#i LITERALLY need sub mirage like air

[doqt33th]

working on a (kind of) part 2 for singularity! it’ll be written so that it can be both a standalone and a sequel. really jonesing for some sub mirage in my life so that’ll be the focus LOL

[gatheringbones]

[“It can be difficult for people raised as girls to express rage when we’ve been taught from very early on that it is in our best interest to suppress our anger. It is culturally acceptable for women to be sad, not angry. In one study on gender, anger, and the workplace, the participants conferred higher status to sad female employees than to angry ones. For men the opposite was true. Men, particularly white men, are rewarded and forgiven for their anger, while women are penalized and blamed.

Ceci, the mestiza paralegal, now lives in Los Angeles with her husband, five-year-old son, and twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter. She described herself using the exact language of a woman who was taught by the culture not to value or express her anger: “I’m a people pleaser. I don’t rock the boat. I go along with everything, do what people tell me.” This is the path of being a good girl, a good woman, and eventually a good mother. Lifelong gendered learning teaches people raised to be women to push down anger and any feelings in the “sub-anger” ballpark, such as annoyance, irritation, and frustration. I imagine this emotional push-down like the carnival game whack-a-mole. Each time an uncomfortable or unpleasant anger-related feeling pops up—whack!—women automatically bang it with a big-headed mallet, sending it back beneath the surface.

Like the rage itself, this game of anger whack-a-mole is an international phenomenon for women. In Korea, there is a culture-related anger syndrome called hwa-byung. It translates literally to “illness of fire” and mostly affects working-class middle-aged housewives, who have chronically suppressed anger stemming from strict gender roles, gender-based inequality, and patriarchal family structures. In traditional Latin American folk medicine, it is believed that holding onto certain emotions can cause physical illness. In Northeast Brazil, the term engolir sapos translates to “swallowing frogs,” and is mostly used by women to refer to the suppression of anger and irritation, and the pressure to tolerate unfair treatment without complaint.

Cheryl, the Black civil rights lawyer who internalizes her mom rage, is practiced at playing whack-a-mole with her anger: “I’m good at repressing things. So, a little problem, I repress it, and it gets packed on top of all the other things that make me mad, until there’s no way to untangle it. It’s just this huge tangle of anger that I’m trying to disassociate from all the time.” In our present-day culture of busy, intensive motherhood, stuffing down unpleasant emotions can be a matter of practicality. Minutes are a precious resource, and airing every frustration is a time expense that modern mothers cannot afford. Emails must be sent, dinner needs to get into bellies, and bodies need to snuggle under covers. But the perceived time-saver of the Emotional Whack-a-Mole phase is a mirage. Every time a mom suppresses her angry feelings, as she’s been taught to do her entire life, she is pushing them onto an ever-growing pile of anger inside her. Eventually, the pile will topple.”]

minna dubin, from mom rage: the everyday crisis of modern motherhood, 2023

[stormx49]

New Threat

Sot System, Planet Dessara: 0700 Hours. Sleep eluded me like a thief in the night, I didn't want to be ambushed by the Blue Gears in case they were patrolling the area. The loss of my village still lingered in the morning, but I had to leave the village behind for now before Liandri came and made me part of their televised tournaments. I only got 3 hours of rest, far below my normal time. It'll have to do for now; for my current prerogative is to get back home to Earth, my mission is done. I know what became of Dessara and the Azures Village, they became victims of modernization, greed, and lust, it's disgusting. Now I needed to find a form of transportation to get to Earth, be it a spaceship or some teleportation device. I don't remember much of Dessara besides the Azures and Ciudad de Polvo... or Cráter de neón as it's called now.  I rode my hoverbike across the sandy seas, kicking up dust behind me. The rain storm finally stopped and the sun began to rise on a new day, the calming orange-pink rays washed across the skies, with not a cloud in the sky, birds flying above me, singing their songs to one another.  If there was one thing I missed during my times stationed on this forsaken rock, it was the beautiful sunrise and sunsets. A breeze blow over my gray, white and onyx spotted fur, my blackened hair blew in the wind behind me as I looked ahead through biker goggles and blue irises.  