Chapter 6

"Jam on it, girl!" Russell said, apparently not remembering what happened last time.

"Go ahead," Callum said. "Just take it slowly."

'Right. I can do this.' It made Callum a little uncomfortable that he could hear Valencia pumping herself up. She gently lifted Angra Mainyu off the ground about a meter and hovered for a moment. Then she abruptly cut the booster and the mech fell. Callum bent the knees of the giant robot and landed smoothly. "Sorry! Sorry!" Valencia cried. "It's hard to hold that steady."

"Don't worry about it. Considering the first try didn't cause any damage, I think this thing is pretty tough. Just keep trying. You'll get the hang of it." The feelings of gratitude that flooded the mental link embarrassed him, which in turn led to feelings of embarrassment from her. 'Boy, it's going to take a while to get used to this.'

'You said it.' Valencia tried lifting the mech again and this time it went better. Although there were a few instances of her letting off the jets and letting the mech drop, she managed to catch it before it hit the ground each time. Once they were high in the air, she began to experiment with direction changes. After a while, she had the mech circling through the air with relative stability. Callum was learning how to use his link with the mech to help with the flight. Tucking is arms and legs together to generate speed, leaning into turns and a host of other small things.

'I think we got this,' Callum thought at the same time Russell shouted, "You kids are naturals! I would have been happy to have you piloting a mech for the Black Lions."

"Thanks," Callum said. He wasn't sure what the Black Lions were but he imagined that Russell was paying them a high compliment. 'Are you ready?' Callum thought at Valencia. He had been trying to keep his anxiety and impatience under control for the last couple of hours but he didn't want to leave Catriona with the carcha a second longer than he had to. The fact that it had already been days was something he doubted he'd ever forgive himself for.

'Let's do it.' Callum felt fear coming from her but it was dwarfed by resolve. He'd never known Valencia was so tough. "Where are we going?" she asked aloud.

Callum frowned. That was a good question. He knew that the small compound where the carcha lived was near the base of the atmospheric tower that his father had taken him to see once. He remembered that the tower was northwest of Mikana. Even though he wasn't sure exactly where he was relative to Mikana, they couldn't be that far away. "Do you have a directional indicator among all that information you said you can see?"

"Uh...yeah. Yes."

"Great. Take us northwest then."

"You got it." The mech rotated and then Valencia sent it flying northwest at a steady pace.

"What are we looking for?" Russell asked.

"The carcha's headquarters is near the tower they built to generate the atmosphere. The tower is really, really tall so I think we'll be able to find it."

"A clever plan." Russell laughed softly. "I am still shocked they created a colony here. I had thought I picked one of the most out of the way places in the universe to hide Angra Mainyu. Never would have expected this."

"About that…" Valencia said. "Would you mind explaining a little more about yourself? Where did you come from? How did you get this mech?"

"You haven't heard of me either? Leo Cosmic?" He paused. "The Black Lions? Nothing?" Valencia's silence was answer enough. "What are they teaching you kids in school these days?"

"School?" Valencia and Callum asked together.

"Lord have mercy," Russell sighed. "Well, let me school you a little then. So, as I'm sure you know, the carcha showed up in our solar system about, uh...Cosmos?"

"Answer: the carcha first entered the Sol System approximately four hundred and eighty-six years ago."

"Right. They came claiming they just wanted to settle some of the lifeless areas of our system. A couple moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Humanity wasn't even close to unified enough to negotiate with them so they just kind of did whatever they wanted with the outer planets. I'm sure you've heard this bit, though…"

"Of course," Valencia said. Everyone knew at least the basics of the sequence of events that led to the carcha's ownership of Earth and the human diaspora. 'Though I might ask him about it in more detail later.' Callum had always been interested in the topic but everybody he asked had only known the bare basics.

"Good. So I was born and raised in Colorado on Earth."

"You were born on Earth?!" Valencia asked excitedly. Callum was equally impressed. Not very many humans remained on Earth and nobody they knew had known anyone from Earth. Not even Nita.

