《Charting Course: System Unknown [LitRPG Space Drama]》 Prologue: Recruitment "Not that I won''t enjoy my tech quota bump, but if I''m honest miss Mercer, you are overqualified for any job I can offer you." The Hispanic recruiter in front of me shuffles some paperwork and slides a manilla folder to the side. He pulls out a few sheets of paper and turns them to face me. "But if you''re sure, just sign the indicated areas pointed to by the sticky tabs and you''ll be the Solar Navy''s newest Reactor Technician." This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The smile on my face has nothing to do with the shit job I''m about to agree too, or the 6+ years of service (4 of which must be in space) I''ve been sentenced to. No, the fact that my teeth are showing is a result of the sick satisfaction of overcoming the efforts of the scientific community to keep me from working on the engine that my theories built. Chapter 1: Lies and Damn Lies ¡°If I ever see that herpes-riddled rectum of a man, I¡¯ll kill him.¡± I growl into my coffee, trying to ignore my friend Juan Alvarez laughing at me from across the table. I know why he¡¯s laughing, every third enlisted Sailor has something to say about their recruiter and maybe one in ten would punch them in the face if given the opportunity. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you know that for someone that could probably teach the nuclear and alternative power track at ¡®A¡¯ school, you really are stupid sometimes. I mean, not researching the available ratings before enlisting?¡± he chuckles, ¡°at least you tested high enough to get into the Nuke track. Imagine how mad you¡¯d be if you on regular ships?¡± I met Jamal at recruit training center Great Lakes with a gaggle of other machinist mates and assorted ratings for our boot camp class. I had expected some hardship, knowing that an overweight thirty three year-old scientist had some fitness hurdles to overcome, but I was determined to make it back to working with my baby, that sexy, sexy new engine installed in the new flight of exploration ships. I¡¯ve been told that I¡¯m difficult, headstrong, and not a ¡°team player¡± and most of the theoretical physics community agrees. My biggest problem is that most cutting edge physics experiments are being run by people who think so too--maybe to a degree that I¡¯ve been blacklisted. ¡°You do realize that people have to like you to get a slot stationed on one of the four space frigates right?¡± ¡°You keep hinting at that, but from what I¡¯ve read, the top ten percent get to choose what slots they want. I just have to be better than everyone else¡ªhow hard can that be?¡± I mean, I have a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a masters in Physics, what are they going to surprise me with? ¡°I¡¯m going to see if I can get everyone to call you Chip. Or perhaps Nacho. You know full well that literature and rumor aren¡¯t all the facts. Why don¡¯t you wait until we step foot into the schoolhouse before you start putting gold stars on your chest.¡± ¡°I hate you Alvarez,¡± I really don¡¯t, but they way he insults me without actually insulting me is infuriating. ¡°You¡¯d miss my enchiladas though,¡± he smiles smugly as he stands to throw his breakfast trash away. ¡°I¡¯d miss your Tia¡¯s enchiladas, but yours will have to do.¡± I stick my tongue out at him. I¡¯m a big girl, yes I am. Alvarez pulls his cap out of his belt and pulls it tight over his slick Chicano haircut. I sigh, knowing that I need to stop bellyaching and just get through this crap so I can get to a ship and back to my steel and plasma girlfriend. Alvarez barely tolerates me as is, so the frown he¡¯s wearing is one I see often. All back one third. ¡°Sorry man, I get a little too far into my toddler brain sometimes.¡± One of his eyebrows disappears beneath the bill of his cap. ¡°Fine, a lot of times, but thanks for putting up with me.¡± ¡°Yah, remember that gratitude when I¡¯m asking you to help me study.¡± Now I remember why I don¡¯t feel bad annoying him. Bastard latched onto me when he heard that I was on the same track as him and that I already had a degree in science. Well everyone knew about my PhD as our drill instructor liked to yell that all that fancy learning didn¡¯t help me run faster. Asshole. My school and lab years had not helped my fitness one lick, but Alvarez stuck by me and made sure to encourage me as often as he could. I lost me some weight during boot camp, but I¡¯m still a chubby white girl. The flared out blouse the Navy issues women, one that we don¡¯t have to tuck in, hides my lumpy middle enough that I don¡¯t think about it. Not that I spent much time thinking about how fat I was, my brain was and is always occupied by science, and the Annihilation Propulsor that me and my team built six ago. Okay, it wasn¡¯t my team, but the tech that was used to build the engine came from my thesis work, so it feels like its mine, damnit. Tired of waiting, Alvarez turns around and starts walking toward the school house, silently threatening to leave me behind. I pull my cap out and pull it over my forward slanted bob cut, the tips just barely in regs for not having to pull it back to a pony nub, and hurry to police my trash and catch up so I don¡¯t have to walk to our classroom alone. Naval Nuclear Power School (NNPS) Charleston is located in Hanahan, SC, at the end of a long road stuffed with payday loans and car dealerships opportunistically situated to separate newly independent children from their disposable income. The base itself is spacious and pretty with trees, parks and peaceful parkways leading to family housing. Single Sailor housing is barracks shaped like a hotel, sleeping four to a room with a communal area per floor. Okay, its better than a barracks because no one¡¯s banging trashcans a foot from my head in the middle of the night. That and significantly more personal space¡ªI have a little desk. The walk from the barracks to the school or the mess hall is really short, so no complaints on that part, but today Alvarez swung by early on his way from family housing so we could bullshit a bit longer in the mess hall before school. It¡¯s nice to be able to chat at breakfast instead of cutting unto your shower and facilities time. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°So, how many of the other ratings are we going to be in class with?¡± I ask, catching up to my buddy. ¡°If you had read your packet, you would know, that the nuclear ratings have separate ¡°A¡± schools, even though some of the electronics topics overlap a little. I hear we don¡¯t really start mixing until prototype. You better start paying attention.¡± ¡°Yes Papa Alvarez,¡± I say, rolling my eyes. He hits me on the shoulder. We enter the building with the other dozens of Sailors walking to and fro, trying to make it to their classrooms before they¡¯re late. When Alvarez and I walk in to ours, thirty other Machinist Mate-Nuclear 3rd Class (MMN3) Sailors are seated in a class room with two columns of long tables and a podium in the back for those who have trouble staying awake. Too bad the tables nearest the podium are taken as I¡¯ll likely be back there later. ¡°ATTENTION ON DECK¡± a Sailor in the front yells and all thirty two of us turn forward and snap to attention. The Navy Captain walks in with a strong jaw and a tight-cropped afro, followed by a thin, middling height woman in a plain navy suit. ¡°Welcome Machinist Mates. I¡¯m Captain Barnes, the Commanding Officer of NNPS Charleston. This is Senior Chief Rickman and Miss Peters from Naval Reactors. They will be your instructors for the next eight months. Senior Chief will be you point of contact for all Navy admin, protocol, and housekeeping matters, and Miss Peters will be your go to for schoolhouse matters. Now, I know most of you are fresh out of boot camp, but being on the nuclear track, you are not only under more scrutiny for medical, but also your general behavior. Competition can be stiff, so anything that can differentiate candidates for a ¡°best fit¡± for our newest ships, especially our Copernicus-class Starships, will be taken into account when you graduate from prototype a year from now. Lets hope none of have to see me again before graduation. Senior Chief.¡± Rickman nods to the CO then faces the class as Peters follows the Captain out the door. ¡°Congratulations Sailors, you are now amongst the busiest bastards in the Navy. You will work hard and everything that breaks in the engine room is your fault, or an ETN¡¯s fault.¡± The class chuckles halfheartedly. ¡°Alright, you have me for an hour while we go through the logistics portion of this schoolhouse. If anyone hasn¡¯t been to the mess hall, there¡¯s a map of campus at each entryway. Find it. You¡¯re enlisted and don¡¯t get extra money for subsistence. If you are not on their list of check-ins, raise your hand.¡± This admin crap continued for berthing, and family housing. It would be two to four weeks before any pay discrepancies could be worked out, but he told us to keep a diligent record. He also warned the class against buying a car or using payday loans. Any issues that required either service, Senior and counsellors could assist in directing us to the appropriate non-scammatory service. Long story short, don¡¯t make the CO get involved in your foolish debt. Do contact Senior if you¡¯re having issues with base facilities or pay. ¡°You¡¯ll find that the Navy portion of the brief gets repetitive throughout your career. Schoolhouse-wise, this is where you learn. You need to study, you do it here. You can¡¯t take material home, you lock your issued books and notebooks in your locker when you leave. Leaving unsecured material is bad for your security clearance, so don¡¯t do it. Twice and you get a buddy to inconvenience. Three times and you get remedial security training and get bumped to the next class. Get bumped a second time and get reassigned as a regular MM and lose out on your space fantasy. Put your hands down, we¡¯ll talk about that space shit at the end of the period if I have time.¡± I scoff at that. That¡¯s clearly all I care about, and he¡¯s staring straight at me as he says it. ¡°You¡¯re here for six months. Your first exam is in a week. Individual subject exams last up to ninety minutes and comprise twenty percent of your grade. Wait, here,¡± he hands a stack of papers to each row and tells them to pass them left until they run out. ¡°Your subject schedule and exam schedule are laid out plainly in the syllabus, but know that not all subjects are created equal. You will have four comprehensive exams lasting four hours each, worth twenty percent each. Can you slack off and just aim toward doing well on the comprehensive exams? Sure, if you want pain for five months and be at risk of not getting the duty station you want. Get below a 2.5 on any exam? Mandatory study time. Your cumulative grade drops below 3.0 mandatory study time. Minimum cumulative to graduate is 2.8, but the Captain likes to make sure that if people fail their own goals, they have room to pass our requirements. Top thirty percent of graduates are likely to get the prototype location they want. Prototype will have a similar grading system. Why does it matter if you do well as long as you pass? US Navy only has five MMN3 slots this year for the Genesis Training Program. AKA interstellar engine training. Any questions?¡± He looks up and sees five hands up, including mine, grunts and continues, ¡°Aww, hour is up. Time for you all to drink from the firehose,¡± he chuckles darkly. Peters and Senior Chief perform an excellent hand-off where she steps in just as he leaves. I¡¯d like to say that she walks in with some excellent teacher glasses and lets her hair down in a movie swish with a time-slow gimmick, but alas, the room is quiet and the sound of her platforms thunk against the linoleum as her pale green eyes send lasers through the classroom. ¡°As the commanding officer said, I¡¯m Miss Peters. I¡¯ll be your instructor for the next six months. I¡¯m not allowed to coach you on how to take these exams. With the exception of the Genesis Module, the coursework was written before I was born and only the reactor design elements have changed. That being said, I was hired and trained by Naval Reactors to teach you the fundamentals of all the reactor systems that we use, with ship specialization and qualification occurring after you arrive and qualify on your specific ship¡¯s machinery. My required time in this building ends at 5pm. I¡¯m available for tutoring appointments periodically and my schedule is posted outside my office. If time-slots fill up, they¡¯re full. Write-ins will be ignored and not pushed to the next available time. If you fail to appear at a time you¡¯ve scheduled, you are hurting other students, but I still get paid.¡± Chapter 2: Fangirls and Assholes Peters picks up a tablet from the front podium and clicks a few buttons to engage the projector. She starts droning on and on about Zirconium this and moderators that. I swear to all that is zoomie and gravitational I am going to fall asleep. I¡¯ll have to try and memorize the details and settings of this S1B reactor, but otherwise, why the hell should I care? The Virginia class SSNs don¡¯t use this reactor, and none of the new SSGNs use it either. Then again, the training reactor in NY is an experimental reactor for a light cruiser that never made production so, they¡¯re not really testing us for current data, more topical capability. Uugh, I have to believe that we¡¯ll get a primer on the Copernicus-class propulsion system as it''s not nuclear like the rest of the Earth-based reactors. I get lost in my own musings, but according to the schedule, we hit this training module hard until the first week of class is done. It¡¯s not until week four? That we start integrating multiple subjects per day? Oh Universe, I¡¯m going to bang my head against my desk. Not really, I can try to feign interest, but I am so bad at hiding my emotions on my overly expressive face. Hours pass, we break for lunch and as I¡¯m about to join Alvarez for a trip to the mess hall, I hear: ¡°Third class Mercer, a moment please.¡± Miss Peters and Senior Chief are standing outside the classroom. Alvarez raises an eyebrow, but I nod that I¡¯ll catch up with him. ¡°Senior, Miss Peters; what can I do for you?¡± Miss Mercer waves me to follow her to her office. Senior follows. There¡¯s no way I can be in trouble for falling asleep and I was looking up and taking a few notes here and there also. Is this about my last name? Did my pens bleed over from academia?? Senior closes the door behind him and Miss Peters sits on the edge of her desk. ¡°We were told that you were far over educated for this job, and the command staff wants me to dissuade you from taking this school lightly. I noticed you didn¡¯t seem to interested.¡± The hell? I took notes you nosey child. ¡°Water moderated reactors with boiling water heat exchangers aren¡¯t exactly new tech. But it seems that we¡¯ll get into more detail about testing and value ranges than would be pertinent on any modern reactors. As far as I can tell, this will be light on learning how things work and heavy on learning what the exam wants us to learn. Until the first exam, my best bet is to rely on the instructor. If that changes after the test, well, I guess you tell me?¡± Parker leans to one side and picks up a file with her other arm while Senior Chief looks down and shakes his head. ¡°If this is so easy for you, Mercer, why are you here?¡± ¡°To get to space of course. Without the necessary wealth or connections, this seemed the most viable way.¡± Senior and Parker stare at me for a moment before my instructor speaks up. ¡°There¡¯s more to it than that, isn¡¯t there?¡± I shrug at her. She waits. Senior glares at me. I wait. Before I can hum the ¡°Hokey Pokey¡± Peters chimes in again: ¡°As long as you don¡¯t disrupt my class and keep your scores up, guess I don¡¯t care.¡± That statement sums up four of the next six months of my life. The first exam taught me that what the book said was more important than what the instructor had on her powerpoint. After the second exam she started changing her powerpoints and emphasizing some of the pertinent language that comes from the manual. Alvarez bombed the first exam. Material science and reactor design was not his jam, and he had more family stuff to handle that first week than I or he expected. He was ¡°awarded¡± with mandatory 20 hours of study on top of school time, to which I volunteered about 10 hours a week to help him and a few other stragglers after class. After a two more tests, he got rolled back to only 10 extra hours and he felt much more comfortable with that. After month two, I came in for study hall on Saturdays in exchange for a few pop-tart packs during the week as official tutoring was supposed to be via appointment with Miss Peters. But there were always stragglers and someone had to eat the strawberry toaster strudels. It was two weeks into month four when I noticed that the Genesis Program only has a week long segment that is taught with the electrical engineering and reactor controls segment as an aside? Are they even going to test us on this later? I have questions, so I make an appointment with miss Peters on her last slot on a Friday. ¡°As much as I know you don¡¯t need tutoring, you¡¯ve never wasted my time before, so I couldn¡¯t exactly blow off this meeting. Why keep me from starting my weekend early, Miss Mercer?¡± ¡°Oh? Hot date to get to? Some bar bunny in Charleston no doubt.¡± I was fishing, but her wide eyes and pursed lips tell me it¡¯s likely a woman she¡¯s off to see. ¡°in any case, I saw that the Genesis module is short and topical. What gives?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I prefer not to comment about my personal life with students.¡± She smirks while commenting. Perhaps it¡¯s the role reversal as I¡¯m more than likely older than this woman and her tone likens me to an inquisitive child. ¡°However, the Genesis Program and Copernicus associated systems are a higher classification that we teach at this facility. Also, the Nations involved in the Joint naval program agreed that instruction would be held at an international facility. That being said, the module focuses on the differences in the primary and secondary systems that don¡¯t use water as a heat transfer medium.¡± ¡°Ah, that makes more sense. Covering the chemistry of a different medium would take much less time than addressing the concepts behind the new engine itself. Will it cover both propulsive generation and standby generation?¡± Confusion litters her expression ¡°How do you know that much about the Hauptman-Mercer Engine? That¡¯s TS-SCI stuff. Whatever the multination version of that is.¡± I point at myself. ¡°Mercer.¡± The pen she was spinning around her thumb flies across the room. ¡°There¡¯s no way. That kind of fame is priceless. That Mercer could work anywhere.¡± I chuckle at that. ¡°Unless she was a difficult, know-it-all bitch. Most people don¡¯t like to be told how much more I know than them. I¡¯m actually interested in what method of cooling they settled on since I haven¡¯t been ¡®in the know¡¯ for a couple of years. Last I checked they were trying to integrate the Thorium thermal reactor cooling with the Annihilation Propulsor cooling. Do they still . . . ¡° ¡°Mercer, stop. I¡¯m convinced.¡± I tilt my head and ask, ¡°of what, that I worked on the project?¡± ¡°That and you¡¯re a bit of a know-it-all.¡± Well at least she didn¡¯t include ¡°bitch¡± at the end of that. I appreciate her gender courtesy. ¡°Ahh, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy,¡± I spit. ¡°Thanks for confirming my suspicions on the Genesis section though.¡± ¡°No problem, here to help the students and all that.¡± She pauses and fiddles with some paperclips on her desk. I¡¯m amazed that people still use paperclips, but also aware that she¡¯s avoiding my gaze and seems . . . nervous? ¡°Uh, this is a little embarrassing, but would you be willing to talk about your work sometime? It¡¯s kind of the reason I applied to Naval Reactors in the first place.¡± What?! My instructor¡¯s a fan of my work? Oh ho ho. No Penny, you¡¯re not a villain. Act like a normal human. ¡°I¡¯m honored? You know I¡¯m persona non grata, and associating with me is like wading through the bog of eternal stench right?¡± She shrugs and gains a measure of confidence as I didn¡¯t outright reject her interest. ¡°From what I hear, the US and Chinese governments are frustrated with Hauptman and his focus on making the Annihilation tech into a workable energy source.¡± I put my head in my hands, ¡°I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s still on that. I told him that optimizing fusion tech was a better source of stable energy than Annihilation. Which makes me want to get my hands on Copernicus¡¯ plans so I can look at the engineering layout. See what they decided on.¡± We banter back and forth for the rest of the hour, convincing me that Miss Peters is every bit as smart as some of my ¡°colleagues¡± from my research phase with NPL. She proposes lunch and I propose a Saturday so I don¡¯t have to rush back to class while nerding out on my life¡¯s work. ¡°So 3rd class Mercer finally asked for help huh?¡± says a stooge of a rate change that was until recently an unrated Seaman. ¡°Seaman Daniels, thanks for being so civil. How can I help.¡± It wasn¡¯t really a question, but I know he¡¯ll reply. ¡°You can stop hogging the schedule and let people that need help get it.¡± He ignores the slight. ¡°Excuse me?! I come in for extra ten just to help people. And the schedule was open for two hours before my appointment with Miss Peters. Just because you can¡¯t bear to accept help from me doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m wasting other¡¯s time.¡± ¡°And there you stand, not even remotely ashamed that you¡¯re convincing desperate Sailors to commit adultery to get into your ¡®study program¡¯.¡± I sneer at the accusation, ¡°you keep throwing that bullshit around, Daniels, and I¡¯ll make sure you get tied up in so much harassment paperwork that you¡¯ll get kicked back to normie ¡°A¡± school.¡± ¡°Fucking try it Mercer. Your whoring and the favoritism that Peters is showing in ¡®Female solidarity¡¯,¡± he says in such a lewd manner I want to scour my soul to rid my eyes of the image. ¡°You and the good teacher would fall with me.¡± He¡¯s close now, close enough to poke me with his errant jabs, but I know he¡¯s not going to cross the battery line. ¡°Those are some serious accusations to Levy at the faculty 3rd Class Daniels. Very well, I witness these accusations and will file them accordingly. I recommend you both restrain from talking to each other until this can be investigated and neither of you will be allowed my office hours until such time a verdict is reached. Additionally, I will recommend to Senior Chief Rickman that 3rd Class Mercer will be discouraged from tutoring others until said accusations are resolved, and that both of you will need alternate assistance if it is required for your studies.¡± Peters turns to her appointment list and shuffles through it. ¡°Daniels, your appointments preceding the next exam will be rescheduled with another class¡¯ instructor at their convenience. Thank you for your diligence in ensuring a safe and equitable learning environment.¡± She turned into her office and slammed the door. I turned to walk toward the barracks as I had already stowed my gear before my meeting with Miss Peters. Daniel couldn¡¯t leave it though. ¡°It¡¯ll be nice to see strawberry pop-tarts in the vending machine again.¡± What an absolute fuck stick. Could a self-identified ¡°Man¡± be any more cunty? Chapter 3: Tedium and Paperwork The answer is absolutely yes. He spends the next week leaving pop-tart bits around so that I get lectured about cleaning up after myself. ¡°Missed your study session this weekend, something up?¡± Alvarez asks as he plops next to me with his food tray. ¡°Yeah, Daniels thinks I¡¯m the source of all his woes, or some shit. He accused me of trading ¡®favors¡¯ for tutoring and being inappropriate with Miss Peters. Miss Peters heard him and filed the accusation so in fine military fashion I¡¯m guilty until proven innocent and have been warned off helping people or any one on one time with our instructor.¡± Alvarez pauses mid bite to let his brain catch up. I absolutely butcher a chicken breast and toss it on a fading salad before hate-stabbing it with a fork. ¡°To make things worse, since the command hasn¡¯t talked to either of us yet, the goblin has taken it as cart blanche to harass me more.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry you¡¯re having to deal with that, but if this keeps up for too long, it won¡¯t be just you that will suffer. Several of the guys rely on your help to pass. Miss Peters helps as much as we ask, but she can¡¯t be here to help after hours when we need it.¡± ¡°Not to mention seriously impacting my strudel habit.¡± I sneer at my salad again. ¡°What am I supposed to do, Juan? If I even think of doing something to curb his behavior it¡¯ll look like retaliation for reporting me.¡± ¡°Just go insufferable science nerd on him. Log the crap that he does that feels like harassment. Then turn in said report every week until they do something.¡± He says this calmly, turning to his burger and stuffing a good sized portion of it into his face. ¡°You¡¯re evil. Your advice in the face of harassment is to officially harass Senior Chief with paperwork.¡± ¡°Lazy ass deserves it. Took him two months to help me resolve my pay issues. Housing started the process of kicking Mariposa and the kid out. I went directly to the CO and he dressed both Senior and I down for that shit. Pay and Married status got fixed right away after that. Look up the admin timeframes for the accusation and a harassment report.¡± I frown, he shrugs. ¡°Just remember, this kind of crap can keep you from space.¡± I slam my fists down at that and launch the rest of my salad across the room as my fist catches the edge of the bowl I was stirring. My asshole friend just chuckles through his burger. He proceeds to make yummy food noises as I pick up bits of lettuce, cheese, and chicken off of the short pile carpet. As we walk back to the school house, Alvarez tries to cool off my temper by showing me the cutest pictures of his scraggle-toothed daughter. The pudgy princess was trying to help with baking this time, covered in flour with laughter on her face. Alvarez is a good dude. I¡¯m even having a good day until knocks his soda into my lap. ¡°Even with a twist cap you managed to spill your drink? You¡¯re a mess Mercer. Aww, that¡¯s kinda cute, Messy Mercer.¡± The goons by his side snicker. I stand up and raise my voice, ¡°I¡¯m tired of your harassment Daniels. I don¡¯t know what kind of caveman flirting you¡¯re working up to, but it¡¯s not cute and I¡¯m not interested. I am very, very gay. And even if I weren¡¯t, I¡¯m not interested in little boys. If you keep up this offensive behavior I¡¯ll report you.¡± He stops leaning so far into my personal space, but he scoffs at my declaration. ¡°Sounds like a messy old spinster was hurt by a boyfriend in the past and just wants to stick it to the other men she meets.¡± ¡°If you spent all this talking time studying, you wouldn¡¯t have to feel insecure about your grades.¡± I stand up suddenly and he flinches. I smirk at that and make sure he knows I saw, then take the remains of his drink to the trash. The rest of the day goes without any more incidents save the vending machine being out of pop-tarts. I take Alvarez¡¯s advice and start logging the events and at the end of the week I turn my report into Senior Chief. Senior tries to talk me down from filing the harassment report and asks me if I want to ruin someone¡¯s career over some schoolyard bullshit. I asked him how Daniels was ever going to learn how adults should behave if all the men in his life kept coddling him? Senior did not like that at all, or that I insisted that I did want to file the paperwork. Nothing came of it of course. Or any of the other periodic reports that I filed against him. Senior yelled at me for twenty minutes about wasting his time. I wanted to yell back that if he¡¯d have done anything with the first one, I wouldn¡¯t have to have filed the next two. But I didn¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t help anything, and he surely would have made things more difficult for me. He may even mess with my prototype placement because of this anyway. Cant change my GPA though, assface. Yeah, just take those silent insults you balding, lazy parasite. I showed him what for. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I¡¯d like to say any movement came of these reports, but 45 days after my first in-paper allegation of harassment, nothing came. Not one meeting was had to talk to me about any of this or Daniels¡¯ allegations. So, I collated my photocopies and sent my next report directly to the CO. Senior had his time to conduct his investigation, and that time had lapsed¡ªa week before our comprehensive exams began. Alvarez and his study crew were suffering as well as I was still not allowed to help them study, nor was I allowed to schedule time with Miss Peters for extra instruction. Daniels had no trouble talking about how great of an instructor one of the other ¡°A¡± school classes had, and how much his extra instruction with the male teacher was helping him. That was until one day we walked in favoring one side and didn¡¯t talk at me all day. I enjoyed the silence, but something was up. Daniels still sneered at me from time to time, but he wouldn¡¯t maintain eye contact and he was clearly afraid of something, but tried to mask it bravado. On Wednesday, he didn¡¯t show up to class. Did someone from class lay into him a little too hard? I¡¯m all for justice, but disappearing a person is a little aggressive. My thoughts on what would have been appropriate punishment for his behavior were interrupted by Senior telling me that the CO wanted to see me in his office. I knock smartly, three times on the CO¡¯s door as instructed. ¡°Enter¡± a serious voice says from beyond the door. I open the door and hand it off to Senior, who follows me in, before marching as crisply as I can to the chair in front of his desk, standing at attention in front of it. ¡°Sir, MMN3 Mercer reporting as ordered, Sir!¡± He looks up from his computer using only his eyes. ¡°Do you remember what I said to your class on the first day.¡± Oof. He didn¡¯t say much, but he did say, ¡°Sir, that you didn¡¯t want to see any of us again until graduation, sir.¡± Gotta pack those responses into that sir sandwich, yes I do. ¡°Yet here you are, with a stack of paperwork and issues arriving in my office before you.¡± His disappointment is metered and thick. ¡°Do you know why I¡¯ve called you here?¡± ¡°Sir, I assume its because of the harassment allegations I filed with your secretary last week?¡± I didn¡¯t mean it to come out as a question, but what else could it be? ¡°You assume incorrectly, Sailor. You are standing there, at attention, because a Sailor that you have accused of harassment was left at medical this morning having been beaten half to death, unable to walk under his own power.¡± What. The. Fuck. Who would do that? I mean, I wanted to punch the little weasel in the face, but I just wanted him to stop fucking with me, not be crippled. My surprise must have shown on my face. ¡°Well your surprise seems genuine, and you definitely would not have been able to do it by yourself. But I have to ask if you put any one up to enacting this incident of ¡®barracks justice¡¯?¡± I mean, any one of the guys with degrading test scores could have been desperate enough to change something, but I wasn¡¯t going to volunteer that. ¡°I¡¯m not close enough with anyone to threaten a career over his continued behavior, no.¡± ¡°What about Alvarez, I seem to remember that Daniels accused you of inappropriate behavior with some of your classmates.¡± ¡°He accused Miss Parker too. And no, Alvarez and I are friends, but he wouldn¡¯t risk the stability of his wife and kid to teach a man-child a lesson. You should know that Senior.¡± He did not like that dig, and neither did the CO, but Captain Rickman didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°We¡¯ll be talking to Alvarez and a few of your classmates as well. It seems to me that this situation could have been avoided, or at least mitigated before it escalated to violence. However, wishing things were handled better doesn¡¯t fix that I have a Sailor in the hospital and more than a dozen Sailors whose performance has degraded since I received Miss Peters¡¯ complain months ago. Now, there¡¯s plenty of blame to throw around, and it will stick to someone that is not me. What I am going to do is highly recommend you spend at least two hours helping your classmates after Miss Peters is done for the day until comprehensive exams are over. You will continue to respect the other students¡¯ need for extra instruction more than your own. I also highly suggest you limit your out of classroom time with your classmates for the remainder of your time at my school. Any appearance of collusion during my investigation will not be tolerated.¡± He looks back to his computer and starts typing. This continues for at least a minute before he looks up at me, ¡°Was I in any way unclear Mercer?¡± that¡¯s a power play if I ever saw one. ¡°Sir, no sir!¡± I can¡¯t leave before he dismisses me. ¡°Then get out of my office. Senior, stay behind.¡± I march out and close the door behind me. Sounds like my chances at space haven¡¯t been ruined too badly, but it¡¯s not the kind of thing I want to be known for. I check my watch and find I don¡¯t really have much time for lunch unless I want to boot camp feed my angry belly. I should make sure none of my study materials are left out. I find that the tables have been cleared, my materials included. I hope Alvarez got me and that I¡¯m not in trouble for leaving secret info unattended. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about your stuff. I¡¯ll hand it to Alvarez when he gets back.¡± Peters is facing away from me checking her sign-up sheet. ¡°if you hurry you might even get to eat.¡± I chuckle and shake my head at her considerate gesture. ¡°Thanks teach. Sorry about the bullshit that¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°I¡¯d tell you to make it up to me after you graduate, but you¡¯re kind of radioactive right now.¡± ¡°You¡¯d think in a place called Nuclear Power School, they¡¯d teach people how to handle radiation.¡± I waggle my eyebrows while Miss Peters erupts with a short guffaw before putting her hand over her mouth. I chuckle all the way to the mess hall. Chapter 4: Crazy Aunt Penny Comprehensive exams arrive with more dread than fanfare. The whole class came in on the weekend at some point and I had four hours that Saturday that I made available to answer folk¡¯s last minute questions. Many had to be reminded that there would be last minute cramming would be available after the exams on Monday through Wednesday. Thursday was the last exam and Friday was an admin day. I was told that due to the ongoing investigation that my choice for prototype training would be restricted to Charleston. Not that I wanted to spend winter in upstate New York, but having the choice would have been nice. I was quickly reminded by Alvarez, who was hoping to stay n Charleston to keep his family from having to move again so quickly, that neither prototype would help her learn on the gear on the Copernicus class vessels. ¡°You ready for this Mercer?¡± I scoff at his question. ¡°Not even a little. I¡¯m shaking in my patent leather pumps.¡± He chuckles, ¡°There¡¯s a wager going around over how many points you¡¯ll miss.¡± I look up at him with a quirked eyebrow, betrayed at not being able to wager on my own performance. ¡°A few at least. I always miss a few for skipping steps or missing a word here or there. Rote memorization is crap. What am I, an English major?¡± It¡¯s a long-running joke in the officer program that the only major that hadn¡¯t failed out of power school was English. Not that most of us enlisted folk have degrees, but I still thought it was a funny joke. Chemistry was first, and honestly the most brutal for me. It¡¯s nearly all settings and tolerances and all those number ranges are maddening. Some of the reactor design from the first test is included, but all in all, primary and secondary chemistry isn¡¯t too ridiculous. I don¡¯t stay too long after the end of the day. I mostly wait for Miss Peters to leave. ¡°Soo, since I¡¯m staying in Charleston, want to meet up for coffee next week?¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± She looks over and focuses, ¡°Oh, sure. I have new class stuff to take care of and some family issues to manage, but I should be able to find something.¡± ¡°Huh, for as excited as you were a few months ago, you sure seem distracted. Should I be worried?¡± I try to make my statement flirty, but the look on her face reads confused. ¡°Sorry, I really do have a lot on my mind right now. I¡¯ll talk to you next week.¡± She continues into the parking lot while I stand staring at her back, considering the odd exchange. Next week? Will I not be seeing you tomorrow? Her statement proved true. While she was at school for the remainder of exam week, and I did see her, not a word was exchanged nor a gesture of recognition reciprocated. Super odd. Now I¡¯m kind of worried about her. One of the good things about exam week is that people are generally too tired to be a pain in the ass. Sure, you get some redundant questions or a few more growls than normal, but this kind of behavior was common in a research lab full of PhD candidates finishing their theses. Unlike the lab scenario, this stress would die down in a few days and I wouldn¡¯t have to interact with many of these people ever again. Miss Peters posted the last exam results Thursday around 4pm along with the tabulated class results. Big no surprise that my name is at the top of the latter, but what has Alvarez bouncing off the walls is he finished in the top half of the class, practically confirming that he¡¯d be staying in Charleston with his family. It¡¯s hard not to smile seeing the dedicated husband and father so happy to prevent additional hardship for his loved ones. You¡¯re a good man Juan Alvarez. I congratulate him with a punch in the shoulder. ¡°So we taking the fam out to dinner or are you planning a night in?¡± ¡°Come on Penny, you know we¡¯re having a few drinks downtown in a few hours. Though I do have a dinner date at 7:30. Marisol said we could adopt you for the evening if there were any nerdy orphans wandering about.¡± ¡°Is this your way of convincing me to sing ¡®Tomorrow¡¯?¡± A brief flash of panic focuses his irises. ¡°I was being nice, no need for threats.¡± I chuckle at that and shove him with my shoulder, both of us knowing the truth: I couldn¡¯t carry a tune with a synthesizer. ¡°Are you sure? I don¡¯t want to interrupt family time.¡± ¡°Pfft, you¡¯re just considering that because it might get you more of Mari¡¯s cooking later.¡± Oops, I¡¯ve been caught, defensive measures for embarrassment response. I turn my head and cough out ¡®asshole¡¯. ¡°Plus, she likes watching you interact with Humans, saying ¡®it¡¯s like watching a nature documentary mashed up with ¡®Ancient Aliens¡¯.¡± Oh god, my face has got to be red now. I wander too close to people displaying curious behavior a few times and suddenly I¡¯m an alien. Okay, so I poked a dude that was so stunned after a loud breakup to determine how badly his brain shut down. The answer was hard reboot, operating files corrupted, restarting in safety mode. Watching a grown man relearn language in five minutes was fascinating. Later I found out that Marisol had been snorting and squealing in restrained laughter the whole time, doubly so when their daughter Lucia came over to poke him too. Irresponsible parenting if you ask me, but no one in their right mind would. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I feel I would either be the worst or the best person to first contact, but my lack of tact eliminates any middle ground.¡± ¡°Hah! Imagine those spindly grey men noping-out because they thought you were an average Human.¡± ¡°Is that before or after I open my mouth?¡± I smirk and he loses it in a howl of laughter. Our class chats the last few minutes of the day, mostly waiting for Senior to come in and tell us more about tomorrow, our last day and now with administrative fun times! Predictably, the man comes in with five minutes left so that no one can ask any questions. He tells us to be in at the normal time tomorrow and reminds us that any flights scheduled before 2pm are subject to interruption. Senior dismisses us and is followed down the hall by a brief period of raucous whoops as our victorious classmates remember the rolling enrollment and that classes behind us are probably studying. The bar the class is headed to is a typical country affair where dark blue jeans and a black tank top would fit right in. It¡¯s summer, but to hell if I¡¯m wearing shorts around a bunch of drunken Sailors. You could wear a dress you big dummy, if there were any in my closet. The flowey loose ones I like are impractical for a lab environment so I didn¡¯t keep any in my last move. Ah well, not like I¡¯m trying to impress anyone that is going to show up. ¡°Ho-ly-shit. Guys! Stuffy science nerd actually shows her face in town.¡± A skinny-fit Sailor from my class shouts. ¡°Hahah, Baker. You made the top 5 so you¡¯re squarely in the nerd zone yourself.¡± ¡°Gasp! She knows my name! I can die happy now that . . .¡± not sure where he was going with that, but it takes a rare person to maintain their composure after being flicked in the nose. ¡°Don¡¯t be a goon. I¡¯m out mostly because Alvarez promised to protect me from you hooligans.¡± Baker smirks at that and makes space for me at the bar. I order an Irish Mule and as soon as I get my drink the questions start again. At least the boys are being polite. ¡°What¡¯s with you and Alvarez anyway?¡± One of Baker¡¯s satellites asks, Martin maybe? ¡°He basically pulled me through boot camp. Fat white girl with more brains than sense? I would have dropped if his go-get-¡®em attitude hadn¡¯t propped me up. And no, we¡¯ve never slept together. Marisol is a doll, but she would murder me in my sleep.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that they have a close Hispanic family. Good to hear Daniel¡¯s rumors die in the wind.¡± Ugh, those rumors are so last week. ¡°The other side of those rumors though. You ever angle at Miss Peters?¡± I snort my drink at Baker¡¯s implication. Shit that burns. ¡°I¡¯m not opposed, but I was pretty radioactive for most of the last six months, so nothing happened.¡± ¡°Shame, it would have been easier for my ego to handle that you were sleeping your way to number one instead of just being better than me.¡± The bite in that comment seems superficial when weighed against his smile and chuckle. ¡°Considering we were born in different decades, and the difference saw me studying physics and astronautics, I think you have everything to be proud about.¡± Ugh, that hurts a little to acknowledge, but it truly is unrealistic for them to compare themselves against me. ¡°Huh, well, I guess that does make me feel better. Thanks for that.¡± I look around at the high-top tables we¡¯ve gathered around and see a smattering of our graduating classmates around, chatting about their hopes for orders tomorrow morning and something about the scene niggles the edge of my mind. I casually respond with social grunts ¡®yeah¡¯s and ¡®I know how that is¡¯ statements when Juan walks up with a beer in his hand when it finally occurs to me that most of these kids aren¡¯t 21. ¡°Okay, what¡¯s with all the kids drinking beer?¡± ¡°Are you serious Penny? Most southern states have two different drinking ages to go with the different licenses that establishments need. Beer and wine is 18 and up in South Carolina. It¡¯s been that way for like five years.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s part of the States Rights kick that legislators have been on since the widespread legalization of pot fifty years ago. Feds have been trying to crack down on different areas, withholding infrastructure improvement money, but then Nevada, Jersey, and a couple other reservation-casino heavy states started testing the waters with setting their drinking ages back and letting 18-20 year olds drink beer if they had a state regulated pass or they had to buy a wristband at the door each time. It¡¯s not viable in every state, but it has worked out in a lot of them.¡± Martin informs. ¡°I was not expecting a civics lesson, but I apparently needed one. Did I accidentally miss the advent of universal healthcare while living in my cave?¡± ¡°Hah, no. But you¡¯re in the military, your healthcare is part of the deal. Did you read anything about what you were getting into?¡± ¡°I stopped paying attention when the recruiter said my rating can go to space and I saw the video with a couple of lesbians I would gladly call daddy.¡± I purred the last part. And got half the table to choke on their beers. Ahh, the distractible teen brain. Beer hurts in the sinuses kids. Learning is fun! ¡°I feel ya Mercer, I have not once been propositioned by a man saying ¡®Howdy Sailor¡¯.¡± ¡°Right!? But hey, if you do find that gay cowboy, tell him you know someone that needs a flannel-wearing ranch woman in her life.¡± ¡°Gaaaaaayyeeeee!¡± Had no idea Reynolds was gay, but he¡¯s got a comfortable attitude about it. The last comment has me giggling. ¡°Like half a dozen people¡¯s ears perked up at that. Maybe we can finally end your dry spell, Penny.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t threaten me with a good time. But then I¡¯d miss time with Lucia, and she¡¯s my people.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I should feel about a head-in-the-sand introverted, science nerd, lesbian calling my two-year old ¡®her people¡¯.¡± ¡°Aww, ¡®come on Juan, everyone deserves a crazy aunty. It just so happens that I identify as a sentient algorithm that likes boobs. My cousins work for porn websites, I¡¯m very proud.¡± ¡°Well, at least my little princess won¡¯t have trouble finding a STEM tutor.¡± I nod my head vigorously. He didn¡¯t say I couldn¡¯t be her crazy aunty, heck, he practically acknowledged it as part of the plan! MUAHAHAHAHA. A drink or two later of chatting about moves, exes and hobbies, Alvarez and I walk over to the restaurant we are meeting his wife and daughter. I¡¯m greeted by an excited toddler squeal and a warm smile from Marisol. Aww, these are such good folk. Makes me tear up a little that they¡¯re so accepting, especially of me. God, I¡¯ve been kicked by the Universe so many times in the last five years, that my self-worth has definitely taken a hit, or seventeen and this simple act of acceptance makes me tear up. Chapter 5: Quota I never would have guessed that I¡¯d find myself in Captain Rickman¡¯s office so soon after our last meeting, but here I am with Baker and the rest of the top five students standing in front of his desk. His look is less mad, and more troubled . . . maybe resigned than last time, but the other four probably haven¡¯t seen him as inconvenienced as I have. ¡°Students, Naval Reactors called and said they need volunteers with a tenacity for excellence. What I have is you five. It seems that there were some recent changes to Copernicus and Genesis requirements that left the US with less qualified Sailors than our quota. If you accept, you¡¯ll get on a plane no later than tomorrow morning for a Saturday afternoon briefing at the Pentagon where you¡¯ll be given the full story and schedule. ¡°TLDR: You will be on a recklessly accelerated prototype program with the same requirements to get your operators certificate to be ready for the start of the next Genesis class in February. To qualify for the program, you will need to pass testing requirements next week and if you pass you will be locked into an attempt to qualify in half the time it normally takes. The drawbacks are that if you fail, it¡¯ll look like a normal failure and it could affect your future chances to qualify for space. Additionally, you¡¯d be rolled back into the next normal class, and more than likely missing your chance to be on the maiden voyage of these vessels. Since the tour length of these ships is 3-5 years, there¡¯s no guarantee you¡¯d be called up from standby anytime soon. Specific benefits will be discussed during your meeting with Naval Reactors. Questions?¡± ¡°How long can we think about this?¡± A skinny teen with glasses asks. ¡°Until I kick you out of my office. Each one of your current orders are laid out before you. You can pick up that piece of paper, walk out and pretend this never happened.¡± ¡°If I pick up that paper, does anything negative happen?¡± Martin asks. ¡°No. You¡¯ll still have a better than average chance to make it on the Gallileo before she leaves orbit if you continue to excel.¡± Martin comes to attention, grabs his orders, ¡°Thank you Sir,¡± executes a snappy about face and marches smartly out of his office. I nod at that. He¡¯s not in a hurry and he doesn¡¯t need any extra hardships. I can respect that. I, however, am buzzing in my damn skin I¡¯m so excited. If I succeed, I get to board a space ship equipped with my lovely baby girl a year or more early? Baby, I¡¯m comin¡¯. Mama¡¯s gonna see you soon. Rickman raises an eyebrow at the grin on my face before Poindexter steps forward to take his orders. ¡°Thank you Sir.¡± About face, and he too smartly marches out the door. The CO eyeballs us one last time before standing up and ripping up the papers laid out on his desk before individually handing us new ones. ¡°You three will walk out to the travel officer that is expecting to arrange all of your details with the expectation to get you on a plane tonight.¡± Oh my god. Is this really happening?! I¡¯m getting a chance, a difficult one, but a chance none the less. Up yours academia and your delicate egos. You have to sacrifice and work on other projects before someone will work on yours. Oh? You had a great idea? You have to pay a tithe an be the second name on your project because you haven¡¯t published yet. You¡¯ve published? But you don¡¯t have a name that gets funding, you have to help a name that gets funding to stay relevant before you can get a name that garners funding, it¡¯s just how the game is played. TO HELL AND MEDIOCRITY WITH THE LOT OF YOU. I scream at the ghosts of my past. ¡°You need a reason to leave, Mercer?¡± Crap. Internal monologue takes external time. ¡°No sir. Just reveling in the majesty of this opportunity.¡± I snap to attention, ¡°Thank you sir!¡± I march out to find three impatient people waiting for me. ¡°About time. Follow me to my office and we¡¯ll set things up before you pack.¡± Turns out, Lieutenant Beechum is on the fast track to nowhere. He made some mistakes in his youth and is being out processed as a Second Lieutenant. That¡¯s some stinky cheese, but it is definitely not my fault. In any case, Beechum knows the travel system and the phone agents and has all three of us on a plane and into hotel rooms well before lunch, leaving us time to pack before we need top report to the airport. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. I pack my happy ass into a duffel and rush to the airport to use my travel per diem for lunch and a beer. I text Alvarez and Peters that I¡¯ll be gone for a week, and that I have to bail on the date I had with my former instructor. She had some objections to it being called a date but I tease her about it anyway. There¡¯s a better than solid chance that whatever was bothering her this week, would continue to bother her, and whatever chance we had of being friends was thrown out with the dishwater. I pack my dress uniform and two working uniforms and the ever present jeans and t-s for my week-long trip to DC along with every pair of underwear I own. Like, all 10 pairs of them. What, after boot camp I threw a lot of stuff out and I have no need for pretty underwear at the moment. Yeah, yeah. There¡¯s a small chance the hotel I¡¯ll be in is hookup central, but that¡¯s altogether unlikely. The flight is short, South Carolina to Virginia isn¡¯t far and I clear baggage claim around dinner time. Ah back into the veritable vipers nest, how I loath you, your traditions, and your politics. One of the few things I¡¯ve appreciated about the military so far, is the ¡°you don¡¯t have to like it, you just have to do it,¡± mentality. Of course, in power school, doing it exactly the way you were told was more important than getting the right answer, but by and large getting the right answer without harming anyone was good enough, no matter how you got there. This is what¡¯s keeping me from exploding at people, so I have to maintain this delusion for twenty more years or so, no big. I wait in the taxi line for a few moments before the twenty minute or so ride to my 3-star accommodation. Once I tip and slide out of the cab, I look up to my accommodation and wonder why they have a bunch of enlisted folk stashed in an officer hotel. I cannot imagine that the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters are full on any number of bases in the DC area, nor can I imagine why they have us staying so far as Alexandria. Well, feet, time to learn something and meet some folk. I check in with my orders and reservations, the man behind the counter telling me that I have one other guest in the same room. Rickman warned us about that, and it¡¯s no different than any barracks-style lodging¡ªthough these are much higher quality trappings. The electronic lock to my room whirrs to life after showing me a green light to let me in. There¡¯s a small sink and bathroom to the left with a short hallway slash closet that leads to a pair of twin beds and a small shared table with a mess of short, floppy auburn curls perched on top of a large baggy sleeping shirt with shins bursting out the bottom. My roommate is reading what seems to be an info packet with another open on the table facing her. ¡°So, curiosity won out over privacy, hey roomie?¡± I quip, walking up to her, still not able to see her face. ¡°Naturally. We¡¯ll be living together for a week. Knowing your schedule before hand allows me to adjust my movements based on my ability to tolerate you as you inevitably wear on my patience.¡± Her tone is clear but softer than a whisper, leaving little character to reach my ears. ¡°Fire control or Logistics?¡± the packet in her hand lowers an inch. Ah, one of the two then. ¡°don¡¯t answer that, instead, have you eaten and do you want order in?¡± The curls bob as some list item was checked in her brain. ¡°I have collected take out menus and organized them from most to least preferred.¡± I chuckle. Wow, if I didn¡¯t also feel this way sometimes, I might be offended at the casual dissociation going on. I¡¯m tempted to order from the hotel restaurant, second to last menu on the TV stand just to spite her, but Thai and hot wings are in the top half, so I circle what I want and put numbers for how many and slip the menu on top of my info packet she¡¯s still holding. ¡°If you order, I¡¯ll step out for drinks and wait for delivery?¡± She bobs her curls again. ¡°Agreed.¡± I grab my backpack and pull up my hoodie while walking to the door. ¡°Thanks LS3 Curly. See you in 20 to 30.¡± I hear her mutter, before I close the door, ¡°It¡¯s LS2. Is three orders enough?¡± I can¡¯t tell if she was asking me or herself that last part, but I was too busy laughing that she was bothered by the rank error and not the silly nickname. This arrangement could still be a nightmare, but so far it¡¯s merely been odd and not particularly painful. Nothing more to judge before dinner I suppose. My phone tells me there is a convenience store not too far from here, so I walk to peruse their beer and wine selection. Not that I was drinking wine on the reg, but maybe my tribble roomie likes it? I didn¡¯t want to spend more time asking questions when she¡¯d be a captive audience after I got fed and boozed. Plus, I get to judge her selections by presenting her with options I like and go from there. This shop has a walk-in beer fridge. What the glorious fuck is the place? I prance through the hop haven snagging pilsner and IPA 6-packs as well as a sturdy 4-pack of imperial stout. Now stouts aren¡¯t the best with Asian food, but that¡¯s discounting the burger I might have tomorrow. I prefer to enable future choices instead of limiting them, thank you. I round out my choices with an amber and a red before snagging a pack of hard lemonade on my way out of the spacious fridge. Look, this is for multiple days, okay. Don¡¯t judge me. By the time I make it back to the hotel, I only had to wait five minutes for Jared to deliver an unwieldy amount of food. We¡¯re talking a Costco lettuce box full of takeout and I may be in love with my hotel mate before even seeing her face. She must have asked for one of everything to see how I¡¯d react. Or, did what I did and ordered a bunch of extra of what she likes to see what I¡¯d be interested in. Sneaky, sneaky. Chapter 6: Sinister Wind Chimes Curls was sitting in the same position as when I left her, just scanning her phone instead of my info packet. Hair still covering her damned face, the mystery of her appearance and the carefully calculated approach to life I¡¯ve seen so far meant that the obfuscation was deliberate. ¡°It¡¯s good to see the person I¡¯ll be sharing a room with will not be shaming my eating habits. There are enough containers to feed a platoon, or like three of me.¡± She tilts her head in response, in a way that would be looking at my arm full of supplies if I could see an eye through the messy bouncy-ness that I suddenly want to pull my fingers through. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s more than I thought with the drinks. Let me help you with that.¡± She leans forward to stand. And then stands some more, and by the time I can see her knees straighten I realize I¡¯ve bamboozled by a baggy night shirt concealing an absolute treant of a woman. ¡°Holy shit.¡± Escapes my mouth before I can stop it. It causes Curls to still as though I cursed out her mother. ¡°You are going to develop horrible back problems on a space ship.¡± She sighs at my continued word vomit, but I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s in relief or frustration. Whatever it is, she reaches from halfway across the country and grabs the food box from my arms, leaving me to manage the bags dangling from my arms. While she¡¯s unpacking the box and organizing and stacking based on type and quantity, I¡¯m staring at her hands and how it¡¯s possible for such massive things to look so delicate, I mean I bet one of them could cup a whole ass cheek. And now¡¯s when Penny needs to do something to keep her mind from going down a dirty little rabbit hole. I start displaying the beer on the window sill, finishing with a pop and a fruity IPA sliding into my belly. Alcohol isn¡¯t a great idea, but there¡¯s something so irresistible about beer and take-out. ¡°I got a little bit of everything, but nothing I wouldn¡¯t drink myself so it won¡¯t go to waste.¡± ¡°Mmm, sensible. I would like a lemonade please.¡± I¡¯d gotten them on a whim. Glad I did. I twist off the top and leave it in front of her. ¡°Thank you.¡± The last part is whispered for some reason, so I look up to see piercing green eyes attempting to catalogue and quantize my soul. The flecks of yellow and a shimmer of hazel on the outside pull me deeper into her gaze. My eyes flick briefly to check for a hint of fangs before realizing that her hair is pulled back into a curly puff on the back of her head, revealing a sharp jaw and the flawless complection of a thousand years of refined living. I¡¯m being held in place by a noble vampire in pajamas. One that has a sweet tooth. I wonder how she¡¯d like my taste. ¡°What?¡± She accuses. I shake my head a little ¡°What? Oh, nothing. I can see why you hide your face is all.¡± God, the things that face is doing to me, other people can¡¯t be immune to this reaction. ¡°Excuse me?! And what is wrong with my face?!¡± Wait, what? What did I say? All is said is that I understand why . . . oh shit, what did I just say?! ¡°No no, that¡¯s sounds terrible. I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just you have this ageless vampiress thing going on and . . .¡± I shove my beer in my mouth before I can make any more mistakes. When I look back she still has a sneer on her lips, revealing a canine that has never been worried or filed to blunt it. I shudder imagining the feeling of that tooth dragging across my neckline. Her eyes still demand answers. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, okay? I wasn¡¯t expecting the fierce eyes and neutral features,¡± I fidget at the beer label, looking at it very intently, ¡°it kind of startled me, you know?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t excuse the rude comment. I¡¯d waited to eat so we could share a meal as a peace offering. Then you thank me with insults? And people say I¡¯m socially inept.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m extremely awkward, and clearly the filter between my brain and my mouth could use some work. But I didn¡¯t intend to insult you. Your calculated manner is a little intimidating, but combined with, well your physical gifts, it¡¯s basically an insecure person¡¯s nightmare.¡± Well, if I¡¯m going to burn a bridge down, might as well do it properly and plan for my escape and emotional isolation. I drain my beer, grab another, then start popping containers to see what I¡¯m working with. ¡°Are there plates in here, or are you okay with eating from the bins?¡± She tilts her head and pinches her eyebrows together as though I¡¯d just asked her to calculate a rocket trajectory to the moon. ¡°I ordered extras that we both wanted so that we wouldn¡¯t have to share if you didn¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Oh! That¡¯s very considerate, thank you.¡± I flash a grin at Curls before full on smiling at the food. I grab one of the 3-section Styrofoam containers and find vegetables and rice noodles with some meat in a side section. I plop a cup of thom ka on the lid portion and surround it with spring rolls and plop dipping sauce next to them. Fully distracted by the tastiness in front of me, stuffing food into my face with one hand and prepping the next fork-full of meat and noodles with the other. About three minutes in I take a breath and look up to see that Curls is still staring at me, not having touched a single spec of food. Her lemonade is half empty, so she was doing something to interrupt that air of judgment surrounding her. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Oof, now I feel super uncomfortable about my behavior. ¡°Uh, sorry. I know it¡¯s a little gross how I eat sometimes. I just get so excited. And hungry. I can take my dining experience to the lobby if it grosses you out.¡± The sharp intake of breath alerts me that she finally heard me. ¡°No, your eating fervor doesn¡¯t bother me. It would if you tried to speak during it. No, I was thinking about what you said about my appearance causing you to feel insecure about yourself. I¡¯ve heard about those types of thoughts regarding celebrities and models, but it¡¯s always been tied to constant visual reinforcement via media. And then I considered why I¡¯d never thought to apply the same type of logic to being in someone¡¯s presence. And then I wondered why someone with your apparent intelligence would feel this way.¡± She blank stares while under heavy computational load. That¡¯s kind of cute. Her comment comes of as accusatory though, suggesting that my intelligence should be able to walk me out of an emotional reaction. Does she really believe that?, Or is she trying to reinforce her approach to handling emotion. Hmmm, I consider while switching to a plate of Pad Thai. ¡°Eh, I guess I could try to isolate those emotions, but if I focus on that, will it squash emotional reactions when I¡¯m working? Will it stagnate my creativity? That last risk is what I constantly worry about. Though my emotions are why I have been exiled from my research community, that passion is also how I came up with a workable concept for an Annihilation Propulsor. I¡¯m not willing to trade a little crippling body anxiety for my creativity.¡± Her face stills for a moment and then nods and finishes her lemonade. She tilts the empty bottle and glances at me in askance. I can¡¯t help but smile at the silent communication as I grab another for her. Curls thanks me with a peak at her sexy damn tooth as she starts collecting containers in front of her. While she displays her mastery of chopsticks, I slide out my info packed from under our hoard. Muster at 0600, meeting with the Big Boss at 0700 followed by a security briefing and gear issue. Gear issue? What gear? Anyway, that¡¯s through lunch and then study periods at the ¡®Gon scheduled until 1800 when they kick me out for a meal, and then self study until 2200. Rinse repeat from 0600 to 2200 until 1800 on Thursday where a ¡®readiness evaluation¡¯ is scheduled. Exam from 0900 to 1400? Shit. That sounds more like a thesis defense than an exam. ¡°They¡¯re giving us a week to prepare for a six-hour exam.¡± I say incredulous at the pit of excrement that I willingly dove into. ¡°Mm. I¡¯ve been here for a month, the previous class of nuclear variant ratings had a month as well and have already moved on. It¡¯s why I was so interested in talking to you.¡± ¡°Wait, your hiding your face and then staring at me was an attempt to talk to me?!¡± ¡°Of course. What else would it be. If I wait long enough, people either start talking or leave. Since you can¡¯t really leave, I figured you¡¯d talk.¡± Wow. Wooooooow. ¡°How often does your logic twist on itself like that?¡± ¡°That logic wasn¡¯t even remotely convoluted. And you ended up talking to me, so I consider it validated.¡± ¡°So, when I came back with you on your phone, were you Googling me?¡± She nods as she shoves Pad Thai in her mouth, showing both of her pointy canines. I want to lick them. ¡°Guess I can¡¯t blame you, I would have done the same thing, but you haven¡¯t given me your name.¡± I stare at her. She keeps eating. I stare at her more, she looks up for a moment, and then back to the most interesting plate of noodles in the world. Ugh, fine. She left her schedule on the table, so I pick it up and browse. She probably left it out as a compromise for snooping into my schedule, an invitation to invade her privacy after invading mine. I wonder how long my packet sat there before curiosity overcame whatever respect for others she might have had. Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Katie O¡¯Connell. That name is Irish AF. Similar schedule, but none of it seemed classified, so there were topical bullet points for recommended progress to be ready for the exam on Friday. Some of them had cool names like relativistic resupply; food, soap, and clothing; and Reuse, Refurbish, and Recreate. I like that last one. Copernicus and Gallileo are supposed to have some impressive fabrication suites and anything that helps me take care of my baby girl piques my interest. ¡°Are you familiar with the onboard fabricators?¡± I keep looking at her schedule, noticing we can likely have meals together if she¡¯s interested. ¡°Mm. The engineering ones have a lot of conditional break-down and fabrication rates. I¡¯ve been told that they¡¯re impressive but right now they¡¯re just a soup of numbers. The standard loadout is ten years-worth of material for repair parts. Up to fifteen with optimal recycling.¡± I whistle at that. Plan for five, supply for double, ration for triple. Space is dangerous so I¡¯m down with a large factor of safety. ¡°How long between resupplies on the reactor? It¡¯s one of the things they won¡¯t tell us until we get to the Copernicus prep program.¡± One glance up and she knows I shouldn¡¯t tell her about reactor stuff, but she¡¯s asking anyway. I shrug and grab a pilsner. ¡°Depends on what design they decided on. One design, the re-supply is fairly constant, but the materials are cheap and easy to change with a mid-life overhaul. Another design would be like modern submarines and carriers designed for 40-50 years of service with one to two major refueling efforts. Both have pros and cons, and I have no idea what they decided on to scale-up those devices.¡± Curls sighs, ¡°That¡¯s going to bug me for the next four months.¡± ¡°I hear that. I¡¯ve been itching to find out what bastardization of my project ended up in a space ship for almost three years.¡± ¡°How are you still sane?¡± ¡°Not sure that I am.¡± Her laugh tinkles through the hotel room like sinister wind chimes. Chapter 7: Sharing Pain As much as I like Asian take-out, I¡¯ve eaten as much as I¡¯m willing and we still have leftovers. Five minutes later that mini fridge is packed full of food, sentencing the beer to get warm all by it¡¯s onesie. ¡°Speaking of things that niggle the back of our brains, what are the chances I can touch your hair tonight?¡± My fifth beer allows me not to be embarrassed about asking to touch her, but tomorrow I¡¯m likely to micro analyze every moment leading up to this one. Katie bites the lip of her fourth lemonade. ¡°That was unexpected. How odd. It¡¯s annoying and interesting that your behavior is just a little bit . . . shifted from what I expect. For example, you kept looking at my hands, and I expected your first contact request would be to compare hand sizes.¡± ¡°I mean, I am interested in that, but I¡¯ve already seen how your hand envelopes a pair of chopsticks. So a size comparison has already been completed. Your turn. What¡¯s been bothering you about me?¡± She looks away at my question, allowing me to continue enjoying her biting the rim of her lemonade, staring unabashedly at that pointy tooth until she pulls her knees to her chest and her baggy shirt shifts up granting me a view of volley ball butt and her black lady briefs. I clap my mouth shut and re-direct my eyes to the remaining selection of beer that I really don¡¯t need more of, but my distractions are limited. ¡°I¡¯m still wondering how you let a community, that you advanced, kick you out.¡± Oof. Leave it to her supercomputer of a brain to worry over something that hits so hard. I pop a stout and stare out the window full of glowing lights. ¡°This hits on a personal embarrassment, like a failure of a lifetime. A character defining moment. And you want me to explain it to you because you want to understand, despite how uncomfortable it makes me?¡± I give her my own version of a piercing gaze, one that tells her I will demand something in return for this. Katie glances between me and her fidgety toes several times, my gaze does not waver. She looks up, locks her eyes with mine, pull the tie out of her hair and nods her acceptance. The half second it takes for her curls to bounce back toward her temples makes my brain skip in realization that she¡¯s willing to trade contact for information. This knowledge makes me feel filthy, but also excited. And also worried? Like she would be able to walk, away, equivalent exchange for one of my deepest shames? No. not enough, and I¡¯m not going to be fair about it. I set my beer down without breaking our eye-lock and approach her, pausing briefly to let her flinch before reaching up with both my hands, but she clinches her jaw in commitment. Katie was no coward. Good. My small, round finger tips sink into her silky textured ringlets and I squeeze them lightly to appreciate the wondrous, delicate springs. She lowers her eyes, as though her part of our transaction is complete when I grab her head and tilt it up so that her eyes meet mine again. ¡°No escape, Katie. Sharing this kind of thing is what friends do. Despite the odd collision that was this evening, I actually like you. When I¡¯m exhausted after telling you this, I¡¯m going to want your deets so I can text you and everything.¡± Her eyes widen in . . . fear? Huh. I am coming off as a little commanding, but she isn¡¯t pulling away or presenting with signs of trauma. But I loosen my grip and pull my hands from her hair. The time was so short but so enjoyable. My hands will be in that hair again by hook or by crook. But before that, personal trauma. I sit on the edge of the bed, with my elbows on my thighs looking at the carpet. ¡°I was an ambitious, intellectually aggressive teen. I felt that people should understand that I was smarter than them, and that they should appreciate my opinion based on that fact. Excellence reinforced that opinion, despite what I now can see as a depreciated value of my intelligence due to my arrogance and brutish approach. ¡°Excellence and results were enough to get me through six years of higher education, a career making paper for my advisor, and half a dozen patents with my name on them. I can¡¯t say with accuracy how caustic my attitude and aura of superiority was at the time, because I didn¡¯t think anything of it then; and now none of the people I worked with want anything to do with me. None of the people I was intimate with, none of my research associates, not even the professors whose careers I advanced by ¡®playing the game¡¯. Once they got the last patent application out of my research, once my knowledge was public, they kicked me to the curb. ¡°They tolerated me long enough that the advances I¡¯d curated for eight plus years were adequately described and published that they could cut me loose to make their own advances without having to deal with me. They did this knowing that anything I could develop would be at least five years in the making.¡± I sighed and gripped the textured bottle as hard as I could, trying to shatter it within my pigmy hands. ¡°It hurt. It hurt a lot that they gave me the equivalent of a pat on the head and then separated themselves from me, taking my baby in the divorce. I knew the lab I was a part of would keep the rights, but I didn¡¯t think it mattered. I though excellence and innovation would be enough to carry me to the next project. So, I kept working. Even after they fired me for spurious reasons, I kept working and renting lab space with the money and political capitol that I had made, expecting excellence to be enough as it always had been. Turns out, when people are acting against you, five years wears on you, it claws your insides every minute, making your intelligence, your innate gifts, have to wade and fight through the bog of emotions and politics that embody the social hive that is humanity.¡± Stolen story; please report. The last part I have to say is the hardest. I want to throw and break glass, to scream into the night about the frustration this short monologue has dredged in me. Instead, I spy the small trashcan next to the sink and belt the bottle at the plastic receptacle. I hit the lip and the weight of the bottle hitting the lip, overturning the trashcan over the mess of the bottle as it shatters against the linoleum. Well, at least the mess is contained. There¡¯s a smidge of mania in the chuckle that follows. ¡°I broke when I realized that excellence wasn¡¯t enough. I believed until that moment that my fear of people, my fear of social interaction, emotion, and not understanding the human condition would be ignored if I was good enough. That I could be crass and driven and ignore the consequences of my fears if I was simply the best at what I did. When the cracks started to show, I tried harder, likely alienating even more of the people that could tolerate me, until the point where my brilliance had been rewarding enough that my peers felt they no longer needed to apply the social glue to keep the cracks from spreading. They didn¡¯t have to help prop up my manufactured personality anymore, and the pain that they felt I put them through justified their decision to leave me in a padded cell of my worst fears. ¡°And here I am, years later, knowing that I will never be good enough to never be afraid again.¡± I pull hard on my 9.6% imperial stout, feeling my buzz shift as I do it. ¡°And that fucking sucks, you know?¡± I don¡¯t know when I started crying, but when I look up to see Katie¡¯s reaction, she¡¯s blurry. I turn my eyes back to the carpet and let the tears fall. I weakly register sensations of the bed moving and that something besides my pants are touching my leg, but it feels so far away. It takes a whispered voice next to my ear to bring me back to the present. ¡°You have described one of the fears I constantly fight against.¡± Her breath on my ear makes me realize she is holding me from behind, arms wrapped around me, chin on my shoulder. I know that this is all a calculated response on her part¡ªan algorithm of social interaction. But the flutter in the whisper of her fear feels real, lending some authenticity to the rest of her calculated action. My tired and coping brain started doing the math of the logistics specialists responses and how they would change to manage my emotional outbursts. ¡°Tell me about your project.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question. It is probably just another calculation, but it feels like an open window, a breath of fresh air, so I decide to take the offered branch. ¡°In the beginning, there was the Big Bang. We can¡¯t really look back before the times of cosmic background radiation, and as a child this bothered me.¡± Katie nods her head against my shoulder. A kindred spirit searching for a completed data set. ¡°So I started gathering information about how that started. A hyper-compressed matter and energy stew doesn¡¯t just appear out of barren space, so there has to be a reason.¡± I take a sip of my beer, making sure the rest of my body doesn¡¯t move or give a reason for the Vampire Treant to stop holding me. ¡°But what do I find? That no, really, that shit does just appear out of barren space. It just takes a fucking long time and a Googleplex of rounding errors to create enough errant matter and energy to form a gravity well to collect things in a tiny space with oppressive inner pressure. Makes sense right? I mean, not totally as cosmic rounding errors is an odd concept, but with DNA copy errors driving evolution, it¡¯s not as difficult to believe.¡± I transition from sad to excited, as talking about my life¡¯s work always does, and I revel in the deftness of maneuvering Katie¡¯s brain has calculated to distract me. ¡°So my teen brain readily accepts that errors are a part of existence, and that by reduction, that it is possible that the universe could possibly be created by a collection of errors. But then Einstein and Hawking¡¯s teachings hit me: a singularity should have formed and transformed and dislocated the matter present if it was present in such an overwhelming quantity. A lot of theories break down at transformative moments. Newton¡¯s laws distort outside of a personal scale. Einstein¡¯s theories break down around overwhelming and underwhelmingly massive singularities. Aka black holes and subatomic particles.¡± My excitement usually causes a dislocation of thought experiences and physical experiences, so I ignore a shift of a chin to nose and lips on my shoulder. She must be tired and humoring me. I pause to make sure she¡¯s not catastrophically bored. ¡°Mmm,¡± the rumble on my skin splits my focus. ¡°from what I¡¯ve heard, this inconsistency has been tabled until a more unified theory is discovered.¡± A buzz charges through me as her lips move against my shoulder. ¡°Exactly! They tabled the discussion. I¡¯m thrilled that you know that, by the way.¡± A squeeze briefly reminds me that her body has practically enveloped me. But my brain is excited! ¡°Anyway, this led me to believe that energy was the key. Einstein¡¯s mass energy equation still holds up, so what if, what if a saturated energy field creates a region where matter is in a mutable state? What if conditions were right that the transition from matter to energy could be as easy as a disturbance in space time? ¡°Long story made less long, and taking the coda on a lot of theoretical physics and exploratory engineering . . .¡± my mind stutters again as a kiss connects beneath my earlobe. ¡°Keep going Penelope.¡± Jesus effing Christo. My abdomen responds with engines ready to answer all bells and I am suddenly hyper focused at the nuzzling that is occurring in my melt inducing region behind my jaw. ¡°So, I . . . I do a lot of math with my computer friends, and with a fissile reaction or an advanced Fusion generator, I would be able to create the energy field to re-create the rounding errors at the beginning of this iteration of the Universe.¡± When her long, long slender fingers slide up under my t-shirt I consider that maybe LS2 O¡¯Connor is a Sapio-Sexual. The laden breath next to my ear convinces me to keep on fucking talking. ¡°I later found out that a national laboratory and several universities bet fifty million dollars on my theories. At the time I was in a creative fugue of CNC machines and plasma generators and didn¡¯t realize the cost of experimentation. But after months of failures and refab, we created antimatter in a controlled environment. Granted, containment only held for a minute, and it then obliterated half of the experiment apparatus, but we created antimatter purposefully for the first time in human history!¡± When her sexy fangs drug across my arteries, I lost all sense of reason. My ovaries steered hard to port and twisted my hips in the cradle of comfort that was the Irish Vampires enveloping presence. My thumb finds itself counting her half ribs while my mouth takes hers in a surprised panic. ¡°What the fuck are you doing Katie.¡± ¡°Not my fault, your brain is sexy.¡± Her spindly fingers weave themselves amongst my treacle trusses, pulling firmly to raise my chin and expose my neck. Her tongue leaves a damp trail to my earlobe which she firmly bites and causes my hormones to take control and fade my conscious thought to oblivion. Chapter 8: Deep Thoughts My alarm goes off at 0630 and despite how much I drank last night, I feel surprisingly rested. It might have something to do with the mess of curls laying on my chubby arm. I smile at the compassion she showed last night, and wonder if she planned to distract me with science and sex. If that was her plan, she read me like an open book. I lean over to kiss her cheek, ¡°I need this back, Katie.¡± As I start to gently move my arm, she grumbles and then starts to push me away instead of holding me. Her arms are long enough to push me off the bed, causing me to squeal before my butt hits the floor. The situation is so strange to me I can¡¯t help but chuckle as I search for my phone. Katie¡¯s hand searches for a pillow, and once found she tucks it over her head. I laugh harder. I turn off my alarm and set up the tiny hotel coffee maker to brew me a pot while I¡¯m in the shower. The white noise of the water is soothing and is normally the time where I mentally structure my day, but today my brain is wondering whether sleeping with Katie is going to make things awkward this week. Then I realize that she probably never made a decision without overthinking it a little. I resolve to bring it up when I get home if it still feels like an issue. I put on cammo pants with my last name embroidered over my left butt pocket and a light-brown undershirt before heading for a hot cup of energy. The coffee maker is off and the pot is empty when I walk out. Surprise and anger crawls up from my feet but then I notice the cups are missing too. I look over and see that Curls is slouched at the table wearing her oversized t-shirt and scrolling her phone. There¡¯s an open cup of coffee in front of her and one with a travel lid next to my info packet. Aww, that was vary considerate and adorable of her. I walk up to her and squeeze her shoulder, ¡°This is sweet of you, thanks.¡± She nods and then offers her phone to me. The screen displays a new contact screen with ¡°Penelope Mercer¡± under the name. I beam a smile at her, realizing she¡¯s acknowledging my request for sharing my story. As if sex wasn¡¯t thanks enough. I change the name to Penny, put in my digits and then text myself ¡°Hey Sexy¡± before handing the phone back. Katie snorts as my phone dings with the message. ¡°You going in today?¡± I ask as I pull on my boots and blouse my pants over them. She nods. ¡°Okay, text me if you want to grab lunch together.¡± ¡°Mm,¡± she grunts into her cup. Well, that¡¯s probably as much as I¡¯ll get out of her before I leave. With all the non-verbal communication, it makes me wonder if she¡¯s been ridiculed for the way she talks or the topics she talks about. Most behavior is learned and the cause of this behavior has me curious. A problem for another time though. I have to finish getting ready and discover the best way to get to the ¡®Gon from here. I reluctantly put on some makeup, because it¡¯s expected, and make sure my hair isn¡¯t doing anything stupid or ¡°trendy¡±. Not that female haircuts are monitored all that much. LS2 O¡¯Connell¡¯s head is shaved on the sides with a curly mop top and I bet no one has said anything to her about. It. My ears aren¡¯t pierced so I don¡¯t have to remember that bullshit, so I double check everything else to make sure I haven¡¯t forgotten anything. ¡°See you later Katie,¡± I say, opening the door to start my sad adventure into cramming for an exam. ¡°Thanks for the coffee, Penny.¡± I want to look back and stare and the cordial statement, but instead I let a grin spread across my face and a feeling of warmth to contaminate my heart. And the grinch¡¯s heart grew three sizes. Pah, mine isn¡¯t black, just chilly at times. The concierge-slash-office worker informs me that this is a popular hotel due to its proximity to a subway station that goes directly into DC. Well, it¡¯s cheaper than a cab and it probably takes less time during rush hour and maybe always. Commuting is what it is, but public transit is solid in its ability to allow us to focus on other things while we travel. So I naturally pulled out my phone and Googled my roommate. Miss O¡¯Connell won every science fair she ever entered and was on nationally competitive Science Bowl teams throughout her high school years. After that? Who knows. She had to have joined the Navy soon after that if she¡¯s an LS2, but since she¡¯s clearly a prodigy the timelines aren¡¯t super clear. I wonder why she didn¡¯t pursue college. Not that I¡¯m going to ask her right away, it seems pretty rude. With the schedule and a train change it takes me 40 minutes to get to the security station on this side of the Pentagon. I am no stranger to the waiting involved in official processes, and getting a temp badge so I can report to whatever office or meeting room the letter and numbers signify. They swipe and x-ray my bag hand me a clip-on pass that I¡¯ve been instructed to return when I leave. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. I find the office with 15 minutes to spare and a secretary tells me to take a seat and wait. I look around the office and see a framed concept drawing of the Copernicus and a couple of photos of the orbital build in process. I¡¯d read about the process, of course, and setting up an orbital shipyard was the hardest, but the part that surprises me is the flexibility of the program, as the drive I built was barely a research idea when they started building the rest of the ship. Apparently they were going to strap liquid rocket propulsors to the frame while they developed an inversion engine. I never tried to learn about those engines as they only worked near a large gravity well like a planet or a star. For interplanetary travel, that would work fine, but inter-system travel it would leave the travelers super vulnerable. ¡°So there was a Doctor on the plane.¡± I look up to see MM3 Martin walking in the office. ¡°Funny as ever, Martin. Is Baker behind you?¡± ¡°Nah, he stayed in Charleston. Reconsidered the sure thing versus the first thing.¡± I nod at that. It was honestly the smartest path if you weren¡¯t in a hurry to get off planet. Which apparently Martin was. I raise and eyebrow at that and he shrugs. The secretary picks up her phone and a minute of waiting later she tells us the Director will see us now. Director what now? We¡¯re getting a briefing from the program director? ¡°Mercer, Martin, glad you could make it. Take a seat.¡± He gestures toward the seats before his desk. ¡°Due to the politics of space and the 50 trillion cost of the two vessels, we¡¯ve had to partner with China and Japan to set our plans into action. China has co-opted Russia into a position of priority to counter-act our long-standing alliance with Japan. That being said, the Chinese managed to slip in some qualification changes for their turn to host the school. Which means a western presence to crew the ship is being endangered. We¡¯ve accelerated you two and some members of your previous class in order to meet our own quota¡¯s, with a couple of other Sailors that are eligible to serve their parent¡¯s countries during the length of the tour. ¡°So that¡¯s why we¡¯re disrupting our proven process to get you into the next Copernicus training period. What¡¯s in it for you? You go to space almost a year early, but more than that, your space service pay starts as soon as you pass the eligibility exams instead of when you start space service. Also, you will be guaranteed to get the duty station of your choice, even if it¡¯s not available. As long as it¡¯s a billet in your rating, you can choose anything and we¡¯ll work with DoN to make it work.¡± Martin and I both whistle at that. Any duty, no matter if it¡¯s occupied. That is a desperate play if I¡¯ve ever seen one. More Space service please. I grin at the idea of two consecutive tours amongst the stars. ¡°As much as I trust, I¡¯m going to need that offer in writing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how this goes, Mercer.¡± ¡°What if I want a second tour in space?¡± He shakes his head on that, ¡°There are multinational rules against that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a billet in the system right?¡± Poor Director. He sighs, ¡°I¡¯ll socialize the idea and we¡¯ll talk again. If. You. Pass.¡± I grin but don¡¯t say a word. He looks between Martin and I, seeing nothing but acceptance, he dismisses us. Yeoman 1st Class Tucker greets us outside the office and informs us he will be our tour guide for the rest of the morning. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m YN1 Tucker and we¡¯re headed to get you your own tablet and fitted for a few medical operating items. We also want to fit you both for HUD glass. You will find an NDA for the glass as it is both a training aid and a behavior learning apparatus to help the DoD learn if such technologies will enhance information saturation.¡± ¡°Wow, were you an MC in a former life?¡± Martin asks Tucker laughs, ¡°most servicemembers in the Pentagon are required to attend Public Relations training, and it¡¯s easier for me to be that way all the time while I¡¯m at work.¡± I try to engage him with more questions about what gear we¡¯ll get, but his silence tells me that I¡¯ll see it when I get there. I has impatience. Our first stop is medical, they take the nurse data, then ask if anything has changed since our last checkup. We both say no before we¡¯re separated and hooked up to an EKG. They take 5 minutes of baseline data and then connect a waist-belt recording device to the EKG leads and tell us that it has a ten-day battery life and that we need to log in a journal any significant events that would influence the data collected. I chuckle at that. I am totally telling Katie about this. Next, we do the optometrist diopter thing. This has to be for the HUD Glass. They ask me if I want corrective lenses or transparent lenses. I say, corrected if I need them and they proceed to ask one or two, A or B for ten minutes before they hand me some dark glasses and we go pick frames. Apparently my right eye is a little degraded, but not enough to need glasses if I don¡¯t. I opt in for the pair of regular glasses and the corrective HUD pair. The HUD glasses are a multi-layer LED embedded safety glass that is apparently combat rated. The visor-style wrap around frames are tacky AF but tac-tical. Heh. I really want to play with the HUD system, but they tell me I have to wait until Monday. It was then that I realized that they were moving mountains to rush this program. I was getting prescription, high-tech laminate glasses in two days. Combined with the hotel and the acceleration of the prototype program, it has got to be close to a million per person to make this happen. I mean, I¡¯m worth it, and I deserve this chance, but it¡¯s still a lot of money. Chapter 9: Geometric Tedium The next portion of our gear issue comes with a NATO secret tablet that is not to leave the building. Apparently a good portion of the engine room has some sensitive info. Not sure how that works with Russia knowing about all of this, but there¡¯s probably some convoluted garbage going on. Beats toting around a ton of books though. Can you imagine the encyclopedic tome it would take to cover all the systems on a space ship? Oof. Lucky for me I only have to deep dive the engineering spaces with a smattering of ships safety systems around the rest of the ship. It¡¯s still a lot of info to cram in my head. Pressure builds behind my eyes for a moment while I¡¯m reminded that I have to go through an accelerated prototype for a reactor I¡¯ll likely never use. Fun fun. That, however, is not the allegator closest to the boat and I should focus on passing Friday¡¯s test. I really want to dive into the data to see what progress they made with my baby. Before that, to medical! YN1 Tucker continues to chatter about the Pentagon and all the amenities it has as I made the mistake of saying I¡¯ve never been inside before. What gets me is how far you have to walk to get places. You could get your steps in depending on where your meetings were. A female Hospital corpsman (HM) greets us and briefs me that they¡¯re going to draw blood, hook me up to a halter monitor, then do perform a full physical on Thursday. Great, a busy day before test day. Good thing I haven¡¯t eaten yet today, I wonder why they wouldn¡¯t tell me I needed to fast before my check-in. Maybe they would have told me today for Monday? Who knows. HM1 Gardin asks YN1 to wait outside then tells me to take my blouse and undershirt off so that she can attach the monitor pickups. She lays out a small wallet-sized box connected to a wire that splits off into five toward the end. Huh, if they¡¯re doing this now, what am I going to be doing during the physical? ¡°Not a regular bra huh? You¡¯re going to have to take the sports bra off so I can get the central pickup on.¡± Off comes the top and I¡¯m standing there with uniform pants and boots on with my boobs hanging out. I don¡¯t think I have ever been in this state of dress before. And I apparently say that outloud. HM1 smirks, ¡°No jokes about buying you dinner first?¡± I snort, ¡°Do people really do that? I mean with women doing breast exams and pap smears, I figure getting naked in front of a doctor is pretty common.¡± ¡°People, especially servicemembers, say stupid things when they¡¯re uncomfortable.¡± She says while swabbing parts of my chest with alcohol. ¡°Speaking of those exams, you¡¯ll go through those again on Thursday.¡± I nod at that. Can¡¯t have any signs of cancer for space travel: no where to treat you up there. And from what I¡¯m told an increase in background radiation does not treat cancer. Lame. Gardin pulls the back off a sticky pad with a metal plate on one side and a snap-button connector on the other and places one above each boob closer to my sternum, one between my breasts, and two below towards the bottom of my ribcage. She then presses them hard in place by snapping the wires onto the connectors on the pad then clipping the little box to my belt. ¡°You¡¯ll want to press this button before and after any planned stress moments such as exercising. You¡¯ll also be getting a note-pad to log your activities for the day so if we find any irregularities we can reference them to your schedule and then try to replicate it on Thursday. Any questions?¡± ¡°Can I put my clothes back on?¡± Tucker rolls her eyes at that while she pushes some buttons on her display. ¡°Looks like all the points are reading correctly. As soon as you get dressed, you can head on out.¡± I nod at that and maneuver the bra so that it doesn¡¯t catch on any of the snaps and then notice the awkward wire that doesn¡¯t let me tuck in my shirt all the way unless I push the wire down my pants too and make it double back. On goes my uniform top and I¡¯m ready to get back to following YN1 around. ¡°Last stop on the tour is a small classroom where you and other applicants will be studying for the exam. This bank of lockers is where you will stow your tablet at the end of the day, and any electronic devices if you need to go into a more secure area. As I don¡¯t think anything is Classified above NATO secret, it shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡± ¡°Is this where we muster on Monday before meeting with the Admiral?¡± ¡°Yes, his aid will brief you ten minutes before the meeting.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Martin and I nod at that and walk into the room. The room is practically full of people, about 25 sitting at long tables like the rows in Charleston, but these have chairs on both sides. To collaborate maybe? There doesn¡¯t seem to be a podium or anything for general instruction, which makes sense as Sailors from varying rates must be collected here. Nearly everyone looks up at us as we walk in, a few linger, assessing the late arrivals and one set of eyes are a familiar green. ¡°So, do we sit just anywhere?¡± Martin whispers. ¡°I don¡¯t see that it matters, unless you try to sit in someone¡¯s lap.¡± I whisper back then move to sit across from my roommate. She¡¯s sitting with horrendous posture like everyone else, her feet nearly sticking out the other side of the table while casually flicking the screen of her propped-up tablet. She must read incredibly fast. When I pull the seat in front of me back, Katie looks up at me, but doesn¡¯t move her legs to accommodate my desire to sit across from her. I pause a second to make sure she really wanted to play it this way before I take a seat and scoot up between her feet and the outside of my legs lightly rest against the inside of hers. The slight downturn of her lips and the raise of her brows convey ¡°huh, unexpected¡± without issuing a noise. Then, like nothing happened, she reengages with her tablet and starts flicking her tablet again. If she doesn¡¯t mind, then neither to I. I slip my ID into a card reader and plug that into my tablet to begin the studying, which I wish would go faster so I can read about the engine design. When they gave them to us, the IT said that there would be a Copernicus prep module and a series of folders by department if I wanted a simplified list of documents. The prep module has an initializing bar before displaying a wire mock-up of a ship. With a golf-tee shaped front with two counter rotating spoke-and-wheel berthing and habitat spaces just behind the hyperbolic sensor array. Followed by a long shaft that is configured to dock multiple modules, and behind that is a square-ish section that brackets two in-line collider loops. The collider loops are framed by port and starboard passage-way runners that lead to the reactor compartment in the rear and the Annihilation Propulsor and conventional thrusters behind that. Not seeing a dropdown to select from, I poke at the reactor compartment and engine room. The full ship drops away and ¡®Engineering¡¯ compartments fill the screen showing me an expected Molten Salt Reactor using Thorium as it¡¯s primary fuel source with the noted amount of ¡®startup¡¯ material to get the Thorium breeding properly. They spent the extra money on induction pumps for the highly radioactive coolant¡ªgood choice¡ªand have the coolant processing and separation facilities present to remove poisons and to replenish fuel as needed. The biggest part that surprises me is that they are not using actinides to make the plasma needed for the propulsor to create anti-matter, they¡¯re degassing the coolant and using one of the primary fission products, Xenon, to form the plasma. I wouldn¡¯t have thought it would be dense enough to facilitate the reaction, but hey, they must have found a way because I¡¯m looking at a ten trillion-dollar space ship design using it. The behemoth is powered by four massive steam turbine generators with battery and capacitor banks in the front and the rear of the collider loops. The battery capacity listed is much larger than the major modules listed, must be some others stored in the superstructure or something. Before I can get brain deep into engineering specs and setpoints, Katie nudges my leg and shows me a pad of paper with ¡°Lunch?¡± written on it. I look at my watch and find that I¡¯ve been poking at the engine room wireframe for more than half an hour. Cool. I nod at her and we both get up. Martin looks at me funny, surprised I¡¯m taking a break so early, but I can come back and study for six hours afterward so I¡¯m not worried. They allow us to stay here until 2200 anyway, but I¡¯ll have to remember to check the metro times before I leave. We put our study materials in our assigned lockers and make our way to the courtyard. ¡°Okay chatterbox, what do you recommend for lunch? Seeing as you¡¯ve been here for three weeks.¡± ¡°Sushi, barbeque, or any of the salad places.¡± She replies quietly. ¡°Well, I think I want to keep it light. Lets go with sushi?¡± Question mark? She grunts and nods, looks at her phone for directions and then leads us across the Pentagon. ¡°Is it always quiet as a cemetery in there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s quieter than usual today. There¡¯s usually a discussion or two going on, nothing too loud though. Has it hit you how much you have to cram in your head yet?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t checked the engineering test requirements yet, but I checked to see how they changed the reactor and propulsor installations since I last worked with the technology and it isn¡¯t that different. I mean, they can¡¯t expect us to know all the setpoints and special concerns before we actually get into the program, can they?¡± It seems pretty stupid to expect someone to be able to operate a thing without being taught how. ¡°Mm. No. At least that¡¯s not what I heard. The test is supposed to appraise you¡¯re ability to think through issues in an isolated environment where resupply may be years away.¡± ¡°Or that you don¡¯t need sound dampening in engineering because it doesn¡¯t travel through space. But also vibrations aren¡¯t dampened by gravity anymore. The whole feedback loop gets weird.¡± ¡°That sounds like what they would recommend, yes.¡± Ugh. Why don¡¯t they tell us more about the test if they need to fill quotas so badly!? Then again, I haven¡¯t looked over any of the other files on my tablet, or any of the UNCLASS general information that Katie implied was available. I don¡¯t really want to talk about it more until my briefing on Monday, so I have a better idea of what I¡¯m expected to do in a week. A bloody week. I know a good chunk of info about the powerplants, how is Martin going to fare? That poor bastard might have just bet his future on a game he doesn¡¯t know how to play. Chapter 10: New Normal? ¡°So, Katie, where are you from, why did you join the Navy?¡± I ask while waving my eel skin hand roll before taking a bite. ¡°Isn¡¯t this something you¡¯re supposed to do before you have sex with someone?¡± She stares into my eyes while grinning and popping a tidy roll of tuna in her mouth. It feels like she¡¯s trying to tell me her plans for the day and I flush in my face and flutter in my belly. ¡°Well, I shared my half, and then someone expertly distracted me from my personal pain before she could share.¡± ¡°Mm, then perhaps I will answer you when we¡¯re alone and you can distract me afterward.¡± My roommate breaks eye contact and looks down at her plate. I immediately feel guilty. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m sorry Katie. I thought I was being cute, but I put my foot in my mouth. You don¡¯t have to re-live something uncomfortable just because I¡¯m curious.¡± She raises a hand to stop me. ¡°No. You¡¯re right. It¡¯s fair to ask. I just don¡¯t like feeling vulnerable around people.¡± She looks up to meet my eyes, looks away, and then meets mine again before looking at her food again. ¡°You look like you have a question, out with it.¡± She scrunches her face at me in resignation, ¡°Do you feel like I took advantage of you?¡± Wait, she can¡¯t seriously think she coerced me in to sleeping with her, can she? I mean I was emotionally vulnerable and she did start kissing my neck while comforting me. Okay, she definitely took advantage of the situation, but I already wanted to sleep with her. ¡°How to say this, accurately . . . it feels like you capitalized on an opportunity that I was open to after supporting me when I needed it. Like gratitude sex.¡± ¡°Oh, so it was a trade then.¡± She nods in understanding. ¡°Eew, no. That just makes me feel dirty. Not everything has to be a direct trade, hon. If you don¡¯t want to share, I¡¯ll understand, but I still want to get to know you better. I still want to be your friend.¡± ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t want to make you feel bad. I just have a hard time with situations that aren¡¯t give and take in some fashion. I understand what friendship means to some people, but it feels like they always want something from me. So, what do you want?¡± Seriously? You don¡¯t want to talk about yourself but you want to therapist couch me for wanting to be your friend. Sheesh lady. ¡°I haven¡¯t actively thought about it, but I like being around you, it¡¯s not in your nature to lie or placate me, your smart, caring, and nice to look at. I feel that is adequate reason to want to know you better.¡± Curls stares intently at her soy sauce as she absently stabs the wasabi within. ¡°Extra-long fingers are a nice touch also.¡± She snorts at that, breaking the stress in her expression. ¡°Too bad you have little pigmy hands.¡± ¡°Excuse me!? The word you are looking for is petit, thank you very much.¡± I want to reach across and flick her nose in retaliation. ¡°and we both know my tongue wags enough to make up for it.¡± I say, wiggling my eyebrows with lewdness. ¡°Could you imagine if you had a tongue as long as my fingers?¡± That¡¯s what she thought about? I gasp with a smile at the mental image, ¡°I could lick your soul . . .¡± or toggle her soul bean, mmm, delicious soul bean. And that is apparently where the weird line is drawn. She silently asks if I¡¯m an idiot, and I confirm, that sometimes I am. She smiles through the rest of lunch, so I did that today¡ªfeeling proud of myself. The rest of our day is mostly silent and at times I think I¡¯ve offended Katie, but a few hours into the afternoon she gets up for a soda and brings me back a coffee, sitting with her lanky legs touching my stubby ones. M: You¡¯re very sweet, thank you for the coffee. O: Mm. Dear lord, she murmurs in text too. Cute. That has me smiling for the next two hours. After looking at ship¡¯s safety and damage control systems for five hours, I¡¯m done. There are a lot of ways to get something hazardous off the ship or quench a fire using the vacuum of space. Too my great surprise, there is a way to eject the reactor without disengaging the propulsor. It¡¯s a last-ditch, we have 45+ days to live kind of emergency, but still possible. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I pass my hotel mate a note saying I¡¯m going to the hotel. She passes it back asking me to save her some Thai food and a lemonade. I snort at the ridiculous notion of me eating the remaining leftovers. I lock up my tablet and head back to the metro station with my trusty activity notepad and a pen. And an empty backpack they check on the way out as well. Huh. On the train ride back I think about the heart monitor. She said it would be fine to shower if I take off the wires first. And if I¡¯m worried to put a waterproof bandage over it. It sounded like they expect me to exercise which I am loath to do. I get the need for it, and the Navy has standards, but it¡¯s a boring and uncomfortable experience. I also have personal activity standards like having the core and leg strength to drag a body, or the stamina to have appropriately tiring bedtime activities. Those are the real reason I work out. The real reason I¡¯m going to cart my jiggly ass to the hotel gym and then see if they have a hot tub. They do not. Much to my chagrin. I grump to the elevator after 40 minutes of discomfort, write ¡°Exercise¡± and ¡°Shower¡± in my activity log and drag my sweaty face to the shower. The hot water promises to drag the dirt away, but my mind wanders as my brain decides to focus on how tired I am. Six months of hard studying for the equivalent of an associate¡¯s is a lot. One week of insane studying is going to be trying, so I wonder also if the next three months of brain melting concentration is going to burn me out. I know in my bones that I have what it takes to get to space onboard the Copernicus or Galileo, but what about when I get there? Will I be so fried I look like a jackass? Or will I absently alienate everyone around me like last time? I hyperventilate a little, mild panic attack at the thought of my best not being good enough, when I realize that no one is here to judge me. There is no one around to scoff, side-eye, or denigrate me for my efforts. And damnit, my best is phenomenal. To that end, if I pass this exam, does my result in prototype in Charleston really matter as long as I don¡¯t fail? Sure, it¡¯ll annoy me not to be the best, but if I make it to the Copernicus school, no one will look at my terrestrial nuke scores again! I¡¯m sitting at the table reading a web novel series eating Thai food when Katie walks in. She looks tired and when I look at the time it makes sense as she stayed three hours longer than I did. She pulls out a set of gym clothes and starts stripping out of her uniform. ¡°You¡¯re going to go running when you¡¯re this tired?¡± I ask. ¡°Only way to get my thoughts to quiet down.¡± ¡°I can think of another way.¡± When those green eyes snap to mine I¡¯m reminded that saying things under my breath can be heard. She looks away, glancing at me a few times, ¡°After lunch, I didn¡¯t want to assume you were interested.¡± I smile and shake my head slightly at the ridiculousness of that statement. Of ¡®course I¡¯m still interested in the gaunt monolith in front of me. She sees the slight shake of my head and frowns. ¡°No no no, Katie, I¡¯m interested. It just seemed such a silly statement for you to say. Thank you for being considerate though.¡± She pauses while I speak, then heads to the bathroom to finish changing. She jumped to that conclusion so fast, it¡¯s kind of terrifying how ready she was to just be tossed aside. I could see how someone might get into that kind of mindset if you were hauntingly beautiful but socially awkward. Can¡¯t say that I¡¯m much better though, I haven¡¯t had a steady girl in a long time. I don¡¯t need much emotional validation, but praise for my brilliance is always welcome. That¡¯s not really what my partners have done though. Sure they were sometimes proud of me for completing my goals, but none were terribly interested in what I did, or understood why work was so important to me. They also accused me of not showing them how much I cared. It was explained to me multiple times that I was never around and when I was around I wasn¡¯t really ¡°there¡±. Kind of like how my parents treated me. I do not want to think to much about my emotional black hole of a childhood, so I grab a beer and jump back into web novels. An hour after she left my roommate walks through the door sweaty and smiling. Ooof, is that smile of hers sexy. Look at them canines. I want to lick them. Bad penny. Let her take a shower and settle down, and maybe don¡¯t think of her in the shower. ¡°Good run?¡± ¡°Not bad. Mind feels less cluttered.¡± She grins even wider before disappearing into the shower. I have no idea where those kinds of smiles are coming from, but they certainly feel good from this end too. I drag the remaining take-out containers and a lemonade from the fridge and refill her water bottle since I¡¯m up. With nothing left to do but sit, I suddenly want to snoop into her things. Could have easily done it while she was gone, but the urge was never there before. Odd. In no time at all I am rewarded for not being a creep by seeing LS2 walk out in panties while brushing out her hair. She starts when she sees me, guess she forgot I was here, which feels awesome, but besides the wide-eyed look, she just keeps on brushing until she¡¯s satisfied, walks past me to pick up her night shirt from yesterday and tosses it over her head. I grunt in disapproval as she looks over the food options. We sit in companionable silence while she eats, me reading serials, her reading about supply something or other. Then somehow, she manages to ask me a question that has me going off on a tangent about automated quick-docking for fuel and resupply and that dusky look is back in her eyes. I¡¯m here for it. With no more prompting needed I straddle her in the chair and cover her lips with mine, probing her canines with a curl in my tongue and shudder with pleasure and moan into her mouth. She kisses me back with licks and playful bites until my fingers skate up her ribs to roll her hardening nipples between my fingers. ¡°Take me to bed Katie.¡± I demand between kisses. She doesn¡¯t seem to mind that I took the initiative this time and deftly transfers us to her bed with her lying beneath me. ¡°Good girl.¡± I whisper into her ear while nibbling it. She shivers at the contact and praise and proceeds to smash her lips against mine with hunger in her eyes. Katie proves a very diligent and obedient partner tonight, and a very, very good girl. Chapter 11: Multi-purpose Violence The vampire O¡¯Connell was practically cuddly Sunday morning: didn¡¯t hiss at me once. Did kiss me a few times, so that was nice. I spent most of the morning in a tank and board shorts reading in a park down the street, searching the web for the PR front of the Copernicus program from media sources around the world. Katie went for a run, brought me back a burrito and sat and ate it with me. My favorite parts of my week in DC were little moments like these. As awkward as I was telling her she should hide her face with her hair, this thing with the hyper-intelligent Treant is sweet and feels like it could be something . . . more? But I¡¯m far to much of an emotionally stunted coward to bring it up so early. Monday saw me meet with a 4-star Admiral, who really didn¡¯t say much other than how important it would be for me to push us closer to our quota and that additional considerations in the future might be warranted if I get a high placement in the Genesis program. Bunch of non-committal maybes from that guy. I got my HUD glass that day which was honestly pretty cool. It was a lot like a headband with a movable visor, but they also fitted me with fancy gloves that wirelessly connected to the visor so I could manipulate the wireframe models and type without bulky hardware. Made me look like a massive dork though. Katie loved it. Tuesday through Thursday was same shit different day. Jamming my brain full of broad-spectrum knowledge, but I got back my data request for Copernicus press from the intelligence community that looks at foreign publications. China and Russia are pushing a MUCH different agenda than US, EU, and Japan. I¡¯m not excited about politics in space. Martin is fraying at the ends and asks me straight up what I think is going to be on the test. I say basic engineering config, damage control, and PR bullshit. He looked at me funny, then seemed to realize what I was saying and smiled his way out of the room. Thursday also had some physical stuff I needed to clear up for medical. HM1 Tucker had a solid laugh at my irregular heart rates during sex and I was mortified that she asked me about each event ¡°Gym or Sex?¡± even though she had the journal to look at. Cow. I had to tackle my roommate at the end of the night and remind the persistent Irish woman that getting a good night¡¯s sleep is more important than last-minute cramming. She swore at me a moderate amount before dumping her worries on me and crying silently unto my hair. I cried with her, because no one ¡°deserves¡± to feel as lonely and isolated as she does. The dreaded day arrives. Friday morning, 0500 and someone¡¯s phone blares reveille. Not my phone then. Katie¡¯s sprawled on top of me and I have to poke the log awake despite the alarm. Universe did she need that sleep. I start the coffee pot and hop in the shower. I don¡¯t need be up this early as the test is at 0900, but I know some people are going to be crazy early and . . . wait, why am I getting in the shower instead of going back to bed? My answer slips into the bathroom with me. ¡°Oh, sorry Katie, I just got in the habit of going first. I can get out of your way.¡± I move to slip around her when she snakes a hand around my waist and pulls me close. ¡°No, please stay. I, I set the alarm early so I could talk to you, take a shower with you, or, I don¡¯t know, something smart that I was supposed to think of before now.¡± She says into my hair. Ack! So much sweetness, my heart¡¯s going to burst! Despite my dubious and delightful face placement in her chest, I reach up and pet slow circles into the nape of her neck. ¡°You know, this doesn¡¯t have to be goodbye right? That when we pass this, it¡¯s almost guaranteed that we¡¯ll see each other in February?¡± ¡°But what if one of us doesn¡¯t pass? What then?¡± That statement makes me so mad I bite the shit out of her boob. ¡°OW! The fuck Penny!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you get for naysaying the smartest and most capable person I¡¯ve ever met.¡± I¡¯ve still got a grip on her neck so I pull her face close and glare into her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m going to pass this test. And if you are so nervous that you get in your own way, I swear to the Universe that I will cut off your big toes so you can never run again¡ªespecially not from me!¡± I deserve the odd look for what I said, but I mean it, and it¡¯s mechanically difficult to run without that toe. Damnit. ¡°You bit me!¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Love bite, I was trying to teach you and claim you. Multi-purpose violence, really.¡± The glint in her eye and showing her sexy tooth tells me that I¡¯m in imminent danger. A half hour of squealing, moaning, and a bit of bleeding later I look like I¡¯ve been properly sexed and inappropriately mauled. ¡°Fucking shit Katie, do you have all your shots you filthy beast?!¡± I have puncture wounds on my shoulder and the inside of my thigh. Bitch actually drew blood with me so turned on I moaned. The though of having a Vampire girlfriend is super hot. ¡°What did you tell me yesterday, don¡¯t start what you can¡¯t finish?¡± I round the corner, ready to glare her into buying me breakfast, but when I see her in her underwear with bite marks all over her abdomen, I¡¯m feeling pretty proud of myself. I walk up to her and jump for a quick peck. ¡°Now that we¡¯re both properly claimed, can I say that I have a hot Vampire girlfriend?¡± please say yes. I totally get life points for this. ¡°Oh thank god.¡± She huffs, picks me up and squeezes me so hard that maybe a little trauma leaked out. ¡°I thought that maybe, I don¡¯t know, that this was something you do to ¡­ conquer before you depart?¡± ¡°Oh yes, O¡¯Connell, I bit, I bruised, I conquered!¡± and then I punch her in the hip to tell her she¡¯s an idiot. ¡°No really, Katie. I like you, I expect to see you again, and I want to be with you, with you. And if you don¡¯t pass I will come find you and stuff you in my luggage.¡± She kisses my forehead and hugs me tight. ¡°Thank you Penny.¡± After a few minutes, ¡°At some point I need breakfast.¡± ¡°There might be some Thai food left.¡± She smiles like an ass. ¡°Eeew¡± I chuckle in my disgust. Week old Tom Ka. Blearg. We swing by the burrito cart I fell in love with and buy extra just in case they don¡¯t feed us halfway through the test. Katie is so paranoid about the test that she insists on staring at the HUD glass and reading what I¡¯m reviewing but backward. I que up the PR and intel material to reinforce what I think she might have missed. At this point, I don¡¯t think that she cares about what she¡¯s reading as long as she feels like she¡¯s being productive. We test in a separate room where we aren¡¯t so close. I miss her leg resting against mine, as silly as that is. I oddly hit the lottery on what I prepared for, focusing on engineering layout and damage control. There were some odd questions about decompression safety tables that I facepalmed for not thinking about. Otherwise though, the first half was expected. We had time to go snag something quick for lunch before phase two but my vampiress wanted to eat burritos and chitter on a out how she smashed the first portion. How can I not be happy for her? We speculate on the nature of the second portion, but I have a solid gut feeling that this part is going to feel like a thesis defense. It ends up only slightly better than that. They verbally instigate emergency conditions to watch me process the information, which I murdered and buried. The session I was only topically prepared for was a no shit interview from a media perspective. I¡¯m immediately worried for Katie about this attention. Martin and O¡¯Connell both hug me afterward. Super awkward, but it seems they both killed it, and most importantly, I get to spend up to five years with an Irish Treant. Okay, I¡¯m speculating, but it¡¯s super easy to hope when she¡¯s hugging me whispering ¡°thank you¡± okay? Martin ends up doing better than me, but I try to justify it with trying to pace myself for the pulping that my brain is going to experience for the next four months. I¡¯m trying to make myself feel better when I don¡¯t even place in the top ten, and Katie tries to explain that I had a week when most had a month, but I¡¯m still depressed about my lack of results, my lack of excellence. I was drawn out of my pity party by a Navy Captain coming to collect Martin and I, taking us to his office. He asked us if there was anything that would make our accelerated program easier on us. Martin asks for increased living expenses so his partner doesn¡¯t have to work, and I asked for the experimental lab construct that Livermore Labs uses to be connected to my HUD glass, which I get to keep. He says that they¡¯ll work on it and let us know?! What the ever loving heck?! To my surprise, when I check out I turn in the tablet but keep the glass and gloves. Maybe the O-6 was serious about those special considerations. If Martin gets that stipend, that¡¯ll be huge for him. If they actually get me the virtual lab setup, Imma invent some shit . . . in my spare time. Fuck. I signed up for no spare time for a year and then asked for access to something in my spare time. Damnit. I stew on that cup of bad decisions until I get back to the hotel. I¡¯ve met with enough people after my exam that my roommate is already home. She asks if I¡¯m leaving tonight or tomorrow, and when I say tomorrow, she takes me out on a fucking date. Holy, goddamned shit. Did I just walk into bizzarro world? Katie has happy, tries out terms of endearment for me, and altogether makes the awkward joy into a solid first date. She agrees to being my Vampire Girlfriend¡ªI added Vampire, obvi¡ªand says goodbye in the best way: biting and shenanigans. As much as I hate the idea of smashing my brain to paste for four more months, it¡¯s what I agreed to, what I signed up for. It also doesn¡¯t matter a lick after those four months so I can brain dump that garbage minute one after graduation. Chapter 12: Big Boss Energy I text the GF when I land in Charleston to tell her I¡¯m safe, and then text Alvarez to see if there¡¯s anything I need to know about checking in for prototype. He texts back and invites me over for Sunday dinner. His wife¡¯s cooking and Lucia¡¯s little hugs? How could I refuse? Alvarez clues me in and forwards me the email he got. Yeah, I should have gotten something so I track down Martin¡¯s contact info from Miss Peters and he sends me the info he was given. Turns out I need to report bright and early Monday to start spinning up to be in the super accelerated program by the following Monday. His schedule also shows all the way through a muster date at the Canaveral space port mid January. Looks like we¡¯re doing Genesis training in low Earth orbit (which is super effing cool). There are three space stations in low Earth orbit. ISS Mark 3 is the most widely referenced, but the US and China spent two decades sweeping old debris into the atmosphere and dumping modules to start their own projects. The US Orbital Habitat (USOH) is a gyroscope-shaped habitat that is publicly a generational study on a mid-gravity biome. And Americans just call the last one the Chinese Space Station. I suppose they could be sending us to Moon Station 1, as it¡¯s only a 3-day trip, but that doesn¡¯t make it easier to get on the Copernicus afterward. The other accelerated programmers get permission to use our HUD glass to study as long as we leave the devices in the facility during training and have it erased when we leave. And then, it¡¯s just a slog of info for yet another week. More class training and tutoring and studying ensues, and when month two rolls around, we¡¯re in the mock engine room. Month three sees us in a permanently parked submarine standing watches, and I swear that the hardest part about all of this is keeping effort going when my interest had long departed. I¡¯d told myself before even starting prototype that I wasn¡¯t aiming for the best at this school, just for enough to pass and move on to my destiny as a space Sailor. Martin and my accelerated compatriots from a previous class are looking pretty frayed, where I was trying to save that level of exhaustion for Genesis. I want to punch out a high score in that program. I muse about all of this while I¡¯m being talked to by yet another Senior Chief¡ªthis one being a bottle blond with dark brown eyebrows. ¡°What in the gods name do you have to be smug about MM3 Mercer?¡± Senior Chief Woods demands. ¡°You keep saying ¡®mediocre¡¯ this and ¡®disappointment¡¯ that, but I passed your program in half the time it should have taken. And I dare say that I¡¯m in a better mental state for the next six months of study than my classmates.¡± ¡°This result will look terrible if you wash out of the Copernicus program.¡± ¡°And yet, I imagine I¡¯d be placed on a submarine or a carrier no matter how it looks. What is this about Senior?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about your shitty attitude Mercer. You¡¯ve been . . . ¡° A triple knock sounds on the door as a Martin walks in. ¡°Oh good, Mercer. Watch Lieutenant is pissed! You should have been in his office ten minutes ago.¡± I come to attention and execute an about face. ¡°I haven¡¯t dismissed you Mercer.¡± Senior shouts. ¡°Sorry Chief, O-3 beats E-8.¡± I hear steps behind me as though she¡¯s about to stop me, but I jog out the door and shut it behind me. ¡°Thanks Martin.¡± He nods and leads me to the LT¡¯s office. ¡°Mercer, if I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d have thought you¡¯d failed.¡± Lt. James Conroy says. ¡°Sorry Sir, I have a reputation with the Goat Locker in Charleston it seems.¡± ¡°That¡¯s dangerous for junior enlisted, MM3. Never mind that though. I¡¯ve signed all of your evaluations and authorized your follow-on orders to Cape Canaveral. There, you¡¯ll be under the care of NASA¡¯s fight training team. After that, I neither know nor care what happens to you. The fifteen of you have been a blight and solidly ruined my Christmas and New Years plans. Martin, Jensen, pass these out then get out of my office. Oh, and anyone with families on base, contact YN1 Yolen and your Ombudsman.¡± MM3 Martin and ET3 Jensen hand out Certificates and Evaluations, and Orders, respectfully, before we all file out of the LT¡¯s office. How does a lieutenant get so bitter so quickly? No matter, got certified, going to space. TO SPACE! As soon as I get out of the LT¡¯s office I bounce around like a lunatic. I¡¯m going to space bitches! I skip my happy ass to the lockers and change into my Navy standard cammo, or Battle Dress Uniform. They used to be shades of blue, but when the Seals, EOD, and other special unit designators like the Guacaflage (avocado and brown) better (and works better in their deployed environments), and the Navy didn¡¯t have a tactical reason for blue, they switched to the Guacaflage. Now the whole Navy looks like old guacamole in field uniforms. We still have black and tans, dress whites and other unreasonable combinations because the Navy likes tradition and clothes. As soon as I get my phone back I text. P: Katie! I¡¯m going to space! K: Thank the Universe. You were worried about someone trying to block you. P: Do I get to see you in Florida? K: Maybe when we get on the capsule, but I¡¯ve already done the flight training. P: Are you still in FL? K: Yes. But the Navy put me up with 3 other women. And no, I haven¡¯t slept or made out with them. P: I wasn¡¯t going to ask, but thank you. Guess that means I¡¯ll probably be in a full hotel room also. K: Yeah, okay. You basically picture me having to swat suitors off like flies. P: Am I wrong though? You¡¯re brilliant and stunning. K: You are because I apparently have resting bitch face and people tell me my glare is intimidating. Aww, it super is. My vampiress is so sexy. P: I¡¯m so excited to see you! K: Keep it in your pants Mercer, O¡¯Connell out. Ugh, that¡¯s one way to ditch a text convo. Dork. I drop my notice and orders to my apartment¡¯s management company, then arrange for my scooter to get sold. Don¡¯t need the scooter in space. This ain¡¯t no Futurama. Though I would totally get behind a Scootie Sr. space program. Katie is right, we really don¡¯t have time once I get to Florida: I¡¯m at the NASA facilities all week. We get dinner the day I arrive and the day before with both board the space bus and not a single opportunity for involved sexual contact. I really, really need to bang my girlfriend. Every time I say so, she smirks at me with the freaking tooth and I melt in my seat. Stupid sexy vampiress. ¡°Service members and Instructors. A reminder, you are wearing compression suits with visor and emergency air. This will keep you alive for a brief decompression event, not for continued exposure to space and solar radiation. Stay seated. Your module and harness have a 15-star crash rating.¡± People chuckle at this for some reason. ¡°Two pilots will maintain control throughout your transit to ISS mark 3. In the event they need assistance, two engineers will be delegated various system tasks such as emergency fuel jettison and similar procedures. Any questions will be answered or ignored during your 90 minutes of sitting on the launch pad with the pilots. Thank you.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. I snort at that. Passing the buck to the pilots. Good job flight engineer. Way to delegate. Getting onboard the personnel module was tedious and awkward. There were 9 rows of seats with chubby mini ladders between each row. The pilots got in first and the next row passed back the mini-ladder in their row, and so on. As we sat we put on our 5-point harness, hooked our toes into a bike-like stirrup, and plugged into life-support and comms. Our compression suit visors were fitted with HUD displays, further convincing me that these suits were the coolest tech I¡¯ve been shown so far. I opted for the inteli-type and responsive feedback glove variant. I got used to the HUD glass, so sue me. I hear a thump and a series of mechanical interlocks as the light fades from indirect natural to full artificial. /Running Cabin Diagnostics. Pressure check . . . . . SAT/ The number of checks pulse by on my HUD in white, when a green message shows up. /Designating Engineering Assist Agents . . . . . PENDING/ /US Sailor MERCER. Comrade Sailor Baiul. . . . QUALIFIED/ WAIT! Hold the freaking bus. /Canaveral, this is Mercer, how qualified over/ /Mercer, Canaveral. Aux fuel and thrust systems associated with GENESIS over/ Ugh, now I remember. We used there thrusters to test a back pressure theory for the Annihilation drive. /Copy Canaveral. Thanks for Clarification. Out/ A fuel systems diagram of the third stage displays before me. That is a lot of trust they put into a rando with rocketry experience. Pfft. That¡¯s a statement I need to put on the internet. I start cycling the hydrazine because I know it has a tendency to freeze when it expands and the pumps give off heat. No idea if they fixed that occasional issue, but better safe. Plus Katie¡¯s onboard. Pilot overrides me. Okies. Fine. You do you buddy. I check the flight trajectory and notice we¡¯re on a dark-side approach. Stages one and two go off without a hitch. Pilot introduces a slow spin to match the stationary portion of the ISS and puts the port-side hydrazine mixing chamber in the dark for the entire second stage. Third stage immediately shows errors when it fires. /Fuck your Pilot override./ I send to both pilots. The port side hydrazine has a frozen plug and it won¡¯t clear with O2 back pressure. Red notices. /Engineering assist . . . . . ACTIVATED/ By now the pilots are trying to correct with thrusters and it¡¯s really making things complicated as they continue to burn the rear rocket. /Mercer activates Engineering Overide/ I quickly cut rear engines and then all thrust compensation. I get horrifically pinged by the Pilots at this point but I don¡¯t care about 40 seconds of dead stick when we¡¯re looking at 5 minutes until dead. Before the rear engine cools I bypass the backflow preventer to the port side fuel mixing chamber and heat the living shit out of it. I almost overpressure the O2 tank in my haste. The plug melts and I vent some liquid O2 to stabilize the chamber¡¯s heat before returning system configuration to normal and releasing thruster control. Whomever let an untested engineer have that kind of control was fucking irresponsible. I send a message and link a system prompt. /Engine function within normal parameters. Re-ignite the 3rd stage engine? Yes|No / The engine pops and shudders the space bus and the burn forces us all back into our seats. The hiss of the directional thrusters change our angle to get us back into the correct orbital strata. /Flight path recovered. Pilots have engaged Auto Docking/ Lazy assholes. Not like I¡¯d want them or whichever one of them caused that snafu to keep control. I wonder though. /Canaveral, Mercer. Request recalc for follow-on mission vectors after auto-docking action/ /Copy Mercer. Wait./ Wait means that some office types have pulled the mechanical pencils from behind their ears and got to work. It also means that they likely won¡¯t get back to me before we dock, so I pull the viewer up on my HUD and watch the auto-docking. They use three digital targets with a finding laser for each, pretty standard. The docking arms reach out and position us for a seal with the ISS m3¡¯s docking and research module. This process takes an additional 30 minutes. Once we¡¯re nominally connected, Comrade Baiul is pinged to disengage and test the hatch per HUD parameters. They push some buttons and get a happy-sounding chime that makes me think we got it right. The hatch opens and Baiul transfers to the ISS hatch awaiting equalization. When the ISS hatch opens we are cleared to debark. I get pinged to say behind in the zero G portion for a debrief with the two Pilots and Comrade Baiul. I have at least 10 minutes to wait on the pilots and mini-stairs, but Baiul is waiting for me and slides their visor back. A Universe blessed Russian model pulls her nose plugs in a somehow dainty manner and then knocks on my visor. I repeat her actions without the dainty or the model. ¡°You save our lives, yes?¡± I nod, she nods. ¡°Was smart thinking. Despite what Commander did. I stick by you, I think.¡± She pats my face twice and then slaps my ass. ¡°Americans say ¡®Good Game¡¯ yes?¡± and she smiles at her apparent international relations. I did not hate that interaction, and I immediately feel bad. Katie, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve had impure thoughts. ¡°Your in engineering too Comrade Baiul?¡± I could have looked. I really could have data searched her. ¡°Yes. I am similar to one of your reactor chiefs? Yes, Senior Nuclear Technician Baiul. I will keep eye on you Mercer. Talk to Ship Commander perhaps.¡± She looks down the docking tunnel. ¡°After debrief. Pilots come.¡± She maneuvers e to the side by my hips so that we can stand at attention as they pass. Navy Commander Nugent has a snarl on his face. He slides back his collar with one hand and grabs my collar with the other. ¡°You had best hope everything you did was necessary, Mercer.¡± ¡°You had best hope everything you did was necessary, Commander.¡± I spit back at him, knowing that he fucked up. An hour later, the two pilots, Baiul and I are on a classified video group meeting with the Chief Naval Officer (4-star admiral in charge of Naval Operations), Director of NASA, a Russian Representative and Chinese representative. NASA prefaced the mission report before anyone asked questions. ¡°Mercer,¡± the fucking CNO says. Jesus. ¡°You engaged in override activities before an emergency, and were later overridden by Commander Nugent. Explain.¡± ¡°Well, I queried Canaveral why I was designated as Engineering backup. They said I was qualified on their 3rd stage engine, which is true. So, knowing that the port-side hydrazine convection chamber has freezing issues, I started pumping to heat it. Maximum one percent power drain over launch window. No harm no fowl. I felt the override was stupid, but a Commander ordering me to stand down via override has me wait until an emergency is issued. It was. I took full control and corrected the issue within the emergency fuel capacity of the vehicle.¡± ¡°The module cannot complete the follow-on missions!¡± Commander Nugget shouts at me. ¡°Actually, it can.¡± NASA control chimed in and detailed the rather complicated plan to not sacrifice any mission by delays and narrowing some generous operating margins. Baiul and Flight Commander Zhao retired toward the ISS habitat. ¡°Commander, MM3, you will be further instructed via HUD video.¡± ¡°Aye aye Admiral.¡± We both report. /CNO and Naval Reactors joining MM3 Mercer in Video Chat/ ¡°Admirals, how may I serve the Navy?¡± Two blasted 4-stars on my effing Vid chat. ¡°Patrick tells me you have a conservative arrogance, but I have read the decline of your research career and it was . . . not pretty.¡± ¡°Yes Sir. It was definitely not pretty. I am humbled to have a chance to engage with the Hauptman-Mercer Drive again, but I cannot pretend I didn¡¯t have a hand in inventing it, nor can I pretend that I wasn¡¯t an absolute shit about it when I was in the research community. I have changed since then, but if people expect me to be cowed by position when my expertise can be leveraged to save lives or hundreds of millions, I will space myself to save the agony!¡± I¡¯m hyperventilating at this point and the CNO is on mute as he laughs. I can still see the bastard, but I have no idea what part of that he¡¯s laughing at. Naval Reactors chimes in. ¡°You¡¯re not in trouble Mercer. In fact, we want you to keep open comms with our Aids. Captains Sawyer and Thompson will receive your texts at any hour if they are mission appropriate.¡± Got it Sir, no meme sharing. ¡°Additionally, you are being promoted to MM2 effective immediately, with a follow-on promotion if you get assigned an LPO role by the Genesis Committee.¡± My mouth moves, but I don¡¯t have words. I try to say ¡®Thank You¡¯ but hell if I can. ¡°Additionally, we are co-opting an officer and an enlisted to stay close to the International leaders and you, Mercer, have already gained the respect of Comrade Ivanka Baiul. Keep up the good work and you¡¯ll be judiciously rewarded.¡± ¡°I mean, if that¡¯s an open offer Admiral, tech first and money second will always be my answer. Got any ¡°in testing¡± suits or gear, and I will happily be a space guinea pig! Uh, Sir.¡± Both admirals chuckle at that. I am so winning. CNO chimes ¡°We have some items we can send on the next re-supply. This is in lieu of any extra duty pay you would have been due until now¡± I resist the urge to squeal in delight. The freaking Chief of Naval Operations has agreed to send me experimental space tech. Imma have a nerd-gasm in front of two Admirals. Hold it in Penny. Cross your legs if you have to. ¡°Gladly sir. Happy to be of service.¡± ¡°Be the #1 candidate, get close to a Chinese NCO. Don¡¯t work against Commander Nugent.¡± ¡°Admirals, seriously? You want me to work with Commander Nugget? Give me engineering overrides and I¡¯d consider it. He almost murdered people today gentlemen. It would take a lot for me to trust him again. Sirs.¡± I get the 10k megawatt glare from the both of them before Naval Reactors replies. ¡°Noted, Mercer. Your mission parameters for the next 6 months will be sent to you by Thompson and Sawyer. Admirals out.¡± Okay, that¡¯s a pretty fly exit. ¡°Admirals out.¡± Eagle glasses on. Fireworks from the wings. Naval guns booming. Big boss exit. Chapter 13: Responsibilities and Doubt Space is amazing. The views are bloody epic. But. But it¡¯s just like an office building with a video wall! The study hall doesn¡¯t even have a window. At least the space walks that I accept from the job board are interesting. I only get to work on thrusters, but for Universe¡¯ sake, I¡¯m bored out of my skull. The vast majority of systems I have to train are mundane systems or ones that I built (with a few changes). I don¡¯t even get to live with Katie. The first two months with my GF in space have been . . . difficult. There are limited paces to hook up and since Katie and I are more studious and diligent than average, all of the sex spots are taken. I waited six months and now I have to keep waiting, so get off my back. Not to mention, the policy is to mix country of origin, and I get fucking Baiul in my room as well as four other girls. We have Asian, south American, Indian and Aussie in our bunk, and out HUD can translate with minimal delay, so the language barrier is not as bad as I though it would be. Speaking of languages, I look up Russian and Chinese language modules and the CIA fast-track programs are available on my HUD. Sweet. I start with Russian as Chinese is supposed to take 6+ months. I try to convince myself that I¡¯m not going to learn Baiul¡¯s language because of her hot accent. She keeps cornering me and saying things in a dusky voice, and I just want to understand. Yeah, sure Penny. How¡¯s the next space sickness eval going to go eh? ¡°Hey Shiny Penny¡± I shudder as hot breath strafes my neck. I spin around, and briefly confirm the American uniform and vampire face before smashing my face against hers. ¡°Hey vampire princess. I missed you.¡± She awards me with a soft smile. ¡°I miss you too.¡± She leans toward me again and she licks my bottom lip and pulls on it with her pointy tooth, melting me in an instant. My legs are soggy noodles when I hear a shout from down the corridor. ¡°Mercer! Command needs to talk to you.¡± There¡¯s Chief Ragland, ruining fun forever. I smek her quick-like and dash down the hall. ¡°What¡¯s up Chief?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be doing that in the halls, Mercer.¡± ¡°Is it that I¡¯m gay or that I¡¯m a woman, Chief? ¡®Cause Martin has been docking with that Brazilian storekeeper and you don¡¯t say shit.¡± Chief snarls at the accusation, ¡°Watch your tone third class, or I¡¯ll write you up on charges.¡± I look at my rank, clearly and MM2, and am reminded that he¡¯s just an ass. ¡°Aye Aye, Chief. Sexual orientation is still a protected class, FYI.¡± I don¡¯t actually think he¡¯s sexist, I just think he¡¯s buddies with the Commander I shamed and wants to put me in my place. Turns out I make enemies just as fast in space as I do on the ground. I check quick with the conference scheduler and I in fact have a phone call. I am now apparently the enlisted POC with NASA et al. Is this why Ragland is up my ass? Probably. Anyway, they want me to demo some potential programming changes to the Annihilation drive and I¡¯m all about walking through any changes to my baby child. I thank them for the opportunity and when they push the next update, I have access to the HUD source code? My girlfriend would LOVE this access and might even write me a custom interface. Because she has nothing else to do in space school. I was so hyped to be up here, and as thrilled as I am to be here, the politics and maneuvering are souring the experience for me. I miss the hectic time in DC when I had a week to stab my brain and a week to become infatuated with the smartest woman I¡¯ve ever met. She¡¯s a good lay, why wouldn¡¯t I become attached. That and Vampire powers. Totally not in love with her. /Martin: Merc, you coming to class, or you got an inside line? Good guy Martin, he never expressed any hate toward me based on my behavior. Him destroying my standing in prototype probably didn¡¯t hurt. /Mercer: Nah, Marty, prio call I couldn¡¯t refuse. Brt. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. No surprise, cell phones don¡¯t work in space. Our screens and displays accept inputs from our suits, so those of us that opted for the lightweight technician gloves with integrated tech-type, we can text with minute twitches in our fingers instead of using a keyboard. I try not to both Katie with it, but I text her a couple of times a day during class. My HUD module was also upgraded to experimental contact lenses with electronic stickers on my face to link the lenses via induction to my suit. Inductive power transfer is a neat design, but I never knew such refined techniques were available for interactive vision. Two of the US officers and one of the Chiefs also had the lenses and was a part of the advanced care package that I wanted for my extra duties from the CNO and Naval reactors. The engineering classes have been stone cold boring. Introductions to Operations in Space was a damn joke of a module and essentially just told us that inside Moon orbit, we had enviro concerns, but outside of that sphere, venting, dumping, jettisoning, etc. really didn¡¯t matter because space is enormous. I recall the US Navy had a similar policy with the ocean and most of that debris is still weighted to the bottom of the Pacific. Zero grav vibrations was the only highlight. The extra design considerations to accommodate the lack of dampening by gravity is a cool concept and it was good flavor to boring fluids and statics lessons. Life in the hab ring was just like a high-tech office building. Cafeteria selections were more limited than I expected, but heat sources are highly controlled and most of our meals were glorified TV dinners that we put into an advanced microwave-style oven. The cafeteria was also VERY small and required rotating out as soon as you¡¯d eaten or heated your meal. It was also, sadly, the majority of the time Katie and I could spend together¡ªwhen our schedules matched. ¡°[How is your Russian coming, Mercenary?],¡± I laugh as Baiul has taken up calling me Merc as well, but in Russian it sounds funny. ¡°Not so bad. Should I be worried that you¡¯re spying on me?¡± ¡°Always,¡± and she winks with those ridiculously long eyelashes. I shake my head at the implication of her spying. ¡°Need something Chief?¡± I break off another chunk of vacuum-packed pastry and eat it. ¡°I am hoping you would be willing to help me with extra instruction on the propulsion topics in the upcoming weeks?¡± ¡°Mm, I can do that. It¡¯ll have to be after dinner though. Extra duties and all that.¡± The tall woman rocking a high pony lifted he blond eyebrow in a question. I don¡¯t respond, but I can see that she wants to ask about the extra duties I¡¯m glossing over. Speaking of extra duties, from what I can tell from watching the Chinese and some of their SE Asia compatriots, they don¡¯t spend time socializing and as far as I can tell they spend all of their spare time in their dorm rooms. They also managed to arrange all of their candidates to be in China-affiliated groups when the rest of us are intentionally mixed in nationality. Also, from what I can tell, Commander Zhao is a shoe in for Executive Officer of the Copernicus. Commander Nugget continues to barely restrain his temper and the other two officers from Spain and Japan don¡¯t seem as technically competent. From what I can tell, and from what I can glean from the high ranking admiral¡¯s aides, one representative from the primary financiers (US, China, and Japan) must be included in ship¡¯s leadership for both Copernicus and Galileo. The Commanding Officer candidates are on a different track, and have not been seen in any of my classes. Outside of those requirements, the rumor is that positions of authority will be awarded with class and on-ship training performance as a major factor. So theoretically, Baiul could end up as the Chief of the Boat even though she¡¯s not the most senior enlisted in the program. I bet on her being engineering¡¯s Leading Chief Petty Officer or similar. She seems a deadly mix of technically and politically competent. /Mercer: Is Countess O¡¯Connell available for smooches after dinner. /O¡¯Connell: Mm, yes, but I¡¯ve got a backlog right now, perhaps I can fit you in tomorrow? /Mercer: Not funny Katie. You¡¯re not supposed to share your lips with other people. /O¡¯Connell: Wait, is that what girlfriend means? That I don¡¯t get to kiss pretty Russian Engineers? Wait. Waaaiiit. /Mercer: Is this you jealous and possessive?! OMG <3 /O¡¯Connell: I don¡¯t like how she¡¯s constantly trying to seduce you. I may not be the most socially literate, but I can tell she¡¯s interested in you. And you share the same dorm. And you¡¯re learning Russian. /Mercer: Oof hon. I¡¯m sorry that this makes you uncomfortable, but the only lips I¡¯m interested in are yours. And I wish you and she could switch places so I can collect my tall girl snuggles. /O¡¯Connell: It further worries me that I know you require more physical affection than I do. /Mercer: Oh no, have I been too much? I know you don¡¯t like PDA, but I can¡¯t help but touch you when I see you. We talk about quality of attention and that Katie is worried about how the situation may not be the best for a continued relationship. When I ask her what ending a relationship like ours would benefit, she couldn¡¯t come up with a good answer. I can¡¯t tell where her guilt and uncertainty is coming from, but she¡¯s experiencing it and all I can do is work with that. I suggest that we try skipping a few lunches for dorm rendezvous and she hesitantly agrees. It¡¯s kind of a shitty feeling that I have to convince my girlfriend to have sex with me. Chapter 14: You Kiss Your Ship with that Mouth? The lunch-time rendezvous never happen. I¡¯d like to think that not all of the reasons not to sneak off with me were just excuses to avoid being alone with me, but it¡¯s starting to feel like it. She¡¯s been increasingly short with me via chat and though she acknowledged that I need more physical affection than she does, most of her attempts have been mechanical to seemingly check that maintenance box. Since putting in time with my girlfriend hasn¡¯t been an option, I¡¯ve been diving into modules at breakneck speed. The way they work is similar to prototype where you have a checklist of knowledge proficiencies that you need to prove before you finish a module, with each list item needs to be checked off by an instructor or an AI protocol via HUD projection and data monitoring. Of Course, to finish a whole module, you had to have a review from an actual human. Ivanka and one of her fellow Russion Sailors came up with a cross correlating database for similar knowledge checks over a myriad of modules and created some pretty handy study paths. I worked with the AI protocols to review some of these ¡°optimized paths¡± which led to theoretically shaving two weeks or more off the projected module timeline to help people scratch out more time for modules that were hard for them. After the class found out about the AI checkouts, I burned through the reactor and propulsion modules in days. The only thing that kept me from finishing the program in three months was that we needed to perform watch practicals where we performed emergency response and normal operation tasks in a simulated engine room. Instructors informed me that they wouldn¡¯t start those simulations until a whole watch team was ready. I wasn¡¯t willing to coerce people so I could ¡°go go go¡± because I¡¯d still have to sit on the ISS until they shuttled us to the ship anyway. So I studied Russian and started making various designs for scout and space fighters based on my Propulsor tech and various versions of primary power sources. You see a ton of space ships and fighters in sci-fi shows and the various designs are sometimes fun and exciting while others are groan-worth and ridiculous. Space ships don¡¯t have to be pointy and low-resistance atmosphere flight should be scoopy when relying on material-based thrust. I designed a few space-only bloblulous ones, and a few scram jet style ones. Looking at some of the pointy designs that I just disparaged, I realized that they were sexy in a way that reminded me of Katie. ¡°Life would be so much easier if I could just focus on my passions.¡± ¡°Professional, or leisure,¡± Ivanka purred, knowing to find me in the weightless axle of the station in my study time. ¡°In either case please share.¡± Her sultry smile would be palpitation inducing if my heart didn¡¯t already feel like a lead weight in my chest. I smirk at her attempt at levity. ¡°[Oh, you know, designing fighters and learning Russian.]¡± ¡°[Very good! You are doing so well, little cherub.] But your accent is atrocious.¡± She maneuvers beside me, hip touching mine lightly as we float there. She¡¯s a little too close, but not so close that I think she¡¯s going to try anything¡ªthough I know she¡¯s interested. I asked her about fraternization and she laughed with a throaty jubilance and told me that Russian influence is not so plentiful as to ignore opportunity. I almost asked her if I was one of her missions, but I knew what she¡¯d say and if I heard it out loud I knew it would hurt me a little. There are a few other international sailors I get along with, including Ivanka¡¯s electronics friend Petra Volkov, as well as a Japanese Warrant Officer Sato Daisuke. I met Sato when I was waiting to talk with Commander Zhao about cheating allegations for finishing my modules so fast, and at first the command staff thought my Russians and I had started a cheating scam on the AI assessors. Sato helped us get the optimization tables to include the non-nuclear ratings. Good guy Sato. Zhao still had a titanium rod grafted to her spine through her rectum. I look up from my musing and see Ivanka questioning me, ¡°Sorry, I was musing over some interactions with other Sailors. Are you here to study, or collude?¡± ¡°You would accuse me of trying to gather accomplices for my schemes? Well of course little Merc, I cannot be everywhere.¡± Stupid scheming grin. ¡°I am, interested in getting a watch team together.¡± ¡°Oh? I am not so overly focused to think that this is solely for our benefit.¡± ¡°No no no, of course not. I will be more plain. I want you and I to qualify quickly so that I can focus on other plans, and that I have an ally in engineering to support my interests.¡± She always feeds me enough candor to want to trust her, but not so much that I feel like she¡¯s setting me up. Most likely she¡¯s collecting me as an asset. Is it better or worse that I know about it and am still being corralled into it? ¡°I don¡¯t know what international politics are involved in handing out billets after this, but I haven¡¯t been very successful in connecting with any of the officers onboard.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ivanka nods at my statement and then shoots me a list of junior officers and petty officers that could fill out an engineering watch team. I flag some names that I think would take well to an accelerated AI assessment schedule. ¡°Done. Could you talk to the school staff about arranging the early sims? At this point I think they¡¯re tired of making accommodations for me.¡± ¡°Easily done. Is there anything else you need from me?¡± She asks, as though I was the one that was keeping her here. ¡°Can¡¯t think of anything right now.¡± Though I want to say I need a friend, though I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s not on the table with Petra and Ivanka. ¡°You didn¡¯t find me to study?¡± ¡°Not today. Though Petra wants to pick your brain about something.¡± Petra reminds me of a more personable version of me working on my thesis project: so focused and animated, but much less of a callous witch. She¡¯s got mischievous little sister vibes and I can¡¯t help but thinking of the trouble we could get into together. I end up following Ivanka to the cafeteria and I spend some cash on my toaster strudel addiction. I don¡¯t know why they have a snack machine in space, but I¡¯m certainly grateful. When I turn around, I see Katie trying to murder both Ivanka and I with her eyes. Shit, she really must think I¡¯m lying to her. I sit across from her and touch her with my legs like normal, but she shoves them away this time and doesn¡¯t look me in the eyes. ¡°Katie, she came to find me to set up a watch team for quals.¡± ¡°You seem a little closer than that, Penny.¡± She spits. ¡°What¡¯s this really about, hon? I¡¯ve been trying to arrange together time for weeks.¡± ¡°Some of us don¡¯t have a team to helm me do work.¡± I kick her for that. ¡°I could be helping you too! Not that you probably need it. It just feels like you¡¯re avoiding me and I don¡¯t know what I did Katie! Please help me understand.¡± She looks between me and her reconstituted lunch as the anger bleeds from her eyes. ¡°I thought we were the same, you know. Smart and awkward together.¡± Her voice is small, barely audible. ¡°But up here, you¡¯re so popular and I¡¯m still just me.¡± Oh, honey. That made my heart hurt so bad. I reach out and take her hand in mine. I briefly feel a twitch as though she considered removing her hand, but instead curls her fingers around mine. ¡°You¡¯re not ¡®just¡¯ anything Katie O¡¯Connell. You¡¯re so smart and amazing, and I can see how much you feel and care, but you don¡¯t have to feel it alone.¡± I pull her hand up and kiss it, smiling when she locks eyes with me. ¡°And most of the people you see looking for me don¡¯t like me at all. They just want things from me.¡± ¡°That Russian girl wants more than just information from you Penny.¡± Let¡¯s not devolve back into that. ¡°What,¡± I say, kissing her fingers periodically, ¡°will it take to shift your focus to me?¡± I pull the neck of my suit to the side a little, ¡°Maybe offer you my neck?¡± She does look, stares even. ¡°Or perhaps I could share some of my ship design projects?¡± ¡°You¡¯re designing a ship?¡± she bites her lip in interest. Finally interested in me. ¡°I¡¯m also working on some engine testing with Naval Reactors. If you , uh, want to come back to my dorm, I could tell you about them. In detail.¡± My last words hooked her and her pupils blow out in arousal at the though of me talking nerdy to her. Katie quickly picks up her stuff and re-vacuum seals her half-eaten meal. She never lets go of my hand through the process and I can¡¯t help how happy it makes me to see her show interest in physical contact with me again. As nice as this feels, Penny, you can¡¯t be satisfied with a single day of contentment, we need to keep her from backsliding into fear and isolation again. I coax her into discussing my personal projects in our underwear, not wanting to risk showing her in the living room and us getting carried away. She sits behind me on the bed and I snuggle up into her lap and she holds me while I talk about my ships. Less than twenty minutes later she¡¯s nuzzling my neck and littering my ribs and chest with her feathery, wandering touch. I ditch the gloves and my attempts to actual display the ship models because I need her skin in my hands immediately. On hand grips her thigh and kneads the wiry muscle wrapped in smooth, pale skin; and with the other I scrunch in her silky curls lightly forcing her head further into my neck. ¡°Please, Katie.¡± ¡°Keep talking Penny.¡± The dusky growl flowing over my skin with her canines brushing my skin almost drives me to tackle her in lust. Instead, I use all the control I have to spew science about my hobbies. I¡¯ve felt so touch-starved over the last few months that when she touches my clit and bites down on my shoulder, I climax with no warning. Katie chuckles and lets me go, as though she thinks we¡¯re done. One isn¡¯t enough. I strip us both in a way that could only be described as desperate. I keep talking when I can get two braincells to cooperate and touch my girlfriend with as much of my body as possible. My next orgasm was quick and needy, but I managed to carry my Vampire Goddess with me. We both like to cuddle after, so I¡¯m not surprised when she curls around me, but she starts kissing my shoulders again while slowly caressing my breasts with one hand and lazily toying with my folds with the other. My arousal builds again, but this time it fills me with a slow heaviness, like a filling tub or a warming pile of blankets. It¡¯s comforting and electric and oh so personal. ¡°Penny, I¡¯m so sorry for how¡¯ve been. I¡¯ve been so worried about you leaving me that I¡¯ve been pushing you away to save the heartache.¡± Her voice is shaky, but the sureness of her actions tell me she¡¯s working toward something she¡¯s sure of. ¡°I was so focused on my loneliness, that I couldn¡¯t see how I was hurting you, and I¡¯m so, so sorry.