Conics Unfortunately: 34

Ellipse hated electromagnetic shield repair. Well, she liked not being killed by gusts of solar particles and radiation too, but hefting around a pile of heavy magnets while Focci got to hit the ship with a stick was not her definition of fun.

Tejal sat in an empty spot on the dock floor, tapping away at his tablet and wearing a new jacket with a white, bloodstained star patched onto the back, which Ellipse had told him was a rebel symbol. Because Tejal was incapable of listening, he bought it anyways.

At least it helped him look like the Titan kid he was pretending to be.

“Can you move that magnet towards the stern?” Focci asked, pointing his stick up.

Grunting, Ellipse lowered the stack in her arms to the ground and reached up to touch the hull. She dug her fingernails under the edge of the magnet and tugged, trying to fit at least a full fingertip under the edge so she could get some real leverage.

When at last she managed to tear the magnet off the ship, she pulled so hard that she stumbled backwards. And, because he was a brat and probably did it on purpose, Tejal chose that exact moment to shout about mail. Ellipse was so startled she fell on her butt.

“Nice,” Focci commented.

“Smooth!” Tejal yelled.

Clutching the magnet to her chest, Ellipse hauled herself up and glared at each of the boys. “Shut up. It is Tejal’s fault.” She hoisted the magnet up and took a few steps back. “And start reading the mail already!”

Tejal muttered something indecipherable, hunched over, and swiped at his tablet screen. “Okay, so your old captain says that the trials are going to start when it’s May on Earth, and they’ve discussed a final job where we’ll tug a ship from Planet Five to Earth and reach the planet’s station a few days before the jury is set to make a decision.”

Ellipse frowned and released the magnet, letting it snap to the hull in its new spot. “You gave him our data address information?” she sang to Focci.

“I can reprogram it later,” he replied. He watched Ellipse bend over to pick up the magnet stack again, and then flopped towards the ship’s starboard side.

“You know Mouthbot’s on, right?” Tejal called. “I can understand what you’re saying. Anyways, we also get some shore leave before then, though it’s only like a week so we’d have to stay in Triune.”

Focci’s flopping quickened, suddenly bouncier than before. “We can visit my family!” he trilled. “They will be excited to meet you, Tejal.”

Way to leave someone out. Ellipse snorted and shifted the magnets in her arms, jutting out her lower jaw in a pout.

“And then... let’s see,” Tejal continued, “my parents said they’ve already arranged for the Ink to be brought to Earth, so I guess that’ll be when we all part ways?”

A thought jumped to Ellipse’s tongue that she would be glad to see the last of Tejal, but she swallowed the comment. Not every teenager had the privilege of taking a cross-universe road trip without adult supervision, and she would have been bored with only Focci for company.

Tejal scrolled for a bit, and his cheeks flushed as he read through whatever his parents had sent. Maybe they were showering him with written affection to compensate for the distance. “Oh, and I guess since we mistook you for Elliott, Ellipse, this last bit is relevant to you?”

She turned just as a spray of sparks burst from where Focci had hit the ship. “Okay?”

“The reward for turning in Elliott Bei has gone up again, so a lot of bounty hunters will probably return to her case.”

Well heck.

“And some of them might arrest you regardless of what your papers say, on the basis that you match a written description.”

Ellipse gawped at him. “Seriously? But I cannot possibly match the photographs. That must mean something. Besides, you can lose your hunting license for that.”

Focci stabbed his stick at another spot, sending up a second shower of sparks, and then gestured at the magnet stack. Carefully, Ellipse lowered her magnets to the ground and began peeling the top one off the pile.

“Some people would be willing to trade in an innocent for twenty million bits.”

A cough exploded from Ellipse’s throat, and she ripped the top magnet from the rest. “Twenty million bits?” she repeated. “What would you do with that kind of money?” And then, to sell her ignorance on all things Bei, she kept going. “And why is Andra-Media so eager to have her back?”

“Probably because Andra’s latest album flopped out-of-system,” Tejal explained, “and the stock dropped, and everyone thinks it’s because Andra does better with Elliott around. And then for some reason, she’s wanted as a criminal.”

Ellipse scoffed. “Elliott is what, your age? What criminal things can a fifteen-year-old girl do that are worth twenty million bits?” She heaved the magnet over her head and looked at Focci so he could tell her which way to move.

“Steal intellectual property?” Tejal guessed. “Like an unreleased album or something? I don’t know really.”

Focci barked a note of annoyance and swatted Ellipse’s legs with his stick. “More towards the bow. You can talk to Tejal about celebrities later.”

“We are literally talking about me getting wrongfully accosted by bounty hunters,” Ellipse sang as she walked forward. “I feel like that is important.”

“There. Stop,” Focci said.

Ellipse let go of the magnet, and it flew up and hit the hull with a bang. She took a few steps back and allowed Focci to prod at the hull with his stick again. “Well, you said more people might try to arrest me, Tejal,” she continued. “Since you know bounty hunting better than I do, what would you suggest I do?”

He blinked, surprised she had asked for his advice. “Oh. Well… maybe you should carry one of- err, your passport. You should keep that on you.” Scratching his neck, he tapped at a few things on his tablet. “And offer hair or something for DNA testing, to show that you’re not her. Uhh… you said something before about Elliott Bei not existing? I wouldn’t try anything like that. It makes you more suspicious, and others might take that as enough reason to arrest you.”

Yes, that comment had probably been a mistake. Nodding, Ellipse gestured for Tejal to continue.

“Maybe if you wear your hair up people won’t associate you with Elliott as much? Like, she always had her hair down in photos.”

Ellipse fingered a stray lock of hair and frowned. “It is not long enough to put up nicely.”

“Why does it have to be nice?” Tejal asked.

She needed nice hair to sate her vanity, obviously. Rolling her eyes, Ellipse picked up her now-lighter stack of magnets and stuck out her tongue. “Because,” she said.

Tejal threw up his hands and shrugged. “Whatever. If you get abducted, then I told you so.”

A few moments later, once Mouthbot had finished translating into Siren, Focci lowered his stick and turned back to Tejal, gills flattened against his neck. His snout was smooth with solemnity. “I believe you said something earlier about Ellipse being the reason you have food. Maybe do not be so flippant about her leaving us.”

“Thank you,” Ellipse sang. She sent Tejal a smug grin, and then tossed her head. “Now then, we should finish up this shield work. I want to get off this station.”

Beaming, Focci handed Ellipse his stick. “Me too. Take this and test the rest of the shield.”

Ellipse had not signed up for this. Blinking, she accepted the stick-taser and lifted the point up so she could examine it. “Why do I have to-

“You want to get out of here faster, right?” Focci said, already flopping toward Tejal. “Since you can climb, you can do the repairs quickest. Try not to fall.”

This time, Tejal sent the smug grin. “We’re going to sit here and admire our Andra pictures. Have fun!”