Lorna was behind the bar as usual.  She saw the strange group of humans walk in but her eyes were focused on the one in black skintight armor and a gray cloak.  She winked.  Allison grinned when she reached the bar.


    “Oh, hey you! Are you legal age yet, sexy?”


    Allison pulled down her hood and blushed.


    “Four years still.”


    Lorna looked at the group of mercenaries and Legend.  She eyed Dimi up and down.


    “Oh, you are a hunk of meat with a metallic frosting, aren’t you?”


    Dimi blushed a bright red.  Lorna looked back at Allison.


    “You didn’t tell me you had such delicious friends.  What can I get for y’all?”


    Allison looked at the marshal.


    “Get the marshal whatever she wants, even top shelf, as for the rest of us… my usual.  For the rest of them, nothing strong, they’re working today.  Oh, and a can of beans to go.”


    Lorna put three shot glasses down and poured out two of the Silwrath rotgut and one of a very sugary juice.  She lifted her shot glass, Allison lifted hers and they did a wordless toast and hammered them back.  Allison chased hers with the sugar bomb.  Dimi lifted the shot glass.


    “Hey, this smells good, can I get one.”


    Lorna looked at Allison, who shook her head.


    “Sorry no can do big guy, she’s the boss.  Here try this.”


    Lorna poured out a tumbler of a mild whiskey.  Dimi took a drink and smiled.


    “Oh, that’s smooth.”


    He looked down at Allison.


    “So, chicha why can’t I have what you had?”


    The marshal finished her drink, tipped her hat and wandered off into the VIP section of the bar.   Allison laughed at Dimi.


    “Because it’s the kind of thing you drink for a dare.  One shot, you’d be falling down drunk.  Two shots, you’d be unconscious, three, you’d be dead.”


    Dimi scowled


    “Hey, my liver is primo-chrome chicha.”


    Allison looked up at him.


    “Do you really want to use the money from this job to replace it?  Because you’d need to.  I’m telling you; You don’t want it.  But if you really want to try it, I’ll buy a bottle and we’ll all do a shot after we finish the job, how’s that?  Hell, I’ll by two so you can mess with the other mercs at the Reservoir.”


    The marshal peaked her head out of the VIP section and motioned to Allison.  Allison looked at Miles.


    “Hey Miles, come with me.”


    He nodded and the pair walked into the VIP room.  Va’tor was a very fat Grylta.  Miles made a disgusted face.  Va’tor was lounged out with his shirt wide open and his arms wrapped around the back of a bench seat.  He had four women all from different species sitting around him.  A couple of them were all over him.  Allison couldn’t help but think, not even for all the credits in the System’s Alliance…  She looked at Miles and spoke quietly.


    “Let me do the talking, these guys are… they just are.  Do not react to the smell and I know they’re hideous but if he’s in charge of the arms trade here, we want to be on his good side, got it?”


    Miles nodded.  The marshal motioned Allison over.


    “Va’tor, this is the buyer I told you about.”


    The Grylta leaned forward and squinted.  Eventually he shoved the two women off of him and they both pouted.  He pulled his glasses on and looked Allison up and down.


    “You fill that body suit really well.  What does a nice girl like you need guns for?”


    Allison crossed her arms.


    “I like to shoot people.  It’s a hobby of mine.”


    He chuckled then adjusted himself and then crossed his froglike legs after leaning back.


    “Fair enough, fair enough.  Let’s talk business.”


    Allison offered him a datapad.  He motioned to one of the women hanging off of him.  She leaned forward and took it.  She held it up so he could read it.  He adjusted his glasses to get a better view.


    “Yeah, I can get all of this for you, three days.”


    Allison raised an eyebrow then looked at the marshal.


    “I thought you said he was the guy.”


    Va’tor held up his hands.


    “Let’s not get too hasty.  I can accelerate the timetable, call in some favors, favors get expensive though.  I’d have to increase costs.”


    Allison motioned with her hand.


    “You can skip the whole bullshit spiel.  I wasn’t born yesterday.  I need them at my hangar in thirty standard minutes.  I’ll pay you the going rate, and a fifty percent markup for your trouble.  Which is more than generous.”


    He did a raspberry.  Then he let out the most disgusting smell as his butt cheeks flapped against the synthetic leather seat.


    “Double the going rate.”


    Allison didn’t react to the smell; It was hard not to wretch though.  She waited for it to pass before she opened her mouth.  She pondered if the fart was a negotiating tactic to make people want to rush the haggling.