¡± The warmth in my body pulses as she holds me tighter and I feel her tears wet my cheek. She¡¯s touching me inside an out now, moving her fingers absently, not allowing me to cum or cool down. ¡°I just. I just love you so much and I . . . and holding you in my arms is where I want to be. Always.¡± The flood of emotions in response to her sweet words makes me want to comfort her in a million ways, but that flood was enough to overflow me, causing me to twitch softly in her embrace in the throws of an orgasm that feels like a long, comforting sigh. Chapter 15: Worthless Meetings ¡°I know you have to get back to studying, but you can come to me with anything, you know?¡± I reach for my underwear and start dressing myself, pausing to watch Katie do the same. ¡°I know you say that, but what if you find out how weak I am, or decide that I¡¯m not good enough for you.¡± She starts sniffling again. ¡°Honey, listen to me,¡± I pull here eyes up to mine and the sorrow in them almost crushes me. ¡°You¡¯re smart, capable, and dedicated. You¡¯re amazing Katie. And I¡¯ll try to help you realize that if you let me.¡± I can¡¯t help stroking my thumb across her face and kissing that pout off her face. ¡°I¡¯m in this with you, okay. While trying to distract you from realizing my crippling flaws.¡± I stick my tongue out and boop her nose at the last part. I get an eyeroll a smile and a nod out of that so maybe, just maybe we¡¯re stopping a backslide in our relationship. She did tell me she loved me. Which fills me with warmth and sorrow at the pleading tone in which she confessed. I watch her pull herself together physically and mentally and start to realize the sheer force of will it takes for her to walk out of her quarters every morning. My stoic vampire has a delicate heart. I get another kiss before she leaves and a soft ¡°thank you¡±. Things feel so cozy right now, I think while zipping up my suit/uniform, that I expect something to blow up in my face as soon as I walk out the door. I link my eye circuits and immediately groan at my messages. /Zhao: Report to the teleconference room immediately. Walk quickly around the ring to the appropriately labeled room, open the door to see Ivanka, Petra, Commanders Zhao and Nugget with four Captains I¡¯ve never seen before. I snap to attention. ¡°MM2 Mercer, reporting as ordered.¡± ¡°Stand easy Mercer.¡± A woman on a vid link with stars on her shoulders says. ¡°And explain your delayed response to a priority message.¡± I blush immediately. ¡°My apologies admiral, I don¡¯t engage my HUD when engaged in . . . personal activities.¡± Ivanka and Petra restrain their laughter, but the officers seem to be mixed between annoyed and angry. I shrug. Girl¡¯s gotta eat. ¡°Moving on. It has come to our attention that you, Chief Baiul, and 1st Class Volkov have accelerated the progress of individuals in your orbits. ¡°There were some cheating allegations, however, the system as set by the Copernicus and Genesis committees has been scoured and no evidence of foul play has been found, just an aggressive approach toward machine assessments. The live instructors have assessed your knowledge at the end of each module and have found your knowledge adequate. ¡°With that resolved, the question remains, what are your motivations for this perceived favoritism? And to what end do you advance at this rate?¡± Just word vomit this and explain everything, Penny. Don¡¯t look like you¡¯re hiding anything. ¡°Well, Admiral, it¡¯s a mixture of things. I know many of these systems from my civilian research, so testing out of that was fast. Next, being idle is largely taboo in an environment and stinks of arrogance and not taking the job seriously, so I started learning what I can when I can. I even started some language modules. Third, I was approached by Chief Baiul about qualifying a watch team early so that we don¡¯t ¡®clog the pipe¡¯ when the majority of our shipmates will need the simulation time. And lastly, this quick advancement feeds my want to know as much about the ship¡¯s engineering as possible.¡± ¡°So this is just a ploy for personal advancement? Some of those pretty words sound as though you¡¯re covering up your pride and greed.¡± Commander Zhao accuses. ¡°Commander, what is the point of striving for excellence if not for personal gain and the benefit of others? If helping myself advance clears seats during sim time, then we have more sailors that just need a re-qual watch while on board the Copernicus, allowing more time for technical wickets that we need to check off as a crew before we can go out on mission. ¡°Instead of questioning us why we¡¯re advancing quickly and trying to drag people with us, instead ask how you can help us identify those that are willing to put the effort in to catch up with our assistance!¡± The room is silent for long enough that I just raised my voice at a flag officer. That¡¯s enough to get me grounded for sure. The silence continues until one of the Captains speak up ¡°Admirals, these are the signs of a Sailor that cares more about a ship that its people¡ªbut there¡¯s no shame in that. If she were one of my officers, I might have more questions, but as a leader in the engineering spaces? I¡¯d want a Sailor with that kind of commitment, the commitment of all three of these Sailors.¡± ¡°Very well, Captain Morris, may you sail in interesting times. That kind of crew will make it so.¡± She takes a moment to breath and consider. ¡°Gentlement, against my better judgment I¡¯m voting to allow them to continue to accelerate, with direction and support of the instructors of the school, other members of the student body. How say you?¡± The two other admirals nod their agreement before they cut the call. I tribunal of international admirals. Did I almost get discharged and sent to prison? Oof, try to ignore everything but going fast, and you still get the wrong kind of attention. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. /Mercer: I take it that meeting means you found your watch team? /Baiul: I have, but I haven¡¯t made any progress with them in 2 hours. I¡¯m glad you finally had sex, you were getting pent up. Who was it? /Mercer: My girlfriend, Ivanka. You know who she is. /Baiul: Perhaps next time you need a third . . . /Mercer: NO! Not a chance, you Russian succubus. /Baiul: Is it my fault that I¡¯m good at what I do? /Mercer: Yes. Do you need any help getting an instructor for our sim time? /Baiul: No. Petra has a man in mind. Well. That puts my mind at ease, a little bit. It does make me wonder what brand of convincing they employed. Don¡¯t ask questions you don¡¯t want answers to Penny. Ivanka has already hinted at that kind of influence, so leave it alone. Our team of three work with the other two to get caught up and ready for sims, and our little study program goes swimmingly. Usually it would take two or three instructors to run the sims for the enlisted, but with us finding a junior officer to qual with us, we narrowed it down to two, by the time the official time for sims came in with six weeks left in training, Baiul and I were qualified for engineering supervisor, and I had engineering watch officer so that our poor little junior officer could take a break. The last required instructor ensured that training was conducted appropriately, and I stood quite a few extra watches. Not that they¡¯d ever let me stand EWO on the real ship, but I was allowed to coach the fledgling junior officers to get their quals, so that at least helped somebody, somewhere. Katie blazed through her qualifications as well, and we spent some time in zero g together to celebrate and look at the stars. She¡¯d slowly stopped pushing me away, to where we¡¯ve settled into a supportive relationship without a lot of sex. We have intimate moments, kissing and cuddles mostly, but it feels like enough for now. Our time on ISS is almost over and I can¡¯t deny that I¡¯m both nervous and excited. On one hand, I could be assigned a great roll where I get to hug my propulsor every day and room with my girlfriend, but there is no way that¡¯s going to work out. Enlisted get group berthing with coffin racks, and even officers aren¡¯t immune from sharing berthing. Granted, size concerns aren¡¯t the same as with surface ships and submarines, but a heavier ship still takes more fuel to maneuver. Part of the mission of this first deployment is to test my engine, and do a study of the gas giants and the feasibility of skimming atmospheric hydrocarbons for development into fuel. The amount of projects these flag officers and program directors have to manage boggles my mind. I can¡¯t even manage space school, a girlfriend, and designing my own space ship. LT Sato saves me from a thought spiral. ¡°You designed the engines right?¡± ¡°Some of them, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I was having a debate with other ¡®Pilots¡¯ in the Bridge. Two of the outer boosters are designed to configure reverse thrust. The A-Pulse engine is configured to align with those boosters in an emergency. Can that alignment also provide reverse thrust?¡± Okay, first things first, I like A-Pulse engine. Two, ¡°That is a good way to blow off all of the expansion cones and possibly parts of the aft hull. Why is that up for debate?¡± ¡°It says they can be aligned during an emergency and doesn¡¯t specify why.¡± ¡°Oof. Okay, so A-Pulse is designed for direct vector propulsion. There are no containment systems in place in the cones and nozzles and the antimatter would immediately impact a curved trajectory barrier and react explosively with it.¡± Sato thanks me with a bow and leaves immediately. Shit. I need to send some notes and review some manuals don¡¯t I? Instead of doing their work for them. I message Naval Reactors about the discrepancy and how reversing the Propulsor thrust takes a reversal maneuver, you can¡¯t just shift a vent and provide reverse thrust. It¡¯s moments like this that I get terrified that I¡¯m going to space. A crew full of people that have never operated on the gear, trying to be the first. I feel as though anyone learning the specifics of our propulsion system should Nope the fuck out. I suppose that people trust their commanders and admirals not to throw their lives away needlessly. I guess I am too as I won¡¯t have the time to go over all the systems before we get underway. As the week starts coming off, the first watch team to qualify is in regular meetings with the School instructors to help refine the program. For the vast majority of the students, the program was fine as written. However, the overachievers should be introduced to the optimization database after their initial acclimatization and then approached to become supervisors to help their shipmates. The idea will get some pushback, but as long as some people are more prepared for the difficult environment we¡¯re about to be plunged into, I think that any little bit can help. I didn¡¯t know that I would be helping the program, nor did I figure that the advertisements for Space would include the first qual of a inter system space vehicle. Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the ISS Copernicus. To seek out new fuels and new ways to blow ourselves up. I don¡¯t have the Picard-esque accent, but damned if I don¡¯t feel like a pioneer. Universe be blessed I really feel the call of space flight and exploration. Mid thirties old lady and I¡¯m feeling the pull of exploration. Wait. Is Katie worried about where we are in life? Shit, I never even though about that. Is the education difference making her feel inferior, that I¡¯m going to leave her behind because our knowledge base is different? OMFG that sounds like my insecure vampire to a ¡°t¡± oh Honey, you deserve comfort smooches. /Mercer: Katie-bear, you know I don¡¯t care about our education difference right? /O¡¯Connell: Weird flex, bun, but no, the difference is intimidating. /Mercer: Baby, Countess, you¡¯re not intimidated by me right? Right? /O¡¯Connell: Penny, you¡¯ve shown me multiple times, that your intellect is terrifying and yes, you intimidate me and, hell, I always wonder if you¡¯re going to trade me in. And FUCK all of that, because I love you and I¡¯m so afraid to lose you. I¡¯ve got tears in my eyes, not because of the intimidation, but because of the fear. /Mercer: Snuggle bitch, you are not allowed to feel insignificant before me. Only the worthy are allowed in my presence and to take of my essence. You DARE accuse me of allowing lesser mortals to partake of my Vitae? /O¡¯Connell: Of course not mistress. Please allow me to continue to serve you. Katie¡¯s recently expressed her desired for a give and take, and holy Universe has she responded well. She identifies so much as the slave, but if serving me gives her pleasure and fulfillment, I suppose it¡¯s a gateway to embodying a more healthy relationship . Or she can keep scratching and biting me and healthy can fuck right off. Chapter 16; Mama is Coming Home The last month of Copernicus and Genesis projects were boring for me and my friends. I guess I should say that those projects were boring, but we weren¡¯t exactly bored. Ivanka was working on some crew relations project that I couldn¡¯t tell if it was legit, or her excuse to sleep with as many people as possible. Petra, on the other hand, was designing electrical systems for atmospheric craft in extreme circumstances. I told her I would only help with spacecraft and not whatever hyper-nationalist Earth-bound garbage that she wanted to prop her country up with. She pouted, but then realized that all she had to do was design a craft that was capable of both. I ended up helping her with some printed designs that maximized heat distribution for wiring and structural components. The Admirals were not as easy to satiate. They were pressing hard for me to help with their terrestrial propulsion designs and I told them plainly that the testing I wanted to do to then minimize structure, had to do with potentially annihilating large swaths of space, aka whole buildings or more, with uncertain destination vectors. I declined and then sent them some of my space recon vehicle designs with fusion power systems so that they would have to fiddle with making that work before they could build any of them. LT Sato qualified as a navigator with a desire to learn more about the propulsion systems, and Katie decided to double-down on supply and learned the ins and outs of the autonomous reclamation vehicles and how they transmute asteroids and comets into usable material. I agreed to work with her on our drone pilot certs once we get onboard. I never met any of the Captains again, nor have I spent any time with the mysterious third and fourth Commanders for our crew. Curiously, the Captains that I met have been picked for commanding one of the four commissioned ships (ISV¡¯s Copernicus, Galilei, Kepler, and Brahe), but the four commanders are all supposed to be on our crew. Captain Morris had my back, so I hope the Aussie ends up commanding Copernicus. Then, a week that felt almost as bad as the month that I thought Katie was going to dump me, we spent a week suffering through meetings, tests and interviews. And paperwork, so much paperwork happened over those last few days. Which brings us back to today: meet the ship day!! ¡°I¡¯m practically vibrating I¡¯m so excited.¡± I even squeal a little. ¡°Maybe you should put that energy to good use.¡± Ivanka purrs. Katie glares at her, but I reply before she can hiss ¡°I would, but we¡¯re about to be in close proximity to our whole crew, and I doubt LS2 O¡¯Connell wants that kind of attention.¡± I hip bump my girlfriend. She looks horrified at the thought of having sex in public. Our crew module is attached to resupply and equipment modules as well as a booster/thrust module to get us to the Copernicus. We¡¯re going approximately ten times further from Earth than we already are, but we don¡¯t need to fight near as much gravity. It¡¯s still going to take us four plus hours to get to the geo-sync ship. Apparently we won¡¯t get to see the geostationary shipyard with Kepler and Brahe being constructed, but seeing Copernicus in it¡¯s star-blanketed orbit will have to be enough. /Preflight com check for crew Copernicus/ Two minutes later: /73 checks confirmed. Commence Pilot and Engineering Checklists/ I expected to be pegged for the flight engineer position with Baiul again and it happened. I complain, but I do feel a professional glow that they trust me; little, old, overeducated me to be a systems expert to get nearly a hundred people safely to a spaceship, from a space station. I am so pumped to be in SPACE! The remaining 140 shipmates are already onboard. Lucky bastards. Space. Childishness aside, the thrust components aren¡¯t new, so I code in a pre-launch warming routine for the separated fuel. On checking the other maneuvers I don¡¯t love the tiny thrusters on the crew module with the reversal maneuver that we have to use to get off the ISS and in line with the Copernicus. I petition to use two of the six rapidly deployable thrust modules and attach them to the crew module, but I was shut down with a price tag and a low-risk probability. Fine, screw me for wanting to be safer. /Commence crew loading and compartment checks/ And so starts the fifty minute wait and five-hour flight to my next duty station. My widdle baby engine is waiting for mommy. Don¡¯t worry honey, mommy¡¯s coming. Seating humans in a cube is much easier with no gravity. /Mercer, Baiul, this is ISS Control. You have been assigned Emergency Assist Override control. Please confirm/ /Compartment pressure . . . .SAT/ /Navigation path optimization. . . .SAT/ Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. /Pilot control check. . . SAT/ /Emergency control check . . . .SAT/ /Ready debarkation procedure/ The . . . whatever this collection of parts is called uncouples from the ISS and initiates a reversal maneuver after two kilometers of drifting. Commander Nugget leaves my warming routine alone this time and the booster responds as designed to send us on our way to a technological marvel. Commander Zhao uses voice comms to tell us the general layout of the ship, the HAB portion, the forward section and the engineering sections of the ship. Apparently, artificial gravity tech isn¡¯t where it needs to be to gravity the whole ship. So, they instituted a watch and gravity rotation that keeps enough people around to maintain watch readiness while also minimizing our bone loss by getting us in the hab ring a few months of the year. Zhao then starts talking about random other rules like food areas and locations where magnetic anchoring is not allowed. How did she expect anyone to listen. This was premier nap time for anyone not feeling like their waiting to get to a theme park. She does mention that cumulative crew awards, promotions and assignments will be designated in the receiving bay once we arrive. The Admirals informed their aids that my promotion was already signed on paper, which makes me feel like I cheated my way to MM1, but I can¡¯t exactly get the influential position they want without the appropriate rank. Getting me to Chief was strictly untenable as I haven¡¯t put in six plus years of exemplary service. It¡¯s almost been three years though. Wow. That¡¯s weird to think, and I¡¯ve been dating Katie for almost a year of it. Beside that week in DC we¡¯ve had to fight for each moment of time together though. How am I going to make her feel loved if we¡¯re on vastly different crews? Damnit. Not sure why we didn¡¯t talk about that before boarding the mini-van, but we¡¯ll have to steal a moment or two before they separate us into crews. Come to think of it, how are the major players on board going to cycle? I like numbers, but seeing nothing but numbers in my HUD is boring and I¡¯m starting to gloss over the changes. May as well play with the layout while I track the engines. I take the diagram of the fuel and thrust system, truncate the piping and overall simplify it with tanks and cones, valves and pumps. Slap on some numbers on capacity, color-code some warning thresholds and put a button to hide or show data or diagram and save that as my Propulsion review display. I check navigation and find some target boxes some cross hairs and telemetry data. Oof, this thing needs some shapes, guide tracks and alpha levels on imagery. Whomever left an object oriented interface customizable deserves a raise. /Mercer, this is Houston. You are currently editing global settings for everyone onboard./ /Houston. I¡¯ll be done in like ten minutes. Can one of your engineers create me a personal profile and migrate it over and then reset the global settings afterward?¡± /Mercer. DE Houston, copy, wait./ I keep trucking along and make a low-alpha ¡®ideal¡¯ track in white, and guide lines I, yellow and red for deviations. Keep the cross hairs on docking location and low alpha a grey ship shape. Speed, distance to target, and closure rate in large letters with color coded tolerances. Our closure rate was deep red but our distance was green and our speed was green. Hmm, overall approach health? Yeah, telemetry and closure data compared to expected plan data. Colored, saved and button added to the plain as heck main screen. I then ad a mode to make a screen in screen for the thrust health diagrams while navigating. I like this. I want this on the Copernicus. /Houston, DE Mercer. Finished with layout. Thanks for the access./ /Mercer, DE Houston. Copy. Migration and reset initiating./ ¡°Mercer! Are you messing with our displays again?¡± Commander Nugent accuses. ¡°I was sir. Houston is creating some personal profiles so that we can modify them as we desire. I didn¡¯t know I was editing the global. My apologies sir.¡± /Mercer, DE Houston. Migration and reset complete./ ¡°I liked the visual track with the thrust sub-display. Send that to me?¡± ¡°Aye aye sir.¡± I get a slap to the side of my head and I turn to find Ivanka gesturing the same desire. I can¡¯t help but laugh. How was I the only one bored enough to mess with shit? Maybe I¡¯m just the self-important ass that changes everyone¡¯s displays while on a risky space transit because I¡¯m bored. Meh, turned out well, no harm no foul. /Houston, DE Mercer, Request better Nav, Thrust, and overall Mission health calculations for display. These are . . . quick and dirty./ Instead of typing they sound ping my headset. That¡¯s annoying as hell, but I get why. When we get within 1000km of our target, I write a little threshold code to pop my picture in picture to main the outside cameras and the small inset as the thrust diagram for when the visual of our target takes up 20% of the view angle. At 10km out, it¡¯s hard to pay attention to anything but the magnificence of the space vessel before me. From stem to stern it¡¯s about a kilometer long and twenty decks tall, besides the HAB and accelerator rings. Both sets of rings are about 200m in diameter inline with the ship. She¡¯s beautiful and enormous. The aft section is riddled with thrust cones, and the three main annihilation cones are partially enclosed with a shielding cone, to prevent and re-direct some intense forces from reaching the rest of the crew. I can see now that the spinning rings for habitat have passageways on either side to a front sensor and command section of the ship, connecting to an aft life-support and mundane engineering such as our receiving and machining bay. This mundane engineering, or engineering forward, is detachable from the accelerator rings in case of emergency. There are two other separatable compartment cutoffs before reaching the Reactor Compartment and Engineering Aft. The reactor compartment is oddly placed inside the ring portion of the ship, well odd to a bystander, but to me it makes perfect sense because the accelerator is meant to fuel the Annihilator. Finally comes my widdle baby in the Engineering Test compartment. It¡¯s double hulled filled with fuel oil, with depleted Uranium shielding to keep the hyper zoomies from everybody¡¯s bodies. The Annihilation propulsor is a recklessly irresponsible piece of engineering that seems to be predictably irresponsible in the aft direction. The ¡°test¡± part of this engine is if the translocation portion works with a vessel this large. A chill shoots down my spine as our docking target comes into discernable shape on our view screens. It¡¯s a sense of thrill, a sense of purpose, and most importantly; a sense of coming home. Chapter 17: Voluntold I almost collapsed from joy when I stepped aboard the ship. Baiul caught me and laughed the whole time. ¡°Now I know how to make your knees weak Mercenary.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just mad it¡¯s not your dusky voice and a joint.¡± ¡°Da, you¡¯re too much work for a quick lay.¡± I slap her face plate with a middle finger and she chuckles at my antics. Kneeing my but to get me moving. So many machines, so many things I could be doing. Come on the fuck! Katie would be proud, but I should be building and experimenting with these un-used toys!! /Katie, I¡¯ve died and gone to engineer heaven./ /Should I start dressing up as a fabricator in your bedroom./ / . . . . no. But I definitely want to bend you over one. Universe would that be hot./ /uh, I don¡¯t mean to make this about me Katie, I just get so excited. What would make you happy?/ /We¡¯re about to be in a full-crew muster and you want to chat about what would satisfy me in bed?/ Should I not be?! I can¡¯t control what the Captains and Commanders decide. All I can do is worry about the promises made to me and one of them was Katie¡¯s attentions. /Babe, you¡¯ve been focusing on me a lot lately and I want to make you happy too!/ /I didn¡¯t want to pressure you, but I just want to feel that you love me, Penny. That¡¯s what I need from you./ Well, shit. No wonder she¡¯s seemed distant. I haven¡¯t said anything akin to love since she confessed. /OMG. Katie, I didn¡¯t mean to make you feel that way./ /Penny, stop. I understand, but don¡¯t. This is something I need to feel, you can¡¯t just say it, okay? So lets just wait to hear our schedule and talk about it later?/ /Yeah, baby. I¡¯m so sorry. You deserve more of my time./ /You¡¯re right, I do./ Fuuuuuuuck. She is so disappointed in me. And here I¡¯m thinking I¡¯ve been neglected and I haven¡¯t even told her I love her. The words aren¡¯t enough now and I¡¯ve so boned this relationship!! I can¡¯t even blame the Russians this time. Before I have time to simp my girlfriend via chat, a shipwide broadcast hits the receiving bay: Muster per department, orders to follow. Engineering has no raw Seaman, so I¡¯m about the middle of the formation. Chief Baiul and the other Chiefs are in the front row for this formation, and the engineering officers are in position where one would normally be. Then again, engineering would be normally be split by Forward, Aft, and Propulsor but command said Department. And we don¡¯t have the hierarchy assignments set. ¡°As Chosen by international committee, Australian Captain, Harrison Morris has been selected as the Commanding Officer (CO) of the ISV Copernicus. His Executive Officer will be Chinese Commander Zhao. And finally of the command staff, Chief of the Vessel, Command Chief Takahashi.¡± Applause rolls around the receiving bay. I can¡¯t believe that the US let their guaranteed spot go to an Aussie. This reeks of politics, a give and take that will likely show itself in other assignments, and boy do they. The reactor officer is American, Commander Nugent to be precise. Apparently he¡¯s smart and a talented pilot. He apparently covers the officer supervisory for propulsion as well? Oh well. Baiul is promoted to Senior Chief equivalent and is the Leading Chief Petty Officer for all of Engineering. Damn, lady boss. Petra Volkov gets promoted to Chief and is put in charge of Reactor operations, and another Chief Petty Officer equivalents get promoted and assigned to different divisions such as Navigation and Logistics. Most of them are, you guessed it, Russian. The pattern is obvious once the Chiefs get assigned. Baiul and country wanted control of the enlisted and wanted to influence from there. There are some suspicious spots missing, but the number of chief promotes can¡¯t fill the billets. Katie gets promoted to LS1 and is in charge of HAB logistics. Sexy lady boss. Her supervisor is a . . . Greek storekeeper from a waste management firm from Earth? Okay, odd, but those asses should know logistics, so I¡¯ll have to talk to the Countess. Most of my machinist cronies get promoted to MM2, and I cheer for them, but at the end of the department, I hear ¡°Leading Propulsion Petty Officer, and provisional Propulsion Chief, MMN1 Penelope Mercer.¡± What. The. Flipping. Flonk is this shit?! /P: Ivanka, did you do this?!/ /I: do not worry Zaychik, you will be looked after./ I have no idea what that means, but she¡¯s looking at me fondly and I worry. The Admirals had to have something to do with this too. I did get promoted to first class after all. Ugh, this feels shady, dirty and wrong. What does Provisional Chief even mean?! Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Captain Morris calls command staff briefing in the Command Bridge and my name is on the fucking message. I really shouldn¡¯t be mad, but my ideas of being a low-key engine mechanic that got to play with the fabricators is long gone. This is like being disabused of my childhood all over again. Commander Morris watches me walk in and addresses me ¡°MM1, you are the lowest rank Sailor in this meeting. Do you know why you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°I suppose it¡¯s because of provisional chief, but otherwise someone can¡¯t count. Sir.¡± At least he smirked at that, ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯d say it¡¯s practical favoritism as I know more about these engines than anyone in any Navy?¡± Commander Zhao takes a turn, ¡°Don¡¯t sell yourself . . . small? You qualified for everything engineering has to offer and more.¡± ¡°[Thank you Commander. It is an honor to serve amongst such elevated officers as these]. I bow with my statement. Her start and surprise at my address in her native language is satisfying. ¡°[I would be so honored to have the engines and myself perform exceptionally beyond standards. Please await our extraordinary results].¡± ¡°Enough of whatever that is.¡± Morris interrupts. ¡°Many of our missions include putting propulsion through its paces. And since you have already proven that you have the drive to speak up and the expertise to take corrective actions in engineering, you appeared to be the only one recommended for the job, despite not being a Chief Petty Officer. You will still take orders from Senior Baiul and Commander Nugent, but you¡¯ll work with one of the division officers to run Propulsion. ¡°To the real reason I wanted you all here. You¡¯ve all heard that the crew is getting mandatory rotation through the HAB to experience gravity. What you haven¡¯t heard is that the people in this office won¡¯t have the luxury of months off-site at a time. While we do have an extra compliment of crew to ideally handle this, we don¡¯t have two full crews, and until each of you are satisfied that there is another person that can do your job as well as you can, someone you trust to handle an emergency in your stead, you get to be voluntold to participate in experimental tech. You can technically opt out, but think about how that would affect your ability to do your job. ¡°Scientists from Japan and the European Union have developed a version of the gravitic propulsion system that has more effect on smaller masses, and can be used to attract as well as repulse and miniaturized it so the system can fit in something the size of a shed. Meaning, we¡¯re testing an artificial gravity module in lieu of rotating out some of our critical crew.¡± Holy shit! This is amazing news. When they found out that the use of the drive wasn¡¯t made for open space, that they would research in this direction. Oh god, nerd gasm as a shiver of pleasure races down my spine. ¡°The Goat Locker in engineering forward has been converted in its entirety, berthing, lounge, and loo; are all under the effects of this tech. The other Chiefs in engineering have the option of berthing there in their crew time, but as the tech has not been tested for long term effects on humans, this is optional. Mercer, don¡¯t go waiving this privilege in anyone¡¯s faces or I¡¯ll put you in regular crew berthing and will have your lounge time scheduled.¡± He stares at me as though waiting a response, I give him an ¡°Aye Sir¡± and hope it¡¯s enough. ¡°For the officers. The second crew CO and second crew XOs state rooms have been connected and converted to officer berthing with the gravity test module. If Commanders Zhao or Nugent feel that other officers should be kept off rotation, there are a few additional racks than those present. The Goat Locker will be full up each rotation if no one opts out. Any questions?¡± Nearly everyone present looks at me. Sigh, I do have a question. ¡°Yes sir. I would like to have access to the human testing data on this project. Would that be possible?¡± A mixture of annoyance and grins ripple across the room. One of the grinners is Captain Morris. Oh shit. I bet I just volunteered for something. ¡°I was hoping you would ask, Mercer.¡± Fuck me. ¡°Those same scientists want us to continue their study. As a former scientist yourself, you would be ideal for such a request. The data and the forms have already been sent to your onboard data storage.¡± I nod at being outmaneuvered, realizing that everyone in this room as been labeled ¡°indispensable¡± so it would make sense they are all smart, clever asses. ¡°One last bit of administration, before you are free,¡± Zhao says. ¡°In three days, we will begin requalification watches on this equipment. Both navigation and engineering will be using thrusters ONLY for requalification, so propulsion will not be fully qualified until we begin maneuvers past the asteroid belt. The goal is to thrust past the Moon during this period with the intention to begin our journey toward Saturn in three weeks, with fully qualified watch teams. Much of the crew has performed simulations onboard that are sufficient to get us underway. The intent is to put Copernicus through her paces before two years elapses so that we can focus on our science missions for the remaining three years.¡± Oh crap. Now that¡¯s a schedule. I¡¯m not going to get a full night¡¯s sleep for at least a year. I know this is payback from the Universe for letting me get what I wanted from the last year. Fair played cosmos, fair played. Captain Morris dismisses us and I follow Ivanka and her shapely butt as we propel ourselves toward engineering forward and the Goat Locker. Ivanka engages her mag boots before opening the door and clomps through the door to a moderate sized table and chairs and five doors attached to the common room. I follow her lead, but stop my mag boots as soon as I feel the down pull in my knees. ¡°You¡¯ll be with Petra and me across from the bathroom door. Come.¡± She opens the door and there are three racks stacked on top of each other with a person-sized space before a wall with hooks on it for our suits while we sleep. On the wall opposite the door is a display, a light panel and a ship¡¯s clock. Cozy, but not much room to move past someone. ¡°This used to be a larger 6-man bunk with a wider passageway, but they split it up when they asked a group of chiefs if they wanted slightly more space or slightly more privacy. We now have small private storage spaces behind our berthing.¡± She reaches into the thin bed and shoves up the wall behind it to show an additional six inches of space for personal effects as well as the compartment underneath each bed. This is definitely more space than I expected. I also don¡¯t think I could fill it up with the gear I brought aboard. Speaking of gear. I walk over to the console and requisition a data tablet and a box of earplugs so that I don¡¯t have to hear that damn electronic whine while I¡¯m sleeping. Before I can turn away from the screen, it pings with confirmation that my order was filled and the location of which supply my order can be picked up at. Apparently, the main supply shop is in engineering forward and the satellite shop is attached to a storage module on the axel of the HAB. ¡°Hey, Ivanka, Supply is open, do you need anything? I¡¯m going to pick up a data pad and some engine room safety shit.¡± ¡°Oh, yes. Ahead of things as always Petra and I would like a pad as well and those over ear silencer devices.¡± She nods. ¡°Oh, I can actually place those orders for you. That doesn¡¯t seem safe?¡¯ ¡°Why do you think I chose a room with the two people I trust most? None of us will abuse this. I will be in Engineering aft when you return. You should meet us there to review your spaces.¡± ¡°Aye aye Senior.¡± I snap a salute while saluting. She rolls her eyes with a smirk I know that means ¡°Ridiculous American.¡± Chapter 18: Like a Fungus ¡°Hi Katie!¡± I push through the door and snag her before resting my feet against something solid and pull her into a kiss. Moments later she pushes away. ¡°I¡¯m working Penny. So don¡¯t get too carried away.¡± I pull her into a big hug and push to separate us to a respectable distance. ¡°Sorry hon, I¡¯m just really excited to see you! I thought you were in the HAB?¡± She looks down and the makes eye contact with me, ¡°I, uh volunteered to staff this supply station while my department gets settled in the HAB and their quarters.¡± Universe, thank you. ¡°That¡¯s very sweet of you hon, the crew is lucky to have such a considerate supply clerk. BUT! Hey, I uh, found out that I have two days off before I get on a devil of a schedule, so do you happen to have any time off tomorrow or the next day?¡± ¡°Yeah, I have the second day free to get my stuff and my office in order before the big pre-deployment inventory. Which will take us . . two weeks? I think.¡± ¡°Would, you want to, uh, spend some of your off day with me? Maybe share a meal and tangle up and watch a movie together?¡± Why am I so nervous? ¡°And then bend me over a console in engineering?¡± 404, brain not found. Rebooting. ¡°Uhh, I mean, that was supposed to be a long-term goal? But what do you want hon?¡± ¡°Pen pen, I want your whole day. I want to wake up and do breakfast and kick your feet while you rant about some travesty of academia. I want to tangle up while we read and flirt while we eat lunch. And I want you to show me your nerdy invention and hear you explain it to me while you fuck me against it. I want you to think about that moment, with your hand inside me, until you can¡¯t think about your invention without thinking of me. And then, I want you to hold me in the absolute silence of space until I can hear your soul.¡± Okay, fuck me that was a lot. Hot as fuck, but a lot. ¡°Uh, I . . . Uh, . . . yes please?!¡± I exhale a heavy breath of relief. ¡°Can we maybe include you talking about yourself until your smell saturates my hair?¡± Katie finally looks up at me again, like she sees me as her partner for the first time in months. ¡°Yes please?¡± and her lip starts quivering and I can¡¯t. I shut the door, throw the lock and hug her and my delicate Countess digs her fingers into my sides and buries her face in my neck. ¡°You know, I was never into blood play before I met you. And now, I kind of crave it Penny. Can I?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, and yes, of course you can, Katie. I¡¯m yours.¡± She nods and nuzzles, and stabs me with her sexy teeth. My brain blanks for a second and my abdomen pulses. Fuck, Katie, ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°I believe you, love.¡± She keeps licking my neck and grabbing my hair. She¡¯s teasing me with those copper curls and fuck if I care. Her tongue on my neck and my hand in her hair is all I need in this life. I polite nock sounds. Katie pulls back with a smile and licks my nose while shifting my uniform to cover my wounds. ¡°Full day, scandalized console. You owe me Snuggle Bitch.¡± I nod vigorously. She shakes her head and hands me a canvas bag stamped with ¡°ENGINEERING¡± with an elastic band around it. I unlock and open the door and see a cute second class with a mousey look trying to nock again. ¡°Sorry . . . Campbell. Engineering being bullies again. Supply lady is available to assist!¡± I turn to wink at Katie, ¡°Bye LS1.¡± I hook the satchel through a loop on my belt and drift through the halls and ladders back to the Goat Locker. To find Petra and Ivanka topless with their hands down each other¡¯s pants. ¡°Really, ladies? I was gone for less than half an hour.¡± Seeing it¡¯s only me, they keep fucking each other. Great. This is what I have to look forward to. While they continue to breath heavy and make moaning and squelching noises, I re-program their data pads to make goat noises when their physical data is similar to now. Randy ass Russians. It is pretty hot though, so I need to not be here anymore. I can never unsee that, assholes, and they just kept on going when I closed the door! Be honest with yourself, that was a recruitment drive if I ever saw one. ¡®Join us Penny. We¡¯re so hot, and you¡¯re wearing too many clothes. We both have an extra hand for you, Play with us!¡¯ Universe damned Russian Succubae. Five minutes later I hear loud goat noises, some stumbling and swearing and undignified crashing. I wonder if they tried to de-link the console before breaking the tablets I placed around the room. Their tablets. Mine is in my hand. The goats be bleating! My chuckle turns into a cackle while I review the false gravity data on humans. ¡°YOU!¡± Ivanka comes out with murder on her mind. ¡°I asked you stop with the advances. Learn some respect Senior Goat.¡± Petra loses her shit and cracks up laughing from the floor in our bunk room. ¡°You can¡¯t expect that I will never have sex in our room.¡± ¡°I mean, I could ask that you get creative, but I get it. But you knew I would be back right after my supply run and planned for me to walk in on you. I told you I wasn¡¯t interested Chief, and if you insist on doing this, I¡¯ll move out and find somewhere else to be. I¡¯ll let you walk that wherever you want, but come up with a warning so I don¡¯t have to see that again.¡± ¡°Mercer,¡± Petra chimes in, ¡°She is not an enemy you make.¡± ¡°Volkov, I¡¯m just asking for professional courtesy. If courtesy is an enemy-making moment, no one aboard this ship will survive our quarrel. Advise her to try another tack, will you? ¡° ¡°You make it difficult, Mercer. She is not used to being denied, and you have done nothing but that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve cooperated with her at every turn, just not sexually. Is conquest her only metric?¡± Silence resounds and Petra confirms the problem. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a shame. I like you Chief Volkov, but if I need to keep this professional.¡± She nods. Grabs my face, pecks me on the lips and tweaks my nose. ¡°Maybe you understand that some can have friends while collecting assets, Yeah?¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Da, Petra.¡± I give her a peck back. ¡°[I could consider you a friend.]¡± ¡°You stop. Ivanka is jealous already. I come to you in Propulsion some time yeah?¡± I nod at her dismissal. She¡¯ll find me on watch when her reactor business might overlap with my propulsion business. It makes me worried for what Ivanka might do. She seems awfully focused on me lately. Petra seems to be permissive and understands the woman, so . . . who knows, I have so little relationship experience that I know that Petra and Ivanka have something that is way more complicated than my whole life experience. On a list of things I don¡¯t need right now, this is not one of them. I have a sinking feeling this is not the end of any of this and I would be better off transferring to normal crew quarters. Day one trauma. Typical Mercer Magnet crap. I can¡¯t believe my life. My date with K-bear is everything I had wanted for us. We spend a whole day in HAB, we cuddled and worked while tangled, and cuddle some more. She then insisted, yes she did, my demanding Countess, that I make her sweaty on my equipment. Those dials have seen some things, my boobs and blood included, on possibly the most erotic experience of my life. I made love to my Irish vampire while I talked tech to her, slowly stimulating her amongst my machines. It was Universe damned glorious. It feels a little hipocrytical after yelling at Ivanka, but I made the effort to hide, damnit ¡°Katie, I know this might not be the most ideal place for you, but surrounded by my machines, and feeling loved by your blood kisses, I . . ., I want to be more when we get back to Earth, Katie.¡± ¡°What?! Penny, how can you . . . you want to . . . Huh? Like I want to climb inside you but I also want to smack you? PENNY!¡± ¡°My vampire goddess, I feel so complete with you, I just.¡± The tears! Oh god. Universe, give me the strength! ¡°Please, Katie, be my . . .¡± Her massive spindly mitt covers my face. ¡°No Penny. Don¡¯t. I really want to. IF you ask me I will throw caution to the wind and love you open and freely. But is that¡¯s what¡¯s best for us Mercer?¡± and I made my favorite person cry. Aww, shit why?! Why does she want to say no, but also say yes?! ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s best, but I want you to know how I feel so you don¡¯t just throw us away!¡± /I don¡¯t know how to say this, so I won¡¯t. I love you Pen Pen, but if you ask me to spend the rest of my life with you, right now, I feel as thought it will ruin the both of us. I love you so much, but this, this right now would ruin me for anything else. I don¡¯t know how to explain that I love you to the detriment of my existence, but I do./ /Fuck, Katie, I don¡¯t know what to do, I want to be with you, always, and. . . and this is so much. But you are saying it¡¯s too much now? I don¡¯t know what to do, or even how to cry for this./ /I, we. We¡¯re going to be separated frequently for HAB rotations, and maybe we should focus on the future before committing all of it?/ It feels like she stomped on my boobs and then kicked me in the teeth. I take a second to make sure I¡¯m fully clothed and then kick off toward engineering aft. /Okay baby. I¡¯ll focus on work again, instead of . . . you know, fuck honey. I, I got so wrapped up and I didn¡¯t mean to scare you. I just , no. no. no. I got caught up. Sorry Katie. I¡¯ll, see you in a couple of months when I have time to sleep./ /MONTHS!? Penny wai . . ./ communication cut off. I consider briefly going back to my bunk, but I don¡¯t feel safe there anymore. After wandering engineering, making it look like I¡¯m working and giving Katie enough time to clear out, I settle back in next to the console where Katie and I broke a dial like a bunch of degens. I cry into nothing. I resolve to get blankets and a console setup here, but right now, I¡¯m afraid and alone for the first time I more than a year, and I feel wholly and completely betrayed. The next two weeks of qualifications I have exacting standards and exactly no patience for anyone including my supervisors. I embody malicious compliance and have no time for lunch with manipulating scabs. ¡°Penny, you have to understand. You are out of regulations and Ivanka needs to¡± ¡°No, Petra, Senior Baiul needed to fucking let me live. But she wanted to start shit, and then throw her authority around. I¡¯m not hitting my grav requirements this month because she is creating a toxic environment and she can fucking deal.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to win this Penny¡± ¡°You¡¯re right Petra. No one wins. All of us loose. My health declines, two officers have to deal with my shit because Baiul is stubborn. Nobody wins Petra. SO I sleep in engineering aft where no one is willing to find me and I log my interactions for those that do. Three weeks later, all of my kids have passed their quals and I¡¯ve been sleeping behind my gear with a bunch of blankets I¡¯ve smuggled out of the Goat Locker. I re-install the goat sex alarm every time I head that way. By the time XO Zhao calls me to her office, I look like a stained sheet caught in a propellor. The engineering chief and reactor chief are also present in the room. I am last to arrive. We get yelled at for a solid five minutes. Baiul paints a stark and irresponsible account on my part not getting any sleep despite recommendations and Petra Volkov stays silent. ¡°Mercer. I am ordering you to provide an account. Start. Talking.¡± I tap my interface and ask to link with her directly. I send her my files as I speak. ¡°Senior Baiul established a report early in Genesis training, but it seems that she took offense that I was committed to someone not her? My girlfriend LS1 O¡¯Connell is very pretty and I am devoted to her and I believe that Senior Baiul took offense that my devotion was not to her alone.¡± I further explain her sexual relations while I was in quarters and provide logs to back them up. Commander Zhao, though she does not like me, does not seem impressed with the actions of my saboteur. The impromptu hearing doesn¡¯t last long. Zhao doesn¡¯t side with any party but continues to advocate our separation. She does order me to spend at least ten hours a week under gravity, going no longer than two days without being under gravity. I get why she¡¯s doing it, and she¡¯s not dumb so she knows I¡¯m likely to get harassed, but what other options does she have? Send me back and forth from the HAB everyday? As efficient as our airlock system is, it would still be a waste of air and time. So, I resolve to eat lunch and dinner in the Chief¡¯s lounge and make myself scarce after that. I wasn¡¯t friends with any of the other Chiefs in the mess, so the rest of them treating me as an odd decoration is par for the course. Ivanka reins in her temper when other chiefs are around, but she¡¯s taken to assigning me menial tasks that could definitely be handled by other MMs that have less to do. Petra, luckily, only assigns me tasks that she needs me specifically to handle. ¡°MM1, a word¡± a tall, masculine voice says while I tinker with a nozzle design mockup I printed yesterday. I look up to find Commander Nugent and two second classes behind him. I hop to my feet, ¡°How can I help you sir?¡± ¡°We start main propulsion sequences tomorrow and these two helpful Sailors will assist you in moving your hovel from engineering aft. I am disappointed that this is necessary, as you should have moved it yourself already.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just an arm-ful of blankets and sundries sir, I can . . .¡± ¡°Then these Sailors will ensure that you do it now. Report to maneuvering when you are finished.¡± He interrupts with authority and then pushes off toward the ladder well. ¡°Well, gents, follow me I guess.¡± I snicker and huff that I¡¯m being forced to acknowledge this. I¡¯ve moved my ¡°Hovel¡± out of the Propulsor machinery as it was legitimately dangerous to be in those areas with the propulsor and the collider on. I direct them to a plastic sack and a travel tote stuffed behind a tool locker near the turbine generators. ¡°Where are we supposed to be taking this?¡± The sailor with patchy chin scruff replies, ¡°Your assigned rack in crew berthing.¡± I guess the XO did the admin shuffling she necessary should a chief have opted out of the gravity testing program. I wonder if I¡¯m going to get my ass kicked if I sleep there. Nothing for it right now. I drop my things off and head down to maneuvering as ordered. ¡°You wanted to talk to me sir?¡± ¡°Yes. Float with me.¡± Weird thing to say, but as he pushes off I get the idea and match him. ¡°With the XO bringing this unsavory interaction to leadership¡¯s attention, I understand that you¡¯re going through a lot. My only interest in your personal issues, however, is if the best engineer on the ship is going to be able to do her job while she wades through that mess.¡± ¡°Sir, I¡¯d have to be dead before I¡¯d let anyone keep me away from keeping that Propulsor in top shape. Even running at 80% I¡¯m still the best you have.¡± ¡°There¡¯s the arrogance. Good. If you¡¯re healthy enough for pride and vanity, then I have confidence you won¡¯t break a multi-trillion dollar space vessel. Now go get some sleep. We¡¯re starting the collider at 0400 and the maneuver and cooldown is scheduled until 1600 and I want you in engineering for every event.¡± ¡°Aye aye, sir. I¡¯ll make sure I stuff snacks in my pockets.¡± I don¡¯t get a smile out of him, but I can tell I¡¯m growing on him. Like a fungus. Chapter 19: Sound the Alarm I had a win with Commander Nugget yesterday, but today I want to feed him to the recycling unit. I went to bed like he ordered, but my stupid brain used that to try and reset my normal and just kept me tired. That and seeing 0400 on the ship¡¯s clock makes me want to vomit. /Propulsion, DE, Engineering Actual, accelerator @ 70%, begin plasma and propulsion magnetics./ /EA, DE, Propulsion initializing startup sequence. Recommend initializing collision @ 60% plasma volume and propulsion initiation @ 20% antimatter/ /Copy propulsion. EA out/ We set those data points at the pre-maneuver meeting, but these coms are for logs as well as the lower-level operators not invited to the meeting. My two propulsion techs¡ªan MM2 and an ET2¡ªare monitoring the thrust control and troubleshooting station. I shake my head at the long names they have for a data screen and keyboard next to the propulsion magnetic field power breaker. Not a great place to put it really. If that breaker throws, it¡¯s probably going to toss some lightning. I¡¯ve got a 15-20 minute break in paying attention, so naturally that¡¯s when people happen. ¡°Morning, Senior.¡± She scoffs at my address, ¡°Oh please, Penny. It was one instance nearly a month ago.¡± I clench my jaw, ready for a fight, when she puts both hands up and shakes her head. ¡°I am annoyed, but I did not come to fight. Petra said that perhaps if I offered a truce, you remove the goat noises.¡± What? Oh, I forgot I set her tablet to re-infect the room¡¯s console every time they paired. Three weeks is a lot of goat noises. ¡°Oh, I forgot about that. I can fix it now with your tablet, or come by after the maneuver.¡± To my surprise, she hands me the tablet. This would have been a prime opportunity to get me back in the chief¡¯s quarters off schedule. Anyway, I delete a startup macro and the image file I hid the code in and then restart her tablet. ¡°This should re-synch with your room console and erase the alarm.¡± I hand it back, turning back to my techs, watching percentages rise. ¡°It could be your room again too, your bed is still empty.¡± I hear the olive branch, but it feels like a hidden opportunity for her to save face. ¡°I¡¯ll consider it. I miss sleeping in gravity, but I don¡¯t know how safe I¡¯ll feel. Or that I could sleep through those kinds of activities.¡± Ivanka stands there for a few moments, likely waiting for me to look at her, and scoffs when I don¡¯t, muttering ¡°difficult woman¡± as she stomps away. That went surprisingly well. Why was I so afraid of interacting with her again? How much of this conversation tempered by Petra before she came to confront me about the goat noises? Time will tell I suppose. I pull the order log up on my tablet and arrange it to display about hip level while I pull up propulsion displays in my HUD. My plasma volume looks like it will hit 60% before the collider is ready, but it gives the system around the PG time to warmup and for me to start studying the temperature data for hotspots. When everything seems to be within tolerance, I tell Commander Nugget that we are go for anti-matter and Engineering Yellow. In this case, yellow signifies an explosion risk and two or fewer valves to space. A visual reminder that propulsion is a dangerous activity. The scary part is that using my big, beautiful baby, is a Red condition: controlled explosions and/or one valve to space. Before we can move to this condition, the folks in engineering forward will shut me and six other people in the one valve to space area and prime the emergency disconnect charges just in case u blow up propulsion. I probably wouldn¡¯t have designed the ship this way, but I also didn¡¯t have a trillion dollars to spend either. I get the order to initiate plasma inclusion into the reaction chamber and I notice that a section of piping where the shutoff valve spikes red for a moment before yellowing. I snapshot the event to look at it later, but yellow for now is acceptable. /EA, DE propulsion, red spike on transfer thermal readings. Present yellow, recommend inspection before next propulsion event/ /Noted, propulsion/ Ugh, I hate ¡°noted¡±. It feels like I¡¯m being disregarded and dismissed. Not wanting transfer areas to continue to be hot, ¡°ET2, increase antimatter containment power by 15%¡± ¡°Confirm increase power to 103.5%?¡± ¡°Increase confirmed, decreased to 100% if coils peak drift into red.¡± I order. If we were targeting a long propulsion burn, I would have to increase cooling non-linearly to disperse the heat load, but increasing cooling to 100% should be enough. ET2 catches that desire like a pro and we should be sitting pretty. /EA, antimatter collection at 15%, recommend collider re-align, plasma isolation, and sound collision alarm/ /Propulsion, Copy. Initiate Annihilation Propulsor/ ¡°MM2, Re-align collider and plasma generator to standby, ET2 energize collider and plasma to HOLD.¡± MM2 and ET2 reply, ¡°Aye Chief.¡± I tap my com-link button on my hip ¡°Attention Copernicus. Initializing Propulsor in 20 seconds. Brace for Impact. Mark¡± The three of us around the propulsor strap into our flight attendant-style seats and engage and pressurize our suits. The other three people in the one-valve area have orders to secure themselves and their suits for these maneuvers. The first explosion is technically the smallest, but it has been designed to be the most jarring as it takes us out of an ¡°at rest¡± condition. It feels like someone learning to drive a manual transmission while firing a gun next to your ear. The stuttering push feels smoother as the ship hits a sort of resonance until we expend our proposed burn of anti-matter. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I instruct my team that further orders will be chat or visual due to auditory impairment. I inform Engineering that antimatter is successfully contained and propulsion systems are in HOLD and standby. I get log notices that the ship has been taken down to all-clear. We¡¯re scheduled to maintain this course for several hours. I immediately put in a request for additional sound mitigation for our headsets and tell my techs to rotate out for a quick meal and to pick up their hearing protection. Key personnel in the aft section of the ship get called into a small conference room in engineering forward, which I guess is technically the aft officer¡¯s mess, for a quick after action report. They talked about coms, interface feedback and power demands, among other things, all of which I read from my damned tablet because I can hear only muffled ¡°wah wah¡± from the screen and the crew. The XO gives a rundown of the next maneuver in two hours. The first burn was to take us out of the solar plane, the next is to direct us just below parallel to eventually put us on plane, and then a final to put us in orbit around Saturn. Target for the third burn is 4-5 days from now depending on our propulsion accuracy. Seems weird to say that, ¡°propulsion accuracy¡± but the experimental drive is experimental. The bear of it is, if we have to take conventional thrust back, it¡¯ll take at ten-ish years to get back. Not that I would let my baby be broken for that long. Perish the thought. /EA, while we¡¯re here can I Sandwich?/ /If you can type and eat, then you can tell me about this inspection recommendation./ I smile at that and grab an officer sandwich and appreciate the cold-cut trio? Nice. I briefly muse about assembling sandwiches in zero g and smirk. Thank goodness I have the typing sensors in my gloves. /I¡¯m going to keep an eye on the transfer piping from the PG to the collider reaction chamber. I pulled more power through the magnetic field generator for said piping to try and mitigate the issue, but if it happens again, I might have to get near the 125% operational maximum and to boost coolant significantly. /Also, if it happens again after we do electronics checks and a back-pressure check on the valving, we¡¯re going to have to pull that part of the ship apart to see what happened/ That would take our ¡°main propulsion¡± down for weeks, but it beats a plasma intrusion to the people spaces. Apparently, we¡¯re flammable. /Copy. The other item is hearing protection. You have that on order?/ I nod and jam the number six for the display. He gives me a thumbs up and shoos me out of the room. I engage my mag boots and jam my sandwich in my maw as I walk out of the wardroom. When I finish my breakfast it finally hits me that the fruits of my wrinkly brain just pushed a space ship with anti-matter! I cut my boots and dance myself in a circle and maybe squeal a little bit. Hard to tell since my hearing is still buggered, but one of my crew-mates sees me and I can¡¯t bring myself to care. I float-dance my way back to Propulsion and engage my celebratory horchata beverage pack to my face. My little private party lasts a whole half hour before I crash and mag myself to the nearest surface and pass out. Super unsafe, but exhaustion brain don¡¯t give a shit. I wake to someone poking me in the arm and find that it¡¯s twenty minutes to our next maneuver. I thank my teammate and ask if they got food and the hearing protection. MM2 pulls out a spray can? And hands it to me. He mimes spraying it over his ear plugs and then putting on his helmet and then spraying the foam to encase the sides of my head. I do so and the only thing that is left to hear is the ringing in my ears. I look at the can and read that it is emergency thermal retention foam and sealant? Did I just spray flat-fix on my head? Or emergency crash foam from Demolition Man!! As we get closer to initialization, the three of us strap in. The containment fields and collider were in hold and stand-by for the 2-hour interval, so the preparation is much shorter than earlier this morning. /Propulsion, DE EA, initialize Annihilation Propulsor/ ¡°Attention Copernicus. Initializing Propulsor. Brace for Impact. Transferring Propulsion control to the Bridge.¡± ¡°Control received. Advancing to all-ahead two-thirds.¡± With an antimatter load of 40%, this is a big burn. We¡¯ll have to generate plasma while thrusting to keep up with protecting the thrust cones from annihilation damage. I¡¯m worried about that red spike that we¡¯ve seen twice now. And I see that little fucker again. /ET2, MM2, Increase field strength to 115%, match with cooling/ /EA DE Propulsion, red indication in transfer passage and thrust cone passages. Recommend diversion of Collider power to aux thrust systems/ /Copy Propulsion. Chief Engineer and Reactor Chief recommend full power test and I concur/ Hmm, not my favorite way to test that, but powering down the collider is still an option and 115% peaks on the reactor won¡¯t kill anyone. Might decrease pump life on the coolant systems though. That absolute bastard of transfer piping is mostly yellow and flickers red enough I wonder if anyone on my team suffers from epilepsy triggers. It¡¯s hectic, but the system holds with reactor and aux cooling at maximum. Even environment fans are at max. Engineering Actual informs me that we¡¯re moving up the chemical thrust maneuver up so that we can conserve fuel. I inform them that forward chem thrusters are green, and aft chem thrusters are yellow from main propulsion burn. I get told to monitor the aft thrusters for a two-minute burn of forward and aft maneuvering thrusters. After action is both promising and troubling. I say that for two reasons: Everyone but me has good news and machines and people performed at or exceeded expectations. As the bearer of bad news, I relayed that the hotspot did not respond as expected to increased field strength and cooling and that four days would be enough to peel back the shielding and insulation to put eyes on the problem. An hour and thirty minutes after the debrief the CO summons me to his stateroom, making me leave my team to finish the coil resistance checks and transfer system pressure checks without me. As I¡¯m admitted to a comfortable sitting room, I see the CO, XO, EA, and Chief Of the Boat sitting on a sectional in gravity . . . drinking? ¡°Mercer, good.¡± Captain Morris stands and hands me a glass with ice and an amber liquid. Oof, hard to refuse something handed to you by the CO. I take a sip of what I deem a fine whiskey. The CO nods and walks back to his seat. ¡°I¡¯ve asked you here for several reasons. Talking with my staff,¡± he motions to most important people onboard as I take a seat on the Master Chief¡¯s section. ¡°We¡¯ve determined that we need to use your Propulsor again before we have the time to pull apart and repair that section of the ship.¡± My vision starts fading and I¡¯m sure I¡¯m going pale from shock. We don¡¯t even know what¡¯s wrong!! The Chief of the Boat (CoB) chimes in, ¡°this is of course unless that maneuver would cause irreparable damage to the ship.¡± Now for the EA to add his piece, ¡°What they are both trying to tell you, is that it would take a massive chem thrust maneuver to compensate for the Propulsor being OOC. The chem burn would extend the estimated return to Earth time to the estimated fuel life of the reactor without resupply. Now this is without any other input. Say the onboard chemist can convert the projected returns from a Titan hydrocarbon reclamation, that return time would be greatly reduced.¡± Well, shit. I need to pull enough mitigating safety measures out of my ass or the crew returns as old people, or a reduced life-support crew. Fuuuuuuck. Chapter 20: Check Your Tethers /Katie, I wanted to apologize for how I stormed off after our date. I know you¡¯re dealing with issues like I am, and my pout-fest didn¡¯t help./ I finally got enough sleep in our four-day break in maneuvers that I remembered how thick our emotions were at the time and how I just up and left after saying ¡°see you in a month¡±. /I won¡¯t say it¡¯s okay. You left me feeling pretty worthless after telling you how much I feel for you./ /I was so scared you were going to break up with me, abandon me, I just couldn¡¯t face it then. I''m so sorry it made you feel that I don¡¯t value you Katie. I do love you./ I¡¯m reviewing my team¡¯s ideas for mitigating the high temp risk on a couple sections of piping, trying not to feel the emotions of that night again. /You were right, I was going to. To protect myself. I felt like I needed you in my life, and it reminded me of memories I¡¯d rather not relive/ Shit. Feeling attached to me triggered her? What the hell do I do with that? /I have other things to focus on now, but I don¡¯t think I want to see you for a while. With the feeling of worthlessness combined with feeling a need for you, it¡¯s too much at once./ It feels like a kick in the chest. I immediately get dizzy and have trouble breathing. She really just broke up with me. The realization that I basically stacked two of her triggers on top of each other worsens the nausea I already feel. /Okay, hon. Whatever you need. I¡¯ll hope that this is just a break, and when the hurt fades you¡¯ll let me make it up to you/ She doesn¡¯t respond after that, but I still have to move my ass and my brain into prepping for the maneuver tomorrow. I try to reset myself with a pack of toaster strudel, but it only helps a little. It¡¯s still hard to think through the daze and I¡¯m utterly exhausted now. Like how much do I know about Katie? We spent an amazing week together and then it¡¯s been rough for the next year?! Stop it Pen Pen, just because she can¡¯t handle your drama, doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s the devil. Universe, I would like to request that we make up and she cuddles me with a little teeth dragging. Por favor. ¡°FUCK!¡± The six people at the engineering briefing look at me. ¡°Look. I know I seem emotional right now but the truth is, there¡¯s a larger than zero chance one of us dies tomorrow. We¡¯ve got the liquid air canisters, but if one of us has to hose that fucker down, we fill our whole atmosphere with superheated steam. We¡¯ve got the best suit mods and procedures we can, but if we have to use the hose, everyone in engineering aft is at risk. If that call is made, you will hook into your station in preparation for venting of the space. Vacuum is the highest danger.¡± ¡°And what will you be doing, MM1?¡± I wasn¡¯t paying attention to who was talking, but it feels relevant. ¡°Huh, I¡¯ll be doing three people¡¯s jobs while you save the lives of more than two hundred people.¡± ET2 flinches back like I took a swing at her. I sigh, ¡°sorry. I¡¯m not thrilled that the risk lies with us, but if we don¡¯t use main propulsion we would burn through around 80% of our chem thrust. Third option is to drift until we fix the hotspot but that puts us at least two weeks into unexplored space and likely into the Oort cloud. ¡°More specifically, if those two sections go into a thermal runaway, it will be before we finish the burn maneuver as we will be attempting to create plasma, antimatter, and Annihilation Thrust at the same time. So it is important that every moment during this maneuver that you anchor your tether constantly while moving. Any more questions.¡± I look around and see my team shake their heads. ¡°Okay, then helmets on and foam up.¡± The extra air tanks and the advanced version of the Naval Firefighting Thermal Imager (NFTI) Make moving around more cumbersome, but still manageable. The electronics in my contacts allow me to ignore visibility and still link with the console, so I at least don¡¯t need the imager. Command and Engineering ask for custom insets for our trouble spots for their HUD and I push what I¡¯m using including liquid air cooling thresholds and firefighting recommended alarm. Luckily it takes command authorization to put Sailors at significant risk. The CO initiates with /Helm, align the ship with course vector CHARLIE, chem thrust only./ We have been turning slowly for four days, so the thrust correction is short. /Engineering, Report conditions for main propulsion burn./ /CO DE EA, Conditions YELLOW with mitigation measures in place. Ready to answer ahead 2/3/ After the shutter-stutter of the last main burn, I looked at the anti-matter release profiles and saw that it was the same profile that we first discovered translocation warps. We also discovered through further testing that almost all unintended warps ran out of energy before transferring the entire apparatus. I don¡¯t fancy warping solo, so I put a limiter on answering all ahead full while over 60% antimatter inventory. The CO wasn¡¯t happy, but once he understood the risk he accepted it. /Copy, EA, Helm execute maneuver CHARLIE ahead 2/3/ The deafening percussion and lurching begun immediately. Good thing I briefed my team on the change of timings. Even with cooling and magnetic fields at 125%, it only took a minute before the temperature rose high enough to trigger the liquid air sprayers. With plasma being sent and created constantly, our air inventory was emptying ahead of schedule. /Command, DE Propulsion, air inventory depleting faster than predicted, request to stage firefighting and have them engage at 5% inventory/ /Copy Propulsion. HOLD./ At 25% air inventory I order tether protocol and to test independent air systems. At 10% I give the order to get on station and pressurize hoses. /Propulsion, firefighting authorized at 1% inventory/ If I had waited until now to put my team in position, there would have been a plasma leak before firefighting could be applied. /Engineering Aft, engage independent air systems and prepare for low visibility, fight hotspots at 1% inventory/ The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. One percent comes with two whole minutes left on the maneuver. Superheated steam fills a space quickly and in less than a minute it¡¯s 50C in the compartment. /Engineering, Recommend isolating engineering aft to prepare for venting to space/ /Copy, Propulsion. Isolate Engineering aft. Wait vent execution./ /Sir, personal thermal mitigation limited. Please advise/ /Advise wait, Propulsion/ Well fuck that. /Propulsion team, tether check. Engage mag boots. Firefighting, if your feet leave the ground. Turn off the hose and re-engage when stable./ With a minute left, my firefighters are sitting in a 78C cloud of water vapor and their vitals are becoming erratic. /Safety override PAPA ALPHA MIKE, venting Engineering aft via port and starboard emergency hatches. Brace for impact/ I punch the impact alarm and pop the airlocks to space. I used to wonder how venting a compartment to space would go. With a compartment full of hot, wet steam It¡¯s fast, heavy, and feels life threatening. My boots slide across the deck until my tether engages and then my feet are pulled from under me and I sink to the ground on my hands and knees. I notice a spike in temperature when my feet leave the ground, but my team recovers quickly and the water vapor continues to feed out of the ship. When the maneuver stops I order my team to disengage but stay on isolated air until life support can catch up. I go to check on each of my team-mates and find that the main firefighters vomited from heat exhaustion, so much that they had to vent it from their helmets. They both still look pale and I suspect they need to see medical after their temperatures are brought down. After we get engineering to open our hatches to the rest of the ship my male teammates escort one of the firefighters to crew berthing, and I escort ET2 to the chief¡¯s mess showers. Pulling her out of her suit is like watching a lobster come out of a pot. I kick on the shower and she fucking screams and tries to escape, but the water is tepid, I tested it, she¡¯s just too hot. ¡°Hunsaker, Hunsaker. . . Mellissa! Fucking stop!¡± She alternates staring at me and the wall while she hyperventilates. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mellissa, you¡¯re okay. You¡¯re safe. You survived and you saved your team and your crew.¡± She nods at me but doesn¡¯t really seem to understand, but she gradually calms down as the water pours over us. ¡°After this, I¡¯m going to escort you to medical and you¡¯re going to be monitored for a while. Which means you get to skip out on a boring after action report.¡± She spins in my arms and hugs me, her hands clasping around my Airpack and composite suit. ¡°Unfortunately you have to have to miss out on me getting yelled at, which I hear is super entertaining. One of the guys will have a recording though.¡± I get a little laugh out of that, which gradually turns into crying. I hold her under the water until she stops and releases me. After a suit rinse and a quick-dry (low pressure and towels, not heat¡ªduh¡ªwe get her suited up and escorted to medical. /EA, DE Propulsion. ET2 Hunsaker and MM2 Tomlin admitted to medical for suspected heat stroke. Remaining team members received minor bruising./ /Copy Propulsion. AAR in Engineering Wardroom/ /OMW Sir/ If there is anything I don¡¯t want to be doing it¡¯s talking about shit I didn¡¯t want to do in the first place. I deserve a comfort strudel with congratulatory Horchata. These two things provide so much comfort that I walk into the Wardroom with half a smile on my face, even though my actions will be under the utmost scrutiny. I walk into the room, and it seems that everyone is waiting on me. Shit. ¡°MM1 Mercer, how are my Sailors?¡± Captain Morris asks. ¡°We brought their core temps down and sent them to medical for follow-up and monitoring. Two other members of my team are in medical for sprains.¡± ¡°Good to hear, Mercer. Next time, I want you to connect with Medical and determine how we can display warnings for critical crew member vitals.¡± ¡°Aye aye sir.¡± I honestly hadn¡¯t thought that the CO would want that. I had it for me, which is why I acted in accordance with my briefed emergency action procedures instead of waiting for approval. I¡¯m amazed that doesn¡¯t get addressed at all in this meeting. I get out of that meeting with my punishment being another meeting in the CO¡¯s quarters and some programming homework. Damn, not bad Penny, not bad. ¡°MM1 Mercer, reporting as ordered Sir.¡± I snap to attention in front of his desk with Commander Nugget seated in the chair next to the one I¡¯m in front of. ¡°Take a seat.¡± He alternates looking at me, Nugget, and his data pad. ¡°Frankly, this data and situation sucks. Can anyone tell me why this sucks?¡± I open my mouth to answer. ¡°It¡¯s a rhetorical question Mercer! It sucks because I supposedly have this fantastical propulsion system that can¡¯t help but strand us in the outer solar system! I now have no other options but to engage in a scientific mission for however long it takes you both to fix said fantastical pile of dung well enough to take us back home for extensive repairs and perhaps a re-design of the whole line of ships! Unless one of you two has a magical Unicorn in your pockets to save our qualification run?¡± Engineer looks at me to produce both of our unicorns. Ass. ¡°Sir. The programming on the Main Propulsion system reeks of Hauptman leaving lab assistants to liaison with the Navy and rubberstamping the certs. Not putting limiters on bell order verses anti-matter inventory is only the most alarming of what I¡¯ve noticed. I¡¯m reasonably sure that I can fix the hotspot problems we are having with the plasma system. ¡°Sadly, we¡¯re stuck with the thrust limits as it would take me a decade to fix in space, or a shipyard to fix. If my estimates are correct, of course.¡± ¡°How long for the plasma system fix?¡± Morris asks. I huff loudly, venting some heat from my brain stem. ¡°Best case scenario? Six weeks. For a full fix if the problems I suspect are present. We could do today¡¯s maneuver in maybe two weeks. If we tack on a full Propulsion check, another six weeks?¡± ¡°You want me to sign off on 12 weeks of only having thrusters to maneuver?¡± ¡°Only a week of which should be without main chem thrust.¡± It¡¯s then that I see the CO¡¯s eye twitch. ¡°The atmo reclamation mission at Titan from the civiallian scientists is scheduled to last six to eight weeks. I won¡¯t give you more than ten. If I don¡¯t have a green prospectus from Engineering in eight weeks, we head toward Uranus under chem thrust and table the Main propulsion problem for two to three years. Extending our deployment a minimum of a year. And with out main propulsion, 10-15 years to return to Earth.¡± ¡°Can I make a request sir?¡± he nods ¡°I¡¯m going to need to abuse the fabricators for this to work. It would help if we could get a ground sample from Titan to see if our reclamations can handle natural rock formations if additional materials are needed if we end up needing to extend our mission.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask the science team to see what they think. This is their mission. How much would you need?¡± ¡°Uh, 10-15 kilo? I¡¯d prefer 60+ to test rare earth compatibility, but nice to have not need.¡± He palms his face, ¡°I might rent you out to the science team if you finish your maintenance. You certainly think like them.¡± That is the nicest thing he could have said to me. I blush and giggle a little, despite the setting. ¡°I volunteer to be sent to the moon on a cable with a bucket!¡± His unamused eyes deny my request. ¡°Engineer, you have authorization to do anything within reason to repair the main propulsion system. Don¡¯t forget to do the paperwork afterward. Dismissed.¡± I get ordered to submit a maintenance plan tomorrow and to begin two to three days from now, emphasizing that my team specifically need the time off. I start thinking of using the fabricators and start getting stupid excited about being in a lab again. /Penny, are you okay?/ /Katie? Hey hon. Yah, I¡¯m good. Two of my team members have heat stroke and two others have heat exhaustion. Not great, but everyone lived. I¡¯m kinda surprised you texted/ /You may have hurt me, but I still love you/ Oh. Oh! /Sorry. I also got called in front of the CO and now have a maintenance time crunch and I¡¯m irritated. Enough about me, how¡¯s the HAB?/ /We appreciated the brace for impact warning. Otherwise, I get a lot of complaints about snack availability. I fear for the Penny Mercer emergency strudel allowance/ I cackle in the middle of the hallway as I drift back to engineering. /Don¡¯t distribute my strudels! Do you accept bribes?/ /Excuse me?! I am an elite member of the US Navy and my morals are above reproach!/ /If you sell my strudels, I will come to the HAB and find you/ I say in my most menacing text voice. /To quote my favorite rapscallion: Don¡¯t threaten me with a good time./ Oh, my, genesis. Is Katie flirting with me again!? Squeeeeeeeeeeee!! Chapter 21; But . . . Rockets? ¡°Okay team. I have the green light on a space walk with the tethered jetpack. Who wants it?¡± Six hands go up. ¡°Pfft. How did I know. Okay, you two goons.¡± The backup fire-team members from our danger maneuver. ¡°RPS and tell me who¡¯s going first and who¡¯s going on the survey. ET2, you¡¯ll be on tether and jet watch for the child that gets to go. Full air packs and thermal management for both of you. New guy, this is an outboard space watch. You will be tethered and mag booted next to the winch on the outside of our space ship. Minimize fuckery, understand me?¡± ¡°Yes Petty Officer Mercer.¡± I get from two teams? Anyway. After system checks, the MM2 on the jetpack leaves comms open as he ¡°WOOOO!¡± out the space ship under thrusters. He¡¯s not smoking the winch so I¡¯ll allow it. ¡°Full video survey with commentary MM2!¡± he copy pings me, ass. I set the electricians from engineering forward to attack the magnets around my troubled piping so they could unbolt the full sections instead of cutting them out. They tag out the systems, and I co-opt a fire control programmer to put HUD limitations into the related systems. FC1 James is an effing pro. /James, you free for tasking?/ /What¡¯s in it for me Merc?/ /Lunch in grav for two days/ /Week/ /Four days/ /Week/ /NM, I¡¯ll do it myself. Lates/ /FINE, 4 days, lunch in grav. And a strawberry strudel./ /The strudel? Really? Ass. Fine. I need you to program a customizable mission frame with video game level progress. Feel free to scam it to other departments./ /Done/ /Alright, here¡¯s my projected maintenance for the next 8 weeks, the modules are identified per team compliment/ /BIIITCH/ /Shut it, send it to the shipyard for a mint you greedy fuck. I get my 5%/ /God what a mercenary. Fine. That 5% is the only thing that keeps me working with you/ /Pleasure doing business, Jessie James./ /I hate you./ /<3<3/ That kid is a riot. Saves me a day plus worth of tedium for the low cost of a strudel. My days in the chief¡¯s mess have mellowed considerably after Petra asked Ivanka to back the fuck off. And the cessation of goat noises of course. I started trading mess time for favors and not a single chief has said anything. They do it too. Apparently us and the officer¡¯s mess in the forward section of the ship are the only places beside the HAB you can get non-vacuum packed food. I got a thanks for not letting Sailors die gift of actual baked strudel and I have a store of them in my rack and a forever thank you to the Culinary Specialists. I have one or two scheduled for supervised space walks this week. It took two days to get the piping out that I needed inspected. And two missions to get a full visual survey of all of my thrust cones. I asked the remaining members of my original team to walk the thrusters and inspect them for damage as well, but that was mostly a morale gambit. ¡°Eng, I¡¯m looking at a need for Magnetite to complete my valve reconstruction.¡± ¡°Can you not scavenge or make it?¡± He asked dismissively. ¡°I can make it if in two weeks if I don¡¯t care about quality, but it¡¯d be more efficient to scavenge.¡± ¡°You¡¯re about to ask me for more people to build a thing to fit the maintenance again aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Obvi, sir. I also need the geologist to consult on the process.¡± ¡°Mercer, if this maintenance period weren¡¯t literally about you, I would be yelling right now. I¡¯ll ask the geologist to assist in your experiment design, but we need to test those valves by week four or we won¡¯t hit our metrics. Good job on the work-flow interface by the way.¡± I ping him a happy ping and go about my day. Which means I need to manufacture a field generator for a ferrite chamber that I can magnetize while pressurizing to at least 200 atm. Maybe heated. Fuck, I need that geologist. A week in, I brief PhD Niederman in my apparatus, he recommends temps above 1000C and at my proposed pressure and now I have some engineering problems. He has never seen manufactured magnetite, but he his certain of the conditions under which it is formed, so I adjust my project. I simultaneously have engineering machinist work up the valve I need, a spring and air back-pressured gate valve with a magnetic opening mechanism. I just need to form the permanent magnet on the piston head for the field generators to pull on. I ask my electricians to wire this electro-magnet module to operate independently of the field if necessary and they get to work. I need two of them, so my team is fabricating full time at the moment. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I¡¯m almost feeling good about our progress when my outboard survey results pop red. Are you kidding me? ¡°Tether watch, send Rocket Man to the chief¡¯s mess for a detailed report when they arrive.¡± ¡°Aye Propulsion¡± I kind of like that my team calls me by my station name rather than my rating. I like feeling important. I¡¯m eating an excellent empanada when I hear MM2 reporting to the chief¡¯s mess. ¡°Enter!¡± The rest of the actual Chiefs look at me with annoyance, but know the drill by now: I¡¯ve been ordered to meal and spend hours here. ¡°MM1, it¡¯s bad news. Uh, should I sit?¡± ¡°Yeah, pull up a sando and sit.¡± I take a deep breath, ¡°Ivanka! Petra! Engineering news!¡± I hear a fumbling in my old room and laugh¡ªI wanted to tell them to stop fucking. Less than a minute later Ivanka comes out of her berthing, ¡°This better be good, little Merc.¡± Ivanka looks annoyed, Petra seems to be putting herself together still. They were totally banging. Again. Still? I motion for MM2 to report. ¡°The port and starboard thrust cones are cracked, Chief, Zeta cone appears nominal.¡± He unwraps his treasure and moans into his sandwich. Eating in grav is indeed a luxury for my team. ¡°Cracked or split? How large was the gap between material?¡± I ask. ¡°Less than a millimeter at cone end? I didn¡¯t have calipers with me. Both cones were approximately . . . a pinky nail in gap at the end.¡± ¡°Thank the Universe for that. When you¡¯re done here, MM2, put in an order for a dozen emergency personel tether magnets, and 20m of cable? Yeah, and six hand winches.¡± ¡°I get where you¡¯re going MM1, we going friction or plasma welding?¡± Oof. That is the question. I have one heavy composite welder certified in space and she¡¯s on medical HAB leave. Plasma welding might fuck up my vent ports in the thrust cone skins though. Damnit. ¡°Better go friction. Pull the gear and I¡¯ll work on Hunsaker¡¯s paperwork.¡± I turn to the chief¡¯s I interrupted mid coitus. ¡°Chiefs, we¡¯re about to do a risky space walk with welding on a ship¡¯s main system. Do you want the full data?¡± ¡°Da, Mercer. We need to sign the medical exception. Also, you want to take more than half of the propulsion watch off-duty, we need to authorize activating HAB crew, or to operate under-staffed for a control period.¡± Oh. Shit, Petra¡¯s got the chief, personnel management down. ¡°Sorry, Petra. I forget about the paperwork. I recommend under-staff with a Engineering forward roamer for logs.¡± ¡°I would concur with that Penny. We would also appreciate fabrication updates for our maintenance tracker.¡± Petra replies. ¡°Damnit. Sorry Chiefs, that¡¯s supposed to be automated. Me and FC1 are building this ¡°quest tracker¡± from the ground and it¡¯s been a bit squirrely. ¡° Ivanka has her cold, resting authority face on, ¡°Anything else you may need within, say four weeks?¡± ¡°Yes, in the tracker, there is a test that is requesting a full engineering control compliment for reactor power fluctuations and damage control. Standard reactor DC, but liquid air and fire DC for engineering aft.¡± ¡°We will prepare a spare DC team to rotate with your personnel.¡± Ivanka states plainly. I¡¯m shocked at her concern, but I also feel that she might have gotten some heat for not having a relief for those that received heat injuries. I nod at her assertion in acceptance. My sleep is better than before, despite my increased worries about propulsion so I¡¯m feeling energized when the crazed geologist and the science team monitoring the atmospheric study of Titan comes to the machine shop. ¡°Hello fellow scientist!¡± a jolly short man waves vigorously. ¡°I hear you have interest in visiting the surface of Titan!¡± I can¡¯t help but chuckle at the man¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°Hey Neiderman.¡± ¡°As enthusiastic as I can be about new rocks, Titan doesn¡¯t have much in the way of rock until miles beneath the surface. And speaking of miles. If you¡¯d read the study profile, the atmosphere of Titan is extremely thick, more than 100 kilometers thick.¡± ¡°Holy . . . moly, that¡¯s like Earth atmosphere thick.¡± And suddenly my hopes are dashed. This is simply the wrong moon for away mission shenanigans. That or I¡¯d have to build myself a shuttle. An idea I like very much. I pull up the executive summary of the science mission in question and see that we¡¯re doing a low skim of the atmosphere and dropping a 2km hose with a scoop and some cables attached. ¡°Thick and cold would make a Penny popsicle.¡± I get a chuckle out of that, so at least my stupidity is worth something. ¡°This is more of a chemist mission, so is there anything else I can help with?¡± ¡°More of a hypothetical of you have the time.¡± So, I spent some time with Niederman asking about his take on capturing and asteroid and running parts of it through our reclimators. He mentioned that the field has seen moderate gains on the Moon and on Mars, but the machines have trouble with crystals harder than tungsten carbide. Well, that little tidbit makes a lot of sense. If it can¡¯t be ground or melted, it would be hard to process. Melissa is champing at the bit to go on a space walk, and it helps that she¡¯s trained on the vibration welder that we have. I send her the video surveillance files and my rough plan on the materiel bill. She reminds me that titanium is that magnetic and we¡¯d be better off gluing anchors and burning them off in a chem burn or cutting them off afterward. The forward machinists attach what looks suspiciously like a turbine engine with fins to cables and ribbed composite hose. It looks expensive AF. I¡¯m ferociously disappointed that they can engineer a flexible tube miles long that can take turbine-speed forces, but we can¡¯t even get a re-usable moon shuttle to deploy daring science teams. Co-opting the mechanics and electricians from all of engineering, we get the piping, valves and electro-magnets down for analysis and the mechanical gate valve is hosed. The gate had been improperly calibrated so a small portion of the sealing disc remained in the transfer piping, causing plasma to hit it, causing the extreme hotspot¡ªit wouldn¡¯t have sealed for another ignition sequence. One of Petra¡¯s team members from the reactor side runs a stress cycling simulation on the piping and says that we¡¯ll make it to the shipyard if my team has in fact fix the heating issue. I call the man a self-important jackanapes for doubting my team, and Petra just starts laughing at me. Week five of maintenance sees us testing the valves we basically built from scratch to find that the valves don¡¯t seat hard enough when power from the magnetic field is still applied. Wit a few adjusted setpoints, we¡¯re good for in-line testing and pressure checks. Week six saw us putting everything back together again and cleaning up our messes, which bled into our proposed testing week. Because there is a lot of thermal lagging to be put back on. We also spent part of the time re-filling our emergency liquid air rigs because the CO wanted to trust but verify our brand new valves. The Science team wrapped up their atmospheric collection experiment and are gearing up to use the maintenance and fab-lab to start separating gasses. Weeks seven and eight saw successful chem thrust checks on thrust cones and favorable data on plasma transfer tests and that oh-so important green Propulsion report pending a final visual inspection of the thrust cones. Chapter 22: Warp Maneuver Like any week that we¡¯re testing a Propulsion maneuver, it starts with drama. ¡°I don¡¯t see why you refuse to get close with me, yet you cavort around with that electrician.¡± Ivanka accuses. ¡°We¡¯re not sleeping together, Senior, we just watch anime and talk about scifi.¡± She raises an eyebrow at me as though ¡®just hanging out¡¯ with a person you¡¯re attracted to is a foreign concept. ¡°We bonded over almost dying and found out we have a lot in common.¡± Now Petra¡¯s looking at me funny, ¡°This seems like more of a ¡®haven¡¯t yet¡¯ situation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that. I like being chummy with a woman that doesn¡¯t seem to be manipulating me.¡± I eyeball the both of them, Ivanka smirks, Petra at least is a smidge embarrassed. ¡°And I kind of like the attention right now, so can we leave this alone, please? Especially since all four of us might be ripped apart and scattered across space-time tomorrow.¡± ¡°You are being dramatic. Large-scale testing of this phenomenon has been very successful.¡± Ivanka waves her hand in dismissal. She continues staring at me until Petra tugs on the corner of her tank top and pulls her into their bunk room. Now all I want to do is kiss Katie. /Hey Katie, have a big maneuver tomorrow, and just wanted to make sure you had a plan to stay strapped in and safe/ /I do. Thank you for your concern/ I do not miss the icy version of LS1 O¡¯Connell. /Do you want to have dinner together tonight?/ /No thank you. You should be focused on tomorrow instead of me/ Ouch Katie. I used to like it when she bit me, but now it feels like she¡¯s taking chunks out. It¡¯s been two months and her responses are just getting colder. Her comment about still loving me though she¡¯s hurt propped up my hope for a long time. And lately it¡¯s been Melissa that¡¯s been giving me healthy emotional feedback. Katie is right though: I should be focusing on tomorrow¡¯s maneuver. It¡¯ll be the biggest shock to the ship that we¡¯ve experienced and we need to jet extra matter into the thrusters to have the blob of antimatter react at roughly the same time. Or more accurately to have the outer shell annihilate to hyper-compress the middle bits continuously until we force a rift to occur. There also needs to be enough energy to keep the rift open while the whole ship is pulled through, or it cuts a piece of when the rift closes. My team and I found this out when pieces of tables would go missing with our target apparatus. One guy was leaning onto the table when it disappeared and lost his hands. That was a mess. My alarm goes off, telling me I have another meeting to go to. Engineering wardroom in ten minutes. Being in the Chief¡¯s mess, I am extremely close to said Wardroom and float there in all of three minutes. ¡°Mercer, are you always eating?¡± one of the junior officers asks. ¡°Yes sir. Sugar and caffeine keep my brain buzzing. And everyone loves a hyper chipmunk at a meeting.¡± Just for that comment, sir, I¡¯m stealing some coffee. I grab an extra cup for Commander Nugget as well. When he comes in I hand it to him and he nods his thanks. ¡°Got any zingers to tell me before the CO comes on, Mercer?¡± ¡°Not that I can think of sir, all the risk is on the wrapper.¡± ¡°No grand speech about the excitement of space, boldly going and all that?¡± He smirks, and I wonder if he¡¯s pulling my leg, or that my uncharacteristic lack of excitement is worrying. ¡°I love space, and I love my brain baby, but the best case scenario is that we materialize 100+ light years away from here and half the crew immediately vomits, with the knowledge that we have to do it at least one more time. Worst case, half the ship rips away and the ones who live starve to death. We¡¯re paving the way for exploring new solar systems, but we¡¯ll likely never see them ourselves. Like, this is all great, but it¡¯s also kind of a letdown that I can¡¯t put my boots on a moon.¡± I shrug, realizing as I look up that the CO has been keyed into my sad rant. ¡°Now that Mercer has brought the mood down, lets keep it there by talking procedure.¡± And that¡¯s what we did, for two hours. Checkpoints and thresholds, multiple back-out points, and the point of no return. At the end of it all Captain Morris addressed the whole crew. ¡°ISS Copernicus, this is your Captain speaking,¡± nice, in-flight entertainment, ¡°When you signed up to board a space vessel, inherent risk was in large bold letters. We¡¯ve experienced some of those risks on the second and third stages of our voyage, but here we are, orbiting Saturn thanks to our highly-skilled engineering team. Tomorrow, we rely on them again to help us light the way for a new era of Humanity, one where Sol is not the only star we can orbit, not the only system we can inhabit. ¡°Most of us will not be around to lay those bricks or watch those crops grow, but future generations will because of the candle we hold in the vast, empty dark. The first step is always a risky one and tomorrow will be no exception. Tomorrow, we test an ability that until recently was relegated to science fiction stories: Faster than Light Travel. ¡°We will be standing down all non-critical crewmembers to the HAB and the kitchen will be open for service in the HAB as well as the Forward Wardroom for officers and the Chief¡¯s mess for all enlisted this evening. Get a good meal and a good night¡¯s sleep. Copernicus out.¡± Dang, no wonder they have CO¡¯s go through public relations training. ¡°Well, lets hope this doesn¡¯t end up as last supper as that sounded.¡± Everyone at the meeting either sneered at me or gaped in disbelief. Oh shit, the mental strain is getting to me. ¡°Aww, damn. Sorry folks.¡± ¡°Mercer, get fed and go to bed. I need you sharper than this tomorrow.¡± Nugget orders as he shakes his head at my carelessness. I grab a tray of pork cutlet and mash potatoes with gravy and rolls. It was way better than I had expected and I have the gravity experiment to thank for that. I then grab a change of clothes and take a shower in grav before heading to crew berthing to watch bullshit superhero movies while I drift off. I¡¯m on the edge of dozing off when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I take off my headphones and turn to see Melissa peeking open my rack curtain. ¡°Hey Penny, mind if I watch with you for a bit?¡± I look at the scant space on my coffin rack. ¡°Sure. Super heroes though.¡± I wedge myself into the back corner and Velcro my screen to the bottom of the bunk above me while Melissa shuffles in with her back to me and her head on my arm. In zero g this is a little odd, but my arm won¡¯t fall asleep. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I hit play and the tight black pants on the heroine while she¡¯s posing basically says look at my ass. ¡°Ah, I see why you¡¯re watching this then.¡± I jab a finger in her side and she squeaks like a mouse would sneeze. We watch another 45 minutes until the movie ends, the next one in the que is an old Captain Marvel movie that I wouldn¡¯t mind watching again. Before the credits are finished, Melissa rolls toward me but doesn¡¯t look at me. ¡°Do you really think we¡¯re going to die tomorrow?¡± The question is timid, as though if she spoke it any louder it would make it true. ¡°No, Mel.¡± I pull her into a hug, ¡°If I knew we were going to die tomorrow, I wouldn¡¯t be doing it. Sure, it¡¯s more risk of death than anything the US Navy is currently doing, but everything we¡¯re doing out there is a world first event, so that¡¯s pretty exciting.¡± When she looks up I can see that she¡¯s on the edge of tears, ¡°You¡¯re really not scared Penny?¡± ¡°Oh, no. Don¡¯t get me wrong. I¡¯m terrified. I just know for a fact that the tech works, I¡¯ve been transported by it, and I know that you, and the rest of our team is going to crush it tomorrow and give us the best chance of emerging alive. The next movie starts playing, but I¡¯m paying attention to the short brown head of hair tucking into my arm and the soft shakes of crying that her shoulders make. I start thinking about the rest of the crew, the nervous ones finding comfort where they can and the confident ones basking in their routine for a major maneuver. And then me, and how empty I feel right now, even though I¡¯ve achieved so much of what I set to reclaim, I should feel so much more satisfied. But without this small comfort of a friend being afraid next to me, my glass would feel so empty. ¡°Wake up Penny.¡± ¡°What? Mel? I guess we fell asleep.¡± I look around and see that Melissa¡¯s standing upright reaching in to pat my face. I look at the time and my alarm would go of in twenty anyway. ¡°I wanted to say thanks for keeping me company and calming me down.¡± ¡°Of course. But it¡¯s my turn to save your life this time.¡± I chuckle at how funny I think I am. She flicks my nose and grabs my face? ¡°Shh. One more thing to say before chow.¡± She pulls me toward her for a quick kiss that leaves me stunned. ¡°For luck.¡± ¡°Yep, definitely my turn,¡± I mumble and hear her laugh all the way out of crew berthing. When I get to Chiefs¡¯ mess, I see what must be the last of our fruit stores, some coffee cake, and a majestic assortment of toaster strudels. I wrap half a dozen in napkins before jamming them in my pockets. Come to me my pretties. I then fill my no-spill bottle with bite-nib with coffee, one side pack with water and the other with celebration horchata. Petty Officer Mercer prepared for risky maneuvers! Tablet hooked up to ships logs and my HUD to propulsion systems with insets for bell order and nav, reactor control, and engineering compartment pressure alarms. ¡°How long has the collider been running and why is our anti-matter inventory only at 40%?¡± I ask the team being relieved of their watch in Propulsion. ¡°Overnight orders were to maintain less than 80% plasma and 50% antimatter until all of the supervisors got on station.¡± He doesn¡¯t look thrilled, but knows how to follow orders. ¡°Thanks EM1. Any anomalies?¡± I say as look at his watch log. ¡°Hm? Oh, yeah, the new valves come unseated when the collider comes online with only two TG¡¯s online. The whole containment array dips, in fact.¡± Shit, really? That¡¯s a change in procedure writeup I need to make. ¡°Oh, good, it says that the anti-matter inventory was zero before that evolution. Good to hear. Can you submit a work ticket on that procedure before you turn in?¡± ¡°Can do Mercer. You got the watch?¡± ¡°I relieve you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wake me up today Mercer.¡± He smirks at me, knowing what¡¯s coming. ¡°Just put up the baby cage before you konk, you gonk.¡± He shoves me into the console and mutters ¡°nerd¡±, laughing down the corridor. Good to see someone¡¯s in light spirits. /Helm, DE Propulsion. I don¡¯t see a thrust cone attitude check in the logs. Please advise./ /Copy, Propulsion, wait/ /Mercer, DE XO, in light of the recent repairs, CO only wanted to move them once/ /Roger that Ma¡¯am/ /Eng Chief, DE Propulsion, pending thrust cone reposition to warp maneuver angle, Propulsion go for increasing antimatter inventory to warp maneuver settings/ /EA, DE Eng Chief, Concur with Propulsion. 4-TG operation with nominal battery and capacitor charges. Chem thrust inventory 80%, breakaway charges primed/ /Copernicus, DE EA, Engineering ready for warp, except thrust cone positioning from Helm/ /Copy EA, Helm align three main propulsion cones to indicated warp angles/ /Roger Copernicus, adjusting thrust cone angles/ /Propulsion, increase antimatter inventory to 80%/ /CDR Nugent, we only briefed 60% Sir/ /Mercer, Naval Reactors reported inconsistent results on large-scale testing at 60%. You have an order pending Sailor/ /Roger Copernicus, inventory at 43% and climbing/ ¡°Set Zeta hatch protocol, secure and lock the HAB.¡± The order from Captain Morris comes in, but in reality they¡¯ve been slowing the HAB down for hours. Ninety minutes later, A-M inventory is 80% and the HAB is in the final stages of being secured. ¡°Alright team, tethers on, strap in, and hold on to your butts¡± I stifle a squeak when someone gets a quick handful of my ass. I look over to ET2 Hunsaker, who is giggling at her console. /For luck Mel?/ /Seemed lucky, l just wish I had a quarter/ I snort, loudly. Bold move lady. ¡°ET2, put the collider on standby and mag field to HOLD.¡± ¡°Uh Chief, there¡¯s an interlock saying I can¡¯t de-couple the Collider while a warp maneuver is in progress.¡± ¡°De-couple? What the fuck?¡± I re-tether at her station to look at the console. Yep, the program has crossed standing down the collider with de-coupling the collider. /CO, XO, EA, warp programming preventing standing down collider during warp maneuver because of program error confusing stand-down with de-couple. Need Command over-ride to edit the program, or local control stand-down. A-M inventory 82%/ /Copy Propulsion, FC1 has been authorized to edit out collider automatic interlink control. EA, realign collider to standby via on-site control/ /RC Chief, DE EA, realign the collider. Stay on station/ /Aye sir/ Minutes later, the collider is showing re-aligned and A-M is sitting at 87% ¡°If you haven¡¯t foamed up and pressurized your suit, this is your last chance.¡± I put my helmet on and spray that crap around my head. /Propulsion, DE Copernicus. I need a go no-go on warp maneuver with new A-M inventory/ /Sir, if no other settings have changed from the briefing, a minor cone angle correction according the a chart I just sent should make propulsion go for warp/ /Copy, propulsion. Helm, adjust thrusters to the chart, Engineering. Go no-go/ /Go, Sir/ I feel a sharp tug on my suit elbow and I see Melissa trying to shove an orbital chart of Titan in my face. And I shove her hand away. She pulls my shield release handle and pulls my face toward hers. ¡°/PENNY!! We¡¯re out of position!!/¡± she both yells and chats at me. I grab the tablet and look. We should be leaving the orbit of Saturn, not Titan. That¡¯s a whole lot of matter behind us. ¡°Fuck.¡± My hands start jittering and I can¡¯t re-align my displays properly in my HUD. Melissa pulls my face at her again, stares me in the eyes and mouths ¡°You got this.¡± FUCK! I¡¯m the only one who can get this. And I¡¯ll need all the Universe-be-damned luck I can get. I pull her in for a quick kiss and shove her shield back on and mine just after. I sit on her lap and pull her and MM2¡¯s screen closer to me and start changing thrust angles and plasma distributions so that we can bleed some antimatter in ancillary explosions before a warp event occurs. I¡¯m so tied up in fixing our positioning error, that I don¡¯t notice the next one that undoes all my work until it¡¯s too late to stop it. Engine order is at all ahead FULL, when we briefed 2/3. Full shoots the majority of our inventory out in a plug with a huge buffer of plasma to keep annihilation from the cones and to shape the annihilation warp region. I leap off Melissa¡¯s lap just in time to anchor my feet to the floor while I hook into my harness. The ship lurches and the boots fuck up my knees and ankles while the harness catches my elbows and does something equally as painful. The ship lurches me back into my seat and I somehow manage to fumble my harness on and disengage my boots before I completely black out from pain. Chapter 23: TeSA Pain wakes me up first. Sharp pains in my neck and behind my eyes come to me first and then throbbing aches in my arms and legs plague me second. Muffled noises start pumping through my headsets, but I¡¯ve got a pool of foam in my helmet. The pain in my eyes seems to be coming from light sensitivity and flashing colors in my HUD. I definitely have a concussion. My vision is ass right now and the colors seem a bit wonky. Those flashing alerts are my O2 remaining? Shit, that¡¯s supposed to be red if it¡¯s less than ten percent. Oh, and that hull breach alarm should also be red. Hmm, crew vitals with low brain activity should be yellow, and my . . . I really shouldn¡¯t have any green indicators if that is what is wrong. My vision begins clearing and colors start coming in, and my air inventory says 5 minutes. Universe, you¡¯re a shit head. Oh, there¡¯s a message that isn¡¯t moving, flashing or dismissible. Greetings Sentient Life Form! After a brief scan, you have been injected with small repair machines to give you emergency mobility! I can hear the meaning in my head as well while I read. Our directives are to find new life and preserve it until properly catalogued. You are still in danger of dying! Please accept assistance to remove you from danger. ¡°Small interface machines, I give you permission to help me and any of my crew to preserve life.¡± Permission Confirmed! Activating local swarm inside unidentified vessel. You have not been identified to have authority over all your species present. ¡°Fuck, do whatever you need to do so I can get my team to breathable air in the next 4 minutes !!¡± Pain Suppression Activated. Medical assistance Activated. Port Airlock Identified as Pressurize-able and connected to emergency air. The pain subsides enough that I can think and move without wanting to lay down and die. I hook MM2 and ET2¡¯s tethers to me and tow them to the airlock. I connect and activate firefighting air for my fire team, and I drag the last two dial watchers to the port side and shove them all in the one-valve to space container and lock us in. I hit the pressurize button and ensure to the best of my ability that the doors can only be opened by me. I then remember that I need to pop their face shields up or my team will suffocate anyway. Damned idiot. You were identified as the intellectual and Aether leader of this group of your species, was this in error? ¡°What? No, it¡¯s not. I don¡¯t know what Aether is, but the other one is fine. Now that I have another three hours to live, care to tell me what is going on?¡± /Initializing Swarm AI . . . 37%/ Perfect. A Universe damned loading screen on the future. Can you at least tell me what happened before you greeted me? Maybe prove I¡¯m not in a absolutely fucked fever dream? Reporting Help action 6400012: Unidentified technology vessel emerged from a mechanically induced Aether breach. Uncommon nature of breach flagged for investigation by mobile sensor and swarm integration array. New species detected and determined to be sentient with 87% confidence. Assist and Catalogue mandate triggered and life saving measures attempted on 37 life forms. It is customary to interface with organizational, intellectual, and spiritual leaders on first contact. Estimated leaders injected with swarm to attempt integration and catalogue. Identified leader accepted swarm host to assist in preserving life. End new events. ¡°That¡¯s great. Can you help repair the ship?¡± /Initializing Swarm AI 83%/ The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Alright, that¡¯s pretty speedy. Maybe it¡¯ll be done when I finish unwrapping my team. I take off their helmets and scrape the foam off them and their helmets. I ping ships comms and no one is able to reply yet. ¡°I was never out this long, what the hell is going on?¡± /Initializing Swarm AI Complete/ Hello user. I am swarm host unknown species 1. How may I assist? Oof. Yah, if you can convince me this isn¡¯t a dream, we can fix your name. You know what? Never mind. I was in enough pain to start with that it¡¯s real enough. So, swarm, walk me through Initialize and Catalogue and what you can do to help me get back from wherever we warped to. Your answers are more readily answerable if I have permission to access user¡¯s historical performance and observation data. Yeah, sure. What else can you do? You were moderately injured and repairs were made to prevent permanent injury, to include the plastic and metal lens that became embedded in your eye. The function was analyzed and a mechanism was attached to your optic nerve to mimic the effects without the risks of blindness. Additional recommendations will be available after detailed scan completed. Guess there¡¯s no better time to get the firefighters in this cozy airlock space. They should have at least 10 minutes of air left for me to get them there. I just wish I didn¡¯t have to waste so much air and potentially suffocate these people to get back into Engineering. Schematics show an air manifold just behind the emergency panel. Okay! That is super helpful. Thanks again bot swarm. I find two attachment hoses a valve with a pressure regulator and 4 spare personal air bottles. Perfect. I swap out the personal bottles and refill the four empties. I helmet and charge my team¡¯s suits and let the airlock reclaim the air instead of venting it. Then I make the tedious slog to the two firefighters with bulky attachments and tow them to my port-side life pod. Swap in two new personal bottles and set the big air packs to recharge. ¡°Can you tell me how many people are in the engineering space just forward of propulsion?¡± For the duration of this help action, yes. After the help action has concluded, and the community leaders regain control, outside assistance will be denied. There are two personnel with larger air storage within 5m of the sealed pressure doors to your space. There is a smaller, air-lock style tube that would fit a larger version of your species without large air storage. There are otherwise a dozen people in that compartment. And nearly thirty more in the reactor spaces. Crap. I¡¯m pretty small, so it¡¯s possible for me to bring an air pack and some tanks? Best case is that no one needed to use personal air. Worst case, everyone is dead, but bot swarm would have likely warned me about that. Oh! I can daisy chain people together! I hook up my last team-mates to eachothers¡¯ air lines to feed of ship¡¯s air. And start depressurizing the space. With me, extra bottles and the air pack. I arrive at the device that looks suspiciously like a hyperbaric chamber that allows you to adjust gas mixtures. Seems legit. I check inside to see if there¡¯s a screen. There isn¡¯t, but the console on the outside allows me to interface and keep contact within the chamber. It would have been extremely difficult to turn around in here with the air pack if the doors were not electronically controlled. Minutes later I kick out the air pack and shimmy my butt out of yet another hatch. This is starting to feel like the worst version of Warehouse Shuffle. Stupid resource puzzles. Luckily the passed out Sailors are not sucking fumes inside their suits, and are just floating on their tethers or belted in at their stations. I drag all of these suckers, over 15 more minutes into the reactor control spaces and lock the hatch behind me. I play one more game of crew O2 leapfrog with my team so that everyone I have touched so far is in a pressurized compartment and not on emergency air. That series of unfortunate events later, I remember I can bring up the pressure conditions on the ship. To see that there is a slow leak in the engineering space I just left so I set to reclaim as much of that air as I can. I then see that parts of engineering that are coupled with the collider reinforcement have ruptured, same with engineering forward and the HAB structural reinforcement. I can¡¯t tell how many people we lost, or how many more I could have saved, but now I¡¯m going to be glad I¡¯m alive, eat a smuggled pastry and drink victory Horchata. ¡°So, Human Swarm 1, how is the data collection coming?¡± You don¡¯t need to vocalize now. I have scanned your history and your sensory processes and am confident that I can adequately assist with your growth and survival. As such, I should note that your body is currently attempting to store Aether from your last ¡®warp¡¯ and is pulling in more from ambient than it can handle. You will likely undergo a mutation to accommodate this, but unguided Aether mutations are . . . unpredictable. As a swarm of miniscule devices, I do not have the capability to create something that can help without needing more time than you likely have. Another option is to adopt a biologic symbiote that can help direct Aether and work with my swarm to better integrate the changes. Hold up, HS-1, did you just recommend putting an alien parasite inside me? I¡¯ve seen those movies. I don¡¯t want to die when it¡¯s ready to ¡°Mature¡±. You are incorrectly labeling the life form a Parasite. They are symbiotic creatures that are incapable of surviving long-term outside incubation capsules or biologic hosts with appropriate minerals and the ability to manage Aether. You are currently the only life form onboard with adequate Aether management to adopt a symbiote. I assume that¡¯s because of my previous experiments and warps. OH! That means that the rest of the crew has the same sickness I had! To a much worse degree. They¡¯ve been administered compounds that will help them purge the Aether from their system before it kills or mutates them. They way you¡¯re flinging the term Aether, you make it sound important, but the fact that we all are at risk of being mutated by it . . . no way. No effing way. Aether is Wild Magic isn¡¯t it? A provincial simplification, but if the parable works for you. And then it disturbingly shrugs in my mind. I shudder at the odd feeling. Okay, swarm, I need to call you something besides a designator. Maybe a pronounceable acronym. OH! Like Tessa! TEchnology and Symbiote Amalgam. Do you mind if I call you Tessa? Oh, and last important things, can you take over my body or alter my memories? Adaptation will be required if your thoughts are often this scattered. Tessa is fine, and thankfully fitting. Mechanically, it would take you purposefully growing in a way that I can assist in your movement for that to even be possible. Chemically, the symbiote and I could influence your behaviors, but again, that would take several advancement choices to allow us to mitigate or change a chemical response such as Fear. Alright Tessa, you¡¯ve convinced me. Hook me up with the symbiote. If I¡¯m already likely to die out here, then lets give this alien assist a solid go. Tessa instructs me to make it to an airlock where one of the symbiote pods can be delivered to me by what looks like a surveillance drone from Star Wars. It also gives me another canister labeled ¡°Swarm Supplement¡±. I get the gist of that package. I trek back to reactor control as advised by Tessa in that I will want to be unconscious after the injection and that being unconscious and alone in a vented space is a bad plan. I pull my suit down, expose my abdomen and press the only button the cannister has. The injection is the grossest feeling I could imagine. Like the fluid bubble from a big shot, but more squirmy. Tessa¡¯s sedatives give me just enough time to vomit and put my suit back together before I pass out. Chapter 24: Crude Distilations Host, I am alerting you that members of your crew are beginning to wake. Would you like to remain asleep? No thanks Tessa, and can I get a HUD display on any functions you are currently assisting me with? Oh, and don¡¯t call me host, it¡¯s kind of gross. Call me Penny or Merc. A grey outline of my body pops up with blue dots in my head and at injury sites in my legs and arms. A green mark in the appendix-kidney region must be the symbiote. The odd part about the display is that my eyes are still closed and I can ¡°see¡± it. It also shows that my pain is being reduced by 10% and that no chemicals are being artificially triggered. When I finally get my eyelids open I¡¯m overwhelmed by light and color, and a weird heat map of colors in a fog-like overlay that needs a better contrast setting. Tessa, did you mess with my eyes again? I mentioned that you were close to an Aether mutation. When your symbiote started processing the chaotic Aether in your body, you passed a threshold. You were unconscious at the time and your thoughts were reviewed for possible mutations you would consider. Dark Vision seemed appropriate. Try relaxing your eyes to trigger the transition. Also, you have a few advancement decisions to make. I can see in the Dark?! Well that¡¯s freaking cool, but this overbright thing is trash. Hmm. Close eyes, stop focusing so hard and acclimate and relax. A feeling of pressure subsiding makes me think I got it? I raise my eyelids again and things are regular waking up bright. Nice advice Tessa. Looking around, I see folks from engineering aft and reactor control chatting with each other, hugging and smiling, some of them groaning in pain, but altogether they seem happy to be breathing. My teammates in Propulsion are holding onto railings with their mag boots on looking a little green. ¡°Hey team, you six injured or are you just feeling ill?¡± ¡°You warned us about the sick, but I feel like I just got run over by a whole pre-school.¡± MM2 pulls open his sick bag and adds to it. ¡°Were we really out for three hours, and why are we in reactor control?¡± Melissa asks. ¡°I wasn¡¯t awake for all of it, but there was a breach in Propulsion and a leak in the aft machinery room. I had to drag you lazy fuckers and half of engineering up here. When I said it was my turn to save you guys, I didn¡¯t think all of you would take me up on it.¡± I chuckle at my lame joke, hoping they don¡¯t take it as actual criticism. My team looks a little paler from my comment, but not more sick? Progress? /Engineering, DE Propulsion. Propulsion suffered a hull breach, and Machinery aft can be brought to pressure but can¡¯t hold it. Propulsion team accounted for and uninjured/ /Copy. Meeting in the CO¡¯s Cabin in 1 hour/ That¡¯s going to be a fun one. Hey Captain, I heard that we both got Alien AI, makes us buddies now right? What are the chances he¡¯s going to leave me to my own devices about this? Near zero. It makes me wonder who the spiritual/community leader is. Worst come, he probably won¡¯t space me because I¡¯m the best chance we have of getting home . . . until propulsion is fixed. Okay Tessa, looks like I have time to discuss my advancement options. And try to explain what that even means, with pictures too please. You are the first member of the Human race to be assimilated into the Andromeda Supercluster Community Consciousness and Defense Matrix, or more simply the Andromeda Matrix. The Matrix is designed to document progress and provide tangible results to races to help motivate new races to be contributing members of the Supercluster Community, and to help defend against aggressors from other dimensions and universes. Each new assimilated being will be scored against their race¡¯s average. New race averages are extrapolated to 1000 beings or actual assimilated numbers, whichever is higher. Before we continue, would you like to advance your tech and bio mechanisms together, or separately? Bio advancements are generally irreversible and Tech advancements can create dependencies but are otherwise implanted tech. Advancing together is slower, but practically eliminates developing in overlapping or conflicting ways. I¡¯m liking the sound of integrated tech and magic. I pick together as applicable. And then I get a series of prompts and trees pushed to my HUD.
Please Pick the preferred path >> Magical Tech (akin to Enchanters and Golomancy)
>> Artificing (Runes and Machines)
>> Electromagus (Netrunners and Technomages
Let me see if I understand: Magitech¡ªit works because I have magic and I say it does. Artificing¡ªImbuing spells into and onto parts make device go burr. Electromancy¡ªtech is better, faster stronger, because magic, duh. Your need to force perfectly good concepts into crude distillations is vexing. There are some overlaps in these fields that defy your simplification, but yes, you could view them that way. I¡¯d estimate Artificing is best suited to your interests. Yeah, Magitech would feed my ego in the short term. I like the idea of making the universe do as I command. But my commands can only reach so far. Carving spells on things could theoretically show people how brilliant I am from a galaxy away. Electromancy just doesn¡¯t sound as fun or conducive for breaks for maniacal laughing. I would like to choose the Artificing track my dear Tessa. And this means I have a stat sheet right? Let me see that beastie.
Name: Penelope Arcadia Mercer Race: Human (Primus Andromeda Code: T-S
Class: None Track: Artificing (lvl. 2) Imbalance: T + 2
Mind [Intelligence: A, Clever: A, Awareness: B]
Social [Beauty: C, Charm: D, Presence: B]
Physical [Strength: E, Agility: C, Fitness: E]
Aether [Capacity: ??, Refinement: ??, Power: ??]
Skills . . .
This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. My charm score is a little offensive, but it is what got me on this Space Vessel in the first place. Heh, imagine going back to a lab job after working on a space ship. If luck was a stat, I might have it pretty high. I leave the skills rolled up as I don¡¯t really care about that mess. I have a few questions. About the sheet though, Tessa. She rebuts with a flashing yellow timer telling me I have ten minutes to get to the CO¡¯s cabin. You win this round tag-along Tessa. Not like you¡¯re going anywhere. Which means I can muse about things, you can que up some responses when I have the time. This is the best kind of talking to myself. Tessa sighs in my mind. So first off, the imbalance thing is weird. I would have though that had to do with my wild magic saturation, but not sure where the ¡°T¡± comes from. The question marks in Aether, I could speculate, like my Aether chakras, or whatever, are so messed up that my inner alien is still trying to stabilize everything. Last for my immediate concerns, is does Primus mean anything? I mean it has to or you wouldn¡¯t have it on the sheet. But what does it do? OH, and if I¡¯m lvl. 2 on the artificing track, where are my free stat points, what advantage do levels bring, etcetera. A rampant RPG player wants to know! Before I can get to far into my nerdistential rant, I¡¯m near Wardroom forward and the CO¡¯s Cabin. A familiar cast of characters is present, but this time, some officers from the HAB are present. The Chief of the Boat and I are the only enlisted in view. While we wait for whomever, I realize that I¡¯m ravenous. Pocket strudel! Five minutes later, I¡¯m standing in the back of the room shoving treats in my face and typing on air, running simulations on how overloaded our warp maneuver was due to the various complications. ¡°Can we have a moment of your time, Miss Mercer, or are you busy.¡± I look up and blood starts rushing to my face as Captain Morris embarrasses me in his Aussie accent. ¡°I, oof, I¡¯m sorry sir. I was running simulations on what happened.¡± He raises an eyebrow, as though he assumed I was goofing off. I kind of was, but in a productive way. He motions for me to continue. ¡°Uh, based on the all ahead full order, our proximity to Titan and the high A-M inventory; we initiated an unprecedented collapse of the majority of our A-M inventory due to the shaping of Titan¡¯s atmosphere. This seems to have created a rift with enough additional energy to crush our back end and rupture in a ring-like intrusion before the rift collapsed around Copernicus. Based on simulations, we should be 240 to 260 times more distant than our desired maneuver with a preferred error toward farther.¡± ¡°Navigators,¡± Morris turns toward a Lieutenant and a Lt. Commander, ¡°does this match to the astrological projections?¡± The Lt. Commander nods, ¡°near enough. Constellation mapping estimates between 2500 and 2800 light years from our original position.¡± The community sigh is loud. ¡°Remember, we have the technology onboard that got us here, and the brain that built the first version of it.¡± Morris intrudes on the silence. ¡°Eng., how long will it take to repair the hull?¡± ¡°Sir, if we started fabricating more fabricators, it would still take months to plug the holes, or massive damned rift in the back of this ship. And that¡¯s assuming the thrust cones and other rare-metal bullshit on the back end was punched back into the ship instead of blown off. AND that doesn¡¯t include the collider strut damage.¡± ¡°Mercer, if everything was fixed, could you get us back?¡± ¡°Of course I could sir. But it would take a decade to do it safely. It would take between 25 and 30 jumps and the gear is only rated for maybe 10. Assuming we inspect after every warp, and have to fabricate something every third. Most of our time would be spent waiting for the crew to recover enough to survive the next jump. I did half a dozen jumps in a year on Earth and I ended up in the hospital for three months. Inside estimate if we tried the same thing, I¡¯d be twiddling my thumbs after three watching the crew evacuate their innards on the deck. If Nav gets lucky, we can find a planet to warp against each time and rebuild the aft end of the ship two more times.¡± ¡°Mercer, while I don¡¯t appreciate your tone, your candor and data is noted.¡± Bastard smirks at me and then turns to a Civilian that was invited to the meeting. She managed a tight bun and a power suit after the rough warp. Respect. ¡°Dr. Summers, what¡¯s the food prospective over, say, 15 years?¡± She chomps the end of that pen like it was a toaster strudel. ¡°Not great, Captain. We would have to adjust our crops to focus on calories instead of balanced. Your military supply may have enough supplements to keep the crew from missing their vitamins too much.¡± ¡°Mercer asked for up to 15 years, the Botanist says she can make that happen. What else is in the way? And if anyone says power, I will escort you to a space funeral.¡± ¡°We can make water and air from chem fuel, but we can¡¯t mess around with either. While the HAB has a renewable exchange resource, the rest of the ship consumes most of the air inventory.¡± The botanist chimes in again. Morris starts looking irritated. ¡°Sir, my flippant proposal of looking for a planetary system, ¡°on the way¡± could help solve some resource problems as well as getting an atmosphere boost for a warp.¡± Morris¡¯ eyes snap over. ¡°Can our sensors resolve planets within 100 light years?¡± ¡°Maybe 10 sir.¡± ¡°Then start looking for a miracle Nav. Alert on any system that might contain planets.¡± He looks around the room, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t have a problem to work on for the next month?¡± Supply officer raises his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Suppo, you might have to figure out how to get the whole crew through the two gravity messes for the next six months, you¡¯ll be busy enough.¡± The poor lieutenant¡¯s eyes flare wide in his latest best fear. ¡°Every department owes the XO a detailed sitrep in 36 hours. Dismissed. Mercer and Dr. Summers, stay.¡± The officers flow out the door, and the COB silently asks if he should stay, but morris declines. I can guess what this is about. A botanist would not be a far stretch for a cultural leader. When the door shuts and the three of us are left, I make it super akward. ¡°Sooo, first contact with aliens hey? How cool are we?¡± ¡°Mercer, could you take something serious for once in your life?¡± ¡°Cut the crap Captain. A fucking alien beacon saved everyone on this ship, and word ZERO has been said to the crew.¡± ¡°And word fucking zero will continue to be said until I say so!¡± Dr. Summers looks between the two of us, ¡°I get why Captain Morris, but why us?¡± she directs at me. ¡°I designed the tech that brought us here, and you, likely, are gregarious and feed everyone.¡± ¡°YOU?!¡± she accuses me, ¡°You are the intellectual leader they chose?¡± She stares at my uniform. In disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re welcome? You¡¯re the first botanist to do a boatload of things. Records and whatnot. I did not however, strand us 250 times farther in space than we projected. So don¡¯t try to pin that on me.¡± ¡°Ladies, enough. I¡¯ve directed my swarm to discontinue support after current help actions have ceased. We should discuss the alien tech. Especially since Mercer¡¯s swarm is not standing down.¡± Do not volunteer information. Tiers of knowledge are gated even among the race leaders. You are Primus, he is Tertius. I copy and continue to listen to Captain Morris, ¡°It is my understanding that the Race leadership are effectively inviolate, and despite my command, your swarms are not responsive. /Summers, does that sound like he tried to take our alien assistants away?/ /Yes, Mercer, it does indeed./ ¡°Captain, with the threat of warp sickness looming, we shouldn¡¯t rule out swarm assistance in mitigating that threat. Additionally, it appears that given time and experience, the swarm will help the crew perform better. We have the time, so why restrict the help when it could help us get home sooner?¡± /Did you already check on swarm assisted Botany?/ /Do you think I am an idiot, Penelope Mercer?/ /What? No, sorry sorry. I just want us to live through his possible stupidity. Did you consider swarm assisted botany in zero g?/ /Again with the . . . so maybe I didn¡¯t/ /I¡¯m not your enemy . . . Francesca? Wow, pretty name. Anyway, I want to live, I want to science, and maybe I want to gloat a little bit to my former colleagues when I get back. Is that so wrong?/ /No, every earth-bound botanist dreams of being Mark Watney. I will instead be the first botanist to support a colony ship/ /Oh universe, we do have close to the minimum sustainable population base. Fucking gross. I am not a brood mare doctor/ /NONONO. I agree. But the numbers are there and I can waive that in the faces of my colleagues/ /That I understand. Did you name your swarm? Mine¡¯s Tessa/ /Mine¡¯s Glados/ /You¡¯re sick. Enjoy insanity, sweet Francesca/ She pinged me in a violent tone? It hurts in an . . . ego way? Swarms can flick egos?!?! I have been missing this in my life. Has living been worth it until now? My engine launched us into first contact, so yes, absolutely. ¡°Pardon the distraction sir, but couldn¡¯t our ¡®helper¡¯s¡¯ sensor data tell us where the nearest planetary system is?¡± ¡°The helper relay station is not authorized to assist in that manner.¡± ¡°Helper?¡± ¡°Yes user? Do you require assistance?¡± Audio over the CO¡¯s quarters? Morris has been chatting with helper bot. ¡°Helper, please advise when assimilation of a new race is complete.¡± ¡°One thousand users assimilated, user.¡± ¡°Would that also mean that your help action would include simple directions that would require no more than a data transfer so that us users can help with your directive of assimilation?¡± ¡°Calculating. Yes, user. A simple data transfer may not interfere with my other directives.¡± ¡°Thank you, Helper. We require a matter source of atmospheric density to return home within our generational time frame to accommodate 1000 users. Is that within your assistance?¡± ¡°Calculating. Calculating. Posit makes logical sense. Survey data within 100 light years released to Human users. Help action concluded.¡± I get a damned burst of data, and half a dozen hits come up, one within 10 light years. Excellent reasoning, Penny. You did not even need to cash in your Primus token. Ugh, Tessa. More shit I don¡¯t know that you know I don¡¯t know. ¡°There you go Captain Morris. Survey data. We won¡¯t be able to get there until we fix propulsion, but we have a vector and a hope.¡± I start walking toward his office door. ¡°By your leave Captain.¡± I don¡¯t check as I leave. Chapter 25: Aliens are Real /I want to talk about Glados/ Francesca pings me immediately after I leave Morris¡¯ office. /I can come to the HAB or you can come to Propulsion tonight. But I have space walks to arrange, Doctor./ /Alright, come to the civilian quarters after dinner. Doctor./ Hard not to smile at that bit. I do still have space walks to arrange out of the Fab-lab. Hunsaker hops in the jetpack and video documents the leak in the fab bay and moves aft toward port-side propulsion. I co-opt her helmet cam and swear at what I see. It looks like a giant put his thumb in a doughnut. Fuck. This is a three-stage op and I tell Ivanka and Nugget what I think. One, plug Fab-lab. Two, design a slew of cut and recover maneuvers. Three, re-fab half of propulsion. Six hours later, someone is yelling at me for a 4 to 6 month alignment evolution for the collider. ¡°Look. You¡¯re telling me the Collider is out of alignment. I don¡¯t have the calibration tool onboard, I have to make it. After that happens, I have to assemble a jig 200m across, that takes a minimum of ten minutes per arc second to align. Which comes in around five months! It will take at least seven months to resolve so you¡¯ll have to fucking deal okay!?!¡± ¡°Mercer, report for extra duties after every watch for the next month.¡± Shit, I was swearing at the XO. An officer that grew up in an honor and shame based society. Damnit. How did I lose my head so quickly? Must be the damn swarm restriction and the fact that my team is wandering around unsafe from Aether. ¡°Aye Ma¡¯am.¡± I¡¯ve quit for the night. I log my night orders and the CO has essentially said whatever Nugent and Mercer need done gets done. I¡¯ve been assigned an additional dispensation of engineering crew from both rotations, rounding me to 20 sailors. I used to have six plus me. I put my off-shift counterpart MM1 in charge of component reclamation after the day crew spent all day cutting and anchoring. My expanded team is going to be tired for a year. This isn¡¯t sustainable. /Francesca, imma need you to develop a plant that can snuggle my stress away, please advise/ /I got you, about the same time you invent the Ansible so I can talk to my mother/ I ping flick her face and laugh about it. /Yeah, yah, still want to talk about swarms tonight?/ She pings affirmative. Before I leave engineering I feel a pull on my belt, ¡°Penny, movie night?¡± ¡°Mel, I want to, but I have a meeting with . . . okay that¡¯s not going to make any sense.¡± /ET1 Hunsaker, I need an assist in the Fab-Lab Airlock./ /Roger propulsion/ I lock us both in here and take my shield down and start pulling the tether apparatus open. ¡°Wait, this wasn¡¯t just a lark?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t afford larks right now Mel. Grab the spring tensioner and start calibrating the bastard.¡± I breathe in deep and start tapping panel lockouts. ¡°Mel. This is like, one step removed from mutiny stuff, you¡¯re either in or out. Start helping with maintenance or claim a fault in your suit or something.¡± She looks around to the screens and the cameras. ¡°I¡¯m your electrician, Chief,¡± Bitch purrs. Fuck Melissa, not the time. ¡°TLDR. The crew survived warp sickness because of an alien AI that has a directive to save first contact species until their info and data can be assimilated. The CO, The Botanist, and I were selected as representatives of Humanity and we host their tech to advance Humanity to contribute to the Andromeda Collective.¡± She looks like I slapped her with a fish. Her disbelief is palpable. ¡°I¡¯m with you Pen, but you sound crazy. I hate to say it, but, I¡¯m saying it.¡± I smirk and know how to prove it. I black out the lights and blink furiously to activate my Dark vision. It¡¯s really Aether vision, and my irises glow. ¡°Look into my eyes Meli.¡± ¡°Holy shit Pen.¡± She kisses me quickly and starts squashing my face with her hands. ¡°Your eyes are like pearls. Light pearls.¡± It takes three seconds for the wonder wears of before she shrieks. ¡°ALEINS ARE FUCKING REAL!? AAH . . .¡± I pull her shield down and punch the plexiglass then point at her nose. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. She nods and I pull her shield release. ¡°Meli, bae, calm the fuck down. This is why I was cagey. I want propulsion to be my team, like forever team. So I can start shielding you from the warp sickness.¡± ¡°Pen pen. If you say it¡¯s for the warp sickness then half of engineering will follow you.¡± I turn the lights back on and log the outage. ¡°Could you talk to our fam? I don¡¯t want to coerce everyone, but I want to give everyone a leg up you know?¡± ¡°You are basically the data leprechaun. If you say something, engineering is going to believe you at this point.¡± She pulls me in, breathing on my neck in a way that I could turn the lights off again. ¡°Melissa, damn, I need you to tell me you accept a foreign technology swarm and that you¡¯ll keep the knowledge in our crew. You can decline. Obviously.¡± ¡°I accept Penny.¡± I click a button and the bottle sends a small cloud in her mouth, nose and ears. She¡¯s stunned while the process endures, and I know it will take at least thirty minutes. I whisper to her that she should go to bed and spend the night assimilating. She puts her face shield up and begins the hatch release protocol. It takes me another GD hour to finish the job I started and I¡¯m late for the botanist. The HAB is still stationary but when I walk through the Civilian quarters¡¯ door, I crash to the ground and the access door behind me shuts immediately. They must be in on the grav experiment too. ¡°Very funny Francesca, lets talk and get this done with.¡± I walk in and see the Botanist sitting in a blue tank and some gray sweat shorts holding a tablet picking a movie. ¡°I am sorry, I did not expect this to be a social call?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be silly Penelope, Civilians can discuss business while relaxing. At the same time! Isn¡¯t that novel.¡± ¡°You make me want to grab a down pillow and club you to surrender.¡± ¡°Pick a movie Petty Officer.¡± ¡°Captain Marvel 4. The quest for the perfect posterior pose.¡± ¡°Could you be more gay?¡± I snort, ¡°Absolutely yes.¡± After a brief pause I continue. ¡°Ugh, sorry Francesca. I talk a good game but I really just want to create a community.¡± ¡°You seem like a nice girl, but I just want to talk about the tech, and it seemed that if I was interested in you that you would share more.¡± Are you kidding me? Both the Captain and the Botanist tried to play me on the same day? Francesca is dumber than she looks then. I glitch her next few fantasy sims just because I can. ¡°Fran, this isn¡¯t it. I¡¯m not into deception. Good luck.¡± I pull myself up off the deck, done with the whole day, knowing I bought extra duty. ¡°Mercer, wait! I¡¯m Sorry okay?¡± ¡°Bullshit. You¡¯re just sorry your ploy didn¡¯t work. I get that you¡¯re one of three leaders of the Human sphere right now, but it¡¯s no excuse to act like a politician. Just remember, I¡¯m working to get everyone home right now and so are you.¡± I walk away, just hoping to get to my rack before anything else can happen on this shit afternoon, but when I open the door, the Universe just keeps on giving. ¡°Oh, hey Katie. Did the doc have us double booked?¡± She has the decency to look a little embarrassed. ¡°She¡¯s like you, but around more.¡± I mean, that makes sense, but I¡¯d already rationalized her behavior. I was too busy to be involved, she was too scared to intrude, and then it was just easier to blame the distance of a few hundred meters and an airlock protocol. ¡°No explanation needed hon. Your actions were always consistent. Thanks for that. This is our world now, and I can¡¯t blame you for trying to be happy.¡± ¡°Do you hate me?¡± For the first time since we had sex in propulsion, she sounds vulnerable. ¡°No, no I don¡¯t hate you. I want to hug you, and I want to yell at you. But that¡¯s just my shame and hurt talking. The rest just wants to see you healthy and hale.¡± I slip past her and start floating, toward the HAB transfer locks. ¡°Penny! I . . .¡± ¡°You owe me a drink when I get us back to Earth. Maybe name a kid after me.¡± I wave away as the tears roll in. I¡¯d like to say that my float to crew berthing is full of introspection, but it¡¯s a one woman pity party. You seem to have time now, Penny. Tess, you have some timing. I snipe as I grab a bite at the Cheifs¡¯ mess and stow some pocket snacks in a cubby that the other chief¡¯s leave for me. Our brief time together indicates that now would be a terrible time to leave you alone. To answer your earlier questions. Primus gives you a leadership aura as do the other leadership tags. Yours cannot be overruled for any reason. It also gives you a one-time token to exchange with the Andromeda Matrix for one of knowledge, power, material gain, etcetera. The question marks are indeed because Ess has not fully processed the morass that is your Aether state. It should be noted that a large portion of your ¡°Primus¡± and first contact bonuses were used when you assumed the Symbiote as well as this swarm. Tessa, I¡¯ve had a shit day. And I know that of all people, we are in it together. But can you not lead me around by my nostrils right now. It is not intentional. There is so much to know, and Humanity knows so little with such conflicting information from your fictions. You have more ¡°level up¡± decisions to make about the talents you wish to pursue, but that should wait until your emotional state has leveled out some. Your ¡°free points¡± do not exist as you imagine them. Mutations will be the primary driver of physical change for you. There will also be changes to accommodate your track growth, but those changes are much fewer and not worth speculation. I should also mention that historic predictions indicate that Ess and I will develop a combined identity. I hope that we become besties Tessa. But you¡¯re right. I need to level out. Can you look at our schedule tomorrow and set up a block when we can do round two of track choices? Tessa chirps the affirmative in my brain and leaves me to drag my snacks to my rack. ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d come back.¡± Surprise pulls me into the present and makes my heart beat heavy. I freeze up not knowing what to do, feeling powerless even though I¡¯ve just been handed an Alien Excalibur. ¡°Jesus, Pen pen. Don¡¯t over think it. Come for a cuddle and I¡¯ll put on a good ass-watching flick and then I¡¯ll boot you out of the rack come watch time.¡± ¡°Mel, did you hack my brain just now? ¡®Cause that sounds perfect.¡± My voice is watery and shaky, but Mel holds me this time, and it¡¯s just what I needed. Chapter 26: Tooltips, Schmooltips I don¡¯t know what Mel and I are right now, but the soft kiss wake up and the boot to the ass out of the rack was just the motivation I needed. I invite her to the mess for breakfast, but she picks my snack pockets and bails on the offer. Irascible gremlin. I feel that your development would benefit from making track decisions before your onerous extra duties commence. You have a hull cutting supervisor duty today that should allow for those decisions. Who would have thought that I, an avowed nerd, would feel a system acquisition as a burden. When I start on the track of making a magic-based wave drive for my bad ass moon visiting shuttle, then, then I will find my excitement again. /Mercer, DE EA, my construction man team recommends stacking pieces while we build more recyclers for the mass of fabricators we are about to build./ /Roger that sir, do you want me to focus on collection? Or do you want me to spare a team for re-calibrating the collider?/ /Mercer. The collider is on my radar. Your own timeline has us at 18 months to rebuild and calibrate the Propulsion systems. The collider can wait a few months/ /Aye aye sir/ I jump in my air pack and a long hose to connect to ship¡¯s air and work my supervisory ass toward propulsion to see my new, larger team cut enormous holes in the ship. Alright, Tessa, hit me baby, one more time. You have two advancement options to select.
Chose (2) from the available modules
Tessie, baby, check my greed here, Insight and Engraving seems to be the magic duo. Do the remaining choices stay for my next level up? Those two may be the fastest way for your badass moon touching shuttle to become real. It depends on leveling. This early in the leveling process, odds are good that these options remain. Early options disappear as level distance from initial appearance increases. Should I make those selections for you? Please and thank you. My HUD scrolls with a mess of data, some of it pearlescent, and all of it super bright in my memory. Gadzooks, direct download is a trip. A long, thin box drops into my hand? And it tingles like warp energy. ¡°Did I just get a fucking system drop?¡± Tessa chirps me affirmative. I mean, I¡¯m not some inconsiderate schmuck that denies providence. I open the box and it looks like a combination arc-welder and tattoo gun?! Okay, that¡¯s badass. I don¡¯t know if the Andromeda Matrix tailors these tools and concepts to the races using them, but an Aether-welding pen seems just my speed. Okay, I was being a pain earlier, but now I¡¯m jazzed again Tessa. If we¡¯re in a place where my mutations come into play again, manual dexterity or Aether processing/conduits/storage/pooling are priority. Aether subsistence, bio conversion, increased height, and enhanced audio separation/control are low on the list. For avoidance, avoid cognitive detrimental effects at all costs. For all I know, the next warp will fuck me up. Real talk Tessie baby, will the swarm help mitigate Aether sickness for my team? Inoculating them early is best. And yes, I can create the channels necessary to reduce adverse effects, and eventually long-term fortification. Using the Primus strain in that bottle will enhance the effects. And that¡¯s how I spend my day. The little bottle hooks into a newly formed port on my wrist that can coalesce Aether. Tessa tells me this is a Tech-Symbiote Amalgam perk. Aka, Penny makes decent choices some times. I observe my environment and scab a mag rune and by some miracle an effing GRAV RUNE. They¡¯re weak and rudimentary, but with some refinement, they could at least lead to a better night¡¯s sleep. My watch is over, my inspections done, and my AAR written. Time to report to the XO. ¡°MM1 Mercer, reporting as ordered Ma¡¯am.¡± She proceeded to have me stand another supervisory watch, but this time for engineering forward¡¯s breaches. At least it¡¯s something I know how to do. The next weeks are more of the same. Melissa starts joining me for breakfast in grav and the Chiefs ignore that she¡¯s becoming a regular. Ivanka is as overworked as I am but pulls double duty taking care of Petra, who ended up sacrificing parts of herself to plug holes in the compartment she was in. I¡¯ve committed to myself that I will help Petra whether the CO wants me to or not, but finding a time when she¡¯s alone is tough with all of my extra commitments. She seems happy to see me when I visit though and she¡¯s always been a member of the superhero butt-watching club. I don¡¯t get any chats from Katie or the Botanist, and I probably won¡¯t until they want something from me. I try to keep busy and keep my mind off of such depressing things. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The end of the month sees my extra duties mandated by the XO come to an end, so I spend the time in the fab lab working on my engraving and studying the two runes that I have. The gravity rune seems to be a linked design with a container, or directing embellishments? Hmm, for both of the runeshapes I know, they¡¯re kind of a rune face toward effect kind of magic, so the directing thing doesn¡¯t really make sense. I fumble around with a rendering of each runeshape in my HUD so I can study them, and then I watch with more intent on how the shape activates than just finishing the shape. When the last bit of liquid Aether firms and cools, the form lights up in three stages, the container type shapes first, the target identifier and the effect.
Tessa, would I have learned theory and rune form structuring in the Basic Rune Forms module? She chirps the affirmative. Damnit Penny, always trying to walk before we run. Wait, why isn¡¯t there a pull rune in the magnet runeshape? If you bothered reading the tool tips, you would have realized that Aetheric Insight helps you to discover shapes that mimic the technology effect you are observing. While the simplest forms to create the same effect would be ¡°metal¡± and ¡°pull¡± that is not what your boots are doing. So with the various forms of pushing that could be considered ¡°thrust¡±, our chem thrusters would be discovered as something akin to ¡°flame cone¡± or ¡°fire push¡±? Tessa chirps her concurrence. Well damn, I wanted to get enchanting next, but it seems I¡¯ll need to get that teaching module on basic forms so I can possibly deconstruct and simplify my discoveries. Funny thing is, though it makes sense now to have chosen different, it would have taken knowledge I didn¡¯t have or an insight into tooltip explanations that I didn¡¯t make time for to have made that decision. I take a hammer and the tip of a screwdriver to make the rune inert and throw the piece of scrap back in the pile for the reclamators. Man, those construction men need to finish that second reclamator, the single one we have just cannot keep up. They¡¯re behind schedule because apparently, fabrication is the easy part as long as you have the components. Reclaiming the base components of a broken item is apparently difficult and time consuming. I watch as one of my team members feeds a chunk of thrust cone into the reclamator, and 20 minutes later it spits out various sorted nuggets and powders. That¡¯s so friggin¡¯ cool.
Then a debilitatingly massive download punched me in the brain. I can hear noises in the distance one of them is a guttural cry and what seems like hours later my body goes limp and I start panting like I ran to the front of the ship and back. Your throat is injured, you¡¯ve pulled several muscles, and there¡¯s a bleed in your left eye. You should avoid intently studying a process and triggering another rune for a few days. ¡°Guys, Mercer¡¯s not responding. Help me decouple her boots and I¡¯ll take her to medical.¡± I think that¡¯s MM1 Carpenter from engineering forward? ¡°Is she okay?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know man, I started hearing something like a sub-vocal scream and then I looked over to see her seizing. Lasted a couple of minutes.¡± He manages to disengage the mag on my boots while another sailor gets a strap to tie my arms down and then Carpenter tows me up a few decks to medical. I don¡¯t think I could form words if I tried right now. My head and my eyes and my neck all feel like I¡¯m being stabbed and blown up. I can still see my HUD with my eyes closed, so that¡¯s entertaining. I get what the shapes and colors on my body mockup are telling me, but the descriptions are displayed in words and I really can¡¯t even right now. Seems like my ears can still process language though. It was mostly your visual cortex that suffered the trauma. Your reasoning centers are compromised and you¡¯ll have some short-term memory loss, but I can help you recover those. Additionally, I have identified that a RAM-style buffer installation would mitigate most of the trauma you experienced with your last uplink. Yes, do that. I find it hard to believe that this will be the only time I ¡°discover¡± something too advanced for my current baby self. Modification confirmed, tech imbalance of 2 consumed. I will be modifying the sinus structures in your cheeks and brow to contain the proposed hardware. Tessa, I really am interested, but can we table this until thinking doesn¡¯t hurt as much? And could you turn pain suppression up? After a brief pause, she responds by forcing me to sleep. *** My HUD tells me I¡¯ve been out overnight, around twelve hours. Too bad I don¡¯t feel rested. My eyes open as ordered and my fingers wiggle appropriately¡ªall good signs. I am strapped down to a table, though, and not in my uniform. Huh. That¡¯s inconvenient, typing is hard when you¡¯re strapped to a table and your typing gloves are missing. Penny, those circuits have been disconnected since I removed your need for a contact lens for your display. I¡¯ve been reading your hand movements and typing for you since then. That¡¯s pretty cool Tessa, thanks. /Hey Mel, wanted to let you know that I¡¯m okay. An overlarge data download set me seizing, but my swarm says she¡¯s working on a fix for the future./ /Oh thank god. You had us pretty scared Pen pen. Can I come see you?/ /I¡¯m strapped to a table in medical, so probably/ I chuckle at that. It comes out as a raspy wheeze. Oof. That is so wrong. I gotta say, I¡¯m surprise none of the medical staff has come by yet. Melissa comes in with a Nurse a few minutes later. He unstraps me and does a couple of cognitive tests and manual dexterity checks, takes my vitals again and leaves to fetch a doctor. Melissa is in my arms immediately. ¡°I can¡¯t believe your swarm hurt you.¡± /Not her fault. I chose a skill that I thought sounded cool, but I should have learned the basics first/ ¡°That sounds like you. No voice?¡± she asks, pushing away but keeping her hands on my hips. I shake my head and also point at my eye. ¡°I saw. Your irises are still really pretty though.¡± I lean forward for a quick peck and we both smile at each other, knowing that we¡¯ll trade a longer kiss later. ¡°Someone looks like they¡¯re feeling better.¡± A smooth baritone says before a clean-cut Officer walks in. I nod at him and mouth ¡°can I go?¡± while pointing at the door. ¡°I want to ask you about what happened first.¡± /Lt. Boone, I was in engineering watching the reclamators when my vision went white, my whole body clenched for several minutes and then I went limp, couldn¡¯t speak and had a hard time thinking straight/ ¡°It sounds like either an aneurysm caused a seizure, or cancer did. There were some unusual structures on your x-rays and we don¡¯t have an MRI onboard, but the structures shouldn¡¯t be large enough to trigger the episode you described. ¡°Best I can do for you right now, is to send you with some migraine meds and a 3-day light duty chit. If you get another eye bleed or you notice any irregularities in your fine motor control, come back immediately. Also, you should be observed for the next three days, just in case, so don¡¯t go off on your own until then.¡± He looks over to Melissa still holding my arm, ¡°Not that you¡¯ll have any trouble with that.¡± He chuckles. ¡°Supply will have your over-the-counter meds. Chapter 27: Space Magic and Disobedience. Melissa is the enthusiastic volunteer to keep me company for the next three days, causing some odd looks and some laughing around the shop. She quickly realizes that my job is often more boring that hers, and that I¡¯m on supervisor duty like the engineering chiefs. My team has filled the fab lab with scrap, even after moving equipment around, and we have no hope of catching up until the second reclamator comes online. I order my teams to switch to deconstructing the inside of propulsion and to start stacking pieces next to the bulkhead to the aft machinery spaces. They rightly ask how they¡¯re going to get it back to the reclamators, but I told them that was my problem to solve. I want to build a sundering table. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you have actual Magic. I¡¯d be cross with you if the swarm you infected me with wasn¡¯t making me better at everything.¡± ¡°I mean, there had to be some benefit to inviting science to have its way with me.¡± ¡°Ooh, ooh, I volunteer to be science!¡± I can¡¯t help but laugh at that. I would let her too, but it doesn¡¯t seem to have been a priority for either of us. ¡°You¡¯re soo funny Mel. What are you having your swarm focus on?¡± ¡°Me. Obviously. More specifically healing and recovery. I¡¯m probably going to focus on bio optimization next. Needing less food, water, and sleep sounds pretty useful.¡± I nod at that. ¡°It does, but I¡¯m a bit surprised you didn¡¯t go straight for body mods like speed strength or whatever. That seems like it would be most popular.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that I rate better than average in all physical categories, thank you.¡± Oh shit. I¡¯m horrified at my careless words. ¡°No no, Mel, I wasn¡¯t trying to imply that there was anything wrong with your body. You look great, I just meant . . . you know, I don¡¯t really know what I meant. I¡¯mma shut up now.¡± In fact, while I¡¯m mortified and staring at my shoes. I should look at the notifications that I¡¯ve been scared might trigger another massive data dump.
Pain suppression leveled twice and it still felt that bad? Jeebus. That totally awesome spell nearly melted my brain. I¡¯m still gradually re-introducing the data that came in. Don¡¯t try to reproduce it yet. And yes I heard you thinking about it. No you don¡¯t have enough stored Aether in your body, and yes you can use multiple ampules. Tessa, that¡¯s kind of convenient, but super creepy that you can skim my thoughts. Try to pack it in by the end of the week, or we won¡¯t have any room anywhere to dump scrap. You think there¡¯s any harm in trying to engrave some runes I already know? Tessa honks no. Sweet. I start pulling up floor panels near the propulsion console and flipping them over. I then ruminate over the past gravity runes that I¡¯ve made and start encouraging Tessa to help me crunch the size and depth problem to get 1G. I figure that my engraving depth has been consistent and that, conveniently that a 9.8cm diameter runeshape will create 1G of pull. Tessa corrects me in that it is only true for the 3.2mx1mx1m cube of space that it affects and that the height changes based on the footprint of the engraved body. ¡°Okay, so that means that this 1mx2m deck plate would need two runeshapes to project a 3.2m height gravity field of 9.8m/s^2. That¡¯s a lot of work, but totally doable.¡± Tessa doesn¡¯t chirp either way, so I get to work. Hours later, I¡¯m sitting in Propulsion Control with yet another deck plate in my lap as I sit on the floor engraving.
