Spears of Uu'kata

Chapter 64 - Supervillians

Charlotte sat across the table from Bella Trang. The woman had dark brown skin, a round fluff of perfect black, curly hair, and almond-shaped eyes that spoke of a little Asian heritage if her name didn't give it away.

She was beautiful, smart, and tenacious. Since arriving on Uu'kata, she and her girl-power team had shamelessly and strategically wedged themselves up everyone's asses. She'd even managed to bully her way onto the Shadow Slicer.

Her camera woman was a fierce-eyed Martian named Yvette who always wore her light brown hair up in a messy bun atop her head, and her editor was an adorably plump Earthling girl with a shock of florescent pink hair, pale blue eyes, and a nose ring. Her name was Emily.

They all watched her expectantly.

"Sorry, what?" Charlotte asked.

"I said, at what point did you realize the enemy had turned you?" Bella asked with forced patience.

"Oh, they didn't turn me. My own people did. I was a prisoner for almost a year, and I remained loyal until I escaped and returned to the Warthog to warn them about the attack, and I was plopped into a cage and experimented on. They said human rights no longer apply to me. That's what turned me. Enemies and allies look very different when you're strapped to a table with someone standing over you holding a knife," Charlotte said.

"But you said you were already pregnant when you were taken back to the Warthog. So, you were already sleeping with them," Bella pointed out.

Charlotte shrugged. "They were good to me. Kind. And a lady's gotta fuck, what can I say?"

Emily smacked a hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh before narrowing her eyes and giving a conspiratorial nod.

"Indeed," Bella said patiently. "Please refrain from using profanity during the interview."

"Oh, I'll do my very fucking best," Charlotte said with a grin.

Bella gave her a droll stare.

Charlotte responded with a toothy grin.

Bella took a deep breath and said, "I know who you are, you know," she said.

"Yeah, that's usually what happens when you introduce yourself to someone," Charlotte said.

"Not that. I mean, I know that you are the only living survivor of your farming colony. The farming colony whose destruction kicked off the Andora 7 war. I also found your criminal record, your enlistment records, your test scores for the bio-mech corpse. I even found your death certificate."

Charlotte watched the woman aware she was trying to crawl under her skin.

"When did you have time to get all that?" she asked.

Bella shrugged a shoulder. "I'm good, that's how. I dug it all up while packing my bag. You see, Annie came to me saying she had a story. She says it's the story of the war, of the Uu'k'asht. But I knew from the moment I saw you that you are the story.

"See, all this, the aliens, the war, this plan you all are cooking up, it's news. It's amazing news but it's just news. But you are a story."

Charlotte shook her head. "Your job here is to make a video for the news, call it what you want but that's why you're here."

"Right, but the little girl whose face was the match that lit the fires of war, who ended up in the navy, then the Bio-mech corpse to fight that very same war, only to end up a prisoner, disappearing for almost a year, then reappearing changed and capable of the same magic the Uu'k'asht used... and pregnant with their babies and fighting for their cause..."