FicWad

My astral form drifted through the meatpacking plant, Ember close at my heels and Paw trailing behind him. As we left the holding pens and entered the actual meatpacking section, I wrinkled my nose. “So much death.”

Ember nodded. “The aura is quite disgusting. Let’s find the hellcows and get out.”

Three had been in the holding pens, surrounded by the remains of their fellow cows. None were in the slaughter area. Maybe they found the aura of death just as disgusting as I did, I thought. Unlikely. Hellcows didn’t astrally perceive.

One was in the sausage section, chowing down on the conveyor belt. The aura of hungry hellcows, I noted, was different from their aura when full. Maybe we could use that?

The final two hellcows were munching on the crates of meat in the storage section of the warehouse. They were together, I noted, and would need to be faced together. Not good. Perhaps we could wait to face those two. Eventually, they’d probably fight, and one would eat the other.

I remembered what Jazz had told me earlier. “The horrible hellcow problem is probably because their supplier has been feeding waste from the plant to his cows. That’s illegal, by the way, which is probably why they brought us in to deal with the results. Hellcow disease is a prion disease, like mad cow disease, and it’s passed around by cows eating cow parts. The big difference is that it affects the infected cow’s offspring. The gestation period is shortened, and, well…” She’d trailed off. “One day a female cow looks fine. The next day the baby hellcow bursts out of its womb and eats it alive.”

Back in the present, I winced.

Ember looked at me. “Are you alright?”

I shivered. “Just thinking about… Well, hellcows. They’re pretty nasty.” And so are some people. Forcing ordinary cows into cannibalism… I shivered again. “I guess that’s a runner’s life. Dealing with the nasty drek.”

Ember looked at me. His aura was unreadable. “You deserve better than this.”

I sighed. “I haven’t exactly got other options.”

Ember cocked his head. “Why not?”

I sighed again. “It’s a long story.”

Paw perked up. “I like stories!”

I couldn’t help smiling. “Later. Right now, I’ve got to get back to my body.”

Getting back to the rendezvous point took seconds, but when I got there, I found that my team was not alone. They had been surrounded by members of a go-gang. Bikes rumbling and belching nasty smoke, they circled the van.

Alpha seemed to be trying to talk them down. I slipped into my body. It was possible I could help.

Back on the material plane, I listened to Alpha speak. “Trust me, chummer, we’re more trouble than we’re worth.”

As I sat up and peered out the window, I heard the group leader snort. “There’s three of you, and nine of us. You’re outnumbered. Give us the van, and you live. Fight, and…”

Several members of the group laughed. One shot a gun into the air. “Face it, you’re fragged, keeb.”

Alpha smiled. “I wouldn’t count on that. Our razorguy is seriously wired, and I’m not just a pretty face.” He spread his hands. “The kind of fight you’re going to get into, it’ll get messy.” He looked around, smiled widening. “Maybe we’ll win. Maybe we won’t. However, I guarantee some of you lot are going to die.” He cocked his head. “Is this van really worth dying for?”

Out of sight of the gang members, he signaled Shark. Shark nodded, and opened the back door of the van. Baring teeth in a hostile grin, he stepped of the van.

One of the gang members jerked back. “It’s a fraggin’ trog!”

Ember materialized, His form was human, but he was covered in flames. He laughed. A few more go-gangers drew back, but the gang as a whole was still circling.

The gang leader swallowed, looking nervous before regaining his former bravado. “Still nine to four, dandelion eater. Give up now.”

Still in the van, I murmured a spell. Fear was an easy emotion to enhance.

Hand on his gun, the leader snarled. “It’s a drek van, anyways. Not worth getting your blood on our clothes.”

Ember laughed. “Coward.”

Alpha gave him a sharp look. “You’re right. It is a drek van. Not worth your time.”

Ember locked eyes with the leader. “You don’t have the balls to mess with us, meathead. So just run along with your little friends back to your mother and cry.”

Enraged, the leader raised his gun. “Get them!”

Roaring, the gang charged.

Alpha didn’t bother opening the door. He just threw himself out the open window, rolled once, and was on his feet, combat knife in hand. Shark stepped away from the van and opened fire on the go-gangers. One of them fell off his bike and hit the asphalt, bleeding from several holes. With his other hand, Shark shoved his katana into a motorcycle wheel. The cycle flipped, sending the unfortunate go-ganger flying. She landed on her face and didn’t move, blood spreading in a puddle around her head.

