Mission complete!

The mostly predictable part of the day was now a good few hours behind Nataliza Rayfield. She was back home. Back in Corvis Base, the first and now only major rebel base located on planet Ansa. Though, with how deep underground the bird’s nest was, under planet Ansa may be more appropriate. A well-hidden den of rebellion still mostly unseen by Arcadium eyes. Sure, as Corvis morphed from a rebel pocket to the consolidated fighting force of Ansa’s whole resistance, the UA had narrowed its location down. But, for now, it was still only a fog of war on a map.

Those were thoughts Liz could allow to perish for a rare evening. Dinner with Sierra DeSoto and Ina Ymari, Corvis Base’s head mechanic and her well-loved girlfriend, took precedence over war tonight. Both were some of the few lasting bonds Liz had on the base. They and Bailey, with the possible inclusion of Aoi, were perhaps the only women Liz saw as friends. More than that in the case of… well…

More thoughts Liz could cast to the aether as she strolled the buried, winding steel halls of Corvis Base with Bailey Cluanaire. A stroll Liz was a wee smidge slow in the act of, come to think of it.

Damn augmented back pain. Liz’s body always ached after a mission, and not how it used to, either. The cramped cockpit of a rebel-produced mech suit wasn’t exactly a den of comfort when you were merely sitting in the thing. In battle, the rocking, shaking, and jostling did a number on the bodies of even the youngest, healthiest troops.

Ah, Ina’s first test flight was still a memory Liz held in the highest regard…

But, no, it wasn’t the typical pain. Pilots weren’t supposed to make it this far. A forty-one-year-old woman with augments older than some of the recruits she trained should have been dead or retired by now.

Not Liz. Her back, now more steel and wire than flesh and bone, would collapse under the weight of her resolve before she retired to a United Arcadium-run galaxy…

She’d make sure of it…

“You know. If your body’s aching, I know a real good masseuse. Former Arcadium pilot. Schemed me into signing up with you gals. Remember~?” Ever perceptive, weren’t you, Bailey? After a day in the Whitehawk, even the walk from the hangar to her bunk could be an arduous chore. Throw in a shower, an outfit change, and a walk with your teasing… partner… yeah, the fatigue was obvious.

“Unless she wants to massage me with a screwdriver and a lubricant change, that girl’s hands have more useful places to be.” Liz replied with a dry tone and a light smile on her face. Fatigued as she may be and concerned by Bailey’s potential behavior as she was, it was nice just walking Corvis Base’s fluorescent halls with a little company. “I’m actually a little surprised that’s what you get up to with Sasha. Seems tame by your standards.” Company Liz could be more openly jokey with, it seemed.

Mh, there was that smile on Bailey’s face. The one that Liz knew meant she had a conversational grenade pin to pull. “Oh, well, I could chat about her boot thing. Or the whip I bought. Or the shock collar. Oh, the cattle pr-”

“Alright, alright. Point made. Forget I said anything.” Liz was quick to cut Bailey off before that list got any more intense. Bailey and Sasha’s business wasn’t her concern tonight.

“Fiiine, but you’re missing out not giving her another shot. But… I guess… maybe she’s just not your type~…” There was the explosion from that aforementioned grenade. The grin on Bailey’s face and the flirtatious joy in her voice made the intent clear, but Liz wasn’t nibbling at that bait. She was above that now…

“Right…” Even a simple, grunted reply grew Bailey’s grin. But, ignoring the own goal Liz gave her, the return to base was fairly normal. A few wisecracks. A shower fast enough for her bragged-about quickie with an infantry girl not to delay their plans. Normal things.

Hell, she even offered a gift of peace in the form of a partial bottle of cream liqueur. Liz insisted they both sip from it first, of course. You never knew with Bailey, but it was clean. They were clean. Gods, maybe she was changing…

“By the way… You’re sure you don’t want to head back and change, Lizzy? Got a nice black dress for you if you want to look less… rustic.” Changing a little, at least… Bailey’s smug teasing in that despicably alluring voice would likely die as soon as hell froze over.

Sadly, Bailey did have a point in her transparent attempt to get Liz in some slutty outfit of hers. The rebel ace was dressed unmistakably like she was going out into the trenches over on planet Solum. It was a simple dream team of a standard-issue, light olive-colored combat jacket, black undershirt, and gray combat pants. Classic and comfy. Great for a hike. Less so for dinner, according to someone.

At least that someone liked the leather combat boots, a sickening comfort to Liz that had grown over time…

“I look fine. You, however, are completely overdressed. It’s dinner with Sierra an hour after she’s clocked out. We’ll be lucky if she’s not in her work uniform.” Liz half-knew fighting this was pointless. For Bailey, the superiority and the half-serious arguments with Liz were the whole damn point.

“You’re not the only one with a reputation to keep, you know? I look so much better than fine, Lizzy. Your eyes can’t lie to me~.” Getting to talk to Liz like that came as naturally to Bailey as breathing and smugly smiling. Damn showoff.

Still, Liz couldn’t pretend Bailey wasn’t rocking her pricey outfit like the gorgeous, poisonous succubus she was. Tight, form-fitting skinny jeans showed off the lower body the ex-merc worked diligently to maintain. They were paired with a pair of high-heeled, ankle-high, leather dress boots only a shade of brown darker than Bailey’s smooth, meticulously cared-for skin. Unbelievable that she was four years Liz’s junior… downright unfair if you asked Liz after a few glasses of wine…

Fine boots, pricey pants, and youthful looks weren’t all that Bailey had to flaunt to her rebel comrades. An unbuttoned red leather jacket that reached down to Bailey’s ample thighs was more than overkill, especially paired with a tight black dress shirt. Her coat even had holes at the back for Bailey’s cybernetic arms. A custom job for a woman obsessed with being one of a kind.

Liz looked like a trench fighter. Bailey looked like she was headed out for drinks more expensive than a two-year supply of rebel rations. Perhaps, in a cosmic way, it only made sense that both of them were dressed like varyingly out-of-place oddities. Cosmic partners joined by skill, lust… and something else… something that smelled like Bailey’s pricey perfume and expensive leather polish.

“Ansa to Lizzy. If you wanna stare, I could always do my next poster shoot in this outfit, but we wouldn’t want to be late for dinner, hm~?” Dammit, Liz. How long was she ogling her there? Seemingly long enough for the closed double doors to Sierra’s workshop to be in view.

“Your posters are your business; I was just appreciating the silence for a second.” A brazen lie, and one Bailey would have likely called out if their destination wasn’t a few steps away. Saved by the bell from having to explain why she was admiring Bailey’s orange eyes and near-matching dark orange hair. That side swoop had to be a bitch to maintain…

Bailey was a woman pulled from her damn dreams. Why did it have to be her?

“Riiight. Best behavior, hm? Just like you said.” Bailey’s upbeat tone, cheeky smile, and hands in her jacket’s pockets inspired anything but confidence in Liz. What did good behavior even look like for a woman like Bailey?