    “Get real, I usually need someone to buy me dinner and a bottle of wine before they fuck me with no reach around.  Sixty percent markup, that’s my final offer.”


    He laughed and rubbed his copious belly.


    “I like you.  You got a way with words.”


    He pointed at Miles.


    “And who is this half machine abomination?”


    Allison glanced back at Miles.


    “He is my sister’s sex slave.  She lets me take him places in case he can get me a discount.  Between you and me, waste of time, he’s into hairy women, hairier the better.  My sister’s got more hair than the marshal.  If you reduce it to a fifty percent markup you can go a round with him.  We can give him whatever plumbing you want…”


    Miles was just staring at Allison.  Va’tor slapped his belly, and he laughed a deep belly laugh.  He took a few minutes to recover.  He took a few deep breaths and patted his belly.


    “Seventy five percent markup and only because I like you.  I can tell this is the start of a wonderful business relationship.”


    Allison offered her hand.  He took it and shook it.


    “Cash due on delivery.  Now a drink to celebrate our new arrangement.”


    He poured out two glasses of a cloudy alcohol.  He lifted his glass.


    “To new friends and more profit!”


    Allison said.


    “To new friends.”


    She downed it in one go it was awful tasting.  Like she was licking mud at the bottom of a lake.  It wasn’t very strong though. He grinned showing his sharp teeth.


    “Not your favorite I take it.”


    Allison shook her head.


    “No, my usual drink of choice is Silwrath Rotgut.”


    He snorted.


    “You just keep getting more interesting.  I’ll have your shipment at your hanger in thirty standard minutes or you get a discount. Excuse me while I make the arrangements.”


    Allison tugged Miles along with her.  He didn’t say a word until they got out of the VIP section.


    “What the hell was that?  Go a round with me?  Give me whatever plumbing he wants?”


    Allison laughed.


    “He wanted a show.  I gave him one.  Sorry, I needed to make him laugh.”


    The pair joined up with the group and eventually made their way back to the hangar under the watchful eyes of the marshal.  The arms shipment they requested arrived shortly after they did.  Va’tor’s people loaded it onto the Wraith.  The mercenaries and Legend started grabbing the kit they needed.  Allison crossed her arms and watched.


    “Okay, from here on in, no real names.  I’m going to be wearing my Qual’sa pirate queen face.  I don’t care what you call each other as long as it’s not your real names.  We are hitting two transports.  The crates I am interested in will have a pink symbol on them. Sort of like a bio-hazard symbol.  After we get those just grab anything you can fit.”


    Dimi held up his hand.  Allison smiled at him.


    “What is it Dimi?”


    He cracked his neck before speaking.


    “I was talking to that tree person… asking her about what medical supplies would sell best on the station.  She gave me some symbols and stuff.  Also, that can of beans you asked her for, I put that in your fighter.”


    Zebra looked pensive and finally spoke up.


    “We’re not stealing some biological weapon or something like that are we?”


    Allison shook her head.


    “Nothing we are going to be stealing is dangerous in its current form.  So new plan, steal the crates I want, then focus on the things that are worth the most as provided by Dimi.”


    She smiled at him.


    “Good job big guy.  So, guys, I don’t have any layouts for these ships, just the routes and where they stop to adjust their FTL course.  The Synthlin on these ships are medical techs, pilots and cargo handlers.  Do not hurt them.  We’re just here for the goods.”


    Dimi held up his hand.


    “Uh, chicha, what if they attack us first?”


    Allison shook her head.


    “Do everything in your power not to harm them.  Synthlin are basically amoeba attached to slime mold.  The bodies you see are just encounter suits but we cannot risk damaging them in a way that exposes the Synthlin inside.  These are my allies and if I didn’t need what they have so desperately I wouldn’t even be considering this.  So please treat them like they are innocents because they are.  Synthlin are almost all pacifists with rare exceptions.”


    Everyone nodded.


    “Okay, when we approach our targets Bit, and I will pretend to be a League patrol vessel.  I have all the codes to get us inside.  Once I convince them to let us dock, I will board, and I will convince them to surrender.  Then I’ll open another airlock for you, and we’ll transfer the cargo.   While we’re doing this Bit will be jamming their sensors and all outgoing comms, so our comms will be down too.  Remember no names.  We’re vicious bloodthirsty pirates.  Oh, and helmets stay on once we board the transports.  We don’t want them being able to identify us.”


