The following morning was uneventful. Blissfully so, really. Bailey got up from that cramped bed, took herself a wonderful shower to clean off the sweat and liquor that had clung in sticky irritation to her body from the prior day, and performed her typical ritual of routines. Weekly estrogen injection. Daily skincare and make-up work. A little polish on her nails, a little light purple today, akin to the accents on Nataliza's mech for the potential meeting with… her. All standard stuff for a transgender mech pilot with more money than the gods.

Oh, her testosterone cream and little assortment of pills for that… other important thing. Couldn’t possibly forget about that. Wouldn’t want to be shooting piddly little drops of nothing from her cock like Sarah, would she now?

Upkeeping even the little bits of superiority, like coating a girl’s tits in more cum than they’d seen someone shoot in their lifetime, was what kept Bailey whole. She was better, and she fucking worked for it.

Beyond the routine, though, it was a quick exit; cash left on the bedside table while those pathetic bits of prey slept off a hangover of multitudes. Her drink closed back up for some fun at Corvis Base. Her skincare, gender-affirming care, and sexually affirming care had all been repacked into one of the satchels on her suit.

Easy as those two forgettable cuts of meat were.

Easier still was the walk back to her mech. She’d politely told the hotel receptionist that her two ‘friends’ would be up in an hour or two. She picked up her gun from the store, shining as spotlessly as the day it was bought for her. The streets were empty enough for the stroll back to the hangar not to drag on too long. Chalybe was a night town. Beyond Arcadium grunts and the odd person walking to a day job, things were wonderfully quiet.

Before long, Bailey was back in Circe’s cockpit, strapping herself into the chair and flicking the power back on to her mechanical beast. For the first time in a while, even that part held just a little smidge of excitement.

She made sure to take a few moments to adjust the lighting. Even a radio comms girl needed to see Bailey at her best, and it was simple enough to light Circe’s cockpit up like a photoshoot if she were so inclined.

Bailey was always inclined.

She dialed in the radio frequency while wearing the closest thing to a professional smile she could produce. Best to practice that, even if she answered these things on mute as a security concern. You never know who’s calling you, right?

The smile was still a little smug, but that was her brand. No use pulling out the teasing stops for whoever their comms girl was just yet. Get the job first. Fuck around with the caged birds later.

That courtesy slipped when the call was, seemingly accidentally, answered. There she was.

Right there.

No buildup.

No in-person reunion after fifteen long years.

Nataliza Rayfield, in the staticy, grainy view one would get from calling someone underground. The white pixie cut from the posters was there. A few wrinkles that got ironed out of said posters joined it. Still had those gen one communication cybernetics they’d replaced her ears with too. Even now they made her look like some kind of advanced cyber-elf. Too cheap to upgrade your best pilot to at least gen two modifications?

Disgraceful.

Nataliza was still hot; she wouldn’t lie to herself about that. Compared to Bailey, however, the rebel looked a good deal more than four years her senior. Maybe that was Bailey’s routine, or perhaps it was Nataliza’s lack of one. Either way, the years had been kinder to the former.

Bailey’s face turned into a rare expression for her. Not because the poor thing clearly didn’t have the energy for Bailey’s level of maintenance. Not because she didn’t want to talk to Nataliza. She expected the first part. She… wanted the second part. Hell, it should have been obvious that the precious thing wouldn’t want someone else talking to her prized ex. This should have been the obvious outcome. Debauchery with inferior sluts made it slip her mind.

No.

It was the ruined surprise for both of them that got her frowning for a moment. Bailey knew she was there. Nataliza knew she was coming. It was a crying shame she wouldn’t get to crash the entire world on the rebel hero in person, but what could you do? She could enjoy this call. She could see where it took them. She wouldn’t be dragging herself there wondering about the what-ifs.

But who was that weird girl with the pink hair behind the sitting hero? Surely Nataliza hadn’t moved on to sleeping with girls half her age. That’d be so… beneath her!

Nataliza Rayfield: Aoi, I promise you don’t need to coach me through this. Your computer’s really no more complicated than a Whitehawk.

Guess Bailey wouldn’t be waiting long to find out.

