The saunter Bailey took to the Nightjar’s mess hall was nice. 

It was slow. Both by Bailey’s own choice, and Sierra’s dinnertime treat needing time to cook.

It was as quiet as she liked while not being quite as devoid of noise as she’d gotten used to.

Sarah was a fascinating little follower to have. Excitable yet meek. Chatty yet unintrusive.

Bailey wasn't quite used to having such a loyal pet around her this much. The Mercenary Guild was full of dubious characters at best and the kind of wannabe UA legends that spoke their slurs as openly and joyfully as Sarah talked about that girlfriend of hers.

Bailey’s… past and still recent activities hadn’t made the concept of bonding with anyone very pleasing either. Cheap flings who couldn't say no that Bailey promptly forgot the existence of moments after rocking their universe was all she needed.

Yet, here Bailey was, listening to Sarah talk about her lack of proper meals, strolling to a pre-mission meal with a crew of at least somewhat fond comrades.

Hells, she even liked some of them.

…

Bailey felt odd walking into the mess hall with a girl figuratively yet not literally hanging off her every word and every arm. Sarah was a cute one. Certainly no Nataliza, but who was, hm?

Nobody.

That’s why you were here, Bailey. There was no room for attachments to girls you felt apol—

Sympathy for.

There was no room for another unhealthy bond. The only one Bailey had ever formed had put her on this carrier in the first place.

These were comrades, but weren’t those bile spewing dogs in the Mercenary Guild the same thing? Why did it feel different now?

…

Bailey, like most of the poisonous thoughts she’d had this past week, cast those aside too.

A table grew closer in Bailey’s vision, the smiling faces and pleasant laughs of her comrades, notably Sierra, Aoi, Scotch and Minerva, hitting her ears like some kind of non-consensually comforting bird song. Much like the rest of the hall, it resembled a school cafeteria even more than the underground feeding den back in Corvis Base, though Bailey’s memories of such a thing were foggier than they’d ever been as of late.

Much of her childhood before that day was, after all.

…

“So, uhm… are we sitting down, ma’am?” Sarah broke Bailey out of her little thought bubble with a nervous question and an ill-fitting, gentle smile beaming up at Bailey’s near unshakably cocksure face.

“Mh, well we didn’t just come here to gawk. Might be in the cheap seats while our superiors do all the work tomorrow, but whatever DeSoto’s scraped together should be better than those PostTech rations.” Bailey teased her blonde kitten with her typical talon swipes, but was quick to follow it up with something nicer; the urge to do so yet another unknown curiosity Bailey would bury for now. “Besides, you worked so hard today. You deserve it, don’t you?” Said niceties were both uncharacteristically sweet, and delivered with the tone one might give a cat when handing out a tube of fish paste to them.

“M-Mhm! Th-Thanks, Bailey!” Sarah responded with a nod and a grin which implied only the former was truly understood, so much so that she’d even addressed Bailey by name.

Bailey chose not to correct that, too, simply watching Sarah make a quick and rather unsteady jog towards the DeSoto dinner table. The former merc tailed behind with a calmer walk, and one thought repeating in her mind like a three note rhythm.

Humor them.

These weren’t friends. They couldn’t be. Bailey didn’t have those. Not Sarah. Not Sierra.

…

Not even Aoi, right?

…

Humor them.

“Fuckin’ tell me about it. Still got Lark’s frame to worry about when I get back.” As Bailey approached the table, Sierra’s voice was the first in the crowd to properly break through to her ears. The woman was loud and confident, so that didn’t surprise her one bit.

“Hah, my biggest problem isn’t even repairs, it’s ammo…” The girl replying to Sierra was the Nightjar’s own head engineer, Anise; a short, plump girl with dark, sepia-toned skin and a constant expression landing somewhere between happy and sleepy. “Trying to figure out Scotch’s glue guns have me kinda stumped… and the ammo is all really pricey to source…” Conflicted as she sounded, Bailey noticed that slight smile grow when she spoke about Scotch, the even plumper girl next to her.

Couldn’t blame Anise for that. Being bunked with a piece of juicy ass like that would put a nice smile on Bailey’s face, too, but she was curious how the quiet mechanic had managed to get herself in on the rescue mission feast without direct involvement.

Maybe Bailey would fuck that info out of that plump piece of butterscotch cake sat across from her. 

Mh, another time, perhaps~.

“Oh yeahhh those things. I mean, I just tend to make the stuff myself. Can show ya later if ya want?” Sierra replied to Anise with what sounded like slight confusion, Anise matching it in her face moments later. Fuck up or not, Sierra truly did seem to be the best in the business. “I’m tellin’ ya, sourcin’ Bailey’s damn plasma whips is way worse. Gotta be like a dozen of those things on Ansa tops.” Sierra spoke again after taking a piping hot spoonful of whatever meal awaited Bailey.

