What Remains

Vo immensely enjoyed the embrace and the kiss Belle shared with him, treasuring the moment of calm before his survival instincts kicked in and made him completely focused at the mission.

"For luck", he answered with his usual lopsided grin and assenting nod as he helped Belle over the fence and climbed over it quickly after. They moved through the yard hidden by their Cloak as Belle suggested, and Vo took some moments to plan their way back once they got the truck running. The Titan truck would have no problem ramming through the gate to save them time for opening it, but the way was too long for Vo's liking. Usually the Titan type truck had no problem ramming through anything else as well, but this was a special case as it had a tank full of diesel fuel. Diesel fuel, being generally less volatile than petrohol, was at less risk of exploding, but there was still a possibility that a Monarch-size hellbug could damage the tank and make the fuel leak out, rendering all their efforts futile. But first, they needed to get the truck running and making repairs right in the middle of a hellbug nest was not the best idea, but they didn't have much choice.



The truck was standing near the wall of the main building of the depot, and it was in the same condition as when it was abandoned. There wasn't many hellbugs around it as the smell of diesel fuel wasn't too much attractive for hellbugs. The cabin was unlocked and the keys were still inside on the floor of the cabin, making Vo chuckle again at the thought of how panicked people were at the sound of a faulty starter motor. He helped Belle climb inside and jumped in quickly after, locking the doors shut behind them. The cabin of the military truck was almost airtight, letting hardly any sound or even their scent out.

"First checkpoint", Vo whispered to Belle, "Now let's try to fix this thing without attracting too much attention from the natives. It would be much more comfortable to just tumble the entire cabin up to get to the engine, but as we have to stay low, I'll have to apply a couple of tricks."

Vo opened his duffel bag he took with him which contained some useful instruments in addition to his weapons. He took out a wrench and started to unscrew the driver's seat from its place on the cabin's floor. Once it was done, the floor panel followed the seat, opening the access to the engine under the cabin. Vo felt over the engine's flywheel and nodded with a smile on his face as the scratches on the flywheel confirmed for him that it was indeed the faulty starter relay which made the gear wheel of the starter motor only scratch the flywheel instead of locking with it. Vo disassembled the starter relay, pulled out its coil and examined it. His EGO sent a high frequency impulse into it and quickly calculated the distance to the faulty part, highlighting it for him on his retina. Vo felt for the broken wiring and finally found it. He unwound one turn to have some spare wiring and then connected two broken pieces of the wiring, twisting them together.

"As we don't have any welding or soldering tools here with us and the local public seems reluctant to lend them to us", Vo pointed at the hellbugs scurrying around outside, "We'll have to resort to good old cold welding."

He pressed the twisted wiring together with pliers in a couple of places and finally cut both ends in one move, pressing them together even more. Then he placed the coil back into its case and filled the casing with oil from the can he found behind the seat.

"Should work at least for a while", Vo said to Belle, assembling the starter relay and the driver's seat back, "Now we have to start the engine and run this thing outside. Something tells me it won't be that easy as there's rather big distance to cross. Moreover, we have to keep the fuel tank from being hit. So I'm afraid if we meet some heavy resistance from those bugs outside, you'll have to distract them while I'm driving the truck away from the nest. If that happens, Belle, I beg you please be careful. I'll need just a few seconds to drive the truck out of their territory and then I'll join to help us out of this mess safely. Please don't make me regret that I trust in your confidence and skills so much. Are we ready to go?"

Vo picked up the keys and set them into the keyhole, ready to start the engine.

"It was nice to do business with you, Res," said Volodja Uljanov.

"You know, mister..."

"Uljanov. Volodja Uljanov, but all my friends call me simply Volo."

"Volo. I accidentally overheated your conversation about visiting Tarr's residence. Some people never return from their dinner parties just like people didn't returned from Borgias' palace. Don't ask where I know about Borgias, but I do have a lot of time to read when business is low. I wondered if you have any famous last words for my new set of T shirts?"

"Businessman to the bones, aren't you?" asked Volodja and smiled. "I am intending to return alive for my own selfish reasons and that would completely ruin your conception about famous LAST words. We would not want that to happen, do we? You have your reputation after all. What would people think when they find out that one of the authors actually survived? They would be disappointed for sure."

