Laser fire echoed through the air. Indra wanted to cover her ears to dull the sound beating at her skull. She gripped the zipline tighter, until her hands nearly cramped from the effort. All it took was one slip up and she’d go plummeting who knew how far to the ground. 

 

Of course she had to stumble in a misstep. Starshitted bones. Indra hated how simple things incapacitated her. If she had placed her foot down firmly, her ankle would not have rolled and snapped. 

 

She shouldn’t have let Akio go back. With her damned morals, Akio was going to get herself killed. The only reason she hadn’t yet was because Indra had been there to do what had to be done--what her girlfriend and leader could not. 

 

It didn’t matter how kind a heart could be, the darkness of society would either stamp it out, or feed on its battered corpse. 

 

Indra refused to extend grace to those who wronged her and others. They were a blight on the world, they deserved to burn. The entire Lizz palace deserved to die a slow, gruesome death. 

 

Perhaps Akio didn’t understand because she hadn’t been there to suffer in this sector for over five years. It had been foolish to assume that Akio’s background in seeing the worst of society would aid in her understanding of the situation. Her naivety would bring their ruin. 

 

When this was over and everyone was safe within the mansion walls, they had to talk. Indra couldn’t allow everything Haim worked to create crumble at the hands of a stupid, but adorable leader. She sighed. Akio’s intentions were pure and admirable, almost child-like, and that sort of stance didn’t bode well for the others beneath her. 

 

There was unrest within the walls of the mansion. Indra could feel the resentful energy every time she walked the hall. It was almost as if she were walking through the marketplace with the words “I’m a Se’li, kick my ass” nailed into her spine. 

 

The Lizz’s would not by the goodness of their bleeding hearts suddenly stop in specist activity and provide equality for all. Every vigilante knew that. All those within their group would need to fight for their freedom, and beat the government into the starshitted earth until they relented or died. That’s why she joined the cause. That’s why others joined the cause. And Akio was taking that away because she couldn’t stomach killing. 

 

It’s kill or be killed and if she doesn’t start killing--she’ll die. 

 

That was the grim reality. Nanon had the same ideal. And once upon a time, Indra had foolishly adopted it alongside her.  

 

No matter how hard Indra applied pressure to the wound in Nanon’s abdomen, the blood kept oozing onto her ungloved hands. “Why?” The words came out in thick sobs. “Why, Nanon?” 

 

“Be-because--” she coughed, the sound evidently showcasing the liquid flowing up her throat. “I trusted you.”

 

That was all goodness wrought, suffering. Nanon died for Indra’s stupidity, for giving a trust to someone too foolish to see through the lies of a murderous man. Misplaced trust--believing that there’s good in anyone, leaves you blind. 

 

Indra inhaled a shaking breath. She couldn’t bear to lose someone else. But wasn’t that the price of freedom? Blood? Hadn’t she adequately prepared to lose all for the cause? Attachment was weakness. And like a starshitted moron, she was already far too attached to Akio. 

 

A jolt alerted Indra to finally reaching the ground. 

 

From this point on, Akio should be banned from all missions that require death to the opposite side. That way, she could still stick to her ideologies without bringing about their ruin. Anyone unable to kill had no place on the battlefield.  

 

The scent of smoke and metallic tang of blood clung to the clothes of the other vigilantes whose footsteps grew closer, dragging in exhausted motions across the sand. Fear and uncertainty wafted from the survivors, the emotions thicker than the scent of burning bodies in the air. 

 

“Where’s Akio?” Chester’s deepening voice asked, cracking on the last syllable. 

 

Indra swung her good leg down, setting it cautiously on the ground and doing an awkward hop to remove her injured ankle from the other side of the zip line. “She went to take out the snipper and look for those missing.”

 

He growled. “That idiot! She’s supposed to be our starshitted leader and keeps putting her life on the line in battles. Doesn’t she know that’s not her role anymore? Tell your Lizzassed girlfriend to stop being such a starshitted mor--”

 

Whacking Chester in the stomach with her cane, Indra clung to the zipline for support. “Watch your mouth.” 

 

He groaned. 

 

“I don’t have the patience for your starshit today. Do I think Akio is making the best choice? No. Am I going to allow the vigilantes in her command, in our command to openly insult her or command me? No. If you have a complaint, write a holomessage and send it to a damned secretary,” she spat, not trying to hide the sharp edge to her tone. 

 

Chester’s scuffling footfalls retreated when Indra raised her cane a second time. The damned starshit didn’t know when to be quiet. Teenagers. Indra couldn’t stand teenagers. 

 

Leaning heavily on her cane, Indra attempted to make her way toward the transport. Her cane dipped in the uneven terrain. Weight slammed into her injured ankle when it hit the surface. Burning agony traveled up her leg and she fell to the ground. 

 

Dammit! 

 

A hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her back to her feet. 

 

Indra clenched her hands tightly to keep from attacking the vigilante for the unsolicited contact. It was as if a thousand tiny insects were burrowing into Indra’s skin from where their hand rested, supporting her weight. She reminded herself to breathe. They offered the help she needed, nothing else. Nothing else. 

 

Nothing. Else. 

 

Despite the repeated chanting, the tightness in her chest lingered. “My ankle is broken, it needs to be wrapped until we can get back to the mansion.” 

 

“Yeah, it doesn’t look good,” a soft coo stated. 

 

Nanon? 

 

No. 

 

Nanon was dead. 

 

Sali’s voice simply had an uncanny similarity. Probably didn’t help that they were sisters. 

 

“Thanks, Sali,” Indra said quietly. 