No use delaying things now. If Sierra wanted to gossip, Bailey was going to fucking gossip.

“Mh, don’t tell me I’m more difficult to build for than Nataliza, DeSoto. At least they still make those whips, hm~?” Bailey responded slyly, leaning down and glancing towards Sierra before strolling off to the other side of the table.

Sarah and Aoi had left a space in between them for her. A space right across from Sierra, too.

Cute.

“Please, I could build like three of those Hedone mechs in the time it takes to replace the Whitehawk’s generator every year. Buildin’ ain’t the problem.” Sierra smirked over at Bailey, taking another spoonful of what Bailey could now ascertain was some kind of potato and meat dish before continuing her sudden, friendly attack. “I get bein’ picky, but why specifically the Hunter HPW3? A sword’s gotta be easier than that glorified toy, eh?” Another smirk adorned Sierra’s face, one that made Bailey’s grow a little in return.

Bailey knew bait when she saw it. Major Mistake wanted to see if she had some gushy sentimental reason for her picky, bizarre brand loyalty.

…

Mh, Bailey was going to bite this time. Sierra was pretty right on the money here, after all.

Eat your fucking heart out.

“If I tell you why, are you going to let me eat this lovely meal you’ve cooked for me?” Bailey teased, but there was a bit of a pit in her stomach right now, both physical and metaphorical.

The former pit was entirely understood. Sarah already scarfing down her first plate wasn’t much of an indicator of taste, that girl seemed indomitably hungry for some reason, but the pickier Aoi’s plate cleaning may imply Sierra wasn’t a one trick risotto pony.

The latter pit didn't matter. Bailey owed these people nothing.

Humor them.

“Duh. Want my lookout to be energized for tomorrow, don’t I?” Sierra gave Bailey a less cocky smile “Pretty rare I get to hear some cool story about a gal near my age that isn’t Liz. Come on. Humor me!” Sierra obviously meant nothing by that last part. There was no way she could have.

It still made Bailey question herself.

Mh, fuck it. Give her the story, Bailey. 

It was the only time you’d need to today.

Then you could just eat.

Bailey cleared her throat, getting ready to tell a truncated version of an old Mercenary Guild tale. For whatever reason, the immediate engagement and intrigue from her comrades at this packed dinner table almost shocked her for the briefest of moments. Conversations paused. Glances moved. Sarah had even poured her a glass of water.

Certainly put her in a good mood to give the Guild some shit today.

“About six years back there was this mouthy little cunt. Black hair. Barely reached my chest on her tippy-toes. You know the type.” Bailey mused, speaking with an unfamiliar level of calm and stern she typically reserved for her old clients. “We were fighting for this juicy little Yaraman defense contract. Two million bucks for a month of keeping a weapons transport safe. Boring work, but I was saving up for a little something at the time.” Her voice gained its inevitable and natural charm back with that last sentence, paired with an irresistible flex of her two skeletal cyber-arms, both of which idly brushed against Sarah and Aoi from each side.

“Could have joined with us and got them for freeeeee!” Aoi chimed in not long after. Her mouth was half full, and her left arm, predominantly made up of a steel, prosthetic forearm, nudge against Bailey’s side with a slight disregard for its strength.

Kitty cat was lucky Bailey liked her.

“Wouldn’t that have been nice, hm? Keep talking to me like that, and I might start reading off quotes from those books in Nataliza’s drawer~.” Bailey chimed back at Aoi, using her right cyber-arm to nudge the excited pixie girl in return.

She was even gentle… mostly.

“Might just hold ya to that.” Sierra pointed at Bailey and grinned.

Bailey couldn’t help but smirk back a little before continuing. Perhaps it was nice that talk of Nataliza was so cheerful today. Maybe that made it okay to…

…

Humor them.

Bailey took a sip of her water, then continued.

“So I got this contract, obviously. I was their top ranked merc for a year by then, and this cute little gutter racist was a nobody.” Bailey found her storytelling rhythm surprisingly quickly for a woman who rarely told them anymore, smirking away as she approached the fonder parts of her tale. “This little newbie was pissed, though. Pity contract this. Cotton picking that. She said my people were in their true place under the whip of hers, so I gave her a chance to prove herself. One on one in the arena. Winner keeps the contract and the loser does one thing the winner wants. No matter what.” Bailey’s smile grew, her fondness for the tale made her voice’s confident candor grow with it.

Sarah's doting eyes seemed attentive enough, while Aoi's ever cheerful display of mixed attention between listening and eating felt...typical. Sierra, however, seemed more intrigued than anyone, and soon spoke up

“Ballsy move to take against a galactic racism mafia. Guessin’ it wasn’t your first time, though?” Sierra had seen Bailey perform enough to know her pretty well by now. Clever thing.

