Chapter 3

Sylvie reclined in the back seat behind Dodson, bouncing up and down with excitement as she held onto the partially burned envelope. The two flew toward the outpost, unaware of Reina tailing them.

“We did it, Dodson! Our luck’s finally turning around! Ha ha ha!” she laughed, spitting on the seat in front of her.

Dodson wiped the back of his head. “Say, Sylvie, where’s our android fella?”

“Oh, I left ‘em back at the bakery to hold off that wacko elf while I made my escape with the goods.”

“I see,” Dodson replied. “What’s the plan on retrievin’ him?”

Sylvie went quiet as a mouse. She hadn’t thought that far ahead in her plan when she left the android behind.

“Uh… we can just get another severed android! Who cares if one gets left behind in a job! There’s plenty more fish in the sea and what have ya’s!”

Dodson frowned as he listened. “Ya know, that android cost us a pretty penny, even as beat up as it was. I had to take out a loan just for the down payment. We can’t afford to get another even a quarter as good.”

Sylvie’s smile melted into a frown. “How much are we talkin’ here?” she asked.

Dodson scratched his chin. “That money we’re gettin’ for completin’ the job?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, that’s all goin’ to the first monthly payment.”

The color drained from Sylvie’s face, only for it to turn bright red in anger. “Why the heck did’ja spend so much money on that stupid android!” Sylvie screamed as she shook the back of Dodson’s chair in rage.

“‘Cause yer the one who wanted it! Ya begged and begged, sayin’ it would help turn our fortunes around!”

“Then ya shoulda warned me!!!”

Dodson was about to reply “I did!” but stopped as an alert popped on his screen. Ignoring Sylvie’s outburst, he tapped a few buttons to open a window with a view from behind the DRAGON. Closing in on them was a red dot soaring through space like a comet. With the tap of another button, the camera zoomed in. He was caught off guard by the Crimson Comets appearance, prompting him to laugh over the interesting turn of events.

“How the heck did they manage to nab themselves a Knight-Class DRAGON?” he wondered to himself. “Whoever this is ain’t yer run-of-the-mill dragoon.”

“AREN’T YA LISTENIN’ TO ME?!” Sylvie screeched.

“DRAGON inbound!”

Sylvie leaned over Dodson to get a better look at the screen. “What?!” she yelled.

Suddenly, a communication line was forcibly established between them and the Crimson Comet. A video chat window blocked most of the screen, obstructing Dodson’s view.

“Heeeey there!” smiled Reina, her legs crossed with her hands behind her head. “Thought you could escape to that abandoned outpost, huh?”

Sylvie was stunned. “H-how’d you know we were goin’ to our secret base where Giuliani Jr. is waitin’ for us?!”

Dodson leaned his head back with his hand to his face, letting out a groan.

“Oh! Giuliani Jr. is there, too? That makes things easier! Now, we’ve all had a long night, so how about you–”

Sylvie reached over to Dodson’s control deck and closed out of the call.

‘Um…” Dodson said. “Ya could’ve let her finish first.”

The Crimson Comet forced a connection again. Reina let out an annoyed laugh. “Looks like we got disconnected.”

“Must’ve been some sort of interference. Space debris or whatsit,” Dodson replied.

“Anyway, hand over the envelope, turn yourselves in, and I’ll–”

“Nope!” Sylvie said, closing out of the call again.

The Crimson Comet established a connection again. “I’m warning you! If you–”

“Nah,” Sylvie said as she disconnected again.

After three more attempts with Sylvie quickly disconnecting, Dodson grabbed Sylvie’s wrist. “Yer gonna wear out the button if ya keep doin’ that. Let me handle this.”

“WOULD YOU STOP HANGING UP AND LET ME FINISH!” Reina yelled, leaning too close toward the camera.

“Sorry ‘bout that!” Dodson said as he forced Sylvie back into her seat and locked her in with the seatbelt. “Our control deck is old and sensitive. Ya lean over to scratch yer butt, and next thing ya know, it accidentally dumps all its cargo in the cargo bay. Grah ha ha! So, what was it that you were sayin’?” Dodson asked.

