Chapter 20

Callum dragged himself out of bed, feeling like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all. His night had been a haze of worry and bad dreams that he couldn't remember. After Valencia had run from him, Callum had returned to his room and pondered what to do. He hadn't eaten and had ignored Riley when his friend had come to ask what was going on. Callum had no answers. He had no idea what he should do about Valencia. The only person he'd talked to about it all had been Russell, whose advice had boiled down to letting Valencia cool off because she, like all women, "was crazy." Callum didn't believe that but he was at least more willing to entertain the notion after the last couple of days.

With an effort, he stood and headed for the dining room. His sister was making breakfast and he could smell it. Despite himself, Callum was hungry. It was probably time to face them all and at least tell them that Valencia was no longer piloting the Angra Mainyu with him. After a moment of consideration, he pulled his jumpsuit on. If he was going to have a new partner, they would need to start training together right away. Callum didn't much feel like it but he wasn't going to abandon his responsibility.

Everybody was at the dining table except for Mikan, Valencia and Dahri. When Riley saw him, his fork paused halfway to his mouth. "So you've finally decided to come out of your room," he said peevishly. "Finally decided to tell us what the hell is going on? Even Russell won't tell us anything."

"Bro code," Russell said.

"Whatever the fuck that means," Riley said. "So?" He was looking at him expectantly. Catriona was seated next to him and avoiding Callum's eyes. Yemoramato had an expression of bored disgust, though that was more or less normal for her. Chajin, who knew what happened better than anyone else here besides Callum, was grinning into her food but she hadn't betrayed what happened at all. Callum wondered why. He doubted it was to preserve her own reputation. Russell was standing on the table with his arms crossed and his face blank. Nita wore an expression of polite interest, which was strange to Callum. He'd seen that face before, when she was mediating conflicts.

Callum sat down at the end of the table, away from everybody else. "Valencia and I...aren't going to be piloting the Angra Mainyu together anymore."

Riley stood so fast that he knocked back his chair. "What do you mean?!" he yelled. Callum was slightly surprised by the anger of Riley's reaction.

"At least for now, we aren't going to be able to pilot together. I don't really want to get into what happened. It's not her fault or my fault or...anybody else's." He carefully avoided looking at Chajin when he said that last part. It was her fault. But he didn't want her attacked or ostracized. In part it was because she was such a great pilot but more it was just that Callum wasn't very angry with her for some reason. He'd never been able to hold a grudge. "But I think Valencia has gone back to stay with her father." She had been running in that direction the last time Callum had seen her. "And I need a new co-pilot. Riley, I was hoping--"

"No," Riley said before Callum could even finish. "Make up with Valencia."

"I don't think that is possible right now." The admission made Callum's heart hurt.

"I don't care. I am not going to do it and neither is Cat so you're going to have to find Valencia and fix this." In truth, Callum had considered his sister but he'd rejected the notion almost instantly. The last thing he needed was his sister hearing his thoughts and experiencing his memories. Especially now.

"Maybe we can see if there are any volunteers among the villagers who want to do it," Nita said.

Riley whirled on her. "Valencia is Callum's co-pilot." Callum couldn't understand why Riley was being so stubborn about this. He didn't want to get into it in front of everybody but he was surprised and hurt by Riley's instant rejection.

"If he says Valencia can't or won't do it," Nita said patiently. "Then we should try to find a different solution. At least for the time being."

"This is ridiculous!" Riley shouted back. Catriona put a hand on his arm and Riley looked down, surprised. He swallowed whatever he'd been about to say and took a long, slow breath. "I just thought...things were finally starting to progress for you two."

Callum looked at him quizzically. "What are you talking about?" Riley couldn't have known about Valenica's feelings right? She'd kept them so deeply hidden.

"Listen," Yemoramato said. "I could give a fuck about the disgusting relationships between you dirt farmers. What matters is that mech being in the air the next time the carcha come. Everything else is secondary."

"Blunter than I would have put it," Nita said, with a sharp look for Yemoramato. "But she's not wrong. Callum can't pilot that thing alone, right?"

Russell shook his head. "He can take over flight controls in an emergency but Angra Mainyu wasn't designed to have one person pilot him."

"So we need to find a backup pilot," Nita said. "That does pose a problem. Anybody we choose will be completely raw. They are, as Yemoramato so eloquently put it, basically dirt farmers."

"He needs to make up with Valencia," Riley said stubbornly. Everybody ignored him, except for Callum, who glanced down at his folded hands atop the table. 'Maybe I should try at least one more time…'

"Not necessary!" A voice rang out. It was Dahri, suddenly in the doorway. "Your resident super genius has a solution to this quandary! May I present the littlest android, Myna from Fortress Planet Zalm!" She stepped aside, revealing the little android with the absurdly long hair. Everybody started at Myna and Myna just gazed forward, looking at nobody in particular. "Say hello, Myna."

"Hello," the android repeated dutifully. Dahri beamed.

"Let me get this straight," Yemoramato said. "You think that broken little robot can be the co-pilot of a mech?"

"Tell her, Myna," Dahri said.

"Instructions unclear," Myna said.

