"For you," said the shopkeeper, a mutated human with pointy elf ears, holding up a small, ornate mirror for the raggedy urchin who happened to come out of the gun repair shop nearby.
Clad in a tatty mini dress, tights pants, and scuffed boots, Sumida stopped in her tracks. The gun hanging from the belt loosely strung around her waist bounced against her hip as she turned.
"It's a lovely trinket," the deathly pale girl told the shopkeeper. "But I don't need it."
She spied Klang, the Bolen with buggy, doe-eyes and steely skin weaving his way through the crowd some distance away.
Sumida liked Klang. He was a timid sort with a generally nervous disposition, which was out of character for an insectoid. He was quite unlike the vicious and predatory types that Sumida had read about in books. Klang was gentle but stalwart and he'd saved Sumida and Bex's lives more times than they could count.
He was heading for the warehouses in the opposite direction from their ship.
Curious, she followed.
When he ducked into a warehouse, she frowned. What exactly was he up to? She was some distance away, so it took some time to catch up.
She smelled the blood before she even opened the warehouse door. At first, her brain couldn't even process what she was witnessing. In the dim light, she could at first, only make out a bunch of dark shapes on the ground.
Then her eyes adjusted to the ruined bodies. Bodies torn to pieces. Blood of various hues splattered everywhere. her gut lurched. There was brain matter. There were scattered limbs. There were spilled guts.
Mercenaries. She could tell from what was left of their clothing and the bent and broken weapons strewn about the messy floor.
She caught a flutter of movement out of the corner of her eye. Sumida stood there, frozen to the spot as Klang emerged from the shadows, towering over the broken bodies.
Klang was four armed, quadruple jointed, and deceptively delicate but all Sumida could see now was a killing machine. A perfect killing machine.
One mercenary was still alive. His weak, agonized moans reached Sumida. The blood-splattered, alien monster that brought its foot down to stomp the life out of that mercenary was not the soft-spoken Klang she knew.
She drew in a sharp breath. Instinct said that if he saw her right then, he'd kill her too. She closed her eyes and backed out of the warehouse but not quickly enough. There was a rush of wind. The overpowering scent of blood intensified. Sumida froze, the insectoid's breath brushing the back of her neck. Sumida couldn't move. Couldn't run. Couldn't scream.
Bony fingers gripped her shoulders so tightly she wanted to cry out from the pain but she was too scared to make a sound.
"Did you see?" Came the deadly whisper.
"I d-didn't see anything!" She lied.
Klang's grip on her shoulders tightened.
"Be truthful." His voice was hollow and cold.
"Alright. I saw," she her voice quivered. "Please don't kill me."
For what seemed like an eternity, they stood there. Sumida could only wait to see what he would do. Seconds ticked by. She swallowed hard and prayed to whatever gods were listening out there in the cold vastness of space. He let go abruptly and retreated into the darkness of the warehouse.
Sumida stumbled backwards. She fell on her butt, scrambled to her feet.
She didn't know this violent creature. This was not a Klang she knew. Not the Klang she traveled with. Laughed with. Traded stories with.
She ran. She ran all the way back to their ship. She didn't stop until she was inside the ship and in the presence of Klang's beloved human, Bex.
Bex was blue. Bex was strong. Was she strong enough to stop a murderous Klang?
Bex was seated at the ship's controls, prepping the vessel for their departure from Cluster Nine.
"What's with you?" Bex asked.
Sumida didn't answer. She couldn't. She just stood there, near tears and gasping for breath, her heart thundering in her chest.
"Sumida?"
"Do you think it's weird?" Sumida asked, breathless. "Do you think it's weird that no one has come after us in weeks?"
Bex shrugged. "Now that you mention it, sure. But isn't that a good thing?"
"Bex," Sumida drew in a deep breath and steadied herself. "Something is seriously wrong—"
"What?" Bex laughed. "You so used to being chased, you don't know how to deal with peace and quiet anymore?"
"No, it's just…" Sumida sighed. "Never mind."
She couldn't tell Bex about what she'd seen. If she told Bex about what Klang was doing, he'd probably kill her. Klang didn't care about Sumida, couldn't care less about the fate of Hegira. Klang only cared for Bex. To Klang, Bex was the only thing in the 'verse that mattered. Everything he did was for Bex's sake.
Klang came back to the ship, all cleaned up and serene. Who'd have guess he'd just butchered a warehouse full of mercenaries?
"Klang, what took you so long?" Bex demanded.
"Sorry," He murmured. "Things got a bit tricky with the information broker." His glance shifted to Sumida, who stared at him, saying nothing. "It took a while to persuade the old bat."
"Did she give you the coordinates?"
"Yes." He nodded. "Of course."
He tossed a small tablet to Bex. She caught it easily and immediately went to the ship's controls.
"Get ready," she called back to Sumida and Klang. "Time to head out."
Sumida and Klang got into their seats and strapped in. Sumida never once took her eyes off Klang. He in turn, regarded her serenely. That look used to reassure Sumida. Now it just made her skin crawl. She'd never be able to look at Klang the same again. He was a threat, a ticking time bomb. Sumida had no idea what he'd do next. What would he do to her the next time they were alone together? That singular thought sent a shudder down her spine.
The ship shook as the engine started up.
Sumida wondered if Laila was faring any better than she was at the moment. Laila had set out alone. Laila had always been fighting alone. Scarred and scared but beautiful and brave.
Fearing for Sumida's life, Laila had told her to run away for Hegira. Laila had no idea that had been Sesili and Sumida's plan from the very beginning. Sumida steeled herself. This time, she would do something for Laila. The most important thing yet. She couldn't afford to let Klang get in the way of her objective.
"It never happened," she said lowly.
"Say again?" Klang turned slightly in his seat.
"I didn't see anything," she said, resolute.
Klang nodded. Sumida nodded. Good. They had an agreement.
Sumida released a shaky breath. She had no doubt that Klang would keep killing to protect Bex. In any case, his actions played in Sumida's favor too, whether he was doing it for her sake or not. Whether he was doing it for Hegira's sake or not.