Reina glared in silence for a moment before letting out a sigh and sitting down in her seat. “Hand over the envelope and turn yourselves in to the authorities. If you do, I’ll put in a good word for you, but I’m this close to rescinding that offer!” she said, nearly pinching her thumb and finger together in front of her face.

Dodson scratched the back of his head. “Alright. Guess ya got us fair‘n square.”

“WHAT?!” yelled Sylvie.

Reina smiled and nodded. “Good! At least you’re the reasonable type!”

“Don’t you DARE hand it over!” Sylvie shouted, trying to cut through her seatbelt with her teeth.

“Just give me a minute or two. Gotta calm down the lil’ miss first.” Dodson said.

“Okie-doke!” Reina replied cheerfully as she sat back down in her chair and crossed her legs. “Over and out.”

Dodson gave a thumbs up and disconnected.

“What do ya think you’re doing?!” Sylvie screamed.

“You’re too easily riled up. Ya gotta know when to play it cool. If ya aren’t, yer enemy will stay on their toes.”

“So what?!” Sylvie shouted.

“Well, if ya get ‘em to lower their guard down,” Dodson replied.

The mask strapped to his face began to glow an intense neon purple. Then a faint purple glow emanated around his entire body.

“You can do this!”

Dodson spun his DRAGON around so it faced the Crimson Comet. A large, neon purple sigil appeared before his DRAGON’s head. Dozens of large lances made of purple light fired outward, hurling toward the Crimson Comet.

Reina shrugged with a smirk. “Why is it that whenever you give crooks the option to peacefully surrender, they always choose violence?” She sat up and gripped the control sticks, readying herself to use her daemon powers to summon a shield before the Crimson Comet.

“Urk!”

A sharp, burning pain went down her spine, reminding her that she was nearly depleted of dark aether.

“Oh, right,” she said, having forgotten she was nearly drained of dark aether.

The lances rained down on the Crimson Comet, slamming and scraping its armor.

The sound from the bombardment was deafening, causing Bo to let out a small yelp as she gripped the console in front of her in fear.

Reina cursed, regaining her composure. “That’s not gonna be good for the paint job!”

She slammed her foot on the pedal and threw all her weight into the control sticks to the side. The Crimson Comet quickly strafed sideways, escaping the onslaught of lances.

Dodson winced in pain as he began to sweat. He took a deep breath, ejected the dark aether canister from the bottom of his mask, and stretched his hand back to Sylvie. “Reload.”

Sylvie opened a container behind the passenger seat, full of dark aether canisters. “Here ya go!” she cheered, handing him the canister.

After reloading, Dodson inhaled the dark aether, easing the burning pain. He resumed firing dark aether lances at his opponent.

Reina dodged the second wave of attack. “That’s it! No more playing nice!”

The Crimson Comet reached behind its back, retrieving the hilt of a sword. However, there was no blade on the sword with its lavishly decorated guard folded upward.

“Rise! Shooting Star!” she shouted.

The hilt’s red bejeweled pommel began to glow as its guard folded backwards. Dozens of metallic streamers fired upward, twisting amongst themselves until they formed a blade twice the size of the Crimson Comet.

Dodson was knocked off his feet the moment he saw it. “What is that?!” he spat inside his mask. He couldn’t believe the ridiculous sight. In all his years he had never come across a sword like it. It was nothing like the advanced Second Starward Era weaponry he was used to seeing.

“Could it be… a First Starward Era weapon?!” he thought as sweat began to form on his brow. “Just who is this girl?!”

“We might be in trouble…” Dodson mumbled with hesitation.

“Why’d ya stop?!” Sylvie yelled, not hearing Dodson’s mumbling. “Keep attacking! Show that dumb dragoon that nobody gets in the way of The Sylvie Gang and gets away with it!”

Dodson looked back at Sylvie, back at the Crimson Comet, and gulped. Then he smirked. “Grah ha ha ha!” he bellowed out. “Right you are, lil’ miss!!!”

“Not often do you get to come across First Starward Era tech, let alone FIGHT it!” thought Dodson excitedly.

The front arms on Dodson’s DRAGONS were released along with two small hilts from its base.

K-CHCK!!!

Small blades shot out from the two hilts, appearing like knives. They may lack in size compared to Reina’s blade, but they made up for it in increased maneuverability and speed.

