The inside of the cab is musty in a way that makes Bella think about dried sweat. The outside mostly smells like rust and gasoline, which is a new sensation. There's something oddly delicious about the fumes wafting through the vehicle, which feels like a shame because the truck gets to drink it instead of her. In the right wine glass it's probably sublime. What a waste. 

She is in a hurry to sit down. To sit, and to ride, and to listen to nothing in particular. She is in such a hurry that she barely even notices the helpfully labeled sack of potatoes sitting in the bed as she passes it. Her ear bends back at a sound as she moves toward the door. Assassin-bred instincts pull her neck around to check it over again.

[POTATOES - FOX]

See? Helpful! 

But Bella is in a hurry, so she merely shrugs and doesn't press it harder. And so long as nobody pays attention to the sound of rapid tippy taps begging someone to record a certain concert because stuff came up, nobody will be any the wiser! Nyehehe! Also shhhhhh!

"...I knew a woman named Jil. She belonged to a Servitor caste called the Lanterns."

Her voice surprises her. Not because she didn't mean to speak, but because it is so clear and bright. Even after all her tears and through the fatigue of an endless journey now weighing full upon her body, her words at least are beautiful in the way of song. She leans against the window, feeling cool glass press against her skin and the fur of her ear, and smiles. 

"She was so afraid when I first met her. Her people were used on board our ship for menial labor, and for hunting practice when the warrior Kaeri were bored. Lamplight gleaming in the dark of a ship that hated all light and swallowed all sound. Huddled mice, flitting between the beacons and speaking mostly through touch. They taught me the language but I don't... remember it now."

"But she didn't stay that way. The Kaeri broke and I put the Lanterns in charge because they could do fucking anything at all. Sorry. Even my being 'in charge' of the [i]Anemoi[/i] was just some stupid Imperial joke, so it's not like that meant anything. I didn't [i]do[/i] anything. But with just that one chance, Jil turned into the most amazing person I'd ever met. She was sharper and surer than a knife. She protected her people, followed me through every dumbfuck choice and mission I ever made or had. Right up until--"

Bella stops suddenly, lifting her head up and craning her neck to look out the window and watch the world pass her by. A planet really is such a huge thing, y'know? Asking someone to follow you across and past so many of them feels increasingly ridiculous the longer she stays here. Why did it used to be so hard to see?

"...She was really good at cards. Nobody knows that about her. But we'd play something every night, usually in place of talking, and even from the beginning she'd do everything in her power to kick my ass as hard as she could. And she'd apologize about it too, which was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. Or when we did talk, she'd ask me about wine, and I'd have to describe the flavors to someone who couldn't have spoonful of the stuff without falling over. I guess this isn't much of a story, is it? Sorry. She was just... my friend. Maybe my first real friend. And I did nothing to deserve her. And I just... wanted somebody else to know her name. I don't know if anyone else remembers her, anymore."