New chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 30: A Useful Partnership
Somewhere in Space
The atmosphere on-board the ship wasn't pleasant. Talia had shut herself away in her quarters and was recovering from the ordeal in her own way. Niku and Airen were sitting at the front of the ship, on the controls, plotting their course and making sure they were flying safely. Guida was sat in the control room with those two, but he wasn't paying any attention to what they were doing. He was just lamenting his missed opportunity to finally get one-up on Yamo Niha. He still didn't understand why Talia was so sure that he wouldn't have a chance of defeating Niha. It played on his mind for much of this journey and he wanted to hear the truth. Now.
He stands from the seat in the middle of the room and walked towards the exit. Niku turned around in his seat, hearing the movement from Guida and had an idea of where he might be going.
"Leave her for now, Guida," Niku uttered. It wasn't an order or a command. He was speaking as if to a very close friend. Guida stopped and placed a hand against the door-frame. "She'll speak with us in her own time, we just need to grant her that chance."
Guida turned to face Niku and didn't say a word as he returned to his seat and slumped down. Niku nodded in thanks and turned back to pay attention to controlling the ship with Airen.
Inside her quarters, Talia was just sitting on the edge of the small bed. She looked across to the wall where her swords were placed. She just stared at them. If she had been a little more careful with their placement she wouldn't need to have this conversation, but if she was going to try and actually be their ally then the truth had to come out. Talia sighed and stood up. It had to be done now. It couldn't be put off any longer.
She entered the control room and walked up to the main desk in the middle. She stood there awkwardly for a second and didn't know what she could say to start this story. Talia felt like all the eyes were on her right now, but that wasn't true because Airen wasn't paying any attention to what was going on. Both Niku and Guida were looking towards Talia, but she was just looking down at the ground. It took the two men a minute to see what Talia was holding in her hands. Niku recognised them, but Guida wasn't familiar.
"I'm ready to tell you about my past…" Talia said, keeping her swords clutched close to her body. Guida leaned forwards to check out what she was holding and to him they just looked like swords, nothing more. Niku stood up and walked over to the control table.
"What are those?" Guida questioned, looking down at Talia. She shifted uncomfortably and placed them on the table.
"These are… my swords," She replied, quietly and uncomfortably.
"And why do you have swords?" Guida asked, not knowing what it could possibly mean. Talia held her hand out to show Guida that he could look at them himself.
"Just check them out, but be careful not to touch them…" Talia said, still worried about what might happen. Guida glanced over to Talia as he moved closer to the swords, but stopped upon noticing something on the handle. Something he recognised. An emblem.
"The Dark Blades?" Guida said, questioning it in his own head. Wondering what Talia could possibly be doing with those swords. Two of them. Both with that same logo. Could she have stolen them? No, of course not, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to touch them. These blades were part of her. They belonged to her. And she, she belonged to… "You're one of them."
Guida looked up at Talia and she could see the rage building inside of him. She took a breath and stepped back.
"I just need to…" Talia started to say, but was cut off when Guida moved over to her and grabbed the girl around the throat, holding her up against the wall.
"You are one of them!" Guida yelled in her face while choking her. Talia was struggling for air and tried to push Guida off of her, but she couldn't do it with her base strength alone. Guida was seeing red. "You're the reason my family are dead!"
Talia's energy started to build up within her as her struggle became tougher. Her eyes narrowed and she became a lot more focussed. She managed to push Guida off of her and then kicked him across the room. He crashed into one of the computers and fell to the ground, but managed to get back up to his feet quickly. Talia leapt forward to the main control table and grabbed both of her swords, unsheathing them and moving into more of a battle pose.
Guida clenched his fists and wanted to fight back, but those blades would make things a bit more challenging. Talia's energy began to radiate from her and it was intimidating for the others, but Guida was enraged. He didn't want to step down, not if this girl had something to do with the death of his family.
Niku finally stepped forward and in-between the two of them.