 

She hated the fact that she was disappointed. It had been three years. Indra knew Nanon was dead, she had clung to her body as each system shut off one by one. The sensation of life leaving her girlfriend's body still haunted her dreams.  

 

Sali gripped tighter around Indra’s middle, before raising her slightly off the ground for a moment. “No problem.” 

 

The response was curt. Sharp. Indra could still hear the bitter edge, the reminder that there was no forgiveness offered in Sali’s eyes for what she had done. It was suppressed and ignored, no other options were feasible. Revenge wouldn’t bring Nanon back. Nothing would.  

 

Indra reached her cane out, tapping the ground to determine how much further they had to go. This terrain wasn’t entirely familiar to her, but she remembered it got rocky before they reached the cliff-face. Still more sand than stone, they weren’t anywhere close yet. 

 

“Did you manage to find all of the refugees? Or were some missing?” Indra asked, focusing on the sensation of the ground beneath her good foot rather than the physical contact that made her want to hurl. 

 

Sali sighed. “According to the elder, ten were killed during their capture. The scouts should’ve been there, then we could’ve stopped--” 

 

Indra awkwardly patted Sali’s back. “It’s in the past, there’s nothing we can do about it now. We need to focus on the survivors and move on.” 

 

Back muscles tensed beneath Indra’s hand. “Some scars can never be healed, Indra. Under this new leadership, we’re allowing multitudes of unclosable wounds to be opened.” Sali’s voice dropped low. “Are you certain we can trust Akio? Or will she murder us all in our sleep like Claude?” 

 

No words would come. How could Indra assure Sali of something she herself was still questioning? She wanted to believe that Akio was incapable of such horrors, but her past said otherwise. Even as Indra held her in her arms following each breakdown from the things that haunted Akio’s dreams, she questioned whether her girlfriend’s mind would flick a switch and revert to who she once was. A killer. A weapon. A murderer. An apathetic sociopath.  

 

So she lied. “Akio would never betray us. I trust her.”

 

“That’s why your oi’ek are drooping?” Sali whispered, her voice breaking. 

 

Indra swallowed, knowing it was impossible to lie to her past best friend. “After what happened, I don’t think I can ever trust anyone.” 

 

Claude’s actions destroyed the trust Indra had worked the entirety of her free life to gain. A piece broke inside of her that night as she held Nanon’s corpse in her arms. Nothing could change it. Nothing could aid it. No one could be trusted. 

 

Better to be honest and cry than happy and lie. Akio knew where Indra stood and she respected it. She understood it, and that was one of the many reasons Indra adored her. Even without giving reasoning of her past, Akio listened and adhered to Indra’s requests. She trusted her. A misplaced and foolish trust. 

 

“There’s talk among the others. Having a weapon as a leader makes many restless. It’s one thing to allow her within the mansion walls, it’s another to have her oversee everything. . . “ Sail paused, lifting Indra slightly a second time as they transitioned to the rockier terrain. “Are you sure she didn’t blackmail Haim into giving her that position?”

 

Indra shook her head in disbelief. “Do you really think Haim, stars bless his soul, the mind reader and potential manipulator, could have been blackmailed into anything?” 

 

Scoffing, Sali stopped for a moment. “Anything is possible. Akio worked for the government--still might be working for the commanders. All those articles could be a rouse to trick us into trusting her. A large organization like that having dirt on our leader isn’t far-fetched.” 

 

“If discourse rips through our group, there will be nothing left. Do you want the Lizz’s to win?” Indra asked, her tone cold. “Fighting amongst ourselves is exactly what they want. Regardless of trust, no matter the risk, we must stay united--it’s all we have.” 

 

It hurt to admit that the group was in no way prepared for the turns ahead, but it was the truth. The delicate balance Haim had maintained between contacts and keeping the group from inward fighting was unattainable now. No one had the sort of power he did. Indra knew the contacts, but without being able to visually identify, what use was she in that regard? If they disguised their voice, she wouldn’t know the difference. 

 

“Your body may be weak, but your heart--your will, is unbreakable. That’s what makes you stronger than a thousand soldiers, Indra.” 

 

A stray tear escaped from the corner of Indra’s eye, leaving a wet trail down the side of her face. She missed Haim. All she had left was her memories of him, that wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. 

 

But I still have Hawke and Akio. . . Unless I lose them too. 

 

Indra listened intently for more footsteps to join her, hoping if only for a moment that the next thing she would hear was the nearly missable whirl of Akio’s equipment. 

 

Nothing. 

 

Not a sound. 

 

Sali started moving again. 

 

A foreboding settled in Indra’s gut, churning it into unbreakable knots, harder than the metal of a Drexi coin. What if Akio didn’t make it back? Did Indra abandon her to die? 

 

An explosion rang through the air. 

 

Indra cried out, the intensity of the loudness like a hammer to her skull as both her and Sali were thrown away from each other with a wave of heat.  

 

An audible crack sent stabbing pain up Indra’s right arm when she landed hard on the stone ground. Our transport. Someone rigged our transport. 

 

The charging of guns hummed in the air. 

 

Indra was barely able to hear it over the ringing in her ears. She felt around the ground, her left hand gripped the handle of her cane. 

 

“Don’t move, we have you surrounded,” an elderly voice commanded. 

 

The elder. . . This was a set up.

 

Reaching up quickly, Indra clicked on her ear piece. “Akio, it’s a setup! Get out!” 

 

An object slammed into her gut, cracking several ribs. 

 

Indra cried out, the burning agony coursing through her body like a river of hot metal. 

 

A warm barrel pressed into her temple. “You tell your leader to surrender or I’ll break you piece by piece.”