Adept of Chaos

Benjamin Medrano

Contents

I. Worldwaker

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

II. Skaloth

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

III. Of Gangsters & Guards

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

IV. Shades of the Past

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

V. The Spider’s Web

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Author’s Note

About the Author

Glossary

Mistress of Chaos Preview

Adept of Chaos by Benjamin Medrano

© 2021 Benjamin Medrano. All rights reserved.

Contact the author at BenjaminPMedrano@gmail.com

Visit the author’s website at benjaminmedrano.com

Sign up for the author’s mailing list at http://eepurl.com/cGPT-b

Cover Art by Mario Wibisono

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

To my beloved, my muse, my heart.

Part I

Worldwaker

Chapter 1

The sun’s heat permeated Evelyn’s body, and her muscles practically melted in response. Yet her pleasure was marred by the faint annoyance she always felt when laying on a beach. Oh, how she wished she could tan reasonably, but she’d learned long ago that she had two states: Pasty and burnt. That was why she’d purchased the earrings that kept her from burning, but it didn’t help with the pastiness.

She was surrounded by the sound of waves crashing on the shore, which dampened the laughter of other beachgoers, including loudly shrieking children. They were shrieks of delight, Evelyn corrected herself, and some of them came from irritatingly close by. Evelyn cracked an eyelid, glancing toward the spot where the sounds were coming from, and let out a soft sigh. At least they weren’t congregating around her.

Vrienne’s beaches were lovely, with white sand and surf that was a nigh-unnaturally clear blue-green, an aspect of why she’d decided that a vacation here was a good idea. After they’d finished selling off some of their acquisitions from the senne space station, of course. Better yet, none of the locals seemed to have realized who Evelyn was, which made her happy. Why, all of the others had drawn more attention than her, but none more than Fya, though Vaneryth and Zelirana came close.

Ilyra was laying next to Evelyn on a towel, sunning herself as well, and Evelyn thought that the fair celestine was on the verge of burning, and would burn if she wasn’t careful. If she did, it would be a good opportunity for Ilyra to practice her healing magic, so Evelyn wasn’t going to stop her. More important was what Fya and Nadia were doing.

Located about two dozen meters away, the djinn and dark-haired human child were working together on a sandcastle, and not any type of castle that Evelyn had seen before. The sand changed colors at Fya’s whim, and the curtain wall rose a good two meters in the air, with the gatehouse large enough for a child to crawl through. There was also a miniature waterfall made of sand flowing out of a section of the castle formed to look like a mountainside, the sand the color of water, while the other parts of the castle were brightly colored. As Evelyn watched, Nadia pointed at the roof of the palace, and the green-haired djinn nodded, changing the roof to be bright red in an instant. All around them, dozens of children squealed in excitement, staring at the intricate sandcastle.

It wasn’t just children who were interested, of course. Plenty of adults were watching as well, and Evelyn couldn’t help a tiny shake of her head. Fya just had to show off. She noticed that Cherys was watching them nervously as well, which only made sense. Nadia’s mother was as far or farther out of her depth as Nadia was, and despite having gotten implants and begun learning modern languages, she was likely lost in the complexity of the conversations surrounding her. That, and she knew more about djinni, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing, as Fya wasn’t a typical example of her species.

Also nearby were the rest of the women currently crewing Evelyn’s ship. Vaneryth got a good deal of attention simply because she had a glowing gold halo revealing that she was an angel, though otherwise she looked like a beautiful, blonde-haired and blue-eyed human. Nearby was Zelirana, a succubus, complete with tail, black-feathered wings, black hair, and deep blue eyes. Compared to them, Moon and Star weren’t nearly as eye-catching, though the redhead humans drew plenty of attention with their vivid blue eyes and attractive physiques. Of course, the fact that all of them were wearing bikinis for the visit to the beach didn’t help, and the four were playing volleyball with a quartet of young humans and elves, with both a boy and girl of each. The other team was losing, likely due to losing focus whenever Zelirana jumped. Playing with a succubus was unfair that way.

Evelyn was surprised that none of them were playing in the surf or swimming, but she wasn’t going to argue with them, even if she had rented a couple of waterbreathing necklaces for them. Maybe they would later, but… it really didn’t matter. She supposed she could’ve just used a couple of items out of her own supplies for the ocean, but that would’ve meant finding the crate holding them. Renting the necklaces was cheap, anyway.

She stretched, letting out a soft, happy grunt as her back popped, and Evelyn relaxed. There really wasn’t much more relaxing than a day at the beach, in her opinion, and she pondered whether she should go buy a nice, fruity drink from a nearby stand. It’d probably be alcoholic, but it wasn’t like anything local could get her drunk.

Of course, that was the moment when she got a message from the ship, prompting Evelyn’s back to stiffen.

“Captain, I’m picking up traffic from planetary control. Two dozen assault shuttles have taken off from the surface without authorization, and none of them from military bases,” Adria said calmly. She was the Doll Evelyn had previously named Control. “Two shuttles are on a vector that will take them near our location.”

“Damn it,” Evelyn murmured under her breath, taking a deep breath, then asked, just as quietly. “Are they coming directly toward the beach or the ship?”

“Not so far as I am able to determine at present. They may be vectoring toward the military base on the other side of the spaceport,” Adria replied, and Evelyn considered her words sourly… along with how much more personality the Doll showed, which was much more than she’d been showing a week prior. She had… mixed feelings about the Doll, and it was all Fya’s fault.

“In that case, I want you to run tests on the defensive systems. If the shuttles appear to be coming within a kilometer of the ship, warn them off. If they ignore you or bluster, fire a warning shot. If they continue approaching within half a kilometer or open fire, shoot them down,” Evelyn replied after a few seconds of thought, letting out a sigh. “I really hope they aren’t going to be idiots.”

“Hmm?” Ilyra asked, turning her head toward Evelyn curiously, just as Vaneryth unleashed a vicious spike that no one on the other team could return.

“Yes, Captain. What if they attempt to attack you?” Adria asked curiously.

“If they attack the beach, they’ll need to worry about being dust in the wind,” Evelyn said dryly, shaking her head, then murmured to Ilyra. “It’s nothing, I hope. Some combat shuttles coming in this direction. Nothing much to worry about.”

“Combat shuttles aren’t much to worry about?” Ilyra asked, her eyebrows rising as she rolled over to look at Evelyn.

“If they were frigates, I’d be a bit concerned, but not shuttles. If they’re hostile, I’ll shield us and Djinn’s Gift will deal with them. If they aren’t hostile, we don’t have to worry about them,” Evelyn explained, smiling back at the young woman. “I don’t see the point of worrying too much when we don’t have information one way or another.”

“Oh, of course,” Ilyra replied, visibly relaxing, and she glanced over at Cherys, considering for a couple of seconds, then asked. “Do you think they’ll want to stay here?”

Evelyn looked at the mage for a moment, taking in how she was standing. Cherys looked nervous and uncomfortable. A senne man approached her to talk, one with light purple skin and beautiful blue eyes. He was of average height for a senne, but with his physique, Evelyn suspected that he rarely wanted for company. Yet despite that, Cherys seemed to be even more on-guard against him, and after a short conversation he left her behind, obviously having noticed her discomfort. It made Evelyn want to sigh.

“I doubt it,” Evelyn said after a couple of seconds, resignation washing over her. “I’d hoped, but perhaps we need to find a university with a proper magic program. I’m not sure that Nald will fit the bill for her.”

“Oh?” Ilyra asked, sitting up straighter. She grabbed a bottle of water to take a drink. “Why do you say that?”

“Nald is… it has a decent enough program from what I’ve heard, but there are certain tendencies that make me think they’d look down on her training,” Evelyn explained after a moment, frowning a little at this point, and she sat up, watching Ilyra sip her water before continuing. “It’s not likely to make her happy, not being so far out of her own time and dealing with the language and technology differences as well. She needs a group that would accept her training properly, and help her learn more about how things work now. I can’t do that, and no one aboard can, either. Ryth and Zel are too specialized, and you’re not skilled enough with magic yet.”

“Oh. Well, I—” Ilyra began, but as she spoke, a dull howl cut through the noise of the beach, and Evelyn saw a couple of dots in the distance coming toward them, growing rapidly. The sound grew louder as well, and Evelyn scowled, flexing one hand as her eyes narrowed.

If she had to put up a shield she would, but the pair of assault shuttles wasn’t coming directly toward them, and she saw the others turning to face them as well. Evelyn really hoped she wouldn’t have to turn a shuttle to dust. She’d had good luck with not being attacked in peaceful ports lately, and she really didn’t want to deal with the consequences of defending herself.

Moments later the shuttles went flying past them, and a rumble boomed behind them, loud enough that one of the people still trying to surf lost balance and fell, while sand was kicked up in their wake, spraying many people… and getting into Evelyn’s half-consumed drink. That annoyed her, and she glowered after the shuttles.

“Well, that was rude!” Fya exclaimed, her hands on her hips as she glowered at the sand castle, which had just lost a tower. The sand had sheared off about halfway up the tower, and Evelyn couldn’t blame her.

“That it was,” Evelyn agreed. She was about to continue when she sensed a transmission coming in on her implants.

“People of Vrienne, too long have you suffered under the yoke of the Republic’s decadent leadership, too long have they trampled on our lives! We of the Vrienne Liberation Army—” a woman began speaking, but before she could get any further, Evelyn cut off the broadcast, not wanting to listen to it, and she stood up.

“Alright, that settles it. It looks like our vacation is over, ladies,” Evelyn called out, brushing the sand off her. “Pack up quickly, we need to return the rentals and get back to the ship.”

“Um, mind if I ask why?” Star asked, hesitating before tossing the ball back to the other team. “I mean, that sounds like a rather worrying message, but…”

“Do you want to be caught in the middle of a civil war?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow at her. “I’ve been through one already, and that’s quite enough, thank you. I want off this rock before the locals do something stupid, like try to steal the ship or force us to work for one of the sides. It’s time to go.”

“Heh. It’d be fun, though!” Fya replied, snapping her fingers, which caused all the color to leech out of the sand castle, and the tower rebuilt itself in an instant. The waterfall also stopped, which was likely for the best. For her part, Star flinched, then nodded rapidly.

“It would be messy. Once is enough,” Evelyn replied, picking up her towel, then paused as she saw someone flailing in the water off the shore, and sighed. With a gesture, she sent a wave of red magic arcing out, wrapped it around the man and his surfboard, and picked them up. She pulled them to where the water was only a few centimeters deep before depositing him again. “Now, let’s go, ladies.”

“So much for a nice night on the beach…” Zel said, giving a theatrical sigh, then waved at the other team. “Sorry, but it’s time to go! Stay safe!”

Evelyn ignored the way the other beachgoers were looking at her, and instead focused on packing up her things. She did wish that this sort of thing didn’t seem to always happen to her.

Chapter 2

“Adria, why aren’t we airborne?” Evelyn asked, stepping onto the bridge and adjusting her shirt to make it hang correctly. The ship’s quarantine functions had done wonders at getting rid of all the sand, but that hadn’t helped with how her skin felt a little dry. She really needed to take a proper bath or shower to feel like she was back to normal.

“Starport Control has discontinued all outbound flights for the duration of the emergency, Captain,” Adria replied, the blonde turning to face Evelyn, her hands folded behind her back as the Doll spoke. “They have been ignoring my repeated requests for permission to depart.”

“Of course they have,” Evelyn replied, her eyes narrowing slightly as she considered, then shrugged. “Well, let’s not give them a choice. In two minutes, depart on a standard exit vector. Make certain all defensive systems are active, I wouldn’t put it past them to take a few shots at us.”

“Yes, Captain. Departure in t-minus one hundred fifteen seconds,” Adria confirmed, turning to face the front of the bridge again, then paused and asked. “Do you wish for me to inform the starport of this?”

“Sure. We’re going to leave whether they agree or no, so it’s only polite,” Evelyn said, circling around to take a seat in the captain’s chair. “Also, make sure you have a good priority list for any gun emplacements. If they shoot at us, I want to be able to get rid of them.”

“Yes, Captain,” Adria confirmed.

“That sounds a lot like you’re planning to shoot at them,” Moon said, and Evelyn glanced over her shoulder at where the twins had just entered, both of them looking like they’d thrown normal clothing on over their swimsuits.

“Planning… maybe? Only if they’re stupid enough to attack us when we’re leaving,” Evelyn replied, shrugging. “Either way, we’ll find out soon enough. I don’t want to be dragged into a civil war. Even when I took over Peldra, there was a lot more collateral damage than I wanted, and too many people died who didn’t need to. I was an idiot to think that I could keep it focused purely on military targets.”

“Why are you so sure that they’ll—” Star began, but was cut off by Adria.

“Incoming transmission, Captain. Putting it on-screen,” the Doll said, at the same time as the holographic projector at the front of the bridge sprang to life.

Depicted was a grizzled human with a sharp jawline and several scars. He was wearing a blue visored cap, a blue and gold uniform, while behind him Evelyn could see a few hints of what she thought was a command center. He spoke a moment later in a commanding bark that Evelyn imagined would intimidate most people. People who weren’t her, at least.

“Djinn’s Gift, you are to immediately stand down and debark your ship. Your vessel is being requisitioned under Section Thirty-Seven of Vrienne’s military code, by my authority as Admiral of the Fleet,” the man said, his gaze icy as he continued. “Attempt to depart and you will be fired upon.”

“Well?” Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow at Star, who blushed in embarrassment.

“Ah… never mind, obviously I was wrong,” the young woman replied, shrugging helplessly. “I just didn’t expect…”

“We have the equivalent of a heavy cruiser. I think Vrienne has five of them in total,” Evelyn replied, turning back and letting her gaze harden as she continued. “Adria, open a channel in return. I think I need to inform this Admiral of his mistake.”

“Acknowledged, Captain,” Adria replied immediately. “Communications channel open.”

“Djinn’s Gift here, and I am it’s captain. Your demand is refused,” Evelyn said, looking toward the hologram levelly. “If you attempt to fire on my ship, I will destroy any emplacement or vessel which makes the mistake of getting in my way.”

Almost instantly the man replied, scowling. “Are you attempting to make an enemy of the Republic Navy, Captain? I am not joking, stand down or suffer the consequences!”

“Are you trying to make an enemy of me, Admiral?” Evelyn retorted, sitting up in her chair, her gaze and mood hardening. “Did you not even check to see who I am? If you wish to make me side with your rebels, please, be my guest. I had no intention of getting involved in your conflict, but if you’re going to be a fool, that’s your choice.”

“Who you are? I—” the man began, then cut off as his eyes grew slightly distant, then Evelyn saw the blood drain from his face. He focused on her a moment later, his arrogance fading into what she thought was fear. “Evelyn Tarth?”

“Yes, that’s me. And I must say, I give your intelligence community failing marks. I informed the spaceport of who I was when we came out of astral,” Evelyn replied, baring her teeth as she looked at him angrily. “Now, then. I am leaving. If anything fires a shot at my ship, I will vaporize whatever fired. Is that clear, Admiral?”

“Of course. My apologies, Captain Tarth, I will have to have words with my intelligence officer,” the man replied, taking a deep breath. “I’ve sent orders to allow you to lift immediately. Safe travels.”

“Thank you,” Evelyn replied, cutting the channel with a thought, then glanced at Adria. “You didn’t lift on schedule.”

“You were in the middle of negotiations. I gave seventy-three percent odds that they would fire upon us if I lifted on schedule, where the odds would approach zero if you were allowed to conclude negotiations. That being the case, I believed that you would wish for me to delay,” Adria replied, inclining her head slightly. “Receiving departure instructions from Starport Control now. Initiating lift-off procedures.”

Evelyn felt the sensation of the ship lifting off, and she could practically imagine the water falling from the ship’s gleaming curves. Which brought to mind all the various biological hazards she could be bringing with her… but part of the lift-off procedure was decontaminating the surface of the ship, so it wasn’t like she needed to give orders to have it done.

“You’re not wrong,” Evelyn admitted after a moment, glancing at Adria again. “You’re showing a great deal more initiative than you were before we left the mining station.”

“At that time I was attempting to minimize any irritating aspects of my personality, due to misinterpreting your discomfort with me, Captain,” Adria explained, shrugging marginally. “Fya’s explanation clarified what the issue was, and I have adjusted my actions accordingly. If you wish for me to revert, I will do so, as your comfort takes priority.”

Evelyn examined her for a moment, then shrugged, letting out a sigh as she glanced at Moon and Star, who’d moved to take a couple of seats. She found it amusing that Moon had taken the seat where she could monitor Life Support, while Star was in the navigation assistant’s seat.

“I’ll think about it,” Evelyn said, pausing for a few seconds before she added. “If anything, it’s just that you unnerve me slightly. You’re a bit too much like Vania, now.”

“My apologies, Captain. I believe that I would be able to adjust my appearance somewhat if you would prefer. While the maintenance unit is not capable of large changes, it is able to make minor adjustments to our appearances,” Adria said.

“Another thing I’ll have to consider. Gods know how she’d react if we ran into her,” Evelyn said, barely keeping a grimace off her face at that thought. “Either way, time to leave.”

“Of course. May I ask for a destination?” Adria asked.

“Um, set it for… Janton,” Evelyn replied after a few seconds of thought. “It’s a bit farther away, I’ll admit, but has a good university for magi.”

“Acknowledged. Setting course, estimated transit time is six days,” Adria replied immediately.

“Excellent,” Evelyn said, nodding slightly, then glanced at the twins. “Now, then… is there anything you wanted? You don’t come to the bridge often.”

“Well… I did buy a biosciences chip when we got our bonus, so I’ve been trying to figure things out,” Moon said, blushing a little as she looked away, shrugging. “I just figured it’d be good for taking care of hydroponics, and I don’t think we have anyone who specializes in life support.”

“Ah, so that’s why you went shopping, not just for clothing,” Evelyn said, a smile playing across her lips. “Learn much, yet?”

“Not really. It’s only been a few days, and this is complicated. I can read it, and understand some of it, but not much,” Moon admitted.

“That’s normal, at least for things as complicated as the sciences,” Evelyn said, shrugging as she thought back to her abortive attempt to learn high-level enchanting with a skill program. It hadn’t gone well, and she’d removed the program after a few weeks of headaches.

“That’s what I told her,” Star said, grinning a little as she continued. “Though I’m not following my own advice. I was looking at the different roles aboard a ship, and decided to try filling the science officer post. I’ve just been getting a bit of a headache since loading the program.”

“Ah. I’d suggest keeping a careful eye on it, then,” Evelyn warned her, sitting up straighter. “I was just thinking about a skill program I tried years ago which was just too detailed for me to handle. I didn’t have the proper background for it, which made it hard on me. I ended up spending several weeks getting incredibly painful headaches before I removed it. If you’re getting them after a week, I’d consider getting a more basic program to brush up on the sciences, then use the advanced ones.”

“Really? You had it give you headaches?” Star asked, her eyebrows rising.

Evelyn rolled her eyes, standing up as she gave them a wry smile. “Look, as much as Fya and other people seem to play up my power, I am not invincible. Despite a solid immune system, I get sick, I get headaches, and as evidenced by the fact that all of you disagreed with me over the ship’s color scheme, I’m not the best with choosing colors that people would prefer. I’m not perfect.”

“I would’ve rather guessed, after seeing the damage your armor took in the station,” Moon murmured, though she looked more cheerful than she had before.

“I’d say that you should’ve seen the other lady, but there wasn’t exactly anything left when I was done,” Evelyn retorted, heading for the door. “Now, since our visit to the beach was so rudely interrupted, I’m going to spend a bit in the hot tub. Anyone care to join me?”

“Me!” Star said, scrambling to her feet. “I barely got any time in the water before we had to leave.”

“Just because you were too busy teasing Lyra about how conservative of a swimsuit she chose,” Moon countered, standing up to follow.

“It had to be done!” Star retorted. “Seriously, it had a skirt, at least until I convinced her to replace it!”

“Everyone has their own preferences,” Evelyn interjected, but she couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

She’d never expected for things to turn out like this when she decided to shred a group of mercenaries for the crime of trying to assassinate her. The fact that four women had joined the harem Fya had decided to form for Evelyn mystified her even more.

Still, it was their choice, and she wasn’t about to argue about it. It wasn’t her decision, and she certainly enjoyed their company.

Chapter 3

Vania looked through the window as her ship left orbit, resisting the urge to frown.

Taking control of Peldra had turned out to be far easier than ruling it, as she’d learned over the last eight years. Oh, she’d dealt with the crises that cropped up as best she could, and rebuilt after Evelyn’s rule. She found it ironic that Evelyn had allowed her to root out a great deal of the injustices that had crept into the system, but that didn’t mean that she’d been able to fix everything. No, she had plenty of opponents, and the number of them was steadily growing, especially since she was resisting calls to make a marriage of state. She didn’t want to have reclaimed Peldra just to merge it with Deimal or Katrin.

“Is something the matter, Milady?” Rasien asked, and Vania let out a soft sigh, turning to face her bodyguard.

“Nothing I can put a finger on, no,” Vania replied, smiling wryly at the athletic, blonde elven warrior. She wore a uniform rather than her armor, one primarily white with blue trim, and Vania thought it looked good on her. “I suppose I’m just concerned about leaving Peldra for the conference.”

“I can’t say that I blame you, but if there’s a chance of forming a proper confederation with the other elven nations across the cluster…” Rasien said, pausing, then shrugged. “If we’d had that, we probably wouldn’t have lost to Evelyn to begin with.”

“I know. And it isn’t like insisting on a location that wasn’t neutral would have helped any. They likely would’ve chosen another country just to spite me,” Vania replied, shaking her head. Then she changed the subject, curiosity surging through her. “Have you heard anything more about her, for that matter?”

“Not much more than we talked about yesterday, no,” Rasien said dryly, giving Vania a look of long-suffering patience. “There isn’t any more information than those rumors about her fighting a goddess aboard an abandoned senne mining station. As much respect for her power as I have, I sincerely doubt that she managed to defeat a goddess.”

“As do I. I was mostly curious, since it sounds unbelievable,” Vania said, moving to the nearest chair and taking a seat, then let out a soft sigh. “I just wish that everyone would leave me alone where she’s concerned. She’s killed all the assassins sent after her for seven years, what makes them think that offering a larger bounty would help, aside from irritating her enough that she might come after us?”

“I suspect they’re trying to get your support more than anything else,” Rasien said, shrugging.

“You know why I don’t want to,” Vania replied softly, her emotions swirling for a few seconds, before finally settling on a faint sense of… shame, perhaps.

“Oh, I do. I don’t agree with it, but I understand,” Rasien said, letting out a sigh as she circled around to where Vania could see her more easily. “You weren’t kept in the prison for two years. A prison, perhaps, but not as bad as what I was in. I’m not about to forgive her for that.”

“I know. I just feel like I know her better than you do, which influences my opinion somewhat,” Vania replied, smiling at Rasien helplessly. “Either way, there’s not much to be done about it. She has her starship, and doesn’t appear to have much interest in us.”

“Thank the gods,” Rasien murmured, which prompted a laugh from Vania.

Turning her attention to the window again, Vania began going through the information she had regarding the various proposals for the confederation. She had to figure out what the parliament she’d put together would accept, and what was going too far, even for her. The next couple of weeks would likely be difficult. Still, at least the time in astral would give her something approaching a vacation, and she wasn’t going to have anyone suggesting she marry so that the empire had an heir.

* * *

Among the crew of Peldra’s Pride, Tayla Renn wasn’t that notable of a member. She was a skilled enough engineer to have gotten a position aboard the empress’s personal cruiser, certainly, and she didn’t have anything notable in her background for the security teams to notice. That was the entire reason that she’d been chosen, for that matter.

Korrix was a skilled infiltrator, and she’d found it shockingly easy to mimic Tayla, as quiet and unassuming as the young woman was. It was almost a shame to replace her, as it meant that Korrix had to be equally timid, but it allowed her to do what she needed to with ease. The other engineers barely paid her any attention beyond their typical greetings and discussing what work needed to be done. She didn’t mind, since it allowed her to plant the worm she’d been given easily, as well as all the other preparations she needed to make.

Most of the explosives were in key positions, while appearing to be innocuous objects that no one would think twice about when they saw them. Add to that the gas that would flood several important rooms, including both the bridge and the auxiliary bridge, and Korrix was certain that it would be easy for her to disable the ship once it was time. The key would be to do it when the empress’s bodyguard was away from her.

“Just a bit more…” Korrix murmured to herself, so quiet that not even someone next to her would be able to hear properly. It was taking some work to carefully sabotage the Captain’s armor so that Rasien would be forced to do maintenance when she discovered it in the morning, and it was even more difficult to do it in such a way that it looked like an accident. Planting another program in the armor’s computer was easy by comparison.

“There,” Korrix murmured, satisfied at last, and she smiled, putting away her tools, then glanced around, making sure that everything else in the armory was as it should be, then stood up and headed for the door. She had another three minutes before the looping footage she’d set up would end, but it was important not to leave any more evidence than she had to.

The important thing was to ensure that everything went off as planned. If this succeeded, she was going to get a promotion, and that would make it worth every minute of drudge work she was being forced through. The thought was almost enough to make Korrix dance, though she refrained. Tayla never danced.

Chapter 4

Traveling to Janton meant leaving the Mathrin cluster. Not that it meant much to those crossing the border of a cluster, Evelyn knew. The only reason clusters were a hundred AU across was because that was the maximum distance a faster-than-light link could reach from a hub system. Evelyn supposed that someone could create hub systems every fifty light years, but in practice they’d turned into loosely aligned coalitions, or at least into trading partners. It didn’t help that the dragons seemed to encourage it, as they tended to put wyrmgates into the major hubs, and often skipped the border systems that linked one hub to the next.

Which was likely rather intentional, come to think of it. Dragons tended to be territorial, after all. Djinn’s Gift was bypassing the hub system as they headed to Janton at a steady pace, though.

On the other hand, Evelyn was growing unfortunately used to hearing what sounded to her like a small, screaming missile go flying down the corridors at random intervals. The first time she’d checked, she’d seen Nadia running at top speed, with Zelirana in hot pursuit. Why the succubus of all people loved the child was beyond Evelyn… though she supposed the demon could just be getting the girl used to her presence for when she was older. Evelyn would have to keep that in mind.

Other than that, the trip proved rather relaxing. She had time to catch up properly on armor maintenance, went through the magazines about some of the recent advances in military tech, and even got some programming done on her video game. Unfortunately, the recent bevy of women demanding her attention was putting a crimp in her progress. Evelyn was trying to decide if that was a good or bad thing, but every time she had a meal cooked by Moon, she felt the scales tip a bit toward the ‘good’ side. Evelyn could get used to eating like this without the politics that ruling a country had entailed.

They were just a few hours out from Janton when Cherys came looking for Evelyn. Unlike the others, the time-lost woman didn’t leave Evelyn alone when she was in the observatory, which was the reason she knew who it was when the door chimed, then opened.

Cherys didn’t even blink as she took in the sight of the observatory, where Evelyn appeared as though she was reclining on a couch in the middle of the astral, shimmering orange and purple clouds surrounding them while a white star blazed above. Instead, the brunette took a confident step inside, wearing a modern dress of shimmering white fabric. She was rather pretty, now that she’d cleaned up.

“Hello, Cherys,” Evelyn said, looking away from the hologram showing her the statistics of the different spells and weapons in her game so far. They needed tweaking, but looking at them could be dreadfully boring at times. Her lips quirked into a smile as she added. “I’m amused, you’re one of the only people who doesn’t hesitate to enter when I have the room like this. The only others are Fya, Zel, and the Dolls.”

“I think of it as an illusion,” Cherys replied, her voice still accented, and with the occasional pause as she considered her words. She hesitated, then admitted. “It would be less pleasant if… it was more like where we were stranded.”

“Ah, of course,” Evelyn said, nodding in understanding as she realized what the woman meant. The nice thing about magi was that they tended to be more flexible when it came to surprising situations. Not all of them, but many were. If Cherys weren’t that resilient, she likely wouldn’t have survived getting dumped in the astral with her daughter. Evelyn couldn’t blame her for disliking that particular part of the astral after her experience. After a few seconds Evelyn asked, “How are you adapting? I know that the implants take some getting used to, even for those of us who grew up with them.”

“I’m confused, but adapting. Vaneryth and Zelirana have helped us greatly,” Cherys said, walking over and taking a seat on one of the other couches. She paused for several more seconds, then asked softly. “May I ask your advice?”

“Of course. I won’t guarantee that my advice will be good, or even pleasant, but I don’t see any reason to keep it to myself,” Evelyn said. She even deactivated the holographic projector to ensure it wouldn’t distract her.

“Is there any place where I will feel at home, here in the future? Your present,” Cherys asked, waving at the star above her head forlornly. “Fya helped me find what became of my world, and while I recognize some of the land… everything else has changed more than I could imagine. Only the greatest works of our time still survive.”

Evelyn resisted the urge to sigh, as the question wasn’t what she’d hoped for. This was more a philosophical question, and those… she wasn’t good with. If it’d been a simple question, like what planets with a primarily human population had the best food, she might be able to help. Maybe. But no, instead she had a question that was completely out of her field of expertise.

“I don’t know,” Evelyn replied after a few seconds, looking at Cherys directly. “I am not you, after all, and I don’t know what it is that would be your ideal home. A country that focuses on magic? I know of seven good ones, all of which have at least some human inhabitants. If it’s a more… subdued, down to earth society you’re wanting, you’ll have a little harder of a time, but there are plenty of worlds that have small communities that are more on the outskirts, and some of the rim worlds are like that. Primarily humans, orbital habitats, and even a few people who choose to live aboard generation ships that ply the stars via normal space or the astral… there are all sorts, Cherys. I don’t know what would fit you, though.”

“Ah,” Cherys murmured, though she didn’t seem surprised. She waited for a few seconds, then asked. “Why the world we are approaching? Janton, I believe the name was.”

“That’s right,” Evelyn said, relaxing as the subject grew less subjective, that was a nice change. She pursed her lips, then continued. “Janton is just over the border in the Tassen Cluster, and while they only have a single inhabitable planet at present, they have a rich asteroid belt and have a planet in an even more promising position which they’ve been terraforming for just under two centuries, so it should be habitable soon. Their university isn’t well-known yet, but they have an unusually large magical college, and appear to be trying to build up their reputation for enchanting to corner the cluster’s market for that industry. I thought that it might be a decent fit for a woman of your skills.”

“I understand,” Cherys said, nodding slightly. She waited for a couple of seconds, then let out a soft sigh, shaking her head slowly. “I will have to think. I do not know what to do. I envy Nadia, in that regard.”

“The life of a child is simpler than that of an adult,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “They tend to adapt to new circumstances more easily. I’m sorry I don’t have answers for you, not true ones. If there’s something I can do within reason, please ask.”

“Thank you,” Cherys said, smiling a little more as she asked hopefully. “I do not suppose you can tell me how to become as powerful as you are?”

Evelyn laughed, grinning back at the woman. “I’m afraid not, Cherys. If I knew, almost every mage in the galaxy would be clamoring for my secrets. Alas, it’s an inborn gift, not something I can share.”

“Mm. I thought as much, but had to ask. The security power brings would be pleasant,” Cherys said, standing up again. Evelyn’s smile faded a little, and she looked up at the star blazing above them for a second.

“Power does help,” Evelyn said at last, looking at Cherys calmly. “It draws its own host of problems if you have too much power, though. In either case, I believe you have the skill and potential to go far, but who am I to say for sure? It is up to you and the universe to decide.”

Cherys paused, then inclined her head and left the room, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Once she was gone, Evelyn pondered for a few seconds, then activated the holographic projector again. While she didn’t like statistics, if she was going to create a game, she was also going to try to do it right.

Chapter 5

“Astral emergence. Minimal emergence deviation,” Adria reported, the Doll standing beside the Captain’s chair, perfectly poised and calm. “Scanners register no other ships in the emergence zone, two frigates with Janton System Defense identification, the starbase Nevrim, along with four docked merchant ships, are within five light-minutes. Threats minimal.”

“Thank you, Adria,” Evelyn said, examining the holographic readout of the system, noting all the vessels moving through it. There were a few more JSD ships that the Doll hadn’t mentioned, but they were patrolling the system and rather far away. The icon that drew her eye was the DGS Worldwaker at the third planet in the system, but Evelyn made certain not to say anything about it. Not yet… though her mouth was practically watering as she thought about it.

“This… isn’t that nice of a planet, is it?” Ilyra asked, looking at the screen dubiously. “I’m seeing a lot of sand.”

“It isn’t quite as bad as it might look,” Evelyn replied, giving her a wry smile. “Janton is arid, yes… that’s due to how small the oceans are in comparison to some other habitable worlds, but it has some regions that are much nicer than the others. Based on what I’ve seen, most of the major cities are located near the oceans where they have a climate that’s a bit more tropical. There are communities elsewhere, of course, and they rely both on the magi of Janton’s university to generate rainstorms and a variety of water conservation technology. I believe they’re somewhat ahead of most other worlds when it comes to the latter.”

“I’m mostly surprised that you know all of this,” Fya said, looking at Evelyn suspiciously, a gleam in her eyes. “You don’t know this much about worlds on the opposite side of the Mathrin cluster, and this is farther away than most of those. Did you do research when I wasn’t looking?”

Evelyn sniffed and spoke calmly, not even looking at the djinn. “I’m quite certain that someone who makes jokes in extremely poor taste and who didn’t have the common decency to let me strangle her doesn’t deserve an answer.”

“Are you still grumpy about that?” Fya demanded, giving Evelyn a hurt look. “It didn’t hurt anything, and it finally got you to name poor Adria!”

Evelyn ignored her… as well as the soft giggling from the others in the room. And how Vaneryth sighed softly and threw Zelirana a mythrite token. And… well, pretty much everything else, for that matter. She wanted to hang on to what shreds of dignity she still possessed. The problem with having people around all the time was that sometimes they saw you when you were wearing your fuzzy slippers and nightgown while you rummaged through the kitchen for a midnight snack, and suddenly your fearsome persona vanished like a puff of smoke.

“Comm request, Captain,” The Doll at communications said, pausing for a moment, then corrected. “I misstated. Nevrim Control is asking what our business in the system is.”

“Ah, one of those systems,” Evelyn said, nodding in sardonic understanding, and she shrugged. “Give them our standard ID code and inform them that we’re here primarily for rest and recreation, and to look into the Janton University of Magic.”

“Yes, Captain,” the Doll replied immediately. “Message sent. Awaiting response.”

“Based on how long the first message took, I’m not guessing we’ll get one for a while… or they’ll just send us an automated message,” Evelyn murmured, sighing as she shrugged. “I never heard anything about this aspect of visiting Janton.”

“Um, if that’s the case… do you mind if I ask why you know about the system?” Ilyra asked hopefully as she waved at the screens. “I did study what there was in the ship database while we were on our way here, and Janton doesn’t seem like it’s that exceptional. I suppose its university is interesting to magi, but you haven’t been the type to attend universities, from everything I’ve heard.”

“Asking for Fya, is it?” Evelyn asked, then quickly grinned as Ilyra blushed. After a few seconds, Evelyn relented and explained. “I’m just teasing, Lyra. No, you’re right about me not paying that much attention to universities, and I haven’t attended any mage colleges, either. I did learn a little in high school, but just the basics all the students learned. No, I learned my magic as an apprentice to a proper mage. Who’s going to kick my ass for everything I’ve done if I ever run into her again.”

Whatever questions the celestine had been formulating died unspoken as not just Ilyra, but everyone in the room except the Dolls stared at her.

“Ah… pardon me, but are you saying that your old teacher is more powerful than you are, Evelyn?” Vaneryth asked carefully, the angel’s eyes wide. Evelyn rolled her eyes.

“No, of course not. I could blow her through a mountain at this point. But she’s my old teacher, and I’m not going to do that, so she’ll take advantage of our relationship,” Evelyn said sourly. “Not that I don’t deserve it.”

“Oh, good,” Ilyra murmured, looking visibly relieved.

Evelyn rolled her eyes again, since she thought they were being silly. If there was someone like that around, there was no way in all the hells that Fya wouldn’t have caught wind of them, so she wondered what was going through their heads. Truly, some people were hopeless.

“That doesn’t answer why you knew about the system,” Zelirana said after a couple of seconds, polishing the token in her hand thoughtfully. The token was a disc of silver plastic, and Evelyn knew the only reason they had any of them was for the card games that periodically happened in the dining room. Games that Fya had recently been banned from, when the others learned she was able to manipulate probability as easily as she breathed.

“No, it doesn’t. However… that does,” Evelyn said, and a thought through her implants caused the system hologram to zoom in on the icon of the DGS Worldwaker.

“DGS? What’s that?” Ilyra asked, tilting her head.

“Ooh, is that a dryad ship?” Star asked over the comms, a hint of eagerness in her voice. “There aren’t many of those around!”

“Yes, it’s a dryad ship. DGS stands for Dryad Grove Ship, Lyra,” Evelyn explained, smiling a little more as she nodded. “As for why they’re not common, it’s because dryad ships are incredibly difficult to build, and have some of the least efficient uses of space of any ships in the known galaxy. Even dragons build ships more sensibly. On the other hand, they’re just about the best terraformers you can contract for some planets.”

“Yes… but why are they the reason that you know about the system?” Zelirana pressed, a slight smirk on her face.

“Dryads are amazing,” Evelyn said firmly, looking at the ship wistfully. “I’m going to have to pay them a visit while we’re here.”

“Aha!” Fya said triumphantly, pointing at Evelyn as she grinned. “So that’s why you were so involved in the land redistribution after founding the empire!”

Evelyn frowned at her, and the others looked at one another in confusion. Vaneryth spoke softly. “An explanation would be desired, if you are willing to give it.”

“Oh, it’s simple! When we conquered Peldra, then the other two kingdoms who decided to take advantage of the conquest and got conquered in turn, there were a bunch of people who were killed or deposed,” Fya explained enthusiastically, her hair crackling a bright neon purple now. “So that land was redistributed. Milady was really involved in the bill, and everyone thought that it was because she wanted to be sure that the people she thought deserved land got it. Part of the decrees were also bits about new Imperial lands, though, and I remember there was one part that strengthened the rights of fey and dryads on their own public lands, to the point of giving them limited sovereignty. It was a footnote, considering the wailing that so many other people made over the other changes, but I remember it! That’s why you were involved, isn’t it?”

Evelyn sniffed softly, rolling her eyes as she replied. “It wasn’t the only reason, but yes, it’s part of the reason. If it weren’t for dryads, I might not have ever met you. They sheltered me for a time after I ran away, until I met the rebels.”

“Oh! That’s neat!” Ilyra said, her eyes brightening in understanding. Evelyn considered and was about to speak further when the Doll at Comms spoke up.

“We have received a message from Nevrim Control, Captain,” the Doll reported. “They have welcomed us to Janton space, and request that we contact them if we wish to dock. Otherwise, we are requested to contact Janton Landing Control if we wish to visit the planetary surface.”

Evelyn paused for a few seconds, then shook her head, letting out a soft sigh. “Ah, yes… I forgot about this sort of place. Ah, well… I suppose we’ll just have to figure things out for ourselves. Adria, please put us into a parking orbit where we can easily access Janton Landing.”

“Yes, Captain. Helm, set a course,” Adria ordered, and the helmsDoll acknowledged, putting in a course and setting them on their way. Evelyn might have been concerned about a ship emerging from astral too close after this long in the emergence zone if she hadn’t seen how few ships there were in the area. Besides, even if someone tried to emerge too close to another ship, it was virtually impossible to manage.

“Alright, everyone. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to go down to the surface today, but it looks like it’s night down there, so we’ll see. I want to make sure we can visit the university before we set up a visit. For all I know, the second they see my face they’ll scramble the entire fleet,” Evelyn told the others, and Fya giggled softly.

“If they do, they won’t last long, considering what we can see of those,” the djinn said, nodding toward the nearby frigates derisively. “Their specs are terrible.”

“Careful, Fya. They could have a battleship, or even a dreadnaught,” Evelyn cautioned. “Even if one was as outdated as the frigates, that’d be more than I care to face in battle.”

“I doubt they have the budget for something like that,” Star chimed in. “I’ve accessed the local datanets, and it doesn’t look like Janton has that huge of an economy. Oh, here’s their fleet registry… yeah, they’ve just got a couple of heavy cruisers for big ships.”

“Good enough. Anyway, if you’re planning to go down, it might be worth taking a nap. We’re going to be about six hours offset from them,” Evelyn said, and the others nodded. She sighed and stood, stretching as she considered what to do. Then she shrugged and headed for her room, since she could do her research from there easily enough, and she wanted to follow her own advice.

That said, she did wonder why Cherys hadn’t chimed in at any point. It could be that she just wasn’t comfortable sending messages over the network yet, but that was the easy answer. Evelyn didn’t think that was everything there was to it, but she also wasn’t going to pry. It was Cherys’s life, after all.

Chapter 6

“Truly? One of your… impressive reputation wishes to visit the university?” Doctor Ray asked, his bushy eyebrows rising slightly in the hologram. The man was, as far as Evelyn could tell, the dean of the university, and the dark-skinned man’s response had been gratifying. Though she was curious why she’d gotten to him so quickly after reaching a secretary.

“That’s correct,” Evelyn replied, smiling at him as she continued. “Though I’m a touch surprised that you’re taking it so calmly.”

“Yes, well, I’m certain that some of the others would be panicked, but personally I’m quite intrigued. I’ve heard a few things about you over the last few years, and I wanted to ask you some questions. For instance, did you truly pull a warship out of orbit with telekinesis?” Doctor Ray asked eagerly. Evelyn smiled even more widely at that; she couldn’t help herself.

“For varying values of warship and orbit, yes. It was a small frigate, and it was in extremely low orbit, if you can even call it that. The ship was only thirty kilometers up and was vectoring downward initially for a strafing run. That made it easy for me to accelerate it, and by the time they could react, they were fighting their own momentum, gravity, and my magic. It made it far easier than it would have been otherwise,” Evelyn explained, amused by how he was nodding along, obviously listening closely.

“Of course, of course… however, I note that you didn’t say you couldn’t do it otherwise. No, don’t worry about replying to that, I was just sating my curiosity,” Doctor Ray said, waving his hand dismissively. “I can ask you other questions when we meet, of course. Now, may I ask the reason for your visit? While I do appreciate the opportunity your visit presents, I am not so foolish as to believe that our university is enough to draw your attention on its own. There are plenty of universities in the Mathrin sector that have better reputations, so I have to wonder why you came out here.”

“As it happens, I did visit Vrienne, but before we even got to the tour, apparently a group of dissidents decided to kick off a revolution. I have no idea how things progressed from there, as I left quickly to avoid getting dragged into it,” Evelyn said, shrugging helplessly as she thought about the incident in question. “That said, the reason for visiting. I recently encountered a mage and her daughter who had the extreme misfortune of getting pulled through a temporal rift from the past. She’s a skilled mage who specializes in weather magic, and I’m trying to find a place she can settle down.”

“Ah! That… well, that would definitely be a problem,” Doctor Ray said, blinking several times, obviously taken aback, but then he smiled. “A weather mage, though? That explains why you came here! We certainly can use weather magi, so she’d be invaluable if she’s as skilled as you indicate. However, our weather department is currently out on a job, so you wouldn’t be able to meet with them until the day after tomorrow. They’re enacting a rain ritual in one of the outlying areas to help the crops recover from a drought, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, understandable,” Evelyn said, pursing her lips as she thought, then continued. “In that case… I’ll have to speak with my crew, but we were considering visiting the dryads around the third planet at some point. I may decide to do that before coming to visit. Would you mind if I schedule a visit for myself, Cherys, and her daughter Nadia?”

“I’d love to have you! I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give a quick guest lecture, would you?” Doctor Ray asked, grinning broadly. Evelyn laughed, shaking her head gently.

“No, Doctor, I don’t think so. I never attended a university, so I suspect that I’d lose my temper, and give a poor showing besides,” Evelyn told him. “Now, that being said, I’m willing to answer some of your questions when we visit, as long as Cherys gets a proper tour and explanation of things.”

“Excellent! I’ll take a look at my schedule and message the head of the weather department to find out what would work best for them, if you don’t mind? Then I’ll get back to you,” Doctor Ray said, his eyes practically gleaming as he spoke.

“That works for me. Thank you for your time, Doctor,” Evelyn said, and nodded as she disconnected. She thought for a moment, then contacted everyone over the comms, or at least sent them a message if they were asleep. “I’ve been informed that Cherys and I can’t get a proper tour of the university for at least two more days. Does anyone have a pressing need to visit the planet before then? I’m thinking about trying to pay Worldwaker a social call.”

There wasn’t a reply for a minute, then Moon spoke up. “Well, it isn’t critical, but I do need to restock on some ingredients. Most of what you got was pretty good, but we don’t have that much fruit, and the vegetables are a bit sparse, as the hydroponics hasn’t gotten up to full speed yet. I’d also like to get some meat, since I see pretty good reviews regarding the livestock on Janton.”

“Ah, well in that case you’d best make room for fruit and vegetables from Worldwaker, assuming they let us visit,” Evelyn replied, grinning broadly. “The thing I’m looking forward to the most is their fruit, if I’m being honest. I swear, there’s nothing in the world like the fruit from a dryad’s orchard. I intend to gorge myself on a few kilos of cherries. I’ll regret it afterward, but it’ll be worth it.”

“And now we know your real reason for coming here,” Zelirana teased, prompting Evelyn’s cheeks to heat a little.

“It isn’t my reason for coming here. It’s an added bonus,” Evelyn corrected, though how embarrassed she felt… well, Evelyn suspected there might be a bit more truth to the statement than she cared to admit to anyone.

“If you say so, Evelyn,” Zelirana said, but Evelyn could hear the doubt in her voice, even if it was in an eminently respectful tone.

“I’d love to meet the dryads! Is there any way that I could come visit the university, too?” Ilyra asked eagerly. “I’ve never met a dryad before, and you know that I was trying to attend college when I was abducted. Visiting would be fascinating!”

“I think that you might be surprised at how boring it’ll be,” Evelyn replied dryly, but quickly composed and sent a message to Ray, asking for permission to add Ilyra to the tour. “That said, I’ve sent a message asking if you can come as well. I suspect there won’t be an issue with it. Now, any other opinions?”

For a few seconds there wasn’t a reply, then Fya chimed in cheerfully. “Nope! I’m just plotting what I can do to make things more interesting around here, since you’re being no fun at all…”

“Fya, if you cause trouble I will make you regret it,” Evelyn said, raising her gaze to the ceiling for a moment, then sighed. “Just keep it to a reasonable level, please. What Ryth would consider reasonable.”

“Okay!” Fya said enthusiastically.

“Ah… how bad is this likely to be, Evelyn?” Vaneryth asked, the angel sounding uncharacteristically nervous.

“It shouldn’t be too bad. She isn’t going to damage the ship, and the worst damage will likely be to my dignity. If she does anything more than that, she’s going to get punted back to the city of djinns, and she really doesn’t want that,” Evelyn said, standing up and stretching. “Now, I’m going to see about contacting Worldwaker. Let me know if there’s anything that I’m needed for.”

A chorus of assents came back, and Evelyn headed for the bridge again, practically bouncing on her toes as she walked. She couldn’t help it, as the idea of visiting the dryads brought back memories that were just… pleasant. Perhaps the best memories she had, before taking over Peldra. Oh, some of the ones from her childhood might have beaten them, but they’d been tainted by bittersweet feelings after her parents went missing. No, the time with the dryads had been… pure, in its own way.

Stepping onto the bridge, Evelyn looked around, noting that Adria was gone. She interrogated the bridge systems, and they informed her that the Doll had gone to undergo maintenance. Just as an idle thought, Evelyn checked the maintenance units and relaxed slightly, as none of them had detected a soul in any of the Dolls. That was always something that caused issues. Not that Evelyn would mistreat a Doll that gained a soul, but the hassle of figuring out whether they wanted to leave on their own or stay on, along with registering the Doll as an independent AI didn’t strike her as pleasant.

Evelyn shook off the thought, instead focusing on what she wanted. Nice, beautiful, cherries, strawberries, apples, pears, and plums. Preferably delivered by pleasant, beautiful dryads, both male and female. So she took a seat in the chair and activated the comm system to record a message.

“DGS Worldwaker, this is Captain Evelyn Tarth of Djinn’s Gift. We’ve come to visit Janton and would like to visit your vessel to see the wonders that reside within your boughs, and perhaps to trade song, dance, and food. Please let me know if you are willing to accept us as guests,” Evelyn said, unable to keep a smile from her face. Even recording the message to them brought back such pleasant memories.

She sent the message, then sat back to wait, since she knew it would take a while to receive a response. Evelyn was about three minutes in when she decided that it really didn’t make sense to wait as though she were going to have a two-way conversation, so instead she fired up the command chair’s holographic projector and opened the romance novel she’d been reading on and off over the last few days. It was predictable, so wholesome it was sickeningly sweet, and everything could’ve been resolved by the characters just sitting down and having a proper conversation, but she enjoyed it anyway. It was silly escapism, and the chances of a dragoness settling down with a human like that was almost laughable.

Almost half an hour passed like that. The only sounds were the softly tapping fingers from the Dolls on the bridge as they worked, as well as the almost imperceptible hum of the ship’s power core and the life support systems. Most would say they were imperceptible, but Evelyn knew better. She’d notice if they went offline, after all. Then the comm panel let out a soft chime, and she looked up from her book.

“Message from the DGS Worldwaker, Captain. It is addressed to you,” the Doll at communications reported, her voice surprisingly loud in the hush of the bridge.

“Put it up,” Evelyn said, minimizing the hologram but not closing the file yet. She might need to wait for another response, after all.

The hologram of the system shifted to show a scene recorded on the other side of the star, and Evelyn smiled on seeing it. Depicted was a ship’s bridge that was formed almost entirely of wood that shone with a warm, healthy light, its surface polished smooth, and the chairs she could see seemed to be made of wood as well, though they bore soft green cushions. There was technology about, but it looked different than what adorned Djinn’s Gift, the metal and glass looked more like it’d been grown than anything else, and the light on the other bridge shone like warm sunlight.

There was also a female dryad on the bridge. While Evelyn knew there were male dryads, they were outnumbered almost ten to one by women for reasons she didn’t quite grasp. The dryad had light green skin, summer-blonde hair, and eyes the color of stormclouds. She wore a revealing outfit seemingly made of bark and moss, though if one looked closely, they’d likely notice that it was incredibly finely made.

“Greetings, Captain Tarth! I am Dapple, Chief Pathfinder of Worldwaker this season. We’ve heard of you from our cousins on Peldra and would welcome your company should you choose to visit! We do not receive many visitors these seasons and are eager to speak and sing with outsiders again. Please let us know if you’re going to come visit!” the dryad said enthusiastically, her voice slightly lilting, though there was a note of something under her words that caused Evelyn to sit up suddenly. Anxiety, was it? That made Evelyn frown, then she shook it off as the image vanished. If her lessons from when she was younger were accurate, if they needed help the dryads would ask, but only after sharing a meal with visitors.

“Nothing for it, then. I suppose we’ll go visit,” Evelyn murmured, straightening as she cleared her throat, then activated the recorder again, smiling warmly. “Chief Pathfinder, I’m glad to hear that you’d welcome our company. I remember my time with the dryads of Peldra fondly, including former Stargazer Wreath’s tales of Worldwaker, so I hope to walk your halls soon. We will arrive within the day. Tarth out.”

Sending the message, she looked at the Doll at navigation and spoke simply. “Set course for an orbit matching DGS Worldwaker via astral.”

“Yes, Captain. Course is set, proceeding to designated astral entry zone,” the Doll replied promptly, tapping the keys, and Evelyn saw the starfield shift on the screens, then they were underway.

“Excellent. Please inform me when we are half an hour out,” Evelyn said, climbing to her feet, then added. “If anyone inquires, I’m going to be in the cargo bay.”

“Yes, Captain,” the Dolls chorused, then Evelyn was off the bridge.

If she was going to visit dryads, she needed appropriate gifts for them, and she knew exactly what to give them. The key was to make things that they’d appreciate, and to make it with her own hands. They knew when an item wasn’t made by hand… but that didn’t mean that she had to make them all right before meeting them. The problem was going to be to finding the items in question… but that was why she was starting now.

Chapter 7

“Wow…” Ilyra whispered, awed by the sight before her, and she was once again thankful that the others didn’t mind when she expressed her delight at the new, wondrous sights she’d seen aboard Djinn’s Gift and Daggerhound. The lack of much teasing was the main reason she’d begun to express herself more openly, and this… this was even more wondrous than most of the things they’d seen before.

The dryad ship was nothing like any other ship she’d seen before. The entire exterior of the ship was made of wood, polished and vibrant even in the depths of space, and it almost looked to Ilyra like it was formed of dozens, no thousands of trunks of trees that formed smooth curves. She couldn’t see any signs of engines on it, either. Instead, branches extended outward from its sides, branching out, and out, and out, bearing broad, delicate-looking leaves that glittered in the sunlight. If the readouts were accurate, though… the ship was enormous, dwarfing even the largest superdreadnought that Brightdawn’s navy owned.

Below the ship was a planet, one which had a great deal of blue across its surface, as well as broad swathes of green and brown. It was the planet the dryads must be terraforming, Ilyra assumed, but it was nothing next to the ship orbiting it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Evelyn said, the smile on her face almost enough to tear Ilyra’s gaze away from the ship on the screens. She didn’t look away, though, instead nodding slowly.

“How? I mean, you said their ships were terribly inefficient, didn’t you?” Ilyra asked, gesturing to the screen.

“They are. The thing is, dryads are bound to their trees, not as tightly as you might believe, but they still need them,” Evelyn explained gently. “The first dryads to travel the stars simply transplanted their trees into starships or bonded to trees already there. The problem is most ships don’t have the space for the trees to root properly. So they came up with another solution. Their bioengineers, some of the most skilled in the known galaxy even now, engineered starships that were effectively entire groves or forests of trees. Living starships of unimaginable complexity. Within, live a number of dryads that would likely fit aboard Djinn’s Gift, but they surround themselves with life. Fields, orchards, an artificial sun for their power core… they even use their expertise to grow their electronics from their trees. They have no need for our manufactories, though their method is a lot slower. The problem is, all of it adds up to slow, ponderous, wondrous ships like nothing else in space.”

“Incredible…” Ilyra said, smiling incredibly widely. “I see why you said that they were amazing.”

“Their ships are also among the most weakly defended for their size. I’m pretty sure we have triple their guns, if not more, and their shields are… sub-par. Relative to the size of their ship, at least,” Fya said cheerfully, grinning as she added. “I hear they hire fey ships to escort them through the astral, since they’re not much good on their own. Though most pirates know better than to attack them, since they don’t have much of value aboard.”

“Essentially true,” Evelyn agreed, smiling widely as she rubbed her hands together eagerly. “Now, then, it’s time to board. Adria, has my cargo been loaded?”

“Yes, Captain. It is aboard Shuttle Two,” the Doll confirmed promptly.

“The question is, what sort of cargo is it?” Zelirana asked, examining Evelyn curiously. “As much time as you spent looking through the cargo bays for it…”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Everyone, be on your best behavior. We’re going to be guests aboard a fey ship. The rules of hospitality apply,” Evelyn said, turning away from the screen and starting toward the shuttle bay at a quick pace.

“You’re just looking forward to their fruit, aren’t you?” Fya teased, trotting after her, and Ilyra resisted the urge to giggle at the sight of the djinn chasing the much taller elf, almost reminding Ilyra of a puppy.

“Not at all. I enjoy their company, too,” Evelyn replied, glancing at the djinn in amusement. “If they’re anything like the dryads I knew on Peldra, this will be the most relaxing time I’ve had in a decade and a half.”

“I can hardly wait to meet them,” Vaneryth chimed in before Ilyra could, so Ilyra spoke up quickly.

“Same here!” she said cheerfully, but despite that Ilyra felt a sense of… anxiety washing through her.

She couldn’t quite say why, but Ilyra felt that she was falling behind, somehow. Everyone else seemed to have relaxed and found their place aboard the ship, even the twins, but Ilyra felt… out of place. Like she didn’t quite belong, and that made her feel anxious. She was trying to figure out why, but more than anything else she just felt a little… frustrated. She wanted Evelyn to pay attention to her, too.

So Ilyra followed Evelyn, hoping that she’d look back at her.

* * *

“Docking now,” Vaneryth murmured, and Evelyn watched with a smile as the angel carefully brought the shuttle into the dryad docking bay.

While the ship might technically have a much weaker hull than other ships, that didn’t mean that Worldwaker’s hull was weak. No, the ironwood that the dryads had formed the outer hull from was strong, much stronger than ironwood normally was. That toughness extended to the landing bay, so Vaneryth’s delicacy amused her.

“Well done,” Evelyn said at last as the shuttle settled onto its landing gear, and she nodded in satisfaction, patting the angel on the shoulder. “You’ve improved a great deal over the last few weeks. Probably helped by your experience flying as an individual, hm?”

“Perhaps, though that has also led to me making a few mistakes that I hadn’t anticipated,” Vaneryth said, blushing a little. “A shuttle is far less… precise than I am. I have to be particularly careful, since everyone inside is also more fragile than I was.”

“Yes, but you’re learning. That’s the important thing. Now, then, we have company, so we’d best meet them,” Evelyn said, nodding to the canopy, through which she could see a trio of dryads coming from a hallway that had just opened.

The doors were made of the same polished wood as everything else, and they slid smoothly in and out of the walls. The three dryads were all women, none of which Evelyn had seen before, and they were wearing close-fitting clothing that was likely their version of a vacuum suit, though Evelyn expected that they wouldn’t be needed.

“Yes, of course,” Vaneryth said, smiling and quickly unbuckling herself from the seat, then stood.

Evelyn followed her example, stepping into the main cabin of the shuttle. It made her smile, since everyone who wasn’t a Doll was aboard. Moon looked particularly excited, while Star looked more curious than anything else. Zelirana seemed amused, while Fya was chattering almost constantly in the succubus’s ear. Cherys was trying to keep Nadia from bouncing out of her seat, a smile of exaggerated patience on her face, while Nadia looked so excited it was a wonder she didn’t burst into flames. Only Ilyra looked nervous, and Evelyn wondered why. It wasn’t like dryads were known for their cruelty.

“Alright, we’re about to be welcomed by a small group of dryads. Remember, we’re their guests, so be polite,” Evelyn told them, glancing over the group carefully, then nodded. “If you don’t want something, just tell them and they’ll back off. Fey rules of hospitality are specific about things like that. Any questions? Well, any that are important before we meet them?”

“I don’t believe so,” Zelirana said, glancing at Fya in amusement. “And if you answered all of Fya’s questions, I suspect that we would be here for hours.”

“Would not! An hour at most,” Fya replied, scowling at her. “Don’t exaggerate, Zel!”

“Close enough,” Evelyn said dryly, shaking her head. “Time to go.”

Without another word she hit the button to lower the shuttle’s ramp, and there was a hiss as the pressure equalized. A few seconds later the ramp lowered and the doors slid out of the way, allowing a breeze of fresh air to waft inside, and Evelyn took a deep breath of the flower-scented air, pausing to savor it for an instant, then stepped out, as she could see the dryads waiting for them.

The dryads mirrored the appearance of Dapple with blonde hair and slightly green-tinted skin, but each varied a little, especially when it came to their eyes. One had bright yellow irises, another red, and the one in the lead had light purple eyes. Evelyn had expected that, as many dryads had eyes that mirrored the petals of flowers. The one in the lead smiled as Evelyn stepped off the ship and bowed her head.

“Captain Tarth, we welcome you below the boughs of Worldwaker, and offer you our hospitality while you are aboard. I am Ash, Head Gardener aboard the ship, and accompanying me are my assistants, Maple and Sunbeam,” The dryad in the lead said, while the two beside her gave curtseys.

“Thank you for your welcome, Ash. We accept your offer of hospitality and will eat of thy bounty with you. Should there be need, we will also defend your grove in return,” Evelyn replied, bowing her head respectfully, as Ash had an extremely high-ranking position that didn’t quite translate for other species. “I must say, I look forward to seeing the ship that Wreath told me so much about.”

“Ah, you met Wreath? How is she doing? I remember growing up hearing her stories and lessons,” Ash said, straightening and a broad smile blossomed on her face.

“It’s been a couple of decades since I saw her, but at the time she was doing well. She and the others took a great deal of glee in leading a group of people hunting me astray,” Evelyn told them, smiling warmly.

“Ah, good! I’ve heard from her, of course, but communications are few and far between, as we rarely trust the owners of faster than light nodes,” Ash said, and paused, studying the people behind Evelyn, and her eyebrows rose. “My, this is an unusual group. May we receive introductions?”

“Of course,” Evelyn said, turning around and examining the others carefully, then continued. “First is Fya, my assistant and a general nuisance, as she’s a djinn. Please don’t give her the excuse to grant a wish, I believe it would end poorly for everyone involved. Then we have Zelirana, who you doubtlessly can tell is a succubus. As she doesn’t wish to return to the lower planes, you can mostly trust her to behave herself. Then we have Vaneryth, an angel who somehow got herself exiled to the mortal world. This is Moon, as well as her sister Star. Moon is an excellent cook and has taken up biology, so I believe that she will be fascinated to study what you’ve done here. Star is an accountant and is trying to learn about the sciences, so perhaps she’ll be interested to hear about what you’re doing on the planet below.

“Then we have Ilyra, a runaway celestine noblewoman who wishes to learn magic. I think you’ll find her company comforting, based on what I remember. Last, we have Cherys the White and her daughter Nadia, who had the misfortune of traveling through a temporal rift and ended up over a thousand years in the future. I think they’ll find your company pleasant,” Evelyn finished, introducing each person in turn, then turned back to them as she added. “And you know of me, of course. I do apologize for my reputation.”

“Why apologize? A reputation is useful for many things, and you aren’t being unpleasant to us, are you?” Ash said, smiling warmly. “As for the rest of you, welcome aboard Worldwaker! May you find respite beneath its boughs.”

“Before we go, first I have a gift for all of you,” Evelyn interjected, smiling as the dryads paused, looking at her in anticipation. Evelyn sent the shuttle a command, and it unloaded the crate she’d had loaded earlier.

“Milady, what did you bring?” Fya asked, the corners of her lips quirking upward as she looked at the crate, which was a bit older than some of the others.

“Oh, just a few things I made over the years, in case I ever ran into fey again,” Evelyn said, stepping over to the crate and pulling it into the open. “Now then… here we are.”

She opened the crate, revealing soft packing material. When she pulled it aside, it revealed thin ceramic dishes glazed a light blue that matched the ocean. There were plates, bowls, and cups, none of which quite matched one another, though they were all well-made. They’d better be, after as much time as Evelyn had spent learning to make them.

“Oh my… are these your own handiwork?” Ash asked, stepping forward to run a finger across the surface of the top bowl. “I can feel the strong spirit of the one who made them.”

“I did,” Evelyn confirmed, smiling wryly as she glanced over at Fya. “As Fya can tell you, it took me quite some time to figure out how to make them properly. The first few weren’t worth firing, and a few more exploded.”

“Yep! I did wonder why you made them, then put them into storage. Now I know!” Fya said, laughing as she elbowed Ilyra in the side. “See, you never know what to expect from her!”

“We’ll unpack and distribute these later,” Ash said, gently shooing Sunbeam away from the crate, and with a gesture the wood below the crate sank away, closing over the top of it. “Thank you for the lovely gift.”

“You’re most welcome,” Evelyn replied, a broad smile on her face as warmth flowed through her. She’d thought they’d appreciate the ceramics.

“Regardless, let’s go. We’re looking forward to all of your company, as it helps break up the monotony of the long decades,” Ash said.

“Um, if it’s monotonous, why do you stay here?” Ilyra asked, frowning slightly.

Ash laughed and gestured toward the tunnel they’d come from. “Please, let’s go somewhere more comfortable first. Sunbeam, would you mind addressing her question?”

“Yes!” Sunbeam said, smiling broadly. The group started moving, and as the whispers between Nadia and Cherys began to fly, the dryad spoke warmly. “We’re here to create a new home for ourselves, Ilyra. Traveling between stars is difficult for dryads, and even on those worlds which we can colonize, the amount of space a proper dryad colony requires is too large to easily purchase. A few governments have been kind enough to donate the land to us, often asking us to help them conserve the wilds, but much of the time we don’t have that opportunity. Instead, we terraform worlds in exchange for a large amount of land which we can colonize.”

“That’s how the forest in Peldra where I met the dryads came about,” Evelyn explained, grinning at Ilyra. “I believe that sometimes the ship waits in orbit for another generation of dryads to grow up before traveling onward as well.”

“That’s right,” Maple confirmed, smiling broadly, and the woman paused, then offered her arm to Zelirana, who slipped her arm around the dryad’s with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Evelyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the succubus. Like gaining their interest would be hard, with how lonely the dryads here would be.

“Oh! Are you immortal?” Ilyra asked, her words coming out quickly. That was likely the result of the dryads being so open, Evelyn suspected, growing still more amused.

“Do you have lots of magic?” Nadia added, her eyes bright with enthusiasm.

They passed into a hallway that mostly matched those they’d seen before, though this hall also had occasional planters with different flowers and small trees in them, as well as a couple of curtains of moss on the walls to make them more home-like. Evelyn saw a few signs of writing hidden in the wood, but she didn’t call attention to the inscriptions, as she didn’t need directions to the cargo rooms.

“We aren’t immortal. Close, but not quite… I think the oldest dryad I’ve heard of reached the age of two and a half millennia before dying,” Ash said, tapping her upper lip thoughtfully. “Maybe more. A lot depends on what trees we bond to, as they help sustain our lives. We’ll die without them, of course, or if we stray more than a few kilometers from them for long periods. Those who don’t stray much, and bond to long-lived trees tend to live longer, but…”

“But the long-lived trees make us sleepy!” Sunbeam chimed in, giggling as if she’d made a joke. Ash laughed as well, shaking her head.

“I don’t know that I’d put it that way, but the longer-lived trees tend to make us more… deliberate? It’s as though they affect our emotional state somehow,” the dryad explained gently. “Most of us try to strike a balance, and there’s no guarantee that it has an effect on our lifespan. As for our magic, young lady, we do! Most of it is tied to plants, though. For instance…”

She reached out to a nearby planter and made a beckoning gesture, and a thorned bush in the planter shivered. As if watching a time-lapse video, the plant budded, then created a single bright pink blossom as the rose unfurled its petals. The dryad plucked the rose, Evelyn noting that it didn’t have thorns and that the stem severed cleanly without releasing any sap and fell to a knee as she offered it to Nadia, whose eyes were wide as she looked at it in wonder.

“Here you are, Nadia,” Ash said, smiling at the girl. “I’ve imbued this with my power, so it won’t start to wilt for at least a week.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you! It’s beautiful!” Nadia exclaimed, taking the flower as she practically vibrated in excitement, holding the flower in both hands. That explained the lack of thorns, Evelyn thought.

“Just be careful with it,” Cherys said, and Evelyn’s satisfaction grew as for the first time since she’d met Cherys, the mage seemed to be relaxing. Evelyn couldn’t be certain, but on looking at the way Nadia was staring at Ash in adoration, she suspected that Nadia’s delight was a large part of it. Cherys added gently, “Don’t damage it, hm? If you do, it won’t last as long.”

“Yes, but accidents happen. Should one occur, I’ll be happy to provide another,” Ash said, smiling widely. “Now, shall we visit the others? I believe that a feast has been prepared.”

“Please,” Evelyn said, and followed as Ash and the other dryads led the way onto Worldwaker’s primary deck.

Chapter 8

“Gods,” Moon muttered in awe, looking up and up, and for just a moment she forgot that she was on a starship. Only the ceiling far above them reminded her of where they were, and even that was some warm, honey-golden wood that shone under the light of an artificial sun which shed warmth and yellow light down on them.

Her gaze didn’t focus on the ceiling for long, though. Not when there was a carefully arranged grove of trees before her, along with a broad field of grass and flowers next to a pond, looking ideal for taking an outdoor picnic. Which was exactly what had been prepared, as far as Moon could tell.

Dozens of dryads were waiting for them, and almost universally they were blonde, though one dryad man had bright purple hair. Moon had to do a double take, as she hadn’t realized there would be that many male dryads… there had to be eight or nine of them among those waiting for them. Most of the dryads were in utilitarian garb, but others wore dresses, tunics and trousers, or just trousers and artfully arranged hair.

The field was festooned with brightly colored blankets and sheets of moss, which a few of the dryads were resting on, but more of them were covered in a variety of food. Moon saw pies, breads, pastries, and sandwiches, as well as fruits and vegetables in broad spreads. The sight of the fruit immediately explained why Evelyn had spoken of it in such enthusiastic tones, as Moon had never before seen such plump berries, beautiful apples, or bright oranges.

“Agreed,” Star said at last, pausing for a moment before she asked. “How many of them are there?”

“A hundred and seventeen!” Sunbeam interjected, prompting Moon to jump slightly, as she hadn’t realized the dryad was that close. When they looked at her, she smiled wider, adding. “Not everyone is here, someone has to watch the bridge, after all! But Hemlock is going to go take over after a little while so that Dapple can come join in. Hemlock says that she’s getting too old for this sort of thing.”

“Oh,” Moon said, blushing slightly, and cleared her throat as she asked. “Isn’t that a bit of a small crew for a ship of this size, though?”

As she spoke, she saw a group of dryads stand up, and in quick order most of the others were being drawn toward the blankets by smiling, friendly dryads. Dryads that were starved for company, Moon quickly realized, seeing how they began talking to the others, asking all sorts of questions.

“Maybe for other species, but Worldwaker is designed to have a crew of between forty and two hundred dryads,” Sunbeam replied brightly, almost dragging them forward. “Come on, sit down! Everyone wants to get to know all of you!”

“Alright, alright, just let us walk on our own!” Star said, laughing as she glanced over at Moon, grinning. “We aren’t going to run away or anything!”

The dryad paused, letting them go as she blushed a little, clearing her throat before she replied. “Oh, um, sorry! I’m just excited, since you’re only the fifth group of non-dryads to visit since I was born. I’m looking forward to getting to know you, too.”

“Ah, well that makes perfect sense to me,” Moon agreed, smiling as she followed Sunbeam to where a group of nearly twenty dryads were waiting for them.

While she was a bit excited, Moon couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit like a piece of meat that had been dropped into a piranha tank.

* * *

“Mm… plenty of attention for us, don’t you think? Alas, we’re pretty much out of virgin sacrifices,” Fya teased, giggling as she moved a little closer to Evelyn.

“Be nice,” Evelyn scolded the djinn, clicking her tongue as she added. “It isn’t fair to talk about Ilyra that way. She hasn’t figured out what she wants yet.”

“Ah, is that why she was looking at you so jealously?” Ash asked, her eyes brightening. “I had wondered if there was something more going on there.”

“Mm… it’s a bit complicated,” Evelyn said, glancing over at where Ilyra was sitting, surrounded by dryads who were listening to her raptly. She also noticed a half-empty decanter near her, and her eyes narrowed as she added. “Though I would caution that she appears to have drunk a bit much when it comes to alcohol, and from how rosy her cheeks are, I don’t believe she realizes it yet. Please don’t push her on whether she wants to accompany anyone to bed or not.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll ensure that she’s perfectly sober before making any invitations,” Ash said, grinning broadly. “No, I’m more curious about this ‘complicated’ business.”

“Oh, that’s simple! Milady doesn’t like to think about the fact that she’s got a harem now,” Fya volunteered enthusiastically, and Evelyn slapped her palm against her forehead. While she was enjoying the meal, she really did wish Fya would keep her mouth shut sometimes. Not that it even slowed the djinn down. “So, she saved all of the others except Cherys and Nadia from slavery. There were a bunch of others, but they left when she offered to free them. The rest of them joined the crew, partly because I extorted a promise from Milady to let them join her harem with me as the harem-mistress if they wanted. All of them have joined now, except for Ilyra, who seems to be conflicted. I mean, she obviously wants it, but she used to be a noble, and isn’t experienced with the world.”

“Fya!” Evelyn exclaimed, glowering at the djinn in exasperation. “She’s busy making up her mind, so don’t make things up that suit your purposes. You are entirely too manipulative.”

“You aren’t manipulative enough,” Fya said, levering herself off the blanket to kiss the tip of Evelyn’s nose, which left a spot of red behind due to the raspberries she’d been eating. Evelyn sighed, reaching up to wipe the liquid away.

“You two really do get along well, don’t you?” a male dryad asked, looking wistfully at them. Evelyn considered dismissing the comment but thought better of it. She knew better than to do that.

“We do. If it weren’t for her, I’d be dead,” Evelyn admitted, prompting Fya to sit up suddenly, staring at her intensely. Evelyn continued without pausing to let the djinn get a word in edgewise, though. “I am… boring, in many ways. I don’t trust others, I keep to myself, and all of that. Fya, for all her manifold flaws, helps with that. She forces me to meet other people, get sucked into problems that I would never allow myself to get dragged into in a thousand years normally, and generally makes an adorable nuisance of herself.”

“Aww… you say things like that so rarely,” Fya said, batting her eyelashes at Evelyn. “Does that mean you forgive me for—”

“No,” Evelyn interrupted, glowering at her. “What you did to Adria was beyond rude. Really, I should know better than to trust djinns.”

“It sounds like you have a lovely relationship,” another dryad said, her expression dreamy. “I’d love a relationship like yours.”

“Though hearing about this other problem would be a lot of fun, too,” yet another of them chimed in. Evelyn considered for an instant, then decided to cut them off before they started digging into her private life too much more. Not that she thought she could stop them in the long term.

“First, may I ask what the problem is for all of you? I noticed Dapple’s concern when I messaged you to begin with, and there’s a faint bit of… unease here. One that might not be noticeable to others, but I know dryads,” Evelyn said, looking around the cluster of dryads, and in an instant they went silent.

The dryads looked at Ash almost universally, and she let out a soft sigh as she inclined her head, looking troubled. Also, a bit amused, but mostly troubled.

“Why am I not surprised that you could tell? The others said that you were perceptive in their messages, but I wasn’t sure how far that would go,” Ash said, pausing for several moments, then continued. “We have a problem. As far as I can tell, one of Janton’s leaders is attempting to renege on their part of the deal. Yes, the current republic replaced the monarchy which made the deal with us, but they also met with us to reaffirm the agreement shortly after the change of governance, which is what makes this so troubling.”

Evelyn frowned, anger beginning to rise up inside her, which she choked down firmly. She needed more information before she dared make a decision, she told herself. So, after a few seconds she spoke. “If they’re attempting to break the agreement, doesn’t that mean you would own the planet? From what Wreath told me, those are the standard terms for your terraforming contracts.”

“It would if they were just trying to pull out of the contract. However, they’re trying to set things up so that we break the terms,” another dryad said, her voice bitter. “We’ve failed two of the last three scheduled atmospheric composition benchmarks, all due to their machinations. If we miss another, we’ll be in default.”

“How?” Fya asked, her eyebrows rising.

“They used one of the options of the contract, allowing them to sell or exploit mineral rights in some areas,” Ash explained, sitting up straighter. “If that was all they did, it wouldn’t be an issue. Modern mining equipment, even the equipment which isn’t high-end, doesn’t put enough gasses into the atmosphere to be a problem. However, the mining concern they hired is deliberately sabotaging our efforts, and there isn’t anything we can do inside the terms of the contract. We’ll have to adjust future contracts to take this into account, but at the moment the mining equipment in question is putting over a hundred times the gasses into the planet’s atmosphere that it should be. If it keeps up, we’ll lose the planet, and they’ll be able to easily finish terraforming within a decade even with the sabotage in place.”

“Oh, that’s just vile,” Evelyn said, scowling heavily. “Where are they mining? I wouldn’t mind paying them a little visit. I promise I won’t cause your terraforming any problems. Putting all of them into the mantle would solve your problem quite permanently.”

“No, that would be a breach of the contract as well. If we, our agents, or our associates attack them we’ll be at fault. We can’t do that,” another dryad volunteered, her voice firm. At Evelyn’s questioning look, she shrugged sheepishly. “I’m the legal expert. I’ve been studying it for loopholes for the last six months.”

“What about wishes? Yes, my powers tend to be a bit… dangerous, and warp things a bit, but I’m pretty sure I could clean up the atmosphere,” Fya suggested, her eyes dancing. “I could mitigate the consequences! Probably. Maybe.”

“No!” Evelyn interjected before the fey could say so much as a word. “Don’t you remember what happened when Frayda wished for you to repair her tank? It went well… right up until the next battle, and a random meteorite punched through the atmosphere and took it out instantly. Nobody in her tank survived. No wishes.”

“That… would be problematic,” Ash said, looking at Fya in concern. The djinn just looked disappointed.

“Well, yeah… but I really didn’t like Frayda that much, and there wasn’t much left of her tank to begin with. I didn’t try too hard to keep the wish from having consequences…” Fya muttered, poking a strawberry speculatively, then popped it into her mouth. “Fine.”

“Good,” Evelyn said, watching the djinn cautiously, then relaxed slowly as she focused on Ash again. “Either way, as my usual approach won’t work, what do you want me to do? I’m not good with long-term enchantments, I’m afraid, or I’d trap all their toxic gas in with them.”

“Oh, they’d deserve that,” Ash said, her eyes glittering as she smiled broadly. “Lovely as the thought is, our idea is a good deal simpler. Since our messages to our allies have been mysteriously going missing in the FTL nodes, we haven’t been able to contact anyone who can negotiate from a position of authority. You, though… you have a powerful reputation, even here. Perhaps you could meet with one of the local senators and convince them to see reason? It isn’t like we’re going to get that much territory, just ten percent of the land on a single continent.”

Evelyn studied Ash for a few seconds, irritation washing over her, and picked up a cherry, which she popped into her mouth. It took a minute for her to extract the pit, which she spat into a convenient container while she enjoyed the incredible burst of flavor. Then she pointed the stem at the dryad sternly.

“You’re just lucky that I like dryads so much. If it was anyone else, anyone, I’d tell them to piss off. I despise politics, and this sounds like their usual sort of games to me,” Evelyn said, scowling at Ash. She also made a mental note to have Adria collate information on the local laws involved in the situation.

“She’s not wrong,” Fya agreed, grinning. “You should’ve seen how she reacted when her crush showed up, asking for help. She told her no and sold her the bullets she needed to solve the problem herself.”

“Shush, you,” Evelyn said, glowering at Fya. “They are not involved in that, so leave them out of it.”

“Be that as it may, I think that I understand. Thank you very much, Evelyn,” Ash said, bowing her head deeply for a few seconds. Then she looked up, smiling warmly at Evelyn. “If you can help us, you will have our eternal gratitude. Also, while we can’t allow you to break the contract on our behalf, there’s nothing that says you can’t threaten them. After all, you are Evelyn Tarth, a legend in your own right.”

“Pfft. Please, don’t flatter me. I’m not that vain,” Evelyn told her, grinning.

“Why not? You’re really pretty. I sure wouldn’t kick you out of my tree,” a younger dryad said, looking Evelyn over with naked desire.

Evelyn flushed, then admitted. “Alright, that sort of flattery is perfectly fine with me. I was mostly referring to the sort of flattery involving my reputation.”

“Ooh, and if you want to make her really happy, there’s this one thing that she really likes, and—” Fya began eagerly.

Evelyn sat bolt upright, yelping, “Fya, no!”

Chapter 9

“The pantry and a stasis chamber are packed full of fresh fruit and vegetables, and I’ve got a half-ton of beans and grains as well. It may not be meat, but it’ll certainly tide us over for a while, especially if we get some meat from Janton,” Moon reported enthusiastically. “I have to say, if I could’ve gotten my hands on produce like this for some of my courses in college, I would’ve aced the tests.”

“Somehow, I doubt that, since doubtlessly the teachers would have considered it cheating in some way. I’m happy that you’re pleased, though,” Evelyn replied, sitting back in the, command chair as she relaxed slowly, practically melting into it. “Everyone else ready?”

A chorus of assents came in return, and Evelyn smiled, glancing at Adria as she nodded to her. The Doll didn’t even need the command, as she spoke immediately. “Leaving orbit now. Estimated time to designated astral entry zone, five minutes.”

“Excellent,” Evelyn said, pausing as she glanced over at the life support station, and resisted the urge to sigh. Ilyra was moping, which made Evelyn think for a few seconds. It was… obnoxious, after how pleasant the previous night had been, but sitting here wouldn’t fix it. Instead, she gestured at Fya and said. “Fya, you have command. Lyra, would you come with me?”

“On it!” Fya said, teleporting from Tactical to the command chair in a puff of pink smoke that matched her hair and eyes, prompting Evelyn to glare at her, but only half-heartedly.

Ilyra jerked upright at the question, looking half-panicked, then quickly stood, speaking quickly. “I, um, is something—”

Evelyn raised a finger to her lips, interrupting Ilyra. The celestine blushed brightly, looking down and biting her lower lip. It made Evelyn almost sigh, as she was acting a little too much like a child, at least from her perspective. Turning, Evelyn left the bridge, taking an immediate right as she considered where to take Ilyra. There were plenty of places where they could likely get some privacy, but she wanted to be sure no one was going to just wander in… so she decided on the reactor room. Besides, she thought that it was beautiful.

Ilyra didn’t say anything as they walked down the hallways, though as they moved Evelyn saw Vaneryth and Zelirana heading into the exercise room, a grim look on the angel’s face. Vaneryth didn’t notice them, but Zelirana’s eyebrows rose a bit, looking behind Evelyn, then smiled, wiggling her fingers in a tiny wave, blowing Evelyn a kiss, then followed the angel.

The hallways were as beautiful as they’d been when the ship was purchased, though there was also a little more life to them. A couple of potted plants that Evelyn suspected were artificial, after seeing the living ones aboard Worldwaker, and a picture here or there along the walls. She deliberately did not examine the sculptures in one alcove, as she didn’t want to know what Fya thought was appropriate. If she didn’t look closely, she wouldn’t need to punish the djinn.

Eventually they passed through the engine room, which was remarkably cleaner and prettier than most of the ones Evelyn had seen over the years. Likely part of the reason the ship was so expensive was the smoothly contoured cowlings she saw, as well as the nanite-based repair systems. Then she stepped into the reactor chamber, feeling a deep, almost imperceptible thrum that seemed to be shaking her bones.

The room was a large sphere, the entire outer surface of which was made up of some of the strongest alloys in known space, as well as lined with layers of non-conductive materials. A walkway circled the edges of the chamber, except for where it gave access to the core for maintenance, and where the control console was. There were even enchantments to reinforce the chamber, which was as it should be, as far as Evelyn was concerned. Along with the life support system and astral drive, this was the beating heart of the ship, which one could tell as they looked into the sphere of infinite lightning.

The reactor core was a glittering, crystalline sphere ten meters across, dotted with runes to both generate and contain the ravening bolts of electricity that raged within, lancing out from one side of the sphere to another, only to be absorbed and converted to energy by the electrical systems interfaced with it. If the energy within was ever released into the ship, Evelyn had no illusions about what would happen. She might survive, though that wasn’t likely. Fya would rise from the dead later. Everyone else? They’d die. Unless Zelirana or Vaneryth were immune to electricity, which Evelyn doubted. That was a good part of why the runes to generate the energy were part of the containment as well.

“Have you seen one of these before?” Evelyn asked, nodding to the sphere.

“Yes… but not one this large,” Ilyra said, looking at the sphere with wide eyes. “The one I saw was tiny… less than a tenth this size. Maybe half a meter across? The magic teacher used it to power the school. He said it was an example to show the students what was possible.”

“Mm, not a bad use for one. Spheres of infinite lightning are incredible feats of enchanting, many of them requiring the work of a dozen magi in concert to create. At the same time, they’re also incredibly dangerous,” Evelyn said, leaning on the railing as she looked into the sphere, thankful that the enchantments also protected her eyesight. Then she smirked. “Is it odd that it reminds me of those little globes you see in some stores, the ones that have tiny beams of energy extending from the middle to the glass globe, and when you touch the globe the tendrils reach out for your fingers?”

Ilyra giggled. She cut herself off quickly, but Evelyn saw her nervousness vanish in an instant as a smile lit up her face, then she covered it with her hand. After a few seconds Ilyra cleared her throat, nodding as she spoke, her voice quavering with her amusement. “I… I know about those. Plasma globes, aren’t they called? I never thought of it as being similar, but you’re right.”

“Ah, that’s it! I couldn’t remember the name, honestly,” Evelyn said, snapping her fingers as she smiled. “I had one in my room growing up. I thought it was amazing.”

“I can agree with you there,” Ilyra agreed, nodding as she came over to lean against the railing as well. “This is… incredible, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Evelyn said, nodding.

For a minute they leaned there like that, not speaking. Evelyn thought it was good for Ilyra. Then she felt the slight shift of them entering the astral, though there wasn’t any effect to show the difference here.

“You haven’t been happy lately,” Evelyn said at last, and Ilyra inhaled sharply. Evelyn raised a finger, not looking at the celestine as she continued. “Not a complaint, Lyra. It’s an observation. I have some guesses as to why, but I’m not going to do you the disservice of speaking them aloud. Is there something I can help you with?”

“I… don’t know,” Ilyra said, pausing for a minute as she looked away, biting her lower lip and chewing on it for a few seconds. Then she let out a sigh and shrugged, murmuring. “I just feel like I’m being left behind.”

“Oh? How do you mean?” Evelyn asked, watching Ilyra closely. She saw how the young woman’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the railing harder.

“It’s just… you, Fya, and Zel are all powerful already. Sure, Ryth isn’t that powerful, but she has so much experience, and the unique gifts of an angel, while she’s working toward a goal she really wants to reach. Moon and Star are well on their way to their goals in life and are expanding out from there. Even Cherys and Nadia are making so much progress, having learned modern languages within a few weeks with the skill chips, and they’re figuring out technology and what they want to do with their lives,” Ilyra said, her words coming steadily faster as she continued, almost trembling. “Whereas me? I’m just… poking along. I’m barely better than I was when you found me, Evelyn. My goals are so shallow by comparison, and I’m not making much progress. I feel like a child, chasing after adults and wondering why I can’t catch up with my tiny legs.”

Suddenly Evelyn was glad she hadn’t voiced her assumptions, as they would have been completely wrong. She’d thought that Ilyra was focused on how she hadn’t managed to enter a relationship yet, but that was so much shallower of a reason than what she’d actually been considering.

“That isn’t the case. At least, I don’t think so,” Evelyn said at last, letting out a soft sigh as she pushed back from the railing. She grimaced, not liking where this was taking her, but… no, that wasn’t true. She liked the idea a bit too much, really. So she smiled, glancing at Ilyra again. “The difference, as far as I can tell, is maturity. You are a little like the flowers that grow aboard Worldwaker. Beautiful, in wonderful condition… and also not used to the rigors of the world. Even the twins, as sheltered as they were, are from much more modest backgrounds in comparison to you, Lyra. They had to work hard for what they got, and to deal with issues that gave them perspective. I don’t think you have that yet.”

“Oh,” Ilyra said, looking very crestfallen as she asked in a tiny voice. “Is there any way for me to be better?”

“Of course there is,” Evelyn said, and when the young woman looked up at her, hope dawning in her eyes, she smiled, an evil laugh trying to escape her throat. She suppressed it, instead speaking almost gently. “It won’t come easily, though. Are you willing to go through some adversity to gain that perspective?”

“Of course! I want to be better!” Ilyra said, jerking up straight, determination on her face.

“Well. I hope you feel that way when we’re in the middle of it,” Evelyn said, and mentally she sent an inquiry to Adria, asking for the location of the nearest world with a gladiatorial arena.

This would be… interesting. But first she needed to deal with politics. Blech.

Chapter 10

“Welcome to Janton University of Magic, Ms. Tarth!” Doctor Ray said, striding toward her and offering her a hand. The blue-eyed man had white hair that still had a few threads of brown in it, and he obviously was trying to stay in good shape, but it was a losing battle, based on what Evelyn could see of him. He had a white shirt, along with a pair of black slacks lined with silver, and she could see several wands and potions hanging from his belt.

Just behind the dean was a young man in blue who was holding a tablet, trying to catch Ray’s attention as the dean waved him off. Evelyn resisted the urge to smile, as she recognized the attitude and entirely agreed with it. The number of times she’d been chased by aides trying to get her to sign off on something as Empress was… an unpleasant memory. Not that she had, of course. Many times there had been something buried in the documents that she disagreed with, so she had to dig through them to make sure she didn’t sign something she came to regret. Once had been enough.

“Thank you, Dean,” Evelyn said, giving the campus a curious look, then nodded as she shook his hand firmly. “I must say, the campus looks much nicer than I’d expected, based on the appearance of the rest of the planet.”

The sight from the shuttle pad really was nicer than Evelyn had expected. As they’d approached, she’d had a chance to look at the university, and it had at least a dozen buildings, possibly more. She wasn’t certain about five buildings that might or might not be part of the campus, but each of the ones she was sure about were three stories tall and made of elegantly contoured composites and glass. They were also surrounded by a large amount of clear ground, with areas that had what looked like permanent magical circles here and there, as well as walkways, benches, and fountains at regular intervals. There was also a large amount of tropical vegetation in the area, which gave it a much nicer ambiance.

Ray chuckled, turning to look at the grounds as he grinned sheepishly. “It’s something of a surprise, isn’t it? Alas, most of the planet is sparsely vegetated at best, but here we have a lovely climate. I’m rather proud of what we’ve done on-campus, though. The college of life sciences does wonderful things for the university, which I’m entirely supportive of! Except when they accidentally boost the growth of an invasive weed or the sort, of course. Now, before I get sidetracked further, may I be introduced to your companions?”

“Certainly,” Evelyn said, smiling a little more as she turned to the women following her, and gestured to Cherys and Nadia, the former looking a little nervous, while the girl looked up at Ray in fascination. “This is Cherys the White, who I mentioned to you, and her daughter Nadia. As I said, they were pulled forward in time, but Cherys is a skilled weather mage.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cherys, and you as well, Nadia,” Ray said, offering his hand to her as his expression softened. “Also, my deepest condolences about what you’ve been through. I can’t imagine what it was like.”

“Thank you,” Cherys said, seeming to weigh him as she shook his hand, then relaxed slightly. “It has been… disconcerting.”

“I believe you. Ah, but before we proceed, I should introduce myself!” Ray said, straightening. “I am the dean of the university, essentially the head of the school as a whole. My name is Ray Calhoun, and I’m an artificer by training, with an emphasis on force spells, particularly shields and telekinesis.”

“Ah, much is explained,” Evelyn said, grinning as his interest in her pulling a starship to the ground suddenly solidified, but she shook it off, nodding to Ilyra as she added. “This is Ilyra, a young mage aboard my ship. She’s about the skill level of a college freshman and was curious to see what it was like on a campus, so I asked to bring her along.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dean!” Ilyra chirped, momentarily starting to curtsey, then paused and changed it to a bow of her head. The celestine was looking significantly happier than she had after the visit with the dryads, and her eyes were bright with curiosity.

“Ah, a fellow seeker of knowledge, that I can respect! And a pretty young lady at that!” Ray said, grinning broadly as he glanced at Evelyn. “I must say, if I can convince you to stay, that would be ideal, but I’m not going to try to force the issue.”

“Wise of you,” Evelyn murmured, prompting him to laugh.

“I’m not that foolish,” he assured her, then turned his attention back to Cherys, asking “Now, before we get any further, I feel the need to ask one thing. About how large of an area can you normally alter the weather in, assuming a ritual that takes no more than a day? I can tell that you have large mana reserves, but I don’t have a solid grasp of your skill.”

Cherys nodded, her lips moving soundlessly as she thought, then nodded, speaking, “I… am not entirely certain of the translation of measurements, of course, as in my time we were not able to measure as accurately as you do now. However, if the implants are correct, an area within fifty kilometers of the ritual site, approximately.”

Ray’s eyebrows shot upward, and he hesitated, shooting Evelyn a sidelong glance, then asked. “Ah… is that what you can do on your own, or with assistance?”

“Myself,” Cherys said decisively, smiling sadly as she continued. “I was the best weather mage in the eastern reach, and possibly of my generation.”

“Damn. I didn’t know you were a prodigy,” Ray said, chuckling.

“What does that mean?” Nadia asked curiously, pausing, then added. “And are you as strong as mother?”

“I really can’t say where my strength is concerned, Nadia,” Ray said, half-crouching as he looked at her, smiling broadly. “I might have more mana than her, but that doesn’t mean that I can tell how skilled she is. We specialize in different things, so it’s hard to measure.”

“If nothing else, that’s the truth. I’m pretty sure that my power far outstrips my skill,” Evelyn said, smiling a little more. She could see the aide’s impatience growing, and she seriously considered needling him.

Ray laughed, straightening as he continued. “Now, as for what I meant? If she’s right, she can do alone what the entire weather department can’t manage together. The head of the department reported that they had to split up into four ritual circles to cover the same area that she could. Now, it might be harder here, considering how little moisture there is to wring out of the atmosphere, but it’s still incredible.”

Nadia nodded, grinning up at her mother as she exclaimed, “See, you’re amazing, mom!”

“Thank you, dear,” Cherys said, smiling down at her daughter, then gave Evelyn a complex look before admitting. “I was… concerned before this, I must admit. The first person I met after we were sucked into the vortex was Evelyn. She… shook my confidence.”

“You… oh. Oh my. That would be…” Ray paused, looking at Evelyn, then chuckled, shaking his head. “No, I don’t think that would do good things for anyone’s confidence. Well, why don’t we give you all the tour, then? Also, pardon me if I get distracted, but I’ve been fascinated by Evelyn for years, and I intend to ask her a few questions.”

“So long as you prioritize her questions, I don’t mind,” Evelyn said, giving Cherys an encouraging nod.

“Excellent! Then let’s get started,” Ray boomed and gestured for them to follow. “I’d like to start with the weather department, since they’re your specialty! Professor Stone is in charge of the department, and I think you’ll like her.”

With that he took them on a tour, and there was rarely more than a couple of seconds when someone wasn’t talking. Which suited Evelyn fine, as she didn’t have to talk too much.

Professor Stone was a bright-eyed woman with unusual amber eyes, and Evelyn suspected she might be a lycanthrope, just based on some of her mannerisms. Yet when she and Cherys got talking… Evelyn wasn’t able to follow everything they discussed, as a lot of it was far more focused on their specialty, but she caught enough to know it was a complicated subject.

Certainly, Cherys didn’t appear to know as many details as the professor did, but when it came to technical skill she appeared to be even more skilled than the professor, and as the conversation progressed she grew steadily more relaxed and confident, even if she occasionally have to pause and hunt for translations via her implants.

They also saw some laboratories for testing spells that Evelyn had never seen before, and which she promptly envied. Having someplace that could properly contain a spell that went poorly was an excellent idea, and she immediately began making notes internally. She wasn’t sure where she’d put one on Djinn’s Gift, but it was worth thinking about. Maybe she could combine it with the firing range.

That wasn’t the end of the tour, though. They went through a great deal of other departments as well, including the combat magic department. That was the only one where Evelyn ended up talking quite a bit, as to those in the department, combat magic was more of a theoretical thing. Evelyn would have kept quiet about a few things, but then Ilyra had decided to chime in by describing what Evelyn had done to the rear half of the Nebula Runner. That had caused them to stare at her in shock, and Evelyn had been forced to explain just how useless the spell was under most circumstances. She freely admitted that it was impressive, but the number of situations where a spell like that could be used without massive collateral damage were minute.

After about three hours, as Nadia was getting bored, they’d visited the cafeteria for lunch, which was decent enough, then Ray explained that they had an affiliated school as well, one which was intended for the children of students, and that there were about fifteen children near Nadia’s age as well. That had gotten Nadia’s attention, as well as Cherys’s. Evelyn suspected that there hadn’t been universal schooling available in their time period.

Eventually, things wrapped up, and Ray paused, smiling at them as he spoke. “And that’s pretty much it for the tour. Sure, there are a lot more things that I could show you, but taking a tour of everything would take the better part of a week, let alone the time that we’ve had. What do you think, Cherys?”

Cherys didn’t reply immediately, examining the campus for a few seconds, then looked back at him, smiling a little. “I am not certain. What you have is impressive, and the knowledge you have gathered is inspiring. It puts the academy I graduated from to shame and is somewhat daunting. I cannot make a decision immediately, however. This is important for me and Nadia, and it requires careful consideration.”

“I entirely understand,” Ray said, pausing for a couple of seconds before he spoke, somewhat more seriously. “I can’t say exactly what position you would have if you did choose to join the university, of course. We’d have to run you through a battery of tests to determine what you know and can do, and it’s very likely that you would need to learn some things to qualify as a professor. But just based on today, I can say that it’s likely that you would obtain the necessary qualifications in short order. When it comes to power and skill, you’re obviously already there. Unlike Evelyn, who is vastly overqualified.”