Dodson let out a battle cry as he charged forward, brandishing his knives. He darted around the Crimson Comet, taking quick swipes at Reina and forcing her into a defensive position.

“This guy’s not half-bad,” Reina thought to herself.

Dodson fired off a lance, which distracted Reina just long enough for him to get a hit in and leaving a scratch against the Crimson Comet’s arm. He tried using that trick again but Reina was quick to catch on.

Reina studied Dodson carefully, blocking and dodging his attacks. Whenever he fired a lance, she’d strike it down, exploding into a cloud of dust. Sparks shot outward whenever their blades met.

“Okay, enough of this!” Reina yelled.

It was clear that her giant sword was holding her back against her small and quick opponent. If she was to get a hit on Dodson, she needed to change tactics.

So she threw Shooting Star at him.

“Whoa!” Dodson said as he watched the massive blade hurl past, nearly cutting his DRAGON in two. “What kind of tactic is–”

Before Dodson could finish his sentence, Reina charged in and punched Dodson’s DRAGON, sending it spinning.

“Crap, crap, crap!” he said, trying to regain control before he lost his lunch.

As he spun rapidly in circles, Reina grabbed one of his DRAGON’s arms and snapped it off from its body. She then pulled the knife from its lifeless hand and spun it in the Crimson Comet’s claw, then threw the arm back at Dodson, stopping his spinning.

Though down an arm, Dodson didn’t let that stop him.

“Graaah!” he shouted as he charged at the Crimson Comet with his single knife.

Reina effortlessly parried every one of his attacks to his frustration before striking him.

“Aahh!” Sylvie cried as the cockpit shook with each blow they took.

Dodson gritted his teeth as sweat rolled down his forehead. He was giving it all to keep up with Reina, but it wasn’t enough.

In a lucky strike, Dodson managed to knock the knife out of the Crimson Comet’s hand.

“Ah ha!” Dodson cheered. He pointed the knife at Reina. “Got ya now, girly!”

The Crimson Comet held out its hands as if in surrender. It then established a connection with Dodson’s DRAGON.

“Alright. You got me,” she said as she popped onto the screen. She leaned back in her seat, her hands held out in surrender, similarly to the Crimson Comet.

“We did it?” Sylvie asked, processing the moment. When it clicked in her head that they were victorious, Sylvie started bouncing up and down in her seat. “We did it! WE DID IT!!!”

She then looked at Reina on the screen.

“IN YER FACE, FREAK!!!” she shouted. “Did ya think you could beat us, The Sylvie Gang, with that sloppy swordsmanship?! You suck! I was honestly embarrassed just watchin’ ya!”

Dodson shook his head, embarrassed by Sylvie’s outburst.

Reina sat quietly as she listened to the barrage of insults.

“Like, for realsies! What kind of numbskull dragoon accidentally lets their sword go in the middle of a fight like that? Even a complete novice wouldn’t do somethin’ as dumb as that!”

Dodson’s eyes lit up. He’d forgotten about Shooting Star after getting spun around and losing an arm.

Reina noticed the worry in Dodson’s expression and smiled. “Yeah, I can be such a clutz sometimes,” she said as she leaned forward onto her control panel. Her elbow pressed a button.

SWISH!!!

Shooting Star shot through space and sliced through Dodson’s DRAGON’s wings. They separated from the body before exploding.

“That sword can fly on its own?!” Dodson yelled in confusion.

The power in the DRAGON cut out, leaving Dodson and Sylvie in darkness before the emergency power kicked on, dyeing the inside of the cockpit red.

Only a small portion of the screen came back on. When it did, it showed a smiling Reina, resting her head in her hands.

“Need a lift?” she asked.

Dodson scratched the back of his head. “Would ya kindly?” he asked.

“It would be my pleasure.”

“Where are they? Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY?!” shouted a short, irate dwarf named Giuliani Jr.. Suited up in a space suit, he drifted back and forth inside the hangar of the abandoned outpost. His bushy red beard pressed up against the front of his helmet, obfuscating his mouth.