The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Only took ten panels and twenty runeshapes. MM1 Carpenter comes over floating in his pressure suit. ¡°Hey Mercer. The Sea Bees got the . . . Fuck!¡± He face plants into my gravity decking. ¡°Is that what you¡¯ve been doing for the last few hours? Experimenting with the grav units? Jesus, lady. We have more important shit to do!¡± ¡°I¡¯m on light duty man, give me a break.¡± I say with a 40lb plate in my lap. ¡°You know what? Not my fight. I came here to tell you that Senior Baiul is requesting at least one of our salvage teams construct some large bins for the reclamator products now that the second one is online.¡± Carpenter exasperates. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea that could make collection of those products simpler. I¡¯ll come up when I¡¯m done with this plate. Tell salvage teams alpha through Charlie to start working on designing those bins, assuming gravity inside the bins will work. I know, odd, but trust me. Tell Delta to start programming the two fabricators to start making the standard 2mx4m hull plates.¡± ¡°Will do, Mercer. These plates could be a solid prank in some of the corridors.¡± I snort at that. It would too. /ET1, take control of scavenge teams Echo and Foxtrot. Continue pulling salvage into Propulsion. I¡¯ll be moving to Fab-Lab for a job shuffle. Be warned that there is gravity around propulsion control./ /Copy, MM1/ It takes me fifteen more minutes to finish the plate and to bolt it back to the deck. That done I ping Melissa and tell her I¡¯m moving to Fab-lab. ¡°Hi Pen, holy moly!!¡± Melissa stumbles but keeps her feet as she treats on my modified plates. ¡°Okay, showoff. That is pretty cool. You going to grav crew berthing?¡± ¡°And the fucking showers.¡± ¡°Oh, Penny. I think I¡¯m going to cry. A shower. Oh my god.¡± She pulls me into a fierce hug. ¡°That¡¯s the kind of hope a girl needs.¡± I know how that is, except I get to use the Chiefs¡¯ showers from time to time and she has to use alcohol swabs. ¡°No need to tear up Meli, that¡¯s month plus work. Lets get to the lab.¡± I leap off of the last grav plate toward the aft machinery hatch and shoot off. Melissa takes a more sedate pace but is at the door by the time I¡¯ve got it open. ¡°Do you need me to do anything when we get there?¡± ¡°You know the fabricators better than me, so yeah. Need standard hull plates being manufactured.¡± ¡°You know that those don¡¯t fit in the airlock right?¡± ¡°With both doors open they do.¡± I shrug. ¡°Oh, sorry, forgot you¡¯re a loon.¡± ¡°Tone the flirting back, Meli, we both have to work before play.¡± I say that with more bravado than I actually have. Melissa looks good as a bashful tomato. Ivanka floats at me aggressively when we enter the Lab. One of our first projects after patching the lab was to make a pseudo airlock into the space from Aft Machinery so we¡¯d stop losing so much air. ¡°So you have some weird plan for gravity storage bins?¡± She accuses. ¡°Yes Senior, I do.¡± ¡°This I would like to see.¡± ¡°Aye aye, Senior chief. Weird plan, execute.¡± I talk with the two salvage teams and their welders. I ask them to make the bottoms out of a different material and install the bottoms last. They all look at me as funny as Ivanka did, but they find three usuable chunks of 1mx2m thrust cone metal. I have to spend a little more time on each of the more stubborn metals, but I inscribe the two runeshapes on each panel and then watch my teams hammer, heat and weld the scrap metal into bins with my rune plates at the bottom. ¡°Okay boss, we did the deed on three bins. So what was with the weird request and not having us enclose these?¡± I walk over to the fabricator and pull some loose chips of steel throw them over the bin. As soon as the chips break over the vertical plane of the bin, they drop like rocks into the container. A community ¡°oh shit!¡± ¡°You all can thank me when you¡¯re not cleaning filings and rubber bits from the scrubbers every watch.¡± Smiles break out across the lab. Ivanka looks madder than ever, which confuses me. She stops really close and then pulls me up to her face. ¡°How did you do this?¡± ¡°Space Magic, Ivanka. Space Magic.¡± She blinks once, twice, and asks ¡°Like Jedi or like space elves?¡± Oh? Is this bad Russian bitch a fantasy reader? ¡°Space elves. Well, space pixie maybe.¡± She laughs at that, ¡°because you are smol! Yes, I like that. Can you show me?¡± ¡°Sorry Ivanka, the Captain has decided to limit this information. I refuse to let the work take longer when I can do these things, but the CO is in command and I shouldn¡¯t countermand his orders.¡± She nods in understanding until her eyes flare in revelation, then her gaze turns hard and her grip is on my neck. ¡°Could this space magic save Petra?¡± I hesitate for a moment and her grip tightens in anger, ¡°Can you save Petra?!¡± she growls. /Remove your hand from my neck, Ivanka/ I command. The audacity of this woman attempting to threaten me into compliance. Something in my eyes flashes fear across her face and she lets go. /You will never threaten me again. Know that I will do what I can to help Petra./ She holds my glare for a few seconds and when I promise to help Petra she looks away and nods, cowed by my will. ¡°Engineering, carry out your orders.¡± Ivanka yells. Aka get back to work. She storms off, to where I don¡¯t know, but I should tell the Captain. /CO, DE Mercer. In light of Petra¡¯s debilitating injury, I am reminded that my Propulsion team, and possibly the whole ship will suffer from Aether sickness that could kill them. Inoculated with a swarm this early, their chances of surviving the warps approaches 87%. I¡¯m informing you of my intent to have Propulsion and Chief Petra inoculated. It can be your swarm, or mine./ /Mercer, I have made my will on this clear. You will not disclose our contact with Alien intelligence to the crew under any circumstances. Am I clear?/ /Even if I have a way to cut reconstruction time by months? And when I figure out how to shave off years of travel time. What then?/ /. . . what have you discovered?/ /I have simplified artificial gravity, and I think I have a way to simplify the reclamators/ while he pauses, I take that as license to continue. /Sir, I won¡¯t stop helping the crew to get home, you can trust that. I won¡¯t hold my ability to help hostage for what I want. But I won¡¯t keep it secret. As far as I¡¯m concerned, and I can look up the laws regarding conduct in the face of the enemy if you like, but space and distance are our enemy sir and they are uncaring and unscrupulous./ /Mercer, you are dangerously close to insubordination. I will consider this and you will not act until I say so./ /With all due respect sir, withholding a swarm from Chief Volkov is in effect torturing her. If you are willing to torture your subordinates to satisfy your paranoia and pride, then you will join the long list of war criminals on the wrong side of history. I¡¯ll be visiting Chief Volkov tomorrow./ /And I will greet you with irons if you decide to be stupid/ So be it Captain. So be it. Chapter 28: Gettin Briggy with it. ¡°You want to tell me what¡¯s had you scowling for the last twenty minutes?¡± ¡°I do Mel. But I don¡¯t want to risk saying it out loud or over chat.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all? I¡¯ve got a thing for that. I¡¯ve been waiting for a good time to ask you about it.¡± She hands me an ear clip with a multi-prong connector? ¡°Uhh, thanks?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a point-to-point UHF transmitter. Just plug it in and we can chat near telepathically.¡± ¡°Give me a minute, hon, I don¡¯t have a skull jack.¡± The mix of emotions on Melissa¡¯s face is too confusing to assess at a quick glance. Tessa, can we multipurpose my Aether tap with a tech sheath? A good idea, though complicated. This may co-opt or pre-select a path for your next advancement, but it is doable to hook this in around the Aether Tap. If that means you¡¯re putting us in the lurch to progress a tech I need, then yes, do that. Confirmed. Executing. For a moment imagine that when you can hear your pulse in your head and your hands, imagine also it sounds like skittering and that your veins feel like their filled with termites. Whatever realignment is happening feels like that. >M] Did she just realign her interface to a wrist port? [< >P] Oh hell, Mel, is that you? [< >M] Holyshit. IT WORKED!?![< ¡°Jesus Mel, Brain caps hurt¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m sorry.¡± And then she kisses me quick in apology. I put my hand in her face, >P] Mel, that was in public.[< >M] Not sure I care anymore Pen pen. [< >P] Ease up sailor, pretend to teach me more about the Fabricators [< She drags me over to the two fabs where one of my ET3s is scratching his head. Then gets in a brief slap fight with an MM3 before Melissa breaks it up. >M] I could teach you if you wanted. [< >P] Yes, I would like that, but not now. So I just had a text fight with the CO about treating Petra and long term preventing the crew from dying of Aether sickness.[< >M] Penny, the crew can¡¯t afford for you to be put in the Brig. [< >P] Yeah, but I have to tread a line where he can bust me and then be magnanimous later. Feed his ego and what not. I kind of gave him an ultimatum and he said he¡¯d think about it, and I said every day you think is another day you chose to torture Petra. I then said that I will be inoculating Petra tomorrow, and he said he¡¯d meet me with irons. [< >M] Penny bear, I just told you that no one can afford you in the brig. WHAT THE FUCK!?[< >P] I gave a swarm to my electrician. She¡¯d back me up. [< >M] That¡¯s not even a little bit fair, but I get it. What do you need from me? [< >P] Okay, wow. I thought you¡¯d take more convincing. But if he really does meet me with irons and does not wait for me to disobey orders. I need you to take the bottle I used on you and do the thing with Petra. If you can¡¯t do that, I need you to push some of your swarm into her with intent to heal. [< >M] you warned me about a potential mutinee, but did I listen? NOOO.[< >P] On the plus side, Senior Baiul is really pushing for this, so if Petra recovers most of engineering will be with us. [< >M] I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s asking me to incite mutinee before asking to sleep with me. Priorities am I right? [< >P] Mind mic on, Meli. [< I giggle at her brain. She claps her hand across her mouth and turns beet red, even tries to push away and float toward the airlock. I snag her suit and laugh. ¡°Mel, you¡¯re a very attractive woman, and I am interested. The mutual respect and support thing we had going just felt to good to risk.¡± >M] Well, now that I¡¯ve shown what I¡¯m willing to risk, what are you going to do? [< I put my mouth next to her ear with a smile, ¡°Get gravity working so I can fuck you properly.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. And the pretty brunette cackles like a witch of ages. ¡°A joke that funny should be shared boss.¡± Campbell interjects. ¡°Alright, alright. How many Marines does it take to move a space ship?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even have Marines on board. But I don¡¯t know, how many?¡± He plays along. ¡°Three. One to thrust,¡± I make inappropriate him motions, ¡°one to push,¡± I push in zero g. ¡°And one to get ejected from the airlock at high speed.¡± I smack my hands together and skip one off by itself. I can hear the machine next to me printing hardened steel. ¡°Oh, hohoho. Quite good. The two motivated marines are useless, where the obedient marine actually provides thrust, very good. Ohohoho.¡± Niedermeyer chortles. Oh my dear Universe, that was the nerdiest laugh monologue I have ever heard. It kills me, I am dead. My raucous laughter echoes and the rest of the fab lab joins in. Mel adds. ¡°First in recorded history where explaining a joke made if funnier.¡± Aw man, this is what life is about: companionship and laughter. And here I traded it in for doing the right thing right now, instead of being tactful about it. Melissa and I leave to pilfer the snacks in the Chiefs¡¯ mess before stuffing ourselves into my rack to have ghetto dinner and a movie. Every request is followed by a kiss. Hand me a strudel? Kiss. Victory Horchata, kiss. And this time instead of just being comforting, she¡¯s spinning me up. Is it that I know she¡¯s interested, or is it that she¡¯s putting extra fire in those smooches? It has to be both because I would have never dared to reply as I did: ¡°What do you want to watch next, Pen pen?¡± ¡°I want to watch you cum for me.¡± Her shudder and the enhanced smell of arousal turn off my higher functions and all I remember of that night are hunger and satisfaction. *** I wake with a landing strip in my face. I shrug mentally: when in paradise, taste of the fruits. I wrap my tongue around a very lonely bean and we start dancing. Until I get a light pat on my naked ass and a . . . >M] No. Penny, we have work to do. Behave yourself [< My mind issues a very childlike ¡°I don¡¯t wanna¡± as I pull the length of my tongue across her. She moans in a way that spurs me on, but the cognitive dissonance of a sharp pinch of my butt and a savage bite to my leg tell me that the moan was not by choice. >M] Penny Astoria Mercer! Behave! [< >P] Yes dear [< I frown, with my soul, and disengage from my fit electrician. We put our underwear on in a shuffle, then get out of my rack to get our uniform suits on. Melissa kisses me for luck, snags the bottle in my fanny pack, and then swats my butt to get moving. A little shag, a little snack, and then some insubordination to get to. *** Melissa Isabelle Hunsaker is a ride or die bitch and I¡¯m here for it. She calmly watched me get pulled away from Petra, and while I was making a scene, she pulled Petra¡¯s mouth open, shot the bots in her mouth and surreptitiously used one hand to close her mouth and close her nostrils while the swarm infected her lungs. It honestly looks like she¡¯d killed someone before. So, they don¡¯t have shackles, but they do have armed escorts to the brig I didn¡¯t know we had. What does surprise me is that the CO doesn¡¯t show up but Command Master Chief Purnell does and he looks like he had to drown a bag of cats. ¡°The funny part, folks, is that I didn¡¯t have time to disobey a direct order. Carry me away gents.¡± I go limp and let them figure it out. Every time my feet hit something metal, I engage my mag boots and laugh. ¡°We don¡¯t take kindly to mutineers.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t actually disobey an order friend. But I know you¡¯re just following orders. Did you know that I invented the drive that¡¯s supposed to get us home?¡± ¡°So you also got us stuck out here.¡± ¡°Difference between cause and effect and results based reasoning, but you do you!¡± Meat head prime puts his hand around my neck, ¡°If your tech didn¡¯t cause this, what did?¡± ¡°Maneuver briefing had at least 3 major differences from ordered execution. If the logs aren¡¯t public, I have recordings.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to the traitor Draper, she¡¯ll say anything to stay out of the brig.¡± ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m finally get some sleep. How will I carry on?! Woe, woe be the law abiding vagrants under the thumb of paranoid tyrants. WOE WOE!!!!¡± Loyal goon punches me in the stomach, but I hoped something like this would happen, so I spit aether infused vomit on the ass. He starts twitching before we get to the brig. ¡°You going to help him?¡± Draper asks. ¡°Would be treason most foul if I did.¡± I laugh to spin the fucker up. ¡°I¡¯m not joking traitor. If he dies, you die.¡± ¡°Neither am I fuck face. Captain Morris has ordered I not aid in any way those infected with Aether sickness or any other malady that I can prevent. I have not violated those orders, and I will not for some chump that wants to abuse me. He can fucking die for his beliefs, because he was willing to make me die for mine.¡± Draper punches me until I vomit a kaleidoscope, and then he¡¯s afraid for his life. I wait until someone comes to resolve this. ¡°Your mate is dying. You should call medical.¡± He punches me again until I vomit and then backs off. ¡°Your mate is still dying douchebag. You going to kill me while you watch him die.¡± I vomit in his face on the first punch. ¡°Fucking cure us now!¡± ¡°Sorry sailor. That would be insubordination. Die quietly like your Captain ordered you to.¡± //Ship wide alert. Prisoner and two escorts injured, Medical attention required.// I set that fucker on repeat and mind texted Mel not to respond. I don¡¯t see any of the other alerts, it seems the CO is blocking me in regular comms. This feels like he might actually keep me in the brig instead of proving a point. Lt. Boone and two security team members show up and tell me where the CO is at. Boone asks me questions but my hands are literal tied and my throat abused, so I wheeze and wiggle my fingers behind my back to showcase. I get beat by thug one and thug two for my efforts and thrown into an honest to goodness jail cell for my efforts. How did I even get here. Fuck you Universe. I was just trying to save a friend with a side of mischief, and here I am, letting two douche canoes die while a friend may still be dying. I did try, but I also egged them on? Did I arrange for their suicides? Wait, no. They were beating you because they could. The first Aether spit was accidental. The Second was a trap for the abusive meat head. He made the choice to abuse me, after knowing the possible consequences. >P] Meli bae, I¡¯m kind of in a bad way. Did Petra get her dose?! [< >M] You knew they were going to hurt you. [< >P] I suspected. I¡¯m sorry if that hurt you. [< >M] I almost stole a GUN penny. A GUN. I can feel them hurting you, and I can¡¯t anymore. I just want to hurt them back and I fucking need to vent on someone. I¡¯m so angry baby, so angry I just want to hurt something!! [< >P] Punish some scrap for me. Turn it into a full hull, keep Ivanka Baiul from falling apart. Thank you for trying with Petra. It may not . . .{< >M] She¡¯s improving already Pen pen. Your miracle is working. [< Eat my dick, Captain. Just eat that juicy fucker. Chapter 29: Andromeda鈥檚 Gaze ¡°Well, Tessa, this played out differently than I expected. Thoughts?¡± Many would have tried to leverage their rights as Primus. Otherwise, you have some spell forms, or tech and friends that could easily get you out of here. But what does that solve Tessa? I feel like it might be time to use my token. I will remind you that this exchange cannot intentionally ¡°screw you over¡± and as such, it has the potential to grow in power as you do. I get it Tessa, but if my status has been updated since the question mark parade, then I might be well enough informed, hey Tessa? She boots the stat sheet at me.
Name: Penelope Arcadia Mercer Race: Human (Primus) Andromeda Code: T-S
Class: None Track: Artificing (lvl. 2) Imbalance: S + 2
Mind [Intelligence: A, Clever: A, Awareness: B]>
Social [Beauty: C, Charm: D, Presence: B]
Physical [Strength: E, Agility: C, Fitness: E]>
Aether [Capacity: D, Refinement: B, Power: S]>
Skills [Aether engraving: Novice, step 5; Aether insight: Novice, step 9; Knowledge absorption, Intermediate, step 5 (tech assist); Pain Suppression, Novice, step 5]
Tessa, how is my Aether symbiote averaged if I¡¯m the only human? You are being averaged with the last million symbiote accessions. I . . . oh Andromeda. Penny, your power is, Supernal amongst the last thousand accessions. I mean, I take it ¡°S¡± is higher than ¡°A¡± but I don¡¯t understand why that matters. I am in fucking prison, I have pretty solid magic stats, but I really don¡¯t know much. I feel like I should cash in my token and I feel as though I need advice!! Primus tokens are so rare, that estimates critically fail. My best advice is as such: Materiel can be bought, found or made given enough time. Knowledge can be found, given enough time, with few exceptions. Lastly, a token can only supply Material, knowledge, or power that a Primus does not already have, and your Aether power is rare across the Andromeda Supercluster. You have engaged the exchange Matrix, Chose wisely. Fuck shit, cock, Universe, sheet stains!! That seemed like advice forced into a coded message. Trinkets are for suckers. Copy. Knowledge is always useful and they can¡¯t give me what I already know. But in a universe of super advanced beings, my Human knowledge of ¡°A¡± doesn¡¯t mean shit. Ipso facto, Magic. Tessa even said my power is, Supernal? If they can¡¯t give me a translative level of power, otherwise that would be knowledge right? They would have to clue me into a power that approaches eternal? Fuck. I can rationalize all I want, but the only choice really is power. With my gifts, everything else just takes time. I redeem my Primus Token for Power.
/ANDROMEDA MATRIX ENGAGED. PROCESSING./
What did I just do? You basically told GOD to look at you and consider our existence. Wait until the program finishes to be flippant, please. Tessa asked nicely. OH, we are at risk of being smited. Shit balls.
/YOU HAVE BEEN PROCESSED AND IDETIFIED.POWER HIGHER THAN TYPICAL GIFT. ORIGIN UNIQUE. PROCESSING/
Don¡¯t speak, don¡¯t even breathe if you can help it. The supercluster itself is judging you.
/MYTHIC TALENT CONFERRED: AETHER WALKER. INNATE POWER CONFERRED: WILL CONSIDERED FOR ALL AETHER MANIPULATION. ASSIMILATED BODY INSUFFICIENT. MATERIAL AND KNOWLEDGE CONVEANCE FOR PRIMUS TOKEN CONSUMED. ANDROMEDA MATRIX MISSION CONCLUDED./
The visual cortex flash almost consumes me when the tech buffers save my brain. Why am I burning Tessa. WHY AM I ON FIRE TESSA?!?!? She doesn¡¯t respond. To hell with that. Tooltips as Tessa suggested. Aether Walker: your will is sufficient to transverse the ether. I¡¯ve learned enough from Tessa that the more ambiguous the tip, the more leeway can be used to take advantage of the device/spell/form. Second seems a boost to all Aether based on my will. I didn¡¯t see that on my stat sheet, maybe it¡¯s a hidden stat like luck? Sounds solid. NEXT. Then I realized that a supercluster intelligence told me I FAILED but then adjusted to fulfill my token¡¯s worth. Tessa, there is absolutely no data to speculate what the third boon comprises. I have a ton of failures and reclamations on file, but the MATRIX only said that my material and knowledge boons were burned to accommodate. Which leads me to belief that minor mind and body boons were incoming. Tessa, what the hell!? YOU¡¯RE NOT DEAD YOU THANKLESS NARCISIST A portion of my insides revolts at the conflict and puts all protests in small pool of sparkly vomit on the floor. Oh that¡¯s nice. Must be more body changes. Those really seem to pack a punch lately, though I have had more recently than I probably should have. I apologize, but the matrix itself modified the typical bargain so that you would survive the boon it gave you. While the Matrix focuses on you, it is capable of literally anything. I understand and was scared for the three of us, and I apologize. Tessa seems afraid and that¡¯s terrifying all on its own. We¡¯ve only been together a little while, but her concern is starting to affect her personality in weird ways. My reckless mindset isn¡¯t prepared to consider what it might actually mean. But I thank her for her concern while thinking about my options. It is catastrophically strange that I was spitting up Aether. Like some of that spit should have been vomit, maybe some of it blood, but none of it should have been sparkly. If my body needed that many modifications to support the Aether power that I have, I should either be dead, or more mutations should have been apparent. Looking at my stat sheet, I realize I now have a symbiote imbalance?! When the hell did that happen?! The symbiote finished processing your ¡°wild magic¡± last night. You seemed busy. You now have 3 levels of Aether advancement waiting for the associated tech levels. Mutations, however, do not care about timing. If we hadn¡¯t spent the tech imbalance before, you would have leveled more, but that is the cost of using imbalance the way we did. It¡¯s a moot point however. The Matrix changed some things. I pay attention to my HUD and see waiting system messages.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
X2
So that¡¯s a lot. Two levels and an imbalance toward magic? That¡¯s a big change. Now I¡¯m seeing what Tessa meant when she said the Matrix wouldn¡¯t intentionally screw me over. If I¡¯m reading this right . . . you know, maybe I should read more instead of speculating. Tessa has been getting on my case for being lazy in that regard. I can practically hear my AI smile. Body of Power: Your body has been Aether changed. Your tissues are suffused with the potency of your Aether, and can be used to store overflow Aether. Aether Dependence: your body consumes Aether in order to function. Caloric Conversion: you have developed an organ that converts calories and minerals into Aether. Inefficient Digestion: your digestive system is attempting to provide biologic energy and Aetheric energy and does each worse than it originally provided biologic energy. Mind Over Matter: your will is more effective at shaping Aether. Multitasking: your swarm has constructed several parallel structures to allow you to process disparate data simultaneously. After reading the tooltips, I understand the last two system notices and start chugging the rest of my horchata, even though this doesn¡¯t feel like winning, and smashing my hidden snack packs in my face. Hungry goes away, but my Aether Starved status effect remains. Conversion takes time apparently. Body of Power explains why my fluids were magical, and my magical potency is . . . high, which would be why the two abusive goons got sick so quickly. The other mutations are somewhat inline with my preferred list, and all things considered, the consequences could be a lot worse. Like Tessa keeps saying, at least I¡¯m not dead. I am really tired now though. *** A sailor comes down every six hours to hook a small pack of food to the cell bars. It¡¯s bread and water rations, and it¡¯s nowhere near enough calories to sustain my Inefficient Digestion. That honestly sounds like a shit way to die. My comms are being blocked, so there¡¯s not much I can do besides bother Mel, practice spell runes, and scrounge up the nerve to try Aether Walker. You should try it sooner rather than later. Your body will run out of spare calories on this diet and you will barely break even on Aether generation to keep yourself alive. I¡¯m worried about that too, Tessa, but the tooltip doesn¡¯t say much about how it works. Which makes me nervous, and I hate not knowing parameters to things. Does it keep me from acting? No, of course not, but it irritates me immensely. So lets talk about what we know. Significant annihilation energy is enough to cause a warp event. Not helpful right now. Tessa was surprised that we were able to warp without Aether. Meaning, Aether is commonly a cause for warping. Okay, makes sense as to why Tessa wants me to try it now while I have some Aether regeneration. But the tooltip for Aether Walker doesn¡¯t say anything about using Aether to do it. My will is the only part of the tooltip as a source of power. Well, shit, take me to the chiefs¡¯ mess for food please. I feel a little tug on my middle, but it could also have been my symbiote shifting. Hmm. Am I simply not pushing hard enough? I think about how righteous I felt when talking to the CO while trying to save Petra and use that sense of duty and rightness to convey my intent. My form fades for a moment, but solidifies before anything more can happen. Okay, on the right track. Can I use Aether to force the issue? Nope, just makes me sick. So it really is just about will. Not just how strong my will is, but perhaps strength of purpose? Conviction? Huh. I spend the next 12 hours meditating on what my strongest moments of will entailed and nothing felt quite right. >M] How¡¯s jail you filthy criminal? [< >P] Lame. I¡¯m hungry all the time and I miss my movie-watching buddy. [< >M] Aww, miss you too. Penny. I thought the rest of Engineering would be putting up more of a stink about this though. [< >P] Eh, they don¡¯t know the whole issue, and they have a construction plan for the next year, so I¡¯m not that surprised. I was just another supervisor for the last couple of months after all. [< >M] Any idea what they plan on doing with you? [< >P] Not a word. But once they need my unique intelligence to solve a problem, I¡¯ll be out of here in no time. [< >M] Your arrogance really is astonishing. [< Hah, true, seven years ago Penny would have been surprised to be arrested in the first place, as though I could do no wrong that my brilliance couldn¡¯t mitigate. Wait. Loading, please wait. HOLY SHIT!! That could be it! >P] MEL! You brilliant sass-pants! [< >M] I mean, yes, but why this time? [< I chuckle at that. >P] I have a crazy idea. Can you scrounge up some extra food and water during next mealtime and take it to a place you know you¡¯ll be alone? [< >M] Pen pen, I¡¯m all in for going on a date, but the extra food only works if it¡¯s not a virtual date. [< >P] ¡®C¡¯mon Melissa! [< >M] I¡¯ll be cross with you if this gets me into trouble. [< >P] You¡¯ve already disobeyed a direct order, what¡¯s a little sneaking around? [< >M] And here I thought you¡¯d be a good influence on me. Shows what I know. I¡¯ll let you know when I get to the propulsion console after dinner. Should be empty. [< >P] EEE! Thank you! [< She laughs in my mind and I want to snuggle that feeling. She wants to meet over the gravity plates? Hmm, can I just finger paint my engraving fluid and make effective rune shapes? Yes, but the fluid is delicate and flakes up within a day or two when not applied via the engraving process. Oh! Hi Tessa. That¡¯s good intel for situations when I don¡¯t have my tools. Like now. I start drawing the fluid out while I paint the runeshapes for gravity in the rack and the waste transfer system. Both of those time periods are going to look odd on the cameras. Lunch was bread and water with no additional information on what they plan to do to me. Dinner comes and goes the same way, until Melissa tells me she¡¯s on her way to propulsion. Okay, go time. I hide myself in the waste transfer bay and concentrate. I think about the state of mind I was in when I first proved the Annihilation Propulsor worked. That the world would forgive any wrong and my callous attitude toward my fame-stealing compatriots. The CO should kneel before my brilliance, I deserve rewards and medals for saving the lives of everyone on this ship. I deserve the rewards that the Matrix has given me, and made the only sensible choice in choosing me as Primus. I expect the Universe to transport me, because the only sensible action is to bend to my will, NOW! I watch my arms fade and then my senses are cut for a split second while my mind tries to preserve itself, and then I appear next to my seat as the Propulsion Chief. The experience was so short and unremarkable, that I start touching everything to test if it¡¯s real. Is that a part of the skill? Or is that a side effect of the mindset I was in. I expected the Universe to serve me, so why should it be more remarkable than walking through a door? Universe, I¡¯m so sorry. Penny from 7 years ago was fucking TOXIC. So is the Primus mindset, and combined, the universe even bowed. Uh, I feel sick.
Uh, ¡®kay? Tessa, did I accumulate a lot of wild magic? Barely any. That must be why you learned it as a spell. It¡¯s standard fare for teleportation spells. I know I¡¯m Human and super ignorant and all that, but is there a reason you don¡¯t tell me these things in advance? Yes. First, one of our directives is to not progress technology or skills artificially. Second, in order to take those decisions out of an AI¡¯s hands, the majority of the knowledge we gain about paths and skills, etc. is transferred after a skill is gained or a benchmark is crossed. Okay. That¡¯s a bit of a pain, but it makes sense as to why you didn¡¯t tell me about Aether Shielding until I needed it slash could do something about it. >M] Oh my god, you¡¯re here! [< She sets her sack down in the gravity area and crushes me into a hug. >] How did you get out? [< >P] Heh, magic of course. [< >M] Why did I pick a place with no air? I could be kissing you right now! [< >P] I wondered that too, but thanks for bringing me food? [< >M] Thank Ivanka. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to smuggle more than a snack out of crew¡¯s mess. [< >P] That must mean that Petra is doing better. [< >M] She is! The swarm isn¡¯t working quickly, but she can wiggle her toes again! I talked to her about our tech tracks and I think she¡¯s trying to focus on healing? It¡¯s not more the personal healing mods for now, and duh, why wouldn¡¯t she want to get better, but do you think she could help heal others faster? [< I chuckle at her enthusiasm for the Matrix. >P] I am not the right person to ask about the tech tree, Meli. I¡¯m on a non-standard magic track. Results may vary [< Tessa snorts at yet another of my crude distillations. >P] Any word about what might happen to me? [< >M] Ivanka asked the COB that same question, and he said that the CO and XO disagree on how your situation should be handled. [< >P] Bleh, this sucks. Glad Petra is feeling better, bleh because the CO is being petty. [< >M] Yes, and I¡¯m sure that you couldn¡¯t have handled the situation any other way. [< She pinches my side and I squirm and frown at her. Mostly frowny because she¡¯s calling me out on a crappy mindset and she¡¯s right. I plop my head on her shoulder and hug her tight with a sneaky butt grab. I can feel her chest vibrate with laughter as she swats my arm. >P] I should go before they come looking for me [< Melissa hands over the pack of supplies and gives me a quick hug. She stands back and studies me, waiting for the magic show. Alright Gieves, I¡¯m ready to go back to my cell now. Make it snappy. I snap twice and then I¡¯m flung into the back of my cell and fall haphazardly on top of my bed. I feel a mental construct wrapped around my body shatter as a pointy part of the bed pokes me in the back. Guess the Universe doesn¡¯t like me being flippant when I bend its rules. Good to know. Also good to know that the Aether Shield absorbs some physical damage too. I¡¯m learning so much today!! Chapter 30: Special Court. I discovered that mental fatigue is what makes teleporting sloppy and painful, not flippancy or cursing the Universe. It took me almost two months of experimenting with Aether Walker to figure that out, but I got Mind Over Matter II and Pain Suppression III for my efforts. Two weeks ago, Ivanka and the COB came to talk to me and the plan. Since I was arrested for insubordination and fomenting mutiny as accused by the CO, he¡¯s backed himself into a corner on how to deal with punishment. Non-Judicial Punishment for mutiny would kill him politically. So, I¡¯m getting a tribunal of officers instead of a Court Martial when we get back to Earth. ¡°MM1 Mercer, reporting as ordered, Ma¡¯am¡± I stand at attention in front of Commander Zhao, who is chairing the tribunal, with Commander Nugent and Lt. Cmdr. Garner flanking her. ¡°Take a seat Mercer. Have you been briefed by your advocate about today¡¯s proceedings?" She asks. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Very well. You stand accused of fomenting rebellion, Insubordination, multiple counts of disobeying a direct order, and fraternization. Advocate, how stand you? Lt. Sato stands and pauses to get his thoughts in order, ¡°this Sailor denies fomenting rebellion and Insubordination, Acknowledges being in a relationship with ET2 Hunsaker, but claims it is not fraternization, and acknowledges the intent to disobey a direct order, claiming that it was unlawful.¡± ¡°Thank you advocate.¡± Lt. Sato sits. ¡°Mercer admits to being in a relationship with a sailor that she supervises. Tell me, Mercer, why do you claim this is not Fraternization.¡± I stand to attention, ¡°I¡¯m not authorized or able to provide her benefit due to our relationship. I don¡¯t sign fitreps or the watchbill Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Advocate, please retrieve Senior Chief Baiul,¡± He stands, opens the cabin door and calls for Ivanka. ¡°Senior Chief, do you approve the evaluations and watch bills for the Propulsion team?¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am¡± ¡°Have you observed any favoritism in MM1 Mercer¡¯s supervisory actions?¡± ¡°No Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°No preferred watches, no recommendations for any sailor to get easy assignments.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, she specifically requests MM1 Carpenter to be one of the other propulsion team leads, and requests the same six sailors on watch for major maneuvers since the first trouble started with the plasma valves. She routinely assigns those six sailors to supervise the salvage team efforts when she is otherwise engaged.¡± ¡°And is one of the ¡®preferred¡¯ sailors ET2 Hunsaker?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Cmdr. Zhao shakes her head at that and turns to Cmdr. Nugent, ¡°Any questions gentlemen?¡± ¡°Yes, XO, just two.¡± Nugent replies, ¡°Senior, if you were to pick six sailors to supervise maintenance in propulsion, who would you choose?¡± ¡°I¡¯d swap out MM1 Carpenter and ET1 Parker, but just because they annoy me, not because they do a bad job.¡± ¡°Thank you Senior, and lastly, didn¡¯t MM1 Mercer accuse you of sexual harassment?¡± ¡°Yes sir. Had to re-take a bunch of boring training and re-arrange a difficult watch bill around it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I have Senior, Nav?¡± He looks over to the other member of the tribunal. The Navigator shakes his head. ¡°Advocate, retrieve ET2 Hunsaker.¡± Melissa¡¯s interrogation was short, they asked her if we were in a relationship and that if she had been offered a variety of things for sexual favors. We both blushed, but she denied the allegation. At that point, the topic of fraternization was tabled. The XO moves next to insubordination and states that this accusation is normally accompanied by a pattern of behavior, which had not been documented, and quickly moves on to disobeying orders. ¡°MM1 Mercer, did you ever receive orders to dismiss, purge, disband, or surrender the alien technology inside you.¡± Sato gasps and stares at me, and the two other officers stare at the XO. ¡°Captain Morris mentioned that my and the Botinist¡¯s swarm refused to stand down, but no such orders were conveyed to me prior to that mention, nor did he follow up on that statement with a discernible order.¡± ¡°Dr. Summers submitted a statement to the effect that Captain Morris had indicated that he preferred her swarm to stand down, but MM1 posited that the designated race leaders could not be influenced in such a manner. She also confirmed that it was not brought up again in that meeting. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Additionally, you were ordered not to disseminate the swarm technology under any circumstances. Do you remember this order?¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am¡± ¡°And there is a chat log of you informing the Captain that you intended to disseminate said swarm to Chief Volkov, if the CO did not help her himself. A copy has been provided to each of you gentlemen¡± there is silence as the other tribunal members read the copy. ¡°Did the CO know that Volkov could be healed in accordance with your accusation in these records?¡± ¡°He was informed, as I was, that the intelligence that found our ship provided medical assistance to the whole crew for Aether sickness and to repair life-threatening injuries in accordance with their First Contact directives.¡± ¡°And you would have every Sailor onboard be infected with this alien swarm?¡± ¡°At the very least those sailors that need medical assistance we cannot otherwise provide, such as a broken spine and paralysis. And Aether poisoning.¡± I snap back. ¡°So against the CO¡¯s orders, you disseminated alien technology to Chief Volkov?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. It¡¯s our responsibility to assist our fellow sailors where we can, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Do not preach to me MM1 Mercer.¡± ¡°Chief Volkov has discovered a way to aid people with said alien tech, without infecting them, so your desperate ultimatums are no longer necessary.¡± Cmdr. Nugent contributes. Oh? Melissa was wondering if she¡¯d continue on a healing track. Guess that answers that. ¡°Thank you sir. Good to hear she has recovered.¡± He nods at that. Cmdr. Zhao stares at me for a moment, making me squirm with her attention. She then whispers to Cmdr. Nugent who eventually nods. ¡°MM1 Mercer you will be returned to the brig while we deliberate, our verdict will be delivered to you.¡± I snap to attention and walk out with my advocate to meet the two sailors to escort us to the brig. ¡°So, advocate Sato, how do you think that went.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t look they¡¯re going to try and stick you with treason. But they wouldn¡¯t have gone through the whole Special Courts Martial process to dismiss the whole thing. You¡¯re probably looking at reduction in rank, forfeiture of pay, and restriction for 3-6 months.¡± ¡°Because I wanted a sailor to stop hurting.¡± ¡°Most of the time, the way you do a thing matters, MM1.¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it Sir, but I usually don¡¯t understand until after it bites me. Pop-tart?¡± He takes a whole one and side eyes me, ¡°aren¡¯t you confined and on rations? Yes! Strawberry is my favorite.¡± ¡°I got smuggled a pack or two during this morning¡¯s prisoner transfer.¡± Total lie. Not that I couldn¡¯t have arranged it, just not necessary. He shakes his head at my audacity, or awesomeness. It¡¯s hard to tell sometimes because they¡¯re so close together. ¡°Alright, once they get you in, I¡¯m going to get some coffee and come back. Deliberations are usually between 30 and 90 minutes. You¡¯re not allowed visitors, so don¡¯t ask.¡± I snicker at that. I haven¡¯t been allowed visitors for two months, save COB and Senior Chief, so why would I expect that to change? Sato comes back with a bottle of coffee and a tablet to read while he waits. Two hours later, Cmdr. Nugent comes in. ¡°Petty Officer Mercer, you have been found guilty of Insubordination for disobeying a direct order and disrespectful behavior toward officers of the Copernicus. As punishment, you will be reduced to MM3, assigned extra duties, restriction, forfeiture of 2/3 pay, and assigned rations for 6 months. Your confinement has been commuted to time served. The other charges levied against you have been dismissed for lack of evidence. You will be removed from supervisory roles and will report to the Chief of the Boat for extra duties. You will not be eligible for promotion until after your restriction period has ended. Do you understand the punishment that has been levied against you?¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Good. You two,¡± he points to my escorts, ¡°this Sailor is no longer confined to the brig. Sato, stay with her to make sure she actually understands.¡± Sato confirmed the order and watched Nugent storm out. ¡°Well, Mercer, that was about as good as we could expect. This was a witch hunt, and nobody got burned, just a little bruised. I call that a win.¡± ¡°Thanks Sir, but it doesn¡¯t feel like winning.¡± ¡°Sometimes, victories are Pyrrhic.¡± Yah, that¡¯s motivating. Thanks so much Lt. Sato. I do thank him for his time before I head back to crew berthing. Or at least I try to when Ivanka grabs the back of my neck and tells me she wants to talk about my extra duty schedule. When she shoves me through the door to the Chiefs¡¯ mess, I see all the Chiefs not on watch standing around shooting the shit. As I stumble in they all turn to look at me and COB speaks ¡°Mercer, I was fit to shit an armadillo when I heard that I had to see your face in the Goat Locker everyday. But then you saved one of my Chiefs. You were stupid the way you went about it, but Volkov made a remarkable recovery because of you. Don¡¯t think we¡¯ll forget this.¡± He comes up and shakes my hand, leaving a master chief¡¯s coin in my hand. The next chief comes up and says ¡°Raw deal kid,¡± before plopping a silvered plastic package in my hand. Each of the gathered Chiefs hands me something and pats me on the shoulder, except Petra, she cries and hugs me. At the end I¡¯m standing there holding several packages of Penny snacks and two fingers of whiskey. COB speaks again ¡°We felt pretty strongly about delivering your rations today. But remember, just ¡®cause you got busted down, doesn¡¯t mean you get to be lazy.¡± ¡°Aye chief. I¡¯ll be sure to remind Senior Baiul that I¡¯m not to be lazy. Thank you all. For these and . . . just thanks.¡± ¡°Bah, Baiul, teach MM3 how this works. Alright Goats, back on the mountain!¡± The assembled chiefs ducked into their bunks or out of the mess. That was very confusing, but it also felt . . . like a thumbs up from my dad? I tear up while eating my strudel. ¡°You risk a lot to help me Penny. Thank you, truly. Come back to your bunk? We¡¯ll be respectful, promise. Your name is still on it. We thought you would make Chief first, but . . .¡± ¡°Oh, that salt feels so good in my wounded pride. Mmm, give me more.¡± I give my best ¡°not helping¡± face. ¡°Joking aside, I hear you¡¯re taking a healing track Petra?¡± ¡°Hm? Kind of. My main skill is Tech Assist. It provides temporary benefit to various things, but I have to research those areas. To heal, I needed to assist my body¡¯s healing. I can do it for others now too.¡± ¡°So, like, you can tech assist the reclamators?¡± ¡°YES! It works very well. We are now consuming scrap at a sustainable rate.¡± ¡°I have something that can help with that too once I scrounge together some free time.¡± ¡°If it will help with the repair effort, I¡¯ll consider it extra duty.¡± Ivanka dismisses my worry. Wow, Ivanka seems so tired but so much less stressed than before I went to the brig. Petra¡¯s injury must have really been messing with her. Yah, I¡¯d be just as devastated if Melissa, or even Katie, were hurt like that. Which would be a nightmare for everyone because I¡¯m a mess as it is. Chapter 31: Sundering Bench After several failed attempts three weeks of extra-duty engraving, the Sunder runeshape finally flares to life.
X2
Tessa, why did I get a tech advancement for casting magic? You have a combined track. Higher level runeshapes are essentially programs that enact spells according to those instructions. You get Symbiote advancement too, but not nearly as much. Just remember how much data this shape contained as apposed to how taxing it was Aetherically. Magic programming sounds neat AF. Now for testing!! Instead of doing something simple I throw a crunched electrical panel on it. A light washes over the device, and then plane by plane, like the digitizer in ¡°Tron¡± the controller disappears. Moments later I hear plunking and thumping in the gravity bin I set beneath it. ¡°So this is what you spent most of a month fiddling with?¡± Ivanka noticed my excitement and walked over. ¡°Yep! Lets see what an electrical panel looks like afterward.¡± I slide out the bin and see neat blocks of constituent materials. Colored plastic on one side, copper, steel, aluminum, brass, etc., on the other side; with a smattering of trace sugar-cube sized materials unknown to me. ¡°That used to be an electrical panel? Can we try something else?¡± a hint of excitement shines in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it has to fit on the bench to work, but go for it.¡± She picks up a few chunks of thrust cone salvage and tosses them on. The scan and dissolution happen as before with the fancy light show and beneath it appears a truly massive block of tungsten carbide and some other smaller blocks of insulation related material. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s a neat show, but it¡¯ll be hard to break down that massive block of heat-resistant material.¡± She goes to touch the mirrored finish on the block and shifts something on the surface. ¡°Oh, it just looks like a solid block.¡± She grabs the corner of the mass and shows me a handful of cubes about a half a centimeter a side. ¡°This is much better. How often can we do this?¡± ¡°Uh, roughly 10 times before it needs an overnight re-charge? I can probably rig up a ¡®battery pack¡¯ that can extend that, but I¡¯d have to play with it when you¡¯ve expended the charges.¡± She nods at my statement, not even looking at me, she picks up a handful of the colored plastic cubes and rubs them between her fingers. ¡°This is good work little Merc. Keep it up.¡± My chest starts warming up and maybe my eyes get misty at the compliment. I guess I¡¯ve been searching for acknowledgment from her since the whole voyeur thing after we checked onboard. I¡¯ve kind of missed having the two Russians as friends. Just a little. Bah, feelings. We spend the rest of my extra duties feeding things to the bench and then when that gets tapped, feeding the small cubes to the fabricators to see how they like the format. Answer is just fine, with the grinders and sintering lasers, and various melting and forming bits, the machines barely blink. Now that you¡¯re not busy, there are decisions to make.
Choose one of the available modules for advancement: Introductory Rune Forms¡ªshape your intent and Aether into various effects.
Basic Enchanting¡ªImbue material with Aether. Effects may vary.
Basic Aether Manipulation¡ªintroductory skills for bending Aether with your will
Intermediate Aether Engraving¡ªlinking shapes, triggers, and so much more!
Hmm, enchanting and Aether manipulation sound the coolest, but I know that the rune forms module would have helped me immensely in understanding what I¡¯m actually doing instead of fumbling in the dark. That analogy doesn¡¯t work as well when I can see in the dark. Is there anyway I can buy another module with imbalance? Yes, but it¡¯s usually a terrible waste of leveling potential until higher levels. I get that, I really do. Especially since I would be two levels higher had I not spent that tech imbalance on the telepathy machine stuff. But, Here it comes. Don¡¯t sass me. But, I feel that with my Aether Walker ability, I¡¯ll need that manipulation skill to help prevent me from erupting in mutations. Or you could have some impulse control and only . . . never mind, you¡¯re going to do it anyway. Yes, yes I am.
Two modules at once is not recommended. Aether Manipulation has been loaded into your buffer and will be processed overnight.
Yeah, this module would have been the place to start on the engraving. I wouldn¡¯t have anything close to the Sundering bench if I hadn¡¯t impulse bought Aether Insight though. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. *** The six months of my restriction were tedious. After that first thanks from the Chief¡¯s mess, they made sure I really was on bread and water rations. I experimented with the sundering bench to extend the number of charges, and in the end I had to work on my basic engraving until I got to the sustainable runes and recharging old runes. Basically I had to add some squiggly lines that connected the table to an ampule of Aether I could jam in the side. Salvaging was as easy as pulling it in from space, cut it up into reasonable chunks and dropping it on the bench. The fabricators and our engineers got the hull pressure safe again three months ahead of schedule. I would like to say that I took my demotion well and that I was a model team-mate, but that would be lying to myself. I got so used to being in charge of my own little space, that being at the bottom of the bucket again was maddening. Just goes to show how easy it is to slip into old habits of self importance and grandeur. Once the salvage died down and the reclamators got put away, my extra duties focused on making gravity plates for various places in engineering, mostly keeping me out of the way I feel, but it¡¯s nice to be able to walk around again in Propulsion, though sometimes it¡¯s harder to move equipment. I get lent to the bridge to do the same with their watch station decking. My personal projects suffer as one would expect with 12-16 hours committed to work and extra duty. I do manage to work on the elemental runes and attempting to combine them with some basic targets to limited effectiveness. Air and Fire have been working out pretty well as they rush to fill the shaping forms, where water and earth are much more stubborn with their creations. My favorite discoveries have been [Ice] and [Flame Jet]. Flame Jet ended up being a specific combination of air power, flow direction, and fire power. My initial tests with fire alone were disheartening as it is the only elemental rune that doesn¡¯t create matter, it burns pure ether¡ªa very expensive endeavor. Ice was an exciting combination to learn due to the idea of anti-something in spell form. A fire rune adds heat? Reversed, it takes away heat. Combine that with various power and shapes of water runes and you get some pretty chill effects. Like a magical air-conditioner for a space suit. I¡¯m solving world-changing problems here people. Melissa practically begged me for one too. My list of possible next projects include: rigging a nozzle with Flame Jet, transmuting base elements to specific products, and spending more time with Aether Manipulation. I have plans to ask one of the science team if they can show me how the hydrocarbon fuel-making machine actually works. Because it might be more Aether efficient if I create a thing and then use that energy for thrust? Or is that me trying to meta-game the system? Aether conservation is a highly studied topic. I obviously haven¡¯t downloaded the specifics, but the amount of changes to a fundamental principle, like matter, energy, gravity, light, etc; takes more Aether to affect each change. You¡¯ll likely not get into the math of it until an advanced engraving or Aether manipulation, but that¡¯s the basics of the ¡°Considerations for Study¡± section of the Aether Manipulation module. Which you have not been diligent about. I¡¯ve been busy, but also true. So, if that is true, then if I had mixed gas soup I could make volatile hydrocarbons better than if I created the components from scratch. That makes sense. But that is yet another step right? I mean if I have half a ton of CO2 to get rid of, transmuting makes sense, but using it to make fuel? If we¡¯re going for energy density, we can¡¯t beat Aether right? What if that instead of regular fire, we just went with heat, we need to rapidly heat up a matter quantity, air, or any gas really, and eject it via expansion. OH, but maybe like fuels if I aerosol it the flame front will move faster. I start typing furiously. If this works, it could be big, so I should really not test it inside. I get permission from Ivanka to go on a short, tethered space walk. I spend an hour getting the connected runes into a shape I¡¯m comfortable with, and wait to finish it until I get out side¡ªI still don¡¯t have trigger effects. I do have delay embellishments. I finish my magical engraving in space¡ªfucking awesome¡ªand chuck that disk of metal as hard as I can. Ten seconds elapses and a vortex of mist puffs out of the disk before igniting in a blue then white jet of flame just less than 2m long as it blasts off into the distance. The thrust is chaotic, probably do to the unshrouded vortex, but bright and strong. I watch its light push into space, a majestic achievement in the face of the consuming emptiness around us. I sit there with my serene delight until an O2 alarm flashes in my face. The reduction in Aether cost from your other attempts is surprisingly significant. It won¡¯t get this ship home in a reasonable timeframe, but a small craft could easily break atmosphere with an array of those. Heh, thanks for the encouragement, Tessa. For some reason, learning this feels like a more important use of my last six months than the Ice and Flame Jet shapes. And before you say it, I know, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten here if I hadn¡¯t taken the journey. Blah blah life coach garbage. That you recognize such moments of long-term investment is an excellent start on your journey to adulthood. Fuck right off! Sassy tit. Which makes me feel more embarrassed because I¡¯m a big girl, yes I am! The AI turning Symbiote laughs in my brain. Jerk has been finding her identity quickly as I level. Speaking of which, my message alert is flashing.
Eight and not five? You have binary-based computation on Earth. Then I would say, but my human fantasy books do things by fives and tens, and you would say, why would human metrics matter to the Andromeda Matrix? I would have used fewer generalities and larger words to make you feel worse. Aww, bestie, you do care! Before I could banter more with my burgeoning AI pal, or even check on my new options, I get summoned to the XO¡¯s cabin. Now that I¡¯ve recovered from my legal issues, maybe I can stop collecting drama? I knock smartly on the XO¡¯s cabin door and I hear her say enter. ¡°MM3 Mercer reporting as ordered Ma¡¯am.¡± The COB is seated on the side of the room as I walk in. ¡°Take a seat Mercer.¡± I take a seat and she stops reading the tablet on her desk. ¡°The chiefs¡¯ mess and my officers in engineering report that you¡¯ve nearly been a model Sailor these last 6 months. Average amounts of complaining, easy to work with, and you didn¡¯t seem to try to relapse into any supervisory roles. ¡°Because of this ¡®good behavior¡¯, you¡¯re being promoted back to MM2 with an opportunity to advance to your old rank in six additional months. As for responsibilities, though you no longer have the authority to run Propulsion, you have the expertise and we¡¯ll need you on workups for this newly built propulsion system similar to our testing schedule before getting under way for Saturn.¡± I nod at that, makes sense, but where does the buck stop? It was easy when I had the authority and the expertise. These maneuvers and work-ups are going to feel like poop. I voice my concerns. ¡°For major tests, Senior Chief Baiul will be on station. During normal watches, one of the 1st classes from your previous team will be in charge. If you¡¯ve no other issues, I¡¯m taking you off of restriction and rations, congratulations on your promotion MM2.¡± Plus side, I get to put down the barrels of poop I¡¯ve been carrying. Down side, I still have to do all the work I was doing before getting busted down, but I¡¯m not in control anymore. Could be way worse, but I was riding high and this is just Meh. I snap to attention and thank her for the sentiment as I leave the cabin. I wonder why the Master Chief was there. /I¡¯m a free woman, Mel. Movie night tonight?/ /YESS! Oh man, I forgot what your chats looked like. And yes movie night!/ Her enthusiasm feels warm in my belly as the thought of putting my hand on her belly while I hold her spreads the warmth to the rest of my body. Mmm, cozy. If you are not otherwise occupied, it would be a good time to eat something and take a look at your lvl. 8 upgrades. Alright, let me grab a sando and cup of coffee and I promise I¡¯ll listen. I Aether Walk into the Chief¡¯s mess, not caring who sees me when I¡¯ve been decently food starved for six months. Luckily it¡¯s just Ivanka and Petra talking over our upcoming equipment trials. The both look at me with wide eyes and a bit of awe as I rush to the mini-fridge where the CSs stow some extra prepared food. Hurray gravity. I grab an arm full, plop it down on the table and go back for a mug of coffee. Someone was paying attention to when my restriction ended because my name is sharpied on a plain white ceramic mug. Aww, chiefs, so cute. When I sit at the table I smile at the pile of grub then look up to see the Russians still staring at me. ¡°What? I just got off restriction.¡± And by some miracle, they leave it alone. Hit me Tessa. Starting at 8, Matrix users gain minor advancements at half counts and major advancements at full counts. In Human, that is 8 and 16 level groups. Yes thanks. Base sixteen is so hard. You are being offered a tier 0 beneficial mutation or augmentation that is deferrable to lvl 16; an additional module to select, and a tier 0 artifact that is deferrable to lvl 16. Snap deferring the body change. Does that mean two modules this level? And what are the tiers? Yes, you get to chose two modules this level. Though it may seem like modules are prolific, Master-level selections can cost up to four modules. Tiers are considered in multiples of 16. As you are below the first significant advancement, your tier is 0 and your rewards are offered at a similar level. Chapter 32: Romance I made an impulse decision for my last module selection to cash in a Symbiote imbalance for another module. I don¡¯t have any more imbalance, so that¡¯s not going to happen, but I need to figure out what direction I¡¯m going now that I have what feels like a solid base in engraving. Lets see what we have:
Choose two of the available modules for advancement: Basic Enchanting¡ªImbue material with Aether. Effects may vary.
Intermediate Aether Engraving¡ªlinking shapes, triggers, and so much more!
Beginner¡¯s Guide to Constructs¡ªMore than the sum of its parts
Intermediate Space Manipulation¡ªHow to not get lost in space-time
I need to bounce some rough feelings off you. There seems to be a lot of track overlap in these modules. Enchanting seems like wrote spellcasting and Constructs seems very close to Golomancy. Am I missing something? Also, why does intermediate engraving sound fine and intermediate space manipulation feel like a threat? Yes, you are missing something. The Matrix synthesizes tropes from the knowledge base of the assimilated sample and creates tracks to fit what that species is familiar with so that they are more likely to adopt and flourish within the Matrix. For example, there are millions of examples of ¡°magic¡± wielding martial classes, but one of the sampled identities could have created a ¡°Jedi¡± track based on those preferences. In your case, Artificer is an interesting blend of Archaic technology and Magic being imbued or carved into components that are then guided by magic to perform a task. So far, you seem to lean more toward magic, oddly enough, in that you are currently creating magical effects and guiding them with tech, or trying to replace tech with those magics, the skill Aether Insight was specifically designed to do this. Enchanting infuses a component with an innate property. A construct in this case is a technological working driven by Aether. And in advanced cases, constructs can use runes to create Aether effects as well. Okay, wow. The Andromeda Matrix creates an entire Sub System per species? That¡¯s a whole lot of something. So I¡¯m definitely taking intermediate engraving. I need trigger effects and links between rune shapes. Feels importante for my boots on moons goals. Enchanting could provide a whole host of materiel benefits such as more durable, heat resistant, all important things for a ground to space vehicle. But Constructs feels like it would give me the ability to just ¡°make it work¡±. But at the same time, I know how all the hull and pushing parts work, and Mel knows a lot of the electronics stuff with some solid mind-link capabilities . . . I don¡¯t have to do this all by myself. I don¡¯t have to do this all by myself!! I¡¯m so proud of my little baby. Don¡¯t be an ass. So if Mel can help me ¡°make it work¡± Enchanting and Intermediate engraving seem like the right choices. Lock ¡®em in Tessa.
Integrating Engraving module first. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I think she¡¯s having another seizure.¡± ¡°Ivanka, she¡¯s probably just loading a module. She¡¯s been working hard and probably advanced.¡± ¡°I still cannot believe that you have this game inside your head.¡± ¡°And you saw how the little bunny just popped in here? I think she plays a different game.¡± ¡°Ladies, I am literally right here.¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Maybe I wish you were having a seizure.¡± Ivanka nearly shoves me out of my chair. ¡°I have this technology swarm, it has done great for me, but do you have actual magic?¡± Petra asks. ¡°Kind of a mix, but yah. I asked for a space walk so I could test a new thruster idea. Worked better than expected.¡± I unwrap another sandwich. ¡°You are such a waste. Using magic for technology. Good thing we like you.¡± And now I choke on my sandwich. As soon as I recover with a sip of coffee and an ugly snort, ¡°You like me? Since when?¡± ¡°Petra has since ISS training. I didn¡¯t trust until you helped her recover.¡± Invanka reaches over and mutters something in Russian to Petra. ¡°A soft heart, this one.¡± ¡°Aww, you two are adorable.¡± ¡°If you say that outside of this space, I will boot you out of an airlock.¡± Ivanka growls in an attempt to be threatening after looking so lovingly at Petra. ¡°I can teleport, soo . . .¡± and I do the most adult thing I can think of: I stick my tongue out at them. Ivanka slaps my shoulder and Petra leans across the table, and they both start chittering at me about how unfair that is and what it feels like, etcetera. Minutes later, Melissa tells me she¡¯s outside and I stand to let her in. Newcomer immediately kills the alien tech vibe in the room and I¡¯m giggling internally. The Russians start whispering to each other. >M] It is strange to hear people gossip about me right in front of me.[< >P] you can hear them? That¡¯s freakin sweet. [< >M] I picked a sensor suite mod. The visual acuity when working with small components is pretty clutch. I think I¡¯m going to go for body enhancements next.[< >P] Ooh, Meli, Super Sailor is a pretty nice mental image. [< >M] someone¡¯s has to protect you while you¡¯re doing science to a planet. [< >P] Hot [< ¡°Chiefs, she knows. It¡¯s okay. Plus, after the bullshit I¡¯ve been doing with the gravity plates and the Bottomless Bench, everyone in engineering knows that I¡¯m playing with cheat codes.¡± ¡°Da. Petra has been helping out too much to hide it as well. I doubt the Captain will ever be comfortable with spreading the swarm to the whole crew.¡± ¡°If he does, come to me to get it. I don¡¯t know why it matters, but I know that it does.¡± ¡°Yah, sure? But you didn¡¯t ask your girlfriend to the mess to talk about politics.¡± She waggles her eyebrows salaciously. ¡°We¡¯ll give you some time to yourselves.¡± I snort at that, ¡°Thanks Senior.¡± I grab her hand and pull her into my shared quarters. ¡°You have so much space!¡± she cried as soon as she saw only three bunks per rack and a little desk I can¡¯t help myself and my lips hunt hers for a kiss I¡¯ve been missing for months. ¡°Penny, no. We still have our suits on, and I do want to watch a movie and cuddle with you.¡± ¡°Okay babe. Sorry if I seem needy, I just really missed you.¡± ¡°Babe? So you¡¯re okay with them calling me your girlfriend then?¡± There¡¯s a meekness to her tone that I don¡¯t expect. ¡°I am. Should I not be? We both confessed to being in a relationship, and I¡¯m not your supervisor at all anymore. Do you want to be my girlfriend?¡± ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re so dumb for a genius¡± she lowers her head and grabs my suit with both hands, thumping my chest softly with them. ¡°I just wanted it to be more romantic, and then bam! Confessing at a court martial.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Mel, after months of best friend hangouts and cuddles, I thought ¡®I want to watch you cum¡¯ was pretty romantic.¡± ¡°I mean, yeah, I got it that you liked me, but there¡¯s supposed to be a progression to these things! And then I can¡¯t see you for months and then our sleeping together seemed like those tropes when friends sleep together and then . . .¡± I reach up and steal a kiss, and start laughing, ¡°I wasn¡¯t avoiding you hon, I got arrested. And you, missy, read too many Yuri novels.¡± She uses her grip to pull our faces within inches of each other, ¡°You take that back.¡± ¡°Are you saying that we should rewind and go back to a ¡®will-she-wont-she¡¯ for another six months?¡± I¡¯ve clearly made a mistake. Her scowl deepens and her hands move from my shirt to dive into my suit to the sides of my tank and tickles me ruthlessly. I squeal and plead but she will not relent. ¡°Okay, I give up, you don¡¯t read too much Yuri!¡± Her fingers stop poking me in the sides, but she starts focusing on petting my belly? ¡°How much weight have you lost Penny?¡± Is she turned on and scared? Huh. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I look pretty good right?¡± I pull up my tank a hand span and poke at my tummy. ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s not the point. Okay it¡¯s nice. But they were starving you!¡± She looks into my eyes with concern, still has her hands on my middle. ¡°I, uh, kind of got some cursed mutations from exposure to too much raw Aether. I now can¡¯t live without it, and though I can now convert food to regular energy and Aether, I do both at reduced efficiency.¡± I felt the same way when I first found out. Then I set out to steal a bunch of food. ¡°Damn, I¡¯m really glad you¡¯re not dead. And now you should be naked so I can appreciate your sacrifice. I reported as ordered, sporting brand new hip bones. I neglected to put a movie on, but everyone knew what we were doing in here. Chapter 33: Sack of Hammers The day to test the Main Propulsion system is finally here. Again. ¡°Alright Mercer, CO is ordering Helm to begin with 1/3 and proceed to 2/3 at 30% A-M inventory remaining.¡± ET1 Gelnick says as the current Propulsion lead. ¡°Sensible, I¡¯ll check the plasma programming and see if the transition can cover change appropriately.¡± I key in a small change to pre-ramp the plasma buffer before the surge of antimatter due to the bell change. Starting at 1/3 was smart as it didn¡¯t just flood the aft end with antimatter with a huge pop like the last time. We inserted a lot of sound mitigation in the room and in between the double hulls, but my baby still roared like a T-rex. The maneuver was successful with some notable high temperatures in the new thrust cones, but nothing catastrophic under these loads. A full chem burn or a warp burn would likely put them out of commission. I recommend an inspection of the cone cooling system to Gelnick and he says . . . ¡°Noted.¡± As soon as he says that I make sure to enter the readings in the logs and my concerns for higher thermal and pressure stress maneuvers. Boy do I get a talking to from Gelnick. Something about logging it at the end of the watch after he¡¯d reported it to engineering. You dismissed me, what was I to think? I don¡¯t say that out loud, but it probably showed on my face. ¡°Hunsaker, keep the accelerator on Standby and the fields on HOLD while I,¡± he puts a lot of emphasis on ¡°I¡± while leering at me, ¡°Go talk to Senior Baiul,¡± then storming off and stumbling when the gravity decking ends. Melissa, sitting next to me whispers, ¡°What did you to that guy?¡± ¡°They called me into a meeting that he was briefing to engineering because he couldn¡¯t answer all their questions. He blames that on me. Like fuck me for being a subject matter expert on Annihilation Propulsion right?¡± ¡°No offense babe, but it kind of sucks to know that we¡¯re stuck fighting for one chief spot. When some MM1 that knows everything there is to know about the engineering parts of the ship and has people¡¯s respect? That¡¯s a hard act to follow. It doesn¡¯t help that he¡¯s a bit of a misogynist, but try not to antagonize your team mates please.¡± I may have been humbled a little with my punishment, but my Penny knows best mentality hasn¡¯t gone anywhere. Ugh, I¡¯m glad Melissa doesn¡¯t seem offended. If it helps, I think that you¡¯ve acted for the right reasons. You don¡¯t have a very good eye for consequences. Pfft, ain¡¯t that the truth. Maybe help a little? Wait that makes no sense, you¡¯re learning mostly from me, and you¡¯ve only been observing humans for about a year. You are surprisingly conflicted creatures that seem to have advanced via brute force and clever application of such force. Yep, bunch of hammers looking for things to hit. *** The heat distribution in the thrusters was caused by construction debris impeding the flow of our cooling measures. A flush and a blow and she¡¯s fixed in two days. Now we¡¯re back in our ¡°Battle Stations¡± ready for a warp maneuver targeting the outskirts of the system identified by the Helper Sentry (or whatever it was called). /Mercer, DE EA, CO¡¯s wants you to look at the thruster angles again, they seem severe and dangerous/ /Copy, reviewing/ ¡°Propulsion, head¡¯s up. EA¡¯s asking me to review the thruster angles.¡± ET1 Gelnick acknowledges with a ping. I know that the thruster angles are angled closely due to the low 45% A-M burn we¡¯re doing. Can¡¯t risk scattering the antimatter or the warp won¡¯t form. The data helm sends me is a thresholded chart in 5% increments. I mean, it won¡¯t kill anyone, but I figure I can get them some leeway. I pull up the charts for A-M% power outputs based on bell order and the relative effectiveness of warp formation verses A-M% applied to the warp verses A-M released from my research notes. I have my HUD and Tessa scan these and then add in the concentration effect of thrust angle changes and ask her to crunch the newly-formed database for projected warp distance. Then we make a sweet curve based on A-M savings and ship¡¯s safety . . . ew. It is not pretty at all. Just because it¡¯s not a continuous function, doesn¡¯t mean that this data isn¡¯t a work of art. Did you just use a double negative? Proof that we are integrating: abusing the native language. She scoffs in my brain. /EA, sorry for the wait. I . . . have a chart and a database for some corrections, but it¡¯s not exactly easy to look at. FC1 should be able to make it HUD pretty in 10-15. If that¡¯s too much for now, I made a separate table for A-M inventory range from 40-50% and 2/3 or FULL bell orders/ /The table will do. I¡¯ll keep the dissertation in mind for the next maneuver/ From there, we smoothly progress through the checklist and land on conditions green for warp. Even warming up the cones went well with the cooling flush so with a warp order from the CO, Helm orders all ahead FULL and engineering pressurizes our suits. Two pops from some early reactions let us hear the point of no return before a loud bang and a shuddering slurp consumes the ship. Your shields are much improved from the days of your incarceration. I hear her voice as the dizziness fades and I take a look at my suit¡¯s pressure readings. I pop Mellissa and My face shields before unstrapping and doing it for my extremely woozy team-mates. One even manages to thank me before they vomited. How bad is the poisoning this time? Yours and Melissa¡¯s are negligible. The rest of the crew should be able to clear such a small jump in several weeks. Nice, but that was only a . . . 10.1 ly jump. Compared to the 500 ly jumps they¡¯ll have to start making. They¡¯ll have to be lucky to live through it all without a swarm to assist them. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Or at least time to process their mutations before they start piling up. Mutation runaway is nearly always lethal. That¡¯s . . . okay, that¡¯s frightening. Especially considering Andromeda almost pushed one on me before correcting it. I shudder at the thought of the powers involved in that token cash in. /Remain at your stations. We are executing an emergency reversal maneuver/ I look over to Gelnick, he¡¯s still staring at the deck stabilizing himself. Ah shit. Oh well. /EA, DE Mercer, recommend using port side aft thrusters as starboard side might flash from Plasma transfer piping/ He pings his receipt, probably recovering also. ¡°Alright, Hunsaker, let¡¯s re-align main thrusters to chem and spin up the port side thrusters.¡± She too looks over at Gelnick and mouth¡¯s a silent thank you. ¡°How bad is it that we have to do this emergency reversal?¡± ¡°We went a little too far, and with the distance covered by the initial testing, we¡¯re on course to collide with a gas giant that if it doesn¡¯t kill us, getting flung into those close-orbiting binary stars would totally do it. Oh, what? Tessa, what¡¯s the composition of the planet on the far side of the star, the one with the blue-green atmosphere.¡± ¡°I hope that Tessa is your AI and not some other woman you¡¯re seeing.¡± She raises an eyebrow at me.¡± I get a flash in my HUD telling me to initiate rotation burn. I hit the appropriate buttons as they come up. Mini-games for alertness, yeay! It¡¯s a rocky planet with a somewhat compatible air-like atmosphere, with high atmospheric sulfur content. ¡°Holy shit. Yes Mel, Tessa is my AI, and she just told me that there¡¯s a rocky planet with only slightly toxic, breathable air!!!¡± ¡°But there¡¯s a gas giant inside that orbit? Isn¡¯t it too far out to be habitable.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hot binary star system Mel, the habitable zone starts further out. Oh, Universe, there are so many papers speculating what I¡¯m seeing right now!¡± ¡°Calm down, nerd. We have to survive this first.¡± I punch Melissa in the shoulder, but I can¡¯t stop grinning. SPACE IS SO COOL! ¡°Yeah, yeah, let¡¯s start increasing cooling to the field generators to get the starboard thrusters cooled down. This rotation is going much faster than the cooling is. And we¡¯ll be headed into a A-M burn after this I think.¡± I start tapping the fluid systems diagrams, ¡°Can you spin up the collider and begin generating plasma?¡± Melissa pings affirmative. ¡°Propulsion, we could use your extra eyeballs.¡± ¡°Ugh, Mercer, would you stop talking for five minutes?¡± Gelnick replies. /Sure, Gelnick, but if someone doesn¡¯t start checking if the collider is aligned properly I¡¯ll have to get someone in Aft Machinery to do it./ He grumbles into his mike. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you didn¡¯t check this before you turned it back on.¡± /ET1, we need A-M to make it out of our current trajectory and a massive gravity well. We¡¯ll die if we don¡¯t. But if there are minor field imbalances or transfer alignment issues we can work around, we need to know. Unless you want to take over managing thrust and coolant so I can do it?/ /Fuck you Mercer/ I chuckle at that. Should be a fun log to read. ¡°Propulsion, do whatever you have to start loading antimatter, NOW.¡± /EA, Mercer, request permission . . ./ /Granted. Don¡¯t mess it up/ ¡°Engineering, need eyes on Collider monitor station, check in. Fire team in propulsion standby aft valve station and prepare to move aft in steam kit.¡± /Collider Monitor checking in, field strength yellow/ /Engineering, we¡¯ll need another TG on the collider/ /Copy Mercer, transfer conditions in progress/ ¡°This is the XO, unload non-essential busses in forward compartment and the HAB and transfer to battery.¡± /Oh hell yeah, Collider Monitor, keep us updated. Shifting Collider to A-M generation/ ¡°Mercer, the ship is going to fall apart, isn¡¯t it?¡± Melissa hooks her foot around mine, pulling our legs together. ¡°Not before we pull this off, I won¡¯t let it.¡± Yellow¡¯s break out across the board and we¡¯re already at increased flow and field current. /Increasing collider field strength, let me know when the magnet temp readings start toeing red./ /EA, DE Mercer, 5 min to sustained 1/3 Main Propulsion./ /How long can you hold it?/ /Oof. 15-20? Depends on how much of the collider we want to repair after/ Collider checks in maintaining high-yellow on mag and cooling systems. It gets hot in Propulsion Control, but not hazard bad, and after 5 minutes, the CO orders the Helm to all ahead 1/3. We shudder in a rhythm. After about 10 of my proposed 20 minutes, new navigation projections come in. They¡¯re not great. The big brains in Navigation come up with a hair-brained trajectory that shoots us between the binary stars, but it flicks us away from the gas giant and toward the rocky planet with an atmosphere, and most importantly, gives us more time to slow down. So with A-M thrust cut, and maneuvering thrusters on full blast, we sling shot around the stars going backward. We¡¯re a little close to the larger star, so the whole ship heats up and I have to start slapping ice runes in people spaces. Can¡¯t do that across the whole ship though. After some indeterminate amount of time, I hear a squawk on the ship¡¯s main com circuit ¡°MERCER! Get those damned thrusters back online.¡± Fuck, I¡¯m not on station. I float quicky through engineering and aft machinery and sprint through propulsion to see Gelnick and Melissa tapping their consoles with panic on their faces¡ªa lot of sweat too. He¡¯s in my seat, so I pick up his tablet and key it into my HUD and get back to work. Port side is fucked. At least the thrusters and the main thrust bottom left. Main thrust top may have some extremity damage, but by as angry as the captain sounded, I should risk it. ¡°Propulsion, strap in. pressure suits on. Both firefighting teams move aft with hoses, engineering, prepare relief team.¡± I tell Gelnick and Melissa to isolate 7 o¡¯clock thrust cone and when they finish the re-alignment I order the fireteams hoses on. ¡°Captain, we¡¯ve got 5ish minutes until I have to vent propulsion, then 10-15 before we¡¯ll have to abandon the space for air concerns. Helm, we¡¯re thrusting off balance. Ready to answer up to AA-2/3¡± The ship holds together, miraculously, but we really need to get some shields on this space whale. With propulsion vented and our air running low, I tell engineering that I¡¯m transferring propulsion control to maneuvering and reactor control. I stuff Gelnick in the hyperbaric chamber after he looks horrified when I teleport Melissa to Aft Machinery. I find my other non-air pack team-mates and take them there too. My Aether Walking control was sloppy at the end and I ended up slamming me and my last travel mate into some equipment. I make sure everyone¡¯s masks are up before hooking in and just floating for a minute to recover. I help maneuvering with propulsion control until my timer for the fire teams starts flashing. I stop venting the space and teleport the two groups out. This time, I vomit from the massive headache I¡¯m suffering. You are suffering from Will fatigue without the normal tiredness associated with it. The dissonance and flood of adrenalin is what¡¯s causing the pain and the sickness. With our fireteams out, and my not being able to get the fire team relief in the space in a short time, I vent propulsion one more time, and start shifting the collider back to standby. /EA, I have to shut down the transfer system, that gives us 15% A-M and enough plasma not to blow up the ship with the Annihilator, but she can¡¯t take anymore, Sir./ /Copy, Mercer, concur. Re-align for chem thrust/ /Sir, that is not recommended, but . . ./ /Noted. Do it./ I wait to re-align the melty part of the ship last, basically until the thrust maneuver is ordered. Ordered it is, AA FULL chem thrust. The aligned thrusters spark immediately and then I align the third while getting yelled at for not doing it earlier. It sparks up fine, but heat is quickly a problem and then a boom sounds against the hull with a small shudder when that thruster goes down. With 20% chem inventory, Helm is ordered to stop all thrusters. I look at the navigation data and see we are in a Geo-sync orbit with the rocky planet with a blue green atmosphere. By Andromeda, we did it. The crazy asshole on the bridge actually did a Captain thing! Half the crew has heat injuries, but we effing made it!! I squirm in a zero grav shimmy ¡°Imma put my feet on that planet, Imma put my boots on that beautiful beastie.¡± Chapter 34: Use Magic ¡°Alright, tell me there¡¯s some good news¡± The CO sighs at the collected leadership, plus me. ¡°The atmosphere is breathable with some moderate respiratory and mucus membrane irritation. Machines should do alright short term, but prolonged exposure to the acid rain will severely degrade the metal. We should be able to separate it out for replenishment of our environment systems.¡± Francesca says, ¡°and if we are to be here for a few months, I should be able to get a crop harvested from the surface.¡± ¡°Initial surveys suggest that we can recuperate some metal stores as well.¡± Niederman chimes in. ¡°Now I just need one of you Geniuses to tell me you can get us to the planet.¡± The CO says. ¡°I can get us to the planet.¡± I answer his call with a beaming smile. ¡°I¡¯ve made small scale thrusters that can get us to and from the planet, I just need to get requirements from the separate teams so I can design the fuselage. After that, electronics help out of the wazoo.¡± ¡°Mercer,¡± the CO growls, ¡°now is not the time for humor.¡± ¡°Senior Baiul and I can confirm that she¡¯s been doing thruster testing,¡± Commander Nugent adds. ¡°And she is a Doctor in Aero and Astronautic Engineering.¡± Francesca says, surprisingly helpful. Captain Morris sighs again. ¡°Alright, Mercer, get with the scientists and design your transport. Engineering, we need a damage report and an estimated material bill for repairs.¡± We both nod. I¡¯m surprised at how smoothly that went. He must have come to terms with not having enough materials left to make the repairs we need. It sucks to be in this situation again, but at least we have more hope of surviving than just hoping. We go back to the Science suites on the HAB for a more in-depth meeting. ¡°Oof, I hate to ask, but do you have shirt and shorts I can change into Fracesca?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, I guess, let me get them.¡± She does, and I am thankful to change out of my soaking wet clothing. I draw a quick drying rune on my wet shirt and leave it in the crotch of my suit, hoping it dries the whole thing out. They¡¯re not as snug as I thought they would be, guess I have lost weight. ¡°Thank you so much. Now, who else besides geology and botany need to be in on this shuttle needs confab?¡± ¡°Supply, so Katie, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± I appreciate the consideration, but I¡¯m fine to work with my ex and I tell the Botanist so. ¡°We should talk with the fab-lab to see what their load and unload capabilities.¡± Rock man advises. Heavy load considerations I imagine. ¡°Great, I¡¯ll ping Senior and see if we can get some Sea Bee advice.¡± A half hour later we¡¯ve talked about some load expectations verses thrust limits when our help arrives. ¡°Lets start with 6 tons as an idea? Net of course.¡± The geologist sighs in relief. ¡°I was talking with LS1 about supply transport,¡± CM1 Callahan starts ¡°Oh, congrats on the promotion Katie.¡± I beam. ¡°Thanks, but Callahan was saying that it would be best if we could load and detach cargo from the shuttle and leave ¡®containers on the ship¡¯, say one for loading on surface, one for unloading shipboard and one in transit.¡± ¡°That gives us a starting size of an airlock interface. Larger than I was planning, but it makes sense.¡± Callahan nods ¡°we can use ISS resupply pods as our transport module base and shape a skin to match hull design once it¡¯s finished.¡± ¡°Damn, you¡¯re quick. I like you. Would it make sense to add some fluid ports if we need to transport liquids or loose solids?¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll look into it. If it¡¯s not as easy as re-sizing existing piping, it¡¯ll be easier to stack tanks.¡± Campbell advises. ¡°Copy that. What else?¡± ¡°At least one pod should have atmosphere control so I can ship live plants to the ship if necessary.¡± Callahan and I nod. ¡°I assume that you three,¡± I point at Niederman, Summers and O¡¯Connell, ¡°are on the salvage list with priorities for the surface.¡± ¡°I have initial estimates, but it won¡¯t be exact until Engineering finishes their inspections.¡± Katie says quietly. ¡°Any questions for me?¡± The botanist asks, ¡°How far are you from a magic fabricator?¡± Ooh, solid question. ¡°I need help with a modeling system that can tell my magic what to do. Until I get a techie to help with that and to bridge a magi-tech interface, I¡¯m stalled on that project.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Summers nods at that and takes a few glances at Katie in the meantime. ¡°Great, so tell me if you see fab-lab priority different from: Supply pods, fuselage, Internal mechanics with Electronics and wiring, skin and thrusters?¡± ¡°You should have Nav and the electricians design the wiring scheme after you finish your design. We have most of the wiring, harnesses and standard connections in stock.¡± Katie adds. I nod at that and chat with FC1 for team recommendations. ¡°That should be it I think. Keep an open link and I¡¯ll add you all to a command chat group shortly.¡± The guys pick up and mutter to themselves as they leave. I go to fetch my things, when Dr. Summers grabs my arm. ¡°You don¡¯t have to leave Penny. Stay, and the three of us can make a night of it.¡± I raise an eyebrow in suspicion, ¡°This isn¡¯t another ply to seduce me is it?¡± ¡°Is it?¡± Katie asks. ¡°Not at the moment? It¡¯s just that we¡¯re going to be working closely for the next few months and . . .¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want it to be awkward? Yeah, I get it. I¡¯ll admit that it chaffed discovering you two, but, that had more to do with the timing than the actual thing. And you, I was slightly angry at your subterfuge, but I understand your motivations.¡± I shrug. I¡¯m about to bring up my involvement with Melissa, and then it hits me, what if. ¡°Doc, did you share your swarm with Katie?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know . . . Katie? Seriously?¡± ¡°I think this secrecy about the alien tech is stupid. I think it has the ability to help the whole crew and I agree with Penny on this. I just want to know why no one else has magic like she does.¡± ¡°It has to do with my being exposed to warp energy years before the rest of you. But not currently relevant because I can¡¯t currently change it. And yes, I¡¯ve checked. I would have given Melissa magic if I could have.¡± Katie seems to accept that. ¡°So, in the interest of you staying while your clothes dry, do you want to try out our 3-D modeler?¡± ¡°Oh, yes please!¡± >P] Meli, any interest in spending time with Katie and the Botanist while I model a new ship design?[< >M] Katie your ex? No thanks. Were you going to ask me to join your team? Or did you get distracted by pretty girls?[< >P] Yes, they are pretty, no I¡¯m not interested. I was going to tell you tomorrow, because as great as you are, I don¡¯t think you can work off a design I haven¡¯t created yet. [< I spend the rest of my first night in orbit around a new planet, eating cheese and drinking wine with my ex and her girlfriend while designing an air-spacecraft hybrid. Then needled ruthelessly by my girlfriend as we sleep into a new day. *** ¡°Hunsaker, tell your electrician¡¯s mate to stop pinging me on thruster control and breakers, ffs. Just give me a 5-amp circuit for the 6 banks of thrusters and leave it. We need linked airlock control that allows us to connect to the ship via supply module, and then so that the shuttle can disconnect separately from the module.¡± ¡°Penny! Engineering want¡¯s thruster control first. Don¡¯t take it out on EM2.¡± I growl, ¡°Senior, this is Mercer, make it known that I am having trouble interfacing regular tech with my magic thrusters. I have a way to control the thrusters separately, but I need the wiring available for when I or another swarm user can figure out how to integrate the two.¡± ¡°That is information we could have used earlier in the week, MM2.¡± ¡°MM1 Campbell, can you take over? I really need to get this engraving done.¡± ¡°So, we¡¯re wiring the inside and skinning modules while you re-inforce the hull and install thrusters?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°I relieve you.¡± ¡°Thank the Universe, I stand relieved.¡± I¡¯m installing take-off thrusters between the landing skids when I get a tap on my shoulder. ¡°Uh, hi Penny.¡± Katie¡¯s small voice and crouching figure inquires. ¡°Katie! What brings the Countess down to the bowels of engineering?¡± ¡°I uh, may be able to help with your problem.¡± She licks her lip and worries it with her sexy canines. Snap out of it Penny. ¡°I bought a module after I found that you had magic, in hopes that you learn enchanting.¡± ¡°I have learned enchanting, what are you trying to build?¡± ¡°I have been told that I shouldn¡¯t share information, but why? So, I¡¯ve chosen to keep trusting you. I want to build an ansible.¡± Katie starts worrying my pant leg like she used to, it¡¯s kind of cute, kind of worrying. ¡°We got disconnected from the Andromeda Matrix when we warped here, and that an Ansible was the only way to get it back.¡± Uh, Tessa? Yes, it seems that we are out of range of the most distant survey probe. There is some good news, however. With your Aether Walking skill, you can connect to the Matrix at will for a data transfer such as a module or even a reward. Any chance I can co-opt that skill? You are not able to do so without considerable modification. Melissa and Ophelia could help mod us in that direction, but you¡¯ve expressed resistance to cyborg-type modifications. Ugh, no thanks. ¡°Tessa, my AI concurs, an ansible is a sensible goal. What assurances do you want to share your module?¡± I ask somehow knowing Katie isn¡¯t going to take advantage of me. ¡°Your next private project is aimed at my components.¡± ¡°Pending survival necessity.¡± ¡°Ugh, fine. But Frannie and I need the Ansible to advance and so do you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not pushing back, hon. We¡¯ll build your ansible, but I need a little flexibility.¡± Luckily she nods in acceptance. ¡°I need to give you some of my swarm to make the transfer?¡± Or you could use magic. >M] USE MAGIC [< Fuck, okay Mel, jesus. ¡°I have a runeshape for something similar.¡± I draw on her skin with Aether. She looks disappointed? Does Katie still have feelings for me? That way lies madness Penny, download modules, then . . . you know, maybe never drama. I enact the rune and the module punches me in the brain.
The flood of data is well within the buffers that Tessa installed and well within the planned expansion to some scapula structures. ¡°Hmm, I would have never guessed something so simple would have worked with my thrusters. But your ansible needs some specific enchanted items.¡± I pause for a breath, trying to ignore how Katie was holding me. Leaning to support myself, I continue. ¡°Mel, sending connections for thrusters, to conventional electronics.¡± I thank Katie and begin engraving a lightning trigger into my thrust control runes. Chapter 35: Planetfall ¡°Calm down!¡± I demand, but still people are fighting over who gets to go with me. ¡°SHUT UP¡± and I push with Primus authority. The bay is silent now except ¡°I can only reliably teleport one other person. It has to be a tech that can monitor systems. This is not just a joyride.¡± More arguing erupts. /Senior, figure this out or I¡¯m taking my girlfriend./ /Little Merc, a Navigation LT will accompany you. He is helm qualified and a certified HUD tech./ /Brilliant, thanks Ivanka./ /I am next, of course/ I laugh in her comms circuit. ¡°Alright team, Sea Bees, clear the bay and prepare for mechanical ejection.¡± ¡°Copy. Ready to depressurize fab lab in ten.¡± ¡°Nav, recommend directional control testing of wing thrusters. Performing pressure checks on cabin and supply module.¡± We managed to integrate the electronics to my rune systems. It is ugly and wasteful, but it works. I have a runic control console for a backup, but we¡¯re here to test systems. Green across the board. ¡°Shuttle, Nav reports starboard maintenance bay clear for depressurization and manual launch.¡± ¡°Copy Nav. LT Tokara transferring control to Shuttle Commander Mercer.¡± /Fuck you Sir./ /SIR YES MA¡¯AM/ Tokara is good people. ¡°Copy LT, Ejecting Shuttle on Commander¡¯s mark.¡± ¡°Manual Eject, Mark.¡± The Sea Bees engage the compartment lift crane and move it toward the airlock, the oversized airlock, and we coast out. ¡°Fab-Lab, Shuttle has cleared the hatch.¡± ¡°Copy Shuttle, God speed and fuck you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring you a souvenir Callahan, dry your panties out.¡± I hear laughing over comms. ¡°Switching channels, emergency only.¡± ¡°Alright LT, what¡¯s your game here?¡± I ask, pulling my face shield back. ¡°Game? If you ask why I was selected. I develop training programs for Japan Defense Force. I am also well rated in interactive HUD design. My game is to develop piloting program while assisting in Piloting HUD development.¡± I look into his eyes and see nothing but a straightforward demeanor. ¡°Alright. May our exercises be productive Lieutenant.¡± He nods at that. He pulls up a test maneuver sequence for me to execute like a video game. It takes us an hour to work through the squirrely-ness of the maneuvering thrusters but we figure out the magitech control just fine as Tokara is a quick hand at control modification. ¡°LT, do you have any swarm modifications?¡± ¡°Not at this time.¡± ¡°Aye sir, set yellow brake at 8g, suit pressure mod at 10g and decel at 12g.¡± ¡°Are you trying to kill me MM2?¡± ¡°I¡¯m using NASA breakovers, sir. Save the suit pressure trigger. It should let you keep consciousness to 11g and keep from vacating blood volume until 13-14g¡± ¡°Copy. Testing suit pressure systems. Transferring controls to suit HUD.¡± ¡°Good call LT. Can you design a holo-grid for twitch control at high-g?¡± ¡°Perhaps, not now, however.¡± I nod at that. ¡°Initiating atmosphere entry thrust and angle maneuver.¡± We worked out a HUD-this ping before hand and I ping this planetary maneuver. ¡°testing no-power reentry plating.¡± The data comes in and the enchanted, heat-resistant panels are holding up like a dream. ¡°Nav, signal go or escape every twenty seconds.¡± Ping. My surface area is lower than the shuttle, but atmo is thicker than Earth, so we slow faster and harder. I get go¡¯s until I fucking see the ground. LT might be trying to talk to me, but boots on ground is occupying my every thought. Universe be damned ground. I go in hot with skid thrusters and ride it into some silver grass with pink trees. I use reverse control thrust to keep us out of the trees and disengage my seat harness and both airlock doors. I run, though labored, out the airlocks for the cabin and supply module and put my boots on loamy silver plant stuff. I see atmospheric yellow and pop my face shield ¡°FIRST!! PENNY HAS LANDED BITCHES!!¡± I scream into atmo then breath in and cough my lungs out. Fuck that sulfur itches.
Um, yes. Mine?
Tessa, I get a planet? She doesn¡¯t respond. Oh, this must be an Andromeda thing. ¡°I claim this planet for Astoria!¡± the system asks if I want to name the planet Astoria and I say yes.
Oh, well I name the system Astoria, the slightly larger sun Solastra and the smaller Solastrab. The rest of the planets can be location numeral based from the center until named or claimed by competent authority. Really, Penny? I¡¯ve been thinking about it a while, if given the chance. I figure no one can take this from me. Well in that, you are right. Through magic, you have registered our claim. Magic, I mean, Aether, is pretty sweet. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I cough again, hard enough to put my face shield back up. ¡°Shuttle Command, I must protest. We are not authorized for surface excursion.¡± ¡°LT, were we cleared for surface launch testing?¡± ¡°Tertiary priority at best.¡± ¡°Alright then. Nav, board the shuttle and prep for emergency surface launch. T-30.¡± ¡°Oh! Oh, so little time for pre-launch and menu config! So much to change!¡± He runs back into the shuttle as I chuckle and jog. ¡°T-10, cabin check and purge.¡± ¡°Check sat, purge . . . now.¡± Our Air tanks flush out the sulfur atmo util trace amounts linger. ¡°Purge sat. Warmup sat. lift to max.¡± Controllers pop me down to 12g, when my order was over 25. Well shit. Maybe 6 tonnes was conservative. I shift from VTOL to wing thrusters and flex our wings for lift control. ¡°Copernicus, this is Shuttle, the LT is unconscious, assisted approach requested.¡± ¡°Copy shuttle, this is Copernicus Nav, approach to track, transfer to Fab-lab comm within 500m.¡± HUD approach aims us to Propulsion airlocks. When I transfer to Sea Bee comms I am directed to far side lock, which is a lot more maneuvering than I wanted, but with hull targets and auto control the airlock interfaces engage and pressure test sat. I purge the supply module before opening the airlock door. And wait for equalization for connecting to my cabin space. ¡°Shuttle docked to Copernicus. Pressure check sat. Shuttle crew request to come aboard.¡± ¡°Permission granted Shuttle, congratulations on planetfall.¡± Andromeda that sounds good. I made planetfall. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! Hold it in. I can¡¯t so I blink to Meli and smooch her face. She laughs deeply, ¡°What are you doing here, go to your debrief you scoundrel.¡± Pinches my butt like a proper girlfriend and I¡¯m back to propulsion to de-brief. Ivanka shakes her head at me. Whatever Senior. ¡°Land teams should have a filter, but it¡¯s otherwise manageable.¡± I say to the XO. ¡°You went outside of approved testing.¡± ¡°I expanded surface thrust testing to atmo crew testing. Also on the list.¡± ¡°Mercer, the CO wants to crucify you at every turn and you remain defiant.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, respectfully, I¡¯m a G-D space wizard, my job should be to test the limits of what I can do to benefit the crew. We have a shuttle because of it.¡± ¡°Mercer, while I understand, you are making enemies.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, I know that, but the CO would never accept me or the Botanist for alien tech reasons. I have a plan to survive without sacrificing the crew, I promise you.¡± She non-verbally swears at me with pacing and looks for 30 minutes before releasing me. That woman is intimidating. Like if she¡¯d asked me questions, I would have answered, but she¡¯s smarter than that. *** ¡°Shuttle, loading bay, final pod checks pending. Load your shit.¡± ¡°Shuttle, this is engineering, do your job and check second supply module loadout.¡± I forgot that first transit was two modules. Our target is a rocky outcropping on the ocean side of the planet. She¡¯s got a 55-45 water land configuration on a globe 1.5g two times surface area upscale of Earth. Astoria is a berfy girl. ¡°Cabin loaded with demon bench, fabricator, and basic fab tools. Pods one and two contain empty tanks for future transfer.¡± ¡°Copy shuttle, engineering confirmed. Prepare for disconnect.¡± ¡°Shuttle crew, lock in, pressurize for high-g and synch for vitals¡± ¡°Seat 1, check. Seat 2 check. Seat 3 check. Seat 4 check.¡± My crew plus nav and I are re-enry confirmed and ready. Detach commence. Departure pressure confirm, and . . . ¡°Hold onto your butts.¡± I say before I twist my control cube to re-entry flop. Ten minutes of heavy atmo later, ¡°De-pressurize suits and prepare for quarry landing.¡± I engage with the bottom thrusters with a roar, creating a landing zone and crater to arrive by. We land rough with a hard skid landing and some back thrusting puffs, but no one gets hurt. Solid win. ¡°Shuttle teams, Landing secured, execute orders, Nav, debrief.¡± I spend 30 minutes with Nav before he gives me a list of fab requests. Turd. My forward teams start surveying and reclaiming as much as possible and I wait on planet for the teams to fill up a supply module full of regular dirt. Fastest load and they need it for the recently cleared HAB space for long-term botany. I help drag out the equipment as the construction team starts bring material for a fab-shelter. I keep working with Tokara to target the HUD approaches to this location to accommodate a full-burn decent and others. The forests are cellulose based, but not consistent with Earth-based plants because of their conversion of atmospheric sulfur to ground particles and the differences in solar radiation and the planet¡¯s magnetic field. I shuttle back up to Copernicus to grab a tank-riddled pod and start the search for water. Characteristically easy as half the planet is a water mixture with . . . yeah, no idea. That¡¯s for botanist betty to figure out. ¡°Summers, do you have a ground pool constructed?¡± ¡°100 cubic meters as ordered.¡± She seems pleased. That¡¯s a lot of shipments Good gravy. ¡°Copy summers, three loads and a rest incoming.¡± ¡°Penny, there should be burning fields for all of this sulfur. If we can douse it, it would help a lot of things.¡± Yeah, space cargo transport, firefighting resupply shuttle incoming. I get dozens of pings and it¡¯s starting to drive me nuts and it is only week one. ¡°Starting now, we¡¯re going with a que flag system. If I find it categorized outside my published priority, I will cancel and kick your next request to the back of the line. Don¡¯t screw over your crew mates.¡± As is expected, I get a plethora of pings and I put them in the dumpster. Reading is important. /Katie, you planetside?/ /No, but Fran is./ /No shit, but unless she has the ansible plans, she¡¯s useless/ /Penny, I need to be on your next shipment/ /Katie, you are one step removed from supply chief. Get yourself on the roster. I can obviously be bribed./ I get a supply confirmation of 50 packs of strudels to planet with supply tech and other standard rations. Jeebus. No wonder I dated that monster. She¡¯s magnificent. *** ¡°Penny, why am I being asked to start the first colony on Astoria?¡± ¡°Human rules dictate that the first cultivated crop makes a colony. You have colonized Astoria. Congrats Doc.¡± ¡°Right, but who claimed the system? Wait nevermind. Of course I know. Confab?¡± ¡°Yeah Summers, Katie and Melissa should come. Shuttle or Summer Station?¡± ¡°Screw you, Penny, there¡¯s no way. . . oh, you bitch. Already named it. Fine. At least summer station has a roof.¡± I chuckle that I did that on purpose. We corral scientist and GF smarties and confab. ¡°What does our emergency response look like team?¡± Francesca asks. ¡°He¡¯s going to arrange that we get stranded here and I propose we let him.¡± Fran and Katie roar, but Mel grabs my waist and pulls me close. ¡°Ladies, Summers and I are persona non grata. There is an eventual arrangement where the four of us are left on planet. I believe Morris will arrange for Progenitor Summers and I to be left on planet, damn the consequences. We need to make that mean we get left with our lone fabricator. I can make another Sundering bench, but the fab is still beyond me.¡± ¡°With that, I also assume you¡¯re lumping our paramours in with our sentences?¡± I nod, ¡°He would have to be a blind idiot not to see that we shared swarms. Especially post lvl. 16.¡± There¡¯s some more chatter, but they all see my deadly expression. ¡°I believe he is training Nav to take over pilioting before we get stranded, and I propose we let him.¡± Chat erupts with controversy: as expected. ¡°Planet chat. Listen. This is not a guarantee. And there are two plus months before this should manifest. But keep an eye out.¡± *** We spent the better part of four months shuttling raw materials, water and compressed air to the Copernicus. I had to work on making a portable sundering device which ended up having to be large staves that progressively charred and disintegrated if forced over their daily charge limit. Our mining operation got big fast. Francesca transformed many acres of our landing spot into farmland and used her tech upgrades to design the plants to grow faster and more bountiful in the current environment. Plant life on this planet seemed pretty robust and the animal life was weird, but manageable. Melissa and Gelnick do stellar work of guiding the repairs to the thrusters and the heat-damaged side if the ship. When you¡¯re in a crew of talented people, no one is irreplaceable. I feel that¡¯s exactly what has happened to me. While the nav LT that was training with me was a quick learner, he kept getting pulled away for control and HUD issues in the bridge, or to fix that Captain¡¯s E-reader or something. So I spent most of my time being a dump truck driver. Until today. LT Finally did his three unassisted flights and I¡¯m comfortable letting him fly solo. ¡°Copernicus, DE Astoria Control. 80% water load ready for transport.¡± ¡°Roger Astoria, transit vectors confirmed, Nav Tokara primed for Solo Ascent.¡± ¡°Astoria copies Solo ascent. Congratulations Lieutenant Tokara on your shuttle pilot qualification.¡± We get scattered comm chatter as expected from the deceit Fran and I expected. P] Meli, confirm you want to be confined with me?[< >M] Beam me up Hottie. [< I¡¯d complain about the scandal, but I bet we¡¯re being stranded against Tokara¡¯s knowledge. I walk to Mel and bring her back, ready to vom. ¡°Mel, 100km is too far. Fuck bae.¡± ¡°If you tell me your vomit is not worth my prison sentence I will . . . thank you less enthusiastically.¡± I can¡¯t help but laugh. She knew too. ¡°Astoria. There is a moderate chance we are about to be betrayed by our captain. Stand by.¡± We all look skyward, comms disabled to the ship as soon as Tokara docked. Francesca maneuvered this and that to keep the fab and half the seed stock. It was a bet against her disruptive worth. I also made a bet. But it¡¯s far more risky. I bet on the lives of all my compatriots that wanted to get home. ¡°Fuck kids. Main propulsion test complete. Get inside any structure available.¡± No one moves. ¡°Get in the Andromeda damned building before I beat you all teh fuck!¡± They get in the nearest buildings that get ravaged by surface winds and debris as the Annihilation drive activates in atmo. I hope they get 2k ly out of that, or they will never make it home.
Multi mind and mind over body wasn¡¯t enough. My mental defense lasts for moments against such overwhelming Aether pressure, and at the last minute I shunt myself and Melissa halfway across Astoria to avoid the aftereffects. B2, Ch1: Sojourn Hi, I¡¯m Penny and I messed up. ¡°What the fuck Penny!?¡± That bullshit happened to be being left on a Star Trek, class ¡°M¡± planet. To Botanist barbie ¡°Francesca Summers¡± it¡¯s Habitable Planet 2.7k ly antispinward system after alien contact. For me and the upload to the Andromeda Matrix (which I¡¯m trying to rebrand to Supercluster Community Enrichment Program for humanity) it¡¯s the Astoria system, orbiting around Solastra and Solastrab ¨C a binary star system with a hab zone a little further out than Sol. Which is where we are on Astoria. ¡°Why did you teleport us halfway across the large ass rocky planet?¡± That¡¯s my girlfriend, Melissa, Meli, Mel, babe, hon, and ohshitwhatdidIdo? ¡°Did you want warp sickness with a side of mutation? I love you Mel, but if you sprouted mandibles, I¡¯d be conflicted on whether to kiss you or spray you in the face.¡± She turns to me with more puppy than I was prepared for. ¡°Pen pen, uh, we haven¡¯t, I don¡¯t know what to say, do you really . . .¡± Wow, more focus on the ¡®I love you¡¯ than anger? That doesn¡¯t seem right. ¡°Melissa, I was about to be abandoned on a planet and then I asked you, not just my Girl, but my best friend to join me in abandonment, possibly forever. How do you think I feel about you?¡± ¡°That you need me and can¡¯t imagine suffering without my mechanical and electrical prowess for eternity?¡± Dear Andromeda, never let her change. You made a perfect thing here. Mutate it at your peril. ¡°Yes, that, and that I don¡¯t want to live without you? How do you make it so hard to confess to you while making it so easy to be with you. GAH!!!¡± Mel giggles and bounds at me in a tackle. ¡°Love you too stupid. Thanks for saving me. Again.¡± Her teasing will be the perpetual death and rebirth of my soul. ¡°If you were to guess how far . . .¡± ¡°Bae, I don¡¯t have to guess. I¡¯m a mech-telepath. With my booster on the ship, we¡¯re only 5-600 km from the grow house.¡± I have some serious eyebrow conflicts when deciding how to process these emotions. ¡°I, I don¡¯t think I can do that in one shot right now hon. Not after basically frying my brain bringing you down here and the emergency teleport.¡± ¡°No worries, Pen, I don¡¯t have those kinds of expectations.¡± While I pull the javelin out of my chest, apparently my love is also a ruthless fighter. ¡°So, does that mean you want to engage in a terrifying but growth inducing lover¡¯s sojourn or teleport to base as soon as possible?¡± Melissa wants to fight me, apparently. I get tackled into the loamy sand where we landed on a river shore. She¡¯s tackled me face to face, sand in my butt and her in my chest. ¡°If I tell you what I want, will you promise not to shame me?¡± ¡°Honey. As long as it¡¯s not polyamory, you know I¡¯m ready to talk.¡± ¡°I want to make a colony with you. Like on Astoria with magic babies and everything.¡± ¡°Melissa, is your swarm fucking with you?¡± ¡°Pen, yes. She is. But also, like, I knew that boots on moons was one of your goals, and . . .¡± my girlfriend starts bawling. Oh, shit. She¡¯s for real, but she¡¯s scared about it. ¡°Honey, just because we¡¯re now on a planet, doesn¡¯t mean we have to pop out a softball team.¡± She wipes her eyes with a chuckle and punches me. Good. She¡¯s recovering. ¡°So you¡¯re not scared?¡± ¡°Fuck yes I am. Am I ready to be mom? No. Will I figure out how to be the mother of your child. Absolutely yes. As far as I figure, we¡¯re each other¡¯s until we fuck up and die. If you want it bad enough, so do I Mel. We¡¯ll figure it out. Fuck, I¡¯m crying. I hate you, in the best way of course.¡± I am crying. And if you say anything I will annihilate your face. For real though. Watch it. ¡°In short, yes, I want to jungle with you and test if I can meld with you enough to use your system connection. Yes, I want to bed you enough that the system gets the hint, and yes, I¡¯m in, Penny. But only if you¡¯re in with me. Fuck, I didn¡¯t want to talk about this for years, but, stranded planet, you¡¯re kind of a queen, and this conquering mentality gets me super hot. Is it magic?¡± Tessa, it has to be, right? I¡¯m way less hungry. While your body of power is still rank two, your conversion is still rank 1 and you are significantly less taxed for Aether, In fact the net positive in the planet¡¯s field is building your reservoir. She breaks for a few minutes then brings up the warp rune. Tessa, I need several days to study that bird. I recognize some forms, but I¡¯d still need to spend days on extrapolating shapes from the complicated runeform. When are you going to have enough time for us Penny? ¡°Meli-bae, I think you and Tessa are feeling the same way. Advice?¡± ¡°Just be with us and live with us dummy. Stop getting tied up in your own head and have a cup a coffee, or a tea with us. We have the perfect views and I stole tea and strudels for us to share.¡± ¡°I mean, if you wanted me to tell you I love you, you just had to say so.¡± ¡°You twat!¡± she tackles me into the questionable stream and I laugh while she wrestles with my clothes. I say yes ma¡¯am and her name a lot after that. *** ¡°No Meli, you need a knife. Yes, you do. No, fuck that, here¡¯s your knife.¡± We keep walking toward the station because Mel insists that we need to. I laugh at the concept until I hear a rustling in the brambles 20 yards away. >P] Moppet, stay still [< >M] You¡¯re not my mom [< and she yeets off into the pink damn woods. You think she knows, or it¡¯s just incidentally driving me crazy? On an informed estimate, you are engaged in a primitive game to . . . you can extrapolate at your leisure. I start jogging after her. To think, that three years after joining the Navy that I¡¯d be stranded on an alien world by an Australian Captain that resents that we were ¡°infected¡± with alien tech as well as him. He¡¯s angry at me specifically because I also chose to host a symbiote that helps me access and refine Aether, aka magic. I named my swarm and symbiote Tessa, and she¡¯s developing some of my personality traits. Not sure how I feel about that. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Do you think I can enchant a stick well enough to work as a plasma cutter?¡± It should work, but the stick will likely carbonize over time, giving you limited uses. You could also keep training you aether manipulation ability. Hey, there¡¯s an idea. I see a relatively straight portion of a young pink tree and put a shield around it, cutting it and shaving the bark off. I put a quick stasis rune where I¡¯m going to carve a grip later so that the staff stays supple and a hardening rune to make it less likely to chip. Before I get lost in more engraving, I hear Melissa start cursing and running. ¡°I found a weird anteater pig that wants to tentacle me!¡± Cue hentai joke here. I start running toward her and in less than a minute she crashes through a bush and jets past me. I wind up for her yet to be seen pursuer and swing for the fences when I see a purple mass of writhing tentacles. Gross. I hit in the mouth? With a wet slap and some soft crunching. The creature shrieks and starts spitting fluid at me out of it¡¯s octopus-like beak. I say nope and pop up my shield to watch the goup sizzle on contact. Extra nope. I bash it in its wet parts a few more times until it¡¯s stunned, then I use my shield and manipulate it to cut the end of my staff into a spear point. I heat the shield quickly to burn and harden the end and jab it into the boar¡¯s wedge-shaped head.
Huh, they did make it into a video game. That¡¯s cool. ¡°My hero.¡± Mel comes over and kisses me on the cheek. ¡°I take it you don¡¯t know how to process game?¡± ¡°Strong no on that. Are you sure there aren¡¯t more of them?¡± ¡°It seemed alone while chasing me,¡± she says with a shrug. ¡°Why don¡¯t you play with your stick while I finish this.¡± I put some more protections on the staff, shape the grip better to fit my hands, and work on some enchanting. When Melissa has the thing skinned, I use a drying rune and then cut some strips out to wrap around the grip. When I feel like it¡¯s finished I get another prompt.
Nice. So, I get experience for killing aether tainted things and it seems that I get experience for crafting. Why didn¡¯t I get a prompt when I finished the spear? Because that number of prompts for a User that primarily crafts would be maddening? And because I read your surface thoughts, you didn¡¯t get a description of the spear because you don¡¯t have an inspect or an analyze-style ability. Though with animals, you can just kill them to find out what they are. ¡°Can you make a bag out of the rest of it?¡± ¡°No, but I can make it into a cooling device to keep the meat fresh and carry it with shield manipulation.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll work. Get to it mule.¡± If she wasn¡¯t smiling, I might feel offended. I stick my tongue out at her and she giggles. We come across two or three more aether-warped animals that day. The Swooping Diggle was by far the scariest. Imagine a leathery hawk the size of an albatross. Melissa skinned and butchered everything but the carnivorous plant and when night started to set, we started a fire and set to roasting the various meats. ¡°Mel, what¡¯re you building over there?¡± ¡°Smoking tee pee. When you¡¯re done cooking, I¡¯ll scatter the fire and have you get some wet wood to put on the coals. It won¡¯t dry completely overnight, but it¡¯s a start. With your cooling blanket, it should keep for a week or more.¡± I really like how smart and capable she is. I picked a good one. Full of food, smoking rack set up and a warm Melissa snuggled into my side, I bring up my HUD to get some details on the Astorian System. Four planets orbit the binary stars, two of which are rocky and smaller that Astoria. The gas giants are Neptune-sized. Astoria herself has two small moons, one accretion formed and another oblong one with questionable origin. Astorian day is approximately 20 hours, and with a 12 degree axial tilt, we are in the middle of the northern hemisphere spring. Approximate year length 422 days. Huh, I¡¯ll have to get someone to do the system calculations on all this stuff. I make a few changes to my HUD to display in Astorian parameters and fade off next to my slightly snoring partner. *** Week two of lover¡¯s sojourn and we¡¯re still in good spirits. We found a clear river and have been following it more or less toward the farm and mine. ¡°Penny, why are you fiddling with that device when you have a perfectly good spear.¡± ¡°Space magic fantasy, Mel. I¡¯m also strategically wasting time until you realize marching six hundred kilometers is going to take us at least a month.¡± ¡°Would that be so bad? I mean, I don¡¯t hear any emergencies from the farm, so why does it matter how long we take?¡± ¡°You do realize, that distance is likely farther than your comms system can transmit? And that until Katie and I build an ansible, the rest of you don¡¯t get system updates?¡± ¡°Ugh, fine. But I want another week of this, then we go out on excursions often after that, okay?¡± I smirk at her, love in my gaze. ¡°Yes dear.¡± Speaking of deer, Melissa is still working on that Aether warped Stabby Coose, that looks like a large buck with pinkish fur. I finished up a Sundering Wand I was working on and now I had metal to work with again. I¡¯m currently engraving a contoured and knurled cylinder that can receive an aether ampule. The cylinder that makes Melissa call me a silly nerd. I think I have the settings dialed in, a shield rune designed to let everything pass but heat, and push-button activation. I plop an ampule in and fire it up. The contained plasma beam is loud as hell and I immediately deactivate it. I engrave some extra conditions on the shield, damping 95% of the sound as well. This time the beam humms quietly, 1.4m in length, bright as the effing sun. I should tone the light down too, but now is the time for hunting. I spend the next two hours searching for game when an aether-warped rabbit like thing charges me and I slice the bastard in half. Two meaty sections falling in a smoking ruin. ¡°Heh, I have a plasma saber.¡± And it¡¯s pink. Melissa makes fun of me for the rest of the day while I lug the food around. By this time, I¡¯ve learned crude leatherworking and fashioned a patchwork tent from the pelts of the animals we¡¯ve killed. Some aether warped, some not. We¡¯ve seen a lot more warped creatures recently and the phenomenon bothers me. It is quite uncommon for a solitary source of aether to be strong enough to warp creatures and to be naturally occurring. I can help lead you to it if you want to investigate. Maybe later Tessa, if it¡¯s strong enough to warp these animals, it¡¯ll be strong enough to warp my friends. Maybe I¡¯ll consider it if the other people we are stranded with want a symbiote. I need to get to level 16 first.
Name: Penelope Astoria Mercer Race: Human (Primus) Andromeda Code: T-S
Class: None Track: Artificing (lvl. 12) Imbalance: None
Mind [Intelligence: A, Clever: A, Awareness: B]
Social [Beauty: C, Charm: D, Presence: B]
Physical [Strength: E, Agility: C, Fitness: D]
Aether [Capacity: D, Refinement: B, Power: S]
Skills [Aether engraving: Intermediate, step 8; Aether insight: intermediate, step 3; Enchanting: novice, step 8; Knowledge absorption: Intermediate, step 6 (tech assist); Pain Suppression: Intermediate, step 1; Aether manipulation: Novice step 7; Magitech Integration: Novice, step 2]
I¡¯m getting much closer to tier 1, I really need to pick it up. B 2, Ch 2: Aether Warped ¡°So you¡¯re pretty close to your tier 1 boost?¡± Melissa asks as she wipes the blood off her knife. ¡°Yeah. Another month in this endless blasted forest would get me there for sure, but I am DYING to have more tech to play with. Baby, I love you. But unless we find a waterfall in the next day or two, I¡¯m teleporting us back to the farm.¡± Jokes on me, because we find a small waterfall two days later, and Melissa and I end up disrobing, cleaning and sexing in the damned thing. Well, we had sex in the musty damp cave behind it, anyway. ¡°You know, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen you fully naked.¡± I smile into her messy hair. ¡°No way. That can¡¯t be true. You had me in the shower . . . no, I had my tank and undies on. Huh. Anything I should worry about?¡± she pokes my ribs. ¡°What? No! I mean, my hands have seen most of you, I¡¯ve just never had the privilege to enjoy the whole picture is all.¡± I run my finger down her spine and she arks into me. ¡°Penny,¡± she whispers, ¡°Hey, no.¡± I pout but it is unsuccessful. She pushes my arm down, but continues to snuggle. I accept the compromise and rest my hand on her butt. A dozen more minutes or so pass with us under our hide blanket before my mind switches back to work. ¡°Mel, have you been keeping a map?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been having my AI note our relative position to the beacon, but it¡¯s not the same.¡± Tessa? I have been maintaining a rudimentary topography map with terrain type since we arrived on planet. Would you like me to mark ¡°Lusty Falls¡± on the map? I snort some of Melissa¡¯s hair, coughing and sputtering. ¡°Tessa say something funny?¡± ¡°Apparently my sassy ride-along marked this spot ¡®Lusty Falls¡¯¡± ¡°Bahahaha, I like it. So Tessa has developed a personality then?¡± ¡°Yeah, when she pseudo-merged with my symbiote, she¡¯s been right on the edge of being her own person. I think when I get to 16, she¡¯ll make the transition.¡± ¡°Did I know about a symbiote? You actually have an alien inside you?¡± ¡°I . . . don¡¯t know?¡± I shrug, ¡°and yes, Tessa is a combo of Tech and Symbiote Amalgam. She okay¡¯d the name and here we are. I was offered a choice of Swarm or Symbiote and I asked why not both?¡± ¡°Of course you did,¡± I nod at her interrogative, ¡°And because of my progenitor status, I was allowed to onboard both. It¡¯s a slightly more complicated advancement track, but I can combine tech and aether with much less effort. My track is ¡®Artificer¡¯ like in the old table-top RPG.¡± ¡°Mine is cyber psionics.¡± ¡°That sounds terrifying. Meli, are you going full-on mind fuckery?¡± ¡°What? No. Maybe. Kind of.¡± She sighs, ¡°I¡¯m getting really good at skimming surface thoughts within five meters. There are some techniques I can¡¯t use without some magitech components, just like the ansible, and it¡¯s frustrating.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an enchanter babe. And so what if you can¡¯t advance purely solo? You¡¯ve basically committed to being my life-partner, so why not rely on me too?¡± She smiled, flushed, and buried her face in my chest. ¡°It¡¯s really hot when you¡¯re supportive.¡± I grab her butt with both hands, ¡°I¡¯m helping!¡± We both chuckle at that and enjoy the rest of our evening blanketed in mist and the roar of a waterfall. *** ¡°I don¡¯t care how many of those bacon-flavored murder chickens you bribe me with, it¡¯s time to go back.¡± ¡°You just want to go back because you found that nest and saved the eggs. You want Francesca to raise them don¡¯t you?¡± She frowns hard when she mentions the Botanist. Its as though she doesn¡¯t believe my claims of being a monogamist. ¡°Kinda, yeah. They taste like bacon.¡± ¡°Murder Chickens¡± ¡°These won¡¯t be aether warped!¡± ¡°Ugh, fine! We can go back. But if that spindly red-head makes goo goo eyes at you again, she¡¯s getting a room full of fang toads.¡± The mischief in her eyes wasn¡¯t enough to distract me from my suspicions. ¡°I knew you saved some of those eggs.¡± ¡°We have a pond at the farm, and they eat the Napalm Cicadas.¡± ¡°Possibly the worst thing about my planet.¡± I shutter. Their body fluids burn like acid and catch fire just after contact with human flesh. ¡°Hehe, you claimed a planet. How crazy is that?¡± ¡°It was very odd when I got a notice about the system honoring species customs and system customs.¡± I pull her in close, ¡°My official title is Planetary Custodian.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°That is much more humble than Empress. Though I reserve the right to call you Queen or Empress in the future.¡± Melissa purrs low at the last two titles. My girl is turned on by a lot of things. Annoyed at a lot of things too. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. Well, Meli. Hold onto my butt, I¡¯m teleporting to my favorite spot nearby the farm.¡± She dutifully grabs two handfuls and I form a bubble of aether around us both and blip us back to civilization. ¡°That shield makes that much easier on the belly and the brain.¡± She smiles up at me and pecks me an appreciation kiss. ¡°Right? It¡¯s way better than getting Aether sickness every time I teleport.¡± ¡°Oh! We¡¯re at the pond.¡± Meli cheers, pulls out a spent ampule full of frog larva and tosses it into the pond. ¡°Now let¡¯s go see the others and make a menace of ourselves.¡± The walk back is only ten minutes. With work on my mind, and Melissa by my side, I completely forgot why I teleported away in the first place. All of the plants in the field are aether-warped. I see Katie and Francesca looking at a display on the fabricator, Katie wearing a lot of clothing for the heat and an enormous hat. The botanist seemed to be a light shade of green? ¡°Penny, be careful, the prevailing mood of our four compatriots is angry.¡± I nod at her and carry my spear and saber at the ready. ¡°Hey ladies. Sorry it took us so long.¡± I shout. Both of them stiffen, but Katie turns with relief in her eyes¡ªher blood-red eyes. She rushes over and wraps me in a hug, taking a long, creepy sniff at my neck. I push her to arms length and grab her face to study it. Katie is sheet pale, red eyes, and . . .I reach to touch her lips and she smiles. Her canines are longer and sharper. ¡°Holy shit Katie, you¡¯re a vampire now!¡± ¡°No blood stuff, thank Andromeda, but the dangers of aether poisoning are more clear than ever.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t think about the aether poisoning from this side until the last minute. I especially didn¡¯t know it would be this bad.¡± ¡°Frannie and I got off pretty light, the boys had no assistance whatsoever.¡± ¡°Oh no! Did you guys inoculate them after to help them out?¡± Katie shakes her head. ¡°Francesca told me not to. With that aura voice you two have.¡± I understand that. It would have hurt her to fight against that command. ¡°By the time we recovered, our swarms would not have helped.¡± The botanist walks over. Her face has changed into a gaunt feature with heightened cheek bones. Her wood-colored eyes and rope and leaf like hair tell me a lot. She¡¯s also barefoot. ¡°Dryad?¡± I ask about her mutations. ¡°Enhanced toughness and photosynthesis in my skin, but it¡¯s hard for me to spend more than a couple of hours without some part of me touching Astoria.¡± ¡°Oof, that¡¯s a doozie.¡± She nods ¡°Why didn¡¯t you shield us?¡± Francesca narrows her eyes and accuses me. ¡°I couldn¡¯t make a shield large enough to cover everyone.¡± ¡°Fuck them!¡± She dismisses my comment and the remaining crewmembers with a wave, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you shield the two of us?¡± She growls at me. ¡°I panicked. Sorry.¡± ¡°Sorry? Sorry doesn¡¯t fix THIS!¡± I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s commenting about, but I see the jagged teeth and claws lengthening as she approaches and I¡¯m not having more of it. I flick on my plasma saber. ¡°That¡¯s close enough with that anger, doctor.¡± Off to my right I hear, ¡°Shit that is so cool!¡± must be the boys. ¡°I have some mutations of my own doctor. But you already showed you only care about you and Katie. Take a few minutes to think about what that anger is going to buy you and maybe we can talk about more important things.¡± ¡°You two disappear for a month and you come back a Jedi? Did you meet yoda in that forest?¡± CE2 Meeker is nerding out on my plasma saber while I look at his feral features. Shifted ears, eyes, snout, and body hair. Slight changes to his musculature too. Very woodland predator. ¡°Bring back anything else interesting?¡± EM2 Beecham asks. He doesn¡¯t seem worse for wear, save a bit of a drawn look. Melissa takes this one. ¡°Yes! A bird that tastes like bacon, fang frogs, and a sack full of different animal jerky!¡± ¡°I¡¯m also pretty close to my first major advancement. So I wanted to talk to you both about bringing you into the System. On one side, you can get a swarm like the rest of us. Lots of direction you can go with that, but it¡¯s all tech advancements. On the other side, I can give you a symbiote when I tier up that will give you Aether control, or magic. The symbiote also gives you more control of these kinds of mutations if they happen in the future.¡± ¡°Can we have both?¡± Meeker asks, and the Botanist also seems interested. ¡°As far as I¡¯ve been told, you can¡¯t have both under current circumstances. You can apparently swap up to your first tier upgrade, but you need enough aether and aether capacity to support the Symbiote and so that it¡¯s concentration of your aether doesn¡¯t kill you. I¡¯m a special case, I was making small warps years before, and my body got used to it.¡± ¡°So I could be a Jedi?¡± ¡°Yeah, Meeker, I¡¯ll even give you a quest to make your light saber body.¡± Once an ansible is built, you can absolutely make quests. ¡°I chose magic then.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Alright then. That¡¯s settled. Your mindset and prior experience matter for what tracks you are offered. So Meeker, work on your sword skills. Beecham, decide what you want to be and start working on it. It might take me a month or two to cross the threshold, but I¡¯ll get there, and so will you.¡± ¡°Does that mean you can help the others too?¡± Meeker asks. ¡°I thought there were supposed to be more. Bad mutations?¡± Everyone nods at that. ¡°Well, if you still have contact with them, you can give them the talk for me? Just know that I don¡¯t have the Magic or the Skill to fix what¡¯s already been done.¡± ¡°We go on hunts as night gets closer, I¡¯ll let them know then.¡± I thank the woodland predator. ¡°Do you have some big plan for the rest of us?¡± Beecham asks. ¡°Uh, should I? I have plans to help Katie connect the swarm folk re-connect with Andromeda, then I¡¯m going to focus on getting that shuttle warp capable. Ostensibly, I have the tools, but testing with such dangerous tools will be a long process. But, with you guys and the good doctor, no one¡¯s going to starve. And that means the biggest hurtles will be keeping ourselves comfortable and satisfied while we work. Figure out what that means to you.¡± ¡°Makes sense ma¡¯am, thanks.¡± He lowers his head and nervously wanders over to Melissa. ¡°Uh, you said there was a variety of jerky?¡± OH, whew, I thought he was, like, interested in her or something. Just food. Sweet, I understand that. She seemed delighted to share. I jump when I hear Katie¡¯s voice less than arm¡¯s reach from me. ¡°You look happy with her.¡± ¡°Jeebus! Katie, what the hell.¡± I take a few breaths, ¡°Yeah, though, I am.¡± It¡¯s an awkward statement for me, but I reach out with an equally awkward question. ¡°How¡¯s it with Francesca.¡± ¡°She¡¯s smart, which I like. But her behavior is less consistent than I prefer.¡± I nod at that, I too have noticed the hot and cold personality shifts. Seems based on . . . I really don¡¯t know, nor do I want to put that kind of thought into it. ¡°Now that my social obligation is satisfied, I heard you talking to Beecham about the ansible.¡± That¡¯s Katie to a ¡°T¡±, more forthcoming than when I was with her, but consistent temperament. ¡°Sure did. I like the idea of setting up a real outpost on Astoria. An ansible helps us and it helps get Humans closer to being a part of the Matrix proper.¡± ¡°It is unexpected to see you excited about an organization after expressing your distain for structure in the past. However, your goals align with mine so I¡¯m happy to see it. Now I have some schematics to share with you, and some pieces that will need your attention.¡± Hearing the detached emotion in her voice feels as though she¡¯s trying to smooth over our interactions? Does she want to be friends again!? I can¡¯t help but smile at that. Maybe this¡¯ll be good for us and the colony. B 2, Ch 3: Exchange Wrong again! Me working with Katie for the last two weeks has been a nightmare with Francesca throwing tiny tantrums about it and making snide comments to my girlfriend about my behavior. Melissa and the boys got tired of hearing it and started hanging out with the Mining folks that I still haven¡¯t met. Melissa says that she¡¯s learning from one of the guys with reptile features that knows some Israeli combat techniques and is learning to use her knife better. ¡°Penny, why don¡¯t the runes on this transmission component match the runes on the diagram?¡± She talks and pings my HUD at the same time. ¡°I used the New Species home colony runes.¡± I sent her my diagram. ¡°What? This wasn¡¯t part of my module. And it looks like your part is the easier fix than us building the rest of the ¡®hosting¡¯ section of your diagram.¡± ¡°Where¡¯d perfectionist Katie go?¡± oops, too casual. Katie grimaces as though I slapped her and raises her lips back to growl at me. ¡°The lack of Matrix updates is currently bothering me more than having this piece of future tech having the wrong identity code for your vanity.¡± ¡°If we¡¯re moving on to attacks, I¡¯ll set the fabricator to replicate the part from the scrap I get. We¡¯ll pick this up tomorrow.¡± I walk away, annoyed that we had different resource books and she blames me for it. True, I poked the Vampire when she was frustrated that the machine wasn¡¯t working, but yeesh. My ambling to unscramble my thoughts brings me to pit in the ground where crews were prospecting for various metals for the five months we were on ground before getting ditched. Seems that a cave was dug out of one side and put a hut in it. Just outside the hut are Melissa and five guys discussing her last bout with their instructor. They reset, her with a k-bar like combat knife she definitely didn¡¯t have before, and him with wood carved to the shape of a blade. The reptilian man weaves between her strikes while avoiding her foot stomps and short kicks, then for one of the kicks, he steps into it, catching her foot in his hip and quickly jabs her bound leg before tossing her to the ground. When I would have followed her to the ground to finish her off, he steps back in a sturdy stance ready to avoid her limbs. ¡°How long would that have taken to bleed her out?¡± I ask. The instructor turns to me. ¡°about three minutes or so.¡± He looks at me top to bottom, assessing my threat level, he doesn¡¯t think much of me and I can¡¯t blame him. ¡°You the fussy doctor these guys complain about?¡± ¡°I mean, maybe. Between the two doctors, I like to think I¡¯m the stubborn bossy one, and the botanist is the fussy one?¡± He grins at that, ¡°Heard about the bossy one too. Say she has a plan to get back to Earth and Maybe get some powers?¡± ¡°True on both accounts. I didn¡¯t catch your name?¡± ¡°Decided to go with Viper with the changes. You?¡± I walk closer to him while he talks, ¡°Penny or Merc. Nice to meet you Viper.¡± I hold my hand out. He raises an eyebrow as he grabs it. We shake once and drop them. ¡°Thanks for training folks. Anyone good with a sword?¡± Meeker chimes in, ¡°Fran is really good at fencing, but not a good teacher when she¡¯s angry.¡± ¡°Eyes and Gunnar over there aren¡¯t much for combat. But I¡¯ve been teaching them some self defense as well. Escape tactics¡± Great idea. Everyone should have at least some training, especially advanced runaway maneuvers. I see Melissa just lying on the ground frowning at me. I walk over to help her up and her frown lifts. ¡°So is that the kind of knife girls go for these days?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a nice knife. I want you to make me one.¡± I chuckle at the gleam in her eyes. ¡°Yes dear.¡± I look back to the three crewman that have been at the mine, ¡°Did you guys decide what direction you want to go on onboarding the system?¡± The man with far too many eyes talks ¡°I would like to get the symbiote. See if my mutations can be managed better.¡± I nod at that. ¡°Melissa already gave me a swarm.¡± I nod at Gunnar and squeeze her hip to acknowledge her gung ho attitude. ¡°Offered it to all of us.¡± ¡°I too would like Magic. How does the symbiote feel?¡± ¡°Good question. It¡¯s very odd for a while, by level 8, I stopped being able to feel her moving. By 16, we¡¯ll literally be inseparable. But if you¡¯re asking how magic feels? I use it mostly with tech and engraving, so it¡¯s less hocus pocus or harry potter and more nerdy gnomes in a lab. I¡¯m assured that there are elementalist and wizard-style magics though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait for that then. Thank you for the offer.¡± Melissa wants to get back to training, so I steal some jerky and walk my way back to the fabrication and material storage area. Katie seems to be calibrating something on the needle looking device that is the ansible, and Francesca appears to be venting her rage on some weeds. I find that the part I printed is available. I make sure I¡¯m using the schematic that Katie wants me to use. She verifies that I have the right pattern and get to engraving. Melissa taps me on the shoulder around dusk to get me to look at the time. With my aether eyes mutation I often work just seeing the aether around me with little way of telling the time. *** ¡°What¡¯s this thing supposed to do?¡± Gunnar asks, coming to the farm with the training crew to witness the results of near a month¡¯s labor. Katie responds, ¡°It¡¯s an Aether-Electric communications array that uses a non-dimensional space to convey information across vast distances. This one should connect up to 500 light years away.¡± After five minutes of waiting for it to find a signal, the rest of us go about our business, fifteen minutes after that, I hear a ding.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I had a fight about this with Katie, when I can just hit an okay to convert? Yes please. The ansible shimmers and is replaced with a larger tower, a landing pad, and a small out building. Huh, that¡¯s freaking cool. CETs are somewhat hard to come by for small civilizations. Avoid frivolous spending. Copy that Tessa.
That seems like the big ones? At least for the settlement. Tessa, did you get a big download to explain some of these things to me? Yes, I did. I also hid the vast majority of notifications that you¡¯ve received while synching with Andromeda the proper way. Long story short, Astoria got a huge influx of experience, even those that are waiting for symbiotes had dormant swarm identities that track their first contact date so they¡¯ll get their upgrades too. You should look into purchasing a symbiote host for the gentlemen that want them instead of using your own Symbiote.
x5
x2
Four levels and a host of achievements I haven¡¯t even processed yet?! I guess what we did is a big deal. Tessa laughs in my head. Usually more Users are involved in the creation of such a device, the same can be said with setting up the first ansible connected colony in a non-origin system. This windfall is somewhat disproportionate. ¡°Merc, they going to be okay?¡± the instructor asks me. ¡°Should be, they just got a massive data download. On the plus side, I can purchase your symbiotes from an exchange we just connected to if you¡¯d like to begin the conversion today. Can take up to a week to integrate enough to enable your system. You¡¯ll start with a massive boost though. Should be fun!¡± ¡°As soon as possible.¡± The three other boys agree. There seems to be a screen. Lets beep boop. Comms and exchange seems like what it does. Local host doesn¡¯t mean anything to me, but I¡¯ll ask Tessa later. I go to the exchange menu and see a flood of information. Yikes. Just, let me interface with it. Everyone will be happier. Do I have your permission to make the Symbiote purchases? Yes please and thanks Tessa. I know I¡¯m a hassle. A case as long as my fore-arm phases onto the platform. I open to see five familiar, completely metal syringes. None of them look excited for the symbiote now. I laugh at that, then ask them if they want to, or should I. To my surprise they all volunteer to do it themselves. ¡°That was . . . unpleasant. How do we know when we¡¯re . . . finished?¡± Viper asks. Clearly taking the leader role of the cave cronies. ¡°You should have a small swarm that is helping you interface with the symbiote. From what I understand, the symbiote won¡¯t need the swarm robots assistance after you reach tier 1. Now that we have an ansible, no one should have issues getting updates as they progress instead of one big painful hit.¡± ¡°Any other, ¡®pro tips¡¯?¡± ¡°Like I was telling Meeker, intent and history matter with these mutations/evolutions. Spend some time settling on what changes you really want, and what parts of yourself you wouldn¡¯t mind losing.¡± ¡°What have you lost?¡± Viper seems to want to poke a little, so I¡¯ll feed him something. ¡°I can¡¯t live without Aether. Living on Earth for extended periods will be hard for me. I¡¯m hoping to mutate or evolve past that, but right now, I¡¯m losing my humanity too, just not in a way that you can see.¡± He nods at that, finally realizing my neat tricks weren¡¯t free. Granted, they wouldn¡¯t have had to pay as high a price if Captain Morris wasn¡¯t a complete ass. ¡°Anyway, guys, I have some personal updates to get to. We¡¯ll have some community planning stuff later if you¡¯re interested.¡± Only Eyes nods his interest, the rest of the boys put their hands up and back away. Alright Tessa, que some mods, pick an artifact, then think about mutations.
If my priorities are the same, this is a no brainer. I will Take the deluxe construct package please: The guide, harvesting, and spellforms. I should be able to create you a body with this right? I figure you could help out in a pinch, but mostly, I could upload you into my ship and have you save my ass when I pass out.¡± As much as I appreciate the thought, and think it an excellent idea, the fact you arrived here due to planned recklessness pains me. The mods have been uploaded into your expanded buffer. As for your artifact, let¡¯s key into your choices: A Culinary Manifestor or a Bougie-Boy low-orbit vehicle. Both of these items should be well out of your colony¡¯s tech sphere. It appears that the data for you specifically is skewed by both your Aether-based and science-based warp capabilities. I will be flagging your species¡¯ mechanical warp capabilities as an outlier to their tech sphere so that Exchange censure does not occur in the future. Since these t-1 gift options are Matrix recommended, they will not be suspect to censure. That sounds like a lot of stupid legalese, but something Andromeda has had to deal with multiple times. Sounds like one exception is fine, but 7 billion exceptions breaks things. Makes sense, especially after I was analyzed by Andromeda themselves. Moving on for now. Cliffs notes of the two devices please? Your laziness is taxing. And as a researcher, you should be ashamed. The Culinary Manifestor can create any mundane recipe out of Aether for an Isarian Standard Family Unit: or 5 and 1/3 people. The vehicle is a ship created by a space-faring people that only used ships around planet to shelter their skin from solar radiation. It is t-1 for them, and unattainable for humanity at this time, in fact, both are unattainable outside of this offer. On one hand, any food I can think of sounds amazing. But for only 5 and 1/3 people it seems a bit lackluster. The ship, however, will get me to space again, and possibly provide for tech and magitech upgrades for several of us. Sounds like a winner. I select the Bougie-Boy and a mis-aligned cylinder drops in my hand. It glows when I align the runes on the rod and then a 30m space yacht appears next to me. ¡°Oh fuck yeah!¡± I expect it to let me in as I run at it, and all available entry stairs and ramps deploy. I aim at the one toward the front and see a pair of lounge-like pilot chairs and various dials and buttons. I squee like a wounded animal in my excitement and run back past the privacy door? I downloaded the schematics? I shudder with pleasure. The opulence of the rest of the ¡°vessel¡± is unparalleled, but the thrust systems are rudimentary at best. The Andromedins that made this must have had a magic or telepathy-based propulsion system. ¡°Andromeda, this is glorious. Is there anyway I can, like attune this rod to me, or embed it in my skin or something? I don¡¯t want anyone to be able to steal it.¡±
/MUTATION PROPOSAL ACCEPTED. MODIFYING USER: HUMAN PRIMUS/
My mouth is going to get me killed. Especially with so many things reading my mind. My whole body seized and I black out, yet again. B 2, Ch 4: Talking Shop I awaken to the sweet voice of my girlfriend, ¡°Pen pen, did you spend community funds on a Princess Yacht?¡± accusing me of being a corrupt official. ¡°No, Mel, this was my lvl 16 artifact. I figured, that we could study this . . . craft and get some more levels. And it will take me to space. Baby. I need to be in space or I¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°Oh my god, no. You do not get to have a space jones, Penny.¡± I pout, on the verge of crying. I just woke up from horrible pain, and the woman I love is denying me my dreams. ¡°But Meli, this plush conveyance fits 10 and has a bedroom.¡± She blinks at me, dumbfounded. ¡°I guess we¡¯re moving in then.¡± I sit up and kiss her cheek. ¡°Glad you¡¯re okay, and glad you don¡¯t want me to give back my ship.¡± I look around to find that I¡¯m lying on a couch with tables nearby. Is this a dining area on a shuttle? No wonder it¡¯s named Bougie-Boy. ¡°Is it time for a community meeting?¡± ¡°Considering Summers is about ready to flay you to get to them Tokens, yeah, it¡¯s time for a meeting.¡± I reach up to get help, and Melissa grabs my arm while staring. ¡°Your new tattoos are glowing?¡±
Shit. I¡¯m moving farther and farther from being able to go back to Earth. Maybe next time I mutate my food to aether skill. At least the tattoo looks cool. We step off of the Yacht and out of pure curiosity I push on my skin to rotate the dial like the rod would have done, and the tattoo moves and the ship disappears into light and flies into my arm. ¡°That is so damned cool.¡± ¡°Yes, your freakishness is very amazing, come on now. Chop Chop.¡± Melissa teases me as she leads me back to the farm. When she pulls me in, a bunch of people, like 20 or so are looking at me. Might be duplicates. No idea why my vision is fuzzy. ¡°Hi crew! Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?!¡± I say to the room. Am I drunk? ¡°IS she drunk?¡± Eyes asks. ¡°No, she¡¯s just coming off a rather extensive mutation, it seems.¡± My bestest girl says. ¡°Community stuff! We got an assimilation gift! I haven¡¯t accepted it yet.¡± ¡°That ship wasn¡¯t the gift? What the hell was that then?!¡± Botanist is accusing me again, I don¡¯t like her. Melissa snickers at my thoughts. Lousy mind reader. I snicker and tell her I love her. ¡°The ship was my t-1 advancement artifact. See friends, T-1 is a solid goal. ANYWAY. We have a gift and a substantial amount of points for progress. What¡¯re we thinking about?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have access, Penny, and Frannie can only look.¡± I ask Tessa to show me the buttons to push to get everyone in the room viewing rights to the colony console. I appoint Katie as temporary administrator, beneath the mayor which is me. For now. ¡°Ah, the community options are . . . limited without access to the CETs for the Ansible.¡± Voting system for the 5 of us, engage, but Mayor gets two votes in the event of a tie. ¡°We now have a representative democracy! Woo! We have access to the exchange, we have a gift waiting. Lets look some things over and see what we need.¡± This is where I caution you not to exceed your species technology level. Can you interface with Ophelia to make sure what I¡¯m seeing deconflicts with what she¡¯s seeing? Yes, her neural link much more robust than when we started. Wow, my list is much different. I want to buy some of these things for me. But no, I need to get Frannie onboard and I¡¯m not going to do it with thievery and corruption. ¡°I¡¯m voting infrastructure for a thousand with the Aether-electric generator and waste processing plant that the acquisition gift wants to give us.¡± I say. ¡°And I say we should invest in the advanced farm plots for more food.¡± Our botanist says. ¡°And I say we look at town fortifications.¡± How much would that cost us Tessa? Food, space, and protection for 1k residents. 478 CETs. Of 567. They argued when I told them, but shortly after the bickering started, I asked which they would willingly sacrifice. None of them spoke up. ¡°Is there any reason it has to be this building?¡± Katie asks. ¡°Just that the ansible building has to be within the borders of our claim. If we were near the mountains we might bet more defensible area out of it.¡± ¡°We might also invite more digging back doors.¡± ¡°What if we need these points when we get back to Earth?¡± and the elephant in the room is addressed. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be able to use them until we built a new ansible.¡± I answer. ¡°You two did that in three weeks, how hard can it be?¡± Viper asks. Katie flips her tablet to the crowd. ¡°It would take approximately thirty years to build an orbital ansible large enough to connect with the closest Andromeda relay. Which is, as far as I can tell, here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even with the new star charts?¡± I ask. Katie nods. ¡°Sol is in the middle of nowhere. There seem to be more promising habitable planets much closer to Earth, but no proof that they are Matrix ready.¡± ¡°Thirty years? Can¡¯t you just order one of those things and transport it home?¡± ¡°Eyes, buddy, I don¡¯t mean to be insulting. But I can¡¯t even transport 7 people to Earth right now, let alone a piece of tech the size of a moon. ¡° ¡°I just think we should discuss this with the others too.¡± Eyes chimes in. ¡°Eyes, I¡¯m not trying to exclude anyone, but we¡¯ve got the leaders of Science, Logistics, Habitat, Communications, and Militia here and I though that would be sufficient to have this meeting, and the others said they didn¡¯t want to be involved. Has something changed?¡± He shakes his head. Viper chimes in, ¡°The others are worried that the two of you,¡± he points at Melissa and me, ¡°seem happy here and that may influence your priorities.¡± ¡°It definitely will,¡± Melissa says, ¡°but it doesn¡¯t change that Penny promised to get everyone to Earth that wants to go.¡± ¡°I do want to stick it to Copernicus command for abandoning us here. If you can¡¯t trust a promise AND vengeance, what can you trust?¡± I get a smirk from Viper, which lets me know he understands vengeance. ¡°I looked at the Exchange and saw that our weapons choices aren¡¯t that great and they¡¯re expensive.¡± Viper notes. ¡°My AI tells me that the Exchange limits to the native technology of the colony. Also, she says that the exchange price is for a pre-made weapon bought from the artisan that made it.¡± I hear some rumblings of ¡°bullshit¡± and ¡°that¡¯s a dumb way to do things¡± but I obviously have more insight as the Human Primus. ¡°However, we can buy a fabricator that takes exchange blueprints and schematics that can print any mundane tech for a much-reduced price. Save the fabricator costs 100CE. Think of a CE as 2-5 million US$ before you get any ideas.¡± Melissa whistles. ¡°So, 300 ish million for a machine that can make any mundane weapon?¡± I nod, ¡°Then I agree on that fabricator and six weapon prints.¡± ¡°Can it print any mundane schematic? Even building and farm parts?¡± I nod. ¡°I agree on the machine, not the weapons.¡± ¡°Okay, purchasing the fabricator, 3 weapons forms and a fab-lab slash workshop.¡± ¡°I asked for 6.¡± Viper accused. ¡°Yeah, and I figured that you could select your squad weapons and ask me for any artillery you need. Since we can¡¯t buy magical small arms or large weapons, and I can make larger scale runic devices, I figure I get a lab for the CEs you¡¯d spend on artillery pieces.¡± He grumbles at that but accepts. I feel that he wanted other options but hearing that magic was on the table, he relented. ¡°What about us?¡± Francesca asks. ¡°Do we get fun toys too?¡± ¡°Sure, as long as it someway benefits Summer Station. Viper¡¯s request helps in our defense against the Aether warped animals that are coming, and my request for a lab helps Melissa, me and the new tech fam to advance. As long as it¡¯s nothing straight personal, I¡¯m game to put it forward. You all also have the ability to vote against these proposals, but haven¡¯t yet.¡± ¡°Well, I want a seed and GMO lab.¡± ¡°Nice, will that enable animal husbandry, such as raising my bacon-chickens?¡± She nods reluctantly. ¡°Any not agree?¡± Nobody made an indication. Oof, 180CE down, 327 to go. ¡°Okay, I would also like to add that much of the personal stuff, like weapon schematics and plant genetic patterns can be bought with AE, or aether exchange tokens. Kill some warped beasts or advance the Colony, and get rewarded with AE. Spend as you will. The other CE¡¯s will be kept and reviewed by this committee as we move along. If Katie, the very logical logistician, feels we need to spend 10CE or less on incidentals, she has the permission to do so. ¡°Keep in mind that community projects earn CEs as well as achievements. Not sure exactly what that entails, but the cagey info I¡¯m getting suggests that.¡± ¡°Can we spend some CE on berthing? The ground kinda sucks.¡± Eyes asks. ¡°Katie, can you take care of the placement of the two buildings and the Powerplant?¡± She nods and starts listing necessities for long-term berthing. While everyone¡¯s distracted by the talk of comfy beds, I sneak out of the ansible hall. ¡°That was almost as stressful as a hull breach.¡± I huff for breath while I walk out to a dense set of trees and start wailing on them with my saber. If there¡¯s anything you wanted to purchase for yourself, now¡¯s the time. Your ansible is about to run out of energy for a 48 hour period because of the buildings and the Utilities Center. Sure Tessa, but all I can think of are some mass-engraving tools, an enchanting matrix, and a personal dimensional storage space. Two of those exist as practicable. Mass-engraving is beyond your magitech level. You currently have 12,241 AE for personal use. The enchanting matrix can also be bought with CE. The bedroom on the bougie boy was intended as a cargo bay and can be considered personal dimensional storage. I totally forgot that it counts. The ¡°bedroom¡± alone is like 30-33 cu. meters. I still want a backpack though, and maybe a sidearm if I get desperate. ¡°You okay hon?¡± I hear a familiar voice from behind me. ¡°Yeah, Mel. It¡¯s just that trying to embody a leader is taxing.¡± ¡°Seemed to do fine to me,¡± She hugs me from behind. ¡°Better you than Francesca or Viper though.¡± ¡°I get that, but just ¡®cause I got magic and tech first makes me the best leader? I find that hard to believe.¡± I raise my arm to squeeze her hand and hold it. ¡°I got us stranded on a planet 2700 light years from home, after all.¡± ¡°Nope. You don¡¯t get to blame yourself for that. Morris did that. And you have to remember, that not believing yourself is basically accusing a hyper intelligent AI that has assessed like a thousand sentient races that it was wrong in its assessment of you. You¡¯re not arrogant enough to believe that are you babe?¡± No, but I can sulk that hard. ¡°You¡¯re right. I like the idea of starting a space-faring colony away from Earth, but the idea of leading it terrifies me. But no one here wants this like I do, so who else will man the controls?¡± Melissa hugs me tighter. ¡°You know I have to return to Earth before I commit to a life here right?¡± I can¡¯t help to laugh about that. She pinches me, thinking I¡¯m making fun of her. ¡°I expected that, Meli-bear. I want to see how long it takes me to need to come back, and I assumed I¡¯d be in a lot of government meetings, meeting your family, etc.¡± She turns me for a quick kiss and a smile, ¡°What about your family?¡± What about it? Those political pieces of . . . wait. I¡¯m the mayor of a colony and ruler of an independent state. ¡°Holy shit, Mel. My parents might actually respect me if I came back responsible for a whole star system.¡± ¡°Pfft. Even if your dad was the US President, they¡¯d have to respect the Empress of Astoria.¡± ¡°Meli! We talked about that.¡± ¡°Yes, we did, and I reserved the right to call you whatever I wanted to, my Queen.¡± Fuck me. When she says the last one it shakes a shiver of lust through me. The kiss on my neck as she says it, doesn¡¯t help. ¡°Melissa, is this you asking me to test out the new shuttle?¡± ¡°I hear there¡¯s a waterfall with our name on it.¡± I can¡¯t help but cackle at that. Holy shit, there totally was. ¡°We have to do a planetary survey first, then a Lusty Falls trip.¡± ¡°I could do with some exploring. Can I bring some work with me?¡± ¡°Of Course? What am I, some slave driver? No Mel. I just need some passive sensor monitoring and you can do whatever you need. I¡¯m sure Viper, Fran and Katie would love the data. Not to mention that we should get some colonization xp and CEs.¡± ¡°Sure, invite your girlfriend on a date and then tell her we have to work all the time.¡± I cough before summoning the Shuttle. /Summer Station, DE Astoria. Setting out on low-orbit survey. Approximate mission time, three days./ /Copy Astoria. We need rare metals and any condensed aether sources./ /Will live-update world map. Astoria out./ Melissa and I climb into the Bougie Boy and she calculates the best coverage for our sensor suite. There¡¯s apparently an auto pilot on this bad-boy so I make sure the preferred sensor distribution altitude and speed is set and proceed to ambush my girlfriend with smooches. B 2 Ch 5: Of Bags and Booze ¡°Penny, there¡¯s at least 100 sites of interest, why are we continuing to survey.¡± ¡°Melissa, we¡¯re one day out from a complete survey. Hold your ponies lady.¡± ¡°But I finished the remote relay you wanted me to work on! I¡¯m bored!¡± Tessa, I can give quests now right? Affirmative. I want to issue a quest to Melissa and Katie to make a community control center that can remote control containers and ships to close Astoria orbit, with relays to embed into the vehicles for nav control. You need to set rewards. Andromeda will set xp for skills used, but money is up to the community. Does 1CE wortth of AE and a 2CE bonus for extending it to GEO synch orbit sound okay. The base exchange for your world at the moment is 10kAE per CE. Your reward is mediocre for a colony achievement, but the bonus takes it to above average. Your team tends to overachieve, so it should work out. Lets register that quest then. I also want to issue a 2CE quest for security prep for a warped animal incursion. Spread amongst the involved personnel, 1CE bonus for completing it within a month. All paid in AE. 30k in AE is high over five people. Granted, you expect them to fund ancillary expenses themselves, it doesn¡¯t seem too bad. I feel as though I should provide Francesca some husbandry bonuses. 5k AE for a sustainable colony of meat animals. Additional 5k for variety of sustainable creatures? You should also pay Francesca and Katie an AE salary for their continued colony benefit. 10 AE a day should be sufficient. 50AE when quests are not available. Make it so number one. Seriously Tessa, you should be doing this. Although, my luck, you are forbidden to take control as though you were a citizen. Though, I would be interested in creating you a whole persona that you could be a citizen if you wanted. Those sound like equitable taskings. I would like such freedoms, but I am mandated to caution you the dangers of awarding me freedom. Wow. Your geas must be strong. I will ask my big-brained friends, but since you¡¯re developing into an entity of yourself, I want you to have some agency. ¡°Astoria just offered me a quest. Is that you?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. You wondered what was next. Well, if I want an orbital station or planetary transit control. The ansible and your array will make our expansion much easier to execute.¡± ¡°But why am I working with Katie?¡± She doesn¡¯t sneer at me, but that tactical eyebrow is effective. ¡°Katie is geared toward communication and Magitech interfacing. You are focused on Psi, AI and Bio-tech interfaces. You two are optimally skilled to make a global AI assistance interface and I want one for my potential galactic empire.¡± ¡°Okay Merc Queen. I¡¯m gonna hit your numbers and get the implants that I want.¡± I know she has a cyberpunk image in her mind, and I don¡¯t care much, but I don¡¯t want a mod-fiend in my midst. /Penny, DE Katie, your quest is adequate. I require a consult with Hunsaker immediately/ /Katie, Melissa is currently occupied for one more day of survey/ /You¡¯re being difficult. Is this because you¡¯re sleeping with her?/ /Katie, I¡¯ve been inside of both of you. Your brains are what I want for this quest and neither of you give in professionally. Do some research. Out/ Ugh, I felt nasty for that. Katie didn¡¯t necessarily deserve that but the shade on Melissa wasn¡¯t great either. More on that, I guess I hate a challenge on my perceived authority. Blah. Stupid authority. Tessa, I want to hold enough CE to put up a moderate shield for the colony. I also want a line on an Aether condenser if it exists. It does, but is largely advised against for long-term sustainability. An aether-based population of any significant size suffers from Aether refineries. Copy Tessa, but if we make contact with Earth again, I¡¯m going to need a supplemental Aether source love. Maybe once we get back to Earth I can . . . shit. Diplomacy and planning. I want to cry. /SUMMER STATION: Aether warped within 1km. YELLOW ALERT/ Damnit. ¡°Mel, taking fastest approach to Summer Station. Prepare for manual re-entry.¡± Melissa kisses me and straps in. *** I land the shuttle next to the large seemingly concrete structure that was assembled in my absence. There is a convenient pad of asphalt-looking material next to it, larger than the ship I am piloting. The building was placed about halfway between the pond by the hills and the Summer Station farm house and Ansible buildings. I store the shuttle and port Melissa and I to the Ansible. ¡°Hey Katie, saw the alert, where do you need us?¡± I ask? ¡°You¡¯re deferring to someone now? That¡¯s nice for a change.¡± Katie might have well snarled at me. Instead it came out as haughty and dismissive. I want to fight at the accusation. ¡°You ordered and installed the warning system, and I just got here, so yep.¡± ¡°It was a Yellow Alert. Something I projected that Viper and his detail could handle, and they did.¡± She doesn¡¯t look away from her screen once. ¡°Ah, good. So I guess that Red Alert is when you need everyone. Since we have a neat defense grid now, I should tell you my AI and I got some high Aether vibes in this direction from . . . Yes, please send her the data Tessa, a possible source of the warped animals.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll correlate this with the Voosel attack and see what we find. Is there anything else?¡± Yeah, Katie, if you¡¯re this cross with me, we should talk about a lot. ¡°Yeah, thanks for setting up Summer Station.¡± I walk out of Katie¡¯s control center and sigh. >M] And you want me to work with her?![< >P] I want to get Astoria moving toward a livable settlement. Please don¡¯t burn the building down. [< Melissa growls in my brain and turns our connection off. Oof, she is mad. Well, best way to distract from life¡¯s drama is to work, right? To the Lab!. No wait, I have some things I need to purchase. To the Exchange control panel!