“I have even less formal schooling than she does, so I certainly wouldn’t qualify as a teacher of anything but practical combat magic,” Evelyn replied dryly.

“Yet that’s a field that’s incredibly difficult to even find a teacher for,” Ray countered, smiling at her. “Combat magic is easy enough. Researchers have managed a bunch of combat spells that are effective even with the defenses that technology and enchantments provide. The problem is making them practical to cast in combat. Most magi don’t have the skill or speed to make a difference in a combat environment when compared to soldiers with advanced weapons, which has led to there being fewer and fewer combat magi in general. Not that we train many here, of course. It’s not a popular field and doesn’t make even a tithe of what a proper artificer can manage.”

“Mm, fair. Most combat magi I see these days are members of what amounts to special forces,” Evelyn conceded, pausing to consider, then added wryly. “Or they’re poorly-trained thugs on the streets who learned from their grandparents or their gang magi. You’d be surprised how much magic I’ve seen thrown around in gang warfare… it doesn’t require them to carry heavy weapons, after all.”

“Definitely a point,” Ray said, frowning a little. “It always makes me uneasy that it seems like the more… unsavory elements of society end up with more spellcasters like that, but it seems to be the way of the world. At least we don’t have too much of a problem with that here.”

“Yet,” Evelyn said, prompting him to wince.

“Yes, yet. I certainly hope to never see that change, though,” Ray said firmly. Then he smiled, looking at the rest of them as he asked. “That being said, I hope to hear from you in the near future, and that you have a pleasant stay in Janton Landing.”

“We’ll see,” Evelyn said, rolling her eyes as her mood dimmed, and she checked the time via her implants. She grimaced internally, doing some math, and made a decision. “Unfortunately, I have a meeting with one of the local senators soon… which means that the shuttle’s going to have to drop me off before taking them back to Djinn’s Gift. I wish the port was large enough for us to land.”

Ilyra giggled softly, and Evelyn gave her a dirty look, which just caused Nadia to follow her example. Children really didn’t belong on her ship, Evelyn groused internally.

“I’m pretty sure they didn’t anticipate someone with a ship your size wanting to make landfall,” Ray said, shaking his head slightly. “Either way, I wish you luck!”

“Thank you,” Evelyn said, nodding to him, then turned to head for the shuttle.

The others moved alongside Evelyn, and she looked at them as she walked, a bit curious how they felt about all of this. Ilyra looked more intrigued than anything else, while Evelyn couldn’t read Nadia’s face. She was a child, and was excited about the strangest things, in Evelyn’s opinion. As for Cherys, the woman looked thoughtful and ever so slightly concerned.

After a few minutes they reached the shuttle, and Evelyn stepped on board, immediately contacting the Doll pilot and ordering. “P1, I’d like you to chart a course to my meeting location to drop me off, then return to the ship.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. Course plotted, waiting for passengers to secure themselves and for shuttle to seal. Requesting permission from traffic control. Permission granted,” the Doll replied calmly, prompting a slight smile from Evelyn, and she took a seat, securing herself in place.

She waited as the others did the same, Cherys making sure Nadia was strapped in firmly before she sat down herself, by which time the shuttle was sealed. Once the mage was secure, Evelyn felt the shuttle take off.

“So… what do you think, Cherys?” Evelyn asked, looking at the mage thoughtfully.

“It is a fascinating place. There have been large changes in the knowledge of magic since my time,” Cherys said diplomatically, and Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

“I hear an unspoken ‘but’ in there,” Evelyn said, prompting Cherys to blink at her. It took a few seconds before Cherys nodded slowly.

“Translating is… strange. It took me a few moments to realize you were using an idiom,” Cherys said, smiling at Evelyn. “Yes, I do have some concerns. While the university was interesting it almost felt…”

Cherys’s voice trailed off as she thought, and Evelyn waited patiently.

“What did it feel like?” Nadia asked curiously. “I thought it was amazing! Not as amazing as the ship, but it wasn’t anything like home! Glass was everywhere, and the air was so warm!”

“Yes, it was at that,” Cherys agreed, a sad smile on her face as she sighed, shaking her head. “Oh, if I had all my friends and family here, I would be happy to try it out, but this place… it felt hollow, somehow. Lifeless, without the energy that I have often felt in places that are fulfilling. For those we met, magic is not a passion. It is not alive to them, which is… perhaps this will make you feel that I am primitive, somehow, but I feel like its sacrilege. Magic is an art, using an energy that is the keys to doing almost anything, not merely… merely a tool to be used for minor things. It should be pushing the great horizons I have seen aboard your ship, but they do not respect it. Despite their words, they do not believe in it. That frustrates me.”

Evelyn blinked, pursing her lips as she mulled over what Cherys had said. It wasn’t something she’d considered before, and she opened her mouth, then paused, not sure how she should express her thoughts.

“Huh. That’s an odd way of putting it. What do you mean, about believing in it?” Ilyra asked, leaning forward as much as she could in her seat. “I just don’t understand.”

“I… oh, how do I say this?” Cherys replied, pausing for a couple of seconds as she scowled, her lips pressing together until the blood seemed almost forced out of them. When she spoke, her voice gained an edge of passion that Evelyn hadn’t heard from her before. “They seem to think that magic has limits. That magic cannot do whatever is necessary, should one have the passion and drive to push it forward. They act like magic cannot be used in combat unless someone is like Evelyn, yet I know that is not true. Yes, your weapons strike quickly. Do they strike more quickly than lightning from the heavens? Than a searing bolt of energy another mage threw at you? No! They are fast, they are powerful, but magi have been fighting against as fast of attacks since long before I was born. They are… they are complacent, allowing themselves to be chained by their very knowledge, and that makes me angry!”

Evelyn blinked a couple of times, but on hearing the passion, the anger in her voice… she felt her constant sense of distance from Cherys ease slightly. Cherys wasn’t as emotionless as a part of her had thought, and that made Evelyn a little more comfortable with her. Still, that didn’t mean that she was going to agree with her instantly.

“Oh? Why do you say that they’re wrong, about magic having limits?” Evelyn asked, raising her eyebrows curiously.

“Why? I have seen you,” Cherys said, laughing shortly. “I have heard about what you have done. You moved a ley line around an entire world, and I saw recordings of what you did aboard that starship. If they believe there are limits on magic, I see only one solution to teach them better. Someone who is not you must break those limits. They must be shown that they are wrong, and that one can push magic farther than any of them believes possible.”

“You… you’re right,” Ilyra said, her eyes brightening with realization, and she smiled widely. “I’ve just been, well, magic wasn’t appropriate for someone of my station, at least not magic to do with combat and defense. Evelyn has offered to help train me, but I’ve been… I’ve been content with the idea of growing to a fraction of her power. That’s not enough, is it?”

“I do not think so. If you are going to strive, strive to be the best. To exceed, not merely match,” Cherys said, nodding sharply as she smiled. “I was the best before, which meant I did not have a goal. Now I have another.”

Evelyn looked between the two women, both brimming with enthusiasm, then laughed softly, murmuring. “I see how it is. You’re staying aboard the Gift, aren’t you?”

“That’s my thought. Are you alright with that, Nadia?” Cherys asked, looking down at her daughter in concern. “I know you liked the idea of having friends.”

“Sure! I like Zel and Ryth, an’ all the others! Moon said she’d teach me to make cookies, too!” Nadia said, grinning. “I’m happy both ways!”

“Well, in that case…” Evelyn paused, then contacted the ship, speaking up. “Adria, please begin planning how to alter Conference Room Two into a magical library, specifically to house Cherys’s library. If there is room for more modern amenities, please see about those as well.”

“Yes, Captain,” Adria replied immediately, while Cherys and Ilyra stared at her, then smiled widely.

As they began to chatter, Evelyn sat back, realizing that perhaps she needed to start practicing and trying to improve further again. Maybe there wasn’t much room for her to grow, but if they were going to put in effort, she couldn’t be complacent.

Chapter 11

Evelyn supposed that the building where Janton’s senators had offices wasn’t too extravagant, at least not in comparison with the towering capitol building next to it. That fifty-story structure looked completely out of place, with ivory walls, spiraling towers, and lights that would make it look breathtaking at night. When compared to most of the other buildings in the area which were five or six stories tall, it was a touch ridiculous. Maybe it was inherited from the monarchy which had once ruled the planet, but she doubted that. It was in too perfect of condition.

No, the senate offices looked completely mundane by comparison, with expansive one-way windows and a more reasonable beige exterior. Not that it didn’t have all sorts of minor amenities that made Evelyn skeptical about the local leadership’s priorities. A four-story building didn’t need full magical levitation tubes, not when they were enormously more expensive than mundane elevators.

She’d had to leave her weapons behind on the ship, of course. That was a condition of the meeting, and the security officers had been careful to scan her twice, which made Evelyn smile in amusement. She didn’t need her weapons for a building like this. No, now she was just outside Senator Aldoris’s office, waiting patiently as she mentally flipped through the options Adria had sent her of planets with gladiatorial arenas. There weren’t many within a week’s journey, unfortunately… only five of them, and Evelyn would prefer not to risk the young woman’s death. No, there were only two real options on the list.

As she sat there, the aide manning the desk outside the office was watching Evelyn nervously. The half-elf had on spectacles that looked like they were for augmented reality, Evelyn thought, which was a bit odd, and he was handsome enough, with blonde hair and brown eyes, as well as an exquisitely tailored blue suit. Not that it took much to get a well-tailored suit these days, with the tailoring software that was commonly available. So either he was one of the rare people whose bodies rejected implants, he couldn’t afford decent ones, he liked putting on airs, or he was one of those people who didn’t like the idea of implants. They did exist, and Evelyn couldn’t really blame them.

Evelyn looked around the room, idly gauging just how much money had been spent on it and thought that it probably wasn’t quite as much as most people might think. There were plenty of things which could easily be made of less expensive materials that looked incredible, and she’d gotten a solid look at expensive items when ruling Peldra, as well as after living aboard Djinn’s Gift. No, the green walls weren’t that expensive, and the gold accents were probably brass at worst. There were plenty of ways to keep the price down… but the very presence of it raised her hackles. Evelyn did not enjoy politics. Which was why she intended to do what amounted to throwing a grenade in the senator’s lap.

There was a soft chime, and the aide glanced at the door, then stood, clearing his throat as he spoke. “The senator will see you now, Ms. Tarth.”

“Thank you,” Evelyn said, banishing the data and standing as well, relieved that this was finally going to get moving. At least the senator wasn’t stupid enough to keep her waiting.

The aide approached the door, knocking once, then opened it, speaking calmly. “Senator, Ms. Tarth is here for her appointment.”

“Of course. Let her in, Ramy,” a woman replied, her voice carefully controlled.

Ramy nodded, stepping out of the way as he smiled nervously at Evelyn, and almost visibly relaxed as she entered, allowing him to close the door behind her.

The office Evelyn stepped into was decorated similarly to the exterior, but the woman seated behind the gleaming, clear polymer desk was different. She was in a pantsuit that was almost entirely white, with a red blouse beneath a thin white jacket, and she wore a tasteful gold necklace with matching hoop earrings. The blonde elf’s hair was done in a tight bun on the back of her head, and the woman was watching Evelyn closely, her blue eyes betraying her caution.

“Senator Melar Aldoris, I presume?” Evelyn asked, mentally patting herself on the back for being polite. That was a good start… she just had to make sure not to threaten to vaporize the building and she’d be in excellent shape.

“That’s right. And you are Evelyn Esendria Tarth. Former Empress of Peldra, who somehow came back to life well after your death. I presume that it was faked?” the senator asked, smiling coolly. She didn’t offer Evelyn a seat, which promptly caused Evelyn’s already irritable mood to darken.

“Of course not. I was resurrected,” Evelyn replied and decided to dispense with pleasantries as she allowed the smile on her face to lapse. “However, since you obviously have no intention of being polite about this, let’s just get on with things. Stop trying to sabotage your contract with the crew of the Worldwaker.”

“What are you talking—” Melar began, but Evelyn raised a finger to interrupt.

“If you lie to me, you will regret that to your dying day,” Evelyn informed her, staring the woman down coldly as she allowed her anger to shine through. She made certain the senator’s mouth was shut, then continued in a wintry tone, thankful she’d had Adria look into the local laws and the details of the current problem. “Good, you’re listening. Don’t think that I’m stupid, or that the dryads are either. They have made seventy-eight attempts to contact your government about the pollution being caused by the Regolith Mining Group, and how their mining equipment is producing pollutants in excess of one hundred and three times the legal limits on mining equipment in the Janton system, to no response. They have also attempted to send forty-three messages via your FTL node to some of their allies, only to receive no response. As your government controls the FTL node, that is highly suspicious to begin with. Now, then… why don’t you tell me how you’re going to fix this, before I choose to speak with the Grand Treasurer of the Mathrin cluster about how your government tries to weasel out of contracts?”

The senator’s expression grew steadily angrier as Evelyn continued, and she thought the woman would interrupt, but the second that Evelyn mentioned the Grand Treasurer, she froze. Evelyn knew why, as dragons did not look well on others who broke or twisted contracts. It wasn’t as though they’d stop doing business with them, but when the offenders were lucky, the dragons only doubled the prices they charged. In one case, Evelyn had heard of the planet being essentially banned from the wyrmgate network as they’d multiplied all the fees by fifty. Merchants had fled the system, and it’d ended up impoverished, at least until a revolution had occurred and the dragons relented… after making sure that none of the previous government was anywhere in the replacement.

“You aren’t on good terms with the Grand Treasurer. No one who isn’t a dragon is,” Melar replied after a second of her jaw working.

“You’re right, I’m not. However, I have done multiple favors for the Grand Treasurer’s brand-new apprentice,” Evelyn said, her smile widening a little more. “I would hate to use those favors on this, but I will if I need to. I knew several of Worldwaker’s old crewmembers on Peldra, and it makes me disposed to help them.”

“I believe that them making use of their associates to threaten us is a breach of contract,” Melar said, regaining her poise, though her color wasn’t entirely good.

“Ah, but you’re making a mistake. I am not acting on behalf of the dryads of Worldwaker, I’m an independent agent,” Evelyn told her, baring her teeth for a moment. “I’m here to give you a warning, because I’ve looked into it, and the more I learned, the less and less amused I’ve grown. I also would have been significantly more polite originally, but you gave me all the excuse I needed to drop that pretense. I suppose I should thank you for that.”

Melar inhaled slowly, then let her breath out, asking, “You dare come in here and threaten us? We’re an independent government and won’t tolerate this sort of thing!”

The woman seemed like she was going to continue but paused as she looked at Evelyn. It took a moment for Evelyn to realize she had a smile on her face, and she briefly considered trying to suppress it, then abandoned the impulse. It was far more fun to see the elegant, poised woman’s confidence crumble.

“I think you mistake me for someone who gives a damn about your power, Senator,” Evelyn replied after a moment, her smile widening still more. “I didn’t care how powerful Peldra was, and I certainly don’t care about Janton’s power. I’m independent of any single polity, and free to do whatever I wish. And if that means destroying a rag-tag fleet with delusions of grandeur when they try to attack me, so be it. Do what you will, but I’m warning you of the consequences if you continue down this path. If that means—”

“Evelyn! Worldwaker is under attack by pirates, no one is in range to contact in time!” Ash’s voice interrupted, whispering desperately into Evelyn’s mind. “If you can, please help! Our shields are failing!”

“Oh, you gutter trash,” Evelyn said, every bit of amusement and pleasure vanishing, replaced by icy anger, and she glared at the senator. The woman was practically frozen in place, her hands tightening on the chair’s arms. Evelyn didn’t have time to take pleasure in her fear, though. Not with Worldwaker in danger. “I will deal with you later. I have dryads to rescue.”

With that she snapped her fingers, focusing her magic, and the fabric of the world tore apart around her, causing her to disappear in a rumble of thunder and light.

Chapter 12

Evelyn appeared in her rooms, directly in front of her armor rack, and immediately shrugged out of her jacket, stepping into the armor without a moment’s pause. Instead, she spoke loudly, triggering the system to give an all-hands priority message.

“Everyone, if you’re not aboard you’re going to be left behind. Worldwaker is actively under attack by pirates and their shields are failing. I’m teleporting to their assistance,” Evelyn snapped out. “Fya! Use me as a homing beacon for a least-time, minimum proximity astral emergence on the other end. This is going to be rough.”

“Right, milady! You really do like dryads,” Fya chirped. “Engagement orders? Oh, and everyone is aboard already.”

“Good. I want information out of them, but otherwise? You have free rein, Fya. Do as you will,” Evelyn told her, the armor hissing shut around her, and she pulled free of the rack immediately, beginning… well, what passed for an incantation in her current mood, focusing her mind and power on a pristine, beautiful field inside a starship on the other side of the system. “Void, get the fuck out of my way, I’m coming through.”

Magic tore out of Evelyn, bridging space between Evelyn and her destination, as she forged and held open a path across distances that were unimaginable by the vast majority of magi, held together only by the power of her will. In an instant she crossed the star system, traveling a distance that would have taken precious time for even light to cross.

She stepped into a scene from nightmares, as howling wind tore at leaves and flowers, dragging them toward the ravening breach in the hull far above Evelyn’s head. She thought she saw dryads in shipsuits next to the breach, trying to close it, but Evelyn didn’t pause to think, nor to consider the vast chunk of her mana that she’d expended getting this far. No, she drew on the stones filled with mana that were in her armor for emergencies like this and threw up a hand, erecting a barrier of pure force across the outside of the breach, and with the rest of her mind she threw together another spell, speaking under her breath.

“Inviolate stars of the heavens, come to my hand, and protect your children. Let my will be their armor, their shield, and let none of them come to harm lest my will be broken!” Evelyn snarled, thrusting her other hand upward, and magic flowed out of her in a torrent, forming a shield larger than any she had ever created before, surrounding all of Worldwaker in moments. The strain was incredible, and Evelyn flinched as she felt explosions slamming into the shield, causing it to drain her still faster.

“E-Evelyn? You came!” a dryad called out, the woman looking both shaken and hopeful. “How did you get here?”

“Not important. I’m holding a shield up, so repair the breach quickly,” Evelyn told her, grimacing. “This… this isn’t easy, especially with two shields.”

“Alright, we will,” the dryad said, almost instantly seeming to shift gears, and she raced toward the group hanging from the ceiling, yelling at them. “Everyone, hurry up with the patch! Evelyn needs to drop that shield as fast as possible! Team two, get the shield generators back online!”

Evelyn hesitated, then collapsed to the ground, focusing her attention on her spells as the effort of what she was doing hit her, and the first hint of moisture began beading on her forehead as she swallowed, wincing as one hammer blow after another slammed into her shield, each of them heavier than almost anything she’d blocked before.

“Fya, you’d better hurry,” Evelyn murmured under her breath, then threw everything she could into focusing on the shields. She was going to need all the energy she could muster for this.

* * *

“Senator, what happened?” Ramy asked, opening the door and looking inside nervously. Not that Melar blamed him, given the look that she’d been on the receiving end of moments before.

She’d been so confident that she could handle Evelyn Tarth. Oh, the woman had a terrible reputation, but Melar had done her research during the time leading up to their meeting, and Tarth wasn’t exactly known for going out of her way to antagonize people and didn’t cause problems most of the time. So, she’d expected that as long as she pled ignorance about the situation with the dryads, everything would blow over nice and smoothly.

That hadn’t happened. Oh, she didn’t think there was anything personal about the situation, not on Tarth’s part, at least, but that was before the woman had cut off in the middle of her threats. That was when everything had changed, and Melar had felt like she was in the water with a ravenous blackfin bearing down on her.

“I don’t know. I… I think that Ms. Tarth just teleported, but that… that can’t be right,” Melar said, her thoughts racing, and she opened her mouth to continue. Then the phone began ringing. She scowled at it, then hit the key to accept the call. “Yes, what is it?”

“Senator, pardon me for asking, but the university’s magical sensors just detected a massive mana surge from your office, as if someone teleported there. Is that accurate?” Doctor Ray asked, the man’s voice uncommonly excited. “Ah, let me correct that. I just got a second reading, of someone teleporting across the inner system from orbit as well. I don’t suppose you have any idea what’s going on?”

“Across the—Professor, where was the teleportation to?” Melar demanded, dread washing over her, as she suddenly recalled the smirk on Senator Kallim’s face lately, and how the woman had muttered about their problems being dealt with soon enough.

“Somewhere near the third planet, though not to its surface, according to this. Maybe they missed their destination? I wouldn’t be surprised, since that sort of precision on a teleportation spell must have taken weeks to prepare, at least if it’s not…” Ray began, but his voice trailed off slowly, causing Melar to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“Professor, I just saw a woman named Evelyn Tarth appear to teleport out of my office, and she commented about ‘saving some dryads’. Would the teleportation match up with the location of the dryad terraforming ship?” Melar asked, trying to control her breathing as threads of panic tried to surge through her. Ramy, having listened to this point, seemed to decide that he wasn’t needed, and quickly retreated from the room. “Furthermore, are you telling me that that would take weeks?”

“I… Senator, I cannot say for sure whether or not the coordinates match the location of the dryad ship, we don’t have that kind of data on-hand. I can say that we’re detecting a truly massive magical shield being generated by someone across the system, and they have the same signature as the person who teleported,” Ray said, pausing for a moment before he continued. “But yes, that would take weeks of preparation for anyone at the university, and likely a full group of ten to twenty magi. No one here could do what you’ve described. Not even close.”

“Gods,” Melar said, her thoughts racing, then growled, noticing that there were several incoming calls, and she replied. “Collect what data you can, I have calls coming in, Professor.”

Without waiting for a response, she hung up on him and took the call from Senator Kallim and snarled. “What have you done?”

* * *

“What’s going on?” Ilyra demanded, bursting onto the bridge, where she found Fya at the navigation console, staring intently at it as Djinn’s Gift raced through the astral.

“You heard Evvy. The dryads are under attack, and she teleported to assist them. We’re going to help,” Fya said, not looking away from her instruments. She giggled after a moment, adding. “Oh, she is so pissed off, though. You heard her ‘incantation’ too, didn’t you?”

“I, well, yes,” Ilyra said, blushing a little, then cleared her throat. “That doesn’t seem that important, though. I mean… did she really teleport across the system?”

“Of course she did. She is not aboard the starship, and I felt the wave of mana she unleashed when she arrived, then another when she left again,” Cherys said, following Ilyra at a much more sedate pace. “I cannot do the same. I do not know how she was able to do so.”

“Simple. She fixed her mind on both the starting point and the destination and ripped open the fabric of reality between the two points,” Fya said, giggling again as her grin widened, then added. “Simple… heh. Most mortals would have their brains dribbling out their ears if they tried that. Now we just have to get to her.”

“I must warn that this is a dangerous approach. Attempting to emerge in too close of proximity to a planet is dangerous and can lead to the ship emerging deep in the atmosphere, or even within the planetary surface. Astral travel is rarely precise enough to emerge so close safely,” Adria said, the Doll bearing an uncharacteristic frown on her face.

“Yes, but that’s why I’m piloting the ship,” Fya said, grinning. “I’m using Evvy as a landing beacon.”

“You’re… what?” Adria asked, frowning deeper. “I do not understand.”

“Using her as a landing beacon,” Fya repeated, glancing at Ilyra and Cherys as she continued. “Sure, you can’t feel it, Adria, but can’t the two of you feel her mana? Can’t you feel Evelyn out there, blazing with all the glory of a star herself?”

“I…” Ilyra paused, reaching out with her senses, then her eyes slowly widened as she felt something in the distance ahead of them. A power that she’d felt before just once, when Evelyn had shoved a ley line halfway around a planet. She swallowed, then asked, “What is she doing? We’re in the astral, we shouldn’t be able to feel her!”

“That is very strange,” Cherys agreed, straightening slightly more at Ilyra’s observation.

“Also simple! She’s shielding Worldwaker, so she made certain to add a multi-dimensional element, which radiates here. That means we can use her as a target and make sure we don’t emerge inside the planet,” Fya said, her gaze still fixed on the instruments. Then she added. “Anyway, the two of you had better get into armor or vac suits, we’ll be going into combat soon. Don’t know how many enemies are out there… oh, Adria? Prime weapons for combat. Prioritize defending Worldwaker but disable the pirates if you can.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Adria replied, inclining her head, and Ilyra’s face paled.

“Oh. Right. I’ll be back!” Ilyra said, and rushed toward the door, heading for the armory. She really didn’t want to get spaced. Vacuum in the real world was much less forgiving than the astral was.

Fortunately, Cherys was already on the move, and behind them Fya asked. “Hey, why don’t you call me Captain?”

Chapter 13

“Damn it all, where did they get an overshield like that?” Captain Carson demanded, slamming a fist down, the arm of his command chair creaking as he fumed, glaring at the dryad ship. “Our intel didn’t say anything about a shield like that!”

On the screen he could see the Worldwaker, or at least the enormous, shimmering red shield that surrounded the ship, absorbing or deflecting every blast or projectile they threw at it. Oh, the shield was rippling, which indicated that their fire was having an effect, but it enraged him. The shield had taken ten times the fire that the dryad’s previous shields had managed, yet it hadn’t gone down. After seeing gasses escaping the ship only moments before the overshield had gone up, Carson had practically tasted success, so this was infuriating.

“It isn’t an overshield, sir,” Mannas said, her voice calm as she tapped her console, then held out her hands, muttering the words of a spell. Magic surged out of her hands and into the specialized console, and an instant later a brilliant blue bolt flashed out of Bloodskull’s spell cannon to slam into the shield. That caused another ripple, and the mage frowned.

“Then what is it?” Carson demanded, looking at her.

“It’s a magical shield. I can’t believe they were able to erect one that enormous, but it must have taken them that long to bring the shield up, or they’d have used it first,” Mannas explained, the human shrugging helplessly. “It’s the only explanation that makes sense. Anyway, the amount of mana that must take is incredible, and I doubt that they’ll be able to hold it up for more than a few more minutes. Then they’ll be right back where they started.”

“Huh,” Carson said, frowning, then glanced over at Tactical. “Jameson! How soon will any distress call reach someone who can respond?”

“Um, four minutes, give or take. If they respond immediately… another ten before they can come out of astral,” the elf said, rubbing his chin, then shrugged. “Call it twenty minutes before we come under fire at the earliest. Probably closer to half an hour.”

“Right,” Carson muttered, running through the numbers for a second, then nodded. “In that case, we’ll break off one way or another in twenty minutes. That ship had better be wreckage before we go.”

“Yessir,” Jameson said, grinning back at him. “Mighty kind of the locals to pull all their ships out of position, wasn’t it?”

Carson snorted, smiling as he replied. “Well, they kind of had to if they wanted us to get rid of this ship, didn’t they?”

Laughter came in response, and Carson sat back, trying to relax. The shield should fall soon enough.

* * *

Evelyn spat out some blood, annoyed with herself for biting her cheek too hard. It was stupid and had almost distracted her from maintaining the spell. If she had lost it, the consequences didn’t bear thinking on. Not the consequences for her, but for the dryads. She would not let them die. Not while she drew breath.

It wasn’t easy, though. Evelyn’s head felt… stretched. Her pulse throbbed against the back of her skull, and her will felt like it’d been stretched to the breaking point. It was her own fault, of course. She’d never seen anyone shield an area more than two kilometers across before, let alone holding off a warship bombardment for this long. She’d never even heard of it, not with the power a single person possessed. Not that she could for too much longer, Evelyn knew. Her mana reserves were falling rapidly, and she was down to twenty percent at most. If Fya didn’t arrive soon… but she would, Evelyn knew. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Fya would get here as soon as possible… and when she did, the people responsible would pay.

“Are you alright?” Ash asked, sitting down in front of Evelyn, and she felt another dryad settle into the grass behind her, pulling Evelyn back into a gentle embrace.

“Fine… for the moment,” Evelyn told her, smiling tightly. “This is… more difficult than I expected. Haven’t shielded anything this large before.”

“Ah. Well, you’ve already done so much for us, and you don’t look well,” Ash said, a flicker of worry and sadness on her face. Worry that intensified as Evelyn flinched when another magical strike hammered into the shield. Those were particularly annoying, since the caster kept trying different frequencies to try to penetrate the shield. After a moment the dryad continued. “You don’t have to do this, you know. I can see the pain you’re in, and at this point, I don’t think anyone can get here in time to rescue us. I… I had no idea you could teleport here, or I might have hesitated to—”

“No,” Evelyn interjected flatly, looking into the dryad’s eyes as her anger surged, but so did her determination, which steadied the magic that was writhing in her mental grasp. She inhaled slowly, then continued. “They’re coming, Ash. My ship, my crew. They’ll be here soon, and I will not fail you. You won’t die here, I promise. I am Evelyn Esendria Tarth, and they will not break me.”

Ash didn’t reply for a few seconds. Then she smiled, and a single tear trickled down her cheek as she bowed her head for a moment, then leaned forward and planted a kiss on Evelyn’s cheek. Her voice was almost inaudible as she whispered. “Thank you.”

* * *

Djinn’s Gift erupted from astral without warning, and proximity alarms began blaring even as Fya let out a whoop of excitement. Ilyra yelped, grabbing the arms of her chair as she saw the ship half-filling the forward screen.

The starship ahead of them wasn’t as sleek and beautiful as Djinn’s Gift, nor was it as rugged and utilitarian as Daggerhound had been. This ship was long, had reasonably clean lines, and vicious-looking weaponry dotted its dark surface. Dark, but not black, Ilyra noted unhappily, as it was entirely too close for comfort if the proximity warnings were going off.

“I love controlling probability!” Fya cheered and snapped out. “Fire!”

“Engaging as directed,” the Doll at the tactical station replied, and as she spoke, Fya felt the ship shudder.

Their weapons reached out like beams of light, some of them likely were just that, but at this range Ilyra couldn’t tell the difference between projectile weapons and beam weapons. The weaponry slammed into the enemy ship’s shields mercilessly, and at this range it was practically impossible to miss.

Almost as if she were reading Ilyra’s mind, Fya commented. “Dodge this, you bastards!”

* * *

“Shields down! Enemy ship to starboard, range eight hundred and seventeen meters!” Jameson exclaimed as Bloodskull lurched, alarms blaring as their shields failed.

“Fucking—kill those alarms! All weapons, target the enemy ship!” Carson barked, his blood running cold as the ship bucked again, prompting still more alarms to go off, and he felt the starboard engines die through the network. He couldn’t believe that anyone had gotten here so damned quickly and bringing a heavy cruiser out that close to a planet was damn near suicidal.

“Trying to spin shields back up, retargeting!” Jameson confirmed, and the fire they’d been pouring into the dryad ship died off as they turned on the new target.

“Can you shield us?” Carson demanded, looking at Mannas, and the woman shook her head, her face pale.

“Are you kidding? That’d take a half-dozen magi who’re already prepped if you’re lucky,” she replied, growling. “I’ll try to put a few holes into these jerks, it’s about all I can do.”

“Fine. Engineering, get me my shields back!” Carson demanded. Then he swore under his breath as more damage reports came in, but Bloodskull was swinging about, putting its more heavily armored sections toward the attacker.

Of course, that was the moment that the crimson shield around Worldwaker vanished, revealing that the dryad ship’s shields had come up. Fortunately, they didn’t have enough firepower to make a difference, so Carson ignored them for the moment.

He was going to make their employer pay though the nose for this debacle.

* * *

“Your shields are up?” Evelyn asked, holding the shield for just a moment more as she felt Fya’s arrival, along with the abrupt slackening of fire.

As Ash nodded, she let the shield go, and it vanished like a popped soap bubble, as though it’d never existed. That was an enormous relief as the weight on her mind vanished as well, and Evelyn let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. Then Evelyn stood, glancing back at the dryad who’d been behind her and giving her a nod of appreciation.

“You’re not safe yet, but you will be. Just keep an eye out for any surprises,” Evelyn told them, and Ash frowned, standing up as well.

“What are you doing?” Ash asked in concern.

Evelyn’s emotions hardened, her rage burning still brighter, and she replied softly. “Dealing with the problem. Fya? Put me on the enemy bridge. Please.”

“Yes, Milady!” Fya chirped, and Evelyn felt magic reach out and touch her. Ash’s mouth opened, but her words didn’t reach Evelyn before she vanished in a puff of smoke.

Different sounds reached her ears as she appeared again. Alarms and orders, cries of surprise, the faint screeches of buckling bulkheads, transmitted through the ship’s frame. But Evelyn didn’t wait for them to process her arrival, not as one hand drew her energy blade, and the other her pistol.

By the time the smoke cleared, Evelyn was already spinning, the crimson blade in one hand taking form just in time to remove the head of the elven man at the tactical station. She thought she saw a faint look of surprise on his face as his head left his neck, but she didn’t care. No, she was too busy putting a few energy bolts into the woman next to him, the one Evelyn sensed magic from.

The woman’s armor stopped the first two blasts. It didn’t stop the third or the fourth, and the woman crashed to the floor, spitting blood as she spasmed. The man in the captain’s chair started to stand, his helmet snapping shut, but Evelyn was already on top of him. He didn’t have time to draw a weapon, and Evelyn wasn’t about to let him stand. Fortunately, while the main armor plates of his armor would probably do a decent job of protecting him, that didn’t apply to his joints.

Evelyn’s blade cut through the back of his right leg, ripping through servos and flesh alike, and the man screamed in pain as he fell backward, the stench of burnt meat beginning to fill the air, then he froze as Evelyn pushed the barrel of her pistol against his faceplate.

“Surrender, or I will kill every last one of you space trash,” Evelyn told him, her voice as hard as diamondsteel.

The man froze, then muttered, his voice radiating pain and fear. “Y-yes’m.”

Chapter 14

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us, Evelyn. If you ever need anything we can provide, and I do mean anything, just let us know,” Ash said, hugging Evelyn as tightly as she could, which caused Evelyn to laugh softly.

“You’re welcome, Ash. Helping you was my pleasure,” Evelyn told her, carefully hugging the dryad in return, as she was feeling far better at this point.

The last day had been oddly satisfying for Evelyn. After the crew of Bloodskull had surrendered, at least those wise enough to listen to their captain, Evelyn had gotten the information she wanted. The pirates had been hired by one of the senators personally to get rid of the dryads. Senator Kallim had been foolish enough to let the pirates get evidence as well, which Evelyn thought was particularly stupid. She wasn’t going to object, though. It certainly made dealing with Janton easier.

When Evelyn had contacted Janton’s government, they’d tried to bluster, of course. Even once she’d shared her evidence, they’d simply ordered the arrest of the senator in question and had tried to claim that since it was the action of an individual member of the government, they weren’t in violation of their contract with Worldwaker. While that wasn’t true, Evelyn hadn’t been in the mood to argue technicalities with them. No, she’d instead chosen one of the ironclad terms of the agreement, and the one which was most damning.

She’d bluntly pointed out that even if Kallim hadn’t violated the contract on the government’s behalf, which she most certainly had, they’d failed in their duty to ensure Worldwaker’s safety. They were obligated to have a ship in position to assist within ten minutes, and the closest warship had been nearly forty minutes away when accounting for transmission time. They didn’t have a leg to stand on, since none of their ships would have been able to get there within ten minutes… and which also put them in default, and gave the dryads claim to the entire planet.

Unfortunately, in Evelyn’s opinion, Ash and the others were far too nice for their own good. They were willing to re-enter a new contract with the government of Janton, but only with certain conditions… which included removing the dwarves from the planet, guaranteeing certain non-pollution standards, and the most ruthless thing they could have done in some ways, tripling the amount of land they’d receive when terraforming was complete. The senators had moaned and screamed, but then Fya and Sunbeam’s interview with the local media had aired, and the senators suddenly had far more to worry about on the ground.

Since they were trying to avoid recall attempts, the government had already capitulated, and it was time for Evelyn and the others to go. Though they also had a brand-new engineer.

“You’re sure that you want to let Willow go?” Evelyn asked after a moment, glancing at the shuttle, where she could see the pretty dryad carefully buckling her three miniature apple trees into seats. Yes, miniature apple trees, complete with miniature apples. One of them even had an independent environmental bubble that was designed to block out everything from poisons to radiation. Unlike the other dryads, Willow’s hair was bright pink, which matched her eyes, and Evelyn wondered how that had happened, since dryad hair colors normally varied based on the current season where they lived.

“Let? If I didn’t have too much to do, and weren’t so old, I’d have offered to be your ship’s engineer myself,” Ash said, grinning broadly. “Not that I’d be better than her. Willow is an excellent engineer and bioengineer, better than I’ve ever been. Just don’t let her work on people, hm? She’s specialized in flora, not fauna. That’s Fern’s job.”

“If you say so. Thank you, Ash,” Evelyn told her, giving the dryad another hug, which the dryad returned, then set her down. “In any case, we’d better get moving. I want to get to Skaloth before the next phase of their competitions start.”

“Alright, but keep our offer in mind! We’ve let all the other dryads and fey know what you did. Most of them will even appreciate it!” Ash told her, laughing and waving as Evelyn stepped back, moving to board the shuttle.

“I will!” Evelyn replied, then glanced at Willow. “Everything packed?”

“Yep!” the dryad chirped, grinning at her. “My tree and emergency trees are all secure, my luggage is stowed, and I’m ready for some excitement!”

“Well, given that you’re going to be aboard a ship with Fya, that’s pretty much inevitable,” Evelyn replied dryly, though she smiled as well. Triggering the ramp to retract and the shuttle to seal, she asked. “Ryth, ready to get us back to the ship?”

“Ready and waiting. I just need the two of you to get yourselves into seats,” the angel replied serenely. “The apple trees being safe doesn’t mean the two of you get a pass.”

“Alright,” Evelyn replied, shaking her head as she settled into the nearest open seat and secured herself in place. She might be the captain, but she wasn’t foolish enough to ignore basic safety instructions, not when it wasn’t an emergency.

Now she just had to recover from her magical exertion, and everything would be great.

* * *

Djinn’s Gift was underway, Willow was settled in and exploring her engine room, and all the cargo was stowed, which meant it was finally time for Evelyn to take a nap. It’d been a long day, and she was tired. She stepped into her quarters… and stopped abruptly, seeing something different immediately.

Sitting on her table was a large wooden vase. In the vase were dozens of flowers, no, even more than that, Evelyn thought, and after a moment stepped forward, studying the vase carefully, though the materials told her who was responsible. There were over a hundred flowers in the vase, and if Evelyn had to guess, there would be a hundred and sixteen or a hundred and seventeen, depending on whether Willow had participated or not. The flowers were all perfect and beautiful, exuding their own perfumes as lilacs, roses, plums, tulips, and daffodils sat alongside each other. In front of the vase was a card, and Evelyn picked it up.

Thank you.

The caption was simple, and it put a smile on Evelyn’s face as she took another deep breath, then nodded happily to herself.

“I do adore dryads,” Evelyn murmured.

Part II

Skaloth

Chapter 15

“In my experience, the key to an effective combat kit is to make certain it’s large enough to cover most situations you’ll run into, but small enough you won’t have to fumble through it to find the item you’re looking for in an emergency,” Evelyn said, laying her utility belt on the table as she spoke. “It won’t do you a damned bit of good to have a hundred items for every contingency if you can’t find the one you need. Admittedly, my kit is even smaller than I’d recommend, mostly due to how flexible my magic is.”

Ilyra nodded, sitting down across the table from Evelyn, while Moon and Star watched curiously from the next table over, and Fya giggled under her breath over by the cabinets. Ilyra looked at her own belt, which was currently bare, and asked. “So, what do you have in your kit?”

“Good question,” Evelyn said, smiling warmly at her, then began opening compartments. “First are the two items which aren’t actually in the kit. In my armor are two specially enchanted gemstones which each can hold up to twenty percent of my maximum mana, and which I can absorb energy from when I need it. They’re also enchanted to resist most forms of mana drain, in case I end up in a mana void or the like. In emergencies they could also be used as incredibly expensive improvised explosives. While we’ll need to get you a gem or two, I wouldn’t hold your breath on getting one soon. They’re just too hard to find.”

“I believe it,” Ilyra said, flinching slightly. “I… can’t imagine how expensive something that could hold that much mana would be.”

“I don’t like thinking about it, either,” Evelyn agreed, setting down a dozen capsules first, followed by a small comm unit. “These are nutrient capsules. Magically enhanced, they allow you to subsist without food or water for a day each. Taste terrible, but you can swallow them whole. The comm unit has a longer range than our implants and is primarily for situations like getting stranded.

“Then we have two environmental capsules, which create an environmental bubble a person can survive inside for up to a week even in space. Better hope you aren’t claustrophobic, and that you don’t run into something like a micrometeorite, since they’re fragile,” Evelyn continued, placing the two larger devices on the table, each with a button covered with a thumb-shield at the top of oblong bodies. Next, she pulled out an extendable knife, a couple of grenades, and three ampules of red liquid with attached injectors. “Survival knife, far better for survival situations and the rare instances that I need a weapon which isn’t energy or magic based. Though most of the time I can just throw rocks at the target. Plasma grenades, for when I need a non-magical energy blast. These are mid-grade healing potions, though they aren’t very effective on me, with how powerful my body is. They’ll stop bleeding, but that’s about it, so I mostly carry them for other people I want to keep alive. That said… Fya! How many healing potions do we have in stock?”

“Let’s see… looks like five more are in here,” Fya said, rummaging about the cabinet and clicking her tongue. “I swear we had more than that, but I haven’t checked recently. Not since, oh, a year before leaving Rakal?”

“Not surprising,” Evelyn said, but stopped at how the others were staring at her. “What?”

“Why would you have that many potions on-hand?” Star asked incredulously. “I mean, if they don’t do much for you…”

Fya began giggling maniacally, and Evelyn rolled her eyes, letting out an aggravated sigh. “You wouldn’t believe how many people manage to hurt themselves when in a weapon shop. The worst offender has to be the human woman who activated the energy blade with it pointed directly at her eye. I’m startled she survived. Anyway, I would give them healing potions, then charge them for their cost. Unless they wanted to suffer with the consequences of their stupidity.”

“Oh,” Moon said, looking a little green. “Did you, um, have anyone die?”

“Nope. Though it was close a few times,” Evelyn said, grimacing at the memories. “Either way, please make a note to pick up another fifteen when we have a chance, Star? I like to have a healthy number on-hand just to be safe. No, make it… twenty-seven. That’s enough for everyone to have two each, ten in medbay, and ten for the Dolls to carry for emergencies.”

“I can do that,” Star agreed, smiling in relief as her eyes grew distant for a moment, obviously logging it in her implants or on the ship’s systems. After a second, she continued. “Done. I assume you want the same grade?”

“That’s right. Effective enough to close critical wounds on any of you and stop my bleeding, but not so expensive that it’d beggar an average family to take one,” Evelyn confirmed, then shook the thought off as she continued. “Anyway, the last item in my kit, aside from my weapons and armor, is Plan Z.”

Evelyn carefully set the last ampule on the table, and Ilyra stared at it, frowning. Then she looked up at Evelyn curiously.

“So… what’s ‘Plan Z?’” she asked.

“Nothing I ever want to take,” Evelyn said, grimacing. “It’s a magical cocktail designed to make sure you stay on your feet and cognizant through damn near anything. Problem is, it’s incredibly stressful for your body, and even if you weren’t going to drop afterward, when it wears off you’re going to be on the floor and in need of medical attention. Yes, that includes me. But… it’s five minutes of being a juggernaut that doesn’t feel pain, ignores sedatives, and more. So, I have it, just in case of emergencies.”

“That… sounds unpleasant,” Ilyra said, frowning at the ampule. “Do I need something like that?”

“I sure as hell hope not,” Evelyn said firmly. “Yes, you’re going to be fighting solo in Skaloth’s arenas, but that’s just so you know how to handle yourself if you’re on your own. I want you to stay with the others in dangerous situations, just so you can cover one another’s backs. Besides, this is too expensive to supply to all of you. I’ve only got two doses, for that matter.”

“And believe me, unless you’re as strong as she is, you’re probably not going to get much use out of it,” Fya chimed in, shaking her head. “It wouldn’t do anything for me, I’m made of magic. Maybe Zel could use it, but everyone else? Nah.”

“Alright. So… what’re you putting into Ilyra’s kit?” Moon asked curiously. When Evelyn looked at her, the redhead blushed, then admitted. “I’m curious because, well… if I decide to learn how to fight properly, rather than just visiting the firing range, I’m curious what I should have on me.”

“Fair enough,” Evelyn conceded, then promptly split her gear into two sections, with one of the healing potions, the grenades, and Plan Z in one of them. She pointed at the larger section and spoke. “That much should be part of your kit. I’d add both a melee weapon and pistol to your gear as well, and a climbing wire, grappling hook, and wire climber. Beyond that… possibly an environmental shield, but if you have your armor you don’t need that. I don’t need the wire or such because my magic compensates for it.”

“Alright, that all seems reasonable, and it shouldn’t weigh too much,” Ilyra said slowly, frowning. “I’m just not sure about the weapons. I’m getting better at shooting, but I don’t have much training with a melee weapon.”

“And that’s why I’m going to train you on the way to Skaloth!” Fya replied cheerfully. “If we left you like you are, you’d lose every match when someone got up close! You need to be able to dodge, if nothing else. Blocking is good, too!”

“If you say so,” Ilyra said apprehensively, looking like she was having second thoughts at how enthusiastic Fya was. “You’re going to go easy on me, right?”

“It’ll be good for you, promise!” Fya assured her, grinning broadly.

“That wasn’t a ‘yes,’ Fya,” Ilyra replied, prompting a chuckle from Evelyn.

“Um, do you mind telling us about Skaloth?” Moon asked.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, sitting back in her chair, then asked. “Oh? Why? All the information I know is in the ship’s database. You could look it up easily enough.”

“Yes, but you make it far more interesting and understandable,” Star chimed in. “We’d probably have to take hours to dig out all the information you could tell us in a few minutes.”

“Of course,” Evelyn said, looking at the ceiling for a couple of moments, then shook her head, laughing softly. “Well, I suppose there isn’t any helping it. You want to tell them, Fya?”

“Nope! This is your crew, and they’re in your harem. Some things are your responsibility,” Fya replied, ignoring Evelyn’s rude gesture.

Evelyn reached out mentally, and the lights in the break room dimmed slightly, then a hologram of a planet appeared in mid-air, one with numerous cities dotting its surface, possessing about an equal proportion of land and water, and plenty of mountains.

“Alright, in that case… here we are, Skaloth,” Evelyn said briskly. “The last census I have data on was five years ago, and they had about one and a half billion sentients living there, with another quarter-billion scattered throughout the system, which has a robust infrastructure. Janton wishes they could be a tenth as successful as Skaloth. The system is predominantly orcish, who compose seventy-eight percent of the population, but they have eleven percent humans, with the remainder split between other species. Apparently the aquana have been invited to colonize the oceans, but the nasty tides from a large moon have made them hesitant.”

“I was curious, why an orcish world? There are others with arenas, right?” Moon asked, leaning forward as she examined the hologram, and both Fya and Ilyra had grown quiet as well.

“There are, but most of them don’t focus on nonlethal fights. Only two met my qualifications within a reasonable distance, and while Famir is about as good and even exchanges fighters with Skaloth, they don’t have a wyrmgate. That was the deciding factor,” Evelyn explained, smiling a little more as she added, “Also, Skaloth is one of the, oh, thirty percent of orcish worlds which defy the usual stereotypes. They’re a robust republic and are known for their monthly competitions. They have extensive, monthly contests to help focus the competitive drive most orcs possess, and around it they’ve built an impressive support structure, including an R&D community that does excellent work on both cyber- and bio-mods to make individuals stronger, faster, tougher… you can guess the rest. They’re a modern, sophisticated planet, and very welcoming of outsiders. If you’re willing to push yourself, you’d probably fit in there.”

“So, um, these arenas… are they for the competitions?” Ilyra asked, her nervousness only seeming to grow.

“Not directly,” Evelyn told her, a bit of evil anticipation rising up inside her. “Oh, there are gladiatorial contests, don’t get me wrong, but they aren’t part of these arenas. On the other hand, plenty of people enter the same ones we’ll be visiting to train for the competitions. You’re going to be up against some people who’re as experienced as you, as well as some who’ve been training since they were able to walk.”

Ilyra winced, swallowing hard as she murmured. “I… think that this could hurt. A lot.”

“That’s rather the point. Pain teaches you what to avoid,” Evelyn said mercilessly. “Now, if I was truly cruel, I’d make you compete in arenas where death occurs, then I’d have you resurrected if you died. Those arenas normally have the magi who can revive competitors on hand to do so for an unpleasant fee. The risk of death tends to help one concentrate wonderfully.”

“Um, why does it sound like you’re speaking from experience?” Star ventured, frowning uneasily.

“Because I am,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “I told you about how I left home. I very nearly died, you know… it isn’t like I realized that the two who tried to kill me were going to do so. It was a very near thing. As for after that, my magic teacher enjoyed arenas herself. Why, if we’re very unfortunate, she’ll be in attendance on Skaloth. Under the rules they use, I’m not sure I can beat her. My usual method to take her down would be overwhelming force, which would be against their rules.”

“Is she that scary?” Moon asked, a smile creeping up onto her face, and Evelyn grimaced.

“Scary? No, she’s pleasant enough most of the time. But in a fight she’s sneaky, underhanded, and will do whatever it takes to gain an advantage,” Evelyn said, letting out a sigh. “Regardless, I hope we don’t run into her in the arena. Outside would be fine, but in the arena would be… frustrating.”

“If you say so,” Ilyra said, and grimaced as she nodded slowly. “So… target practice?”

“That’s right! For me!” Fya chimed in cheerfully, and with a snap of her fingers, a rifle appeared in her hands. It was a large-bore affair that had a canister of paint-filled balls attached to it. Evelyn considered the laser sight attached to the gun to be rather silly. Fya would be able to aim just as well without it, all it would do was make Ilyra more anxious.

“Uh…” Ilyra froze, her eyes wide, and Evelyn cracked a smile.

“Not in the break room, get down to the training salle first,” Evelyn quickly ordered, nodding to Ilyra. “You two have fun, I’ll get your utility belt put together, or as much of it as we can manage.”

The celestine almost visibly wilted as Fya began giggling.

Chapter 16

A little while later things had calmed down. Ilyra had limped off in the direction of her room to wash off some of the paint, then to get Vaneryth to heal the numerous welts that Fya’s gun had left behind. Not before Evelyn had delivered her utility belt and new sidearms, though. After some thought, Evelyn had chosen a collapsible shock baton and a simple energy pistol for the celestine, since she didn’t have much in the way of upper body strength yet.

Now it was just her, Moon, and Star. Evelyn had given in to Moon’s gentle suggestion that she come to the kitchen to help out, even if she didn’t really understand why. Both women were better cooks than her. That included Star, who was an accountant by trade.

That didn’t stop her from dicing the carrots for them. She didn’t even complain.

“So, why are we going to Skaloth? Just for Ilyra’s training?” Star asked, stirring the contents of her pot as she peered in at it thoughtfully.

“Mostly, yes,” Evelyn replied, setting the carrot she’d finished aside, then picked up an onion, asking. “How do you want this? Chopped, minced, or diced?”

“Minced, please,” Moon said distractedly, her attention focused on searing the meat. She was listening closely enough, Evelyn thought, smiling wryly as she got to work.

“And the other reasons?” Star asked, setting the spoon aside and moving around the table to where the roll dough had been rising. “You can’t be doing it just for that.”

“You’d be surprised,” Evelyn said, shaking her head at their distrust. “It isn’t like I have anything on the schedule, you know. I could go haring off into the unknown tomorrow without batting an eyelash. The biggest source of concern is all of you, if I’m being honest. I could easily see you getting into situations that are over your heads, so if she wants to improve herself, I’m not going to argue. Beyond that, do remember what I told you… I like fighting sometimes. I’m going to enjoy myself in the arena. Maybe I’ll upgrade the gym equipment, too… I can’t push myself with what we have.”

“Only you’d say that. None of us can push the equipment even halfway to its limit. Not even Zel,” Star said, shaking her head as she worked. “Anyway… you surprise me sometimes. I thought… well, I thought that you’d be more upset that Cherys and Nadia were staying aboard. You didn’t seem thrilled by Nadia.”

“She hasn’t tried to bite my ears like the last little menace I made the mistake of trying to take care of, so I’m willing to give her some benefit of the doubt,” Evelyn replied tartly, pushing the onions aside so she could work on the celery. “As for what she wants… if Cherys is serious about wanting to push herself and grow as much as possible, who am I to stand in her way? I like seeing ambition like that.”

“So, do you think we’re being too conservative?” Star asked, finally looking at Evelyn, a trace of a frown on her face. Evelyn snorted, shaking her head firmly.

“Of course not. You’re doing what you feel you need to in order to improve yourselves. You want to become a chef, but you’re also adding biosciences skills on top of that, and I do get reports from the shooting range, you know. Your statistics have improved dramatically over the last few weeks,” Evelyn said, and gestured at Star as she continued. “Star is doing well, too. She’s trying to improve and did a good job of getting replacement supplies on Janton in the limited time we had. Couple that with her other skills… well, if anything I’m worried that the two of you are pushing too hard on the academic front. Some people have a limit to how much knowledge they can absorb via implants without causing issues, at least in a short timeframe. It could be worth trying to vary things a little more.”

“Um, is that why you read romance novels? And are working on some game?” Star asked, her smile growing a little more, and Evelyn cleared her throat, firmly stepping on the hints of embarrassment that were trying to well up inside her. There was nothing to be ashamed of, even if she did want to use Fya for target practice of her own for a bit.

“No, those are because I enjoy them,” Evelyn corrected, finishing with the celery and setting her knife aside. “I’ve honestly been comfortable with my skills for a while, so I haven’t been trying to push myself recently. The incident aboard the senne station, though… that made me reconsider. I won so easily because the woman was overconfident and had poor combat skills relative to her power. If she’d been competent, I’d have had an incredibly rough time, and she might have been able to kill me. I’m going to be working on improving as well.”

“Ooh, that sounds promising!” Zelirana said, the succubus poking her head into the kitchen. The succubus paused, taking an appreciative sniff of the aromas, then stepped inside fully. “So, can any of us join in these arena fights?”

“As long as you follow the rules, I don’t mind,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “Personally, I think that if multiple of you are going to participate, a team-based competition would be in order. You’re all part of the crew, after all.”

“Very true,” Zelirana said, looking at the stove in interest, then asked. “So… do you mind if I sleep with Willow, Evelyn?”

“It’s entirely up to you,” Evelyn told her without blinking, and she took a step back as Moon reached for the vegetables she’d cut. “I didn’t object when most of you slept with the dryads, I’m not going to start being a control freak now.”

“Excellent!” the succubus almost hissed, her smile widening still more. “Did you know she’s both male and female?”

“She’s bisexual, then? Not too surprising… if I remember right, apple trees are the same way, and some dryads take after their trees,” Evelyn said, pausing to consider for a moment, then shrugged. “No, I wasn’t aware. Not that it matters. Please, just don’t get pregnant or get her pregnant? That would be quite awkward.”

Both Moon and Star paused, staring at Evelyn and Zelirana.

“What?” Evelyn asked after a moment, feeling a bit confused.

“Um… bisexual? Doesn’t that just mean attracted to both genders?” Moon asked hesitantly, prompting Evelyn to roll her eyes.

Before she could say anything, Star added. “And what do you mean, get her or Zel pregnant?”

“You two are using only one definition of bisexual, there are multiple. Really, Moon, this is something which comes up in biology,” Evelyn scolded gently. “It refers to creatures, including plants, which have the characteristics of both genders. Other common terms are androgynous, hermaphroditic, monoclinous and synoecious. Most dryads prefer bisexual, because it’s easier to say.”

“Oh,” Moon said, her cheeks now bright red.

“As for me, I suppose I get to give a basic overview of succubus biology!” Zelirana said, clapping her hands together as she grinned. Before she could get any further, Evelyn quickly interrupted.

“Zel, they’re working on dinner. Keep it quick, and not excessively detailed. I’d rather they didn’t spontaneously combust out of mortification,” Evelyn warned, prompting the succubus to pout and roll her eyes.

“Fiiine…” she said, drawing the word out, then continued briskly, spinning in place as she gestured at her body. “Like virtually all angels and demons, succubi have extremely refined control of our bodies. It allows us absolute control of our fertility, and the ability to reject the effects of most poisons, diseases, and even throw off the effects of many damaging environments. There are limits, of course, but some of them verge on absolute immunities. Unlike most others, the biology of a succubus or incubus is morphic, and if I wanted to, I could be male in about ten seconds, and stay that way indefinitely.”

Zelirana demonstrated by shapeshifting into a tall, broad-shouldered incubus, one with a figure more like a dancer than anything else, and Evelyn’s eyebrows rose a bit. She preferred women, but she had to admit that Zelirana made an incredibly handsome man. Star’s jaw had dropped in the corner of Evelyn’s vision as she stared at the succubus. Evelyn shook her head minutely and was thankful when the succubus changed back to normal.

“Now, beyond that, succubi in particular are naturally both genders. That’s what the tail is for,” Zelirana explained, giving her tail a gentle flick. “Incubi are technically both, but their female organs are usually hidden. Of course, we could take a shape in-between if we want, or take a non-gendered form. I prefer a female form, it matches my personality the best.”

“Oh,” Star said, blushing furiously as she cleared her throat. “I… didn’t have the slightest idea. So, if you wanted to, you and Willow could…”

“Get each other pregnant, yes,” Zelirana confirmed with a grin. “Not that I will. That would be rude and problematic. If she wants it, I’ll discuss it with Evelyn at that point.”

“I guess I need to study more,” Moon murmured, shaking her head.

“Possibly, but just be aware… you don’t want to ask Fya about djinn sexuality. It’ll make your brain hurt,” Evelyn advised her, shaking her head firmly. “The only reason they took gendered forms to begin with was because they decided it would be fun.”

“You… are you serious?” Moon asked, just standing there in a daze.

“Completely. Anyway, I really should check on Willow, so I’ll leave you to this,” Evelyn said, quickly slipping out of the kitchen, Zelirana just ahead of her. Before either of them could speak the door slid shut behind her, and Evelyn gave Zelirana an appreciative smile. “Thank you, by the by. You gave me the perfect excuse to leave.”

“Like you needed an excuse. You own the ship,” Zelirana replied, grinning in a way that caused Evelyn’s libido to stir, then she leaned forward to kiss her. Evelyn returned the kiss, enjoying the skill the succubus demonstrated. After most of a minute they broke it off.

“Mm… perhaps, but it’s also a matter of being polite,” Evelyn said, licking her lips as she carefully controlled herself. No matter how much she wanted to, she would not pin the succubus to the wall right there. Evelyn had some shame, unlike the succubus. “So… how serious are you about Willow?”

Zelirana paused, her tail stopping mid-flick, and the succubus tapped her lips slowly as she looked at the ceiling. It took her a good ten seconds before she nodded, looking back at Evelyn.

“Not very. She’d be a fun occasional bed partner, but she isn’t someone I’m interested in for a long-term relationship. Even if she has the lifespan for it, unlike humans,” the succubus said, shrugging. “You’re a completely different story, and I’m enjoying wrapping Ryth around my little finger. I am being sincere with her, just to avoid any lectures.”

Evelyn closed her mouth, examining the succubus for a second, then shook her head, chuckling softly as she started down the hallway. “You are completely shameless.”

“Wonderful, isn’t it?” Zelirana replied cheerfully, stepping up next to her and slipping an arm through the crook of Evelyn’s elbow. “Shame is for people who have things to hide. Why hide what I am? I’m sex on two legs and am happy to show it. Now, if someone I don’t like wants me? Well… they’ll just have to suffer with their frustration.”

“Mm, and what if I want to exchange my succubus for a newer model?” Evelyn teased, quirking an eyebrow at Zelirana. The succubus scowled at her, then batted her eyelashes at Evelyn.

“I think that you’d be disappointed in them. They’d likely be shallow, poorly behaved, and entirely unappreciative of your power and skills,” Zelirana said, sniffing softly. She paused for a moment, then added in a matter-of-fact tone. “Besides, I’d probably murder them early on to keep them from winding up in charge. Demons often are territorial.”

Evelyn laughed, unable to keep her mirth down, and she patted Zelirana’s hand.

“At least you are honest, Zel,” Evelyn said, grinning. “I wouldn’t try to replace you, I promise that much. Summoning demons is dangerous at the best of times, and I don’t have experience with it. Now, if I have the supreme misfortune of coming across another enslaved succubus, we might have words.”

“As long as they know that I’m the ruling succubus of the roost, I’m not going to object,” Zelirana said, shrugging.

Evelyn nodded, but they’d managed to reach engineering while they’d talked, so she paused, asking. “Is she here?”

“She was when I saw her,” the succubus confirmed.

“Excellent,” Evelyn said, and proceeded into engineering… only to stop dead as she saw that essentially all the cowlings covering the equipment had been retracted.

And Willow was nowhere in sight.

Chapter 17

“Willow?” Evelyn asked, her mood shifting from relaxed to ready for combat in a split second.

While it was unlikely that anyone could have stowed away, it wasn’t impossible, not even with modern sensors. Magic and technology could do amazing things, and it was a constant arms race to see who had the better countermeasures. If someone had attacked Willow…

Of course, that was the moment that Willow popped out of a hatch on the opposite side of the main engine, her pink hair curled around several tools, including a precision scanner, and the dryad had an engineering console on one arm, one that was better than just about any implanted gear below tier six or so. Possibly better, if Evelyn knew dryads, and she relaxed marginally.

“Oh, hi! Nice to see you, Captain! Is something wrong?” Willow asked, her hair curling around to reposition the scanner. Her hairs were like tiny, living vines, which amused Evelyn.

“I was more concerned about you, since I walked in and didn’t see any sign of you,” Evelyn replied, glancing around. “Along with all of the cowlings being retracted as well…”

“Oh, that? Sorry, I was just finishing up my examination of the drives. Got a fair bit of tuning I need to do, as well as adjusting some of the settings…” Willow said, climbing out of the hatch fully as she stretched. The dryad had chosen a form-fitting outfit for her uniform, which Evelyn realized was a good choice after a moment. A lot of engineering had hard to reach places, which would make bulky clothing likely to catch on things. That could be dangerous.

“Ah. I didn’t think the ship was in poor shape. The Dolls have been performing maintenance according to the ship manuals,” Evelyn said, frowning at the information, and she tapped her leg, considering what to do. She thought the engineering chips for the Dolls were high-quality, but if they weren’t, that would be a problem. With that in mind, she asked. “Do I need to get them different engineering chips?”

“Oh, you misunderstand! They’ve done good work, and based on what I’ve seen, engineering was in near-flawless condition,” Willow said, flashing a bright smile as Evelyn relaxed again. “No, the problem is the ship manuals themselves.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Zel said, frowning.

“Not as bad as you might think, though if I leave things as they are, you’re going to have much higher maintenance costs,” Willow said, clicking her tongue as she patted the nearest engine cowling. “Take the engines, for instance. They’re tuned to be quite powerful, but they’re not as energy efficient as they could be if you tune them just a little more finely. That means they take more power, and they’re not quite perfectly synched. So the engines and power junctions wear out a little earlier, which means more parts costs, which makes more profits for the manufacturers. Ships are full of these sorts of things, and as long as they’re careful not to cut into safety margins, ships without really good engineers never notice.”

“You know a lot about this sort of thing, don’t you?” Evelyn said, smiling slowly as appreciation washed over her. “I’m a little surprised, since dryad ships work differently.”

Willow made a note on her engineering console, then pressed a button. All around the room, the cowlings slid back into place, and she nodded in satisfaction before looking at Evelyn, grinning.

“Oh, not as much as I’d like when it comes to hands-on experience, but I did a lot of research. I had a subscription to Dagrun’s VR Engineering Challenges from the time I was twenty and managed to crack every one of them,” Willow said, though the dryad hesitated before admitting. “Well, eventually. It took me a decade to manage one particularly nasty sim… it was really, really diabolical. Anyway, I’ve seen the engineering rooms of everything from a goblin tramp freighter to a draconic warworld, and I got some practice with a few of our visitors. All the equipment for terraforming helped me get live experience, too.”

Evelyn nodded in understanding, though a tiny part of her wished that she’d known that Willow didn’t have a lot of live experience with engineering before hiring her… not that it would have changed her decision. She also didn’t know the engineering challenges in question, but based on the way Willow talked about them, Evelyn would have to look it up later. She suspected they were particularly nasty just from the description.

“Fair enough,” Evelyn said, meandering over to look at the equipment, considering for a second before nodding slowly. “Though I suppose I should’ve expected something like this. It isn’t like weapons or armor come perfectly tuned from the manufacturer either. I have to fit armor to the wearer and adjust its settings, while the weapons require fine-tuning, particularly when it comes to their targeting systems.”

“Exactly!” Willow said enthusiastically, pointing a wrench at Evelyn. “Though I have to say, the weapons and shields are the exceptions. The weapon mounts might need a little tuning and adjustments, but the guns and shield generators have been tuned just about perfectly. I’m sure I might be able to squeeze a tiny bit more efficiency out of them if I spent a few weeks tweaking them, but I doubt it’d last much past the first time they were fired. I’m impressed at whoever tuned them for you.”

A smile crept onto Evelyn’s face again as pleasure washed over her, and she nodded. “Thank you. It’s nice to hear when someone appreciates your work.”

“Wait, that was you?” Willow demanded, her head whipping around, an expression of disbelief on her face. “How’d you do it? The accelerator cannons alone are incredibly tricky to get to that good of performance, and I could tell no one tuned them again after you shot up the pirates! I’d have expected far more problems afterwards.”

“Oh, believe me, when it comes to her guns, I wouldn’t bet for many people if they were up against Evelyn,” Zel said, smirking broadly. “She may not be as skilled in starship maintenance, but guns, shields, and personal armor?”

“I ran a high-end, relatively exclusive weapon shop for several years. If I didn’t know how to use them, I wouldn’t have had half the business I got,” Evelyn said, smiling a little more as she added. “I should show you the armory one of these days. Now, as for your questions, why don’t we go into them in a little more detail, so I can answer you properly?”

“Oh, please!” Willow exclaimed, and some of her curls jumped in enthusiasm, even if the dryad didn’t.

Chapter 18

“So, what’s the job looking like, Rees?” Barrvyth asked, running a polishing cloth along his sword carefully. Despite his care, Reesa could see the blade was cutting through the part of the cloth that touched the edge. Without looking away, the half-orc continued. “We taking it?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Reesa said, circling the couch and flopping back onto it, almost hitting Gol’s feet. The dwarven woman grunted in surprise, pulling her feet off the couch. The next moment she cleared her goggles, the lenses going from dark to clear in a moment, showing a pair of blue eyes. “It’s questionable enough that I decided to bring it back for you guys to give your opinions.”

That caught everyone’s attention. Barrvyth paused, then set aside the cloth and sheathed his sword carefully. The blade reflecting his green-hued skin and black hair for a moment, then he set it aside, leaning forward to study her with his dark eyes.

“That’s unusual,” Barrvyth observed after a moment. “We trust you to make decisions, so this has to be pretty risky.”

Gol sat up as well, the blonde dwarf rapping her belt for a second before she murmured, “Very true. You’ve never steered us wrong before.”

“Why don’t you run us through it?” Sarvian asked in his soothing baritone, the purple-haired elven mage turning to face Reesa, his eyes looking like pools of flawless purple. Behind him was his bodyguard and lover, Ragthorn, a half-dragon celestine with skin like polished mahogany and eyes that looked like jade to Reesa. Ragthorn practically never spoke, and true to form, he nodded in agreement.

“Right. Well, this is worse than normal, so first let’s start with the compensation,” Reesa said, smiling slightly as she looked over her fellow adventurers. If the target were almost anyone else in the cluster, she would’ve taken the job without hesitation, but this was different. She inhaled slowly, then continued. “They’re offering a hundred and fifty thousand mythrite for the job, ten percent up-front, the rest in escrow. I asked, and they’ll also include a resurrection fund of thirty thousand mythrite in escrow if we take the job, which will default back to them if it isn’t needed. If we fail after engaging the target, we get an additional fifteen thousand if we decide to call it quits, but lose the rest.”

“Dragon shite,” Barrvyth said, his eyebrows shooting upward, while Gol whistled softly. “That’s thirty thousand each. Why didn’t you take the job?”

“Simple. The target is Evelyn Esendria Tarth,” Reesa said and smiled coldly as a chorus of groans filled the room. Gol covered her face with both hands, and Barrvyth rubbed his cheek.

“That’s… I mean, what the hell are they thinking? Yes, that’s a damned fortune, but she’s eaten every assassin which went after her for breakfast,” Barrvyth said after a moment. “What the hell makes them think this would be any different? For that matter, why didn’t you say no outright? We’ve talked about her before, and decided she was too dangerous to go after.”

“You’re correct, but there are some differences with this situation. For one, the client wants her alive if possible, with a fifty thousand mythrite bonus if we manage it,” Reesa said and smirked at the stare of disbelief she got in return. Ragthorn’s eyebrows had risen so much she thought he was about to say something, but he settled down first. So she continued before they could interrupt. “The biggest difference is the circumstances. The client has several tools for us to use in taking her down, including a spellburn bomb and MEMP. They also have found someone they’ve assured me makes perfect bait to draw her into a trap, and already acquired her.”

“Ah, so taking her out of her element and into an area that we might be able to control. That is… promising,” Sarvian said, tapping his fingers together as he frowned. “The expenditure described… the client is obviously putting enormous resources into this job. The problem is that we have limited information on her combat abilities. If we did take the job, that would make things… difficult.”

“Yes, but she’d be trying to rescue this person alive, right?” Gol said, frowning still more. “That’d limit the damage she could do to the area… it’d definitely help. But the lack of information…”

“That’s another element that was mentioned. I should note that the rep didn’t give me all the details since I hadn’t accepted the job, but he promised that they’d be more forthcoming if we took it,” Reesa told them, flicking a lock of hair behind one of her ears and leaning forward. “He said something about a group of the bait’s associates being allowed to go free while they tracked them, and that a set of gangers could be hired to acquire them after they sent Tarth a message. As they have access to the camera systems of the gang in question…”

“Aha! Well, that changes things,” Barrvyth said, smiling slightly. “In that case, call me tentatively in favor. If we could take down Evelyn Tarth… hell, forget the payment, we’d be famous enough that we could get tons of work.”

“Um, I don’t know… call me against it,” Gol said after a moment of thought. “I won’t object if everyone else decides to do it, but I’m not sure I want to tangle with someone who has her reputation.”

“Believe me, I’m hesitant, too, but…” Reesa paused, thinking about the money involved for a second before shrugging. “Eh, doesn’t matter. I’ve got some personal reasons for wanting the money. It’s tempting, but not worth pushing all of you into. What do you think, Sarvian?”

“I think that this is dangerous, foolhardy… and exciting,” Sarvian said, smiling slowly. “I’ve heard tales of her power, and while I wouldn’t be willing to face her normally, with the proper preparations… I’m curious to see if I can overpower her. I’m in favor. Ragthorn?”

The man considered for a moment, then gave a thumbs up, smiling slightly.

“Alright, then,” Reesa said, as the vote was pretty much settled at that point, and she was honestly relieved not to have to cast the tie-breaking vote. Instead, she stood up again, continuing. “I’ll let them know what we think. That said, if it turns out that their preparations aren’t good enough, I’m fully willing to bail on the job. It’s a job, not a suicide pact.”

“That’s why we trust you, Rees,” Barrvyth said, his smile widening. “I remember what you did to the last employer who decided that hiring us meant that he owned us. He needed regenerative treatments, as I recall.”

“He deserved it,” Reesa said, shuddering at the memory. “I’ve never met a slimier, more repulsive ‘noble’ in my life. His family would be better off without him in their gene pool.”

“As if the senator was much better,” Gol muttered, shaking her head.

“True,” Reesa admitted, then let out a sigh. “Anyway, I’d better go send the rep our answer. Maybe then we can get enough information to plan properly.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sarvian said, smiling a little. “While you do that, I’ll see if I can’t find any of the recordings I saw of her casting spells. Every bit of information helps, after all.”

“True enough. I’ll see you in a bit,” Reesa said and sighed softly as she headed for the exit.

She might be the best of them at negotiating, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Chapter 19

“We’re closer to the rim, right?” Ilyra asked, staring at the screens in disbelief. “Not the core?”

“That’s correct. We are approximately three wyrmgate jumps, or ninety-seven AU, from the star systems colloquially known as the rim,” Adria confirmed, her voice betraying no surprise.

“If that’s the case, why does it look like there’s ten times the infrastructure compared to Nald?” Ilyra asked, turning to look at Evelyn as she waved at the screen. “There’s just so much out there!”

Evelyn just smiled and shrugged, her response calm. “There could be any number of reasons. Maybe the people who founded Skaloth had better funding and could get more infrastructure in place to begin with. Maybe they have better resources available, maybe they’re in an ideal spot for trade in their cluster that’s better than Nald is… there are plenty of possibilities. I couldn’t say for sure.”

Ilyra gave her a skeptical look, but turned back to the screens, still not quite believing what she was seeing.

The astral around Skaloth had given her a few clues of what was coming, though it was different enough from Nald that she hadn’t quite been sure what was going on. There wasn’t a single massive fortress guarding Skaloth, instead there were a few dozen smaller installations, some of them refineries, and a shoal of smaller warships guarding the area. That was explained by there being numerous mining ships darting about the region, working on some of the planetoids that were in Skaloth’s vicinity. The dozens of ship signatures had been the first clue that Ilyra had really noticed, but they paled compared to what she’d found in normal space.

The system, called Vrenkal, had two habitable planets, though one of them was marginal and looked like it was in the process of being terraformed. Skaloth had the most infrastructure, but it was hardly alone, as there were a couple of stations under construction around the sun-blasted inner planet nearest the yellow sun, and more activity could be seen in a large debris belt orbiting a gas giant in the outer system.

Around Skaloth wasn’t a single space station, but six stations, each on the end of a space elevator. While none of the stations were individually as large as the one around Nald, two of them together came close. That didn’t even consider the shipyard that Ilyra had spotted a bit farther from the planet, or the activity she could see buzzing around a nearby wyrmgate. Why, there was even a full draconic outpost near the wyrmgate, which Nald hadn’t possessed.

In all, it was a stunning display of industry, especially with the cities she could see dotting the planet surface, starships and shuttles moving about the system, and habitats under construction. Ilyra hadn’t ever seen anything like it, since Brightdawn didn’t have even as much infrastructure as Nald.

“I’d say this is getting closer to what you’d expect for one of the core worlds,” Fya said after a few seconds, obviously taking pity on Ilyra. “A lot of them have tons of infrastructure. Isn’t that right, Moon, Star?”

“Um, I’m not sure if I’d say that much… this is starting to rival Corrida,” Star said, pausing for a moment before she laughed, shaking her head. “Though if you take into account that Corrida doesn’t have a wyrmgate, things change.”

“Yeah!” Moon agreed, grinning. “This looks like it’ll be interesting! Corrida doesn’t have space elevators… will we be taking those to the surface?”

“Almost certainly,” Evelyn said, her smile fading as she looked at Adria. “How does scheduling look like to you?”

“Estimated time to assigned parking orbit, fourteen minutes, Captain. While it is possible to schedule a shuttle flight to the planet surface, all non-emergency flights are required to be scheduled a minimum of twelve hours out, and slots around the time you would wish to arrive or leave are extremely difficult to come by,” Adria reported calmly. “Conversely, the stations have large numbers of docking ports, and the elevators run continuously, while possessing large passenger capacities. They are also less expensive, and do not require customs to come aboard and ensure that we aren’t carrying contraband before sending a shuttle to the surface.”

Evelyn winced, then nodded, murmuring. “Yes, that doesn’t sound like it would be pleasant. I assume we’ll have to go through security when boarding the stations?”

“Yes, Captain,” Adria confirmed, bowing her head slightly. “It does, however, appear to be somewhat less restrictive when compared to many other systems. While they draw the line at mid-sized power armor, heavy weapons, and grenades, the authorities allow those with less dangerous weapons to travel to the surface so long as they declare all weaponry beforehand.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Ilyra said hopefully, then paused, frowning. “Wait… that means other people can be armed, too.”

“Yes, it does,” Evelyn said, smiling. “It’ll be useful for helping you stay aware, won’t it?”

“I don’t know about useful…” Moon murmured, looking unhappy. “So… when are we going to the surface?”

“As soon as we can arrange passage,” Evelyn replied immediately. “We have to get you four to the arena so they can test you and figure out where to place you, and to get you fitted for appropriate arena gear. Using off-the-shelf gear is not allowed, not when I’m your sponsor. That’s a good way to get yourselves seriously injured.”

“Alright,” Ilyra said, looking at Moon and Star nervously, and they returned her gaze. It surprised her that they looked even more anxious than she did… it was only Vaneryth who hadn’t grown more anxious as they approached Skaloth, which was probably part of why the angel wasn’t on the bridge watching them approach. Vaneryth was older than any of them, though… possibly older than anyone else aboard the ship.

“We… probably should go get ready, shouldn’t we?” Star asked eventually.

“That’s a good idea, yes,” Evelyn agreed, smiling broadly. “But before you go… remember, don’t shoot first outside the arena, and please try not to get hit. None of you are sturdy enough to take on a powerful orc in melee, so I’d rather you didn’t try.”

“That doesn’t make me any less anxious,” Ilyra murmured.

“Good,” Evelyn said, her smile widening, and Ilyra decided that it was time to leave.

She thought Evelyn looked far too eager for them to reach the planet. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to put Cherys’s lessons to work too quickly. That would be unpleasant.

* * *

Aside from a moment where security had debated on whether or not Evelyn’s energy blade counted as a heavy weapon, getting to Skaloth’s surface had been easy. Seeing the look on Ilyra’s face as they’d stepped onto the main concourse had almost caused Evelyn to start laughing, but she’d avoided it. Barely.

The station’s corridors were a bit larger than average, for a reason that quickly became apparent, as the majority of the inhabitants were green-skinned orcs, many of them looking like bodybuilders. Oh, Evelyn knew that only half of the people aboard the station had been orcish, but it didn’t change how it looked to a certain petite celestine who was about ten centimeters shorter than the average orc, and certainly much narrower in the shoulders.

It was the surface that truly brought home the difference between this world and others, in Evelyn’s opinion. As they descended on the elevator, they’d emerged from the clouds to see the vast complex where Skaloth’s local competitions occurred. She could see the dots of orcs racing along a long, winding triathlon course, others playing sports of various types, what looked to her like a tug-of-war competition, cycling, and even horseback riding.

When they reached the surface, that was when they saw the sections of the walkways set aside for cyclists and joggers, where plenty of locals in business attire were running. Some of them weren’t orcs, but most of them were, and the sheer number of cyclists startled Evelyn. She thought there were even more than the last time she’d visited.

The others were gawking, and Evelyn paused, savoring the clean-smelling air, listening to the sounds of traffic, and watching the suit-clad orc down below arguing with a security bot over his aircar being impounded. It wasn’t going well for the corporate type, as far as Evelyn could tell. The air wasn’t as fresh as the air aboard Worldwaker, but there was something to be said for the scent of civilization.

“This is different than I expected,” Vaneryth said, looking at the skyscrapers curiously. “I believed we would be seeing more of those… what did Fya call them? Arcologies?”

“Oh, she told you about those?” Evelyn asked, glancing at the angel, who was drawing a lot of second looks due to her halo. “Have you ever seen one?”

“I’m afraid not. As I said before, I tended to be summoned, then left quickly. I don’t think I was summoned to the core worlds more than a handful of times,” Vaneryth replied, shaking her head slowly. “I saw pictures of them, though. One was over a kilometer in height.”

“Mm, that means I’ve seen one more than you, then,” Evelyn said, grinning, but stopped as the twins gave her a sidelong look.

“Is… an arcology that surprising?” Moon asked hesitantly. “I think there are eight or nine on Corrida. We saw one a lot, since the university was just outside it.”

“It is this far from the core,” Evelyn told them, a bit of her amusement fading as she let out a soft sigh. “Arcologies take a lot of resources to build, as well as extensive planning. Peldra was in the middle of planning one when I abdicated, and it was expected to take about fifty years to build. I doubt it’s started even now.”

“Huh. I thought you’d have told them to just start,” Moon said, a smile creeping onto her face.

“What, you think I’m one for long-term planning?” Evelyn asked, smiling broadly as she reached over and pulled the human into a one-armed hug. “I’m afraid that I’ve been either coasting along or jumping from one crisis to another since I was twenty. Long-term planning is something that other people do. Or do you really think that I thought things through before capturing Daggerhound?”

Moon’s snicker caused Evelyn’s amusement to grow still more, as did how all of them laughed. Evelyn didn’t mind making jokes at her own expense, especially when they were true. She tried not to be that full of herself, though she often enjoyed using her reputation to terrify overly officious snots.

“That may be true, but… I thought we were trying to get to the arena quickly?” Star prompted, looking at Evelyn in amusement.

“I never said it had to be fast,” Evelyn said, letting go of Moon as she pushed off the wall. “And, as it happens, I wasn’t waiting for no reason. I hailed a cab service for us as soon as we left the elevator, so I was just waiting for a vehicle large enough to get here.”

“Ah, well, don’t I feel silly,” Star said, flushing a little. “I should’ve thought of that. I suppose I thought we’d just hail a cab.”

“Not many cabs have room for five women with weapons and armor, even on Skaloth,” Evelyn replied simply.

“So… will they be here soon?” Ilyra asked, watching a nearby orc nervously.

Evelyn thought that Ilyra was being a little paranoid, honestly. While the man was incredibly muscular and moved with the grace of a dancer, Evelyn didn’t think he was a threat. He likely was a dancer, as a matter of fact. Skaloth was renowned for its incredible ballet program, as the core body strength, self-control, and skill it required appealed to many orcs. As well as elves, ironically enough, and between the two species Skaloth had an amazing ballet program that regularly competed in core world competitions. Not that Evelyn felt any inclination to watch the performances. Her mother had inflicted them on her entirely too often, thank you.

The thought of her mother sent a familiar pang of regret through Evelyn, though the pain was old and well-worn by this point. She just wished that she had some idea of where to start searching for her missing parents… but she shrugged it off, focusing on Ilyra.

“As a matter of fact, I see them pulling into the pickup zone now,” Evelyn said, checking the transponder she sensed via her implants, and projected the beacon into her vision, which she shared with the others. A van-like hovercar began glowing as it circled a couple of smaller vehicles, aiming for a spot that was outlined in soft yellow light. “Shall we?”

“Certainly,” Vaneryth said, stepping toward Evelyn, but before she could reach her, Ilyra darted in and took Evelyn’s hand.

Evelyn just rolled her eyes, not saying anything about the young woman taking her weapon hand. Skaloth was civilized enough that she shouldn’t need it outside the arena.

And if she did, it would end very poorly for the aggressor.

Chapter 20

“So. Which of you are on the team? My data says that we’ve got four applicants, not five,” the half-orc man asked, looking Ilyra over dubiously.

The dark-haired man wasn’t as big as some of the orcs she’d seen on the way down, as he stood a little under two meters, and he certainly wasn’t as broad-shouldered or as muscular. That didn’t mean that he didn’t look powerful, though. He was more… balanced, Ilyra supposed, built for both speed and strength, and his torso and legs were covered by scale-like armor. The one thing that helped her relax was that he had a relatively friendly-looking face, and his brown eyes weren’t that frightening.

They weren’t in the arena itself, either. Not that the building had one singular arena, a fact which had surprised Ilyra. There were seven arenas from what she’d been able to tell, one main one and six smaller ones around the edges of the large building, and the sheer number of people in attendance had been shocking. Then they’d been directed off to what were labeled ‘Testing Rooms’, and they’d come into an area with numerous holographic projectors that Ilyra could see, as well as the man standing in front of her.

“I’m their coach,” Evelyn said after a moment, giving him a lazy smile as she folded her arms in front of her. “While I’m debating what I want to do personally, I don’t believe I’d be appropriate for this arena. Maybe the Grand Arena, but they might not let me compete.”

The man’s eyebrows shot upward as he focused on Evelyn, then they lowered as he looked more closely, his lips curving into a frown. “Wouldn’t let you compete? That would be unusual. You obviously have a high opinion of yourself… regardless, you seem a bit familiar, but I can’t quite place you.”

“I’ll tell you after the evaluation. I’d rather you focused on them,” Evelyn said, grinning broadly as Ilyra shifted from foot to foot nervously. “Ladies, why don’t you introduce yourselves?”

Vaneryth nodded, speaking first in a measured, calm voice. “I am Vaneryth, a minor angel. I have some magic, primarily focused on healing, light spells, and warding, and I’ve been learning ranged combat to back up my skills in melee. I’m modestly skilled, but not particularly powerful.”

“Despite which, she’s by far the most skilled of us,” Star said wryly, nodding to him as she spoke. “I’m Star Wyndred, and I started training via skill chip a few weeks ago. I’m decent with small arms, and light weapons in melee.”

“I’m her sister, Moon, and I’m about the same as Star,” Moon added nervously. “Unless you think that situations in the arena will come down to a cooking challenge, at which point I’ll do great.”

“I doubt that,” Evelyn murmured behind them, and Ilyra saw the man suppress a smile of his own.

“As for me, my name is Ilyra, and I’m a mage. I’ve been training a little with ranged and melee weapons, but I primarily use recovery magic, shields, and some attacks,” Ilyra said, internally wondering if she was really ready for something like this. Probably not, but… it was a bit late to worry about that.

“Hm. Not a bad group, assuming you’re much good. It all depends on how skilled you really are,” the half-orc said, his tone musing as he looked each of them over carefully. Then he smiled slightly, snapping his fingers. “That’s what we’re going to find out, though. Let’s start with you, Ilyra.”

“Me?” Ilyra asked, jumping slightly. “I… what am I supposed to do?”

“You’re going to face a holographic mage in combat,” the man replied, gesturing to a spot behind him, where a holographic orcish woman snapped into existence, wearing light armor and with a staff in hand. A staff that looked like it had electrified striking surfaces to Ilyra. “There’s also an integrated illusion to make it feel real to you, if only for a short time. If you beat the hologram, you’re good enough for the fledgling class, and can challenge the next tier to try to get into the songbird class. Fail, and you’re in the chick class.”

“After your training with Fya, if you end up in chick, I’m going to be very disappointed, Lyra,” Evelyn chimed in dryly.

“I… well, thank you for the vote of confidence?” Ilyra replied, her anxiety ratcheting up a notch.

“Mm… maybe motivation is in order. If you fail, I’ll handle your training personally for a month,” Evelyn said sweetly, and Ilyra’s anxiety turned to terror.

“Right!” Ilyra said, a hand snapping down to draw her shock baton, extending it with a flick of her wrist, then took a step forward. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“That’s certainly one way to give her motivation,” the examiner said, giving Evelyn a sidelong look of skepticism.

Evelyn laughed, looking at Ilyra with a grin, and Ilyra blushed, looking at Moon, Star, and Vaneryth pleadingly. They each gave her a wry smile, and after a moment Star took pity on her.

“It isn’t that we’re abused or anything like that… it’s just that she’s so far out of our league that I think that she could beat us all while sleepwalking. Or maybe while playing a virtual reality game on the side,” Star explained, grimacing. “There’s a reason why she’s had a friend of hers training us instead.”

“Huh. Well, it isn’t like it’s my place to judge,” the man replied, though there was a note of disapproval in his voice that caused Ilyra to flush. He didn’t let her reply, instead looking at the hologram and making a simple gesture as he stepped out of the way and spoke. “Begin.”

For just an instant Ilyra stood there, as did the hologram. Then the hologram raised a hand and began to chant in a strong voice, gesturing quickly and easily… and Ilyra blinked, a bit incredulous at how long the incantation was, compared to the spells that she’d seen from Cherys, Fya, and especially Evelyn. Still, the chant wasn’t long enough for Ilyra to get to the woman even if she wanted to, and she didn’t want to take on an orc in melee.

Lightning crackled in the orc’s hand as the spell completed, and as she pointed, Ilyra took a hop to the right, marveling at how much slower than Fya the woman was. A bolt of lightning lashed through the space Ilyra had occupied a moment before, and the celestine began her own incantation. She focused on a spell she’d practiced extensively with Cherys over the last couple of weeks. She’d wanted a wider variety, but the mage had told her she should focus on mastering a single effective spell to begin with, then expand her repertoire.

“Light undying, pierce my foe!” Ilyra snapped out, her thoughts focused to a laser-like intensity. Much like the beam Fya’s laser sight created, for that matter.

A millimeter-thick beam of white light lanced out of her free hand, so quickly that few people could have dodged it, and it hit the hologram in the chest, blasting through the image instantly, then hit the wall behind it to leave a black mark. A mark which immediately began fading. The hologram faded a moment later, and the evaluator looked at Ilyra, his eyebrows raised.

“Ilyra, you used too much mana, especially for the arenas. Halve the amount and you have an effective weapon, but don’t aim for the chest or head,” Evelyn said, clicking her tongue. “You’re not supposed to be trying to kill anyone, you know.”

“Oh, um, sorry… it’s the first time I used it outside the firing range,” Ilyra said, blushing. “Cherys said that I should master a handful of spells before adding more. Something about being able to use them quickly and easily being better.”

“Good advice, though I agree with her. You’re going to be in a lot of trouble if you kill any contestants. Yes, we keep someone who can revive the dead in the arena, but that doesn’t absolve you if you do,” the half-orc said dryly, examining Ilyra with slightly more respect than he’d shown before. “Do you want to challenge the next class, since you dealt with that one handily enough?”

“Um…” Ilyra paused, looking at Evelyn, who shook her head firmly.

“No. You need to practice your teamwork, and that means working your way up from close to the bottom. If you win a few matches, you’ll be able to move up that way,” Evelyn told her. “The only reason you could pass so easily is because it wasn’t a firearm or melee specialist, since you’d have had a harder time hitting, or getting off your incantation. Jump into a higher class, and you’ll be taken apart before you know what’s happening.”

“Of course,” Ilyra said, a tiny bit relieved. Which she supposed someone else might find odd. On a personal level, she thought of herself as one of the weakest people aboard the ship, so if Evelyn thought she could just jump into the middle ranks of the arena, she would have been concerned. She’d rather get her feet wet and slowly work her way up than get beaten soundly like she did with Fya. It wouldn’t be good for her self-confidence.

Turning her attention back to the evaluator, Ilyra nodded politely, smiling as she collapsed her baton and said, “I’m fine with the fledgling class, thank you.”

“If you say so,” the man said, and looked at Star. “Alright, you next. Are you going to surprise me, too?”

“I honestly have no idea. Along with my sister and Ilyra, we’re the least skilled people on our ship. It’s hard to gauge your progress when you’re comparing yourself with people like that,” Star replied, smiling helplessly at him.

“Well, I suppose we’ll find out,” the man replied, grinning. “Here we go.”

Chapter 21

Everyone had passed the test to get into the fledgling class easily enough, to Evelyn’s satisfaction. They could have gotten into songbird easily as well, and maybe even into the next tier, one which Evelyn couldn’t remember the name of. Some form of bird, of course, but she didn’t usually bother paying attention to the lower classes. Last she was in an arena with similar classifications, she’d been in the equivalent of their roc, phoenix, thunderbird, and nightmare bird tiers.

They’d certainly impressed the examiner, which wasn’t too surprising, in Evelyn’s opinion. When someone trained with Fya, they had to improve quickly if they didn’t want to be on the receiving end of some really nasty pranks.

“Alright, it looks like you’re all qualified for fledgling class. I’ve submitted the paperwork on my end, so you just have to get yourselves appropriate, arena-approved gear and you’ll be able to sign up for matches,” the man said, giving Evelyn a sidelong, skeptical look again. She could tell he was trying to figure her out, and she just… smiled at him. She wasn’t wearing her armor, and while she knew he recognized the energy blade for what it was, she hadn’t moved enough for him to get a grasp on her skill level.

“Excellent, thank you for your help,” Evelyn said, keeping her voice pleasant, and glanced at the others, her smile widening. “Don’t you agree?”

“Certainly. This is a fascinating way to determine skill levels,” Vaneryth said, nodding to the examiner politely. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“You’re welcome. Now, since you said that you were going to wait until they were done to introduce yourself…” the half-orc said, his voice trailing off as he looked at Evelyn.

“All you had to do was ask,” Evelyn replied, pushing away from the wall easily. “I’m Evelyn Esendria Tarth. When I participated in the arenas, I went by the name Crimson Tornado, though I think it’s a touch silly at this point.”

For a moment the man froze, then his eyes lit up with excitement.

“You’re Evelyn? I thought… damn, I’ve seen recordings of your match in the Hadrin Colosseum, when the other team decided that they’d rather break the rules instead of letting you walk away! You crushed all ten of them and their mech, and were able to walk away from it!” the man said, his excitement steadily growing as he talked. “I’m just used to seeing you in your armor, not like this. Practically every gladiator knows about you, at least on Skaloth!”

Evelyn blinked, then grinned, inwardly amused that what she was known for on Skaloth, or at least in their arenas, was for one of the nastiest fights she’d ever been involved in when she was younger. The Hadrin Crushers had been brutal, and she still wasn’t entirely sure how she’d survived the fight. She suspected that her teacher must’ve sabotaged a few weapons mid-fight, but the battle was still something of a blur in her memories.

“The Hadrin Colosseum?” Moon asked, giving both of them a blank look, and Evelyn laughed softly in response.

“Not one that you’d want to go to, since they allow death on the sands. They’re also known for having some of the best gladiators in nearby clusters,” Evelyn told her, smiling wryly as she shrugged. “My memories of the fight are a bit hazy, if I’m being honest. The leader of the Hadrin Crushers gave me a serious run for my money before they ambushed me, so I sometimes wonder how I got through it.”

“You could always watch it again,” the examiner chimed in, almost eagerly. “Hell, the Colosseum didn’t just make recordings of it available, they also did a full VR dive of the fight to let people watch from any angle they want, and there’s also a near-identical setup in the online arenas that people can try out. I’ve only heard of one other person clearing the fight, but it doesn’t stop people from trying.”

“Really? They made a VR challenge out of it?” Evelyn asked, her eyebrows rising in surprise. “And only one person has cleared it?”

“Well, on Skaloth,” he corrected himself, looking a little sheepish as he admitted. “I’m sure other people have in other places. I’ve tried it myself a few times, but I keep getting murdered by the plasma lance. I have no idea how you got out of that one.”

“Oh, I remember that much! I deflected it with a shield instead of trying to block it, and added a thermal layer to the barrier,” Evelyn told him, and grinned as he gave her a skeptical look.

“But you didn’t use any incantations!” he protested.

“Um… Evelyn always says that she doesn’t need incantations, she just uses them because they give additional power to the spell,” Ilyra ventured, looking intrigued as she added. “I didn’t know there were recordings of your fights.”

“If that one is around, I’m sure there are dozens more,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “It isn’t like I was always this powerful, and it took time to get to this point. Remember, there was about a twenty-year gap between my escape and when I took over Peldra.”

“That’s true… I’m going to have to watch a few of them, I think,” Moon said, looking at Star as she grinned.

Evelyn briefly considered reminding them that she’d gone to places where deaths occurred before, but after a few seconds she decided against it. They would figure it out quickly enough, and for all she knew there weren’t any of the particularly bloody fights in the database. She probably wasn’t that lucky, though.

“I’ve got some suggestions if you want them,” the half-orc said, grinning broadly, and Evelyn realized she really did need to get his name. “Plus, there’s a fan club for you, as well as a few copycat teams, though they aren’t as powerful as you are. Not many people are.”

“Copycats?” Evelyn asked, and she reached out through her implants to search for these teams, as well as the fan club. She didn’t know what she should think about the idea. The next moment she got the hit for the fan site, as well as its banner, and the smile on her face froze, growing almost brittle.

“Yes, they tend to use your color scheme, overall, and they try to mix magic and melee weapons, with middling results. Evelyn’s Angels are the most successful team that I know of, and they’ve gone with a slightly different approach, splitting the roles between casters and melee combatants,” the examiner explained cheerfully, a huge grin on his face. He didn’t seem to notice that Evelyn didn’t look as happy as before. “They’ve worked their way up to the roc class, which is really solid.”

“I… understand,” Evelyn said, closing the site for the moment, almost cringing at what little she’d seen in her brief look. She wished she could scrub the memory from her brain. “Well, it sounds like I might get more attention than I expected if I decide to sign up for a match.”

“Oh, there would be competitions for the seats!” he replied, his eyes shining. “Please let me know if you’re going to, I’d love to watch you in person!”

“I’ll do that. In the meantime, we’d best acquire the gear that everyone else needs,” Evelyn replied, gesturing to the others.

Vaneryth was giving her a concerned look, while the others were watching her warily, but at least they didn’t ask her anything in front of the half-orc. That would make this incredibly awkward.