"Yeah…" Russell said, sounding a bit confused. Maybe it hadn't been as rare a couple centuries ago. "Anyway, I joined a resistance movement when I was a kid. Small time stuff. Bombing gathering points for the carcha, ransoming hostages, a little bit of industry sabotage, that sort of thing." 'That was small time?' "I knew it wasn't going anywhere so I gathered a small group with the goal of stealing a mech. This mech! What became Angra Mainyu."

"Oh." 'Was that it? He stole a mech and hid it?' Kind of a let down.

"Oh?" Russell repeated hotly. "Do you know how hard it was to steal a mech like this when we were only armed with small arms and some plastic explosives? Huh?" Before Callum couldn't answer, Russell continued. "It was damn hard! But we got one and we changed it and augmented it until it became the glorious machine it is now! With one, we were able to get more. And more! Until we had enough to actually challenge the carcha. A real war, fighting them on equal ground! Kind of. They did have a lot of stuff we didn't...and a lot more of the stuff we did have. But human guts made up for the lack and more!"

"Did it?" Valencia asked doubtfully.

"Of course. Russell Jones' big balls and the guts of Black Lions had those fucking fish on the ropes. Or, like, on the shore! Flopping around trying to suck air through their lungs!" He laughed at his own joke.

Callum found that hard to believe. Humans standing up to the carcha? Sounded unlikely in the extreme. He was content to keep the thought to himself but Valencia had no such scruples. "If you had them, then why have you and this mech been in a cave for the last two and a half centuries?"

Russell made a noise like he'd been physically struck. "Some things went wrong," he finally admitted. "Don't underestimate the carcha. Their capacity for treachery is unfathomable to the human mind." That spelled an end to the conversation for a little while. Callum's spirits were dampened. If he was so skeptical that humans could stand up to carcha, then what was he doing? He tried to shake it off. He had no choice anyway. But the thought wouldn't quite leave him.

It took them so long to find the atmospheric tower that dawn was breaking by the time they did. More than once, Callum had been convinced they had passed it and he almost cried with relief when they found it. 'Okay, this is it.' Callum had no plan but he figured the sheer shock of a mech coming out of nowhere would give them the edge they needed. He had no idea what kind of defenses the carcha would have but how prepared could they be? He'd never heard of Ragrun being under threat of attack from an outside force and the chances of an uprising among the humans was virtually nothing. 'I can do this. I can do this. Rescue her, make sure Riley and Nita are alright and then...then I'll figure out what comes next.'

A flash of alarm came from Valencia a moment before she said, "There is something red on one of these maps moving right for us!"

"Explanation: that map is a radar map. The red spot marks another vehicle of some kind approaching. Due to lack of information about this vehicle and my current understanding of the situation, I have marked it as an enemy vehicle."

"I can see it!" Callum shouted even as Cosmos finished speaking. The mech flying at them was painted a dull gray and was quite a bit sleeker than Angra Mainyu. It had a sharp head and sword clutched in its grasp. The sword was strange looking to Callum, somehow, though it wasn't like he'd seen a lot of swords.

"Blow it out of the sky!" Russell screamed. "Use the shoulder cannons!"

"What?!" Valecia shrieked back. "I don't...I'm...I…"

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" Russell chanted insistently. Valencia screamed and the shoulder cannons fired. Callum felt the draining sensation again. Were they pulling power directly from him? They missed to the left of the enemy mech. The carcha pilot reacted to the beam anyway, rolling to his right. The enemy mech paused its flight when it came out of the roll but Angra Mainyu was still rocketing forward at near full speed. Callum somehow instantly realized that this was their chance. He felt the tendrils of the power that came from Venus pulsing. They seemed to be feeding power to the mech and the speed increased. Yet things seemed to slow down for Callum. They raced past the other mech and he only had a split second to attack. He hit it. His glowing sword cleaved right through the chest of the carcha's mech, undoubtedly killing the pilot instantly. They were well clear of the mech when it exploded.

Time returned to normal for Callum and he gasped as if he'd been holding his breath. All of his muscles ached with a greater intensity than they had before and his head seemed to be swimming. 'Price of using this power?' He ignored Valencia's unvoiced question about the power and said, "Hurry and get us to the base of the tower. Even if the others were sleeping or something, that explosion might warn them."

