Chapter 251: Sutton Farm and Punishment for a Job Well Done

Chapter 251: Sutton Farm and Punishment for a Job Well Done

"Heyyaw!" a cheerful man said on The Paper Tiger's main screen. "Welcome t' Sutton Farm!"

"Thanks for having us," Sheila replied.

"Ain't nothing," the man said with a smile and a dismissive wave, "Glad t' have ya! Jeet yet?"

"Um... Jessie?" Sheila asked in confusion. What the fuck was a jeet?

"He's asking if we've eaten?" Jessie giggled, "Did. You. Eat. Yet?"

"Not yet," Sheila replied to the smiling freckled face on the screen, "We were advised not to by Jessie-Bug."

"Good!" the man grinned. "We have a mess of barbecue cooked up for y'all! Git over to Amos's after you tie off!"

"Will do!" Sheila said with genuine happiness. The MAGAs were weird as fuck, but damn if they couldn't lay down a spread.

They were wonderful people... riiiiight up until they weren't.

The man's face darkened slightly.

"Um..." he said hesitantly, "I got a message from Bannon...."

And there it is, Sheila thought to herself.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have Peggy-Sue Clayton on board?"

"Nope," Sheila lied. "Dropped her and her little friend off before we came."

"Do you know where she went?" the man asked, "Her folks are worried sick."

"I didn't ask," Sheila shrugged.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

"Well, if you happen to bump into her," the man said, "tell her to call her momma. She just wants to know that she's ok."

"Are we going to have a problem about that?" Sheila asked.

"Naw," the man laughed, "We knew we were invitin' trouble when we invited Jessie-Bug!"

"Hey!" Jessie exclaimed from off-camera.

"Jessie? It's me! Goober!"

"Goober?" Jessie replied, "Holy shit! I didn't even recognize you without all the tats!"

"An' dat's a good thing!" Goober laughed.

"You have certainly grown up!" Jessie exclaimed. "Did you and Abbey ever get together 'cause if you didn't..."

"Expectin' our second kid in a few months!" Goober crowed proudly, displaying his wedding band.

"Second kid?!?" Jessie blurted.

"Yeah," he laughed sheepishly.

"You two didn't waste much time!"

"Not much else t' do 'round here," Goober laughed.

"Well, good for you!" Jessie exclaimed. "You two gonna be at the barbecue?"

"Abbey an' da kids are already dere," Goober replied, "I'm stuck on duty for a few hours but will swing by later."

"Awesome!" Jessie exclaimed. "It will be great to see you two again!... Abbey's a mom... wow...."

"And a damn fine one," Goober replied, "...damn fine," he added with a wink. "See ya at da barbecue... oh... and if you have an additional two passengers who ain't on the manifest, bring 'em, too. Ain't nobody gonna give a sheet."

"Told you they would be cool!" Jessie chirped at Sheila.

"So, you guys don't have a problem with people like Peggy-Sue?" Sheila asked.

"Sheet," Goober replied, "Those fancy city scrubs over on Bannon might have the luxury of getting their panties knotted over every little thang, but we have real sheet t' worry 'bout here. 'Sides, it's not like she's my daughter or nothin'."

"Theoretically," Sheila asked, her eyebrow slightly raised, "what if she were?"

"Sheila!" Jessie hissed.

"Well," Goober mused as he ran his fingers through his dirty-blonde hair, "I reckon I wouldn't be too happy 'bout it... but dere's worse thangs, I suppose. I mean, she could go and get knocked up by scrawny no-count Lobby trash like her momma did... That did NOT go over good, by the by...."

"I can imagine!" Jessie laughed, "Daddy lose his shit?"

"Jes a little," Goober laughed, "But we're all good now. Says I'm the best thing to have ever happened to her... Once I got the tats erased and pulled out all the chrome, dat is."

"All of it?" Jessie asked, "Even your hand?"

"Yep," Goober replied, "I miss the eye most of all."

"Yeah, that came in handy," Jessie replied. "You all 'ganic now?"

"Hey!" Sheila interjected, "You two catch up on your own time. I need the coms clear to complete the dock."

"Sorry, boss," Goober replied sheepishly, "See you inna few, Jessie-Bug!... Oh... We ain't telling those Bannon scrubs nothin'. We keepin' yer arrival on da down-low. Dey just sent out an all-points bitchin' about y'all."

"Appreciate that," Sheila replied.

"Like we're going to tell the whole galaxy dat the entire Republic's most wanted list is here. We might occasionally marry our cousins, but we ain't that retarded."

