Chosen of Chaos

Benjamin Medrano

Contents

I. Retirement

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

II. An Evelyn Incident

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

III. Nebula Runner

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

IV. Wyverns & Warships

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

V. Family

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

VI. Sins of the Djinns

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Epilogue

Afterword

Adept of Chaos Sample

Glossary

Chosen 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.

For all the authors who’ve inspired me with their writing, thank you.

Part I

Retirement

Prologue

“That’s it. I’ve had enough,” Empress Evelyn Esendria Tarth said, glowering into the wardrobe, then closed it firmly, letting out a hiss. She resisted the urge to set the contents on fire, but it was a near thing.

Two years. It had been only two years since Evelyn had conquered the kingdom of Peldra, then its two neighbors when they’d decided that attacking when Peldra was weak was the ideal time for conquest. The other nations across the ocean had quickly assured her that they had no intention of following in their footsteps, accompanying their assurances with lavish gifts, and for a time Evelyn had been content. She hadn’t exactly intended to conquer the continent, but with how things had worked out, she’d thought that the power would be a nice change of pace. Oh, how wrong she’d been.

After two years of tedious paperwork, dealing with the excesses of a few of her subordinates, as well as managing the desires of everyone who surrounded her, she was sick of it. Especially considering the dozens of people who seemed to think that she should marry them and produce an heir. She was sick and tired of everything.

“Milady?” Fya asked, tilting her head in confusion, though there was a faint sparkle of mirth in her eyes.

Evelyn turned to look at her deceptively perfect and loyal handmaiden, and came to a decision, smiling coldly. “I have a task for you.”

Fya instantly understood Evelyn’s tone, and bowed deeply, her outfit warping into a dark red and black uniform, while her hair and eyes turned a bright shade of blue.

“Of course, Milady. How may I serve you?” Fya asked, a hint of excitement in the djinn’s voice. Apparently, Evelyn wasn’t the only one who was bored.

* * *

Evelyn stalked into the throne room, excitement pulsing through her with every footstep, something she hadn’t felt in years. She was wearing her armor, with her energy sword hanging from her left hip and her pistol on her right. The second she emerged, the soft conversation in the chamber ceased, though it echoed for several more seconds.

The cavernous expanse of the throne room could have housed four hundred soldiers standing in formation, let alone the hundred and sixty-six individuals currently standing below her dais and the throne. They were composed of elves, dark elves, orcs, a few humans, a pair of dwarves, a half-elf, and five dragons in human shapes, all of whom paused on seeing her.

They were her officers, generals, nobles, and the merchants who’d supported her in her conquest, which primarily made them opportunists who’d been in it for themselves. Most were dressed opulently, men, women, and others, and she thought that all of them were armed, or didn’t have need for weapons. Magic was useful that way, though there weren’t many combat magi. However, some of their anticipation seemed to either vanish or grow greater, since she hadn’t appeared before them in armor in quite some time. This time she wasn’t going to drag things out or give them time to argue, though. She’d had enough of debates.

“If you wish to avoid bloodshed, I suggest you run for the doors now,” Evelyn said, pausing for a moment to see if anyone was wise enough to do so. Instead, there was a soft furor as they looked at one another in confusion, but none of them headed for the doors. She smiled coldly at that and nodded. “Very well.”

With a snap of her fingers, the entire room shimmered, and force fields sprang up along the walls and ceiling. That provoked a reaction, and Evelyn smiled broadly when they began shouting, demanding explanations.

“You are here for a trial by fire. I have had enough of ruling Peldra, and it is time for me to step down, one way or another. You will either kill me, or I will kill all of you,” Evelyn told them evenly, drawing her sword and igniting its glowing red blade at the same time as she drew her pistol. A hint of terror filled the room, and she smiled more widely, adding, “I have removed the imperial aegis from my person to make it a fair contest, and whomever kills me will receive it. Now, enough talking. Come, entertain me.”

The next moment one of them reached for his gun, and Evelyn launched herself off the platform, laughing as she descended on them.

* * *

Vania Peldra the Second glanced out the window of the tower nervously, pacing back and forth as she wondered what was happening. Technically she was a princess, but with her kingdom overthrown, it was an empty title.

Out the window, aside from the palace’s shields being active in a shimmering blue curtain, the city looked no different than normal. Shuttles took off and landed normally at the spaceport, aircars cruised along their designated lanes, and the massive fountains continued flowing in the center of the city, the water flowing through the canals, then returned to the river in waterfalls, heading to the ocean.

It was a serene sight… but she’d heard and felt the explosions below. Almost half an hour had passed since she’d felt the first vibration, and she wondered what was happening. Vania’s lunch hadn’t arrived on time, something which had never happened in the two years of her captivity, and neither had her handmaidens been allowed to come upstairs. That only happened when the tower was on complete lockdown, something which had only happened twice since she’d been incarcerated.

Vania paced, her anxiety slowly growing, as even the news channels didn’t tell her anything. It was kind, relatively speaking, of Evelyn to allow her to listen to the news and receive other entertainment broadcasts, but sometimes that made her captivity even more maddening.

Beeping interrupted Vania’s thoughts, and she spun as the doors slid open. The first thing she noticed was Evelyn the Usurper, but the second item was almost as startling, as the outer doors of the airlock-like entrance to her prison was open as well. That had only happened when she’d been placed in the prison to begin with, so it left her reeling, though not as much as the sight of Evelyn did.

“What happened to you?” Vania demanded, her eyes huge as she looked over Evelyn. “Another assassination attempt?”

Evelyn was a tall, striking figure most of the time. She was an elven woman with cool mannerisms and dry humor, with a severe sort of beauty that was accented by her black hair and deep red eyes… well, and the red gemstone in the middle of her forehead. That was only accentuated by her choice of clothing, which was usually black with red and silver accents. None of that even considered the explosive power one could practically feel around her. Evelyn had crushed Vania’s bodyguards almost effortlessly when she’d finally breached the palace, including Rasien, one of the most powerful knights in the kingdom.

That appearance wasn’t in evidence when Evelyn entered the room, though. She was wearing armor, but it’d been cracked and even melted away in places, while a shard of black metal that looked suspiciously like the broken blade of a sword pierced through her upper left shoulder. The long, black hair that normally hung almost to her waist was up in a bun, but some of it looked like it’d been caught in a blowtorch. The gem on her forehead was cracked, there were several cuts and burns on her face, and she limped heavily, favoring her right leg. If someone could do this to her, Vania didn’t want to meet them.

“Assassination attempt? Hardly that, though people certainly were trying to kill me. That’s only fair, since I was trying to kill them at the time,” Evelyn said, circling a chair and flopping into it, the jagged piece of metal coming partway out of her shoulder as she did so, but Evelyn barely flinched as blood began oozing out of her shoulder. “No, this is my fault.”

“Your fault? How is that?” Vania asked, blinking in confusion, but she kept her distance, also glancing at the doors, which still hadn’t shut. It made her nervous. “And why are the doors open?”

“You were right, you know.” Evelyn said, ignoring Vania’s questions. “That I didn’t deserve to rule.”

It took a few seconds for Vania to place the comment, and she almost gaped, as she barely remembered the conversation which had occurred shortly after she’d been imprisoned. She’d been exceedingly upset, for understandable reasons, but her anger had cooled over the years, partly due to how Evelyn had treated her.

The usurper had conquered the nation, certainly. She’d built an alliance of individuals that Vania would never have trusted, then crushed everything in her path like an implacable juggernaut, but at the same time, there was an odd… precision to her actions. The first time Vania had heard of Evelyn was when a seer had prophesied that she’d overthrow the kingdom, and one of the local nobles had decided to deal with Evelyn before that happened. The resulting deaths of the noble’s subordinates had made Evelyn an outlaw, and it felt to Vania that every time they targeted Evelyn, she’d escalated the conflict until… things had ended up this way. At least, that’s how she felt looking back on it; at the time Evelyn had been a looming specter of destruction.

Yet once imprisoned, Evelyn hadn’t mistreated Vania. She gave her nice rooms, plenty of exercise equipment and entertainment, and several loyal handmaidens who could keep her company. The usurper even dropped in two or three times a week for a chat. They never became close, but Vania had been startled to realize that if things had been different, they might even have become friends. That was half the reason she hadn’t rushed for the door. The other half was that Evelyn could destroy her easily, even if she was half-dead.

“Why are you talking about that?” Vania asked, frowning. “It’s been years.”

“Doesn’t change the fact you’re right. I never had the temperament to rule,” Evelyn replied, letting out a soft sigh as she shook her head. “Debates, discussions, deals, politics… I never was one to enjoy them. I looked into my wardrobe this morning, and I realized that I’d had enough. I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. So… I did something about it.”

A chill ran down Vania’s spine, and she swallowed hard, then ventured. “What did you do?”

Evelyn smiled. It was the lazy smile of a predator, and one of the most terrifying things Vania had ever seen. It was also one of the happiest expressions Vania had seen on her face.

“I lowered the imperial aegis, then set it to go to whoever kills me. Then I invited all of my most loyal, powerful followers to the throne room, and trapped them there with me. Either they killed me, or I killed them. As I’m here, you can see that I won,” Evelyn replied, letting out a sigh, then grimaced as she reached into a compartment of her belt and pulled out a set of keycards. “Here’s the master keys to the palace, and what you need to finish the job.”

She set the cards on the table, then placed her pistol on top of it, and Vania’s eyes widened more.

“What?” Vania asked a note of horror creeping into her voice.

Evelyn gave Vania a patronizing look and let out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t think you were that dense, princess.”

“I’m not! I just… you’re telling me to kill you? Why?” Vania demanded, color rising in her cheeks now, along with emotions she couldn’t quite untangle.

“Isn’t it obvious? If you have the imperial aegis, even if you’re as weak as you are, you’ll be able to survive the handful of guards I didn’t get out of the palace, and who are foolish enough to resist or try to take over,” Evelyn said, gesturing toward the door with her uninjured arm. “In addition, do you think anyone will rest easy while I live? Even if you trapped me in a tower like I had you, they’d fear. Even with magical dampeners and if you gave me a lobotomy, they would fear me. Fear of me led to me conquering the nation. Fear allowed me to conquer when all it would have taken to stop me was a proper uprising, or your neighbors responding to your requests for aid. Instead, they allowed me to conquer, gave me time to create the imperial aegis, then gave me gifts to try to placate me.”

Evelyn paused for several moments, then spoke calmly, looking at Vania. “The only way you’ll be able to quell those who would overthrow you is if I’m dead. Those who fear that you had the ability to do it, those who will stop at nothing for my death, or even those who will worship you as a savior. Besides, you hated me on first sight. You told me as much.”

Vania opened her mouth, then shut it before speaking, bile rising in her throat. She couldn’t say what she wanted to, and there was something… she paused, looking at Evelyn more closely, then took a step to the side, keeping as quiet as she could. The woman’s gaze didn’t track her, which confirmed Vania’s suspicions. It was terrifying, how Evelyn acted as if she could see everything, even when she was blind.

“How would I even manage to take the country back? I don’t have an army,” Vania said at last, wondering what she should do. As she spoke, she noticed Evelyn’s eyes shift toward her again.

“Simple. I sent Fya to remove the guards from the military prison and to reprogram the robots. They should have realized that they are free at this point and found the handful of transports out front that have weapons, armor, and the other supplies they need for an insurrection,” Evelyn said dismissively. “Coupled with me locking down all military equipment until you unlock it with those keys, and they should be more than enough to turn things around. Particularly if you have my body available. Now, make your decision, princess. I’m having trouble tracking you, and I can tell that you know that I’m dying.”

Vania didn’t reply for a moment, then she slowly reached down to pick up the pistol. The grip was elegant, almost perfectly fitting her hand, and she could see the runes carved into it, adding enchantments to the energy bolts it could fire. Vania wondered just how many people had died on the other end of it.

“How? You seemed unstoppable when you came for me,” Vania asked at last, her voice soft, even as she felt a shocking sense of… regret? Pity? Something like that, at least.

Evelyn snorted softly, her voice calm as could be. “Hardly that. I’m gifted, with powerful magic, a powerful body, and an instinct for battle, but hardly invincible. Remember, the same prophecy that claimed I’d conquer said that some child from a farm would be my undoing. I faced a room full of over a hundred and fifty people in combat, five of them dragons. Of course I was badly injured. I could have healed afterward, of course, but I decided otherwise.”

“You know… you were raised on a farm. Could the prophecy have been talking about you there as well?” Vania asked, her eyebrows rising.

“Possibly. Prophecies are unreliable, opaque things,” Evelyn said, pausing for a moment, then sighed. “I apologize, princess. I should have just left to begin with, this was all a mistake.”

Heat welled up in Vania’s eyes as she hesitated… then she raised the pistol, taking careful aim as she blinked back the unexpected tears in her eyes.

“You’re right.” Vania agreed.

Then she pulled the trigger and couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.

Chapter 1

“Fya, I may need two body bags shortly,” Evelyn said, only half-watching the security feed playing in her mind’s eye. It hadn’t taken her more than an instant to pick out the two walking down the street, and the scowl on the bodyguard’s face should have been in a dictionary under disapproving. It was rather impressive, but Evelyn wasn’t surprised. Then she added, “That, or we’re going to need to instruct… oh, sixteen or so assassins on how serious we are about rule number three.”

For a moment Fya didn’t reply, then the djinn spoke, amusement in her voice. “Is that Princess Vania, come to finish the job herself?”

“She can’t finish what she already finished. Also, Empress Vania, not princess,” Evelyn replied dryly, running the cloth over the edge of the dagger again, then examined it critically. She was happy that she wasn’t interrupted by Fya again.

The blade looked almost perfect, now, the hardly perceptible burrs she’d noticed that morning gone. However, the magic had smoothed the edges of the runes slightly, so she set the cloth aside and pulled out another tool to fix them. Evelyn refused to sell equipment that wasn’t at least serviceable, and most of her wares were significantly better than that.

She glanced up habitually, scanning the shelves of her store again, but nothing had changed since she’d last looked. The back wall was dominated by dozens of enchanted firearms and their ammunition, ranging from projectile pistols to sniper rifles to the solar cannon, complete with the miniature star shedding blue-white light as it raged in its power pack. She’d kept the star hidden by a protective outer casing for a while, but eventually Fya had convinced her that she should show it off to draw more business. As usual when it came to marketing, Fya was right.

To the entrance’s left, nearest Evelyn, the shelves were dominated by melee weapons. Arc claws, daggers, infinity hammers… there was an enormous variety, but Evelyn kept the energy blades closest to her desk. They were her favorites, and anyone who tried to steal from her deserved what they got. Which usually was dismemberment.

Last was the armor, ranging from lightweight skin suits to powered armor that turned their wearer into the equivalent of a heavy tank or a light mech. Not that they could hold up to an equally enchanted tank or mech, but some people liked that sort of thing. Evelyn thought they should learn to dodge, but she wasn’t going to say no to their mythrite.

A few seconds later the door slid open, and Evelyn resisted the urge to arch an eyebrow as Vania stepped inside. That was rather stupid, but so was walking the streets of Rakal with only a single bodyguard. She should have had at least two, one to check the room ahead of her, and one to guard her back. It seemed that the empress hadn’t learned enough lessons from when her kingdom was conquered.

Vania did look like she was doing well, though. Over the five years since she’d shot Evelyn, she’d turned from a frail young elven woman to a poised, graceful woman who had obviously been working hard under weapon masters… or what passed for weapon masters in Peldra. She still had that lovely golden hair, fair, sun-kissed skin, and blue eyes, along with an excellent figure that was covered in a well-tailored white and gold combat suit. Evelyn almost smirked on seeing the pistol and energy sword at her side, though, since cosmetic changes weren’t enough to make her mistake her old weapons. So Vania had kept them, had she? The angle of the security cameras hadn’t been right for her to recognize them beforehand.

Right behind Vania was Rasien, and the sight of her was amusing, as the steely-eyed elven woman looked about as unhappy to see Evelyn as could be imagined. In appearance she was cut largely from the same mold as Vania, but she was taller and presumably more muscular under her heavy power armor, though it wasn’t bulky enough to slow her down much. It was also royal blue with silver trim, which was far, far too flashy for Rakal. No wonder there were so many assassins after her. Some of them were probably also kidnappers.

“Tourists should have stopped at Careth, fifteen AU to the galactic east,” Evelyn said calmly, finishing cleaning out the runes, then examined the dagger critically. “You’d best make your way back to your ship quickly. Unless you’re looking for mercenaries or bulk weapons, in which case you need to go right after leaving the spaceport. I don’t deal in bulk weapon shipments.”

“We aren’t tourists, and we aren’t looking for mercenaries or weapons.” Vania replied, her voice carefully calm. “How are you alive? I shot you myself!”

Evelyn paused, examining Vania for a moment, then replied, amused despite herself, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, miss. I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

“Don’t you even start!” Rasien interjected hotly, taking a step forward. “You didn’t even change your appearance or name!”

“I am but a humble shopkeeper. I must say that I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about,” Evelyn said, this time keeping her voice utterly devoid of emotion. She knew she wasn’t fooling anyone, but it would be highly amusing if Rasien keeled over.

Instead, Vania laid a hand on Rasien’s shoulder just as the knight stepped forward, stopping the woman short. She visibly inhaled, then spoke.

“Evelyn, you were dead for a year. Your body was destroyed, the ashes sent on an express trip into the sun, just to make certain you were dead and couldn’t be revived easily. Seers checked to ensure you were dead, and the magi attempted to trap your soul, only to find it was either bound or passed on. How in all the gods did you come back?” Vania asked calmly.

“If you’re not going to buy anything, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Evelyn replied, ignoring the exceedingly good questions. She had no intention of answering them. Instead, she stood and stepped around the counter, carefully placing the dagger in the spot she’d set aside for it. “I am not an information broker, and I do not work for charity.”

Vania’s right eye twitched, and for just a second Evelyn wondered if she was going to do something stupid. Something very, very stupid. But she didn’t, allowing Evelyn to move back behind the counter. Taking out the next box, Evelyn opened it, wondering what she’d have to do to get rid of the women. She’d rather not kill them. Body disposal might not be expensive here, but it wasn’t cheap either. Especially if she didn’t want them raised as pretty undead toys for someone she disliked.

Stepping over to the back wall, Vania looked it over, then picked up a single bullet, approached Evelyn, and set it down. Her voice was frosty as she spoke. “There. I’m buying this, I’m a customer.”

Evelyn raised her gaze to the ceiling for just a moment, wondering if the empress knew just what type of bullet she’d picked up. Not that it mattered, as Evelyn mentally activated the store’s lockdown mode. Both women jumped as armored shutters slammed into place, just behind the heavy shields protecting the building from anyone who might approach. Rasien reacted with commendable speed and had her rifle half-raised to aim at Evelyn before she froze, seeing two of the four turrets in the corners of the room that had popped out of the ceiling and were aimed at her.

“I hate politics,” Evelyn said, sitting back in her chair and staring at Vania and Rasien for a moment. “I’m also not answering your questions. You really should have just left.”

“Evelyn—” Vania began, only to fall silent as Evelyn raised a finger.

“Coming to visit someone you even suspected was me with a single bodyguard was beyond foolish, Empress. I don’t care how much training you’ve done or how much Rasien has upgraded her armor, it won’t do you a damned bit of good here. I could kill both of you without you so much as singing my jacket or hair,” Evelyn said, staring into Vania’s eyes, and she could see the way the woman was beginning to… revert, almost. Five years wasn’t nearly enough time to cure the terror that Evelyn had instilled into her. “Beyond that, you came here. Rakal is a terrible place even for those used to the underworld, and you, a woman of obvious power, breeding, and wealth, came walking in openly. Perhaps I shouldn’t have left you in the tower for two years, if this is something you think is intelligent.”

Vania winced, looking away as she said. “I didn’t trust anyone else to do this, and most of my guards would have… overreacted.”

“For good reason,” Rasien said, staring at the turrets warily.

Evelyn simply arched an eyebrow at Vania, opening the box fully, which revealed a fine blade that made even her pause, as it was translucent with pink light pulsing through it like a heartbeat. This was a particularly beautiful piece of astral steel… and would be hard to move, with how the color would turn off most pirates and mercenaries. That annoyed her, but there was nothing she could do about it. She could always find some noblewoman who wanted a pink cavalry saber, she supposed.

“We need your help,” Vania said, and Evelyn froze in place for a moment.

Then she burst out laughing. Not mild laughter, but overwhelming laughter that almost left her unable to breathe. Rasien looked offended, but slowly lowered her rifle, while Vania simply looked resigned. Eventually Evelyn stopped laughing, as she needed to breathe sometime, and she sat back, still chortling softly to herself.

“You need my help. Oh, you have developed a sense of humor. You need my help. The usurper, the destroyer, or whatever else they’re calling me this year. Bane of Three Kingdoms? No, that would be far too flowery for me,” Evelyn said, smiling broadly at the two as she tapped the blade experimentally. “No. I’ve had an average of one assassin come after me every month since I settled down here. I don’t mind that much, since it keeps me in practice, but it’s annoying, and I know it’s done by residents of your lovely little empire.”

“Evelyn, please!” Vania asked, finally sounding desperate. “I know that I don’t deserve it, but everything I’ve tried so far has ended in failure! The elemental is breaking free, and we can’t kill—”

“Ah, that’s what this is about!” Evelyn interrupted, realization dawning on her, and she couldn’t help a smile. “The plasma elemental those idiots bound in the Sunstone Power Plant is finally breaking free, isn’t it? I told them they needed to come up with a better solution, but they dragged their feet, complaining about the cost. I see you never made them deal with the problem, either.”

“I… well, we’ve tried re-binding it, but it’s shattering the seals too fast. Banishing it hasn’t worked either, and at this point… well, the only person I can think of who might be able to kill it is you. The elemental recovers from damage almost instantly, and it’s like its core is invulnerable,” Vania explained, a hint of hope appearing on her face.

“No,” Evelyn replied, shaking her head again. “I said it before, and that’s my answer.”

“Why?” Rasien demanded. “You caused enough devastation that the least you could do is something like this!”

“Says the woman who couldn’t defeat me when she had an entire army at her back… or so I heard,” Evelyn replied, smiling coldly as the woman flushed bright red. “Or maybe I should have said, who couldn’t even put up a fight. However, the reason I’m saying no is simple. It isn’t just that I don’t care, because I really don’t. No, do you really think there is any chance in all the hells that if I went to Peldra, I’d be allowed to leave again without a great deal of devastation? If you do, I have a nice piece of oceanfront property on the local star I’d like to interest you in.”

“But—” Vania began, only for Evelyn to interrupt her again.

“Besides, you don’t need me to deal with the elemental. And you certainly don’t need a paralysis bullet,” Evelyn added, sniffing derisively as she picked it up. “Really, a paralysis bullet on an elemental? Please. Especially not an elder plasma elemental with a tier one infernal infusion, and a tier three astral infusion due to how much mana those idiots poured into it when trying to increase their power generation. I swear, their pursuit of lower costs… a sphere of infinite lightning coupled with power converters is far more efficient and safe in the long run.”

Evelyn walked over to the back wall and put the bullet back where it belonged, then moved a set of bullets that were varying shades of blue with flecks of light across their lengths. There were only a dozen of them on the shelf, but she took the whole set, bringing it back over to set in front of Vania.

“These are what you need to kill it,” Evelyn explained calmly, a cold smile on her face. “Bullets forged of astral ice ore, mixed with flecks of celestial iron. Expensive, rare, and not used often enough for anyone to make them less rare. Each bullet costs about as much as the sniper rifle you’d use to fire them, and one bullet through the core of the elemental will put it out of your misery.”

She paused, tapping her upper lip as she considered, then shrugged, adding, “Though given the aim of your typical soldier, I’d say you’d probably want all twelve bullets.”

The women stared at her for several moments, and Evelyn smiled a little wider.

“Are you certain?” Vania asked, looking at the bullets dubiously. “None of the magi or researchers said anything about a solution like this.”

Evelyn snorted, shaking her head disdainfully.

“I’m living on a planet which is incredibly dangerous, where the people have had to kill damn near anything that lives in our universe or any of the countless planes at one point or another, and I run a premium armory. I’ve learned how to kill very close to anything that you can imagine,” Evelyn told her, smiling coldly, then leaned forward, giving a winning smile. “Though, considering that we are old friends, if you get a sniper rifle for the bullets, I’ll give you a ten percent discount.”

For some reason, the two didn’t seem reassured by her smile. If anything, they looked unnerved, and Evelyn reflected that what Fya did rarely seemed to work for her. So she abandoned that approach, going back to her cold smile.

“Look, the deal is on the table. Take it or leave it, I’m not coming with you,” Evelyn told them, and glanced at the clock before adding, “Besides, I’m closing in twenty minutes, at which point I’m going down to the lovely local beach for a drink with my assistant, and maybe a nice dinner and fun afterward. She’s even dissuaded the assassins and kidnappers who were after you by this point. I think one of them left of his own accord, and the others… well, there’s a business for bodies on Rakal. Now, make a decision.”

Chapter 2

Evelyn watched the two women leave via the cameras, making certain that they got off her street safely, and as she did so she tapped the desk, then hit the button to lock down the store again. If anyone tried to break in, and they almost certainly would eventually, they’d find themselves leaving their corporeal forms quite suddenly.

“I’m surprised you let them live, Milady,” Fya said, and Evelyn turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow curiously.

Except for her hair and eyes, the djinn looked much like any human one might run into on the street. Tanned skin, an excellent figure shown off by a tight, curve-hugging purple and white bodysuit, while her hair and eyes were colored bright pink, the hair in a high ponytail that had an unnatural amount of volume and bounce to it. She didn’t appear to be armed, but by this point even the natives of Rakal knew better than to attack Fya, at least any of them that had been around for long. Those who didn’t quickly learned that Fya didn’t need to carry weapons with her. In that respect, her assistant was even more feared than Evelyn. Which was ironic, since Evelyn was the more dangerous of them.

“You don’t appear happy about that,” Evelyn said, folding her arms as she looked at the djinn calmly.

“She killed you,” Fya said simply.

“I let her kill me. And I would have died anyway, as I didn’t go for treatment,” Evelyn told her.

“She killed you,” Fya insisted, her eyes narrowing. Evelyn grew a touch exasperated, staring back at the djinn.

“And you kept me in brightly colored, complicated, silly dresses for a year,” Evelyn retorted, glowering. “More than one person can hold a grudge about that sort of thing, you know.”

“I don’t care. You look good in the dresses, you don’t look good dead. Except when your soul is manifested and dressed up,” Fya said stubbornly.

Evelyn rolled her eyes and stepped toward the back, speaking calmly. “It isn’t like I’m going to let her do it again. If she tried, I would have needed those body bags. I respect them too much to let the reanimators get them, but not enough I would’ve left them alive.”

“Good. They would’ve been better served in the body bags, but I’ll accept that much,” Fya said, obviously a bit mollified. “We’re going to the beach and out for dinner, right, Milady?”

“We are,” Evelyn agreed, then paused, looking at Fya curiously as the djinn took her left arm, pulling her close. It took her a moment before she asked, “Why do you call me that, anyway? I’m not a noble anymore, and I’m hardly what most people would consider a lady.”

“Don’t care. You’re my lady. Other people’s definitions don’t matter,” Fya replied bluntly, hugging Evelyn’s arm tighter. “If she tries to hurt you and you don’t kill her, I’m going to spread what’s left of her across a dozen planets as an example.”

Evelyn couldn’t help a sigh, wondering how in the world she’s managed to get such an overprotective djinn as her assistant. She shrugged it off, though. Vania and Peldra weren’t her responsibility anymore. She was going to do what she wanted, and Rakal was the perfect place to do it. Even if Fya was an overly affectionate lover sometimes. Except when she shifted moods, of course.

Part II

An Evelyn Incident

Chapter 3

The next few years fell into something of a pattern for Evelyn.

The number of assassins slowly fell off, and those who arrived grew more skilled and powerful. Not that it saved them, and the woman who’d managed to cut Evelyn’s hair short on one side died terribly. Evelyn didn’t like taking potions to grow her hair out. It was good practice, though, and she had begun wondering how stupid the assassins were, when they took the job despite how many bodies she’d left in her wake.

At least the locals finally seemed to get the fact that Evelyn did not pull punches when people came after her. When a competitor decided destroying her inventory was a good idea, their crew usually found itself spread over a few dozen meters, and the surrounding buildings often took quite a bit of damage as well. That being the case, her neighbors had made it quite vocally known that even if someone managed to kill her, they’d murder the assailant themselves afterward. That finally reduced the number of attacks to a minimum, and most of them were dealt with by Fya. At least she’d ended up on good terms with the Reanimator’s Guild. Their only complaint was that she tended to do a lot of damage to the bodies which they had to repair.

The last thing that fell into a pattern was Vania’s visits. After the first visit, it was just over a year before she’d returned, somewhat frazzled but at this time with another bodyguard, as Peldra had a space slug asteroid crash-land into the middle of the country, and they were having a hell of a time dealing with them. Evelyn had to wonder what Vania was paying her advisors for, since it shouldn’t have been that hard to look up what weapons were needed to deal with space slugs.

She’d sold them the correct weapons and sent them on their way firmly, only to have Vania come back the next year, then the next. Every visit left Fya in a foul mood for a few hours, but Evelyn didn’t mind that much. She made a tidy profit off each visit, which did wonders for her savings. She might even be able to buy the private island fortress she’d been considering, which people said would be going up for sale the next year.

Then one day, an energy beam as large as her head punched a hole through her front door, destroyed three shelf units, including several lovely daggers she’d only gotten in the day before, cooked off seven cases of small arms ammunition, and destroyed the platinum-plated collector’s edition Echris combat rifle she’d just reserved for a customer coming by in two days. An important customer.

Evelyn was not amused.

* * *

The blast shields snapped up a second too late, and Evelyn stood up slowly, ignoring the follow-up shot that hit the shields. Instead, she was looking at the molten wreckage of her shelves, the smoking hole in the back wall that had two now-useless chunks of platinum-plated rifle on either side of it, and the damage to the ceiling where the bullets had slammed into it. The fire suppression system activated a moment later, hitting the area with a gas that instantly extinguished the fire, but it was also too late. The chill that pervaded the room certainly suited Evelyn’s mood, though.

“Backtrack,” Evelyn said flatly, focusing on her implants, and the security system helpfully sprang to life, showing its readouts in her mind’s eye with a helpful diagram over the city.

The shot had come from a half-kilometer beyond her monitoring zone, Evelyn realized, from a square that her cameras didn’t have a good resolution of. That didn’t help the attackers, though, as she mentally supplied the necessary overrides, and the security system used the satellite tap to get high-resolution photos of the city in real time. It was fortunate that there wasn’t much cloud cover today. Fortunate for her.

Cutthroat Square snapped into focus, and Evelyn immediately picked out several items of interest. First and foremost was the large object that almost had to be a camouflaged tank, she’d seen enough of them when taking over Peldra. Then there were the dozens of people in excellent vantage points to unload on her if she decided to head straight at them, as well as covering their flanks. There would likely be snipers and other people in the area, she decided, and considering the trail of wrecked shops leading from the spaceport to the square, the group must have decided to plough straight through them. That made her upset, since it told her a few things.

“Commodore Barstil will have to explain things to me,” Evelyn said frostily, her eyes narrowing. Then she triggered her comm, heading for the back room as another cannon blast hit her shields, barely shaking them. If they’d attacked from inside the monitoring zone, the first shot would never have done so much damage, which made her mood still fouler.

“Fya, someone brought what looks like a Kraken ground tank into Cuthroat Square along with at least a platoon of soldiers, then opened fire on the shop,” Evelyn said, shrugging out of her jacket, then stepped into the armor stand waiting there. Before the djinn could respond the armor stand hissed and began closing around her.

“Oh no! Any casualties?” Fya demanded.

“Three combat daggers, one boarder’s spike, several cases of ammunition, and the Echris. I’d just gotten a reservation on it,” Evelyn replied shortly, shrugging as the armor finished sealing around her and linked to her implants, showing that all its systems were green, and the magic-enhanced shield began spinning up. “I’m a bit pissed.”

“You should be! That had to be worth two months of sales!” Fya said, outrage filling her voice. “What should I do?”

“They’re covering the front and flanks from firing positions. Come get me and let’s show them why they should’ve left me the fuck alone,” Evelyn replied, her anger turning icy and cold. Trying to kill her was one thing, but indiscriminate damage to her shop was just about the fastest way to upset her.

“Be right there!” Fya replied.

There was a flash of blue smoke, and Fya appeared, wearing her usual outfit, though it morphed into a slightly thicker bodysuit as Evelyn watched, and this week her hair and eyes were bright red. A moment later an energy shotgun appeared in her arms, the barrels painted to look like they were dragons with their mouths wide open.

“Right, time to kick their asses!” Fya said, grinning widely.

“Agreed,” Evelyn said, pulling out her energy blade and pistol.

These were even better than the ones she’d had when she conquered Peldra, so a mere tank was nothing to her.

Another blast of smoke filled the room, then they were in the middle of Cutthroat Square. It was a perfect name for the location, given what Evelyn was about to do in it.

Chapter 4

Gaxxlan had thought this would be an easy job. They’d picked up their cargo and were prepared to lift off, but given that the last couple of jobs had gone off without a hitch and how much a few people were willing to pay for a certain shopkeeper’s death, the Captain had decided to improve their payday by a factor of ten or so. Gaxxlan certainly hadn’t been about to object to that, though he wondered why anyone was willing to pay that much for eliminating the owner of a weapon’s shop.

Getting to the square and setting up hadn’t been hard. While there were plenty of pirates and scum in Rakal who would be dicey to deal with, most of the people there knew better than to mess with a platoon of soldiers who were following a tank. Sure, it wrecked a bunch of stalls, but what were they going to do? Get themselves killed trying to fight them? The thought almost made him laugh.

They’d set up, everyone taking good firing positions, and the locals had been wise enough to clear out. Gaxxlan did wonder why they’d sped up after seeing where they were pointing, but he’d shrugged it off. It couldn’t matter that much.

Then they’d opened fire, and he wondered who in the hell put that type of shield generator on a weapon shop. The tank had unleashed a dozen shots into the shields so far, and every one after the first had bounced off, barely rippling the blue barrier. Gaxxlan opened his mouth, his hands tightening around his autorifle… and a blast of smoke erupted in the center of the square behind him.

“What the—” Wryl began, but before Gaxxlan had more than half-turned, a blast of a dozen white-hot bolts of energy emerged from the smoke and slammed into the sergeant, riddling his armor with pock marks in most places, but it punched right through a couple of seams, sending the man sprawling.

“Medic!” Gaxxlan called out, twisting around, but he was so slow… and the attackers weren’t.

There was the sizzle of an energy sword, and he saw a complex, bright red energy blade through the blue smoke. The wielder was a blur of black and red that lunged at the tank, and Gaxxlan’s eyes bulged as the blade cut through the armor forming the turret’s base almost effortlessly, then a pulse of red energy surged out of the woman and ripped the turret off the tank, sending it spinning through the air at the plasma bolter emplacement.

Gaxxlan got his gun around as the smoke cleared enough for him to see a grinning human woman with bright red hair and eyes holding a shotgun unload into the other emplacement, steadily turning toward him as she kept firing.

“Die, ya bastards!” Gaxxlan roared, pulling the trigger on his rifle before he had a proper shot, and it bucked in his hands, unleashing a stream of bullets that cut across the ground, moving toward the woman like a blade.

Several bullets impacted against a shield, shocking him because how the hell did someone fit a shield in armor like that? Then the bullets stopped, and he looked down in confusion, blinking as he saw that the trigger assembly was missing along with two fingers. Gaxxlan froze for an instant as the pain started to hit him… then the human turned her shotgun on him and pulled the trigger.

Gaxxlan didn’t have time to wonder who they were after that.

* * *

Evelyn didn’t bat an eyelash as plasma splashed off her shield, the mercenary firing so quickly that his barrel was beginning to glow. She couldn’t take that for too long, but she didn’t have to, as she shaped her magic via pure force of will into a blade that she used to behead the man. No, the woman, she corrected herself idly, just as she cut another’s sword in two with her blade and removed a good quarter of his torso along with his head. A sniper on a rooftop tried to get an angle on her, but that just brought him into position for her to return fire, and she put a precise energy bolt through his faceplate and into his eye. That dealt with the problem nicely.

Most of the soldiers were down at this point, and Evelyn could hear Fya giggling behind her as her shotgun roared over and over again. She hoped she wasn’t going to have to fully rebuild the djinn’s gun again, but she knew better than to try to stop her. It’d just make her grumpy, and that wasn’t worth living with for weeks on end. Mostly, Evelyn hoped she hadn’t killed the soldier that Evelyn had deliberately disabled. The rest of them could die.

One of the last soldiers took that moment to try running, and Evelyn aimed, then put a couple of bolts through his back, perfectly placed to kill. While he had decent enough armor, it wasn’t enchanted, and that spelled his doom. A smile flickered across Evelyn’s lips as she considered that. ‘Spelled’ indeed.

Movement and fire had pretty much petered out by that point, and Evelyn slowly turned in place, considering, then she realized she could hear the tank’s drive system clicking, as someone tried to get it moving. Unfortunately for them, she knew exactly where the control systems connected to the engine and had severed those at the same time that she’d disarmed the vehicle.

Evelyn calmly walked over to the tank, hopping up on it in clear view of the nearby shopkeepers and civilians who were watching from behind cover, then slid her sword through the top of the driver’s hatch and jiggled it a bit. The clicking stopped, and she nodded in satisfaction.

“If one of you wants to contact the Reanimator’s Guild, let them know they have a few volunteers,” Evelyn called out calmly, hopping off the tank again and deactivating her energy blade.

Turning to the rest of the destroyed group, she considered for a moment, then asked. “Any of them left?”

“Just the one whose gun you shot!” Fya said cheerfully. “I shot him too, but his armor was good enough he should just be unconscious. Looks like a platoon plus a tank to me. You recognize their markings?”

Evelyn glanced at the side of the tank, then shook her head, not recognizing the bloody dagger crossed with a missile. The device could apply to hundreds of mercenary or pirate groups, which made her annoyance even worse. There was no way in all the hells this group could have gotten into position without her catching wind of them first. Not unless the Commodore had made that happen. It upset her.

“Ooh, I recognize that look! Someone’s gonna die…” Fya said in a sing-song voice, crouching down to take the belt off one of the deceased. “Well, more someones.”

“Yes, yes they are,” Evelyn agreed, slowly moving back to the mercenary she’d disabled earlier.

The orc man’s armor was pocked with scorch marks, and he didn’t look like he was in too bad of shape, aside from the hole in his helmet and where she’d taken three fingers off him. He was in good enough shape that once awake he could answer her questions, which was enough for her purposes.

“Wake him up,” Evelyn said, glancing at the man’s equipment derisively. It was so basic she wouldn’t have carried it in her shop willingly.

“He is still armed,” Fya replied, straightening from where she’d been looting a body. She approached, and as she did so Evelyn gave her a skeptical look.

“He couldn’t hurt us when there was an assault rifle in his hands. What’s he going to do now?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow. “I doubt he’s going to trigger a grenade, and our armor will deal with that easily.”

“Unless it’s a heavily enchanted grenade… but none of these people seem to have more than the weakest of items. Really disappointing,” Fya said, a hint of regret filling her voice as she leaned over the man. “I wanted something better than this junk.”

“It makes me even more upset,” Evelyn told her, agreeing internally. That a group so poorly equipped had attacked her was downright insulting.

A flicker of light sparked from Fya’s finger to the orc’s forehead, then she straightened, her voice bright and cheerful as the man’s eyes opened. “Rise and shine! Well, not so much rising, or I’ll have to remove your legs, but you get the idea!”

“Wha—” the man began, then froze as Evelyn pointed her gun at his head.

“Shut up and listen carefully,” Evelyn said, glaring down at him. “You have three options. If you refuse to give me any information, I’ll cut your tendons and leave you here for the local shopkeepers to deal with. Considering the hash your group made of their shops, I suspect it’ll take a while to die, then you’ll be sold to the Reanimator’s Guild like the rest of your team. You can also give me a little information, at which point I’ll kill you quickly and painlessly. Or you can give me useful information, and I will not only let you live, but leave you with a medic. Paying them would be your problem. You have five seconds to decide, so think quickly.”

The orc’s eyes widened, revealing them to be a surprisingly pretty shade of hazel, then he spoke rapidly. “I’m Gaxxlan, a member of the Bloody Dagger Mercenaries, um, I think the seventeenth group registered under the name. We’ve got a full company, plus the two tanks, one now, and use the ship Daggerhound under Captain Margvitz. What else do you want to know? I’ll tell you, so don’t kill me!”

“Why did you attack me with such incompetence?” Evelyn demanded, her eyes narrowing.

“Look, we were here to pick up a cargo, and the boss said that since all of our gear was in good shape, and there was a bounty worth ten times what we were being paid, we might as well collect on it. I didn’t think some weapon shop owner would be so damned… I mean, so skilled,” Gaxxlan said, gulping loudly as he glanced at the pistol. “That’s it, really. We were going to shoot up the place, then get you when you came out. That’s all I know.”

Evelyn looked up at the sky for a moment, briefly wondering who’d cast a spell to remove the Commodore’s brain functions. That was the only reason she could imagine for him not realizing what would happen if he let the attack through. Or… she frowned, considering, then realized that she’d never let it known just how powerful the shields she’d installed were. They’d come as salvage off a crashed battleship, and it’d taken some work to get them functional again. That probably explained it and that made her incredibly irritable.

“Unfortunately for you, that was a mistake,” Evelyn said at last, looking down at the orc as her eyes narrowed. “Where is your ship docked? I do hope you didn’t keep your mythrite on the ship, as if you did, you’re going to have trouble paying for your treatment. Your captain certainly won’t be in any position to pick up the tab.”

Fya giggled, and the orc gulped, visibly paling as she looked down at him.

Chapter 5

Magdalene Rantha, call her Maggie, had a rough job some days. Many pirates were belligerent, boastful, and prone to ignoring traffic control, which was why she often had to fire up the targeting system to convince them that just maybe they should follow her directions. It could be a stressful job, but fortunately, pirates weren’t a daily occurrence. A weekly one, maybe, but most privateers and smugglers understood that she was just trying to make sure they didn’t land on another ship or crash into the city, so it wasn’t that bad.

The call she got made her wish that she was dealing with a pirate ship trying to land in the middle of the city.

“What is it?” Maggie asked as the line connected, a trifle impatient.

“This is Evelyn Esendria Tarth,” the woman on the other end said, her clipped tones so unlike most natives, and Maggie sat up suddenly, dread washing over her.

The only times Evelyn had called the flight control tower and used her full name had ended incredibly badly. In one case, they’d been forced to scrap three landing bays, and after the first time the security team had tried to laugh her off, no one got in her way. Maggie wished that she wasn’t on duty. Or maybe that there was a raiding fleet pissed at one of the privateers, or something that didn’t put her personally in danger.

“Hello, Evelyn. What can I do for you?” Maggie asked, being as polite as if one of the Pirate Kings had shown up in orbit.

“Lock down docking bay fourteen. If the Daggerhound launches, I’m going to take it as a personal insult,” Evelyn said flatly.

“Ah… may I ask why?” Maggie asked, dread washing over her. At the same time she glanced at the readouts of bay fourteen, and noticed a lot of activity. She considered, then hit the key to lock the bay doors.

“They attacked my shop and tried to kill me. Incompetently. However, they managed to destroy the weapon that Captain Eight-Fist reserved this morning, and which he was going to be picking up the day after tomorrow,” Evelyn said shortly, pausing, then added, “Now, are you going to lock them down, or do I need to add the port authority to my list of people to be very upset with?”

“No, no… of course not,” Maggie said, her sense of dread solidifying as she learned that one of the Pirate Kings was going to be visiting. She’d have to arrange to be off shift before anyone else found out. “Their bay has been locked down. Be aware, they have a tank in the bay.”

“I know. Maybe this one will actually manage to shoot at me. Tarth out,” Evelyn said, and Maggie paled as she heard the note of anticipation in the woman’s voice, then the line went dead.

For a second she was silent, then she raised a hand. “Ah… Daren? Would you contact the security team, and tell them to get the hell away from bay fourteen? There’s about to be an Evelyn Incident.”

“Oh shit!” the man said, and lunged for the comms, spilling the coffee he’d just poured into his mug in the process.

Maggie entirely agreed, though after checking to make sure there wasn’t a ship inbound, she switched her monitors to the cameras in bay fourteen. If nothing else, at least it’d be fascinating to watch.

* * *

“I could just teleport us inside,” Fya offered again, barely keeping up with Evelyn due to how fast she was moving.

“While certainly effective, it isn’t the best when I’m trying to work off frustration,” Evelyn replied, checking the charge on her pistol to be sure it’d last through a couple of firefights. The sword definitely would, she’d spent too much on an enchanted battery for it to die after only a few minutes of use. A few hours, maybe. “No, I think I want them to see their doom coming for them. And if they grovel, begging for their lives, so much the better. That’s rather satisfying.”

“Sure, but will you let them surrender?” Fya asked, tilting her head.

“Mm… depends on how sincere they seem. If they try to fake it so they can shoot me, they’re dead,” Evelyn said, slowing slightly as she approached the doors to the bay. “Except their leader. He’s dead either way. Or she, or it, I don’t care.”

“Alright.” Fya said, smiling widely as she chambered a grenade. “I just wanted to be sure, since we’re about to have a whole bunch of people shooting at us! I’ll try to leave them intact enough for the Reanimator’s Guild!”

Evelyn glanced over and raised an eyebrow as she saw the markings on the grenade clip. “Not with those you won’t be. Don’t damage the ship, it’s actually worth something.”

“Got it! I’ll avoid the tank, too. It’s worth something, right?” Fya asked, reaching over and pressing the button to open the bay doors.

“Yes, but not that much. I’ll just take out the crew,” Evelyn said, watching the doors begin sliding into the ceiling and floor… then she dodged.

The flash of the tank’s main cannon lit up the hallway, barely missing Evelyn as it scorched the floor tiles and doubtlessly demolished part of the concourse behind Evelyn, but her shields kept the heat bloom from doing more than ruffling her hair. Seconds later, multiple soldiers unloaded with dozens of rifles and heavy weapons, but they weren’t quite skilled enough to hit Evelyn immediately. At least not intentionally, as a stray shot bounced off her shield.

A dull whump sounded as Fya’s grenade launcher coughed, and the grenade arced through the air gracefully, falling toward a group of soldiers who didn’t notice it over their muzzle flashes… then suddenly everyone noticed as the heart of a star raged into existence, incinerating five opponents.

Evelyn wasn’t idle, and as she ignited her sword she charged forward, zigzagging to make herself a difficult target. Spotting a knife stuck into a barrier, she smirked, flicking the hand holding her sword, and the knife trembled, then ripped free and rocketed across the room to find a weak point in the armor over a woman’s throat, punching through the seal and sending her to the ground as she clawed at the blade.

The tank’s barrel tried to track Evelyn, but she ignored it, barely glancing toward the large, stubby ship that half-filled the bay. It had weapons, but unless they wanted to vaporize the entire bay, they couldn’t fire them here, and the locals would not take that kindly. The next moment Evelyn was among the soldiers, energy bolts and bullets bouncing off her shield, and she smirked. It was only down to eighty-eight percent integrity, which was just sad.

A single spinning sweep of her sword cut two soldiers in half, and she lunged forward, putting a bolt through another man’s head, then she was next to the tank and flipped up onto it.

“Stupid,” Evelyn muttered, punching her blade through the driver’s hatch at an angle that almost certainly dealt with them, then hopped up onto the turret as the secondary weapons tried to get a bead on her and did the same to the gunner. It’d take some work to repair, but compared to what she’d done to the other tank, this was nothing. It wasn’t a good tank, anyway. She shook her head, looking up as another plasma grenade bloomed, killing more of the mercenaries. “Should’ve aimed at the ground, at least we’d have been hit by shrapnel. Idiots.”

Only two dozen people were outside, Evelyn noticed, and they’d already killed all but four. One of those was running for the emergency exit, and she put a bolt through his lower back, reasoning that if he managed to live he was lucky. With the numbers she’d been given, there should be between twenty and forty more opponents. If they were all so poorly equipped and came at her piecemeal, they wouldn’t be a problem. Actually, they wouldn’t be a problem either way, it was more a question of how much collateral damage Evelyn was willing to deal.

Evelyn hopped to the bay floor, cutting off the arm of one of the fallen who was trying to aim a pistol at her, then magically ripped a key card from the man’s belt. She examined it, just as Fya froze the last pair of opponents in a blast of magical ice. Apparently, she’d had enough fun with weapons for the moment.

“Found an access key for the ship. I wonder if it’ll work?” Evelyn said, examining the ship after a moment. It wasn’t what she’d call a good ship, but it wasn’t bad for a bunch of mercenaries, she supposed.

“Maybe? Depends on how quickly we get to the ramp,” Fya replied, glancing at the starship. Then her eyes widened, and Evelyn looked up and saw one of the cannon mounts turning to face them.

Dropping her sword, the blade winked out the instant it left her grip, even as her telekinesis spell caught it, and Evelyn’s hand snapped up to point at the cannon, her mind focusing as she mouthed the words of a spell and she felt mana flood out of her. A beam of brilliant red energy flashed out of her hand and hit the cannon, which glowed for an instant, then fell apart like it’d been made of sand.

“Idiots. Using shipboard weapons in a docking bay is just stupid,” Evelyn said disdainfully, snatching her sword out of the air and reigniting the blade as she stalked toward the entry ramp.

“Ah… I thought that you said not to damage the ship,” Fya protested, trotting after her.

“Eh, the gun wasn’t that valuable, anyway,” Evelyn said, shrugging, and she smiled coldly. She’d been right, though. This was far better for blowing off steam.

* * *

“Shit.” Maggie breathed, her eyes wide as she watched the two women climb Daggerhound’s entry ramp.

“What? She didn’t do that much damage this time around,” David said, frowning. “Last time there were a lot of explosions.”

“Yeah, but most of them were from the defenders,” Maggie replied, looking at the room and all the deceased. They’d crushed the defenders like they weren’t even there, and the craters the plasma grenades had left in the bay floor made her wince. They weren’t deep, the floor was built to support the weight of starships, after all, but repairing them wouldn’t be fun. “This… did you see how fast that was? It wasn’t even a fight! They took some shield damage, but that’s it!”

“Well… yeah? I mean, she conquered a country without too much difficulty, from what I heard. Sure, she had allies, but she built her power base in only a few years. It’s been four times as long as long since she was overthrown as it took her to take over to begin with, so why wouldn’t she be that good?” David asked, looking at Maggie oddly. “I mean, she isn’t exactly our problem, is she?”

“Not now, but what about next week, or next month? If she comes after us, what the hell are we supposed to do?” Maggie demanded.

David just shrugged and nodded at the screen as he replied. “Well, based on that, I’d say surrender before she gets in range to murder us. That or die, but I think the first option is better.”

“Maybe so,” Maggie said, chewing her lip and eying the mount where Evelyn had casually disintegrated a shipboard cannon. Maggie didn’t have enough magical training to light a candle, let alone destroy part of a ship like that, and it made her uneasy.

Finally, she sighed, glad that at least the two were on the ship now. Unless they blew it to kingdom come, she wasn’t going to have to worry about further damage to the starport. She really hoped that wouldn’t happen, though at least it might kill Evelyn. Maybe. Possibly. On second thought, she didn’t want to test the theory.

“So… has anyone contacted the boss yet?” Maggie asked at last.

The silence in response was practically deafening.

Chapter 6

Two soldiers had surrendered quickly enough to live so far, which was fewer than Evelyn had expected. A part of her wondered if she’d been a touch too aggressive … but she honestly didn’t care that much. They’d swept a good part of the Daggerhound’s decks, and they’d dealt with another thirty people, give or take.

The ship was in better condition than Evelyn had expected, even given its exterior. Nothing was truly expensive aboard it, but the crew kept it well-maintained, which she found curious when the gear wasn’t impressive. She also hadn’t heard of the company before, but that wasn’t surprising. She didn’t keep up with all the mercenary companies in the region. No, she was mostly pleased that the ship was in reasonably good shape because she had plans for it. Not plans its current owner would care for, but plans nonetheless.

Now she examined the doors blocking the way to the bridge and quirked an eyebrow. She considered just cutting through them, but decided against it. Instead, she called out. “You do realize that the doors being locked just means that I’m going to destroy them? Open the doors so we can get this over with.”

There wasn’t a response, at least not a verbal one. Then the doors hissed and began to slide open, revealing the multi-layered, overlapping metal plates that made up the doors as they began moving to either side. A man began speaking as the doors slid open.

“Now, don’t do anything hasty, maybe we can come to some kind of—” a man in heavy armor began saying. He had numerous markings that looked like they belonged to an officer, and the magical runes on them gave additional evidence of his rank. So Evelyn put an energy bolt through his faceplate.

The bolt punched through his faceplate with only a little resistance, apparently, he’d skimped on those enchantments, and the man toppled as smoke rose from the hole. Around him, five mercenaries froze, obviously in shock.

“No,” Evelyn said crossly. “That was the captain, was it not? If so, the rest of you can surrender. Unless you don’t want to.”

For a moment she thought they’d fight anyway, but then another woman, this one in armor that had similar markings to the one she’d shot, but not quite as nice, spoke. “Ah… I think I’ll surrender, yes.”

She dropped her rifle, and a couple of seconds later the others dropped their weapons as well. Evelyn smiled thinly, stepping into the room to examine the captain. After a few seconds she spoke.

“I don’t appreciate people trying to kill me. I like it even less when they choose to destroy my property. Killing me is at least an understandable goal. Destroying things I care about? That makes me upset. Very upset, as your ‘mercenary company’ just experienced,” Evelyn told them, her gaze playing across the men and women coldly. “Not that I believe you qualify as such. You were too much of idiots.”

Evelyn couldn’t see their faces through their helms, but she could imagine how they were flinching from the way their heads jerked back. She paused for several seconds, then looked at the woman now in charge.

“This is Fya. You will give her whatever codes are necessary to operate the ship, take whatever items she allows you to take, and be off it before I return in a few hours,” Evelyn said precisely. “If you do not do so, or if you are here when I return, I will kill you. I will not listen to pleas, excuses, or anything else. You will die, just like your captain did.”

“Y-yes,” the woman agreed, her voice quavering.

“What’re you doing, Milady?” Fya asked, looking at her and frowning.

“The only way that they could have done as much damage as they did was by moving without my information network picking them up. The only way to do that is if the network was told not to tell me,” Evelyn said, her smile wintry as she glanced at the screens showing the bay around the ship. “As such, I’m going to have to have words with the Commodore. I’ll be dropping by the shop to get a few items, just in case I need to implement a regime change.”

“Oh, drat. And I don’t get to come with,” Fya replied in obvious disappointment.

The way the surrendered soldiers stiffened just made Evelyn want to laugh. They truly were incompetent, if that was all it took to scare them. She ignored them, and instead turned to leave the ship.

* * *

“Um, was she serious?” Sabrina asked, but only after she was damned sure that the avatar of death masquerading as a woman was out of the docking bay. She didn’t want to talk anywhere near her.

“Hm? About which part?” Fya asked, looking up from the console she’d logged into, barely having pushed the captain’s body out of the way. That was rather creepy on its own but considering what the two had done to the company Sabrina wasn’t about to breathe a word of disrespect. “I mean, if you’re still helping me when she comes back she probably won’t kill you. She might, but it’s not likely. She’s pissed off, but she’ll calm down in a bit.”

Sabrina flinched, then explained nervously, “The regime change part.”

Fya paused, looking at Sabrina curiously for a couple of seconds as she tapped the console’s rim, then murmured, “You really are clueless, aren’t you? She’s Evelyn, of course she’s serious! If the Commodore is behind this, he’s going to pay through the nose, hating every moment of it, yet he’ll be thankful to be alive afterword. If he’s stupid enough to try killing her, well… what you saw here will be a warm-up. She barely used her magic.”

The blood drained from Sabrina’s face and she swallowed, desperately wishing she’d argued with the captain more. He’d said that this would be an easy job, a way to increase their profits by an enormous amount, maybe even enough to upgrade the gear of the entire crew. Instead, most of them were dead, and she had no clue how it’d come to that.

The woman examined Sabrina for a few more seconds, then sighed, speaking impatiently. “Oh, come now! Evelyn Esendria Tarth? Former empress of Peldra? The Bloody Empress, Black Shipbreaker, and Death’s Mistress? You must have heard of her.”

“She’s who?” Yurik asked, his voice strangled, and for a moment Sabrina’s vision grew hazy, as horror almost caused her to black out.

“You heard me, and at least that much rang a bell. You’re all idiots. If you were going to kill her, an orbital bombardment would’ve been safer,” Fya said, clicking her tongue. “Not that it would’ve gotten through the shields. We have a system in place to keep track of orbital and sub-orbital threats. Might have to adjust the ground-based one after all of this… anyway, what were you carrying? This shows you had cargoes for two different groups, which seems odd. Not many mercs carry cargo for people.”

“I… you’re not going to kill me if I answer, are you?” Sabrina asked, her stomach twisting even more, now that she realized who the woman who’d butchered ninety percent of their company was. She wasn’t happy about the most recent job, but with how bad their finances generally were, Sabrina had agreed to it. She was really regretting it, though.

Fya turned to look at Sabrina thoughtfully again, tilting her head and smiling slowly. When she spoke, her tone was light, almost teasing, even if the content… wasn’t.

“Ooh, you really are doing bad stuff, aren’t you? Things that would get you killed on a bunch of worlds? Not smart, not smart at all!” Fya said, tapping her fingers together as she grinned. “If you don’t help me, you’re dead. If you do help me, unless you manage to make me angry, you’ll be able to leave with most of your things and live. Now, what cargo are you carrying?”

“I… well, most of it, the bigger cargo, is just a bunch of medical equipment that’s rather rare and controlled on the planet we were going to. A good supplement to our income.” Sabrina replied slowly, looking at the others nervously. They weren’t looking back at her, she noticed, which wasn’t appreciated. “The rest… a rather wealthy client requested two shipments. The first is a whole bunch of custom Dolls, still in their maintenance pods and packaging. That’s the bigger part of it… and the rest are, um… slaves.”

Fya paused abruptly, looking at Sabrina closely, and her eyes narrowed. “Slaves. What type of slaves?”

“Based on their appearances…” Sabrina swallowed hard, looking away intently. “Pleasure, probably?”

“Oh… you’re so lucky that Evelyn didn’t hear you say that. She might’ve let you live, might not have. She hates slavery, though she’s not quite outraged enough to go wreck their market. She’s muttered about how prophecy is a jumped up form of slavery by the gods, and that she ran into a nasty crew early on,” Fya said, whistling softly as she shook her head. “I don’t like it either, mind you! I was a slave to a lamp for a couple of centuries, but it gave me time to work out my issues. Her reaction tends to be more violent than mine… but we’d better take care of this.”

Fya stood abruptly, her smile wide as she continued. “Show me to your cargo, so I can figure out whether I need to finish you off before Milady gets back. As long as you haven’t touched them, you’ll get out of here alive. If you have touched them… well, I don’t think you’ll be that lucky.”

Sabrina’s stomach clenched so tightly that she was surprised she could even breathe, and she nodded numbly, then gestured to the doors. “T-this way.”

She really, truly hoped that she was going to survive this with more than a couple of mythrite to her name. Mostly, she hoped she’d live and not be left crippled or a slave herself.

Chapter 7

“I’m sorry, Commodore Barstil’s schedule is full for the coming month. Would you like to make an appointment?” the receptionist replied pleasantly, and Evelyn scowled, looking at the palace gates. The Commodore was in charge of what passed for Rakal’s government, and he had a truly ostentatious palace, along with heavily guarded walls that were reinforced with enchantments. Not well-reinforced enough to stop her, but enough to slow her down.

“You can tell the Commodore that if I’m still waiting outside in ten minutes, I have ten warp grenades that I will use on the palace on my way in,” Evelyn told the woman evenly, keeping her voice controlled despite her anger. “And even if he manages to survive that, he’s going to regret it in two days. Captain Eight-Fist is going to be arriving the day after tomorrow, and he is going to be exceedingly displeased with the Commodore.”

For a moment the woman on the other end of the comm line was silent, then she spoke, her calm a bit strained. “I will tell him what you have said, Miss Tarth. May I contact you with his answer shortly?”

“You do that,” Evelyn replied, cutting the line. Then she leaned back against the light pole to watch the gates and walls warily.

She wouldn’t put it past the Commodore to try to take her out before she could do too much damage, but she doubted he was quite that stupid. Warp grenades were nothing anyone wanted to fool around with, since they didn’t just rip sections of reality apart, they also weakened the borders between planes in ways that often allowed horrible monsters to emerge. He wouldn’t want ten of them to go off inside his retirement home.

As she waited, Evelyn watched the traffic moving along the street, a hint of amusement washing over her. The Commodore didn’t allow any aircars near his palace except on official business, which meant that most traffic was ground cars, hoverbikes, or simple, old-fashioned walking.

It was the last that she was watching more than the rest. A half-elven man with dark skin was bargaining with a merchant while the black-scaled mountain drake behind him yawned and stretched, its saddlebags loaded with a variety of purchases. What intrigued Evelyn about the drake was that it had cybernetic eyes, something she didn’t often see on drakes. It must be an important companion of the man’s, though it seemed to notice her watching and looked in her direction… then it shrank back slightly, causing her smile to widen a bit more.

A trio of senne, two women with light purple skin and a man with royal blue, were arguing with a shopkeeper over the price of armor maintenance. They were tall and muscular, which she was used to in their species, but the elven mechanic was standing her ground as she scowled at them, one ear cropped from an old injury. Evelyn expected that part of what made the smith so confident was the two-meter-tall warbot behind her, a gravity maul planted on the ground in front of it and with several energy cannons on back mounts. Despite its scarred exterior, Evelyn noticed that none of it appeared to be decrepit and all of the enchantments were high-quality, which improved her opinion of her competitor. With any luck for the mechanic, Evelyn wouldn’t remove her primary client.

An android walked by, in the midst of a spirited conversation with a dwarven woman, all while the cybernetically enhanced guards at the palace ignored all of them to watch Evelyn nervously, and she gave them a cold, thin smile in response, which made them even more anxious. She wasn’t surprised, since she knew they had to be wishing they were somewhere else. Anywhere else, really, as if it came to a fight… well, that didn’t even need a discussion. If it came to a fight, they’d die first and they knew it.

The chime of an incoming call rang in Evelyn’s head, and she answered it. “Evelyn here.”

“The Commodore has adjusted his schedule and will see you immediately, Miss Tarth,” the secretary said, not quite hiding her relief. “Approach the gates and you will be granted entry.”

“Excellent. I’d prefer not to have to destroy them,” Evelyn replied calmly, and cut the line with a thought. She pushed away from the light pole and casually strolled toward the gates, amused to notice how people seemed to unconsciously get out of her way. That was something which improved her mood, if only slightly.

The guards tensed as she approached, and before she could even open her mouth, one of them hit a button and whispered something, then the gates slid open. The other man spoke up, the elf’s voice studiously calm. “Welcome to the Golden Palm Manor, Lady Tarth.”

“Thank you. I’m glad this didn’t turn out the other way it could have,” Evelyn replied casually, prompting them to relax slightly. Then they tensed again as she paused, tilting her head, and added musingly. “Yet, anyway. It all depends on how your boss reacts. A word of advice? If you hear explosions inside the palace, run.”

With that, she continued through the gates, amused at how stiff the two guards were. How easy it was to terrify common thugs always entertained her.

The interior of the palace walls hadn’t changed much since the last time Evelyn had come through, and she scanned the area calmly. A wide courtyard was ahead of her, the white and gold checkered paving stones made of some tough polymer that shone brightly no matter how old it was, while to either side were gardens that gave a reasonably large empty space between the palace and the walls, while not providing much cover. The walls were merely to reinforce the shield which could envelop the entire compound and to house additional weapons, Evelyn knew, and more shields could be brought up over the sprawling complex. It looked like it was built of sandstone, though garish murals had been painted across it.

She noticed that there were several gleaming and expensive air cars in the square, which may, may have indicated that the Commodore hadn’t been lying through his teeth about his schedule. The soldiers and bodyguards standing around the air cars were watching her warily, and as she watched, one of the bodyguards started reaching for her sidearm.

“Don’t be stupid,” Evelyn interrupted, her voice pitched to carry across the courtyard as she strolled forward, and they all twitched slightly. “I’m in a terrible mood, and if you touch that pistol, I’ll remove your arm.”

“I don’t believe you,” the woman replied, though her hand was hovering only a centimeter from her gun. She didn’t touch it, though, despite Evelyn keeping a close eye on her.

“Try me,” Evelyn said, grinning slightly more. “Please, give me the excuse.”

The woman started to draw, but then one of the other bodyguards snapped out angrily. “Hey! Don’t be an idiot! Do you want to get us all killed?”

“I didn’t say I’d kill all of you. I said I’d remove her arm,” Evelyn corrected, still walking toward the front doors. “It wouldn’t be the first time today, and if she thinks she can do better than a heavy tank, she can be my guest.”

“A what?” the woman demanded, freezing in place.

Evelyn laughed softly, passing a couple of the locals with a polite nod, then entered as the doors slid open at her approach. As they shut behind her, Evelyn murmured. “Ah, the smell of cowardice… now, then.”

She paused just inside the plush, overly ornate interior of the antechamber. Two flights of stairs led to the second floor, and she saw a couple of elevators as well, though she knew there had to be dozens of hidden weapons trained on her. The same had been true outside, but she didn’t care. If all else failed, she’d use her magic to shield herself, and that would block even more damage than her armor’s shields.

A pair of human servants stood ahead of her, a maid in a dress, and a man in a butler’s uniform, though both were more flamboyant than those Evelyn had seen in Peldra. That was the influence of being a pirate, as far as Evelyn could tell, but she didn’t much care if their purple and yellow outfits were normal or not. What they meant was that she had escorts, so she moved toward them.

“I’m here to meet the Commodore,” Evelyn said simply.

“Of course, Lady Tarth. Please, follow us,” the butler said, bowing slightly in tandem with the woman, then straightened. Evelyn already felt like she was about to break out in hives at the formality, but she resisted the urge to snap at them. It wouldn’t do any good, and they were just doing their jobs. If they attacked her, then she’d change her mind.

Evelyn followed them as they led her through the doors to the palace’s center, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Either the Commodore had guests, or he was trying to be imposing. He should know how well the latter would work with her, but she wasn’t sure he remembered that properly, since he’d been stupid enough to let a group of incompetents attempt to assassinate her.

Less than a minute later the two paused at a pair of doors, bowing deeply as they gestured to it with both arms and the doors opened before her, as they announced.

“We present former Empress Evelyn Esendria Tarth to Commodore Barstil Skulltaker,” the two said in unison, their voices carefully amplified by the building’s systems.

The throne room, and having possessed a throne room Evelyn recognized it with definite distaste, was lavishly ornamented and overly glittery, if you asked her. She wished that gold wasn’t so common these days that the Commodore could afford to plate almost everything in the metal, but it was a wish in vain. It almost sent her into a murderous rage, for that matter, but she managed to refrain, though it did add a digit to the compensation she was going to demand.

