Steel Rising

Chapter 8: Ghost-Waffles, Grim Souls & Vega VI

"Oww! I am so hungry..." Tina complained a few days after the events on the Cerberus spacestation, sitting inside the nearly empty mess hall of the Wings of Eos. "... Do we still have any Ghost-Waffles left?"

"No, we don't, after somebody raided the freezer and ate the last five last night." Sarah replied with a warm chuckle while gently stroking Tina's cherry blossom-colored hair.

Looking mortified, Tina looked at Tellius with puppy eyes. "Can't we, like, go and buy some?"

"That's not entirely up to me. You'll have to ask Sarah, too..." Tellius told the little girl before further confessing. "... Also, I wouldn't even know where to buy them. Does Community Traders still exist?"

"No, that one was merged with UFS, a subsidiary of Hera Inc., a few years ago..." Sarah told Tellius before pushing a bowl of warm, synthesized oatmeal in front  of Tina. "... Here you go! It'll let you grow big and strong like Tellius."

"You're lying! Uncle Telli is only so big and strong because of the body frame he's using..." Tina pointed out the obvious. "... If I wanted to be an adult like you guys, I'd only need four to five million credits for a good body frame."

"And how do you want to earn so many credits without having grown big first?" Tellius pointed out, humored by the little girl's stubborn attitude.

Poking her oatmeal with a yucky expression on her face, Tina grumbled. "Through credit or if that also doesn't work, there's always money in hacking some smaller mining companies supplying Poseidon with minerals; their security is generally the worst!"

*Bonk!* Sarah gently hit Tina on the head with her digital notepad. "No hacking or stealing allowed,  little miss! Now go and do your  VR-lectures!"

"Ouch!..." Exclaimed Tina in surprise before rubbing her head exaggeratedly as she grumbled. "... A simple 'No' to Ghost-Waffles would have been enough... No need for violence!"

"Are you talking back to me?" Asked Sarah, her notepad raised.

"Nope!" Was all the little girl replied before running back to her room.

Humored by their forceful exchange between older and younger sister, Tellius could only chuckle, hearing their conversation unfold.

"What?" Asked Sarah, the taller cyborg with a raised eyebrow, daring him to challenge her words.

"Nothing..." Replied Tellius and shook his head before he pointed at the oatmeal. "... Really?"

"What? It's healthy, filling, and I hated it, too, as a child..." Sarah confessed, and both had to laugh before she stated dead serious. "... No, but seriously, WE need to talk about US!"

"Oho! Why do I have the feeling that I wouldn't like this talk about US?" Asked Tellius awkwardly.

"Because I can't live with this vagueness between us..." Confessed Sarah, unable to hide her dissatisfaction any longer. "... We're clearly more than just friends, but I don't think that you see us as a couple. So, what are we?"

"To tell you the truth, I honestly have no idea!..." Confessed Tellius in return, not wanting to hurt his best friend's—possibly lover's—feelings. "... It might have been twelve years for you, but to me, it feels like yesterday that we finished our basic training and then fought side by side on Thermopoly-6. I guess that I only need some time to sort out my feelings."

"Pfft... I guess that I have to give you that..." Agreed Sarah, deflated, but the glimmer of hope still burning fiercely inside her eyes. "... After all, I did have twelve years to sort out my feelings for you. So, I guess I can give you some time to figure things out."