    She looked around at everyone.


    “Can I get a argh matey?”


    That elicited a few laughs.  Dimi held up his hand.


    “Can I have an eyepatch.”


    Allison shrugged.


    “As long as you can carry cargo and help keep the crews under control you can do it in your underwear and your helmet for all I care.”


    Allison looked at her AR HUD.


    “Max FTL to the coordinates Legend.  If we time it right, we should have fifteen minutes to set up our ambush.”


    They broke up their huddle and Allison headed towards Bit.  The AI was still unsettled about Allison’s decision to engage in piracy.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    “I really think you should try diplomacy again Allison, this is… extreme, even for you.  Are you sure you’re not doing this to spite the High Counciler?”


    “Bit, I need these nanites.  I don’t have time to get them through normal channels.  The low council and high council can force the issue, but I honestly do not want this on official records.  This gives everyone plausible deniability.”


    Allison plotted an intercept course for the first medical transport.  The Wraith transport came out of FTL shortly after her.


    “Bit mimic the League Patrol Vessel profile and transponder I provided please.  Activate the hologram.”


    Bit did as Allison requested.  Allison closed her eyes and retook the Qual’sa face she’d committed to memory.  The teenager pounced as soon as the medical transport dropped out of FTL.


    “Transport 3156.  This is Patrol Vessel Protector 6-1, we have reason to believe a smuggler has concealed a weapon’s shipment on your ship.  Please come to an all stop and prepare for inspection.”


    Allison transmitted the authorization she’d pulled out of the League cypher rotation for this week.  The Synthlin she was speaking with took a few moments to verify the authorization code.


    “Understood.  Proceed to dock on the port side.”


    Allison let Bit take care of the finer points of docking the fighter while she checked the Silwrath plasma assault rifle she had selected as her primary weapon.


    “Bit, initiate full spectrum jamming as soon as I open the inner airlock.”


    Allison let herself float out of the fighter through the zero-g docking port and used her nanites to interface with the Synthlin systems.  She forced the inner airlock door open.  She caught the ‘security team’ by surprise.  The security team was a glorified security guard.  She pointed her assault rifle at the Synthlin who was armed with a stun baton.  She spoke in perfect Synthlin.


    “Hello, put down your comm link and your stun baton and you can go on with your little amoeba life with no further complications.”


    He put them down and kept his encounter suit’s arms up.  It wasn’t a very durable or secure suit as they went.  Most Synthlin went for form over function.  The ones who had the hard core armored ones were the non-pacifists, of which there were precious few who weren’t in the military.


    “Good.  Let’s go to the starboard docking port, my new friend.  How many crew are on this thing?”


    He looked back at her as they walked, mostly his eyes were focused on her weapon.


    “Just the captain, co-pilot and me.  We’re just a medical transport we have nothing of value.”


    Allison smiled.


    “I’ll have you know something on this ship is priceless to me.”


    She slung her assault rifle over her shoulder and drew one of her Qual’sa pistols and pointed the business end towards the Synthlin.  With her other hand she overrode the pitiful security of the cargo docking port.  A few minutes later there was a hiss and the rest of the team arrived.  Allison pointed at the cargo.


    “Get what we came for.  Only have two other crew to deal with, they’ll probably realize something is up soon if they’re paying any attention.  I’ll go deal with them and trash the logs.”


    She grabbed Zebra’s shoulder.


    “Let them handle the cargo, you keep your gun on this one.  If he twitches crack the shell and kill the bacteria.”


    Allison moved towards the cockpit.  The door wasn’t even closed.  The captain and co-pilot were trying to troubleshoot their sudden sensor and communication glitch.  She cleared her throat.


    “I can fix that for you.”


    They both looked up at her and she could tell by their body language all she was getting was fear.  These were pacifist Synthlin.  The captain spoke.


    “Violence is not the answer.”


    Allison smirked.


    “Violence is always the answer, it’s so much fun.  Sadly, my employer asked me very nicely to kill as few of you bacteria as possible and those encounter suits are oh so delicate.  So, let’s keep you and your families happy by getting you home alive with as little damage as possible.  Hands off the controls.”


    Allison started interfacing with their computer while keeping her pistol aimed towards the front of the cockpit.  One of the Synthlin moved and she shot his chair.


    “This is not the time to get those ADHD fidgets slime face.  First and last warning shot.”