Was this a bad idea? Too late to ask that now.

“I mean it, too. Mess with me all you want in our own time, but my friends—your comrades… aren't some sleazy hookers, got it?” Liz let the worries fade as she approached the door with a stern reminder of the earful Liz gave Bailey in their bunk, minus the threats of no sex for a month. Couldn’t risk someone listening in on that. Liz waited for Bailey to acknowledge it too, a balled-up hand floating by the metal sliding doors of Sierra’s abode away from her abode.

“Mm. If they’re close to you, they’re close to me. Need me to pinkie swear on that, or have I earned your trust~?” With a cheeky tone like that? Unlikely. But Liz could regret this if and when it went wrong.

“Best. Behavior.” With Bailey pacified to the best of her ability, Liz’s hand made a few slow knocks against the scratchy steel door in front of them.

A few seconds later, the doors opened from the other side. Standing in the doorway was Corvis Base’s head mechanic and fellow ace pilot in her own right, Sierra DeSoto. As Liz predicted, the woman was still in her work uniform, though calling it that may be a tad too professional. A white tank top, blue jean shorts, and some cheap black work boots were all Sierra was typically seen in if work didn’t demand safer garments. It all fit the muscular, tanned heartthrob, though Liz was sure Bailey had comments to make about her chaotic, ponytailed orange haircut. She definitely had words in her mind about the pleather boots.

Liz hated that she did too… in a deep recess of her mind…

“Hey, girl! C’mere!” Ever the excitable ball of spunkiness, Sierra was immediate in the act of pulling Liz in for a loving, tight hug. She’d gotten better at managing her brute strength, but sometimes Liz still worried one of these would leave dents in the cold metal that made up her back, even as she returned the embrace.

“Been too long, DeSoto. You almost had me worried I’d die without tasting your cooking again.” Liz spoke with a calm, slight jokiness in her voice as the pair pulled away from the sudden hug. It seemed to get a smile out of Bailey, not that Liz was looking, of course.

“Ah, you know how it is. UA finally flies away with a wounded wing for a bit, and crap gets even busier here. Not to mention all that work on Hedone I did for your girl.” Sierra smirked and gave Liz a light jab in the shoulder to match the verbal right hook given to the fellow rebel ace. Come on, Liz. Don’t blush. Don’t do that.

“Fine work, by the way. I didn't think a rebel mechanic could ever scrape together something that flies like my Circe. We should finally get Lizzy in a mech that isn’t older than most of the recruits~.” Before Liz could get a word in, Bailey slipped in with a line of attack Sierra would likely agree with. She could have said worse. Certainly would have in private. That was a… plus?

Sierra stifled a laugh and turned her gaze to the stylishly dressed ex-merc. “Please. Been beatin’ that drum since I first got here. Think it’ll take some kinda nightmare scenario to get her in a mech I don’t gotta stitch back together every few months. Right, Liz?” Sierra was still smirking, and the two of them poking at her should very well be that nightmare scenario. One almost wouldn’t think Sierra had reservations about this dinner at all…

“I’ll fly the Whitehawk until I can’t anymore. Besides, you look happy stitching her back together.” Liz took the teasing in a similarly amused stride. Sierra was a more lax jokesmith, and Bailey partaking in her kind of negs was almost refreshing. No mentions of a rimjob or sucking Bailey off in the communal shower. This was decidedly normal so far.

Where was the catch…?

“Ah, ya got me. Ain’t like my Alcazar is a modern marvel.” A fun reply too, followed by a look that seemed to be dressing down her two guests. “Okay, look, before we eat. The outfits.” Liz didn’t usually get second opinions on unserious spats with Bailey. This could be the chance to take a well-deserved victory lap with her comrade. This could be good.

“Mhm~?” Bailey, as if to further flex both status and wealth, stretched like a smug cat in her overkill clothes, letting one of her white, skeletal cybernetic arms come out to join the organic pair in their stretch.

Showoff.

Sierra’s eyes stayed on Bailey in what seemed like a win for Liz. That’s it. She was the unreasonably dressed one. “I mean, I kinda expected you to dress like that. The perfume ya got on is nice, but my workshop’s no five-star gourmet joint. Only showin’ off for yourself.” Perfect. For once Liz felt validated in one of her and Bailey’s quarrels.

“Oh, not just for myself~.” Liz was almost satisfied enough to let Bailey’s smug, flirty tease entirely miss her. Almost. Damn flushed cheeks.

Wait… Didn’t Sierra say outfits? Plural? “Look, Liz, I love ya, girl, but you look like you’re about to pick up a Kalashnikov and head out to fight for our motherland. Not eat with your pals.” It was almost a win for Liz on the battlefield of Bailey’s incessant teasing. But she wouldn’t lose sleep over it. She liked her outfit. Maybe she would have liked one of Bailey’s skimpy dresses more, but… she had a reputation to uphold.

“Gotta write that one down…” Bailey snickered a little. That was perhaps almost enough to get under Liz’s skin, but she was a stubborn woman. Bailey’s opinion only mattered a completely normal amount to her!

“Alright, we get your point.” Liz didn’t let the disappointment dampen her spirit. A smile was still on her face. Her outfit was fine!

“We~?” Bailey’s smirky response almost tested that, though.

“We. Different outfits next time. With that out of the way… can we come in?” But she survived. Liz could continue this sort of incessant bit with Bailey and Sierra, or she could eat with those closest to her. The latter sounded nicer.

“Ah, I’m just messin’ with ya. If ya wanna get the matchin’ clown fits next time, I can’t stop ya… Although… Actually, Ina’s afraid of them, so…” Sierra chuckled to herself after that. Bailey in a clown outfit. There’s a confusing image for Liz to think on. “But, yeah, come on in already. Just don’t expect some nice candle lighting or anythin’. I’m lucky they let me fit a kitchen in there!” Sierra spoke again before offering a vaguely hesitant handshake to Liz’s… partner.

Bailey even did her nails in the same violet as the Whitehawk’s accents tonight. Really thought of everything, didn’t she? “After you, Lizzy.” Bailey had returned to some normalcy, though. No hesitancy in the handshake, and no leading statement about Liz’s sweet ass or juicy tits.

Liz was quick to enter the workshop. Even an easy mission works up a real good appetite that basic rations never manage to fill. Gods, the smell of… what was that? Red wine? Onions? Definitely the artificial ones, but the smell was unmistakable. Ah, Sierra’s simple red wine risotto. She and Bailey were in for a treat.

“Love what you’ve done with the place.” Alas, Bailey was quicker still to tease their host for the less than romantic dining environment. Not an entirely invalid critique. A smattering of drills, screwdrivers, saws, and further implements used on Sierra’s smaller-scale bot projects were scattered between workbenches and tables. Blueprints for projects at varying stages of development joined them. Augment ideas. Armor designs. Tweaks for existing mechs on base and new suits she was yet to pitch to command. Already getting to work on ideas for a Whitehawk Gen 5? Make Liz feel a little older, why don’t you?