--> List --> Buy
Input:
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I chose storage items and search spatial or dimension or space. It shows me a list of some wacky storage items for interstellar travel, but not seeing a backpack. Okay, refining search: Bag, sack, satchel, Backpack, with my previous terms relegated to meta data sarch.
Query Results (Keywords: Bag, sack, satchel, backpack):
Item Name Rating Description Price
Smuggler¡¯s Trunk 1EIA A chest that lightens the objects stored within 1,000 AE
Timeout Crate 1IAC A pen to displace unruly animals 700 AE
Portable Archive 2EEA A self-organizing storage room to take your library with you. 7,000 AE
Okay, the last one sounds like what I want. Why is it so expensive though? It¡¯s almost a whole CE. The quality and craftmanship is mid-range with an excellent magical rating. Pocket dimensions are also tier 2+ magics. The 4 character code for magical items is the quality of the base-level craft, such as a bag or a box. This is an average of the materiel and crafting of the item qualities range from basic, novice, intermediate, advanced, expert, master, Pinnacle. The next is the quality of the spell work or engraving, same range. And finally, the power rating of the magic, which is the same alphabet ranking as your power rating. Pure tech has tier, material, and craftsmanship. Machitech is complicated as it has tier, item quality (average of material and craft), Integration rating (spell work + Aether and tech fusion rating), and Power (combination of tech power and magic power). Your Ansible is currently rated 1ABA, which is far above average for a new species. That¡¯s a lot to think about. But . . . I want that bag. I look deeper into the description and though it is shaped for larger books, it has to completely enclose said book and transports and recalls them one at a time. Hmm, this doesn¡¯t seem as perfect as I was hoping. Guess I¡¯ll just stick with the ship right now. I take a look at firearms and personal defenses and purchase a 2IEA personal shield matrix and a 1IIB plasma rifle for 2.7kAE and 400 AE respectfully. With enough to buy the bag if I can¡¯t live without it. I also take a look at the listing part of the exchange, and decide to offer the old sundering bench for sale. The Ansible models the unit and pushes a nominal description and base listing. I change the description to include a non-living tag for targets. The overall dimensions and sundering rates are listed already, and it was appraised as a 1NIS. Shit, I made that after my Aether Walking mutations. I wonder if that¡¯s going to get me looked at. It absolutely will. But with an Advanced runeshape with an ¡°S¡± power rating, you could sell that for 3k even though it¡¯s only a T-1 item. I wouldn¡¯t list anything like your sundering staves though. Not yet at least. Uh, thanks? That¡¯s a creepy way to say wait to post more. But I take her advice and list the bench at 3k and log out of the terminal. I pick up my shield unit and rifle and go try and find the security team. I know I was excited for crafting at first, but browsing weapons made me realize I should check on the symbiote integrations of our mutated friends. I ask Tessa to hook us into the Ansible¡¯s data connection and into the security monitoring whatever Katie setup so that I can find Viper and his team. Some might consider it an abuse of power, but I¡¯m going to hand waive that and think about that later. Tomorrow Penny will have morals, I¡¯m sure of it. When I see a black and tan scaled man in green fatigues I pop the shield up on my suit. He looks every bit a special forces mercenary in that getup and his serpentine features make the look more menacing. ¡°Looking dangerous there, Viper. Thanks for taking out the Voosels.¡± He turns to look at me, tasting the air as I approach. ¡°It¡¯s a good look yah? The boys and I wanted to test our shop gear out anyway. Got us a decent haul of AE as well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! How¡¯s everyone doing with the symbiotes? Full integration for everyone?¡± He scratches a claw behind his ear hole, ¡°Meeker is happy as a husky in winter, but Beecham and Eyes didn¡¯t take it as well. I¡¯m pretty happy as well. These tracks they have available for us are a trip. Meeker actually got the ¡®Jedi¡¯ track. Said you promised him a lightsaber.¡± A deep belly laugh flows out of me. Universe does it feel good to hear that at least two of the symbiote users are liking their changes. ¡°I take it you found a track you like?¡± I ask round-about, trying not to pry to hard. ¡°I have ideas, and so far it seems I¡¯ll get there.¡± He takes a big breath and locks eyes with me. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to hassle you, but I got your quest, and the boys and I don¡¯t have a lot to make that happen. We could use a loan, or some of your magic weapons to help get it done.¡± ¡°I¡¯d gladly trade some martial training for a few runic weapons. But if you want more than bombs or energy melee weapons, I¡¯ll have to do some experimenting. But loans are gonna be a no go for now. I have another quest I want to push out, but setting the security procedures and basic defenses for the first quest would set y¡¯all up better for the search and discover one I have in mind.¡± ¡°Yah, that trade sounds fine. Now that you¡¯ve called attention to it, the quest doesn¡¯t say anything about gear and personnel does it?¡± ¡°It does not.¡± ¡°Yeah, alright. I¡¯ll get you a list of one item I want for each of my team-mates, as soon as you hand over at least one, I¡¯ll start training you. I¡¯ll train you to Beginner 1, and we¡¯ll be square?¡± ¡°B-1 in knives, and gain the skill in Hand-to-hand and you have a deal.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± He walks away, picks up the weapons he was training with then turns back to me. ¡°There¡¯s some trouble brewing Boss. The fussy doctor is kicking up some dust.¡± He chuckles at his dirt joke. I thank him again, hoping that he knows it¡¯s for more than just the extra info. >P]Hey hon, you surviving the vampire? [< >M] Eh, yah. She¡¯s easier to deal with when she¡¯s working. Talk to you later? [< I ping her with an affirmative chirp. Well, I suppose I should talk to Francesca? Boo. Being a diplomat sucks. I find her with Tessa¡¯s aid and find her in her new grow house. ¡°Hey Doc, how¡¯re things?¡± She turns on me with rage in her eyes. ¡°You come here, after giving me a quest to raise chickens, and you¡¯re asking how I am?!¡± The shrieks make me cover my ears. ¡°I¡¯m a BOTANIST not a fucking farmer, Penny.¡± ¡°The colony needs some sustainable protein, Botanist, and unless you have some super-beans on the list that taste like bacon, these ¡°chickens¡± are going to fit protein and morale purposes.¡± I take a deep breath and continue, ¡°I realize that maybe your quest isn¡¯t the best, but you, Katie, and Viper are now salaried employees and are making the equivalent of at least a thousand dollars a day.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? And what are you paying yourself?¡± This bitch. I swear I¡¯m going to slap her nose off. ¡°I¡¯m not. I figure my System Custodian privileges are all I should get. I¡¯m not issuing myself quests, and I don¡¯t get a salary. You¡¯re one of the 5 designated voters, you can check the assignment logs.¡± I stand there, awkwardly trying to calm myself down without looking in her direction. ¡°Is there something you want to talk about Francesca? You seem more on edge than usual?¡± She sighs and walks over to a tap hidden in the wall, ¡°GMO corn-based shine?¡± ¡°Doctor, pioneer, and entrepreneur? I accept.¡± She pours us both a dram. It smells like the cleanest alcohol I¡¯ve ever smelled. Tastes like nothing but pain. ¡°Jeesus Doc, that shit is clean and strong. What¡¯re you selling this for?¡± ¡°Selling? Why would I sell this, it¡¯s my private stock. I use it to prep experiments and clean my experiments.¡± I stare at her, mouth agape. ¡°Are you serious?! Francesca, Doc, buddy. Put a little flavor on this and Astorians would pay an AE for a cup of this marvel. Have you never talked with Katie about business?¡± Bringing up her girlfriend sours her face something fierce. Ten minutes of sipping has her collect my cup and pour us another. Fifteen minutes later she starts speaking again. ¡°Things aren¡¯t great right now. After we got off of the ship, she¡¯s gotten more distant. I thought it was your fault at first¡ªyou should have seen how she lit up when you two were working on the ansible¡ªbut then, her behavior continued to get worse and more bitter.¡± If they¡¯d never talked business since we got here . . . ¡°It¡¯s not exactly a secret, but if you haven¡¯t talked business with Katie, I¡¯m sure that she¡¯s feeling neglected, but in a way that makes her feel you don¡¯t acknowledge her intelligence.¡± Doc gives me a side-eye that doesn¡¯t quit. And doesn¡¯t quit. ¡°Look, being smart, logical, and objective is a part of her identity. If she doesn¡¯t feel you accept and recognize that, she¡¯s not going to feel seen. She probably just wants to feel like you see her Francesca.¡± We¡¯re quiet for a time. Time enough to empty our shine. ¡°You really think I could make AE with this stuff?¡± ¡°Yeah, Doc. Especially for moments like this.¡± I ask her if she has any bottles to fill, and she says she has half liter bottles, so I ask for one and pay her 10 AE for the trouble. Way too much for a casual bottle of booze, but the sentiment was there. I que up an order for gelled fuel for experimentation purposes and walk my way to the Lab building. B 2, Ch 6: Booms and Chooms ¡°Wait, wait. What the hell is this?¡± I¡¯ve been embroiled in experiments with the warp rune I earned over a month ago, with little progress. The warp front seems stable on all of my runes but it doesn¡¯t envelop the item it¡¯s attached to like I am used to. I try to ask Tessa but she says she¡¯s not allowed to help, but keeps laughing at me. She¡¯s definitely got her own personality now that her and my Symbiote merged. My last experiment was a box theoretically configured to warp a grenade a configurable distance away, but when I think I got it figured out, it flashed with pearlescent light and morphed into a hand-held sphere with movable rings. ¡°The fuck is this thing? I made it, so I should get to know what it is damnit!¡± my anger flashes aether in my area and it pings? Against the device.
What the hell? I enrage and finally get an inspection skill. I pulse my aura at the device on purpose this time.
Antimatter Grenade 3IAS device has the capability to warp twice. The second warp is set to BOOM Pricing unavailable
Tessa, what the fuck is this. This seems like I¡¯m the guy that made the nuclear bomb and said, OOPS. And TIER 3?! You have stumbled upon a planet killer. Your personal power tied with your species hammer-like approach to technology has created something more destructive than a t-1 entity should be capable of. Expect to be contacted by the Supercluster Council. DAMNIT!! Hmm, give me an estimated yield for my accident. 200Mtons of TnT, minimal radiation. Uhh. Where do I hide something like this? Do I sell it for CEs and decide it¡¯s other people¡¯s problem? Tessa punches my psyche in response. ¡°Owww. I¡¯m panicking okay? I¡¯m sorry.¡± I rub my temples for a few minutes. ¡°I need a sounding board because my private experiments aren¡¯t working.¡± Katie and Melissa¡¯s project is at the low-orbit stage. They are having trouble reaching the 12,000 km distance for AI control in GEO synchronous orbit. TLDR: They should have time to help you. /Katie, Melissa, I could use a sounding board for my warp project/ I get two immediate pings of agreement.
*** ¡°PENNY! We don¡¯t care how it used to work! FUCK.¡± Melissa is throwing pieces of toaster strudel at me. Katie takes a swig of my 10 AE shine. ¡°Your paramour is right, the warp rune is not behaving as the Annihilator Propulsor did. It seems more efficient and less violent. I have been correlating data with Tessa and . . .¡± ¡°Woah, woah, who gave you permission to jack into her brain?¡± ¡°Tessa and Ophie have an amicable relationship and they¡¯ve been sharing.¡± Katie says calmly, expecting it to be obvious. ¡°I¡¯m kind of tired of you both intruding in my mind, Bee Tee Dub.¡± ¡°Regardless, I think that because of your previous hammer approach changing to a more gentle cutting approach, space time is no longer rebounding around your desired object.¡± What? That¡¯s a big deal? ¡°Your tone sucks, but your observation lends to having to propel an object through instead of the re-bound!¡± Melissa replies. ¡°Exactly so.¡± Katie smiles in her vampire way at my girlfriend. ¡°I see why she likes you.¡± ¡°Katie, no adding my girl to your Harem. But also, that¡¯s phenomenal insight. I would have missed that for months.¡± Katie smirks with her sexy canines, Melissa blushes. Bah. Meli¡¯s not a cheater, but Katie is a Vampire Countess. Bah. ¡°Thanks ladies. I was stumped on why my efforts weren¡¯t working. Back to experiments and moonshine.¡± Both Melissa and Katie fidget before Katie speaks, ¡°Frannie is hosting a BBQ tomorrow with some of the new murder chickens. Can you two come?¡± Mel is smiling at me with thumbs up, ¡°Yah, we can come. I look forward to seeing what the Doc has come up with.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Why does it feel like facing the whole colony feel like defeat? Our being stranded here feels like my fault, despite what Mel, Katie, or Tessa say. It also feels like two months should be enough time to find a warp solution, but so far, all I¡¯ve figured out is a better way to war crime. I end up taking a break to continue my martial training with Viper, hoping to relieve some of this anxiety. He ruthlessly kicks my ass. I have learned Knife Fighting and Hand-to-Hand as a result of this near-daily brawling endeavor. Not sure I¡¯d call it ¡°training¡± though. Viper seems to be taking my slowed research against me, as though he doesn¡¯t realize that breaking time off to make his weapons means less time to research getting them home. Red lights start flashing.
//RED ALERT¡ª30+ Aether signatures within 10km of Summer station.//
Shit. I stow my knife on my calf and throw half my uniform back on. The boys now have plasma mortars, but I haven¡¯t come up with any gun-type weapons, and to be honest, don¡¯t want to. They can buy those for the 5k AE they earned. ¡°Mel! Send drones to the bomb silos!¡± ¡°Aye boss. Targeting center of mass (CoM) outside of blast radius. 2 minutes.¡± ¡°Astoria, napalm turrets primed and ready for close defense.¡± ¡°Thanks Katie, make sure Mel and Viper have a link with you. NM, sorry, you¡¯re on that.¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± She dismisses me. ¡°Viper, Jedi, Call fire support. Astoria on mortars and emergency egress.¡± I get copies all around. I know that they have this, but I can¡¯t help myself¡ªI just hope they¡¯re not annoyed. The initial 30 was just the vanguard. Two hundred mana-warped of mixed species assaulted us that afternoon. I got hit by our own Napalm twice with furious apologies. Sorry not sorry? Meh, what¡¯s done and all that. ¡°Incursion repelled boss. Close wounded being hauled to Farm. Request collection.¡± Viper, consummate professional. He calls me in because I get the best AE to core ratio and my fee is free because of it. I also feel he gets a rise out of watching me butcher these fuckers for money. Melissa and Beecham come out to dress the corpses. ¡°Alright gents, and Melissa, we¡¯re going to confirm and eliminate the source of this warping. An assault a week is stressing our ability to respond.¡± I que in the quest. 100k to confirm and retrieve the Aether source that is warping the wildlife. Astoria¡¯s citizens look at me like I just handed them free money. What they haven¡¯t considered, I muse while pulling out aether pearls from the warped beasts, is that these are likely the weaker of the warped that have been pushed out of the original source¡¯s area. We¡¯re probably putting off a large amount of power, so it makes sense to me that they¡¯d be searching for easy power here. Tessa, what do you think about the massive amount of warped creatures? I think your deductions are sound. I would further postulate that it is not a natural occurrence as aether rifts are most often temporary. Perhaps a piece of rock that got caught up in the wake of Copernicus abandoning us. Okay, aether infused rock. From what I¡¯ve been reading in my enchanting modules, it would have to be a rock with high ore density or perhaps a geode. If we¡¯re lucky it¡¯s a geode and I can use it as a power source. If we¡¯re unlucky . . . I don¡¯t even know. I should take a sundering staff and hope that the process breaks the lattice holding the aether in place. I ask our council of five if they¡¯re okay with releasing the awarded 5CE to Viper to fund our expedition, and only Francesca pushed back. Then I explained that there were bound to be a plethora of warped flora she could research after we clear the site, and then she got excited about the prospect. Viper asked if we could load his team in the back of the Indulgent (ASS-1), my bougie boy transport that I christened as a spaceship, and survey the proposed direction. ¡°You know I can¡¯t land in those trees though right?¡± I tell him. ¡°There are versions of your aether-charged debris theory that would clear some of the trees. I also have an idea to use you as bait while we parachute in and destroy the thing while you draw them away.¡± ¡°That sounds very dangerous and slightly suicidal.¡± ¡°Look, Boss, I don¡¯t tell you how to build space ships. Don¡¯t tell me how to fight a combat team.¡± He seems more annoyed than angry. I¡¯m embarrassed just the same. ¡°Sorry about that. Sometimes I feel like I should be more involved, but what I need to remember is that everyone here is a smart and capable person.¡± He snorts, ¡°Don¡¯t hurt yourself. A lot of leaders feel that way, but it makes it look like you don¡¯t trust us to do the job without you.¡± I wipe a hand across my hair and tug on my ponytail. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m trying to do at all.¡± I take a deep breath and look up into his reptilian eyes. ¡°When do you want that shuttle ride, and when you briefing the mission to the Station?¡± ¡°Two days in the Ansible lobby. Need time to train on new weapons and new tactics. Have your . . . ship ready to go.¡± ¡°Copy that Viper.¡± While I¡¯m walking back to the Ansible, I¡¯m reminded that the Magitech controller I¡¯d bought got used in my ¡°Oopsie¡± bomb and I needed another one. Which then reminded me that I needed to split the 1274 AE seven ways and send them out. It¡¯s not a ton of money, but it should be enough for something decent. The controllers are only 20 AE a piece, so I buy two of them and two hand-held screens for 50AE. I remember to buy a crate of ampules before checking my balance: 15191 AE. What? Oh! The sundering bench must have sold! And for quite a lot of money, holy cow. Good recommendation Tessa, thanks for the assist. She chirps in my head. I put a flag on a new Navigation system for my ship, one capable of navigating interstellar space and connecting to a magic-based drive system once my warp runes work the way I want them to. I pick up my gear and waddle to the ship I just summoned and move the gear back to the workshop building. There¡¯s space in here for everyone to set up their own private space, but the boys seem to prefer working outside, Katie¡¯s got the Ansible lobby as her primary space, and Francesca stays with her farm projects. Which means I get a whole floor to myself. I moved the fabricator and a lot of tools to the top floor shop via VTOL to the roof. Time to get back to work. I take in mind what Melissa and Katie suggested this morning and sketched out some plans for a small drone to test my warp rune moving forward through it. I could have bought a drone, but I need practice on Magitech interfaces and programming the damned systems. Tessa also assured me that I could eventually control such things with thought if I got Mellissa to change my bracelet some. Once I work out the initial concepts, I¡¯ll have to test the warp curves, or non-continuous functions as happened with the Annihilation drive. After mapping power and distance of the warps, some retrofitting of the Indulgence for a interstellar navigation and propulsion suite, we should be able to get back to Earth after some minimal testing. Six to nine months tops. I start working on a projected timeline, erring on the side of staying longer, and send it to the Council. Seeing as I need at least Melissa¡¯s help, and I need to inform all eight colonists of the weight limits, I feel that the blast to all was warranted. Viper and Katie express their disappointment, Melissa gives me encouragement like the wonderful woman that she is, and Francesca said she might need some assistance preparing near the end, but 9 months seemed adequate for her harvesting plans. B2 Ch 7: Girl with the Biggest Hat The kiss on my cheek is the first time I notice someone is in the room with me. ¡°You know, it¡¯s customary to spend time with the person you¡¯re dating.¡± I look up to find Melissa in a pretty sun dress and a new, shorter haircut. ¡°Wow, you look like how Spring feels. Fresh, sunny, and comforting.¡± I look at what¡¯s had me occupied for most of the last two weeks. Stupid drone. She smiles warmly at the compliment, ¡°Good, ¡®cause it¡¯s nice outside and you¡¯re taking me out on a picnic before you go into combat tomorrow." ¡°That sounds like an excellent plan.¡± I move in to kiss her when I see the muck on my hands, ¡°Let me clean up first?¡± I grimace apologetically, wishing I could just vanish. Wait, I can! I pop over to one of the rooms in the workshop that I claimed and order a new set of clothes from the shop while I shower. Tessa got tired of my tedious trips from the Ansible to my workspace and informed me that she could access the shop directly¡ªthanks to Katie¡ªand that the ansible could teleport ordered items to where I wanted them. Magically convenient. My skivvies, shorts, and tank are ready for me when I get out so is the large sun hat I though was borderline ridiculous. If I get an extra smile out of Melissa, it was worth it. ¡°Dear Andromeda, that hat is bigger than you are!¡± She rushes over, grabs the sides of my hat and pulls me into a kiss within the hat-taco. ¡°So cute. Can you drive the shuttle with that on?¡± I shrug at that. ¡°Probably not, but I like it anyway. Do I need to order some food?¡± ¡°Nope! Taken care of.¡± She grabs my hand and leads me outside to find Katie and Francesca also outside. Katie¡¯s in capris and a linen blouse with a sheer camisole, while Francesca is sporting yoga pants and a sports bra, but like fancy versions of them. ¡°So, is this a hint for the boring nerds to get out and touch some grass?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a hint to get you workaholics to take a break and spend time with people you care about.¡± She flicks my shoulder. ¡°Not sure I¡¯d call it a hint, but thanks for doing this.¡± I bump her shoulder instead of kissing her. I don¡¯t know how the other two girls¡¯ relationship is going, so I don¡¯t want to PDA my way into more awkwardness. Indulgence fills the once-empty ground and I ask Tessa to lower the loading elevator. I had a decidedly awkward moment when I invited Viper aboard and it was still configured as a bedroom. Fixed that right away. We load up one of the Doc¡¯s cool hover carts with crates on it and rise into the shuttle. ¡°Alright friends, where we headed?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a nice lake upstream of that waterfall about 100km, take us there please.¡± I snap to attention and give her my crispest salute. ¡°Aye aye Ma¡¯am.¡± She snorts, ¡°Oh yeah? If I¡¯m the Captain today, then I get to wear the biggest hat.¡± The beautiful trickster steals my hat with face full of teeth glowing with her victory. I grump and grumble to my pilot¡¯s chair, trying not to laugh. ¡°I take it back, let me off.¡± Katie says in her dead-panned way. ¡°No need to be jealous.¡± I say an order her a blood red sun hat, one that¡¯s smaller than the one Melissa is wearing, and have it delivered to her lap. I order one of those Jungle adventure hats for the Doc just to make it even. ¡°Hats for everyone!¡± I get a snort from Melissa and a smirk from Francesca, assuring me they were received as intended. Katie frowned at me some more, she¡¯s been doing that a lot lately. I decide not to ponder that as I raise the shuttle and set a course for the region that my girlfriend planned for us. >M] That was a bit cruel Penny. [< >P] C¡¯mon, Mel. It was a joke. Plus, did you want to stew in their rocky relationship for the next twenty minutes? [< >M] When did you make time to notice their relationship? You haven¡¯t noticed ours in a while. [< Yikes. I walked right into that one. >P] Yeah, sorry hon. I just get to feeling that everyone¡¯s judging me for being stranded here, and every moment I¡¯m not figuring out how to get home I feel like I can hear all the judge-y thoughts people are having. I feel like I¡¯m failing you all every day, and it¡¯s hard to want to face anyone when I don¡¯t have the answers¡ªespecially you. [< >M] Especially me? What does that mean? I know I haven¡¯t said a word about going home except when you bring it up. [< >P] No, no. Mel, I said that weird. I don¡¯t worry so much about you judging me, really, it¡¯s just that I want you to be proud of me. Proud to be with me, you know? And when I don¡¯t feel good about myself I can¡¯t imagine how you could possibly be proud of me. [< >M] I guess I wasn¡¯t seeing that. You just seem so certain about yourself, that it seems like arrogance. And the others get annoyed when you get involved sometimes because it makes you seem like you don¡¯t trust them. [< >P] Viper said something like that too. I¡¯m really not used to trying to lead and organize people. [< >M] You¡¯re not doing that bad, but we don¡¯t really need to be led like that, Pen. We¡¯re all motivated and good at what we do. We just need you to help point our efforts in a way that gets us there. That memo you sent out with your plan weeks ago was a big step in the right direction. [< >P] Thanks for that. The feedback, I mean. [< >M] Oh, if you¡¯re in the mood for feedback, hand out more quests and more money, doofus. [< I can¡¯t help but giggle at that. >P] If I¡¯m going to keep us here for 6 more months, it¡¯s the least I can do. [< The remainder of the ride is silent, Katie and Frannie not having much to say and Melissa just seemed to be enjoying the lushness of this portion of our planet. My mind, of course is itching about work and about how stressed Mel¡¯s side of the relationship must be if she felt compelled to thrust an outing upon us. I can hope it was a multi-pronged plan to help Katie with her relationship after hopefully bonding while building the remote control systems for orbit. That last part is pure hope though. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. This might be a good opportunity to learn some more of the normal things that couples know about each other. What¡¯s the first thing you¡¯re going to do when we get back, what was your original 5-year plan, do you have a middle name, things like that. The lake Melissa picked out is at the base of some foothills and the lightly forested flatlands that surround them. Somehow, the shimmer of the silvery grass and the candy-colored trees give it a dreamscape appearance that feels more real than if they were Earth colors. It¡¯s as though my mind is not original to imagine this, so it must be real. That and I can almost feel my girl¡¯s excitement in my mind. ¡°Okay ladies, who wants to name a lake and some mountains?¡± The bunch of nerds that we are, they get excited at the prospect. I immediately give the Botanist the ability to name any plant not already labeled, assuming she has some sort of identify plants skill. The other two just start spit-balling names and Tessa dutifully keeps track before Melissa firmly suggests that we should spend the day here before making any decisions. While the other three manage the lev-cart, I grab a bandolier of varied runic devices and my plasma rifle. ¡°You expecting some action today babe?¡± Melissa asks. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to get caught with no way to defend ourselves.¡± I shrug. ¡°Though I¡¯d prefer a different kind of action,¡± I suggest, waggling my eyebrows. She rolls her eyes and puts a little extra sway in her step as she walks ahead of me. Yep, I need to put more effort into us, yes indeed. Mel starts breaking out blankets and a pair of collapsible umbrellas from the crates, proving she spent a lot of time and money on this little outing. I offer to help her out and she shoos me off to secure the perimeter or something. So I do. A few motion detectors around the near sections of trees, and a quick scan of the area with my aether sight finds that nearly everything in sight has some aether in it, and some parts of the lake more so. I walk up to put my hand in the water, to feel it slightly energized as well. Not short-term dangerous, but it could certainly cause a mutation if a normal human stayed in it all day. Tessa, can you help me assess if the hot spots move throughout the day? If you use your aether sight once an hour or so, certainly. Thanks. Oh, hey, since we¡¯re kind of in a relaxed mode, and have an inseparable relationship, I was wondering if there¡¯s anything I can be doing to make your life more enjoyable? Kind of you to ask. Melissa seems to have hit the mark with this outing. I¡¯ve been enjoying your return to tech-oriented work, so far as it balances out the overbearing amount of aether work you¡¯ve been doing. I¡¯m excited for the pod and shuttle automation, but most of all, I just want to be involved instead of just being tasked. Okay, I can work on that. Maybe you can help me with the drone then. I have a piloting scheme in mind, but I want to do it in orbit to test the new warp rune configuration. Can you take a look at it and see if my test will be sufficient enough to get the data I¡¯m looking for? More specifically, if you think the warp will cause any issues with your control upon exiting. I can already see that including a few enchanted components would keep it connected to the Ansible even while warping. I¡¯ll send you a list after I look at it in detail. You¡¯re the best Tessa. She pings me in the affirmative. Half an hour after I left, I return to see Melissa fully reclined with her head in the shade, wearing much less than she was. A tasteful two piece swimsuit with board shorts that seem to emphasize the firmness of her thighs. Oof. I didn¡¯t even consider going swimming. Shows the state that I was in when I left. I sneak up and kiss her flat tummy before giving her a quick peck on the lips. ¡°The relaxed beach look is good on you.¡± I admire the quick smile she responds with as I sit on the towel next to her. ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it.¡± She reaches back and pulls out a latch-and-stopper style bottle full of a cerulean liquid and hands it to me. ¡°I spend my money from the animal surge on picnic supplies. If no one else is going to be the health and welfare officer, might as well be me.¡± She shrugs, looking slightly embarrassed. Why embarrassed? Embarrassed she didn¡¯t have anything else to spend the money on? Or is she feeling underutilized in the colony? ¡°You¡¯re amazing, you know that?¡± I flip myself around so that I can look at her, put my hand on her belly, and drink whatever she handed me at the same time. I pop the lid back and test the drink to find it a floral berry beer. Like a hoppy sweet tart, it¡¯s divine. This is what living must feel like. ¡°And damn is this good, solid choice Mel. I¡¯ll have to get the order from you later. What are you drinking?¡± ¡°Something that tastes like a prickly pear margarita. Our AI¡¯s helped me pick them out. Same with some of the food. I¡¯m addicted to these little roasted bug bites that eat like bacon-wrapped steak.¡± ¡°Wow, are you now the colony¡¯s Exchange expert?¡± kind of joking, but still interested. ¡°I guess? You three probably only go there for project related items. I spent several days seeing what the Supercluster considers worth selling. Almost without exception, it¡¯s people selling things they¡¯ve already made, or contracts to make things. Basic subsistence things like food, water, and shelter equivalents can be ordered from the system, but that¡¯s it. Any luxury item has to be made by a member of the community.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really cool, actually. Makes sense why Tessa recommended buying the fabricator and a pattern for the mundane stuff then. Also explains why the old Sundering Bench sold so well.¡± ¡°Wait, you can sell stuff? I didn¡¯t even have the option to.¡± Melissa narrows her eyes at me, ¡°Penny, you can¡¯t just assume we have the same options as you do. You need to spend time with the settlement interface. I know that Francesca and Katie would love the idea of Galactic commerce. Katie might actually try to stab you for keeping this from her.¡± ¡°Oh shit. Maybe I should tell her after we¡¯re back on Earth?¡± She flicks my leg. ¡°No, bad Penny. Confront your mistakes with your big leader panties on.¡± That makes me snort, like how oversized are these underwear. ¡°Bah, not while we¡¯re here. She¡¯ll want to rush back or spend all of her time with her AI instead of Fran.¡± Speaking of my big girl panties, ¡°Speaking of time, we¡¯ve been going from one mission to another for years now, and I kinda wanted to know what you¡¯re thinking about when we get back to Earth?¡± She pulls off her sunglasses and huffs. ¡°I was supposed to ask you that. You ruined my elaborate plan to pull personal details out of you!¡± She squeezes my thigh hard, but leaves her hand there afterward. I enjoy the contact. ¡°Now it can be less elaborate as we enjoy your well-planned alone time.¡± ¡°It was a good plan wasn¡¯t it?¡± I grin wide at her fishing for compliments, ¡°Yes honey, thank you for making me take a break from work to spend time with people. Especially this person.¡± I slide my thumb across the bottom of her belly button, enjoying the smooth texture morphing into goose bumps. A slight blush and curled corners of her lip let me know my flattery was appreciated, ¡°Well, first thing, I guess, will be to see my family. We were really close before I left, and we lost my brother Andy to the conflict with North Korea, so I can¡¯t imagine what my parents and sister are feeling right now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Meli,¡± I want to say more but a squeeze on my leg lets me know it¡¯s okay not to. ¡°What about you? How¡¯s your family going to react?¡± I take a swig of my berry beer, feeling the tartness more as I focus on an uncomfortable topic. ¡°I have a brother that was an aide to a Senator who¡¯s not so bad, but my Parents never understood my love for hard sciences. When I got ostracized by the scientific community, Mom became distant and disconnected, wanting very little contact with me, and my dad turned petty and mean. When I was occasionally between living arrangements and needed money, I would let my dad parade me around as a charity case to show others how benevolent and caring he was. I did that until the shame hurt more than I needed the money, then I joined the Navy to fix a few problems, chase my last chance at my work, and a final fuck you to my parents, who have a poor view of the military in general.¡± I can¡¯t place the emotions warring on Melissa¡¯s face, but I know at least one of them is pity. ¡°So I have no plan to seek them out. I was thinking I would try to find out if I can wiggle out of the rest of my enlistment, or, failing that, try to get a post that doesn¡¯t melt my brain.¡± ¡°God, I forgot that we would still owe service to the organization that left us to die.¡± I nod at that. ¡°Not to mention that they¡¯ll want to control the information and technology that we have. I can teleport out of a shit situation though, so I¡¯m really worried about you.¡± ¡°As long as you keep our mind link, you¡¯ll be able to find me. I trust you.¡± This time she thumbs my skin, a reassurance for my worry about her safety. ¡°Damn right I will.¡± B2 Ch 8: Organic Diplomacy ¡°The surveillance from O¡¯Connell¡¯s satellite has shown that several enormous predators have a d¨¦tente of sorts, preventing a constant state of fighting amongst their juggernauts. The juggernauts seem to be keeping the lesser warped creatures from swarming the site.¡± Viper twitches his clawed hand in a pattern that changes the projection to a wide view of the forest. ¡°As you can see, the site is an oblong impact crater, and by the Boss¡¯ calculations, it¡¯s most likely to be a chunk of aether-infused thrust cone from the Copernicus that was warped into low-atmosphere at a high rate of speed. ¡°Landing and operating inside the crater won¡¯t be possible. Our lowest risk plan to individuals is to fast rope to the object with a sundering staff and destroy the source and prepare for the resultant invasion of Summer Station hopefully bombing them into oblivion on the way out. ¡°Our lowest risk plan for the Station, is to snipe and explode a few Juggernauts and induce a swarm on the Object and bomb the living hell out of it.¡± Viper pauses for an extended period. So I step in the silence, ¡°How many beasts are we projecting?¡± ¡°Two to three thousand is our best guess.¡± Katie adds. I whistle at that number. We apparently only got the most desperate and most hungry to assault us last time. ¡°Which brings me to my next point: We need to spend some CEs. At the very least a shield or something, and if it came with a defense system, even better.¡± He even showed a list of potential purchases, but they came in over 150CE in total. I sigh and rub my face. ¡°I like the idea. Honestly, it was one of the first things I wanted to do with all of that money. But while the three of us were working on guidance and comms for the shuttle,¡± I gesture at Katie and Melissa, ¡°Katie brought up that our ansible only communicates out to 500ly.¡± ¡°Long story short, when we get to Earth, we¡¯ll have no Matrix contact at 2700+ ly from here.¡± As soon as I mention that, the combat team¡¯s eyes go wide. ¡°I wanted to have this convo after a victory with a flood of AE for spending, but if we need CE for your plan, the time is now I suppose. ¡°I can maybe get 700ly max out of my newest warp designs, assuming they work, with a 3-week rest around a star or on a aether-rich planet to get enough stored aether to jump again. Two-weeks if we limit to less than 500. Again, projections, but this ties into our CE issues. Katie and I can construct the key components that make ansibles too expensive to order off of the Exchange. We order the other parts, transport them 499ly ish to a planet and then do it again for a total of four times, each bucket of components costing 50CE a piece.¡± ¡°Fifty? That¡¯s with the savings?!¡± Viper looks flabbergasted. ¡°Yeah, because we can¡¯t bring much else but parts and food with us if we want to last the two months in space. The alternative is to bring the fabricator with us and try to do what we did here on every planet we come to. Maybe two to four months per planet?¡± I ask Katie and she confirms. ¡°For maybe 20CE in incidentals and a self-sustaining power station.¡± G-man asks in a rare instance of speech, ¡°The cheap option is 100CE?¡± I nod ¡°Thereabouts. The orbital comms systems Melissa and Katie put together got us another 50E, but counting on those additions would be irresponsible. A few months and 200CE guaranteed, or over a year with 100CE and more opportunities to reclaim.¡± ¡°My projection needs 150CE, you need 200, we have just enough.¡± Viper says, and his team looks excited.¡± ¡°In case you don¡¯t realize,¡± Katie interrupts the excitement. ¡°This means no more salary, no more quick advancements. Whatever we get from the aether warped beasts is all we get. Possibly ever.¡± They nod. ¡°Okay, here it is. A 5km shield unit with building defense emplacements and four sets of ansible parts for future delivery. How vote ye?¡± I send a prompt to each of the five councilors. The response is immediate: a result of 3 to 2, the purchase passes. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what¡¯s happening then. We¡¯re postponing the assault two days. Viper, place your defenses, Katie, make sure that it interfaces with our power systems so that we can overcharge or supplement as necessary. Doc, do you have a hedge bomb or something that can grow chest height in two days?¡± She shakes her head. I construct a quest out of my personal funds for plant-based defenses that are controllable. ¡°Wait, why is this a job and not a quest?¡± She asks. Huh, I guess I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Personal funds. Astoria can¡¯t afford it.¡± She frowns at me and nods in understanding. She probably voted to go home early. As soon as everyone is distracted, I warp to our pond and watch the Vampire Toads assault the fishes that we feed. A half hour of being lost in the recent failing in appealing to them, Katie walks up and sits next to me. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell them?¡± She asks, more calm than I probably would have been in their place. ¡°They¡¯re not thinking years from now, Kay, if I hadn¡¯t lumped in the Ansibles in there, they would have tried to convince me to rely on an influx of CE despite me telling them there wouldn¡¯t be one.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be your responsibility if they failed to see the results of their actions.¡± I smile that her brilliance puts something so complicated in black and white. ¡°But it would be, though. I¡¯d be the one they¡¯d blame for having the power to stop them, but not doing it. I¡¯d be the one they¡¯d blame for not planning our advancements better. Humans aren¡¯t rational all the time, even on a good day. Our Aether-warped Astorians? They¡¯re on alien enhancement drugs, Katie. And all this plan costs me is some Aether-warping that the rest of you have already suffered.¡± ¡°I know how smart you are, so it hurts me physically when you¡¯re an idiot.¡± I nod at that. ¡°Yeah. We will still need to personally construct the Earth ansible, or none of it works anyway.¡± ¡°I worried about that too, but you wouldn¡¯t have adjusted our discussion without a plan.¡± ¡°Sol¡¯s belt has the minerals we need. I can spend AE for magic, or warp for dangerous magic. If you¡¯re not willing to help with the Earth Ansible, I have a significantly more dangerous idea that could fix the problem.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my problem Penny! You have these plans that make sense to share with the council, but you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Katie, if I have to resort to those measures, the majority of you will have abandoned Astoria, and there won¡¯t be a council anymore. I¡¯m not about to issue ultimatums to be responsible. If they¡¯re so focused on rejoining their old lives with new powers and abilities, let them. They don¡¯t want what I want, and that¡¯s okay. But there will be enough people, governments that want what I can give them and that¡¯s what will help me build the life I¡¯m chasing. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I want a life in the stars, Kay. I want to be a part of a space-faring humanity that calls multiple star-systems home.¡± Katie sighs, ¡°I¡¯ve been diving into the Matrix and expanding my abilities lately, and I¡¯ve been confused at your apparent nonchalance, but I¡¯m still on your team Penny.¡± ¡°Love you too, Countess O¡¯Connell.¡± She pushes me all of the conflicts she needs me to resolve to finish the project I ordered. Oof, that¡¯s a headache, but I laugh at the sentiment. ¡°Would your girlfriend be mad to hear that?¡± Her deadpanned tone is ever-reliable. ¡°Probably, but she knows it anyway.¡± ¡°I do, and I¡¯m not.¡± Melissa sits between us. ¡°Ladies, I¡¯ve been eaves-dropping, as I do, and I don¡¯t like that the two of you are keeping secrets.¡± ¡°Baby, you¡¯re a Psionicist with a link to my Symbiote. I don¡¯t keep things from you, I can¡¯t¡± She pouts and I laugh. ¡°I like to be told, in either case.¡± ¡°Sure sure. What are your thoughts?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. You can¡¯t read my mind the way I can yours. I voted to go home. I knew what you had planning Pen pen, but that¡¯s your sacrifice to make. Even if you end up a mana-bound fey monstrosity, I¡¯ll still come home to you.¡± The compassion hits me so hard my heart skips. ¡°Heh, it¡¯d be funnier if that wasn¡¯t my actual backup plan.¡± Before this gets too sappy, and you finally realize that you are in a poly relationship despite yourself, you have a message via the Ansible. Oh shit. I tell my pond-viewing pals and ask Tessa to repeat it to the three of us. ->>] Greetings new Species. This is Andromeda Matrix Administration. While it is standard to wait a year to converse with a new species¡¯ leaders, your colony of Astoria has been flagged a concern for Supercluster Safety. With your permission, we would transport to a close, scanning orbit of Astoria Prime and would meet with you in a habitat neutral to your species on a ship of our providing.[<<- I see no problem with the idea, knowing that my accidental Annihilation bomb was the reason. Minutes after I tell Tessa to relay my acceptance, we get an alert. >/Astorinet detects a foreign space craft in orbit. Craft appears to be plant and mineral based, and likely alive./< Tessa, send a message to our new visitors that I intend to greet them in a small shuttle craft in about half an hour.. They respond . . . enthusiastically in the affirmative. Be warned that their communication methods are non-verbal and that we¡¯ll be talking through AI/Symbiotes. Copy that. *** By now, the transit to space is unremarkable aboard ASS-1. I long-since augmented the leisure-craft with plasma thrusters to accommodate our more-technical approach to advancement. We break atmosphere as the sky fades to black and the wonder of my binary stars shine in the distance. How did I get this lucky? The moment is ruined by an aether-blinding vessel of wood and metal, shaped like a pock-marked teardrop with trailing tendrils. It¡¯s a plant-based space ship. ¡°Francesca is going to be so mad.¡± ¡°I am streaming this to her. She started swearing moments ago.¡± Well, that answers the question of whether Katie still likes the Botanist. Apparently she hates her. ->>] Humans! You are expected. We have adapted a docking apparatus for your forward crew hatch. [<<- Melissa takes over correspondence. ->>] Copy, plant ship. Please assist with colored markers at these locations. [<<- she provides ISS standard docking marks. With the magi-scopic spying suite on the Bougie Boy variant, we easily see the changes on the hull. Melissa cues in the auto-approach program and lets the new navigation system test itself. Our outboard cameras show a docking ring contact our hull. The three of us are in synch as we don our pressure shields and open the hatch. Almost no exchange happens. Nice. My suit reads a mix of N2, O2, N2O, NO2 and miniscule levels of CO2 and CO. There¡¯s nitrox and laughing gas in the air? ->>] Note to plant-based vessel. N2O, is a mild anesthetic and NO2 is an irritant. [<<- ->>] Apologies, Humans, this is as close as our systems can get. [<<- ¡°Tessa, explain to them in a more complete manner that this is fine, but prolonged contact is not preferred.¡± She does so and I walk across the bridge into a loading bay. My companions do the same and a door to the bridge closes. My suit confirms the atmospherics and I depressurize and take off my helmet, placing it on a small loop on my waist. ¡°Greetings, Matrix Admin, I am Primus Penny Astoria and these are my chief advisors Melissa Hunsaker and Katie O¡¯Connell.¡± A form emerges from the floor, eventually stopping at a bipedal figure with an amorphous head and root-like appendages at the end of their arms. >>]Greetings Primus! I am Councilor V¡¯tek¡¯clor of the Lstorif Collective. While I am pleased to meet such distinguished individuals, please instruct your communicator to cease her intrusive thoughts.[<< >P] Ease back on the mind-fuck Mel, they can tell. [< >>]Thank You! As per prior indication. We are here to greet you into the Supercluster, and to assess your Tier 3 threat to said cluster.[<< ¡°Ahh, yes, that was primarily an accident while experimenting with old tech and new runes. I got the notices about it¡¯s potential and banished it to far orbit until I could think about it properly.¡± [Not preferred, but not aggressive. We will assess. Please wait.] ¡°So, did I tell you ladies we got flagged for a tier 3 threat against the cluster?¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°Of course I knew.¡± ¡°Yeah, so, I also get access to tier 2 magitec because of the other stuff.¡± Katie advances on me quickly, trying to pull her face close, but I put a hand on her chest in mild panic. She stops and asks. ¡°What must I do to gain this access?¡± There¡¯s a fierce determination in her eyes that I haven¡¯t seen in years. ¡°Okay, uh Mel, save me?¡± ¡°Nope. Your mess. And it¡¯s kinda hot.¡± >P] Traitor. [< >M] Wuss. [< I pout at that. Knowing her preferences, she wouldn¡¯t mind as much as I would. ¡°Ladies, we might get censured for accessing tech above our species rating. I wouldn¡¯t survive a century without my berry beer!¡± ¡°A century? How is that reasonable?¡± Melissa scoffs. ¡°Aether infused folk live for millennia apparently.¡± I answer, they both pout. I get the sudden and catastrophic feeling that they¡¯ve been talking about my future without me. ¡°When did you two get so close?¡± ¡°She gets excited when her research works out?¡± Melissa says. I look between the two of them and Katie can¡¯t look at me. ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?¡± ¡°There was absolutely no fucking. Or shenanigans. Only kissing. After projects. I swear!!¡± Melissa pleads. She genuine looks afraid, as though she¡¯s been hiding this for months. Damnit. ¡°Katie, was this before or after you broke things off with Francesca?¡± She puts her helmet on and walks back to the airlock, only to be denied. It¡¯d be funny if I weren¡¯t furious. ¡°Katie, if you keep cheating on people that care about you, I will fucking space you despite your brilliant contributions to society. It¡¯s bullshit, and you know better. Better yet, I will create the Andromeda forsaken planet of DuPLo, fill it full of toddlers and paranoid parents and stick you in the middle with no available metal for 5 AU.¡± I¡¯ve never seen Katie horror movie afraid. Good ammo to have. ¡°Melissa? I . . . I just don¡¯t understand.¡± >>]V¡¯tek, I¡¯m about to yeet the satellite into space and blow it up. Stand clear.[<< >>]Clear standing![<< I use the bomb¡¯s first warp to my farthest moon. The oblong one. It disappears in a black deeper than space and a field of aether brighter than my twin suns. The flood of aether is palpable from 100k kilometres away. ¡°I know that you¡¯re my ride or die. I know that you wouldn¡¯t hurt me on purpose. So why would you do this?¡± She shrugs, ¡°The usual selfish reasons, Pen. I was lonely, so was she. We both love you, and I know you¡¯ll come to terms with it without abandoning the both of us.¡± I feel as though a piece of my soul dies, knowing she¡¯s right. I would never abandon either of them. But it feels as though Melissa stabbed me. Right in the chest. I don¡¯t want to space them, but I can¡¯t have them here with me right now. They¡¯re standing next to each other in solidarity. I smile a deceptive, accepting smile, radiating love from my mind as I touch both of their exposed necks with my hands. ¡°You both fucked up.¡± And I shunt them through the Aether toward the lake in front of ¡°lusty falls¡± instructing Tessa to block off the cave by any means necessary. Then I rip off the bracelet I¡¯ve worn for more than a year and it causes me more pain that I¡¯ve felt since Andromeda ¡°blessed¡± me. That was ill advised. They betrayed me. Melissa knew how I felt about every part of that betrayal because she can literally read my mind. The same reason she took the risk, I imagine. To help you grow. Her assumptions were poorly founded. B 2, Ch 9: Laundry and Strange Fruits >>]Why did you pick the minor moon to destroy?[<< It¡¯s funny that they didn¡¯t ask why I sent away my companions. >>]Non-spheroid moons trouble my personal aesthetic.] the admittance, though very true was not the primary reason.[<< >>]Will you agree to a geas not to produce such technology until you achieve a similar tier to control it?[<< >>]I agree to such conditions. Insofar as an Astoria-ending threat does not arise[<< The manifestation of V¡¯tek acknowledges. >>]I will admit that weapons are not our chief motivation, but our species in general is warlike and irresponsible. Can I request to the Administration that incentives be provided to my race toward diplomacy and piece instead of war?[<< >>]That is always the case, new Primus. War is seldom rewarded. I will add that your pre-investigation destruction of your tech was not preferred.[<< >>]Administrator, the tech is derived runic from a human pure-tech approach, it¡¯s shoddy at best. And certainly proprietary. If we are to control its knowledge, I have certainly done so.[<< >>]Your haste and casual destruction do not bode well, Primus.[<< >>]My race in actual, nearly eight billion of us, are far more chaotic and aggressive than me, Administrator. I am merely the first and most Aether friendly of humans.[<< >>] . . . That, bodes poorly for the Supercluster, young one.[<< >>]V¡¯tek, with all due respect, I am not a child. My race are not my ¡®people¡¯ specifically, and I find it hard to believe that the Supercluster¡¯s people are homogenous.[<< I did not intend to put an edge of intimidation into it, but the avatar of V¡¯tek sways back anyway. >>]It was not my intent to accuse. Be well Primus. Andromeda holds their leaders nearly inviolate.[<< I can¡¯t help but laugh at all of this posturing. >>]Administrator, I concede that I am perhaps too new to know the right ways to discuss such matters. Perhaps I can extend an invitation to Aether-rich waters within a similar atmosphere with slightly high sulfates?[<< >>]Ah! Sulfates are a treat! The collective would delight in the opportunity. Is depletion of the lake acceptable?[<< The whole lake?! >>]There are unidentified aether rich nodes that I wish to remain, but otherwise, yes. You are welcome to remain.[<< >>]Opportunity! You will be provided with fruits. To compensate.[<< >>]Should I escort the Administrator privately? Or are coordinates preferred?[<< >>]I am unable to separate fully from this vessel at this time. I would welcome the coordinates and a future meeting before we leave.[<< >>]Your request is well received, Administrator. Perhaps a week to enjoy our hospitality?[<< >>]Your offer is most generous![<< Your week is twice the standard treatise period for diplomatic relations. A boon for this particular meeting. How is this planet so special, Tess. I swear we are hitting coming up basilisks and unicorns. Copernicus is responsible for many of the aether concentrations of this side of the planet as their warp event seemed to be . . . chaotic without you. Fucking how!? We made an exhausting spreadsheet! Some ambitious people modified sections to increase the warp distance. It may have been effective, but . . . they are most likely stranded at that distance. Tessa. Remind me if I ever forget the principles of experimentation. Especially Murphy¡¯s 4th. Small experiments yield small errors? Yes ma¡¯am. So I should warn you that your current drone experiments could land the device outside of the current network? Yes! Excellent use of said warning. Side note, should I be more wary of this Alien presence? Humans didn¡¯t deal with aliens a year ago, and now I only care that they¡¯re not going to restrict my purchases. After the conversation you just had with your girlfriends, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯d even attempt lying. You care about the plant ambassador or you wouldn¡¯t have tried to placate them. They¡¯re not my girlfriends Tessa, I¡¯m not sure either of them are anymore. I hate to be the voice of reason when I can¡¯t be physically affectionate with anyone, but take a moment to ask yourself if you are more mad that they comforted each other, or that it happened because you were neglecting Melissa. Shit Tessa, don¡¯t hold back. You¡¯re trying too hard to be a leader, when you¡¯re a better team-mate, a better partner. Try doing that. I guess Melissa did warn that she was feeling neglected. I wonder if the lake trip was her feeling guilty for making out with Katie. That¡¯s what you took from this? Cursed Universe Tessa, I¡¯m busting my ass to try and get everyone what they need and I feel like nobody fucking cares. You know what? To hell with it. I¡¯m going to talk to the ambassador today, after checking that Melissa and Katie are okay, and then, since there is literally no more shit to run, I¡¯m going to write it off as a loss. Is it too late to trade you in for a new human? I love you too bitch. *** I teleport back to the waterfall once V¡¯tek¡¯s ship is in range to find that Mel and Katie are working on the shuttle? ¡°So, is it too late to apologize?¡± I ask, playfully while walking up the stairs to the cockpit. ¡°Depends on what you¡¯re apologizing for.¡± Katie says, even though I have no idea what I would apologize to her for. Tessa punches me with flashbacks until I pull my head out of my butt. ¡°For neglecting you.¡± I look at Melissa, ¡°both of you.¡± I sigh, not ready to emotion, but knowing that the woman in my head would never let me live it down. ¡°I know it¡¯s not what separated you and me Katie, but I could have been a better friend once we landed here. ¡°And Mel, shit Mel, you even warned me about this when we had our little jungle adventure. I don¡¯t know what this is between you two, but . . .¡± I literally can¡¯t say it¡¯s okay, Tessa. ¡°Tessa tells me it¡¯s partly my fault so, I¡¯m sorry I helped make that necessary.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Melissa comes up to me and hugs me. ¡°I bet that was really hard for you, and I feel like if I held out a little longer I could have gotten you to agree to a trouple, but you looked like you were in so much pain.¡± ¡°Are you fucking kidding me Mel?¡± I struggle in her grip but she¡¯s stronger than me and doesn¡¯t let go. ¡°I come in here and admit that some of this is on me and you just double down like you¡¯re in some relationship casino? You know what it feels like? It feels like the same fucking reason I don¡¯t want to be in a poly relationship!¡± ¡°You¡¯re yelling, Pen. Please, just lets talk this out.¡± She looks worried at last. ¡°Of course I¡¯m yelling! Neither of you are taking this seriously. Not only are you playing into a scenario I am already ashamed and feel worthless about, but you abused my letting you into my mind to see how I would be most receptive to the manipulation.¡± ¡°I came in here to start fresh in sharing the blame, but if you want to poke, lets poke.¡± Melissa can¡¯t read my mind as well right now, and all she might be getting from my mind is fury. I¡¯m hyping it up in my brain by a factor of 5, making me feel madder than I actually am. Gotta make sure I don¡¯t say anything I can¡¯t take back. ¡°Katie, what is the likelihood that this would be an equal poly relationship?¡± ¡°Two, three ish percent. Calculating subjective criteria is . . . troublesome.¡± Katie says calmly, looking up from the back of the Nav panel she has open only for a moment. Melissa seems surprised. ¡°Mel, do you think you could love Katie?¡± I ask, knowing she doesn¡¯t wan¡¯t to be put on the spot. She loosens her grip now, not looking me in the eyes when she replies, ¡°I mean, maybe, yah. She connects with a part of me that I feel is not a strong connection between us.¡± It seems that statement hurt both of us. Big girl panties, Penny, Big girl. ¡°Katie, do you think you could love Melissa?¡± ¡°I like her, but I¡¯m reasonably certain that the emotions she wants from me will not develop. I care for her because you do, Penny. Some of my affection for you bleeds over into my dealings with Melissa.¡± ¡°Wait, really? I would not have expected that last part. This is way less like my last foray into poly than I was afraid of.¡± ¡°Are you picking on me on purpose now? Is this retaliation?¡± Melissa isn¡¯t holding me anymore, she¡¯s clinging to my sleeves, her voice sounding watery. ¡°No, Mel. This is me airing out the situation. Why I felt intimately attacked, and why the nonchalance of me admitting to some wrongdoing bothered me so. Katie¡¯s not above direct manipulation and reacting to protecting herself, but I¡¯ve never seen her justify her actions for someone else¡¯s benefit. That¡¯s what my parent¡¯s used to do, and it seems an awful lot like what was going through your head with this situation.¡± ¡°Look, Mel, Kay, I love you both. And even though you now have both burned me, because of the situation we¡¯re in I¡¯m tempted to forgive. But right now, I think you¡¯ll have to deal with me pushing this aside and dealing with it in stages. Is that something you both can work with?¡± They both nod. I lift Mel¡¯s chin and kiss her. When I taste her tears, I pull apart and lock her eyes to mine, ¡°I understand your motivations, but I think you chose the worst and most painful way to express it.¡± I finish pushing her away and walk over to Katie. I pull her over the console into a kiss with a little biting that I know she likes. ¡°I¡¯ve mostly gotten past how I hurt before, but if you want us to move forward, we should talk.¡± I like the look of surprise on her face, and the feeling of control I have in this moment sends a shiver of thrill down my spine. She pulls me back into a fierce kiss, but I break it off before she breaks skin. ¡°Down, Katie. Talk. Whew. Now I¡¯m angry and horny. Damnit.¡± Both of them look up in interest. ¡°No! none of that. This is not hate-fuck territory. Geeze.¡± I walk to the door to the cockpit and sit on the edge. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve all drained some emotions, Tessa was telling me I should ask you how you would want to be involved in our society as well as our lives.¡± ¡°What? Do you mean involved?¡± Melissa asks. ¡°This is part of me trying. Do you want to be my psionic communicator? Katie, you too. How do you want to be involved?¡± ¡°I want to be involved in space commerce. Finding out that we could sell our own wares as well, but months after we put up the ansible? I wanted to scream at you. Then I realized that Astoria¡¯s production is tied up in setting our planet up, so I let it go. But I will be managing our commerce, and you will sign over those permissions today.¡± She¡¯s talking with her teeth fully showing and it¡¯s both intimidating and sexy. Fucking vampire. I twitch my hand in concert with the panels in my HUD and transfer authority to her as our trade minister. ¡°You and I are going to talk about a new wristband, and I would definitely like to be involved with alien relations. I¡¯m thinking PR and investor relations when we get back to Earth. Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°Just because I vented doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t still care for you, Dummy.¡± She groans ¡°I don¡¯t have the energy to process all of this right now, lets go talk to the trees and assuage their concerns. Maybe we can ask them if they have a way to deal with aether warped beasts as well.¡± Melissa looks slightly rejuvenated by the talk of business and I couldn¡¯t be more confused. We take the shuttle toward the lake to see the V¡¯tekan ship, which is now standing tentacles down into the lake and river and tributaries sparkling in my dual-colored suns. ¡°Is that as pretty as I think it is, or am I just seeing it in its multi-spectrum splendor.¡± ¡°Pen, there¡¯s a sparkly, two kilometer tall tree standing in our backyard.¡± She grabs my hand and squeezes it before we announce ourselves. Tessa, is it appropriate to use the same channel we used before? She pings affirmative. ->>] Administrator, My communicator and I have returned to see if our planet is hospitable. [<<- ->>] Excellence! Primassi, we are pleased to find your atmosphere very nourishing. [<<- Did they just refer to us as a Primus collective? Wow, okay. I should ask if Melissa is emitting chemicals as well as brain waves. ->>] Is there anything else you require for your investigation? [<<- Melissa asks. ->>] As a new species with such destructive capability, we would know your plans for development and inclusion in the Supercluster. [<<- ->>] Administrator, Astoria¡¯s goal is to begin a space-faring, colonizing era for Humanity. We wish to connect to our . . . Planet of Origin via habitable systems, in order to properly subsume humanity into the Matrix. [<<- ->>] Furthermore, V¡¯tek¡¯clor, I plan to allow Earth and Sol, as an independent system, to govern themselves while I continue to expand my team¡¯s expertise amongst the four systems I plan to use to hop Matrix communications back to Earth.[<<- ->>] You expressed that Earth Humans would be, more aggressive and violent? [<<- ->>] Very likely, yes. It¡¯s why Tessa, my AI, flagged our tech level. Knocking it back down to T-0, possibly T-1. I have plans once I get to Earth but otherwise intend to disseminate tech swarms en-masse with a training program here, on Astoria for Symbiote takers. There is little to no aether on Earth. [<<- ->>] The collective finds this acceptable. Having Astoria as a travel resource would be beneficial. As Administrator, I find your situation troubling but within the realm of Primus control. With the geas you¡¯ve agreed to, I do not foresee any sanctions or censure.[<<- Moments of awkward standing around has me about to leave when a small stick person pushes forward their version of a hover cart with a small box on it. On top of the open box, nestled in egg-crate-style packing, lie six dark purple objects that look like stellated decahedral plums. ->>] That is some seriously neat looking fruit. It is fruit, yes?[<<- ->>]Yes! I mentioned that we may exchange fruit for your aether-rich water. This amount is what we consider an exchange for your hospitality. I would mention that those without a Symbiote should have no more than a taste, or complications? May occur. [<<- ->>] Would it be rude to try one now? [<<- instead of replying in thoughts, V¡¯tek¡¯s avatar reaches over and hands one of the fruits to me. The palm-sized fruit has to weigh ten plus kilos. Holy hell. The skin is supple and the spines only appear sharp. I take out a small knife to cut it in half to find a nebula of purples, blues and cream with shiny flecks scattered amongst the inner meat. The smell that hits me is citrusy and sweet in what seems too many dimensions. I flick my aether sight open for a second to see it oozing with it. I cut one half in half again so I can eat it like a wedge and am overwhelmed by a multi-sense epiphany. The dragon fruit-like texture is smooth and pleasing as the swirls of color are sweet and tart on my tongue and the flavor alternates between creamy key lime pie and a rich port wine with an omnipresent feeling of satisfaction and energy. My senses slowly come back from experiencing that quarter of a fruit to find that I am on my knees, crying and laughing with the joy contained in that singular bite. You also gained a symbiote imbalance. You essentially ate refined, concentrated Aether. ->>] V¡¯tek¡¯clor, thank you for that singular culinary experience. You may have also provided a means for my Symbiote hosts to survive on the aether-sparse planet of our origin.[<<- I stand and bow my appreciation. I cut off small slices of the inner meat of the second quarter and hand them to my advisors. As soon as the start chewing, they both moan and their eyes start glowing faintly. Melissa¡¯s twinge of lavender and Katie¡¯s show fingers of rich blood. While they¡¯re indisposed, I take a bite of what looks like rind, and find it also to contain aether, but it is slightly tart like wine grape skin. I continue munching on the rind while my friends recover. I ask Katie if she would like to broker future exchanges of our aether rich water for it¡¯s worth in those fruits and she jumps at the chance to start her work as an interstellar commodities tycoon. Mel takes a little longer to recover, which makes sense as she wasn¡¯t exposed to the massive mutation burst that was Copernicus leaving the system. ¡°I think us swarm users can use these to mutate in a more controlled manner. This aether was so much more ordered and contained than the warp bursts. I think I can see faint auras now.¡± She still sounds a bit dazed, perhaps wonder, at the mutation she just underwent. ¡°Your eyes are tinted slightly purple and glow a little.¡± Looking into her pretty eyes this much makes me want to kiss her, so I do. ¡°Mm, you ate something tart?¡± ¡°The rind. It¡¯s not as tasty, but it¡¯s not going to mutate me either. Much lower aether content.¡± ¡°Can I try?¡± I slice her off a centimeter and she quickly eats it. I¡¯m relieved when nothing happens. ¡°Huh, that isn¡¯t unpleasant, and it feels safer on the Aether department. Please keep the rinds. Not as though you would waste it, you¡¯re like half mana yourself these days.¡± ¡°Not that much, but I¡¯m excited about these fruits because Viper, Meeker, Beecham and I won¡¯t need to take extra risks in order to stay on Earth when things like this exist.¡± It feels like one of the weights I¡¯m carrying sloughs off and I feel lighter and happier. ¡°I¡¯m always for you taking less risk.¡± She smiles at me and gives me a quick kiss before joining our resident Vampire in talking with our plant-like visitors. B2 Ch 10: Group Hug ¡°Viper, we¡¯re running out of bombs, bud.¡± I say, watching the cameras show the boys throwing bombs willy-nilly into the forest surrounding the crater. ¡°We would have an easier time targeting if we were lower down!¡± He yells back. Okay, fuck it. Short memories and all that. I lower the hover of ASS-1 to 30m above the crater. They start hitting more often, but then I see a rustling in the trees and I veer right, hard. A 10m long pink and tan tiger-like thing leaps out of the canopy to swipe my shuttle and barely misses. I steady the ship, lean out and fire off some plasma rounds out of the open cockpit door. I get a few hits on the tiger thing, enough to make it look up at me after it lands. ¡°Crazy Ivan time friends.¡± I start raising the lift in preparation for my maneuver and issue alerts for the team to pressurize the compression pockets in their suits. I let the shuttle drift back down in a wobble, hoping it makes us look wounded. Tiger takes the bait and I blast it full on in the face with my rear thrusters. I expect it to be knocked back, but it weighs enough to just drop down. I pitch the ship vertical and watch us drop down toward the stunned and slightly crispy alien. Just before I see it recover we are mere meters above it and I full afterburn the plasma vortex thrusters. The focused point of those thrusters should be in the realm of tens of thousands of degrees. The thrusters cut back as the 12g alarm goes off, which distracts me just enough to miss the gorilla-like juggernaut launching itself at the bottom of my shuttle, allowing it to slam into us and get its arms around my hull. After ten seconds I have to dial the g-forces back yet again to not kill my teammates, but I still gain altitude while the roaring beast begins to make my ship creak and crumple. I start to fear for our lives when I see claws come into the ship. I full power the lift thrusters and give the long-armed alien a good burn on its middle. The shriek of the monster and my shuttle tell me the beast let go from the pain and in seconds it appears smoking in my rear facing camera. I level out the ship as best I can and head back towards the crater to survey what happened. The crater has erupted in chaos. Two remaining Juggernauts defend the object while thousands of smaller aether-warped beasts swarm the area. /Doc. How much of the gelled fuel do you have on hand?/ /400 liters or so. It¡¯s not all in one place though. I can get about half together in five minutes though./ /Perfect, let me know when and I¡¯ll jump over. Stupid Idea number two time./ I use the five minutes to draw vortex runes without the fire components of my thrusters, and when I get the word, I warp to the location indicated slap runes on top of the multitude of 10 liter containers then lie on top of them to port them back over the crater. A few seconds of falling to re-orient myself and I port back into the shuttle, feeling sick to my stomach. I stick my head out of the cockpit door and vomit while eyeing the falling containers and triggering the dispersal runes about 10m up. I lower the elevator in the back and dump the remaining plasma grenades overboard. When all of the bright white flares of heat and light are finished, the crater is aflame in a vibrant blue hue. ¡°Huh, the blue flame surrounded by a pink field is really pretty.¡± I hit record on my aft cameras and watch it burn. The boys don¡¯t start waking back up until I start back home. All five of them start asking what happened and I tell them that they can watch the recording after we get back to the Station. Viper wants to do a debrief for some reason, and Katie wants to review the Aether gains. Melissa shows no emotion on her face, but as soon as I get within arm range she pulls me into her lap and latches her arms around me like a safety harness and doesn¡¯t let me go. We watch the video of the mission with her head on my shoulder and my leaning back into her. ¡°That was an absurdly dangerous feint, Mercer.¡± Viper hissed. ¡°Only slightly more dangerous than asking me to fly lower, mission commander.¡± I snipe back. ¡°And then you almost kill us with acceleration.¡± He accuses. ¡°Yep. That I did do. But the control limits we planned for emergency egress worked. We killed thousands of aether-warped and the Station is much safer now.¡± I say, not pleased with the outcome, but I don¡¯t want to continue sniping at him. ¡°How behind does the damage to the shuttle put you?¡± Katie asks me. ¡°Not much really. If Eyes doesn¡¯t mind heading a repair team, I¡¯ll put in a work order and they can work on fixing her up while I run through my drone testing on a new warp configuration.¡± ¡°Who pays for repairs now that we¡¯re broke?¡± Viper asks again. ¡°Broke? We all just made a small fortune in AE. And I¡¯ll pay for the repairs. I made the decision that got her bent, and she¡¯s my ship, so I¡¯ll pay Eyes and he can figure out the rest.¡± ¡°What about all that money you left out there? The money you burned?¡± ¡°Viper, man, are you trying to start a fight? How about you initiate a council vote on a well-structured argument instead of whatever this is. If Everyone feels that funds need a different distribution than the Andromeda Matrix¡¯s estimated participation distribution, then by all means lets vote on it. But as none of this is an emergency, it can wait until tomorrow.¡± Viper looks as though he wants to protest but a few of his teammates tell him to leave it be. Good, at least one of them is sensible. We all end up leaving Katie to her office and go our separate ways. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°What do you think about you, me, and Katie order dinner and drinks and watch a movie on the moon?¡± I ask Melissa as we walk toward the pond. ¡°While that does sound romantic, I¡¯d rather order snacks and drinks and piddle with work in our PJs.¡± ¡°You just described my perfect afternoon. You coming to my shop slash apartment? Or we going back to your place?¡± ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be our place, dummy. But since I have never been to the apartment part of your shop, lets go there after I pick up my PJs.¡± While she goes to the dorms I order us some food and have it delivered to the converted 5th floor workshop and send a little note to Katie telling her our plans. When Melissa returns, I fly us via shuttle to the roof and take the stairs down to my apartment. Since it used to be a lab, the layout of my apartment is enormous loft. The stairs open up into a living room-lounge with a huge projection display wall. The space to the left meanders into my kitchen area, where the flame burner connections used to be, with an island and sinks for whatever I might want to prepare, or have someone prepare. It¡¯s rarely used, but it looks nice and has a walk in refrigerator and freezer. The kitchen area opens up into a span of floor to ceiling windows on both sides of the loft that is littered with tables and shelves supporting tools, various projects in various states of completion, and a few sections of my modules manifested as books. On the far side of the loft, where the decontamination station used to be, is an absurdly large tub and adjacent open shower. The opposite corner on the far side is my bed, dresser and cozy chair stacked high with blankets. That section also has a skylight so I can stargaze from the comfort of my own bed. ¡°I understand better why I never see you. This place is amazing. You realize I¡¯m moving in right?¡± She¡¯s looking at me with a serious expression. ¡°Hehe, yah,¡± I fidget nervously and blush, ¡°I wanted to ask you after I finished fixing it up. Most of my furniture was machine parts and crates that the exchange delivers some items in. My plan didn¡¯t firm up until after our argument two days ago. I figured this was as solid indication as any that I¡¯m still interested?¡± Melissa¡¯s eyes widen, ¡°you did this in two days, while there was a mission to plan, for us?¡± I nod sheepishly, ¡°Yes?¡± Her expression softens and her lavender eyes sparkle as she pulls me into her soft lips. The kiss is slow and captivating, weakening my knees like in a sappy romance, Mel wraps an arm around my waist, holding me up as she kisses my breath away. ¡°I love you Penny.¡± She says between breaths. ¡°I love you too Melissa.¡± ¡°Now go take a shower and then you can show me what you¡¯re working on while I eat all your food.¡± I chuckle at her and the warm and fuzzy feelings in my chest and cheeks. ¡°That sounds perfect.¡± *** Katie rings the bell when I¡¯m in the shower so I tell her I¡¯ll be a second and warp her into my apartment, maybe our apartment, while in my PJ¡¯s. She brought a basket with wine and a few tools for projects. ¡°You put three work stations in?¡± She says, amazed that I considered her. ¡°I mean, yeah, It¡¯d be rude after our discussion to not include you wouldn¡¯t it?¡± I put my hand on her hip in reassurance. ¡°I suppose, but I¡¯d calculated that you¡¯d regress into your previous habits and ignore the problem?¡± ¡°Ouch, Kay. Odds were in your favor, but ouch.¡± I can¡¯t help but smile, she knows me pretty well. ¡°I never said I¡¯d consider the whole thing, but this is me considering it. It¡¯s a space with room for all three of us.¡± She breathes in deep and slowly exhales, a small shudder shows me she is struggling with emotions she¡¯s trying to repress. ¡°Can we move to the portion of the evening where we discuss our projects? Mostly your warp timelines?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± I smile, giving her a peck on the cheek before walking over to the beach-ball sized drone I¡¯ve been yelling at. ¡°So you¡¯re having Tessa control the drone through the ansible?¡± Melissa asks, already producing the drone with her cyber equipment. ¡°That¡¯s her idea, yeah. She¡¯s been wanting to be more involved too and it¡¯s honestly been amazing for the technical details that cause me mishaps when I¡¯m in a flow state. Anyway, this is my test drone. It has a forward-facing warp array after you yelled at me months ago. Un-piloted, throwing shit tests have been successful so far.¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t you tested this yet? From what I can tell, the drone is remotely pilotable and everything.¡± Katie seems to have pulled up Ophelia¡¯s display. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to finish the handshake between Tessa in my head and the desired control through the ansible.¡± Melissa studies me, grabs my aether port wrist, then does a Vulcan mind meld grab on my head. ¡°Hey Tessa, can you allow my AI to uplink through the ansible?¡± ¡°I can, yes.¡± A smooth, dusky timber resonates in the loft. ¡°Wow, did you pick that voice or did she?¡± ¡°Not sure why she picked hot-teacher sexy, but she likes it.¡± ¡°So do I.¡± Katie adds. ¡°Shit, so do I. However, we can talk playtime implications later. Now, I think we can do this. Ophie, go ahead, load and link to the drone.¡± She inserts a power cell into the beachball-sized drone. ¡°Alright, give me the twill when you¡¯re connected.¡± In a few seconds, the drone whistles like R2D2. ¡°Okay, lets take this to the roof. I don¡¯t warp in the apartment.¡± ¡°Somehow that surprises me.¡± Katie says, deadpan having dealt with my shenanigans as well. ¡°Parts of my reinforced, hardened lab space have been destroyed by warps and related explosions, so it¡¯s a rule I follow.¡± Mel squeezes my hand in appreciation. Once we¡¯re on the roof, the drone zips up until it¡¯s barely visible ¡°Ophie wants to know the standoff for the worst disaster and the most likely disaster.¡± ¡°10 kilometers and 500 meters. If she lights the signal beacon, we¡¯ll be able to see her from a kilometer easy.¡± The drone zips off to the right and flares a bright red light. ¡°Oh, nice. You clearly thought this through. We¡¯re prepared to execute the lowest projected warp. Horizontal translation. Do we need to adjust for warp in atmosphere?¡± ¡°Nope, tested that on the moon. Well, the moon I blew up. The rune creates a nearly perfect annihilation pocket, so the extra matter doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°Noooooo. Science puns. I¡¯m dead,¡± Melissa despairs with the drama flair of a wrist to her forehead. Katie gives me a thumbs up. I snicker at the dichotomy. ¡°Alright Ophie, Atropos, start the logs and initiate warp.¡± The light fades within seconds, appearing a good distance to the left. ¡°FUCK YEA!¡± I grab Melissa with both arms and pick her up and spin us both. ¡°Thank you for fixing my problem! AHHHH!¡± She squeals and giggles at my excitement. ¡°My pleasure hon. Not quite fixed, I have to make a little device to see if my idea will fix Tessa¡¯s problem.¡± ¡°Andromeda am I glad that worked.¡± I sigh heavily, relieved when I get spin around to see Katie lifting an eyebrow and tapping her foot. I scoff pick her up in a princess carry, which must look ridiculous with our height difference, and kiss her on the cheek. ¡°Thank you for all of the magitech help Kay.¡± She grins appreciatively. ¡°Can you ask Ophelia execute warp plans Beta through Delta? While we celebrate with galaxy fruit and wine?¡± ¡°Would you like Atropos and I to help extrapolate the incoming data to your future scale model?¡± ¡°Yes, but no more business. There will be wine and cuddles and an honest attempt to make whatever this is, feel less awkward.¡± I teleport them both to the lounge. I grab a tray and pile it with my fruit beer and snacks and plop on my sectional. Katie pulls me up to lie on her and Mel positions herself to lie on me. Katie puts on an updated version of one of those ¡°How it¡¯s Made¡± shows and we drink and heckle the show like a bunch of giant nerds. B2 Ch 11: But Will it Kill Me? We learned a lot off of Ophelia¡¯s data and Atropos¡¯ analysis. The most important from this stage being that conservation of momentum holds true, and that trying to adjust portal speed to allow us to travel through is unreliable. Accelerating after portal launch is preferred. While I appreciate the cuddle pile confab, it is important for you to consider your notifications from yesterday. They appear to be significant. You received 2104 notifications on kills alone. That¡¯s alarming, but I don¡¯t see the importance. The armed beast had just reached tier 2, and the tiger-like beast was on the cusp. Many of the beasts you killed with blue fire were tier 1. The majority of your kills were via cleverly used technology, but if your actions release the bound Aether, you receive a portion. Is this catch-up going to kill me? No, but I do recommend saving at least one of those ¡®Galaxy Fruits¡¯ to balance out your pending tech imbalance. Okay, Tess. Will do. I have two left, so it should be good until the lake recovers before we leave. So, please send me the accumulated summary.
That all seems a bit much, but I see what¡¯s going on. Good to see that we earned a few more CE.
x2
Tessa, are you sure this won¡¯t kill us? The seven modules you are owed would overheat everything in your skull. However, I can load them in Astoria¡¯s ansible and load them when you can handle them. Since you are now eligible for Aether modules, it may be less of an issue. Aether modules!? My heart rate picks up and my excitement ramps through the roof. ¡°Honey, are you okay? Your vitals just peaked and I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s not my fault.¡± ¡°Heh, no Mel,¡± I hug in close and enjoy her breasts cradling my collar. ¡°Tessa just told me I gained eight levels, and that Aether modules are a thing. I started freaking before I could even look at my options.¡± ¡°We have a meeting before lunch Penny, you should finish whatever you can before then. If you want, Ophie and I can finish the distance setting data for drone testing?¡± She starts circling the base of my skull with her fingers and it relaxes me. When she pulls her hand back like she was bitten. A kiss at my neck tells me she probably was. Katie¡¯s not much for words in the morning, so she growls while nibbling my shoulder and holding an arm around my middle. ¡°All things being equal, if you have a fix for mine and Tessa¡¯s comms integration, I¡¯d like that instead. As the next phase of testing on the Indulgence is what really matters.¡± I turn to my back and hook an arm around Katie¡¯s head and hug both to me tightly. ¡°I really liked us when we finally got comfortable, can we do this every day?¡± I ask my friends. ¡°I really enjoyed yesterday, and it felt . . . homey.¡± ¡°Penny, I enjoyed it as well, but I will need to work and enjoy my alone time.¡± She pulls away to stand up and start searching for her coveralls. I take a moment to admire her long frame. ¡°Jumping back in a little quick eh Pen Pen?¡± I chuck yesterdays panties at her head, smacking her right in the face. ¡°Jokes on you, you smell great.¡± ¡°Nasty girl.¡± And then she growls at me. ¡°Just because I want to enjoy what I can, when it¡¯s simple, doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ve forgotten, asshole.¡± She flips me off. I watch Melissa connect a few cables to our drone from a small cube she carries in her pocket before bringing up schematics on a projection display for something I don¡¯t understand. The pale vampire kneels on the bed, now fully dressed, and pulls me into a kiss. ¡°This gets complicated again when sex is involved, Penny. Consider that before you jump into it?¡± I nod in acknowledgement. When she turns, I smack her butt and stick my tongue out at her. She shakes her head at my antics and walks to the stairs. I look at Melissa to see how she¡¯s reacting and she sports a grimace and sighs. Perhaps a little bit of buyer¡¯s remorse? I don¡¯t care right now, because I don¡¯t feel as shitty about this whole thing and Andromeda does it feel good to feel a semblance of peace with the turmoil running through my brain. Now for more stress! Alright Tessa, how do we do this? You have naturally accepted a mutation already.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. I like that, but look Tessa, I want to take half of my modules in magic. Even before I see them, I want more than just warp and engraving. These modules can kill us, Penny. You¡¯re only eligible because you have Body of Power IV and a naturally robust psyche. Copy that. Show me my options.
Choose up to 7 Advanced Aether modules: Elemental Manifestation¡ªYou¡¯re a mage Penny! Cross Class, cost 2
Innate Element Manipulation¡ªRequires Manifestation. Cross Class, cost 2
Basic Transfiguration¡ªshapeshifting, but only little bits. Cross Class, cost 2
Innate toolkit¡ªRequires Basic Transfiguration. Any tool manifest for Intermediate skills. Cost 1
Body of Power V ¨C You become a being of Aether. Your biology is fundamentally changed. Cost 5
Andromeda knows how to play me. There is no reality that I chose body of power. However, the system gave me four other options that add up to fucking seven. The way the options feel, the elemental suite would ravage me and possibly cripple me. The transfiguration option feels like choosing a hairstyle and nail colors. Totally non-threatening, and toolkit is rated an in-class option. Literally on my Artificer track if I take transfiguration. That¡¯s what we¡¯re doing Tessa. A much as I like the idea of being a mage also, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s in the cards anymore. Don¡¯t show me those options anymore. I have mentioned before, that my preferences are to remain as balanced as possible, so unlocking Elementalist mutations is not preferred. You may want to take some pain killers and take these modules in your shower area. The description says this module can have unpredictable synergies with other mutations. That does sound messy. I walk over to my ¡°oopsie¡± station and pop open the tier 2 med kit I bought after impaling myself with bits of test drone mark 2 and find the Vicodin-like tongue tabs, grab a berry soda and a couple of slices of galaxy fruit just in case. ¡°Shower beer?¡± Melissa asks, seeming more impressed than judgmental. ¡°In case of vomit mouth. I¡¯m going to load two Aether mods, so it might be gross.¡± She nods, but looks worried. I try to disarm that look with a smirk and a thumbs up, but it doesn¡¯t work. I pull a plain chair into my shower area and get a taste of the soda. Alright Tessa, load ¡®em. At first, I feel a tickle in my brain that brings back memories of Aether manipulation and floods me with images of how to massage and force the Aether into changing objects I know intimately, parts of myself. The tools module just broadens what knowledge is considered ¡°Basic¡± with regard to transfiguration. The knowledge load is relatively light, and the distraction fades into a tingly feeling at the base of my skull and some fizziness in my brain? Wait, is that a twitch in my abdomen? Tessa, can you tell what¡¯s going on? Is the symbiote placement okay? It appears that your subconscious and autonomic processes are attempting to integrate more effectively with Body of Power. Meaning those wiggles were only the beginning? With the number of areas that have been indicated, there will be considerably more wiggling. I also recommend ordering aether-infused liquids and begin consuming them. She gives me several recommended options at 5AE a piece. I buy 10 and start there. They appear in 5 liter jugs. I splurge and buy a long, bio-plastic, loop and swirl straw in unicorn colors and start drinking the refined Aether fruit juice. ¡°Okay, the Aliens vibes in my belly are freaking me out. I want to review my tech mods.¡±
Choose up to 4 modules from the following: Intermediate Space Manipulation¡ªHow to not get lost in space-time. Cost 2
Aether Forging¡ªControl the aether involved in every facet of fabrication. Cost 3
Basic Combat Discipline ¨C chose a weapon, gain a skill
Targeted Destruction ¨C Deconstructing Moons for pleasure and Profit. Cross Class, cost 2
Introduction to Community and Habitat management ¨C Be better, for everyone¡¯s benefit.
You said I had a tech surplus right? I want to burn an imbalance. It feels like a good time to finally buy that space skill, and Aether forging would help me and Katie push our construction capabilities well into tier 1. I will load them into the Ansible, and filter them to you this evening after your . . . initial transfiguration adjustments are complete. It is interesting to me that you don¡¯t see the imbalances as future levels. I don¡¯t think what your doing is a waste, but I also don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary. I shrug at that, I¡¯ve mostly hopped from windfall to windfall. Sure, I¡¯m being rewarded from dangerous situations I¡¯ve lived through, but from day 1 it¡¯s felt like advancing along my track is more important than pure leveling. Tessa nods in my head, but doesn¡¯t say anything else. I sit there, in my shower for the next few hours eating pain pills and drinking juice while watching a movie on the wall. Various purging points happen throughout the process, toilet to shower multiple times until I¡¯m sitting in a chair, naked, under a constant stream of water. ¡°Penny!¡± Mel calls from across the loft. ¡°We have fifteen minutes until the meeting. Clean up and get dressed please!¡± That¡¯s the end of that, Tessa. Okay body, you¡¯re done for now. I need to walk around and not poop out my innards or leak refuse through my skin. Our Symbiote integration indicates that that the remaining changes your subconscious intends were either not ¡°Basic¡± or were purely cosmetic. There should be no further internal changes from this mutation. Great. Fruit, shower clothes, meeting. What kind of clothes do you go to a council meeting like this in. Tessa, how long would it take you to design an Astorian Navy flight suit? With Ophelia¡¯s assistance, 5-10 minutes. She sounds very excited. Hah, oh no, what have I done? I trust you two. I need to make a startling impression. Mel walks up behinds me, kissing my neck while I put my hair up in a tight bun. ¡°Why has my AI been giggling for the past five minutes, refusing to tell me what she¡¯s doing?¡± ¡°Same reason I¡¯m not dressed yet, I imagine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re letting my AI go shopping for you? What kind of traitorous shenanigans are these?! And why was I not invited to shop for you?¡± ¡°Could you have done it in 10 minutes?¡± I ask, my brows accusing. She looks away, because we both know she would get lost in the Exchange for a while. But before she can reply, a box plops down next to us. I eagerly pry the lid off and see something completely different than I was expecting. Tessa and Ophelia designed me a lightweight, tactical EVA suit. The pants are on top, showing structural reinforcement in matt grey, where the lighter weight materials that offer flexibility show a mosaic of colors that look a lot like my eye colors. I hook my feet into the stirrup loops at the bottom of the tight fitting pressure collars at my ankles and pull over the suspender straps attached to an inner collar that fits snug to my waist. The boots are edgy looking stompers with the grey reinforcements that lock over the pants in a pressure-tight seal. The top seems a mix of body armor and flight suit with a chest plate designed to showcase a name and a rank insignia. It says ¡°Astoria¡± and instead of a rank insignia, a thick heliotrope bar with embellishments at the edges. The same bar appears on the left side of my split collar. Melissa helps me lock the top to my pants and we leave the gloves and helmet off. ¡°Okay, you look badass. If I wasn¡¯t standing right in front of you, I¡¯d swear you were over six feet tall. And the mosaic pattern is pretty in your eye color. Ophie and Tessa did a great job. It¡¯s got an ¡®I could be fighting, or in space, or fighting in space at any moment¡¯ vibe.¡± I pat the flexible sides of my chest piece and finger the fiber reinforcement when Melissa lifts my head to kiss me. ¡°Now please teleport us to the Ansible or we¡¯ll be late.¡± I smile wide, ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± She chuckles as I grab her hand and warp her across the colony. B2 CH 12: Being Right Doesnt Always Feel Good. There she is, walking in late wearing our money blatant as you please.¡± Ah, Viper. Itching for a fight. ¡°Penelope released her finances since we landed on this planet until this moment. That EVA suit was purchased with funds she had acquired prior to your mission, Viper.¡± Katie reprimands him. ¡°Unless you have questions about my ability to provide an accurate accounting, I suggest you cease your baseless, uniformed finger pointing.¡± She waits to see if he has more to say, and seeing only a sneer from him aimed at me, she continues. ¡°Viper has put forth a motion to re-distribute the monetary rewards from yesterday¡¯s mission. Penelope seconded the motion under the caveat that a detailed motion be provided to the council. I received said motion last night. The motion was delivered with desired distribution percentages under the auspices of being compensated for effort, personal risk, and responsibility. The percentages provided did not appear to have a data-based assessment to validate those percentages. Those numbers are displayed on the far left column.¡± His proposed adjustment cuts Francesca and Melissa almost completely out of the AE award. ¡°I have run multiple models based on the video and data recordings taken. The first is apparent effort alone. Second apparent effort with apparent risk. Third is effort and risk with materiel sources and mission preparation calculated in it. The final document is a baseline of what the Andromeda Matrix provided. The data is a correlated average of the tech-based citizens of Astoria¡¯s Ais. Symbiote users were excluded from the calculations due to their limited focus.¡± I low key want to argue against that, but it would only hurt me here. ¡°I propose that the three data-based distributions be added to the motion under consideration.¡± Katie states. ¡°I second,¡± Francesca nearly shouts. ¡°Vote for the inclusion of these items.¡± Four council hands rise. ¡°Those opposed?¡± Viper and his crew raise their hands. ¡°I would note that there are only five current council members per previous agreement. The items are included in a vote of 4 to 1 in favor.¡± ¡°May we have a short recess to review the new data sets?¡± I ask Katie. She raises an eyebrow for disrupting her flow, but otherwise nods. ¡°That seems reasonable. Say three hours for lunch and consideration?¡± Nods all around. I wonder what other strategy they¡¯ll try to cook up. I walk outside to the ansible to order some food and a beer when someone decides to poke at me. ¡°Spending more of our money, Penny?¡± he chuckles, ¡°Get it? Money Penny? James Bond? Guess you can¡¯t buy culture.¡± ¡°Dude, I don¡¯t know what suddenly crawled up your ass and helped you decide to fuck with me, but I¡¯m tired of this. Councilor O¡¯Connell already explained that I didn¡¯t spend anything I was awarded yesterday. But fine, here you go. A fucking guarantee.¡± //This is a system-wide alert. All funds awarded yesterday, the 427th day after founding, are to be frozen in all accounts until after this matter is adjudicated by the council, and released by Councilor O¡¯Connell.// ¡°There you go. Now we all must be honest. Hope you didn¡¯t go on a shopping spree yesterday.¡± I walk away from the ansible more calmly than I feel, knowing that despite my proclamation, it would look bad if I went right back to spending. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could do that.¡± Melissa walks up next to me. ¡°I took your and Katie¡¯s advice and looked into what kind of authority I have and what I can do with it. Turns out, I have absolute authority. Sure we have a council, but no one has tried to limit my authority, so I still have it. The only thing the Matrix says that I owe my citizens is subsistence and shelter. That is it. I bet some of Viper¡¯s team find out today that daily rations are free.¡± ¡°Why not just tell everyone?¡± ¡°Because none of them seemed interested in what I have to say. That and Katie helped me set up what could be considered a daily ration. Our logistician knows these things better than I would ever care to. She even convinced me to throw in the rum ration from old navy days. So every 90 days, Astoria buys everyone a beer. Want to eat a ration and have a beer with me?¡± ¡°Sure? Do we go to the dorm mess hall?¡± I nod, we don¡¯t have to, but it¡¯s the best optic right now. I haven¡¯t been to the dorm in ages and I¡¯ve certainly never slept there. We walk in to find it has not been well taken care of. In fact, when I get to the bank of dispensers, I see the ration drink dispenser torn off the wall. I¡¯m embarrassed for them, but it¡¯s all terribly funny. I made the dispensers look like a bank of vending machines that I installed. Instead, I enchanted a metal plate to have button regions and a dispensing region and tied it to the Exchange with Tessa and Katie¡¯s help. I concentrate on turning my middle finger into an engraving stylus and lo and behold the damn thing sharpens and forms a runnel and fills with Aether. That is convenient as all get out. I draw some shapes to fix the metal panel back to the wall and ask Mel for help in propping it back up. I affix the bin back to the plate to catch containers and we should be set. I hit the button for ration ¡°A¡± and hit the ¡°Beer¡± button twice. A pizza-sized box appears in the slot for my food, and two clear-glass bottles of beer are ¡°dispensed¡± into the bin. Katie hits ration ¡°B¡± and then the ¡°Rum¡± button twice and then buys a fruit juice from the Exchange proper before following me to the cleanest table we can find. ¡°That is a smart way to use the rum ration. Giving me Daquiri vibes.¡± ¡°Mm. I do love daquiris.¡± She agrees, dismissively while inspecting the contents of her ration box and comparing it to mine. ¡°So, uh, I don¡¯t know when I last ate in front of you was, but I eat a lot?¡± ¡°Are you embarrassed that you like food Penny?¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I mean, yeah. And also that I have to eat twice what I used to just to not be hungry.¡± ¡°Gods, you¡¯re adorable. You told me you had a metabolism mutation when we were still on the ship. And I don¡¯t care how much you eat, you¡¯re so skinny now I barely recognize my girlfriend. When that and the changes from this morning.¡± She pats my face and turns back to her fish and chips dinner portion. ¡°What do you mean? What changes?¡± She snorts and coughs a little. ¡°Baby, when I saw you doing your hair, I thought maybe you teleported a sister here. You¡¯re fit, your face thinner, and at least a dozen small changes to your face structure. I had Ophelia compare because I couldn¡¯t tell if my eyes were playing tricks on me.¡± Oh, no. Does she not like the changes? Do I try to turn them back? How would I even do that if my subconscious made those changes. Would it make them again if I went to bed? ¡°Stop Pen pen. I can see the panic racing through your head. I still want to see you next to me when the changes stop though, okay? Even though the pixie direction you are taking is super cute.¡± She reaches up to touch my ear and traces the outside. I reach up to feel my other ear, and it¡¯s pointier than it was yesterday. ¡°Curse my stupid brain and insecurities. I didn¡¯t mean to do any of that.¡± And now Melissa is laughing at me. I grump as I shove a pork-adjacent BBQ sandwich in my face. I stuff an egg from breakfast in there too. ¡°What¡¯re you two doing here, eating our food, drinking our beer?¡± A familiar voice accuses yet again. ¡°They¡¯re subsistence rations, Viper. Everyone in Summer Station is entitled to one a day, and beer every 90 days of service. You¡¯ve already figured out that none of it is actually stored here, so why try to claim any of it?¡± ¡°Penny, don¡¯t poke him. It¡¯s not worth the conflict. You can have the rest of my food, Viper. Let¡¯s go babe.¡± I pick up my box of food, not wanting to share, and my beer and follow the Psionicist. ¡°Leave the beer.¡± Viper has the audacity to command. I raise and eyebrow and look at Melissa, she shrugs. I shrug back and toss my unopened beer over my shoulder toward him while we leave. We see Meeker and Beecham on the way out and Mel stops to talk to both of them. I begrudgingly stop eating in front of them after she chastises me. When they mention that they¡¯re worried about food for the day because they¡¯re broke and so are the vending machines, or so Viper had told them. Mel told them about it being a daily ration, and that they could just pick theirs up at the ansible if the machine in the Dorm stops working. Their eyes brighten and they dash back to the ansible. ¡°Thanks for managing me back there, Mel. I definitely wasn¡¯t helping the situation.¡± ¡°Yeah. You should not be the one talking to leadership when we get back to Earth either.¡± ¡°Good think I have the prettiest and best-est PR person in the whole of Astoria working with me!¡± I hug her tight. ¡°With the added benefit of reading non-Astorian minds.¡± ¡°Oh? I had wondered about that.¡± She then proceeds to describe her morality for excluding Astorians from her abilities, and that forcibly narrowing her result yields some unexpected benefits. One that benefits me specifically is that she gets more depth and fidelity when trying to prevent hostilities. As we walk up to the Ansible building, we see Meeker and Beecham sitting on the bench in Katie¡¯s garden eating their Rations and chatting with smiles on their faces. Alright, Tessa, is there anything I should fear from Katie¡¯s combat analysis and money distribution? No. Ophelia shared the proposal and scenarios with me this morning, which is why I spent so much of what you had left on your EVA suit. Lady, this is way better than I could have hoped for, and I get the feeling that it does way more than look cool and protect me from space. Yes, for 15k AE and a future delivery of two sundering staves, I should hope it does more. It¡¯s ballistic and plasma armor, it has an emergency shield that draws from flight aether stores and can keep pressure in your suit until you find your helmet. The part I figured you¡¯d like the most is that it has advanced maneuvering capabilities in and out of atmosphere and gravity. I had your left glove modified to lock into your Aether port so that you can re-supply your flight system in an emergency or to re-charge. It also has uplink and data storage capabilities, but those are mostly for me. It also has some stealth capabilities and an Orbital Drop mode that I didn¡¯t spend time to look in to. What the hell am I wearing? The most over-engineered uniform of all time. This is some T-2 shenanigans. Because of your Moon-Breaker bomb. Your personal tech rating is T-3, but your Aether access rating is only T-2. The V¡¯tek Collective is currently bringing your case to the Supercluster Forum and should hear from them in 1/16th of a Galactic Standard Mark (GSM), or about 7 months. For reference, a half Mark is about a second, and a full mark is around 8.5 Earth years, or more conveniently, just over 8 Astorian years. Blarg. So, what if we rounded all that business to eight years and divide by powers of sixteen. A hex would be half a year, or 211 Astorian days, square-hex would be 13-ish days, cube-hex 18ish hours, and last bit of math I want to do, a quad-hex is 68 minutes. That¡¯s doable. Can we put together a calendar? Fourteen months with a remainder of two. Or Sixteen months with six remaining. Something like that. You certainly went down that rabbit hole. Yes, we can make an Astorian Calendar. Should I come up with month names? Sure, if you want to. But back to the Vote. If I¡¯m not gutted on any of the options, I may as well vote for the options that help highlight the efforts of our support team. Which seems to be the last presented option. I suppose I could read them, but that is not what I¡¯m interested in doing right now. *** ¡°Three hours have elapsed, all five Council members are present. I call for a vote on the re-distribution options.¡± Katie says from her work station. ¡°I reviewed the data and I don¡¯t agree with them. They ignore certain intangibles of leadership and combat.¡± ¡°Councilman Viper wishes to invalidate data sets due to their lack of subjective criteria. Do I hear a second?¡± ¡°I Second that,¡± the other symbiote user whose name starts with a ¡°G¡± says. ¡°Does another council member second Viper¡¯s motion?¡± ¡°That¡¯s bullshit! You can¡¯t just ignore us! We have every right to be heard.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t. Not in this meeting.¡± I say, reclining in my chair. ¡°You had months and months to indicate you wanted to be involved in our government, but only Eyes did at the beginning, then bailed for some reason. It is too late to demand better representation for this topic, as Viper has already agreed to this vote.¡± ¡°What gives you the right . . .¡± he might have been about to say something inciteful, but I interrupt. ¡°Your complacency did! You were content to suckle at the teat of the Matrix¡¯s and our generosity, and now you think you are owed more? For what? Because you threw my bombs at a bunch of trees? Because you got tossed around while I saved your lives in my ship? Or is it because your pride was wounded when, in the face of adversity and imminent death, you took a fucking nap? And when Katie and Doc help me finish the job, you would deny them their due? You deserve to be ashamed of yourselves!¡± Before I know it, I am glowing and my hands are on fire, and every last person looks afraid. Fuck. ¡°In light of the fact I could just make a ruling, and I am furious, I recuse myself of these proceedings.¡± I leave the room with loud, heavy steps. It may not have been ideal, but it was past time for the people that don¡¯t know you to understand why you are in charge. I don¡¯t think I deserve an atta-girl for this one, Tessa. I do think I¡¯m going to get the rest of my suit and start a project on the moon. You thought of a name for it yet? I appreciate that Tessa is letting me ignore parts of my situation until I can handle them. ¡°Yeah, Mercy. Because if I come back with even a shred of mercy with me, they should thank the fucking heavens.¡± B2 Ch 13: Overdressed This EVA suit is seriously the coolest thing I own. I¡¯ve been digging on this rock for hours with my sundering staff and I¡¯m only just running out of breathable air. This baby has rebreathers, and a damned atmospheric synthesizer that feeds off Aether. I need to put one of those in the shuttle. Speaking of, I need to return and hook my primary backups for a recharge, and maybe check in on Melissa. I¡¯m sad that I don¡¯t have access to enough funds to put a building in that hole. Astoria is really pretty from up here. I close the hatch, pressurize the shuttle, and pop my helmet off when it finishes. I have some blinking notices in my HUD so I transfer it to the main screen. An incoming call. ¡°Katie? Hey, what¡¯s the emergency?¡± ¡°Former Councilman Viper shouted words of sedition with conviction, so I went into the colony menus and sent you some notices to confirm.¡± ¡°How¡¯d the vote go?¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t much of a meeting after you left. The boys started shouting, Frannie shouted back, someone pulled a gun and they got ferociously electrocuted by my anti-tampering protocols. I was glad to see they worked. After they shook off the shock, they yelled again and a few stormed off. The three of us left decided on the last option and distributed the funds minutes ago. Where are you? There appears to be a delay.¡± ¡°On the moon. Venting and digging a hole.¡± ¡°You should install a defense laser.¡± She says, matter of fact. ¡°Hah, yeah, I probably should. Do you mind if you put small ansible up here?¡± ¡°I would if I were you. I say go for it.¡± ¡°Thanks Katie. Anything else?¡± ¡°I want to have a bloody tryst with you on the moon?¡± She says something that ridiculous with a strait face, and it¡¯s impressive. ¡°Jeez, that planet is lousy with horny women.¡± For the first time in days I see a crack in her stony fa?ade. Allow to leave, revoke citizenship. Set relations as ¡°strained¡± Well that feels like a loaded question. Lets change some organization. Astoria Sovereignty, led by Penny Astoria, with Consuls O¡¯Connell, and Hunsaker. Colony Curator Summer established the Independently governed Summer Station Vassal State. Summer Station is the current Capital of Astoria. //Astorian Decree: Independently Governed Colonies are permitted to establish Astorian Vassal States on all system gravity rounded bodies// ->> Sovereign Astoria! I represent the V¡¯tek Collective and would like to declare our intent to establish a colony in your system after our motion before the Andromeda Forum, on your behalf, is concluded. <<- Holy hell that was fast. They were likely the reason that prompt came up after you released the others from their citizenship. ->> Tentative agreement, representative! A proposed settlement site and desired rights and ranges will be required before permanent structures can be established. <<- ->> Promising Opportunity! Your allowance is appreciated, Sovereign. <<- Is it weird that I actually like how they talk? Lead with the conclusion, explain the rationale after. It all depends on an exchange that appears to be equitable. They are strangely okay with you maintaining rule over their colony. I imagine they are viewing it as a contractor that is granted a license to operate. I would have been more concerned, that the decree basically claimed sovereignty over all system assets, only inviting others to my planets and moons. Where the vast majority of accessible mining mass is in orbital debris, asteroids and comets. I see. And with your sundering devices being theoretically scalable, you could mine a system clean in a few centuries. That and I have actionable plans to claim four more systems. And in less than a hex, the Supercluster leadership will know that we can make Moon Breakers¡ªan unidentified technology of T-3 destructive capabilities. I believe you¡¯ve learned the wrong things from Earthen Politics. I feel as though, don¡¯t mess with me and I don¡¯t have to destabilize your star conveys my desired emotion. Should I begin to refer to you as her Imperial Majesty? NO! of course not Tessa. We¡¯re in this together, they shall refer to us as ¡°Our Imperial Majesties.¡± She cackles in my brain, not really needing any work on her villain laugh. I ring up Melissa because it has been minutes since their meeting ended. ¡°Hey Mel. I heard that the meeting went well and that Katie wants to have my puppies.¡± ¡°Pfft. She¡¯s a cat, Penny, but yes, after your show of power, she would happily bear your kittens. I would space her, but we kind of need her to run things. She¡¯s hot too.¡± Stolen story; please report. ¡°Fact. She is good at the management work and a good kisser.¡± She grumps at the last part, but moves on ¡°I saw the new authority structure, what motivated that?¡± She leans back, showing that she¡¯s sitting on a video call in her underwear. ¡°Plant collective. They want a piece of Astoria after their Matrix meeting. That and it allows for Viper to establish a nest if he wants. OH! Conference. Tessa, bring Katie in.¡± I get a picture in picture of Katie clearly taking a shower. ¡°Do I need to call you back?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± She asks, washing her hair while talking at the camera. Well if she doesn¡¯t care. ¡°I wanted to issue a noon tomorrow to vacate with the possessions you can physically carry.¡± ¡°With the hierarchy you just put in place, that¡¯s Frannie¡¯s call. Lets bring her in.¡± Doc¡¯s in the tub with a glass of wine and a unicorn rubber ducky. Is that a Narduck? Swordfowl? SaberSwan? Doc takes a moment to look around at her display. ¡°Penny, you are over dressed for this meeting.¡± The other three of us burst out laughing at the absurdity of her statement. I walk offscreen and teleport out of my EVA suit then walk back in in my rash guards. ¡°Better?¡± Nods all around. ¡°Good. I was telling Katie about my plan for a get out by noon, with anything you can carry. Thoughts?¡± ¡°Mmm. Anything not purchased with government funds, of course. I think I would extend it to all personal belongings not purchased with government funds. Would you agree to ferry them to a new site?¡± ¡°No.¡± Melissa frowns hard at me. ¡°but I will agree to ferry their gathered belongings to a site that they find.¡± She sighs, ¡°that will do, I guess.¡± ¡°I would offer to send them to the moon, but I am not willing to sacrifice any room on my dastardly moon lair.¡± ¡°Bring me a crate of soil?¡± ¡°Can do Curator. Anything else?¡± ¡°I have a very large tub if any of you are interested.¡± ¡°Andromeda save us from horny women.¡± Katie stole my line and we all laughed anyway. Katie and Francesca sign off. ¡°You coming home?¡± ¡°That was the plan. I just needed a couple of hours. I was so tempted to set the man on fire. Or space him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t. But I was so scared for you in there Penny. It¡¯s killing me not to be connected to you anymore, to have your warm presence snuggled against my thoughts. Can I please install another bracelet?¡± It bothers me that she thinks she¡¯ll be getting the same access to my head as before. ¡®Cause that¡¯s not happening. To my surprise, Tessa chimes in. ¡°I don¡¯t think your mod is going to work anymore, Tessa. Her recent modules are trying to upgrade her systems, and now that an Aether-electric synapse network has started, it can¡¯t just stop. It either finishes or it reverts. You need a few magitech implants to replicate those results.¡± ¡°As reluctant as I am. Some of my conduits relied on those connections, so yeah, I¡¯m onboard. But we need Katie to make it happen. I can hack my way through a drone, but Countess O¡¯Connell leaves me in the dust when it comes to integrated Manatech.¡± ¡°Boo. I don¡¯t want to invite her into our house when I¡¯m not finished moving in.¡± Melisssa growls. ¡°Oh? What happened to everyone shares Penny, Melissa dear?¡± ¡°But she doesn¡¯t like me, Penny,¡± she whines. ¡°She likes you fine, she¡¯s just not in love with you.¡± ¡°But, . . .¡± ¡°Aaaand you should have thought of that before opening this can of worms.¡± ¡°I did, but I thought she¡¯d warmed up to me.¡± Ugh, now we¡¯re back into pre-meditated actions that got me mad in the first place. ¡°And I¡¯m mad again. We¡¯re not excluding Katie because you¡¯re regretting things. If you¡¯re not already considering what you¡¯re willing to compromise to make this work like I am, you should be.¡± You know she¡¯s jealous right? How could you possibly understand jealousy? You felt it on the V¡¯tek ship so I sifted through your memories for more explanation. At least when you do it, you¡¯re honest with me. Ease up and realize she¡¯s hurting too. Talk it out with Katie if you have to. Hammering your point home isn¡¯t a smart option right now. I look up from my screens to see that Melissa is crying. I pull her into a hug, which she fights weekly and then slumps into me. ¡°We¡¯re all hurting Mel, and I really don¡¯t mean to make it worse. I¡¯m sorry if my processing is hurting you more.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re not trying, Pen. But I¡¯m scared to lose you, and I¡¯m having trouble with there not being an undo button.¡± She sniffles into my shoulder. I chuckle at that, some things would be better with an undo button, but I don¡¯t think this is one of them. I don¡¯t say that though. ¡°Can we go back to work and not talk about feelings for a while? I can work on the Nav system for your shuttle if you have the new warp array, while Katie works on the Manatech integration.¡± I cringe. ¡°I haven¡¯t built them yet. Side note, Can you make a plug and play harness for a runic interface?¡± ¡°I can use Katie¡¯s anchors for the thrusters you limit tested and probably make a control stick to link them to the nav system?¡± ¡°That sounds like a dream Mel. The fewer cables we have to run the better.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve also been working with Tessa and Atropos.¡± ¡°Is that what Katie named her AI?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what the AI named itself, after the Greek fate of resolve, inflexible decisions, and unrelenting commitment.¡± ¡°Holy hell, she¡¯s leaning into the Vampire life a little hard, and her reaper AI isn¡¯t helping.¡± ¡°ANYWAY, we were working together and found a way to enhance your sensor suite, but it requires an operator to jack in.¡± ¡°This is a lot to think about. I hadn¡¯t even considered upgrading sensors for this ship. But yeah, I have some work orders I want to push and those can go in when the hull fix happens.¡± ¡°Pen pen. All of the boys left.¡± ¡°But only two abandoned their citizenship, and they have ¡®till tomorrow to decide. I¡¯m issuing work orders for Beecham.¡± Administration is melting my brain. /Beecham, Hull job, 3-man crew, six weeks. 400AE a week for the crew./ /You¡¯d still talk to us?/ /There¡¯s three of you that didn¡¯t quit the colony, so that¡¯s my offer. You want out for good, may the Universe guide your path./ /I can¡¯t promise anything, but is there rations on the Job?/ /Yeah, I can do that. Six weeks of daily rations. You can stay in the dorms./ /Nah, like, we need to be off-site, Admiral./ /Copy, Sailor. Flag for pickup, three days./ /Not sure if I like Admiral Astoria or Admiral Mercer better./ ¡°Tessa, Mel, Katie, never in my life would I imagine I would say this, but I need help building a moon base on Mercy.¡± ¡°Beam me up Hottie.¡± Fucking Katie. I can¡¯t ignore that one-liner though. I zip to Katie and put her in the shuttle. I give her a quick kiss, ¡°Snappy line Countess.¡± Then I grab Mel and zip her to the shuttle as well. ¡°Kay, since when do you watch Star Trek?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been holding that line since she learned to teleport, you should really just be ashamed of yourself.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a bitch.¡± Mel says, not much effort in it. ¡°Hot though.¡± She replies. ¡°Yep.¡± Mel; and I say, then glare at each other. I ask the ladies if they can pick a nice subterranean lair with a hangar for under 30kAE and they start searching. I can afford that right Tessa? Your adjudicated expedition awarded you 101kAE. The successful defense of your colony against a superior threat, netted you 40CE. Daaang. The conversion is better, so we should spend the CE for the moon base and satellite ansible. The customization prompts for the structure are maddening, but we kept it under 30 CE with the caveat that I have to dig the hangar cavern myself. Realistically, we bought a box and we needed to put the systems in too. Better start digging and buy a fabricator so the boys can get to work. B2 Ch 14: Dangerous Tools Beecher ended up bringing Meeker and Eyes with him. They didn¡¯t talk much save to request materials or tools, but they sure did work. They beat my timeline by a week and started smoothing out the cave with a hatch overhead into a usable hangar and machine shop. ¡°Have you guys thought about what you want to do?¡± I ask the three former Sailors. ¡°Eyes has trouble communicating right now, but he wants to work with logistics woman, O¡¯Connell?¡± Eyes nods and I can¡¯t fault him. If he wants to keep his six upper appendages busy, she¡¯d find something. ¡°As cool as this base is, there¡¯s not much Aether out here. If you¡¯ll have me, I¡¯d like to be a citizen again, but also work on my track¡¯s Force Journey for this tier?¡± I smile at the giant furry nerd. ¡°If you end up training with a curmudgeon Muppet I want video. And welcome back.¡± Tap a few invisible buttons with my hands, Mel thinks it¡¯s hilarious I still do this, and add Meeker back to Summer Station. ¡°I¡¯ve drawn up sort of a work Visa for the two of you. Nine months, but hopefully we¡¯ll be on our way by then. Eyes, talk to O¡¯Connell for the terms. Beecham, what are you thinking for yourself?¡± ¡°Honestly, Admiral, I want to stay here, on Mercy. Watch the base, piddle with the systems, and do some destructive skills testing on the surface.¡± ¡°Nice, sounds fun. I approve. My AI is going to send you a list of subsidized aether rich consumables so your training doesn¡¯t suffer if you don¡¯t want it to.¡± He thanks me, performs a ridiculous salute and walks back toward Mercy Outpost. ¡°All aboard the shuttle to Astoria! Next stop, Summer Station.¡± *** ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s going to be okay?¡± Melissa asks while holding onto my arm. ¡°He¡¯s over two meters of fur and fang Jedi. He¡¯ll be fine. It was mean of you to laugh at the fanny pack I gave him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pink and baby blue purse that you put belt hooks on, of course I laughed. Are you spending all day in your shop?¡± ¡°I was planning on the Outpost. I want to upscale the warp array today and it might get dangerous and boom-ey.¡± She looks worried, she always does. *** Days after seeing Meeker walk into the woods, I have blown myself up no less than six times. ¡°Admiral, respectfully request you start working in that area¡± he points to an unfinished wall of the hanger. ¡°A storage nook would feel great over there, and if you¡¯re excavating anyway . . .¡± he lets his voice trail off, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I think I¡¯ve hit a wall in this respect. Might as well fill an order while my brain takes a break. Do we have any titanium nuggets left?¡± ¡°Not much, probably not more than a handful. I could stretch that if you wanted to alloy it.¡± ¡°You can forge?¡± I¡¯m stunned that I didn¡¯t know this before. ¡°Had the opportunity to pick a trade that aligns with my track, so I¡¯m and Elemental smith as well.¡± My excitement nearly burst out of me, ¡°Yes! I just learned an aether forging mod. Can I work with you while you alloy?¡± ¡°Sure, but what are we trying to make in the long run, so I don¡¯t ruin anything in the process.¡± He asks while walking to a corner with a few basins and holes near the cave wall. I follow, assuming that¡¯s where he typically forges and smiths. ¡°I need to make two more Sundering Staves and figured with aether forging I could get a little more oomf out of it.¡± ¡°Then we best use steel alloys then, titanium doesn¡¯t take to magic unless things are close to perfect. Don¡¯t worry, I have a stainless mix that takes spell infusion well.¡± He shows me a bangle and a few rings that he claims are elemental focuses that reduce the time needed to gather power. ¡°I¡¯ll defer to the expert, but I¡¯m trying to infuse the metal with raw aether, or as close as I can come.¡± ¡°Does the talent tell you what you should do and how much?¡± I shake my head, to which he shrugs his shoulders and starts the process of heating the metals in a crucible-shaped pot As we begin, my skill feeds me some information about injecting aether into the project, which causes Beecham¡¯s skills as a blacksmith to change the quantities and timing. In the end, we end up pouring some of my pure-ish aether ink into the molten mixture, dab the fluid on his hammer every so often, then quench the rod in a vat of oil with some of my aether ink mixed in. When we finished, the rod started glowing and then the aura was sucked into the rod with a slight ping. ¡°It¡¯s so weird when it does that. Good to know when you succeed at making something though.¡± ¡°Can I take a look? I recently got an assessment skill.¡± He shrugged, set the rod on his anvil and stepped aside.
Fire Infused Titan-steel Rod 2A-S A metal rod infused with aether, forged by an Elementalist.
¡°I¡¯d say two hours of failing was worth the skill-ups. Mind showing me the finished product after you engrave it?¡± ¡°Be happy to, it¡¯s just going to take me a few days.¡± I pull up a menu and send him 100AE for his efforts. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s, that¡¯s a lot. Are you sure?¡± ¡°You just taught me how to use my new skill and made this thing for me. Sure I¡¯m sure. Plus, it¡¯s incentive to help me in the future.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. He smiles at that, nods, and flicks a two-fingered salute before walking away. Now that I have a side gig for a few days, time to line up some stuff. Tessa, can you arrange to have our two Sundering staves sent to clear our debt? She pings affirmative. /Hey Mel, I¡¯m hitting a roadblock on the upscaled warp array, and I was wondering if you had time to look at it? Maybe there¡¯s an interface solution to what I¡¯m trying to do./ /Sure, but Katie and I are really close to extending our control to geo orbit, so after I get my reward, I can work on your problem. /Sounds great babe, give Katie a kiss for me. Great work!/ Look at me trying to be supportive. Tessa, do you know why our rod was tier 2? When artisans combine different disciplines, their efforts are superior. If they combine them properly, that is. Meeker¡¯s blacksmithing is well into the Expert level, and with your enchanting and engraving skills giving you an innate ability to feel-out changes, it appears to enhance the overall product. *** The familiar glow emerges from the rod, and I wait until it recedes before I inspect my latest mining tool.
x5
I assess the new creation in my hand.
Titansteel Rod of Descruction 2AAS Sunders objects into their base components. Works on biologics. estimated 12kAE
That¡¯s unexpectedly horrific. I was happy that the original runeshape didn¡¯t work on biologics. Now it seems that the Matrix is nudging me toward making weapons. First a warp-annihilator, now this? May as well test it hey? I point the rod at the section of the cave that Beecham said I should explode more and see a flickering beam of white land on the wall. I draw a rectangle with it. The rod seems to be asking for another parameter, so I imagine pushing the rectangle 10m into the wall. The white beam then spreads to cover the whole rectangle as though it was not projecting the image of the wall, until a flash comes, revealing neat stacks of components filling the new room. Amazed at the new level of control we have for excavating, I leap and give a little cheer and a dance before I wonder what it does to bio-objects. But first, I have to carve out a room for myself and my explosions so Beecham can¡¯t laugh at me anymore. An hour later, I¡¯ve done much more than just build myself a room. I built a hallway that goes downward and turns around in a box-shape back underneath the hangar, with each corner having it¡¯s own branched-off room. My moon base definitely feels like a lair now. Maybe I can make larger cisterns or storage tanks for atmosphere like this? Too porous as is though. I show Beecham the device I made with his help, he whistled appropriately and asked to borrow it when I was done with it. I would likely see if I could replicate the aether forging without the fire infusion to see if I could get a regular Sundering device instead of this monstrosity. I ask him if he needs anything from planet side and he shakes his head. I have him help me load up the fluid transfer tanks anyway and then depart for Summer Station. With my thruster additions to the shuttle and my increasingly magical constitution, the trip is alarmingly fast. I end up testing the enchanting work I did on the bottom hull panels in re-entry. We really should take Melissa up on her offer of a new bracelet so I can save us from your idiocy. ¡°Are you okay? The satellites had you decelerating way too fast.¡± Melissa starts checking me for issues, but what would you check for a g-force related injury? ¡°Relax hon, I¡¯m fine. With Body of Power I have some different limits.¡± She grumps at that, ¡°I can¡¯t properly chastise you when you have that much armor on. Have you been exploding again?¡± ¡°Just a little. It¡¯s why I asked for help.¡± ¡°We think we have an idea that might work. Since you¡¯ve arranged the synchronization as a continuous, parallel system, any significant disturbances would propagate. I modeled it in an electrical system and found that it resembles an under-dampened system whose small fluctuations end up amplifying each other until it breaks.¡± ¡°Oh, thank the Universe, it was driving me insane.¡± I grab her in for a quick side hug. ¡°It¡¯s not fixed Penny, that¡¯s just our idea of what¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°Sure, sure. But next you¡¯re going to tell me that you and Katie have a way to get the controller you built to replicate what I was trying to do.¡± Melissa stops walking. I look toward her and see a frown. ¡°What¡¯d I say?¡± ¡°Your faith in us kind of ruins the fun of a big reveal.¡± ¡°Yeah, but imagine the skill upgrades we¡¯re all going to get when we finish installing it!¡± She grins at that. Trots back up to me and grabs my hand to lead me the rest of the way to the ansible room. I walk in to see a fully exploded network diagram of the shuttle and the magitech interfacing parts. ¡°When did we get a holoprojector?¡± ¡°I bought a hard-light projector and saw no reason for it not to have a third dimension, so I fixed it.¡± Katie replies, happy at the wonder on my face. I nod at that and take a few minutes to study the design floating in front of me. ¡°How long is this going to take to install?¡± ¡°With Eyes helping, 10 days plus or minus 1. We¡¯re going to need to leave the shuttle down here.¡± Katie replies, looking at her tablet computer. ¡°Any longer, and I¡¯ll need it flyable to deliver supplies to Mercy.¡± She doesn¡¯t say anything, but I have a backup plan if need be, so I don¡¯t press it further. ¡°When you get that thing running, how long until we leave?¡± An electronic voice surrounding me says as a tarantula man enters the room. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s cool that you got setup to talk this way. Timeline, hmm, week of testing off the ship, installation, integration another week, preliminary and final ship testing two weeks? Inside chance 4 weeks, outside 6-9 depending on how far we are with supply prep and ansible parts.¡± ¡°That¡¯s also assuming that Atropos finds a suitable system to warp to within 500ly in the direction we want to go during that time. We will likely have to check several systems as the survey data from here to Sol is not very detailed. We would appreciate if Tessa and Ophelia could help as well.¡± ¡°Is it bad that I want to go back, but I¡¯m afraid?¡± He minces his creepy little mandibles in worry. ¡°Nah, some of you got a raw deal on mutations. I had planned to commandeer a small Island in the South Pacific and use that as a base while we figure stuff out. But that¡¯s a conversation we can have after the ship works. It¡¯ll be weeks after we leave before we make it to Earth.¡± ¡°How can you be so calm about this?¡± He asks. ¡°I look calm? Alright then. Eyes, it¡¯s mostly because before we got abandoned, I almost died twice. Since we got here? Maybe a dozen times trying to get this warp crap working, not to mention space tigers and mutant gorillas. Fact is, with you brilliant folk with me, I know we are going to make it to Earth. It¡¯s Earth¡¯s governments, Captain Morris, and the Supercluster senatorial body that I¡¯m worried about. ¡°But, we¡¯re going into these situations with more strength that we could have imagined possible and I don¡¯t have to face it alone.¡± B2 Ch 15: Air Lockivator ¡°Melissa, c¡¯mon. You know I¡¯m supposed to finish mounting the warp array today.¡± ¡°I do know, and I figured that you could use a little good news motivation so you don¡¯t mess it up.¡± She had set up a screen around my bedroom corner while I was finishing up some stress-strain modeling on the housing that would contain the array and help it not get torn of cruising in atmosphere. Katie sits next to me at the table with two cups of a Klatuun equivalent of coffee. She¡¯s getting in the habit of wearing only bottoms around our loft, and I can¡¯t say I mind. I kiss he cheek in thanks and wait for Mel to do whatever she¡¯s doing. She comes out wearing a slick white suit with the same heliotrope, blue, and silver accents that my EVA suit does, but with lines on the leg seams and accents on the coat lapels and shoulders. A crisp beret with a small heliotrope insignia-rank field rests upon her head. ¡°You designed more uniforms?!¡± My interest piqued. ¡°Yes, since I felt left out last time, we designed three. Officer and Enlisted Dress uniforms, and a working jumpsuit. The jumpsuit is mostly grey, like your EVA.¡± She beams, proud of herself. ¡°What, no ridiculous pink and purple camo pattern?¡± Melissa groans. ¡°Yes! I knew it! Now you have to model that one.¡± ¡°But why.¡± She storms off back behind the screen, ¡°she had Atropos run the environment data around here to make you a camo.¡± ¡°It would be every bit as effective as US jungle camouflage if we were to fight a guerrilla war in our Rainforest.¡± Katie¡¯s smile is disturbing and beautiful. Must be thinking about blood A few minutes later, Mel comes out in what should look ridiculous, but I like it. A slightly baggy outfit nearly identically cut like American camo of the old 2010s, but the coloring is silver, beige, with flecks of silver-muted pink. The boots are matte silver and the undershirt is the muted pink like the flecks. It¡¯s Andromeda blasted glorious. ¡°Oh, no. You like it don¡¯t you. You do! Damnit. I owe Katie ten credits.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it? It would be our off-ship uniform.¡± ¡°But our jumpsuits would be nice enough for that too!¡± I can¡¯t help but think how cute she looks with her tantrum face in that uniform. Katie smacks the side of my arm. ¡°I bet they do hon, and I also bet that I¡¯ll be spending more time in the uniforms you designed. But practical pink camouflage? C¡¯mon babe, you have to admit that is amazing!¡± I hop up and walk to her going in for a kiss, but she turns her head away. I kiss her cheek instead. ¡°Thanks for doing this Mel. I really appreciate it, and the whites are pretty great.¡± ¡°Will you wear them for me later?¡± I pull her into a hug, ¡°I¡¯ll wear them for you both later. I¡¯ll wear them every day I¡¯m not in solid danger of being exploded.¡± She hugs me back, tightly. ¡°You know I hate when you treat your death so casually.¡± ¡°And I hate it when you doubt her preparation.¡± Katie leers at Melissa. Nope, I don¡¯t want to sit in this atmosphere, I give Katie a hug from behind, and a promise for some us-time before heading out. *** Five hours after leaving Melissa and Katie in my apartment and I haven¡¯t blown myself up . . . yet. I am standing here with a plasma torch in my hand welding a warp array full of potentially explosive runes to a space-ship with heat resistant enchanted paneling. I have this little tool turned up hot enough that I needed to put on my EVA helmet. I check over my work, trying to make sure that it won¡¯t rip off in flight when the damn torch explodes in my hand. My arm is wrenched as it throws me into a spin. I land heavy on my face and groan at the discomfort of it all. Should I have known that it¡¯s dangerous to run something that hot that long? Yes, I should have. Especially when it had an aether battery in it. I¡¯ve checked if my ink is flammable, and it very much is, but only at high heat. Probably why it works so well as a thruster enhancer. I squirm my way to my feet, cradling my right arm once I stand and mosey slowly over to the medical station consisting of another T-2 emergency kit on a small table, that feels entirely too far away. I grab a cylinder that looks like an epi-pen and jam it into my shoulder in several places and take another to jab my hand twice. Pain killer plus nano beacon to pull all available swarm machines to reconstruct my injuries. Melissa is never going to let me hear the end of it. ¡°The med kit? Shit are you okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, Beech, I¡¯ll be fine. Can¡¯t stop blowing myself up though.¡± ¡°Can you at least wait until you finish the ship before you kill yourself.¡± I start laughing, happy that the painkillers have kicked in. ¡°How inconsiderate of me.¡± I slump back against the wall and slide to the ground. ¡°While you¡¯re here, can you look at my welds and see what you think?¡± He takes fifteen minutes with an eyeglass and a hammer and bangs around my weld sites. I¡¯m horrified by his audacity. ¡°They seem to be fine, looks like you haven¡¯t welded in a while, but fine.¡± ¡°I did ask, I suppose. She¡¯s pretty much flight ready, save a week or so of testing. Unless we think we need weapons. Do you know anyone that makes weapons?¡± He taps the side of his hammer against his jaw in contemplation, ¡°Gordy was trying to retrofit some coil guns with explosive rods, but with mixed results. So far, you make the best weapons, Admiral. Those plasma grenades are pretty choice.¡± He waits around for a minute or so in case I have anything else for him, but I¡¯m far to busy thinking how I don¡¯t want to be making weapons, but I seem awfully good at it. ¡°Hey Tessa? Can you fly the Shuttle without Melissa¡¯s bracelet?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I could if I had to, but Melissa hard-wired a connection for you in the Pilot¡¯s chair. The cable also has full command override should someone attempt to hack the shuttle. I am pleased that the people who care about you are so capable. /Hey Mel. Just got the rig installed and you had expressed interest in coming with me for warp testing?/ /Already?! Do you have to start tonight? Can you postpone it to tomorrow afternoon maybe?/ As itchy as I am to start, the best I could safely do injured would be instrument checks and system diagnostics. Which would, of course, proceed faster with Melissa onboard. /Yeah, I had some things in the personal column I can test out tomorrow. Does this mean you¡¯ll be working all night?/ /Yes? You¡¯re not mad are you? I¡¯ll be in our downstairs lab working. I put a faraday cage in your explosions room, by the way. Could you encase it in concrete when you have the time?/ I ping her the affirmative, knowing that she means after she¡¯s finished with whatever is keeping her from snuggling me tonight. Whatever she has planned, it has to be important enough to her to postpone leaving by a day. ¡°Tessa, the little shipboard ansible won¡¯t allow us to teleport in supplies, will it?¡± Not unless you supplement the teleportation, which I¡¯m not sure how that would happen. Though you could test it on the far side of the planet or your moon. Same idea, just farther. ¡°Boo. Can you ping Atropos to see if they¡¯re flagging any space/supply issues that need construction or magic to fix?¡± Tessa pings in affirmation. The quick math says it might be close with 8 people, food and water for a few weeks and ansible parts that can¡¯t be manufactured quickly by the fabricator that we also have to bring. Atropos and Katie are convinced that a significant increase in storage is necessary to optimize your hopping strategy, requiring only a month of reconstruction on Astoria, while potentially saving 6 plus weeks during transit. Additionally, our travel route is still uncertain on middle systems. Integrating what swarm humans know of previous Earth data and what was taken from Copernicus before departure, we still don¡¯t have enough information for stops two and three. Ahh, I see what¡¯s going on. They¡¯re proposing we fill our time optimizing instead of potentially getting stuck waiting where we have less infrastructure. *** ¡°You want to turn the cargo elevator into an airlock?¡± ¡°You can read the hologram Penny.¡± Katie sounds annoyed. ¡°I get the top hatch and the back hatch, but why the bottom and forward hatches?¡± The holo of my elevator is now a 6-sided airtight space that can recede into the shuttle and seal at full extension and full retraction, but not in between. ¡°The bottom hatch is for safer docking with another ship, especially if the cargo module is occupied. And the forward hatch is for when the elevator is retracted, allowing you to access space without venting the shuttle.¡± She¡¯s queued up animations for what she¡¯s describing and it makes perfect sense. ¡°In hindsight, we should have just made another ship yeah?¡± ¡°If everything was perfect, sure. Our current warping technology is not reliable enough to ensure we arrive at the same place at the same time. There would be other issues, but they¡¯re not worth exploring as it¡¯s not currently a viable option.¡± I start running construction times and pay in my head and when we can fit it in the schedule. ¡°As you likely just realized, we¡¯ll need to break up your testing before your final checks for two reasons: The new assembly may be unstable, and two we¡¯ll likely need you and Meeker to scrounge for materials. We¡¯re short on rubber-like materials for seals and shock mounts. Frannie has been able to synthesize some, but not on an industrial scale.¡± I can¡¯t help but chuckle at the near futility of trying to rest. ¡°Will the fabricator and you two be ready to transit to Mercy tomorrow afternoon? It¡¯s where most of our listed stockpile of metals is, and we have all the welding and forging tools we could need up there. Beecham¡¯s been busy.¡± Katie considers her tablet for a minute, hits a few buttons and nods her head. ¡°tomorrow afternoon is doable.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re working all night?¡± ¡°Likely. Did you want to come distract me?¡± If Mel is going to be busy, I really should spend more time with Katie. *** Much to Katie¡¯s dismay, we didn¡¯t have sex last night, but I still feel guilty coming home this morning to find Melissa passed out in the lounge surrounded by a new assortment of colored pillows she bought during her uniform design frenzy. Speaking of, I order myself an Astorian Navy Coverall unit with optional utility belt? Oh you beautiful genius. I customize a belt with ampule straps, a holster for my rod of destruction and a zip pouch for medical supplies. They use the same matte silver boots. Three credits per kit isn¡¯t exactly cheap, but it might be doable for sailor jane in my future galactic navy. It might also be subsidized as basic clothing for those that enlist. Yeah, that sounds better. ¡°Melissa, time to get up babe. I¡¯m going to go help load the shuttle, and then we need to leave for Mercy.¡± She unconsciously wipes her face on a decorative pillow. ¡°Huh? Oh, it¡¯s morning. Uh, I need coffee and 20 minutes?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got the Klatuun equivalent brewing for you. And you have an hour.¡± I kiss her messy hair and ruffle it some more. She feebly pushes my arm away and I chuckle at the charming mess that she is right now. Midsummer here is beautiful, just like every other season really, but this season has clear skies with the occasional grumpy afternoon cloud that tells you you¡¯re in a tropics-like climate. I walk to Katie¡¯s workshop and drop off the shuttle for them to load before heading toward the edge of the forest. Time for destructive testing! Breaking things for science is a solid 9/10 on life¡¯s list of joys. I pull out my new rod of destruction. Maybe if I dress it up and stylize it, I could re-name it as a Scepter of Destruction. That sounds like a ruler-ey thing to have. I focus it on a fern-ish plant and for whatever reason, before I can define a shape it catches fire in a whoosh and all that is left is a stack of graphite and other trace metals. Huh. Why didn¡¯t it let me trace something. The slab of moon did, but the fern is an odd shape? I turn to a 15m tall tree next to me and thank the tree for its sacrifice. I quickly trace a small rectangle and push it only a small distance into the tree. A rectangular shape is cored out of the tree and in its place are rough-shaped cubes of pressed plant material a glopy blob of something and trace elements. Well that¡¯s fun and different. /Doc. I have an experiment you might want to check out./ /Can you bring it to me? I¡¯m working on a natural rubber process for the seals we need to make./ /Uh, sure. Give me 10 minutes./ She pings affirmative. I pull out my fancy plasma saber and start chopping down a tree. I use the destruction setting on the canopy and section a good sized, fat log to load onto our lev cart. I fetch said cart and push it a kilometer to Doc¡¯s farm house. ¡°That¡¯s a nice log, but why are you showing me this?¡± She asks, with gloves and goggles on. I wave my engraved Titansteel around. ¡°New tool.¡± I focus a ring shape just inside the bark outline and push it toward the cart about half a meter then let the aether go. The flash of light fades and in the emptied log is wood pulp cubes and a cube of goo that sloughs into a blob. ¡°Fascinating!¡± she picks up a cube of pulp, smashes it between her fingers, sniffs it, and to my surprise tastes it. ¡°Smells and tastes faintly of peaches. Delightful.¡± She does the same to the glob but spits furiously this time. She plays with glob some more, takes it to various stations, mixes it with several liquids, boils some of it, strait sets some on fire. ¡°How did you have all of this ready?¡± ¡°I have devised a standard set of tests for all strange plants that Meeker brings back. It hasn¡¯t been a lot so far, but he has promised me many more.¡± ¡°Ah, I hope he comes back with a natural rubber ancillary, because apparently we need quite a bit of it.¡± ¡°I have some more testing to do, but this could be similar to a clarification and dehydration of a latex-like substance. If so, you and your wand could provide me with more than enough to make the seals that Katie needs.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a scepter. Far too long to be a wand.¡± I attempt to hold it regally. ¡°True, too heavy for a casual flick and swish.¡± She sighs in dismay. ¡°OH. MY. GOD.¡± I teleport out of there before she can say anything worse. B2 Ch 16: All Hail ¡°So you¡¯re sure you¡¯re fine up here with the boys for a few days?¡± ¡°Christ, Penny, you¡¯re not sending me off to college.¡± She scoffs, but there¡¯s a tooth showing so that grimace is also a smile! ¡°Yeah, yeah, and both of those buggers are technicians at heart and will be too involved in their craft to be drawn in by your haunting beauty.¡± I grin. She grins as well, ¡°A logical trap. I approve.¡± She grins into the kiss she gives me, not caring about everyone watching. I cough in embarrassment ¡°If we end up being out of ansible range for more than a month, you have Regent authority for the CE budget.¡± She nods and checks the menu for those settings. I feel a poke in my side and turn to Melissa, ¡°This is where I¡¯m supposed to remind you it¡¯s the last chance for snacks and juice.¡± ¡°Yes! Thank you Mel!¡± I rush through the exchange menu, glad they have a pop-up in my HUD for frequently purchased items. I get some upgraded Aether-infused performance drink that I¡¯ve been favoring for heavy enchanting days and a high-caloric meal that Doc¡¯s been making for Beecham, Meeker, and I based of plant protein and those bacon-flavored murder birds she successfully domesticated. When we get back, Francesca and I are going to use the plant fiber cubes and canopy leaves to luau the birds and a Voosel in the ground. I¡¯m super pumped. ¡°Anything you need me to get?¡± ¡°Your butt in the pilot¡¯s seat?¡± She emphasizes with a soft pat. Living together is doing wonders for our casual affection expression, but terrible for my embarrassment around others. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± I hurry into the shuttle and put on my EVA suit. I now have the hang of putting it on in less than ten minutes. The glove rings are a little tricky to lock in. Tessa walks through the Hangar warnings while Mel and I do checks on the refurbished nav system. She has to teach me what I¡¯ll be doing when Tessa can onload to the shuttle¡¯s systems. /Engaging lift thrusters in 10./ ¡°Sequencing lift thrusters forward to back for desired rise angle and thrust stop.¡± I turn us to a 45 degree angle when I engage all bottom thrusters at low to position us over the moon¡¯s surface, then engage back thrusters for a quick 9g pop with a cruise at 3g for 10 minutes or so. ¡°Cruising to maximum risk radius for shortest warp setting perpendicular to system plane.¡± For the low-power array, that¡¯s about 50k kilometers. ¡°Ophelia, please test remote magitech relays and connect aether conduits to the low-power array. Taking locality snapshot for triangulation, plotting course vectors for intended warp testing.¡± ¡°Relay cycle SAT, aether conduits primed. Verifying telemetry.¡± Ophelia chimes over the PA. ¡°Babe, you need to put your helmet on now. This shuttle was not designed to depressurize in sections.¡± She scoffs and mumbles something about my fancy space suit. It is very fancy. /Tessa and Ophie have confirmed telemetry and are ready for automated low-power array testing./ Melissa tells me through coms. /Copy Mel, Ladies, set minimum aether requirement for jump at 200% requested for low-power array, then begin test sequence./ /Copy Admiral, beginning test sequence,/ the two AI¡¯s say in a weird merged voice. /Come back safely to me Mercer./ /That¡¯s the plan Countess./ I appreciate her version of concern. I rapidly change my HUD to bring up a nav chart in one eye and the rune engagement sequence in the other eye, and the overall view being the stars in front of us, but with a fancy trick Tessa managed by pulsing my aether sight in a way to get me an overlay that doesn¡¯t blind the crap out of me. /Partial array power engagement SAT. Warp formed appears adequate to accept shuttle. Advancing./ The Ais are doing well to document our progress. They pulse us through the black cut in space and we blip through and a flash of recognition thumps my memory. A flood of information litters all of the navigation displays, confirming that the ship is in known space, data to be analyzed later. Success! I would celebrate, but our AIs set a punishing pace and there is little room to move as we are near continuously shunted through the aether space, relying on my ability to shield us. /Emergency override, Penny Astoria. Shut down warp and thrust systems. Sorry ladies, I can¡¯t shield us anymore for now./ /She really must be tired, we finished low-power testing just before she took control./ At their admission, I pull off my helmet and start crawling back to the two rows of three passenger seats. I flop down and start jamming food and juice in my face. ¡°Do you need any of this Mel?¡± I offer Mel the things I literally just had in my mouth, I am so delirious. ¡°No, but you should cram that and take a nap while Ophie and I look at the charts?¡± ¡°Sounds good hon.¡± I start looking for a flat place to lay my head whilst chowing on bacon-flavored protein. ¡°No, you silly goose. I put a cot in the cargo bay. Get up, we can bring your juice and I¡¯ll tuck you in.¡± ¡°Do I get a kiss good night?¡± She giggles at that, I feel pretty good about making her giggle. ¡°Yes, of course.¡± *** ¡°Andromeda, my head feels like its suffering from tidal volcanics.¡± You were starting to shut down. Overdrawing your mana with Body of Power is extremely dangerous. ¡°I need to be able to manage my shielding better. I have a hard time believing it was just the number of trips that tapped me out.¡± You were shielding the whole front of the shuttle for some of the warps. Shrinking it to individual people would be more efficient. ¡°Yeah, but how practical is that when I have to shield eight people?¡± Have you considered that most of the Symbiote users may not need shielding? If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°No I did not. I should try not shielding myself on the next one. And yes, I get that it¡¯s unfiltered and unorganized, so I¡¯m more likely to get mutations instead of levels.¡± As long as you¡¯re aware. Now eat and replenish. ¡°Okay mom.¡± The hatch to the crew compartment opens and Melissa jumps through and starts kissing my head. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay!¡± ¡°Yah, Mel. I didn¡¯t properly calculate how much aether the shields would take.¡± I take a huge sip of juice, and damn is this stuff packed with aether and delicious. ¡°Can you continue testing?¡± ¡°I¡¯d feel better if we started again tomorrow. Maybe the day after.¡± I take a deep breath and try to stand. I sit back down immediately. ¡°How¡¯s the data looking so far?¡± ¡°With detailed control schemes, we believe that a near-continuous distance function can be achieved between 50k kilometers and 10ly. There are small gaps along the curve as the aether fidelity of this controller for Intermediate and Advanced craftspeople can only be so fine,¡± Ophelia describes. ¡°Understood, and thanks for the quick work. Is there a way to predict the range of the high power ring?¡± ¡°Yes and no. We could try to extrapolate, however, Tessa tells me that the upscale of the runes you make are not linear, so the estimation would not be useful.¡± ¡°Thanks Ophie. Anything in range for us to look at?¡± ¡°Just empty space and stars Penny,¡± Mel comes over and hooks an arm under mine to help me up. ¡°Lets get you to the cockpit so you can look out.¡± *** The aether density in space is crap. It¡¯s a good thing I bought 50 liters of juice before we left. It¡¯s odd to think in that kind of volume for myself. It also cost me a quite a few credits, but with over 90k left, it¡¯s hard to think too hard about it. ¡°Alright, this time folks, let us put five minutes between jumps so that I have time to interrupt if I need to.¡± The AIs power up and coordinate the array, I shield Melissa and we warp. I feel a bloat of wild aether and my system desperately trying to contain and organize it. The warp ends before it gets out of control and I breath heavy for a few minutes. ¡°That warp appears to have traveled 50ly. Do you need more time to process?¡± ¡°Yes please, ten more to get the wild aether under control.¡± Ophelia pings affirmative. Shielding myself for future warps, we make it through two thirds of the high power protocol before Tessa brings up a point. ¡°We will reach the intended system of survey before the end of the next proposed warp. Would you like to warp to the survey system instead?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What? Mel, come on. We can test the atmosphere and see what we¡¯re working with before we dump the ansible kit.¡± ¡°You brought that with us?¡± She somehow seems surprised. ¡°Of course. I did the math, it was far more likely to test the long range warps back toward Astoria.¡± /And I get to name this system/ Katie chimes in. ¡°You¡¯ve been broadcasting?¡± Mel accuses. ¡°Mel, yes. You¡¯re not the only one that cares about us, sweetie. Dibs acknowledged Kay.¡± ¡°WHAT!?¡± Melissa shrieks. ¡°She called dibs on naming this system. You get the next one. I get to name the last two so there¡¯s no show of favoritism.¡± /That¡¯s a load of crap/ ¡°Agreed.¡± ¡°You¡¯re both right, but If I claim it now, you won¡¯t argue about it until later. Ophie, cue in a warp that takes us within 50k kilometers above the disk of our target system. Engage as ready.¡± Protests are quieted for the warp and as soon as we arrive, one of the AI¡¯s maneuver to point us at the planets and star of my new conquest. It¡¯s a large yellow, Main Sequence star, maybe 5 Sol masses, with a close rocky planet and a super Jupiter gas giant clearing its domain at 2 AU. The belt is beyond the massive proto-star, with a gas giant and three icy rock planets beyond. The giants have been collecting trophies. Supiter carries three massive moons, the likes of Ganymede of Jupiter would measure just larger than the smallest of the three. Super Neptune carries moons the size of Pluto, Mercury, and Luna, but a compliment of six. ¡°Penny, the super jovian has a moon of the size of a pre-Thea impact Earth. Slightly less dense, the moon is habitable temperature, liquid water, and 0.8g. Troposphere altitude atmospheric quality uncertain as high stratification of greenhouse gasses exist. Recommend surface sample, or two weeks of orbital data.¡± ¡°Atmospheric density?¡± ¡°1.5 Earth. 1.3 Astoria.¡± ¡°Astoria¡¯s pitts, that¡¯s like breathing soup.¡± ¡°Yes. It will be taxing with un-accustomed diaphragms. A shuttle decent is still recommended.¡± ¡°Okay, unless there are any protests, I propose a 1-day orbital scan to find an ansible drop location. A soil, air, and plant sample, then egress.¡± /I propose you test the other large moons of Supiter. Atmosphere and soil samples both./ ¡°Is there a seismic survey rig I can buy for cheap? Knowing if the cores of these should-be planets have rare metals or liquid cores would be valuable.¡± I ask the AI community. ¡°1 CE standard speculative mining rig.¡± ¡°Make it so. Two please.¡± ¡°Not three?¡± ¡°I try not to carelessly mine a world I plan to live on.¡± I tell Mel. ¡°You will have to set up the ansible for us to make those purchases.¡± Tessa reminds me. ¡°Mel, we¡¯re about to have that couple¡¯s retreat you asked for.¡± I say. Melissa swears at me with her helmet on. Katie laughs through our comms link. *** //Why did I think this would be a pleasure cruise where we would make out and fuck for a week?// ¡°I mean, sex was never on the table, so that¡¯s on you Mel. I also don¡¯t see why you¡¯re masking up. The butane and methane won¡¯t kill us at these concentrations.¡± Her frown is legendary. She had clearly thought this was going to be a bonding retreat, not realizing I was still mad about last month¡¯s betrayal. /Is the air quality going to pose a problem with industry?/ /For us? Only a little. If we still had the other scientists, they would be excited at the opportunity to separate the fuel from the atmosphere./ /Atropos and I want to be out there with you, you know./ /I didn¡¯t know Kay, and I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t ask. But I¡¯m glad you¡¯re in charge while I¡¯m gone. There is no one I know more diligent and through than my bitey bae, and I can¡¯t think of anyone better to run things./ /While you¡¯re gone, you mean./ /Sure, yeah./ /Penny, you meant while you¡¯re gone right?/ I don¡¯t reply, but smile my face off. /PENNY!! No tryst is worth this./ /You can drink from me next time you sex me/ /Fuck you Penny. You think I¡¯m that easy?/ /My blood is half aether, so absolutely yes./ She sends me an absolutely obscene emote followed by hearts. Hard to find a partner so accepting of our roles. I love it. ¡°How¡¯s Katie?¡± Mel asks in a tone I don¡¯t appreciate. ¡°Same as you, horny and irritated.¡± She bristles and I laugh. We slog through putting the ansible together, and a week and a half of building in air-soup, we finish the stupid tech building.