Dahri's features went from smug to frustrated in a blink. "Tell the fie woman that you can pilot a mech!"

"I can pilot a mech, Miss The Fie Woman."

"Yeah," Yemoramato said sarcastically. "She seems fixed."

"Can you really pilot a mech?" Nita asked. "Or are you just saying what Dahri instructs you to say?"

Myna looked to Dahri, who nodded. "I am acting upon the instructions of my owner."

"Damn it!" Dahri snapped. "That wasn't what you were supposed to say." She glanced at everyone and lifted her hands. "She can do it, I swear. I just haven't been able to get her personality matrix online and it is affecting her ability to, y'know, interpret context and make independent judgments.

"Those don't seem like things a pilot might need at all," Yemoramato quipped.

"Callum will be directing!" Dahri huffed. "If you give Myna an order like 'engage the enemy with a priority on keeping this mech in fighting shape--"

"Fighting shape?" Yemoramato repeated snidely.

"Whatever! She can be a co-pilot. A great one! Myna, tell them how many vehicles you know how to fly."

"The files of three hundred twenty-one thousand seven hundred and forty-four vehicles are stored in my memories. I am proficient in the piloting of each of these."

"And how many are mechs?" Nita asked.

"Two hundred and three."

"Well, alright." Nita glanced at Yemoramato. "What do you think?"

The fie let out a long breath, studying the android with half-lidded eyes. "If the carcha really has fixed up the android enough to operate a mech, it's probably not a bad choice. Those androids are built by Zalm to do anything they need, including assassination. If it really is fixed up enough, it will know how to fight."

"I did fix her!" Dahri said, stomping her foot. "I'm probably the only one in the entire universe who could have come this far in a hole like this."

"You did a very good job," Nita said soothingly. She glanced at Callum. "What do you think?"

Callum glanced at Myna and didn't feel great about it. Then he glanced at Dahri and saw the pleading in her eyes. It wasn't like he had any better options. "It couldn't hurt to try."

"Yes!" Dahri cried. "Jeffs, come and lift me so that I may celebrate!" The huge dobed walked into the room, startling all of them save Chajin, who merely appraised him while worrying a tooth with her tongue. Jeffs lifted Dahri up in the air and she lifted her arms in triumph. "Victory for Dahri!" Then she scooted around so she was cradled in one of his arms like a little girl in the arm of her father. "Now take us to the mechs!" Jeffs picked up Myna around the stomach like she was a cat and trundled off.

After a moment of silence, Yemoramato, of all of them, was the one who laughed. It was a short, sharp giggle and her face was a stony mask by the time all of them turned to look at her. "What?!" she snapped, glancing away. If Callum didn't know better, he'd have thought she was blushing. He smiled, just a little, thankful to be surrounded by such interesting people.

Riley brought the mood crashing back down. "This is stupid. You need to get Valencia to be your co-pilot again."

Again, strangely enough, it was Yemoramato who responded. She stood and brushed her hair back over her shoulder. "I don't think you have the right to be lecturing anybody. Weren't you the human that gave up your mech to a small girl? At least Callum has the guts to fight, you little bitch."

Riley flushed but just looked down. Yemoramato had hit a sore spot. It was Catriona that stood up, putting out an arm to partially shield Riley. "That was uncalled for. Riley just did what he thought was best. It kills him that he isn't fighting."

"Whatever." Yemoramato turned and walked to the door. She stopped in the doorway. "He has no experience fighting in a mech so he doesn't get to comment. If you don't know what it is like in a cockpit, shut your mouth. If Callum doesn't think he and the straw-haired human can pilot together then it is dangerous to try and force it." With a final shake of her head, she left.

Callum felt uncomfortable the moment she was gone. He was with Russell, who'd been strangely quiet, Riley, who was mad at him, Catriona, who had defended Riley but not him and Chajin, who made him anxious for a great many reasons. Even Nita's solemn, almost pitying gaze made him unhappy. "Well, I guess I better get to it." He waited a moment to see if anyone had anything to say but they all kept silent. The two he cared about most, Riley and Catriona, both averted their gaze. Callum left. Russell hurried to follow.

They walked out onto the landing pad together. Russell was still quiet, scurrying along beside Callum with his miniature legs. "Are you alright?" Callum asked. "You've been quiet since Dahri came with the android."

"Just thinking…" Russell said, his face serious. "Why couldn't I make myself full-size?" He suddenly stamped his feet in an angry yet comical dance. "I could have been your co-pilot! Damn it!"

"Well, why didn't you make yourself full-size?"

"How much do you think it cost to make this body? I wasn't exactly rolling in in fucking moolah as a professional rebel!"

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Callum hadn't even thought about what it would take to make a tiny simulacrum of himself. It was so far away from his world he could barely even conceive it. "Maybe when we get settled somewhere else we can find a way to get you a bigger body."

"Yes! You have no idea how much I want to be my full height again. With my big, black muscles and big, black dick. God, I miss my dick. Especially with so many fine-ass women around. That Yemoramato is a real bitch but women like her are usually dynamite in the sack. Nita is a real fine woman, too. I bet she knows her way around. And then there's your sister! An innocent beauty! The best type for long, slow--"

Russell didn't get to finish his thought because Callum punted him. The miniature mandroid soared through the air and Jeffs caught him easily. "That was surprisingly violent," Dahri said, an easy grin on her face.