    She used the genetic knowledge passed through Amee’s augmented DNA to create a rather vicious computer virus that until it was dealt with would gobble up data from the sensor and log files.  It would also scramble any outgoing communications or emergency beacon signals.  She made sure it would leave their navigation system intact so they could reach their destination.


    “I’ve just implanted a computer virus in your systems, if you try to use your FTL drive, or sub light engines before it destroys itself in about fifteen minutes you will find yourself locked on a course for the nearest star.  Oh, it will tell you that it’s going where you want, but I assure you, it won’t be.”


    She reached down in front of the captain and started a timer on his display.


    “Once this hits zero you can feel free to plot a course anywhere.”


    Allison stood behind them with her pistols aimed at them.  Miles confirmed they were done loading all the cargo they had planned on stealing over comms.


    “My nest egg thanks you for your cooperation.  Enjoy the rest of your day.”


    Allison left the cockpit and rushed towards the cargo hold.  She took over for Zebra and then sealed the inner hatch of the cargo dock then she escorted her prisoner to the other side of the ship and sealed the hatch from the inside before boarding Bit and launching.  Both of the ‘pirate’ ships went to FTL shortly afterwards.


    Their next transport interception went about the same up to a point.  Allison was holding the cockpit and had just finished implanting the same virus as she had before when another Synthlin walked up.  She kept one of her pistols aimed at the crew and the other at this new interloper.  The suit was at least three feet shorter than most of the Synthlin she had seen.  He was looking at a tablet and wandering into the cockpit.  The synthlin walked right into her pistol with his head and stumbled backward.  Allison spoke.


    “Only three of you huh? I don’t like surprises.  I tend to shoot surprises.”


    The pilot who was a female synthlin spoke in a rush.


    “He’s just a child, please don’t hurt him.”


    Allison stepped aside and motioned to the front of the cockpit with her second pistol.


    “Up there with them.  Put your tablet down.”


    He sat down on the captain’s lap.


    “Mom, what’s going on?”


    The captain spoke in calm tones.


    “Nothing, just a misunderstanding.”


    Allison sighed.  What was this bring your kid to work day, Synthlin edition?


    “Just be quiet and this will all be over very soon.”


    The kid looked at Allison


    “Are you a real pirate?”


    Allison rolled her eyes.


    “What gave it away?  Shut up kid.  Your mom probably wants you to grow up.  I’m having a bad day and you are a complication, I really hate complications.”


    He didn’t seem to get the hint.


    “Are you a Qual’sa?  I heard you were all good.  Why are you a pirate?”


    Allison sighed and then shot the kid’s tablet.


    “Because I’m a bad person who likes doing bad things to good people it fills me with a sense of accomplishment.”


    He cried out.


    “Nooo!”


    His mom grabbed onto him tightly as he tried to grab his tablet.


    “We can replace it; We can’t replace you please be quiet these are violent people.”


    Allison nodded.


    “A bit of advice, listen to your mom, or you’ll end up like me, evil, bitter and mean.”


    She got the signal she was waiting for from Miles.


    “Well, looks like you get to live for another day.  Remember do not try to plot a course until that timer hits zero.  You will not enjoy where you end up.”


    Allison and her team left the transport in peace after that.  The trip to Bastion was uneventful.  They all met up in the Wraith’s packed cargo compartment.  The stealth ship was so full they had started putting crates in the troop section of it.  Allison picked out her four crates of nanites.


    “Those four stay here.  Take one of each of the other crates and set them aside the rest we sell.  Remember helmets on, we’re pirates today.  You have five hours to sell as much as you can and buy stuff with the profits.  I don’t care what you do with them.  I just don’t want them on this ship when it comes time to leave.  Groups of two, Legend watch the ships and if you see a giant octopus type person that’s Yoggi, be nice he pop’s people’s heads off for fun.”


    Miles looked at Allison.


    “What about you?  You have a bounty on your head.  You can’t go alone.”


    Allison smiled at him.


    “It’s sweet you’re being all protective and stuff, but I’ll be fine.  The bounty is for a red-haired, golden-eyed human.  I’m a Qual’sa today.  It’s you lot I’m worried about.”


    Allison grabbed a cart and loaded the crates of random medical supplies she’d set aside and headed towards Lorna’s bar.  She walked in with the cart and Lorna looked at her skeptically.


    “No soliciting, knife ear.”