"Right," Valencia said. He could tell from her thoughts that the conversation was merely on hold.

"That was awesome, cadet!" Russell crowed. "You dispatched that bastard like a ten year veteran. You'll be an ace before long!"

Callum didn't know what an ace was but if it involved more of that, he didn't think he wanted any part of becoming one. He was feeling nauseous now and really didn't want to vomit into the liquid he was floating in and breathing.

The compound of the carcha came into view shortly. It was a three domed building hugged up against the atmospheric tower. The carcha's compound was quite a bit taller than the mud-huts that made up his village and made of a very smooth white material. 'That all looks like one piece. Did they carve it out of something?' On a huge patch of ground that was all black for some reason, there was a large white ship that Callum had seen a few times before flying high in the sky above. Or maybe it was the smaller ship next to it that was a mirror image only about one-sixth the size. There were also five mechs standing near the ships. To Callum's relief, none of them seemed to be moving or reacting in any way to their approach.

His eyes tracked back to the compound as they closed and he saw some carcha standing just outside and staring up at them. Callum's heart started hammering. What was the next move? He'd told himself he would figure it out when he arrived but now that he was here, his brain seemed to freeze. He landed heavily and then paused in a half-crouch. The carcha made the first move. Four of them began sprinting toward the mechs.

"Waste those fuckers!" Russell shouted. "Right now, girl!"

"What?! Me?!" Valencia squealed. Callum could feel her panicking.

'Who else?! If they get to those mechs, we are done. We are fucked!"

"B-but!" Callum understood her objection. They were unarmed and unable to defend themselves. He hadn't had time to think about taking the life of the carcha in the mech a few minutes ago but that had been a fair fight. This would be a slaughter. Still...'if they make it to those mechs, they will kill us.' He couldn't stop the thought, just like he couldn't help orienting Angra Mainyu so the cannons were pointed toward the running carcha. Valencia heard it. With a sob, she triggered the cannons. The beam was thicker around than the carcha were tall so it didn't have to be that accurate. Callum wished it had been though. The cannon burned through each of the carcha at the shoulders, leaving their headless torsos to flop to the ground. "Oh, god!" Valencia cried.

Callum stared at the bodies, unsure what to do next. Luckily, Russell was not. "The rest of you better stay right where you are unless you want to end up like those sons of bitches," he snarled. There were only three more carcha outside the compound and, to Callum's vast relief, they stayed where they were. For the moment, at least. "Tell me how many more are here," Russell demanded.

The three carcha glanced at each other. Two were wearing nothing more than short-pants while the third was wearing a jumpsuit. It was this last one who spoke. "Are you human? You sound human."

"Damn fucking straight I'm human. Glad you could recognize it. I'd hate to think I might sound like one of you freaks."

"Where did you get that selachii, human?"

"None of your business, fishstick. Now answer me. How many?"

"This is madness, human. You won't survive this."

Russell laughed nastily. "Neither will you, unless you answer my damn question."

The carcha made a face. Callum didn't have much experience with carcha facial expressions but this one felt kind of...contemptuous. "There are twenty or so of us left, I think. Plus a half dozen dobeds, if you care. Why do you want to know?"

"Good. You two quiet bastards. Go inside and bring out every one of your friends. And since you seem to be the ranker among this little trio, you stay here. If I think anything funny is going on, I'll fucking squash you. Understood?"

The carcha showed all of his sharp teeth. Callum had no idea if it was supposed to be a threatening or placating gesture. "Understood." He nodded to the two others, who reluctantly headed back toward the compound. A translucent door shot directly up as they approached and closed behind him. 'How did it do that?' He shook his head. No time for that now. Callum released the handles, praying that the carcha wouldn't be able to tell that the mech didn't have an active pilot. He swam up to the surface of the liquid and broke the surface. Before he could speak, he began coughing, eventually bringing up a surprising amount of the orange liquid.

As he was depositing the liquid from whence it came, Russell snapped, "What are you doing? We need to be prepared to move in an instant if things change."

"I need…" After another coughing fit, Callum said, "I need to know what the plan is. Why did you tell them to bring out all their friends? All I want is my sister and Riley and Nita if they are in there."