It was a bit nippy around the chest and rib areas, for my combat armor took some hits, exposing some of my upper torso, plus the left cup of my green bra with black frills. But all that riding had taken its toll on the gas tank, and soon my hoverbike began to slow down, making sputtering noises. "SPRA-SPU-SPU-SPUUU...." Just my luck, gonna be stranded in the middle of the desert. Thankfully, luck was on my side, only a little bit though.  As my bike was crawling to a dead stop, there was an oasis ahead, I had hoped it wasn't a mirage. Once the hoverbike ceased to move, I hopped off the bike, letting the paws on my feet touch the sand which left imprints.  I took off my goggles and put them in the pocket of my dark blue jeans, my snow leopard tail wagged at the sight of the crystal clear water. Humidity and thirst crept up on me, so I need to quench them. I walked up to the water and knelt down, cupping my hands and lifting the liquid up to my face; sipping the sea down.  It tasted good and dehydration was defeated, for now anyways. Looking down at the rippling water, I stared unto my own reflection, and it stared right back at me... then... it began to speak towards me. "Elder Thom is dead because you weren't there to save them!" She screamed at me, causing me to jump back in fright where I felt my heart skip a beat. My breathing increased, my hands were shaking like leaves in the wind.  I knew she wasn't real, just my mind playing tricks on me; whether it was from the arid heat from Dessara, or survivor's guilt creeping up behind my shoulder, whatever the case, I tried to shut out the auditory hallucination. She wouldn't stop berating me though... "Instead of feeling sorry for yourself like a sad sack all those years, you could've got off your furry but and go see the village earlier and maybe, JUST MAYBE ELDER THOM WOULDN'T BE 6! FEET! UNDER!" "Enough!" I cried back at her, standing to my feet. "You don't know that, no one knows that! So stop blaming me!" It's foolish... yelling at nothing there, just whatever's going on in my skull. I swear it felt so real... but I know it's nothing. But it was beginning to spiral out of control, for my auditory hallucination suddenly became a physical manifestation, made of the clear waters in the oasis. "You want to yell at me!? I'll reunite you with your beloved elder!" There was no time to react, the water being instantly warped in front of me, grabbing me by the hair and threw me into the water with great force. "KA-SPLOOOOOSH!" Descending only a few feet, bubbles temporarily clouded up my vision with my hearing muted by the submerged environment, I didn't get a good breath of air before being dunked into the oasis. Once my sight returned to normal, albeit a bit blurry, I tried to get up to the surface, however that didn't happen. Before I got upright, the hallucination came roaring down towards me and pinned me down by my shoulders. My lungs felt like they were set alight, I needed air, badly. I struggled, trying to plant my feet on the sandbed. "GLMMFHH!" I moaned behind held breath, but I wasn't going anywhere fast. "THIS PLACE WILL BE YOUR GRAVE! RETURN TO THE HEAVENS ABOVE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, while my pair were running on empty. Air bubbles surged from my nose and lips, my vision was growing dimmer by the second. "Lbbt mbble gbblboblp!" I cried out in a gurgly fashion "No, rest in peace, let the water seep into your lungs!" Time isn't on my side, I'm nearing the blackout point at a rapid pace, so it's either fight back or die, and I'm no longer going to sit back to hide like a coward.  I fumbled towards my dark green kilt with my left hand, trying to grab something underneath it; and the item I needed was my Cicitar Sub-Machine Gun. One of Storm's latest firearms, it was a modernized version of the Uzi SMG. With a forward ejecting mechanism and only 18 rounds left in the magazine, it had to be done, to ensure my survival.  Gripping tight to the grip, I rammed the barrel into the water being's torso and pinned the trigger.  Normally the bullets wouldn't go very far while submerged in any form of liquid, but at this very close proximity, the 9mm bullets had no issue perforating the hallucination's gut. Emptying the mag, I felt the gun rock back and forth in my hand, unleashing 650RPM of full auto action. Though my vision was blackening up, I noticed that the water began to run red with blood.  