Penny the Conqueror Ch. 06

Penny stood before the Synod of Wisdom, listening to them recap the various Feats to her.

"We were most impressed with your undertakings, both of the Feat of Cunning and the Feat of Survival," said the lone female member of the synod. "You are making rapid progress toward your ascension to the throne."

Penny bowed her head and did her best to communicate the way Eltar had instructed her. "I am honoured by your assistance. I hope to attain my qualification for queendom as soon as humanly possible." Penny blushed at her faux pas. "In the best manner of speaking."

The synod had a small chuckle at Penny's statement. "We take no ill will towards your species, as we are sure the feeling is mutual," said one of the male members. "I trust you have trained yourself sufficiently for the third Feat, that of Strength."

Penny nodded. "I have been training hard with my bodyguard, at least when I can tear her away from her new..." Penny screwed up her lips. "...companion."

"The Feat of Strength is simple," the other male member of the synod explained. "You are to travel to Mount Bisopho. Near its summit, you will find the rare weed knows as the bloodstem. It contains a medicine that will help us in the preservation of an important life here in the palace."

"You are permitted to bring one companion on the journey," the female member began. "If you--"

Penny raised a hand. "I wish to be alone for this Feat."

The three members of the synod looked at each other. "We strongly recommend--"

"I have made my decision." Penny stood firm on the matter. Besides which, she was still carrying a small grudge against her bodyguard and myxlo groomer. "I have completed a survival of the Scorchlands for seven days with no aid. I don't think a mountain climbing expedition will be any different."

"It is settled," agreed one of the male members. "Her greatness, Penelope Leighton of the planet Earth, shall execute her Feat alone. If you so desire, there are guides available for hire. We bid you good journey."

Penny left, then went straight to her room to get packed up. This time she was able to take along more survival gear, as well as take her hover bike out to the mountain foot. Eltar had already picked out gear to facilitate the climb, as well as enough provisions to keep her healthy.

She decided she would leave the next morning, but first had to go and make peace. She went over to the palace training grounds, here she knew Oola would be trying to impress Groovi, as well as whoever else might be watching, with her athletic prowess.

There they were, as expected. Oola was using Groovi like she was a barbell, lifting her to do bicep curls. Groovi had her tender hands held onto one of Oola's thick arms for support. She was giggling the whole time.

Penny stepped forward, and the two women noticed their future queen. Oola put Groovi down, who ran up and did a deep bow.

"Your greatness," Groovi began. "Thank you for meeting us."

Penny smiled. "Look, guys. You've been treating me like strangers here, and I just wanted to let you know I'm not upset anymore, okay? Can we just make it like old times?"

Oola's face scrunched up as she wiped at her eyes. "I fear we have been deceitful to you!" Groovi went over to console the giant woman.

"Hey! No, no! Like I said, I wasn't being upfront with both of you." Penny went over to comfort the sobbing barbarian. "You know what? You two make such a great match, and you're really going to make each other happy. In a weird way, it's kind of comforting."

Oola was so relieved that she grabbed Penny in a bear hug, lifting her right off the ground. Oola set her down, then got a cuddly hug from Groovi. "You will be most pleased, your greatness," Groovi gushed. "Oola has been most helpful to me. She has helped me with training, and feeding..."

"That's great, Groovi," Penny said.

"And she has made the sex with me on many occasions!"

Penny blew out of her nose. "That's...really nice, Groove."

"It has been the best I have ever felt!"

Penny stuck her tongue in her cheek. "Yep. Got it. Loud and clear."

"I think Oola is the most beautiful woman in the kingdom! Plus, her body is much more--"

"I'm fuckin' going to bed." Penny plodded off, deflated.

The next morning, Penny packed up the last of her equipment onto the hover bike side containers, then fired up. She started the engine, the vents kicking up dust around her. She sped off, only to hear Eltar yelling something in behind her from the window.

"Whatever, Eltie," Penny muttered into her helmet. She slammed down the visor and sped off, following the 3D map that showed the direction to Mount Bisopho.

The drive was smooth going. Penny made a stop now and then just to get a drink, or to admire the view. There was so much of the planet she had yet to see. She noticed the wind was picking up the farther along she got. Penny was relieved, as the desert heat was made a little more bearable, even if it meant the dust and sand blew up at her. Penny had her light desert wear on to try to keep the dust off of her.

