Interesting things are happening on Mende, very... very interesting.
Having properly met Talia, I was able to understand a lot...
Speaking of the girl. Having removed her torn rags—I wasn't in a hurry to do that myself while she was out—Talia changed into domestic and much more revealing clothes than the rags she wore before.
"She was probably shy about her body..."
She wasn't exactly human, if one can put it that way. More like a subspecies or something. Miniature, with a developed figure and quite normal... except that against my backdrop, she looked like a child, or a Hobbie.
True, when I accidentally called her that, the miniature woman didn't appreciate my pearl and thought I had somehow insulted her. No matter how you look at it, despite her height, she still belongs to the female sex, the classic kind.
Used to fighting prejudiced attitudes all her life, Talia Neris reacted extremely sharply to any mention of her height, build, age...
In short, a typical hothouse woman who puts problems she can't control at the forefront.
Moreover, she was naive to the point of absurdity, believing that only students were involved in the information theft... Holy simplicity. The entire teaching staff, SBI, and other personnel are probably feeding off it. And the kids were likely someone's lackeys.
Furthermore, any of my suspicions toward the management of the Baobab Academy were refuted with all her miniature hamster-like fury. Active waving of hands, huffing and puffing, red cheeks and pouting lips... Idiocy.
We were only able to talk normally once the woman had fully come to her senses and remembered yesterday's events, which nearly led to another fit of hysterics. I had to give her a flick on the forehead... though it nearly sent her into a knockout.
And so that strange day passed, and then, late in the evening, once I had found out everything I needed, my feet carried me toward the exit, under the girl's dissatisfied huffing.
She clearly wanted to participate in the showdown, to organize a cool action-thriller with detective moments... only I didn't need any of that. Since the archive is open to anyone who feels like it, I'll try to get to those who organized this and are trading important information. At the same time, I'll clean the world of any rabble preventing justice from prevailing on this planet.
"Holy liberty, what now?"
I barely had time to ask the question when I felt the grip of miniature palms on my arm, just as there was a knock at the apartment door.
Talia bypassed me, carefully and slowly raising a PDA to my eyes, which showed an image from the door camera.
The blue-and-white picture outlined three suspicious men, with jackets bulging in the armpit and waist areas. Dressed in more or less decent clothes, they waited patiently for the door to open, practically not moving from the spot.
"We need to leave..."
"Yeah, and go where?"
At my fair question, the mad teacher, who has a fire under her seat, dashed back into the apartment, after which she vanished onto the balcony.
I already imagined what she had planned, but I didn't want to believe it.
Pathetically throwing my hands to the sky, returning after Talia, I heard her tearing bed linens, cursing and grumbling under her breath.
Entering the bedroom, I saw her actively braiding herself a rope from pieces of sheets and other junk. Everything went into it, from pillows to scarves and panties, which she used to try and reinforce the structure.
Raising a piece of the improvised rope to eye level, I stared at a dense, thick knot wrapped in black lace thongs.
Extremely impractical and slutty underwear was being wound onto the knot in hopes of strengthening it, but it was of little use.
With one forceful tug, I easily unraveled this "Gordian" knot. And under my surprised gaze, a pair of women's panties fell smoothly down, swaying from side to side.
"Oh, what strange creatures you are... in all worlds."
"Did you say something?" Turning her face to me, Talia caught the end of the fall and saw the unraveled knot in my hands. At first, her mouth flew open in a silent cry. Ready to rant and rave, the girl remembered the panties and instantly turned crimson, ready to sink through the earth just to avoid standing under my attentive and mocking gaze. "I... it's just..."
"Uh-huh."
Setting aside the piece of rope, I drew my blasters, nodding with a hint toward the front door.
"No, no, no! What are you doing?! There are three of them out there, how can you..."
Here, yesterday's memories apparently rushed into the little teacher's head, as she clutched her mouth, holding back vomit, then dashed toward the toilet, from where unpalatable sounds were soon heard... and the aromas that followed, mmm...
Heh, moments when the technical personnel of Super Earth colonies witnessed our work flashed before my eyes. There were no weaklings among them, but even some of those resilient civilians often watered the ground with their lunches.
Well, never mind.
Checking the Blaster, I picked up the PDA and stood directly opposite the door, aiming the Pistol at the biggest one, who stood right in front of the peephole.
For a couple of seconds, I adjusted the Blaster by a couple of millimeters for precision, then checked the screen with a thoughtful face.
"Looks like this," the bandits heard my voice, and the big man's two sidekicks exchanged glances, staring questioningly at their boss. And just as he opened his mouth, I pulled the trigger. "First one's down..."
The apartment door itself was decent. I think it would easily have withstood bullet fire or weaker small-caliber rounds, but mine...