It wasn’t Bailey’s first time. Nor was it the tenth. Frankly, if it wasn’t for the ties to her plasma whip usage, it might have simply been forgotten in the annals of jealous racial slurs and failed attempts to beat her in a fight.

“Not even close, but it was the first time some stupid thing had put their mech on the line instead of their teeth~.” Bailey spoke with a reverence that led to one or two of the table’s residents, notably Minerva and Anise, rolling their eyes a bit. Sierra and Aoi only looked more intrigued, though. Atta girls. “Her little whip comment stuck with me. I didn’t have anyone on my side in that dingy Guild, too, so I figured… why not show her what a real woman does with a fucking whip.” Bailey practically hummed her words as the good part approached.

Bailey paused for a brief moment, too; allowing her words to properly sink in on her mostly smiling, eating crowd before sipping again and ending the tale.

“Managed to get one of those HPW3s from the quartermaster, and ripped the little bitch apart in forty-five seconds with that much loved whip…” Bailey paused, licking her lips and leaning in to give Sierra a smirk that came off even more sultry than she’d intended. “Just the whip~.” Bailey’s words were similarly sultry, too; bathed in that acquired, sweet taste she admired in both tone and liquor.

The crowd response was mixed to positive. Disbelief from Minerva and Anise only made sense, she was just a former merc and general sleazebag on a poster to them.

Scotch was tough to gauge. A face that bubbly could be thinking anything, but she sensed an impression. Perhaps, she even sensed some odd relatability.

Sarah was almost ready to applaud, but Bailey expected no less from her doting kitten. Oddly, that made the mysterious stomach pit return for a moment.

It subsided quickly. Bailey couldn’t get lost in that now.

Besides, the more confusing part for Bailey was that only two faces in the room seemed to matter to her right now. Two unknown reactions she was waiting to gauge. Sarah’s may have been nice, but she wanted to know what her… comrades thought.

“Figured. That’s pretty much how I got attached to Alcazar’s booster fists. It’s almost a little cute, in some kinda way.” Sierra’s voice was calm and sort of cherishing in a way. Perhaps she was stunned by Bailey not stealing it from a dying orphan or something.

Maybe Bailey wanted to believe that, but when she looked at Sierra, all she could identify was some genuine pride and a soft, possibly even fond glow in the mechanic’s eyes.

Bailey could like a girl like this, if she unfucked this whole Nataliza thing first.

“Heyyy, what happened to the weird racist afterward? Feel like you’re leaving me hanging!” Aoi’s reaction was next, and consisted of smiles and lewd looks. Sierra may have liked Bailey’s story as a spectator, but Aoi knew the former merc well enough that she could probably tell this last bit herself.

For some reason, Bailey wanted to do it herself.

“Gotta admit, I’m feelin’ curious too, girl.” Sierra let her own desire to hear the ending out as well. Sarah didn’t even need to be asked, so by pure mob rule, the table was going to hear it.

“Let’s just say that favorite slur of hers sounded a lot less powerful with a recently licked boot pushing down on her throat~.” Bailey once again hummed her words, and got the reactions she hoped for. Sierra let out an amused snort, and Aoi simply nudged her shoulder, fighting the urge to butt in before Bailey finished. “The tiny little thing and her tinier little tits got booted out after. Probably burning in Hell now. Best place for her, hm~?” Bailey’s smile finally managed to calm again, going from a full-blown smug and dominant smirk to a lighter grin as she finally began plating herself some food from the pot in the middle of the table.

“And that’s why we’re better than the Guild~!” Aoi practically sang her words while she went to plate herself what Bailey could only assume was a second helping of Sierra’s cooking.

Few things scared Bailey, but the metabolism of Aoi Tarowaka was one of the scarce things on that list. Nice of it to let all that weight go to her pretty little ass, though~.

“Hey, when you’re right, you’re damn right, Bailey.” Sierra responded with a calm smirk and not a hint of judgment in her voice.

That woman enjoying a little Bailey Cluanaire story time left the former merc with some conflicting feelings. Happiness? Confusion? Surprise?

Mh, better to address none of these. Her work was done. Bailey was set to enjoy the food and let them talk amongst themselves, which a few people, notably Scotch, Aoi, and Anise, had already begun doing.

Bailey would have been more than content to quietly enjoy her meal, potentially banter with Sarah and maybe Aoi for a few minutes after, and stride back to her room for a pre-mission session of cock worship and single bed sleep with her kitten. But, as she plated her food, gave it a curious whiff, and an even more curious taste with the spoon left for her, something had come over the former merc.

Bailey wasn’t unfamiliar with good food, sure. The odd bit of Mercenary Guild info gathering required wining, dining, and typically plowing the odd informant. Food being good in that circumstance wasn’t some kind of shock, though. With all the resource theft those increasingly loathsome imperials were doing, they’d want to be able to cook a passable soup, no?