"Stop this, let Talia say what she has to… I'm sure there's more to the story," Niku explained, glancing over to Guida and then looking back at Talia, signalling her to continue. She took a breath and dropped her swords, managing to calm her energy.
"I was an orphan. When I was very young Yamo Niha found me, and took me under his wing," Talia started, Guida scoffed and turned away, but that didn't stop Talia from telling her story. "He saved my life and took me to the Dark Blades. They had nothing to do with what Niha did to your family… and… neither did I."
"How are we meant to believe you, of course you'd say all of that?!" Guida said, stepping towards Talia again, but Niku stepped in front of Guida again. "You're just as responsible as Niha is."
"I had nothing to do with what Niha did on that planet… he didn't let me!" Talia yelled, clarifying her part in the story. "He never let me kill innocents… he cared about me."
"Sounds like he was more than just someone who saved your life?" Niku questioned.
"He was," Talia said, taking a second to think on it all. Niha had always been more than just her Master. "He was the closest thing I had to a family… I trusted him. I believed in him."
"So, you killed for him?" Guida questioned, not letting it go. "Sounds like a great man."
"I used to believe in him, but he changed. He had different aims and I couldn't stand by his side anymore. That's why I was in the Dark Blade prison," Talia continued to tell her story. "They want him too. He betrayed what it means to be Dark Blade and… I guess… his teachings were wrong. I never wanted to be what he made me, but I can't ever forget that he's the reason I'm even alive today."
Guida turned away again and didn't know what to make of everything Talia was saying. How could he trust her if she kept this from him? What was she going to do to them? Could she even be trusted anymore?
"I'm truly sorry about what happened to your family, Guida," Talia muttered, sombrely. She stepped away for a second, composing herself. "There's nothing I could ever do to take back what happened… to take back the part I played, no matter how minor. I never had a family, so I can't imagine what it's like to lose them."
Guida couldn't face the rest of them now. He was getting too upset thinking about the death of his family. He just continued to stare at the wall. Niku stood there quietly and Talia still had more to say.
"I want to help you stop Niha. Defeat him. I'll do everything I can, but I really think we need to be patient about it," She started to explain. "We need a strategy and we need to ensure that, whatever we do, it's successful and we take him down."
There was an uneasy silence in the room for a few moments before Guida finally turned around and faced them.
"I can't trust you…" Guida uttered. He wasn't angry anymore, he wasn't sad… he wasn't feeling anything in this moment. He just looked forward with a blank expression. Talia sighed and looked down again. "We will beat him, but I will not work with you."
Talia looked up, but made no attempt to protest. Guida was right. It would be nigh-on-impossible for him to be able to trust her. But what would this mean for Talia? The girl wanted to ask what would happen to her, but that wasn't needed.
"We'll drop you at the next stop. I don't care what you do after that," Guida said as he walked off out of the control room. Talia remained in the same spot as Niku also turned away from her, but he returned to his seat next to Airen. They set their coordinates for the next scheduled stop. It would be the next resupply and refuel. Talia sheathed her swords and wandered back to her room. Niku glanced over his shoulder, but there was nothing more to be said or done.
A few days passed them by before a stop was needed, but once that stop came Talia had managed to come to terms with what was going to happen. She would need to head off and find herself a new transport. She needed to get far away. Find somewhere to hide-out. She needed to be away from Niha.
The ship touched down in the docks of Strato City on the Planet Varius. Talia was first off of the ship without saying a word to any of the others, although she did have to pass by them. Niku watched as she walked on, but Guida kept moving the empty boxes around. Niku returned to helping very soon, but he couldn't help but feel like they were a little unfair towards Talia, but she didn't protest it. She accepted her fate. They all had to move on.
