Chapter Five: Matters of Life and Death

Early, far too early the next morning, a sour Shego peered through her binoculars from the entrance of the cave. She could see the children emerging in the clothing stolen from her the day before. Her teeth gritted when she saw her best(!) pair of work coveralls had been cut in half to provide outfits for the smallest children. One wore the lower half with her arms sticking though the pockets while the top half made a dress for the other child, whatever her name was. Kim had used similar ingenuity dressing the others. At least Drago was able to wear one of her old mission cat suits without alterations. The source of her aggravation also needed to only roll up the pants legs and tie the bottom of a shirt in order to fit in her stolen garments.

Once the little crooks left followed by the crookiest, Shego set down her eye piece and slipped toward the hut. Her clothes she could part with, but she licked her lips in anticipation of reclaiming some other, much more vital, possession.

Inside the hut was Jane, wearing the top half of the old coveralls. She took up the mic and flipped the switch to the ether machine, as she had seen the grownups do. "Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin, can anyone hear me?"

"I can hear you," came a reply on the ether. On his end, Monty worked to maintain his temper.

"I can hear you, too Rumplestiltskin," Jane said excitedly.

"Where's Shego?" the Commander asked.

"She's not here. Nobody's here except me and my friend Helen. I'm not well today. Ms. Possible says I must have caught a bug at the station. Everyone else left, they say it's to look for food, but I think they're afraid of getting sick."

"But your friend Helen is not afraid?"

"Of course not. Ghosts don't get sick. As she says, she's already caught her death. She giggles when she says that, it must be an old joke."

"Yes, quite. I'm sorry you're not feeling well. Go and get Shego, please."

At this point of the conversation, the Star Watcher padded into the hut and looked around while Jane was distracted with the ether. She started to look around, silent and purposeful.

"The Filthy Beast?" the little girl curled her lip. "We don't talk to her."

Monty laughed on his end. The noise brought Shego over. At that Jane sat down on a cot. "Come on, Helen."

"Is that you, Shego?"

"No, it's Helen," the woman answered.

"Keep them away from the ether, will you?" Monty groaned.

"Keep them away from me!" the woman shot back.

"Shego, as much as it may go against your character, I must ask that you treat Ms. Possible and her charges with respect. Those aren't mere children: they come from very prominent scientific and political families. The twins are the daughters of the Carcosan monarch. As for the boy, his father commands the Trackulan garrison nearest us. And I could go on if I felt the need. The Lorwardians are conducting a secret diplomacy with all the vigor of their open warfare. The coalition is shaky; they would like nothing better than to turn some of our allies into neutrals, or even have them change sides."

"C'mon, Monty, you know that 'Sweet and Agreeable' is my middle name," Shego said in a syrupy-sweet voice. If she had looked over her shoulder, she would have seen Jane turn her head, nod, and make a 'gag me' motion, as if she were imitating someone.

"Not according to your records, nor my experience with you," Monty answered drily. "Briar Patch out."

After she turned off the ether, Shego turned to Jane. "Beat it, kid."

"Ms Possible told us to stay in the hut," Jane responded.

"Always do what you're told?" When the girl nodded Shego shook her head. "That's no way to spend your childhood."

The girl made no reply, so Shego went about her original task. She checked under blankets and bunks, in the cabinet and the ration boxes. One place remained. Shego smirked at the child on the cot, who blandly sat there. Shego put her hands on the handles to the oven door. Experienced fingers turned the handles just a bit. There was no evidence of any defense. She triumphantly pulled the doors open, and was rewarded with the glossy black bottle.

Triumph turned to disappointment when she hefted the bottle. There was no slosh of liquid. A piece of paper served as a cork, and when she pulled it out, she could tell that Good Two Shoes had washed the bottle clean of even the scent of nectar. Naturally, the paper held a message.

Shego,

You've shown that I can't trust you with this stuff around the kids, so I've hidden it where you'll never find it. Have a nice day.

Kim

The pretty face hardened in anger. Shego stormed out to watch the skies. Maybe she would spot a Lorwardian invasion force, something that would prompt Monty to side with her for a job well done.

GTS

No fleet showed itself, but the next day Shego found herself nervously watching a spot in the sky. It was not a large ship, but it was spiky with weapons in the way only Lorwardian vessels were. Worse, it was actually in the atmosphere, and a hatch was opening.

She hurried down the path to the hut. Jane was inside, of course. This time she had company. Kim stood at the stove, stirring something in a pot that actually smelled pretty good.