Most prevalent were Sierra’s passion projects. A few half-built internals designed for these small battle bots she liked. Purely a recreational pastime in between her more important work. She’d shown Liz a few bot matches in the past. Not her cup of tea, but most combat sports tended not to be. A fight had to mean something to Liz. Something serious or something passionate.

Ah, perhaps that was the root of attraction to Bailey Cluanaire. Probably, Liz. Probably.

“It’ll grow on ya. If Liz can eat in here, then so can you!” Sierra simply brushed off Bailey’s comment with a smile and a shutting of the workshop’s sliding doors. Mess that it was, the place was spacious, at least. One could complain about eating where one works with messy machinery, but Liz would eat in a broom closet for Sierra’s cooking.

The workshop’s dinner table was relatively spotless, too. It was a large hunk of rectangular steel nestled in the empty far-right corner of the spacious room, joined by four matching steel chairs. Sure, a health inspector would certainly say these weren’t ideal eating conditions, but when the alternative is scarfing down dubious printed food in the mess halls, the risk of breathing in some sawdust wasn’t high on Liz’s list of worries.

“Well, Lizzy’s tastes do tend to match my own! Oh, reminds me…” Bailey presented a gift with her right cyber-arm, tactically hidden with it behind her back beforehand. About a third of a bottle of top-shelf cream liqueur was offered to Sierra, who gave Liz a subtle look of distrust.

Ah, that catlike smirk from Bailey. She knew what Sierra was thinking. She reveled in it. Sexy little asshole.

Liz gave an approving nod, and Sierra responded to it by eagerly taking the bottle from the grip of Bailey’s prosthetic claws. “Spreadin’ the wealth to us tonight, Cluanaire? Maybe we should’ve dressed up like you did, after all, eh?” Sierra mused while idly strolling over to the workshop’s half-set dining table to place the bottle down. The odds anyone other than Bailey and a less than proud Liz would drink more than a sip were low. Sierra wasn’t much of a drinker, and Ina was a lightweight who leaned towards the wine on her infrequent forays.

Just when Liz was starting to wonder what Ina was actually up to, a single door near the prior-mentioned dining table slid open to reveal the fourth dinner participant. “H-Hi, Liz!” As fast as the door opened, the quiet-spoken girl jogged at a brisk pace towards Liz. Faster still, the pair were locked in what one could only describe as a warm, parental hug. A hug Liz revelled in as the younger girl rested her chin on the hero’s shoulder.

Ina Ymari was, in many ways, an odd girl. A shy, quiet mess who piloted a mech suit with the best on the base. Ina may have been an unknown quantity for a while, but the HF38 Kashmir was anything but. She remained quiet for a while… until Sasha dug her socially powerful talons into her and, rather nicely, got her out of her shell!

Within a few months, Ina had a girlfriend many on the base would give a limb to be with. She had a genuine friendship with Aoi, something neither girl thought could be possible, but opposites can match like that… Gods, did Liz know that well…

Then there was the development Liz had kickstarted, and Sasha, the matchmaking minx, had likely nudged. The rebel ace never tolerated upstarts. Before Liz saw Ina in a mech suit, she seemed like a doomed rookie who’d get someone killed… but then Liz saw her fly. Ina was shy and socially unskilled, but you got that girl in the cockpit of the Kashmir, and she made a shipping frame move like the best-built sniping mech anyone had ever seen. She was a lifesaver. Damn good tactician too. Liz and she were a decent team on the field.

That’s how they stayed for a while. A pilot duo who rarely spoke otherwise. Though, just before Sasha’s arrival at the base, a bond began to form between the two. Respectful, unique admiration of who Liz was by Ina, and a nurturing protectiveness from Liz in return. They were a little shake-up to each other’s lives that was sorely needed, though not quite to the level of Sierra and Bailey, respectively. Sasha too, really. Damn pigeon…

“Hey, kid!” It was all still odd to Liz, even as she greeted the girl with a level of happy nonchalance to their hugfest. Perhaps Liz always wanted a daughter, and while Ina wasn’t entirely that, she gave Liz the rarity of a damn good pilot she could also nurture outside their war machines… Maybe the war would go on long enough to prevent Liz from having a real kid with… someone… but Ina may very well be the closest thing… “What’s with the apron? Don’t tell me this meal’s an Ina special.” For now, Liz was just eager to spend a little quality time with her favorite tactician. Sorry, Aoi.

Liz tried not to look at Bailey’s face as the hug eventually dissipated. Mission failed, and those rays of utterly smug joy on her face could probably cook the risotto on their own. She hated when that woman might be right. Thankfully, Sierra interjected from the dinner table at the perfect moment. “Figured since she wasn’t runnin’ the chess club today, I could try and teach Ina another recipe. My roomie’s gotta be able to cook, eh?” Now that was just cute, but nearly every interaction between the two warmed Liz’s heart a little. “Ya did great, by the way. I’ll have ya workin’ up new recipes with me in no time, honey!” That bit warmed Ina’s cheeks a good deal more.

“Risotto is e-easy. Cooking is almost a little relaxing, actually…” Ina spoke with a soft smile shining over at Sierra. “O-Oh, right!” Then she spun, taking a few steps over to Bailey and offering out… a handshake… a high-five… Liz couldn’t really parse it... “It’s nice to, um… meet you outside of work, Bailey. Liz talks about you a lot! Usually good things, too!” Ah, great, now Ina and Liz were blushing. The ace would be mad if it wasn’t kind of adorable.

Bailey, for her part, seemed to guide it to a high-five with a cyber-arm in a way natural enough for Ina not to feel embarrassed. “Does she now…? Well, Liz talks plenty about you too. If you’re as good to talk to as you are on the field… we’re going to get along well~.” Oh, Liz did not trust that tone at all. Pervy, yet… oddly sweet.

What the hell was her angle?

Liz and Sierra exchanged a look but silently agreed that Bailey hadn’t done anything too off yet. Aoi was similarly flirty and that girl was more… blunt. It was a miracle Ina survived the nosebleeds…

“Ahe… I-I hope! A partner of Liz’s is a friend o-of mine.” Ina may be a shy, former recluse, but she could read a girl’s tone. Whatever intent there was in Bailey’s voice, it was enough to keep her cheeks in a state of blush, even as she turned to speak to Sierra. “A-Ah! The butter should be stirred. We can get it ready whenever…” The looks on the three other faces in the room seemed about as ready for a meal as they ever had. She could practically taste those synthetic mushrooms already…

Hey, wait, did Ina call Bailey her partner???