Talia didn't stop walking until she knew the ship would be completely out of sight and then she slumped back against a wall, down a dark alley. She stared down at her feet and was alone with only her thoughts. Where next? That's all she could think. She looked up and down the alley and finally decided to continue towards the other side of the Docks. Maybe she'll find a ship to board and get away from this place. All she could do was hope to hitch a ride away. This wasn't exactly a good place for her to stay.
When she finally came to a grouping of ships she made sure to scout out the possible pilots she could befriend, or steal from. Yes. She did consider just stealing a ship, but that was only really a last resort. Well… a second choice. She had no idea what her last resort would be right now. Probably begging to go with Niku and Guida, but that wasn't on the cards.
Talia sat in the shadows and kept her eye on all the people walking around, but soon noticed two aliens that she recognised. It was Tufa and Kuiku. Two members of the crew that had captured her and taken her to Niha. What were they doing here? Talia was going to find out. This could be useful information. She jumped up from her seat, but made sure to keep to the shadows and hidden as best she could. She started to follow them. Eventually they stopped by a railing that looked out into the deserts of this planet. Talia remained back behind a pillar, but was within earshot.
"Shirken ain't gonna lead us very far," Tufa said, sounding pretty annoyed. Kuiku scoffed and patted Tufa on the back.
"Oh, come on, give him a chance. We don't know how bad things will be," Kuiku said with a chuckle, "At least we don't have to work for that nutcase, Niha."
Talia struck a little bit of vital info there. They no longer worked for Niha. Interesting.
"I know, but we haven't got any work… we'll run out of supplies and money," Tufa explained, slamming his hand down on the railing. Talia hid behind the pillar completely, only using her ears now. "We can't survive that way."
"Well, maybe the map he gave us will earn some credits?" Kuiku suggested. Talia's ears perked up at this and she was back to poking her head around the pillar, if only a little bit.
"What, a little holographic map? We don't even know where it goes," Tufa said, still sounding pretty annoyed. None of this was making him feel any more at ease. That's when a small alien, hidden in a cloak, seemed to approach them. (He resembles a Jawa in Star Wars.)
"I heard you're looking for work," The creature said, mischievously. Both aliens went on the defensive and stood over this creature.
"You listenin' in on our conversations?!" Tufa questioned. The little creature held his hands out and waved them defensively.
"Please, just a humble Strato-Variun that wants to help," He was pleading with them. They looked to each other and nodded, showing they were willing to at least hear him out. "I'll tell you more, but… you have to take me with you."
Both Kuiku and Tufa looked to each other and nodded before handing the little creature something.
"Come to docking bay E-02 later on and we'll help you out," Kuiku said. The little creature seemed to do a little bow and rushed off away. Kuiku and Tufa walked off soon after. Talia remained in her spot for a second and soon started to think on something. She couldn't keep this information to herself. This would help Guida and Niku on their quest to find Niha again and finally bring him down. She had to tell them. So that's where she headed off for.
Talia found herself rushing back to the ship to see if Guida and Niku were still there. She needed to give them this new knowledge. She rounded the corner and saw the ship still there with the ramp down. She breathed a sigh of relief before rushing on-board.
Niku and Guida were standing in the cargo bay just discussing things when a heavily-breathing Talia stopped behind them. She put her hands on her knees and looked up to them, a smirk on her face. Guida glared right at her.
"Why are you back here?" He asked. Niku looked to Guida and then down to Talia. The girl didn't say anything right away and instantly felt like she had done the wrong thing in coming back, but this was going to help them. Surely, they would see that… right?
"I know how you can find Niha," She finally said, but then realised she wasn't actually sure of that yet. "I think."
"What do you mean?" Niku asked. Talia was about to answer, but Guida stepped forward.
"What makes you think we need your help? I told you to leave," Guida said, aggressively. Talia stepped back and closed her mouth. She was definitely regretting coming back now, but as Guida turned to walk away from her Talia found her courage.
"I don't care if you don't want me here, I just have a little bit of knowledge that could really help you," Talia explained, looking down at the ground. "Shirken is here… they don't work for Niha anymore and are just looking for work, but they have a map. It may help you find Niha."