The outpost had long lost its life support systems, resulting in the loss of its artificial gravity. Giuliani Jr., who wasn’t used to the weightlessness of space, was in a constant state of nausea, adding to his irritation.

“It shouldn't be THAT hard to rob a small bakery!” he shouted, kicking a piece of floating debris out into the vastness of space. This led him to spin in place before grabbing a nearby railing to stop himself. “This is what I get for hiring two-bit crooks. You certainly get what you pay for!”

Cry as he might, he couldn’t have afforded anyone else anyway with his massive debt. If not for Sylvie’s discount, he wouldn’t have even been able to afford them to begin with.

Giuliani Jr. was broke. Worse than broke. His terrible gambling habits had caught up to him, and people were coming to collect. He needed a lot of money, and soon. This was why he cooked up this scheme.

“Their legacy is worth a small fortune. I’m sure a large conglomerate would love to get its greedy hands on it and add it to its portfolio,” he mumbled to himself.

That legacy was the contents of the envelope.

The communicator inside his helmet scratched on. “Sylvie Gang to Giuliani Jr. Do ya read me? Over,” said a gruff voice.

“Finally!” Giuliani Jr. shouted. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting in this dump?!”

“Apologies fer the wait, sir. We, uh, had a bit of trouble.”

Giuliani Jr. froze. “Trouble? What do you mean trouble?” he said at a rapid pace.

“Just some minor difficulties with the job is all.”

“Difficulties? You can’t just keep being vague and expect me to follow! Ar-ti-cu-la-tuh!” he screeched. “Were you able to complete the job?”

“Pardon?”

“The assignment! The gig! The work! The thing I hired you to do!”

There was silence from the radio, which set Giuliani Jr. off. “Hello? Hello?!”

“Come again?” Dodson replied. “We’re gettin’ some interference. Makin’ it hard to hear.”

A volcano erupted within Giuliani Jr. He had run out of patience for what he perceived to be the worst criminals in the world.

“DID YOU BREAK INTO MY PARENT’S SAFE AND STEAL THE ENVELOPE OR NOT?!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, followed by heaving.

“Oh, that! Yeah! We got it! It’s right here in my hand!”

Giuliani Jr. let out a heavy sigh in relief, only to quickly snap back into a fit. “Then what was all that talk about trouble and difficulties!?”

“Oh, ya know. Just explainin’ why we were late ‘n all. We’ll be approachin’ the outpost in the next couple of minutes.”

“Good!” Giuliani Jr. yelled before hanging up. “I swear, after this is finished, they are not getting a recommendation from me! Lousy service!”

Giuliani Jr. watched the outside of the hangar, looking to find any sign of their DRAGON.

“Ah ha! There it is!” he said, rubbing his hands together in glee. “Wait, red? I don’t remember their DRAGON being red? Uh oh…”

Worried that some debt collectors found him, Giuliani Jr. scurried off and hid behind a stack of empty metal crates. He poked his head out, where he watched the Crimson Comet dock inside the hangar.

Its engine cut off.

“The Sylvie Gang reportin’ back,” called out Dodson over the radio.

“What? Oh! It’s you! Thank the lord!” Giuliani said as he rushed out from behind the crates. “I take it this is what you meant by difficulties? You could have told me you swapped DRAGONS during the job!”

He ran up to the Crimson Comet, eagerly waiting to get the envelope from them and be on his way from leaving that trash heap of an outpost.

Stepping out of the Crimson Comet, cape fluttering behind her, was Reina. Her daemon blood allowed her to walk out into space without the need for a spacesuit, nor did she worry about the weightlessness that bothered Giuliani Jr. so much. She could manipulate the dark aether to create a sense of weight for herself wherever she felt like.

“Aw yeah. That’s what I needed,” she said as she took in a deep breath of dark aether while stretching her arms up above her head.

The sight of her caused Giuliani Jr. to momentarily forget what he was doing. “Wait, an elf? But how are you able to be in space without a suit? Hey! Wait! Where’s The Sylvie Gang!? Where’s that envelope?!”

Reina looked down at Giuliani Jr.

“You Giuliani Jr.?” she asked.

He flinched, then nodded hesitantly.

Reina smiled, jumped out of the Crimson Comet’s mouth, and landed on Giuliani Jr.’s head.