“Sick! Thanks, hon… Yo, Bailey.” Liz was saved from those thoughts by another intervention from one of her friends, watching as Sierra’s eyes gave Bailey a fiery little look. “Come get dinner plated with me. Could use the extra hands… and I’d like to talk to ya about somethin’.” Liz noticed that Sierra’s still casual words didn’t contain a question, and Bailey appeared to cop on to that fact at the same pace, already starting to stroll to the kitchen door with a smirk.

“Well, you’re bossing around the right woman there, aren’t you, Sierra~?” Bailey, to flaunt herself further, brushed at her hair with a cyber-arm. “Consider me your underpaid waitress.” Liz could pick at her behavior all night, but as long as her jokery settled on subtle flirting and harmless teasing, then Liz couldn’t say she wasn’t trying.

Liz even smiled. Gods, she hated finding this egotist charming.

“Don’t remember sayin’ I’d pay ya at all, moneybags. Get your ass in there; I don’t want our hard work goin’ cold!” Sierra laughed a little, but there was a look in her eyes… something serious. Was it odd for Liz to be worried about Bailey?

Eh, she’d be fine.

“Oh, on it, boss.” With a smirked, toying reply, Bailey was first to step into the kitchen.

Sierra followed along a second later, getting about halfway through the door and turning towards Liz and Ina with a grin. “You two make yourselves comfortable. We’ll just be a sec. Might even keep your girl in one piece, Liz.” Not another blush, Liz. Come on now. You’re forty-one!

When the door to the kitchen closed, Ina was the one to break the ensuing very brief silence. “Um, after you!” Guess it made sense to take a seat and chat with the ever-so-nervous younger girl.Liz could pry info about Bailey’s private chat later…

Within a few seconds, both Liz and Ina had taken the inside seats opposite to each other, seemingly in consideration of their partners. Sierra was a big girl. Bailey… well, those extra arms of hers got real animated if you could get her chatting. Better to avoid getting hit by one of them and needing to smack her back if she got cocky about it.

The brief silence after was awkward, but it did give Liz a chance to appreciate how happy her young friend looked. There was so much more life in her tawny beige face. A more constant, confident smile, even when Sierra was absent. To think, the girl went from exclusively transitioning from her bunk to her mech and back again to inviting two girls to dinner with her prize of a lover. All in a few months. Here Liz thought getting her to open that chess club was progress.

Leave a little nurturing for her, Sasha…

“I’m still a little surprised how much that old coat suits you, you know that, kid?” Liz had her own ways of nurturing the base’s shy kitten, at least. The rebel ace wasn’t quite a mistress of the gifting art. Despite that flaw, she wanted to do something for Ina’s birthday last month, and Liz’s first rebel uniform jacket seemed like that perfect mix of sentimental and cheap. It was a damn fine coat, too. A thick, well-lined beige one with a soft, fuzzy grey collar. Built to last, yet built for pilots who were seen as anything but. Funny how that worked.

For twenty-three years, Liz had that thing. A piece of uniform hardly a year younger than Ina herself. Perhaps the thing would give Ina the same luck Liz managed to have over the years. Maybe, just maybe, it could be a charm that would see them both to the end of this war…

“I was worried it might be a little big… and tight in… p-places…” It took everything Liz had as a caring friend not to snort at that, but she managed to contain it to a growing, warm-seeming smile while Ina continued. “It’s great, though. Really soft and roomy. Did all the uniforms used to be this comfy?” Ina even managed to get herself out of a stammering fit while she spoke. Doing her proud, kiddo.

“Depended on where you were stationed. Ansa gets cold as sin during winter; that used to mean a warm jacket was the least Command gave. Now… well, weapons come first, I suppose.” Liz mused with a look of nostalgia in her purplish eyes. The augments may have gotten better and infinitely safer as time went on, but the girl couldn’t help missing her old uniform, fine as she was with the better armor and… unsubtle fit of her current turtlenecked flight uniform.

How unfortunate that she and Bailey shared such form-fitting uniforms. The few joint posters Liz had done with the ex-merc were more pinups than recruitment posters… and those nude ones… ludicrous idea from Command. Perverts…

“I mean, I definitely have some, um… attachment to my blue jacket. It was nice having my mech’s model number on the shoulder…” Ina rescued Liz from thoughts of posing with her tits pressed against Bailey’s with a little sweetness.

The day Ina saw that poster hanging somewhere… perish that thought immediately.

“I’m sure I could convince Command to get us a patch to iron on the thing. The Kashmir’s an HF38, right?” Liz was almost beaming at the thought of seeing her old coat imbued with a little personal touch from its new owner. “Maybe another rook one, too, eh?” Gods, she really was acting like the girl’s mom…

“I-I’d love that! It would be nice to wear this during chess club meetings…” The way Ina beamed right back at Liz? Almost the proudest Liz had ever felt, right there. Like an entirely different girl from the one she first helped train. “I wanted to ask, actually…” Different enough to be asking questions unpressed too. Go, Ina! “I’m, um… I’m moving into Sierra’s bunk tomorrow, and… well, Aoi is nice, but if she helps me move, I feel like she might steal one of my plushies and find my… um… A-Anyway, would you mind helping me…?” Now that was just sweet. A real act of trust Liz never would have seen from Ina before Sasha got here.

“Happy to, kid. Can help you out right after drills tomorrow.” Liz’s smile was warmer than anyone else had ever seen it, and just as their conversation reached a natural end, the kitchen door slid open.

Dinner time, thank the fucking Gods. Liz could eat the chair she was sitting on right about now. “Glad you’re looking hungry, Lizzy. I really slaved away plating this for you~.” She could have eaten a lot of things when Bailey’s smug voice beckoned Liz’s attention...

Admittedly, it was nice seeing Bailey be a genuine use to her comrades in a casual setting, attitude notwithstanding. Her two cyber-arms carried a plate each of hot, mouth-watering risotto. The two organic ones above carried two wine glasses each for the peace offering of liquor sitting at the table.

“Goin’ on like ya cooked the damn thing. Still, appreciate the extra hands!” Sierra smirked to herself as she placed a plate in front of Ina, then took her place next to her short girlfriend.

“Mh. I’m just glad to be helping out.” Bailey’s smugness never faded, even in the act of helping her partner’s friend. “And you were worried I'd do something weird, Lizzy. I’ll be teaching troops gun safety and handing them condoms with you in no time~.” Ah, yes, normal woman Bailey Cluanaire with the most normal statement of the last few minutes. Enough to get a snort out of Sierra and, admittedly, Liz.

Ever a showoff, Bailey seemed to figure she might as well get the drink pouring out of the way as well. After opening the bottle and keeping it held with an organic hand, the three remaining appendages grabbed a glass each, pouring away into each one with a slight, flaunting smile. One for Liz. One for Ina. One for Sierra…

Ah, and a final one to pour separately for herself. If only she had a fifth arm, right?