"If you say so..." Res' voice was full of disappointment. His idea of having some fresh thoughts written on his merchandise seemed to be failing. 

"Sorry to let you down. You know, Res. Let's make a deal. If I ever become famous, then I will sign couple of your coffee mugs instead. That's a promise."

"You humans tend to say: "Better a sparrow in the hand than a pigeon on the roof" I am sure that T shirt business would be a sure thing. Your survival is not. And I doubt that dead man can sign my mug, no matter how much fame he gains."

"Patients, my friend. If you doubt about my survival and potential fame then I can always send you my last words via pigeon post. Watch the skies, Res." Volodja grinned to him and left his small boutique to join the rest of the gang on their social visit to Tarr family.

It took mere seconds for Taffer to rush up to Lu and scan her for life signs after he saw what happened. To his relief, Em Dash informed him, that Lu had made away with minor bruises thanks to her shield absorbing most of the damage. He pulled the girl out of the dangerous area just in case any other grenades would decide to go boom on them and then started the reviving procedure.



"Can't believe that happened", Lu muttered as her eyes fluttered open, "I mean thanks for the save. Oh, I mean, I didn't mean your save is what happened, but… well, do I look like an idiot?"

"You look like a young girl who got utterly upset with breaking her favorite toy and got herself injured because it made her careless. Come, we still need to get to Defiance and see if we can help our team to find Chase. Yes, I do understand it's your favorite weapon. We'll fix it later. But now we really need to go."

"But…" Lu said in a begging tone, which surprised her even more than Taffer, "I mean it's not about only the most favorite weapon. Granted I have my Thorny Rose and Havoc, but I really feel uncomfortable on dangerous missions if I don't have something powerful and explosive under my belt. Oh well…"

Lu looked at Taffer's eyes again but saw only gritty determination in his eyes. She sighed yet again and followed him into the spaceship. She sat on one of the seats and put the rocket launcher in her lap, stroking it as if it was her pet animal and thinking what she could do wrong with it given she knew every detail of it by heart or at least she thought she did.

"Esthete, please send a mine clearance team at our coordinates", Taffer said to the ship's transponder before taking off, "Nothing threatening, just a failed experiment. With all the people of science you have in your city, you probably have dozens of failed experiments occurring each day. Hmm, and by the way, I've just remembered you said you owe me one for being your lab rat recently. So well, I think we need a new weapon. Powerful and explosive is preferred."

He turned the spaceship around and headed back to Red Deer for a brief shopping session in its weapon storage depot. Lu quickly followed Taffer when he exited the spaceship, still not believing he had interrupted their flight to Defiance just to get her a weapon of her liking. Looking around the weapons stored in the depot had left Lu with somewhat mixed feelings. She felt it would be impolite to deny the generous offer, but at the same time none of the weapons that were present there would compare to her rocket launcher. Suddenly a strange contraption caught her attention and she went closer to examine it. The thing looked like a tachyon-powered power fist or something like that.

"What is it?" Lu asked, picking the item up and checking if her arm would fit in it.

"It's a Pulverizer", Taffer answered, "Not exactly a weapon, more of a tool. It can break walls, cut metal structures and it also has its own shield. It's often used as mining or rescue equipment."

"Oh come on," Lu drawled, "It breaks walls and structures and it looks like it can break a hellbug's neck… I mean it can MAKE the hellbug have a neck and then break it. How it's not a weapon? Well, weapon or not, I think I take it. Not the best substitute for a rocket launcher, but definitely a good substitute for a charge blade which I never mastered anyway. Okay, I think once I found a new toy for me, I can finally stop dragging you back and let us continue our flight to defiance. And thank you Taffer. And thank you Esthete too. You really know how to perk up this stupid girl's mood."



Taffer followed Lu to the spaceship, giggling as he watched her humming a tune and turning the Pulverizer's shield on and off in time with the song in her head. After they boarded the ship he jumped into the pilot seat and led it straight to Defiance, hoping that Irathient girl would be sane enough not to try her new toy while inside the ship.

Amanda stood with Irisa and Berlin as the vehicle touchdowned, on the edge of town, Amanda heading over to Irisa and Berlin, who awaited to drive out to the new arrivals.

“The two of you have experience with Ms. Starr and her people,” Amanda spoke. “So I trust you two in keeping them in check. We’ll follow their play. They have the numbers to find him. I just hope this is the right choice.”