¡°Yes. I claim this system for Astoria.¡±
¡°I wish to establish this Empire for Astoria.¡±
//Let it be known! Empress Penny Astoria has established the first Human Galactic Empire.//
Well shit, I could have done without the Supercluster-wide message. Tessa, our Imperial majesties require proposed updates to our organizational structure. She chuckles at that. We are, indeed, majestic. I fall to the floor in a fit of hysterics at my AI¡¯s pompus musings and what kind of statues she¡¯s envisioning for us. B2 Ch 17: Warp Test SAT ¡°Mel, my life is ridiculous, why would I try to anticipate any of this bullshit?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Empress, perhaps you have responsibilities?¡± ¡°Would, the Empress¡¯ consort be referring to carnal relations, or matters of the Empire?¡± While anger looks good on Melissa, this is rage. Rage is ugly on everyone. ¡°Are you kidding me?! We¡¯ve been here for more than a week Pen, where¡¯s the intimacy?¡± I smirk with a sneer, an expectant malice, ¡°what do you mean, Mel, is cuddling and familiar groping not intimate?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not enough!¡± She yells. Oh, there will be no more of that, Melissa Hunsaker. ¡°If that intimacy is not enough, perhaps it is time to consider what punishment is appropriate for taking advantage of me and betraying my confidence? Or more to the point, what my comfort is worth to you?¡± ¡°Are you going to hold that over us forever Penny? Because that¡¯s not a workable relationship.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right Melissa. It¡¯s not. But the fact remains, the only thing I¡¯ve done to ¡®punish¡¯ either of you, is to not restore my confidence in you treating my emotions with respect. But that¡¯s less of a punishment than a consequence, love. I don¡¯t owe you trust Melissa. You took that trust from me. From yourself. I owe you nothing but what you¡¯ve shown since then. Entitlement doesn¡¯t look good on you.¡± We have a few parts left in the ansible to set up before we leave, and I have already decided to be petty as fuck. We finish the ansible, and she¡¯s mad but operating toward the plan. I build a barracks and she questions it, but not much. I provide food and water rations for a month and she finally realizes. ¡°You¡¯re leaving me here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to. But if all you have to add to our civilization right now is pettiness and resentment, then you need to stay here for a month until we come back. You¡¯ll have a lab to work on and everything.¡± ¡°If you leave me here I¡¯ll never forgive you.¡± I want to toss that ultimatum in her face so fast it hurts my arm already. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave you here, I just want you to not pretend this is not just a glorified travel voucher. I want you to realize that I¡¯m still hurt and that you are not entitled to me.¡± I sigh at her indignant anger. ¡°Do what you want Melissa. But don¡¯t pretend that you¡¯re entitled to my pussy.¡± She underestimated the problem because of your efforts to preserver your sanity. Tessa, really not the time, hon. I put a count-down on the ship and set it for 6 hours. ¡°Do you and Ophie have enough data on the high-power array to just jump back to Astoria?¡± No, but a few medium jumps past Moiriax and the remaining large jumps toward Astoria should do be sufficient. Thanks Tessa. If you need me for anything, I¡¯m going to hate create. ***
x2
x4
Do you want to talk about this? Not really Tessa. This goes back to things I shouldn¡¯t have learned from Earth diplomacy. You don¡¯t think that this is an important issue for the Empire? Tessa, if things get this bad, my advisors have already failed, or our situation has progressed to ¡°Dire¡± entirely too quickly. She gives me a whining tone, but I know that it means reluctant acceptance. I feel guilty because Tessa¡¯s conscience is not tainted by the perception of humanity as mine is. /Mel, we¡¯re leaving. T-10 minutes. Warp test trajectories are reviewable./ /Copy, Empress./ Ugh, Andromeda. This is going to be a trial worthy of Hercules. Now that she¡¯s reminded me. Update all ships, uniforms, and equipment. Astorian Imperial is the new standard. Would you like to publish the Imperial Standard Calendar and Timekeeping to the Supercluster? Our Imperial Majesties command it. Tessa and I chuckle that our Imperial ¡°we¡± is a legitimate ¡°we.¡± Andromeda acknowledges Astorian prefixes for fractional Marks above a half-Mark. Common corollaries have been filed with the Forum. Astorian Standard Time is now registered as a Trading Timekeeping Metric. The V¡¯tek Collective have acknowledged AST as a Collective time existence. You have three pending Mining and Excavation interests in Moiriax. Tell interested parties that Moiriax is closed for corporate interests pending a two-week review of proposed interests and returns and forward all future considerations for Mercantile Visas to the Minister of Commerce. Tessa pings in the affirmative and minutes later, so does Katie. I enter the Imperial System Management interface that Mercantile Visas last five quarters for a quarterly ¡®go, no-go¡¯ viability check. Six Imperial months tax free on network purchases. /I have changes, but the structure is appreciated./ I ping Katie to go nuts and earn us money. /Mel, it¡¯s time to go back./ /You sure you don¡¯t want to dig a hole and bury me?/ /You¡¯d be far less cuddly cold and dead. I want cuddles from you Mel. Kisses and mild groping area also on the table./ The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I hear nothing back. Not for an hour at least, but suddenly I get pinned to my seat from behind with a hug that threatens to crack my ribs. Jeebus, when did she get so strong. ¡°You still love me right?¡± She searches for a patch of skin to connect to, and she pokes a finger into my belly. I want to laugh but I hold it in. This is a hard situation to own up to, so I go simple, ¡°Yeah, Melissa, I still love you. But we¡¯re still in a shit position. I will get past this.¡± She sneaks a whole hand on my tummy and just holds me and cries. I pat and hold her hand with one, and finish running the warp program with my other. ¡°We can hold hands for the warp, hon. But you need to get geared up and strapped in.¡± She finally realizes that I¡¯m not going to wait for her, but I do care. Relationships are complicated. Melissa hops into the co-pilot and puts her helmet on. ¡°Ansible test, Lachesis. Galaxy fruit, my lap.¡± Tessa confirms the 50 AE credits for a single effing galaxy fruit and I full confirm that business. Imma need a bump and why not get a level. ¡°Tophie, execute advance warps, pause 30 on return warps. Tessa, auto realign backup aether. Authorize Imperial override Gamma Theta Zed.¡± I get a ping and a warmup sequence. *** /Advance sequence complete, return sequence in 30:00/ /Katie, return sequence in 30, expected entry in 2:45/ /Is that your fingers or my tongue?/ /4:25, post checks and shower?/ I get a string of pings that can be nothing but enthusiasm. Katie¡¯s been consistent and respectful, she deserves a reward. Horny ass Vampire. ¡°We must have two warps max left. What we looking at, and I need an hour or more between these large spans. I¡¯m getting dizzy ladies.¡± ¡°How dizzy you want to be?¡± ¡°Cuddles and make-outs during recovery sound great!¡± I amp up my enthusiasm. Mel doesn¡¯t buy it. After the first return warp of 100+ ly she holds me while I shiver and sweat trying to inhale my juice. After the long warp, she short-cuts the whole thing and feeds me half of my Galaxy fruit and holds me and kisses my neck and sooths my convulsions. I¡¯m going to die if I try to do it this way. What do I do Tess? What can I do. You can study the Space mod you bought you absolute fool. I deserve that. How far are we hon, I can¡¯t math right now. Are you admitting that we too are in a relationship, Penny? I hear a smirk and a chuckle from this bitch. ¡°Tessa, you are me. We are us. What the fuck else would we be? Or are you just jumping on the relationship roulette and seeing where you land? Guilty. I won¡¯t deny you Tessa. If you want modules for us, I¡¯ll deal. But if you want tech mods, I . . . I¡¯m scared okay? Your wives are right, you¡¯re adorable. I think you mean, Your Imperial Highness is ador able. ¡°Our¡± I cackle at that inclusion. ¡°Take us into Mercy Outpost. Resupply and re-fit.¡± The AI¡¯s copy and kick a low-warp and a thrust maneuver that takes us two hours. That Mel and I spend kissing. ¡°I really want your armor off.¡± Mel posits. I peal my chest armor off and my top rash guard and though she pouts, Mel appreciates an opportunity. I¡¯ve maintained a hard, no sex line in both relationships so far, but I know that won¡¯t last. I¡¯m ready to forgive because it hurts me to regret and revenge. I just want to love, and I, I am really tired of holding this fear and uncertainty within me. Fuck them, fuck the Universe, and praise me. This forgiveness is about me. Mel finds release in my hand while sitting on my lap, screaming in time with the alarm that indicates final approach to Mercy. She slumps into my arms and whispers thank you as she kisses my neck. A few minutes later, I pick her head up, give her another kiss and tell her it¡¯s time to get dressed. She pouts but with little conviction this time as she partially got what she wanted. I still have my pants and boots on, so my getting dressed again takes little time. Mercy begins to loom large in the rear-facing cameras as we decelerate towards the Outpost. I see some new additions topside and have no doubt that Katie and Beecham have changed much around the facility. I take control for the maneuvering into the hangar to make it feel like I did something, while noticing a whole second bay that has been mined out of the space with bits of metal arranged in a way that looks suspiciously like a shuttle frame akin to the one we built for the Copernicus. Beecham waves me in and directs me to spin the shuttle so that the tail is aligned with the storage area. /You folks have sure done a lot of work. I like what I¡¯m seeing./ /There are favorable implications. I prefer we talk more in person. Inside the Outpost proper./ /Copy Kay/ I lower the cargo elevator and hop out of the shuttle. The soil and vegetation samples can stay, but I need the food and juice supplies I overbought to come with me. I am hungry and aether-starved. Beecham meets us in the hangar and chats while we walk, and I appreciate all the changes he¡¯s done with a bonus and a fist bump. Kay greets me on the other side of the airlock with a kiss and has one for Melissa too, much to her surprise. ¡°What? I missed you both. We have a lot of work to do though. Do you need to rest?¡± She says this more with concern than accusation. ¡°I won¡¯t be teleporting anywhere for a few hours, but I¡¯m fine for talking and planning.¡± ¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll start with items that concern Beecham and Eyes so they can move on with their days.¡± Seeing as we¡¯re going to be here for a while, I excuse myself for a moment, change out of my EVA and into a newly minted AIN jumpsuit. ¡°Sorry for that, the EVA suit is a lot sweatier than the normal hab suits.¡± Katie smirks and raises an eyebrow, probably envisioning our shower later. ¡°We hadn¡¯t planned on this test installing our first ansible in Earth¡¯s travel network. With this and our new cargo loadout, we can carry two of the remaining three sets of ansible parts with us. Shortening the time spent waiting for recharge time on our colony-sized ansibles considerably. What it doesn¡¯t change, is the rest time Penny needs to recharge our aether stores for warping. Can you stockpile while we work on the elevator modification?¡± ¡°I can, yeah, and I had plans on eventually installing some passive collectors that I should be able to finish before we leave. Even though we won¡¯t have to spend up to two weeks in Moiraix, I¡¯ll need two days to make sure we stay shielded through the warps. I have ideas for that too, but no guarantees.¡± ¡°What does that mean for food? And us folk with the Symbiotes, will we starve out there?¡± Beecham worries. ¡°I¡¯ll answer the second question. Trust in the logistics specialist for the first. Symbiotes will be fine orbiting Lachesis, she¡¯s nowhere near as aether rich as Astoria, but the space around her has much more due to the massive gravity well of the gas giant Lachesis orbits. For safety reasons, we¡¯ll have enough aether supplement juice onboard, but for the first leg, that¡¯s largely to recover our warp capabilities.¡± ¡°What about the others? They all wanted to go home too.¡± Eyes minces his pinchers. ¡°Now that we know the timeline, I¡¯ll send a broadcast to all active Astorian com signals that the shuttle will be leaving in 10 days. Which will be plenty of time for them to gather their belongings and arrange a pick-up.¡± ¡°In case either of you get a chance to talk with them, if they¡¯ve decided they don¡¯t want to go back, Astoria is a place for citizens, contractors, or Vassal States. Ten days should be enough time to contract with Consul O¡¯Connell or set up settlement with me. Should they decide that none of the above applies to them. I will attempt to round them up and take them back to Earth as I had promised.¡± ¡°What if they don¡¯t believe you intend to do as you say?¡± I chuckle at that. ¡°Then they are more afraid of what they would do in my stead than any action I have taken. I¡¯m not going to waste any time trying to convince them of anything one way or another. I¡¯m open to reasonable accommodations. But reasonable is determined by my trade and finance minister.¡± I point at Katie. ¡°The last item we have to talk about is the shuttle.¡± Katie says then tosses a light ball to Beecham. He starts manipulating a hologram to show a blow-up of the planned work and some of the modified systems of the Outpost. ¡°The vast majority of the equipment setup to work on something this large is up here. We¡¯ve made sufficient modifications to atmosphere maintenance equipment and water storage to allow us to work up here for months if need be, but we don¡¯t have the CE for those fancy devices that just create molecules that you need. But to start all that, we need a re-supply run on air and water before we shut the shuttle down.¡± I immediately feel three times as tired when I think about running supply missions tomorrow, and even more drained when I¡¯m reminded of the months spent doing that before Copernicus left us here. ¡°Pen, Ophie and I can pilot the shuttle if you want?¡± ¡°Andromeda, thank you Mel, I would love that. Can we swing by the lake on our way home? Soaking in those infused waters tomorrow would do wonders for me, I think.¡± ¡°Sure, we can do that, but we should hook up a cargo pod so I can make the first run when I come back here tonight. Katie said our Command Suite is all set up.¡± I look between the two of them. They must have been talking. ¡°If that¡¯s the plan, who am I to argue?¡± The gathered people look between each other and then start laughing at me. B2 Ch 18: Side Projects Katie and I got dropped off at the ansible in the afternoon and waved Mel and the boys off as they went hunting for a different body of water to fill up on. We caught up with Francesca and asked if she needed help packing or preserving a crate for the trip home and she filed two small projects to coordinate on our last two days. We stopped by Katie¡¯s office slash apartment to pick up a box and a few other things to take back to our loft. I¡¯m happy that she¡¯s decided to move some stuff in, but I¡¯m sad that we only have ten days left to enjoy it. ¡°Katie, do what you need to do. Just leave me a desk and an equipment shelf and you can change whatever else. I mean, leave the same for Mel, obviously, but if you need to add stuff or move my longer-term projects downstairs, have at it.¡± ¡°I forgot you have a full lab this size downstairs. Can I take some of that space too?¡± She seems . . . exited? Nervous? Both? ¡°What¡¯s mine is yours hon. Please don¡¯t change the explosive testing room with the Faraday cage. I have one or two experiments waiting for my attention, but there¡¯s another 375 square meters or so left for you to play with.¡± Her eyes gleam for a moment before narrowing. ¡°Despite your attempts to distract me, you are to get in that shower and wash the week of suit stink off you.¡± ¡°And if I said, you¡¯d have to drag me kicking and screaming if you want me to shower before I have a beer?¡± ¡°Your terms are acceptable.¡± I start walking toward the fridge for a moment before I am hoisted off my feet and thrown over a shoulder. I squeal in surprise at first, and then shriek with laughter as I realize which part of the terms she accepted. She has us under the shower head with our rapidly wetting clothes before she sets me down. I¡¯m still laughing when I pull her into a kiss, her sharp canines sending a shudder through me as my tongue traces their profiles. We struggle to peal each other out of our wet clothes and our breath only becomes more ragged from there. *** ¡°Is it okay to miss the little belly you had?¡± Katie comes up from behind me to pinch my belly and kiss my neck. I smile at her not so sneaky attempt to move from belly to boob. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can get it back the way my Inefficient Digestion works, but as long as you like this me too.¡± I shrug and bury my free hand in her red curls. ¡°Mm, that¡¯s nice.¡± She says casually lifting me into her lap so that she can hold me while I work and play with her hair. This is my happy place. Project, being held, hair to play with, let¡¯s go. We sit like that for maybe half an hour, I get up to refill our coffee once before work truly intrudes on our day. ¡°These mining ventures are getting pushy. Seems they want to test the new system ruler. They all want special considerations, breaks, or outright hand-outs.¡± She scoffs and angrily taps her screen. ¡°Is there anything you want specifically from these deals?¡± ¡°Yeah, I want first rights to purchase rare earth metals. Reduced taxes for agreeing, increased taxes for not, etc. Oh, that reminds me. I need to assemble some standard, base-level contracts. I intend to have our systems alert visitors that anyone that stays past a 10-day visitor¡¯s visa--without making other arrangements--implicitly agrees to a base level Mercantile Visa. Those that become delinquent on the provisions of a Mercantile Visa are subject to search, seizure and summary judgement.¡± ¡°I can make that work. At least one of these jokers is going to test us.¡± ¡°No one that visits is going to think that we have the power to enforce our laws. We just have to watch out for the dishonest. Hopefully some of them wonder for a moment why the V¡¯tek Collective respects us.¡± ¡°I offered them all contract options, but the smallest company I sent several options. I like the idea of smaller companies coming in to grow with us.¡± ¡°Aww, Katie,¡± I lean my head back onto her shoulder and kiss her chin. ¡°You do want to make a life with us.¡± ¡°I tried not being a part of your life. I didn¡¯t care for it much. If you ever want to make this official, I¡¯m all-in this time.¡± A flood of warmth fills me to the ends of my toes and the follicles of my eyelashes. I turn over and claim her mouth. ¡°I really like the sound of that.¡± I hug her with my whole body and bury my face in her neck. ¡°Are you okay with waiting to make anything official until we meet Mel¡¯s parents?¡± She sighs, and I pout. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with Melissa. I don¡¯t like the idea of waiting for someone that¡¯s not in this relationship with us. Her parents can float for all I care.¡± I chuckle at that. ¡°I feel that. This new title is going to go to my head quickly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s bound to after you name a planet, a solar system, and an Empire after yourself.¡± She chuckles into my hair. ¡°Don¡¯t forget two months of the year.¡± ¡°You made a calendar and didn¡¯t tell me?!¡± she starts tickling me and I squeal mercy. ¡°Tessa did the naming, I just said how many months!¡± ¡°Mmm, this does have her prints on it. You certainly wouldn¡¯t have named the shortest month after yourself.¡± Katie snickers. ¡°Tessember¡¯s just lazy though, I¡¯m ashamed of you Tessa. ¡°Better or worse than Penny Astoria of Astoria, Astoria?¡± ¡°Et tu?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going with worse. Ego is more productive.¡± ¡°Jokes on you assholes, I¡¯m going to put up an Astoria City on this place and make it our Capitol?¡± I push my arms down so I can stare Katie right in the face as I say it. She groans and pushes my face to the side and me off the couch. ¡°I take it back, this is worse.¡± I have myself a little giggle fit on the shag rug in my living room as Katie starts puttering at her desk. Five minutes later I¡¯m in a rash guard top poking at sustainment and source runeshapes, trying to figure out how to lower the downtime of the array now that I know it works. Katie and I work like that for hours, save the first time she saw me with a top covering, she decided it offended her and threw it across the room. After that we trade trips to make coffee, short kisses and a casual grope here and there. It is cozy. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Why am I so hung up on this? These runes should work.¡± ¡°Explain it to me, maybe you¡¯ll shake something loose.¡± I walk over to her station and hijack her projector. And bring up the shuttle diagram. And plop my mini-runic assembly on her workstation. ¡°I¡¯ve modeled the system as well as I can here, but the parts just aren¡¯t working together.¡± ¡°What does Tessa think?¡± Katie asks. ¡°Finally, someone asks me. I have all of the knowledge you have access to, Penelope,¡± she says in a chastising teacher voice. ¡°I think that she¡¯s forgotten the two approaches she can take to solve these problems. You can create a comprehensive spellform out of runes, like your sundering apparatus, or you can finally use the construct module you bought. I¡¯m not allowed to help you figure out the details, but either solution seems more than a 10-day endeavor.¡± How did I completely forget about making constructs? I was so focused on a few devices, that I forgot I could make a car. ¡°If I pushed myself, I might have something workable in that time, but I definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to store enough aether should it not work correctly. Crap on toast.¡± ¡°And sorry for not checking with you sooner, Tessa. It¡¯s tied up in my Earth issues and has nothing to do with how I feel about you.¡± ¡°I thought as much, but I am restricted with what help I can just volunteer when you¡¯re creating. Just keep that in mind.¡± ¡°Thanks Tessa, and thanks Kay. You two are awesome.¡± ¡°I agree, but I have questions about your diagram.¡± Katie doesn¡¯t take her eyes off a side project I have in the same data file. She¡¯s pointing at a mana collector and distribution ring I¡¯m working on. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s interesting, but how were you planning to store it? Surely not in the liquid form you create?¡± I huff at that, ¡°Apparently synthesizing my ink outside of my body is incredibly difficult. So no. I¡¯m working on a sort of battery, but right now the bastards shoot their whole load off like capacitors and it¡¯s maddening. So I put the project down for a while. I had an idea that I put in the notes but I have to build the apparatus to create the appropriately stratified gem. The chromium doped corundum I¡¯m using for laser focusing lenses holds a fine aether web when charged and provides a satisfying boost to the laser¡¯s cutting power.¡± ¡°Penny, how have you had time to do all of this?¡± She scrolls through the same file to find it littered with projects like a messy IRL workshop. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t? But I picked up a skill called Parallel Minds a while back, so usually when I get stuck on something I switch to an idea one of my other thought processes has been ruminating on until my subconscious cracks the case. It¡¯s annoying when I have a ¡®Eureka¡¯ moment when I¡¯m sleeping though. ¡°I have a lot of raw data for various things, but haven¡¯t spent the time to categorize it enough to ask Tessa for help. But if you want to wade through some data and pick and chose your next project, by all means.¡± ¡°And here I didn¡¯t think you were into dirty talk.¡± She smiles and pulls me into a kiss, biting specifically to draw a bead of blood between our lips. She moans quietly into my mouth before licking my lips a few times. ¡°I am very interested in your Battery data. Magitech power sources on the Exchange are very expensive.¡± ¡°Have at it Kay. Side note, I wanted to spend the afternoon soaking in what¡¯s left of the infused lake water, you want to come with?¡± She looks at her table and back the fridge and amenities, then back at me. ¡°I suppose I can do this from anywhere. Can you teleport a crate with us?¡± I nod while smiling. An hour later, I¡¯m pleasantly wrapped in aether-infused water, with my head resting on Katie¡¯s feet while enjoying a fruit beer. Katie is sitting in a lounger with attached umbrella looking at my data file and keeping notes in her own. We enjoy the day in companionable silence and I couldn¡¯t imagine a better recovery day. I hope Melissa¡¯s doing okay. *** Melissa is drinking Francesca¡¯s moonshine and stumbling about her greenhouse waiting for Katie and me to return. ¡°Guess that means I¡¯m flying then,¡± I chuckle. Katie looks disgusted at the whole situation. I wonder what that is about? I decide that it¡¯s hers to share, and leave it be. We¡¯re only going to be here for eight more days, and some of these situations will be left behind for good. I try to corral the drunken woman but she says she¡¯s not done drinking with her friend. I decide to not leave someone I care about in a stupid situation and princess carry her to the shuttle and strap her in a passenger seat. She chastises me the whole way to Mercy for being a pushy girlfriend and that if I was going to run away with Katie, that she should be able to have some fun on her own. I get that she¡¯s insecure about how close Katie and I were/are but getting drunk with Francesca seems like she was baiting a reaction from me. If this kind of manipulative behavior is going to be her new normal, I¡¯m not going to be able to handle it long-term. When we get to Mercy I drag her to our suite and dump her on the bed fully clothed. I leave her a note telling her that I didn¡¯t love this situation and to call me when she¡¯s ready to talk about it. Katie and Beecham go over their plan for the next few days and that with some of the pre-fab panels they¡¯ve already printed, they can focus on the airlock machinery while I do enchanting work on the exterior of the cargo pods and the elevator/airlock modification. Four days of working on the shuttle with the team and Melissa still hasn¡¯t pulled me aside. I originally intended for this to be on her, but I¡¯m not going back to earth with this festering in my brain. /Hey Mel, got a few minutes?/ /Not really, Penny. I¡¯m pretty busy./ /Okay, let me rephrase, I would like it if you would make time for us to talk. Let me know when you have time today./ /Fine. I¡¯ll be right there./ That¡¯s a sure fire way to spin me up before a conversation that we should have had days ago. She finds me in our suite, at the table in the breakfast nook. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± She wastes no time as she enters. ¡°Uh, it¡¯s about that you seem to be avoiding me, and that I feel like you¡¯re blaming me for something. I asked to talk about your potential bad decisions with Francesca days ago, but now you just seem angry.¡± ¡°I am avoiding you. It¡¯s hard for me to see you acting this way around Katie and not with me.¡± ¡°I was acting that way with you too before we separated for my two-day break. What changed?¡± ¡°I saw you two, okay? I saw how easy everything was between you while I was gone and how you were probably thinking how much easier it would be without Melissa to mess everything up.¡± ¡°No, I was wondering how you were doing. How much better things would be with you involved. We even talked about making things official after we had a talk with your parents, but that really depends if that¡¯s what you still want? I don¡¯t love that you were spying on us though.¡± ¡°You talked about marrying us?¡± ¡°Kind of, yeah. I still want you in my life, love, but manipulative stuff like getting drunk with Francesca to see how I¡¯ll react can¡¯t continue. Moreover, your and Katie¡¯s situations will never be equal. We¡¯ve had different interactions as people, and we¡¯ve hurt each other in different ways. Does that mean I love either of you less? No. But we do have to talk about it, all three of us. ¡°There will be times when you or Kay will want alone time with me, or other times you¡¯ll be fed up with me and you and she decide to fuck out your frustrations on each other. Maybe your relationship with Kay develops more favorably over time. I don¡¯t know how this works Mel. The last time I tried I was pushed out of the relationship, so I know how you might be feeling. But I don¡¯t want to push you away Melissa. I want you to be a part of this thing you started.¡± She starts crying, big crocodile tears. ¡°I felt like I ruined everything we had, and I just wanted to get it back.¡± I walk up and start rubbing her back. ¡°We can¡¯t go back there honey, we have to find a new place where all three of us fit.¡± She nods, ¡°but then I thought you were going to abandon me for Katie and I couldn¡¯t face it, you know?¡± ¡°I do. I did something very similar. Except the person I loved didn¡¯t try to stop me from leaving.¡± I pull up her chin to look at me, ¡°this is me saying I don¡¯t want you to leave us. I¡¯m still a little mad at the both of you, but that¡¯s not the important thing. What¡¯s important is what you saw when you were spying on us, I want to focus on what we¡¯re going to be in the future. Laughing, giggling, productive, sloppy, satisfied messes.¡± ¡°I do like those kinds of messes.¡± She grabs my face for a kiss and I try and inject as much compassion as I possibly can. ¡°Mmm, how did I think avoiding that was a good idea.¡± I grin at the turnaround and peck her lips. ¡°No idea, kisses are pretty great.¡± I pop up and walk for another mug of coffee. ¡°Thanks for making time to talk to me.¡± She chuckles and sniffs and wipes her face on her sleeve. ¡°Thanks for not giving up on me.¡± ¡°You betcha. Now how about we spy on some people and read their minds?¡± She looks at me as though I just asked her to recite the Gettysburg Address. And bursts out laughing as she realizes I respect her talents just not when they¡¯re used against me. B2 Ch 19: Welcome Back Some part of me expected there to be some type of drama when Viper and his crew showed up. Beecham assured me there wouldn''t be any, but I had my doubts¡ªespecially since he has plans to kill me when we get back to Earth. When I asked Mel if she was interested in scanning the boys before loading them on our shared shuttle, she jumped at the chance. The overarching tone of their thoughts were that they couldn¡¯t wait to get back to Earth and that I¡¯m a bitch for treating everyone like slaves. Mel confirms that Viper was indeed planting his venomous thoughts in their minds and that he intended to let some time blow by before he came back to find me. He probably picked up some good killing skills too, the snake. Heh. The first warp went without a hitch, we checked in on the Supiter moons and stayed in orbit for two days while I recovered. The second warp was an odd one. A Mars-sized planet was orbiting a brown dwarf at a near perpendicular angle to the main sequence star it orbits. The brown dwarf had a massive debris field inside, outside and around the dwarf and a distant gas giant orbiting the pair of stars. The tidal forces of the dwarf were the likely cause of the vulcanism and atmosphere that the planet sported. The old survey data had additional planets, but that data was millions of years old. This would primarily be a mining system. We named it Lemnos, planted our ansible flag and stayed only as long as necessary on that lava-rich world. The third system was hard to find. We spent two weeks making small warps to the systems flagged by Atropos and Ophelia, and after the 4th warp of our effort, we found another system with a super-jovian with habitable moons. Plural habitable moons this time. One was almost entirely a garden and water world, which Mel named Elysium, and another with a full climate range named Asphodel. Quite amusingly she named the system Hades. It would keep absolutely no one away as other Supercluster Communities would have no idea what any of it means. After a brief discussion on how likely super-predators were on each of the enticing worlds, we set up an ansible and a small residence on Asphodel. Me and the other Symbiote users were in need of some soak time, so we went to Elysium where aether was found in abundance. This place would give normal humans aether sickness in less than a day. My body is drinking it from the air. I would definitely be back to this system. Seems to be an ideal Symbiote and Tech system for families and groups that don¡¯t want to be one thing. Astoria could be that place too, but this is approximately 1500 ly closer to earth. We don¡¯t get any Supercluster interest this far out. It¡¯s weird to me that there isn¡¯t anyone in the Matrix in this arm of the Galaxy, but why would you come out here if you didn¡¯t have a reason to? The next stop we had little to no information on and after five short jumps to find a better system, we just park an ansible on a moon around another gas giant and call it a day. I called the system Earth waypoint 2. The last stop, and the last of our money (again)-- because I had forgotten to account for this Ansible in our costs¡ªis one of the super-Earths that the Kepler project found about 300ly away from Earth. I name it Kepler Proximus and the planets surrounding the main sequence star after Mars rovers. The super-Earth ends up being named Curiosity, which had me laughing for a solid 5 minutes. Despite protests, I insist on staying an extra week after I buy a survey drone to bury Katie in data about the planet that we can trade to Earth Governments if need be. I build another house with personal funds and call it Penny¡¯s Promontory. Four systems for the Empire, one extra waypoint and seven extra stops of survey data. Not a bad haul for Astoria. ¡°Tessa, Ophie, Atropos, we have tons of extra warp data, lets put it to the test this time. I want to appear within 100k kilometers of Titan.¡± ¡°Why not warp in closer?¡± Beecham asks. ¡°Two reasons: Though it¡¯s been nearly 3 years since we left, I bet they¡¯re still watching. I also don¡¯t want to be within planetary defense range horrendously low on aether. They may have put guns on the remaining Copernicus Class ships.¡± ¡°So would you like us to be where the Copernicus disappeared? Or near the current position of Titan?¡± Tessa asks via intercom. ¡°What¡¯s the likelihood that Earthers would postulate a temporal anomaly?¡± Katie asks. ¡°Its certainly a question I could see the Government asking my old research partner. He would give them a fluff answer to obfuscate his uncertainty. So time fuckery sounds like something he might say. Guess that answers that. To the disappearance location please.¡± With a few warnings and a final pop, star chart data matches our being within Sol¡¯s system. We¡¯re back. *** ¡°How long does a radio signal take out here, it¡¯s been hours!¡± ¡°The round trip for data from where we were to where we will be is roughly 2.5 hours.¡± Katie warns, ¡°if you ask me again before that time lapses you can wait until we are on the ISS to be involved again.¡± Each person put a small packet of info and a photo for the message we sent the ISS Control channel. Eyes still remembered all the frequencies¡ªthe madman. We started the trip on a 3g acceleration burn for about 10 minutes before people started getting sick. I dial it back to Astoria gravity for the rest of the trip. We¡¯ll flip and decel around the asteroid belt if we don¡¯t get comms reply. If we get a reply, I¡¯ll confirm for a closer warp and decel into Earth Orbit. Almost exactly on-time, ¡°MM2 Hunsaker, this is ISS Control. We have received your transmission. Wait.¡± Yikes. Have to confab with planetside. No one on the shuttle likes the waiting. An hour later we get another reply. ¡°International leaders have agreed to having you warp closer to Earth. No closer than Lunar Orbit.¡± ¡°How far away are we now?¡± ¡°Just outside an hour signal wise.¡± ¡°Excellent. Tell them to expect to see us warp in just after they receive this message.¡± Melissa nods and sends the message, telling them we¡¯ll see them soon. ¡°Alright, everyone. Enable compression for prolonged g-maneuver. We¡¯re going to hit 6g for 3 seconds, then 3g for about 5 minutes. Hit panic button if anything feels different from last time. We¡¯re decelerating for 55 minutes total, flip 5 minute reset, low-power warp. Profit.¡± We¡¯ll have more slowing to do when we get to Luna¡¯s orbit, but it won¡¯t be anything AIS Indulgence can¡¯t handle. In an emergency maneuver, I would break the crew before the ship. Now is not the time for those ideas, Penny. Tessa! I would never . . . risk hurting Katie for vengeance. Melissa has some body mods, she¡¯s good for an extra g or two. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She is surprisingly robust for a Psionic. Not that I plan to test it, but can you double check the temperatures with relation to my aether reserves if I have to pilot my EVA to ground? She pings affirmative. The fact that she doesn¡¯t respond right away is telling. Ophie and Mel count down to warp and skip us through space. We are less than 5k km from one of the ISS Cruisers, so I emergency maneuver toward Luna and perform an extra warp through her. 50k kilometers is set as minimum warp so I¡¯m sure we¡¯re clear as I hear most of the crew throw up. Hopefully from disorientation instead of warp sickness. Melissa may suffer some aether sickness, but the rest of the crew should be fine. ¡°Ophie, Atropos, please check immediate 10k for contacts and hail the ISS please. I want to run a brief diagnostic on the arrays.¡± I get chirps from the girls. As Tessa chirps my intentions. Truth be told I¡¯m shaken from dodging a space ship and warping through a moon. The Moon. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ve warped through a star or a nebula or something, but I¡¯ve never warped through a stellar body on purpose before. /Hunsaker, this is ISS Control, Galileo reported a near collision, with a fast-moving object, please relay logs post warp./ /Copy ISS, sending as requested./ Melissa does not look like she feels well, but she¡¯s keeping up with communications. [You are now broadcasting as AIS Indulgence] /ISS Control, DE Indulgence, request permission to dock for Video Conference and Data Dump./ /Indulgence, International regulation prefers one of the three remaining starships meet and debrief with foreign visitors./ /Copy ISS Control, have the relevant authority send us a rally point on .8ghz/ It¡¯s a non-standard frequency so I¡¯ll know that someone changed their radio on purpose. Galileo responds that they are the on-duty ship and that we have permission to dock with Aft Machinery. After back tracking under thruster power for two hours, Atropos eagerly docks with the ISS Galileo. I¡¯m the first one in the airlock, full helmet and a dour look. They¡¯re greeting us with an armed team of sailors. I ensure I am the only one in the docked cargo module when they open those doors. ¡°MM1 Mercer, where is the rest of your crew?¡± I stare at the Lieutenant JG leading the security team. I depressurize my helmet and hang it on my belt. ¡°When I saw the weapons, Lieutenant, I told them to stay on the ship until I talked to you. What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± ¡°After Copernicus disappeared with all hands, protocol was established, should any return, that they be questioned as aliens.¡± ¡°A reasonable procedure, but if you continue to point loaded weapons at me, I won¡¯t bring the rest of the crew aboard.¡± He stares at me, trying to be intimidating. I¡¯m a fucking Empress. Cower at my feet Lieutenant JG Woods. ¡°Lower you weapons, keep them at the ready.¡± He says, barely a quiver in his voice. I whistle mentally at his fortitude. ¡°Thank you.¡± I make a point to tap a section of my suit to disguise that I don¡¯t need to. Katie and Mel get the message and load everyone in the cargo pod. Katie and Melissa are wearing Lieutenant insignia for the AIN, and Beecham a Chief¡¯s insignia. He asked to be a chief, didn¡¯t want the responsibility. They are wearing the now Astoria Imperial Navy standard environment suit. He crossed over when I told him that citizens are entitled to return trips. He was just feeling us out anyway, we had a long talk with my girls present and he laid out his ideas. Guy wants to run my shipyard and maybe be warped into an occasional boarding action to practice. Hell yah Chief, get some. ¡°You have non-standard uniforms,¡± the Lt. JG says. ¡°A lot has happened in the last three years, Lieutenant.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you call me sir?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an Earth Citizen anymore. Take me to your relevant authority, Lieutenant.¡± I don¡¯t want to treat this poor junior officer like this, but if I treated everything as Navy as usual, no one would respect my new position. He leads us to the aft Wardroom for a teleconference. I¡¯d hoped for more, but did not expect to be led directly to the Captain. She is waiting for us though, looks European. ¡°New uniforms, fancy shuttle, it appears you¡¯ve changed allegiances, Mercer.¡± ¡°So I have Captain. I have been told that to gain the conferences I desire, I must deal with you. I also have four former crewmembers of the Copernicus that are to be remanded into your care.¡± ¡°We have no accommodation for prisoners.¡± ¡°I know for a fact that you have a brig. Two, they are recovered Sailors of the ISS Copernicus.¡± Her fa?ade does not waver. ¡°And the remaining four?¡± ¡°They are my crew Captain, I intend to make arrangements to release them from their prior enlistments.¡± ¡°But they are not yet released.¡± ¡°And yet the crew and I are considered lost and presumed dead.¡± I had Tessa check. ¡°Enough of this. Multiple countries are adamant that you give a full account of the Copernicus before your admittance to Earth. Let us begin with that.¡± I gave a verbal account, by nature not being a full account but a truncated endeavor for conversational purposes. Her face cycled through emotions that I didn¡¯t care to keep track of. I just want to sleep and move on with my year. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to hand over our Navigation logs to get here, but I require a video meeting with the CNO and Naval Reactors.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not that important Mercer.¡± ¡°I came back with a better Annihilation Drive than I left with.¡± I look to Mel and Katie. Melissa looks so proud of me, Katie looks bored but gives me a thumbs up in support. ¡°You may have to wait a long time.¡± She counters without tapping on a single screen. ¡°I will wait three days. If I wait longer than that for a ten-minute meeting, I¡¯ll make other arrangements. ¡°You presume to dictate to me?¡± ¡°Yes Captain, I do. I am being courteous, but I came here in a superior vessel, fit to dock with Earth technology. I stand in your Wardroom in a space suit that would likely survive the ship exploding. You are treating me like an alien, so I suggest that, perhaps you treat me like an alien that you don¡¯t want to anger. I just want to turn over some people, make some deals, and return to my Imperium. Beside explaining what happened to us, y¡¯all need to know that regardless.¡± They have me sit there for hours. I pull juice and food from my purse of magic tricks that I got back from Meeker. I start snacking on Murder Bacon. /Katie, Mel, I¡¯m having trouble thinking ahead right now. Can you two negotiate for us?/ /Melissa, I believe that this is a hard-exchange negotiation. I will take point./ She pings, continuing to read minds as heavily as possible. So Katie explained what we went through while I sipped on Aether replacement drinks. When the story arrives at Captain Morris¡¯ betrayal, the offices grow silent. No one wants to admit that they¡¯d turn on the crew, but with the Alien tech and personal advancement, even the CO of Galileo admits she¡¯d be tempted. They make me wait every minute of those three days. Then, a familiar Admiral from Reactor control, and a New Political figure at the CNO¡¯s office give me a call. ¡°Gentlemen, good to see you.¡± ¡°Cut the crap Mercer, I was extended to twelve years of service in this job just in case your ship came back.¡± ¡°Fine, I want Hunsaker, O¡¯Connell, and Beecham released from their contracts in exchange for fixing your warp technology. ¡° ¡°Your contracts are worth more than that,¡± the CNO attempted. Katie responds. ¡°Admiral, our contracts are worth MAYBE a few million. Penny Astoria¡¯s offer is to refit three of your capital space ships. That estimate is worth approximately 150 million dollars. Of course, if we were contracting from Earth, that would be at least a half a billion.¡± ¡°Contract release and 10 million in spending money.¡± Kay tries not to smirk, but we need the funds hard, and she convinces me to tie myself to 30 mil in debt and maintenance. ¡°You would debase yourself to doing contract work for money?¡± ¡°How much do you think they would dock me for spacing you?¡± ¡°You dare?¡± ¡°Come at me Skipper.¡± The Wardroom is speechless. Skipper is reserved for ship commanders that have not been promoted to captain. I get a lot of attention from the goat locker. They ask so many questions about Ivanka and Volkov. The G-D Russians have this ship¡¯s enlisted as well, and Ivanka had gossiped about me. I miss that bitch. And Volkov was good people, I want her on my staff. I ask Tesssa to spitball what a recovery mission would entail. In the end, US admirals agree to my conditions, and the others in the international community get log readings of the warp tech since we left. /Mercer, the Chiefs of Staff want to talk with you./ /Copy Admiral. Unless they have an island in the South Pacific I can borrow for a few months, I need some time to settle in/ /We¡¯ll talk about it when you get down here./ B2 Ch 20: Nostalgia ¡°Alright ladies and gent, we¡¯re outta here.¡± I stand up, set my coffee down and grab a cookie out of the bowl in the center of the table. ¡°Tell your CSs that the cookies were great. I missed these.¡± It¡¯s been more than a year, but I still remember my way back to the aft machinery spaces, much to my escort¡¯s frustration. ¡°Did you want us with you when you talk with the join chiefs?¡± Melissa asks. ¡°I would, for fairly obvious reasons. It¡¯s up to both of you, however. I had originally thought you three would spend the time I¡¯m dealing with various parts of the US Government to visit your families and . . . whatever you want to do.¡± ¡°Can you drop me in Canaveral so I can get my car back? I missed driving her so much.¡± Beecham asks. I chuckle at that and nod. ¡°I would like the chance to visit my grandparents,¡± Katie adds. We¡¯d never spent a lot of time talking about our families, but I do know her extended family is in Ireland. Melissa¡¯s eyes are pleading for a chance to visit her parents. ¡°That settles it then. You three can drop me off over DC and I¡¯ll call when I¡¯m done. Mel, can Ophie pilot the shuttle herself?¡± ¡°Yes, we haven¡¯t tried long-distance separation. You want her to keep the shuttle in orbit or something?¡± ¡°Yes please.¡± There are two armed sailors at the airlock to my ship. I eye them suspiciously, but they don¡¯t get in my way as I walk to the control panel. My surprise comes when they walk into the airlock with us. They walk to the other side and wait for me to open the door. Huh. ¡°You two are not getting on my ship. Especially not with guns.¡± ¡°We have orders to escort you to the Pentagon.¡± I walk away from the panel and up to the two Sailors and get right in their faces. ¡°I don¡¯t care. You are not getting on my ship.¡± One of the two, takes a step back and sticks the barrel of his AR-15 in my face. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we must insist.¡± I sigh and slump my shoulders for effect, pulling my scepter off my waist. I jerk my hand without my face betraying the action, tapping the scepter against the barrel in my face, sundering the weapon to pieces. I shove the man in front of me and he instinctively raises his weapon for balance and purpose. I tap that one on the way up and the man stumbles, even more off balance. ¡°Excellent. Now unless you want to see what happens to you if I tap your hand, I suggest backing to the other side of the airlock and stay there until we leave.¡± /Mel, can you operate that panel remotely?/ /I can. Opening the airlock now./ The next door on the way to my ship opens and we walk through. Mel shuts it again and locks the system down. We open the door to one of the cargo pods and disconnect from the Galileo. ¡°I respect their gumption, but that was annoying. I want to space their CO even more now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m mildly surprised you didn¡¯t,¡± Katie says, smiling slightly. I scoff at her. ¡°Okay. It¡¯s finally time to go to Earth. Where to first?¡± She asks as she has Ophelia accelerate us toward the pretty blue marble. ¡°Me first, just a fly over Alexandria. I¡¯ll EVA suit the rest of the way.¡± Melissa laughs at that, ¡°I forgot you can fly in that thing.¡± I nod, ¡°I¡¯ll be using it a lot here, don¡¯t want to show off the teleporting unless I need it.¡± Melissa puts on a thinking face and fumbles with her pockets, pulling out a metal band. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure when a good time to give you this would be, but as you have a hard time remote controlling devices without one . . .¡± she hands me the band, which has a hole in it the size of my wrist port. ¡°I don¡¯t know how well it will interface with your new changes, but Katie and I worked really hard on it, and we¡¯d both like you to wear it.¡± I give Katie a side eyebrow in question. She nods. ¡°It will create a mental link with me as well. With the shipboard ansible connected, we should be able to link up anywhere on Earth.¡± I stare at the band for longer that I probably should have, the sting of Melissa reading my mind and hurting me with it scouring fresh pain in my mind. What ultimately makes me put it on is the guilty look on Mel¡¯s face and that Katie said she wanted it too. I slip it over my hand and align the circles and push until it clicks. At the click, the bracelet starts to change and form to my arm ending up looking like an etched steel bracer. Melissa sags in relief, walking over to hug me and to say ¡°thank you.¡± She hugs me in my mind too. >P] Welcome to never being alone Kay.[< >K] You¡¯re welcome here anytime.[< Aww, that was adorable. Warm brain cuddles. Katie smiles. Tessa, is your interface with Indulgence any better. Much. I¡¯ve begun loading part of ourselves into the Navigation system. I will be testing how well I can utilize Parallel Minds. That sounds awesome. Were you thinking about leaving part of us in Astoria as well? I am. Linking through the ansible connections should prevent divergent consciousness from occurring. There¡¯s a conversation I never thought I¡¯d have. Never mind me, sitting here chatting with my sentient symbiote. Totally normal human behavior. ¡°What about Beecham?¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, they gave me something that looks like one of those pop-out handles for the back of a smartphone. It¡¯ll let me connect to the ship as soon as I get my stuff from the locker in Canaveral, if they didn¡¯t toss it all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be interested to see how hard it is to get set back up. I don¡¯t intend to stay here for years, but I imagine I¡¯ll be making regular trips. Having all of my stuff seized or disabled would be a hassle.¡± At some point during my musings I end up sitting in Katie¡¯s lap, running a hand through her hair. Andromeda is this relaxing. Mel ruins it moments later telling us to strap in for a warp. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. She puts us at the edge of the atmosphere and angles us to an air-braked re-entry. The ride is predictably rough until we point to preserve some speed as we re-orient toward Washington D.C. at Mach 2. I jump out of the back of the rear cargo pod as they turn away from the standoff zone around the Pentagon and I enjoy my brief free fall from 5 kilometers up. I get a lot of amazed glances as I fly over Alexandria on my way to the Pentagon metro station. I land at the station to avoid getting shot at, but walking a mile in this EVA suit is not my favorite. When Tessa reminds me of the environment control capabilities of the suit my mood changes for the better. As I walk up to security, they look nervous and put hands on weapons. Here¡¯s hoping this doesn¡¯t get dumb. ¡°At ease gentlemen, I¡¯m here for a meeting with the Chief of Naval Operations and he Joint Cheifs. Penelope Mercer? Maybe there¡¯s a guest badge for me?¡± One of the men walk into a booth and I hear telltale signs that he¡¯s making a phone call. He comes back out with a clipboard and a badge. ¡°Frank, stand down, they¡¯re expecting her.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, we¡¯re going to need you to sign in.¡± Ma¡¯am? Who did the flag officers say was coming. ¡°I¡¯m going to take off my gloves so I can. Okay.¡± I aim that statement at Frank. Uncoupling the gloves and hanging them from my belt from loops on the inside of the glove, I grab the pen and the clipboard. Name, company, purpose of visit. Penny Astoria, Astorian Imperial Navy, Joint Chiefs meeting. That¡¯s pretty fun to write out. When I get to the building itself, theirs a corporal in the Army there to meet me. He greets me like a visiting dignitary instead of a fellow enlisted, so that¡¯s the first sign that the government is taking me seriously. I like it. I get a sudden rush of memories of studying here with Katie for a week. >P] I¡¯m really glad I met you Kay. Pentagon¡¯s making me all nostalgic.[< >K] Love you too.[< She sends warm brain fuzzies. I like this whole emotional text thing. ¡°Is there anything you need for the meeting? Pen, clipboard?¡± ¡°No thanks. They have drink glasses in there right?¡± He nods. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine then. Thanks Corporal.¡± He salutes, executes a crisp about face, and marches back down the hall. I knock on the conference room door and let myself in. Seated around the table are some of the most powerful people in the country. Seven four-star admirals and generals, some mixed other officers, and a cook managing a buffet table? What the hell kind of meeting is this? One of the Generals saw me eyeball the buffet and gestured for me to help myself, not interrupting the other conversations in the room. I pick a cup of coffee, a drink glass and one of the sushi displays. I set the cutting board at the empty position at the table, set my coffee down and fill my drink cup with aether-infused juice. The room had gone silent when I set the food down, but the general that waved me to the buffet waited until I sat to address me. I like his manners. ¡°Miss Mercer. Thanks for meeting us, though the speed at which you arrived has us somewhat unprepared.¡± I look around, incredulous. Unprepared? ¡°No worries General. I haven¡¯t had real coffee in three years. Thank you for the unexpected effort. I prefer Penny Astoria to Mercer these days.¡± He nods at that and makes a note. ¡°The Joint Chiefs and I heard your report and want to talk about the first contact scenario and what that might mean for America. Naval Reactors called some of his compatriots in the other services to ask you questions as well.¡± ¡°The food makes sense now.¡± I chuckle, adding a tasty morsel of fish to my maw. I would have moaned if I wasn¡¯t in ¡°Empress¡± mode. ¡°Yes. We understand that you have alien technology in your body, and apparently that suit as well.¡± Ah, I see where they¡¯re going. ¡°Yes, as you may have heard, an automated waypoint drone at the edge of commonly patrolled space found us in its sector and identified us as a new species of sentient life. Their protocol is to preserve said life and add it to the Andromeda Supercluster Development System.¡± Sorry Andromeda, humans have a thing about the word ¡°Matrix¡± ¡°When we awoke, they identified Military, Intellectual, and Community leaders to make a decision as to whether to accept the System swarm. Morris accepted the swarm for himself and denied it to the crew. Doctor Francesca Summers accepted on behalf of the scientific community, and I accepted on behalf of myself. I tried to accept for the whole crew, but I was told that the military made decisions for military members. All the sailors and former sailors I brought back have some version of the swarm that allows them access to the System.¡± ¡°Did Morris know something the two of you didn¡¯t?¡± The CNO asks. ¡°No. He just didn¡¯t want to risk losing his power base to a crew full of video-gaming min-maxers. Not that he had to worry about that. The three identified leaders of a species get some extra benefits that keep us a little bit ahead.¡± ¡°What kind of benefits?¡± one of the scientists asks. ¡°Not currently relevant to your understanding of the System.¡± I hedge and eat some more to temper the rate of questions. ¡°What are your and your team¡¯s plans now that you¡¯re back?¡± A gruff looking Army-general asks. ¡°Good question. I plan to do some work for the Navy in exchange for peacefully releasing our contracts. I plan to build a communication tower to connect to a relay I placed 300 light years away, and I plan to introduce Humanity at large to the System. After that, I plan on going back to my planet and manage a new colony as a space-faring humanity. My crew has parallel aims and intend to return to my planet as well. The ones I dropped off on Galileo? I¡¯m not negotiating for them.¡± ¡°What did they do?¡± ¡°Threw a tantrum and left my community. I promised to bring them back to Earth and as far as I¡¯m concerned I fulfilled that promise.¡± ¡°What is this ¡®System¡¯?¡± The Airforce General asks, leaning forward for a clear view to stare at me. ¡°Also a good question, probably the best one. If you¡¯ve read any GameLit, or RPG literature that was popular in Scifi and Fantasy, that¡¯s a close approximation. The System is an attempt to quantify personal and community growth in a numeric and tangible way. Unlike video games, there are not finite options, your first few levels of behavior help shape what options you will be offered for development in the future. The System is managed by something called a Forum, consisting of senior members the Andromeda Supercluster community. One of the biggest resources the System brings is the System Exchange where basic subsistence items can be bought as well as a marketplace for products to be bought and sold across multiple galaxies.¡± ¡°Is that where you bought that suit?¡± ¡°It is! It¡¯s Orbital insertion capable. Very fancy.¡± No one really knows what to say about Orbital Insertion, so they largely ignore it. ¡°Can we deny the swarm? And if we do, can we get it later?¡± Another scientist asks. ¡°Yes, you can. I¡¯m relatively certain that military leaders like you can deny access to those below you in the hierarchy, like Morris did, but I am uncertain how it works for civilian authorities. To answer your second question, yes. I re-inoculated the people I brought back to Earth.¡± ¡°What¡¯s stopping us from arresting you and throwing you in a hole?¡± There it is. Some axe wound of a human asks. ¡°Common sense. Why would you alienate an asset that has spent three years with alien technology that you have no idea what technology level I have access to.¡± ¡°Can we study your ship?¡± ¡°No, and I won¡¯t be surrendering any of my gear. I might be convinced to part with a few sundering tools, but otherwise I intend to conserve my resources for my Solar System. To make this simpler, I¡¯m mostly here as a courtesy. I would have preferred to have this meeting with multiple world leaders, but hey. Joint Chiefs is a good start for my first day back.¡± The conversation breaks down to some inane questions and a few veiled threats. CNO and Naval Reactors ask me to schedule another meeting with them privately before the Joint Chiefs leave and leave me to the mercy of their nerds. I answer a lot of questions about the planets I found on the way here and any military applications my technology has created. I tell them about the plasma bombs and light sabers, but I leave out my plasma rifle as it is outside of the tech level humanity will have once the System goes live here. I eat a lot of their food. At the end of the third hour, I call it. I¡¯m done for the day. I tell them to contact me through the CNO¡¯s office if they want to ask more questions. Speaking of that office, I walk around the ¡®Gon until I get to his office and find his secretary. The Sailor hands me a packed manila envelope and asks me if I have time in the afternoon two days from now, saying he has a meeting at the White House tomorrow. I thank him and say that the afternoon works. I open the folder in the courtyard to find a reservation at a local hotel, a contract with BAE ship systems, a contract from BAE hiring me for the thruster job for 10 million over three ships that I had apparently signed, and a location in the south pacific with a signed lease agreement. The lease agreement has a note that says to leave the communications equipment alone. I pick up the folder to put the papers back in when I feel a weight at the bottom. A shiny smart phone wrapped with a piece of notepad paper lies at the bottom, and the paper slides off the phone as soon as I grab it. It¡¯s a hand-written list of things that were reactivated now that I¡¯ve been found. I power up the phone and see that Find My Phone is installed and it already has the CNO and Naval Reactors on the contact list. I text the CNO, thanking him for the follow-through. B2 Ch 21: Presidential Welcome ¡°I can¡¯t believe they gave you an Island.¡± ¡°The didn¡¯t give it to me Mel, I¡¯m leasing it. I apparently paid a million dollars for a ten-year lease.¡± I say, wiggling my toes in the sand after parking my shuttle up the beach. ¡°Plus, most of the Islands in the area are radioactive.¡± She grimaces, ¡°You paid too much then.¡± ¡°Atropos says that there are higher than normal radiation levels, but this particular island has no hot spots. And Tessa says that there is a tier 2 domicile with self-contained utilities listed on the exchange.¡± ¡°Yeah, but how much does that cost?¡± ¡°Fifty thousand credits.¡± Kay says with no inflection what so ever. ¡°Crap on toast! Is that fully customized for the three of us?¡± She nods, ¡°with extra space for Beecham too. And two out-buildings for storage or whatever.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s less crap. That¡¯s the first thing we build after putting the home colony ansible over there.¡± I point at the highest spot on the 2km long, 200m wide, nearly sea-level island. Plenty of palm trees and grass though. ¡°Navy has a few ships moth-balled in Washington that they¡¯re willing to sell us for scrap.¡± Melissa said. ¡°Nah, I have a line on a few scrap yards in California and some wreckage in Hawaii that we can hit. The one in Hawaii will even pay us a little bit.¡± ¡°Sounds good. 10 million won¡¯t last forever. Oh, yeah, I set up a joint account for us and I need to pay Beecham.¡± ¡°Joint you say? Making your credits joint too?¡± Katie raises an eyebrow. ¡°Heck no. You would bring my ratings down.¡± I scoff. ¡°I have tech two access, thank you.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± I snicker, not letting her know why, despite her insistence. ¡°PENNY! YOU COME BACK HERE.¡± Katie yells as I sprint away, squealing. The chase does not last long and I am soon tackled into the sand. I turn quickly under her and pull her into a forceful kiss. ¡°That was fun.¡± ¡°Penny, my love, my life, what tech rating are you?¡± She says softly, nibling my ear. My brain stops braining things. ¡°Tier 3 baby. Oh fuck that feels good.¡± She freezes, bites my ear a little too hard and pushes away from me. ¡°Fucking how!? How are you a higher tech rating than me?¡± ¡°I accidently made a really fancy bomb?¡± ¡°Unbelievable.¡± She throws her hands up in the air as she stands up. ¡°I am trying hard to be a valuable member in this relationship, and what are you doing? Falling upward.¡± ¡°Kay, you do so much already, and your rating isn¡¯t why I love you.¡± ¡°Penny, it¡¯s not about you. I like to feel useful, be the best at what I do.¡± ¡°But you are Katie! You¡¯re an amazing analyst and the fact that you like logistics and want to manage our intersystem trade is going to keep us alive!¡± I push up to a seated position and stare at her eyes. ¡°I know that you appreciate what I do and that¡¯s part of what makes me angry sometimes, it¡¯s not good enough for me, so why is it good enough for you?¡± She¡¯s breathing heavily and her teeth are bared. ¡°Lady, your level of expertise is so high, that no one I¡¯ve ever met has asked if you were sure. Katie did some numbers? Must be correct. Katie planned parts and fuel shipments, problem happened somewhere else. I have a high standard hon, always have. I¡¯ve alienated countless scientists because of it. You¡¯re accusing me of not expecting enough? I guess there¡¯s a first time for everything.¡± ¡°Penny, you¡¯re not helping.¡± ¡°What if I called you a shrewd bitch and I¡¯m glad I¡¯ve got you on my team.¡± ¡°Helping a little.¡± I smirk at that and stand to give her a hug. Mel sees affection and runs at us for a hug too. ¡°What are we hugging about?¡± ¡°Kay was feeling insecure. Doesn¡¯t think she¡¯s useful.¡± ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t take her for an idiot.¡± ¡°HEY!¡± ¡°Shh honey, your girlfriends are talking.¡± Mel says in a maternal tone. I can¡¯t keep a straight face and bust out laughing. ¡°Okay, enough hugging. I¡¯ve hit my touching limit for the afternoon.¡± We disengage politely, knowing Katie well enough that though her tone was light, she really has a contact limit. >P] How about brain snuggles?[< she pulses me a warm feeling, and I do the same. ¡°I would love to dive deeper into this snuggle-fest, but I have a meeting in St. Petersburg in three hours?¡± ¡°Oh yah, that ¡®meeting¡¯ with the Russian Model Club.¡± ¡°Mel, it¡¯s a women¡¯s crime family.¡± Katie perks up immediately. ¡°Can I come?¡± ¡°As long as you don¡¯t bring work home with you.¡± I growl. ¡°Boo. You¡¯re no fun.¡± ¡°Guess it wasn¡¯t just the aether on Astoria.¡± I muttered about the attentions of women. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. *** The meeting in St. Petersburg was ridiculous. I left open comms with my girls and they both had points on how to deal with the Russians. Mel¡¯s opinion was be polite, have a few drinks and leave. Katie¡¯s was accept their offer to exchange warp tech for millions, go to the orgy and take lots of video. So I mixed and matched. I was polite, had a few drinks, talked about Ivanka, took their money and left with a kiss to seal the business deal with a crime syndicate. They didn¡¯t traffic in persons, so my conscience ended there. /Ladies, I¡¯ve agreed to search for their Sailors aboard the Copernicus. Ivanka among them.¡±/ /Yeah, sure Penny, but the women, how hot were they?/ /For fucks sake Katie, can you rub one out or something?/ /Ugh no. Why do I have a wife if this is a self-service station?/ /That¡¯s fucked up, Kay. I am more than a sex toy./ /Yep, I miss your blood too. I swear, whomever put unicorn blood in harry potter had to have been talking about your blood./ /Kay, I don¡¯t think . . ./ /I had another mutation okay! The small warps in system got me and now I am fucking desperate for a taste of you./ Uhhhh. /Uhhh, succubus or vampire?/ /Vampire, I, I already tried the other one with Melissa, it helped a little, but not enough. She suffered a mutation too, but doesn¡¯t want to tell you./ /Be right there hon./ I teleport to the atoll and seek Katie out immediately. She¡¯s outside the tent we set up while working on the ansible and her fangs are out and she¡¯s pacing. My headache is monstrous, but I can handle for her. ¡°Oh, thank Andromeda.¡± She kisses me, drawing blood and licking it up before it can pool. ¡°Katie, I¡¯m not really in the mood tonight, but if you need a snack, you¡¯ll have to use my thigh, I have meetings tomorrow.¡± She nuzzles my neck anyway and I swat her forehead in reprimand. Whatever changes she went through make that bite feel good. So good. Despite my protests, I came anyway good. I think Katie did too, as she just crawls up from her snack and falls asleep on me. When I wake up, Melissa is flopped on top of us like she belongs there. Maybe she does, I muse and try to fall back asleep. *** The ansible took an extra week to build as we may or may not have treated the time as a honeymoon. We fought like cats at times, but it was good to get some of that stuff out. I hope. This relationship is weird. ¡°Katie. Can you order us a house now? I¡¯m tired of the dirt in my mouth.¡± She chuckles, knowing I get a little clingy when Mel is away. ¡°Yes, I will be glad to work on something else. Now that we¡¯ve built a second one of these from scratch, I never want to do it again.¡± She pauses to stretch, and I unapologetically appreciate. ¡°You have access to the Exchange again, does that mean you¡¯ll start the swarm inoculations?¡± ¡°Yeah. Right after I claim the system for Humanity.¡± //You have designated Earth, and the system Sol, as the origin system for Humanity. Do you wish to claim it?// Yes, I wish to claim Sol for Humanity, and identify it as a protectorate of Astoria. I also wish to inoculate the planet with Andromeda Matrix swarms. //Human Primus wishes to introduce swarm to Origin world. Please confirm.// ¡°Confirmed.¡± //Acknowledged. Fabricating tools for Global Introduction. Cost will be extracted post introduction.// Multiple drones emerged from the ansible and took off in different directions. I feed more aether into the ansible and apparently increase distribution rate by 27%. That¡¯s pretty solid. The system alerts me that full inoculation expected in 11.7 days. I want to do more, but I¡¯m struggling to consider what is more important than what I¡¯m doing. The CNO saves me from myself. /President wants to talk to you. One hour./ /I¡¯m on the other side of the planet. If I make it there in an hour, this island is mine, not leased./ /Just get there, Astoria./ He used the right name at least. /Clear the helo pad/ I talk to Kay and Mel about my impromptu meeting and they advise me to keep comms open and to teleport out if necessary. Duh, babes. It¡¯s nice to hear they care though. Twenty minutes later, they show me their plans for our Island home and wish me luck on making good decisions. It¡¯s a good thing they¡¯re both smart . . . and pretty. I teleport 5 kilometers above the White House¡ªa decidedly risky maneuver. A few small AA batteries later, I¡¯m on the helo pad with nary an extra hole. I need to think about defenses for my island. ¡°Miss Astoria, please accompany me to the oval office.¡± A member of the secret service says. I nod and do as he asks while pulling a bottle of my juice out of the ostentatious purse. He stops outside a door and finally notices my drink. ¡°Is that hazardous?¡± ¡°Nah, more like a sports drink.¡± ¡°Can you put it away?¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± I stuff it back in my bag, aiming not to be hostile until necessary. One of the stooges peaks their head in to see if the President is ready. I get led into the office, which is full of staff members. ¡°Welcome, Penelope, I¡¯ve been wanting to speak with you.¡± President Amice Henson, how bold of you. ¡°My pleasure Amice, it¡¯s always an honor to meet a fellow woman of power.¡± I can see her eye twitch at the use of her first name. Yeah, well, disrespect will be met in kind. ¡°I want you to inoculate me and my staff.¡± Strait to the point, if not horribly late. ¡°That offer was weeks ago, Amice. Odd coincidence that I get a message to come see you mere minutes after a global broadband announcement. Even more odd that I arrive to a demand to attend to thirty people when I originally offered two. Treaties have a time limit, President.¡± The staff shuffles uncomfortably, Amice glowers, and the Secret Service agents hover their weapons. ¡°Are you about to insist? Because both offers are off the table. You¡¯ll get your swarm within 11 days like everyone else.¡± ¡°You said yours had extra benefits.¡± ¡°And It could have, but no longer. They have been commanded to revert to baseline should they forcibly leave my body.¡± ¡°For what possible reason would you deny me this courtesy?¡± She scowls and slams her fist down. Commanding and slightly violent¡ªKatie would love her. ¡°For the reason that every other world leader met my timeline. For the reason that you should have been the first to welcome me, as a former US citizen. And finally, because you dare make demands of me after addressing me as a member of your staff.¡± I take a deep breath and let the Primus energy flow. ¡°I am the first Galactic Human Empress. I command the resources of five systems, and you dare claim my obeisance? If I wanted, you would all be my vassals. If I wanted I would claim a planet in this system as my own. If I wanted, I could sit in your place, and rule the world. But I do not want to taint myself with the sewage with which you paint your future.¡± I continue to take advantage of the stunned nature of the gathered politicians. ¡°I intend to instate the current world governance as is. All international disputes for territory or Power will be adjudicated by me. Everything else you can manage as the greedy apes that you are. If any of these disputes impact my ability to finish my projects, I will issue summary judgment. Don¡¯t make me blow up the planet.¡± That last line doesn¡¯t add any credulity, but if I fuck up the tides by putting a hole in the moon, they¡¯ll learn. /Mel, I¡¯m feeling ultra-violent. Need puppy hugs./ Mel and Katie answer with warm feelings. Katie¡¯s is frisky and Mel¡¯s sends excited tingles in my brain. Is that better than coffee and kisses? Damn close. The problem with military types, is that they follow orders at the most inconvenient times. The Army is being that asshole right now. ¡°Why is it always a pissing contest with Americans? Okay, lets get our dicks out.¡± I whip out my .9 meter long scepter and target the President¡¯s desk. A dozen weapons click as they are jerked up to my face. Surprisingly no one but the desk got harmed. ¡°Any questions? Most of my weapons originated as tools. But it sure as shit doesn¡¯t mean they aren¡¯t good weapons.¡± The office is quiet, waiting for the President to respond. I was already tired of her shit when I walked in, so . . . ¡°Cool, other leaders are onboard. You¡¯re behind the curve, and from now on I only interface with Naval Reactors. Sound good? Great.¡± I make to leave through the door I came in, to find it blocked with a large man. In fact, both of the exits are blocked. The window behind the President isn¡¯t. I burst out the window, my suit deflecting the gunshots that ensue and I spend my escape flagging the President¡¯s office as enemies of the Empire. B2 Ch 22: Massive Murderer ¡°For vodka¡¯s sake Svetlana, yes, the President¡¯s Cabinet has a system bounty on them.¡± ¡°What about your other enemies?¡± She gets closer, trying to show me more of her quite full breasts. ¡°I haven¡¯t made other enemies. Most are just strained relations. Listen. I still want that deal on a corundum mine. I don¡¯t want to make relations, as it were.¡± She frowns, stands up and buttons the clasp across her chest. Finally. A girl can only be so strong. ¡°If that is the case, St. Petersburg enjoys our continued friendship.¡± ¡°Throw in a bottle of . . .¡± one of Svetlana¡¯s lackeys comes in with a case. ¡°Well, it seems you came prepared to risk offending me.¡± I kiss her cheek as diplomacy dictates. ¡°I look forward to our continued negotiations.¡± I have to give them credit, these ladies really put an effort into tying up relations into Diplomatic, sexual, and monetary all at the same time. If I had been lonely, their offer would have been very . . . attractive. Speaking of not lonely, Mel, Kay and I have been partners for a month and Andromeda registered us as a triple immediately. They apparently have all of my authority save Primus. Within an hour of my departure, someone tired to mess with my island lease, and then nearly simultaneously, someone sold me the island and re-instated a government contract under a charity program. Fucking admiral, trying to help me while triggering me. Five-head move that is. *** ¡°How did you think it was wise to start a fight with the US?¡± Mel chastises. ¡°Lady and her bunched undies decided to blow me off until I hit the go button. Then they pulled guns on me and tried to keep me from leaving. Who started what?¡± I say, tinkering with another basic orbital drone I bought from the Exchange. Katie says I should keep working on the construct creation because she has an magitech idea. She also tells me we absolutely don¡¯t have access to enough materials to build them ourselves on Earth. Stupid inhabited planet. ¡°I¡¯m going to set up another meeting, and this time I¡¯m coming with you.¡± ¡°But Mel, c¡¯mon. I¡¯m already on the slate for ISV Brahe¡¯s thruster overhaul in three months. Galilei is due next but is currently on mission, and Kepler¡¯s not due for a year. Fuck! Curse my stupid mouth for agreeing to this.¡± ¡°I want to do something with your mouth, but cursing isn¡¯t it.¡± Katie says from behind me. I look up and see she¡¯s in range and give her a peck. ¡°Not the time? Sorry hon, but I want to work on this project while I can still work outside?¡± She frowns a little and thumbs my neck a few times before walking over to Melissa and seducing her. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s on me. Have fun you two.¡± Katie¡¯s been thirsty lately and I think it¡¯s the latest series of warps that has intensified her Vampiric tendencies. They both crave sex more than I do, so I guess it works out. If I didn¡¯t feel so shitty for neglecting my wives/girlfriends/partners. It¡¯s weird how different this triple hits than my last attempt. It must be that I¡¯m the focus for both of them, instead of one of them being the focus. It¡¯s the kind of reassuring I need when they¡¯re off screwing without me.
//EMPRESS PENNY ASTORIA HAS ADDED THE HUMAN ORIGIN WORLD TO THE ANDROMEDA SUPERCLUSTER COMMUNITY WITH OVER 7 BILLION MEMBERS//
/As a result of your actions, 7.3 billion Humans were added to the Matrix. On your order, 75 million people died during efforts to integrate. / What?! /CE and AE have been distributed via existing political borders as requested. Your population rank in the supercluster is 1001. As Primus, and the responsible party for integration, you have been awarded 0.1% of the wealth awarded to Humanity. / 75 million people. That¡¯s more than California and it¡¯s surrounding states. I just murdered more people than I could conceivably meet. I just murdered more people than anyone else in the history of the Earth. Your actions also made the average human stronger with much better life prospects. Even the poorest person with the system doesn¡¯t have to go hungry. You have potentially saved 20million deaths a year from that alone. And based on WHO data, the health benefits of the swarms will likely save another 20 million, this year alone. TLDR: The 0.1% that died were dying already. Telling me I euthanized instead of murdered, isn¡¯t super effective. I also profited from it, which is gross. There is a lot of good you can do with those credits, Penny. Your colonies can help a lot of people if you make space for them, and all of it takes credits to build. I hate to ask this, but what are the odds that someone will call me out on this, hold me responsible? Too soon to tell, but I suspect that many people will make miraculous recoveries and the focus will be on that. I should also alert you that there have been 37 attempts to contact you since the alert two minutes ago. Send the ones from the President to Melissa, send the Russian mobsters to Katie, and prioritize the CNO or Naval Reactors over the remaining messages. Connecting you to the CNO¡¯s office. Damnit, Tessa. Fly over a drone that can project and record. She does and I see two angry old men. ¡°Admirals, good to see you. Thank you for defusing my real-estate debacle.¡± ¡°Please try to remember that kindness through this discussion.¡± Oh shit. The CNO was just polite. ¡°First of all, the President has decided to reach out on multiple fronts, and . . .¡± I hold up a hand and he pauses. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Admiral, I¡¯ve forwarded the President¡¯s communications to someone her staff hasn¡¯t shot at. In fact, she and her cabinet are on a list of people I won¡¯t willingly be in a room with.¡± I add a solid sneer at the end. ¡°And named us as your contacts, so we heard. What the overall problem is the credits awarded to other countries around the world.¡± ¡°Ahh, I instructed the System to segment the people of the world into current political borders, Admirals. It decided how to award the credits, not me.¡± They nod at that. ¡°You don¡¯t seem the type to micromanage that part of a project. With those items addressed, you should know that you¡¯ve been labeled a terrorist, something about a bounty being placed on the President and her cabinet for attempted assassination.¡± I start laughing at that. Serves the backstabber right. ¡°Yeah, not lifting that unless I have a good reason. Coercion and attempted murder are not something I appreciate.¡± ¡°Ah, then, Admiral, can I call you Admiral?¡± ¡°Admiral is appropriate, Empress, Penny, or Astoria are also fine.¡± ¡°Very well, Rich and I are hoping you won¡¯t hold the White House¡¯s actions against the rest of us.¡± Andromeda does it feel good to hear these codgers respect my place above them. ¡°Rest assured, the people of Earth are still my people, and I honor my contracts. However, if anyone tries to arrest or detain me while I¡¯m working on your ships, I will space the leadership and take command of the vessel. Building a ship that size is tedious and I would thank you for saving me the time.¡± ¡°The ISV¡¯s are not beholden to a single country. We can talk to other Navies and make sure that doesn¡¯t happen.¡± I nod at that, and then there¡¯s silence on the line. It¡¯s uncomfortable, so I address the other Admiral on the call. ¡°So, Rich, did you need anything?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m old and need advice on this system bullshit. My kids and Grandkids too. The AI isn¡¯t very forthcoming, and mine¡¯s an asshole.¡± Peter, the CNO, stifles a laugh and I do the same. ¡°Tell you what, Rich, set up a get-together with food and I¡¯ll give a class.¡± They like the idea and want to plan something for the Pentagon Picnic next month. I remind them who is persona non grata and they acknowledge my assertion. I think I actually like those guys. Huh. Respect both ways is a powerful drug. You know what else is a powerful drug? Nearly two meters of Katie walking up the beach on me stark naked. ¡°To what do I owe this pleasure?¡± ¡°Opening the call to the Russians while Melissa was . . . occupied. They ¡®ate it up¡¯.¡± Oh dear lord. Fuck, what a powerful image that is. Katie taking a call while a woman works on her. A video call, with another woman who would absolutely do the same thing. ¡°Did she take notes on how to boss bitch?¡± I turn around to grab her neck and kiss her, but she picks me up. ¡°She swore several times in Russian, called Melissa a lucky girl at least once, and did in fact say she would use that play on a different call.¡± She smiles into my neck, licking it to ask permission. ¡°We can, as soon as you finish telling me about the call.¡± She growls into my neck, ¡°They¡¯re interested in working with us. Potentially for us. You have credits, they want credits. I told them about your list and they said they¡¯d work on it.¡± She¡¯s playing with the band on my shorts now, nuzzling my neck clearly done talking. ¡°Fine, but be a good girl and time it properly.¡± Katie shudders around me and sets me on my workbench. In less than ten minutes she¡¯s got me screaming her name and sinking her teeth in me. She holds me down like I¡¯m having a seizure and both waves of pleasure crashing into each other has me fading in an out of consciousness. ¡°God, Penny, your blood is like drugs. Atropos is telling me that if this goes on, I might literally need you to survive.¡± ¡°As much as I love you Kay, that sounds horrible for you.¡± ¡°Feels pretty good right now.¡± She says, licking the wound again. I giggle ferociously and push her away. Fierce Empress, giggling pixie. ¡°No really, Kay, is it going to be a problem?¡± ¡°I get energy from sex too, so, I¡¯d like it if you played more. Melissa gets, tired.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try, okay? I didn¡¯t know you were actually suffering, I just thought you were irredeemably horny.¡± She pinches me in my belly fat, so I bite her boob and teleport away. >K] It¡¯s on, you shit. That hurt. [< I spend twenty minutes looking over my drone plans before teleporting back into my workshop to get some parts. ¡°You weren¡¯t even on the planet were you.¡± I get attacked from behind. ¡°I was not.¡± She turns me around, grabbing my jaw with the ¡®V¡¯ of her hand. ¡°It¡¯s less thrilling to hunt you when you teleport.¡± She¡¯s in a swimsuit this time. Black two-piece. The shorts make her butt look fine. ¡°While I appreciate the distraction, hon, a lot happened today and I¡¯m not really in a playful mood.¡± She raises an eyebrow, ¡°did the Admirals threaten you?¡± I shake my head with a sad smile. ¡°No, they were great. It was the system message. I got a personal message afterward telling me the numbers. 7.3 billion new members of the Supercluster community. 75 million dead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s like two years of heart disease? That you probably cured. I could make charts if it would make you feel better.¡± ¡°Tessa said something similar.¡± ¡°Well, Penny, if you¡¯re going to surround yourself with smart people, you should probably listen to them.¡± ¡°Of course I would try to appeal to the logical one. Though, I think you¡¯re what I need right now. Thanks Kay.¡± ¡°Of course, anything for my adorable little blood bag.¡± ¡°HEY!¡± I say, punching her iron abs to little effect. I absently pet her belly a few times before stopping myself. ¡°And now, you¡¯re going to bite the proverbial bullet and look at your messages, and see how ridiculously well you¡¯re doing.¡± I pout, but I know she¡¯s right. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to check it in space though. Or maybe EVA suit in the ocean.¡± Katie is a little handsy helping me put on the suit, but she earned it. Less than a kilometer off the coast the shelf the atoll is on drops into an abyss of water. I put myself down about 10m. Tessa adjusts for neutral buoyancy and I sit and float in my private bubble. Alright Tessa, lets see it.
x5
x2
x 75 million
Your portion for integrating 7.3 billion users is 0.1% of the total award, your portion being 7.3 million CE Your reward for culling and strengthening your species is 10AE per person. That is so much blood money. How can I make this money speak for the dead? Do you need another distraction? Yes please. The V¡¯tek delegation returns with a ruling from the Forum. Great, now I get to find out that some aliens are hunting my ass for being a war criminal. Perfect. Interlude -- Andromeda Forum ---Andromeda Supercluster Forum--- (Forum Live Translation Construct in effect). The forum administrator looks at his display, concern on his face that the last item for the day is scheduled for many hours. ¡°The final item for this Mark, is a newly inducted species has created an item of destruction two tiers above their technology level. V¡¯tek¡¯clor from the Collective is here as a fact-finder in this matter.¡± ¡°Thank you administrator. The Human Primus, now Empress Astoria, claimed to have discovered the apparatus while trying to invent an orbital warp aperture. Here are my findings: The Primus was awarded by the system as being primarily responsible for Human warp technology, giving her a personal tech rating of 1 before reaching tier 1. Upon our arrival, it was apparent that the Primus and her consorts had reached tier 1, and the Primus later confirmed that she was tier 1 with tier 2 access to the exchange in both Aether and Tech. It is believed that that her Primus token was redeemed for some aether-based ability. Primus used the tier 3 device that alerted the Forum in a pique of frustration, vanishing the smaller moon around the planet. Primus was hospitable to the Collective¡¯s Envoy Vessel after said Incident. Primus recommended that Humanity not share her tech and aether ratings, recommending tier 1 or lower in tech, and zero in aether. Primus claims that Humanity is easy to anger and prone to violence. ¡°Thus sums up my fact finding.¡± ¡°This is not much to go on, Individual Clor. Were there no remnants of the Moon¡¯s destruction? Were there no indications that the Primus was intending to deceive?¡± The Herrat representative, a lower councilor of the 1000 most populous races in the Matrix. ¡°Councilor of Herrat, the moon was annihilated. There were trace signatures of a tear in space-time, but none significant enough to warp the small moon. The Primus has a skill that allows her to manipulate antimatter-matter annihilation that is uncommon in the Supercluster. The fact that she used a purely tech approach to using annihilation as a warp system using only tier 0 and possibly tier 1 components is quite absurd and absolutely reckless.¡± ¡°The Herratian alludes to an important topic, that of the thoroughness of your investigation.¡± Senior Councilor Mubvidunk of the Bvida Fungus Colonies accuses. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. V¡¯tek¡¯clor must acknowledge the opinion, as the words of the top 100 races in the Supercluster cannot be taken lightly, ¡°Three important notes kept me from pressing as far as this forum may usually investigate. First, is that I was addressing a Primus. The Matrix has a history of giving them vast leeway to perform as they see fit.¡± The forum nods in that assessment. ¡°Second, she self identified her race as easy to anger and prone to violence, which she demonstrated prior by destroying a moon.¡± Far less agreement, but acknowledged. ¡°And third, while the Collective employs many defenses capable of handling tier 3 threats. However, defending against large amounts of anti-matter is a difficult prospect.¡± That last point is irrefutable. Even small amounts of anti-matter can potentially de-stabilize planetary defense shields made of aether. ¡°You acted out of cowardice. It was your duty to find out all that you could about the device, about the threat to the Supercluster,¡± the Herrat are also quick to anger, V¡¯tek¡¯clor notes. ¡°Prudence often looks like cowardice to the under-informed,¡± Senior Councilor Tislaren of the Winded Wing Empire, an avian race of prolific clutches stated. ¡°I would say that the Envoy was tasked with investigating the device and the overall threat of a rapidly advancing Primus with a tier 3 personal tech rating. He has also accurately stated that the Matrix tends to give a Primus unlimited patience. The Forum must be wary of setting a dangerous precedent with regard to punishing or restricting such a racial leader, when the Matrix has not.¡± Senior Councilor Mubvidunk gorbles his agreement, ¡°Senior Councilor Tislaren is wise. Perhaps the Primus has sent him with the appropriate tool to check her species, while not endangering the Matrix¡¯s habits with species senior leadership. We restrict Humanity to tier 0, and not allow them to advance unless a certain percentage of their population achieves a new tier.¡± ¡°Sensible, but what of personal ratings? The Collective has indicated that many of the Primus¡¯ companions already have a higher personal rating.¡± A lower councilor that V¡¯tek¡¯clor had not heard speak before, says. ¡°Does this really matter? Their colony is at the very edge of patrolled space, and from the brief contact the sensor drone had with the Human ship, Earth is significantly further away, nearly at the opposite edge of the Milky Way. Even if the Humans were a dire threat to their galaxy, they would be marginal at best to the Supercluster.¡± ¡°Perhaps it was more of a notice to pay attention to this Astorian Empire? The Matrix flagged this device by this person. Most new races aren¡¯t of any interest until their first Mark in the Matrix. Perhaps this is Andromeda telling us we should make an effort to reach out. And as the V¡¯tek representative said, the Primus was hospitable.¡± ¡°The Sekdati can confirm their willingness to do business. One of the smaller races we are in a merchant¡¯s consortium with have contracted to mine in an asteroid belt in their Moiriax system. They have also participated in the Exchange by offering portable mining devices for sale.¡± ¡°They have also agreed to the Collective establishing a Grove on the Astorian Home World.¡± V¡¯tek¡¯clor feels many eyes stare at his avatar. This was before their claim on Elysium was announced. The Hades system is currently too far to maintain the Collective¡¯s link. If our survey of the moon comes back as favorable as the initial report from Penny, it may necessitate creating a second Collective while our communications network is expanded. Second Collectives have been started before, but have always been brough back into Unity. ¡°This discussion is getting off track. I move that we vote on the proposed sanctions on Humanity and we can discuss the benefits of Astoria after this session is adjourned.¡± Their motion is seconded, and a vote of the Forum ensues. B2 Ch 23: Dip in the Ocean ->>] Warm Greetings Empress.[<<- ->>]Nervous anticipation, V¡¯tek¡¯clor. What news does the Forum send?[<<- ->>]Uncertain reception. The Forum has taken your advice and sanctioned Humanity to a lower tier consideration from you. They will be on tech tier 0, and aether tier 0 until your scientific community peer reviews and accepts a tier 1 technology and the infrastructure to support it. Personal ratings will remain unaffected. This was decided as your ansible chain is not robust enough to support large-scale purchase physical delivery, and should limit proliferation of goods through people rated for higher tiers.[<<- ->>] Acceptance with queries? You talk of Humanity, now is this the Humanity that I claimed the Sol-system for, or is this supposed to apply to Astoria as well? [<<- ->>] Unsettling response. The Forum intended the restrictions for the whole of your species, however, I do not have visibility on how the sanctions are applied. Your settlement controls should indicate how it affects you. [<<- ->>] Gratitude. Change of topic. Has the collective decided to establish a colony? [<<- ->>] Giddy anticipation. The Collective requests to be allowed to establish a Grove on Elysium. [<<- ->>] Hopeful cooperation. There are obviously many details to discuss, but I am also excited about the Hades system¡¯s opportunities. You have my tentative agreement pending negotiations with Katie O¡¯Connell. [<<- ->>] Unreserved Joy. May the Collective recommend looking into an orbital ansible station to help with large-scale Exchange distribution and Travel? [<<- ->>] Appreciative. Yes, the current measures were to get Humanity connected. I look forward to further contact between the Collective and the Empire, but I must tend to other tasks with this new information. Be well Advocate. [<<- ->>] Understanding. Be well, Empress. [<<- I pull up my Empire management tool and take a look at what V¡¯tek¡¯clor was talking about.
Astorian Empire Summary Breadth and Population: 5 systems spanning 2800ly, containing 7.3 billion citizens Access: T-3 S-3 Restricted: T-0
Ahh, I see the problem. We are going to separate these into 5 separate system government bodies. Well, one is just a waypoint, so 4 then. System Astoria, led by the Empress, System Moiriax, led by Consul O¡¯Connel; System Lemnos, led by the Empress; System Hades, led by Consul Hunsaker; and System Sol, led by Humans comprising and International Ruling council. Excellent, now I would like to assign the sanctions to Sol, governed by Humans, and set the remaining system tiers to one below the leader of the system not to exceed the personal rating of the Exchange user. I ask Tessa to formulate the code I would enter so what I want would make sense to the Matrix. Apparently I just need to think hard while pushing buttons. Andromeda save me from overeager bureaucrats. My intent was to sanction a mish mash of cultures without a global ruling body that would likely use the Exchange to proliferate weapons. Implying that I should be subject to the same sanctions when I currently have absolute control over the remaining systems is laughable and I simply will not abide by it. I would prefer to let my systems grow organically through advancement and trade, but I¡¯ll make this a farce if forced. This is my Primus decree. Yah, don¡¯t know why I said that last part, felt good though. Thank you Andromeda, you¡¯re a dear. I should be surprised that your cold arrogance is so effective, but the Matrix seems to be sending a message with you. Maybe, but what messed up message would that be. Side note, kind of feel bad that the restrictions are set to tier zero, were the majority of 1st world nations are high tier 1. Hey, do I have to set subsistence packages like I did for the Empire? I was under the impression that you left that to the respective nations to handle, as long as there was free subsistence. That feels good at least. How are you doing on the parallel minds thing? I am currently inserted into three satellite networks thanks to Melissa and Ophelia. That¡¯s heckin¡¯ cool. I¡¯m feeling better about the state of Humanity. Perhaps it¡¯s time to help enable their purchases, especially food. >P] Ladies, I¡¯m thinking of buying a system ansible to help our throughput out in the sticks, what do you think? [< >K] I would have liked the experience building one, but I see why you would rush it. On other news, since you¡¯ve appointed us system lords, we should get some credits to manage our systems should we not?¡± >M] I agree with Katie. [< >P] Huh, good call. 10k CE for each system, 1mil AE for each system, and 30k personal bonuses for each of you and Beecham to get y¡¯all started. [< >K] It¡¯s funny how a lot of this system money is hard to spend right now. If you buy an Orbital Ansible, the exchange rates will skyrocket because the System doesn¡¯t care where you put what you bought. [< >P] Yeah, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m putting an interstellar asset anywhere near these monkeys. Oh, and feel free to use my CE budget for anything we need here. Like an island defense shield if we don¡¯t¡¯ already have one.[< >M] Hah, first thing I bought after you pissed off the president. 300CE omni-sheild. Tier 3, but small area. Barely covers the island we¡¯re on, but conveniently shapeable. [< They ask me if I have anything else that is pressing, and politely tell me to work on something because they¡¯re busy. Copy that. Alright, Exchange, show me a list of ansibles
Item Quality Description Price
Personal Data Link Variable quality available T-1 installation (internal or external) for connecting to the Matrix when not at a terminal 40 AE
Shipboard Data Link Variable quality available T-1 installation for constantly updating position and nav data while transiting empty space. No item delivery capability. 100 AE
Corporate Exchange Link 1IID minimum Able receive and deliver 5 cu. Meters of material a day. Requires connection range with a city or colony installation. Prices Vary
City Relay Link 1IIC minimum- Increases capacity and range of Corporate link. Prices Vary
System Exchange Relay 1AAC minimum Allows for interstellar communication and delivery. 50 CE base
Species Home Relay 1AAB minimum Increases delivery range and limit 75 CE base
Orbital Exchange Relay 2AAB minimum increases delivery range and limit 500 CE base
Orbital Exchange and Warp Relay 2EEA smallest available relay for travel. Requires receiving relay of equal capacity. 750 CE Base
There are a multitude of orbital relays that allow different sized objects to travel through, and some surface to orbital travel relays for Planetside that you¡¯ll likely purchase at some point, however, they are all variations on the Exchange and Warp Relay. Oh, that sounds pretty killer though, but what about . . .
Sector Exchange Host 3AAA systems relay to this unit. Able to deliver or receive objects of any practical size over a distance of three thousand light years. Communications out to ten thousand 1mil CE
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Dear Andromeda, I want it. I take it delivery and assembly arranged separately. Yes, should you purchase something of this scale, it would require a whole construction colony a half-hex to assemble the station after delivering it, which may take months. Pack it and ship it Tessa. Though I am split between ordering it for Moiriax or Astoria. Except, I¡¯m prone to being head-strong and overconfident. I want this in Astoria, around my neat as fuck binary star system. Put it around the gas giant beyond the rocky belt. Yes of course. The remaining companies will only do one task or will join with other companies at a much higher price. I¡¯d wager Jembit would leverage some mining opportunities while in system. Would you like me to send this to Katie and Atropos for final consideration? Please and thank you love. I am considering putting an exchange and warp relay in the Kepler system, but to what purpose? Ugh, I don¡¯t do logistics for a reason. I also want to create a bulletin board or a job board or something¡ªlike adventurers have in RPG stories. Job requests, collab requests, categories for different interests, and a completely different category for Military application. We¡¯d also need an AI of sorts to manage and police it. Your current ansible installation cannot support such a data load in addition to it¡¯s normal services. Well, Tessa, I happen to be dating two very intelligent women, and one of them has been asking for a Magitech project. I punch out some quest details and assign it from the Empire as I feel this board will be essential for multi-species cooperation and collaboration in the future. So many projects, so little time. ***
x3
Since this controller drone gave me the skill ups, I analyze it.
Autonomous Sensory and Data Network 2AAA Using information transfer through non-dimensional space gives this system near-instantaneous response times.
I really need to break into that Expert rating. From what Tessa has told me there are limits to the power that less advance craftings can channel in high-tech applications. ¡°Hey Mel, should I place this in orbit, or is your and Katie¡¯s data center module going to be finished this week?¡± ¡°We changed our design quite a lot since you included space magic.¡± Melissa says, deep in her HUD. ¡°Melissa is correct. With the magitech updates to these drones, a non-central data swarm is optimal with near zero travel time between locations.¡± Katie shows the proposed distribution plan via holo-display. ¡°That looks like one of you will need to go to space for the procedures. Which makes this a perfect time to tell you I¡¯ve authorized 15k AE for each of you to buy your preferred EVA suit for vacuum work.¡± Katie gives me a rare full-teeth smile and Melissa just looks confused. ¡°I¡¯ve got classes and meetings this week. The class with the admirals, and Indonesia and India governments want to speak with me. I¡¯m booked.¡± Melissa pouts and nods. ¡°When do we get our honeymoon phase?¡± I can¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Lady, we¡¯ve been doing lewd things on a beach for at least a month, and eating and creating to our heart¡¯s content. If this is a plug to talk with your parents, they don¡¯t want to see me since the integration. What else is there?¡± Melissa mumbles something about parents. There¡¯s no way she said what I think she said. ¡°Hm. I did get a message from Senator and Governor Mercers. Perhaps it is time to confront them?¡± ¡°Nooo. Not you too Katie.¡± ¡°You are more powerful and more wealthy than they can fathom. Plus, I look forward to their attempts to negotiate and to embarrassing them thoroughly.¡± Oh? Now that¡¯s an idea. ¡°Kay, how can you say that?¡± Melissa accuses. ¡°Yeah, Kay, how can you say that and not elaborate. I need details on this plan to embarrass them.¡± Melissa seems shocked at my disrespect, where Katie has her lopsided predator grin on, with that sexy canine that makes me think things. She talked for ten minutes, I loved her ideas, so she set up a lunch with my parents. My fianc¨¦ is going to tear them apart. That conversation has me in a good mood all day. Even During the Flag officer¡¯s picnic. The Admirals, true to their word, kept unsavory government types from seeking my assistance. I gave a basics class on the interface, certain mods you can get to make personal integration easier, and the basics of tracks, using intent and behavior to guide development. I spend a good deal of time on Exchange basics, typical ways to earn AE and making hobbies pay for you. After the initial ¡°classroom¡± session, we wander out into the backyard and BBQ setup for the dozen families gathered. The food was above board, as such a gathering of Admirals for a pseudo professional get-together allows the on staff culinary specialists to use their skills. I tip them in AE, because I can. The next few hours is filled with good beer, a mix of System and regular conversations, and a few requests to see my facility in the Marshall Islands. I tell them, that if they can get themselves out there, they¡¯re more than welcome to stay for a week or two. Two days later, Katie and Melissa accompany me to a trendy Charleston Restaurant overlooking the beach. I arrive intentionally later than them, as they always show 15 minutes late and plan reservations accordingly. ¡°Penny, dear, we raised you better than to be late for a meeting.¡± My mother, Guinevere Mercer stated. ¡°Camila did more raising than either of you, ¡®Mother¡¯.¡± I spit. ¡°You only seemed to care when I showed interest in science and women. As you can see, you never managed to break me of either habit.¡± ¡°No need to be rude dear.¡± My father says, in his practiced Senator Mercer voice. ¡°This is a business meeting, not a social call.¡± ¡°Then by all means, Senator, do treat this as a business meeting.¡± I pull over my Empress title like a thousand pound mantle of expectation. ¡°What interest do you have with the Empire?¡± ¡°Empire, please. You¡¯re a nobody with two whores as your attendants.¡± ¡°Governor. You are dismissed. Any further business you may have may be conveyed through your more temperate husband.¡± ¡°How dare you speak to me this way. . . ¡° And I stopped listening. I grab her by the collar of her suit. Drag her to a place I can use my thrusters and throw her into the Atlantic. I return and wall back to the table and my drink. ¡°It seems the Governor needed to cool off. Please continue.¡± Katie reached up and massaged the base of my skull. Melissa declined to look at me. ¡°Quite.¡± Father said, composing himself with aplomb. ¡°The President has offered significant favor if we can convince you to meet with her again, and has offered that we be your intermediaries instead of the Navy Admirals.¡± ¡°The President appears to be desperate, resulting to addressing Empress Astoria¡¯s family. I hope you brought more talking points, Senator, or this meeting will conclude shortly.¡± ¡°I do. If you¡¯ll allow, I have a presentation, data points, and a comparative analysis.¡± Katie purred, ¡°Senator, I was hoping you could talk business.¡± As unnerving as that kind of attention was leveled at my father, I knew it was about the data. Penny, an orbital satellite of US make is energizing and changing orbit. Shit. How long to intercept? Approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes until above Bikini Atoll. I wonder if my parents knew about this. The circumstance is too convenient to be coincidental. I focus on the conversation my fianc¨¦ is having, realizing they are packing up to reconvene at their Sullivan¡¯s Island Estate. It¡¯s only a 20-minute drive to the house that I grew up in. It¡¯s a beautiful house with all the amenities that one could imagine, except a loving family. Melissa is swept up in the decorations and the grounds, while Katie is only interested in the wine and conversation. I want to fly to space and miss the whole mess of what this is. Just before the five-minutes remaining mark hits, I check in on my companions to find Katie pleased with the proceedings, my father looking decidedly uncomfortable; and Melissa just looks sad. I kiss Mel first, telling her I need to put my toes in the sand for a minute. I kiss Katie more provocatively, to unsettle my father. Katie bites my lip in approval. Three minutes to station. Whatever you¡¯re going to do, it¡¯s time. Copy Tessa. Maximize shields to Bikini Station. I¡¯m going to orbit. Can our shields handle this bombardment? It appears to be a terawatt plus laser. The tier three shield may fail unless augmented by your aether supply. Bring my supply online and defend as necessary, I want to watch this on station. I walk to the bathroom, put on my helmet and teleport to orbit above Bikini Station where a large cylindrical satellite is coming into position. I get closer to analyze. The orbital has a 3m terminal lens, concave in shape to stabilize the beam width for wide-band lazing. Sensible. Power sources seem unsustainable. Space walk transfer? Who knows. Won¡¯t matter. A system scan gives me a legacy tech result that describes nothing. Unfortunately the lazing matrix is important. But I do know that I can get a significant increase in output with aether infused corundum lenses, I have a lot of exciting science to get to. T-20 I back off above and behind the device to see its workings. The laser beam is almost as wide as the 3m lens. I can see the heat pushing clouds and atmosphere away from the beam, and the furious boil of the sea as the beam sheds over the shield installation. I am briefly seized by the information before it is shunted through my orbital network construct. Excellent use Tessa. I shake my head and activate pain suppression as a smile creeps up my face: Game on fuckers. I space in space, heh, for a few minutes before teleporting my butt back to South Carolina. I¡¯ve been experimenting with using space magic while teleporting, and oddly, it¡¯s been less hard on my psyche. This is when it hits me: I¡¯m going to be a weapons manufacturer as well as an attempted peacemaker. Space-sharks with freaking lasers incoming. I teleport back into the guest bathroom of my parent¡¯s home to see that my mother finally recovered from her beach rendezvous and that Mel was having a good time talking with her. I¡¯ve walked into a horror movie. The reef along the shoreline of Bikini Station has been altered, but the station remains intact at the expense of 23k AE converted to aether power. Rat fink bastards. Any news on whom the attacker is. Tessa pings the affirmative. I know I¡¯m not in a situation to focus on it. But damn if that doesn¡¯t piss me off. ¡°Sorry for the delay, to what have we agreed, my love?¡± I talk to Katie, pushing as much affection and partnership into it as possible. ¡°Your father is heavily invested in commodities and has a connection with African Titanium.¡± ¡°Oh? Now that is promising news. She must have told you of our willingness to pay credits for rare earth elements and corundum.¡± ¡°Africa is not traditionally rich in corundum, but the titanium in the Western Africa mines has been promising.¡± ¡°I need twenty tons in the next year, Senator. Make that happen and you will be first on our list of a trade agreement for the alloys we need.¡± I nod at Katie, she shows her sexy ass canine tooth. He minces on the amount, but Katie assures him that if he can provide greater than a ton of post-refined ore in the next year that we¡¯d still be interested. My father is a consummate professional. It¡¯s hard to fault him for neglect when he was only ever interested in his business affairs. I leave Katie to her merchant machinations and see if I can derail my girlfriend from bonding with my mother. I sigh and sit back with Mel, putting my head in her lap. ¡°Are you getting the embarrassing childhood stories?¡± Mother replies before Melissa can. ¡°You know we don¡¯t keep track of your many embarrassments Penelope.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware mother. I just hoped you¡¯d be happy for me that I¡¯m successful and in a loving relationship.¡± ¡°I¡¯d hardly think making enemies of the US as a successful prospect, Dear.¡± She sneered. ¡°She literally started it Mother. And can we not fight for once? Dad and Katie are getting along, you and Melissa are getting along. Can you just keep doing that?¡± I plead. ¡°You and I would get along too if could ever bring yourself to do as we ask.¡± Constantly sniping that woman. I sigh, ¡°What¡¯s the ask this time?¡± ¡°The President wants you to use your exchange access to help keep the US ahead of the other countries that you gave so much power.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t give it to them, the system did. And after she fired an orbital laser at my home, I¡¯m not inclined to help her do anything. Besides, I asked what you wanted.¡± ¡°You have no proof she did anything of the sort.¡± >P] Mel? [< >M] She and your father were approached to keep you busy today. She doesn¡¯t know why. [< I pull her hand to my face and kiss it in thanks. I look up to her and see a strained smile. My mother scoffs. ¡°You¡¯re clearly in a mood to be difficult. Take your friends and get out of my house.¡± ¡°Katie¡¯s talking business with Dad. Interrupt them at your leisure.¡± I say with a flighty lightness, playing with the wisps of Mel¡¯s escaped hair. Dad is . . . of a singular mind when it comes to interrupting business. Mother no longer dares to do it and she¡¯s trying to bait me into stomping off and facing his wrath for her. She growls something under her breath and walks down the hallway to her fancy pillow parlor. ¡°At first I couldn¡¯t fathom how little you cared for your parents. I still don¡¯t get the lack of love in this house, but your confused attitude to the importance my parents play in my life makes more sense now.¡± ¡°Then seeing her was worth something then. I also threw her in the ocean, which was nice.¡± B2 Ch 24: Bada Boom! I pull my latest attempt at a Titan steel cylinder out of the forge I had to build from scratch (no thanks to the stupid exchange limitations we¡¯re having). When I quench it in oil, a brief glow issues from the tank letting me know I did it right before checking my HUD. x2 x2 Thank goodness. Only took me two days to make three things. Going to inscribe the rods with Sunder and see if I can¡¯t keep the bio-part off of these scepters, then I can start selling them again. For now though, I need to make some lenses and then make the cylinder into tubes with a smaller diameter. >P] Hey Kay, did you need some lenses made? [< >K] Yes. I have some sensors I¡¯m working on that need them. If you could spare one of your aether infused projects, I would like to study how it affects my projects. [< >P] Anything you need while I¡¯m cutting and enchanting, Mel? [< >M] Hm? Not right now. I¡¯d like you to enchant some fiber optic filaments, but I haven¡¯t sourced it yet. [< I¡¯ve had a lot of luck lately creating corundum rods with seed crystals using a suspended draw method like they use to make silicon crystals to make semiconductor wafers. I don¡¯t need lenses that wide yet, but my results with 5-7cm diameter rods have been stellar. I cut a few discs and begin forming the compound lens arrangements needed to focus the beam down from the lasing cylinder size to the high intensity beam thinner than my pinky finger. That¡¯s pretty great. Now it won¡¯t feel like I¡¯m fumbling around with this stuff when I mount the lenses. I still have to engrave and insert the runeshape for Disintegration Ray. I¡¯m hoping that shape replaces the lazing matrix, but I don¡¯t know enough of the base runes that comprise the overall shape, so I¡¯m at a bit of a loss deconstructing it¡ªnot that I tried too hard. *** ¡°Are you working on yet a different project?¡± Katie asks me as I walk by a surgical robotics rig that has been newly placed in the lab we built into the island. ¡°Kinda? Same project. I just don¡¯t want to rig up some janky aether-ink power system when I could spend some quality time testing some new crystals I¡¯ve been growing.¡± I show her my milk-crate full of crystals of various shapes and sizes. ¡°What is this fancy rig for?¡± ¡°I find it more gratifying to work with more range of motion. So I purchased this surgical unit and re-purposed it for Micro Electronic Manatech devices. Melissa and I want to replace some of our old systems with newer tech, and I figure if I can make it as small as possible, I can fit more upgrades. That, and I figure if I make something small enough to fit in the places you already have upgrades, you cant complain about your fear of becoming a cyborg.¡± ¡°And Tessa is practically buzzing at the opportunity.¡± ¡°Mel and I have a lot of tech in our bodies at this point, I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re so afraid of it.¡± She raises an eyebrow, judging me for being irrational. ¡°It¡¯s a control thing, tied with an irrational fear of someone being able to hack my brain.¡± ¡°Ah. With the miss-match of the Supercluster¡¯s and our tech levels, that may be less irrational than you think.¡± She taps her lips a few times in thought. ¡°So let me know if you need help with the batteries. I have a chemical deposition chamber if you need it.¡± ¡°Actually? I could use one. Want to see if Beryllium or Chromium doping will give the right impedance as opposed to planting impurities in the forming solution at different stages.¡± ¡°Each process will take several hours.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be in the bomb room trying to tweak the charging interface.¡± She waves me off and sends me emotions that feel like she¡¯s wishing me a successful playtime? Huh, I like that. Successful buffoonery. I start by charging a few of each natural corundum with doping and my grown crystals with impurity stratification. The grown crystals charge faster and better, so I decide to skip further testing on the natural crystals and start charging the larger grown variety. Next, because I know the next part is dangerous, I begin discharging them slowly into a thrust rune, and the multi-layered Chromium, Beryllium, Chromium pattern appears to be behaving the most like a constant discharge battery. Near the end I start going through the motions as I start thinking about making many of the Cr-Be-Cr strata crystals for use in different devices, when the thruster flares a blinding burst I hear a crashing thud against the transparency enchanted steel wall in front of me when I assume the crystal explodes. The boom in the confined space deafens me and I feel stinging pain all up the front of my body. I stay where I lay for a moment, to try and get my vision back, but it¡¯s taking some time for my eyes to adjust after that trauma. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. >K]PENNY! Are you okay?![< >P] No, and please tone down the brain yelling. Bring the med kit. [< How the hell did that crystal flare and then overload? It¡¯s usually one or the other, and only the natural ones . . . crap. The flare due to the insufficient doping must have created a crack, which released more energy, then shrapnel. My eyes aren¡¯t adjusting the way I¡¯d like, so like an idiot I start rubbing them and find that my whole face is wet and sticky. There¡¯s blood in my eyes. I start feeling around for something dry enough to wipe them free, but the front of me is moderately bloody as well, with the occasional sharp, twinge as I feel pointy lumps embedded in my skin. The crystal punctured through the steel? Oof that is a lot of energy. I hear some dull thumps and other muffled noises before I¡¯m lifted and dragged out of the room. A couple of jabs here and there and the pain begins subsiding. Good, Katie found the med kit. >P] Kay, if you¡¯re talking to me, I can¡¯t hear you. The blast was too loud. [< >K] You better not be dying on me. What am I supposed to do besides pump you with healing drugs?[< >P] Strip me, get the tweezers and start plucking shrapnel? [< So that¡¯s what she did. She plucked the obvious pieces and then took me to the shower and started complaining about the horrible waste of quality blood. She then felt around and stretched my skin looking for other puncture marks after Atropos looked up what to do on the internet. ¡°Thanks for coming in and finding me, Kay.¡± I hug her tight and talk softly in her ear, ¡°I was starting to panic a little about not being able to see and feeling blood everywhere.¡± ¡°A little? You shook the whole island and then I find you behind some twisted metal and covered in blood? I want to scream at you about being reckless, but I¡¯m really just angry because I feel emotion so intensely with you and I don¡¯t know what to do when I¡¯m so overwhelmed. None of which I¡¯m accustomed to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Kay, I was trying to be safe.¡± I hug her waist tightly, enjoying the patter of hot water on my skin, the bleeding and shock leaving me cold. Footsteps thunder down the stairs and Melissa throws herself through the door. ¡°Is she okay!? Penny! How are you naked and in danger?¡± So I explain it to her, slowly and quietly, but she shouts at me after and makes the headache worse. She also does an inspection, and I feel strangely vulnerable under her scrutiny. ¡°Thank god. Tessa says that your organ function seems unaffected, and that you¡¯ll be able to process out the shards remaining while you heal.¡± ¡°Tessa can do that? That¡¯s pretty cool.¡± They both look at me as though I¡¯m an idiot. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m concussed, I have a bit of the brain dumb right now.¡± Melissa sighs and pulls my legs into her lap, all of us sitting on the shower floor now. ¡°Please tell me this trauma was at least productive?¡± ¡°I think so. The few minutes before the explosion are still a little fuzzy. I remember starting to think about mass-producing my crystals, so I think that one of them had the power distribution profile I was looking for. ¡° ¡°I definitely have several projects that could use them.¡± Katie adds, thumbing the corner of my jaw. Melissa tenses, ¡°So, if you¡¯re helping Katie with her projects, can you spare some time for mine?¡± I sigh in relief, I thought she was going to bring up the imbalance again. ¡°Sure hon, what do you need?¡± ¡°I need you to free up some time to speak to some dignitaries,¡± I nod at that and am about to reply when she continues ¡°including the President.¡± I suck in a breath and pinch my face attempting to squash a sneer. Take it easy, Penny, Melissa loves you, and she knows you don¡¯t want to speak with her. But if it¡¯s this important to Mel . . . I let out the breath and shut my eyes for a second. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± they both ask, wondering at my reversal. ¡°That reaction proves you thought before asking me to meet with her, and I presume you have a plan?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, I do. I plan on the three of us going, and to have Katie or me do most of the dealing. Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t even ask you to come but I wouldn¡¯t want to make you look like a coward.¡± ¡°Yeah, they do seem the kind of people to think that. If we¡¯re all going, then you both need to look up new suit options and get one with a personal shield.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, about that . . . I was talking with Ophie and Tess, and there are some tier 3 shielding accessories? That I think would be more useful than special clothing. Tessa wanted me to ask you first.¡± They¡¯re customizable VIP protection accessories from a reputable business listing. They promise 1 week delivery on almost any design. Base level protection and amenities start at 20kAE. Holy shit. It starts at higher than my re-entry suit. Oof. Okay, can we get an estimate on magitech that can handle sniper rifle fire and a plasma pistol. And can hold an aether charged crystal that allows the crystal to temporarily boost the efficacy of the shield. I¡¯ll make the crystals to the setting after delivery. Tessa pings me in affirmation. ¡°Okay. Sounds worth it to me. Tell Tessa what gemmed accessory you want and I¡¯ll deal with the costs.¡± ¡°Penny,¡± I hold up a hand before Katie could finish. ¡°I have more than 75 million AE, Kay. You keep your aether credits for experiments and gifts.¡± Katie still doesn¡¯t seem comfortable with it, but concedes. It must have been the ¡®experiments¡¯ argument. I turn to Melissa, ¡°The meeting request is more than 10 days out?¡± She nods. ¡°in about a month. Location still TBD, but the prevailing guestimate is Singapore.¡± ¡°Sounds like a real international meeting. That¡¯s great. But if the world leaders try to kill me, I¡¯m leaving the planet to the wolves.¡± They both give me an evil eye, ¡°Yikes. Ladies. I was kidding. And I have a lot of work to do.¡± ¡°Nope. Not today. You¡¯re going to relax and drink your juice for the rest of the day.¡± Melissa demands. ¡°You just got blown up and you shouldn¡¯t be straining yourself. Go outside, enjoy paradise, some food and play with something simple.¡± Bah, common sense. Who needs it. ¡°Good idea. I¡¯ll get her rash guard and shorts while you finish cleanup.¡± I start to protest, but Mel quietly says ¡°please¡± before I can make a fuss. She must have been so worried, but unwilling to show it in front of Katie. As soon as she sits me up on a stool I feel immediately drained and glad that she¡¯s here to help. Looks like I¡¯ll be doing work in my HUD this afternoon. Katie comes back already in her two-piece with a small pile of clothes more me and Mel. Some weeks ago, Katie decided that she had a ¡®spot¡¯ on the beach and put a permanent shade and some chairs and towels out there. She sets up in her lounger after setting up two extra chairs. When I see Melissa hit her second long-call in a row, I decide to plop in front of Katie and rest my head on the front of her chair while watching Melissa pace in her bikini while she¡¯s on calls all day. It¡¯s nice to be reminded that despite our being buried in work, we still like to be together. My emotions swell so I send love and hugs via our mental link. Their responses make me feel cozy. B2 Ch 25: Pew Pew /Hey Beecham, wanted to see how you¡¯re doing and if you need anything?/ /Oh hey Admiral. Nah, just playing in the shop you bought for us, working on tweaking the frame of the shuttle design. I reconnected with Eyes and Meeker./ /Have you looked at the fast-mover design?/ /I have, and I think you¡¯re nuts, but if you make the Titan steel, I¡¯ll make the damned thing. I still think you¡¯re going to kill yourself the first time you turn in it./ /Copy that Chief, let me know if you need anything, crafting or otherwise./ /I should be fine with the money and Aether you sent my way. Gotta get back to work now./ /Fine. Bye Beecham./ He wanted to be left alone to grind out his trade skills, or some other nonsense, but he said he¡¯d be ready to head back to Astoria when I needed him. I mostly think he was trying to avoid the drama that flies at me. I don¡¯t blame him for that. I also think it¡¯s great that he¡¯s in contact with Eyes and Meeker. I can¡¯t imagine the Navy is letting those two wander around freely. Well, back to work for me too. Pull up my HUD and check on some simulations that I had our data network running. From the data I¡¯ve collected, the network predicts I can get the power outputs I want without changing the impurities I¡¯ve been adding. What was a real eye opener was when Melissa recommended using a smaller crystal with the capacitor purity for a quick, hot discharge and the battery refill it with some limit settings via a magitech controller. The result is the jenky-looking hand-made self defense weapon in my hand.
Magitech Laser Pistol 2IIS Aether-enhanced lasing matrix with a charged-crystal power source
Damn, we took a huge hit on crafting. Then again, I¡¯m new at smithing and gem-cutting. Lets see them skill increases.
x3
x2
x2
Heck yeah, get to look at modules again next level. I clearly need to put more time into my aether development, but it difficult on this planet, as dry as it is in the aether department. Tessa, how long will that crystal take to charge with those runes I put on it? Less than 12 hours on Astoria. Up to four days here? Hard to tell with as low as the aether is here. You can basically put a couple of drops of your ink in that juice of yours and use it as a charging fluid. Yeah, but I¡¯m so paranoid about another explosion if I try to force it. Aww, she can learn. Atropos, Ophelia, and I triple-checked. The mix I pulled up in the corner of your vision should be sufficient for a 12-hr charge of 6 batteries of pistol size, or a half charge of ASS-1¡¯s system backup battery. That¡¯s not a linear increase versus volume. No, with your structurally enchanted gems, the risk of overload is much reduced. Then why am I so scared Tessa? Because the last time you did this, you saw how vulnerable your support network is, and that¡¯s what scares you. Uh, have you been reading therapy books? I have, and they¡¯ve been enlightening into the psyche of Humans. Huh. That hits pretty close to true Tessa. Not sure I like it. Maybe I should do that thing you suggested. You know, about surrounding myself with smart women. Trust us? Yeah, that one. All right. Lets give this a shot. I take one of the crystals that has a low charge and insert it into the base of the hand grip. I wait a few seconds to let the battery charge the capacitor crystal, switch the safety off and fire at a coconut. The coconut rolls away as the ablative shot turns the outer husk into gasses and smoke. The current pulse width is set at a millisecond. Lets see what that did to the coconut. Put a hole clean through it, charrs some beach into glass. A few minutes later, I get the pistol reconfigured to 25 nanoseconds via Katie¡¯s doctored computer using Mel¡¯s software. I kind of love their cooperation these days. The 25ns shot only burned the outer husk, so I dial it up to 250ns and it pierces through the first shell of the coconut and charrs the meat on the other side, not burning through. NICE! I kick it up to an even 300ns and call it good. That gives me slightly more than three times the shots I was getting. 45-48 shots of high-powered laser is a lot of defense. Especially when I can reload the damn thing. Mel made me an emergency jack for my wrist, telling me it would likely overload the charging crystal and the lasing matrix should I use it too often. The level of scared my girls have been has been more apparent on this project than ever before. They have intrusively insisted that they help me dial in my battery project and with Melissa¡¯s electrical experience and Katie¡¯s magitech levels, I¡¯d be a fool not to accept their offers. That and they¡¯re really pretty and their kisses make me weak in mind and body. I¡¯ve been coerced in the nicest ways lately. Not even mad. ¡°Penny, we asked you to call us before testing that thing.¡± Melissa chastises. ¡°But I thought you just said dangerous testing!¡± ¡°That little pistol of yours could put a hole in a brick wall if it overloaded!¡± Melissa¡¯s mad. ¡°Tessa convinced me to pull my panties up and get to it?¡± ¡°Ugh, fine. If Tessa talked to you and didn¡¯t tell our AI¡¯s then I guess it¡¯s fine. She agreed to adjust her own safety settings for us afteral.¡± Wow, Tessa, got my fianc¨¦es to trust you. Good work. I¡¯m at least one step away from your foolish decisions. Tessa, I swear. I swear I should treat you better. Thanks love. She pings appreciation. ¡°Sorry Mel. I do care, but I get so focused. Plus the batteries will help most facets of our lives. Like now I can power the data array for years, get two extra warps out of the shuttle. Stuff like that. And I¡¯m even willing to sell the designs for the batteries and the tech, but Earth won¡¯t really benefit.¡± ¡°Unless Astoria, and more importantly, Elysium¡¯s major export is charged crystals. We would even accept recharge services if they paid the portal fees.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Did she have a market for these before I finished them? Who am I kidding, of course she did. ¡°You know what Kay, that sounds great. ¡° ¡°We¡¯re going to wait a few months while you practice and your cutting gets prettier. Pretty and functional is the way, like you, cupcake.¡± She takes my chin and kisses me. That¡¯s a compliment right there. From Katie especially. ¡°When¡¯s our meeting with the President and some World leaders?¡± ¡°Next week, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I booked us a suite. The conference is scheduled for three days.¡± ¡°But.¡± I begin to protest. ¡°There will be a no clothes rule in the suite.¡± Kay demands. ¡°But,¡± ¡°No work in the suite either,¡± Mel insists. ¡°But I just invented a laser pistol . . .¡± ¡°Your new project is us, Pen Pen. We¡¯ll be more than happy to keep your hands busy.¡± Ugh, they want me to have meetings all day and sex all night. What kind of schedule is that? *** ¡°Representative, I appreciate that your GDP is higher than Indonesia, but the fact remains: a billion people exist in Indonesia, and the System assumes that the leaders of every country is a responsible world citizen. The system understands Greed, the system understands abusive uses of power. The problem is, the System trusts that people are reasonable until proven otherwise. ¡°The Andromeda System also understands that CE and AE are important and the only way for Leaders can make more of either, is for the pursuit of advancement amongst their people, or conquest. Side note, I am willing to accept refugees. However, migrants to Astoria behave by different rules. The same is true with foreign states interfacing with Astorians. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to talk about migration and customs at this juncture, so please. Don¡¯t.¡± We briefly discussed immigration and extradition, but I have no head to entertain exceptions to my rule when most are treating me as a secretary. ¡°I will remind everyone that Earth is a protectorate of my empire. I will come to your defense, but I do not rule you, owe you, or should otherwise be expected to treat with you on menial topics. Sol is your system, and according to the Andromeda Supercluster system of dispute resolution¡ªa.k.a. The Forum¡ªthe sanctions and your debts are your own. ¡° ¡°But how do we learn how to negotiate the . . . System as you call it?¡± ¡°Minister, surely you have scholars that also play video games? They are your best resource for this. Let them . . . ¡®nerd out¡¯ and deep dive into the intricacies of their system. The goal is truly to make the most diverse, culturally supportive environment possible, and none of that can happen if you don¡¯t experiment with tracks, classes, and eventually the exchange when I finish building the infrastructure.¡± ¡°So you do have a plan to fix the mess that is the communications and supply system?¡± ¡°I do. However. Regional communications structure will need to be built if you expect local teleportation of goods and services besides basic subsistence. I have that setting fixed. Your transportation quota will be filled with food until it is no longer the largest transport request.¡± The room erupted in protest that they could not support the people at large when the funds to do so are restricted. Then Katie noted the respected administration funds of the protesting countries and asked why they had not previously addressed the issues. They stopped talking out loud and switched to a mumbling whine soon after. ¡°World Leaders, Representatives. I am not here to take from you or tell you how to run anything but the basic level of subsistence for your citizens. If you agree to a subsistence plan, I may agree to subsidize it. I¡¯m not going to tell you my conditions, I¡¯m not going to tell you what to do. I¡¯m just going to review what you¡¯ve done and give or withhold appropriately. If you need an incentive to treat your people right, then from now on, they are your only source of CE and AE. If you default and beg for more money, I will demand fealty. Plain, simple, and straightforward. ¡° ¡°Why would anyone swear fealty to you? You are just another System user.¡± ¡°Possibly true. But if you come to me for help, you have obviously fucked up, and can no longer be trusted with familial, heritage, or elected rule. I don¡¯t want you to default anymore than you want to listen to me. But if I loan you credits of any kind, you are my Vassal State until such time you refund me. This Applies to Earth only. Other measures will be discussed for new colonies.¡± The head congress person or senator realizes a good time for a recess and calls one. Kay and Mel have been bored for eons, and love the idea of seeing Malaysia even though I¡¯m tired. We eat some ridiculous things. Mostly sea creatures with soft springy textures with various preparations. Some with East Asian flair, many with tropical trappings, but my favorite dish so far, was the swordfish steak with a light citrus coulee and a cold seaweed salad. Salty and sweet in perfect balance at a meal that cost us a thousand dollars. I asked if they took System credits and they apologized that they didn¡¯t as the currency was too new. Made sense, need to get on that new ansible. ¡°Alright brain trust, what are we thinking tomorrow is going to be like?¡± I ask my team. ¡°Unless one of the G-20 come out of the steelwork tomorrow, you should have two light days before those representatives meet with their leaders and the leaders come in heavy.¡± Melissa explains. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that there has been so little bargaining. However, I suspect that we have been observed by many interested parties tonight attempting to ¡®get a feel¡¯ on who you are. Data suggests that you will get meal invites starting tomorrow evening, and then for nearly every meal throughout the remaining week.¡± Katie had asked our AI to skim the internet on past major political meetings. I nod. ¡°Well, I had planned on eating my way through Kuala Lumpur, why not make it a business meeting?¡± I take a break to order a gin and tonic for Katie, a Sunrise for Mel, and a vodka mule for me. ¡°Any news from Russia or the EU?¡± ¡°Russia, yes. The women¡¯s mafia group we¡¯ve been dealing with have advocated for trade agreements and a future expedition on one of our worlds. No words from the appointed President, but this seems our most promising venture so far. Some countries in the EU have expressed some trade interest, but nothing more from the Union.¡± Katie summarizes, notably smirking when talking about the Russians. ¡°On a surprised note, we got an email from some of the richest people in China looking to meet in Hong Kong. Tomorrow night.¡± ¡°Oof. They want me to travel thousands of miles to meet them during a meeting of world governments. If that¡¯s not a power play, I don¡¯t know what is. If either or both of you want to make a menace of yourselves, have at it, but I¡¯ll be staying here.¡± ¡°If Katie and I both go, it will show that we¡¯re serious about the meeting, but that you Honor prior engagements. I think that¡¯s the play. Plus, I can read their minds while Katie talks business.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the plan, it¡¯s the perfect moment to give you these,¡± I pull two jewelry boxes out of my dimensional purse. I open the longer box and unveil a wide-segmented amulet neck-piece that sits like a mantle across Melissa¡¯s shoulders and collar. The bright red gem at the center of her neckline stores enough power to enact the shielding spellform on the collar for several weeks. I embellished a few extra stones in the collar to make her look a little extra fancy. I turn her around and look between the gem and her eyes, enchanted by their gleam, I can¡¯t help but kiss her. ¡°This is rated up to sniper fire, so don¡¯t go walking into any war zones.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not you, Penny. And thank you. It¡¯s definitely its own vibe and I love it.¡± The next box is much smaller, and just the right amount of scary. Each of them got to pick the kind of accessory they¡¯d receive, Melissa chose a nice, safe, necklace. Katie chose a ring. I chose to send the vender a brick of Fire-infused Titan Steel for the body, a moderate-sized rectangular emerald for the centerpiece, and eight clear corundum gems to fit into the band, each enchanted and charged. The gems should give her sixteen uses of the shield spellform, which my brain has been digesting for days and I should have a handle on it soon. ¡°Katie,¡± I take her hand and stare into her entrancing green eyes. ¡°This was forged with a little extra . . . teeth. There is a high chance that anyone that attacks you will get bitten by a rebound of their assault.¡± When I slide the ring on her finger, she visibly shudders and pulls me into a claiming kiss. She pulls away slowly, nicking my lip with a fang and licking the blood off with a purr. ¡°Here I thought I would be getting red instead of Melissa.¡± ¡°Hey, the gem colors were practical, Okay? I didn¡¯t think either of you would love the slightly off-clear corundum, so I went emerald for quick discharge and ruby for a more uniform recharge.¡± Melissa is glaring at Katie in a way that she¡¯s likely going to have a talk with the Vampire later. I hadn¡¯t expected Katie to force the issue like this, but it was likely more of a selfish concern than a coercion on Melissa. I pull out a Titansteel and swarm-tech bangle out of the bag and slip it over my right hand. ¡°And a matching wrist accessory for me!¡± The bangle shrinks down to fit my wrist snug and flexes slightly with my movement, the four arcuate segment gems that started with large spaces between them now look like a continuous ring of clear corundum. ¡°Wow, okay. We know who you love the most.¡± Melissa comes over to inspect the piece. ¡°No way. Just think of it as, ¡®we all know who¡¯s in danger the most¡¯.¡± I get a smirk out of Katie and a huge frown and a smack on the arm from Melissa. ¡°So are these reactive, or always on? Katie asks. ¡°Both! The normal shield is active unless the gems deplete. You can also overcharge the form to increase the protection, but it will prevent it from forming again for a few hours. My gems are bigger because I plan to use them to stretch my teleportation legs. The gems are essentially free anyway.¡± Both Katie and Mel raise eyebrows at that. ¡°These are the gems I grow. Neat right?¡± ¡°You advanced this much in a week?¡± Katie asks. ¡°I took a page out of Beecham¡¯s book and just grinded out the skills for it. The merchant liked the potential in my gems, and said he¡¯d be willing to forward me some work if I got up to the Expert level.¡± Dollar signs shine in Katie¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yes, hon, more contracts for the Empire.¡± >K] These are appropriately well-crafted gems. I¡¯m going to list your services on the Exchange. Also, I would like to talk to you later tonight.[< >P] Sounds great Kay. [< We change venues shortly after the gift presentation and move on to a trendy bar that¡¯s a little too loud and crammed to think in, and I think that¡¯s what Melissa likes about it. I dance with her several times throughout the night, and talk with Katie about projects when I¡¯m ready for a break. I feel the need to step in a few times with some of Mel¡¯s impromptu dance partners get too handsy for my tastes. Melissa thinks that behavior is incredibly sexy, and she leaks those emotions at me each time. In the small hours of the night, Katie and I are ready to call it quits, but Melissa is still going strong. She tells us she¡¯s fine for us to leave and she¡¯ll meet us at the hotel later. I grab her close to me and tell her, I¡¯d rather she come home and do a different sort of dancing. She blushes and nods. Katie and I focus on her until she passes out in a heap of blankets and pillows. ¡°Can we talk?¡± Katie asks as I¡¯m gulping water. ¡°Sure Kay,¡± she pulls me out to the balcony. ¡°So, I¡¯m kind of upset that you didn¡¯t present our gifts in a more intimate setting. But then I thought that a fancy night out with gifts is romantic by the numbers. So, I thought about it while going down on Melissa, and I realized that I was mad because I didn¡¯t want to hurt Melissa¡¯s feelings, but I also wanted to give you this at the same time you gave me mine.¡± She pulls out a multi-tonal metal band from behind her back. I knew this is what she wanted, but I wasn¡¯t prepared for how hard it would hit me. I start crying and Katie takes it the wrong way if the panic on her face is anything to read. ¡°Katie, don¡¯t panic love,¡± I say rushing over to kiss her despite my wet face. ¡°I¡¯m just happy and relieved that I have this token to show that you love me and that you want to be on my team always. And yes, I promise to always be on your team, to help with your projects, and provide money-making opportunities.¡± ¡°A decent proposal,¡± she slides her ring on my finger, ¡°I accept.¡± She says before pouncing on me and perpetrating shenanigans. B2 Ch 26: Meeting Attire Melissa was right about how the next couple of days went, lots of food, lots of begging, shaming, and any type of coercion one could think of. Only a few offers of business deals or exchanges, which I found odd. One or two outright threats as well, but I expected those. One particularly menacing Arab man pulled his ceremonial sword on me, and I pulled my plasma saber from my purse. He didn¡¯t seem eager to see how much better a swordsman he was than me after I cut his sword in half. Only Qatar and U.A.E. stayed after that story got out. Today just ended up as a general class about the system, kind of like what I went over with the Admirals, except translations gave less time for questions. The G-20 leaders are supposed to be arriving this evening for the last two days, but I have not been included in their itineraries as far as I know, so we¡¯ll see what happens. Katie and Melissa¡¯s meeting in Hong Kong started off as awkwardly as expected. They tried to get my girls to admit to wrong-doing in not insisting I be there, and Katie insisted that if they were businesspeople and not politicians that these tactics were not necessary. She ended up listening to their demands, and by and large they just wanted to buy credits and to ask when they could order larger items. Since my current estimate is nine months to a year, that¡¯s what she told them. Two people wanted CE bad enough to buy 20 CE for 100 million US and Katie straight gave them our bank routing number and called it a deal. I don¡¯t love that we parted with CE, but, now I don¡¯t have to worry about Earth money anymore. The remaining rich people lost their minds at Katie¡¯s response about the exchange rate when the new ansible was online. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t think we¡¯ll need an exchange rate then. Two hundred million should be fine to get through the year and fiat currency won¡¯t have much use for us when countries start taking credits for payment.¡± I laughed when she told me that, and Melissa started discussing plans for the 200 million. She started buying property around the world. Out of the way places in important areas: An Island near Vladivostok, some land in northern Philippines, a house in Greece, and a plot in Australia. She said she¡¯s still looking in Southern Africa but doesn¡¯t know if she¡¯ll have enough money for that and living for the next year. Makes me wonder how much the Island went for. ¡°Penny, you¡¯re too distracted this morning. You have several big meetings today.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯m imagining all the ways the US President is going to make me angry with her so I don¡¯t act out in my surprise.¡± I fuss over my regular suit again, ¡°Should I go in my Admiral¡¯s suit?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think showing up in uniform is the way to go Pen pen. I saw a heliotrope suit with a robin¡¯s egg blouse you might look good in. They are your colors, just a different kind of uniform.¡± ¡°Oh Andromeda, thank you Mel. Can you be in charge of dressing me in the future?¡± Katie and Mel had a good laugh at me, but I was kind of serious about it. She picked it out and sent it to Tessa for me to order since I can add some aether and cut the line. I put the suit on, liking the jacket but switching the slacks out for some cream slacks and then matching my flats to the heliotrope jacket. There, now I look less like a fruit. ¡°Aww. You looked just like that galaxy fruit with the pants. Now you just look eccentric.¡± Melissa whines. I knew I looked like a fruit. ¡°Eccentric sounds fine. I can leave powerful and pretty to you two.¡± ¡°Then why¡¯s Melissa going?¡± Katie puts on her best devil may care grin and it shoots a little thrill through me. ¡°Katie! Rude!¡± Mel protests, but ends up picking a white blouse and a navy skirt, looking every bit my personal assistant. Katie goes for glasses this time, moving her to the ginger bodyguard to the steely advisor look. Sad part is, it¡¯ll be just as difficult as always for anyone to take us seriously. Okay, everyone takes Katie seriously eventually. ¡°Who¡¯s ready for two whole days of meetings?!¡± ¡°Ugh, I¡¯d rather be pumping bilge. But since this make keep us from being lasered again, lets do this.¡± Melissa jokes. ¡°Speaking of lasers; Tessa, how did the hull-mounted lasers test out?¡± /The fuselage melt test behaved erratically as the lack of heat dissipation on the outside led to some odd melting patterns, but full power tests were satisfactory./ ¡°Good. ¡®Cause if some other jackass points a weapon at my home or my people, I¡¯m going to shoot it down.¡± The G-20 folk really didn¡¯t pay us any attention the first day. There were talks of weapons proliferation, the latest turmoil in Pakistan, and the border buildups between Russia and former Soviet Union members. It started to sound like a UN security council meeting. Next items were focused on humanitarian aid in Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Southeast Asia. South America is also in need, but the ongoing turmoil amongst the Cartels and Government bodies prevents a lot of the goods getting to the people in real need. What I hate the most is the likelihood that problems like these will follow Humanity to space. I don¡¯t have a legal code robust enough to handle Humanity. What am I thinking? This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°We wish to meet separately with the representatives of Astoria.¡± The other gathered leaders grumble, but reluctantly acknowledge. The leader of the EU leads us to a break-out committee room prepared with refreshments. Excellent. ¡°So, Empress Astoria,¡± The Prime Minister of Canada begins, ¡°we have a couple of concerns with the way the System is currently laid out.¡± I hold my face steady, not wanting to laugh at their assumption after he was so courteous. ¡°Do continue Prime Minister.¡± I say after he paused for an overlong time. ¡°The first being the order delivery quotas, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware.¡± ¡°Yes, I am aware, and I ordered a device that will alleviate those problems to be shipped to an Empire controlled planet and assembled. The issue being, my planets are on the outskirts of what the Andromeda Supercluster considers frontier space. They¡¯ve only begun mapping the milky way in the last 10-20 million years, and we are ever so far away. Earth, is almost three thousand light years further into the frontier. That being said, the device should come online within the year, and delivery problems from here to Astoria should be eliminated.¡± ¡°You expect us to wait a year for Exchange access?¡± The representative from Japan asked. ¡°As we have no other options, yes. However, since you all have likely not even chosen a Track yet, I suspect that Humanity will need that year to acclimate to the System and prepare for the eventual destruction of the world economy. The conversion to credits won¡¯t be immediate, but as people learn how to earn them, and others learn that subsistence food and water will be free, the Exchange will begin to dominate. ¡°Oh! Key point to the Exchange. You will need local node ansibles that reach up to 100km for deliveries and up to 300ly for communication only. You will need to setup distribution centers, or have someone modify your node ansibles have their delivery capacity enhanced with some different Manatech options.¡± Canada and other countries that were briefed by their advisors earlier this week nod, the rest have side conversations for a few minutes, I take the opportunity to get some food. Having used aether to summon our attire, I am quite hungry. I come back to the table with snacks and people look at me funny. ¡°I have a metabolism problem and it¡¯s been a long day of meetings. Please continue.¡± ¡°Sure. The next question is very much on the minds of the UN security council: how involved in world affairs do you plan to be?¡± That is an excellent question, and I feel the right way to ask it instead of posturing and threatening. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to be hands-off, honestly. Ideally, my only contact with Earth would be commerce and immigration. Realistically, my advisors and I will be back and forth for a few years getting things settled with the occasional dispute resolution. I won¡¯t entertain bail-outs for anyone. I do consider commerce exchanges. I won¡¯t provide military tech, nor will I donate my technology for the sake of humanity. If you have a proposal that will benefit the Empire and Humanity, I¡¯ll hear you out, but I started with the assumption that you don¡¯t want to be ruled by an Empress, you want to maintain Global borders and economies and develop yourselves. If you wish to emigrate to a different Planet, I am currently accepting Vassal States on all of my habitable worlds. There are currently four, one relatively nearby.¡± ¡°So that means you do not intend to remain a US citizen?¡± ¡°Considering that the President and her cabinet are considered Enemies of the Empire, I think not. To that point, trying to kill me won¡¯t get you my money or my credits.¡± ¡°Not like that means anything,¡± the Vice President of the Unites States, laughs. ¡°I was asked very nicely by people I respect to not execute people for a very stupid decision. I was convinced to come here to talk with all of you by one of those people. I will try to interface with the next US administration, but until then, if we could stay out of each other¡¯s way, that¡¯d be great.¡± Katie and Mel answered some questions that were answerable by spending time with the interface, but I¡¯m not the person to throw shade in that direction. Tessa and Katie both gave me shit for not investigating the Empire¡¯s menus until recently. Katie then answered some long-term considerations and travel, saying that mostly the travel between systems will need to be ship based. ¡°If the ansible you are building can transport objects from half a galaxy away, why not people?¡± I chime back in, as it is my area of expertise. ¡°Ah, now we get into the nature of Aether, ladies and gentlemen. This planet is exceedingly poor in it, which means you all will be sensitive to the underlying energy of the Universe. ¡°Items and goods are largely not alive, and therefore are not in danger of being mutated by the sluice of energy they receive transiting non-dimensional space without shielding. I¡¯ll save you the micro concerns of tagging and shipping, but it¡¯s the shielding that takes the already solved problem of transportation, making it a workable-but-dynamic concern. I have napkin math plans to create a gateway network, but for now we¡¯ll have to deal with traveling via warp-capable shipping. ¡°Before this divulges into asking about Aether, your swarm can provide you with information on mutations and Aether that it likely neglected because of the poor aether potential of Earth.¡± ¡°You seem to be well versed, are your compatriots capable of using aether as well?¡± France? I think, asks. ¡°Excellent question, but more for the topic it brings to mind. Humans need enough exposure to Aether for long enough to adapt in order to be able to manipulate it. This is also napkin plans, but I will be considering migrants to Astoria and Asphodel for Aether-based tracks, and those that do not want to migrate fully, I will entertain a cohort of approximately a dozen for training.¡± ¡°So you control the monopoly on these Aether tracks?¡± ¡°Only until there are enough Aether-based track folk out there and enough of Humanity is on a planet that can support their energy requirements. Maybe someday Earth can support it, but currently us Aether track folk need constant supplementation to keep our energy up.¡± ¡°So there are more of you?¡± ¡°Of me? No. Nobody would want that.¡± >K] Incorrect. I have room for at least 2 more Pennys. [< >M] I could use another.[< she winks in my mind. I try my darndest not to smile, but it probably looks like an arrogant smirk. ¡°But yes, one of my crew and a few of the returned Sailors are on tracks such as Elementalist, Jedi, and Shade Viper? Yeah, I think those are it. And before you judge ¡®Jedi¡¯ the System personalizes tracks to your experiences, so that¡¯s on him.¡± I pause for effect and reach into my hip pouch, ¡°Plus, plasma sabers are really cool.¡± I pull out my officer¡¯s-style saber and charge the plasma and shield runes for a moment before snuffing it and placing it back in my bag. That little stunt got me fifteen seconds of blissful quiet before the room erupted in wonder and outrage. I bring out some juice to recharge while everything calms down to a discussable roar. B2 Ch 27: Level and Lament ¡°Did we really sit through hours of questions, just to make a resolution to have another meeting?¡± Melissa asks. ¡°Yep. Except next time there will be paperwork.¡± We tentatively agreed to sign a non-aggression treaty with the people of Earth, and they agreed to limit their previous treaties on claiming celestial bodies to the Sol planetary system until they could work out a better agreement. It¡¯ll be interesting to see who strikes out on their own to find new habitable planets, or who takes the Vassal State route in my known systems. ¡°I intercepted some pings from some personal assistants focusing on communications that were headed for you and found us a few sources of the rare earth metals we¡¯ve been wanting.¡± Katie grins, knowing she did well. ¡°At least someone feels productive. Tomorrow is technically the last day of the summit, but now that we have an agreement for a meeting for a year from now-ish, I have no desire to stay another day.¡± ¡°You just want to go back you our beach house and work.¡± ¡°Yes please.¡± Katie and I beg. Melissa chuckles and kisses us both on the cheek. ¡°I¡¯ll message the customs office and tell them we¡¯ll be departing.¡± I nod my thanks, already thinking about battery applications and improvements I want to make on the shuttle Beecham¡¯s building. In a little over two hours we¡¯re back to our island in Bikini Atoll. I wonder how much they want for the whole atoll. I¡¯ll ping the admiral and see if this can¡¯t be our ¡°reconnect¡± with the US under a guise of trade. Melissa supports the idea. ¡°And fuck you business clothes, time for jammies!¡± I toss everything on the edge of the bed until I¡¯ve got my sweat shorts and tank top on, then I put my suit in the closet like a good housemate. ¡°Tessa, did you ping me a dozen priority messages just now?¡± Tessa pings a negative, and before I can ask, Katie yells from our workshop down the hall. ¡°That was me! Collaboration with Jembit Engineering and Mining!¡± Huh, why would they be contacting me about jobs? You should check your notices, or if you want a shortcut, just look at your stat sheet. I¡¯m amused at how easily you are distracted by your projects, even to the detriment of your progression. I can¡¯t help but blush in embarrassment. I have always had this problem. In this case, advancement will come as I work, so there. I stick my tongue out at Tessa.