Through the peephole, a blue laser bolt flew straight into the criminal's mouth, burning him through to the crown of his head. Standing still for a couple of seconds, even making an attempt to feel what had happened in his mouth...
The hulk crashed against the door, which his companions already began firing upon.
I didn't even really have to dodge. They were shooting at an angle from two sides.
I took a couple of steps back and watched with interest as the shots riddled the corridor walls near the front door.
For almost two minutes, this pair of idiots fired at everything that moved, while I nonchalantly reloaded the Blaster, standing by Talia's toilet and listening to her groans and pleas for help.
"I'm not going to hold your hair... That usually doesn't end well." Inserting a toothpick into my mouth, I wipe the soot off the barrel with a rag, carefully and tenderly soaking the cloth in a vase of water. I've already tossed the flowers from it into the sink. "Somnia explained to me what that means to modern girls."
"Blee-gh... Pervert... That's not what I meant."
"Whatever you say, but I'm not changing my mind—deal with your own secretions yourself." In response to my statement, there was a dull thud against the door, followed by the sound of water running in the sink. "See?! You handled it all on your own."
Standing by the bathroom, I leaned against the corner of the hallway that led to the apartment exit. Hearing the first step on the shards of the shot-out door, I drop to one knee and, peeking out halfway, fire an un-aimed shot toward the passage. Right into the center.
"Hit," I say, wincing at the screech of the man whose scrotum just got scorched. I stand up to my full height and fire another shot at the entrance. "Killed."
For some reason, at that moment, I had an association with the old game—Battleship.
"Let's try shooting the same spot." Simply extending my hand around the corner, I squeeze the trigger—releasing six laser bolts. Damn, these guys aren't exactly brilliant. The idiot came at me exactly like his previous colleague. Only this new one didn't even have time to scream; all the shots hit the mark. "Amateurs... All you can do is bully little girls."
"Hey! Who are you calling a little girl? Have you completely lost your sense of fear, you giant? I'm a respected person, actually..."
"Yeah, yeah." Wrapping my left arm around the teacher's stomach, I lift Talia into the air, carrying her behind me like a sack of goods. "Convenient."
Her glasses slipped slightly to the side, and her hair was a mess. Indignation was already brewing on the little teacher's face, but then we stepped out into the corridor, which was littered with corpses.
"Endure it." Seeing the girl grab her face again, fiercely pressing her lips with her palms, I suppressed a smile and a slight panic. The last thing I needed was for her to vomit on my brand-new crimson cloak. Blood was one thing... I chose it specifically so the stains wouldn't stand out, but vomit—that's a completely different matter. "Better close your eyes..."
Raising the blaster to head level, I listened to the encroaching noises. And they didn't bode well. Multiple footsteps, cursing, and shouting...
Just common riffraff huddled into a pack... But there are many of them and they are clearly armed, and I have a civilian runt hanging under my arm... In the literal sense of the word.
Heading in the opposite direction from the fire escape, where the happy crowd was rushing toward us, I stand behind the corner of the nearest junction, waiting for the first visitors.
Ten seconds, twenty... Thirty!
The first trio of players runs into the corridor. Leading the rest was a guy who looked like a fly, followed by a pair of Twi'leks. All three were, of course, exceptionally ugly... I wouldn't even sit at the same table with them.
So, peeking out from around the corner just as this brotherhood began to slow down—I open fire immediately, before even properly aiming.
The first one grabbed his shoulder, his arm flailing to the side.
The second fell with a hole in his head...
And the third, the one looking like a green fly, tried to cover himself with his hands... Idiot. On his left chest hung a detonator, which I fired at with a clear conscience.
I barely managed to duck back around the corner. A stream of green sludge slammed into the wall, splattering remnants of gore across all the walls and the ceiling.
Talia tried once more to spit out the remains of food from her system, but it was a struggle.
"Damn it, Shorty..."
"What... Kha-kha... did you call me?"
"Oh right, forgot." Scratching the back of my head, I ruffle my hair, which had some dust settled on it. "I'm used to hanging around with all sorts of small types, so... What are you doing?"
Talia tried to kick me under the knee, but by hitting the armored kneepad with her soft shoe—she only achieved her own fall. At least it wasn't into a puddle of vomit.
"Strange little one." Picking the teacher up again, I continue our path further through the building, trying not to rush too much and watching every corner. "Sit still, or you'll have to run yourself."
A couple of shots flew at our backs, causing me to urgently turn toward the nearest flat and, shooting out the lock—I kicked the door open.
A strange hairy alien started to protest, but at that exact moment, the rest of the criminals caught up with us and opened a hurricane of fire on the front door.
"Please excuse us," I tried to justify myself to the xeno, but he just waved me off, cheerfully shaking his flesh and funnily moving his furry paws. "Eh, Mother Nature—you heartless bitch. Why the hell does he have so many limbs and fur?"