"You can cook?" Shego marveled.

The redhead looked offended. "Of course. Why wouldn't I? Since I doubt you came to harsh on my cooking, let me guess. Well, you won't…"

Kim puzzled as Shego pulled down the pulse rifle, and stuffed the energy pistol in her calf holster. She found the older woman's intense reading of the weapon's power rating alarming.

"Shego, what's up?

"We've got company," Satisfied with her reading, Shego looked around. "Where are the others?

"Out looking for food."

"Come on, we need to get them," She stopped at the door long enough to give Jane a curt instruction. "Stay here and stay quiet."

Kim pointed to the ether. "Should we call Briar Patch?"

Shego did not stop. "Why? The Lorwardians can call Monty themselves in five minutes."

Kasi and Sheki were coming up the path. Kim did not even need to say the magic word; the two girls immediately went quiet and slipped into the hut. A short time later they saw Agni. As always, Agni gave Shego a dark look.

"Maybe we could lose just one…" Shego's comment drew an even darker glare from Kim. "Kidding, kidding, she would just tick them off and they'd torch the whole planet," she turned her attention back to Agni. "Where are the others?"

"Shin's got Alexandra. They're collecting coconuts by the beach. Drago went a little ahead. Said he was patrolling," she rolled her eyes.

Something about her I like, probably the same thing that drives me nuts. "Come on, Princess, we've got some rescuing to do."

Shego and Kim rushed down the path. They spotted Alexandra walking, absently stroking the coconut she cradled. It would have been a sweet scene, but for the speck in the sky that grew larger by the moment.

Fortunately, Alexandra was under a dense canopy of trees. Shin clung to the trunk of one of them, just below the fruit. Plainly, she had seen the ship. Shego set up behind the log, resting the gun on the wood and watching to descending enemy. Kim raced forward at a crouch, grabbed Alexandra, returned and settled down beside Shego, pulling some beach litter over them.

"Nice idea," the pale woman nodded.

"Thanks," Kim said quietly, but with a surprising touch of warmth. The good feelings vanished quickly. "One of us had to go out and get Alexandra, I knew better than asking which of us was doing it."

"What, was I supposed to 'be a man' or something?" Shego snapped, but snapped quietly. "Besides, Lorwardians can smell blood, and I don't have a good track record with that girl."

They looked up to Shin. Kim motioned for her to stay put. Shin nodded, and hugged tight, wisely burying her face in the tree. Shego turned the rifle to full power.

"Cheap Commonwealth: the rifle's civilian grade! It would take a lucky shot to bring that thing down with one blast."

"Then get lucky if you need to," Kim said. "Though, wouldn't it help if we put all our firepower in the fight? You packed the pistol, right?"

"In the calf holster. Get it. Hey! It's not that kind of party!"

"Who said it was?" Kim retrieved the pistol. "I was trying to use just my arm. Wanted to make as little movement as possible."

"Well, the last time a guy made that kind of movement down my backside and leg; I got a good dinner out of it."

Kim's smile was most unexpected. "We get out of this; you'll have to join us sometime."

Alexandra tugged at both women, who went as silent as the child. The Lorwardian stepped off of his hover skid and stretched his enormous arms wide. He pulled the energy staff from the skid and looked to the sea. The large creatures could scarcely be quiet when they wanted to. His gargling speech carried over the log as clearly as if he were just on the other side of it, not forty meters away.

Shego shook her head. "Something wrong with his translator?"

"No, lower ranking Lorwardians often don't carry them when not on a mission. That way they don't have to worry about someone offering surrender." Kim's knowledge impressed alarmed and irritated Shego.

"Well, if he's not on a mission, what is he up to?"

"If you'd shut up I could tell you…"

"Wait, you speak Lorwardian too?"

Kim's answer was to ignore the question. "He's bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Came down here hoping that the terraformers made some sea crocodilians. He's seen some of our nature vids and thinks they'd put up a good fight. Hasn't seen any action in a while. Thinks his leaders…Warhowk and Wormanga, are too cautious. He says they think too much. Says…oh!"

"What?"

"Mom's a doctor, and she assures me Lorwardians are fully humanoid. What he suggests they do is anatomically possible, technically, but neither of them would enjoy it."

The large alien growled and turned down the beach. His staff glowed, and a tree exploded. Everyone gasped when Shin slipped a bit.

"We've got problems," Kim said.