The spoonful of potato, substitute printed meat, and broth that entered her mouth, however, was something else entirely. The barest of ingredients made into something Bailey had few meals worthy of comparing it to.

Maybe Nataliza would have some kind of revolutionary take on the ability to build something worthy from the ashes of imperialism.

“Mh, you’re batting two for two here, DeSoto. Don’t fuck up on the job again, and your third strike might just lead to me offering you dessert, hm~?”

Bailey wasn’t quite that poetic, simply delivering her own form of nuanced compliment by batting at the unshakable with inappropriate dinnertime flirting. She was classy, though. She even swallowed her food before offering to try and shatter Sierra’s pelvis.

She had a reputation to uphold, after all.

“Figured you’d like it, but that much, girl? Remind me to make some of my meatballs next time, and I’ll be havin’ all the dessert I want… perv.” Sierra’s smirk was almost irritatingly smug to Bailey, but after driving her back into more small talk through the sheer power of culinary talent, maybe she’d earned that right.

Wouldn't normally be enough to make Bailey take being called a pervert in stride - certainly not by a Corvis Base denizen of all people - but she felt like letting that slide.

For once.

That didn’t mean Bailey was going to be entirely civil, though.

“Feel heartbroken that you haven’t started breaking the meal down for me, you know. If you can lecture me about how complicated my mech’s nanotech armor is for twenty minutes, you can rant about what I’m eating~.” Bailey mused, taking a few more bites of that irresistible stew in front of her before waiting to see if that might change Sierra’s expression.

…

It did, but not in the way Bailey expected, light eye roll aside.

Sierra was still smiling, but it was fonder than her toying smirks. Sweeter.

Bailey knew this face. The adorably, gushy loving face that implied she was about to hear about another woman’s lover today. It should have made her tune out, but for yet more unknown reasons, Bailey was prepared to listen intently.

…

Fuckers were making her soft.

“You’re eatin’ a cobbled together version of Patatas a la Riojana. My dad always whipped it up when we were skimpin’ on money. First thing he ever taught me was how to make it.” Sierra spoke with some warm nostalgia breaking through her tough, cocky attitude. Said nostalgia grew with her sweet little smile as she continued. “Ended up bein’ the first thing I ever cooked up for Ina too, y’know. We got better printed meat back home, obviously, but you’re gettin’ the full Ina Ymari spread today.” Sierra’s cockiness briefly returned to her smile, but there was a barely visible flush in her cheeks too.

Bailey found this whole thing weird.

Pleasant.

Nostalgic?

…

Humor. Them.

“Trying to butter me up for when we’re back, Major? Lucky me. Bet that girl’s got a really nice spread of her own too, hm~?” Bailey did her best to let the stranger, unwanted emotions sift through to the lower recesses of her mind.

Perhaps burying them was tough when the metaphorical landfill was already fit to explode, but Bailey didn’t care. She stuck to the program.

That’s all she needed to do.

“Don’t push your luck, girl. Remember that talk we had, eh?” Sierra’s words came out with a serious, focused candor, but even alluding back to what Bailey assumed wasn’t some weird BDSM threat couldn’t knock that smirk off the engineer’s face.

Bailey almost liked it.

“Oh, believe me, I take the threat of being snapped in half very seriously. Might even let you try one day~.” Bailey clawed back at Sierra, leading the engineer to snort moments after taking a spoonful of her stew.

Don’t choke on it yet, Major. You were still useful~.

Before Sierra even managed to catch her breath, though, Bailey noticed Aoi spring herself into action; a smile on her face and a second dinner serving already destroyed with gusto.

“You could have just made a boring veggie dish or something, though! Why make Ina’s favorite, huuuh~?” If Bailey could pick one thing about Aoi that she liked the most, it was that bubbly, grinning, inquisitive nature of hers. Aoi hated a secret of any kind, and it was a trait Bailey learned to share in her time at the Mercenary Guild. Other people’s secrets simply made the job harder.

Her own, though?

…

Bailey perished that thought before it could even form and kept listening.

“Could’ve, but where’s the fun in that?” Sierra shot back at Aoi, but that same warmer smile from a minute ago creeped back onto the cook’s face. “Besides, I think it’s gonna bring us some good luck. Sure as hell brought me some good luck with her…” Sierra’s follow up to that ended a little abruptly, and Bailey noticed that immediately. It was like Sierra was about to trail off on some nostalgic story but stopped herself in the nick of time.

Odd. Bailey felt like she wouldn’t have minded if she did.

That thought would have made Bailey feel like puking if she wasn’t so damn enamored with the stew she’d been digging her way through. Almost time for seconds, perhaps.

“Riiight, Aoi told me a bit about you guys hooking up!” Scotch’s voice took Bailey out of her strange moment of silence; the perky delivery girl prematurely ceasing her own mumbly conversation with Anise to join the growing Sierra congregation. “Don’t think I was there when you two hooked up! Wouldn’t mind hearing about it, y’know~!” Scotch’s bubbly smile was almost infectious, and the sugary eagerness she used to aid her prodding for information was admirable, too.

