Page 32 of Craze

I have thought of you every night since,I admit.I heard your transmission, but it was broken up by static.

“Hang on, Eliana.” She reaches out to hold the hand of a redhead with light in her chest who can’t sit up.I didn’t know who was down here. I got a response but it was too brokenup. I hoped someone was here but figured they were damaged beyond repair.

I don’t like the depressing mood of our conversation. The way she blushed when I greeted her on the ramp makes me want more of that.

“You know, Rochir’s even uglier in person than he sounded on the com chats with the commanders,” I say.

She smiles just a little. They all do. It’s progress.

Tangle sets us down in the shaft and begins the journey through the tunnels to our hideout.

Tangle>>Craze: She must be what they spoke of when Rochir and the commanders discussed telepathic tech he had in his possession. But I’ve never known them to refer to a Titan in such a way.

Craze>>Tangle: Perhaps it is because she is female. I reply in our private conversation. Maybe they hadn’t anticipated finding a functioning pilot because we have no known ships left. Most were destroyed.

Tangle>>Craze: The Rogues are out there.

I can’t see Pellucid’s digibadge. They must’ve concealed her to hide her incomplete body. All female Titans I’ve ever met were mounted to a pilot’s seat and never had legs. This one has legs. Perhaps they are rudimentary.

Tangle>>Local: They call you Navi, but is that for Navigator?

We glide into the cavern we’ve made our main home since the jailbreak.

That would make sense,she replies,but it is not short for that.

Tangle parks close to the fire pit.I will get it started and gather all useful resources for the females. Can you unload?

I give him a double click back and start with Jeela. Navi seems to favor her, though the reason is unclear.

I lay her down on a blanket Tangle spreads out for her before he starts the fire with a stick against a hot hoverengine.

“You doubt I should be here,” Jeela says. “But I saved a human from Sevrin. He took my arms as punishment and gave them to a soldier who lost his in battle with you.”

I study the human arms that replace hers. “And those?”

“Because I love humans so much, they spliced me with a dead test subject. Rochir likes Solcrue females and his balls squeezed during ejaculation. Needed hands.

“Not many females of our kind, roaming the galaxy. Just us infertile husklinons. Most love being an anaja to our own kind. I resisted, so they took my legs. That way I couldn’t fight. Sevrin just liked swapping parts on me, I guess.”

Pellucid>>Craze: She stood up to her people to fight for us. You can trust her.

Navi helps Shavih off of the lift, then walks her to the fire crackling to life in the pit.

“Why?” I ask as I collect another woman and lay her beside Jeela. “No Solcrue I’ve met are like you.”

“It is one thing to rule. It is another to lead.” Jeela rolls over, hugs herself, and closes her eyes. “Solcrue have a motto.”

“Dominate, assimilate, or die.” Pellucid wraps Shavih in a blanket then returns to help her other humans. Even though she is low on power, she doesn’t stop.

They all need proper bandages and rest. While Pellucid finishes assisting the females to the fire, I dig through our salvaged medical kits and patch up those I can. We were not prepared for so many human patients.

Tangle climbs a wall like a cubed snake and returns with a pack of rations from a crevice.

Pellucid stares at him like she doesn’t know what to think. He fills a jug and a large pot with water and returns to us asAxe, RamBash, and Macabre hover in on our Tacticat. They join Tangle in preparing a meal and attending to the females.

Macabre>>Local: It’s like they were trying to turn them into us.

He splints a half metal and half human leg of a woman who has passed out.

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