Hekate's Call, Chapter 24

FB-number-number was another blasted hell pit of an end-of-life mining colony. Or rather, it was at some point a bustling world with culture and cities and life before its vast wealth of important materials was discovered and it was rapidly converted to a mining colony. The company that owned a controlling stake in it, the planet as a whole that is, decided to strip it and the residents have been "on edge and occasionally combative" according the representative.

Ilina knew what that meant better than anyone else in Hekate. She looked at the maps and the intel handed down by Crater, and knew exactly how the union faction – pronounced like "filthy rebels" – would use the terrain and where they would strike the objectives. For the first time ever, Ilina was the first person addressed at the war room table, tapped for all her knowledge.

And that was why everyone was complaining over the local radio as the Hekate mechs – the Scandal in front, the Inertia in the middle, and the WFH in the rear – marched through unpaved wastes along a seemingly arcane path. The path was carefully considered, perhaps even a bit too cautious even for Ilina, but it meant that Hekate would only have to move silently in the last fifty kilometers. It maneuvered around the maximum range of truck-mounted sensor suites and out of sight of long range drone surveillance, and avoided the places that would have been obviously safe paths to sneak through union territory because if Ilina knew anything about abandoned tunnels and cave networks it was that thermobaric explosives didn't have to kill you with a shockwave.

Manya. Have I mentioned how much this sucks?

Vigil. You lasted twenty minutes this time.

Krystyn shifted Ilina on her lap with one hand while the other arm reached up to turn the radio back on. "Quit your bitching, Illustrious. This sucks for everyone."

Manya. Why not let our little Hunter ride with me? We can have some fun.

"Camp in a few hours," Krystyn groaned into the radio before turning it back off.

Ilina shifted herself back to where she was before Krystyn moved her so she was off-center and mostly straddling one of Krystyn's legs. It was hot and cramped and it only took two hours before she had to take off her combat hardsuit, so now she was sweating through her undershirt and pressed as close as she could get against Krystyn.

She felt so stupid. Every once in a while Krystyn would shift her leg under her, or pull her this way or that with a hand on her waist. It was a cramped and humid space. The AC was designed to keep one person cool, not two. But none of the other machines had storage space for Ilina's go-bag and rations. Krystyn also insisted the Ilina ride with her.

That was the part that got her hopes up. Just a little. Krystyn had been avoiding her for a while now. It was already difficult to get her alone with Velia hovering around her on the Gestalt – not that she hadn't missed spending every second of every day with Velia. It was nice going back to that sense of routine with her.

"Hey, can you sit still," Krystyn moved Ilina back into a more comfortable spot. Hand on her waist, but not forceful in any meaningful way. Not like the grip she had before when she pinned Ilina to the bed and told her to take off her pants.

Ilina nodded and moved into place. What happened to the Krystyn that would ambush her in the hallway and drag her into a dark room? What happened to the Krystyn that knew that Ilina felt more comfortable being handled just a bit roughly? It was starting to drive her insane.

Krystyn was straight, wasn't she? That was why Velia was struggling to break her. That she was stubborn, full of presence, and a fantastic leader all made it that much harder too. This was Ilina's own fault for thinking there might be something there. Hallucinating affection in that forced fuck and the looks she got while taking care of Krystyn's weapons and boots.

She really was stupid.

Ilina fished out her pants and an loose shirt from her go-bag to change into when they arrived where they were planning on camping for the first day. Krystyn got out and stretched her legs while Ilina got changed in the cockpit. The Again in Hell was strapped to the back of the WFH. It was too rigid to fit inside the Inertia's cockpit with both passengers.

Finally Ilina dismounted, now dressed, and wandered over to where the other pilots had gathered.

"I'll have Orchid take night watch," Manya said around the nutrient jelly pack between her teeth. "We can all have a nice long rest."

She'd heard the name a bunch. Referenced in reports and mentioned in passing by Krystyn and Manya. "Who is Orchid?"

Manya perked up and pulled the pack from her mouth. Those eyes of hers undressing Ilina slowly and obviously. "Orchid in Bloom Beneath the Stars is my copilot program. She also handles a bunch of systems analysis stuff for Liz. She's more reliable than some people here."