Alpha was on the leader in a flash. He stabbed him in the throat with the combat knife and shoved him off the bike. Taking control of the motorcycle, he wheeled to face the remaining six go-gangers.

I dipped into my pocket, grabbed some reagents, and cast a quick spell to enhance my reflexes. Reagents drained, I dropped them, and shuddered as I resisted the drain from the spell. Then I cast a manaball at one of the go-gangers. Force 6, the most powerful I could cast without risking physical drain. It took him down.

Abruptly, I realized I should have taken physical drain when I summoned Ember. How… No time to worry about that now. Dizzy with drain from my first two spells, I grabbed another handful of reagents.

Ember, I noted, had set two go-gangers on fire. One had obviously been blasted. He was desperately trying to put out himself and his bike. The other appeared to have gotten too close to Ember while attacking him with a crowbar. The crowbar was lying, half melted, on the asphalt, and the go-ganger herself was a charred mess, still alive but only just. A shot from Shark finished her off.

With only 4 of their number left, all injured, the go-gangers fled. Alpha sighed, and dismounted from the motorbike. He turned to the leader of the gang, who was gurgling his last on the sidewalk. “I told you you couldn’t take us,” he sighed. “You didn’t listen...”

Half an hour later, we’d piled the bodies in a dumpster. With any luck, it would be awhile before someone found them. I stared at the dumpster silently. While I’d seen people die before, this was the first time I’d been a part of it.

I jerked around in surprise as Alpha rounded on Ember, combat knife in hand. “What the hell, Ember?”

Ember looked startled. “What?”

Alpha sighed. “I had it handled. I convinced them the van wasn’t worth dying for, so they were going to walk away. Then you insulted them.” He sighed. “To go-gangers, reputation is everything. Reputation, and pride. Their leader couldn’t let that insult go unpunished, not if he wanted to stay leader.”

Alpha thrust his finger into Ember’s no longer flaming chest. Had Alpha grown taller? Or had Ember gotten shorter? Either way, Alpha towered over the spirit, glowering menacingly. “Next time, I do the talking. You say nothing. Scan?”

Ember glared. “Are you threatening me?”

Alpha’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I may not be able to banish you, but I can disrupt you. I don’t know if you can return after that or not, but, either way, it’ll hurt like hell.”

Ember grew taller. “I’m not sure you know what you’re dealing with, meatperson.”

Alpha growled. “I know perfectly well what I’m dealing with, and I could take you. If it wanted.” Abruptly the anger left him, and he cocked his head thoughtfully. “Also, the more we stay out of combat, the less likely it is that Song will get hurt. I can talk my way out of a fight. You can’t.”

Ember nodded slowly. “You have a point.” He looked at me. “I’m sorry I nearly got you shot, Songbird.”

I shrugged. “It’s ok. Just, in the future, try to remember that there’s a reason we let Alpha do the talking.”

Ember bowed his head solemnly. “For you, I will try to remember.”

Alpha nodded decisively. “Good. Now, I think we’re not too badly hurt to take down a hellcow or two. Does everyone agree?”

Shark grunted. “I got shot, but I used the medkit, and it’s not that bad. Ember? Song?”

Ember chuckled. “Nothing that lot was carrying was capable of hurting me.”

I yawned. “I’d rather rest for an hour before throwing any more spells around. Is that ok?”

Alpha nodded. “Of course, Song.” His gaze softened. “I should have realized you’d taken some drain. Sorry.”

I sniggered. “It’s not as obvious when I don’t get a nosebleed.”

Then I remembered. “Ember, when I summoned you, I should have taken physical drain. It should have almost killed me. Or, you know, maybe not just almost. Do you have any idea why it didn’t?”

Ember frowned. “No.”

Alpha looked thoughtful. “This could be useful. If summoning powerful spirits is less dangerous for you than for most people…” He trailed off speculatively.

I snorted. “I only managed to get one service when I summoned Ember.”

Alpha shrugged. “If we’re ever in that kind of a bind again, one service could make a big difference.”

Ember’s eyes narrowed. “I’d prefer it if Song was never in that much danger again.”

Shark snorted. “She’s a runner. Danger is part of the job.”

Ember growled. “Not if I can help it.”

Alpha stepped between them. “Ember, we try to minimize risks, but sometimes the drek hits the fan, and there’s nothing we can do about it. The run you came in on, that was some really unexpected drek on what was suppose to be a milk run.”

