldera’s cim left Avon rather confused. She makes a mental note to ask Gregori for his side ter on.

  “So, what’re your powers, Vice General?” Caldera asks out of the blue.

  “Barriers, bsts, sers, mind probes, healing, super strength, javelins, and whips,” Avon answers.

  “Why do you ask? Jealous?”

  “Ha! Not in a million years!” Caldera ughs.

  “I asked ’cuz I heard that Silencers have abilities based on their personalities. While whips and mind probes are fitting for you, the others…”

  Actually, Avon never thought about it like that. In her case, two of her powers (i.e. barriers and healing) are support-oriented. However, the st thing Avon would do is help someone out of the goodness of her heart.

  “Looks like someone’s got lotsa soul-searching to do,” Caldera jabs.

  “Zip it,” she retorts coldly. “And we’re Human. We don’t have souls.”

  UNNAMED LAWLESS LANDS COLONY, ALLIANCE RESEARCH CENTER

  The Lustrous Gem drops off Avon, Rokov, and Caldera on a hill near Mexaklye’s b before moving into position. As they got closer, they could smell a sour stench, likely a byproduct of his biological experiments. Even though the sun was barely coming up, it was still dark enough for them to move unseen.

  Rokov sees a few Deldraka dragoons on patrol riding equilizards, the Human name for rge domesticated reptiles the Alliance use as beasts of burden. Not only are they reliable steeds (and make for a filling meal), equilizards have a sense of smell rivaling a bloodhound’s. Luckily, their power armor should mask their scent, especially with the noxious air.

  “Pressurize your helmets; these fumes are prolly toxic,” Caldera says to Rokov and Avon. “My lungs are metal, but yours ain’t.”

  “How’s everyone holding up?” said Bull through the open line. He receives a variety of affirmative answers.

  “Has Veorz started bringing down the barrier?” Avon asks.

  “She says she needs more time,” Khan replied on her behalf. “On the bright side, the modified cloak is holding up well. You and I should build things more often, Vice General.”

  “Ask Veorz to give us a number,” Caldera follows.

  “The Deldraka don’t measure time the same way as us. It wouldn’t make sense to you.”

  “Pssh, I knew that…”

  “Yeah, right,” Rokov scoffs.

  “Shut it, you fucker!” Rokov backs off, surprised and offended.

  Avon rolls her eyes at them. “Put a pin in your lovers’ quarrel, you two. Lieutenant, fire missiles at the barrier, wide spread.”

  Caldera nods and leaps into a tree again. Then, both missile unchers pop out of her robotic shoulders.

  “This better get their attention!”

  *whoosh* KABOOM

  A volley of rockets explodes against the barrier. While they did no damage, they alerted the Deldraka, who instantly sounded the arm.

  “Yup, that did it! We got exties coming in, fast!” Avon and Rokov lift their weapons and get ready for battle.

  “I have eyes on a group of Scythe who also noticed the bst,” Bull informs, reading the sensors on the ship. “They’re also heading in your direction.”

  “Don’t you all love it when things go exactly as pnned?” Rokov jokes.

  “Not if it involves getting caught between blood enemies!” Caldera shouts.

  Like Rokov guessed, when the Scythe and Deldraka saw each other, they started fighting at the drop of a hat. This time, the Humans stayed on defense. They just needed to hold out until the Lustrous Gem gave the word.

  Now that Avon knew how Rokov fought, she was able to provide better support. The two of them stand their ground back to back, fighting in sync. As for Caldera, being a one-woman arsenal, she brutally repelled both species with gratuitous brutality.

  Gripping a wounded Scythe fighter by his helmet, the cyborg uses him to block an Anneru rider’s spear. The weapon went all the way through the Scythe, so Caldera broke off the tip and flicked it into the Deldraka’s head. Then, she opens the panels on her thighs while backflipping behind cover, dropping grenades behind her.

  BOOM

  She looks back and sighs in delight at the chaos she caused.

  “Fuck, that felt good… I mighta squirted a smidge, too,” she mumbles.

  “Gross!” Avon yells from afar.

  “Eh–!?” Caldera checks her cranial impnt; she forgot to turn her comm off. “So, I’m a horny girl, so what!?”

  “Good news. The barrier is disabled.”

  If a higher power does exist, Avon silently thanks it for Bull’s timely announcement.

  “I’ll nd the ship remotely, sir. We’ll regroup at the entrance. And bring that Deldraka with you.”

  UNNAMED LAWLESS LANDS COLONY, ALLIANCE OUTPOST, OPS CENTER

  While the Anneru were preoccupied with the Scythe, the Humans had breached the base they were meant to be guarding. Seeing that danger was imminent, the scientists quickly locked themselves behind a set of armored doors.

  “Stand back, I got this.” Caldera unfolds her missile unchers and grenade panels.

  BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

  To wear down the door, she repeatedly pelts it with explosives. Once she’s satisfied, she winds up and punches it with both hands.

  CLANG

  Unfortunately, she only manages to make a big dent.

  “Never mind.”

  “You know, brute force isn’t always the answer, Caldera,” sighs Khan. He cocks his rifle, and the synth-psi power cells come online. He crouches down and aims at the center while ice starts gathering around the muzzle.

  “Sometimes, a little basic science goes a long way.”

  “You all are in for a treat, I haven’t seen him do this in months.” Under his helmet, Bull had an excited look on his face. “Stand back and close your visors; this is going to be good…”

  FWOOOOSH

  A bst of ice-cold air surges from Khan’s gun. It freezes the door in seconds, embrittling the metal.

  “Well… I guess that’s why they call you ‘Hoarfrost,’” said Rokov.

  “Actually, the nickname came first. I built the gun to back it up,” Khan admits with a shrug. “You do the honors, Hayton.”

  Avon nodded at him knowingly. She opened her hand and fired her psionic ser at the door.

  CRACK

  The Deldraka screamed as the door shattered in front of them. Then, the Humans surrounded them, firing over their heads to herd them together. Veorz tries to look away while Khan stands back as well, slightly ashamed at his comrades.

  “On the fucking ground!” Avon shouts, kicking one of them to the ground. She then stepped on him with her armored foot, kneading her heel against his back. “Now, stay down!”

  “So, what do we do with these nerds, General?” Caldera asks.

  “Kill them all. This base needs to be destroyed, and Edrahz won’t care if we take them prisoner.”

  “Gregori, you do it. You still have bullets,” Avon tells him. “I would, but I’m down to my st magazine.”

  However, much like Khan, Rokov wasn’t naturally cold-blooded. He hesitates, not willing to execute defenseless prisoners. They might not have understood what Bull said, but he recognized their fear.

  “Motherfucker…” Caldera rolls her eyes and lifts her battered carbine.

  *ratatatatat*

  The Deldraka all drop dead, their bodies riddled with bullet holes. Caldera reloads her gun while shaking her head in disappointment.

  “No brains and no balls? At least, you got a pretty face, even with that scar.” Honestly, Avon couldn’t argue with her.

  “So, now what?” she questions.

  “I guess we blow this pce kingdom come.” Rokov puts away his gun with relief.

  “I know that, you big dope! I mean, what do we do before blowing this pce to kingdom come?”

  Caldera points to the Deldrakan computers. “We need to disable their security, for one. Sadly, my impnts can’t interface with synth-psi tech.”

  Suddenly, Veorz walks in front of Caldera, startling her. Her steps were silent; only the sound of her staff lightly thumping the ground gave away her presence. She stopped at one of the consoles in the front and pointed to a rge button with Deldrakan letters on it, saying something the others couldn’t understand.

  “She’s saying that button will disable all the power in the base,” Bull transtes. “At least, that’s what my helmet said.”

  “Mine too,” Avon confirms.

  “The ‘off’ button? Really?” Rokov frowns with doubt. “Isn’t that too easy?”

  “Well, no security measures can function without power,” the Vice General argues. “And, by disabling it manually, emergency backup systems won’t be triggered either. I’d say her deduction is rational… for an alien.”

  “Ladak,” Khan commands. Veorz nods slightly and presses the button.

  *click*

  In seconds, the whole base goes dark. Eventually, dim emergency lights flicker on.

  “Oh, yeah!” Caldera cheers. “Y’all go on ahead, I’ll set the charges.”

  Bull hands her the duffel bag filled with bombs he brought. He cps her shoulder with a cng and signals the others.

  “Move out!”

  At his command, everyone but Caldera exits the Alliance base. Once she comes out shortly after, Caldera presses her detonator–

  KABOOM

  –reducing the structure to rubble.

  “Ahh… I’ll never get tired of that sound~” she sighs.

  “Mission accomplished,” Avon decres coolly. “By the way, Hoarfrost, the Deldraka isn’t allowed to use my bathroom. If she needs to go, tell her to do so before we take off.”

  “Right now? In front of us!?” Rokov retches. Caldera face-palms at him.

  “Why the fuck would she mean that!? I swear, what does the Vice General see in you? You got the brain of a cashew!!”

  “Pffft…” Avon stifles a ugh while watching them argue. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Bull doing the same.

  CSS LEGEND, HANGAR 1-D, LUSTROUS GEM (4 DAYS LATER)

  “Landing sequence complete,” Caldera announces. Avon smiles with approval.

  Once everyone else exits the shuttle, Bull pulls Khan and Veorz aside.

  “I had Sul prepare a hidden room in advance for you, Veorz. Khan will be responsible for taking care of you during your stay.”

  Veorz stared at Bull, her huge purple eyes trembling slightly.

  “Did she understand me?”

  “She can understand you just fine. She’s just very nervous.”