With the drinks poured and a confident smile shot at Liz, Bailey had taken her place next to her… partner. Overall, the move seemed to impress, though Sierra hadn’t exactly kept her appreciation for the arms’ expert engineering a secret prior, even in her more distant months around the ex-merc. “Neat…” Ina’s little coos of impressed wonder could have made all three’s hearts stop, though… if for three different reasons.

Helping plate food. Doing tricks to impress Liz’s friends… This was all nice and sweet… What the hell was Bailey’s angle?

Food first, Liz.

“Your friends aren’t going to make us say grace, hm?” Or a slight tease from Bailey first. That should have been obvious.

“God, no. If I don’t eat somethin’ soon, I’m gonna start bitin’ you.” Sierra, as she had a knack for doing, took Bailey’s jab in stride. It was always a little weird hearing the ol’ singular ‘God’ in a sentence, though. It was never a conversation Liz wanted to have, but she did wonder to herself how Sierra wrestled with the lesbian Catholic thing…

“Meow, DeSoto~.” Fortunately for Liz, Bailey seemed as uninterested in a lesson on religious texts as anyone could have predicted, simply toying back with a trail of her tongue along her lips.

Poor Ina. She wasn’t even Bailey’s target, and the cheeks were a little red.

“Eat your damn food, ya pervert. Save your cat sounds for Liz.” Sierra’s cheeks flushed an amount subtle enough to almost slip by, but she laughed the woman off. Without another word from her, she was scarfing down risotto like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. Liz couldn’t blame her either. Maintaining a physique like Sierra’s while battling the caloric intake of piloting a mech suit? That was almost more impressive than Bailey’s maintenance work…

Sadly, it was almost to Liz… Stupid, sexy, toned supermodel of a woman…

“If you insist…” Bailey smiled, but Liz knew of her doubts about Sierra’s cooking. Not unreasonable doubts either, to be fair. Rebel cooking with synthetic ingredients sounded like a one-way ticket to dysentery, not a gourmet-quality meal. Nevertheless, Bailey picked up her fork with one of her cyber-hands, picked up a small helping of the reddish-brown mix of herbs, rice, stock, and vegetables, and then took a bite. A very… very satisfied bite. “Mph… You’re fucking kidding me.” Bailey’s still casual smile hid most of her shock, but given the immediate second bite, then a third right after, it was clear Sierra’s talent with fake mushrooms had claimed itself another new fan.

“Never doubt me again.” Liz took a moment to bask in the self-satisfaction one enjoyed in getting a win over Bailey Cluanaire. Liz knew Sierra’s food was a wonder of the culinary arts, and she enjoyed every slow bite she took with the joy of knowing Bailey was proven wrong.

But Bailey got her cosmic win in return as Liz then sipped away at her glass of cream liqueur. A petty victory that Liz had convinced herself she hated the taste to drown the memories, only for Bailey to get her drinking it again within a few months. Like Bailey herself, the stuff just went down right for Liz… and maybe she’d never grasp why.

“They couldn’t make real onions taste this good back on Earth… Maybe I really do like this little nest you invited me to more than the Guild, Lizzy~.” Bailey gave Liz a nudge before turning her attention to her own glass of liqueur. She took a smooth, slow sip while looking subtly in the direction of her… partner. A taunt? A flirt? Yet another damn angle Liz had to consider. At least she wasn’t blushing this time.

“What can I say? Ya do somethin’ for a decade, and you’re gonna get good at it. Just wish I could get my hands on some real vegetables, though…” Sierra took the chance to bask in pride before patting Ina on the shoulder not long after. “But I wasn’t the only chef today. Wouldn’t have been possible without this expert little sous chef!” Another shoulder pat followed the even more prideful praise of Sierra’s girlfriend, who had already begun to enter blush mode once more.

“I-I only really stirred stuff…” Ina tried to hide away from said praise behind blushing and chewing but eventually seemed to relent by leaning over to kiss Sierra on the cheek. “Thank you, th-though…” It was enough to make Liz’s heart feel fuzzy. Adorable.

“That’s my girl… Hey, crap. I almost forgot!” Sierra interrupted what was likely to be more delicious food talk to turn her eyes to Bailey. This had to be important. “The arms. Never got the chance, but I’d love to know more about how they work. Assumin’ ya don’t mind me interruptin’ your eatin’?” Okay, so not very important at all. Nothing new, either. Liz and Bailey had the arm chat a few months back. Curiosity killed the cyber-elf and all…

She’d never live down those ear augments… Basic comms without any gear was never going to be worth the cyber-elf jokes from Bailey…

Still, maybe it was nice that Bailey got along with Sierra so far… Even if she was growing more curious about their chat by the second…

“Oh, not at all~.” Bailey saw a chance to brag about her finest expense, and it seemed like she was taking it. “What do you want to know? That Lavern girl gave me a very thorough rundown, and Estelle. Well, you know how chatty she gets about her work.” Taking it well, too, between sips of liqueur, at least.

“Hell, give me everythin’ ya know if these two don’t mind.” Sierra pointed towards her lover and Liz with a look of curious inquisition taking over her face.

“I-I was a little curious too… They seem really intricate!” Ina gave Sierra a thumbs up and asserted her own hunger for info. Well, Liz would be an ass to spoil the fun for Bailey now.

“Ah, I guess I can hear it again.” Liz looked over at Bailey, giving her a gentle smile in hopes of encouraging her normalcy.

“You get to hear it dressed this time too, Lizzy. Lucky you~.” A foolish hope to think Bailey would ever treat a doting glare from Liz normally.

“Ass.” Liz frowned, but she blushed about as brightly as she was previously smiling. Ina blushed too. Sierra… dammit, another snort? Show some solidarity, you traitor!

“So, the arms…” Bailey disregarded her flirty teasing just as suddenly as she’d turned it on, taking a sip from her dwindling liquor supply as she readied her info dump. “I didn’t pry too hard on the material list she gave me. She told me how to keep them clean and working; beyond that, it’s all different metals, polymer, and a dash of prototype love.” Another sip followed her mostly useless info on her far less useless arms.

“I could probably gather what it’s made of from just lookin’ at ‘em. Tell me how they work. That’s the real juice I’m tryin’ to figure out for my project.” Liz had to wonder what Sierra could possibly be building akin to Bailey’s arms but felt it best not to pry. If Bailey wasn’t screwing Sierra around, then there was real info to divulge now.

“Oh, now that I know intimately!” Bailey, to her credit, seemed eager to divulge it, too. Eager enough to put down her glass and use one of those skeletal cyber-arms to start gesturing and pointing at her back with a thumb. “Most of my back’s made of white metal, polymer, and rubber. My little Frankenstein doctor replaced as much of my spine as she could. Lot of it’s taken up by a cooling system and wires. Fully neurally controlled.” Bailey clearly was no technician based on her description, but with how naturally her cyber-arms moved, it was clear she knew what she needed to. “I think Estelle described it as… Right, a miracle that Lizzy and I haven’t both burst into flames. Informative enough for ya~?” Ah, the base’s doctor had such a way with words.

