Chapter 12
As soon as the two had left, Madam Chiksai sighed. "Oh, little Violet. It would have been better if you had never returned."
The woman groaned and stared up at the ceiling. "Apologies, but I have little choice," she said and reached for one of the androids, who shifted as a back panel opened. The madam pulled a device from it, her fingers dancing along its surface before she held it up to her ear.
"Hello," she said. "This is Madam Chiksai, and unfortunately, I have a job for Finnegan.
There are some"—she hesitated—"new entrants to our lovely city who need to be watched after.
They cannot be allowed to leave and, if possible, should be captured.
Though do be aware, the main target, a purple-haired kikai named Violet, is an expert with the saber.
Proceed with caution. As for the captain of the Griffin, it seems he's not of much concern. "
On the other end of the line, there was nothing but heavy breathing until she finished. "At once. It will be done." The line clicked off, and Madam Chiksai put down the phone, shaking her head regretfully.
"If only the world were as simple as it used to be." Her eyes lingered on the door that young Violet had just left through. "Unfortunately, your master's era has passed. You should have never come home. Don’t blame me, little Violet. If they learned I knew and did nothing, they’d have my tail."
***
I walked along with Violet, who had a massive smile on her face while her tail swished from side to side.
"You seem to be in a good mood," I said.
Her eyes pressed together in a happy squint. "It's been so long. Honestly, I was worried that I wouldn't be greeted nearly as well as we were. So it warms my heart to see that I still have old allies."
"I can't help but agree. Nice to see that you do indeed still have friends here. Feel better?" I offered, and she bobbed her head happily, her ears loose enough that they flopped around.
"So, your master," I said, as casually as I could.
Violet's eyes dropped to the floor. "She was a marvelous woman. Many people here respected and listened to her. If I could be a fraction of the woman she was, then I'd consider life a success."
"I can understand that. With your master's wealth gone, though, it seems much of her influence has faded," I pointed out. It would be hard for Violet to get that sort of wealth while staying on the ship.
"Well…" Violet hesitated, then nodded, seeming to struggle with something that she was avoiding saying. "Yes, but it wasn't just her wealth. Many people were actually afraid of her coming and seeking retribution."
I smiled, but part of me didn't quite believe that was all of it. After all, how dangerous could a beam saber be in a world with ship-mounted weapons?
"Well, now you get to be the first member of our crew earning a paying job. You negotiated thirty thousand tails. How many feds would that be?"
Violet tapped her chin. "Usually, the exchange rate's a little less than two feds a tail, but most merchants would prefer to work in the local currency anyway."
I understood that well enough. Foreign currency made little sense when local currency was available.
"We can probably get more out of it if we offer around two per to the shipwright. That knocks about twice as many feds off the deal.”
“So you just landed us about sixty thousand?" I said, smiling at her.
She pinched her eyes closed with a big smile. "Yes, that's why I'm so happy about it. With this, we should be able to significantly reduce our burden with the shipwrights." She gave me a look that couldn't be interpreted any other way than seeking praise.
I patted the top of her head, her soft ears brushing either side of my hand as I gently rubbed back and forth. "If we all chip in, I'm sure we can come out of this just fine."
She had a massive grin on her face as her head pushed gently into my hand, her ears twitching while her eyes squinted in happiness.
Violet seemed fairly easy to please. Then again, as I was getting a better understanding of her, I realized that she craved significant attention.
Whatever had happened to her master had clearly left her almost abandoned in this world.
I could understand just how painful it might be to suddenly be alone and surrounded by people more than willing to take advantage.
After our trip, and me starting to understand Violet a little more, I smiled at her as we headed down to the subway. "Why don't we take a detour before we head back?"
The kikai beside me tilted her head curiously. "Where do you want to go?"
"I was thinking… why don't we go see where your master used to live?" I offered.
Violet blinked, and I smiled at her.
"Candidly, it seems like you could use a little closure. If you don't mind me prying, I think it would be good for you to go see it, remember a little bit, and then move past it," I told her.
