KETTY'S SUBDIVISION Wattys2017

Chapter 23-Part VI

Kato had been waiting faithfully by Ketty's door since the ship had been disabled, and he had no intention of leaving, even when Mikenzy came out and sat next to him. She was uncomfortably close and he couldn't help notice she smelled nice.

"Hey stud muffin, holding down the fort?" she asked.

"Um, yea. Sure," he replied awkwardly. Her resemblance to Ketty was striking, while the genetically perfected features made her conform to what society would call normal. There was still the odd sensation that first caught his attention, but now that he had been around her a while, he found himself unwittingly thinking about her. She was nice in a needy kind of way and wherever he went, she seemed to be there. Now he found himself concentrating on intimate details, like the way she smiled, or the grace with which she moved, but he didn't want to. He swallowed the lump in his throat and moved a few inches to his left.

"Don't be shy, she's more like a sister and I would do anything for her." The statement was matter of fact and honest, but the way she smiled and held her body so close made him fidget. She was blunt to a fault and it was annoying. She seemed to lack a social grace most people took for granted. Then the door opened and Mikenzy's mouth was on his, moist and inviting. Kato was surprised, but when his eyes opened, Ketty was standing over him with her hands on her hips. Her hair was twisted in knots and he knew that look, like she wanted to kill him. She said nothing, which only made it worse, and stomped off to the mess hall.

"Oh, crap," said Kato, but Mikenzy only smiled, squeezed his arm and followed Ketty. He knew he had been set up, but it was pointless trying to explain anything, so he joined the others to decide what their next move was.

Bakes and Scott sat off to the side, whispering excitedly in low tones while Rayleen dropped her gaze when Ketty looked her in the eye. She had known about Mikenzy's flirtatious, if not obnoxious advances towards Kato, yet had done nothing to stop it. Rayleen's blood boiled. What was she supposed to do when Ketty was cooped up in her cabin, pouting about something she had no control over. Besides, her and Kato were anything but a couple, so why did she feel so guilty? She sat down next to Lindy at one end of the table facing Kato and Mikenzy at the other. When Ketty sat, a silence fell over them that seemed odd, as if there was an elephant in the room and it was her.

"So I found the space-skis in the lower hold of the ship," said Bakes trying to break the ice. "If we go easy, we might make it to the asteroid belt."

"That's if Mikenzy's coordinates are correct and we find the hidden base," replied Lindy with a bit of an attitude. She had been in the cockpit and was oblivious to what was going on until now, but there was definitely an underlying tension in the room.

"Rest assured, it's right where I showed you," Mikenzy shot back.

"Kestral is derelict and damaged beyond repair," Lindy continued, giving them a quick assessment of their situation. "We have to move since half the Subdivision will be here to arrest Ketty at any minute."

"Why just her? We're all responsible, don't you think," Scott interrupted.

Rayleen slammed her hand on the table. "None of us are responsible. Alderom attacked first, and we were defending ourselves. Besides, we didn't fire those antimatter torpedoes."

"Then who did?"

"Someone who is looking after us," Rayleen shot at Scott.

"We're still marked as terrorists for destroying Sigon Six," added Bakes.

Arguing was leading nowhere so Lindy spoke up. "We will take the space skies to the hidden base, commandeer a ship and get Ketty to Jar-sedan where she can decide how she will get Boondock. If we don't act now, the military will settle the score without asking questions."

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