“Don’t worry, Amanda,” Berlin told her. “Belle Starr is as tough and dependable as they come. She can definitely get the job done, even more so with her team. Did you know she took on a Minor Arkfall full of Volge all by herself?”

“That’s just as full of shtako as the Amazing Goddess of the Badlands,” Irisa quipped as she climbed into the Durango.

Amanda joined Irisa in the Durango, taking off before Berlin could even close the door on the second vehicle, causing the human to go flat out just to catch up. Amanda noted the amusing smirk on Irisa’s face as she drove. As they approached, Amanda noticed the aircraft take off, having to leave occupants behind. She noted the numbers of individuals as they approached.

“Okay,” Amanda muttered. “Time to get my professional face on.”

Irisa brought the vehicle to a halt with Berlin doing the same for the second one. Amanda slipped out of the passenger side, noticing the short-haired blonde, sporting a pink and white Casti business suit and frontier shades, approaching her as she came around the front of the vehicle. She held out her hand to shake.

“Belle Starr, VBI Vice President of Public Relations,” the woman told her. “But y’all can just call me Belle! Mayor Rosewater, a pleasure to meet y’all finally, although I do wish it was under better circumstances!”

“Nice to meet you too. And I too wish under better circumstances. I know you’re all familiar with my Lawkeepers Irisa and Berlin. I’m sorry about him getting loose before you all could arrive. Irisa and I were working on the room at the NeedWant where we were going to hold him I had no idea he was remotely capable of attacking Berlin.”

“Don’t fret none about Chase escape,” Belle told her. “As we’ll wrangle him soon enough! Chase has survivor’s instincts, and I bet that’s what he’s running on right now, but our chief concern is his safety, and y’all rescuing him from the wilderness and getting him medical treatment was a huge step in that direction! The fact that he was feisty enough to escape goes to show how success you were!”

Amanda noticed how Belle acted towards Irisa and Berlin, which made her wonder how she hadn’t interacted with Belle Starr before. It was after that, Belle began to introduce her team. But the one that threw Amanda off was the introduction of Iri Sewuel. Amanda always figured that Chase was an old-fashioned kind of guy, the kind of guy who would hook up with a typical human girl. She wasn’t sure if it was her own feelings about Indogenes, primarily because of some of the things that Doc Yewll knowingly did not just to the town, but to her as well, but she never would have figured Chase to be someone who would have fallen for an Indogene. But she kept the thought and confusion hidden well as Belle explained her plan to draw out Chase and assuring her that VBI would handle any expenses.

“I want you to know that I know Chase,” Amanda explained to Belle. “He was a member of this town almost nine years ago. I’m just as much concerned for his well being as you are. So, whatever you’ve got plan, I and my Lawkeepers are at your use.”

Amanda listened to the plan about the television station, and how they planned on broadcasting a message to Chase in hopes that it would draw him out.

Let’s hope he’s near a TV or radio, she thought to herself.

Amanda and Irisa helped Eren and Doctor Orion load up on their gear and Irisa preceded to drive them back to town. When there, Amanda made the decision to use the Lawkeeper office as the medical station as it had been before after the fight with the Volge. Samir showed up, giving her a chance to introduce each other and hoped that they would play nice. She preceded to show where Irisa had lost track of Chase to Atticus Batman and Volodja Ulyanov, who both appeared to do better at picking up the trail than she and Irisa did, though they really didn’t have a chance due to the short travel time Belle Starr and her team took to get there. But when the tracks lead to the Tarr fight tent, she really wasn’t ready for a chat with them. Datak Tarr may have held up his end in stopping Rahm Tak, and he may have helped with the Omec situation, but she was still raw about their actions against the town. As they headed towards the direction of the Tarr residence, Amanda began to recount some information.

“Back when Chase lived here, Nicholette Riordon was the mayor and I was her assistant,” Amanda explained. “She had been considering him for some sort of project, so she had me look into his past, as well as his time in town. Chase would often spend time at the NeedWant after work and playing cards. I figured that’s how Chase and Datak met, since Datak worked for Hunter Bell, my sister’s husband. Datak was basically a card dealer of the establishment, and I remember hearing about an incident where Datak threatened to kill Chase because he beat him in a game of Philadelphia Blind Poker. What was told to me was that Chase had played it honest, but he kept upping the ante and lured Datak in. Basically, he used Datak’s greed and hubris against him and ended up winning a huge payout that night. If they are helping Chase, I wonder why they haven’t contacted us about it.”