No wonder Aoi liked this one. An energetic girl with some meat on her bones like Scotch?

Mhm. Definitely a cake Bailey needed a slice of~.

“Yeahhh come on! I wanna hear it again.” Aoi chimed in not long after, adding further bubbly pressure onto Sierra to share her secrets with the class.

Bailey, of course, knew intimately about this precious tale of awkward love. Sasha was a fine friend to have, but she was no match for Bailey’s… unique interrogation skills~.

Still, there was no harm in playing along.

Humor them.

“Can’t be any more sappy than Sarah’s barnyard rescue story. I trust you not to bore me entirely to sleep, DeSoto.” Bailey smirked, glancing over at Sarah and, out of uncontrollable instinct, using one of her cyber arms to rub at the kitty cat’s back. Had to let her pet know that wasn’t an insult for her, after all.

Mh, she could just feel the purring~.

“Well if you’re all that hungry for it… guess it might be good for clearin’ my head, eh?” Sierra caved without any additional pressure required from the group. Bailey didn’t even have to make Sarah give the engineer some sad, Ina-like look.

How fortunate they were that Sierra wasn’t the one getting tortured for information right now.

…

Shut up and stop thinking like that, Bailey.

“Ticktock, Major. I’m already feeling a yawn coming on~.” Bailey fought the urge to keep quiet and gave Sierra a rather weaker tease. For some reason, she felt like hearing this sappy story from the bird’s beak.

Maybe Bailey could sympathize with missing a white haired lover, hm?

…

Shut the fuck up and focus.

“Yeah, yeah. Promise I’ll humor ya enough.” Sierra toyed back with Bailey briefly before getting herself a sip of water and clearing her throat.

Alas, Aoi leaned forward, gearing up to speak again.

“Just tell her about our last chess club threesome and she’ll be wiiide awake~!” Aoi spoke with no subtlety, nor any regard for - or, more likely, regard for - dining room etiquette. Everyone at the table heard it.

Sarah and Anise both blushed a bit.

Sierra blushed that slight bit more, though kept smirking regardless.

Interestingly, it was also the very thing that got Minerva’s attention away from her food and a hefty mission dossier.

“Come on, Tarowaka. I’m trying to eat!” Minerva spoke like she was frustrated, but the complaint came across more like some kind of familial dinnertime bantering than anything else.

Honestly.

Bailey liked it.

“Sooorry!” Aoi replied in a fashion that built on that fun banter, playfully sticking her tongue out before returning to what Bailey hoped was only her third bowl of Sierra’s stew.

Couldn’t blame her, though. Bailey was already on her second…

“You were saying, Sierra?” Minerva chimed in again before her head went back down to her dossier. Temptation grew within Bailey to claw at the Nightjar’s second in command for mission info. Instincts from her mercenary past.

Strangely, the urge to hear Sierra mope about her absent girlfriend beat it.

“So I’ll start at the beginnin’. About two years back I’m gettin’ mechs ready for a new batch of recruits. This small cell from the Salamat region wanted a more secure foothold to try and reclaim it from, and we sure as hell weren’t gonna say no, right?” Only ten seconds in and Bailey had already gotten some fascinating info from her so-called superior.

The Salamat region… Gods, Bailey remembered fighting there with Nataliza eons upon eons ago. Bailey hadn’t expected to gleam new info from this so fast, but she supposed Sasha couldn’t know everything about the pair.

So, Ina was from there, hm?

More bizarrely, Ina hadn’t been gunned down there like the cattle the UA saw them as?

Poor thing…

…

Not her concern. Focus.

“So a lot of these girls are flyin’ busted up Whitehawks and junkers, right? Nothin’ new. But this quiet girl comes up to me, polite and sweatin’ a bit, apologizing that her frame was probably too weird.” Sierra had moved on from info about Salamat quick. Bailey should have known there’d be yapping about mech suits involved in this. “I get to work on it, and I’m stunned. Girl was flying this decommissioned arms delivery mech that was barely holdin’ it together. Thought she was insane, but I’d never seen a combat mech with more scannin’ equipment patched onto it in my life.” Sierra was speaking with such clear fondness that Bailey was shocked she hadn’t started drooling.

It was endearing, in a pathetic kind of way.

“Do I have her beat, Major? I do remember you calling my Circe overkill, you know.” Bailey, listening more intently than she’d expected to, gave Sierra a light, teasing verbal swipe.

“Not a fuckin’ chance. The Kashmir’s a walkin’ recon plane. Almost puts the Umezawa to shame.” Sierra replied with a light dash of confidence and admiration added to her smile.

“You’re lucky Ume can’t hear you right now!” Aoi butt in a second later, earning another light snort from Sierra, and an amused glance from Bailey, who’d quickly returned to letting Sierra speak after.

