Smooth Talking

Maria

"Mfph?"

"Hello to you too," Delithita said cheerfully. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Ugh."

"I could always kill you again."

The man mumbled something incoherent under his breath. "Status of Sandal Two?" he said suddenly as he opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry, he didn't make it."

He closed his eyes again. "Damn," he whispered. He'd been a good friend, and a good wingmate. They'd saved each other’s skins enough times... this time he had failed though...

"It was quick... I saw the shot. Reactor kill."

"That's good at least, I suppose... can't call me Sandal One anymore then..."

"What would you like me to call you?"

He glanced at Delithita, looked her over. "Lover?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, shook her head, turned away.

"Okay," he said, forcing a layer of false cheerfulness around his depression and exhaustion. "Call me Icey..."

This is Mercury."

"Exactly. I'll stand out."

She rolled her eyes.

"Well. Where am I?"

"This is where Maria and I live... hidden in a canyon wall... the Herc bay is below us. She dug in here when the Cybrids wiped out the Antipode, and she found me in an Executioner a few weeks ago.

"I see. Maria is the one we were sent to rescue who refused to let us pick her up, huh?"

"Yes. The Cybrids wiped out her family-- and everything I knew at the Antipode colony, except my rose..." The last was said softly, and she gestured to a small red rose enclosed in a glass block. "All I managed to save when they attacked..." She half-turned to Icey, and her voice hardened. "We live for vengeance here, and little else. We've destroyed many."

"Good," Icey said softly.

"We cannot get you back to your division, they have already left. You will have to stay here with us."

"Aight."

"You will stay here until we dig you a new room."

"'Here' being?"

"Storage bay for pressure-sensitive materials, and the hydroponics."

Icey stood, turned to look toward the center of the room. A pile of Herc leg flexor packs lay against one wall. Stone tables full of plants in hydroponics vats lined the wall beside it. A spacesuit closet sat in one corner. "This place is all pressurized?"

"Yes. The Herc bay, this room, the room with the life support equipment, another parts bay, and my room. Maria sleeps in her Predator, and does not seem to require leisure time... she's always putting vehicles together and fixing things... barely eats..."

"She seems driven," Icey muttered.

Delithita snorted. "Yeah, driven to insanity I think..."

"Speaking of me?" Maria said from the doorway.

Delithita's face went nearly as red as her hair. "Yes," she retorted.

"Mmm. Welcome, Icey. We do not have much here but it serves our needs. You being here should not strain our resources. What vehicles can you drive?"

"Drive?"

"Drive, pilot, fight in!" she snapped. "You're a combat pilot, and we need to all be ready to defend this place at a moment's notice. The planet is crawling with Cybrids!"

"True, but--"

"But what? What vehicles?"

"Apoc, Talon, Minotaur, Gorgon," he said, annoyed.

"Excellent. We have a Gorgon available, and two Apocs. Your Talon was unsalvageable. Could you pilot a Goad?"

"The little Cybrid vehicle? I could try..."

"Excellent. Rest now. We will refit a life-support system to the Goad tomorrow." With that, she was gone.

Delithita grinned, folded her arms over her chest, and glanced at Icey. "Told you..."

"Is she always that..."

"Abrupt? Usually... she's especially upset about not being able to save your wingmate."

"What precisely happened? I remember we got cut off from the main force by a pack of Goads... radiation guns of some kind were frying our leg servos..."

"Yes, the main force attacked and obliterated the Cybrid base as planned... Goad packs attacked the small support vehicles like you too, pulled you off and picked you apart."

"I think we had eight Goads on us."

"Correct. Maria got six, I got two. She uses Shrike missiles she took off some Execs she destroyed, and if you fire just right you can kill a Goad in one shot. Anyway, five of the Goads split off from attacking you when we showed up. Your wingman was dogfighting two of them, and you had one on you. I fried the two that attacked me, while Maria ignored those attacking her and went for the ones on your wingmate... she got one, but the other one got a lucky shot in and his reactor blew just as Maria fried it... I got the one on you, and then we turned and dealt with the rest..."

"What happened to my Talon?"

"Heh, what didn't? Legs sliced clean off by one of the Goads colliding with it, cockpit breached, weapons bar knocked off and stepped on by a Goad... Maria was barely able to pull you out of the cockpit fast enough to get you to her Apoc and perform first aid..."

"Good thing I was unconscious I guess."

"You woke up for a minute when she bashed your faceplate with a wrench..."

"Eh?"

"The seals were welded shut and you needed mouth-to-mouth."

"Wish I had been awake," Icey said, grinning suddenly as he glanced at the door Maria had left through.

"Ha, forget it, she's too old for you. Two hundred or so."

"Immortal and hot too, eh? She's got it made..."

"Yes, and her husband was killed by the Cybrids and I don't think she'll appreciate being drooled over," Delithita retorted.

"I'd be too scared to."

"Good."

Icey raised an eyebrow. "Of course, you're cuter, and much nicer..."

"Spare me."

"Okay, but one of these days..."

Delithita smiled faintly. "Yeah, sure," she said, but with a faint note of teasing.

"I think I'm gonna like this place," Icey said. "Alone, with two beautiful--"

He glanced at the door, which was just closing after Delithita.

"Hmm, looks like I'm gonna have to work harder," he muttered to himself, as he went to the room's computer and started studying Maria's notes on Cybrid Goads...

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