That could have been a dig at anyone if the debriefs were to be believed. Copilot programs usually only handled assistive stuff in combat. Basic stuff, automating a bunch of tasks or running additional calculations. Stuff like target identification and tracking or aim assist. It wasn't that surprising the WFH had a copilot program, it would explain Manya's precision with the railgun at such great distances.

They checked in with Crater, stationed planetside for the time being, via the external omnihook. Ilina knew how to operate an omni, and made sure that it was properly set up. Manya could still be receiving separate orders or something, but at least now information wasn't filtered through her. And after they'd finished their check-in they broke for camp.

They were huddled in some lowground, sheltered from the wind, setting up their own little tents. Ilina had expected them all to be more social with each other than they were. Each of them set up closer to their own machines. The Work From Home was perched on the high ground in camo with as many external components as possible retracted.

Manya sat on a nearby rock, humming something to herself as Ilina approached.

This was such a bad idea.

Everything about being near her was bad.

She'd been holding herself together just fine without it. But now that there was an opportunity it was all that she could think about.

"Managed to escape your keeper?" Manya looked down at Ilina, grinning her devil's grin.

"What do you mean?"

Manya motioned for Ilina to come closer, which she did. "Krystyn's been really protective of you recently. You could be riding with me, right? But she wouldn't hear of it. It would be so much more comfortable too. How's it been going in there?"

It really felt more like Krystyn was avoiding her. Keeping her away from Manya was probably just guilt. "I've been sitting in her lap just about naked all day and she didn't cop a single feel, even by accident," Ilina whined as she got even closer to Manya. She could almost taste it. She started tugging at her clothes.

"Oh, wow! So she likes you, huh?" Manya laughed. "That's adorable."

Ilina didn't come over here to talk about that. There was only one reason to talk to Manya without anyone else around and she knew it too! This was so unnecessary. She could feel her mouth watering already.

Manya's horns and tails caught the moonlight, highlighting her in a terrible silhouette. "Beg for it," her voice dripped with venom. She lifted her hand and pointed to the ground in front of her.

Of course. Ilina never expected to just be given it after the last time. She dropped to her knees and started edging closer. It wasn't worth it. It's not worth it. It'll never be worth it. But it made her head feel so good. It let her stop thinking about everything so much. Manya didn't react as Ilina pressed herself up against her legs, wrapping her arms around them and pushing her head into the devil's lap.

"Please," Ilina forced her voice out as best as she could. It was a struggle to fight all the reasonable voices in her head that told her to stay away. But she hadn't had it in so long. "I'm sorry I called you a monster. Please." Her voice was cracking under the pressure, along with the rest of her. The night's breeze wasn't why she was shivering.

Manya ran her fingers through Ilina's hair, and lifted her head up to see the devil's face. "That's not nearly good enough, little hunter. What do you want, and more importantly what do I get out of it?"

Right. Of course. Why was she so stupid? What did she have to offer?

"Candy. I want to have it again," she pleaded, "I need it. You know I need it. Please." Her voice got more frantic with each word and she squeezed Manya's legs and pushed herself into her as much as she could. "You can do whatever you want with me. I can pay you if I need to. Please. Please."

The devil pet her gently as she sobbed apologies into her lap. For calling her a monster. For telling her to stay away. For being afraid of her. For giving her orders during the last mission. Until she had run out of things to apologize for. It didn't take long for her to lose track of what promises she was making. Her body. Her money. Service. She didn't have anything of value except those, right?

Eventually Manya stopped petting her for just a moment. "I want Velia."

Ilina hadn't offered Velia. Velia wasn't hers to give. No. No. She couldn't.

"She's avoided being alone with me this whole time," the devil-thing whined. "I just want some alone time with her. You can convince her of that much, right?"

That didn't sound that hard. Velia let herself be alone with Morian, and she hated Morian enough to make attempts at her life. This wasn't that different. She could do that.

What? No. No. That was wrong.

"I can't," Ilina whimpered, finally.

The devil-thing let out a long, generously acted sigh and pet her so gently and tenderly. "Ilina, I'm being very serious right now." The voice was neutral and firm. All the playfulness and venom she usually associated with Manya was gone. "I am only asking you to try. I won't hurt her. I just want to get to know her better."

She raised her head and looked up at Manya. She wasn't smiling like she had been either. She seemed unlike Manya in a strange way. "Why?"

