It was surely a mystery what was going through the processing units of the machines as they prostrated themselves before the naked woman lying on a conveyor belt inside a factory on a flying city in the sky. Behavior like this would have had Zoey aflame with curiosity if she were there to witness the sight, and actually, even though she was not physically there, she was currently looking at that exact scene though her visual link with Viridi, and she was indeed aflame with curiosity.

Such a phenomenon was unique, and she wished that she had time to dissect that machine and learn the intricacies of exactly what it had done to the woman, and why it had done so. That being said, she had no idea aside from a few guesses about what had been done to the poor girl, and the only way to know for sure was to have Taigen and Viridi bring her back to the Stella Tenebris and have her examined.

By the look of things, Taigen already planned to bring the woman back with him, so she didn’t have to say anything herself. Right now, she was trying to pay attention to both Viridi and Athena, so her attention was split, but seeing that Taigen and Viridi were about to go into action, she turned her attention to Athena and let them to their thing.

What Taigen had planned was not anything special. While the androids were all kneeling and worshiping the woman, Viridi and him swooped in together and scooped her up in a flash of shadow. Viridi’s dive had been so quiet and stealthy, that the androids didn’t even realize that the woman was gone until long after they had disappeared!

Taigen though, found himself in the awkward position of holding an unclothed lady in his arms for the first time in his life. This situation, on the back of a transformed draconic Viridi as they flew through the sky, had him blushing bright red and struggling to control his gaze from wandering where it shouldn't! He managed to shrug off his outer garment and cover the woman’s nakedness with it, but his mind would not so easily forget the warm softness of her skin while he held her.

As Viridi gently winged her way back towards where the Stella Tenebris was landed, Taigen had some time to reflect. He had done something extremely stupid at a moment when the clan needed him the most. The news of Saigo’s death had hit him hard, but that was no excuse for his actions. The others had felt the loss just as much, and he was the one that had run away and tried to suppress the grief by ignoring it.

I will apologize to everyone when I get back… They deserve better, and I have failed them as a leader. Saigo would have cussed me out for doing such a reckless thing…

A faint smile came to his face as he thought about the old man. It felt like he was still there somehow, watching over them.

I’ll have to do a better job of leading our clan. I can’t disgrace his memory by forgetting my duties and purpose.

With fresh determination in his eyes, Taigen looked forward to the horizon, his purpose and goals renewed and tempered by his experience. He had a clan to take care of, and this strange woman he still owed a debt to for saving him and Zoey on separate occasions. His work would be cut out for him going forward.

---------------------------

Taigen’s return to the cruiser calmed down some of the anxious hearts that were waiting for his return. Zoey had reassured them a number of times and told them that Viridi was with him, but the recent loss of their General weighed heavy on their minds.

Ssaul and Baiken especially were still very shaken, their eyes dull as they looked at their surroundings without seeing. It would take time for them to recover, so the best the clan could do is comfort them for now and provide them with everything they needed while they recovered.

Zoey did some quick work and converted an empty room on the middle deck, starboard wing into a temporary infirmary where she placed the woman that Taigen had returned with. She set the room to be authorized access only so nobody would wander in and placed an Eve on her wrist that was programmed to suppress her magic if she became violent or threatened anyone. Zoey still did not know what to expect when the woman woke up, so she was taking precautions in case she turned out to be dangerous.

With that taken care of, Zoey went back to the cargo bay to wait with the others for Athena’s return. Thankfully for Zoey, Taigen seemed to have recovered a little from earlier, and was taking some time comforting his clan members, giving Zoey a sense of relief. She was no psychologist, and had no idea how to help someone deal with grief, she just knew how to handle it herself. Taigen stepping up into his role as a leader once again was a great help to her when it came to that area. Now if they could get Baiken and Ssaul to recover as well…

Zoey suddenly realized that the shockwaves that had been regularly impacting her ship had suddenly stopped. People looked up when they realized this, and soon everyone was looking out the open cargo ramp for any sign of what happened.

Zoey had already checked and made sure that Athena was okay by pinging her comm-link, and it seemed like she was fine and headed back to the Stella Tenebris that very moment. The outcome of her battle with Volaia Rellen would surely be a hell of a story to tell.