Evelyn really hoped that Fya didn’t see the artwork that was prominent on the fan site. The picture she’d seen was absolutely ridiculous.

Chapter 22

“What has you all wound up?” Ilyra finally asked, looking at Evelyn in confusion.

“Hm?” Evelyn asked, looking up from the gear they were examining.

“You’ve been acting weird ever since we left the exam,” Ilyra said, flushing slightly. “Did something happen?”

“Ah, of course. You’re good at reading people, and I’m not the best actress in the world,” Evelyn said, grimacing slightly. “I suspect that all of you noticed, for that matter.”

“When you go stiff as a board, it is rather obvious,” Moon agreed, and Star nodded, holding up a set of gauntlets with a dubious look on her face.

“I’m mostly surprised that the examiner didn’t notice. Too busy gushing about you, I guess,” Moon said, hefting the gauntlets as she frowned. “These feel… heavy.”

“Not as good of materials as what I equip you with,” Evelyn said, letting out a heavy sigh as she glanced at Vaneryth, a note of resignation entering her voice. “You too, I assume?”

“I expected that if you wanted to share, you would. And if you didn’t want to share, there’s nothing we could do to drag it out of you,” Vaneryth said, weighing the competition sword with a frown of her own.

The shop they were at catered to people who competed in the arenas, and Ilyra was honestly stunned at the sheer variety of gear on hand. Unlike most clothing stores, they couldn’t simply manufacture appropriate equipment on-site. Not without significantly better fabricators than what most shops like this could afford, at least according to Evelyn. That meant they had a wide variety of plain armors of different types, as well as weapons. All of the armor was designed with protection foremost in mind, along with sensors that would be synchronized to the arena.

Ilyra was a little surprised at how everything worked, honestly. Apparently, local custom was to take competition weapons, which were designed to not hit so hard that they would punch through competition armor, and synchronize them to the specifications of a competitor’s equipment. When someone was shot with a pistol, the arena systems would evaluate how badly the weapon would have injured the defender, based on the armor they’d synchronized with. The armor could also disable different sections to simulate combat damage as well. The results of the calculations would determine the match, in the end. It was more complicated for mages, but in the end, it came down to similar rules. Of course, that meant that finding a suit that met the arena’s requirements while allowing the same mobility you were used to was rather important. Evelyn had already rejected several of Ilyra’s choices, muttering something about them not giving her the flexibility she’d need.

Evelyn didn’t say anything for a minute, examining a row of collapsible batons critically before picking one up, hefting it twice, then nodded, handing it to Ilyra. As Ilyra tested its balance, the elf spoke again, but not regarding the baton.

“I made the mistake of looking up the fan club that he mentioned. Let’s just say that I dearly hope Fya doesn’t find out about it… but with her luck, she almost certainly will,” Evelyn said, grimacing slightly. “There was artwork and other material on the front page that were just cringe-worthy, in my opinion.”

Ilyra opened her mouth, then shut it, blinking as concern warred with curiosity… then she gave in to temptation and activated her implants, searching for the fan site in question. As she did so, Star spoke.

“You do realize that we’re going to have to search for it now, right? Curiosity and all of that,” Star said, sounding amused. Then Moon’s eyes went wide.

“What… is that?” Moon asked, sounding stunned as she asked. “Is that supposed to be you?”

Ilyra opened her mouth, but at that moment she found the page, and a semi-translucent image of it popped up in her vision, and Ilyra froze, as front and center was an elven woman. She vaguely looked like Evelyn, but her eyes were a brighter red, her hair was more exaggerated as it fluttered in an invisible wind, barely not covering one of her eyes, she had eyebrows that… Ilyra didn’t understand why an eyebrow would somehow extend almost ten centimeters beyond the skull, let alone be that pointy. But the woman was also busty, and the majority of her suit was… tight. Very tight.

“I don’t understand. That does not appear to be armor,” Vaneryth said, frowning deeply. “It is… thin. Flimsy.”

“It looks like it’s painted on!” Ilyra protested, and saw Evelyn visibly wince.

“And that pose… that can’t be comfortable,” Star murmured.

“You’re telling me,” Evelyn said dryly. “I daresay that her eyebrows are probably some sort of prosthetic. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re some silly form of weapon… maybe you could put someone’s eye out with one.”

That actually made Ilyra giggle, and she quickly scrolled through the page, then paused, internally incredulous at the information she found there. There were articles ranging from what sort of weapons Evelyn had sold on Rakal to an analysis of her attack on the Daggerhound, to discussions of her performance in the arena… and then someone mentioned in a chat that Evelyn was on the planet.

“Um, someone just said that you were on-world…” Ilyra said, a touch nervously. “I’m not sure what you want to do about it.”

“There’s nothing I can do, unless I want to be declared a terrorist. For some reason I think that the local government wouldn’t take it kindly if I vaporized a pile of civilians,” Evelyn replied dryly. “It was just a matter of time, anyway. All the more reason to get your gear, so we can take it to the arena to get it properly tuned and registered.”

“What about you?” Star asked, frowning at the elf. “You need gear if you’re planning to compete, don’t you?”

“Ah, but I have gear,” Evelyn said, grinning back at Star as the subject changed. “I got it a while back, and I intend to take it to get rated for the arena later. I’ve participated in both this style of arena as well as the more lethal ones on other worlds.”

Ilyra laughed, smiling as she drew the attention of the others and blushed slightly. “Sorry, I just… I don’t know why that surprised me as much as it did. You’ve mentioned that you’ve been in arenas, so I don’t see why you wouldn’t have gear for it.”

“Well, I could’ve lost it in my abdication, that’s certainly true,” Evelyn conceded, inclining her head. “Fortunately for me, Fya grabbed it before leaving, along with most of my other things. It was useful when I was recovering after the resurrection.”

Perking up, Ilyra thought that she sensed another story and opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by an employee poking her head around the corner. The woman was, unsurprisingly, an orc, but more petite than Ilyra had expected an orcish woman to be.

“Hello, ladies. I don’t suppose that there’s anything I can help you find?” the woman asked hopefully.

“Yes, as it happens. We’re looking for four suits of armor, one with the same flexibility as a mark three Arturian Seta, and three that match the mark seven of Braden Armory’s Armored Avenger series,” Evelyn said, not even blinking as the woman paused, seeming to be a bit taken aback.

“Ah… I think we have some armor that would fit your requirements, but it’s not out here, it’s kept in the back due to the price tag on it. Would you like me to get the manager to help you?” the woman asked, a little more hesitantly.

“Please do,” Evelyn replied pleasantly, and the woman nodded, turning and vanishing without a word.

“Why was she so flustered?” Vaneryth asked after a moment. “You were just asking about their products, no?”

“Yes, but the models I requested are rare and expensive,” Evelyn explained, shrugging. “Getting competition gear which matches its abilities isn’t easy, and it’s probably going to cost five thousand mythrite or so per set.”

Ilyra froze in shock, and Star audibly choked. After a moment the redhead asked, her voice strangled. “Five thousand for a competition set? How much is the armor itself worth?”

“If you want to know that, you’re going to have to look it up yourself. I just mentioned the models, though I’m afraid the numbers will be off. The suits I assigned to each of you are enchanted as well,” Evelyn said, moving toward the front of the store. “In the meantime, I need to find gear for each of you. You’d better not die in the arenas. It’d be terribly embarrassing.”

“Believe me, I want to avoid that,” Ilyra said, her eyes wide.

It always stunned her just how much Evelyn was willing to spend on them.

Chapter 23

“So how do you feel about having a fan club?” Fya asked, a broad grin on her face, and Evelyn gave her a dirty look while settling into her chair.

“I’ve had fan clubs for quite some time, thank you. I just thought they’d have been disbanded at some point in the last fifteen years or so, not that they’d have grown,” Evelyn replied tartly. “It’s annoying. Fortunately for them, Adria and the Dolls are much more patient than I am. I’d just have filtered out the incoming calls entirely.”

They were in one of the side arenas where the first match for Evelyn’s crew was going to be held. It wasn’t a large arena, and there were only a thousand seats available, but that was plenty on Skaloth. Fortunately, from Evelyn’s perspective, the seats were all on the large size to fit the more impressive orcs, so it wasn’t like they were going to be too crowded.

Fya looked particularly festive that day, with bright purple hair that was almost fizzy, in Evelyn’s opinion… complete with the occasional bubbles popping out from between the hairs to pop like carbonation. It drew some attention from surrounding attendees, but Evelyn doubted it would cause trouble or be too notable. Some people did strange things with magic to make themselves unique, after all. The djinn was also wearing a metallic purple and silver shipsuit that fit her like a glove and had a pair of heavy pistols resting on her hips that would likely dissuade anyone who thought that her being short meant she could be pushed around. Mostly Evelyn was happy that Fya would help draw attention away from her.

Conversely, Evelyn had deliberately picked through some of the local videos from matches, focusing on the crowds, and tried to make sure she wouldn’t stand out. She’d removed the enchanted forehead jewel she normally wore, and instead of her usual outfits she’d gone with a pair of tight pants and a shirt with the logo of one of her favorite bands on it. Adding a little lipstick, then a large belt pack that could fit her energy blade and emergency kit into it, and she was ready. Well, she’d left behind her pistol and the grenades, since the latter couldn’t make it through security, but she’d manage. Evelyn felt a bit naked without the gem helping protect her mind and somewhat the blade somewhat inaccessible, but it wasn’t like she couldn’t take on a dozen soldiers unarmed. If all else failed, there were plenty of weapons in the crowd that she could steal.

“You’re far too memorable to be forgotten that quickly, Milady,” Fya replied, grinning broadly. “And yes, that’s the advantage of them being AIs.”

“Could you not call me that here?” Evelyn asked, glancing around warily. Fortunately, plenty of people were still swirling out of the seats after the previous match, and not many newcomers had come back in yet. “I’m trying to avoid getting mobbed so I can focus on their match.”

“Fine, Evvy. But only under these circumstances,” Fya said, her grin widening. “I’m amused, though… you sure you want to be looking like that here? Arenas tend to have the more belligerent members of Skaloth’s society, you know.”

“Better to have to break an idiot’s wrist or to have to remove an orc’s thick skull from a hole in the wall than to be mobbed by fifty screaming fangirls and fanboys,” Evelyn replied bluntly. “I saw the quartet watching the entrances, you know. I’m surprised they weren’t using facial recognition software.”

“Probably couldn’t get access to the arena cameras,” Fya said, shrugging. “And might not have implants up to the task. You’ve got way better ‘netics than most people can afford.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Evelyn admitted, letting out a sigh as she sat back in the over-large chair. Over-large for an arena seat, anyway, since that meant it was almost comfortable. Now, if it was a big arena, that might have changed, but this one wasn’t. Ilyra, Moon, Star, and Vaneryth weren’t good enough to get into a big arena. Fortunately, the only one who might have had enough of an ego to find that insulting was Vaneryth, and she’d been humbled enough by her exile from the heavens that the angel wasn’t going to let her ego get the best of her.

The arena itself was a little more complex than some of the ones that Evelyn had been in before, though not as ridiculous as the one on Reve. Evelyn hadn’t seen the previous match, but it hadn’t left more than a few scorch marks on the walls and a couple of glassed pock marks in the sand. A few of the wall marks were slowly vanishing as she watched, and Evelyn’s eyes narrowed as they did so, thinking for a moment, and trying to sense the magic she felt from a distance. It was difficult, but she thought she knew what was going on.

A hedge appeared along one side of the arena, what looked like a fountain in the middle, and other items that made the arena look more like the foyer of a temple… or maybe a martial arts dojo, considering the two massive statues of an orc man and woman that were leaning toward each other, their hands locked together as if they were trying to push each other over. The statues formed an archway, and Evelyn tapped her upper lip thoughtfully.

“Tech-based force fields with illusions over them to make them look like terrain?” Evelyn asked, looking at Fya curiously.

“Um…” the djinn paused, leaning forward as her eyes narrowed slightly, then nodded. “I think you’re right. That’s neat! Most places I’ve seen like this just have an open room, or maybe some pillars or things like that to give cover. This is more interesting. I wonder how they do it?”

“There’s a set of one hundred and eight standard arena layouts, with eight variations on each of them, for a total of eight hundred and sixty-four possible layouts,” a man interjected cheerfully, prompting Evelyn to look to the stairs on her right.

Standing there was an orcish man who was tall even for an orc, reaching over two meters in height, and given how his button-down shirt strained at each movement, he certainly had the physique of a bodybuilder. He had a pair of spectacles over brown eyes, which Evelyn recognized as augmented reality spectacles, and a full head of brown hair. The man grinned, showing tusked teeth, and bobbed his head.

“Pardon me, but could I slip past? I have the seat just on the other side of you,” the orc said warmly.

“Certainly,” Evelyn said, twisting in the chair so that her legs were more fully out of the way.

“Thank you,” the orc said, carefully moving past them, then taking his seat with a sigh of relief. “There we are. First time visiting the arena, then?”

“This arena, yes. I’ve visited Skaloth’s arenas before, but that was about… twenty years ago, I think. They didn’t use this method to provide combat terrain,” Evelyn said, nodding to the scene in front of them.

“Ah, of course! They finally got the force field projectors about twelve years ago and implemented the illusions and destructible terrain system five years back… no, six, now!” the man said enthusiastically, grinning. “Let me tell you, it’s certainly made the matches more interesting! Ah, but I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Drun.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Drun. I’m Evelyn, and this is Fya,” Evelyn replied, a bit amused by his enthusiasm.

“Yeah! So, what’s up with the glasses? I don’t see lots of those around,” Fya said, prompting Evelyn to wince internally. Fortunately, the man didn’t take the question the wrong way.

“Nice to meet the two of you,” Drun said, smiling wryly. “As to the glasses, I’m afraid that I’ve got a genetic quirk that makes me much more likely to reject most forms of implants. I’ve got a tier one set that was adapted for the problem, but that’s mostly enough to let me interface for my work, not enough for direct data processing. So, I’ve got my glasses to help with it.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Evelyn said, frowning. “Have you considered gene therapy? I’ve heard that can fix a lot of those type of problems.”

“I have, but the same genetic quirk afflicts about… oh, half a percent of the population of Skaloth? I think it’s more efficient in the long run to find a way to adjust the implants so people with the quirk can use them,” Drun explained, his grin widening as he pounded his chest with one fist, adding. “I may not fit the stereotype, but I’m with Frox Cybertech as a cyber-researcher. You?”

“Captain of an independent starship,” Evelyn said, trying to downplay the Djinn’s Gift as much as she could. Fortunately or unfortunately, Fya distracted him.

“I’m a djinn,” Fya said simply, causing the man’s grin to vanish as he gawked at her, and the small woman grinned wider as she added. “And no, I’m not granting any wishes, so don’t ask.”

“I, but… but… you’re a djinn?” Drun demanded, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. A couple of neighboring attendees were looking at them from other rows, and Evelyn mentally sighed. So much for avoiding attention.

“Yep, and if anyone asks me for a wish, I’m going to turn them into a… no, not a frog. A turtle. A big, angry, and annoyed snapping turtle,” Fya said, grinning broadly at him.

“Um, just as a word of warning? She doesn’t make idle threats,” Evelyn interjected, suddenly fearing the results if anyone was foolish enough to wish for something. “We’re just here to watch the match.”

“Oh, I didn’t intend to. I just… I think there’s only one djinn I’ve heard of in the cluster, and he’s um… no offense, but a lot more imposing,” Drun said, still staring at Fya.

“We take the forms we want. I like being in the shape of someone small and spunky,” Fya replied, shrugging. “If I wanted to be a violet dragoness the size of the arena, I could be. I don’t want to, though. Being big can be annoying. Can you imagine the size of a bed I’d need?”

“Fya…” Evelyn said, a headache beginning to form as she rubbed her forehead slowly.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Drun said, obviously still dubious, but he settled down and stopped talking. Evelyn couldn’t be sure if he had stopped because he believed her or if he didn’t want to talk to someone he thought was crazy. That was the one advantage of djinn not being consistent in shapes, Evelyn supposed. It made it harder for other people to identify them easily. Now, if he’d been a mage, that might have been different.

Fortunately, the next few minutes passed uneventfully. Evelyn saw a few people who looked like journalists, one with a specialized hover-drone and a tablet, which was a touch less advanced than she would have expected, since many journalists preferred fully integrated hardware these days, when they weren’t controlling drones from a distance. Aside from that, no more than half the seats were filling up, and a couple of groups that struck Evelyn as teams took some seats as well. She slid back into her chair a bit when she saw a pair of women with forehead jewels come in, though. One of them had dyed her hair black, and their clothing made her cringe slightly. She didn’t look that… punk-like, did she?

It didn’t take too much longer before it was time for the match, though. Evelyn leaned forward in interest as an announcer took the microphone.

“Welcome to the Vakril Arena, and to the eighth match of the day in Arena six! If you’re supposed to be in another arena, I suggest anyone who wants to see the other matches hurry, because you don’t have much time!” the male announcer said enthusiastically. “Today we’re watching a match between the Vipercorgies and the Phantom Djinns! The Vipercorgies are an established fledgling team with two victories and one loss under their belt, while the Phantom Djinns are a brand-new team to Skaloth! Rumor has it that the Djinns have an angel on their team, but will that be enough to face the skilled Viper and his team? We’re about to find out!”

As the announcer got to the team names, Evelyn saw Drun give Fya a sidelong look. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but he didn’t say anything about the name directly.

“You associated with the Phantoms?” the orc asked curiously, scratching the underside of his chin.

“Yup! I taught a couple of them to dodge,” Fya replied cheerfully. “They did pretty good, as long as I wasn’t making my paintballs turn corners!”

The man snorted, then asked. “So… how do you think they’ll stack up against their opponents?”

“I have no clue,” Evelyn said, shaking her head firmly. “I didn’t look into the other team ahead of time, so I’m not sure how good they are.”

“And it doesn’t help that only one of them is used to combat, the angel, and she got herself, um… demoted? She’s a lot weaker than she’s used to,” Fya added, shaking her head as she grinned. “New team, new to combat… I wouldn’t be surprised if they get demolished. Even if they’re technically each good enough to be in the songbird class.”

“Oof, that’s… unfortunate. They have any mods?” Drun said, wincing visibly.

“Only… what, tier four mental implants?” Fya asked, looking at Evelyn, who shrugged.

“I think Moon and Star might have tier three? I’d have to check…” Evelyn said, her voice trailing off as she checked her records, then shook her head. “Nope, they’ve all got at least tier four mental implants. Nothing else that might affect anything for them, except a targeting HUD that they could get from their armor.”

“Straight normals, then? That’s unusual. Might make for good data, then…” Drun said, perking up slightly. “I don’t suppose they’d be interested in any cyberware? Or bioware?”

“I think it’s a little early for that. They need to learn to fight before figuring out how they want to modify themselves to fit the roles they choose,” Evelyn said, her eyes narrowing as the announcer kept blathering on, something about a local tournament. “Besides, if they’re going to get implants, I know who they’re going to get them from.”

“Oh? Where would that be?” Drun asked, perking up still more. Evelyn looked at him, pursing her lips, but before she could reply the announcer spoke even more loudly than before.

“Now we have a vicious team that has proven themselves in battle! Their only loss was by a hair’s breadth, and they’re lean, mean, fighting machines! Let’s hear it for the Vipercorgies!” the man exclaimed, and smoke burst from the entrance on one side of the arena.

The first figure to emerge from the smoke was unusual, and Evelyn’s eyebrows rose slightly at the sight of him. The man was a canid, with digitigrade legs, but he was tall and muscular. The main difference was that his vaguely wolf-like head had bright blond hair streaked with a few green highlights. He was handsome enough, and wore solid green armor. For weapons he had a mace and pistol at his sides. The fact he was blond was the main surprise, even if canids weren’t that common in this region of space. Part of Evelyn wondered if that was why they were called the Vipercorgies, because he did seem slightly more corgie-like to her.

The rest of his team was more traditional. There was a gray-haired female canid with an energy shield and energy lance, a human man with body-hugging gray stealth armor who wielded an energy rifle and survival knife, and an orc woman with what looked like a flamethrower to Evelyn. Well, a plasma thrower, really… which wasn’t that traditional, but none of them looked as unusual as their leader.

“Wonder what settings are attached to that mace… what do you think, Fya?” Evelyn asked, examining the leader’s mace curiously. The problem with competition gear was that you couldn’t tell what it did as easily as you could with normal equipment.

“Probably an impact mace. It might be an accumulator, but those aren’t common out here,” Fya replied, grinning back at her as she added. “You had enough trouble getting your hands on one, I doubt that a fledgling team got one.”

“True enough,” Evelyn conceded. “And it doesn’t have the mass for an infinity generator, so… you’re likely right.”

“Huh. You can tell that from this distance?” Drun asked, his eyebrows rising again. “Weapons expert?”

“I worked at a high-end weapons shop at one point,” Evelyn replied, deliberately leaving out that she’d owned the shop. He nodded, and that was when the announcer moved on to Evelyn’s team, drawing her attention again.

“On the other side of the ring we have a new team! They’re untested by the arena, and no one knows who they are. Perhaps they’re just like their namesakes, but they’re led by the light of a divine messenger. I present the Phantom Djinns for their very first match!” the announcer boomed, and a somewhat quieter roar came in response, along with a spray of motes of white light on the opposite side of the arena.

From the lights emerged Evelyn’s crew, and she couldn’t help a slight smile at the sight of them. The other team hesitated as Vaneryth emerged from the light, her halo shining brightly, which refracted off her armor. She’d added gold trim to the armor for the arena, as well as changing the dark blue sections to red so that she matched the ship. She had a sword and pistol at her sides, and she moved smoothly, her steps precise.

The rest of the team looked much like they normally did, with Ilyra’s eye-searing sky blue and pink color scheme, while the twins had gone with teal and copper, which almost hurt Evelyn’s eyes. She had to wonder why almost all of them insisted on such vivid color schemes. Evelyn’s armor at least could be lost in some environments, while they’d all stand out almost anywhere but a coral reef or the like. She supposed it wasn’t too terrible for an arena, but she still didn’t understand.

“They look nervous,” Evelyn commented softly, a finger rapping on the armrest of her chair as she watched. “All but Ryth are jumpy.”

“Yup. I think they’re going to lose,” Fya agreed, clicking her tongue in annoyance. “Maybe I should’ve bet on the other team instead.”

“Betting on them was a bad idea to begin with. You’re a djinn,” Evelyn retorted. “And if you manipulate any fights while we’re here, I’ll eject you the next time we jump into the astral.”

Drun audibly choked, while Evelyn watched the two teams approach each other. This was the typical pre-match greeting, if she remembered right, and she hoped that they wouldn’t piss off the Vipercorgies. Or make them think they were easy prey, because that would just be embarrassing.

“Spoilsport,” Fya replied, sticking her tongue out at Evelyn.

“Shush, you,” Evelyn said, letting out a faint sigh. She really hoped that Zelirana wasn’t causing any trouble while they were busy. She doubted the succubus would be problematic, but one never knew when a demon would get the urge to cause chaos.

“Alright, the pre-match greetings are done, so the teams are going back to their places and preparing for battle!” the announcer said, and the response of the team caused Evelyn to suppress another sigh. They took a roughly diamond-shaped formation, with Moon and Star flanking Vaneryth, and Ilyra in the back. It wasn’t a terrible formation for an open area, but there were places to take cover in the arena. Unlike the twins, a couple of the opposing team members were in positions where they could easily dive into cover the moment the match began.

“They need so much more experience,” Evelyn murmured.

“That’s why we came to Skaloth,” Fya said, shaking her head and grinning. “Maybe I didn’t shoot at them enough… I can make a fully automatic paintball gun, you know.”

“Too late now,” Evelyn replied.

A loud gong sounded, and with it the contestants sprang into motion. Evelyn took in the entire match easily, while her implants recorded it for later perusal. Not that there was much to record.

Vaneryth lunged to intercept the other team’s leader along with the lance-wielder, while the other two opponents dove into cover. One of them began circling the battlefield, just as Moon and Star opened fire, Moon firing at the shield wielder, which didn’t do much good, while Star almost got the man with the rifle. They didn’t take cover though, and Vaneryth engaged the canid leader, exchanging a flurry of blows. Evelyn instantly realized that Vaneryth was better than he was, but she wasn’t used to her lack of strength, and could see how the angel tried to use her wings without even realizing it.

Then Ilyra blasted the shield of the lance-wielder with a potent beam of light that caused the shield to flicker and die, allowing Moon an opening to shoot the startled woman. A chorus of cheers came from the crowd as the woman’s armor stiffened and caused her to fall as it incapacitated her… but that’s when things turned around.

The woman with the plasma thrower had mostly flanked them by that point, and when she popped up, Ilyra quickly started casting, but she didn’t finish her shield spell in time. A massive blast of plasma hit them in a cone, dropping Moon instantly, and Ilyra only a moment later. Star managed to stagger out of the blast, one leg and arm stiff, but she dropped the plasma thrower with a headshot, only to be felled as the rifle-wielder returned the favor.

That left only three people on the battlefield, and Vaneryth was good, but she wasn’t good enough to take down a skilled swordsman with fire support. The canid fought well, and coupled with the mistakes Vaneryth made, the two were able to take her down in only a few more exchanges, even if one of his arms was disabled first.

A buzz erupted throughout the arena, and Evelyn sat back, shaking her head as she sighed.

“And that’s the match! The Vipercorgies have achieved their third win, while the Phantom Djinns have proven that they have a vicious bite of their own! Let’s hear it for both teams!” the announcer said, sounding just a little surprised.

“Well, that was sad,” Evelyn murmured. “If they’d used their armor properly, they could’ve won.”

“Oh, I’m going to give them so much grief,” Fya said, giggling softly.

“Honestly, I think they did well for their first match,” Drun said, looking at them in a bit of confusion. “Considering the lack of mods or experience.”

“Sure, but it’s nowhere near good enough,” Evelyn said, standing up. “Now, let’s go, Fya. We need to tell them what they did well, and how they screwed up. Plus, I’ve got someplace reserved for lunch for this afternoon. Have a good day, Drun.”

“Of course, Milady,” Fya replied, causing Evelyn to wince.

“My lady?” Drun asked, his eyebrows rising.

Evelyn left. Quickly.

Chapter 24

“We need a lot more practice,” Ilyra said, looking particularly unhappy.

“I believe that is why I brought you here,” Evelyn replied, a smile playing across her lips as the celestine looked at her. The young woman looked so crestfallen, which she supposed made sense. Evelyn’s first match had gone better than the quartet’s, but she’d started even lower in the ranks, and was solo.

“Oh, cheer up! You came close to winning, even if you fumbled in the execution,” Fya interjected happily, then speared a chunk of broccoli with her fork and ate it with obvious relish. Evelyn just took that as evidence of her alien nature, as she personally despised broccoli.

“We wanted to show how far we’d come, and we lost anyway,” Star said, idly poking at the mashed potatoes on her plate. Her response finally brought a frown to Evelyn’s face, and she opened her mouth, only for Vaneryth to beat her to it.

“Stop being so conceited,” the angel said, bringing everyone up short as they stared at the angel. She only had an empty salad plate and a half-empty glass of wine in front of her, but it was what she’d said that surprising.

Star jerked backward slightly, and Ilyra flushed, looking down at her plate. It was the celestine who spoke, a touch nervously. “What do you mean?”

“I expected to lose. The three of you haven’t ever been in combat before, assuming we ignore ship to ship combat, and we were surrounded by a crowd. Additionally, we weren’t among beginning teams,” the angel replied, her tone calm and precise. “That we came so close to victory is startling. I found many places where I could improve even before Evelyn and Fya explained what they’d seen. Don’t get conceited because you can’t win instantly.”

“The problem is that I don’t know how to practice properly. Sure, we have arena matches, but that’s limited. How are we supposed to improve if we can only have one match every other day, if we’re lucky?” Moon asked, continuing to cut up her steak into even-sized chunks. Evelyn had noticed that she didn’t seem that thrilled with the food, which amused her.

Evelyn opened her mouth, then paused as a thought occurred to her. A thought which she should have had before, but just… hadn’t. Oh, she understood why it hadn’t, but it didn’t make her feel any less annoyed with herself.

“Is something wrong, Evvy?” Fya asked, looking at Evelyn curiously.

“Not really. I just realized I had a solution for training all along, and didn’t think about it,” Evelyn said, grimacing as she shook her head. “I blame myself for that. I really should know better, but when the solution doesn’t work for me, I just don’t think about it for others.”

“Oh?” Star asked, perking up a little. She was still blushing due to Vaneryth’s chiding, but she looked a little less dismayed.

“You all have at least tier four mental implants. That means you can manage fully realistic virtual reality dives for the various arena simulations,” Evelyn explained. “It doesn’t work for me because I’ve never been able to get a completely accurate read on my abilities. With each of you, you should be able to get your combat data uploaded properly without causing any gameplay issues. That would allow you to practice your tactics against AIs, including the Dolls if you wanted to, or other teams over the local datanets.”

“Ooh, I forgot about that option!” Fya exclaimed, grinning broadly as she bounced in her chair. “I can never get anything flexible enough to mimic my abilities, so I don’t use it. It could work for them, though!”

“That’s true. I’ve done a little VR stuff, but we didn’t have the implants needed for full immersion. I’ve only been able to manage it via a VR suite before,” Moon said, sounding a bit more thoughtful now as she tapped her chin. “We used it a few times for guest teachers who were somewhere else in the system. When I was at the university, I mean.”

“Which is more than I got to do. Technically the university allowed everyone to use the suites, but there was far more demand than there were booths. I think I got to use it once, as part of orientation,” Star said, glancing at her sister in obvious exasperation.

“Ah… may I ask what this ‘virtual reality’ is?” Vaneryth interjected, and everyone around the table paused, looking at her. A hint of embarrassment washed over Evelyn, as she’d simply assumed that everyone would know what she’d meant. That obviously wasn’t the case for Vaneryth, but the angel didn’t seem upset, merely curious.

“Virtual reality is sort of like the vids that you’ve seen us watching sometimes, like an illusion that seems real,” Evelyn explained, thinking rapidly as she tried to put it into terms that Vaneryth would understand, then a good comparison occurred to her, and she smiled. “Ah, that’s a better comparison! It’s like a shared mindscape, but one created by computer systems. It has rules that it follows, and it allows you to interact with other people or anything that it contains. It requires tier four mental implants to enter a VR simulation without outside assistance, but anyone with tier one implants can use a VR suite instead. Does that answer your question?”

“I believe that it answers it well enough. I was doing searches, but most of the terminology was… difficult. It was like finding the entrance of a demon nest, constantly branching into even more questions as I looked into it,” Vaneryth said, smiling a little as she relaxed. “I’ve been in mindscapes before, and this… it poses no danger, correct?”

Fya giggled, then spoke. “Anything can be dangerous under the right circumstances! I’ve heard of an enchanted game that physically transported the people who accessed it into a demi-plane that mimicked the game, where they could die for real. That’s super-rare, though, and we’ve got precautions in place to detect that sort of thing,”

“Ah. However, if it works the way you say it should, I believe that it would be useful for helping us improve. Perhaps not physically, but at the very least it will allow us to train our reactions, and practice our tactics,” the angel murmured.

Evelyn nodded in satisfaction. She took a bite of her own steak, which she thought was decent, and as she did, Moon looked at Ilyra.

“What do you think, Lyra? You haven’t said anything about the idea,” the redhead asked.

Ilyra paused, a hint of anxiety crossing her face, then she spoke slowly. “I think it’s a good idea? I didn’t really think about it before… my family had a suite for VR, but I didn’t get to use it for much. Some of the nobles liked using them to get together for parties, though. I attended a few of them.”

“Ah, I forgot, you had implants like this beforehand. I should’ve remembered,” Moon said, looking a little chagrined. “At least we have some way to practice… hopefully next time we can do better.”

“You’d better. If you don’t, you’re going to really regret it when I figure out who I’m having a match against,” Evelyn said, grinning slightly. “Just think about the way my fan club will react when they figure out that you’re associated with me.”

“Ooh, you’re being mean!” Fya said, her smile huge. “They’ll be like a pack of jackals!”

Ilyra winced, and Evelyn just chuckled softly, shaking her head.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Evelyn assured them. “You have excellent equipment, and the skill chips have given you the skills you need to survive. Now you just need to learn how to use the training. Once you have that, you’ll be able to improve, one step at a time. I didn’t get to where I am overnight.”

“True,” Ilyra said, though she still looked vaguely disheartened. She paused for a few seconds, then asked. “So… what are you planning to do? You said you had an appointment in a little while?”

“Mmhm. I’m going to commission a proper set of equipment for the gym. What we have is good enough for all of you, but I can’t really push myself,” Evelyn confirmed, grimacing slightly. “The bill is going to be horrible, but… that’s what happens sometimes. The income from my match should help with that somewhat.”

“Wait, income from a match?” Star asked, perking up, and Evelyn laughed softly.

“It figures that the accountant would notice that bit,” Evelyn replied, grinning. “What, do you think that people participate in the matches just for the glory? No, once you’re in the fledgling class, you earn a percentage of ticket sales for your match. Winners take three quarters, and the loser takes one quarter of the percentage. I think the four of you earned a couple hundred credits from your match. Of course, the higher you climb the ranks, the larger the events, the more expensive the tickets, and the higher the percentage you get.”

“Well, that’s something to look forward to,” Moon said, looking a little more cheerful now. “I thought that we wouldn’t get anything out of the matches. Sort of like some of the athletes back in school, who played for the scholarships that came with it, nothing else.”

“No one would participate in matches if they couldn’t make money. Almost no one,” Evelyn said, then paused, seeing how the servers were looking at their table speculatively, and added. “In any case, I think we’d best get moving on the meal. I have that appointment, and my food has gotten quite cold enough.”

“As you say,” Vaneryth murmured politely, prompting Evelyn to chuckle softly.

It should be an interesting appointment.

Chapter 25

“Are you sure you’re in the right place, ma’am?” a salesman asked, looking Evelyn over skeptically.

She even understood why, since she didn’t look like much from the outside. Unlike the orc salesman, who had rippling muscles with the faint, telltale lines under his skin that indicated bio-mods or cyber-mods to increase his strength. Evelyn wouldn’t be surprised if the man could lift a tank, though he wouldn’t have the leverage or mass to do much more than that. Maybe flip it, if he was lucky, and had properly reinforced his bones. Regardless, looks could be deceiving.

She stood in the sales room of Mountainback Athletics, and she had to admit that most elves would be out of place there. While they could use the equipment in the room on the lower settings, most of the equipment would go to ten times what they could pick up, assuming the elves were particularly strong. Some of the weights she saw were made of alloys designed to increase their density as much as possible, just to add more weight.

“Quite certain, thank you. I have an appointment with Vadrok in… seven minutes,” Evelyn replied calmly, checking the time via her implants, and she idly reached down and hefted one of the larger dumbbells that was resting near the doors. The salesman didn’t quite manage to keep from gawking as she effortlessly did a curl, then set it down again with a shake of her head. It wasn’t heavy enough to make her work, and the handle was far too thick to be comfortable for her.

“Ah… my apologies, I’m usually better at picking out people with mods,” the man said quickly, looking a little sheepish. “We get plenty of people in here that don’t realize how much specialized workout gear like this costs.”

“It isn’t a problem, and you’d have a hard time picking out mods on me because I don’t have any,” Evelyn replied, smiling as the man backpedaled. “I’m unusual in that regard. Something about my personal magical field massively increases my physical abilities, so most people think I’m normal. Until I throw them through a wall or door, anyway.”

“Huh, I’ve never heard of that before,” the man said, examining Evelyn a little more closely, then shook his head. “I’ve seen some strong elves before, don’t get me wrong, but none who could pick up that weight as easily as you. Well, not that didn’t have top-end mods. You said you had an appointment with Vadrok?”

“That’s right,” Evelyn confirmed, growing a bit more comfortable with the man.

“Right, then if you’d follow me? I’m surprised that you want an appointment with him. He designs special gear for people who need…” the man began leading the way toward the back of the showroom, then his voice trailed off, his eyes widening as he looked at Evelyn, and she grinned back at him. He must have just seen who the appointment was for while checking the system.

He didn’t say anything for a minute, allowing Evelyn to enjoy the silence. She supposed she shouldn’t enjoy intimidating people with her identity as much as she did, but she found it far too entertaining.

“Ah… you’re Evelyn Tarth?” the man asked, his voice almost faint now.

“Last I checked, yes,” Evelyn said, buffing the nails of her left hand on her shirt and examining them studiously.

The man seemed completely poleaxed, with how he slowed, just gaping at her. It was probably her outfit, Evelyn imagined, since it didn’t look like something that a gladiator would wear.

“Would you mind giving an autograph?” the man asked hopefully after a moment, prompting Evelyn to laugh.

“After my appointment, hm? I don’t have anything to sign with, so you’ll need to provide that, too,” Evelyn said, grinning at him.

“Great! I’ll have to get my wife to bring in my axe,” the salesman said, his expression brightening, which caused Evelyn to laugh again.

By that point they’d reached a door, which slid open to show a well-lit hallway, with what appeared to be four offices to start, each with transparent walls and doors facing the hall, and another door at the opposite end. A quick glance showed that the walls facing the showroom were transparent from this side, allowing the people inside to keep an eye on things, at least for the two offices closest to the showroom. Only two of the offices were occupied, one by a tall, muscular human woman in a pantsuit, and the other by an older orc man with a fringe of gray hair around the base of his skull. He was looking at them, and gestured to Evelyn’s guide, though his green eyes were fixed on Evelyn. Once the door opened, he spoke.

“Ms. Tarth, your reputation precedes you. Please, take a seat. Murdok, there’s a man in the front that could use your help,” the man said brusquely, nodding to Evelyn.

“Yessir,” the salesman said, and quickly departed, leaving Evelyn with the man.

A stand on the desk said Vadrok Mountainback, so Evelyn made the quick assumption that he was the owner of the company, or at least related to its founder. There were also a few knickknacks on his desk, from a picture of a human woman with a younger version of him and a half-orc boy to a candy tray, and there was a barbell that had been bent until it almost snapped in half hanging on the wall. That impressed her, since it looked like it was an adamantine alloy.

“I hope my reputation isn’t too poor. I never know which part people are going to focus on,” Evelyn said, taking a seat across from Vadrok.

Vadrok laughed softly, smiling at her as he spoke. “Both, truthfully. Your conquest of your homeland is something of a negative, though tempered by other information I’ve seen regarding it, while your performance in gladiatorial matches has made you into something of a cult legend. I’ve often wondered how much of what I’ve heard is true, and how much is rumors getting out of hand.”

“Likely more of the latter than I care for. I’ve heard a few things that just make me shake my head. Oh, I’m powerful enough, don’t get me wrong… I’m not afraid of a direct fight with almost anything short of an elder dragon, but some rumors are ridiculous,” Evelyn said, shrugging and relaxing a little. “I will say that I’ve improved significantly since the last time I stepped into an arena, however. Though I’ve plateaued at this point, which is part of why I came here.”

“Hm. Interesting, though I wonder… why the focus on further improvement? Seems like you’ve surpassed all the opponents I’ve heard of you facing,” Vadrok said, leaning forward with his hands clasped.

“A few weeks ago I would’ve agreed with you. Then the cousin of my djinn assistant sent us to clean up her mess, and I ran into an insane senne who thought she was a goddess,” Evelyn replied dryly. “If she’d had more than cursory combat training, physical or magical, I might have been in serious danger. It reminded me that the only way to be sure you can walk away from an unexpected fight is to be strong enough to survive it.”

For a few seconds Vadrok just stared at Evelyn, then he snorted softly, sitting back in his chair. When he spoke, he sounded more amused than anything else. “A would-be goddess? If anyone else on-planet told me that, I’d think they were blowing smoke. You don’t need to do that, though. Even if it sounds ridiculous.”

“I could share the recordings of the fight, but I’d rather not. I don’t need even more rumors going around,” Evelyn said, smiling. “I’m guessing that you’re deciding whether you want to go through the effort of building the equipment I’d need?”

“Pretty much,” he confirmed, snorting again. “Sure, being able to say we outfitted your gym would be useful, but the information you sent over is ridiculous. Do you have any idea how hard it is to build equipment that can challenge someone who can move at your speeds, or who has your strength? I only know of two people on-planet who can pick up as much as you, and one of them is the current champion of the cluster’s Troll Wrestling League. He’s got the best bone reinforcement and muscle augmentation that money can buy, at least that I know of, outmasses you at least sixfold, and has been training for strength with my equipment for years. Yet as far as I can tell, he’s barely stronger than you are.”

“What can I say? I’m a freak of nature. Or at least of magic, since I don’t think that it has anything to do with my baseline biology,” Evelyn said, resisting the urge to grin at the orc. “But yes, I imagine it isn’t easy to build equipment like that, especially for a ship. I suspect it’ll have to use tractor beams or geared resistance, but… I’m not a mechanic. I’m not sure I have the knowledge I’d need to even start figuring it out.”

“Tractor beams, thank you. If we used geared resistance, you’d tear the gearing apart inside a year,” Vadrok said, glowering at her as the orc rubbed his chin. “Getting the systems down to a size that would work would be difficult, but we’ve done it before. The problem is the power draw, though with the ship you said you have, it probably wouldn’t be too much, plus tuning the equipment properly. I wouldn’t want it to pulp someone who isn’t you the moment they turn it on.”

“That would be bad, yes,” Evelyn agreed, smiling more widely. “So… are you willing to take the job?”

“Willing? Of course! You have decent reasons for wanting the gear. It isn’t going to be cheap, mind you, but I’m willing to do it. The one question I have is what equipment you want,” Vadrok said, and holographic projectors sprang to life on the desk, showing a mock-up of a gym room. Evelyn was a touch surprised that it showed an Astral Sojourner’s gym, but with equipment that looked like what she’d seen in the showroom instead of the base equipment. “There are several common sets, so I’d like to go through them and see if you want one of them, as well as if you want to add, replace, or remove any equipment. Sound fair?”

“That sounds excellent to me,” Evelyn said, her smile widening even more.

Chapter 26

People were watching her as she walked through the building. That much, Evelyn had expected. Even if she wasn’t in her armor, this time she wasn’t trying to hide who she was, and the stares and whispers were about what she’d come to expect over the last week and a half.

Ilyra, Moon, Star, and Vaneryth had been doing well on the whole, as after the first match they’d thrown themselves into the online arenas to improve. That had the side effect of allowing some of their opponents to figure out some of their tactics and prepare more easily, but it’d also solved some of their more egregious tactical mistakes. At the very least, Ilyra wasn’t being foolish enough to stand out in the open anymore, and while they’d lost two more matches, they’d won three, and were rapidly improving.

The only problem was that Evelyn was heartily sick of hiding from the fan club, which had been steadily increasing their efforts to track her down. She was fortunate that station security hadn’t been willing to let them know which ship was hers, as otherwise Evelyn might have had to murder someone. Which might be why they refused to tell them, when Evelyn thought about it.

But now that the team was doing better, and the equipment from Mountainback Athletics was almost ready, Evelyn had decided that it was time for her to participate in a match of her own. Which was why she was in the admin section of the Grand Arena, making a direct line toward the registration area for high-rank gladiators to sign up for matches. It was combined with a bar, which amused Evelyn to no end, but the best part from her perspective was that people who weren’t high rankers couldn’t go inside. That was useful, considering some of the shrieks she heard from behind her. It seemed that a couple of fans had just caught sight of her, but they weren’t going to be quick enough to catch up.

“Um, are you—” an elven man in heavy powered armor began, but Evelyn passed him without a sideways glance. She knew every gladiator in the upper ranks after looking at them over for a couple of weeks, and he wasn’t among them. She imagined the brown-haired man would be annoyed, but he could live with it.

Striding up to the doors, Evelyn pulled out her competition token. It was a thin wafer of mythrite, translucent with integrated electronics, and it contained her entire gladiatorial history. Considering that, it also was designed to allow access to more exclusive areas of the arenas that Evelyn had visited. So, as she flipped the token into the air, the doors slid open, allowing her to enter the registration area.

The room was just as odd as she remembered, though at least the bar had been renovated. Most of the room was taken up by the bar, with several tables and booths, each with a privacy projector to allow people at them to relax without being eavesdropped on, and a long bar with stools had a variety of liquors from across space behind it. Most of the furnishings were a garish red, though faux wood paneling was underfoot. Evelyn remembered when the floors were actually wood, but it’d been destroyed by the armor so many gladiators wore, so they’d changed to a more durable material.

To her left was the window into the secretary’s office, along with a hallway leading to private training rooms and the infirmary for if gladiators got hurt in major matches. Behind the window was a dwarven woman, whose blue eyes went wide when she caught sight of Evelyn and her jaw dropped. Better yet, Evelyn recognized her.

She also recognized the gladiators in the room, though only one due to knowing him. The rest she’d simply researched, and she smiled as they looked at her. One orc whistled under his breath, sitting back in his chair, while the one man she knew slowly stood from his much larger seat.

Bradford Demoneyes, better known as Stonewall, hadn’t changed in the decade and a half since Evelyn had last seen him. When standing, he was over three meters tall, and the minotaur-like horns atop his head made him seem even taller. His skin had a faint red tinge that Evelyn knew was from his demonic father, while his mother had been a hill giant. He was a big man, and she knew from experience he was much faster and more agile than he looked. He was wearing a simple yellow and brown jersey, his colors, and appeared to be unarmed. She knew better, of course.

“Well, well… look who blew in from the astral! It’s been years, Tornado. I heard you were on-planet, but since you hadn’t shown up, I thought it was just a rumor. How’re you doing?” Stonewall rumbled, offering a hand.

Evelyn laughed, walking over and took his hand, though it was more like his hand had wrapped around her entire forearm. Then his grip tightened to a nearly bone-crushing level, and her eyes narrowed. Was that how he wanted to play this? Well, she certainly wasn’t going to let it pass unanswered. With a single, solid jerk she pulled Stonewall in close as her other hand grabbed him by the belt and lifted him off the ground, over her head. Only then did she speak pleasantly, as the gladiators around them just stared.

“Really, is this how you want to play things? I’d throw you, but Stacey doesn’t deserve to have you thrown through her window,” Evelyn said, holding him above her effortlessly. Stonewall froze for only a moment, then laughed, relaxing his grip a bit.

“Sorry about that, but I’ve had a few really convincing impostors come in, so I wanted to make sure it was you. Truce?” the giant asked, just a hint of anxiety in his voice. Evelyn nodded and set him back down carefully. While she was strong enough to pick him up, her magic didn’t do that much to correct for the difference in mass. Unless she tried to compensate, anyway.

“Fair enough, I suppose. They should be glad they didn’t run into me. Glad to see that you’re still in the game, Stone. I saw that you’ve worked your way up to thunderbird, which is good to see. I still remember how you threw me against the wall the first time we ran into each other,” Evelyn said, grinning at him.

Stonewall laughed, though he looked a little embarrassed as he rubbed a horn, giving her hand a shake before letting go. “Yeah, I’ve been working hard. And don’t bring that up, you put a crater in the opposite wall. I thought you were going to get disqualified with that much force.”

“It was close,” Evelyn agreed, glancing around. “So, are you the only one of the Usual Suspects still around? You had a solid team going, there.”

“Blaze retired after going to Garnhold for a match. He lost a leg in the fight and decided that he was slowing down too much, even if he did get it regenerated. Hurricane sent me a message last month saying she was heading coreward for some tournament or another, and Chaos bedded a pirate, and last I heard was on the run from her and her crew since she had his kid,” Stonewall replied succinctly.

Evelyn couldn’t help a laugh, shaking her head as she murmured. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Blaze was getting old, and Chaos was always the type to act without thinking things through. Anyway, I’m doing well. I thought about coming by earlier but decided to wait. Some of my crew has been competing in the lower ranks, and I didn’t want to cause them any problems by drawing too clear of a connection, or depress them by mopping the floor with someone in the upper ranks when they were getting beaten soundly.”

“Really, you’ve got a crew?” another gladiator chimed in, the orcish woman’s eyebrows rising. “I wouldn’t think you’d have started a gladiator team.”

“Wrong type of crew. I bought a ship and ended up with a crew. Since most of them had exactly no combat experience, I thought they needed some training,” Evelyn explained, examining the woman for a moment before dismissing her. There were over a dozen orc women in the upper ranks of Skaloth, but this one was only in the roc class. “They’re the Phantom Djinns, a bunch of fledglings.”

“Wait, that group? The one with the angel?” Stonewall asked, his eyebrows rising. At her curious look, the man flushed. “Sorry, but whenever an angelic type shows up, I get all sorts of jokes, so I noticed them early on. Is she really an angel?”

“Vaneryth certainly is. Though she’s somewhat chagrined, as right after I rescued her from slavers, she got exiled back here due to some mistake or another on her part. Dropped her from, oh… eagle or roc tier down to her current level,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “She’s improving, at least. The rest of my crew is either decent at combat or not interested, so they aren’t participating in the arena. I just hope they aren’t causing trouble.”

“Slavers? That’s a story that I’ve got to hear,” Stonewall said, his eyes widening, and Evelyn laughed.

“Maybe once I’m done setting things up, hm?” Evelyn replied, grinning at him, then meandered over to the secretary. Behind her Stonewall sat back down, and Evelyn caught the soft comments from the other people at his table.

“Is that really her? She’s smaller than I thought she’d be,” a half-elven woman said, a note of disbelief in her voice.

“You going to fight her?” a human man asked eagerly, which almost prompted Evelyn to roll her eyes. Fortunately, Stonewall wasn’t stupid.

“I’m not suicidal, you numbskull. I’ve worked my way up the ranks, yeah, but she reached nightmare bird after leaving the planet, and that was before she went and conquered a country. Based on everything I’ve heard, she only got stronger from there. I like having my bones intact, thanks,” Stonewall replied, not bothering to keep his voice down. It made Evelyn smile.

“It’s been a while, Stacey. How are you doing?” Evelyn asked, depositing her token in the middle of the counter.

The brunette dwarf looked at Evelyn for a few seconds, then at the token. It took several more seconds before she sighed, shaking her head as she tapped a few keys. She didn’t need to take it or anything else to access the information, after all.

“I thought I’d seen the last of you, Evelyn. It’s been fifteen years since you left Skaloth, fifteen! You ran off with that scary teacher of yours, and did you come back? No! Your status is inactive, you know that?” Stacey replied, a note of incredulous anger in her voice.

“Of course it is. I haven’t participated in a match in over a decade. If I’d been to a planet with an arena during that period without going into a match, I’d be listed as retired,” Evelyn said, grinning. “Since I’m here, I’ll be damned if I’m going to go out because I didn’t participate in a match. What do you have for me?”

“What do I have for you? What do I have for you?” Stacey demanded, her voice rising slightly. “Your certification is expired! To get you into a match would require you to start at the hawk tier and work your way up, just to make sure your skills are up to standards! That doesn’t even consider what—”

“I believe that we can waive that requirement, Stacey,” a man said from behind Evelyn, his voice smooth and confident. Evelyn’s eyebrows rose, since she knew that voice as well.

She half-turned to look, only to see a human man who didn’t looked like he’d aged a day in the years since she’d last seen him. Probably age-extensions and some precise gene therapy, Evelyn suspected… it was expensive, but humans could live almost two and a half centuries these days, so some of them thought it was worth it.

The man had slicked back brown hair, brown eyes, and a face that would inspire many people to like him, especially with the easygoing smile he bore. He was wearing a stylish suit, and in one hand he was holding the one thing that surprised Evelyn, as the striped, green stick of candy didn’t suit his image at all. She was used to him carrying a cigar.

“Rhett, it’s nice to see that some things haven’t changed… much, anyway,” Evelyn said, looking at the stick of candy pointedly.

“My new wife hates the smell of smoke, and insisted I break my tobacco addiction,” Rhett said, grimacing slightly as he looked down at the candy. “Not pleasant, but at least I was able to scrub the worst of the addiction with a treatment. Sadly, I relapsed once before I realized I needed something to occupy me, so I picked these. Besides, she likes the flavor.”

Evelyn inclined her head, resisting the urge to laugh.

“Be that as it may, we can’t just ignore the rules, Director!” Stacey interjected, the dwarf spreading her arms dramatically. “It could cost us our cross-venue certification!”

“Yes, but if we’re willing to offer Evelyn a waiver, and the other participants agree to accept it, that’s inside the rules. That’s how they allowed Glacier to participate in a special match twenty years after he retired,” Rhett countered, pointing the candy stick at Stacey, which then shifted to point at Evelyn. “If I know you, Evelyn, you’re not planning to stick around long enough to work your way up the ranks fully.”

“I suppose it’s possible…” Stacy said reluctantly, her expression sour enough that it could have curdled milk.

“You’ve got that right. I’m planning on a single match,” Evelyn agreed as she answered Rhett’s question, glancing between the two. “The question is, do you have anyone available who can give me a good run for my money? I went over your contender list online, but I didn’t see anyone in the nightmare bird rankings that’s on planet.”

“That’s the main issue, yes. My biggest problem is that you’re damned destructive, you know that?” Rhett retorted, shaking his head slowly. “I’ve kept track of you over the years. Oh, you were quiet for a while, but do you really think word hasn’t gotten out about your little display with that passenger liner? The footage Nald had leaked within a week of you handing it over. How do you expect anyone to compete against you when you have a spell like that up your sleeve?”

“Please, there’s no way I could use that indoors, or even planetside. It’d annihilate a chunk of the city,” Evelyn scoffed, shaking her head. “I have far more potent spells for personal combat than that. I was trying to destroy the darkborn ooze, not participate in a gladiator match.”

“I also heard something about you burying a starship full of mercenaries under the surface of an ice planet,” Rhett replied, his tone modestly cross. The room had grown quieter, Evelyn thought.

“They irritated me, and I was being paid to deal with them. They were poachers on a draconic protectorate world,” Evelyn said. She thought a couple of the gladiators watching them might need to sit down, they were so pale. “Now, if you wanted something interesting, I had a fight with an insane senne who trifled with wish magic. She threw me through a few walls.”

“Evelyn, you are not—” Rhett began, but Evelyn raised a finger to silence him.

“However, I didn’t come here without a plan, Rhett. I know my own power and the accompanying issues better than anyone, so I have a few concessions to offer,” Evelyn said, raising three fingers and ticking off her points. “First, I’ll agree to not use direct magical attacks unless the opponent brings in a mech, and even then I will keep them to single-target spells. This includes, oh, walls of fire or such. I’m not going to promise not to wield my sword via telekinesis if I feel like it. Second, I won’t use direct magical defenses like shields, since that would render me almost impossible to scratch for most people. I shielded a dryad ship from a pirate assault last week for over ten minutes, so that would be downright unfair. Last, I’m willing to face two or three people from the top five rankings of those on the planet. Personally, I think it’d be fun to face the reigning champion and his runner-up, but I have no idea whether they’d be willing.”

The sound of a pin dropping in the room could have been heard, and Evelyn grinned at the stunned looks on the faces of the people present.

Hopefully her concessions would allow her to get a proper match.

Chapter 27

The chime at her door caused Evelyn to swear under her breath, then she called out. “I’m in the shower! I hope it can wait!”

“Sure!” Fya replied, but Evelyn’s hair almost stood on end as she heard the note of anticipation in the djinn’s voice. It couldn’t, with how the water had her hair plastered to her skin, but it tried its best. Whenever Fya sounded like that, something was about to go wrong.

“Fya, what have you done?” Evelyn demanded, turning to glare at the door through the crystalline walls of her shower. It didn’t do any good, but it made her feel better.

“Zel and I just went and got you a surprise! It took a while to hunt down, but it can wait until you’re done!” Fya replied, prompting Evelyn to groan softly. Softly enough that the speaker wouldn’t pick it up.

“So that’s what you’ve been up to lately. Am I going to regret leaving you to your own devices on Skaloth?” Evelyn demanded, but as she spoke she reached for the conditioner. There was no reason not to finish up the shower.

“I think you’ll be happy!” Fya replied, but her immediate giggle caused Evelyn to close her eyes and count to ten. Slowly.

“We’ll see. Where is this surprise?” Evelyn asked, working the conditioner into her hair firmly.

“Come to the dining room!” Fya replied, then Evelyn felt the speaker click off as the djinn moved away from her door, leaving her about as ignorant as she had been before Fya arrived.

“Typical,” Evelyn murmured, briefly considering checking the cameras in the dining room. Unless Fya had warded this surprise so that she couldn’t see it, she’d be able to figure out what was going on for herself. After a moment Evelyn decided against it, murmuring. “It would just make her next attempt even more unpleasant. I wish she wouldn’t be so erratic.”

Despite her words, Evelyn couldn’t force any real heat into her voice. She knew that without Fya adding a certain amount of chaos into her life, she’d probably have gotten far too bored years before, assuming she was even alive. Which she probably wouldn’t be, Evelyn admitted privately. She owed Fya a debt for that, even if the djinn refused any thanks for her actions. Fya insisted that Evelyn had placed her in her eternal debt for freeing her from the lamp, after all.

Evelyn mulled the thoughts over for a couple of minutes, finishing up her shower at her own pace. She wouldn’t be rushed into anything, not even by a djinn. Now, an emergency would be an entirely different matter, but this wasn’t an emergency.

It took a little while for Evelyn to wrap things up, then she stepped out of the shower, thoroughly relaxed, and dried herself off slowly. She could use magic for the job, but Evelyn thought there was nothing quite as nice as a soft, heated towel. Well, aside from numerous other luxuries she had aboard the ship, like the Dolls that did the laundry for her every day. She thought it was a bit of a waste, but oddly it was Zelirana that’d insisted, primarily in order to keep up appearances.

Eventually Evelyn was done, though. She debated for a moment, then shrugged and grabbed one of her favorite styles of blouses, this one a nice red, and black pants. She got some jewelry as well as shoes, then headed out to determine just what this surprise was, moving at an easy pace.

She passed a couple of Dolls on her way to the dining room, and gave them a pleasant nod, even if she still wasn’t entirely comfortable with them. Evelyn couldn’t honestly say why Dolls made her so uneasy… it was something that bothered her from time to time, and she was trying to get better. It wasn’t like they were doing anything to deliberately antagonize her.

She was thinking about that the moment that she opened the door to the dining room, and Evelyn paused, blinking as she took in the room.

The room was fine enough to fit into any palace that Evelyn had seen, save possibly for the Commodore’s gaudy palace in Rakal, but that didn’t draw her attention this time. She’d grown used to the furnishings a while back. No, the surprise was that there was a woman in the chair facing away from her, a tall elven woman with black hair. None of the elven Dolls had black hair, and while it could have been Zelirana, the succubus was in a chair to Evelyn’s right, and Fya and Ilyra were in another pair of chairs, Ilyra looking at the visitor in fascination.

“Who’s this?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow as she started forward. Only to stop as the woman turned her chair.

She was the last woman that Evelyn had expected to see aboard her ship. A woman that Evelyn had only seen once before, though this time she didn’t have a red gemstone in the center of her forehead, nor a suit that looked almost painted on. The elf smiled nervously at her, wearing a white blouse and black trousers, along with a pair of strappy high heels. She gave a small wave of her hand.

“Um, hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Tarth,” the woman said, her voice a somewhat smokey contralto, and Evelyn just stared at her for a moment.

“Evelyn, may I present Ms. Bian Valar, the model who your fan club hired for their banner artwork,” Zelirana said pleasantly, standing up as she smiled. “Bian, this is Evelyn Tarth. I should add that she prefers to avoid anyone calling her ‘lady’, but I believe that she’ll forgive such under the circumstances.”

Evelyn just stared for a moment more, then shook herself. The woman, while an elf, was bustier than Evelyn, and filled out her pants a touch too well. Evelyn was well-endowed for an elf, so she suspected that someone had indulged in sculpting. Not that Evelyn blamed her, as she could understand the appeal. It just wouldn’t work on her, at least not for more than a few weeks. It took magic to affect her form… but after a moment Evelyn realized she was just distracting herself.

“Interesting. I certainly hadn’t expected this ‘surprise,’” Evelyn said, her tone a touch dry as she looked the woman over. “I’d say that it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Valar, but I’m afraid that I’m still trying to piece together why you’re here. If it isn’t apparent, I wasn’t warned that you’d be coming.”

“You seemed very disconcerted by the posters and artwork you saw on the fan site, so I thought it worth tracking some of those responsible and figuring out more details,” Zelirana explained, sinking back into her chair. “Bian turned out to be quite interesting, so I thought you’d like to meet her. She’s also something of a fan of yours as well.”

“I… um…” Bian said, her words seeming to fail her. Fortunately or unfortunately for her, a certain djinn interjected.

“I thought that it’d be amazing for you to meet her!” Fya said excitedly. “Even if it didn’t look quite right, she did a good job, and you should’ve seen the look on your face!”

Evelyn closed her eyes and inhaled, then let her breath out. She should just be thankful that Fya hadn’t done anything else with Adria, she supposed. It could be worse. Then she opened her eyes and smiled at Bian, moving to take a seat herself.

“Well, I suppose this qualifies as a surprise. Mostly for me. So, Bian… they didn’t threaten you, I hope? Or do anything untoward to track you down?” Evelyn asked, giving the succubus and djinn a skeptical look. “I wouldn’t put it past either of them.”

“Oh no. I… well, I’ll admit that when I got messages from them, I was concerned. I’m a model, and I’ve had some stalkers before. That’s why I was so hesitant about meeting them to begin with,” the elf said, her cheeks now a bright shade of red. “Zelirana managed to convince me that they weren’t anything like that, though. They didn’t tell me that they knew you, though! If they had, I probably wouldn’t have believed them.”

“Mm… I can’t say that I blame you. After seeing some of the people who’re part of my fan club planetside… well, it’s enough to make me jaded,” Evelyn said, prompting a giggle from Fya.

“Make you jaded? I know better than that, milady. You’ve been jaded for years,” Fya teased, grinning widely.

Evelyn rolled her eyes and let out a soft sigh before correcting herself. “Fine, more jaded. Here I thought that having Ilyra, Moon, and Star aboard ship was changing my mind, but then I run into people like that girl who tried to tackle me on my way out of the guild. It’s amazing how stupid some people can be.”

“We’re changing your mind?” Ilyra asked, her eyebrows rising.

“I lived in Rakal for the better part of a decade. It didn’t give me the liveliest faith in mortals,” Evelyn pointed out dryly. “That was after the idiocy of me conquering and trying to rule Peldra, along with all the scheming nobles and so-called ‘allies’ that came with it. Suffice to say that my time since leaving Peldra the first time didn’t reinforce my good opinion of most people. Spending some time with all of you has been a surprisingly relaxing thing… but then some people just have to ruin it.”

Bian was listening in obvious fascination, the flush in her cheeks dying down until it was simply a rosy hue. The woman didn’t interrupt, looking between them curiously, and especially studying Fya, Ilyra, and Zelirana. Evelyn decided to speak before the woman could work up her courage.

“Now, then… I just have to ask, Bian. Why me?” Evelyn asked, looking at the elf as she laced her fingers together behind her head. “There are plenty of gladiators out there, and I have no illusions about my reputation being a good one. So why me?”

“I… well, sure, you don’t have the best reputation with the whole conquest thing, but that’s pretty far away, and I never really heard any reports of you doing anything bad when you conquered the nation. Besides, I saw the vid of your coronation, and you were absolutely stunning in the regalia you chose,” Bian replied slowly, licking her lips, and Evelyn resisted the urge to close her eyes and sigh. Or to glare at Fya, who was responsible for the regalia in question… which she suspected the djinn still had around somewhere. Bian wasn’t finished, though. “I asked one of my friends to make me a copy of your outfit, even if it used artificial gems and the like, but we couldn’t get it quite right.”

“It really was a nice outfit,” Fya agreed, grinning broadly. “I put it together when we realized we needed a coronation, and for some reason milady didn’t have a dressmaker on staff. She was just going to use the castle fabricator to make something, can you believe it?”

“It was the same fabricator used by the king, queen, and princess, you know,” Evelyn replied, a touch exasperated. Unfortunately for her, the two ignored her.

“Really?” Bian asked, sitting up straight as her eyes began to shine brightly, clasping her hands in front of her. “Could you share the design files with me, please? I would love to make an accurate copy of her dress!”

Evelyn thought she might be getting a headache, and wondered if she should even be bothering to sit here with Bian. The others seemed far too entertained, and she didn’t really enjoy being made the butt of Fya’s jokes.

“I can do that!” Fya agreed readily, practically bouncing in her chair. “It was really fun to make, after all.”

“I believe we’ve gotten a touch sidetracked,” Evelyn interjected, giving Fya a pointed look. A look which failed to have an effect on her, since Fya wasn’t looking at Evelyn. So Evelyn continued. “Why me?”

“You’re an elf,” Bian replied, flushing slightly as she looked down. “An elven woman. Oh, I know there are others that are about as powerful as you in the arenas… other elves, I mean, but most of them aren’t from around here. The people I’ve heard of that are as… as strong and powerful? I’ve heard of humans, dark elves, orcs, senne, dragons, and more… but almost all of them are either men or other species.”

The woman fell silent for a moment, and Evelyn wondered if she was done. Zelirana shaking her head slightly caught Evelyn’s eye, though, so she stayed silent, patiently waiting for Bian to continue.

Eventually she did speak, her voice a touch wistful. “It just… gives me hope. Something to be proud of. I mean, I grew up on Skaloth. I’m pretty, and was before I paid for sculpting, and have always been reasonably good at things, but I couldn’t make it in ballet, I just wasn’t good enough at it. I’m not agile enough for most of the sports, and you know how it is around here. People respect those who’re strong, who can reach the peak of a sport or competition. Not many elves can get there, though, which makes me sad. Depressed. But you can. You did, and everything I’ve heard just indicates that you’ve grown stronger over the years. You’re incredible, and you show me that elves can grow to unimaginable heights. Even if I’m personally not capable of getting there.”

“Ah,” Evelyn said, blinking once, a bit startled by the nature of the woman’s statement. It wasn’t what she’d been expecting, if she was being honest. On the other hand, it softened her attitude where the woman was concerned. She could understand the belief, the wish that one could improve enough… but at the same time, Evelyn also knew better. Giving up was the easy way out, and she smiled slightly, looking at Bian for a few seconds. Then she spoke calmly, resting her chin on an open palm while leaning on the table. “You’re wrong, you know.”

“Um…” Bian didn’t reply immediately, just blinking at Evelyn owlishly.

“About what?” Ilyra interjected curiously.

“About not being able to reach the same heights as me, of course,” Evelyn said, examining Bian more closely, and she shaped a hint of mana, causing her eyes to glow as she shifted her vision to view magic more easily.

When she did, the world suddenly became more… lackluster and see-through, except for where magic was concerned. Ilyra was like a torch in Evelyn’s gaze, a glittering tracery of golden light. By comparison, Fya was more like a raging volcano of primal, untyped energy barely contained in a mortal form, and Zelirana was closer to a subtly flowing network of elaborate shadows, with a hint of white threads woven through them. That amused Evelyn, as she wondered if the succubus even knew what was going on. However, her attention was focused on Bian.

The elf contained magic, of course. All living beings contained magic, and even some beings that weren’t. It was rare to encounter an AI that didn’t have at least a little magic at their core, though only if they’d been enchanted to use specific abilities or gained a soul could they use the mana within them. Evelyn didn’t know why that was, but it also wasn’t relevant. No, what she saw within Bian was a core of shimmering green energy, clouded by a muddy brown mist that caused it to flow worse. It was enough to cause her to click her tongue, for that matter. It was more interesting because that core of mana was far more powerful than the one Ilyra possessed.

“But I—” Bian began, only for Evelyn to cut her short by raising a finger.

“One moment, please,” Evelyn said, looking at Fya and Zelirana as she raised an eyebrow and let the magic dissipate. “You two knew about this, didn’t you? That her mana is inhibited by a curse or corruption of some kind.”

“I figured it out as soon as I saw her, yes,” Zelirana confirmed, and Bian’s eyes went huge. Evelyn idly wondered if the crimson irises she possessed were natural like her own or not.

“Yep! I thought about offering to fix it for her, but you always say that I cause more problems than I solve,” Fya confirmed cheerfully.

“That’s… bad, isn’t it?” Ilyra said, her tone a bit uncertain.

“Of course it’s bad. It means that if Bian has ever tried to use magic, it likely has moved slowly, or even refused to cooperate. Am I right?” Evelyn asked, lowering her finger at last as she looked back at the elf, who was staring at her in shock.

“Ah… yes? I tried to learn magic when I was younger, but my mana refused to cooperate no matter how much I tried, so I had to drop out of my class,” Bian replied, almost stammering as she stared at Evelyn with wide eyes. “I… a curse?”

“Mm, possibly. Not many people check for curses these days, since curses aren’t that common. More likely you somehow got an infusion of a particularly thick form of mana as a child, or even while in the womb,” Evelyn said, sitting back in her chair thoughtfully. “Your magic is green to my sight, which could indicate a talent in a variety of things, but with the way I interpret colors it’s probably an alignment with air magic. There was a brown tinge clouding and impeding it, though, which is probably earth magic. Not a common element for curses… those tend to use shadow magic.”

“You seem unusually conversant in curses or the like,” Zelirana observed, smiling slightly, and Evelyn shrugged.

“You wouldn’t believe how many people thought a curse was the proper way to deal with me. I’ve never seen one stick to me, though… my magic rips it apart and absorbs it,” Evelyn said, her tone light as she turned back to Bian. “Just to be clear, even if I say it looks like your mana is air-aligned that does not mean that it’s set in stone. Anyone can use any type of mana, but most people have a talent for a particular type. You can also slowly adjust your mana to suit the form of spells you cast by absorbing that type of mana and… ah, I’m getting ahead of myself.

“What I meant to tell you is that you have an unusually powerful innate talent for magic, behind that blockage I see,” Evelyn said, forcing herself back on track. “I’d estimate that if it were fixed, you’d have more raw power than Ilyra does, and that’s without training. You’d be able to use it to become a powerful mage if you wanted, or could learn to channel it into your body to improve your physical abilities in bursts like many warriors do. Both, if you really wanted to.”

“I… but…” Bian began, then caught her breath, straightening slightly. She visibly calmed herself, but when she spoke, there was a faint, breathless disbelief in her voice. “But that wouldn’t make me as powerful as you, would it? Even if I somehow fixed this?”

“Of course not. I was born with a ridiculous talent that I’ve never seen before, or even found trustworthy accounts of,” Evelyn replied, grinning at her. “But that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t reach this point, you know. Ilyra has said that she’d be happy if she reaches a tenth of my current strength, but I think she’s underselling herself. With proper mana reinforcement and training, it’s quite possible that she could reach my level before she dies. It’s all about how much she’s willing to train, and how much determination she has. You’re not that much different.”

Ilyra straightened, her gaze sharpening in excitement, and Bian’s mouth opened again as she stared at Evelyn. Her stare seemed to have shifted slightly, and Evelyn suddenly felt faintly uneasy.

“Are… are you saying that if I fix my mana I can do that?” Bian asked, her voice trembling.

“Yes, but you’re misinterpreting slightly. I’m offering to cleanse your mana for you,” Evelyn corrected. “If Fya and Zel went through the effort of bringing you here, it’s the least that I could do.”

For an instant the room was quiet, then Bian lunged toward Evelyn with startling speed, knocking over her chair in her haste. Evelyn stiffened slightly but refrained from dodging as the woman embraced her firmly.

“Yes! Thank you so, so much!” Bian exclaimed, hugging Evelyn as tightly as she could.

“You’re welcome, but I think you need to let go of me. It isn’t that big of a deal,” Evelyn said, but the woman didn’t let go, at least not immediately.

Looking over her head and seeing the smirk on Fya’s face, Evelyn thought that the situation was far too suspicious, and suspected she knew what Fya was up to. But she wasn’t going to interrogate the djinn in front of a guest, no matter how much she might deserve it.

Chapter 28

“What are you up to, Fya?” Evelyn demanded.

“Whatever are you talking about?” Fya asked, batting her eyelashes at Evelyn, which just caused her glower to grow stronger.

“Don’t feign innocence, Fya. I know you and Zel have something in mind with all of this,” Evelyn said, her eyes narrowing. “Spit it out. Now.”

“You’re no fun at all,” Fya said, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Isn’t it obvious, though? You’re not willing to hire any crew members who volunteer, so I had to go looking for a new harem member.”

“That’s what I thought,” Evelyn said, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She inhaled slowly, then continued. “However, the answer is no.”

“While I’m not surprised, I should mention that you may well have caused her to fall in love with you when you offered to cleanse her mana,” Zelirana said softly, nodding to the window facing the medbay, where they could see Bian talking with Ilyra excitedly. For her part, Evelyn was unmoved. Mostly.

“Which is not my problem,” Evelyn replied, shaking her head firmly. “I’m not going to let anyone who’s in love with me into this harem that Fya is obsessed with. If I did, I’d have thousands of people in it, and it makes my skin crawl to even consider that. Besides, what role would she play aboard the ship? She’s a model.”

“True, she isn’t a diplomat or anything of the sort, but you said she had lots of potential,” Fya argued, and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

“And? That doesn’t mean that she’d reach it quickly, or that she’ll have the willpower to push through all the obstacles in her way,” Evelyn retorted. “Yes, she has a high starting point, but she didn’t start young, and quite frankly? Of those who have that potential, I’d guess that fewer than one percent of them ever live up to their full potential. Most mortals, including me, have a tendency to reach a plateau and simply coast along without pushing further. I don’t know Bian well, and the only reason I’m helping her is that you two brought her to me, and it didn’t look like you were deliberately causing problems. I do not want this happening again.”

“As you say, Evelyn,” Zelirana acquiesced, bowing her head. “In all honesty, I was just curious about the model when we looked into her. I thought she might fit in after meeting her, so you have my apologies.”

“Fine, then,” Fya said, visibly pouting. “First you wouldn’t let me act as your second for whenever your arena match comes up, and now this.”

“You’ll get over it,” Evelyn told Fya, rolling her eyes again. Turning her attention to Zelirana, she continued, a touch more gently. “Perhaps you’re right, but I’m still adapting to having this many people around me constantly, Zel. I’m not comfortable with allowing just anyone to accompany me. If it weren’t for the fact that I knew the old crew of the Worldwaker so well, and that I enjoy their company, I doubt I’d have accepted Willow aboard. And you’ll note that I have no interest in getting to know her intimately.”

The succubus inclined her head slightly, looking in at Bian before asking. “Are you certain that what you’re planning is wise? I’ve never heard of someone cleansing mana corruption in the way you’ve described.”

“Very certain,” Evelyn replied, without a hint of doubt. “While I’ve never done anything quite this extensive before, it’s simply a matter of scale. The amount of mana she has won’t cause any issues at all.”

“If you say so,” Fya replied, still pouting.

Evelyn rolled her eyes, ruffling the blue-haired djinn’s hair, then turned and walked into the main chamber of the medbay. Ilyra and Bian stopped talking, the latter’s eyes lighting up.

“Are you ready, Bian?” Evelyn asked, flexing her hands unconsciously. This wouldn’t be that difficult, assuming Bian was able to follow instructions, but it could take a while. Evelyn wasn’t entirely sure, since this time was more extensive than the last time that she’d done something similar.

“As I can be, yes,” Bian said, flashing her a nervous, worshipful smile. “How will this work, anyway?”

“Yeah, is it something I could do?” Ilyra asked hopefully.

“Maybe, Lyra, but I’m not sure,” Evelyn replied, shrugging slightly. “As I mentioned before, my mana breaks down and absorbs curses. That applies to polluted mana as well, so what I’m going to do is drain all of Bian’s mana, purifying it in the process, while replacing it with the mana I’ve cleansed. I’ll do this until the blockage has been broken, which may take a while. It might be easier to do it by draining all of her mana at once, then replacing it afterward, but completely emptying someone of mana isn’t always safe, especially those who aren’t trained in using their mana. It can cause unpleasant side effects.”

“Oh. I… suppose the question is whether I’d be able to cleanse the mana, then,” Ilyra said, blinking.

“Mm, likely, though it would probably take you a great deal more time. The very act of using your mana slowly cleanses it, though if it’s as sluggish as Bian’s, it’s entirely possible you won’t get far,” Evelyn said, smiling slightly. “While I don’t believe there’s any danger to this, I would rather be here in the medbay just in case I’m wrong.”

Bian’s nose wrinkled as she looked down angrily. After a few seconds she spoke softly. “So, since I gave up on trying to use magic, I stopped using the method which could fix it?”

“Perhaps. There’s no guarantee that you’d have been able to use enough to fully cleanse your mana,” Evelyn replied, shrugging helplessly. “The best solution would have been to have someone examine your magical potential before the classes, but doing that isn’t easy. Well, not for most people, from everything I’ve heard.”

“Right. So… what do I need to do?” Bian asked, a hint of anxiety in her voice, but she looked more relieved than anything else.

“Lyra, activate the scanners, please. Just make sure they’re monitoring Bian,” Evelyn instructed, approaching until she was standing next to the table, pressing the button to reshape it into a chair, and Bian yelped as she had to adjust her position quickly, so as to avoid falling. “As for you, I’m going to take both of your hands, Bian. One hand to draw mana out of your body, the other to return it. It’ll take you a little while to relax enough to let me draw on your mana, but I’m sure you can do it. Any other questions?”

The elf paused, thinking for a few seconds, then shook her head. While they were talking, Ilyra tapped a few keys, and Evelyn saw the lights on the scanners above the table flick from red to green. That worked well enough, and she smiled, reaching out with her implants to monitor Bian’s status. She had a slightly elevated heart rate, but otherwise the elf appeared to be doing fine.

“In that case, there’s no time like the present,” Evelyn said, offering her hands to Bian. She was mildly curious if this would work the way she expected it to. And, if she was being honest, she was vaguely hopeful that Bian could reach the same strength she possessed. It’d be nice to have a peer she could get along with.

Bian took Evelyn’s hands, though she did look a bit nervous. Evelyn couldn’t really blame her, considering everything. The woman spoke softly after a moment. “Thank you. I… never expected this.”

“Which is half the reason I offered. If you’d expected it, I’d probably have booted you from the ship so fast your head would spin,” Evelyn told her, grinning. “I don’t deal well with people making demands of me.”

That prompted a giggle from Bian, who visibly relaxed. With that, Evelyn began to gently tug on Bian’s mana through her left hand.

The mana didn’t come to her call, though Evelyn felt it shift slightly. That was normal, since it was almost impossible to take someone’s mana unwillingly in this way. There were items to drain people’s mana, and some spells, but actually taking it for your own use was difficult beyond belief unless the other person cooperated… and that didn’t even consider how the process usually lost some mana along the way. Evelyn planned to make up for that with her own mana if she had to, though she preferred not to change Bian’s internal mana too much.

Bian’s brow furrowed as she concentrated, and Evelyn waited patiently, knowing that this wasn’t something that could be described to someone else. The feeling of openness that it required to allow someone to tap into your mana was almost impossible to describe, especially since she’d heard that it varied from person to person.

It took a couple of minutes before the first hint of mana began to flow into her, and Evelyn’s eyes half-closed as it brushed against her mind.

It was like… a refreshing spring breeze, shortly after the winter had ended and new growth had begun to emerge from the soil. It was a sense that Evelyn was so familiar with, after growing up on a farm. Yet at the same time, there was also the faint sense of rot, like piles of leaves or other vegetation had made it through the winter and was slowly decaying as well. That was the corruption, Evelyn knew, and she drew in a breath.

“Just like that, Bian,” Evelyn murmured as the stream of mana strengthened. Then it hit her own pool of mana.

The spring breeze vanished, along with the sense of new growth and the rot. It was like they’d been fed into a star, for all her mana cared, and Evelyn winced internally. That wasn’t what she’d intended to happen, and she quickly modulated her mana, trying to preserve the sense of the breeze and growth. It didn’t work, as her magic didn’t seem to care what the new mana was supposed to be, it just… consumed it. Broke it down into raw potential that she was only barely able to keep from merging into her mana pool.

Evelyn resisted the urge to sigh again, and praying that it wouldn’t cause any problems, she guided the transformed mana down her left hand to Bian. It was much easier to accept mana than it was to give it, so she wasn’t surprised when the elf absorbed it instantly. She was surprised by the way Bian gasped, her eyes snapping fully open, and her heartrate jumped, massively. The mana flowing into Evelyn cut off at the same time, and she quickly stopped pouring more mana into the woman.

“Are you alright?” Evelyn asked, frowning in concern. Was that a bead of sweat on Bian’s forehead?

“I… I think so, it’s just… what is that?” Bian demanded, shivering. “It’s so… so potent. Like it’s burning through my veins, but not at the same time.”

Evelyn refrained from cursing, instead channeling mana into her eyes again. When her vision snapped over to being able to see mana, she almost failed in her attempt to swallow her cursing.

Instead of the green mana threaded with brown she’d seen before, the mana within Bian was shot through with a blazing crimson mana that surged and pulsed like fire. No, not like fire, fire was too… simple by comparison. This was something simpler, more primal. As Evelyn watched, the crimson began to shift and change in hue, slowly changing to a blazing neon green that was so much brighter than the mana within Bian. Where it touched the brown mana, the blockage evaporated.

What perplexed her more than anything else was that the new mana was spreading, consuming the mana which already existed within Bian, which… shouldn’t have happened. Evelyn had shared her mana directly with dozens of mages over the years… okay, maybe not dozens, but more than twenty. Regardless, despite all the times she’d shared mana before, nothing like this had happened. Even if other people said her mana was insanely potent.

“My mana is having an unanticipated reaction with yours,” Evelyn replied, frowning as she looked at Bian. Her heart rate was still elevated, but it was slowing back down. “It appears that my mana is fusing with your own and clearing the corruption, just… burning it away. I’m not sure how long it’ll take, but we’d probably best not add more mana to the mix, just to be safe. How do you feel?”

“It burns, but… not in a bad way. It feels like I’m getting lighter, somehow. No, like I don’t have as much trouble breathing,” Bian said, inhaling deeply, then let her breath out as she smiled nervously. “It feels kind of… good?”

“I’m glad to hear that, since this isn’t normal at all. I’ve shared mana several times before this, and I’ve never seen a reaction of this sort,” Evelyn said, frowning.

“That’s because you’re not looking at it the right way!” Fya interjected, and Evelyn glanced behind her to see that the djinn had entered the room while she’d been distracted. It didn’t help that the doors on the ship were almost perfectly silent, which made it easier for her to manage.

“What am I missing?” Evelyn asked, straightening and releasing Bian’s hands. The other woman didn’t seem to want to let go for a few seconds, then finally released them.

“She idolizes you, and she hasn’t used her magic before. So, when you gave her some of your mana, hers decided to change to match yours,” Fya said, grinning widely. It was strange to see her smile while looking with mana sight, so Evelyn let her vision return to normal. “I’m guessing it’ll make her magic a bit more potent, though not as incredible as yours is. I don’t think anyone can really match your power, anyway.”

“If you say so,” Evelyn replied, frowning as she turned to watch Bian again. After a couple of seconds she asked, “Are you still feeling okay?”

“I’m fine,” Bian replied, a huge smile on her face. “It hurts a little, but like I said, not in a bad way.”

“It’s always weird when I hear things like that,” Ilyra murmured, causing Evelyn to crack a smile.

Evelyn considered for a few seconds, then nodded. “Regardless, if you’re sure it isn’t hurting, we’ll just watch and wait for everything to finish. Based on what I saw, it shouldn’t take much more than an hour.”

“That sounds good to me,” Bian said, still smiling.

Evelyn opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment she got a message over her implants as Adria spoke. “Pardon the interruption, Captain, but you have received a comm request from the arena. According to Director Rhett, he needs to discuss your match request.”

“Oh, of course he does. When it rains, it pours,” Evelyn murmured. When the others looked at her, she explained. “Director Rhett wants to talk to me about my match request. I don’t want to leave, though, in case—”

“Go ahead!” Bian exclaimed, sitting up in the chair suddenly. “I’m sure they can watch me for trouble, and I’ve been hoping to see you compete! I don’t want to interfere!”

Evelyn paused, then glanced at Ilyra, raising an eyebrow curiously. She didn’t even need to say anything, since the young woman seemed to realize what she wanted.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Ilyra promised, grinning as she added. “And I’ll make sure Fya doesn’t do anything too weird.”

“Hey! I’m not weird, I’m eccentric,” Fya protested.

“You do that. Hopefully I’ll be back soon,” Evelyn said, turning to the door as she activated her comm. “Adria, please let him know that I’m on my way to a console.”

“Yes, Captain. He has acknowledged the message, and is on hold,” Adria reported calmly.

“Thank you,” Evelyn replied, stepping out of the room and turning to the nearest privacy booth she knew of. Fortunately, there was one in the medbay, just not in the room she’d been in. She passed Zelirana, who gave a seductive flick of her tail as she glanced toward Bian, and Evelyn rolled her eyes. She didn’t like Bian, not that way. If anything, the woman idolizing her made her uncomfortable.

First, she needed to deal with the call.

Chapter 29

Evelyn sat down at the booth and flicked a switch to keep anyone from listening in, assuming they didn’t hack the system or use magic. She set things up, then accepted the call from Rhett.

A moment later a hologram of the human sprang to life, and he smiled, his gaze focusing on Evelyn as he nodded. “Evelyn, I’m glad you were available! Are things going well for you?”

“For the most part, yes,” Evelyn said, smiling back at him. “I did have a minor issue come up a few minutes ago, but that’s mostly because of my assistant. Djinni are… temperamental and unpredictable.”

“Hm, nothing too bad, I hope?” Rhett asked, his smile turning to worry. “I think I have a match set up for you, but it isn’t official yet, so we can move things around if needed.”

“Oh no, nothing like that. Fya just decided to track down a model who cosplayed as me, then brought her aboard the ship,” Evelyn said, letting out an aggravated sigh. “I just wish she’d warned me beforehand.”

A snort of laughter came from outside the view of the hologram, and Evelyn raised an eyebrow. Rhett suppressed a smile, looking slightly chagrined.

“Sorry, but I brought a couple of other people in for the conversation. Since it’s come this far…” Rhett said, and the viewpoint of the hologram moved back to show his office, as well as two other people, and he spoke calmly. “May I introduce you to the current champion of the phoenix tier, Everburning Magnus, and his longtime rival, Azure Wave? And this, of course, is Evelyn Esendria Tarth, better known as the Crimson Tornado.”

On the left was a handsome orc man who was heavily built, but not as large as many of the orcs Evelyn had seen in the arena. Oh, he was muscular, but she also could see that he wasn’t so overbuilt that he couldn’t move quickly. He didn’t have the tusks common to many of his people, and his skin was a darker, almost brown hue with a faint green tinge. That just made his orange eyes and short hair that’d been shaped into flaming orange spikes stand out more. Especially when combined with his simple white t-shirt and the leather trousers he wore.

To the right was a senne woman who was taller than Magnus, with broad shoulders and toned, muscular arms. She wore a black armored vest that left her arms exposed to the shoulder, had a black tribal tattoo on her left arm that Evelyn thought looked magical, and wore armored trousers as well. Her skin was azure blue, while her hair was a much darker blue that was gathered back in a ponytail. She was more severe-looking than beautiful in Evelyn’s opinion, but her eyes were a bright, almost star-like yellow, and she was watching Evelyn closely.

To Evelyn, it looked like Magnus had been the one to laugh, which didn’t surprise her. The two were the highest-ranking gladiators currently on Skaloth aside from Evelyn, after all. They’d been alternating who was the champion for the past five years, with Azure having taken three of the championships.

“A pleasure to meet you, Tornado. I’ve seen vids of you, and tried out a few sims of your matches, you’re damned impressive,” Magnus said, leaning back in his chair as he grinned. His voice was an almost-surprising tenor, which amused Evelyn.

“Indeed, though I thought you’d retired for good,” Azure added, her voice a soothing, well-controlled contralto.

“My talents aren’t the best for the arena, unfortunately, and I didn’t have many options. While there was an arena in Rakal, it’s unaccredited, and they did more matches that were to the death with slaves or against beasts. Not really my sort of thing,” Evelyn said, shrugging, then smiled. “It’s good to meet both of you. I’ve seen recordings of your matches, and you’ve been pushing each other to get even better over the years. I wish I had a rivalry like yours.”

The two looked at each other, seeming almost… uneasy about her comment. It made Evelyn smile, since she was just telling the truth. Without someone to push her or a goal, she’d ended up stalling at her current strength. Only having a crew was making her think about pushing further again, assuming she could improve more.

“Thanks for the compliment,” Magnus said after a minute, studying her, then asked. “Are you really planning to forgo most magic for the match you’re requesting? It seems a little much to me.”

“Yes, in part because I think it’s the only way for me to legitimately compete on the level of the phoenix tier,” Evelyn said bluntly, and raised a finger as Rhett inhaled. “Uh-uh, Rhett. I’m about to be brutally honest.”

Rhett let out his breath, giving her a chagrined smile, and she smirked in response, watching how Azure gave him a cold look. Only when she was sure they weren’t going to interrupt did she continue.

“The truth is that I always hold back in the arena. My magic is perfect for mass destruction, so most of the time it’s more of an effort to avoid shredding the entire arena than it is to win. Not killing makes it even trickier, but beyond that my magic boosts my baseline physical abilities massively. To the point that part of the reason I came to Skaloth was to get custom gym equipment from Mountainback Athletics so I could have something that could push me,” Evelyn said, shaking her head. “And that’s without having any physical augments. They wouldn’t do anything for me, anyway. Now, if I chose to forgo all magic with one of you in the arena, I suspect it would be very difficult. Against both of you, I’d probably lose. But I don’t intend to give up all magic.”

“Then why are you participating in the match? For the prize money?” Azure asked, looking distinctly unhappy.

“No, I’m doing it because despite everything, I enjoy it,” Evelyn replied, watching as they looked at her in surprise. She smiled at them as she shrugged. “It pushes me in different ways, to control myself and to allow me to do things that I can’t do normally. It’s relatively safe, and there’s no true ill will between me and you. My biggest question is, are the two of you interested taking me on in a match?”

“That’s right. I thought about grabbing another gladiator, but Tremor is on bad terms with Magnus and Azure, so I thought it best to avoid him,” Rhett interjected.

“It’s more like he’s on bad terms with everyone. Because he’s an ass, just like Phasma,” Magnus retorted, rolling his eyes.

“Ah, I wasn’t aware of that,” Evelyn murmured, pausing to think for a moment. Tremor was the third-ranked gladiator on the planet, though there was a decent gap between him and the two in front of her. After a moment she continued. “In any case, I had a request, Rhett. Assuming I win in a match against these, I’d like the prize money to be split equally between us. If I lose, the split doesn’t matter to me.”

That seemed to catch both of the gladiators off-guard, and Azure stared at Evelyn for a moment. Then Magnus laughed, grinning as he murmured. “You really aren’t that concerned about the money, are you?”

“It’d be nice, but it isn’t that important to me, no,” Evelyn replied, looking at Rhett and settling back in her chair. “Is that acceptable, Rhett?”

“It isn’t an unknown request, so I can arrange it, yes. I’m not necessarily happy that you’re dropping more paperwork in my lap, along with the waivers, but I’ll deal with it,” Rhett replied dryly, looking at the two gladiators in the room with him. “So? You two willing to take up her challenge?”

“I don’t see why not. Even if we get beaten, she’s from a tier above us and is known for her power. It isn’t like it’ll wreck our reputation. I’m in,” Magnus said, chuckling as he added. “Just try not to end things too fast, yeah?”

“I never go all-out from the beginning in the arena,” Evelyn assured him. “Unless my opponent does and is a significant threat. I doubt this will qualify as a second Crusher incident.”

Azure cracked a smile at that, nodding slightly as she spoke, just a hint of amusement in her voice. “A mech might help even the odds from what you’ve said, but neither of us has one. I’m willing to take you on… and if I can wipe that smug confidence off your face, it’ll just make it better.”

“If you can manage it, I’ll be delighted,” Evelyn told her, prompting looks of surprise from all of them. She laughed, shaking her head, then explained. “I wasn’t joking before, about wishing I’d had a rivalry like yours. That sort of thing pushes people to get stronger and stronger, which helps keep you from reaching a certain level of power and getting stuck. That’s the point I’m at, it’s incredibly hard for me to improve because there’s not much that truly challenges me anymore. If you can beat me, it’ll give me impetus to improve. So please, give me the best you’ve got.”

“Sounds good to me,” Magnus said, slowly smiling as he looked at Azure, who returned his gaze with a nod. Then the two reached out to bump fists.

“Then… timeline?” Rhett asked, looking at Evelyn.

“Within a week,” Evelyn replied immediately. “My gear’s been recertified and updated in the arena systems, but I expect to be moving on pretty soon. Besides, I’d rather not give more time for that fan club to figure out which ship is mine.”

“A bit tight, but I think I can manage it. Azure, Magnus? Is that good for you?” Rhett asked.

“Can do, Director,” Magnus agreed.

“Um, it’ll have to wait at least two days, preferably three. My armor is undergoing a refit and will need to be recertified afterward,” Azure said, frowning.

“Not a problem, I’m betting it’s going to take at least five days. Ticketing is going to be insane,” Rhett said, grimacing, then looked at Evelyn. “I’ll send you the contract later today. Let me know how many tickets you want beforehand, though.”

“I can do that,” Evelyn said, smiling again. “I look forward to seeing your skills in person, you two.”

“We’ll try to surprise you, Tornado,” Magnus replied.

The next moment the hologram shut down, and Evelyn stretched, shutting down the privacy field with a thought.

Not much had changed during the call, she noticed, and she stood up, nodding to Zelirana as she spoke. “It sounds like I’m going to get my match within the week. I assume you want to attend?”

“Of course!” the succubus said, grinning broadly. “While we’ve seen some of your skills, I don’t think any of us have seen much of them in person. The closest probably was when Lyra and Ryth watched you fight the mercenaries on that ice planet.”

“And that was through my implants, so it didn’t really give a good view of what happened,” Evelyn murmured, nodding in agreement. She hadn’t realized that was the case, but it was certainly true… and Evelyn even knew why she hadn’t let any of the others watch.

Only Fya and Zelirana were strong enough that she thought they might be able to survive the sort of fights that she got into, and she didn’t want to get any of her crew killed. Oh, the others were improving, but that took time. High-powered armor and equipment helped, but they didn’t make up for a lack of combat experience.

“Exactly,” Zelirana agreed, smiling. “I want to see what you can do with my own eyes. Even if you’re probably going to be holding back, it should show another dimension to your strength.”

“True enough,” Evelyn admitted, moving to where she could see into the room.

Bian was laughing, while Fya was making exaggerated gestures as she told a story of some type. Ilyra was blushing furiously, which caused Evelyn’s amusement to turn to concern. She really hoped that the story wasn’t too untoward. With a thought, she summoned her mage-sight again, and an eyebrow rose as she looked at Bian.

The woman’s magic had continued to change while Evelyn had been on the call, and now it was closer to a network of neon green veins shot through with a handful of threads of more subdued green, with a hint of brown here and there. The brown wouldn’t last much longer, though.

More interesting to her was that Bian’s mana seemed to have a greater density than it had before, which meant she wasn’t using her full mana capacity. It made Evelyn wonder how far she’d go… but then Evelyn shrugged to herself. It really didn’t matter, since she was quite certain that she hadn’t given the woman anywhere near her own magical starting point.

Throwing off the concerns, Evelyn entered the room and spoke brightly. “Alright, since it looks like things are going fine, who’s up for lunch?”

Chapter 30

Evelyn stepped into the observatory and stopped, her eyebrows rising at the sight of Ilyra. She was mostly surprised because the woman was present at all.

It’d become something of a routine for Evelyn to come to the observatory before retiring for the evening, though how long she stayed varied. Occasionally the others would come join her, but for the most part they’d left her alone there, as they seemed to realize it was a place of privacy. That was why she was so startled… especially since Ilyra was wearing a diaphanous white and gold gown that wouldn’t have been out of place in a palace. It certainly suited the interior of the ship, but it was surprising to her, since Ilyra hadn’t dressed up that way in the time she’d known her.

“Is it a special occasion, Lyra?” Evelyn asked, stepping fully into the room so the doors could shut behind her.

“Possibly? I’m not entirely sure,” Ilyra replied, turning away from the dome above them, which showed the shining dots in the distance that were starships, the larger bulk of the space station, and some of the globe below the ship. The Djinn’s Gift had rolled so that they could see a large portion of the planet, which was currently enveloped by night. The lights of the cities were evident to Evelyn, but large sections of Skaloth were still dark.

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow as she casually walked over to a couch and sat down, relaxing into the seat slowly.

While it wasn’t as nice as being alone, she found herself slowly relaxing with the vast expanse of stars above her. She loved the way the stars shone down on her amongst the darkness of deep space. On the other hand, she also loved the immensity of astral, so it wasn’t like she preferred one over the other.

