The old man shrugged, "Well, there are worse things to be, I suppose."
Elizia completed her scan and sighed. She just ran into a more interesting problem.
The blockage spanned more than five different pipes, all right next to each other. While this made it easier to work with, it created another issue. There weren't enough well-fitting spares in order to replace the blocked ones.
"So, about Ame," Valentina went on casually, inspecting her nails, "were you there when the scandal broke out?"
"Yes I was," He replied, "As fate would have it, I was in the very city she was in that day, buffing a few rust spots out of the hull with a piece of steel wool when the news was released." He narrowed his eyes at her, "They never did find out who did it. The President held an investigation, but they soon gave up. He was heartbroken…"
Elizia cursed as she pulled out the last blocked-up pipe. Fishing through her gear, she found two spare pipes and set them in place, securing them with rivets. She lined up the last three on the floor, and set up a laser-precision heat gun, hoping to melt away the frozen coolant and re-use the pipes.
"Oh, he was heartbroken, was he?" Valentina said all to casually. She took a long swig of her vodka before looking back at the old man. "Well, I'm sure he was," she whispered, her hands tightening around her bottle.
Chero raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak further.
After 15 long minutes, the last of the coolant was safely disposd of. She coated the pipes with anti-freeze, then secured the last three with rivets. Running one more scan, she sent a message back to Val, alerting her that she was nearly finished.
Valentina received Elizia's message relieved. "Looks like the party's almost over," she sighed, her shoulders finally starting to relax.
With all parts riveted in olace, Elizia turned the systems back on. At once the coolant flow started up again, without issue. She opened the door and knocked on her own ship's airlock. One of the crew let her in, and the crew of the WaveRunner went back to their own ship. The captain stopped and held out his hand, a credit chip in hs palm.
"Thank you, Mechanist. Your pay. 5,000 credits."
Elizia waved a dismissive hand, "Hardly necessary, sir. We Mechanists don't expect pay for charity work."
Chero just tuck his hand out farther, "Please. I insist." Elizia shrugged and took his hand, and all at once he pulled her close and looked her right in the eyes. She struggled in her grasp, but he didn't try to do anything else. Instead, he simply whispered, "You're traveling companion, do you trust her?"
"Yes…"
"Are you aware she's a murderer?"
"She is not-"
"You know she is. I know she is. There is a bounty on the head of the killer of the president's wife. She has to be it."
Valentina knew what they were talking about. She could see the anger in the man's eyes, the hesitance in her new friend's face… She didn't like to think about the things she regretted. It wasted her time. But Elizia was the first friend she'd had since Ame. It was hard not to think that way.
Taking another sip of her vodka –she was running low– she ducked in to their conversation. "Shouldn't we be on our way? I'm almost out of liquor."
Chero turned towards Val, "If I may have a little while longer with the captain?"
Elizia rolled her eyes at the old man, then answered, "Give me a minute to work out pay, then we go, okay?" She spoke with a look on her face that said she didn't mean to be rude.
"Don't let the old man hold you too long," Valentina said, still carefree, although she gave Elizia a rare serious look. She turned and left them at it, her brows furrowing the moment her back was to them. What was he saying? Was he trying to turn Elizia against her?
Elizia nodded as Val walked off. If she knew Val well enough, she would be nearby. Either out of curiosity or unease, she didn't care.
Chero continued, "If you help me take her in, I'll double this chip, in addition to the bounty you'll receive. You'll be a hero in Ame."
Elizia took the chip from his hand. She held his eye contact and dropped her right hand to her side. "I believe you need to learn a few things about Mechanists. Firstly, we do not meddle in the affairs of other worlds. We don't betray our friends. We simply ensure the welfare of others through technological means, and help forward the advancement of technology. I find your ignorance of these facts annoying."
Her wings emerged, and her hand went to the gun at her side, then to the captain's head.
"Get the hell off my ship."
Valentina knew how to choose her friends. She grinned at Elizia before turning to the old man. Her own weapon flew to her hands, but she didn't point it at him. She twirled it around in her hands. "You heard the captain. Byeeee."
Gunshots from down the tube rang out as the honor guard that had accompanied Chero opened fire. Thinking fast, Elizia spun on her heel, presenting her winged back to the gunfire, keeping her gun trained on Chero's head. The rounds meant for her hit her wings instead, and the energy rounds dissipated upon contact.
"A hand?" Elizia shouted to Val, every bone in her body being scorched by the spare energy.
Val's movements were fluid and quick as lightning. She fired her gun at the honor guard's shoulder. He flew back. She ran across to him and disarmed him, her knee to his chest. "Amateur," she mocked with a breathy laugh.
As soon as the bullets stopped, Elizia tried to pull herself to her feet, only to be knocked down again by Chero. He drew his gun on her, but instead of ducking she grabbed it, draining it of energy, resulting in a fizzle when he tried to fire.
With the lack of adrenaline, Elizia was painfully aware of the energy pulsing inside her. Still she managed to kick out at Chero, ripping the gun from his grasp. Directing the energy back into the gun, she took aim at his knees and fired.
She had been briefed by Brella on the effects of high energy laser fire on humans and other fleshy organisms, but it was still a shock when the rounds vaporized his knees. He fell over and screamed in pain, and Elizia was left gazing at the holes about 3 fingers wide.
"Holy sh*t." Valentina stared at Chero. He was not okay. "What kind of energy is that?" She was already making plans to find a weapon with a similar beam. She glanced down at the man she'd disarmed, who was struggling under her weight. She smirked at him.
Elizia felt her wings dissipate, and with them the feeling of fire under her skin. Shakily she stood, turning towards Val.
Eliza opened her mouth, but no words came out. The shock of survival combat had put a plug in her throat. It was one thing to be kidnapped, another to kill. At least, it seemed that way….
She pointed to herself, and as though that had opened a pathway, she found words enough to say "That was me."
"Yeah, and it was badass," Valentina said, not noticing Elizia's turmoil. "What should we do with this guy? Kill him, too? He's in the way and we could raid their ship."
Elizia shook her head slowly, pulling her thoughts together, "He's the only healthy witness. He shot first, and if he's dead there's no one to prove it was self defense on our part."
She went to Chero's injured body and dragged him to the WaveRunner,then did the same with the honor guard, after draining his gun.
"Almost forgot you're a nice law abiding citizen," Val muttered. "They'll snitch on me for sure. That should make things fun."
As she kept talking, more of her concious mind emerged, "It sounds like they don't have evidence. If they do acuse you, I can act as a trust." She reentered her own ship and flipped the tube closed once Val was on board.
"True enough," Valentina agreed. She was completely unaffected by the violence. She followed Elizia back into her ship.
Elizia focused on her ship's controls, but it became a pain to make sense of them. Slowly, painstakingly, she managed to plot the course and set the ship to autopilot. She fell back in her chair.
"I'm not going to lie, Val," she started, "I really do wish that didn't happen. But since it did, thanks for saving me."
"First kills are the hardest," Val sympathized, "or so I've heard." She joined Elizia in the cockpit, sitting in the seat next to her and smiling at her.
Elizia didn't return Val's smile fully. She made a weak attempt, but she felt the weight of her own moral compass crushing her, and it left her feeling flat, joyless.
"Remind me never to ask you for emotional support."