HOPE COMES IN GREEN

His hand reached out to her, and she had half a mind to step out of the transporter ray. But he'd been pretty adamant. A lump still sat firmly in her throat as her body broke apart and hurled through space. As she her body reformed, she saw his afterimage, his right hand outstretched to her.

(No, he doesn't want it. Leave him be. You'll figure something else out.)

Her body finished reassembling in a pneumatic tube. A hiss of steam signaled she was, in fact, whole and proper. The glass door in front of her slid aside, opening up into a large, square locker room. On one side stood three tubes, the Bio-Transporters, which allowed her to teleport from here to anywhere within the ship's range.

She approached the line of lockers just to the left of the transporters and sat on the bench spread in front of them.

Lucianna sighed.

(Back to square one.)

She looked over to her right. The power pulsing through her…it'd felt so good. She damn near blew that tiny store sky-high, but now she had nothing again.

"I see you are injured."

Above her, a hole opened in the ceiling, and a screen attached to a boom arm lowered toward her. A girl's face appeared on the screen. She had dark hair cut into a pixie style. Her crystalline eyes glowed neon white as they examined Lucianna.

"Had to get a little rough," Lucianna said. "Couldn't help it."

The girl on the monitor sighed. "Lucky for you, I installed data collection algorithms that streamed your diagnostics. The next set of arms should be more durable."

"That'd be nice. The right one short-circuited so quickly!"

"That happens when you dry to push too much power through. Try to control yourself next time."

She slumped back against the locker doors. The cool metal felt nice on her neck. "Yeesh, lay off, Mom."

"I must ensure your safety. I cannot trust Rivra to maintain my body in your absence. Her fingers are much too large and clumsy. She would likely break something."

Lucianna's gaze floated to the ceiling. She saw his face, even though the afterimage had long since faded. Part of her wondered how she'd even mistaken him for Waylon. Sure, they looked a lot alike, but there was a kindness and…innocence, maybe? Something about Milo made her want to tease the shit out of him.

"My readings show your heart rate is elevated. Do you have a fever?"

"N-not at all." She sprung to her feet. "I'll head down to the lab so you can work on my arms."

The girl on the screen squinted. "Very well. I will see you momentarily."

The screen clicked off and retracted back into the ceiling. The hole in the ceiling sealed with a mechanic thud.

***

Faith knew she needed to stay about five steps ahead of her captain, otherwise the so-called Pirate Queen was just as likely to get herself killed as she was to get lost in the galaxy. She did quite admire the tenacity of the captain, and her power was unmatched. At least, it had been before she'd lost her gems of power.

"Well, what's the damage, doc?"

Faith sighed. "The right shoulder will take some work to repair. I can simply lift out your left arm and replace it." She spun around in her chair and crossed her arms. "What exactly did you run into down there? The local military?"

Lucianna grunted. "Just some poor sap living a sad life."

Faith cocked her head, but Lucianna's eyes fell.

"Regardless, you could not find more clues regarding Waylon."

Lucianna nodded. She bit her lower lip.

"Rivra's won't be happy. She just wanted us to go crawling to her daddy. But I say we don't need him!"

Faith stroked her chin. "But if we have no other leads, Rivra's father might be the only logical choice. Where else would we search?"

"I still say the Federation's hiding something."

"That is nothing new. I am surprised we came here instead of the Federation."

Lucianna rested her chin on her stump. "Waylon is an Earthbound human. Of course I'd come here looking for him. But it was just another dead end."

There came a pounding of boots on the metal floor. The pneumatic hiss of lab doors as they opened, and in walked in a tall, green-skinned woman with long white hair tied in a ponytail. She wore little except for an armored top, pants, and combat boots. A black bandanna wrapped around her eyes. She stomped toward Lucianna, the shelves in Faith's lab rattling with each step.

"How'd it go?"

"Oh, uh, I didn't find anything. Guess my instinct was wrong this time!"