There were nine people in the room, Evelyn noticed. Two guards, these two halfway competent, and she knew enough about them that she suspected they’d take two or three attacks to kill, not one, and the orc woman and dark elven man watched her warily, their hands near but not on their weapons. There was a group of men and women in clothing almost half as ornate as the throne room, which was to say tolerable and reasonably pretty. Evelyn took particular note of the haughty, bronze-haired human woman in front with the elongated pupils, who wore a significant amount of tasteful jewelry. Evelyn recognized a dragon in mortal form, and the dragon’s eyes widened ever so slightly on seeing Evelyn.

On the throne was Commodore Barstil, and Evelyn smiled coldly at him. The dwarf was handsome enough, with a chiseled physique, dark hair, and a cybernetic eye that was a cold blue, contrasting the rocky brown other eye. He had a plasma cannon hanging from the side of his ornate throne, and she knew he had a powerful shield generator built into the throne. That wouldn’t help when she ripped the throne out of the floor, though.

“Evelyn, what’s so important that you—” Barstil began blustering, and Evelyn cut him short.

“Commodore Barstil, you have broken our agreement,” Evelyn said, walking in until she was in the dead center of a mural on the floor, one that she knew was effectively the targeting crosshair for his throne room defenses. If he was going to be stupid enough to attack her, she wanted to make a point. She thought that the way the orc paled slightly indicated she had. The dragon’s suddenly narrowed eyes indicated that she’d made more of a point than she’d intended, in fact.

“What… what are you talking about? I haven’t broken any agreements!” Bartsil protested, sitting up straighter. “Explain yourself!”

“An hour and ten minutes ago, the Bloody Dagger mercenaries, version seventeen in the local Mercenary Guild’s records, attacked my shop. They drove a tank through the city, destroying numerous stalls, and yet the notification links I have set up with your information systems didn’t warn me that they were doing so,” Evelyn replied precisely, her gaze fixed on Barstil, and he swallowed visibly. “Even if you somehow missed a heavy tank driving through Rakal’s streets, that is a breach of our agreement. However, we both know that isn’t possible. You deliberately suppressed the information because the captain of the ship paid you a bribe.”

“I… even if you’re right, that’s no reason to threaten to destroy my palace! Warp grenades are incredibly dangerous!” Barstil replied, changing tactics suddenly as he straightened. “Why are you blowing yet another assassination attempt completely out of proportion?”

“Oh, but I’m not. Blowing it out of proportion, that is,” Evelyn told him, a dangerous smile on her face now, and she glanced at the dragon and her retinue before shrugging and continuing. “See, you made a massive mistake. When they attacked, they destroyed an Echris combat rifle. A platinum special edition Echris combat rifle, serial number twelve out of twenty-five produced. It was completely and utterly destroyed.”

“And?” Barstil demanded, frowning. “It’s just a rifle. An expensive one, but nothing more.”

“Ah, then you won’t be worried that you’ll be explaining what happened to Captain Eight-Fist when he arrives in two days to pick up that rifle. The rifle that he’d reserved at great expense as a gift to Captain Keelbreaker.” Evelyn replied, her voice almost sweet now. “I believe that he was planning to give it to her as a courtship gift, as a matter of fact.”

That finally shut Barstil up, and his complexion turned waxy as the blood drained from his face, and his guards both had the presence of mind to check for the nearest exits. Even the dragon inhaled slightly, which was understandable. When two of the Pirate Kings came up in the same conversation, it was not something to be taken lightly.

After a few moments, Evelyn spoke again, her rage simmering now, rather than raging. Seeing someone in fear like that did wonders to soothe her mood. “Ah, I see you finally understand the depths of your folly. However, given who you are, I know that there’s only one way to ensure you’ve learned your lesson, and that’s to be wrung for every drop of mythrite I can get out of you.”

“I… but I didn’t—” Barstil began protesting, and Evelyn interrupted again.

“I don’t care,” she told him, not a hint of give in her voice. “You are not only going to compensate me for my lost sale, which is worth two months of my normal income, you will return the last year of my payments for information from you, and you will buy my property as I prepare to leave the city. You have made me truly angry, and if you don’t do any of those things…”

Evelyn simply smiled widely, and spoke sweetly once more. “If you don’t, I’ll simply kill you and take what I want from your treasury. The choice is yours, Commodore.”

* * *

Evelyn almost hummed as she strolled back toward the entrance of the palace, happy that she’d managed to get every bit of mythrite possible out of Barstil. The look of anguish on his face had been incredibly satisfying, and she was happy that she could easily get all of her things out of Rakal. If he wasn’t going to do his part, she wasn’t going to contribute to the city… though she supposed some people would be relieved to see her go.

She was almost to the front doors when she heard the dragon clear her throat to her right, just a bit behind Evelyn. She paused, looking over at the stairs, where the dragon and two of her servants were standing. The dragon was pretty enough, Evelyn conceded internally, but she wasn’t interested in her. She was a dragon.

“Pardon me, Lady Tarth, but I had a business proposition for you,” the dragon said calmly.

Evelyn paused, examining the woman for a moment, then replied. “If you’re looking for weapons, I do have a rather large variety, but considering that you’re able to order from Draconic Suns, I doubt you need anything I carry. Also, I’m not a lady, anymore. I rather gleefully made certain of that years ago.”

“Ah, my apologies,” the dragoness said, her lips quirking into a smile as she inclined her head. “You are correct about the weapons. While I’m certain that yours are exceptional, there are certain things which don’t reach the public market. No, I had another offer. I happen to be in possession of one of the Echris rifles you spoke of, and if what you have said is correct, you could use one.”

Evelyn blinked, then smiled widely in return. “Ah, but there you are wrong. See, Captain Keelbreaker is an enormous lover of Echris firearms, so I believe it’s Captain Eight-Fist who you should be speaking to.”

“Perhaps so, but he has had… difficulties with dragons before. I believe that I would have difficulties convincing him to speak with me,” the dragon demurred, and Evelyn saw the two assistants shift uneasily. “Perhaps if I had an intermediary?”

“I believe I understand,” Evelyn said, smiling slowly. “Well, for a modest finder’s fee, perhaps I could be of assistance. I believe it’s time to chat, Lady…?”

“Xalryx. Call me Lady Xalryx,” the dragon said, smiling broadly, and gestured to the stairs. “Would you care to join me for a chance to bargain?”

“Certainly,” Evelyn agreed, a bit amused.

It was always possible that the dragon was about to try robbing her, they were known to do that. If she did, Evelyn could always just kill her. And if she did, it wouldn’t change much. No, if she could get on the good side of a dragon, she just might be able to purchase some truly fascinating weapons and armor. That made it well worth the risk… so she nodded and followed the dragon up the stairs.

It really was difficult to keep from humming.

Chapter 8

“They were slavers?” Evelyn demanded, her good mood wiped away in an instant. “I should have killed them all. Slowly.”

“They weren’t slavers,” Fya corrected, shaking her head. “That implies that they went out and captured people. They were hired to transport the slaves someone purchased.”

“Close enough. I shouldn’t have let any of them live,” Evelyn said, dropping her bag, fuming as she considered what to do. “They aren’t nearby, are they? I can still fix that…”

“No. You promised to let them live if they were helpful and got out of the ship in time, and at least they hadn’t touched the ladies aboard,” Fya replied, crossing her arms and glaring at Evelyn. “You also killed all but eight of them, out of a crew of ninety-three, and took almost all their stuff. I don’t like slavery much more than you do, but I’m not helping you hunt them down.”

Evelyn examined the djinn suspiciously for a couple of seconds, not entirely trusting her. There was something about Fya’s expression that struck her as… wrong, somehow. It didn’t help that djinn had extremely odd views of what was appropriate, especially regarding slavery. Who else would consider being stuck in a lamp and forced to grant wishes to those who possessed the lamp for two thousand years was a fair wager on a bet? Fya may not like slavery, but that didn’t mean she went out of her way to stamp it out in her presence.

“Fine,” Evelyn said, folding her arms. “Then free them.”

“I don’t think that’s possible at the moment.” Fya said, shaking her head. “And even if you could, do you think that freeing them here would be a good idea?”

“I didn’t say to shove them down the ramp, did I?” Evelyn snapped. “Now, why are you telling me it isn’t possible?”

“Why don’t you come with me?” Fya asked, grinning widely, and Evelyn inhaled slowly, reminding herself that she really did like Fya most of the time. Throttling the djinn would be satisfying, but she’d regret it later. Probably. Besides, it wouldn’t be permanent.

“Fine,” Evelyn said shortly, following the djinn as she led the way off the bridge. She paused for a moment, then continued. “What else have you found?”

“Enough beer and other alcohol to marinate a couple of mastodons, a lot of mediocre gear that you’ll probably sell off to one of the other weapons dealers for maybe twenty thousand mythrite, a whole lot of personal effects that we’ll need to toss, a few of which might be worth a bit but probably aren’t worth trying to sort out from the rest, a half-written gay romance novel titled Hotter Than The Sun which I think is pretty good, but you chopped the writer in half so it’s a loss, and the cargo,” Fya replied, bouncing along the corridor enthusiastically. “Well, and the access codes to the captain’s personal accounts and his vault. There was a lot in those, I’m pretty sure he was keeping almost a third of their payments for himself, the greedy bastard. Just as well for us, though!”

Evelyn gave her a slightly exasperated look, then asked, “And what pray tell, was the cargo?”

“Oh, right! Forty custom Dolls, all of them high-quality models with their accompanying maintenance units and four diamond-grade skill ports each, all of them filled. There’s also the equipment for the distilling side of ten manufacturing lines for a variety of medical purposes, though looking at them I’m pretty sure they’re intended for drugs of the banned sort,” Fya explained, grinning. “Then there’re the ten slaves, of course. That pretty much covers the cargo, though now that the ship’s down a tank and ninety-odd crew members, there’s more space for that sort of thing.”

“Dolls. Of course they were carrying Dolls,” Evelyn muttered, shaking her head, but Dolls were a far more palatable cargo than the rest of what the ship was carrying. She just didn’t care for how they were usually used. She set the thought aside, instead focusing on the rest as she thought, then nodded. “In any case, it sounds like we can pack everything from the shop and our homes into the ship. Good.”

“We’re leaving?” Fya asked, slowing abruptly as she looked at Evelyn curiously. “I thought you liked it here!”

“Mm… mostly, yes, but then Barstil decided to try selling me out. It left a nasty taste in my mouth,” Evelyn said, grimacing as they turned another corner. “I think we can find better places to live. Maybe even aboard a ship, though I’d probably want to get a different one.”

“Ooh, that could be fun!” Fya said enthusiastically, focusing on the door ahead of them, which she keyed a code into, and stepped inside. “Anyway, here they are! Ladies, stand up and face us, please!”

The room they’d stepped into looked like a repurposed barracks to Evelyn, though with a larger living space than she would have expected. More importantly, there was a decent amount of furnishings, an autochef on one wall, and a bathing room, while rooms to the sides held bunk beds. At Fya’s request, ten women turned to face her, the ones who’d be sitting taking the time to stand.

Each woman was gorgeous. That was the first thing Evelyn noticed, aside from the neutral expressions on their faces. There were three that stood out more than the others, mostly because an angel and succubus were unusual, while aquana weren’t terribly common. The angel had a golden halo above her long blonde hair, had blue eyes and pale skin, while the succubus was dark-haired with nearly black eyes and short horns on her forehead. Each had feathered wings, though the succubus had raven black feathers that contrasted with the angel’s white. The aquana was also unusual, with delicate-looking features, and an oddly smooth skin that was colored like some of the bright fish Evelyn had seen; white, gold, and with accents of neon blue and orange, while her eyes were gold and her thick hair was neon blue with hints of green toward the edges.

The other seven were also distinct, and Evelyn instantly noticed the patterns of busty women with hourglass figures, some of which didn’t look entirely natural. There were a pair of identical human twins with curly red hair, a half-elf brunette, a blonde and brunette elf, a dark elf with obsidian skin and silver hair, and a celestine woman who looked almost more ethereal than the angel, which was ironic. All of them wore white shipsuits that left little of their bodies to the imagination, yet would protect them if the ship lost atmospheric pressure.

“Dear gods,” Evelyn said after a moment, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose, annoyance surging through her. “Whoever bought them is like Lady Fenna.”

“Lady Fenna only liked men,” Fya countered.

“Yes, but she had just as wide of a variety,” Evelyn said, letting go of her nose as she grimaced. “Let me guess… the Dolls are in the same mold?”

“Yep! Not quite as striking, and none of them look like an angel or succubus, but they’re pretty much the same on the whole.” Fya confirmed. “The main difference is that most of them are combat-rated, and have modules for different skills. Not that we have the access codes to modify them, but that’s to be expected.”

Evelyn nodded, eying the women warily. They were still staring at her, which gave her an unfortunately clear idea of what had happened to them. Still, she needed to be certain.

“Let me guess. Whoever enslaved them installed control chips?” Evelyn asked, crossing her arms.

“Got it in one! They must’ve implanted most of them, too, since they’ve got at least tier four cerebral implants, and I’m pretty sure they’re locked out of most of the functions and under external control. Not that I can access them, with the encrypted lockouts in place,” Fya confirmed, grinning broadly. “Either way, I’ve always said that you could use a harem!”

“No,” Evelyn said flatly.

“Come on, please? I want to be a harem mistress!” Fya begged, looking at her pleadingly.

“I said no. I’m not going to build a harem of slaves!” Evelyn exclaimed, gesturing at them. “Let alone women who’re stuck as passengers in their own bodies!”

“What if I asked them really nicely, once we got rid of that stuff?” Fya asked hopefully. “You wouldn’t have to sleep with them, either. That’s the prerogative of having a harem.”

Evelyn inhaled slowly, counting to ten, then to twenty. Then she let her breath out, making certain she wasn’t about to explode at Fya. Only then did she reply.

“They can hear us, too, so let me make this perfectly clear,” Evelyn said calmly. “If they want to join the ‘harem’ you’re so incredibly enamored with, they may, but only, only if they want to. They’re not going to even be required to stay on the ship, for that matter. First, we need to find some way to remove the control chips and get access to their implants so they can revert the controls. Is that clear?”

“Yes!” Fya cheered, pumping her hands in the air. “I’m going to be a harem mistress!”

“You are annoying,” Evelyn told her crossly, turning to leave.

“You love me anyway!” Fya called after her, and Evelyn growled under her breath.

“Let them go back to whatever they were doing, I have a few people to call! And you need to start packing up your stuff and the shop!” Evelyn retorted.

Then she was out of the room, her headache back again. Why couldn’t this be simple?

Chapter 9

“You’re asking about those slaves? Sorry, I can’t help you,” Alaine replied, the dark elf suddenly looking a little wary in the hologram as she added, “It isn’t that I don’t want to, mind you, you’d be paying for it! It’s just that the purchaser hired an outside agent to implement the lockouts, and I’m not entirely sure who it was. We don’t remove the control chips, either. I could deactivate them if we had access to their implants, but that’s about it. On the other hand, I know of a couple of surgeons who can remove them safely, if you want their contact information.”

“Fine,” Evelyn said, drumming her fingers on her thigh restlessly. “Get me the information, then. As for the implants, who cracks them for you, when someone’s implants are already secure? I know you have someone who does it.”

“True, but… look, you didn’t get the contact info from me, is that clear? I don’t want to ruin my reputation with this client,” Alaine said, glancing to either side nervously. “You might be able to get away with it, but I’m far more vulnerable than you are, and other people who’ve offended them have gone missing. Seriously, you had battleship shield generators around your shop?”

“Had implies that they’re no longer there,” Evelyn replied calmly, tapping her fingers together as she thought, then nodded. “Very well, though. I won’t tell anyone where I got the hacker. Do you know if they can hack the access codes of Dolls?”

“Most likely, but it’s never come up. I’ve got the contact info for you,” Alaine replied, glancing downward, then asked, “Are you sure that you aren’t interested in any of my other merchandise? I’ve got a few that are hot commodities.”

“The only way I will be acquiring any of your merchandise is by coming in and taking it by force,” Evelyn replied calmly, looking the woman in the eyes. “I don’t like slavery. I hate the fact it’s so entrenched in so many societies. And I will not pay to free people from it. Be glad I’ve had my fill of bursting in through the front doors for the day.”

“I’ll… remember that. Good day, Evelyn,” Alaine said, swallowing visibly, then her hologram vanished.

Evelyn checked to ensure that she’d gotten the information she wanted, then frowned as she absorbed the contact information for the hacker. They didn’t take calls at all, only messages, while the nine doctors who could extract the chips were a different story. She ran a quick search on the doctors, and noted the ones who had less sketchy businesses, as well as the best ratings among those in the city. One of them looked like they’d quashed some negative reviews, so she struck the woman from the list and narrowed it down to two reasonably good doctors. Evelyn would probably have to look them up on the computer systems to properly absorb their details and make a decision, but her implants made a basic overview easy.

“Right, let’s get a message off to this hacker,” Evelyn muttered, leaning forward as she activated the ship’s command console. She wished it had more implant integration, but Daggerhound wasn’t even close to state of the art, and even most of the consoles were flat screens, rather than magically augmented or holographic.

Composing the message didn’t take long, and Evelyn gave it a once-over before sending the message off and starting to go over the doctors. Once she had them sorted out, she’d figure out where to dump the things from the captain’s cabin so she could properly fumigate it before bedtime.

Sure, bedtime would likely be near dawn, but she was used to that.

* * *

“Ah, Miss Tarth, there you are! Thank you for giving me the opportunity for this job!” Doctor Inda said, smiling so widely she was briefly afraid that his head would split in two.

Evelyn had just stepped into the medical bay, which was as serviceable and well-maintained as the rest of the ship, though now there was a large, complicated machine being set up in one of the surgery rooms. Doctor Inda was watching a couple of his assistants work through the window, his darker skin contrasting with the teal shirt and white lab coat he was wearing.

“I’d think that you’d be irritated at me asking you to do this aboard the ship,” Evelyn replied, her lips quirking slightly upward. “I certainly expected an argument.”

“Hah! No, you’re being far wiser than some of the people who’ve come to me for this sort of thing. I haven’t had many people come to remove control chips, mind you, but at least half of them have ended up in the exact same position the next week, or even within hours. At least you’re not going to be dragging groggy women through the streets,” Doctor Inda said, his smile fading slightly. “It’s really a shame when that happens, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Anyway, you also are paying five times my usual rate, so hiring an appropriately secure truck to get my equipment here and back is a minor expense in comparison.”

“Mm, true. I intend to give them the option of getting off here or on another world. If they get off here…” Evelyn let her voice trail off as she shook her head, continuing. “There’s no cure for a lack of common sense.”

“Agreed,” Doctor Inda said, laughing softly. “Now, then, you said you had ten subjects, correct? Do you have any preference for the order? I will say that the procedure will take approximately half an hour per subject to perform safely, or about eight hours for all of them including prep time for each.”

“Excellent. I intend to stay in the room the entire time, just to be safe. Don’t worry, I have no intention of interfering, it’s more that I fully expect for some of them to have panic attacks or something similar once they’re cognizant again, and I can work on the side,” Evelyn assured him, holding up her data pad and the attached holographic projector. “As for the order, whichever you’d like, save that I suggest doing the succubus last. I suspect she’ll be the most dangerous of them and I intend to watch her closely.”

“That’s appreciated. Considering that, I’ll likely do the work on the angel and demon last,” Doctor Inda told her, looking a touch relieved. “While I’ve had an incubus patient before, they can be… difficult. And dangerous. I’d rather not lose an assistant to her.”

“Oh, you won’t. I promise you that much. In fact… ah, they’re here,” Evelyn said, smiling and setting her data pad on a table as Fya led the ten women into the room, still with the neutral expressions on their faces. “This is Doctor Inda. He will be removing the control chips that are making it so none of you can act of your own volition. So long as you’re well-behaved, everything will go well. However, if any of you prove violent or choose to assault the doctor, his assistants, or anyone else that I’m aware of in any fashion, I will end you. This is mostly directed at our resident demon, but it goes for any of you who might be inclined to lash out once you can act of your own accord.”

Evelyn paused, examining them. She was a touch annoyed, since normally she’d be able to tell if someone took her threats the way they were intended, but with the control chips it was almost impossible to tell. She thought she saw hope in the eyes of most of them, but it was difficult. Doctor Inda looked a touch disturbed, but he shrugged it off after a moment.

“Well, with that in mind… let’s start with you, young lady,” the man said, looking at one of the two human twins. “If you’ll come with me? Now, just to be sure you understand, this won’t hurt at all. You’ll fall asleep due to the somatic unit, we’ll extract the chip, then use healing magic to ensure you’re in perfect condition once you wake. You will notice a bit of disorientation after its removal, but that’s normal for when you regain control of your body, and it should fade after a few hours. Now, then…”

While he walked away, Evelyn paused, then spoke to the others. “Why don’t you take a seat and wait for your turns? He’ll get to each of you, but it could be a long day. He said that with preparation for each of you, it could take around eight hours.”

The women silently moved to sit, and Evelyn frowned. They didn’t even talk, which made her wonder if that had been prohibited by the programming. She really wished that the hacker had been willing to come by sooner, but he’d informed her that he was busy for another full day, so she had to wait until after Captain Eight-Fist showed up. That wasn’t too worrying, since the pirate’s response when she’d informed him of what had happened hadn’t been too angry. That was mostly because she’d found a replacement, she suspected.

“What do you want me to do?” Fya asked, looking around the room curiously.

“Clean up enough of the rooms so that each of them can have privacy if they want,” Evelyn replied, settling into the chair she’d chosen. “Start with the officer quarters. If you finish that, see about unhooking the tank docks, since the buyer for the surviving tank will be by later this evening. If they don’t want both docks, we’ll sell the other off to one of the scrapyards.”

“Right! What’re you planning to put into the spots where the docks are? That’s a large chunk of the maintenance bay,” Fya said, her eyes brightening with curiosity. It just figured that drudge work wasn’t enough to ruin her mood.

“The Dolls, of course. We’re going to need a crew, and this class of ship is designed for a minimum crew of ten. Once we’re sure they’ll work, we can load them with crew modules, and they’ll be able to do the work that we can’t, at least until we find something better.” Evelyn replied, then shooed the djinn off. “Now go away. I’ve got programming to do.”

“Alright, but you’d better let me test the game sometime!” Fya replied, reluctantly heading toward the door.

Once she was gone, Evelyn checked to be sure things were going well, only to find that the surgery room’s windows had gone to privacy mode and were pitch black. She looked at them for a moment, then shrugged and powered up her data pad, adjusting the projector screen with her implants. She’d been working on her game for the better part of two years at this point, and she suspected it’d be a few more before it was ready for proper testing. She’d always like roleplaying games, and why not make one herself?

* * *

“Thank you.”

The hesitant words broke Evelyn’s concentration, and she looked up at the woman that was standing just a few steps away, swaying back and forth slowly. Evelyn had known she was there, at least subconsciously, but she hadn’t flagged the woman as a threat, so she hadn’t really paid attention until the redhead spoke. The woman’s sister was now in the treatment room, so Evelyn really should have realized that she’d be up from the recovery bed shortly. More interesting was the odd, slightly lilting accent the woman had.

Saving her work, Evelyn killed the holographic projector with a thought and looked up at the woman, who was a bit pale, but looked leaps and bounds better than she had when the control chip was in place, even if she did look like she was about to fall over.

“You’re welcome. Please, sit down. It wouldn’t do for you to fall over and injure yourself. Yes, we have a doctor, but I don’t think he’d appreciate the additional work,” Evelyn said, inclining her head slightly as she gestured to a nearby chair.

The human paused for a moment, examining Evelyn, then slowly moved to the chair and sank into it with a soft sigh of relief.

“You’re… different than I expected. You were scary at first, and earlier too, but now…” she said, prompting a chuckle from Evelyn.

“I’d had a very bad day when you met me, and earlier… well, I needed to make things clear to everyone. Especially her,” Evelyn said, a smile playing across her lips as she glanced over at the succubus, who was still sitting in a chair next to the angel. After a few seconds she added. “Not that I’m not scary and dangerous. I’m likely one of the most ruthless people you’ve ever met, but I’m not going to get angry at you for no reason. As long as you don’t deliberately cause disasters, I’ll be pleasant enough. I put up with Fya, I doubt you’ll be the slightest problem.”

The woman blinked at Evelyn, then spoke again, her lips curling into a slight smile. “Thank you. I’m Star, Star Wyndred. I’m guessing my sister is in there? And who are you?”

“Yes, she’s in surgery right now. It’ll be some time before they’re done, though,” Evelyn said, glancing at the surgery room again as she added. “If his timeframe is accurate, each of you will take approximately forty-eight minutes from beginning to end. As for me… I’m Evelyn Esendria Tarth. You may have heard of me.”

Star looked at Evelyn for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing, then she spoke hesitantly. “Um… no? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of you before…”

Evelyn’s eyebrows rose and she looked at the human closely for a moment, seeing the obvious confusion on her face, then settled back, a little bemused.

“Huh. That’s unusual, I could have sworn everyone in the cluster had heard…” Evelyn began, but her voice trailed off as she fastened onto the thought, and her eyes narrowed. “Where are you from?”

“Callai, in the Sandier system.” Star replied promptly, and Evelyn’s eyes widened slightly as she quickly consulted the ship’s charts.

“Star, that’s five hundred and sixteen astral units away,” Evelyn said calmly, tapping the arm of her chair. “Unless you’re ridiculously valuable, it makes no sense to bring you this far. The wyrmgates charge extremely high fees to bring slaves through and going through normal space would take months. That’s not cost effective.”

“Oh. Oh! So that’s why we were in stasis pods!” Star replied, paling abruptly. “We’re… wait, what date is it? I can’t access my implants, so I can’t check myself.”

Evelyn didn’t reply with words, instead bringing up the hologram again, this time with the date, and Star… well, she swore rather vilely. At least this explained her accent.

“It’s been… three and a half years? Gods, our parents will think we’re dead! And if we’re this far away, we can’t even send a message easily!” Star said, looking like she was on the verge of passing out.

“Mm, it isn’t as hard as you might think,” Evelyn corrected, changing the hologram to bring up the web-like network of wyrmgates. “The nearest wyrmgate is fifteen AU away. That’s two days at typical speeds, a little more by passenger ship. Then there are two gates before you’re near Sandier, only five AU away. The most expensive part would be the wyrmgate fees. Last I heard, it cost two hundred and fifty mythrite per person per jump, or a fee based on the size of the ship. Most people take the long way, but it isn’t that bad. I was already planning to offer each of you a thousand mythrite to get back on your feet once you leave the ship.”

“That’s… oh, that’s so much better. Thank you so much!” Star exclaimed, her horror turning to delight. Then she embraced Evelyn out of the blue, hugging her tightly and planting a kiss on her cheek. It was all Evelyn could do not to overreact, which might have hurt the woman badly. “I thought… well, I thought the worst had happened when they loaded us aboard this ship!”

“…I definitely can tell that you’re not a local. I doubt most people would dare come this close, let alone do that,” Evelyn replied after a moment, firmly quashing her confusion at someone thanking her in that way. She gently pushed Star away and continued. “However, don’t get ahead of yourself. I still need to get the hacker to break into your implants so you can have full control of yourself, and that’ll be a few more days.”

“Believe me, after the last month or two, that’s fine with me.” Star assured her, smiling widely. “So… who are you, anyway?”

Evelyn looked back at Star for a moment, then replied. “If I’m going to explain this, I think it’d best wait until your sister is done, at a minimum. I don’t want to explain it twice.”

“True, I didn’t think of that,” Star agreed, sitting back as she frowned. “In that case, do you mind telling me about the cluster? I’m guessing we’re in some sort of unregulated system, since we were in a slave market.”

“Mm, most of the planet isn’t as bad, but Rakal is notorious as a pirate haven. It’s part of the reason I came here to begin with,” Evelyn replied, and smiled as the woman stared at her in shock. She shrugged, explaining. “I like to fight sometimes.”

Chapter 10

It turned out that Star’s sister was named Moon, and when Evelyn asked about their names, they explained that their mother was an astronomer. Evelyn thought that just figured and was more surprised that their father hadn’t objected. Apparently, he’d thought the names were cute, though. There was no accounting for taste, she supposed. They were a little shocked to hear about Evelyn’s past, though.

“Why’d you do it?” Moon asked, frowning as she looked at Evelyn. “I mean… it sounds a lot like you did terrible things. At least to me.”

“I did. For some of it, I blame my short temper. I’m calmer than I was, but I did almost wipe out the mercenaries who were transporting you,” Evelyn said, shrugging as she sat back, thinking for a few seconds, then continued. “As for how it happened… really, it all started with that damned prophecy.”

She knew that she’d injected enough loathing into her voice due to how the two blinked in surprise.

“Prophecy?” Star asked, frowning. “How would that influence you?”

“It didn’t influence me at all,” Evelyn corrected, a touch irritably. “I was the daughter of a farmer and his homemaker wife, thank you. We had a solid five hundred acres, which he used to employ others around town. Oh, I doubt I’d have stayed, it chafed even as a child, but I certainly wouldn’t have overthrown the country. But Baron Toddlily, a silly name if you ask me, heard about the prophecy that some seer had given the king. A young woman with black hair and red eyes would grow into a dark queen and end the reign of his family over the kingdom of Peldra for all time, until a farmer’s child rose up to prove her undoing and free the realm once more. No, that’s not the prophecy verbatim, but it has the important details.”

“I… okay, that makes a bit more sense. So what happened?” Star said, exchanging dubious looks with Moon.

“Let me see… he saw me when I utterly crushed all the other high school girls in a track meet, as well as all the boys. They could’ve made me run the course twice and I’d still have won. Couple that with my magical talent and other abilities, and he was alarmed. So he decided to have me quietly disposed of, to keep the prophecy from coming to pass. Imbecile,” Evelyn said, her disgust mounting as she scowled. “I… declined to perish like he wanted, and since I’d killed a couple of his armsmen, I took a couple of changes of clothing, some food, and ran into the forest. He sent people after me, of course. They chased me right into the hands of some rebels. When I joined them, it alarmed him enough to report it to his superiors, though his report lacked certain critical details, as I found once I took over. They decided to hunt me down, I refused to die, and at a certain point you decide that maybe, just maybe, you can do a better job than the fools leading the other side. So I finally took control of the rebels, made the alliances I needed, and conquered Peldra.”

Evelyn paused for a few seconds, then sighed, shaking her head as she sat back. “I was wrong. About doing a better job, to be exact. The various rebels and their allies used me for their own purposes, though they were limited in how much they could do. I was too powerful for them to easily challenge, and the majority of the military was loyal to me. It took two years for me to fully realize what had happened, and when I did… well. It wasn’t hard to arrange my own downfall.”

“I… think I understand. I don’t know that I’d have done the same thing, but… Corrida has been populated for a lot longer, if I remember right.” Moon said slowly, then frowned. “What about your parents? How did they react to… everything?”

“I don’t know.” Evelyn said, a flicker of old pain rushing through her, though she tamped it down quickly.

“What? But… they didn’t attack your parents, did they?” Moon asked, her eyes widening in horror.

“No, they didn’t. I didn’t have a chance to see them before going missing, mind you. They were out of town, which was why the baron chose that time to get rid of me, I’m guessing,” Evelyn said, letting out a sigh. “According to the records, and I have no reason to disbelieve them after the digging I did, a month after I vanished, my parents were fed up with vandalism. Since their protests to the authorities about what was happening had gone nowhere, they sold the land, packed up, and left the planet on a passenger liner. The Coral Dream, in specific, a cruise ship heading toward the core worlds, and from there… nothing. I couldn’t find another trace of them, not even with magic.”

“They died?” the two asked in unison, looking at her in horror.

“They vanished,” Evelyn corrected. “The Coral Dream reached its destination. The corporation who owns it even responded to my inquiries about my parents, and they certainly booked rooms. Halfway between this cluster and the next, they just… vanished. The company was rather disconcerted, because none of their crew noticed it happen, no alerts triggered, nothing. They performed a deep investigation and found that there had been a handful of similar incidents over the years, but couldn’t find any common elements. Magic can’t find a trace of them here or in the astral, and it doesn’t even register whether they’re alive or dead. It’s a mystery, and one I’ve contemplated trying to unravel, but I don’t know where to begin.”

“That’s… that’s terrible,” Star said, her voice soft now. “At least we have someone to go home to, unless there’s been a disaster or something. Even then, we have cousins, uncles, aunts… even our grandparents. You have someone like that, don’t you?”

Evelyn laughed, shaking her head as she spoke gently. “I’m afraid not, at least not that I know of. The closest I have is Fya, and she isn’t family. I came across her by accident and chose to free her. She chose in turn to serve me, even when I sent her away. Others… well, my reputation is terrible, as you’ve heard. I tend to scare most of them off, for good reason.”

Moon opened her mouth, then closed it, frowning. Instead, it was Star who spoke. “It isn’t right.”

“Life isn’t fair. It simply is,” Evelyn replied simply, letting out a sigh. “Now… do you want to do anything?”

“Well… a shower would be nice, along with different clothing.” Star said, frowning. “And maybe a meal? We mostly got nutrient paste until we came aboard, and even then it was pretty… minimal.”

“Yeah. Bad enough that I couldn’t even make decisions, but the food… ugh.” Moon said, shuddering visibly.

Evelyn laughed, smiling as she replied. “Well, there is a reasonably stocked galley aboard. Not good, it’s designed for dozens of mercenaries, but they get frustrated when they don’t have a variety available. I’m sure you can put something decent together. I can’t do much about the clothing, since I’m not volunteering my wardrobe, but once all of you are done, we can put together a list and I’ll go shopping. I’m not going to take you into the city, that seems like a fast way to put you right back into the same position.”

“A galley?” Moon asked, her eyes lighting up. “Could I use it? I was majoring in Culinary Arts, you know, and that food… ugh, I don’t want to even think about it. I need something good to wash the memory out of my mouth!”

“I didn’t know… but yes, you’re more than welcome to use the galley,” Evelyn replied, standing up and taking a moment to stretch, then gestured to the door. “Let me show you where it is, as well as a shower.”

“That sounds wonderful!” Star said, smiling broadly as she stood, and almost fell again.

“Careful,” Evelyn cautioned, catching the woman, then waited until she’d regained her balance to let go. “There we are. Remember, you didn’t have control for a while, so you aren’t used to walking around.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” Star promised, smiling warmly in return as she took Moon’s hand, and the two of them followed as Evelyn led them out of the room.

Evelyn suspected it’d be a long day.

* * *

Ilyra Samtreth, third of her line, wasn’t sure what to make of Evelyn. When she’d first heard who the woman was, she’d almost panicked. Oh, it was one thing to have heard the elf claim that she had no intention of keeping them as slaves the previous day, but who she was… it would’ve sent a shiver down Ilyra’s spine if she could do that much. Or she’d have fled through the door as fast as she could.

Neither reaction was an option, though. Instead, she did as the horrid chip in her head wished, and it didn’t care who Evelyn was. It kept her looking forward, her hands folded in her lap as she waited her turn in the surgery room. She couldn’t turn her head, control her breathing, blink her eyes, or even brush back a lock of hair. No, the most that happened was that it had her shift and move every so often to keep from obstructing blood flow or something of that sort. She was even locked out of her implants, unable to access the entertainment programs she’d stored, her books, or anything else that might help her retain a semblance of sanity.

That was the main reason Ilyra heard everything, of course. When you were staring at an unoccupied medbay bed, there was only so many times you could count the lights blinking before you started to crack, which she suspected was intentional. No, she’d latched onto the conversation as the only stimulus she’d had in weeks, desperate enough that even if it’d been descriptions of horrible things that’d been planned for her, she’d have listened with interest.

Which was why her opinion of Evelyn had slowly changed. First the woman had been quiet for what seemed like an eternity, except for the occasional swearing about something Ilyra couldn’t figure out. Maybe she’d have been able to understand if she could watch, but she couldn’t. But then the first person to go through the surgery came out, and she and Evelyn had just started… talking.

For a woman widely held to be absolutely horrible, or maybe even a cannibal according to some rumors, Evelyn was surprisingly patient with Star, talking about the region without taking any real liberties that Ilyra could pick out. She didn’t know as much about this side of the cluster, admittedly, but it was fascinating to hear how much Evelyn knew about the nearest systems. When she gave her version of what her past had been like, Ilyra had her doubts about how true they were, but it injected a few notes of uncertainty for Ilyra. All of her information had come second-hand, and when she thought about it, they’d never heard directly from Empress Peldra what had happened.

It was something Ilyra chewed over mentally as the hours passed, with Evelyn passing several more times, often to show the next person in line in or out of the medbay. The only time Evelyn so much as raised her voice was when the dark elf and one of the elves got into an argument, and the woman broke it up almost instantly, not putting up with either of their excuses.

Ilyra still didn’t know what to think of the elf, but she didn’t need to. Mostly, she was relieved when her turn came at last. She was tired of being forced to listen to everyone else without being able to speak a word.

Chapter 11

It was more difficult to keep her temper under control after several hours, Evelyn admitted to herself. Moon and Star were nice, and had offered to make food for everyone else, which Evelyn readily accepted. While she was a decent cook, she wasn’t as good as someone who was going to college for that sort of thing. Besides, she usually scrounged around the kitchen to see what was available and made do with that rather than preparing something properly… and her idea of proper food tended to be simpler, too. In any case, it seemed that Star was training as an accountant, but had plenty of experience helping her sister with the cooking, and both seemed more cheerful at being able to help.

The half-elf, Beatrice Fennel, proved to be a bit more interesting, as she’d indirectly taught Evelyn a few swear words when she’d regained consciousness. While thankful, the woman was bitter, as apparently she’d been the medic for a military organization and one of the other soldiers had decided to throw a coup. When she refused to go along with it, Beatrice had found herself knocked unconscious and shipped off to Rakal. She’d been rather vague on who she’d worked for, but Evelyn didn’t press, since she honestly didn’t care that much.

After her had been the two elves. The blonde, Tianna Selth, had asked what Evelyn was doing with her data pad, sounding almost desperate, while the brunette, Peldri Callan, had asked if she could take a proper nap, and stolen one of the bay beds when given permission. Tianna eventually explained that she was a programmer who mostly worked on merchant terminals, but she’d been captured when a liner she’d been taking to her vacation had been boarded by pirates. Evelyn didn’t know how Peldri had been captured, but she made a note not to let Tianna meet the pirates the next day. She doubted the woman would do anything stupid, but you never knew with civilians.

Then had come Dirax Xaldar, the dark elf. She’d introduced herself as a bulk merchant, and she had thanked Evelyn for freeing her. While Dirax hadn’t explained exactly how she’d ended up enslaved, the bits Evelyn caught indicated it was a partnership gone wrong, and Dirax was intending to use some of the funds Evelyn was giving them to send off a message and find out if she had any resources left before making a decision regarding her future. Then she’d gotten into an argument with Tianna about how sales should be performed, and Evelyn had been forced to put her foot down. She was honestly surprised that the two had backed down so readily, but wasn’t displeased.

The only ones left at this point were the celestine, the aquana, the angel, and the succubus. The first had just come out of surgery, and the doctor was saving both the angel and demon for last, as he’d said he would.

A minute later the celestine came tottering out from the bed where she’d been left, her face a bit pale, and she looked around the room for a moment. Evelyn did wonder why, aside from Moon and Star, all of them were still in the room. Oh, most of them had taken the time to shower and eat, but even the two humans had come back and lingered before going back to the galley so they could start on dinner.

The celestine approached, and as she did, Evelyn’s eyes narrowed slightly. The woman’s steps were far more precise than most of the others, even if she was off-balance, and that combined with her excessively clear skin and long, beautiful hair gave Evelyn some idea of who she might be. Well, not who, but what aside from one of the less common species in the known galaxy.

“Thank you for everything you have done, Evelyn Tarth,” the woman said, bowing deeply at the waist, which almost caused her to fall into Evelyn’s lap. Evelyn sighed, reaching out to catch her shoulder, and the woman’s cheeks colored as she steadied and straightened. “Ah… that was a mistake. But thank you. I’m Ilyra Samtreth the third, and if I’d been forced to remain in that state for even a few more days, I might have gone mad. I cannot express how thankful I am.”

The statement caused Evelyn to sigh, and she reached up, rubbing her forehead as some of the others stopped what they were doing to pay attention. She’d known that this would cause problems.

“Yes, you’re thankful, and you’re welcome. Now, from that statement I take it that you’re a noblewoman?” Evelyn asked, quirking an eyebrow, and when Ilyra’s cheeks colored and she nodded, Evelyn raised her gaze to the ceiling as she continued. “So, how much trouble am I going to be in for rescuing you?”

“What? Why would you get in trouble?” Tianna asked, her eyes widening.

“I… am not certain?” Ilyra replied to Evelyn, her cheeks brightening still more. “I’d cloned the identity of one of my maids to get aboard the liner, so I’m not sure what happened, not officially.”

Evelyn considered her for a moment, a hint more annoyance welling up inside of her, but she forced herself to relax as she sighed, looking at Tianna as she explained. “There’s only one celestine colony in the cluster, Brightdawn, and unless Ilyra is from farther afield like the twins, she’s almost certainly from there. Unfortunately, Brightdawn has quite particular laws regarding their nobility. None of them are allowed off-planet, and they tend to regard anyone who has their nobility in the same way as kidnappers or terrorists. If I tried to give Ilyra back, they’d likely try to kill me.”

Evelyn deliberately didn’t put any emphasis on the word try. While they might succeed, particularly if she was aboard a ship they could blast to pieces, Brightdawn didn’t have an enormous navy to begin with.

“Oh. That’s… a little excessive, isn’t it?” Tianna asked, her eyes wide.

“It has something to do with their focus on pure bloodlines and the line of succession… I don’t remember all of it,” Dirax chimed in coolly. “Regardless, she could cause all sorts of problems for us. I’m surprised the slavers even took her.”

“I don’t know about that. I was running away from home, after all,” Ilyra replied, her blush brightening. “I’d intended to join an academy on Nald, but that does not seem possible at this point. I do not have the funds, even with the amount you spoke of gifting us, Miss Tarth.”

“Call me Evelyn,” Evelyn told the celestine, a touch exasperated, and she did a search on the local network, which brought her up short. She frowned, then murmured softly. “Ah. You’re officially listed as dead. Apparently, whoever grabbed you ensured you were listed as being aboard the liner when it left Nald… and then it had the misfortune of encountering a kingfisher.”

Everyone in the room, except the angel and succubus, paled suddenly, and Ilyra swayed halfway into the chair, then practically fell into it, causing a soft thump as she did so. Understandably, as encountering a kingfisher was incredibly unlucky. The kraken-like creatures were a nasty predator of the astral, and non-military ships rarely had the weaponry to fight them off, and usually had to run. In this case, the wreckage had been found weeks later, and the reports she saw didn’t explain how it’d happened. In fact, most of the local comments on the ship were how it was a shame they hadn’t gotten to loot it first, or stolen the ship.

“That… that’s terrible,” Ilyra said, her eyes huge. “I… I know I would’ve been off the ship, but still… all those people. The crew seemed nice. They didn’t deserve that.”

“Well, someone deserved it, given what happened to you. Unfortunately for all of us, they likely left at the same time as you,” Evelyn replied calmly, dismissing the search results. “Regardless, you’ll have to decide what you want to do.”

Ilyra nodded, seemingly numb, but remained silent. That being the case, Evelyn fired up her data pad, intending to get some work done. Unfortunately, she hadn’t counted on Tianna promptly coming over to talk to her.

Chapter 12

The aquana was named Orm, and she profusely thanked Evelyn for her assistance, bowing deeply and invoking ‘the blessing of pure waters’ on Evelyn multiple times, which confused Evelyn, but she didn’t let it show. The woman claimed to have been an explorer from the next cluster who’d been searching for suitably aquatic worlds for a new colony when she ran afoul of pirates, which Evelyn thought was understandable. No matter how fast your ship was, if pirates managed to wait until you were in the right position, you weren’t going to get away without a fight.

Peldri finally got up and explained shortly that she’d taken a job to renovate a home, as she was an interior designer, and had taken the wrong shortcut. A group of thugs had knocked her out, and the next thing she remembered was waking up in a slaver hold, though she was one of the lucky ones who’d gotten a private cell. Evelyn was dubious that she thought she’d been that lucky, based on Peldri’s expression.

Finally, the last two had come out. Vaneryth, the angel, had thanked Evelyn politely, bowing deeply just before asking permission to kill the succubus. Evelyn was a touch amused, especially when the angel explained that she’d been in the middle of attempting to kill the other woman when the slavers had ambushed and captured both of them, then they’d been sold as a matched set. Vaneryth hadn’t been amused, and her displeasure deepened when Evelyn told her no.

Zelirana, on the other hand, recovered the most quickly of all the victims, and the succubus had given an incredibly sweet smile to Vaneryth before bowing deeply to Evelyn and expressing her deep pleasure for the chance to meet her. The look on her face was almost predatory, though it’d faded at the even look Evelyn gave in response. Instead, Evelyn had asked her to go wait in a conference room with the others, which allowed her to pay Doctor Inda in private, as well to speak with him.

“They’re all in fine physical condition. Unsurprising, really, and in my scan, I noticed that each has contraceptive implants. Those are standard most places, but I thought it worth mentioning,” Doctor Inda explained, frowning slightly. “The more interesting aspect is their cerebral implants. They all have tier four implants except for the celestine, angel, and demon, who had tier five, but if I’m not mistaken, only the celestine and half-elf possessed their implants before they were captured.”

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. “Why do you say that?”

Doctor Inda looked at the surgery room, where his assistants were cleaning up, then turned back to her, smiling slightly. “It’s easy to tell when you’ve been at this for as long as I have. There were signs that old implants had been broken down and new ones had formed in their place in most of them, and even the two who had their own implants had them modified. The angel and demon didn’t appear to have them at all beforehand. Their control chips were integrated into the implants and were trickier to remove.”

“Mm… I’ll trust you on that. I assume that there’s a particular reason for the tiers?” Evelyn asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. She had tier six implants herself, which had been difficult to find, and she’d heard of tier seven and a rumored tier eight as well.

“Yes. At least tier two is required for a control chip to function properly,” Inda said, his expression grim now. “Tier three is required for a lot of training programs, but four or above is necessary for ones that imprint the knowledge directly into the users mind. Five is more efficient, but much more expensive. As in, a single set is worth at least as much as you paid me. I’m guessing that’s why those three had the sets they do, and explains the rest of them, really. I’ve been on Rakal for a couple of decades, and those girls… if you’d brought them through town, no matter who you are, someone would’ve tried to nab one of them. I don’t want to think about how much any of them would’ve cost to purchase, let alone the entire group. You’ve likely made a powerful enemy.”

“Ah. Well, if they decide to come after me, I’m afraid they’re going to have to stand in line,” Evelyn said, a ghost of a smile crossing her lips as she looked at him, and a brief moment of anger welled up inside her, which she quickly controlled. She did not like the implications of what he’d said, but it wasn’t her problem. Not directly, anyway. She’d done what she could, and the rest… that was up to them. With that thought, she cleared her mind, taking a breath, then nodded. “Thank you for your work. I do hope you have a safe trip back to your office.”

“Thank you for giving me a chance to do something better than just installing some bio- or cyberware,” Inda replied, offering his hand, which Evelyn shook.

She waited for the technicians to finish cleaning up, then escorted them off the ship. Only when that was done did she head for the conference room. She fully expected Fya to be there when she reached it, since she hadn’t seen the djinn for the entire day.

“…nah, we’ve been here long enough that most people know not to mess with Milady. If they do, they’re going to lose a limb or their head,” Fya was saying as the door slid open, the djinn sitting on the table, while all but the angel were in chairs. There were a few empty seats near Zelirana, no one seemed to be comfortable around the succubus yet, and the angel was on the opposite side of the room, watching her warily. “Oh, there you are! What took so long?”

“I was escorting Doctor Inda and his assistants off the ship. Please sweep the medbay for any devices they might have left behind later,” Evelyn said calmly, circling the table and taking the seat at the head of the table next to Zelirana. She looked down the table, studying the ex-slaves for a moment. “Now, the first stage of your freedom has been completed. I do not recommend leaving until at least after the second, but if you wish to walk straight into the arms of slavery once more, I will not stop you. I also will not save you again.”

No one said anything for a moment. In the end, it was Moon who spoke first. “Um, what do you mean by first stage?”

“The first stage is making it so you can act according to your own will. That required removing the control chip,” Evelyn said, ticking off the points on her fingers. “The second stage is allowing you to use your implants and to keep others from accessing them without your will. According to Doctor Inda, it is extremely likely that your implants have been programming your unconscious to some extent. The day after tomorrow I have a hacker arriving to break the encryption and to fix your implants. We will see how long that takes. At that point I leave what you do up to you. I do not believe that debarking here is wise, but it is your choice.”

Most of the women around the table flinched at the mention of programming. Evelyn took note that Zelirana, Dirax, and Beatrice didn’t really react, which she found interesting. The succubus didn’t surprise her, but the other two… it was an interesting thing to note.

“It’s a really bad choice, but I know some people are really into kinky stuff like being slaves or servants,” Fya chimed in, nodding quickly. “If you aren’t interested in that, though? Don’t do it. If you’re lucky, you’ll end up in a brothel.”

“What other choice is there?” Orm asked, toying with the collar of her outfit restlessly.

“I am going to give each of you a thousand mythrite, which is easily enough to get you to the core worlds if you so choose, or to send messages. In approximately a week, I intend to leave Rakal and head to Nald to gather information. I expect to be there for at least three days, possibly as much as a week,” Evelyn said, activating the holographic projector in the middle of the table to pull up the star charts. “There is a wyrmgate orbiting Nald and there are a great many ships that stop there, so you would be able to charter passage easily. I consider this to be stage three. A thousand mythrite could even allow you to get a start there or on another planet. It’s enough to live on for a year if you’re frugal and choose somewhere inexpensive.”

“Or… you could join her harem and stay on as crew,” Fya suggested, grinning, and Evelyn pointed at her, practically glaring daggers.

“I did not offer that, so don’t even start,” Evelyn said, glowering at the djinn. “As for crew, they’d have to show that they have skills or are willing to learn them.”

“Skills, sure, but you already gave permission for the harem. You promised,” Fya retorted, folding her arms in front of her chest. “I don’t ask for much, but I’m asking for this.”

For a moment they just glared at each other, Evelyn’s steel against Fya’s iron. Then Tianna broke the tension with a giggle. That opened the flood gates, as the others almost all broke out laughing. The only one who didn’t was Peldri, but even she smiled before she regained her composure and scowled even harder.

Evelyn took a slow breath, trying desperately not to smile as well. She managed it, but it was surprisingly hard. Eventually she realized she wasn’t winning the argument, and she looked at the ceiling as she spoke. “Fine, you’re right, I did say you could. I did not promise, but I’ll concede the point this time. If they really want to, they can stay aboard that way, or if they can show they have reasonable skills for being part of a crew.”

“Tempting…” Zelirana murmured in a sing-song tone, prompting a glower from the angel.

“May I ask where you intend to go after Nald?” Dirax asked.

“I don’t know for certain. That’s why I’ll be staying there for a short time,” Evelyn replied, glancing at the map irritably. “While I can get a great deal of information here, for some reason many information brokers don’t maintain official FTL nodes here, so I can’t get a lot of things I would like. In particular, I intend to sell or trade this ship in to purchase a better one, unless I find a world I want to live on more. While serviceable, this ship doesn’t have the layout, equipment, or… you know, let me take it back. The only thing the Daggerhound is good for is reminding me that I need a better ship. It’s better than a freighter or passenger liner, but that’s about it.”

“Isn’t this a military ship? I thought it was, based on what I saw,” Beatrice said, frowning.

“The Daggerhound is a Damaris Yards multi-purpose destroyer. It is built to allow it to fulfil multiple roles, but the primary role is as a fast-moving troop transport that can assist in raids. As such, it isn’t able to carry as much as a dedicated transport, it isn’t as fast as a scout, and it doesn’t have the weapons to stand up to more than a frigate. Its only advantage is that it has more weaponry than a civilian ship, so it might be able to scare off a kingfisher or pirate,” Evelyn replied evenly, folding her arms in front of her. “If I’m going to take up spacefaring, I want a proper light or heavy cruiser at a minimum, and not a mundane hulk like this. Enchantments can be the difference between life and death, and the only three parts of this ship with those are the emergency power plant, the astral drive, and life support. I’ll trust it for a few weeks, but long-term? Never.”

Fya giggled as most of those present gawked at her, and Evelyn looked at them for a moment, then rolled her eyes, murmuring. “What? I have standards.”

“I can tell,” Dirax said, examining Evelyn speculatively.

“Well. That is everything I have to tell you. I recommend staying on the ship, as I said. I expect to be gone for most of tomorrow, so figure out some way to occupy yourselves,” Evelyn said, standing up to leave.

She was halfway to the door when Vaneryth spoke. “May I ask why you’ll be gone?”

“I have a gun to sell to one of the Pirate Kings,” Evelyn replied, just as the door slid shut behind her, cutting off any comments before they could be made. That prompted a smile to flit across her face, as she did enjoy timing like that.

Now she just needed to figure out whether she wanted to be in full armor when she met Captain Eight-Fist or if she should be more casually deadly. Decisions, decisions.

Chapter 13

“Welcome aboard, Evelyn! Or would you like to go by one of your epithets? I particularly like ‘The Butcher of Azure Seas,’” Captain Eight-Fist boomed, grinning as Evelyn debarked from the shuttle.

The Pirate King was a large, imposing human man, with wide shoulders and a solid-looking body, which likely had been solid even before he’d installed so many cybernetics. His right leg and arm had been replaced with cybernetic ones, and Evelyn knew that the arm was part of why he was called Eight-Fist. It not only had eight different weapons built into it, but the fist could reshape into a small wrecking ball which had a jackhammer function for shattering armor or objects. He had a large, bushy brown beard, but it was his dark brown eyes that stole her attention and improved Evelyn’s opinion of the captain. No one with that sort of gaze was stupid or weak enough to irritate her.

He was a reflection of his ship, the Shark’s Maw, Evelyn decided. The battleship was fast and sleek for such a large ship, and its sinister outline was festooned with weapons and armor, while a pair of fighter bays lurked toward the aft, well-protected from most angles. Most of the ship bore enchantments, which Evelyn heartily approved of. She’d love to have something like it herself, but she doubted she’d have the patience for a custom ship to be built to her specifications.

“Evelyn will work perfectly.” Evelyn replied calmly, studiously ignoring the dozen pirates who were lounging around the docking bay with practiced laziness, though she thought that they weren’t quite as bored or relaxed as they made out.

Their mohawks, bright hair colors, and overly elaborate outfits reminded her of some gangs, and were almost enough to distract the eye from their gear, which was excellent quality, and all of them had hands near their weapons. It was enough to make her smile.

“Good! I heard what you did to the bastards who shot up your shop. That was fine work!” Eight-Fist said, grinning broadly as he gestured toward the airlock nearby and began stomping toward it. “If that’s a good example of your handiwork, I suspect you’d make an excellent pirate. There’s always room for another king or queen, after all!”

Evelyn laughed, smiling at him as several of the pirates casually started following them. She wondered what they made of her outfit, which was simpler clothing. A leather jacket and pants, along with a spider-silk shirt, it wasn’t that impressive compared to what surrounded her. She didn’t need it to be impressive, though.

“I did consider taking up piracy after I left behind my old life, but I decided against it,” Evelyn replied, glancing around as they passed through the airlock. While garish, the ship was in good repair. “It struck me as requiring a touch too much responsibility, and I’ve always had issues with authority figures. I wouldn’t do well under another captain, and organizing a crew sounds too much like politics. Besides, I’d want to attack military ships for a proper fight, and that doesn’t seem to be what most pirates prefer.”

“Depends on the pirate,” Eight-Fist replied, grinning over his shoulder at her. “Me, for instance, I don’t see any reason not to attack a fortress with a juicy prize inside it. At least you know what you want! You wouldn’t believe how many idjets screw everything up when they realize they want something different.”

“I believe I have something of an idea,” Evelyn said, a ghost of a smile flashing across her face as she thought back to her… abdication. She was amazed the full story hadn’t gotten out, as if it had, people would be far more concerned about her.

Eight-Fist stopped at a door and opened it, stomping inside, and when Evelyn followed, she found herself in what looked like a small lounge of sorts, complete with a bar, though it wasn’t tended. Eight-Fist grabbed a bottle from behind it and poured himself a glass as the door slid closed behind them, giving privacy at last.

“Care for anything to drink?” Eight-Fist asked, grinning. “We’ve got most types of booze available, and the nicest stuff is stocked here.”

“Thank you, but no,” Evelyn replied, smiling as she set the case on the counter, then used her implants to unlock it. “I’d rather show you what you came here for. Not the gun you were looking for, but part of the same series.”

Eight-Fist let out a low whistle, taking a drink, then leaned over to examine the rifle more closely. It wasn’t in one piece, as it’d been packed for transit, but even disassembled the Echris combat rifle was a beautiful, lethal-looking weapon. The Echris were artisans that took pride in the deadly beauty combined with functionality of their weapons, and only did limited production runs of every model. This was among the collector editions, and, if Evelyn was being honest, was in even better condition than the one she’d had.

“That is one beautiful gun. Almost a shame to use it, but if Keelbreaker wants to, I’m not going to argue,” Eight-Fist said after a minute, setting the glass down as his smile faded. “Problem is… what does the dragon want for it?”

“I asked her as well, but she said she’d rather discuss that directly,” Evelyn told him, inclining her head slightly. His eyes narrowed, but she continued. “She gave me a projection sphere, so you could speak without either of you being in danger.”

“Hrrm. Well, let’s hear it, then,” Eight-Fist said, his living hand reaching up to run along the edge of his cybernetic arm.

Evelyn nodded, stepping away, and pulling out the projection sphere. It looked much like a black orb of glass the size of one joint of her thumb, and she channeled mana into it, bringing the sphere to life… and was ready to shield both of them if it turned out Xalryx had betrayed her.

The orb began glowing a soft blue, then floated up out of her hand as light seeped out of it and took the form of Xalryx, the woman who Evelyn had dealt with. The dragon looked around, then smiled widely.

“Ah, thank you, Miss Tarth,” Xalryx said, focusing on Evelyn, then on Captain Eight-Fist. “And Captain Eight-Fist! Your reputation precedes you, and it’s an excellent opportunity to meet you face to face, at least in a manner of speaking.”

“Yes, yes, an honor and all that shit. What do you want for the gun,” Eight-Fist demanded, his good humor nowhere in sight.

“Nothing directly, as it happens. I came here to arrange for… intervention.” Xalryx replied calmly, as if she’d expected that response. “Let me put this bluntly, as that is what you’d prefer. I have a rival whose reputation I wish to destroy and doing so will enrich anyone who does so.”

“The last time I got involved with a dragon house, I lost an arm. Why would I step into the middle of your politics?” Eight-Fist demanded. “That’s a good way to rouse an entire dragon fleet, which is a mite too much even for me.”

Evelyn couldn’t help a slight nod of agreement. Dragons were among the richest species in the known galaxy, if not flat-out the richest, and they’d used their wealth to build up a military might that no one could challenge. Challenging a draconic house was a quick route to suicide.

“I believe that you misunderstand me,” Xalryx said, pausing for a moment, then shook her head. “Perhaps a touch of background is in order. I am a candidate to apprentice with the cluster’s Grand Treasurer. So is the rival in question, and our wealth is considered to be part of our application. The two of us are close in all qualifications, which is why she chose to take rather… excessive risks in her attempts to pull ahead.”

Xalryx paused again, and Evelyn could practically see her reluctance, but she spoke again at last, her tone heavy. “She found a mythrite-rich asteroid only fifty AU from Nald. It is worth ten million mythrite at the very minimum. Likely five to six times that much.”

Evelyn’s eyebrows shot upward at that, and she whistled, then spoke. “If it has that much mythrite ore, I’d think her house would have sent extremely heavy security for it, and officially claimed it.”

“They would, if they knew about it.” Xalryx agreed, smiling coldly. “She would have to share the profit with her clan if she did so, however, which would reduce her share to where she wouldn’t be able to assure her ascendency. So instead, she has kept it quiet. I only found out due to taking pains to watch her movements, and she’s sent a crew to acquire the asteroid and return it to Nald.”

“So you want, what, for me to acquire the asteroid and bring it to you?” Eight-Fist asked skeptically. “Not sure my crew would go along with that, even if I wanted to do it.”

“Oh no. I want to destroy her reputation, good Captain. If her poor decision were to get out, or worse, if it were to be publicized that she not only lost the asteroid, but allowed it to go to pirates, that would utterly destroy her chances at becoming the Grand Treasurer’s apprentice. Risks like that are not ones the leader of a cluster’s finances can afford to take,” Xalryx said, smiling coldly. “Captain, my ‘price’ is that you take the mythrite asteroid for yourself, then ensure that the ship which you took it from is publicly known. The ship is registered to her, and the trail of information showing she found it is in place. I simply ask that my involvement is kept out of it.”

Evelyn studied the two, then asked, “Just to be sure, would her house lash out at the Captain when they found out?”

“No. It would be her fault that such a large profit was lost to the house, so she would bear all responsibility,” Xalryx assured her. “If it were another dragon which took the asteroid, it would be an entirely different matter. Then it would become house against house, which is frowned upon.”

“Huh. So… you want to give me a gun and an opportunity to pirate an asteroid worth ten to fifty million mythrite in order to get rid of a rival,” Eight-Fist said, much of his wariness having faded as he rubbed his chin. “What sort of ship is picking it up?”

“A Stone Drake heavy tug,” Xalryx replied instantly, and Eight-Fist snorted.

“She used one of those? No escorts?” the pirate demanded incredulously, and Evelyn wondered why, as she wasn’t conversant with draconic ships, while he obviously was.

“No. If she hired escorts, her superiors might have asked questions,” Xalryx replied, an almost shark-like grin on her face.

“In that case, I do believe you have a deal,” Eight-Fist replied, his own smile quite telling. “Get me the coordinates and when the ship left, and I’ll do the rest. I guarantee, you won’t be mentioned as long as you’re right about the lack of retaliation.”

“Excellent. It was a pleasure not doing business with you, Captain Eight-Fist,” Xalryx said, obviously satisfied, and turned her attention to Evelyn. “Miss Tarth, I must thank you. A payment has been made to your account, along with a bonus for your discretion.”

“Thank you. As I’m sure you wish to give the coordinates and such in private, I will take my leave,” Evelyn told them, amusement washing over her as she added. “Good fortune in business, Xalryx, and good hunting, Captain. Oh, and I do hope that you have a productive discussion with the Commodore.”

“Oh, I will. Believe me, I will,” Eight-Fist said, his gaze hardening, then he nodded to Evelyn. “If you ever want to take up piracy, send me a message. I’ll sponsor you.”

“Thank you,” Evelyn replied, amusement washing over her, then she headed for the door.

That had certainly been a productive meeting, and she wished more went that way.

Chapter 14

Evelyn had been surprised the previous day. Rather than hiding from her, as she’d half-expected, once she’d returned from the deal, she’d found herself surrounded by the former slaves, or at least some of them. She hadn’t answered any questions about the details of the deal, but she’d been relatively patient with them, at least as long as they weren’t overly annoying. At a certain point she hadn’t been willing to put up with Zelirana anymore and had told the succubus that she should go clean the head. The succubus hadn’t looked happy at the instructions, but she’d done it anyway, which mildly impressed Evelyn.

The part which had surprised her the most was when Moon and Star had quietly offered to join her in bed that evening. They’d also been far more skilled than she’d expected, which had made the night more pleasant. It was a good part of why Evelyn had been in a better mood for most of the morning.

Now she watched as the hacker approached, her eyebrows rising marginally. They were hardly what she’d expected, as a two and a half meter mech marched into the bay past a group of workers who were repairing some of the damage to the bay floor. The mech was shining, with a golden chrome surface that would take an enormous amount of work to maintain, and several weapon mounts she could see, though she doubted they’d been fired often. If they had, there’d be more soot adhered to the barrels.

The mech paused when it was a dozen meters from the ship, then the hacker spoke through the speaker, his voice mildly sibilant. “Captain, permission to approach and debark?”

“Granted. I presume you are Kragg?” Evelyn asked, watching casually.

“I am! Many pardons, but will leaving my vehicle outside be safe? The last time I left it out, I found it covered in scratches.” Kragg asked, taking several more steps closer, then the mech paused and drooped downward slightly. The chest portion hissed, then unlatched, slowly lowering as a small stepladder extended from it.

From inside emerged a kobold, and Evelyn resisted the urge to smile. He was wearing a bright gold jacket with overalls under it and had a pair of elaborate goggles strapped across his forehead. He had modest brown scales, but all of his fangs were gilded in gold. Once the stepladder was in place he adroitly hopped down. The creature might not have wings and he was only a half-meter tall, but he looked enough like a dragon she could understand where kobold claims of draconic ancestry might come from.

“If anyone touches it, obviously they’re tired of living. I won’t tolerate anything of the sort,” Evelyn assured Kragg, a smile playing across her lips.

“Excellent!” Kragg replied, giving her a toothy grin as he retrieved a data pad from the mech, then the hatch folded shut behind him. “I need a vehicle, of course. Too small for these streets, yes, too small indeed! If not in vehicle, I get stepped on! And do they offer to pay for injuries, broken toes, destroyed polish? Of course not! I get to pay for it all. Inconsiderate, yes it is.”

“Ah, that would explain why you brought it,” Evelyn said, inclining her head, then gestured to the ramp into the ship. “If you’d follow me? We can discuss your work once we’re aboard.”

“Yes, yes!” Kragg agreed, and quickly followed her aboard. The doors slid shut once his tail cleared the threshold, then he spoke. “I understand what you desire, yes! Break encryption on slaves, very tricky at times, reassign to local control and rebuild firewalls to keep others out, yes, easy easy. Dolls, much easier. No delicate soft hardware to worry about. Build better defenses once they are yours! All for excellent price, much mythrite, most profitable!”

“It is, as long as you complete the job. And no leaving back doors for anyone, including yourself, is that clear?” Evelyn replied, turning to the kobold again, slightly amused despite herself.

“As a polished, smooth, astral ore canopy!” Kragg assured her, grinning broadly. “No, no, once I am done, I would have to break in again myself! Easier, just because I have done it before, but still hard! Probably harder than what I must break through this time.”

“Good. In that case, which do you wish to start with? The Dolls, or the women?” Evelyn asked, smiling slightly more now.

“The women, yes, yes!” Kragg replied immediately. “Much more difficult, must start with them while mind is sharpest! Will take many hours, many cycles. Maybe two, maybe six. If all same encryption, might be fast! If not, might be slow, slow, slow.”

“Very well, that is acceptable,” Evelyn said, nodding slightly, then gestured to the hall. “If you’ll follow me? I asked them to wait for us.”

“Yes, yes, time to work! Must earn my keep, I must!” Kragg said cheerfully, scampering after Evelyn as she moved.

* * *

Either Kragg was even better than he claimed, or the encryption on the women’s implants was far worse than she’d thought it was, Evelyn decided three hours later. She knew just enough about programming to suspect that it was mostly the former, which she didn’t mind at all.

The cheerful kobold had cracked the encryption on Vaneryth’s implants in an hour and a half, and had cackled madly on succeeding, muttering things about ‘winging down on his prey’ as he did so. It’d taken a little more time for him to adjust the settings appropriately, then he started on the next person, Ilyra, and he ripped through the protections quite quickly in comparison.