“I’ve just been thinking, which Fya says is dangerous. She says that I’m prone to overthinking things, and that I should use my instincts more,” the celestine replied, turning her head to smile at Evelyn nervously. “She might have a point, since thinking too much is usually what gets me hit in the arena.”

“Fya’s also impulsive and has a very different mind than mortals,” Evelyn countered, frowning slightly. “Is she right that you overthink things? Yes. Is she exaggerating things? Almost certainly.”

“What do you mean, about her mind?” Ilyra asked, blinking.

Evelyn paused, thinking for a moment, then leaned forward, asking. “How clear is the day that you were freed in your memory? Or the day you left Brightdawn?”

“Pretty clear? I mean, they were both important to me,” Ilyra said, looking at Evelyn in confusion.

“That’s what I thought. That isn’t the case for djinni, though. For Fya, the day that I freed her from the lamp is as crystal clear as the last ten seconds were for you. She experiences those emotions and memories almost as if no time had passed at all,” Evelyn explained, trying to get across a concept which she didn’t fully understand herself. “Her entire life is like that for her. Yet despite the… immediacy of her prior experiences, they don’t grow dull for her. She approaches everything as if it’s a new experience, no matter how many times she’s encountered it. It causes her to be impulsive, yet she has the experience to react appropriately. It doesn’t help that she’s almost impossible to kill. So, take her advice, but assume that it’s far more extreme than anything you’d want to do.”

“I… are you saying all djinni are like that?” Ilyra asked incredulously. When Evelyn nodded, her eyes widened. “How can they live like that? It seems like it’d be absolute chaos!”

“That’s because it is chaos, much of the time. It’s the reason they’re considered so capricious, because they enjoy those ‘new’ experiences so much, and virtually nothing has any true consequences for them. It’s also why Fya hates Vania so fiercely, because she remembers my death as if no time had passed since then,” Evelyn said, smiling slightly as she shook her head. “Yes, she might get over it eventually, but it won’t be easy. Most likely it will only occur if she decides that Vania has been punished sufficiently, as the satisfaction will offset her rage.”

“Oh,” Ilyra said quietly.

She didn’t say anything else, and Evelyn considered, then sat back in her seat, watching the stars, and how shuttles drifted across the sky in front of her. In the distance was a flicker of vivid colors as a ship emerged from the astral, and Evelyn tracked it for a few seconds before letting her gaze flit to another location.

“I’m afraid of rejection,” Ilyra said, her voice so quiet Evelyn almost didn’t hear her, prompting her gaze to snap back to the celestine, who was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, hands clasped together tightly.

Evelyn opened her mouth, then shut it, leaning forward as well, watching the young woman closely. She needed to let Ilyra get this out at her own pace, not to pressure her… at least, that was what she hoped.

“I… still fear that my memories might have been implanted. I haven’t been wearing clothing that would fit my upbringing, so I put this on to see if it fit… and I feel strange. Like it doesn’t suit me,” Ilyra said, looking up at Evelyn, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I think that if it was just… just that I wouldn’t be worried. But it’s everything else, too. I’m trying my best, and I think I’m doing well, but I don’t know what to do. I feel like a coward, too.”

“A coward wouldn’t have volunteered to board the senne station with me, Lyra. A coward wouldn’t have even set foot in the arena, not when I didn’t require it of you,” Evelyn broke in, her voice soft. “For that matter, a coward wouldn’t be willing to talk to me like this. I’ve seen cowards, and you’re not one.”

“I feel like one, though. I keep dithering, delaying, and refusing to talk to people. I…” Ilyra paused, taking a deep breath… then let her words come out in a rush. “I want to join your harem. I want to join you in bed, and feel like I’m loved, that I’m safe, and that even if all my memories are lies, that someone will accept me anyway.”

Evelyn felt a headache coming on, as she realized what was going on. A part of her wanted to just give Ilyra what she wanted, but at the same time she refrained, realizing that if she did so, it would be… problematic. Ilyra would come to rely on her too fully, and she might never be able to gain her own independence.

“Lyra… I can’t let you do that,” Evelyn said quietly. Ilyra’s head jerked upward, her eyes widening, but Evelyn continued before she could speak. “You’re afraid, hurt, and want comfort. But if I bedded you right now, you’d lose sight of anything else and would stop there. I can’t do that to you, not when you have so much potential. I don’t dislike you, I don’t hate you, and if it were for almost any other reason, I wouldn’t tell you no. But here, today, I can’t let you do that.”

Evelyn paused, looking at Ilyra closely. The young woman’s eyes were glittering, and a couple of tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

“That does not mean I wouldn’t be willing in the future, Lyra. Ilyra. What I want is for you to find yourself. It doesn’t matter who you were, or who you weren’t, for that matter. All that matters to me is who you are now,” Evelyn continued, smiling at her. “Beyond that, even if I cannot be what you want right now, I can be something else for you. I can be your friend and give you a hug and comfort if you want it.”

Ilyra didn’t respond in words. She just sat there for a moment, then lunged across the room, almost tripping over her skirts as she buried her face in Evelyn’s neck, sobbing hard. Evelyn wrapped her arms around the celestine and began to rock her gently, shaking her head internally, even as her heart softened.

“One more thing, though… you look absolutely gorgeous in that gown,” Evelyn said softly.

Her words just caused Ilyra to cry harder.

Chapter 31

“I can’t believe you managed to get a full skybox to yourselves!” Bian said excitedly, looking around the room anxiously. “I’ve heard that these go for ridiculous amounts, and most of them are reserved for the full season to begin with!”

“Not that expensive, at least for me,” Fya replied cheerfully, grinning at the elf as she gestured at the arena. “When I’m watching Evvy fight like this, I don’t want to deal with other people distracting me. She’s going to be glorious.”

“Won’t she?” the elf exclaimed, and Ilyra gave her a nervous smile, since she agreed with her enthusiasm, even if she was anxious.

Bian was wearing an outfit that looked a lot like what Evelyn wore at times, which gave Ilyra mixed feelings, along with the fact she was with them. Supposedly this would be the last time she was with the crew, but it didn’t help Ilyra feel less threatened.

On the other hand, everyone but the Dolls were present, even Willow, who was leaning over the rail to look at the arena more fully and drawing a good deal of attention in the process… though with as big as the arena was, she still didn’t draw that much attention. In all honesty, Ilyra was astounded at how enormous the Grand Arena was.

Instead of the couple-thousand seats which had surrounded all the venues that Ilyra had competed in so far, this arena could seat fifty thousand, and every seat that was in sight was packed, at least that Ilyra could see. It hadn’t been that way for the preceding matches, but they’d filled up rapidly over the last ten minutes. Since Bian had shown up just a couple of minutes earlier, Ilyra suspected that some people were only interested in Evelyn’s match.

Still, she’d been impressed by the last three matches. They’d seen a team competition at the roc class, which had been brutal enough to make her flinch, but Ilyra was amazed that she could see some of the movements and strategies that she never would have noticed before. Then there’d been a mech match, which had filled the arena with blasts of plasma, a few missiles, and ended with the firing of what Ilyra thought was a simulated rail gun. Cleanup from that one had taken a few minutes, even with magic drawing the smaller pieces of debris down through the floor. Last had been a duel between a pair of thunderbird-ranked gladiators, though Ilyra couldn’t say she could keep track of their movements. It gave her some idea of what was coming, though, and made her wonder if she’d ever actually seen Evelyn go all-out, even over implants.

“Nervous?” Moon asked, prompting Ilyra to jump, since she hadn’t realized the redhead was looking at her.

“Um, a little? This is… daunting. I didn’t realize just how many people would be here,” Ilyra admitted, blushing slightly.

“I’ve seen this sort of thing for some sports, but we didn’t have gladiators back home… unless you count robot gladiators, and those didn’t have as big of arenas,” Moon said, looking at her sister as she asked. “Isn’t that right?”

“Hm, what?” Star asked, blinking and looking over at them.

“I said that we’ve seen some arenas this large, though not for gladiators, mostly for sports,” Moon said, now glowering at her sister.

“Oh, sure, of course!” Star said, grinning as she shrugged. “Sorry, I was busy looking at the odds the locals have put on the match and wondered what they’re thinking. Yes, Evelyn is projected to win, but her odds aren’t as good as I would have thought they’d be.”

“That’s because historically she’s won her matches primarily with her magic,” Zelirana said, stretching languidly. The succubus shook her head as she murmured. “Fools. That’s a good way to lose money… I suspect many people are going to be shocked.”

“Perhaps it will teach them a bit of wisdom,” Vaneryth said hopefully, her gaze fixed on the arena.

“Doubtful. A fool and their money are destined to soon part ways,” Zelirana replied.

Ilyra cracked a smile at that, turning her attention back to the arena as she tuned out the rest of their conversation, or at least tried to tune it out. Instead, she thought about the night she’d talked to Evelyn again and was barely able to keep her blush suppressed. She was so embarrassed at what had happened, on the whole. She’d been such a crybaby, but Evelyn hadn’t asked her to stop. It had been incredibly comforting, and even if Ilyra wasn’t sure what to believe about her history, Evelyn’s belief helped. At the least, it meant that Ilyra had someplace to stand, rather than feeling like the entire world was shifting under her feet. No matter what, the last few months were real.

That thought was appropriate to the moment, for that matter, as Ilyra watched the sands of the arena rippling and flowing. While they watched, golden sand swirled upward to form pillars of white stone all around the arena, each six meters tall. A handful of gold braziers appeared moments later at the compass points, and flames burst to life within each without fuel. The way the sand twisted looked strange to her, since it seemed different than the arenas they’d fought in so far.

“Is that an illusion and force fields, too?” Ilyra asked after a few seconds.

“Oh no, this one is far more complicated than the others. The braziers are illusions over force fields, but the fire is conjured by magic, while the pillars are an advanced form of earth magic used to shape the arena,” Willow explained, her gaze fixed on the arena floor. “I originally thought they were using nanotech, but that would be far more expensive. I wish they had… I’d love to see a fully mutable nanite-infused arena. It’d be amazing to watch.”

“Ah, that would explain it,” Ilyra said, trying to shift things so she could see magic. She only saw vague colors, unfortunately, which annoyed her. She could only truly study most magic when she was right in front of it, or better, when touching it. Trying to examine the magic inside someone else was even harder, and she could hardly believe how easily Evelyn had been able to diagnose the problem with Bian’s magic. It was just another thing that she needed to work on. She banished her mana sight after a moment, almost sighing.

“I’m pretty sure there are also magi overseeing the field,” Fya chimed in, stretching her arms, then laced her hands behind her head comfortably. “It’s almost entirely automated, but I can sense them tweaking a few things as it’s building the arena.”

“I’d be surprised if they weren’t having to make adjustments. Large-scale enchantments of this type tend to be rather rigid on the whole,” Cherys said, tapping her upper lip as she frowned, then shook her head. “I will have to look at what technology is capable of more carefully. It may be able to make up for some of the gaps which I see.”

Ilyra nodded, opening her mouth, but before she could speak, the speakers blared to life.

“Honored guests and fellow combat junkies, it is now time for the final match of the day to begin, one which everyone has been waiting for! The Grand Arena of Skaloth has held many legendary matches in its time, but today’s match may very well join those ranks!” a male announcer exclaimed, and even Ilyra could hear the excitement in his voice. “Today we are going to witness one of the gladiators who has made an indelible mark on the Gladiator’s Guild face not one but two champions of Skaloth’s arenas! Let’s hear it for Evelyn ‘Crimson Tornado’ Tarth!”

Ilyra’s gaze snapped down to the field, and she frowned slightly. From one of the entrances she saw Evelyn emerge, her figure tiny compared to the mech which had emerged from it earlier, and unlike what she was used to, no special effects accompanied her entrance. It was just Evelyn, wearing her competition armor with the ease of long practice. The armor was only slightly more garish than her normal armor, with somewhat sinister-looking red marking like red lightning across the black panels, and at her side were the pistol and energy blade she favored, even if these ones were competition grade.

“Watch closely, this’ll be awesome,” Fya murmured, her voice barely audible above the first cheers.

Those cheers grew as Evelyn raised her arms by her sides as if to call them, and wind swirled around her as it came to her call. Ilyra’s eyes widened as it grew into a whirlwind, then into a tornado that surrounded Evelyn. As it took full form, she saw Evelyn crouch, then the woman launched herself upward, turning into a streak of red and black that flashed high into the sky, igniting the tornado into a blazing pillar of whirling flame below her. Ilyra couldn’t even see her, she vanished so quickly.

The next moment Evelyn came down again, this time head-first as she descended from the sky like a skydiver, save that she didn’t have a parachute. She fell directly into the top of the raging funnel of the fiery tornado, and it was sucked in around her. Then she hit the ground, and there was a deafening explosion of fire and wind, though neither reached the crowds, they simply obscured the arena for a moment, sand blowing every which way. The crowd had fallen silent as everyone stared.

When the air cleared a few moments later, Evelyn was on one knee with a hand on the ground. Ground which had turned to glass where she’d hit, creating a crater of glass three meters across, and the nearest two pillars slowly crumbled, shattered by the shockwave. Evelyn stood, and the crowd went wild, cheers filling the entire arena. The cheers were particularly loud from a section where most of the audience was wearing black and red. That had to be Evelyn’s fan club.

“Holy… what was that?” Moon asked, gaping.

“Evelyn wanted to make an entrance and show off her magic a bit,” Fya replied, grinning as everyone stared. Even the announcer seemed to be surprised when he spoke.

“Well, that was certainly an entrance! It should be noted that Evelyn has offered a significant handicap to her opponents, she will not be using the vast majority of evocation or shielding magics during the competition this time around. Those who have followed her prior career will know that she’s best-known for using her evocation magic to devastating effect, especially during the legendary encounter when the Crushers were sore losers and broke all regulations in their attempt to kill her! This should be an epic battle, though it may be over in a blink of an eye!” the announcer exclaimed.

“You’ve got that right. If she was able to use her magic fully, this wouldn’t even be a challenge,” Zelirana murmured, shaking her head as she smiled. “As it is, I believe they’re underestimating her.”

“Of course they are! Evelyn is amazing!” Bian agreed immediately, her smile huge, and Ilyra rolled her eyes, glad the woman couldn’t see her. She knew Evelyn, and the elf wasn’t the type to be overconfident, but the way that all of her fans acted like she was infallible… no wonder she didn’t care for them.

“Facing the Crimson Tornado are the two gladiators who have been viciously competing for the position of Phoenix Champion over the past five years! Each of them has taken the crown twice, while one has been champion three times! Though they have often fought in the arena, they have never before fought side by side!” the announcer boomed, excitement replacing his surprise again. “I present to you, Azure Wave and Everburning Magnus!”

Fire burst from the opposite entrance, followed by a wave of electricity through the sand, turning it blue as two figures emerged from the entryway, prompting Ilyra’s eyebrows to rise.

One of the figures was a heavily armored orc man, his armor fiery red, orange, and gold, and he had heavily reinforced gauntlets which practically glowed even from where she was sitting. A cloak of fire streamed behind him, and it took a moment comparing him to Evelyn for Ilyra to realize that he wasn’t quite as large as many of the orcs she’d seen, though he looked powerful enough.

The other figure was that of a large, statuesque woman wearing water-themed blue and purple armor. She had a greatsword on her back and was carrying a massive cannon that made Ilyra’s eyes widen. The woman moved with the grace of a stalking cat, but was even taller than the orc, which meant both of them were bigger than Evelyn. Even if she knew how powerful Evelyn was, she was a little worried to see her go up against them with the handicaps that she’d imposed.

“Good luck, Evelyn,” Ilyra murmured under her breath. She just hoped that no one else could hear her over the crowds.

She had so much to work out, and she didn’t want to see Evelyn lose. Never.

Chapter 32

“Quite a crowd, isn’t it?” Evelyn asked, grinning inside her helmet as Azure and Magnus approached the center of the ring, cheers echoing loudly all around them. “Though I suspect the two of you are used to this.”

“I don’t know about that. We might get crowds, but I think that this is the loudest crowd I’ve ever heard. That might be because of your stunt, though,” Magnus replied, a hint of wry amusement in his voice. “Now we know why you wanted the dome retracted.”

“I had to show off my magic. It isn’t as impressive to fight without it if people haven’t seen what you can do,” Evelyn replied, looking him over for a moment, then glancing at Azure.

“True. I hope you’re not planning to use the jumping trick during the fight, though. That’d take you out of bounds, and I want to beat you legitimately,” Azure replied, a bit of frost in her voice, which made Evelyn’s smile widen.

“Of course I won’t. I’m crazy, not stupid,” Evelyn said, a hint of playfulness entering her voice at last. It’d been such a long time since she had a match like this, where it wasn’t to the death and people were watching her. It had an enormously different energy and was surprisingly exciting.

For just a moment she remembered the times when she’d seriously been considering taking up arena combat as a career. The challenge had been so exciting, and she’d loved facing some of the people who’d roundly trounced her in earlier matches. Defeating them soundly had been so cathartic. It had been wonderful, and if things had gone well…

They hadn’t, though. There was the time when two snipers had tried to pick Evelyn off when she left an arena and had almost succeeded. Then there was the group of mercenaries someone had hired to mug her before another match, or the teams they’d paid to try to eliminate her. The people in Peldra who wanted her dead had shown they wouldn’t leave her alone, and Evelyn’s temper had never been good. That had helped change her destiny, and lost her this.

Perhaps it was for the best, Evelyn considered, watching the two thoughtfully, then extended her hand to Azure. She was so powerful at this point that she’d have a hard time finding truly challenging matches, so she might have ended up just as bored and frustrated as she’d been as an empress. Besides, it wouldn’t have led to her meeting Fya, and that would’ve made her life significantly duller.

Azure shook Evelyn’s hand, the senne’s grip firm, and despite her hostile tone, Evelyn couldn’t help liking the woman. She was competitive, and she’d grow powerful in the future. She reminded Evelyn of herself. Then she shook Magnus’s hand and nodded slightly.

“Give me everything you’ve got, hm?” Evelyn told them, letting go of Magnus’s hand as she smiled at them. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”

“Prepare to eat sand,” Azure said flatly.

Magnus laughed and nodded, anticipation filling his voice. “Yeah, she said it. I didn’t come into this match intending to lose.”

“Good,” Evelyn said and sent the implant code to indicate she was ready to start, stepping back to the proper starting position. She glanced back and saw the glass crater was still there, which made her click her tongue. That wasn’t good, since it was a side effect of her magic. She didn’t want to use unfair advantages, so she’d have to avoid it.

The other two backed off, spreading out so that she wouldn’t be able to get into melee range of each of them simultaneously. The ease with which they moved, without even looking at each other, made her even happier. They obviously had been preparing for this, and she looked forward to it. She considered for a moment, then casually drew her weapons, flipping around her sword as she adjusted her grip on it.

“It appears both teams are ready for combat! Ready… FIGHT!” the announcer exclaimed, and the roars of the crowd echoed all around Evelyn. It was a tidal wave of sound, something that could disorient and distract those who weren’t used to it.

Evelyn ignored the cheers, taking a calm step to the right as Azure’s cannon snapped up and she pulled the trigger. A bolt of brilliant blue energy left the barrel and expanded rapidly into a cone that sprayed sand across the arena. The cone just barely missed Evelyn, but the woman wasn’t done, as she stomped on the ground and a wave of electricity crackled into the sand below her, turning it blue as it surged upward, launching the woman into the air. She flipped and landed on top of a pillar, taking aim once more.

Everburning Magnus shot forward, a blast of fire erupting behind him in a jet that propelled him forward even more rapidly, and flames surrounded his reinforced gauntlets. Those were a prelude to the bolts of fire he launched with a pair of punches an instant later.

Evelyn’s magic poured through her body as she shaped it, reinforcing herself and her armor carefully so that the arena systems would pick up what she’d done. Then her energy blade flared to life in a lurid crimson fountain of energy. Her pistol snapped upward and she fired a single shot of red energy at Azure just as the woman was pulling her trigger. It hit the pulse of blue energy just as it left the woman’s shield, detonating the projectile early in a blast that staggered Azure and cracked her pillar, causing the woman to have to quickly jump to a new perch as it collapsed.

A single swipe of Evelyn’s sword, as well as surging of magic into it, cut the two bolts of fire out of the air. Magnus was still approaching, though, so Evelyn laughed, digging a boot-tip under one of the chunks of the pillars she’d shattered earlier. She flicked the head-sized chunk of stone into the air, then gave it a solid kick, sending the projectile flying at the man and throwing her back toward the nearest undamaged pillar just as Azure managed to fire again, this time in mid-air.

Magnus dodged at the same time as Azure’s shot tore the sand where Evelyn had been standing apart, and Evelyn grinned. She’d agreed not to use a lot of magic, but none of the agreements kept her from using the trick she was about to pull off. The biggest problem with her strength was simple physics… but magic could correct for that.

Throwing her weapons into the air, Evelyn reinforced her body still further, then hit the pillar with all her strength. The sound of stone shattering filled the arena, and the pillar began to topple. It took a little more magic to anchor herself in place as she grabbed the pillar and spun, putting her magically enhanced strength into swinging the pillar like a club.

Magnus didn’t dodge it so much as jump up and backward hastily. Evelyn grinned inwardly, since she would have gone for anyone doing something as silly as what she was doing, but she had to admit that someone swinging a five-meter stone pillar would be intimidating. Even if the stone wasn’t as strong as normal to allow the weaker weapons used in competitions to break it.

She didn’t stop spinning, instead moving still faster, and at exactly the right time, Evelyn let go, calling out, “Azure, catch!”

The pillar went flying across the arena like a huge spear, and the woman quickly jumped away as it shattered her perch just a few centimeters below her feet, exactly where Evelyn had been aiming. Evelyn snagged her weapons as they were falling and laughed, grinning widely.

This was ridiculous, but so much fun.

* * *

“How did she do that? A troll couldn’t have done that!” Star protested loudly. “Maybe a giant, maybe, but the mass—”

“Magic, now shush, Evvy is fighting,” Fya interrupted, leaning forward in her chair as she watched.

The pillar shattered as it hit the outer wall of the arena, denting the material as it broke apart, and Ilyra could only gape as she watched the battle continue. It almost shocked her that she could recognize that Evelyn wasn’t putting everything into the fight. Oh, she was following the rules, but based on everything she’d seen of Evelyn, she wasn’t the type to avoid one combatant just to knock over pillars and distract a different one. Normally, she’d just destroy one of them before moving on to the other.

Everburning Magnus seemed to have had enough of Evelyn avoiding him as well, as he slammed his fists together in front of him, and the light around them blazed ever brighter. The next moment he punched the ground, and an eruption of fire and sand ripped outward toward Evelyn. No, multiple snake-like trails of fire were ripping through the sand, Ilyra realized, her eyebrows rising as she realized that he seemed to have created some form of magical constructs with his spell, and that what amounted to fire centipedes were chasing Evelyn.

Not that Evelyn seemed to care. She shot one of the creatures, which detonated thunderously, pelting the area with sand, then hopped onto the shattered base of the pillar and flipped over so that the pillar Azure Wave had just landed on was between her and the constructs. Ilyra could already tell what she was planning, and it seemed obvious to Azure as well, since the woman hastily jumped again. She was quickly running out of pillars she could stand on, since there had only been eighteen pillars to begin with, and now five of them had been destroyed. As agile as she was, Ilyra doubted Azure could jump past two broken pillars and still land properly.

An explosion shattered the base of the pillar she’d been on when Evelyn fired rapidly, detonating the fire centipedes in the process. Evelyn’s laughter was barely audible over the roar of the crowds and the explosions, and Ilyra’s eyes widened still more as she saw Evelyn kick the falling pillar, breaking off a piece a meter in length, then delivered a roundhouse kick that launched it toward Magnus. The man was clipped this time and spun in place as it nearly threw him to the ground.

Ilyra winced as she saw Evelyn holster her pistol and beckon the two closer. She could practically see the woman’s grin in her mind’s eye, and she imagined it had to be infuriating to the other gladiators.

She was proven right when Azure threw her cannon aside and jumped to the ground, lightning-dyed sand rising to break her fall and allowing her to surf on it. The woman had drawn her sword, which was also enveloped in lightning, and Magnus was circling as well, blazing still brighter with fire magic. Both were being cautious, but they were also about to take Evelyn on in close combat… and Ilyra wasn’t sure that was better than fighting her at range.

Moments later the group was locked in close combat, and Ilyra’s gut instinct was proven right again. Yes, both of Evelyn’s opponents had the full use of their magic. Yes, they were both skilled close-range combatants and champions. Yes, they were well-coordinated and were working together.

Evelyn practically danced around them, and she moved like flickering lightning. She was faster than anyone Ilyra had seen before, and while she took hits, especially when Azure used her lightning to electrify the area around her or mired her briefly in quicksand so that Magnus could pummel her, Evelyn caused far more damage than she took. Though she wasn’t going for vital points initially, and Ilyra quickly realized that she was trying to put on a show, so that they could see everything that Everburning Magnus and Azure Wave could do.

Azure was the first of Evelyn’s opponents to fall, as she was more agile than Magnus and her attacks slowed Evelyn down a hair too much, so Evelyn dealt with her. It was a victory of a dozen strikes, and a roar filled the stands as Evelyn’s blade washed off the woman’s breastplate, and the senne stiffened and fell as her armor disabled her.

Magnus was harder, and even if Ilyra had thought of him as the slowest of the three combatants, he’d have ripped apart her team with Moon, Star, and Vaneryth in moments. The man was a masterful martial artist, and his counters nearly hit Evelyn several times. The fire he surged around him also came close, as Evelyn occasionally had to dance back to avoid being roasted. His heavy armor also allowed him to shrug off attacks that might have felled Azure. Not that it mattered when Evelyn finally stopped playing around.

When that moment came, the stands went silent. Afterimages of red light hung in the air where the blade passed, forming a web of sharp cuts that all intersected over Magnus. The man tried to dodge, but he simply wasn’t fast enough, and Evelyn sidestepped his last punch by a hair’s breadth before he fell.

“And we have a winner! The Crimson Tornado’s time away from the arena has done nothing but make her stronger! Let’s hear it for her, as well as the champions she felled!” the announcer boomed, and the roars of excitement filled the arena once more.

“That… was insane,” Ilyra murmured, her eyes huge.

Chapter 33

“You doing okay, Magnus? I was a little concerned when I clipped your hip,” Evelyn asked, poking her head into the locker room. “You dodged a bit more slowly than I expected.”

“I’m alright, though I’m a bit sore,” Magnus replied, looking up from his armor as he grimaced. “A bit too focused on getting close to you, I guess, and I didn’t realize what you were doing until too late. I’m used to people like Stonewall throwing cover around, not elves.”

The man was shirtless, showing off a chiseled physique that was only marred by some bruising on his arms, and he had his armor opened up on a table for maintenance. Azure wasn’t fully out of her armor but scowled as she looked at Evelyn.

“Isn’t throwing pillars at us a little overboard? Competition armor isn’t rated for that kind of weight!” Azure demanded, her hands on her hips.

“But it is rated for those sort of impacts,” Evelyn said, looking at her calmly. “Or did you not notice that I didn’t aim directly at you with the entire pillar? I only used smaller chunks as projectiles, since they were safer, and made sure to wind up before trying to hit Magnus with the club. He’d have been unhappy if I’d hit him, but it wouldn’t have killed him.”

“Sounds like you had a lot more faith in me than I did,” Magnus said, laughing as he clapped a hand on Azure’s shoulder. “Relax, would you? We knew we were the underdogs going into the fight, and she could’ve ended it a lot sooner if she’d really wanted to.”

Azure just scowled and turned away, prompting Magnus to shake his head as he looked at Evelyn wryly.

“I don’t blame you at all, though I will point out that you agreed to the match,” Evelyn said, stretching and slowly rolling her head to pop her neck. “That was fun, though. It’s been ages since I was in a friendly fight that wasn’t training for real combat. The pillars were so ridiculous that I had to play with them.”

“We thought they’d be used as cover, not as projectiles,” Rhett replied dryly, and Evelyn turned to see him approaching. She grinned at his comment, shrugging.

“Then you should have made them from force fields and illusions. I would’ve destroyed them either way, but this was more entertaining. How are the ratings?” Evelyn asked, stepping out of the way so he could enter.

“Excellent, thank you. Even with the bookies having screwed up the odds where you were concerned, people enjoyed the match. It was flashy and impressive, which always does well in vids. I’m pretty sure they’re going to work out that you could’ve won earlier, though,” Rhett said, grinning at her as he added. “I’ve already got word on your portion of the sales, and all three of you are going to get a solid amount. I don’t think that we’ve had a match that sold that many tickets in two years.”

“That seems unlikely,” Evelyn said, her eyebrows rising. “Or was this a pay per view match as well?”

“It was,” Rhett confirmed, his smile widening. “If it were just the arena, we’d sell out pretty much every time we have a match between the top ten. We had to get more revenue from somewhere.”

“And thank the gods for it. I like having solid equipment, thank you,” Magnus said, rapping his armor where the pillar had hit it, and Evelyn could see the dent in the metal. “The repairs have to be paid for somehow.”

“Fair enough,” Evelyn agreed, smiling. “I’m not going to object either. Now, if you don’t mind, I intend to go celebrate with my crew.”

Evelyn had half-turned away, but paused when Azure spoke.

“One second, Tornado,” the woman said, her face like an iron mask. Evelyn raised an eyebrow, and the woman continued a moment later. “I don’t like you, but I respect you. You’re good, and you’re not a bitch about it, unlike so many other people. But I’m not willing to leave things like this. I’m going to push myself, and when I’m ready I want a rematch.”

Evelyn smiled as Magnus gave Azure a startled glance, and Rhett rubbed his chin ruefully. Evelyn looked between Azure and Magnus for a moment, then inclined her head slightly. “I look forward to it, Azure. If you can take me on alone, that’d be wonderful. Just let me know, and assuming I’m alive and in any condition to fight, I’ll be there.”

She turned away fully, and added, “Oh, and please let me know when you and Magnus decide to get together. You’re an excellent match for each other.”

Evelyn heard Azure start spluttering just before the doors slid shut, and she hummed brightly to herself, smiling.

A peer or two would be excellent. But for now, she had a celebration to attend.

Chapter 34

“Welcome to the Skaloth office of the Tassen Cluster’s Draconic Embassy, Ms. Tarth. I am Trina, and I’ll be your escort for your visit,” the woman waiting just inside the doors said, bowing deeply, and Evelyn examined her for just a moment, judging her.

The woman had jet black hair, which wasn’t unusual, but the occasional black scales along her neck and wrists didn’t blend in with her dark skin that well, which indicated she had draconic blood. How much was another question, but one Evelyn discarded an instant later. She wasn’t that happy to be here to begin with, and even if the woman moved like a trained bodyguard, she wouldn’t be a match for Evelyn. She was wearing an immaculate suit, but there really wasn’t another option for her. She was in the foyer of a draconic embassy, and not wearing the appropriate clothing would be a faux pas of the highest order that would end with her losing her job, if not more than that.

The embassy was impressive, of course. Dragons had an immense love for precious metals and jewels, which were on full display, along with beautiful crystite flooring that was mined from the astral. This crystite was white and glowed just brightly enough to illuminate the room without hurting the eyes, its light reflecting off the gold and silver walls, while diamonds set into the walls were enchanted to refract and enhance the light further. Directly opposite the entrance was an enormous mosaic made of gemstones depicting a green dragon’s head with red eyes, below which was a broad counter where the secretaries worked. Evelyn smiled at how the man behind the counter was staring at her, but otherwise didn’t react. This wasn’t the first embassy she’d visited, but it certainly was the most ostentatious of them… so far, anyway.

“Hello, Trina,” Evelyn said calmly, still looking at the woman. “As I’m expected, I would like to get this over with.”

“Of course. I’m sorry for asking you to come here personally, but there is no other way to handle a secure message,” Trina replied apologetically, straightening once more as she gestured to a door off to the side. “It’s right this way.”

Evelyn nodded, waiting for Trina to take the lead before she followed, her thoughts racing.

Her match against Azure Wave and Everburning Magnus had only been the day before, but the results had been startling, even for Evelyn. Skaloth didn’t exactly worship strength, but the focus on people who were at the pinnacle of a sport was impossible to believe until you’d reached that peak, and it’d grown even stronger since the last time Evelyn had been in the system. Not only had she and the others not had to pay for their party, as the restaurant had allowed them to eat for free, but a deluge of sponsorship offers had come into the ship systems as even station security hadn’t been able to keep Evelyn’s presence aboard Djinn’s Gift secret.

She had been going through the serious offers, and filtering out the incredible amount of fan mail, when Evelyn had gotten the message from the draconic embassy that a secure message was waiting for her. That startled her, since secure messages weren’t cheap. Such messages could only be opened inside a draconic embassy and were carried from one embassy to the next aboard heavily armed and armored transit ships, never touching outside datanets and even being restricted to segregated internal datanets in the embassies themselves. While that didn’t mean the messages were impossible to intercept, it made it incredibly rare, and every breach Evelyn had heard of hadn’t been the draconic network’s fault, but rather foolishness on the part of the person sending or receiving the message.

It made Evelyn wonder who had sent her the message, and worried her as well. She doubted it was Xalryx, as the wyrmgate was linked to the one in Nald, so the dragon could have come in person for a much lower price. Her old teacher was a possibility, but if that happened she was in trouble and needed help. Then there was the possibility of it being Vania, which would be out of character but possible. Evelyn could think of two or three other people who could use her help, but those were the ones she’d associated with most recently. She suspected that it was Vania but wasn’t about to take any bets. If it was, Fya was going to be pissed, since she really didn’t like Vania.

Trina led the way into a hallway that was slightly less ornate than the antechamber, particularly without the mosaic, and there were a few rare plants in the hall that had gold-veined leaves. There was also a row of doorways to the right, and Trina walked up to one and turned around, folding her hands in front of her.

“How does this work?” Evelyn asked, frowning. “I’ve never received a secure message before.”

“Ah, of course. The first thing I should note is that we do not have any details on who sent you the message here, and even the head of the embassy can only check which embassy the message came from, while those of us on staff cannot check such things. The chip has been placed in the room ahead of you, which is heavily shielded by magical and technological security features. The chip cannot be played if anyone but the intended recipient is in the room, though you can make recordings of your own,” Trina replied briskly. “As the message has been paid for by the sender, once you are finished you may spend up to half an hour in the chamber, as well as potentially recording a reply, before you are expected to leave. We cannot guarantee that the sender is available at an embassy, however, just as we could not guarantee that we could find you to pass along the message.”

“Very well, then,” Evelyn said, growing slightly more annoyed. She had been going to ask where the message had come from, but the explanation removed that option. Whoever had sent it had better have a damned good reason for contacting her.

“If you’re ready, simply enter the room and activate the security systems so that you may view your message,” Trina said, then smiled slightly more as her professionalism broke and she added. “Also, it’s an honor to meet you. I watched your match and earned a small sum from betting on your victory. It was truly impressive.”

Evelyn’s annoyance eased slightly at Trina’s words, and she smiled, inclining her head slightly as she replied. “Thank you. It was an enjoyable match as well, as I haven’t been in the ring for a long time. There’s something therapeutic about a fight that isn’t to the death.”

“I believe you may be right, but I’m not allowed to participate in the arenas. It is considered a conflict of interests,” Trina replied, her smile growing a little warmer.

Evelyn laughed at that and inclined her head. Based on the comment, she suspected that the dragons were investors in the arenas, but she didn’t ask. Instead, she inclined her head, then stepped into the message room.

It was ornate as well, but in a different way. Evelyn’s gaze flicked over the room, her eyebrows rising as she took in the circuitry and magical runes that covered the walls, revealing heavy warding magics that Evelyn could barely grasp the edges of, let alone the technological elements. She might be reasonably good with technology, but this was far beyond her expertise.

A holotable and chair were in front of her, with a chip in a security pod resting on the table, and Evelyn’s lips twitched, shaking her head. The security felt a touch overboard to her. She pressed a button next to the door to activate the security systems and could practically feel the magic take effect. It was everything short of phasing the room into an alternate dimension for security, causing Evelyn to shake her head. It was truly ridiculous.

Taking a seat, she twisted the security pod, breaking the seal of its bronze-like caps so she could pull out the chip. Her implants were ready to record the message, so she slipped the chip into the reader as she murmured. “Time to find out what’s so important.”

The hologram snapped to life a moment later, revealing the face and shoulders of a woman, and Evelyn blinked in surprise. Rasien, Vania’s bodyguard, was the last person she’d expected to see, especially in the condition she was in. The elf’s blonde hair was shorter than it was before and not properly combed, while one of her ears had taken a nasty burn, likely from an energy bolt, though it looked like it’d been treated, and there were shadows under her eyes. Then she spoke, and Evelyn sat bolt upright.

“The Empress has been taken, Tarth. We were on our way to a diplomatic summit when treachery allowed privateers to get too close, then disabled the ship’s systems. They got to her… fast. Too fast. Her last order to me was to get out, but I know they took her alive. I barely made it, as they captured or destroyed all the other shuttles,” Rasien said, her voice raw with frustration and anger. “If that weren’t enough, rebels struck in Peldra at the same time, shattering the keystone of your Imperial Aegis, and the rebellion… when I got there, the army was losing, while the Imperial Guard had been more than decimated, with the loss of my fellow bodyguards and the rebellion. There weren’t ships to send to her rescue, not with the time it took me to get back and how powerful the attackers were. Her allies abandoned her, the traitors.”

Evelyn’s emotions had gone still, as she tried to figure out what she was feeling. Her jaw was so tight her teeth almost hurt, and she was staring at Rasien’s image, almost as if willing her to continue.

“I gathered the guard that I could. The most loyal of us still among the living. Seven whole guards,” Rasien said at last, her smile ghastly. “We don’t have the resources or skills to find her, Tarth. I hate you. You’re a menace and are arrogant as hell, but she trusts you. We’ve pooled everything we can and are offering five hundred thousand credits for your help. We’re on Cantell, keeping a low profile, and will be for a month. After that, we’ll try to find her on our own. You can contact us over the attached frequencies or at the listed location during that time. Prove you’re better than I think you are, Tarth. Rasien out.”

For just a moment Evelyn sat there, but her implants reached out to pluck the information from the message. Then her lips curled in a cold smile and she stood, almost spitting out her words. “I don’t need your money, you twit.”

With that she turned for the door, murderous rage billowing inside her. Someone had gone after Vania, and they were going to regret it.

Part III

Of Gangsters & Guards

Chapter 35

Ilyra burst into the bridge, breathing hard, and asked. “What happened?”

The shuttle she’d taken from the station had barely caught up with Djinn’s Gift as it started moving toward the wyrmgate, and Ilyra couldn’t help her shock. The emergency recall had been terse, and that Evelyn hadn’t even waited for everyone to get aboard before starting to move terrified her somewhat. They’d had to cancel their match for that afternoon, which meant they’d paid a penalty as well, but that was the least of Ilyra’s concerns. Especially when Ilyra looked at Evelyn properly, and she flinched back slightly.

She’d seen Evelyn in many moods over the last few weeks. Easygoing was the term that fit Evelyn the vast majority of the time, though beneath her relaxed attitude was steel. With the dryads Ilyra had seen pure joy in Evelyn’s attitude for the first time, though she was often happy enough. The worst mood Ilyra had seen was when she’d met them to begin with, and the elf had murderously considered tracking down the surviving crew of the Daggerhound for being slavers.

This made her attitude the first time they’d met look like mild annoyance. Evelyn’s face was like a mask of ice, while her eyes blazed with barely restrained rage. She radiated an aura of menace that weakened Ilyra’s knees, and the celestine swallowed hard, regretting that she’d said anything.

“We’re going to Nald. Then to Cantell,” Evelyn said, her voice unusually harsh. “After that, it will depend on the information I find. Most likely I’ll vaporize people. Possibly many people.”

Ilyra gulped and looked over at Fya, only to wince. Fya didn’t get angry often, but she looked like she’d swallowed something foul, her hair was a bright, blazing red, and a scowl seemed to be etched on her face. That wasn’t good at all. Still, she seemed safer to talk to than Evelyn was at the moment.

“Um, what happened?” Ilyra whispered to the djinn, worry washing over her. She couldn’t imagine anything that could cause this sort of reaction from both women.

“Don’t ask me,” Fya replied, practically spitting the words out. “If I had any choice in the matter, we wouldn’t be going anywhere. She deserves to die, but does Milady care about that? No, of course not! She’s racing to her rescue, even if she doesn’t deserve it.”

The explanation was incredibly confusing, since keeping track of which she Fya was referring to was difficult, but Ilyra wasn’t stupid. It only took her a handful of seconds to put together who Fya had to be referring to, since there was only one person the djinn seemed to hate that much. Glancing around the bridge, Ilyra saw a single notable absence, that of Adria. The Doll that almost perfectly resembled Empress Vania Peldra.

An inquiry over the network relieved Ilyra, since the Doll was currently in the kitchen, along with Moon, Star, Vaneryth, and Zelirana. Almost all of whom had been on-board before Ilyra, since she’d been farther from the shuttle bays. She hesitated, then made a decision.

“Okay, um, I’m going to go talk to the others quickly,” Ilyra said, and quickly left the bridge, not even waiting for a reply.

It didn’t take her long to reach the dining room, and when she did, she thought that most of the others looked concerned. Only Adria and Zelirana didn’t looked worried, and in the former case, that was probably because she was a Doll.

“Hey, Lyra. I’m guessing you saw Evelyn?” Star asked, giving Ilyra a nervous smile.

“Yeah, and it was… she was scary. I’ve never seen her that scary before, not even in combat,” Ilyra replied, swallowing hard, then asked. “What happened? They weren’t exactly descriptive, but from what Fya said, I’m pretty sure it involved the Empress of Peldra.”

“Huh, you got more out of them than I did. I had to get the explanation from Adria,” Moon said, jerking her thumb toward the Doll, but her worry only seemed to intensify. “I think Cherys would be here too, but she didn’t want Nadia to worry.”

Ilyra nodded, taking a deep breath, then asked. “So… please, can someone tell me what’s going on?”

“To put it briefly and simply, it appears that the Empress of Peldra was abducted by unknown assailants approximately two weeks ago, and rebels launched an attempt to overthrow the empire at the same time. I believe that the Captain learned something regarding this when she visited the Draconic Embassy to receive a secure message,” Adria said, pausing for a moment before she added. “I would not have expected this to cause her such anger, but I have been informed that I possess a minimal understanding of the full parameters involved.”

“While she may not talk about it, Evelyn’s reaction tells me one thing for certain. She deeply cares for the Empress, and she is absolutely infuriated that anyone would dare harm her,” Zelirana added, her voice carrying a hint of amusement. “I had not expected that sort of reaction before today, but Evelyn has said that she has a short temper. I did not realize just how short it was.”

Ilyra nodded again, her eyes wide as her thoughts raced. She wasn’t sure what to think, not fully, but after a moment she spoke softly. “That explains Fya. She was so angry…”

“What do you mean, it explains her?” Star asked, her head jerking up from where she’d been studying the table. Ilyra suspected her thoughts had actually been in the ship’s datanet, not on the table.

Ilyra paused, trying to formulate her thoughts, then just gave up. She was jealous, nervous, and tired, all at the same time. She didn’t want to focus on something which didn’t matter compared to the situation at hand.

“A few days ago Evelyn told me that djinni don’t experience emotions the way we do. She said that to Fya, it’s like Vania shot Evelyn about ten seconds ago. Always,” Ilyra said, her words unusually blunt, and the others stared at her.

“I… is that true?” Star asked, looking at the two immortals in the room, and Zelirana shrugged, then nodded, while Vaneryth smiled sadly.

“That is correct, yes. I have not dealt with djinni often, but angels were always told to be careful not to truly offend them, because they will never forget it,” the angel said, shaking her head slowly. “Only an event where you please them equally could possibly mitigate their earlier experiences, which makes it incredibly difficult to change a djinn’s mind in the future. I am not surprised that Fya is irate.”

“Indeed. And with Evelyn in the mood she is in, the best option we have is to let her cool down somewhat before speaking to her,” Zelirana said, tapping her lips slowly while her tail swayed rhythmically behind her. “I suspect it will take some time, but it should take three days to reach Cantell. That should be enough time for her anger to cool, and she isn’t angry with us, no matter how enraged she may be at the moment. I believe she will calm. I hope.”

“Which means we need to be ready,” Ilyra said before she’d really processed her own thoughts.

“Oh?” Moon asked, looking at Ilyra as she frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Think about it, Evelyn is really powerful, but she can’t be everywhere at once. We don’t know who kidnapped the Empress, where she is, or anything else,” Ilyra said, slowly blushing as she looked down. The situation embarrassed her in part because it made her feel like her own concerns were so petty by comparison. She didn’t stop talking, as the words came almost as quickly as her thoughts. “Sure, we aren’t strong compared to her, but we’ve been training so we can help. Maybe Evelyn can deal with whatever we run into on her own, but maybe she’ll need us to do other things. Maybe we’ll need to hold a landing bay where there’s actual counterattacks. We should make sure that we’re ready to help where we can, because there’s no telling when we’ll be helpful.”

For an instant the others looked at her. Then Zelirana began to clap, slowly and loudly. Ilyra blinked, then blushed as she saw how the succubus was smiling at her, happiness on her face.

“Excellent. You’re learning to think ahead, Ilyra, rather than dealing with the moment,” Zelirana said, inclining her head. “If you care about Evelyn, you need to be ready to assist however you can. Sometimes one must delegate, and we are all striving to not be a burden upon her.”

“Right. I guess we should’ve realized that beforehand,” Star said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “I… I guess I’m just shocked. The way that Evelyn was staring at the wyrmgate was like nothing I’ve seen before. Ever.”

“She’s enraged,” Vaneryth murmured softly, worry lacing her voice as she stared at the wall. “I simply hope that it does not lead her to make mistakes that she will come to regret.”

Ilyra opened her mouth to reply, then stopped, realizing she had no idea what Evelyn had planned, or what she might do. Aside from her comments about vaporizing people, anyway. It made her unusually nervous.

After a few seconds she replied quietly. “I agree.”

Chapter 36

“Wyrmgate activation sequence detected. We have received authorization to approach the entry zone,” the navigation Doll reported, and Evelyn gave a curt nod of acknowledgement, staring at the screen as her anger surged and ebbed violently. The ship moved a moment later, preparing them for entry into the gate.

On the screen she saw the wyrmgate shimmer. Two stylized dragons made up the exterior of the five-kilometer golden ring that looked like they were eating each other’s tails, with runes covering the interior of the ring. Two lights pulsed out from the mouths of the dragons, adhering to the inner edge of the ring, and traveled quickly around its circumference, leaving a trail of light in their wake. The lights didn’t vanish when they touched the trail of the other, instead they accelerated faster and faster, until they were less individual lights and were instead a solid ring of brilliant white light.

Space fractured inside the ring like a mirror that’d shattered, then it seemed to melt away into a shimmering corridor of white and blue energy, itself almost five kilometers across. Evelyn nodded in satisfaction, barely able to avoid baring her teeth at the sight before her. It wasn’t as though going through the gate would get her where she needed to go, nor would it get her more information. It would take days for her to get to Cantell, then she’d find out what she needed to know.

“Wyrmgate active. We are authorized to pass through the gate,” the Doll reported, looking back at Evelyn.

“Take us through,” Evelyn said, trying to keep her voice from being harsh and failing. Fortunately, Dolls didn’t mind that sort of thing.

Evelyn knew that she was worrying the others. That she was being unfair and scaring them… yet she couldn’t help herself. Evelyn wasn’t sure who she was angriest at, which was the worst part. Vania? It wasn’t like the elf would have tried to get herself abducted or her empire destroyed, though she obviously should have taken more precautions for her safety. Rasien? The guard had been ordered to escape, and from the sound of things the imperial guard had been mostly destroyed in the process of Vania’s abduction.

Oh, Evelyn despised the woman for thinking that she’d be motivated by the payment being offered. It was likely the majority of their savings for the guards she’d gathered, but it was a drop in the bucket where Evelyn was concerned. Five hundred thousand credits would be barely fifty thousand mythrite, which was less than half what she’d spent freeing the slaves. It was almost insulting.

That was still a distraction from what was enraging Evelyn the most, however. Some part of her blamed herself for what had happened, and Evelyn didn’t even know why. She hadn’t been on Peldra, and the only time that Vania had been her responsibility was when she was Evelyn’s prisoner, which had been almost a decade prior. Vania was a grown woman, and Evelyn was a retired conqueror, so it wasn’t her problem. It wasn’t her responsibility to keep the elf safe, a fact that Fya had pointed out most vehemently, though she knew why Fya disliked Vania. The djinn would never forget that Vania had been the one to put an energy blast through Evelyn’s head.

The ship moved into the wyrmgate slowly, what looked like walls of flowing blue and white liquid surrounding the ship. Only when they had fully passed through the gate itself did the strange physics of the passage take hold, as they were grasped by the tunnel and all but dragged through it at a rapid pace. It took less than a minute for them to reach the other end, and Evelyn caught only a glimpse of stars, space, and Nald’s sphere ahead of them before they were flung free of the gate.

The Doll immediately slowed them down to a standard exit velocity as she spoke. “Wyrmgate transit complete. Gate closing behind us. I have confirmed that we have reached our destination safely. Argon Control is requesting our business in-system.”

“Send our thanks to the Draconic Embassy for the use of the wyrmgate. Let the station know that we have no business in-system, that we will be moving to the nearest safe astral entry zone and setting course for Cantell immediately. Please request a departure lane, and get us moving as quickly as possible,” Evelyn ordered, her voice ever so slightly less harsh this time.

“Acknowledged, Captain. Sending messages now,” the Doll replied, and Evelyn paused, then stood up.

“I’m going to go to the gym,” she said, glancing at Fya, who was staring at the viewscreen murderously, then added, “Think about it this way, Fya. At least something terrible has happened to her.”

The djinn looked at Evelyn, then shook her head firmly, speaking in a flat tone. “We don’t know that, and you’re still dropping everything to help her sorry ass. I’m not happy.”

“I believe that means that no one is happy. At least I’ve got plenty of company,” Evelyn replied, and left the bridge.

Hopefully she could at least work off the worst of her anger with the new gear.

* * *

“Evelyn, are you alright?” Moon asked, and Evelyn glanced over at her. Not that she paused in lifting the barbell, since that would have ended poorly. The weight she had the machine set to would have crushed anyone else aboard the ship, except maybe for the Dolls or Fya. Even Zelirana would have a rough time with it, and only Fya might have been able to lift it.

“Why do you ask?” Evelyn replied, continuing to work as beads of sweat slowly made their way down her forehead. She really had been slacking off a bit, as once she would have been able to lift this much without the difficulties she was currently having.

“You’ve been really distant and angry. It makes me worry,” Moon said, setting down the bottle of water she’d brought in, as well as a plate of what looked like granola bars to Evelyn. Which was interesting, since they didn’t have any aboard… which meant that Moon must have made them.

It’d been a full day since they’d left Nald, and they’d been marginally delayed when Argon Control had insisted on stopping them for a customs inspection. No matter how much Evelyn had been tempted to tell them to go jump out an airlock, she’d restrained herself. Not that the customs team had appreciated coming aboard, since her anger had been very noticeable. The one good thing that had come of it was that the customs team had moved very, very quickly, and had left as soon as they could, allowing them to continue on their way.

Part of Evelyn wished that someone had been foolish enough to attack them after leaving Nald, if nothing else to distract her. With that not being an option, she’d tried to watch the endless skies of the astral, and when that failed, she’d spent time in the gym or the pool. She simply couldn’t focus on her other projects, even if her anger had cooled slightly.

Evelyn continued to work out for a minute more without replying, chewing over what she should say, then let out an irritable breath as she set the barbell back on its holder, and the tractor beam that it used to resist her movements turned off. Evelyn sat up and looked at Moon, who looked very worried.

“No,” Evelyn said simply.

“No… what?” Moon asked, biting her lower lip.

“I’m not alright,” Evelyn said, shaking her head as she inhaled slowly, her breath shaking slightly as she did so. “I… can’t control myself. I’m so angry, so frustrated, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. I don’t even know why I feel this way, Moon. I’m not a child, but part of me is just… overwhelmed. I’m staying away and being distant because I don’t want to hurt any of you. Yet with my strength… just look at the weight settings on this. If I lose control, what would happen? What could I do by accident?”

Moon didn’t reply immediately, instead offering Evelyn the water bottle. She took it and drank. The water was welcome and soothing, which was uncommonly pleasant with how she’d been feeling.

“I don’t think you’d do that, Evelyn. You’ve been so kind to us, doing more than anyone could have asked for,” Moon said, carefully taking a seat on the nearby bench.

“Possibly, but I’ve done some terrible things before when I couldn’t control my temper. How many people can say that they took over an entire country out of what amounted to a fit of rage?” Evelyn asked, shaking her head, then took another drink. She savored it for a moment, then swallowed before she added, somewhat bitterly. “This doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Oh?” Moon asked, frowning. “I don’t know enough about you and the empress to judge, but… there was the incident with Adria and Fya.”

“Moon,” Evelyn said, a flicker of annoyance washing over her, though she did her best to suppress it. When Moon looked at her, she spoke. “It’s been eight years, almost a decade, since I ruled Peldra. It’s been just over ten years since I conquered it. Yes, I’ve seen Vania more recently than that, but every time it was her asking for me to save her country from one threat or another, and I sold her the weapons she needed to deal with the problem. There’s never been anything between us, which is why this makes no damned sense.”

“Why should it?” Moon asked, sitting up straighter.

Evelyn just looked at the human in exasperation, then gestured around her. “Are you missing this? I’ve been nowhere near her! Yet the moment that she’s kidnapped, I suddenly turn into… I don’t know, but I’m acting like a dragon with a toothache.”

“Maybe so, but logic doesn’t necessarily play into how people feel at all. If we were going just off your reputation, Star and I wouldn’t have ever stayed with you, Evelyn. But how we feel and how you’ve acted… it changed things,” Moon said, giving a lopsided smile. “We’re worried about you, you know?”

Evelyn eyed her suspiciously for a few seconds, then pointed the water bottle at her. “You sound like you’ve been hanging out with Zel too much.”

“She may have given me some advice, along with Ryth,” Moon admitted, her cheeks coloring a little as she stood up. “There was a bit of a discussion about who should come talk to you about it, but in the end we decided on me. Something about coming bearing gifts, and that you’d be more suspicious of either of them.”

“You could’ve sent Star or Lyra,” Evelyn said, lowering the bottle, but Moon just laughed.

“Maybe so, but Star is just a bit more cowardly than I am,” Moon said, grinning. “As for Ilyra, she decided to try talking to Fya.”

That caused Evelyn to wince, and she shook her head. “That… can’t have gone well. Let me know if she got turned into a frog or something. I can probably fix it.”

Moon blanched but nodded slowly. “I’ll do that. Well, um… anyway, just try to remember, we’re here to support you, alright? Or if you need to talk.”

Evelyn nodded, letting out a soft sigh as she murmured. “I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you, Moon.”

“You’re welcome,” the human said, and walked away, leaving Evelyn to ponder.

After a few seconds she snorted, shaking her head as she realized that she was a lot calmer than she’d been before. After a few seconds she grabbed a granola bar and took a bite, only to smile to herself.

It tasted wonderful.

* * *

“Gods preserve me,” Ilyra said, her face so hot that she suspected she was glowing even through her hands. Or maybe a few walls. Her legs were still trembling, even after she’d sat down.

“What happened?” Star ventured, her voice filled with concern. Ilyra didn’t dare look at her, not with the words that were still ringing in her ears. “Fya didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“Um, no, of course not… she just was, um… expressing her opinion of the empress,” Ilyra said, cringing as she remembered how the conversation had begun.

“Bad, I take it?” Zelirana asked, and Ilyra nodded.

“It started fine… for about thirty seconds. Then she started cursing,” Ilyra said, shuddering.

“…You were gone for about half an hour, though,” Star said, sounding bewildered.

“I know,” Ilyra said, and her blush deepened. The others didn’t say anything, which was something of a relief.

She didn’t understand three quarters of the languages that the djinn had been cursing in, and she rather wished she hadn’t been able to understand most of the remainder. Especially not since she couldn’t seem to scrub the insults from her memory.

It was at times like this that Ilyra wished that drugs or implant programs to selectively remove chosen memories weren’t illegal.

“Hey everyone, I talked to Evelyn, and…” Moon’s voice trailed off, then she asked. “Why does Lyra look like she mixed up lettuce and fireleaf for a salad, then ate it?”

Ilyra whimpered.

Chapter 37

Evelyn stared down at Cantell, her gaze sharp. She still wasn’t happy, but the others had helped her calm down somewhat. It meant she wasn’t going to erupt instantly, at least, and she looked forward to finding out what had actually happened.

Cantell was an odd refuge for Rasien to take, though Evelyn could understand at least a few possible motives for the choice. The system was predominantly inhabited by humans, and the primary government was an enormous corporation that had paid for the planet to be terraformed to begin with. Not that it’d been hard to manage, since initially the planet had been close to habitable for most species, and the local plants had adapted with surprising ease. Better, from the corporation’s point of view, several of the adapted plants had been perfect for pharmaceuticals, including some of a more dubious nature, and others that were enjoyable for recreation. Evelyn didn’t care for Joyleaf, but since it wasn’t very addictive and didn’t cause major side effects, she wasn’t going to argue with anyone who did like it. There were far worse vices to have.

All of which had led to an odd smattering of civilization, fields, and wilderness, and Evelyn couldn’t help a slight shake of her head. The vast majority of Cantell’s billion inhabitants lived in a handful of arcologies that were mostly clustered together near one of the coasts. There was some urban sprawl around the six pyramid-shaped arcologies, but far more obvious were the thousands of kilometers of automated farms outside the cities, with clusters fed by underground hubs. There were other sources of entertainment on the planet as well, with a few beach resorts, and she’d heard something about good skiing in the mountains. Not that it mattered to Evelyn. She wasn’t here for a vacation.

The main reason for Rasien to come here was that it wasn’t far from Peldra, and it had a disorganized enough society that she wouldn’t find it hard to hide from others. It also had a decent network of FTL links, so she might be able to gather information as well. Which would have been great… if Evelyn had been able to get Rasien to pick up her calls.

“Anything?” Evelyn asked at last, scowling to herself.

“Negative, Captain,” the Doll at communications replied, her voice reserved. “I have attempted to contact the supplied frequency twenty-seven times, and there has been no response. I believe that either no one is available to take the call, or that it may have been disconnected. The local systems do not give enough data to be certain.”

“Of course they don’t,” Evelyn muttered, pulling up a hologram of the arcologies as she frowned, looking at the tiny, blinking light which indicated where Rasien’s message had said she’d be located. It was just barely below ground level, which didn’t concern her too much.

Officially, the arcologies were called the Vanmead Arcologies, but the locals just called them the Towers… which she supposed was accurate enough, since each of the massive pyramids extended a kilometer above the ground and almost half a kilometer downward, so that they were buried deep in the bedrock. The farther down someone went, the more lawless and dangerous they were, and the one she was looking at was called Trine. It wasn’t the best of the arcologies, but it also wasn’t the worst.

“So what are you going to do?” Fya asked, her hair currently a sullen red, which perfectly matched the unhappy djinn’s mood. “Calling them isn’t going to do much good.”

“No, it isn’t. I just don’t like the idea of going down without my weapons. For some reason, Cantell Control doesn’t want me going down there with my usual gear. Even though their gangs have more dangerous weapons than I do,” Evelyn replied, frowning heavily. “That’s not even mentioning where they put us.”

Djinn’s Gift wasn’t even in a good orbit around Cantell, as the locals had put her in a geostationary orbit as far out as they could, as well as above nothing of consequence. One might think that they were afraid of Evelyn.

“I could just conjure them for you when we get down to the surface,” Fya suggested, frowning at Evelyn.

“You could, yes. And we might just do that. I’m just suspicious. Something feels off about this, and I can’t put my finger on what,” Evelyn said slowly, her gaze lingering on the hologram, then killed it as she sighed. “I suppose it doesn’t matter that much. If all else fails, I can teleport back to the ship, and my magic should even the odds.”

“Do you want any company?” Zelirana asked, and Evelyn looked over to see the succubus was giving a slow, thorough massage to Vaneryth, specifically to her shoulders. From the way the angel looked like she was about to sprawl over the engineering console, she must have needed it.

Evelyn opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Cherys spoke softly. “Many of us would be willing to assist, if you are willing to allow it,”

“While I appreciate the thought, I wouldn’t want to bring all of you down to Cantell,” Evelyn said, smiling at the mage as she inclined her head slightly. “For one thing, I don’t want to draw too much attention, and having a large group with me would do that. Beyond which, I need to ensure anyone who goes with can defend themselves even without equipment. Which means there are only four people aboard the ship who qualify, beyond a few of the Dolls. You, Fya, Zel, and me. Everyone else needs equipment, save possibly for Ryth and Lyra, but I’d rather not risk them based on possibilities.

“The second factor is that despite everything, you aren’t used to modern civilization yet, Cherys. I appreciate your offer, but you have a daughter, and I don’t wish to take risks with you. I should also mention that Fya is nigh impossible to kill, and Zel is very resilient. Which is why I’m going to ask you and the others to stay aboard Djinn’s Gift while the three of us go down to find out why Rasien is ignoring my calls,” Evelyn explained, a ghost of a smile flitting across her face, then it grew more serious. “Though under most circumstances I would expect her to ignore me if possible, the situation is different in this case. She wouldn’t place Vania at greater risk just to thumb her nose at me.”

“As you wish. What would you like me to do, in that case? I cannot precisely become comfortable with modern societies if I never get the opportunity to explore them,” Cherys said, frowning a little.

Evelyn opened her mouth, then shut it again, frowning. After a few seconds she looked at Adria and ordered. “Adria, please acquire a one-year subscription to GalaxySim 10,000 and download it to the ship.”

“Yes, Captain,” the Doll acknowledged, bowing her head slightly. “Beginning download now. Estimated time to completion, three hours.”

“Ooh, that’s a good idea!” Fya exclaimed, her mood improving for the moment and her hair brightening at the same time. “I didn’t think of that before!”

“GalaxySim?” Cherys asked, frowning.

“I believe that you encountered the simulations when Ryth and the others were preparing for the arena fights, yes?” Evelyn said, tilting her head curiously. When the mage nodded, Evelyn continued. “This is the same thing, but on a much larger scale. GalaxySim 10,000 takes maps from about half of known space, including cities, and allows you to explore them, complete with different cultures, weapons, magic, and everything else. It isn’t perfect, but it can allow you to learn a great deal more about the modern world. Though that isn’t the intent of the program… it’s designed to allow you to found your own civilization and control it, or as a combat simulation. But it’ll suffice for what I want it for.”

“That sounds useful for me as well,” Vaneryth said, perking up slightly. “I may be more comfortable than Cherys or Nadia, but I have not interacted with modern society enough to be happy. There are too many things that I do not know.”

“It does sound useful, yes,” Cherys said cautiously.

“Well, in that case, I’m glad I got the subscription. Just make sure that you all join a private server aboard the ship, or join an RP server. Unless you want to be dropped into a combat zone which would not be ‘normal,’” Evelyn warned, standing up, then paused, looking at Zelirana. “Zel, are you fine with going down? I realize I didn’t ask you, but I should have.”

“Of course, Evelyn. I’m glad that I’m going to be of some use,” the succubus replied, her eyes glittering.

“Good. Since Fya already said she could conjure weapons, I’m guessing she’s coming with as well. If nothing else since she wants to laugh at Vania’s misfortune,” Evelyn continued, mentally going through precautions she needed to take.

“Damned right, I am. She deserves whatever she got,” Fya agreed, her eyes narrowing. “And you’d better not tell me not to laugh at her.”

“I won’t, though I’ll ask you to keep it down. You don’t have to like her, Fya, you just need to help me,” Evelyn said, tapping her side, then shifted the signal to send an all-hands communication. “Everyone, I’m preparing to head down to Cantell. You’re free to do what you like while I’m gone, but be careful about deliveries in particular. It isn’t unknown for organized crime in places like this to use delivery shuttles to hijack ships. Willow, please make sure that the ship is ready to depart at a moment’s notice.”

“Of course, Evelyn!” Willow replied cheerfully, the dryad’s voice unusually happy. “If you happen to come across a cutting of the plants from the surface, please grab one for me? Particularly the ones they use for Joyleaf… I’m curious what it’s like.”

“If I do, I will,” Evelyn said dryly, shaking her head. “I doubt I will, but it’s possible.”

“Good luck down there. If you need anything that I can help with, please tell me?” Ilyra said nervously.

“Agreed! We’re going to see if we can find anything, but I’m not sure we will,” Moon added.

“Yeah, the datanets down there are a mess. It’s like the corporations in charge only built one for them, then let everyone else build their own haphazard networks,” Star said in obvious annoyance.

“Good luck!” Nadia chimed in, momentarily startling Evelyn, until she remembered that she’d done an all-hands channel. She really needed to remember that Nadia could hear those.

“Good. In that case, we’re going to head planetside. Adria, get a flight path from Cantell Control,” Evelyn ordered, turning to the door.

“Yes, Captain,” the Doll murmured, and Evelyn left the bridge. Fya and Zelirana were just behind her, though the succubus had paused to give Vaneryth a kiss first.

Evelyn ignored that, though. She could only wonder what Rasien was doing.

* * *

Ilyra glanced at the screen in her room as the shuttle left Djinn’s Gift, carrying Evelyn, Fya, and Zelirana. A tiny part of her was… bitter, she supposed. Despite everything she’d done in the arenas, she still wasn’t good enough to accompany Evelyn into dangerous situations. She still was weak, too weak. Even if she knew that Evelyn had even rejected Vaneryth, who had centuries of experience, or Cherys, who was a powerful mage, it was frustrating.

But she was getting closer. Ilyra knew she was getting closer, and this just made her focus more than she had before. It was when she looked down on Cantell that she’d had a revelation of sorts. The knowledge in her implants, as distasteful as it was, could be useful to her. Maybe she truly was Ilyra Samtreth the Third, and maybe she wasn’t… but the data that claimed she was a biosculpted celestine was accompanied by a treasure trove of other data on the group that had supposedly created her. Ilyra hadn’t accessed it more than peripherally before, but now she realized that it was possible that the information would be useful, since even if it wasn’t true, it had to be true enough, if it was supposed to trick anyone into thinking she was an impostor.

So now she was going through the revolting, horrifying information as she practiced controlling her magic. It was hard, as magic took a great deal of concentration, but she was starting to learn how the gangs worked, and that could be useful in the future.

“Next time. Maybe not before Evelyn rescues the empress, but next time I’ll be good enough to help her,” Ilyra murmured, adding another conjured ball of semi-real light to her juggling attempt. She was up to four, and she hadn’t been able to get up to five yet, but she was getting closer.

Evelyn had said that Ilyra could match her, and she’d be damned if she was going to give up.

Chapter 38

“I see why you didn’t want to bring the others,” Zelirana said, stepping over the groaning elven man without a downward glance. Instead, the succubus was smiling, which prompted Evelyn to roll her eyes.

The overweight elf had been so drunk that he hadn’t interpreted Evelyn’s glare as a threat. For some bizarre reason, he’d taken her and Zelirana as prostitutes, and Fya as their madam. If they’d been in any other situation, Evelyn might have found it amusing, but she wasn’t in any mood for it right now. So when he’d tried to grab her, Evelyn had thrown the man into the nearest wall. He’d bounced in a very satisfying way, then hit the ground with a groan. He didn’t look like he was going to die, so Evelyn just left him. It wasn’t like there were many emergency services on this level of the arcology, anyway.

“That wasn’t the reason I didn’t want them coming with, though it certainly is a contributing factor,” Evelyn said, her gaze lingering on the barely concealed holster a woman walking down the passage was wearing, and she shook her head in disgust. She hadn’t seen a single unarmed person since reaching Trine, which made the ridiculousness of her not being allowed to bring weapons even worse. They could easily purchase a few guns, knives, or things of that nature from one of the ten weapons dealers she’d seen just on their way in. If they hadn’t been complete garbage, she might have done it.

In all honesty, the arcology hadn’t even been that bad so far. The ground floor only had mild amounts of graffiti, and there had been a great deal of shops all around them. There were elevator banks that went up or down ten floors at a time, with more elevators and stairs that led to the floors inside each ten-floor range, all of which were at least functional. Damage had been dealt to the structure here and there, but it was mostly cosmetic.

Things had grown worse as they went downward, though. A few of the lights weren’t working properly, and graffiti became a little more common. Evelyn had spotted a few clusters of men and women that struck her as gang members just from the way that they carried themselves. One group had been wearing all black shirts, and the elven woman with the blood red mohawk that led them had spotted Evelyn and scowled angrily at her. At least until Evelyn had smiled back at her, her gaze hardening in the process. That had seemed to spook the woman, which was what Evelyn had been going for. It wasn’t her fault if some gang had chosen to take black as their colors.

They’d left the main thoroughfares at this point, though, and were making their way through smaller corridors barely wide enough for four people to walk side by side. Trash littered the floor, and holographic signs were here and there, as well as augmented reality advertisements. The businesses varied quite a bit, from hourly hotels to flophouses to restaurants… and one location that boasted that it had the best implants on the entire floor. Considering how dingy and dirty the window was, and some of the example items in the front window, which had metal bars across it, Evelyn wouldn’t have trusted them not to leave her with a nasty infection.

Fortunately, at least most of the locals only had to take one look at Evelyn before getting out of her way. They knew trouble when they saw it, and Evelyn was more than willing to cause trouble if she had to. She likely wouldn’t even get in trouble herself, since according to a couple of the local datanets, the average security response time in this area was thirty minutes.

“Do you think that your contact is alright?” Zelirana asked after another minute, glancing around casually as she clicked her tongue and shook her head. “This doesn’t appear to be the best sort of location for someone with her background to hole up.”

“That’s because it isn’t. The sheer stupidity that she showed when she came to Rakal indicates to me that she has all the common sense of a duckling,” Evelyn replied grimly, pausing to check the maps as she reached an intersection, then scowled. The map was out of date, as someone had walled over the path that she’d been going to take. A detour would add a few minutes to the trip, but it wasn’t like it would slow them down too much. She continued after a moment. “However, she is a trained warrior, and while I wasn’t that impressed with her when I beat her the first time, at this point she should be on about the same level as Azure and Magnus. Most thugs couldn’t deal with her… but if she’s not answering, something has gone wrong. The only question is what.”

“Maybe she fell into the incinerator, and put herself out of our misery?” Fya suggested hopefully. “They have incinerators here, right?”

“I thought you disliked Vania, not Rasien,” Evelyn said, glancing over her shoulder at the red-haired djinn, who had a gleam in her eyes that Evelyn didn’t entirely like. Evelyn paused and moved to the side as a man with a hover-loader came down the corridor, a pallet loaded onto the battered machine’s fork.

“She works for Vania, so…” Fya let her voice trail off, shrugging as she perked up a little. “Either way, I don’t like her. She’s rude to you, works for someone I hate, and dragged us away from things that were actually fun. If she fell in an incinerator, she deserved it.”

“And I thought I was vindictive,” Zelirana said, a note of amusement in her voice.

“I’d really rather not get into a contest of who holds grudges longer, please,” Evelyn said, a hint of amusement welling up inside her as she started moving again.

“Pfft, but it’d be fun!” Fya said, seeming to regain a bit of her usual cheerfulness at last.

“For us, anyway. I’m fairly certain the people on the other side of things wouldn’t agree,” Zelirana said, smirking slightly. “On the other hand… how do you think people would react here if I were in succubus form rather than human?”

“Um, twenty percent would try to kill you, thirty percent would run, thirty percent would think you’d undergone sculpting, and twenty percent would think you’d undergone sculpting and would proposition you,” Evelyn said after a moment’s thought. “Roughly speaking, anyway. I’m sure some would believe that you were a succubus and proposition you.”

“That’s honestly a better reaction than I’d have expected,” Zelirana murmured, prompting Evelyn to laugh. She should’ve expected the succubus to respond that way.

Then they turned the corner to the street that Evelyn had been looking for, and she paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. Most of the street didn’t look that out of place, at least for this sort of neighborhood. That wasn’t entirely the case, though, as the door she was looking for was highlighted in her vision by her implants… and the door was hanging off its hinges, while it was crumpled in the middle. She hadn’t expected that, since none of the other places she’d seen along the way had been wrecked.

“This looks bad,” Evelyn said, frowning slightly, then shrugged and started toward the door.

“What, a door looking like it was kicked in doesn’t look good to you? You do it often enough!” Fya said cheerfully.

“Oh, shush,” Evelyn told the djinn, sighing in aggravation, then she stepped up to the door and looked inside, frowning as she hesitated, then entered the room.

A couple of flickering lights lit the room on the other side of the door, and Evelyn frowned in annoyance as she looked at a room that had been ransacked. Cushions had been pulled from a tattered sofa, furnishings removed, and it looked like the room had been clean before a veritable parade of looters had come through the room in search of salvage.

Slowly making her way into the room, Evelyn spotted a kitchen, which was even worse than the living room, and a hallway with several doors on either side of it. With a sigh, she started down the hallway, examining everything as she went, and Evelyn quickly picked out details that caused her eyes to narrow.

There were a couple of armor racks in bedrooms, though in others it looked like they’d been stolen, and she saw indications of weapons and ammunition being stored as well. But what surprised her more than anything else was that there wasn’t any sign of the weapons being used. That meant that either they’d evacuated before the rooms had been ransacked, or they hadn’t had a chance to fight back. Pausing to look at a couple of dresser drawers that were open, which revealed some clothing, Evelyn rather suspected the latter, which annoyed her even more.

After doing a full circuit, Evelyn frowned, looking at the other two curiously as she asked. “Well, any ideas? It looks to me like someone raided this place, but they didn’t fight back. It doesn’t make any sense for a group of loyal guards to not defend themselves, though.”

“I don’t know,” Fya admitted immediately, looking around casually, then she scowled and added. “I don’t really care about them, but you’re not going to let this go, so… I could try to scry into the past to figure out what happened? It might cause problems, though.”

“I’d really rather you didn’t add to difficulties, so let’s save that for a last resort,” Evelyn said, and turned her attention to Zelirana, who was crouched down, examining the scene critically. As she watched, the succubus leaned down over the couch and inhaled slowly, then nodded.

“Gas. I’m not sure what type, but a paralytic of some type. It seeped into the fabric,” The succubus murmured, looking around slowly as she tapped her leg with one finger. “It’s been a few days, I’d guess? Just based on how recently things were soiled. If they were imperial guard, they would have kept this area relatively clean, which gives us a timeline. Unfortunately, that doesn’t give us much to go on.”

“You know that much about paralytics?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow at the succubus curiously.

“Of course I do. I’m almost completely immune to them, but angels aren’t. I used to keep some on-hand in case I needed to slow down attackers,” Zelirana said, grinning at Evelyn briefly, then her smile vanished. “I wish I could be more help, but I’m afraid that my best suggestion is to ask one of the people who lives or works in the neighborhood.”

“If I could find a bit of her hair, I suspect I could track down Rasien via magic, actually… did anyone see a brush or something like that?” Evelyn asked, glancing around. “She’s a blonde, for what it’s worth.”

“Oh, that much shouldn’t be hard. I… ah, we have a guest,” Zelirana said, and Evelyn turned to look at the door.

Just outside the doorway was a handsome celestine man with an unruly mop of copper curls atop his head, and an extremely muscular physique that was shown off by a silver vest and golden pants. He was looking at them warily, his eyes an artificial silver with golden irises, and the only thing ruining the near-celestial appearance was the cigar he was holding in one hand.

“Huh, no wonder she said that I’d recognize you instantly,” the man said, shaking his head slowly as he looked at Evelyn.

“Her?” Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow at him, focusing on the man carefully. That seemed to unnerve the celestine, as he flashed a smile at her.

“Raz, that’s what she was going by. I know it was an assumed name, but… damn, she said you’d be scary, but I didn’t think you’d be that frightening. Evelyn Tarth… holy shit, you’re impressive,” the man said, taking a deep, shuddering breath, then let it out. “I’m Angel. That’s my name, and I got along well enough with Raz. She asked me to let you know what was going on if you showed up after her group left, though I don’t think she expected what happened.”

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, smiling a little as she saw a bead of sweat trickling down his face, as well as how he swallowed heavily. “So, what did happen?”

“It’s… look, I’m not sure about the whole story, but I know who grabbed Raz. Two and a half days ago, the Trine Counts showed up on the street in the middle of the night. I could see trouble coming, and got out of the way. No one wants to screw with them,” Angel said, looking away nervously. “When I saw them lining up to bust in here, I thought that there was going to be a major shootout. I’ve seen some of the gear the outworlders had in here, and I didn’t want anything to do with that kind of trouble. But there wasn’t a shootout. They all had masks, busted down the door, and the next thing I knew, they were dragging Raz and her friends out into a van, all of them unconscious. They grabbed their gear, turned the place over, then left. A bunch of others picked through it since then, but that’s all I know.”

“Hm. Who are the Trine Counts?” Zelirana asked, examining the celestine with a knowing smirk. He paled slightly at her question.

“Ah, hell… look, I know trouble when I see it. I’m just telling you what happened, and who they are, alright? I don’t want to get dragged into this, I have to live here after you’re gone!” Angel protested, raising his hands in front of him, the cigar’s tip glowing in the dim lighting.

“We aren’t asking you where they took them. We’re asking who the Counts are,” Evelyn said, keeping her tone even, even if internally she was seething in annoyance.

“They’re a gang! One of the two biggest gangs here in Trine. They’re from downshaft,” Angel said, pointing downward nervously. “Mostly human, but with a decent number of elves, dark elves, and dwarves. They’re at the throats of the Trine Bloods a lot.”

“Well, at least that tells me that they’re alive… or were alive,” Evelyn said, smiling coldly. She saw Angel shiver, and shrugged, flicking through a few options in her implants, then extended an offer of ten mythrite to the celestine. His eyes widened as he accepted the transfer request, causing her to smile. “I’d leave if I were you. I’m afraid that I’m going to have to have a… discussion with the Trine Counts.”

“Ah… right, I’ll leave you to it, then,” Angel said, and quickly left, hurrying across the corridor to where Evelyn could see a couple of other men and women watching curiously.

“I don’t think his name is actually Angel,” Zelirana murmured.

“It could be. I’ve heard of enough people calling their children their little angel that it wouldn’t surprise me,” Evelyn said, and bared her teeth. “That said, it sounds like we’re going to have some unpleasantness. Let’s find some hair, shall we?”

“Are we going to get to blow something up?” Fya asked hopefully.

“With any luck… yes, yes we will,” Evelyn said. She couldn’t help a laugh as Fya’s hair turned to a bright red.

She couldn’t blame her, since Evelyn really would like someone to take out her frustration on.

Chapter 39

“Do you think they’re alright down there?” Moon asked, staring at the screen showing Cantell.

“Almost certainly,” Star replied, shrugging as she looked at the sensor charts, frowning. “I mean… it’s Evelyn, Fya, and Zel. Evelyn saved Worldwaker, so I can’t imagine them getting in trouble down there.”

“While I understand your confidence, I believe that it is quite possible for Evelyn to get ‘in trouble’ as you put it,” Adria chimed in, the Doll tilting her head slightly. “While I do not believe that she would be placed in significant danger, she could cause issues for the locals. And may do so.”

“Why do you say that?” Moon asked, her gaze drawn away from the screen by the Doll’s words. A bit of worry was welling up inside her, too. Adria never spoke without data to back it up, in her experience.

“Fya’s magical signature was detected just as her armor and weapons vanished from the ship, along with Evelyn’s and Zelirana’s,” Adria said, her lips pursing as she hesitated, then continued. “A fully equipped emergency medical kit was taken as well. I do not know if other items were taken. I am running an inventory now.”

“Oh, crap,” Moon said, the blood draining from her face.

“You said it,” Star said, and smiled nervously. “I… think I’m going to make sure the nearest departure lane is plotted in. Again.”

Moon nodded numbly, her thoughts racing, then stood up and headed to get her own armor. This could be bad.

* * *

“Do I have to use a pistol? I don’t like pistols,” Fya whined, her hair almost black, and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

“Yes. You’re far too prone to using heavy weapons, and I don’t want breakage aside from the gangsters. Assuming they decide not to hand over Rasien and her comrades,” Evelyn said, glowering at the djinn for just a moment. “We will not attack first.”

“Somehow, I doubt that will slow us down much,” Zelirana said, tilting her head slightly.

Evelyn suppressed a laugh, as she understood exactly why the succubus had said that. They were on the seventy-eighth floor below the surface, and if the floor they’d been on hadn’t been too bad, this certainly was. Only about one light in ten was functional, graffiti was all over, and all the buildings they’d passed had heavily reinforced doors and windows, those that had windows. There was a startling number of neon signs that shed light, but in the distance she’d heard the sound of gunfire.

Despite the sound, the people on the street barely paused. The most Evelyn saw was a few of them checking their sidearms, then they kept moving.

Evelyn was honestly surprised by the sheer number of people that were down here. Oh, few of them looked like they were well off, but compared to the handful of people she’d seen above, these corridors were swarming with inhabitants. Merchants were hawking their wares, mostly food from street carts, prostitutes were calling out to passersby, and clusters of gangsters bulled their way through the crowds. Well, mostly. The gangsters took one look at Evelyn, Fya, and Zelirana and promptly found somewhere else to be.

That was a common theme, and Evelyn couldn’t help a smirk at how quickly people got out of her way. They weren’t too obvious about it, but it was like the waves parting before a ship’s bow, the way they were allowed through the crowds without the slightest effort.

Zelirana cut an attractive figure in her metallic green and gold armor, and the succubus had gone with an unusual weapon, in Evelyn’s opinion. She had an energy pistol, of course, but instead of a sword, mace, or anything of that sort, she’d chosen an energy whip instead. The device used much heavier enchantments than most of Evelyn’s equipment in order to control the energy lash it created. No technology allowed an energy whip to function correctly without a filament or the like to Evelyn’s knowledge. Yet.

The biggest problem with energy whips was the danger of striking yourself or an ally, and Evelyn wouldn’t have been willing to use one in combat herself. Yet the succubus had proven herself in the middle of a ring of holographic enemies and allies, striking down a dozen opponents without any collateral damage, so Evelyn was willing to let her use it.

Fya had chosen to grab an infinity hammer for a melee weapon this time around, and Evelyn suspected she’d set aside the pistol the moment she could, so that she could splatter someone against the wall, and resolved to keep a wary eye on the red-armored djinn. She didn’t want her to kill someone who had important information.

For her own part, Evelyn was quite a bit more comfortable being back in her armor, and having weapons at her sides. Sure, her magic was powerful, but having a good weapon was reassuring. Even if she could conjure a blade of pure force.

Right that moment she was still channeling the spell to track down the owner of the hair that they’d found on a hairbrush. Evelyn wasn’t sure that it belonged to Rasien, but it really didn’t matter if it belonged to the guard captain. If it didn’t it almost certainly belonged to one of her fellow guards, and that was the important thing. The spell wasn’t perfect, it only allowed her to narrow down the approximate direction and distance to the owner, but coupled with her implants and the maps, Evelyn had managed to triangulate things to the point that she was sure her target was in a warehousing district.

“This could take a while,” Evelyn murmured, glancing at the map internally again.

“True, but I don’t think I’d trust the tram system around here,” Zelirana said, nodding to a junction box off to the side, which was open with a young human woman rummaging around inside it. The next moment there was an outraged yell from a store next to the box, and a shopkeeper emerged from the door with a shotgun. The young woman bolted.

“No, I don’t think I would, either,” Evelyn said, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched the shopkeeper chase the scavenger.

This was ridiculous.

* * *

“Yo, boss?” Branda asked, opening the door and poking her head in. It looked like the human had gotten another nose piercing, Cyrus noticed absently, his gaze fixed on the hologram of the cage match going on over in Dox. The challengers were getting torn apart by Shark, which was only to be expected. The man was a demon in the water.

“What is it?” Cyrus asked, checking the betting, and he grinned. A bunch of suckers had put a lot of money on the challengers, so if things went as he expected, he was going to make a tidy amount from his cut.

“Got a call from Angel a couple ticks ago—” Branda began, only for Cyrus to interrupt.

“Who’s Angel?” Cyrus asked, growing a little annoyed, and he saw the woman flinch slightly.

“Sorry, boss. He’s the hooker from upstairs, the one from the acquisition job?” Branda said, licking her lips. “We paid him to keep an eye on things, and to send anyone who came looking for them our way?”

“Ah, right. The looker, I remember him now,” Cyrus said, relaxing. “What’d he have to say?”

“He said three gals showed up there, and he told them what our targets had told him, and mentioned us. Last he saw them, they were coming down our way,” Branda said, shrugging. “Said they looked dangerous to him, but you know how hookers are. I’ve got descriptions, if you want them.”

“Nah, no point to it. Hookers think everyone looks dangerous, unless you’re a half-dead stick,” Cyrus replied with a snort, waving her off. “Remember the one orc guy, the one who could pick up a full ore container without straining?”

“Hell yeah. He couldn’t stand the sight of blood,” Branda said, her lips curving into a cruel smile.

“Exactly. Nah, just get a group together and give them their descriptions. When they see them, bring them in. We’ll get a bonus if they’re the ones our employers want,” Cyrus said, and grinned as Shark dropped another of his opponents. He doubted the man was dead, but he probably wished he was.

“Got it, I’ll send out a couple of squads,” Branda said and withdrew from the room.

Cyrus laughed, lacing his hands behind his head as he settled back to focus on the match. It was a good match, and as soon as their employer’s ship reached the system, he’d be able to sell off the elves for a solid price. He had no idea what a group of Peldra’s commandos had been doing on Cantell, but their armor would do wonders for dealing with the Bloods… once they broke the encryption, anyway.

“It’ll be a good day,” Cyrus murmured.

Chapter 40

As they left what Evelyn thought was the tourist district behind, the crowds grew sparser. The signs changed from predominantly clubs, stores, and hotels to flophouses and rental spaces, with a few shops here and there. Then even those began to grow less common, and the passages widened to make room for a rail system which could be used by the storage facilities in this region. Not that it looked like the rail system had been used in over a decade, based on the detritus on the tracks.

Not much farther and the number of people passing through the corridors grew even fewer in number, and most of them were gangsters. Tattoos, holographic tattoos, piercings, and exposed cybernetic enhancements abounded, as did even more varied hairstyles in different colors than normal. It reminded Evelyn just a bit of Rakal.

That was part of why she wasn’t even slightly surprised when she saw flickers of movement from the corners of her eyes, and she let out a sigh.

“Attacking would be truly—” Evelyn began.

Eight thugs popped out of their hiding places. One of them threw out his hands, launching a blast of purple energy at them, another had a net, and the rest were using a variety of stunning weapons, from an actual stun rifle to a sonic cannon. Even as they were acting, Evelyn created a shield around her and her companions, a crimson dome that coated the floor as well. The attacks splashed off the dome harmlessly, not even causing it to ripple.

“—stupid. Idiots,” Evelyn finished, dropping the shield again as she glowered at the woman with the sonic cannon, whose eyes had gone huge. She didn’t even bother drawing a weapon. She wouldn’t need one for this lot. “Fya, Zel? Minimum breakage, please.”

“Right!” Fya chirped happily, promptly ignoring Evelyn as she pulled out the infinity hammer, and Evelyn saw the haft of the hammer extend and the lights on the hammer’s head brighten until they were nearly red. That was a bad sign.

“Fya, that setting might shatter the floor, let alone the thugs,” Zelirana replied conversationally, her pistol already in hand.

“Right, splatter them, not the building,” Fya said, and the lights on the hammer dimmed down to ‘only’ yellow. Evelyn sighed internally, waiting for the group’s leader to identify themselves. It should only take a moment.

“What’re you doing, get them!” the man with the stun rifle snarled a moment later, proving Evelyn right.

“He’s mine. Deal with the rest,” Evelyn ordered, and with that she surged magic through her body and shot forward like a bullet.

Weapons fired again, which caused Evelyn to smirk as the shots went wide, in her case because she changed course by a hair. The sound of Zel’s pistol firing was almost lost among the cries of shock, but Evelyn heard the mage cry out in pain. The next moment Evelyn was on the man in charge. He was no Magnus or Azure, and he didn’t even have time to dodge.

Evelyn ripped the rifle out of his grip and slammed the man into the wall behind him, blasting the air from his lungs. With a jerk she ripped a baton off his belt, at the same time pinning him to the wall by the throat, her right hand pressing against his windpipe dangerously.

The next moment a woman shrieked, just before the thunderous boom of an infinity hammer landing echoed behind Evelyn, shaking the ground beneath her feet as Fya cackled, and the sizzle of an energy whip activating came a moment later.

“You want to live, don’t you?” Evelyn asked calmly as more screams and the sounds of running came in rapid succession. There was gunfire, but not much of it. The man’s eyes were huge, and he nodded rapidly, terror on his face. She smiled, murmuring. “Good. Let’s wait a moment, so that you can answer my questions properly. Message anyone and I won’t be this polite.”

The half-elf nodded quickly, and Evelyn’s smile widened. Fya’s laughter made an excellent counterpoint to her questions.

* * *

“B? I’ve got reports of gunfire from the Gamma crossing,” Tony said, looking at Branda from the doorway, and she snorted, shaking her head.

“Of course you did. I sent Vayn out with a group to knock out a couple of broads that the boss wants brought in. Secondaries for that job the other day,” Branda said, shrugging. “Shouldn’t take them too long.”

Tony’s frown surprised her, since she would’ve expected him to relax instead. Despite his appearance, the big guy wasn’t the best in a fight, but he was good at keeping an eye on all of their territory, which was the main reason Cyrus liked him so much. And Branda, though she’d rather walk across broken glass barefoot than tell him that.

“If that was all, then why’re they saying that they’re hearing screaming?” Tony asked unhappily. “Maybe something went wrong?”

“Well, easy enough to find out,” Branda said, frowning as well. Screaming didn’t sound right… Vayn had taken Zasper with him, and the mage was good at knocking people out with his mind magic. She mentally set her implants to send Vayn a message over the network the gang had set up throughout the level, and asked, “Yo, Vayn, what’s up? Tony says that he’s hearing screaming from your direction. You not done yet?”

“Oh, what’s this? Someone contacting my captive via a very insecure channel? How… nostalgic,” a woman’s voice replied instead, her voice a soft purr that sent chills down Branda’s spine, and she sat up straight.

“Who is this?” Branda demanded. “What do you think you’re—”

“Branda, don’t, she’s—” Vayn began, only to be cut off by the woman.

“Ah, ah… none of that. I’m going to give you one chance, ‘Branda’. I’m here for the people that your gang captured two days ago, as well as their gear. Get your people out of my way and give them to me, and I won’t go through your people. This is your only warning,” the woman said, then the channel hissed as static filled it.

“B?” Tony asked, looking at her in concern. For just a moment Branda sat there, then shook herself firmly.

“We’ve got an emergency, Tony. Call everyone in, I need to talk to the boss,” Branda said, standing up quickly.

“Right,” Tony said, looking mystified.

Branda gave him a taut smile, wishing she knew more than he did. Something about the woman’s voice had felt familiar, but she couldn’t place where she’d heard it before.

* * *

“—don’t know, but they wanted them turned over for questioning, or something like that. We put them in coldsleep pods in the main warehouse, and the boss put their stuff in for sorting. I dunno how far they got!” the man said hastily, staring at Fya’s bloodstained hammer as he swallowed heavily, then continued. “That’s all I know about them, honest! I think I heard something about an additional step or somethin’, but I wasn’t involved.”

“Doesn’t sound like it was everything to me. He said something afterward,” Fya said, fingering her hammer speculatively, a grin on her face. Evelyn suspected that the blood splattered on her hammer, armor, and face was fake, since the armor’s shields should’ve kept any from reaching her, but she couldn’t be sure. Infinity hammers could make a terrible mess.

“I… I…” the man floundered, obviously panicking, and Evelyn rolled her eyes, then glanced at Zel and gave her a nod.

The succubus smiled, flicking her fingers through the air, and a faint pink mist swirled out of them and into the man’s nose and ears. After a moment his eyes rolled back, and he slumped over, unconscious. Fya stared at him, then looked at Evelyn, pouting.

“Hey, why’d you do that?” the djinn demanded.

“We got the relevant information out of him, anything more would take too long,” Evelyn said, reaching down and pulling a credit stick off the man’s belt. It would likely have barely anything on it, but she doubted he’d wake up with it even if she left it behind. “Come on, you’re going to get to splatter more gangsters anyway.”

“We could get out of this without more death, you know. The gang leader could heed your warning,” Zelirana said, smirking at Evelyn.

“I challenged a gang leader on his home ground, and you think he won’t try to kill me to keep his authority from taking a hit?” Evelyn asked skeptically. The succubus laughed and shook her head.

“Oh, of course not! But if you used your actual name, I think that even his enemies would agree that discretion is the better part of valor. I noticed that you didn’t say who you were,” Zelirana said, her grin widening.

“Ooh… that’s true, you didn’t tell them who you were, and you stopped him from telling them!” Fya said, her eyes widening as she glanced down at the gangster, then followed Evelyn as she started down the corridor.

Evelyn shrugged, her lips curving into a smile. “Did I? It must have slipped my mind.”

From the way they laughed, she doubted that they believed her. It was just as well, since they weren’t wrong. Evelyn rather wanted the excuse to destroy whatever got in her way.

Chapter 41

“I’m going to turn them into blast shadows on the walls!” Cyrus snarled under his breath, checking the seal on his armor, then seated the helmet firmly. With a thought he brought the armor’s systems up, and he wished that he’d been able to find a surgeon he trusted to upgrade his implants. Then he could interface with the armor properly, rather than using so many manual controls.

The armor whined softly as the shield generator powered up, and a shimmering barrier formed of blue hexagons and the occasional pentagon briefly surrounded him before fading from sight. It caused Cyrus to relax marginally, but he was still fuming that someone would dare challenge him in his own turf. If it was one of the other gangs he’d understand, but this was an outsider. They had no business here, and he didn’t damned well care what their employer wanted. He was going to kill the bitch who dared intrude into his territory.

“Cameras caught a glimpse of them before getting jammed, boss. They’re heading straight for the warehouse,” Branda reported, sounding only a bit anxious. Cyrus thought that she should be more concerned about anyone who was able to jam their network like that. He really needed to find a proper network engineer.

“How far away are they?” Cyrus asked, reaching over and picking up his gravity mace and plasma carbine. Linking them to the armor’s systems only took a moment more, and he nodded internally as the icons showing their status blinked to life. There were a couple of orange indicators, but he hadn’t found replacement parts for the carbine’s internal battery or rangefinder yet. They weren’t critical with the weapon linked to his suit, though.

“Five, six minutes, tops. We’ve got tons of people in their way, though. They’re not going to get close to the warehouse,” Branda replied confidently, and Cyrus smirked, nodding even though she couldn’t see him do so. His suit scanners could pick up at least thirty people outside, and that was through the walls. There were probably twice that number, which worked for him.

“Got it. I’m coming down now,” Cyrus said, and headed for the door.

He had the holo system recording the matches, so he could always watch them later. For now, Cyrus needed to deal with some uppity civilians who thought they could challenge him on his own turf. With that thought, he primed the plasma carbine, growling under his breath.

* * *

“Reminder of rules of engagement. Do not cause significant structural damage, with that being classified as anything that could potentially break through into the upper or lower floor. You can throw people through walls, but be careful, don’t hit load-bearing walls. They shouldn’t be nearby, but still. We’re here to get the imperial guard, and Rasien in specific. I don’t want you killing them just to have fun with a bunch of gangsters,” Evelyn said calmly, her ears perked up as she heard movement and conversation from ahead of them, around a corner. “That means you, Fya.”

“Aww… okay…” the djinn said, her hair wilting slightly. Then she straightened as she asked. “The gangsters are fair game, though?”

“Have at. I’d say to leave survivors, but with the encryption I’ve picked up, I don’t think we’ll have trouble learning what we need to from their systems. Try to leave one of their leaders alive if you can,” Evelyn said dryly. “Aside from that… I don’t really care what happens to them. They’re gangsters, and not the type that at least provides decent security to shops that pay them, from what we heard.”

“Sounds like it’ll be fun,” Zelirana said, then let out a faint sigh as she shook her head. The succubus pulled out her energy whip again and gave the handle an experimental flick. “This isn’t what I was expecting when we came here, but I suppose there’s no helping it. I prefer a nice seduction to bloodshed, but when enemies insist on taking the job of a nail, there’s no reason not to use the hammer.”

“Exactly,” Evelyn agreed, drawing her pistol. She briefly considered drawing her energy blade as well, but she thought she was going to lead with a spell. “I think we’re going to have a welcoming party when we turn the corner, be ready.”

