Good Luck Charm

Good Luck Charm
First Page Release Date	2020-07-15
Last Page Release Date	2020-08-05
Volume	1
Previous	Sisters in Arms, Part 2
Next	Live Fast, Part 1

"Good Luck Charm" is the fifth chapter in Pandora's Tale.

Characters Appearing in This Chapter

• Natalya Ustrashkina
• Pandora
• Zero Angiers
• Con Yung
• Veronica Fortuna
• Isabelle Monday
• Lyra Lujic
• Zufolene
• Tallulah Zaragoza
• Hemmel
• Lululu (First appearance) (First named)
• Petrichor
• Older Cop (First appearance)
• Younger Cop (First appearance)

Synopsis

Three weeks since the resistance found Pandora, Pandora receives her first paycheck. Tallulah and Zufolene ask Isabelle to hang out with them, and so Isabelle entrusts Con with watching Pandora and making sure Pandora doesn't do anything dangerous.

At the resistance headquarters, Con reiterates that Isabelle wants Pandora to stay out of trouble, while Natalya asks Pandora to read her essay on Helper liberation. They are interrupted by Hemmel, who explains that Petrichor has been arrested, and that everyone, including Pandora, have to go rescue him. Con is worried about bringing Pandora with, but Hemmel reassures her that Pandora is like a good luck charm.

Hemmel explains that the name "Petrichor" is a call sign, as the resistance avoids using real names for long-range communication. Pandora asks if she can have a call sign, and Hemmel says yes. However, Pandora is unable to choose a call sign for herself, due to her programming.

Natalya calls Zero asking her to hack the design plans of the police station where Petrichor is held, but Zero is distracted playing a video game. Pandora volunteers to sneak into the police station, much to Con's distress.

Pandora locates Petrichor and gives him a phone, but she makes enough noise to attract the attention of a police officer. When the cop notices her, Pandora pretends to be a stray Helper and says that the cop resembles her master. The cop asks Pandora her name, and Pandora is unable to make up a fake name for herself, so she asks the cop to name her before uncomfortably walking off with him.

The older cop shows off Pandora to another younger cop, who criticizes him for breaching security protocols. The older cop ironically asserts that Helpers can't possibly do anything suspicious, while Pandora moves to obstruct the cops' view of a security camera showing the resistance.

Natalya uses a chemical of her own design to break Petrichor out with "only the tiniest of bangs," much to Con's surprise. To rescue Pandora, Hemmel asks Natalya to distract the cops with a bigger bang.

Meanwhile, Pandora badgers the cops with questions to distract them, and tricks the older cop into giving her a shock pistol.

Natalya knocks out the younger cop, before Pandora zaps the older cop with with his own shock pistol.

The cops awaken to find themselves tied up, as the resistance loots the station. The older cop asks Pandora if she belongs to the resistance. She corrects him: she doesn't 'belong' to the resistance people, she's one of them.

On the ride home, Pandora tells Hemmel that she tried to charm her way out, and Hemmel suggests "Charm" as a call sign for Pandora. Con is relieved that things went well, until Pandora announces her intention to tell Isabelle everything. The chapter closes with a very angry Isabelle reprimanding Con.

Trivia

• This chapter contains the first instance of Pandora doing something which is against standard Helper programming and against what Isabelle wants her to do.
• Lululu, introduced in this chapter, is the first metafictional character in Pandora's Tale.
• Xan researched World War 2-era Soviet weapons for this chapter.