“Cool…” Ina beat Sierra to the punch with a small bit of praise under her breath. A brief word before returning to scarfing down risotto.

“That’s insane? But… hm… Liquid cooling is probably built into the artificial spinal discs… Had to have moved a buncha organs around… Don’t even think I’ve seen a girl with a Gen 4 neural link and no port.” Bailey’s limited description seemed to be plenty for Sierra, whose eyes were almost lighting up at whatever insane nonsense work was currently keeping Bailey standing, let alone with full control over two advanced cybernetics. “It’s genius… Hey, if you’re free tomorrow, I’d love to get a real look at those things. Even just an x-ray and findin’ out what those things are made of would really help an idea I’ve got...”

Bailey and Sierra, alone in a room together. Eh, Liz didn’t need to worry about that. Bailey… seemed willing to be normal. The bigger worry was Sierra snapping her in half before lunch…

“Well, if you want to treat me like a lab rat… I’m going to need some incentive, DeSoto~.” Another lick of her lips and the sultriest her voice had gotten all night. Guess Liz was about to find out early if Sierra could handle Bailey’s womanizing.

Sierra couldn’t resist a louder snort than her earlier attempts at stifling laughs. “Pfah! Keep what I said in there in your head, and maybe I’ll humor that.” Yeah, Liz had nothing to worry about. Sierra was made of muscle and iron. Though, after just a small sip of her glass of liquor, that iron may have shown a weakness in the form of a grimace. “Crap!!! No offense, Bailey, I appreciate the gesture ‘n all, but this stuff is rancid.” Or a strength, depending on who you asked.

“I find it’s an acquired taste~.” Bailey always took it in stride. She wasn’t bottling the stuff herself, after all. In her eyes, it just proved she was better for liking the finer things. Ass. Stupid, gorgeous, alluring ass. “Well, I know Lizzy likes it… What does little Ina think, though, hm~?” Ah, there was the immediate look of protection appearing on Sierra’s face. Subtle, but Liz knew it was there. Bailey, for her part, seemed innocent as her assured face could in its questioning, though.

…Liz was ready to intervene, but this could be harmless.

“O-Oh, right. Well, let me…” Ina took even light social pressure about as well as most pilots took their mech suit’s arm coming off. Stuttering. Blushing. Immediately dropping her fork with a clang as her hand swooped up her glass of liquor. She was quick to take a first sip, despite those nervous behaviors… and quicker still to take a less cautious second one. “That’s n-nice, actually… I think I like it even more than the wine we h-had with Sasha and Lark last week…” Color the other three surprised! A wine and cream liqueur fan…

Ina was like a compound of her and Bailey’s alcoholic indulgences… Odd. Probably great fuel for Bailey. Unfortunate.

“Would you look at that? Three to one, Sierra. What do I win~?” Bailey smirked and lightly verbally poked her way through an unimportant social victory. The banter was nice, but Liz still figured there had to be an angle.

“My glass of this junk.” Sierra toyed with Bailey in return as she placed her barely drunk liqueur on the braggart’s side of the table.

“More for me, Liz, and your pretty girlfriend, then.” Bailey was never one to lose a game of teases, and Sierra’s eye roll before returning to her food was what Liz knew as a sign of victory to the four-armed pilot. “I wonder if our commissary could source another bottle for next time, assuming Lizzy is willing to allow it.” After Sierra and Ina were prodded enough for a moment, Bailey’s attention turned back to Liz…

…and Liz’s attention was squarely on her. The use of the word our. Wanting liqueur for next time… There had to be some kind of angle that Liz wasn’t seeing… Was it Ina? Perhaps it was Ina.

Oh, Liz would find out.

“Keep behaving, and this might just become a regular thing. Got it?” Liz tried not to wear the stern commander tone too hard. Smiles and a little joy in her voice. Grill your… partner later.

“Mh, hope you’re saying the same when we have our fun with Aoi next week, LIzzy~.” Or now. Liz could grill that smug, overconfident brat right now in front of everyone for making her blush like a teenager with a crush.

Calm. Ina didn’t even seem to get Bailey’s smug, leering comment as she cleaned off the final bits of rich, divine risotto from her plate. Sierra. “Lucky you, Liz!” Well, Sierra got it immediately, with a slight smirk joining her much lighter jab.

“Not even entertaining talking about this at the dinner table, so zip it, both of you.” Liz was always so cute to Bailey when she put her foot down. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she wouldn’t take it seriously, but at least Sierra nodded in understanding. “How’s chess club going, by the way, Ina? I heard you finally talked her into playing.” This left Liz to, in a way that slightly perturbed Ina, hastily shift topics before Bailey’s mouth could open again. Her voice was a little urgent, but she was able to keep her face blank enough.

“Well, um…” Through a combination of confusion and secondhand embarrassment, Ina needed to take a moment to breathe, relax her shoulders, and take another small sip of Bailey’s peace offering. After that, she did her best. “It’s nice that people are playing with me every meeting now… I’m… I’m n-not great around the troops I don’t know, b-but the girls here are nice about it. Sierra co-hosts when she has time, t-too… I love you…” Sierra blushed a faint pink and gave Ina’s hair, a short white cut wrapped in a ponytail with her bangs drooped over her left eye, a loving rustle.

Adorable. Even Bailey seemed to be taking a moment to appreciate it, fortunately giving Liz a moment to respond naturally. “Ah, see? I knew it’d catch on eventually. Sasha brought that Lark girl with her recently, if I recall. That… go okay?” Liz asked with a protective air in her voice. She could trust Sasha by now. A girl who seemingly killed her imperial Handler to keep the rebels safe was good in her eyes, but the girlfriend who joined of her supposed free will… she wasn’t trustworthy. No reprogramming. Little time in their brig. A former Arcadium warrior walking around the base at her girlfriend’s hip?

If Liz and Bailey could share one thing, it was distrust of that girl… even if Bailey’s proposed solution was… unique… a little hot?

Perish those thoughts, Liz. Finish your risotto and sip at the demon’s drink.

“Oh, Sasha is still very nice. She’s gotten so good too! She even wins sometimes. Lark… um…” Getting to the United Arcadium’s second-best was where Ina seemed a little bit nervous. Liz knew she couldn’t have done something and still been breathing; Sierra would have made sure of it, but worries were there. “She’s… n-not a very tactical thinker… and angry at herself wh-when she loses. She’s trying, I think, and Sasha really can g-get her to be nice… M-Maybe she needs more friends on the base…” Ah, Ina. You damn sweetheart.

“Ah, sorry, honey. Ain’t gonna be me. Think I need a little more time before I feel… y’know…” Sierra was of a similar mindset to Liz while she rubbed one of Ina’s shoulders.

