CHAPTER 8
Montayva greeted Lillith and Maya on the second floor, in the control room. The youngest siren was just tying off her freshly braided hair when Lillith made comment
'Whoa, kiddo, what happened to your face?' And both Lillith and Maya stepped closer to examine it. Montayva flicked her braid over her shoulder and lifted her fingers to touch the slightly swollen cut on her cheek.
'Ah, well I met Junior last night' She said timidly, "after the two of you had retired.' Lillith huffed.
'Argh! Wait until Mordecai wakes. He needs to keep his pet under control or it will have to go!' She stomped her foot in emphasis.
'No, no, no, it wasn't like that at all' Montayva added quickly. 'Junior had wondered outside to where I was, and Mordecai startled us both I guess. Juniors wing grazed my cheek when the little guy jumped in fright. It's nothing really' Montayva tried to absolve Lilliths hard feelings for her friends pet.
'Yeah, well...' She withdrew 'He's lucky your on his side, that's all I'll say on the matter'
'Little Junior has had a few, um, mishaps of late' Maya explained. 'Last week he ate Tannis' lunch. Before that, he perched on Bricks bedhead, and shat all over his pillow. Needless to say, Brick wasn't impressed.' Maya chuckled. She herself had no problems with the half grown creature. It generally avoided people and didn't disturb them much at all.
'Oh, I can understand that' Montayva said earnestly.
'You are so soft hearted you know, not the best trait to have hear on Pandora' Lillith stated bluntly 'I only say this for your own good. Us sirens gotta look out for each other' She tried to soften the blow.
'I think my defenses are adequate' The youngest siren could sense that Lillith didn't mean any offense. Montayva glared out through the open doorway, and beyond the small balcony. She couldn't see very far into the darkness, they were halfway through Pandora's night cycle. Montayva rubbed her eyes. She new it wouldn't take her body long to get used to this new sleeping pattern. She had grown accustomed to her out-of-line body clock from all the planet hopping she had done over the past few years. Each had a different day and night cycle.
'Well, we have a very exciting morning planned for all you new recruits!' Maya beamed.
'Yep, so I hope you're ready for some action kiddo!' Lillith slapped her playfully on the shoulder 'Coz Moxxi has just informed us that she has a brand new batch of baddies for her new under-dome, which I might add, hasn't seen a decent fight yet' Lillith said with slight dismay.
'Give it time' Maya added. 'She's only just finished rebuilding it! Bet our girl hear will give em hell' Maya winked at the new siren.
'Whatcha packin anyhow kid?' Lillith stepped forward as Montayva pulled a revolver from its holster and handed it to her.
'Hmm, pretty decent' Lillith nodded as she examined the Jacobs Widow Maker closely. She handed the gun to Maya, who also nodded her approval after a quick examination.
'I also have my rifle, its in my locker' Montayva told them as she holstered her weapon. 'It's a Dahl Night Scout' She added.
'No elementals hey?' Lillith asked curiously. She herself preffered the Maliwan tech guns, as did Maya.
'To be honest, I have never used one' Montayva shrugged.
'Well, we will have to do something bout that now wont we!' Maya put her arm around the girls shoulders and steered her towards the hallway.
'C'mon Lil. Lets head down to the range and show the kid what she's been missing'
The three sirens walked down the stairs to Marcus' basement store.
'Well, well, well, it truly is going to be a good day for me!' He drawled as he eyed the three beauty's. Another thing that Pandora obviously lacked, was a female presence.
'Not buying today Marcus' Lillith bit out quickly. 'The kid here's never used a tech gun, just came here for your targets' Lillith didn't stop as she talked, but kept heading through to the back.
'Well, then it's your lucky day. Your beefed up pal bought me a fresh batch yesterday. Wouldn't let em go cheap either the mongrel' Marcus complained.
'Huh. Salvador had an ulterior motive after all!' Maya exclaimed.
When the 3 women reached the target range, Axton was also there with Dion. The boys eyes glowered when he saw the three women walk in. Axton chuckled.
'Forget it pup.' He just laughed as he placed a hand on the kids shoulder. 'What brings you fine ladies down into these pits' He asked dramatically.
'We're just giving our girl abit of a warm up before we head over to Moxxis' Lillith purred.
'Huh, fancy that. we're doing the same. Kid here's not doing to bad either.' Axton slapped him again on the shoulder, and Dion glared at the commando, obviously not liking the childish references he used in front of the women. Montayva picked up on it and smiled gently at him. Then wished she hadn't, as the boys cheeks flushed when he obviously got the wrong impression.
Bandits and midgets howled and screeched at the far end of the range.
'They are our targets?' Montayva asked the red head.
'Yep. And if it was up to me, I wouldn't give them such a kind quick death.' Lillith eyed the hostiles at the far end. She pulled her caustic revolver from its holster, and handed it to Montayva. 'Here, take a shot'
Montayva slowly took the weapon, and walked closer to the window. She raised the weapon and aimed. It let out a POCK sound as it fired, the bullet hitting the midget right in the chest. The midget screamed and wailed for a moment or two as the green caustic acid dissolved his chest, leaving a large cavity.
'Wow!' Montayva exclaimed, examining the weapon more carefully. Lillith and Maya glanced at each other and smiled.