"Sorry," Callum said, with little actual apology in his voice. "I don't really like it when people talk about my sister that way." In truth, he'd flashed white and hadn't come back to himself until Russell was flying.

"Understood," Russell said, seemingly none the worse for wear. Jeffs set him down. "My bad. I shouldn't have talked about your sister that way in front of you. Cool?"

"Sure," Callum said, though he didn't like the 'in front of you' part and what it implied. He didn't feel like arguing though. He turned to Dahri. "Does she need a pilot suit or anything?" She was still wearing the same leotard. "Now that I think about it, can she interact with the PC, uh, the, the liquid in the cockpit since she's a robot?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, silly boy. She is not a robot. She is an android." Callum looked at her blankly. "She is biomechanical. Synthetic but still living. She will respond to PFC liquid the same way you do."

"Huh. Alright." Callum thought that was weird but he supposed he'd learn if it were true in a moment. "And she'll be able to hear my thoughts and me, hers?"

"Indeed! I'm actually a little jealous of that. I can only imagine what is going on inside this head of hers." Dahri grabbed that head and shook it around. Myna let her, with the same lack of expression on her face that she always had.

"Sure," Callum said, mostly because he had no idea what else to say. "We should probably go ahead and give it a try."

Dahri suddenly looked nervous. "Alright but you be careful with her, alright?! I won't forgive you if something happens!" Callum almost asked what could happen but decided at the last moment that he didn't want to know what was going on in Dahri's head. "And, you!" she said, turning on Myna. "You be good. Listen to what Callum says and treat his words as my own."

"Orders confirmed," Myna said.

"Let's go," Callum said. He was already feeling tired. He scaled the rope ladder with the two androids in tow and they slid into the cockpit. Angra Mainyu came online instantly. Callum waited a moment and then stretched out his mind, trying to feel Myna. There was nothing. 'Are you here, Myna?'

'I have familiarized myself with the controls of this mech and am ready for takeoff.'

The words were jarring, coming out of pure nothing the way they did.

'Maybe I'll just talk aloud.' "Well, just take us up for now, then, Myna. Let's just start out with some light flying for now."

"Affirmative," Myna said, apparently taking his cue to speak aloud. She lifted Angra Mainyu in the air shockingly smoothly. It was better than the best takeoff Valencia had ever accomplished. The mech soared into the sky so gently that Callum wouldn't have known they were flying if he couldn't see them getting higher. 'Wow, she is really good at this.' There was no acknowledging thought from Myna, just a sort of vague sensation of math being done. It was lonely.

Once they had flown for a bit, Callum decided it was pointless to keep taking things slow. Myna was an excellent pilot. What they needed to do now was practice fighting. "Alright, Myna, let's practice fighting enemy mechs now."

"Acknowledged." She kept Angra Mainyu on its gentle flight.

Callum waited a bit and said, "Well, let's do it then."

"Acknowledged."

Callum waited a little longer and then said, "Why aren't you doing it?"

"What would you like me to do?"

"Practice fighting."

"With whom?"

"Nobody for real. Valencia would just pretend mechs were coming at us and start maneuvering like she was engaging them." Nothing came back his way from Myna. "Do you think you could do something like that?"

"I do not understand what you mean. My apologies."

Callum frowned sadly. "It's alright." 'But I don't think this is going to work.'

"Let me try," Russell said. "Myna, would you be able to simulate an attack by multiple carcha selachii on Angra Mainyu?"

"Affirmative. Specify class of selachii."

"The most common."

"Understood. Commencing." And suddenly it went from complete silence from Myna to an utter cacophony. She started jerking the mech around, dodging incoming attacks by imaginary enemies. But Callum could see them, through her. It wasn't a pleasant experience. He felt like he was seeing double. "Wait!" he said. "Wait, this is too much." The images stopped instantly as did Angra Mainyu. Callum waited for a moment to give his eyes and head time to recover. "Okay, let's do that again but start with only one mech at first."

"Affirmative." Myna simulated one mech attacking and Callum was able to adjust to that without too much trouble. After a while, they increased it to two and then three. Callum became so engrossed in this new training that he missed lunch and they trained until the sun was going down. Callum only stopped then because his eyes hurt. He didn't feel tired at all, despite an absolutely grueling extended training session. It seemed Venus wasn't lying about his new power boost.

Dahri and Nita were waiting for him at the entrance of the barracks. "How was it? How was it?" Dahri asked, hopping up and down.

Callum pushed his bangs back. "Incredible. Myna is incredible."

Dahri rushed forward and tried to lift the android up. It didn't work but Dahri didn't seem too upset. Instead, she hugged Myna and said, "You did it!"

"So the little android is good," Nita said with a grin. "I'm glad."

"It was really intense," Callum said. "Her mind is…" Callum just shook his head, unable to come up with the words.

"It must have been, for you to miss lunch. Come on, let's get you fed." Nita threw an arm around his shoulders and steered him inside.