“Ooh, I do love parties!” Fya replied, her grin growing still wider, and Evelyn let out a soft sigh. This was about to get very bloody, she imagined. Not that she cared that much, but she pitied any cleaning crew who came in after them. Then they turned the corner, and Evelyn’s eyebrows rose a hair, taking in the sight ahead of them in an instant.

There had to be at least sixty gang members in the wide corridor ahead of them, most of them behind cover, but a few confident-looking ones in the open had reasonably good armor, though only one suit looked like it was in good repair. The gangsters all were wearing black headbands, she noticed, but otherwise they wore surprisingly bright colors, and all of them were armed. Even the four magi scattered throughout the group who started casting spells, as the others leveled their guns at Evelyn’s group.

Evelyn brought up her shield again the moment before the gangsters unloaded into her, not even blinking as a hail of fire, projectiles, lightning, magical energy bolts, and even a single grenade bounced off her shield, obscuring all vision for a moment. Mostly because the grenade exploded on impact. Evelyn really appreciated her magic at times like this, since it protected her ears from the worst side effects of the explosions.

“Did we get them?” someone on the other side of the room asked, and Evelyn cracked a smile.

“No, you didn’t. And that was a terrible mistake,” Evelyn replied, raising her voice so they could hear her. With a surge of mana and will, she focused and a ball of bright red energy formed in front of her, roiling violently. “Allow me to show you why.”

The orb burst into ten tiny streams of energy that streaked across the corridor toward concentrations of gangsters and exploded violently. Evelyn charged forward on the heels of the explosions, drawing her energy blade to put a mage out of his misery.

* * *

Branda swore under her breath as she tried to shoot the woman in the lead, her confidence completely replaced by panic and fear as a scene from a nightmare unfolded in front of her.

The bolts of explosive energy had shattered any semblance of coordination among her people and decimated their numbers, then the group had attacked. Energy bolts lanced out with unerring accuracy, hammering shields where members of the Counts had them, and felling those who didn’t.

The ground shook when one of the attackers swung her hammer, crushing the chest of a woman with a single, horrifying blow, and the red-haired woman cackled madly, her voice piercing over the roar of combat. It was chilling, but almost worse was how the one in the green in gold armor almost strolled across the field of battle, a crimson energy whip creating an intricate web in the air. With every movement, a gun, arm, or throat was struck, and the only times that the whip didn’t simply destroy what it struck was when the target’s shields were still up. That simply allowed the whip to lash out again, and the shields rarely were able to stop two blows.

But even those two didn’t terrify Branda as much as the woman in the lead, the one who’d spoken earlier. That was because Branda’s traitorous brain had finally identified the voice she’d heard earlier. Evelyn Tarth was a legend, but she’d never, ever, expected to run into her. If Branda thought she’d have the slightest chance of getting away, she’d have turned and ran.

Instead, she could only watch in horror as Evelyn sidestepped Branda’s shot, then cut Kutter, the gang’s self-proclaimed melee specialist, in half after only a single exchange. She made it look easy.

“Run! Run, damn it all!” Branda yelled, and she yanked a grenade off her belt, throwing it over the barrier.

Before the grenade could even hit the ground, Evelyn took a sliding step forward and swung her energy blade, cutting the grenade cleanly in two. It landed on either side of her, and the woman looked at Branda, smiling coldly.

“You should have thought of that earlier,” Evelyn replied calmly.

The next moment all Branda felt was searing pain, and she screamed as she fell to the ground.

Chapter 42

The woman fell to the ground, her limbs landing beside her, and Evelyn ignored her screaming as she turned away to examine the rest of the battlefield. If you could call something this simple a battlefield, anyway.

Almost all of the gangsters were down, either dead, wishing they were dead, or having run away. One of them was playing dead, and she pondered for an instant, then told the woman. “Keep pretending until this is over, and you’ll be fine. Try to backstab us, and I’ll have her hit you.”

Evelyn nodded toward Fya, who’d left a trail of pulverized bodies and limbs in her wake. The woman’s eyes flicked toward Fya, her dusky skin turned slightly green, then she mumbled. “Super-dead. Promise.”

“Good,” Evelyn replied and stepped over the ‘corpse’ as she glanced around, shaking her head. The gangsters hadn’t had a chance. It had been like a group of normal, non-venomous ants trying to take down a panther. Doomed to failure unless the panther was half-dead to begin with and unable to move.

“Do you think that’s all of them?” Fya asked, grinning broadly as she looked down at herself, then flicked her fingers. The blood adhered to her boots promptly squirmed off her as if alive and returned to the bodies she’d left behind.

“I doubt it. I didn’t see anyone who struck me as a gang leader,” Zelirana replied, her energy whip deactivating as she looked around. After a moment she added. “Not enough blustering or monologuing. I would’ve expected at least a little of that, before someone tried to sneak up behind us and shoot us in the back. Though that may be me conflating them with demon lords. There’s a startling amount of overlap in attitudes.”

“Oh? I thought you said I could have been a demon lord. Are you saying I would shoot people in the back or betray them?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow at the succubus skeptically.

“No, I did not say that. You’re the type to destroy people from the front. Usually after they’ve pissed you off,” Zelirana said, shaking her head firmly. “You have the power to challenge a demon lord, not the attitude of one. I’d have left if you had that.”

“Fair,” Evelyn said, giving a final firm nod as she turned, hearing something from the warehouse. “I think we’re about to have more company.”

“Likely,” Zelirana agreed. “Are you going to shield us again?”

“I could, unless you’d like me to do something else?” Evelyn asked, a little amused at how casually they were handling this.

“Let’s see how my magic works. I haven’t used it in this way in a while…” the succubus said and began to chant under her breath. Evelyn couldn’t hear all of her words, and she wasn’t conversant in demonic tongues, so she wasn’t sure what the chant was.

Evelyn prepared to bring up a shield anyway but waited rather than doing so immediately. She saw the bay door on the warehouse shift and braced herself, ready to act at a moment’s notice. Fya had moved up next to her and was twirling the infinity hammer in one hand as if preparing to throw it. That wouldn’t work well with its design, and Evelyn made a note to work on finding a different one for Fya. The djinn loved her heavy weapons far too much.

The bay door rolled up suddenly, revealing a line of gangsters behind barricades, many of them with a variety of even heavier weapons in their hands, and one in the back was in a suit of heavy power armor. Before they could fire, Zelirana cast her hands out, and a pink mist washed over the field of battle. Most of the gangsters keeled over instantly, likely unconscious, but four of them managed to stay upright, including the one in heavy armor and one with a rocket launcher, causing Evelyn to change her plans abruptly. That could cause far too much collateral damage, and she couldn’t have that. She was trying to keep things down to the level of a relatively basic gang war, not draw the attention of the authorities.

The woman with the rocket launcher fired, along with the others, with bolts from a plasma carbine lancing through the air to splash off Evelyn’s shields, while other energy bolts hit the shields around Zelirana and Fya. Evelyn just pointed with her sword as her magic focused onto the tip of it with the full force of her will.

“Be gone!” Evelyn thundered, and a lance of red energy flared outward to hit the rocket just as the engine was igniting. Before it could even leave the launcher, the rocket and launcher shimmered, then collapsed into a pile of dust.

That caused everyone to freeze for a moment, and Evelyn glowered, then spoke coldly. “Okay, now I’m annoyed.”

She stalked forward, and the woman who’d been holding the rocket launcher backed away quickly, while the other three focused their fire on Evelyn.

“Have fun, milady!” Fya shouted, and Evelyn’s annoyance only grew as she glanced over and saw that the djinn had exchanged her infinity hammer for a pair of bloodstained pom-poms.

Typical.

* * *

Cyrus swore in disbelief as the woman destroyed the rocket launcher instantly. He wasn’t sure if it was some effect of her sword, magic, or something else entirely, but it really didn’t matter. What mattered was that the three women who were attacking his stronghold had cut their way through over sixty defenders without taking more than a few scorch marks on their armor. It was completely ridiculous, and he cursed his employer under his breath for bringing this on them.

He growled, pulling the trigger on his plasma carbine again, this time holding it down to pour a stream of plasma bolts at the black-armored woman advancing on them. Velma was quickly backing up as she stared at the dust that had been a rocket launcher, but the other two were firing at the woman as well, rather than her companions. Cyrus was thankful that they’d stopped, but a sense of dread washed over him as well.

The woman moved back and forth like lightning, dodging almost every bolt of energy thrown at her as she advanced on them. She had a pistol in one hand, but she wasn’t even using it. It was infuriating and terrifying, almost like the woman was mocking him.

“Grenades!” Cyrus snapped out.

“But our people are—” one of the others began, the man sounding like one of Cyrus’s half-orcs, but Cyrus wasn’t going to let him continue.

“Just do it!” Cyrus said, but even that amount of time had been too much, and the distraction meant that the amount of fire the attacker had to dodge had grown sparser.

Not that it seemed to matter, as the woman jumped over the line of fire, her energy blade flashing through the air with a hissing, sizzling sound. Their fire ended very abruptly as the indicator lights for Cyrus’s carbine went red, the front half of the weapon falling off at the same time as the weapons of the others fell apart.

“I see you’re the scum sort of gangster, rather than the loyal sort,” the woman said calmly, her pistol rising slightly and putting a bolt of energy through Velma’s inner elbow just as the woman was trying to aim a heavy pulse cannon at her. The human woman cried out in agony, falling to a knee.

“You bitch!” Cyrus snarled, and a command caused a reinforced blade to snap out of either gauntlet, which hummed as the armor sheathed them in thin layers of plasma. He lunged at her angrily. No matter how fast she’d been so far, he out massed her at least three times over in his armor, and if he hit her, he’d crush her like a bug.

The next moment he staggered backward as the shields surrounding him shattered and an immense impact hit him in the gut. His HUD flashed, and the armor diagram turned yellow over his stomach, causing Cyrus’s eyes to widen incredulously, disbelief washing over him as he saw what the woman was doing. Her energy blade had blocked one of Cyrus’s, and it was slowly cutting into the blade even through the plasma sheath, while her other wrist had blocked his gauntlet rather than directly blocking the sword. It was her foot that had hit him hard enough that his shields had fallen and had damaged his armor. That was utterly ridiculous, since the force it would have required should have sent her flying across the room instead.

“What are you?” Cyrus demanded, yanking his arms away from the woman as he stepped backward, trying to give his underlings time to help. She didn’t give him that chance.

With a blur of movement, she stepped inside his guard, and Cyrus wouldn’t have been able to stop her even if the armor hadn’t had slightly delayed reactions. She delivered another kick to the torso of his armor, sending him flying into the wall this time as alarms began to blare in his head, announcing that the structural integrity had been breached, which was obvious from the sharp pain in his chest. Even his horror at the damage was nothing beside what she said next.

“I am Evelyn Esendria Tarth, and you’ve pissed me off,” the woman replied, and all the blood drained from Cyrus’s face.

“Oh fuck,” he whispered, then quickly announced. “I surrender!”

There was clatter from the others as their weapons hit the floor. And a chorus of giggling from the creepy woman acting like a cheerleader.

“Good enough. Out of your armor, then. Not that it’d do you any good, as slow as your reactions were in it,” Evelyn Tarth said contemptuously, and Cyrus’s face flushed in embarrassment despite his fear and pain.

He really hated his employers at the moment.

Chapter 43

“What did you do to them?” Evelyn asked flatly, looking at the seven stasis pods with a scowl, her hands behind her back. Mostly because otherwise she’d probably have the man pinned to the wall by his throat, and she doubted that he’d be able to answer her questions like that.

Most of the gangsters had simply been restrained, and Evelyn had decided to let the person who was the closest they had to being a medic to treat their wounded. While she’d been tempted to refuse, there was a difference between killing or maiming people in battle and allowing them to slowly bleed out or suffer.

The seven stasis pods were made of a silvery metal with a narrow window that allowed someone to look inside, and Evelyn had looked into each to see that Rasien was in one, wearing only a thin black skinsuit that granted a minor degree of modesty, and the others held more elves. Two men and four women filled them, all of them physically fit. Of course, their eyes were closed and they weren’t doing anything useful, but that was to be expected.

“We hit them out with a magi-chem knockout gas through the ventilation system, then brought them back here. Our employers gave us the pods, plus a set of nanite blockers to inject. We used them, then put them in the pods,” the gang leader replied nervously, his breathing slightly labored despite the painkiller he’d taken a minute earlier. He was a heavily tattooed, blond human with light brown eyes. Honestly, she wouldn’t have thought he was the gang leader off-hand, but he’d had the best armor of the lot. “Grabbed all their stuff that we could, too, but most of it was encrypted.”

Evelyn’s already sour mood grew worse at the information, and the man flinched as she glared at him. Blockers were bad enough, but nanite blockers were worse. They shut down access to the victim’s implants when put into place, and the nanite versions went through the entire implant network, requiring either an incredible amount of effort to remove them or the deactivation code for the nanites. Many victims Evelyn had heard of preferred to replace their implants entirely, since it was easier than trying to remove the nanites. It’d take an incredibly high-end nanite to shut down hers, but the idea made her skin crawl.

“Do you have the deactivation code?” Evelyn demanded.

“No, we don’t,” the gang leader said, swallowing visibly as he looked away. “They said we didn’t need it, and that if we used the nanites on anyone else, that was our problem.”

Evelyn’s scowl deepened, but she resisted the urge to just vaporize the man outright. As tempting as it was, it wouldn’t solve her problem. At about that point, Zelirana came back into the room, a smile on her face.

“I’ve gathered the information you requested, Evelyn. They were very cooperative,” the succubus said, glancing at the woman who’d escorted her, who was still almost as white as a sheet. “I do not recommend opening the pods until we’ve had them examined for problems, however. The instructions they were given said that they weren’t allowed to open the pods after using them, so they may be boobytrapped.”

“I wish I could say that I was surprised,” Evelyn said, scowling a little more as she examined the man, then asked. “How were you going to deliver them?”

“We’ve… we’ve got a deal with a couple of mining platforms. They smuggle us gear, and take stuff into orbit for us, too,” the gang leader said, swallowing visibly.

“Good enough. You’re going to put everything you took from them and their pods onto those shuttles and deliver it to my ship. If you don’t, I’m going to come back here and kill you slowly. Not your gang, though if they get in my way I’m not going to hold back. You. Is that clear?” Evelyn said, turning to the gang leader slowly, allowing him to see just how angry she was. He took a step back before steadying himself, swallowing visibly.

“Of course, ma’am. We’ll do it, right away,” he said quickly.

“Good. Now get to work, since I don’t trust you enough to leave you alone for this,” Evelyn said, smiling coldly. “If nothing else, one of your subordinates might be stupid enough to think they can murder you and ignore my demands. It’d be stupid, but you’ve already proven your stupidity.”

“True! I mean, they didn’t even know who you were until you told him!” Fya said, looking up from where she was rummaging through a crate, a huge smile on her face.

“I don’t think any of us will ever make that mistake again,” the gangster said, shuddering visibly. “I’ll… I’ll get right on that, though. We’ll get them to your ship as soon as we can.”

“Good. Because the sooner they’re on their way, the sooner I’ll leave,” Evelyn said, smiling coldly at the man. He seemed to pale even more at the sight, which she didn’t mind in the least.

She wanted to hear what Rasien had to say for herself. Everything else was secondary.

* * *

“You think we should hit the Counts, boss? They’re reeling hard after the attack,” Telmer asked, the dwarf’s eyes bright with eagerness as he gestured at the hologram of the devastation around the headquarters of the Trine Counts. “I bet we could take out Cyrus and most of the other leaders.”

The damage wasn’t as bad as it looked at first glance, in Mola’s opinion. Most of the damage was superficial at worst, though the Counts had certainly been decimated. If the attackers had been almost anyone else, except for Corp forces, she’d probably have agreed. But she recognized the woman that was just barely visible inside the warehouse, at the far reaches of the hologram.

“No, not until their attackers are gone. Maybe not even then,” Mola grunted, tapping the table, then shook her head. She was proud of having taken over the Trine Bloods, since historically ogres hadn’t managed to get that high up the ranks, but she hadn’t managed it by being foolish.

“Why not?” Telmer asked, looking disappointed. “This is the first time they’ve been hammered this badly in three years!”

“Yes… but it’s their guest who’s the problem,” Mola said, controlling the still hologram to zoom in on the woman she’d spotted. In moments the black-haired elf filled most of the hologram, though the image was slightly grainy. Mola continued blandly. “Are you willing to lead the charge against Evelyn Tarth?”

Telmer froze for a moment. When he did speak, Mola couldn’t help a slight smile.

“Uh… on second thought, I think that waiting until the attackers have left is a great idea,” the dwarf said quickly, running a hand over his short mohawk.

“I’m glad we agree,” Mola said, sitting back and enjoying the thought of what had happened to her rival gang, even if she pitied them.

She couldn’t imagine what they’d done to piss off someone like Tarth, but she wanted to stay well out of it.

* * *

“You can’t mean to let her get away with this! That… that woman flagrantly ignored our requirements for landing!” Naman exclaimed, gesturing toward the floor, and Bartholomew, better known as Bart, rolled his eyes, leaning forward in his chair. Naman was a dark elf and the head of Cantell Corporate’s security department, but the woman also had a tendency to let her temper get the best of her.

“Did she have her weapons or armor with her when she took the shuttle?” Bart asked, keeping his exasperation suppressed.

“Not as far as we could tell, but she could have been hiding it in spatial storage,” Naman conceded after a moment, her expression still murderous. “Regardless, we forbade her from—”

“No, we did not. And even if we had, there was absolutely no way that we could enforce it. Not on her,” Bart said, adjusting a few settings via his implants, then brought up a video of a blast of pure white light vaporizing the back half of a starship, along with a fifty-kilometer swath of nebula and asteroids. A secondary chart showed the estimates some of their scientists had made regarding the power levels involved. “Unless you think that we could deal with that on a planetary surface from inside an arcology? She wouldn’t even need her weapons and armor to do so.”

“…the other arcologies would survive, though,” Naman said reluctantly, though much of her rage had been quelled by fear. Which, Bart realized an instant later, was the real problem. Naman didn’t like being afraid.

“They would, due to their shielding systems, but it’d destroy a huge amount of the fields and infrastructure, not to mention the cost of fixing the atmosphere. We’d take an enormous loss, even if that was the end of it,” Bart agreed, shaking his head slowly. “In fact, the only reason I agreed with you about restricting her weapons was that I thought she’d be going into the upper floors and didn’t want a panic. Instead, she’s dealt with some gangster pests, and according to the maintenance systems she hasn’t even caused any significant damage. Less than the gangsters cause on a weekly basis, certainly.”

Naman glared at Bart for a few seconds, then growled under her breath before asking. “So, what are we going to do? Just let her do this sort of thing?”

“As long as she doesn’t cause any disruptions to our business or any structural damage… yes. There’s no reason to turn her into our enemy. We’ve seen the results of that with Peldra, after all,” Bart said, shrugging and sitting back in his chair. “It’d cost far too much to employ a group that could fight her on an equal level unless we have no other choice. Of course, if it comes to that, we’ll bite the bullet. She’s powerful, but she’s only one person, and her ship is nowhere near as superior as she is personally. We have options, and she’s partially dealt with one of our problems. Think of her as a mercenary we didn’t even have to pay, Naman.”

“Fine. But remember that I didn’t agree with this,” Naman shot back, then turned and stalked out of the room.

Only when the doors had closed behind her did Bart sigh and rub his eyes. Then he turned to look out the window of his office, which showed a couple of the other arcologies and the green fields beyond them that created so much of the corporation’s wealth. He couldn’t risk losing them, not to a loose warhead like Evelyn Tarth.

He just hoped that she left the planet quickly.

Chapter 44

“You know, I didn’t think that I could become any more afraid of Evelyn before this,” Reesa said conversationally, watching the video of the aft half of a starship evaporate in the hologram. “Now… gods above, how much power does she have?”

“More than I care to think about,” Sarvian replied, gesturing to a different hologram that showed a starship being pulled out of a half-frozen crater by a crane. “I could not do that, I simply do not have the knowledge or skill required to rapidly thaw the water in an area that large, push a starship downward, then freeze it again in rapid succession. According to follow-up reports, her actions also caused an enormous crack in the ice on Valath that went down at least a kilometer, and approximately two-hundred and fifty kilometers in either direction. I am not certain how much of that is the fault of the ley line versus her own power, but it is… intimidating.”

“Which doesn’t even get into her skill in melee. Damn, she’s fast. Even in the arena where she’s obviously playing with her opponents, she’s ruthless and brutal,” Barrvyth said, his hologram frozen so they could see the moment that Evelyn had kicked the gang leader Cyrus in the chest. “Based on everything we saw in the arena, she has to be boosting herself and either telekinetically holding herself in place as an anchor, or increasing her mass to overpower physics. Probably the former, since she uses telekinesis a lot and I didn’t see any damage to the ground below her.”

“Yup. Not to mention her weapons and armor… that’s incredibly high-end gear. She might be wearing almost as much as our entire payout for this job,” Gol said, her eyes narrowed as she examined the image next to Barrvyth. “That’s at least part of her advantages, but her personal power… I’d guess she’s got top tier bioware or cyberware to boost her body, too. Probably cyberware, since bioware can’t get that kind of performance.”

“So… based on all of this, what do you think? Do we tell our employer to shove it?” Reesa asked, raising an eyebrow as she sat back.

The rest of the team was scattered around the lounge of their ship, all of them with the notes and data that they’d gathered on Evelyn Tarth. Reesa’s respect for the woman had only grown as she’d learned more, along with her fear. Evelyn was even more of a self-made woman than anyone on their team, which gave Reesa mixed feelings. She almost admired her, but admiration didn’t pay the bills.

“Head-on battle, we die,” Ragthorn said simply, shrugging as he looked at the hologram of the starship and waved his hand at it as an example. Reesa agreed with the quiet man where that was concerned. It was an excellent example of Evelyn’s power, and their employer still hadn’t managed to get their hands on recordings of her activity in the border regions or in Janton. That bothered Reesa, but she imagined they’d manage it eventually. All of them agreed that despite Evelyn’s obvious power, the claims she’d defeated a goddess had to be exaggerations.

“True, but we don’t want to take her head-on to begin with. That’s playing into her hands, and we have significantly more resources to work with than normal,” Sarvian said, steepling his hands in front of him as his eyes narrowed slightly. He paused for a moment, then asked. “Does anyone disagree when I say that throwing an army at her would be foolish?”

“All it’d do is tire her a tiny amount, and make it more likely that what we’re up to leaks,” Barrvyth said, shaking his head. Reesa chuckled and nodded, indicating her agreement.

“I thought as much. We have some time, so I intend to summon a few fire elemental guardians to assist us and slow her down. They’ll survive slightly longer against her energy weapons, though I doubt they’d last long. I think we should primarily rely on drones and robotic defenses against her,” Sarvian said, grimacing and shaking his head. “I don’t like it, but most of my preferred strategies wouldn’t do much good against her. At least she’s not likely to be overly cautious. The MEMP and spellburn bomb should reduce her power to where we can take her out.”

“I’m pretty sure I can make a dart that can penetrate her armor, and with the right sedative…” Gol said, letting her voice trail off, then shrugged. “I think it’s worth going for, even if she scares the ever-living shit out of me. I want a solid escape route.”

“I completely agree with that,” Reesa said, relaxing slightly as she looked at Barrvyth. “You?”

“Honestly, part of me is excited. Even if I fight her when she’s weakened, she’s one of the best swordswomen in this part of the galaxy. I’m practically itching to take her on… and scared, of course,” the orc said, shaking his head as he smiled. “Having an escape route sounds like an excellent idea, though. I’m excited, not completely stupid.”

“Alright, then. At least we’ve got perfect bait, and worst-case, four days to prepare. Let’s take a look at the layout we’ve got to work with, what resources are on-hand, and how we want to slot into this,” Reesa said, changing the holographic projector over to show the base they’d been given to lay their trap. “Gol, look into sedatives for that dart of yours. Let’s make our employer pay for it if we can.”

“Sounds good to me!” the dwarf said, grinning broadly as she cracked her knuckles. “No way I’m planning to underestimate what I need to knock her out. That’s a good way to get killed.”

“Agreed,” Sarvian said, and sighed, leaning forward to examine the map.

They settled in to discuss their ideas, and Reesa smiled, though she still felt a touch of anxiety.

She knew that plans only could take them so far, and this would be one of the most dangerous jobs they’d ever taken. But if they succeeded, the rewards would be worth it.

Chapter 45

Evelyn looked at the stasis pods again, rather impatiently this time, but she refrained from saying anything. Instead, she just watched, forcing herself to be patient.

After getting the pods and other equipment to the ship, the Dolls had first scanned everything for tracking beacons and other surveillance gear, which had been present, of course. They’d gotten rid of those elements, then Willow had gone over the pods carefully to ensure that they hadn’t been sabotaged. It didn’t surprise Evelyn even slightly that if she’d just tried to wake the guards, they would have had horrible things done to them, which likely could have ended in brain damage or death. They’d fixed the pods, which made things a little simpler, but the question of what would come next was looming over Evelyn.

Now Willow was looking over their equipment, since Evelyn sincerely doubted that the guards had been kidnapped by accident. No, someone was looking for them. The interrogation of the gang and the messages she’d found told Evelyn that much for certain.

M1 was busy working on the pods along with M3, and Evelyn watched the Dolls work, resisting the urge to interfere. While talking wouldn’t impact their efficiency much, she wasn’t going to pretend it was a negligible thing, either. M1 was designed to look like a lovely gold-eyed, crystal-haired celestine woman, while M3 was designed to look like a willowy, dark-eyed, dark-haired elven woman.

“How do you think they will react to what happened?” Vaneryth asked, toying with a lock of her hair as she sat in a nearby chair.

“Poorly,” Evelyn replied bluntly, shaking her head once. “This is stacking failure upon failure, beyond which Rasien was forced to approach me for assistance. She loathes me, but the idea of having to come to me for help must have been incredibly galling. I wouldn’t be surprised if she hesitated for a while before sending the message.”

“Mm… how many failures have there been?” Zelirana asked curiously, circling the other pods again.

“Let me see… I defeated and imprisoned her, capturing Vania when she was a princess, but Rasien wasn’t able to escape, which could have been one or two, depending on your point of view. Then we had Vania’s visits on Rakal to get assistance, which I’ll count as another failure,” Evelyn said, ticking off the incidents on her fingers. “Then we had Vania’s kidnapping, the collapse of her empire into civil war, the loss of most of her imperial guard, and finally being captured by a bunch of gangsters. By my count that’s six or seven failures. Eight if you include her feeling it necessary to come to me for help.”

Vaneryth visibly winced, shaking her head slowly as she murmured. “That… is rather more than I had expected. I doubt that she will be in a good mental state.”

“I see why you didn’t want Fya in the room,” Zelirana murmured, nodding in agreement. “You think this will go poorly?”

“I’d rather not add fuel to the fire, and if I let everyone into the room, the number of people talking would make it nigh-impossible to have a proper discussion. As it is, I’m certain that almost everyone will be listening in, since I didn’t lock down the systems for that,” Evelyn said, glancing at the nearest speaker. Those had been shut down to keep Fya from interjecting, fortunately. “The two of you are here because Ryth is an angel and might marginally relax Rasien, and Zel is skilled at reading people and might be able to help determine what’s true and what’s a product of Rasien’s self-loathing for having to come to me for help.”

“Ahh. Well, I’ll certainly do my best, but I’ll warn that some people can be far more impressive when it comes to self-delusion than you might expect. We’ll find out what sort of woman Rasien is soon, I imagine,” Zelirana murmured.

“Speaking of which, she should be coming out of stasis in approximately thirty seconds, Captain,” M1 said calmly. “Her mind will likely be jumbled for a little while longer. Systems estimate it will take about a minute for her to reach full cognizance.”

“Thank you,” Evelyn said, deciding not to speak further. Not since the pod was about to open.

Each of the stasis pods was resting at a slight angle against the back wall, which would allow the occupants to easily step out onto the floor once they opened. Personally, Evelyn thought it might be a bit optimistic that someone would be able to walk immediately after leaving stasis, but she wasn’t going to argue with the Dolls. They were the ones with medical skill chips, while she’d only had first aid training.

After a few seconds the stasis pod containing Rasien hissed, the hatch popping open to let cool air into the medbay, which created plumes of white mist for a few seconds. Then the hatch slowly raised itself until Evelyn could see Rasien, whose eyes had opened. The woman looked a little confused, her eyebrows furrowed and pupils a bit out of focus. She took a single unsteady step and almost fell, only for M1 and M3 to catch her on either side, their movements perfectly in synch.

“Careful, Ms. Dramad. You have just emerged from stasis, and it may take a minute or two for your body to stabilize,” M1 said soothingly. Rasien inhaled sharply, her legs twitching before she managed to regain her feet. Mostly, Evelyn was slightly surprised to hear Rasien’s last name. She had no idea where the Dolls had even learned it.

“What… what happened to me?” Rasien asked, her words ever so slightly slurred as she wobbled, but she seemed to be recovering quickly. So, Evelyn decided to answer her question.

“Someone figured out that you’d gotten away and hired some of Cantell’s gangsters to capture and send you to them. They used a hybrid knockout gas to knock your team out, then put you in a stasis pod after dosing you with nanite blockers,” Evelyn said bluntly, leaning against the wall as she examined Rasien. “I got to Cantell first and dragged you out of their clutches. You’re welcome.”

Rasien jerked, then her eyes snapped into focus, her pupils contracting as she saw Evelyn and her pale face gaining color abruptly as she stood up fully.

“You! This is all your fault!” Rasien spat, jerking her arms away from the Dolls angrily.

“Oh? How do you figure that?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow calmly. “I wasn’t even in the same cluster when Vania was kidnapped.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Rasien snapped. “If it hadn’t been for you, Peldra would still be stable. We wouldn’t have had two conquered nations integrated into the country, and we wouldn’t have been so unstable that we needed to make more alliances. You upset everything, and that led to all of this!”

For a moment Evelyn stared at her, then began to laugh. Slowly, really, as she shook her head and smiled. She could hardly believe what she was hearing, and Rasien’s cheeks went beet red as she continued laughing.

“What’s so funny?” the elf demanded, glaring at Evelyn in naked hostility.

“You’re so incredibly naïve, aren’t you?” Evelyn replied after a few seconds, grinning at Rasien. “I’m the one responsible for everything? Then tell me, why was a rebel army practically waiting for me when I finally decided to overthrow Peldra? I certainly didn’t build it from nothing. Why did I have dozens of powerful individuals helping me? Why didn’t Vania simply free the nations which I’d conquered as Empress when she took the throne? There are so many questions that you simply glossed over in your hatred of me. I’m not responsible for everything, Rasien.”

Evelyn pushed away from the wall, staring at the guard as she smiled, shaking her head and wondering what she was doing. She didn’t need to antagonize Rasien, not under the circumstances… but a part of Evelyn was simply tired of being blamed for things that weren’t her fault. She might have conquered Peldra and made a hash of ruling it, but there were far more people who were involved than just her. She’d been a figurehead in some ways, a rallying point for those who were dissatisfied. Rasien took a hesitant step back as Evelyn strolled around her.

“I don’t blame you for hating me. I’ve done some things that I regret, and I’d probably hate me if I were in your position. However, you asked me for help… and I dropped everything to get here, Rasien. If you don’t believe me, just ask Ryth. She’s an angel, and I’m sure she’ll tell you the truth,” Evelyn said, gesturing at Vaneryth with a smile.

Rasien did a double take as she stared at Vaneryth, almost as if seeing the angel for the first time, then her eyes widened still more as she noticed Zelirana as well, and the two Dolls for that matter. Evelyn clicked her tongue softly, since that told her that either Rasien’s situational awareness was far worse than it should be, or her stasis sickness had hit her harder than she’d thought it would.

“What… who the hell are the two of you?” Rasien demanded.

“I am Vaneryth, though Evelyn calls me Ryth,” the angel replied politely, rising to her feet and giving a slight bow. “Evelyn rescued me from slavers, and I ended up in her care after that.”

“As for me, you can call me Zel. I’m a succubus, if it weren’t incredibly obvious. I was also one of the rescued slaves,” Zelirana said, giving a broad smile as she stared at Rasien. “In addition, I participated in our little rescue operation to get you and your fellow guards away from the gang.”

For a few seconds the elf was quiet, staring at the two, then she turned her glare on Evelyn, and it only grew in intensity as she spat. “So, you’ve just been living the high life while we were fighting for our very existence? I should’ve known.”

Evelyn’s short patience was quickly running out, and she felt her smile slipping as she glared at Rasien. Zelirana spoke first, though, her soft murmur clearly audible throughout the room. “Terribly grateful for her rescue, isn’t she? Maybe we should’ve skipped it and simply gone looking for this empress without her.”

“Quite,” Evelyn said coldly, glaring at the knight for a moment more, then glanced at the Dolls. “How long will it take to wake the rest of them?”

“Ten minutes and forty-eight seconds,” M3 replied, inclining her head slightly. “I would expect fifteen minutes to get them to the point that they can walk under their own strength.”

“Good. It will take thirty minutes for a local shuttle to reach us, so we may as well get started,” Evelyn said, giving Rasien an icy glare as she continued, her voice practically dripping sarcasm as she called for a shuttle via her implants. “Thank you so much for wasting my time. I could have already been looking for Vania, but you just had to be worthless in that regard. I’ll drop you on Cantell. Try not to get yourselves captured. Again.”

Evelyn turned to leave, already working through various options for trying to find Vania. It wouldn’t be easy, since there wasn’t much information on who had captured her ship on the datanets, but she was sure she could figure something out. There were information brokers around the cluster, and she knew several who would likely have some idea of where to find her captors.

“Wait!” Rasien protested, her voice holding just a hint of panic. Looking over her shoulder, Evelyn saw mingled frustration and regret on the elf’s face.

“What?” Evelyn asked, her tone flat. She didn’t care for Rasien’s attitude, and she wasn’t going to put up with more of it.

“I… apologize,” Rasien said, in a tone that showed it was likely like pulling teeth for her. “I’ve been stressed, but that’s no reason to take out my frustrations on you, for which I’m sorry. Please allow me to assist in rescuing Her Majesty.”

Evelyn considered her for a moment, then mentally reached out to cancel the shuttle. She simply gestured for Rasien to follow, speaking again. “Fine. But if there’s another outburst like that and I’m going to abandon you on Cantell. I am in no mood to put up with your shit.”

Rasien nodded, looking like she’d swallowed an exceptionally sour lemon, but followed Evelyn.

Chapter 46

“First of all, I don’t want your money, assuming it wasn’t stolen when you were captured,” Evelyn said, taking a seat at the head of the conference table. She sent a message to Moon as she settled into place, requesting something to eat and drink for each of them. She’d heard that stasis tended to make people hungry.

“If you can afford a ship that looks like this, it’s no wonder. What’s with the medics, and the other crew I’ve seen?” Rasien asked, some of her hostility having retreated beneath the surface by this point, and she looked to the door, where the senne Doll was standing guard. “They’re… odd.”

“Dolls,” Evelyn replied succinctly, and when the woman gave her a startled look, Evelyn grimaced slightly. “Whoever had purchased the slaves also ordered a shipment of forty Dolls. I needed a crew for the ship I’d hijacked, so I decided to make use of them.”

“Not in the way I’d have used them, but they’re more than adequate,” Zelirana said, settling back in her chair and pulling out a manicure kit to work on her nails. “I think one or two of them are starting to develop the first hints of souls. We’ll see if they keep it up or if those lovely mists evaporate instead. It’s quite fascinating to watch them form.”

“Which is beside the point,” Evelyn interjected, glaring at the succubus for a moment as Rasien opened her mouth, then shut it again. Personally, Evelyn thought the possibility of the Dolls gaining souls as something likely to give her a headache, but she wasn’t going to worry about it right now. She would deal with it if it came to that point. Inhaling slowly, she asked. “What happened? I haven’t seen any solid information on what happened to Peldra’s Pride. At least not public information.”

“I wish I could tell you, but I only caught part of it,” Rasien said, grimacing and shaking her head. “We were three days out of Peldra when it happened. I was in the back of the ship, dealing with a couple of problems with my armor, when a series of explosions killed the power core, the drives, and a lot of the ship’s systems. Secondary explosions cut us off from the bow, where Vania was. When I was donning my armor, and the guards around Vania sent a message saying they were under fire, and that ships had popped up all around us. Just before jamming hit, I heard something about trying to capture the Empress, and she sent me a message ordering me to go for reinforcements.

“I was tempted to push through anyway, since we were in the astral, but then a platoon of soldiers boarded our section of the ship, all of them with heavy weapons and power armor,” Rasien continued, her hands clenched so tight that her knuckles were white. “We lost a lot of people to them and were losing more. No markings that I could identify, and they were humans and elves, which didn’t tell me much. Then I saw they had four destroyers and a pair of light cruisers around us. So, I grabbed who I could and ran for the shuttle bay.”

The elf snorted, shaking her head as she spoke bitterly. “Which nearly got me killed anyway. They were taking out escape pods, and I saw a boarding shuttle had breached the Empress’s quarters. Somehow, they knew exactly where it was. I had to punch the engines to maximum and kill the IFF transponder to keep them from killing me and the others on board. Even after we got away, it took us nearly a week to get back to Peldra, where I found another damned rebellion, and this one even bloodier than your takeover. Someone tried hitting Vermire with a KEW. Thanks to the shield you built, the fort survived, but plenty of towns were hit by other strikes.”

That was when the door opened and Moon stepped in, wearing her chef’s coat and carrying a tray piled with several cups, plates, a carafe of water, a couple dozen small sandwiches, and a plate with a spread of crackers, cheese, and meats.

Evelyn nodded to her, smiling slightly as she spoke. “Thank you, Moon. Rasien, this is Moon Wyndred, one of the handful of non-Dolls aboard the ship and our resident chef. Moon, this is Rasien, who last I heard was the head of the Imperial Guard of Peldra.”

“You’re welcome, Evelyn,” Moon said, smiling nervously as she looked at Rasien, setting the tray on the table. “I wasn’t certain what you’d like, so I hope you enjoy one of the options.”

“Thank you. I am a little hungry,” Rasien admitted, seeming to relax slightly at the sight of Moon. “This looks good.”

Evelyn agreed, since the sandwiches looked like they were chicken, pickles, and lettuce, which she rather liked. She took a plate and several of the sandwiches, as well as some water and crackers.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Moon said, visibly relaxing as she finished taking everything off the tray. She barely blinked as Zelirana filched a sandwich from in front of her. “My sister and I have been curious to hear about Peldra… maybe when you’re done here, we could chat with you? Ilyra’s interested, too.”

“I see that full introductions are going to be needed in the near future,” Evelyn murmured, smiling and relaxing as she took a bit of a sandwich. She chewed, then swallowed, looking at Moon again. “Excellent work, Moon. As for the others aboard, Rasien, we have Fya, Star, Cherys, Nadia, and Willow. Be warned, Fya decided to make one of the Dolls look like Vania as a prank.”

“You still have that djinn around?” Rasien demanded, her eyes flashing with anger, as well as concern. “She’s insane.”

“Of course she’s around. And you might want to be a little more polite, since I know for a fact she’s listening in,” Evelyn said dryly, her thoughts whirring. Then she glanced at Moon. “Is there anything you need from the planet? I don’t recall anyone ordering anything, but I don’t want to abandon a delivery if I’m wrong.”

“Nope, we made sure not to order anything, since we weren’t sure how long this would take,” Star chimed in first, and Moon smiled, just shaking her head.

“Good,” Evelyn said, nodding firmly as she settled on a course of action. While she spoke, Moon made her way out of the room. “Rasien, I assume that you don’t know where they took Vania?”

“If I knew, I suspect I could’ve pried more soldiers free of the loyalist factions. So no, I don’t have a damned clue. I hoped you’d have some idea of how to find them. My attempts have been… lackluster. As evidenced by me getting captured,” Rasien said, and grimaced as she added. “And even if I had more information, I can’t access it with these damnable blockers in place. I’m not going to be any use until they’re out of the way.”

“Quite. In that case, we’re heading for Rakal. I know the information brokers there, which should speed things up,” Evelyn said, sending the orders to Adria.

“Acknowledged, Captain. Requesting departure clearance now,” the Doll replied softly.

“What about the others?” Rasien asked, frowning as she absently ate her food. “And our situation?”

“They should be waking up by this point. As for your difficulties, I’m not so generous that I’m going to pay for your implants to be replaced. If the medical systems can remove the nanites, then they will. If they can’t, the problem is going to be up to you to deal with,” Evelyn said, unmoved by the woman’s discomfort. “I know a skilled hacker on Rakal that you may be able to hire to remove the blockers, but I’m not certain if he’ll be able to help you, be in your budget, or even if he’ll be available.”

Rasien’s expression seemed to sink, but she simply nodded curtly, her tone even. “Fine. We’ll see what we can do, then.”

“Excellent,” Evelyn said, and sat back to eat her food.

* * *

“What did you think, Zel?” Evelyn asked later, after Rasien had excused herself to check on the rest of the Imperial Guard. Evelyn wasn’t impressed with most of them, but at least two of their number had taken their rescue with comparative aplomb.

“I think she’s telling the truth as she knows it. She definitely doesn’t trust you, but that’s not surprising, considering your… history,” the succubus said, grinning at Evelyn. “If I’m not mistaken, she thinks you’re hot, but hates herself for the attraction as well. Fuel for the fire, if you ask me.”

“Ugh, really? That’s just… ew,” Evelyn said, wrinkling her nose as she thought about Rasien for a moment, then shook her head firmly. “No. The idea of hate-sex has always been repulsive to me, and I suspect that’s the only way anything would happen between us. I’m perfectly happy being at odds with her. At least she was being honest.”

“Perhaps, but might she not be helpful if things come to a fight?” Vaneryth asked, looking at the two of them thoughtfully. “I would have excused myself earlier, but my mere presence seemed to calm Rasien down, so I did not. However, I got the impression that she is a skilled warrior, better than almost all of us. Possibly even equal to Zel, though that is strictly on the combat side of things.”

“They might,” Evelyn conceded, letting out a soft sigh as she sat back in her chair, frowning. “Vania wouldn’t permit anyone in her personal guard if she didn’t trust them, as well as being skilled. My conquest taught her that much. The problem is that someone aboard her ship obviously betrayed her, and it could have been one of those six. I can’t afford to have a danger like that at my back. As powerful as I am, a sufficiently powerful attack at the wrong moment could be lethal.”

“Mm, a definite possibility… especially since they were captured on Cantell. But would they have dosed all of them with blockers in that case?” Zelirana asked, her smile fading slightly. “It seems unlikely to me.”

“Ah, but at that point they’d sent a message to me. They had no idea how quickly I’d show up. It would be obvious if they hadn’t been captured, and if they’re an agent, they’d just use the deactivation code once they’re in custody and let them go,” Evelyn pointed out. “At this point I can’t be sure if any of them are safe or not, which is why none of them will be allowed into secure areas, and the Dolls will have standing orders to subdue anyone who enters restricted areas and doesn’t stand down at the first warning.”

“True… would you like me to spend some time with them?” Zelirana asked, grinning broadly. “I’d be happy to investigate.”

“I’m sure you would be,” Evelyn said, rolling her eyes. “It would be appreciated, yes. Just make sure to get an exam if you decide to do anything more than talk to them… they were in areas that I wouldn’t consider as having good hygiene for at least a week.”

“Point… but I have a better idea for what to do immediately,” Zelirana said, her smile widening still more.

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yes. You need a distraction,” Vaneryth said, blushing as she stood. The succubus was already on her feet, and Evelyn blinked, then smiled as they advanced on her.

She knew exactly what they were thinking, and certainly wasn’t dismayed. As Vaneryth leaned in for a kiss and Zelirana went after her ear, Evelyn relaxed and returned the kiss, thankful for the distraction.

She could worry tomorrow. For now, it was nice to feel appreciated.

Part IV

Shades of the Past

Chapter 47

“I can’t believe you fell in with someone like Evelyn,” Rasien groused, and Ilyra rolled her eyes.

When she’d heard that Rasien was the head of an empress’s personal guard, Ilyra had been really curious. She’d only encountered someone who was that sort of rank once, assuming her memories were accurate, but she recalled the man being incredibly stern and scary. Yet if Evelyn felt so strongly for Vania, and the speed with which she’d left Skaloth indicated that she did, Ilyra had thought that Rasien might be less like the head of the Celestial Guard. She was right, and at the same time slightly disappointed. She hadn’t expected Rasien to be so… so petty, even if she’d been reasonably nice to Ilyra and the others.

“Really? Well, obviously we must have been doing something wrong… I mean, it isn’t like we were unable to even control our own bodies or anything like that… wait, that’s exactly what happened,” Zelirana said, her voice practically dripping sarcasm, then she slapped down a pair of cards on the table. “Your turn, Lierin.”

Lierin was one of the guards, an elf with light green hair and hazel eyes. She was also one of the ones who’d taken what had happened unusually well compared to the others, which was likely at least partly because she was a mage with a specialty in defensive magic. She examined her cards, then nodded and asked Star. “You have any sixes?”

“Damn it. You have the best luck,” Star groused, handing over a card.

“She has to have something to make up for us getting captured,” Elwin chimed in from the bar, sipping a glass of wine. He was another of the guards and had bright yellow hair that reminded Ilyra of a star. “I can’t believe a bunch of gangsters caught us like that.”

“A moment of inattention can have far-reaching consequences,” Vaneryth murmured, and Ilyra couldn’t help a laugh, shaking her head. The angel was engaged in some form of high-stakes game where she and three other guards were trying to create complex words on a board from tiles they’d been given, each with individual letters. The angel was winning handily, as she had an incredibly diverse vocabulary.

“You’ve got that right. How many times did we lose a match because of that?” Ilyra asked, grinning.

“Five, possibly six,” Moon said, examining a drink behind the bar, then adding a touch of another liquid to it. “All it took was losing track of some of them for a second, and bam, there went one or two members of our team. It was insane.”

“Not as insane as Evelyn’s fight,” Willow retorted, her gaze fixed on Moon. “How’s my Cosmic Sunflower coming?”

“Oddly. I haven’t had to mix drinks for dryads before, and this is complicated,” Moon said, glancing up to glower at the engineer.

“Think of it as broadening your horizons! You don’t want to be the head chef at a restaurant when a ship of dryads comes into port and not have any idea how to mix drinks for them, do you?” Willow asked, a broad grin on her face.

“I’m not a bartender, it wouldn’t be my job!” Moon exclaimed. Ilyra just shook her head and tuned out their argument, since she knew they weren’t being serious. She knew enough about Moon by this point to know that the redhead enjoyed learning new things like this.

Instead, her attention turned back to Rasien, and Ilyra looked at her for a few seconds. The blonde was picking at her lunch, a salad with numerous nuts and berries mixed into it, and after a few seconds Ilyra let out a sigh.

“So, why do you not like Evelyn?” Ilyra asked, sitting back in her chair.

“She’s arrogant, condescending, and rude,” Rasien replied, looking up at Ilyra quickly, her gaze hard. “What other reason do I need to dislike her?”

“Pufflesticks,” Ilyra replied bluntly. “She’s easygoing and relaxed for the most part, talks to us about what her limits are, and is generally polite unless other people have been rude first.”

“Puff…” Rasien began, a brief flicker of confusion crossing her face, then she shook it off, a scowl returning to her face. “Fine, maybe you’re right. But she crushed my country, defeated me, and threw me into a prison for two years. I have every right to dislike her.”

Ilyra let out an exasperated sigh, glaring at the guard as she sat back in her chair, crossing her arms in front of her. Rasien just returned the glare, which didn’t help her case. Not when Ilyra could tell that Rasien wasn’t telling the full truth.

“Sure, that might be part of it. You seem like the competitive type, but that doesn’t make sense, either. It’s been eight years since you retook Peldra, and Evelyn was killed as part of things. That doesn’t explain why you dislike her as much as you do,” Ilyra said, her eyes narrowing.

“What does it matter to you?” Rasien challenged. “You’re here on her ship, and with any luck I’m not going to be here for very long.”

“Why does it matter?” Ilyra asked, her eyebrows rising, and a tiny spark of anger ignited inside her chest. “It matters because I care about Evelyn. She’s my friend, and has supported not just me, but all of the others through situations which are absolutely terrible. It hurts me to see her so… so abused in rumors and reports. How many people do you think would spend… what was it, Star? For her to free us from the effects of the slavers.”

“Um, one second… ah, there it is,” Star said, pausing for a moment as her eyes unfocused, then she nodded, wincing. “I hate seeing these numbers. Sixteen thousand and twenty-four mythrite each, or a hundred and sixty thousand, two hundred and forty mythrite for all of us. Excluding any subsequent training chips, pay, armor, or anything else.”

Elwin choked on his drink, coughing, then looked up, staring. “That’s… wait, those numbers have to be wrong. There’s only what, eight of you aboard?”

“I wasn’t a slave. I was aboard Worldwaker in Janton when Evelyn saved it a couple weeks ago, and volunteered to come aboard as an engineer,” Willow chimed in helpfully, a huge smile on her face as she took the wooden mug from Moon at last.

“As for Cherys and Nadia, they were displaced in time via a temporal vortex,” Vaneryth added calmly. “They were rescued separately. Of the ten of us who were rescued, Beatrice, Dirax, Orm, Peldri, and Tianna chose to go back to their old lives when Evelyn made her offer to give us funding. I attempted to do so but was sent back due to some of my… mistakes.”

“With the conversion rate… are you saying that Evelyn spent fifty percent more money freeing five people who just left than we offered her in exchange for her helping us rescue the empress?” asked Madris incredulously, looking up from her game with Vaneryth. The elf was a blonde with green eyes, and she seemed nice enough to Ilyra.

“More than fifty percent at the current exchange rate, but yes,” Star confirmed.

“Regardless, Evelyn paid it without a second thought. She’s proven herself to us, and if we really wanted to, we’d be able to leave at the next stop. Not that we would, since Rakal is a terrible place, but we could,” Ilyra cut in before the others could sidetrack the conversation further. “Tell me, how does that match up with what people say about Evelyn?”

Rasien’s jaw clenched as she stared at Ilyra for a few seconds. Then she simply stood up and stormed out of the lounge without a word. Ilyra watched her go and sighed, shaking her head.

“That could have gone better,” Lierin said, looking at the door thoughtfully.

“I don’t suppose that any of you know why she dislikes Evelyn so much?” Zelirana asked idly, waiting for Star to make her decision on what to do with her cards.

“Not really, no. Don’t get me wrong, but Evelyn is pretty… poorly thought of in Peldra, at least in a good chunk of society. Others thought that she stripped out a lot of inequalities, but that’s beside the point,” Elwin said, swirling his glass as he frowned. “I wasn’t much different, but Her Majesty’s attitude toward Evelyn is more respectful, and it rubbed off on most of us over time. The captain has never let go, though, and I’m not sure why.”

“It almost seemed like every time Her Majesty visited Evelyn, the captain’s attitude toward her got even worse,” Madris said, shrugging as she sighed, looking at the board, then at Vaneryth incredulously. “Hypercognitive? Really?”

“It’s not my fault you left the letters where I could use them,” the angel replied calmly, a smile on her face.

“Hm. Well, I guess we’ll figure it out eventually,” Ilyra said, letting out a faint sigh.

She missed the days when the guards hadn’t been aboard the ship, when she could talk to Evelyn more easily. Instead, it seemed like the elf was almost hiding away, and Ilyra wasn’t sure why. She was worried.

* * *

“They’re useless, you should just toss them out when we get to Rakal,” Fya said, lunging at Evelyn, her practice blade arcing with energy. A touch from it would make even Evelyn slow down, which would be bad.

Evelyn flipped backwards, not only dodging the blade, but also the stun bolts that some of the twelve Dolls around the training salle were firing at her. One waited until she was in mid-air to shoot at her, but Evelyn had expected that, and shifted her course with a tiny jolt of telekinesis, dodging that bolt as well.

“No,” Evelyn said, blocking a bolt with her energy blade, and she growled internally as a lock of hair got into her eyes, having escaped the hair tie she’d used.

She was sweating, something she hadn’t done in far too long during combat. Of course, that was the entire point of this exercise, as Evelyn hadn’t had to deal with proper combat in a while. Anyone who could take down Vania’s guards, even with Rasien away, wasn’t someone to take lightly, and Evelyn suspected they’d be far better than the sorry excuse for mercenaries that’d tried to kill her on Rakal. Or the robots aboard the senne station, for that matter. And it’d be a proper combat zone, most likely, not an arena or gang fight.

“Why not? Is it because of that twit, Vania?” Fya demanded, pursuing aggressively. She wasn’t giving Evelyn time to rest, and neither were the Dolls.

“A tiny bit, yes, but it’s also me not being a bitch,” Evelyn replied, blocking and riposting savagely, which prompted a yelp from the djinn as she hit her, then Evelyn was forced to back off by another flurry of stun bolts. The Dolls didn’t lose concentration or get tired, which was wonderful for training. “If it were just Rasien I’d be tempted, but I’m not going to drop a bunch of helpless elves in Rakal. That would be cruel.”

“Fine, fine… but if they put a foot out of line, I’m going to make them wish that they’d never been born,” Fya said, already having recovered from the stun, as Evelyn had known she would. “We going to do this tomorrow, too?”

“Nope,” Evelyn said, barely dodging a particularly nasty shot from one of the Dolls behind her, one which might have knocked her unconscious. “I need a day to recover before we hit Rakal. I doubt the commodore will be happy to see us approaching.”

“Well, he can suffer. He tries to shoot us, and I’m going to drop a few meteors on his pudgy ass,” Fya said, her eyes glittering with malevolence, and Evelyn couldn’t help thinking that whoever pissed the djinn off next was going to really regret it.

For now, she had training, and it was mostly a question of how long she could go without getting hit than if she could keep it up.

Some things were inevitable, especially when part of the exercise was that she wasn’t allowed to take out the Dolls. She was going to need a long, hot soak afterward. But soon they’d be back to Rakal, and Evelyn would find her target. One way or another, she would find who’d abducted Vania.

Chapter 48

“Why me?” Maggie asked plaintively, looking at the screen helplessly, and she briefly wondered if she could foist off the call on one of the other traffic controllers. After a glance around the room she decided against it. While a couple of them were gullible enough she could probably manage it, they’d likely screw up, and Maggie would rather not be indirectly responsible for an Evelyn Incident. Everyone would be looking for a scapegoat, and she didn’t want to paint a target on her back.

She waited for a couple of seconds, but when Djinn’s Gift sent a ping to the control tower asking for a landing zone, Maggie let out a heavy sigh and activated her comm.

“Djinn’s Gift, this is Rakal Space Control. Requesting gross mass for your vessel, it appears to exceed allowed landing tonnage for the spaceport,” Maggie said, mentally praying that the ship would be over the tonnage allowed for their heavy landing pads. Having an excuse to deny Evelyn’s request would be a relief.

“Sending tonnage now, Maggie. I’m afraid that we’re two hundred tons shy of your limits, so you’re going to have to let us land,” Evelyn replied directly, and Maggie couldn’t help the blood draining from her face as the woman used her name. That was not something she wanted. Having a living natural disaster know your name was… terrifying.

“Ah… thank you, Evelyn. I see the data now. One moment while I find a landing lane for you,” Maggie said, barely able to avoid hyperventilating.

“Excellent,” Evelyn replied, and with definite relief, Maggie signed off the direct channel.

Instead, she checked to make sure one of their super-heavy landing pads was unoccupied, and privately she wished that they’d never built them. Yes, a lot of pirates wanted a pad that their ships could land on to intimidate any rivals into thinking better of attacking them, but it would be so much nicer not to have Evelyn landing at the starport. Especially in a ship as gaudy as she’d heard Astral Sojourners were. Someone was going to be stupid enough to try to steal the ship, or at least some of its parts, even if they knew who it belonged to.

Unfortunately for Maggie, only one of the pads was occupied, and she hesitated for a moment before reluctantly charting a flight path to the one the farthest from Rakal proper. That would give more space for the inevitable firestorm, and hopefully minimize the collateral damage.

As she sent the path to Djinn’s Gift, Maggie also began setting things up so she could take the next week off as sick leave. She would like to be far, far away when shit went down. If she was lucky, she’d be off shift before anyone else realized who was aboard the ship.

Maggie doubted she’d be lucky.

* * *

“Why did that woman sound like she was going to faint when you spoke to her?” Cherys asked, looking down at the city thoughtfully.

“I think she doesn’t like the idea that someone like me knows who she is. I mean, I wouldn’t be thrilled if I knew that the head of the Draconic Council was checking on what I was doing regularly,” Evelyn replied, shrugging as they continued descending smoothly. Only a pair of air cars in the middle of a shootout had been foolish enough to stray into their landing path, but a warning shot from the spaceport had convinced the two to clear out. Ah, Rakal. Evelyn didn’t really miss most of it. The restaurants and beaches, though… those had been nice.

“Ah, much is explained,” Cherys said, smiling as she picked up Nadia, who giggled as she set the girl on her shoulders. The human’s voice turned warmer as she pointed. “See that? The buildings remind me of the pictures we saw of houses in the Vrallen Alliance. What do you think?”

“Yeah! It’s got lots of domes, those towers that go outward near the top, and brown stone!” Nadia agreed, leaning forward a little.

Evelyn chuckled, smiling at them. She didn’t correct them, though she knew the sandstone appearance was just a facade. It didn’t matter, not really. Instead, she checked her messages to see if her contacts had replied yet. Her smile widened as she saw that two of them had, and they were both the ones she’d hoped to get a hold of.

Kragg had replied first, his message short and to the point. He wasn’t certain that he could deal with nanite blockers quickly, but he might be able to. Apparently, he could come out the next morning to do an evaluation for a small fee. Since fifty mythrite wasn’t that bad from her perspective, she was willing to agree, and told him as much.

The other wasn’t a personal message, instead it was an automatic reply from the information broker she’d worked with several times before, Kismeth’s Emporium, Adventurer Extraordinaire. Not that the man was much better than a fence, but she didn’t mind him putting on airs. As long as he got the job done, she wasn’t going to argue.

She had an appointment for the next day at around noon, local time, and Evelyn smirked slightly, since that was not long after Kragg would be coming over. Evelyn might not even manage to meet the kobold, but given his last visit, she made a mental note to leave instructions for the others to be appropriately hospitable. She liked Kragg, even if he charged heavily for his skills.

Evelyn’s mind snapped back to the view as she heard Nadia speak hopefully. “Can we go out into the city? It looks amazing!”

“Evelyn?” Cherys asked, her smile fading a touch as she looked at her. “What do you think? I remember you saying that this city wasn’t safe.”

“It isn’t, and in most circumstances I’d say that you wouldn’t want to go out into the city. However, this situation is slightly different. I lived in Rakal for eight years along with Fya, and most of the locals know her. Better, they tend to fear her. Fya, would you mind accompanying anyone who wants to visit Rakal while we’re here?” Evelyn asked, looking at the djinn.

Fya almost immediately perked up, grinning as she examined the two, then nodded firmly. “Go out into a lawless den of ruffians and vagabonds? That sounds like a great idea to me! I might even get to grant a wish or two of theirs… I’m sure someone will be desperate enough to make a wish.”

“Just try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum,” Evelyn said, wincing. “The last thing I want is for the city to go up in flames while we’re in it, or a draconic warworld to show up because a dragon’s hoard was stolen.”

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t want to deal with either of those, I’ll be good. Or at least neutral… it’s always fun to see someone’s face when they’re trying to decide if the price was worth the reward,” Fya said, rubbing her hands together eagerly.

“And this, Nadia, is a lesson in why one does not summon djinni with the intent of asking them to fulfill your wishes. It never ends well,” Cherys said, looking up at her daughter, who nodded solemnly.

“Uh-huh. If you want somethin’ done right, do it yourself. Or hire someone who knows how to do it, if it’s not something like wishes,” Nadia said, sounding as though she were repeating back a lesson.

“It can too end well! Just look at me and Evelyn, she wished for my freedom!” Fya protested.

“Yes… it usually ends well for the djinn,” Evelyn said dryly.

“Oh, piffle. You just don’t know how lucky you are to have a djinn with you all the time,” Fya said, raising her chin so her nose was in the air and taking a delicate sniff. “There’s plenty of people who’d kill for me to accompany them.”

“You’d kill for them,” Evelyn retorted.

“Well… yes, but that’s beside the point,” Fya conceded. Nadia began to giggle, and Cherys smiled.

“So, what’s the plan today? It doesn’t look like it’s that late, and we don’t have any plans until tomorrow…” Fya said, examining the city with a gleam in her eyes. “It’s been a while since we visited Haver’s…”

“Not yet. Possibly not at all, if I get the information I want quickly,” Evelyn said firmly, her eyes narrowing a touch. “If we visit Haver’s, I want to take everyone, and I’m not hauling a group of helpless elves through Rakal’s streets. With our luck, someone will nab one of them, and I’d end up having to kill fifty people or so to get them back. I’m also not leaving them aboard the ship while we’re gone, considering everything that’s happened.”

“Aw… well, hopefully we get a day or two to have dinner. Don’t worry, I won’t interfere… that’d just make this whole idiocy take even longer,” Fya said, visibly drooping as she settled down again. “I still say she deserves whatever happened.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes but didn’t reply. Considering the situation, that was about as good of a response as she was going to get from Fya. She was more surprised that the djinn wasn’t threatening to murder Vania as soon as they met.

For now, she’d just wait and see what happened. It would be… interesting to be back in Rakal. Part of her was excited to see what would happen.

* * *

Everyone in the city noticed the ship that landed at the spaceport. It was hard to miss a ship that big, let alone with its bright red and polished gold color scheme, and its gleaming lines drew many avaricious gazes. Of course, most of the people in the city did the slightest amount of investigation and immediately turned their attention elsewhere. Yes, the ship was worth a fortune, and many would-be pirates would love to have it for themselves. They also generally enjoyed living to sell their ill-gotten gains.

Yet there was always someone who thought they could get away with it. Someone who thought that the reputation of the owner was overly inflated, or who was simply desperate enough that they were willing to try to steal the ship. Which was why, in the dead of night, a group of would-be pirates crept across the landing pads under the cover of stealth fields, carefully avoiding the sensors of the spaceport itself.

Then the night lit up with explosions, plasma fire, and screams. Above the screams echoed the mad cackle of someone having far too much fun. Only a minute later the screams and explosions came to an end, and the night was only broken by the occasional, distant, report of automatic fire. Just another day in Rakal, and the maintenance supervisor mournfully put in a request for more supplies to fill in craters on the landing pads. He dearly wished he hadn’t lost the draw for tending to the landing pad housing Djinn’s Gift.

Chapter 49

“Hello, hello! Kragg remembers you! Much work, much mythrite, very good price! Not the same job, but I remember!” the kobold said, speaking through the speakers of his gold-chromed mech. He sounded exceptionally cheerful, which just made Evelyn want to shake her head. She’d rarely encountered such a happy tech specialist before. Most of them glared at her with an attitude like someone who’d been forced to slave away in the basement for decades. Maybe it was just that most of them were nocturnal, and she wasn’t? Regardless, that wasn’t the case with Kragg.

“Hello, Kragg. I remember you as well, and you did excellent work. That’s why I recommended you when I had other people show up who needed work done. I don’t know if they can afford your price, but I’ll cover the evaluation,” Evelyn said, gesturing to the ramp into the hangar bay. “If you want to park your mech in the hangar bay, my people will ensure that it’s protected while you’re aboard. I don’t think it would be safe outside, as last night we had some unfriendly visitors.”

“Yes, yes, I saw the craters. Many explosions, much damage. Fools, damage must be paid for, is bad for profits. Can’t profit if dead,” the kobold said, his mech shaking itself back and forth as if in dismay. “Must always keep that in mind. One day, I will be strong! Wealthy! Powerful! Must not put short-term profits over long-term ones! As such, thankful I am for your trust. Leaving satisfied customers is key! Will you be present?”

“I’m afraid that I have an appointment of my own, so I will not. Zel, up at the top of the ramp, will lead you to the elves who need your help,” Evelyn said, pointing at the succubus, who waved in response.

“Excellent! Will work immediately, then! Mind sharp as a talon, must get to work!” Kragg said enthusiastically and started up the ramp.

Evelyn couldn’t help a soft laugh, and nodded to Zelirana before heading for the nearest street, ignoring the teams of workers repairing the landing pad. She was certain that they were selling recordings of the area, but it wasn’t like she blamed them. Most of the people in the spaceport did similar things, and it wasn’t like much in the exterior of the ship was that sensitive, nor were the bits of information they’d discussed.

In fact, Evelyn was in a good enough mood that she was only carrying her energy blade and pistol, not wearing her armor. That would be overkill for Rakal anyway, especially after her training over the past few days. Evelyn’s reflexes and mind felt sharper than they had in years, so she inhaled slowly, taking in the sea breeze tainted by a hint of oil and smoke happily. She preferred a normal sea breeze, but in many ways Rakal felt more like home to her than Peldra had since before she’d been driven away.

She made her way through the spaceport at a steady pace, amused at how most of the people there avoided standing anywhere near her, while those who were clueless seemed puzzled by why the crowds thinned out in her area. Except for a handful of mercenaries who initially had blank looks, then their eyes went wide, and they made themselves scarce. It was highly entertaining, but soon enough she was at the front, where a few cab drivers were waiting.

A few of the drivers were chatting, but for the most part they seemed eager for fares. Most of the vehicles weren’t in the best of shape, but Evelyn’s gaze settled on an air car that was beat up, but the parts that made it run were in good condition. She saw mingled looks of recognition, concern, regret, and relief on most of the faces of the cabbies, save for one half-elf wearing a beret and with one obviously cybernetic eye. She looked like she was half dark elf to Evelyn, with gray skin edging toward black, hair that was almost white, and a bright purple eye.

The cabbie let out a heavy sigh as she stepped away from the others and asked, “What’ll it be, ma’am?”

“I’m going to Kismeth’s Emporium, and need to be there by noon. I’ll be wanting a ride back as well,” Evelyn said simply, smiling at the woman as she added dryly, “And don’t worry, if anything goes wrong, there won’t be a scratch on your aircar.”

“Like I’d notice a scratch,” the woman said with a heavy sigh, then nodded grimly. “You got it, though. I’ll get you there in plenty of time. Don’t think there are any assassins around, at least. After you left, they cleared out. Didn’t think you’d be back I guess.”

She opened the door of the car and climbed into the pilot’s seat, prompting Evelyn to chuckle as she slipped into the back. At least the upholstery was in decent shape.

“I’m not surprised. I didn’t think I’d be back this soon, but the universe works in mysterious ways. With any luck, I won’t be here for long,” Evelyn said, shrugging.

“Heh, that’d make a lot of people happy. Though I heard your old neighbors aren’t pleased that you left. Crime rate has climbed tenfold since then,” the pilot said, flipping several switches, and the aircar powered on with barely a whisper, causing Evelyn to improve her estimation of its quality significantly. She’d thought it was in decent shape, not near-perfect condition.

“Can’t say that I’m surprised. I was hard on people who screwed around in my territory,” Evelyn replied. She paused, then asked, “So, how’re things going here otherwise? Last I heard, Captain Eight-Fist was here, and he wasn’t happy with the Commodore.”

“Lots of rumors are floating around, of course, but nothing really reputable, or they’re things that make me leery. I’d rather avoid pissing the Commodore off by gossiping about him, if it’s all the same to you,” the woman replied, smoothly taking her aircar upward, then punched the thrusters, rocketing across Rakal at a dizzying speed.

The inertial dampeners absorbed almost all of the momentum for Evelyn, though she noticed that the woman didn’t appear to get nearly as much of a benefit from the dampeners as Evelyn did. After a moment she decided that the pilot was either a former fighter pilot, or likely participated in the local races. That wouldn’t be unusual, since there were some really good pilots on the planet.

“That’s fine, I was just curious. I suppose I can always ask Eight-Fist if I run into him again,” Evelyn said, musing for a moment, then shrugged. She thought the pilot twitched at her comment, which simply made Evelyn smile. Apparently, her having met Captain Eight-Fist hadn’t made the rounds yet. That or the woman didn’t know who Evelyn was, but she sincerely doubted that. She wouldn’t have looked so grim if she’d been unaware of Evelyn’s identity.

“If you say so. We’ll be at the Emporium shortly,” the woman said, her voice carefully neutral, and Evelyn sat back, idly watching the city flick by.

Rakal really was an enormous city, and even when she’d lived here Evelyn hadn’t explored more than a fraction of it. Mostly because she didn’t see the point of exploring large parts of the city, and some areas she avoided because if she’d personally seen what went on there, she might feel obligated to do something about it.

That wasn’t to say it didn’t impress her in many ways, though. Mainly in that somehow the relatively lawless city remained beautiful to the eye. Mostly, Evelyn corrected herself, shaking her head slightly as she caught a glimpse of the Deathly Cathedral, which was a blight on the skyline. Some necromancers had no taste at all. And considering Evelyn’s own shaky grasp of aesthetics, it took something impressively bad to make her think that.

Soon enough they were slowing down again, and Evelyn smiled slightly as they descended toward a curbside. The storefront was narrow, with barred windows across the front. The once-cheerful green paint was faded due to the sunlight, and Evelyn suspected that Kismeth would have it fixed in a few months. Not that she blamed him for delaying, since the appearance of his shop wasn’t what drew people. No, it was his contacts. Why else would she be here?

With a thought she paid the driver for the trip, and she opened the door, speaking calmly. “Thank you. With any luck, I’ll be done shortly.”

“You’re the one paying,” the pilot said, but when her gaze flitted longingly for the sky, Evelyn couldn’t help a chuckle under her breath. She definitely wasn’t a normal taxi driver.

Evelyn got out of the cab and moved toward the door of the Emporium. As she did so, a dwarven woman strolling down the sidewalk sped up, and Evelyn mentally shook her head. When the woman tried to swipe Evelyn’s pistol, she was ready.

In a single smooth movement, the woman slammed onto the ground, the air blasted from her lungs. Evelyn placed a boot on the woman’s chest, looking down at her like she was an insect. Which she might as well be, from her perspective.

“I am not in a good mood, but I don’t feel like dealing with any bodies today,” Evelyn said, her voice calm and precise as she looked into the dwarf’s now slightly panicky brown eyes. “That being the case, you’re alive for the moment. If you’re here once I come out of the shop, you won’t be. Alive, that is. The same will be true of any friends you might have in the area. Shove off, you aren’t worth my time.”

With that, she booted the would-be thief away and turned back to the shop, walking inside without a second look. Evelyn heard the dwarf scrambling to her feet but was inside the shop before she was upright.

A soft chime rang as Evelyn stepped past the sliding door, and the temperature inside was cooler than the exterior. Soft music was playing, and Evelyn couldn’t help a slight shake of her head. It seemed more like an antique shop than anything else, and Evelyn slowed and looked around, admiring the fruits of Kismeth’s time adventuring, as well as what he sold for his contacts. He wasn’t really a fence, since none of his items were illegal, simply rare. Or culturally frowned upon.

In the corner was a rolled tapestry listed as having come from the High Temple of Brightdawn, which likely would have the priesthood of the temple frothing at the mouth while talking about sacrilege. Evelyn thought the hologram of the unrolled tapestry showed a breathtaking piece of work, with thread of gold woven with mythrite and other valuable materials to depict an angel holding a shield and sword. Supposedly the tapestry protected the building from those who would attack it. Evelyn wondered if that didn’t apply to theft, or if some enterprising priest had sold off the tapestry.

She paused in front of a life-size statue of a minotaur holding a brass bowl aloft, examining the black stone, which she didn’t recognize. According to the information she got from its tag via her implants, it had been salvaged from a ziggurat found in the astral. No one knew what the true purpose of the structure had been, as there hadn’t been any writing, just carvings of minotaurs and ancient magic that had mostly faded.

Beyond that were other, smaller items. Vases, jewelry, idols, a few ancient but functional swords and pistols… Evelyn couldn’t help a quirk to her lips when she saw a lamp that had once held a djinn. Fya had sold that to Kismeth, after she’d purchased the lamp and had deliberately chosen to live in it for a few months, at least resting in it at night. It had brought Fya a decent chunk of mythrite, and no one was the wiser about it.

“Hello, hello! How can I…” a young woman began, but her voice trailed off as she saw Evelyn, her eyes widening. The pretty young celestine had bright purple eyes and hair, along with skin that looked like alabaster washed with silver to Evelyn. The bob haircut looked good on her, and her outfit was white and yellow. Her large eyes, pouting lips, and outfit were almost perfect for convincing a visitor to buy something, since she looked young and vulnerable. Evelyn knew she earned a commission, however, so it wouldn’t help with her.

“Hello, I’m here for my appointment with Kismeth at noon,” Evelyn said evenly, casually sauntering toward the back.

The only thing that interested her at the moment was a small paperweight, one with runes that seemed vaguely familiar to her. Then she placed them, as they looked similar to the runes which had adorned the tower where she’d found Cherys.

“Ah, of course, ma’am. I was told to expect you,” the young woman said, giving a slight bob of a curtsey, which Evelyn thought looked silly when she was wearing trousers. “He’s ready for you in the back. Do you need me to show you the way?”

“No, but thank you,” Evelyn said, smiling in satisfaction. Though her mood would shift immensely if Kismeth decided to try betraying her. She didn’t think he was suicidal, though.

She stepped past the young woman, who watched her the entire time, almost as skittish as a mouse, in Evelyn’s opinion. Evelyn brushed through a curtain of beads blocking off the back. She glanced at the items in this room, which looked like they were being cleaned and prepared for the front room, and she paused, looking at a pistol on the shelf. It looked like one which she’d used at some point, but she couldn’t be sure. She discarded the thought a moment later. She wasn’t that sentimental.

An unadorned door in the back was her destination, and at her approach the door slid aside, revealing a small room with four chairs around a table. Each of the chairs was upholstered in black leather, and the walls were covered in a thin layer of polished steel that Evelyn knew concealed both electronic and magical countermeasures to keep what was said private. All of which would do nothing against someone recording the conversation.

Kismeth was sitting in the chair opposite the entrance, a plasma pistol resting on the table, while he took a sip from a mug. The man looked reasonably good for his age, with only a few flecks of white in his hair and a lean, muscular physique that was only now beginning to soften with age, but his brown eyes still held the sharp focus of intelligence. Humans might be able to live a long time these days, assuming no accidents befell them, but many of them grew tired well before they died of old age, from what Evelyn had heard. Kismeth was an exception, and even at a hundred and fifty he was still filled with a zest for life. Or was he a hundred and sixty? She couldn’t remember.

“Tarth. It’s been a few years,” Kismeth said, inclining his head slightly, and he gave a wry smile. “You know that everyone thought you were gone for good, after the past couple of weeks?”

“I’m not surprised. I didn’t expect to be back either, but then things forced my hand, and I need information,” Evelyn said, circling the nearest chair and plopping into it. She met his gaze calmly, thinking for a moment, then continued. “I’m not going to dance around the point. I want to know where Empress Vania Peldra is. If you can find who abducted her, all the better.”

“Huh. I wondered if what happened in Peldra was what prompted this, but I wasn’t sure. The main reason I guessed even that much was word that you’d encountered a group of her old guards on Cantell,” Kismeth said, setting down his mug heavily. He frowned, then added. “You aren’t the only one to ask about the second, but I’m afraid I don’t have an answer to that. The factions involved in the new rebellion are an eclectic mix, but someone else funded them, and I haven’t managed to nail down who it is, yet. It’s annoying.”

“And the empress?” Evelyn asked, a flare of anger surging, but she kept it under control.

“I don’t have her location just yet, but I think I can change that with a little work,” Kismeth said, examining her for a moment as he hesitated. Then he let out a soft sigh. “Not as much work as I’d expect, for that matter. It might take a day, maybe two. Not much more than that, since I’ve already got something to work off of.”

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I’m going to pay your fee. You know that.”

“Yes, but I’m rather more concerned about my shop. I’d rather not have you vaporize the entire thing in a fit of pique,” Kismeth replied. He didn’t sound like he was joking.

Evelyn paused, and her eyes narrowed. Her thoughts raced, and immediately fastened on the only thing that she could think of that might provoke that kind of reaction from her under the circumstances. An assassination attempt was possible, but Kismeth’s tone meant that was out of the picture. No, that left only a single option, and Evelyn’s temper flared. Hard.

“Ah. Slavers,” Evelyn said, her voice grating, and she saw Kismeth wince.

“Not… exactly,” he hedged, one finger twitching in the direction of his pistol.

Evelyn’s voice was cold as she demanded. “Explain.”

“A message has been passed around via secure channels. Just an… interest check to see if anyone was interested in an auction for an elven empress. While it didn’t specify her by name, anyone who got it has to know who it is,” Kismeth said, looking away as he swallowed. “As I said, I’ve got a lead. It’ll just take a few days to figure out where they’re thinking of holding the auction.”

For a few seconds Evelyn considered his words, her rage boiling under the surface, barely suppressed by sheer force of will. He looked incredibly uncomfortable, which was for the best. He should be uncomfortable.

“I see,” Evelyn said, tapping the table once with her right hand, then inclined her head slightly. “Find out what you can. When you have a location, send me the information, and I will pay you. That is all that I require.”

“Of course. I’ll make it a priority,” Kismeth replied quickly, a flicker of relief crossing his face.

Evelyn pretended she hadn’t seen it, instead simply standing up as she inclined her head.

“Good. I will leave you. Send me the bill,” Evelyn said, and turned to leave.

She was angry. This was such an obvious trap… the only question was who it was for.

Chapter 50

“Hah! I am victorious! Fear me, for I am Kragg the mighty!” the kobold crowed, throwing back his head, and there was a faint hiss before a puff of flames escaped his mouth, no more than ten centimeters long. Even so, Adria spoke up, her voice stern.

“Kragg, you have been warned not to use your flame implants aboard ship twice. Once more, and I will not override the fire suppression systems,” the Doll said, glaring at the kobold, who paused, having the good grace to look embarrassed. Ilyra suppressed the urge to giggle, which was hard considering the sheer hilarity of the situation.

“Sorry, I was just excited. It was a tricky foe, attempting to hide from me and pretend it was something else, but I found my prey. I swooped on it and was victorious. There is nothing better than the thrill of a successful hunt,” Kragg said, adjusting his goggles.

“Then you can remove the blockers?” Rasien asked, her gaze flicking over to Adria yet again. Ilyra wanted to shake her head, as the frustration in the elf’s voice was palpable.

“Of course. It will not be instantaneous, however. These devices are tricky, and safely removing them is delicate. Difficult. Yes, yes… do not want your muscles overreacting and ripping themselves off your bones. Wrong order, and a terrible mess. Not good customer service at all,” Kragg said, his voice turning brisker as he focused on the elf. “Nervous system first, to let your brain know everything is there. Eight hours minimum. Then organ enhancers. Then reaction time boosters. Then muscle boosters. Only then skin reinforcement mesh. You must wait forty-eight hours before attempting to use full implant abilities. Also recommend much fiber or may have unpleasant time disposing of waste. Understand?”

“That long? I thought that it would be quicker,” Rasien said, her frown growing even deeper.

“He just told you what the consequences would be. Would you rather injure yourself heavily just to speed things up by a day or two?” Ilyra asked reasonably, looking at Rasien calmly. “It might be worth it if we had an immediate lead, but we don’t. Why push faster when you don’t need to?”

“You don’t—” Rasien began, but cut herself off before her anger could take full control. Ilyra waited as the woman inhaled, obviously counting to ten, then spoke more calmly. “You’re right, of course. I’m just frustrated at being helpless.”

“I understand, but believe me, this is enormously better than what I had to deal with. Isn’t that right, Kragg?” Ilyra replied, looking at the kobold, who had his hands behind his head and was looking away, feigning whistling.

“What? Oh yes, of course! Nasty things, control chips. Can’t choose when to eat, when to nap, when to conquer the galaxy in games. You do what the chip says, no matter how boring it is. Not fun at all,” Kragg replied agreeably.

“If you say so,” Rasien said, inhaling, then let her breath out. “Then… will you start the process?”

“Yes, yes, of course. It… has begun. One warning, your nerves may be unhappy about the reactivation. If you feel strange, it’s probably your nervous system getting confused,” Kragg warned. “I recommend laying down. A nice warm rock is perfect, if you ask me.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Rasien said dryly, taking a deep breath, then asked. “What about the others?”

“Pfft. Suppliers were lazy. All nanites used same code. Just need to get close and transmit,” Kragg said, waving a hand dismissively as he hopped out of his chair. “Not a challenge for Kragg the mighty! All programs fear, Kragg is here!”

“If you say so, Kragg. Let me go get the others,” Ilyra said, unable to help a smile at the kobold’s antics. He was adorable, in his own way. Yes, he was pompous when it came to his hacking skills, but he also wasn’t a jerk about it. He just liked blowing his own horn.

“Excellent. I am looking forward to getting this done. Payment will be enough to buy new leg actuators. One step closer to my dream!” Kragg said, grinning broadly. “One tiny, infinitesimal step, but a step none—what is that?”

The kobold ducked behind his chair, taking cover faster than Ilyra could have believed possible, but she couldn’t focus on him, not as all the hairs on the back of her neck rose. It was like some terrifying beast was staring at her, and Ilyra froze for an instant, shivering. Then she jumped to her feet, drawing on her magic as she looked around for the source of the feeling. Rasien was on her feet as well, her face pale as she looked around. Yet there was nothing to explain it.

“Adria, status report?” Ilyra asked, another shudder running down her spine as the sensation of death drew closer.

“Situation normal. No hostile forces detected within designated perimeter. Captain Tarth has returned to the ship, but she appears to be in a poor mood. Her aura is disturbed, and she is radiating significant amounts of mana, throwing off many sensor readings,” the Doll replied, pausing for a moment, then continued. “As I wish to continue my existence, I believe I will remain in this chamber for the time being.”

“Um, that doesn’t sound like a normal situation,” Ilyra said, pausing for a moment, then sent a message over the ship’s comm system. “Um, Fya? Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“Yup! Evvy is pissed at something. I’m debating on whether I want to go out where I can see her… I’ve only felt her like this once before. I thought she was mad before, but oof, this is ridiculous,” the djinn replied, her voice filled with amazement.

“It feels like death is stalking through the ship,” Rasien said, looking around warily. “I’ve run into her before in a fight, and it never felt like this.”

Ilyra nodded slowly, biting her lower lip gently as she thought, then screwed up her courage, inhaling slightly, then moved toward the door.

“What are you doing?” Kragg asked, peering over the back of his chair. “That seems like a very bad idea.”

“Someone has to figure out what’s going on, and I’m pretty sure that Evelyn won’t hurt me,” Ilyra said, shrugging and smiling nervously at him. “And if I’m wrong… well, at least the rest of you will know to keep out of her way. I’m not wrong, though.”

“You sound far more confident than makes sense,” Rasien muttered.

The sensation was drawing closer, and Ilyra took a breath, then stepped through the door. It took exactly no effort to find Evelyn, not with that terrifying sensation raising Ilyra’s hackles, telling her to run and hide. She refused to give in to that tiny voice in her head, though, and she turned just as Evelyn stalked around the corner. That was exactly the right term for it, stalked, because there was no other way Ilyra could describe it.

All around Evelyn the air was twisting and churning, like the air above pavement on a hot day, and she could sense the palpable anger in the way Evelyn focused on the hall in front of her, even if the elf’s hands were clasped behind her back. There was just an eerie precision in how she was moving down the hallway, like every step was carefully calculated. It wasn’t like her face was screwed up with anger or anything like that… it was the look in her eyes, and the suffocating intensity of the power surrounding her that paralyzed Ilyra for a few seconds.

“…Evelyn? Are you alright?” Ilyra asked after a few seconds, watching as Evelyn drew closer at that same steady pace, not seeming to acknowledge Ilyra’s presence until she spoke.

Then Evelyn’s gaze rose to rest on Ilyra for a few moments and inclined her head. The elf didn’t slow down, continuing until she was next to Ilyra. Only then did she stop, resting a hand on Ilyra’s shoulder gently. It felt like a lead weight to Ilyra, and her throat was unnaturally dry. Ilyra couldn’t think of what to say.

“I’m perfectly fine, Ilyra. I can’t say the same for Vania, but I am fine. The information I acquired was… incomplete. But poor, that much I can say for certain,” Evelyn replied, her voice even, calm, and completely at odds with the torrent of rage Ilyra could feel pouring off the woman. “I am afraid that I’m… upset. Please inform the others that I will be going out kraken hunting. I need to blow off some steam.”

“I… I can do that,” Ilyra agreed, not moving more than she had to. She couldn’t.

“Excellent. Thank you, Ilyra,” Evelyn said, and she removed her hand from Ilyra’s shoulder and continued down the hall at the same steady pace as before, looking to all the world as though everything was normal. Only that suffocating presence indicated otherwise.

Ilyra couldn’t draw a breath properly until Evelyn was out of sight, and even then she sagged against the wall, wondering what Evelyn had learned to make her that angry.

* * *

A storm raged around Evelyn. Lightning split the sky, illuminating the underside of the twisting dark clouds above, and the waves were like canyons as the water churned below her. Tornados had touched down on the water, forming incredible waterspouts that could damage even unwary starships. The magic of the krakens was powerful, it had to be to create storms like this, but it lacked focus. If they focused it, it might actually pose a threat to Evelyn.

From the waves emerged a tentacle half a kilometer long, as the malevolent titan of the deeps lashed out at Evelyn. She simply moved out of its way, her gaze fixed on the water below, slowly sorting through the immense amount of mana filling the water as she tried to pick out the main body of the kraken. Well, the second kraken. The first had been rather small and had fled the moment that it felt her mana. It was wiser than this one.

A wave hit her a moment later, but it simply washed off her shield, and Evelyn ignored it, her eyes narrowing as she finally caught sight of the main body of the kraken, a good fifty meters below the surface. Not far enough.

“Daughter of the sun, descend from the heavens. Come to my grasp and show the foolish thy power. Let thy fire match my rage, that it may echo throughout the world,” Evelyn chanted, still in that unnatural calm. At the same time, she dodged another two tentacles, each fit to drag a small starship from the sky.

The orb of fire that took form in her right hand didn’t look like much compared to most of her spells. It was only two centimeters across, but it blazed with a pure white flame that most people wouldn’t be able to look at without damaging their eyes. Evelyn didn’t even blink, she simply threw it downward.

This time the kraken seemed to realize something was wrong, and the immense creature darted to the side with a speed that only magical creatures could manage. It wasn’t fast enough.

A pinprick of steam was the fireball’s wake, as the water flashed instantly to steam on contact with it. The fireball descended a good forty-nine meters before it came to a stop. Not that the water overwhelmed it, but it’d gotten to the exact point she’d intended it to.

The ocean bulged upward as an immense detonation of white and blue erupted below Evelyn, displacing massive amounts of water. Waves broke as the detonation overpowered the kraken’s control over the local seas, at least briefly, and Evelyn saw the shockwave hit the kraken, which spasmed as its body was ravaged by the devastation. It also was drifting upward, and Evelyn smiled, drawing her energy blade calmly.

It was still moving. It was time to fix that.

Chapter 51

“Um… Evelyn?” Moon asked, sounding a touch nervous.

“Hm?” Evelyn asked, wiping her face with a towel and feeling significantly more relaxed than she had the previous night. Some exercise, along with burning off some of her frustration out in the ocean, had helped her calm down. Now she needed to take a shower, considering the way she’d been sweating.

“I was just curious… Lyra said you were going kraken hunting yesterday. Does that mean that the krakens on the news were yours?” Moon asked, frowning.

Evelyn blinked, then accessed the news channels. It only took a few seconds to find the channel in question, which showed a trio of coast guard ships towing three krakens toward the bay slowly. Two of them were larger than the other, and all of them were missing a few pieces, which didn’t surprise her. Kraken lost pieces of their tentacles in combat frequently, and there were plenty of scavengers that probably decided to take a nibble after they were dead. That said, she was a little surprised at the sight of the three. Mostly because there were three.

“Nope. I didn’t kill the middle one,” Evelyn said, shaking her head and banishing the feed at the same time. “I took care of the big one and the one on the left, not the middle one. At a guess, several other krakens tried to take over their territory, and the middle one lost. Krakens aren’t terribly bright and will kill each other almost as happily as they’ll kill other species. It’s a miracle they thrive the way they do.”

“Oh,” Moon said, her eyes widening as she looked at Evelyn for a moment, then shook her head. “I… can’t even imagine fighting something like that. How?”

“Rather easily, actually. They’re not that good at fighting small creatures like humans, and as long as you can dodge and shield against their weather control, you’ll be fine,” Evelyn explained, continuing toward the door of the gym. Moon was following her, listening curiously. “I can do that, and a sufficiently powerful fireball works wonderfully as an improvised depth charge. That does most of the job for me.”

“If you say so. I don’t think I could manage that in my lifetime,” Moon said, staying just a couple of steps behind Evelyn as they walked toward Evelyn’s room. For a few seconds she was quiet, then she asked. “Are you okay?”

Evelyn could easily have misinterpreted her question. It would be the easy thing to do, to laugh things off and feign ignorance. She didn’t want to do that, though. She’d already noticed how skittish many of the others were this morning, and the imperial guard had made themselves scarce. They were aboard the ship, working on their armor in one of the storage bays, but they were avoiding her for some odd reason. Evelyn couldn’t imagine why.

“Me? I’m fine. My rage isn’t as… immediate, but it’s there, lurking under the surface,” Evelyn said, pausing to think for a moment before she shook her head, letting out a sigh. “I’m not happy that all of you had to deal with the… side effects. I try to control my temper, but it’s explosive. I didn’t think anything could enrage me that much again.”

“Again?” Moon asked, following Evelyn into her bedroom, but Evelyn paused, raising an eyebrow as she saw that Star was waiting for her in the room, right next to the shower. It seemed that she’d been ambushed.

“I see that the two of you are working on your tactics,” Evelyn said dryly, glancing between them, then continued toward the shower. “I assume that Star was listening in as we walked?”

Star nodded, her cheeks flushing a little. She hesitated, looking like she was debating about what to say, then spoke softly. “We’re sort of representing everyone but Rasien’s group and Fya. We were all concerned about how you reacted, and both Ryth and Zel took it harder than us. Zel said that she wouldn’t be safe around you for a while, and Ryth was… shocked, I think? So we volunteered. Willow offered, but she’s not as close to you as we are.”

“Very true. I imagine that Zel would turn into a puddle on the floor if she came near me right now… succubi are strange,” Evelyn said, starting to strip off her clothing as she thought about what to tell the two.

They already knew quite a bit about her, so it wasn’t as though admitting the last time she’d been that angry would hurt. They might even understand. She continued to work, tossing the clothing into a nearby hamper, and was almost into the shower when she spoke at last.

“When I was conquering Peldra, one of their strongest generals decided that he wanted to kill me. They engaged my army, and I fought them, which would have been normal enough. But he had a special forces group there, and to help distract me, he decided to do something foolish. He told me that he’d been responsible for executing my parents,” Evelyn said. She grimaced, shaking her head as she turned on the water, letting it flow over her. “That was a terrible mistake, because he succeeded in pissing me off. I didn’t know that they’d just gone missing at the time, mind you. I thought he was telling the truth. Which is what led to the Massacre of the Purple Hills, when I routed Peldra’s first division almost single-handedly.”

“Oh,” Moon said, her eyes wide as she digested that. Then she muttered. “That sounds incredibly stupid. I’ve seen what you can do.”

“It was,” Evelyn agreed, smiling faintly, though her heart wasn’t in it. She closed her eyes, putting her face into the stream of water for a couple of seconds. She didn’t need to fully wash, just to rinse off the sweat. “As to that… he hadn’t seen what I could do when really pissed off. He thought that my limits were much, much lower than they were at that time.”

For a minute the two were silent, just allowing Evelyn to wash off. She wondered what was going on, or if they were just asking questions. A tiny part of her was disappointed. She’d been hoping they would try to distract her… but she was also being a bit selfish in that regard.

“I have to ask… are you stronger than you were then?” Star finally asked, her hands clasped behind her back.

“Hm? Why do you ask?” Evelyn said, a little surprised by the question.

“Because you’re incredibly powerful now, and I have to wonder… how powerful can you become? You’re not old for an elf, from what I’ve learned, and could live to be over a millennium. Maybe more,” Star explained, her voice trailing off for a moment, then she looked away from the shower, blushing. “I just wonder how much farther ahead of us you’re going to get.”

“Ahh,” Evelyn said, shutting down the shower. She took a moment to wring out her hair, then opened the door of the shower, using telekinesis to pull a towel to her hand. She thought, then shrugged, speaking bluntly. “I’d say that I’ve gained roughly twenty percent more power than I had at that time. It’s hard to say for sure, but that’s my best guess. Not that I expect to get twenty percent more powerful than I am now. Yes, I’ve been slacking off on my training for a few years, but part of that is due to diminishing returns.”

Moon took the towel before Evelyn had managed to do much more than wipe off her face, her stubborn expression indicating that Evelyn wasn’t going to get to keep it, so she let her, rolling her eyes in response. The redhead started drying Evelyn off, which felt a little weird… but Evelyn didn’t bother arguing.

“So… diminishing returns?” Moon asked after a few moments of silence.

“Yes. I’m not absolutely certain on my magic, but there’s only so much farther I can push my physical strength. There’s a limit even to the capabilities of magically mutated muscles and bones, and my days of improving them rapidly ended long ago. Now it’s a matter of incremental advancements,” Evelyn explained, shivering as Moon started drying off her ears, which sent a thrill of sensation through her body. They were far too sensitive for her own good. “My magical growth has slowed down as well, but I’m not sure if it’s going to stop growing or simply be a slow, steady improvement over the decades. My main ability to improve with it will be in fine control or expanding into new fields. I’m not sure that I’m interested in other fields, though. Maybe I can talk to Willow about plant magic.”

Moon giggled, then spoke, glancing up to reveal that her eyes were practically dancing with amusement. “You would go from the idea of blowing things up to plants, wouldn’t you?”

“I like dryads. They were some of the friendliest, most honest people that I’ve ever interacted with,” Evelyn said, shrugging, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed. “If it hadn’t been for all the hunters looking for me, I probably never would have left their forest. I’d be wearing leaves and flowers, and cultivating an orchard or something… wouldn’t that be a change?”

“You know, somehow I doubt that. You’ve talked about your temper enough, I don’t think you’d have been satisfied there, long-term,” Star said, shaking her head.

Evelyn laughed, inclining her head as she conceded the point. She took a moment to give Moon a hug, now that she was dry, which the redhead returned with a blush, then walked over to her closet to find clothing.

“You may very well be right. But they calmed me down a lot while I was with them. Who knows, I might have changed,” Evelyn countered, shrugging again. She looked over her clothing, her lips pursed, then shook her head. “I don’t know, though. I’m only a bit past fifty, which is young for an elf, and my combat skills and magic are reaching a plateau. It’s a significant problem, which is part of why I do the programming, work on armor and weapons, or anything else I do on the side.”

“Which is to say that if we keep training, we can make up some of the ground between us and you?” Moon asked hopefully.

“That’s right,” Evelyn said, smirking over her shoulder at Moon, then paused, seeing how Moon’s gaze was fixed on her butt. After a moment she arched an eyebrow, asking. “Like what you see?”

“Well… yes? I have pretty much from the start,” Moon said, blushing as she tore her gaze upward to meet Evelyn’s.

“You’re gorgeous, powerful, and wealthy. I’d say it’s downright unfair, but you’re so overwhelming that I can’t even get upset about it,” Star chimed in, grinning. “You’re the sort of woman that almost anyone I’ve known would love to get close to.”

“Fortunately for you, you’re already close to me,” Evelyn said, smirking and deciding on her outfit. Something nice and tight, she thought. Maybe it’d even distract her.

She doubted it’d manage it, not unless the twins decided to make a decision on what they wanted to do.

* * *

“So, what’re we going to do? Just wait for her to find Her Majesty?” Caeda asked, her brow furrowed as she worked on getting some gunk out of the seams in her armor. The purple-haired elf didn’t sound happy, but Rasien couldn’t blame her. She wasn’t happy either.

The gangsters hadn’t been too careful with any of the suits, and plenty of debris had gotten into places that Rasien didn’t care to think about too closely. She’d already taken a pressure washer to clean out the interior of her armor, then done a full decontamination pass on it. That just left cleaning off the exterior and getting herself back up to speed. Fortunately, the Dolls aboard the ship had readily supplied them with the equipment they needed to perform maintenance on their suits.

“What else can we do?” Alok asked, resting next to his armor as he rubbed his chin slowly. “We tried to figure out where they’d taken her and got nowhere before getting captured. We don’t have the money for a proper ship, don’t have any leads, and don’t have the direct support of Peldra. Assuming the government hasn’t collapsed yet. The news isn’t looking promising.”

Rasien winced, and decided she needed to interject before this descended into an argument again. Alok wasn’t wrong, and the redhead was their intel specialist, so he likely had a better read on things than she did.

