Chapter 34 #2
I couldn't help but wonder what I was going to do with these two as their competitive sides reared their heads.
"I've got data drives, money, and passports," Violet reported.
"That's all?" Lily tutted, and the divine kikai grimaced and turned to Lily. "Well? What did you find?"
Lily held up several bars of precious metals.
"I seem to have found his liquid funds," she stated proudly.
The bars of metal were, at least according to other members of our ship, a common way for the less savory types to hold their wealth.
It was easy enough to find buyers across the galaxy, and they held their value far better than any currency in exchange systems with far less scrutiny.
They weren't perfect, nothing was, but given Perez's wealth, I was certain that what Lily held in her hands was monetarily far more valuable than what Violet had found.
"Who knows, Violet, you might have found blackmail," I offered. "If Perez is in with the divines, then he very well could have damaging information on them. It might be enough to save us when we really need it." That was enough to get a giant grin from the kikai.
"Do you really think so?" Violet asked, with wide eyes, as her purple tail began to flick back and forth.
"It would make sense given what he was mixed up in, but we won't know anything until we crack it open."
I then turned to my own safe. Although I wasn't part of the competition, both of them angled themselves to get a good view of what was inside. As soon as I opened it, I paused, trying to figure out what I was seeing. It was simply a pile of fluff.
But I froze as my brain put it together, realizing I was staring at a red kikai tail with a black tip.
Violet practically pounced on me, grabbing it to get a closer look.
"I'm so sorry," I said. "If I had known that was in there—"
But the kikai waved off my concern and brushed me with her tail.
I knew it was a way of consoling me. "You had no way of knowing, and it's not a bad thing.
" Violet pulled it out like it was the most precious thing in the world, and I had to at least shoot Lily a look that told her not to interrupt Violet's moment.
Undoubtedly, there was a high likelihood that what we had before us was Violet's master's tail, or at least one of the nine.
Violet held it, stroking it for several seconds, a look of longing going through her as she processed.
Then she took a deep breath through her nose and practically foisted it onto Lily.
"Get rid of it," she said, and Lily took it without asking another question, simply pushing it into her stomach as it disappeared.
"When you do your experiments with Melgara, use that. At least, tell me that's what you're using," Violet stated.
I turned to Violet curiously. "Is there something special about your master's tail?"
"She would want to help me grow," Violet said, shoving her chin out. "I'll think of this as her help if we use it. Then it’s not wasted."
I nodded to Lily, who I had hoped hadn't simply started digesting it immediately.
"I will use this exclusively for Melgara's experiments"—Lily nodded—"and for anything that helps you or the captain, it will have been a gift from your master."
"Thank you." Violet sniffed.
"Do you want to know what happened?" I asked Violet softly. Given the number of files that we collected, and the chances that Perez knew something given his ownership of the tail, I had a feeling we could get more information.
"I would like to know, simply because the way they dealt with her is likely something they would try again. It would be an embarrassment for a disciple to repeat a master's mistake." Violet tried to be strong, but her tail betrayed her emotions.
I shook my head. That was a brutal way to look at all of this, but I understood that it was also her working towards survival. "Of course," I said, nodding to Violet. "Would you like me to find out and report it in a sanitized manner?"
Violet slowly nodded. I could already imagine Perez putting on a show of making her master's death seem more brutal than it needed to be.
If he could take advantage of his own people's innate weaknesses, like he did with Brick's gambling, then he wasn't a man of conscience, nor should he be treated with any deference.
What Lily did next shocked all three of us, putting a hand on Violet's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Your master was strong, but at the same time, she was weak."
Violet frowned briefly at her words.
"I don't mean to insult; I just point out the obvious. If I understand correctly, she had no help and was alone in her endeavors. The captain is a good man and a great leader. He won't let you be alone. There is strength in numbers."
I smiled at Lily, proud of her response. I hadn't expected her to accept Violet to that degree.
"Come now. We should take our loot and ride back victoriously," Lily said, and she practically lifted the smaller woman back to her feet. Violet was briefly stunned; however, she shook it off in a split second.
"Of course. We should get back before the others worry. Not to mention, we should show off that we managed to come back with enough to buy our way out of any present situation."
I smirked at both of them. "That's the spirit. Why don't we head back?" As I turned around, I caught out the window a massive ship descending from the clouds, pulling directly over Perez's estate.
"What do you think that is?" Lily asked, but I was fairly sure we were all thinking about the same answer. And as we watched, a shuttle fired out of its base, heading down.
"We should go," I said quickly, only for Violet to root herself, staring up at the descending shuttle.
"No," she said. "We should see who's coming."
I hesitated because we all knew exactly what was in that ship. It wasn't a capital class, but it was big enough that I'd call it a battleship. Not something we could fight with our light frigate. It could and would crush us if we got into a straight-up fight with it.
Not to mention, simply being here on the ground was incredibly dangerous. They could glass the surface for miles if they didn't want to deal with us, and while technically Lily would survive that with her partition on the ship, I didn't particularly want to risk the outcome for all of us.
"Are you sure?" I asked Violet one more time.
"Yes. If they're divines, they'll offer a duel," she answered.
"They most likely killed your master through foul means," I warned.
Violet turned to me. "Just because my enemies break the rules doesn't mean I can. How would I ever reinstate them, if I do so by breaking them?"
I shook my head. Hopefully, in the future, some of Lily would rub off on Violet. She could use a little less playing by the rules, but I doubted that was going to happen in the short term.
"Of course," I said. I was doing my best to be supportive despite not entirely agreeing with her actions. Sometimes being on the same page wasn't as important as simply understanding each other, at least in my idea of what made a good relationship.