#ghuma

“You think this will work?” Birat asked over comms. “I don’t know,” Ghuma said. “But the Suil are awfully soft on these humans. The fact that we killed our own people to protect the human woman’s parents should definitely score us some points.”

The Sigh of Relief I just gave... phew. Glad for Hayami's folks.

Also interesting that this seems to be their own insurance plan. I can't tell if it's just the best option for a best case scenario that they received from Cikara, or if this is them jumping ship. Either way it's delicious.

The first two Char soldiers died without ever realizing Ghuma and Birat were there.

Oh shiiiiit. Ok, ok, ok.

That's definitely interesting. Wonder what that means to the definition of all in the previous post.

If they sat and watched Hayami's parents die before stepping in and Hayami later finds that out... Well Ghuma and Birat would be fucked, because Hayami may or may not take revenge, but Jakari might very well take it for her if even hinted at.

If they saved her parents though... Might curry them enough favour with earthlings and Hayami in particular to jump in on Cikara's plea deal...

Ghuma sat quietly in their Talus, currently configured as a blue Ferrari F8 Tributo, and watched the sky and the house where the human woman’s parents were being kept.

THREE CONCURRENT HIGH TENSION SCENES!?

Ma'am please, I'm gonna develop a heart disease.

Then they opened a comm line to Ghuma. “They’re on the way,” Vrusti said. “Acknowledged,” Ghuma said. “Head for my location as quickly as you can.”

Oh no, Vrusti!Crow.

Is still cute, but man oh man are we in Trouble. There is a plan afoot.

Cikara was about to get out of the aircar when a thought occurred to them. “Actually, Ghuma, I have a strange order, but it’s important. Listen carefully. The future of the Char may depend on it.”

This is where the chapter ends and fuuuuuuuck. Sometimes it is really hard to portion out my readings. Sure it means I don't overwhelm myself and I get to savour each bit, but I mean, come on. Look at that cliff hanger. I have no idea what weird shit Cikara is about to ask of Ghuma but I wanna see the end result so bad!

Next chapter tomorrow.

Be good to yourselves folks.

“Not yet,” Ghuma said. “We have three candidate sites. We just need another forty-eight hours to narrow it down.”

The plot pace hasn't been lagging but it hasn't been all that fast and I am very aware Molly can gun it faster when she wants to while still staying within the limits of comfortable to keep track of, and it looks like we might be coming up on a gear change...

“Jakari,” Ghuma said, dragging out her name a bit. “Twice in one week. People will talk.” “In your dreams,” Jakari said. “Besides, I’d never do that to Birat. I actually respect them.”

I really do enjoy their banter so much. Like I am a known banter enjoyer but This Stuff with the deep tragic shared history of having fought on the same side before and having been comrades in arms before throwing their lots in with different paths post colonisation is just *chefs kiss*

Ghuma smiled, thinking this was going to be easier than they expected. A thought which was quickly erased when the woman suddenly dove out of the way, and people in black suits carrying heavy plasma rifles came around the corner firing.

I got so caught up in the whole Name Issue that I forgot to take a second to appreciate the simplicity of the move they just tried to pull, posing as DHS agents taking Hayami's parents into protective custody.

But now I'm too busy cheering gleefully at the fact that somebody decided to get ahead of that particular possibility and had guards (maybe even decoy parents) set up waiting for the Char to act.

Here ends chapter 8. Back tomorrow with Chapter 9, probably significantly earlier than I've been doing chapters so far because I have plans tomorrow night but idk. Anyways until then, be good to yourselves folks.