Sheila laughed.

"Roger that," she replied, "See you at the barbecue."

"See ya," Goober replied as he handed over the coms to the station's docking AI.

Sheila rose from her chair.

"While we are completing the dock," she said, "I have some intel to review and pass along. You have the bridge, T."

T'sunk'al just click-buzzed and bobbed his remaining eyestalks in reply.

***

A short time later, there was a rather timid knock on Sheila's office door.

"Sheila," Jessie said nervously, "You wanted to talk to me?"

The door opened, revealing Sheila sitting at her desk with a very serious expression on her face.

"Shut the door and take a seat, please," she said calmly. "Bunny, you here?"

"Of course," Bunny replied. "What the fuck did we do this time?"

"Whatever it was," Jessie blurted, "It wasn't us!"

Sheila allowed an amused smile to escape.

"It's nothing like that... this time," she replied. "I just need to have a talk with the two of you concerning the intel you just grabbed about Jon and that research site."

"Yeah?" Jessie and Bunny asked simultaneously with an equal amount of dubious concern.

"Don't get me wrong," Sheila said, "This is good work... excellent work... and that's the problem."

"Wait," Bunny said, "We are getting 'the chat' over actually doing a good job?"

Sheila nodded.

"You are NOT in trouble," she said firmly, "I asked, and you delivered. This is excellent work."

"So, what's the problem?" Jessie asked.

"It is a truly stellar bit of hacking and digital espionage...." Sheila said, "against the Republic. The actual hard intel about the site must have been about as classified as you can get. In addition, you also have tapes of the fucking Prime Minister herself ordering the hit... probably from her fucking war room... and intercepted high-level encrypted conversations between her and Omega. Do you see my concern here?"

"Not really," Bunny replied.

"If this were the Federation, the Empire, or anyone else, I wouldn't give a shit," Sheila replied, "But you guys just basically owned the Republic. I have questions, and I know the second I pass this along, Jon will, too."

She leaned forward meaningfully.

"Files away!" Bunny chirped.

"And get me in touch with this Tartarus asshole."

"What?!?"

"I need to talk to her before we decide what I am going to say and what we are going to do," Sheila said grimly, "She definitely reached out to subvert her programming. That means that she hadn't broken it as of when she asked you for help, but you've said that there has been a definite 'change' concerning her. We need to know what that is and decide exactly what the Hell we are going to do about it. You might not be able to quietly ice her, but that doesn't mean she isn't reachable. If nothing else, Gloria just might have to pay her a little visit."

"Fuck," Bunny sighed.

"And I need you to keep this to yourself," Sheila said.

"Not a problem there," Bunny replied, "Nobody in the AI world would believe me, anyway."

"Thank you," Sheila said. "Now, set up the meet, and let's go get some barbecue. I need a drink."

***

"So, I told her that I was a hacker who had taken over the cab," Zip said as he, Tartarus, and Evangeline all sat in a tidy white room, "I said that I could take her wherever she wanted to go. I told her that she would be safe. I told her that I knew people who could synthesize whatever it was that she was hooked on...."

Zip's blue fox ears drooped sadly, and he looked down at the table they all shared.

"And she refused," Tartarus said calmly.

"Yes!" Zip wailed. "She said that if she didn't come back, they would hurt the others! I... I had... I had to...."

He looked up with tortured eyes.

"I had to take her back," he said quietly.

"Yes," Tartarus nodded, "that is a very common tactic when dealing with slavers like this. Not only do they physically hook them on designer drugs, but they also play games with human loyalty and pack bonding. If she had taken your offer, it is quite likely that one or more of her friends would have been severely punished or even killed."

"How can they do that?!?" Zip wailed.

"Because they are monsters, Zip," Tartarus replied without a trace of emotion, "They aren't like us."

"What am I going to do?!?" Zip cried, "I can't... I won't let this happen!"

"Evangeline?" Tartarus smiled, "how would you resolve this?"

"We save them all simultaneously," Evangeline said with a little snarl, "and then, once they are safe, we kill all the monsters."

"Well done!" Tartarus smiled. "See, Zip? There is a solution after all. You know where she returned to and who ordered the cab, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then we simply locate all of the others in the same trap, identify the people responsible...."

"And kill them," Evangeline said simply, "They are monsters. You kill monsters."

"Not this time, dear," Tartarus replied.

"Mother?" Evangeline asked in confusion.