Unfortunately for Evelyn, she had the dubious pleasure of walking the angel through using cerebral implants for the first time, which had been an interesting experience, as Vaneryth knew almost nothing about implants to begin with. In the process she’d also learned a few things that were… unfortunate.

She quickly learned that all of the women had been the victims of a variety of ‘training programs,’ but only two had been universal across all of them. Obedience and courtesan programs afflicted each of them, and their implants reported how far each program had progressed. Worse, Kragg informed them that trying to move or examine the obedience program would cause it to self-destruct the nodes containing it, causing damage to the victim’s brain. Supposedly that was to protect the programming from being easily undone by others, though deleting the program was possible.

Evelyn was privately amused that while Zelirana’s obedience program was only thirty-seven percent complete and the courtesan training complete, Vaneryth’s obedience was at ninety-seven percent and the courtesan training was at seventy-seven percent. She’d have thought the angel would be more resistant, but that obviously wasn’t the case… not that it mattered too much. Doing some research, the obedience training only really mattered if a new owner had been imprinted on the victims, so aside from being a little easier to order around, the women would recover over time.

The rest of the programs they’d found were a bit more puzzling. Beatrice had a cooking program, Moon and Star performance programs, and so on. Not that they’d survived long, as the women had promptly deleted the obedience and courtesan programs. At least, that was what Evelyn assumed from their comments. Moon and Star, somewhat surprisingly, had chosen to keep the performance programs, but Star had privately confided that they’d always wanted to learn that sort of thing, they just didn’t have the money or time for all the classes they wanted. That made sense to her, and it wasn’t like it was Evelyn’s mind being messed with.

Once Kragg was down with the Dolls, Evelyn made sure he wouldn’t need anything and returned to the women, walking into the room as she made a few arrangements, then sent implemented them.

“I’ve sent a thousand mythrite to each of your personal wallets. For those of you who aren’t aware, this allows you to use your implants to pay for things,” Evelyn said, looking at Vaneryth and Zelirana in particular. The angel’s cheeks grew rosier, while the succubus just smiled. Evelyn continued, scanning the room. “What you do from here is your choice. Do not make a decision lightly, take some time to think about it. Except for Vaneryth and Zelirana, of course. The two of you can return to your home planes at a moment’s notice, so you don’t have the same problems.”

“As it happens, I’ve already decided to remain aboard your ship,” Zelirana replied after a moment, her voice smooth and calm. “I’m currently considering the harem offer, but I’d be willing to acquire one of the training programs for… what did you call it? A shipboard rating?”

“There are multiple types, but yes,” Evelyn confirmed, mentally rolling her eyes. Succubi were predictable, in her opinion. She’d had a couple try seducing her before, but they tended to flock to those in power like flies, so she couldn’t say she was surprised. “We’ll have to discuss it, once I’ve determined where I’m going.”

“As for myself, I believe I will return home. A great deal has happened, and I will need some time to recover and come to terms with it,” Vaneryth said, giving the succubus a suspicious glance, then bowed deeply to Evelyn. “Thank you for granting me my freedom. May the gods bless you.”

“Yeah… somehow I doubt that,” Evelyn murmured, just as the angel dissolved into motes of blue light and vanished.

“I believe a great deal will depend on what happened to my assets after I ended up enslaved. I have a few private accounts which, if they’re still intact, will allow me to rebuild my life. If they are not… I very likely will take you up on your offer, Evelyn,” Dirax said, a cold smile on her face. “I built a life once, I’m sure I can again, but a thousand chips isn’t nearly enough for me to be comfortable.”

“Pretty much the same for me, though it’s more a question of whether I was declared dead or not,” Peldri said, grimacing, and Tianna nodded in agreement.

“Um, how long do we have to decide?” Ilyra asked, her words surprisingly subdued, even compared to normal, and Evelyn gave her a sharp look. She didn’t say anything immediately, though, thinking things through first.

“Until it’s time for me to leave port in Nald,” Evelyn said at last. “Mind you, I expect you to have some idea of what you’re going to do before that. If you don’t have skills, I don’t care whether you’ve decided to follow Fya’s hairbrained idea or not, you’re not staying aboard. If you’re learning, though… that would be acceptable.”

“Oh, good,” Ilyra said, looking relieved, and she smiled nervously. “It’s just that, well… do you mind if we speak in private? I discovered something else in my implants which is… unpleasant.”

“Tell me something new,” Beatrice said balefully. “I think I need to murder whoever sold me off, assuming she didn’t get executed during her coup attempt.”

“Something else unpleasant, then,” Ilyra corrected herself, looking down at her hands nervously.

Evelyn looked at her for a moment, then nodded, standing up as she spoke. “In that case, I’ll leave you be. Moon, Star, Orm… you are the only ones who haven’t said for certain what you’re leaning toward, so consider it, please.”

“My apologies, I should have expressed where the currents would take me,” Orm said immediately, bowing her head smoothly. “I believed it obvious, but the course may not be as evident to others. I must return to my people and inform them of what happened, as well as the discoveries and hazards which I was unable to sing of to them.”

“And we’ll think about it,” Moon assured her, smiling broadly.

“Most likely we’ll go home, but we’re probably going to send messages to see what happened. Things might’ve changed,” Star added.

“Good,” Evelyn said, looking at Ilyra. “We’ll go to the astrogation room, Ilyra.”

“Of course,” Ilyra said, quickly standing and hurrying to follow Evelyn, who made a mental note that she really did need to arrange for new clothing for all of them. That wouldn’t be more than a handful of mythrite more, as long as she didn’t let Fya do the shopping.

Ilyra followed silently but kept up despite Evelyn’s fast pace. She was slightly out of breath by the time they’d gotten to the astrogation room, but Evelyn was impressed anyway. She wouldn’t have thought that a noble would be able to do so well.

“What is this about?” Evelyn asked, looking at Ilyra curiously.

“I… apparently do not exist anymore,” the celestine replied, her voice trembling.

“What do you mean?” Evelyn asked, her eyebrows rising.

“I had a great deal of data in my implants. Teaching programs, unlike these training ones, entertainment, and… and ones which would allow me to prove my identity. They are all gone,” Ilyra said, inhaling slowly as she hugged herself. “Instead, there is other information in its place. My implants claim that I’m Taslyn Reeth, a celestine born in captivity. I was… was sculpted to mimic one of Brightdawn’s nobility and given an implant with a training system to make me as much like her as possible. Even my implants were changed, their serial numbers gone, and… well, my parents might believe it was me if I was allowed to speak to them, but who I was has been completely erased. I’m… I’m not certain what to do.”

For a few seconds Evelyn considered her, watching the young woman… then let out a soft sigh and pulled her into a hug. Ilyra yelped, stiffening slightly as Evelyn’s arms closed around her, and stood there for a few seconds, then relaxed, leaning into Evelyn as she began crying, her arms slipping around Evelyn as she clung to her.

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Ilyra,” Evelyn told her simply, and the celestine stiffened for half a second, then relaxed again.

“You… you believe me? That I am who I say I am, not someone who is… delusional, and thinks they’re someone more important than they are?” Ilyra asked, her tears tickling Evelyn’s neck.

“Yes, I believe you. For one thing, manufacturing this confusion is far more effort than it’d ever be worth,” Evelyn told her, a faint smile trying to play across her lips, but she suppressed the urge. She didn’t want to accidentally devastate the young woman. “There’s actually an extremely simple reason for them to have done this to you, you know.”

“What’s that?” Ilyra asked, pulling away slowly, reaching up to brush away her tears as she sniffled.

“The reprisals,” Evelyn said calmly.

“The… oh. Oh. If I’m not a noble, then the military won’t go after them. They’d just take me away, and that would be it. They wouldn’t try to destroy everything.” Ilyra said, her eyes widening.

“Precisely. I suspect that whoever purchased you knew exactly who you are, and likely even has copies of all the data on your implants. What you have would stay there right up until you were in their hands, then they’d put it all back. They’d have their prize, and Brightdawn would never know,” Evelyn said, her distaste for whoever had bought the women growing still stronger. If she ever had the chance, she’d destroy them.

“I… alright, that makes sense. It… it makes more sense than what I was afraid of. For a few minutes, I thought I might be…” Ilyra began, but her voice trailed off as she rubbed at her eyes.

“You know that there’s a silver lining to all of this, don’t you?” Evelyn replied, raising an eyebrow at the woman.

“Um, what would that be?” Ilyra asked, frowning.

“You were running away from home so you could learn, weren’t you? Well, with a different identity, it isn’t like they’re going to come to drag you home, is it?” Evelyn pointed out.

For a moment Ilyra looked at Evelyn in confusion, then her eyes slowly widened, and her mouth turned into an o-shape. Then she breathed out softly. “I… I can, can’t I? I could just delete all of this and… and do whatever I want. Brightdawn already thinks I’m dead…”

“I might leave the bit about sculpting, but that’s what I was getting at.” Evelyn confirmed, smiling warmly, then patted Ilyra on the shoulder as she headed for the door. “You’re free, Ilyra. Of slavery and the expectations of your station. Choose what you wish to do with it.”

The celestine had a contemplative look on her face as she left, which satisfied Evelyn. That was far better than having her moping all over the ship.

Now she just needed to figure out where Kragg was with the Dolls. Evelyn suspected that, based on the programs in the women’s implants, she was not going to be happy with what skills they had loaded.

She could deal with that far more easily than the women, though. As long as none of the Dolls had developed souls… that would make everything messy.

Part III

Nebula Runner

Chapter 15

None of the Dolls had souls, fortunately enough. Their maintenance units were designed to detect the presence of souls, and didn’t find anything. Unfortunately, the programs they had installed weren’t what Evelyn wanted. Maidservant, bodyguard, assassin, chef, and pleasure programs dominated, but the majority of those were useless to Evelyn. So she uninstalled most of them, sold them to the nearest vendor, and bought a variety of naval chips instead, primarily generic ones but with a few tactical, communications, medical, and a large number of engineering chips as well. It’d allow her to turn the Dolls into proper crew, which was the important thing, and she splurged to get more expensive chips. Those were less likely to be virus-laden wrecks, though Evelyn made certain to scan them thoroughly before installing anything.

Dolls were both fascinating and mildly repulsive to Evelyn, and she couldn’t quite decide which. They were advertised as being indistinguishable from a living person, with a synthetic ‘flesh’ that perfectly mimicked whichever species they were built to imitate, but Evelyn found that most of the constructs were identifiable, simply because their makers didn’t put the effort into giving them the subtle imperfections that a real person would have. High-end models tended to be almost impossible for her to tell apart until they opened their mouths, though, which she found a touch disturbing. Worse yet were the ones she couldn’t identify easily. Probably because she was attracted to some of them.

In essence, they were little different than robots, Evelyn supposed. The main difference was that with their maintenance units, Dolls could ‘heal’ from damage, rather than having to completely replace parts like most robots could, and their programming was far more expansive than the typical robot. Evelyn would never have ordered forty high-end models which could use diamond-grade chips, she could have ordered three times as many reasonably equivalent robots, though they wouldn’t have been as pretty, she supposed.

“The transport team has moderately injured a group of assailants, Captain,” Control reported, and Evelyn paused, looking at the Doll. She’d chosen the Doll who looked like an elegant blonde elf to liaise with the rest of the Dolls, and the resemblance to Vania was entirely a coincidence, she told herself. Control continued without pausing more than a moment. “None of the team has sustained significant damage and has continued to move the remaining cargo to the ship.”

“Hm. What sort of assailants?” Evelyn asked, frowning slightly.

“A group of eleven, all of them with patches resembling a purple, four-winged bird. M-3 stated that they appeared drunk.” Control reported after a moment, her silver eyes refocusing slightly. “They subdued them with non-lethal weapons, ensured they wouldn’t perish on-site, then continued on their way.”

“Good enough.” Evelyn said, nodding in satisfaction. She knew the symbol, that of the Spire-Hawks, and the gang wouldn’t do anything too stupid if their people hadn’t been killed. “This includes the shield generators, correct?”

“Yes, Captain.” Control confirmed, and Evelyn nodded in satisfaction.

“Are all of the rooms cleared? All the personal effects of the previous crew off the ship?” Evelyn asked.

“They have been cleared and all items except for those you designated have been removed from the vessel.” Control confirmed, smiling slightly. “We are only waiting on Fya and the transport team to be ready for launch.”

Evelyn nodded, stepping away and looking at the screens showing the ship’s surroundings. There were a handful of large bins near the bay exit that had been filled with all the things she hadn’t wanted and didn’t feel like selling, which was a lot, but otherwise the bay was clear. She could even see the shiny new patches where the starport staff had repaired the damage that’d been dealt during her attack. Evelyn was amused that they hadn’t even tried to charge her for it, as instead the Commodore had quietly taken care of everything. Captain Eight-Fist’s meeting with him seemed to have a potent effect on the man, and Evelyn wasn’t going to argue with that.

A pair of Dolls were running diagnostics at the navigation and tactical consoles, wearing the sleek black and silver shipsuits she’d bought for them. It wasn’t strictly necessary, but she preferred that to the more elaborate clothing which had been in their attached storage. Soon she’d be ready to launch, so Evelyn closed her eyes and wondered why she was looking forward to leaving so much.

“Ah, right. I should let Vania know that I’ve left,” Evelyn murmured, opening her eyes again, and she mentally began composing a message as her lips curved into a wicked smile. She’d toss it into the first courier’s queue once she was done, and it wouldn’t even matter if other people chose to decrypt it. “Maybe now her so-called advisors will start earning their wages.”

No one replied, which was probably for the best. That was a distinct advantage to Dolls as crew, she supposed.

* * *

“Rakal Space Control,” Maggie said, cringing internally as she saw which ship the message was coming from. She really, really hoped that this wasn’t going to be another Evelyn Incident in the making.

The voice which replied startled her, since it wasn’t Evelyn or her psychotic minion, and instead was a woman with smooth, precise diction. “Rakal Control, this is Daggerhound, requesting permission for launch. Requesting outbound lane for the nearest safe astral jump space.”

“Ah, let me check the lanes,” Maggie replied, blinking, and she checked both the outbound lanes, as well as the bay’s status. She frowned at seeing a red indicator, debating if she should say anything, then braced herself as she added. “The lanes are clear, however you haven’t paid fully for your use of the bay.”

“Acknowledged. One moment while I consult with the captain,” the woman replied, her voice unruffled. Of course, an instant later there was another voice, this one Evelyn’s assistant, though at least she wasn’t speaking directly into the mic, or to Maggie.

“Why should we be paying for that? Isn’t that something the Commodore should be taking care of?” Fya said, a note of resentment in her voice.

“No, it isn’t. It appears that our predecessor didn’t pay for this long of a stay. Unsurprising, really.” Evelyn said, and Maggie blinked at the wry humor in her voice. “Besides, the Commodore doesn’t own the spaceport. Control, check how much the bay fees are. As long as they’re appropriate for our tonnage and stay, pay them.”

Maggie opened her mouth to ask how she was supposed to pay for it, but the woman who’d been speaking to her before spoke first. “Yes, Captain. Interrogating spaceport systems. Fees are within projected allowances, initiating payment protocols. Rakal Control, payment has been made, requesting launch clearance.”

As the woman spoke, the docking bay indicator turned from red to green as the payment registered. Maggie blinked, then relaxed slightly as she replied. “Acknowledged, Daggerhound. Assigning your lane now.”

With a press of a button she sent the flight path to the ship, and another flick caused the bay doors to slowly slide open. Mostly, Maggie was relieved that Evelyn was leaving. And if she was heading for an astral jump, that might, just might, mean that she’d be out of Maggie’s hair for good. That gave her a lot of hope.

“Acknowledged. Flight path received, proceeding to launch. Daggerhound out,” the woman replied calmly, and the comm went silent. Moments later the ship rose, retracting its landing gear and turned to leave, moving with a precision that Maggie had rarely seen out of pilots that landed in Rakal.

The ship arrowed into the sky, and Maggie watched it for a second, then muttered, “I really hope that’s the last I see of them.”

Then she turned to pay attention as her orbital scanners began chirping, and Maggie scowled, then opened the comm to speak. “Snapdragon, what do you think you’re doing? Keep on that orbit and you’re going to slam right into Cavendish!”

There wasn’t an immediate response, and Maggie growled, powering up the weapon systems. Some pirates needed to be shown the stick and have it waved a centimeter or two under their damned noses.

* * *

“Exiting atmosphere. Drive systems functioning at eighty-nine percent of manufacturer specifications,” the Doll at navigation reported. “Systems nominal.”

On the screen, the sky had slowly changed from blue to the starkest black filled with the unwavering lights of the stars. No atmosphere interfered with their light here, and Evelyn studied them for a moment, then decided then and there that she wanted a proper observatory room on a new ship. One where she could feel surrounded by stars on all sides.

“ETA to safe jump space?” Evelyn asked. How close you could be to a planet and safely enter or leave astral varied based on the planet, its moon or moons, star, and multiple other variables she could never remember. She knew it was usually past geosynchronous orbit, but she wasn’t certain which it was here.

“At the maximum velocity specified by Rakal Space Control, one hour and ten minutes,” Control replied.

Evelyn nodded, sitting back in her chair as she watched the stars. Fya let out a sigh and grumbled. “I wish that space travel wasn’t so boring.”

“You’re just impatient. And annoyed that I didn’t let you buy clothing for the ladies,” Evelyn replied, not looking at the djinn, whose eyes and hair were blue today.

“They would’ve looked great in the clothing I’d get them!” Fya protested.

“It also would have looked ridiculous and been far too expensive,” Evelyn said absently, tapping her fingers together.

“How can you say that?” Fya asked, and Evelyn deliberately didn’t look at the djinn, since she knew how she’d be looking at her. Evelyn could almost imagine the way she’d have her lower lip quivering, and the way tears would be welling up in her eyes… it was incredible how theatrical the djinn could be at times.

“How can I say it? You kept me in frilly, ridiculous, impractical dresses for a year,” Evelyn retorted. “If they hadn’t been so annoying, I might not have minded so much, but you wouldn’t let me have even one dress that I liked.”

“But… you liked the red one!” Fya replied. Evelyn sighed, turning to glower at her.

At that precise moment the air between them shimmered, motes of blue light flickering in mid-air for a few seconds, then they coalesced into a woman. Vaneryth looked particularly embarrassed with flushed cheeks as she appeared, her halo still shining over her head, but her wings were missing. She still wore her shipsuit, and Evelyn’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“Vaneryth. I thought that you had returned to your home plane,” Evelyn said evenly, eyeing the angel suspiciously.

“I did.” Vaneryth replied, her cheeks coloring as she looked down. “I was… informed of a few mistakes I made, rather egregious ones, and they chose to strip me of a good deal of my power and send me back until I learned my lesson. May I impose upon you to take one of those positions on your crew? Or even your harem, for that matter. I’m afraid that at this point I’m a bit desperate.”

Evelyn had only half-opened her mouth when Fya spoke.

“Oh, yes, yes, yes! You’re totally welcome into the harem!” the djinn exclaimed, her hair and eyes turning a bright shade of blue-white suddenly as she sat up, practically dancing in her chair. “Hee, we have our first member, and she’s an angel!”

Evelyn inhaled, considering for a moment, then let breath out, eying Vaneryth suspiciously as she spoke. “Learn your lesson, is it? Then this would be a punishment. Question is, is that for you or for me?”

“Me. Definitely me.” Vaneryth replied, staring at the floor intently.

Somehow Evelyn couldn’t find it in her to believe that. But then, she’d always been suspicious of the gods ever since she’d found out about the prophecy involving her. However, at the same time, Vaneryth did look pitiful… and Evelyn had already made the offer to let them work for her, if they had sufficient skills.

“What skills do you have?” Evelyn asked at last. “What role can you perform as part of a crew?”

“Not much of one, I’m afraid. While I’m skilled with melee weapons and magic, my strength with both was stripped from me. If I’m to regain it, I will have to rebuild it the hard way,” Vaneryth admitted quietly. “I’m not much more powerful than most mortals at this point. Perhaps equal to Beatrice? I have a little combat and healing magic but I am willing to fill any role you desire.”

Evelyn blinked, then demanded, “What did you do to get that sort of punishment?”

Vaneryth blushed bright red and looked at the door, almost visibly wilting… yet she didn’t respond. After a couple of seconds, Evelyn sighed and shook her head.

“Fine, you can stay aboard. I’ll have to figure out where I want you, but if you annoy me too much, I will have you playing janitor,” Evelyn said, standing up again. “Ignore Fya, though. I’ll let you stay aboard even if you tell her no.”

“Spoilsport,” Fya said, frowning as her hair color dimmed slowly.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Lady Evelyn,” Vaneryth promised.

“Evelyn, please. I hate being referred to as a lady. Fya just refuses to give up the term, and I owe her too much to strangle her. No matter how tempting it is from time to time,” Evelyn said, gesturing for Vaneryth to follow her. “Now, you’re going to have to wait until we reach Nald to get new clothing and the training chips. While the Dolls have some, they aren’t designed for people to learn, unfortunately. Do you have anyone you’d like to room next to?”

“Anyone but Zelirana, please. I feel a little too vulnerable around her, especially now,” Vaneryth said, glancing around nervously.

That prompted a laugh, and Evelyn glanced at the angel in amusement.

“I think that we can arrange,” Evelyn assured her, then led her down the hall, calling up the list of empty rooms in her implants, then chose the one farthest from the succubus.

Vaneryth was keeping rather close behind Evelyn, which was an odd change, but not one Evelyn objected to.

Chapter 16

“Here it comes!” Moon said eagerly, and Star rolled her eyes, though she leaned forward herself to watch the projection of the ship’s exterior.

She would’ve preferred a proper window, but Beatrice had explained that no military starship had windows unless they were so heavily enchanted that they were stronger than the armor around them.

“I do find the astral fascinating. While we’ve been able to reach it for countless years, it’s mortal technology that has allowed it to be truly explored,” Zelirana said, sitting back in her chair as she watched the projection as well. The hologram on the wall was almost as good as watching it directly, in Star’s opinion.

Jumping into the astral was a breathtaking experience. One moment they were above the planet, a world of blue, green, and brown festooned with clouds and with a small red moon orbiting it. The next the darkness ahead of them split open as a rift of brilliant light rushed toward them, this time purplish-blue. Where it passed the darkness of space was replaced, and Star’s breath caught in her throat.

Mountainous reefs of mottled pink and brown stone could be seen in the far distance, seemingly small, but bigger than planets. Star didn’t know which reefs they were, but she was sure that there were miners busily trying to excavate ore from them. Above them, three multi-hued stars were busily trying to devour one another, streamers of energy extending from one to the others, while strange nebulae were all around them, many of them strange colors and glowing, and other sorts of debris was all around, from asteroids to bits of ships. Astral was full of things, and seeing incredibly long distances, like to see the mountains, was relatively rare.

The transition was beautiful, and one that she and Moon had loved ever since they’d first had the chance to see it when they were six or seven… Star wasn’t sure which year they’d gone on the trip to see Zendar’s green sun, but it’d been spectacular, and they’d only had a handful of chances to go through the astral again over the years. Their parents weren’t well-off enough to afford to take them on interstellar trips often.

As they watched, Star saw the faintest hints of movement, and she couldn’t help a slight nod. They must be moving now, and she felt a sense of inevitability wash over her.

“So… have you two decided what you’re going to do?” Tianna asked after a moment, and Star blinked, then looked toward the elven woman. She was examining the two of them closely, and Star blushed slightly, glancing at her sister.

“Not yet,” Moon said, meeting Star’s gaze. “Unlike the rest of you, it’s been over three years for us. We have no idea what’s happened in that amount of time.”

“Yeah, for all we know, our parents could’ve… I don’t know, moved off somewhere, and we won’t be able to find them,” Star agreed, waving her hand in the air as she smiled tautly. “Not that I think they will have. Almost beggared themselves trying to find us, sure… but I don’t think they’ll have gone anywhere.”

“Yeah, and without our scholarships school would be… rough,” Moon said, wincing slightly. “I’d bet an arm that they were revoked.”

Star flinched at that, her mood souring a little more as she nodded. “Yeah… that’d make things difficult, that’s for sure. We’ll see, though.”

“We need to discuss it,” Moon agreed, pausing for a couple of seconds before she shrugged. “I guess that’s the main thing we need to chat about over the next couple of days.”

Star nodded, looking at her sister as she debated. She had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking, but she didn’t want to admit her own reluctance to go back home. Not in front of so many other people… and she had to admit, Evelyn’s company the night before had been amazing.

“Well, you have time for it. I wouldn’t get too comfortable—” Peldri began, but cut off as the door hissed open.

In the doorway was Evelyn, who took in the entire room with a glance, then smiled. “Ah, good, you’re all here. Vaneryth has returned and will be staying aboard the ship. Zelirana, touch her at your peril. That is all.”

With that, the elf left, the door sliding shut behind her, and Star blinked.

“What was that about? Now I’m curious…” the succubus murmured, sitting up straight, and Dirax laughed.

“Your funeral,” the dark elf said, and glanced around the room. “Who’s up for a game of cards?”

“Stakes?” Beatrice asked, perking up suddenly.

“Nothing. Can’t afford to lose any of my seed money, if this is all I’ve got,” Dirax replied, at which the half-elf looked disappointed.

“I think I’m going to go find something for lunch,” Star said after a moment, and glanced at Moon. “Care to help?”

“Sure,” Moon agreed, and the two of them headed for the door. Ilyra followed them, but Star didn’t pay her much mind.

Chapter 17

Everyone in the room was gawking at Evelyn as she lifted weights. It wasn’t like all of them were in the gym, but that didn’t change the fact those present were staring, and it took a modest amount of concentration for Evelyn to ignore them.

Beatrice, Ilyra, Vaneryth, and Zelirana were the ones in the room, and Evelyn could see Ilyra’s mouth moving as she counted the weights on the barbell. It amused her, and she kept moving, lowering and raising the weights with fluid movements. She wasn’t trying to increase her strength, and really couldn’t with the equipment on-hand anyway. It wouldn’t survive her trying to put that many weights on it.

“Alright, your surgeon must be the best I’ve ever seen,” Beatrice said at last, looking a touch aggravated.

“Hm?” Evelyn asked, turning her head slightly to look at the woman and raising an eyebrow.

Behind Beatrice, Vaneryth was lifting dumbbells, relatively lightweight ones, and her cheeks were rather bright red as she struggled. Zelirana had a smirk on her face as she used the elliptical machine near the angel, which made Evelyn wonder if she needed to make more threats. The succubus seemed to find Vaneryth’s loss of power highly entertaining and was like a bloodhound that had caught the scent of prey. Which was likely far too accurate of a description.

“For your implants,” Beatrice explained, glowering slightly. “I’ve never seen someone lift like that without being able to see signs of their implants, not before this.”

“Ah, that explains it. Sorry to say, but you’re wrong. I don’t have any of the implants you’re thinking of,” Evelyn replied, turning her attention back to what she was doing while the others looked at her curiously. “The only implants I have are tier six command and control cerebral implants, the ones that piggyback on the nervous system. Everything else is natural.”

“What? But…” Beatrice began, her voice trailing off in shock as she looked at the weights, then at Evelyn, her eyes huge. Then she demanded. “How? I’ve never seen anyone without implants pick up that much! Even magic can’t do that much for you!”

Vaneryth stopped, setting down her weights, and Zelirana’s attention turned fully to Evelyn, while Evelyn resisted the urge to sigh, continuing to work.

“I’m a freak of nature,” Evelyn replied simply. “Or maybe just a freak, given how powerful I am.”

“Um, does that mean that if you were to get physical implants, you’d be even stronger?” Ilyra asked, a note of uncertainty in her voice, and Evelyn couldn’t resist a soft chuckle.

“I’m afraid not,” Evelyn said, but on seeing the confusion on the noblewoman’s face, she decided to elaborate. “Beatrice, what would happen if someone installed the best muscle-enhancement implants you can think of without accompanying bone reinforcements?”

“They’d tear their body apart. Snap the bones, ligaments, all of that sort of thing,” Beatrice said, frowning slightly as she looked at Evelyn. Ilyra flinched, which was an appropriate reaction.

“Exactly. Which means the physical body is usually the limit to how potent of implants can be installed. Unless you go for bone reinforcement, an orc can usually take stronger implants than an elf. However, even with everything you can do, there’s an upper limit to the strength you can get without magic getting involved,” Evelyn said, smirking as she looked at them. “After all, there’s only so strong they can make implants. Unfortunately for the manufacturers, they’ve yet to build physical implants that exceed my natural potential. Kilo for kilo and volume for volume, I exceed any mechanical construct I’ve encountered.”

“Then… what about with magic?” Ilyra asked eagerly. On the other hand, Evelyn noticed how nervous Beatrice was looking, and a tiny part of her wondered if the woman had been planning something incredibly stupid.

“Magic can increase the strength, speed, and toughness of almost anything, yes. However, that also has a limit based on the skill of the practitioner and the durability of the object in question. There is an upper limit. And that’s why I spent an incredible amount on an item of my own,” Evelyn replied, glancing toward her navel, where the enchanted piercing was hidden by her shirt. “The only way something will outclass me is if it’s bigger than me. Much bigger.”

“Oh. I always wondered how you could conquer a country… my parents said that it was a weak country, though,” Ilyra murmured, her eyes huge.

Evelyn laughed, setting the barbell back on the supports, which creaked slightly from the weight. “Weak? I suppose you could say that, but—”

“Milady, we’ve got a distress call!” Fya’s voice came cheerfully over the intercom, bringing the conversation to an abrupt halt.

Looking up, Evelyn arched her eyebrows and asked. “What sort of distress call?”

“An automated one, from a ship called Nebula Runner. It isn’t in our database, but the transponder claims it’s a mid-size passenger ship, and their engines failed. The signal isn’t very strong, like it’s being interfered with by the nebula around it.” Fya reported, not losing the cheerful note to her voice.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Vaneryth said, frowning and oblivious to how Zelirana had silently gotten off the elliptical machine and was sneaking up on her. “I do not know much about the astral, but I’ve heard that being stranded here can often be lethal.”

“There are plenty of predators. Not unlike the succubus with a death wish behind you.” Evelyn agreed, prompting Vaneryth to jump, and Zelirana to give Evelyn a betrayed look.

“I didn’t do anything!” Zelirana protested.

“Would you just leave me alone? I don’t want anything to do with you!” Vaneryth said, quickly backing away from the succubus.

“Who’s the one who was trying to murder me for the crime of existing?” Zelirana retorted, folding her arms as she eyed the angel like a cat watching a mouse. “I think I deserve the chance to have the shoe on the other foot.”

“Enough,” Evelyn interrupted firmly. “Touch her without her explicit permission, and I’ll cut your wings and tail off. And if you keep this up, I’ll forbid you from even being in the same room as her. Vaneryth, you need to learn to relax a little. Fya, I’m going to get cleaned up. Bring the ship into long-distance spacewalk range and have us ready for combat.”

“Um, why?” Ilyra asked, looking at Evelyn in confusion.

Evelyn didn’t respond as quickly as Beatrice, which was just as well.

“She thinks it could be a trap. I agree with her, for that matter. Weak signals like this are often bait,” Beatrice began explaining as the doors to the gym slid closed behind Evelyn, and she broke into a jog.

* * *

“Well, that isn’t suspicious at all,” Evelyn said dryly, suited up in her armor and eyeing the viewscreen skeptically.

The ship on the screen wasn’t much larger than the Daggerhound, at least in overall volume. It was longer and sleeker, with several weapon mounts she could see, but all of its viewports were dark, which was suspicious. Yet at the same time, the fact it hadn’t attacked them reduced the odds of it being one type of problem, in Evelyn’s opinion. It only reduced them, since the green nebula around it did give the sensors conniption fits, and there were other places ships could hide nearby.

“What do you mean? There could be people aboard who’re in trouble, right?” Moon asked, looking at the ship nervously.

“There could,” Evelyn agreed, looking at the Nebula Runner suspiciously. “However, that’s the least likely explanation, in my opinion.”

“I guessed that it could be pirates… what are you thinking?” Beatrice asked, looking at the screen in concern.

“Let me see, in order of likelihood; pirates, something horrible has infested the ship and is waiting for nice, tasty people to come aboard and feed them, ghost pirates, undead that are a variation of the second option, the ship is filled with the dead and it just drifted here, and that there are people aboard in need of rescue,” Evelyn said, ticking the options off on her fingers, then paused as most of the women in the room stared at her. “Were any of those unclear?”

“No… I’m more curious how you came up with all of them. Are you serious about those being in the order of likelihood?” Tianna asked, the elf’s eyes huge.

“She is!” Fya confirmed, grinning. “We’ve heard all sorts of stories from people in Rakal about what they’ve run into. They don’t like seeing abandoned ships, ‘cause far too often it’s a good way to get your face eaten. It’s one thing if you can see people trying to repair it, but something like this? Nah, it’s probably a death trap.”

“Which is why I’m going over alone,” Evelyn confirmed, smiling slightly. “Fya, Control, keep overwatch. Don’t shoot me but defend the ship if anything hostile occurs.”

“Acknowledged, Captain,” Control agreed calmly. “Preparing overwatch.”

“Alright! But if you get yourself killed again, I’m keeping you in dresses for a month before resurrecting you!” Fya said cheerfully, and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

“Thank you for the additional motivation, Fya,” Evelyn told her, waving as she headed for the door.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Vaneryth asked before she could leave.

“Sure. Just stay put and don’t do anything that could convince some space-monster to eat us,” Evelyn told her, grinning.

For some reason, she doubted that they took the joke the way she’d intended it. Maybe Evelyn was wrong, but the lack of laughter or smiles except from Fya… well, they’d get used to it, if they stayed aboard her ship.

Chapter 18

“What’d you mean about the dresses, and her getting killed again?” Moon asked after a few seconds.

“Hm? I thought she gave you an explanation of how she stopped being the empress of Peldra,” Fya replied, glancing at her curiously.

“She said she abdicated.” Moon said, frowning.

“Uh, she was overthrown.” Peldri said, frowning. “I heard a bunch about it, because my friends loved how my name was so similar to the country’s.”

“Officially, sure, but Moon is closer to right than you,” Fya replied, grinning back at Peldri. “Oh, I’m not going to tell you the whole story, she wants that kept quiet, but suffice to say that she walked into the tower with princess Vania, handed her the pistol herself, then sat down in the chair and asked her to shoot her. If that’s not an abdication, I’m not sure what is!”

“I… she what?” Star demanded, exchanging an appalled look with Moon, which was about how Moon felt. “Why would she do that?”

“When she took over, she created a massive, country-wide spell she called the Imperial Aegis. I don’t remember the particulars but think of it as a shield that could stop just about anything short of an orbital bombardment,” Fya replied, giving a dismissive wave of her hand. “Not that she needed it, mind you! Anyway, she’d set it so it’d go to whoever shot her, and she figured that would give Vania the ability to actually retake her country, or something along those lines. I don’t remember, since I wasn’t exactly there. She’d sent me away, since she was afraid I’d interfere or something. Silly of her… as if being halfway across the empire would keep me from interfering.”

Fya gave a derisive sniff at that, scowling as her eyes and hair turned black. “I knew they’d decide to hunt her down if I resurrected her immediately, and if I just left her alone, they’d bind her soul or some such thing. So I did it first. I grabbed her soul and stuffed it in my lamp, where we could interact mostly normally. Then I hitched a ride on the first ship off the rock. She was mostly upset that I loved seeing her in dresses, and that was all the clothing I gave her. After a year, I figured it’d been long enough, so I resurrected her.”

Moon stared at the woman, opening her mouth, then shutting it. It was the mention of the lamp that finally caused everything to click into place for her, though. Fya was a djinn. She’d been making dinner for a bubbly djinn for several days and hadn’t even realized it.

“Why were you helping her? I thought that djinns weren’t bound to someone after they died,” Moon asked hesitantly.

Fya just giggled, smiling broadly.

“Do I look bound to a lamp to you?” she asked, her hair and eyes shifting toward yellow. “Nope, I’m not bound by anything, I’m free! I was expecting another six hundred years bound to that lamp, granting wishes, and what happened when Evelyn found me? She took one look and didn’t even wish for anything for herself! She wished for my freedom, handed me the lamp, and walked out. I adore my Evvy, and she’s earned my loyalty. She’s going to have a long life and will always be My Lady.”

Moon opened her mouth, but then she realized she didn’t know what to say. She looked around the room, and noticed that a lot of the others looked even more stunned than she felt. Maybe because they knew more about Evelyn than she did.

“Fascinating,” Zelirana murmured, tapping her lips slowly. “I knew you were a djinn, but I didn’t realize just how powerful you are.”

“Mm, I’m a bit more powerful than you… or maybe a little more than a bit, but I’m not that powerful. And I don’t hold a candle to Milady,” Fya said, and as she spoke, she nodded toward the screen, where Evelyn had just appeared, pushing off into the space between the ships, and looking like nothing more than a black and red dot. “She could kill me, easy as that.”

Fya snapped her fingers, and Moon considered, then asked. “Is… she in danger?”

“’course she is. I’d be more worried about anything she runs into, though,” Fya replied, grinning broadly.

Moon wondered what that meant. She hadn’t seen Evelyn in combat, after all.

Vaneryth’s eyebrows furrowed, though, and Beatrice muttered. “Just lovely.”

* * *

The astral hadn’t changed much since the last time Evelyn had been in it, as she inhaled slowly, tasting the air. It tasted sweet, she decided. Sweet and cold, as the primary danger to those exposed to the astral was the temperature. Certainly, the stars that existed here could provide heat, but for the most part the dimension had an icy chill that slowly leeched the life from those who found themselves without power.

It was an odd mystical property of the astral that allowed anyone to breathe and have the appropriate pressure in its atmosphere without issue, no matter the species, which was why a few people chose to live here. She thought they were foolish, considering how many predators there were. Even some of the supposed stars were hungry, malevolent creatures, and with how the nebula shifted on the astral winds, the landscape could shift dramatically from one month to the next, revealing new dangers… and new opportunities.

The Nebula Runner had obviously encountered the former, and Evelyn frowned as she approached, picking out a few details she hadn’t noticed before. There were signs of someone having opened access panels on the engines, which meant that maybe there was some validity to the distress call. She mentally shrugged, though, and used her implants to fire the control jets in her armor so she was more precisely aimed for the nearest airlock.

It took longer than she liked to reach the ship, of course. She’d deliberately had the Daggerhound take position at the farthest reasonable spacewalk distance, which meant it took her a good half-hour to reach the Nebula Runner. Another few bursts from her thrusters and Evelyn came in for a surprisingly gentle landing. Once she was sure she was secure, she glanced at the airlock indicators.

“Is it trying to eat you yet?” Fya asked eagerly, and Evelyn resisted the urge to sigh.

“No, it’s an airlock. A civilian airlock,” Evelyn replied, quickly reading over the instructions next to the control panel, instructions in two dozen different languages and with pictures showing how to get inside if you were locked outside. “Now shut up, Fya. I’m busy.”

“Alright, but don’t complain to me when something is trying to eat you, milady. You’re sure the ship isn’t a giant mimic?” Fya said, and Evelyn raised her gaze to the sky, counting for a few seconds in order to ensure she was patient enough.

“Fya. The last time a mimic large enough to mimic a starship was found was twenty-three years ago, near the Spine of Xinteth. This isn’t nearly sticky enough for a mimic, so leave it be,” Evelyn said, inhaled slowly, then let her breath out before adding. “Besides, if it is, I’ll just kill it.”

“Spoilsport,” Fya muttered.

Evelyn didn’t reply, instead following the instructions. The airlock paused, and she could hear the ship systems working for a few seconds, then the outer doors opened. She let herself drift through them, approaching the inner console. She reached out with her implants to activate the ship systems, then frowned.

“Odd. The ship computer is offline, yet the airlock claims it’s operating off shipboard power,” Evelyn said, considering the controls, then shrugged. “I suppose something could’ve wrecked the computer, but these sort of ships usually have secondary systems, and local ones as well.”

“Affirmative. All common civilian ship manufacturers ensure that the computer system can easily fragment into at least four segments if cut off from the primary core, with redundant power links. These are intended to assist crew and passengers in evacuations and damage control situations,” Control replied precisely. “It being entirely non-functional indicates massive failures.”

“Could it be an EMP or something like that?” Fya suggested. Evelyn noticed that both of them were a bit fuzzy now.

“No, that would’ve destroyed the airlock systems as well, forcing me to cycle it manually,” Evelyn murmured, frowning for a few seconds, then shrugged. “Ah, well. Let’s see what we find inside, shall we?”

She activated the inner airlock, then lowered her hand so that it was right next to her energy sword.

The doors opened to reveal a typical passenger ship corridor, the lights flickering slightly, but not enough to impact visibility, and Evelyn glanced around, then stepped inside, looking up as well. Too many people forgot to do that, and she wasn’t going to have some monster drop on her head. No monster was there, and Evelyn paused, listening carefully.

The faint thrum of a power core could be felt through the deck, along with the whoosh of air cyclers and a buzz from the lights, but that was it. No footsteps, no vibrations… but at the same time she didn’t catch the smell of decay. That wouldn’t necessarily be there if people were dead, since the life support system was obviously functioning, but it was concerning. There was another scent that was odd, a faint hint of… spices? Evelyn wasn’t quite sure how to describe it, but it was odd.

“I don’t see or hear anyone. No signs of combat where I am, and the lights and life support are functioning,” Evelyn said at last.

“Acknowledged. Be aware, your signal strength is rapidly falling as you progress into the ship. We may not be able to contact you if you progress much farther,” Control replied, her voice much fuzzier this time around.

“Don’t get murdered!” Fya added, and Evelyn let out a soft sigh. At least the rest of the women didn’t have access to the comm system, or she’d be really annoyed.

After a moment of thought, Evelyn shrugged, and turned toward the prow of the ship. She was certain she’d find a sign pointing her at the bridge soon enough, and if there was going to be anywhere that had information on what had happened to the Nebula Runner, that was it.

The real question was a simple one. Would whatever had happened require her to blow something up?

Chapter 19

Finding the bridge was easy enough, and the moment she stepped inside, Evelyn raised an eyebrow, looking back at the door. Here the odd scent wasn’t as strong, which concerned her, but more interesting were the handful of scorch marks on the door where someone had fired energy weapons. So was how the bridge computer core had been removed, but she barely gave that a glance before crouching down to examine the doors closely.

The scorch marks weren’t that old, Evelyn decided, examining them critically. She took pictures with her implants and tried to upload them to the Daggerhound for analysis, but almost instantly her implants came back with an error due to the connection to the ship having been lost.

With that not being possible, Evelyn debated, then decided that the blasts were likely less than a couple of weeks old. They were too stark for them to be much older. The more interesting factor was how they were all around the edges of the door, the lower part and sides especially. Evelyn opened the door and crouched down, then smiled coldly.

“What have we here?” Evelyn murmured, looking down at the edge of the door.

Just inside the trough it slid through she saw black residue on the sides and bottom, causing Evelyn to look closer, running a finger over it, then raising it to take a sniff. The spice-like smell was stronger now, and coupled with the oily, viscous residue that wasn’t unlike drying oil, Evelyn put the pieces together.

“Darkborn ooze. Has to be. Those poor bastards,” Evelyn said, shaking her head slowly. “Nebula Runner, is it… they must’ve ducked through a nebula for the sights and caught a chunk by accident. And once it was aboard… no one had the weapons to kill it.”

She’d heard about the oozes from a few of the pirates while she was on Rakal. They hated them, since the creatures were not only intelligent, they also consumed biological material to grow larger. The pirates had talked about how one of the creatures had taken over a pirate ship and used it to spread to half a dozen other vessels before the fleet had realized what was happening. They’d been forced to destroy the ships to make sure all of it was destroyed.

The logical approach would be to leave the ship and destroy it, but Evelyn wasn’t about to do that. No, she had another thought, based on those conversations. While intelligent, the oozes couldn’t necessarily repair their ships, so they’d kept a few engineers alive. They’d threatened them into collaborating, at least until the ships had been disabled and they knew they wouldn’t be allowed to escape. If the engines were disabled, most likely the crew had done that deliberately. And if that was the case, there might, just might, be a few people that the creature was keeping alive in the hopes of repairing the ship. If they were brave enough to destroy their own engines, Evelyn wasn’t about to kill them along with the ooze.

“It’d be an entirely different story if this ship was mobile. Good thing I had mine stay where it is,” Evelyn said, smiling mirthlessly as she straightened. First, she needed to do something else, though.

Finding Nebula Runner’s black box wasn’t hard, as it was part of the bridge. Fortunately, the ooze hadn’t removed it, or even tampered with it, since Evelyn had to undo the seals around the heavily armored device, and she nodded in satisfaction, securing it to her belt. That would be useful to prove her story if she chose to explain what had happened, and she probably would. She didn’t want anyone else’s parents to vanish without a trace.

“Alright. Time to find an ooze to kill,” Evelyn said, a smile playing across her lips. She was somewhat looking forward to blowing up some terrible monster. Sure, she’d been able to maul a whole crew of mercenaries, but sometimes there was something satisfying about annihilating something that thoroughly deserved it.

She set her implants to automatically ping the Daggerhound, and anyone aboard the Nebula Runner for that matter, every twenty seconds. If she had the chance to warn the others she would, but they should be fine. As long as she made certain to aim toward the stern or bow of the ship, they wouldn’t be in danger.

The most logical place for the ooze to be was the engine room, and Evelyn was sure she knew where that would be. It was rare that engineering wasn’t at least partly in the rear of a ship, particularly in a passenger ship like this one. Which meant she was going to go through the crew spaces, which she didn’t have the keys for. She could hack them, like she had the bridge, but Evelyn had a better solution.

Most people would have been unnerved to be moving through an empty ship with no idea what they were going to encounter next, Evelyn admitted to herself. They weren’t her. She was humming softly, a bright, jaunty tune she remembered from when she was growing up. She moved down the halls, her energy sword in one hand, until she got to the first door that likely led toward engineering. As she’d expected, it was locked… so she kicked it. Hard.

The door buckled, the advanced polymer shattering as it went flying down the corridor. Evelyn so loved doing that, especially with doors designed to slide out of the way.

Nothing was immediately on the other side of the door, nothing but the stronger scent of spices. The lack of an alarm caused her to click her tongue, though.

“Really, that’s just stupid. Either it’s tied into the computers, or the ooze disabled the alarms. Either way, stupid,” Evelyn murmured, and continued down the halls.

Her trip continued much like that for several minutes. The occasional door would block her, and she’d kick it off its… well, not its hinges, as they didn’t have hinges. The ship wasn’t designed to slow down someone who was cybernetically enhanced or in powered armor, which was probably part of why the ooze had been so successful.

As she moved, Evelyn saw more signs of conflict. Here, there were the corroded remains of a basic blast pistol. There, a splatter of black residue, and the faint outline of where a person had been in front of a wall. It’d been a fighting retreat, as far as Evelyn could tell, and with each door the smell grew stronger.

The energy sword blazed to life and swept through the air in an instant, severing a tiny, near-invisible tendril of ink-black liquid as it extended from the ventilation system, and Evelyn smiled as it curled on itself, burning to ashes. She hadn’t consciously seen it until after she’d acted.

“Oh, is that how it’s going to be?” Evelyn asked, smiling widely. She double-checked that the last ping hadn’t found any survivors, and on confirmation, she smiled even more widely as she drew on her mana, pulling her sword back as if to strike as she chanted under her breath. “Dawn of the universe, hearken to my hand. Let your fire kindle, burn, and consume!”

Evelyn thrust her blade forward just as it surged with brilliant, blue-white flame that overwhelmed the normally-red blade, piercing through the vent and into the life support system. The next instant fire erupted down the ventilation shafts like a tsunami, and she could hear it exploding through barriers, destroying fans, and blowing out vents in adjacent rooms as the fire roared through the system.

When Evelyn retracted her sword, the vent was a smoking hole, and there was a narrow hole in the back where the blade had penetrated. There was also a mess of smoking black residue in the vent where something ooze-like had been, and Evelyn smiled widely, turning and kicking the next door in before continuing to stalk toward the engine room.

She caught a brief glimpse of black liquid retracting through gaps in the doorway, and Evelyn smiled slightly… then she paused as she caught a faint transmission from someone else with implants.

“Run. It’ll kill you, run and blow up the ship,” the message said. It was pure text, no vocals at all, so it lacked any inflection to it, and Evelyn’s gaze sharpened slightly.

“I don’t think so. How many of you are left?” Evelyn asked, slowing down to where she was stalking down the hallway.

“You should run. It’s just me… it ate the others. It started on my legs once you boarded, threatening that it would kill me if I didn’t help. Please, run. Don’t let this thing get away,” the person on the other end begged.

“Oh, it won’t get away,” Evelyn replied, smiling coldly, her anticipation turning to anger. To cold, hard rage.

The next door wasn’t like the others. It was labeled as Main Engineering and kicking down the door wouldn’t be easy. Instead, Evelyn cut through it, carving what amounted to a huge X through it, then kicked the fragments into the room.

On the other side was a typical engineering room, with the glowing core of a reactor at its center… and around it was the ooze and its victim. The rest of the room, all its complex machinery coated in oily darkness, didn’t matter to her.

The ooze was an immense, gelatinous mass of darkness. She couldn’t see through it at all, it was so oily black, and it formed a roughly dome-shaped figure. Near the top was an elven woman, hairless and naked save for a layer of black liquid that adhered to much of her body. Her arms and lower body were submerged in the monster, and Evelyn’s eyes narrowed.

“Repair the engines,” the immense creature boomed, its voice seemingly coming from all sides at once. “Do so and you shall be spared.”

Evelyn considered for only half a second, then she replied in a cold voice, her thoughts icy and precise.

“Oh, you have no idea who you’re dealing with,” Evelyn replied, grinning broadly. “No. Unhand her. Now.”

Chapter 20

“Do you think she’s alright?” Star asked, shifting from one foot to the other nervously. She’d have paced, but the bridge was far too cramped with everyone in it to do that. Besides, she didn’t want to make it that obvious she was nervous. It didn’t help that they hadn’t gotten any messages from Evelyn since shortly after she’d boarded.

“Control, has there been any significant thermal change aboard the Nebula Runner?” Fya asked instead of replying.

It wasn’t the Doll called Control that answered, though. Instead it was the one at the right-hand console, the apparently human woman speaking calmly. “The average temperature in the rear quarter of the starship increased by one percent approximately forty-six seconds ago. The sensors cannot pinpoint it more precisely than that.”

“Mm, she must’ve burnt something,” Fya murmured, then looked at Star. “To answer your question, she’s fine. If she was upset, we’d know.”

“How do you know that?” Beatrice asked skeptically.

* * *

Tendrils of black liquid, less tendrils and more pillars, lashed out at Evelyn almost instantly. She didn’t even blink as the creature roared, willing magical shields to life. In all honesty, she didn’t need to chant spells, it just helped her focus her magic and, though she’d never admit it aloud, a part of Evelyn enjoyed the chants.

The ooze slammed into her shield hard, but Evelyn wasn’t idle, ignoring how oozing liquid flowed off the crimson shield like it’d hit a glass wall, and she extended her hand toward the woman suspended in the creature’s body. Magic flowed out of her, and an instant later she’d surrounded the woman in an almost form-fitting shield… and she yanked her free of it all at once.

The darkborn ooze roared angrily, but Evelyn didn’t care. Especially as she took in how the woman’s body ended abruptly mid-thigh, and she was certain her left hand was down two fingers. Evelyn surged her magic, and the dark liquid across her body that was dissolving her flesh was torn away, sent splattering through her shield back onto the monster, and Evelyn was mostly happy that the creature appeared to have cauterized her wounds as the woman let out a hoarse wail of pain.

“Return it!” the ooze boomed, and Evelyn snorted derisively.

“You’re just as stupid as you look,” she retorted, then smiled coldly. “If you want her? Take her, you horrid blob of refuse.”

The creature roared angrily, but the next moment Evelyn turned, dragging the woman through the air as she lunged toward the door. Ooze surged like tides to block her path, but she snorted, flicking her free hand again.

Black ooze ripped apart in front of her, allowing Evelyn through the doorway, and she raised a shield behind her with a thought, moving down the passageway like a rocket, to the point that she left a dent in a wall as she used it as a springboard while moving. Behind her she heard more roaring, and the buckling sound of the creature ripping through walls.

“Is it confined to the rear of the ship?” Evelyn asked the woman.

“W-what? Of course not! It… it moved there, but it can go anywhere!” the elf gasped in response.

“But it’s there now?” Evelyn asked, a cold smile growing on her lips. She was getting farther ahead of the ooze, she thought. It wouldn’t be that hard to get away, but she didn’t want to just get away.

“Yes?” the woman replied, looking confused now.

“Excellent. I hope your quarters aren’t behind us.” Evelyn said, coming to an abrupt stop, and she gently deposited the woman on the ground as she added. “Close your eyes and look away.”

“Why are you—” the woman began, but Evelyn ignored her, turning toward the ship’s stern as she drew on her mana heavily… and began to chant a spell that she’d never had the opportunity to use before.

“Lords of fiery arrogance, may your light be bestowed upon me. Let the heart of a star descend into my hands,” Evelyn said, twisting mana as brilliant light began gleaming between her hands, and as she chanted, the first tendrils of angry darkness came around a corner and started surging toward her. She didn’t stop, though, instead grinning gleefully. “Let that heart surge and show them the fury of a star’s end!”

Then it wasn’t simply light anymore, and the surging wave of black ooze hesitated far, far too late.

* * *

One moment everything was going much the same as it had been. Star was watching the screen impatiently while the others argued.

“Heat spike, magnitude—” the Doll on the right began, but she didn’t speak fast enough.

The rear section of the Nebula Runner began glowing for an instant, as every joint, weld, and opening turned red, then blue-white light erupted through them. Then there wasn’t a rear of the ship at all, as indescribable light erupted out of it, consuming everything in its path and momentarily blinding the cameras as Star stared, her mouth hanging open.

The light lasted a good ten seconds, rippling in a vast cone behind the starship and enveloping a number of nearby asteroids. When it passed, the light slowly fading, Star’s eyes widened more, as it looked like something had taken a bite out of the Nebula Runner, leaving brightly glowing lines where it’d cut through the ship, leaving only the middle and prow of the ship untouched. Even the asteroids it’d hit had simply… evaporated.

“She was upset,” Fya said, with a mild note of satisfaction in her voice.

“…she can use nova magic?” Vaneryth asked, shock filling the angel’s voice, though it didn’t match what Star felt.

“I told you that I don’t hold a candle to her,” Fya replied.

The next moment the comm sprang to life, and Evelyn spoke, her voice surprisingly upbeat. “Ah, there you are! It seems that the ooze was the source of the jamming. Control, prepare quarantine protocols Delta. I found a survivor, and she needs medical treatment. First I need to find her things, as we’re going to be destroying the rest of the ship.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. May I ask the nature of the threat?” Control asked, folding her hands behind her back calmly.

“The poor bastards picked up a darkborn ooze somehow. They disabled the ship before it managed to eat all of them, so I gather that it kept a few engineers alive to try to force them to repair it, killing them one by one. This lady is in bad shape,” Evelyn explained, her voice growing less amused. “While the bulk of it was in the aft of the ship, we can’t be sure I got all of it. That’s why I’m getting her things, then we’re destroying the rest of the hulk. I expect nothing to be left when we’re done.”

“Yes, Captain. Medical team will be standing by in airlock three with Quarantine Protocol Delta equipment.” Control confirmed.

“Well, it sounds like you had fun! I’ve never seen you use that spell before, Milady, is there a particular reason why?” Fya asked.

“Most of my combat is on a planetary surface, and I don’t feel like ruining the weather or destroying a fifty-kilometer-long swath of countryside. In space, it isn’t useful because shipboard shields will shrug it off. It just isn’t practical, most of the time.” Evelyn explained calmly. “Not that I haven’t wanted to use it, mind you. It has an amazing incantation, and there’s something to be said for watching the bulkheads and rest of the ship vaporize in front of you. I have to say, it’s one of the most satisfying spells I’ve ever cast.”

“She’s mad. Completely, utterly, mad,” Peldri muttered softly, and Star looked at Moon.

“I… well, what’s a darkborn ooze?” Star ventured.

“Ooh, is it time for horror stories? I like horror stories!” Fya exclaimed, clapping her hands together as she spun to face Moon and Star. “We heard a bunch while we were in Rakal! They never liked my reactions, though. They thought I was scary.”

“Um, is there a version that doesn’t involve horror stories?” Moon asked, taking a careful step back.

“I… believe I will go assist the medical team,” Vaneryth said, and the angel quickly fled.

Star considered following, but decided that wasn’t really a reasonable thing, since she’d asked the question. She somewhat regretted that, now.

Chapter 21

“How’s she doing?” Evelyn asked, watching as the Dolls methodically reduced the Nebula Runner into space dust.

“Presuming you mean the woman which you rescued, she will live. We have extracted trace elements of the darkborn ooze and destroyed them. Having examined her entire body, the medical team has determined there is nothing left of the creature,” Control reported calmly. “If left untreated, it might have managed to recover. However, she has sustained terrible damage. While most of her implants are intact, her legs and three fingers have been destroyed, she has sustained burns across ninety percent of her body, and the trauma indicates that she should be sedated until she can be treated in a specialized facility.”

“Not surprising,” Evelyn said, nodding in response. “As soon as the Nebula Runner is destroyed and you’re certain that the darkborn ooze is entirely gone, set a course for Nald and get us moving again.”

“Yes, Captain,” Control confirmed with a nod. Evelyn made a note that maybe she should invest in better personality chips for the Dolls, as whoever had commissioned them obviously didn’t care about them having personality. It irritated her slightly, even more than them being Dolls to begin with.

She left them to their work, heading into the corridor, then paused as she found Zelirana outside. She glanced around but didn’t see Vaneryth anywhere nearby… which was curious, as the succubus had been the angel’s shadow essentially for as long as Evelyn had known the two. Not that Vaneryth was happy about that, but it was unusual.

“Evelyn, I wished to speak with you,” Zelirana said, bowing her head with a smooth grace.

“I suspected as much.” Evelyn said, gesturing for the succubus to follow as she made her way down the corridor toward her room. “What is it?”

“It’s regarding the offer to join your crew.” Zelirana explained, following Evelyn calmly. “My question is… what can I offer? You are powerful, wealthy, and incredibly skilled. While I believed that I could contribute somewhat, what you did aboard the other ship was eye-opening. I have never met a mortal of your age who could unleash that much power, and it doesn’t even address your personal combat skills. I am in awe of you.”

Evelyn chuckled softly, glancing at the succubus in amusement, raising an eyebrow. “Oh? Are you saying that I’ve intimidated you, Zelirana?”

“You intimidated me from the beginning. I simply wasn’t aware of how much you outclassed me by until now,” Zelirana admitted without the slightest hint of shame. “I believed that the gap was far narrower. However, at the same time I find it… exciting? Demons are drawn to those with power, as you must know. Your strength is one of the most impressive things I have encountered in my life and accompanying you would be… exquisite.”

The succubus visibly shivered at her last word, a smile growing on her lips, and she continued immediately. “The added bonus of having the chance to seduce Vaneryth would simply be icing on the cake, as it were.”

Evelyn laughed more loudly, opening her cabin and gesturing the succubus inside as she circled the bed. Her bed was in storage, since it wouldn’t fit in the small cabin, but as she moved she started disrobing, sliding out of her clothing with easy grace. It wasn’t like she’d mortify the succubus, after all.

“Ah the eternal question of what to do. I rather suspected that’s what you had in mind for her, but as long as you don’t cross the line, I won’t destroy you,” Evelyn told the succubus, thinking for a moment as she frowned. “What skills do you possess? Other than carnal ones.”

“I’m good at reading people, extrapolating what they truly desire, and negotiating or infiltrating. I’m modestly skilled with magic, though not as powerful as you or Fya, and have some skill with personal combat. Unlike Vaneryth, I have some training with modern firearms, though I’m new to these… implants,” Zelirana replied quickly. “I’m learning to control them, but I suspect it will be some time before I’m used to them.”

“Hm, that gives me a few ideas. I hope I don’t have a need for a spy, but there’s something you need to remember,” Evelyn said, turning to face the succubus, who was looking her naked body up and down with obvious attraction. “I can only be in one place at a time. If someone attacks people aboard the ship, I can do a lot, but I am not perfect. I think you could do well if you learned to use weapons, and perhaps… hm, I’m looking at getting better personality chips for the Dolls, so you could help them act more… normally. Perhaps a personnel manager wouldn’t be bad. It depends on what I choose to do with the ship.”

“That seems like something I’d enjoy,” the succubus agreed, smiling. “Now, am I going to be serving as a… personal assistant as well? I’d enjoy that.”

“No,” Evelyn replied, smiling. “I’m going to shower, and you’re going to go out and think a little. Don’t annoy Vaneryth too much, or I’ll put you on janitor duty. I told her the same thing.”

“As you wish,” Zelirana agreed, and bowed her head before heading out of the room.

Evelyn watched her go, then shrugged, stepping into the shower. While she did find the succubus attractive, she wasn’t about to jump into bed with her. That would give the woman ideas, and she couldn’t have that.

Evelyn was perfectly willing to sleep with anyone she found attractive, but problems always cropped up when they got expectations that they really shouldn’t have.

* * *

The trip toward Nald progressed better after that, though a stray astral wind did force them to change course slightly when a spray of asteroids came flying from starboard. Evelyn didn’t want to test their hull or gunnery, so she chose to detour around them. It took a little longer to reach the system, but not too much more. As they got closer, Evelyn headed for the bridge to watch the screens.

There were more ships here, she noticed. At least a dozen transponder beacons could be seen in the distance, coming and going, while Nald’s Astral Defense Fortress loomed ahead of them. It was big enough to fight off most small fleets, with ‘small’ being anything that didn’t have at least a pair of dreadnaughts involved. Of course, if there was an attack like that, Evelyn was sure the planet would scramble ships to assist the fortress, and that would deal with the problem.

Fya showed up not long after her, yawning and with a happy smile on her face, which caused Evelyn’s eyebrows to rise, and she spoke mildly. “It’s the middle of the day, Fya.”

“Yup! And I just finished having fun with your newest harem member,” the djinn replied, grinning. “Have to test them out, you know!”

“You are an unrepentant hedonist,” Evelyn told her, shaking her head.

“Yup!” Fya agreed, her smile widening still more.

Before they could talk more, there was a light on one of the screens, and Control spoke.

“Captain, we have an incoming hail from the fortress,” Control reported calmly. “They have interrogated our beacon.”

“Put them through,” Evelyn replied, focusing and allowing her eyes to narrow slightly.

A moment later a hologram sprang to life, showing a senne man, his skin a dark, ink-like blue, his slicked-back hair a deep red, and he wore a black and gold uniform. In the background was the control center for a fortress, and he didn’t look happy as he spoke, his golden eyes blazing.

“Daggerhound, you are approaching restricted space. You were informed last time you visited that you were no longer welcome here. Adjust course or you will be fired upon,” the officer barked, and Evelyn’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“Nald Defense, I believe you are speaking of this ship’s previous owners,” Evelyn replied calmly. “I’m afraid that the ship had an abrupt change of ownership just over a week ago.”

“What? A likely story. Who are you, and what evidence do you have of this?” the man asked, his scowl lightening as a hint of confusion crossed his face, which amused Evelyn. She thought she saw recognition in his gaze, and she smiled.

“I am Captain Evelyn Esendria Tarth, and I claimed the Daggerhound by right of conquest after its former owner attempted to kill me,” Evelyn replied, smiling broadly. “You may have heard of me? Either way, I’m willing to allow you to board the ship for customs if you wish to make certain that it’s true. I’m afraid that we’re running on a skeleton crew at the moment and picked up survivors from a ship that encountered a darkborn ooze in the deeper astral.”

“You…” the man began, paling ever so slightly, then visibly swallowing. Then he spoke, his voice a bit gruffer. “I will get back to you momentarily. Hold your current position.”

The image changed to the emblem of Nald’s fleet, and Evelyn’s smile widened still more as she murmured. “I do love that reaction.”

“So do I!” Fya agreed, grinning. “I wish we’d been able to get it more, but you chose somewhere out of the way.”

“Most areas don’t like me. How many countries do you think would be happy about me living inside their borders?” Evelyn countered, looking at her skeptically. “I’m certain that wouldn’t go well.”

“True, true. I’m liking the idea of being aboard a ship, though,” Fya replied, grinning. “As long as they don’t decide to blow us up. You might not die, but most of the others aren’t that tough.”

“Which is why I’m prepared to put up a shield if I have to,” Evelyn agreed.

A moment later the image flickered, and a different man appeared on the screen, this one wearing a uniform that indicated the human was higher-ranking than the senne. He had a close-trimmed red beard, and his gaze was suspicious as he looked at her.

“Captain Tarth, may I ask what your business is on Nald?” the officer asked politely.

“I intend to drop off a number of passengers, assuming they desire to leave, as well as the black box of the Nebula Runner and the one survivor of its crew,” Evelyn informed him, her hands folded behind her back. “I will also be perusing your FTL links in search of a ship more suitable to my interests than this one. While the Daggerhound is serviceable, it does not have the features that I desire.”

“The Nebula Runner? We’ve heard inquiries about that ship… is this the one you claim was infested by a darkborn ooze?” the officer asked, his frown deepening.

Evelyn almost rolled her eyes. Instead, she chose a clip she’d taken from her implant’s recordings and piped it through to the ship.

“Sending a recording of my entry into the Nebula Runner’s engineering bay now. I have a full recording of my trip through the ship if you want it,” Evelyn replied, sending the video file to him. She could tell the moment he saw it, as his eyes widened, then she continued. “The darkborn ooze had eaten the entire crew by the time I boarded except for one person. I saved her life, and she is currently in the medical bay under sedation. I obeyed Delta-level quarantine protocols to ensure she survived and that the ooze did not. The Nebula Runner was destroyed, except for its black box and the woman’s personal effects.”

“Yeah, mostly because you ripped her personal locker out of the wall as you left,” Fya chimed in.

“I understand. Please approach the designated position, we will send a boarding party to examine your ship for contraband,” the officer said, frowning. “You mentioned passengers. What are they doing here?”

“They were slaves which the previous owners of the ship were transporting,” Evelyn replied, smiling coldly as he blinked in surprise. “I’ve freed them and have brought them to Nald, as I believe that Rakal was an exceedingly poor port for them to retain their freedom. What they choose to do here is entirely up to them.”

“Ah. I will inform the boarding party,” the man replied, then the line went dead.

“Well, that was rude. He never even introduced himself,” Fya said, sounding a touch miffed.

“Yes, well, that’s the military for you,” Evelyn replied, and nodded to Control. “Take us to the designated location.”

“Yes, Captain,” the Doll replied.

The ship started moving, and Evelyn smiled at Fya. “Shall we get ready to greet our boarding party? Don’t touch any of the heavy weapons, though.”

“Aww… alright,” Fya agreed, climbing out of the chair. “Need to scare them into behaving, right?”

“As otherwise they might pilfer some of our weapons… yes, we do,” Evelyn agreed. “Let everyone know they’re coming over, too.”

The djinn giggled, and Evelyn had to wonder if she was planning to scandalize the visitors with Zelirana. If so… they’d probably deserve it.

Chapter 22

After dealing with the boarding party, who were appropriately fascinated and horrified by Zelirana and the number of Dolls aboard, as well as the survivor of the Nebula Runner, it wasn’t difficult to return to normal space. Evelyn was pleased they hadn’t had to more than mildly threaten one of the boarders who’d thought that one of the guns in her stock should be confiscated. Anyone who thought they were getting a weapon worth more than most people’s yearly wages for free was delusional. Unless they could kill her, at which point the question would be moot.

