Last Drop of Hope, Chapter 24 (Patreon)

With all her might, Tina tried to surge forward, tried to put herself between Beldia’s blow and Claire, but it was like her muscles were made of rubber, her feet were made of lead, and the air itself had turned to soup and was dragging at her. That horrible black blade came down as Claire screamed, her eyes boring into Tina’s, and blood sprayed and-

Heart pounding, Tina jerked upright in bed, her eyes wide and frantic. She was covered in sweat as she clumsily swung a fist, only to get tangled up in the bedsheets.

“Tina?” Claire gasped, sitting up herself, a gun in her hand from the nightstand by their bed. She too searched the darkness for threats, but there was nothing there.

“Sorry,” Tina gasped, swallowing and trying to force herself to calm. “Bad dream.”

She looked at the clock on the dresser, and let out a groan. Well, at least they’d slept for most of the night, anyway.

“No point in going back to bed, I suppose,” Claire sighed, setting her pistol back on the nightstand. She flicked on a light, which made Tina feel significantly better. Something about seeing her best friend turned lover instead of just oppressive blackness made her feel reassured.

“Just…just for a few moments?” Tina asked, lying down and giving Claire a shy smile. Claire gave her a lecherous look and reached for the light, but Tina stopped her. “No…just…leave it on. Please?”

Claire nodded, and cuddled up with Tina, holding her tightly. The two of them lay like that for long minutes until Tina’s breathing slowed, and she was able to close her eyes and relax slightly.

“Bad, huh?” Claire whispered, caressing Tina’s face gently.

“It was you, this time,” Tina admitted. “I couldn’t save you.”

Claire nodded, looking pained. “I dream…well. I dreamed of shooting a perp, only when I got to them, it was Komekko. How…how many innocents did we kill on Beldia’s orders?”

Tina just shook her head, a lump in her throat, unable to answer. She rested her forehead against Claire’s, and they both lay together for longer than they should have, until the alarm had been silenced twice.

At last, Claire broke the embrace and got up out of bed, shutting off the alarm and dropping to the floor with a groan to start some pushups. Tina did the same, not bothering with getting dressed as the two of them worked out together. It was a fairly intense routine, but they had calories to spare now, getting the best food as Queen Iris’ loyal retainers. It felt wrong, somehow, that this was Tina’s reward for a lifetime of serving Beldia, but she accepted it. It was the only way she’d ever be able to atone for what she’d done.

After that they showered and dressed. No fancy clothes today. Instead, they wore their old NyteTech security uniforms. There were a great many suddenly unemployed NyteTech security forces, and it wouldn’t exactly be hard for Tina and Claire to blend in amongst them, considering their history.

They found Cecily waiting eagerly for them in the main garage, chatting up Rain, who was looking rather uncomfortable in military garb instead of her usual scientist getup. Cecily herself seemed completely relaxed in borrowed Security garb. She’d put on a considerable amount of weight in the past couple of weeks, and no longer looked nearly as much like a wastrel.

“Miss Rain,” Tina said, nodding to her as they strode up. “Where is Lady Wiz?”

“Ah! Well, slight change of plans,” Rain said, dropping her hands from tugging at her uniform. “Lady Wiz has elected to stay behind, with the Queen’s permission. Since that would have left you somewhat short of magical firepower, I have been, er, voluntold in her stead.”

“Plus, she’s cute! It’ll be a regular girl’s night out!” Cecily said happily, putting one arm around Rain and the other around Claire.

“We’re on a critical mission for the Throne,” Claire said, brushing Cecily’s arm off. She frowned at the other two. “Do you two even know how to use a gun?”

“Point it at the bad guys and pull the trigger!” Cecily said happily, taking out her side arm and aiming it towards Tina and Claire.

Claire plucked it out of her hands, then glanced at the safety, which was thankfully on. She dropped the magazine, passing it to Tina, who began to pop the bullets out. Claire racked the chamber back and inspected it to make sure there wasn’t a round, then held out her hand for Tina to pass her the now empty magazine.

“You’re not to touch a single gun with a bullet in it until you’ve had at least the basics of training. Until then, you’re a liability, not an asset,” Claire told Cecily coldly, holding the gun out to Cecily by the barrel. She turned her distinctly unamused gaze on Rain. “And you?”

“Um, I’ve had some basic firearms safety instruction? I’m not a very good shot, but-”

“What do you point your gun at?” Claire interrupted.

“Um, no one! Uh, unless you want to kill them,” Rain answered hastily.