"Because she's like me," a genuine, almost vulnerable smile flashed across Mayna's face for a moment. She must have imagined it. "She probably didn't have anyone like her around."

Velia would say no. It was fine. She didn't know what Manya meant by them being the same, but that didn't matter, did it? They couldn't be more different, aside from both being rather tall compared to Ilina. Most people were taller than Ilina.

"Okay. I'll try."

"Thank you, little hunter," the playfulness and teasing returned in force. "Come, take your fill."

Ilina pushed herself up and lunged in for the kiss, reaching in as far as she could to steal as much candy as she could. Her head was blissfully full of clouds by the time Manya had dragged her over to her tent.

Krystyn was already packed and suited up by the time Ilina stumbled down the sandy hill towards the Inertia with her boots untied and jacket buttoned incorrectly. The first thing she noticed was that her hair was down because she had never seen Ilina with her hair down. She looked so much more... boyish. Especially with the bedhead. The second thing she noticed was she reeked of Manya's perfume.

Not that Krystyn could do much about it. Shouldn't be surprising that they'd gotten close again with Manya staying with those two so often.

"Not gonna ride with Manya?" Krystyn asked, trying to be casual and normal about it.

"No, sir," Ilina saluted lazily. "The plan was for me to ride with you, wasn't it? Something about a better vantage point." She flashed that fanged grin as she bumped shoulders with Krystyn in passing.

Alright, fine. It was a flimsy lie. But nobody questioned it. At least not to her face.

It got hot in the Inertia, especially with the sun beating down on them. The planet itself was already in the deep stages of collapse. Barely a place worth fighting for. Not that she could really say that in front Ilina or Velia. Reminded her of their planet.

Even still, the heat was no reason for Ilina to have her pants and boots off before Krystyn could even seal the cockpit. Kicked them somewhere off to the side next to her bag before plopping herself down on Krystyn's lap. At least Ilina helped with the Inertia's start-up processes, since she was in the way of a bunch of the switches that needed to be hit.

"Are you mad at me?" Ilina asked after the pilots all checked in and took their formation.

"What for?"

Ilina fumbled through her jacket and pulled out a hair tie and pulled up her hair into her usual ponytail. Her neck was littered with bruises and bite marks. She had the tact at least to hide them with her jacket and hair, and that counted for something.

"Why would I be mad about that?" Krystyn pushed Ilina forward and pulled off her jacket. It just took up too much space and their seating arrangement wasn't exactly comfortable to begin with. "I won't tell Velia, if that's what you're worried about."

Ilina grinded against her leg as she shifted around to get comfortable and all Krystyn could do was put a hand on her waist to try to urge her to a less compromising position. It was killing her. Everything was killing her but how could anyone process everything that's happened since these three showed up? At least it was easy to focus on this thing. This pervert stripping and giving her an unsolicited lap dance in the cockpit of her own mech.

"Hey, are you doing this on purpose?" Krystyn growled as she took both hands off the Inertia's controls and grabbed Ilina by the hips, holding her in place. She could pilot the Inertia pretty well just thinking about it, but it was like Kyrnn said. It was important to keep herself grounded in her body.

She was just quiet. Gods below, this sucked. She was definitely doing it on purpose, but why? That was a stupid question.

The moment that it seemed like she'd stop moving around and Krystyn let go, Ilina turned herself around in the small space and straddled one of Krystyn's legs to look her in the eyes. "I really liked the last time, and I said I wanted to do it again," and then she started blushing. She was so unfair. Her voice quieter, like she was embarrassed to say the next part, "Manya said that I might need to take the lead or something, but I don't really know how."

Wait, was Manya of all people playing wingwoman for her? No. There's no way. Manya usually quietly sabotaged her any time they went out together.

Hold it. No. There were more consequential things to be concerned about.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" Krystyn grasped Ilina on the shoulder, mostly trying to keep her from wiggling around more.

Ilina cracked this weird, wild smile. Not quite right. She really was so hard to read. "And you have no idea how bad the sex is. I'm pretty sure I'm Velia's first, but I'm way too embarrassed to ask."

"Then why was Manya fawning over how good it was?"

"They were lying to you. It was an act. You're just as dense as Manya says, huh?"

Okay, she knew it was an act. Or at least that they were overselling it to get under her skin. She hadn't brought up the plan or the drugs, both of which Krystyn had been pretending not to be aware of because she promised Velia she'd play along. What was she supposed to say here?