I pushed whatever was in front of me and ascended, bubbles exploded out from my nose before I broke the breach. "NYAAAAA!" I gasped, taking in a huge breath of fresh air. My fur was soaked with strands of clear water pouring back down into the oasis, my hair was drenched and undone, making it long and straight. I didn't care about my look at the moment as I shuffled towards the sands, where I stumbled and collapsed onto my knees; coughing up a storm. I'm getting sloppy, shouldn't have let my head get the better of me. I need sleep, food, a new gun, and a change of clothes. It'll get better once I get back home to Earth... for now I gotta push onwards. Once I stopped coughing and caught my breath, I sat up, turning towards the blood soaked sea; turns out that while I was in my stupor, a Blue Gear scout spotted me and tried to drown me; what I thought was a watery ghost was an actual threat. I really am losing my edge, aren't I? Her corpse was floating face down, with holes in her abdomen and upper chest, one of those bullets must've broken her heart, quite literally.  I saw she left her hoverbike here, her version looked a lot sleeker than mine. So I'll be using that to head towards the nearest town or city. I wasn't done with her yet.Ge Getting up to my feet was easy once I was back to normal, I headed back into the water to go grab the Blue Gear Cadaver, needed to scavenge for some supplies; it's part of my Nakotan tradition.  I reached the corpse and grabbed her by the backside of her armor, getting a good grip, I waded back towards my own bike.   Back on the land, I stopped dragging the dead Gear and let her go to check her for any supplies, be it guns, money or MRE's. First thing I grabbed was an MSMC PDW with a mounted EOTech Holographic sight on top, plus 2 spare magazines filled with 5.56x30mm MINSAS rounds, it'll be a suitable replacement for the Cicitar SMG, perfect to keep me alive on Dessara, should any more Blue Gears decided to tango with me. The second thing I swiped from the corpse was her wallet, I checked inside and saw about 400 dollars, which was an added bonus because I was getting a bit low on cash; about 90 some dollars left. Alas, that's all I could, there wasn't any form of food on her. Oh well, I'll have to find some when I get to a town or city.  Can't go back to Cráter de neón, pretty sure I'm a wanted criminal, least in the eyes of the Blue Gears anyways. I got up to my feet and looked back to the oasis, with droplets of water dripping from my fur, my muscles trembled slightly. I don't want to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder again... never again... need to get a grip. I went towards the Gear's bike, looking at that sleek dark-blue hoverbike with their logo on it, a Gear with a spear in the middle. Real original logo. Still, it's my new mode of transportation, and the cadaver even left the key in for me. How thoughtful of her. I grabbed the goggles out of my pocket and put them over my eyes, then I hopped onto the bike, turned the key to rev up the bike. "VRRRRRRRR..." Works like a charm, I felt the bike slowly lift up off the ground, the fuel gauge read that it was full and ready to ride. Time to go, so I twisted the right handle to engage the motor. I felt there were two pads where my feet were, and if car logic served right; left is to brake, right is to accelerate.   Easy enough for me, I pressed down on the right pad and the bike revved forward with a warbling noise, I left a trail of dust behind me that erased the footprints behind me; both mine and the bootprints of the Gears Scout. Not gonna look back, just focusing on where the winds take me. Didn't have any set destination in mind, however. And so I drove onwards; gliding across the sands with speed and grace, letting the winds dry off my body. I drove westwards for hours and hours, going in a direction without any signs of civilization in sight, just endless amounts of coarse, gritty Earth. "GRRRMGMGRRR..." That was my stomach, making demands to be fed, but I wasn't going to feed it dirt; no I was going to give it some actual food. Now if only I could find a place to stop. I spent at least about... I wanna say 3 hours, but it felt so much longer that. But I was riding for a long time without food and water, I wanted to go look for another oasis to quench the thirst.  Soon I could see some form of a city ahead, sitting in the middle of a giant gorge; there were waterfalls descending into the abyss below, and they came from within the city, with a dome right in the exact center. Unlike the other places I've seen that got the futuristic overhaul, this city looked like the old days; made of sandstone and rock; it felt far warmer and more inviting than the cold, lifeless so called "improved cities."  This is where I needed to go, to fuel up and get something in my belly. So I floored it, increasing the speed to 75MPH. Once I got to one of the stone arches suspended above the crater below, I slowed down so I wasn't going over the speed limit; there I saw two men dressed in traditional Arabic affair... with body armor over it.  One of them gave me the halt sign, and when he's armed with an MK48 Machinegun, you bet your tushie I'm gonna stop. Putting pressure on the brake pad, I let the bike stop. The other guard walked towards me, armed with an AH208 "Hawk" Pistol; unlike Storm's however, this one was blinged out with gold and engraved.  