The transition was gentle, and Evelyn immediately checked the screens for any ships coming too close. Fortunately, despite the traffic she saw, they were in a safe spot, so she nodded to Control, who hailed the nearby station for docking clearance.

Nald was a pretty planet, one with jewel-like oceans. Dozens of cities blazing with light dotted its surface, as it was night on this side of the planet. It orbited a yellow star, and ships were plying their way between Nald and the inner asteroid belt of the system, as well as the three outer planets. Nald was the cluster’s hub, where the vast majority of planets had comm links, which gave the government a large amount of sway throughout the cluster.

Most important was the nearby space station, though, and the wyrmgate itself. The station was enormous, as befitted a major trade hub, capable of docking hundreds of smaller ships at once and with large concourses, repair yards, and more. Larger ships were in parking orbits nearby, shuttles traveling between them slowly.

The wyrmgate… there was no way anyone would mistake it for anything but what it was. A five-kilometer diameter ring of gleaming golden material, with stylized dragons along its edges, while magical runes glittered all along its interior. The middle was empty, likely because the portal wasn’t active, and Evelyn examined it for a moment, smiling slightly.

No one else had managed to build a functional wyrmgate that didn’t kill or destroy everything that went through it, which gave the draconic houses control over the fastest form of transportation in known space. Fortunately, they seemed more interested in the money it could earn them than in denying others passage. The price to travel through it was high, but not so high as to make it impossible for others to afford. Though Evelyn had to admit, two hundred and fifty mythrite, which should be about two thousand five hundred credits, was a steep price for a one-way trip.

With the thought of credits, Evelyn quickly sent an inquiry to the starbase, checking to make sure the exchange rate wasn’t too different than what she remembered. Dragons based their prices off mythrite, which made it one of the most stable currencies available due to how they carefully added or removed it from the market to maintain its value, but that didn’t mean that local currencies were as stable as it was. It was possible that the value of mythrite against the local credit had fallen.

A few seconds later she relaxed, smiling slightly as she found that instead the value of mythrite had increased, which would make things a little better for her passengers. Noting that there was a draconic transport due to depart for the gate within the hour, Evelyn triggered the shipboard comm.

“We’re back in normal space, and our systems have linked with Argon Station. In… fifty-seven minutes, the DMF Scalebearer will be departing on a trip to the core worlds, making a total of seven stops and six wyrmgate transits. If you wish to send a message, you have fifty-two minutes to get it into their data buffer, and fifteen minutes to prepare if you wish to catch a shuttle in time to board,” Evelyn said, sitting back in her chair. “The next listed departure time is in twelve hours, fifty-one minutes. It appears that draconic shuttles depart every twelve standard hours, and we will dock in… ten minutes. Make your decisions quickly.”

With that she sat back and smiled, monitoring the internal comms curiously. Within about thirty seconds she saw a message go out to the Scalebearer, sourced from the twins, but none of the others responded immediately, and she didn’t see anyone rushing to vacate the ship either. She shrugged internally, as other messages started flitting back and forth from the station. The former slaves would figure out what they wanted soon enough.

Then she was surprised by an incoming hail from the station, an audio-only one. Evelyn considered, then shrugged, answering. “Daggerhound, Captain Tarth speaking.”

“Hello, Captain Tarth. This is Amanda of Argon Search and Rescue, and we’ve been informed that you retrieved the black box of the Nebula Runner, as well as a survivor from its crew,” a woman replied briskly. “We’d been informed when the ship did not arrive in the Tarkath system on-schedule and have contacted the ship’s parent company. They wish to examine the logs as soon as possible and for the survivor to be tended to. We’re requesting both be transferred into our custody as soon as possible.”

While the woman was speaking, Evelyn did a few quick searches via the station’s network, once she was sure she was connected to the actual network, of course, and nodded internally. Satisfied that she was speaking to an actual representative of the station’s Search and Rescue team, she was willing to talk to her. The link codes matched, as did the name.

“Excellent, it isn’t like I wanted to keep them aboard my ship. I assume that the standard finder’s fee for picking up a missing ship’s black box applies?” Evelyn said, an eyebrow rising involuntarily. “I’m willing to give the coordinates where I found it, but there isn’t anything to find there. The ship was destroyed completely to ensure that the ooze didn’t escape.”

For a moment there wasn’t a response, then Amanda spoke again, a tiny bit hesitant. “Yes, well, there is some question of how precisely the ship met it’s—”

“According to your own rules, listed on your information chart, they indicate that anyone who brings in the black box of a ship declared as missing will be paid a finder’s fee of twenty-five thousand credits,” Evelyn replied, her smile vanishing. “Are you saying that the policy has changed? Because if so, I am perfectly willing to keep it. Perhaps I’ll mount it on the wall as a trophy.”

The silence was almost deafening, and Evelyn couldn’t help a slight smile. She didn’t care that much about the money, but it was the principle of the thing. If people were willing to cheat you when you were rescuing people, when else would they be willing to cheat you?

“No, the policy has not changed. While the parent company did ask that it be withheld until it was determined that you were not responsible for the loss of the vessel and its passengers, you make an excellent point. My superiors have confirmed that the credits will be transferred upon receipt of the black box,” Amanda replied at last, just as they were beginning their final approach to the dock. They still had to go through docking procedures, but that wouldn’t be difficult. “What about the survivor? We did not get a name.”

“I’m afraid that neither did I. It might have been on her equipment locker, but I didn’t check,” Evelyn admitted, pulling up the data regarding the woman and sending it back along the line. “Here is her medical data, as well as what the Dolls currently functioning as my medics have determined, and the treatments they’ve performed. I’d suggest bringing a full medical team before moving her. She’ll live, but she isn’t in the best of condition.”

“I… see that. I will transmit this to my medical team and let them know what to expect,” the woman replied after a moment. “I expect the teams to arrive to pick up the black box and survivor in thirty minutes. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, it is,” Evelyn agreed, then shut down the line, pondering the sight before her for a second, then nodded, murmuring. “Control, please have the Dolls inform everyone that Argon is a safe port, so if they wish to debark, shop, or do anything else, it is safe to do so. Also inform them that we’re expecting the Search and Rescue team in just under half an hour.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. Dolls are carrying out your directives now,and are preparing to transfer custody of the injured,” Control confirmed.

Evelyn nodded, and let out a sigh as they docked. A tiny part of her was annoyed, seeing the orderly, safe port… but it was for the best. Not everything could be exciting all the time. Besides, she did like to relax sometimes.

Part IV

Wyverns & Warships

Chapter 23

Evelyn didn’t like going unarmed. She really didn’t like going unarmored as well. However, while she was technically allowed to board the station with her weapons, for some reason station security was nervous about her bringing them aboard. She really didn’t understand why, when her magic was far more dangerous than her weapons, but she wasn’t going to argue. Not when she’d been asked by two of her guests to show them around.

“Have you never been aboard a station before?” Evelyn asked Ilyra, glancing at the wide-eyed celestine. The woman was getting almost as many odd looks as Vaneryth, and the three of them were garnering more attention than Evelyn cared for. She was sure that someone had managed to figure out who she was, even with the dark-lensed glasses she’d worn. She had no idea why Fya had suggested that they’d allow her to go relatively unnoticed, when it was patently obvious that wasn’t true.

The main concourse of Argon was a large space, almost a city block of shops and stores that rose three floors, connected by an intricate web of catwalks, with Nald visible through multiple layers of protective overhead windows. The stores themselves were brilliantly lit, with holographic displays, augmented reality which tried to interface with their implants, and even a few physical items here and there. Most of the items were either examples, like clothing so that people could test how the material felt, or items that couldn’t easily be made with rapid manufacturing.

All around them were crowds of people from every port of known space as well, though Evelyn’s presence had given them a modicum more room than they normally would have gotten. She’d seen numerous trios of senne, with their blue skin and towering heights, elves in virtually every color of the rainbow, though admittedly that was mostly hair colors, half-elves, kobolds, dwarves, a couple of groups of green and red-skinned orcs, a handful of celestines, and even one young dragon on a hover-platform so he wouldn’t have to brave the crowds. Of course, humans were the most common species present, but with all of the others they barely made up half of the station population. Angels, on the other hand, were not present. Nor were demons as far as Evelyn could tell, though a couple of people were demon blooded.

“I have!” Ilyra said, blushing slightly as she almost immediately admitted. “Only once, though, when I was boarding the liner to leave Brightdawn, and the shuttle docked at the same terminal as the liner, so I didn’t get to see much. It was considered unladylike to board stations, especially when we weren’t allowed to leave the system. What was the point?”

“Mm, a fair reason,” Evelyn admitted, and glanced at Vaneryth. “And you?”

“I’ve come across space stations before, but my time on them was always brief. Normally, I was only aboard a station for long enough to perform a blessing or receive a request,” Vaneryth said, shrugging uncomfortably as she added. “I must say that experiencing them this way is… unsettling. I believe that is more due to the fact I’m more vulnerable than I have been in… longer than I care to think about.”

“You’re still more powerful than ninety-five percent of the people here, if not more,” Evelyn replied calmly, giving a couple of nearby security guards and their robotic backup a thoughtful look. They paled a little, which amused her. “Either way, at this point much depends on what position you’ve chosen.”

“That’s something I’ve struggled with, especially since Zelirana is aboard,” the angel admitted, frowning a little as she drifted slightly closer to Evelyn. “I originally was thinking maybe I could be a medic, but… I feel like that wouldn’t help my discomfort. What about learning navigation, as well as some more common combat skills?”

Evelyn examined the angel, a smile tugging at the edges of her lips that she suppressed. If she smiled, some of the people watching might take it as an invitation, and she did not want that. She preferred that they be nervous about coming anywhere near her. But she had a thought of why Vaneryth wanted to learn navigation.

“Let me see… based on that, and how you lost your wings… you’re wanting to learn piloting so you can fly again?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow curiously.

Vaneryth colored slightly, but she nodded, not trying to deny it. “Yes… that’s right. I miss being able to fly under my own power. It isn’t like I could fly as far as your ships can, but the wind ruffling through my feathers, the chance to feel the sun against my skin while flying… I miss it. It was freeing, and even if it wouldn’t be the same…”

Evelyn laughed softly, nodding in agreement. “I believe I understand. I’ve only flown a few times, and that was via magic, so it’s a different situation entirely. However, that means getting a few piloting and navigation teaching programs. They shouldn’t be too difficult to find, or that expensive… but let me think…”

She pondered for a few more moments before nodding firmly. “I believe that what you need is a proper flight suit along with a couple of other outfits. Armor for combat isn’t a concern, fortunately, but it’ll take some time to fit you for one properly. Do you prefer lighter or heavier armor?”

“I… hadn’t considered that, to be perfectly honest. I didn’t really use armor most of the time, since I didn’t need it,” Vaneryth said, a frown flickering across her face. “Unlike now. But whichever you think is best?”

“Excellent,” Evelyn said, using her implants to find the stores they’d need for the flight suit and training programs in question. One of them wasn’t too far, but she glanced at Ilyra this time as she smiled. “And you? I’m guessing that you either want an escort to find where to enroll in a university, or you’re planning to stay aboard the ship.”

“I… did want to stay aboard, yes,” Ilyra said, flushing as she cleared her throat. “If the experiences with leaving Brightdawn taught me anything, it’s that even places I think are safe aren’t. The others would’ve taught me that, too. I mean, Tianna was going on vacation when she was taken!”

“This is true. You were also rather… valuable,” Evelyn said, resisting the urge to sigh. “So… what role are you looking at?”

“Magic. I want to learn magic, like what you can do,” Ilyra said promptly, and Vaneryth let out a soft choking sound.

Evelyn examined the young woman for a few moments, a little surprised. Not too surprised, of course… she imagined many magi wanted her power, but it wasn’t something most of them would be able to gain in any reasonable time. After a few seconds she came to a decision and spoke softly.

“Ilyra, that is likely a vain hope,” Evelyn said. “My power is inborn, and my magical talent is… immense. I’ve never heard of anyone in the last two centuries having been born with a similar talent, so the odds of you managing to get to where I am in a short time, even with years of practice, is vanishingly small.”

“Oh, I know that! I’m a good mage, but what you do… it’s what I’ve heard of Archmagi doing, not someone like me. I want to learn, and I know that I can’t now, but… not many people focus on magic anymore. It’s something different, and I want to become an Archmage, someday. To show my family that I could do it, even if they thought I couldn’t,” Ilyra said, flashing a smile at Evelyn. “I’d be happy to learn other things, too! I could learn to cook, or do other stuff, but what I want is to learn magic, to eventually get there.”

“Hm. As you like. Fortunately, we already have a high-quality cooking program, as Beatrice shoved hers into the ship’s buffer,” Evelyn agreed, considering for just a moment more, then internally winced as she decided on another store. While she didn’t care for someplace like Celestial Designs herself, the clothing there would almost perfectly suit the two women, and she wasn’t going to shortchange them by getting low-quality clothing or things that weren’t appropriate for them. “We’ll get you a shipsuit and a couple of changes of clothing as well. Beyond that, anything you purchase has to be from your own funds. While I’m willing to pay you if you’re going to be part of the ship’s crew, that’s going to have to wait until I look at contracts.”

“Sure!” Ilyra chirped, smiling widely. “Where are we going first?”

Vaneryth nodded, edging away from a couple of young men who’d come closer than most others, one of them with a leer on his face. Evelyn fixed a hard glare on him, pausing to focus fully, and when his gaze shifted to her, there was just an instant of derision in his gaze before it turned to caution, then fear. He and his friend vacated the area rapidly after that, and Evelyn watched them go, then spoke.

“Astral Space Supplies,” Evelyn answered at last. “They’ll have the suits we want, or at least can manufacture them on-site, and the teaching programs. Then Celestial Designs, which is up on the third floor. Not my sort of clothing, it tends to be all bright colors, but I suspect it’ll suit the two of you better.”

“How do you do that?” Ilyra asked, staring at the thugs.

“Hm?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

“Make people who’re nasty run like that,” the celestine explained, waving in the general direction of the retreating thugs.

“Oh, simple. They’re small-time scavengers at most, maybe even minor predators. However, when they come across a bigger, more powerful predator, they realize what they’re facing and… leave,” Evelyn said, smiling slightly. “In my case, it’s likely because I am willing to kill them if they step out of line, and they could tell.”

“I’ve never felt that way about you. Not even when you’ve threatened me and Zelirana,” Vaneryth said, frowning.

Evelyn laughed and patted her on the shoulder, smiling as she explained. “Simple, Vaneryth. You didn’t deserve it.”

With that, she led the way through the crowds, which parted before her like a school of minnows before a shark. Who said that people didn’t have survival instincts?

* * *

“This is going to give me heart failure,” Amy said, inhaling slowly as she unwrapped the stick of gum. This one was the type that contained a sedative, for when she needed to calm down. She had stimulant versions as well, but the gods knew she didn’t need them right now.

“Don’t give me that shit. You aren’t one of the poor sods having to watch her up-close,” Commander Hadriak replied, the orc watching the screens in the security center from just behind her. “If it goes wrong, they’re the ones who’re going to get ripped to shreds.”

Half the screens in the Promenade Security Center displayed Evelyn Tarth from different angles. Some of them were operating off passive scans, as the computers tried to gauge how much of a threat Evelyn really was, but they didn’t have much to go off of. Either the woman had some incredibly quiet cyberware, aside from the implants in her nervous system, or she didn’t have any additional cyberware. Based on the reports Amy had seen about the woman’s conquest of Peldra, she doubted that the latter was the case. No one who could toss a light mech a dozen meters lacked physical cyber enhancements.

At least someone had finally shut down the mana detector that’d been trained on Evelyn. Hearing it beep loudly had been headache-inducing, and they really didn’t need to know that she had more mana than about half the station’s population put together. It was terrifying, but after the first report, there wasn’t much reason to dwell on it.

That was why half the department was on standby while Evelyn was aboard the station, including the squad that normally dealt with, oh… mercenaries who decided that they were going to take the station over. With anyone else, that would’ve been enough to set Amy at ease, yet she found herself wondering if it’d be enough. Even with Evelyn unarmed.

“Won’t help if she blows us to hell and back.” Amy said after a minute, inhaling slowly as she started chewing the gum. “What’re we going to do if she goes hostile, boss?”

“Depends on how tough she really is. If she’s as nasty as rumors make out? Die, mostly, then the fleet will get involved.” Hadriak replied, though he didn’t seem that worried. “Doubt that’ll happen, though. I’ve gotten a couple of security briefings about her from NIA, and they’ve been keeping an eye on her for years. She never starts trouble, which is why we’re trying to keep the idiots away from her.”

Amy nodded, glancing at the other screens, then focused on the two women beside Evelyn, and shook her head in bewilderment. They were pretty, and the halo above the one blonde’s head looked natural, which was a shock, but based on initial reports it made some sense. Even Amy knew that angels didn’t end up on the slave market often, and she could only imagine how someone had gotten their hands on one. She had to give a tiny bit of grudging respect that Evelyn had freed the slaves… even if only when relaxed by the sedative. That didn’t answer the most pressing question she had, though.

“Have to wonder… why in the hell is she taking them shopping?” Amy asked, raising her gaze to the ceiling for a moment. “The amount of overtime this has to be costing is ridiculous!”

“I don’t know, and don’t care. As long as she doesn’t cause trouble, the Council will be happy. If they object to the operating costs, I’ll just share the list of damage dealt in Rakal the last time she got upset and ask if they’d prefer that,” Hadriak replied, then clapped Amy on the shoulder. “Keep an eye on her and let me know if we need to intervene before someone pisses her off. If she leaves without incident, I’ll consider that a resounding success.”

“Alright, boss,” Amy agreed, and turned back to the screen, relaxation easing her nerves as the sedative started kicking in fully. “If we manage it, I’ll buy you a drink, alright?”

“Hah, on your salary? Nah, I’m going to buy the whole department a round,” Hadriak replied with a laugh, then wandered away.

Amy sighed, wishing that her boss wasn’t denser than a rock. It was probably just as well, though… if he wasn’t, she might have to change departments.

Pushing the thought aside, Amy focused on watching one of the most notorious tyrants in known space walk into a crewman supply shop and wondered what would happen next.

Chapter 24

“Well, crap,” Star said, prompting Moon to look up from the data pad she had on the table. While she could read the messages they’d gotten back on her implants, she found that looking at them helped her absorb the information better. Not that she disagreed with her sister’s sentiments… what she’d read so far turned her stomach.

It was late, by shipboard time, at least, but they’d gotten responses when the next draconic ship had come through the gate, which didn’t surprise her at all. That was why they were in the cabin they’d decided to share, going over the letters they’d received. Moon was mostly surprised they hadn’t gotten a video message from their parents instead of letters.

“What is it?” Moon asked after a second, running her fingers through her hair. “I just finished getting through the letter from Mom and Dad, and was starting on the one from Uni.”

“Don’t bother with that one. They’re horrified to hear about what happened to us, blah, blah, we’ve lost our scholarships, blah blah, but they’re happy to transfer our records to a new school if we so desire. They don’t want us back, we’d be living reminders that a couple of their students got shipped off to slavers,” Star said in a tone that could’ve curdled milk, a mulish look on her face. “I say we send a message to the media, talking about what happened to us and what their response has been.”

“That… sounds like it might be a good idea,” Moon agreed, grimacing. “Mom and Dad want us to come home, of course. They’ve said stuff about therapy and getting back to school, but I’m noticing they aren’t giving lots of details.”

“I’m not surprised. That’s why I started with the university and what Uncle Erwin sent me,” Star said, grimacing slightly. “He says that they’re in… pretty bad shape, financially. They’ve been putting every last credit they could spare into trying to find us ever since we went missing, and more besides. They’ve taken several loans against the house, too, and are barely keeping their heads above water. He didn’t say that they’re refusing help, but… you know how Mom is.”

“Dammit,” Moon said, reaching up to rub her forehead as she thought about her mother. Her stubborn, independent mother who’d rather die than request help from anyone. She thought for a few seconds, then asked. “How bad is it?”

“Pretty bad. Based on what he’s said, they’re probably about twenty thousand in debt. But that’s coming from Uncle Erwin, so it’s probably worse than that. Based on the exchange rates, call it a minimum of two thousand and fifty mythrite in debt,” Star said, looking up from the data pad unhappily. “I’d guess that it’s probably much worse than that. Even if we get back… neither of us has finished school. I’m betting we can get some financial aid, and if we save as much as possible, we can probably give them nine hundred and eighty mythrite or so, but…”

“But we’re still going to be in terrible shape,” Moon said, rubbing her temples again as she grimaced. “With my skills, I’d guess I could get a decent job instead, but not a great one. What… fifteen thousand creds a year? You?”

“Maybe you could do better, but as an entry-level accountant… yeah, that’d require certifications, though,” Star said, sighing. “I’d guess something similar. Not great, and it doesn’t take into account living expenses, how hard it might be to get a job, or anything like that. We’re missing three years of job or school experience, and even if we were in stasis…”

“Yup. Fuck, we never should’ve gone to that party,” Moon groused, flopping backward. “Did Stacey get kidnapped too?”

“Nope. According to Uncle, she’s working on her doctorate in AI Computing,” Star replied, a note of disgust in her voice. “It just figures.”

“Yeah, she invited us, and she got out just fine,” Moon replied, squirming to get into a more comfortable position on the small sofa as she thought for a few seconds, churning through possibilities… then paused. “Um, did Evelyn ever say how much she was willing to pay? She said she was willing to pay us if we stayed on as crew, right? I seem to remember something like that.”

“Yes… she didn’t say how much she’d pay, though,” Star replied slowly, looking at Moon skeptically. “What’re you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that we need to examine all the options we’ve got. Do you have any idea how much removing the control chips or paying the hacker cost?” Moon asked, raising her head to look back at Star. She found this ironic, since she wasn’t the one going into accounting.

“Not off-hand, no,” Star replied, her gaze growing distant for a moment, then she focused on Moon again. “But assuming it was close to the local rates, surgery and healing of that type would run about five thousand credits, which is right around five hundred mythrite. Expensive, especially with any increase for it being a dangerous world, but she gave each of us double that.”

“Ah, then I know something you don’t,” Moon said, smiling slightly more. “One of Doctor Inda’s assistants said that they were being paid five times the normal rate to come to the ship and do the work. Then add that hacker’s rate.”

Star paused, seeming to be doing the math visibly, and her eyes widened a little. “You’re saying she probably paid… twenty-five or thirty-thousand mythrite to free all of us, on top of the ten thousand she paid the hacker?”

“You do math better than me, but I’m guessing closer to fifty thousand or so. Let’s call it sixty, actually. If you divide that by the ‘bout fifteen we might be able to make… that’s like forty years salary at what we were talking about starting at. And she didn’t even blink,” Moon explained, causing Star’s expression to turn thoughtful.

“That’s… yeah, that’s a good point.” Star admitted, pausing for a few seconds, then let out a sigh. “That doesn’t mean she’ll pay well, though. Or even help us.”

“It doesn’t. It doesn’t mean anything at all… but I think we should talk to her,” Moon said, shrugging. “It isn’t like she’ll do anything worse than tell us no, right? She’s been nice, and… well, I like her.”

“We both like her. She’s sexy and dangerous. Not dangerous like Mike, but actually dangerous, but nice if you aren’t an enemy,” Star said, referring to an old crush of theirs, watching Moon thoughtfully. “Question is, are you looking for excuses to stay?”

“Sort of. I… I’m a little scared to go home, honestly,” Moon admitted, a shudder rippling through her as she paused, then sighed. “Everything will have changed. It has been three years, and even if we didn’t experience it, Mom and Dad have been grieving for us, while everyone else has moved on. Plus, how’re we supposed to know it won’t happen again? That one of us won’t walk down the wrong alley and zap, unconscious and off to some slow freighter out of the system? I doubt we’d be lucky enough to have someone like Evelyn rescue us again.”

“That’s a point. But how many people disappear like that every year back on Corrida?” Star asked, tilting her head curiously.

“I don’t know. It happened once, though,” Moon retorted, then frowned. “Do you feel that strongly against it? You’re arguing a lot.”

“No, I’m trying to make sure you’re thinking this through,” Star corrected, a smile flickering across her face. “I don’t mind the idea of staying, but I want to be sure it’s for the right reasons. For me… well, she’s run her own business, and was obviously successful, so I could learn a lot from her. I’ve looked up the price of the armor she wears, and even without enchantments, it’s worth more than our parent’s house. And I’m sure it’s been customized further than that.”

“Alright, then,” Moon said, pausing for a moment, then asked. “We talk to her tomorrow morning, tell her what the situation is, and see what she says?”

“Seems fair. Lying to her seems like a terrible idea, and if nothing else, she can tell us no. Or maybe she’ll point us in a direction we hadn’t thought of,” Star agreed.

“Good. Now to finish reading these, and I can think about how to reply,” Moon said, rolling back upright so she could read more.

Star laughed, then started doing the same.

* * *

“Hmm. A tricky situation, isn’t it?” Evelyn murmured, looking at the twins thoughtfully as she sat in the small room she’d set aside for meeting with the various women.

“It is. I know you offered jobs, but… we’d have to figure out how much they paid, then decide what makes the most sense,” Star said, shrugging as a flash of guilt crossed her face. “I know our parents would love to see us, but if they’re in debt, I don’t want to make their situation worse.”

Evelyn nodded, toying with a lock of hair as she sat back, considering for several seconds. She’d never really paid that much attention to how wealthy she was, if she was being honest. Not in comparison to normal people. When she was preparing to overthrow Peldra it’d been a concern, but not much after that. A thought brought her finances to the fore of her implants, and Evelyn considered the number for several seconds. The main issue was to not let the account get too low, as far as she was concerned… but she wouldn’t have many problems with that. No, she could afford to be reasonably generous.

“What positions are you interested in?” Evelyn asked after a few moments.

“I’m training as a chef, so I thought that would fit. I’d also like to learn to fight, but I’ll understand if that isn’t possible,” Moon said.

“And I’m thinking… what’s the term for someone who handles finances aboard a ship?” Star asked, frowning.

“It depends, but a purser or quartermaster are the ones I’ve heard most often,” Evelyn replied, smiling in amusement.

“Then I’d like to learn to do that. Maybe I can help you and learn enough that I’d be able to be in a better place in the future,” Star said, looking Evelyn in the eyes as she smiled nervously. “I know it’s a bit…”

Evelyn dismissed her apology before it could come out, running a couple of searches, then sat forward. “Very well, I have an amount I’d offer. I still have to write up the contracts, but here are the basics. Two-year minimum contract, at which point renegotiation is possible. With that, you would get three thousand mythrite per year, plus room and board aboard ship or in my place of residence, whichever I choose. Considering your situation, I am willing to offer two thousand mythrite as an advance, with a thousand coming out of each year of pay, split evenly over the duration.”

“Uh…” Moon hesitated, her eyes huge, and looked at Star, a slight look of desperation on her face.

“May I ask if that’s for both of us, or each?” Star asked after a moment, licking her lips nervously.

“Each, of course,” Evelyn said, her smile widening. “It wouldn’t do much good to give you what you’d be able to earn elsewhere, would it?”

“That’s… about what we’d make if we were graduates, though!” Star protested. “We were a year from that!”

“And? You’re planning to learn, and do the best you can, are you not?” Evelyn asked, looking at her. The two women nodded numbly, and she smiled. “Well, then it’s settled. That’s my offer. Figure out what you want to do, I need to browse ship listings, and it seems that at least two of your fellow passengers are preparing to leave.”

“Really?” Moon asked, blinking a couple of times, then asked. “Um, I mean the others… who is leaving already?”

“Already? The two of you had the longest turnaround time on messages,” Evelyn replied, raising an eyebrow sardonically. “Orm has already packed and is simply waiting on the ship heading to her destination, Peldri is arguing with Tianna about something silly in the break room, and Dirax has already packed her bags. I expect all of them to leave shortly, though Tianna may not. I’m not certain. Beatrice seems to be waiting for another message, she’s sent at least six of them out at this point.”

“I…” Star looked at Moon, who returned the look, and their embarrassment was enough to make Evelyn chuckle.

“You have time. Go, think. Make a decision. Just remember who I am. You can do searches, you know,” Evelyn said, gently flicking her fingers at them to shoo them out. “I have things to do.”

“Yes, Evelyn. We’ll… we’ll discuss it,” Star said, standing up and bowing her head a little, with Moon following her example. “Thank you, for everything.”

Evelyn considered replying, but then she just sighed and watched them leave. Only once they were gone did she murmur, “Why am I letting them stay anyway? Ah, well…”

She shrugged and turned her attention back to the network. The ship was going to be much quieter soon enough.

Chapter 25

When Evelyn decided to look at ships to purchase, the first thing she did was remove every listing which involved an auction. While she was certain there were ships that she might want up for auction, the problem was that others could artificially inflate the price, and she didn’t want to have anything to do with that. No, she wanted a ship she could use, as well as one that was reasonably priced.

Excluding the tiny ships was easy enough, but after that it grew harder. Plenty of bulk haulers fit her search parameters, at least roughly, and a lot of the used ship dealers were the types to try to make sure their ships showed up in as many categories as possible, which was incredibly aggravating.

Eventually she managed to work her way through the options, though she also took a look at some of the new ship dealers. The problem there was that virtually none of them fit her requirements… though there were a few that were close. In the end, Evelyn had four options, and looked at the holograms slowly rotating above her console with a frown.

Most expensive of the lot was a Halcyon Yards Astral Sojourner, built new in the yards only four AU away. The ship would be considered a heavy cruiser by the standards of most navies, which was only appropriate, as it was intended to function as a feudal lord’s personal command ship in battle, and thus had the armor, armament, and plush interior that both she and Fya would like. Evelyn’s primary issue with the ship… well, there were two issues. She gave even odds that the yards would either refuse to sell to her, or they’d inflate the price even more when they found out who she was. The other issue was that she didn’t care for gold and ivory exteriors, and changing the colors would take still more money and time. She wasn’t going to wait for a ship to be custom-built.

Second on the list was the merchant cruiser Invincible, poorly named in Evelyn’s opinion, since the yard had been forced to completely refit the ship after it’d been disabled. Invincible had been a convoy escort for nearly fifty years before being wrecked, which meant that its weapons were old, but it was about the right tonnage for a heavy cruiser, and the modular, sturdy design meant that updating its weapons was relatively easy. Evelyn was mostly concerned that it wouldn’t be as nice as what she wanted… and from the listing, she suspected numerous mercenary companies would be vying for it soon. The ship had an impressive cargo hold, but the module could be easily replaced with several barracks, drop bays, fighter hangars, or even a combination of the three.

The next ship was a light cruiser, this one similar to the Astral Sojourner, but it was used in this case. The Don Dormal wasn’t anything too unusual for its type; heavily armored, relatively lushly appointed, and heavily armed, but much of its furnishings had been damaged when the subordinates of the previous owner had mutinied. It was also haunted, which explained to Evelyn why the ship hadn’t been kept by the new council ruling the small asteroid colony in question. Ghosts were never easy to deal with.

Last of the lot was a ship that… well, Evelyn was dubious of it as well. She had no clue who had built the Hellion’s Smile, as the ship wasn’t designed like most of the ones she’d seen. The entire center of the ship was a massive, open tube which used magic and technology as an acceleration rail. It was designed for missiles or torpedoes, but its entry helpfully explained that it could be used to launch anything that fit inside the tube, from chunks of asteroids to rail gun rounds to fighters, assuming you didn’t want the pilot around anymore. The acceleration was simply too great for any known compensator to deal with. The ship had other weapons as well, and heavy armor, but it was a touch on the small side for what she wanted, which was… annoying.

“Why is it so hard to find a sexy, intimidating ship which has the sort of furnishings I’d like?” Evelyn asked aloud, sitting back in her chair as she glowered at the holograms, then shut the projector off. “The sanest of them is going to be too expensive, and if I go for the ship with the ghost, first I have to hunt down the stupid spirits and remove them, then I can get it refitted. Otherwise it’d be paying through the nose to try to get new fittings in place, and that assumes the spirits don’t ruin them.”

No one replied, of course. That was the problem with being in her private quarters, as well as the advantage. She could talk to herself without anyone deciding to chime in with their own two mythrite.

At least she’d gotten a few contracts put together. After a great deal of thought, she’d decided to give all of the people who wanted to stay aboard the same offers and had used a standardized ship contract she’d purchased for a pittance, then plugged in her terms. Sending it to a legal bot had allowed her to find out where she needed to clarify some terms, and after two more rounds she had a solid contract which wouldn’t allow them to shortchange her easily. Oh, they wouldn’t be restricted from quitting, but they’d have to pay back the advance that they hadn’t earned after a reasonable time period, assuming they took the advance. Not that Evelyn expected any of them to quit if they were willing to sign on with her at all, but there wasn’t any way to know for certain.

The chime at her door distracted Evelyn, and she frowned, checking who was on the other side, then raised her eyebrows as she recognized Orm. The woman was wearing a colorful, flowing green outfit and had a small suitcase behind her. It made it obvious what the woman was here for, so Evelyn turned, opening the door with a mental command.

“Hello, Orm. I’m guessing that you’re leaving now?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow curiously.

“I am, and I wished to convey my deepest respects for what you have done for me,” Orm replied, propping up her suitcase and bowing deeply before Evelyn. “You rescued me from the depths when I believed all breath was lost. You drew me up into warm waters, where I could see the sun and find my bearings once more. I cannot begin to express my gratitude fully and I will pass along your deeds to my people.”

“I did what I felt was necessary, no more and no less. There is no need to thank me,” Evelyn replied, a smile creeping onto her face at the woman’s comments. “You are welcome, though. I wish you safe travels on your trip home. I hope that you reach there swiftly and safely.”

“And I wish you the best weather in thy travels. May the currents ever be at thy back, and the waters taste pure and refreshing,” Orm said, straightening once more as she smiled at Evelyn. “Alas, I must go. The tides have turned, and they wait for no one.”

“Then go. Safe travels, Orm.” Evelyn told her, smiling as the aquana bowed once more, then took her suitcase and made her way out. Evelyn tracked the woman down the corridors, through the hatch, and until she was out of sight of Daggerhound’s systems. Evelyn waited a few moments more, then shook her head, murmuring softly, “Well, it is what it is. Her path is her own, and if she remains free… well. Good enough.”

She hadn’t even gotten settled in when she noticed the elves approaching, arguing amongst themselves. Evelyn had no idea why Dirax, Peldri, and Tianna argued so much, but they did, and they tended to stay in the same area a lot. She’d think that they disliked one another, but if they had, she would’ve thought they’d avoid one another instead. Right as they reached the door, Evelyn opened it, leaning back in her chair.

“I just said goodbye to Orm. I assume that the rest of you are following her?” Evelyn asked, tilting her head slightly.

“Yes, but not in the manner your comment might indicate,” Dirax said, smiling slightly. “I’ve received word that the majority of my accounts remain intact, my cousin’s attempts to claim the public ones notwithstanding. As I wish to return and ensure that as many of my things remain mine as possible, I’m chartering a ship to take me to Soreal as soon as possible.”

“And I’m going with her, since it turns out that I’m from the same planet,” Peldri added, a slightly defensive tone to her voice.

Evelyn examined her for a half-second, then spoke mildly. “There’s nothing wrong with finding her attractive, you know. Besides, the two of you have been through an immensely distressing shared experience. I’m told that tends to forge rather strong bonds.”

Peldri’s cheeks abruptly turned a bright red, and she opened her mouth, then shut it, then opened it again. It was Dirax that spoke instead, a hint of amusement in her voice. “I… believed that we’d hidden it better than that.”

“Fya is a shameless spy and gossips more than anyone else I’ve known,” Evelyn replied, and glanced at Tianna, raising an eyebrow. “And you? Are you going with them as well, Tianna?”

“No… I am getting a hotel room on the other end of the station, though. There’s a ship heading back home tomorrow morning, and it’s early enough I don’t want to risk getting stuck halfway there,” Tianna said, smiling nervously. “I just figured it’d be best to talk to you all at the same time rather than each of us coming to you separately. I also wanted to say… thank you. I’d have had trouble getting back home easily without what you gave me, as my family said that most of my assets are locked up in court at the moment. At least my company is willing to give me my job back! My boss was horrified to hear what happened.”

“An excellent point,” Evelyn conceded, smiling slightly. “I also hadn’t considered that courts might have gotten involved… that’s an unpleasant thought. When I died, at least that wasn’t a concern. We started over with the resources Fya had on-hand. In any case… look at it this way. You at least got a free upgrade to tier four implants, no?”

“True! That’ll make my job a lot easier,” Tianna said, her expression brightening. “Anyway, thank you! If you ever need some freelance programming, let me know! I’ll see what I can manage.”

“Yes, it’s very appreciated,” Dirax agreed, while Peldri simply mumbled something under her breath, to Evelyn’s amusement. The elf was just… odd. Though she didn’t blame her, not really.

“In that case, don’t let me keep you. Try not to end up in the same position again,” Evelyn replied, looking at each of them in turn, then shrugged. “It’s your choice, though.”

“I’m certainly going to try!” Tianna said, smiling nervously.

The three gave their last farewells, then left the ship. Evelyn just watched them go, considering for several seconds, then reached out through the ship systems and contacted Fya.

“We’re down to just Beatrice and the five who’re probably staying, so I think it’s time to get things worked out. Could you come to my… I suppose it may as well be my office,” Evelyn said.

“Sure, milady! I’ll be right there!” Fya replied eagerly, and Evelyn let go of the line, taking a moment to track down Beatrice.

The half-elf didn’t look happy as she paced, looking at a data pad in one hand while frowning. Evelyn suspected that whatever she’d learned hadn’t made her happy, but she wasn’t going to interfere in that. No, Beatrice would only be her problem if she tried to stay, though having a trained medic would be nice. You never knew when you’d need one, and as powerful as Evelyn was, she wasn’t immune to viruses or diseases. Resistant, but not immune.

A minute later Fya was at her door, which slid open to admit her almost immediately. She approached and gave Evelyn a hug, then asked, “So, what’s the plan?”

“The problem is that I don’t see any good choices.” Evelyn replied, letting out a sigh as she activated the holographic projectors again. “Take a look and tell me what you think.”

Fya’s gaze turned sharp as she examined the holograms, then she frowned a little as Evelyn felt her perusing the files. It was an odd sensation, feeling someone else accessing the same files, but it did help her know that they were on the same page. By the time the three had departed, Fya was mostly done with her review, and a few minutes later she stopped, looking at the holograms again.

“Not good is right. I think that the Don… Dormal, was it? Anyway, it’s out, because I don’t like dealing with ghosts. They’re icky, annoying, and nigh-impossible to be sure you’ve eliminated. Gone for months, then they pop back into existence.” Fya said, her tone brisk and focused, something that would surprise most people. “Invincible is a much better choice, but it’s going to have lots of people after it. I’ll bet you a thousand mythrite that by the time we got there, it’d have sold.”

“Not taking that bet,” Evelyn replied dryly, a smile playing across her lips.

“Didn’t think you would! That leaves the expensive ship, and I like that one a lot, but it is expensive, and the Hellion’s Smile,” Fya said, examining each in turn, though she looked a little dubious. “If you were planning to kill people, the latter would be perfect, but it’s cramped and doesn’t have space for a mech. I think you’ll want one eventually, and the other could hold four of them, if you got rid of a couple of shuttles or fighter pads. I don’t think that’s what you’re actively wanting to do, though. So… in that case, I think the only real option is the expensive one.”

Evelyn grimaced and nodded reluctantly, letting out a heavy sigh. “That… was about the conclusion I’d come to. I was really, really hoping that you’d see something I didn’t, but… beggars can’t be choosers. Unless we were willing to wait for a custom-built ship to come out of the yards, and I sure am not waiting for that, we’re going to have to go with something imperfect. The problem I see is that they’ll likely jack the price the second they realize I’m involved.”

“Sure they would,” Fya agreed, smiling in amusement, her eyes glittering with mischief. “If you’re the one who goes to buy it, anyway. If you aren’t, we might be able to even bargain it down slightly. Probably not much, but… every bit helps, right?”

“Yes… but the question is what you’re thinking where that’s concerned,” Evelyn said, looking at Fya skeptically. “If I don’t go, that pretty much leaves you. I didn’t think you liked doing that sort of thing.”

“I don’t like leaving. When I leave, you get yourself killed,” Fya teased, grinning broadly at her. “But that doesn’t mean that I can’t. I mean, think about it. I can play the rich, arrogant noblewoman, but the problem is usually a lack of staff. But if you give me Zelirana as a majordomo, and the twins as my personal chef and accountant, I’ll bet you that I can trick them. We can even change my appearance to make sure they don’t realize that I’m your friend! Then I can buy it and sell it to you for a mythrite and a night in bed. We’d have to break in the bed anyway, so I think that’d be perfectly reasonable.”

“You’d be buying it with my money,” Evelyn pointed out, scowling at the djinn. “Why should I have to buy it from you?”

“Because you like me, Milady,” Fya replied unrepentantly, and Evelyn let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead as she thought.

“Damn it. You probably have the right idea, even if I feel like it isn’t the right thing to do,” Evelyn groused after a moment, staring at the holograms, then killed them again. “We’ll wait on making a decision, though. Only Zelirana has signed her contract, and we do have Beatrice aboard. I don’t quite trust her, so I’d rather wait until she’s off the ship before making a final decision, or telling the others.”

“Sounds good!” Fya agreed, grinning broadly. “So, you think she might be considering trying for your bounty too?”

“That’s right.” Evelyn confirmed, smiling a little as she added. “Though the incident with the Nebula Runner seems to have changed her mind slightly.”

Fya began giggling, and Evelyn managed to hold back her laughter for all of about ten seconds losing control. She never did understand why people who didn’t have much of a chance were willing to attack her. It seemed like suicide to her, but it was their funerals.

Chapter 26

“I’ve made my decision.” Beatrice said, and Evelyn looked over at her, still doing her squats. The machine adding weight to her back made it harder, but that just made it good exercise.

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, breathing slowly and evenly. “I was beginning to wonder. You sent off a lot of messages.”

“Yes, well, it seems that the mutiny succeeded, and I had to contact a lot of people to figure out if I had anything left,” Beatrice said, grimacing and shaking her head. “More than I was afraid of, but less than I’d like. Unfortunately, that means that I didn’t have a position to go back to, unlike some of the others. I thought about it, then applied to several other companies that had tried to poach me over the years. I found a position, and they agreed to wait for me a couple of systems over while they resupplied, so… I’m going to be heading out. Thank you for the funds, they’re making this easier. Replacing my gear isn’t going to be easy, but I’ll manage.”

“Ah. I’m sure you will,” Evelyn said. After a few moments she asked. “Dare I ask which company you joined?”

“Well… Adrian’s Battalion,” Beatrice replied, a flicker of embarrassment crossing her face as she continued. “I know they aren’t actually a battalion, but they’re a good company to work for, assuming that the same thing doesn’t happen again. That would be unpleasant.”

“I’ve heard of them, and you’re right. They have a good reputation,” Evelyn agreed, smiling. “I considered hiring them before I overthrew Peldra, but it turned out that they were occupied, and it wasn’t really necessary. It’s just as well, considering everything that happened. They might have gotten some backlash after I decided I didn’t want to rule anymore.”

“I… hadn’t realized that,” Beatrice said, examining Evelyn again, almost cautiously this time. “Anyway, I’ll be going.”

“Very well. Have a safe trip. Perhaps we’ll cross paths again,” Evelyn told her, and started exercising again as the woman made her way out.

Evelyn just hoped the woman wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to get the company to come after her. They did have a good reputation, and she’d rather not destroy them utterly. If she had to, though… well, that would be that.

She didn’t pay it any more mind, though. Once Beatrice was gone, she be able to have a nice discussion with the others.

* * *

“So, are you alright with this?” Evelyn asked, looking at the women around the table.

There were significantly less of them than there had been before, which was something that made Evelyn happier in some ways. She far preferred having people aboard who wanted to be aboard. It was just the twins, Fya, Ilyra, Vaneryth, and Zelirana at this point, which was a more intimate group, in her opinion. Only the twins had taken the advance, though the other two had happily taken the contract. Evelyn was mostly amused that the succubus had also taken Ilyra and the twins shopping a couple of times.

“Most certainly!” Zelirana said, grinning like a cat that had caught a particularly tasty bird. “This plays to my strengths! Oh, I think I’ll need an outfit or two just for this, but those will be rather useful regardless, so I won’t ask that you pay for them. When would we be leaving?”

Evelyn looked at Fya, who smiled and shrugged. “Tomorrow, most likely. I know there are two ships going that way, but we need to book passage in a properly prestigious ship. Otherwise, they might not believe us when I give them a long, flowery title. I mean, it isn’t real, or at least not on this plane, but I’d rather they believed us.”

“My biggest concern is… me,” Moon chimed in, looking embarrassed. “I never finished my training, after all.”

“Ah, but can you identify a kitchen that’s laid out in a useable way, and which has all the tools you’d need for the job?” Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Yes? Probably, at least, as long as it isn’t anything too exotic,” Moon hedged, shifting in her chair.

“If it is too exotic, then you’ve found a problem,” Zelirana replied, clicking her tongue. “These sorts of things should be familiar for almost any chef, with plenty of space for someone to bring in their own unique appliances. I’ll help you with your poise and attitude along the way, however. You’ll be expected to have a certain bearing, but I’ll deflect questions unless they’re specifically about cooking. That should make it easier for you.”

“Ah… thank you,” Moon said, her face coloring slightly.

“What about me? I don’t see what I’d be useful for,” Star said, frowning.

“A noblewoman rarely controls her own finances,” Fya said, raising her nose in the air and sniffing. “Maybe negotiate, of course, though I may foist that off on Zelirana, but I’d be looking at you to ensure that we have the funds available. Essentially, you’ll be told how much we have to spend on the trip, and it’s your job to ‘rein me in’ if I go overboard. Respectfully, of course… but most likely you’ll just whisper in Zelirana’s ear and have her do it. The entire point is to make me out to be some ridiculously wealthy noble with more money than common sense, so they’ll sell the ship without any qualms.”

“I just wish it wasn’t primarily ivory and gold,” Evelyn said, looking at the hologram again unhappily. “Why not black and red? Or even, I don’t know, royal blue and red? I like darker color schemes.”

“Think of it this way, Milady. No one will expect you to be buying a ship that looks like that!” Fya said, grinning broadly.

Evelyn sighed and looked at the twins, asking. “Are you alright with it? I know it’s a sudden thing, when you just barely signed the contracts.”

“Sure. I mean, you said that you were getting a new ship, I just didn’t expect anything like this right out the gates,” Moon said, gesturing at the ship as her cheeks colored. “You’re putting a lot of trust in us, and I… didn’t expect it.”

“Agreed,” Star murmured.

Evelyn rolled her eyes, glowering at them as she spoke sharply. “If I didn’t think I could trust you, I wouldn’t be sending you. I don’t know that I would have sent anyone else of those who left. Perhaps Orm, but she chose to leave, and that was that. I believe that the two of you can do this, and that’s the end of it.”

The silence that came in response was almost deafening, at least for a few moments. Then Vaneryth spoke up.

“May I ask what we’re to do while they are gone?” the angel asked, fidgeting in her chair as she looked around the table.

“Nothing of note,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “Oh, we might want to prepare things so we can unload the ship quickly, but there’s no reason we need to worry too much. If something else comes up, we can always take care of it. As long as we’re in-system when they return, that’s what matters. I suspect this will take three to five days… Fya?”

“Probably! I might have to take longer to fit my role, but who knows for sure?” the djinn said, shrugging. “Think of it as a vacation! I’m taking Zelirana with me, after all!”

“This is true,” Zelirana agreed, smiling widely. “That means I can tease you when I get back.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t tease me at all,” Vaneryth retorted, glowering at the succubus. “I wish we weren’t aboard the same ship, but it isn’t like I have much of a choice in the matter.”

“Enough,” Evelyn interjected calmly, and glanced at Ilyra. “What about you? You’ve been rather quiet.”

“I didn’t have anything to contribute. I’m just… going to keep training, I think. Maybe I’ll visit the firing range to practice some more or pick up a couple more texts on magic,” Ilyra said, smiling nervously. “It isn’t that important right now, but I want to get better, so that I’m useful.”

“Good enough,” Evelyn said, and nodded to everyone as she stood up. “Unless anyone comes up with something, I think we’ll adjourn here. Zelirana, you’re in charge of getting your clothing for the trip, as well as that of Moon and Star. You have a budget of two hundred mythrite, which should be enough for the quality they’d expect.”

“Of course. I’ll take care of it,” Zelirana said, standing up as well. “I’m looking forward to this.”

“So am I!” Fya said, grinning broadly. “I don’t think I’ve ever been aboard a new ship!”

Evelyn laughed, nodding as she murmured. “That’s an excellent point. I don’t think I’ve been aboard a new one that’s that nice, either. Try not to damage it.”

“I won’t!” Fya assured her, her smile only widening.

“This should be interesting,” Star murmured, to Evelyn’s amusement.

It would indeed.

Chapter 27

The incoming comm request surprised Evelyn, and she looked up from her book, raising an eyebrow as she glanced at the time. It wasn’t Fya and the others she determined almost instantly. They’d entered astral about four hours earlier, and that wasn’t nearly enough time for them to have reached their destination. No, it was someone else… and both eyebrows rose as she registered where the call was sourced from. The draconic embassy wasn’t expected, to say the least, but she didn’t have anything better to do, so she may as well answer.

“This is Captain Tarth,” Evelyn said, just as the hologram sprang to life, revealing a woman with orange eyes and bronze hair she recognized, and Evelyn smiled, adding. “Ah, Lady Xalryx. I didn’t expect to receive a call from you.”

“And I did not expect to be contacting you, Captain Tarth. I believe that many of the locals wish that you’d left already, yet here you are, still in port,” Xalryx replied, showing just a hint of teeth as she smiled back at Evelyn.

“Yes, well, saying I’m in port might be putting it a touch strongly,” Evelyn replied, glancing at the charts. “I chose a parking orbit since it was less expensive, and there’s no reason to remain docked constantly. I’m expecting a message soon, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, much is explained! It is to my advantage, however. I believe I have a bargain for you, one which may help defray the cost of you remaining here,” the dragoness replied, her smile fading slightly. “Are you interested?”

“That depends. On the price, the job, and everything else,” Evelyn replied, sitting back and glancing over to check the screens idly.

She doubted that the woman was part of any attempt to sneak-attack her, but it was possible she was wrong. It wouldn’t make much sense most of the time, but Evelyn had been present for the woman’s deal with Captain Eight-Fist. It was entirely possible she wanted to tie up loose ends.

“I do understand. First I have to ask a rather important question, though. Do you have difficulties with drakes?” Xalryx asked, a flicker of concern crossing her face.

“That depends as well. If they don’t attack me or those I care about, I don’t feel obligated to remove their heads, wings, or anything else vital,” Evelyn told her, smiling at the dragon. “Otherwise, I’m willing to leave them be. They’re dimwitted, but that isn’t any reason to kill them.”

“Excellent!” Xalryx said, her eyes lighting up. “The issue is simple. The sixth planet of this system, Valath, once had a plentiful species of frost drakes that had particularly beautiful scales. Unfortunately, they were hunted nearly to extinction over the years, and now there aren’t many of them left. I’ve been spearheading a breeding program to help them recover, but it’s encountered some difficulties.”

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, looking back at the dragoness skeptically. “I’m not a specialist in biosciences, life magic, or anything that would be terribly useful with breeding programs. I don’t see how I’d be able to help.”

“Ah, but you have archmage level magical abilities! I learned that from station security, in case you’re wondering,” Xalryx said, grinning in return as she shrugged. “The issue is rather simple, as it happens. A group of bootleggers have decided to set up camp on one of the primary ley lines on Valath, where they’re draining much of the mana from it for some sort of liquor or another. That’s making it difficult for my facility to raise the drakes in question, their eggs are only viable in areas of high mana densities, which is making my life difficult. Worse, there’s a group of poachers who are hunting down the drakes that hatch before they’re even adults. I would like for you to deal with the poachers and, if possible… adjust the ley line so that the drakes can hatch more easily.”

Evelyn paused, staring at the woman for a moment, then asked mildly. “Why don’t you ask the local authorities to deal with this instead? Why me?”

“Valath became a draconic protectorate seven years ago, so dealing with it is our concern. Unfortunately, it’s a rather minor protectorate on the whole, which means that I only have a pair of shuttles and two squads of wildlife guards to take care of everything,” Xalryx explained a flicker of embarrassment crossing her face. “If it had more drakes, or stronger magic, the planet would have more dragons there, and more resources assigned to it, but as it stands, it’s stuck in a downward spiral. As I’m in charge of it, that does not reflect well on me.”

Evelyn thought for a few seconds as she frowned. It was an odd request, but there was something more to it, and she examined the dragon carefully. Xalryx had an excellent poker face, though, and Evelyn sighed, tapping the arm of her chair impatiently.

“Why should I help you with this, Xalryx? I’m certain that there’s another reason you’re not telling me,” Evelyn told her evenly.

“I have a certain… rival who is causing me difficulties. They’re rather petty and believe that I organized a significant embarrassment for them. I believe that they’ve been trying to do the same to me for some time,” the dragoness replied, picking her words carefully. “I can deal with the poachers easily enough, but my rival is just important enough that I can’t afford for them to die unless they cause significant issues or attack first. That being the case, I’d like to have someone there who can deal with any problems as they arise.”

“Ahh, you’re requiring a troubleshooter, then. With an emphasis on the shooting trouble part,” Evelyn said, smiling slightly more now. “I believe that I understand. Now that we have that sorted out, the question is, what sort of timeline are we speaking of, and how much are you offering?”

“It should take no more than a few days, depending on whether you try to navigate there via astral or not. As long as you don’t cause issues for the biosphere, I’m not concerned with your methods,” the dragon said, and smiled as she tapped a key. “As for payment, I just sent the offer to you. You’ll note that it’s rather generous, if somewhat less than what I’d be paying a full mercenary company for the job. You can do it far more easily than they can, however.”

“Yes, I can see that,” Evelyn replied, considering for a moment, then smiled. “Actually, I have an additional request for this, one which shouldn’t cost you nearly as much as it would me.”

“What is that?” Xalryx asked, her eyes narrowing in caution. Evelyn could understand, but in this case her caution was likely misplaced.

“I hired on two crew yesterday, ladies who’d been enslaved and taken far from their homes. I’d like to arrange passage aboard a draconic ship to their homeworld and back, on a schedule of their choosing,” Evelyn explained, a smile flitting across her lips. “While I could afford the thousand mythrite for the trip, plus the other expenses, for you the costs are far lower, are they not? I’ve heard there are special rates for those who’re performing work for dragons.”

Xalryx smiled warmly, nodding in agreement as she reached up, pursing her lips as she tapped them thoughtfully. “Yes, you are right about that. Only one tenth the cost is necessary for transit under those circumstances. If you are agreeable to reducing your payment by a hundred mythrite, I will make all the other necessary arrangements myself. Is that satisfactory?”

“Yes, it is,” Evelyn confirmed, smiling warmly. “If you’re willing to adjust the contract to reflect this, I’ll begin moving to Valath immediately. As a gesture of good faith.”

“I’ll revise the contract immediately. My one requirement is that they take the trips within the year, both ways,” Xalryx added quickly. “There are limits to the rates, after all.”

“Acceptable. I believe they’ll be pleased. Good day, Xalryx,” Evelyn said, and shut down the comm link. Then she looked at Control, who was sitting in the executive officer’s seat patiently, and spoke. “Control, you heard the discussion. Please plot a course and request permission to leave from Argon Control.”

“Acknowledged, Captain,” Control replied, smiling warmly in return as she bowed her head, already revealing some of the effects of her new emotion chip. “I believe we will be underway within half an hour.”

“Excellent. I’m going to let everyone else know what we’re doing,” Evelyn said, climbing to her feet and stretching. Then, before she could forget again, she reached out across the network and bought several magazines that went over the most recent weapons on the market. She didn’t want to get out of date, not when she might have to re-arm her new ship as well.

Then she headed toward the back, humming happily to herself. She wasn’t particularly looking forward to the work with the ley line, but the poachers? That would be nice, light work. No reason not to look forward to it.

Chapter 28

“It looks pretty,” Ilyra said, her nose practically pressed against the window, and Evelyn resisted the urge to laugh.

“That’s largely because we’re still high up. I suspect you’ll change your mind when we’re on the surface,” Evelyn said, glancing out the window again.

Valath was pretty enough, she agreed, though it was also an oddity of sorts. The planet likely would’ve been a relatively small planetoid if it hadn’t been for the immense amounts of water which had collected around it, and it had enough mass for the gravity to be just a bit below normal. Unfortunately for the aquana, who otherwise might have considered it an ideal home, the planet was too far from the local star for the vast oceans to remain liquid, and it didn’t have much in the way of internal heat. According to what she’d seen, there was barely even a water layer above the stone core of the planet, it was so cool.

What made up for that were the odd, beautiful elements that had formed in large areas of the ice, creating a beautiful bioluminescence that Evelyn had rarely seen in her life, as blue, green, and pink shimmered across fields of ice, as well as the native moss which created the oxygen so many species used to survive. That was what many of the native animals survived on, with a handful of predators preying on them, though from the report Xalryx had sent her, Evelyn had learned that the lack of drakes was causing the ecosystem to slowly unbalance. If it went too far, there might not be enough moss to sustain the enormous herds of herbivores, which would bring everything to an end.

Not that there was any danger of humans, elves, or just about any species not adapted to extreme cold choosing to live there permanently, assuming the planet could be saved. No, the only permanent structures on the planet were a handful of research centers and a single, stubborn group of miners the dragons hadn’t been able to buy out yet as they delved toward the core in search of riches. Well, and the bootlegger camp. Personally, Evelyn didn’t understand why someone would make alcohol from the native moss, but she wasn’t exactly a connoisseur of alcohol.

“Maybe. But from up here it’s pretty,” Ilyra said, shifting a little as she frowned, asking. “You’re sure we need the armor? You’re the one going to visit the poachers, right?”

“Your armor will protect you from the temperature for up to a week, more if you get into a warmer area. While I don’t expect you to end up in the open, I’d rather not take chances,” Evelyn replied, looking at the young woman critically. She couldn’t account for the taste of others, unfortunately.

As Ilyra was a mage, she’d chosen to take a suit of armor which was lightweight and flexible, little more than a bodysuit with a slight bulge where the backpack and shield generator were. She, like Evelyn herself, had her helmet with her, considering the environment. Even Evelyn wasn’t going to risk her ears freezing off, or spend the energy heating the air around her head in this type of environment. However, the first thing Ilyra had done was use the integrated systems of the armor to change the primary color of the suit to a sky blue, with pink as the secondary color. Evelyn couldn’t think of much more obvious colors in most environments, though she had to admit that at least Ilyra would likely survive the resulting fusillade. The armor was good enough to keep her alive.

Vaneryth was in the cockpit with a Doll pilot, designation P2, who was ready to take over if the angel managed to screw up undocking, reentry, or the landing. While Evelyn had noticed how inexpert their departure was, it seemed that the last two days in simulations and using the training program had kept Vaneryth from doing anything too egregious. Though the shuttle’s safety systems and autopilot were likely helping as well.

“I don’t know, but I’ll trust you,” Ilyra said, smiling more as she added. “Thank you for letting me come down with you.”

“You wanted to see the worlds other than Brightdawn. This isn’t what I’d call a shining example, but it’s a start,” Evelyn replied, bracing herself as the turbulence indicator turned on. “Hold on tight. The winds on Valath are particularly nasty.”

Ilyra did so, and moments later the shuttle began rocking violently as immensely powerful gusts hit it. They didn’t drift too much off course, Evelyn noticed, though it seemed the autopilot was taking care of most of the course corrections. It was a few minutes later, when Ilyra was looking fairly green, that Vaneryth’s voice came over the intercom.

“We’re coming in for a landing now! Sorry, but the wind is apparently really bad this cycle,” the angel said, sounding a touch stressed.

“Cycle?” Ilyra asked softly, then gagged. “Ugh…”

“Valath is far enough from the star that it has a very long orbital period, and it doesn’t have much of a spin to begin with. A single day here is closer to two years elsewhere.” Evelyn explained, watching as they came in for a landing on a pad that had ice riming its edges.

“O-oh. So a cycle is… a day elsewhere?” Ilyra asked, and Evelyn nodded, just as they slowed over the pad, then drifted down onto it.

“Correct,” Evelyn said, waiting until they were in place, then raised her voice. “P2, please maintain the shuttle and ensure it’s ready for launch when we return.”

“Yes, Captain.” P2 replied, the human-like Doll’s voice annoyingly attractive. Evelyn found that… a touch frustrating, really, but she shoved it aside to focus.

“Vaneryth? You coming with us, or staying aboard?” Evelyn asked, reaching up to ensure her hair was still gathered in a bun, then nodded and donned her helmet. There was a soft hiss as it sealed in place, connecting to the armor’s systems and her implants before bringing up the HUD.

“I’d rather not be stuck on here for who knows how long. I’ve had enough sitting and staring at walls for a few decades,” Vaneryth replied firmly, and a moment later the door to the cockpit slid open, revealing the angel. She’d chosen slightly heavier armor than Ilyra, though it was still lighter than Evelyn’s armor, and the angel had debated for a while before choosing to go with light and dark blue for her colors. It was more obvious than Evelyn would’ve preferred, but less eye-catching than the celestine’s armor. She spoke a moment later, this time not over the intercom. “Though I took one look at the temperature outside and wondered why any mortal would want to come here. It’s enough to freeze most angels solid in short order.”

“Scientists, wealth-seekers, and dragons,” Evelyn replied, shrugging as she glanced between the two. “Put on your helmets, I don’t want your ears freezing off before we even get into the facility.”

Ilyra nodded and quickly slid her helmet on, then had to remove it when some stray hair kept it from sealing properly. She fumbled with her hair, getting it pinned back in place before putting on her helmet. In that time Vaneryth managed to get her own into place, though seeing the angel caused Evelyn to smile in amusement. The halo was still outside the helmet, so even if the angel had chosen a perfectly mundane armor color, she’d still draw attention.

“Ready!” Ilyra chirped, her face obscured by the faceplate, and Evelyn nodded, leading the way to the hatch.

Fortunately, Daggerhound had come with a pair of shuttles, both of them with small airlocks that could fit up to four people at once. It was cramped, but she wasn’t going to tell the two to wait. No, she waited until they were in, then cycled the airlock. As it began cycling, she spoke.

“You will not be accompanying me when I go to deal with the poachers. While you’re beginning to learn about combat, or relearn, protecting you would cause more harm than good if it comes to combat,” Evelyn said calmly, glancing at them. “I expect that it will, and I don’t want to deal with that. These are poachers hired by a dragon to harass their rival, I fully expect them to be belligerent and skilled. Beyond which, three women approaching is no better than one, and will make them overconfident. I doubt they’ll believe me when I tell them who I am.”

“That… seems suicidal,” Vaneryth replied quietly.

The outer doors slid open, and a blast of wind strong enough to stagger the other two hit them, carrying flakes of ice with it. The flakes bounced off their armor, though Evelyn took note that most environmental suits might have had a harder time with it. Ilyra and Vaneryth regained their balance after a moment, while Evelyn examined the landing pad. It was dark metal with patches of ice here and there across its surface. Barely any light allowed them to see, the illumination mostly coming from the glowing moss that covered about a quarter of the landscape around them. That backlit the stubby tower ahead of them, where she could see dim lights next to the entryway, along with a pair of people in bright orange suits trudging toward them.

“It is,” Evelyn agreed, raising her voice so they’d be able to hear her over the wind’s howling. “Do you truly think that they’d believe someone like me would show up out of nowhere in front of them, though? People can be incredibly stupid. They are stupid, and often deny reality even when it’s in front of them.”

She made her way down the ramp, activating the enhanced traction systems on her boots as she did so, and Evelyn paused, waiting for the two to reach the bottom of the ramp before sending a command to the shuttle, which retracted the ramp to form a solid seal against its side. She didn’t want that covered in ice when they came back.

Moving to meet the two coming out to meet them, Evelyn examined their suits critically. The suits were thicker than the ones she and her… employees? Was that the term she wanted to use, Evelyn wondered. She shrugged it off after a second, as it really didn’t matter right now. The important thing was that the suits were designed for this sort of environment, with what she suspected was advanced insulation and lots of life support for dealing with the temperatures of Valath. You couldn’t tell the gender of the people in the hardsuits, but that wasn’t necessary, not on a planet like this.

“Hello! You’re the agent Lady Xalryx hired, I presume?” a man called out as he came closer, almost shouting.

“I am,” Evelyn replied, a smile playing across her lips. “I’m surprised you came out to meet me, rather than using comms.”

“Yes, well, the last big gust ripped off the primary antennae for in-atmosphere comms,” the other person replied, her voice filled with disgust. “Our skimmer is out looking for the one we lost while Dann gets our replacement ready. Every time we think we know the maximum gust we’re going to get hit by, the planet throws a nastier one at us.”

“Ah, that would do it. Personally, I’d recommend putting it inside a protective housing that can deal with gusts more easily. However, I should introduce myself. I am Evelyn, and these are Ilyra and Vaneryth. They work for me and are currently in training. They wished to see your work, so they accompanied me to the surface.”

Evelyn had drawn closer to them as she spoke, so they didn’t have to shout nearly as loudly, and she had to wonder internally, why was a facility Xalryx was in charge of using what looked like below-average equipment? It really wasn’t her problem, but it made her wonder.

“Ah, good! I’m Elric, and this is Doris,” the man said, then gestured toward the doors. “Why don’t we go inside, where we can talk more easily? I don’t know what Lady Xalryx told you about the situation, so we can explain anything she didn’t.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Evelyn agreed.

“Great,” Doris said, turning and moving a bit more quickly. Evelyn did notice that her boots didn’t seem to have as good of traction as her own, but she followed Elric as they made their way toward the building.

Chapter 29

The doors opened to a double airlock, which startled Evelyn slightly, but she shrugged it off, waiting through each cycle before they reached a room where they could unsuit, not that she would fully. Doris’s helmet came off first, revealing a mop of short, curly brown hair and a mundane face only marred by a sweeping set of scars along one cheek, ones that looked like they came from claws. Elric had short, sandy-brown hair, as well as spectacles over brown eyes, which surprised her. Not many people needed those these days, not when corrective surgery was so inexpensive. Still, he had a round, friendly face that Evelyn thought she liked.

“Welcome to Site Claw, so named because I swear every one of us has been gashed a dozen times or more,” Elric said cheerfully, pulling off the rest of the suit and hooking it up to its mounts on one wall. “I suspect that Lady Xalryx told you that our job is to breed frost drakes, but I doubt she added that we’re also cloning them and adding genetic diversity by using some DNA extracted from the bodies of those that have been killed. We find a lot of bodies, and most of them have at least some viable material, given the weather outside.”

“She said something of the sort, yes,” Evelyn agreed, removing her helmet, and both of them froze in place, staring at her. “Not about the latter part, but the first. She also mentioned that the poachers are killing the drakes before most of them can reach adulthood.”

Neither responded immediately, then Doris stammered. “Y-you… are you Evelyn Tarth?”

Evelyn raised an eyebrow as she looked at her, then replied slowly, with exaggerated patience. “Yes, that’s correct. Did Xalryx not tell you? She knew when she hired me to deal with your… issues.”