    Allison smiled; It amused her that the usually very perceptive Lorna could not see through her disguise.  She spoke quietly to Lorna.


    “I’m not sure I want to lose my innocence to you in four years after a comment like that.”


    Lorna looked Allison up and down.  She poured out two shot glasses of the good Silwrath alcohol and pointed to them.


    “Drink them, then we’ll talk.”


    Allison did both shots and coughed a few times.


    “Burns every time.”


    She sat down at the bar.  Lorna looked at the cart.


    “What are you doing with a load of Synthlin medical supplies little miss poster girl for the League’s law and order initiative?”


    Allison shrugged.


    “I decided being a battlelord was not the life for me, I landed on pirate for my future career.  I’m bad one though because I’m here to give these to you.  I know you’re connected around here; I figured you could get them to people in need.”


    Lorna chuckled.


    “The more I get to know you, the more beautiful you are.  Yeah, I know someone, a doctor who tours the border worlds and stops here.  Works for free.  A Silwrath of all things.”


    She walked around the bar and looked over the crates.


    “Yesh, this is high end stuff.  Synthlin won’t miss it, but this can help a lot of people who fall through the cracks out here.  Is this all you got?”


    Allison shook her head.


    “No, my mercenaries are selling the rest, needed to make it look real also didn’t want the finger being pointed at some poor innocent doctor just for having them.  Figured one crate of each, they could have bought them on the black market.”


    Lorna pulled the cart behind the bar and into the back.


    “No nanites though.  Pity those are the real miracle workers.”


    Allison sighed.


    “No, those I need.”


    Lorna leaned on the bar.


    “This have something to do with that thing you stashed here?  Are you ever going to tell me what that was?”


    Allison tapped her fingers before sighing.


    “Do you guys have a myth like this?  Pandora’s box?  It holds all the evil of the world?”


    Lorna leaned on her forearm and elbow while appreciating the view of Allison the angle provided.


    “Yeah, we have something like that.  Though in our case it’s a seed.  The first tree gave it to us but told us to never plant it, someone did and poof, now we have death and disease.  What’s that got to do with this?”


    Allison traced a scratch on the bar with her finger without looking at Lorna.


    “In the context of that package I had you store; I’m the first tree.  And I just stole twenty times as many nanites as that missile warhead has stored in it.”


    Lorna got a look of concern on her face.


    “What are you into?  Do you need help?”


    Allison bit her lower lip and shook her head.


    “No.  I don’t need to be rescued.  I just need to get rid of this hesitation. It is going to get people killed.”


    Lorna poured Allison another drink, a non-alcoholic one.


    “What exactly is that package?”


    Allison sighed and kept tracing the scratches in the bar with her finger.


    “If I launched it at an inhabited planet, the nanites would start devouring all life.  It would start small.  One nanite eats a cell, it uses those raw materials to make four more nanites.  Then they eat four cells and become sixteen nanites. Only imagine this starting with a thousand nanites.  They keep going until nothing is left alive.  Each generation of nanite only takes about fifty microseconds to reproduce.  Within four standard hours they would kill every living thing on a class H world.  And I’m about to make twenty warheads with that payload and I’m going to order people to fire them at living things.  The targets are going to see their deaths coming, they will feel their bodies being devoured from the inside out, starting with their lungs most likely and they are going to die in agony.  The part that is bothering me is that the only guilt I feel about this is that I’m making other people complicit in it by ordering them to launch the weapons.”


    Lorna stared at Allison for several moments.


    “By the first tree.  Why would you conceive of such a weapon?”


    Allison looked up at Lorna.


    “Because if I didn’t four hundred million people would have died.  And if I don’t make more, two hundred thousand troops under my command will die tomorrow, then trillions will die when the Sal’nash finish gathering their swarm.  I asked you to store that warhead here because I couldn’t take it to an inhabited world, and I could not just leave it somewhere.  It had to be with someone I trusted, and I don’t know why, but I trust you like I trust my sister.”


    Lorna pushed herself up and looked Allison up and down.


    “I get it.  You got a good heart and a good head on your shoulders, Allison.  Sometimes all we can do is choose the best option out of a bunch of shitty ones, but you’re wrong.  In my business you get to know how to read people.  The fact you have to make and use these things is tearing you up inside I can see it in your eyes, even if they aren’t your usual beautiful ones.  If you need ships and crews, you should talk to Yoggi.”


    Allison looked Lorna up and down.