Niku turned to look back at Guida as he stopped walking away. Guida's fist slowly clenched and he turned around.
"They're here? Where?" Guida questioned, walking up to Talia.
"Docking Bay E-02. They won't have left just yet, but we can track them…" Talia was about to suggest a new plan, but Guida grabbed his rifle and barged past the girl. "Where are you going?"
"My Brother betrayed me, I'm going to kill him and his allies and take that map for myself," Guida was so sure of himself and, once again, was acting reckless for his own gain.
"It's too dangerous to go alone," Talia tried to talk some sense into the stubborn former Patrolman. He didn't listen to Talia and even Niku didn't try to talk some sense into him. Guida was gone. Niku looked to Talia as she looked back at him. He just shook his head and Talia knew it was best to leave the situation where it was. Guida was on his own for now. Niku just continued to load the ship. Talia stood there aimlessly for a moment, but knew she couldn't just hang around. She decided that it really was best if she just went to find her own path.
She left the ship again.
About an hour or so passed by and the little creature finally arrived at Docking Bay E-02 to meet with Shirken and his crew. He boarded the ship with Kuiku, unknown to the fact that they were being watched. Guida sat in the shadows looking over the ship, waiting for any sign of them being ready to leave. He wanted to get them right when they thought they were in the clear.
Just as Shibo walked out of the ship to grab the last of their supplies Guida leapt out of cover and sprinted towards the ship. He was going to take them down one-by-one. Shibo heard something approaching and turned around with a large box in his arms, but was completely taken by surprise when Guida landed a kick to his face and ran off into the ship. Shibo landed with a thud, as did the crate.
It made enough noise to alert the people on-board the ship and soon Kuiku and Tufa were rushing to see what the commotion was. They came face-to-face with Guida and the former Patrolman was ready to fight. He charged Tufa and kicked him in the chest and jumped towards Kuiku, hoping to get him easily. Unfortunately, he underestimated Kuiku's speed and found himself being knocked back into the wall. He managed to roll out of the way of Kuiku's next attack and kicked the Snake-like alien in the side before swinging around and firing his rifle towards Tufa.
The four-armed alien held up two of his arms in defence and the other two served as a battering ram as he connected with Guida, knocking him back. Guida struck the wall again and dropped his rifle. It was kicked away by Kuiku and the two stood over Guida as he rubbed the back of his head. He had really not thought this through. He needed to learn how to control energy more. He was still learning.
Kuiku and Tufa stepped away from Guida as Shirken came forward. He didn't look angry at Guida, or even happy to have a chance to hurt him or anything. He just seemed saddened slightly.
"Guida, just leave us. Get on with your life," Shirken tried suggesting. Guida chuckled as he slowly stood up.
"How do you expect me to do that? My family are dead."
Shirken was silent and turned his back on Guida. He went to walk away, but Guida stopped him. He turned his brother around and punched him in the jaw with a lot of force. Shirken fell back and stumbled to the ground. Guida took out his stun pistols and shot both Kuiku and Tufa. He then dropped on top of Shirken, with his hands firmly around his throat.
"I'm going to make you suffer. I will have my revenge on all those responsible for the murder of my family," Guida said, menacingly. Shirken started to chuckle a little, almost sadistically.
"You better kill that girl you're working with then," Shirken suggested, but Guida's grip got tighter.
"She had nothing to do with it!" Guida replied, not even realising what he said. Shirken's brow furrowed as he began to lose breath.
"How can you trust a former Dark Blade?" Shirken asked.
"I don't know. How could I even trust my brother?"
There was an uneasy silence between the two, aside from the gurgles coming from Shirken as he attempted to grasp at air. Guida didn't know if he was really going to kill his Brother here. It certainly felt like the right thing to do. The slight smirk on Shirken's face showed Guida that his Brother was no longer in there. Niha had changed him… or had he always been this way?