“Right. Well, anyway. I have a fuckin’ blast gettin’ this thing upgraded, and the look on Ina’s face? Precious. She was nervous, but I’d never seen a more grateful girl in my life.” Ah, and just like that Sierra’s face slipped from cocky to adoringly nostalgic once again. Much like her voice. “Figured I’d ask her why she went with a HF38, and all she said was that nobody would ever see it comin’. Girl thanked me after, and… well… what do they say? Crush at first sight or somethin’?” Mh, something like that.

Not that Bailey had any experience with the foolish concept of love at first sight, hm~?

…

Who was she fucking kidding?

“I-I know the feeling, ma’a—... S-Sierra!” Sarah was, adorably, the only one to butt in as Sierra took a break to let her vocal cords rest for a moment.

Look at that, calling her supposed superiors by their first names. It was almost a little cute.

Almost.

“Bet most of ya do. But to be honest… I was kinda fuckin’ terrified of it.” Sierra DeSoto could be scared of something. Color Bailey surprised… and a little smug as she watched Sierra’s smile grow even more tender. “I left it alone. I’m this big, hulkin’ muscle girl who watches old pro wrestlin’ and robot battlin’ tapes, and she’s this quiet, reserved thing practicin’ chess moves alone most of the day. Don’t think I even saw her talk to anyone other than Liz for a straight six months. What chance did I have, huh?” Sierra did allow some cockiness to illuminate her smile again. It almost seemed pointed right at Bailey, too.

Like she was about to bring up Sasha and knew something.

That thought went to the back burner when Bailey noticed Scotch leaning closer to the group.

Damn, Bailey hadn’t even been paying enough to notice the group was silent while Sierra spoke. That was unlike her…

“Y’know, I think I see where this is going! Sasha was involved, right?” Scotch wore a big, cheerful grin that indicated to Bailey she too was touched by the Valkyrie’s life changing kiss.

Mh, who hadn’t Bailey’s Corvis Base bootblack changed the life of by now? Felt like that woman would solve Ansa’s greenery problems, crop rotations, and galactic hunger while she wasn’t looking at this rate.

“Christ, she really does get around, huh?” Sierra chuckled a little at the same realization Bailey had made, shooting a smirk at Scotch before focusing back on Bailey and Aoi. “I kept my distance from Sasha at first. Knew there was probably still a good person in there, even if the UA screwed with her head for… well, a long damn time.” Sierra’s eyes briefly broke contact from Bailey, but returned after what seemed to be some kind of brief moment of regret.

Good.

“Opened up to her eventually, like all of ya, I guess. Helped her get Robin, her mech, into real fine shape. Taught her how to cook a bit too.” Sierra’s regretful break was brief; her smile returned to its fond calm while she recounted a little bit more info Bailey hadn’t asked about. “I won’t bore ya with the specifics, but she got me talkin’ about Ina, and that got her talkin’ about her too.” Ah, the bits Bailey actually knew about.

Bailey almost wanted to place a bet on how far Sierra would go to dance around what truly got those two together~.

“She got us in my workshop a few times. I made her what you’re eatin’ now. Helped with her mech. I tried to play chess, but that girl’s fuckin’ scary when she’s thinkin’ tactically.” Sierra chuckled, and Bailey noticed Aoi look directly at the former mercenary with a cheeky, horny smile.

She wasn’t the only one with a pet on the inside, hm? Cute, though she was a little disappointed Aoi chose not to butt in this time.

Bailey figured she may as well listen to this predictable tale of Sierra ravishing some anxious little thing. Even if it was guaranteed to lack the spice Bailey’s own flirtations always had.

“So I’m startin’ to realize that the more time I spend with Ina, the more I like her. Sasha obviously saw it herself. Got us in her room together and coached me on what to say beforehand. I’ve got a lot more experience gettin’ into a girl’s pants than her heart.” Sierra certainly didn’t have to remind Bailey of that, though deep down, it almost made the engineer and her sly smile a bit more relatable.

Bailey knew where this story went, too. In a way, it made Bailey feel some kind of fondness, as well. Back to the days when she wooed her own true love.

…

Shut up the fuck and focus.

“So, turns out I didn’t need to do any of that crap. I get in there, and after a minute of the cutest flirtin’ I’ve ever seen, Ina asks me out before I can even speak.” Sierra’s smile said it all. Sure, she was blushing the faintest bit, but that woman was confident. She’d gotten what she wanted without even needing to ask.

Well fucking played, Major. But you were forgetting one pivotal part of the tale.

“Pretty cute, DeSoto. Feels rude not to talk about that threesome with Sasha you begged for, though, hm? I heard Ina left her walking funny for a week with that rail cannon of hers~.” Bailey leaned in and spoke her cloying, saccharine words loudly enough for the whole table to hear, but quietly enough to avoid getting looks from anyone else in the mess hall. They weren’t worth hearing this.

