Night once again falls and lulls everyone into an uneasy sleep. Cassie tries to stay up with me, but she needs her sleep just as much as anyone, and I eventually convince her to rest as well. Corax leaves to scout, leaving me with just my thoughts. Reading aloud keeps the worst at bay, and I reach out to Lance when I need a little more distraction.

Just before daybreak I stop the car and step out, waking up everyone in the process accidentally. Oops, but that's alright.

I end up making the same dish as last time, plain rice and mild veggies on top. Thankfully, it's far better than the first time, but still a little mushy apparently. I'm just scared of undercooking everything and somehow getting everyone sick.

The day progresses with only idle chatter, everyone just enjoying each other's company and watching the world roll by. With every passing moment, we're getting closer to home, and even if I'll have to deal with C-1 when we arrive, I can't wait to be back.

The next night progresses exactly the same as the last. Full of nightmares, but slightly easier to manage ones. Leaving Lucas' light on to give everyone dim light helps, but I still feel useless being unable to do anything more.

Just before sunrise and an hour away from the town under the mountain, Corax returns to my open window.

"People." He reports quietly, but of course even that's loud enough to wake everyone up. Hands fly towards the nearest weapon, and I wait until I'm sure Vince is entirely out of his dream before handing him his.

I reactivate the data lines connecting me to the car and relay Corax's report to everyone else. They thankfully wait instead of flooding me with the same questions I already have.

"People where?" I ask. "In the desert, or in the town?"

"Town." He responds.

"Alright, we have an hour to plan then." Cassie and Ivy relax a little, but still keep their hands on their weapons. "Sorry Cassie, I'm going to have to relay everyone's voices through me again. Lance, when is the next storm coming in?"

"Eight hours by my guess." Lance's voice comes through my speaker, causing Cassie and Vince to visibly recoil. Ivy thankfully seems unaffected by it.

"Ok. We could possibly detour south towards the mountain and try to find a cave, but there's no guarantee any of the ones on my map are going to be big enough for three cars. Corax, what did you actually see?"

"Tires in. No fire." He says.

"How many cars?" Vince asks.

"Several." Corax responds.

"Let's plan for the worst case scenario then." Lance says. "Assume it's fifty people who are unmodified, too many for us to fight."

"Blue, may I see the map you were referring to?" Nimda asks, and I send the data over. "I don't like our chances of finding a cave big enough. If we can make it down the ramp and into the city proper, our chances of winning a fight are acceptable."

"I don't want to kill anyone we don't have to." Vince says.

"We're six AI, two of whom, alongside one of our humans, have a million credit bounty on their head. Any reasonable human will take the risk and attack us. If we do talk to them first, our chances of winning the inevitable fight plummet."

"Sure, but again, the goal is to avoid that fight. The bounty is going to be void, hopefully, and the war didn't hit them hard this far out. People don't react out here the same way they do on the mainland."

"The city does need a lot of work." I say. "We could set up hydroponics for them, power, infrastructure, and a water purifier if they are carrying scrap."

"That's assuming they're staying, and not just traders sheltering." Robin argues. "I'm not sure how much life has changed since we retired, but any trader worth their salt is going to use us for our skills, and stab us in the back the first chance they get. Even if they don't, and we somehow convince them to let us stay, there's nothing to prevent them from messaging the Rangers and claiming our bounty that way."

"I'm not saying we just roll over and trust them." Vince says. "What I'm saying is we talk, and if they're ok with us staying, we stay separate and move together when we have to. If they try to pull anything, then yeah, we kill them. But I'm not going to be the boogeyman raider who just rolls in and slaughters everyone."

Vince's silent implication hangs over all of us. Again. He doesn't want to be that person again. That subtext is entirely missed by Nimda, who continues on unabated.

"And that is a mistake." She says. "We are here to get you and the child home safe, nothing else. If a few more humans must die for it, then so be it."

"How about a vote then?" Vince asks. "It's the only fair way to decide it."

"We both already know how that will end up, there's no point in a vote. You wouldn't offer if you wouldn't win."

"I'm with Vince, a vote's only fair." Robin says. "And my vote goes to Nimda."

"I agree with Vince." I say.

"Me too." Cassie agrees.

"I vote Vince." Ivy says.

"Nimda." Corax says quietly. I'm neither surprised, nor upset by his vote. He's doing what he thinks is best to keep me safe, if it was based on a feeling he would tell me.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I vote Vince as well." Lance says.

"Is Clover awake?" I ask. "She deserves a say too."

"I am. There are too many outcomes for us- sorry, for Kismet to be sure. The child votes for Nimda, and I abstain."

"Fine." Nimda's voice is the sourest I've ever heard her. "I will prepare for when I am proven right though. I hope we beat the odds."

"We all do."

"Alright. I'm disconnecting. Flash the blinker if you need anything." I cut myself off from the network, but leave myself plugged in to drip power into the car.

"Can you stop for a second?" Cassie asks, and hops out a moment before the car has fully rolled to a stop. She opens the trunk and quickly begins to put on her armor.

Cassie returns to the car not long after and drops my helmet onto my head and my cloak in my lap, much to Ivy's silent amusement. Extra gear, the same armor they put on in the junkyard so long ago, gets handed to the two in the back. The moment the door closes, I begin rolling slowly across the desert once again. She hands out the last of our bars to everyone and begins to reluctantly eat her own.