Russell's brow drew down. "Have you thought about this, boy? At all? If you take back your sister, do you think that you'll just be able to go back to your village and resume your life as a slave? They'll probably demolish your village and kill everyone in it just to make a point."

"Well…" Callum couldn't answer. The truth was he'd been thinking about it non-stop but he had no answers. A coughing fit coming behind him caused Callum to spin around. Valencia had broken the surface. The liquid did very little to protect her modesty. She glared at him even as she was coughing and motioned for him to spin back around.

Callum did so just as Russell whined, "Now you too? What the hell is wrong with you kids? This is the critical point! We need to be able to react like that!" he yelled, snapping his fingers.

"I admit that I don't have a plan," Callum said softly. "But what is yours? I want to know before I participate in it." It was pretty clear that Russell hated the carcha intensely. If his plan was to slaughter them all…

"My plan is pretty simple," Russell said with a beatific smile. "We take this base, seize their mechs and their ships, escape with your friends and begin a galaxy-wide rebellion that frees Earth, humanity and the others suffering under the carcha." Russell rubbed his chin. "Yeah. That sounds pretty good."

Callum was stunned into silence. Valencia was not. "Are you out of your mind? Are you actually insane, you...fucking...tiny man?!"

Russell winked. "To the contrary. I'm the sanest person that ever lived. From my perspective, all you people who are happy to live like insects in the dirt while carcha step on you now and again out of boredom are the crazy ones." Rage flitted across Russell's face. "I have never understood it. I will never accept it."

"Maybe our lives aren't that great," Valencia admitted. "But that doesn't mean that we're willing to commit suicide."

Russell raised an eyebrow. "So you equate standing up to the carcha with suicide? Then haven't you already pulled the trigger?" There was nothing either of them could say to that. Russell stiffened. "Get back to your places. Now! Another human just showed up. If we don't respond now, that carcha will realize something is up!"

Callum jerked. 'Another human?!' Who could it be? Riley? Nita? Callum dived under the surface, sucking the PFC liquid into his lungs without hesitation and gripping his handles. His vision instantly shifted so he was looking out via Angra Mainyu's eyes once more. He whipped his head around frantically until he saw a figure approaching in the distance. He couldn't quite make them out and wished he could see further. Responding to his thoughts, the eyes of the mech zoomed in. Callum was too excited by what he saw to wonder how he saw it. "Nita!" he exclaimed aloud. The carcha on the feet of the mech glanced up in curiosity and Callum realized he'd revealed there was another person in the mech besides Russell.

"Who is Nita?" Russell asked. "By the way, I've muted the outside speakers, which is what you need to do when you want to speak privately. Not abandon your post."

"She's my friend. She goes between the villages solving problems and keeping order and those kinds of things. She'll help us!"

"Hmm. A sheriff, huh? You should be wary of the police. They enforce the 'rules' even if those rules have been made up by complete fucking morons or evil bastards."

'Sheriff? Police?' He didn't know what Russell was talking about but he didn't like it. "Nita isn't like that. She's more like a...like a…"

"Mediator," Valencia chimed in. "We don't have any real rules or rulers here. The only thing that matters is mining enough that the carcha give us supplies."

Russell grunted. "Sounds like an asset for the carcha! If she's 'mediating' away problems, how are people supposed to get angry enough to rebel?!"

Callum didn't know what Russell was talking about so he decided to ignore him. Instead he watched as Nita skirted Angra Mainyu and peered up at it curiously. "What is this thing here, Jahan?" Callum blinked. 'She knows the name of a carcha?'

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Jahan shot back. "There is a human piloting it after all."

Nita laughed but it faded when Jahan glared at her steadily. "Are you serious? How the hell would a human get their hands on a mech?"

"That's a very good question, Ray," Jahan growled.

Nita lifted her hands. "You think I had something to do with it? I've never seen that thing in my entire life. I was just coming by to ask if you'd seen that kid I talked to you about."

"We did," Jahan said tightly. "He tried to attack us." 'Riley!'

"Fuck," Nita muttered. "Listen, he's just a dumb kid. Could you let him off lightly? He and his friend are both great miners."