“Where do you put your finger?”

“Outside of the trigger guard?”

“Good. I’ll have you show me later, but I think I can trust you not to shoot yourself or me the first chance you get,” Claire said with a nod.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Cecily whined, taking her gun and peering down the barrel.

Tina reached out and shoved the gun away from Cecily’s face towards the floor. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“Huh? But it’s not even loaded,” Cecily protested.

“A gun is always loaded,” Claire informed her, shouldering her gear. “Come on.”

“But I just saw you unload it! It’s empty!” Cecily continued to argue, jogging to keep up with the taller Claire as she strode towards a NyteTech Squad car. Not their old one, unfortunately, but it was a familiar enough model.

“I am not giving a gun to anyone who points it at their own head. Aqua might be able to bring the dead back, but if our healer offs herself in a fit of stupidity, I’m not even sure she could fix that,” Claire told Cecily, opening the back door. “In.”

“Hmph.” Cecily pouted for a moment, then suddenly grinned at Rain. “Hey, we can sit in the back together! You’re cute! Have you accepted our Lady and Savior, Aqua?”

“Cecily, this is the third time you’ve asked me in ten minutes. I was literally there at the Battle of Farm 0138 and was baptized by Lady Aqua herself as a mage. YES. We’re ALL in the Axis Cult!”

Cecily pushed her face up against the security screen, grinning at Tina as she buckled in. She smiled despite herself. “Yes, Cecily. We follow Lady Aqua too.”

“Even if she is a little moron,” Claire muttered. “I hope that the stupidity isn’t contagious.”

“That’s right, Claire, I love Lady Aqua too!” Cecily said, her voice slightly muffled by the fact that she was still pressed to the security screen.

“Buckle up,” Claire said, then without waiting for a response, jerked the car into the air, sending Cecily sprawling with a cry.

“Be nice,” Tina said quietly, though she couldn’t hide a smile and a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Serve her right for giving me a heart attack when she pointed that gun at us,” Claire grumbled, gunning the engine and sending them shooting out through the Undercity.

“If you must punish someone, do it to me later,” Tina teased, which made Claire’s ears go bright red.

“Not when we’re on a mission,” Claire said stiffly, and Tina sighed.

“Right.” She reached down, checking her sawed off shotgun, before holstering it on her leg. When she turned back around, Claire grabbed her and pulled her into a sudden and fierce kiss, before letting Tina go and turning back to the wheel.

“Just watch my back,” Claire said gruffly, but her ears were still bright red.

“Woo hoo! You go girls! Hey Rain, wanna make out? All love is good in the sight of Lady Aqua!” Cecily said from the back.

“...I think we should keep our relationship strictly professional, Miss Cecily. We have work to do.”

The flight to Fellos required them to eventually come up out of the undercity, though Claire kept the car low. Fighting had died down, but that just meant there would be gangs and looters now, many of them former NyteTech employees. A lot of Beldia’s troops had turned bandit, and while some corporate officials were trying to hold on to power, most of them were cutting and running with whatever they could grab.

“Keep an eye out, this is hostile territory,” Tina told Cecily and Rain.

“Aren’t we in NyteTech turf?” Cecily asked, peering out the window. “We’re in a pig wagon, we-”

An alarm blared, and Cecily hit the gas and dove for the deck as bullets pinged off the reinforced hull. A missile streaked by, exploding with enough force to rock the craft.

“Glad I took Piloting from Lan,” Claire said through gritted teeth, maneuvering between buildings and gunning the engines for all they were worth.

“This was NyteTech turf,” Tina confirmed once they had left the failed ambush behind. “But even in the best of times, there were always gangbangers out to cause trouble.”

“Right now, having a ride this nice makes us a target,” Claire agreed. “I’m monitoring the usual radio bands, but it’s quiet right now. People are hunkering down.”

“Hard to blame them,” Rain said, her voice quavering slightly. “People taking random shots at security forces? That’s bad.”

“Depends on where you’re deployed. Even Axel had neighborhoods where even Claire and I wouldn’t go without a dozen other officers. Not if we wanted to come out alive,” Tina said with a shake of her head.

The rest of the trip was far from quiet, with several more groups taking pot shots at their car. One group was even obviously NyteTech security, even going so far as trying to hail them over the radio and a bullhorn and get them to put down. They were still hours out from Fellos, so Claire just put the pedal to the medal, and after a brief chase and a few warning shots from Tina, they managed to elude the pursuit.