    “What?  I have the entire League and System’s Alliance fleets.  Everything that is space worthy they can strap a gun too.”


    Lorna laughed.


    “You really are a Battlelord, aren’t you?  An armada of ships and you do this piracy thing yourself.  You know the reason the crime lords are all keen to keep you happy?”


    Allison shrugged.


    “They don’t want attention from the League security forces?”


    Lorna shook her head then laughed.


    “No, it’s because three quarters of the rogues and pirates in this place worship you, the other quarter of them are scared they’ll be on the wrong side of your guns.  Bounty hunter shows their nose around you they’d likely get shot, if not by you then by someone else.  It’s an unspoken rule around here that you’re untouchable.  You tell Yoggi you need ships with a time and a place you could add another two hundred ships to that fleet of yours.  Sure, they’d be pirates and smugglers but you’re already a legend.  Yoggi thinks you’re the second coming of the beast of the depths.”


    Allison pondered her words then shook her head.


    “I don’t want to put other people’s lives at risk, they’re not military pilots and crews.  They’re undisciplined.”


    Lorna laughed.


    “You tell me what takes more skill and discipline, doing a broadside from a ship of the line, or boarding a ship in the void that doesn’t want you on board without destroying it?”


    Allison looked Lorna up and down.


    “It sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”


    Lorna wrapped her hands around the back of the bar and leaned forward.  She licked her lips.


    “Those stories are pillow talk.  If you’re curious I have a few hours…”


    Allison blushed.  Lorna smiled at her.


    “You’re adorable.  You’ll go toe to toe with giant bugs without breaking a sweat.  A girl flirts with you, and you freeze up.”


    Allison kept blushing.  Lorna reached out and slid her finger along Allison’s currently long pointed ear.  It sent a shiver down the teenager’s spine.  She was starting to think that maybe she was more then a little attracted to other women because her body was definitely reacting to Lorna’s touch and not her fangs.


    “I bet those would be fun to nibble on.”


    Allison shifted on her bar stool as her armor got slightly uncomfortable in her nethers.


    “Four years, I promise.  If my boyfriend and I are broken up.”


    Lorna smiled.


    “So, are any of those delicious people you came with single?”


    Allison nodded.


    “The big guy.  Technically Miles is too but he’s been pining after my dead sister for twenty years poor guy still think’s she’s coming back or something.”


    Lorna retracted her hand.


    “I’m sorry for your loss.”


    Allison shook her head.


    “She was gone before I was born.  All I know about her is she was six and a half feet tall, liked cartoon tentacle porn, and was a real bear when she was angry.  We probably would have gotten along.”


    Allison heard Miles on her comm.


    “Hey kid, we’re good to go if you are.”


    Allison looked at the timer and held her hand up to Lorna.


    “We still have an hour, and a half go grab Legend and seal the Wraith up. You can ditch the disguises.  Come to Lorna’s place, grab some drinks and food.  I have to go talk to an octopus about a fleet.  Keep Dimi away from the Silwrath booze please.  I do not want to carry him back to the ship.”


    Allison stood up.


    “Hey, can I get a hug and two bottles of the best Silwrath stuff you got?”


    Lorna motioned to her.


    “Come here.”


    Lorna hugged Allison tightly and playfully nibbled on her ear.  Allison melted into the embrace.  Hugging Lorna was like hugging a warm tree with smooth bark.  She found she didn’t want to go but she forced herself to break the embrace.


    “I wish we could… uh… you know right now… but even if I could… I can’t I have a war to win.”


    Lorna kissed Allison’s cheek.


    “When you’re ready, I’ll be here.”


    Lorna handed Allison the requested bottles of alcohol.


    “I’ll put this and whatever your friends order on your tab.”


    Allison blushed at the kiss on the cheek.  She pulled up her hood and let her appearance revert back to her natural self.  She headed to Yoggi’s office which was just behind the dockmaster’s control room.  His assistant let her right in.  Yoggi was sitting behind a desk with a paper magazine between two of his tentacles.  He dropped it immediately when he heard Allison enter.


    “Oh, it is my good friend the Battlelord!”


    Allison  blushed yet again, mostly because Yoggi looked so happy to see her.


    “Allison is fine, Harbormaster.  Lorna told me if I needed some backup for something that I should talk to you.”


    Yoggi stood up.  He was wearing yet another flamboyant outfit.


    “Tell me all about it, Allison.  Are you about to paint another masterpiece?”