“We don’t have much choice at this point. As much as I may hate Tarth, she is… powerful, and more heavily connected in the underworld than we are. If she says she’s going to find the Empress, she will. We just have to be ready when she does, so that we can rescue her,” Rasien said, slowly running an ultrasonic reamer over the external seams of her armor. A surprising amount of debris was coming out of the seams, and she decided to go over it again in a minute. “What we do after her rescue depends on the circumstances when we get there, and what she wants to do. For all we know, she’s going to give up on being Empress entirely. Especially if Peldra has fallen.”

“True… we’ve seen how little she’s enjoyed ruling, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what convinces her to give it up,” Lierin said reluctantly, looking distinctly unhappy with the possibility. “It’d just be a little… I don’t know. Disappointing? To see it end that way.”

“Damned prophecies,” Elwin muttered. “I thought we’d subverted it, when she killed Tarth.”

“As had I,” Rasien said, letting out another breath of annoyance. She left some of her other thoughts unspoken, since she was certain their conversations were being recorded.

Instead, she focused on fixing her armor. When they rescued Vania, she was going to be ready.

Chapter 52

Evelyn looked over the information she’d received, frowning, then authorized the payment to Kismeth, sending him the mythrite he’d requested. It was a bit more than she’d have preferred, but information brokers were expensive. On the other hand, he’d gotten her a great deal of information in the two days that they’d been in Rakal. Too much information, which solidified her suspicion that this was a trap.

She sat back in her chair, her eyes narrowed, then opened a link to the others, speaking calmly. “Everyone, please make your way back to the ship as soon as possible. I have our destination. You may finish your shopping, as it isn’t quite urgent enough to prompt immediate departure.”

“Where are we going?” Fya asked, the djinn sounding distinctly unhappy. She wasn’t the only one to reply, though.

“I believe we will return in approximately an hour, Evelyn. Cherys and Nadia are in the middle of a fitting,” Zelirana said calmly, as she’d chosen to accompany the two in addition to Fya. Evelyn suspected that the djinn would have been enough, but she’d heard something about Cherys hitting a thug with a lightning bolt, so she supposed that they’d be fine.

“Anything we need to know, supply-wise?” Star asked, sounding significantly more chipper than she had over the last few days.

The series of replies was almost enough to give Evelyn a headache, but she addressed them one at a time, keeping her voice calm. “I’ll tell you when you’re aboard the ship, Fya. I’m not transmitting that over the air, not with how many codebreakers there are in Rakal. That sounds fine, Zel, I’ll have Adria aim for departure at least two hours from now. No, Star, our destination isn’t that far away, and we should be able to resupply if we have to.”

A chorus of acknowledgements came in reply. Evelyn made sure that everyone was either aboard the ship or had replied, then contacted Adria.

“Adria, take care of any fees with Rakal Control and prepare the ship for launch in three hours,” Evelyn ordered. She didn’t give the destination even to Adria, not since she had decided to be more cautious than normal. She wasn’t going to risk Vania’s life if she had any choice in the matter.

“Yes, Captain. Scheduling departure for three hours from now,” Adria said, and Evelyn nodded absently.

“Thank you. Now, please don’t disturb me unless there’s an emergency. I have data to examine,” Evelyn said. The Doll didn’t reply, which suited Evelyn just fine. She needed to sort through this information properly if she was going to give a briefing to the others.

* * *

“We are now enroute to Saro, just beyond the edge of the cluster,” Evelyn said, bringing up a holographic map, which showed Saro’s location just beyond the edge of the Mathrin cluster, but a touch too far offset to be part of the Tassen cluster. The small gaps between clusters were almost always bad places to live, or at least not terribly valuable. That was part of why they tended to be unpleasant. Something that Evelyn decided she should emphasize. “I suppose that I should mention that Saro is an unpleasant planet, on the whole. Brackish swamps cover a large part of what landmass there is, and the oceans are almost as bad, with poor weather on the whole. It started its life as a pirate haven, and now is home to a thriving, extremely malevolent underworld. Think of it like Rakal, simply without the veneer of pleasant civilization.”

Around the table were all of Evelyn’s non-Doll crew save Willow, who had expressed that she didn’t feel her presence was appropriate, and Rasien. The knight had argued that more of her people should be there, but Evelyn had flatly denied the request, instead allowing her team to watch and listen in from another conference room, since she didn’t want too many people chiming in.

“Why there?” Ilyra said, frowning at the description. “I mean, if we’re after whoever abducted Empress Vania…”

“My information isn’t complete, I don’t know who arranged for her abduction, but it’s extensive in other ways. An inquiry was sent through various underworld brokers to check on interest in the auction of an elf. To quote, ‘a female virginal elf of exquisite breeding and beauty, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is of imperial blood, and until recently ruled her own nation.’” Evelyn said, her voice growing icy. “I knew that much when I returned after my original inquiry, and it is obvious that they’re referring to Vania. The wait was to learn where she was being held.”

“Oh, those bastards!” Rasien hissed, her face screwing up in rage. Evelyn approved, since she felt similarly, even now.

Most of the others didn’t react much, but Fya suddenly had a huge smile on her face, while Ilyra and Vaneryth looked much more concerned than anything else. Zelirana, though… she looked thoughtful.

“That is… odd,” Zelirana murmured, looking at Evelyn curiously. “How much information did you get?”

“Too much,” Evelyn said, flicking the map over to one of Saro itself, where an island began blinking. “The group that sent out the inquiry is currently based on an island fortress here, an hour away from Saro’s main settlement by flight. Blood Cove isn’t an imaginative name, but it should give you an idea of the local thoughts on morality. If they sold her off, they could easily do so in Blood Cove, and the planet is lawless enough that they have heavy defenses.”

Another thought brought up an orbital image of the fortress, and Rasien visibly flinched at the sight of it. Evelyn didn’t comment on her flinch as she spoke.

“The fortress has fortress-class shield generators, multiple anti-dreadnaught ground to space weapons, and plenty of secondary weapons as well. If we tried to take it, I estimate Djinn’s Gift would be turned into wreckage before the shields fell. We might manage to survive long enough to destroy the anti-space emplacements if I shielded the ship, but it wouldn’t be easy,” Evelyn said, pausing for a couple more seconds as she inhaled slowly, continuing after she steadied herself. “Vania is supposedly kept deep within the facility, and some of the information indicates that there are other captives taken from Peldra’s Pride as well. The fortress has four combat mechs, two squadrons of fighters, four hundred mercenary soldiers, and approximately a thousand drones defending it.”

The room was silent as everyone stared at the map. Rasien’s face was as white as a sheet, and no one else seemed to dare speak.

“How in all the gods are we supposed to do anything about that?” Rasien asked, her voice practically a whisper.

“You aren’t. That’s the entire point. Only the foolish, desperate, or overconfident would dare attack a fortress like that,” Evelyn said, baring her teeth as she admitted. “I probably count as the last. Oh, and they have teleportation dampeners, so I can’t just appear on the island and set to work. To me, this is a sign that they want people to see what they have and back off, or it’s a massive trap.”

“I’d say a trap. If they were that overconfident, they wouldn’t be hiding who was behind this, not when the campaign against loyalists in Peldra is going extremely well,” Zelirana said, frowning and shaking her head.

Evelyn gave a wintry smile and inclined her head. “Precisely my thoughts. The main question is who the trap is for. I’m inclined to think that it’s for Rasien’s group, but it’s possible that Vania has other allies that whoever is behind this is trying to draw out. Rasien?”

“I… no, of course not! If she had allies like that, they would’ve stepped in before things got to this point!” Rasien said, her cheeks flushing as she glared at the map. “This is completely ridiculous! We can’t deal with something like that!”

“Mm, it’s… possible. Not easy, but possible,” Evelyn said, examining the layout carefully. “Yes, it’s a fortress, but they have four hundred soldiers. That means that if you were careful, an infiltration is possible. Which is exactly what I have planned to get there, since I’m not going to let them sell her off.”

“Oh, drat,” Fya said, looking distinctly disappointed. “I’d hoped that I’d get to see her taken onto an auction stage. It’d serve her right.”

Rasien’s expression changed to be positively murderous, and she opened her mouth to retort. Evelyn spoke first, though, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the djinn.

“Fya. I don’t care that you hate Vania, but you will not sabotage this mission. Is that clear?” Evelyn said, her gaze fixed on the djinn, who just shrank back in her chair, folding her arms and pouting.

“She killed you. The least she could do is die once or twice in return,” Fya muttered stubbornly. “I’d even bring her back for another try or two.”

“I handed her the gun. We’ve discussed this, Fya. And you’re not going to get to kill her,” Evelyn said, allowing her exasperation to leak into her voice. “Now, are you going to help or not?”

“I’ll help, but I’m not going to be nice to her,” Fya said after a moment, still sulking.

“Good,” Evelyn said, her gaze drifting over to Rasien. She considered the woman for a moment, particularly watching the angry glare directed at Fya, and let out a sigh. “Rasien. I assume your team wishes to assist?”

“Of course we do. She’s our empress, and I’ll be damned if I’m letting you or that freak go after her without us,” Rasien said, jerking her chin in the direction of Fya.

“Fine. In that case I have one requirement. Format the systems on your armor and reinitialize them completely. You can copy down the settings so you can update them afterward, but you have to do that and run a maximum tier virus scan on all of your implants,” Evelyn told her firmly. “If you don’t do that, you’re not coming with me.”

“What? Why?” Rasien said, whipping around to stare at Evelyn in disbelief.

“Peldra’s Pride was sabotaged, including its sensor systems from what you said. That means a traitor was able to make sure that happened. There’s no way to guarantee that they didn’t manage to plant something in your armor, or that the nanites didn’t introduce something to your implants,” Evelyn explained calmly, watching as Rasien’s anger turned to concern, then worry. “I am not bringing someone with me who may give away the attack before it can begin.”

“That’s a terrifying thought,” Ilyra murmured, and Vaneryth nodded.

“That it is. However, considering what was done to us when we were captured, I believe that it is far too believable,” the angel said, examining the map in concern. “My concern is that under the circumstances, I am not certain that most of us will be assets. Perhaps Zel, due to her shapeshifting?”

“Possibly, but once I’m on the island, I’m not exactly planning to be subtle. The shields are over the entire island, and the heaviest weapons are focused on outside attackers,” Evelyn said, highlighting the weapon emplacements. “I should be able to take down the big ones, which will allow the ship to come close enough that leaving again should be easier.”

“Wait, I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. If we format our armor, we’re going to lose all of our updates, and we don’t have the newest version of the software! That’s back in the palace!” Rasien protested. “Plus, we don’t have the sort of firepower to deal with that kind of defense. We’re not equipped to take on combat mechs.”

Evelyn just looked at the woman for a moment, then tilted her head to the side, a bit incredulous.

“Rasien… have you forgotten that I was a weapons dealer on Rakal for eight years?” Evelyn asked curiously. “Your team uses the Mark Seven Cobra series by Beneficent Arms, with the noble guard package, except for the member who uses the stealth package disguised as the noble guard one. I have the updates in my database. As for weapons… I have an enchanted solar cannon. I’m sure we can find weapons appropriate to the situation.”

Rasien’s mouth opened, then snapped shut, staring at Evelyn for a moment. Then heat began to rise in her cheeks, and she looked away.

“Regardless of weaponry, I believe that I should go along with you,” Zelirana said after a moment, her gaze intent as she examined Evelyn. “While you may intend to take things on… directly, I may be able to gather a bit of information from the guards with my magic, and direct you toward any captives.”

“The only question is, how would you be getting in?” Ilyra asked, sounding worried. “It doesn’t sound like it’d be easy. I’ll accept that we’re not good enough to help with this yet, but…”

“Oh, that’s simple. It’s part of why I want Fya’s help with this,” Evelyn said, nodding to the djinn as she smiled. “In fact, I think she might even have fun with it.”

“Ooh… this sounds promising,” Fya said, perking up again, and Evelyn resisted the urge to laugh.

Fya was incredibly easy to please sometimes.

Chapter 53

“Her ship is in-system,” Gol reported, and Reesa looked up from her book in relief.

“Finally! I was starting to wonder if we’d made things too obscure. Or too obvious,” Reesa said, though her back tensed involuntarily.

“I think that if we’d made it any more obvious, she wouldn’t have even shown up,” Barrvyth said, still tapping the keys of his controller as he dodged bullets on the screen. He was disgustingly good at it, in Reesa’s opinion. “As it is, I’m not sure that defending the island this heavily is a good idea. What if she just leaves?”

“We’ve discussed this before, Barr,” Gol said, letting out an exasperated sigh. “We don’t just have to deal with her, there are plenty of other people who think that nabbing this empress would make for a nice payday. We chose a lawless planet for a reason, you know.”

“Fair,” he said, grunting as his figure got hit, then asked. “Any hits on the surveillance software?”

“Nope,” Gol said, crossing her arms in front of her unhappily. “I thought we might, but either they purged the software and maybe the spy or the ship’s gone to heavy emissions control. Given what we’ve seen of Tarth, I’d just assume the former. Better not to count on getting anything out of them than to rely on it.”

“An excellent idea. It looks like Sar and Ragthorn are in privacy mode, so I’ll just send them a message,” Reesa said, pausing for a couple of seconds to do that, then she shrugged. She was feeling a bit impatient, but she doubted that Evelyn would act immediately on entering the system. Even for the aggressive warlord, that seemed unlikely. “Hopefully we’ll get a bit of warning before they land. None of the soldiers know much about us, right?”

“All they know is that there are deadly automated systems guarding the empress,” Barrvyth confirmed, finally failing to dodge too many times, and his avatar splintered into pieces as it exploded. He turned to face them, shrugging as he said. “That’s not to say they have no clue, but I don’t think they do. They’re being well paid for their lack of curiosity.”

“Well, we’ll find out. Just make sure all of our escape routes are prepped, Gol?” Reesa said, focusing on the dwarf.

“Oh, I’ve been keeping an eye on those anyway. We can’t spend money if we don’t survive!” Gol said, grinning broadly.

Reesa joined the other two in laughing, but internally she was worried. Taking on a living legend wasn’t something to take lightly, after all.

* * *

“And… Djinn’s Gift has crossed the horizon. Unless they’ve got really expensive homing enchantments, the fortress can’t hit them,” Fya chirped, her hair blazing yellow inside her helmet, to the point that Evelyn could see it easily.

“I doubt they do,” Evelyn said, watching Fya in amusement as the djinn took the shuttle lower and lower, until they were practically skimming the ocean.

“If they do, you’ll just blow the cannons up, so it isn’t like it matters either way,” Fya said, shrugging.

“True, true,” Evelyn said, glancing at Ilyra, who was in the copilot seat. She was a little surprised the celestine had decided to come with rather than Vaneryth, but she wasn’t going to argue about it. The angel was functionally the captain while they were gone, which struck Evelyn as amusing. Vaneryth would take good care of the ship, though. After a moment she asked. “How are you feeling, Lyra?”

“Like my stomach has been tied into knots. Lots of them,” Ilyra admitted, blushing a little. “It’s helping me focus, but it’s even worse than our first match in the arena.”

“That isn’t really surprising. This isn’t like anything else we’ve run into before,” Evelyn said, nodding toward the screen, and the unseen destination they were aiming for. “This is the first place we’ve encountered that could actually pose a legitimate threat to Djinn’s Gift, and even me under the right circumstances. Oh, once I’m inside the shield I could raze the entire surface, but we can’t afford that. We’re here to rescue people, not murder them. It’s going to be tricky.”

“But you can do it,” Ilyra said, smiling up at her. “You wouldn’t be going in if you couldn’t.”

Evelyn laughed, patting Ilyra’s shoulder, and she checked the stealth field absently. It wasn’t as easy to maintain as she’d like, but it was well worth the mana it cost. Yes, Fya could have hidden the shuttle as well, but she needed her mana for other things at the moment, so Evelyn was maintaining the spell instead.

They were approaching the island fortress at a slower clip than Evelyn would prefer, but any faster and it was likely that the defender’s systems would pick up the air the shuttle displaced, which would ruin their plan. If they brought their shields up all the way rather than being in standby mode, that would make getting in incredibly hard. Evelyn didn’t want to deal with that.

After a moment she opened the door and looked into the back of the shuttle. Rasien, her team, and Zelirana were in their seats, all waiting patiently. None of them had the solar cannon, Fya had claimed that for herself, but they each were equipped with heavy weapons as well as smaller antipersonnel weaponry. It was a bit on the heavy side, but Evelyn thought that it was necessary. Few other people were willing to take on a mech with the sort of weaponry Evelyn carried.

“Everyone ready for this?” Evelyn asked, tilting her head since they wouldn’t be able to see her raising an eyebrow.

A chorus of agreement came from the guards, but Evelyn only paid attention to Rasien, whose normally white armor had been painted a deep blue, along with the rest of their suits. “We are. How much longer until the drop?”

“About… ten minutes, it looks like,” Evelyn said, turning her attention to Zelirana. “And you?”

“I’m just fine. This should be… interesting. I’ve never been part of an infiltration like this before,” the succubus admitted, a smile flitting across her lips as she added. “I’m also looking forward to meeting Vania. I’ve heard a few bits and pieces from yourself and Fya, but I’m curious about her. She appears to have had a… formative influence on who you are now.”

“Mm, I wouldn’t put it that way,” Evelyn replied, frowning slightly, then stepped into the back cabin, allowing the door to slide shut behind her. She grabbed onto a nearby handhold, just in case something managed to overwhelm the dampeners for a moment. “I did speak with her quite a bit while I ruled Peldra, mind you. I visited her at least once a week for an hour or more. Sometimes two or three times. We… didn’t get along at first. I thought she was a sheltered brat, and she considered me to be a sadistic bitch. I can’t say that I really blame her for that, but the first few months weren’t the best.”

“Huh. She never mentioned that,” Rasien murmured.

“She didn’t? I’m surprised,” Evelyn said, her eyebrows rising a touch, then she shook her head. “In any case, I just… one day I realized just how unhappy I was with how things were going. I didn’t enjoy ruling, it was a quagmire that I kept struggling with as I tried to fix the problems I perceived, and I was getting nowhere. The people who’d helped me all had their own agendas and keeping them from causing problems was taking more and more effort. Not to mention all of the courtship attempts… I considered one, and the woman tried to knife me in the back, which was the end of that.

“So, I decided that I’d had enough,” Evelyn said, pausing for a couple of seconds, then glanced at Rasien. “Did she ever tell you about that part? What happened in the throne room?”

“No, she didn’t. The recordings were erased for the couple of hours around it, and she just told me that you let her kill you. Which was supposed to be the end of it,” Rasien said, her voice a touch wary. “I was busy breaking out of the prison, after the guards went missing and a lot of the security systems went down.”

“Most of us were,” Elwin added. After a moment’s pause, he added, “I don’t like you, but it’s nice not to be fighting someone like you.”

“Not surprising,” Evelyn said, a smile flickering over her face. “I’m not surprised she didn’t tell you, either. I’d called all my nobility and military commanders into the throne room… and we had a little discussion. Either they killed me, or they died at my hands. It was the hardest fight I’ve ever been through.”

For an instant the room was silent. Then Rasien spoke, her voice flat. “You’re lying. I saw the bodies, there were five dragons in there, among over a hundred people. It looked like a bomb went off.”

“Think what you like,” Evelyn said, shrugging off her criticism. “I think Fya copied the recordings, but I can’t be sure. Anyway, I was dying at that point. I could’ve taken a couple of healing potions, which would’ve stabilized me, but I didn’t see the point. Not since I knew what I was going to do. So I staggered up to Vania’s room and gave her the master keys to the palace, along with my pistol. I knew there was no way I’d get out of there alive, so I didn’t intend to. I couldn’t even see her at that point, as I’d lost my sight. She had the choice of killing me quickly or letting me die bit by bit. She put an energy bolt through my head.”

Evelyn paused for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. “I expected that to be the end, you know. To go to whatever hellish afterlife I’d earned. But no, Fya refused to let me go. I spent a year in her lamp as a soul before she finally decided it was safe to raise me from the dead… I owe her a great deal. Vania made an impression on me as well. She certainly ruled better than I ever did.”

“You think you earned a trip to the lower planes with your actions?” Zelirana asked, her eyebrows rising.

“Almost certainly,” Evelyn said, a smile flickering across her lips. “Or if I didn’t, I certainly haven’t earned entry to one of the heavens. I’m not a good person.”

“You also aren’t evil,” the succubus said, clicking her tongue as her head turned toward the imperial guard. After a moment she added. “Believe me, I have seen plenty of examples of evil. You’re nowhere near the extremes that I’ve seen in the lower planes. I suspect you’re less destructive than many would be if they were given the same amount of power.”

One of the guards scoffed, but Evelyn smiled and shrugged.

“Possibly. Likely we’ll never know, since it isn’t like my abilities are common,” Evelyn said, mentally checking their position, then nodded in satisfaction. “You’d best put your helmet on, we’re almost in position.”

“Fine…” Zelirana replied, drawing out the word, then picked up her helmet and seated it. Evelyn watched, listening closely, and she could barely hear the sound of it sealing in place. A moment later she added. “I don’t much like helmets.”

“Neither do I, but they help keep people alive. And unless you have a particular talent to breathe water that I don’t know about, you’re going to need it,” Evelyn replied, rolling her eyes.

“I could shapeshift so I had gills, but… you have a point. I don’t like using gills,” Zelirana muttered, which caused Evelyn to pause and stare at her. The suggestion had mostly been a joke, after all.

“Alright, we’re in position and ready to drop! Taking over the stealth field now, Milady. Let me know when it’s safe for me to come in again,” Fya chirped over the ship intercom, which made Evelyn wince, allowing her stealth field fade. She’d been avoiding using her implants to communicate in case the defenders could detect them, but it was too late for that now. Hopefully they’d be able to reach the island, if not Evelyn was going to have to take some extremely drastic measures.

“Thank you, and I will. We’ll clear your landing zone,” Evelyn said, reaching down to make sure everything she needed was on her belt, and she nodded in satisfaction, then looked at the others. “Alright, let’s do this.”

Without another word, she triggered the bay door, and the rear ramp opened. Evelyn didn’t wait for any of the others, running forward and diving out of the shuttle.

She emerged into a sky that was dull gray with clouds and surging waves below her. She only caught a glimpse of the island to her back, mostly visible due to lights piercing the gloom atop cliffs. Then she was in the water, and the SeaSprite device on her belt activated.

Instead of being slowed by the turbulent water, a near-imperceptible bubble of magic an arm’s length away from Evelyn calmed the water and allowed her to move through it almost like a fish. Evelyn quickly arched around toward the island, clearing the area where the others would be landing. Once she was sure she was clear of the area, a difficult task when the shuttle had vanished from sight an instant after she’d left it, Evelyn turned around to watch.

One after another the armored guards dropped into the water, their suits of armor bulkier than Evelyn’s was, but effective enough despite that. Each had the SeaSprite devices as well, and Evelyn was thankful that she’d had a few of them in storage. Then the green and gold armor of Zelirana plunged into the water, the succubus moving with a grace that none of them had possessed, not even Evelyn. Evelyn quickly counted how many of them there were, then nodded in satisfaction, gesturing toward the island. The water wasn’t that clear, and there wasn’t a lot of light, but they were all elves or a succubus, they’d be able to see her. So when they each nodded in acknowledgement, Evelyn began to swim.

They’d reach shore soon enough, and then she wouldn’t have to hide.

* * *

Korrix hated it when a summoner didn’t give her the full details on a job to begin with, but this time? This time it was so much worse than any other job she’d taken, and internally she cursed the human mage with every fiber of her being. Not that it did much good, but it made her feel marginally better.

Aravae Lira didn’t talk much to begin with, which had made her the ideal member of Peldra’s Imperial Guard to replace, but Korrix hadn’t known what she was getting into when she’d joined Rasien’s little crusade. She’d thought that it was a simple informant mission, and that in a few weeks or months she’d have gotten out safely.

The first inkling that her employer might have been keeping information from Korrix had been when Rasien decided to contact Evelyn Tarth. That had shocked Korrix, as she knew enough about the elven warlord that she didn’t want anything to do with her. Not that she’d had much choice, but she’d assuaged herself with the knowledge that Evelyn likely wouldn’t show up to help. Oh, how she wistfully remembered those optimistic days.

Now she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Not only had Evelyn Tarth shown up, she was even more powerful than all the rumors she’d heard about her. Even thinking about the aura she’d felt the day that Evelyn had been enraged made Korrix want to get herself banished so she could be as far away as possible. But worse, Tarth had a djinn that Korrix was damned sure was a greater djinn at the least, an angel just as powerful as Korrix, and an elder succubus. The last of which kept on looking over Korrix with a knowing smirk. She really hoped her disguise held, and that the succubus was just imagining what she’d do to Aravae.

So now Korrix was swimming toward an island fortress with a group of suicidal idiots, a mage who could snuff her life out like a candle, and an elder succubus. It was suicide, and she had no idea what to do.

At least Tarth had taken enough precautions that she wasn’t required by her contract to inform the defenders of what was coming.

That would’ve been even worse, and she didn’t want to die.

Chapter 54

“This doesn’t look good,” Elwin muttered, and Evelyn rolled her eyes, wondering what he’d been doing when they were looking at the maps. Sleeping, maybe?

The most prominent features of the fortress were the two Skypiercer defense cannons near the north edge of the craggy island. They looked like rail guns at first glance, the type that could launch projectiles into orbit, but Evelyn knew better. They were designed to evacuate the atmosphere in an enormous line ahead of their barrels and project a field that would focus the energy beam they fired, allowing them to hit an orbiting ship with barely any loss of power. Unfortunately for them, Evelyn also noticed that they were Skypiercer Mark Two cannons, which meant that they had a certain critical weakness she intended to exploit. It wouldn’t cause much devastation, but efficacy was more important than enormous explosions. Explosions could come later.

There were four landing pads in the middle of the island, each with a few clusters of defensive weapons, and a complex of boxy, unattractive military buildings surrounded them. There was a larger complex up on the southern ridge, including a couple of bays cut into the cliffside that were obviously for the fighter squadrons. Weaponry bristled across the complex, and Evelyn’s gaze slowly came to rest on the four large hangars that were at the base of the ridge. She had to assume they held the combat mechs, which according to her intel were about ten meters tall.

A few clusters of soldiers slowly patrolled the island, wearing bulky power armor that would probably serve them well in battle with most groups. Not groups armed with heavy weapons, though, which meant that this would go poorly for them. First, they needed information, though.

“Mm. Zel, if you would? Try to keep it quick,” Evelyn murmured.

“Certainly. I see a lovely target over there,” Zelirana replied, nodding to their right. Evelyn could just barely see a man out smoking, one who wasn’t in armor.

“Alright. Be careful, please,” Evelyn said. The succubus nodded and turned invisible a moment later as she moved away.

Evelyn watched for a moment, shifting her senses to where she could sense mana. That barely allowed her to watch the succubus, since her spell resisted being seen even by mana sight. Then she turned her attention to the others, examining them for a moment more before speaking quietly. “Once we’re ready, I’ll disable the orbital cannons. It shouldn’t require blowing them up after all, since I recognize the model. I intend to follow it up by wrecking a mech or two on my way inside. You’re clear on your parts?”

“Yes. I’ve got the launch bays,” Rasien said, her voice surprising calm as she touched the man-portable hypercannon on her back. “Elwin and Caeda are on mech destruction. Lierin shields us, while the rest deal with soldiers. If we can confirm that the captives are together, we all move to rescue, if not, half of us go to recover the ones nearest the surface, the other half defend the landing pad.”

“Good enough,” Evelyn said, nodding in satisfaction. She smirked as the man Zelirana had targeted suddenly looked up, then walked around behind the building… where he seemed to fall into a trance. She shook her head, murmuring. “I sometimes forget that she’s a relatively powerful demon.”

“Isn’t that, you know… dangerous?” Alok asked nervously. “She’s a demon.”

“She also doesn’t want to go back to the lower planes and thinks I’m sexy. If she attacks me, she dies, and she knows that,” Evelyn said, pausing for a moment, then admitted. “She once mentioned that most demons have an instinctive urge to serve others who’re sufficiently more powerful than them. Apparently, I qualify.”

“I guess like calls to like,” Rasien muttered. Evelyn laughed, shaking her head in amusement. She really hoped that Rasien didn’t change. It’d be creepy if she was attracted to Evelyn.

A few minutes later, the man slumped over, then Zelirana appeared nearby, just behind the outcropping that was concealing them. While Evelyn couldn’t see her face, it was easy to hear the demon’s satisfaction.

“I got some information. The mech in bay four is currently down for maintenance, though they’re trying to put it back together. Anything below the second floor is off-limits for them, and they’ve been informed that that’s the high-security area where automated defenses will kill on sight,” Zelirana reported calmly. “The nearer of the hangar bays has the ready squadron. The building just north of the landing pads is the HQ of the defending soldiers… and supposedly there’s a room on the second floor that holds some of the cargo they’re guarding.”

“Which is probably people,” Evelyn said, and her eyes narrowed, shaking her head slowly. “If Vania is here, she’ll be on a lower floor. But this makes no damned sense, even for a trap.”

“Why do you say that?” Rasien asked sharply.

“The expense. If they owned the island, that’d be all well and good, but this place is rented out. It’s why we were able to get floorplans of the facility,” Evelyn said, shaking her head firmly now. “Even if all the people who were taken sell for large amounts, do you think that hiring the mechs, the mercenaries, and the soldiers was cheap? With as long as they’ve been here, and no date on when the auction could be held… all the income would be eaten by their fees. This makes no sense at all, and it raises my hackles.”

“That’s… yeah, you’ve got a point,” Rasien admitted, looking around for a moment. “I’m guessing that the basement is going to be really dangerous.”

“Which is why I’m going in alone. Zel, keep an eye on them and keep the landing zone clear. We may need to run in a hurry,” Evelyn said, looking at the buildings warily.

“Yes, Evelyn,” the succubus said, unlimbering the grenade launcher that Fya had talked the succubus into taking with her. Evelyn hoped that Zelirana had trained with it.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Alok asked, his voice a little deeper than normal. “If it’s this dangerous, it might be better to back off and refine our plans.”

Evelyn shook her head firmly, glaring in the direction of the elven man. Not that he could see it. Instead, she spoke flatly. “If it’s a trap, they’re going to expect us to wait a little while. We’re here, and they don’t know we’re here yet or they’d be trying to do something about it. So we’re doing this. I’m not letting Vania stay here any longer than I have to. Do your part, I’ll do mine.”

“Yes’m,” the man replied, audibly gulping.

“Good. Now, I’m going to pull the plug on those orbital cannons,” Evelyn said, turning her attention to the huge cannons, then smiled coldly as she reached out with her magic. “Did you know that Mark Two Skypiercer cannons had a particular design flaw, where if a plug deep in the firing chamber came out, it’d cause the firing chamber to explode when primed? Even if they realize what I’ve done, it’ll take a three-hour refit to replace them.”

“Uh… how big of an explosion are you talking about?” Lierin asked nervously.

The only reason Evelyn could do the job from her position was because she knew exactly how the cannons were designed, and she took hold of the part she wanted. Evelyn pulled the plugs, and for good measure she twisted them, ripping out the wires so another telekinetic couldn’t fix them.

“Oh, nothing that would risk us. Not unless you’re inside the cannons, then you’d want to worry,” Evelyn said, and smiled. “Rasien, light up the fighters, please.”

“My pleasure,” Rasien said, a note of anticipation in her voice as she raised the hypercannon to her shoulder.

* * *

Mallory swore under her breath as she slowly marched around the island, wondering what she’d done to get stuck on morning shift for the second week in a row. Worse, she was stuck patrolling the island, which had exactly nothing of note on it. A couple of the others had tried fishing, and the only things they’d caught had been some nasty fish with too many fangs, vestigial clawed arms, and which were incredibly poisonous.

So, she glanced upward, wishing she’d taken a different job. Sure, this one paid decently, but it wasn’t that interesting, and she couldn’t wait until it was over.

Of course, that meant that she was looking up right at the moment that a bar of light lanced through the morning twilight and hit the hangar bay, unleashing a light as bright as the sun. She recoiled as her armor’s flash suppressor kicked in, which was exactly the wrong response. The next moment a blast wave hit her, almost knocking her off her feet.

“What the hell?” Mallory exclaimed amongst a chorus of similar comments.

She was just regaining her balance when a second bar of light hit the mountainside, unleashing another blast wave. She weathered this one better, but better still wasn’t well. Fortunately, the sergeant reacted faster than Mallory did.

“Spread out and take cover! HQ, we’ve got a hypercannon at—” Charlie began.

He was cut off by a clattering sound, and Mallory only had an instant to start jumping away before the plasma grenade detonated, and a star’s fury struck her.

* * *

Alarms blared, and Reesa jerked upright, the sprayer in her hand shutting off as it moved away from where she’d aiming. Barrvyth jumped to his feet, snatching his sword from where it was resting.

“What’s going on?” the orc snapped.

“Give me a damned second,” Reesa retorted, reaching out to the security systems, and she winced as she caught some of the panicked chatter from the defending mercenaries. She silenced their lines so she could look at the readouts. What she saw chilled her blood.

“Attack on the surface. The fighters are either destroyed or trapped, two hypercannon rounds took care of them. Active patrols have been decimated by plasma cannons and grenades. Heavy plasma fire on the merc headquarters, and the orbital guns are showing warning lights. The first mech took a hypercannon round to the face before its shield could stabilize, one of them is down for maintenance, and someone is currently slamming one of the remaining two mechs against the side of the building with telekinesis,” Reesa reported, opening a channel to the rest of the team. Disbelief washed over her as she saw a figure launch itself at the mech that’d just hit a shield generator and a crimson blade ignited in one hand. “Tarth is here, get ready!”

There was a chorus of cursing over their local network, but it was Sarvian who replied in the way that fit Reesa’s mood perfectly.

“Well, shit. So much for Plan A,” the mage said, his tone unusually mild.

Chapter 55

Evelyn’s blade bit deep into the seam of the mech’s cockpit, though the resistance she felt told her that it was only the weapon’s enchantments that allowed it to cut so far. It still managed to cut through the locking bolts, and that was enough for Evelyn. One of the mech’s immense hands was starting to move toward her, and even with her power, she preferred not to let it grab her. She was fairly squishy when it came to things like that.

With a surge of telekinesis, Evelyn ripped the cockpit hatch clean off, and sent it flying at one of the blazing defense cannons like a titanic frisbee. The cannon wasn’t as hardened as the door, which functioned like a blunt guillotine and sent the cannon bouncing across the island. The night sky was interspersed with streamers of small-arms fire and the sharp reports of heavy weapons. And a single energy whip that was taking off arms, legs, and heads with precision.

Inside the mech was a woman wearing an armored shipsuit, elven from the shape of her helmet. She was also holding a pistol and fired frantically at Evelyn. Not even Evelyn could dodge at that range, but the energy bolts bounced off her shield, and Evelyn let out a sigh. She would have just ripped the woman out of the cockpit, but under the circumstances…

She beheaded the pilot with a single stroke of her energy blade, then cut through the manual controls and the neural uplink with a few more strikes. Then she let herself fall, raising her hand as she grinned, muttering under her breath. “Anything’s a nail if you have a big enough hammer.”

Crimson magic wrapped around the mech, then sent it flying across the landscape like a missile… and directly at the mech firing on Rasien’s position behind an armored bunker. In a few seconds it would have flanked the woman, which would have ended up with an extra-crispy elf. It wasn’t expecting a kinetic missile the size of an apartment building to blindside it, which made Evelyn think that someone hadn’t been working on their situational awareness.

The moment the fire slackened, Rasien popped out with her hypercannon and pulled the trigger, prompting Evelyn to wince and grab onto the nearest railing. Light flashed, and the blast wave was particularly vigorous this time, as that had been rather close range for a hypercannon shot. The mech fell with a crash that seemed mild compared to the preceding blast, and Evelyn paused, then nodded to herself, noting that Rasien’s icon still shone green.

“Out of cannon rounds, but that’s all of the big ones,” Rasien reported calmly, with the sort of voice that made Evelyn think she might have implants to keep her calm in combat. Or just be that sort of person. “Elwin, status on the shield generators?”

“Almost there. Two minutes, tops,” Elwin replied with a grunt, accompanied by a blast of fire.

“Good,” Evelyn said shortly. “Fya, I want you on overwatch as soon as the shields are down.”

“Yes, Milady!” Fya acknowledged excitedly.

“Just remember that you’re not supposed to catch anyone in the weapons bloom,” Evelyn said, and was about to continue when she saw vents open in the sides of the main structure and swarms of mechanical devices erupted from them. She’d almost forgotten about the drones, and changed focus in an instant, jumping into the air as she snapped out. “Lightning, heed my call and call forth the cataclysm!”

The lightning didn’t come from her hands this time. Not since she was on a planet with such an active magnetosphere. The flash almost blinded Evelyn as it erupted from the ground, reaching out to brush one drone, then split to rip through hundreds of them on the lightning bolt’s quest to touch the sky. The entire shield lit up like a vast, lightning-rimed dome for an instant as the bolt struck it, grounding out most of the lightning bolt in the process. Still, it torched most of the drones, and Evelyn expected more would be guarding the corridors downstairs, so she decided that the imperial guards could handle the rest, particularly with Zelirana to ride herd on them.

“I’m heading downstairs to look for our objective. You might want to check to see if there are others,” Evelyn said, not even bothering to shoot a soldier who was her way. She started down a stairwell toward an entrance she’d spotted, and a flick of her fingers sent the poor man flying off somewhere else as he screamed shrilly.

Maybe it hadn’t been a him, but she didn’t bother to check.

* * *

“Anyone else having second thoughts?” Sarvian asked conversationally, and Reesa shot him a scowl. “That was a hell of a lightning spell.”

“Tons. I thought you said you had a handle on her magic!” Reesa retorted.

“I had a good estimate, but that was damned impressive, as was the way she threw the mech. It was powerful, quick, and incredibly precise work,” Sarvian replied, giving a firm shake of his head. He was in purple armor shrouded in layers of enchanted fabric that gave it the appearance of being robes. “I still think that our preparations will work, but I wasn’t expecting the sheer scale of this attack. I thought it would be a touch less violent.”

“She does appear to be fond of alpha strikes,” Barrvyth said, clad in black and silver armor, one with a stealth enchantment that allowed him to blend into the background when he wanted to. “Fortunately, most of the destruction doesn’t look like it’s directly from her. She brought seven or eight others with her, looks like mostly the guards she rescued. Must’ve given them some heavy weaponry and weeded out the informant. A shame, that could’ve helped.”

“Yeah, it could’ve. But she’s on her way down, and I don’t see much chance of any of the defenses taking her down. We’d better get into position,” Reesa said, wincing as she saw Evelyn cut clean through a reinforced hatch and kick it out of her way. “At least she’s not changing her usual tactics.”

Ragthorn’s chuckle startled her, and Reesa looked at the big man in his brown and bronze armor as he nodded in agreement.

“You’ve got that right, Rag,” Gol muttered, but the dwarf was already moving toward the door.

Reesa followed her, hoping that their plans weren’t going to be pointless.

* * *

Evelyn cut through several drones, avoiding most of their fire by the simple expedient of using the walls of the building as springboards, though it took some magic to get sufficient traction. Even so they’d hammered her shields, which were down to almost twenty percent, something that mildly concerned her. Not enough to slow down, but it did concern her.

The facility was obviously intended as a fortress, as she’d encountered several blast doors, numerous turrets, the aforementioned drones, and three separate squads of defenders so far. Nothing that she couldn’t deal with, though, and Evelyn was confident that the others would be able to reach the location where any other captives might be held. For her own part, she’d just reached the elevator that descended to the third floor. Not that she took it, instead taking the adjacent stairwell.

She grabbed several fragments of the drones and threw them down the stairs, setting off a few explosives that’d been wired ahead of her, then descended the first section of stairs before repeating the process. She had to admit that whoever had set up the building didn’t skimp on defenses, even if they weren’t appropriate for Evelyn. She was tempted to just melt a hole down to the lower floors, but Evelyn didn’t want to accidentally damage something important. Like Vania.

It didn’t take her long to reach the bottom of the stairs, but as she did Evelyn felt a hint of magic wash over her, and she scowled. Her senses were dampened somewhat, and she growled under her breath as she tested the effect.

“It shuts down magical sight and limits vision. Great, I should expect more traps,” Evelyn muttered, glancing at her shields as they managed to tick back up over twenty-five percent. That was lower than she’d like, but she wasn’t going to give the defenders more time than she had to. They might have reinforcements enroute for all she knew.

“Right. Time to do this,” Evelyn said, opening the door, and promptly turned her step into a forward somersault as she spotted the four robots with rifles aiming at the door. Their shots went high, and she sprang the moment her feet hit the ground again, taking a tiny amount of fire against her shield before she was jumping above their lowered line of fire.

Robots were faster than most mortals, but they also were more predictable in a lot of ways, which allowed Evelyn to account for them splitting up, trying to dodge to the sides. Not that they were fast enough, since she reached them an instant later and began to tear through them.

They managed to surprise her, though. Their programming allowed them to anticipate her movements more accurately than she’d expected, and rather than taking them down in one or two strikes, it took three for all but one of them, which hadn’t expected her to shoot it at point-blank range.

Evelyn paused for just a moment to consider that, a bit bothered, then shook it off. The problem with robots was that it was far too easy to get extremely complicated programs for them which could make even cheap robots more dangerous than expected. Some people specialized in that sort of thing, and it supported her suspicion that this was a trap. Those robots could easily have taken down a member or two of Rasien’s team.

“Curious,” Evelyn murmured, looking around warily, then continued forward, a bit more cautiously this time. She suspected that Vania would be on the fourth or fifth floor, but she needed to check a couple of rooms on the map anyway. They were possible locations where she could be stored… assuming someone hadn’t shoved the empress in a supply closet.

The floor proved to be more dangerous than the others had been, especially when a magical cage had tried to immobilize Evelyn for a group of energy turrets. She broke through the cage easily, but it would have been deadly for other people.

None of the rooms which she thought could hold Vania were occupied, much as Evelyn had suspected, so she made her way forward, dealing with more drones and traps as she did so. She was almost to the stairwell when she got another transmission.

“We’ve found some of the crew from Peldra’s Pride, including Her Excellency’s maidservants. They’re all in stasis,” Rasien said, a hint of excitement in her voice this time. “We’ll get them loaded on the shuttle.”

“Good. Check them for explosives, mundane and magical. The traps down here have been nasty,” Evelyn replied calmly. “I’m about to go down to the fourth floor, no sign of her yet.”

“Roger that. Keep her safe,” Rasien replied tersely.

“I’ll try,” Evelyn replied, rolling her eyes. As if she’d do anything else with Vania. She wasn’t that much of an idiot.

Soon enough she made her way down the stairwell, this time trapped with a laser grid that Evelyn ruthlessly disabled, mostly by shattering sections of the walls until none of the emitters worked anymore. She took a few burns on her armor, but that was all. As she reached the fourth floor, she felt a hint of anticipation. There were three locations on this floor that she thought could hold Vania, with one that was particularly promising. While there was a hospital wing where Vania might be held, or possibly a machine shop, the one listed as being a laboratory struck her as the most likely location. Assuming the layout hadn’t been changed since the last time someone had updated the maps of the facility, but she doubted it would have changed that much.

On the other side of the door were not only a handful of robots, but six drones, a laser grid, and what Evelyn suspected was another of the magical cages. She ducked behind the doorframe as they fired at her, and replied with a fireball, the explosion erupting so violently that a gout of white-hot flame came back through the doorway. Evelyn glanced around the corner and picked off a single robot which had survived her spell before moving into the room, avoiding the middle section where she suspected the spell was located.

The next couple of hallways were nasty kill boxes, and it took a little while for Evelyn to make her way through them. More importantly, it seemed like the defenses were growing stronger as she moved, and Evelyn soon found herself ripping through two heavy melee robots accompanied by sniper drones and energy turrets, and even a pair of fire elementals. They were enough to drop her shields and actually damage her armor, but it wasn’t about to stop her. Ice magic extinguished the elementals, and the robots… well, they weren’t stopping her. Their predecessors certainly hadn’t.

When she ripped out the core of the last heavy robot and chucked it aside, Evelyn was breathing hard and grinning from the exertion. She thought what she wanted was behind the door, and it had better be. So she opened the door, and her smile grew.

There, in the middle of the room, was Vania.

Chapter 56

The laboratory wasn’t full of equipment, which didn’t surprise Evelyn. The descriptions of the facility that she’d gotten indicated that while some basic equipment was in place, most of the facility was left for the renter to fill with their own gear. In this case, she saw two sets of consoles along the walls that looked like they were permanent installations, while the rest was temporary.

Four consoles on the opposite side of the room surrounded a large medical pod, a transparent cylinder that was sometimes used for medical treatments. In fact, Evelyn knew that she had one aboard Djinn’s Gift. Multiple tubes and wires snaked across the floor to the medical pod, including several from a large, blinking supply unit, and the soft beep of a heartbeat monitor could be heard throughout the room. But Evelyn’s main concern was the pod’s occupant, Vania.

Surrounded by a blue-tinged liquid was the empress. Aside from being naked, she was exactly the same as the last time Evelyn had seen her, with an athletic figure that showed she’d been working out frequently. Evelyn took pains to keep her gaze fixed on Vania’s face, though she took note of the tubes leading to her arms, the mechanical limbs that held her in place, and the mask over the empress’s face. Her hair glittered in the light inside the pod, and Evelyn paused, looking around the room. She was a little surprised that there wasn’t any security in the room, but she supposed that they wouldn’t want to risk their prize. Not that Evelyn was going to let her guard down.

“I’ve found her,” Evelyn reported to the others, pausing before she added. “I’m probably going to have to bring her out manually, since she’s in a medical pod, and I wouldn’t want to maneuver it through these hallways.”

“Thank the gods!” Rasien said, relief flooding her voice. “Is she alright?”

“I’m about to find out. No more interruptions, please,” Evelyn said, approaching the nearest of the consoles. She was happy to see that Vania’s chest was moving regularly, though it looked like she was breathing slower than normal. Likely as not she was being kept in a medically induced coma, she decided. She faintly wished that she had one of the others with more medical training here to look over the readings, but she should be able to manage.

Examining the readouts told Evelyn quite a bit, and she felt a faint knot she hadn’t realized was in her midsection relax, though she couldn’t be sure that nothing untoward had been done to Vania. Oh, the systems claimed that blockers had been used on the elf, and she was being kept unconscious via drugs, but otherwise it seemed she’d been untouched. Even more fortunately, the medical pod was a standard type, and releasing a patient was incredibly simple.

Evelyn pressed a couple of buttons, and there was a loud hissing sound, followed by burbling. She glanced toward the doorway, just to be sure nothing was coming up behind her, but after ensuring that was the case, her gaze turned back to the pod. The blue liquid was swirling as it rapidly drained from the medical pod, and as Evelyn watched the tubes detached from Vania’s arms and legs one at a time. It took longer than she wanted, but she didn’t want to rush this. While she could have just shattered the pod, there was no telling what might have happened in that case.

At last, the liquid was a puddle in the bottom of the pod, still being drained, and the mask pulled away from Vania, as well as the waste disposal system. A section of the pod popped outward, then slid to the side, though the mechanical arms were still holding the empress upright. Which was good, since Evelyn doubted that Vania would regain consciousness quickly if she’d been kept sedated for weeks.

“Alright, let’s get you out of here, princess,” Evelyn said, hanging her energy blade from her belt again, and she stepped forward to pull Vania out of the pod.

She’d just grabbed the woman when Evelyn realized something was wrong. Vania shouldn’t be as heavy as she was. But then it was too late. Evelyn barely had time to start forming her defensive spell when Vania’s chest half-vaporized in an eruption of brilliant white energy.

Evelyn’s spell shattered. The magic boosting her physical body resisted for an instant before it broke as well. Then the light hit Evelyn’s mana, and she screamed as agony ripped through her, burning like the explosion of a sun inside Evelyn’s body. She could feel some of her muscles tear and her organs shudder as most of the magic which infused every fiber of her being was ripped apart and burnt away. All her mana burnt away in an instant of blazing, indescribable agony.

Then came another blast of energy from the woman’s body, a body which Evelyn was only barely beginning to recognize as being composed of the uniform, solid substance of a Doll, and this blast of energy shut down all the equipment in the room, the lights died, and Evelyn’s HUD vanished. Her implants went black, tearing away the ever-present link to everything around her. Her armor stopped moving in synch with her. Evelyn staggered as the one-two punch struck her, still trying to process what had happened, to figure out how much damage had been dealt to her mana veins. But she hadn’t survived so far by being passive, and she acted immediately.

When Evelyn ripped the mana out of her rubies, another wave of agony tore through her, as she forced mana through torn, damaged mana veins. It was something she could worry about later, though, she was more concerned by the fact that she’d only gotten ten percent of her mana from the two stones, rather than the forty she should’ve gotten. That told her exactly what had happened to her, even if she could barely think through the pain.

Evelyn spun, trying to move to the side, but her armor fought her. The parts that normally boosted instead impeded her, slowing down already sluggish reactions. Which was part of why she didn’t manage to dodge when the dart appeared from the supposedly empty room beyond and slammed into her right side. It latched on, and there was a spike of heat, then something pierced painfully into her body. The next instant there was a cool, numbing sensation spreading rapidly from the injury.

Evelyn landed on her feet, panting loudly in her helmet as she tore the dart away, but the damage was done. The door slammed shut, and Evelyn heard the latches engage, but not before she saw a group of five people on the other side of it.

“At least I know who the trap was for now,” Evelyn growled under her breath, and she settled on the one option she had, with the numbness spreading rapidly through her body.

She reached for her belt, grimacing. The next five minutes were going to be hell.

* * *

“Got her. She should be unconscious within thirty seconds, fifty at the outside,” Gol said, slinging her dart launcher over her shoulder, and she unlimbered her submachine gun. “You sure your shield will hold, Sar?”

“Without magic or technology, it’d better,” Sarvian said, his hands raised and a sheet of purple energy blocking the doorway into the lab where their trap had sprung. A trap Evelyn Tarth had walked right into. “Those should’ve vaporized her mana and active spells, and deactivated all of her gear and their enchantments for at least an hour. Unless she’s a dragon, I can hold the door.”

“Good,” Reesa said, inhaling slowly as excitement rushed through her. This was going so much better than she’d feared, and soon they’d—

The wall next to the door exploded, and a black figure lunged through it, even as they were beginning to react.

Chapter 57

Plan Z was a terrible thing to take. No one wanted to take it, and that was for good reason. Evelyn was hyper-aware of every injury her body had taken, and the elixir was supercharging her body to the point that every movement damaged her body in some way. The only saving grace was that it also dampened the effects of pain, so she wasn’t having to fight through agony when it was active, and it simply laughed at the sedative trying to shut down Evelyn’s body.

Which didn’t help when the orc in black and silver spun, his sword sweeping around in a deadly arc. Normally Evelyn would dodge, but she didn’t have time for that. No, she had less than five minutes before Plan Z ran out, and this was a tight-knit group. If she got bogged down here, she’d die. So she made her decision in an instant. Maim or severely injure at least two of them on her way out. That way they’d be distracted keeping their companions alive.

The sword cut deep into her left arm before Evelyn was in close, then she wrenched the blade from the man’s hand and spun, cutting his leg directly out from under him. Even offline her armor would stop the bleeding, and she could worry about the bone damage later. With a flick of her finger, Evelyn launched a chunk of shrapnel into the barrel of the dwarf’s gun just as she pulled the trigger, and there was a cry of pain and shock as the weapon exploded in her face.

An energy bolt slammed into Evelyn’s left leg, damaging the armor but not penetrating too deep, and she grunted, feeling the pain of using her magic more than anything else. Three people were still fully effective, and with the man with energy crackling around his fists approaching, Evelyn made her decision. With a sweep of her sword Evelyn cut through the woman’s pistol, which was barely in range, then threw the sword.

Telekinesis guided the sword perfectly toward the mage, the sight of which distracted the martial artist. Especially when the sword cut straight through the enchanted robes surrounding the mage and through his left lung, pinning him to the wall like an insect.

That had thoroughly distracted them, so Evelyn grunted, and launched herself for the door like a missile. A few energy bolts followed her, but she blocked them with a magical shield, using the mana she had remaining sparingly.

Four minutes for four floors. Thank goodness she’d destroyed so many doors on the way in, because these people struck her as competent. Damn it.

* * *

“H-hells…” Sarvian gasped, shuddering as Ragthorn extracted the sword, and Reesa winced as he injected a healing potion. That should stabilize the mage, but she didn’t blame him for his reaction. She’d never seen someone pin someone to the wall with a sword that way, and her heart had practically stopped for a moment, afraid that he’d been killed.

“Damn, damn, damn…” Barrvyth muttered, visibly wincing as he clutched his leg, which had been severed mid-thigh. Only the armor’s built-in tourniquet function and a medpatch had him still moving, and Gol was shaking her head in disbelief.

“I… what the hell was that?” Gol demanded. “If she’d stuck around longer, she could’ve killed most of us! She tore through us in seconds!”

“I don’t know. She caught us off-guard and…” Reesa flinched as she heard an explosion from the direction of the stairs, then realization hit her. “Oh. She must’ve had something to override your drug, something with a time limit. She couldn’t take that much time. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Well, with any luck the robots will stop her. Damn it all,” Barrvyth gasped, his expression finally easing as the painkillers started kicking in.

There was another explosion from above, and Sarvian managed to speak, his voice thick with pain. “I wouldn’t… count on it.”

“Me neither. And our employer can suck vacuum if he gives us grief,” Reesa agreed, then jerked her head toward the door. “Let’s get to the escape hatch. No knowing if there’s going to be an orbital bombardment after that.”

No one disagreed with her.

* * *

Evelyn didn’t bother with destroying all of the drones or robots that tried to slow her down. She simply stole the first gun she could get her hands on and blew up enough to force them out of her way. The clock was ticking, and every passing moment took her closer to the end. If she fell here, she would likely die due to the side effects of Plan Z, just based on how her heart was straining. The spellburn bomb had done far more damage to her body than she’d ever have expected, and the elixir just made matters worse. She was going to need medical attention soon.

She put a bolt through the sensors of a robot and dodged to the side with a grunt of pain, just as it fired its heavy energy cannon. None of her systems were live, so she was running off memory and the trail of debris she’d left on her way in. Never before had Evelyn been so thankful for her penchant for destruction.

Sliding beneath a drone, Evelyn put a bolt through one of its engines, then threw the pistol away, its battery expended. She’d tried her energy blade, but it was dead, which pissed her off even more. A heavy robot chose that moment to step between her and the exit, and Evelyn brought up a magical shield with some of her last mana as she charged toward it.

Energy bolts sprayed off the shield, and she kicked it hard, knocking it off-balance enough that she could get past… and cracking several bones in her foot in the process. She could deal with that, though. The door opened to show the storm-wracked skies above, and Evelyn rushed up the stairs, her breathing growing more labored with every passing moment, her thoughts beginning to flicker. She was almost out of time.

So when she saw the shuttle on a pad, four stasis pods loaded and with several familiar figures standing around it, Evelyn did the only thing she could think of and picked herself up with telekinesis, ignoring the pain. Then she threw herself at the shuttle bay, reserving just enough dregs of mana to keep from splattering herself across the deck. She still snapped her injured right arm, and possibly her collarbone.

“Evvy? What—” Fya demanded in horror, and Evelyn tried to spot the djinn, but her eyes weren’t able to focus, so she just interrupted.

“Not Vania, was a trap. Get us out of here. Spellburn bomb, Plan Z,” Evelyn gasped out. “Need medical att—”

Then the magic and drugs ran out, and Evelyn collapsed.

* * *

Korrix stared at the fallen elf with horrified fascination. She didn’t know what sort of trap Evelyn had escaped, but just the mention of the spellburn bomb was enough to horrify her.

The djinn growled angrily, spinning toward the bay door and raising the barrel of her weapon, aiming it just as dozens of robots emerged from the doors leading into the base.

When she pulled the trigger, it was like the sun had risen from the ocean. A blazing beam of blue-white energy erupted from the shuttle, flash-evaporating the rain around them, and where it struck stone and metal alike followed in the rain’s footsteps. The robots lasted only an instant under the fire of the solar cannon, and Korrix blanched. She’d heard of the weapons, but never seen one in action.

“Everyone aboard now, unless you want to get left here!” Fya yelled angrily, her voice unnaturally loud, and the djinn visibly grew a few centimeters as Korrix watched, then spun and dashed toward the cockpit.

Korrix hesitated, looking to Rasien, who nodded grimly, jerking her head toward the shuttle. “You heard her, move!”

Nodding, Korrix rushed aboard, where Zelirana was already moving Evelyn into a more secure position and pulling out a medical kit. She’d pulled off Evelyn’s helmet and injected a healing potion as Korrix watched. Evelyn was unnaturally pale and had a black spiderweb of burn marks across her face. Korrix’s thoughts raced, debating what she should do. Based on what she knew, Evelyn had to be a major target of her employer, so she took a step toward Evelyn, opening her mouth.

The next instant Zelirana had drawn her pistol and it was aimed directly at Korrix’s faceplate. There wasn’t even a hint of emotion on her face as Zelirana stared at Korrix like she was examining a bug.

“What are you doing?” Elwin demanded, drawing his sword.

“Sit. Down,” Zelirana retorted powerfully, her words echoing through the bay with magic accompanying them, the full weight of a greater succubus’s will surging through the air and crushing all resistance.

Korrix’s legs collapsed beneath her, and there were echoes and grunts from the others as they hit their seats or the floor. Korrix barely was able to tell that they were all aboard as the bay door closed and the shuttle took off. Not that it mattered, with that pistol still trained on her head.

“Good. Now, I’ve been curious about what game you were playing, but at this point I’m all out of patience,” Zelirana said, her voice calm and cool as she stared at Korrix, her eyes feeling like lasers that could burn right through her. “You, little succubus, are going to disarm yourself, remove your armor, and allow the others to restrain you. If you don’t, I’ll rip you apart one piece at a time. Evelyn is my mistress, one I chose, and I’m not going to lose her now.”

“What… what are you talking about? Aravae—” Rasien began, only to be cut off by Zelirana’s laughter.

“This isn’t Aravae, you fool. Besides, what sort of infiltrator would take the place of an Imperial Guard if they weren’t sure they could impersonate her? You’re all supposed to be elves, but she certainly isn’t. Now, little succubus, make your choice,” Zelirana said derisively, her smile cold as ice as she stared into Korrix’s eyes.

Korrix couldn’t even spare a curse for her employer as she slowly unhooked her belt and let her sidearms fall to the floor. She murmured softly. “I’ll disarm.”

“Good,” Zelirana said, but her tone sent a shiver down Korrix’s spine.

This was a terrible job.

* * *

Fya growled, looking at the sensors as they rocketed into the upper atmosphere, her rage burning more brightly than she could remember it being, with one notable exception. Only the day when Evelyn had perished had made her angrier, which took some doing. She knew that everyone thought that djinn’s emotions didn’t dull with time, that they retained the emotions at the same intensity for eternity, but they were wrong. Not far wrong, but wrong. The moment of the experience was more potent than the memory, which was the main reason they preferred to experience new things. Otherwise, a djinn could simply experience wonderful things once and lose themselves in the memories.

Which was why her rage was incredibly intense this time. Someone had nearly killed her Evelyn and might yet succeed. Which required a reprisal.

“Lyra. Take control for a moment,” Fya said, her voice grating.

“Um, okay? We’re just using the autopilot, though. What are you doing?” Ilyra asked, glancing over, but she’d transferred control to her console. Ilyra wasn’t a skilled pilot, but it wouldn’t take an expert to get them to the ship. Where an emergency team was already waiting, or else Fya would turn the Dolls into sludge on the floor.

Fya didn’t reply, adjusting her instruments so that they showed a hologram of the planet, and the island they’d just left in particular. She pointed at it and invoked her magic, her ability to twist the universe to her will, and spoke doom.

“I wish that the island was destroyed,” Fya said simply, and power surged out of her, causing her to bare her teeth. She could find the people responsible later.

* * *

Hurtling through space in the outermost reaches of the system was a rogue planet, one which hadn’t been detected due to Saro not having many astronomers cataloguing the system. If they had, they might have been rather concerned at how close the rogue planet was going to come to Saro as it came through the system.

They would have been even more concerned when magic nudged the rogue planet, leaving it on an intercept course. In four months Saro and the rogue planet would collide… with an unfortunate island being the point of contact.

It was doubtful that there would be anything left after that.

Chapter 58

“What in all the hells happened?” Rasien demanded, and Ilyra winced at the anger in her voice. Not that she thought it was without reason. Personally, she was terrified about other things. Fya’s incredible rage and what had happened to Evelyn in particular. “Why are we leaving? The Empress—”

“I don’t give a single, solitary damn about your pathetic empress!” Fya interrupted, and Ilyra flinched at the yell, as for the first time since she’d met the djinn, the woman… changed.

Fya swelled, her eyes and hair black as the void of space between stars, if not darker, and her hair began to sway and twist like it was a fire rather than fibers, a black haze drifting off it. Her legs vanished into a mist of darkness, while her skin grew black lines across it, almost like cracks in her form. Her very presence was terrifying, and everyone shrank backward, especially the blonde succubus that had been tied up and carried out under Zelirana’s arm, her red eyes huge with terror.

“What—” Rasien began, but Fya didn’t seem inclined to let her speak.

“No! You will stop and listen, you irritating elven rat!” Fya snarled, looming over Rasien as she grew still more. “Evelyn may put up with you for Vania’s sake, but I have no such compunctions. She dropped everything to help a woman who murdered her, and what does she get? Thanks? Of course not! You make demands, you whine, you grumble, and you otherwise show yourself to be useless space trash. You even brought a spy with you, and you try to make demands, after she damn near killed herself trying to rescue that bitch. But no more. No. More. You will go to your quarters and stay out of my sight, or I will turn all of you into gerbils and teleport you into a snake’s cage. Now.”

Ilyra’s eyes were huge, and she couldn’t help covering her mouth in shock. She’d always known that Fya was dangerous, but she’d never quite understood what Evelyn meant about her. Now she knew, and worry washed over her for a moment. Fortunately, the elven guards didn’t test the djinn. The pale captain just nodded, swallowing hard, and moved out of the bay quickly.

“I’ll take the spy to my room. I have some restraints that should keep her under control until we can question her properly,” Zelirana said, glancing down at the succubus under her arm as she smiled coldly. “And I’m certain she’ll answer. She rather likes existing, doesn’t she?”

The succubus nodded vigorously, her tail curled underneath her as she cowered.

“Good. I’m going to check on Evelyn,” Fya said, shrinking slightly, and she began to float down the hallway toward the medbay, while Zelirana took the turn leading to her room.

Ilyra hesitated for a moment, then rushed after Fya quickly. She opened her mouth, then shut it again, not sure what she should say. She didn’t manage to find any words before they reached the medbay, and when she walked into it, she blanched.

Moon and Star were already there, the two of them holding hands tightly as they sat in adjacent chairs, watching with worry on their faces. Vaneryth was with the Dolls, but as Ilyra watched a transparent sheet of crystal slid over the bed Evelyn was resting on, and a burble echoed through the room as blue liquid began to pour into the space holding Evelyn.

Evelyn didn’t look like she normally did. A spiderweb of black burn marks covered her body from head to foot, jagged and twisted. Her left arm had been set after being broken, but something had cut almost halfway through her forearm, and only a gel in the injury had kept her from bleeding out. There were bruises across most of her body, and Ilyra flinched.

“What… what happened to her?” Ilyra asked, horror rushing through her.

“Unknown. Her implants and armor are inactive, presumably from a magic-infused electromagnetic pulse, so we have no data. Her use of Plan Z is the source of many of her injuries but does not account for the majority. We were informed that something called a ‘spellburn bomb’ was used as well, but have no data on injuries associated with a weapon of that name,” the human-looking Doll reported in a soothing voice.

“I can,” Fya said, her body steadily shrinking as she looked at Evelyn, the odd smoke below her beginning to form into legs again. “Spellburn bombs are designed for use in killing entities of pure magic, as well as shredding spells and neutralizing spellcasters. They’re short-ranged and expensive, but they ignite all mana within about five meters, except maybe for shielded mana gems. They’re sometimes used to injure djinni to the point they can be killed. With as much mana as Evelyn possesses, and how it permeates her body… it must have injured her severely to begin with and damaged her ability to channel mana safely. The black marks are signs of someone who has forced mana through their veins when they’re damaged. Plan Z must have just aggravated it.”

Ilyra’s eyes went wide, and she swallowed hard, thinking. Then she asked, “Will she be okay?”

“If she dies, I’ll resurrect her. It won’t be pleasant for her, though,” Fya said, now back to her old form, the cracks in her form fading slowly. She had her arms folded in front of her as she scowled. “She won’t die, will she?”

By this point the liquid had fully submerged Evelyn, who had a mask to allow her to breathe.

“We do not believe so. However, our treatments are less effective than normal,” the Doll said, pausing for a couple of seconds before continuing. “Normally, bone, flesh, and organ reconstruction would take no more than eight hours. Based on current efficiency rates, it will require fifty hours to repair her body fully.”

“Which won’t be a full recovery,” Fya muttered, causing Moon and Star to look at her in concern.

“What do you mean?” Moon asked, biting her lip in worry. “She’s… going to be alright, won’t she?”

“Certainly. I would never have chosen to serve someone who couldn’t recover from something like this,” Zelirana said, walking through the door at that moment. “The question is likely time. Ryth, there’s a captive succubus in my room. She’s a prisoner, so do not release her, no matter how pitifully she looks at you.”

“Certainly,” Vaneryth said, her hands laying on the tube as she looked down at Evelyn. She pondered for a few seconds before adding, “How much time?”

“Hm. Last time I resurrected her, I had to recreate her body from nothing, but she didn’t have the damage to her mana. That took about… eight months of her puking up bits of her lungs and things like that before she was back to normal. I’d guess two, maybe three months in this case,” Fya said, and Ilyra flinched at the description. Fya’s hair was slowly turning more orange as she circled the tank. “If I could just fix her, that would be nice… she’s too powerful, though.”

“Too powerful? You mean, like how she said the healing potions didn’t work well for her?” Ilyra asked nervously.

“That’s right. What the tank is doing, or healing magic for that matter, is healing the injuries with the sort of flesh and bone which elves have naturally. Evvy isn’t like them, though. Her body is elven, but infused with more magic than you can imagine,” Fya said, smiling fondly at the tank, where Evelyn was lying unconscious. “You can’t just copy that. Her body and magic rejects it, so it aggressively replaces everything it considers inferior with what it’s after. She’s lucky it doesn’t reject her implants, because otherwise she couldn’t ever have them.”

“Oh,” Ilyra said, cringing as she thought about what Evelyn must have gone through. She couldn’t even imagine it. “That sounds unpleasant.”

“Yeah,” Star agreed quietly.

For a minute the room was mostly quiet, with the sounds of the medical equipment breaking the silence. Eventually Ilyra couldn’t stand it anymore and took a deep breath.

“So… what now? I’m guessing that Vania wasn’t on the planet at all?” Ilyra asked, looking at Zelirana and Fya hopefully.

“Don’t know, don’t care. Away from Saro,” Fya said dismissively. Then she paused, and her voice turned grudging. “Though we need to figure something out. Otherwise Evvy will be annoyed.”

“I don’t know about Vania, but I suspect we can learn something from my captive. I’m not sure whether she’ll have anything useful, but it’s better than nothing,” Zelirana said, shrugging slightly. “She’s not particularly powerful for a demon, so I should be able to get plenty out of her. Then I’ll trap her in a soul stone for good measure.”

“Mm… not a bad plan. How long have you known about her?” Fya asked, her eyes narrowing. “You picked her out quick.”

Zelirana shrugged, smiling back as she looked around the room idly. Ilyra blushed as the succubus’s gaze reached her.

“Evelyn and I suspected that they might have a spy amongst them for a while, but I couldn’t be sure. Not until we reached the planet, and I saw her move,” Zelirana said, pausing for a moment as she tilted her head. “There’s something about how succubi move in combat that just… sticks out to me. She wasn’t acting the way a sharpshooter should have, and coupled with my suspicions, I was pretty sure. Then she moved toward Evelyn when she wasn’t a medic, and I knew for certain.”

“Hmm… fine, I’ll trust you for now. But if you were endangering my Evvy, I’ll end you,” Fya said, without the slightest hint of humor in her voice. It sent a shiver down Ilyra’s spine.

“Of course,” Zelirana said, bowing her head slightly. “I expected nothing else.”

“Good,” Fya said, glancing around the room before she added, her voice icy. “That goes for all of you. Yes, I’m generally happy, perky, and nice… but if a single one of you chooses to knowingly endanger her? You’d best hope that Evvy is awake, because she’s far more merciful than I am.”

Ilyra’s heart caught in her throat at the look in Fya’s eyes, unable to do anything but nod. Without another word, the djinn turned and walked out, allowing them to breathe again.

“That… was unexpected,” Moon managed after a minute. “I’ve never seen her so… so…”

“She is a djinn,” Vaneryth said, shaking her head slowly. “She is herself, no more and no less. Take her words at face value, for I have no doubts that she is serious.”

“Agreed,” Zelirana said, pausing for a moment, then asked. “Ryth? Would you mind helping me question the prisoner? I believe the mortals need some time with Evelyn, to reassure themselves that she’ll recover.”

“Ah, of course,” the angel said, smiling gently as she looked at them. “I have no doubts she will recover, I promise. Take the time you need.”

The two immortals left, leaving only the Dolls, Moon, Star, and Ilyra behind. Ilyra just hesitated for a moment, then slowly moved over to sit next to Star. The redhead promptly wrapped an arm around Ilyra’s shoulders and pulled her into a hug, one which Ilyra returned.

She didn’t know how to feel. She was… in shock. Ilyra had seen Evelyn fight, and she seemed like an unstoppable goddess every time. Nothing like the injured woman in the tank, breathing slowly as her heart occasionally stuttered, causing Ilyra to flinch. She felt ashamed.

“We have to get stronger,” Moon said at last, breaking the silence. Her voice was filled with determination, but quavering slightly. “I… I can’t handle this. After everything she’s done for us, I can’t handle just sitting here, being helpless. She’s given too much.”

“Yeah,” Star said simply, her voice a little firmer than Moon’s as she sat up straight. “I thought that we were doing everything we could at the arena, but… but I saw what was going on down there. We wouldn’t have lasted two minutes.”

Ilyra nodded in agreement, taking a deep breath, then let it out. She needed to talk to Cherys.

Through it all they could hear that same, soft, mostly regular beep. It was comforting.

Chapter 59

Evelyn tried to groan as she woke, her entire body throbbing unpleasantly, and it felt like her head was filled with cotton. She couldn’t groan, though. Not with her mouth filled with breathing and feeding tubes, and she shifted slightly, only to realize that plumbing connections were in place as well, and she was surrounded by a thick fluid.

Belatedly, she felt memories trickling back, and Evelyn flinched internally at the last things she remembered, and slowly opened her eyes. The blue liquid surrounding her didn’t bother her eyes, and it reminded her uncomfortably of the trap she’d walked into, with the doppelganger of Vania in a medical pod. The difference in this case was that she could see the cream-colored ceiling with gold trim of Djinn’s Gift’s medbay, which helped her relax slightly. So did the fact she could reach her implants again, though the information they gave her wasn’t pleasant. She’d come far closer to death than Evelyn cared to think about. And her magic… Evelyn sent a trickle of mana through her body and winced at the pain that coursed through her. It would take at least a month for it to recover, she thought. Maybe two.

Looking downward, Evelyn spotted one of the medbay Dolls nearby, designed like a celestine with crystalline hair and gold eyes. That was M1, and the Doll appeared to be cleaning the room. No one else was present, which surprised her somewhat. Still, the systems of the pod didn’t indicate that Evelyn was being actively treated, so she sent a message to the Doll.

“I’m awake, M1. Do I need additional treatment?” Evelyn asked, resisting the urge to ask the Doll to let her out. As much as she disliked being in the pod, she wasn’t an idiot. Walking into a trap that had nearly killed her notwithstanding.

The Doll turned to face Evelyn, walking closer as she spoke, though the message was over the implants as well. Which was good, with how distorted her voice was. “Minimum repair operations are complete, Captain. However, as you did not regain consciousness upon completion and we were informed that your body would reject and replace the repairs over time, we left you in the recovery chamber. Would you like me to begin outpatient procedures, or would you prefer to be sedated?”

“Outpatient, please,” Evelyn replied immediately, internally shuddering at the thought of being sedated. A quick check showed that she’d been unconscious for a full fifty-seven hours, which struck her as a bit ridiculous.

“Of course, Captain. Be aware that your left forearm was broken in three places, as was your collarbone and three bones in your right foot. We repaired the damage, but the bone in those locations appears weaker than the rest for the time being,” M1 said, immediately beginning to drain the pod. The nanomachines and a bit of magic at least kept any of the liquid from sticking to Evelyn. “Additionally, virtually every organ and muscle in your body was damaged as well. I cannot recommend you exert more than ten percent of your normal strength until you have fully recovered. You may damage your body again and reset the process.”

“Thank you for the warning. Unfortunately for me, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with something like this, so I do understand,” Evelyn replied, internally grimacing at the memory of when she’d torn a muscle after Fya resurrected her. That had been unpleasant. The biggest problem, she suspected, was that most of her body would be back to normal in short order, with just a few problem areas. That would make it harder to control herself, compared to when her entire body needed to recover.

It took a minute for the liquid to fully drain, then the barrier surrounding the bed retracted. The Doll calmly helped extract the mask, causing Evelyn to gag for a moment before the tubes popped free. Maybe she should have gotten the magical ones which didn’t have that problem. Plumbing took only a moment more, though it was even more uncomfortable in its own way. Evelyn gingerly set her feet on the floor and stood with minimal difficulty… but she could feel the throbbing of her toes where she’d broken them. It wasn’t the normal throb of an injury, but a deep-seated burning sensation that she remembered well. At least it wasn’t as bad as when it’d been happening to her entire body, instead being localized to her foot, left arm, and collarbone.

She also noticed rather more plants than she recalled being around the medical bay. Including four small pots of white flowers that glowed softly, while exuding a soothing scent.

“Robe, Captain?” M1 asked, pulling out a simple white gown, somewhat nicer than what Evelyn had seen at most hospitals.

She smiled and nodded, murmuring. “Thank you. Is there anything of note that happened while I was unconscious? That I should know about.”

“Zelirana determined that one of the Imperial Guards, the one known as Aravae Lira, was a succubus infiltrator and spy. She captured and questioned her, then trapped the succubus in what she called a soul gem,” M1 recited calmly, helping Evelyn put on the robe. “Willow placed plants around the medical bay that she explained magically promote healing. I have insufficient data to determine whether or not they do so, but Vaneryth said that she was correct. Fya transformed into a different shape and threatened to turn all of the Imperial Guards into gerbils and teleport them into a snake’s cage if she saw them again, so they have been remaining in their rooms. Four of Empress Vania Peldra’s servants are in stasis in one of the storage bays. Ilyra, Moon, and Star have been spending a significant amount of time training and have been treated for seventeen injuries due to their activities over the last forty-eight hours. Nadia has visited you thirty-seven times and is on the way for her thirty-eighth visit.”

Evelyn blinked, opening her mouth to ask about the succubus and Fya’s threats, then she processed the last line and blinked again, a bit confused. She was about to ask why the young girl had been visiting when the door of the medbay opened and a young girl peeked nervously around the corner.

“Hello Nadia,” Evelyn said, changing what she was going to say as she cinched the belt of the robe shut. Not tightly, just enough to keep it secure. “I heard you visited several times?”

“Missus Evvy, you’re awake! I thought you wouldn’t ever wake up!” Nadia exclaimed, and the dark-haired girl lunged into the room, her arms outstretched.

For just an instant Evelyn wondered if she was about to need medical attention, then she shoved the thought aside. A ten-year-old human child wouldn’t stress her beyond ten percent of her strength.

So, Evelyn scooped the girl off the ground, holding her up so that she could look her in the eyes as she smiled back at Nadia.

“That isn’t going to happen, promise. If nothing else, Fya would have brought me back just to taunt me,” Evelyn said, smiling at her. “I did something really stupid, and I got hurt. But I’m alright now, okay?”

“But… but I didn’t think you could get hurt bad! Not like daddy did. He never woke up, though,” Nadia said, a flicker of panic crossing her face, and Evelyn shook her head, pulling the girl closer so she could hug her.

After a moment of that, during which the girl latched on with far more strength than Evelyn would have expected, Evelyn put her down, which took a bit more work than she’d expected. She’d forgotten how clingy children could be. At least Nadia didn’t go after her ears and was more mature than some of the children she’d known. Certainly better than Evelyn had been at her age.

“Anyone can get hurt, Nadia. I’ve heard of gods getting hurt, let alone mortals, and as powerful as I am, I’m mortal,” Evelyn explained gently. “In fact, I’m still hurt, and it’ll take me a while to get back to normal. I did something stupid, but even when you make the right decisions there’s no telling when something beyond your control will happen. Like the vortex that sucked you and your mother into the astral, there’s nothing she could have done to stop that. There’s nothing I could have done to stop it.”

A flicker of movement from the doorway drew Evelyn’s attention, and when she looked up she saw that Cherys had arrived. The human looked tense, though she relaxed on seeing Evelyn.

“She’s right, dear,” Cherys said, smiling as she stepped into the room. “I’m just glad to see that you’re alright, Evelyn. What happened shocked me. You are alright, aren’t you?”

“Mm… mostly, yes. I’m not going to be at full strength for a couple of months, and the spellburn bomb did a number on my magic. Think of it like casting a spell near your absolute limit, but screwing it up so badly that it feeds back into the core of your mana,” Evelyn said, standing up again. Her back was slightly sore, which certainly didn’t help matters. Cherys visibly winced, which made Evelyn think she knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Ah, of course. I’ve seen that happen… it sometimes kills the person it happens to. Though you just said it was like that. Now I understand why Fya was so upset,” Cherys said, pausing for a moment, then sighed and added softly. “I’m sorry that you didn’t find your… Vania, was it?”

“She isn’t my Vania, but yes, I’m rather disgruntled myself,” Evelyn said, grimacing. “I’m also pretty confident that the trap was set specifically for me, now. There’s no other reason for someone to use items like that in a doppelganger of Vania.”

“Be that as it may, I am sorry you experienced it,” Cherys said, smiling a bit as she leaned down to pick up Nadia and set her on her shoulders. It was obviously a bit difficult for her, but given the way Nadia laughed and grinned, Evelyn understood why she did it. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not right this moment. I need to talk to the others, since I barely woke up… fifteen minutes ago? If even that,” Evelyn said, grimacing slightly. “I know where we are, but I’m not sure why we’re here. Hovering in the middle of the astral doesn’t strike me as useful, but I’m the one who’s been unconscious.”

“This is true,” Cherys agreed.

“Um, Missus Evelyn? Could you teach me to be as strong as you? I want to be able to help!” Nadia interjected, waving her hands widely.

Evelyn blinked, then smiled, even as Cherys gave her a chagrined look.

“Nadia, I don’t think that she can do that,” Cherys said delicately. As Nadia’s face fell, Evelyn decided to help, at least as best she could.

“She’s right, much of my strength is inborn, Nadia,” Evelyn explained calmly. “However, that doesn’t mean you couldn’t get to my level eventually. It would take a lot of hard work, and years and years of trying, but I’m sure you could get there. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes! I don’t want to have to lose anyone, not again. Not Mom, not you, not Missus Zel, no one!” Nadia exclaimed, looking at Evelyn in determination.

Evelyn paused, examining the girl, then inclined her head, smiling slightly. She couldn’t really argue with that, though she doubted that the sentiment would last. She glanced at Cherys as she replied. “Well, I’ll see what I can do. Just do what your mother says, hm? She has a lot of experience, and she knows you better than I do.”

“I will!” Nadia squealed, grinning. “Thank you, Missus Evvy!”

“Yes, thank you, Evelyn. You’ve done an immense amount for us, and I don’t think that we’ll ever be able to repay you,” Cherys said, smiling gratefully at Evelyn. It made her vaguely uncomfortable to see it, since Evelyn wasn’t accustomed to reactions like that.

“Don’t worry about it. I’d better go, though… I want to be properly clothed before Fya realizes I’m awake,” Evelyn said, and waved to them as she left.

Of course, she was only halfway to her room when she heard the exclamation echo through the corridor.

“Evvy!” Fya exclaimed, and Evelyn only had half a second to see the purple-haired missile flying at her.

Maybe she would need to go back to the medbay.

Part V

The Spider’s Web

Chapter 60

“Really? She got away even with everything I spent on this?” Mariel asked, tapping her finger on her desk slowly, annoyance coursing through her.

“Yes, ma’am,” Umber said, shifting slightly in the hologram, and looking very unhappy with the situation. “I’ve reviewed the footage, and I’m not sure what else the adventurers could have done. Tarth was caught by both the MEMP and spellburn bomb, so my best guess is that she had shielded mana gems. How she overcame the drug they hit her with is an entirely different question, but an agent on Rakal just reported that she may have gotten her hands on a couple of doses of Plan Z. That would explain some of what happened. But despite everything, Tarth escaped. Her ship was last seen entering astral and heading toward the Mathrin cluster.”

“Plan Z. That would cause problems, wouldn’t it?” Mariel said, grimacing a bit. She’d sometimes heard of the elixir called the Zombie or Berserker drug, since it would keep the user on their feet through damn near anything. She drummed her fingers on the table again, then shook her head. “Well, that’s annoying. Almost five hundred thousand mythrite down the drain.”

“My apologies, ma’am. At least we don’t have to pay the adventurers the full amount, but… it is disappointing. What would you have me do? Shall I eliminate the adventurers?” Umber asked, bowing his head.

“No, no… if we do that, it’ll make it harder to hire people in the future. Even if we’ve worked through cutouts, someone would connect the dots eventually,” Mariel said, shaking her head firmly. “Pay them for their work as agreed and keep an eye out for Tarth. At least she won’t find it easy to track down the empress, and she makes excellent bait. Withdraw all active resources, just to be safe. The rebels have what they wanted, so they can deal with the locals without further support.”

“Yes, ma’am. It will be done,” Umber replied, bowing even more deeply, then the hologram went dark.

“Damn,” Mariel said mildly. She was truly annoyed with how things had worked out, since she’d had plans for Evelyn Tarth. The woman was incredibly powerful for a mortal, particularly for her age. That’s why she would have been a perfect centerpiece for Mariel’s collection, even if she wasn’t as exotic as some of the others. And placing her there would have been sweet retribution for her interference in Mariel’s plans.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be. Not yet, anyway, and Mariel turned her gaze on the elegant walls of her office, every chair, painting, and sculpture showing her wealth without flaunting it. Yet all that wealth couldn’t give her what she wanted. Not truly.

“Ah, well. I’ll just have to try again… once things have calmed down,” Mariel said, shaking her head. Then her lips curved into a smile as she murmured. “At least I have an empress for my collection. I should visit her, and see how she’s settling in.”

No one replied to her, but that was as it should be. Mariel liked keeping her hobbies out of the public eye.

* * *

“Korrix didn’t know much, since she was originally summoned by a member of the rebels to assist with the rebellion,” Zelirana said, fiddling idly with a large ruby as she spoke. “She was the saboteur aboard Peldra’s Pride, and confirmed that after her capture, Vania was handed over to a mysterious backer who funded the new rebellion. She was sent to infiltrate the imperial guards who accompanied Rasien as well, to feed them information so they could end any attempts to retrieve Vania. We all know how that turned out… but while there were other details, such as her loading Rasien’s armor with viruses to shut it down at inopportune moments, none of it was terribly useful. I’m afraid there’s no chance of her leading us to Vania.”

“You’re sure that she told you everything?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically. Succubi weren’t known for being helpful, Zelirana’s behavior aside.

“Yes. Zelirana utilized magic to drag out everything possible from her,” Vaneryth said, sitting up straighter as she paused, then admitted. “It might have been a touch on the cruel side, but under the circumstances I didn’t see another approach that would work.”

“I didn’t hurt her, though. She’s in this ruby and won’t be coming out unless I let her. She shouldn’t even suffer. If she hadn’t cooperated, I might have changed the spell so that wasn’t the case,” Zelirana confirmed, holding up the ruby. “I would have just banished her, but I didn’t want her talking to anyone about what she’d learned. Maybe after we’ve retrieved Vania.”

“Understood,” Evelyn replied, then looked down in exasperation. “Would you let go, Fya?”

The djinn was in Evelyn’s lap, her arms wrapped around her torso and with her head firmly against Evelyn’s right shoulder. That was fortunate, since the other side was the one which had broken when she hit the shuttle floor.

Raising her head, Fya replied bluntly. “No.”

“You are a problem some days,” Evelyn said, inhaling slowly, then let her breath out again, trying to ignore the throbbing from her arm, collar, and foot. “So, why’d you stop where we are in the astral? There isn’t anything nearby.”

“Because you’re going to want to gather more information, and this was a good spot where we could go anywhere without people running into us. There isn’t anything useful nearby,” Fya said, shrugging. “You’re not going to abandon Vania like she deserves, so I could at least get us somewhere useful.”

Evelyn nodded, pausing to think, then frowned, shaking her head in annoyance.

“I wish I knew what to do next. I doubt whoever’s behind this is going to just leave information out where I can find it, though…” Evelyn murmured unhappily. “Does anyone have any ideas?”

For a few seconds the room was quiet as everyone else looked at each other. None of Vania’s guards were present, in part because Evelyn doubted that any of them could contribute, but mostly because she wasn’t sure she could keep Fya from murdering them if she saw them. Not in Evelyn’s current condition.

“Well… do you know of anyone who has more information than the person you visited before?” Star finally asked, frowning. “I know you went to him because you knew about him, but you were trying to get information quickly, right?”

“That… is true,” Evelyn said, frowning for a moment, then cringed as a thought occurred to her. One which she really didn’t want to entertain. It took a few seconds before she spoke again, slowly and reluctantly this time. “There are three that I can think of. No, four. However, two of them are associated with the people who helped me rebel against Peldra to begin with, and I somehow doubt that they’d be happy with me. Or at least, unwilling to help me considering I likely pissed off several of their powerful customers.”

“I can understand that. What about the others?” Ilyra said, perking up slightly at this point.

“One is Fya’s cousin. I can’t remember her name, but she has a rather large information network… but she’s also very particular. I’m not sure I’d trust her with me in my current state,” Evelyn said, grimacing.

“Heh, as if she’d help you properly, anyway,” Fya said, snickering under her breath as she cuddled in closer. “She’d probably leave out important details.”

“Quite. Fourth is… actually, that’s a couple more options. Xalryx might have an idea, but I expect I’d have to pay through the nose for it. Dragons are like that. Similarly, we might be able to get information from Captain Eight-Fist, though he might not have a network in this area. I think he mostly operates in other clusters,” Evelyn said thoughtfully, pleased that she’d come up with a few more ideas of people who might be able to help.

“Why does it sound like you’re avoiding the last option?” Zelirana asked, leaning on the table as she looked at Evelyn speculatively. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you act like this before.”

Evelyn grimaced, and Fya suddenly sat upright in her lap, almost hitting Evelyn’s chin in the process.

“Ooh, I know that look!” Fya said, her eyes bright with mischief and excitement. “That’s the look you get every time you talk about your old teacher! The one who cheats!”

“She doesn’t cheat. She’s just… underhanded, sadistic, and enjoys watching her students squirm,” Evelyn said, grimacing and shaking her head. “Besides, it isn’t her I’d have to deal with. It’s her family. She’s half-elven, and the other half is part of a dark elf clan. I’ve only heard rumors about her grand-aunt, but supposedly she has the largest information network on this branch out from the core worlds.”

Moon blinked, then blinked again. After a few seconds she spoke up slowly. “A dark elf clan? That doesn’t sound that bad to me… we knew a few back in Corrida. Esta’s family owned the biggest mining company in the system.”

Vaneryth laughed softly, smirking as she murmured. “Ah, to be so naïve. Yes, dark elves can be perfectly reasonable members of society, but that doesn’t mean that all of them are. They have a reputation for demon worship for a reason, I’m afraid… though when it comes to absolute numbers humans have more cultists overall. This clan doesn’t sound like one of those that has integrated into society properly, however.”

“Yes and no. Half of the clan is part of relatively polite society. They run merchant conglomerates, trading companies, and one even has a survey company that scouts beyond the rim worlds,” Evelyn said, grimacing as she thought about the rest of them. “The other half is made up of mercenaries, pirates, arms dealers, gladiators, and at least one major information broker. And that’s just the ones I know about.”

“Huh. I’ve never… wait, are you talking about the Gloryheart clan?” Ilyra demanded, prompting Evelyn to stare at her in shock.

“How do you know about them? You’re from Brightdawn!” Evelyn demanded incredulously. She couldn’t imagine the circumstances which would lead someone from Brightdawn’s xenophobic nobility to come into contact with someone in clan Gloryheart.

“Ramada Gloryheart responded to the distress signal of High Priest Navier the Golden when he was attacked by pirates, back during the founding of Brightdawn. As Ramada did not ask for recompense, the high priest declared that all of his family would be welcome to trade or resupply on Brightdawn as if they were citizens, so long as they behaved themselves appropriately,” Ilyra replied promptly. “Clan Gloryheart has established a permanent storefront and trade mission in Brightdawn’s capital.”

“Of course they did. Why am I not surprised?” Evelyn groused, putting a hand to her forehead and rubbing her temples slowly. “So, they got themselves an incredibly good trade deal with your people, and can import and export exotic goods freely. That sounds just like them.”

“Hm. They sound like an intriguing clan to me,” Vaneryth said, smiling slightly as she glanced at Ilyra. “Did you know them well?”

“Not really, no. I did visit their store a few times when shopping for more exotic things, and the employees were always polite and well-spoken. They hired about half of their staff from Brightdawn, though, so it could just be that,” Ilyra said, shrugging. “My parents always… always said that they were good for Brightdawn, though.”

Evelyn frowned a bit at how Ilyra’s voice broke for a moment, but she decided not to address it now. Not since they were already getting sidetracked.

“Regardless, I think that the first order of business will be to get to somewhere more civilized. I have no idea where my teacher even is, but if she’s not available finding a member of her family should suffice. Of course, I can also contact the other people on the list, but we’ll take one step at a time,” Evelyn said, letting out a sigh, then glanced at Vaneryth as she asked. “Would you mind letting our guests know about the basic elements of the plan, Ryth? I don’t feel like dealing with them.”

“You should toss them out the airlock,” Fya muttered softly, but everyone ignored her. Some with more grace than others.

“Of course, Evelyn. Is there anything else I can do to assist you?” Vaneryth asked, but Evelyn shook her head in response.

“Not right now, no. I’m going to figure out our destination, then go through diagnostics on my armor, weapons, and implants. I sincerely doubt that I got out of there without any electronic damage,” Evelyn said, and let out a faint sigh as she added. “It could take a while.”

“As you desire,” Vaneryth said, bowing her head.

With that everyone began to move. Everyone but Fya, to Evelyn’s annoyance.

Chapter 61

“Fuser, please,” Evelyn requested, extending her hand.

Willow dropped the tool into her palm almost as soon as Evelyn spoke. She glanced back in time to see Fya glare at the dryad. Evelyn suppressed her urge to laugh, as it made perfect sense to her that an engineer would be able to anticipate what she needed.

“Thank you, Willow,” Evelyn said simply, proceeding to fuse another layer of her armor.

She’d taken a bit more damage than she’d realized in her escape, and the armor had borne the brunt of it, just as it was designed to. Not that it made her any happier, since the number of repairs she’d had to make was… depressing. The ones she’d caused even more than the unavoidable damage. She’d had to pull out and redo most of the mechanical assistance systems, since Evelyn had been forced to overpower them to keep moving. Most of the electronics were fine, but she had to replace a few parts there as well. At least most of the enchantments had come through intact.

“You’re welcome. Besides, I find this interesting. I haven’t worked with armor outside of sims, and didn’t focus on it much to begin with,” Willow said, watching what Evelyn was doing with an intense gaze. “You do things differently than I do, but I’m mostly self-taught to begin with. Are you?”

“Mm, no. I learned how to maintain my equipment when I started learning to fight, and since I enjoyed it, I got advice from other gladiators, maintenance personnel, and some of the vendors. It’s amazing how many of them will give advice if you’re reasonably pretty,” Evelyn said, then paused, thinking. “Though now that I think about it, most women I’ve seen are pretty.”

Fya laughed, quickly grabbing the compound Evelyn needed next and offering it to her.

“That’s because of sculpting. Sure, it doesn’t work nearly as well as my ability to change shapes, but it makes it easier for people to get whatever appearance they want,” the djinn said, seeming a lot more relaxed than she had earlier.

“True. I never went for that sort of thing… though we both know my magic wouldn’t let it affect me. Just considering how it rejects bone replacement,” Evelyn said, reaching over to rub her forearm, then shook her head. “Not that I’d want to. I like how I look.”

“Of course you do! You look good!” Fya said, grinning broadly.

“Agreed. I’ve seen quite a few people whose appearances were obviously artificial. Just because sculpting is readily available doesn’t mean that people know how to use it well,” Willow said, wrinkling her nose for a moment. Then she shrugged. “Still, they can do what they want with their own bodies. I’m not going to let someone tell me what to do with mine.”

“Exactly!” Fya said, pointing at the dryad as she grinned. “It’s like with me. Most djinni like being all imposing, terrifying, and making people tremble the moment they show up, but not me! I like to be small and spunky. If they don’t like it, they can go jump into an ore smelter.”

Evelyn chuckled, shaking her head as she continued to work on her armor. It would take another hour to fix everything, give or take, and she hoped to be done before they reached Gardenhome.

Personally, Evelyn didn’t know much about Gardenhome, but she wasn’t going to object to an inhabited system being less than a day away from where Fya had parked Djinn’s Gift. She knew that it was originally colonized by farmers who’d gone to join a discovered druidic society, and that it had unusually heavy defenses due to being on the edge of the cluster. Willow also seemed excited to visit, and she’d mentioned something about them exporting lots of plants and food, but beyond that, Evelyn didn’t know much. Or expect much, if she was being honest.

The important thing about Gardenhome was that they had an FTL link to Nald, which would allow Evelyn to message virtually anywhere in the known galaxy, given time. That should help find Vania.

* * *

“I… had no idea that Gardenhome was like this. It’s like they took a page out of the book of dryads,” Evelyn said, looking at the screen in bemusement.

On the screen was a space station, but it was made of immense wooden boughs that reminded her of Worldwaker, though the dryad’s ship looked far more natural and elegant. The station on the screen, which went by Startree One, looked far more artificial than Worldwaker, with a lot more right angles and spots where other sections had been grafted onto it. As well as mechanical thrusters, Evelyn noted. They must not have figured out how to grow them like the dryads could.

“Gardenhome is the largest exporter of all-natural structures and vessels in a two-cluster radius,” Willow explained cheerfully over the comms. “They also help with landscaping, and Worldwaker sometimes contracts them to help with parts of terraforming. And other fey, obviously, since they don’t terraform that quickly. I’m hoping to find some good apple tree variants for grafts while we’re here.”

“Huh. Well, I’ll take your word for it. Try to make it fast, since I’m not sure how long it’ll take for me to get an answer,” Evelyn said, turning her attention to the wooden battleship not far away from Startree One. It wasn’t moving fast, but the ship looked unusually tough. After a moment she shrugged, since it didn’t matter that much to her. Unless the battleship came after them, the speed of the defenders didn’t much matter. They were defending their system, so she supposed they didn’t have to chase down ships terribly often.

“I’ll do that. I think Star is ordering supplies anyway, so I’ll try to bundle any purchases in with her deliveries,” Willow said, signing off a moment later.

“I am at that. I should mention that all of the food seems to be less expensive here, Evelyn. Should I get some extra?” Star asked. “Moon is making a list for me right now.”

“That would be good, yes. And make certain you have enough for if we transition to a full-size crew as well. I don’t intend to wake the women in stasis any time soon, but I want to be able to feed them if we have to,” Evelyn said, frowning a little.

“Not a problem. The hydroponics are almost up to speed, so give me a week and we’ll be able to go pretty much indefinitely. I wouldn’t care for our diet after a few months, but we’d live,” Moon chimed in, her enthusiasm just a bit forced.

“Good enough. Now, don’t get yourselves hurt too badly with your training, you hear me? With me in this state, I might need your help if push comes to shove. I don’t think that will be necessary, but I’d rather you take care of yourselves,” Evelyn ordered them.

She was a little concerned by how much time the twins and Ilyra, were spending training. According to the logs, since she’d been knocked out they had put in no less than thirty-six hours of training each, possibly more. She was afraid they were going to push too far, even with healing magic available.