After passing through endless urban sprawl and kilometers of barren wasteland between Axel and Fellos, they arrived at the city known as the Arsenal Town. Normally, great furnaces of industry would have been spewing out dense fountains of soot, and the glow of dozens of massive forges would have been seen even in the smoky air. However, the only fires that burned were from the ravages of war. The anvils of industry had gone silent, but the din of gunfire echoed from nearly every street corner.

When they were a few clicks out still, the radio crackled to life. “Unidentified hover car, we are tracking you now. As you receive this message, you should be alerted that multiple anti air defenses have locked on to you.”

Even as the voice spoke, alarms blared, and Claire’s hand tightened on the steering wheel.

“Do not respond. Do not attempt to evade or turn back. Proceed on the flight path we are sending you, or you will be shot down. This is the Fellos Security Council. Over and Out.”

“What do we do!?” Rain gasped, and Cecily looked scared half to death as she grabbed on to Rain for dear life. Despite her initial claims, Rain didn’t seem to mind overly much, having been doing some clinging to Cecily herself during the various close calls.

“Comply,” Claire said grimly as the flight path came in. She killed her acceleration according to orders and followed it exactly. “They have us dead to rights, and not even Tina could manage to survive a hit from that many missiles, or a fall from this high.”

A few tense minutes later, the car flew into a heavily armored garage, the shutters closing behind them. They found themselves on a wide landing pad that had been cleared, with multiple angles for guns, and at least four snipers with anti-material rifles that Tina could see. They set down on the pad, and Claire killed the engines.

“STEP OUT OF THE VEHICLE. DO NOT BRING ANY WEAPONS OUT. HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!”

“Hold on,” Tina said slowly, looking to Claire. “I recognize that voice…”

Claire hopped out of her door, hands up, with Tina hastily doing the same on her side.

“WALTER YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!” Claire bellowed. “THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! DON’T YOU RECOGNIZE A FRIENDLY!?”

“Alexi, is that you?” Tina called. “It’s us, Tina Ford and Claire Shin!”

“Tina? Claire? Holy shit, the lesbian knights return!” the loud speaker said at a much reduced volume. “Stand down, men. I’m coming in person to check on them.”

“Walter you asshole!” Claire cackled, dropping her hands and leaning on the car. She grinned, then pointed to Tina. “We actually are sleeping together now, you know.”

“C-Claire!” Tina stammered, going red in the face as Cecily and Rain cautiously climbed out.

“What? I’m going to be bragging that I’m tapping your ass to anyone who’ll listen, and you’ll like it. You know you do,” Claire said with a wicked grin.

“This is not the sort of humiliation I enjoy,” Tina muttered, but she was blushing and smiling shyly as she did so.

“So, you know this guy?” Cecily whispered.

“Keep your traps shut,” Claire ordered. “Especially you.”

“Huh!? Why me!? What about-MPHM!” Rain put a hand over Cecily’s mouth, nodding to Claire silently.

A few minutes later, a clean-shaven man in his late twenties strode onto the tarmac, flanked by two heavily armed guards. Walter Alexi was dressed in an immaculate NyteTech security uniform with captain's bars on it, along with several medals that Tina knew he’d earned for doing more than warming a desk, with the usual deskjocky ribbons conspicuous only by their absence. Upon seeing Claire and Tina, he grinned broadly and pointed with both hands at Claire. “You finally tapped that ass? I could have sworn she was straight!”

“Hey, noodles are straight until you boil them. I just had to keep up the pressure,” Claire laughed, striding forward with her arms spread wide. Tina lumbered after her as Claire and Walter embraced, laughing and slapping each other on the back.

“I guess that ruins my hopes of getting into your pants, huh Tina?” Walter teased, coming over to look up at her.

She blushed. “Y-you wanted to sleep with me?! I-I never knew…”

“Tina, you’re a two meter tall amazon. Every man in this room wants to sleep with you, and more than a few of the women,” Walter told her with a shake of his head. He turned to his guards. “It’s alright, boys. I went to the academy with these two. They're ours.”

The guards relaxed slightly with a nod, but they kept alert. A mixture of good training, and the tension still in the air.

Walter turned back to Tina and Claire. “So. You were in Axel.”

“Yeah. We deployed with everyone else on that cluster fuck,” Claire agreed with a nod. She spat on the ground, grimacing. “Never seen so much hardware or so many blackhats on one op. Shit.”

“It was bad,” Tina agreed, not suppressing the shudder. “We were deployed on the left flank, sent to take a water purification plant. The fighting was…they wouldn’t give up.”