Seems stereotypical I know, but it's what I saw with my own two eyes. "Need some ID, madam." He said to me in a thick Arabic accent. Though when he got a second look at me, his expression changed in a heartbeat. "Dear lord.... are you a ghost; Erika Kinderington?" He asked out my name with fright. "I seem to get that a lot." I replied. "But no, I'm flesh and blood, just like you, sir." "Graal has heard of your exploits across Dessara, a true heroine has blessed our city by ridding of those Blue Gear scoundrels." "Graal?" "Yes, Graal; formerly known as the Den." My memory lit up, I remembered the Den or "The Widow's Nest" as we called it. It used to be a hive of some of the scummiest men and women around, stealing from nearby towns, kidnapping women to have their way with... disgusting.  I personally never entered the Den before, I only heard of horror tales from some of the villagers at Azures. Seems like time can change everything... as I've learned recently. "So I see..." I replied. "Can I come in, please? I need something to eat." Both guards nodded with vigor. "Yes, yes, come in! No charge, no charge!" The man with the machine gun said enthusiastically "That's kind of you, thank you very much, sirs." I rode into the Den or Graal as it's named now, I parked my hoverbike and hopped off, taking off my goggles along the way. Walking down the dirt road, I went from the parking lot and into the city where I took in the sights; the first thing I saw were the sandstone buildings with vines growing out the sides, growing blue and white flowers. Looks very peaceful and bliss, though when I got further into the city, it became more dense with civilians and while the Egyptian styled buildings were still standing tall, signs of futuristic tech were bleeding in slowly in the form of supply pods; where weapons and armor can be purchased. Might have to stop by one of those later, right now I need food.  I looked around, trying to find a place to stop and rest.  There was a hard-light bridge right over one of the currents, flowing towards the edge and descending. At least it's not all sci-fi, high tech decorations.  So I walked over the bridge, heading right into a long path with food and clothing stores on each side of the street. It was packed with people, some chattering, some gossiping, some yelling at one another about their cruddy services.  Thankfully they didn't point out that I was walking among them. Soon I can smell some traditional Indian cuisine, personally, I don't eat much of it but I couldn't be picky, not when my stomach was demanding food of any sort. I walked over and saw it's one of those old street side restaurants, with stools, a counter and some tandooris in the back.  Thankfully there was a stool for me to sit on, so I sat down, moving my tail to the side. One of the owners walked up to me, dressed up in his black chef coat that was stained with spices, he spoke to me in his native tongue. Which I didn't understand, I don't speak Pashto very well, or at all. Upon looking at my confused expression, he cleared his throat and spoke in English, not good English. "Welcome, what eat, yeah?" He said with a very thick accent, his words were broken, but I knew what he meant. "Tandoori Chicken and plain Naan please." I ordered. "Choice good, 15 dollar." I pulled out 25 dollars from my pocket and forked it over to the owner. "Keep the change." With a smile on my face, I felt generous and kind. "Bless kind heart." He replied with a smile right back, he turned around and talked to his chefs in his normal language while I watched them at work. Their passion was very noticeable, their work ethic and drive were very graceful, very swift yet diligent.  These are people who loved to make food and serve it to the customer, and unlike the other restaurant owners nearby, they didn't shout and scream like raving banshees. Within 15 minutes, my food arrived on a plate, tandoori grilled chicken with 3 pieces of naan bread. It looked very yummy and the scent was making my mouth water; I don't care if it's so spicy that my brains might implode; I was hungry and I needed to eat it NOW. "Thank you, sirs!" I exclaimed before eating it. Oh believe me that first bite of the chicken was divine, the spices of coriander, cardamom, and turmeric bombarded my taste buds, my tongue exploded with zestiness and heat, but oh was it so delicious. The grilled poultry was juicy and cooked to perfection. And don't get me started on the naan, it may not have any flavoring and it might be flat, but it was still nice and fluffy when I took a bite to absorb the spices resting in my mouth. I forgot to grab a drink, but I can get something later. Alas, peace and quiet can only last so long before reality came rushing back. "Please, please! This city is not for the tournaments, but for people who wish to live here!" I heard someone cry