As she was riding along, she noticed the hover bike was fishtailing slightly. The wind was getting worse. She looked off to the side, only to realize there was something wrong with the sky. Several large funnels were forming, and one of them had lightning coming out of its middle.

"Oh shit, it's a storm." Penny realized what Eltar was trying to tell her now. So much for not trusting her advisors.

Penny wanted to try to get up over some of the dunes and outrace the storm, but it proved to be a mistake. Her bike started to sputter and stall, then she lost control. The bike went into a flat spin, then bounced off of a large boulder. Penny was ejected from the bike, landing flat on her stomach on a dust-covered rock sheet.

The dust was now covering her, as well as seeping into her visor. She was seeing stars as her breathing became more laboured.

"Help," she whispered. Then there was blackness.

The next thing Penny knew, she heard a dull humming. She was lying on a metal floor in a small room. She gave a few coughs before she sat up.

She looked around, then realized she was in what looked like a space crew's quarters. The walls were also metallic. There was a modest bed next to her. Across the room there appeared to be a kitchen area as well as a shower and sink.

The side door opened with a series of gears grinding and moaning. The heat as well as desert sand blew in through the door, as well as bringing in a stranger dressed in what looked like light armour camo desert gear. The stranger had on a full helmet and visor blocking the face.

The stranger came in quickly and shut the door. Penny scrambled to her feet, trying her best to stand defensively. Someone had removed her own detachable visor but left her helmet on.

"I don't want any trouble!" Penny looked around for something she could use to defend herself but came up empty.

The voice from the stranger came in distorted, as if being transmitted through a vocoder. "I don't want to hurt you," the stern tinny voice responded. "You looked like you were hurt out there."

Penny got up against the wall. "What do you want from me?"

The stranger moved in a bit closer, almost as if curious about something on Penny's face. "Tell me something," the stranger began. "Where exactly are you from?"

Penny swallowed. "Well, if you must know...I come from a planet called Earth."

The stranger stood there with arms at the side. "Get out. Holy fuck."

Penny narrowed her eyes. "Wait. You don't talk like someone from this planet."

The stranger reached up to undo the visor. When it was pulled off, Penny gasped.

The stranger took off her helmet as well. Penny gazed in shock at what she saw. "You're human!"

More specifically, the woman was half-white and half-Japanese. She had lovely almond-shaped hazel eyes and fine eyebrows. Her hair was black with purple streaks, and it was braided into pigtails. The woman had great cheekbones, a fine pointed chin, and flawless creamy skin.

"Well, figured it out, huh?" She tossed the visor and helmet aside. "Name's Sakura O'Malley."

Penny had lingering doubts. "Penny Leighton. Really? O'Malley?"

Sakura laughed. "Yeah. My dad is Irish. Like, genuine from Ireland." She walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. She bean to scrub her face. "You could have been killed out there. Why are you driving around in this storm?"

"I'm on a mission," Penny replied. She felt self-conscious putting it that way.

"Wow," Sakura replied. "What's the mission? Face-planting and dying in the dumbest way possible?"

Penny as getting annoyed. "How did you manage to get me in here?"

Sakura tossed her face cloth into the sink and put her hands on her hips. "I guess I owe you some thanks," she started. "The storm kind of caught me off-guard, too. I slept in one of the derelicts the night before, so I didn't make it back here in time."

"What derelict?" asked Penny.

"There are old starships buried out this way," Sakura explained. "Dozens of them. I've been scavenging for parts most of my time here." She looked at Penny oddly. "You never noticed them buried?"

"I'm...still kind of new to the place," Penny admitted. "I got brought here a few months ago."

Sakura got excited. "So you can get your hands on a starship! I can get off of this desert planet finally!"

"I mean...I suppose I could!" Penny had not considered that she was able to commandeer a starship for her own duties. "I am the future queen, after all!"

Sakura moved in, her face getting sterner. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Penny smiled nervously. "Well, um...see, I won this battle at the arena, and they just...appointed me as the future queen." She laughed nervously to alleviate tension.

It backfired. "Queen, huh?" Sakura sputtered and threw her arms up in disbelief. "Fuckin' queen. That's...oh. That's just fuckin' great. Yeah. Show up to the planet and they make you fuckin' queen of the place!"