“We won’t. One of the medical Dolls already warned us that Ilyra was pushing herself to the verge of collapse, so we’re reducing our efforts somewhat,” Star replied quietly. She paused, then added, “We want to be able to help. What happened to you was a… a wake-up call.”

“Which is fine. Just remember that training can become torture if you’re not careful,” Evelyn told them before cutting the channel. She had to shake her head in disbelief afterward.

“You seem discomfited,” Vaneryth said, looking at Evelyn with a smirk. “Almost as much as the patrol leader when you told him who you were.”

“I am. I’m not used to being this weak, much like you when your power was stripped away,” Evelyn told her, then paused and corrected herself. “No, not weak. I’m being forced to restrain myself, which is annoying. Even if I normally don’t use my full strength, not being allowed to use it is surprisingly frustrating. I shouldn’t have compared it to what happened to you.”

Vaneryth laughed, waving off the comment as she shook her head. “I do not mind, not under the circumstances. While the details are different, they are not completely different, either. Honestly… no, I will discuss that later. You have an inquiry to make.”

“True,” Evelyn said, reaching out through the ship comm system to find the station.

There was an odd… flavor to Startree One’s systems, which didn’t surprise her that much. They likely had some form of semi-organic network for some of the traffic, which would alter things slightly. She put in her request for the FTL link, and in short order had the proper terminal for her request.

In a few seconds she put in her prepared messages and their destinations. Almost immediately the system asked her for a fee, which she’d expected. Mostly she was happy that it wasn’t quite as high as she’d been afraid of. But once the transaction cleared, the messages were away, and Evelyn let out a breath of relief.

“There, done. Now it’s just a question of whether or not any of them can help me. Or if they will,” Evelyn said, her lips quirking into a sardonic smile.

“I am certain they will,” Vaneryth replied serenely.

For a minute they just sat there, not speaking. Evelyn vaguely wondered what Fya was up to but decided she really didn’t want to know. Not now.

Eventually, though, her curiosity got the better of her. “So… what were you going to say?”

“Ah, yes. I was honestly considering the idea of bio-mods to improve my physical condition. Since it takes so much work for me to improve even slightly, I think that artificial supplements may be the only options available to me,” Vaneryth said, her cheeks coloring a little as she looked downward. “It feels a little… uncomfortable, but if the choice is between being able to protect others or being uncomfortable, I would rather deal with the latter. What do you think?”

Evelyn examined the angel for a moment, surprise rippling through her. Of everyone aboard, she’d considered the angel the last one to consider implants, but apparently, she’d been wrong. Not that Evelyn couldn’t see her point, she easily could. But there were also other options.

“That’s true, yes. The problem is that any implants I’d recommend are going to be quite expensive. Which shouldn’t be surprising, considering you want high-quality items if you’re immortal. You wouldn’t want something that’s going to fail in a decade or two,” Evelyn replied, feeling the urge to fiddle with something, but resisted for the moment. “There are also magical options, though. I have a navel piercing which boosts my physique across the board, for instance.”

“That is true. Those have been around for millennia, but for angels… we are expected not to rely on equipment. It is a cultural thing,” Vaneryth said, blushing slightly. “Not that there’s much point to holding to that at this point, but it is hard to overcome centuries of habit.”

“I can imagine,” Evelyn replied dryly, shrugging as she considered for a few seconds. “Actually, since we’re going to be waiting anyway, why don’t I go over some of the options with you? I have to say I’m happy you’re interested in bio-mods rather than cybernetic ones. No matter how good they are, cybernetics will break down eventually unless you have expensive enchantments, while biological can be made such that they’ll integrate with your body and you can maintain them naturally.”

“That sounds good to me. I have only scratched the surface of what’s possible,” the angel said, turning her chair to face Evelyn as she smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Evelyn replied, putting her thoughts in order, and also double-checking things to make sure she wasn’t going to be too unfair to cybernetics.

Evelyn might be biased, but she was going to try to give an honest comparison.

* * *

“What’s she doing?” Xacrim asked, striding into the command center, all while cursing the timing of their visitor.

He’d been almost the entire way into the Holy Glade when the message had come through that Evelyn Tarth’s ship had transited out of astral. He’d been so far along that they’d had to send a shuttle to extract him, which had annoyed his bonded, and Xacrim was sure he’d catch hell from Andrew later. Hopefully he’d understand once Xacrim was able to give him a full explanation, but it hadn’t been worth risking a panic among the other pilgrims. As it was, he’d lost a day and a half of hiking with his beloved and would have to start over to properly renew his vows.

“I’m not certain, High Forester,” Helena replied, a frown on her face as the blonde human shifted in her chair. One of her arms was formed of living wood, a remnant of an accident she’d been in as a child and a gift from the druids, and it tapped the console a couple of times before she continued. “According to this, she sent six messages through the FTL link and that’s it. Aside from what I assume is her quartermaster ordering approximately four tons of assorted fruit, vegetables, meat, and seeds for a hydroponic system.”

“Not just that,” Nam interjected, the green-haired dwarven man turning to face them. “I also have a request for an apple tree graft from one of the orchards coming from them. It appears to be from the ship’s engineer, whose identity is appended with the code for the DGS Worldwaker. According to the system, she’s a dryad named Willow.”

“…What in all the suns is going on?” Xacrim asked, blinking in confusion. “A dryad, and from Worldwaker? Fruit and seeds? Are we certain that Evelyn Tarth is aboard?”

“Very. Though I think I see why you’re confused… we got a message from Worldwaker after you’d gone on vacation, sir,” Helena said, tapping a couple more keys. His console chirped, and she continued. “The details are in the report I sent you, but Tarth rescued them from a pirate attack about a month ago.”

“She did that?” Xacrim asked, his eyebrows rising abruptly, and internally he swore at himself. That wasn’t the sort of reaction he wanted to show to others, and he shook himself, stepping over to his console to bring up the report. “I thought they were still in Janton?”

“They are. They’re in the final stages of terraforming the planet,” Helena said, shrugging. “Apparently a member of the local government didn’t want to give up the land that they’d been promised.”

“Short-sighted fools. Dryad colonies have been statistically proven to improve a planet’s habitability and long-term sustainability by a large margin,” Xacrim muttered, quickly reading through the message and appended news reports. His surprise grew with every sentence, then he stopped, staring at the message in disbelief. He had to re-read the few lines twice before demanding. “She teleported across the system, then held a shield over Worldwaker for more than ten minutes? While under fire from pirates in a light cruiser? There has to be a mistake here.”

“Nope, it’s all accurate. We have video footage,” Nam grunted, shaking his head firmly. “I wouldn’t have believed it if they hadn’t sent it via a fey courier, but they did. I always thought the rumors about her were overblown before this, but…”

The dwarf shrugged as Xacrim stared at him in disbelief, looking back at the message again, then shook his head slowly.

“This is completely ridiculous. Having someone like that in orbit is enough to give me an ulcer,” Xacrim said, glowering at the message, then at the icon blinking on the screen. If it wasn’t the same as all the other foreign vessels in orbit, he’d have sworn that it was glowing sullenly. As it was, he knew he was just projecting his irritation at it.

“With any luck, they’ll take their supplies and leave, right?” Helena asked cheerfully, drawing a glare from Xacrim.

“Quite,” he replied dryly.

Privately, he just might have wondered how he could get her assigned to deal with the building compost heap the next time it needed to be cleaned out. It might be petty, but it’d make him feel better.

Chapter 62

“That is a lot of options,” Vaneryth said, looking a little dazed, and Evelyn couldn’t help a slight smirk. About halfway through the discussion the angel had been forced to excuse herself for a moment so she could find her personal tablet. While Vaneryth was more comfortable with her implants than she had been, the angel still preferred to take notes by hand.

“It is. Each with their own advantages and disadvantages,” Evelyn agreed. “The magical enhancements would all work with biological or mechanical ones, and most should work if you regained your full powers again as well. I’m not sure if you’d retain the others if you regained your powers… it might purge them in the process.”

Vaneryth nodded, looking thoughtful as she examined the list in front of her. In all honesty, Evelyn may have gone overboard during the conversation, since she hadn’t just gone over the general types of implants that might help Vaneryth. Instead, she’d gone over each specific model she knew of and what the benefits and drawbacks each possessed. That gave the angel a good sixty options to look at, and Evelyn expected that she’d be researching them further. Which was a good way to look at things when she was immortal.

“Your strength and speed… your magic is essentially self-augmenting your body to where it is equal to these sort of implants, is it not?” Vaneryth replied after a few seconds, prompting Evelyn to blink in surprise.

“That… is an odd way to look at it. And you very well may be right,” Evelyn said slowly, going over the comment internally. It hadn’t really occurred to her before, but Vaneryth was right, her magic was essentially slowly reinforcing her basic physical structure until she was so much more than a normal elf. If it was her natural state, Fya resurrecting her wouldn’t have left her miserable for months. After a few seconds, Evelyn smirked slightly, murmuring. “That’s a fascinating idea. I’ve never considered that, but it is essentially magical augmentation, isn’t it?”

“Precisely what I was thinking,” Vaneryth said, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Huh. I’ve just always had it, so I’ve never really considered the why of it. It just was,” Evelyn said, smiling slightly as she looked down at her left arm. She wanted to flex it as much as she could, but she’d rather not break the bones again.

“I do not blame you. I would have felt the same,” Vaneryth said, smiling slightly as she added. “However… do you think someone else could do the same thing with their magic? If they studied how you were doing it yourself?”

Evelyn stared at Vaneryth for a moment, blinking. That thought had never occurred to her either, but it only made sense. If Evelyn could do this, even if she wasn’t conscious of it, who was to say that other people couldn’t do it? Could someone without magical training have it done to them by someone else? There were a host of possibilities, and if it worked… her pulse quickened as she thought of the potential. Oh, she wouldn’t want to share it with potential enemies, but if she could make it so people like Ilyra, Moon, Star, Vaneryth, and Zelirana could survive more easily… it opened a world of possibilities.

“That’s a fascinating thought, Ryth,” Evelyn said at last, smiling slowly. “In fact, I know the medbay has an excellent scanner for reading magic. Since I have organs being repaired by my magic, a few parts that aren’t injured, and some bones that are in the opening stages of the process, I think this is the ideal time to study it, don’t you?”

“Precisely,” Vaneryth said, smiling warmly. “I am not sure anyone else can use your method, but if we can, it would be—”

A soft tone from the communications console interrupted them, and Evelyn glanced over as the Doll cleared her throat. She had to wonder why the Doll bothered, since she only really had to breathe in order to speak. Though Evelyn supposed they breathed in order to mimic humans more closely as well.

“You have received a message via FTL link, Captain. It is from Naema en’Gloryheart,” the Doll said calmly. Then there were another two tones, and she corrected. “Three messages now. One is from Lady Xalryx, and one is a rejection notice from Jennan Cartwright’s system, stating that his business has closed.”

“Well, it sounds like I’m going to have to wait on the scan,” Evelyn said, letting out a sigh as she shrugged. “Sorry, Ryth.”

“I doubt twenty or thirty minutes is going to make a difference,” the angel replied, smiling back. “Rescuing Vania takes priority, at least in my mind.”

“Thank you,” Evelyn replied and picked Xalryx’s message first. Her eyebrows rose as she saw that it was a holographic message, and she shrugged, then pulled it up in front of her.

A hologram of Xalryx in her humanoid form appeared in front of Evelyn, only about ten centimeters tall. She had bronze hair and eyes, the latter with elongated pupils, and her hair was elaborately styled. She was also wearing an intricate, asymmetric dress in deep green, black, and bronze, one which made Evelyn think the dragon was preparing for a court appearance. Or maybe it was just the appropriate dress code for the apprentice of a Grand Treasurer, Evelyn couldn’t be sure.

“Hello, Evelyn, it’s good to hear from you. I’ve heard about your exploits in Janton and Skaloth. I wish you’d told me you’d be participating in an arena match in Skaloth beforehand, since I would have enjoyed making some money off your victory,” Xalryx said, flashing a smile at Evelyn, then her expression sobered. “As to your request, I’m afraid that I don’t have any information for you. As much as I would enjoy taking your money, I would be a poor contact if I took it in exchange for little more than rumors, rumors that you appear to have already investigated. I will check to see if we can find any further information, but I do not believe it likely. My apologies, and I hope to do business with you in the future. Fare well, Evelyn.”

The hologram winked out a moment later, and Evelyn let out a faint sigh.

“I suppose I should have expected that,” Evelyn murmured, grimacing. She’d really prefer to work with Xalryx rather than any of the other sources. Dragons were generally straightforward in their desires. Everyone else would have their own motives.

“At least she told you that she did not know. It could be worse,” Vaneryth murmured.

A few seconds later the doors to the bridge slid open and Adria walked in. The blonde Doll circled around to the chair of the second in command and bowed her head slightly. “I have completed my maintenance cycle and am on-duty once more, Captain.”

“Thank you, Adria,” Evelyn said, pulling up the next message. Unlike the first, this one was in text, which made it simple to read through in her head.

Greetings Ms. Tarth,

I have heard of you via my cousin, and have followed your exploits with interest, as has most of the clan. You are a woman of note, and bring glory not only to yourself, but also to my cousin and clan through your actions.

As for your request, I am afraid that my cousin is currently in seclusion as she trains with another of her eccentric mentors, and cannot respond. As such, it is left to me to pass on my aunt’s response. She directs you to travel to the attached coordinates if you wish for her assistance. I wish you the best.

~Naema en’Gloryheart, Captain of the Seventh Gloryheart Company

There was a series of coordinates attached, and Evelyn frowned a little, slightly disturbed at how close they were. She could reach them within six hours of leaving Gardenhome, which was… disturbing. On the other hand, the woman did run an information network. It was entirely likely that she had an agent in this area, possibly even in-system. Though it did make Evelyn a touch paranoid.

“Well. It looks like I have one potential lead, but it’ll have to wait until after we load the supplies at the least,” Evelyn said, checking the ship systems, which informed her that the supply shipment was still being assembled, and it would take at least another four hours before it was aboard. “Why don’t we go take those scans?”

“That seems like an excellent idea,” Vaneryth said, standing up gracefully. “Might I suggest that we invite Cherys as well? Of everyone aboard, I believe she has the most extensive knowledge of magic aside from yourself. I cannot be certain about Fya, but neither myself nor Zel match her. Our magic is more instinctive and specialized.”

“Her magic is specialized as well, but you aren’t wrong,” Evelyn said, climbing to her feet as well. The scan would be a welcome distraction, and just maybe her other messages would find something she could use.

Of course, the moment that she contacted Cherys, word spread about what they were doing, and in short order Evelyn had an entire train of people following her toward the medical bay, more than would comfortably fit in the examination room. That was a bit too much for her tastes, and Evelyn glowered as she saw that even Nadia and Willow were tagging along. At least the imperial guards hadn’t been foolish enough to show their faces, or Evelyn suspected that Fya would have made good on her threat.

“Alright, this is ridiculous. You can’t all be in the room with me,” Evelyn said, turning to face her crew with her hands on her hips. It really was silly, especially when she compared it to a few months ago, when her shop just had herself and Fya for employees. She scanned the room, then spoke again. “Fya, you, Moon, Star, Willow, and Zel should go to the conference room and watch via the ship systems. You can answer any questions they have, Zel.”

“Aww…” Fya whined, but she didn’t outright protest. That indicated that her mood was improving to Evelyn.

“Yes, of course. Though if things are too technical, I may have to ask questions myself,” the succubus said, nodding.

“Unsurprising. The main thing is that Fya doesn’t know much about the technical aspects of magic, and you’re powerful enough this isn’t as important to you. Moon and Star… unfortunately, you don’t have much in the way of magical training, even if you’ve been taking lessons from Cherys,” Evelyn told them. The twins jumped slightly, looking at each other.

“You knew about that?” Moon asked, embarrassment evident on her face.

“Of course I did. You weren’t subtle, and I’ve gone over logs of what happened while I was unconscious,” Evelyn told her, rolling her eyes. “Really, I’m not that oblivious. As for Willow, she’s more mechanically inclined, not magically. Even if dryads have a good amount of magic.”

“True,” Willow agreed, smiling as she curled a lock of pink hair around a finger. “I’m just curious, since I’ve never heard of someone self-augmenting with magic before.”

“Which is fine, as long as you don’t spread the information around,” Evelyn said, then crouched down, looking at Nadia. “Now, I’m letting you come with because your mother is going to be helping, but we won’t be able to work if you’re interrupting a bunch. Can you keep quiet unless you’ve got a really important question?”

“Sure! Just like when Mom is doing really tricky rituals,” Nadia said, nodding rapidly, though from the way she was beaming, Evelyn wondered if she’d done something strange. Cherys looked surprisingly satisfied as well.

“Good. Thank you for being such a good girl,” Evelyn told the child, ruffling her hair, then stood up again. “Right, then. Let’s go, everyone. I’d like to get this done before the supply shipment arrives.”

“Of course. This should be fascinating,” Cherys murmured, and Evelyn couldn’t help a wry smile as she headed for the medbay again, half the group splitting off toward the conference room.

Even if other people could use the method she used to strengthen herself, she suspected that they wouldn’t enjoy the side effects. She couldn’t describe how uncomfortable it was to have her bones itch for months on end, among the many other side effects. And she’d have exactly zero sympathy for them, since they’d be inflicting it on themselves. In fact, Evelyn might take a certain sadistic joy in watching them squirm. Not that she’d tell them that.

In short order she was in the medbay, where M3 was already waiting for them in the exam room, having prepared the section where they scanned patients. It was designed so that someone could stand up or lay down inside the pale white circle in the floor, with a matching circle on the ceiling. Evelyn glanced at the circle, then shrugged and walked into the middle of it.

“Just to be certain, is there anything in specific I need to be looking for?” Cherys asked, looking at Evelyn thoughtfully, and Evelyn thought she saw a hint of nervousness in her expression.

“The goal is to figure out how my magic modifies my body, to see if someone else could use the same method to become stronger,” Evelyn explained, nodding to M3 as she continued. “M3 will be scanning me with the medbay sensors, but there’s no guarantee that will be enough information to work with. Ryth mentioned that you’re the most skilled mage aboard, so you’re the most likely person to be able to analyze what is happening.”

Cherys looked a little startled at that, glancing at Vanaryth before protesting. “I’m not the most skilled caster here! You’re far more skilled than I am.”

“Mm… I don’t know about that. I’m more powerful, and when it comes to my specialty, I’m more skilled than you, but on the whole? I couldn’t do half of what you do. I can control lightning, but weather isn’t something I know how to manipulate, as a single example,” Evelyn replied, shrugging. “I might be ahead, I might not be. Does it really matter, though? Examining how it works in myself would be exceedingly difficult and having multiple people watching could help. That’s why you have Lyra and Ryth here.”

“Do you really think I’ll be able to see anything? When I look at you magically, all I see is a blazing torrent of red,” Ilyra asked nervously, squinting a little as she looked at Evelyn. After a moment she admitted. “Maybe not a torrent, but your magic is so bright that I can hardly make out any differences in the flow as it swirls around you. It’s like… I don’t know quite how to describe it. It flows smoothly, but it’s also violent, twisting sharply.”

“Mm, it does remind me of an ocean in some ways. One with a violent undercurrent,” Vaneryth agreed, looking Evelyn over with a smile. “What do you think, Evelyn?”

“I think it’s my mana, and I’ve never really thought about it this way before,” Evelyn said dryly, shaking her head. “M3, would you perform the scan? Before they all decide to drag things even farther off-topic?”

“Certainly, Captain. Please keep your hands placed by your sides, preferably with at least a two-centimeter clearance from your torso, and your feet spread. It will improve the results,” the Doll replied calmly, reaching for the nearby console. Evelyn did as she asked, though it felt a bit awkward to stand that way.

A moment later the circles lit up, and a faint blue light played over Evelyn’s body, swirling around her quickly. She could feel the magic investigating her, and it took a bit of concentration to keep from rejecting its probing. She was supposed to let the magic see what was going on inside her, not try to push it away.

For several seconds the process continued, then the lights slowed, and several diagrams appeared on M3’s screen, along with a holographic outline of Evelyn’s body with a series of color gradients throughout it, ranging from blue to red. When Evelyn looked closer, she could also see a faint tracery of the colors pulsing and moving, and what must be the channels that allowed her to move mana through her body. The sections which were red were primarily her left arm, collar, and right foot, the locations where she’d been injured. One surprise was that her internal organs weren’t nearly violet like her bones, but rather a teal verging on blue.

“Captain, your mana density is so high in some places that getting accurate readings is difficult. These sort of readings are normally only detected in beings composed predominantly of magic, not in most humanoid creatures,” M3 reported, pointing at the diagram as she spoke. “Your bones and the majority of your skin are slowly bleeding off a minor amount of mana, but your internal organs, and the sections of your body which were recently reconstructed, are not. This includes the bones which were repaired.”

“Interesting…” Evelyn murmured, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the diagrams, trying to understand them. She was catching maybe… a quarter of it, at a guess. Maybe less. But she wasn’t stupid. She knew that her internal organs had taken a horrible shock from the spellburn bomb and Plan Z. After a moment she asked. “Run another scan, comparing the magic bleed to my current injuries.”

“Acknowledged. Scanning now,” M3 confirmed, tapping a couple of keys, and the light appeared again as the system scanned her body. After a few seconds the Doll spoke again. “Correlation established. Magic bleed is located in areas where you are uninjured.”

“That’s what I thought,” Evelyn said, smiling slightly, then glanced at the others. “Well? Can you tell what is happening?”

“I… think I see a few hints of it, but I can’t make out any details,” Ilyra said, scowling as she stared at Evelyn intensely, then at the diagrams. “It’s frustrating, because it’s like I can almost see it, but it’s just a little beyond me.”

“I can see a little more, mostly because I have the diagrams to compare against,” Vaneryth said, a slight smile on her face. “We were right, you’re magically augmenting your body. The magic flows into every part of your body, reinforcing it, making it more powerful, stronger, faster… I can barely conceive of how you can do so instinctively. But it explains why healing you with magic is so difficult. Anyone attempting to do so is not only repairing the damage but having to replace the magic as well. I’m not certain I know how to do it, but… it is a starting point. Perhaps Cherys can solve that, however.”

“Solve it? You must be joking,” Cherys said, giving the angel a scandalized look, then stepped forward, her gaze rising to meet Evelyn’s as she gestured to her left arm. “May I?”

“Go ahead,” Evelyn said, amusement washing over her as she offered her arm to the mage and took the chance to change to a more comfortable pose. “Is there something you’re looking for?”

Cherys leaned over Evelyn’s arm, her eyes faintly glowing as she looked at the spot where the sword had cut into it. She ran a finger along the line of the cut, even though the skin was indistinguishable to normal sight, and Evelyn could feel the woman’s magic teasing at it, almost tickling her. It was an odd sensation combined with the bone-deep ache.

“It is far more complicated than a mere infusion. Your magic is doing something… something else. I could sense the edges from a distance, but I needed to be closer to understand more fully,” Cherys said slowly, her voice faint as her fingers stopped moving. “And I do. Understand, I mean. I have only the vaguest idea of the full consequences, but I could do something similar if I had to. The magic is not infusing you. It is infusing your body and forcing it to replace itself. Like… like a regeneration spell, but it replaces your flesh and bone with something better. This would be the sort of magic that many would dream of creating for their master’s work, Evelyn. Yet you can use it naturally. How? Why? I do not understand.”

“That’s an excellent question, and one I can’t answer,” Evelyn said, her smile fading slightly as she considered something that didn’t make her happy. A certain damnable prophecy. She’d rather believe that her parents had been lying to her for years and that they were something more than normal elves than to believe that the prophecy had any basis in fact. She shook off the thought after a moment and shrugged carefully, not wanting to interrupt her examination. “I honestly don’t know what allows me to do it. I’ve been this way for as long as I can remember. My parents even commented about how I was unusually strong as a child.”

“Mm. I understand, I am just… curious,” Cherys said, considering for a few moments more, then nodded, letting go of Evelyn’s arm. “I believe I have seen enough. If I am not mistaken, your magic is required to maintain your strength. This means another would be weaker than you if they were able to use the technique unless their magic was equal to your own, but I believe it is possible to replicate. I would not care to test it without more research, however.”

“What if, say, I were to use it? Would I be unable to improve as my magic grows stronger?” Ilyra asked, notes of both hope and worry in her voice.

“I’m not certain, but I do not think there is any reason you wouldn’t be able to improve,” Cherys said, shrugging slightly. “It would presumably just… increase over time with your magic. Unless you had your full power from childhood, Evelyn?”

“No, I can tell you that for sure,” Evelyn said, smiling a little at the thought. “I grew a lot stronger once puberty hit, but I thought it was just my growth spurt and such.”

“Excellent,” Vaneryth said, looking at the readouts for a moment more, then shook herself. “I hope that it is an option, at the least. Would you mind me assisting you in researching this ability, Cherys?”

“Not at all. It’s going to take time to research fully. I would not wish anyone to have something unpleasant happen to them if they used it too soon,” Cherys said. Behind her, Nadia was staring at them, practically vibrating in place. Honestly, Evelyn was startled the girl had kept quiet for this long.

“I agree, though I’ll warn that when I was resurrected, it made me miserable for eight or nine months,” Evelyn interjected dryly. “Don’t expect to get the power for nothing. I also would like you to restrict the information so no one else gets to look at it. The crew is allowed, but not any visitors… like Rasien, for instance.”

“But of course. I would not want anyone to steal my secrets, either. Thank you for your trust, Evelyn,” Cherys said, bowing deeply to her.

Evelyn waved her off, grimacing slightly at the reaction. She looked to M3 and added. “Save and encrypt the data from the scan, and give Cherys, Fya, Ilyra, Moon, Star, Vaneryth, and Zelirana access to examine it.”

“Yes, Captain,” M3 said, bowing deeply. The holograms winked out, and the display went blank as well.

“Missus Evelyn, Missus Evelyn! Can I become as strong as you, then? Mommy says that I’ve got potential as a mage!” Nadia exclaimed, bouncing in place as she stared at Evelyn excitedly.

Evelyn laughed, shrugging as she looked at Cherys for a moment. The woman had an expression of wry resignation on her face, which caused Evelyn to laugh again.

“That’s entirely up to her and you. You heard your mother, how strong you can become is based on how strong your magic is. And becoming a strong mage takes work,” Evelyn told the girl, wondering how she’d gotten herself involved with a child. Someone who would likely die before Evelyn was even halfway through her lifespan.

“I’ll do my best! I’ll be the bestest, most powerful mage to ever live!” Nadia said, her face screwing up with concentration. “Promise!”

Of course, that was the moment that she got another message, and Evelyn couldn’t help an internal sigh.

“I look forward to seeing it,” Evelyn told the girl. “Now, I’ve got to check a few messages. I’ll let you talk to your mother about it.”

And with that, Evelyn fled.

Chapter 63

Evelyn ended up only having a single lead. Fya’s cousin hadn’t had any information, though she’d hinted that she could get it if Evelyn was particularly interested. Evelyn had refused to even consider it, since she knew that would likely require a wish, and she wasn’t up to that. Captain Eight-Fist was apparently away from his base, so he wasn’t an option either, and the last person Evelyn had contacted had simply replied that he wasn’t interested in doing business with her. Which only left a single option, so Evelyn had sighed and set a course for the coordinates Naema Gloryheart had given her.

Which was where they were now, even if Evelyn was tired enough by this point that she was considering a nap. Local time on Gardenhome had been far enough out of synch with Djinn’s Gift that she was up rather late, even with her endurance. She didn’t want to give up just yet, though, not since they were so close.

Around Djinn’s Gift was an unusually open pocket of astral, with no real places to hide, though the sensors picked up a shower of asteroids in the distance, one that would reach the location in a day or so. Evelyn hoped that they wouldn’t be waiting that long, though.

“Finding anything?” Evelyn finally asked, looking at the screen with a frown.

“Negative. Astral atmosphere is within normal parameters, and there are no unusual emissions of any type that we can detect,” Adria reported calmly.

“Maybe not, but my hackles are up. There’s something weird around here,” Fya said, staring at the screen. “I can’t tell what, but it’s definitely there.”

Fya’s words prompted Evelyn to pause and focus through her weariness. It took a couple of seconds, but then she felt a faint sense of unease. As if there was something she should be seeing, but wasn’t. It was an odd feeling and did more than anything else to wake her up, causing Evelyn to sit fully upright.

“Adria, scan the area again. Active scans if you have to, I don’t want—” Evelyn began, but her mouth snapped shut as space ahead of them rippled.

No more than fifty kilometers away, the astral warped and a ship faded into view as the cloaking field faded. The ship was at least twice the size of Djinn’s Gift, sheathed in black metal but with an oddly organic-looking design to it, more like a whale to Evelyn’s eyes. No lights shone on its sides, no ship name appeared on it, and she didn’t even see any obvious engines or weapons. Evelyn saw it appear on the sensors, but that it got that close without them noticing was somewhat terrifying.

“Belay that order,” Evelyn said after a moment, staring at the ship on the screens.

Fya was cursing softly under her breath, but Adria nodded, a frown on the Doll’s face as she murmured, “Yes, Captain. The vessel appears to have exceptional shielding, I am detecting no emissions from it. Even our sensors are having difficulties picking it up properly.”

“Of course it does,” Evelyn muttered, debating on how to address the mysterious vessel when she contacted it.

The ship took the questions out of her hands by contacting them before Evelyn could decide, and there was a soft tone before the Doll at communications spoke. “We are receiving an audio-only hail.”

“Put it through,” Evelyn said, grimacing internally. She wasn’t sure she liked the situation… it had her hackles up.

After a moment there was a hint of sound, just enough for Evelyn to tell that the connection had been established, then a woman spoke, her voice sent through a synthesizer to anonymize it. “Evelyn Esendria Tarth. I have been keeping track of you for some time, but it has never been the right time to meet. Not even when my niece was teaching you. That has changed, for you are searching for information which I should be able to provide. Should you wish to acquire the knowledge, you must meet with me in person. Follow my Weaver should you wish to negotiate, but be warned, the price will not be something as simple as mythrite or credits.”

The channel went dead as soon as the message finished, not even allowing Evelyn to reply, and she scowled at the screen and the ship on it.

“I do not like dealing with people who enjoy theatrics this much,” Evelyn announced, her glower growing even stronger as she tapped her armrest irritably.

“You could just leave and dump the dead weight on the nearest planet. I think that Rasien would do well on Gardenhome,” Fya suggested hopefully. “You don’t need to be doing any of this.”

On the screen, the ship had begun to turn. What Evelyn assumed was its prow was pointed deeper into the cluster, and after a few seconds it began to accelerate smoothly. It was incredibly stealthy, which annoyed Evelyn to no end. She didn’t like dealing with this type of person, give her someone simple and straightforward any day of the week. But with as few leads as she had, Evelyn had no real choice.

“No,” Evelyn said simply, gritting her teeth for a moment. “Adria, follow that ship. Unless we’re about to enter an extremely hazardous area, try to keep close to it.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. Matching course and velocity with the unknown starship,” Adria confirmed. The Doll paused, then asked, “Is this wise, Captain? We know nothing about the vessel, not even what weapons it possesses. Your message could have been intercepted by an enemy, and with the stealth capabilities it has demonstrated, we might be drawn into a trap.”

Evelyn’s eyebrows rose, surprise coursing through her as she looked at Adria for a moment. She couldn’t help mixed feelings, as she was both gratified that the Doll had asked a good question and was irritated that she was acting even more… elven. Coupled with her resemblance to Vania, it caused Evelyn some rather serious issues.

“Ooh… that’s pretty observant of you! Might even be signs of intuition… do you think you’re developing a soul, Adria?” Fya asked, leaning forward in her chair as she stared at the Doll intensely. “That happens to AIs now and then. Dolls are more common, mostly because you look more like mortals to begin with. It isn’t as common with station AIs or robots, but it happens sometimes.”

Adria paused, looking at Fya for a moment with her head slightly tilted. When she spoke, her voice was just as calm as always. “I am not certain. I do not know how a soul would change me, and it is not something which I had considered. I am simply attempting to perform my duties as best I can. Would developing a soul be a problem?”

“Yes and no,” Evelyn interjected before the djinn could speak, and added over the implant network. “Zel, would you come to the bridge, please? I have something which requires your particular skills.”

“I’ll be there soon, Evelyn,” the succubus replied warmly, though Evelyn could hear the curiosity in Zelirana’s voice. Not that Evelyn blamed her at all.

Adria was waiting patiently for her to continue, so Evelyn took a deep breath, then continued slowly. “The status of a souled AI is a tricky one, and something which is dependent on local laws. As Djinn’s Gift is not registered to any planet in specific, technically we aren’t beholden to any specific law, but there are four main approaches. First are those who believe that having a soul makes an AI a true individual, and that they should be freed to do as they will. The second believes that while they’re an individual, they’re still the property of their owners and effectively enslave them. There are also those who see them as abominations and destroy them at the first opportunity. Then there are the ones who don’t care that they have souls, and magically rip them out of the AI to leave them just machines.”

“I believe I understand. I am doing searches of the ship databases, and from what I can find, there are significantly more variations than that, but those are common, yes. From what I understand, a soul grants its bearer more individuality, and the ability to diverge from its programming, within limits?” Adria asked, looking almost contemplative now. Evelyn nodded, so the Doll inclined her head slightly and continued. “I believe I understand your concerns now. The number of souled AIs who rebelled against their owners or creators is exceedingly high. If I have a soul, what are you going to do?”

“I’d think that’s obvious!” Fya said, grinning broadly. “You know what happened with Lyra and the others, don’t you?”

“Fya, don’t condescend to her,” Evelyn scolded the djinn. The doors slid open, and Zelirana stepped in, wearing a beautiful blue dress with silver accents. Evelyn turned back to the Doll and explained, “Personally, I have no issues with an AI with a soul. As long as you don’t betray me, I’m not going to worry about it. My preference is to free the Doll in question, giving them a maintenance unit and enough funds that they can choose their own path. I very likely will offer employment as well, but I’m not going to force you into something like that. Assuming you have a soul, that is.”

“Understood,” Adria replied, inclining her head slightly.

“Based on what I just heard, I’m guessing that you’re wanting me to check to see if she has a soul?” Zelirana asked, arching an eyebrow curiously. “I believe I mentioned a couple of Dolls had the hints of developing souls, but Adria wasn’t among them at the time.”

“That’s correct,” Evelyn said, letting out a faint sigh. “I might be able to figure it out… I’m capable of trapping someone in a soul-gem, but I’m not practiced with detecting souls. Succubi, on the other hand, can eat them.”

“Quite. Souls are rather scrumptious. Not very filling, but that’s what sex is for,” the succubus said, stepping up to Adria as she looked her over carefully. “Don’t resist, hm? This should only take a few moments.”

The Doll inclined her head, standing at attention. Zelirana reached up and cupped Adria’s chin in both hands, inhaling slowly, then let her breath out again. Then she smiled and let go of the Doll’s face.

“Yes, she has a soul, but it isn’t stable. Think of it as more of a… soul seed at the moment,” Zelirana explained, taking a step back. “I don’t think most things that detect souls would be able to find it right now, and I almost snuffed it out just checking for it. I’m not sure how long it will take her to develop a full soul, but likely a few weeks. Or days, or months… souls are strange in that way.”

“Hm. Well, then. It seems that you’re going to need to make a decision once you’re fully self-aware, Adria,” Evelyn said, reaching up to rub her forehead as she thought, then continued. “In any case… to answer your earlier question, if they could stealth that ship, at its size, they could have brought a battleship into close range, or a few battlecruisers. If they did, we wouldn’t have a chance. I don’t see any reason for them to betray us in this way, so I’m not worried about it.”

“And if all else fails, I’ll just wish for something nasty to happen to them,” Fya said, smiling broadly.

“As you say. Thank you for the explanations. I will consider what it is that I wish to do,” Adria said, a contemplative look returning to her face. It looked really odd, considering how calm she was most of the time.

It also reminded Evelyn of Vania, and her unknown fate. She hoped this wasn’t a trap, and that she’d get the information she needed. She’d just have to wait and see. After she took a nap.

Chapter 64

The spot where the ship emerged from astral shouldn’t have had anything present aside from the red dwarf star. No inhabitable systems were anywhere nearby, and Evelyn’s surveys didn’t show anything of note. And, if she were being honest, it didn’t have anything permanent that she would normally care about. Which wasn’t to say that there wasn’t anything noticeable.

“Crap,” Evelyn murmured, staring.

“I agree,” Star said, her voice faint. “I… that’s a space station, isn’t it? I hope?”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Fya said, floating cross-legged in mid-air as she stared at the screen, then glanced at Evelyn, grinning broadly. “I want one.”

“Of course you do,” Evelyn said, shaking her head in disbelief.

Orbiting the red dwarf star was a modest debris belt, one which Evelyn supposed must have some valuable minerals in it, since they could detect several mining shuttles moving through it. The base that they operated out of was what had everyone’s attention, though.

The structure was two kilometers across and one kilometer tall, at least at its tallest point. There was a horizontal crescent structure that was about half a kilometer thick at its largest point, the tips of the crescent coming within ten meters of each other in front of it, leaving the middle open and a pair of towers tapered to points five hundred meters above and below its centerline. The entire structure was armored in black metal with silver trim, and like the ship that guided them, there was no sign of propulsion or weapon systems. Evelyn sincerely doubted a station like that was unarmed, though. Assuming it was a structure, and not a ship.

“So, um… this is where we were going, right?” Moon asked nervously. “What now?”

“We keep following our guide and don’t do anything hostile,” Evelyn replied, eyeing the structure warily. “I’d rather not be reduced to space dust.”

“That does appear to be contraindicated,” Adria said. After a moment’s pause, she added, “The station is scanning us. We have received a comm request.”

“Put it onscreen,” Evelyn said, rotating her left hand nervously. Maybe she shouldn’t be nervous, but she couldn’t help it. This entire situation made her antsy, especially with her current limitations.

The screen sprang to life, showing a dark elven woman was sitting in a chair. She wore a dark purple shipsuit and had silver hair streaked with black, as well as artificial eyes that looked like chrome orbs. When she spoke, her voice was warm and pleasant.

“Djinn’s Gift, welcome to Starlight Tapestry. Be aware that powering up weapons or utilizing active sensors will be deemed a hostile act. You are permitted to approach no closer than one thousand kilometers,” the dark elf said, tilting her head slightly. “Only Captain Evelyn Esendria Tarth and a pilot will be allowed aboard, and the pilot must remain aboard their shuttle. If you do not agree to these terms, you are invited to leave or be reduced to your constituent atoms.”

“I understand. Will this visit be subject to the rules of hospitality?” Evelyn asked, her pulse quickening at the confidence in the dark elf’s voice. She seemed to have no doubts about her ability to destroy them. At all.

“It will,” the dark elf agreed pleasantly. Evelyn relaxed marginally, though she knew that the woman might be lying. Evelyn doubted it, though they could be trying to capture her.

“Excellent. Thank you for the confirmation,” Evelyn said, ending the call the next moment. Fya had a slightly murderous expression on her face, and opened her mouth to speak, only for Evelyn to cut her off. “No, you don’t get to be the pilot. Not this time, not under these circumstances.”

“Why not? They’re trying to separate you from us!” the djinn exclaimed, visibly bristling as she let herself land on the floor again.

“Because I don’t want someone piloting a shuttle who’s quite as temperamental as you are,” Evelyn replied dryly. “That’s why I’m going to take one of the Dolls.”

“Ah…” Star began, but let her voice trail off as Evelyn raised a finger, looking at her.

“No. I’m not going to take opinions or discussions about this. The only reason to go to this extent would be if they’re trying to capture me, but you’ll note that they didn’t say I couldn’t be armed. That isn’t enough to ensure my safety, but with rules of hospitality in effect I doubt that’s the case. I want Fya here in case she needs to wish your way out of here,” Evelyn said, looking around the room as she considered, then stated soberly. “I’ll be clear, in my condition I’m not sure I could survive another ambush like the one before. That being the case, I won’t try to survive if I can’t escape via teleportation. I’ll attempt to make sure I die quickly enough that Fya can bring me back. It isn’t what I want to do, but it’s the contingency I’m comfortable with this time.”

The bridge was silent, as everyone stared at Evelyn in horror. Fya’s angry huff was the only sound that broke the silence.

“If you do, I’m going to stick you in the frilliest, most eye-searing dress I can find,” Fya warned. “Something that’ll give you nightmares for decades.”

“If it comes to that, I’ll let you,” Evelyn agreed, her lips curving into a slight smile. “With any luck at all, that won’t be the case.”

At least the objections which came afterward were half-hearted at best. Evelyn was glad that her crew knew when they couldn’t win an argument.

* * *

“Such a fascinating specimen,” Yrisiel murmured, her eyes half-closed as she tasted the magic emanating from both Djinn’s Gift and the shuttle that had just left it. “Just as powerful as rumored, but the flavor of her magic… mm, intriguing.”

She rolled the flavor over in her mind, enjoying the subtle currents she could sense. The djinn was expected, as were the angel and succubus. The human wizard with temporal magic swirling around her was more interesting than Yrisiel had anticipated, and she made a note in her systems to increase surveillance of the woman. She was obviously going to be more important than her subordinates had thought. Nothing regarding the starship itself was of particular note, as its enchantments were what she expected. It was Evelyn herself that had Yrisiel’s attention.

Even injured, Evelyn’s magic blazed brightly to those who could sense it. It was a volcano, a hurricane, a thunderstorm, or even a star itself, all contained within a fragile mortal body. Yrisiel knew others with power equal to Evelyn’s, and even some which exceeded her… but no other as young as Evelyn was. Even the humans she’d known had been older than Evelyn when they achieved such heights. That’s where the flavor of her magic came into consideration. It didn’t have the flavor of a common mortal. It was… aged. Possibly ancient would be the better term.

“Mm…” Yrisiel inhaled slowly, luxuriating in the powerful sensations, then fully opened her eyes, smiling as she waited for Evelyn to reach her.

“This will be fascinating,” Yrisiel said, smiling broadly, excitement flowing through her for the first time in far too long.

* * *

Evelyn stepped out of the shuttle and paused, looking around the landing bay in wary curiosity.

The bay wasn’t as large as she would have expected on a station the size of Starlight Tapestry, though she’d seen some larger bays that looked like they were for the mining ships on her way in. Like the exterior, there was a faintly… organic feel to the landing bay, which irritated Evelyn slightly since the lines of the bay didn’t feel organic. It looked like most docking bays, if the bays had two combat mechs standing in the corners with wide-dispersal plasma cannons at the ready. That would be most unpleasant if they attacked. The mechs were sleek machines of a design Evelyn didn’t immediately recognize. They also stood fifteen meters tall and were painted in black and metallic purple.

Standing at attention just a few meters away from the shuttle, her arms folded behind her back, was a dark elven woman. She had short white hair, and her uniform was relatively simple and professional, complete with a micro-computer on her wrist, and she was looking at Evelyn nervously, her dark blue eyes almost blending in with her dark skin tone. Evelyn was mostly surprised that she was unarmed.

“Did you lose when it came to drawing straws, then?” Evelyn asked, walking down the ramp to meet the woman. She felt better in her armor, even if she’d been recently reminded that it wasn’t perfect. The right devices could shut it down. At least MEMPs weren’t easy to make and were rather short ranged beyond that.

“No, ma’am. As it happens, I won,” the dark elf said, her voice startlingly normal, considering their surroundings. “When we learned that you were coming to meet with the Lady, there was a good deal of competition between us on who would be allowed to guide you. The Lady stepped in before it could escalate too much, and I won the die roll.”

“You knew I was coming?” Evelyn asked, her eyebrows rising a little. Less at the idea that the dark elf had been prepared to hurt other people to meet her, and more because they’d known she was coming. She had to wonder if they’d sent a message ahead via magic.

“Yes,” the woman said, smiling slightly. “However, I cannot answer most of your questions. The Lady rarely offers personal audiences and would murder me if I attempted to explain. Additionally, the workings here are confidential for the most part.”

“I’m not surprised, with the warning about active sensors,” Evelyn said, glancing around again, then asked. “How will we be reaching her?”

“A transport pod will be here shortly,” the dark elf said, inclining her head slightly. “I will be accompanying you to the doors of the audience chamber. After your recent experiences, it was explained that it might put you slightly more at ease than if you were alone.”

“Mm… a fair point. You aren’t a Doll, are you? I suppose a sufficiently advanced program could mimic someone properly…” Evelyn said, eyeing the dark elf warily.

The woman smiled impishly in return as she shook her head. “No, of course not. If you’d like to offer your survival knife, I’d even prove it to you. I also know—”

She shut up abruptly, scowling as she shook her head. “No, that isn’t public knowledge yet. My apologies, I’m not used to meeting with outsiders.”

Evelyn eyed her for a moment more, not quite trusting the woman, but there was something… she didn’t feel like a Doll in any way, not with that side comment. If she was one, she almost certainly was a souled Doll, and those wouldn’t generally sacrifice themselves in an attack. Though Evelyn supposed that it was possible to transfer a soul to another body if they wanted to. She wasn’t that conversant with the mechanics of an AI developing a soul. She’d have to fix that, considering the situation with Adria.

The doors to the bay slid open while she was thinking, allowing a vehicle to enter. It was hovering just a few centimeters above the ground, and looked a lot like an aircar, though with smoother lines and pitch-black windows. It floated toward them almost soundlessly, moving quickly enough that the air flowing around it heralded its arrival.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Evelyn said at last, glancing back at the dark elf, then shrugged. “If this is a trap, it’s an unnecessarily complicated one. Is there anything I should expect?”

“Not particularly, no. You’re expected, and the Lady isn’t one for specific protocol,” the woman said, shrugging dismissively. “She isn’t the type to worry about that sort of thing.”

The vehicle had reached them at that point, and the doors whispered open. The owner of this place had a thing about everything being quiet, Evelyn suspected. The interior was much more warmly colored than the exterior, with cream for everything but the seats, which were red. They also might be leather, though Evelyn doubted that. Leather wasn’t common these days, especially in space. The vehicle didn’t have a spot to control it, just two sets of benches facing one another.

Her escort stepped into the vehicle and took a seat. Evelyn watched how much the seat sank under her curiously before following suit on the other side, gauging that the dark elf probably weighed about as much as a normal elf of her size. It was hard to tell for sure without testing the seat she was sitting on, which would be crass.

Once inside the doors lowered, and Evelyn noted that the windows were black on both sides, not allowing her to see the exterior. After a moment she asked. “Isn’t this taking security a bit far? Augmented eyes would see through the windows anyway.”

“In most cases you’d be correct, but the windows are made from a specific compound that’s then enchanted to block every known visual sense. For much the same reason, the transport pod doesn’t touch the ground, renders mana perception through it into neutral tones, dampens vibrations, warps gravitic waves, and so forth,” the dark elf said, shrugging. “As for being too much, I don’t claim to understand it. I would call it paranoia, but when you’ve seen evidence that the concerns are justified it’s no longer paranoia.”

“If you say so,” Evelyn replied, suspecting they were already in motion. If the vehicle was capable of blocking all those senses, she doubted that it would allow her to feel momentum either. After a few seconds she asked. “Are you a member of the Gloryheart clan? If you can tell me that.”

“I can, and I am. I’m apprenticing here as part of my training to join one of the intelligence divisions,” the woman replied, smiling impishly back at Evelyn, her eyes twinkling. “Did you know that several of the clan’s mercenary companies would love to hire you? A couple of them permanently, but mostly to have on call in cases of emergency, when they need heavy fire support.”

That was enough to thaw some of the concerns that Evelyn had been feeling, and she could feel her muscles relax slightly. She couldn’t help a smile as she shook her head.

“No, I hadn’t. I’m a little surprised… your clan isn’t known for hiring just anyone,” Evelyn told her, a hint of humor in her voice this time.

“You aren’t just anyone, though. You’re one of the most powerful individuals in this sector of known space, not simply the local cluster. Your recent… difficulties aside, you’re also not someone idly trifled with. You have an impressive track record with the various assassins who’ve come after you,” the woman said, staring at Evelyn intensely. “Beyond which, you’re the pupil of one of the clan’s most skilled sojourners of her generation, her only pupil. There’s some discussion about whether you count as part of the clan or not.”

“Hm. Interesting,” Evelyn murmured, though she wasn’t that surprised. Perhaps by how much of a debate there was, and that her teacher was rated that highly, but… well, things were different for Evelyn. She wasn’t that much younger than her teacher where elves were concerned. After a moment she chuckled, shrugging. “I have no idea what I’d want to do. Oh, I wouldn’t want to be a permanent mercenary, but if your clan contacts me about a job, I’ll listen. I’m not going to promise anything more than that.”

“I didn’t expect you to. I’m sure that a few people will be delighted to hear the news, though,” the dark elf said, grinning broadly. “How are you feeling, though? I heard you got injured pretty badly.”

“Mm, I’ll be fine. I certainly could be worse,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “You’ll understand if I don’t want to discuss it.”

“Certainly, I mean, I am essentially a spy,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “I just wondered, since what we heard was troubling. Like I said, you’re practically a member of the clan. At least as far as I’m concerned.”

Evelyn nodded, not sure what to say to that. And if she didn’t know what to say, nothing was the most appropriate response. Her escort took the hint and fell silent as well. She hadn’t offered her name, and Evelyn wasn’t going to ask. That wouldn’t be appropriate.

A minute later the vehicle’s doors opened, revealing that they were in a relatively small room, the open doors of the vehicle facing a pair of sliding doors. Etched into the doors were intricate runes lined with mythrite, forming a pleasing pattern on the doors, and they practically pulsed power to Evelyn’s senses. She nearly recoiled on seeing them, because she’d only seen enchantments of such potency a handful of times before, and never had they been on a pair of doors. Those doors were a statement to anyone who approached, and Evelyn wasn’t foolish enough to ignore such a statement.

“Here we are,” the dark elf said, not seeming to notice the effect the doors had on Evelyn. She got out of the vehicle, straightening her jacket a hair and taking a deep breath.

Evelyn followed her, examining the enchantments more closely, and after a moment she determined why her escort didn’t seem shocked. The runes had a secondary function beyond just warding the doors, they hid their magic from all those who didn’t have sufficient skill or power. They were a statement to a select few, if Evelyn wasn’t mistaken. That impressed her even more, because it indicated that she was going to meet with someone who was… different. Different than anyone Evelyn had ever met before. Unless the wards weren’t laid by the occupant, but Evelyn doubted that. Anyone making such a statement would be crushed if they couldn’t back up the implied threat.

“It appears that we are,” Evelyn said, her eyes narrowed as she looked at the door, then her guide. “In that case, do I just approach?”

“Yes. Good luck, and I hope that your negotiations are fruitful,” the woman said, then her expression turned thoughtful. “Though I have no idea what was so important that she brought you here. I’ve only heard of such once, and that was before I came here.”

“Hm. Good to know,” Evelyn said, inclining her head as that statement swirled through her mind. “Thank you for your time.”

“Thank you,” the woman said, smiling broadly in return. What she was thanking Evelyn for, she had no idea.

Instead, Evelyn approached the doors. She was barely surprised when their magic washed over her for a moment, then they parted before her. Also unsurprising was the barrier of darkness blocking vision on the other side, since the resident seemed to be the type who liked theatrics. She walked into the darkness, which ended almost as quickly as it began, and she saw the room.

Evelyn wasn’t wrong.

Chapter 65

Blazing miniature suns orbited above Evelyn’s head, forming an intricate, slowly moving trinary system as they illuminated the chamber. They even had tiny planets and asteroid belts orbiting them, if Evelyn wasn’t mistaken. The magic it had taken to craft such an array was beyond Evelyn’s ability, even if she was skilled enough to recognize that it was no illusion or hologram, those were true objects. Though the stars would not be much hotter than a campfire to the touch, as otherwise there would be no air in the chamber.

A chamber which wasn’t much different than a throne room, with arching silver buttresses that reached a peak far above Evelyn’s head. The walls were crafted of the same black metal she’d seen everywhere else, and into them were carved more intricate runes, these inlaid with gold and mythrite, creating enchantments that would likely survive the most powerful attack Evelyn could throw. It would take her at least three attempts to breach those walls, even if she was uninjured.

It was the gold and ruby throne that drew her attention, though. A deceptively simple throne with a ruby at the highest point, which was occupied by a dark elf whose very presence made the hair on Evelyn’s neck rise.

The dark elf had cool blue eyes and her lips were painted a deep green with a single blue stripe across them vertically. She was athletic and shapely, but not in the manner of someone who’d been sculpted. Her face was pretty, not beautiful. This was someone who wore her natural appearance with pride. Much as she wore a shimmering sheath of mithral across her body like a bodysuit. When she moved, the metal flexed and flowed, not covering her hands, which allowed Evelyn to see that she had rings and bracelets, each with power of their own… but none of which came even close to the dark elf’s own magic.

The magic Evelyn sensed was suffocating, more powerful than even her own. Evelyn had no problem admitting that fact, since she’d always known that there were others who were more powerful than her in the galaxy. The difference was that she’d never met one of them before, not one that gave her a distinct sense of danger. This was a peer.

“Oh, excellent… most excellent! You’re actually dangerous!” the dark elf said, rising to her feet smoothly as she grinned at Evelyn. “I thought you might be when I called you here, but there’s no way I could know until I met you myself. My instincts don’t lie about such things.”

Evelyn’s eyebrows rose at the woman’s reaction, but before she could do anything, the woman extended a hand, and a staff erupted from nothing, what looked like crackling fire and lightning pulsing into a length of mithral and mythrite, a single massive, pointed sapphire at its peak that pulsed with hair-raising power. The woman spun it, weaving magic through the air, then slammed the butt down on the floor, creating a peal like thunder that echoed through the chamber.

“Do you wish to do battle, Evelyn Esendria Tarth? Do you wish to face me in combat, to feel our pulses race as we battle to see which of us is the better? To face one who is a true challenge in combat and see which of us triumphs?” the dark elf asked, her excitement palpable as she stared at Evelyn. But then her eyes dimmed. “No, no… but that is not why I invited you here. As much as the prospect thrills me, you have other priorities. My passion must wait.”

Relief washed over Evelyn, since she did not need a fight right now. Not with someone who might actually be able to beat her at the height of her power… and she wasn’t at full strength. She wasn’t even close to that.

“I’m glad to hear that. I’m not in the best of condition, as I imagine you know,” Evelyn replied, letting out a breath as the woman released her staff and it faded into the air again. Evelyn wasn’t sure, but since she didn’t sense planar or storage magic, she thought that it might be dissolving into a nanite cloud. Which, to be frank, was utterly ridiculous. She looked at the terrifying woman for a moment more before she continued. “I knew that you were important. I did not realize that you possessed such power.”

“If you had realized, I would have needed to reassess my security arrangements. I take pains not to reveal my power beyond a select few,” the woman said, taking a seat again, her poise returning as she examined Evelyn, then let out a faint sigh of disappointment. “It’s so hard to find a good challenge to push you past a bottleneck when you reach our heights of power, Evelyn. Fighting you very well might grant me an epiphany, a way to reach a new stage of understanding. But you are right, you are injured. As it stands, you might manage to harm me, but with your magic in that state there is little doubt of the outcome. Perhaps another time.”

“Perhaps so,” Evelyn agreed, still a little unnerved. It took a lot to discomfit her, but she had to admit that her recent experience made her wary of someone like this.

For a few seconds the room was quiet, with each of them weighing one another. Then the woman on the throne let out a faint sigh.

“I am Yrisiel Gloryheart. First cousin of the current patriarch of the Gloryheart clan. He’s tried to foist off the position on me several times, but I don’t want anything to do with that venomous pit of vipers. I wish to master my magic, learn the secrets my business provides me, and perfect my very self,” the woman said calmly. “You are Evelyn Esendria Tarth. An elf of common upbringing who possesses power that is anything but common. I have sensed the magic of countless mortals and immortals, and never have I encountered someone with magic quite like your own. I do not know what your long-term goals are, nor do I particularly care. Those goals are for you to know. I do know that you are seeking Empress Vania Peldra, though her empire has now fallen. Am I wrong?”

“You are not. Though I don’t like that anyone knows quite that much about me,” Evelyn said, grimacing slightly. She nodded after a moment. “You have a correct read of the situation, yes. My question is… can you provide the information I’m looking for?”

“Yes,” Yrisiel replied instantly, not a hint of doubt in her voice. “I am ninety-three percent certain that the individual I suspect is the one behind Vania’s abduction and your ambush. In the case that I’m not correct, I am willing to continue providing information to you until you find the culprit. Assuming you meet my price.”

Evelyn felt a surge of both relief and worry. That response had been far too fast, and if the woman was willing to make a promise like that, it meant that any price she charged would be impressive.

“And that price is what?” Evelyn asked, watching the dark elf warily. “You said it wouldn’t be as simple as mythrite.”

“Mm… as a matter of fact, most people would consider the price to be a minor one. I’m curious how you’ll look at it,” Yrisiel said, leaning forward as she examined Evelyn, in a way that heightened her worry. “My price… is your firstborn child.”

“My what?” Evelyn blurted, only to flush after an instant, though it didn’t quell her disbelief or anger. “Are you half-fey or something?”

Yrisiel laughed, grinning widely as she murmured. “Oh, that reaction was entirely worth it. Though I’m not joking, Evelyn. I want your firstborn child, though not in the way that you’re thinking of it.”

“And how should I take it?” Evelyn asked, her anger finally overcoming her wariness of the dark elf. A request like that was enough to stoke her temper to a white-hot heat.

“Think about it. Do you think that I would have children with just anyone?” Yrisiel asked, looking at Evelyn skeptically. “There are generally only two or three people on our level in a cluster, Evelyn. Of those who possess our degree of strength, most of them have gotten there with a significant amount of artificial augmentation, are immortals, or are dragons. Or undead, I suppose. The number of individuals of elven heritage that I’d respect enough to wish to have sire a child are vanishingly few. That is why I made the request which I did. I have everything I need to ensure success, all it would require is your agreement… and a night of your time.”

“I… but…” Evelyn sputtered, disbelief coursing through her, and she could feel her cheeks burning. After a moment she protested. “How do you know that I haven’t had a child before?”

Yrisiel gave Evelyn a skeptical look, then waved around her. “Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn… do you think I didn’t do my research? I not only have copies of every medical record you’ve left behind that wasn’t atomized, but I also know the names of every single one of your lovers over the years. Mm, prior to you taking possession of Daggerhound, at least. I’m not certain about the women that you rescued. You may have slept with all of them at this point, though I doubt you’ve done so with the dryad. I’d detect the pollen, and it would be quite out of character for you.”

Evelyn just stared at the dark elf for a few seconds, disbelief washing over her. She couldn’t even come up with a proper response to the statement, not through her mortification, shock, and a bit of anger. Yrisiel smiled.

“What is your decision?”

Chapter 66

“But why?” Fya demanded angrily, prompting Evelyn to sigh.

“It’s part of the price. And no, I don’t want to talk about it,” Evelyn said firmly, staring at the blank comm panel in exasperation, thankful that it didn’t have the video mode active. “I’ll be back in the morning, then we can figure out where to go from there.”

“I don’t like it. You sure you aren’t getting brainwashed? Because I’ve never seen you be this flustered. I’m not sure you’re you,” Fya replied suspiciously, prompting Evelyn to bang her head against the wall. Once.

“If I’m not me, I’ll have lost our bet, remember? And there are very few things that can fill me with quite that much dread,” Evelyn replied dryly. “I’m fine. Not happy, but fine. And I’m going to get the identity of whoever set up the ambush that nearly killed me. Shouldn’t that make you happy?”

“…Are you going to let me give them an appropriately brutal death?” Fya asked, her voice suddenly cautiously hopeful.

“It’ll depend on the circumstances,” Evelyn replied, not willing to make any promises. It wouldn’t do to promise something to the djinn she couldn’t allow. That would end poorly. “But with how I feel right now, probably.”

“Fine. I’m still not happy, but I’ll tell the others. You’d better get back here safely, you hear me?” Fya said, sounding much more energized again. “I’m going to go perform maintenance on my weapons. I’m sure I’ve got a neural burner around somewhere…”

“You do that,” Evelyn said, then killed the channel. Only when she was sure it was disconnected did she let out a sigh of relief.

“She really does care about you, doesn’t she? Not many djinni form bonds like the one between the two of you,” Yrisiel said, smiling as she sat at the nearby table, sipping from a glass of wine.

Evelyn glowered at her. The dark elf was easy on the eyes, yes, but she didn’t like how she’d maneuvered Evelyn. Even if Evelyn wasn’t that uncomfortable with the idea of letting someone else have a child with her genetics, there was something about it that felt… weird. But the thrill of being with a near-equal was impossible to properly describe. It was something Evelyn had never really felt before.

“She does. Fya told me that while there are others who’ve freed djinni from captivity, none that she’s heard of were as decisive as I was, freeing the djinn without asking lots of questions, and even fewer did it with their first wish,” Evelyn said, moving away from the comm console as she looked around the room… which was significantly less themed than the areas Evelyn had passed through so far, nor as impressive as the throne room.

This room was obviously intended as a meeting room, with a holographic projector in the middle of the table, comfortable chairs, a cabinet nearby which contained snacks, a small fridge with chilled drinks and frozen meals, a hot drink brewer and dispenser, and a thermal induction unit for heating food. It amused Evelyn for some reason, and she’d taken the opportunity to make herself a mug of hot chocolate. That helped her relax, if only slightly.

“True. I know that I have a few wishes I wouldn’t mind having granted… but the consequences of wishes are far too dramatic for me to consider such. I could easily summon a djinn if I were so foolish,” Yrisiel murmured, her gaze distant, then she shook her head. “No matter. It isn’t something which I will do, so it obviously doesn’t matter.”

“Agreed,” Evelyn said, easing into the chair opposite Yrisiel, studying the dark elf for a few seconds, then asked. “What type of caster are you? I can tell that you’re powerful, anyone could tell that much, but I’m not sure what kind.”

“Techno-mage,” Yrisiel replied, giving Evelyn a lazy smile. “Tier nine enchanted mental implants, plus defenses specifically designed to deflect a spellburn bomb. I wouldn’t have made it out of the fortress if I’d been hit by the same things you had, though. That MEMP would have made things… unpleasant. My defenses likely would have left me in better shape, but I wouldn’t have ended up there to begin with. I use nanites and magic in tandem to get the effects I want. It’s part of how I became an information broker… people don’t usually expect the sorts of stunts I can manage.”

Evelyn winced, suddenly embarrassed at her own implants. They were powerful, but they weren’t anywhere near tier nine. She couldn’t imagine how much something like what Yrisiel had could do. The advantages of having an expansive network of contacts, she supposed.

“I can tell that I have a lot to work on. You’re the first person I’ve met who I’ve felt this much pressure from. The closest was Captain Eight-Fist,” Evelyn admitted.

Yrisiel waved off the complaint, laughing softly. “You’ll get there eventually, Evelyn. You’re young, much younger than I am. I don’t know how much potential you truly have, but once you have a couple of centuries behind you, you’ll either have impressive resources available to you, or you’ll be dead. As for the Pirate King, you likely were underestimating him. Yes, he’s not quite as powerful as you on a personal level, but don’t underestimate his personal team. I’d be wary of facing him in battle… but he’s an occasional client, so I doubt that will happen.”

“Should you really be telling me that? It doesn’t have anything to do with our agreement,” Evelyn asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Why? If you asked him, he’d tell you. He sends clients my way from time to time as well,” Yrisiel said, but the next moment her smile faded. “Still, perhaps it is time to get down to business. As I told you, I am ninety-three percent certain I know who is behind the abduction of Vania. I don’t have absolute confirmation, but it would fit her usual habits and several of the groups involved are ones I’ve linked to her before.”

“Interesting… so who is she?” Evelyn asked, her eyes narrowing as rage began to bubble up inside her. Though her rage faltered at the dark elf’s reaction.

“Oh, that is sexy,” Yrisiel said, smiling slowly. “That pure anger and fury… the signs that you’d tear her apart with your bare hands if you could… mm. Are you certain we can’t go to bed now?”

“No,” Evelyn said, but she couldn’t help her blush.

“Mm, it was worth a try,” the dark elf murmured, sipping at her wine, then nodded to the holographic projector.

The projector sprang to life, revealing a woman that Evelyn had never seen before. She probably was of middling height, though it was hard to tell without anything to compare her to and had an attractive body beneath an exquisitely tailored suit, one that was primarily white and gold. The woman had pale skin, glowing gold eyes, and silver-blue hair, which would have made Evelyn think she was celestine, but the fine-boned cheeks and pointed ears indicated otherwise. The woman had a pleasant but superior smile on her face, one which Evelyn had seen on the faces of far too many nobles and other people who were in positions of power.

“Mariel Issek, CEO, founder, and owner of Issek Industries. I’m certain you’ve heard of them, since they dominate trade in the next cluster, and is slowly making inroads into the core worlds,” Yrisiel said, swirling her wine in her glass absently. “She’s half elven, half celestine. Daughter of a celestine noblewoman from Celestial Gate and an elven merchant, she lost her parents when Celestial Gate’s agents caught up with them. She wasn’t there, but her father was executed, and her mother sent to a monastery for her crime of breeding with other species, then executed when she tried to escape.”

“Hm. I’ve heard of Issek Industries, yes,” Evelyn said, examining the image carefully, a note of caution washing over her. “They’re rather powerful, if I remember right. Why would she be involved in something like this? It could destroy her reputation, which would be bad for the company.”

“You’d be right, but she started acting like this almost a century ago. In fact, I believe that the primary reason she founded Issek Industries was to have the power to avenge her parents,” Yrisiel said, looking at the image contemplatively. “She wasn’t as careful in her earlier dealings, so I have more data regarding them. Just over a century ago, she hired pirates to raid Celestial Gate, and they abducted both the high priestess and prophetess of their church. As they were a theocracy, that was a devastating blow to their prestige. She didn’t stop there, though. She waged a quiet trade war while funding raiders, until their government essentially collapsed, then took over the system. In every way that matters, she owns Celestial Gate outright.

“Of course, that’s not the only indication of what’s happened. Several female CEOs, politicians, and nobles that opposed Issek Industries vanished without a trace as well after that point. I’d think that she eliminated them completely, but I’ve noticed that items intended for implants, biosculpting, and the like have vanished from company stocks over the years. Beyond that, Mariel is known to take cruises in her private yacht that last a month or more,” Yrisiel continued, her eyes narrowing. “She’s grown a little warier as her power has increased, though… and her actions have grown more eccentric. Such as her purchase of forty Dolls and ten slaves that were to be delivered to a trusted courier by the Daggerhound.”

“What?” Evelyn demanded, sitting up straight in shock. “Why would she be behind that? Ilyra’s the only noble, but she’s not even that important!”

“Mm, I’m not certain about the majority of the women, but they wouldn’t be the first ones. I’ve tracked a few previous groups that she’s acquired, and they vanish for several months, then some of them appear in one brothel or another, usually mentally shattered and having undergone significant sculpting. I’ve found at least five groups over the past decade, and there might have been more,” Yrisiel said, frowning slightly more. “I don’t like what I’ve found in the slightest… I believe she simply hates celestine governments and has developed particularly sadistic tastes. Regardless, on to Vania.”

“Yes… though I can guess why she’s involved now,” Evelyn said, her eyes flashing as anger rushed through her. “I’m Issek’s target, aren’t I?”

“That seems likely, yes. Your willingness to assist Vania despite being killed by her isn’t widely known, but it isn’t unknown either. You interfered in Mariel’s business, so I suspect she was adding Vania to her acquisitions while also attempting to take you,” Yrisiel confirmed, a lazy smile crossing her lips as she looked at Evelyn closely. “I can’t say as I entirely blame her for that part. However, this time she covered her tracks well. If I hadn’t known her previous actions, I wouldn’t have seen the movements she’d made to arrange things. Even with that knowledge, I barely caught any of her agents acting. That’s why I can’t guarantee she’s responsible.”

“Which means you don’t have a location for Vania?” Evelyn asked, glaring at the dark elf.

“I didn’t say that. I have a likely location… but much like the situation with the pirate fortress, can you risk simply blasting your way inside?” Yrisiel asked, arching an eyebrow. “You want to save Vania, don’t you?”

“I… yes, I want to rescue her,” Evelyn admitted at last, growling under her breath. “So, what do you suggest?”

“Simple. Only one person can tell you where she is for certain, and you have a powerful succubus on your crew, a species known for their ability to mentally manipulate others,” Yrisiel said, shrugging lazily. “When Mariel decides to go off in her yacht, capture her and get what you need. I’ll give coordinates for where I think Vania is, but it’ll be up to you to learn if she’s actually there.”

Evelyn just stared at the hologram for a minute more before letting out a breath of annoyance, sitting back in her chair. She hated the idea of leaving Vania wherever she was for any longer than she had to, but the experience with the spellburn bomb meant that she couldn’t go kicking in the doors for a little while at the very least.

“Fine,” Evelyn groused, glancing at the dark elf as she continued. “I hope you know what you’re talking about.”

“Why Evelyn… can’t you tell that I’m doing this for my own benefit?” Yrisiel said, laying a hand on her chest. “Getting you good information gets me what I want. I’m going to do what it takes to get that, and if it means bringing down an interstellar corporation in the process, that’s a minor price to pay. You’ll find your former empress one way or another. She’s certainly not dead, that much I know for certain.”

Evelyn inhaled slowly, then let her breath out again. After a few seconds she nodded, grudgingly accepting the woman’s words. Someone as powerful as Yrisiel really didn’t have any need to deceive her at this point.

“Alright,” Evelyn said, pausing for a couple of seconds as she hesitated, then asked. “About the price… what if I want to be involved in the child’s life? Not that I’m sure if I’d want to be, this is sort of like a… a donation, but…”

Yrisiel smiled and stood up, slowly and languidly. Instead of answering immediately, she circled the table, setting down the wine glass as she did so. A few seconds later she was over Evelyn, and she leaned down, cupping Evelyn’s chin in the palms of her hands, running her thumbs over Evelyn’s cheekbones before she leaned in to kiss her.

Her lips were soft and warm, and she kissed Evelyn expertly. Evelyn’s eyes half-closed as the woman’s tongue flicked against her own, tasting wine and cherries. It felt… surprisingly good, especially when the dark elf shifted her left hand to stroke Evelyn’s ear, sending a shiver down her spine, even as heat grew inside her.

When the kiss broke, Evelyn looked at Yrisiel in surprise, even though she wasn’t sure why she was surprised.

“That could be arranged,” Yrisiel said, smiling widely as she pulled away, offering Evelyn a hand. “Come along, hm? And try not to break me. I’m significantly more fragile than you are, even with your injuries.”

Evelyn couldn’t help a laugh, since she somehow doubted that. Still, she was surprised to find she was looking forward to what was coming next.

So, she took Yrisiel’s hand.

Chapter 67

“I performed a scrying with the help of Yrisiel, and the area where the station should be is a blank spot. That indicates that something which can block the scrying of both of us is present there, and if Vania is present she’d be included in that,” Evelyn told the others, nodding to the holographic map where an icon was blinking. “I suspect that she’s right, that it’ll be safer to attempt to capture Mariel Issek to get in.”

“I don’t like the idea of attacking someone we aren’t certain is responsible for her abduction, but I believe that her history is a… mitigating factor,” Vaneryth said, frowning slightly as she looked at the map.

“I’m more concerned about where this station even came from. Those don’t tend to just pop up out of nowhere,” Star said, standing up as she frowned. “Plus, that’s the Omar cluster, it’s been inhabited for a while. I’d think people would notice a station being built, even in the middle of nowhere.”

“I had a similar question, but it’s a lot simpler than I expected. Issek took over several mining corporations during one of their expansions, and several of their mining stations were closed over the years due to diminishing returns,” Evelyn explained, nodding to the glowing icon as she continued. “This is one of the ones that was decommissioned, at least officially. I suspect it was simply renovated, but there’s no way to know without going in-system, which would give away that we know about it.”

“Um… how would we even find this Mariel, then?” Rasien asked, a hint of anxiety in her voice as she tried to avoid looking at Evelyn. “It’s a big area, even assuming that she would take a direct route to the station, which I doubt.”

“Information from Yrisiel. Part of the reason she has such a huge ship is that it has multiple FTL links aboard, which link to ships she uses as hubs,” Evelyn said, and smirked at the stunned looks she got in return. She’d felt about the same as them when Yrisiel had told her about the links. She was also feeling surprisingly relaxed, though Evelyn wasn’t sure how she felt about the results of the previous night. At least she shouldn’t have to worry about it for a couple of years. Elven pregnancies were far too long.

“Well. That would change things,” Rasien said, swallowing and staring at the map some more.

“It does. And if she was after Milady… I’m going to do something nasty to her. Something really, really nasty. I just have to think of something appropriate…” Fya muttered, glaring at the map balefully. Evelyn was a tiny bit surprised, if she were being honest.

“I’m surprised you’re focusing on her now, and less on Vania,” Evelyn observed, examining the djinn warily.

“Hm? Oh, of course. Personally, I think the idea that Vania is being enslaved or tortured is wonderfully ironic justice for what she did. Depending on the details, it might even be enough to make up for killing you. Even if she’s freed, it means that she’s been punished, so I’m willing to wait and see how things turned out,” Fya replied, grinning widely, and Evelyn winced. Rasien gave Fya a hostile, and somewhat fearful, glare, Vaneryth winced, and Ilyra put a hand over her mouth, obviously shocked. The djinn continued to speak, blithely ignoring their reactions. “As for this Mariel, she hurt you, almost killed you, and wanted to take you away from me. I’m not going to let that pass. Something horrible has to happen to her, and I’m going to come up with it. If only I knew what her worst fears were…”

“Anyway, so… where are we going, exactly?” Moon asked, her face a little green.

“Nald, again. We’re going to take the wyrmgate to the Omar cluster, then get into a good position while we wait for Yrisiel to get us word of Mariel’s departure,” Evelyn said, flicking the map to show their approximate course. “In most cases I’d be concerned about her not visiting the station soon, but Yrisiel says she hasn’t visited it since Vania’s abduction, so she’ll doubtlessly be leaving in the near future.”

“Isn’t she going to be suspicious if we’re in her cluster?” Moon asked, frowning. “If she’s targeting you, I’d think she’d wonder why you came closer.”

“That’s definitely true, but it’s also why I discussed it with Yrisiel,” Evelyn agreed, showing the route into the Omar cluster more closely as she continued. “We’re going to Unira. It’s an aquana colony that specializes in medical technology and healing magic, exceeding anything in our cluster. Unfortunately, it isn’t the world Orm is from, but I suspect they won’t have any problems with us. I’m hoping that it makes Mariel think that I was injured more severely than I truly was. It also is in an ideal location to intercept her.”

“Mm, I approve,” Zelirana said at last, smiling coolly. “Perhaps we can even find something useful while there. I did some reading, and while the medical bay has good equipment, it could be better.”

“True,” Evelyn said, inhaling slowly as she thought about the cost of upgrades. She didn’t like that thought at all. After a few seconds she shrugged it off, focusing on the task at hand. “In any case, that’s the situation. Moving on to Mariel’s yacht, it’s the size of a light cruiser, and not quite as heavily armed or armored as our own. I’m surprised that it’s not better, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Considering my condition, I’ll be asking for volunteers to help in the boarding action.”

Before anyone could more than open their mouths, she continued. “Not right now. Think about it for at least two or three days, because we’re at least a week out, possibly more. This could be quite dangerous, and I don’t want anyone to risk themselves unnecessarily.”

For a few seconds the room was quiet, then Rasien stood, bowing her head marginally to Evelyn. That sent a surge of shock through Evelyn, but not as much as what came next.

“Thank you, Evelyn. I…” the knight paused, then continued reluctantly. “I have had some time to think and reflect on what has come before, and I have come to a realization. While I do not believe that I will ever fully forgive you for the conquest of Peldra, I have treated you more poorly than you deserve. You have done more than anyone else to try to help my empress in these times, even after the empire has fallen. So… I apologize for my prior actions.”

Looking back at the blonde for a moment, Evelyn then inclined her head, keeping her surprise out of her voice. “Apology accepted. I don’t blame you for your dislike, but I appreciate that you understand what I’m doing. Regardless, there is not much else to be done over the next week.”

“Of course. I’ll take my leave, I need to brief the others,” Rasien said, straightening again, then she left the room, her back ramrod straight. Evelyn thought that the woman really needed to relax a little.

For a few seconds the room was quiet, as everyone sat there, thinking. Even Evelyn was quiet, and she wondered if she should go to the observatory to relax and process the previous night herself. That was why she was a bit surprised when Ilyra spoke.

“Are you well, Evelyn?” the celestine asked, a hint of anxiety in her voice.

“Hm? Oh, I’m fine, considering my injuries,” Evelyn replied, blinking and waving the concern off. “Most of the discomfort is gone, unless I try to use magic. I’m avoiding that as much as possible, though.”

“A fair point, but I’ve been… curious. You seem to respect this Yrisiel far more than I anticipated,” Zelirana said, examining Evelyn closely as her lips curved into a smile. “I can also tell that you had an… enjoyable night.”

“Wait, what? Was that why you stayed aboard the ship overnight?” Fya demanded, her head whipping around to stare at Evelyn, then her expression turned hurt. “And you didn’t invite me?”

Evelyn managed to avoid blushing as everyone stared at her, but it was a near thing. On the other hand, she’d expected this to be brought up eventually, so she’d been preparing herself. Mostly, she was thankful that Rasien wasn’t present… which, thinking about it, must have been a deliberate decision on Zelirana’s part.

“My time with her was part of my payment for the information. Enjoyable, yes, but not how I would have preferred to pay someone for their assistance,” Evelyn said, keeping her voice calm and precise. “Yrisiel is… fascinating, in many ways. And a touch terrifying, perhaps even mad.”

Ilyra was blushing furiously, but she asked, hesitantly. “What… what was the rest of the deal, then?”

Evelyn considered for a moment, then shook her head, speaking firmly. “I don’t believe I wish to share that information. Should you wish to take it up with her, I suggest you keep in mind that she is as strong or stronger than I am at my best.”

The amusement on Zelirana’s face froze, then she blinked several times, staring at Evelyn. When she spoke, her voice was soft. “You… are not joking, are you?”

“Of course not. We took different paths, she’s a techno-mage with at least a century more experience than I have, but she’s built her power to around the same level as my own. It’s rather hard to judge without fighting her, though,” Evelyn said, her gaze growing slightly distant as she remembered the feeling of Yrisiel’s magic. It was like a dynamo, from Evelyn’s point of view, constantly churning and building on itself in endless cascades that could burst from her at any moment. She considered, then snorted, shaking her head. “Perhaps another time we will, just to see which of us is stronger. The prospect seemed to excite her.”

Fya’s smile had vanished, and she stared at Evelyn for a few seconds. Then the djinn inhaled slowly, shaking her head as she muttered. “And people call me insane.”

“I’m… are there really that many people like you out there?” Star asked, her eyes wide. “I mean, to run into someone like you at random like this…”

“Hardly at random,” Evelyn corrected, shaking her head. “We likely wouldn’t have been asked here if she hadn’t been specifically intending to meet with me. Apparently, she’s been keeping track of me for some time. As for those on the same power level as me…”

Evelyn pursed her lips, considering, then shrugged as she decided to use the same explanation as Yrisiel, approximately. It was accurate, so it should work.

“Generally speaking, there are two or three people like me in a cluster. Sometimes more, sometimes less. For instance, I’m confident that most of the Pirate Kings are close to or at my power level, and the insane senne who I beat was as well. She just lacked the combat experience to use it properly,” Evelyn explained slowly, looking around the table. “Many of those of significant power aren’t… I’d say mortal, but that isn’t the right term. Not humans, elves, celestine, or the like. Many of them are dragons, angels, demons, undead, or other nigh-immortal beings. Of course, when I say there are only two to three of them in a cluster, that doesn’t include any that may be sequestered or hidden away. You never know when you’re going to walk into an ancient temple and find out that there’s a lich or vampire of immense power that’s been hibernating there.”

“Okay, that’s a little better than I thought,” Star said, her face regaining some of its color. “I was wondering if I was just ignorant or something like that. If we’d somehow missed that there were tons of people as powerful as you all over… ugh.”

“It’d be a bit terrifying,” Moon agreed quietly, swallowing. Then their heads jerked upward as Evelyn laughed.

“To be perfectly fair, Yrisiel was the first person like that I’ve met, aside from Captain Eight-Fist, and he didn’t strike me as being a threat like she did. If he had his main strike team, I’d be concerned, but me against him on his own… no, I wouldn’t be worried,” Evelyn said, shaking her head and climbing to her feet. “Hopefully I’ll keep up that trend. I don’t want to run into someone like her who’s hostile. That would be… unpleasant.”

“Agreed. It’d be like running into an archangel,” Vaneryth murmured.

“Or a demon lord,” Zelirana agreed. “Not necessarily a powerful demon lord or archangel, though… some of them are weak enough that Evelyn could take on two or three at the same time.”

“I believe you are overestimating some archangels,” Vaneryth said, grimacing slightly. “I cannot think of more than a handful that could use the sort of nova magic she can. I believe she could render a planet uninhabitable if she wished to do so.”

“Possible… though I think it’d be harder than you think,” Evelyn said, frowning slightly. “Damaging the biosphere? Easy. Causing natural disasters? Not that hard. Screwing up the mana flow…? Harder, but doable. But a planet that’s inhabitable tends to be surprisingly resilient. Their natural mana tends to find a way to correct for damage. The main way to render a planet uninhabitable is to do something like shattering it, stripping off the atmosphere, or letting a necromancer kill everything… and even that isn’t necessarily enough. Vantamar got shattered by a senne armada, and the magic just sucked in gas from across the system and now it’s a gas giant with floating continents in its atmosphere and really screwy gravity.”

“Okay… that’s somewhere I want to go someday,” Willow said at last, grinning broadly. “I’ve heard they have incredible plants, and some neat magical engines.”

“We’ll discuss it,” Evelyn said, rolling her eyes as she gestured to the doors. “In the meantime, mind helping me tune the weapons and shield generators again? We’re going to need them when we ambush this Mariel person.”

“Sure!” Willow said enthusiastically, springing to her feet. “I’ve been wanting to see how you get their settings to that point!”

“Um, could I help, or do you think I should work on training more?” Star asked, and Evelyn glanced back at her, smiling.

“Whichever you’d prefer, of course,” Evelyn replied, and headed for the door, rubbing her left arm as she went.

She’d tweaked her arm slightly the previous night, and now it itched. She really hated how it felt to have her body recovering after significant injuries.

Chapter 68

“I have it, Evelyn.”

Cherys’s voice was quiet, but it drew Evelyn’s attention away from her energy blade. The weapon was fully dismantled in front of her, as she tried to figure out where a minor fault was. The MEMP hadn’t been good to the internals of her beloved blade, and she wanted to fix it. And strangle the person responsible with their own entrails, but that might just be because she’d spent a good eight hours of effort on it so far. Each time she fixed one issue, another seemed to crop up in its place.

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, pulling up her goggles so she wouldn’t suddenly be examining the human’s pores. That was always disconcerting.

Cherys had an uncommonly pleased expression on her face, a sheaf of papers in her hands, and Nadia was just behind her, practically bouncing in place as her eyes shone with enthusiasm. Evelyn considered for a moment, then decided that there was only one project which the woman was working on that would bring Cherys to her, unless she was intending to try an unusually destructive spell. She did find it amusing that the human had trouble working out research without paper to write on, though she was slowly transitioning to a tablet. A tablet that looked like a chalkboard and was on the wall.

“I’m guessing that it’s the self-improvement spell? The one using mana to augment the body?” Evelyn guessed before Cherys could speak further.

“That is correct. I’ve determined how the flow of mana works, and how another could follow in your footsteps,” Cherys confirmed, her lips curved in a smile of satisfaction. It waned after a moment as she continued. “However, I cannot determine how you are able to use it without even thinking about it. If one is attempting to use it, they would either need to actively concentrate on the spell or have an item which channels it for them. You do not use either, and close examination of your organs, mana channels, and bones does not show even natural mana diagrams that could control it. It is a mystery.”

“I wish I could answer you, but I can’t,” Evelyn said, smiling as she removed the goggles and set them aside, turning her chair to face the two. “So… run me through it, hm?”

“She’s amazing! It took her ages, but you should’ve seen her dance when she found it!” Nadia chimed in.

Cherys flushed beet red, looking at Nadia as she exclaimed. “Nadia! It didn’t take ages, it only took about four days! And what have I told you about talking about what I do in my workroom? It’s rude to share without permission.”

“It felt like forever!” Nadia retorted, and Evelyn’s smile only widened.

“We’ll discuss this later,” Cherys said, scowling at the girl, then offered Evelyn the papers she was carrying. “Here you are. It took some time to translate my notes into the current language, but I believe you should be able to understand it, with your grasp of… enhancement magic, I believe it is called.”

“It depends on the school and the researchers, but yes,” Evelyn replied absently, beginning to thumb through the papers. The writing was slightly stilted, the result of Cherys learning to write with a teaching chip, but it was quite readable, and Evelyn didn’t have too hard of a time deciphering the diagrams. However, most of it was obviously research, which wasn’t her strong suit. She’d probably work it out given time, but the question was, did she really need to? She had an expert on-hand, after all.

“Cherys… look, I’m sure that I can figure out what you mean with some time, and I will go over the results to puzzle them out, but it’s going to take me a while. Research isn’t something I’ve had a lot of experience with,” Evelyn said, nodding to the papers. “Why don’t you give me an overview of how this will work for someone else, so I know what to expect?”

“Of course,” Cherys said, seeming even more pleased than she had before. Maybe she was just looking for acknowledgement of her effort and skill, Evelyn thought. If so, she couldn’t blame her. Validation was something everyone needed from time to time.

“Our assumptions appear to have been correct, with a few flaws. The magic goes through the body and slowly causes the body parts to replace themselves with stronger ones fueled by the user’s magic, as we expected, and it bleeds off slowly as well, which means that the maximum enhancement is determined by the magic density the user possesses. It is a gradual process, but if the user doesn’t continue using their magic to improve themselves, their body will slowly revert,” Cherys explained, starting to pace, but stopped when she realized that Nadia was holding her skirt.

The mage stroked her daughter’s hair gently, continuing. “Unlike I initially believed, this is not something which is without cost. A rough estimate based on what I have observed with you indicates that improving the entire body at one time will consume approximately ten percent of the user’s mana, and that maintaining it would require half that amount. Due to the time it would take to have an effect, and the difficulty of the spell, I believe that the most effective way to use it would be to either make a magical tattoo on those who wish to use it, or to utilize an enchanted item that creates the spell for them. Personally, I would use the item, as it would be far easier to maintain or repair and is less likely to be damaged.”

“Seems reasonable to me,” Evelyn said, looking at the diagram at the end of the pages again, which was startlingly complex. She had no idea how she could be using something that complex without even thinking about it. “Any other disadvantages that you can see?”

“Only that most highly magical beings won’t be able to get much benefit out of this. Djinn, dragons, angels, and demons in specific, since they have come up recently,” Cherys said immediately, an uncomfortable look crossing her face as she added. “I sincerely doubt any constructs or undead would, either, since they aren’t alive in the same way as us. In any case, magical beings already have a great deal of mana tied up in their bodies, and as such this would be unable to improve them much.”

“Hm. Ryth will be disappointed,” Evelyn said, considering the diagram again, then looking at Nadia as she asked. “And what about those growing up? We already know that I was just fine, but if Nadia wanted to use this, would it be safe?”

“Please? Pretty please, I’ll be good?” Nadia immediately begged, turning her attention to her mother with a pleading expression. It was enough to melt someone’s heart, Evelyn thought. Though she’d be willing to say no if necessary.

“It should be safe, since it just improves what’s already there. I would want to run some tests,” Cherys said, inhaling slowly, then continued. “The issue is the materials. We have enough aboard to make two, perhaps three enchanted items to create the effect. However, I’m not certain if you are willing to allow anyone to use it. I will not ask you to share if you do not wish to.”

“Mm. As long as it’s confined to yourself, Nadia, Lyra, Moon, and Star, I have no issue with you utilizing the enchantment,” Evelyn said, musing, then her lips quirked as she added. “Though it won’t have much benefit for the twins until they’ve improved their magic significantly. I’m not sure how far they’ll get… I don’t know enough about human magi. Especially ones of their age.”

“I am not certain either,” Cherys admitted. “I would be skeptical if I were in my own time, but the ability to rapidly teach new skills, in addition to your own presence as a goal… I am not sure. It could reach the point that they are powerful magi in their own rights. Much depends on them.”

“Fair. What materials are you needing?” Evelyn asked, her eyes narrowing as she considered. “I’d say to prioritize yourself and Lyra if you’re going to start. Mm… maybe Willow will be given access, but I’m unsure about her, still. She’s not really an outsider… but that’s for another day.”

“Shadow essence,” Cherys said, shrugging unhappily. “It doesn’t appear that you keep much on-hand.”

Evelyn blinked. Then she blinked again, a bit perplexed, and she frowned. Cherys’s unhappiness changed to worry as Evelyn thought.

“Ah… is something the matter?” the human ventured after a few seconds. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, of course not. I’m mostly shocked that we have any shadow essence. I’m trying to remember why I even had it… it isn’t like I do much enchanting. Most of my work is like this, maintenance on weapons and armor,” Evelyn replied, gesturing to her disassembled energy blade absently. Cherys’s concern eased, and Evelyn continued to frown, murmuring. “Maybe it was when I was trying to add a stealth enchantment to my armor…? Hm. It doesn’t really matter, but it’s annoying to not remember. Regardless, we should be able to find some when we reach Unira. It’s a reasonably common reagent.”

“Wonderful, thank you for your understanding,” Cherys said, embarrassment flashing across her face as she looked away. “There is… one other thing that concerns me.”

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow. She wondered what it was this time. Hopefully not something like with Yrisiel.

“I feel like I am not properly contributing. My research is consuming resources, things which you are paying for, yet I am not giving you much in return. While these items would be useful, they are not nearly enough,” Cherys said, nodding to the research unhappily. “Is there anything which I can do? I know that I am not versed in modern—”

Cherys’s voice cut off when Evelyn raised a finger, looking at her nervously. Evelyn studied the mage for a few seconds, seeing the sincerity in her eyes, and Evelyn considered for several seconds before she asked. “How skilled are you in enchanting? You mentioned creating enchanted items for the augmentation effect, but I don’t know how much you’ve done with it before this.”

“It was my primary source of income beyond weather control and His Majesty’s stipend,” Cherys admitted. “All members of the academy were required to learn at least the basics of enchanting. I wasn’t the most skilled, but I was among the top five of my class. Out of fifteen.”

“Mm, in that case…” Evelyn did a quick search through her library of magical textbooks. It took a couple of refinements to find the books she was looking for, and after a few seconds she sent links to Cherys’s implants, prompting the human to blink several times as her eyes unfocused.

“Enchanted items are still a good source of income, Cherys, if not even more than they were in your time. The biggest concern is making sure you can make the types of items that would be valued these days. Those books will teach you about modern practices,” Evelyn explained. “If you want to contribute, making certain you can enchant magical items for sale would be an excellent way to do so. Beyond that, if you’re willing to continue training Lyra, Moon, and Star, I’d greatly appreciate it. I’m certainly not going to ask you to put yourself in danger. You have Nadia to care for.”

“That… is greatly appreciated. I will examine the books, thank you,” Cherys said, bowing her head slightly.

“You’re welcome,” Evelyn replied, reaching for her goggles again, but paused as she felt a small hand grip the loose fabric of one leg of her pants. Looking down at Nadia, she tilted her head and asked. “Yes, Nadia?”

“Would you play in the pool with me?” Nadia asked, looking up at her pleadingly. “Mom’s busy, and everyone else is working, too. You’re the only one who hasn’t played with me.”

“Nadia!” Cherys exclaimed in mortification. For her part, Evelyn just stared at the girl for a few seconds.

Initially Evelyn was tempted to tell the girl that she had too much to get done and go back to her energy blade. The pleading way the girl was looking at her, though… it made Evelyn hesitate and actually consider the idea. She wasn’t comfortable with children, no, but she might need to change that. And she had been injured recently, so taking some time to relax might be useful. Besides, while this was her favorite energy blade, it wasn’t her only one, she had spares… and if she couldn’t fix it before reaching Unira even with a break, it wasn’t going to be fixed.

“Alright, I’ll play with you on one condition,” Evelyn said, leaning forward so that her eyes were only centimeters from Nadia’s, raising a finger.

“Yes?” Nadia asked hopefully.

“Don’t touch the ears,” Evelyn said, pointing at her left ear.

Chapter 69

Mariel took a deep breath as Silver Line entered the astral, leaving behind her duties for the moment. It’d taken weeks for her to set everything up for her vacation, longer than she’d hoped it would take. Admittedly, part of the delay had been intentional, since she’d hoped to have Evelyn Tarth waiting for her when she got to Haven, but that wasn’t to be. She honestly wasn’t that upset, though she was disappointed. It wasn’t the first time she’d failed to acquire one of the trophies she wanted, but it was the first time after spending that much on someone.

“No, that’s not quite right,” Mariel murmured, watching as the waves of light shifted to show clouds of bright blue energy that filled this region of the astral, complete with nebula skimmers flitting around them like immense white eels. She admired them for a moment, her lips quirking into a smile. “The one matriarch I wanted got killed in the capture attempt, and that cost even more. That was frustrating.”

No one replied to her, and Mariel just watched the skimmers for a few seconds before turning her attention away from them, instead focusing on the immense reef of stone unimaginably far in the distance. She’d been getting interesting survey results from there over the past couple of months, and if they were correct, it would be an enormous boon to the company. Which was yet another thing to celebrate about.

“This should be enjoyable,” Mariel murmured, then stood up, stretching luxuriantly as she sighed happily. “No one to put on airs for, no need to hide my true self… it’ll be good.”

She turned and left her room, humming to herself. No other people were aboard her ship, but there were plenty of Dolls to see to her needs. In this case, she was looking forward to making proper use of the massage parlor and ensuring that she was ready for her visit to Haven.

She was also curious how the former empress was going to react to her new position. It should be fascinating… and Mariel was very curious how the woman had managed to kill Evelyn Tarth. The recordings of her attack and escape from the fortress had been impressive, and she couldn’t imagine how the elf had killed the warlord.

It should be very educational.

* * *

Evelyn blinked as the message came in, looking away from the pool. A wave was circling the pool, driving a bodyboard that Nadia was riding shakily. Perhaps Evelyn shouldn’t have looked away, but there was a Doll currently playing lifeguard duty, so it wouldn’t be a that dangerous. Besides, when Nadia fell, she had a tendency to shriek loudly enough that Evelyn doubted she’d miss it, even with part of her concentration focusing on keeping the wave moving.

Admittedly, using her magic to create the waves in the pool was mildly painful with her injuries, but she’d found that it didn’t matter whether she used her magic or not, it healed at about the same rate. She suspected that was partly because she was using her mana to augment her body anyway.

Evelyn played the message, which was audio only. Yrisiel spoke a moment later. “Your target has left her base, Evelyn. It appears that she’s taking one of her shorter routes to her destination, which you’ll find in the attached files. Good luck!”

The message was short and to the point, which made Evelyn smile slightly, shaking her head. She was amused at the dark elf’s attitude, but at least she was doing what she’d said she would. It’d been about a week since they’d left Yrisiel’s base, and Evelyn had spent a surprising amount of time relaxing and playing with Nadia. After a moment’s thought, Evelyn stood up, allowing her magic to lapse. The wave lost cohesion, some of it washing over the edge of the pool, and Nadia yelped, waving her arms for balance.

“Sorry, Nadia, I need to go to the bridge,” Evelyn told her, smiling slightly. “I can’t keep the waves going for you indefinitely.”

“Aww…” the girl pouted, almost toppling off the bodyboard, but nodded unhappily. “Okay… I want to come back here, though! We had to leave the beach at the other place, too!”

“I know, and I’ll try to make it up to you,” Evelyn said, shaking her head in disbelief as she headed for the door.

Only a few seconds later she was in the hallway, and Moon paused, holding a tray while blinking at Evelyn. Arching an eyebrow, Evelyn smiled, looking at the roast beef sandwich, chips, and juice on the tray, then looked at the human again. Moon was wearing shorts and a shirt that’d been knotted to hold it up, revealing her stomach, beneath which was a bikini.

“Bringing lunch?” Evelyn asked curiously. “If so, Nadia is still inside.”

“No… I was bringing you lunch, and was going to keep you company,” Moon said, looking a little sheepish. “I take it I’m too late?”

“I just got a message from Yrisiel about our target, so I was heading for the bridge. Perhaps there?” Evelyn suggested, her smile widening. There were some things she loved about having a cook aboard the ship.