Jahan showed his teeth. "No chance. In fact, I think you're going to be in a cell right beside him."

'He's got Riley!' "Russell! Tell him to bring out Riley now! And my sister! What are we waiting for?!" he shouted.

"Slow up, cadet. We need to play this real calm and real cool," Russell answered. "Though I am starting to get suspicious that the carcha haven't come out yet. Those slimy bastards must be planning something...Cosmos! Scan the top floor for heat signatures!"

"Acknowledged. There are five signatures on the top level, the closest eighteen meters from the front of the building."

"Perfect. Callum! Carve out a big old piece of that top floor. That will give them a nice scare. Think we're stupid?! Think we're gonna wait until they come up with a plan?!"

Callum lifted his sword and took a step forward, very close to where Nita and Jahan were standing. He leaned forward and did as Russell had instructed, slashing through the smooth, white exterior of the compound. Since Cosmos had reported nobody within eighteen meters, made sure to stab in a little deep. The sword cleaved through the building easily, sending shards of whatever material it was built out of raining down. Nita and Jahan covered their heads even though very little debris actually made it to them. "What is the hold up?!" Russell thundered. "I want every carcha out here right now or I am going to bring this fucker down on your heads. You have thirty seconds!" Callum was a little dismayed by the threat. He knew it was just a bluff but what would they do if the carcha didn't come out in the next thirty seconds?

Luckily, it didn't come to that. Carcha immediately started spilling out of the building. Most of them didn't seem very afraid of the mech. They were angry. Or maybe irritated would be the better word. 'Don't they know that five of them are already dead? Do they not care?' The Odontas was the last to appear, surrounded by his guard of a half-dozen dobed. "What is the meaning of this?!" he wailed at them. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"Update me on the heat signatures in the building," Russell said, ignoring the Odontas for the moment.

"Acknowledged. There are two signatures in the building. Speculation: based on their body temperature and size, they are human."

'Catriona and Riley!' "They're here!" he exclaimed happily.

"And alive," Valencia said with a relieved sigh.

"Now the question is what to do with all of these carcha," Russell said grimly. "Personally, I would be happy to stomp them into the dirt!"

Valencia gasped in horror. "We can't just murder them!"

"And Nita's down there," Callum reminded him.

"So what? You saw her talking to those fish bastards. She's real friendly."

"She must have a reason," Callum muttered. "Russell, unmute me."

"Why?"

"I want to talk to her."

"I don't know if that is a good idea."

"Well, I do." Russell didn't respond right away, so Callum added, "I'm the pilot of this mech and I'm not going to do anything else unless I get to talk to her."

Russell growled in frustration. "Fine," he assented. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Nita!" he cried and the fact that she jumped confirmed he was no longer muted. "Nita, it's Callum!"

"Callum? What...how the hell...you shouldn't even be out of bed? How did you...where did you get that thing?"

"I'll tell you later. I'm here to rescue Catriona and Riley. Is there any way you can imprison these guys so that we can come out safely?"

"What the hell is going on?!" the Odontas yelled again. "Where did that selachii come from? Who is in there?"

"Sir, please calm down. Just let us...secure you some place and take our friends and then we'll leave and let you go. Nobody else has to die."

"Who the fuck are you to give me orders?" the Odontas spat. "This is absolutely ridiculous. Kill whoever is in that selachii." The Odontas glanced around and when nobody initially moved, he added, "Right now!"

The next few minutes were pure chaos. The majority of the carcha began sprinting toward the idle mechs. The dobed, however, all charged straight at Angra Mainyu. Callum reflexively swiped down with his sword and sliced two of them in half, instantly feeling a wave of guilt and regret. The other four began pounding on his legs but he just ignored them, assuming they wouldn't be able to do much. Instead, he turned the torso of his mech, as Russell was screaming for him to do, at the gang of carcha charging toward the mechs. Valencia hit the trigger of the cannon, disintegrating about half of them. The other half smartly scattered. 'Damn it!' He twisted slightly and Valencia fired another shot, killing only a single carcha this time.

"Warning: damage to armor on legs is now at ten percent," Cosmos reported.