Krystyn chewed her lip. It was hard to break eye contact from the feral, half-naked thing grinding against her thigh. There were other problems though. More relevant problems. One big problem in particular.

"I raped you," Krystyn began. There was a second half to that sentence. She was going to ask, rhetorically, how Ilina could look past that. How was Krystyn supposed to engage with Ilina with that baggage between them. She didn't get the chance.

"Yeah, I'll make sure you get your club card," Ilina grabbed the thigh she was straddling and pulled it up tighter against her cunt. "It's not that big a deal. Happens all the time. You weren't the first, won't be the last."

She needed to be the last. Well, Manya was probably the last one. She couldn't let that happen again. Gods below, girl. What happened to you to make you like this? It hurt looking at her. What was she supposed to say to that?

"We need to set some boundaries," Krystyn said without thinking. Oh, yes. Boundaries. That would solve all the problems here. She hadn't thought about what those would be, or what she meant by it when she said it. She just needed to pump the breaks on whatever was going on right now until she could get her head on straight.

Ilina stopped suddenly with a fear in her eyes, "Oh. I... I don't think I could manage exclusivity. Velia... I. I can't." Alright, you utter freak. Moving a bit fast with the assumptions here. "I haven't even started to make things right for all the things I put her through."

The scars and surgeries flashed behind Krystyn's eyes. Those dead, empty eyes of that hollowed out husk in the medbay. Those were the Corpse Eater's fault weren't they? But Ilina was the one who gave Velia to that monster. She didn't know the details. It wasn't like Krystyn couldn't empathize with the guilt.

"That's not what I meant," Krystyn tried to slow her thoughts down and focus. "What is it exactly that you want from me here?"

There was a lot of emotions on her face. It was part of what made her so cute, she wore all her feelings on her sleeve. Unless she was in work mode or whatever. Whatever combinations of feelings she was having, it was clear she hadn't thought about it either.

Manya, over the radio. Hold.

Krystyn immediately stopped the Inertia before she crashed into the Scandal in front of them. She knelt down to reduce her signature. She was the only one who really had to do that because the Inertia was so tall.

Manya. Signatures in the path. Sending marker drone. Visuals incoming.

A moment later a small window appeared on the large screen in front of them. It was a truck convoy. Single file. Unmarked.

Ilina leaned up and hit the radio on to speak. "Neutrals in the path. Smugglers, heading away from the area of operations. They're using the tunnels."

Vigil. So the tunnels aren't trapped?

Ilina. "I'd set the sensors to alert on convoys, but trip the explosives only on core reactors."

Vigil, laughing. Aha! I'd have walked right into that then. Glad you're here, Hunter.

Manya. Remind me again, Charlatan, why we're taking orders from Hunter on this trip?

Ilina adjusted herself to a rather comfortable position for the first time. Leaned back into Krystyn and sitting on the edge of the seat between her legs. So everything yesterday was intentional too.

"The targets attack infrastructure and logistics," Ilina cut in before Krystyn could answer. "They hit water purification plants, transport tunnels, bridges, irrigation systems. The company's manufacturing plants are too well guarded, but they can't operate if you take out all the infrastructure supporting them."

Manya, again. Wow! You sound so much smarter and less like a smug bitch today, Charlatan!

Krystyn sighed. "This is Hunter's area of expertise. She knows what she's doing, Illustrious. If we ever need to take a photoshoot, I promise you can take the lead."

Manya, one last time. Posing pretty for pictures is your area of expertise, not mine. Neutrals out of range, recalling marker.

Krystyn hit the radio off and they started marching again. She was thankful for the interruption. They were out in the middle of nowhere for a job, and they were still working. They'd been making better time than Ilina had planned, so waiting fifteen minutes to not run into anyone wasn't even a delay.

There was an hour of silence, maybe more, while they marched and had lunch. Krystyn ate some of her hard rations and washed it down with water, but Ilina just drained several of those nutrient jelly packs. They did double duty for hydration and calories. But it was just textureless, mostly flavorless jelly.

"I don't know how you can stand those," Krystyn muttered while she took an empty pack from Ilina and tossed it in the drawer behind her they'd been using for trash.

Ilina grasped at Krystyn's pant legs and pushed into her a bit. "They were free at back at Carrion, and they go down easier than hardtack."