“No such thing as a milk run,” rumbled Shark.

Alpha snorted. “You’re probably right.” He turned to me. “Get some rest, Song. You’ve got an hour, and then we’re going in.”

*

One hour and an episode of “Amish Runners” later, I was ready to go.

Alpha snorted as I removed the episode from my commlink. “I don’t know how you can watch that drek. You do realize ‘reality trideo’ is a misnomer, right? That drek is just as scripted as regular trideo. It’s just scripted badly.”

I sniggered. “Of course. But the more mindless and inane a show is, the more I zonk out, and the more I zonk out, the faster I heal.” I shrugged. “Weird, I know, but true.”

Alpha chuckled. “Well, if you’re done zonking out, we have a job to do.”

Alpha had changed while I was resting, and was now a human female again, this time rather ridiculously well endowed with bimbo blond hair. I looked her over. “What’s with the double ds?”

Alpha raised an eyebrow. “They make me feel pretty. Problem?”

I took a step back. “No, not at all! I was just… I mean, if they get in your way…”

Sharks rumbling chuckle was as much felt as heard. “I’ve seen her kick ass with bigger tits than that, and in high heels, too.” He stepped out of the van, making the suspension creak. “Now that was quite the run. Remind me to tell you the story sometime.”

Alpha snorted. “You are not telling her that one.”

Shark rumbled again. “Why? It was quite impressive, especially when you put your heel right through his-”

Alpha cut him off. “Time to go. I’ll take point. Ember and Song can be in the middle, and Shark, you can guard the rear.” She turned and stalked toward the meatpacking plant, her own rather large rear swaying with the motion of her hips.

We entered the meatpacking plant, guns at the ready. The first hellcow was in a cow holding pen. It ignored us as we lined up shots. Then, at Alpha’s signal, we opened fire.

Now full of holes, the hellcow charged. “MOOOO!”

Shark moved to block it. Grabbing it by the head, he threw it to the ground, but not before it took a chunk out of his arm. Worried that I’d hit Shark, I held my fire. Alpha, who was a much better shot, buried another three rounds in the unfortunate cow, and Ember scorched it with his fire.

Shark’s katana came down, almost slicing it in half. With a final angry below, the hellcow died. Another hellcow, attracted to the commotion, came charging out of another holding pen. I dove aside as it came right at me. Ember moved between me and the hellcow. With a blast of flame, he set it alight. The hellcow bellowed in pain and rage.

Now, with the flames wreathing it, fangs bared, and eyes flashing with rage, it really did look like something from the pit. Ember wouldn’t let anything happen to me, I reminded myself, and fired. I hit it right between the eyes. The hellcow crumpled to the ground just as Shark opened fire. Burning and full of lead, the hellcow died.

Breathing heavily, Alpha looked around. “Everyone ok? No serious injuries?”

Shark, now doctoring the bite on his arm, shook his head. “I’m good.”

Alpha turned to me. “Song? Did the hellcow get you when it came in from behind?”
I shook my head. “I got out of the way in time. I’m fine.”

Alpha nodded. “Artic. Let’s keep going.”

Shark looked at the partially charred hellcows speculatively. “I wonder what hellcow tastes like.”

Alpha shook her head. “We’d never get all the shrapnel out.”

Shark frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe if we didn’t pump the next one full of lead-”
Alpha snorted. “That would make it much, much harder to kill. Weren’t you the one talking about how dangerous hellcows are?”

Shark snorted. “Point.”

Our next fight was uneventful. The placid, well fed hellcow looked at us dumbly as we lined up our shots. When we opened fire, it died before it could retaliate.

Alpha nodded. “So far so good.”

We had to go through the slaughter section to get to the next hellcow. The doors were locked, but, instead of contacting Jazz, Shark broke them down.

The slaughter room was eerily silent when we entered. Silent, and dark. Our footsteps echoed through the chamber as we walked, and the smell of old blood made me gag.

Alpha froze, gesturing for us to stop. “Something isn’t right.”

Ember rolled his eyes. “The room is empty. What could possibly-”

The machinery roared to life. I shrieked as mechanical arms lifted me onto the conveyor belt. Clamps made to hold cow feet clamped around my legs. Behind me, Shark was getting the same treatment. Alpha managed to dodge the arms. She whipped out her combat knife, but it just clanged off the hardened steel.