Sasha was a tamed bear in a tutu by now. Lark was more of a wild card. A dependent one, too. Maybe another friend on base might be good for the birdie. After all, Sasha had proven that someone could be wonderful under all the years of Arcadium brainwashing. Wouldn’t be Liz, though.

“I think I could… come around to the girl, Ina. Sasha and I are very close. Little birdie might just need what me and her gal have.” Perhaps that friend would be Bailey. A terrifying thought for Liz to grapple with, but, hey, Bailey was mostly fine tonight. Liz could stop worrying a little bit, right? “Oh, and tell me if I’m wrong, but I think Aoi mentioned something about joining your chess club last time I was… with her too, hm~?” Not even for a second, and certainly not with the lust in her voice by the end. Liz was on edge, and Sierra finished her meal in time to be ready for a necessary interjection.

Ina, for her part, managed to skip past the sleaze via strength or ignorance, a small smile on her face while she spoke. “Uh-huh. We’ve played a few times, and she’s… kind of bad at it…?” Ina scratched the back of her head in a tiny bout of confusion, but that was nothing downing another third of Bailey’s special drink didn’t seem to solve. “I-I like her, though… A little, um… w-weird with boundaries, but Aoi’s fun when you g-get to know her…” Ina blushed a slight pink, and Liz saw Bailey’s predator instincts flash with a lick of her lips.

“Mh… Agreed, Ina. Aoi’s the most fun I’ve had in this nest… If I ignore you, Lizzy~.” Bailey’s passionate, cheery tone sliced through Liz like they were the claws of her Whitehawk, and Ina wasn’t quite so dense as to not pick up on the obvious subtext dripping from Bailey’s lips.

Wait, why was Sierra blushing a bit too? Gods, how much did Aoi get around in this base? “Alright, come on. A lil decency, Bailey.” Sierra lightly interjecting with a smile ensured Liz would have to wait until later to make that discovery. Would Bailey play ball, though?

“Silly me. Sorry.” Bailey’s apology rang hollow, but she did seem ready to move on. A tantalizing last sip of her glass of liquor later, and she was opening her mouth to talk again. ”Hope this doesn’t mean I can’t ask about joining up with her, though, Ina. The chess players at the Guild were such sticks in the mud. Maybe I could meet with you and Aoi next meeting, if your girlfriend allows~.” Now this wasn’t something Liz or Sierra trusted. Their faces said it all. But, Liz trusted Aoi to keep things at least at the normal levels of Corvis Base perverted if anything… happened…

“Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt if we do it in here… If Aoi joins ya, I won’t stop ya.” Sierra came to the same conclusion before Liz needed to speak her mind, keeping up a smile before turning her head to face Ina. “If ya want her there, honey. Ain’t my club to manage!” Sierra beamed, moving a hand over to rub one of Ina’s shoulders again.

“I-I… Um, well, I don’t know you too well… But if y-you want to learn and d-do it with Aoi… I’d be happy to.” Ina was more fidgety than she’d been in any of the evening’s other conversations but gave her best smiling nod all the same.

“More than happy to do it in here, Sierra. I’ll tag along with Aoi next time. Hope you’re as thorough a teacher as I can be~.” An untrustworthy tone with a very leading answer, but Liz and Sierra were willing to try and overlook it. Bailey brought a bottle of untampered liquor to a double date, kindly chatted her hosts up, and hadn’t breached any boundaries Aoi wouldn’t have. She was… trying, right? “Gotta say, though… Lizzy’s old jacket really suits you, Ina. Much better than that cheap blue thing you used to wear.” That was oddly smug…

Liz had a bad feeling in her stomach, and it wasn’t because she’d devoured that risotto like her first meal in a week… This felt leading…

“O-Oh, um. Thank you?” Ina wasn’t an expert at taking compliments from women who weren’t dripping in alluring sleaze, so the blushing was expected. “How did you know it was Liz’s? Did she u-used to wear it with you when you were… um…” Ina didn’t exactly seem sure what to address them as. In her defense, neither did Liz, but perhaps Bailey was about to make a play for finding that out herself.

“It’s the jacket I met her in. How would I ever forget something as important as that?” Bailey shot a smile at Liz that the rebel ace didn’t quite understand. Smug? Flirtatious? Dangerous? “Makes sense she’d pass it on to you, though… Liz loves treating girls like us like royalty~.” Wait. The attitude. The smile.

No. Come on, Bailey. Have a little class.

“Um… girls like us?” Ina seemed curious, but Sierra may have already grasped Bailey’s bit… Why was she smiling???

Liz couldn’t interrupt. She’d look more guilty of this predictable accusation if it was obviously recurring. “Bailey…” A low, groaned utterance of her name escaped her lips, though, like that would do anything.

“Ah, you know. The superior ones. The ones with… more~.” Bailey’s grin was abominable and irresistible to Liz at the same time. Liz knew exactly what the ass was getting at here, and the annoyed frown following that realization was equally irresistible to Bailey. “I’ll make her admit it one day. Won’t I, Lizzy~?” Ass. Cocky, self-assured, sleazy ass. The night was going so well, too. She’d give her a piece of her damn mind about it this time!

Liz’s frown and blush were as far as the anger at this stunt could get before Sierra burst into a small fit of laughter, though. One still focused enough to pat a now blushing Ina on the shoulder, but it was soul-piercing laughter all the same. Unbelievable. Now Sierra thought she was a chaser too? “Fuck, Liz. I think I finally get it.” Ridiculous… Wait, what did she mean by that???

“Don’t you start on this, too. She’s bad enough.” Liz gritted her teeth while she spoke. An utter disaster. If she had to hear that dreaded six-letter word from Sierra, in front of a still slightly ignorant Ina, too… Oh, Bailey was getting choked before their clothes were off this time.

“Oh, nah, not the crap she’s talkin’ about. I get why ya like her, Liz.” Bailey’s strangling wouldn’t come; instead, a biting revelation from the woman who knew her the second best in the galaxy hit Liz like a truck. “She doesn’t treat ya like anyone else. Us. The troops. She’s like how Ina is with me.” Somehow this felt both better and oh so much worse than just being called a chaser. It was undeniable. She was blushing, and Sierra hadn’t even finished yet. “Well, she ain’t exactly like that. But… y’know, they’re different from our fangirls. They see us as people. We ain’t just great pilots, or poster gals in your case. Right, honey~?” At least the peck on Ina’s cheek delivered by Sierra lightened the embarrassment load. Ina could only nod. Poor girl.

“Mhm. I’m just like Ina. Where’s my kiss, Lizzy~?” Bailey saw her chance to trace a blade of lustful, flirtatiousness at Liz’s neck. Was this her angle? Embarrass her in front of her friend with fake relationship nonsense? Or was this a failed attempt to make the chaser jab land, worsened by Sierra’s theorizing?

“I’m not answering any of that. Finish your food, Bailey.” Liz was flustered, but she kept her words as short, simple, and serious as she could. Behind the blushes, at least.