“You’re guess is as good as ours, Madam Mayor,” Volo replied. “But if he’s in there, we’ll find him.”

Amanda could see the lights of the Tarr house on, illuminating the night as they approached.

You’re here for Chase’s sake, she told herself. Who knows what they could be doing to him right now?

——————————

Another handmaiden lead Chase to the dinner table, both Stahma and Datak on their feet. The animal brain couldn’t figure out what was going on, but it then noticed the variety of food on the glass table, which included a river otter cut open and displayed with its insides in full view, and a milky liquid in the glass chalices that sat next to the dinner plates. Datak and Stahma occupied one side of the table, while the end chair was pulled back as if calling for her to sit.

“Bulêno,” Stahma spoke. “It is a pleasure to have you at our table once more.”

Stahma motioned for Chase to take the open seat. The animal brain wasn’t sure, but the civil brain pushed, and Chase took a seat. Both Datak and Stahma took theirs, and then performed some sort of hand gesture, bowing their heads for a moment and then preceding to place food on Chase’s plate. Without giving much thought about it, the animal brain precede to dig into the cooked meat, pull at the flesh with his teeth while his hand held it in place. It took the animal brain three bites to realize how both Datak and Stahma were looking at him, as if confused by his behavior at the dinner table. The civil brain realized where the animal brain made its mistake.

Fork.

The animal brain spotted it on its left, picking it up. It thought for a moment that the civil brain wanted him to attack them with the fork.

No. Eat.

It then understood, preceding to use it to eat. It chewed slowly, keeping an eye on the two pale skins that sat next to him out of the corner of his eye. They seemed rather uncomfortable from the unexpected barbaric display that came from him. The civil brain knew they messed up, but Chase preceded to eat.

“I know this must be difficult for you with your… condition,” Datak started. “From one of our reliable sources, we received a copy of your missing person’s report. It stated you suffered a head injury not too long ago, leaving you without any memory of your past. I’m sure that right now, you are cautious about us. We assure you, we are your friends, despite how rough things may have started between us.”

The animal didn’t understand. The civil brain sort of did.

“It was years ago,” Stahma joined in. “You beat Datak at one of the card games, which is the equivalent of, as you humans put it, ‘beating the house’. Hunter Bell didn’t like that Datak lost that large amount of money, so he refused to pay him for that week. Our son, Alak, was ill and needed medicine that we couldn’t afford. You showed us kindness. You gave us the winnings you made from that night, which was more than enough to pay for the treatment. Though, even with our rough patches, we are glad to have our son with us. Thanks to you.”

Chase just looked at her. The civil brain understood. The animal brain wished the meat hadn’t been as cooked, having to been used to eating raw flesh of whatever animal it could catch while in the desert.

“I remember when you brought that small record player and a small stack of… What were they called again?”

“I believe he said they were “forty-fives”, my love,” Stahma replied.

“Yes, forty-fives. I remember Alak listening to those forty-fives over and over again in his room. There was one he liked in particular, some sort of song about a perfect day by some human named Reed. Over and over he would play that one. I remember that I had threatened to break the record if he played it again.”

This caused Datak chuckle, and Stahma covered a smile behind her hand in an attempt to keep from laughing from the memory. The animal brain decided it would attempt fit in. Chase let out a bellowing laugh, enough to echo off the walls. This startled both the Tarrs. The civil brain told the animal brain it went too far. And it agreed, slowing its laugh until there wasn’t one. The room was silent again, this time with both the Tarrs confused about Chase. He used the fork to stab into the meat on the plate in front of him, but the piece was too big for him to break apart with the utensil.

“Please, let me help,” Stahma took her fork and knife and began to cut the pieces small enough for him to handle.

“This is pointless,” Datak finally spoke up. “I am beginning to wonder if there’s anything of him in there. Look at him. I cannot tell if he even understands us.”

”It doesn’t matter,” Stahma spoke in Casti as she replied in a soothing coo, trying to keep her calm smile on. ”He is still the man we owe a debt to.”

