A Dark And Hungry God Arises 24 - Mikka

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Cord Hurn
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A Dark And Hungry God Arises 24 - Mikka

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Mikka Vasaczk and Sib Mackern are sitting at a small table at a Billingate bar called Paunchys, holding drinks. Mikka has obeyed Nick's orders to start a rumor that Sorus Chatelaine has an immunity drug against Amnion mutation, and several members of Sorus' crew have overheard her, causing them to either mover out of her hearing range or leave Paunchys altogether. Mikka and Sib repeat a ritual several times, in which Sib asks why they're doing this, Mikka replies that Nick kept her brother, Sib states he didn't know Pup was her brother, and Mikka murmurs that Nick knows. Soon, to Mikka's relief, they are joined in the bar by Vector Shaheed and Pup.

Vector and Pup didn't talk to the shipyard foreman of Billingate, as Nick ordered them to do. Instead Vector looked up where ship's credit was being spent on a Billingate data terminal, and reasoned that Mikka and Sib were at Paunchys. Pup complains about Vector not following Nick's orders. Vector tells him Nick's finished and won't get the ship repaired, despite what he's claimed. Vector further informs Pup that Nick is getting rid of them, kicking them off the ship because they're a threat to him.
His [Pup's] cheeks were hot with blood as he said, "Why are we a threat to him?"

Vector looked at Mikka. Mikka glared back at him, avoiding Pup's gaze. Suddenly she found the words difficult to say. She'd given Nick too much of herself for too many years. Even now she was ashamed to admit her disloyalty.

Vector also avoided Pup's eyes and said nothing.

She'd decided long ago that Sib Mackern considered himself a coward. Regardless of his opinion of himself, however, he found the courage to speak before she or Vector did.

Almost wincing, but clearly, he said, "I let Morn out of her cabin. So she could rescue Davies from the ejection pod."

There. The truth at last. Mikka hadn't known about Sib's action. She might not have believed him capable of it. But as soon as he spoke she knew he was telling the truth.

His revelation released the pressure which dammed her voice in her chest. Softly she told her part of the story.

"I nearly ran into her. After Sib let her out. While she was on her way to the engineering console room. I could have stopped her. I mean, I could have tried. At the very least, I could have warned Nick. But I didn't."

Now Vector was ready. "She reached the console room while I was still there. I let her at the pod control board. I'm sure I couldn't have stopped her. I know because I hit her as hard as I could, and it didn't make any difference. O the other hand, I could easily have warned Nick."

As if to steady himself, he took another sip of coffee. "In retrospect, I don't feel good about hitting her. But what shames me most is that it took her so long to convince me.

"Ciro"--he looked straight into Pup's earnest gaze--"I let her at the board as soon as I understood that she would have done exactly the same thing--taken the same chances, risked herself just as much--if I ere being given to the Amnion."

The flush had faded from Pup's face. Mikka couldn't tell what he was thinking. When Vector finished, Pup studied Sib for a moment, then turned toward her. Without noticing what he was doing, he pushed his drink aside with the back of his hand as if he wanted to clear space for honesty and decisions.

"What about me?" he asked. "Why am I a threat to him?"

Mikka didn't hesitate now. "Because you're my brother, and you work with Vector. Nick is afraid you might start listening to one of us."

For a moment Pup didn't respond. His gaze seemed to shift inward, and he frowned, unconsciously mimicking her customary scowl. As she watched, a new sorrow for him tugged through her. If he frowned like that long enough, it would become permanent; he would begin to look as bitter and grieved as she did.

Then he lifted his head. With a dignity he'd never possessed before, he said firmly, "He's right about that, anyway."

Tears ran down Mikka's cheeks again. She couldn't hide them. After a while she stopped trying.
The four of them realized that either the Bill or Sorus will send people to apprehend them and interrogate them for staring the immunity drug rumor, if the stay where they're at too long. Sib remarks that Nick is trying to get revenge upon Sorus for cutting his cheeks. Mikka thinks that Nick might see a way out of his circumstances by causing trouble for Sorus. Mikka knows Trumpet, Angus, and Milos are some part of Nick's plans. And so, a way out of this mess for them might be to watch Trumpet, figure out what Nick's up to, and possibly capture Nick with Angus' help. Nobody has any better ideas, so they leave the bar for Trumpet before Sorus' people can get their hands on them.
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Post by Cord Hurn »

Reading this chapter had me feeling relief for Mikka and company that they'd finally parted ways with Nick, who they really could no longer serve, but also had me feeling anxiety that they seemingly had no future anywhere else.

The idea of Mikka's to watch what Angus and Milos are up to as a way to decide their future moves is a slender thread to pin their hopes upon, but they really don't seem to have any thing else to work with, really.
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