"Hey, I wasn't just handed the honour on some silver platter!" Penny stepped forward, almost nose to nose with Sakura. "I had to fight some crazy Amazon she-goddess, then I have these Four Feats I have to do, not to mention all of the training and learning I have to get done in a short span!"

Sakura made a sour expression on her face. "Yeah, I bet it was tough, princess. Try struggling out here in the desert for fourteen years. I didn't exactly get invited out here, y'know!"

Sakura began pulling straps and hooks out of her armour to get it to detach from her. Penny noticed that Sakura had a lean body, and she was showing off enough midriff to display a nice, flat stomach with decent abs.

"Whoa," Penny remarked.

Sakura stopped, then looked down at her own tummy. "Yeah, whatever. There's not much to do out here, and I'm kinda on a vegan diet. Anyway, I got kidnapped back on Earth, all right?"

"Whoa, who got you?" Penny was a little floored, especially realizing she was not the first Earthling taken into outer space, let alone out here.

"I don't know who they were," Sakura explained. "They took a few of us. Me from Seattle, then they got some older Chinese guy. He didn't speak English. There was also an older woman. I think she was African or something. Anyway, we were put in a zoo."

Penny squinted. "What? Were you in a cage or something?"

"Yeah, a fucking cage. Exactly. I was there for a month." Sakura took off her gloves and tossed them aside. "I had people gawk at me all day, and they fed me pellets and a dish of water like I was a dog. I got out in the middle of the night and just ran for it."

Penny felt ashamed. "I'm sorry you went through that."

Sakura twisted up her lips and looked away. "Yeah, well, it's been pretty messed up out here. I really struggled because I didn't have a translator for a while. I finally got one installed a few months after I escaped, but it's an older model."

"You said you scavenge for parts?" inquired Penny.

"It's all I can do," Sakura said as she sat down on her couch made out of what looked like old bricks and a makeshift mattress. "I can get some decent money for stripping out palladium, or if I find an old energy converter I can get decent scratch. I was lucky enough to find an old freighter sleeping pod here in the desert, right next to the hangar. The hangar is where I grow my vegetables and store my own ship."

"If you have a ship, why don't you just leave?" asked Penny.

Sakura chuckled. "Well, I didn't say it could fly. I'm building it out of parts. I dunno--maybe I was wasting my time. I just wanted off this dust-ball planet. Let my parents know their little girl was still okay."

Penny sat on the bed. "I get it. My parents don't know where I am. I had to lie and say I was taking an extended job on a research vessel."

"That's all well and good, princess," Sakura retorted. "At least they know you're alive. Fourteen years and not a word? What am I supposed to say to my parents now?"

"Hey, you know, you're really laying into me about your misfortune," Penny spat back, maybe a little too loudly. "I offered to help you out, and all I get back is your highness this and princess that!"

"You know, I recall saving your life out there," Sakura intoned.

"And I recall you needing my bike just as badly," Penny responded.

It was that point that the power cut out in the small space. "What happened?" asked Penny. The room was still lit by the small amount of sunlight peeking in from the makeshift sealant around the tears in the pod hull.

"Fuck. The breaker went out," Sakura said. "I'll have to try to get it going manually. I usually have enough juice. If we don't have heat in this box at night, it gets uncomfortable."

Penny sputtered. "Yeah, you know how to make things uncomfortable, all right."

Sakura pointed to the door. "Maybe her highness would be more comfortable outside."

"Yeah, maybe!" Penny jumped up from the bed. "I bet the blowing sand is less abrasive than you!"

Sakura looked ready to explode, but only ended up laughing. "Fuck. I missed jokes. That wasn't bad, actually."

"Would the bike be any help?" asked Penny.

"Well, for one, the air intakes are clogged with dust," Sakura said. "Also, I don't want to wipe out like you did. We'll wait for a bit and see if the wind settles down at all. I'll run into the hangar and try to trip the power back on."

Sakura and Penny sat around, listening to the gusts and lulls of the storm outside. "What's a Feat?" asked Sakura out of the blue, startling Penny.

"What?"

"A feat. You said you had a feat to do earlier."

Penny shook her head. "Yeah, I get you now. They're basically four quests I have to complete before I can prove myself worthy to be the queen."

Sakura nodded. "So you're not just some entitled little brat then."

"What do you have against me?" asked Penny.

