Don't Teach Kids Murder

Fixing More Than Just The Plan Said

Author's Note

The new cover... is half done! Argh, I need to be more efficient. Enjoy the hopefully better art! Colors will come soon, I promise - no promises on the exact date though ;)

* * *

"Sorry, couldn't distract, heard the noise," Thad pants, faceplanting into the floor and looking very much like he doesn't want to be caught up in this situation. Fair enough, Nora thinks - the look on Uzi's face right now could make a Murder Drone run in fear.

Uzi growls, catching sight of the broken chain lying on the ground. "You broke a Murder Drone out! What were you two thinking?" She yells, throwing the railgun aside and stomping towards Nora. "You ruined it last time as well! I could've killed J if you hadn't distracted me- argh!"

"Hey, it wasn't her fault," Jake interjects, looking guilty. "That was my bad. I snapped the chain by accident."

Nora hears footsteps, and then N rushes down the hill, hat askew. She narrows her eyes, still distrustful, as the Murder Drone speaks. "What happened? Uh... where's J gone?"

Still wearing a furious look, Uzi opens her mouth to respond, but snaps it closed as a series of smashing noises and muffled curses reaches them from the landing pod. "N, can you go make sure V doesn't break anything else in there?"

"Okay, Uzi. You-"

"Yes, I'm fine, stop asking!" Uzi says bluntly, shoving the Murder Drone towards the pod. Once N's inside, she turns back to Nora, considering her. "What were you two doing here?"

"Trying to fix your mess that you caused," Nora snaps immediately, then pauses. The question hadn't seemed accusing - maybe it was just an innocent question. You can't trust Uzi, her mind pipes up. She's probably sided with the Murder Drones and she's trying to gather information so she can get back into the colony to kill us all!

Nora blinks, trying to make sense of her warring thoughts. That doesn't make sense, why would she do that? Then again, Uzi had snuck out without regard for anyone's safety and let three Murder Drones into Outpost 3. Maybe she was just that angsty and uncaring.

She's your sister, reprimands a calm voice in her head. Think about it.

"I already said I was sorry about that," Uzi says stiffly, rubbing the back of her neck. "No one got hurt, so why are you still bringing it up?"

"Uh," Jake says awkwardly. "You might want to rethink that statement."

* * *

"For the last time, you don't have to come back with us," Nora huffs, dragging her feet. Uzi trails at the back, Jake and Thad lead at the front, and Nora's carrying Addie in the middle just a few steps ahead of her sister. Thankfully, N isn't tagging along - they all agreed that leaving the resident psycho on her own would be a major safety hazard.

Uzi rolls her eyes. "How else am I going to fix her? Don't tell me you were planning to do it yourself."

Nora's about to snap out a biting remark, then stops, giving the matter some thought. On one hand, she's fairly confident in her own engineering skills - obviously on par with Uzi in that regard. On the other hand, Uzi's the one taking an advanced Drone anatomy and mechanics course, while Nora dropped that subject a long time ago, so maybe her sister is being serious. She stays silent, quietly fuming.

The lights of Outpost 3 come into view just a few minutes later, and in another few minutes they're at the door. Thad knocks, and a panel slides open. White eyes peek out, surveying the group.