"It's worse than that," Shego pointed to the right. Drago was slipping through the brush towards the Lorwardian. "He must think the monster is after Shin. The boy's quiet…he might get to within ten meters before the Lorwardian guns him down."

"What do we do?" Kim asked.

"You get Shin if she can't hold on. I'll take care of Drago," Shego carefully set the gun down and began to move off the beach. The Lorwardian was making far too much noise to hear her, but she knew that there was no way he would miss Drago's approach. Boy is taking the wrong angle. Once she was in the brush she picked up speed.

Kim put the pistol away, slid over the log and waved at Shin. The girl's expression said it all: she could not hold on. Making sure the tree stood between the Lorwardian and herself, Kim rushed forward just in time to catch the falling child. They tumbled silently in the sand.

For her part Shego ran as low as she possibly could. She dodged the vegetation, lest the tossing fronds attract the hunter's attention. Drago was so intent on his target that he did not see Shego until the woman plowed into him. She jammed her hand into his mouth so that he would not shout. Argh! Canines! Fortunately, he relaxed at once.

Women and children hugged the ground now. The Lorwardian's frustration blossomed in a series of explosions as he unleashed his power staff upon a row of trees. He spun the weapon until it was a blur, and sent a final fireball crashing through jungle. The man laughed harshly before returning to his hover skid and flying north.

Once he was out of sight everyone came out. "We should be okay," Kim said. "He said something about going to the grasslands on the northern hemisphere. Apparently there are some very large animals there."

"My apologies," Drago bowed to Shego in a very formal manner. "I did not mean to bite you."

"S'right," the pale woman pulled off her glove. "Didn't break the skin, forget it."

"I can't," he continued. "My attack was ill considered. Father would say I pursued glory before victory, and put everyone in danger."

Kim put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's all right. You only did it because you thought the Lorwardian was going to get Shin. That was very brave of you."

"It was, thanks," Shin nodded.

The boy looked over at Shego, who was already turning back to the cabin. "We need to get back and check on the others. Don't want them rushing out, that goon might come back."

The Goworlder did not notice the boy's gaze following her up the path. Kim did.

GTS

The Lorwardian hunting expedition renewed Shego's interest in repairing the Eckland. BATES was handling the hull fabrication, but the asteroid prospector knew from experience that any hull injury involved other issues as well. A control panel on a sleep chamber presented a possible mortal threat. Shego looked up to see Alexandra leaning on the sleeper cover, staring at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Her grumpy nature changed when the girl plopped an unopened bottle on the glass. "Oh, well, it would be rude not to take what's offered, and I've always believed in being polite."

Her hand shook just a bit when she reached for the Old Damnation. They steadied enough to twist off the top. The pull was long, fiery and divine. "Thanks."

Alexandra continued to stare with her dual colored eyes. Shego reached into the drawer under the sleep chamber. She produced a flat, round disk with colored lights running along the edges. A little twist of her hand and the disk floated in the air, emitting a faint whistle. The girl was clearly entranced.

"Like it?" Alexandra nodded eagerly. "All right. It's yours if you repeat three words after me. Now, they have to be exactly right, got it?"

The girl nodded.

"Elephant," Shego said.

"Elephant," Alexandra echoed.

"Rhinoceros," Shego smiled.

"Rhinoceros," the girl had her second word.

"Wrong!" Shego said.

"No it wasn't!" Alexadra protested.

"Not 'no', 'wrong'. 'Wrong' was the third word. Sorry, you lose." The girl grabbed the bottle, much to Shego's alarm. But instead of snaps or threats, her voice was good natured. "Didn't know you'd be such a sore loser. Here you go."

Alexandra gave Shego a huge smile and took off. She was hardly gone a moment when Shego heard the disk whistle. She looked up to see Shin standing with Alexandra.

"I'm all out of disks," Shego said.

"Shin can help us," Alexandra chimed.

"Help us what?"

"Fix your boat," Alexandra answered. "Shin knows all about boats. Her family has been in the space force for generations."

"That so?" when Shin nodded Shego had an offer. "You can clean the consoles."

"Smashing!" the girl replied.

"There cleaning pads should be in the cabinet to the left." The two girls left, and were almost instantly replaced by two more.

"Meap!" Kasi said excitedly.

"Meap." Sheki agreed. The two smiled at Shego.

"Uh, yeah. You do that." They took off, hopefully not to decouple the safety on the reactor. The bottle called out to Shego. She touched the neck, then thought better off it and decided to complete this rather delicate and important task first.

