Anarchy

Hopeful Healing

Later that day, as Trykerius sat polishing his tools in the docking bay, he tilted his head back until it met the cool metal of the ribbing behind him. He stared up at the vast cavern of his work space and sighed. The high catwalks crisscrossed the ceiling, while the entire station was inlaid with a material that prevented scanners from picking up life forms.

He’d finished the repair work on his ship, and fixed the rail gun on Novidia’s mini-fighter. The small, high-powered fighter was perfect for making fast, reflexive movements for easy getaways and weaving between enemies. Now he was finishing the upgrades on Axel’s, whose ship released targeted, heat-seeking detonation charges that blew up on contact.

Sighing again, he yawned as he stretched out his aching limbs. He’d spoken his truth, releasing himself from the long-kept secret that had been threatening to tear apart his sanity. Now he knew that it never mattered. Not to the people he called his found family.

In the eighteen months he’d served on Helix Station, he’d never given his friends a reason to think of him as anything but a joker whose engineering talents served the whole crew well. Now three more had been added to the list.

Scratching the back of his neck, he yawned again, his head slowly dropping to one side as sleep finally claimed him. The wrench in his hand fell to the padded floor with a dull thud as his breathing levelled out and his body relaxed.

From the shadows, Novidia’s wide golden eyes blinked slowly. Breathing easier as she turned to go back to her room. Pulling up her wrist com, she contacted Bane. “He’s resting. First time in three days.”

“Finally. I was starting to worry about his health. Talis said the readings were beginning to become concerning,” Bane said, his tone strained. “Take a rest day, Novi. You deserve it.”

“Thanks, Captain,” she answered.

As she passed the human girl’s room, she heard voices inside. Stopping, she debated telling whoever was inside that Trykerius was okay. Then something scraped behind her, and she froze. Her ears perked up, swiveling independently to catch any sounds.

Her shoulders sagged as she glanced around once more before slowly looking at the ceiling. Laughing softly to herself, she spotted the Weaver as Solara backed into the deeper shadows.

“You wanna play, don’t you?”

Solara moved back into the light, her mandibles silent. “No. Practise.”

“Practise? For what?” Novidia asked, tilting her head as a proud purr escaped her.

Laughing in her child-like way, Solara moved across the ceiling. “For moving quietly, silly. I need to learn to be a quiet predator.”

Nodding, her eyes narrowing in softness, Novidia smiled. “That’s a good thing to learn. You’re a child, yes, but you’re a predator as well.”

Dropping down using her webbing, the Weaver slowly and silently landed on the floor before melting the white threads into nothing. “But I don’t want to scare Axel anymore. He’s nice.”

Joining her on the floor as Solara sat, Novidia sighed. Two of her eight limbs were holding her steady while her primary and secondary arms wrapped around her torso.

Blinking her double-lidded eyes, the Katzenfurg laid one front paw flat on the floor. “Look, Solara. You’re not the only predator here.”

Pressing down once the Weaver was paying full attention, Novidia purposely showed her usually tucked claws. Tiny and sharp, each one was as strong as tungsten and could tear through hull plating. Pulling back her upper lip in something similar to a snarl, she showed the child her equally lethal, hollow-point fangs.

Scooting over to the Katzenfurg, her face filled with awe and curiosity, Solara reached out one three-fingered hand. Touching the claws first, she looked up at the fangs, then at Novidia’s seemingly patient face.

“Predator, but good? You have sharps, like weapons,” Solara said, trying to articulate what she was thinking.

As if she understood what the Weaver was trying to say, Novidia smiled. “Yes. I am a predator. A hunter species built for silence and speed. In fact, I’m just like you, but in a different shape.”

Tilting her head, her mandibles moving slowly and soundlessly, Solara blinked. Her eyes blinked in unison, all six focused and clear. “So, it’s okay to be me?”

“You just have to be careful. Do what feels natural, but do it to protect friends instead of hurting them. When it comes to anyone who hurts your friends? Well, that’s another story.”

Solara blinked again, her eyes fully focused as she listened eagerly to the Katzenfurg. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” Novidia started. Bringing her paw up, she smoothed down the longer hairs that grew on the Weaver’s head. “That if anyone hurts you or your friends, you are allowed to fight back. When you defend someone, that is good. When anyone hurts someone weaker or smaller, you are allowed to defend against threats.”

“Can I ask another, um, question?”

Novidia nodded.

“You, um, wear clothes. Can I?”