'What?!' Callum glanced down and saw that the dobed were actually tearing away pieces of the leg armor with their bare hands. 'How strong are they?!' he thought incredulously. He swiped at the dobed but it was hard to angle his sword. 'Hit the booster!' he desperately communicated to Valencia. She reacted instantly, sending Angra Mainyu rocketing into the sky. Two of the dobed were left behind but two others doggedly hung on. Callum kicked one off and managed to knock the other one away with his free hand. Thinking fast, Callum glanced back at the carcha mechs. A couple of carcha had almost reached them. 'Put us down between the mechs and the carcha!'

Valencia twisted Angra Mainyu around and sent it hurtling at the spot he'd directed. She cut the jets a few meters above the ground and Callum managed to land steadily on his feet. The two lead carcha were close and he lashed out with his sword, killing them both. Valencia triggered the cannon again, killing two more. That left one. He pulled up and studied Angra Mainyu, his mouth tight. Callum saw that it was Jahan. The carcha darted for a mech. With a roar of anger and horror, Callum stepped forward and sliced down, cutting Jahan down. Callum froze and stared at the dead body. 'What have I done? What have I done?!' He thought his heart would beat its way out of his chest. It beat in time with the pulse of power at his core. Every part of his body hurt. He felt like he was being squeezed dry from the inside.

"No time to rest!" Russell shouted. "There's still the Odontas and two more of of those fucking orange beasts!"

'Nita!' She was alone with them. That was enough to spring him back into action. Callum ran forward, Angra Mainyu's huge strides eating up the distance quickly. The scene he came upon was shocking. Nita was standing over the corpse of the Odontas and the two remaining dobed were advancing on her slowly. She dropped into a fighting crouch just as one of them leapt at her. She ducked under his blow and hammered a fist into his side. The dobed didn't seem to notice, slamming her to the ground with a forearm.

The other dobed sprang at her too but Callum got there in time. He kicked it straight on, sending it careening through the air. The other dobed had locked its hands above his head and was preparing to strike Nita again. Callum snatched him up with his free hand and then reared back and flung him at the carcha's compound. He hit with a sickening splat and then slid down, leaving a trail of red. Callum watched, bile rising in his throat. 'The dobed bleed red...' The carchas' blood had been pale but the dobeds' was the same color as humans. 'They're under the thumb of the carcha too, so why did they attack without any regard for their own lives?'

"Great job, kids!" Russell exclaimed, busting Callum out of his morbid musings. "I couldn't have done it better myself. Cosmos, confirmation if you please."

"Report: no life signs among any carcha. Life signs from two dobed."

"Really? Mark them, Cosmos. We'll need to take care of them."

"Acknowledged." A moment later, Valencia sent him the mental image of a small map that had two blinking red lights. 'You're not going to kill them, right?' she asked.

'Of course not.' There had to be some way to communicate with them. Callum walked his mech to the closest one and stopped just short. He inspected the dobed. Its left leg was definitely broken. Callum opened the sheath in Angra Mainyu's leg and put Shamshir away. "What do you think you are doing?" Russell asked. Callum ignored him. Instead, he kneeled down and, gently as he could, picked up the injured dobed. As careful as he tried to be, the dobed still wailed in pain as Callum lifted him. Callum's stomach turned at the sound. 'Why did this happen?' He could sense similar anguish from Valencia.

He strode over to the next dobed, trying his best not to jostle the broken leg of the one he was carrying. This dobed was unconscious and didn't stir when Callum picked him up. 'Is this the right one?' Valencia confirmed that it was. He carried them both back to where Nita was waiting and set them down next to her. She peered up at him with a grimace. "Are those for me? You really shouldn't have…"

"Sorry," he muttered. "I just needed a place to...set them down." In truth, he had no real idea what he was going to do with them. 'First things first. Cat and Riley.' He kneeled his mech down and then let go of the sticks. He swam to the top of the liquid and, between coughing fits, ordered Cosmos to pop the hatch. He used the handholds built into the cockpit to pull himself up and out, the muscles in his arms trembling violently as he did so. He flopped out of the hatch and tried to climb down. His weakened limbs and slimy hands betrayed him, though, and about halfway down he slipped and ended up crashing into the dirt.