“I… well, um, this is a surprise,” Elric said, wiping his forehead nervously, and glanced at the two behind Evelyn carefully, both of whom had removed their helmets. “Err…”

“No, they’re not my proteges in the way you’re thinking they are,” Evelyn told him, rolling her eyes. “Ilyra and Vaneryth were captured by slavers, and I freed them. They’re currently working for me to earn money and learn how to defend themselves. I also won’t hurt any of you as long as you don’t do anything stupid. Like attack me, betray me, or do that to either of them. Xalryx trusts me to deal with your problems. Is that perfectly clear?”

“Ah… yes, yes, of course,” Elric said quickly, looking at Doris, who nodded, her anxiety obvious. It was amazing how quickly they’d gone from relaxed to frightened half out of their minds, and Evelyn resisted the urge to sigh. Civilians, really.

“Good. Now, what problems are we looking at? Xalryx said that bootleggers were draining a major ley line to create alcohol, and that it needed to be adjusted so the eggs you’re tending are viable, and that there were poachers,” Evelyn said briskly. “Specifics would be preferred.”

“I… well, the problem is that the bootleggers decided to use an old, abandoned mining outpost that was near the main ley line traveling between the north and south pole of Valath,” Elric said, reaching for the button to open the door nervously, but missed on the first try. “The idea is to either adjust it so that it isn’t useful for their purposes or just… move it, so they’d have to build a new base. That would be hard, and not worth it, I don’t think.”

The door opened to show a hallway lined with a great deal of insulating material, as well as dim yellow lights along the ceiling. There was an odd tang to the air, and Evelyn glanced around. It was cooler than she preferred, but not unlivable by any means.

“Um, so you know, Evelyn really isn’t that bad. Most of the time she’s easy to get along with,” Ilyra interjected earnestly. “You can do what you normally do, and I think she’d be fine with it.”

“I… will try to keep that in mind,” Elric replied, but Evelyn could tell that he didn’t really believe her. She found it amusing, in a dark sort of way.

“Either way, that’s the simpler task, as far as I’m concerned. If you just want me to move the ley line, I can do so. It’s fortunate that the planet isn’t heavily inhabited. That sort of thing can have side effects.” Evelyn said, thinking about how to go about it. She’d probably take the brute force method, honestly. The other methods took longer, and she tended not to have the patience for that.

“Um, what sort of side effects?” Doris asked, looking nervous now.

“Screwing up enchantments, triggering earthquakes, and things like that.” Evelyn said, shrugging easily. “Fortunately, Valath isn’t tectonically active, it doesn’t have centuries of carefully laid enchantments, or anything of that sort. The worst you’ll likely get is more weather like you’ve already got, at least for a few days. That’ll take… an hour or two, depending on some variables. I haven’t flexed my magic in quite that way in a while.”

“…you make it sound simple, Evelyn. The amount of magical strength moving a ley line takes is… non-trivial. I believe most would ask multiple archmagi to do so, and not that quickly,” Vaneryth said quietly, while the two scientists stared at Evelyn, then the angel.

“Yes, but they’d be moving it slowly, so that they wouldn’t have those side effects,” Evelyn replied, smirking slightly. “However, I’m not planning to be out in that weather for a few days. I’m a freak of nature, I’ve said it before, and I will again. I have the strength to shove it into a new channel, and I’ll do it.”

The angel just inclined her head, and the two scientists looked at one another uncertainly, then gestured for them to follow as Elric replied, “Well… if you’re certain, then that will work for us. We aren’t on the main ley line, but one of its tributaries, so that shouldn’t move, right?”

“That’s correct,” Evelyn said, following him down the hall, then through a door into a room which had a circular holographic projector in the middle. It was cramped, much like the rest of the base, and Evelyn suspected that was likely typical through the entire building.

Elric touched a key and a hologram sprang to life, one that was more detailed than Evelyn had expected, as it showed a topographical map, with a red dot showing where they were, as well as a green one for the shuttle outside, then the icy mountains and valleys which surrounded them. A second press of the button caused the image to zoom outward, showing a hemisphere of the planet, and a web of light blue lines sprang into existence, one of them much brighter than the others.

“This is the ley line network. As you can see, the big line is about eighty kilometers to our west. The bootleggers are approximately two hundred kilometers away, and they ignore us for the most part,” Elric explained, gesturing at the brighter line. “As far as I know, they don’t have any way of monitoring us, so if you move the ley line, they won’t have any clue what happened, possibly not for days. I don’t know how their equipment works.”

“Hm. That means this line is the one which runs through your facility, no?” Evelyn asked, pointing at the one which looked like it matched the base’s location.

“Yes, it is,” Doris confirmed from where she was standing opposite Evelyn, watching her warily.

“With the angles involved… this line will shift if I move the primary line. It needs to be anchored.” Evelyn decided after a moment, her eyes narrowing, and she looked at Ilyra. “Lyra, how much magical training do you have?”

“Lyra?” Ilyra asked, blinking a couple of times as she ignored the question.

“It’s a nickname. I think it’s better than Illy, and it’s easier to say,” Evelyn replied patiently.

“Oh, I… I like it,” Ilyra said, blushing a little. “As for my training, my training course says that I’m slightly above graduate status? What does that mean, anyway?”

“Think of it like school. Elementary, intermediate, high school. You’re at the entry point to college-grade,” Evelyn said, nodding in satisfaction. “I was afraid you wouldn’t be that far along, based on what you said.”

“I got some magical training, it wasn’t that frowned on. I just… didn’t get to study a lot of things from elsewhere,” Ilyra explained, her cheeks flushing a little more as she glanced at the two scientists, obviously having almost have talked about being from Brightdawn.

“Mm, good. I don’t think you could hold an anchor quite on your own, though… Vaneryth? I have to come up with a nickname for you, too…” Evelyn murmured.

“I believe that I’m approximately equal to Ilyra,” the angel said, folding her hands in front of her as she hesitated, then admitted. “Perhaps somewhat less powerful. As I said, I was stripped of a great deal of my power when I was sent back. I am rather skilled with it, however. May I ask what you’re intending? And… are nicknames normal with you? I noticed that Fya’s name is abbreviated as well.”

“In her case, her name is a source of power over her, and most mortals can’t pronounce it, so she suggested the shortened version,” Evelyn replied absently, running through calculations in her head, then nodded. “As for what I’m asking, you’d be creating a small, temporary node in the middle of the ley line. Much like a spike holding a cable in place, when I shove the main line, the local line will try to move, but the spike will hold it in place until after I’m done. The two of you should have the power to hold it in place with ample strength to spare. We’re far enough from the main channel that the force will have weakened by the time it reaches here.”

All of the others were staring at her, and Evelyn raised an eyebrow at them curiously, waiting for the inevitable question. She knew they were going to ask something.

“I didn’t realize you knew so much about magic. Even if you’re incredibly powerful, you aren’t that old,” Elric said at last, and Evelyn resisted the urge to snort.

“Magical strength is absolutely nothing without the knowledge to use it,” Evelyn told him calmly, fixing her eyes on his own. “Many people seem to forget that. I’ve told people before, I am a freak of nature. My strength and power isn’t the only thing that defies explanation, my ability to absorb knowledge where magic is concerned is the same. I’ve learned an immense amount about magic, and to be quite honest, this is basic metaphysics, at least when it comes to collegiate courses.”

“I… well, I’m certain you’re correct about that,” Elric said, swallowing hard and looking away. “Um, how difficult is this… anchoring?”

“Not difficult. I can teach them how to do it in about five minutes,” Evelyn said, shrugging and looking at them. “Are you willing to do the job? I could do it, but I’d have to hold it until I was in position, and that wouldn’t be pleasant.”

“Of course!” Ilyra said, her eyes sparkling.

Vaneryth nodded, smiling slightly as she spoke. “It would be my honor to help bring new life into the universe, however indirectly.”

“Excellent. Now, the other matter, the poachers,” Evelyn said, turning back to the scientists as her smile vanished. “Where are they, how many of them are there, and how well-equipped are they?”

“Shit,” Doris muttered. “You’re going to kill them all, aren’t you?”

“I’ll let them know that they need to leave. I’ll even tell them who I am,” Evelyn replied, folding her hands behind her back. “When they try to blow me off, or kill me, I suspect the latter, then things will go very poorly for them. I’m not going to hold back against someone who tries to hurt me.”

Evelyn paused for just an instant, then added. “Ah! But just in case you’re worried, Xalryx asked me not to do anything to endanger the biosphere or environment. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine afterward. Promise.”

“I… don’t even want to know why she told you that,” Elric said, swallowing hard. “Doris is the one who’s done more looking into the poachers.”

“Yeah, well… they’re some nasty customers. Maybe even a bit nasty for you,” Doris replied, looking at Evelyn warily.

“I doubt that,” Evelyn said calmly, and Vaneryth laughed.

“If they’re a little much for her, I wouldn’t want to be on the same planet as them,” the angel said, smiling tautly.

“Fine, your funeral,” Doris said, scowling, then hit a button on the holographic projector, causing it to zoom in again, then a purple icon about twenty kilometers away appeared. “They’ve holed up in an ice cave here, with their ship in the lee of it. The ship’s some sort of ex-military frigate or something of the sort, and they use a pair of air-skimmers to hunt drakes. Best I can tell they’re a former military outfit, and there’s about thirty of them, with lots of guns and nice armor. If they weren’t, they’d have frozen solid inside a week, and they’ve been here going on five months.”

“Hm, interesting. Maybe they’ll be smart enough to leave,” Evelyn murmured, considering for a moment, then shrugged. “I suppose it doesn’t matter much, though. I’ll be leaving Lyra and Ryth in your hands while I go prepare to move the ley line. Let’s just teach them the spell, and we can get started.”

“Wait, already? I thought you’d be waiting until tomorrow at the earliest!” Elric protested. “I prepped a couple of rooms and everything!”

Evelyn paused, meeting his gaze for a moment, then asked patiently. “Do you really want me to stay here overnight?”

“Err… not really?” he replied questioningly, shifting from one foot to the other. “I just already moved a pile of boxes to clear the rooms, and it’s a good forty kilometers to the ley line at its closest approach… plus the skimmer is already out trying to hunt down the antennae…”

“Doesn’t matter to me. I’ll just fly there myself. I could teleport, but that’d take a lot of mana, and trying to teleport off topographical maps is always tricky. I put myself in the ocean once doing that,” Evelyn said, shrugging and turning away as she focused on her two… assistants? She needed to come up with a term for them. “Come on, time for you two to learn a bit of magic.”

Ilyra nodded eagerly, and Evelyn couldn’t help a smile. She remembered when she’d been that enthusiastic.

It’d been such a long time. Evelyn didn’t like feeling old, not when she was barely past fifty.

Chapter 30

Ilyra watched as Evelyn took flight. Well, not in person, of course. She watched through one of the ice-encrusted cameras that kept an eye on the exterior of the science facility. It was odd watching Evelyn just… take off into the air, wearing her black and red armor, helmet and all. She vanished in seconds, even though Ilyra tried to keep track of her, then she sighed.

“She’s gone,” Ilyra announced, slightly disappointed.

“Oh, thank the gods,” Doris said, almost slumping over. “How can you work for someone like that?”

“She’s nice!” Ilyra protested, turning to the scientist in protest. “She saved us from an absolutely horrid fate, and gave us money if we wanted to leave, or jobs if we didn’t.”

“She’s a mass murderer,” Doris countered. “Do you have any idea how many people were killed when she took over Peldra? Thousands died!”

“Mass murderer implies she killed civilians” Vaneryth interjected just as Ilyra opened her mouth. “According to the records I’ve accessed, less than two hundred civilians were killed during the war to conquer Peldra, and her forces appear to be responsible for approximately eighty more civilian deaths over the course of her rule of the country. The ones in the records indicate that the killers she had personal knowledge of were executed after being tried for their crimes. I cannot consider her a mass murderer, as those numbers appear to be low compared to other regime changes.”

Doris looked like she was about to retort when Elric cleared his throat and gave her a stern look. Doris’s mouth snapped shut and she looked to the side, growling softly.

“Enough, Doris. Lady Xalryx hired her, and that’s all there is to it,” Elric said, frowning at her, then looked at Ilyra and Vaneryth for a second before shaking his head. “Though I have to say, the two of you seem too nice to be caught up with someone with her reputation. It’s surprising.”

“In all honesty, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t made a few… major mistakes,” Vaneryth said, blushing as she looked to the side, clearing her throat uncomfortably. “I was sent back, with the understanding that I needed to learn from them. When I did, Evelyn simply sighed and asked me what I could contribute.”

“Yeah, and that doesn’t even include what she…” Ilyra began, then paused, frowning as she considered, then shook her head, feeling embarrassed. “No, I shouldn’t talk about that. She’s been really, really nice to all of us she rescued. Even the ones who weren’t very nice.”

“Huh,” Elric said, looking at Ilyra thoughtfully, then glanced at the sensor screen and grunted. “Well, looks like we’ve got about two hours until she reaches the ley line, so… is there anything you want? We don’t have the best food here, but we could get you something warm, show you around, or something of the sort.”

“Actually, I was wondering… why do people poach the ice drakes? I’ve never heard of it happening on other planets, and when I did searches, they’re pretty common,” Ilyra said, leaning forward as she asked the question she’d been thinking about since she heard about the job and did her research. There were hundreds of worlds with ice drakes, and most of them were hunted because they were ill-tempered predators, not poached.

“Ah, of course. You haven’t seen them. I’d show you an adult, but we don’t have any on-site at the moment,” Elric said, giving a rueful smile. “You see, it’s their scales. You’ve seen the colors outside, yes? Imagine a predator that evolved to blend in with that sort of background. The ice drakes here have nearly translucent scales that glow with a variety of colors. Unfortunately, their very rarity makes them quite valuable, particularly for those who still like making armor or clothing out of that sort of thing.”

“It’s some sort of status symbol in the core worlds, these days,” Doris said, practically spitting out her words as she scowled, pacing back and forth as much as she could in the room. “Damned idiots don’t think about the price. They don’t care what the price is, if they can get some pretty scales. Hell, some of them don’t care if they wipe out every last one of them, it’ll just make the scales rarer, like happened with the fruit for that damned immortality ritual someone found last century.”

“Oh,” Ilyra said, frowning a little as she thought, then asked. “Then… if they’re so rare, why aren’t the dragons protecting them more? I thought that they were all about making as much money as they could manage.”

“Yes, but drakes are… a bit of a sore spot where dragons are concerned,” Elric said, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “If they were completely animalistic, that’d be one thing, but they aren’t. Dragons see them as degenerate cousins after a fashion, which has led to there being multiple factions where they’re concerned. One of them wishes to uplift drakes and bring them up to the level of their own kind. Another faction wants to leave them to live or die on their own merits, and the last, smallest faction, wishes to help them survive to evolve on their own, if they’re able to. The deadlock between the first two factions has left the last to do their work, but…”

“But they don’t have the funds to do the job as well as they’d like,” Doris said sourly. “Lady Xalryx paid for you to show up out of her personal funds, likely as not. It’s a damned shame.”

“Huh. Well… I think the best thing is for us to go set up the spell. I want to make sure I can get it right,” Ilyra said, looking at Vaneryth nervously. “What do you think?”

“I think that’s an excellent idea.” Vaneryth agreed, smiling slightly. “This should be interesting. I’ve only experienced a ley line moving once in my life. It was… educational.”

“Um, educational how?” Ilyra asked, frowning.

“Oh, you’ll find out,” Vaneryth said, grinning slightly. “It’ll be good for you, you’ll see.”

Ilyra looked at the angel dubiously, and Doris spoke softly. “You know… I think I’m going to make sure everything that could fall into the egg chamber is secure. Just to be safe.”

* * *

There was something glorious about flying alone in the snow, Evelyn thought. Oh, it took concentration, but the icy winds barely bothered her, and the mana drain was minor, at least for her. Of course, if she didn’t have her implants and the beacon of Daggerhound in orbit, she’d likely have lost her sense of direction, considering the way the flakes of swirling white extended into the endless distance in every direction.

It left her entirely alone, though. That was something Evelyn rarely got to experience, ever since Fya had come into her life. Solitude and time to think properly… it was something she missed at times. It wasn’t as good as if she were in space or the astral… but if she tried that, people would panic.

“I’m a pushover,” Evelyn murmured to herself, after making certain no one could overhear her, of course. She didn’t want anyone to think that she would hesitate to crush them, since what she considered being a pushover and what others thought were likely different. Entirely different, as it happened.

A gust tried to force Evelyn off-course, but she corrected for it almost effortlessly. Sometimes she wondered what it was like to be vulnerable like other people. Truly vulnerable, as she’d never felt that way. Even when she’d been hunted in the woods, her strength and speed had made the contest unfair. Without them… she’d have died, she knew. How would that have changed the universe, she sometimes wondered.

Would Vania have kept her throne? There were so many people who wanted to overthrow her family… Evelyn had simply been the final catalyst. Not that the battle would have been easy for them. She’d crushed the most potent resistance and kept the different factions of rebels from fighting among themselves. It would’ve been very different, she decided after a few minutes. No one would have been in charge, and more people would have caused the rebellion to crack.

“Not that it matters,” Evelyn said, chuckling darkly. “Would have, could have… what does it matter? Time travel is insanity, and I wouldn’t want to do it, anyway. I was made into who I am. Even if letting anyone get close to me is… a touch on the foolish side. They’re vulnerable.”

She paused as her HUD flashed, indicating she was almost to the ley line, and Evelyn slowed down, looking down at the ground below her.

It wasn’t anything that impressive, at least not compared to everything she’d seen along the way. The icy landscape didn’t look any different than anything else in the area, which faintly amused Evelyn. That was the problem with ley lines, she supposed, they were rarely where someone could see them.

“Now then… I’ll want to push it toward them. There’s no way they could anchor it if I push it the other way.” Evelyn murmured, descending slowly. Reaching out mentally, she found the enormous conduit of magical energy flowing through the ice, from the north pole of Valath to the south. It was so small compared to other planets she’d been on, but that was to be expected. Life was drawn to magic, or perhaps it was magic that was drawn to life, so it was typical for a planet like this one. After a few seconds of gauging the magic, Evelyn activated her comm, routing it through Daggerhound, the shuttle, then to the other two.

“I’m in position. Are the two of you ready?” Evelyn asked.

* * *

“We are.” Vaneryth replied, sitting on the floor next to Ilyra. They were on one of the lower levels of the facility, in a room that had been partially cleared so they could work.

“I… I did wonder. Did you really have a spell to move a ley line all along? I haven’t seen anything like that in my learning programs,” Ilyra asked, leaning forward to look at the data pad they’d set up on the floor.

Evelyn’s soft laughter came through loud and clear, then she spoke, a hint of teasing affection in her voice. “Ah, Lyra… you have a lot to learn, don’t you? How about I give you a basic lesson on the nature of magic from my perspective?”

“That’d be wonderful!” Ilyra said, straightening suddenly, and she saw Elric perk up where he was positioned near the door. “Right, Vaneryth?”

“It should be, yes,” the angel murmured, leaning forward.

“Excellent. Now, listen closely, as I don’t intend to go over this again anytime soon,” Evelyn said, her voice smooth and calm. “There are three vital aspects to using magic, Lyra. First is knowledge. While anyone can attempt to pilot a shuttle from one place to another, the chances of them reaching their destination are poor. They’re likely to crash, and similarly, without the knowledge of how you are to make the magic work, you will not be able to pull it off, or at least not well.

“Second is mana. Mana is the power, the fuel, the energy you need to break the rules of existence. The strength of a mage is directly based on how much mana they can control, and like a muscle, the more you use it, the more mana you can hold, and the more mana you can use at once. Much like the example of the shuttle, without enough mana, even if you know how to reach your destination, if you do not have the fuel, you won’t get there,” Evelyn paused for a moment, then added wryly, “I have an unfair advantage where all of these are concerned, of course. However, the last vital component is your will. It is what allows you to take your knowledge and impose it upon the magic, how you can force reality to change at your whim. Without a strong will, your magic will never reach its full potential. These three things in concert are what allows magic to reach its full heights.”

“Um, alright, but… what about gestures, diagrams, chants… all of that sort of thing?” Ilyra asked, frowning and blinking, as what Evelyn said seemed to contradict a lot of what she’d learned so far. She’d always heard that the incantations were vital to casting spells, as well as the precision of the gestures.

“Unnecessary. They’re tools, Lyra. Magic is a tool of the mind, and an incantation is a method of focusing the mind and will. Similarly, diagrams and gestures do the same thing, except in the case of enchanters, who are engraving their spells into the fabric of the world. A mage who has an intricate incantation that they believe will assist them in casting a spell will be more powerful simply because it sharpens their will for each segment of the spell. It’s much like the martial artists who accompany magical effects with shouts, that very act helps them focus their power. It’s unnecessary… though I admit an incantation helps even me. It adds, oh… perhaps five percent more power to my spells, at a rough estimate?” Evelyn explained, sounding slightly more amused, now. “All that said, if it works for you, use it. Just don’t allow yourself to be shackled by them. It’s good to learn how to use your magic without incantations or gestures.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ilyra assured her, looking at Vaneryth, who had a smile playing across her lips. Ilyra wondered what amused her so much.

“Good. Now, make certain your anchor is in place, then let me know once it’s solid. I don’t want to rip it out by accident,” Evelyn said, her voice turning brisk.

“Alright,” Ilyra said, meeting Vaneryth’s gaze. The woman nodded, raising her hands, and they started to chant softly.

It took a couple of seconds for them to match their cadence, as well as to merge the flow of their mana, but that was why they’d practiced earlier. Streamers of mana flowed together, forming into a shape much like what Evelyn had described the anchor as earlier. It looked like a shimmering silver spike, even if it didn’t have physical substance to it. A few more seconds passed as it grew more defined and solid… then it was ready. Ilyra inhaled, then gestured downward sharply.

The spike flew downward, vanishing through the floor, but she felt the vibration as it struck the ley line. It wasn’t a physical sensation, rather a mental one, and she shivered slightly. After a few seconds it passed, and she felt the spike cautiously.

“The anchor is in place, Evelyn,” Vaneryth said after a few seconds.

“Excellent. Brace yourselves, this could be interesting,” Evelyn said, and Ilyra’s eyes widened.

“Uh, I thought that this shouldn’t cause anything too bad on this world?” she protested.

“It shouldn’t, but… this is magic, not a science,” Evelyn replied. “Here we go!”

* * *

Evelyn took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she reached deep inside her body, pulling out ropes of mana, rather than the threads she usually used. When one was dealing with ley lines, there were only two choices. Subtlety, and brute force. She didn’t usually have the patience for the former, and she didn’t want to deal with long periods on Valath. So, she reached down and gripped the ley line, wrapping her magic around it firmly.

The ley line quivered as her magic touched it. Evelyn liked to think that it was shuddering in anxiety, but she knew that probably wasn’t the case. No, she settled in and focused, her eyes closed, and every muscle in her body tensed as she mentally began to push.

It didn’t want to move. It really, really didn’t want to move, it was comfortable where it was, and all the tributary ley lines were helping anchor the line in place, much like the root system of a gigantic tree. However, if Evelyn had learned one thing over her years alive, it was that nothing was immovable. There was only a question of how much force it would take, and after the tenth second of it resisting her, she lost patience… and the ropes surged, mana flooding out of her in waves that turned into rivers of mana, and she spoke aloud.

“Fine, if you’re going to be difficult, I suppose I’ll just have to use more force,” Evelyn said, opening her eyes as she dug her feet into the ice, and she pushed with every bit of force she could muster.

The ley line tried to resist for only a moment more, at which point she felt the kilometers-thick ice sheet below her… fracture slightly. Then, at long last, it moved. Quickly.

“Oops.” Evelyn murmured.

* * *

Ilyra didn’t feel anything for a few seconds… but when Evelyn spoke, her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, just in time for the first wave of mana to hit her, and she staggered despite being sitting down.

“By the gods…” Ilyra gasped, as a flood of power rolled over her, rocking what felt like the entire building as warmth permeated her body.

The power flowed over all of them, and she saw even Elric pale, holding onto the door frame, and a physical shudder rocked the building. Ilyra wasn’t sure what it was, but the next moment the magic faded, and something hit the spike. Hard.

“Ack!” Ilyra yelped, pouring her mana into the spike, which was trembling as something pulled on it. “Ryth? What’s—”

“I don’t know!” the angel exclaimed, quickly pouring her own mana into the spell as well. “It’s… it’s like she pulled it instead, and I don’t know if we can stop it!”

“We have to!” Ilyra said, pouring every scrap of energy she had into the spell, as the ley line writhed beneath them, like whipping willow strands that were caught in the midst of a tempest.

The magic was yanking and pulling, and it took everything she had to keep the spike intact, as the magic flooding through the line ripped at it, trying to tear the spell apart even as she watched. Ilyra’s heart was stuck in her throat, and as the last mana flowed out of her, she was sure they were going to fail, that the spell was going to end and… then the ley line stopped struggling, simply shivering a little, and Ilyra blinked, staring downward for a few seconds, then fell backward, somewhat limp as the spell dissipated.

“What… what happened?” Ilyra asked breathlessly, her chest heaving.

“Sorry about that. It seems I pushed a little too hard. When I finally managed to force it out of its channel, well… the ley line almost flipped polarity, and it snapped to the opposite side of the planet. There must be another channel there,” Evelyn replied, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. “I didn’t realize it would do that. I’m making a mental note not to do it that way again… assuming I ever have to move a ley line in the future.”

“You… moved the ley line to the other side of the planet.” Elric said, looking at the two of them in shock. “What did you do?”

“Ah, you’re there, Elric? Like I said, I pushed a little too hard. The ley line was stuck in its channel, so I had to force it out, but once I did so, I didn’t pull back quickly enough. That gave enough force to send it flying around to the other side of the world. I may have also cracked the ice in this area… I can’t tell how deep the fracture goes,” Evelyn said briskly. “In either case, as long as the ley line is still beneath your building, I believe that’s a successful job done! I’ll head back now.”

The line went dead, and Ilyra stared at Vaneryth, then at Elric. She considered carefully for a few seconds, then nodded, speaking quietly. “Alright. I’ve made up my mind. If I can reach even a tenth of her power before dying of old age, I’ll be happy.”

“That seems like a reasonable goal,” Vaneryth agreed, smiling tiredly as she picked up the data pad. “Why don’t we go get one of those meals? That took a rather lot out of me.”

“Good idea!” Ilyra said, and climbed to her feet, with Elric simply gaping at them in disbelief.

* * *

Control kept an eye on the planet from orbit, just as she’d been instructed to. Nothing was outside of the parameters that had been set, though what had happened would have caused different reactions from her if it’d been on a more populated world.

The ship’s sensors had registered the cracking of the ice around Evelyn quite clearly, and the fissures from the crack had widened somewhat as they moved north and south, until eventually they passed the site of another structure on Valath’s surface. While the fissure hadn’t swallowed the structure, some damage had been dealt in the process, it had caused a landed starship to fall into it. Then the ley line snapping back into position had caused the fissure to half-close again.

By Control’s best estimates, the ship had been compromised to the point it would never fly again. On the other hand, it wasn’t her problem, and she hadn’t been told to report it. So she simply logged the information, and ignored the panicking bootleggers who’d lost one of only two ships they had.

Chapter 31

“We’re here to buy that?” Star demanded, her gaze practically glued to the screen as they approached the shipyard.

On the screen was the Halcyon Yards, which had an entire complex entirely to themselves, orbiting Trealla, one of the rocky planets in the Reth system. One planet had a habitable atmosphere, but the rest were either gas giants or what amounted to large moons that orbited the star on their own. In this case, Trealla was pocked with countless craters, since it was part of the debris belt that’d formed during the star’s formation.

More importantly, the yards had the starships they’d completed on display, and the ones she could see were stunning. There were a few dozen sleek, elegant corvettes, each perfect for crews of five to twenty people, depending on how they’d been outfitted, and from there the ships grew larger. There were a pair of frigates, a single lonely destroyer, the ship they’d come to get, then a battleship and even what she thought was a dreadnaught. The sheer amount of glittering filigree on the enormous ship was ridiculous in her opinion, though she couldn’t pick out the weapon mounts easily due to it.

The ship they’d come for, though… it was gorgeous. The primary sections of the hull were ivory white, almost like a ceramic of some variety, and there were several windows that she could see here and there. The main sources of gold were the trim around the windows and forming long, curving lines on its hull. She couldn’t see it fully from the angle she was at, and without a proper sense of scale, like from a person doing a spacewalk, she couldn’t tell just how big it was, but it was certainly a large ship.

“That’s right. Though you’re going to have to look less awed once we’re aboard the yards,” Fya said, grinning back at Star in amusement. “If you don’t, they’ll start wondering if we’re really as wealthy as we’re making out.”

The djinn looked little like her usual self. Instead of the relatively wild mane of hair, she’d combed it out straight, and her hair was a pretty shade of electrum, while her eyes were a deep blue. It startled Star just how pretty she was, and how normal Fya looked when wearing the white empire dress she’d pulled out of a closet. She’d also taken on a more poised, controlled attitude seemingly effortlessly.

“I am poor, though. I have no idea about you, though,” Star said, shrugging in embarrassment.

“Wealthier than you, and I’ll leave it at that,” Fya replied, and glanced around the shuttle cabin, tapping her upper lip. “Still, you both cleaned up nicely enough, and I think we should be able to play the part.”

“If I’m being honest, I was most concerned about you, Fya,” Zelirana replied, examining the djinn once again, almost as if she was suspicious. “I thought you might be a bit… unsuited for the role. I’m glad to see that my worries were misplaced.”

The succubus was wearing a suit that looked startlingly good on her, though she appeared to be a raven-haired human now. It was a suit Star would’ve expected to see on a male butler, not on a woman, but it looked good enough on Zelirana that Star wondered if it would work well for her as well. On the other hand, she and Moon had been given outfits that were nice, but plain enough that Fya would stand out like a shining star… which was the entire point, of course.

“Ah, but that’s because you didn’t meet me when I was working as Milady’s maid,” Fya replied, grinning broadly. “I had to play the role properly, of course. I couldn’t ruin her reputation, and that meant that I curbed my excesses in any public space and made certain to present the proper image for someone in her service. It was important, so I did it.”

“Oh. I… had wondered,” Moon said, pausing for a few seconds, then asked. “Is the way you are now what you’re really like?”

“Eh, it’s a phase. I’m sure I’ll go through others while you’re around, but I’m in an enthusiastic phase right now,” Fya said breezily. “It depends a great deal on what I’ve been through lately, as well as what I want to do. I am pleased about having a harem to manage, though… it’s a dream I’ve had for a long time. One more thing to check off the list!”

“A dream?” Star asked, blinking in confusion.

“I believe I can answer that,” Zelirana said, smiling slightly. “Djinn society is… odd. They tend to have harems as a matter of course. Men with dozens of female djinni, women with dozens of male djinni, or more. The most powerful of them tend to have whichever they prefer as harem members, and it’s just part of their society.”

“Except when some of us lose bets, have our harems disbanded, and are imprisoned in a lamp for a millennium or two,” Fya chimed in.

Star stared at her, as did Moon, and they both blinked. Then Moon demanded, “You got imprisoned in a lamp for a thousand years because you lost a bet?”

“Uh-huh. How else do you think it happens?” Fya replied, grinning widely at them. “I mean… you think djinni who can grant wishes get imprisoned in lamps without allowing it? I guess it could happen, but not often.”

“I… had no idea,” Moon said, looking at Star, who shrugged in response.

“Don’t look at me. I never studied djinn society.” Star replied dryly. “I had enough trouble with history.”

Fya giggled at that, then cut herself off, straightening and putting a more severe expression on her face as she cleared her throat. “Damn, it’s going to be hard to act with proper propriety after this long. But needs must… and I can always have fun once we’re done. I wonder if we can find enough gelatin for a swimming pool…”

“Err… I’ve heard of things like that, you’d have to replace practically the entire pump system afterward,” Star volunteered, blanching slightly.

“Really? Well, I’ll come up with something else,” the djinn said, sounding slightly disappointed. “Now, let’s just relax a bit, shall we? We’ll be aboard the station soon.”

“Yes, milady,” Star replied, smiling a bit more as she inclined her head. Hopefully this wouldn’t be too difficult.

* * *

“Ah, Lady Fiallis, is it not? It’s a pleasure to meet you in person!” Thomas Vega said, flashing them a brilliant smile, and Star resisted the urge to show her irritation.

Thomas looked an awful lot like a couple of the people who’d been at the party where she and Moon had been kidnapped, and that smile and easy manner… she didn’t like salesmen to begin with. Even if the black-haired, brown-eyed man was attractive, and wearing a suit that cost at least as much as her own. Likely more.

“Ah, are you the Mister… Vega, was it? Zel, darling… was that the name?” Fya asked, her voice almost a lazy drawl now, and if Star hadn’t known it was her, she’d never have put the beautiful, arrogant human before her together with the djinn she knew.

Zelirana bowed her head slightly, looking at Thomas with a charming smile as she spoke. “My apologies, Mister Vega, I am Zelinda, Lady Fiallis’s chief of staff, and I contacted you on her behalf. Milady, this is Thomas Vega, head of sales here at Halcyon Yards.”

“Ah, I should have known. My apologies, I didn’t realize that the letter sent with your header was sent by another,” Thomas said, bowing deeply as he continued. “It is a pleasure to meet one of your distinguished grace, Lady Fiallis!”

“Mm… I like him, Zel. He has a pretty smile,” Fya said, giving a sleepy smile of her own, and Star saw him stand up straighter. “Are you sure we can’t just buy the yards outright?”

“That exceeds the budget that was set, My Lady,” Zelirana replied gently. “We are here to replace your yacht, not start an entirely new business.”

“Yes, yes… well, on with it. You know what I want,” Fya replied, waving at the succubus idly while she drifted over to the windows allowing her to see the ships outside, taking a puff from the long-handled pipe she held in one hand as she moved.

Zelirana bowed her head slightly, then turned to Thomas, speaking politely but firmly. “My apologies, Mister Vega. First, I should introduce these two. Moon is Lady Fiallis’s chef and is here to examine the kitchens to assure that they will be up to her standards, and Star is here to deal with financial matters.”

“It isn’t an issue, Zelinda.” Thomas assured her, smiling as he looked over Moon and Star with raised eyebrows, but didn’t say anything about them. “No, the question is what you’re here to examine? Your initial inquiry was about one of the Astral Divers, yes? They’re lovely frigates, and I believe that they will—”

“No. Not one of the small ones,” Fya interrupted, instead gesturing to their right, where the largest ships were docked. “I want a big one.”

For a moment there wasn’t a response, but Star could see how Thomas and Zelirana exchanged looks, him with a slightly more predatory look in his eyes, yet the two seemed to understand one another.

“Very well, Milady, as you wish,” Zelirana said, and turned to Thomas fully. “I did examine your catalog before we arrived. I believe the largest ship capable of planetary landings is the Astral Sojourner class?”

“That is correct, though I must caution that they are large for such. Most landing pads, even in the core worlds, cannot support their weight,” Thomas replied quickly. “That being the case, all of our vessels are designed to easily set down in water, at least of those which can enter atmosphere.”

“Excellent! Which one is this… Astral Sojourner?” Fya asked, nodding to the window again.

“You can pick it out by its sleek, graceful lines,” Thomas replied smoothly, stepping up next to the djinn and pointing the ship out. “As you can see, it’s a beautiful ship, capable of outrunning the vast majority of ships in its class with ease, and warding off those who would dare injure such a beautiful work of art.”

As he spoke, the man offered Fya an arm as he smiled, asking. “Would you like to see her interior in person?”

“That would be lovely,” Fya said, giving him a lazy smile.

Something in Star’s stomach turned, and she whispered to Moon, ever so quietly. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“You said it,” Moon agreed.

“He senses an easy mark.” Zelirana said, glancing at them as she added, a touch wickedly. “I think that in any other circumstance, he’d have ended up face-first on the deck. Now, back to it. We have a ship to examine.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Star agreed quickly, and they followed the salesman and djinn, who’d already started down the corridor toward the docking arm that extended to the ship’s access port.

She wondered what it’d be like aboard the ship, since she’d never seen inside a truly expensive ship except in vids.

* * *

As it happened, the ship was both more luxurious than the ones Star had seen in vids, but also less. There was plenty of gilding and fine paneling intended to mimic wood or stone, while being far more durable than either substance, but it didn’t have the ostentatious paintings, sculptures, or the other things vids had trained Star to expect. That could just be due to the ship being straight out of the yards, she supposed, but if Star hadn’t been trying to pose as a noblewoman’s accountant, it would’ve been everything she could do to avoid gaping at some of the things that Thomas said were available.

Moon hadn’t been much better off, as the kitchen had been filled with equipment that Star only vaguely recalled her sister drooling over after they’d gotten into college. The sort of equipment which would have cost as much for a single piece as for an entire year of their tuition.

At least none of the crew berths appeared to be as bad as what was in many of the vids. In those, the parts of the ship where the nobility walked were all glamorous and spotless, while the crew sections were dank, cramped, and designed to suck the life out of those aboard. Here, they might not be as amazingly spacious and well-appointed as the captain’s cabin, or the penthouse, a room that had boggled Star’s mind, but they were much better than any of the quarters aboard Daggerhound.

“May I ask what sort of crew you’re intending to bring aboard?” Thomas asked, a wide smile practically permanently affixed to his face at this point.

While Zelirana had been careful to mention that the ship was a bit on the expensive side, she’d also hinted at potential further purchases in the future, which Star suspected would be useful for getting at least something of a discount. She was mostly filing away the demon’s strategies for future use, if she went into business herself. And, she admitted, as information about what to keep an eye out for.

“Dolls. Top of the line, of course,” Fya said lazily, making a gesture as if throwing something away as she sniffed. “They need hardly any rest compared to most crew and can follow instructions exquisitely. If I wish to own a ship of this sort, I don’t need most crews scuffing the decks. It must be flawless.”

“A lady of exquisite taste,” Thomas assured her. “The question is, is this a ship you desire?”

“It meets my requirements.” the djinn said, a lazy smile playing across her lips as she nodded slowly. “Not perfectly… the pool is too small, as is the garden, but for an interim solution it is adequate. Zel, darling! You handle the business matters.”

“Of course, My Lady,” Zelirana said, and turned to Thomas, smiling warmly as she asked. “Perhaps we should retire to your office with Star, that we might look into this properly.”

“That seems like an excellent idea,” he agreed, and gestured back down the hall as he offered. “Would you like to stay aboard while we discuss business, Lady Fiallis?”

“I believe I would,” Fya agreed, glancing back at him with a smile.

“Then do so,” he said, nodding in satisfaction.

“Moon, make certain that Her Ladyship has anything she requires,” Zelirana ordered, and Moon bowed her head in acknowledgement.

Then Star followed them, wondering just how Zelirana was going to handle this situation.

* * *

“I can hardly believe that you managed all of that,” Star said, shaking her head slowly as they relaxed in the plush quarters attached to ‘Lady Fiallis’s’ penthouse.

Apparently, the number of nobles who had personal servants was large enough that there were penthouses with rooms for them. Not that Fya had kept up the pretense once they were in private.

“The thing about bargaining with someone like him is that while you might get a slight discount, which I managed, it’s far easier to convince them to throw in extras,” Zelirana replied, sitting back with her glass of wine, a grin on her face. “A pair of shuttles, which they usually offer anyway, enchanted filtration systems, things of that sort. They’ll get prickly if you try to cut too far into their direct profits, so try not to target that. Go after the extras you wanted anyway.”

Star nodded, nibbling on the cookies that Moon had made in the attached kitchen, enjoying every bite. She thought as she did so, then nodded. “That makes perfect sense. So, since we closed the deal today, how long do you think it’ll be until we get back.?”

“Three days,” Fya replied instantly, her legs over the edge of the sofa and her head resting in Moon’s lap. Star’s sister looked more bemused by that than anything else. “It’s going to take them time to get everything in order, and we’re going to be pampered within a millimeter of our lives. Plus I’m going to have Thomas trying to get into my bed for the entire time… it’ll be interesting to see how far I can string him along. I wonder if I should curse him with bad luck…”

“I think that would be a little… extreme,” Moon chimed in. “What if they figured out you’d done it? It could make life difficult in the future.”

“True enough,” Fya admitted, letting out a sigh. “I can dream, though!”

“Sure. Do you think Evelyn’s going to be impatient?” Star asked.

“Nah. I’m sure she’s keeping herself occupied. Maybe she’s catching up on her reading, or doing programming,” Fya said, shrugging. “You wouldn’t know it to look at her, but she has a subscription to a huge library of books, and she likes reading romance novels in particular. She’s a softy… as long as you don’t provoke that temper of hers. If you do… oof. You’d best be an elder dragon, or you’re probably toast.”

“Fair. I’ll have to ask her for recommendations,” Star said, pondering the thought, then shrugged.

She was sure they’d get back to Nald soon enough. Besides, how much trouble could Evelyn have caused in four days?

Chapter 32

“Um, Evelyn? Are you not coming back to the base… is it a base? I’m not sure what to call it,” Ilyra asked, though her mind obviously wandered about halfway through the question, which made Evelyn resist the urge to laugh.

“Not yet, no,” Evelyn replied, grinning slightly.

“Is that a good idea? I mean, you had to have spent an enormous amount of mana moving the ley line, but the sensors show you going toward the poachers,” Ilyra said, fretting so visibly that Evelyn didn’t even need to see her to realize what she was doing. It was a bit adorable, Evelyn thought, and her smile widened a little more. “Shouldn’t you rest?”

“There isn’t any need, Lyra,” Evelyn replied, clicking her tongue as she continued. “If I’d mostly run myself out of mana, yes, it would be important to rest, but I haven’t. I used… oh, a third of what I have available? Beyond which, I’m regenerating it slowly, less so with how I’m flying, but fast enough that I’ll have recovered a bit by the time I reach them. There’s no reason to delay. Maybe they’ll even have noticed what I did and take me seriously. I doubt it, but it’d be nice not to have to kill all of them.”

“I… you have that much mana?” Ilyra asked plaintively. “Keeping the anchor in place drained both me and Vaneryth completely! I don’t think I could light a candle right now!”

“Assuming you could find a candle. I doubt that they have any, so the only way there’d be one is if you brought it with you,” Evelyn replied teasingly, then let her voice grow a bit more serious. “That said, yes, I truly have that much mana. It didn’t take as much as you might think to move the ley line, the key was the amount of force it took, and I’m very good at focusing on force. Subtlety… that’s harder for me, which is why I don’t tend to use it. I want to get this done, so that we’re not stuck on the planet for a night. I don’t think I’d enjoy the experience.”

There wasn’t an immediate response, and Evelyn took the moment to enjoy her flight again. The weather was distinctly worse than it had been earlier, and this time there were fluttering motes of light in the air where some of the mold had been kicked into the atmosphere, and—

Evelyn dodged instinctively, and a winged, scaly form came screaming out of the sky through the space she’d occupied a few seconds before. She only caught a glimpse of the surprised-looking drake, but what she saw made her eyebrows rise. It’d had opalescent, shimmering scales that blended in with the snow far too easily, and it’d been about three meters long, at a guess. Maybe more, as she hadn’t gotten a good look at its tail.

“Also, you can inform Elric and Doris that there’s at least one adult drake out here still. It tried swooping on me,” Evelyn said, grinning broadly as she quickly added. “I didn’t injure it, rest assured, and I’ll be gone before it can circle around.”

“Elric says thank you, and is wondering which one it is,” Vaneryth chimed in after a moment.

“I couldn’t tell you. The drake was only in sight for about a second, then was gone. I’d guess it was about three meters long, but beyond that... not a clue,” Evelyn replied, shrugging as she continued on her way. With the winds the way they were, the chances of the drake getting into position to try again were virtually non-existent. She figured keeping going was her best bet to avoid having to kill the creature. Besides, if she wanted a fight, the poachers were far more likely to give her what she wanted. She didn’t like fighting dumb beasts, it just wasn’t fair to the poor creatures.

“They seem to have an idea based off that? I don’t understand most of what they’re saying,” Ilyra responded after a few seconds. “You’re getting close to the poachers, though. Do we need to do anything?”

“Not that I can think of. I’m sure I’ll be able to manage,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “It isn’t like I expect much out of them, anyway. Even if they’re former military, there’s whole different grades of military, from those that absolutely suck to those who’d give me a rough time. The latter… I just don’t see them as the types to hire out as poachers for months on end. It just isn’t worth it.”

“Alright, but be safe, please? I’m nervous about all of this,” Ilyra told her.

“I’ll be fine. Signing off, Lyra,” Evelyn said, cutting the line as she shook her head. It wasn’t like she was that worried. If a few dozen enemy soldiers could kill her, she’d have died before even taking over Peldra.

She descended through the snow slowly, looking for the ship in question. It almost certainly would have running lights, and… ah, there it was.

The ship emerged from the snow like an immense, beached whale. Compared to the rest of the landscape it was so much darker that it stood out, though some snow softened the image. Evelyn examined it for a few seconds before nodding in satisfaction. It was definitely no more than a frigate, and it was nestled in against the back of a hill. That was interesting, and she lowered her gaze to where she could see a couple of hatches set into the snowy hillside. Those weren’t natural, which meant the poachers had set up camp to stay for a very long time.

As she came in for a landing, Evelyn paused, her eyes narrowing, and she changed course slightly as her helmet systems picked out the signs of anti-personnel mines. Oh, they probably couldn’t breach her armor, but that was rude. She landed in a safe spot, then examined the two hatches curiously.

One of them was much larger than the other, and it was a meter off the ground, which made her think that it probably was for the hunting skiffs that Doris had talked about. That was interesting, but the other was a simple hatch about two and a half meters across, large enough to admit most common intelligent species, and she shrugged to herself as she approached it. It looked like the ice had been partially melted to make certain the hatch was sealed, which she thought was an excellent idea in this environment.

Evelyn walked up to the hatch and rapped on it, then took a step back, folding her arms in front of her. The question was mostly whether anyone would even hear her.

For a few seconds there wasn’t a response. Then a full minute. Just as Evelyn was pondering ripping the hatch out of the hillside with magic, or maybe just cutting it open, there was a faint hissing sound, then the hatch cracked, and slowly split in half as it swung inward.

Beyond the hatch was a well-lit cavern. Evelyn immediately saw why the ship was placed against the hillside the way it was, the poachers had set it up so that an exit hatch opened straight into the cavern, and they’d placed a large seal around the edges of the cave to keep the cold air from infiltrating that way. It still wouldn’t be warm, but it would be more tolerable than it might be in most circumstances.

There was a variety of equipment in the cavern itself, along with a few dozen crates, what looked to Evelyn like a pile of bones… and at least a dozen men and women in armor, each of them armed. The one in the doorway was a large, imposing troll woman, who stared at Evelyn through a clear, bubble-like helmet. She sneered, showing off her long fangs.

“What d’ya want?” the woman demanded. “We ain’t hiring.”

“No, you aren’t. In fact, you’d best find a new job,” Evelyn replied pleasantly, smiling coldly at the woman, though she couldn’t see that. “I am Evelyn Esendria Tarth, and I’ve been hired to serve your eviction notice. Either all of you pack up and are gone within two hours, or I will remove you from the planet. I don’t care which way it goes.”

For a moment there wasn’t a response. Then one of the men in the back began to laugh.

“Evelyn Tarth? That’s rich!” the man chortled, slapping his leg. “What the hell would she be doing here? Are you trying to scare us girl? It isn’t going to work!”

“Yeah, tell you what, you get out of my sight in ten seconds, and I won’t blow your head off,” the troll agreed, unlimbering a big, two-handed gun she was carrying. A projectile launcher, Evelyn noted, and one which had some enchantment runes on it. That would make it marginally more dangerous.

“I told them this is what would happen,” Evelyn said, sighing and drawing her energy sword. “Pull that trigger, and all of you are dead.”

“Sounds like someone wants assisted suicide!” the troll exclaimed, aiming directly at Evelyn, then pulled the trigger.

The explosion of the cannon going off was incredibly powerful, but Evelyn’s shields flashed into existence as the projectile left the barrel, then the slug ricocheted upward, flying off into the storm. The laughter paused as the troll froze, staring at her.

“That,” Evelyn said. “was a terrible mistake.”

* * *

“What’s going on?” Elric asked, looking at Ilyra and Vaneryth nervously. “Is she talking to them?”

“Yes…” Vaneryth said slowly, her voice reluctant. “However, I do not give them good odds of getting out of this alive.”

“One of them just shot at her,” Ilyra added, her eyes wide as she listened to Evelyn’s feed. She was mostly surprised that the woman was recording everything via the link to Daggerhound, which was allowing them to watch.

Then Evelyn moved.

* * *

With a gesture and surge of will, Evelyn sent the troll flying back into the cavern, then she twisted her fingers and ripped the mines out of the ground behind her. Thrusting her hand forward, the mines shot into the room like a deadly hail of ice and metal.

That hail detonated rapidly as the mines struck the ground, equipment, and worst of all for them, the people inside the room. Before the troll had even caught her breath and started climbing to her feet, the air was filled with shrapnel that killed one unfortunate man and tore through the armor of four more of them.

“I warned you,” Evelyn said calmly, stepping through the hatch as she smiled coldly. “You are all dead. You just don’t know it yet.”

“Frigging… kill that damned bitch!” the troll gasped, and the men and women turned their weapons on Evelyn.

She moved by instinct, dodging a good three quarters of their fire, even though she was almost fully exposed in her position. The rest of the fire billowed off her shield, which lost ten percent of its integrity in seconds, particularly when the plasma carbine connected. But it took no time at all for her to reach the first of the men, and her sword ignited instantly.

The blade cut through the man almost effortlessly, slowed by the enchanted armor he was wearing, but he was staring at her, his lips moving soundlessly as half his chest fell away from his body. Another instant and Evelyn shot another man with her pistol, punching a hole through his chest plate, then fired twice more as she realized she’d missed his heart.

A woman pulled out a shield and power maul, then lunged at her, yelling loudly. Evelyn rolled her eyes, cutting straight through her shield and disarming her while she dodged the swing of the maul. Leaving the woman behind to contemplate the loss of her limbs, Evelyn tore her way through the remaining poachers mercilessly.

They were better than the mercenaries she’d dealt with before, Evelyn immediately noticed. They had better gear, they actually managed to connect with her shields through a modicum of skill, and they were giving an actual fight before they died… but die they did.

In a scant handful of seconds, the last of them were gone save for the troll, as well as the screaming woman without arms, but Evelyn put a bolt through the latter’s head to put her out of Evelyn’s misery. She hated screaming.

“Damn it, I’m gonna kill you!” the troll screamed, and she lunged forward, abandoning her cannon as a pair of wicked, curved blades extended from the forearms of her armor, the blades gleaming with magic and sharp enough they might be able to damage Evelyn’s armor.

“I think not,” Evelyn said, pausing for just a moment to let the woman approach… and as the troll swung her blades, Evelyn sidestepped and swung her sword calmly.

The troll fell to the ground, her head falling separately, and Evelyn smiled coldly at the starship, speaking more loudly this time as she holstered her pistol. “You really should have listened when I spoke earlier. All of you, not this pathetic lot. If you had, you’d be able to live, retire… you know, the things most mercenaries and poachers dream of. Instead… ah, ah! None of that!”

Evelyn’s hand snapped forward as the ship’s antipersonnel guns began rising, these weak enough that they might not kill all of their allies, assuming any still lived. A beam of intense red light lanced out from her hand, splitting into a dozen separate beams that unerringly slammed into each of those weapon mounts… and detonated, each like a ball of intense fire that clawed at the hull of the ship. Oh, the hull survived, but the weapons didn’t.

That was the disadvantage of how they’d set up the cave, Evelyn thought coldly. With the seals in place, and the ice so close, they couldn’t raise their shields. No, they were going to have to deal with the fact they didn’t have shields and they’d also let her get close.

Of course, that was the moment when one of the geniuses finally decided that it was time to leave. She heard the whine as the ship’s engines began waking, and the hatch of the ship hissed shut, the outer armored bulkhead covering it to make it harder for her to board.

“Idiots,” Evelyn said, shaking her head in disgust. “You think that will stop me? You should have just surrendered. Fine. I suppose there’s nothing to be done for it.”

Evelyn raised her hand and flexed it experimentally, smiling as she added. “Lady Xalryx asked me not to wreck the biosphere… but this won’t. The planet is cold enough, so… let’s use it. Lords of all flame, hear my call. Ladies of the frozen depths, come to my voice. Let that which is frozen become liquid, smooth as flawless glass before my eyes.”

A spark of flame erupted in Evelyn’s hand, a flame that turned to water, giving it a strange appearance, and Evelyn extended her hand, throwing it gently at the ship. The flame dropped rapidly, and struck the ground before it reached the vessel, which others might think was unintentional. They’d be wrong.

The ice and snow shimmered, then turned abruptly from a solid to a liquid in a circle that was larger than the ship itself. The sudden change caused the ship to lurch, then begin sinking. Worse for it, the water was under Evelyn’s control, so it sank even more rapidly than it might have, as she refused to allow it to rest on the surface, pushing the ship under.

Evelyn waited until the ship was thirty meters down, then she smiled and began to chant again. “Lady of the void, hear my voice, I call upon the utter darkness of space, the depths of the planes of endless winter. Let that which is liquid be solid once more.”

The bolt of blue light that left her hand hit the pool of water, and an instant later the ship was covered and surrounded by ice, imprisoned thirty meters down. Evelyn looked at it, and smiled, transmitting a message via Daggerhound. “Now, my dear poachers, you’d best contact Lady Xalryx and convince her you deserve clemency, or you’re going to be stuck down there until your life support runs out… unless, of course, you manage to tunnel free somehow. But I doubt you’ll manage that. Hope that she’s kinder than I am. Control, refuse all hails from that vessel.”

With that, Evelyn turned away and started back toward the scientific outpost. Yes, it was a touch cruel, and not quite as satisfying as destroying the ship, but Evelyn thought it an appropriate decision. Why, it might even be more profitable for her employer than the other option.

Chapter 33

“That… that was mean,” Ilyra said, swallowing hard, and a little queasy. She’d never seen someone die in front of her before. Never, and she’d just seen Evelyn… well, she didn’t want to think about that.

“Mm, perhaps. Would you rather that she’d killed all of them outright?” Vaneryth asked, frowning a little. “Yes, pushing their ship under the ice is a rather horrifying way to kill people, but she gave them a chance to survive. I think that’s better than the other options. Except for perhaps giving them the opportunity to surrender.”

“What did she do?” Doris asked, frowning slightly.

“After they attacked her, she killed the ones outside,” Ilyra said, shivering slightly as she poked at her meal, a tasty but porridge-like paste. “I think they were aiming the ship’s guns at her when she blew them. Blew the guns up, I mean.”

Vaneryth nodded in agreement, adding, “Then she melted the ice beneath them, and after their ship sank some distance down, she froze it solid. She told them that they could either dig themselves free or try to get Lady Xalryx’s aid. I’m interpreting her comments more politely, but that is essentially what their options are.”

“I… how did she do that? Most ships should be able to float, even if dropped into water!” Elric said, frowning as he counted on his fingers. “That’s how most of them are designed, so that their displacement is right to keep them above water.”

“Don’t ask me!” Vaneryth protested, raising her hands helplessly. “We just saw her do it!”

Ilyra nodded and shrugged nervously. “Do… do you think they’ll be alright?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it? I think so. Starships are designed to have life support that lasts for months or even years, and while the ice is cold, it shouldn’t pose much of a danger… starvation is the most likely danger,” Doris said, frowning a little. “I think we’ll need to contact Lady Xalryx. I doubt this is what she had in mind for the job.”

“She’s a dragon. They tend to be territorial, so I think it’s more likely she’ll be annoyed by them being stuck underground than dead,” Elric replied, shaking his head. “But yes, I’ll go send her a message on the comms. We should get a response soon enough.”

Ilyra opened her mouth, but Evelyn’s voice came through her implants before she could speak.

“Lyra, Ryth? Please meet me at the shuttle. I’ve sent a report to Xalryx, so we’ll know whether she’s satisfied in a few hours. There’s no reason to stay on this ice ball for any longer than we have to,” Evelyn said, pausing for a moment before adding. “Ah, and make certain to thank our ‘hosts’ for their time and effort. There’s no need to be rude.”

Ilyra looked at Vaneryth, who had an amused look on her face, then nodded and spoke softly. “Alright, Evelyn, we’ll do that.”

“Hm?” Elric asked, blinking at them owlishly. “You’ll do what?”

“Evelyn has sent off a message to Lady Xalryx with her own report, and expects a response in a few hours,” Vaneryth explained. “In the meantime she intends to return to the ship. I believe that we’ll return if there’s anything else we need to do.”

“Oh. Well, yes, I suppose that is… reasonable. I think it’s a waste of fuel, though,” Elric said, frowning.

“Oh, shush! It isn’t like you wouldn’t jump at a larger bunkroom or a hot bath if you had the chance,” Doris scolded him, frowning deeply. “Or for better food, for that matter.”

“Yeah… well, our food hasn’t been the best for the last couple of days to begin with, not since Moon left,” Ilyra said, smiling a bit lopsidedly. “She trained as a chef, so she made really good food. I’m not all that good.”

“None of us are. Evelyn is the best, and even she relies on the auto-prep most of the time,” Vaneryth agreed. “I half-wish one of the Dolls had a cooking chip, but… naught to be done about it until Moon gets back.”

“Yeah,” Ilyra said, looking at the bowl of paste, and braced herself before eating it quickly. Even if the texture wasn’t appetizing, it tasted good and was healthy. There wasn’t any reason to waste the supplies here. Once she’d gulped it down, she put down the bowl, smiling sheepishly at them as she wiped the corners of her mouth. “There, done. Thank you for being understanding.”

“I still don’t understand why you stay with her,” Doris said, her good humor fading slightly. “If what you said she did is true…”

Ilyra opened her mouth, then shut it, considering how to answer for a couple of seconds.

“Is she dangerous? Yes, of course… but she’s also proven to be very different than the rumors I heard before meeting her. She’s kind enough most of the time, very… relaxed and generous as well. But more than that, Evelyn is dangerous, and the chances of us getting enslaved again while we’re with her are low,” Ilyra said, meeting the woman’s gaze. “It’s better than the situation we were in before. Prisoners in our own bodies and minds, controlled by some chip as a brainwashing program tried to turn us into toys for someone who’d purchased us. Does she scare me? More now, yes… but I trust her not to do that to me.”

The scientist opened her mouth for a moment but didn’t speak, shame rippling across her face as she looked away, then nodded slowly. Her tone wasn’t quite as angry when she spoke this time. “I didn’t realize that’s what you’d been through. I’ve heard of slavery, of course, but that sounds horrible. My sympathies.”

“It was,” Vaneryth agreed, offering her hand to Ilyra. “We got out of it, though. With any fortune, we’ll never have it happen to us again… and perhaps we can rescue others from it as well at some point.”

Ilyra took the hand and stood, her mood improving as she nodded. “Yeah, that’d be nice. We’ll have to ask Evelyn about it, I guess… but we should get to the shuttle. We don’t want to keep her waiting. Thank you for the hospitality, it’s very appreciated!”

“You’re welcome,” Elric said, glancing at Doris as he asked. “Could you show them out? I’ll get that message dealt with while you do.”

“Sure, I can do that,” Doris said, and her eyes brightened as she added. “Hopefully things will start going more smoothly now… it’d be nice if we weren’t constantly having to worry about the drakes we raise getting picked off by poachers.”

“Good luck!” Ilyra replied, smiling widely, and followed her toward the entrance.

While she thought she could have found it on her own, it was best not to take chances.

* * *

“Excellent work, Lady Tarth!” Xalryx said, smiling broadly. “Not only did you deal with the poachers, they’re offering enough for their freedom that it’ll cover many of the losses I’ve sustained due to their presence. I expected you to just kill them all.”

“It crossed my mind, but then I’d have had to go through their entire ship, hunting them down one at a time, and that seemed boring,” Evelyn said with a dismissive gesture. “That or destroying the ship entirely, which while possible would have taken a lot more effort. I thought you might be able to earn something from them this way.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t just take the ship for yourself. It wouldn’t even be the first time this month that happened,” Xalryx said, a hint of humor in her voice. “It wouldn’t surprise anyone in the cluster, for that matter.”

“Ah, but then I’d have to clean the ship up and sell it, and I’d be taking a perfectly good prize from a dragon I’m on reasonable terms with,” Evelyn said, smirking slightly as she added. “Considering that I’m hoping to get an item or two from Draconic Suns one day, that seems rather… short-sighted.”

“Ahh, I understand. You’re looking at the long term,” Xalryx said, her smile widening still more. “Good. That makes me less suspicious.”

“Mm, I thought it might. You dragons spend so much time with internal intrigue that I thought you’d appreciate the explanation, or that it’d at least make you less suspicious,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “In any case, I assume that we can consider the job done?”

“That’s correct. Once I’m certain that I’ve gotten the information I desire from the poachers, I’ll free them, and it would be politically advantageous for you to be gone when that happens,” Xalryx confirmed, nodding to her. “I’ve transmitted both parts of your final payment to your vessel. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Lady Tarth.”

“Thank you, Xalryx,” Evelyn said, checking the system to ensure that the payments had arrived, along with the vouchers that would allow the twins to travel through the gates home and back. Her smile widened still more as she realized that they were accompanied by arrangements which would allow passage to Callai as well, which would make things still easier.

The connection cut, and instead Evelyn was left looking at the sleek brass warship that was Xalryx’s personal craft. It was a light cruiser, approximately, but Evelyn would pit it against most heavy cruisers with confidence it would win. Including her new ship, for that matter.

Evelyn considered for a second, then ordered. “Control, set a course for Nald and take us out.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. Course set, estimated time of arrival, one day, two hours,” Control replied, and Evelyn smiled.

Now she just had to wait for Fya and the others to return, assuming that they succeeded. Not that she had any doubts that they would, it was more a question of just how much it would cost her.

Part V

Family

Chapter 34

“Welcome back, Fya. Did you enjoy yourself?” Evelyn asked, smiling at the djinn as she rolled her eyes in a very exaggerated manner.

“Are you kidding? I didn’t even get a proper excuse to kick that salesman in the balls. It was so disappointing… though I like the ship,” Fya said, grinning and gesturing at the screen. “I present to you the Djinn’s Gift.”

Evelyn stopped, staring at the djinn for a moment. Moon and Star’s giggling indicated that Fya wasn’t joking, which caused Evelyn to inhale, then let out the breath as she glowered.

“You named it the Djinn’s Gift. I thought we discussed names that were far less… pointed,” Evelyn said.

“Yes, well, if you want to, you can rename it once you own the ship. I thought it was appropriate, and the people at the yards thought it was a fine name,” Fya replied, sniffing haughtily. “I also got it for well under the budget you gave me. Though some of that is Zelirana’s doing. She’s really good at negotiating, and while she didn’t get the ship for much of a discount, she got them to include about two thirds of the extras you asked for.”

“Truly?” Evelyn asked, her eyebrows rising as she looked at Zelirana curiously. “I knew you were good at talking to people but… are you certain you aren’t wanting to be a quartermaster? I know that’s the position that Star was looking at, but there isn’t any reason there couldn’t be multiple people dealing with it.”

“Thank you, but no. I’d be happy to help her if she requests my assistance, but I rather like the idea of being the personnel manager,” Zelirana said, giving a satisfied smile. “No, if I had any request, it’d be for you to treat me as an actual harem member.”

Evelyn saw both of the twins blush at that, as well as Ilyra. It amused her a little, but she didn’t pay them much mind, instead studying the succubus for a few seconds, tapping her lower lip thoughtfully. The woman seemed sincere, which was… odd. Very odd, at least for a succubus… but she’d likely be pleasant enough in bed, so Evelyn finally nodded.

“Why not?” Evelyn said, smiling at the succubus. “If you try to touch my mind or drain me, though…”

“Oh, I know better than that. I have survival instincts better than that of a baby angel.” Zelirana assured Evelyn, prompting a gasp of outrage from Vaneryth in the process.

“That’s just rude!” the angel sputtered. “Angels have survival instincts!”

Zelirana just grinned at the angel in return, and Evelyn turned to the twins, raising an eyebrow as she asked. “And the two of you? Are you regretting your decision to sign on with me?”

“No… not at all,” Moon said, glancing at her sister as she shrugged nervously. “It was a fascinating trip, and I think that living aboard the ship will be incredible.”

“We both feel that way.” Star agreed. The redhead hesitated before adding. “I just… wish we could’ve seen our parents. We just can’t afford to spend that much going to see them.”

Evelyn smiled, glancing between them for a moment, then spoke calmly. “In that case, I have good news for you. As part of my job while you were gone, I got a pair of vouchers from Xalryx.”

“Um, vouchers for what?” Star asked, her eyebrows rising slightly.

Evelyn transmitted the information to the two women and waited. She only had to wait for an instant before Moon gasped, sounding almost strangled.

“These are round trips to Corrida!” Moon exclaimed, her eyes huge. “It includes passage the entire way! Why did you—”

Evelyn raised a finger to her lips, silencing Moon and Star, though both of them looked like they were practically vibrating with the urge to speak. Once she was certain they were going to listen, she spoke calmly.

“I told you two about my parents. They’re gone, and personally, I would hesitate to approach them these days even if I knew where they were. I’ve done a great many things that would make them unhappy… but I suspect they would want to see me more than they’d disapprove,” Evelyn told them calmly, meeting their eyes. “You have been missing for several years, and you explained the expense they went to in order to find you. I can respect that, and not allowing them to see you after three years of silence… that would be torture. So, I chose to arrange for you to meet them.”

“But… the sheer expense of this! And what about Ilyra, Vaneryth, and Zelirana?” Star protested, but Evelyn could see the excitement beneath her guilty expression.

“The cost was negligible for me. No, truly,” Evelyn said, smiling a little more at their incredulous expressions. “Xalryx is a dragon, and they have the ability to get drastically reduced rates for their hirelings. In this case, it cost a hundred mythrite of the reward I would have been paid. As for the others…”

Evelyn paused, looking at them curiously. Ilyra blushed, then spoke quietly. “I… really can’t go home, and I wouldn’t want to, not yet.”

Vaneryth shrugged, an expression of embarrassment on her face as she said. “As for me, I was sent back, I’ll note. I can’t blame you for wanting to be reunited with your parents.”

“If you think I want to go back to the lower planes, you’d be completely wrong,” Zelirana said, sniffing disdainfully. “Succubi are looked down on in many realms, not just by angels, and as such even with my current power I’d likely end up in a place just as bad as when enslaved. At best, I’d end up ruling some pathetic mud-pit of a realm. I’ll stay as I am, thank you. It’s safer.”

Evelyn couldn’t help a smile, looking at the succubus in amusement. It certainly added context to the demon’s actions thus far, and she inclined her head slightly before focusing on the twins again.

“I… well, thank you,” Moon said, sounding flustered.

“The only real question I have is… when? If you’re going to be leaving soon…” Star said, chewing her lower lip.

“That isn’t a concern,” Evelyn replied, smiling thinly as she glanced at Fya curiously. “While you were away, I made some inquiries, and I know of a shipyard that can redo the exterior of Djinn’s Gift in four weeks. Including today, I’ll give you one month to return. That should give you approximately four weeks at home as well.”

“Really?” Fya asked, her eyes narrowing. “What colors were you planning?”

“Black and red, of course,” Evelyn said.

“No.” Fya replied flatly.

