Hydra Heart

Chapter Twelve

Chapter 12: New Faces, Old Faces

Tenra dozed at the head of the Raven. He had decided that since he was the pilot, he had the right to rename the craft, and the right to sleep on the job.

Shay was having none of it. She slammed her fist suddenly on the control board in the cockpit, waking her father. "We're calling it the Flamingo."

"Flamingos are pink, and they can't even fly!" Her father protested. "This is a Raven, hands down."

Shay raised her eyebrows and tilted her glasses down. "Flamingos can fly. You're thinking of ostriches, senile old man." She stole my move, thought Tenra...

"You know, Shay, when I was your age, I respected my parents."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

Tenra laughed. "Hell no, ask grandma. But, you gotta be better than me. That's what kids are for."

--

Molly yawned. "You're not gonna sleep? Long ride over." She was sitting on top of some boxes with Vesta in the cargo space of the Vulture/Raven/Flamingo, trying not to fall off in spite of Tenra's piloting.

"I'm awake now," Vesta replied. She checked the clock, 04:14. "I'm not great at falling back asleep. If I'm up at this hour, normally it means I'm having nightmares." Molly was taken aback, guessing Vesta didn't know that was a weird thing to say. Vesta pulled out all seven of her pistols and set them down in front of her. She polished them meticulously, down to the little flourishes on the barrels.

Molly reached out and held one of the guns that hadn't been cleaned yet. Vesta cast a wary stare her way.

"Why does it say 'guillotine' on this one?" Molly asked, playing dumb. She was pointing to the six-shooter, the only weapon in Vesta's arsenal that was not powered by SOLE.

"Oh, well a guillotine was this device that chops off heads, and in older rebellions, they were used all the time. Especially during the fourth world war, when just about every country was under revolution, they were really common. Then, everything stabilized, and they stopped being relevant. But, it was one of the few things I learned about in school and I guess..." She had a twinkle in her eye now. "I guess that idea just stuck with me."

"So, who do you want to use it on?" Molly noticed the bad taste in her mouth, but was determined to get a conversation out of Vesta.

"Not to be trite, but whoever killed my parents. And, whoever this Bruta Cavarie person is. She betrayed Tenra, right? He... did not deserve that."

"You like Tenra?" Molly asked.

Vesta nodded her head. "Maybe I am biased, because he gave me information about my mother that I would never have gotten otherwise. Either way, he is one of the only people I can stand to be around."

"Oh?" Molly's eyes were wide with hope. "Who else can you stand to be around?"

"I-Uh, I dunno." Vesta stuttered and looked away, eager to change the topic. "What do you think of Tenra?"

"Well, it's a little simple to say I like Tenra. He and Shay are like family to me. I mean, I love my actual family, but since I don't get to see them that much... Wait, what did you do with the gun you stole from me?"

"Sold it for a few hundred credits." Vesta avoided eye contact.

Molly sighed, but decided to let it go. "So, we were talking about your guns?"

Vesta smiled for the first time that Molly had ever seen, and went on a seemingly unending rant. The humming of the ship and the constant droning of Vesta was enough to relax Molly. Eventually she drifted off, still only halfway done with Vesta's lecture on the history of her seven pistols.

--

A jarring thud rocked the entire ship, and woke Molly up.

"We're here!" called Tenra's voice from the cockpit. Molly snapped awake. She also noticed that her head was resting on Vesta's bicep. She pulled away just before Vesta woke up, too.

Vesta's first coherent sentence was, "How did Tenra find a place to land?"

"I didn't!" Tenra boasted. He leapt down into the cargo space with Shay in tow. "This is your pilot speaking: you gotta go!" He yanked on a lever, and the cargo door opened.

The ground beneath them shook, and they could feel the ship tilting in a direction that didn't seem safe. The Vulture/Raven/Flamingo's mouth was open.

Tenra took the first step into the open air. A noticeable sea-salt smell filled the breeze, tarnished by the stench of the city. The four Kit users stood atop a plateau. The stone was yellow-white, but the valley below was lush green, thriving in the warmth of summer. The trees sprouted in the areas with good dirt. After the shifting of the continents, a young forest had emerged, and new species of trees found a hold in the ancient soil.

Beyond the natural beauty, the city ahead was visible. From the highest, mightiest pillar holding up the Alogan sky, an advertisement reached the surrounding several miles.

Morgue-age: We're Living To See You!

After a few steps back, the team saw their ride plummet off the face of the hill. It landed in the valley with one loud crunch. "Good thing we're only a few miles out from the city," Tenra commented. The bunch started climbing down quietly. It was still a little too early in the morning for small-talk, at least for all but Tenra.

As they got farther away from the rocky hill that served as their landing pad, Vesta noticed something carved into it. She walked backwards, so she could keep moving while getting a peek.

The mountain face had four human faces carved on it. The three faces on the left, Vesta had no idea who they were supposed to be. They were obviously older and heavily worn, as well as carved in a different style than the last visage.

The face on the far right she would recognize anywhere. It was President Banner, etched into the white stone.