“The left? Wasn’t that where the CEO was deployed?” Alexi demanded.

“No, he took the right,” Claire said with a shake of her head. “Lucky for us. Because whatever the fuck went down there, we sure as shit wouldn’t have made it out.”

“We took our position, but when we got word the CEO was dead, we had no choice but to retreat,” Tina agreed. “Most of our comrades, Chief Swatti…All dead.”

“Fuck. We haven’t gotten much in the way of footage out of there, but…” Walter grimaced. “We heard it was bad.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe. Zombie plagues, some crazy new tech, and some people say an actual goddess. Whatever it was, we wanted nothing to do with it,” Claire said with a shake of her head. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “We grabbed these two from the station. As you can probably tell, they’re just civies. Rain’s a geek, and Cecily’s just a clerk, but she’s cute and, well, Tina has a big heart.”

“You were the one who insisted we bring Cecily,” Tina said with a faint smile. Claire colored appropriately, then coughed and cleared her throat.

“Anyway,” Claire continued. “We heard there were groups that hadn’t gone to hell in a handbasket out here, so we figured we’d come back to our old stomping grounds while the getting was good. Wasn’t easy, but we made it.”

Walter let out a low whistle. “Well, shit. Things are fucked here too, but not that badly. Glad you two came in though. However, you do know what this means, don’t you?”

Tina and Claire exchanged horrified looks. “Oh no…”

“What!? What’s happening?!” Rain hissed, while Cecily just looked confused.

“You’re both going to have to write a full report on this and have it on my desk by tomorrow,” Walter said, putting a hand on both Claire and Tina’s shoulders.

They both slumped, making faces as best they could. “Seriously? Why didn’t you just shoot us down…”

“Sorry ladies, even at the end of the world, there’s still paperwork to be done,” Walter said with a laugh and a shake of his head. He nodded to the door. “This way. We’ll get you processed, shouldn’t take too long. Your friends too. They were both employees, so they’ll be in the database.”

Tina nodded, though she did wince internally. They most certainly are not in the database, but they could probably explain that away.

As they followed Walter up the ramp, Tina glanced at Claire, who grimaced but shook her head. Whatever they were going to do, they would have to think of it fast.

Before they got too far though, a greasy voice came on over the loudspeaker. “Captain Alexi! Is that Ford and Shin?”

“Oh no,” Claire groaned, closing her eyes. “Please tell me that fat fuck isn’t still in charge.” Tina elbowed Claire, but her heart wasn’t in it.

“Yes, President Alexi,” Walter said, closing his eyes. “They’re fresh in from Axel.”

“Skip the processing! Send them over to my office immediately!” the loudspeaker responded.

President? Tina mouthed to Walter, who smiled at her painfully.

“Yes, Father, as soon as they’re through processing,” Alexi said, then pointed to a nearby camera and smiled broadly, as if to communicate they were being watched.

“Waive that! I want those women in my office right now!” the so-called President barked.

“Is it too late to remind him we’re gay?” Claire groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Claire…we should follow the chain of command,” Tina said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “And we know Mr. Alderp.”

“It’s President now, and please don’t forget it,” Walter said with a very forced smile. “If you’ll all just follow me…”

They were led down several corridors to another security cruiser, which Walter ushered them all into.

“Captain, we really should give you an escort, you shouldn’t be alone in the vehicle with unprocessed refugees,” one of the other guards said.

“Relax, Watkins. I know Shin and Ford quite well. They’re two of the most capable officers on the force,” Walter said with a laugh. He jerked his head to the passenger side. “Tina, why don’t you take shotgun. That’s your preferred position, isn’t it?”

“I’m not the best shot, Claire really is better,” Tina said, glancing at her partner, but Claire just shrugged.

“You can hit a man sized target at 10 meters still, can’t you?” Walter joked, and Tina’s ears went bright red.

“T-that was one time! And we were-”

“Just ride up front, I’ll hop in the back. Or I’ll goose you like I did back then and make you miss,” Claire chuckled.

Muttering under  her breath, Tina clambered into the front passenger seat, and strapped herself in. She glanced at the shotgun in the holster on the door, and Walter nodded as he hit the ignition.

“I trust you. You’re not the best shot on the force, but you’re definitely one of the most reliable.”

Nodding, Tina took out the shotgun, checked it carefully, then flicked the safety on and rested it on her lap, with the barrel pointing towards the door as they lifted into the air.