“Oh, of course!” Moon said, looking both relieved and a bit less sanguine. She followed Evelyn as she started moving again, then asked. “How dangerous do you think this will be?”

“Mm… assuming Yrisiel’s information is correct, which I’m inclined to, it shouldn’t be too bad. The biggest concern would be Mariel getting to a lifeboat or the like,” Evelyn replied thoughtfully. “Of course, the security systems she managed to get a read on will be a pain to deal with, but I think that we should be able to punch through them without much difficulty. Assuming that most of us move a bit more cautiously, anyway… at least I should be alright as long as I don’t try for my more ridiculous acrobatics.”

“True… though I’m starting to wonder if I really want to use one of those augmentation things, though. Cherys has been snappish, and Ilyra’s just plain onery. I’ve never seen her act like that since we met her,” Moon said, shaking her head in disbelief. “She says it’s like ants are crawling on her skin, and like her bones are bruised. It sounds terrible.”

“I did mention that it was unpleasant, didn’t I?” Evelyn replied wryly, shaking her head in amusement. Her arm and shoulder were still giving her a lot of grief, while her foot only ached a little, but she was relieved that the rest of her body was almost back to normal. Part of Evelyn suspected that if she didn’t use magical healing or nanite reconstruction, she wouldn’t have anything more than natural discomfort. Not that she wanted to have her arm in a sling for a few months.

“You did, but I didn’t realize it’d be that bad,” Moon admitted, just as they reached the bridge.

The doors slid open as Evelyn approached, allowing her access. She glanced around once, then headed for the captain’s chair. Adria wasn’t on duty, which made Evelyn wonder what she was up to, but decided it didn’t matter. The Doll didn’t have a full soul yet, at least as far as Evelyn knew, so it wasn’t important. She felt a little silly to be sitting in the chair while wearing little more than a bikini and some sandals, but it was her ship. There wasn’t a dress code, and she wasn’t going to implement one. Unless people started wandering around naked, anyway.

On the screen was Unira, and Evelyn took a moment to admire the planet. It was a beautiful world, even if it tended to have rather extreme weather. Nearly ninety percent of the planet was water, and it had two moons to influence its weather. Still, the aquana that called Unira home didn’t have to worry about most of that, since they were primarily aquatic. The few parts of the planet above water were frequently ravaged by storms, but between them they were beautiful paradises. Evelyn might even have been tempted to visit if they weren’t here for a reason.

Instead, her gaze drifted to the station, Pearl of Unira. She had visited the large space station, which was significantly more humid than she would have preferred. She’d been surprised at how friendly the aquana had been, but they’d explained that her actions in saving Orm had been passed along, so they’d been welcomed with surprising grace. Not all of the aquana were welcoming, but those who weren’t generally ignored Evelyn. Which only made sense, as she didn’t have that much of a reputation in this cluster.

After a moment she asked the Doll on-duty. “Is everyone currently aboard?”

“They are, Captain,” the Doll replied, bowing her head slightly.

“Excellent. Please let everyone know that we’ll be leaving Unira shortly. Acquire permission for us to depart to astral as soon as possible,” Evelyn said, examining the route which Yrisiel had sent carefully.

“Acknowledged, Captain. May I ask the destination?” the Doll asked.

“I’ll give it to you once we’re in astral. I don’t want to risk anyone finding out. Not that it’s likely, but…” Evelyn shrugged, then smiled as Moon pointedly deployed a tray attached to the captain’s chair and set the tray of food on it. “Thank you, Moon.”

“You’re welcome,” Moon replied, looking a bit mollified as she took a nearby chair. “So… did you get all of your gear fixed?”

Evelyn laughed, smiling wryly as she nodded. “Yes, I did… though I can’t say that it was as easy as I would have preferred. There is something to be said for normal swords. They don’t have as many parts that can fail.”

Moon giggled, prompting Evelyn to smile. The screen shifted, and Evelyn’s smile widened a little more. They were underway, and it made her feel much better. Soon they’d be on their way to rescue Vania, and get a side of revenge.

She took the first bite of her food, and her satisfaction grew still more, as it was excellent.

Chapter 70

An alarm woke Evelyn, and her eyes snapped open, accessing the accompanying message almost before she realized what she was doing. “Yes?”

“A contact has been detected on the predicted vector, Captain. It appears to match the readings of Silver Line, but is not broadcasting an IFF beacon,” Adria replied calmly. “There are three hours and eight minutes to possible intercept.”

“Thank you, Adria,” Evelyn murmured, prompting a couple of sleepy protests from next to her. Which was just too bad for the redheads, because she wasn’t staying in bed. “I’ll be up shortly.”

“Acknowledged,” Adria confirmed, signing off an instant later.

“Wha…?” Star asked, blinking blearily in the darkened room as she twisted around.

Evelyn untangled Moon’s arms from around her as she replied. “It seems that Issek is almost here, so it’s time to get ready. Though the two of you can stay in bed if you want to.”

“Um, no, I’m… I’m awake!” Moon said frantically, blinking the sleep out of her eyes as she yawned widely.

Evelyn chuckled, slipping out of the bed as she smiled, pausing long enough to give each of them a gentle kiss. She knew they were just trying to distract her, but that didn’t make her appreciate it any less.

Now it was time to prepare to ruin the day of Mariel Issek. If she wasn’t responsible for Vania’s disappearance, Evelyn might even feel bad.

* * *

“How’s it looking?” Rasien asked, stepping onto the bridge in her power armor, though her helmet was under one arm. From the way her hair glistened, Evelyn thought she’d taken a shower first. Which was just as well, since they were still almost two and a half hours out from when they could intercept the other ship.

“Good as it can be. We have good enough of visuals to confirm that the ship is an Issek Industries Magnas, which is the type of ship we were expecting,” Evelyn said, nodding to the screen as she tried to relax. “The illusion that Cherys and Fya put together appears to be working as expected, since they haven’t hailed us or changed course. Hopefully they continue to think we’re just an asteroid.”

Rasien nodded, though she flinched when Fya turned to face her, a challenging look on the djinn’s face. She warily eyed the armored djinn, but didn’t say anything to her. Instead, she asked. “I understand. When do you expect us to attack?”

“About… two hours, thirty-five minutes from now,” Evelyn replied, glancing over at the clock counting down to the intercept point. “Cherys is going to perform the initial strike, which may make things a touch easier.”

“Cherys?” Rasien asked, her eyebrows rising in surprise. The elf paused, then hesitantly continued. “Isn’t she from the far past? Is that really something that she should be doing, since she has a daughter…?”

Evelyn laughed, and Fya followed suit, snickering under her breath. Rasien’s cheeks colored, but the woman didn’t berate them, which was just as well.

“My apologies, I shouldn’t laugh. The thing is, I’m not sure how much she’ll manage myself,” Evelyn admitted, nodding to the screen as she explained. “She’s not going over with us or going to be outside or anything of that sort. When I asked, Cherys pointed out that she’s a weather mage, that it’s her specialty, and that the astral is like an endless sky.”

Rasien paused, looking at the screen herself, her eyebrows furrowing, then she nodded slowly. “That… is true. But how much can she do with that? I’ve heard of some terrible storms here, ones that can shut down astral travel for days or weeks at a time, but that sort of thing would affect us as well.”

“Honestly? I’m not sure. I think she’s going for lightning, but I’m not about to get my hopes up,” Evelyn said, shrugging and smiling again. “On the other hand, I’m not going to tell her not to try. It isn’t my specialty, and I’m going to bow to her willingness to contribute. If her ritual works… well, I’ll have learned something.”

“Alright. I think I’ll go make sure my people all get something to eat and are ready for when we strike,” Rasien said, bowing her head slightly. She hesitated, then spoke quietly. “Thank you again.”

With that she quickly rushed off the bridge, and Evelyn watched her go in amusement. She considered for a few seconds, then asked. “So… do you think she betrayed Vania?”

“That stiff-necked goody-two-shoes? Pfft. She’d rather die than break her oaths,” Fya said, rolling her eyes. “I remember her when we beat her and sent her to prison, you know. She was so obnoxious. Sure, she tried to escape, but she kept to that whole name, rank, and serial number nonsense even a year into your reign. Maybe some of the others are traitors, but not her.”

“Mm. Well, if any of them do turn out to be traitors, you have my permission to turn them into something harmless. Like a river turtle, or something along those lines,” Evelyn said, a smile flickering across her lips as she added. “I’d say a mouse, but those can hide far too easily.”

“True! Besides, they might be rabid or something like that,” Fya said, grinning broadly. “Anyway… you ready for this? You aren’t fully recovered, you know.”

“As ready as I can be,” Evelyn said, her eyes narrowing slightly as her rubbed her left arm. The armor was in the way, but the itching feeling in her bones was still there, along with the pain of her hampered magic. She wasn’t going to be able to tear through everything in her path like she normally did… but that wasn’t going to stop her.

She was looking forward to confronting Mariel.

* * *

“Are you sure you’re up to this, Lyra?” Moon asked, her voice filled with concern. “You haven’t been sleeping well lately, right?”

“I’m sure,” Ilyra snapped, then blushed, apologizing quickly as shame washed over her. “Sorry, sorry… I know I’ve been hard to deal with lately, but I want to do this. I want to show that I’m not the sheltered girl I was when Evelyn first met us. Even if I do feel like my skin is crawling.”

Moon winced, but Ilyra knew that the human had no idea just how… how unpleasant what she was going through was. Ilyra had thought that she’d known approximately what she was going to be dealing with, but she hadn’t been even close.

Her bones itched or burned by turns, and it felt a lot like the times that she’d over-worked her muscles, with all of them quivering and aching at the same time. As if that weren’t enough, she periodically had coughing fits, and what she hacked up was… unpleasant. She wouldn’t inflict even a description of what that was like on someone else. All in all, Ilyra half-wished that she’d never taken the amulet from Cherys when she’d offered it to her.

The other half of her was ecstatic at the results so far. With all the work she’d put in before this, she’d only managed to bench-press twenty-three kilograms, even after weeks of effort. Now, after barely more than a week with the amulet, she was up to twenty-six kilograms, her reaction speed seemed to have markedly improved, and she thought her eyesight was better. It wasn’t even a fraction of what Evelyn could normally pick up, but the improvement was startling, and it hadn’t even been that long. It made Ilyra wonder how much she’d improve after a few months, a thought which was the main reason she hadn’t simply removed the amulet and let someone else suffer through the side effects.

Ilyra winced slightly as she adjusted the suit around her, since it’d pinched slightly when she moved wrong, and she tried to get comfortable as she looked at the others. It was her, Moon, Star, and Vaneryth, the same group as had competed in the arena. Evelyn had approved, simply telling them that it was a good idea to have people they could coordinate with. They’d also have five Dolls backing them up, just to be safe, but it didn’t help Ilyra’s sense of anxiety. Unlike the arena, they’d be going up against real attacks this time… assuming the other ship was defended the way that they’d been told it was.

“Do you think Evelyn will be alright?” Star asked after a few seconds of silence. “I know she’s powerful, but she was injured, and… well…”

“Even injured, her magic is far stronger than my own, and I would not be surprised if she was capable of dealing a great deal of damage physically. Her armor will brace her bones against impacts, and her weapons don’t require much in the way of physical strength,” Vaneryth said, her calm confidence relieving much of Ilyra’s own worries. “I believe that we are in far more danger, particularly since she will have Fya and Zel with her. I wouldn’t give us good odds against any of them on their own, though admittedly Zel is mostly dangerous due to her ability to alter minds. It does not do you much good to attack her if you aren’t even attacking the right location.”

“True,” Moon admitted, though she looked almost as relieved as Ilyra felt. “In which case, we’ll just have to do our best. At least they’re going to clear a beachhead.”

Ilyra nodded in agreement, thankful for the distraction.

Soon they would be going into combat, after all.

* * *

Adria was not certain what to make of the changes she was going through. It wasn’t enough to interfere with her duties, but she occasionally found her processes taking paths that had little to do with what she was doing. Curiosity about why her owner and the crew acted the way they did being the most common distraction. Those processes took so little of her processing power that she didn’t even need to set them aside. It wasn’t as though her system was used to its full capacity most of the time. Not even now, preparing for battle, did she use more than half her capacity.

That gave her ample time to consider some of the things she’d observed and new sensations. The strangest sensation was one she couldn’t quite quantify. It was almost like a new frequency, yet it didn’t use any senses which Adria was used to. In fact, when she performed a diagnostic scan on herself, she found that it didn’t register on any of her sensor systems, which caused her to pause for a nanosecond to reassess matters. There was no logical reason she should feel that strange warmth. It was almost like a pressure change, but it wasn’t at the same time.

Adria simply didn’t understand what she was sensing. She couldn’t stop sensing it, either, so she made the decision to simply continue collecting data and churning away on an analysis while she worked on other things.

Things like analyzing the relationship between Evelyn and virtually everyone else aboard the ship. At least that she had plenty of data regarding, and the ship systems had ample reference material to assist her studies.

She’d figure out what was going on soon. Preferably before she developed a soul. That was a concept that Adria believed might cause all sorts of issues, if the reports she’d examined were to be believed. Not that it mattered, since she either would develop a soul, or wouldn’t. It didn’t matter to her.

So she stood there, keeping watch as that sense of a pressure front grew.

* * *

Cherys inhaled slowly, drawing in mana as she did so. She added it to the power which was flowing through her body, then breathed out again, this time expelling storm-aligned mana that joined the other mana she’d been gathering for the last two hours, swirling around the chamber of the observatory and the circle she’d drawn on the floor.

Compared to the mana she was channeling with every moment, the alterations to her body were like nothing, even if she found them incredibly uncomfortable. Those were also incredible beyond measure, considering that she’d known dozens of magi in her own time that were trying to research similar methods to no avail, not to mention how much time had passed since then without similar results, and yet… yet Evelyn was able to do something like this naturally, and even allowed Cherys to decipher how it was done in a matter of days. It was the sort of secret that many people would kill for, and Cherys wasn’t going to let anyone know what she’d learned. She wouldn’t betray Evelyn’s trust.

Nor would she betray the trust that Evelyn had offered when she allowed Cherys to stay aboard. Her grasp of these mechanical marvels which had largely replaced magic might be shaky, but Cherys was no fool, and dealing with magic meant that she had to be flexible. She’d learned enough about the modern economy to figure out the approximate value of things, as well as inquiring of Star what had been spent on her rescue and in the time since then. It was a mind-boggling sum, one which would have been enough to purchase a small city in her estimation… and Evelyn’s response when she asked to contribute was giving Cherys more, to allow her to become an even more powerful mage who could earn money anywhere in the known galaxy.

So now Cherys was going to return that trust. She was going to show Evelyn what she could truly do with the time to research she’d been given, when given time and the right environment. Cherys wasn’t just any mage. She was Cherys the White, one of the foremost weather magi of her time.

No, the astral wasn’t a planet, with the normal weather that Cherys was used to. It didn’t have the flow of the mana that she’d spent so much time learning to control. It was so much more than that, an immense atmosphere that could contain countless worlds, and more mana than she could dream of controlling. But she didn’t need to control it. Not with the potential she could sense.

When a soft alarm pinged within her mind, one she’d set as a signal, Cherys opened her eyes and unleashed her magic into the circle around her, raising her hands toward the skies in front of her, skies that were glowing scarlet, green, and indigo. She could barely see the glimmer of the other starship, a silver mote flitting across the sky, but she didn’t need to be able to see it.

Cherys savored the magic for a moment, then murmured softly. “Heavens, show me thy judgement.”

Lightning split the astral skies, so bright that the dome went completely black, yet it still almost blinded Cherys.

Chapter 71

The flash of light was like nothing Evelyn had seen before, and only two things kept it from blinding her. One was the momentary, infinitesimal moment when she’d seen a jagged line of blue light cross the sky as a prelude to lightning. The other was the automatic flash suppression of the sensors, and the fact that it wasn’t a window which would darken more slowly. Even so, a bar of light nearly a kilometer across had split the sky, imprinting itself on her vision. A bar of light that had been centered directly on the ship they were targeting.

“I really hope that didn’t kill our target,” Evelyn said conversationally, though inwardly she was stunned. What in the hell had that been?

“Unlikely. Standard starship design has conductive elements through the hull to prevent passengers from being injured if the ship is struck by lightning,” Adria replied calmly. “However, the target appears to have had some of its systems overwhelmed by the strike. Its engines are online, but it is off course. I estimate that its sensor systems have been damaged, and the shields are down.”

Fya opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the entire ship rocked, and an enormous boom echoed through it as they were pummeled by thunder. Thunder that seemed to go on and on, though it lost some volume as the seconds passed. It wasn’t deafening, but Evelyn could only imagine how bad it would have been outside Djinn’s Gift. Or aboard the ship that’d been struck by it.

“Well, that sounds like an invitation to me. Let’s go!” Fya exclaimed, slamming her helmet on, and the next moment she’d pulled a triple-barreled sonic cannon out of nowhere. Evelyn winced, but at least the weapon had a nonlethal option. She supposed that was the strongest concession she was going to get from the djinn.

“Quite. Ready, Zel?” Evelyn asked, glancing back at the succubus, who grinned as she slid her helmet on at a more leisurely pace than the djinn had, taking the time to properly seal it.

“Yes, I believe I am. Just as a reminder, while I can deal with your target, anything I do on your behalf, you will be responsible for. Metaphysically speaking,” Zelirana said calmly, rolling her shoulders experimentally.

“I know, but I think I’ve got enough darkness on my soul as it is. This should be minor by comparison,” Evelyn said dryly, then triggered the comms. “Everyone, we’re boarding now. See you there.”

She barely had a chance to begin hearing acknowledgements before a puff of red smoke enveloped her, and Evelyn found herself in an unfamiliar docking bay, one that was beautiful, aside from the flickering lights and soot-scarred bay doors. Alarms were blaring, which Evelyn found unsurprising… but she smiled as a trio of beautiful women spun toward them from their duties, each moving in eerie unison.

“Intruders, stand down or be—” one began, only to go flying into the wall as a triple-blast of sonic energy slammed into the blonde human.

“Dolls,” Zelirana said, her whip sparking to life, and Fya cackled loudly.

Evelyn laughed softly as well, drawing her pistol and dodging to the side, taking note of how weapon mounts in the back of the bay were starting to unfold.

Somehow, she doubted that was normal for a yacht.

* * *

“What in all the hells was that?” Mariel said, staggering slightly as she tried to regain her balance. It wasn’t easy, as she’d almost passed out when the eruption of sound had hit her, and she had fallen on the treadmill, which had led to a sprained ankle and leg, she suspected. Worse, she couldn’t hear anything. Which didn’t prevent her from getting reports from the ship’s network via her implants, but there was so much that she had a hard time making sense of it. She wasn’t a ship’s captain, and hadn’t ever been interested in that sort of thing.

“Astral lightning struck the ship, ma’am. Cause unknown,” the Doll captaining the ship replied calmly. “Sensors and communications systems have been impaired, weapons offline. Minor damage to exterior of the ship. Estimate three hours of repairs are required.”

Mariel grimaced at the explanation, more concerned about her personal pain than anything else. When she touched her ears, her fingers came away with blood, which was very unpleasant. Her personal assistant Doll offered her a healing ampoule at that moment, and Mariel took it gratefully, pressing the injector against her neck. Mariel’s neck grew cooler where it touched for a moment, followed by a popping sensation from her ears, at which point she found herself suddenly able to hear again, and the pain from her ankle quickly faded. Even her balance came back to her, to Mariel’s relief. The only annoyance were the alarms she could hear blaring. Not in this room, since she’d been firm about them not deafening her, but elsewhere in the ship.

“Better,” Mariel said, scowling. “I’ve heard of storms in the astral, but this is ridiculous. Get the systems repaired so we can move again.”

“Yes, ma’am. Repairs have initiated, we are—intruder alert! Unauthorized intruders in docking bay one! They are hostile!” the Doll exclaimed, and the alarms suddenly grew more strident.

“Fucking useless…” Mariel swore under her breath, shoving away from the wall as she glared at her assistant, which was shaped like an attractive celestine. She didn’t say anything more immediately, instead reaching into the system to find the attackers.

The next instant the blood drained from Mariel’s face, dread hitting her like a ton of bricks. It was like she couldn’t even breathe, as she saw the trio who were in the docking bay. She only had a vague recollection of the smallest of them, but the other two… she’d seen videos of the succubus who was supposed to be part of her collection at this point, even if she was wearing armor this time, and the one in black and red armor was far too familiar. Evelyn Tarth was aboard her ship. If that wasn’t enough to make her descend into panic, she didn’t know what was.

“Activate all defensive Dolls, drones, and security robots! Get rid of those attackers and prepare my pinnace for launch!” Mariel frantically ordered, bolting for the door. In her mind’s eye, she saw an energy whip cut through a defending Doll, the machine falling in two pieces so that she could see gleaming metal ‘bones’ inside the solid, flesh-hued material that made up its body.

“Activating defensive drones. Warning, the docking clamps of the pinnace have been disabled,” the captain replied. “Ten minutes required to release the pinnace.”

“Then do it, you damned machine!” Mariel screamed, running down the hallway toward her quarters as fast as she could, desperate to get her keystone links and to get the hell away from Evelyn Tarth.

* * *

“Taking evasive action,” the Doll piloting said calmly, and Ilyra winced as the shuttle jerked to the side, avoiding the line of fire of one of their target’s energy cannons. The ship had started unloading in almost every direction, mostly using suppressive fire to prevent anything from easily approaching. It was an unpleasant sight, but nowhere near as bad as aimed fire would have been.

A few blasts splashed off their shields anyway, but they were mostly from the ship’s point defense systems. Ilyra was mostly startled at how many guns the yacht had, even if most of them looked to be more of point defense cannons.

“Brace yourselves,” Vaneryth said, matching her words with action as she held on to a couple of handles, and Ilyra followed suit, bracing herself for impact.

Not that there was much of an impact as they screamed into the docking bay through a hole their weapons had punched through the doors. The bay was occupied by a shuttle and another ship, each in their own docking collars. A few robots were working on the larger ship, a sleek vessel that reminded Ilyra of a porcelain sculpture. She didn’t have much more time to take in the sights as the shuttle door snapped open, though.

Four Dolls were the first out of the doors, coming under fire from weapons mounted in the walls. The shuttle returned fire, blasting several of the weapons to pieces, and Ilyra winced as she followed the others, drawing on her magic as she focused, her fingers flickering through the diagrams to create a shield. Yes, she could use the spell without gestures or an incantation at this point, but that would make it much weaker, and she wanted to focus on keeping her friends safe, rather than practicing. Not here and now.

Within moments she’d created a dome-like barrier of white light over the others, sheltering them from the sporadic fire coming their way. As she stepped out, Ilyra glanced back to see that the shuttle’s landing hadn’t been completely unimpeded. A single repair robot had been in its way, and was little more than a metallic smear across the floor.

She quickly began to fire at a couple of security robots as they entered the bay, swearing softly under her breath. “Pufflesticks.”

Vaneryth had exchanged her sword for a rifle for the moment and fell to a knee behind a crate as she aimed. Her first two shots were deflected by the security robot’s shield, but the third slammed into its shoulder, inhibiting its own ability to aim.

“Light undying, pierce my foe!” Ilyra hissed out the soft incantation, pointing her finger at the robot and not restraining her mana this time, unlike in the arena. The beam of light lashed out across the room and punched straight through the robot’s armor, which turned red-hot around the point of impact. The energy didn’t come out the back of the robot’s torso, but it lurched to a halt, collapsing to the deck with a crash a moment later.

“Nice, Lyra!” Moon exclaimed, shooting at another security robot as it emerged from the entrance, then swore as a third appeared. “How many of these are there?”

“Plenty,” Star said grimly, pausing for a moment, and Ilyra heard her rifle whine softly as it prepped for an overcharged blast. The next moment a powerful bolt of energy lanced across the room, shattering the shields of the leading robot and damaging its armor. Her sister and Vaneryth focused on it, hitting the damaged section despite the robot’s attempt to evade. Unfortunately for it, the doors made an ideal choke point, and the robots couldn’t easily swarm them.

The Dolls, by comparison, were picking off the flying drones rushing into the bay with a steady precision, while the fifth Doll had moved to treat the injuries of one that’d been damaged moments before. Energy bolts pulsed off the shield Ilyra had erected, and she grimaced slightly, feeling her mana dropping steadily with every impact. Was this how Evelyn had felt shielding Worldwaker?

* * *

“Incoming!” Elwin exclaimed, ducking behind a crate of supplies, and Evelyn rolled her eyes at his reaction.

“Really? I’d never have guessed,” she retorted, rolling out of the way as a heavy robot stomped into the bay, twin plasma cannons whirring and the interior of their barrels beginning to glow brightly. Worse, the four-legged robot was shielded, which would make life slightly more difficult.

She was just debating how to deal with it when Fya flashed forward to just outside the robot’s shields, and the cannon she was holding turned into an infinity hammer that she brought up like she was attempting an uppercut. The shield flashed brightly as the infinity hammer struck it, but it held. Then the robot fired, and Evelyn’s eyes went wide.

“Fya!” Evelyn exclaimed, launching herself out of cover as brilliant blue-white energy enveloped the djinn, some of it blasting back inside the shield due to the close range. She was halfway there when she caught sight of the djinn again, her armor half-molten in places, but now she was inside the shield.

The next second the infinity hammer came down with all the force of a meteor, removing one of the robot’s arms and wrecking part of its torso. Fya didn’t relent, hammering it several more times as the robot attempted to hit her in return, but in short order it was reduced to a pile of scrap metal that was still trying to move. Unfortunately, there were other robots just behind it, and Evelyn’s anger finally got the best of her.

“May oblivion touch my enemies!” Evelyn snapped, spindling her magic rapidly, and she flinched as power ripped through her body, agony blasting her.

Ravening darkness lanced through the open doors, slamming into the second heavy robot mercilessly, and the entropic magic ripped straight through it. The third and fourth one didn’t fare much better, but the fifth and sixth were able to dodge to the sides, though their shields didn’t survive. Which left them wide open to Rasien’s team, and a hail of energy fire slammed into them. At least the elves were precise, as they hit points not covered by heavy armor, disabling the robots in short order.

“What did you think you were doing?” Evelyn demanded, glaring at Fya as she almost grabbed the djinn, but hesitated. The metal of her armor was cooling, but it was still molten.

“Aw, you do care!” Fya crooned, wavering for a moment, then shook herself. “As to that, it was just plasma. I’ll be fine. I just need to adapt to the heat… ooh, spicy!”

Relief washed over Evelyn, though her irritation grew with it. Yes, djinn were almost impossible to kill for most people, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t hurt, and that had been an incredibly stupid risk to take. Not that approaching it that way would get the right response from Fya.

“That doesn’t help your armor, you twit! That’s expensive and took me ages to tune properly!” Evelyn retorted, her pistol whipping up to shoot a Doll through the power core. The female construct fell like a rock, and Evelyn’s certainty that the woman they were after was responsible for Vania’s abduction grew stronger. The human-like Doll matched the ones she’d captured aboard Daggerhound almost perfectly.

“Oh, right! Well, I wish it was in perfect condition again!” the djinn said, prompting a wince from Evelyn as a glow washed over the armor, which suddenly had its previous perfect sheen. “There, better!”

“I hope it doesn’t shatter at the next opportunity,” Evelyn muttered, glancing over at Zelirana, who was behind a support pillar, concentrating. “Any luck, Zel?”

Another hail of fire came down the hallway, making Evelyn wonder just how many robots there were aboard the ship. They’d dealt with at least twenty security robots and a dozen Dolls so far, which was getting ridiculous for a light cruiser.

“Yes, as it happens. There seems only to be a single sentient creature aboard the ship, aside from us,” the succubus replied, leaning out and taking a single careful shot. “They appear to be near the other docking bay.”

“Hm. Interesting… Team Two, how are you doing?” Evelyn asked, her eyes narrowing as she fired on a couple more Dolls. These were at least taking cover, but that didn’t keep her from winging one of them.

“Resistance is greater than anticipated,” Vaneryth replied, her voice calm. “They appear to be trying to push us back.”

“To be more accurate, there’s another ship in here as well as a shuttle, and they seem to be trying to push us away from it,” Star said, cursing under her breath before she added. “I’m not sure what type of ship it is.”

“Adria?” Evelyn asked, her concern spiking, even as she told the others. “Stay safe, let the Dolls take the risks.”

“We will. One of them has taken damage, though she isn’t down yet,” Moon said grimly. Adria spoke immediately after her.

“The vessel they are speaking of appears to be a luxury version of an Issek Industries Y-200 pinnace. It is capable of entering or exiting astral and is advertised as being capable of outrunning most other vessels in its class,” the Doll said, which caused Evelyn’s smile to vanish.

“Of course, she’s trying to run,” Evelyn said, her eyes narrowing. “Hold as best as you can, Team Two. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Alright. The shuttle definitely helps,” Ilyra said, a note of relief in her voice.

“Ras! Can you deal with things here?” Evelyn called out, and the knight paused, swapping out the battery of her rifle.

“We should be able to, with the big ones out of the way,” Rasien confirmed. “Teleporting or going through the ship?”

“Through. No way of knowing if there’s a countermeasure up, now,” Evelyn said, and nodded to Fya. “Come on, let’s get to it.”

The djinn cackled again, swapping back to her sonic cannon, and the two of them charged through the open doors, Zelirana just behind them.

Chapter 72

“Gods damn it! Why didn’t you tell me they were coming into both bays? Why didn’t you shoot down the damned shuttle?” Mariel screamed, anger and fear rushing through her by turns as she waited in the storeroom, listening as her robots attempted to reclaim the pinnace. Thus far, they were doing an excellent job of being reduced to scrap. If she got out of this, she was going to fire everyone in the security robot division and start over from scratch.

“Sensor systems are almost entirely offline. Targeting the approaching shuttles was exceedingly difficult, as their jammers made acquiring targeting locks difficult,” the captain replied, pausing for several moments. “Situation is critical. Recommend immediate evacuation.”

“Shut up,” Mariel snapped, her temper completely frayed. She briefly considered running for the escape pods but discarded the thought an instant later. Those wouldn’t get her out of range of the attackers, they’d just leave her a sitting duck. Besides, even if she sent a distress signal, assuming she could, no one would be able to respond in time.

Her thoughts were racing, and she gritted her teeth, glancing at her two bodyguard robots for a moment. They had heavy enchantments to make them more potent, as well as enchanted shield systems that allowed them to protect her while they were nearby. Each was humanoid, but with astral ore swords for melee combat and a variety of ranged weapons, while armor protected them from most attacks. They might be able to break through the attacker’s lines, but she was hesitant to send them in. That would leave her helpless, and Mariel was afraid of what might happen if they left her.

Yet she’d also seen what Evelyn Tarth had done in the fortress. After being hit by attacks that should have crippled her, she’d punched a hole in a reinforced metal wall, a meter of stone, another reinforced metal wall, then engaged a group of mercenaries that likely could take one of the bodyguards out. The mercenaries had been mauled by her, and that was when Evelyn Tarth was running away. Mariel couldn’t imagine what she’d do if she was ready for combat.

Mariel was about to order her bodyguards into the fray when she ran out of time to make the decision.

* * *

The doors of Silver Line were designed for comfort, aesthetics, and decompression, not to stop an angry elven warrior. That much Evelyn had learned very, very quickly. She’d destroyed three doors before her implants finished working through the encryption and managed to come up with an override to get through the rest of them, though she doubted it’d work on important areas like the bridge or engineering.

Which didn’t matter, as she heard the snarl of weapons fire, and turned a corner to see seven Dolls and a single heavy security robot attempting to gain access to the docking bay, while the scattered remnants of more robots were scattered around them. A pair of Dolls were right in front of her, raising their pistols to aim at Evelyn. They were fast, that much she had to admit, and she was reminded of the assassin skill chips she’d removed from some of her Dolls. Not that it mattered.

The first Doll managed to partially dodge a shot from Evelyn’s pistol. It wasn’t as successful against her energy blade, and its eyes flickered, then went dark when Evelyn cut its power supply. That didn’t keep it from firing into her, but her shield managed to absorb the blast.

Beside her, Fya dropped to a knee and pulled the trigger on her sonic cannon, which let out a triple boom of exploding air. The consecutive blasts hit the other Doll like the hammer of a god, pulverizing its chest and sending bits flying down the hallway as it was torn clean in two. The other Dolls began to turn toward them, but Evelyn wasn’t going to just stand there and let them position themselves. She concentrated, pulling a plasma grenade from her belt telekinetically and priming it at the same time as she threw it into the cluster of constructs.

A flash of stellar fire erupted, melting the decks, fusing the material of the hatch and doors, and consuming the pseudo-flesh of the Dolls with abandon. The heavy robot’s armor lasted marginally longer than the Dolls did, but even its plating began to soften and run. It was well-constructed enough to survive the attack, but the weakened armor spelled its doom, as energy bolts and the sonic cannon hammered it into scrap from both directions.

Evelyn barely paid attention to the destruction, instead glancing to Zelirana, who pointed at a door to the left, not even trying to speak over the explosions echoing through the corridors.

Smiling coldly, Evelyn didn’t bother with the override, instead cutting through the doors with her energy blade, and bringing up a shield despite the pain it caused. Somehow, she doubted that her target was going to be undefended.

The instant she kicked in the door, Evelyn was met by a wave of plasma fire. She only caught a glimpse of a woman in a white robe cowering back against a couple of storage bins, since the plasma was being fired by a pair of shining robots that stepped toward her in unison. Glowing blue blades snapped out of their right arms, enchanted metal from the looks of them, and Evelyn couldn’t help a slight smirk, even if her brain was aching from her use of magic.

Evelyn ducked under the first strike, rolling into the room and lashing out with her energy blade… which bounced off the robot’s shield as it flickered with runes, causing her eyebrows to rise in shock. That wasn’t just a shield, it was an enchanted shield system, which was ridiculously expensive. Not that she couldn’t punch through it, but it made the shields incredibly durable, which could be a problem.

“Get rid of them!” the woman in the back exclaimed, even as Evelyn went through the options available to her and grimaced. Fine, if it was going to hurt, it was going to hurt.

She dove around the robots, ignoring the booming of Fya’s cannon hammering their shields, and as she did so Evelyn began to whisper under her breath.

“Finality’s edge, manifest in my hand and destroy that which you touch,” Evelyn said, shuddering as agony rushed through her, along with an immense amount of mana. The power flooded into her energy blade, turning the beam of energy from red into pitch black… and faint cracks appeared in the handle at the same time. Evelyn didn’t like the look of that, but she also didn’t have time. Too much mana was pouring into the blade, and she wouldn’t be able to safely keep this up for long.

The black blade hit the shield and cut through it like it was made of paper. The robot raised its sword to block, but the metal only put up marginally more resistance, and an instant later Evelyn’s sword was buried deep in the machine’s core. The robot sparked and fell, but Evelyn was already moving toward the other defender.

This robot had learned from what had happened to the other one, and it dodged her strike, though it didn’t prevent the blade from shattering its shield, Evelyn grimaced, sidestepping so that if the robot wanted to shoot her, it’d risk hitting Mariel. Who, Evelyn noticed in disgust, didn’t even have a pistol. Maybe the scum was afraid of getting her hands dirty.

Evelyn dodged as the robot tried to cut her, debating on how to destroy it with how quickly it was dodging. It was actually halfway decent, and—

A lash of energy looped over the robot’s arm and pulled taut, sizzling against the enchanted metal but not cutting through. In the moment of hesitation as it stopped, Fya came skidding in and pressed her cannon directly against one of the joints in the robot’s torso, grinning.

“Hi!” the djinn said, and pulled the trigger.

An eruption of parts rained through the room the next moment, along with a cacophony and a burst of energy as the robot came apart. Evelyn wasn’t entirely sure what had exploded inside the robot, but it was out of the way… and was the last major threat.

Spinning to the woman they’d come for, Evelyn raised her pistol, only to find the woman had already raised her hands and spoke very quickly. “I surrender! Please don’t kill me!”

Chapter 73

“What did you do with Vania?” Evelyn demanded, and even under the influence of Zelirana’s magic the woman shrank back slightly.

It’d been half an hour since they’d captured Mariel, most of which had been taken up securing the ship and making sure the command codes were transferred fully to Evelyn and the others. Now they were repairing Silver Line at least enough that it could travel. It was a nice enough ship that if nothing else, Evelyn could sell it for a lot. After a few… well, a lot of repairs.

The corporate magnate obviously hadn’t been expecting company, though. She was wearing little more than a sport’s bra and sweatpants, over which she’d thrown a white robe when she tried to make her escape. She was gorgeous, Evelyn admitted that much, and she’d been wearing quite a bit of enchanted jewelry until Evelyn had forced her to remove it. All but the enchanted tongue-piercing that granted the woman the ability to understand and speak any language that she could identify, mostly because that one would have been a pain to get out. And, honestly, Evelyn didn’t see the point, even if she disliked Mariel immensely.

“I had her sent to Haven,” Mariel replied, a note of trepidation in her voice, even as she alternated between terror and dreamy contentment.

“Haven. And just what is Haven?” Evelyn asked, keeping her voice as calm as she could.

“My private retreat, a place where I keep all my trophies. My most valuable items, those which I can’t show to the galaxy,” Mariel said, her eyes focusing on Evelyn for just a moment before she glanced at Zelirana, who looked at her in exasperation.

“Her implants make this very difficult,” the succubus informed Evelyn, scowling. “They’re constantly trying to correct for my influence.”

“Mm, they must be high-quality to manage that,” Evelyn said, frowning slightly.

“Tier eight,” Mariel confirmed happily, which just caused Evelyn’s scowl to deepen. The half-celestine was obscenely rich, as far as she could tell. She was half-tempted to have the woman shut down her implants, but that might set off secondary problems.

Tapping the table, Evelyn glanced at the mithral surface in annoyance. It was such a waste of the valuable metal, yet it was typical of what she’d seen aboard Silver Line so far. If half the wealth on display had been used on its defenses, she might have had a harder time taking the ship.

“Stop influencing her. Just make sure she’s telling the truth,” Evelyn said at last.

“As you wish, Evelyn,” Zelirana said, her expression easing marginally, and Mariel’s contentment vanished, replaced by terror.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? When people find out, this will—” she demanded after a moment of screwing up her courage, only for Evelyn to cut her off.

“They’ll think that you brought it on yourself by having the sheer stupidity of having me attacked,” Evelyn said coldly, glaring at the woman. “Now, Vania. Tell me what I want to know, or I’ll have Zel rip your soul out. She did that with one of the demons your agents summoned already. I think she’s wearing the soul on her necklace.”

“I am!” Zelirana said, reaching up to touch her armor, then sighed. “Alas, she isn’t easy to get out and show you at the moment, but her soul is quite pretty. Not very appetizing, though, since demon souls aren’t tasty. Mortals, on the other hand…”

“I’m not mortal! I went through an immortality ritual,” Mariel said, straightening slightly as she glared at the succubus. The effect wasn’t very impressive to Evelyn.

“When you die, your soul will be judged. Close enough to mortal for me,” Zelirana said, grinning.

“So explain. Now,” Evelyn said, her voice harsh this time.

“I… look, you know what sort of things I have done,” Mariel said, swallowing and inclining her chin toward Zelirana. “She was slated for my personal collection, along with the angel and celestine. I don’t screw with their personalities, though. That’s too much for me.”

“No it isn’t. You enjoy seeing them squirm, seeing how your toys hate what they’re doing, even though they can’t resist your orders,” Zelirana corrected her, her voice calm as could be. “That’s why you leave their personalities intact. Because they’d be no better than Dolls if you changed their personalities.”

Evelyn’s gaze grew still colder, and the woman paled slightly. She inhaled shakily, then nodded.

“Yes… you’re right,” Mariel said, glaring at Zelirana, then continued. “She’ll also have undergone sculpting. I’m not sure what the results will be, though. She’ll have been ordered to make decisions that suit my preferences, after being shown them. I didn’t check ahead of time, because I wanted to be surprised.”

“Mm. And how can I fix your programming?” Evelyn demanded.

“I don’t know? Set her owner to herself, maybe? She hasn’t been going through it for that long, she’ll probably be able to fight a little,” Mariel said, shrugging. “I never concerned myself with reversing the programming. There wasn’t any need.”

“I think she needs to experience it herself. You know, just so that she can properly appreciate the experience,” Fya said, her voice light, almost conversational as she lounged in the room’s window, staring out into the astral. “I mean, that’s part of the reason for the whole lamp thing for djinni. It teaches patience, too.”

Mariel’s cheeks flushed, and she swallowed hard. She didn’t reply, though. The person who spoke next surprised Evelyn slightly.

“Why? Why would you do something like that?” Ilyra asked, her voice soft as could be. “And… who am I, really?”

“Who are… oh, you believed that you were really the noblewoman you thought you were? That you were—” Mariel began, her fear seeming to ease as she looked at Ilyra, a sneer appearing on her face. Yet just as she started to get going, she paused, glaring at Zelirana, then let out a breath of annoyance. “Right, I can’t even torment the little noblewoman properly. Yes, you’re really Ilyra Samtreth the Third. You weren’t on the list of people I specifically wanted, but when you fell into the lap of one of my contacts, I certainly wasn’t going to say no. I do love adding celestine noblewomen to my collection. Not as much as clergy, but more than almost any other option. Given a choice between Evelyn and a celestine priestess, the priestess would be my choice every time.”

“But why?” Ilyra demanded, shock flickering across her face. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Evelyn and I aren’t so different in some ways, you know. She had her insane power to fall back on, though. Me? Not even close. I had assassins sent by the high priestess to ‘purify the bloodlines,’ to kill me for the crime of being born. Why wouldn’t I want revenge for that? Revenge for them being so arrogant as to pass judgement on a child,” Mariel retorted, sitting up straighter as she began to glare, exuding an arrogance that surprised Evelyn. “So, when they were in my hands, when they begged me for mercy, oh… how sweet that was. How wonderful it was to break that arrogance, to make them do whatever I asked. Yet everywhere I looked, your people were the same. Arrogant, pompous, and xenophobic. Why wouldn’t I want to shatter that? I took over Celestial Gate, and it was so easy. So wonderful. So, I’ve done whatever I’ve wanted to the ones I take.”

The flicker of horror on Ilyra’s face was enough to make Evelyn’s temper flare, but only for a moment. She controlled that anger, tamping it down as she focused, then smiled coldly.

“That means you can’t really object to it being done to you, can you?” Evelyn replied, and smirked at how the woman’s arrogance fractured slightly, as fear shattered that moment of confidence. She suspected that the woman had just forgotten that she was present somehow, or at least was trying to lord over someone she thought was weaker than her. Mariel’s mouth opened, and Evelyn waved her protests off unspoken. “Don’t even start. I don’t care about your justifications. I now have another question to ask, though. Do you have Ilyra’s old implant data?”

“Not here, no. It’s on Haven, in case I could capture her in the future,” Mariel replied, swallowing hard.

“Good. Now, you’re going to get me access to Haven and turn over access, aren’t you? Because you don’t want me to kill you. Or to be turned into a frog, or something else unpleasant,” Evelyn said, smiling coldly at the woman.

“I… yes, of course,” Mariel said, visibly gritting her teeth as she spoke.

Evelyn glanced at Zelirana, who inclined her head slightly as she murmured. “She’s telling the truth, don’t worry about that much. I’ll keep a close eye on her.”

“Something tells me that we’re not going to like what we find aboard Haven,” Moon said quietly.

“Agreed,” Star muttered in reply, prompting Evelyn to laugh.

“There was never much chance of that,” Evelyn said, slowly climbing to her feet. “Regardless, I think that we’re going to need to get moving. Ryth? Would you keep Zel company? I’d like to make sure Mariel doesn’t do anything untoward, even if we have removed her access codes to the ship.”

“Of course, Evelyn,” Vaneryth said, though there was a gleam in her eyes that surprised the elf. Then Evelyn reminded herself that while Vaneryth was an angel, she was an angel who’d been captured in the middle of a battle to the death with Zelirana to begin with. Angels could absolutely be zealots when they saw someone as being unjust, and this certainly would qualify.

“Excellent. Fya? Would you mind keeping an eye on things here while I go back to the Gift for a little while?” Evelyn asked, prompting the djinn to not even look in her direction, instead she raised her hand and waved her off with a languid flick of the wrist.

“Go for it! If the pampered princess here gets any ideas, I’ll have far too much fun with her,” Fya said, her eyes glittering as she grinned. “No one hurts my Evvy and gets away with it. No one.”

“I’m not your Evvy,” Evelyn replied, a note of exasperation creeping into her voice.

“Sure you are. You’re also Milady, and I’m not going to forgive anyone who hurts you,” Fya replied, her smile widening as she glanced over at Evelyn in amusement. “I’ll be happy to deal with her… promise.”

Evelyn let out a sigh of aggravation and shook her head, glancing over at the angel and succubus. “Try to keep her from doing anything to provoke Fya, please? I know you can’t stop her from doing something terrible, but I’d appreciate it if you tried.”

“I shall do what I can,” Vaneryth confirmed, placing a hand over her heart.

“Oh, we will… and I’m certain that Mariel will be very cooperative. Won’t you?” Zelirana said, her smile widening as she looked at Mariel closely.

“Of course!” Mariel said, her nerve obviously cracking a bit more.

“Good. Then if the rest of you would come with me…” Evelyn said, gesturing for them to follow her as she left the room.

Ilyra, Moon, and Star followed as Evelyn made her way through the halls of the ship, and Evelyn noticed that repair robots were working hard to get it functional again. She had to admit that Mariel hadn’t skimped on maintenance, which was a point in her favor. A very, very small point.

“Why are you leaving? And taking us with you?” Ilyra asked at last, sounding faintly… lost. Or horrified. Both of which were things Evelyn could understand.

“Because I want to resist the urge to strangle her, then have Fya resurrect her so I can torment her more,” Evelyn said evenly, her voice almost pleasant as she imagined the woman turning purple with one of her hands wrapped around her throat. “Ryth and Zel are going to be far… steadier about interacting with her than any of us and taking Fya away from her wasn’t going to happen. So, I wanted to remove the four of us from her presence before we did something you or I might regret. It’s part of the reason I wasn’t allowing Rasien or her team to stay on the same ship.”

“I… can’t say that you’re wrong. The idea of what was going on… it’s terrifying,” Moon said, pausing for a moment before she added quietly. “We didn’t even find out what she planned for us.”

“I don’t think you’ll like the answer,” Evelyn said, certainty in her voice. She’d been tempted to ask but had decided it wasn’t worth the risk of killing the woman early. She paused for several seconds, then continued. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with her yet. Perhaps reveal what she did to Celestial Gate and hand her over for a trial? I’ll have to see what she’s done first. As tempting as it is to do to her whatever she did to Vania, I refuse to be that vindictive. And the very thought is repulsive.”

“Mm… you’re not wrong. It is really tempting,” Star agreed, a murderous look on her face. “That smug superiority she showed for just a minute… I wanted to punch her in the face.”

“Then you should’ve,” Evelyn replied. It took a moment for her to realize that all three women had stopped, and she paused, glancing behind her to see that they were staring at her. Star’s mouth was agape, but all of them looked stunned. After a moment Evelyn asked. “What?”

“I… but you didn’t want her hurt?” Moon protested, her hands waving helplessly.

“I never said not to hurt her. I said we needed her alive, and punching her in the face isn’t a problem, not when she deserves it. Now, torturing her is an entirely different matter,” Evelyn said, shaking her head, then beckoned them to follow as she continued moving. “Too late now, though. You missed the golden opportunity for it. Let’s go.”

No matter how silent the three were, Evelyn could practically hear their regret. It was just as well, though. Hitting someone in the face without proper training tended to hurt.

Chapter 74

Evelyn stepped into the observatory and paused for just a moment, seeing that Ilyra was inside already, one elbow on the back of a couch while her chin rested on her palm, staring out at the flickering lights around them. They were flying through an ice field, following Silver Line closely, and a nearby green star caused the ice to give them a lovely light show. That was why Evelyn had come to the observatory, but she doubted that Ilyra was there for that reason. She suspected the celestine wanted to talk to her after the revelations from earlier.

Approaching, Evelyn sat down a short distance away, not wanting to crowd Ilyra. She leaned back and sighed, looking out through the dome, admiring how the greens played against a backdrop of pink and blue.

“How are you feeling? I know how unpleasant the… augmentation can be,” Evelyn said, mentally checking on herself as she spoke. Things were getting better, but she suspected she had another two or three weeks before she was back to normal. Possibly more, after using her magic the way she had.

“Prickly. No wonder you’re short-tempered with other people. Not us, but others,” Ilyra replied softly, prompting Evelyn to chuckle and shake her head.

“No, I’m afraid it can’t be blamed on the magic. It might contribute when I’ve been injured, but I’m afraid that character trait is innate,” Evelyn said, smiling wryly. “It’ll pass in time.”

“Maybe so,” Ilyra replied.

Evelyn didn’t interrupt the silence this time, just watching the sky and letting her mind drift a little. She wondered what she should say to Vania. What she could say. It wasn’t like saying she was sorry the elf had been enslaved was… well, it would be in poor taste. Several options flitted through her mind, only to be just as quickly discarded. It was almost enough to make Evelyn snort, as she’d never been confident in negotiations. She was a warrior and mage, not a diplomat. She’d far rather fight an entire army of robots in her current condition rather than talk with Vania. How was that for bravery?

Her thoughts were mostly chasing each other in circles, and there wasn’t much to be done about it. There were hours to go before they reached their destination, and Evelyn was… afraid. She hated to admit it even to herself, but she was.

She was also startled when Ilyra spoke.

“Is it weird that I almost wish I was delusional about being a noble?” Ilyra asked, her voice soft but more than enough to echo through the observatory, as quiet as it was.

“Why is that?” Evelyn asked, her eyebrows rising as she turned away from the dome to look at Ilyra, startled at the admission. After their previous conversation, she’d been expecting Ilyra to be relieved, not regretful.

“I… liked the idea of the lack of a history to chain me down. Not that I was admitting that to myself, mind you. I… oh, pufflesticks, I don’t know how to explain this!” Ilyra suddenly exclaimed, sitting up straight as she threw her hands up in the air. “I keep going back and forth, and back and forth, and I can’t decide what’s important to me! Do I want to go home one day and show them what I’ve made of myself? Do I want to become a noble of Brightdawn, with all the horrible things that she talked about happening? Do I want to go with you and have adventures? Or is it that I just… want to be someone else entirely, to join your harem and not worry about Brightdawn at all? I don’t know, and it’s terrifying!”

Evelyn blinked, but she couldn’t help a smile at the celestine’s curse. She didn’t know why it amused her so much, but it did, and it broke her out of her own circling thoughts. It wasn’t nice of her to think about it that way, but it helped Evelyn, oddly enough.

“But do you? Not know,” Evelyn asked, looking at Ilyra as her own thoughts settled into a near unnatural calm, pieces starting to fall into place as she focused on the younger woman.

“What do you mean? Why would I be this confused if I did know?” Ilyra protested. Yet with the way her eyes flitted back and forth, Evelyn suspected she knew better.

Reaching out, Evelyn offered her hands to Ilyra. After a moment of hesitation, the celestine reached out and took Evelyn’s hands, prompting Evelyn to realize that despite how young Ilyra seemed sometimes, she wasn’t that young. Her hands were developing calluses from all the work she’d done, everything that she’d thrown into her efforts to become stronger. Those calluses would vanish soon with the augmentation she was undergoing, there was no need for them, but for the moment they were signs of the work she’d put in.

“Lyra, listen to me closely,” Evelyn said, looking her in the eyes.

“…Yes?” Ilyra replied hesitantly, raising her gaze until she met Evelyn’s gaze fully.

“It’s okay,” Evelyn said, keeping her voice quiet as she looked at Ilyra. “It’s okay to want to know, yet to not want to be chained to your past. It’s okay to dream of something more. And it’s okay to change your mind when you’ve decided that you’ve made a mistake. There’s nothing wrong with that, so… do what you want to do. Be who you want to be. Isn’t that why you ran away to begin with?”

Ilyra stared at Evelyn. She thought she saw tears welling up in the young woman’s eyes. Then she threw herself at Evelyn, wrapping her arms around her tightly. Evelyn responded by hugging her more gently in return. Ilyra had definitely grown stronger than before, Evelyn noticed, a touch amused by the thought.

“Are you sure? That if I decided that I didn’t want to be with you, I could change my mind?” Ilyra asked, her voice trembling.

“Oh, Lyra… I’m speaking from experience here,” Evelyn replied, laughing softly. “Mind you, my mistake was a bit more extreme than yours. Hopefully you won’t have to commit suicide by princess to get yourself out of it.”

Ilyra laughed, pulling away slightly. Evelyn took note of the handful of tears that were trailing down her cheeks, opening her mouth, but then she saw the gleam in the celestine’s eyes. She could have reacted, but Evelyn chose not to.

Ilyra’s tackle knocked Evelyn on her side, back on the couch with the celestine on top of her. The next moment she was clumsily kissing Evelyn, her fingers scrabbling at her tunic… and Evelyn couldn’t help a hint of amusement as she began to help the younger woman. This was one way to distract Ilyra, and Evelyn was going to enjoy it.

Chapter 75

Light washed over them, shimmering through a rainbow of colors, and Evelyn watched as it passed, leaving them seemingly suspended in darkness, with distant pinpricks of stars scattered in every direction. Light had come so far to reach them, yet the system they were in was… unimpressive, to put it mildly. Evelyn had to work to spot the red dwarf, it was so far away and dim. Even the dot of Silver Line was larger, since the ship was only a few dozen kilometers away.

Evelyn glanced at Adria, and the Doll spoke a moment later. “Astral emergence confirmed. No issues detected during transit. We have arrived in the desired system. Space station detected at a distance of one million, three hundred and forty-seven thousand kilometers.”

“Thank you, Adria. Transponder?” Evelyn asked, tapping the side of her chair calmly. She knew what the answer should be, but she wasn’t certain it would be accurate.

“None, Captain,” Adria replied, a hint of vexation in her voice.

“As expected. Please put the station on-screen,” Evelyn ordered, standing up again. She was going to have to go to Silver Line soon, so there wasn’t any point in sitting much longer.

An image appeared on the screen, and the sight… well, it slightly surprised Evelyn. Mostly because of how normal the station looked.

The space station was a classic human design, with a broad, mushroom-like cylindrical center section with three arms stretching out at equidistant points, each with docking bays at the ends of them, and they had additional arms stretching out to either side to allow more ships to dock. The secondary arms looked like they’d been decommissioned, and the station looked like it’d seen better days, though the weapons and armor looked to be in good condition. It might be an old mining station, but if Evelyn had come out of astral and seen it, she would’ve thought it was an independent station or a mercenary base. Maybe a pirate base, for that matter.

“Interesting. Are there any other signals in-system? We were told that some mining shuttles were still around, which she used to make repairs and defray the costs,” Evelyn said, glancing at the charts.

“None which have reached us yet. If they do not have active transponders, it is likely that we will not detect them for some time. Initial readings indicate that the local resource deposits have been depleted,” Adria said, shaking her head firmly.

“Mm, I’m not surprised,” Evelyn said, taking a deep breath, then let it out again. Glancing back, Evelyn took in Ilyra, Moon, and Star for a moment, then focused on the twins. “Moon, Star? Which of you wants to be in command while I’m aboard the station?”

“What?” Moon asked, looking startled.

“One of us?” Star continued, looking at her sister, then stared at Evelyn, her cheeks heating. “But… but we don’t have any real experience with that sort of thing. Wouldn’t Lyra be a better choice?”

“Lyra will be coming with me, unless she wants to wait to recover her data,” Evelyn said, giving the celestine another sidelong look. She looked significantly more confident than she had the previous day, even if she did blush every time she looked at Evelyn. There was no doubt in Evelyn’s mind that the twins knew something had happened, but she wasn’t going to call it out. That would be rude.

“No, I think I want to go over, if nothing else to figure out what she had planned for me,” Ilyra said, her lips pressing together tightly for a moment. Evelyn could see that she wasn’t happy at the thought, but before she could say anything, Ilyra continued. “I could watch over the comms, but it isn’t the same. Maybe I’ll even be able to help.”

Moon frowned, looking at Ilyra as she opened her mouth, then shut it without saying anything. She glanced at Star, and Evelyn caught the edges of an implant transmission between the two of them. They appeared to be discussing things, and after a few seconds they nodded in apparent agreement.

“I’ll take command, I think. Adria will take care of most of it anyway, and Moon is more comfortable in the background than I am,” Star said, grinning slightly. “Maybe that’s why she went into cooking, since it lets her hide from the customers most of the time.”

“Hey, I like talking to people!” Moon protested. “I just don’t have the patience for sitting around on the bridge, I like to be doing things.”

Evelyn smiled as she heard Ilyra giggle, and she nodded, glancing at Adria as she spoke. “Regardless, that gives me someone to leave in charge for the time being. Please take care of the ship for me.”

“Yes, Captain,” Adria said, standing at attention for a moment.

“I’ll do my best!” Star said, smiling nervously.

Evelyn patted her on the shoulder, giving a reassuring smile, then headed for the door. She just wished she didn’t feel so anxious about what came next.

* * *

“The only reason the station isn’t firing on you is because I’m with you, you know,” Mariel said, looking at the hatch anxiously.

“Oh, we know. Which is why you’re with us,” Evelyn replied, inclining her head slightly.

“And if you attack us, we’ll make sure you die horribly,” Fya said enthusiastically. “Why, if you try to take any hostages it won’t work either! I can just resurrect them.”

“Fya. Don’t discuss killing the people we’re here to rescue,” Evelyn chided the djinn, giving her a pointed look.

“I’m not! I’m just telling her that if she tries anything stupid, she’ll deserve everything she gets in response,” Fya said, grinning broadly, then paused, her eyes widening. “Ooh… that could be a fun lesson… I could make her experience a couple thousand years in a millisecond. Or maybe all the injuries you’ve gone through, all at the same time. It wouldn’t even hurt her physically, just mentally.”

Mariel blanched, and Evelyn smirked despite herself. The nice thing about having Fya in a vindictive mood was that the djinn was much, much more terrifying than she was. It was a side effect of her rather… dubious morality. And it meant that Evelyn didn’t have to come up with sufficiently creative threats, which was always difficult. There were only so many ways to threaten to kill someone that weren’t torture.

“Is there anyone else aboard the station? Subordinates of yours?” Evelyn asked at last. She already knew that the defenses were automated, but hadn’t bothered fully interrogating Mariel. She was too upset by her, and didn’t want to kill her outright.

“One. I asked her while we were traveling here,” Zelirana said, and her smile faltered as she hesitated, then continued. “A scientist. I believe that you are going to kill her.”

Evelyn paused, staring at the succubus, then looked at Vaneryth, who inclined her head as a flicker of rage crossed her face, only to be replaced by serenity a moment later as she murmured. “If you don’t, I likely will.”

“What could a scientist possibly do to upset me and Ryth that much?” Evelyn asked, keeping her tone even as she examined Mariel, her eyes narrowing slightly. The CEO shifted in place uncomfortably, looking away.

“I don’t have any intention of using the research, mind you. It sounded interesting at first, but it’s gone kind of… weird. I’ve thought about pulling the plug on Briar’s research plenty of times, but… kept changing my mind. Some aspects of it could be useful,” the woman said, dancing around the point, which caused Evelyn’s eyes to narrow. Anything which could piss off Vaneryth to that point and even make Zelirana hesitate was bad.

“What is it?” Evelyn demanded flatly.

“Compliance programming,” Zelirana said softly. “A combination of psychological, technological, and magical treatments to make people content with their role in life. Not quite stripping them of their free will, but something very close to it. Not that such can’t be done right now, but she’s trying to come up with something that can easily be used without people noticing, to make the lower classes less… problematic.”

Evelyn couldn’t process what she’d heard for a few seconds, not quite understanding or believing it. Horror, and rage, were just barely beginning to dawn on her when Fya reacted.

“You complete bitch!” Fya thundered, her voice shaking the shuttle it was so loud, and there was a crack like thunder as the djinn appeared in front of Mariel, crossing the cabin in an instant and her hand gripped the woman by the throat as she hissed. “I should lobotomize you right now! You dare? Your days will be filled with torment if it’s the last thing I—”

“Fya!” Evelyn exclaimed sharply, even if anger was seething under the surface. Mariel was scrabbling at Fya’s hand, which had turned large, scaled, and menacing… and was keeping her from being able to breathe. “Release her. Now.”

“Far be it for me to agree with the djinn, but I’m not certain I would trust her if she were thrown out an airlock this very moment,” Rasien said, her voice taut with anger. Fya let go, though, and Mariel gasped, terror in her eyes as she shrank back in her seat.

“I-it wasn’t how the project started! It was supposed to just help people deal with mental trauma, to accept it and move on with their lives!” Mariel protested, shivering. “I brought her here because… well, I had ideal subjects for her to study! I didn’t let her work on them, though. I got others for that part.”

Evelyn’s gaze turned icy as she stared at Mariel, resisting the urge to end her right now. She needed the woman for the moment. Besides, she might well be telling the truth.

“I don’t need to hear your excuses. Fya, sit down,” Evelyn ordered, her gaze drifting to Rasien as she added. “If it turns out she’s telling the truth, I have ideas in mind for the appropriate punishment. However, we are going to wait, Rasien. No matter how angry I am, I am going to wait… and act based on what we find. Is that clear?”

“Fine,” Fya hissed, slowly slinking back across the cabin. She repaired the safety harness that she’d destroyed crossing the cabin with her magic, but how black her hair was and the rage in her eyes betrayed her mood.

“Perfectly,” Rasien said, her gaze growing still colder. “I do hope it is an appropriate punishment.”

“We shall see,” Evelyn said, glaring at Mariel as she asked. “Is there anything else that you expect to enrage me, Zel?”

“One item. Most of the crew of the station are Dolls. She utilizes a system to remove any souls that form and trap them in gemstones during their maintenance cycles,” the succubus said, her voice carefully neutral. “She keeps them for trade with demons, though she hasn’t sold any yet. The souls are considered relatively poor-quality due to how inexperienced they are, so she needs to have large numbers for them to be worth much.”

“Mm,” Evelyn murmured, her lips pressing together tightly, then forced herself to relax. “At least they weren’t sold yet. If they had… well. That would have been unpleasant.”

Mariel nodded rapidly, but since they were flying into Haven’s docking bay at that moment, Evelyn didn’t say anything more. She was too wound up and irritable. From the horror and anger on even Ilyra’s face, Evelyn suspected that if she weren’t needed immediately, Mariel would be little more than a splatter on the wall. Evelyn might not have made her splatter, but a scorch mark would certainly work.

After a few seconds the ship set down, and the doors chimed, then slowly began to open. Evelyn unbuckled her harness and stood, keeping an eye on Mariel. She looked like she was on the verge of passing out, to Evelyn’s intense personal satisfaction. So she nodded to the hatch, through which was the docking bay.

Following her out of the shuttle, Evelyn took a moment to look around, moderately surprised by what they found. The bay itself looked like it hadn’t changed much from the mining station days, with a battered but clean appearance. There was plenty of repair equipment, refueling arms for ships that needed that sort of thing, and even a control bay. It wasn’t as fancy as what she’d expected, especially with their reception.

Eight Dolls were arrayed in front of them, each in black gowns with white aprons. They were curtseying deeply, and in unison they spoke. “Welcome back, Lady Issek.”

“Thank you,” Mariel said, straightening slightly, but swallowed as she looked back at Zelirana, who had a hand on her shoulder. After a moment of hesitation, she continued. “These are my guests and should be treated as such. I’m taking them to the command center to give them their permissions.”

“Yes, Milady,” the Doll closest to them said, one that appeared to be celestine, with bright blue eyes and translucent hair. All of the Dolls rose at the same time. “We will collect your luggage and take it to your room.”

“No need. I didn’t bring any luggage this time,” Mariel said, swallowing visibly, then jerked her head toward the doors as she said. “Return to your duties.”

“Yes, Milady,” the Dolls said, and turned to leave, moving in unison.

“This isn’t as ornate as I expected,” Ilyra observed, a note of venom in her voice.

“It’s a disguise, in case anyone that can’t just be ignored comes close. It looks like a normal station bay, along with the rest of this docking arm,” Mariel replied, her anxiety obvious as she looked at Evelyn, hesitating. “You aren’t going to kill me, are you?”

“If you cooperate, that’s correct. What we’ll do with you is currently up in the air. Everything depends on what we find,” Evelyn said, her voice carefully controlled. “Now, stop delaying.”

“Of course. The tram is this way,” Mariel said, a note of relief in her voice as she led them toward the doors leading deeper into the station.

Evelyn followed, her anger seething under the surface… but it could wait. She wanted to see what had actually happened.

Chapter 76

The trip to the command center had been modestly interesting, as the tram proved to be much nicer than the areas which led to it, and when they exited near the heart of the station, there was so much wealth on display that it almost made Evelyn’s teeth hurt. She was well off, but she suspected that she could buy a small fleet of ships for the cost of the station.

The station AI wasn’t particularly bright, but Evelyn suspected that was to ensure it didn’t gain a soul and the accompanying self-will. The good thing was that it meant it didn’t object to Evelyn being given full access to the systems… or to her immediately locking Mariel out of them. There wasn’t much chance of the woman not having override codes, but Evelyn was willing to take the small victory. But first, she had a destination. Despite Rasien’s protests, she wanted to meet with this Briar, and deal with them. She also deliberately declined to look in on the captives. She didn’t want to tempt herself.

When the door to the laboratory hissed open, Evelyn’s eyes narrowed, scanning it as her lips pressed together.

The laboratory was a classic, clean white, but that didn’t mean it didn’t contain signs of horrors. There were several tables with almost concealed restraints to hold someone to them, and a helmet-like device above where someone’s head would go. There were small cells with translucent walls against a bulkhead. There was an array of diagrams of the brain on one wall, scribbled with notes, some of which were disturbing. Most of it felt almost normal… but Evelyn knew better. And her gaze focused on the laboratory’s single occupant.

Briar Iddings was a thin but attractive redhead with bright blue eyes and short hair. She was wearing a lab coat over dark clothing, and on seeing them she grinned broadly.

“Ah, my dear employer, it’s wonderful to see you! Why didn’t you announce that were coming?” the woman enthused. “And these… oh, they’re lovely specimens. I do hope that one or two of them are test subjects for me? I’ve run out, I’m afraid, after the last one tried to swallow her tongue. I tried to salvage her mind, but she was too far gone. It’s really too bad about the twins… I was curious if sympathetic magic would do the job. I’m so close to success, I can just tell! Oh, but my apologies, you’re looking under the weather. Are you well?”

Mariel looked like she was about to reply, but Evelyn interjected, just barely able to keep her seething rage under control at the mention of the twins. She wanted to blow the woman’s head off.

“No, we are not subjects. However, she told us about your work, and I wished to ask about what your goal is,” Evelyn said, keeping her voice calm.

“Oh, guests? No, no… don’t tell me, additional investors at last? Wonderful!” Briar exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm as she clasped her hands together, breathing in deeply. “I knew someone would understand! Now, do you wish for the overview or an in-depth explanation? The latter will likely take, oh… twelve hours to properly present.”

“The overview, please,” Evelyn said, her anger spiking even more. Fortunately, the woman seemed to completely miss how unhappy everyone else was.

“Of course, of course. So, the simple version,” Briar paused, tapping her lower lip, then smiled. “It all started as a project to determine how to deal with the stress of trauma after the fact. The number of emergency personnel who had mental breakdowns, soldiers who lost their grip on reality, or victims of abuse… healing their minds is a time consuming, delicate task, if you even can heal them. I was seeking out a way to help them recover. It was in the middle of gathering data about how many people were dealing with trauma that I realized the true breadth of the problem, however.

“It isn’t something which is restricted to just the ones I thought it affected. How many people are crushed by the expectations of society, unhappy with their place in it? How many people believe that they were given an unfair lot by an uncaring universe? How many people let themselves stew in the morass of their lives, until they finally break? I would say more than don’t break. So, I set out to do something about it,” Briar said, grinning broadly as she waved around her. “How many people would have happier lives if they were just content with what they had? If they could be convinced to accept what had happened, and not worry about other things? Certainly, it can’t be used on everyone, because if it was no one would advance science or knowledge, but for most people, why, it would just improve their lives! Can you imagine…”

Her stomach roiling and disgust pervading her thoughts, Evelyn considered, then came to a snap decision. It was a terrible one, but it was the only thing she felt that she could do and live with herself, with her horror. She tuned the woman out as she used her implants to message Zelirana.

“Zel, please give me your necklace. The one with Korrix trapped in it,” Evelyn told the succubus, keeping her mental ‘voice’ as calm as she could. Which wasn’t very calm.

“Very well, Evelyn. May I ask what your intentions are?” the succubus asked, reaching up and quietly unclasping a chain, which held a modest-sized ruby with a faint light within it.

“You’ll find out momentarily,” Evelyn replied grimly, taking the necklace when it was offered. Briar didn’t even seem to notice what they were doing, though the others were looking at her in confusion.

It took barely any effort to banish the demon back to her home plane, trapped as she was in the gemstone. The succubus probably wanted to get out anyway, so the banishment spell was easy, and the light in the gem faded. Now for the hard part.

“I believe I’ve heard enough,” Evelyn interrupted, looking at Briar again.

“Oh?” Briar asked, looking mildly disappointed as she paused, looking at Evelyn. “But I’ve barely begun to explain things!”

“You’ve explained more than enough to me,” Evelyn replied, her mana building in her veins, seething just under the surface as she focused her mind, ignoring pain that radiated through her body, and she raised her empty hand, breathing in deep, then hissed. “Soul rip.”

Briar didn’t have a chance to scream. She didn’t even have a chance for confusion before her body collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. From her body came an orb of shimmering gray light, around which were violent arcs of red energy. The orb seemed to hesitate, struggling against the red light, but was slowly drawn to Evelyn’s hand. She held it for a moment, then shoved it into the gemstone, which began glowing again. As the magic faded, Evelyn relaxed slightly, though her body hurt after that.

“Evelyn, what did you just do?” Ilyra asked, a note of horror in her voice.

“I ripped her soul out and placed it in this soul gem,” Evelyn said calmly, looking at the ruby, then slowly turned her head to look at Mariel, who was as white as a sheet. “You weren’t going to use it, hm? Somehow I doubt that.”

“O-of course I wasn’t! Someone might have used it on me!” the woman replied quickly, shaking her head. “I was mostly looking for the original version, but then things… drifted.”

“I believe she’s telling the truth,” Zelirana said, her voice neutral.

“Regardless. Fya, please vaporize the body. We’ll wipe every trace of the data from the system later,” Evelyn said coldly, tossing the necklace to Zelirana. “Zel, consume her soul, please. I don’t want anyone getting the information she possessed.”

Fya had bright blue-white flames hovering in her hands before Evelyn even began to speak to Zelirana and threw them immediately. The body of Briar vaporized in an instant, leaving a scorch mark on the floor, but everyone froze at Evelyn’s order. Vaneryth’s eyes went wide as she covered her mouth, and Ilyra inhaled sharply. Zelirana caught the necklace, but she was frowning slightly.

“Evelyn, are you certain? That’s something… it cannot be undone, you know that,” Vaneryth said, her voice soft. “The stain on your soul…”

“I’m very certain. What she wished to do is an abomination. I will not stand for something like it when I can prevent it. As for my soul, so what? I’ve done enough things that could doom me, and I’m not going to stop now,” Evelyn said, staring at Zelirana. The succubus nodded slowly in response.

“Very well, Evelyn. It will take me some time to do so, however. I will begin the process this evening,” Zelirana said formally.

“Good enough,” Evelyn said, turning to Mariel. “Vania. Now.”

Before this moment, Evelyn had thought that the woman couldn’t become any more terrified. Now she knew better, since the woman was so pale she thought she might pass out. Mariel turned and almost tripped over her own feet, she was trembling so hard. Evelyn didn’t say anything more, her anger seething so strongly. She just watched as Zelirana kept Mariel upright and moving.

No one interrupted their walk with conversation. The only thing that happened was Fya taking Evelyn’s hand as she gave her a sad smile of understanding, while Vaneryth took her other hand. It was… odd, but Evelyn couldn’t bother to consider what they might be thinking. She knew exactly what she’d done. She’d doomed another’s soul to oblivion. To non-existence… and she’d do it again in a heartbeat. It almost made her smile, even if she was angrier with herself than she could express. She truly was a terrible person… but sometimes someone had to be the one to be terrible. She wouldn’t foist off the responsibility on someone else out of the fear of getting her hands dirty.

They were entering a section of the station that was even more ornate, if that were possible, when Evelyn noticed the first people who weren’t Dolls.

They immediately reminded her of how Ilyra, Moon, Star, Vaneryth, and Zelirana had been changed, along with the other women who’d been enslaved. The major difference was in clothing and the details. Unlike with the people Evelyn had known, the proportions of the women she saw here were far more refined, and Evelyn wouldn’t have realized they’d undergone sculpting if she hadn’t been looking for it, especially since they weren’t standardized. They were also wearing fine clothing and jewelry which enhanced their beauty.

There was a dark elf in orange and yellow clothing that showed off her midsection, as well as a diamond dangling from a headdress to rest on her forehead, with another diamond in her navel. Next was a senne woman who had to be at least two meters tall, wearing a toga and gold bracelets, anklets, and armbands. The third was a woman with cerulean blue hair and pale skin, one who resembled a human, but which struck Evelyn as somehow different. That woman was wearing a formal sheathe gown and was watching them curiously.

“How many women do you have here?” Evelyn asked at last.

“Ah… forty-seven, I believe?” Mariel replied, glancing back at Evelyn nervously, licking her lips. “Yes, forty-seven, according to my implants.”

Evelyn’s lips pressed together even tighter, as she inhaled slowly, then exhaled again. Anger was better than self-loathing. The look in her eyes caused Mariel to flinch and look away quickly, which was just as well.

“I want to murder her,” Rasien whispered behind Evelyn, causing her to roll her eyes. The knight could get in line, as far as Evelyn was concerned.

None of the women approached them, though Evelyn could hear their confused discussion. It seemed that outsiders visiting was unknown, and with Evelyn and a couple of others in armor… well, it wasn’t like they were used to seeing something like that. She was gratified that they almost sounded normal in most ways.

They passed through a wide antechamber, then Mariel hesitated, and looked at the nearest Doll, asking. “Where is Vania?”

“She is in the library, Milady,” the Doll replied immediately, looking away from the robots cleaning and polishing the floor.

“Good enough,” Mariel said, swallowing before adding. “It would have been easier to find her if you’d left me access to the systems.”

“Easier, perhaps, but I’m not stupid. This place has an FTL link, and I made sure it was shut down before we left the command center,” Evelyn said calmly. “I also made sure you hadn’t sent any messages.”

Mariel flinched, and Evelyn smirked, following as Mariel sped up, moving through a complex that reminded her of a palace. This was far more ornate than Peldra’s palace had been, but was somehow almost tasteful. Maybe that was because there were people in the hallways that gave it a lived-in appearance. Plus, they fit in there, where Evelyn hadn’t.

Then they found the library, and the doors slid open ahead of them. There weren’t books on the shelves, mostly vid screens and some tablets that were available. Evelyn noticed a woman to their left who appeared to be working on runic script for enchanting at a console, but it was one table in specific that drew her attention.

Sitting at the table were two women. Evelyn ignored the woman with bright gold hair for the moment, focusing instead on the elf in a white dress whose back was to her. She was curvier than she’d been before, but despite that, it took no effort at all for Evelyn to identify Vania. Not with that perfect posture, which she could have identified anywhere after seeing it during her visits with the princess for two years.

They approached slowly, and Evelyn saw Vania’s back stiffen slightly. Before she could turn, Evelyn spoke… though she was a touch surprised by her own words.

“Princess, I believe the goal is to avoid being captured,” Evelyn said dryly, crossing her arms. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t give me more work. I’m not even getting paid for it.”

Chapter 77

“Evelyn?” Vania asked, her voice trembling as she slowly turned, and her eyes widened as she stared at them. “But… Rasien too? How…?”

“Your Majesty!” Rasien exclaimed, bounding past Evelyn in a moment. “Are you alright? I tried to find you, but… but I had no choice but to contact Evelyn. Last I heard Peldra… well…”

“I know, Ras. I’ve gotten some news here, and a couple of feeds regarding Peldra were sent directly to me,” Vania said, a sad smile playing across her face as she shook her head slowly. “The loyalists have been extinguished, or so close to it that it’s too late at this point.”

“Really? And just who is responsible for those feeds?” Evelyn asked, slowly turning her head to examine Mariel coldly.

“I… thought it would put her position in perspective,” the woman replied, looking away.

“Of course you did,” Evelyn said, considering for just a moment, then sighed and looked back at Vania. “So, how are you? I’m told that you’ve been… conditioned.”

The elf grimaced, standing up and looking at Evelyn closely for a few seconds, then laughed softly, shaking her head. “What does it matter, Evelyn? Ever since that imbecile tried to kill you when you were a teen, things have gotten worse and worse. I ignored how the prophecy said that the events would end the rule of my family over Peldra for good and look at it now. It’s done. I was captured, yes. And now I cannot even disobey if given orders. I cannot contact anyone off this station or attempt to escape. It’s… it makes me long for the days when you kept me captive in the tower. At least you didn’t attempt to control me like this.”

Evelyn winced, taking a moment to glare at Mariel again, then paused as she looked at Vania’s companion at the table, her blood suddenly running cold. The woman had metallic golden hair and eyes, eyes that had the slit vertical pupil of a dragoness. She was gorgeous, of course, and wore an elaborate, shimmering green gown… but she was a dragon. And she was watching them in interest. Evelyn’s thoughts tangled up on one another for a few seconds, then she forced them back into order. One crisis at a time.

“Your Majesty, don’t say that! As long as you’re alive there’s hope. I’ve gathered a handful of your most loyal guards to assist Evelyn, and I’m sure—” Rasien protested, only to be cut off at last when Vania raised a hand, shaking her head sadly.

“No, Rasien. At a certain point, I believe it is best to accept the truth. That my reign is at an end,” Vania said, taking a deep breath, then looked back at Evelyn and Mariel, frowning slightly. “Though I’ll admit I’m… somewhat in shock. How… what happened?”

“Simple enough. Mariel here decided that she wanted to capture me for her little collection when I freed a bunch of the women that she’d purchased, so she decided to capture you as bait, and led me into a trap,” Evelyn said, placing a hand on Mariel’s shoulder as she bared her teeth. “As a matter of fact, it almost succeeded. Then I found someone who had information on who was really behind it, and I caught up to Mariel while she was on her way here. So… I’m here to rescue you. And all the others, because I’m not a complete bitch. Just mostly one.”

Vania blinked, then blinked again. After a few seconds a smile began to grow on her face, and her shoulders shook. When she spoke, her voice was almost breathless as she suppressed her laughter. “Only… only you would call that simple. And why… why would…”

The next moment her laughter had turned to sobs, and she took a couple of quick steps forward before falling into Evelyn, wrapping her arms around her as she began to sob. Evelyn hugged the former monarch in return, sighing softly as she shook her head helplessly, trying to ignore how the others were staring at her, especially Mariel.

“You really are hopeless, Vania. You know you’re supposed to hate me, right?” Evelyn murmured softly.

Vania cried harder.

* * *

Eventually, Vania’s tears dried up and they had a chance to talk properly. Not that there was much to talk about… and there were plenty of other women starting to filter into the room. Evelyn studiously ignored them, though it was hard when a four-winged archangel walked in. What in the hells had Mariel been thinking? Or course, there was also a succubus, which made her wonder why she’d wanted Vaneryth and Zelirana, since she already had a couple of immortals.

The most important of them was Vania, of course, but Evelyn couldn’t ignore the dragon. So, after a few minutes she turned her attention to the woman.

“Dare I hope that you’re a rogue dragon?” Evelyn asked, only faintly hopeful.

“Not in the slightest,” the woman replied, grinning slightly, which revealed her teeth. They looked so normal, yet that bare-fanged expression looked so natural on her face. “I’m Sriallac Goldenscale, of the Mellak Clan. When I was going on a trip to explore the galaxy, the Dalreen Clan decided to get me out of the way, since I had a bit too much status for their tastes, and they sold me to Mariel. That way I wouldn’t register as dead to scryings, and their part wouldn’t be found out.”

“Shit,” Evelyn spat out, reaching up to rub her eyes. “And I thought rescuing Ilyra was bad.”

“Uh-oh,” Ilyra murmured from behind Evelyn, while Rasien’s eyebrows shot upward.

“Why does that sound unpleasant?” Rasien asked uncertainly.

“Do you want to get involved in a war between draconic clans for vengeance?” Evelyn asked, and the knight blanched. Evelyn thought quickly, then glanced at Mariel, her eyes narrowing as she demanded. “Do you have any idea how much of an idiot you are?”

“I…” Mariel began, looking like she was about to panic. Before she could, Evelyn growled, looking at Zelirana.

“Put her to sleep, please,” Evelyn ordered.

“Yes, Evelyn,” Zelirana said, smiling slightly, and before Mariel could start protesting, pink magic flowed into the half-elf, knocking her unconscious. Vaneryth caught Mariel before she could hit the ground.

“Good. Someone put her into a stasis pod. The only way we’re going to get out of this in anything approaching decent shape is if we hand her over to the dragons,” Evelyn said, grimacing slightly, then turned back to Sriallac, asking. “I don’t suppose you have any suggestions about how to not get killed?”

“Your best bet is to approach the Draconic Council in some way. Though that would likely expose you to the Dalreen, and they’d try to kill you before any punishment was decided upon,” the dragon said thoughtfully. “How to bypass that… hm, the best bet would be the Grand Treasurers. They’re even higher-ranking than the council, and I haven’t seen any news of the Dalreen having a member among the Grand Treasurers. The problem would be getting an audience.”

“Lovely,” Evelyn said, letting out a faint sigh of relief. “Well, I have a contact with the apprentice of Mathrin’s Grand Treasurer… I think that gives good odds.”

“Indeed? That might be enough indeed,” Sriallac said, smiling a hair more. “Excellent. I might ask what you intend to do about all of us, though. Vania told us about you somewhat, and I have heard of how you possess a harem of your own. Are we just going to pass from one mistress to another?”

Evelyn gave her an irritable look, especially since the rest of the women in the room looked similarly curious. There were dark elves, elves, several celestine, a few humans, a couple of fey, senne, an orc, the previously mentioned archangel and succubus… and after a few seconds Evelyn realized that all of Mariel’s captives must be present. That was a little surprising.

“No. I have no intention of something like that, though… damn it, this is going to be a pain in the ass,” Evelyn said, grimacing. “So you all know, Mariel doesn’t have a way to reverse your conditioning, which is a problem. A major one, from my perspective. She said that it might work if we set your owners to yourselves, but that wouldn’t necessarily solve the problem. However, I’m getting ahead of myself. Do any of you not want to be freed?”

Evelyn was honestly startled when a single hand went up. The one whose hand was raised was a silver-haired half-elven woman, and when everyone stared at her she blushed and shrugged.

“It isn’t that I like serving her, but considering my family and background, I don’t want to go back,” the woman explained. “Plus… I enjoy this. I’d just want to find someone I trust to be in control.”

For a moment the silence was almost deafening, before Zelirana murmured. “Honestly, I’m not that surprised. There are people who enjoy this sort of thing, Evelyn.”

“I suppose it takes all types,” Evelyn said, inhaling deeply, then let her breath out again. “Which means I’m going to have to break one of my own rules to fix this. There’s only one way I can think of to do it in a reasonable time frame. Damn it.”

“What rule?” Vania asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

“Ooh, I know, I know!” Fya said, her eyes beginning to shine.

“Yes… yes, you do,” Evelyn said, grimacing. “Fya, if I wish for all of them to be freed from the mental conditioning Mariel inflicted on them and to remove the control software, could you do it? With minimal side effects.”

“Oh shit. That’s a djinn,” a dark elf said, her face going chalky.

“Yes,” Fya replied, ignoring the byplay as she grinned broadly, her hair now white, shimmering with sparks flying off it. “There will be some consequences, that’s inevitable, but I could minimize them. It’d be easiest if I made them fall in love with you, but—”

“No!” Evelyn interjected loudly.

“—you won’t let me do that,” Fya continued, almost as if Evelyn hadn’t said anything. “Really, the safest way to do it would be to have me take each of them into a room and have them make their wish individually. I can even try to customize the consequences! Well, not too much, if it’s something they really want, it’d be more of a wish, but… I could try! Especially if it’s something that I like.”

Evelyn opened her mouth, then shut it, glancing around the room. After a moment she scowled and shook her head, standing up again.

“I think that I have no place in this discussion. Each of you needs to make a decision on what you want to do, considering the options available,” Evelyn said, her gaze scanning across the women in the room. “While you deal with that, I need to make sure Mariel is secured and find where the soulstones of the Dolls were put. Figure it out.”

With that, she turned and grabbed the unconscious form of Mariel and slung her over a shoulder, then left the room while the women behind her began to talk to one another. She was barely into the hall before she realized that Ilyra was right behind her, as was Vania and Rasien.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you have a decision to make?” Evelyn asked, a hint of irritation in her voice.

“No, I don’t. I already know what decision I’ll be making,” Vania said, a smile playing across her lips. “The others will have to figure things out for themselves.”

“As for me, where My Lady goes, so shall I,” Rasien said stubbornly.

Ilyra laughed, then shrugged as she spoke, a touch more reasonably. “I just want to be there when you find my data. The others are going to try to help them come to a decision.”

“Of course they are,” Evelyn said, letting out a deep sigh.

She just knew Fya was going to cause problems. She had a sneaking suspicion she’d have a larger crew when this was all over… but that was a worry for the future. For now, Evelyn needed to deal with Mariel and figure out how she was going to avoid getting everyone eaten by dragons.

The future would be… interesting. Evelyn wondered why that brought a smile to her face.

Author’s Note

This book ended up much longer than I anticipated. It’s over twenty-five thousand words longer than any other book I’ve written to date, and I have to say, I’m amazed at how many twists and turns crept into the story that I didn’t anticipate, while a few elements I’d intended to put in were cut. It’s been a wild ride for Adept of Chaos, and I already know how the third book is going to start. First, I need to wrap up another story, though. So, it’s going to have to wait for a little while. My muse has been overactive lately, I swear.

In any case, I hope you’ve enjoyed your dive into Eve of Destruction so far! Evelyn and her life of chaos shall continue! You can see a preview of Mistress of Chaos after the glossary.

About the Author

Benjamin Medrano is a Utah native who lives along the Wasatch front with his beloved wife Jessica. Benjamin loves fantasy, science fiction, reading, and tabletop roleplaying games, all of which has inspired his imagination to wider horizons. Eventually he decided that if he couldn’t find exactly what he wanted to read, he’d write it himself and took the plunge without ever looking back. Eve of Destruction is his seventh series.

Glossary

These are a few of the common terms and a few items of note in the world of Astral Saga, where Evelyn and the others live.

Astral – Astral is the alternate dimension which is used by most species to travel between star systems. It is accessed via a combination of magic and technology, and ships are able to travel through it. It has an atmosphere any species can breathe but it has no gravity. Many alien creatures live in the astral, and there are seemingly limitless resources that can be found in it. While star systems location in normal space roughly determines their relative position in the astral, they do not line up perfectly, and sometimes a system which is close in normal space is much farther away in astral.

Aquana – A species that evolved from aquatic ancestors, the aquana are amphibious and generally peaceful as a species. They prefer particularly humid planets with lots of water, and while they can travel on ships with other species, they tend to find them dry and uncomfortable. They’re known to have particularly good relations with other aquatic species such as merfolk.

AU (Astral Unit) – The standard unit of measure in astral space. A ship can generally travel seven and a half AU in a day, with some vessels being somewhat faster or slower.

Celestine – A species of human-like creatures who are believed to be descended from angels in the distant past. They are insular and xenophobic, as well as known for being extremely ruthless about keeping their bloodlines pure.

Cluster – A cluster is a designation of a group of systems no more than 100 AU across. There is almost always a hub system which is the center of a cluster, usually in a system which has a wyrmgate.

FTL Node – Also called an FTL link, these devices allow instantaneous communication to their twin within 50 AU. These devices are large, power-intensive, and must be built in pairs, if one of them is destroyed, the other is useless and a new pair needs to be built as replacements. Most star systems have only one or two nodes, and many of them are privately owned. A hub system usually has the most nodes, as it is ideally placed to relay messages within a cluster. Most owners charge for the use of their nodes.

MEMP – Also known as a Magical Electro Magnetic Pulse, these devices are used to shut down technological and enchanted items in a short range around them, rarely more than twenty meters. Attempts have been made to extend the range, but the amount of enchanting required for the magical component is prohibitively expensive.

Mythrite – A silvery metal similar to mithral, only a handful of groups know how to smelt mythrite into a useful state, with primarily dragons knowing how to refine it. Mythrite is the basis of their economy, as it is useful in many advanced technological items which also use magic. Many other species use mythrite as well, often called chips in some cultures, and a great deal of emphasis is placed on a currency’s exchange rate to mythrite.

Pufflesticks – A plant native to Brightdawn, pufflesticks are a reed-like weed that grows across large parts of the world. When the reed matures, it explodes, launching its seeds up to a hundred meters in every direction and creating a brightly colored liquid and a foul stench. Immature reeds are often used by children as part of pranks, so it’s a common curse word on Brightdawn.

Senne – A humanoid species, the senne are taller and somewhat more muscular than humans, and are known for their generally blue skin, star-like eyes, and warlike nature. They are prone to multiple births, and have an innate psychic gift that allows them to link with two other senne, forming a close bond until they choose a new trio. This is heavily emphasized in their culture, and while many senne are honorable, they vary wildly in their responses to other species.

Spellburn Bomb – This weapon was originally designed to combat beings that cannot be killed conventionally due to reforming via magic, such as djinn. A spellburn bomb effectively burns off all mana and shatters most spells in an area within five meters of it, something which is incredibly painful to any creature within that range. Some shielding spells can mitigate its effects, so coupled with the extremely localized range and prodigious cost of crafting them, these weapons are exceedingly rare.

Wyrmgate – A creation of the dragons, the wyrmgates allow instantaneous travel between linked gates. They have built chains of wyrmgates across known space, and while the gates are expensive to use, the dragons allow anyone to pass through, so long as they have not attacked a wyrmgate or the dragon clans themselves. Other species have attempted to replicate the magitech used to create the wyrmgates, but none have created one that allows vessels to pass through safely yet.

Mistress of Chaos Preview

Dealing with Dragons

“Are you sure that this is a good idea?” Vania asked, and it was everything Evelyn could do to keep from sighing. She was somewhat helped by the universal screwdriver gripped between her teeth, and by the fact her hands were currently buried in the guts of the pinnace. It meant she couldn’t snap at the former monarch.

Instead she took the time to count to ten, then continued to carefully hook up the last connection for the new transponder. It wouldn’t do to have someone identify the pinnace when she took it out, not with all the problems that it could bring down on her head. Which was also the reason why she’d made the decisions that she had.

It took her a minute to reposition the plate she needed to replace, then took the screwdriver out of her mouth and started driving the screws back into place as she tried to get the taste of rubber out of her mouth. Well, something along the lines of rubber, anyway. Only when that was done did she squirm out of the crawlspace and glare at Vania.

“Tell me, Princess… how much good would you do if you were confronted by an upset elder dragon?” Evelyn asked tartly, her eyes narrowed.

Vania hesitated for a moment, her pale cheeks coloring. Her blue eyes shifted to the side rather than meeting Evelyn’s gaze, which caused Evelyn to sigh in exasperation. Vania was a beautiful elven woman, with golden-blonde hair that reached down to her knees when unbound and beautiful facial features. Her body was a bit on the overly curvy side at the moment, but that was the fault of her abductor, Mariel Issek, and Evelyn knew that most of the women in Haven were going to be using the BioSculptor on the station to reverse the changes to some degree, the biggest problem was that there was only one device, and each of them would take about a day. Vania, as the most recent arrival, was last in line for using it.

“Even once I’m back to normal… I’d probably lose in seconds.” Vania admitted, blushing even more.

“About what I thought. And unless they let Rasien bring a hypercannon into the room, she wouldn’t do much more than that.” Evelyn added dryly, turning her gaze to the knight, who studiously ignored Evelyn. They still weren’t on good terms, but the blonde, blue-eyed elven knight had relaxed enormously ever since they’d found Vania. And had refused to leave the former empress’s sight, which Evelyn knew was quite awkward.

“You could send a message, though?” Vania protested weakly.

“While I may understand the idea’s appeal, it is not the best way to approach a dragon, let alone a Grand Treasurer.” Sriallac interjected, drawing Evelyn’s gaze over toward the hatch, where the dragon was standing. In human-like form she had golden hair and slit-pupil eyes. The biggest difference from the first time Evelyn had seen her was that the dragon was now wearing a gold skinsuit with a long, almost dress-like teal duster over it. Evelyn wondered how much time she was going to spend in her draconic form once Fya removed the mental conditioning that had been inflicted on Sriallac. The woman continued, strolling forward slowly. “Sending a message regarding a subject of such import is an expression of cowardice in most ways. Only in the most extreme of circumstances would it be considered acceptable, such as our situation. Our recovery will take time, Vania, and the Grand Treasurers will understand that. If someone of Evelyn’s power and reputation were to avoid meeting with them, it would be regarded as an insult.”

Evelyn’s eyebrows rose as the dragon spoke, since she hadn’t known everything Sriallac had explained. She simply knew that if she was to appease the dragons, she needed to hand over Mariel in person. She hadn’t realized that sending a message might be viewed as an insult, which meant that she was glad that Sriallac could point out some pitfalls.

“That’s news to me. I just wanted to hand over Mariel in person, along with your message.” Evelyn said, setting the screwdriver in the nearby toolkit and glancing at the old transponder. “I figure that if I’m alone, I can at least teleport out if I’m on my own. If other people are with me, that won’t really be possible. Not with my injuries.”

Vania’s worry seemed to just get stronger, and she opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by Sriallac.

“I doubt you’ll need to worry about that, but it is best to take such into account. I haven’t dealt with a Grand Treasurer in nearly thirty years, and they are all different.” The dragon said, considering for a few seconds, then shook her head. “No matter, I suppose. I suggest that you remain polite and focus on the facts, Evelyn. Hopefully my message will assist you.”

“That’s rather the hope.” Evelyn said, stretching once, then frowned as she asked. “On a different subject, how are things going with Fya? I know a couple of people were leery about using her wishes to restore themselves.”

“Pretty well, from what I’ve heard.” Vania said, shrugging nervously. “There’ve been a few unanticipated consequences, but most of them aren’t that important. Changing someone’s hair color is easy with sculpting, as are some of the other effects. There’s only one person who can’t take advantage of it if she wants to.”

“Oh? Wait, no, I can guess.” Evelyn said, shaking her head firmly. “The archangel?”

“That’s correct.” Sriallac said, scowling for a moment before her expression smoothed out again. “Apparently Alaseenah’s soul is too powerful for your djinn to alter in that manner.”

“Not surprising, really. I’ve run into the same issue with Fya, which has both good and bad points to it. I’m not sure I’d want her to be able to alter me.” Evelyn said, letting out a sigh as she dusted her hands off. “I like Fya, don’t get me wrong. Most of the time, when she isn’t causing all sorts of problems… but that doesn’t mean that she can’t be a right pain in the ass when she puts her mind to it. The only issue is that it’ll make fixing the archangel hard.”

“As you say. Fortunately, having an archangel won’t make things harder on you.” Vania said, a smile flitting across her lips.

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow.

“She wasn’t aligned with the court of any deity. It’s why Mariel dared keep her.” Vania explained, the smile returning to her lips again. “So she doesn’t have many people looking for her, though she’s sure there are some, and it’s doubtful that any of them are more powerful than her. It gives her time to work through things, and decide what to do.”

“Fair enough.” Evelyn conceded, relaxing ever so slightly, and she reached over to pick up the transponder. “What about the other succubus? I thought it was odd that there was already an archangel aboard, and that Mariel wanted to grab Ryth and Zel as well.”

“She’s the demon lord that Mariel teamed up with to capture Alaseenah to begin with. Then, to release her soul from the deal, Mariel helped some of her subordinates rebel and took the former demon lord as a prize. She’s less powerful than your ‘Zel’ at this point.” Sriallac said, shrugging. “A bit prickly and ambitious, but not much of a threat at this point.”

“Hm, odd.” Evelyn murmured, and she briefly wondered how Zelirana was going to get along with the former demon lord. Then she set the thought aside, since she doubted it’d matter to her in the long run.

She expected that any demon that had been a demon lord would be planning to head back to the lower planes to regain their power, anyway. For now, Evelyn needed to worry about how to deal with a host of dragons that were likely to be unhappy with the news she brought.

Hopefully she wouldn’t need to pull off her teleportation trick.

Order Mistress of Chaos Now!