“Oh my. To think Junior would go to such drastic measures!” said Giuliani Jr.’s mom, Orla. She was still in her pajamas with her puffy white hair covered by a nightcap. A pair of night sunglasses covers her sensitive eyes.

“I’ll say,” Giuliani Sr. said, poking his head through the large hole in his kitchen’s wall as he scratched his hairy, shirtless back. “Looks like we’re gonna have to close up shop for a while for repairs.

Reina and Bo had returned to the bakery with The Sylvie Gang and Giuliani Jr. tied up, ready to hand them over to the local authorities. They were loaded into the back of a wagon as two dwarf guardsmen struggled to direct the headless android. Two more guardsmen, an elf and a beastman, were inside the bakery, inspecting the damage alongside Giuliani Sr.

Orla bowed in apology to Reina. “I’m so sorry, dear. When I hired you, I didn’t think things would be so dangerous!”

“Nah, it’s fine! I’m used to this sort of thing!” Reina said with a cheerful smile. “Sorry about the wall, though. I should’ve stopped them sooner.”

“Oh, it’s alright, dear. I don’t think any of us expected an android of all things to show up and go on a rampage,” said Orla.

Bo reached into her cloak and pulled out the partially burned envelope, handing it over to Orla. “We’ll gladly help with restoring the bakery to its original state!”

Giuliani Sr. waved his hands. “Nah, I think we can handle things on our own from here. You’ve done more than enough. Orla, got their money?”

“I certainly do,” Orla replied, pulling out another envelope and handing it to Bo. “Here’s your payment as we agreed, plus I added a little extra for doing such a fine job under the circumstances.”

“Wow! Thank you very much!” Bo said, taking the envelope.

Reina looked at the charred envelope in Orla’s hand. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is that? The deed to your bakery or something?”

“Oh, no,” Orla replied. “It’s the recipe for my world-famous sugar cookies!” She walked over to the counter, where there was a glass jar stuffed full of sugar cookies. “Here, try one.”

Reina took one of the soft sugar cookies and popped it into her mouth. Her ears shot up as she let out a squeal in delight, putting a hand on her cheek. “This is the best cookie I’ve ever had in my life! Can I have another?”

“Have the entire jar! You’ve earned it!”

Reina’s face lit up with joy as she took the jar from Orla and began munching on the cookies. “Thank you so much!” she said, spitting out crumbs.

As she ate, the elvish guard approached the group. “Mkay, we’re just about done here. Just one last thing,” he said. “Miss Reina Leyline?”

Reina looked at the guard. “Yes?”

The guard put a handcuff around her wrist. “You’re under arrest.”

The cookie in Reina’s mouth fell out. “Huh? What for?”

“For disturbing the peace, dangerous handling of a weapon in public, damage to public property, assaulting multiple guardsmen, resisting arrest…”

He turned to the open front door, which revealed the city plaza. Parked dead center was the Crimson Comet. A crowd had gathered around it with curiosity. It was rare to see a Knight-Class DRAGON owned by someone not affiliated with the Holy Era Church, let alone one with a cape and painted red.

“And piloting an aircraft in restricted air space and parking in a non-parking zone.”

Reina stared at the guard as he listed off all her offenses, chewing the cookie that was in her mouth. Once he finished she swallowed so she could speak. “Guess I did do all that, huh?”

She took a couple of cookies from the jar and handed the rest to Bo.

“Welp! I’m off to jail for a bit!” she said with a smile. “Have a wonderful rest of the night! And remember, whether big or small, Reina and Co. Enterprises will see a job to completion! No matter what!”

Reina yelled out, “Be sure to tell your friends!” as she was escorted out of the bakery, leaving Bo behind.

“She’s quite the strange one,” said Orla.

Giuliani Sr. nodded in agreement.

Reina was placed inside the wagon, where she sat across from Giuliani Jr. and The Sylvie Gang. All of them glared at her.

“Since we’re all going to the same location, it’s better to carpool, right?” Reina said.

Nobody responded.

“Anyone want a cookie?” Reina asked with a smile, offering the cookies in her hand.

“Oh! I do!” Dodson said.

Sylvie shot up her cuffed hands. “Me too!”