Nita gasped and ran over to him. She helped sit him up. "Are you alright?"

Callum took a minute to let his brain stop shaking and to do a quick check on his body. Everything seemed to be moving. The soreness from the new bruises was dull and weak compared to internal pain he'd been feeling. "Thanks, Nita. I'm alright."

"Okay, good. Because I have a lot of questions."

"Later. Help me up." Nita pulled him to his feet. Callum was unsteady but managed to stand on his own. "We need to find Cat and Riley."

"Wait!" That was Valencia. She was on top of Angra Mainyu. "Don't leave me behind, you jerk!"

"Jesus Christ!" Nita shouted. "Valencia, too?!" Valencia scrambled over the side but much like Callum, she lost a hold of the mech about halfway down and plunged toward the ground in freefall. Even with his exhausted body, Callum moved instantly, getting under fast enough to catch her and break her fall. He ended up sitting down hard but kept her cradled in his arms.

After a moment, Valencia opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times. Then she sighed in relief. "Thanks, Callum."

"No problem." He adjusted her slightly in his arms to try and relieve the strain on them. Apparently this reminded her that she was naked. Her face went red and screamed, flailing and pushing him away. After an unpleasant few seconds in which he was hit in the face more than once, he managed to detangle himself from her and scoot away. She ended up on her knees, huffing, red-faced and covering herself up as best she could. Callum was a little distance away, still on his backside. Warmth under his nose caused him to touch it with one hand. It came away bloody.

Valencia's emotions did another one-eighty and she gasped in horror. "I'm so sorry," she said, knee-walking over to him. She forgot her modesty again and took his head into her hands. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "Are you alright?" She wiped away some of the blood.

"I--I'm fine," he said, unable to move. He was entranced by her blue eyes welling with tears. She was so close. His stomach began to feel warm.

"I never thought you would have the courage to get butt naked to pilot one of those bad boys," Nita said. "I underestimated you." She swept her robe over Valencia's shoulders. This had the effect of leaving Nita naked from the waist up. Callum gawked at her, unable to help himself. Valencia's eyes turned icy. Callum quickly scrambled to his feet and turned slightly away from him. He was 'butt naked' himself and the presence of two different partially dressed women was starting to do things to him. 'Focus on getting to your sister, man!'

"You know," Russell's voice rang out. "We do have a rope bridge in the cockpit if you want to start using that."

Callum just sighed but Valencia shouted, "Why didn't you tell us?!"

Russell shrugged. "You didn't ask."

"Who is this now?" Nita asked.

"Good of you to ask!" Russell said. He struck a pose, legs spread wide, head thrown back, one arm outstretched and the other bent so his fingers could ever so lightly brush his face. "I am the leader of the Black Lions, master of the God of Chaos, liberator of humanity! Leo Cosmic! Russell! Jones!"

For a long moment, only silence greeted him. He remained posed. Callum glanced at Nita. She seemed confused but it was different than the outright lost look Valencia had had when she heard the name. "Russell Jones?" Nita repeated.

Russell dropped his pose. "You've heard of me?" he asked excitedly.

"I've heard of a Jones who was the leader of the Black Lion terrorist group. But he lived like three hundred years ago."

"Terrorist group!? Carcha propaganda!"

Nita's green eyes studied him. "So you're, what, an android with an operating system based on the memories and personality of the real Russell Jones?" Callum blinked in shock. He had known on some level that Russell wasn't a real human but he hadn't been able to put together what actually was.

"I'm more than that!" Russell insisted. "I have his spirit. His soul! I am him!" Russell suddenly swan dived off of Angra Mainyu towards Nita. She caught him easily enough and flipped him around so that he was right side up in her hands. "And I have his eye for women. You are even finer up close. Does my soul good to see that humanity can produce such women even after living under carcha whips for so long."

Nita laughed. "Maybe you aren't such a bad little guy after all." Russell roared with laughter as well.

Valencia got to her feet, muttering to herself. Callum couldn't make out most of it but he did hear the words 'pervert,' 'bastard' and 'saggy tits.' More loudly, she said, "Shouldn't we be getting a move on?"