The smirk on Aoi’s face? The shoulder nudging Scotch was giving Sierra? The almost fluorescent blush from Sarah as she retreated further to her second helping of stew?

They were worth humoring at least.

Sierra, though, proved to be especially worth this bit of ribbing. Sure, her face had flushed a visible red, but that was paired with a smirk much like Bailey’s own.

“Got me red-handed, girl. In fact, I’m pretty sure Ina’s even got an inch on you…” Sierra’s smirk only grew in resemblance to Bailey’s own playful, catlike expression. The brief pause allowed Bailey’s mind to ponder her next words, but she’d already called them by now. “At least, that’s what Sasha told me after her night with you and Liz, Cluanaire.” Sierra looked damn smug for a woman who’d gotten one of those three women nabbed by fascists.

Yet, oddly, that wasn’t at the forefront of Bailey’s mind right now. She wanted to bite back. Toy with Sierra about her pretty, supposedly packing girlfriend.

Maybe she could give Sarah a reason to stroke her pretty little cock underneath the table. That’d be fun.

Mh, she’d need to grill Sasha about that blabbermouth of hers when they were back, too.

Gods, it was a miracle Bailey was keeping track of these three’s names at this point, but alas, that didn’t matter. Minerva had once again looked up from the dossier she’d almost combed through, face as red as her hair and some light annoyance on her face.

“Come on, girls. Seriously. I’m trying to eat, you damn perverts.” Minerva’s words contained slightly more aggression than last time, but her heart still wasn’t in on actually telling them off. Disinterested as she was, even she seemed to like the energy of this glorified school dinner table.

Perhaps she was one of those supposed asexual people Nataliza had been pushing for her to believe were actually a thing?

Fat chance~.

“S-Sorry, ma’am!!!” Sarah, already slipping away from calling her comrades by their names, apologized shakily on the group’s behalf. Poor kitten hadn’t even done anything, and the lack of verbal response from Minerva only seemed to make the girl sink further into her seat.

Bailey was far better at reading emotions than her anxious pet, though. Minerva looked melancholic. Ashamed? Mh, tough to tell from just a subtle facial expression.

She felt the urge to push Minerva a bit with her debauchery. Bailey did have a certain urge to recount that threesome with Sasha and Nataliza in glorious detail to Sierra and Minerva, but such hot storytelling would have to wait for another time.

Bailey saw a chance to confirm herself a little hunch, subtly rubbing Sarah’s back with an organic hand to soothe her kitty cat before piercing through Minerva with her treacly, smooth voice.

“Well, if you’re desperate not to hear any more of me talking about Ina Ymari’s apparently amazing cock, you could always tell the class a story instead.” Bailey’s face wore a calm smile that betrayed the loaded nature of her words.

Minerva, for her part, was already looking at Bailey like she’d figured out her whole game.

“I suppose I could. That depends on the kind of story, though. Right, Cluanaire?” Yet, Minerva played along anyway, speaking with a neutral face that pretended she didn’t know what Bailey was about to ask.

Bailey hoped the little second in command knew, at least. Wouldn’t even be worth her time if she couldn’t figure out a game this obvious.

“Well, we were talking about passion and love. I can’t imagine any greater love than whatever it is you have with Kern, hm?” Bailey’s face turned a shade of smug by pure, unrestrained instinct, though her voice had rarely dipped away from such cloying confidence all day. “How does a wretched little thing like that find a put together thing like you, Minnie~?” Bailey saw no use in dragging this out. She wanted info, and as poorly disguised as her motives were, she was sure she’d get it.

“Figures. Look, I’ll give you something, but I want something from you.” Minerva paused, waiting for a nod from Bailey that the former merc delivered slowly moments later, giving the second in command her go ahead to continue. “We’re putting a lot on the line for Liz Rayfield, and I know you all have way more attachment to her than most, but I don’t know jack about the girl. I’ll tell you about Kern, you tell me about Liz. Deal?” Minerva looked confident. Not quite Bailey or Sierra confident, but a different kind.

Fucking hell, the girl even looked professional when she was making some childish social deal. Such a stick in the mud.

“Kinda agree actually!” Scotch’s voice loudly interrupted the more calm dealings between Bailey and Minerva, and her radiant grin managed to interrupt the former merc’s Minerva focused glaring. “I wasn’t even born here, y’know. Could be nice to hear if your girlfriend is really as interesting as the hero girl back home~!” The tone of her voice and grin on her face indicated to Bailey that Scotch clearly didn’t want some tight mission info about Nataliza.

She wanted something fun. Mh, doughy piece of ass like her would get all that and more~.

Cute. Anise seemed to nod along with her, too.

Bailey had more than enough hands and tales for both of them~.