It was not long until all seven of the children were in the cave. Five were cleaning the astrolaunch's exterior, Drago stood just inside the waterfall, keeping watch. The last child, Alexandra, watched Shego painting a name on the side of the ship's escape pod.

"Shego…"

The woman looked up. "Look, kid, I know you've been saving up a lot of words, but would you let me finish?"

"But you've got the name wrong," Alexandra said.

Shego replied with remarkable patience. "No I don't. Pods come out at an angle. You put the letters on like this so they are upside up when the pod rights itself in flight."

"But you've got the letters backwards."

"No, they're just upside down, when you turn the ship it…" Shego got up and tilted her head to the side. Sure enough, the lettering was reversed. Shego's scowl lacked any menace. "How can I work with you chattering in my ear all the time? Go help the others."

After Alexandra left, Shego brought her hand up to her face and blew into it. No, can't use that as an excuse. She checked it again. "That can't be."

Drago pulled the binoculars out from the waterfall. He called out the arcane signal Shego had given him. "Bogie on your six!"

Shego immediately slapped the vacuum top back on the bottle and hid it in the escape pod. With the evidence hidden, she resumed her relaxed posture and waited.

The waterfall parted where Kim entered, holding a sheet of transparent aluminum over her head. She entered with only a little water on her hands and feet. She had been using the improvised umbrella from the first. The children happily ignored it, plunging in and out of the water. As for Shego, she had her own way of staying dry.

Kim set the sheet down. "Well, here you all are…" her voice took on a scolding tone. "Shego, look at their clothes!"

"Their clothes?" Shego was incredulous. "They're my clothes!"

"Whatever," the redhead rolled her eyes. "Whosever they are, just look at them: they're filthy!"

The older woman shook her head. "Nah, they're just dirty. I'm filthy."

"Be that as it may, it's time to start dinner."

Alexandra walked up to Kim. "But I want to stay."

"Alexandra, I know…" Kim did a double take. "What did you…say?"

"I want to stay and help Shego fix her ship. It's fun. And look what she gave me!" she held up the disk.

"That's nice," Kim whispered. She stared in wonder at the Goworlder.

For her part, Shego nodded. "I know, I know. I took a perfectly fine, silent child and created a monster: a talking human. My bad."

"And they say I can do anything," the Midworlder mumbled. She spoke again to the children, using her normal tone. "We need to get those roots Agni found started. They take time to soften."

"Why are we cooking those?" Shin asked. "We have boxes of ready meals."

"We don't know how long we'll be here. If the Lorwardians keep nosing around, our pickup will probably come later rather than sooner. And we don't know the weather or growing cycles of this planet. Who knows if we'll find food next week? We need to conserve our rations. Besides," she brightened. "fresh food always tastes better."

Agni shook her head. "Not that stuff."

"Don't worry, we have salt now that the evaporator is working, and those herbs you found will work wonders." Kim answered.

"Meap?" Sheki asked. The suggestion excited Kasi, who added her own question.

"Meap," the redhead replied. She turned to Shego. "Do you have a small grinder? Something that handle things the size of very small pebbles?"

"Over there, in that box," Shego pointed. "The tube with the clear top. It can grind as fine as you want. I use it for ore samples, so be sure to wash it out first."

"Thanks," Kim spoke the familiar word, and the twins were off with their new tool. The others followed with less enthusiasm. Alexandra stunned the adults by rushing over to give Shego a hug before leaving. When only the adults were in the cave Kim shook her head slowly.

"Next time I need to get them to do something, I know who to go to."

"Hey, it's not my fault they abandoned your assignments to look for some fun."

"But it was supposed to be fun. Looking around the island for food…"

"Let me guess: gives them a chance to experience the land, learn about flora and fauna. Give them an appreciation of a time when people were directly responsible for feeding themselves."

"Well, yes," the Midworlder said. "I didn't say it in that many words, but…"

"But that's how it came out," Shego leaned back. "Kids don't want to always be doing things because of all the good it will do them. Sometimes you just have to let them do things. Over explaining takes fun things like running around the island and turning it into a job."

"And getting them to clean your ship wasn't work?"

"Oh, it's work. I just didn't ask them to do it."

"Yeah, I bet you're good at that," this time Kim spoke without judgment in her tone.

"You do what you can out here, especially when you don't have the money to pay people."

Kim looked at the Ekland. "How's the repair work going?"