  Hearing this, Bull regretfully recalls the insults Avon and Caldera said to her. Chances are, Veorz understood all of those, too. On the other hand, she probably also knew when Rokov tried to comfort her afterwards.

  “Why?” he asks. “I know she isn’t weak. She took down a dozen Scythe without breaking a sweat.”

  “In fact, if she’s so strong, why does she need our protection? This whole matter seems very suspect.”

  “You’re confusing weakness with shyness, sir,” Khan replies. “It doesn’t help that she’s on a strange ship full of aliens. Putting her fate in our hands.”

  “Also, she never asked for the whole Confederacy’s protection,” he adds. “Only mine.”

  “Then, make sure she stays on our side. All her actions will be your responsibility,” said Bull firmly. “Desha and I will help you keep her hidden as well. And when the time is right, I’ll grant her more freedom on the ship.”

  “Il-rupkai, imlo frokishasta,” Veorz whispers.

  “Huh?”

  “‘If you protect me, I will obey,’” Khan transtes.

  That simple cim increased Bull’s trust in Veorz tenfold. Whatever her story was, she seemed like a tender soul without a mean bone in her body. The General kneels down to her eye level and straightens her cape with a reassuring hand.

  “I suppose we’ll see about that.”

  CSS LEGEND, RECREATION DECK, LOUNGE (LATE THAT NIGHT)

  Once the day is over, Rokov and many of his comrades from the 1st Sapphire Company rex in the lounge. Many are watching a basketball game on TV while another Angel Cn song pys faintly in the background.

  *swish*

  Then, the door opens, and Avon walks in somewhat awkwardly. However, everyone seemed more surprised than offended by her appearance. But in the end, they go back to what they were doing without a second thought.

  “Um, may I join you?”

  “Sure! You can sit next to me!”

  Rokov pats the cushion next to him. Avon took him up on his offer and colpsed onto the couch with a sigh.

  “Tough night?” he asks while wordlessly handing her a beer bottle. Avon draws her knife and opens the bottle with it.

  “I spent the st two hours scrubbing all the Deldraka filth from my ship. And I hate cleaning!”

  “Well, what matters is you’re here now. Didn’t think you’d come on your own, Avon,” Rokov smirks.

  “What do you mean? You invited me.” Avon then spots Caldera drinking nearby.

  “I think it’s more surprising that she is still here. Shouldn’t you be returning to the Capitalist, Caldera?”

  “Oh, hey, VG! Watch this…”

  The cyborg quickly chugged her drink as the pop song’s tempo accelerated. Then, right at the beat drop, she accurately tossed the bottle into a garbage can.

  *cng*

  “Haha, nothin’ but can,” she giggles.

  “Anyway, Finch gave me a day to rest up. I don’t got the energy to deal with Volcker and the others right now.”

  “Wait, Volcker?” Avon hasn’t heard that name in forever.

  “Yeah. Besides, this is my fave Angel Cn song!” Caldera bobs her head, grooving to the beat. “Boy, I wish Lica didn’t retire. Forget Fryda or Big Man, she’s the GOAT of idols!”

  “I know, right?” Rokov pipes up. “I love her movies too, especially Captain Miracle.”

  *thunk*

  Rokov’s and Caldera’s eyes darted toward the sound. Avon had thrown her knife at one of the Angel Cn posters on the wall to get their attention. It still vibrates slightly from the impact.

  “Sheesh…” Caldera excims.

  “Retrieve my knife. Then, we can talk about something else,” she huffs with her fists clenched. “Who even made this pylist? Please tell them that I hate idol music!”

  “You hate everything, Avon. And, for the record, I made it.” Rokov sighs. “What do you even have against–”

  “My God! What the fuck was that pass!?” Rokov, Avon, and many others groan at the poor py they just saw on TV.

  “The Bontras Shamrocks always make the same mistakes during three-point pys. It doesn’t help that their new point guard is inadequate,” said Avon.

  “Yeah, but they’re pying even worse than normal. It’s giving me a freakin’ migraine.” Rokov rubs his temples in frustration.

  Even though Caldera didn’t like Rokov, as a devoted Shamrocks fan, she could feel his pain. Bontras wasn’t far from where she grew up, and basketball was a big part of her life before she became a cyborg.

  Rokov looks at Avon, who has now become invested in the game. She feels the Commander staring and turns to face him.

  “What do you want?”

  “I was just thinking that we should get a ball game going next time we have some leave,” he replies. “Still, you’re kinda short, so I’ll probably dominate you.”

  “Ha! In your dreams!”

  Avon’s uncharacteristic outburst causes a bout of ughter among the soldiers. Even Caldera sps her knee with a cng. Despite being embarrassed, Avon slowly starts to chuckle.

  What is this feeling…? I don’t understand it… But I like it~

  Maybe being Vice General won’t be as tedious as she thought.