From what I was seeing, she'd been struggling to move past her master’s death for years, if not far longer. While we were on the planet, it would be best to help her move on.
Violet paused before nodding, a small smile on her face. "Thank you. That would probably help."
"Well, as your captain, it is my job to make sure that my crew and my ship stay ready for whatever we might need to do." I smiled, though in no way had I ever suspected I'd be playing therapist. But alas, my job was in service to my crew.
"It might be a bit of a trip," Violet said as she changed directions.
There was a familiarity in the way she was able to so easily pivot toward where her master once was, almost like an animal's homing instinct.
"Master didn't like the hustle and bustle of the city, so her place is a little out of the way," Violet apologized. She did that often and didn’t need to.
I waved off any concern. "She sounds like a smart woman. I have to agree that the city can be exhausting in its own way."
Violet bobbed her head in agreement. "You would have liked my master. She was a wonderful woman and a beautiful warrior." She stared off into the distance.
"I have no doubt that if she was anything like the woman she trained, she was absolutely and positively wonderful."
Violet blushed at the offhand comment.
I smiled but paused as the genuine interest in my statement made me reevaluate if I liked her in a friend way or something more.
I had to admit I found her attractive. She was short, which trended towards cute, but her smaller frame made her womanly curves seem proportionally larger.
Which then went back around and made Violet seem more mature.
That and I found her fluffy tail distracting and like a temptation. Just how soft was it?
"Are you okay?" she asked, sensing something, her ears twitching.
"Fine," I hastily said, sneaking a glance at the kikai and berating myself. Of course it was easy to like a woman like Violet. She was unassuming, unabashed, and easy to be around. Effortless, really.
She picked out a spot on the map as we boarded a train. "My master's place is out here." She pointed to a location well off the beaten track. "It shouldn't be too hard to get to by train."
I dragged my finger along the path. "Well, that's Akari Station." I frowned. "Wait… did they name this station after your master?"
"There are a number of things in this world named after her. She was instrumental to so much of its development." Violet smirked and nodded proudly.
I frowned. I'd understood that her master was a big deal, but perhaps even that had been an underestimation of just how important she had been to this area, which only made me curious about what sort of enemies she would have built. I could only assume they were equally powerful. I glanced at Violet. I hoped we were long past tearing down her master’s legacy.
Ten years was a long time, and Violet had abandoned any claim to her master's things long ago, it seemed.
As we sat on the subway and moved farther from the area we'd been in, people got on and off in normal order.
Though it didn't go unnoticed that increasingly those boarding were dressed in thinner, almost threadbare clothing, while those getting off wore noticeably nicer attire.
The cycle continued until it felt like we were reaching a rather desolate area.
"The area where your master lived," I hesitated, staring at the obvious change. "Was it considered a run-down area?"
"Not particularly," Violet said. "It was just fairly undeveloped. Think rural."
I frowned. We had begun to stick out like sore thumbs, having dressed nicely for Madam Chiksai. The closer we got, the more our clothes alone were enough for eyes to narrow at us, and more than a few onlookers paused to stare.
"We might be overdressed," I chuckled to Violet.
"It's fine. No one would do anything on the subway," she said quickly.
I nodded, trusting she knew the area. But one of the newest occupants stared at the two of us to the point that it made me uncomfortable. Finally, he ducked down and avoided my gaze as he returned his focus to the tablet in his hand.
"Ultimately, no one wants trouble. What creates criminals is not a desire for evil but a lack of good in their life." Violet smiled.
I decided not to correct her on that statement. Either way, I'd seen her with a beam saber before, and thankfully, it wasn't against any rules to carry one on this planet. I knew she had one underneath her dress. I’d learned that was apparently a normal accessory for a kikai woman.
Tiri had collected enough of them through our escapades that she had them color-coded next to her shoes. And though I wasn't exactly skilled with the beam saber, I had one myself. Not to mention, Lily had practically stuffed a blaster into my hands before she'd allowed me to leave without her.
Several stations later, more men joined the first. A couple of nods were exchanged before they went their separate ways. I frowned. It felt like they were pretending not to know each other, which wasn't the best sign.