She forked a piece of the cut up meat, holding it up and towards Chase. The civil brain was sure that this woman was helping him. The animal brain leaned forward to bite into the meat and pulled it from the fork. It’s head turned away, as if in shame as it chewed the piece of meat. It was after it swallowed when it had the feeling that something was wrong. It looked in the direction of the front door just a moment before the knocking at the door came. His first instinct was to hide, dropping off the side of his chair and cowering under the table. Both Stahma and Datak also reacted, first confused by Chase’s action and then concern over who could be at the front door.

”Hide him,” Stahma told her husband. “I’ll tend to the door.”

Stahma picked up his plate and scrapped the meat onto hers, and Chase small yelped as Datak grabbed the back of his shirt and ripped him from underneath the table. Chase couldn’t find his footage as Datak drug him along to what Datak considered his best hiding spot.

Stahma proceeded to put her plate where Chase’s was, moving Datak’s to where she was sitting. She handed Chase’s plate to the handmaiden, telling her to wash it and put it away. She approached the door, taking a moment to straighten out her outfit and taking a deep breath, slowly blowing it out to steady herself.  She was sure that whoever it was that knocked didn't hear anything from inside the house.  Stahma told herself she knew she needed to keep calm and steady, for the sake of Chase Lonehart, which strengthen her resolve to play the role. She opened the door.

————————————

Iri sat in the backseat of the roller while Berlin sat in the front as they waited for Belle and Vo to recover the Titan of diesel fuel. She wondered if Chase was okay, hoping he would be at least within earshot of a TV or radio when the broadcast was made. If someone had known what was going to happen and had warned her of the whole situation that they had find themselves in, she wouldn’t have believed it.

Chase? Lose his mind? Not possible. Chase going int a desert? To kill himself? Nope, that doesn’t sound like him. Chase Lonehart, without a weapon or an EGO unit, walking through the Canadian desert and into Defiance? Is there any chance I can get some of whatever you’ve been smoking, because it sounds like its really, really good.

Yet, there they were, hunting Chase in hopes of bringing him home, possibly him having lost his mind and somehow pulling off the impossible task of walking from Canada to St. Louis. And all of this because she slipped up.

I didn’t deal the Omec drug blueprint when I had the chance, she thought to herself. I agreed to leave the Fort. I didn’t have situational awareness, which allowed for me to get control rodded and captured. I was stupid for hugging Chase in the middle of a dangerous situation because I was happy to disable the terraspire. All that’s happened to him, all he’s gone through, it’s my fault.

“So… You and him, huh?”

It was Berlin who caught her attention, looking at her through the rear view mirror.

“Yes,” Iri replied, it being the only word she could muster for a reply at that moment.

“I’ll admit, I find it a bit odd,” she said. “I mean, it’s not often you hear about a human and Indogene hooking up. Irathiants and Castithan hookups with humans are practically dime-a-dozen. But Indogenes? I can’t say I know of two. How many humans were you with before you ended up with him?”

“He was the first human I’ve ever loved,” Iri admitted. “The only one I’ve ever loved.”

“I hate to be the one to suggest this,” Berlin began to advise. “For this situation, the best thing you can do is not let your judgement be clouded by your feelings. I mean, he damn near killed me before he escaped. He’s potentially dangerous. If you let your emotions get in the way, there’s the likelihood he’ll hurt you, or worse, kill you.”

“If that happens, then it happens. My actions lead him to this place, to his current condition. I fear his love for me is what drove him insane.”

“Hey, if you’re blaming yourself for him going nuts, then don’t,” Berlin told her. “One you start doing that, you’ll never be able to forgive yourself, not just for things that happened, but for the things that’ll never happen. Believe me, I’ve been there.”

It was at that moment, she heard the sound of a rumbling motor that caught both of their attentions. Berlin’s hailer squawked, to which she answered.

“Hey, let’s get rolling, Bandit Two,” Belle’s voice came in over the hailer. “We are Eastbound and Down. Shame we don’t have the Jerry Reed song for it.”

“The Snowman hears you, Bandit One,” Berlin replied. “We’re loaded up and a-truckin’.”

Iri was confused by the references, figuring it may have been something from the human pop culture that she hadn’t really seen or heard about. She sat back in the seat, checking to make sure the seatbelt was secured as Berlin gunned the engine of the roller to fall in behind the Titan as they headed off.

One step closer for the plan, she thought to herself.