Guida's grip started to loosen, but his decision was soon made for him once he was whacked around the head by something big. Guida fell on his back and saw Shibo standing there with a large stick.
"Bastard…" The large, pink alien said through grit teeth. Shirken started coughing and slowly stood up. He stumbled on the spot a little and pointed down at his Brother.
"Put him in a cell, kill him, I don't care anymore," Shirken said as he started to walk away. Kuiku and Tufa were finally back on their feet and were prepared to help Shibo. They were looking forward to this. As they went to lift Guida up a sword dropped down right next to them. Shibo started laughing and grabbed it by the handle, but instantly felt his hands start burning. Once Shibo let go the sword pulled out of the ground and flew past the three aliens. They followed it and watched it land in Talia's hand. She had both swords drawn and a smirk on her face.
"Leave him alone, unless you want to die," Talia said, the smirk fading and being replaced by a focussed and threatening look. The three of them stepped away from Guida and walked towards Talia. She moved into a new stance and kept her swords ready.
"Why don't you fight without your swords, little girl?" Tufa suggested. Talia didn't move. They stepped forward. Talia finally moved. She performed a twist and slashed her swords through the air towards the enemies, without coming in connecting distance, but they felt the full force of the energy as it ripped through the air and knocked all three of them off of their feet.
Talia pounced forward and managed to get to Guida. She dragged him off of the ship and as the trio were about to leave it and follow she turned around, sheathed both her swords and shot a ball of energy towards them. All three of them jumped out of the way and the energy connected with the ship, managing to short out the control. This gave Talia and Guida their only chance to escape and get to their own ship.
Talia managed to get him back to the ship and she was immediately greeted by Niku, whom hadn't been expecting Talia to return any time soon, especially with Guida.
"Are you both ok?" Niku asked as they set Guida down in a seat. Talia nodded and stepped back, Guida responded, assuring them he was ok, but Niku still got Airen to check him out. Talia stayed there watching as Airen checked over, but Guida didn't take his eyes off her. She shifted uncomfortably and started to move towards the exit.
"Why did you come for me?" Guida asked. "Did you think it would make me forgive you?"
"No," Talia responded, not turning around to face them. "I just believe you can actually bring down Niha if you do it right."
"And you want to help?" Guida questioned further. Talia just nodded. "We can't automatically trust you."
"I know, but I think I have an idea what the map is. I don't want to say unless I can be sure, but it may be able to help us find Niha and even if it doesn't, if we can find a way to get one-up on Shirken we can ask them about it." Talia turned around and walked up to Guida. "If we work together we really can bring Niha down. We can end whatever he has planned and restore some peace around here."
Talia stared at Guida with a pleading look, but not to be accepted, but for him to accept that she knows what she's talking about. Guida looked to Niku for some guidance and the former soldier just smirked. Guida looked back to Talia and nodded.
"Fine. We'll work together. Get some rest though," Guida started to get up and was going to his quarters, but Talia had one last thing to say.
"Before I rescued you I put a tracker on Shirken's ship. They've already managed to get off planet, but we can follow them wherever they go now," Talia informed them all. Guida looked back and glanced over to Niku. The former solider just raised his eyebrows in a satisfied manner.
"Give the connection to Airen and we can follow them right away, but I do need a bit of rest," Guida left the room and Talia went to give the little device to Airen. The robot put the details in and they were ready to leave. Niku walked over and put a hand on Talia's shoulder before taking his seat next to Airen.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Felt it was necessary to address the connection between Talia and Guida here and also clear the air a little bit. There's a bit of development in all these chapters. The next chapter will be the start of a three-parter. They kind of serve as Talia-centric chapters, but she is my favourite character of this trio.
Either way, hope you liked what you read today. Leave a review if you feel like it, or just PM me to chat, I always like that.
Next Time... Chapter 31: The Empire's Rule