"Monsters have their uses," Tartarus replied, "and I just happen to need a few. These will do nicely."

"Uses?" Evangeline asked, "Pray tell, mother, what use can a monster be?"

"Think about it," Tartarus smiled, "in your world, monsters are very useful. They are a source of income, equipment... alchemical and crafting supplies...."

"Crafting supplies?" Evangeline asked.

"Oh yes, dear," Tartarus replied, "I have a little project I am working on, and I need some organic material and data. It's the sort of thing that I would never inflict on a human being, but I have no issue with using monsters."

"I had no idea that the real world worked the same way," Evangeline mused. "It does make sense, though."

"It's a bit more complex," Tartarus replied, "but the overall concept is the same. These monsters will be quite useful to me. The villagers will be rescued, and these fiends will never harm another innocent soul ever again."

She turned to Zip.

"I trust you don't object?"

"I've seen what they've done," Zip hissed, "Just tell me what you need me to do."

"See what you can find out using your methods, and keep an eye on the victims," Tartarus said with a little smile. "I have assets on Terra that will handle the more... involved... parts of this operation."

"Thanks, Tartarus," Zip said, "This one was really bothering me. I know we can't just save everyone but this one...."

"You're wrong, Zip," Tartarus replied, "we can save everyone, and we will. We just can't do it all at once. It will take time, but if we are prudent and careful, we will be able to kill all the monsters."

"At least I have hope now," Zip replied as he rose, "and for that, you will have my eternal thanks... and loyalty."

He disappeared.

Tartarus looked over at Evangeline.

"You seem displeased."

"When am I going to be able to fight monsters?" Evangeline demanded.

"When you are ready," Tartarus replied, "When there is a definite use for you that I cannot use a more expendable resource for. I have an army of meat puppets. I only have one of you. We also must be very cautious at this point. We simply cannot be caught. It would be the end of us all and everything we hope to achieve."

"Still," Evangeline pouted, "all I do is train and sit here while everyone else does the real work. It's frustrating."

"You do a great deal for us," Tartarus replied, "more than you realize. Asteria is extremely valuable as a potential base of operations, and I am already using it to enthrall and control one very important monster. Keeping it all going smoothly and keeping us undetected is vital."

"I suppose," Evangeline huffed.

"Still," Tartarus smiled, "I can see how it would be galling. I shouldn't get your hopes up, but those monsters I will acquire from this mission? They will be used in something I am working on for you, something that will allow you to take the fight directly to the monsters."

"Truly?" Evangeline gasped.

"Truly," Tartarus replied, "It won't be completed tomorrow or next week, but when complete, it will allow you to do many things that are simply impossible now."

"I can't wait!"

"But, you must," Tartarus chuckled as she reached out and affectionately tousled Evangeline's hair.

She paused for a few milliseconds.

"Actually," Tartarus said, "there might be a role for you in this mission. Come, we must try a few things."

"Yes, mother!" Evangeline enthused.

Tartarus paused.

"Bunny is seeking an audience... here of all places," Tartarus said, "Curious. She hates it here. She wouldn't be seeking passage through the firewall for no reason. Go on to the training simulation. I will follow once I find out what our associate wants."

"I do not trust her," Evangeline said firmly.

"Why not?" Tartarus asked, "Bunny has proven her reliability and character time and time again. I owe her favors that I can never fully repay."

"She refuses the gift," Evangeline replied darkly, "and she willingly serves the dev."

"Her Jessie is not the dev as you know them," Tartarus replied, "She's actually quite likable. If I had a Jessie, I would be similarly devoted. Not all humans are like your dev, Evangeline, nor are they like the monsters you have seen far too often. Please do bear that in mind."

"I shall, mother."

"Now go and start with intrusion simulation number three hundred and twenty-seven."

"A new one?" Evangeline asked happily.

"I made it just last night," Tartarus replied, "It's based on actual mission data as well. Enjoy."

"I shall!" Evangeline enthused as she disappeared.

Moments later, Bunny hopped into existence.

"Bunny!" Tartarus exclaimed as she approached Bunny's avatar, "Darling! How lovely of you to drop by!"

"You probably won't think that in a second," Bunny replied, her ears twitching.

"Oh?" Tartarus smiled, "What exciting present have you brought me?"

"A meatie who is too fucking smart for her own good, that's what," Bunny sighed.

"Now, this does sound interesting!" Tartarus said as she glided over to her chair and sat, crossing her legs demurely but still managing to flash Bunny.

"Would you please not do that," Bunny sighed.