"I'm not in shape to do much more than talking." Vince stares at the armor in his lap before beginning to put it on. "I'll leave saving the day to you three again."

"That's fine, just stay alive." Cassie says.

I'll wait to put on my cloak until we're a little closer. There's no need to start generating heat already, and the chances of anyone seeing us all the way out here are low.

Everyone checks their weapons while we drive, and I hand my pistols to Cassie for her to take care of. They definitely need a thorough cleaning after how much they were used at Mara's trench.

As soon as the mountain peaks above the horizon, I put on my cloak and headwrap. I keep the fabric held up as far as possible, however. The hem sits just below the lip of the window, and the air conditioner can blow directly onto me.

"Let me handle most of the talking." Vince breaks the silence, and I relay his words to everyone else.

"Yeah, alright." Cassie says.

It's like she said, it's safer if we assume they know everything. Our voices could have been given out to anyone directly rather than over the radio.

"Robin and I will back you up." Lance says.

"I appreciate it."

Hopefully they look human enough in their armor that whoever we meet will overlook them. I'm just not sure how we're going to get Nimda past them.

"Cassie, can you try to hail the town?" Vince asks.

"I already have. Whoever's down there either doesn't want to be heard, or are too far down for their radio to work."

"Alright. Keep trying please."

The car stews in tense silence as I approach. Far too soon we arrive. The opening to the cavern is abandoned, with just a few sets of tire tracks heading inside. No guards, nobody on watch, nothing. That feels strange.

"Stop us just outside the entrance. Don't reveal ourselves just yet." Vince says.

"Alright." I nod. "If it helps prove we've been here before, I engraved everything Cassie and I did to save the city on the inside of the steam generator. It proves we put out the fire and built the generator after the place was slaughtered."

"Plus we buried the bodies. Wrote 'fuck raiders' on the cover." Cassie adds.

"And 'they deserved more'."

"Alright, both of those help, thank you." Vince nods.

I park the car close against the mountain slope and we all step out. Vince and Ivy of course struggle, but eventually manage to help each other out.

The two of them walk up to the cave entrance, closely followed by Cassie, Lance, Robin and myself. I'm certain Cassie has her weapons drawn, and I do so as well, just in case.

"Hello?" Vince yells loudly into the open cavern. "Is anyone there? We don't want to just barge in."

"I hear movement and whispers." Cassie whispers. "Someone's definitely alive in there."

"We can see the tracks in the sand. I don't want to get off on the wrong foot." Vince adds.

"If you come in, we will fire!" A voice yells back.

"Appreciate the warning! Look, we stayed in this town last storm. We're just looking for a place to stay, and we'll be out of your hair. You can have the place."

"How about we don't play games?" The voice responds. "Just fuck off and leave us alone!"

"I think we're on different pages here! Why don't you tell me what games you think we're playing? I can't prove the opposite if I don't know the context."

"I said fuck off!"

"Alright, look. I'm going to play my hand here." Vince calls back, his voice as even and reassuring as he can get it. "I'm traveling with six AI who just executed Mara and her gang, three people with a bounty that's just been rescinded but word hasn't spread yet, and we're just trying to get home. My friends here saved this town. If you take apart the steam generator, you'll find a story about how they stopped the fire that took place here. There's a grave with 'fuck raiders' and 'they deserved better' written on it. Not my friend's fault, just cleaning up after an attack."

"We also built the firing range that runs through the town!" I call out using my original voice. It hurts to use it, but it's safer. I just have to ignore the memories it's threatening to dredge up. "I know the place is a mess, but we can help. We have some scrap, we can construct hydroponics, a more robust power generation, set up a power grid, anything you need."

Vince glances back, an appreciative grin on his face.

"They're talking, but I can't quite make out the words." Cassie whispers. "One of them just ran off."

"Good. Hopefully they're checking then." Vince says quietly before yelling into the cave once again. "I hope you can see why we can't risk resting anywhere else."

The world stays silent for a few long minutes. Cassie keeps her head down and focuses entirely on her ears, while Ivy keeps her head on a swivel, looking for any sign of an ambush.

"Are you armed?" The voice from the cave yells back eventually.

"We are."

"Slide your weapons down the ramp."

All it takes is one glance at all our faces for Vince to nod, and a decision to be made.

"I'm afraid we can't do that!" He yells.

"Then you can go eat sand for all I care!"

"I understand trust is a hard thing to give. But we can't give it freely either." Vince yells. "We can drive down with our weapons lowered, but we're not coming in unarmed. As long as you keep your weapons lowered too, then we can keep this peaceful."

"You're in no shape to make demands."

"I get it, you're scared. Whatever you're running from, whatever your histories, I promise I get it. You protect your own, just as we do. But listen, six of us just took down the largest gang I know of, and I'd really appreciate it if we could stay willingly. This isn't a fight either one of us wants to take."

"Is that a threat?"

"Doesn't have to be." Vince yells simply.

Silent seconds stretch out while the people below deliberate.

"Fine!" Someone below finally yells. "Drive down with your weapons lowered. We'll do the same. We'll talk when you get down here."

"Thank you! We can do that."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.