"...They live on an Ice World with steep ledges and many cliffs." Apparently deciding the question was addressed to her, Talia began reciting a literal lecture to me, and only when we made it out onto the balcony and I swung her over to the neighboring one did the girl manage to snap out of her strange state and start thinking more rationally. "What? Where did you bring us? We need to go the other way, my Speeder..."
"Is most likely booby-trapped. Or they'll be waiting for us near it... The second option is even more likely."
"What? Seriously!? Dammit, I just finished paying off the Credits for it!"
"Heh-heh... Yeah, different worlds, same problems." Ignoring the teacher's questioning looks, I lead us further along the balconies until we reach the corner of the building, from where there's a good opportunity to descend to the floor below. All this time, shots rang out somewhere deep inside the building, and the sirens of local law enforcement could be heard outside. "Come on, teacher, let's jump."
"What? A-a-a-ah!"
Clutching the girl, I jumped down a floor, catching the edge of the balcony with one hand. It was nearly thirteen stories to the ground, so such stunts were quite dangerous, not even counting the pursuing thugs and officers of the law.
"I don't like this... I really, really don't like this," Talia said, almost crying, clinging to me with her arms and legs as I descended from balcony to balcony, slowly but surely leading us down. "Maybe we should take the elevator? The fighting has died down there..."
"Nah, this is faster... and more fun."
I covered the last four floors on pure enthusiasm. Barely stopping, picking up decent speed, and only at the second floor grabbing onto the dented walls of a balcony that couldn't handle our weight and collapsed.
Actually, it turned out even better that way.
"Well, here we are. Last stop." Setting the terrified and disheveled girl on the ground, I expected anything, but certainly not pathetic cries and her falling onto the asphalt. "You're overacting."
"Earth, my dear." Sprawled on her stomach, she hugged the cold ground, joyfully scratching at it with her hands. "So solid, heavy, and stable..."
"Oh, come on. Nothing terrible happened... Hey?! Fine, have it your way. In any case, I'd advise you to get out of here... and preferably to another planet."
While Talia played and settled into her role, I managed to wipe down the blasters and hide them back away, after which I walked with a leisurely stride toward the exit of the alley, which the lawmen would surely close off soon.
"What? Wait, hold on... Are you just leaving?"
"Um, well, yeah. Why?"
"But what about—" She was clearly flustered. Words seemed to come to her with difficulty. How does this woman even teach? "Wait, I can see by your look that you've thought something bad about me!?"
So small, and already a woman.
Ruffling her hair one last time, I shove my hands into my pockets and continue on my way. I needed to lay low until evening so I could pay a visit to a couple of local big shots. I think those weaklings will be happy to share their knowledge of hyper-routes with me; otherwise...
My hand easily found the thick steel hilt. A good weapon, magnificent. Especially compared to the trash we were scraping by with on Tatooine.
"Please, wait!" Catching up to me, the little teacher grabbed my arm with that familiar gesture of a shorty... Hiding her eyes, she was shy and muttering under her breath, stammering something until she finally gathered the courage to ask point-blank. "You're a mercenary, right? Not an assassin or a thief?"
"What makes you think that? Maybe I am an assassin," I said, smiling sadly as I crouched down in front of her. "But what difference does it make to you?"
"If you're a mercenary... then can I hire you?"
"You can."
"And you'll help me figure everything out and stop the bad guys?"
"Hmm." I liked her phrasing, so weighing all the pros and cons, I decide to accept the offer. "Alright, I agree."
"Yay!" Raising her hands in the air, she actually started jumping for joy like a child. "Thank you, thank you, thank you..."
"Whoa, whoa, hold on, boss. First, let's discuss the price..."
"Well, I have a couple thousand Credits in my account... and an apartment... oh, and the Speeder."
"Nah, I'm not interested in that. I need something else." I don't know what she saw on my face, but Talia winced in disgust, then trembled all over and, closing her eyes, turned away. Her cheeks flushed crimson, and she looked as if she were preparing to jump into an abyss. "What's with you?"
"You bastard... Fine, I agree, but only once... I've never..."
"I don't know what you've imagined, but I need hyper-lane maps to Roon and everything related to that."
"Huh?"
For a few seconds, the entire alley was plunged into silence. We both stood with strange expressions, and while mine expressed indifference and surprise, hers was slowly but surely filling with shame, rage, and resentment.
Placing my palm on her forehead, I confirm there's no fever... Actually, I'm not really familiar with her species, so maybe this behavior is normal for her?
"Well, so? Deal?" Deciding not to stare at the reddening-whitening girl, I turn toward the alley exit.
"Go to hell!"
"What? Hey?! Wait! What's wrong?"
"Nothing!"
"For God's sake... So, no deal?"
"There will be a deal!"
"But you just—"
"I didn't say anything! Let's go!"
***
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