Part of her hoped that there was still something in him to reach, and that part somehow heard her voice and saw her image.

——————————

The group had finally set up an encampment a little ways into the mouth of the canyon. He had a couple of his crew take up a position at what used to be the control center for the defense grid that kept anyone and anything from coming down the canyon towards town. He could afford the manpower, the equipment, and more importantly, the weapons. The group was well hidden in the darkness, with the man admiring the view of the almost completed Gateway, no wait, the Joshua Nolan Gateway Arch. He couldn’t believe a man like Joshua ‘No Man’ Nolan, a man whose brutality during the war was practically works of art, would have chosen to settle in a town like Defiance. The man had done his research on the town and its people, and had managed to finally get dossiers on the group of Arkhunters that arrived in town to recover his primary target, enough to be able to construct psychological profiles on each person, with the exception of one individual in the group. He wanted to make sure he knew all the players and their personalities, allowing him to be able to use that knowledge to his advantage.

This is what I was telling Rahm Tak that night I invited him to dinner during the war, he thought to himself. If you don’t do your research, your lack of knowledge would lead to your death. Hell, if he only studied before acting, he would have predicted the use of the defense grid to take out the camp and relocated his camp far away from the defense grid where the blast wouldn’t have done anything to his army. Even after giving him that scar on his face and left him be the only member of his squad to remain alive, he still didn’t get it.

This man knew enough about those who were involved to be able to make sure his plan went the way he wanted. This situation was only going to end one way: his way, with Chase Lonehart in his grasp,and Lonehart telling him what he wanted to know. The first thing the man had to do was wait, a task that was easy since he had waited for months since Tom Cody left AngelArc. As the his guns for hire ate dinner, he pulled out his acoustic guitar and began to pluck the strings, playing a song to pass the time. He didn’t care if anyone else heard him, it was the only real way he knew to get out of his head for a while as he sung and played. And he looked forward to the moment when Chase Lonehart would be delivered to him and by the very people who came to save him.

Don't ever laugh as a hearse goes by,
For you may be the next to die.
They wrap you up in a big white sheet,
From your head down to your feet.
They put you in a big black box
And cover you up with dirt and rocks,
And all goes well for about a week,
And then your coffin begins to leak.

And the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out.
The worms play pinochle on your snout.
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose.
They eat the jelly between your toes.
A big green worm with rolling eyes
Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes.
Your stomach turns a slimy green,
And pus pours out like whipping cream.
You spread it on a slice of bread,
and that's what you eat when you are dead.

And the worms crawl out, the worms crawl in.
The worms that crawl in are lean and thin,
The ones that crawl out are fat and stout.
Your eyes fall in and your hair falls out.
Your brain comes tumbling down your snout.
And the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
They crawl all over your dirty snout.
Your chest caves in, your eyes pop out,
And your brain turns to sauerkraut.

They invite their friends and their friends too,
They all come down to chew on you.
And this is what it is to die,
I hope you had a nice goodbye.
Did you ever think as a hearse goes by,
That you may be the next to die?
And your eyes fall out, and your teeth decay,
And that is the end of a perfect day.

"Honey bunny," said Marcel Lestrange. "I am sorry for that, my love, but...Ce n'est pas le moment d'être seul. I mean - This is no time to be alone, so I can not let you go and take a chance by yourself. I want some action too. But if you are bored of me...then do not hesitate to tell me about that. We are partners and I am not your owner. Your lover, oui, but not your slaver."

Marcel looked at Lena. Her eyes were unblinking just like Marcel's and sometimes he felt that Lena is still a mystery to him. A mystery he wanted to solve but not too fast, because he enjoyed to spend his time with that riddle, called Lena Marr. She kept his mind going, and he loved her as much as he ever learned to love somebody in his life. And not because she was pretty or turned him on whenever he looked at her, but Marcel just loved her, because she was one and only Lena Marr. That was strange, but feeling strange can be pleasant in some occasions.

Belle's attempt at a joke was humorous, but Iri could bring herself to feel it. Even after the discussion she had with Berlin, she couldn't shake the fact that she was to blame for what happened. She knew Belle was trying to find the light of a difficult situation, but Iri felt the weight of guilt. Belle's smile faded from her face, as she could see the pain Iri was carrying. It was at that moment, Belle hugged her. She couldn't understand how a human like Belle could be some comforting to her.