"It's getting there. BATES can't talk; the job takes almost every erg the engines can put out. I just hope he can get it done in a week or so. That last call was too close."

"Agreed. I was thinking, Shego. That sheet of transal I'm using, it's a danger out there. Even if I put it in the pool, it could leave an outline that a sensor could pick up. Even if the sensor missed it, a Lorwardian looking around might see it. No machine can beat a hunter's eyes."

"You could just walk through like the rest of us."

The younger woman cocked an eyebrow. "Nobody walks through the way you do. Don't bother denying it, I got a sample of your heat ray or whatever it is. And you haven't seen my hair wet. Besides, you've got all kinds of materials here that can be used to create scaffolding that can hold the sheet in place. I assume you have some motors that can be controlled by a small remote?"

"Several, complete with remotes."

"Good. Let's get it set up."

"What? Don't you have a dinner to get ready?"

"The kids can handle it," Kim smiled. "Besides, like you said, they'll have more fun doing it themselves."

Shego had to nod. Kid learns fast. She moved over to a stack of scaffolding. "You want to put it over on the right? The path is easier there."

"No, on the left. The entrance on the right has grass that would get beaten down. The left has rocks that don't even have moss. The water also comes down a little less thick there. It will be easier to put the screen up. It can even be set deeper in the cave: less of a chance for it to be spotted."

"Wow, do you think everything to death?" the Goworlder wondered.

Instead of bridling, Kim just laughed while they assembled the materials at the desired location. "Ron's been saying that to me for years."

"Ron?" Shego asked as she began bolting the frame to the floor. "A friend?"

Kim nodded. "Best friend since pre-K. We grew up together, did everything together. I've told him things I won't tell Mom."

Like where you really, really like to be touched? "Where is he now?" When the younger woman looked pensive, Shego reproached herself. What a question to ask in wartime!

"I don't know. He went to the Triplanetary Academy last year, when relations with Lorwardia began to sour. We stayed in contact for until three months ago, when he was transferred to a special program. Then, like they say, came the war."

"I'm sure he's all right," Shego consoled.

"I'd just like to hear from him. He's such a goof, but a lot of that's an act. You don't get into the Academy unless you're ready, even now," the younger woman placed the cross beam in place. "You want to weld this?"

"Sure. Close your eyes," Shego brought her hand up and extended the forefinger.

"I've heard you and the Commander talk. It sounds like you're a little more than just on the same side."

"What makes you say that?"

"The way you two argue. Finished with the weld?"

"Yeah, open your eyes," Shego looked at her work. "I've known Monty since I came out here. I've worked around him and for him a couple of times."

"You…like him?"

"Like him? Not the way you're thinking. We're a lot alike, that's all. He came here to get away from everything. He told me he was tired of all the hypocrisy, the posturing, everyone going loopy when the 35th in line for the Throne made planet fall. The rest of it was just what happens out here: a boy, a girl, a zero gravity hammock. You know the equation: one plus one equals sixty…"

Kim suddenly seemed a bit uncomfortable. "These hinges should work."

They assembled the rest in silence. Shego decided not to press things by needling Kim any more. She could be, you know. There are a lot more of them out there than the vids let on, and not all of them are fanatics or weirdos. Although she would never have told Kim, it was nice to simply work with someone every now and then. Few jobs were lonelier than asteroid prospecting. Always out on your own, trying not to attract attention. She had often gone weeks at a time without seeing anyone.

And maybe she's not that bad. Sure, she's bossy and sincere…two things I can't stand, but those things can come in handy when you're handling a bunch of kids in a crisis.

They checked the sheet one last time. "Ready for the test? Kim asked.

"Sure," Shego picked up the remote.

"Hey," Kim started, "maybe we should get back a little more!"

She spoke a moment too late. The motor flipped the sheet up and water splashed over the young woman.

"Sorry," Shego actually meant it.

"It's no big," Kim actually laughed. She pulled her hair back off her face. Shego's old shirt clung to her, making the Goworlder realize just how threadbare it was. "Coming to dinner with us tonight?"

The black haired woman shook her head. "Not tonight. Here's the remote."

"Thanks," Kim looked a bit confused. "I hope it's not anything I did."

"You? No, no! I…just have something I've got to do."

"Okay, but the invitation stands," the young woman walked under the exit and activated the motor. The sheet went down.

Shego was alone again. I've been out in space too long. She took a deep breath and walked to where the spot in the waterfall where the shadows were deepest and the water coldest. She stood under it for some time.