The Necromancer. Was there any question or conversation she could have with Ilina that didn't lead back to Velia or the Corpse Eater? Ilina needed to have more in her life than just them. She mentioned her parents before. Was there something she could ask about that, maybe?

"You can touch me, if you want to." Ilina said without turning around. "I usually charge people for the privilege. Consider yourself lucky."

Krystyn grinned staring down at Ilina's bruise-littered neck. They'd gotten a lot darker since the morning. She wished Manya had left some space for her. "Tell me what you want."

"Are you going to make me beg for it too?"

Manya did make her beg then. That explained the sight last night. Too far away to hear what either of them were saying, but she did watch Ilina kneel in front of Manya. She'd been holding out hope that Ilina would come back and stay in her tent, but that was dashed when Manya dragged Ilina to her own.

"No," Krystyn slipped a hand under Ilina's under shirt, dragging it up slowly. "Just tell me where you want to be touched."

Ilina slid her top and her bra off and stuffed them in her bag down in the corner. "Anywhere? Everywhere? I want to know what you like about me."

"I never said I liked you," Krystyn started running a hand across Ilina's body.

The girl twitched and recoiled the same way she did the last time when Krystyn's fingertips brushed against her lightly. But she settled down and leaned into the touch when Krystyn was a bit firmer. It was cute. She was making cute little noises. This was pretty nice, actually. Idly fondling the audacious little freak to her content.

She had such small breasts that they often disappeared under the loose shirts Ilina liked so much, and the noises she made as Krystyn's fingers massaged them were different than the other sounds. Krystyn took her other hand off the throttle so she could play with both, but kept her eyes forward. She was driving after all.

They were really sensitive. Ilina could hold back these little gasps and moans when Krystyn raked her knuckles across those nipples, and the way she squirmed and pulled at Krystyn's pants when she pinched them. Ilina's breathing got faster, with wetter and wetter panting, and the thrashing got more intense, the longer she went. It was a fun way to pass the time. Hushing her when she had to do radio checks with the others.

It was like a puzzle in a way. Figuring out which combination of pinches and deep massaging got the biggest reaction. It was making her more that a little jealous that the freak enjoyed it so much. Krystyn's weren't nearly as sensitive.

And then she finally, accidentally, pushed the moaning, sweaty pervert over the edge. Once she found where the edge was it was easy enough to hold her there. But one little bump in the path and Ilina slipped. She let out some sputtering noise with her mouth and kicked a console hard, knocking it off to the side on its swivel, and fought to push herself free from Krystyn's arms.

"Need a drink?" Krystyn teased.

Ilina had pulled herself into something similar to a fetal position, but she shook her head. "I need a towel."

Oh.

Shit.

It was on her pants too. Dripping straight through Ilina's panties and pooling in the seat. Krystyn only had a spare pair of pants and they weren't planning on doing laundry. Ilina was trying to move around and grab at her bag, and Krystyn didn't have a lot of space to move around. She didn't need all the mechanics giggling at her when she got back to the Gestalt looking at the stains in the seat.

Oh, screw it.

Krystyn pushed Ilina off the seat completely and into the small space between the chair and the cockpit wall and reached up to hit the radio back on. "Halt march. We're taking fifteen."

Vigil. Roger.

Manya, teasing. You two finally make a mess in the cockpit?

"Yeah. A pretty big one." Krystyn couldn't hide her own grin at the admission. What did Manya's face look like right now?

Manya let out some kind of noise, a shocked and almost embarrassed laugh. Damn. Alright. Affirmative.

Krystyn hit the latch for the cockpit to open it up. It would give them a little space to move around while they cleaned up. Krystyn's go-bag had a towel and she used it to clean up the seat best she could. Ilina managed to wipe herself off and get changed. The little pervert was burning up and couldn't manage more than a nod when asked if she was alright. When they finally got settled back into the seat, Ilina was fully clothed, save her jacket, to embarrassed to respond to anything verbally.

Over the radio, Manya's voice cracked, giggling to herself probably. One of you is going to tell me how it went down. I need this. Charlatan had lesbian sex in the cockpit of the Inertia! Everyone's gonna know.

Vigil, letting out some kind of groan. I thought someone just spilled something. Someone's gotta send me a link to where I can learn this shit. I can't keep being the last one to get the joke.