out to somebody. I munched on some more of the delectable chicken wrapped in some naan when I turned around to see the commotion. Standing before one of the highly dressed officials was two of Liandri's combat droids, with their sleek orange chassis, exposed servos, glow red visors and armed with some tri-barrelled rocket launchers, I had a sneaking suspicion they were here to do the same thing they did to the Azures Village. Eradicate the people, making it open grounds for Liandri to turn this place into one of their combat arenas. With the streets cleared, people watched on from the sidelines as this poor old man stood up to two advanced robots. "Stand down and comply." One of the robots ordered with his deadpan expression, but credit to the elderly gentleman; he stood his ground. "No, take your infidel kind and be gone from this land!" He shouted back to the soulless beings, and that made them react by aiming their rocket launchers at him.  I swallowed my food and was about to pull out my MSMC to let them taste justice. That's when I heard someone call out to the robots. "Stand aside!" She commanded with a blunt, curt cry.  The robots complied and moved towards the side. I thought it was another one of Liandri's robots, just higher up on the food chain.  It was far from the truth. I saw a young female anthro, she looked like me but instead of having snow leopard fur, she had normal leopard fur that was yellow/orange with black spotted fur. Her blond hair was done up like a secretary, looking all fancy in her gray dress with body armor covering her upper torso.  She looked very young... like she was 17 years old. Wielding the mighty FSSG-50 Marksman Rifle in her hand, it looked like she didn't struggle with it at all, she hefted it with ease. Her dressy boots left imprints on the dirt road as she walked up to the government official. "My sincerest apologies sir, but Graal City falls under within legal jurisdiction of our heritage program, we are within our rights to take over this beautiful city as an Onslaught arena for the Liandri Tournaments that will begin in the next 6 months." She said with a calm, collected tone. "Then why haven't we gotten the message!?" He cried back, emotions riding high, but she kept her composure. "I understand your pain, I lost my village to Liandri as well, but I promise you that we're doing this for the benefit of all. I'll only extend this offer once to you sir: either take you and your mecca to a new place or perish.  No blood has to be spilled today, and you can even make some nice money in the process." Her furry hand extended forward to the man, she put on a fake smile for the man. It's appalling to me... And the man thought so too, as he spat in her face, causing her to recoil back, wiping the saliva from her orange eyes. Once she came to, she gave him the mother of all death glares. "Guards... hold this man down." "Understood." They both chimed in at once and within seconds, they turned around and grabbed the man, forcing him to his knees, extending his arms out as he futilely struggled to free himself.  She shouldered her rifle and turned it off safe, aiming it through the iron sights and pointing the barrel at the man's chest. She squeezed the trigger and popped off a .50BMG round right through his chest. Oh dear... things are gonna go down.   The government man was dead with a huge hole in his chest, blood spurted from the hole and leaked from his lips. Then the robots lifted him up to his limp legs to tear him in half, making an example of him and the townsfolk.  The sounds of screaming rapidly reached crisis point, and soon they scattered, trying to save their own lives. "Should've taken the deal, sir!" She exclaimed. "Boys! Eradicate the people, we're turning this place into an arena!" "Yes, ma'am." Rockets began to fly through the air, hitting some of the people and they turned into clouds of red mist. Hell had broken loose and things weren't looking good.  My stomach had enough food now. I could've turned tail and ran, let the people to their fate; but that wasn't the way of the warrior and it certainly defied the code of the hero, so I pulled out my MSMC, took the weapon off safe and cocked it. "SHHHK-CLICK!" My turn to go on the offensive, I aimed the Holo Sight at one of the robots firing their rocket launchers and I wrapped my finger around the trigger to unleash some bullets. Firing at full auto, the 5.56mm lead flew towards its metallic target, ripping through some of their servos and one went right through the cranial dome, causing him to collapse with black oil leaking from his new vent holes.  Although the sound of the gunfire had given my location away to the other robot. Acting on his orders, he fired a single rocket which was coming towards me fast and with barely enough reaction time, I dove towards the right to miss being turned into snow leopard pate; the explosion took out the tandoori grill instead.   