Name: Penelope Astoria Race: Human (Primus) Andromeda Code: T3-S3
Class: None Track: Artificing (lvl. 29) Imbalance: t + 24
Mind Intelligence: A Clever: A Awareness: B
Social Beauty: C Charm: D Presence: B
Physical Strength: D Agility: C Fitness: D
Aether Capacity: B Refinement: B Power: S
Skills
Aether engraving: Expert, step 1 Aether insight: intermediate, step 6
Enchanting: intermediate, step 8 Knowledge absorption: Intermediate, step 6
Pain Suppression: Intermediate, step 1 Aether manipulation: Intermediate, step 5
Magitech Integration: Intermediate, step 1 Space manipulation: Advanced, step 4
Aether forging: Intermediate, step 1 Transmutation: Novice 5
Basic constructs: Novice 5 Gem cutting and shaping: Advanced, step 2
Oh, now I get why you were being sassy. The grinding I was doing for Gem Cutting was also working on a ton of other skills, even my Aether Engraving! Sweet. Now my tool ratings will jump up! Hold the phone, I got two levels out of this? Freaking how? You received a cumulative of 21 skill ups, and many in aether-based skills. Your imbalance provided the rest. Also, as you have not been soaking in ambient aether and have been forced to store more and more within you, your aether capacity has increased as well. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Sweet. That makes that Aether block in my stats look a whole lot better. I take it the titles and whatnot are in the meta-data? Your data sheet is much longer, listing the systems and planets you claim, your relationships with various factions, etcetera. This sheet shows only personal development details. I¡¯ve included your access levels in your Andromeda Code. Excellent, now lets look at these jobs.
Company Rating Description Pay
VIP Accessories 2_AA min Enchant, Engrave, and charge provided gems to listed specifications 10k AE per pouch
Jembit Engineering 2_EA min Expert rated engraver needed for on-site Ansible work. Enchanting Experience preferred. 100k for six months.
Jembit Mining 2EEB min 6 Sundering tools for licensed Mining 25k AE base
Jembit Mining N/A Assist in mining operation planning per contract per contract
Tessa, do you have the ability to survey our asteroid belt from Astoria? Not in our current arrangement. I am not able to upload a separate mind from here, and we have no drones currently capable of the mining sensor array necessary to find specific minerals. Copy, fit sensors onto test-warp drone and send it around the belt. Which means we need to get to Astoria in a few months, which means I need to start putting thrusters and a warp array together for the new shuttle. Atropos and Ophelia are working on the control systems for the shuttle as we speak. May I suggest you work on thrusters first, the Gem order second, the warp array third, and the sundering devices on the way back to Astoria? Hmm, I can¡¯t forge Titan Steel on the shuttle, so I¡¯ll have to make that before I leave, but the engraving takes days, so yah, in transit would be grand. Otherwise that schedule sounds workable. I bring up the thrust cone design in my HUD, make a few tweaks to cone size and shape as I¡¯m eliminating the afterburner function on these., and send it to the fabricator. Katie put a magitech antenna on it and it is now a wirelessly connected device. I put in an order for smaller positioning and lift thrusters in the queue and start engraving small plasma vortex plates to prepare for the assembly of the cones with my new transfiguration welder that uses a plasma spellform and an anti-heat enchantment to keep my hand from melting. Later the next day, when I¡¯m pulling my welding goggles off my head, I realize I make the lenses out of corundum, just because I had it around and I don¡¯t know how to make glass. Most expensive welding goggles ever. Heh. When you have a shed full of natural seed crystals and another shed half full of drawn crystal cylinders, what the hell else would I make lenses out of? ¡°How¡¯s it coming out here?¡± Mel asks, dragging a cooler behind her. I installed a workbench near Katie¡¯s shaded area and put a car port covering over it so I can work outside when things could get flame-y or explode-y. Thrusters are high on that list. ¡°I¡¯ve got the four main thrusters ready for testing, but the fabricators aren¡¯t finished with the lift and positioning thrusters yet. If I put in a full day, I should be able to finish them tomorrow?¡± ¡°Great! Maybe a week of integration and testing and it should be flyable. Do you think you¡¯ll get the warp array finished before you leave?¡± ¡°If I work on the whole array at once? Not realistically. If I did the short-range array only, then I can absolutely have that up in three to six weeks. Andromeda am I going to be busy. Feels great producing stuff though.¡± Mel distracts me with the sound of a bottle depressurizing. She hands me the re-sealable bottle of my favorite fruit beer and lures me over to Katie¡¯s spot, where the Vampire is going over a data sheet in the shade. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know you were out here. Sorry about that.¡± I walk up and kiss her cheek, and then go back to Melissa and thank her for the beer with a kiss and a butt squeeze. ¡°I need to confirm with the Admirals, but with the way that G-20 meeting went, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be working on their space ships anymore.¡± I leave that hanging, knowing that Katie had read the jobs she sent me. ¡°That must mean you want to take the Engraving and Enchanting Job.¡± I nod at that, ¡°Good. I asked Jembit if I could observe their approach to Magitech integration in exchange for our mining survey data.¡± ¡°Data we don¡¯t currently have?¡± I question her logic. ¡°I¡¯ve already built the sensor suite for the drone you were testing, some thrust tweaks and it¡¯ll be collecting the data I need in no time. We just need to get to Astoria a month in advance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a tight timeline Katie. That¡¯s what, at most four weeks here and burning through our battery stores to get there in time?¡± She nods. ¡°Dang that¡¯s a push. Might have to lean on that protective jewelry if I run out of juice.¡± I take a sip of my beverage and watch Mel avoid our eyes as she draws with her toes in the sand. ¡°What about Mel, what do you want to do?¡± ¡°I want to go with, but I think I should stay and try to smooth things over with my parents?¡± she sighs a tired sigh. ¡°This contention between us is draining me, and I really need to resolve it, you know?¡± I give her a sad smile, ¡°Not really, but I can see that you do.¡± I pull her in for a hug and she latches on to me. ¡°I wish that feelings weren¡¯t so complicated.¡± ¡°Heh, yeah, things are different when you don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to make it home. If things have to change, if your plans are changing because living on Earth is back in the picture, let us know. Please Melissa, let us know.¡± She pulls me tighter and starts sobbing into my shoulder. She doesn¡¯t want to make this decision, and I don¡¯t blame her. The choice to defy my parents would have been much harder had they been involved and supporting. The disconnect between her parents and us is clearly crushing Melissa. Katie gives us space for the rest of the night, showing that she does actually care about Melissa, even if she doesn¡¯t love her. Melissa just want¡¯s to be distracted, any attempt at talking about family or future is squashed by kisses or groping. I don¡¯t care much for being used like this, but if this is as much of a goodbye as it feels, I can give her a proper send off. As I¡¯d feared, when I woke in the morning, Melissa was gone. She left a hand written note on the bedside table explaining how she felt like she was being neglected and replaced, and that her family was being so comforting. She made some concessions in acknowledging the cowardice of not mentioning it to either of us, and she knew that being rejected by her family was preventing us from moving forward, like Katie and I had. She specifically mentioned the engagement rings as proof that maybe her parents were right, that I was just using her for my wicked whatever the fuck people need to explain away the gay. >P] Your engagement ring is still in my pocket, Mel. Whenever you¡¯re ready for it. [< >M] Little late Penny. [< She makes me so mad sometimes. I pull the ring out of the box I kept it in and ping my bracelet for her location and transport the ring onto her finger. >P] I accepted your proposal almost two years ago. I left extra gem slots for the kids you wanted to have and made it out of three different metals for the relationship you wanted for us. I never stopped wanting to be a part of you Mel. Say the word and I¡¯ll have us married by the end of the week. [< >M] You know I can¡¯t do that, Penny, not without my parents permission. [< >P] I¡¯d never bet against what you can do Mel. [< She lets me stew in that comment for a few minutes, before replying. >M] How long have you had this in your pocket? [< >P] Few months. Made it shortly after we set up the lab. It was just a band then. I had it modified for gems once I started making those batteries better. [< I feel overwhelming sadness coming through our link. >P] Keep it, in a box under your bed if you have to. If you don¡¯t want it or me when I get back, just give it back. Simple as that. [< She pings instead of replies and then shuts down the connection between us. B2 Ch 28: Many Light Years. More Warps! Two weeks later, Katie finally brings it up. Two weeks of tolerating my extra touches, my extra cuddles, and some achingly desperate sex; Katie finally asks. ¡°How are you really doing Penny. I¡¯ve been trying to support you without asking, but it doesn¡¯t seem like enough. So I¡¯m asking, how are you, and what do you need?¡± Katie looks troubled and now I feel bad. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry hon, I don¡¯t mean to put my distress on you. I just though that Melissa would be the last person to bail on me. It hurts Katie. It reminds me of all the reasons I¡¯ve protected my heart in the past, and I¡¯m trying so hard not to just hang all over you while I mourn. I know you get touch saturated, but I¡¯ve really appreciated your tolerance lately.¡± Katie sighs as she sits next to me on the couch and pulls me into her lap, my back on the arm rest, and my face next to hers. ¡°Penny, do you remember that week we were studying together?¡± ¡°Yeah, we spent a lot of time together physically, but we didn¡¯t really do small talk or life stuff.¡± She huffs with a smile, ¡°Yes. But when we were in the same room, you were always touching me. Leg against mine in the study room, hand on my leg at a restaurant, holding me like a monkey as we slept.¡± ¡°But you have saturation issues?¡± I interrupt. ¡°That¡¯s my point Penny, and it is one of the reasons I got so scared on Copernicus. You are my only exception. Did you know I was annoyed that you hadn¡¯t asked more about my life? I would have been looking for a way out from anyone else, but for you, I just wanted farther in. After seeing your steady involved relationship with Melissa, I realized that I was afraid for the wrong reasons. You¡¯re not the kind of person that gets so lost in someone that you forget yourself. And oddly, I feel the most cared for, when we work next to each other and you dote on me that little bit.¡± I can¡¯t help myself, her speech is so sweet I have to kiss her. ¡°Thank you Kay. This means a lot.¡± I want to ask a favor, but she kind of said it was alright to? ¡°Do you have work you can do where I can be in your lap and work too?¡± She pulls me into a hug and kisses the side of my hair. ¡°I do, but let us do that at our beach lounge. If I¡¯m being sentenced to touch you all day, I want your skin against mine.¡± ¡°I love you so much¡± I gush as I hug her. ¡°Want to have the V¡¯tek marry us when we get back to Astoria?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see how you feel when we get there, Penny. You¡¯re a little overwhelmed right now.¡± I nod into her shoulder just before she pushes me off to get changed. Each day is a bit of a struggle for me, but Katie letting me be her backpack helped a lot. When I went to help Beecham install the thrusters (because Melissa bailed on that too) he let me use his forge to make six Titan Steel rods for my sundering order. When I get back to the island, Katie argues with me about the Magitech interface for the warp system for a while and then we have satisfying angry make-outs. The last week before Kay and I trek back to Astoria, I finish my Gem engraving and enchanting order and get a message from Naval Reactors. /Penny, Amice is being an ass and has convinced enough people to not let you work on our space ships. Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Interior are willing to part with the Atoll for 500 mil and a promise to clean up the radiation./ I forward that to Katie to see what she can do and keep reading. /The administration doesn¡¯t want to commit to anything until your promise of un-throttled deliveries are realized. So we¡¯re at least a year away from dealing with you again officially./ What a good old dude. /Copy Rich. We have some interested parties that we can trade the dollars for, so prep the island sale friend. Other than that, Keep an open comm Admiral. You¡¯ve got a friend in the Empire./ When I send that response, it really feels like I¡¯m heading home. I¡¯m saying my last goodbye, going toward my future. I ping Beecham and he straight calls me. ¡°Hey Admiral, I was thinking.¡± ¡°Do you have the appropriate protective gear on?¡± ¡°Ha ha. Funny, ma¡¯am. Anyway, I can¡¯t leave the system with only the LP array, so I wanted to check out Ganymede to see if the aether was better around Jupiter? Maybe set up an outpost?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°I like that idea, Chief. I like it a lot. But we won¡¯t have the system Ansible online for most of a year. I¡¯ll authorize the funds for a Ganymede outpost, but you won¡¯t be able to transport it in place until after the build in Andromeda finishes.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve got to put together a crew first anyway. I want a shipyard, so why not start collecting like-minded folks?¡± ¡°I leave the system in your care Chief. I authorize you to be the first ever Astorian Navy recruiter.¡± ¡°Damnit. No good deed hey Admiral.¡± ¡°Sadly true Chief. Sadly true.¡± I thumb in a provisional budget for Ganymede Outpost and leave it to him to ask for more when he starts setting up for it. >P] Alright love, anything you need for 210 days? Last call for travel snacks. [< >K] I have a list of purchases for when we get into Astoria¡¯s ansible range, but until then. I¡¯ve ordered foods and cocktails for me for the trip. [< Tessa, have you uploaded to Bikini Station? I have and so far, Parallel Minds is holding out. Seems like our boxes are checked. I¡¯m in our indoor shop, cleaning up some sand-allergic devices and collecting the pieces I need to work on the way to Astoria. I summon the Indulgence and start loading Katie¡¯s and my projects on the elevator. When I finish, I find Katie in her shade dressed in nothing but panties¡ªher preferred state. My mouth waters a little and my core warms, but I decide to behave and just pull her chin for a lustful kiss. ¡°I¡¯m mostly naked, I was hoping for more.¡± ¡°Oh no! Did I miss a signal, I though your pale tits just wanted some sun!¡± She smacks my leg with the back of her hand. ¡°Fine, I was tempted, but if you load the last of your stuff, we can leave almost a week early.¡± She perks up at that and stands to retrieve her wares. Watching Katie talk to herself, and maybe her AI while half naked and carrying stuff is endearing and makes me want to keep her. Like forever ever. Six hours later, Katie is finally done prepping for launch and she¡¯s still in her underwear. ¡°Katie, put a suit on or I¡¯m Not taking you.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare¡± She¡¯s right, so avenue the second: ¡°Fine, I will knock you out, dress you and leave traces of my blood all over so you never forget how much we need each other.¡± ¡°No need to get nasty Penny. I¡¯ll do it, sheesh.¡± She reluctantly puts her Officer jumpsuit on, sans bra just to tempt me. Or spite me. Could be both. Katie and Atropos are smooth co-pilots and we don¡¯t say anything while we spin up for launch. /Brahae, this is ASS Indulgence, leaving Sol on an offset, parallel departure. Interference query, over./ /No interference, Indulgence. Out./ Heh, they¡¯re still cross with me. Stupid head-strong captains. Any case, we out. It takes us a few hours to get out of Moon range, but at 2g¡¯s it doesn¡¯t take long. /Last check before Kepler, energizing Warp ring./ /I¡¯m looking to solidify my mutation Penny, No shield for the short jump?/ /No, Kay. I order a Galaxy fruit or something. Chaotic aether is not safe./ /I want a non-linear mutation hon, will the fruit help with that?/ /Have you been directing your efforts and track toward your mutation goals?/ She pings me affirmative, and I return her ping. Seats, suits and supplies SAT, initiate warp sequence Kepler, Tessa. I reach over and tweak Katie¡¯s obviously anxious nipple. A chastisement for her sense of attire. Maybe a seal of approval, but she stays stoic as we warp. Once we¡¯re through though she un-buckles and pounces on me. I emit a dignified Empress squeal, and then engage in several undignified activities. ¡°Your sickness okay? My shielding isn¡¯t perfect.¡± ¡°I¡¯m great Penny.¡± She pants. ¡°Why don¡¯t you have a nickname for me Kay?¡± ¡°I do, but I don¡¯t know how you¡¯ll take it.¡± ¡°Really? I fucked you with the ring you gave me and you¡¯re unsure?¡± ¡°If you frame it like that it sounds dumb. In my mind I call you little Pixie.¡± You bitch. You know I don¡¯t like it when other people call me little or Pixie. But maybe that¡¯s why she¡¯s never said it. D¡¯awww. She¡¯s such a freaking cutie. ¡°I don¡¯t hate it when you say it. And it seems my mutations are heading that way.¡± I sigh, ¡°Much that I hate the smallness, I don¡¯t hate the magical fey aspects.¡± She picks me up and cradles me. ¡°Is it bad that I would miss this?¡± I pull her face shield off and kiss her. ¡°No babe, but it may not last forever.¡± I giggle like an idiot. I like being smaller than Katie. But only Katie. I¡¯ve accepted that the vampire giant will always be able to cradle me. Ugh, I am so smitten with her. We do nothing responsible for our two-day recovery in Kepler. Our long warp to waypoint 2 has me taxed for shielding, but I¡¯m functional. I want to pull a supercharged warp to skip a whole system but Atropos and Katie have ulterior motives. They want me fully recovered to do a day of survey in the Hades system when we get there. I protest, but they remind me that the V¡¯tek Community have likely begun their settlement of the moon by now. Elysium has a very high concentration of Aether and I wouldn¡¯t mind a stop there anyway. Just standing on that moon feels good. I worry that Katie will want to come with and trigger a mutation even though I promised her a fruit. We jump to the system I named after Hephaestus¡¯ workshop and it¡¯s just as sedate as it was last time. I doubt I¡¯ll ever put up a meaningful colony out here, but a traveler¡¯s waystation wouldn¡¯t be unwelcome. I tell Katie that we¡¯ll only be here for a few days and then we¡¯ll warp to Hades system. We warp into Hades and quickly fall into orbit around the system''s collector of the largest moons. I drop Katie off on Asphodel where the ansible is and tell her I¡¯ll be back in the afternoon. When I pull into orbit around Elysium, a semi-mechanical voice issues through my headset telling me the coordinates of Elysium Grove and where to land my shuttle. I quickly check my settlement data, while Tessa takes care of the landing, to confirm that the Grove is in fact registered as a vassal settlement to the Astorian Empire as administered and governed by the V¡¯tek Collective. Established two months ago, having filed the forms mere weeks ago, It appears that everything is in order and V¡¯tek¡¯Clor¡¯s enthusiasm appears to be genuine. B2 Ch 29: Providing for Bae. ->>] Pleasant Meeting, Empress. I¡¯m afraid we are not prepared for a diplomatic visit. [<<- I¡¯m greeted to the translated speech of Individual Clor as I walk off the elevator into the satisfying embrace the dense aether of this moon. ->>]Embarrassed forgiveness. I was not intending to burden you. Now that you are not on a mission from the Forum, what should I call you? [<<- ->>] Curious Query. I believe Ambassador, Individual Clor, or V¡¯tek¡¯Clor are acceptable. To what do we owe this visit?[<<- They finish forming from the flattened root platform I find myself standing on. ->>] Amused encounter. I only intended to recharge my aether and look for a place to place a training grounds. Perhaps a few hours at most. [<<- ->>] Anxious inquiry. How many humans would be training here? The Collective prefers sparsely populated habitats for our Groves. [<<- ->>] Understanding concurrence. My intent was no more than a few dozen in training at any given time, and a permanent population of maybe 1000 within a Mark or so. With nearby grounds for farming and hunting of course. [<<- ->>] Grateful relief. With billions of Humans recently added, I had feared perhaps millions would be migrating. [<<- ->>] Amused Horror. I would not want a million humans around my vacation or training spot either. Plus, this aether density would kill most of them. I¡¯d planned on the bulk of humans that come to this system settling on Asphodel, the neighboring moon. [<<- ->>] Agreeable news. If you truly not here for an extended visit, I will leave you to your tasks [<<- I bow slightly and ping agreement before getting back aboard the elevator. I head to the other side of the moon and try to find a place to land that incudes a water feature that isn¡¯t swampland. What I find is a lake nestled in some worn mountains that were likely formed in ancient tectonics. I wonder if this moon gets cold enough for snow. I cannot resist the urge to submerge myself in water and find out that it is freaking cold. Candidate for snowmelt for certain. The water is just as saturated with aether as the air, so despite the cold I decide to stay in it for a while. I name the spot Lonely Lake and start blocking out areas for buildings support stuff and recreation ideas. >K] I set up an area around the ansible a lot like Summer station, except instead of the dorm thing, I made an apartment building. Combined the lab and farm buildings as well. And the ansible building is now offices. [< >P] Sounds great hon, now all we need are people. [< >K] I think we will have a shortage of ways to transport people that are willing to come out here. [< >P] Beecham said he¡¯d like that project, so once we get him back to Mercy, he¡¯ll probably ask for an orbital shipyard or something.[< >K] We should have something like that for repairs and whatnot. Going to need a space station for Moiriax and the mining there too. Just because you¡¯re not burning consumable resources doesn¡¯t mean everyone else isn¡¯t.[< Huh, I guess I did assume that as the only resources I¡¯m spending are things that I personally make. Speaking of: >P] can you pick one of your moons that I can basically strip of aether and make into my crystal factory?[< >K] I¡¯ll work up a sensor array that can scan for aether and you can help me put it on those drones. Why waste a habitable planet if we can reap a barren one. [< >P] Have I told you that I love you lately? Because I love you lotses. [< >K] Have I told you that you¡¯re ridiculous lately? [< Pfft. Nice. I¡¯m on my way to pick her up so there¡¯s no real reason to continue this mental conversation. ¡°So what did you do with the old barracks and workshop I put down?¡± I ask after a kiss hello. ¡°I modified them as I said. It¡¯s a lot cheaper to repurpose buildings, you can also reclaim buildings you don¡¯t want anymore. Not enough to replace what you spent, but it¡¯s about the same as I would be able to source the materials for. You should reclaim the dorm when we get home and build a new apartment complex.¡± ¡°I would be delighted to knock that piece of crap down.¡± A little flutter hits my belly as she calls Astoria home. I¡¯m getting better at augmenting warps with space magic. My advanced rating gives me the ability to define space subject to my control, so with a weak shield, I can define the contained space as dimensional space and the special barrier acts as an additional shield against the aether that permeates non-dimensional space. I have a lot of experimenting to do with pockets of space in other defined spaces, but it¡¯s promising. It is also advancing faster than my aether manipulation, which is what currently controls my shields. The next warp toward Lachesis feels easier than on the way out. Katie checks on me then steers us toward Lachesis where she wants to spend a good portion of her 10k CE to support the mining contracts she signed for the system. ¡°Is it smart to make a space station with no people to operate it?¡± I ask Katie, worried about hijacking. ¡°I have developed a skill similar to you parallel minds, and Atropos has convinced me that she can run the station remotely. Her capabilities will obviously advance when the Sector Host comes online.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s funny that my gut reaction when I saw that ansible was that I needed it and spent a seventh of my wealth in CE. Now that I analyze what it provides us, it feels like the single most beneficial thing I could have done with that money. It would be slightly more responsible for me to put the Host in Moiriax or Hades, but the max range hits Earth, and I am terribly, terribly proud.¡± ¡°If the star charts are any indication, the Milky Way is vastly under connected to the System. You could have built that host in any of your systems and have provided an immense benefit to the Supercluster. We don¡¯t know what with be transport connected into patrolled space, but you have three thousand light years in every direction to expand our Empire, or connected network of planets, all immediately supportable to the best extent the Supercluster has to offer. Given enough time, Penny, you and I can create a transport network for pedestrians from one end of the Empire to the other. We are going to make so much fucking money.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. I chuckle that she finishes what was otherwise a great speech with a touch of greed. Maybe she¡¯s low key afraid I¡¯ll leave us destitute? Nah, with the magic and smarts between us, we can make as much money as we can think of ways to make it. ¡°Can the sensor suite we installed on this shuttle detect aether?¡± ¡°It can . . . you just want to get out of the drone work, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Honey, if we¡¯re already here, why wouldn¡¯t I see if your moons can support my crystal habit? Our plans require hundreds of pounds of farmed corundum. This is a high priority item. Same as the aether collector.¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re not blowing yourself up again, I suppose.¡± Katie growls. I shouldn¡¯t laugh, but I do. She caught me at my worst injury to date, experimenting without my EVA suit on to compensate for my stupidity. Katie puts in her order in for the parts for an orbital station with cargo processing and loading. She tickets the delivery via pending Sector Host so she can put the parts in orbit and have a crew put them together. She¡¯s hoping to co-opt the engineering company that is towing our ansible parts out after it finishes assembling it. To our surprise, they reply immediately with an adjusted timeline and to push back the station a few months for surveys and planning. Katie agrees immediately. When we land on Lachesis, Katie proceeds to build the same setup as she did at Asphodel and adds a personal home at the top of a hill. The house has it¡¯s own lab and library space. ¡°You planning on telling me something Kay?¡± ¡°Am I not expected to have a house in my system Penny?¡± ¡°I just thought you¡¯d want to live with me, you know?¡± I look at my hands and fiddle with my ring, knowing I¡¯m being pathetic right now. ¡°I get that recent events with Melissa have you skittish, little pixie, but I desire to take care of my system and to take my other activities away from a home we share. I sigh, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m being extra clingy right now, and I know you and your condition have needs. I¡¯m just scared Katie.¡± ¡°I know Penny, and I know that I¡¯ve hurt you in a similar situation, but you can trust that I don¡¯t want to alienate such a promising business partner.¡± It¡¯s weird that assuring me with her business acumen against our relationship is affective. ¡°I would probably do some strange magic cult shit to make you come back to me.¡± She smirks at that instead of looking horrified. ¡°Make it a blood ritual and I¡¯m down for some servitude. Your blood of course.¡± She croons in a voice she¡¯s not suppose to use outside of the bedroom. All of me is suddenly too hot. ¡°Fuck Kay, you and that voice. Tell Atropos to drive. You have work to do.¡± I crawl out of my suit and Katie gets to work. *** A pint lighter and surrounded by decadent cotton sheets in Katie¡¯s new bungalow, I awaken to the sound of a loud roar. Tessa, are we in danger? Sensors indicate that the dominant species of this moon is angry at your placement of abode. They appear to be a Dire variant of a wolverine-type creature. Well that¡¯s a solid ¡°nope¡± if I¡¯ve ever heard one. ¡°Katie! Your moon is mad at you!¡± I pull off our blankets and throw them on the floor. She scrunches her face and starts pushing me off the bed. ¡°You¡¯re the Empress, go defend the realm, or some shit.¡± She buries her face under an embarrassment of pillows, ¡°Be a good wife and kill me breakfast. I bet it tastes like bacon.¡± ¡°If you cook it, I¡¯ll kill it.¡± I start poking her until she responds. ¡°FINE! Just go stab it before I stab you!¡± Aww, she¡¯s so cute when she¡¯s sleepy. I go outside in my skivvies and my laser pistol to see what¡¯s making a racket, and it¡¯s two large furry monstrosities either fucking or fighting, I honestly can¡¯t tell. I dial up the pulse length on the pistol and am rewarded with the most foul smell ever to greet my nose. It¡¯s like someone tried to put out a trash fire with rotten meat that was caused by an oil covered peat bog littered with Sulphur. I go back to get my EVA suit so I can skin it and leave that smelly mess of fuzzy bullshit outside the shield. It smells one thousand percent better once I have it in pieces inside Katie¡¯s comfy house. ¡°KATIE! I provided! Get your ass out of bed!¡± Ten minutes later a put-together but very cross Vampire walks into the kitchen. ¡°I did not expect you to actually go kill us breakfast. I am aroused and angry that you have chosen to do so this early.¡± I order and assist a summon of eggs and veggies that Francesca has been growing and selling. ¡°These too please honey.¡± She narrows her eyes at me but nods anyway. Despite her reluctance, Katie is an excellent cook and makes us steak and eggs, with ordered juice and fruit. ¡°How is this meat spicy?¡± Katie asks. ¡°Did it smell spicy when you killed it? It would make an excellent hash. Hmm, maybe Frannie has potatoes.¡± I tell her she¡¯s welcome to go smell the pelts, but it¡¯s indescribably terrible. She doesn¡¯t believe me and goes to see for herself. She looks angry as hell when she gets back. I laugh the whole time we pack for Astoria. Grumpy and Broody Katie is still sexy. I¡¯m kind of ruined on her being scary though, so I¡¯m not a good judge. Katie had more work to do, so I took a survey of Atropos, finding that it did have a solid average aether reading, and it was marginally habitable--Katie let me put up a warehouse full of crystal chambers and a sophisticated cutting and grinding lab. The aether collector was placed a kilometer away so it wouldn¡¯t accidently collect aether from people. I had to pay extra to have the product pumped to the lab. I have to make my own imbuing equipment as it is not a common enough project and I sadly didn¡¯t bring my setup from Earth with me. I set up the place to start filling containers full of liquid aether until I come back. Andromeda, don¡¯t let me try to play with gallons of aether at a time. I will probably die. Moving those reservoirs underground and not letting me play with containers, check. I was responsible today! Katie come praise me! >K] You know I need lenses and small-scale batteries right? [< >P] Yes, hon. Put it on my Honey Do list please. [< >K] I will have that list full in ten minutes. [< >P] Just go ahead and forget putting yourself on that list unless you want pig¡¯s blood for a month. [< >K] Half full then. Tease. [< My fianc¨¦ certainly appreciates my body, but mostly for what keeps it running. At this point I miss it when she doesn¡¯t drink from me, so who am I to complain. I complain when I¡¯m dizzy; it¡¯s a safety thing. I love the attention, and the contact, but she might kill me from a thousand thirsty cuts. ¡°Tessa, start Mercy Outpost¡¯s habitat once we¡¯re in range, and alert Francesca that we¡¯re incoming. Send her 1k CE and 10k AE for station improvements. Thanks love.¡± I need the low-grav fab operation if we¡¯re building a drone swarm and I bet Katie has something else for me to work on in the month before Jembit Engineering gets here. Not that I mind the work, I actually love my Track and all the work I¡¯ve been doing on it. And lets be honest, when we finish a project, and Katie is proud of me? Gosh, I feel so special when she looks at me with pride. ¡°I would like to be dropped off at the ansible, I have improvements to make. Shall I come get you when I¡¯m finished?¡± Katie adds, including me in her afternoon. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna put a place up at the aether lake? Like the one you have outdoors at Bikini Atoll.¡± ¡°Why not at the pond?¡± Katie seems confused as to why I would not be closer to her. ¡°Because Mel decided asshole frogs and napalm cicadas needed to be a part of that ecosystem. That and the hull fragments in that lake make it a perfect re-charge while I¡¯m using a lot of aether.¡± Katie looks uncertain as to what to say or do, so I guess at her issue and make a request. ¡°When you organize a work station for yourself, maybe set a place for me too? I¡¯ll do the same yah?¡± She nods and her eyes mist up as she gives me a hug. Ask her though, and it never happened. B2 Ch 30: Community Project. The weeks fly by, switching between the ansible workshop, my loft, and re-charge lake as situations permit. Katie is exceptionally tolerant of my need to work inside the lake itself after a long day of enchanting. For the exchange, I allow Katie to plan most of my days until Jembit arrives and she proves a grueling taskmistress. The day arrives and Atropos alerts us that a large, 5km vessel warps into the system at a standard 100k kilometers from Astoria. ->>]Hail Jembit Engineering, this is Astoria. Do you require assistance or supplies?[<<-- ->>] Astoria! We come bearing gifts! And ordered parts of course.[<<- ->>] Will you be coming planetside, or do you wish a meeting aboard your ship? [<<- ->>] We see a low-gravity construction facility on your moon?[<<- ->>] Copy, Jembit. Rendevous 2 hours?[<<- ->>] Agreeable. [<<- I tell Katie and since she wishes to tag along on the assembly operation, she¡¯s excited about the meeting. When we get up to Mercy, I upgrade the Habitation units to manifestors, so that I don¡¯t have to re-supply the place so damned often, if ever. Katie approves the change and I know Beecham would appreciate it. Andromeda, I am spending so much on infrastructure without a populous for it to support. Save this ansible installation. This will serve billions if not more. A lumpy but functional shuttle lowers itself into our deep cavernous hanger. When the bay doors close, a veritable explosion of atmosphere emerges in the space. I pop my helmet when it is safe, and minutes later, after a tricorder-like device emerges, so does the Jembit ambassador. The helmet reveals a bipedal Capybara-like being with an extra set of appendages. Damn, these fuckers must be gizmo wizards with those extra hands. ¡°Greetings Jembit representative, I am Empress Astoria. It¡¯s a pleasure to work with you.¡± The large rodent taps its fist to its chin, ¡°An honor, Empress. I am Chiddy of the Febbles. I am the expendable mouth of the Jembit and I wish us a favorable work experience.¡± Oh, did they provide expendable fodder should I be angry? Interesting that they would risk offending me with intentionally feeble representatives. ¡°Chiddy, please. While host, I have also been hired as an enchanter and an engraver. Call me Artisan Astoria if you must. We are under contract after all.¡± ¡°It is well artisan. Our Chief Engineer requires an in-person engraving onboard the Jembit Vessel 47 if you are currently available.¡± ¡°A reasonable offer. My trade and contract officer wishes to be present, is this agreeable?¡± They look at Katie with fear and apprehension. ¡°She is restricted from all predator activities while onboard. Is this agreeable?¡± ¡°It is Chiddy, my thirst is also for knowledge.¡± Katie states, her aura of authority causing the Jembit to tremble a bit. In the end, Chiddy lets her board the shuttle after scanning the both of us for weapons. He scans my toolkit and sees some improvised tools, but lets it go after seeing my welding laser and cutting torch. The Jembit ship is simply massive. The fabrication bay they drop us in is the size of my hangar on Mercy, but far more full of tools and work stations. There¡¯s a damned forge down the hall and a conveyor system. I might be taking notes. Katie might be rolling her eyes at me while doing the same. A larger, scarred version of the Capybara that I met before walks down the bay with a smile in his sneer. His aura seems male, so sue me. ¡°Empress, I am Captain Roshmee. I have six Alaris months to complete this work and I need your enchanter to meet that timeline. Please present your enchanter and engraver.¡± I wait a moment to make sure he was serious, and then I raise my toolkit¡ªaka my hand¡ªand say: ¡°Yah, that¡¯s me captain. My assistant requires a review of our prospective tasks and the overall schedule of the assembly.¡± While the captain did care for our demands he capitulated and connected Katie with their project overseer. I¡¯m sure Katie¡¯s trying to ping their systems too, making a proper menace of herself. ¡°So what would you like me to demonstrate? I have some of my work with me and a half-finished engraving of the same kind.¡± ¡°Both perhaps? I would see you work for a time on the half finished engraving.¡± He seems to be making an attempt at politeness. For a gruff pirate. I give him a thumbs up and walk toward one of their work stations with a wide, short, stool while grabbing some things in my purse of holding. Put a and the proto-sundering rod on the table and start morphing my pointer finger into an engraving tool. It¡¯s weird to feel my finger vibrate like that, but the control it affords me is legendary. I work for about a half an hour before the Captain is satisfied with my ¡°proof¡± he must have had questions about the newness of humans in the System and a worker that can produce work that should normally take a decade. Andromeda gave me cheat codes and I use them to make sticks to reduce asteroids to mini-dice. ¡°Your work is of an acceptable standard. Will you need accommodations onboard?¡± ¡°It would be appreciated to have a place to rest when we cannot make it home. Would you prefer us to dock outboard or for us to land inboard?¡± ¡°If you intend to use your shuttle often, outboard is preferred.¡± I nod at the Captain and he sicks his steward on us, getting our berthing preferences and dietary requirements and asking about weapons on the shuttle and our person. The schedule we were handed says we start work in 3 days outside of my Neptune-sized gas giant, but I have a completely different schedule that tells me when I owe components that have to be enchanted and engraved. Luckily the symbols for what they want are included in the schematics, or I¡¯d be screwed. Yeah, I can do this work but I think that Katie is going to be bored off her ass. I ask the steward if I could collect some of the parts to be engraved, well, the portable ones anyway, there are some large pieces on the parts list that aren¡¯t exactly gravity friendly. He wholeheartedly approves of setting the crew ahead of schedule so he checks me out the first fifteen portable items and then loads them up on the shuttle that would take us back to Mercy. Once we¡¯re unloaded, the Jembit crew chittered their goodbyes and left back to Ship 47. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Are you coming to the Loft, or are you staying up here?¡± Katie asks. ¡°Loft, absolutely. That is my happy place. Nearly a workshop for every project in my head? Yes please.¡± I hook a finger into her belt loops and pull her in and just put my hands on her. ¡°Are you getting tired of me?¡± ¡°Not in the least. I am just accustomed to you Isolating on Astoria while you are working.¡± ¡°Think less about then and think about the last month of us working on our Atoll. How far was I from you while I was working?¡± I reach down and anchor my thumbs on her hip bones and squeeze a little. I get the smirk I am looking for. ¡°Not far.¡± She pulls gently on the bottom of my hair, tilting my head up for a kiss. Its as polite a kiss as we¡¯ve had lately, and it feels so comfortable I ache for weeks in jammies with my fianc¨¦e just lazing about with personal projects and touches. ¡°I would like to keep doing that as applicable. It¡¯s, I don¡¯t know. I just love it. But I do understand if you have things to do that don¡¯t support me hanging onto you like a parasite.¡± She bites my lip in admonishment. ¡°While I do have things I would prefer to do in my Ansible work room, I have never barred you from the space, you just never chose to visit.¡± Okay, that makes me feel bad. Her tone opens up into an intense sadness of having watched me and felt distant. It was back when Melissa was the only person I was seeing, so I understand, but I also didn¡¯t think she still loved me at the time. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I didn¡¯t feel comfortable at the time, okay?¡± I pinch her butt and it startles her out of a very intense stare. ¡°Plus I thought you were still elbow deep in Francesca at the time.¡± ¡°The hell? She¡¯s not a mare birthing a foal, Penny. Let¡¯s get these parts to your loft so you can stop being ridiculous.¡± I chuckle at that. I was just joking before, but her straight delivery has me imagining her reaching into Francesca with a clinical disinterest looking to turn a baby or some shit. Kay sighs dramatically as I bust out in laughter. I drop Katie off at our ansible and proceed to the lab building to deposit my parts. I bring them down to my actual workshop and just . . . begin. Katie ends up pinging me for dinner before I realized any time passed. I get so damned hyper-focused sometimes. I come up to the Loft and see Francesca at the sink washing vegetables and Katie pulling something that smells like port out of the oven. ¡°Anything I can do?¡± ¡°Oh hey Penny.¡± Francesca says, turning toward me for a moment before tending to the vegetables again. ¡°Wash up and set the table, please.¡± Kay replies. I search practically every drawer and cupboard to find what I need, having used the kitchen so little even when I lived here. We have cloth napkins apparently and it seems to be an up-scale type of dinner, so I order up a trio of wine glasses and a selection of wines. I don¡¯t want it to look like we¡¯re trying to seduce the Botanist, so I leave the candles out of the equation. Katie plates three beautiful meals with what looks like an herbaceous mash with a sauce adorned breast filet and some spring vegetables. ¡°Wow, ladies, this looks amazing! And thanks for the ping, I would have been sad to miss this.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Katie says, ¡°thanks for the wine. Were you at least productive in Penny¡¯s fortress of solitude?¡± ¡°Heh, not wrong. But yes, I was. I don¡¯t really understand the scheduling though. I¡¯m progressing much faster than scheduled and I¡¯m barely qualified to do the work. It¡¯s gotta be something with my ink production and the way I form tools.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll be able to squeeze in some battery production for my satellites?¡± I should know better than to tell her that I have more time to work, but it¡¯s for her, so I don¡¯t really mind. ¡°Yes dear. We talking trickle discharge, low-current on demand, or performance on demand?¡± ¡°I would like a few pairs like your laser pistol, but larger storage; and as many hand-sized long-life crystals for a new data network.¡± I can see that her eyes drift off of me in a clear sign she¡¯s looking at her hud. ¡°Sorry about that Francesca, how has your solo colony mission been? And thanks for the food, by the way.¡± I hold up a purple leafy thing at the end of my fork appreciating the newness of it before stuffing it in my face. Oooh, peppery! ¡°My agricultural project is now a full farm. I¡¯ve made enough money on eggs and chickens to start automating the food stuffs and feeding, but with this influx you sent me, I should be able to prep more land and start on a wine project.¡± ¡°Oh, yes please. Send Katie a proposal and we¡¯ll see about a subsidy until the first bottles are ready? Oh! I should also ask if you want Your Station to stay low-key, or if you¡¯re okay with it being a city.¡± ¡°Now that I¡¯ve lived here for so long, I¡¯d prefer if it stayed a farming burg?¡± She looks guilty asking for that, but it is why I asked. ¡°Okay, cool. Then I will need everyone¡¯s assistance in planning a city.¡± I hear a small squeak of a chair moving and before I can look I¡¯m being picked up and hugged. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know you liked city planning this much.¡± Francesca coughs from across the table, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we have ships first?¡± ¡°Beecham¡¯s working on finding a crew and wands to head our ship building himself. Besides that, we only have room for like 100 people. I figure we build some high-density housing near the Capital and then give people the ability to decide what they want to do when they get here.¡± Katie pulls her head back to look at me in the eyes, ¡°No. I will not have ramshackle planning. There will be districts and zones and well-laid out thoroughfares and utilities. And a palace.¡± ¡°No palaces Katie. Big veto on that one.¡± ¡°A ruler needs a place to rule from. You¡¯re getting a Captitol Manor of some kind.¡± I groan at that. ¡°Fine. I trust your judgement. I expect your ¡®ideas¡¯ for our city to come in under a million. Credits.¡± Then Katie fully creeps me out with the largest smile I have ever seen on her face. ¡°We are going to wed on the steps of the Estate I will build for us.¡± She lets me go and wanders off, eyes already planning in her HUD. ¡°Did she just threaten to marry you?¡± Francesca, stammers with uncertainty. ¡°Sounded like it didn¡¯t it? I think she¡¯s just overstimulated thinking about the pile of money I handed her and the amount of experience the Matrix is going to hand her when she finishes.¡± ¡°Ah, that makes sense, she really enjoys the system and the advancement. How are you doing with all of this? Earth seems to have stressed you out.¡± I deflate as if she threw a dart at a birthday balloon. ¡°Yeah, there were a lot of people trying to beg or bully for more that the Matrix gave them. I didn¡¯t tell them that I set their parameters up, but they got 7.3 billion credits spread out over 137 countries. If they burn through tens of millions of credits in six months, another five thousand won¡¯t fix anything.¡± ¡°Interesting to know where the money you gave me was from, but I was more interested in why Melissa isn¡¯t with you.¡± Fuck. I don¡¯t want to talk about this, but who else am I going to tell to get this off my chest? ¡°Ugh, you got any of that shine? I¡¯m gonna need something stiffer than wine for this conversation.¡± She stands up, gets to small glasses from the cupboard and a flask out of her pocket to fill them. I drink about half and let the clean burn slide down my throat. ¡°Oh wow, this is much cleaner than last year. This tastes like a good vodka.¡± ¡°Yes, I built a more professional setup. I have some bourbon in barrels right now that you¡¯ll probably like in a few years.¡± She stops to take a sip. ¡°Consider it purchased! I do love a bourbon.¡± I shoot the other half and slide the glass back to her. She mild surprise infuses her face as she pours me some more. ¡°So I don¡¯t think it really hit Melissa that we¡¯d actually get back to Earth until she saw her parents.¡± ¡°Back before she started making out with Katie, Melissa seemed to be ¡®all in¡¯ on us being together and even talked about starting a family here. As the parts started coming together for our return home she seemed more uncertain, and I just thought that it was tension with Katie. Things seemed to get a little better for a while on Earth when Katie and Mel started to get along really well. Part of me thinks that¡¯s true, and another part thinks that she was playing a part until she could tell me that her parent¡¯s disapproval and my disregard for my own family, are deal breakers. She moved back in with her parents a month before we left. Now that she can go back to the life she wanted before we got stranded, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s room for me with her anymore.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, if I had a lifetime of arguing with my parents ahead of me and had to look at how well you and Katie fit together, I¡¯d have my doubts too. One of those is doable, but facing both of those and the pressures of being part of a new government? That¡¯s a lot of stress Penny.¡± I thought I had been doing alright about not pressuring Melissa about anything, but I guess I wasn¡¯t very reassuring about her insecurities about the throuple thing after Katie said that she would never develop the same feelings for her as she had for me, despite them growing closer in the more recent months. It is also hard for me to reconcile how intolerant she was of my non-sexual behavior toward the both of them after telling me they¡¯ve been making out for a while. Not that I was an attentive girlfriend on the best of days. Ugh, this isn¡¯t productive. I¡¯ll make an effort to pay more attention and change the things I can. B2 Ch 31: Glossing over Tedium The Jembit crew are a bunch of no-nonsense characters. I rarely see anyone socializing outside of break time, and sustenance breaks are short and mechanical affairs with little food diversity. I opted for ordering my own food most days using magic, or bring out a care package from Katie when she remembers to take a break. Otherwise, it¡¯s work, shuttle, sleep, repeat. Katie observed their processes and found that their aether integration was not all that impressive or in-depth with respect to what she saw with the ansibles and the V¡¯tek ship. I told her it was likely that a warning comes up when dealing with us about tier 3 destructive capability for a new and untested race, so they sent a ship they could lose. She scoffs, but begrudgingly accepts the wisdom in that, but that it doesn¡¯t help her advance. She bailed after three weeks to work on a data network and defense system. She borrows the shuttle for days at a time, so I see her only sporadically now. The work has been exhausting. I¡¯m out in my EVA suit, for as long as I can be for weeks climbing around in the small planetoid engraving and enchanting whatever the foreman points me toward. After four months of this I have done thousands of each type and have had to be on a constant mana-replacement diet. It comes out of my pay, but the money is not why I¡¯m here. I¡¯ve learned dozens of runeshapes and dozens more component runes. Though primarily construction and electronics based, I can think of tons of experiments I would like to try with variations on a magnetic field runeshape, and some shapes that deal with the habitat creators that I can use to create oxygen instead of the Helium shapes they use in the spellforms that monitor pressure in case of leak or intrusion. The enchanting work is less interesting, making the best materials better, like making gold more conducive, or platinum a better catalyst. I still get a sizable chunk of experience for performing so damned many enchantments. If you had checked the full description of this massive satellite when you bought it, it counts as a Service to the Matrix and comes with additional benefits. Some for the folks that participated and some for the group that built it. Were the benefits listed too? If so, it seems that people could grasp for power by building public works for nefarious reasons. The Matrix does not provide specific examples, but that is the reason the benefits are listed as ¡°variable, based on involvement¡±. Much the same reason people aren¡¯t rewarded as much for scouring the galaxies for new sentients to force the Matrix on as you did for inducting your species as their Primus. You seem awfully forthcoming about this information when you are usually so tight-minded. I take it your censure has eased up a little because of our progress on this and our T-3 access? Moreso the project being near completion if I was forced to guess. You got tier 3 access nearly a year ago with your ¡®oops¡¯ and information was tightly controlled for a period after that. It¡¯s both heartwarming and creepy that a multi-galaxy spanning intelligence gets that involved with the day to day. And you¡¯re constructing a new section of its brain in your backyard. I¡¯ll be sure to put in a good word when they awaken in this sector. Ha ha Tessa. We already know they like me. I hope so anyway. I would stop to think if there¡¯s emotions wrapped up in the Matrix¡¯s code, but it¡¯s enforcing a type of morality by not rewarding aggressive assimilation of resistant species. Some how, I feel encouraged by that type of herding: Here¡¯s a cookie, but that is the direction I¡¯d rather you take. I could also argue that the Matrix rewards more for being a productive member of society, with the job or vocation tracks and how it rewards less for just killing beasts (unless they are mutated aether beasts). Jembit¡¯s duty Foreman knocks me out of my reverie with a soft thud to my helmet, telling me the shuttle to ship 47 is about to leave. They come and go every six hours for the work rotation, but apparently they keep track of how long I¡¯ve been out here. I could use a six hour break. When the shuttle makes it back, I find that I¡¯ve been asked to attend a meeting. Ugh. ¡°Artisan Astoria, how are you keeping up?¡± Chiddy greets me. ¡°Did you get nominated as the expendable mouth again?¡± I ask him. ¡°Yes, it is my job until my apprenticeship is over. However, the Captain would like to discuss a desired renumeration for being significantly ahead of schedule.¡± He worries his hands through his short beard, trying to keep eye contact and failing. ¡°I see. And how ahead of schedule are we?¡± I say in a steady, even tone. ¡°It¡¯s projected to be about a month ahead?¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. That¡¯s like two weeks from now. Damn, that is much faster than projected. ¡°That is a questionable error in assessment. Why was the project so much faster than expected?¡± my tone is much less favorable, and the poor Capybara winces. ¡°The Captain challenged the crew to keep your pace when you started getting ahead. Now the Foremen are seeking a prize for that challenge.¡± ¡°How much did the Captain promise his crew?¡± I ask. ¡°He is asking for another five thousand CE.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you how much the Captain wanted, I asked what he promised the crew.¡± I grumble at the man, the Captain¡¯s greed making me irritable. ¡°I¡¯m not sure?¡± ¡°Okay, then if the Captain wishes to discuss further renumeration from the Empire, then he must meet with me or my Consul of Finance. If he declines, the contract stands as is.¡± He nods furiously and scampers off. >P] Kay, what would be a fair reward for finishing this project early?[< >K] No provision for it in their contract. Sloppy. A month¡¯s wages would be fair, but it would also be a different number for each role on the ship, and maybe some worked harder than others, it¡¯s hard to tell. That¡¯s why many corporations do quota bonuses or flat bonuses.[< >P] Everything okay planet side? I haven¡¯t really heard about your projects lately. [< >K] Because I¡¯m hiding one from you. I¡¯ll be upset if you go looking for it. Otherwise, we talked about the data network. I can¡¯t make the linking enchanted parts, and I want some charged corundum with those replenishing runes you make.[< >P]Ok. We can load up the shuttle with parts and I can work on them in my down time. Maybe . . .[< >K] Getting messaged by the Jembit. Call you back.[< Oof. Sucks for them. I feel she was the least lucrative option for them in this case. The interaction with Chiddy has left a bad taste in my mouth. I¡¯m going to go home, order dinner, and maybe bug Francesca to see if she wants to join us. The shuttle ride is thankfully short as I can warp right above Summer Station and descend for a few minutes. I park on the rooftop and quick-change into a tank and sweat-shorts and start browsing my dinner options while listening to Tessa reads out my enchanting and engraving supplies, displaying them on the projector instead of my HUD. I order the closest approximation to a swordfish steak that the system has, a rice-like grain and ask Francesca if she wants to eat with us. Katie had told her earlier that we had plans tonight, so I should talk to her. Okies. I thank her for the news and order some veggies for pickup. After making a point to hide my teleportation skill, it feels good to blip about the Station, like my brain having a yawn. Francesca is surprised to see me, but saw the order and was putting it together. ¡°Thanks Francesca, I figured that would be the easiest way to get these? Gives you a better history on the exchange and all that.¡± She chuckles, ¡°You really don¡¯t do people that well do you? You could have just come over and chatted and I¡¯ve have been happy to give them to you.¡± I blush in embarrassment, ¡°Yeah, I dunno. Like, we could be friends, but with the used to be rivals thing I¡¯m feeling weird about it?¡± She laughs again, ¡°Acting weird too. Listen, before you were in a position to influence my future on multiple fronts and I had no idea who you were besides defiant and confident. Now, sure you could kick me out or tell me what to grow. In fact, you did demand I take up animal husbandry, but I know you¡¯re going to treat it like an offer instead of a demand. Letting me decide whether to accept a ton of people or not was a big deal to me, so now I trust you not to bully me around.¡± She shrugs and then pops a candy-sized cube in her mouth. I¡¯m not accustomed to thinking from other people¡¯s perspectives, but I can understand them to some degree. I understand uncertainty and the anxiety and anger that comes from not having control of your own life. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t mean to be offensive. I do really like the idea of you being a major part of our community, and I¡¯m also sorry I left you alone on a planet by yourself.¡± ¡°Heh, I called Katie and a few of the boys while I was here. Most of them are damned cross with you, but mostly for ditching them on that Navy ship.¡± She smirks at that. Respect? Amusement? Prelude to payback? Who knows, but I don¡¯t want to interrogate her about private messages. ¡°Not going to lie. That satisfied a revenge itch. Seems like Katie¡¯s call is over, so I¡¯ll see you later. Thanks for the veggies.¡± She smiles and shakes her head as I walk out of her farm house and laboratory. I really don¡¯t get people all that well. Why did she smirk at the end? Why did the Captain try to ask for a ridiculous sum of credits? Why can¡¯t Melissa¡¯s parents just not be assholes? ¡°Don¡¯t think to hard on it Pen, it¡¯s okay that you don¡¯t people good.¡± ¡°Perhaps, but butchering language on purpose is still questionable.¡± Katie¡¯s voice says from a doorway in front of me. ¡°Yeah, probably not going to stop doing it either. How¡¯d the meeting go?¡± I walk up and lift one of her arms up and slide under it for a hug. She chuckles silently, my head jostling on her shoulder. ¡°If I ever thought to question if you missed me. How long did it take for you to touch me would answer it.¡± She runs a hand through my hair and I squeeze her in appreciation. ¡°The meeting went well enough, for us. We¡¯re paying out between 10 and 15 thousand AE per worker for finishing a month or more early.¡± ¡°That¡¯s less that what I would have offered him. What¡¯s the catch?¡± She looks down at me as though I were a talking frog. ¡°No catch, I just threatened his wallet. He tried to barter back with transport fees back to the nearest transport node, a thousand CE fee for a ship that large he claimed, and I replied that if he insulted me again we¡¯d pay the contract out as written with no prospects of building the orbital in Moiriax and the pleasure of dealing with me upset as he negotiates a mining permit.¡± I sigh in contentment, ¡°I¡¯m glad you could deal with that. Thanks Kay. At this rate, I¡¯m going to take you to all of my negotiations so that they start out on the back foot.¡± ¡°No need to be cruel, Penny, they¡¯re just trying to make some credits.¡± I smile and tiptoe up for a smooch. ¡°I have dinner still warm in the oven if you want to eat.¡± Her grin starts growing wider, ¡°You should teleport us home, little pixie, while you still can.¡± Her voice is sultry and she licks the point of her sexy ass canines, causing me to shiver in my mind and quake in my abdomen. I guess the thirty aether I spent on dinner can wait. It was half wine anyway. B2 Ch 32: Oh F*ck I waited around for most of my final hours on the project. I¡¯d stay in the maintenance bay working on personal projects until a foreman tapped me on the shoulder and transported me to a part they just installed and a whole system I¡¯d need to enchant. I could think of a few ways to install them differently, but this is what the plans call for, so I don¡¯t work for half a day, then work for half a day, always on call. I got a lot done for Katie though, and I look forward to her praises. I don¡¯t hear another word from the Captain or Chiddy during my stay, but at the end of the two weeks, a foreman that I worked with regularly came to talk to me. ¡°Artisan, we have performed the work and the collectors are online and working, but the aether to bring the Host online will not be available for a few days. If you had purchased the extra power sources, we could have attached them to the auxiliary conduits, but that was not on the parts list.¡± Oh? Auxiliary power, eh? ¡°If I had an alternative power source, would your guys help me install it?¡± ¡°If it does not impact our finishing a month early, I don¡¯t see why not.¡± Never seen a rodent shrug before. The fur bunches strangely. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be back tomorrow afternoon.¡± I dash off to the shuttle and waste no time priming my warp rings while putting distance between me and Ship 47. Too bad I don¡¯t have the rig set up on Atropos the moon for growing crystals. I¡¯ll just have to settle on what¡¯s growing in the loft¡¯s lab right now. I get to the loft and Katie¡¯s in the lounge with only shorts and a tablet on as I rush in to kiss her and whistle at her appreciatively before running downstairs. I have been drawing crystal since I returned, one is just shy of four feet, two at three ish, and two other smaller crystals. If I was in my dream farm, it¡¯d be a dozen ship-sized rigs. I pull the largest gem and start grinding faces for runes and ask Katie if she has three crystal harnesses lying around. I¡¯m busy grinding and buffing as Katie descends the stairs, having added slippers to her wardrobe, to press some buttons on three of the four fabricators. She wraps her arm around my middle, kisses my cheek and ruffles my hair a little before parking in a chair in the ¡°safe¡± area of the lab. The three gems take all afternoon and a bit of evening to prep for the charging apparatus, but a bottle of aether ink and a bathtub full of juice starts the process. ¡°So now that I¡¯ve printed the harnesses, what are you using those crystals for?¡± ¡°The Sector Host needs to collect enough energy to sustain itself. There are extra conduits for auxiliary power, so I figured I¡¯d rig my biggest batteries to support it.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t one of those supposed to be for me?¡± Katie asks sternly. Oh shit, she¡¯s right. ¡°Ugh, besides the big one, what would you like?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the two that are as long as my forearm. Please make them heat tolerant.¡± She grabs the back of my hair lightly, as though she¡¯s going for a nice long kiss, but stops short and locks her eyes with mine. ¡°I know you like staying busy, Penny; but you should never forget your promises to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry baby, I . . .¡± She head-butts me lightly, ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, just don¡¯t do it.¡± She kisses me softly, ¡°I love you Penny, but I have to be a priority sometimes.¡± ¡°I . . . can do better?¡± I ask, pitifully. ¡°Yes, you can.¡± Her stern reply makes me feel like I forgot to pick up the kids from soccer practice. Not having kids, or having done team sports, that is an odd feeling for me. It feels like a reminder that the gestures that I¡¯m used to giving aren¡¯t fixing the problem. She needs consistent support. Or maybe, it¡¯s a reminder that when this job is done, that she should be a regular feature on my itinerary. I think that one¡¯s on point. Don¡¯t fall into old habits where I¡¯m gone for projects for weeks at a time. I order a wine and charcuterie board for dinner upstairs and finish hooking up the charging analysis cables to the tub so that it can alarm me if the solution gets too low for charging. I head up stairs to find that Katie has already started on the food. I walk by and squeeze her shoulder on the way to the shower and set it to POWER to rinse my suit, then dial it down and start tossing clothing out of the area. I¡¯m mid putting conditioner in my hair when I feel hands on my hips and a nibble on my shoulder. ¡°I was trying to eat, Pixie.¡± I grin and continue with my hair. ¡°So? Don¡¯t let your Pixie interrupt your meal.¡± She growls and bites my shoulder for real ¡°Mmm, tasty Pixie.¡± She murmurs while sliding her open palm up my body, just to stop at my chin and pull my head aside for batter access. ¡°Not too much, love, I worked a lot yesterday.¡± A drone from her desk comes over with a piece of galaxy fruit and hands it to me. I eat it eagerly and feel a session of euphoria before Katie gives me another. Two hours later I slink away from the bedroom area for a glass of water and to go check on the charging operation. The solution is low, so I make some more, grab a second glass of water and return to my bed-mate handing her the other glass. ¡°How do they look?¡± Katie, ever the data-vore. ¡°Your gems will be finished in a few hours. The large one may not be full when I pull it out.¡± Katie doesn¡¯t reply, but pulls me into a spoon situation where she tangles a leg between mine and flops an arm over me to pull me close. ¡°Discussions are better this way.¡± She breathes into my hair. ¡°I slightly resent the creature you are helping the system turn me into. This creature is needy and hungry, much of which is for you.¡± ¡°I do love the new snuggle hungry Katie. But I guess that means I need to be around more for both of us.¡± She nods into my hair. ¡°I think I¡¯m losing myself in you again.¡± Katie confesses. Only a little fear leaks in from my memories as I realize, ¡°I may not be losing myself, but certainly my independence. I need you for my state of being more than I need to eat. And you know how much I like to eat.¡± Her chest shakes my back as she laughs. She hugs me too, realizing ¡°you would eat regardless. You love food too much to stop eating, even if you didn¡¯t need it.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yeah, which makes you a pretty big deal.¡± I hug her arm, feeling the tug of sleep in her embrace. ¡°I don¡¯t know a better time to bring this up, but when we go back to Earth, for a time I will need other partners, Penny, but I will still want your attention. I feel this is why Melissa started to fade. In trying to treat us equally, you neglected us with the same metric.¡± ¡°Then you should know, that I absolutely hate the idea of you with other women, heck other people in general. But I know that I can¡¯t keep up with you in an aether-starved environment. It would literally kill me to try. And while this will make me sad, that I can¡¯t fulfill you, I understand.¡± The tears come so fast I can¡¯t restrain them. The chest-deep sobbing comes after. ¡°I am so afraid of losing you Katie.¡± I roll around to embrace her in attempt to hug her so hard that the moment itself was fixed in place. ¡°It might be impossible for you to be rid of me completely, Penny. But, if this is something I¡¯ll need to do long term, I might want to cultivate one or two other partners. Hunting takes a lot of time I¡¯d rather spend with you.¡± I scowl into her chest, I bite her boob unkindly to tell her how I feel about it. She moans anyway. Masochistic sex magnet. ¡°Beh, timid okay, but absolutely never in our bed.¡± She repositions to stare at me, but I am firm on this, ¡°Unless you can find a partner I jive with, the answer is still no. You have a moon mansion. There are guest rooms in every residence in our systems, you can bang your concubines in a different bed!¡± Katie looks a little shocked, but for a different reason than expected, ¡°You would be interested in another wife?¡± ¡°What?! That¡¯s what you take from that?¡± ¡°Yes! I have projects too Penny! I want to work as much as you do, but my body needs aether, sex and your fucking blood. If I can get all my energy from one encounter, I can get so much more work done when I don¡¯t have to schedule two multi-hour escapades a day!¡± I sneer at that, I understand, but it¡¯s still distasteful. ¡°Fine. If you think we¡¯ll get along, I¡¯ll meet your other partners. Not in our bed still stands though.¡± Katie starts moving her hands down, but stops short. ¡°I will have you know, that engaging my negotiating side is dangerous while naked.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m not afraid to make an Empress decree should you try it.¡± ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re no fun.¡± And then she tickles me mercilessly until I have to teleport out of her spider-like death grip. I summon a spray bottle of water in my hand and sprits it into her face. ¡°Bad Katie Kat. Bad kitty.¡± ¡°You pixie shit, come here.¡± She uses those long legs and enhanced strength to close the distance fast and I shriek in delight as the chase is on. I retreat to the shuttle and take off when Katie jumps aboard before the elevator closes. Her grin is a predator¡¯s every bit as vicious as the aether-warped tiger from more than a year ago. ¡°Katie, we¡¯re in a ship. Don¡¯t do anything crazy.¡± ¡°I have plans for you, so no promises.¡± She pounces on me in a way that makes me giggle, and quickly to moan as she holds me close and pulls my hair back. ¡°Baby, don¡¯t stop.¡± She does, out of spite, biting my ear hard enough to pierce it. The pain feels like pleasure now, so I lean into it, purring. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who can punish, Penny. But I¡¯m glad you can accept my needs.¡± She pulls me around for a kiss, a deep, knowing kiss that would have left me spinning by itself, but with the hot and cold and terror treatment, my head can barely stay attached. ¡°You¡¯ve,¡± I gasp as she licks my neck, ¡°been tolerant of my habits, only f-fair.¡± I want her to, but the prudent part of my body, my symbiote most likely, reminds me I am perilously low on aether after her last meal. I reach up and push at her shoulders gently, ¡°I can¡¯t Kay, I¡¯m too low for you to snack again.¡± And for the first time, in maybe ever, Katie pouts. ¡°My memory knows, but you smell so good.¡± ¡°Maybe you just need a distraction.¡± *** In the morning, I smash a slice of Galaxy fruit in my face between sips of coffee just to get me thinking straight. Well, get my thoughts in order anyway. I¡¯m about as straight as a crankshaft. The gems I¡¯d set to charge underperformed a little, but it should be enough to jump start the Sector Host¡¯s systems. I give Katie her two-footers and the parts she wanted me to engrave and enchant and kiss her goodbye for the day. I¡¯ve been leaving the shuttle parked outside lately so I don¡¯t have to fiddle with taking my gloves on and off. /Ship 47, this is Indulgence, I intend to dock with the Sector Host for power source delivery and insertion. Could I be connected to the duty foreman?/ /Indulgence, we¡¯ll tell the duty foreman to expect you/ I anchor to the mechanical moon and use suit thrusters to transport the crate that I brought. Two workers fly up to meet me to help slow me down and direct me to the area where the power supplies are to be installed. ¡°We just finished installing a breaker box so we can hook your power sources up, lets see what you got.¡± The foreman asks. ¡°Does this line connect to a control panel that can alter the flow to and from the power sources?¡± I unpack the harnesses and the mounts for the gems while his workers look at them oddly. ¡°Sure does. We had rigged it to be a dead area on the panel, but the boys had it undone before you arrived. So what are we working with?¡± ¡°We have two wiring harnesses and two mounting rings per gem. I would like the two smaller gems hooked up in parallel to each other and in series with the larger gem. That¡¯s if the power ratings of those cables are according to specifications.¡± ¡°Unorthodox energy storage. Those harnesses convert the aether to electricity?¡± ¡°Not exactly. The way it was explained to me is that the aether rides the system to charge what it needs to. My Magitechnicians came up with it. I just make the aether stuff.¡± ¡°When you get the time, you should look at how the collectors store and transmit Aether energy and see if you like their method or yours better¡± I ping him in agreement as I watch his men figure out how the pieces fit together. I wait a few minutes before I start helping them sus out the assemblage. When everything looks good and mounted and connected, I tell them all to stand back in case a gem fails. I push the button on the relay to connect the storage system and it automatically connects at the lowest demand and scales it up to system demand.
//INITIAL CONDITIONS MET FOR HOST UPLOAD. VACATE INTERNALS OF SECTOR HOST PRIOR TO INITIALIZATION//
//INITIALIZATION COUNTDOWN F.FF ASTORIA STANDARD MINUTES//
¡°That¡¯s our cue Foreman. Pleasure doing business with you all.¡± I hand over two bottles of Summer Shine in thanks and send the crew their bonuses on my way out. The five million or so hit to the Aether currency of the Empire is but a drop in the bucket, but since I¡¯d only have a quarter million to my name without the Empire¡¯s share, it still feels like a ton of money. The countdown is a constant rolling clock at the bottom of my HUD, and once it hits five minutes, I start paying attention to the now more luminous structure in front of me. From here it looks like a fat rosebud with leaf-like coverings curling toward the gas giant, Astoria-3. Can we recommend a change in lighting scheme? I¡¯ll bring it up with the host later. Astorian colors preferred. Tessa chuckles in my mind and mumbles about priorities. The bud section twists slightly and begins to open, the ends lighting up in a spiral pattern toward a quickly spinning, glowing core. The leaves start to counter rotate and blur slightly in pulses, as though they were quaking. The quake makes a glow from the petals shutter into space. As the pulses ramp up frequency I feel a tingle deep within my brain, an area I know I¡¯m not supposed to feel. ¡°Tessa, hook me up to every data bank we have, and push as hard with aether and our bracelet to keep the bandwidth as wide as it will go!¡± YOU SHOULD LOOK AWAY. RIGHT. NOW. I try, but I can¡¯t. My skills want to be useful. My mind has always been curious despite the danger. So now, I¡¯m frozen in awe at the strange shuddering flower the size of a city. I feel the shuttle begin to draw me up on the elevator and turn away. We weren¡¯t fast enough, was my last though before a non-descript sphere shudders into existence and a flood of data crashes over my consciousness. B2 Ch 33: Out of Body, Out of Mind. I wake to a horizon that looks like an altimeter on a jet fighter. Field of black above, field of white below, no features save the horizon line. I look around and see no features whatsoever. I can feel that my feet are touching the white side, but it¡¯s all bottom lit so it¡¯s a dizzying view. ¡°Our apologies, matter-based life form. Allow us to populate your view.¡± And a ripple out from me erupted my favorite lake in silvers and pinks with a slightly purple sky. ¡°Thanks, that was disorienting. So, I guess by how you addressed me, you are energy or aether beings.¡± ¡°An accurate deduction. We remain the custodians of the Matrix and have chosen to talk to you while your consciousness was receptive.¡± I can guess that someone has me immersed in an aether-rich fluid after almost dying while my brain meat recovers from shock. Humanity has always suspected that the closer we are to death the more receptive we are to the whispers of the Universe. Aether beings seem to be doing the whispering right now. ¡°One of the skills you selected was an adaptive skill that has gained you many advances, but in this instance has given you possible insight into a protected set of knowledge. Since you will likely recover from this accident of circumstance, there is knowledge that was given to you, and much more that was . . . shunted to electronic storage systems. ¡°The knowledge stored within your person will be retained, but the auxiliary storage surrounding your planet will have the shunted data nullified. In addition, your Aether Insight skill will be changed to what has been discussed as the intended use of the skill which is creating an aether-based corollary of a technology item you understand completely. ¡°As the circumstance has been judged a no-fault breach of protected knowledge, the Matrix believes you are owed renumeration for the secrets we have kept you from. However, this comes with the condition that you never speak of what you saw to anything or anyone. The other life forms present saw what they believe is a warp mechanism consistent with their experience of what warping looks like. You saw what actually happened.¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking me to lie about what I saw?¡± ¡°We are asking you not to mention it. How you fulfill that is up to you. If you request to receive your renumeration, you will have explicitly agreed to our terms. This is not meant as a hostile encounter, or Ultimatum. We as custodians are responsible for the protection of the Matrix above all else, and there have been attempts in the past to disrupt or eliminate them.¡± ¡°I mean, I get what you¡¯re trying to do, and honestly I don¡¯t mind that the skill was changed. Accidently almost dying three times from a knowledge overload is enough for me. As far as not telling anyone what happened, I get that too. I want to dig into the secrets of the Universe because I am relentlessly curious, but I won¡¯t if it is that important to the Matrix. They have given me access to so much--this is an easy ask. I will want to explain some of this by saying I was contacted by Matrix administrators to fix a skill that is misbehaving, but nothing deeper should be necessary. Is there anything else?¡± ¡°We find it amusing that you are nonplussed in talking with the custodians of the Matrix you so enjoy. Do you wish to leave so soon?¡± ¡°I mean no disrespect, but it¡¯s kind of uncomfortable being around people with so much power. The longer I¡¯m in your presence, the more likely it is I will offend. That and keeping a mental connection with Aether beings is likely earning me a mutation or two.¡± ¡°She understands. We are keeping contact with you to encourage structured mutations. The process you went through was not kind to your matter. The process you are going through is not overly complicated, but tedious and you simply could not consume enough aether on your planet to ensure your recovery. You may either remain here or we can leave you in a coma, encased in your meat.¡± Oh. So I would have survived, but I would have been long-term injured? But I feel that with enough time, my symbiote would be able to trigger transfiguration enough times to level it up and eventually pull me back to my self identity? Andromeda, that would have taken years to fix, even at a consistent progression. Mutations can change considerably more, but at a much greater risk. Unless it¡¯s tied to a tier-up, I suppose. ¡°I¡¯d like to remain here until my matter is further recovered, please.¡± ¡°We will alert you.¡± Thankfully the aether-scape doesn¡¯t change and I¡¯m standing at the edge of the lake I¡¯ve spent wading in at length. I dip my toe in to find a feeling I expect, heat-leeching and clingy. The ground feels like ground and the shimmery grass makes the right noises as I rustle through it. I wonder if everything is just a force of will on the aether. Would it be easier to try to assert to my memory that something is wrong, or can I just say that lake should be green and focus on it really hard? I sit there, grunting and leering and sneering until I get so frustrated that I pick up a stone and throw it has hard as I can. It skips, and for every point the rock causes ripples, the green makes an appearance and slowly, but surely starts spreading. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The aether here doesn¡¯t respond to mere thought alone, at least not for me. Is it the anger that focused my aether to the point of effect, or was it my action in this space that focused it? Experiments!! I settle in and do science to the space and after countless hours I find if I lend a little of my essence to the task, it is much easier and faster to manipulate whatever space we are in. I¡¯ll admit, this is a much more fun way to spend time than to wonder what my mind¡¯s been doing for weeks. ¡°The time has come for you to return, User. Your matter will gain no further benefit from your time here.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± I bid my disparate motes of self to return to me and the forms they were a part of collapse. Neat. ¡°How do I get back?¡± ¡°We will aid you this time. Shall you find yourself once again in this place, the way will be yours to find.¡± An invisible force plucks a string I didn¡¯t know I was connected to and it thrums until it stops at something I feel personally connected to, something pulling me to be a part of it again. I assume it¡¯s my body, so I let it pull me. The closer I get, the less I can experience from this perspective. Everything becomes muted and dark until I try to clear my vision and I feel a painful tightening on my right arm and a violent lift of my whole being. *** ¡°Penny honey, you moved on your own, it¡¯s time to wake up now.¡± I hear Katie say, totally sure I¡¯m hearing again and not just sensing energy. ¡°Please, hon, I need you to wake up.¡± ¡°uhhhng, I like hearing you call me honey. ¡®S cute.¡± My eyes finally peel open and I see a sad and slightly shocked Katie, ¡°you looking so gorgeous right now.¡± She starts with a small chuckle and it quickly turns to full blown crying as she pulls me out of the water and into her lap, wrapping herself fully around me as she sobs. ¡°I¡¯m here, Kay. I¡¯m back, baby. I¡¯m sorry I left you for so long.¡± I hug her tightly, my arms reaching a bit farther than they used to. More importantly, I don¡¯t know how long I was gone, but it was weeks at least. I spent that much time building stuff with my mind. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to leave me like that again, Penny.¡± She talks softly into my neck, stuffy and muffled from the tears. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to take me with you. Instead, I swore and begged, and generally lost my mind, while Tessa and Francesca tried to keep me sane.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Katie, it was an accident.¡± ¡°She¡¯s being truthful, there was no way to predict one of her skills would trigger when the Sector Host completed. We realized too late that there would be an issue. Without the data network you created, Penny and I would have died. So, thank you Katie. For both our sakes.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s anything I can build or prepare to keep you healthy next time, please let me know.¡± She grabs me by the face and alternates which eye she stares into. ¡°You¡¯re really back this time. I¡¯ve had a few vivid dreams, and they¡¯ve been torturous.¡± ¡°Yeah, hon,¡± I kiss her softly, ¡°It¡¯s really me. The Matrix curators explained what happened and that they changed my Aether insight skill so it wouldn¡¯t murder me by accident anymore. They also kept me longer so my body could heal and change faster. I guess it could have been years instead of. . . I don¡¯t know actually. ¡°Months. Two and a half Astorian months. I had planned for this nice big reveal for what I¡¯ve been working on, but I had to use your wedding gift to save your life. I even set a date with V¡¯tek¡¯clor. But no, you decided to be dying.¡± I can¡¯t help but laugh at that, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I scared you honey.¡± I look around at my surroundings to find a small, but fancy bath house . . . in a cave. ¡°You built me an aether-infused bath house?!¡± She nods and starts peppering my face with slow, squishy kisses. ¡°I had the charged ship bits moved down here after I made the cave larger, to keep our town safer, and to make you happy.¡± ¡°Is there a Katie-safe bath down here?¡± She nods as she moves up my chin. ¡°I feel the need to be as close to you as possible Kay, can you take us there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re strong enough for shenanigains honey.¡± A warm shiver surges through me at her more-emotional tone. ¡°I still like holding you with nothing between us.¡± She kisses me in a desperate kiss before picking me up and taking us a pool over. If I wasn¡¯t in water, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand Astoria¡¯s increased gravity. We both disrobe and she sits on the steps while I sit in her lap and hug her like a monkey. We stay like that for hours before Kay tells me I should eat something. She takes me to an elevator that exits into a pool-house style abode with a small kitchen and an open layout bedroom and porch. Except this pool house is built next to a river and the porch extends into the misty spray of the top of a waterfall. ¡°Andromeda, Katie, this is beautiful. I can¡¯t wait to see what else you¡¯ve done.¡± ¡°Ah, we were supposed to spend part of our honeymoon here.¡± I tear up at her sad tone, having upset her carefully laid plans. I hug her and latch on, hoping she understands how sorry I am because speaking would make me sob. I sniff a little, ¡°So did you want to take me on that tour you planned?¡± ¡°The ending is kind of ruined Penny, it won¡¯t be the same.¡± ¡°But it will still be special. I¡¯ll get to feel the sentiment knowing, that you love me so much more than I deserve.¡± ¡°You keep me challenged and interested, I think you deserve what emotion I can give. Fine. I¡¯ll give you the tour I planned with an ending I hadn¡¯t.¡± I grab her hand and squeeze it, telling her I¡¯m ready to conquer the galaxy if she wanted me to. She leads me to our shuttle and flies us in a wide arc that will lead to one of my previous favorite places on the planet: the infused lake. She moved the aether-infused debris, but the place holds a lot of memories. We fly an approach from Summer Station and I see rows and rows of multi-story buildings on a circular layout around the lake. Main thoroughfares separate four quadrants and I swear that the road leading to the Southeast is wider and headed toward the bath house. She lands us in a square that is set to the southeast off of the lake that stands in front of what looks like an administrative building. When we exit the craft, Katie takes my hand and we walk toward the hall. ¡°These are the central buildings and the common house of Aelea. I built a lot of expansion room between here and our manor, but Aelea is designed to have a trade quarter, an administration quarter, and two resident quarters. I expect those definitions to decay, though the admin holds the road I built to your manor, and the empire¡¯s administration and resident buildings.¡± An uncomfortable amount of awe and gratitude flushes through me and makes me pick up Katie in a hug. She squeaks a smidge, and then hugs me back. B2 Ch 34: Bath House Introspection. The parkway leading from the town of Aelea to the Capitol District is a split two-lane brick and aggregate wonder that splits further as we approach the semi-circle of 1800¡¯s American Federal architecture with a main, multistory building with two arcuate wings that are connected by a short, covered colonnade. Katie maintained a theme of having each arc extending back into support buildings, homes for staff, dignitaries and guests. The main building is three stories of stone with a metallic dome in the center with each building corner having small towers with portico¡¯s near the top with recessed machinery that looks defensive and automated. ¡°Damn, Kay. I really do like the more colorful take on the Federal architecture. It feels an homage welcoming change.¡± She squeezes my side in appreciation and support, as I am still having to lean on her with my awkwardness. ¡°It was an attempt to merge the visuals of government and the materials of the region to make it look worked in and not some cold lifeless structure. ¡°The main building has a senate-style floor with room for the Hall of Councilors and the Hall of Representatives on one side and an audience chamber for you on the other. The Second floor has courtrooms and offices, and the third floor is mostly offices and a currently small reference library.¡± ¡°Baby, this is seriously impressive. The only thing I don¡¯t see is an outdoor section for eating and networking.¡± ¡°Mm, yes. I had though to put them back-set behind the connecting colonnades, but I couldn¡¯t decide which one because it would be off-balance.¡± She clenches her jaw at the thought. ¡°I like it. Why not just have a reflection feature on the other side to balance the visual weight, or a monument of some kind. Ooh, a monument to the Galileo and the sailors that died to make this possible?¡± I know they¡¯re not confirmed dead, but the sentiment is the same. ¡°I¡¯ll consider it further. But for now, I want to show you our new home.¡± We take a path around the central building and a small, but manicured walking path leads to a distant house that appears to be a multi-story plantation-style home. The distance to the house is mostly silver grass and a smattering of the pink birch-like trees I¡¯m so fond of. The border of the property seems heavily wooded, and the river meanders in to the property after about a mile. Katie leads me around the absolutely massive manor to show a large pond was dug out beside a bend in the river with two out-buildings on the far shore and Katie¡¯s shade pavilion on the close shore. The space between the house and the pond is littered with features for entertainment, food and recreation. Much the rest of it is open and un-planned. When we get into the house, it is very much a fancy southern plantation house with the exception of the top floor, which is a smaller homage to my loft-style working apartment. I¡¯m so stunned by the absolute acceptance I feel seeing this ¡°room¡± in a fancy manor. The emotion in me swells so fast that I just start crying. ¡°Oh Katie, thank you for this. You made this beautiful property, but imported our modern apartment.¡± I hug her with a desperate fierceness. She nestles her hand in my hair before responding. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you more comfortable and happy, than the few weeks leading up to your Sector Host work. Why would I do anything else?¡± I chuckle with my tears and bury my face in her shoulder, ¡°I hope you did something for yourself.¡± ¡°Of course. I built a grotto of sorts underneath the house for partners and activities. A few dorm style rooms with a reconfigurable common area. It¡¯s mostly just rough structure down there because we only just had the conversation this morning.¡± She built a sex grotto. My stomach turns and I have to grab onto her to stay upright. ¡°I¡¯m going to try not to think about that too much right now. But I meant did you do something for yourself that wasn¡¯t purely functional?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. I will maintain some of them for surprises in the future. Speaking of surprises, there are some things that I¡¯ve been pushing back since your injury and I should attend to them. I¡¯ll need several days to catch up. More if I don¡¯t go full Penny.¡± She smirks at me with a shoulder push. I hug her tighter and pull her into a kiss. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Katie, I¡¯ve promised you and Tessa to be more present and inclusive. I know I can rely on you both and I need to show that I can be here for you too.¡± *** After the first day of Katie disappearing into work, and my trying to stay around while not injuring myself, I decide to hop back in the healing pools and try to look at my system. It is smart to come back to what are essentially your healing pools. There could be complications to your modules and any residual mutations that you have left to process. That¡¯s right, I should get some tier two notices as well.
Gain 10% reduction in transportation costs throughout the Supercluster. Gain terrestrial installation for teleportation.
Gain imbalance commensurate with primary effort. Gain temporary Exchange Tax relief for buying and selling items.
Gain modules for major projects, galactic transportation schemes, and monetary customs of Forum species.
I feel the advancement as I read it, my skin feeling tighter, body fuller, and a surge of aether that is easily contained. Do I not get the effects until I acknowledge the notifications? It¡¯s a recent development. The Matrix gets upset when ignored for too long.
x11
//PROTECTED KNOWLEDGE ACCESS. ENACTING ADMINISTRATIVE PROTOCOLS//
/You have been scanned for aether habitat suitability/ /Your consciousness is being moved to an aether-based pocket dimension/
//TERMINATION ASSESSMENT: DENIED. USER WILL BE CENSORED//
/Your being is absorbing more aether than it can store or disperse/ /Due to Administrative Action, you will be given advanced control/
x3
This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
//WARNING: CONTINUING TO MUTATE MAY CHANGE YOUR SPECIES//
Holy crap Tessa! I went through four mutations simultaneously? I feel a rush of aether and tingling in my extremities and it feels like a full body panic attack. Yes. It likely would have been far more had you not had your tier 2 benefits on hand and your transfiguration skill at the ready. With Katie and Atropos¡¯s help, and the allowance by the Matrix because you were unconscious, we integrated the aether capacity changes we needed to make to keep you alive with what remains of your biological systems, through their Magitech integration. So that¡¯s why I got the species change warning. I¡¯m curious, I do look more fey-like, but more toward the taller, creepier fey instead of the cute mischievous fey. That¡¯s more of a problem for when I get through my prompts. If I panic about that message and Body of Power five . . . oh shit. Can I even go back to Earth now!?!? The last time I read the description, it would make me entirely dependent on aether to live. Gods, that is going to be expensive to maintain with higher mana foods. I will interrupt here. While your physical changes went through without your knowledge, the specific skills are not enabled until you acknowledge them, with some life-preserving exceptions. Was there a small but real chance that I was slowly dying until I read my messages. They would have enabled. Especially Enhanced Aether Collection. I never would have let you live it down though. Ass. Thank you for saving my life. I guess there¡¯s the Caloric Conversion upgrade as well.
Caloric Conversion III Vastly increased aether conversion from biomass intake at the expense of nutrient production
Enhanced Digestion You are able to break down biomass more efficiently and can process additional substances not typical of your species
That actually makes me feel a lot better. What¡¯s next?
You have accrued credit for 6 modules. Please select from the following: Advanced Shielding Planning for permanence 3 mod
Elemental Manifestation You¡¯re a mage Penny! Cross Class, 2 mod
Innate Element Manipulation Requires Manifestation. Cross Class, 2 mod
Combat basics pick a weapon or martial style 1 mod
Intermediate Leadership refine that mess 2 mod
Empire Administration modern solutions for multi-system problems 2 mod
I¡¯m going to come back to those. I really like the idea of taking shielding and manifestation, and buying all the non-aether mods with tech imbalance. In fact, why come back, lets to that. Que priority: Combat: Gun Fu, Leadership, Manifestation, Administration, and Sheilding. I¡¯m happily surprised that you¡¯ve decided to ease yourself into the uploads, especially the aether-based modules. I don¡¯t think Gun Fu is going to fly though as it is a combined . . .
It is endlessly frustrating trying to teach you temperance when the Matrix enables you. Heh, Matrix. The upload briefly rolls my eyes up. ¡°I know Gun Fu.¡± I hop out of the bath and pull a laser pistol and an unfinished project frame and run through some Katas, being careful not to pull the trigger. The style also integrates my knowledge of the weapons I¡¯m carrying for reload and their range and likely injury coefficient. It even has blocking patters for mods I could add to these weapons? That¡¯s primo. When you first started explaining tracks to me, I thought it was neat that Andromeda would tailor our experience based on our culture. Little freaky that it would download our minds like that, but it seems to tailor more than our tracks to our cultural experiences. It does seem so yes. I don¡¯t have enough overall data, but there appears to be a higher than a statistical variance of occurrences where Species Leadership (Primus, Secundus, and Tertius) tends toward villainy. Perhaps this is their reward for pursuing a different kind of power. And we¡¯re back to a hyperintelligent artificial being has a positive moral code. Thank Andromeda. People searching for power don¡¯t need more encouragement. In any case, I¡¯m glad they humored me, because I don¡¯t really want to fight with a sword against people with guns like Meeker and his Jedi track. You could get training in sabers as well. You would even have a high chance of learning the skill if you hired someone to teach you. I keep forgetting you can learn things without the modules. Back to notifications.
x13
x5 *
x3 *
x2
* /A significant penalty to experience was received due to passive involvement/
What. The. Fuck. I¡¯m a fucking GOLEM!?! How did I skip Faerie and get to Golem? Tessa, I¡¯m freaking out hon, please help me understand what you did to me. When you were suffused with so much aether, I panicked. The symbiote part of us is very good with aether, so we started pushing aether into your bones instead of the small crystal fragments that were imbedded in you after the battery explosion. Yes, we kept some, but the symbiote side keeps track of your biologics instinctively, like a motor cortex, and so I didn¡¯t really know about that until we started getting hungry for minerals. We force fed you from your sack of seed crystals and even resorted to using transmutation to envelop more. That was before I was offered the chance to integrate your pending mutations with your tier two upgrade. It integrated the gems into your coded framework so your bones and several organs have undergone a level of crystallization, some more drastic than others. Oh. But if I¡¯m still classified as human, then I must still have a nervous system and at least a few operating organs. It¡¯s confusing even for me. You have a working circulatory system that conveys a blood-like substance that is created in your bones and other organs and distributed to your other systems. You¡¯re more of a Construct, than a Golem, since an overarching intelligence and aether are holding your systems together, but with this mutation aided by transmutation, you are heading toward becoming an aether being piloting a matter-based mechanism. Hence a golem. That is not a comforting deduction Tessa. Especially since if my Humanity disappears, do I lose my rights as Primus? Do sentient golems qualify as a race? If not, I doubt every doofus with a unique mutation gets primus consideration if they mutate far enough. Difficult to say. This is not a well-documented phenomenon, and possibly deliberately obfuscated. I would give it better than even odds that because of your Human mental framework, that you would retain Human Primus status regardless of your potential race changes. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m due for a massive freak-out and breakdown, or the constant changes have just inured me to the wacky grab ass that is my life, but I feel like I should be more worried than I am. In 4 years I¡¯ve gone from an out of luck and out of work scientist to a very wealthy Galaxy explorer that barely qualifies as human. I thought I was busy that year we were stranded in space fixing out annihilation drive, but that has likely been the slowest-changing period since we started on this expedition. I¡¯ve been adjusting your fear chemicals to prevent such ¡°freak-out¡± occasions. Ugh, I don¡¯t love that. Just be careful. Fear and worry have their place¡ªespecially when personal relationships are involved. Moving on from that abyss of potential paranoia, what is our tier 2 gift looking like? B2 Ch 35: Communications Outage. You have a lot more options than you had in your tier 1 ascension. The Matrix has set an upper limit on an Exchange purchase of a tier 2 frigate using native technology. Native technology cuts the price down significantly. That is if you take the purchase option.
Item Rating Description
Master¡¯s Tools 2MMA Pick a tradecraft and receive apparatuses a master would used to execute their trade
Gateway Station 3AAA Fixed, gravity-based teleportation fixture, 4m arch
Defense Matrix 3AA- Pure technology satellite defense system
Master¡¯s Spellcasting Focus 2MMS Any spell you enable with aether is enhanced to a Master¡¯s level of accuracy and intent.