Ember looked at her. “What do we do!?! I can’t- If I attack the machine I’ll burn Song!”

Alpha grunted as she bent over backwards, dodging the arms. “Shark! Call Jazz!”

I screamed as a blade, made to cut cows cleanly in half, whirred to life in front of me. Ember grabbed the conveyor belt, trying desperately to hold it still. Groaning, it slowed, but I was still headed for the whirring saw. I drew my gun and opened fire on the blade. I winced as the shot ricocheted.

“Song, stop that! It won’t do any good!” Alpha yelled, still dodging. “Shark!”

“I’ve got her!” Shark bellowed. “She’s on it!” He cocked his head, listening. “She says it’s a xenosapient AI!”

“I don’t care what it is!” Alpha screamed. “Tell her to stop it before it kills Song!”

Ember grunted as the conveyor belt moved forward another inch.

That was when the loudspeakers crackled to life. “Guys, it’s Jazz! I’ve hacked into the plant!”

Alpha gasped as an arm missed her by inches. “Shut this down! Now!”

“I can’t!” Jazz wailed through the loudspeakers. “The xenosapient-”

Alpha cut her off. “Then think of something else! You’re good with machines! How do we shut this shit down manually?”

Silence. Then the loudspeaker spoke again. “Ember. I need you to listen to me very carefully. You need to let go of the conveyor belt.”

Ember grunted as the belt came to a full stop. “NO!”

“It’s ok! I’ve got it! For now.” Jazz sounded shakey. “Let go, and listen to me very carefully.”

Ember growled. “Talk fast!”

“Do you see the box next to the conveyor belt? The one with the computer screen?” Jazz asked.

Ember looked around. “Yes!”

“Melt it! Now!” Jazz ordered.

Ember growled, and released the conveyor belt. True to her word, Jazz was keeping it still. Mostly. I screamed as it jerked forward another inch.

Ember was working fast, enveloping the box in flame. The screen was blackened, and the case began to melt. I saw bits of smoking circuit boards and computer chips through the melted gaps in the case.

The conveyor belt jerked forward another inch. I leaned away, as best I could, and felt the blade slicing through my jeans. I fought back a scream. Distracting Ember would not help.

There was a burst of static from the loud speakers, and the blade stopped. The clamps on my legs snapped open, and, still leaning away from the blade, I toppled over backwards.

Shark caught me. He was crying. “Oh, Song… Are you ok?”

I looked down at the thin slice in my jeans. No blood. “I’m good. It… It just got my pants.”

Alpha, panting, knelt on the floor. She laughed shakily. “Well, that was a workout.”

Ember continued to melt the box, snarling.

The loudspeakers crackled to life again. “Ember. It’s over. You can stop now. You forced the xenosapient from its home, and I killed it.” And electronic sigh. “It’s over.”

Ember stopped, but flames still crackled around him. He shuddered, and then visibly calmed. The flames went away. He turned to Alpha. “Was that what you meant? About drek hitting the fan?”

Alpha, still shaking, nodded. “Yeah. It seems like there’s always something, something we don’t know, or didn’t account for.” She shivered. “This was… Worse than most.”

Shark, still holding me, stepped down from the belt. “I don’t know about that,” he rumbled. “No one actually got hurt. Remember that run last December?”

I shivered. “You’re not the one who nearly got sliced in half.”

Shark shrugged. “Point. But last December, I nearly died when the run went south. It took me weeks of rest to recover, and I had to get my cyberarm replaced. Remind me to tell you the story some day.”

Alpha visibly pulled herself together. “I think that’s enough for today. I need to contact our client, tell them what we did to their computer and why. And then, I, at least, need a drink.”

Shark grunted. “We going to the Legless Worm?”

Alpha nodded. “The Legless Worm.”

*

The Legless Worm was a runner bar. I’d been there once before, when I’d first met the team. That had been purely business, and Handel had been with me. This was different.

Jazz was on the dance floor, bopping to the music. Shark was watching her fondly, drink in hand, as he chatted with a few other trolls. Alpha was with me, and we’d been joined by a couple of other runners.

“And then I said, what do you mean? I thought she was an elf!” a human runner concluded. He’d introduced himself as Sam, but everyone at the table called him Lucky.

The rest of the table laughed. Alpha was still in her well endowed female form, and was flirting with an elf named Tiger, who was also an adept. Her ability to change her form was no secret in the runner community.