“Why not?” Evelyn asked, a hint of annoyance welling up inside her. “They’re the colors I like.”

“Because the ship is pretty. Black would make the curves almost impossible to see, and make it look dangerous, not pretty,” Fya told her, glowering. “If anything, it should be blue and silver or blue and gold.”

Evelyn took a deep breath, holding it for a moment, then looked at the rest of them, noting the variety of outfits that they wore. Both Ilyra and Vaneryth favored light colors, Zelirana preferred dark ones, and the twins were in more… middle of the road colors, really. She supposed it should have been harder to tell the two of them apart than it was, but she hadn’t had an issue with it.

“What do the rest of you think?” Evelyn asked, seeming to startle them.

“You’re asking our opinions?” Vaneryth asked, her eyebrows rising.

“Far be it from me to agree with an angel, but for once I do. This is startling,” Zelirana said, causing the angel to examine her warily.

Evelyn sighed, then explained. “The problem is that this argument will last for days if I allow it to go on. As you’re going to be aboard the ship, I should at least listen to your opinions.”

For a moment everyone was silent, then Vaneryth started it off first. “I… prefer the current appearance. That’s likely unsurprising, but I rather like the metallic trim more than anything else. Even black and gold would look good to me.”

Ilyra nodded quickly, smiling as she spoke up. “I agree with her! I wouldn’t go with black, though. Maybe pink with silver trim? I’ve always been told that isn’t appropriate for vehicles, though.”

“Um… black and red seems a little too dark to me,” Star said, giving Evelyn an apologetic look. “Though I do think that it’s a little too bright as it is.”

“Yeah… and I don’t like the idea of how greens or purples would look…” Moon murmured.

“Perhaps a compromise is in order?” Zelirana asked, drawing attention to herself as she brought up a hologram of the Djinn’s Gift. “What if instead of going primarily black, the ivory hull was primarily scarlet with gold trim? I believe that it would make the ship suitably imposing, with an eye to beauty.”

With a gesture, which Evelyn knew was unnecessary, the succubus changed the color of the hologram’s hull from ivory to a bright shade of red, and she examined it for a moment. She wasn’t sure about how imposing it was, but…

“Ooh, I like it!” Moon said, looking at the hologram more closely. “I didn’t exactly like bright colors for it, but that’s nice, closer to the middle of the road.”

“Show us a nice blue, too,” Fya interjected stubbornly. “Side by side!”

“As you wish,” Zelirana said, and the projection moved to the side as another copy of the ship sprang into existence, then the hull turned a royal blue. It was pretty, Evelyn admitted, but she preferred the brighter colors of the first option.

Everyone was about to speak when Evelyn spoke up, her voice firm. “Wait. Rather than argue about this, why don’t we take the simplest option. You, E5.”

“Yes, Captain?” the Doll who’d been almost unnoticed as she performed maintenance on a nearby access panel asked, turning to face Evelyn. This one looked like an elf with green hair and eyes, with a slightly slimmer, more athletic build.

“Each of us will send an implant message to you, choosing one of these two holographic models. You will not inform us of who voted for which, you will simply tell us which received the most votes, or if there was a tie,” Evelyn informed the Doll.

“As you desire, Captain,” E5 said, standing at attention.

Evelyn immediately sent a message to the Doll, voting for the version with the red hull, then waited. Fya gave her a dirty look, then looked at E5 for a moment. It took a few seconds while they all stood there, waiting.

“Results compiled. Forty-five votes received—” E5 began, and Evelyn interrupted.

“Wait, forty-five? There are only six of us!” Evelyn protested, just a bit bewildered.

“You asked for implant transmissions. Did you not intend for the rest of the Dolls to vote, Captain?” E5 asked, looking at her curiously, and Evelyn’s mouth opened, then shut as she stared at the Doll in confusion for a few moments. This was unanticipated.

“I… had not considered it. Do you have preferences, or is it simply random?” Evelyn asked, looking at the others as her confusion turned to curiosity. All of them had perked up a little as well.

“Due to our personality chips, we do have preferences, yes,” E5 confirmed, nodding agreeably. “They are based primarily on the emotional states we are intended to emulate.”

“Fascinating,” Zelirana murmured, examining the Doll speculatively. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

Evelyn paused and rubbed her forehead for a moment, wondering once again if it was really a good idea to keep the Dolls. It didn’t matter, though. If she was going to have a ship, she needed some form of crew, and even if they made her slightly uncomfortable, there was no reason to simply pass them on to someone else. Somehow that made her even more uncomfortable.

“Shouldn’t we hear the results?” Ilyra asked hesitantly after a moment.

“Yes, we should. Let me modify my previous instructions, E5. Tell us how many votes the winner received as well.” Evelyn said, letting out a soft sigh.

“Yes, Captain. The hologram with the red hull depicted received thirty-six votes,” E5 said. “Will that be all?”

“Would you mind explaining why so many Dolls voted for the red one?” Star asked, a hint of fascination in her voice.

Evelyn didn’t interfere as the Doll paused for a couple of seconds, looking at Star. That on its own was fascinating to her, as that was an extremely long period for a computer of a Doll’s capabilities. After a few seconds it spoke.

“According to the information I have compiled, it appears that the majority voted for red because brighter colors are associated with positive emotions. While blue is appropriate for the night sky, it is also associated with sadness and negative emotions,” E5 said at last, her voice almost containing emotion in it. “As such, the majority of Dolls voted for red. Our purpose is to improve the lives of those we work for.”

“Interesting,” Evelyn said, then smiled a bit more as she looked at Fya triumphantly. “In which case, the hull color is settled.”

“Fine, but it isn’t being renamed, Milady,” Fya replied, raising her chin slightly as a mischievous light glittered in her eyes.

“Agreed,” Evelyn said, then looked at the others, smiling wryly as she focused on the twins in particular, nodding to them. “Now, then… don’t the two of you have arrangements to make? I’m not waiting if you delay a few days.”

“Oh, right! Thank you again!” Star said, hesitating for just a moment, then she stepped forward and hugged Evelyn. Moon barely even paused before joining her sister, which caused Evelyn to laugh.

“Enough of that, you two,” Evelyn scolded. “You have things to do. Go. See your parents, and come back afterward. And don’t get kidnapped mid-way, hm? I’d hate to have to come all that way to deal with more mercenaries or pirates.”

“But you would, wouldn’t you?” Moon said, letting go and smiling up at her. “Since we work for you, you’d come all that way, just to deal with them?”

Evelyn paused for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I would. And then it’d come out of your pay, so you’d best not do it.”

“We won’t. We don’t need our pay docked,” Star agreed, smiling broadly.

“Yeah. We’ll let you know as soon as everything is set up!” Moon agreed, and the two darted deeper into Daggerhound.

Evelyn watched them go, then spoke to the Doll. “E5, go back to what you were doing.”

“Yes, Captain,” the Doll agreed, and Evelyn watched it for a moment, a bit uneasy. No, watched her.

“You really are kind,” Ilyra said after a few seconds, her voice soft. “I… was a little afraid after the poachers. I’d never seen anyone like that, but then you sent them to meet their families, and it cost you money that you didn’t have to spend.”

Evelyn opened her mouth to retort, but Fya giggled and interjected first. “You’re right, Ilyra! Oh, she’d try to deny it, but Milady is the best friend you could ever have, the staunchest ally in all the universe, but also the worst enemy you could make. You don’t have to worry about her abandoning you or selling you out, ‘cause she’d never do that.”

“Oh, shush,” Evelyn said, glowering at Fya. “My reputation wasn’t built from nothing, you know. I wouldn’t be so feared otherwise.”

“Perhaps not… but I believe that it would have to do with the ‘your worst enemy’ aspect of things. I remember your explanation to Moon and Star when we were waiting to have the control chips removed,” Vaneryth said, her voice quiet in the hallway. “You were targeted. They made themselves your enemy, didn’t they?”

Evelyn looked at her, then sighed and looked at the ceiling before changing the subject. “Regardless, I’ve found a buyer for Daggerhound, so we’re going to need to transfer the things we’re keeping to Djinn’s Gift in the next few days. Rest up, all of you, it’s going to be a fair amount of work, then we’ll have most of a month to recover.”

She paused halfway down the hall, gesturing to Zelirana, a slight smile creeping onto her face as she added. “And if you’re really wanting to get on my good side, now’s the time to do it, Zelirana. I’m tense and could use some help loosening up.”

“It would be my pleasure, Evelyn,” The succubus replied, practically purring the words as she followed.

The look on Vaneryth’s face was amusing, Evelyn thought, as was the way Ilyra had blushed, but she didn’t pay it much mind. They’d either get used to it, or they wouldn’t. At least the new ship would have more space to spread out, rather than the relatively compact crew space of Daggerhound.

Chapter 35

“I give up,” Zelirana said at last, her breathing heavy as she pressed against Evelyn’s side, letting out a faintly aggravated sigh.

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, leaning down to give the demon a kiss, feeling more relaxed than she had in a few months. Zelirana kissed her back hungrily, and she was very good at what she did, sending another thrill of pleasure through Evelyn. They broke the kiss after several long moments, and the succubus nuzzled into Evelyn’s neck gently.

“It’s… a couple of things,” Zelirana replied, her hands stroking gently down Evelyn’s side. “One is that I know you’ve got more endurance than I do. You don’t know how aggravating that part is… succubi are used to being able to outlast anyone.”

“Mm… even Fya?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically. The bed wasn’t large enough, in her opinion, and that meant that they’d been pressed close the entire time they were together. Which wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

“No, but she’s a djinn. They’re practically made of magic,” Zelirana said, shrugging as she pouted. “That isn’t the main thing, though… you know why the… obedience training wasn’t effective on me?”

“Because demons are naturally rebellious and destructive?” Evelyn asked, examining the demon more closely now, as this was the most relaxed she’d seen the succubus. She’d shapeshifted her wings away to make the most of the space they’d had, and Evelyn had enjoyed herself. Immensely, for that matter.

Zelirana laughed, smiling widely at the comment, her eyes glittering in the dark room. When she spoke, she sounded amused. “Oh, we are at that… but that doesn’t quite cover it, hm? With how destructive demons are, don’t you sometimes wonder why our realms in the lower planes don’t collapse into anarchy all at once?”

“Mm… I hadn’t thought about it much. But most places with a true free for all don’t last long… at least if there isn’t someone to impose order on it,” Evelyn said, then her eyes narrowed as something occurred to her. Anarchy was a good way to describe Rakal, yet there had been a certain order to the city. Even if practically anything could be bought or sold there, and if you could get away with almost anything, the Commodore had been able to keep it from spiraling out of control.

“It looks to me like you may have thought of something,” Zelirana murmured, nibbling on the lower part of Evelyn’s right ear, which sent a shiver of pleasure through her. Her ears were quite sensitive, which made them a vulnerability in positions like this. Not that she was going to complain.

“I… did, though if you keep distracting me like that, I may not think about it much more,” Evelyn warned, prompting another giggle from the succubus.

“I’ll stop, at least for now,” Zelirana promised.

Evelyn gave her a skeptical look, then continued. “I was just thinking that in Rakal, what kept things from being destroyed was a single person with the power to keep the others in line. Is that how it works with demon lords?”

“Yes! At least sort of,” Zelirana said, her eyes lighting up still more. “See, this is why I like you. Powerful and intelligent… and it triggers that gooey part of my nature that wants nothing more than to snuggle up against someone too powerful to beat and to have them protect me. That’s why it didn’t work well, really. We have an… ingrained form of it already, which only really triggers if someone is strong enough that we feel we couldn’t come out on top in any way that matters. It’s why it’s so dangerous for succubi in the lower planes, especially.”

Evelyn blinked, looking down into the demon’s eyes for a few seconds, then asked softly. “Are you saying that you’re reacting to me like you would to a demon lord?”

“Mm… yes?” Zelirana replied, giving Evelyn a slightly dreamy smile. “Or better in some ways. With you, I know you aren’t going to rip me in half because you had a bad day. What I gave up on was resisting the urges now that I’ve tested you.”

Evelyn studied the succubus for a few more seconds, then smiled, amusement rushing through her. A part of her was flattered by the comparison, while another part was troubled. It wasn’t that she liked being compared to a demon lord, but… somehow it gave her some assurances that made her feel a little better than she had before.

“Well, in that case… are you saying you’ll do whatever I ask you to, Zel?” Evelyn asked, smiling at the succubus as anticipation rose inside her.

“Haven’t I already?” Zelirana asked, but even as she spoke, Evelyn saw how the succubus’s breathing came more rapidly, her pupils dilated, and her tail began to sway.

“Yes… but I think I’d like you to do more,” Evelyn said, smiling broadly now. “Can you do that for me?”

“Oh yes.” Zelirana breathed, licking her lips.

Then she proceeded to do as Evelyn desired.

* * *

“I can’t believe it.” Moon said, her fingers flicking through icons, and Star looked up from their suitcase. They only had one between the two of them, one of the good things about being identical twins was that they could use each other’s clothing, so they’d decided to get things they both liked, at least at first.

“Can’t believe what?” Star asked. “That the Dolls had preferences? Or that Evelyn got us the tickets, or that she took Zel to bed?”

“The tickets. Zel almost got us into her bed, and she wasn’t even trying,” Moon said absently. “Besides, Evelyn slept with us, and we’re nowhere near as good as Zel has to be.”

“Succubus,” Star said simply, tossing the last items in, save for the toiletries and the outfits they were wearing. She figured they could throw them in the laundry overnight and wear the outfits from when they were being transported in the meantime. She might have bad memories regarding that clothing, but it wasn’t like it didn’t serve its purpose.

“Yeah, I know. You don’t seem that surprised, though,” Moon said, glancing over at her. “I think I found a good schedule for tomorrow. We’ll have to get up a little early, by our standards, but we can get to Corrida by about… seven in the morning local, the day after tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me. This is using the list of providers included with the vouchers?” Star asked, looking up again.

“Yeah. I don’t want to end up kidnapped again, even if Evelyn would come find us.” Moon agreed, smiling wryly as she shook her head. “It’s just… even if we did sign that contract, do you really think anyone else would shell out an advance like that, then arrange for us to be home for a month with our parents?”

“Nope. I think that no one else would’ve given us an advance. Maybe we’d have been able to get a bit of money from one of the abolition groups, along with a slow ticket home and a message to our parents, but not much more than that,” Star said, closing the suitcase with a sigh. She thought for a second, then asked, “Should we tell them that we’re coming?”

“How?” Moon asked, looking at her. “We’re taking just about the earliest ship to Corrida, so any message would arrive what… a day and a half before us? Or we can wait until we’ve gone through the gates and send it directly for a tenth of the price over the network, and they’ll get a day’s notice.”

“True,” Star agreed, pulling the suitcase off the bed and setting it aside. “Go ahead and book it, then. We may as well get started on that… and we’ve still got like, half the day to burn. Anything you want to do?”

“Hm. I don’t know…” Moon said, but Star could see her hesitation and gave her a look.

“Come on, spit it out,” Star said in exasperation, folding her arms. “You can’t fool me.”

“Alright, I was just thinking… if we’re going home, even if only for a month, and with all the nice things they’ve done, why not make a nice meal for everyone else?” Moon asked, smiling hopefully. “Sure, this kitchen isn’t as nice as the one aboard the Gift, but it’s good enough to make some pretty nice food.”

Star thought for a moment, then shrugged and smiled, unfolding her arms. “Sure, why not? It’s nice enough, and I’ll even help. Don’t get used to it, though!”

“Whatever you say, Ms. Numbers,” Moon teased, and they both laughed, then finished up and headed for the door.

Star could hardly wait to see her parents again.

Chapter 36

“I’m glad you let them go… but do you think they’ll be back?” Fya asked, half-flopped across the console of Daggerhound’s science station. Evelyn gave her a look of amusement as she mentally scanned through the database to see if there was anything else she wanted to save before resetting the ship’s systems back to factory defaults. Except for the star charts, anyway.

“Yes, I do,” Evelyn replied calmly. “They aren’t the types to go back on their words. You?”

“I’m pretty sure they want to be part of your harem, but they aren’t willing to admit it yet,” Fya replied bluntly. “Plus, here they’ll get real-life experience and a good-paying job. The problem is their parents. You know they won’t want them to go off into danger again, not after three years missing.”

“I’m not going to deliberately go off into danger,” Evelyn replied absently, shaking her head as she considered the massive porn archive aboard the ship, then flagged it for disposal, including the VR sims. She was sure they could get more if they wanted that sort of thing, and Evelyn didn’t trust mercenaries not to have downloaded virus-laden crap. At the same time, she sent a message to the Dolls and crew to make sure they did a virus-scan on their hardware, adding the twins to the messages. They could still be contacted aboard the station, fortunately.

“No, you’re just going to end up in danger. You not ending up in danger is like a fish that isn’t swimming through water,” Fya said, grinning at her. Evelyn just made a rude gesture.

“Are you going to actually help? Leaving it all to Lyra, Ryth, Zel, and the Dolls is just rude,” Evelyn said, glowering at the djinn.

“Yes, of course,” Fya said, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “I can hardly believe you managed to sell this hunk of junk.”

“It isn’t quite that bad. Quite a few mercs would kill for a ship like this. It just isn’t right for us,” Evelyn replied absently, activating her own virus-scan as she kept working. “I’ll be done in… about twenty minutes, then I’ll be down to help transfer the weapons.”

“Alright. If anyone tries to take them that isn’t your friend, I’ll blow their heads off,” Fya said far more cheerfully, then left.

“And she calls me bloodthirsty,” Evelyn muttered.

“Agreed, Captain,” Control said, and Evelyn glanced at the Doll, then went back to what she was doing.

While the idea of giving them proper names had gone through her head, Evelyn didn’t want to do that. It would take far too much time and effort. If they developed souls, then she’d worry about it.

* * *

“I really like this ship,” Ilyra said, turning around and admiring the sculpted hallways, now that she’d finished unloading the first gravcart of items to Djinn’s Gift.

The hallways were more like round tunnels than the sheer walls of Daggerhound, and they were much more home-like, in her opinion. Less luxurious than her home had been back on Brightdawn, maybe, but so much more attractive than any of the places she’d seen since leaving, including the passenger ship and the spaceport itself.

“I’m not surprised! Halcyon Yards is known for building ships with a more… celestial theme to them?” Fya said, glancing at Vaneryth with a grin. “The question is whether that’s correct or not.”

“Depends on the celestial realm in question. Some of them are, others are not,” Vaneryth replied, an uncomfortable look on her face as she frowned, then admitted. “I’m not sure if it’s safe for me to talk about where I’m from.”

“Angels,” Zelirana said, smiling broadly as her tail swished happily behind her.

“How long do you think it’ll take to move aboard?” Ilyra asked quickly, hoping to cut off another argument between the two women.

“Mm… a day, I’d say. Getting everything in place will take longer,” Fya said, looking around speculatively. “Evelyn is going to want to arrange the armory just right, and whatever you do, leave the observatory alone.”

For a second everyone looked at her, waiting for her to explain, but Fya didn’t elaborate, instead steering the hovering cart down the hall carefully.

“May I ask why?” Zelirana asked after a little while.

Fya paused, looking at them all for a moment as she considered them, then spoke, her tone warning. “You didn’t hear this from me. If you tell her I told you, I’m going to make your lives miserable. Understood?”

Ilyra nodded at the same time as the others, frowning as she asked. “Is it that bad?”

“Bad? No, not really. Evelyn is just…” Fya paused, seeming to struggle with her words before she finally let out a deep sigh. “You don’t understand her. You see her strength. I see her loneliness.”

“Loneliness? But she’s had… wait…” Vaneryth paused, hesitating and frowning as well.

“Ah. Of course,” Zelirana murmured, the confused look on her face clearing. “She’s too strong.”

“Someone gets it!” Fya said, her concern seeming to ease. “I’ve never met a mortal like Evvy before. She’s more powerful than any individual her age that I’ve even heard of, but at the same time she often felt constricted, chained by the world around her. The prophecy was made to come about by the stupidity of a bunch of nobles, and she ended up with a whole pile of ambitious, backstabbing rebels and would-be conquerors as her allies. She couldn’t trust them, no one but me.”

The djinn started the cart moving again, though at a slower pace this time. “I didn’t realize it for a long time, though. Longer than it should have taken, but I figured her out eventually. She likes to fight, she has a temper that’s cataclysmic when it goes off, and by all the wishes imaginable, don’t destroy her favorite weapons, but she’s also kind to others like you. It’s because part of her dreams of being normal. Being small, or vulnerable. Not that I think she’d enjoy the experience, mind you, but… she dreams. Which is why she likes to look at the stars in an environment that makes her feel so… so tiny by comparison. It’s also why she likes to fight so much. She isn’t just enjoying the battle, though she likes them. She’s looking for a proper challenge. She hasn’t gotten one yet. The closest was… ah, that’s off-limits.”

“What’s off-limits?” Ilyra asked, frowning at the djinn. She was trying to reconcile the idea of wanting to be vulnerable with the woman who was so supremely confident that she knew, and she couldn’t do it. It confused Ilyra.

“The only time that she came close to having a proper challenge in a fight. It wasn’t a fair fight, anyway,” Fya said, sniffing. “Worse, I wasn’t there for it, damn it all. It would’ve been amazing to see the expression on her face.”

Ilyra just looked at the djinn, her confusion growing. She didn’t understand the djinn. Worse, the other two seemed to be able to, which annoyed her still more. Ilyra hated being left out.

* * *

The ship had a few oddities that Evelyn hadn’t anticipated. One of them being a set of storage bays which were designed for the Doll maintenance units, enough of them to handle a full eighty Dolls. That was enough to not only tend to the ship, but to give it four times the minimum crew requirements. Of course, the only way someone would be able to tell that it was designed for Dolls was the interfaces on the walls, as well as the documentation Fya had received. Since she’d told them how she intended to crew the ship, the company had specifically pointed the bays out. While Evelyn didn’t object, it made her wonder if the use of the constructs was rather more widespread than she’d anticipated. It also gave her a few other ideas, but she’d have to discuss them with the others before she thought it through too much.

Another oddity was the docking bays, and how they were set up. While they were likely designed for shuttles, and that’s what all the documentation claimed, Evelyn hadn’t seen many bays as tall as these were, likely for mechs like Fya had called out before. She supposed that it was a reasonable modification, since the ship could easily be used as a noble’s flagship, but it still struck her as odd that it wasn’t in the documentation. That didn’t even consider a number of other small things which just struck her as strange, little things that niggled at the back of her mind.

“Captain, you have a call coming through to the ship,” Control interrupted, causing Evelyn to look away from the lifts at the top of the bay.

“Oh? Who is it from?” Evelyn asked, frowning.

“I am not certain. The call indicates it’s from Lairia Pelcrest, but they are not in the station database, at least not publicly,” Control replied promptly. “Would you like me to reject the call? It is addressed directly to you.”

“Hm. No, put it through,” Evelyn replied after a couple of seconds, shrugging.

For a moment there wasn’t any response, likely while Control connected the call from across a quarter of the station. Evelyn really wished they’d been able to dock the ships closer together, it would make transferring everything over easier. Then she felt the tone of the call connecting.

“This is Captain Tarth,” Evelyn said, her arms folded as she watched the Dolls unloading some of the gear she’d kept from Daggerhound’s shuttle bay.

“Hello, Captain Tarth. I’m not sure if you know who I am, but we’ve met before,” a woman replied, her voice faintly familiar, though Evelyn couldn’t quite place it. The woman sounded anxious to Evelyn, and she frowned, then Lairia continued. “You pulled me off Nebula Runner, for which I cannot thank you enough. I told you to run, but you didn’t, something I’m very grateful for.”

“Oh! I wondered what your name was but didn’t ever ask!” Evelyn said, realization dawning on her, and she smiled a bit as she continued more warmly. “It wasn’t an issue, Lairia. I didn’t want to kill anyone who was brave enough to disable the engines of the ship to keep everyone else safe. Are you doing better?”

“I am. I received a regeneration spell, which did cause a few other issues, but I’d rather remove a few teeth again than be legless,” the woman said, audibly relaxing as she spoke. “However, I heard you were still aboard the station, and thought I’d offer to treat you to a meal as thanks. I know that it isn’t much, but it’s what I can afford.”

“Hm… well, I’m going to be here for the better part of a month as it is, so that’s possible. When and where were you thinking?” Evelyn asked, glancing at one of the Dolls in concern, as it parked a grav-bike in front of a power hookup. That wasn’t the best place to place it, in her opinion.

“I was going to leave that up to you, as it happens. Given your life, I suspected that choosing someplace would make you more uncomfortable, in case of traps or something similar. Even if I think that would be foolish, given what I remember,” Lairia replied, a bubble of laughter escaping her throat. “And any time in the next few weeks would work well for me. I don’t have anything specific planned, and I’m waiting on my superiors to decide where to send me next.”

“Hm, in that case, do you mind if I call you back once I’ve made a decision?” Evelyn asked, her concerns easing a little more. “I’m in the process of moving things to my new ship, so I’m going to need some time to look at what’s available.”

“That would be fine. Your ship should have my codes now, so send me a message whenever you like,” Lairia replied.

“Excellent. Tarth, out,” Evelyn said, cutting the line, then shrugged. “Odd, but who am I to argue? I did save her life. Now, then… why did you park the grav-bike there?”

The Doll paused, looking at Evelyn in confusion for a few seconds, then spoke. “Because the goal is to move items from one vessel to the other as expediently as possible, Captain. We can properly organize them while the ship is undergoing refit.”

“Ah. Well, whether we’re being expedient or not, I expect you to follow safety procedures, and that definitely includes not blocking power hookups. Please move the bike,” Evelyn told the Doll firmly.

“Yes, Captain,” the Doll replied, and proceeded to move it, while the others began to move the other items to ensure there was space near all the power hookups.

Evelyn watched for a few more seconds, then shrugged and moved forward. Even if they were robots, she felt a little… annoyed at the thought of just supervising. She should help as well.

She was curious if Lairia had another reason for contacting her as well. Most likely, as most people tended to have other motives, even if it was just wanting to meet her. That was why a few people had come to her shop on Rakal, to boast that they’d looked Evelyn in the eyes personally.

She thought it was silly, but who was she to argue if it got her a free meal?

Chapter 37

Callai hung in the sky out the window, and Moon stared down at it, stunned despite herself, and she murmured. “It looks so… different. Compared to Nald.”

“Yeah,” Star said, nodding in agreement as the ship moved in to dock.

Below them was the planet, while all around them was orbital infrastructure, and while they hadn’t thought anything of it before, the differences between the two planets was stark. Nald might have a wyrmgate, but it was a relatively young planet comparatively, with fewer cities forming a web across its surface, and most of the system infrastructure was concentrated in the space station.

Callai had been inhabited for five centuries, on the other hand, and a network of ten space stations was around it, along with innumerable satellites and starships. As she watched, Moon saw a tug dragging an asteroid toward a smelter near a shipyard and she shook her head. As for the planet itself, the cities were larger and brighter, allowing her to see how far Nald had to go, which made her faintly… wistful. She wasn’t sure why, though.

“Have you gotten any messages?” Moon asked after a second, then grimaced as she corrected. “From Mom and Dad, I mean, not everyone else who’s contacted us.”

She had to specify, unfortunately, as they’d gotten a flood of inquiries from the moment they’d exited astral, many of them from journalists, old classmates, friends, and more. Moon could hardly believe how many of them there were, especially since she didn’t think that they’d given out their implant codes to anyone.

“Yeah, one from Dad. He says that he’ll be waiting at the landing pad. He also said which shuttle to take,” Star said, her lips quirking into a smile. “I’m surprised he didn’t call us directly.”

“Probably didn’t want to interrupt… and I note he’s still sending directions to you. You think it’s because he thinks you’re the one more likely to remember?” Moon asked, a teasing note in her voice, though she knew she was mostly trying to hide her own anxiety over everything that was going on.

“You know better than that. Mom leaves messages with you, Dad leaves messages with me,” Star said, shrugging as she inhaled slowly. “So… how long do you think it’ll be until they try to convince us to stay home for good, rather than going back to Evelyn?”

“Um… Dad will probably hint about it while we’re in the car, but he won’t say anything outright.” Moon said slowly, thinking about it carefully, then a smile played across her lips. “Mom, though? She’s going to say something just about as soon as we’re both sitting down.”

“Sounds about right,” Star agreed. “Though they might’ve changed while we’re gone. I doubt it, though.”

“So do I. First, let’s get through station security, and down to the planet,” Moon said, wrinkling her nose. “We didn’t exactly have visas, so they’re probably going to make us go through all sorts of scans.”

“True,” Star agreed, reaching over to lace her fingers through Moon’s.

It was comforting, and it helped settle some of Moon’s anxiety.

* * *

“Girls!” Diana exclaimed three hours later, rushing forward to embrace them.

Moon smiled, accepting the hug along with Star, as they split their mother’s attention so she wouldn’t crush them too much. As she did so, a pang of worry struck Moon.

Their mother had seen better days, and the last few years had obviously been hard on her, as there were a few threads of white in her red hair, along with some lines on her face that hadn’t been there the last time they’d seen her. It made Moon worried about her, as did the white they’d seen in their father’s black hair, even if he’d seemed far less stressed when they’d met him.

“Hi, Mom. Sorry about this,” Moon said softly, her voice quiet as she hugged her mother tightly.

“Sorry about what? Coming back when you said you’d be gone for two more years?” Diana demanded, pulling away and giving her a glare. “When I saw that, I nearly had a heart attack, don’t you know that? You should be here, not off with some crazy lady from the rim!”

“Evelyn isn’t crazy, and it isn’t like Nald is on the rim anymore. It hasn’t been for nearly a century,” Star said, smiling at her helplessly. “Besides, uncle told us about how bad things were. Do you think we could have gotten good-paying jobs to help you get back on your feet while here? We’d have been lucky to get paid half as much if we came home, let alone getting an advance like the one Evelyn gave us.”

“Please, no arguing,” Nathan interjected as Diana opened her mouth. “Honestly, we’re just happy that you’re both home, even if it’s only for a month. After the last few years… I can’t say how much of a relief it is.”

“I can hardly imagine,” Moon said, giving him a weak smile as she stepped over and sat on the sofa, kicking off her shoes before curling her legs under her to get more comfortable. “For us, its barely been a month since we went to that party, then… well, it was a shock to hear that years had passed. We might not have ever known if it hadn’t been for Evelyn, really.”

The living room hadn’t changed much, Moon privately noted, and a pang of concern washed through her as she looked it over. The signs of stress were here, too. A few items were missing, like a lamp she remembered being around, and her father’s chair looked worn, like it should’ve been replaced a year or two ago, just as an example. If their parents had been spending all their money on searching for them, though, that wouldn’t have happened. It couldn’t have.

“I wish you hadn’t gone to it. I swear, I’m going to rip a strip off the dean, once I get past his secretary. They’ve been avoiding my calls ever since the news broke,” Diana said, her eyes flashing with anger. “You know what they said to me about your disappearances? They said you two probably ran off with some guy, or decided to go out-system like so many other college students! They didn’t even consider the possibility you’d been abducted, even when your things were left behind. We have those for you, too. Everything we could find when it came time to clear your rooms at the college out.”

“Ugh,” Moon said, glancing at Star, who looked like she’d swallowed something foul. “That… doesn’t sound good.”

“Yeah… I wonder if it’s just the university’s reputation he’s worried about,” Star said, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. “If it isn’t… that doesn’t make me happy. Not at all.”

“You’re telling me,” Nathan said, stepping over to a chair and sinking into it with a heavy sigh. “I didn’t contact the media myself, neither did your mother, but I’m pretty sure a few of our other relatives have been talking to them ever since they found out how you went missing. There’s been a few people running the numbers, and I’m betting that the university is running damage control, hard. While the numbers aren’t for sure, there’s indications of about eight or nine students going missing each semester going back at least five years. Thinking about what happened to you, and how almost none of those students have been heard from again… it doesn’t bear thinking on.”

A shiver ran down Moon’s spine, and she looked at Star for a second as her sister sat next to her. They were thinking the same thing, she realized a moment later. It didn’t even take sending an implant message to know that.

“You thinking to talk to the media?” Moon asked her.

Star nodded reluctantly. “Yeah… though I only want a single interview, I think. Maybe the police, too, since that might be more effective than the media, at least directly. I don’t like doing it… but the Uni already said they kicked us out.”

“They didn’t kick you out! They just revoked your scholarships,” Diana interjected, then flushed at the chiding look from Nathan. “I know, I know… it isn’t any better than that. Not really. But you should stay here. If anyone can convince people to change this, it’s the two of you. I’m sure there’s going to be all sorts of lawsuits, and… and I want you here.”

“I know, Mom. I know you want us here, but…” Moon said, her voice trailing off as she struggled to find the words. Eventually she sighed and shrugged. “I think it’s just too early for us to make a decision. We ran the numbers, you know. We figured out what we could make, looked at the job market as best we could, and all of that. I don’t see how we could finish our education here. At least with Evelyn we’ll be getting job experience, good pay, and she’d protect us while we get our feet back under us.”

“That doesn’t even consider how much she spent freeing us to begin with,” Star said, frowning a little.

“Oh?” Nathan asked, looking at her curiously. “How much? And how do you know, for that matter?”

“Well… you didn’t hear that we were part of the group that went off to buy the new ship she wanted,” Star said, looking a little embarrassed. “It was an interesting experience, but I was taking the role of the accountant. Not something I’m qualified for, but she didn’t care. Anyway, when she made me the accountant, I got access to her transaction history as well, which I’m not sure she realized would happen. It took a little while for me to figure out which parts were for us and which parts were for the ship, equipment, Dolls, and everything else, but I managed it.”

“Ooh… you didn’t tell me about this!” Moon asked, her eyes lighting up. “How much? We discussed it before, but we didn’t have solid numbers.”

“It’s… well. Um.” Star looked incredibly uncomfortable as she hesitated, then spoke quietly. “Sixteen thousand and twenty-four mythrite. Each. Not including what she gave us for our other expenses.”

Moon froze, and she heard her father choke softly. Their mother’s eyes went wide, her mouth opening, then shutting. After a minute, she finally spoke.

“You’re certain of those numbers?” Diana asked weakly. “That’s… an enormous amount of money.”

“Very sure. I did the numbers several times. If you count our advances, that’s almost twenty thousand mythrite apiece, which makes me stunned. And no, I’m not saying how much she spent on her new ship, or how much money she had. That would be a breach of trust,” Star said firmly. “Anyway, you can’t even say that she was trying to make us stay. We approached her, and she let six of the others leave without a word of protest, even if Vaneryth came back.”

“Well. That… is more than I’d ever have expected,” Nathan said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he winced. “Was all of that truly necessary? I know that it would have been difficult for us to afford anything close to that, even with loans.”

“That’s the question. I know the surgery cost a lot more…?” Moon said questioningly, looking at her sister nervously.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t have cost nearly as much if she hadn’t contracted the people she did. If she’d taken us to a standard surgery center, they could’ve removed the control chip for about two thousand instead of ten thousand, maybe less here… the price was inflated in Rakal,” Star said, frowning. “And the hacker was another six thousand each. It’d probably have been cheaper to have someone remove the implants entirely, which as part of the other surgery would cost maybe… five hundred? But then we’d need new implants, which isn’t cheap either, and we wouldn’t have ended up with tier four implants. Tier one is about a hundred mythrite… anyway, you could have dropped the cost to two thousand, six hundred, if you didn’t go to the lengths she did.”

Moon winced at the price, as it was still incredibly expensive, but she nodded, relieved that Star had done that much math. Maybe it’d give her parents something to think about, rather than all the rumors about Evelyn.

“Well. At least she treated the two of you the way you deserve to be treated,” Diana said after a moment, looking at them stubbornly. “But I still would rather you were here with us. Anyway… I went ahead and started food marinating. We haven’t touched the money you sent us, either. That’s yours, and you should save it for schooling.”

Moon laughed, smiling as she shrugged. “I don’t see us changing our minds, Mom. We take after you, after all! But we’ll think about it.”

Everyone laughed a little, and Star followed it up by chiming in. “Yes… but shouldn’t we get settled in, then we can help with dinner and catch up properly? I’m sure that there’s so much we haven’t heard about, even with all the messages we were sent.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Nathan agreed, climbing to his feet. “Your rooms are still about the way you left them when you went to university. Can’t say how glad I am that you’ll be in them again.”

Moon smiled, unfolding her legs so she could get up again, and taking the moment to hug him as she teased. “Just the way we left them? I hope the sheets have been changed, at least!”

Laughter filled the house, and Moon wondered just how long it had been since that had happened. Either way, if she could bring a little more happiness into her parent’s lives, it was worth it… and she made a note to thank Evelyn once they got back to her.

She didn’t have to do this, and it made Moon determined to see if they couldn’t find out what had happened to the elf’s parents.

Chapter 38

“So, you’re Lairia? You look much better with legs and hair,” Evelyn said, smiling at the elf waiting for her, and offered a hand. “Evelyn Tarth, but I’m sure you know that.”

“Most everyone on the station knows by this point,” Lairia replied, her smile a bit nervous, and Evelyn chuckled in response.

Lairia did look much better, but that didn’t take much work, considering what had happened to her before. Rather than being completely naked, she had short hair only a couple of inches long and colored a neon blue, which Evelyn suspected was a bio-mod, considering how short of a time it’d been since she was rescued, and she was lanky, almost as tall as Evelyn was. Her hands were whole once more, with no sign that she’d lost any fingers, and there weren’t any scars. She looked Evelyn over nervously in return, her eyes a light green. The elf was wearing a relatively simple shipsuit, but Evelyn caught sight of a pair of interface ports along her spine, barely visible above the collar of the suit. She hadn’t noticed them the last time around, that or they were new.

“That’s probably true. I got a polite inquiry from the station’s public relations department, asking when I was planning to move on. I think that their security is having the equivalent of an ulcer with me around,” Evelyn said, shrugging as she gestured to the restaurant. “Shall we?”

Nald’s Famous Fry was the restaurant Evelyn had chosen for their meal, and for several reasons. One of them was that she didn’t want to strain Lairia’s finances too much, but that was only part of the reason. Another was that while many people preferred fine dining, Evelyn had found that far too many of those meals were rather… pretentious, and far too similar for her palate. No, she liked the simpler food that was made with locally sourced ingredients and enjoyed trying out what a given world had to offer. Sometimes it was an utter failure, but she’d rather be a bit adventurous than miss out on something wonderful.

“Sure, of course,” Lairia replied, glancing at the entrance once, then shrugged as she led the way in, speaking quickly. “Not what I expected when I offered to treat you to a meal, but I’m not going to complain. I’ve seen a lot of good reviews for this place.”

“That’s why I chose it,” Evelyn agreed. “Spacers recommend it to one another, which is as good of a reason to try it as any, in my opinion. There are other reasons, but… do they really matter? As long as the food is good…”

“True!” Lairia said, turning to find the nearest empty booth.

No waiters were in the building, just a couple of people keeping an eye on everything. A console at each booth allowed patrons to examine the menue, as well as a speaker to allow those who didn’t have implants to order their food verbally. Then a robot would bring the food from the kitchen, which Evelyn considered a nice feature. Sometimes she didn’t want to talk to people, after all.

They both settled down, and as she scanned the menu Evelyn asked, “How are you recovering? Not the physical part, that’s dealt with, obviously, but the mental stress isn’t anything to joke about. I’m impressed you got through it at all. I ran into some privateers who ran into those oozes, and their stories were grim.”

“I believe it,” Lairia replied, shuddering slightly. “The ship… well, we didn’t realize it was intelligent, once we figured out it was aboard. Tried to lure it away with a few of us while the passengers went for the escape pods and I disabled the engines, but it realized what we were doing. All we did was feed it, then… well, I don’t want to relive that again. I’m doing okay. I’d do better if I had a ship, but I’m on mandatory leave.”

“Really?” Evelyn asked, her eyebrows rising. “Is this your home port?”

While she asked, Evelyn considered, then ordered one of the local specialties, from a creature that wasn’t that different from chicken. It was one of the more highly reviewed items, and she grabbed a set of fries and a drink as well. Nothing too expensive, but it should fill her up. ‘Should’ being the key word.

“Nope,” Lairia said, a little disgust in her voice. “The company is paying for a spot in a boarding house, though, and I’ve gotten six months of pay, but that’s it. They’re not even paying for a ticket home. If I want to go, I have to pay myself. The company also has a policy, that we have to take at least six months off after losing a ship. Then they’ll find a new position for us, if they can. Only have so many ships, after all.”

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed, and she saw the menu snap out of existence in front of the elf. She thought over what she’d said, then nodded slightly.

“Let me guess… Savrien Confederacy?” Evelyn asked, and saw Lairia pause, looking startled.

“How did you know?” Lairia asked, blinking in surprise.

“The reaction. Most companies would’ve shipped you right back, at least if they were going to pay you anything at all. Those who wouldn’t? They’d just cut you off and not pay you anything. That means there’s something else in play,” Evelyn said, sitting back in her chair as she studied Lairia. “The Confederacy has particularly nasty superstitions when it comes to sole survivors. If you’re a sole survivor, they despise putting you on a new ship, it’s unlucky. Isn’t that right?”

Lairia stared at Evelyn for several seconds, then let out a short laugh, shaking her head. “Hells, I didn’t expect anyone out here to know that. How’d you know?”

“Helmsman aboard my assault shuttle when I conquered Peldra’s capital was from the Confederacy. He was a sole survivor, too, and when they abandoned him out here after a year, he hired on to local outfits.” Evelyn explained, shrugging. “He was pretty bitter about the whole thing. You think they’ll give you a job again?”

“That’s the question,” Lairia admitted, letting out a sigh, then paused as a robot trundled up with a pair of drinks. It set one in front of each of them, then turned and left. Only when it was farther away did she continue… though Evelyn noticed that they were getting a lot of stares. “I’m not sure. I’m a good engineer. A damned good one, really… I’m rated for a twelve-limbed exo-suit, and there aren’t many people who can do that, not that it helped when an ooze ate the suit before I could blow the reactor. The question is whether that’s enough to save my career.”

Evelyn’s eyebrows rose. Lairia wasn’t blowing smoke about how good she was, not with that sort of claim, at least not with how easy it was to test. Most people struggled to use even two limbs, let alone an exo-suit that had another one. As for the one Lairia was talking about, with eight additional limbs, each with their own tools… Evelyn doubted there were more than three other people in the cluster who could do that.

“Impressive,” Evelyn replied, examining Lairia for a couple of seconds, then her lips quirked into a smile. “I’m not hiring though.”

“What?” Lairia said, blinking at Evelyn in confusion. Confusion that might actually be sincere, but Evelyn wasn’t going to trust that.

“Look… I’m guessing someone suggested that you might be able to find a position with me, since I saved you from being eaten by the darkborn ooze,” Evelyn said, taking a sip from her drink and setting it to the side as she looked Lairia in the eyes. “You’re in a bad position, and I feel some sympathy for you, but whatever your reasons are, I can’t trust them. I don’t hire people who come to me looking for jobs. I’ve had that sort of thing blow up in my face before, sometimes literally, and I’m not willing to let it happen again. Someone like you would be able to find a position in any of dozens of ships in the cluster, given a month, or in the various shipyards. That makes me suspicious, and if I can’t trust you…”

Evelyn made a pouring gesture and shrugged. Lairia just stared at her for a few seconds, then chuckled.

“I guess that makes sense. I hoped… well, you’re right, someone did point out that you’d just gotten a new ship and didn’t have an engineer. Wonder why they suggested it at all?” Lairia asked, frowning a little. “Mind you, I was serious about wanting to thank you for what you did. I’m pretty sure anyone else would’ve blown me into my base atoms with the ooze.”

“Most likely. As for why… if you’re not working for them, I’d suggest you take a look at your implants and make sure that everything is clean,” Evelyn suggested, frowning slightly. “I wouldn’t put it past someone to plant a virus in you. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen that, either.”

“Oh, that’s a nasty thought. I’ll go through full diagnostics later,” Lairia spat out, anger flooding her face, then she took a deep breath and relaxed. “Damn it, that’s… oh, if someone planted a virus in my implants, I’m going to be pissed. I’ve optimized these things as much as I can, and any disruption could be catastrophic, you know?”

“Mm, I can imagine,” Evelyn murmured, just thinking about what would happen if someone were to take the wrong action when, oh, working on a ship’s power core. That could lead to a very large explosion.

Lairia didn’t say anything for a few seconds, drumming her fingers on the table restlessly, but slowly the scowl on her face eased. Evelyn didn’t interrupt, letting the engineer work out her own issues. While Evelyn wouldn’t mind a non-Doll engineer, she also wasn’t going to take such obvious bait. At least, obvious to her. Fya would probably disagree with her, but she wasn’t going to ask the djinn’s opinion.

“Were you serious?” Lairia asked. She hesitated, then clarified. “About me being able to get a job just about anywhere out here. I don’t know much about the cluster, since I grew up in the Confederacy, and I know how superstitious spacers can be.”

“Dead serious,” Evelyn confirmed, sitting forward again to examine the woman. “Someone with your skill set, assuming you aren’t exaggerating, is extremely rare. I was thinking that there might be three other people in the cluster with the same skills, which should give you an idea of how rare it is. Let alone ships, there are governments that would love your skills. I’ve always heard that people like you can do the work of six engineers on your own. The only disadvantage is that you do need to sleep and can only be in one place at a time.”

“Huh. I thought… eh, never mind,” Lairia said, taking a deep breath, then let it out again as she shrugged. “And here I thought it’d be hard to find a position. Thanks again, and not just for the rescue. I don’t like the idea of being someone else’s tool.”

“You and me both,” Evelyn agreed, then glanced over and smiled as a robot came out of the kitchen with what she thought was their order. “And here comes our food, if I’m not mistaken. Now we get to find out if the reputation of this place is deserved or not.”

“Sounds about right,” Lairia agreed, examining the burger on the second plate skeptically. “I don’t know… is meat supposed to be green?”

“Depends on where it’s from,” Evelyn replied, grinning even more now.

Then it was time to eat, and she was happy to say that she was going give the business a positive review. The food was delicious.

* * *

“This is hard,” Ilyra said, sweat trickling down her face as she concentrated, moving the barbell up and down with magic, over and over again.

“Yes, it most certainly is,” Zelirana said, doing squats nearby with a bar over her shoulders and weights in place. The succubus could lift about five times what Ilyra could without magic, so she thought it was a little unfair of a comment to make.

“I was talking about the magic!” Ilyra protested. “Evelyn said that adding a chant gave her five percent more power, or something like that. I’m spending three times as much when I don’t use the gestures or incantation, and even then—oh, pufflesticks!”

Her distraction interrupted the spell, and Ilyra’s magic came to an end, dropping the barbell to the floor abruptly. Fortunately, the floor was designed for that sort of thing, so she didn’t scuff the beautiful new workout room, but Ilyra looked at the barbell, a little crestfallen, while Zelirana snickered.

“Pufflesticks, is it? That’s a new one,” the succubus said, grinning broadly at her. “As to that… Evelyn is practiced with using magic without incantations. You’re barely starting out, and there’s a reason that most beings use incantations and gestures. It’s possible to learn magic without them, but it’s far, far harder in general. They tend to suggest using fewer and fewer of them as you grow more skilled. You’re trying to bypass years of training… though I think that this may make you a better mage in the end.”

“That doesn’t make me any happier about it,” Ilyra said, glowering at the weight for a moment as she inhaled slowly, gauging how much mana she had available carefully, then nodded to herself. Not as much as she might like, but more than she’d been afraid that she’d spent. It would be nice to have a miniscule fraction of what Evelyn had, but there were some things that were just pipe dreams.

“It shouldn’t,” Vaneryth said, almost gasping as she stopped the treadmill at last, beads of sweat running down her face. The woman leaned over, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, then shook her head. “Gods… I hate being this weak. I didn’t used to have issues with this little exercise. Believe me, Lyra, if anything, be glad that you didn’t have power and lose it. There’s nothing quite as frustrating as knowing you should be able to do something, yet you can’t.”

“Maybe so… but didn’t you say you weren’t good with guns before?” Ilyra asked, looking at the angel in concern. She sometimes wondered if the woman was going to hurt herself when exercising. “You seem to be doing better with them! Better than me.”

“You’re trying to learn two things at once, and yes, I wasn’t,” Vaneryth said, straightening after a few seconds. “It doesn’t make up for how much I lost, but not much will. I’m going to do my best, but the problem with being an angel is that we aren’t meant to improve through training, not like mortals. While this exercise does me some good, it’d take decades to get as much out of it as a human could in a year.”

“That isn’t restricted to angels. It’s the same with demons,” Zelirana interjected, smirking as she glanced at Vaneryth. “Fortunately, that doesn’t apply to learning new skills, or you’d leave our dear angel behind in short order.”

“Would you leave me alone?” Vaneryth demanded, glowering at the succubus. “I’d rather you not flaunt the fact you didn’t lose your power.”

“I’m not flaunting it. You’re being defensive,” Zelirana corrected her, smiling widely. “I find it amusing, since I don’t have to do anything.”

“You two are funny,” Ilyra said, giggling under her breath, then she decided she’d done enough with the barbell, and picked it up to put back. It strained her muscles, leaving her gasping by the time she put it back in place, but that just told her that Fya was right. She really needed to work on her endurance. “So… do you think that Evelyn is going to recruit that engineer?”

“I doubt it,” Zelirana replied instantly.

“Oh?” Vaneryth asked, her annoyance fading as she looked at the succubus curiously.

“Think about it. How many employees did Evelyn have after years in Rakal?” Zelirana asked, looking at the angel chidingly. “Yes, she didn’t have much need for them, but think about how long of hours her business had. We saw the hours that were posted, so do you really believe that with it being open twelve hours a day, six days a week, she wouldn’t have hired employees? I think the only reason that we got a chance with her is because we dropped into her lap.”

“I… well, maybe so,” Vaneryth replied slowly, biting at her upper lip as she frowned. “She didn’t seem happy to see us when she first opened the doors. Fya was begging her on the whole harem thing.”

“Precisely. I think that if anyone wanted to work for her, the best person to approach would be Fya, but I don’t think it’d go how they wanted,” the succubus said, finishing with her workout at last and stretching, in the process popping her wings out of her back. “Ah, that feels good.”

“Drat. I was hoping to have more people aboard. This is a big ship,” Ilyra said, setting up the bike machine for the settings that Fya had suggested. “I feel like we’re rattling around in here, even if the Dolls are… sort of company?”

“We’ll have to see, but as Evelyn hasn’t even talked to me about getting more crew, and I’m in charge of things like that, at least theoretically…” Zelirana said, letting her voice trail off as she shrugged. “I wouldn’t count on it. If anything, assume that anyone else who joins will be like us, strays she picks up along the way by happenstance.”

“I sure hope they aren’t like you,” Vaneryth muttered, prompting another giggle from Ilyra.

She saved her breath and focused on the workout, though. If the last time was any example, Ilyra was certain that by halfway through the workout, she was going to be wishing she’d saved her breath.

Part VI

Sins of the Djinns

Chapter 39

“Well, this has changed!” Moon said, looking through the window along the docking arm, and Star nodded in agreement.

While the hologram Zelirana had mocked up had given them a good idea of what the Djinn’s Gift would look like once it was re-painted, she hadn’t expected it to be quite so… vivid. That was likely the difference between a small model and a full-size starship, she suspected. It was one thing when the image was shorter than her forearm, and another when it dominated the view from a dock, stretching from one end of the viewport to the other.

“I think we chose right. It stands out from the stars, not blending in,” Star said after a few seconds, and started down the passage again.

“Yup! At least it looks good. Plus, we’re not going completely against all the advice we got,” Moon agreed.

“Oh?” Fya’s voice came from ahead of them, as the djinn poked her head out of the hatch at the end of the docking arm, her hair and eyes currently matching the ship’s paint job, complete with gold highlights. “Did your parents try to get you to stay there, rather than coming back?”

“Only for about half of the trip,” Star confirmed dryly. “Maybe more, I’m a little hazy on the exact point when they gave up on trying to change our minds, and instead started filling our heads with all the advice they could come up with. Half of it, I think they looked up in the datanets, but… they weren’t against it in the end.”

“Though that first week and a half was rough,” Moon agreed, smiling warmly as she added. “Hello, Fya! How’ve things been going here?”

“Pretty good, aside from port authority trying to convince us to leave constantly,” Fya said, grinning broadly. “I also got a few… interesting messages from Halcyon Yards, I think they were disconcerted about who ended up in possession of the ship. They can go suck eggs, we bought the ship, and they can’t do a damned thing about it, not unless they want to pick a fight with Milady. So… planning to join the harem?”

“That’s under discussion,” Star said quickly, cutting Moon short as she looked at her sister pointedly. “We haven’t decided for sure yet. That definitely wasn’t part of the discussion with our parents, either.”

“Heh,” Fya giggled, grinning as she said. “Welcome back, though! We’ve got just about everything situated at this point. Hydroponics and the nutrient plant are both online and up to specs, which should make you happy, Moon, and your quarters haven’t been touched, aside from dumping your stuff inside. Lots more stuff in the ship, pantries are full, all of that. Now we just have to decide where to go. I think Evelyn has ideas, but she hasn’t told us anything. I don’t know why.”

“That sounds good… though it makes me think that I’m laying down on the job a little,” Star said, flushing a bit. “I mean, I’m supposed to be the purser, aren’t I?”

“Milady has been a business owner for years, she can handle stuff like this,” Fya said without batting an eyelash. “Same with the stock of food and that. She supplied an army, or at least signed off on it, so it isn’t like that’s new to her, either. It might not be what the two of you would’ve gotten… but eh, that’s how it is!”

“Fair. Well, thank you for having us back,” Moon said, smiling warmly at Fya as she offered her a hand to shake. “At least we’ve got some of our own—huh?”

Moon yelped a bit as Fya ignored her hand to pull her into a firm hug, and Star giggled at her sister, waiting her turn. Fya finished after a few seconds, then hugged Star tightly, which she returned, though she was a bit surprised by how strong the djinn was. She really shouldn’t be, but she was anyway.

“You’re part of the crew, so hugs are in order,” Fya said, grinning. “Come aboard! I think we’ll be undocking pretty much as soon as you’re settled in, so best to make sure you have everything you need. You don’t need anything else, do you?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Moon said, looking a little flustered, but she glanced at Star before moving into the ship.

“We got most of our things from the house, so all we really need is our rooms,” Star explained, grinning as she added. “Hells, they even kept all of our old games, for that matter! We’ve got study material, games, and more. Nothing physical aside from the clothing, of course, but every little bit helps.”

“Sounds good to me!” Fya said, waiting for Star to enter the ship before following, and she hit the button to seal the airlock as she continued. “Now, we did have a few issues with suppliers trying to sneak a couple of tracking beacons onto the ship, but we got rid of them. And made certain to get partial refunds… but I should wait. Milady will want to see you, so go get settled in!”

“Alright,” Star agreed, and waved at Fya as she left, amused despite herself. Once they were out of sight, she looked at Moon, asking. “You sure this is the right idea? I… forgot what a whirlwind she can be.”

“Would you rather stay where everyone’s walking around on eggshells around us, or the media can give us trouble?” Moon countered, already moving down the hallway toward the rooms they’d claimed the last time they were aboard.

“Not really, no,” Star admitted, relief washing through her as she thought about the mess they’d left behind.

She didn’t like being part of the reason that the university was in trouble, but it wasn’t as though either of them had wanted to be abducted, and the university staff had ignored the problem. Well, the people in charge had, which wasn’t a good thing… and she didn’t know where it was going to end.

Shaking off the thoughts, Star focused on getting to her room, since she didn’t want to keep Evelyn waiting. It was time to start what amounted to a new life. For both of them.

* * *

“Welcome back, ladies,” Evelyn said, smiling at Moon and Star from across the large, plush conference room, and she glanced around at the others as she continued. “As Fya doubtlessly told you, the local authorities have been gently asking when we planned to leave. That’s been happening periodically for the last month, though it’s intensified since the refit completed a few days ago. Daggerhound has also been sold, so it’s no longer my problem. It doesn’t nearly make up for the price of Djinn’s Gift, but it makes the expense less painful. Before we begin, do you have anything you want to ask or say?”

The two exchanged looks, and then stood. Moon and Star were identifiable mostly by their shirts in this case, as they’d chosen to wear otherwise identical outfits, with shirts that bore their names… in reverse, of course. It amused Evelyn.

“Yes, we did,” Moon said, looking around the table, then bowed at the waist, though it was a half-bow. “Thank you all for having us aboard, we both deeply appreciate that we’re able to join you on this trip. Especially you, Evelyn.”

“Agreed. This is an opportunity that even a graduate from the university couldn’t hope for, and you saved us from a fate worse than death, at least in my opinion,” Star said, smiling nervously as she took a deep breath. “I don’t know where we’ll be going from here, but… thank you. Thank you very much.”

Evelyn laughed softly, inclining her head as she murmured. “Well, ‘where we go from here’ is rather the reason for this meeting, so it isn’t like you won’t have the chance for input.”

“First, I just want to say that I’m glad you came back,” Ilyra chimed in, a little nervously. “While I like Vaneryth and Zelirana well enough, it’s nice to have other people who’re… well, normal around. I didn’t have much of that, growing up.”

“You don’t think Evelyn is normal?” Fya teased, then broke down giggling within seconds. “Damn it, I couldn’t keep a straight face for even a minute!”

“If I was ‘normal’, I’m fairly certain that the entire galaxy would be in flames at this point. Or ashen wastelands,” Evelyn added, smiling as well.

Laughter came in response to her comment, as almost everyone relaxed, which Evelyn thought was a good sign, looking around at everyone in the room. Vaneryth and Zelirana hadn’t changed much, at least in regards to one another… though Zelirana was definitely more relaxed than she had been before, and Vaneryth wasn’t glaring at her quite as much. Fya’s hair was a bright, frizzy pink, which indicated she was in a good enough mood, at least as far as Evelyn was concerned. The twins definitely looked like they’d relaxed, and she saw Moon give Ilyra a friendly smile. It amused Evelyn that a noble like Ilyra was happy to have normal people around, though it said something that they were the closest to her of anyone on the ship. It just figured.

“Regardless, I believe it’s time to call this meeting to order… or as much order as it’ll have,” Evelyn said, forcing the smile off her face as she sat up straight. “Now, we’re currently in orbit around Nald. In case anyone isn’t sure of things, we’re currently in the Mathrin Cluster.”

With a thought, the holographic projector sprang to life, a much more potent one than had been aboard Daggerhound, revealing a stylized starmap of the surrounding cluster, and their position began to blink softly. The others looked at it curiously but didn’t interrupt.

“The issue, such as it is, is that I have no idea what I want to do, specifically,” Evelyn said calmly, tapping her fingers together restlessly in front of her. “We could go toward the rim easily enough. At this point, that’s likely about a hundred AU from us, or about… oh, call it fifteen days travel away. Less, really, but that’s beside the point. A thought I had was to follow the route of the ship which my parents disappeared aboard toward the core worlds as well, but that’s unlikely to bear much fruit. I’m afraid that it’s been long enough that the trail will be cold, if there’s a trail at all. The question is, do any of you have anything that you’re wanting to do?”

For a moment there wasn’t a response, as almost everyone looked at each other in surprise. It was Fya who spoke first, grinning. “I’d say get more people for your harem, but I know how you feel about that. It’s just Zel at the moment. Aside from that, I don’t really care? You know me, I like excitement.”

Evelyn nodded, and Zelirana spoke calmly. “As for me, you know what I want. I’m perfectly happy to go wherever you’d like to go, so I have no preferences.”

Vaneryth opened her mouth, then shut it, frowning. Evelyn raised an eyebrow, then asked gently. “Yes, Ryth?”

“I… don’t know. I mean, I want to redeem myself, but I’m honestly not sure how I can do that,” the angel admitted, shrugging uncomfortably. “If it was just my primary offense, I suspect that I’d already qualify by this point, but as I haven’t recovered… I suspect there’s something more to my lesson. Who knows when, or if, I’ll regain my powers. As that is the case, I will refrain from any requests, save that they not be… overly destructive?”

“Ah… what about Nebula Runner?” Ilyra asked, looking at the angel in concern.

“Overly destructive without reason,” Vaneryth corrected herself, blushing a little. “I don’t want to participate in a massacre of the innocent, really.”

“If I kill someone, I sincerely doubt they’ll be anything approaching innocent,” Evelyn told the angel, a flicker of amusement rushing through her. It was obvious to her that the angel didn’t think she’d kill innocents, even if it wasn’t obvious to other people. The question was, what had the angel done to end up down here? Part of Evelyn suspected that someone was trying to redeem Evelyn. If so, she wished them the best of luck, as she had no intention of actually going along with the attempt.

“That’s what I hope,” Vaneryth said, smiling back at her.

Evelyn paused, looking at Ilyra, Moon, and Star as she raised an eyebrow. None of them spoke immediately, but eventually Star let out a soft sigh and shrugged.

“I don’t think either of us have anything in specific, no,” Star admitted. “Our parents want us to stay safe, but aside from that…”

“Mm… and you, Lyra? I can see how you’re glaring at the hologram,” Evelyn said, smiling at the young celestine, who blushed, straightening slightly.

“Well… there are two things I’d like to do, but I don’t know if they’re reasonable,” she admitted. “It doesn’t feel right to ask about things that are more… personal?”

“If you don’t ask, you won’t find out,” Evelyn told her, resisting the urge to sigh at the young lady. She didn’t want to think of any of them as girls, as they were certainly all in their twenties, at the very least. That was the one saving grace about whoever she’d rescued them from, they didn’t have a thing for girls, at least.

Almost as if she were reading her mind, Ilyra replied, blushing. “Well… both are brought on by us nearly being enslaved. In my case, I was just thinking… what if I want to prove my identity someday? If the person who bought us has all my data, I’d like to get it back if possible. I don’t know if they could do anything with it, but I don’t like the idea of them having it.”

“Mm… a definite possibility,” Evelyn agreed, sitting back in her chair as she thought about it. She didn’t like the idea of going to hunt someone like that down. It struck her as requiring far too much effort for her taste, but it was a possibility that she was willing to consider. “And the other?”

“I’d like to rescue other people who’re in a similar position,” Ilyra said, her voice tiny, and she looked down, fidgeting nervously. “I know that’s not what you usually do, though, so… I understand if you say no.”

Evelyn paused, studying Ilyra for several seconds, then let out a soft sigh as she glanced around the room. Aside from Fya and Zelirana, she thought most of the others agreed, and she raised an eyebrow at the twins in particular.

“I… well, it would be nice, yes. We found out that a bunch of other people have gone missing from the university over the years… at least a half-dozen each year,” Moon said, looking uncomfortable. “I mean, we weren’t going to ask you to do it, but… if we could, I’d be happier.”

“I think that you have the wrong impression about things,” Evelyn said after a moment, letting out a resigned sigh. “Oh, I’m powerful, but do you honestly believe that I could make a dent in the slave trade?”

“Not that it’s a logical trade,” Zelirana murmured, shaking her head as she clicked her tongue in distaste. “Undead are far better for most purposes… but based on what I’ve seen, if you were to throw everything you had into combatting it, all you’d do is make slaves a bit more expensive in the cluster. And probably get yourself killed.”

“Most likely,” Evelyn said, reaching up to rub her forehead. “Let me put this perfectly clearly. Unless someone I care about ends up in a slave market, I’m not attacking one of them. While I’m willing to do a lot, that is a good way to get all the assassins in the cluster on my tail, and if they shoot down the ship, even I’ll have a hard time surviving. I’d do a lot of damage, but at a certain point there are limits to what I can do.”

“Though I’m sure she’d be willing to hit slave ships,” Fya said, a startlingly reasonable note to her voice, which caused Evelyn to eye the djinn in suspicion. She was up to something, she just knew it.

“Yes… though if you’re going to tell me you just happened to come across the itinerary of one, I’m going to hurt you,” Evelyn said, glowering at the djinn.

“Found the itinerary of a slave ship, oh of course not!” Fya said, grinning broadly. “No, I got a message from my cousin while we were in port, she found out about something interesting!”

“Gods save me,” Evelyn said, raising her gaze to the ceiling. “Please don’t tell me this has anything to do with the slave trade.”

“Nope! She found out that there’s an old space station that’s been abandoned just into the next cluster, one in a pretty metal-rich area,” Fya said, and a dot appeared just past the border of the current cluster, heading away from the core worlds. “It looks to be fully intact, and has quite a bit of magic on the external structure. She told me she’s selling the info to a bunch of people, but if you’re looking at making up for some of the expenses, it seems like a good opportunity.”

Evelyn eyed her warily, her suspicion growing still stronger. Anything to do with djinni had a tendency to get far more complicated than she liked to think about, but with how much her bank account was hurting, she had to admit that she wanted to make up for some of her losses. Sure, the others might consider her absurdly rich, but compared to any dragon she could think of, she wasn’t.

“Mm, unless there are any objections, I think that’s the best opportunity at the moment,” Evelyn said after a few seconds, fixing her gaze on Fya as she continued. “However, if you want to make yourself useful, I suggest that you put out a few feelers to find out just who bought the ladies, hm? If we’re going to get Lyra’s data back, we’re going to have to find out who bought it, and we never did learn where they were taking them to.”

“I can do that,” Fya said, grinning like a cat who’d gotten into the cream. “We could wish that they’d put in a flight plan, but unfortunately not. Really unfortunate, but what can we do?”

“Thank you,” Ilyra said, smiling at Evelyn, though she thought the young woman was a bit disappointed. “I know I was asking for a lot, but… thank you for doing what you can.”

“It’d take a concerted effort from most of the myriad nations to wipe out slavery, and I doubt that’d do the job either,” Evelyn said, shrugging helplessly. “Even the dragons only push it underground with their rules on slaves. It means that only the very wealthiest choose to take slaves through the wyrmgates, and those individuals are often powerful enough that I can’t challenge them. If someone has a dreadnaught or monitor…”

Ilyra nodded as Evelyn’s voice trailed off, but didn’t say anything else, instead looking at the others.

“I think everyone has spoken their piece,” Zelirana said after a few seconds, and smiled. “Shall we set out, Milady?”

“Evelyn, Zel,” Evelyn said sternly, pinning the succubus in place with a look. “I put up with Fya using that term, but only because I know she’s damned stubborn and she saved my life. You don’t have that advantage.”

“As you wish,” Zelirana said, her smile widening a little.

Evelyn stood up, sending the coordinates to the bridge as she spoke. “Regardless, it appears our course is set, at least for the moment. We’d best go. Settle in, everyone, at best speed it’s going to be about a week until we get there.”

“Um, if we may… we’d like to talk to you privately,” Moon said, a trace of anxiety in her voice.

Evelyn looked at her, then at her sister before nodding, curious what was making them so nervous.

“Just wait until we’re away from the station and underway, then we can have a chat.” Evelyn told them, and they nodded, both looking both relieved and more nervous.

With that, she headed for the bridge. When they pulled away, she wanted to be available in case someone was especially stupid.

Chapter 40

Leaving the station didn’t take long, and as much as Evelyn was tempted to have her meeting on the bridge as they left Argon behind, she knew better. Fya almost certainly would be eavesdropping, but she wasn’t willing to anger Evelyn by bugging her bedroom or the other private spaces Evelyn preferred, so she sent the twins a message and headed to the observatory, resisting the urge to hum as she moved. She didn’t want to make it too obvious that she was looking forward to getting to look at it properly.