The green-skinned woman planted a hand on her hip. "That so? Then what should we do next, captain?"

"I…I don't know."

Her lip twitched, and as fast as lightning, one of her fists lashed out and struck one of the few spots in Faith's lab that wasn't covered in machinery or electronics.

"P-please be cautious, Rivra!" Faith said.

Rivra grunted and pulled her fist from the basketball-sized hole in the wall. "Aren't we wasting time? Ever since Waylon took the gems…we're on borrowed time." She turned toward Lucianna. "I know you don't like it, but my father would know where scum goes to hide."

Lucianna shot up.

"No!"

Rivra stood chest-to-chest against Lucianna. She towered over her captain by at least three feet, but Lucianna stood her ground, staring up into the blindfold of her loyal bodyguard. Sweat slicked Rivra's skin, her ripe body odor hanging in the air. The muscles in Rivra's arms twitched. (She's itching to fight.)

"I don't understand why you're against it. I can defeat my father. I'm the most powerful warrior in the universe."

"Normally, I'd agree with you. But we're all lacking firepower right now. You, me, Faith…Your father may not be as physically strong as you, but he'd…he'd be able to…"

"He could see me? Is that it?" Her fists clenched, her fingers turning a pale green. "Just because I can't see doesn't mean I can't fight."

"But that's exactly why you can't!"

Faith raised a finger. "The captain is correct. You may possess greater strength and agility than your father, but without your eyesight, your father possesses a great tactical advantage. And if memory serves me correct, you have never bested your father in combat before."

Rivra whirled on her. "Shut your mouth. I can beat him if I want. Why won't you believe in me?"

Lucianna placed her stump on Rivra, and Rivra froze. She took a hold of the stump. It looked like a child's toy in her hand as she prodded it. Her fingers closed gently around it.

"What happened down there?"

Lucianna gulped.

"N-nothing big."

"You were attacked? By Waylon?"

"No, Waylon isn't down there, just his—"

She bit down on her tongue. (I can't mention Milo. I won't get him involved. If they learn about him, they'll definitely force him to come along for my sake alone.)

"His what?"

Faith leaned forward in her chair. "Is there something you failed to mention, Captain?"

As Lucianna opened her mouth to speak, a searing pain tore through her right arm.

(This…is this phantom pain? No, this is something different.)

Her heart pounded in her chest. Sweat rolled down the side of her face. She ran her tongue along her lips and tasted a hint of copper. Her throat felt raw. She stumbled backward, and Rivra stooped down to catch her before she could hit her head.

"Captain, are you all right?!"

(Lucianna…Help me…)

She heard Milo's voice clear as day. Just as she had when they'd combined. (Is he in trouble? What's going on? Why am I feeling this way?)

"Captain! Why won't you say anything? What happened down there?!"

Lucianna reached out with her stump toward Rivra. Her vision grew darker. The blue and green lights of Faith's lab faded until all she saw was a darkness. She could hear some sort of weird, rhythmic sound.

An explosion shocked her back to reality.

She gasped and stared straight into Rivra's face.

"Faith. I need you to prepare the Transporter."

"For what reason?"

"You're not going anywhere," Rivra said. "What just happened? Spit it out."

"Lemme go, or I swear as your captain I'll—"

Her body seized. Dust showered her. High-pitched screams cut short by laser fire. A red light washed over her vision. A faint oily scent tickled her nose. The echoes of a robotic voice bounced around in her head:

(MISSION OBJECTIVE: LOCATE TARGET LUCIANNA, THE PIRATE QUEEN, AND MILO MOODY, SON OF WAYLON MOODY.)

"No! Milo!"

Lucianna sprang up, but stumbled and fell, the breath in her lungs whooshing out. "I have to save him! He's going to die because of me!"

Faith watched Rivra as she bent down and picked Lucianna off the ground. She struggled against her subordinate's muscled arms, but there was little she could do besides surrender to her grasp.