Entering a call accidentally and unmuted? Oh, Nataliza. Already so old that you’ve lost your touch with computers? Here Bailey thought her occasional back pain was a sign of the times. It’d hurt if it didn’t make the mercenary chuckle to herself. The frown was already gone, and it hadn’t even been a few seconds.

That’s her Nataliza.

Aoi Tarowaka: Nope! Wrong! You don’t have to feel bad about it! You’re waaaaaay older than Sierra, and I still had to teach her how my rig works!

That’s it… Aoi. Needle Nataliza for her. Make her job even easier. Bless this weird chick for having a computer with voice recognition that was compatible with Circe’s speech-to-text software. Handy to already know the name of one of these little birds.

Odd girl too… A voice blurring the line between air-headed and geeky. The pink hair. The purple, short-sleeved crop jacket with an old matching white crop top. It wasn't the rebel garb nor the ilk Bailey remembered seeing elsewhere.

Definite trans girl, though. The fashion and her role as a comms girl? Bailey could clock a girl good when she was sober. Exactly her ex’s type too. Haven’t changed a bit, have you, Nataliza?

Aoi: I still don’t know why ya wanna do this in the first place, y’know. It’s, like, the tenth potential contract merc I’ve spoken to in the last two months. Liz’s big bad ex can’t be that scary!

Bailey liked this one already. Intentional or not, she was a fine poker. Almost made Bailey fine with Nataliza spreading such scandalous, negative talk about her to her bird’s nest.

Absolutely made Bailey want to butt in now, but she waited. Patience tended to reward Bailey in every walk of life.

Nataliza: First of all. Watch your tone, Tarowaka.

Such a professional take on anger, Nataliza. The firebrand she knew would have cursed her out properly, but it was nice for Bailey to already have a bit of material to work with if she wanted to piss Nataliza off. Maybe less potent coming from someone four years her junior than the twenty-something comms girl standing by her, but unwrapping Nataliza was a long game of discovery anyway.

Nataliza: Second of all.

Now here came the fun part. What terrifying tale would Nataliza tell about her? What threats was she worried she might make to Aoi? Or was she concerned that Bailey’s bottomless charms would enrapture this one before she even stepped foot in her new home?

Nataliza: ...Look... It’s been a long time. Really damn long since we… well… didn’t part how I wanted. If she’s coming here. If she’s joining us, even for a few months… It has to be me to do this, alright? I have to know it’s her. Now.

Ah.

Well, that wasn’t quite as fun as what Bailey hoped for. Fifteen years and becoming the poster girl for an entire military outfit, yet that night still lived in her head all the same? Just like Bailey’s…

Bailey was frowning again. Parting like that pissed her off. Nataliza throwing her away for a merry band of revolving body bag meat pissed her off more. She didn’t get to feel bad about throwing her away. Not a chance.

Bailey resisted the growing urge to unmute her audio and video feeds. The emotions were worth storing and abusing, but this was for a job. Nataliza’s presence or not, this was work… and a new hunting ground. Get the job first… then she’d be yours.

Aoi: ...Kaaaaay. I’ll leave ya to do whatever that means! Your mic’s been on the whole time, and she’s there, by the waaaaaaay.

It was a little tough to focus on either when that Aoi girl exited the room with a wave and a damn comedy routine. Nataliza still blushed and flustered the same, at least. Bailey hadn’t even started talking and she was already slipping into her head, assuming she’d ever left at all.

Showtime.

Bailey clicked one of the many, many buttons on her dashboard and gave Nataliza a warm, cocky smile. Time to sound like the past reborn, Cluanaire. “Figured I’d be introducing myself to your assistant back there. Been a while, Lizzy~.” It all came out even easier than Bailey expected. Loath as she was to admit it to herself, this potential day crossed her mind frequently. A reunion of one sort or another. It was a recurring thought, spinning around in the deepest recesses of her mind.

And there Nataliza was, sizing her up with a difficult-to-discern look in her eyes. Concern? Envy? Distrust?

…Lust?

Nataliza: Haven’t changed a bit, Bailey… It’s… good to see you.

The rebel was never one to stun for long, though. Quick on her feet, quicker in the mind. A rebel bleeding heart doesn’t make it to her forties without both… and a good ability to lie. Good to see her?

Yeah, fucking right.