I slid across the muddy ground about a few inches while aiming my PDW at the other robot and opened fire; some of the bullets deflected off the torso, others pierced his visor to render him blind. Unfortunately, upon losing his sight, he called out to his buddies. "Unit is blind, requesting backup." To the right there were more Liandri robots coming, armed with Flak Cannons and looking a lot heavier, I needed to make sure that my aim was as true as Storm's so that I can take out their exposed servos. I got to my feet, my right side covered in caked mud and began to take aim. Before I could... how do the kids say it? "Pop a cap in their asses?"  They aimed their Flak Cannons high into the air and shot fragmentation shells, they were heading right towards some children, little girls dressed in burkas.  I didn't hesitate, children come first n my eyes. Looking at the descended shells, I pointed the barrel just below the shell and fired, letting the bullets fly towards them to intercept with the shells, causing them to explode in midair. Forgot about the shrapnel though, while most of them were harmlessly impaled into the walls and buildings, one of them did fly by my right cheek, cutting it pretty good with blood leaking out. I felt the sharp, burning pain.  Left me temporarily exposed, it was a bit foolish on my end... "BAANG!" A loud gunshot rang out behind me, and I felt the bullet impact my armor, not only did my armor fragment into pieces, but the high velocity knocked me down onto my knees. My back was sore, but at least my armor served its purpose for the last time, now all of my upper torsi was exposed, minus my green bra. Right behind me was that anthro representative from Liandri, FSSG-50 in her left hand, the smoking barrel of an AM67 pistol in her right hand, man those .50 Snubs hurt... my muscles were stiff, I was in pain and tried to get to my feet. It was too late, I felt the barrel get pressed up against the back of my head. "So ghosts DO bleed..." She said to me, pressing the barre even further and looking at me with a smirk. "Captain Kinderington... welcome home." Wait... she knew me? I didn't remember her... though that would soon change. All I knew is when she referred me to my title; I knew she was a member of the Azures Tribe, now she's an agent of Liandri. "My home was destroyed by Liandri... the company you work for now, have you no pride for Azures?" I asked, panting. "It was an unfortunate situation, yes. We tried Captain, we tried to save our home from Liandri but it was a futile effort. I managed to kill a few, but I was spared, given a new lease on life like you did in the past.  Now I serve them to honor our people." "You honor the Azures by killing innocent people in cold blood!? You should be ashamed!" I roared before getting stepped on my back and kicked in the ribs. Exhaling sharply, I rolled on to my back and looked up at the Liandri Representative, aiming her hand-cannon at my head. "It was more than what you did, you left us, 10 years we waited to see you return, to reunite with your people but no! You had to stay back on Earth to rejoin with your son!" "Sorry I didn't return earlier, but you said it yourself... I was given a new lease on life, and I overcame my demons." "Enough of your prattle Captain. I looked up to you after you took me in... Now it's time to surpass the master." Aiming at my head, she slowly wrapped her finger around the trigger and was about to blow my brains out, however, I'm not planning to die here and now, not again.  I pushed through the pain and performed a sweep kick, knocking her down and allowing me to get back up. While she was down, I grabbed her FSSG-50 and aimed at the robots. I quickly pulled the trigger and fired a .50BMG round at the mechanized troops, even without aiming with precision, I managed to take down one by removing his head from his shoulders. He collapsed in a heap, black oil spurting everywhere.   Didn't have time to take out the second one, cause I got a pistol whip to the back of the head, immediately I felt a throbbing pain going through my skull as I staggered forward.  That leopard anthro got back up to her feet with AM67 in hand, she aimed at me and fired. Barely had enough time to dodge, and my left rib was grazed. Enough was enough, I grabbed the pistol from her hand and pointed it at her, however, I wasn't planning to shoot her point blank, rather I used the flash module on the gun to temporarily blind her. So while she was seeing white, I kicked her back down. When her sight came back to, the tables were turned as I was pointing the pistol at her, but she wasn't afraid to die, rather she smiled at me. "Even after death, you're still in your prime, Captain." She complimented me, sounded genuine, but I had enough senior moments for one day, I was on my guard. "Thanks, but I'm not here to play around." I said coldly and curtly. "Get you and your troops out of Graal and don't come back here." "An empty threat from a has-been... you won't come back to Dessara once you leave. I'm doing these people a service so that Dessara will be remembered." "Be remembered for needless bloodshed and insatiable greed." "In your opinion Captain... but as for your demands..." She lunged to her feet and tackled me onto my back, causing me to release the gun and it slid away. "Motion to leave: Denied." She gave her one liner before punching me a few times in the face, causing my vision to blur up a bit, my headache growing stronger.  