Rivra stroked Lucianna's head, leaning her in to her a chest. "Lucianna. Please. Tell us what really happened down there."

***

He was certain he would die. Alone, afraid. Bile and mucus coated his throat. Hot tears crawled down his face.

The robot stomped through the small space, its metal exterior scraping against the cramped walls. Fire and char filled the air as its search narrowed in on the bathroom, where Milo sat trembling in the bathtub.

(It's going to find me and there's going to be nowhere to go. I'm going to die here. I'm going to die.)

The bathroom door swung open, and a hulking figure swallowed the doorway. Two large, red eyes centered in on Milo. The figure stepped into the bathroom. As it drew closer, Milo could make out the creature's humanoid shape. It barely fit inside, having to hunch over. Besides walking on two legs, this monster had similar splinter glass and metal armor to the spider that Milo had encountered with Lucianna.

(Lucianna…)

The machine extended out a hand. Its eyes narrowed on Milo's face.

"TARGET SIGHTED: RETRIEVE MILO MOODY. PROBE FOR WHEREABOUTS OF WAYLON MOODY."

Its claws sank into Milo's robe and pulled him out of the tub. He struggled and squirmed.

"Let go of me!"

"RESISTANCE WILL BE MET WITH APPROPRIATE COUNTERMEASURES."

It held up its other hand, and the claws twisted and pulled apart until a set of prongs emerged from its wrist. Electricity crackled along the prod, illuminating Milo's face in a blue light. Milo's breathing hastened. "H-hey, wait! I—"

The robot jammed the prod into Milo's side, and white hot pain seared through his body. Every ounce of resistance in him evaporated like ice under the sun. He collapsed into the robot's grip, his body convulsing as the remaining currents made their way through him.

(Lucianna…Help me…)

The robot pulled him out of the bathroom and dragged him toward the hole in the wall. It leaped from the second story and landed on top of a car in the street. The windows shattered, glass showering the sidewalk and pavement. A woman in the distance screamed. There was a murmur of voices as people gathered to see what was happening.

Milo hung limply from the robot's grip. In the daytime light, he could clearly see the monstrous form of the giant robot. It stood around ten feet tall, with wide shoulders and four arms. Its legs reminded him of a dog's hind leg, except constructed from steel and plated in the same haphazard steel and glass design as the rest of its body.

The robot surveyed the growing crowd of people. Some pointed and stared. Some called for the police. Others ran for their life.

"TARGET: LUCIANNA, THE PIRATE QUEEN, UNDETECTED. CURRENT THREAT LEVEL: INSIGNIFCANT."

The robot moved off the car, its feet leaving craters in the pavement. It held another hand up to its head and pressed a button along its helmet.

"MISSION FAILED. LUCIANNA UNDETECTED. SON OF WAYLON MOODY RETRIEVED. RETURNING TO HOMEBASE."

The robot turned and began to walk off.

A bright flash went off behind it, and the robot stopped, its head swiveling a full 180 degrees to observe.

Milo's eyes widened.

"Lucianna!"

The light faded, and in the road now stood a giant, green-skinned woman. Her muscles rippled and gleamed in the sun, as if she'd just finished a brutal workout. She grinned around two tusks that jutted from her bottom lip. A black bandanna covered her eyes.

(Blindfolded? Who is this woman?)

The robot fully turned around, its eyes whirring and scanning the muscular woman.

"TARGET SIGHTED: RIVRA SCRAPSTER, HEIR TO THE SCRAPSTER THRONE. FEDERTAION BOUNTY: 100,000,000 CREDITS. MUST BE ALIVE."

The robot dropped Milo, and he slammed into the pavement with a solid thud. He scrambled up and jumped back a few feet. This was his time to escape.

"If you run, you'll die."

It was the woman. Her head pointed in his general direction. "They know your face now. So no matter where you hide, they'll come after you." She rolled her shoulder, raising her fists into a fighting stance.

"Milo Moody! Your only hope is to come with me!"