"Hey hey," Belle said. "Don't worry. We're really close to finding him. I'm sure when he hears your voice or sees you on the screen, he'll make himself known."

"I broke him," was the only thing she could say. "I broke him. I broke him."

"You didn't break him," Belle tried to assure her. "Sometimes, this world can break a person. It can rip them to shreds without any regards of what happens next. You didn't break him. He didn't break himself. It was just bad luck. A whole lot of bad luck that compiled itself and Chase had the unfortunate luck of being in its crosshairs. We've all gone through it, some more so than others. But both of you are still here. And you're not alone, okay?"

The grief let up a small bit, though still held ahold of her. Belle pulled away, cupping Iri's face with her gloved hands. Iri looked at Belle, blue-eyed, blonde and angelic. She couldn't figure out how Belle was able to keep herself together when she thought Vo was dead, though Belle's wisdom from that moment was a reflection of what had befallen her and her Irathient lover not too long ago. Iri could feel the warmth of the human's hands through the gloves, a reminder that Belle was there.

"If you're thinking about kissing me, I think you missed your chance," Iri spoke with an amusing smirk.

This brought a chuckle out of Belle, as Belle hugged Iri once more.

"Hell of a pair of friends we are, huh?"

"Yep," Belle replied.

"Any advise on what I should say when it comes to the broadcast? I mean, I get we have a cover story as a means to lure Chase out, but I don't know if it'll be enough. So, any advise is recommended."

"The first thing that comes to mind," Belle began her response. "Don't go falling apart like you just did."

This brought a chuckle our of Iri, who let it out into Belle's shoulder before the human pulled back from here. She really did hope that whatever advise Belle could give would be useful. She never considered herself any good at public speaking. But for someone who was about to go on the air, she didn't feel nervous. But she hoped that whatever additional advice Belle could give would be helpful to her.

Armed with a polite smile he entered into the Casa de Tarr with Mayor Rosewater, hoping that Stahma may want to discuss about poetry with him.

"Hello, Favi Tarr," Volodja greeted, putting his right palm to the left chest and bowing with grace and dignity.

"My friends call me Stahma," said beautiful looking Castithan woman. "And I do hope that we can begin a beautiful friendship, Mr. Uljanov. It's a pleasure to meet you at last. Tommasino has told me a lot about you. May I call you Volo just like your friends do?" Stahma Tarr was able to make anyone she was talking, to feel that they were only two persons in the room. That's a great gift. And dangerous one...

"Of course, Stahma," answered Volodja. "I want to apologize about interrupting your family dinner, but..."

"Nonsense, Volo. And  can we be less....formal, although Datak pays a lot attention to formalities, but we want to establish a friendship, right? And that means being as informal as possible." Datak didn't had a chance to say anything, because once again Stahma Tarr showed that she was the woman behind her man - the real head of the family, because Stahma already had her hand on Volodja's sleeve and was dragging him away from Datak's grumpy glance.

Volodja's mind was working as a computer. By his modest calculations the rest of the team had enough time to establish their foothold on that TV station and prepare their broadcast, so he gave a try by asking:

"If it's not rude of me, then may you fulfil my little wish and turn the TV on? I am used to watch the news at this time of day." And lowering his voice he whispered to Stahma: "Just between friends - I believe that distraction in this room will be smoothing the mood of your husband as well. I don't seem to be his favourite house guest at moment."

"Tommasino mentioned me that you are cunning. And now I believe that he is right about you. A family dinner with watching TV with house guests is so...human. It should work as a distraction, so I'll give it a try. And while they are watching TV, we can discuss some rather important matters. That should save Datak's nerves as well. And give my other family friend who is visiting us something to do. His mind is really....occupied so little change in the atmosphere might enlighten him. At moment he prefers privacy." 

"I do hope so," said Volodja. "Thank you for understanding...and playing along with me." He wondered why Stahma didn't bothered to mention Chase by his name. After all - she was smart enough to realize that performing a decent EGO scan reveals Chase's presence under their roof. Was Datak indeed that arrogant so he attempted to hide Chase from visitors? It had to be Datak, because Stahma never underestimates humans. Especially when humans have EGO implants installed and every living creature leaves a DNA trace, detectable by EGO psyches.

"That's what friends are for," replied Stahma, looking at Volodja enigmatically.