“Yeah, elf posers are a pain in the ass,” Tiger said. He turned to Alpha, who had opened her mouth. “You don’t count, love. For all I know you are an elf!”

The table laughed again. “Yeah, Alpha,” chimed in a gnome. Her name was Cheeri, and she was a rigger. “What is your metatype, anyways? And what do you really look like?”

Alpha grinned mischievously. “I’ll never tell.” She took another swig of her drink.

“My money is on elf,” Tiger said, putting his arm around Alpha.

“Dwarf,” chimed Cheeri. “She’s really a dwarf.”

“Maybe she’s secretly an orc,” Lucky/Sam chortled. “Or a troll!”

Alpha snorted. “You know I can’t even take orc or troll forms.”

Lucky raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you? We’ve only got your word for that.”

Alpha snorted again. “It’s a question of mass, stupid. There’s not enough of me to make an orc or a troll.”

“Mass, smass,” Lucky laughed. “Nothing a bit of magic can’t fix!”

Cheeri elbowed me. “What do you think, Song? What is Alpha’s metatype?”

I blinked, surprised to be so suddenly addressed. “How should I know?”

Lucky looked at me mischievously. “You’re on her team. You’d have a better idea than any of us.”

I looked at Alpha, and thought about how charismatic she was. That was an elf thing. On the other hand, she seemed to prefer human forms most of the time. She almost never went dwarf, and I was pretty sure she didn’t have thermographic vision. That meant dwarf was likely out. “She’s not a dwarf,” I offered.

Cheeri grinned. “You sure?”

“Of course she’s not sure,” Alpha put in. “I’m a woman of mystery.” She shrugged. “Or sometimes a man of mystery. Whatever.”

Everyone laughed. “So, what’s your story, Songbird?” Lucky asked. “How did you end up running in the shadows?”

Alpha leaned into Tiger’s embrace and laughed. “She pissed off the wrong people. Just like you, Lucky. What did that wageslave call you, again? Right before he hit the alarm?”

Lucky laughed, and launched into the story of the fiasco that had landed him in the gutter. “I should have died,” he concluded. He winked. “But I didn’t. And I decided that, since I was officially a dead man, I might as well use the fact. So I started a whole new career, and it’s been great.” He grinned. “Next round is on me!”

The table cheered. No one seemed to have noticed Alpha’s adroit topic change.

Not long after that, the bar’s owner booted up the karaoke machine. Jazz was the first on stage. She sang badly, as usual, but no one seemed to care. Then Lucky egged Tiger into singing a duet with him. When Lucky made his choice on the screen, grinning wickedly, Tiger nearly walked off the stage.

It was a love duet. Lucky sang the girl’s part, and Tiger, a surprisingly deep baritone, sang the guy’s. It wasn’t that bad, I thought, grinning. The two came back to their seats. “Next time we do that,” Tiger growled. “At least choose something gay. I felt so stupid calling you my cherry blossom.”

Lucky laughed. “So, Songbird, are you actually a good singer?”

I blushed. “I’m not bad.”

Lucky thrust his finger into my chest. “Prove it!”

I winced. “I don’t think I-”

Alpha pulled me to my feet. “She’s amazing, guys. You’ve got to hear!”

Urged onto the stage, I stood before the karaoke machine. “Umm…” I stared, bewildered, at my huge number of choices.

Alpha slid briefly onto the stage. “Try this one.” She picked a song for me. Fortunately, it was one I knew.

The music started. I took a deep breath, and sang.

The bar went silent.

I fought not to let my voice wobble. Everyone was staring at me. Lucky and Tiger looked poleaxed. Shark was smiling from ear to ear, eyes closed. Cheeri looked awed. Alpha grinned smugly. Even Jazz was enjoying the music, nodding along and smiling wryly.

And everyone else… Up until now, I hadn’t realized how full the bar was. And it got fuller, I noted, as several spirits materialized, including Paw and Ember. I gripped the mic with white knuckles. I could feel my knees shaking. But I never missed a single note.

Suddenly, a robed form materialize in mid air. It reached out with a skeletal hand, and a female voice murmured. “So beautiful…”

Someone pointed at it. “That’s a shadow spirit!” Someone else screamed. Another drew a gun and aimed it at the spirit, who abruptly vanished back into the astral. My song trailed off, as, shocked, I stared at where the thing had been. What the frag?