“So, what are your names?” Walter asked as they flew off.

“I’m Cecily Smith! And this is Rain Johnson,” Cecily said instantly.

“You weren’t security forces, what was your job?” Walter asked.

“I was in the science division, mostly weapons development focused in ammunition and propulsion,” Rain answered. “I was never in Fellos, though I did know Professor Wornstrom. Did you ever work with him?”

“Can’t say that I did, but the name rings a bell. What about you, Cecily?”

“I filed reports and made coffee!” Cecily said happily, reciting her story. “But have you heard about-OOF!”

Claire withdrew her elbow from Cecily’s gut. “So, your dad seized power?”

“Yes,” Walter sighed. They were flying along a security tunnel, and Walter was keeping to 10 kph above the posted limit. He’d always been the rule following sort, even if his position as an officer in the Security Force made him basically above the law. “It was chaos, and he saw an opportunity. I confess, I helped out, but mostly because no one else had a clear plan. We grabbed as much of the trained personnel as we could, but it was open warfare with the gangs and a few other Security divisions for a bit. Things have died down a little, but well…”

“It’s hell. Same as it was in Axel,” Tina sighed.

Alexi simply nodded, a grim look on his face. “Yes. And with the war in space…well. The supply situation is grim. People figured out there wouldn’t be more food coming, so well…we’re grabbing what we can, but there’s only so much.”

“I bet fixing the food situation would be a big help,” Cecily said brightly. “Have you heard about-OW!”

“It would,” Alexi said, frowning into the mirror as Cecily rubbed her check that had a bright red mark where Rain had pinched it. “But I don’t see how that’s possible. And before you suggest Soylent Green, we’re already doing that. Have been for ages.”

Tina blanched. “I could have lived a long time without learning where the protein in the rat packs came from.”

“Not the way you run into fights you wouldn’t,” Captain Alexi laughed, though it sounded forced. “Honestly, I’m worried. We’re maintaining morale for now, but…we’ve already had to cut back rations, and the men are fighting on the front lines constantly. And father, well…”

“He’s a fat greasy bastard?” Tina supplied, grimacing at the very thought of Alderp Alexi. “Unless something dramatic has changed.”

“No, unfortunately,” Walter said, glancing at Tina and frowning. “Though I would appreciate it if you two would refrain from disparaging my father while I’m present.”

“Sure, as soon as he stops being an utter bastard. No offense, you’re a good sort, Walter, but your father’s a prick,” Claire told him bluntly.

Walter sighed but didn’t deny it. “Just keep a civil tongue in your heads where he can hear you. He’s gotten even more paranoid in the past few weeks.”

“As long as he doesn’t try to hit on Tina again,” Claire growled.

“He…did more than hit on me,” Tina said with a shake of her head and a scowl. “And you. If he tries that on Claire again…”

“Look, it was the only way we were getting our commissions, so I don’t exactly regret it, but the only fucking I’m giving the greasy asshole is-”

“Well, I mean, I could solve that!” Cecily said brightly. “All he needs is a little- OW! Stop it! I was going to say I’d give him a blow job or something!”

“Right, the next person who talks about sleeping with my father can walk the rest of the way,” Walter barked, his face red. Silence fell for a few moments, and Walter groaned. He looked at Tina and cringed. “Look, I’m…sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped like that, you were the victims. I’ll try to make sure he doesn’t try that on any of you. He has enough women already, he doesn’t need to go poaching from my officers.”

“Whatever, Captain,” Claire said, turning away and folding her arms over her chest.

“Walter, I’m willing to do a lot, you’ve been a good friend. And you never tried to use your position like your father does. But I’m not the helpless girl I was back then,” Tina said firmly, thinking of the pendant around her neck that was hidden by her armor. “We’re on a mission here.”

“Oh? Backup for Axel? I’m afraid we have none to give,” Walter said with a shake of his head. “With the war going on, and the food situation-”

“What if Axel had food, and was willing to trade?” Claire asked.

The car came to a sudden halt, and then lowered down to the floor. Walter was breathing hard, then turned to look at first Claire, then Tina. “How? Are you serious? How would you even have-”

“Can I tell him now!?” Cecily demanded.

Tina looked to Claire, and they both nodded. Then they turned to Walter.

“Walter…have you heard about our Lady and Savior, Aqua?” Tina asked.

“And her Royal Majesty, Queen Iris?” Claire added.

Walter looked back and forth between them, a look of utter befuddlement on his face. “What?”