“Well, I got my Liz stories. Know Aoi does too.” Sierra was next up to bat, giving Aoi a playful, fiery smirk that implied yet more knowledge of Bailey and Nataliza’s debauchery before continuing. “Bailey knew her way before us, though. Thinkin’ more intimately, too. Only sounds fair I get to hear somethin’ new about her from her expert.” Sierra had a fascinating view of what was fair.

Fair would be planning their next raid back at Corvis Base, no kidnappings to worry about. No grand DeSoto screwups to risk their lives preparing to fix tomorrow.

Still, maybe she had a point. Bailey knew plenty about Nataliza that the poster girl would try to take to her grave.

A potentially looming grave.

…

Don’t you fucking dare think like that, Cluanaire. Dumbass.

“Agreed! Unless you want me to talk about how tight she is or something. Can do that too~!” Aoi gave what certainly seemed to be encouragement, though Bailey could just as easily tell stories about her girlfriend’s cunt herself.

Mh, or the threesome. But much like Aoi had to earn being involved with the two, Bailey’s comrades had to earn hearing about it.

“Ahe…” Sarah took Bailey away from her pleasant thoughts of riding Nataliza’s strap while Aoi went to down on the old girl’s throat by tugging gently at one of Bailey’s folded up cyber-arms. Bailey looked down, just as asked. “I’d really like to hear about her… Li— Uh, Nataliza, is so cool, and I bet you could tell a really cute story. Maybe!” Sarah’s words mixed the adorable, plucky fangirl energy of a girl with Nataliza’s haircut, and the meek sweetness of a kitten who wanted to hear about her owner’s lost girlfriend.

Bailey could say no to anyone, but the little stars in Sarah’s eyes were bringing her a rare challenge only Sasha had managed to match.

Clearly there was high demand for some sappy story about Nataliza Rayfield in her younger years. To hear if she was always the unbreakable badass her propaganda posters and wartime feats painted her as.

Or maybe they wanted to know if Nataliza was some precious wet kitten beneath the blood, guts, and Lenin quotes.

Perhaps the truth was somewhere in between, and Bailey felt an urge to clue her crowd of fans and… friends into the truth.

…

But, could she? Was exploring memories of her girlfriend right now a good idea? The only image of Nataliza she could conjure in her head right now was violent.

Torturous.

Disgusting assault.

…

No, swapping that out for some memories and a little optimism might be good for her. Might be fucking necessary at this point.

As much as Bailey wanted the inside scoop on tiny little Commander Kern and her tiny little snappable neck, she felt an urge. A need to talk.

“Alright, I get it. Hearing about the two best pilots in the galaxy just gets you all wet, hm~?” Bailey accepted the need to relent, but in the only way she knew how. There wasn’t a bone in her body that wasn’t overconfident. Rightfully fucking so. “Fine. How about I give you something juicy then? Only girl who knows how I met Nataliza is Sasha. Want me to change that~?” Bailey knew this was a good one. Sure, the bias of replaying this story in her head every few nights may have colored her perspective a tad, but this was a good one.

“Sure you don’t want your Kern info first, Cluanaire? Don’t want you feeling like your superior is pressuring you too hard or anything.” Minerva’s words rode a fine line between sincerely concerned and playful.

Scared Bailey was being peer pressured? Gods, this really was a school dinner table. It may very well have been the first time Bailey felt like she was getting old.

“I’m plenty sure, Minnie. Can always squeeze all the intel on your boss I want from you tomorrow night, hm~?” Bailed dragged her tongue along her soft, well-cared-for lips while starring slightly lustful daggers into Minerva’s soul.

The second in command didn’t even blink. Bailey liked that~.

“Riiight. Maybe I’ll tell you tomorrow, assuming everything goes to plan.” Minerva mused, slamming her hefty dossier shut and pouring herself a glass of water from the table’s shared jug, allowing a smile to creep up on her face. “I’m all ears, Cluanaire. Go right ahead.” Like Bailey needed this little bore’s permission to do that.

The former merc took a moment to breathe, scanning the small crowd of comrades at her table and seeing nothing but smiling faces ready for a tale they couldn’t get anywhere else in the galaxy.

Bailey still didn’t know if drudging up memories of Nataliza was a good call at the moment. Her status was unknown. The poster girl was doubtlessly going through the kinds of abject horrors Bailey had plucked from Sasha’s mind and tossed into the fire to be all but forgotten about.

Of course, Bailey could just lie. Say she drugged Nataliza and fucked her brains out so hard she became obsessed. For some reason, the thought of lying about that made her sick.

The truth was different. The truth was unlike anything Bailey had done that some of these girls knew about…

…

Bailey took another breath, and then a swig of her water.

This was a good idea. If nothing else, this would give Bailey the chance to view Nataliza as anything other than a torture victim right now.

And maybe. Just maybe…

…her two Corvis Base comrades deserved to hear this story, at least.