Cleaning up

There are times when I consciously choose not to use certain resources at my disposal. While I had sent a few waves to very specific people after the Mercs got into conflict with Ravish and the town, I'd chosen not to pursue them with my own special resources. There really didn't seem to be much point in actively seeking revenge. I didn't hold the entire unit accountable for the actions of two specific members, which ultimately meant there were only two I would actively concern myself with. Should either of them come across my sights, I would end their span. But the rest of the unit could go in whatever passed for peace in their world.

The one that shot AuroraBlue and their leader, who's ultimately responsible for the actions of those under their direct command? If our paths crossed, they spans would end. It really was that simple. The how of it would be detailed should it ever come to pass. It would be humane, of course. I would not gloat over shooting a child, or, in this case, a miscreant. I would simply kill them humanely and efficiently.

Better than either would get if they showed themselves on Hale's Moon again.

Too many people here with large weapons, high explosives, and grudges, for them to get away unscathed. But that was the nature of a small community like ours. Not everyone got along with everyone else. There were some rivalries that were old and deep, but they were between folk who called Hale's Moon home. When outsiders upset the community as a whole, folk would set aside their differences to deal with the problem.

Two Mercenaries against a town? Maybe they'd win in a Cortex vid where they were the heroes. But they weren't the heroes here: they were the ones who got blown up at the end of the show to the cheers of the audience.

I was more immediately concerned with how the incident had affected AuroraBlue. She'd recovered quickly, both from the shot itself and the Rage she'd acquired from Ravish. By the time she'd come to me on Wave Equation, she was more 'confused child' than 'threshing machine with feet.'

Dragons know their own.

With the Mercenary issue off our plate for the time being, and Ravish no longer an issue, I could turn my attention back to other issues. Raids, for example. She'd taken some core components from her fallen "Sister" for purposes I had not seen fit to ask about. I had my suspicions, but I'd also chosen to treat Rads as one of us. That implied a certain level of trust. A certain level of respect. A certain level of privacy.

As I'd told others, if I was wrong I would rectify the mistake. But I didn't believe I was wrong. Raids was a fully sentient being with a right to self determination. I could suggest, offer guidance, mediate, moderate, and otherwise show her what was considered appropriate for a Sentient living amongst other Sentients. But it wasn't my place to force her into compliance.

We'd know in time, I was sure, what Raids wanted with the chip. I had to hope it was something that completed her transition to a fully free sentient. If not? We'd know, eventually, and figure things out then.

The recent incidents had put my focus off both the new Corvette and the research I'd asked Doctor Sinclair to do for me. All things I would have to catch up on, especially considering they were intertwined at some level.

For the moment, I needed to talk to Blue. And x0x0, for that matter. But mostly Blue. I had a fair idea what had happened to AuroraBlue and how it tied into Sinclair's research, but the big AI was probably the only one with the knowledge base to confirm my suspicions.

Assuming he'd answer.