Looking down at her suit, the Katzenfurg laughed. Her aerial uniform was for flying and fighting. Otherwise, she used simple coverings that moved with her flexible body. Bringing her gaze up to Solara’s expectant face, she nodded.

“Azrael also asked to grab some things for herself that she requires. I don’t see a reason not to get you a few things. Maybe some cute dresses and a combat suit like mine. Something that moves and stretches with your body instead of restricting movement,” Novidia told the child.

Her mandibles tapping furiously, Solara giggled. “I’d like that a lot. Um, why is the gold one gone quiet?”

The gold one? Novidia thought for a moment until realization dawned that Solara was talking about Trykerius. “My good friend is taking a nap in the engineering bay. He’s been stressed, and hasn’t been sleeping right.”

Solara looked thoughtful for a moment before she giggled again. Standing, she made her way over to the wall, the naturally sticky bottoms of her eight appendages holding fast to the slick material. “I’m going to keep practising.”

“You do that, kiddo,” turning to the door of Azrael’s room, she noticed that Misha and Azrael were staring at her affectionately. “What?”

“You were actually being nice.” Misha’s comment hit a nerve as Novidia got up and brushed off her clothes.

“I was coming to see if you guys wanted to go shopping,” the feline growled. “And I’m nice all the time. I’m just gentler with children.”

Azrael blinked, her eyes tracking the shadow moving along the piping in slow, careful beats. Already, the child was halfway down the hall, her steps padded with soft, sticky webbing. A smile graced her lips, and she felt her heart soften toward the Weaver. “She’s so energetic.”

“Always learning. Always trying,” Novidia whispered, lifting her yellow gaze to follow Azrael’s line of sight. “I didn’t even hear her get that far. Well done, little one.”

Misha looked down at the Katzenfurg, his dark eyes glittering. Crossing his arms, he scoffed lightly. “You know, she might have learned from you. I mean, she was close to you, so she might have noticed the extra padding on your paws, Novi.”

Raising her paws to her face, Novidia gasped in recognition. “I think you might be right. She didn’t use the thread that makes noise this time. She used softer webbing instead, padding her steps to avoid noise.”

“Would you look at that? She’s learning in real-time how to be a good-natured predator.” Misha’s words were followed by a round of laughter.

Moving around the Concloian, Azrael went into the med bay, thoughts playing with the idea of a full diagnostic breakdown of her blood origins. “Hey, Misha? You need to finish that story of your escape from your home world.”

“For sure,” he called over to her. “I was only just getting to the good part, too.”

“What story?”

Misha looked at the four-foot tall Katzenfurg. “You know, for someone who barely reaches my waist, you’re hella annoying. I was telling her about when Bane and I busted Val outta the prison on our home world.”

“Oh, right. He was accused of some kind of crime he didn’t commit, wasn’t it?” Novidia asked.

Misha nodded. “Yeah. Murder of an official. He didn’t do it. Valiant was at a training camp miles away with me and Bane when it happened, so there was no way he could have done it.”

“You were right to trust him. He gave me access to his memories a few days ago,” Azrael said quietly. “There was no crime committed by your friend.”

“Thanks for believing me,” Misha murmured quietly.

Before turning back to the med bay door, Azrael sighed. “None of you are real criminals. You are survivors of a corrupt system.”

Novidia and Misha stopped mid-argument, their eyes wide as they stared at the girl.

Blinking first, Azrael shook her head with a short laugh. Entering the med bay, she left the two friends in the hall.

Talis was bent over his desk, looking over the bodily schematics for each crew member. He glanced up, his purple eyes flickering with amusement. “Can I help you with anything, Azrael?”

“I’d like to update my file with my basic info if I can.” She took the seat across from him, sitting relaxed with her hands folded over her thighs.

The doctor tilted his crystalline head to the side. “Oh?”

“Well, for one, I’m turning nineteen this year. I know my body doesn’t look that old, but I know my age,” she told him. Her tone was steady, calm. Like she had all the time in the world.

“That would mean you were born in 3110,” Talis said, pulling up her file.

She nodded. “Yes. Approximate date of birth was 04-24-3110. Date of capture: 10-13-3121. Eight years, and they couldn’t break me. They couldn’t break my stubborn will or my desire for freedom.”

Setting down his pen, Talis leaned back in his chair. “I’m glad they didn’t, Azrael. I’ll update the file for you, my dear. Can you go check on my daughter for me in the meantime?”

“Sure.”