Sakura sighed. "I don't hate you, all right? I hate my life. Okay, so I just had my thirtieth birthday. I went to the village about eight miles from here, got shit-faced, then some Boccan prick called me slant-eyes. Even in outer space, I get this fuckin' routine."

A small smile crept over Penny's face. "Well, that guy's a piece of shit."

"Guess race isn't an issue when they're picking queens, right?"

"Oh, there you go again!" Penny groaned. "You know what? I'm sorry you got thrown in a zoo, and you have to scratch out a shit living here! But you know who's not responsible for that? Me! I'm gonna make this planet worth something."

Sakura laughed out loud. "Oh, you just fix it right up!" She pointed to the door. "You don't know what's out there, sweetie. It's a nightmare." She stood up and got her helmet and visor. "I'm heading to the hangar. You stay here and take shelter." She snapped on her helmet and visor, then the vocoder took over. "Leading a sheltered life is what you're good at."

Sakura made her way through the blowing sand to get to the hangar. She slid the door open, then got in and shut it behind her. She brushed some of the dust off of her as she felt around for the cistern, a large aluminum cylinder for collecting the underground water. The breaker switch was at the top of the cistern, which stood over ten feet high.

Sakura got to the top of the cistern using the attached ladder. She had a rope ladder to climb down into the drum if that was ever needed. The lid to the cistern was open, which Sakura had to climb over. She peered in to check the water levels. They were low, but left her a decent amount of water.

Sakura saw the breaker panel, and had to lean over to try to pop the switch. She leaned right over the cistern hole.

She felt her knee slip out from under her, as Sakura fell down into the cistern. She managed to hit her forehead on the side of the aluminum wall right before she splashed into the well. The water was frigid, almost freezing, since it was subterranean and had not run through the heater and sterilizer.

Sakura popped up out of the water, sputtering and coughing. Her muscles were tensed from the cold water, and fatigue was already setting in. All she could see in the faint light was her rope ladder, dangling just a few inches off of the edge.

Sakura began to panic. "Help! HELP!" She whimpered as she struggled to stay afloat. She was not the strongest swimmer to begin with, but there would be no way to haul herself out now.

Clanging could be heard over the splashing and hacking. A shadowy figure dropped the rope ladder down. "Grab on!"

Sakura treaded water. "I can't...move my arms..."

The figure climbed down and reached for Sakura. Sakura was hoisted up enough to grab onto the ladder, then the two of them made it to the top.

"P-Penny?" chattered Sakura.

"Take a breath," Penny instructed. She rubbed Sakura's arms. "Can you move now?"

Sakura nodded as she huffed. Penny helped Sakura down the ladder rungs, then the two of them went back through the dust storm to make it to the shelter.

Sakura was shivering as Penny sat her down on the couch. Penny went to get a blanket from the foot locker, then wrapped Sakura up in it. Penny then got a pot of water boiling on the stove.

"How did you know?" Sakura managed.

"I wanted to follow you to say I was sorry," Penny said. "Then I heard the splash. I figured I had better get out there."

Sakura tightened her lips. "I'm sorry," she said in a low voice. "I haven't been treating you well."

Penny went over to the couch and crouched down. "You almost drowned in the desert. That's pretty amazing."

Sakura cracked a smile and a small laugh. "There's pontow powder in the cupboard. It's a little like coffee but it's more nutty."

Penny found the jar and scooped in a bunch to the pot, then stirred it up. She got two aluminum cups and poured some in, bringing a cup for both of them. Sakura took a drink and appeared to be getting her colour back.

Penny volunteered to go back and hit the breaker, which was good timing since it was getting dark. She climbed up again, only this time ensuring that the ladder was dropped down and that she watched her footing before popping the switch. The lights in the hangar turned on, and Penny saw the spaceship that Sakura was working on. It was small, like an escape pod, and was far from completion.

Penny went down the ladder to the floor, then found the hydroponics section. She picked off several beans and leaves that were similar to kale, as well as a bulbous root. They smelled acceptable, and she figured she could get by on veggies for a few nights if she needed to.

Penny took the food back to the shelter, then made up a soup. Sakura ate it up, taking a rare moment not to complain about something.

It was now dark out, so the two of them took that awkward moment for getting ready for bed. "I'll head back out to the hangar," Sakura said. "I'll be careful this time. You get the bed, and I'll take the floor."