“Now slowly rotate the right stick. That’s going to turn the arm.” “Turnways?” “That’s what she said!” “Left stick, honeytits.” “Slowly, Dolly, [i]slowly![/i]” “I am [i]trying![/i]” “[i]That’s[/i] what she said!” “That’s right, kitten, slow and gentle. Is this your first time?” “If you trip the generator, you’ll cause more internal systems damage.” “I’m [i]trying!![/i]” “Hey, anybody on this frequency smoke [i]mint[/i]?” Dolly checks that output is muted before she screams, clenching the joystick so hard that her knuckle aches. Painstakingly, Jade’s arm, the idol’s arm, is turning so that the fingers (which she will have to toggle using knobs) can reach a knot. Silver Ripples is still walking her through it, but the Banders won’t shut [i]up.[/i] Erys alone would be one thing, all innuendo and crude jokes, but having the rest of that gang of jackals tuning in to the frequency makes getting the directions like trying to have a conversation at a concert, which she could handle, she really could handle, she could tune them out, except that this is delicate and if she fucks this up then— Jade’s still here. Jade’s not limited to the idol. She’s a goddess. It’s just that causing her holy image any more damage would be… Who is she kidding? Maybe if she burns out the systems, Jade won’t be able to talk to her. Maybe Jade will be [i]different.[/i] Maybe she’ll blame Dolly, which she should. She’ll regret not picking someone like Ksharta, who would know the backups better, who would be able to use this [i]stupid[/i] joystick correctly. “Awwww, somebody too shy to keep whining about how hard this is?” “Give her a break, it’s not like she got picked because she’s a good pilot.” “Are you going to keep me waiting all day, Dolly~?” “May I remind you all that you are interfering in Arena operations? I would [i]advise[/i] you to cut your mikes.” “Here, kitty kitty kitty~” “Let me remind you that [i]my[/i] crew has a right to be on the same channel as me, grounder.” “Pit crew, [i]declawed[/i].” “Besides, Dolly’s probably lonely right now. I’m happy to give her all the company she needs.” “[i]oooooo~!![/i]” She takes her hand off the joystick and grinds her palm into her eye socket and hisses like she’s about to throw herself into a fight. Shut up! Shut [i]up![/i] She’s— this isn’t about her, idiots! It’s not like they’re all around her and pushing her and leering at her, which would at least be, be [i]something[/i], it’s just voices over her radio when she’s trying to focus, but she can’t switch it off because Silver Ripples needs to walk her through this, but… [i]fingers, so faint as to be a kiss[/i] … Dolly unmutes her microphone. “Erys,” she says, and sits up straight, and closes her wet eyes, and imagines, no, envisions Jade’s hands on her, her shoulders, her chin. “Tell them to stop.” “Excuse me?” “I am freeing you because we are both pilots.” Even if one’s a pirate and the other was a gardener. “I have enough generator power to walk away right now.” It’s a bluff, but a decent one (she thinks). It’s what Jade would say. “So if you want me to stop being kind, keep talking. I hear the connection doesn’t cut until the head’s completely off.” She’s shaking. “Awww, kitty’s got her first teeth~” “She really thinks she’s a big girl, huh?” If she closed her eyes, she could envision Jade’s hands guiding hers onto the controls. She flips a switch, diverts power into the cords, and then slowly tilts the chassis solidly into the yellow. Silver Ripples starts yelling at her, and then cuts off. Her palm is clammy. Then she stops the tilt. Holds Jade’s idol steady. Erys Bander is silent. So are the rest of her crew. “Now, unless you want me to make a [i]silly[/i] mistake,” Dolly whispers into the crackle of the radio, “please be quiet and let me focus on this. It would be really easy for me to mix something up and cut your head off.” She switches the microphone back off before she can start crying, which would ruin their reputation, and she rubs her hands on her arms until they stop shaking. “You’ve got things to finish anyway,” Erys finally concedes. “Go prep for tonight.” “Right stick, Dolly. Push it forward until we’re back in alignment.” There’s a warmth in Silver Ripples’ voice that warms Dolly up, too, and she reaches back out for the controls. It’s miserable work, but she’ll do it anyway. For Jade. [That’s, incredibly, another [b]10[/b] on an Entice.] [hr] [i]And who are you, asked the owl on the lintel, whose name was Mahhu, and what is your skill, and why should you be given entrance? For you have come by the road that is white. I am the fire that burns but does not devour, the goddess said, and I am born of ruptured stone. I am victory. I am the heart of the huntress. I am the fallen star that cleaves the earth. My brides are auspicious; Seven Quetzal is her name who is wreathed in splendor, and Ksharta Talonna is her name who feeds the host, and Angela Victoria Miera Antonius is her name who seeks your mask. They are in feathers that I have brought them; they are in nets with which I have caught them. Open the door! Do not dare keep me out! I will burn without fuel; I will burn the door. I have come by the road which is white. And the owl entered in, and relayed these things before those assembled. So did the doors open. Heavy doors these; behind her they closed. So came she to the assembly. In such a place torches burned, and their light was for the making of shadows. In such a place owls roosted, who are the guides and the messengers, who keep the roads. In such a place are the ancestors seated, who come and go, who walk the roads. In such a place the gods come to assembly: Macheka and Irtana and Kachtenkirya are seated there, Mu Ysha and Dishai and White Star Ocean are drinking there. Lovely are their masks, terrible are their masks. Mu Ysha sits by the door with her six honored weapons; Kachtenkirya rests the bow in her lap and the wine cup in her hands. In such a place there are thrones, and in the one throne is Grandmother Night, and in the other throne is Grandmother Hunger, and by them in the seats are the Grandfathers. Grandmother Night covers her skull with the shroud; Grandmother Hunger does not hide her teeth. Of snakes their skirts; of dead stars their eyes; many their hands. Of their intermingling, the Mother and her bounties, and of the Mother’s womb, the assembly of the gods. It is our granddaughter, said Grandmother Hunger. I know her. She is of me; marrow-drinker, glory-thirsting. All that hunts is of me. Come kiss my hem, little goddess. She is willful, said Grandmother Night. She wins by cunning and not by power. Of our grandchildren, is she not the least? Even the children of mud and reeds will see her shame. And the goddess bared her teeth, and there was laughter in the hall. Neither did she put her mouth to the heads of the serpents which hang from the waist of Grandmother Hunger. She will not be pitied; she will not be shamed. She is a cheat, said Dishai; broad her shoulders, dreadful her weight. It is she who rolls the boulders down the mountain; it is she who is hidden in the snow. Are you not my child, asked Dishai. Born from my stone and the quickening fire; yet you claim to be my equal. Manikin, I name you; doll-of-dolls, I know you. Break my idol, I am not there; douse her flame, Manikin is no more. Will Mu Ysha be bound by her thieves? Will Two Worlds be caught in a cup? They are gods; I am a god. You are a toy; you dangle from strings. I am your equal, if not your better, the goddess says; I am your sister, and Hybrasil my mother. Grandmothers, let us play the game; Grandfathers, bring out the ball. Let it be tossed skywards; let it rise from where we dived. I will defeat you, Dishai; penalties will I heap on your head. I will stuff your mouth with indignities; I will put my foot on your head. The name of the ball court is Patience and Yearning. Four its corners, four its sides, four its rings. This is the ball court named Patience and Yearning; this is where the gods and the dead play the game.[/i]