The observatory wasn’t a large room, though it was big enough for eight people to sit in the couches that circled the domed room. More important to her, it had special gravity controls that weren’t hooked to the entire ship, allowing her to go into microgravity if she wanted. Additionally, while the ceiling was also part of the outer hull, it was a very special flavor of hull.

Evelyn barely gave the cushions a glance before she sent the appropriate commands, and with a shimmer, the entire ceiling turned transparent, allowing her to see not only the station quickly falling behind them, but the depths of space, the wyrmgate, the planet, and all the starships flitting through the sky. She paused, watching for a few seconds as her smile widened a little more. She’d tested the systems while docked, but it wasn’t the same when the ship was docked. When it was off on its own, going into the unknown… oh, that was when it was truly glorious.

She didn’t move for a minute, just watching the stars, which burned with clear, unwavering light in the far distance, then Evelyn let out a soft sigh of happiness. This was something she’d wanted for a long time, she realized. Even better was that the floor could mirror the opposite side of the ship, though it wasn’t quite as perfect, in her opinion. She had exacting standards, though.

The door behind her hissed open, and Evelyn quickly forced the smile off her face, especially as she heard gasps. Turning, she saw Star with a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide, and Moon was looking around, paused in the middle of the doorway.

“You aren’t in any danger of floating off into space. The hull is translucent one-way, not both, and it’s still a good half-meter thick,” Evelyn told them, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

“I was just… surprised. I could hardly tell that the hull was there,” Star managed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. “For a second I thought I was going to get sucked out.”

“Mm, don’t stay here in the middle of a battle. The rest of the time, though? You’ll be fine,” Evelyn said, a slight smile crossing her lips as she admitted. “I do love this sort of thing. The systems can highlight constellations, stars where colonies are, and more, assuming they’re loaded into the ship’s database.”

She stepped over to one of the couches and sank down into it, watching the two women. She really needed to get them proper armor at some point, Evelyn reminded herself. Oh, she could delay if she wanted to, but she’d really rather not. The point of having armor was for emergencies, and it wouldn’t do them any good if they didn’t have it yet.

“That’s… I think I remember Mom talking about these sort of rooms before. She showed us a planetside one, once upon a time,” Moon said, a smile flitting across her lips as she admitted. “Back when I thought I was going to be an astronomer. That didn’t work out, of course. I didn’t want to follow in her footsteps.”

“Yup,” Star agreed, moving into the room and almost gingerly taking a seat. “This will take some getting used to. I’m not used to this sort of tech.”

“You’ll manage. Almost anyone can, given enough time,” Evelyn said, looking the two over as she considered, then asked. “So, you wished to speak with me privately. What about?”

The two looked at each other, and she wondered how much information they passed along through it. They didn’t use their implants, she’d have detected any message, but based on what she’d seen out of some siblings, they didn’t necessarily need to use implants. Especially if they’d discussed what they wanted beforehand.

Moon moved over to sit next to her sister, inhaling, then paused and laughed. “I don’t know how to approach this. Not really.”

“Me neither,” Star admitted, grinning, then looked at Evelyn, looking like she was screwing up her courage before she spoke. “So… the question is pretty simple. We were thinking about the whole harem thing. I know you’ve slept with Zel, I don’t know about anyone else… Fya, sure, but not the rest. We… like you. The question is, is the offer open? Not from Fya, are you okay with it?”

Evelyn’s eyebrows rose as her attention was fully drawn away from the view above her. The question was… not entirely unexpected, she had to admit. It certainly wasn’t something she’d anticipated, though, so she had to think about it for a moment. It didn’t help that Fya had been teasing her about it for a while. Part of Evelyn was digging in her heels because of how much the djinn wanted it, but another part of her was… no, that wasn’t the important part.

“Do you have any idea of what a harem would even entail?” Evelyn asked after a few moments, looking between the two carefully. “As opposed to just being occasional bed partners?”

“Um, what?” Moon asked, blinking several times.

“May I ask what you mean?” Star asked, frowning a little.

“Joining a harem has certain other assumptions, ones that I don’t think you’d expect. It’s part of why I was… uneasy with the idea of it to begin with,” Evelyn said, wrinkling her nose. “Fya loves making me uncomfortable, I swear. At least Zel knew exactly what she was getting into, but the rest of you… if any of you want to, I’m curious if you understand the full extent of what it entails.”

“I… suspect we don’t. Would you mind explaining?” Moon asked, looking at her sister in concern.

Evelyn sighed and straightened, debating on standing up for a couple of seconds, then banished the idea, as she put her thoughts in order. If she was going to address the subject, she wanted to take care of it properly.

“Very well, let’s start with an overview of my view of things. First off, you’ve joined me in bed for a bit of fun, and that was what it was. No expectations from me or you of anything more than an enjoyable night together. Simple, wholesome, and without any danger other than the possibility someone falling in love with someone else, and no obligations, either,” Evelyn said, pausing to make certain they understood, and was amused at how their cheeks reddened. If that was enough to embarrass them, she didn’t want to think about the rest of the conversation. “Beyond that there’s lovers, where it’s closer to a committed relationship, but any limitations would be based on what we decided after that. I’m honestly not certain that’s the right thing to focus on, though, as next we have harems.

“The harem, at least as explained by Fya, whose definition is the one that matters, is a set of lovers that ‘belong’ to a single person, though I find that a bit distasteful,” Evelyn explained, not liking the term at all. “They might be able to bed one another, but there’s an obligation to not sleep with anyone else. That puts a great number of limitations on members, and from what she’s said, there are often people who put guards around their harems. Personally, it isn’t something that I would hold someone to, as that feels far too much like indentured servitude of some variety, but that’s what I’ve come to understand about them. If you’re joining the harem, there’s a host of spoken and unspoken obligations and limitations that would be placed upon you. You’d have to ask Fya about details, but that’s why I was asking if you were sure that’s something you want.”

“I… had no idea,” Star murmured, blushing furiously. “Really, people guard their harems where she’s from?”

“Something like that, at least. And she’s muttered something about eunuchs before, which I really don’t want to think about,” Evelyn said firmly.

“Oh. Oh dear… I think I remember hearing about something like this in history classes…” Moon said, her cheeks almost bright enough to be used as landing beacons. “Um, that doesn’t answer our question, though. If you want something like that.”

Evelyn paused again, letting out a soft sigh as she sat back in her chair, looking between the two women for a few seconds, then shrugged.

“I don’t mind the idea, but it isn’t something that I’m… looking for, if that makes any sense,” Evelyn replied, trying to keep her tone even, instead of feeling a tiny bit annoyed by the question. It wasn’t as though she’d put a lot of thought into it before. “The issue is that in a lot of ways it doesn’t matter if I like the idea or not. It’s a lifestyle that you would be choosing. Your life, your choice… just as it’s my choice whether I wish to sleep with anyone who joins it on Fya’s urging. I think that my desires matter at least that much. However, as to whether I like the two of you…”

Evelyn let her voice trail off, examining them briefly, and her annoyance faded slightly as she inclined her head, smiling a little as she shrugged. “I enjoyed the night we had together. It was pleasant, and the two of you have been good company. Not perfect, but what is? Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you for certain. I’d ask that you not expect more out of me, either. I don’t know what else I can give, not in the long term. I am who I am, no more and no less.”

Star’s expression had gone through a series of ups and downs over the course of the explanation. Dismay had appeared first, then hope and happiness, followed by confusion and a hint of worry. Moon, on the other hand, was far more focused throughout the explanation, watching Evelyn closely, and toward the end her expression eased a little as she nodded.

“I think I get it. You wouldn’t mind our company in bed, but… you don’t like being tied down, and that’s part of why you don’t want to tie us down,” Moon said, her words coming a little more slowly this time. “Is that right?”

“Mm, approximately, yes. It isn’t like there’s much else to say, and there’s the other part which you haven’t mentioned,” Evelyn said, smiling at her.

“What’s that?” Star asked, glancing at her sister in confusion.

“My position,” Evelyn said simply. “I saved you, I employed you, I brought you aboard my ship, and I’ve given you a lot of money. If I pressure you at all, there will always be that part of me that wonders if the pair of you did it because you wanted to, or if you felt you had to. That’s why I’m not going to tell you what to do. It wouldn’t be right, and it would be a… an unfair thing to do. Choose what you want. I will accept it.”

With that said, she stood up, continuing, “Now, I’m going to leave. You need to figure things out for yourself.”

“Oh! Well, alright. Thank you,” Moon said, her cheeks coloring, and she looked at Star, who stood quickly.

“Thank you for your honesty. You gave us something to think about,” Star said, clearing her throat. “How much time do we have?”

“Well… unless we agree to renew your contract in a year and eleven months, I’d say about that long,” Evelyn told her dryly, and waved as she walked out of the observatory.

While it was a shame not to have the chance to view their entrance into astral from the room, she thought they needed a chance to sort their feelings out. Evelyn wasn’t going to do it for them, that was for certain. If she did, she might get dragged into other situations she was poorly suited for, and that was the last thing she wanted. She’d rather be stuck in Fya’s frilly dresses for a year than end up a matchmaker, and she shivered at that thought.

Now she needed to see if there was anything tasty to eat, and to figure out exactly what Fya had done with her favorite sheets. They’d gone missing during the move to Djinn’s Gift, which was incredibly annoying.

Chapter 41

A day passed, then two. For a little while Evelyn hoped that perhaps the twins had decided to abandon the idea of taking Fya’s offer, which would hopefully take the wind out of the djinn’s sails, but she didn’t have much faith in that. No, if anything it would likely make Fya even more determined, but Evelyn wasn’t going to say a word. That might make matters worse.

A slightly more interesting subject of things was something Evelyn hadn’t really noticed before they departed. While she was used to Zelirana following Vaneryth around like something of a predatory shadow, now that she wasn’t dealing with getting the ship underway, she noticed what the succubus was up to.

Every time that Vaneryth needed help with something, Zelirana would quickly offer her assistance, or she’d ask for the angel’s help with something simple and innocuous, or even would save her some food that she knew the angel liked. Bit by bit, Evelyn could see Vaneryth’s guard coming down, and she was both intrigued and concerned about it. While she’d already had to take steps to ensure that neither of them went about preaching or corrupting people while on the station, she wasn’t sure she could trust them with one another… particularly if Zelirana decided that her position had changed since shortly after the rescue and wasn’t keeping Evelyn’s warnings in mind.

So, on the second day after they’d left Nald behind, Evelyn sent a summons to the succubus while she was working in the armory. The room was designed to allow someone to have weapons and armor for a crew of up to a hundred and twenty people, which pleased her. It made it so she only had to squeeze things a little to fit everything in, as whoever had designed the room hadn’t accounted for some of her larger weapons. Fortunately, she had some racks that could be secured in place to ensure that the solar cannon didn’t go flying across the room if they were hit hard.

“You called, Evelyn?” Zelirana asked, poking her head in, then paused as she saw what Evelyn was doing.

Evelyn looked up from the suit of armor she was adjusting, and smiled at her, nodding as she spoke. “I did. For two reasons, the first of which is right here. You need armor of your own if you’re going to be aboard the ship. Yes, succubi are naturally extremely durable, but even you need to breathe, and I think keeping weapons from testing that durability is important. Or to keep someone from dousing you in holy water, for that matter.”

“I… hadn’t thought about that, but you’re not wrong,” Zelirana replied, a smile playing across her lips as she approached, looking at the suit as her eyebrows rose. “I’m surprised. I thought you’d be tempted by heavier armor, in that case, not a suit so… form-fitting. Though it would mean eliminating my wings and tail while I have it on.”

The suit was primarily a metallic green with gold accents, and Evelyn thought it’d look good on the succubus, even if the colors didn’t quite match her eyes or hair. Fortunately, black went with almost everything. She wasn’t wrong about it being form-fitting, Evelyn admitted. The shield generator and other accessories were subdued, but that was on purpose.

“Yes, but I think this is well worth the shapeshifting.” Evelyn told her, glancing at the suit as she added. “Trying to protect a tail is difficult, and wings are nigh-impossible. As for why it’s not heavier… you’re a succubus. If you weren’t flaunting your figure, you’d feel like you were doing something wrong. No?”

“That’s true,” Zelirana agreed, grinning back at her. “I’d be happy to try it on and test it out, if that’s what you’d like.”

“I would.” Evelyn said, looking back at her as her smile faded. “The other question I had, is what you think you’re doing with Vaneryth.”

Zelirana blinked a couple of times, then frowned as she spoke cautiously. “I… am not entirely certain why you’re asking. I haven’t broken any of the rules, I haven’t touched her without her permission and I haven’t used my magic on her. I’m trying to gain her trust and to seduce her. I think it’s going rather well, as a matter of fact.”

“Mm, good. I was afraid you might have forgotten the rules I laid down,” Evelyn said, relaxing slightly more as she straightened, rolling her shoulders. “As for seducing her, why?”

“Why? Why not seduce her?” Zelirana asked, blinking in confusion. “She’s an angel, and she was trying to kill me. There’s not much that’s more satisfying than seducing a former enemy, in my opinion, and if she gives in… mm, that’ll be lovely. It’d also be a nice boost to my strength, since that sort of corruption of an angel is one of the most… exquisite things for a demon like myself. It’s up there with priestesses.”

Evelyn paused, looking at her with a frown, concern washing over her. “Seducing her will make you stronger? Why?”

“Angels and the like can be given power, but they also gain strength through inspiring others to acts of faith,” Zelirana explained with a smile. “Conversely, demons like myself gain power via faith in us, certainly, much like angels, but instead of through inspiration, it’s due to convincing others to indulge in our favored… vice, I suppose. And those whose beliefs are different enough from our own give better results.”

“Oh,” Evelyn said, reaching up to rub the bridge of her nose. She briefly flirted with the idea of forbidding the succubus from doing that, but quickly decided it wasn’t her business. It explained the situation, of course, but most likely Vaneryth knew as well as Zelirana did what she had to be up to. And that being the case… she sighed, then spoke firmly. “Only mundane means, and you aren’t to harm her, is that clear? And no complaining if she convinces you to pick up prayers or something similar.”

“If I pray to anything, it’s going to be that pretty face of hers,” Zelirana muttered, smiling broadly as she admitted. “In any case, this is a better opportunity than I could have had either way. Managing to seduce someone so that they’re a completely willing participant is more effective, anyway. I promise, I’ll try not to hurt her.”

“Good,” Evelyn said, letting out a soft sigh, then nodded to the armor. “Now, let’s get this adjusted to fit you properly. No armor is perfect right off the rack, so I know some things need to be adjusted, and you’ll need to link your implants to it.”

“Yes, Evelyn,” Zelirana agreed, her smile broad as she looked at Evelyn curiously, then asked. “I don’t suppose you’re free tonight?”

“Fya wants a night with me, so… discuss it with her,” Evelyn replied, rolling her eyes, then gestured the succubus forward. “Now move.”

The succubus did so, but Evelyn suspected half the reason was because she wanted to get naked. Not that it did her much good in this case.

Chapter 42

“Captain, we have unusual readings on the sensors,” Control reported, and Evelyn instantly set aside her laundry and glanced at the door.

“I’m on my way,” Evelyn said, thankful that at least her quarters weren’t far from the bridge.

Technically the quarters she had didn’t belong to the captain, they were listed as being the penthouse, but that told her a lot about who the ship was intended for. Likely it was for ship owners who didn’t have the skills to captain their ship and hired a captain to take care of that for them. They were plush, over-sized, and sinfully comfortable. That was the only reason she hadn’t taken the captain’s quarters, in all truth.

“Acknowledged,” Control replied politely, cutting the line.

It only took her a minute to reach the bridge, where the screens showed the glowing purple fog that had appeared in the distance midway through the previous day. Now they were among the clouds, and Evelyn frowned, her instincts starting to clamor for her attention. This was the perfect sort of environment for ambushes.

“Report,” Evelyn demanded, quickly taking the captain’s station. As per normal, only Control and one of the Dolls were there, as none of the others were the type to stay on the bridge for long periods.

“Sensor range is currently impeded by the nebula we are traveling through, reducing effective range to only thirty-nine percent of normal,” Control replied promptly. “We are detecting ‘echoes’ as well, which could indicate pirate ships, but could also be something else.”

“Hm. How close are we to Fya’s coordinates?” Evelyn asked, frowning.

“Fya is currently in the lounge playing cards with Ilyra, Moon, and Star. I am not certain I can localize her precise coordinates beyond that,” Control replied, looking at Evelyn oddly. It was all Evelyn could do not to sigh in exasperation.

“I meant, how close are we to the coordinates that she provided.” Evelyn said, looking at the Doll closely. “I should have provided context, my apologies.”

“Ah. I will log that, so that I may respond more accurately in the future,” Control said, frowning as she paused, then continued. “We are four point seven-three AU from the destination she provided. I must note that the information provided did not indicate whether the destination is in astral or normal space, Captain.”

“I’m well aware of that. Unfortunately, she didn’t know which it was,” Evelyn replied, looking at the sensors again as she tapped her leg slowly. Nearly five astrals away was a bit far for an ambush, unless someone was targeting those who were going to the location in question, which made it a little trickier. Of course, there were other options… so she shrugged and spoke calmly. “Condition Yellow, Control. Make sure the shields are ready to go up at a moment’s notice and that we’re combat-ready. Then approach the nearest of these echoes.”

“Acknowledged, Captain,” Control said, and the lighting on the bridge subtly shifted around Evelyn as the Doll continued. “I must observe that you are not appropriately outfitted for Condition Yellow, Captain.”

“Yes, I know,” Evelyn said, smiling coolly as she stood up again. “I’ll be right back.”

She was barely to her room before Fya called her over the comms. “What’s going on? I was winning a match of—”

“I don’t care what you were winning, Fya. We’re about five AU from your coordinates, the sensors are at a bit less than forty percent effectiveness, and there are odd readings. We’re going to investigate them, and that means that everyone needs to be in their armor. I don’t want anyone getting vented without it,” Evelyn said, cutting the djinn off as she entered her room and began shrugging out of her clothing. “The only one even close to as durable as you and me is Zelirana, the rest aren’t up to that sort of thing.”

“Oh, right,” Fya said, pausing, then sighed. “Drat. Hopefully we can pick up where we left off… I was winning.”

“You’re usually winning” Evelyn replied dryly. “You cheat.”

“I take advantage of my natural gifts of probability manipulation,” Fya retorted. “See you soon!”

Evelyn laughed, slipping into her armor as she grinned to herself. There was a reason she never played games of chance with Fya. Manipulating the odds was as natural as breathing for beings that could warp reality to grant wishes, and it was almost completely undetectable.

* * *

“What is that?” Ilyra asked, seated at the damage control station, and Evelyn glanced at her again, tempted to ask her to move, or to at least direct her to learn how to use the station. With Control that wasn’t really necessary, but it bothered her a little. Not an immense amount, just a little. On the other hand, she could understand why the celestine was shocked, as the sight on the viewscreen was riveting. And worrying, in Evelyn’s opinion.

The screen showed an enormous pink crystal, one that massed close to a hundred times what the Djinn’s Gift did, if not even more than that, and it had seen better days. The crystal had once been the exterior of some type of planetoid, Evelyn suspected, and it was only a tiny section of the surface, at least that’s what she thought. The section she could see was slightly curved, with regular protrusions that jutted outward, and a large number of pebble-like crystals in between, if pebbles were a dozen meters across. It was the smooth underside that had had Evelyn concerned, though.

“I’m not certain,” Evelyn said after a moment, looking at the gigantic crystal suspiciously. “Control, is it in our database?”

“Negative, Captain,” Control replied immediately. “No cross-referencing shows anything appearing the same or similar. Scans indicate that the object is rich in common astral ores, in concentrations that appear unusually high.”

“I dunno… my hairs are standing on end,” Fya muttered, her eyes narrowing as she asked. “Zoom in on the underside.”

The image focused inward, though it wasn’t quite as clear as Evelyn would have liked. It was the price of having an atmosphere and nebula in the way, but as she looked at the smooth interior, marred by what looked a lot like a spiderweb crack in it, caused Evelyn’s eyes to narrow.

“That’s not good,” Fya said, glancing at Evelyn. “You thinking what I’m thinking, Milady?”

“If you think that this is the exterior of an egg, then yes,” Evelyn said grimly.

“An egg?” Ilyra demanded, spinning around as her eyes went huge. “What sort of creature could have an egg that big?”

“About, oh… a dozen things I’ve heard of, but I think that we’d have heard about this type if it was common,” Evelyn said, looking at Control as she asked. “Can any of you analyze the object to project how large it was if it was an egg?”

“Only by analyzing the interior arc and extrapolating that into a sphere, Captain,” Control replied promptly. “No Dolls possess biosciences specializations at present.”

“Drat. Rough projection, please,” Evelyn said, watching the screen nervously as it zoomed out again.

“Best estimates indicate that the unknown object may have been four-point three-five kilometers in diameter if it was a sphere.” Control reported after a moment, a hint of worry in the Doll’s voice as she looked at Evelyn. “The estimate has a deviation of approximately seventeen percent, based on the sample size and the possibility that the arc may not be consistent across the surface.”

“Damn,” Evelyn muttered, pausing for a few seconds as she thought.

“Well. If you’re planning on making an omelet, I think we’d need bigger guns,” Zelirana said, glancing at Evelyn as she grinned, adding. “Or for you to go outside.”

“I think that’d be dangerous. We’d be a snack for something that size,” Vaneryth said, shivering. “I’m glad the other two decided to stay in medbay and the galley. This is terrifying.”

“Actually… we’ve been watching over the network.” Star said, her voice taut as she spoke. “Terrifying doesn’t begin to cover it. Should we even be here still?”

“Agreed,” Moon muttered softly.

“We don’t have confirmation of what it is yet,” Evelyn told them, letting out a soft sigh as she shook her head and glanced at Control. “Prioritize evasive action over counterfire if anything approaches on an intercept course, Control. Now, set a course for the next echo your sensors picked up.”

“Yes, Captain,” Control confirmed. “Defensive patterns adjusted, setting course to next anomaly.”

As the ship began moving, Ilyra asked. “Um… why are we going to another anomaly?”

“Simple,” Fya said first, unusually serious for the djinn as she turned to look at Evelyn and the celestine. “It could be another piece of the shell, if it is a shell, or it could be something else entirely. We don’t have enough information to know what was here, and just turning and running won’t tell us anything.”

“Beyond which, it’s entirely possible that it isn’t an egg,” Evelyn said, tapping her fingers together as she frowned. “I don’t like going into unknown danger for no reason, but at the same time, the idea of leaving this for someone else to run into, like an unfortunate explorer, strikes me as a bad idea. How would you feel if Orm got eaten by something?”

For a moment the bridge was quiet, then Ilyra spoke softly. “Yeah… that would be bad.”

“Could we see a map of the local clusters?” Zelirana asked after a moment, the succubus sounding particularly nervous.

“Why not?” Evelyn said, and she brought up the sector map with a thought, the holographic projection spinning into place in moments, and it also helpfully highlighted their approximate position.

This chart was much larger than the others they’d used before, and like them it was specifically showing the distance between systems in astral, not in normal space. The problem with trying to navigate based on normal space astrogation was that the distance between stars didn’t exactly match up in the astral, which made the job of explorers a bit riskier than it might otherwise be.

Evelyn immediately noticed something, though. The sector ended before getting past the outermost members of the core worlds, but more important was where they were. Each cluster was about a hundred AU across, centered on whichever system had been chosen to host the most FTL nodes, which most other systems connected to, but they were right on the edge of two clusters… and to the astral west there were only four or five inhabited systems, the rest was dominated by the darker icons of explored or unexplored systems.

“Interesting.” Evelyn murmured, her eyes narrowing. “You suspected this?”

“I thought we might be near uninhabited space, yes. I seemed to recall seeing some blank spots when you had the map up the other day, but I wasn’t sure. But if there’s something unknown, that usually means that either it was transported here, or it came from someplace relatively wild. Sometimes both, if the creature is attempting to expand to new areas. We see that a lot in the lower planes.” Zelirana explained, frowning. “Now, I don’t know much about the astral, but can I assume there isn’t that much something that enormous can prey on?”

Fya nodded, answering for Evelyn as she relaxed slightly. “That’s right. Sure, there are lots of creatures, but you’ve seen how few we’ve run into since leaving Nald. They aren’t so common that you run into them everywhere, they tend to cluster where there are things to eat.”

“In which case, something like this will almost have to have a wide range. It could be a predator, or it might not be,” Zelirana said… then smiled and shrugged as she added, a bit more helplessly. “Unfortunately, that’s about all I can tell you.”

“I think it’s more than enough,” Evelyn replied, and settled in to wait as she sighed, banishing the map as she frowned. “I really hope it isn’t some titanic monster, though.”

“What, you don’t want to kill something no one has ever killed before, Milady?” Fya teased, her smile fully returned.

“Pfft. You know better than that, Fya.” Evelyn scolded, though she did smile at everyone as she shrugged. “Killing a poor, dumb beast isn’t my idea of fun. A threat and a menace like the darkborn ooze? That deserved it, sure. But I think fighting random creatures is a bit… boring, and usually unfair. Though if it’s something preying on starships, that’s a slightly different situation.”

Vaneryth nodded, looking satisfied, while Fya just giggled.

They continued to chat a little while moving toward the next site, but Evelyn fell silent and let them, focusing instead on the sensors… but as they got closer, her eyebrows furrowed again. The sensor readings as they closed didn’t match what they’d already run into, which was… strange. Very strange.

“Okay, that’s weird,” Fya announced as they came into sight of the next object, sounding particularly surprised. “Who decided to bring a castle wall into astral? I mean, I guess you could, I just don’t see it doing much good.”

“I’m not sure it’s just a castle wall,” Evelyn replied, looking at the object more closely as it emerged from the mists. “More like half a castle.”

That was exactly right, as a matter of fact, as the building was slowly spinning as it drifted through the astral. Evelyn was mystified by it as well, since the cracked, somewhat crumbling wall looked like it’d been taken from a historical vid. The only people she could think of who had something similar were eccentric nobles or archeologists, as even most nobles tended to use more advanced materials in their projects. Here there was half a curtain wall and its attached tower floating through the astral. She had no idea what was going on.

“Captain, there’s a heat source in the center of the tower,” Control reported after a few seconds. “The source is small, heating an area of approximately five cubic meters to a level most mortal species can survive in.”

Evelyn’s eyebrows rose and she paused, examining the building again, then her eyes narrowed.

“Scan for any signs of advanced technology. Electronics, polymers, water pipes, anything of that sort.” She ordered.

“Scanning,” Control said. Then the Doll at tactical spoke up softly.

“No signs of advanced technology, Captain,” the human-like construct reported. “There are water pipes that appear to have frozen and ruptured, which appear to have been made of iron.”

A ripple of conversation crossed both the implant network and filled the room at the new information, but before it could properly get started, Evelyn interrupted by clearing her throat. The others quickly fell silent, looking at her.

“We know that there are worlds which haven’t achieved spaceflight yet out there, even some of the species that we know. This could easily be a spell gone wrong for one of those civilizations,” Evelyn said, her voice calm as she looked at the screen, then stood. “However, if that’s the case, we could have survivors in the castle, especially with the heat source. I’m going over there.”

“What about communicating?” Fya asked, looking at her curiously. “If it’s from an undiscovered world, they’re probably going to have different languages than any of the ones you’ve learned or uploaded.”

That thought brought Evelyn up short, and she considered for a moment, then shook her head, grimacing.

“That is a problem, isn’t it? I don’t have any dedicated translation programs… I never had any need for them,” Evelyn said, scowling as she glowered at the screen, crossing her arms.

“Me neither,” Fya said, shrugging. “I just thought I’d bring it up. Most of the time when we’re summoned, djinni are gifted with temporary knowledge of the language of the summoner. It doesn’t always work, though.”

“Ah… on the other hand, angels like myself can speak any language,” Vaneryth interjected, looking between them. “It’s a magical ability, so we can only speak and understand one unknown language at a time, but… if you’d like, I can come with.”

“Or I can. Succubi have the same ability,” Zelirana added, grinning as she leaned against the wall, attractive in her new armor. “Though I should say, I think she’d be less likely to scare any of them off. Angels are more beloved than demons, and you’re a bit intimidating, Evelyn. We don’t need both me and you going in there.”

Evelyn just gave the succubus a skeptical look, since with her helmet on, the succubus certainly wouldn’t betray her nature. Without wings or a tail, and with the helmet masking even her eyes, it would be easy for the demon to hide her nature from anyone. She could shapeshift, for that matter, so it wasn’t like that was a concern either. No, she suspected this was mostly to make Vaneryth feel more useful and happier.

“As you like,” Evelyn said, looking at Vaneryth curiously. “Are you sure? I don’t know that you’ve used the thrusters on your armor before.”

The angel smiled, visibly relaxing as she nodded, though Evelyn saw the way she looked at Zelirana with both gratitude and a hint of confusion. Then she explained, her voice a little more relaxed now. “Yes, I am. And I have been practicing. Ilyra showed me the simulators, which are supposed to give a good idea of how to use them.”

“Simulations can do a good job, but they’re no replacement for experience,” Evelyn told her, then smiled. “On the other hand, with us moving, you haven’t had a chance for that. There’s no time like the present, so, why don’t we go? The sooner we investigate, the better odds there are that we’ll figure out what happened here.”

“Um, what about us?” Ilyra asked. “What about that… egg-thing?”

Evelyn laughed softly and shrugged, looking back at them. “If it’s able to avoid the sensors, there’s nothing we can do anyway. Just stay aboard and try not to worry too much. We’ll be back soon.”

And with that, she headed for the nearest airlock, Vaneryth following her. Evelyn wondered what they’d find in the building and hoped it wouldn’t just be a pile of bodies. That was always depressing.

Chapter 43

“This is different,” Vaneryth said, her voice tiny in the vastness of astral, and Evelyn couldn’t help a smile as she glanced back at the angel.

“It is. There are lots of theories about astral, why it doesn’t have gravity despite the incredible amount of mass here, or why it doesn’t grow to densities that would crush us. It’s alien, and yet… I find it oddly freeing to travel through,” Evelyn replied, hitting her jets again to stay on-course. “The question is… what seems different to you?”

“I’m not sure that I could say. Maybe it’s just that I have the suit rather than wings… maybe it’s just that I’ve only rarely been in a place that extended without limit in every direction, but…” Vaneryth let her voice trail off. For a few seconds Evelyn thought she wouldn’t say anything more, but then she spoke again, her voice barely audible. “I’m lost, I suppose. I thought that once I humbled myself they’d take me back, or give back my strength. Were my sins truly that bad? How long had I been walking down the wrong path?”

Evelyn made certain she was on course, then turned in place to look at the angel, whose light-colored suit stood against the purple nebula and the ship glittering behind her. She couldn’t see Vaneryth’s face, but even so she felt she could tell a lot from how the woman was almost hunched over. It made her sigh as she shrugged, ensuring that her implants weren’t transmitting their conversation.

“That’s what did it? Arrogance?” Evelyn asked, tilting her head as she spoke.

“Um…” Vaneryth looked up suddenly, and Evelyn somewhat regretted not being able to see her face. A couple of seconds later she nodded, speaking sheepishly. “Yes… at least that was the last straw. I went back, and they were… upset with me. I wasn’t properly grateful that you’d rescued me… they said that I was acting as though it was the privilege of mortals to save an angel in my position, when I should have been as thankful as a mortal who I aided. It was only one thing, but the last in a litany of errors. At least, that’s what I was told.”

“Hm. I didn’t think you were arrogant,” Evelyn said, a bit amused that they’d thought that Vaneryth had been arrogant. Maybe reserved, but she thought Beatrice and Peldri in particular were far more arrogant in the aftermath. Not that she exactly blamed them, it wasn’t like they’d asked for anything she’d done. She turned back to face the castle, which they were slowly approaching, and continued. “The question is… how much do you want to worry about it? I take it you weren’t given conditions for the restoration of your power?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it? Worrying about it, I mean,” Vaneryth said helplessly. “No, I didn’t get any conditions. I asked, but they said that if I got conditions, it would make anything I did suspect, and less sincere. So instead, I was sent back as I am, and just left to figure it out for myself. It’s terrifying, you know… I’m adrift, without guidelines or orders to point me to the next task.”

“In which case… why should you care?” Evelyn asked, rolling her eyes.

“What?” Vaneryth asked.

“Why care what those conditions are? Yes, your current state is much weaker than you were, but you’re about equal to most mortals even now,” Evelyn told her, resisting the urge to scold the angel. She didn’t need that right now. “Mortals have managed to do incredible things with what you have, so… why view it as limiting? Make the most of what you have and choose your future. Like with the others, make your way forward, and hope that you’re doing what they want you to. Though I’ll admit, personally I’d just assume that I wasn’t ever going to get my powers back. If you don’t have conditions… it’s gone. Live with that knowledge and try to improve in the ways that you can control. You can’t control them, not without becoming as bad as the people who captured you.”

“I… are you sure that’s the right thing to do? I’m an angel,” Vaneryth said, her voice plaintive now. “I haven’t been a mortal in so long that…”

“Control that which you’re able to, accept the things you can’t. Simple words, but incredibly difficult to put into practice,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “I had enough trouble with it when I was younger, and even now… well, you’ve heard about my temper. I do have anger management issues. Fortunately, none of you seem like you’re going to set me off.”

“I think that’s because you draw a careful line between those you’re close to and those you aren’t. Somehow you put us in the first category, so you’re more tolerant of us than you might normally be,” The angel said, her voice soft now.

Evelyn laughed, thinking about that for a second, then shrugged. “You very well may be right. I’ll also admit, you’re nice enough most of the time. As long as you and Zel aren’t fighting, anyway… but here we are. Keep an eye out for anyone alive, or for threats. I wouldn’t put it past the astral to throw a few critters to eat us in there.”

“Alright,” Vaneryth said, sounding a bit more confident now.

They were close to the castle, and as she examined it, Evelyn frowned thoughtfully. While small things were missing, like, oh, the courtyard, there was enough for her to make out a bit about the inhabitants. They were likely close to humans or elves in size, not quite as tall as most senne were, which was an interesting detail. The stonework didn’t look like the construction of most dwarves, though she was reminded that there were clans that didn’t follow the usual aesthetic most dwarves were known for. There were words carved into some of the doors… but most interesting to her was the magic.

Magic was the only thing holding the wall in one piece, she decided after a few seconds. Spells reinforcing and solidifying the masonry were woven across the stone, and even if Evelyn wasn’t an artificer, she could recognize those well enough. There was something odd about the spells, though, something she couldn’t quite place… but she set it aside after a moment. Even the tower was heavily enchanted, and that, more than anything else, told her that this place had been ripped from somewhere more primitive than the planets she’d lived on. No one would spend that much effort on a building as primitive as this was unless they had no choice. She hoped not, anyway.

“Can you read the words?” Evelyn asked after a bit.

“I’m afraid not. I can understand spoken languages, not written words,” Vaneryth replied, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. “Sorry, I should have mentioned that earlier.”

“Pfft. Not a worry,” Evelyn replied, and triggered her thrusters to approach the door into the tower. There wasn’t anything free-floating in the area, which indicated that it’d been drifting for a while. So she touched the doors, testing them, then slowly pushed them open, triggering the thrusters to provide force.

It took a little more effort than Evelyn had expected to get the doors open, but they slowly creaked inward, revealing a room that was more interesting than the exterior. Furnishings were floating all around the room, from pot shards to candlesticks, and a chandelier was smashed, drifting on its cables in the middle of the room. There was a table, several carpets, and some stray sheets of paper, which prompted Evelyn’s eyebrows to rise again.

“Interesting,” She murmured, looking around, and began feeding information to the ship again. “Where is the heated room in relation to me, Control?”

“Calculating. Based on projections, it should be through the door on the far side of the room, then down approximately a meter.” Control replied after a moment, her voice calm and unruffled. “The layout is unknown, so I cannot be more precise.”

“Of course it’s unknown,” Evelyn murmured, a smile playing across her lips. “Understood, Control. We’re going in.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. No new data from sensors,” Control replied.

Evelyn glanced back at Vaneryth, who’d come to a halt somewhat clumsily, then nodded. “What do you make of this?”

“It looks… well, like you’ve said. No advanced technology. There’s something else that’s… irritating me. Almost like I should recognize some of it,” Vaneryth said after a few seconds. “Do you think anyone else will?”

“I think I’ve seen similar architecture in my history classes, but it wasn’t my best subject,” Moon volunteered. “On the other hand, a lot of architecture looks similar to me.”

“Mm, there were a few other things that I noticed as well,” Evelyn agreed, slowly moving through the room, though she was forced to move a table to the side along the way, as it was in the way. The door opposite was also closed, and she took a few seconds to open it. It wasn’t much easier than the first, though it wasn’t as heavy, and Evelyn paused, looking closely, then shook her head, muttering. “No wonder it’s hard to open. The door isn’t hanging on its hinges right. They’re bent.”

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Zelirana murmured softly.

The other side of the door revealed a hallway, and she looked both ways, but immediately focused on the destination she needed. In front of her was another door hanging open which revealed a room filled with fluttering, drifting books and bookshelves. The sheer number of books, old-fashioned tomes on paper and parchment, left her flabbergasted, and some of the windows she could see were cracked. To the right was a stairwell that circled upward, but to the left was what she wanted, stairs going down.

“Books. Paper books,” Evelyn muttered. “I’ve only seen them when I took over Peldra. The palace had an entire climate-controlled library for keeping their rare books intact.”

“I remember those! You complained about how much of a waste of space and energy it was, then had the systems refitted to be more compact and higher-quality,” Fya volunteered cheerfully. “I thought you were going to throw them out!”

“Why? They were valuable, and even if trying to read them gave me a headache, they had good information. I just couldn’t believe how much the systems had been neglected. If nothing else, we’d best rescue these after I’ve checked the building.” Evelyn said, shaking her head slightly. “They could tell us where this is from, potentially.”

“True! Do you think we’ll discover a new world?” Star asked, suddenly sounding excited.

“I hope not,” Evelyn replied grimly, thinking about how badly similar incidents had gone in the past. The culture shock of an advanced species meeting a primitive one could often go poorly, especially if the more advanced species decided to take advantage of their technology. She was not going to be involved in that if she could help it.

The passage grew darker as they descended, the light from outside fading, until they came to another door. Evelyn tested it, then blinked as she realized that unlike the others, this one was locked. Moments after she tested it, a voice sounded from the other side of the door, one belonging to a woman. She didn’t understand what was being said, but a moment later she heard a quieter, higher-pitched voice as well, and her blood almost ran cold. That was the voice of a child.

“Ryth, did you hear that?” Evelyn asked calmly.

“Only through your implants. The woman was asking if someone was here, then a girl asked her mother if they were being rescued,” Vaneryth replied after a moment. “Give me a second, let me talk to them.”

“Sure.” Evelyn said, pushing herself to the side so that the angel could move up to the door.

The angel spoke in a language that sounded similar to what Evelyn had just heard, then paused for a response before speaking again, her tone soothing, and listened. Then Vaneryth nodded, pushing away from the door.

“They’re going to try to get the door open, and the woman apologized, saying that it would take her a minute, as she secured them to the wall.” Vaneryth said, a hint of concern in her voice. “I’m not exactly sure what happened, but she sounds relieved at being rescued.”

“Mm… if they’re going to take that long… I could take them back via telekinesis, or maybe even teleportation… but I don’t know that it’s a good idea.” Evelyn said, frowning to herself. “Control, send a pilot with one of the shuttles to hold station about… fifty meters out.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. ETA three minutes,” Control confirmed.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Vaneryth said, relief flooding her voice. Then there was another comment from the woman, and the angel responded, before adding. “She’s not sure how long they’ve been here, I’m afraid. At least a couple of days, but they lost track of time. Some of the guards drifted off into the void before she could help them.”

Evelyn’s eyebrows rose, and she asked. “Before she could help? Considering the technology… she’s a mage?”

Another short conversation ensued, then Vaneryth nodded. “That’s right. She says she was working on a rain ritual when there was some sort of vortex that sucked half the palace into it. She says that it involved temporal magic, and she’s not sure where it came from.”

“Temporal… oh, of course,” Evelyn said, wishing she could pinch the bridge of her nose as realization struck her, the oddities regarding the enchantments snapping into place. “They were ripped out of their own time. That would explain this, and considering that they aren’t on a planet, it’s time and space. We’re dealing with the remnants of a temporal rift.”

“…Well, fuck,” Fya said, a note of resignation in her voice. “I really hope that doesn’t include the station my cousin mentioned.”

“We’ll find out. First, we have some poor, time-stranded women to rescue,” Evelyn said grimly. “Is it just the two of them?”

“That’s right,” Vaneryth confirmed, and was about to continue when the door began rattling. Evelyn could hear the lock click, then the latch moved, and she couldn’t help but cringe as the door opened, leaving a woman windmilling on the other side of it.

The room itself had seen better days, Evelyn decided, but she immediately realized why the woman had chosen to use it as a refuge. There was a large hearth in the center of the room, with an enchanted brass brazier in the center of it, flames leaping within without fuel, which was impressive without gravity to give them tear-like shapes, and around the edges of the room were racks of a pantry, which someone had fastened with place with strips of silk, rope, and even shredded clothing.

On one wall she saw a large pile of blankets held in place by a hammock, from which peered a young human girl with dusky skin, dark hair and wide eyes, a trace of fear in them easy to see as she looked at Evelyn, as well as curiosity. Closer was an older, human woman, with a similar skin tone. Perhaps dusky was the wrong term, Evelyn thought, but… sun-bronzed might be appropriate. She wore a gown and pants, and her dark hair had started escaping the braids she’d put them into, despite being pinned to her head. Her brown eyes were filled with worry, and the shadows under them told much of the tale, Evelyn thought. She looked very concerned on seeing them, looking them over nervously, then said something.

Vaneryth replied, and the woman relaxed slightly, nodding in response. Her clothing was of a very rough weave, in Evelyn’s opinion, but it likely was rather fine by her era’s standards, and the blue gown had seen better months, as it was stained, had had a couple of burns on the hem, and the like. The woman had trousers on underneath, though, and multiple layers of socks. Considering how cold astral was, even with a fire in the room, Evelyn approved of the precaution, as otherwise she might have lost fingers, toes, or other important parts of her anatomy. Like ears, for instance.

“Sorry, she was a little concerned about our appearances, and I explained it was armor, and that it allows us to fly more easily without gravity,” Vaneryth explained to Evelyn. “I’m having to work to find the right words. This language doesn’t have a lot of the terms I need for technology.”

“I’m not surprised in the slightest. If you’d let her know that we’ll take her to the ship? You also might want to inform her that things have changed a lot since whenever she’s from… or wherever, for that matter,” Evelyn suggested, glancing at the girl as well, and added. “I can move them with telekinesis if they’d like, and we can come back for any items she wants to keep.”

The angel nodded and spoke to the woman, who looked at Evelyn hesitantly for a moment, then said something, nodding reluctantly.

“She agreed, if you’ll give her a moment? Unfortunately, it isn’t one of the types of magic she’s skilled with,” Vaneryth explained. “She wants to explain it to her daughter, first.”

“Of course,” Evelyn agreed, smiling slightly more as she relaxed. “That makes perfect sense. I suspect that they’re going to want baths and something to eat shortly after getting back to the ship. Moon, if you’d start on something relatively simple? I’m not sure how hungry they’ll be, and whether they’d be very adventurous.”

“Sure, I can put together a nice soup with some bread and a salad quickly… it shouldn’t take much time at all and would be easy on the stomach,” Moon said brightly, sounding pleased at being able to contribute. “Do you think that will work?”

“I think so, yes. With as cold as it is out here, I suspect any warmth will be appreciated.” Evelyn replied, smiling a little. Sometimes it was rather nice to have other people around, as it meant she didn’t have to take care of everything.

The woman had made her way over to the blankets by that point and murmured to her daughter for a minute. Only then did she try to help the girl out of the blankets, and as she did so, Evelyn adjusted her estimate of the child’s age. She must be about… ten, Evelyn guessed, and she resisted the urge to shake her head as the woman ended up drifting out of position before freeing the girl from the blankets. From the look of things… well, Evelyn was very glad to have her helmet and filtration systems. She didn’t want to think about the smell that would pervade the room. Sanitation in zero gravity was messy at the best of times, let alone for a pair of people suddenly thrust into it from a much more primitive society, and who’d been in the room for a few days.

Once she had a firm grip on the girl, who was bundled up even more thoroughly than she was, the woman looked at Evelyn and nodded. She took it as an invitation, and Evelyn glanced at Vaneryth again.

“I’d like you to stay with them as much as possible, at least until they’re settled. If they don’t have someone who can talk to them, that will make matters much worse,” Evelyn told the angel, who nodded in agreement. “Now, let’s get moving, shall we?”

With a gesture, magic swirled out of her hand and surrounded the woman and her daughter, gripping them carefully, so lightly that the two likely wouldn’t even feel it, yet with all the implacable power of Evelyn’s mind, and she turned to leave the room. She’d just have to be careful not to bang them against the walls along the way.

Chapter 44

Cherys the White didn’t know what to make of her rescuers. Their armor, if it could truly be called that, as alien as it appeared to her, encompassed their entire bodies, and neither of the first two had shown her their faces for some time, not until after they entered the glittering, gold and red vessel hanging in the sky outside her tower. The one had the halo of an angel, which had briefly caused her to wonder if she and Nadia were being ushered into the afterlife, but then the woman had explained that they were going to rescue them.

That didn’t even consider the rest of what she saw once aboard the vessel, and such a strange vessel it was. More lights than she’d ever seen, shining with the clarity of perfectly cast magic, came from the ceiling, and there were small panels with symbols she assumed were letters on the walls in places, and also were on strange, glowing panels where the lights changed. Nadia’s fear had turned to wonder as she looked around, and the angel, now without her helmet, looked at her kindly.

“We’re taking you back to our ship, named the Djinn’s Gift,” Vaneryth said, smiling warmly at them. “The woman you saw with me is our Captain, and the rescuer of most of us at one point or another. The situation with you is quite different, but it remains that we’re rescuing you. She’d like to know what you want from your tower before we leave it behind. Unfortunately, we cannot take everything.”

“I will have to think. My library would be nice, but somehow I believe that all of this makes my knowledge rather paltry by comparison,” Cherys said, looking at the lights above as she sighed, then asked. “Truly, this is where knowledge of machines has taken things? I… can hardly imagine it.”

“Yes, though I should caution that you aren’t necessarily that far out of time as you may believe. Yes, you may be, but there are many planets where the gods placed the mortal species, and some of them have progressed to this point faster than others,” Vaneryth said, shrugging as she admitted. “To be perfectly honest, my own understanding of the technology that is used is imperfect as well. I was more powerful than I am now for centuries, and I did not rely on technology until recently. I am still learning.”

“It’s pretty,” Nadia murmured, looking at Vaneryth worshipfully.

“That it is, dear one,” Cherys said, hugging her daughter tightly. “Pretty, and we’ll have to determine what we can do here. If everything is as different as it seems, and the magi in this time are as powerful as your captain, I believe that I will not have many options. Unless we can return to our own time and place, that will make this difficult. I sincerely doubt that is possible, as temporal magic is beyond me.”

Vaneryth laughed, causing Cherys to pause, wondering what she’d said to amuse the angel. She still felt that the amount of magic the woman who’d rescued them had was absolutely awe-inspiring. Cherys wouldn’t have pitted even the entire Academy against her, she had that much power at her command.

“My apologies, I shouldn’t have laughed. Evelyn is not typical, let me assure you of that,” the angel said, shaking her head quickly as she smiled. “No, she is one of the most powerful individuals I have ever met short of the gods themselves. I would pit elder dragons against her in the fullness of their power and I believe she would likely win in many cases. No, do not measure your power against her. If anything, I believe you are more capable of wielding magic than most people in this time, if my estimate of your skill is anywhere close to accurate. In this time, the sheer amount of learning and effort involved in becoming a skilled mage means that relatively few choose to undertake it, instead focusing on the easier path of technology. There are some who do, and with as many people as there are that’s a large number, but an even smaller percentage than you might believe.”

“Oh. That… is a very good thing to know,” Cherys said, some of her tension fading and she nodded. “I was afraid that everything I knew was without worth.”

“No, you’ll be fine, given time. The biggest problem will be trying to catch you up on everything which exists now,” Vaneryth said, then paused, adding. “And we’ve landed. Oh, and just so you know, we’re communicating with the others via other machines. Think of it as a sort of telepathy, but with far more limitations on how it works.”

“Ah,” Cherys said, though despite her words she was even more confused. She couldn’t imagine how a machine could allow someone to communicate like that. If it was anything like a horn, she’d have heard it, but she hadn’t heard anything. “I… well, the chance to clean up would be nice. I will think about what I would like recovered as I do so.”

“That would be perfect. There will also be food waiting once you’re done,” Vaneryth said, standing up and starting toward the hatch. The return of weight confused but relieved Cherys. Their time in the kitchen had been unpleasant.

For now, she just wanted to get cleaned up and to regain some semblance of control over her life.

* * *

“Her name is Cherys the White, and her daughter is Nadia. ‘The White’ refers to her skill with magic, which specifically is the realm of weather magic,” Vaneryth explained several hours later, looking around nervously as she inhaled slowly. “I don’t have the full details yet, but if I’m not mistaken, it sounds like she came from one of the worlds which is currently inhabited, and she’s from about a millennium and a half ago, give or take. I seem to remember some planets with that magical structure.”

“Hm, sounds like it’d be accurate,” Evelyn said, pondering for a few seconds, then sighed, shrugging. “Unfortunately, I didn’t learn much about the history of magic, so I couldn’t determine anything more myself. How are they holding up?”

“Much better now that they’re fed and have had a chance to relax somewhat. Nadia was delighted by the garden and pool, as well as the new clothing, though I had to explain a few things,” Vaneryth explained, a flicker of a smile playing across her lips. “Her mother is… much more concerned, but after a little while they wanted to rest, and I think they’re asleep by this point. I believe that their time in the tower after being pulled here was unpleasant.”

“It would be,” Zelirana murmured, shrugging. “According to the Dolls, they’ll have the last items that were requested within the hour. They’re also gathering other items of value, as I thought that was important in case they end up leaving the ship.”

“Which hopefully they will. My ship isn’t the proper place for a child to grow up,” Evelyn said, a shudder running down her spine as she thought about a couple of her abortive attempts to make money growing up. Anyone who could stomach taking care of children had her respect, as she could still practically feel the teeth sinking into her left ear. Never, ever again. “However, that does give us some information. Temporal rifts… very poor luck for them, and the sensors aren’t detecting any of the people she mentioned. If it’s been a few days they might still be alive, assuming they have extremely warm clothing or the proper enchantments, but I don’t have much faith in that.”

“What about the building itself?” Fya asked curiously. “It probably has things in it that people would like to look over at some point. We could put a beacon inside it, so anyone who wants to can find it.”

“An excellent thought. Please arrange that,” Evelyn said, looking at the Doll near the door, C3.

“Yes, Captain,” the senne-like Doll replied calmly. She was the only Doll that made Evelyn feel small in comparison, since she was about five centimeters taller than Evelyn.

“Anything else?” Evelyn asked, looking around the table. For several moments no one spoke, though.

“Not that I can think of, but… do you think this will make us show up later than other people?” Ilyra asked, frowning as she shifted in her chair. “You said that other people would be told about the station, right?”

“Yup! And probably,” Fya agreed easily. “The real question is whether there were traps or not.”

Evelyn nodded in agreement, some of her good humor fading as she thought.

“Yes, that’s one of the concerns I had. If there was a temporal rift, it’s possible that this station is going to be from another time, possibly even the future. If so, it could be much more dangerous than anyone is anticipating,” Evelyn said, tapping her fingers together. “Others coming before us could be good, or it could be bad. They could clear out many defenses, or they might have looted everything, or even destroyed it entirely and left us with nothing. There are many variables, and there’s no way of knowing until we get there. Regardless, I intend to examine each anomaly in turn on our way there. I won’t leave people to freeze or starve to death in the astral if I can help it. Objections?”

Star spoke first, her voice quiet. “Thank you.”

“For?” Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“For not being willing to abandon people,” Star replied, her smile faint. “I was… unsure of what to think, really. Do you think we can find the people who drifted off?”

“Odds?” Evelyn asked, looking at the Doll again.

“Less than five percent of finding one individual, and less than one percent of finding two or more,” the Doll replied promptly. “The spin of the structure and lack of knowledge of which direction they were thrown makes the volume of space we would have to search too large for higher odds, especially without any way to communicate with them and the sensor distortions of this area.”

“Drat,” Moon said, looking a little crestfallen. “That’s a terrible thing to have happen to you.”

“I agree, but there is only so much we can do,” Evelyn said, shrugging helplessly. “If we knew where the rift appeared, perhaps we would be able to do more, but there’s no way for us to know that. An unknown amount of time, unknown distance… all we have is the speed it’s been moving at, and atmospheric resistance on an object this size…”

“Yeah,” Star agreed, sighing heavily. “Well, maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“Agreed. However, if there aren’t objections, we’ll continue moving,” Evelyn said, standing up and stretching. “In fact, I think that I’d like to rest myself. Fya, you’re in command until I wake.”

“Yes, Milady!” Fya agreed, grinning broadly back at her.

“Then the meeting is adjourned,” Evelyn said, and moved toward the door. A nice hot soak in her tub before sleeping would be pleasant.

* * *

The chime at her door surprised Evelyn, and she opened her eyes, wriggling her toes in the bubbles as she glanced across the room at the door, pondering. Around the tub was a wide area of fake marble, the gold veins matching the theme of the ship, and the fixtures weren’t much different. What she liked was that these jets were rated to deal with the bubble bath solution she preferred, and she was enjoying herself. Which made the chime even more poorly timed, depending on who it was. If it was Zelirana… well, she’d best check.

A thought allowed access to the camera feed from her doors, and Evelyn’s eyebrows rose as she saw a certain angel on the other side of it, playing with a lock of her hair nervously. She debated, then piped her voice through the door speaker.

“Yes, Ryth? Is something wrong?” Evelyn asked, picking up a double handful of bubbles and blowing them.

“How… oh, cameras, of course. I should have thought about that,” Vaneryth replied in embarrassment, suddenly dropping the lock of hair as she visibly steadied herself, looking around for the camera, yet missing it. “I… would like to talk to you personally, if I may?”

Evelyn looked at the woman through the camera for a moment, almost completely shunting it into her mind to the point she could barely see her own surroundings. It probably would’ve been easier to replace her vision completely, but that always made Evelyn anxious, as who knew what might happen while she left her body unattended. The angel looked extremely nervous, and Evelyn wondered what had happened to make her look like that. This could be an extension of the earlier conversation, she supposed… which would be irritating, but understandable. After a few seconds she shrugged and banished the feed.

“As you like,” Evelyn said, signaling the door to open. “Come in.”

“Thank you, I…” Vaneryth began, stepping into the bedroom, then paused, her voice trailing off as she looked over at Evelyn, staring at her in confusion. Evelyn waited for her to say something as the door closed behind her, but the angel didn’t speak.

“Yes?” Evelyn asked, looking back at the angel impatiently.

“A bubble bath?” Vaneryth asked, sounding so confused that Evelyn’s annoyance turned to amusement.

“Yes, a bubble bath,” Evelyn said, smiling at her. “Is there something wrong with it?”

“I… wouldn’t say that. I just never thought…” Vaneryth paused, shaking her head as she inhaled, then spoke more sheepishly. “I suppose I just always thought of you as more of a… I don’t know, extremely hot shower sort of person? You’re so sharp sometimes that this doesn’t feel like it fits. At least not the version of you I’ve come to know.”

Evelyn chuckled, shrugging as she picked up a handful of bubbles and blew them, then dropped her arm back into the water with a splash, grinning as she spoke. “Ah, but that’s where you’d be wrong. Oh, I like hot showers, with a pounding spray that can relax my muscles properly… but that isn’t what I always want. I like to relax in the bath, to soak and let it soothe me and melt the stress away. And the bubbles are just enjoyable. I like my bubble baths. Not that I advertise it, of course. It might ruin my image.”

The angel nodded slowly, her cheeks red, and she approached slowly, then stopped right on the edge of the stonework, shifting from one foot to the other.

“I’m not sure it’d ruin your image, but it isn’t what I expected. The term is… cognitive dissonance, I think. But it isn’t why I asked to talk to you… though I’ll admit this makes me even more uncomfortable. Sort of,” Vaneryth said, looking down and poking at the stone with the tip of her shoe.

“Mm…” Evelyn murmured, examining the angel closely for a couple of seconds, then she smiled. The blush on the woman’s face, the way her gaze kept trying to rise to look at Evelyn, yet she forced it down… combine that with what she knew that Zelirana had been up to, and it gave her an idea. A naughty idea that she really shouldn’t entertain… but she thought she was going to, anyway.

“Well, if you’re having trouble figuring out how to say it… would you like to join me in the tub, Ryth?” Evelyn asked, leaning back and rolling her shoulders slowly. “It’s warm, comfortable, and the jets might help you relax a little. And, if you’re planning to offer to join me in bed, it’ll give you the opportunity to ask at some point.”

“I, but, um…” Vaneryth sputtered, her gaze jerking upward abruptly as she looked at Evelyn like a civilian looking down the barrel of a gun, freezing in place as if spooked. “I…”

“Ryth… I’ve no idea why it seems like the only ones who chose to stay aboard the ship are all attracted to me, but it hasn’t escaped my notice,” Evelyn said gently. “Oh, Lyra is still ignorant of it, but I noticed her crush quickly enough. I might have destroyed it with the conversation about slavery, and that definitely put a damper on the twins as well, but I’m not sure. You surprise me a bit, as I hadn’t expected it, but you’re pretty enough. If you want to join me, you are certainly allowed to.”

For several seconds Vaneryth didn’t reply, her jaw working while the blush in her cheeks intensified more and more. She looked at Evelyn, still so startled that it was amusing, and Evelyn could see the emotions which played across her face, as the angel didn’t seem to have much practice at keeping her emotions hidden. At least not under circumstances like these. Hope, shame, confusion… those were the main emotions, but Evelyn definitely noticed the guilt on her face.

“I… is it right, though?” Vaneryth asked, looking down at the floor again. “I mean… it isn’t like I’m an angel of chastity or anything, but I just… I wonder if it’s right of me to do anything like this, when I’m confined to the mortal world. Part of me wonders if I’m—”

“Stop,” Evelyn commanded, cutting the angel short as she sat forward in the tub, a hint of frost entering her voice as she spoke, meeting the angel’s gaze levelly. “Ryth, I’m relaxing and enjoying myself. Do not ruin my mood, please. You need to decide what you want to do, and I invited you. Take the invitation or choose to leave. I will not force you either way.”

Vaneryth paused, then her lips quirked into a smile as she murmured. “I’m overthinking this, aren’t I?”

“That’s my opinion, yes. What you feel is up to you, not some deity or strictures. If you don’t feel you’re violating the values you hold… what does it matter?” Evelyn asked, relaxing again as she sat back. “The question is, was that the only reason you came to see me?”

As she talked, Vaneryth was reaching for the seal of her suit, and slowly undid it. It was surprisingly sexy, partly because the angel wasn’t trying to tease her. She was just taking her clothing off shyly, which was rather attractive… and Evelyn wasn’t shy about admiring her.

The angel had pale, flawless skin, just this side of utterly inhuman, where it wouldn’t be attractive anymore. She was shapely, but something about it felt slightly off, as though it’d been changed. Evelyn wondered if there’d been some sculpting done on her… that wouldn’t surprise her, since Moon and Star had mentioned they’d gone through a little after waking up as well.

“I did have something in mind, but after you invited me into the bath, it flew right out of my head,” Vaneryth admitted, clearing her throat in embarrassment. “I suspect I mostly came up with it because I wanted an… out, if I changed my mind.”

“Sensible. You made multiple battle plans, so you could decide which to use based on the situation,” Evelyn murmured, smiling as the angel stepped over to the bath, hesitating, then slipped into it and let off a soft gasp. If it weren’t for her halo, Evelyn might think she was just a human… well, that and her aura. “How are you liking the training programs? I’m a little surprised that you wanted to learn navigation, if I’m being honest.”

“For all I know, one day it will be necessary in the heavens as well,” Vaneryth replied, smiling back at her as she slowly submerged to the waist, approaching her. “I’m adjusting, though. It’s taking time to get used to these implants, as they aren’t something I’d have chosen to have placed within me, but now that they’re here… well, they simply are. And I’m also thinking about what you said. Who knows how long I’ll be here? I could be here for a few years, or a few centuries. I have to adapt to my circumstances, not just plan on going back to the heavens at any moment.”

The angel paused, taking a breath, then she slipped deeper into the water as she moved to recline next to Evelyn. Her skin was soft and slick as she bumped into Evelyn, who smiled as she slid an arm around her.

“I think that’s a wise decision… but who knows for certain?” Evelyn murmured in reply, smiling the woman. She considered the angel for a few moments, then spoke lightly. “And so you are perfectly aware, I will not be taking the initiative in this. If you want something beyond this, you have to at least express that you want it.”

“Alright,” the angel said, and her smile was radiant. Evelyn certainly didn’t object to her company, though.

Nor did she object when the angel didn’t leave until after they slept. It truly was an impressive experience, even if Vaneryth didn’t have the experience that Zelirana possessed.

Chapter 45

“You seem awfully smug today.” Fya said, smiling broadly at Evelyn.

“Not smug. Satisfied,” Evelyn corrected, sniffing lightly. Then her smile faded as she added. “Though I do wish we’d been able to find the guard in time.”

“You and me both,” Fya said, her smile vanishing as well, and Evelyn resisted the urge to sigh.

The man who’d been floating through the depths of astral hadn’t had much of a chance, as he’d frozen to death long before they’d found him. At the best guess of M2, the man had been dead for about a day when they found him, which was… unfortunate. Oh, there was a good chance that Fya could resurrect him, but they were leaving that decision to Cherys, who was hesitant. Evelyn didn’t disagree, as she felt that it wouldn’t be fair to resurrect the man in an alien world without permission.

Their investigation of other anomalies hadn’t revealed anything as interesting as the first two spots they’d encountered, though. Oh, one was obviously a chunk from near the center of a planet, but the slowly-cooling metal hadn’t been worth enough to worry about. They’d retrieved a number of rare gems from an asteroid that’d been ejected from the rifts, and Evelyn had to wonder if the chunk of ice had been frozen when it came through or if the astral had frozen it and the fish within, but it didn’t truly matter. No, now they were moving in on the location Fya’s cousin had given them.

For a minute they were both quiet, then Fya spoke conversationally, “So… after Vaneryth vanished off the monitors, I got a visit from the twins.”

“Oh?” Evelyn asked, watching the feed from the sensors absently. She’d reconfigured it to a holographic display, which she liked more than the other options.

“Yep. They asked what being a member of your harem would entail, in my opinion,” Fya said, prompting a chuckle out of Evelyn.

“Oh? I do hope you didn’t tell them they’d be stuck in it until I let them go,” Evelyn replied, turning to look at the djinn. “I told them they could leave when they wanted to, after all.”

“Nope! I’m not that mean, and I know you. You’d see that as a type of slavery and would bristle hard.” Fya said, grinning. “No, my rules were simple. No sleeping with anyone not in the harem that isn’t you, no leaving the ship without permission, if you decide you want to sleep with one of them, your desires take priority, and they need to give us notice if they’re planning to leave the harem.”

“Hm. I’m not sure that I agree with the bits about my desires taking priority, but if they can leave at any time…” Evelyn let her voice trail off as she shrugged. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. The leaving the ship part is a little more concerning in some ways, but at least it means we’ll know if they’re leaving, and that lets us anticipate whether they might be in trouble or not.”

“Mm, true! Do you want me to give each of them a secure com? One of the magically enhanced ones that’s hard to jam?” Fya asked. “And yes, they decided to join.”

“People are crazy. How can they tie themselves down like that?” Evelyn asked, looking at the ceiling for a moment as she sighed, then nodded. “Yes, do so. I don’t want them getting kidnapped without us finding out.”

“That’s about what I thought,” Fya agreed, then paused, sitting up abruptly as a light flared on the map, then Control spoke.

“Energy weapons fire. Cruiser-grade weapons detected. Raising shields,” Control said, her voice calm as could be. “Orders, Captain?”

“Source?” Evelyn asked, her eyes narrowing as more flickers of red played across the map. None of them were targeting Djinn’s Gift, and they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to do much damage if they did, not in astral. The atmosphere caused energy weapons to bleed off too quickly.

“Unknown. Multiple point sources detected,” Control replied, pausing before she added. “Secondary sources detected, destroyer and frigate-grade energy fire identified.”

“Condition Red, get everyone to battle stations,” Evelyn ordered, then paused and added, linking directly to everyone aboard as red lights began flashing. “We’re approaching the coordinates indicated by Fya, and weapons fire has been detected. Everyone except Ryth to battle stations. Ryth, make certain that our guests know what’s going on and are secured with an environmental shield.”

“Yes, Evelyn,” the angel replied immediately, while a chorus of acknowledgements came in response.

Evelyn connected to the ship’s feed designated for the captain, and she winced as she felt all the Dolls rushing to their stations, as well as the implant signatures of everyone else aboard. Fortunately, everyone had been in armor just to be safe, but that didn’t make her happy. She’d rather avoid a fight, if it was all the same to her. At least she got full status reports from the Dolls, which was, with a single exception, all above ninety-eight percent effectiveness. She was curious why the one Doll wasn’t up to normal tolerances, but then she realized it was coming from its maintenance unit. Of course it wouldn’t be at full capabilities if it had been in the middle of a maintenance cycle.

The ship thrummed with power as the weapon systems woke, and Evelyn checked all of the weapons as well. Her one complaint with Djinn’s Gift was that it didn’t have much in the way of projectile or missile weapons, and that it relied primarily on direct energy fire. That could be quite effective, certainly, but she sometimes liked having additional options. Of course, the handful of non-energy weapons the ship had were quite effective.

Slowly they moved forward, and Evelyn’s eyes hardened, her emotions turning icy as they approached combat. If anyone dared attack her, she would not show mercy.

* * *

“Hull breach!” Illath called out, the dark elf ducking as a panel exploded above him. “Section Delta-Three is gone!”

“Hellfire!” Captain Relka spat, sending an order to the helmsman, and the Ursus began rolling, trying to put heavier armor between its wounded ventral surfaces and the cannons firing on them. “Guns, take out those heavy emplacements!”

“We’re trying, Cap, but their shields are—” Mathlin began, then the human woman let out a whoop. “Shields went down, they’re smoked!”

“Damned well finally, now get the rest of them!” Relka demanded, waving the smoke out of his face as he scowled at the holotank.

The information they’d been sold was good, that much he had to admit, but there were some things that it hadn’t mentioned, primarily the damnably powerful defenses the station had in place… or even how big the thing was to begin with. He scowled at the screen again, wishing he’d made a deal with another team after all, but he’d thought three ships would be enough.

On the screen was the station, and it had the distinctive, slightly curved and sinister appearance that most senne construction possessed, which was impressive but not enough to make him concerned on its own. The two-kilometer asteroid it was built into, on the other hand… that was surprising, as had been the armored emplacements across the surface that’d opened up on his ships as soon as they came into range, and all of them with cruiser weapons. At least most of them were light cruiser guns, but Ursus had taken a beating despite its heavy shields and armor.

“Shark reports seventy percent effectiveness, and they’re falling back. Orca’s shields are down, but otherwise it’s in good shape,” Illath reported helpfully, wincing as he added. “We’re at… eighty-six percent or so.”