“Fiiine. We’ll just have to talk about this later, hm~?” Bailey replied, getting a little bit closer to Liz but stopping short of matching Sierra’s kissing of Ina.

“Whatever. We’re moving on.” Liz had no food left to eat, so settled for returning to her liquor. In a few swigs, the rich drink was gone, much to Bailey’s chagrin.

Sadly not the only change to her tastes that siren has caused…

“Hey, wait, was she right about that other thing? Might make sense…” Sierra couldn’t resist getting one more potshot in before returning to doting on Ina with shoulder rubs and smiles.

“Moving. On.” Liz’s face flushed the brightest it would for the rest of their evening. Ridiculous. So she hadn’t dated anyone other than Bailey for a decade. She was focused on the cause.

Yes, a trial relationship with Sierra ended within a week. They just weren’t a match for each other.

Sure, a threesome with Sasha turned into… almost exclusively reconciling sexually with Bailey.

Right, her first sexual encounter besides that in a decade was going to be with Aoi, another prolific trans girl on base.

But she.

Was not.

A chaser.

Liz resented the idea. Liz loathed Bailey’s jokes about it. Liz… well… Bailey’s seeming joy over the possibility wasn’t as clear-cut, but…

Coincidences. All of it. Bailey would pay for that later, even if it wasn’t enough to bar her from dinner again…

Like much of the tension between Liz and Bailey, it passed in a haze of casual conversation. Some casual banter about their varying relationships with Sasha was amusing for the four. Talks about how they met each other that stopped at Liz and Bailey amused the group. Chats about why they joined up seemed to bore Bailey ever-so-slightly. Her reasoning wasn’t exactly a complicated, ideological motive, and she’d heard Liz’s talks of UA imperialism and quotes from the manifesto in her drawer plenty. It always impressed Ina, at least.

The sit-down at Sierra’s workshop ended not long after Ina asked what Liz and Bailey’s status was… a question Liz scarcely knew the answer to herself.

They were… partners? But was Bailey even interested in that again? Was Liz?

Of course she was…

Beyond that, though, the evening was without incident. Sierra and Ina were getting ready to clear the table, Liz and Bailey were getting ready to leave, and a now-empty bottle of liqueur wasn’t joining them. Oddly generous of Bailey to let someone other than Liz and maybe Aoi drink up like that…

What the hell was the angle…?

“Ah, crap. Almost forgot, sorry.” One more time this evening, Liz’s clouded thoughts were defeated by Sierra’s dominant, loud voice. Nowhere to run after this. “I need you two to meet me and Aoi in the command center tomorrow. Eleven o'clock, sharp. It’s nothin’ too concernin’, but Aoi’s drones nabbed some UA radar activity at the warehouse ya hit. Can chat about it there.”

“Dinner’s just ended, and we’re back to work? You really know how to run an afterparty, DeSoto~.” Bailey joked through it and got a snicker out of Sierra, Ina and even a jaded, pondering Liz.

“Got it. We’ll be there early. Thanks for the dinner, Sierra. I’m hoping I don’t keel over before you’re free for this again.” Liz shot Sierra a smile and a wave, then turned her attention to Aoi. “See you soon, kid. Who knows, I might even tag along with Bailey for chess if I’m not running drills.” Liz smiled a little wider and waved a little more excitedly at the younger girl. No goodbye hugs this time, but it wouldn’t be long until they were enjoying each other’s slightly maternal company again. Nothing could stop that!

“Such a lack of trust, Lizzy. I’m sure Aoi’s going to be just as offended~.” Bailey jeered, and Liz managed not to take the bait as she strolled towards the double-doored workshop exit.

“B-Bye you two. Can’t wait until next time!” Ina’s genuine words of social enjoyment to Liz and Bailey both brought a fuzzy feeling to the former’s heart. Either she was a good definitely-not-mom figure, or Sasha’s head game was so unimaginably good that it evolved confidence as much as it healed relationships. Maybe it was both.

As Liz walked out of the door with Bailey by her side, the thoughts rushed to her suspicious, slightly buzzed mind. Two glasses of liqueur wasn’t much to what used to be a seasoned drinker, and her thoughts were still clear, but Bailey sure as hell didn’t drink the light stuff.

…

Right. Bailey.

Tonight was fine. Arguably better than fine, if you looked past Bailey’s teasing sleaziness. Sierra and Ina had fun. They enjoyed both their guests’ company. The risotto was the best Sierra had made. Strangest of all, Bailey seemed to enjoy herself, too. And none of it.

None. Of it.

Lined up.

Bailey was a sleazebag who slept around like it was a form of essential photosynthesis. She wasn’t one for boundaries, neither emotional nor physical. Liz couldn’t confirm it firsthand, but the drink-drugging rumors seemed on brand for the woman she’d become…

So how did Bailey let this go so typically? She was still in there. Liz knew Bailey couldn’t exactly hide who she was for long, and the sleaze was still tonight’s special dinner theme… But nobody left crying or with her drool dripping down their lips. Liz wasn’t utterly dismantled in front of her friends any more than Sierra’s light toying would have, vile chaser comments aside.

Bailey had an angle. She had to have one. Liz was going to find it out, too. There was only one way to get info from Bailey. Only one way to truly make her squeal. Liz knew it already, but Sasha’s relationship-restoring threesome gave her the key.

She’d fuck that angle out of her. She’d rail the truth out of her. Bailey was right about one thing… the Nataliza Rayfield of two decades ago needed to come out to play.

Gloves. Boots. Aggression. Everything that could weaken Bailey into talking.

Tonight. She’d crack Bailey open and know just what the hell she was doing this for.

“Well, that was fun, Lizzy. We headed back to our bunk, or do you have any other little tasks to run? Could always go back on my own and… get touched up for tonight~.” Gods, the sultriness in that voice. Buzzed and in need of stress relief, Liz might have been unable to resist her even without the info she needed from her.

“I think you can head back on your own. I need to chat with Aoi. Set some boundaries that you won’t.” Liz replied calmly, however. She was calmer than she’d been all night, despite the sudden meeting she decided had to happen with Aoi.

“Oooh, have fun. I’ll be waiting for you, Lizzy. Don’t fuck her without me, okay~?” Talk up your game, Bailey. Liz was winning tonight.

“Don’t screw someone else before you get back. I’ll be a few minutes, tops.” Liz and Bailey parted after a small chuckle from the latter. Bailey seemed to be beelining it for the bunk. Liz had her target.

What would come after was the right call. Bailey wanted it. Liz wanted it. This would be good, but Liz wasn’t about to reawaken the dom she’d hidden for nothing.

A lovely dinner. Joining the rebels. Bailey was softening towards her. Liz needed to know why. She was done playing the unknowing partner unaware of Bailey’s next move. Tonight, she’d know it all.

After a little meeting to make sure Aoi knew her place next week…