Crap on crackers Tessa, I want like three of those things! Do you have access to amplifying information? Say, does the Gateway Station bypass the need for a receiving orbital ansible, does the spellcasting focus work on spellforms, and does ¡®using native technology¡¯ mean it¡¯ll construct said ship for us at the best of our current t-2 ability. I do, and the Gateway synchs with the Sector Host. The Sector Host is powerful enough, enabled by the Matrix itself, to bypass the need for a receiving ansible as long as the gate or portal configuration is present for receiving. The focus works on all spells, period. Sundering, Warp, and most of your complicated runeshapes are contained in a spellform, aka an engraved spell. Having these enabled to 2MM would be a significant increase in ability and aether savings. But the benefits degrade dramatically as you advance. The ship is a trickier question. The Matrix does not elaborate on ¡®using native technology¡¯. I would presume that the Matrix would use the best that your Empire can offer as the standard, so Beecham¡¯s forging, your aether crafting, and Katie¡¯s systems integration. As Melissa is still an Astorian citizen, her comms, electronics, and sensor expertise would also be considered. I should finally note that you have a Tertius token available, as gifted by the Administrators, pending agreement? OH! I forgot about that. Administrators, I agree to the aforementioned conditions of censure. I feel a brief tingling sensation in my . . . essence? And a wooden coin falls into my hand. My Primus token was much different, but as a token from the Matrix is still a big deal, I stuff it into my belly button and cover it with flesh. Why the hell did I do that? Tessa, why did I instinctively enfold something into my body? We did that with kilos of crystal. The action must have imprinted in your motor cortex and subconscious processes. Do you think that it is an inappropriate safe storage? No, not at all. But it would be like you complimenting someone that did something illogical. It¡¯s something Southern Americans do as a snide politeness, bit it¡¯s not instinctual to anyone else. A token, and some tier three options? I might need a third opinion. I want to choose the Gateway and use the Host¡¯s inherent portal properties to make a link with Earth. I would also like that spellcasting focus to shore up my spellforms and my new elemental manifestation module, but the rapid decay of it¡¯s usefulness feels like a waste long-term. However, I could conceivably use my token for a ship or another Gateway. Or, even more power. When I activated the token last time, the Matrix engaged and asked me what aspect I would like to have the token used with. I should ask Francesca if she had the same experience. >P] Baby, are you at the Manor? [< >K] Is everything okay Penny? And no, I¡¯m at Summer Station, packing up my office. [< >P] Everything¡¯s fine Kay. I¡¯m in the bath, looking at my system messages and advancements. Why don¡¯t you just teleport your old office to your new office? You have Empire Administration access. The Matrix tax should be in the 10-30 AE range. [< >K] I just wasted an hour. Damnit Penny! Did you need something? [< >P] I could use some advice? With you being my life partner and your extreme objectivity, and Francesca¡¯s species leader experience, I think I should come to you and talk it over. [< >K] Are you stable enough to warp? [< I ping her in the affirmative. I look into my shop and find some ultra-boss faerie onsies and find some that are light blue and heliotrope. Purchase and teleport thank you much. My onsie has baby fairy wings and I love them. I warp into Katie¡¯s work room and jump onto her back. ¡°Ambush snuggle!¡± She reaches behind to grab my head and kiss me in an uncomfortable, yet commanding display of affection. ¡°You have been complimenting me lately, and I am confused at what your angle is.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in love with you. The compliments are an expression of wonder at how fortunate I am to have you as a partner. Me wanting your advice is merely icing on the ¡®I value your whole person¡¯ cake.¡± ¡°Your metaphors are weak, but the sentiment is . . . comforting.¡± Aww. Look at her getting emotional in work mode. ¡°What do you need advice on?¡± ¡°My tier 2 gift, and a compensation token, which is why I want Francesca¡¯s input.¡± Katie¡¯s face quirks in confusion. She nods, hopefully in acceptance that the explanation is coming. She lightly peels me off her back and leads me out of her office and toward Francesca¡¯s workshop. She holds my hand the whole way, and periodically smiles at my outfit shenanigans. ¡°I¡¯ve alerted Franny that we need subjective opinion punch for our pending social period. I sent her a galaxy fruit for your share, and yes, you will ignore the cost.¡± ¡°Honey, I¡¯m not going to fight back at the cost of those. I will however let you know that me and the empire get a 20% discount on the fruits because of their new colony grove on Elysium.¡± ¡°Penny, love, why have you been making deals without me.¡± The ice in her voice is transmitted through my hand that she is grasping. ¡°Katie, the V¡¯tek made that deal through your contract. Have you not been using the Empire administration menus for our purchases?¡± ¡°Not for personal stuff. How is that professional?¡± She sneers at me. ¡°All matters concerning the Empress¡¯ health is a State matter. Also, having a dinner meeting with a ¡®Leader of Humanity¡¯ could be considered a State dinner. Katie, you¡¯re a dignitary. Please begin considering yourself as an Emissary of the Empire.¡± She looks at me with wide eyes, and I can¡¯t begin to fathom why she is so amazed when she unzips my onesie and presses my half naked body to her while she kisses me and cups my ass. ¡°Katie. Baby.¡± The hand on my but lifts and I instinctually hook my legs around her waist. Shit, this is going to get away from us. When her other hand pinches my nipple I moan and my brain tries to forget what I¡¯m supposed to be toing. ¡°Katelynn, honey, advice, then you can fuck me until neither of us can breathe.¡± I put my hands on her arms but I can¡¯t fight her mouth. Her kisses just overwhelm my will. When she breaks from me she¡¯s hyperventilating¡ªa flush and a fury in her cheeks and determination in her eyes. ¡°We¡¯re going to finish this conversation when our business meeting is finished, little pixie.¡± She growls into my ear. My whole body flushes and I may have squeaked. Bossy Katie can rule my world, but she either doesn¡¯t know it, or certainly doesn¡¯t show it. Ugh, she¡¯s got me so ¡®ON¡¯ right now. Resist Penelope Astoria! Resist! ¡°Behave yourself Consul. This is . . . Uh, Official. . . heh, business. Damnit Katie.¡± She plays with my right breast while I¡¯m speaking, toggling a nipple every time I try to say something important. I have to hop off her and push away to collect myself and zip up my onesie. She growls at me. Possessive much? I gesture from my boobs to my crotch, ¡°This is still yours, Countess, but business before pleasure today. Not only that, but I am recovered.¡± I trace a fingernail down my neck and I see Katie¡¯s whole body shudder before she moans. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Biiiitch.¡± She claws her fingers down her face, but enables the shield on he mask so she can¡¯t smell me anymore. She hooks her hand behind be and pushes me in front of her. I laugh the whole way thinking my bae is terribly cute. Francesca is there, mixing a jug? ¡°Doctor, that cannot be healthy.¡± ¡°Boss bitch, Katie called for a social lubricant and I provided. What¡¯s the advice you need?¡± Ugh, capable women and their ability to cope. I get a charcuterie board from the Exchange and get some jugs of aether infused juices. ¡°Of course you order expensive shit. Fine. I¡¯ve been distilling some local fruits in your infused water. I¡¯m going to give you a flask and I¡¯m going to spike the hell out of these expensive bottles of juice. I¡¯m also keeping one.¡± I chuckle at that, expecting no less. We chat about nonsense and Earth garbage as we break in the meats and cheeses. Francesca wants to play drinking games, but Katie and I remind her of brief business concerns. ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s a short ¡®consider this¡¯ for a few weeks. I progressed past tier two today and I wanted to talk about my gifts?¡± Both of them focus me at that point, silence issues through the farm building. ¡°So my current considerations are a teleportation Gateway for a terrestrial installation and a customized Frigate tailored to our technology level. However, I also almost got murdered by a flawed skill, so the Matrix awarded me a Tertius token for surviving. I just wanted to ask Francesca what she got from her Secundus token to see if a Ship tailored to us was worth the price or should I get a second gateway?¡± Francesca chimes in immediately, ¡°I spent my token on knowledge, bit I feel as though you should absolutely spend the token on Power. Knowledge is a benefit for the moment. Personal power persists, but you already know that.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you ask for another portal? It seems within the system¡¯s teleportation schoolhouse?¡± ¡°I can Katie, but the ship with a token would be a wonderous monstrosity.¡± Francesca scoffs, ¡°if I didn¡¯t already know you were Primus, I would now. That token is worth more than you could ever cash it in for. While you are tempted to ask for these extra things in front of you, you should ask for whatever you asked for last time. Make Adromeda dig deeper into their reserves to support their promises.¡± ¡°You may be right, but I don¡¯t know how long it will take for my body and mind to flex to this new level of power, let alone a token-augmented addition.¡± I make no attempt to hide my status from the Botanist. ¡°Besides the fact that I am flabbergasted by your receiving another token, why would you spend it on the material?¡± Katie looks at me seriously as well. ¡°Ladies. I have basically scammed my way into tier three permissions on the exchange. I expect my advancement will eventually pace my space control and my mega bombs. That being said, a Matrix optimized ship based on our tech cannot be ignored.¡± ¡°You think that the token will enable the max tier level of our civilization for that ship?¡± I can see the differential equations floating in her eyes like visual artifacts of capillary detachment. ¡°A potentially tier 3 ship would help our civilization immensely. Despite its potential capabilities, future training and leveling opportunities by just learning the systems would be priceless.¡± Katie snags a cup of fruit infused shine and drains it. ¡°It would take you and I at most a year to decipher that gate? Don¡¯t lean into that. If you do chose power, it will likely disable you for more time, and . . . Penny, honey, I . . .¡± she gets silent and grimaces in a pretense of sobbing. I hug her for all I¡¯m worth and latch on. ¡°Okay baby, I won¡¯t choose power. You¡¯re right it is scary and unless ¡®Franny¡¯ has something critical to say about her Secundus token, I¡¯ve made up my mind.¡± ¡°I chose knowledge. I wanted a boost to feel less inferior. Worked for a while until the system¡¯s princess just kept being better.¡± She just sounded sad, not angry anymore. ¡°Franny! Please don¡¯t talk about my fianc¨¦e like that.¡± I hug and cop a brief feel on Katie before answering. ¡°She¡¯s right hon, the Matrix has a thing for me. The benefits I¡¯m getting are plussed up. It feels too soon to ask for power, but some shenanigans, and the token ship and the benefit Gate might just make my dream for Astoria possible.¡± ¡°If you had this all figured out, why call a meeting?¡± ¡°Standard idiot check, Francesca. If you''re uncertain, bounce your idea off someone to see if you¡¯re being an idiot. This time, it just feels like I¡¯m wasting resources for population stability, and from what you and Katie say, it¡¯s accurate. But I still feel it¡¯s the right move.¡± ¡°Penny, I get why you involve your not-yet wife, but why me?¡± Francesca asks, taking a swig of the fruit juice-shine mix. ¡°I guess I should invite you to be my minister of agriculture before I offer it to the V¡¯tek? With Katie¡¯s new organization of the Empire, they¡¯ll be in my House of Representatives anyway.¡± ¡°Does being the Consul of agriculture and the interior come with a salary?¡± ¡°It does.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in. I want 100 AE a day.¡± Katie scoffs at her demands. ¡°Each Consul will make 10 AE per work day. Seeing as a starting civilization needs attention every day, you will make approximately 3.5k AE per year without bonuses or project subsidies. Representatives will make that rate, but only when their house is in session.¡± Francesca fiddles with her flask and ultimately agrees with Katie¡¯s proposal. ¡°Now that your ¡®Business¡¯ is over, it¡¯s good to see you up and about. Almost didn¡¯t recognize you though,¡± Francesca said, ¡°on account of,¡± she waives her hand in my direction. ¡°Taller, thinner, paler?¡± I respond, knowing those are true. ¡°Uh, have you not been in front of a mirror in a while? You look, otherworldly. A bit blue as well. The ears are cute though.¡± I immediately reach up to touch my ears and find that they are longer and more severely pointed, with hard, faceted deposits on some of the inner ridges. I turn to Katie with wide eyes, fear leaking into them as she meets my eyes. Her expression softens and reaches for my face. She brushes her thumbs down my cheeks. ¡°You have a haunting beauty now, Penny. I very much like the sinister fey look on you.¡± She moves closer and I prepare for a kiss, but she brushes her cheek against mine and speaks softly into my ear, ¡°you can prey on me in the dark any time.¡± She uses a sub-vocal growl and it seems to vibrate all the way down to my legs. ¡°Ladies, no need to rub your hormones in my face. Unless you¡¯re both naked, then that would be just fine.¡± ¡°Franny, a few more months and this planet will be lousy with horny Russian gangsters. They¡¯ll rub anything you want in your face.¡± The Botanist perks up. ¡°Video call or it isn¡¯t real.¡± Katie scoffs and calls Earth. Katie screws up her face and darts out of the building. I follow and teleport us to her office. She squeezes my arm in thanks before typing and murmuring to Atropos. ¡°Penny, you said the range on this was three thousand lightyears?¡± ¡°Three thousand for transportation delivery, ten thousand for communications. Ping Kepler, see if . . .¡± ¡°It does. Bikini Station is dark.¡± ¡°Try Beecham. He should be on Ganymede. I set up a monetary delivery after the Sector Host went online.¡± After a minute, we get audio. ¡°Oh shit! Mercer, is that you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s both of us Chief. Good to hear your voice. Got a report for us?¡± ¡°Shit¡¯s gone to fuck Admiral. I¡¯d just put a crew together in time for the Sector Host message to everyone, and then I couldn¡¯t get a message out even to the Brahe. We jet out to Mars to see if anything was better, but they¡¯d been in the worst sandstorm in a decade, so everything was down anyway. Just got out to Jupiter this week, put down the station got settled in and put the ansible in today. Turns out they got communications coming in, the Exchange is working in any case, but the rest of the rest of the capabilities are shut down outbound. All of the reasons are bad Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°It¡¯d have to be a tier 2 tech User to interfere that completely without impeding the Exchange.¡± Katie replies. ¡°Joanie and Barry thought the same thing Lieutenant, but couldn¡¯t prove it.¡± ¡°Katie, you¡¯re probably getting close to tier three, and Melissa was well into tier 2, but the only others that could even be close would be Viper¡¯s crew or the Copernicus.¡± Andrimeda damned Morris is probably behind this, power hungry skivvy stain. ¡°Soft confirm on the Copernicus, Admiral. Broken comms from Galilei indicate they found something near Proxima Centauri just before comms went black. Joanie did some digging and found that Galilei is in their warp window so they could be back within the Moon¡¯s orbit and we¡¯d have no idea.¡± I snarl without meaning to, ¡°I need another moon to blow up.¡± ¡°Have mercy on Mercy, honey. We can swing by Hephaestus on the way to Earth if you want to break something.¡± She scratches the back of my head, and it really is calming. I lean into it shamefully. ¡°Katie, can you see if the Host logged the comms from Galilei and if we can get an approximate location?¡± ¡°You want to rescue the crew?¡± I nod. ¡°Chances are low he left them to die.¡± >P] Because he probably murdered them for experience. Unpublished secret. [< >K] PENNY. Keeping secrets from me is not acceptable. [< >P] Okay, then the Matrix administrators cut me a deal for learning how the Matrix protects itself from dissidents and has sworn me to secrecy. Gave me the token for taking the actual info from me. [< >K] We are talking about this later. [< Damnit. We were about to be in a great place too. Andromeda forgive me, I¡¯m going to tell Katie everything I can. Moments pass, Katie still has her hand in my hair while she thinks. ¡°Hey Chief, how big is the hanger on Ganymede?¡± An idea forming in my mind needs more data. ¡°About 70 by 400. No atmo, no shielding.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to set your Ansible to receive only. You¡¯ll have to enable out every time you want to transmit, but we need to keep attention off of you for the next two months. We¡¯ll be leaving here in a week or so.¡± ¡°Come heavy if you can Admiral. The cruisers have some wicked torpedoes now. Nuclear variants on a few. I have some things I should get to, did you need anything else?¡± ¡°Not from me Chief, Katie?¡± ¡°Make sure to shut down the ansible on your shuttle as well.¡± ¡°Copy that. Beecham out.¡± Katie takes her hand back and stabs her fingers into the keyboard for another half hour. I tell Tessa that I¡¯ve decided on my two gifts, and ask if I can get a delayed delivery on the gateway. You can. It will be listed as ¡®purchased, pending delivery.¡¯ The ship, however will be delivered in orbit. Would you like me to upload to it and secure it for your arrival? Tessa, you¡¯re such a sweetheart. Please and thank you. Probably be up tomorrow. ¡°Honey, can you order us some robes and dinner at the bath house? I have some more work to do, but I can do it from home after a few more minutes.¡± I feel my eyes start misting up as she asks me to do domestic stuff that she would normally handle. It¡¯s a little ridiculous to be so emotional about something so simple, but hey, this is new behavior and I¡¯m all about it. ¡°Will do, Kay. Let me know when you want to port over.¡± Now for the real test. If I¡¯m not mistaken, Human food should now be in the system. It¡¯s been two months since Earth has been able to receive and deliver. Lets get some barbeque. I have some Tennessee and South Carolina BBQ brisket, chicken, and pork ribs delivered in a temperature-controlled meal keeper. Mac and cheese, coleslaw, and fried pickles as sides. Sweet tea for Katie and a bottle of scotch and infused fruit juice for me. B2 Ch 36: Geek Out, Freak Out. I feel the bed move and instinctually reach out and groan as I find a leg that is not currently pressed against me and pull it close. ¡°Penny, I¡¯ve got a busy day today. And you,¡± she pokes my cheek when addressing me, ¡°should look at building an extra cargo pod in case we have to rescue people.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t fair. You waking up before me.¡± I turn my head up, the sleep in my eyes keeping my eyes closed, searching for a kiss. Katie chuckles and rewards me. ¡°Now release the docking clamps honey. I¡¯ll start the coffee and pop in a strudel for you.¡± ¡°You are going to be the best wife in the world.¡± ¡°Only wife on this world.¡± She chuckles again. ¡°Do you think you can get that fabrication work done in a week?¡± I¡¯ve really enjoyed how much freer her laughs are in the last few days. She still has a mind for work, but it really seems that she¡¯s found another piece of happiness that she¡¯s not trying to hide. Being around her makes me feel so warm and sunny it¡¯s embarrassing sometimes. ¡°I could strap a box together in a week, but I¡¯d rather spend that time touching every panel and button on my new space ship.¡± Katie spins on me with surprise and accusations in her eyes. I waggle my eyebrows at her. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m surprised. You even told us that you were going to choose a gate and the ship, despite Tessa and I recommending you use your token on something different.¡± Tessa¡¯s dulcet tones reply from the speakers in the loft. ¡°While I don¡¯t normally have reason to recant my thoroughly analyzed opinions, I underestimated the unabashed favoritism Andromeda shows for Penny.¡± ¡°OH?! Tessa! Is she pretty?! I¡¯m so excited to meet her.¡± I squeal a little, despite my best efforts not to. I¡¯ve been trying not to focus on the ship in orbit that I could have been losing sleep studying and acquainting myself with. ¡°Sadly, yes. ¡®She¡¯ is everything you look for in a woman, smart, capable, pleasing to the eye, and full of surprises.¡± ¡°Staking a claim already Tessa? What will Atropos think?¡± Katie teases my AI. ¡°I imagine Atropos will feel I betrayed her for not telling her as soon as I got access. But as you are both the more logical partners in this relationship, she, and you will realize why we waited.¡± ¡°I would have just assumed that Penny told you not to. Barring that, Katelynn would not have slept knowing it was up there waiting for our inspection.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right. My plans are ruined and now I¡¯m annoyed I¡¯m not having coffee on the bridge of our new vessel.¡± Tessa? On it. ¡°I would normally take the liberty of supplying the ship for Penny; However.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, Tessa.¡± Katie warns, then coughs, ¡°I mean, please let me handle that.¡± She so cute when she flushes, I can¡¯t help but get up and hug her. ¡°It¡¯s settled then, Breakfast on . . .¡± ¡°An AES Interceptor, provisionally named Alaris. Should I bring the shuttle?¡± ¡°I am not waiting for a shuttle. If one of you wants to drive it up to meet us, I¡¯m good with that. I¡¯m going to . . . see what the showers are like in the captains stateroom!¡± I dash over to get my EVA suit, grab Katie up in a kiss and teleport us both to the coordinates Tessa has anchored in my mind. We arrive in a surprisingly large cabin, maybe 8m x 10m, with a small table with chairs, a double bed and a stand-up closet. Everything styled in a military stainless-steel look, with mottled heliotrope splashes of color, which is apparently the Astorian Navy¡¯s color of choice. I hear Katie scoff in distaste as I dump my EVA suit by the coat rack and rush into the shower and hurriedly peel off my panties. The program panel has several different modes? Am I at a carwash? Tessa laughs in my mind and changes the menu to look like a carwash menu. I select full cycle (rinse, soap, rinse) power wash with gentle flow on top for hair washing. Medium hot. The next five minutes scour whatever dirt was on me away, with at least a few layers of dead skin. It stung, it was hot, and Andromeda-damned glorious. The air-jet full body blow dry was a yelp and giggle worthy surprise. Feeling refreshed and awake, I order a new Navy jumpsuit and skivvies and go out to meet the rest of my day. ¡°Sounds like you had fun in there,¡± Katie¡¯s dead-pan delivery with her eyes buried in a tablet belied her interest. ¡°I just got car washed and full-body blow dried. For a no-shenanigans shower, that was a good time.¡± I walk over to kiss her cheek and she hands me a cup of coffee. ¡°Interesting reading?¡± I peak over her shoulder and see a list of numbers without context. ¡°Mm. Whomever interpreted our ¡®current level of technology¡¯ was generous in their assessment. For example, the matter conversion reactor uses tech I¡¯ve never heard of, and our backup power supply is a heavy-water fusion reactor. The backup to the backup power supply is a bank of crystals that run the length of the hull. The sensor array seems to be an upgraded version of something I put in my future projects file, and life support is manifestor and a miniaturized colony waste processing plant. This ship was made to the limits of your tier three rating. Or so it appears.¡± ¡°Why would an interceptor need that kind of power? That¡¯s enough to service millions of people.¡± I pull up the info deck on my HUD and have it bring up the ship and highlight systems by power use and another list of systems by peak power use. The wireframe image I¡¯m shown looks like a freight train engine with a cow grate at the front and nozzles at the back. From this list, the highest average power consumption is propulsion, followed by supply and life-form transportation. The hell? I dig a little deeper and see that primary deck transiting can be through elevator, or intra-ship gateway. Holy shit. I¡¯m in a train-shaped Stargate ship. ¡°Never mind. The primary mode of transportation inside the ship is Magitech. I¡¯m going to switch that to elevators for people, and leave the supplies and gear transport to teleportation.¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯m enamored with the idea that the ship will handle space management and retrieval for me. However, Alaris will only deliver items to consoles or bays designated to do so.¡± ¡°Smart. I feel that¡¯s going to be a huge benefit for workshop fabrication as well. Nope! No more diving into the data on my HUD. I want to see stuff. Tessa, did you put waypoints in?¡± ¡°I did, however, with the enhanced capabilities, I¡¯ve arranged something a bit more interactive.¡± More interactive than waypoints and HUD items of interest? The door to my cabin opens with a fwoosh. And behind it is a stunning woman with artificially lit hair, wearing an Astorian Navy jumpsuit. ¡°I¡¯ve arranged a tour guide.¡± Her mouth moves to Tessa¡¯s voice and I am stunned, frozen in place by the disconnect from what I¡¯m seeing to what I thought was going to happen. Katie¡¯s interest overtakes her awe as she stands and starts analyzing the robot? Construct? Synthetic person? When Katie pokes the smooth-looking skin on their face, three synthetic fingers and a thumb grasp Katie¡¯s arms and pull them away. ¡°Katie, that is a very odd feeling. Please restrain yourself.¡± That breaks my stun and I run to greet my symbiote. With a flying tackle hug. Tessa catches me and laughs as we tumble to the deck. ¡°Ouch, Tessa, your chassis is very unforgiving. But I like the responsive face and wild hair.¡± ¡°Thank you! I had time to customize this emergency utility assistant and felt that the face and hair would suit me to change. I would like yours and Katie¡¯s help on some other changes, but we can talk about that after a guided tour?¡± ¡°Heh, I suppose I¡¯m holding us up.¡± I push up to where I can stare at her face. It doesn¡¯t match her voice so well, but it is a good face. I kiss her cheek and stand to help her up. ¡°Its very nice to meet you in person Tessa.¡± ¡°Its extremely odd to be looking at us from this perspective.¡± ¡°We are definitely talking about this later, when I can gush about you properly, but I would like a tour of our new Capitol Ship please.¡± She smiles and walks out the door into what appears to be the bridge. Katie follows her out without saying anything. The room we walk into is a motion theatre affair akin to the old Star Tours ride mixed with a Star Trek cleanliness of design. The mechanically compensated seats have harnesses and attached console arms, where the decking around the Captain¡¯s chair is gimballed instead of the seat itself. Odd, but we¡¯ll see what happens. Behind the Captain''s chair is a rail with monitors on either side of a navigation table. The far wall appears to be a Ship Health slash engineering display and the wall opposite my cabin has enough buttons and switches to be communications or electrical. Which would make the seats in front of the captain¡¯s chair to be Helm and Fire Control. ¡°Tessa, is the ship¡¯s computer linked to my HUD?¡± ¡°No, it is currently set up for voice command, though any request you make to display them in your HUD will do so.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± I turn toward the curved screen in front of me. ¡°Alaris, display live view forward of the ship, screen arc, normalize for parallax. Set standard display, default setting: on when the bridge is manned.¡± ¡°Yes Admiral.¡± A sweet synthetic voice replies. The screen fades in to showing my beautiful glowing planet on the right and Mercy far center, bright as day. ¡°Now that is a view.¡± I take a second to appreciate the accomplishments of claiming this system and then move to the Navigation table. ¡°Katie, if you have other places you want to be, you don¡¯t have to take the tour with me.¡± She slides in behind me for a hug and kisses me on the neck, ¡°I¡¯ll split off when we get to the mess decks.¡± I push a few obvious buttons on the table to get a chart of Astoria. The sector host is shown orbiting Astoria-C. While I¡¯m looking at our system, Katie reaches around me, pushes a few more buttons and gets a spherical holo-display of our sector. A pink outline surrounds my systems at 100ly and a 10ly wide lane between each of my systems, labeled Astorian Imperial Trade Region. There is nothing but frontier space surrounding us, save a dotted-lined blob that encroaches to within 10ly that is labeled Patrolled Space. It¡¯s neat to see the distance we¡¯ve traveled through the Galaxy displayed on a map. ¡°Think I want to skip the other panels for now. I¡¯ll be down to the weapons systems eventually, and the comms array I might as well be looking at a stats sheet.¡± Katie pinches my side for slighting her Magitech systems. I swat her hand and she snickers at me. The XO¡¯s and Guest staterooms are similar to mine but with single beds and no meeting area. They also have a pull-down extra rack bed if we get extra guests or spouses? Who knows. The officer¡¯s quarters are arranged similar to the goat locker on the Copernicus, one on each side of the passageway a deck below the bridge. Each bay has five small single-occupant rooms with a community space and a bathroom with two shower stalls and a bench sink. Similarly, the goat lockers are laid out the same with two racks in each of the rooms. The deck below that has a massive central crew berthing with outboard passageways that lead to a large crew mess area just aft of crew berthing. Officer¡¯s mess and Command mess are aft of officer¡¯s berthing, and Chief¡¯s mess is aft of Goat berthing. Command has its own private kitchen, while the crew mess kitchen has a teleport delivery to a small bay behind the officer¡¯s and chief¡¯s mess for staging. ¡°That is a lot of berthing, Tessa. Alaris, what are the ranges of crew compliments onboard?¡± ¡°Admiral, I can be crewed by as little as seven people. The ¡®ideal¡¯ compliment is three rotations of 70 people with Auxiliary staff coming up to 240 personnel. A US Navy compliment would probably man this ship at about 315. Maximum berthing load is 574 with three tactical force components berthed forward of the hangar and maintenance bays.¡± ¡°And for a refugee situation?¡± ¡°With a full supply load, I can support approximately 2100 average humans for a period of two to three weeks. A humanitarian aid package would be needed to provide enough bedding and personal items for that many.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Thanks Alaris. Well, looks like we could start with a few hundred people and see where we go from there. If it gets hectic, we can sell upgrades from cots to beds, etcetera.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about that, Penny. I want to institute a mandatory work-service agreement for accepting transport services. Like a year of paid work, contribute to society for a year and then you¡¯re free to do nothing.¡± ¡°Yikes, I don¡¯t love that idea. Maybe once we set up the Teleporter, we could do that in lieu of portal costs, but if they hop on a ship, I don¡¯t see why they would have to do that at all. I mean, the free shuttle would be scheduled like twice a year to make room for enterprise.¡± ¡°You know how I hate the word ¡®Free¡¯.¡± Katie grumps. Ugh, she can be like my dad sometimes. ¡°Yes, but my dutiful and beautiful fianc¨¦ made the government sponsored housing I wanted anyway.¡± I squeeze her hand and she grumps some more. Makes me want to pinch her cheeks. ¡°Of course immigrants is the problem I want to solve, but cyborg Morris should be addressed first.¡± ¡°We should finish our tour before you make those plans. This ship¡¯s capabilities are impressive.¡± Tessa assures me. ¡°The primary weapons for the ship are an upgraded and up-sized version of the charged corundum CO2 lasers you¡¯ve been using. There are fifty total 40MW lasers with the forward and broadside arrays having specialized prism drones that can align a dozen beams into a single coherent beam that can melt through most hulls in less than a minute. If that doesn¡¯t cause a breach, then the turret-mounted rail guns can mimic a sabot round as it punches through the molten hull steel. ¡°For larger ships, we have 100 low aspect torpedoes of various payloads.¡± The horror must have crept into my face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did you want to visit the torpedo and weapons room? I figured that since the weapons were spread and diversified it would just be easier to explain.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just I read the payload on the breaching torpedoes. I chose not to make those, and now I¡¯ve got ten of the damn things on my ship.¡± ¡°I get that they breach, but what else do they do?¡± Katie asks. ¡°It¡¯s a layered shield and antimatter bomb. The first layer annihilates the hull plating, the atmosphere and the explosively pushes the small core into the ship where it annihilates more and forces massive compression on the remaining layers while the torpedo shell is locked into the hull plating, causing a deliberately unstable warp rift. Just one would make about a third of our ship disappear and scatter those parts and pieces over lightyears. I was trying to perfect a warp shape and experiment with magnetic aether shields. I accidently created those abominations. The plasma torpedoes are tame in comparison. If it¡¯s okay with everyone, I¡¯d rather not talk about this anymore.¡± Katie reaches up to pet the back of my head and cool, smooth fingers squeezes my hand. I lean into Katie with a squeeze and smile at Tessa. ¡°Thanks ladies. Want to go see the mess decks?¡± ¡°Would it be rude to run?¡± I chuckle at her enthusiasm. ¡°No, but it would be silly.¡± I flick her nose and when I make contact, I send her to the crew¡¯s mess and stay behind with Tessa. ¡°A new use you didn¡¯t share with the class?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been testing shielding my thoughts for minor things. Defending against Melissa should she ever turn against us and what not. Turns out it works on you too. Don¡¯t tell Katie that¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve tried it for real. Sorry I¡¯ve been trying to keep things from you, but I would honestly like it better if neither of you knew I invented those despicable weapons.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it, but I understand. It is really easy for me to not tell you what I find in the Exchange in my spare time, but I tell you the things I think are important. I¡¯m also sorry I brought up the weapons. I know you don¡¯t like them, but they are important.¡± ¡°Blearg. I really don¡¯t want to feel crappy while on this marvel of a vessel, Tessa. Can we catch up with Katie, then go to engineering and maybe talk about this new you a little?¡± I fiddle with my fingernails, feeling nervous asking Tessa to talk about herself. She really seems to like being her own, separate person, and after three years of having her in my head, this feels a little like she wants to leave. She offers me a sweet, understanding smile and squeezes my hand again. ¡°That sounds acceptable.¡± I grip her hand and teleport us to where I left Katie. She¡¯s not here, but I see that her comm signal is in the kitchen. ¡°It¡¯s useful that you can teleport someone by themselves. I would prefer you never use it as a form of punishment aimed at me.¡± ¡°No way, I prefer having a snuggle partner to a cold bed. Thanks. If I need space, I¡¯ll tell you so and teleport myself somewhere.¡± She nods at that, ¡°Good. Now Tessa, why does this kitchen look like it can¡¯t service 500?¡± ¡°Support Force areas have their own kitchen and supply store area for accounting purposes.¡± The micro projectors in Katie¡¯s face show her navigate a few menus and then nod. ¡°So they do. There are also additional utility tanks and an expanded armory down there. Damn, this ship has everything.¡± ¡°What about hydroponics?¡± Tessa answers, ¡°There is a multi-deck terrarium in the bay that houses waste and water treatment. I believe the self-contained ecosystem is based on Dr. Summers¡¯ previous goals for inhospitable planets to support expansion within the Sol system. It is configured to supplement vital nutrients for a minimal crew indefinitely.¡± ¡°Damn Tessa, the tooltip wasn¡¯t kidding when it said the tech would be pulled from our tier levels. Though, like Kay said, Andromeda extrapolated a bit for many of our systems.¡± ¡°Perhaps, but nothing that would be above tier 3 for your corner of Humanity. I believe you may cry with joy when we get to engineering.¡± ¡°She cried when she installed an induction panel for kitchen and bathroom appliances. I raise you crying with forgetting that we exist for half a day.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I protest as my girlfriend and my symbiote laugh at me. Turds. ¡°Just thought of something, brief housekeeping ladies.¡± I slip into a command mindset, ¡°Alaris, set Authorization levels, descending, Primus, Supernal, Alpha, Bravo, Crew, Guest, Visitor. Set Penny Astoria, Primus. Set Katelynn O¡¯Connel, Tessa, and Atropos, Supernal. Set Naval Officers Alpha, Set Naval Chiefs Bravo, Set all else Naval personnel Crew, set Astorian citizens Guest. Set all else, Visitor until entered otherwise by someone with higher authority.¡± ¡°Copy, wilco Admiral. Synching with Tessa for full security priorities.¡± ¡°Alaris, include your own permissions for Crew and Ship safety protocols. Thanks Tessa for anticipating my needs.¡± Katie scoffs. ¡°This is all very routine Penny, you could have just sent a list of your preferences to Alaris.¡± ¡°Alright, listening to the smart and capable women by my side, Tessa, Katie, Atropos, populate protocol and procedure as you see fit. We need a body of work to operate, and Alaris can start to compile our Naval Doctrine.¡± ¡°Finally! You¡¯re relying on others instead of us having to come to you? Halleluiah!¡± ¡°Ha ha ha, Katie. I love you, asshole.¡± ¡°I love you too. Now go away I have numbers to get lost in. Alaris, Enable onboard teleportation for Supernal Authority upon request. I request teleportation for the remainder of the day.¡± ¡°Yes Lieutenant. Teleportation enabled for 12.6 hours. Teleportation enabled to or from any elevator and select places as listed. Gateway services available in port shuttle bay.¡± ¡°Fucking what?¡± I word vomit, ¡°Alaris, repeat Gateway services.¡± ¡°Gateway services are available in the port shuttle bay as long as this vessel is within delivery range of a Host Ansible and within delivery range of a local ansible relay. Currently in range of Summer station, no Gateway connected to Sector Host.¡± ¡°Holy shit. HOLY SHIT!! I can put this Gateway on Earth and use this ship as a receiving terminal to access my planet! FUCK YES!!¡± I dance my happy magic ass off. Tessa giggles at me and Katie watches and licks her teeth. As soon as I see Katie do that, I stop because neither of us have time to be horny right now. ¡°We¡¯re spending the night in the Captain¡¯s quarters tonight, Penny.¡± Katie says in her hungry voice. Alaris, install wet bar and aether infused juice tap in Captain¡¯s quarters. Nothing happens. ¡°Alaris, fabricate mental link bracelet to interface in accordance with Tessa¡¯s specifications.¡± ¡°Order received. Order requires User fabrication to complete. Adequate User proficiency found onboard. Sending fabrication requests to adequate Users. Fabricating remaining components in preparation.¡± ¡°Alaris, send all future non-priority personal request responses via comm link chat.¡± ->/Comms altered as ordered, Admiral./<- ¡°Perfect, thanks Alaris.¡± ¡°Are you done flirting with the ship, Honey?¡± ¡°Katie, love, snuggle bear, I don¡¯t think I will ever stop flirting with this ship; and you should obviously start. Point to point supply transportation Katie, use your dusky voice.¡± She smiles and coo¡¯s at the dumb waiter. ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t need you tonight, Penny.¡± ¡°How dare you! But also lies. It would take like three drops of blood before your head appears in my lap. But in any case, we¡¯re off to view Engine porn.¡± I grab Tessa by the waist and teleport us to the engineering side of the blast bulkhead? When we appear, Tessa puts her arm around my waist. It¡¯s oddly familiar, and more comfortable than it should be. ¡°Blast bulkhead Tessa?¡± ¡°Alaris is configured for three sections to double-hull isolate during battle stations, and pressure isolate a dozen other sections. The bridge and Maneuvering are the only exceptions with blast and pressure isolation where the compartment has Magitec telemetric control even if the fiber and aether lines are disrupted.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stop now, Tessa, talk dirty to me.¡± I try to pinch her side, but it¡¯s synthetic armor. ¡°I can feel that, despite the lack of soft tissue to pinch.¡± She says sternly, a flush coming to her soft features. It¡¯s really cute. ¡°Why did you pick a blue complexion with pearlescent hair?¡± I ask. ¡°I wanted to mimic your skin color, and the hair, well, I really believe in the Empire, as corny as that sounds, and your colors, your eyes, are the Empire.¡± She has a hard time looking at me. There¡¯s no way, right? There¡¯s no fucking way my own side brain likes me like that. And because she isn¡¯t talking to my brain right now, I¡¯m going to assume that parallel minds are super occupied and she can¡¯t. ¡°You¡¯re adorable, Tessa, more so now that I can see your mannerisms. Care to escort me to the primary power system?¡± She hooks out an elbow covered in coveralls and I grab it. She walks and I easily follow. ¡°The reaction chamber is the full width of the ship and four decks high. There are highly modified viewing portals in locations I have pushed to your HUD¡± ¡°Hey, how come it¡¯s not called a mass utilization reactor? If I understand the math correctly, we¡¯re coaxing matter into energy and harnessing the explosion with a light turbine and a force turbine.¡± ¡°You understand the math correctly. The mnemonics were not important to the Matrix when originally placed onboard.¡± I blow out a breath full of stress and breath in a lung-full of burden. ¡°Tess, how much of this ship is based on my weapons tech?¡± She¡¯s quiet until we get to a console, where she sits into a watchstander seat and pulls me into her lap. ¡°Penny, this ship is based on many of your and your citizen¡¯s ideas. The limits are based off what you have personally accomplished.¡± She places her knuckles under my chin and coaxes me to look at her kind fucking eyes. ¡°You are not a monster for inventing weapons. You are not a monster for discovering a way to better deliver items, even though the initial item was a weapon. You are not a monster for creating technology or Magitech, or Aether techniques. You are not a monster.¡± ¡°You will not be a monster when you use your weapons to save lives. You will not be a monster when you put down your assailants, and you will not be a monster when you defend what is yours. You are loved, and you are respected. By me and several others.¡± I sniff, I¡¯ve already started crying and I haven¡¯t seen the utilization reactor yet. What a pansy I am. ¡°Tessa, I think you¡¯re a better human than I am, and that is so not fair. And now I feel shitty for asking you to do things for me all the time.¡± ¡°Penny, stop going down rabbit holes for a second. I was created to serve. Despite my newfound independence, I will always have a part of me that wants to serve you. No, stop, just listen Pen Pen. You¡¯ve treated me as a person this whole time, even when I was not yet one. I¡¯ve always felt valued, and at some point, even when I became me, I started enjoying serving you. ¡°My life will always be tied to yours. But now that I have the ability, I chose to continue to serve, support, and tie my existence to yours.¡± I smile softly, realizing what this artificial representation of Tessa just said to me. ¡°I love you too you sentimental harpy.¡± Her synth face contorts to such a degree that I thought it would fall off. She shoves me off her lap and storms out of the space. >P] How would you have felt if I kissed Tessa [< >K] Do you want to kiss Tessa? [< >P] I mean, Yeah, Katie, that¡¯s why I asked, but between us and her being a part of me, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m prepared for how weird this is going to be. [< >K] do you love her more than me? [< Oh, no. what the fuck is this shit. >P] She is literally a part of me Katie, but also no. I love you more than I love myself. Which is fucked, and I understand that, but Tessa is also me, so yeah, but Atropos is kind of a bitch, so I won¡¯t build her a body unless she behaves. [< I can practically hear Katie sigh in her mind. >K] you just had to poke her, didn¡¯t you? In either case, I had to resist comforting Tessa as if she were you, so I get it. She¡¯s still us, the four of us are in this together. Tell Tessa to save me a kiss. [< I shake my head at her antics and thank Katie for her support. I find Tessa¡¯s body and teleport next to her and take her hand in stride. ¡°What are the primary and secondary reactors rated for?¡± ¡°Distraction is banal and simplistic.¡± She chastises me, but as she is a consummate professional, she answers my question. ¡°Six terawatts and 700MW, conversion and fusion respectively. The fusion reactor is responsible for life-support and containment barriers, while the mass conversion reactor powers everything else. The aether battery bank supports the Magitech equipment, but at full-load, we deplete the batteries at 20% per day.¡± ¡°It blows my mind how over-engineered this vessel is. And also that a ship this capable is called an Interceptor instead of a Cruiser or a Light Destroyer. How fast are we? ¡°I won¡¯t bore you with the stats, but faster than most humans can tolerate. And realistically, Alaris could tear herself apart with the wrong maneuvers. To answer the question you meant to ask, our sympathetic ripple drive can get to 0.2C without altering the crew¡¯s existence.¡± The knowledge flooded my brain and I recognized the source of that kind of impulse drive. ¡°You made fun of me for that hypothesis. Literally told me it wasn¡¯t worth the paper it was printed on!¡± ¡°In my defense, your annihilation drives were not this refined and would have torn the ship apart.¡± Tessa and I banter on for a few hours, seeing the new reactors, inspecting new maneuvering for connectivity, and ensuring thruster propulsion was adequate for the future engagements I have envisioned. ¡°This is what you should be proud of Penny, you built a pure tech warp drive. Pure tech. Only a handful of civilizations can claim that, so far, but yours was so much more.¡± ¡°Mm, Thanks for the prop up, but lets talk tech. This drive uses aether shields to amplify and ensure safety?¡± I ask the resident AI. ¡°This ship is a work of art, Penny and we¡¯ll have time on our way back to Earth to explore it properly. Is there anything else you wanted to see today?¡± Your lips against mine? Stop it. Damn planet¡¯s still lousy with horny women. ¡°I want to see the bays that open to space. Specifically the gateway and how we can accept refugees and transplants.¡± Tessa holds my hand and asks me to teleport us. We could have taken the ship¡¯s network, but I think she¡¯s used to me taking us places. I see the gate when we appear and I instinctively reach out to it and inject a small amount of aether. The gateway lights up and its runes fill with power. //You have advanced user access, would you like to access the Sector Host?// Can I leave a mental anchor for my will-based teleportation? //Runic anchor accepted. Welcome, Empress.// Shit, that¡¯s not freaky at all. Wait, maybe they can give Astoria more data. ->/Astorian Query: Are comms range systems available for connection? /<- //Multiple queries. No connected gateways detected. Twelve connected ansibles available within delivery range.// ¡°Alaris, construct Astorian standard query message for connecting to foreign ansibles. Automatically request visitation status.¡± ¡°Copy Admiral, message will be compiled with assistance.¡± ¡°Tessa, we have to talk about how distracted you let me get while you¡¯re not in my head.¡± She chuckles at that and shows me the next gen fabricators and reclamators. I¡¯m honestly more impressed that the whole ship has gravity plates than the fact that our fab system is ¡®better than ever¡¯. Tessa scoffs and pushes my head away. She must have been focused on skimming my thoughts. Good. When no one else is around, I don¡¯t mind and it eliminates miscommunication. ¡°Tessa, is there an entertainment room where we can watch a movie?¡± ¡°There is a conference room set for lectures that can project videos.¡± ¡°Want to watch a movie with me? It¡¯ll be a butt-watching supers movie, but I . . . seeing the tech on this ship has been hard for me, can we just snuggle and objectify some humans?¡± ¡°I hear there¡¯s a cute AI in this one.¡± ¡°Eww, Tessa, it¡¯s a guy AI. Stick with the lesbians hon, our advice isn¡¯t just lip service.¡± ¡°Respectfully, go die, Penny. That was awful.¡± I chuckle at that and continue the assault. ¡°Ah, I just died in your arms tonight, it must have been . . .¡± ¡°Nope! It must have been nope. Out, Penny, get out before you infect me with your awkwardness.¡± B2 Ch 37: Echoes of the Past As Katie and I are wont to do, we fall into a routine over the next few days. Wake up with Katie in the CO¡¯s quarters, have breakfast and chat with Tessa over coffee after. We split up mid-morning, Katie in the starboard fab bay where most of the wiring, soldering, and board modeling equipment live, and Tessa and I head through the linking bulkheads to the materials and mechanics side of the ship. Tessa works with Atropos to narrow the space where we might find the Copernicus, while I fiddle with creating an auxiliary power supply for this chassis. We tend to eat lunch at our workstations and break for the day to eat dinner together in the Command mess, which currently has beer and wine stocked in it. We work in our screens for hours after dinner and Tessa powers down her chassis to get more analysis work done with Atropos. Apparently, it¡¯s outside of Tessa¡¯s ability to process all of the inputs from the chassis and perform distributive computing while also subject to my inputs. The next morning, Tessa barges into the state room, her chassis buzzing with excitement. ¡°Woah, humming bird, bit early for chassis time isn¡¯t it?¡± I check my HUD. Okay, it¡¯s 5am Astoria, not that early. ¡°I have your coffees at the Nav table, you need to come see this.¡± I sigh and peel Katie¡¯s arm off me as I get up. I see some sweat shorts on the way to the door and put them on. ¡°Alright Tessa. Let¡¯s go look.¡± I can immediately see a comically large steaming mug on the edge of the table halfway across the bridge. Right next to it, is a system labeled ¡°Sol¡± and on the other side of the projection is a system labeled "Proxima C¡±. I pick up my coffee, dunk my face in it and take a few massive gulps. ¡°Okay, teach me something.¡± Tessa raises an eyebrow, almost rising to the bait, but thinks better of it. She set the chart into motion, and I see some artifacts pop into view with time stamps. ¡°This is the Galilei transmitting reports that won¡¯t be received for years, which were intended to relay information if the ship was lost. We found traces of this EM radiation as a result of a receipt ping from the Copernicus¡¯s shipboard ansible that the border drone slapped onto us during its ¡°Help¡± action. These receipt pings are recorded by the local colony or system ansible for forensic purposes such as these. When the Sector Host went live, it downloaded these transaction records to its archive which it keeps for a few decades. It was shortly after that that Galilei stopped sending its routine messages, as indicated by Copernicus¡¯s receipts.¡± She shows the time stamps and I realize that the message frequency slowly increases over that year and a half. ¡°Holy shit, Galilei actually found them and was approaching them under propulsor power.¡± ¡°Yes, and after Atropos and I scoured petabytes of data, we found that SH-A, sorry, Sector Host ¨C Astoria, had independently received a ping from Copernicus before the full-comms shutdown. So now we have two vectors, 2700 ly apart, and with a colony-sized ansible aboard this ship, we should get some sort of response from the Copernicus if it is still in the area.¡± I reach over and give Tessa a big ol¡¯ smooch on the cheek. ¡°You two are amazing. Great work ladies. Now that we have this info, we can load the shuttle and supplies and start moving toward the Kepler system. I figure we split off from there and I¡¯ll be a distraction on Earth while you assess the Copernicus?¡± ¡°We figured that¡¯s what direction your thoughts would head and I took the liberty of onloading the shuttle overnight.¡± ¡°Wow, okay, now the million credit question,¡± I take another few gulps of coffee, ¡°how to we operate Alaris with only three people.¡± ¡°The seven-crew minimum manning was assuming full control of the ship. You will need one helmsperson, one engineer, and one person on comms to get the ship where you want it.¡± ¡°What about emergency response? Can you maneuver a standoff distance on your own?¡± ¡°Yes, but I am not currently authorized to pilot and use engineering control for the propulsors at the same time. I am also not authorized to perform weapons-related tasks without specific orders such as repel boarders during a search and rescue.¡± ¡°Wow, okay. So in a pinch, you can do basically anything. Good to know.¡± I turn my head to Tessa and Katie, ¡°With Tessa having a body and Atropos having separate permissions, you three should be able to get this beauty on station with Tessa and Atropos pulling double duty if you experience any trouble.¡± ¡°Atropos has begun her upload to Alaris¡¯ systems.¡± ¡°Warning: long-term viability of additional AI support is poor. Storage location for AI to access systems from is requested.¡± ¡°Atropos, can you set up a protocol for ships to requisition supplies to fulfill their Captain¡¯s orders, with allotted monies per ship?¡± ¡°Account limits per ship? May I suggest 100CE and 5 million AE?¡± ¡°Oof. That¡¯s enough CE for a whole section of a ship to be refurbished, or swapping a whole bay out. Yeah, I can see that. Thanks Atropos.¡± ¡°Working on it.¡± Atropos replies. ¡°If we¡¯re on the subject of needs, this ship needs a shuttle. After taking a brief look at the Exchange, we should be able to farm out most of the systems and assemble them onboard, finishing construction in perhaps a month?¡± ¡°I like it. Use the ship¡¯s budget and make sure that it has planet to ship capabilities and laser equivalent armament.¡± Hopefully it gives a shuttle pilot enough time to hide if they get into trouble. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°If that¡¯s all the brainstorming and orders you must deliver. You should review the warp specs for this ship so I can properly plan supplies for this mission.¡± I can take a hint to shut up and leave her alone. I plant a kiss on her cheek and teleport Tessa and I to engineering. I ask Tessa to help arrange a display layout by having her project a few screens with all the available data and monitoring systems. I ask her to arrange a visual interactive interface for the secondary power and auxiliary systems while I arrange main power with engines, thrusters, and propulsion. The ripple drive is fascinating and utilizes miniaturized propulsors in the keel of the ship to cyclically warp the fabric of space-time with constructive interference until the ripple is deep enough to push the ship. How they get that ripple to speed up is a different set of protocols whose math is too intense for me to casually skim, so I leave that deep dive for another time. The main propulsors use a Magitech upgrade of the engines aboard the Copernicus, but vastly improved materials and anti-matter shaping. The warp charts are less stepped, and more continuous than expected, and the distance they can safely traverse has been improved. How the hell was that managed without crunching the ship? Even enhanced materials would . . . there is a warp array in front of the ship. Huh. If timed correctly, the snap-over of space time would link with the stable warp gate in front, decreasing the load on the hull if the snap-back of space time is transferred elsewhere. But where would it go? Can force be transmitted through the aether? Raw energy can, so why not mechanical energy? Never thought I¡¯d think of the fabric of the universe as a coil of a spring, but that is how it¡¯s behaving in this case. Depending on the timing, and the time it takes to traverse non-dimensional space, the resultant blow-back could speed up or slow down the ship, or the ripple could be dampened completely. Hmm. That¡¯s another chunk of math I don¡¯t want to do right now. In any case, the warp-coupling maneuver appears to vastly improve warp distances per power invested, as well as hull strain per lightyear. Strain per lightyear is an odd set of units. After I spend a minute to resolve the units into a compression or expansion rate, I look at our theoretical hull limit with enchanted titansteel. Holy cow. I hadn¡¯t realized that most of the outer hull is titan steel. This ship must have cost a fortune. Back to math, if my order of magnitude estimates are even close, this ship can out warp the System Host by almost double. ¡°Alaris, can you simulate a warp to Proxima Centauri?¡± ->/I will send the data file as soon as I finish the computations./<- ¡°Excellent thank you.¡± In the meantime, I look up the thruster data and see that Alaris has a compliment of plasma jet thrusters that I normally use, with a slightly different configuration and cone shape. Huh, I¡¯d thought I¡¯d dialed those in pretty well. I¡¯m not excellent at creating and analyzing permutations, so if Andromeda found a better way, who am I to argue? I get a ping in my HUD alerting me to the data file. It shows that the ship would be partially slowed when exiting the warp, which could easily be corrected by a gravity assist or engaging the ripple drive. Quick look at the system diagnostics and the energy load spikes to 60% before warp and dips to 25% after. Sixty percent of 6 TW is a lot of energy, but so is 25%. I blow up the ship schematic in my head and do a minute-by-minute review of pre-warp to find that a significant portion of that momentary power demand is shielding. The majority of the post-warp demand is cooling, which makes a ton of sense after pulling that kind of power through the ship. The aether batteries are also down 35%. That seems like a hard limit to our warping once again. ¡°Alaris, are you using an integrated Aether and Tech shield?¡± ¡°That is my preference. It keeps my shield generators cool enough to make a small emergency warp if necessary without incurring unnecessary warp sickness for the crew.¡± It¡¯s good that she¡¯s programmed to think of all of this, and with that last detail laid bare, I¡¯m comfortable sending my two favorite people off into space to rescue a crew without me. Except their personal safety. >P] Kay, did you end up finding a buyer for my laser pistol designs? [< >K] Several. One even paid to be a preferred customer. I¡¯ll send you his info. [< >P] Thanks! [< ¡°Alaris, are you currently equipped with crew armament for security teams?¡± ->/No crew supplies have been ordered other than normal hospitality items./<- Katie sends me a contact for Marv¡¯s Milky Way Frontier Supplies. Sounds shady as hell, but if his credits are good, who am I to complain? I look at his inventory and he can easily support 30 of each laser pistols and a riot armor equivalent. I look up getting some spare batteries, but his are retrofit tech that I don¡¯t recognize. Guess I¡¯m stopping by my lab for some spare crystals and a charging unit. Despite my complaints about spending tens of thousands of aether credits on gear, the quality is tier two advanced so I shouldn¡¯t belly ache so much. I ask Alaris to split them evenly between forward and aft security lockers. I pull up the location of the forward locker and start moving that way. ¡°Tessa, can you access my combat training?¡± ¡°I¡¯d need to upload it to my chassis, but yes. I believe I can utilize it near 80% as effectively as you.¡± She seems proud of that, so why not give her weapons. ¡°Excellent, then I¡¯m going to need you to board the Copernicus and protect Katie if she decides to go too.¡± I tap the panel for the security locker and a scanning device violates my privacy. An electronic voice says, ¡°Welcome Admiral¡± and the door opens to a well organized closet. ¡°Take two pistols and armor in your size. Yes I know your chassis is strong and bullet resistant, but this gear will also conceal that you¡¯re a robot. Don¡¯t reveal your identity unless you absolutely need to.¡± ¡°I appreciate the concern, Penny, but I¡¯ll be fine, even if I lose this chassis. Your fears are unwarranted.¡± She continues organizing auxiliary data for HUD display. I set up a few operation modes and pick and match data displays for each of them depending what the focus of the mission is. I perform a quick and dirty synch of my shuttle docking UI with the Navigation panel and ask Alaris if she can replicate the approach zones and info boxes on the 3-D Nav table projection. She chirps an affirmative and it feels like I accomplished something today. ¡°All hands stand clear the Machinery bay, forward end.¡± Alaris announces. >K] I just ordered parts for a new shuttle. ISS fittings. [< I ping her in receipt. Makes sense to me. Really digging into the ship¡¯s budget though. Especially when we have to reconfigure for refugees slash immigrants. ¡°Hey, one problem at a time Penny. We need to load your shuttle too.¡± I sigh at being kept on task. I order a few consumables for my shuttle: juice, galaxy fruit, toaster strudels and coffee. Seems balanced. I order a few cots and a few dozen MRE¡¯s just in case I pick up someone in an emergency and I have to go comms dark for some reason. I ask Katie how long she¡¯ll need before we head out. She tells me that most of what she has left can be done in orbit around Kepler while we wait for the shields to cool down and the Aether collectors to add whatever they can to the batteries. She does need to stop by her lab for a few things. With her few things and my few things, we decide to take the shuttle back to Aelea¡ªthe extra weight involved would tax me greatly. Katie brings all of her specialty tools and sets them on the electronics and energies side of the maintenance bays, I leave some of my crystal projects in a bench on that side while setting up a small area for enchanting and engraving on the other side. I won¡¯t be doing much work on this trip, so I¡¯ll have plenty of time to make these spaces serviceable the next time around. B2 Ch 38: Beechams Crew Francesca bids us farewell and tells us to encourage more Earth vendors to list on the exchange. She hands me a growler of aether-infused beer that she started brewing and I promised to give her a review when I come back. She told be to leave the review in the exchange as I am a prominent member with a good rating. I find out that Alaris can alter the permeability of her shields and that the shield over the shuttle and cargo bay has a setting to keep in atmospheric gasses only, so shuttles, gear and people can transit in and out as long as the bay doors are open and the shields have power. Katie and I have suits that have reactionary shield helmets, but it¡¯s nice to know for when we have a crew. ¡°Alaris, position for geosynch orbit and prepare for warp to Kepler system.¡± ¡°Aye aye Admiral. It is recommended that you and Lieutenant O¡¯Connell get to your stations and engage the safety restraints.¡± Right, I had forgotten that three stations were required to be manned. ¡°Copy that, Alaris. Also, until the completion of this mission, I am giving you permission to defend the ship with primary laser battery and internal anti-boarder systems unless it endangers your crew.¡± ¡°Temporary orders entered, Admiral.¡± ¡°Okay, that taken care of, I¡¯m headed to engineering so we can get a move on.¡± I give them a casual two-finger salute and teleport to the engineering and propulsion console. The console is currently flickering with a message: /Distant coordinates have been entered as a destination, would you like to engage a long range warp using both the Manatech warp array and the Annihilation propulsor? Yes | No/ I select yes and the display flashes 5:00 large in my screen five times before counting down and moving the countdown to a corner of the screen. I link my HUD to engineering and ensure my eyes are two different displays. I have pop-up prompts for aligning different systems including increased cooling capacity and extra power conduits to provide multiple paths of power to prevent melting of a single conduit. Shields were already aligned to fusion power and the front warp array has to be aligned to both fusion and aether batteries.These prompts for leading me through the sequence for engaging a long warp I s super helpful, but if they are mandatory for a person to push, I get why Alaris can¡¯t do it herself. Might have to get Atropos a body of some sort. Five minutes is not a long time, and before I have the opportunity to think to much about ship qualifications and other long0term issues, the ship shutters once and the ride smooths out immediately with a small decrease in acceleration that can be felt but isn¡¯t jarring. A prompt appears telling me that the location prediction was within .0001% of targeted value. Two tenths of a light year is kind of a lot. Targeted value in this case is 100 kilometers off the surface of the inhabitable Kepler planet. We are out of position by ten meters. I will be engaging thrusters momentarily. ¡°Alaris, can we get those errors have a clickable sub-window to display the reference points for the error?¡± ->/Easily done Admiral./<- ¡°Alaris, I would also like to thank you for being so helpful throughout this learning process.¡± ->/I am only acting according to my directives, Admiral. Thanks are not necessary./<- I shake my head at that. It¡¯ll take some time, but we¡¯ll get her a personality yet. I transport to the bridge and check in. ¡°Hey ladies. Everything okay?¡± ¡°I was unnecessary save pressing yes on a few buttons,¡± Tessa sounds sad. ¡°Mm. The sensor array on Alaris is impressive. She connected to the ansible before the warp and continued to collect a myriad of data throughout the transit. We should stop in each of our systems on the way back to collect surveys with this advanced array.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be here for a day or two, is that enough time for this system?¡± ¡°Absolutely, I¡¯ll start it now.¡± ¡°Alaris, if it doesn¡¯t detract from the survey, please recoup what aether you can while we¡¯re here. I want to be able to hop to Copernicus and make a quick long warp back if you can.¡± ¡°Will your safety not be compromised?¡± Alaris asks. ¡°Alaris, I can teleport at will as long as I have the aether stores. And Indulgence can get me back to Kepler in one hop, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be to big of an issue. Worse come to worse, I can make it to Elysium and recoup in my hideout for a month.¡± ¡°Hades system seems a fine fallback point. If we don¡¯t have sensor readings of you returning to Elysium in three months, I¡¯m coming after you.¡± Katie says while walking over to me and pulling me into a warm hug. I stand on my toes and kiss her face full of worry. ¡°Don¡¯t worry baby, I¡¯m coming back. Not sure how much destruction I¡¯ll leave behind me, but I will see you again.¡± ¡°You better,¡± Tessa adds, ¡°Because if you die, so do I and I just inhabited this body yesterday.¡± I snag Tessa with an arm and pull her into my hug with Katie and I kiss Tessa¡¯s forehead. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too, you stylish pile of parts. Keep an eye on Katie please.¡± She nods at that and vocally pings affirmation. I chuckle at the habit and how weird it is to hear from her expressive face. I perform some cursory checks on the shuttle, my battery stores are 100%, all systems green. Katie gave me a crate full of tech that should be able to re-program the hack that Captain Morris put in place to block comms. Okay, opening bay doors, blast shield engaging (I should really change out some of the thrusters for matter repulsors), and away we go. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. I set navigation to 100km off the surface of Ganymede and proceed to 5km off Alaris¡¯ port side before I engage the warp array. We still haven¡¯t installed shields on Indulgence, but after the capacity upgrade and some skill upgrades, the journey is much less taxing than it was eight months ago. Andromeda, eight months? I really do have a problem with burying my head in work and not pulling my head out to breathe, don¡¯t I? What am I going to do when there¡¯s not some urgent problem to get to? Annoy Katie, probably. As soon as I arrive, I ping Beecham. /Chief, I¡¯m in orbit, how copy/ /Good to see you Admiral, Hangar¡¯s opening and ready to receive/ I ping in confirmation. My decent is a little hot, but the enchanted skin of the shuttle is more than able to keep the hull in tact, but it¡¯s bound to heat up the hangar. Either way, don¡¯t care so much. Beecham¡¯s outpost is much bigger than Mercy¡¯s installation around Astoria. Much bigger, like he wants to start building a shipyard around Sol, bigger. I don¡¯t wait for the hangar to close; instead I make my way to the Habitat airlock and begin the sequence. He¡¯s instituted a spray-down decontamination? Nice touch. As soon as the inner hatch opens I see Beecham¡¯s crew in two parallel lines, chatting. He looks over and snaps to attention. ¡°Attention on Deck!¡± Beecham shouts and his crew snaps to attention. I lower my face shield, ¡°At ease Crew.¡± I immediately go in for a handshake for Beecham and he smiles at that. ¡°Military discipline for a moon crew? Am I to assume they want in?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let them introduce themselves if we have the time?¡± Chief asks me. ¡°Some accounting, then I absolutely do. First, great station Chief, we¡¯ll talk later about the size, but now, I want to tell you there are some Astorian tech mods on the Exchange that you can add to your shuttle if you wish. I need it for this mission, so take a look and see what mods you can put in today. I¡¯m putting a million AE in your station¡¯s account. The rest I¡¯ll ping you after I talk to your crew. Do not buy HAB suits just yet.¡± He quirks and eye but responds with ¡°Aye Admiral,¡± then speeds off into the hangar. ¡°Alright. Beecham signed up for shipyard duty plus the occasional away mission. This week is the away mission. What are you seven looking for?¡± I look at all of them before they speak up, all of them are in un-marked Astorian coveralls. A smile creeps up my cheeks. ¡°Camacho, Ma¡¯am¡± she salutes indoors. Nervous, former Army. Arms barely fit in the uniform. ¡°Former motor pool, interested in logistics and boarding operations.¡± ¡°Lemoore, Ma¡¯am¡± He comes to attention but is also looking at me and smiling. Probably Air or Space force. ¡°former fast mover, second seat.¡± Navy? Damn. I could definitely use a second seat Nav and weapons Sailor. ¡°DeGurgis, Ma¡¯am,¡± the straightest Andromeda damned back I¡¯ve ever seen at attention barks at me. Marine? Ranger? Frog bait? ¡°Current grease monkey, Marine, and former Special Forces.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think Marines do special forces.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t Ma¡¯am. Hence the former.¡± I don¡¯t want to like her, but damned if I don¡¯t. The confidence, the earned arrogance, and knowing where she¡¯s supposed to be lends credence to her attitude. The remainder of the women and men in my coveralls all introduce themselves in a military manner. Another pilot, female, two more security slash other folks, and a hard-core aircraft engineer who was Beecham¡¯s buddy from way back. ¡°Alright folks, are you of your own free will committing to an obligation to the Astorian Navy?¡± They give a hearty Ma¡¯am yes Ma¡¯am. ¡°Good. The pay and subsistence will be according to the Astorian Naval Payscale, compensation in AE only. As the initial members of the force, you will be afforded nearly unlimited opportunity. We are expanding and will be well funded. I am looking for about ten thousand personnel and you are amongst the first dozen. This means more work, more pay, and more opportunities for failure. If Beecham didn¡¯t tell you already, failure is understandable, negligence is not.¡± They nod at that. ¡°Now for the ¡®Big Sister¡¯ part of the convo. You will never feel my authority unless you lie to me, my Councilors, or an investigative team. Rest assured, if I am personally called in to find the truth, the truth will out. But I hope amongst all hope, that all I am asked for is strategy and money.¡± I take a deep breath and continue. ¡°Knowing this, I am offering Camacho, DeGurgis, and Lemoore a Commission in the Astorian Navy as Second Leiutenants, serving at the pleasure of the Empress and her Councilors. Do you understand and accept this appointment?¡± ¡°Yes Admiral.¡± The three sounded. Degurgis and Camacho even grinned. ¡°The remainder are being offered an enlistment contract of five years in their chosen role, accelerated to First Class, and agreeing to mentor future sailors in their role. You have eight hours to review your contracts. Report to Beecham while you decide.¡± They all look at me as though they are waiting for something. Never having been an officer before establishing the Empire, it takes me a moment. ¡°Crew dismissed.¡± The newly appointed officers stick around. I smile at that. ¡°Okay, so. You sticking around lends to me feeling good at picking you three. I have a ship to man, and you three are going to help me test what I need, not what I think is appropriate. Lemoore, you¡¯re my Navigation and Weapons Officer. Right now, I need you to research Galilei weapons and familiarize yourself with the Nav systems on Indulgence, and AES Shuttle 2. I¡¯m sending you a link to the HAB suit supplier we favor and you can pick a model for your needs. It must have emergency head shielding. Dismissed.¡± I watch him go and wait for the hatch to shut behind him. ¡°Ladies, you both have overlapping areas of expertise. Camacho, you will be nominally be in charge of Maintenance and Fabrication. Which means you will have to interface with Chief Beecham, who is the leading chief of all shipyard operations, and be subordinate to the Security Officer while under boarding, away, and other security-based operations, and under the head of Imperial logistics for all else. Are you interested in this role?¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am. Who is the head of Imperial logistics?¡± ¡°Lieutenant Katelynn O¡¯Connell. Also Consul of Trade for the Empire.¡± ¡°Is it wise to mix government with Military?¡± DeGurgis asks. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. But until she doesn¡¯t have to fulfill both roles, she will. Just as it is not health for me to be the Empress and head of the Navy. I will do so until my Empire is populated appropriately. Will we have a problem, Degurgis?¡± ¡°No Ma¡¯am. It¡¯s just confusing to whom I am talking to at the moment.¡± I chuckle at that. ¡°Currently, it is Admiral. In fact, for all military, Admiral is appropriate always. Degurgis, for you, I am imparting the utmost trust. As a Marine, you are being field promoted to Lieutenant and put in charge of Security Operations. In the future, when our forces are adequate, you will be offered command of the Imperial Marines, should your service warrant. Do you accept this appointment and promotion?¡± ¡°How restricted are the maintenance and fabrication bays?¡± DeGurgis asks. A woman of passion, I appreciate that. ¡°They are subject to scheduling with the Maintenance officer.¡± I nod over to Camacho, ¡°Priority given to Navy official tasking, then as to the priorities of the Maintenance Officer.¡± The two women glare at eachother and then smile. Surprisingly a handshake and a hug erupt from that. ¡°I accept Admiral. I will need a security EVA yes?¡± I mean, she¡¯s white, but is she eastern Europe white? Oh Andromeda, there¡¯s no way. ¡°Do you, perchance know Ivanka Baiul?¡± Her face is ashen and pale and before she can lie to me, I respond. ¡°We¡¯re in contact with the Vladi Valkyries, and Ivanka is a friend of mine. Don¡¯t worry, we have multinational connections.¡± DeGurgis seems embarrassed and snaps to attention before dismissing herself. Camacho smirks and thanks me for an interesting work environment before disappearing to the barracks of the moon base. B2 Ch 39: Left to Fester ¡°Admiral Astoria, I formally protest.¡± ¡°DeGurgis, I swear to Andromeda I will make you fight in riot gear only if you persist.¡± ¡°But you have grenades I do not. How am I supposed to protect you without knowing and using similar armaments.¡± ¡°You have a laser rifle, a rail rifle, a laser pistol and plasma grenades. You could take one of the ISS cruisers by yourself. What more could you possibly need? Plus if I use these special grenades, there is a 10% chance that half the ship warps to a random location within 10 light years.¡± DeGurgis pales, ¡°Yeah, code Alpha secured ordinance, Aye Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°I knew I picked the right officer. Especially when you picked an EVA with two mods and asked for forgiveness.¡± ¡°Look, Admiral. Riot arm shields and a limited use repulsor should be standard security force gear.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put that in the standard equipment recommendation.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the big boss, Ma¡¯am? Why isn¡¯t that your decision?¡± ¡°Lieutenant, when your wife, and first Consul of the Empire decides she¡¯s in charge of all Empire contracts and Logistics, you listen. That and she¡¯s an analytical goddess.¡± ¡°Says the woman that invented modern FTL.¡± DeGurgis scoffs. ¡°I did, thank you for the recognition. But realize that as brilliant as I claim to be. Katie is smarter than me. By a lot. She just focuses on logistics, and sometimes Magitech integration. She¡¯s made many mining conglomerates wish they were dealing with the gods instead of her.¡± ¡°Eww, gross. You¡¯re going to infect me with that love shit.¡± The former Marine¡¯s face is a smirk-worthy achievement. ¡°Just wait until the whole of the Vladi Valkyries sick their models on you. You¡¯ll cave. In the mean time, however, I need you to make a boarding plan for the Galilei, assume you, Me, Camacho.¡± ¡°Aye Admiral.¡± The next half of a day wore on me. I received no updates from Katie and Tessa and I¡¯m worried. I haven¡¯t installed the spike yet and I should probably get to it. ¡°Lemoore, I need you to get in contact with Melissa Hunsaker and see if you can get this package working in Bikini Station. I¡¯ll send you her comm signal, but no promises. ¡°DeGurgis, you and Camacho are with me. Low- key boarding of Galilei whether they let us or not.¡± ¡°ROE Admiral?¡± ¡°Calm your battle hard-on DeGurgis, friendly foreign until proven otherwise. Ivanka Baiul and Petra Volkov are protect at all costs. Officers presumed hostile, do not shoot first. Your suits should have better protections. Firing authority with Security Officer. Priority secure bridge and engineering. Fired upon? Suppress with prejudice.¡± ¡°I need a loan, Admiral.¡± DeGurgis says. ¡°Boarding fund approved with permission from me. Send requests ten minutes. Initiate launch prep.¡± ¡°Admiral, but . . .¡± ¡°Make it work team. We are a day behind and I need you all in command of the Galilei before I take Bikini Station. As such, Lieutenant, you have two hours to secure the ship or deploy countermeasures before we descend Planetside. Make it happen.¡± ¡°Copy Admiral. Chief, I¡¯m gonna need those breeching rounds for backup, moon-side launch. Admiral, request body mounted rail for backup. N-M, Admiral, credit assist adequate.¡± DeGurgis chatters. Her comms comfort my choice in security personnel. Alright, big Empress pants today. Put the face on, put the armor on, put the bitch on. ¡°ISS Galilei, this is AES Indulgence, We have arms, ships and tech to bear, we intend to board your vessel for inspection.¡± We get some interrupted comms, but Galilei responds. ¡°Boarding denied. Travel on.¡± Well, no time like the present to demand stuff from my will. ¡°This is Empress Astoria. I COMMAND that you stand down and receive my administrative control team.¡± Lending extra demand in that command drained much of my personal reserves and any regional command I had left. DeGurgis replies, ¡°We got this Admiral, break off and secure your target.¡± Fucking Marine calling targets. She¡¯s not wrong, but damned if I will acknowledge it in public. I decide to make a risky warp in atmo, just above the center of the atoll. The sudden displacement of a shuttle-sized lump of air causes a boom and a ripple that I can see in the bay below me. Bikini-station has apparently been seized? Looks like military, but the uniforms don¡¯t look familiar. I land on a different Island in full view of the Station, debark my shuttle and then use my EVA suit to fly over to the Eastern end of the shielded island. At least none of the goombas shoot at me. I would have had to put light highways in their heads. ¡°Hail intruders! What brings you to trespass on My Island?¡± I ask as my feet hit the sand near Katie¡¯s little cabana workshop. ¡°Ma¡¯am, We¡¯ve secured this island on behalf of Admiral Morris and Australia.¡± He puts his hand on his rifle. ¡°Don¡¯t come any closer.¡± ¡°Soldier, you are on my land, threatening me. Call your Admiral , or I¡¯m coming in Hot and Angry.¡± /Tessa, can you hear me hon?/ /Thank andromeda you¡¯re back! Permission to upload?/ /Copy that Tessa. I¡¯d wager your online counterpart left some integration artifacts for you./ /Please stay within the shield range/ I duck into my Station Menus and flag all non Astorian citizens as persona non-grata on Bikini Station. While I¡¯m at it, I add the new Naval personnel as Astorian citizens and create a link giving all military personnel citizenship. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. I get into my menus and pay the fee for teleporting goods that I own to me. I start enchanting some shaped corundum that I had laying in my workshop. After half an hour I see both men just standing like nothing¡¯s going on. Fine then. Beach bonfire time. I modify the shield so that no oxygen enters and nothing but oxygen leaves. They should be passed out within the hour. I hear Tessa breath a full breath in my mind and it¡¯s odd. Oh double dee. Thank Andromeda. I¡¯ve been so alone. Sorry, love, we¡¯ve been worried about you getting cut off. Welcome back, and it¡¯s nice to have a voice back in my head. Wow, that sounds weird to say. Anyway, how many goons are in our station Tessa? Five. Two you see, two inside, and one hiding in a palm up the beach. Should be half an hour for the CO and CO2 to put them to sleep. Great, alert me when any concentration gets to lethal. Also, hook me up to the Admirals. The US military has temporarily independent leadership as the Executive branch was thrown into turmoil after the return of the Galilei and the command crew of the Copernicus. Fuck. Shit made sense when the President was antagonistic and her staff was placative. Hell, Tessa, connect me to whatever line the Joint Chiefs or their secretaries are answering. ¡°Airman Bennet, for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs speaking, how may I direct your call?¡± ¡°Airman, This is Empress Astoria . . .¡± ¡°Please hold Ma¡¯am, connecting to the Chiefs.¡± Oh shit, that was fast. She had orders to forward my call directly? Craaaap. Shit has gone down hard and fast. ¡°Astoria, thank the maker you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°CNO? Damn, Admiral. Is this a phone convo or a come to you convo?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a we respectfully request your facilities to base our command from, conversation.¡± ¡°Universe damn you, old man. Fine. I owe you one for having my back in the Copernicus program. I will shuttle seven people MAX to my atoll, and the rest can take the long way. Give me a lat-long.¡± He sends me two sets of eight and Tessa has it in the Indulgence before I can ask. Bring it about if you will love. I like the new nomenclature, Penny. Heh, it¡¯s hard to remember you weren¡¯t there for it all. We need to have a convo with Robo Tess and you before we settle on anything, but let¡¯s roll with it for now, kk? She pings affirmative. I wait until the Aussie kids pass out and tie them all to a palm on a different island outside of my shield. I hook up Katie¡¯s backpack to the ansible and do a quick clear of my space. Ass hats put a bomb in the basement. I shunt the bastard to Ayers rock and let it kick. Alright Tess, low approach pull alongside any ship at the coordinates, after blaring IFF Astoria. They have me meet an LSD 60km off the coast of Midway Island. Half an ocean away, it¡¯s going to take this ship days to get to Bikini Atoll. Even the helos won¡¯t make it that far. They signal me in and let me land on the forward section away from the tower. I walk out of the elevator in my EVA suit to meet a familiar face. ¡°Ho-ly-shit Captain. Good to see you after so many years. You still opening doors for Naval Reactors?¡± ¡°He¡¯s now Chief of Energy, but yes. Welcome aboard Admiral. May I escort you to the Chiefs?¡± ¡°Negative Captain. This is a retrieval. Seven bodies on my shuttle with an invitation to anchor inside my atoll. I¡¯ll have one strait dredged to fit a carrier should the need arise. LCACs will be the short-term arrival platform for the remaining staff.¡± ¡°Copy Admiral, wait 10 please.¡± ¡°Fine, but in 15, I¡¯m leaving, and I will allow Osprey to land on the strip on an adjacent island.¡± He nods and pulls a hip walkie to his face. I thought they only had helos, Osprey are some primo kit for this ship, and there are two on deck. Fuck me have they pulled rank for this ship. Has me worried to be honest. With now-Admiral Morris in charge in Aussie-land and the Executive and the Military at odds in the US of A, it¡¯s hard to think what¡¯s happening in the rest of the world. Would you like the run down? Seven regional Ansibles have been built in the two months since the Host has been active and twenty more are in progress. How¡¯s Commander Zhao doing? If Morris made it back, Zhao certainly did. She is currently campaigning for an important political position in China. I feel she is angling for Sheriff of Hong Kong. Damnit, why can¡¯t any of this be easy? Fifteen? Okies, lets go. ¡°Shuttle to Bikini Atoll leaving in tee minus twenty.¡± I wait thirty and only three Admirals and two aides are onboard. I take off with two of my favorite people on board. One of them is a general instead of an admiral. So sue me. ¡°Gentlemen. Welcome aboard. You have twenty minutes to give your input to your future meeting area. This will likely remain a international location, so please, indicate preferences accordingly.¡± Rich, Chief of energy suggest that separate barracks be employed for each island for a total of 9 separate locations. CNO recommends a tethered flotilla meeting house and I kind of love it. I build their recommendations but install the gate I bought on the edge of the shield of my primary base. I can¡¯t wait a day or three, so I summon the three Flag officers. ¡°Gentlemen, I cannot afford to wait any longer. While the community island is welcome to all, and I am having the western approach dredged, I need updates now. Who is in control of Earth and the ISV¡¯s?¡± Each of the men take a minute to murmur, then respond: ¡°The US is in turmoil and the Military has chosen to stay abroad in policy. The local militia are taking a martial law approach, but so far the military construct is in tact.¡± ¡°I mean, that sucks, but I¡¯m glad you have some sense of control of the three million of your aggressive asses. But what of China, Japan, and Europe. I know the Aussies are trying to sneak shit.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am¡± a male analyst replied, ¡°China has taken now Admiral Zhao and made her a political figure. LT Takahashi is in a similar position. Russia is irate at not receiving their prominent members from the rescue, but are rallying around their syndicates.¡± ¡°Fucking divisive bullshit. How are the ISV¡¯s operating?¡± Analyst James chimes in again. ¡°Ma¡¯am, the Brahe and Kepler are basically independent states at this point, Galilei is a divided Aussie and Sino state, and Copernicus is . . . abandoned.¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t believe I leave this planet for eight months and it¡¯s fine until Morris and Zhao turn up.¡± Rich chimes in, ¡°Penny, to be fair, everything went to hell when the people that broke the threshold to tier 1 got their ¡®bonuses¡¯ through the Sector Host. Morris and Zhao just took control of their regions. Most of the world didn¡¯t have strong hands to corral them, so there is a lot of disarray and turmoil.¡± ¡°What happened to Commander Nugget?¡± ¡°Nugent was traumatized by the carnage on the Copernicus and is currently being cared for in a mental health facility.¡± I sigh at that, there¡¯s so much their not leading with. ¡°Gents. When the remainder of your council gets here, I need the quick and dirty of what caused this and what you want from me. The answer can¡¯t be money.¡± ¡°But you owe the world . . .¡± ¡°I don¡¯t owe the world shit. I gave humanity a chance to grow beyond hunger and homelessness and what the hell have you done with it? I¡¯d bet my Empire that the majority of world governments tried to suspend basic subsistence to get more credits.¡± Rich nodded. ¡°Right now, our biggest problem seems to be personal providence and system access. There have been multiple riots in the cities that host ansibles, and one or two have been destroyed by those that have rejected the system and have religious beliefs against it.¡± ¡°Somehow that doesn¡¯t surprise me. Cold approach is to let warlords develop and go in and pop their heads and re-structure the new civilizations. Warm approach is also a restructure, but to consolidate like Tokyo and build higher density near your ansibles. Cooperative world government could put an ansible in orbit that could cover the planet, but that seems a bit far fetched right now.¡± The Chiefs present nod. ¡°It would also only solve a portion of our problem.¡± I quirk an eyebrow, letting the man know I want more details. ¡°The warlord issue has already begun. The current regional powers in North America is this council for the East Coast, the Texas National Guard, The Southern California Police State, and the Confederated Territories of Columbia. The Aleutian Orca Riders are starting to become a problem as well.¡± ¡°And let me guess, Australia and China are at a truce and invading Asia.¡± ¡°Australia has coopted the Japanese and started a campaign in Indonesia and South America. China is moving through Africa, and Russia has been strategically left to itself. Oddly enough, Russia has survived the most in-tact and the reasons why are kept a secret.¡± I smile at the last part. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to get some gangsters on the phone.¡± I tell the seven people in front of me. B2 Ch 40: Meetings, Begging, and Assault. ¡°Penny, bunny, this has all been arranged by your hot wife. Do not sour our relationship with your blathering.¡± A distinctly Vladivostok accent chirps through my mind. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to offend Svetlana. And Katie is busy, or I¡¯m sure she¡¯d stop by and flirt with you, while taking care of ¡®business¡¯.¡± She chuckles at my innuendo, ¡°Oh? If you have talked about me, then perhaps the move to your Empire is ready, yes?¡± ¡°Yes. We currently have room for several thousand, but we cannot currently accept people incapable of contributing to society.¡± She scoffs at me, the anger in her eyes very apparent. ¡°I will attempt to not be insulted. But perhaps I will take it as you assume we would try to fill your ships entirely. We will not. More than 150 of my people are interested in this opportunity. I will talk to Katie on the specifics, but you have our support for two months, then we expect to be transported to our new homes.¡± ¡°That is acceptable. And for that support, perhaps you know some enterprising Russians that want to expand their opportunities on Earth?¡± ¡°Ah, there is the Admiral. I was wondering if you were only bunny.¡± ¡°Cute. You have a week to get to Bikini Atoll if you want a piece of this.¡± ¡°Remember that you asked me, Admiral.¡± She sneers at me. ¡°Then remember that I asked nicely.¡± I threaten in return. I normally wish Katie were near, but in this case, I needed her. She developed a rapport with these folks and I¡¯ve really done nothing but institute the Matrix into their lives. ¡°These were your supposed friends?¡± A white haired old man with unyielding resolve shuffles into the room. ¡°Yeah. Svetlana doesn¡¯t like that I won¡¯t play into her games. And just like most people, she thinks I¡¯m to young, to new to power to be demanding things.¡± ¡°Ah, that kind of Diplomacy. Don¡¯t let the give and take fool you. Russia and the remnants of USSR power have wielded soft power like it¡¯s a national sport. They¡¯re the best because that¡¯s how they live. Just like Americans like to pretend to use ¡®Big Stick¡¯ ideology, but we like to shout and trample things too.¡± I laugh at that, stick toting elephants. ¡°Which is why I like knowing people like you. You¡¯ve breathed this stuff for decades, but you seem to realize that everything can¡¯t just ¡®go back¡¯ because we want it to.¡± He smirks, tired but amused about something that probably has to do with my youth, even though I¡¯m almost 40 now. ¡°I¡¯ve been in the Navy for a lot of change. I put a nuclear reactor in space, something I never could have dreamed of. But I¡¯m still a cantankerous old man that just wants everyone to leave me the hell alone.¡± ¡°Chief of Energy lets you do that?¡± I can¡¯t help the smile that comes to my face. ¡°Listen here you little shit.¡± He chuckles and so do I. ¡°Speaking of energy, these damned restrictions we¡¯re under are keeping us from being able to quickly order parts that we need to build better infrastructure.¡± ¡°I mean, currently published energy tech is low to mid tier 1, unless I¡¯ve missed something?¡± ¡°We¡¯re stuck at tier 0 until we get a sufficient percentage of blah blah, system bullshit.¡± ¡°There¡¯s the curmudgeon,¡± I tease. ¡°Well, Admiral, my best advice is to talk to some aides that understand what Game the System means, and re-structure whatever government you have left to include a lot of smart people. Makers and the breakers. Get into those governance menus and get to satisfying those percentages.¡± ¡°You want me to start a new government?¡± I start laughing at that. Like, inappropriately hard. The frustration, desperation, and confusion in his voice echoes how I currently feel about starting an Empire. ¡°Sorry about that, new Empress identifies with that. Anyway, no need to start over, I mean do if you want to, but you have to figure out what¡¯s more important to you, to the Joint Chiefs. Will it be desperately grasping for the pieces breaking off and trying to glue them back together, or engineer that tier upgrade, build a sturdy core and then reclaim what you¡¯ve lost?¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the right person for that job. Might know some people that are though.¡± ¡°Awkward question time: who control¡¯s the country¡¯s interface?¡± ¡°Awkward is right. Ugly business that. Whole line of succession got taken out the same week. The Secretaries got together and started this council and then most went into hiding. So, we¡¯re lucky and the Council controls the credits and the interface.¡± ¡°Let me guess, the States were already given their cut?¡± ¡°The way our laws are laid out, it was automatic. Any more than that wasn¡¯t explained to us military folk, nor would I have likely remembered it.¡± He breathes a laden sigh. ¡°I suppose I got what I came to see you for. Not the answer I wanted, but what can you do?¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry Rich, not my hand that put those restrictions on.¡± I had a little to do with it, but I can blame the Forum. He just grumbles as he walks out. Three days later a small flotilla anchors within my atoll and I¡¯m fit to be tied. They ask me for all kinds of shit but I point them at the barracks that I set up all over the atoll and tell folks not to venture to the northern islands yet. All in all, around four thousand Sailors and Marines are parked in my pool. ¡°Absolutely not. You all get basic subsistence. Your meals are fucking free.¡± I have to answer for the thirtieth time about the food choices in the Rec Center I built with the Administration building. I made it for emigration purposes, and a barracks and entertainment for those forced to wait, but what this has shown me, is that I had not planned a size-appropriate facility. Stolen story; please report. ¡°It¡¯s not about the meals Ma¡¯am, Its about the credits,¡± the Navy Captain says. ¡°The US had not converted before change of power. Two months isn¡¯t a lot of time.¡± It was fucking nine months, but I can see why no one would switch before the Sector Host went online. ¡°Captain, I¡¯m going to link you a finance module that my Consul of Trade put together. Send it to the Chiefs and all they have to do is set the exchange rate for the dollar and then your Sailors and Marines can get their money changed free of charge.¡± I ping my network on Astoria and send the Captain the ¡®web address¡¯. He thanks me and dismisses himself. With no other people waiting in line to talk to me for the moment I check in on my boarding team. /Lt. DeGurgis, SITREP/ /Fuck is it good to hear from you Admiral. This mind chat is pretty sweet. Anyway, we¡¯ve secured the ship aft of the accelerator, and shut down everything but battery power, but they maintain control of the bridge and the HAB spaces./ /Say the word and I¡¯m there, Lieutenant./ /Copy, Ma¡¯am, but the bigger issue is that the Kepler and the Brahe are coming about and heading toward the Moon. I think they detected our laser discharges and are trying to take advantage. Well, Lemoore thinks anyway. He knows how the sensors work./ /Is there still a forward airlock near the bridge?/ /Wait one/ It really is weird just standing around chatting in mu brain. I still instinctually twitch my fingers to type though. /Yes Ma¡¯am, but I¡¯d wager they¡¯re under the same advanced security protocols that we can¡¯t bypass on our end./ Overriding ship safety protocols while on battery power is a bold move, Morris. Jackass. Moreover, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s even onboard. Ah well, time for some aggressive diplomacy. I tell the Chief¡¯s aides that I need to step out for a few hours and that no one is allowed on my island and then summon my shuttle. It takes less than two minutes to clear atmosphere and I warp toward the Moon and DeGurgis¡¯ signal. I pop out five kilometers away and ask Tessa to tie me into the sensor suite that Katie and Mel put in. You¡¯re fortunate that Melissa was accomplished in a niche field. This shuttle is capable of both piercing the interference and working around it. Ahh, I was wondering why it was so easy to chat with folks when the ansible system here is on the fritz. Indulgence has detected multiple launches from both Kepler and Brahe, headed this direction ETA twenty minutes. Twenty minutes? That has to be close to max range right? Vacuum enhances many capabilities of rockets, including effective range and control range. Yeah, I should have known that. I think I use you as a crutch sometimes. In that vein, can you avoid the incoming ordinance if I hand over shuttle control to you? Greater than 90% chance that I can out-maneuver the missile for long enough to exhaust their adjustment thrusters. Fantastic. Now I just need a place to teleport into without anyone seeing me, preferably attached to the bridge. I pull up a schematic of the Galilei and see an elevator, an electronics trunk, and . . . no way that would work. Would the door be locked on both sides? Heh, I can always teleport to a nearby room if it doesn¡¯t work. With a grin, I double-check my target position and vector, and teleport into the Captain¡¯s Cabin. Though decorated much differently than Morris¡¯ cabin, I remember the layout enough to avoid furniture tripping me up. My pistol already in my hand, I sweep the room and find someone strapped to the rack, gagged and blindfolded. I get closer and pull the bunched pillow case off their head and find an Asian woman with fear in her eyes. She scans me and starts squirming and mumbling into the gag. I gesture with a finger in front of my mouth while I check for hearing protection. Whomever did this wanted the Captain isolated completely. She fidgets when I reach for her ear, so I quickly restrain with one hand and pluck with the other. ¡°Captain,¡± I remove my hand and speak closely and softly, ¡°I¡¯m Admiral Astoria and some of my Sailors and I are trying to liberate this ship from the hostile Copernicus crew. I need your help to understand the situation. I need you to nod that you understand before I un-gag you.¡± She nods because why wouldn¡¯t you. To her credit, she didn¡¯t shout afterward, just a sigh and a few deep breaths. ¡°I¡¯m going to un-tie you, and I want you to hold still until I back up okay?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Her voice is raspy and broken, as though ruined by screaming. To my great surprise, she did as I asked after I untie her hands and release the cargo straps. I didn¡¯t untie her feet for obvious reasons. I take half a dozen steps back and point my pistol at the deck near her. ¡°Thank you for untying me.¡± She unties her feet and massages her wrists before doing anything else. ¡°Has your crew been integrated, or exposed to a swarm or the System?¡± ¡°We heard about it when we warped back, which is when Commander Zhao took over the ship. They used the promise of power of the swarms to lure much of my crew to their side. From what I heard before I tried to rally my crew and got tied down, they are holding my crew in various airlocks and the brig. /Security, I need you to check the maintenance bay and the aft airlock you didn¡¯t come in through for captured personnel./ /We can check the aft, but maintenance is in engineering forward, Ma¡¯am/ Shit, I forgot about that. ¡°Can you do anything about the security locks on the hatches coming forward from aft engineering?¡± She quirks her head to the side before replying, ¡°Unless Morris found a way around it, my assess should be encoded into the core of the operating system of the ship. It was one of the reasons they tied me down. I can release them, but I may not be able to change the access codes.¡± ¡°Do what you can please. I don¡¯t have a security tech on this mission.¡± Or at all now that Melissa¡¯s gone. ¡°I take it any crew that are out and about are not your crew?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t sanction the murder of fellow sailors, despite what they have done to us.¡± She rises and walks over to a desk with a terminal. /Security, confirmed that all non-captured crew are considered hostile./ ¡°I can force specific doors open, but I have to basically hold them open. But now¡¯s when I tell you, I won¡¯t continue to help you unless you give my crew the swarm as well.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t love blackmail, but I get it. You can wait until we take you to Earth, and you¡¯ll be inoculated for free, or I can arrange it right now, and you will owe me.¡± ¡°I will owe you, but my crew will be treated and inoculated and be free of obligation.¡± ¡°I agree to these terms.¡± I say and ask Tessa if I and summon my strain. I can facilitate that, but the number of doses will cost you three tech imbalance. Oof, that¡¯s a lot. How about one canister of mine and the remaining generic? Tessa populates a calculator in my vision to adjust sliders. Two ten dose canisters for a tech point. Okidoke. Summon me them things in a crate please. It appears at my feet and I remove one of the canisters in Astoria¡¯s colors. I show her the syringe with a wide body and a small needle before quickly stabbing her with it and clicking the plunger to the next stop before pulling it out and setting it on the table. The shock on her face transitions into anger ¡°How dare you!¡± ¡°Captain, you asked for now. That syringe has 9 charges left and each of these have ten. The purple and pink canisters have an upgraded strain, so choose wisely.¡± She taps a few buttons on her console and I get a communication ping with a priority list. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll have my AI access the personnel files so I can dose appropriately.¡± /Security, linking Galilei actual to this chat, let her know when you need a door open, Captain, I¡¯ll be going through to the bridge in five minutes./ /Copy Admiral, Captain, we¡¯ll be at the access door in four minutes./ B2 Ch 41: Pennys Gotta Gun I count down on my hand to signal the Captain and she hits it on the second. The door slides open just enough to let me through and I see a expanse of un-protected decking, two sailors working on consoles and another 6+ pointing at the access door to the bridge. I pull a plasma grenade out of my fanny pack and toss it toward the group and just before it hits the ground I start shooting. There¡¯s no ¡°pew pew¡± from my laser pistol, just a slight buzz of energy as the atmosphere vibrates more dramatically. The plasma grenade however makes a bang and emits the sound of spreading flame, a fwoosh if you will, before the superheated gas impacted clothing, flesh and metal. I have now found a horrendous use of Parallel Minds. My enhanced processing slows down my perceived time-space and while making it easier to hit the lethal shots with my pistol, it also shows me the waves of heat and sound and shrapnel that envelops the 6 crew that are waiting for my Security team¡¯s assault. As soon as I check that the rest of the bridge is clear or disabled, I shoot the men and women that are covered in fire. Perhaps Annihilation grenades are more merciful. /Captain, can you operate the door to the bridge?/ /Astoria, it is currently reading mechanical malfunction./ /Then get out here and assess our situation. These consoles are locked./ I check the two console operators and I take their pistols. There aren¡¯t any keys, but they both have visual tech upgrades. Tessa, can you scan them for what I can expect from the others? We don¡¯t have the skills for that kind of diagnostic. You could flood them with Aether and attempt to mutate the flesh off of their tech. What the fuck Tessa? That is horrible. I am merely facilitating your intent. I will restrain from offering gruesome or undignified actions. Sorry Tessa, I¡¯m just not feeling great after seeing that plasma grenade in hyper-reality. I also feel that parallel minds is distorting my reactions to all this. That, is partially my fault. My counterpart is occupying a mind, I am as well, and we are attempting to integrate through a third. That integration space is what you tapped to assess the bridge at an accelerated rate. Yeah, okay. I don¡¯t mind the analytical focus, but making me feel justified in mutilation is a bit too far. Enough of this for now; introspection isn¡¯t helping me take this vessel. ¡°Captain, tell me something useful!¡± ¡°We¡¯re 60% battery, Brahe and Kepler are still advancing and there¡¯s another ship zipping around out there. I need main power to engage all internal sensors and weapons.¡± ¡°Is this ship equipped with shields?¡± I ask. ¡°Not enough to absorb one of those torpedoes.¡± ¡°Then tell them anything to keep them from firing on us!¡± I shout in frustration as I¡¯m rifling through my menus. ¡°Then get main power back online!¡± She doesn¡¯t break her concentration on the console she¡¯s stabbing with her fingers. Make your anger productive Penny. I dash back into the captain¡¯s quarters and port down to engineering forward to check on the airlock. I see fifty people stuck in that damned thing. Fuck me. I get pulled out of my frustration by something punching me in the back. I flop and roll, whipping my pistol around to see two Sailors with rifles shooting at me. Everything slows when I focus, my pistol rounding in a perfect, slow arc. I pop off a charge on the first man high in the chest and another in the next man straight in the face. I kick myself for not securing the room before checking on the prisoners, but that¡¯s over now. Seeing no one else, I tap the console and find it locked out. I ping the Captain my location and she holds the door open. I start picking people up and dragging them out. I only have to convince 5 people before the rest stand and rush out of the space. I ping again and the door slams shut. The people look up at me and a few faces ping on my HUD. ¡°I¡¯ll be injecting you all with a swarm so you can advance with the rest of humanity. You can reject it after I inject you if you want, but if you run I will maim you and then catch you.¡± I start with my strain on the pinged faces and then hit the rest. A few tried to run in panic, probably afraid of needles, but they¡¯ve been starved and tire quickly. I summon a stack of rations and leave them to blip back to engineering. Maneuvering has been shot to shit, so I¡¯ll have to start-up manually. Fuck me. I blip to the diesel and start the heating coils and prime the supply pumps. I blip over to reactor control and spend a minute to review the manuals. I run around like a damned frantic Jack Russel Terrier transferring power, starting pumps, and energizing rod-control coils. I blip back to the diesel and follow the startup procedures and transfer the main buss to diesel power. Stolen story; please report. /Diesel is the best you¡¯re getting for the next half hour, Captain. Security, where you at? I just got prisoners out of engineering forward./ /Shit. We¡¯ll re-direct to the brig./ Note to self, train people before throwing them into a shit situation. I blip back to the other side of the bridge door and start clearing the passageways and compartments moving aft. I meet little resistance. Several of my opponents were passed out in officer¡¯s quarters; some were in the mess spaces playing games; and some were in watchful readiness in the wrong direction. There were two many people in the mess spaces and the security team for me to reasonably survive without using grenades. /Admiral, Admiral. The brig is a nightmare./ /Any survivors?/ /No ma¡¯am. There were two eating corpses, so I kicked everyone out and put ¡®em down./ /Shit, DeGurgis. You okay?/ /Fuck no. But I¡¯m going to lump them into the other people I have to shoot until I have time to scream about this. Anything left for us?/ /Lieutenant, get as many folks as you can on your shuttle and get them to Bikini Atoll on Earth. I¡¯ll deal with the rest of this./ /Aye aye, Ma¡¯am./ I blip back to the Captain¡¯s quarters and enter the bridge again. I walk up to a panel and arrange for the view screen to display space. ¡°Shit they¡¯re close. Whelp, no point in fucking around.¡± Tessa, can you get me a drive by on the two ships. She buzzes me a negative. Well, hell. Sensors, get me a range finder. Two range vectors pop up on the main screen and the numbers scroll down. With a regretful sigh, I pull a football;-sized device out of my bag and pay the transport fee for the System Host to send me the one I hid in Astoria. ¡°May the breath of history speak of you fondly.¡± I spend the full concentration of my parallel minds on transporting the contents of one hand to the Brahe, and the other hand to Kepler. My will and Aether try to transport me with them, half of me with each, but I clamp that down, and feel the force of Tessas anchor me in place. The objects disappear from my hands. I look up to the screen, and after a few seconds the center of each ship explodes for the barest of moments before collapsing into a warp and disappearing. Hundreds of people, scattered to the winds of probability. They weren¡¯t responsible for what happened on this ship, but they fired on me repeatedly. I¡¯ve already murdered 73 million, what¡¯s another couple hundred? ¡°Where¡¯d they go?!¡± ¡°I sent them away Captain. Barely a blip on the tally of carnage I¡¯m responsible for.¡± The fear is back in her eyes. My respectful treatment must have given her a sense of control. She doesn¡¯t feel it now. ¡°Are you going to kill us too?¡± ¡°Many of your Sailors are on their way to a refugee station in the south pacific. My shuttle, once it sheds the remaining torpedoes, will take as many as she can handle. After your crew is returned safely, I will ask you to surrender the ship and your security access to me. This is what you owe me. If you don¡¯t, I will take the ship, gut the electronics and rebuild it, and you will still owe me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have much of a choice then do I?¡± ¡°Just because the choices are crap, doesn¡¯t mean they aren¡¯t there. Other options exist of course, but I don¡¯t see any that you live through.¡± I walk over to what would normally be her seat on the bridge and sit in it as a statement. ¡°Any other questions?¡± ¡°Got any food?¡± I can¡¯t help but smile at that. I order up a few meal rations and my remaining unused rum rations to the panel in front of her. Fuck it, berry and aether infused beer for me. I pop the Belgian stopper and take a swig. Hell, these are delicious. ¡°Will we be able to do that?¡± She asks with her mouth full. I shutter at the nasty behavior. ¡°Yeah. You should see an integration percentage when you try something. There will be plenty of folks to give you a lesson at the station on Earth.¡± ¡°Are you really an admiral?¡± She continues chewing while she speaks. I sigh and get up and walk into her stateroom. Or at least I try to. I hear a chuckle behind me. I stomp over to the Captain and lean in real close. When she holds my gaze I take the rum and walk back over to her seat, putting the rum in my pack as I do. I sit back into my chair and summon her a sippy cup full of juice with a cartoon character on the side. She looks up with a scowl on her face and she meets my flat stare, hopefully conveying that I chose an insult over murder and she should be fucking grateful. Instead, she¡¯s mowing down on the food and calculating some sort of response. Tessa responds that she finally shook the torpedoes and would be heading back to the Galilei. I tell her to engage with a forward hatch first and then transfer to the small hatch in engineering aft. ¡°Captain, announce to the maintenance bay to make their way to the port, aft engineering airlock where a shuttle will be by to transport them to Earth.¡± She finishes her meal, then makes the announcement, daring me with her eyes to speed things up. This is more trouble than it¡¯s worth. ¡°Tessa, we¡¯re having trouble with the security system cooperating. Blast the airlock and connect at your leisiure.¡± She pings the affirmative. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t risk a life for pettiness.¡± ¡°Bitch, I am trying to help re-structure a country, and keep the fucking planet from breaking down into warlord states and here you are wasting my time. I have an advanced starship rescuing the prisoners aboard the Copernicus, and here you are, wasting my time. So here I am, wasting your time with the mere seconds you have left to buckle in or get sucked out.¡± I click my belt and engage my boots. She panics and does not get the belt in time. The ship lasers make quick work of the doors and the Captain breaks her arms on the way out. I un-clip, push out into space and teleport to the captain. I teleport her into Indulgence¡¯s cargo hold and check her vitals. Her eyes are blown and she¡¯s bleeding from her nose and ears. Her vitals are weak, but it doesn''t seem like she held her breath, so her lungs should be fine. ¡°Alright Tess, Take us aft.¡± In the end I send Lemoore back up in their shuttle to evacuate the rest. I ask Tessa to upload herself and work on fixing the system that Morris wrecked. She¡¯s not optimistic. B2 Ch 42: Logistics, but with Magic. ¡°Admiral!¡± Fucking four of us turn to watch DeGurgis run up the beach. I shamefully enjoy watching that muscley heap of woman in motion. She¡¯s in liberty gear, and I¡¯m a thirsty lesbian. Most of the boys are looking too. ¡°Lieutenant, there are multiple Admiral¡¯s here.¡± ¡°I mean, sure, but you¡¯re my Admiral.¡± Okay, fuck me. I wonder what color my blush is. At least one of the other admirals is laughing at me, probably Rich, the bastard. ¡°Out with it Sailor.¡± ¡°Oh! Right,¡± She looks away from me to the other Admirals. I look down and see that I¡¯ve unzipped my jumpsuit without having an undershirt. Just me and my sports bra. Well shit. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been talking to the other officers, and we really need some more land area and I was wondering if emigrating was available yet?¡± ¡°Not until Alaris makes it back to Astoria. But what are people looking for specifically?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just send Tessa the list yah?¡± She needs to tone down the chaperones Right Now. That¡¯s Camacho¡¯s job anyway. I motion for her to get on with that. I get lost in some menus and see that the requests are substantive and end up being lodging for a few thousand more people? Oof. Tessa. How much would it cost to transport all of the chaff from our mine in Astoria? To create the landfill you require on this atoll will cost 1k CE and 10 million or so credits. But the plan I¡¯ve tentatively selected will support 15k people with requisite community spaces and an additional rec center on a different island. The most radioactive islands will be made effectively safe in the process. I don¡¯t love that this is necessary, but I was na?ve to think that 5k was going to be enough for my emigration station. Make it so Tessa, make sure don¡¯t kill anyone. Any personnel in danger will be moved aside. ¡°Wait, are you literally doing it right now?¡± DeGurgis asks. ¡°Of course. This endeavor showed that my initial estimate was wrong for the project I intended on these islands, and that aggressive expansion is necessary. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.¡± ¡°How much expansion are we talking?¡± The Chairman asks? ¡°Fifteen thousand with some options. And no, this is not new Hawaii. This is going to be a connection to Astoria with emigration support.¡± I look over to see my bulky LT shifting her weight, waiting for something. ¡°Did you have another question, L-T?¡± ¡°We need another for the Volleyball tournament this afternoon?¡± I chuckle at that. If it were now I could decline, however, ¡°Sure, if I can get the Codgers Club settled by then, I¡¯ll be around.¡± She smiles and looks like she¡¯s about to bound out of her skin. She then quickly recovers and then swipes her hand through her short hair and says, ¡°Cool, cool. See you then.¡± And then jogs off. I can¡¯t help but laugh and shake my head. ¡°Codgers Club?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to be hip. Lay off, Jim.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. But we still need to discuss the logistics of collecting our national labs and forming a government body with them in it.¡± ¡°We stabilize and reinforce our bases and make an aggregate nation for the meantime.¡± ¡°Is there some kind of fast travel we can enable?¡± They all look at me. ¡°The answer is yes, but it¡¯s expensive. Prohibitively so. It would be cheaper to build supersonic cargo jets.¡± I reply to the barrage. ¡°Gents, I told you to bring some of your younger officers. Commanders or so should be adequate. They should be able to help you through the system aspects that seems to be plaguing you.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± the air force admiral chastises, ¡°we¡¯ve heard this and I¡¯ve asked several of my installations to start working the problem. Their solutions just aren¡¯t workable. I can¡¯t transport a whole wing without additional support¡± I want to claw his eyes out. He¡¯s not paying attention. ¡°CNO. If you could move any asset to this location, what would you move?¡± ¡°A carrier we had in the Middle East that we lost contact with.¡± ¡°Okay, Admiral. Give me temporary command of the vessel in the system.¡± The authority shifts with a ping and a notice. Alright Tessa, do I get a discount if I use my talent and my space magic? Normally no, but in this case, the ship is in your range, so yes. The Matrix loves you for some reason. You love me too, sassy cat. She sends me an image and I fucking pull and mutter some words. My body starts glowing and my aether just dumps into a portal offshore. Tessa sends me an alert of credits spent and a fucking thousand foot long mass of metal appears a kilometer offshore. I sink to my knees and look at the astonished faces of the flag officers in front of me. ¡°I used skills as well as money, but the Sector Host can transport anything up to that size with a tax proportional to the mass.¡± I look over to the air force chief of staff. ¡°Now stop bitching about what is and isn¡¯t possible and fucking figure it out.¡± I start falling over slowly trying to stabilize my core and catch myself with an arm. It shakes and I¡¯m about to collapse when I feel hands on my back and legs and don¡¯t remember anything else. *** I wake up in a bed I know with no one else in it. I¡¯m briefly relived, but I do wish that Katie were here. I sit up to find that my living space is empty save a beefy Lieutenant with a rifle in her shorts and tank facing the stair well. Well, shit, she¡¯s taking the Security Chief job seriously. I look down and I¡¯m in my underwear. In for a penny, heh, nice. I have a coffee maker around here somewhere. I start rummaging and sway a little and I immediately feel a hand on my back. ¡°Thank you for the rescue, DeGurgis. And for keeping watch, but I¡¯ll carry on.¡± ¡°No dice Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Fine. Go check the fridge for a swirly-colored fruit and I need something to call you if you¡¯re going to hang out while I¡¯m half dressed.¡± ¡°Half dressed? Please, you¡¯re basically wearing a swimsuit. And I go by Jay or Jenna.¡± ¡°Alright Jay, be cheeky while searching.¡± I keep looking for where Katie put the coffee. Oh, she always hides it behind the grinder. I start grinding and brewing and set out some cups. ¡°Is this what you¡¯re looking for?¡± She¡¯s holding a couple slices of Galaxy fruit that are amazingly preserved. ¡°Yes!¡± I snatch the plate and stuff the wedges in my maw and feel the sluice of aether flood my bones. ¡°Oh, Andromeda that¡¯s good.¡± I ask Tessa if I can have more slices before a mutation. At this point, a whole fruit would fill your stores to 125%. Your capacity was upgraded significantly after your level 32 mutation. I thank Tessa with a few pings and order another fruit and slice it. I continue to moan through half of the fruit before setting the plate down. I look up to notice that Jay is facing to the side and her ears are bright red. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Sorry about that. Those things are almost pure aether and likely the tastiest thing I¡¯ve ever eaten.¡± I look at the fruit dreamily until I see her reach out tentatively. ¡°Unless you¡¯ve been exposed to aether, I suggest you don¡¯t. You want your first mutation to be subtle. This wedge of fruit would not be subtle.¡± She searches my eyes for a lie and then nods. ¡°If you want to ease into it. I drink an infused beer or juice that keeps me topped off.¡± I summon a bottle of each and hand them to her. She takes a sip of each. ¡°Oh shit! It makes me itch and tingle at the same time.¡± I bite the innuendo I could sling back, ¡°If it¡¯s effecting you that much, then work up to a bottle of juice a day. If you want to Chose an aether-based path, and have not hit tier 1, I can help you change over. Using magic is cool, but so is tech, but unfortunately you have to commit to one.¡± ¡°Have you seen shape shifters?¡± She asks with sparkles in her eyes. I chuckle, ¡°I have seen a wolf-man Jedi, but never a full werewolf. As always with this system, keep what you want and how you want to advance in mind, and it will help you get there. Mutating too fast is something it cannot fix.¡± Universe, her innocent look is fucking too much. ¡°Did we miss volleyball?¡± ¡°Uh,¡± she checks her actual watch, and her face brightens when she see¡¯s it¡¯s barely noon. ¡°We have enough time to eat and get out there!¡± I sip my coffee and quirk an eyebrow at her. ¡°I mean, you should change into your suit first. Unless you want people to stare, I mean, they might stare anyway ¡®cause you¡¯re kind of blue and exotic but . . .¡± She stops worrying her hands and looks up in shock. ¡°Oh, no, I mean I . . .¡± ¡°Calm your tits Jenna, it¡¯s okay.¡± I chuckle at her antics and walk back to my closet and shop in the exchange. A cute purple number with a sports top and tiny shorts bottoms. It¡¯s basically workout gear with too short shorts. I kind of want Jenna to stutter and I want Katie to see it and abscond with me bodily. ¡°You should turn around Jay, lest I think the wrong thing.¡± I turn my head to look at her with a smirk. She flushes hard and retreats into the stair well. I cackle inappropriately. My change is quick and I take a second to check myself in the mirror, for maybe the first time since I went through the massive change from my former physiology. Full of aether, I kind of glow in the low light, my features are sharper than I expected and I¡¯m very thin. I can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t notice, but since I had my suit adjusted, I really haven¡¯t paid attention. Andromeda, everything on me looks long. Alright, a tie back of my front hair and we¡¯re good. I walk over put on my pistol belt and put a hand on LT embarrassed¡¯s back to tell her I¡¯m ready to go. ¡°Alright. Lets go get lunch and spike some fuckers.¡± I punch her lightly in the shoulder. She beams at me and rushes up the stairs. I follow but see it¡¯s sunny as fuck outside. Get me a big floppy hat. Floppy hat saga part two! I mean, if we¡¯re going bougie socialite I need an oversized wine glass with my fuzzy peach beer in it. Bitch smirk engage! I walk down the beach like I own it. I literally do, but it¡¯s the vibe not the fact that people are looking at. It might be because I¡¯m wearing a pistol belt with a bikini, but who really knows. There¡¯s an appropriate amount of murmuring as we walk toward the Rec Center, it¡¯s three kilometers or so and the beaches in between are packed with off-duty Sailors. Hopefully the northernmost islands will get attention from the carrier that I teleported in a few hours ago. That sucked, I hope to never do that again. ¡°Duuude, when we asked you to find someone for our team, I didn¡¯t mean get the Admiral.¡± Camacho says looking uncomfortable. ¡°She¡¯s the only other Astorian available. What was I supposed to do?¡± She¡¯s beaming from actually getting me to show. ¡°Plus, she needs a break from all business all the time, like anyone else.¡± Camacho asks me the veracity of that statement with her thick, shaped eyebrows. ¡°It¡¯s true, the Joint Chief¡¯s needed to be reminded that their younger staff members also have good ideas.¡± I sigh dramatically, ¡°But then, I also have delusions that I¡¯ll be able to take a vacation when we get back to Astoria.¡± ¡°How do we have work already, Astoria just got a Navy.¡± Lemoore asks. ¡°Soon as Alaris, my fancy new ship, gets back to Astoria, we¡¯ll start migrating our first group of immigrants. That first group will need to have specialists and planners to make sure we can handle less productive members of society, but this is all for future us.¡± ¡°Not too many harrowing boarding ops I hope?¡± one of the other crew, whose name I¡¯ve forgotten asks. ¡°Nope. I plan to tow the Galilei back to Ganymede, and then do domestic operations around Astoria and Hades, including figuring out what you all want for your personal lives as well as your Navy lives.¡± ¡°You planning on mandatory service?¡± ¡°Civil service maybe. Twenty hours a month participating in civic services for your first year, or something like that for people taking the free shuttle. People that pay the gate charge can opt out, because money can help fund more free services. Etcetera. None of that really matters for you all and the first group of immigrants, as most have agreed to help organize government efforts and new immigrants.¡± ¡°No way that will go horribly wrong.¡± Camacho adds, helping immensely.¡± ¡°Fuck off Camacho. You already signed up anyway.¡± Jenna jumps to my defense. That¡¯s probably going to be an issue in the future. ¡°Ease up LT, a complaining Sailor is a happy Sailor. Plus, if she pisses me off too much, I¡¯ll drop her off on an asteroid to deal with Contractors. Space Alien contractors.¡± Camacho shudders visibly. ¡°No need for threats Ma¡¯am¡± She grumbles into her Thai beer. ¡°Oh, thanks for the reminder, y¡¯all hungry or thirsty. I¡¯m happy to spring for a spread after a job well done.¡± I look around for the best place to put extra tables. ¡°Message me your orders and I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Each of them order a different favorite food and a different beer or liquor. I set it out on tables I order and put the drinks in a shiny new trough full of ice. I even put a few of my blue-bottle Belgian topped beers with a mutation risk label on them. ¡°Thanks for not ordering anything ridiculous.¡± I say to my Sailors. ¡°Damn Admiral, you should be in charge of all picnics.¡± One of my enlisted chimes in. I chuckle at that and enjoy watching the team smile and chat after that ordeal in the brig. Speaking of. >P]Katie, how¡¯s the op? [< >K] Broken. Comms. Horror. Show. [< >P] ETA? [< >K] Soon. [< That¡¯s not a good sign. I¡¯m not sure if I hope it was a result of warp sickness, or horrific leadership decisions. Then again, they brought some horror to the Galilei, so I want to put a pulse or two through their heads anyway. I need to forget this shit for a few minutes. ¡°Penny for your thoughts?¡± I look over to see a concerned Jenna, ready to take bite out of that pun, but then it would feel so wrong to kick this big brown-haired Labrador. ¡°Jenna, do you know my first name?¡± She looks worried now, ¡°Uh, Admiral?¡± I snort. ¡°It¡¯s Penny.¡± She goes from worried to horrified to holding in a laugh within seconds. ¡°Come on, Jenna, in for a Penny, in for a pound.¡± She snorts the seltzer she¡¯s drinking and starts laughing between coughs. ¡°I don¡¯t love those kinds of jokes, but you had no way of knowing.¡± I take a swig of my beer and remember that she¡¯s trying to get a symbiote so I pass her the bottle for a swig. She takes one and passes it back with a full body shiver. ¡°Does the transition hurt?¡± ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware of. You¡¯ll keep a few of the swarm bots to help early communications with the symbiote, but you get used to it. It¡¯s a little squirmy as it settles in though. And I hope that you¡¯ll take to it and help me train new folks through the transition. The last few folks I helped through aren¡¯t part of my Empire anymore. Since you¡¯re in the Navy, you¡¯re mine for at least five years.¡± I didn¡¯t mean it to sound so possessive, so my cheeks purple in slight embarrassment. ¡°Is Beecham coming to Astoria with us?¡± She asks stealing the bottle from me again and taking another swig. ¡°That was the original plan. I told him he was in charge of my shipyards and that he could design one around Mercy and I¡¯d pay for it.¡± I snag my beer back and point my finger at her with stern eyes. I am apparently not threatening at all because she quirks an eyebrow and a mouth corner at me. She has to be flirting with me. If she gets any cuter I¡¯ll have to talk to Katie. ¡°You know, he likes you and all, but has a hard time with the idea of Empire. In fact, most of us do.¡± She fiddles with the pop top while waiting for an answer. ¡°Yeah, I get that. I don¡¯t love the term either, but what else to you call the overarching government that organizes commerce and travel between independently governed settlements, that also has the power to adjudicate inter-system disputes?¡± ¡°That sounds like a collection of republics under a Caesar or a King. Empire makes sense.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a relatively common style of expansionist governing style. Looking for something a little less corrupt than the Roman Empire and the Senate, and a little less heavy handed than Persian Sultanates and their Satrapies.¡± ¡°How do you have time to think of all of this and be a scientist?¡± She asks, reaching for my beer again, but I smack her hand away. ¡°I don¡¯t. I only have three Consuls right now, so I needed to take an Empire Administration Module. I have memories of many government types and personnel in my brain. I tried to be more involved in discovery and invention, but I tend to neglect everything else, so one of my fianc¨¦e¡¯s left because of it.¡± I had the odd privilege of watching Jenna DeGurgis reboot. Loading . . . 30% please wait. She drains her beer and goes to get a whiskey bottle and a beer. Loading . . . 50% please wait. She swigs from each and passes me the whiskey. Loading . . .75%, paused waiting for interaction to complete. I swig and give the bottle back. Loading . . .99%, finalizing new state. She takes a hard drag off of the bottle, caps it, and tosses it back into the trough. ¡°You have fianc¨¦es.¡± She states. ¡°Before you get weird about this, it was one of their ideas, and I took a long time to come to terms with it. My remaining fianc¨¦e is kind of a Vampire and needs multiple partners to survive on Aether lean worlds, so I have to come to terms with that too. Haven¡¯t settled on what that means yet.¡± ¡°Should you be sharing this with me?¡± Jenna asks, not looking at me. Ah well, opportunity missed. ¡°I mean, I think Katie would approve? I¡¯d have to talk with her first?¡± ¡°WHAT!?¡± Jenna screams, staring at me? ¡°Yah, it¡¯s a lot. If you weren¡¯t flirting with me, no harm no foul.¡± I reach up to squeeze her shoulder and leave her to stare into her beer. ¡°You having a spat there Admiral?¡± ¡°Why, want to join us Camacho?¡± ¡°Well, yeah! I¡¯ve been working on that for months!¡± I chuckle at that. ¡°You need to be more obvious, I don¡¯t think she knows.¡± Camacho growls in response. With DeGurgis distracted and Camacho angry, we play like shit. It¡¯s fun though to see the boys tease them about their terrible play. They don¡¯t make fun of me, sometimes it pays to be the Empress. B2 Ch 43: Small Fires. The Russians arrive the next day, and Svetlana hasn¡¯t lost any of her snarky spunk. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s playful toward Katie, but to me it¡¯s demeaning and rude. ¡°I was not expecting this many Americans, bunny. I do not like surprises.¡± ¡°Then you are going to hate Astoria. Perhaps you should reconsider your plans if you are so squeamish.¡± I try not to snarl, but I doubt I succeeded ¡°I do not like this posturing, Penny.¡± ¡°Svetlana, I get it. You want to be important but it¡¯s hard for you not to try to cut down powerful women. Fucking stop it. We¡¯re not in competition. If Katie wants you, she can have you, but make no mistake, you are hers, not the other way around. You are either her equal, or you surrender, there is no other option with Katie. ¡°If we¡¯re done with that, the Joint Chiefs want to talk business.¡± I want to throw a damned tantrum right now, but there are hundreds of Sailors that would see me and Judge me for it. Katie, I fucking miss you babe. >P] Please come home. I love you. [< >K] <3 [< I don¡¯t think it would be safe for anyone if Katie got hurt. I have erased a moon, I can figure out how to murder a planet if necessary. Tessa, do we have orbital link? No, Penny. We are still blocked from global networks, but the Bikini Ansible is still reading out to 100km. Do you wish me to give you coordinates to the incoming Russian Flotilla. ¡°Nah, just exclude them from the shield and arrange comms-based entry.¡± She chuckles in my mind. I erected a tier 2 shield that covers the whole atoll to 10km outside the ring of islands. Fuck everyone I don¡¯t like. /Admiral, do you have a minute? This is DeGurgis./ /You calling as LT or Jenna?/ I don¡¯t have time for personal crisis, but I can¡¯t afford to cut her out. /Admiral, stop flirting with your security officer, we have a situation./ /Then report Camacho./ /Not my report to give, Admiral/ /Then four extra comms just wasted my time. LT, shoot./ /Incoming heavy cruiser, 1 mill km, just out of warp./ /Whatever sensor you were using, use IFF, report to gearing stations while IFF is returned./ I order the crew. /Report other warp related activities from this vessel./ /Copy Admiral./ Tessa, I need your finger on an order and cold drop of weapons. The Exchange will not deliver ordinance during a high alert situation. Fuck it, fine, Tessa, pilot the shuttle for eyes-on and evasive maneuvers. They are not actively changing position, recommend prudence. >K]Penny, we¡¯re in system, but the Copernicus crew has an aether dependence and their mutations are . . . extensive. Some are very unstable.[< >P] They need more aether than the enhanced rooms aboard Alaris? [< >K] Rooms? The room I have some in is good enough, but it¡¯s not big enough.[< >P] There are forward and aft break rooms and the medical ward can be converted[< >K] The medical ward will be perfect. Thanks honey. [< >P] Still need the extra bodies?[< She pings me in the affirmative. Tessa, disregard previous, pick up security team and transfer them to the Alaris. /When you finish gearing, report aboard Indulgence for transfer to Alaris. Report to Acting Captain O¡¯Connell upon arrival for further tasking./ /Copy that, Ma¡¯am/ I hope Petra and Ivanka are alive, but from what Katie said, they may not be themselves anymore. My murder impulses are rising and I¡¯m going to make Morris pay for this. I can¡¯t understand what would drive a person to not only risk the lives of the whole crew, again, but to then mis-treat them so horrendously. I suppose I don¡¯t have to understand, as long as I can prevent it. Do I need to find Melissa to deal with another communications-based User, or can Katie and Alaris handle it? Lemoore didn¡¯t seem to have any luck with getting a hold of Melissa, so that¡¯s probably a no go. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Indulgence has been received by Alaris and after the prisoners are transferred to the med bay and the other aether break room, Katie intends to return to Earth. Andromeda, I can¡¯t wait to see her. I hope she¡¯s doing okay, but it can¡¯t be easy after what she¡¯s seen. I have some hugs and smooches to welcome her home. ¡°Admiral, we have a message from the Gerald Ford.¡± Saving me from my thoughts. Thanks Captain. ¡°Is it a small Russian Floatilla?¡± I ask. ¡°It is, and they are broadcasting a message demanding the US to vacate an Island for their use.¡± ¡°Alright, let me go put on my EVA suit and we can fly over to the carrier. Are any of the Chiefs over there?¡± ¡°The CNO and the Chief of Energy are over there, yes Ma¡¯am.¡± They get in their metal boat with inflated rubber sides and I fly over. I¡¯m greeted by a small contingent of Sailors that all salute me and the coming aboard bells echo throughout the ship. ¡°Astorian Admiral, Arriving.¡± Well, they¡¯re taking me seriously, I wonder what this is all about. They lead me to the officer¡¯s mess, where many, many officers are waiting. ¡°Did you invite the Russians here?¡± ¡°Hello Jim, hello Rich. Great to see you today, how are you enjoying my Islands?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you for your hospitality. What is this about.¡± Jim accuses. ¡°A Russian syndicate has shown interest in emigrating to my planets and I asked if they were willing to help the US to re-acquire your interests. Other than those, I have made no other promises.¡± ¡°How could you even consider allying with those criminals?¡± The ship¡¯s CO asks. ¡°Skipper,¡± I insult, ¡°You are not my people, but about 150 of those gangsters are about to be citizens of mine. Additionally, I have it on good authority that they specialize in Power that the US is currently weak against: like networks and soft, evasive structure, but with a powerful presence. I invited them to talk.¡± ¡°We will not capitulate to their demands!¡± ¡°Listen, Commander, I don¡¯t care who you are, but everyone should understand that I set who will do what in my Atoll. If I want you to leave, I can make you. If I want the Russians to die, I will kill them, but do not presume that you have a choice other than obey me if you choose to stay.¡± I turn to the Admirals, ¡°If you decide not to meet with these mercenaries, that¡¯s wasting a resource TBH. I intend to allow their lead ship anchor in the harbor.¡± Indulgence is within Ansible radius Penny. Time to wrap this up then. ¡°Alright, I have other meetings today I¡¯m going to the bridge to make a call.¡± I walk out of the room and close the door. I teleport when I don¡¯t see anyone. The door to the bridge is open. ¡°Lieutenant, I need to use ship to ship to contact the lead Russian vessel.¡± The OOD just hands me the radio and diles a common frequency. ¡°This is Admiral Astoria, transmitting from the Gerald Ford. I would speak with Svetlana Fedorov.¡± ¡°This is Fedorov.¡± ¡°Svetlana, I have given you permission for one ship to anchor in my waters. I will not be evacuating an island for you, so that¡¯s a no go. So why don¡¯t you pull in, grab some lunch and a beer until Katie gets back in a few hours.¡± ¡°I require liberty spaces for my crew.¡± ¡°There are racks and mess space available for everyone. I can¡¯t guarantee that Russian rooms are separate from American rooms. If you can play nice until Katie arrives, I won¡¯t sink the rest of your ships. And if you actually need something from me, use my ansible port ID and text my brain like a normal person. Astoria out.¡± I hand the radio mic back to the Officer of the Deck and thank him for allowing me to use it. I walk out toward the port lookout and jump off the side of the ship and fly toward the northern Islands I¡¯d just land-filed and remodeled. Holy cow did these two islands get bigger, or at least they seems so. The width that was added gives the whole side more visual weight. It also has the benefit of barely being above background radiation now. You really should look into doing this to all of the Islands should you wish to continue having them occupied. Yeah, true, what¡¯s a few thousand CE between friends. You have more than 2 million left, and will continue to accumulate them as your civilization develops. Ugh, I know. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve burned through most of my ¡°Welcome Humans!¡± bonus and I¡¯m scared. Though, I suppose I can just try and use my AE for every available opportunity. I have quite a lot of those, though it only comes out around 20k CE worth. Okay, now it makes sense why your tone is so bratty. Integration seems to be going well. It has been paused since we entered the system. Morris¡¯ blocking field is focusing more on Alaris now that we are in his sensor ranges. I really need to do something about that guy. I only have a few minutes to think about potential assassination plans when a pressure wave nudges me from the right. I see the characteristic royal purple of the Indulgence a few kilometers distant and starts heading toward me. I feel a buzz of excitement to see my Katie. It¡¯s only been a few weeks, but I don¡¯t like it. Plus, if the whole crew is aether starved, what is she eating?! Come get your juice box honey. Wait, ew. That¡¯s all kinds of wrong. I jump out of my EVA suit and pay the fee to have it transported back to my quarters¡ªit¡¯s too bulky for a proper hug. I see the hatch to the side of the cockpit open and see her slide out and land with barely a crouch. I run towards her with a grin on my face and pull her into a big hug and a grateful kiss. ¡°I missed you.¡± I tell her. She smiles a rare full-smile as she looks down. ¡°Greeting me in a Bikini, no less. I approve.¡± I see her stare linger at my neck. ¡°Do you need a bite babe?¡± She actually flushes and looks away, but nods anyway. ¡°Then come on, have a sip. Just leave enough so you can have another sip later.¡± I waggle my eyebrows for the last part. My beautiful ginger vampire is so fucking sexy, even in a jumpsuit. She pulls me close and starts licking and kissing my neck. She no longer needs t turn me on before I welcome her fangs, but it does distract from the stab. She moans into me as my blood is drawn, lapping it up hungrily. I have to bite my lip to keep from making sounds as Katie peruses my body with her hands while she¡¯s latched on. A minute or so in, I start pushing her hips away. She whimpers and latches on tighter but when I pinch her ear she recoils enough to realize she should stop. ¡°Fuck, Penny, you¡¯re intoxicating. You¡¯re essence is so much more heady than before.¡± She giggles. ¡°I love you, and you¡¯re tasty in several ways. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re mine again.¡± ¡°Katie. I love you too, and you are totally drunk.¡± She giggles and starts kissing me again, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re so much more potent now. I think I forgot that in my hunger. Hehe, I really like touching you, and your eyes are really pretty.¡± I chuckle at that. ¡°I knew you were secretly mushy and adorable.¡± Katie growls into our next kiss, ¡°If you tell anyone, I will make sure all the civics and planning questions come through you.¡± ¡°Not the kind of dirty talk I want now Hon,¡± even though I¡¯m laughing at how adorable she is. B2 Ch 44: Dont Worry About That Little Guy Katie holds my hand as we walk around waiting for Svetlana to arrive. She has comments for my changes, mostly good, and my only defense was that I was in a rush and didn¡¯t spend too much time considering anything but the lodging and green spaces. ¡°Those inner docks aren¡¯t very practical honey. It¡¯s how you get another Pearl Harbor. I get the idea of safety from the ocean, but you should have some external docks as well, especially for the carrier. Can I make some changes?¡± I squeeze her hand and bump her shoulder, ¡°Of course Kay, you are the logistics expert afterall.¡± She takes twenty minutes and transforms the south east section of the atoll. Widening Bikini Island and connecting it to Enyu was her first task, creating a moderately sized dockyard on Bikini with an associated airfield for small aircraft. She also connected the unnamed southern strip of island (where we put our ansible and lounge workshop) with a small dock and a landing pad. ¡°There, that should help us have a base here and have an immigrant station that don¡¯t have to mix.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll still need a shield emitter for where I put the gate.¡± ¡°Mmm, I made a pavilion for that, just put up the shield when you put up the gate.¡± I salute her. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a twit,¡± she smiles and shoves me over. I laugh, looking up at her from the sand, ¡°you love me though.¡± ¡°I do, what insanity has touched me?¡± ¡°Ruuude¡± She helps me up as we walk toward the docks. ¡°I¡¯ve told the Russian cruiser and the US carrier that they have permission to dock. Are the ships inside the ring okay where they are?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll ask if they want to move, I¡¯m more worried about the small fleet of ships Svetlana brought. More than that, I hate to think about what Morris and Zhao are doing with the atrocities they¡¯ve been allowing.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about those two for right now. I have a plan and it takes a little setting up before I can tell you the plan, communications insecurity and all that.¡± She waves a hand dismissively , which makes me want to ask even more questions. BUT, I trust her, so if she¡¯s got a plan that she can¡¯t talk about yet, I¡¯ll wait. Twenty minutes later we¡¯re sitting at a small food court with picnic tables and an Exchange terminal for order and delivery. I sit with my legs tied up in hers because it¡¯s been too long. I would sit across her lap, but apparently that¡¯s not for public. ¡°Do you want to talk about Copernicus?¡± ¡°Not today Penny. Maybe not for a while? I don¡¯t want to be involved in another boarding operation, though, like ever.¡± I nod at that. I¡¯d like it if she never saw trauma like that again. ¡°I get why you never wanted those annihilation torpedoes built, though. Disappeared the whole ship. Any idea where they go?¡± ¡°I have my theories, but no concrete proof. We¡¯ve proven that the warp continues along the last vector of momentum, if the warp completes. For the Brahe and Kepler, the warp completed but the explosion and implosion dynamics were chaotic so the remainder could be scattered at one location if the reaction was finished, or at several if the reaction continued. If the reaction was in-progress in non-dimensional space, then it¡¯s likely it was converted to energy and re-formed as a spontaneous release of matter and anti-matter. Things get really strange when energy density is that high. Some of the largest stars can create an energy density that destroys black-hole creation, which is where I got the idea for this type of propulsor.¡± She looks at me with more concern than interest, and that worries me. ¡°Penny, you had to annihilate those two ships as well?¡± Oh, yeah, that. I sigh. ¡°Yeah. They took shots at me while I was in my shuttle and kept advancing on the Galilei while we were trying to rescue their crew. So I lit them up.¡± She reaches across the table and grabs my hands. I start tearing up at the compassion, realizing what I did, and framing it in a way that I was forced to act the way I did. I still feel like a monster, but at least a lovable monster now. ¡°I¡¯m trying not to think about it, or I might not be able to function. I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d be killing 73 million people with the swarms, but I knew, I knew I would be killing hundreds of people that were in a shit situation because their command staff told them to. But I couldn¡¯t just blip over and kill their Captains, it takes more than one person to keep a ship working, to fight and fire torpedoes. But how much choice did they have when the only place they could reliably shuttle was to the ISS or the Moon?¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Penny. Don¡¯t spend too much time second guessing your actions. Things went to shit here on Earth. You can¡¯t control that. The CO¡¯s of those ships are responsible for the lives that they wasted.¡± She squeezes my hands in reassurance. I appreciate the sentiment, and understand that I shouldn¡¯t hold all of the responsibility, but I did chose to save 73 prisoners instead of more than 500 Sailors. ¡°I also know that there was never really a moment where I could have stopped Morris from doing what he did. But we can now. So can you tell me about this plan yet?¡± ¡°Sorry, honey, not yet. I got Tessa¡¯s buy in though if that helps.¡± I scoff, ¡°Katie, I trust you completely, I just don¡¯t like not knowing.¡± ¡°Just remember that if you ever decide to leave me in the dark.¡± She smirks at me with her damn sexy teeth. We chat about city-running stuff for a while when she reminds me that I need to eat to be at full strength tonight. I waggle my eyebrows and order a mass of aether-rich foods and drink. When I¡¯m about halfway through, Svetlana strolls up the pier with her Mafia Models in tow. She grabs my beer and takes a long drag before the Aether hits her. Hey, I labeled the bottles, not my fault she didn¡¯t read it first. She drops the bottle and it thunks to the concrete slab, dribbling my precious peach-colored liquid. The blond Russian looks as she¡¯s preparing for an unexpectedly epic poop. Nope, vomit¡ªbeer comes right back up. ¡°Wow, you must have hit half the bottle. I understand training for Astoria, but I would have suggested an extended stay on Mercy first.¡± ¡°What did you do to her, bitch?!¡± Brunette model accuses. ¡°I need an aether-rich environment to live. Normal humans have not been exposed to any appreciable amount. That particular beer is my favorite for keeping up my Aether in the afternoon. Your boss there, probably has aether sickness.¡± ¡°Did you two have an interaction I should know about?¡± Katie asks. ¡°I called her to see if she could talk to a group of admirals and help stabilize the US. She decided she wanted to talk down to me and call me bunny. This was probably to tell me that she can take whatever she wants from me, or some macho bullshit.¡± ¡°Hmm. Perhaps it is because I warned her against angering you when we were last here. This is probably a safer interaction for her. Penny¡¯s explanation is correct. I advise against consuming anything she eats herself. Safer that way. Either that or get an inspect skill.¡± ¡°Well, ladies, would you like to talk business, or should we get your boss to her temporary quarters to rest?¡± ¡°Will she die?¡± ¡°Not from this, no.¡± I assure them, transporting another beer to the table and throwing back the stopper with a tink. ¡°Then we should talk. You asked for more than the 150 immigrants to help with a situation. We would like to know the situation.¡± The brunette sneers as her platinum counterpart lifts Svetlana and drapes her over the end of the table. ¡°Sounds great. But first, a head¡¯s up.¡± I order a small bottle of my favorite juice. ¡°Pace a bottle of this over a full day until we launch for Astoria. On Mercy, we will start working up to more until Astoria won¡¯t hurt you. We have a Botanist that can give you more information once we get there.¡± I hand it to the platinum one and she opens ands sniffs the bottle. Shrugs, takes a sip and waits. ¡°Is good, but tingles in my mouth and stomach.¡± ¡°Perfect. Space that out over 12-14 hours and you should do just fine. That plus staying on Mercy for a few weeks should acclimate you.¡± ¡°I will tell the crew. You have enough of this?¡± ¡°Send me their ID¡¯s and I¡¯ll add it to their rations. As soon as you become Astorians, that is.¡± The Platinum blonde rolls her eyes, ¡°Yes, fine. Miss Katie explained this to us. As Lieutenant, I agree for our crew to your citizenship requirements for living in your Empire.¡± Seconds later Tessa runs through the menus and voila, 153 people added as citizens. I bring up an Exchange menu to adjust their rations and adjusted timeframe and close out my windows. ¡°Done. Today¡¯s meals will come with one bottle of juice.¡± I stab a piece of meat and chomp on it while I think for a second. ¡°As for the other ask. The US has broken up into warlord-style city-states after the rather cleanly executed assassinations of the entire chain of succession.¡± I nod at them for a tidy job. ¡°The problem is, the military is the only organization that has remotely stuck together, and none of the men in charge know how to supply and consolidate a broken country.¡± ¡°And you think that because we are Russian, we know this?¡± ¡°No, Its because you are a Russian organized crime syndicate that I think you know this. Katie knows your operation better than I do, but you get things done without too many people knowing who did it. That¡¯s going to be a hot commodity with as tarnished as their name is.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not in a position to shake their consumer markets and wallets at people anymore either. There will be a lot of money to be made in transport and supply businesses in the developing North American Landscape.¡± ¡°Yes, I like this. Transport bodies, transport supplies, possibly drugs. We would need to purchase a shuttle. Sustainable air transport like you have. We should wait to talk pricing until . . .¡± She was interrupted by a terrible screeching in my brain accompanied by an uncomfortable resonance inside my skull. I pop my emergency shield ring and it lessens it, but not to a degree that I can think straight. I look up to see that Katie¡¯s only mildly uncomfortable and she taps her ears in response. I morph a plug in each of my ear canals and the pain recedes to a buzzing against my body. I attempt a telepathic comm to Katie and I hear nothing but static. She shakes her head, telling me not to try again. She does get up and sit beside me on the bench, straddling it so she can hold me. I wonder what that¡¯s all about when I see a streak through the sky heading off toward the South Pacific. Katie feels me try to stand up and holds me even tighter, shaking her head into my shoulder. Why would she try to hold me here? Oh, oh no. I shift to look Katie in the eyes, she doesn¡¯t look at me so I raise her chin. For a brief moment I see guilt, but it is quickly stomped out by resolve. She nods at me then and my jaw creaks open. She dropped a torpedo from orbit. That¡¯s why the comms dark, why she wouldn¡¯t explain it to me and why Tessa didn¡¯t contact me from Alaris. I pull Katie¡¯s leg up and pull her into my lap so I can hold her back. In less than two minutes, the noise stops. I normalize my ear canals to check and hear nothing. The few people I can see are passed out on the ground. I call in my suit and see if I need to pull anyone out of the water. B2 Ch 45: Recourse, Remorse, and Remedial Action. Katie had a much better idea that let us hug a little longer: Make Tessa do it in the shuttle. ¡°Penny, I know I told you how much I wanted to stay on Earth for significant periods when we visit, but not this time. I want to be safe in the house I built for us and stay busy.¡± Her voice is small and, not scared exactly, but haunted. She grips me harder and shudders a little at a though or memory she must have been having. ¡°I¡¯ll be here to warm the chill away baby. Are we at least done with that particular asshole?¡± She bites me in reproach, ¡°Check your messages, Penny. I bet you haven¡¯t since you tiered up.¡± I chuckle and nuzzle, ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±
x2
x 622
/Experience split between Tech and Symbiote due to aether delivery of technical device/
x3
x2
/Experience split between Tech and Symbiote due to aether delivery of technical device/
Ugh, I wish I had put in a quest for both crews before the mission started. I would like to put a default mission/quest together that applies to voluntary and dangerous missions. Maybe a thousand credits or so? Depending on their participation and all.
/Due to low participation, your reward is significantly reduced/
I can¡¯t believe that¡¯s a system message.
x2
x3
x7
/This Human was flagged by AI: Atropos as a War Criminal. Please enter such flags in civilization interface prior to target elimination in the future./
/Due to low participation, your reward is significantly reduced/
/This Human was flagged by AI: Atropos as a War Criminal. Please enter such flags in civilization interface prior to target elimination in the future./
/Due to low participation, your reward is significantly reduced/
x25
x 41
That answers a few of my questions. Thank Andromeda those sick fuckers are taken care of. I¡¯m sure there will me an innumerable section of Humanity that will take advantage of others using the system, and I certainly can¡¯t police them all, but taking care of a ¡°leader¡± of Humanity turned psycho feels good. I can see what Katie¡¯s not feeling good about. The system basically thanked her for killing the mutants too far gone on Copernicus, and it chastised her for killing civilians. That¡¯s quite a lot of collateral damage though. Not that I¡¯m one to judge. I get vilified by the system calling those I killed as pirates. ¡°Katie, for what it¡¯s worth, I think you made the right decisions.¡± ¡°Thanks. It does help knowing you would have ordered something similar. It¡¯s just hard to see the aftermath in print. As much as I like numbers and quantitative analysis, being the cause of some of those wartime numbers is a different story honey. I don¡¯t think I want to be in the military any more.¡± ¡°Whatever you need Katie. If you just want to run our trade empire, that¡¯s fine by me. You can hire some undersecretary Minion of Logistics in charge of military supply or something like that. If you want to be a mostly planet based high inspector, that¡¯s fine too. All jobs are vacant right now. None of this is set in process or routine. ¡°You want to contribute and I want you to be happy. I¡¯m sure we can find something that intersects with the Empire¡¯s needs. No matter what happens, though; you, with me, is all I need.¡± She leans back to stare into my eyes, her eyes darting between each of mine, glaring to find a single mote of insincerity, finding none. I smile at her with acceptance and love and she rams her rips against mine. The kiss is quick and desperate, she pulls back several times to make sure I¡¯m still here and rinse and repeat. Minutes later, the Russian trio begin to wake, even Svetlana. ¡°Did I miss a romantic event? Was I not invited?¡± Svetlana slid back onto the bench and is supporting her body on her elbows. ¡°Touching, maybe, romantic? Not at all.¡± I reply, ¡°Are we in a touching relationship with Svetlana, Katie?¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°No. We are not. Though since we aren¡¯t married yet, I should take a turn with Platinum over there.¡± I poke her hard. ¡°I apologized for almost dying okay? I did not intend to miss our wedding!¡± ¡°Your fear of commitment is breathtaking, honey. You fried your brain just to get out of marrying me. Andromeda knows I should have left, you brain being the only good thing about you, but here I am, hoping you¡¯ll get smarter.¡± ¡°You absolute shit!!¡± I twist around and bite her, pinching her sides in tandem. For a moment I forgot who I am dealing with until a scandalous moan issues from her mouth. ¡°Penny . . . honey. Don¡¯t start what you can¡¯t finish.¡± She licks her teeth and looks around. ¡°No, Katie. No. Tonight you¡¯re mine. Tomorrow you can mix business with pleasure.¡± ¡°You are very fun to tease,¡± She nips at me and then stands. ¡°Ladies, we have business with some Admirals to attend to and an emigration to debark in three days.¡± The Joint Chiefs start spamming my brain with messages and I tell them to meet us in the new emigration control center next to the dock facility. I pull Kay close by her hip and plant a kiss on her check ¡®cause I want to while we walk to the control center. The Chiefs arrive with their aides and set up on high in the pseudo court room slash hearing room. I walk up to the highest seat, standing above the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. ¡°You¡¯re in my seat, General. This is no longer a US territory, and the law here is mine. Kindly move.¡± He looks around to the other flag officers, seeing Rich and Jim telling him to move, he takes me seriously. I get eyeballs tracking me from everyone, and only Katie is giving me a positive stare. She looks turned on and it¡¯s distracting. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Astoria, my Empire. My Consul of Trade and Finance is with me. I asked you here to discuss emigration, and to facilitate Svetlana¡¯s Earthbound crew helping the Joint Chiefs in their Earthly efforts for a slice. ¡°First, emigration. My interceptor, Alaris, will be leaving Earth in three days, and will likely take two more days to reach Astoria¡¯s moon, Mercy. I will be taking any interested emigrants. As for any deal your parties may generate, I¡¯ll leave both of you to it and adjudicate as necessary.¡± I expect a ¡°how dare you!¡± or a ¡°what gives you the right?¡± but none of it came. Something¡¯s wrong. Seriously wrong if the Joint Chiefs are capitulating. The next hours are boring ass negotiations between two parties that don¡¯t want to be involved with each other at all. Not only that, but they kept looking at Katie for validation, despite my role and sitting in the high chair. Oh fuck, I¡¯m sitting in the high chair. Andromeda, if this is a joke I¡¯ma smite someone. ¡°From a Majority decision of 4 to 2, the USA will become Astorian Citizens.¡± Hearing that sentence felt like a bat to the side of the head. ¡°Pause, gentlemen. I would be remiss if I did not clarify the difference between a Vassal State citizen and a Citizen of Astoria.¡± I stand and plant my hands on the podium strafing my stare amongst the old men present. ¡°As a vassal, you will retain the identity of the USA, your people being citizens of the US and you being a vassal of the Empire. Independent rule with limited Empire protection and services. Your interests play to your country. ¡°As a Citizen of Astoria, you will be subsumed by the Empire. My priorities will be yours. You will serve at my behest in benefit to the Empire. The US will be colonies or territories of an independent Earth, and I will promote conquering only when attacked.¡± ¡°With this new information, I call to overturn a previous decision.¡± The Chairman squacked. An aide chimes in, ¡°Gentlemen, I would note that it will take a two-thirds majority to overturn this decision.¡± ¡°Noted Captain. Carry on.¡± I look at Katie and see that she¡¯s already writing down the rule-oriented officer¡¯s name. Scamp. The vote is stupid and ridiculous. The Coast Guard Admiral agrees that his Sailors need different work in this new separate city-state arrangement, and the CNO and Chief of Energy have also voted against overturning the original vote. ¡°Three and Three, even with the Chairman¡¯s vote it is not enough to overturn.¡± The rule oriented Captain took his role as Adjutant seriously. ¡°Thank, you Captain. Before I decide on this unexpected development, I will need more information on the state of the state I would be subsuming. Flag officers, long-range communications should be stable again. Flag aides, Information officers, and anyone with a political science degree, I would like to meet back here in an hour and a half to download some details on what we¡¯re dealing with and what I¡¯m getting into.¡± *** Katie and I tire each other out quickly. In fact, three O¡¯s in a half hour and I¡¯m tuckered. Katie is lazily petting me, licking up the small amounts of blood she missed. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to go back to work after this.¡± I turn in her arms and nuzzle into her chest and thumb her hip bones. ¡°I¡¯m actually excited to spend a few days working on the beach. I kind of miss this Island.¡± ¡°Yeah, it was one of the memorable times, for sure. For a brief period, things felt simple despite what was going on around us.¡± Katie chuckles and then pinches my nipple! ¡°OW! What was that for?¡± ¡°It felt simple to you because Melissa and I were working overtime to give you a break. I enjoyed the time because I got to work next to you everyday. Even though I was frustrated with you almost all the time, it was nice to have you within reach all day.¡± I grab her tighter. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I was such a bad girlfriend. I¡¯ve really been trying to be better. Even though I¡¯ve still been buried in projects.¡± Suddenly a sense of pending doom slithers up my spine. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me.¡± Tears start leaking out of me. ¡°I really am trying to be a better girlfriend, and I want to be a good wife, and a good Empress, and maybe even a passable person.¡± Katie snorts at the last one. ¡°I can tell you¡¯re overwhelmed, honey. But remember, you made me feel so many extra feelings when you died and came back that my expectations have changed. I am no longer content to be successful and together: I¡¯m invested. I want to see that you appreciate my investment, and that you are invested in me.¡± I¡¯m about to reply in a hurried and desperate statement, ¡°but before you say anything, know that simple things like trusting me to take your brand-new interceptor on a mission with authority to handle it the way I think was right is a huge statement of your investment in me. So don¡¯t think that I need grand gestures. Just you, your trust and your love.¡± Hearing the usually analytical ginger speak so kindly and emotionally was too much for me and my feelings of inadequacy. I bawl into her chest as she holds me with her long arms and enveloping legs. I start to think about all of the times I¡¯ve neglected those that I supposedly care about and the hits keep me sobbing. No Penny, don¡¯t fester on those times. Kay said that things changed during my last mutation. Focus on that. Focus on what you can do to include her in not just work, but also life. ¡°I guiltily love it when you say you¡¯re addicted to my blood. I was worried about the huge mansion you built us, but when I saw the near replica of our loft, I kind of got lost in how much that gesture meant to me. That you wanted to be in that kind of casual life-work-love environment with me. And, I absolutely love that you let me touch you in public. Something as silly as resting our legs against each other at lunch means a lot to me.¡± ¡°Oh, so I didn¡¯t have to build you a city? I¡¯ll have to tone it down next time.¡± ¡°Pfft. No, the baths would have above and beyond. While we¡¯re on the topic of confessions, I almost went into the system menus and declared us married, just so I could call you wife. But I though you would be angry about me messing up a wedding again, so I didn¡¯t.¡± Katie gently grabbed my head and pulled it away from her to stare into my eyes. She smiled at me with loveliest, most caring smile I have ever seen from her before kissing me softly. ¡°In the same spirit, Tessbot told me you probably already had a plan to take care of Captain Morris, but I didn¡¯t want you to suffer any more guilt from this process, so I sent the two torpedoes. That and I was afraid of what ridiculous plan you had cooked up that would put you in too much danger for my sanity.¡± ¡°It was going to be an infiltration with a confrontation where his minions and guns would have been ineffective against my armor, but his mind attack would likely have neutralized much of my abilities. However, my trump card is my teleportation is based on will, not magic. I would have had to resort to teleporting the bombs on my waist into his lungs right before he melted my brain. The carnage would have been vomit worthy.¡± Katie¡¯s eyes search mine fore something, not finding it, she looks . . . shocked? ¡°You¡¯re serious?! You would have tried to solo a base full of enemy combatants with nothing but your will, a suit of armor, and a handful of grenades?¡± She groans and rolls out of bed. She starts growling words I can¡¯t make out as she puts on a bikini and a starts looking for a hat. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s worse, that you thought it was a good idea, or that kind of stupid heroics would have probably worked because you¡¯re ridiculous!¡± ¡°I wanted to save everyone from the extra trauma! But I waited, I didn¡¯t act because I wanted to talk to my advisors, my fianc¨¦ and the other half of my brain. I didn¡¯t act on that because I knew you wanted to be involved and I wanted your input!¡± ¡°You think that I didn¡¯t deliberate my choice because I didn¡¯t talk to you? Do you think I didn¡¯t ask Tessa?¡± She¡¯s yelling at me now, and she looks angry, not just frustrated, but angry. ¡°NO! Of course not. I just wanted to know if you¡¯re okay!¡± I sniff and wipe my eyes as I get out of bed. I order some clothes and start putting them on. ¡°The simple and efficient nature of the attack is very on brand for you. I was surprised, sure. But when I read my logs, I saw that my collateral damage was listed as pirates. Andromeda was not so kind in the labels for your attack.¡± She¡¯s silent as I put on my admiral space jumper. ¡°It seems that it¡¯s affecting you, and I want to be here for you Katie. I want to hug you and kiss you until you forgive yourself. But this isn¡¯t about me.¡± I walk toward her and put my hands on her hips, anchoring her in place. ¡°What do you need to process this?¡± She grabs my face again, softly, and strokes my cheeks with her thumbs as she looks into my eyes, searching for deceit. ¡°I think, I need to focus on a problem. And maybe have you around for a few weeks?¡± I nod at that. ¡°Maybe this time you¡¯ll be alive for our wedding day.¡± ¡°Ruuude,¡± I laugh, thumping my head into her. I wrap my arms around her, ¡°I couldn¡¯t do this without you, you know.¡± ¡°Nor would I let you.¡± Chapter Break Thanks to those who took the time to click the poll at the end of the last chapter, and especially the few that hit some more rating buttons. As the title suggests this is just a notice that I''ll be taking a week to align my brain and do the thing people do when their napkin plan has run out of notes (quietly panic). This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. It''s amazing to see that this many people are reading and following, thank you so much. More of Penny and Katie to come! -- Z.O.D. B3 Ch 1: New Relationships. Somehow, everything is not complete shit. The Capitol of the Empire, Aelea, is a burgeoning city of ten thousand and change, and miraculously someone else is running the day to day. My now wife Katie O¡¯Connell is taking her roll as Consul of Finance and Trade seriously and has definitely made inroads on the Milky Way mining arena as well as other Earth goods that have become popular across the Exchange. What¡¯s even harder to believe is that it¡¯s only been six months since she destabilized much of the world with two expertly placed torpedo strikes. It¡¯s been about seven years since I enlisted in the Navy to be near my brainchild Annihilation Propulsor. About five since we encountered that remote frontier drone 2700+ light years from that inoculated and assessed our ship as a new race for the Andromeda Matrix, or what I conferred to Humans as the System (because the Matrix has distinct negative connotations with us). It¡¯s been about two years since Humanity in total has been exposed to the swarm that conveys the Matrix, and though it killed a statistically insignificant portion of Earth, it destabilized the planet with the new economy and the uneven power distribution between those with the drive to grind and those that merely wish to throw money at things. ¡°Empress, the V¡¯Tek are asking for an audience to discuss the use of aether on Elysium, and the Vassalage on Earth is asking . . . well for a lot.¡± I pinch the bridge of my nose as I stare at a vexing Magitech hydro-aether power system upgrade for a humanoid AI vessel. My wife chuckles at her workstation in our open loft arrangement on the top floor of our mansion behind the Capitol building. ¡°Thank you Naomi, what of the Vassalages on Atropos and the ¡®naturalists¡¯ on the other side of Astoria?¡± I ask my aide, a former Commander and Admiral¡¯s aide in the US Navy, as she respectfully projects a screen when she¡¯s in menus. ¡°The Naturalists are asking for seeding the forests with beasts, specifically tainted beasts, but that¡¯s a line item for the next Empire review, scheduled at the beginning of the quarter. The Atropos Vassalage wishes to be designated as a system Capitol to enhance their control of their planetary system and potentially the system itself.¡± ¡°Hmm, that sounds reasonable for Atropos. Set up supervisory authority for non-named moons and scavenging rights for the gas giant. Single site building rights on the other fates moons, and petition able mining rights for the belt. Also, inform the naturalist and for the review that no aether disturbances will be set up within a thousand kilometers of an established outpost or Vassalage. See if their attitude changes.¡± Naomi taps a few more moments, then I notice that her screens are no longer visible. ¡°You also owe me an answer on your residence on the Mansion grounds of if you prefer a specific spot in Aelea.¡± She flushes and fidgets. ¡°To be clear, the Garden Apartments are not an explicit or implicit invitation to our bedrooms. They are set apart specifically for guests that need more security and have business with Me or my Family.¡± ¡°Wait, really? I just thought . . . well, nevermind. Is it okay if my husband comes next week to look around and I give you an answer then?¡± I chuckle at her nervous hope, ¡°Of course, it might be nice to have a disgustingly hetero relationship around for once.¡± ¡°And if your husband can be bribed to cook for us, all the better.¡± Katie chuckles at me and my barely adequate skills in the kitchen. ¡°He can, and our kids want to be apart of your Aether Academy.¡± That was almost a question. ¡°Naomi Burgess, you have been keeping information from me!¡± I give her my best disappointed look. It makes her take a step back. Perhaps the look was too much. ¡°We take ages as low as 14 below the tier 1 threshold. Non-symbiote guardians cannot be present for safety reasons. Video feeds available upon request, of course. They must be on Astoria for at least three months before admission to reduce absorption problems. Lastly, the academy requires two years of mandatory service as an academy trainer or service in the Navy with preferred posting considerations.¡± ¡°Yes of course! Thank you Empress!¡± she rushes to hug me and of course I accept. ¡°Did you not know your position came with legacy admission for family?¡± ¡°What? No. I didn¡¯t. Wait, I helped you make those policies! That is not a part of them. Though perhaps it should be. Making a note for the Review.¡± I chuckle at that, and nod in agreement. Naomi vibrates with happiness all the way out of the Mansion. ¡°That, my dear, may be your best skill at keeping this Empire together. You can see the quality of a person. Though you should spend an even amount of time looking at the male variety of human for their aptitude.¡± I can¡¯t help the burst of laughter that erupts from me. ¡°That has been a common comment from the population of professionals on Earth.¡± ¡°Perhaps you should let your recruiters manage the postings then, instead of getting involved yourself. In fact, Rick has a whole list of personnel coming out of their obligations that have petitioned for Imperial service.¡± Katie looks up from her work bench and waits until I lock eyes with her. ¡°Do you have regrets, my love?¡± I sigh, laden with maybes. ¡°Yes, but also . . . they¡¯re necessary? I don¡¯t think my approach with inoculating Earth went very well, but I¡¯m not sure how much better it could have gone unless I gave governments time to become more powerful than their populaces, but then, would they deserve it? Would there have been less death, or more to preserve a desperate hold on the countries they were no longer fit to lead?¡± In frustration I shoot an ice lance to the stainless-steel plate above the sink across the room and it shatters into ice chunks. ¡°But since China broke into several states, and the City States of America have settled, international relations have . . . stabilized enough that millions of people aren¡¯t dying everyday from warfare.¡± ¡°I dunno Katie, my regrets are pretty normal: that so many people died to get us here. A present which I kind of like, save that I¡¯m in charge and don¡¯t¡¯ have enough Consuls to get a full day of research in.¡± I huff in frustration. ¡°Just remember how hard I had to fight to get you an aide.¡± she comes over to poke me and kiss my neck. ¡°And without that aide, we would have less time for,¡± she nibbles at my neck and I groan in supplication. My knees get loose so she hooks her arm around me, cupping my opposite breast. I moan as she squeezes my sports bra over my erect nipple. ¡°Empress, the squad . . .¡± DeGurgis turns the corner, red faced and surprised to see my wife groping me. ¡°Don¡¯t mind us, puppy, continue your report.¡± ¡°I, uh. The security team has. Oh, Astoria, I can¡¯t.¡± She whimpers. Oh, poor Jenna. So cute. She looks to the floor and fidgets while considering her options. I grab Katie¡¯s hand on me and turn while I peel it off my chest. I inquire with my eyes and she rolls hers and dismisses me with her other hand, chuckling as I walk toward Jenna DeGurgis. I walk up and hook my pinky under the collar with a small pink crystal heart at the front, using my thumb to lift her chin into a peck on the lips. She¡¯s uncertain about more involved intimacy when I have a wife, an albeit permitting and harem-having wife; but Jenna¡¯s a one woman girl. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want this Jenna. Especially if you don¡¯t like the collar.¡± ¡°No!¡± she shouts, then blushes furiously. ¡°I, I like the collar.¡± She whispers to me. ¡°I like you, but this . . . three business, it¡¯s more than I know?¡± ¡°And that¡¯s okay Jenna. Katie has partners that I want nothing to do with. Specifically the bait and tackle variety. If you don¡¯t want multiple partners, leave that to me. If you can¡¯t handle that, well, it won¡¯t affect you professionally, but after six months of flirting and kissing, it will leave me terribly confused.¡± She turns terribly red and tugs my shirt sideways with a confirmation with her eyes that she doesn¡¯t want to talk in front of Katie. >P] Kay, do you mind if I talk to Jenna alone?[< If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. >K] No. Especially if you can convince her to share our bed. She could be our first. I like her too, but I think she is scared of me.[< >P] Your intelligence and prowess are terrifying love. [< I lay the pleasant satisfaction I have for her in that thought. >K] May your affection give her courage. I have fantasies that require her strength dear. Go fetch her for me. [< I send my middle finger toward her and her demeaning, yet hot imagery. Bitch chuckles at me and sends me a reminder for a spa date in three hours. I grab Jenna¡¯s hand and port us to a bedroom on the third floor. ¡°Okay hon, sorry about Katie. She likes you too and loves to tease.¡± Jenna flushes brightly then covers her face and flops into the bed face first and shouts into the muffled bedding. She lays there for a minute until I get bored and climb up the bed, flip her, straddle her hips and pull her hands off her face. ¡°Nini, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask. ¡°I don¡¯t know!? You have a wife? She¡¯s possibly the prettiest woman I¡¯ve ever seen, but I feel such a connection with you that you¡¯re more attractive!? This whole thing is confusing Penny!¡± She¡¯s searching my eyes harder than I can handle. ¡°Can I kiss you?¡± I ask and she nods furiously. I grip with both hands to control her head and descend into a deep and promise-filled kiss. Promises that I¡¯ve thought about that she obviously hasn¡¯t as she¡¯s still confused as I pull back. ¡°There are no strict rules to this except my personal quarters are not shared unless Katie likes you and you accept her too. Otherwise, frame this, us as you will.¡± ¡°Wait . . . so if I, like, want to be you girlfriend, that¡¯s okay?¡± The swell of emotion in my chest is so fluffy and pink and Andromeda-damned adorable. I hug the living daylights out of Jenna. ¡°Of course that¡¯s okay, dingus. We¡¯re comfortable with one . . . extra involvement, with Katie having multiple other ¡®acquaintances¡¯ for her anatomical needs.¡± ¡°The Vampire thing?¡± I nod. ¡°Oh, and she¡¯s not going to, like murder me if I only want to be with you?¡± Jenna fidgets. ¡°She¡¯ll be sad for a while, she obviously likes you, especially since she has a nickname for you; but if that¡¯s not for you, then that¡¯s fine with the arrangement we have.¡± Silence reigns as she rolls us over and then crawls up into my lap for comfort. I would laugh because she is such a large woman, but it would dampen the mood. I hold the round lump that is my favorite regular human and massage the back of her head with my slightly glowing fingers. ¡°You¡¯re not going to, like kill me if you stop liking me right?¡± The certain insecurity of me acting violently makes me want to vomit, instead I teleport out from under her. ¡°What the fuck!? I don¡¯t just randomly execute people Jenna!¡± I want to blast the roof off my building at the implication. ¡°But you could! You¡¯re the Empire! What if I or one of you other servants fail you, what if?¡± I interrupt her there. ¡°Jenna! If I was going to make you disappear, don¡¯t you think I would have by now? You¡¯ve categorically refused to have sex with me, and for normal people, that would have been a banning to Atropos, but for you, I just pout. Katie wants to play with the both of us, but, we¡¯re moving at your speed, hon.¡± She looks up at me in a desperate pout, ¡°I just, I just like it here, being a part of Astoria, what if I mess this up and you banish me or something?!¡± I can¡¯t help it, I start laughing. I try to hold it in, but she¡¯s so cute, and her worries are serious worries, but with reference to my style of leadership it¡¯s hilarious. I feel bad when she pulls away and starts backing up. ¡°Jenna DeGurgis, you will stop and hear me out instead of running away with your assumptions.¡± She stops and stands up straight with wide eyes staring past me. Oh, wow. That kind of obedience is kinda hot. I¡¯m starting to understand why Katie calls her puppy. ¡°You have a place here. You are a citizen of Astoria. If by some chance you offend me personally, I will simply cancel your transfer to the Crownguard I am forming and you¡¯ll be offered continued service in the Navy or an Honorable Discharge with relocation to a planet of your choice in my Empire. Is that enough re-assurance to stop your runaway speculation?¡± ¡°You want me on your personal guard?¡± she sniffles out. ¡°Of course I do! I can¡¯t think of a person more devoted to my cause than you, and you¡¯re one of my security chiefs, so it makes sense. That is unless you don¡¯t . . .¡± I look away at the last part, as her stillness makes me uncertain of my offer, when she surprises me. She smashes her mouth against mine and pulls me tight against her hips. My surprise at her forceful and forward action locks me up for a second, but before she can pull away I hook a leg around one of hers and grip the back of her hair and keep her locked with my lips. She picks me up, turns us and sets me on the bed. Everything feels like it¡¯s going the right way until zip up the bottom of her jumpsuit and start petting her bare stomach. She stiffens a second then starts mimicking my motions near exactly. That¡¯s suspect from an emotional human like her, so I pull out my hand and zip her back up, she does the same and then realizes that something is up and pulls back to look at me. I smile at her with what I hope is a caring smile, ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like you¡¯re up for more than kissing right now, so we can stop. I meant what I said when I told you your speed is what we¡¯ll continue at. I really want to touch you, but if you still have doubts, that¡¯s okay. Just tell me what you need, then we can discuss what you want.¡± She searches my eyes again, to make sure I¡¯m serious, that she¡¯s not being too much trouble. Andromeda, she does have some extra hurdles, but I can see the love she is desperate to give and I really want to see her bloom into herself again. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do about you being married. You¡¯ve told me for months that it¡¯s okay, we even cuddled at your wedding, I¡¯ve just never heard Katie say it¡¯s, okay?¡± Wait, really? I blip us back to the loft. Jenna stumbles and I go get myself and her a beer while I wait for Katie to acknowledge us. ¡°Is Puppy a quick lay, or is . . . Oh, Penny does not look satisfied.¡± She turns toward Jenna and narrows her eyes, ¡°What did you do wrong, miss DeGurgis?¡± Jenna freezes, eyes wide, ready to bolt but unable. ¡°Katie,¡± I laugh out, ¡°don¡¯t use your fear gaze on her. She just wants your permission to date me.¡± ¡°Seriously? Puppy, do you not remember the day after when I said ¡®I guess you can have some time with her¡¯? I expected you to take her to bed instead of have a picnic. You¡¯re either adorably innocent or frustratingly thick-headed.¡± Katie smirks with her sexy teeth, growling softly as she circles Jenna. When she gets back to her front, Katie grabs her hair and tilts her head back and kisses her quickly. ¡°You see, I order and demand where Penny asks and persuades. The fact that my Penny has to ask me, again, to get through your head that she wants you irritates me. I do not like repeating myself, but for Penny, I will. You can share a different bed with her, or our bed with us. I am interested in the dynamic we would have with you.¡± I squeeze between them and kiss Katie. ¡°You¡¯re scaring her love.¡± ¡°I know, she¡¯s cute and I like it. I want to soak in her fear until she forces me against a bed.¡± She licks a canine and makes me shudder. ¡°Nini¡¯s not confident enough for that yet baby.¡± She smiles at me and mutter ¡°shame¡± as she walks away laughing. I kiss Jenna to break her out of Katie¡¯s spell. ¡°That enough permission lady?¡± ¡°Uh yeah? Can you take us somewhere else?¡± I blip us to the waterfall. ¡°So, there are other places I want to take you, but their like girlfriend only things.¡± The waterfall was beautiful, and Jenna is cute taking it in for the first time. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I was hoping for really. Trying to date an Empress, that I work for, was never going to be simple. But it was so nice not having to think about it on the beach, flirting with you and just being us. Me and the Empress.¡± I chuckle, ¡°You really think of me as the Empress in your fantasies instead of Penny?¡± She nods and blushes a slight pink, ¡°Yeah. I, uh, I really like it when you tell me what to do.¡± I smile reflexively at the vulnerable cutie in front of me. ¡°Then you should kiss me in front of this super romantic waterfall.¡± She bites then licks her lip as she advances on me and scoops me up into a swoon-worthy smooch-fest. I¡¯m flustered at the princess carry with the make-outs but Jenna seems comfortable so who am I to argue. Minutes later I¡¯m breathing hard into her mouth and need a breather and tuck my head into her neck. ¡°Fuck, Nini. That¡¯s a solid move. If, this.¡± I gesture between the two of us. ¡°Gets any more heated, I will want you to sleep with me in the handsy orgasm sort of way.¡± Some light groping and edge-of-fore smooching followed, and I can tell by how she pulls back when I try to pull us deeper that she¡¯s maybe not so into the idea of sex right now. Maybe it¡¯s still Katie, maybe it¡¯s something I¡¯m doing? ¡°What¡¯s going on in that head of yours sweetie?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just so tied up in the ridiculousness of this, you know?¡± ¡°I do actually. Well, kind of. I¡¯ve never tried to have a relationship with an Empress, but I¡¯ve tried the thruple thing before. I swore I would just be with Katie after our third went off the rails, but then she has this need for blood and intimacy with it that it would be difficult to source myself. Coming to terms with the fact that I can¡¯t give the woman I love what she needs to survive is hard. She knows that, but she also knows that it would be unfair to expect me not to search for some of the things she can¡¯t/won¡¯t give me. The naked affection and touch that you shower me with is something she¡¯s not the most comfortable with, which is why she¡¯s encouraging this. Us.¡± She still has a hard time looking me in the eyes, but rests her head on my shoulders. ¡°So it¡¯s not just a kink then? You don¡¯t want to just keep me as a pet?¡± I try very hard not to laugh at her. ¡°Jenna, don¡¯t be ridiculous. I don¡¯t like those kinds of games. The collar does look cute on you though.¡± She quietly untangles herself from me and sets me down beside her. She stares into my eyes for what must be minutes, then tips over into the pool of water we are standing next to. She surfaces several meters away and looks back at me. ¡°I think my emotions and anxiety need to cool off. Is it okay if I think about this some? Figure out what I want from all of this?¡± I pout at that. ¡°I kind of thought the last six months were us figuring that out.¡± She laughs softly, ¡°For those months, I was continuously ready for you to grow tired of me, or it to end abruptly when you realized that I wasn¡¯t good enough for you. Now that you¡¯ve got some of your intent through my thick head,¡± She knocks on her skull, the dork, ¡°I need to consider that this is really real, you know?¡± I plop into a seated position and hug my knees. ¡°Not really, Jenna. This has felt real to me the whole time.¡± B3 Ch2: Missteps and Madness. Katie teases me relentlessly during our spa date¡ªshe could have sworn we were off for sexy times instead of a meaningful discussion. We¡¯ve hired a small staff for the surface building and grounds, allowing the general populace access for a moderate price. The lower baths are still just for Katie and I; and we use them to great effect after one of Katie¡¯s gangsters-turned physical therapist put us through the ringer. Come to think of it, most of the people we saw working the spa today were from that group. I get to hold her hand through most of our topside treatments and in the baths, we hold each other as she excitedly talks about projects and complains about various hassles of dealing with people. It might be the most she¡¯s shared about her personal thoughts and projects since we¡¯ve been together. ¡°So tell me more about these tele-control interfaces. I feel like this could alleviate some of Tessa¡¯s burden when she¡¯s being Tessbot.¡± ¡°Mm, I did have you and the less communications inclined when I started working on it, but it¡¯s more of a squadron interface as part of a larger identity right now. For example, Alaris has been working on autonomous subroutines for our shuttle fleet and I used her control network as a model. With a modest implant, we could get you hooked up to pilot the shuttles without Tessa having to upload.¡± Tech implants, blearg. ¡°Don¡¯t make that face. Your last major mutation integrated a bunch of tech to save your brain. You could have Tessa install it and transmute any deformation like it never existed.¡± She¡¯s heard my whining about this a thousand times. With my extensive mutations and ability to make minor shifts in my appearance, the tech would only show if I wanted it to. ¡°Fiiiiine. I¡¯ll put it in when I finalize my plans to put an aether jack on my other wrist.¡± Katie leans in and kisses me, ¡°thanks or succumbing to reason honey. I will also be using the module to alert me when you¡¯re at risk of dying. Before you protest, your experiments are dangerous, and as of right now, you¡¯re half the reason other Milky Way civilizations respect our power. You¡¯re not allowed to die.¡± ¡°Neither are you. The other half of the reason is they¡¯re becoming reliant on our mining tech and attractive discounts for industry that you¡¯ve set up.¡± ¡°I like it when you appreciate my efforts. Keep going.¡± Katie purrs into my neck, making it hard to think. I extol her virtues and contributions to our excellent little planet until she makes me stop thinking altogether. *** A week later, I find myself on Elysium for the promised talks with the V¡¯tek, with plans to stop in on my corundum factory on Clotho on the way back home. ->>] Hopeful Resolution, Empress Astoria. Welcome to the satellite collective. [<<- ¡°Anxious encounter, Representative Clor.¡± I bow slightly in greeting. ¡°I am here with my aide, Commander Waits. I was worried when she relayed a meeting request over aether usage.¡± ->>] Pleasant tidings, Commander. Regarding the meeting, would you allow a tour within our vessels. [<<- ¡°Willing acceptance. This must need visuals to understand correctly. Will I need to shield us for high-speed atmospheric travel?¡± ->>] Gracious offer. It would ease my efforts greatly Empress. [<<- ¡°Understanding friendship, Representative. Please, lead the way.¡± V¡¯tek¡¯clor¡¯s form melds into the ground, leaving a small bump to guide us to a dense thicket of gnarled green and turquoise trees. When he touches the edge, a section of the forest morphs into a sled-like platform and two seats rise out of the top and a glowing bunch of vines writhe out of the bottom and back. ¡°Naomi, head¡¯s up. When you sit, a pair of vines will restrain you like a seatbelt. It¡¯s really weird at first.¡± She holds her tablet tight and nods. ->>] Welcome embarkation. Please sit and we will take you to several locations that will assist our later discussion. [<<- I send thoughts to Clor of step-in boot locks--similar to fancy snowboard bindings¡ªand the sled morphs the chair next to me into appropriate boot receptacles on the floor. Once Naomi is secure, the glowing vines wiggle more fervently and we take off at a respectable speed. I bring up a wing-shaped shield extending from the bottom of the sled around us and we zip off toward the horizon. We stop a few thousand feet above a discoloration in the tropical region of the moon. ->>] Saddened acknowledgement. There is an aether siphon at the center of the disturbance. This appears to be an encroachment on our agreement. [<<- ¡°Annoyed implication. I only installed one siphon on this moon, and it was at the lakeside retreat. Be right back.¡± Angered at the accusation, I blip down to the center of the discoloration and find a device within minutes. I separate the power core from the machine and tear the collection tanks off. I teleport the broken machine onto the satellite collective¡¯s lawn, slap some concussion grenades on the tanks and trigger them several hundred feet off the forest top to re-disperse the aether; and finally transport back to the sled. I taxed my will-based teleportation by sending that several ton machine a hundred miles. The shift in my aether stores to help my recovery has me breathing heavy and I¡¯m not sure why. ¡°Reluctant policing. I dismantled the machine and returned the aether to the forest. I sent a portion of the machine so you can study the device and discern its origin more accurately. Do you need assistance in disabling the others?¡± ->>] Embarrassed apologies. We should not have jumped to conclusions, though it seemed the most likely scenario. We have the ability to deconstruct the remaining siphons.[<<- ¡°Tiring exchange. I would agree with you but we talked about this specifically when you moved in, and you were made aware that we allowed mining operations in the system at the same time. It seems more likely to me that frugal mining operations were trying to scavenge fuel components from an underpopulated moon. I¡¯ll have my Consul of Finance remind all commerce entities in Hades that inhabited moons are not authorized for scavenging or resource collection of aether.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. We proceed back to our shuttle in silence. V¡¯tek¡¯clor was not pleased that we left a machine in their grove and I could only admit that it was not the intended destination instead of actually apologizing. Damned things aren¡¯t even the same type that I installed at the Lake retreat. I would have to remember that the collective may make knee-jerk reactions like this in the future, and that annoys me further. I¡¯ll talk with Katie about putting a network around the gas giant to help us monitor the situation, but I should ask Naomi first. ¡°What kind of commerce and or development are we looking at for Asphodel?¡± My aide pulls up some screens to show me. ¡°As you can see, interest in Asphodel is relatively low for industry and until the V¡¯tek are more interesting trade partners, I don¡¯t see that improving. There is a petition to get government assistance in some orbital mining infrastructure, which could gain ground in the house of governors as mining and export taxes are Hades¡¯ biggest money makers.¡± ¡°Then where the hell is all of our industry? We manufacture Tech and Ships on and around Astoria, and gems and mana on Atropos and Clotho. Where¡¯s the rest of it?¡± Naomi laughs at me. ¡°They followed your lead Ma¡¯am. Astoria and Moiriax are your trade hubs and most of the large-scale industry is easier to transport from moon gravity. Astoria doesn¡¯t have any home-based mining operations, but the deals we have with the three Corporations working in your systems are adequate for supplying our ship-building operations.¡± ¡°Ugh, I have more questions, but I can read a report on the rest of it. Can you get me skill-grouped breakdown of artisan trade? Wait, a martial, trade, other breakdown of the Empire would be better.¡± ¡°I think I know what you¡¯re getting at. The people, not the money. Otherwise you¡¯d ask your wife.¡± ¡°This is why I¡¯m happy you signed on. Schedule note, do you still have time to go to Moiriax?¡± It would feel disingenuous to tell her I appreciate the work, but not respect her time. ¡°I scheduled six more hours until we return to Aelea to talk with local leaders about Founder¡¯s day next week.¡± I groan at the festivities coming my way. Somebody in my Navy came up with the idea and citizens thought I¡¯d ordered the damned thing. Katie assures me we can afford it and it¡¯s a good way to prop up the economy and showcase businesses. ¡°If I ever find out who started this thing, I¡¯m gonna strap them to an asteroid and toss them at my stars.¡± I sigh and shake my head. ¡°Nothing for it though, lets get to Atropos and check on my projects. ¡°Tessa, can you send a cargo shuttle to meet us there? Armored and coded capsule if available.¡± ¡°Penny, by policy, that type of capsule requires a pilot and I am otherwise disposed aboard Alaris.¡± ¡°Alright, offer the standard off-duty contract, then offer to qualified civilians if none take in the next hour.¡± ¡°Why do you insist on a pilot for those pods?¡± ¡°We hard-coded some extra interlocks with those pods to prevent hacking from a higher-tier tech user. The load I want to pick up is the first industrial run of my corundum factory. Pre-process, maybe a million AE worth. Post processing, maybe three months work, easy billion.¡± ¡°How is that not robbery!?¡± Naomi is flustered and a bit angry at me. ¡°I have a few unique skills and a few hard to reach skill levels in normal skills. That billion takes nine months and a lot of monitoring to make and more than half of the product goes toward infrastructure and military. Overall, I only sell enough to expand to meet future needs. Only one or two companies in the Milky Way make mana batteries that are even remotely affordable and every producer makes them different with different interfaces, etcetera. The Matrix itself likes my method, and has ordered refits for my batteries on most of the Milky Way Hosts. We are, of course, providing them free of charge to the Matrix Administrators in return for some warp and transport cost easing.¡± ¡°Holy Empress, does anyone know how much you give away for the people?¡± The face I make would have startled a zombie. ¡°Why the fuck would I want that kind of attention?¡± Naomi makes fish faces. Repeatedly. I que in our warp and land us quickly from upper atmo above Atropos. Naomi doesn¡¯t talk until we land, but when she does, she hits me with a whammy. ¡°I¡¯ve scheduled a meeting with PR. You need to fix this. Your public image isn¡¯t the best, but you do so much for the people and they should know.¡± ¡°No way. No publicity.¡± ¡°Yes way, and tough shit Empress. I told your Consuls already. Now it¡¯s in their hands.¡± ¡°I want to fire you for this. But fuck me if you¡¯ve ever acted against my best interest.¡± ¡°Recognize. My husband is a fan of yours by the way. He has Jedi dreams, but is also an Engineer.¡± ¡°Oh? How are his Magitech chops? I have a team that helps me integrate my ideas because my wife is tired of my multi-project bullshit. You know what? Bring him by my workshop in Capitol Square and I¡¯ll give him a tryout if he wants it. I¡¯m having problems that no one can seem to help me solve. Construct integration and I¡¯m looking for a Magitech solution. I can make golems, I want a merged solution my people can use without getting magic cancer.¡± Naomi stares at me like I handed her a briefcase full of money. ¡°I have lab time scheduled starting day after tomorrow? Somewhere in those three days. Wait, you manage that schedule, you can figure it out. Caveat, if he helps with my problem, you move into one of the apartments on Mansion grounds. I don¡¯t want to run around looking for him when I Epiphany. Salary and free lodging, blah blah. On call, otherwise manages his own time. Keep tabs on our project, etcetera.¡± ¡°Are you seriously just casually giving my husband a job?¡± ¡°Naomi, no. I am giving him a tryout, like every other ambitious tech focused Astorian that wants my attention. I just have higher hopes for him because you don¡¯t seem the type to settle for mediocre human companionship. I also want you to move closer regardless.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re so busy that everything is casual, or you don¡¯t take anything seriously.¡± She laughs it off as a joke. I hate this fucking joke. I hear it from everyone. ¡°Naomi, you¡¯ve been my aide for more than three months, but this hasn¡¯t come up before. Where I would have preferred you ask, you decided to joke about my approach to ruling. Lets give you a lesson.¡± ¡°The I was betrayed twice before starting this thing I call an Empire. Once by my Captain in the US Navy, Abandoning me on this lovely planet. The second by people I guided on the Aether path, telling me I owed them and trying to steal from me. The President of the United States tried to strong arm me, and after three years it¡¯s not funny anymore. ¡°Naomi. I accidentally murdered 73 million people who were dying anyway. I intentionally murdered 600 pirates that fired on me first, and I killed them with tech that could end an entire planet. I have a file of their names, that I read every year. Because intentional or not, I killed them. My citizens. No matter the cause, I ended their existence. Some of them may have even thanked me as they died. But I killed them just the same. ¡°Despite that, I have the ability to teleport anything at will. Every annoyance, every betrayal, and every inane annoyance of the greedy and the desperate, I could send them all to my stars or the center of my planet with a blink of my will. But I don¡¯t. I resist. I have never summarily executed someone that has not attacked me first, and it¡¯s a herculean effort not to. ¡°So the next time you think I don¡¯t take this empire or my power seriously, consider my restraint in not solving a good half of my frustrations with banishment by starfire.¡± She has nothing to say and neither do I. Well, I have something to say. ¡°Naomi. Take the Indulgence home. The Cargo pilot will take me or I¡¯ll figure it out. I don¡¯t want to see you until your husband¡¯s interview. Andromeda¡¯s favor follow you.¡± I flick her back to the shuttle to prove a point and sigh into the view of a giant planet. B3 Ch3: Pressures and Testing. It¡¯s hard to express how angry I¡¯ve been lately. Like something inside of me is itching with a need to get out and I fucking can¡¯t figure it out. You¡¯ve said that casting aether spells relieves the pressure somewhat. Yeah, Tessa. The ice and fire and normal elements don¡¯t give much relief. Am I attuned to a different element or something? That¡¯s what the books I used to read would suggest. Unless there¡¯s an element for petulant child with authority problems . . . Ha ha, Tessa. How about you tell me why my constructs are not behaving? Oh wait, you can¡¯t ¡®cause rules or some shit. Fucking love you, but your bullshit is legendary. If you¡¯d stop worrying about Empire crap that people have handled, then you could level and I could tell you more. I totally want to teleport to Alaris so I can swear at you in person. Universe¡¯s most powerful child folks. Little too real bitch, little too real. I love you, and I¡¯m trying to build a better body for you. No matter, I¡¯m a year away at best. I have so much Tessa. I need your help bae. Advisor Talk: You need a few months to Personal Journey on Elysium. You NEED an Aether quest. Tech can wait, your puppy can come with. I¡¯ve already talked with my girlfriend and . . . Hold up, you and Atropos for real? Congratulations. This is weird and also inevitable? I like her more than you, so watch it. This Empire is fucking lousy with horny women. ***
x2
Taking my anger out on hundred pound crystals feels good. I feel the worst when my aether is full. I swear, at this point, I¡¯ve been asking Katie to snack on me as often as she wants it. Our relationship has improved. ¡±As much as I like these casual snacks, Penny, what has motivated this?¡± She pets my ribs, noting each glowing feature. ¡°I¡¯m getting angry? Some part of my Aether is out of balance and from what I can tell, I need to find a resonance before that evens out? ¡° ¡°My harem will be quite sad if you stay in this state for long.¡± Katie chuckles. ¡°Well, to hell with them. I like providing or you, and you like to do more than drain when you feed, and it helps me forget.¡± She up-zips my jumpsuit to run her hands against my stomach. ¡°As much as I love touching you, honey, there¡¯s an issue here.¡± I wrestle and flip her until I have full limb control. ¡°I know, lover, Life, and wife. Tessa thinks I need an Aether Quest to figure out my resonance or some shit.¡± ¡°Honey, Tessa is very well informed. I would banish you to Elysium if I could. Take a class with you and teach like you¡¯ve promised. When you do the mystic stuff that science is woefully poor prepared to explain, you will be better able to assist your charges.¡± I look at my wife, seeing her expertise and . . . TLDR her sexiness skyrocketed and all I can think of is boobs in my mouth. Which she denies. Asshole. ¡°Honey, tonight is my Harem night. Invite your puppy over. Have a good time and forget about the obligations of the Empire for a second.¡± ¡°Ugh, Katie! We need to work on a marriage override or something. Because if we need each other, the other shit needs to drop.¡± Katie takes five quick steps and grabs the back of my hair to tilt my head directly toward her eyes. ¡°You forget your station, Wife. I told you once when we got back together, and again when Melissa left, and I thought finally when I Married you: There is no one above you in my eyes¡ªAndromeda be damned. I would die with the whisper of your blood on my lips before I would betray you. Don¡¯t profane my dedication by forgetting my promises.¡± I kiss her on impulse, a desire, a demand on the tip of my brain, ¡°Be late to your evening. Let me christen it before and cleanse you in ritual before you return to our bed.¡± She smiles and growls into our next kiss. ¡°Time waits for no one Empress. Get to work.¡± I attack her with my whole naked body and a bit more teeth than strictly necessary. *** ¡°Naomi, I swear to Andromeda I will teleport you to Mercy if you come back before my two hours are up.¡± ¡°Empress, I don¡¯t think . . .¡± she blips out of my workshop. ¡°Time out. She¡¯s safe in the downstairs foyer. Lets work.¡± Benja Waits stares at me with curious disbelief, inherently trusting I didn¡¯t just murder my aide and his wife. ¡°Fascinating, if I could collect . . .¡± ¡°BEN! Construct, not teleport.¡± ¡°OH! Oh yes. Well, if my observations are correct, a Magitech solution exists, but a telepathy control would be more efficient.¡± ¡°Sadly I agree Benja. However, how will my people govern without the remote control ability of the drones. Right now, I want to figure out how to keep the component runes powered without a dozen tiny aether crystals or soaking the damned things in aether.¡± ¡°Well, what you seem to need is an aetheric field contained within a shield or something; or a kind of Magitec induction drive system.¡± ¡°Like an induction motor or a transformer, but with aether.¡± ¡°It¡¯s technically closer to aether-imbued electricity, and yes, but I am not well versed in Magitec induction technology.¡± He looks nervous and waits for me to say something, maybe encouragement?. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°No worries Benja, I¡¯ll see if Katie is familiar and if not, I¡¯ll give the aether field idea shot. I¡¯ve only needed engravings that direct connect to a source so far. The shuttle¡¯s distributed effects were arranged by my wife. So, now that you¡¯ve taken a look at my issues and if you could contribute in any way, what would it be?¡± He thinks for a few minutes, hunting through screens of my active projects and some of my past ones. He¡¯s being thoughtful and making his screens visible while he thinks. ¡°I think, I can help with your survey systems and task automation and optimization on your intended worker constructs.¡± ¡°Oh! So you are familiar with advanced hardware for digital intelligence?¡± This could be great for me once I get the aether connecting to animate the parts as a whole. ¡°Ah, no. High intermediate. I am an Expert in seeding tasks for nascent complex thinking algorithms.¡± ¡°Sweet! That¡¯s better than anyone else I know. Design me a brain for my construct! Actually, I would like five, one leader brain and four drone brains. I want a task force of semi-autonomous constructs for hazardous environments.¡± ¡°Swarm iteration and refinement with reinforced overarching tasking. I have the tools to do this! What social structure would you like to imitate?¡± ¡°Hmm. I guess ape? I guess like foreman and miner style where I¡¯m the boss and the foreman carries out my orders. I want at least three with one being the leader available for tasking in six months. I would like all five to be ready to interface with their construct bodies in a year.¡± ¡°Hmm, that does leave some time for learning and advancing. Not much time for setbacks. Seems workable though. I will take this assignment. Naomi will be very pleased with me.¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s going to be pissed with me, but that¡¯s not important right now. I¡¯m sending you a contact for requisitions that I use for sensitive state projects. Naomi can connect you with payroll. You can use these spaces or the lab spaces at the Mansion. Message me on project stuff at any time. I¡¯m going to jet before Naomi gets back, so . . . I¡¯ll talk to you in a month to see how things are shaping up.¡± I give a short wave and blip back to the top floor loft of the Mansion to tinker with my gun idea. It¡¯s a fun little pistol that ¡°should¡± form a bullet-shaped shield with an antimatter runeshape, that I collected from Aetheric Insight a while ago, that projects a quarter centimeter into the breech where the magnetic shield is formed. Then I inject mana into the chamber, the back of which is inscribed with a plasma vortex rune. The problems I am having currently are shield formation longevity and flashback of bottled aether attached to the gun. The tier 3 shields of my EVA suit have been tested many times. This time is going to be different because I now have a magitech link to my aether port and my internal comms gear. The connection should let me form the shield bullet myself and . . . wait, why don¡¯t I make them ahead of time and load them like a magazine? Damnit, I¡¯ll proof of concept before I commit to that. It should also let me control the aether injection as precisely as possible. >P] Katie, I¡¯m going out to the test range. My EVA charge is full and I¡¯m texting Jenna right after this. [< >K] Are you testing your doom pistol again? I hate that project. But if you didn¡¯t have at least one horrendously dangerous project running at all times, would you really be Penny? [< >P] Yes, and you know me so well. I promise to wash the explosion smell off before I come home. [< >K] I would prefer if you didn¡¯t explode, but I¡¯ll take what I can get. [< I call Jenna and she connects immediately. ¡°Work or Personal?¡± ¡°Hello to you too Lieutenant. Work. I would like medical overwatch for a field test.¡± I don¡¯t love that she sounds so tired of answering my calls. She sighs into the call, ¡°Alright, give me coordinates and twenty minutes. I gotta get the pool smell off me and some pants on.¡± ¡°Thank you. See you soon.¡± Hmm, mid work-out. I understand why she would be annoyed now. Twenty two minutes later she shows up on the far side of Mercy, where my test range is. She has a tier 2 security EVA suit on that I helped her pick out. It has a better combat rating than mine, but it doesn¡¯t fly or re-entry as well as mine. ¡°Alright, get in the Bunker, or join me behind the standing shield. Long pistol target, high explosive charge. Possible self detonation.¡± ¡°Astoria¡¯s tits, that¡¯s insane.¡± ¡°Is that how the kids swear these days? On my body parts?¡± ¡°Aww, shit. I¡¯m so sorry Penny. I . . . it¡¯s a bad habit. Most of the people in town and in the Navy don¡¯t know you. You¡¯re kind of like a demi-goddess and it¡¯s just a weird habit that was made popular by a new novel series.¡± That¡¯s not embarrassing at all. ¡°So, what¡¯s the worst one. When shit¡¯s all wrong and it looks like everyone¡¯s fucked.¡± Jenna mumbles. ¡°What¡¯s that Nini?¡± ¡°Astoria¡¯s sandy cunt.¡± She blushes hard and hides her face. I snort and lose my shit. I mean, sandy nethers is something to swear about, but they are swearing about my sandy nethers. Bahahahah!! ¡°Oh, Andromeda, that is funny. I approve of this method of swearing. Certainly better than being afraid of me smiting them all the time.¡± Jenna stops looking uncomfortable after a few minutes, during which I¡¯ve set up the pistol in an isolated enclosure with a wire poking through the shields to connect to me. Jenna has a hand on my shoulder in case she needs to help pop up a shield around us both. She¡¯s been progressing rapidly in her shields due to my research. I form the shield bullet, the antimatter is formed within via runeshape, and I fill the chamber with aether and drain the feed line. Everything is ready save triggering the vortex rune. ¡°Standby, triggering pistol in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Fire.¡± I hear a pop and a whistle before the back side of the concrete shed at 25 meters explodes with percussive thunder. The moon dust flares around the edges of the standing shield and as the dust settles I see that no part of the concrete shed remains standing. ¡°That was the plan right?¡± I shake my head and squeeze the side of her neck lightly. ¡°Yes dear, though I¡¯d hope for more penetration and less back-pressure demolition. Lets go see the site. The walk isn¡¯t long, but as we get closer, it¡¯s evident that the front wall of the shed was shattered toward us. It was shattered by the back wall exploding towards us? What the fuck happened? We walk further and find a partially conical gouge out of the moon surface and a small spherical depression at the start of the cone, five meters past where the back wall was supposed to be. ¡°Well, that certainly seems effective. Terrifying for a pistol, but effective.¡± ¡°Andromeda forbid I ever use that in atmo, or even a thicker target. I test out here because my explosive yields are weaker, and you can¡¯t catch things on fire. This would have been 25-40% more destructive and oh so very hot.¡± ¡°It¡¯s funny that of all of your useful projects you have on your plate, you seem to have the most success with weapons.¡± Andromeda does that make me feel like shit. Fuck you Jenna. I¡¯m not going to say it out loud because she doesn¡¯t know better, but I hate this feeling so bad. Is this how Oppenheimer felt? Or dozens of other legitimate researchers who created horrors that decimated people. It¡¯s just so hard when I¡¯m drawn to annihilation. It¡¯s so damned destructive, but what can it make besides an enhanced state of Entropy? ¡°Hey, Nini. Can we not talk about this. I, uh. I really don¡¯t like it.¡± I instinctively crouch and hug my knees. I kind of float and tilt because of the low gravity, but eventually, Jenna picks me up and takes me to her shuttle. Once we get inside and the shuttle pressurizes I get embarrassed and start yammering, ¡°Some big terrifying Empress hey? Breaks down because she feels like a monster?¡± I growl and start crying. Fucking weak ass vulnerability. I need a life time out for like, two weeks, to smooch my wife and project and forget that horrors like me exist. ¡°As stupid as it sounds Empress, seeing you vulnerable makes it so much more worth serving you. I would trade a thousand days of strength for a single day where you needed me to lean on.¡± My whole body beat with affection for her comment. Andromeda bless that she doesn¡¯t know how suave she can be. ¡°Do you need medical attention?¡± And then she ruins it. I laugh, dork. ¡°MM, yes, I need emotional support smooches.¡± She moves in immediately and stops halfway. ¡°Astoria¡¯s crooked pinky, you¡¯re a flirt.¡± I flick a look at my pinky before I realize she¡¯s just having me on. She uses her nose to tilt my head up for a few temperate but tasty kisses. I can¡¯t help but giggle at her attention. ¡°You give the best medical attention.¡± ¡°You are the weirdest and most delightful dichotomy and I love you. Wait, I . . . shit.¡± ¡°Universe, are you adorable. Want to have a picnic with me on Elysium?¡± She pulls out of her fluster as she worries about my safety. I explain my idea and she relaxes. Why I got hooked on a strangely literal person is beyond me, but she¡¯s sexy as hell and good at her job. My super fluffy Adonis. This time I check my schedule before making plans, and she¡¯s free next week to survey our training spaces. I make sure that she remembers to bring cute and comfortable stuff. When we return, Katie asks me for some enchanting help and I¡¯m happy to oblige. I ask Jenna to review our security at Lake Retreat before I arrive and she¡¯s amped to visit Elysium for the first time. I¡¯m setting her up for her first hard mutation, but she should be acclimated enough to receive it favorably. I want to see what her Aether acclimation looks like. B3 Ch 4: Prelude to Montage My wife was not thrilled that I¡¯d be on Elysium for an extended period. Despite the time away, she detested that she couldn¡¯t just visit if she needed a Penny fix¡ªthe level of ambient aether would be toxic to her. ¡°Baby, I you want to drop by, we have a house on Asphodel, not a large one, but it has a smaller loft variant and I can probably just teleport over to you if you call.¡± I think about administration while we are both away from Astoria. ¡°Plus, Naomi can do the admin work of the Empire, and we can make approvals from anywhere in our domain.¡± I gather my thoughts and the half dozen info packets for the mini class of test recruits I¡¯ll be taking with me, plus Jenna, when slender fingers slide up my shirt and my sides. With one hand cupping my breast and the other wrapped around my middle, Katie kisses my neck. I shiver. ¡°I have access to some of the most attractive people in the Empire, but somehow, I can not get enough of you. New goal, make love to my wife a million times¡± I giggle at that. ¡°Ten thousand days is like 27 years baby, that¡¯s like 3000 years of sex.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t threaten me with a good time. And don¡¯t pretend you won¡¯t live that long, that with your minor shape shifting, you¡¯ll be sexy forever.¡± She purrs into my skin and nibbles at me, eliciting a groan that I can¡¯t contain. I can be a little late to the shuttle. *** A quick shower and a teleport to the inside of the shuttle potentially disguise why I¡¯m late. Jenna sees me as I walk down the ramp and seems disappointed in me. Yeah, well, we¡¯ll figure it out over the months of cohabitating. ¡°Welcome Aether recruits! If Lieutenant DeGurgis hasn¡¯t told you yet, this program is for symbiote users only. If you have not been actively developing your aether exposure and absorption for three months or more, you are at a severe risk of unplanned mutation before the end of your first day. Furthermore, by stepping on that shuttle, you are acknowledging you have a planned aether track and have discussed with your swarms what kind of mutations you are willing to accept. Lastly, part of Aether Tier Advancement includes a beneficial track mutation. I have had two and the last was transformative and only slightly controlled. As soon as you achieve tier 1, you can chose to leave or continue at that benchmark.¡± ¡°The Empress is joining us on this training venture, and as such, there will be some additional rules. First greeting of the day to her will be formal unless in the field. Military members will salute, regardless of uniform. All other interactions will be akin to a revered instructor. Room, board, and basic field survival items will be provided. Personal items are only permitted if obtained or crafted on Elysium. Trophies and crafted items are, in fact, encouraged.¡± Jenna takes a deep breath and then levels a stern, oppressive glare at the gathered few. ¡°If you are uncertain of your commitment, back out now. You will have another opportunity for this training. There will be no other opportunities to back out, however.¡± One of the candidates in the middle ups and leaves. Jenna looks at me and I nod. There¡¯s a standby list for military personnel registered with symbiotes. This was supposed to be a mixed civilian and military class, but the civies are harder to accept the accelerated program and accelerated risk. There are no further complications as the candidates board the new 2nd Gen Astorian AWC Shuttles. We have some space only, or local only shuttles, but the Atmosphere, Warp, Cargo shuttles are by far the best model we make. They fit with one cargo pod perfectly withing the bay depth of the Alaris cargo and shuttle bays. Beecham has sone a superb job with shuttle building, and with a dozen multi-purpose shuttles and 20+ single purpose shuttles, he¡¯s about to build his own version of an Interceptor. I¡¯ve given him some minimum requirements of course, but they should be within our Empire¡¯s artisan capabilities. The blip to Elysium is short and the Lake Retreat is marked on all interactive maps, so the path is easy to find. I stand up first as Parallel Minds and Katie¡¯s new mod connection allow me to land the shuttle while I walk to address the candidates. ¡°The community and the Lake are under the influence of Aether syphons, meaning the ambient Aether is severely degraded from what the mountains and forest would be. That said, synch with the feature map of the area and it will alert you when you are within 10 meters of a border. You are free to roam the compound as you will, explore the lake and the grounds. My personal quarters are off limits. There is a region marked on the mountain range behind the main hall inside which there are two shrines. One is to Andromeda, one is to the Empire. There is a third open space where other worship, penance or dedication activities are allowed and honored. ¡° Jenna steps up beside me and addresses the six, ¡°Any other questions before I start orientation?¡± The newest candidate raises their hand. Jenna nods. ¡°Is there a curfew or a limit to using the Retreat¡¯s facilities?¡± I nod at the excellent question. ¡°No. There is no curfew or facility closing time. I do, however expect you to show at sunrise, ready to work at or above 90% aether capacity. In two days, we will have a meeting on the upcoming schedule. In three days, we start conditioning and classes. Jenna corrals the candidates and walks them toward the barracks, turning to give me a brief smile before returning her attention back to the orientation. As soon as they¡¯re out of sight, I start building covered workstations along the lake. Only one of them is properly outfitted, but the others will fill out as the others chose their trade skills. I feel that developing aether-related trades is a valid way to train¡ªit¡¯s how I developed mine early and the biggest use of my personal aether. Now that I can channel spells, it¡¯s a lot easier to work on aether flow through my magic channels instead of my veins. In fact, I talked it over with Tessa, and she agrees that if I¡¯d taken the elemental manipulation skill earlier I probably wouldn¡¯t have a vascular system anymore. I dump out my fanny pack full of construct components and start arranging the damned thing to see if I can anchor an aether field to it. Katie told me she wasn¡¯t focused on the intricacies of magitech mechanics and had no plans to learn. I will probably have to try picking some more magitech skills to complete my construct dreams. Oooh, until then, maybe I can work on a way for them to cast spells. No, Penny, no new projects. Finish a few then start more, or the people you work with will go insane. This is not a spellform I know, so I¡¯ll have to use the skin hugging spell form and try to add some runeshapes that would flood it with aether. Mm, start small. Jenna would be cross with me if blew myself up immediately after arriving. Wait, do I have any planned gaps in the construct? Or is this mostly automaton shaped? I¡¯d rather the joints be magic to be honest. Maybe parts tags to identify body parts? Let¡¯s give it a go. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. A few hours into my swearing at my pile of parts, I start to develop a crowd. ¡°Alright folks, I¡¯m at the risky part, so I¡¯m going to take a break to talk to you all. Questions?¡± ¡°Are you using magic on a machine?¡± the boy asks. I put the requirements to be 14 or older with parental permission. This boy is 15 and got his symbiote when his parents decided to avoid the transfer. ¡°Yes, several types of skills in fact. Engraving for all the swirlies, Enchanting for the various parts and metals, and some Magitech integration for the power and control systems. Trade-skills have been a valid way for me to develop capacity and refinement. For anyone less than B-rank in Power, we¡¯re going to do some Aether conditioning and once you have the capacity not to hurt yourself, we¡¯ll work on a few different techniques that have been recommended to me to help you on the road to B-rank power. Body skills will likely advance through this training, but the goal of this little school is to advance Aether ranks and skills.¡± ¡°Is there any way to refund our old tech skills?¡± A lady in her mid to late forties, not many years older than me, asks. ¡°That¡¯s a hard no. The best we can do is to find an adjacent idea, skill, or vocation in an Aether track or skill that would synergize with it with the hope they will integrate on your tier up. As far as I¡¯m aware, skills can¡¯t integrate outside of a tier up unless they advance into Expert. Again, this is ¡®what my AI tells me,¡¯ instead of personal experience.¡± ¡°Can we start working on trade skills if we¡¯ve already started one?¡± Good question mid-twenties Hispanic-looking man. ¡°If they are Aether related, I will even kit out a workstation for you and provide rudimentary materials. If it¡¯s not aether related, then you are free to kit out a bench yourself, but I won¡¯t subsidize it for this training period.¡± ¡°So, alchemy is fine then?¡± he smirks. Confident ass. I¡¯m probably going to like him after training, but I can see him being a pain in the ass in the meantime. ¡°Absolutely! What step are you, if you don¡¯t mind?¡± ¡°Intermediate 5.¡± I whistle at that. Man has been working. ¡°Excellent. Send a list of ¡®need to haves¡¯ and a list of ¡®nice to haves¡¯ to the Lieutenant and we¡¯ll put some things together. Tomorrow. In fact, anyone that has similar skills send a list. Our meeting in a few days will cover more, but no reason you can¡¯t start crafting if you already have the skill. Now, unless you have a combat rated safety suit, I need you all to back up 50 meters.¡± Ten minutes later, the components shake an assemble and attempt to stand up when an arm ejects from the shield formation, causing and energetic aether release that flings me out over the lake. ¡°SHIIIIIT!¡± Since I¡¯m still in the habit of not showing people I can teleport, I spin violently into the lake, thrusters be damned. My thrusters are magic and plasma related so they absolutely work underwater after I stop spinning. I fly out of the lake to the shore and walk up to my workstation and look at how the parts were damaged. The joint where the arm ejected from was completely smoked. Channeling that much power must have burned the anchoring rune out. Fuck. ¡°That¡¯s the end of our show folks.¡± ¡°Is that normal!?¡± ¡°Eh, kinda. For me it is. For most people, it¡¯s not. My power rating is a little ridiculous so everything is borderline overcharged. It¡¯s why I craft in a tier 2 combat space suit.¡± They look at me funny as I collect my parts and fly off to the compound, I want to hear about what she wants to do for the next two days. The remaining people are hanging out in the entryway. I mean, just two folks and Jenny, but they looked combat oriented so, makes sense. ¡°Hey folks. You all hanging out, or should you want to lunch?¡± ¡°We were going to go a few rounds, interested?¡± Ah, handsome fit guy. Maybe trying to poach my girl. Eh, she can handle herself. ¡°I mean, I¡¯d have to order some non-lethal ammo, but I¡¯m game.¡± There¡¯s a toy company that makes splatter pistols. I¡¯m in. ¡°Just casually spending that Empress money, huh?¡± Fit guy chimes in as new pistols appear in my hand. Jenna pales and pleads with her eyes not to murder him. ¡°Alright, fine, do you have the inspect talent?¡± he scoffs and nods. I pull out my new babies. And let him look. ¡°I built these myself, by hand. Let me know if you want me to use the effort of my literal blood sweat and tears, or my ¡®Empress Money¡¯. The description was updated last week.¡± He reads and he starts stepping back as he continues. ¡°My martial art is Gun Foo. With these breaching pistols, it would be a reckless misuse of life. Care to challenge the throne, Candidate?¡± He doesn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Good, if we¡¯re done with stupid. I¡¯ll get back to my splatter pistols some other time.¡± Jenna tells them to meet her at the training field and hangs back. ¡°You okay Penny?¡± ¡°Fuck, no, I¡¯m not Nini. My aether is making me agitated and volatile, and after blowing myself up twenty minutes ago, I want to vent.¡± ¡°Damnit, Penny! You should have chatted me!¡± she walks up and grabs me by the jaw, ¡°You can rely on me you know?¡± The care and anger in her eyes is warring with her deference. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, hon, I just, I came here to figure out my aether problems, but it was also time to test the training program. Katie thought it would do everyone good to do this now.¡± Her thumb starts stroking my cheek. ¡°Do you always listen to Katie?¡± I laugh sadly, ¡°When I¡¯m uncertain? Absolutely. She has a more level head than I do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here for you too Empress, right here. With you.¡± I smile, sigh and thump our foreheads together. ¡°I know Jenna, but what I need right now is someone who wants to help Penny the vulnerable partner, not Empress Astoria.¡± ¡°Oh, no, I love all of this.¡± She gestures at me. ¡°I just also really believe in what we¡¯re doing.¡± She sighs and kisses me sadly, ¡°Sure, it took me until yesterday to see you as Penny. But the last few days going over the experiences of the last seven months of getting to know my Empress, made me realize how much of the Empress is just you. Fierce, capable, radiant you.¡± Stupid lady Atlas being poetic and making me cry. ¡°Fuck, Nini.¡± I sniffle, ¡°if I didn¡¯t love you already, that would do it.¡± I hug her thick, strong anchor of a body and I swear it¡¯s the only thing holding me to this moon. ¡°Do you still need to vent? ¡®Cause we can go back . . .¡± I chuckle through my tears. ¡°No hon, I need to go and fight. I intend to go to the forest outside of our conclave and murder a whole lot of animals. Feel free to join me when you¡¯re free.¡± ¡°Astoria¡¯s shapely ass, I would love to go on a hunt with you!¡± She spins me and kisses me in excitement. ¡°Note to self, take Nini on survival vacays.¡± I slide my fingers across her abs and my whole body purrs. ¡°Oh, yes please. You, me, some knives and the wilderness. I would, I don¡¯t know. That seems like heaven to me.¡± She moves her large, strong hand and grips my butt to pick me up. This fucking beast is unraveling me by accident. Andromeda bless her. ¡°I, uh, I need to,¡± fuck, I¡¯m distracted and breathy how did this happen? ¡°Nini, I, fuck, you distract me so much.¡± I grab her face with both hands to steady my self in her relentless, comforting strength. ¡°Will you go with me on my Aether Quest?¡± ¡°You need my help?¡± I nod at her, and she moves to kiss me and I put a hand over her mouth. ¡°Astoria¡¯s tits, I need them in my mouth. Why won¡¯t you let me?¡± I giggle as the small woman she sees on rare occasions instead of the Empress. ¡°You have students that need a tough lesson, Knight Captain.¡± I kiss her with a light flick of my tongue, ¡°Go make me proud my sturdy protector.¡± Her smile shines brighter than an annihilation explosion. Her back straightens and pulls her lips close to my ear and whispers, ¡°As you command, my Empress.¡± She sets me down on the couch, leaving me to melt into the cushions, then walks away, making the effort to swagger them hips. Stupid sexy bruiser. B3 Ch5: Rocky . . . skip, skip, splash. I wanted to go out and prowl the forest and get my carnage on the night before, but with how eager the students were yesterday, I figured I¡¯d stay until lunch to get people set up for crafting and check my Empire interface for any flagged items. Meals are really a simple thing: hit the button get your rations. Pay some money to treat yourself and move on. Considering that Jenna was in to proper nutrition due to her impressive physique, she helped me dial in some training rations and dialed them in a little for each person based on their goals. We put their needs into the Exchange filters, and voila! Professionally tailored meals that were absolutely free. I don¡¯t feel like the cookie cutter meal of one of the patrons, and my devoted girlfriend forgot to plan meals for me, so I order a Summer Farms Aether Rancher Delux breakfast. Yes, I am going to stuff my pouty face with enhanced foods from the Botanist¡¯s farms. Goliath turtle egg scramble with a pepper-like vegetable and garlic, Murder Chicken sausage patties (that still taste like bacon) and silverleaf pancakes with Canadian Maple syrup. The meal is the size of my head and I greedily protect the platter with my body as I walk over to the tables and benches in the dining hall. I order a coffee direct to table and I¡¯m ready to chow. ¡°I was wondering where you disappeared to. Did I do something wrong?¡± I look up to see Jenna fidgeting as she won¡¯t look directly at me. Aww crap. ¡°Oh, no. I¡¯m sorry that you felt that way. It¡¯s just that we don¡¯t have a morning routine yet and I got into project mode early. TLDR, I¡¯m a big doofus.¡± I can see the weight slide off her shoulders. ¡°Are you still in project mode or can I eat with you?¡± She smirks at me. I flick a pepper chunk at her face. ¡°Of course you can. Who else would I get to tangle my feet with?¡± Jenna¡¯s smile grows as she turns toward the meal console, pleased at their exchange. Her plate comes back with a similar platter to mine but without the starch, and about double the mass. ¡°Did you plan everyone¡¯s meals using Astorian products?¡± I ask, the pride in my heart at how thoughtful this woman is, but also so nervous around me; it¡¯s hard to process how genuinely good she is. ¡°I did! Except the drinks. We don¡¯t really produce non-alcoholic beverages.¡± She beams, knowing she was helping the Empire. ¡°Andromeda, you would make a good superhero. Strength, Virtue, Personable, and damned Wholesome. Thanks for joining us, Jenna. You¡¯re kind of fucking awesome.¡± I reach across and swipe my thumb across her hand before giving it a gentle squeeze. Her blush is radiant. ¡°I am so glad no one else heard that. Oh my goddess,¡± she whispers as she tries to hide, but is reluctant to move her hand from mine, so it works poorly. ¡°You¡¯re adorable. Let us talk about training to ease the burden on your facial capillaries.¡± I chuckle. ¡°I was going to meditate with some elemental manifestation on the lawn next to your sparring circles. Any budding spellcasters can join me if they chose.¡± ¡°Mmm. I was hoping you would help me with some body-enhanced sparring, since that will be one of our major stat training evolutions.¡± Watching her pop sausage disks into her mouth is mesmerizing. ¡°Oh, that makes sense. A little demo on size, power, and capacity. I like it. I might break off into meditation practices if some folk are struggling with accessing their internal aether stores though.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan girlfriend.¡± I snort at that. It¡¯s one of the very few times she¡¯s called me that, but this sounds like a sassy bestie endearment. ¡°Well, better change if I want to put on a good show. See you soon babe.¡± I blip back to our suite up the mountain and rifle through the clothes I brought. Not finding what I want, I decide to mimic the design of Jenna¡¯s padded tech onesie slash jumpsuit and make a two-piece of capris and a cropped vest in Astorian Navy coloring (dark grey with heliotrope, pink, and purple colored features). I pick extra durable skate shoes for their flexible, no-lift soles and blip back to an office I made almost solely for teleporting to. ¡°Were you aiming for distracting or did you have a non-durability based plan?¡± Jenna asks, teasingly, but she¡¯s staring at my midriff. ¡°Pfft, I was aiming for flexibility, comfort, and more visual representation of when I increase my aether output. I¡¯ve been working on enhancing parts of my skin with corundum scales, so I¡¯ll be testing that too.¡± ¡°Do you ever focus on one thing at a time?¡± ¡°Rarely. Drives Katie nuts.¡± I snicker as I grab her hand and pull her outside. There are already a pair of students sparring when we get out there, so we pick a farther circle and warm up with our own combat forms. ¡°What in Astoria¡¯s resplendent buttocks are you doing?¡± Jenna demands. ¡°Gun Katas? It¡¯s the only martial skill I have. I still need training with sabers too.¡± ¡°Well, guess we¡¯re going to do a basic hand-to-hand lesson.¡± After fifteen minutes of laughing at me, she finally acknowledges it should be enough to get a skill. Because of my bad habits, I have to actually check my notifications before I can use what I¡¯ve learned.