“I figured,” Relka replied, chewing his lower lip as he thought, watching beams slam into shields over some of the emplacements. “Focus on the heaviest ones first and keep those damaged sections away from them! I want—”

“Sir, ship signature!” Danielle called out, the human woman looking up from her console. “Heavy cruiser at ought fifteen!”

“Frack!” Relka swore. “Pull back out of range! We’re in no shape to fight two people at once, and if they’re hostile I’ll be damned if I defang the station for them.”

“Yessir!” Mathlin replied, relief filling her voice. “Relaying orders now!”

In seconds the ships began pulling back, and Relka growled, wincing as another blast hit the ship. He didn’t want to think about the repair bill, and this had better have been worth it. They’d taken several losses as it was, and a heavy cruiser… that would be a dicey proposition even if all his ships were at full strength. It all depended on what they were looking at, though. He wasn’t going to give up without a fight, not after taking this much damage.

A few more seconds passed, then the guns of the station fell silent as he pulled out of their effective range, and Relka let out a breath of relief. He hated to think about the damage they’d taken, but there wasn’t anything to be done about it, and he patted the arm of his command chair, mentally assuring the ship they’d get her fixed up again.

“Out of range of the station. Cruiser is coming into sensor range. Transponder is active, claims that it’s… Djinn’s Gift. Vessel isn’t in our logs,” Danielle reported, worry in her voice now, and Relka’s lips pressed tighter together.

Without a naval designation, it might indicate that the ship was a pirate, or was at least an independent, which made this dicey. If it was a navy, he’d have been able to claim he’d been there first and deserved salvage rights. It might not work, but with an independent…

“Hail them,” Relka ordered, forcing his back to relax as best he could. At least the ship did have a transponder, but that was a small thing at best. Many pirates ran transponders, too, though not all.

“Hailing,” Danielle said, and moments later his holotank sprang to life, causing Relka’s eyebrows to rise in consternation, then confusion.

The bridge depicted in the tank was nothing like any mercenary or pirate ship he’d seen. No pirate would have a smoothly curved bridge of that size, or the gilding and soft colors, for that matter. Almost more confusing was the crew, as only four of the stations were full, at least until the hatch slid open in the background, a celestine woman rushing through it, clad in light armor.

The crew was as odd as the rest of the ship. There were two elves, two humans, and the aforementioned celestine, who was quickly taking a seat. One of the elves was a tall, leggy blonde, while the other was a black-haired woman with a red jewel in the middle of her forehead who wore black and red armor. Something about the second one seemed familiar to Relka, but he couldn’t quite place her, which bothered him. The humans… one was a brunette who had perfect posture, while the other was a bit shorter and had bright orange hair and eyes, indicating body-mods in his opinion, but the second one looked far too eager for his taste.

“This is Captain Relka Yalmor of the Iron Raider mercenary company,” Relka barked out, ignoring his misgivings. “What are your intentions? We have claimed this abandoned station as salvage.”

“The Iron Raiders… Fya, have you heard of them?” the black-haired woman asked, her red eyes fixed on him, and she looked far too calm for Relka’s comfort.

“Yep! They’re one of the more ‘honorable’ groups, so I don’t think you’re going to be too annoyed by him. Not one of the stuck-up ones, but they don’t take the nasty sort of jobs like the people we took Daggerhound from,” the orange-haired woman replied, grinning at him. “Fortunate for you, Captain Relka!”

Relka scowled, opening his mouth to reply, but before he could, the woman in the captain’s chair spoke calmly.

“Don’t be rude, Fya. Captain Yalmor, I am Evelyn Esendria Tarth,” the woman said, and smiled as he froze, his eyes widening as it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head, the familiarity snapping into place. She continued without pausing. “While I respect your desire to claim the station as salvage, the matter remains that it is not currently in your possession, and it’s outside of any polity’s claimed space. You are not the only one who purchased information regarding the station.”

It was all Relka could do to keep from swearing, and one of his crew, he didn’t care to pay attention to which, didn’t have his sense of restraint. Maybe someone else would be stupid enough to think that it wasn’t Evelyn Tarth on the screen, but Relka knew better. He and a few of his fellow mercenary leaders had spent an evening a few years back going over her campaign to conquer Peldra and discussing what they could have done to keep the nation from falling. He’d seen enough footage to be quite certain that the smiling elf was her, now that she’d rather forcibly reminded him of who she was.

Worse still was the conclusion that they’d come to at the end of the night. The rest of the army Evelyn had put together had been nasty enough, but they’d likely have been able to deal with it, even if the losses would’ve been painful. No one enjoyed taking on multiple dragons if they could help it, but dragons were big targets, and they could easily bring in a ship to provide air cover if they had to. No, the problem was Evelyn herself. Relka had been confident that she could’ve been dealt with right up until Geraldine had brought out some footage of Evelyn pulling a starship out of orbit with her telekinesis. Sure, it’d only been a frigate, but that had curdled his blood when he saw it slam into the ground.

“I’ve heard of you, Lady Tarth,” Relka managed after a few seconds, trying to keep the fear off his face. “I’ll even admit that you have a point about us not being in possession of the station, but we’ve already bled for this, and I’m not willing to give up my claim, no matter how fearsome your reputation might be.”

“Did I ask you to?” Evelyn asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically, and Relka looked at her in confusion.

“What?” he asked, frowning.

“Did I ask you to give up your claim?” Evelyn asked, looking at him pointedly. “I don’t remember those words coming out of my mouth. I simply stated that you do not have the station and no laws of salvage apply.”

Realization dawned on Relka, and he felt his cheeks heat, though he did his best to mask it as he sat up straighter, waving some of the smoke away from his helmet.

“You’re correct, I jumped to conclusions,” Relka admitted, examining her warily. “In that case, what are your intentions?”

“Good, you’re not one of those people who blusters when they make a mistake,” Evelyn said, smiling a little wider. “First, are you the only ones who’ve reached this place so far?”

“As far as I know,” Relka said, grimacing as he added. “We did detect some wreckage of what I think was a frigate, so it’s possible someone else came here first, but they likely fell to the station’s guns.”

“Mm, indeed. In that case, considering the damage your ships have taken, I will offer you a simple partnership,” Evelyn said, glancing at a holographic display of the station on her bridge. “I will assist you in penetrating the station’s defenses, and assuming that there are spoils to be had, we will split it three ways. One portion to me, two to you, as your ships equal the tonnage of my own. For any items which cannot be effectively split, we will pool them, and I will have the first choice, two to you, and so forth. If any others arrive and attempt to claim the station for themselves, we will fend them off together. What do you say?”

For a few seconds Relka stared at her, wondering if he’d really heard her say what she had. Then he shook himself and asked. “May I consult with my officers before making a decision?”

“Of course,” Evelyn said, smiling again as she added, “Though please make it quick. I suspect that others are likely to arrive soon enough.”

“We will,” Relka said, and signaled Danielle to put the ship on hold. As soon as he did, Mathlin spoke up.

“Damn it, who’s she to shoulder her way in like this?” the woman demanded hotly, glowering. “Sure, she’s got a bigger ship, but—”

“Shut your trap, Mat,” Relka snapped. “I’d give her goods odds of crushing us without her ship, with us in this condition. Danielle, get me Robert and Ellia.”

“On it,” Danielle said, and it was only a couple of seconds before the other two captains appeared in the air in front of him via hologram.

Robert’s bridge was clean and untouched, while he was in his heavy red armor. Ellia’s ship was mauled, on the other hand, and lights flickered as he looked onto the amazon’s ship, her armor heavy but so much sleeker-looking than Robert’s. She had her visor up, and the dark-haired woman spoke first.

“What is it? Shark is heavily damaged, and I need to deal with it,” Ellia snapped, glowering at him. “Unless we need to fight that new ship, but I don’t like our odds.”

“They’re worse than you think they are,” Relka said, jerking his chin at the map. “That’s the personal ship of Evelyn Tarth, conqueror of Peldra.”

“Fucking hells, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Robert exclaimed, leaning forward in his chair. “They’re bluffing, right?”

“I wish, but for what it’s worth, she isn’t looking to push us out of the way,” Relka replied, grinning at them mirthlessly, then explained. “She’s offering to help us take the station, and she’ll take a third of the loot, with first choice on any of the unique items, then we’d get two choices, then her, and so on. We’d fend off anyone else together, too. I don’t know about you, but that seems a lot more reasonable than I’d have expected from her.”

“Huh. Yeah… it makes me wonder if it’s actually her,” Robert said, flipping up his visor so he could rub his chin, looking at Relka in concern. “You sure she wouldn’t backstab us?”

“Pretty sure. None of the military actions I saw showed anything like that, and she didn’t throw her troops away, either. She was involved in pretty much every major military action when she was taking the country over,” Relka replied, shrugging. “I think she’s on the level. And based on the gear I saw her using, I doubt we could stop her if she really wanted to just take the station herself.”

“Fine, I agree, but to prove she can pull her weight, she gets to finish off the rest of the emplacements,” Ellia said, growling under her breath. “Assuming Robert agrees, anyway. It isn’t like we’ll be able to take everything we’d find on a station that size anyway.”

“Yeah, that seems like a fair point. We took a risk taking out the emplacements we did, she can do the same,” Robert agreed, looking at Relka. “What do you think, boss?”

“I think that this is a better idea than trying to attack her,” Relka replied dryly, then brought up Evelyn’s ship again. She didn’t look like she’d moved, but the orange-haired woman was chatting with the celestine. “We’ve come to a decision, Captain Tarth. We’re willing to take your offer on the condition that you take care of the remaining defensive emplacements. We took out most of the heavy hitters already but took a fair amount of damage doing so.”

“That is acceptable, Captain,” Evelyn said, smiling slightly as she inclined her head. “As it happens, I would have suggested doing so in either case. While the shield generators aboard Djinn’s Gift aren’t as powerful as I’d prefer, they’re quite potent. Besides, it isn’t reasonable to put battleship generators aboard a ship this size. The emplacements will be dealt with shortly, Tarth out.”

The line went dead, and Relka blinked, then muttered. “What did she mean about battleship generators? Of course you can’t put those on a heavy cruiser, if you could, then they wouldn’t be battleship shields!”

“I couldn’t say, boss, but what I can tell you is that her ship is on the move,” Danielle reported, then whistled under her breath. “Wow, those are some good shields… wait a second, that’s a Halcyon Yards ship! Shit.”

Relka’s eyebrows rose, but instead of replying, he turned to watch the show as Djinn’s Gift moved in implacably. It’d be interesting to see just how Evelyn Tarth dealt with the defenses.

Chapter 46

“Prime all weapons for combat. Control, analyze all detected defensive weapons on the station and prioritize the highest-threat emplacements,” Evelyn said, pulling out her helmet and seating it properly. “Try to use as little ammunition as possible, but the ship’s safety takes priority.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. Djinn’s Gift is ready for combat, awaiting your commands,” Control agreed, while Fya helped Ilyra get her helmet on. Evelyn took the moment to activate her combat harness, which secured her in place.

“Everyone, we’re moving in to engage the station’s defenses. Brace for impact, though I doubt we’ll be in much danger,” Evelyn said over the implant network, then nodded to Control. “Take us in.”

“Engines at fifty percent,” C1 said in a soft soprano, her fingers playing across her console. “Preparing for evasive action.”

No further words were spoken, not that Evelyn needed them. Instead, as they approached the station, Evelyn watched Fya secure herself in place and put on her helmet, though unlike Evelyn she hardly needed it. Oh, djinni could be killed if struck in the head, but the nature of their magic made even that incredibly difficult. Besides, she’d recover from death quickly enough.

Evelyn didn’t know exactly where the defenses would open up, but she didn’t really need to know. Not when they’d watched the installation disengage while the wounded mercenary ships retreated. Evelyn also didn’t see any reason to hold back against mere machines.

“Entering effective range, Captain. Seventeen weapon emplacements detected, priority established. Orders?” Control asked.

“Engage,” Evelyn said, staring at the screen dispassionately.

* * *

“Fracking—” Relka began but cut himself short as he watched Djinn’s Gift unload on the station emplacements.

First were the brilliant lines where accelerator cannons fired, looking more like bars of light than anything else as they slammed into two heavy emplacements mercilessly, the plasma shockwave destroying the shields before the munitions slammed home. Then there were energy weapons, from the rapid-fire ‘droplets’ of pulse cannons to heavy beam cannons. No missiles accompanied them, but they didn’t need to, as the ship took out six emplacements before the station returned fire.

Additional weapon emplacements on Djinn’s Gift opened up as the first missiles left their launchers, shooting them down while they were still moving slowly. Energy weapons were harder to dodge, but as they fired the ship began to evade, its guns still blazing as it picked off defenses one after another with methodical precision. Just watching it made Relka break out in a cold sweat, as the weapons he was seeing were even more powerful than he’d expected, which meant that Djinn’s Gift had enchanted weapons. They had to be, to do that much damage.

“Shit… the station is down to five emplacements, and the ship’s shields are at… seventy percent, give or take,” Mathlin said, her voice quiet as she swallowed audibly. “Make that three emplacements.”

“Told you that going up against her would be a bad idea,” Relka said, shaking his head. “Hellfire.”

“You said it, boss,” Danielle said fervently.

Illath nodded, letting out a breath, then chuckled as he added, “Tell you what, if we can get this job done without taking any more damage, I think giving her a cut is well worth it.”

Relka nodded, but he just watched, wondering how much money the woman had, to buy a ship like that. He also dearly hoped that the interior of the station wasn’t as bad as the exterior. If it was, Evelyn’s presence wouldn’t just be helpful, it would be necessary.

* * *

The last of the emplacements died in a burst of fire, and Evelyn nodded in satisfaction, having kept track of their weapon performance via her implants. While Djinn’s Gift hadn’t performed perfectly, she could see how to tune the guns to optimum efficiency, now that they’d been used in combat. While she could have done more test firing to get the same result, she preferred to use them in anger.

“Hostiles neutralized. Shields at seventy-one percent integrity and rising, accelerator magazines down one-point-two percent, hull at one hundred percent integrity,” Control reported calmly.

“Excellent work, Control. Inform the mercenaries that we’re moving in to find the station’s docking bays,” Evelyn told her, tapping her knee once. “Keep the shields up and watch for traps. I don’t think there are any mines, but I don’t want to be taken by surprise.”

“Acknowledged. Message sent, Captain,” Control replied, and the ship stabilized, then began moving forward.

The only sign they’d been in combat had been a handful of vibrations that shook the ship, and Evelyn let out a soft sigh. She hoped that something aboard the station would prove more entertaining.

“Are you planning to go aboard alone?” Fya asked after a few seconds.

“Hm?” Evelyn asked, blinking at the djinn, then smiled and inclined her head. “That was the plan, yes. Oh, I’m sure the mercenaries will come aboard, but the only one who I’d trust in combat is you, and I’d like you to keep an eye on everyone else. Sorry, Lyra, but you haven’t been training long enough for me to be happy taking you into combat. If it was just a group of common pirates maybe, but not something like this.”

Ilyra looked over at her, and Evelyn thought she saw a bit of a smile on her face through the faceplate as the celestine nodded. “I agree! Oh, I want to be useful, but this seems like it’s something completely out of my depth. I’m just sort of… sitting here. Maybe the Dolls would be more helpful to you?”

“Possibly, but I also don’t want to risk them getting destroyed,” Evelyn said, and paused, considering for a moment, then smiled. “Actually… do you object to being left in command of the ship, Fya?”

“A little, but I’ll do it. What’re you thinking?” Fya asked, her eyes brightening.

“I’m thinking that a little danger is necessary to help people get used to this sort of thing,” Evelyn said, running through possibilities, then nodded. “I’m going to be helping clear the station, but we’re going to have to load things, and it’s always possible that we’ll have to do that in a hurry. I’d like Lyra, Ryth, and Zel to command a shuttle of Dolls to secure the bay, while you guard the exterior of the station. You know that vultures will try to steal our prize if they have the chance.”

“Very true! I wouldn’t be surprised if there’re one or two just waiting for us to let our guard down,” Fya agreed, propping her feet up on the console. “I’m alright with it. I’d rather come in with you, but I did get a chance to shotgun some goons back in Rakal, so I can wait this time. Besides, blowing up someone’s ship is about as satisfying, as far as I’m concerned!”

“I thought you’d feel that way,” Evelyn replied dryly, then glanced at Ilyra as she asked. “What about you, Lyra? I know the other two won’t object, so it’s up to you.”

“Sure!” Ilyra said, trying to bounce out of her seat, only to be stopped by the restraints holding her in place, which made her stop and start unhooking them. “I mean, it isn’t going to be that dangerous, and if they’re with me, I’m sure they’ll be able to help me figure out what I need to do. Right?”

“That’s rather the hope, yes,” Evelyn replied, grinning at the young woman as she unhooked her own restraints, then stood fluidly. “I hope that this proves to be at least a bit enjoyable.”

“Um, doesn’t that mean that it’ll be dangerous?” Ilyra asked, a note of trepidation quelling much of her enthusiasm.

“Lyra… one of the things you’ll learn about me quickly is that for me, danger is the spice of life,” Evelyn told the young woman gently. “Now then, let’s go, hm?”

She headed for the exit, mentally tracking down where Vaneryth and Zelirana were. She wanted to be sure they had everything ready to go.

* * *

To Evelyn’s surprise, Vaneryth politely refused to board with them, though once she heard the reason why, Evelyn understood. Since only Zelirana and Vaneryth could talk to their two guests, the angel wanted one of them aboard. It made perfect sense, and as Zelirana was currently the stronger of the two, Evelyn was willing to have her ride herd on Ilyra. She should keep her from doing anything too dangerous, at least.

Now they were approaching one of the docking bays of the station, and Evelyn waited, her eyes narrowing slightly as she saw what looked like movement inside. An instant later Fya chimed in.

“Detecting enemies in the docking bay, Milady, along with a good number of weapons for fending off small craft. You sure you want to take a shuttle into that? We kept a couple of assault shuttles, sure, but they might not survive that kind of fire,” Fya said, though she didn’t sound like she thought Evelyn was going to call it off. She was right, after all.

“I’m not planning to take a shuttle into it. I take it that using a shipboard weapon to clear the deck isn’t in the cards?” Evelyn asked, smiling slightly.

“Sure, if you don’t mind blowing half the station to hell, assuming they haven’t properly secured fuel and the like,” Fya said cheerfully. “Want me to do that?”

“No, I don’t think so. Just get me a good line of sight,” Evelyn demurred, shaking her head slightly. “I’ll get there myself. Once the decks are clear, the shuttle can come in.”

“Yes, Milady! Lyra, you might want to watch this. You haven’t really seen Evelyn fight,” Fya said, giggling over the comm, and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

“Alright?” Ilyra replied uncertainly. “We did see her fight those mercenaries, though…”

“That wasn’t really a fight,” Evelyn replied absently, watching carefully as the ship came around, giving her a better vantage point to look into the station docking bay. She wondered why the bay doors weren’t closed, since she could see they were perfectly functional. It just had the barrier keeping atmosphere in, and she frowned thoughtfully. There weren’t the larger shapes of shuttles, either, which was rather interesting. Had they left earlier?

The more relevant point to her were the figures moving around inside the bay. She couldn’t tell for certain, but there were at least ten humanoid figures, a pair of spider-like robots, three tanks… this was definitely a senne outpost. Few other species were the types to arm a mining outpost so heavily, assuming this was a mining outpost at all. It shouldn’t be from the temporal rift, though, it was too large for that. The other things that had come through the portal were much, much smaller than the station was, and few of them had come through intact.

“I have a good line on them,” Evelyn said, smiling coldly as she continued. “I’m going in.”

“Good hunting!” Fya replied cheerfully.

Evelyn didn’t respond verbally, instead drawing on her magic and grasping herself with telekinesis. This sort of thing was dangerous, but what was life without a little danger?

The next moment she picked herself up and flung herself at the enemy bay like a missile.

Chapter 47

“What is she doing?” Ilyra demanded in horror as Evelyn went flying out of the bay like… like a stone launched from a slingshot. A very powerful slingshot, at that, and she tracked the elven woman with disbelieving eyes on the shuttle’s display.

“Boarding the station,” Fya explained in amusement. “She’s a lot smaller target than any shuttle, so they’ll be lucky to hit her, and even if they do, she has shields. It won’t do much to her, and she can always correct her course.”

“I… but…” Ilyra floundered, then took a deep breath to steady herself. It wasn’t good to get flustered about something like this, she reminded herself, and focused, asking, “Anyway, isn’t the station supposed to be abandoned? Why’s it attacking us?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it? No hails, no challenges, it’s just attacked anyone who gets close, and… ah, of course! Robots in the bay. Watch closely!” Fya told her excitedly.

Ilyra just looked at Zelirana, who was grinning back at her, then sighed and watched, wondering just what was going to happen. That was when Evelyn launched a ball of blue-white flame ahead of her.

* * *

The fireball detonated just before Evelyn came into its range, buffeting her as Evelyn flipped and skidded through the flames as she landed. She drew and activating her energy sword almost instinctively. The humanoid robot waiting for her still hadn’t recovered from the blast when she struck, punching straight through its power core. Its torso exploded violently, sending shrapnel in every direction, including some that bounced off her shield.

There were plenty of robots, Evelyn noted instantly. Some of them were a light metallic blue, while the spider-like robots and the tanks were much darker, matching the colors that the senne preferred, much like the lights had the blue hue they favored. Not a single living senne was in sight, but most important were the turrets in the bay corners that were angling toward her. Those, and the tanks.

Evelyn flipped over the nearest spider bot as it tried to aim the heavy repeaters on its back at her, thrusting her sword into its shields, which flared brightly as the blade blazed, splashing off the shield for a moment but not penetrating. She saw the shield fade slightly, though, and on landing Evelyn reversed the blade, punching straight through the shield this time and removing the first dozen centimeters from the barrels, fusing them just as it tried to fire, and the gun exploded, rocking the robot back as it began sizzling and smoking.

With a gesture and surge of magic, Evelyn repurposed her telekinesis, picking up the nearest tank, which she threw at a turret just as it began firing. Brilliant green bolts of energy slammed into the tank’s shields, then its hull. That might have been enough to destroy the tank, but Evelyn doubted it. The impact of it slamming into the turret did the job, though, and Evelyn dodged behind a force field the robots had set up to defend themselves as the other turret opened fire as well, preferring not to take that sort of fire head-on.

A robot unloaded into her with its carbine from close range for about half a second before Evelyn cut it short, while another extended a sword from one arm and charged her. She cut it in two, just as she started laughing, reaching out with her magic to pull the second turret off the ceiling and flung it at the other spider-bot.

As sparks flew, and the first robots began throwing their grenades, Evelyn grinned. This was what she wanted. Even if robots weren’t as intelligent as other people, they were actually a challenge.

Her shields were at fifty percent, Evelyn noted. She gave it even odds that she’d manage to destroy all of the robots before they went down and she was forced to rely on magical shields.

* * *

“Gods damn me,” Helsen breathed, looking at the docking bay as the shuttle doors opened, her eyes wide.

All around her were the smoldering remains of robots, their sparking wreckage burnt, torn apart, or even destroyed by grenades, while of the three tanks they’d detected, she could only see the remains of two of them. One was smoldering in the corner below the turret it’d hit, while the other had been the victim of what looked like six or seven plasma grenades, based on the overlapping craters in the deck beneath the flipped vehicle. Where the last had been was what looked like a heap of dust, which made her suspect that it’d been disintegrated.

The other robots hadn’t had much better luck, as the spider bots had been de-legged in one case, or crushed by a turret torn off the ceiling in the other. The other robots… well, they’d mostly been cut in half, blown apart, or otherwise mauled. And in the middle of it all was a woman in light power armor, svelte and seemingly fragile to look at. Not that the black and red would look anything but sinister in normal light, let alone the blue illumination which made her armor shine like the carapace of some deadly beetle.

“Ah, you made it! I take it you’re Captain Relka’s boarding team?” the woman asked, her voice clear, and she nodded toward the ship floating beyond the bay, and the golden minnow that had just left it. “My crew is sending a shuttle now, they’ll be securing the bay, and you’re welcome to coordinate with them if you’d like. I intend to start clearing the station, and you can join me if you want some excitement.”

“I… yes, I’m Lieutenant Helsen,” Helsen replied, taking a deep breath as she stepped out, nodding to her troops, who began spilling into the bay, many of them focusing on the robots to ensure they were actually destroyed. “I’ve heard of you, but I had no idea you could do something like this.”

“Eh, it wasn’t that bad of a fight. I tried not to use anything that would cause too much collateral damage,” Evelyn replied easily, shoving a robot to the side, then picked up a couple of grenades that she hooked to her belt. “I want to loot the place, after all. The tanks would’ve been rough, but they weren’t expecting a single boarder. Their anti-missile defenses weren’t designed to take down a shielded missile, unfortunately for them.”

“Ah. Well, what would you prefer we do?” Helsen asked, straightening slightly. “I’ve got two squads, and the Captain ordered us to let you take the lead on this op.”

“Oh, really? Well, in that case, I suppose I should just sit back and let you take care of it,” Evelyn replied, though Helsen could hear the amusement in her voice. The elf continued after a moment’s pause, her voice turning far more serious. “Not that I will, of course. The station will have three major wings, like all senne installations. Well, those that aren’t big enough to have nine. There’s going to be the command and military wing, the living quarters, life support, and medical wing, and the manufacturing and mining wing. All of them should have their own independent subnets and power sources. I’d like you to take one of your squads into the manufacturing and mining wing. These robots had seen some combat before I ran into them, though I didn’t have time to examine them properly, so there could be survivors aboard, I’d like you to keep an eye out for them. Also, here are my implant codes. If the manufactory is building more bots and you can’t shut it down, let me know. I’ll come help.”

Helsen blinked, surprised at the lecture, as well as the detail in it. Oh, most of the information wasn’t new to her, though she didn’t know the specifics of a mining base, but it was how concisely the woman had explained things that surprised her. She wasn’t used to hearing someone be so… so cheerful about walking into danger. She logged the codes the woman had transmitted, plugging them into the comm tree so that anyone in the boarding party could message her, or hear her if she messaged them.

“Understood. Where will you be going?” Helsen asked, glancing at Sergeant Hopper and jerking her chin toward the door. Without a word he nodded, and started barking out orders, setting up second squad at the exits.

“Command. Hopefully that’s where the most resistance will be,” Evelyn said, stretching and bouncing on her toes. “Senne have lovely miltech, so I’m hoping they can give me a good workout. Heck, even a run for my money would be exciting. You wouldn’t believe how boring it was in Rakal for the most part… the assassins helped break up the monotony, but at a certain point you just get restless. Or I do, anyway.”

“Restless? In Rakal?” Helsen asked incredulously, as she’d always heard that the independent port was more on the verge of anarchy than anything else. “Pardon me for saying this, but are you sure we’re thinking of the same place?”

Evelyn laughed, but she just stepped back, waiting as the gold-hulled shuttle from her ship came in for a landing. It came in with an easy grace, landing with a precision that surprised Helsen.

“I’m sure we are. It’s just that most people learned better than to piss me off,” Evelyn said, and nodded at the ship. “If you need to coordinate, talk to Zelirana or Ilyra. The rest of the crew are Dolls, so they aren’t quite as bright. Zel! Take care of Lyra and the shuttle, hm? I don’t want to come back and find any holes in either of you.”

“Yes, Evelyn,” a woman replied, and Helsen blinked, opening her mouth, then shut it as the elf loped off toward the halls of the station. Moments later a group of attractive women in light armor and wielding heavy weapons began pouring out of the shuttle with an eerie, organized precision. A pair of women in more colorful armor followed them after a few moments.

“Hopper! Coordinate with the ladies on keeping the bay secure,” Helsen ordered, then jerked her head toward the exit as Evelyn opened the nearest door. “Delma! Let’s get moving, time to pull our weight.”

The other sergeant nodded, muttering, “Dunno that we’ll be able to, with that in the lead, sir.”

As energy weapons opened fire in the hallway, followed by an explosion, Helsen couldn’t help agreeing. This would be… interesting.

Chapter 48

“Hm.” Evelyn murmured, crouching down to look at the bodies she’d found on the other side of the door.

A barricade had once blocked access to the armory, but at some point the robots must have cleared it out of the way, yet they hadn’t done anything to the deceased themselves. They looked very, very strange to Evelyn, and after a few moments of thought, she cast a spell to detect any poisons or diseases.

Magic flickered out in a wave invisible to most, though it looked a lot like a shimmering bubble to Evelyn, and her eyes narrowed, though a hand snapped up with her pistol to put a few bolts through a robot that came around the corner, reducing the machine to scrap. Well, its CPU, which made the rest of it pretty worthless, as that was the expensive part.

The bodies were odd, in that they were gaunt, like they’d been mummified and all the moisture sucked out of them, which was quite strange. But it must not have been that long since they were killed, since there wasn’t any sign of preservation magic and there wasn’t much decomposition. Not that there’d be much, with the lack of liquid, but there should be some. There weren’t any signs of diseases or poisons, and Evelyn could sense an odd magic from them. Not something she was personally familiar with, but she frowned at the sense of necromancy. Not reanimation, obviously, and she half-closed her eyes, then nodded.

“I’ve found nine bodies in an armory. They’re all dead, and appear to have been defending the room, then fell over. No signs of wounds, but I recognize necromantic magic. Considering their appearances, their life energy was sucked away,” Evelyn told the mercenaries and her own crew over her comm. “None of these are animated, but that doesn’t mean others won’t be. If you see bodies, tread carefully.”

“Thanks for the warning,” the leader of the mercenary troops replied a moment later, her voice calm and controlled. “We’ve encountered a few robots, but nothing more yet. All humanoid models.”

“Unsurprising. I’ve encountered ten of them. Eleven,” Evelyn corrected herself as she destroyed another robot without hesitation, sparks flying from the machine as the energy bolt punched through it. “It looks like the armory is fully stocked, though. Odd that the robots would have put everything back. Probably not a renegade AI, based on that.”

There wasn’t a response to her comment, and Evelyn shrugged, standing again as she looked over the weapons in the room, rather than the bodies. They were nice enough weapons, better than the ones which Daggerhound’s mercenaries had used, but they weren’t good enough that she’d want to find space for them on Djinn’s Gift. No, they weren’t her focus at all, and she already had enough grenades for the moment.

Her decision made, Evelyn moved into the hallway, just as Fya contacted her directly.

“We’ve got a little movement out here, it looks like there’s a couple of destroyers pretending to be asteroids. They’ve underestimated our sensors, which is why I spotted them,” the djinn reported. “Want me to blast them, Milady?”

“No. Warn them off if they approach within the perimeter decided on, and open fire if they try ignoring you,” Evelyn said, checking her shield charge. It was back up to ninety-four percent, and with a little more time it would fully recover, she decided. Assuming it didn’t take any more fire, but she knew it would. “You have any idea what would cause what I saw? Most forms of life absorption like that would have caused them to rise as undead as well, but those corpses were very dead. Not much decomposition, either.”

“Sorry, I’m not sure,” Fya said, and Evelyn could practically see her shrug in her mind’s eye, she had so much experience with the djinn. “I’ve seen lots of situations that could be similar, but it depends. I mean, if something ate all of the life force, there wouldn’t even be bacteria to make them decompose. Or it could be a spell that sucked out all the water, or someone used a light spell to banish any spirits right after draining them… I dunno. There’s plenty of wishes that could do something similar.”

“Point. That’s the problem with magic,” Evelyn replied, spinning as a door hissed open, and a pair of robots unloaded into her with their rifles.

Evelyn dodged some of the fire as she charged, but she was too close to avoid most of it, and blasts splashed off her shield in bright yellow flashes. Of course, then the first of them went down to her counter-fire, and she cut the other into bits. Shields at eighty-nine percent, she noted calmly.

“Busy?” Fya asked sweetly.

“Robots, nothing too impressive. I’m beginning to think… wait a second. I just had a thought…” Evelyn paused, her eyes narrowing. “Do you sense anything? Your cousin noticed something out here, after all. I find that a little suspicious.”

“You should be,” Fya agreed, pausing for a few seconds, and Evelyn didn’t interrupt, instead moving down the hall, then stopped, an eyebrow rising as she saw the heavy blast doors ahead of her. There was a control panel to its right, and Evelyn debated what to do.

“I’m not sure. I’m sensing a bit of wishcraft… but nothing that I can pin down. If it was something that ripped the souls out of everything in the area, I’d probably sense it. It’s nagging at me, and I’m sure I’ll figure it out when it’s too late… ugh, I hate it when this happens,” Fya replied grumpily. “I give you fifty-fifty odds that this is all my cousin’s fault, and she just wanted me to clean up her mess. You’re one of the few people I know who’s powerful enough that you can overpower wishcraft. Most wishcraft, anyway.”

“If it is, do you think she was wrong about there being something we want, here?” Evelyn asked, her mood cooling slightly. She pressed the button on the panel to open the door, and it immediately asked for her access code. She gave it her ID codes, and it informed her that she lacked authorization. Evelyn shrugged and decided to use her other access code, activating her sword.

The blast door was strong enough that directly attacking it with her sword would’ve taken a lot of time, so instead she cut through the bulkhead surrounding it, all while Fya spoke.

“Nope, she’s not suicidal. If she sent us, she’s not doing it on false pretenses,” Fya assured Evelyn quickly. “She knows that I wouldn’t stop you from showing up and ripping all the magic out of her. After Ventryl, no djinn is going to think you can’t kill one of us. I’m mostly surprised you left her alive.”

“An object lesson does no one any good if they don’t know about it,” Evelyn replied simply, her annoyance fading at Fya’s reassurance.

With the cuts in place, she kicked the blast door inward as it sagged slightly, the force of her kick driving her backward a meter, even as the metal groaned and collapsed. An instant later there were whining sounds and as Evelyn landed, she smiled, seeing a robot trying to drag itself out from under the fallen door. That was the other advantage to kicking the door in.

“Point! I didn’t think of that,” Fya said. “Either way, it isn’t that important, I suppose. Unless I want to point out to my friends that the only reason she’s alive is as an example, and that the next person won’t be as lucky.”

“Probably not, no,” Evelyn agreed, cutting off the robot’s head, then ran her sword under the edge of the door, destroying two more of the robots.

She didn’t continue, instead scanning the hallway, and clicked her tongue as she saw a couple of maintenance robots come around the corner, then stop. They had twelve limbs each, many of them with different tools, and they had large compartments on their backs for supplies. They examined her for a moment with their long, stalk-like optical sensors, then looked at the fallen door.

“Query. Did you destroy the door?” one of the robots asked, surprisingly speaking elven. The other backed up two meters as Evelyn started down the hall at an easy pace.

“I did,” Evelyn confirmed, smiling slightly.

“This unit wishes to inquire why,” the robot said, its optical sensors focusing on her again.

“It rejected my access codes,” Evelyn told it, her smile widening.

For a moment or two, the robot seemed to consider that, then spoke again. “Acknowledged. This unit will return to the maintenance bay until you have finished. Please keep destruction to a minimum to reduce repair time and expended resources.”

Then the two maintenance units turned and fled, prompting Evelyn to laugh.

“Well, that was amusing. Apparently, some programmer had far too much time on their hands,” Evelyn murmured to herself, grinning.

With the robots out of the way, she followed the signs toward the command center, fully expecting at least a couple more groups of defenders. Senne were usually predictable in that they put heavy defenses around their command centers, which occasionally proved a problem. It was far too easy for most militaries to figure out where the headquarters of a senne strike force was just by looking for wherever the heaviest defenses were.

There was another wandering patrol only a dozen meters later, which Evelyn dismantled ruthlessly, not allowing these to even hit her shield, then she poked her head around the corner and paused, looking at the weaponry around the much thicker blast door ahead of her. There were nine robots, along with a couple of turrets and even what would normally be a crew-served plasma cannon set up in the hallway, which caused Evelyn to click her tongue, pulling back just as they opened fire on her.

Energy weapons slammed into the corner, while some hit the wall just past it, and Evelyn shook her head at the terrible din, amused despite herself.

“Ah, robots… and that was a terrible decision.” Evelyn murmured, her will focusing, and she glanced down at her belt, unhooking the seven grenades she’d picked up earlier. Plasma grenades might be just a bit too much for a station-board battle, but she didn’t mind causing some damage. It wasn’t her station, after all.

With a thought she primed the grenades, all of them at once, then she used telekinesis to throw all of them into the middle of the formation, or at least where the formation had been. The clatter of the grenades wasn’t loud over the hail of suppressive fire, but the voice of a robot speaking in the senne language was much louder.

“Warning! Grenades, take cover, take cover, take—” the robot began exclaiming. Then everything became incredibly loud for just a moment, then almost all sound ended as the explosion boomed down the corridors, the decks vibrating under Evelyn’s feet.

The only sound that came moments later was the soft clattering of debris hitting the floor, along with the sizzling and popping of the robots and metal paneling in reaction to the grenades. Evelyn waited for a moment, then poked her head around the corner again and smirked.

A smoking, half-molten hole in the ground awaited her, with only a few mangled pieces of the robots remaining. Evelyn chuckled softly, then murmured, “They should’ve invested in better shields for those.”

One of the ceiling-mounted turrets was turning toward her, but with the barrel of the gun destroyed it didn’t do it much good, and Evelyn calmly walked down the hallway, aiming for the charred blast door. It had survived intact, at least.

“Now, computer… will you let me in, or do I need to remove the door?” Evelyn asked, holstering her pistol and flexing one of her hands.

For a few seconds the door didn’t move. Then there was creaking, popping and squealing as two interleaved panels pulled apart despite being partially fused together by the grenades, and revealed the command center. Evelyn smiled slightly.

“Wise,” she said, and walked into the command center like she owned it.

She may as well own it, after all.

Chapter 49

“This is boring,” Fya said, watching the sensors and letting out a deep sigh.

“Why do you say that?” Control asked, and the djinn glanced at the Doll speculatively. There was something about the Doll that seemed odd to Fya, something that bothered her, but she didn’t quite know what it was.

“Because we’re having to sit here and do nothing fun,” Fya replied, letting out a sigh. “Oh, Evvy is having fun, but we’re just floating here imposingly, while a bunch of weaklings try to decide if they’re brave enough to test us.”

“My programming indicates that avoiding battle is preferable to having damage dealt to our assets,” Control replied primly.

“Of course it does,” Fya said, rolling her eyes as she figured out what was bugging her. “The thing is, that’s not necessarily fun. So, why do you act more robotic when Evelyn is here, anyway, or when talking to her? You seem far more personable when you’re with me, or not around her.”

“Captain Tarth appears to dislike or be uncomfortable around me for some reason. That being the case, my programming indicates that the ideal solution is to be more formal. It is intended to reduce the likelihood of my destruction,” Control replied promptly, pausing for several moments, then continued. “I am not certain why she reacts in that manner, but I’m attempting to fulfill my responsibilities without upsetting her.”

Fya paused, looking at the Doll again, then giggled softly. The giggles turned into full blown laughter, and it was all she could do not to fall out of her chair, it amused her so much. The idea of Evelyn confusing the Doll… that was just perfect. Especially since Fya knew exactly why Evelyn was uncomfortable around Control.

“Is something I said amusing? I did not intend to say anything that would be humorous,” Control said, frowning ever so slightly.

“Oh, you’ve got entirely the wrong idea about her,” Fya said, grinning broadly at the construct, her eyes glittering as she thought for a few seconds. “See, the reason she’s uncomfortable around you is that you look an awful lot like the lady she’s been crushing on for ages. Not that she’d ever tell her that or admit it to you. If she was really uncomfortable, she’d have put you to work in a different position, rather than leaving you where you interact with her a lot. She’s got issues, My Lady does. She really should be more honest with herself.”

Control looked at Fya quizzically, then at the screen which showed the station. After several seconds she spoke, a hint of confusion in her voice. “I do not understand what I should do, then.”

“Mm, maybe not… but I think I do,” Fya said, grinning broadly as an evil thought ran through her head. “It might even help her relax a little… that’d be nice.”

“So long as it doesn’t contradict my core directives, I will listen to your instructions,” Control replied, and Fya’s smile widened even more.

“Good! I just need to look through my skill chips for all of you… and maybe wish up the right outfit,” Fya said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

Evelyn wouldn’t kill her, Fya was sure. Probably… and if she did, it’d likely be worth it.

* * *

“Covering fire!” Helsen called out, and in response the heavy weapon team unloaded with their carbines, the energy bolts flying across the chamber in brilliant red-orange flashes of light.

The robots on the other side took cover, but that gave her an opening, and Helsen nodded to her partner, then both of them charged across the room, pulling out their favored melee weapons. In Helsen’s case it was a gravitic hammer, one which was designed to crack shields like an egg. In Ortom’s hand was a sword, simple metal that looked mundane enough, but she knew better. The force field it generated gave it an edge that couldn’t be believed by most, and could cut through most substances… which was rather the idea.

They lunged around either end of the stack of crates they’d chosen without pausing, and the pair of robots, crouched near the wreckage of their third, turned to engage them. Not that they posed as much of a threat up close when they didn’t have their own melee weapons out.

Helsen shattered the first with a single, overhead blow, while the other managed to block the first attack with one arm before Ortom cut it down. Other robots fired in support belatedly, but Helsen rushed around the crates with Ortom to take cover before her shields could take more than a couple of seconds of fire. She nodded to him and asked. “How many left?”

“Seven hostiles still on the scanners,” Jason reported, his voice terse, and a rail gun round flashed across the chamber, followed by the crack of exploding atmosphere before he corrected. “Make that six.”

“Good work,” Helsen said, peering around the edge of the crate as she wondered what was going on, putting her hammer back as she unlimbered her rifle again. From their position she could flank the robots, which would make this much easier.

The wing had been much as Evelyn had suggested it might be, with numerous side passages where mining had been performed, and through the airlocks Helsen had seen robotic mining units working hard, while they’d passed the smelting equipment earlier. Then they’d found the manufactory. A manufactory where they’d seen dozens of robots in the middle of assembly, and Helsen had promptly shut that down by taking out power to the entire system. It was too expensive for her to destroy entirely, and if they could reprogram the bots, they’d be useful to the company.

Of course, the complete robots hadn’t taken that kindly, so they’d opened fire, then fallen back to the next bay, where Helsen and the others had found more of them equipping themselves from crates of weapons. She just hoped no one hit, oh, a crate of grenades during the fight. That would ruin everyone’s day.

Helsen took a shot, removing the head of one of the robots. That wouldn’t put it out of commission, but that was where most of its sensors were, so she was happy to make it less of a threat.

“I’ve taken the command center,” Evelyn said over the comms, her voice calm as could be. “I’m seeing an anomaly in the station’s layout. There’s a large chamber between the crew and manufacturing wings, one which the scans indicate isn’t natural. According to the logs I can access, it was found approximately one day before most of the crew perished.”

“Fuck,” Helsen grunted, glancing at Ortom, whose face had gone grim. The orc wasn’t verbose at the best of times, but she knew he wasn’t happy about this entire operation. He was on the superstitious side, and she couldn’t blame him. They hadn’t found any bodies themselves, fortunately. “Plans?”

“I did say most of the crew, so I’m going to investigate. According to this, there’s the active beacon of one of the station crew in that chamber. It looks like the commander,” Evelyn replied calmly. “If so, we might be able to figure out what happened here.”

“How did you get the information out of the computer?” Helsen demanded incredulously. “It should be locking you out of everything! Shouldn’t it?”

“Simple. I’ve invoked the Rite of Succession, and told it to point me to its commander for a duel,” Evelyn told her, amusement in the elf’s voice. “It wouldn’t work if I wasn’t alone, but under the circumstances, the computer is also trying to keep the facility intact. It has decided that I’m too destructive to challenge, since I’ve dismantled all the defenses it threw in my way.”

“Shit, is this an AI?” Helsen asked, her blood running cold at the thought, but it didn’t keep her from putting another robot out of her misery, which she thought brought the number in their way down to two.

“Yes, but not a souled AI,” Evelyn confirmed, causing Helsen to relax a little. An unsouled AI wasn’t a big deal, but if they developed a soul, it could make things really difficult. An unsouled one could make decisions for itself based on its programming, with limited heuristic processes, but a souled one… those were truly dangerous, as they often could disobey their programming. That had led to one AI destroying the ship it was aboard when the crew tried to wipe it.

“Well, good. Keep us informed,” Helsen said, taking a deep breath, then nodded as the last robot went down. “We’ve cleared another bay, but aren’t sure if there are more robots in our way.”

“I’ll suggest that the AI have them stand down, but I doubt it will,” Evelyn replied dryly. “The only reason it’s listening to me is because I destroyed everything it threw at me.”

Helsen laughed, but Evelyn didn’t say anything more. She had to wonder how many robots the woman had destroyed so far. But… hopefully they could get through this without taking any more casualties.

* * *

“I recommend you shut down the robots in the way of the mercenaries. They’re just going to be destroyed,” Evelyn told the AI, looking at the holographic schematic of the station and adjusting a glove.

“I cannot do that,” the AI replied, his voice a deep baritone. “You will be challenged by any further defenses as well. While you are challenging the stationmaster for command, that does not give you the right to bypass station defenses.”

“I thought as much,” Evelyn said, looking around the room calmly as she paused, then asked. “So… who’s responsible for the deaths of the crew?”

“I am not certain,” the AI admitted. “Three hours after the stationmaster entered the space that was found, the incident occurred. I have attempted to secure the station in the aftermath but am not able to determine what happened. My sensors do not include sufficiently advanced scanners for magical effects. All of the crew save the stationmaster died within twenty minutes.”

“All of them? No one escaped?” Evelyn asked, looking around the command center again, noting the dozens of seats. “This was a major outpost, I’d guess that there were at least three hundred crew, if not more.”

“The Trifecta put up a shield that protected them from the effect for approximately fifteen minutes while they attempted to reach the shuttle bay, but they fell before reaching it,” the AI explained, a hint of discomfort in its voice. “The situation is not within those I was programmed to anticipate. I considered initiating quarantine protocols, but as I cannot detect any contagion, I decided against it.”

“Hm. Well, let’s see if I can’t find out,” Evelyn murmured, and waved as she headed for the door, fixing the path to the huge open space near the asteroid’s heart in her mind. “I’ll be back.”

“Please keep the destruction to a minimum,” the AI asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Evelyn simply laughed.

Chapter 50

There were a few robots in her way, but none of them put up a good fight. Evelyn didn’t even have to cut down any more blast doors, as the AI appeared to have acknowledged that those wouldn’t do any good. Instead, they opened when she requested access, and she was able to make it to the right area in short order, though as she drew closer Evelyn found more bodies, many of them collapsed in the middle of what looked like daily activities.

The worst, in her mind, was when she passed the cafeteria, and spotted numerous dead senne in chairs, behind the counter, and even one in the kitchen. The idea of someone having their life snuffed out without even the chance to fight back… it was infuriating, and Evelyn felt her rage rising as she walked.

She might not be the best person to accuse others of being overly ruthless. Evelyn was more than willing to admit that. She’d killed a great many people, and yet… yet she hadn’t ever killed people who were completely helpless. She faced them in battle, or killed those who came after her. Not civilians, not in their beds, not via poison. She had her own code of honor, even if she hated to think of it as that. No, Evelyn would never have done something like this.

Stepping over the body of a man in a hazard suit, who’d dropped a crate of what looked to Evelyn like mineral samples, she came to the entrance of the chamber in question, and paused to examine the makeshift airlock they’d put in place. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked like many of the ones she’d seen used for temporary work. She suspected they’d have put up a better one eventually, but for now the lock sealed against bare stone, while the rest of the stone had been coated in a translucent substance that likely sealed it properly. Evelyn thought for a second more, then shrugged and entered the airlock, pressing the button to cycle it.

Air hissed around her, and Evelyn waited patiently as it worked… then the inner doors opened, and Evelyn’s eyebrows rose.

The chamber before her looked nothing like simple stone, nor did it look like a geode or anything else she would have expected to find inside an asteroid turned star base. Shining silver covered the smooth hemisphere that formed the walls and roof of the chamber, while floating blue crystals provided illumination at nine points around the chamber. Heaps of silver, mythrite coins, and jewels rested here and there, along with silver sculptures of a woman that rested on pedestals, almost like statues in temples Evelyn had seen. At the far end of the chamber was a dais, nine steps of mithral leading up to the platform, on which was an elaborate throne made of the same precious substance, and a woman sat on the throne.

She was senne, Evelyn immediately noted, though one of a rarer breed than most of them. The light green skin was a relatively recent mutation that had come about after leaving their home worlds, as was the blonde hair she possessed, but otherwise she was about what Evelyn expected, just under two meters in height when standing, and with bright eyes. Likely blue, but from this distance Evelyn couldn’t be sure. A mithral crown set with diamonds and sapphires rested atop her head, and the curvaceous woman was wearing a gown of deep green metal. Really, she was quite beautiful … but Evelyn’s gaze fell to the softly glowing red gem embedded in the woman’s chest, at the top of her breastbone. A spherical gem that pulsed with immense amounts of magic she could sense from across the room.

“Ah, a mortal come to pay her respects to the newest goddess at last!” the woman said arrogantly, standing from her throne and opening her arms in a sweeping gesture. “Come, bow down before me, mortal! Bow before your new goddess.”

Evelyn just stared at the woman for a moment, then sent a message back to the ship, this time purely mentally. “Fya, take a look at this, please.”

“Ah, dammit. I’m going to kill her,” Fya replied almost instantly, her voice grim.

Evelyn was going to reply, but then the woman’s smile turned into a thunderous scowl as she spoke angrily, magic flooding out of her. “I told you to bow, mortal!”

Magic rushed out of the woman in a relentless torrent, pulsing through the room in a silver-blue wave that sent the lights bobbing through the air, then it crashed into Evelyn. Compulsive magic hit Evelyn hard, and she winced as it clawed at her mind, trying to force her to her knees… but the gem set into her forehead did its job, as the powerful enchantment within shielded her from the worst of it, and Evelyn shrugged the rest of the effect off as she remained standing. A momentary spark of shock flitted across the woman’s face in response.

“I think not,” Evelyn replied coldly, taking a couple of steps forward, igniting her sword again. “Were you the one who killed the crew of the station?”

“Milady, that’s a wishstone! It’s incredibly powerful, and if she used it—” Fya began, but the woman spoke at the same time.

“Impudent mortal, I will sacrifice you to my glory, just as I did them!” the senne snarled, raising a hand, and an orb of scintillating white energy formed in her hand.

“Wrong answer.” Evelyn replied coldly, drawing on her magic hard.

The orb came at her, and she unleashed a brilliant beam of red magic in return. The two spells hit each other in the middle of the chamber and exploded violently, creating a ten-meter crater in the middle of the room. The woman gaped at Evelyn, who smiled.

“Some goddess,” Evelyn said.

* * *

“The hell?” Cass blurted as the station shook beneath her feet, staggering her. “What was that?”

“I don’t know!” Tivoli replied nervously, his head turning as he fingered his rifle. “Maybe someone started shooting the outside of the station? That’d explain—”

There was a shriek of metal and an explosion of dust erupted from only a couple of meters away, billowing over Cass and Tivoli, even as stone bouncing off their armor almost knocked them from their feet. Cass quickly took a couple of steps back, dropping to a knee as she raised her rifle, swapping vision modes to try to see what was happening.

A single figure stood out in thermal, and Cass blinked in confusion as the figure pulled themselves out of a… a crater in the right wall, while there was a hole to the left now. The fact that someone was getting up after that sort of impact confused Cass more than anything else.

The dust partially cleared, but not before she heard a woman’s voice, one that was slightly muffled. If it hadn’t been for the safety systems of Cass’s helmet, she likely wouldn’t have been able to hear due to her ears ringing… but instead, she was able to identify the woman’s voice from when they’d first boarded the station, and Cass’s blood chilled.

“Okay, I felt that one. Suppose it’s time for a decent fight,” Evelyn Tarth said, prompting Cass’s eyes to widen, though the following incantation made her far more concerned. “Flickering embers of the cosmos, hearken to my grasp and destroy all that lies before me!”

Twin beams of energy erupted from the cloud of dust, one bright red, the other more like a void given form, and they twisted around themselves in a spiral that consumed the dust. There was a deafening explosion from the next room, along with what sounded like a woman’s shriek of pain, and Cass blinked as they caught sight of Evelyn.

The woman didn’t look like she’d been injured by being thrown through a wall. Oh, there was a faint crack in the armor across her torso, and some scrapes in the material, but it looked mostly intact. Then the woman seemed to notice them at last.

“Ah, mercenaries. I suggest you vacate the area immediately and stay out of the way.” Evelyn said, dusting off her sword with one hand, then activated it. “This could get messy.”

“Uh… alright,” Cass said, looking at Tivoli once, then asked, “If you don’t mind… who’re you fighting?”

Evelyn was already moving into the breach, and she shrugged. “Senne commander with delusions of goddesshood. Now get, I don’t want any more collateral damage than—”

A scream of rage split the air, and Evelyn was cut off as a bright silver light erupted from the breach. Cass saw the elven woman throw up a brilliant red shield. The silver light flowed around it, evaporating another meter of the wall along with about two meters above and below the corridor, prompting Cass to hastily fall back.

“I think we should report in,” Tivoli said nervously, and Cass nodded, taking several steps back, then sped up as Evelyn spoke loudly.

“Come on, goddess, is that the best you’ve got?” Evelyn demanded loudly, almost sounding excited. “I’m barely bruised!”

Cass quickly tried to vacate the area, as she didn’t want to be anywhere near someone making a provocation like that, and activated her comm. “LT, Tarth is fighting someone near the center of the station, and I don’t think we want to be anywhere near it. She got thrown through a wall, and said something about delusions of godhood?”

“She what?” Helsen demanded, so incredulously that Cass couldn’t help a smile.

She broke into a run as another rumble shook the station and wondered just what Evelyn was doing.

Chapter 51

As the blast of ravening blue energy tried to engulf her, this time Evelyn dodged to the side, letting it rip into the wall like some hungry monster, and she clicked her tongue, speaking brightly.

“You really should work on your aim. I barely had to take a step to avoid that,” Evelyn said, energy swirling around her hand, then she grinned and gestured. “Like this!”

Three bolts of blood-red energy lanced across the room and slammed into the senne’s shield, curving through the air to follow when the woman tried to dodge herself. Oh, it wasn’t like the would-be goddess had been badly injured earlier, the worst Evelyn could see were a few tears in her dress, a drop of blood working its way out of her nose, along with what might be a few scrapes, but that was more damage than she’d done to Evelyn.

“Arrogant mortal, why won’t you die?” the woman snarled loudly, raising both hands in the air, and this time creating a shining orb of energy above her head that made Evelyn… concerned. Not for herself, as the orb was too diffuse to punch through her shields, but for everyone else aboard the station. It might rip the structure apart, and she couldn’t have that.

Evelyn stomped on the floor, focusing her magic, and an instant later a stalagmite erupted from the ground and hit the woman in the stomach like a missile. The senne let out an anguished cry as she was launched up and away, another hole punched through her dress, and the orb of energy detonated, a flash of light washing over the room, and the nearest of the crystal lights shattered.

More interesting to Evelyn, she briefly saw a wound in the woman’s stomach, but it quickly closed before her eyes. That explained a bit to her, and she smiled, speaking calmly. “Because you aren’t a goddess, of course. A true deity would be able to crush me like a fly. You are a mortal with delusions of grandeur.”

“Should you really be antagonizing her?” Fya asked softly, and Evelyn could practically hear the djinn wince. “The wishstone can make her really hard to kill.”

“Harder than a djinn?” Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

The senne regained her balance and hissed, concentrating as she glared at Evelyn and growled. “You will die! I won’t tolerate blasphemy!”

“Well… maybe? Or she could do something like that,” the djinn replied, as the stone on the woman’s chest began to glow.

The woman rose into the air, and all around her a combat mech phased into existence. It was a huge, humanoid figure that would practically brush the ceiling when standing upright, and it shared the colors that Evelyn had seen in the chamber so far, silver, white, blue, and just a hint of green from the head-mounted optical sensors. It had an energy sword emitter in one hand, and it ignited, creating a massive green beam of plasma.

“Hm. Decided magic wouldn’t cut it, then?” Evelyn asked, looking up at the figure thoughtfully, then shrugged. “Alright, I suppose this works. Let’s see if you’re a better fighter in that.”

Another scream of rage came in response, the robot raising the sword, which cut deep into the ceiling, and before it could come down, Evelyn lunged forward. Of course, she already knew the answer to her question.

No one with experience would have brought a combat mech into a room this size. There wasn’t any room to maneuver, no exits, and quite bluntly, attacking a single, human-sized figure with a combat mech was a laughable thing to do. No, if she was going to use one, she should have shot Evelyn with a shipboard cannon, not swung an energy sword. The commander obviously was a civilian, even if she had some combat training.

Evelyn got between the mech’s legs easily, and the pilot paused to try to localize her, which was damned stupid. Placing a hand against one ankle, Evelyn focused her magic again, then jumped away. As she reached a safe distance, the magic ripped the ankle apart, dropping the mech a good half-meter as it lost several servos.

“That was a mistake,” Evelyn said, crouching for a moment, straining, then jumped, leaping a good eight meters in the air, then reached out to grab onto the mech as she reversed her energy sword and punched it deep into its armor. Oh, it took a few seconds to pierce into it, but she was already inside any shields, and the armor wasn’t enchanted. Twisting around as the mech tried to turn in place, Evelyn launched herself farther up as one of the machine’s hands tried to swat her like a fly, and this time she was up near the mech’s flight system.

A couple of swipes of her blade disabled that, which was the most important aspect to Evelyn for the moment. She couldn’t help a grin as she punched the blade deep into the machine, and it lurched around. The woman inside was saying something, but Evelyn ignored her, especially as the air seemed to explode when she fired the mech’s heavy cannon into a wall. Oh, the splash off the walls hit Evelyn with a tiny amount of molten silver, but her shields shrugged that off, even if they were down to four percent. No, Evelyn carefully gauged where she’d seen the woman floating, and decided that she’d found the spot she wanted.

“Eternal energy of destruction, come to my hands and let all be reduced to nothing.” Evelyn chanted, focusing hard… and a pulse of energy left her free hand, punching into the mech’s back.

The metal shimmered, dulled, then fell to dust before her, and the war machine lurched, rocking as the woman piloting it began to turn, anger in her eyes. Evelyn wasn’t giving her time to figure out how she’d gotten into the back of the piloting chamber, though, and she simply thrust her blade without an ounce of mercy.

The energy sword met resistance, of course. There was some form of defensive field around the Senne, but it wasn’t enough. The burning blade punched through the Senne’s neck, severing her spine. Not that Evelyn thought that would kill her, not if she’d wished to become a goddess.

“Ravening forces of annihilation, enders of all life, eternal eye of destruction, I call upon thee. Let your shadows show all things despair, and bring even the works of the heavens to naught!” Evelyn exclaimed, focusing all the magic she could muster into her next spell, which consumed almost two thirds of what she had left… and took form in a tiny, black orb that appeared just in front of the stone embedded in the woman’s chest.

Evelyn jumped back out of the cockpit with alacrity, and as she did so, she asked. “So… can a wishstone survive a miniature black hole, Fya?”

“A what?” Fya demanded. “What did you do, milady?”

Evelyn made a nice, three-point landing, and watched as an orb of utter darkness ripped the entire torso of the mech apart, consuming everything that fell into it as well, and for a moment she could hear the air howling as the darkness spread farther and farther… then, with an odd popping sound, the darkness vanished. She straightened, hooking her energy sword back on her belt.

“I created a micro-black hole on top of the wishstone after stabbing my sword through her neck. Will it do the job?” Evelyn asked, watching the spot warily. She wasn’t going to get overconfident just because she thought it was dealt with.

“Milady, sometimes you scare me. I didn’t know you could cast spells like that!” Fya replied incredulously. “Yes, it’ll have dealt with it. Sheesh.”

“Good,” Evelyn said, relaxing slightly as she considered, then shrugged. “As for the spell… yes, I can use it. It’s one of the few that requires a chant, and casting it once, even lasting only a handful of seconds, consumes almost half my mana. It’s horribly inefficient, but I wanted to ensure that the woman underwent spaghettification.”

“You know, I really hate that term,” Fya said, sounding particularly revolted. “Anyway, so… problem solved?”

“Pretty much. Just keep things secure outside, I’ll make sure this lady is gone, then we can start looting,” Evelyn replied. “Let Relka know?”

“Sure!” Fya replied, cutting the line a second later.

Evelyn shook her head, then used some of her remaining magic to take flight so she could look over what was left of the mech. She doubted she’d find anything useful, but it was always possible she’d be wrong.

Epilogue

The aftermath wasn’t too bad, Ilyra decided, glancing out the window of the shuttle again as she looked at the station. Oh, being aboard the station when the explosions had rocked it had been frightening, yet at the same time, Zelirana’s reassuring presence had helped her keep calm, as had the steady reactions of the Dolls. Yes, they weren’t people, but they looked like they were, and their lack of worry helped ease her nerves.

Of course, shortly after Evelyn had informed everyone that she’d dealt with the insane, would-be goddess who’d killed everyone, a couple of other ships had tried to bull their way in, but they’d been fended off by the mercenaries and Djinn’s Gift. Ilyra was a little fuzzy about who the attackers had been, she’d thought that they were pirates, but one of the nearby mercenaries had muttered something about privateers and adventurers. She’d also been too busy to put much thought into it.

Instead, the last three days had been spent going through the station stores and taking what they thought they could use. That’d been helped by the station AI deciding that since Evelyn had defeated the previous stationmaster in single combat and that there wasn’t another appropriate leader, it’d follow her directions. That struck Ilyra as bizarre, as where she was from, if the leader of a house died the entire family would vote on a new head. What she’d heard about senne hierarchies sounded strange to her. Why would anyone want three people in a single leadership position?

In any case, after taking stock of all the valuable minerals, including the immense amount of wealth in the blasted chamber where Evelyn had destroyed her opponent, they’d split the winnings with the mercenaries. Ilyra couldn’t believe how bad the destruction had been in the room, and she wondered what had dealt so much damage to the mech. Not that she felt like asking.

But they were done at last, and Ilyra let out a soft sigh as she tried to relax. The holds were full of valuable minerals, and Evelyn had promised that each person would get a healthy bonus once it was dealt with.

“Where do you think we’re going next?” Ilyra asked after a few seconds.

“From what I heard Star discussing with Evelyn, most likely back to Nald to sell off most of this,” Vaneryth replied, piloting the shuttle carefully. “I think they’re planning to keep some, but I’m not entirely sure. After that, I don’t know.”

“Mm… well, I guess we’ll find out,” Ilyra said, taking a deep breath, then smiled. “So, um… I heard you spent last night in Zel’s room?”

The angel’s cheeks flushed, and she cleared her throat before speaking, her tone prim and proper. “I’m afraid that’s a private matter.”

Ilyra giggled.

* * *

“Finally done,” Evelyn said, rolling her head to try to pop her neck. She’d had to put off doing proper maintenance on her armor due to everything that happened. Oh, it was in good enough shape for combat or even space travel, but it had needed repairs, and that had to wait. She was the one the mercenaries respected, so she’d been the main point of contact.

That was why she’d spent the last few hours going over the armor, carefully repairing it and ensuring that it was in optimal condition. It required a great deal of tools and attention to fine detail, even with the automated maintenance unit, but doing it herself made her happier. Evelyn was a believer in doing maintenance yourself so that you knew it was done right.

Not that she expected anyone else to do that. Evelyn didn’t think anyone except Fya had the training to be able to fully repair their armor the way she just had, so… she sighed, pushing the thought aside. Now it was time for her to take a bath and go to bed. A nice, luxuriant bubble bath sounded perfect to her.

The door to her room hissed open and Evelyn stepped inside, then stopped, stunned.

Vania’s blonde hair and sun-kissed skin was unmistakable, at least to Evelyn, and she raised her gaze to meet Evelyn’s. The empress was wearing a simple white sheath dress, and for an instant Evelyn just stood there, looking at the woman sitting on the edge of her bed as her brain came to a gibbering halt. Then the woman spoke.

“Hello, Captain. I was told that you would like my company this evening,” the woman said, her voice eerily similar to Vania’s, but the way she talked, and the slight differences told Evelyn who this was.

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Control, anger surging through her, strangling the confused… no, she wouldn’t think about that. She wasn’t going to let anyone manipulate her emotions. Not even the woman who she knew was responsible for this. There was only one person who knew enough about both Vania and Evelyn to have done this.

“It was Fya, wasn’t it?” Evelyn asked, folding her arms.

“If you are asking who suggested I join you this evening, you would be correct,” Control agreed, and her voice sent a shiver down Evelyn’s spine, it was so eerily familiar. “She also assisted in adjusting my appearance, voice, and gave me the dress. Are you upset?”

“Yes, but not with you. You don’t know any better,” Evelyn told her, taking a deep breath, then made a decision. “You wait here. I’ll explain once I’m done with Fya.”

“Yes, Captain,” Control replied, looking somewhat mystified but accepting Evelyn’s order.

With that, Evelyn turned toward the door, anger simmering inside her as she focused on finding the djinn and muttered under her breath. “Fya… oh, you’re going to regret this prank.”

She wasn’t going to murder the djinn. That would be far, far too kind. If Fya was wise, she’d run… but it was a small ship. She’d only prolong the inevitable.

Order Adept of Chaos now, Book 2 of Eve of Destruction!

Afterword

I have no idea what to make of this book. It’s like my id ran wild and told me to do whatever I wanted. Evelyn is… so strange. I think I’ve combined my love of high fantasy, powerful characters, and old pulp fiction into one insane whole. I think I like it, but I’m not entirely sure. That’s how it goes, sometimes.

I have thoughts on how to continue the story, and maybe even give it a more focused plotline, but for now this story is done. I hope you enjoyed Chosen of Chaos! If you’d leave a review, I’d greatly appreciate it!

If you want to find more of my books, you can find them at the following link.

Books by Benjamin Medrano

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Also, if you’d care to review this story, I’d greatly appreciate it! Again, thank you for reading Chosen of Chaos. You can continue to find a sample chapter of Adept of Chaos and the glossary!

Adept of Chaos Sample

The sun permeated Evelyn’s body with heat, helping her muscles practically melt, but 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.

The sound of waves crashing on the shore echoed softly, dampening the laughter of other beachgoers, with the shrieks of children dominating. Shrieks of delight, she corrected herself, and some of them coming 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. 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 if she wasn’t careful. If she did, it would be a good opportunity for her to practice 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 human out of time were working together on a sand castle, 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, and 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 sand castle.

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 out of time as her daughter was, and despite having gotten implants and begun learning modern languages, she was likely lost with the conversations surrounding her. That, and she knew more about djinni, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing since 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 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.

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 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, the Doll Evelyn had previously named Control, said calmly. “Two shuttles are apparently vectoring in our direction.”

“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, 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 none of 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 turned 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 her. “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, now. “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 now, and she sat up, taking a sip of her drink 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 both too specialized, and you’re not skilled enough with magic yet.”

“Oh. Well, I—” Ilyra began, but as she began speaking, 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 that.

Moments later the shuttles went flying overhead, and a rumble echoed 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 fruity, half-consumed drink. That annoyed her, and she glowered after them.

“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 sheered off about halfway up the tower, and Evelyn couldn’t blame her.

“That it was.” Evelyn agreed. She was about to continue when she sense 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 deal with 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, though 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.

Order Adept of Chaos now!

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.

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.

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.

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.