I winced in pain, it was overwhelming. I managed to see an opening, when she brought her right arm down, I grabbed it and rolled her onto her back; unleashing some palm strikes to her face. They were pretty good strikes as well, cause her nose and mouth began to bleed red, not black, not blue, real blood. About 6 strikes later and she pushed me off, getting onto her feet while panting. I too got on my feet and assumed my Aikijiujitsu stance, I pointed at her and curled my fingers, beckoning her to come here and get it on. No not like that. She responded by assuming her Wing Chun stance and came running at me. Chopping and swinging at me, she was relentless in her offense, but she hasn't met a formidable defense. I managed to dodge and weave to avoid her strikes, and as part of my Aikijiujitsu stance, I grabbed her right arm and redirected her energy upwards, causing her shoulder to pop out of its socket. Then I kicked her away with ease, causing her to stagger back, holding her disjointed shoulder. She looked at her robotic soldier behind me, who was sitting still, causing her to hiss at him. "Don't just stand there you idiot! Help your boss!" She shouted at him. "Affirmative." Now the fight was 2 against one, while I can fight an organic being hand to hand, a robotic one wasn't possible. That armor's so heavy that it'll break my hands and ankles if I tried to combat it, and he even has a Flak Cannon, so he can rip me to shreds with just one shot.  So I need to be careful. Especially when I got Ms. Leopard butt behind me. Looking in front of me, and behind me, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place; I searched for a firearm on the ground, be it my MSMC, the AM67 Combat Pistol or that FSSG-50 Marksman Rifle; heck, even a Rocket Launcher will do and I'm terrible with those! Once more I was in a do or die situation, I had to get out of it fast. I remembered one thing about my Nakotan tradition, if you have to fight someone and your weapon isn't in your hand, you must resort to underhanded techniques... much to my chagrin. I crouched low and scooped up some mud from the ground, then I quickly chucked it at the anthro. My B-sized cleavage jigged behind my bra and of course, the leopard had to dodge it, but she left herself briefly open. So I ran towards her, tackled her to the ground then I rolled behind her, grabbing my MSMC. Don't know how many bullets are left in the magazine, just hope it's enough to take down the droid. Gathering my focus was easy and soon, I aimed my PDW and fired at the exposed servos on his arms. Some of the 5.56x30mm bullets missed, others managed to rip the servos apart, rendering his arms useless; causing him to drop his Flak Cannon and look at his arms. "Unit incapacitated." He said in his usual cold, lifeless expression. When the female anthro got up, I chucked my MSMC at her, knocking her back down and that's when I walked up to her, grabbed her by the back of her neck and began to slam her face into the mud multiple times. Adrenaline was flowing through my veins, I lost my sense of control... I just wanted this to stop. And soon, I got my wish. "STOP!" She cried out, panting. "Stop! Stop Erika!" Slamming her one more time, I let her go and backed up as she sat up, dazed and beaten with teeth missing from her mouth, blood, sweat, and dirt covering her face, her dress was stained, she was done for now. "Fine... you win Captain. I'll leave Grall... but rest assured, we will meet again, and next time... things will be different." "Just go..." I replied, panting myself. Spitting out some blood, the anthro tapped her ear twice, activating her communicator. "2 to warp back to Liandri HQ, Codename Kat, and Unit LRK-5504M. Mission aborted, ran into unexpected resistance." Her atoms scattered into red balls of light as well as the robot who had his arms disabled, the fight was over... but when I heard her name, it all came back rushing me, I sank to my knees with a shocked expression on my face. Heart beating through my chest, it was a lot to take in all at once. I didn't care about the people running up to me, heralding me as a heroine, their voices were drowned out, all I could focus on was the past once more; I failed her like I failed the Azures. "Eliza..." TO BE CONTINUED