“Oh, we’ve both changed plenty. Looking great for a gal in your fifties.” Bailey didn’t hand out compliments for free, though. Certainly not to a girl she was still, over a decade later, extraordinarily pissed off at. What’s an insulting white lie between comrades, eh?

Nataliza: Forty-one.

“Ouch~.” Both the insult and the smug response were enough to get Liz growling a little, but the eyeroll from her made it clear to Bailey she knew the bluff. Clever little hawk, that part certainly hadn’t changed.

Nataliza: Cutting that bullshit here. You read the terms of your contract, yes? All checks out?

There she was. Back to business moments later, like Bailey hadn’t attempted to land a gut punch in her pride. Fifteen years didn’t change that iron resolve.

Thank the fucking gods. She’d be boring without it.

“You bet. Ninety percent of my daily rate for three months. No stepping foot off base outside a mission. My own bunk. Etcetera.” Bailey listed off the bullet points of the contract in a dull tone that contrasted her comfortable smile. Even when she was this pissed off at her, that just came naturally.

Nataliza almost smiled back; she could see it. She worked to keep that cold, military boredom the job asked of her instead.

Asshole. Bailey would coax something out of her yet.

Nataliza: You take your job seriously now, at least. Let me run you through one new detail, though…

The hero was lucky Bailey needed to retain a semblance of professionalism right now, or she’d have chewed Nataliza out something fierce for that petty jab.

All the good parts of her were still there, though… Fucker…

Nataliza: Three weeks ago we came across a key Arcadium asset. Took it back home and did some work on it. The UA is, with no doubt in my mind, going to be gunning for us harder than they ever have to get it back. This one is valuable. Real damn valuable. It’ll be a busy few months. Are you still in?

My, my.

Bailey had all the pieces to figure out where this was going already. Layla Manat’s sudden running off. United Arcadium and Limbic starting to dig their claws into each other’s bleeding stomachs.

What Layla’s friends were going to start doing to people…

Corvis Base had an Arcadium pilot. A good one. One good enough that the UA was about to spare no expense reclaiming her.

They’d gotten their hands on tools to reprogram her too. Good ones. Ones good enough that they had to have come from Limbic somehow.

The theory was confirmed. The rebels had an Arcadium birdie of their own. Fucking delicious. No wonder they were willing to sink below the dirt to hire Bailey. Their morals were clearly already in the muck.

Bailey already would have said yes just for the three months with Nataliza and the exploitable rebels surrounding her. But something this juicy? “In it as long as you’ll have me, Lizzy~.” Not a chance in hell she was saying no. This was everything she’d wanted wrapped into one beautiful gift that Nataliza herself was presenting.

A rebel den of future pets.

A conspiracy to dig her talons into.

…

…and her.

Whatever may come of such a thing with her again… it had to be the spark. That face Nataliza made only gave Bailey more delicious things to think about.

A face that screamed a lack of knowing.

How long did she truly want Bailey around? Deep in her soul, was this odd feeling mutual?

Who knew? They’d both have to find that one out.

Nataliza: Right. Well, orientation with me is in a few hours. I’ll get you acquainted with everyone, show you around, and sit in on your meeting with command. Coordinates should be sent to your pad shortly.

A whole day with Nataliza, and she gets to meet her precious flock? Throw in one of her blowjobs, and this might be the most interesting day Bailey’s had in years! “Be there before you know it. I’ll be sure to treat Corvis like my new home…” Bailey’s confidence was more palpable than ever. Whatever annoyances she had planned for Nataliza couldn’t have been anything good. “Hope you missed me, Lizzy… I missed a lot about you~.”

Nataliza didn’t quite have a response on hand. For once, she seemed to have nothing to say. A shame, Bailey couldn’t exactly latch onto silence… but she could latch onto the conflicted staring, even as the rebel closed their call with a stern salute and nothing else.

It’d take time. It’d take negging. It might even take using that ‘Arcadium asset’ as a means to a debauched end. If it came down to a big scheme, so be it. They were what Bailey excelled in…

But by the climax of these three months, Nataliza would be hers again…

…along with that whole damn base.



They were together again…

…the Valkyrie was astray…

…the Strix will sing...

…Bailey and Liz’s lives were going to change forever…

…the nest was theirs…