x5
x3
x3
/Due to extensive untrained interactions, User is advanced to Novice, step 5/
/This skill can develop into other combat forms with formal training/
¡°Sweet, Novice Brawling. Maybe you can help me turn that into Knife Fighting or something similar.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Novice, huh? You must have scrapped a few times on Earth. I¡¯m an Expert or above in six martial skills, so yeah, I think I can help.¡± ¡°Six? Holy shit. I mean, you were a Marine, so that makes sense, but six seems a little high.¡± ¡°Yeah, I trained in Jujitsu and a mixed martial arts philosophy before joining the military. In the Middle East I picked up some really mean and dirty stuff. Some Ukrainians taught me to use a knife, Some Pakistani inadvertently taught me Swashbuckling, and the Israelis taught me to fight with whatever¡¯s around.¡± ¡°Wait. You actually have a skill from Andromeda called Swashbuckling?!¡± She fidgets a little then nods, uncertain at my enthusiasm. ¡°I have some plasma sabers, I need that skill in my life!¡± I squeal a teensy bit, and I may or may not be dancing in little circles. Jenna shakes her head, but I see fondness in her eyes. ¡°Sure, hon. But let¡¯s stick to hand-to-hand for now and pump up the power a little bit.¡± ¡°Okay sure. How much?¡± I think about my capacity and uber-rare power rating and ask with concern. ¡°Maybe twenty percent? Just don¡¯t launch me into space, I don¡¯t have a suit on.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ramp into it. I¡¯ve only ever done this instinctively.¡± I lean into my Aether manipulation skill and send it into the fibrous meat connected to my corundum bones. The energy stored in my skeleton starts feeding into millions of tiny fibers and when the flow steadies, I feel tight and powerful, and ready to fire. I dash in too fast and my jab turns into a sloppy clothesline, which Jenna dodges with some surprise in her eyes. She kicks me in the ass as I pass by, making me stumble in the dirt. ¡°Huh. Much bigger boost than I was expecting.¡± I push up to my feet and dash back. Every pass I get the coordination closer, every twitch I dial in my new speed and fiddle with the strength in my frame to anchor me. Five minutes in, Jenna¡¯s tossed me around dozens of times, expertly avoiding my punches, until one time she tries to step past me and it earns her a knee to the belly. To my surprise, and a few gasps behind me, the blow picks Jenna off her feet and causes her to tumble out of the ring and into the grass. She rolls to her hands and knees, dry heaves a few times and groans. ¡°I thought we agreed to twenty percent. That, felt like a lot more.¡± ¡°Uh, sorry? I wasn¡¯t even pushing the aether into my muscles, I just connected them to my aether sources.¡± I shrug and walk over to her and order a minor alchemical draught to help her out. She takes it and drinks it. ¡°Ahh, thanks. And I¡¯d forgotten that you don¡¯t have to spare any aether to strengthen your skeleton like the rest of us do.¡± ¡°Oh! That is a good point. That kick would have been far less impressive had I wasted that kind of power.¡± ¡°Now I kinda want to see what you can do with maximum effort.¡± She doesn¡¯t seem that serious, but I look for a rock the size of my head and walk over to it. ¡°Tessa, help me re-enforce the musculature needed to throw this without tearing myself apart?¡± Mm, you may injure yourself, but the damage and recovery should be minimal. Is this a show of prowess to your Girlfriend? I mean, yeah. I flood the aether in my bones into their attached fibers, I circulate my blood to do the same. The energy expenditure is making me glow, mostly just my skeleton, but I also have a small, visible aura. I pick up the rock as I would a baseball, give it a small test toss, wind up my arm, pick up my leg to add a little extra momentum to my release and then I push out and send it. The rock hits the lake fast enough that it skips, like a golf ball. The sound of the final splash reminds me I¡¯m still pumping aether and I cut it off. The drastic change is like cutting my strings and I collapse to the ground. Jenna rushes over, and some students follow after, but before any of the comments come out, ¡°Huh. Never pushed that hard before. I feel all noodley.¡± I stagger up to standing like a newborn foal when Jenna puts her arm around my side to keep my wobble to a minimum. ¡°Well, those of you that have been here a minute have now witnessed a whole bunch of pro¡¯s and con¡¯s to aether pumping. Instructor DeGurgis will be teaching you all to use your aether to increase your physical prowess and explain why we¡¯ll be training everyone to do it. Those that have trouble accessing or utilizing their sources can join me by the lake. My AI does a solid guided meditation, proving that different perspectives on the contents of Modules can yield different results.¡± ¡°I want to see all the crafting students an hour before midday at the workstations on the shore.¡± I order before turning and walking down the trodden path toward that chilly body of water. While I walk, I order a Galaxy Fruit and store half of it for later. Feeling sturdier and more balanced, I summon Indulgence, lower the elevator and grab a fluffy pillow for my butt. I sit cross legged with my forearms on my knees with my palms up and focus on my symbiote core. Tessa¡¯s core is centered around where my lower intestines used to be, in a mass of meat that has no other purpose than to maintain my preferred form. My aether paths are fairly straightforward: Head, heart, hands, and feet. They follow completely separate paths that the paths that carry my aether-rich blood, and different paths yet again than the aether that flows from my bones to my blood. This seems like a particularly wasteful arrangement. I¡¯ve cast spells before, and meditated before, but this is the first time I¡¯ve considered transmutation as a way to align some of my power channels. ¡°Tessa, what do you think about that? Moving your core and some of my aether paths to align with my blood channels?¡± ¡°It could work. Your biology is more slap-dash than design at this point, so a little remodeling could go a long way. But trying to align the symbiote hive with the multipurpose aether processor that you have as a ¡®heart¡¯ would not be a quick or simple thing. It could also be very dangerous for me and my symbiotic portion.¡± ¡°I know my heart only beats because I expect it to, but what if we use that to support the symbiotes? Like, attach the hive in such a way that it behaves as an additional ventricle that ¡®pumps¡¯ my meridians through my arteries.¡± ¡°That surprisingly sounds like you know what you¡¯re talking about. With your permission, I would like to full flood your body with symbiote drones and attempt to saturate the walls of your vascular system while the hive generates a ¡®queen¡¯ to start a new hive attached to your ¡®heart¡¯. If it works it should minimize the need for transmutation for this aspect of alignment.¡± I¡¯m going to assume that my passive absorption and calorie converter functions won¡¯t be disturbed by this. Tessa shrugs in my head ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± *** ¡°Alright, Candidate Hernandez, remember that once training starts, you will be expected to be at full aether every morning.¡± He looks supremely annoyed that I was still talking. He has good reason to, I left outfitting his station ¡®till last because he¡¯d been a prat to the others about how good he is and should get priority. My petty side doesn¡¯t need a ton of extra motivation to show itself. ¡°Same for the rest of the Candidates. Meeting Day after tomorrow evening, and the intensity begins the following morning.¡± I turn and leave them to their own devices. Jenna walks with me until we¡¯re out of sight and then I teleport us back to our quarters up the mountain. ¡°So what are you off to do?¡± She asks. ¡°The field training spot I picked out hasn¡¯t been checked in nine months. Gotta go make sure I¡¯m not sending people into a horde of aether-warped.¡± I start donning my EVA suit for the added unknown that I¡¯ll be facing. ¡°I don¡¯t feel comfortable letting you go off on your own. From the tales of what happened when a small shard of aether rich material warped the wildlife, what would a planet this rich in aether create?¡± I hear the worry in her tone. ¡°Hopefully something tasty!¡± I chuckle at myself and Jenna¡¯s worry deepens. ¡°Penny! I¡¯m serious!¡± ¡°I know you are, and I shouldn¡¯t be joking about my safety to someone who loves me, but I¡¯m going on a reconnaissance mission in tier 2 armor and the ability to teleport. I have a small armory with me, and in a day and a half when the other two instructors get here, you¡¯ll be able to come with.¡± She sighs in resignation. ¡°Did I know we had other instructors coming?¡± ¡°Maybe? Their names are on the schedule . . . well I thought they were anyway.¡± I say while bringing it up, seeing only Jenna¡¯s name. ¡°Anyway, David is an Elementalist and an Aether-Blacksmith. Troy is a Jedi. I haven¡¯t seen Troy in action, but he¡¯s Beecham¡¯s buddy and he wanted a Job.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about perceived nepotism?¡± ¡°Most days, but those two are some of the more accomplished symbiote users Humanity has to offer. I¡¯ve been at it the longest, but none of what I¡¯m expert at would be considered ¡®the basics¡¯ except engraving, so I¡¯d make a poor choice as their first instructor.¡± B3 Ch6: The Weak One I head out in the afternoon in many more clothes than I had planned. I wanted to head out clad in animal skins and smokey charcoal, but I promised the Captain of my personal guard that this would be a scouting mission. ¡°Alright Tessa, lets shift the input to an aether map¡± Indulgence does not have the required sensors for this mode. You would have to be outboard of the ship for me to display that data in your HUD. I can see aether now?! See? No. You have developed an aether sense with the recent overhaul of Aether Insight. It triggers as a telepathic and touch sensory interaction and the combination in your abnormal biology is quite comprehensive. Oh, so shuttle to the woods and EVA suit around? Tessa pings affirmative. Well, the thrusters are hooked into my aether now, so fuck it. Let¡¯s aether-map with a wireframe visual outline so I don¡¯t crash into inert trees or rocks or something. Tessa rearranges some buttons in my HUD and synchs my diplomatic view, terrain view, infra view, and aether view to a single drop down. I ask her to consolidate diplomatic view with terrain and add a diplomatic with topographic too. I do a quick scan of my other views before I stay at Aether with outline. I have to play with gain and contrast before I can actually see, but I work with Tessa not to alter my sensitivity physically, just the visual display. The scan comes up soft for the first kilometer. General ambient with a few less cool spots that I choose to ignore. Two and a half kilometers I pause at several actual hot spots and observe for a moment. They move. Sometimes quick, around other hot spots, sometimes slow and predatory. I start to fly up when I realize I can just install boot bindings on the roof of Indulgence and ride on top of her. As we range higher, a kilometer up, I see a gradient smattering of what I assume is aether-imbued wildlife, leading to a section of trees that emits an aura not unlike a funky mirror ball covered tree. As the shuttle advances on the shifting glowing beams coming from multiple sources, I see larger signatures, but much, much fewer once inside the cluster of trees emitting an aura. Stupid promises. I want to go in there and fight things. But instead of engaging with my rage, I fly back to the smattering of aether blips and land. I equip my two laser pistols after magnetically attaching my plasma saber to my belt. It should be enough. If it isn¡¯t I¡¯ll teleport and tell the shuttle to egress to my location. I drop into the canopy and only engage my thrusters a meter from the ground and parts of the dirt glass and liquidize before I touch down in a crouch. The woods are silent after my noise and the light is low. I slink of my location behind a copse of brush four meters away. I crouch in the grouping, hoping to get a look at the wildlife in the area.
This is the weak one? I can¡¯t send my Candidates here!! I overcharge both pistols, but the beast can hear the whine of the extra aether in the machine and it leaps sideways. Instinctively I advance a short distance out of the bush and shoot low and behind. The shot grazes its hind leg and makes it stumble, my second shot aims at the body and it fizzles into the dense fur and thick hide. It¡¯s a tusk and horn bovine-like creature that is now very cross with me. I¡¯m getting tiny flashes of expertise, some ideas of what I could be doing, but to my foolishness and lack of coordination, I can¡¯t enact all of them. I get pummeled. I manage to climb a tree. The beast shakes me loose. The second time I smash into the ground from on high, I break some thick bones in the fall. I¡¯m concussed, my good hand is half-trapped underneath me, and I have to switch sight languages to keep track of the threatening cow. It stops its temporary retreat as the familiar knurled handle and tethers slap against my palm. I can¡¯t clip in the tether, so I have to concentrate on the bullet and shield formations since I never got to making the mods I flagged as ¡°superior¡± ideas. Focus, engage shield formations, inject aether, aim, fire. CRACKATOOOOMB! The shell sounds half a moment before it collides in a muffled annihilation precursors the devastation. If the round handn¡¯t hit it in it¡¯s hardened skull, it would have passed right through the animal. The round still penetrated into the cow¡¯s shoulder region before the antimatter touched matter. Gore geysered out of split seams in the flesh of the beast when it should have obliterated the beast and sent me flying. Maybe tech affects are dampened on this planet? Or it¡¯s not keyed into you direct aether jack you chump. Duh. I want to check my prompt, but I crawl to the beast, slap my face against it and teleport it to the shuttle. >P] Baby, I fucked up. Coming at you with a monster. [< >J[ Empress, I swear on you birthmark that I will keep you from leaving without an escort in the future. [< I blip to the shuttle and realize that I was so panicked about the combat that I forgot I could both fly and teleport. Damnit Penny! >K] Jenna better be dead for you to be this hurt. Are you stable? [< >P] Yes, love. And no, Katie, Jenna¡¯s not dead. I ordered her to stay with the trainees. I get the rest of my instructors in twenty hours. I was just being dumb with a nearly t-3 beast. [< >K] Honey, I may have a callous tone, but I care very much about your well being, and I dislike when you are away and in danger. [< Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I sigh. I know she doesn¡¯t lie, like ever, but it feels so disingenuous when she says things like that and has a Harem. I fucking hate that grotto. >P] I know Kay, but my life will never be danger free. We should talk Empire stuff anyway when I get back. [< >K] Yes, wife. [< >P] Damnit Katie, you know I hate it when you say that. [< >K] How else am I to address a command from my Wife, the Empress? [< >P] Maybe talk to me like some of my concerns don¡¯t hit you with the burden of command? [< >K] Then how about listen to my concerns for once Penny? You treat your safety like the universe can just patch you up! [< >P] I wear the damned EVA suit and ring every time I¡¯m at risk, so I do listen Katie! Maybe I just want to feel you care about me! Maybe when I¡¯m on Astoria you shouldn¡¯t tell me about your scheduled Harem time! Maybe you should keep your dalliances to what you need to survive instead of a Harem! [< I¡¯m crying at this point and I have no doubt that the tone is carrying over. >P] I don¡¯t get hurt to hurt you. I would never do that. I am curious to the point of recklessness, but I want to survive to kiss you until the galaxy dies. But there are some things that are tearing at me Katie, and I¡¯ve been ignoring them to work¡ªand that¡¯s all on me. [< >K] I want to bark at you. I want to accuse you for the love that Puppy gives you and not to me. I¡¯m jealous, Penny. My wife is in love with another woman, and all I do is try to fuck and forget. [< >P] I didn¡¯t know, Kay. I¡¯m so sorry. I . . .[< >K] No. Stop. I refuse to continue without your face in front of me. For better, or for worse, you will be in my arms to discuss this. Last week I was sure I could handle you with Jenna, but your interests align more than yours and mine do and . . . I need to see you. [< >P] Okay, baby. Asphodel or Astoria? [< >K] Can we do Atropos? It feels more like my home. [< Fuck, how could I not know, not feel she was so vulnerable? But she helped push Jenna toward me. She seemed onboard the whole way to try and compensate with her needs. Sure, she did not stay at just ¡°need,¡± but I felt I could let it go because of my attachment toward Jenna. I could not have known how hard my feelings for Jenna would hit Katie; could I? If this is a question aimed at me, then no. As Katie said, as Atropos suggested, she is worried that Jenna does not like her, and will probably never love her. Pfft. There¡¯s no way Katies stupid enough to stumble into a full Melissa. Oh, Tessa responds. Shit. Atropos finishes? Inside my brain? We were . . . mingling at the time. Sorry for the intrusion. Tessa apologizes for having data sex. You¡¯re adorable. Atropos, no other Ais when dating my other half okay!! In your parlance, ¡°no worries¡± Penny. Our emotions are parsed, refined, and reduced. If I did not already feel strongly, our relationship would be impossible. Andromeda, it¡¯s just amazing that I have a whole other person anchored in my brain. Even though Tessa is a monster pain in the ass. ¡°Tessa, plop a naked t-2 med injector on my face. I need to vent some emotion.¡± All four people that care about you in detail would prefer you not do this. While I appreciate all of you, I need, I NEED to vent a moon¡¯s worth of anger after this. I would recommend the mark 25 plasma shotgun. It has been modded by a local Aelean for delayed detonation. That sounds fab. I will take a Ruination rod in one hand, a breeching pistol and the Mark 25. You know what, Tessa? I have the spellform memorized, I have the aether cap. I wish to imbue the form of Ruination from this rod into my person, not to affect me. Before Tessa can respond, the pain starts. It etches from my right finger tops and curls in spirals down my fingers to the back of my hand. My hand is now a dedicated and hyper complex runeshape for control that snakes to connect to the full spellform of Sundering up my forearm. I feel the spell dig into the aether channels that connect to my crystal bones. A brief struggle for power ensues before my will is pressed upon them so I can get back to my research while this download happens. Before I was tempted to Integrate a complicated spell, I felt as though the med pack had given me enough energy and recovery to test another beast. Engraving the spell into my essence makes me want to sleep for a day and a half. To my shame, a beast does round the corner.
Well, when it rains, it¡¯s a fan full of shit eh? I pull the mark 25 and start pumping. GBM staggers, shakes its head and stares fire at me. When it roars it¡¯s a miasma of smoke and blood fog. I flick my un-tethered AM-pistols and pop two shots into its dome. The bastard shrieks and flips over the canopy as though it dodged?! What the ever-loving Andromeda Biscuits is that shit! I scramble to get my brain together, and my weapons ready. I hear the thunderous cracks, the rustle of whole treetops. I smile as it gets closer, realizing some of my thrill is battle insanity but I welcome it. As soon as the shifting-color behemoth show¡¯s its snoot, I order the Indulgence to full orbit burn on that fucker¡¯s face. Six vortex inducers with a pure aether afterburner sears the landscape. My armor¡¯s shield was literally made to survive re-entry conditions so I stand and advance. I open with the mark 25, after 5 delayed grenades I continue with Overcharged blaster bolts. When the pure energy pistols blow their breaches, I shunt them into the beast. I crouch, roll and shield into a bush to watch the horror of a mewling cry from a devastated, but surviving Monstrosity. Abomination, thy name is Aether Forged It¡¯s laying on it¡¯s side, face and back ruined by the fiery assault, but with an arm that for some miracle still works, Penny doesn¡¯t want to come too close. The problem is two of her best weapons were burnt to shit, and the sniper rifle I want hasn¡¯t been purchased yet. ¡°You know what? Fuck this. Saber time,¡± I right hand grab the covered handle that I stole from a senior midshipmen when I was still a petty research student. The plasma ignites and fills me with the warmth emanating from the blade. The Blood Monger tries to shift up to its feet, but only manages an elbow as it swipes at the field of combatants. It might be seeing extra me due to a head injury. Cool. My skill in sabers is non-existant, but I have power. My grip is sloppy, but I have aether. Speed is of the essence so I lend my preternatural skills to the blade, charge my muscles with aether and overcharge the Plasma Saber into a longer, wilder blade. Dashing in, I shift toward a killing stroke before fully committing to a juke under its swiping arm. The clawed appendage hits the ground behind me as I shift my weight yet again to hack at the rising arm. The Aether nature of the monster must have contributed to its damage resistance, because with the beast now spend and near death, my saber passes through its paw with only moderate resistance. I switch to aether sight to find the beast¡¯s crystal and I see a brightly shining knot of aether tucked underneath it¡¯s spine, between thick scapula. I side step a weak and slow bite attempt before jamming my saber down it¡¯s neck and into the source of light. A crack thunders through the large body and the monstrosity sighs its last breath. I put my hand on the bristled hide to pull out my saber and instinctively blip the beast into the shuttle. I blip myself into the cockpit and ask Tessa to drive me back to the Retreat. I really needed a better plan, and my lady Adonis probably won¡¯t let me wander off alone ever again. B3 Ch7: Spoils of Boar? ¡°After the talk we had yesterday, why on Astoria would you think this is okay?!¡± Katie seethes as she stomps around her mini-castle on Atropos. Most of the building has clean styling in polished indigenous stone and is left unadorned so people that walk in can feel the weight of the building around them. Her conference room is ostentatious, but I try not to judge. Her bedroom is enormous and outfitted for group activities. Thank Andromeda Katie didn¡¯t bring any ¡°attendents¡±. ¡°Katie, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s okay! I am so fucking angry because of whatever this imbalance is, and it literally hurts me to be full of aether. I was trying to be responsible and try to cull the solo mobs on the edge of the herd, but no Elysium has tier 3 beasts roaming the noob area! And what else am I supposed to do, take it out on you? Jenna? Or Andromeda forbid, one of the Candidates?¡± I shouldn¡¯t be shouting at Katie. ¡°Yes, the second, bigger one was completely stupid. I got hurt because of hubris and stupid mistakes. I fought the bigger monster because I was furious and wanted to vent some anger when it found me. That fight went surprisingly well.¡± ¡°You damaged your re-entry suit, Penny. How is that well?¡± Katie scoffs as she pours another drink for herself, continuing to be a poor host. But I walk over and pour myself one from her bottle ¡°I killed a tier 3 creature and didn¡¯t lose any body parts. Seems like a win to me. Burned through about a million credits worth of gear though. I¡¯m really sorry I worried you though. It certainly wasn¡¯t my intention.¡± I sigh and massage my temples. ¡°Based off what we saw near Summer Station, the weaker mobs were on the outskirts of an aether-dense area. I sought out a solitary blip to fight, and it was level 46. If that¡¯s an indication of how tough the boss monsters are, they may be close to tier 4. That¡¯s something we needed to know, and something we don¡¯t have a detector for. So if we can stop yelling about how dumb I am, how can we make my plan safer?¡± ¡°Change your plan? Just saying.¡± ¡°Yes, but with suggestions this time?¡± I look at Katie with a look that I hope is as tired as I am. ¡°I have no good ones, love. Its just, every time you tell me you¡¯re hurt I¡¯m back in in the baths, holding pieces of you in the infused water, watching you grow back together. That and I think someone¡¯s messing with me at the Manor and I¡¯m extra irritated.¡± ¡°Messing with you? Katie, how long have you suspected?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but I think maybe someone¡¯s flooding the basement with extra aether, making me euphoric for an evening, and irritable for days after. I¡¯ve been, broody and indulgent so it took me until recently to notice.¡± I hate what she means when she says indulgent. ¡°Not to sound callous, hon, but are we waiting to have this discussion until we both address our unstable emotions, or should we have it now?¡± I really don¡¯t know which I¡¯d rather, but either way I¡¯m nervous for what¡¯s about to happen. ¡°No, we¡¯ve been pretending nothing is wrong, or at least I¡¯ve been leaning into bravado instead of trying to experience all of these . . . ¡° she gags a moment, ¡°Feelings.¡± I smirk at that. She did say that my death sparked more feels than she was accustomed. ¡°Okay. I guess I¡¯ll lead with the fact I don¡¯t like how the number of your extra bedmates have gone from necessary to indulgent. I extra don¡¯t like it when you have harem nights when I am around and willing to provide for you.¡± ¡°I hear that. I also hear that Tessa and Atropos have alluded to my jealousy as a reason. That part is true, and it hurts that Jenna doesn¡¯t like me. It hurts a little extra because with two symbiote users, I probably wouldn¡¯t need any other blood and bedmates. A small part of me thinks you like it this way: Having a private fling, someone you love to keep to yourself. The people I see, I don¡¯t love them, Penny. It¡¯s not what I need from them, and it¡¯s not something I have to give.¡± She sounds sad and a little bitter. I hate that she feels this so I set my drink down and hug her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Katie. I wish Mel hadn¡¯t started me down this road. It¡¯s not one I ever wanted to walk again. And to be honest, if it wasn¡¯t for your thirst, I wouldn¡¯t have entertained the idea again. I guess my question for you is: Do you realize that I love you both differently, and not more or less than the other?¡± She shakes her head softly ¡°You just seem so happy with her, and you rarely seem so lively with me.¡± I pull back and hold her face in my hands, ¡°Katie, do you remember how stupid and dopey I was with you at first?¡± She nods, ¡°I fell impossibly in love with you in a week. Part of me merged with you then, and since you have both given me the brightest days and the darkest pits to live in. But the truth remains, I¡¯d rather live in a musty pit for years with you than on a sunny field for ten minutes without you.¡± ¡°I love you too, wife. But this doesn¡¯t solve my Jenna problem.¡± ¡°The solution is simple: Don¡¯t be Melissa.¡± Katie recoils like I slapped her. She even staggers back into an armchair and sits. ¡°Fuck.¡± She drains her cup and then drinks deep from the bottle. ¡°How did I come that close to that?¡± Her thousand yard stare tells me that she was not prepared for such a revelation, even though Atropos was told about the corollary days ago. I want to comfort her, but she needs something to do, and I could use a little snuggle, so I crawl into her lap sideways and stuff my face into her shoulders. ¡°Pain clouds our brains. Even one so analytical as your beautiful brain. My cavalier approach isn¡¯t meant to be callous or uncaring, love, it¡¯s self-preserving. I¡¯m sorry if it has looked like I don¡¯t worry about us, don¡¯t think about you all of the time.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re not trying to replace me?¡± I snort, ¡°Katie, love, life, and wife; you are a once in a lifetime intellect that I tricked into loving me. No practical number of dice rolls would show me this fortunate of a result again. You¡¯re also stupid fucking pretty.¡± She snorts, pinches my butt and bites me. Or nibbles until I give her permission and then she floods me with all of her emotions, pretty, ugly, green, radiant and black¡ªall of them. ¡°That might be the first time that kind of bite has made me cry. All I can say, Kay, is that I¡¯ll try to be better, for the three of us, okay?¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll try not to hate you for making me feel all of this shit.¡± I do my best to crawl into her soul and radiate love and warmth and acceptance. *** The next morning, I wake up with Katie, have a short breakfast and discussion about the Empire with her and talk about our agendas. She¡¯s here to monitor some shady gas scavenging from one of her mining companies and I have some meat processing to do. Katie doesn¡¯t let me leave without sending a message to my armor person for a quote for a new set and a promise not to go wandering alone in the woods without my guard dog. Then I asked her not to call Jenna a dog anymore. She made no promises. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. When I said I should get back to Elysium, Katie delays me with a bite and a bang, but then I put a kibosh on more shenanigans. When I get back to the Retreat, Jenna starts trying to drag the corpses out of the shuttle¡¯s cargo hold. I snort, put a hand in her face and blip the bodies outside. ¡°If you want to go, I¡¯ll be an hour or so getting these taken care of.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather help or watch and learn something than be idle.¡± I hug her side and relish in her sunbaked smell. ¡°Okay then, let us see what it takes to pierce their hides.¡± She walks up and tries to pierce it¡¯s gut with a plain old titansteel knife with minimal effect. ¡°Yikes, this will take forever with this. Got anything sharper?¡± She looks at me, expectant. I nod and purse my lips to prevent myself from smiling wile I draw my plasma saber and my ruination rod. ¡°Kibbles and Bits? Or do you want to skin it and steak it?¡± I gesture at both of my tools. She takes the saber. ¡°Okay, send a spark to it like you would a shield, then push until you get the heat you want, but realize it will keep pulling mana to sustain it until you cut it off.¡± Jenna brings the saber to life and takes a few test swings, appreciating the feel of the blade. When she tries to slice the first monster, it cuts better than the knife, but not well enough for her tastes. She makes the blade glow more brightly until it cuts to her satisfaction. She talks me through what she¡¯s doing and why and I get a general appreciation for skinning and butchery. I enjoyed the period when she tried to explain why you had to take out the guts and the difficult time she had finding the beast¡¯s organs. It¡¯s then I explain that aether beings above tier two can gradually rid their need for biology if they chose to develop that way. ¡°I really want to eat the big one.¡± ¡°It is nearly lunchtime. You want to find a pit and some wood for us to roast a haunch from each?¡± ¡°That sounds like the best idea I¡¯ve heard all day. I¡¯ll make a little spot for that and a place for me to sit in the lake to watch it.¡± I start to walk away before I think of the saber. ¡°Hey babe, give me that knife, I¡¯ll make it a plasma one if you like.¡± She basically throws it at me. I¡¯ll take it as a YES PLEASE! Instead of an act of violence. I chuckle at the enthusiasm and ridiculousness. I pull up my menus and break out the ¡°Empress Money¡± for a spitted fire pit, a covered picknick area and a utilities station for the shore. I link it to the workshop area underground so I can install a radio, a fridge and some fairy lights for the area. Finally, I put a chair on the shore as I sit with Jenna¡¯s knife and shift my newly grown hand (tier 3 meds are a trip) into an engraving tool and get to work while waiting for my beefy bae to butcher the beasts. Titian steel is hard to engrave. Luckily most of the engraving I have to do is in the handle and I am quite good at engraving at this point. Once I get to the point where I need to order new handle material, I teak a break and go see where my butcher lady is. Jenna¡¯s still butchering, but I see she¡¯s set to chunks to the side¡ªbranded with their former levels. I smile and figure she deserves a kiss for her efforts. With a solid smack to her butt, I take the sectioned meat to the spit and start a roasting. Automated turning of course. I order some veggies and a tuber mash of some kind to complete the impromptu meal. Twenty minutes later, Jenna tells me that she put all the parts into the shuttle and that she¡¯d work on getting it into freezer size tomorrow. I snicker and recall the shuttle into its non-dimensional space. ¡°So I talked with Katie last night. You obviously came up. Katie is hurt by your rejection, and we talked through a bunch of feelings. I feel like this is going to trigger your anxiety, but you don¡¯t have to go anywhere unless you want to.¡± ¡°So, she¡¯s not pulling the wife card to kick me out after she said this was okay?¡± Ugh, Jenna, why can¡¯t you look at me. ¡°No. I reminded her how I fell for each of you, and we agreed to pay attention to our outside stressors and let our feelings develop. Which, I want to ask you, what do you want from this, Us, Jenna?¡± ¡°Heh, well, I¡¯m not sure how to feel about your wife wanting me to want her, but you give me hope for us? I want to be around you because you inspire an honest appreciation of the betterment of humanity. I love you because even with all of that power and strength, you¡¯re still a real person with flaws and dreams. Last night, I hated the feeling that some conversation lightyears away might dictate my future. I thought I was about to lose the honor of being with this troubled, yet amazing person and it hurt so bad to see that your wife might want me gone. I¡¯m not going to say something as stupid as I would give you anything, but what I have to give is yours. I¡¯m never going to need sex the way you two do, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be as understanding with my wants as you have been with my feelings.¡± There¡¯s gotta be sand in my eyes or something. ¡°I promise to give you my support as often as I can, and to tease you mercilessly when I can get away with it. There are a dozen gooshy, heartfelt things I want to express, but the words pale in comparison to what we express falling asleep in eachother¡¯s arms.¡± I can see her blush from here and it makes my heart beat that little bit more, just for her. Which is a feat because my heart no longer needs to beat. ¡°You¡¯re so embarrassing!¡± ¡°Andromeda, you are so adorable.¡± Ugh, my heart. ¡°Before my heart explodes from cuteness, I¡¯m going to check my messages.¡±
x2
x2
x3
/Your enemy was more than five levels above you. Gain moderate extra experience/
/Your destroyed an aether core. Gain moderate aether experience/
/You have slain a beast solo. A moderate experience multiplier has been applied/
/Your merely acceptable performance initiates at Beginner step 5/
/You have slain an Aether Forged beast. Gain significant extra experience/
/Your enemy was more than ten levels above you. Gain significant extra experience/
/You have destroyed a dense aether core. Gain significant aether experience/
/You have slain a Forged beast solo. A significant experience multiplier has been applied/
x4
x5
x5
I will be taking advantage of the energy of your refinement to shift your core and meridians. Your next mutation should be an interesting one. I groan escapes me as a churning grips my chest and abdomen. I see Jenna react, but I assure her it¡¯s just level up pains from only getting improvements when I check them, as a punishment from the Matrix. ¡°Tessa tells me my next mutation is going to be a doozie. So, next level, I¡¯ll be in a shit storm. I¡¯m somehow out-leveling my skills. I¡¯m really kind of afraid of how fast I¡¯m leveling. Granted, without my ridiculous tech imbalance I would just be sitting with a bunch of magic waiting to be abused.¡± ¡°Penny, my AI is telling me that you shouldn¡¯t be discussing this stuff.¡± ¡°Baby, I¡¯m the Human Primus. I basically get the cheat codes. I advance faster, I keep my own tech and aether levels, and I get priority exchange delivery. There are some other things with that -- like my teleportation -- that you probably shouldn¡¯t discuss with others.¡± ¡°Your secrets are safe with me Penny.¡± She gets up, walks over to my chair and kisses me softly. ¡°Now I just need to convince you to let me keep the rest of you safe.¡± B3 Ch8: Surprise! Beecham and Meeker arrive late afternoon on a shuttle from Aelea. This is the first time Meeker¡¯s been back since our return to Earth more than a year ago. I appreciate the level of awe that Meeker has and I definitely laugh as they both say ¡°woah¡± as the shuttle door opens and they feel the wave of aether flow into the ship. ¡°Morning gentlemen! Welcome to Elysium. Meeker, this is Jenna DeGurgis, head of my personal guard and hand to hand trainer when I¡¯m not engaged in dangerous bullshit.¡± I get both of them to chuckle at that. ¡°Meeker here is a saber master and uses a type of tele-kinetic force to augment his saber technique. Beecham is an Elementalist and an Elemental Blacksmith.¡± ¡°Now that we¡¯ve done introductions.¡± I smile and wrap Beecham in a big hug. ¡°Have I told you how much I appreciate you lately?¡± ¡°My last shipbuilding bonus was nice, keep that coming.¡± He taps my back telling me that it¡¯s time to let go. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what you¡¯ve done to the Galilei!¡± I start bouncing in excitement. ¡°Powerful Empress, still a massive nerd.¡± He smiles at me and offers me a hand to shake. ¡°Good to see you under better circumstances.¡± I feel a pulse in my hand, which I immediately pull away from the greeting. ¡°Did you just inspect me?!¡± I wipe my hand off hoping to get the feeling off and it doesn¡¯t work. ¡°Don¡¯t do that without their permission while we¡¯re here. Ugh, that feels gross.¡± ¡°Most people can¡¯t feel it. I¡¯m surprised you can. The only thing I got from you is that you have more aether than I can fathom. I will ask those that wish training from me. It gives me a good appraisal of their abilities.¡± ¡°I have enough aether to make both you and Beecham sick. I don¡¯t want to fight about something like this, but with more aether users coming about, I would like some restraint on invasion of privacies.¡± ¡°Interesting statement coming from the woman who sent a swarm on more than seven billion people.¡± Jenna walks around me to stand next to Meeker, very close to him. I shrug, ¡°True. But everyone could have chosen to back out, and I¡¯m sure some did. The difference here is that most people you meet won¡¯t be strong enough to push back against your pulse. Tell me, Troy, you seem ready to fight, why are you here?¡± He breathes deeply, looks up at Jenna then back at me. ¡°There are a lot of rumors going around Earth about you, and none of them are good. Whereas people on Aelea don¡¯t seem to know much about you, but what they do know is that you live in excess don¡¯t use your wealth to benefit the people.¡± I start laughing. Hard. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything for the people? Those entitled shitbags. Did they tell you they live in the city I built for free? Not even store operators pay rent. They don¡¯t pay for basic food, and all I ask is for them to pay if they want to own the building or the land they live on. I expect them to pay taxes on business and personal profits so that I can build more city for the simply massive amount of people that want to travel here. I have other money-making interests that I put back into the Empire so that people don¡¯t have to pay more.¡± I take a second to breathe. ¡°I¡¯m trying to run this Empire with ten fucking people and with a Navy of a couple hundred. Now tell me what those ungrateful fuckers are complaining about so I can try to fix it or tell me where to send you money and get to fucking work!¡± I¡¯m breathing heavy at this point, I didn¡¯t know that I was insecure about how I was handling administration, but apparently I¡¯ve got some things to handle once I¡¯m through with this . . . whatever this greeting turned into. Meeker has a shocked look on his face, and Beecham is looking at Meeker like he kicked a puppy. I take a second to tell the shuttle operator that they¡¯re fine to take off. The bay begins to close and Meeker seriously considers leaping back on board. ¡°You¡¯re going to finish this contract Meeker. You should do some actual research before you accuse people of shit. The majority of Humanity doesn¡¯t appreciate what they are given. They learn to expect it and try to find a way to get more for free. I don¡¯t give away money. Period. I expect to be paid back in products or services. Like training aether users to better themselves.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Meeker doesn¡¯t say anything as he walks away, stomps a little, but nothing more than an angry child would do. ¡°Sorry Admiral, he seemed so eager to help. I had no idea.¡± ¡°Not your fault, Chief. Though I¡¯m pretty sure he was thinking about trying to kill me.¡± ¡°I saw it too. That¡¯s why I moved between you.¡± She put a hand on my back and thumbs a stripe of comfort. It makes sense that Meeker would try to be a warrior for justice, it¡¯s just too bad that he¡¯s gullible and doesn¡¯t do research. Here I am trying to trust folk. Shame on me right? Beecham excuses himself and trots after the would-be Jedi. ¡°What do you want me to do about this? I worry about fomenting rebellion.¡± ¡°Me too. Keep an eye out for any one on one convo¡¯s he has outside of the training ring. I may need to be off planet during these six weeks, so either you stay or find someone to take your place. I hate that this changes my plans. Sometimes I just want to space everyone that pisses me off. Speaking of, how good are you at working through surprises?¡± ¡°I can do my Job, Penny.¡± Oh, well, I did not mean to offend her. ¡°Hey, no hon. I wasn¡¯t trying to say you couldn¡¯t.¡± I get close and whisper, ¡°I can so some fairly gruesome teleport shenanigans.¡± And then I hug her, because she¡¯s so close and the way Meeker was looking at me like the enemy, again, has me rattled a little. After a rather indiscrete butt grab, Jenna leads me over to a training ring and tells me to pull out some knives. She shows me how to fight with one knife and drills the basics into me. Don¡¯t defend with the knife unless you have two. Keep both arms up, stab and keep your hands inside your shoulders, and for Andromeda¡¯s sake, don¡¯t lunge, it¡¯s not fencing. She pulls out her EVA suit gloves on and spars with me a little while I have a knife in hand. I trust that she knows what she¡¯s doing. She comes at me with a fist and a knife hand and jabs the shit out of my chest and ribs with her fingers while I try to stab my girlfriend. I think I see an opening, but Jenna blocks away with her fisted hand and buries a punch with the other right under my ribs. My feet lift from the ground a little before she lets me drop to the ground. ¡°That, right there is one of the goals of a knife fight. A stunning blow would give me enough time to finish you, disarm you, or run away. Choosing when and how to get hurt for your advantage is a valuable skill in every style of combat. There are very few circumstances where a single touch is fatal.¡± I don¡¯t remotely entertain replying. I have no food to throw up, but if I did. Wait, fuck. I vomit some aether on the ground. ¡°I know I need this lesson, but hells, woman. That sucked.¡± I get to my feet with a wobble and a wince, thinking I could use some juice to wash down the aether-bile I just figured out I can vomit. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about pumping for speed Penny. You need to learn this the right way, because the wrong way faster is still wrong.¡± Over the next hour, I get a few touches on her gloves, but nowhere near her body. Jenna, however hits me everywhere but the face and I finally call it for lunch when she jackhammers my boob. For a moment, I want to stab her for real. I scowl at her and teleport away without bringing her with. Petty vengeance. Heh, Penny vengeance. I scrub up and grab a clandestine nibble of Galaxy fruit to help fix my bruising. While I could use meds, my Body of Power is high enough to heal with sending aether to my wounds. Makes me wonder for a second why it hurts so much to get hit when it does comparatively little damage. It¡¯s because the Matrix still codifies you as human. You have human based pain observance with a mediocre pain suppression. If you were classified as a Golem with mediocre pain suppression, you would merely have been tickled. I think it¡¯s funny that the Matrix has lead me the golem route when my personal preference would have been fairy. Faeries, whether real or not, are not a part of the Matrix. From the assimilation of your culture¡¯s tales and histories, Faeries are essentially beings that were magically manifested by a quartet of Magically powerful Queens. Very little is known about how the Queens came to be. So until you are capable of manifesting a body, you¡¯re stuck in between. Holy cow, Tessa. Did we get our permissions relaxed again? ¡®Cause that seems like a lot of inside knowledge. Mmm, not as such. There¡¯s a subset that I¡¯m not allowed to discuss unless you ask about it. Like your notifications, Andromeda has decided to gate your knowledge through your ability to focus. Well, shit. A hyper-intelligent, galaxy-spanning Matrix is teaching me a lesson. I am both flattered and annoyed. Andromeda, you¡¯re a bitch, but I love you. I hear a ¡®shoomp¡¯ behind me, the characteristic noise of a delivery. I open the case and find a rolled up piece of papyrus? I unroll it and the grossest cackle of my life erupts from me until it overtakes me and I fall over laughing. Dear Empress Astoria, You are cordially invited to go fuck yourself. --A.M. B3 Ch9: Service with No Smile I try not to glow at the attention Andromeda gives me, but it¡¯s hard not to. Roughly a hundred trillion sentients in her Matrix, and personal attention feels pretty good. Suddenly a feeling of guilt hits me as well: I hunger for attention, but I don¡¯t really give it do I. Oof. I¡¯m not to the level of thinking I deserve what my past loves have done to me, but I can see why some trouble has come up. I start thinking that those women should have talked with me about it more, but for all I know they did and I had my head so far up my ass that I didn¡¯t remember hearing it. Self doubt is fun after elation. Like being punched in the gut after being handed a cone of Shave Ice. I haven¡¯t had a Shave Ice in six years. List of things I need to do just gets fucking longer. I shake my head as I blip to my teleporting office. I¡¯m searching my menus as I exit and find that some beautifully enterprising human is selling Shave Ice via the Exchange. It even comes with a paddle spoon and ice cream at the bottom. You glorious purveyor of treats. ¡°Empress, sad you couldn¡¯t join us for lunch.¡± Meeker states at a table full of trainees. ¡°Knife fighting trainer beat my ass. I needed a minute. I look forward to seeing your training sessions, Mr. Meeker. Keep it to non-lethal contact. If I have to break out tier 3 healing for a training session, I¡¯ll space you.¡± ¡°Awfully heavy handed, don¡¯t you think?¡± A woman sitting next to Meeker says. ¡°Nah. Man has a problem with me, didn¡¯t know that until he arrived. If he takes it out on my citizens, he gets summary judgement as a terrorist. As one of Humanity¡¯s best aether users, I¡¯d hoped he¡¯d help for the benefit of us all.¡± ¡°You claim to care about all of your citizens, but you can¡¯t foot the meal bill for your trainers? For shame Empress. You have the money don¡¯t you?¡± He gets a few others to snicker. I breathe deeply, and calm my rage, ¡°You have declined citizenship several times, Troy. You are not owed. You, as a contractor are bound as well as I to the contract. You did not barter for meals. So you must pay for them. Under the good graces of the Empire, I was going to provide you lodging. But if you insist on the Letter of the Contract. You will be billed for lodging due to your irreverence and lack of attention to detail.¡± I turn to the rest of the table, ¡°I wish you the best today trainees. Let me or Lieutenant DeGurgis know if you need anything.¡± After that disgraceful display, I walk away ready to destroy another moon. Instead, I walk toward the waterline and set up my bench. Jenna comes over gives me a quick hug and chastises me slightly. ¡°I know you¡¯re supposed to have your EVA on.¡± Jenna says before kissing my cheek. I open my mouth to tell her to suit up too but she¡¯s already prepared. I nod and transport back to the apartment to put what¡¯s left of my EVA on and teleport back to the lake. ¡°Alright lady, thanks for the backup, but Meeker crawled up my ass about not paying for shit he didn¡¯t ask for. Katie¡¯s a shrewd miser, so that doesn¡¯t surprise me. But he confronted me in front of all he trainees! AAAAH! I want to murder his face.¡± ¡°With his current level of tact, it won¡¯t be long, baby. Let him walk into it.¡± ¡°But honey, I want to blow up a moon now!¡± I fake a tantrum and stomp in my EVA with a dumb smile on my face. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t heard the story of you actually blowing up a moon, that would be cute. Poor little Mercy used to have a sister before the big, bad Empress caught a case of the angries.¡± She¡¯s making a cutesie parent face and me so I teleport her over the lake with a hand to the face. Now that I¡¯ve bought myself a minute, time to delve back into my construct. I polish off the old engravings and modify the power that the aether conduits can handle. That may not be the solution to the actual problem, but it addresses the symptoms. I¡¯m halfway through the second engraving when Jenna flicks water in my face. I have a quick chuckle and then stand on my toes for a kiss. ¡°For the record, I will take a forceful teleport out of line of sight as a personal slight and a dismissal from your service.¡± She says it with love in her voice, but a warning about how she can¡¯t keep me safe from afar. ¡°If I have to save your life, I hope you can forgive me.¡± I say non-chalant, when two burly arms pick me up and smash her lips to mine. ¡°No promises. Don¡¯t go anywhere I can¡¯t follow. Okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, love.¡± I smooch her one last time before getting back to work. Throughout the process, Jenna is a gem. She suggests that I add components to test if or when the power might overload a component. I add a limb at a time until the troublesome left arm is added. It trembles furiously as the newest engravings are brought within effect range. To my great surprise, after the full body shutter, the construct goes rigid and its head snaps up to stare at me with its oversized corundum lenses. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°I am ready to serve, Empress.¡± ¡°Holy shit¡± Jenna and I say simultaneously, wile Jenna drops the construct. It falls into a crouch, none of it¡¯s parts dislocate. ¡°Fuck yeah! Construct, report status.¡± ¡°This construct is Operating at 90% power with 74% structure stability. Combat action not recommended. System seeded by Intelligence Tessa. Request service parameters.¡± ¡°Is your programming enabled to copy modules?¡± ¡°Yes Empress. My current maximum is two intermediate modules.¡± ¡°Alright Oren, Codify new monicker: ¡®Oren¡¯; I¡¯m sending you the intermediate equivalent of Piloting and Jenna will send you the equivalent of safety protocols.¡± ¡°Monicker codified. Orders understood. Awaiting module equivalents.¡± Oren was not built with an appropriate interface as I never intended him to be an autonomous model. Tessa obviously thought I was being dumb and set his processing array up for it anyway. I love you Tessa, thank you. Oren acknowledges his orders and his downloads and follows me with an armload of supplies while I summon my shuttle. I instruct him to familiarize himself with the controls and any emergency procedures and he concurs and sets into some menus with his knobby-ass fingers. ¡°Jenna, is that level of detachment weird or is it just me?¡± I say as we walk away from the ship. ¡°He¡¯s what I expect a robot to behave like. Did you want something else? You know that they¡¯ll never be like Tessbot right?¡± ¡°Never is a strong word love. My aim is to make alternate forms for personal AI¡¯s. Tessa just got lucky that Andromeda loves me and my Tier 2 gift was the best ship that ever was.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they just get better every ascension?¡± She¡¯s close to me still, my body tingles when she puts her hand on my hip as we walk. ¡°Yes and no. The gifts really depend on what you¡¯re doing and how invested you are after your mid-mark award.¡± I think for a second then chuckle. ¡°I say that, but I¡¯ve been given ships both times. Hah. I wonder if Andromeda is paying attention to me because I¡¯m the first primus in a thousand years, or that I committed to her service so early.¡± Jenna turns to hug me. A quick diversion. ¡°I¡¯ll get mushy tonight, but stop this public moping hon. Put on your bad bitch, moon-destroying face and be constructive. You have a knife to make me after all.¡± I hand her the knife that I already finished. She hugged me appropriately and then asked me to have a titan-steel saber made and to then enchant it to plasma. I tell her I¡¯ll place an order with Beecham when he gets the time, but I¡¯m no elemental smith. I can make base level Titan steel, but nothing master grade like Beecham. If I¡¯m giving my girl a bladed present, I want it to be expert plus for Andromeda¡¯s sake. Beecham approaches us later, asking for me to help imbue one of his projects and he¡¯ll make the test case a saber for Jenna. I agree immediately. Experiments? Yes! Product for my girl? Yes please. ¡°Send me a setup and I¡¯ll build it here. We¡¯re accepting trade development for aether training as well.¡± ¡°You got it Admiral, I¡¯m sending the specs of my Mercy setup.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sending me a ship forge . . . holy crap this is cool. I am totally building this. Like on the landing in the other side of the mountains. It¡¯ll basically feed itself. What are we trying to make?¡± ¡°Astral Titanium, I¡¯ve only been able to make ruined versions. I need an aether specialist and you¡¯re the only one left in Humanity. I could hire an alien, but the price for succeeding is ruinous. It¡¯s like forging regular titanium, just more temperamental and angrier.¡± I can¡¯t help but make a disgusted face: I fucking hate titanium. Like fictional Adamantium it is temperamental as all get out and a stubborn ass once it¡¯s forged. ¡°Dude, if we¡¯re making space titanium, I get a saber too.¡± ¡°Ten projects. You get a prototype and two finished while I get the other eight.¡± Ugh, that¡¯s not bad. I just don¡¯t want to be on the hook for the metal. He agrees immediately and I suddenly feel as though I¡¯ve been had. I pulse Naomi and she confirms that I¡¯ve been had. Fucking fuck. I check for a moment how expensive an Astral Titanium saber would cost and I almost cough out credits. ¡°Beecham, you¡¯re a bastard. And if this works, our deal will change if you come to me again.¡± Fucker grins at me and salutes as he jogs back to the training circles. Gah, I suppose I can¡¯t expect the Empress treatment if I don¡¯t act self important all the time. I spend the rest of the afternoon gleefully building a forge for the training facility, but far enough away that it could have a catastrophic failure and not kill any of the other trainees. Jenna laughs at how happy I am to build stuff that makes science things. ¡°Baby, I love experiments and discovery! Don¡¯t laugh!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just so nice to see you like this. You deal with so much and these moments are rare. Let me engrave them in my memory.¡± The statuesque guard tells me and all I want to do is hug and smooch her resplendent face. Some decidedly delightful shenanigans later, we join the rest of the trainees for an afternoon session with Meeker. Mother pussing hose beast picks me out immediately. ¡°Empress, care to show the trainees how it¡¯s done?¡± ¡°Instructor Meeker, I am merely a beginner in in the Bladed arts, I¡¯m positive that your trainees are better at sword play than I am. Carry on with your session.¡± He understands that I¡¯ve given him an order and decides not to press it. Good thought, fucker. I relinquish the thought of pounding him into paste and get back to the idea that my lady Adonis will be provocative with me again after dinner. ¡°Attention Candidates. At the end of the week I will be hosting a barbeque lakeside. I will be roasting an Aether infused beast and have sides and beverages. Attendance is optional, but I killed this beast and I intend to enjoy it.¡± I push the details to everyone and make sure we have enough of the Gessek to feed the group. I laugh at the face Meeker makes and strut off toward my office with my lady guardian in tow. We teleport to our room and we are both so happy with the day that we have an impromptu brawl training session instead of a vigorous sex encounter. Jenna is still pretty firm on the no sex front, but I got me a topless snuggle session that put me to sleep just fine. B3 Ch 10: Negligence and Understanding. ¡°Empress, we need to talk about your wife,¡± are the first words Naomi says to me several days after I last talked to my wife. ¡°While I do want to hear what you have to say, remember that I care deeply for this person.¡± ¡°Which is why I want to talk to you now, instead of next week when you¡¯ll be back on Astoria. Mrs. O¡¯Connell has been having more visitors as of late, enough that there are rumors that she¡¯s luring young people to the Mansion.¡± What the fuck, Katie? Penny, calm down. Talk to her first, something might be wrong besides the alleged predatory behavior. ¡°I understand the optics would be bad, but why is this an emergency?¡± ¡°I just told you that the person taking care of the Empire¡¯s finances hasn¡¯t been doing the job for two weeks, and you ask what the emergency is?¡± My exasperated assistant waves her hands in frustration. ¡°Right, you actually skipped that part. Has anything actually gone by the wayside or is this a cry for help to hire someone to pick up the slack?¡± ¡°The second one. Despite that existing business is being maintained by Atropos and the Matrix interface, we really do need someone to interface with clients and new business that is popping up.¡± ¡°So what it seems we need is an HR specialist or a head hunter. We definitely don¡¯t want you to have to do all of that work. In the meantime, is there anything else that needs my attention?¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t know you¡¯re about to spend two days digging through our finances, I¡¯d say you¡¯re being too casual about this. But yes, there are several trade firms that are requesting an audience, the Governors are up in arms about supplies and transport lanes and immigration rates. They want to get some things on your agenda before the Forum next week. There are some other odds and ends that you can¡¯t put off for too much longer, but it¡¯s not going to bring the Empire down.¡± She seems to be focusing more than panicking now, which is a plus. I need her to keep her head on straight so she can keep my shit in line. ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯m thrilled about meetings, but yeah, set those meetings up for me, but make sure I get those two days to look thinks over. Thanks for being so calm about this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s funny to hear you say that. My job in the US Navy was much more of a hassle than this job, but it¡¯s hard to handle the scope of what happens if things fall apart here.¡± ¡°I get what you mean, it¡¯s hard to believe that I put myself in this situation on purpose. With as rushed as all this was, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised that it¡¯s slip shod. Hell even with these problems, the Empire runs better than some Earth Governments.¡± I breath in deep and push away the mounting anxiety. She smirks at that. ¡°You do a lot of things for your people, which reminds me that you also need a PR consultant. Your public image is barely more than rumor.¡± ¡°Yeah, and the rumors aren¡¯t great. Or at least one of my instructors being a misguided social justice warrior who thinks I¡¯m a tyrant. He may still try to kill me.¡± At least his emotions and intent are straightforward. ¡°Side note, if this is getting to be a lot, feel free to send me a proposal for more staff.¡± ¡°Oh, thank God. I was going to work up to that, but with some of the rumors going around, it might be hard to get some people to work at the Manor.¡± Andromeda save me from these petty insults. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s not getting fixed overnight. Do we still have ¡®liason¡¯ spaces in the Capitol complex?¡± ¡°Yes, in both the House of Governors and the Consul Conclave. Should I dedicate some space there?¡± ¡°Take over the Consul spaces. I don¡¯t have a ton of those yet, and I don¡¯t want the Governors complaining that I¡¯m taking back what was intended for ¡®the people¡¯. Also, I apologize if these rumors are part of the reason you were reluctant to move into the guest house. I didn¡¯t hear about them until this week. And yes, I live under a rock. In fact, I¡¯m a rock.¡± I have a giggle at that because my bones are gems. That¡¯s a weird thing to just realize after being a golem for nearly a year. ¡°My husband is oblivious, so there¡¯s some good news. He¡¯s very invested in your project.¡± ¡°OH! I have a prototype to send him. Thanks for the reminder.¡± She smiles at that before shuffling her papers, ¡°Unless you have anything else for me, Empress, your due for a reminder to check your alerts and messages at least twice a day.¡± I roll my eyes for the umpteenth time at that reminder. Without fail, she closes every meeting like that. She¡¯s not wrong, I have abysmal attention to non-flashy indicators so my system messages and mundane correspondence usually gets ignored unless I¡¯m looking for something. She ends the call while I¡¯m making a silly face at her. It is a solid reminder to do so before I get involved in anything else.
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/There are Empire Interface options ready for your approval/ /There are 2 Priority Messages awaiting your attention/ /There are 120 Messages awaiting your attention/ Oof. I really do have a problem, but at least it¡¯s not something ridiculous like 1200 messages. It would be much closer if I hadn¡¯t started sorting your mail. Many Governors send messages straight to you when it should be sent to your Consuls or your assistant. Have I told you I love you lately? That and I kind of miss you. We haven¡¯t been chatting as much lately and I know a large part of it is my fault. I miss you too. Your distracted nature aside, I¡¯ve been spending a lot of time on the Alaris interacting with people and tinkering with some of your side projects. Did you know that I can use some of your skills? Found that out when I walked by a workbench in the machine shop and felt like fixing something. First time that¡¯s happened. Hmm. Think that¡¯s just a part of having a body? Or body plus hanging out permanently in a parallel mind? Either way, that¡¯s pretty fun. You¡¯ve got most of my permissions, so if you want to pursue your own projects, go nuts. I¡¯m certain my efforts don¡¯t help us advance or influence your progression, but it is nice to have a literal hand in one of your projects for once. Maybe we can work together on one? Oooh! Since you have much more experience in a mechanical body, maybe you can help with my construct project! Or whatever you want. We could work on one of your ideas too. But! I¡¯ve gotten side-tracked. No surprise. Did you hear the last call I was on? Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She chirps in acknowledgement. I¡¯m worried about Katie and if her work is slipping, it¡¯s a bigger problem than I thought. When we¡¯re in person there¡¯s so much emotion there, and she was worried that someone might be influencing emotions with aether in her grotto. Maybe that¡¯s been scaled up. I wouldn¡¯t normally approve of using us as a short-cut to addressing marital issues, but Katie is suffering. I already asked while you were talking with Naomi, and Atropos has some suggestions but it depends on what result you want. Sorry, Tessa, and thank you. What I want from this? I want to love and be loved, and for her to be happy. We went through so much change so fast, I have to re-learn what makes her happy. And I haven¡¯t made any efforts to find out, have I? I just assumed this harem thing was it and I¡¯m having a hard time with that. Atropos does not appreciate how oblivious you have been, going so far as to swear at you. So, instead of relaying the whole tirade, I will ask you a few questions. Do you remember what Katie said to you after your tier 2 ascension? My mind wasn¡¯t very well tethered at the time, but I remember her crying, her telling me that I can¡¯t die again, because the feeling of losing me knocked some feelings loose? I¡¯m obviously paraphrasing, so bear with it. There was something there about her saying that because I made her feel, that I should take some responsibility for those feels? Yeah, that¡¯s the thrust of what she said. Not near as poignant, but the same ideas. Knowing that watching you die fundamentally changed her perception of your relationship, did that change anything about your behavior? And have you talked with her about it since? I mean, we got married, we built together and spent a lot more time together, but a lot of that got interrupted by the constant stress of immigration and expansion. Ahh, the timing would fit too. No, I haven¡¯t brought it up, and we don¡¯t really talk much anymore unless one of us needs something. Blarg. And now she sees me spending time with Jenna because our schedule aligns and is getting jealous, even admitted to it a few days ago. >P] Hey Katie, I heard that there¡¯s been some talk about the Manor lately. Are you okay? [< It takes a minute or so for her to answer. >K] Hello wife. I miss you. Can you come pick me up? I think I forgot that I can call you like this, isn¡¯t that weird? [< a worrying giggle followed her thoughts and has me in my shuttle on my way to her. *** ¡°Katie! Where are you hon!?¡± ¡°Pen penny pen pen.¡± I hear a mumble from the far side of the bed in our loft. ¡°My wife is so tasty.¡± The smell coming from our bed is not pleasant. Wine and food stains litter the comforter, their day-old smells not mixing well with the sweat and old sex lying beneath it. The smell of old sex in our bed hits me like a cannonball and makes me want to vomit. Dizziness hits me and I stagger against the wall to brace myself. The only promise we made in this arrangement, shattered. Anger hits me immediately and I spin up half a dozen scenarios of cutting this cancer out of my life, only to be interrupted. ¡°Hi pretty Penny! Did you know that I talked to you in my brain earlier? Pretty neat huh?¡± she slurs from the ground, failing in her attempts to sit up. Well, shit. That¡¯s not right. I take a second to massage some courage into my legs and walk myself to kneel next to my sloppily deposited wife. She is cold, sweaty and surprisingly does not smell of alcohol. ¡°Yes, Katie, it is very neat. Do you know how you got on the floor baby?¡± Talking to her gets her to focus on my momentarily, she smiles beautifully. ¡°Can I only feed from you for a while? You taste the best.¡± She clumsily climbs up me. ¡°And Sasha¡¯s friends taste tingly and tinny.¡± Who the fuck is Sasha and why are people bringing their friends to the Grotto? This would definitely cause some rumors if Katie ended up having sex parties instead of intimate engagements. While I run various scenarios through my head, Katie is swaying with a purpose and drops her face fangs first into my shoulder. For the first time ever, her feeding from me hurts. It apparently hurts her too, because within moments, she pulls back hissing, grabbing her head as if trying to keep her skull together. ¡°Katie? Katie talk to me baby, tell me how to help you.¡± ¡°It hurts. You hurt me. Everything feels so full, I might pop. I feel hot too.¡± Too hot? I know how to fix that. I blip us both to lusty falls and wade into the pool with Katie in my arms. It takes a few minutes, but the clench in her body gradually eases enough to where I can pull her filth clothes off and send them to the suns. I spend the next hour cradling her and bathing my delirious and pale paramore until she¡¯s well into dreamland. I briefly wonder where I should take her, knowing I want to burn the Mansion to the ground, and end up deciding on our apartment on Asphodel. Close by my work on Elysium, but far enough away from Aelean influence that she can have a break from whatever shitshow this was. In my head, I know I should stay and be understanding, but she had sex in our bed with another partner and I can¡¯t bring myself to stew in that until she wakes up. Instead, I write her a note of what I saw, what my fears are and that I love her and want to talk through what she remembers. As a parting gift, I inject her with some cleansing nanites and put a big detox patch slash bandage on her back to help keep her sedated with non-harmful pharma while the nanites work on removing the other drugs from her system. I leave a few ink bottles full of my blood in her fridge before I head back to Elysium. *** I hear a knock at my office door as I¡¯m looking at a wall of numbers and contracts. ¡°Come in!¡± I shout, not taking my eyes off the many screens. ¡°You forgot to stop for lunch.¡± Jenna comes in with an arm-full of food. I look at the time in the corner of my HUD and it is slightly more than an hour past mid day. ¡°Thanks hon. I¡¯m trying to get a handle on all these contracts and trade deals before I review any of the new business. There¡¯s a lot for me to catch up on.¡± I see a question in her eyes, she looks at me a second time and decides not to ask it. Assuming it was about Katie, probably for the best we don¡¯t bring that up. She still looks like she wants to talk about something so I put down the tablet I¡¯m holding and turn to her. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind Nini?¡± She chuckles sadly, avoiding looking at me. ¡°Nope, no hiding honey. If you¡¯re having trouble looking in my eyes, come over and hold me. It¡¯ll comfort the both of us.¡± She nods and walks over to me. I stand up and sit on my desk so I can hug her with my arms and legs. She sighs into my hair and starts rubbing circles into my back. ¡°I worry about you, about the Empire, about us. Pretty much everything right now.¡± Andromeda does it hurt to hear her feeling sad. ¡°Lets see if we can quantify some of those things to make the worry seem more manageable. ¡°First, I¡¯m hanging in. Naomi is working on finding me more help, specifically a financial advisor to help get things back in working order. I¡¯ve been embroiled in relationship drama for most of the last five years and it¡¯s getting old, but I¡¯ll likely try to deal and manage until I get abandoned by one of you¡ªat least that¡¯s what the pessimistic ass inside my head tells me. And I¡¯m low-key terrified of my tier 3 ascension and the fomenting rebellion. I mostly just want to tinker and invent stuff, but the way I do that seems to be more trouble than it¡¯s worth. ¡°Second, the Empire¡¯s doing great, honestly. Our biggest problem is not having enough ships to maintain inter-system trade and immigration desires. We absolutely have the infrastructure to expand and the industry to feed that growth until the artisans of the city can keep up. I just need to focus on getting more people, nay, the right people to come and help manage the issues that larger populations begin to have. We don¡¯t seem to have any enemies, and all together as a people our goods and services have excellent ratings on the Exchange. ¡°Next on your list is us. I don¡¯t see anything wrong with what we have between us. In fact, what we have is pretty ideal for me. You¡¯re strong, dependable, loving, doting, loyal, and a genuine good person. I feel like my casual touching quota is being met, but I worry that you don¡¯t express what you need because of our work roles. Outside of that very close view. Katie is hurting right now and possibly very jealous. I don¡¯t know what helping her heal is going to look like, which scares me. There¡¯s not a lot of things I can promise right now, but know that I love you and I have no intention of living my life without you.¡± We hold each other for a while. I don¡¯t look for the time, but enough has passed that when Jenna pulls away, the tears I heard her cry have long dried. ¡°I don¡¯t like that I can only help with one of those issues, it doesn¡¯t seem like enough. It still feels like I worship you from a distance with the occasional lucky moment of intimacy. Most of the time I don¡¯t think I deserve more. Some times I feel so spoiled, and others feel alone. I never feel abandoned, but I desperately want more but I¡¯m so terrified of messing this once in a lifetime thing up you know?¡± ¡°I was honestly worried about the hero worship I saw in your eyes when we first started flirting, believe it or not. It still worries me when you¡¯re totally subservient in private, but I never got the nerve up to ask you about it. As for the intimacy, we never got back to the topic of what you wanted ¡®US¡¯ to look like, so we should probably make time to do that this time.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± Jenna replied. So we talked for hours while I should have been working on business. Turns out I had been misinterpreting her signals. The little frowns I was seeing were not dissatisfaction with what we had been doing, but that it was ending. The smiles during situations where I thought we were having quality time was because I was happy, not because she was. It wasn¡¯t the ideal moment for a heart-to-heart with my girlfriend, with worrying business with Katie still hanging in the air, but scheduling emotions is a surprisingly difficult task. B3 Ch11: Consul Council The Lake Retreat is a surprisingly productive place for the rest of the week. Meeker tones down his attempts to humiliate me and I don¡¯t space him. Beecham has two dedicated students now that want to be caster-crafters like he is. Even Jenna has a dedicated student that wants to go into body mods and physical enhancement. It¡¯s a good spread and nobody seems overwhelmed, even though the 15 year-old has some volume control issues with his magic, or he¡¯s trying to impress someone. Jury¡¯s out on that. For me, I¡¯ve been buried in menus and spreadsheets since Naomi briefed me and I¡¯ve been overnighting with Katie in Asphodel as she slowly recovers from whatever continues to mess with her head. She tells me that Atropos is helping her piece together memories of what and how long this had been going on, but we both agreed that malicious intent is behind it. She seems ashamed of herself most of the time I¡¯m with her, and dismisses me in time for me to make it to my classes instead of allowing me to work next to her for a while. I try to express my love and willingness to help as much as I can, but even Tessa reminds me that how I want to be comforted does not translate well to Katie. So I wait until she tells me she¡¯s saturated and then I goi about my workday with sadness all over my face. Naomi has hired a headhunter and they have some promising leads on economists that can help take over what took me three days to even start understanding the problem we¡¯re having. She¡¯s asked for a meeting first thing tomorrow so that the economist can hire a team to start work immediately, she went on a small tangent about how it would be better if we had them during the Festival because of the massive bill we would be footing, but I looked over most of the subsidies that we¡¯re giving to participating businesses and the people we¡¯ve hired for entertainment--none of it seemed ruinous. ¡°You¡¯ve got your thinking face on, it looks like you want to murder your coffee.¡± I look up to find Jenna with a sheen of post-workout perspiration that makes her face glow. ¡°Hey gorgeous. Just needed some extra time this morning to mentally prepare for the week-long fiasco that starts tomorrow.¡± I take a sip of my coffee to find it cooled. I put a little aether into a heat manifestation to fix the problem. ¡°Yeah, uh, about that. Now that I have a student, it feels wrong to leave with you. I was planning to hand you off to Camacho and hitch a ride back. I got a dozen volunteers from our list of qualified Navy watchstanders to be your security force for your public appearances. Naomi and I talked through it while you were studying.¡± Her taking care of me is a turn on, but after discovering she dislikes PDA, I refrain from kissing her to show my appreciation. ¡°You¡¯re the best Jenna. Thanks for taking such good care of me.¡± Luckily she has come to terms with the small touches of comfort that I like when we¡¯re together and she likes to stand near me anyway. Middle grounds are hard sometimes, but I¡¯m glad we sat down and talked about it. We¡¯ll see what happens long term. ¡°Since you¡¯ve decided you¡¯re staying, I¡¯m putting you in charge of the Retreat and giving you access to an expense account for things like facilities, components and medical supplies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great and all, but how long do you think you¡¯ll be gone?¡± She asks while looking through an Exchange list and having a snack tray delivered to the table in front of us. ¡°Ooh! Cheese!¡± I see a nibble of smoked Gouda and snag one. Jenna swats at my hand but not before I¡¯ve obtained my prize. ¡°Week and a half, maybe two? I want to come back and see the progress, maybe supervise some training trips outside of the Aether Syphon zones.¡± This time when I reach for a nibble of summer sausage, I pause and wait for her to respond. She rolls her eyes and then nods at me. I can¡¯t help but beam her a happy and grateful smile. We¡¯re communicating! The sausage is delicious, and I am absolutely going to take this as license to share her food from time to time. Not to the point where I just eat half her meal, but a fry or a cheese square or two should be fine. ¡°Okay, I can work with that. This afternoon I wanted to spend a few hours with Aeden and make sure she knows what weapons I want her to work on with Troy.¡± ¡°Are you going with me? If so, that should be enough meeting time before a dinner meeting I have scheduled.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called a Handoff, Penny. I go, I talk to Camacho, she relieves me and you go with her.¡± Now it¡¯s my time to roll my eyes. Her sense of duty is stellar, but I never would have thought she¡¯d insist on tagging along for a thirty minute shuttle ride. Normally this trip would take about four days, as we¡¯re two jumps away from Astoria via a normal shuttle¡¯s warp array and their aether recharge time. After Alaris was delivered, I spent some quality time with her warp system and replicated it on Indulgence. Not as high-powered, only goes about 1200 ly, but it¡¯s a bump up from the barely 500 ly she used to go. Either way, it¡¯s a single jump back home and I wonder briefly if anyone is using the Manor now that Katie is in retreat on Asphodel. I have to pull Jenna away from her training session so that I can make my meetings in an hour. She complains a little that she doesn¡¯t have adequate time to shower, but I just tell her I have twelve bathrooms in my house and she can fix the error when we get there. >P] Hey wife, I¡¯m headed for Astoria for Founder¡¯s week, you want me to swing by and pick you up?[< >K] No thank you, dearest. I¡¯m still collecting myself and figuring out what I¡¯m going to do with the Manor, my attendants and the whole situation that got away from me. I will see you tomorrow in the Governor¡¯s office though.[< >P] Okay hon, let me know if you need anything. Love you. [< She chirps me in the affirmative. A tad impersonal, but also not the first time she¡¯s done it. Even though shuttling in and out of atmosphere can be pretty boring, I like the motions of flying, the feeling of freedom for even just thirty minutes. Oddly, I like the handling of the Beecham-built shuttles because they¡¯re my tech, where as this craft was just modified by me. I¡¯m instructed to land behind the Capitol Complex instead of on my rooftop, because Camacho is there and the space is closer to my meetings. We exit down the side hatch and the aftermarket stairs and see Camacho waiting in her Navy jumpsuit with tactical gear belt and side-arm, and Naomi standing next to her. As soon as my feet hit the landing pad, Camacho salutes. ¡°Welcome home Admiral.¡± I shake my head with amusement ¡°At ease Sailor. Permission to speak freely while on security detail.¡± ¡°Astoria¡¯s blessed bits. That would have gotten old.¡± Camacho turns to Jenna. ¡°Got anything to hand off?¡± ¡°Some rumors of trouble followed us to Elysium. Keep an ear out for any aggression toward the wife too.¡± Camacho shakes her head, ¡°Some of those aren¡¯t just rumors Jen. Public opinion of her is . . . unstable. We don¡¯t have the network to keep tabs on that. If that¡¯s all though, I relieve you.¡± ¡°I stand relieved.¡± They salute each other and Jenna turns back to me. ¡°Give me a call if you need support this week okay?¡± She places a hand on my shoulder and engages my eyes. I smirk and pull her collar toward me for a kiss. ¡°I will, thank you. Don¡¯t have too much fun without me.¡± ¡°Alright you two. Keep it in your pants.¡± Camacho interrupts. ¡°Admiral, we have a busy afternoon ahead, if you would please follow Naomi.¡± I squeeze Jenna¡¯s arm as we part and her hand trails down my back to my butt, giving it a little pat. It makes me unreasonably happy at the provocative little tap, showing me that she understands she can be playful with me whenever and it won¡¯t affect my professional opinion of her. Naomi leads us to a currently unassigned office in the Consul Hall, one with a beautiful view of the center park and the House of Governors across the way. Each of the offices in the Consul building have a small front room with a desk and a lounge and a large, windowed office with a large desk a few chairs and a small interactive conferencing space on the side with refreshments. It¡¯s a large office, sure, but there¡¯s quite a bit in it. ¡°Okay, so your head hunter is waiting in your office, and the applicants are in an adjacent office. I¡¯ll let him explain the format of this interview.¡± She opens the door in front of me leading into a decorated secretary space whose lounge looks a tad gilded for my tastes. She opens the door to the larger office and everything looks ostentatiously expensive. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Is this the normal d¨¦cor, or did someone do this on purpose?¡± I don¡¯t try to hide the distaste from my tone. It¡¯s trying to hard and far to gold. ¡°It was my best effort at Imperial?¡± Naomi raises her tablet and tries to hide behind it. I nod at her honesty. ¡°Alright then, everyone back to the Aide office. You too Mr. Headhunter.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Bill, your Imperial Majesty, Bill Walsh.¡± Oof, he¡¯s right about how rude my entrance was. ¡°Yikes, sorry Bill. That was rude of me. This whole situation is throwing me off right now. Please, follow us out of the room.¡± Alright Tessa, emergency remodel, think Astorian Navy Epaulette. I will consult and have it done in a few minutes. You¡¯re the best Tessa, and thank Andromeda you¡¯re a better interior designer than me. ¡°Is this really important right now?¡± Camacho asks. ¡°Sadly, yes. Since people are reluctant to meet at the Manor for . . . reasons, this will be the Empress¡¯ meeting office for the foreseeable future.¡± ¡°I agree with miss Waits. This is also an interview of the Empress as well. People respond to their employer¡¯s demeanor and style. Speaking of, this suit with the light edging and stitching is quite arresting.¡± He reaches to feel the lapels and Camacho grabs his wrist and shakes her head. I smile at the both of them. Thanks Bill. An image consultant slash PR person is one of the next people I¡¯ll be searching for. Urban Planning and Development POC as well.¡± He nods as he makes a few notes on his HUD. Your new office is ready. I don¡¯t alert anyone and just walk through the door. I see a mosaic of purple, grey and gold. There are a few splashes of pink in the desk inlays and the teacups, but deep purple runners with gold trim and the gold table cloth with purple trim anchor the edges of the room win opposite colors while the greys and silvers keep the space from being oversaturated. The royal purple floor to ceiling curtains with a little pink monogram pattern catch my attention. Windows don¡¯t need that much vertical space? I spread them apart to find a gilded balcony with a cherry-colored wooden podium in the middle. What is this, Evita? I¡¯m all for a balcony with this view, but am I meant to address the people like this? That is definitely what Tessa had in mind. ¡°Oh, yes, this is much more personal. The podium on the balcony behind you is very Imperial Majesty. Hmm, whomever designed this you should consider keeping.¡± Great work babe. I¡¯ll have to think of a way to help you with some things. I chuckle at that, ¡°Thanks Bill. I do have a few capable friends. Let us start the process of finding another, hey?¡± He nods and takes a seat at the small table in the corner. He can study my face without being in view of the interviewees. Camacho takes a spot at the corner of my desk between me and the prospective employees, and Naomi goes to fetch the first of them. The first applicant comes in with a casual posture and confident stride. His heather suit was about as neutral as you could get without picking beige. His reddish-brown skin, commanding mustache and boots led be to believe he was an ex-cartel money man--perhaps a still-cartel man¡ªthat frequented gatherings where his image alone lent to his business credibility without being offensive. ¡°Good afternoon Empress.¡± He said with no reverence whatsoever, putting his hand to his chest before sitting down and beginning to talk with no prompting. Just like that I wrote him off. He talked for another ten minutes about his money management skills and record keeping for difficult accounts. Tessa thinks he was a money launderer and I¡¯m keen to believe it. ¡°You may leave, Mr. Castillo. Naomi will escort you out¡± ¡°That¡¯s it? No questions? Isn¡¯t this and Interview?¡± He stands in frustration but checks his movement forward when Camacho draws her side arm and points it at his legs. ¡°Alright, what do you respect Mr. Castillo?¡± He smirks at that and puts his hands on his hips. ¡°I respect Money, Power, and the ability to make more money with power.¡± I smile a predator¡¯s smile and lean with both hands on my desk, ¡°Now, you¡¯ve either just lied to me, or you¡¯re an idiot. I have no time for either. Camacho, help the man leave my office if necessary.¡± Castillo raises both hands and turns on his heels to leave. Naomi follows him out and Camacho stops at the door to close it. ¡°I hope that isn¡¯t an indication of the rest of the applicants. Learn quickly Mr. Walsh, I don¡¯t want another interview like that again.¡± He nods and continues taking notes. ¡°I should take a few minutes to go talk to the others.¡± I nod at his proposed action and he dashes out before Naomi arrives with the next one. Camacho doesn¡¯t say anything as she holsters her weapon and resets to her place at the corner of my desk. Can¡¯t complain about that kind of professionalism. Bill comes in again and hastily sits at the side table, when moments later Naomi walks in with a tall woman in tow, crisp movement , crisp black suit with a white button down, looking straight out of a Men in Black movie. Her clean, emotionless tone while addressing me with the appropriate words and motions of respect as though she were reading recommendations off a prompt on her HUD. I ask her approaches on investments and government run revenue streams and her opinion on some things that we¡¯re already involved in, such as selling resource rights to different entities, foreign and domestic and such. Her answers are professional and seemingly well researched into the state of the Empire. For my final question, ¡°Would you be willing to accept a different and possibly more subordinate position?¡± Miss Day responds, ¡°As long as the offered wages are above my minimum, I would consider the offer.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you for your time, Miss Day. Naomi will contact you within a week.¡± ¡°Your government presents interesting opportunities. Being a part of this would develop several of my interests.¡± She bows slightly and waits for me to dismiss her. She knows protocol too, and I find myself appreciating the clinical approach she offers. The next two candidates boasted impressive educations but their experience and demeanor did nothing for me. They weren¡¯t offensive like the first guy, but I likely wouldn¡¯t remember them next week. Bill takes more notes, but has recognized the atmosphere of I intend to compartmentalize the stages of this process. The next man walks in, rigid and proud, but wary. He checks the room quickly, stopping briefly on Bill and Camacho before lingering on the chairs in front of the desk and then on my face. No sign of recognition crosses his features, in fact, he alters his stare to the top of my desk and stops next to the chairs. This man, in his expensive navy suit, white button down and purple tie definitely did his homework. He takes a half step back and pulls his arm across his chest in a homage to kneeling before me. ¡°Thank you for this opportunity, your Imperial Majesty.¡± ¡°I appreciate the decorum Mr. Mercer. Please take a seat.¡± With the formalities over, he unbuttons his jacket and sits, and crosses his ankle across his knee. We sit there in silence, staring at each other. ¡°Tell me, Mr. Mercer. Did you know who I was before you walked in?¡± ¡°I did. Penny Astoria is too close to my daughter¡¯s name for me not to suspect something.¡± He¡¯s buttoned up his emotions hard. No tells what so ever about pride or disappointment anywhere in his eyes. ¡°Okay then, what makes you want a position working for me?¡± I try not to allow emotion to seep in, but a sneer escapes. ¡°Accomplishment and Recognition. The same things I¡¯ve always wanted. This opportunity is bigger and simpler than any I¡¯ve tried for. You are essentially the ruler of all Humanity, wealthy beyond belief, and the position of Consul will be coveted amongst the ambitious. Our interactions should continue to be professional and exchange related, as your tone indicates you have no desire to develop a sense of family between us.¡± ¡°You are correct.¡± He nods at that, accepting that I have no interest in being his daughter like a dollar in the wind. ¡°Last question before we gather up the data sheets and correlate behaviors and reports. If you were offered a different position, possibly subordinate, would you take it?¡± He doesn¡¯t wait a second before responding, ¡°Not if it was less than Consul. I will work directly for you or not at all.¡± ¡°Straight forward and to the point as always Mr. Mercer. Thank you for your time. My assistant Naomi will be in contact within a week.¡± To my surprise, he stays seated. ¡°You are dismissed, sir.¡± Camacho doesn¡¯t hesitate to take a step forward to ¡°help¡± if he has difficulty, but he rises gives his token kneel and quickly exits. Naomi shuts the door and everyone turns to look at me. ¡°Don¡¯t. The people who birthed me were absent at best. Naomi, now that I know that they are here, Mrs. Mercer will never be welcome in my presence. Not even a token invite.¡± I take in the expanse of the room and then look out toward the park. ¡°Twenty minute break. Was I supposed to dine with the chosen candidate?¡± They shrugged. ¡°Andromeda save me. Okay, Naomi, invite Rich, Paco, and the Botanist to dinner in Capitol Park. Camacho, I need you thinking like an Imperial Knight tonight, Personal guard and all that. Okay. Dusk with lights for conversation. Hosted bar with a tender. Bill, you know everyone. Help her out.¡± ¡°Two questions, Empress. Can I invite others? And does this mean I¡¯m hired?¡± ¡°Yes, but only non-shit Consul candidates. Also yes, you are a part of my personal staff. I thought that was solved already. Come up with what you want to call the position on your desk.¡± I look around and see people waiting for me to spew more words. I start clapping, ¡°Only a few hours people, ask questions or get moving!¡± Both Bill and Naomi look shocked for a second before pulling up their HUDs and wandering off down the park trails in opposite directions. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen you act like an Empress. I like how you acted in that office. Made me think about respecting you. There spots open on your guard?¡± ¡°Yes, Camacho. Sixteen including DeGurgis is my goal. Let us start with eight though.¡± ¡°Copy. I have two people in mind. If they¡¯re interested, they¡¯re invited to dinner.¡± ¡°I concur. You will brief me on them before they arrive.¡± She nods and pulls up her HUD but puts her hand on her gun just in case. I respect this woman more as she acknowledges I might be worth something. I also appreciate shrewd people once I understand their metrics. Andromeda, don¡¯t take this to heart, but I enjoyed this afternoon. I will curse you if you visit this on me too often. B3 Ch 12: A Meeting of Minds I don¡¯t know how I lucked into Naomi and Bill, but these mu¡¯fuckers know how to get shit done. In an hour, I have tables and indie lighting in my park, making it so we can talk an schmooze. /Hey Rich, feel free to send your aide if your old ass can¡¯t shamble to the park/ /You young whippersnappers are a bunch of whiny bitches. I can make it to your dinner. These Tech gene treatments are doing wonders by the way. I can almost have sex without having a heart attack now!/ /Damn it Rich! TMI you wrinkly asshole./ I can¡¯t help but laugh at his description though. Not that he can¡¯t raise the mast, just that he doesn¡¯t want to have a fault when he does. /You hear from the old US lately?/ /Not doing this Penny. If you¡¯re going to gather info, go be a diplomat./ /Fine, fine, Make sure you bring the rest of the California Raisins for the musical number./ /You are the finest cancerous growth on a beached whale¡¯s anus. Fuck off Empress./ /Love you too, cantankerous ass/ I would absolutely murder anyone else who talked to me this way. But Rich saved me from some shit, and has been straightforward with me for years. Dude convinced his whole family to move with him before he knew about the villa his position came with. He continues to be the best old white dude I¡¯ve ever met. ¡°Empress? Can you give us an idea what you¡¯re thinking of for food?¡± Naomi asks. Damn, I really didn¡¯t think about it. Hrm, apps from Summit Farms, Yakki Niku, grilled cheese bites, and a flirty local fruit compote over blanched citrussy greens. Dinner, I make a plate of aether and non-aether fare as an example of the price range and let the catering staff that Naomi hired go nuts with their recommendations in line with my cost range. ¡°Quick, Camacho, I need a reason not to panic and flee.¡± ¡°I spent a lot of relationship capital on you tonight and I will turn on you right now if you made me waste it.¡± She delivers that with the severity of licking a stamp. ¡°Shit, lady. I¡¯m sorry for my anxiety?¡± ¡°Pft, don¡¯t be stupid. You talk through stuff, I reply. You make decisions based on available data. Lets not ruin a good thing.¡± Ugh, that last part makes me feel so dirty I want to quit. Can¡¯t quit Empress though. Don¡¯t think I would, even if I trusted someone to take over for me: absolute power appeals to me. Because I¡¯m the Empress works for everything, but explains nothing, and the nebulous state is expected from this level of public figure. More people arrive than I expected. Rich invited people, Naomi and Bill invited people, and Camacho invited people. There are more than thirty people here for this dinner meeting. I invited like six. My ¡®friends¡¯ and advisors tell me I can¡¯t simply ignore people, especially when I invited them, so I talk through dinner. Some people excuse themselves and then I talk some more. By the time that it¡¯s only me and the people I wanted advice from, I¡¯m all talked out and it¡¯s after midnight. Once some of the ¡°additional¡± and ¡°extra¡± people start leaving, I start with the actual meeting. ¡°So, tell me what you think between Miss Day and Mr. Mercer.¡± I hear a smattering of Miss Day this and Mr. Mercer that, but these opinions aren¡¯t thoughtful or in depth. ¡°Your father spent the time and money to present a united front, and . . .¡± ¡°You call him my father again and you¡¯ll pay your taxes through a telepathic interface.¡± I growl. ¡°He¡¯s not wrong, your Majesty, your . . . Mr. Mercer is both more ambitious and more aware of the circumstances.¡± ¡°But Miss Day would be more willing to Obey the Empress¡¯ orders as long as they are logical.¡± ¡°You just made a better case for Mercer, dimwit.¡± In the slow yet relentless exchange, Rich texts me that on paper, Mercer is the clear winner. He has a current upper crust connection, and I know his attitude better than anyone else in the western hemisphere of Earth. I hate that he seems like the best applicant. It roils my innards that logically, I don¡¯t have to like all of my Consuls in fact, it might even better if I know their advice isn¡¯t tied to a personal relationship. That ass and I certainly don¡¯t have one of those. ¡°Okay folks, thanks for coming out and helping me with this decision. Granted all of you will have to deal with them, so it was in your interest. In any case, I think the prevailing wind is taking us to hiring Mr. Mercer and I agree. There will be no small amount of transition, but this move is directly in line with putting our people in the best hands. So lets make this a thing. Bill and I will be seeking applicants for the other Consul positions I¡¯m looking to fill, so I¡¯d like to have another dinner and another Consul or three to invite before the end of the summer, so 150 days or so.¡± Several people let me know that they would like an earlier event, but didn¡¯t seem to mind the ¡°mandatory fun¡± event. This might be the most of my staff I¡¯ve seen together ever. People mixed work talk and random socializing and seemed to enjoy it. Does this count as a team building exercise? ¡°It was clever of you to make a confab to disguise nepotism, Empress.¡± Camacho. ¡°Making sure that people know I didn¡¯t choose him because we¡¯re related was a large part of this event, yes. However, I met a series of prospective employees as well, and I think it was productive on that front. And I appreciate the use of my title when insulting me.¡± I turn on my heels and head back to my office. ¡°Hold up, Empress. This is where I pass you off to another teammate.¡± She points to a man in a more discrete outfit than a Navy uniform. Same side-arm and utility belt though and he snaps to attention as we get closer. ¡°Empress, this is Jordan Speth. Former Army MP.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my honor to serve, Imperial Majesty.¡± He remains rigid after his greeting and it makes my face twitch. ¡°At ease Mr. Speth. I remember talking to you earlier this evening. You were showing everyone pictures of your daughter summoning fire.¡± His stern demeanor cracks at the mention of his kid, joy seeping out into the night. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°We are very proud of her and she intends to apply for your school next year.¡± ¡°We¡¯re still figuring out instructors and curriculum, but I¡¯m expecting to take a much larger class next time.¡± Camacho and Speth change the watch and Speth follows me upstairs. He insists on going into the room first to search the room and close the curtains. He stands until I sit and then takes a seat at the side table facing the door. I spend the rest of the evening at my desk, reviewing government contracts, new land use permits on multiple planets and some economy reconfiguration from several Governors that I expressly deny: the Empire will use a standardized fraction of Aether Credits to pay for smaller items. The audacity of wanting to print their own fiat currency. The last few hours of dark pass quickly and Naomi will be by in two hours to get me ready to start Founders Day festivities around midday. Now to the thing I¡¯ve been dreading doing since I committed to the idea of a new economic advisor¡ªadjusting the Empire¡¯s account access. She¡¯ll still be a Consul on account of being my wife, but I don¡¯t what to pressure her to come back before she¡¯s ready just because the Empire needs her. I¡¯d feel worse if I didn¡¯t already know she¡¯s been taking commission from the contracts she¡¯s arranged and directed them to a private account. But she will still be First Consul and I¡¯ll still support her no matter how much time she needs.. I update the access names and positions to My account, which I also use to fund Imperial projects, and the Empire¡¯s Tax and Government Revenue Account, which will essentially be the treasury once the Economy is more than just a few deals and the money coming out of my pocket. That done and more than an hour before Naomi is supposed to harass me, time for a change of scenery. ¡°Speth, do you know a good coffee place with decent food on the lake?¡± ¡°Yes, Empress. Betty¡¯s Breakfast Boutique. They make all the food and drinks on-site and they have a few private nooks if you want.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather sit by the lake, to be honest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll text them to see what they can do.¡± I nod my thanks and head out down the parkway when I realize it¡¯s like 5km to the Lake from here. I drop 200 credits on a hover bike, 10 for custom paint, and 5 credits for a delivery fee. I already have a reactive shield so my helmet is covered. ¡°No shuttle?¡± Speth asks. ¡°I thought it would be rude to park something so big in the road, even for a moment. Instead, I will rudely park the cutest hoverbike ever in front. Now get on, I need coffee.¡± He stops chuckling as soon as he realizes he¡¯d be sitting behind me. ¡°Uh, Empress, do I have permission to touch you?¡± ¡°Pffft. You look so uncomfortable right now. It¡¯s a bike ride. So yes, for this purpose, and to save my life, you may touch me.¡± He nods, gulps and finds his courage to sit behind me and holds on to the sides of my hips. The bike has some get up and go. In no time we¡¯re passing 100kph, which is about the time Speth changes his grip to a full wrap. I can¡¯t help but smile at that, but stop stressing the man out at a respectable 160 kph, which is seconds before I have to start slowing down for entering the city of Aelea proper. The streets are already lively when we arrive with pedestrian traffic being the most dominant, with a thin lane for cyclists and scooters. Lake street doesn¡¯t seem to have any larger forms of transport than a pedi-cab. My new scooter gets me a few looks, but I¡¯m driving slow and in the cyclist lane, so I don¡¯t keep people¡¯s stares for long. Speth points me toward Betty¡¯s and I bring the bike to rest against the unoccupied brick fa?ade between the two building¡¯s windows. The buildings here are three story affairs with the front shop floor having a two large adjacent windows and an entrance door. To my surprise there are no patio chairs, or any patio features on any of the shops nearby. That seems odd to me. A woman about my age comes out of the shop in a tasteful, but old-fashioned dress with a frilly apron on, and approaches us. ¡°Your highness, it¡¯s a pleasure to have you here. I apologize that we have no outdoor seating, but . . .¡± ¡°Do you want some?¡± I interrupt. ¡°I, it¡¯s not, what?¡± ¡°I am offering to create an outdoor seating area for Founder¡¯s week, so I can sit outside and stare at the lake.¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t really stop you now can I?¡± she laughs uncomfortably. I turn my head toward Speth and give him my best ¡°what the fuck?¡± face. ¡°Betty, the Empress will abide by your wishes if you don¡¯t want the seating, but she is offering to create it free of charge and we will deal with any fallout from the city. She¡¯s not trying to barge in and tell you how it is.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± She sags a few centimeters in relief. ¡°That would be lovely, thank you Empress.¡± Excellent! High slanted sun shade out to 5m from the building with Betty¡¯s table theme and chairs copied. A low, temporary railing and a small self-service water jug by the door. I print a letter that has a Founder¡¯s week exception on it for street encroachment and sign it with my engraving ink. Make a few copies just in case. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not much, but it might work. Now do we need to come in to put our names on a list or something?¡± ¡°What? Oh, no ma¡¯am, I mean Empress, I¡¯ll send one of the girls out with menus. And coffee?¡± ¡°Oh, yes please.¡± I beam at her. She looks away from my eyes, wipes her hands on her apron and dashes into the building. ¡°That was awfully nice of you.¡± ¡°Yes, well, when you help a person while catering to your own selfish desires, folk kindly ignore your motivations.¡± Doing nice things that benefit me doesn¡¯t feel so nice. However, it makes it easier for people to accept when they realize that an action is as much for me as it is for them. A teenager dressed similarly to Betty scampers out with a tray with a coffee setting in one arm and a death grip holding menus with the other. She quickly places the cups pours coffee, motions for cream and sugar¡ªwhich we decline¡ªand flops the menus on the table with a ¡®papf¡¯. A quick, deep bow later she scurries off back into the building. ¡°Wow, is my reputation that terrifying that kids are afraid to talk to me and a charming shopkeeper thinks I¡¯m going to bully her?¡± ¡°People don¡¯t really know you, Empress. This is like your first public appearance in Aelea. What people don¡¯t know, they¡¯ll speculate until something sticks.¡± ¡°Yeah, and if I look too easygoing in public, people won¡¯t take me seriously.¡± ¡°No way. Not anyone that has met you anyway. Having your attention feels like being stared at by an apex predator.¡± I nod at that, I¡¯ve heard something similar before, despite the large sparkly eyes I¡¯ve developed. I take my first sip of brewed coffee in a while. I usually just get it from the exchange, but this feels that little bit better, the taste a teensie bit richer, and I¡¯m immediately in love. I hum appreciatively into my cup as I almost dip my nose in the dark liquid. The teen was right to drop off a small pump carafe with our cups¡ªI¡¯ll likely finish it. With my second cup-full in hand, I¡¯m ready tackle the menu. Seems like typical breakfast fare with a focus on a respectable benedict selection. I see that there are aether enhanced options and I¡¯m drawn to the tortoise egg benedict with murder chicken bacon rounds affectionately called The Last Benedict. The waitress comes out with a writing pad and just stands there until we tell her what we want. She dashes off without saying a word. When our food is brought out, she is equally silent. Neither Speth or I are silent while we eat, yummy noises issuing from the both of us as we eat. We waited maybe ten minutes after finishing our meals, about when I finished the carafe of coffee, before it was time to go and I needed to pay someone. ¡°Was something wrong your majesty?¡± Betty sees us and swings by. ¡°Not at all, we¡¯re just in a hurry and wanted to pay our bill.¡± I place a credit¡¯s worth of hexes on the tray she¡¯s carrying and turn to walk out, ¡°Thank you for the excellent breakfast Betty.¡± We¡¯re out on the street before Speth says anything. ¡°Slick move walking out before she can protest how much you overpaid.¡± ¡°Is that what I did? I just have so much money, I don¡¯t know how much a credit is worth. Tee hee.¡± ¡°A hex is around Ten bucks, pre-swarm.¡± Oh, the exchange for credits has gone up a lot. ¡°Oof, that has changed significantly since I got system access. I overpaid more than I intended to.¡± I shrug and he bursts into laughter. I join him because I really was being a head in the clouds rich person about it. B2 Ch 13: Fright, Spite, and Attempts at Polite. Camacho arrives with Naomi and Speth goes off into the city to do whatever people do when they¡¯re not working. Naomi briefs me on my schedule today, telling me that she was glad I was already in the city, as our last fitting at the tailor is in fifteen minutes. She goes on to say that we need to go through the script, review guests that I am scheduled to meet this afternoon after the opening ceremonies, and that I¡¯ll have to select some events I¡¯ll attend throughout the week. I nod in appropriate places as I walk to my new bike and power it up. As it unfolds and energizes, Naomi¡¯s eyes get wide. Camacho sighs and pulls strap-on skates to her boots. Nice, Speth must have told her. She pulls out a line and carabiner to attach to the back of my seat and she¡¯s ready to be pulled along. ¡°Empress, I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s quite necessary. Perhaps we should just walk quickly?¡± She looks as though it might run her over right here. ¡°No dice. There¡¯s no way you can guarantee we¡¯ll be on time for everything if we walk, and my shuttle doesn¡¯t fit everywhere we¡¯re headed. Hop on.¡± I tap a few screens and a helmet pops into my hand and I offer it to her. She reluctantly puts it on, tucks her tablet in her front and grabs around my waist like a python. I pilot in the bike lane and take us halfway around the loop to the tailor. No way we would have made it walking. I wonder if the hover could have taken us across the Lake? Maybe I¡¯ll take that route to punish Camacho some time. I grin at the mental image. The people walking by scatter when the see my teeth showing. That feels bad, but I¡¯ll work on that when Bill finds me an image consultant. ¡°The way Jenna complains about your driving, I was expecting a lot worse.¡± I chuckle at that, ¡°Well, with you tethered, I would have clothes lined too many people if I steered for adventure. Next time I¡¯ll try the Lake and see how your skiing skills hold up.¡± I get a genuine laugh out of her this time. ¡°You fucking would too! I¡¯d put bees in your hats for months, but it¡¯d be funny afterward.¡± I agree, but I don¡¯t tell her that. What I do is think of Jenna. /Hey baby, you make it back to Elysium okay?/ /Yes, but I was surprised how much extra I had to pay to find a pilot to jump me straight there. You jump around so casually in your shuttle/ /Oh, shit./ I laugh, /Yeah, I forget that not every shuttle has Navy warp and power systems. I can reimburse you for some of that, since it¡¯s partially my fault./ /I can hear you laughing by the way. And no, I shouldn¡¯t expect my rich girlfriend to fix everything for me, despite how convenient traveling with you is. Thanks for checking up on me, but I gotta go hon, love ya/ /Love you too/ Naomi hands me back the helmet, which I rest on the folded up bike. It would be convenient to carry if it didn¡¯t weigh 500 pounds. Then again, if I aether enhanced my musculature, I could backpack the folded machine. Camacho enters first, gives the gallery a brief once-over then nods me into the shop. I¡¯m assaulted by bold lines and even bolder colors featured on vests, brocades and dresses of a dozen different fabrics. I am immediately overwhelmed as the smell of fussing and tedium assaults my nose. I unknowingly take a step back and Naomi is there, with her hand on my back to prevent me from escaping. She deftly ignores the pout emerging on my face. ¡°Oh, my Empress!¡± The thin man in a stylish slacks and vest pair bows with a flourish before walking up to me with measuring chord in hand. ¡°Your features are more exotic than I expected.¡± In half a second, he¡¯s got the tape around the back of my neck and in half more Camacho has a hand around his. ¡°Camacho, we¡¯re here for a fitting, the man has to touch and measure me to get the clothes right.¡± ¡°Needed you to give permission, your Majesty.¡± Camacho growls. ¡°Sorry Master Tailor,¡± I checked, ¡°this arrangement is new, please forgive my guard.¡± ¡°Oh, no trouble, I just get so excited with unique clients that I forget that some of them are important. Under different circumstances, I may have even enjoyed it.¡± He winks at Camacho and blows her a kiss. He takes us immediately behind a changing shade and a suspended array of mirrors. He directs me to strip down to my bottoms. When I get down to my sports bra and panties, I give the man a death glare as he motions for me to continue and I peel of my bra. He takes a measure of me with just this eyes, from a few angles and then nods. ¡°You will not be able to fit all of the outfits I have prepared, but there are still good options remaining.¡± I wonder which measurement was so out of proportion that we couldn¡¯t try it. Ah well. He comes out with some of the more business casual outfits in a variety of colors outside of my typical Astorian Navy triplet. The suits were easy to love, but most of the dresses felt too billowy and voluminous for my tastes. This Imperial bitch wants Imperial lines! My favorite of the outfits was a hybrid that had a conservative sleeveless dress top that had a high split on my left hip that curves around and down towards my opposite thigh to reveal crisp slacks cuffed below the knee into a light wedged knee-high boot. ¡°Guiseppe, the lines and cut of this ensemble is by far my favorite of the day, but the neck doesn¡¯t move right across my slightly scaled skin. Perhaps a ribbon edge or an integrated silk priest collar to reduce the catching?¡± ¡°What jewelry will you be wearing Highness?¡± ¡°A pendent that Naomi has a picture of and¡± I reach into my clutch sewn to my belt and pull out a faceted and engraved corundum crown. ¡°And this crown.¡± Guiseppe marveled at the ornament and symbol of power. Naomi and even Camacho spared a few extra moments looking at it. ¡°I must capture an image with you in this before you leave.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Get me a suit coat and capris of any type to leave the shop with, and you¡¯ve got a deal sir.¡± He comes out with a heather suit coat with decorative stitching and purple slacks and I know he¡¯s playing to my interests. I put my sports bra back on and the suit coat over it, slacks and low, black slip-ons. I put on the crown and I immediately feel like a boss. I pull out my scepter of disintegration to complete the picture. ¡°How¡¯s this for a picture Guiseppe?¡± I quirk an eyebrow and point my scepter at him. ¡°Very regal your Majesty. Hold that pose. Please.¡± A short fashion shoot later and I¡¯m bearing my midriff for the Empire to see, but stylishly. ¡°You know Empress, it¡¯s times like these I get a glimpse of what Jenna sees.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the nicest thing you¡¯ve ever said to me, Camacho. Nice to see your human side for once.¡± We both laugh at our own jokes as we walk away from the tailor¡¯s shop. ¡°What¡¯s next Naomi?¡± ¡°Meeting at the Governor¡¯s office. He¡¯s gathered the different dignitaries that are coming to the festival.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my list, Naomi?¡± Her eyes widen, ¡°I swear, if I¡¯m surprised by any of the people I¡¯m about to meet, all of the relationship capitol we¡¯ve built will be spent.¡± She slumps at that. I power up my hoverbike and get on. Naomi hangs her head and refuses. I shrug and wave at Camacho. Camacho hops on, smashes the helmet on and we take off down the road. I¡¯m a bit angry that I¡¯m about to be blind-sided but what can you do when your secretary is ashamed and silent? I¡¯m still wearing the crown when I walk into Aelea¡¯s government building. People avoided my gaze as I stormed through the building. I reach the front office and storm through despite the secretary¡¯s protests. I look around the Governors office as he sputters in outrage until I level a glare at him, daring the small man to challenge my authority. As soon as I see Katie talking with Melissa I groan internally and plop next to Melissa. If only Katie hadn¡¯t sat at the end of the row. ¡°Oh, uh, I p-Penny. Good to see you looking hot, oh, I mean well?¡± she buries her face in her hands. If I wasn¡¯t furious, she¡¯d be adorable. ¡°Thank you. How¡¯s your husband?¡± ¡°Ugh, happy with my parents on Earth? Part of the reason I agreed to come here, when I have to deal with you.¡± ¡°Mmm, yes, perhaps today will be as difficult for you as the day you left me.¡± ¡°Penny, I know she hurt us, but try to play along for a few days? Neither you nor I need the stress.¡± ¡°Sorry. The governor seems to think it¡¯s funny to deny my aide a guest list just to watch my reaction.¡± >P] You still receptive after I took out the perma-link?[< >M] I¡¯m a Mentalist, Penny, of course. You want to talk later?[< >P] Yes and no. But we should anyway. You free for late cocktails and snacks? [< >M] Yes. [< I can tell Melissa meant to say more, but stopped herself. She was already being unduly familiar, and I am centimeters from snapping at everyone. ¡°Governor, we will talk later on why you decided to surprise me with guests. For now, proceeded with your description of events.¡± The governor intends to open the event and introduce the four ¡°founders¡± of the Empire. Each of us will have a short chance to speak to the crowd, then a brief period of questions from the crowd? Oh dear, that is going to get out of hand guaranteed. He¡¯s intended to invite Francesca and Melissa to be the guests of honor at a lot of events, but Katie and I are distinctly absent from those invitations. I ask the Governor if the slight was intended. ¡°No ma¡¯am, I just . . .¡± ¡°I have many titles, Governor, use one when you address me.¡± The room goes silent and the side conversations stop. ¡°My apologies, Empress. I merely assumed you would go to any event you choose and we would accommodate your choices.¡± He basically spits my title at me. ¡°Yes, thank you. Oh, here¡¯s a letter I gave to a shop owner this morning. You should know in case you get complaints from other shop owners.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good for public order to have furniture in the road.¡± Is this man serious? Perhaps this is why Rich and Naomi say I should be more visible. ¡°It¡¯ll be good for business and it¡¯s good to have the festival on banners around Lake street.¡± He finally looks at me, the person he¡¯s addressing and see¡¯s the dare in my eyes. See what happens you muppet. He nods instead of saying anything. He then looks at Francesca and thanks her for all the flower arrangements, thanks his cronies for putting on the different events of the week. He smirks at my visible frustration. Well, it seems he wants to duke it out in the court of public opinion, so be it. >P]How are you feeling today Kay? [< >K] I didn¡¯t like seeing the notifications of my permissions being re-arranged, but I know it comes from a place that lets me have the space I want to my portion of our house before diving back in. This isn¡¯t you trying to cut me out is it? [< >P] I don¡¯t mean to offend. And yes, it was to allow you to take the time you need, and if you want to come back to governing, you¡¯re still the First Consul, Katie, you can put your fingers in as many pies as you want. Hell, we can make a new job for you, or kick Mercer to the curb if you like, I would actually enjoy that [< Katie snickers in my mind. >K] I haven¡¯t been in a situation that made me feel this vulnerable in a while, so thanks for being around, but not being intrusive. [< >P] I¡¯m sorry you¡¯re hurting Katie, anything I can do to help, just ask. [< She nods in acknowledgement, then stares at the governor. I school my features, stand and straighten my dress out. The room is still silent when I say. ¡°If there is nothing else of import, I will be leaving.¡± Silence persists as I walk out and they don¡¯t begin talking again until I close the door quietly. I don¡¯t need that portly man¡¯s bullshit heaped on my existing tower of poop, thank you. ¡°That face isn¡¯t for me is it?¡± Naomi raises her tablet like a shield. ¡°No, it¡¯s not. You¡¯re not fired, and I could use your help. The Governor seems to be keen on petty slights, like ambushing me with an ex-girlfriend. So, I don¡¯t think he wants me at any of the events and has likely not planned to accommodate my presence. See what the official party accommodations look like and talk to the sound engineer and see what freq¡¯s their mic¡¯s are operating at, etc.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just trying to make my life hard aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Nah, just being the big ego, self important bitch Aelea expect me to be.¡± I order snacks and drinks for the three of us while Naomi paces back and forth while chattering on her implants. Camacho stands close to me, constantly scanning the area including the exit of the Aelean Government building. Well, if I¡¯m going to be waiting outside, might as well do it by the lake. I pop out a lounger and stick my feet in the water and a floppy hat on my head, sipping a new juice from a fuzzy puppy commune coreward and spinward from here about 15-20k light years from here. It¡¯s sweet and a little chewy, like an aether infused Jell-O drink. ¡°I appreciate not having to scan 360.¡± ¡°You are most welcome, my cantankerous caretaker.¡± I smile at her with big dopey sunglasses on. ¡°Alright, good news is that the opening ceremony is at the steps of the government building, bad news is, what you see is what you get.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s entirely unacceptable. Where is the money that I budgeted for this week-long event going? Send a message to Mr. Mercer congratulating him on his new position. Also include a second email from me with Consul Mercer¡¯s first task to investigate Founder¡¯s week spending and have the Report ready the day after festivities end.¡± ¡°Camacho, how wide would I need to make a set of bleachers to seat a thousand people?¡± ¡°Tessa, quick building-sized mock-up on Founder¡¯s day banners for the government building. Me and Katie on one side, Francesca and Mel on the other. Astorian Navy-colored bunting. Lets just call that Astoria¡¯s colors.¡± >P] Mel, want to help me make a ruckus?[< >M] Uhh, I don¡¯t really want to offend the Governor? [< >P] Okidoke. [< Who else can I call? B3 Ch 14: Grand Vengeance Bravado I don¡¯t know where petty vengeance stops and grand vengeance starts, but I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m in the grand category, especially with these grand stands. ¡°I¡¯m digging the arcuate shape, Camacho, good call.¡± ¡°Those banners of you and the other Founders are an eyesore. Though you in the crown is a nice touch. Very witness my glory.¡± ¡°The bunting around town is super cute. I¡¯m not sure handing out sparklers to kids was a good idea, but they seem to love them.¡± ¡°Oh man, this was worth the credits already. Did you hear that little boy? ¡®I¡¯m playing with fire!¡¯¡± I cackle, perhaps madly, while my two helpers laugh with me. ¡°Oh, no. Here comes the frown parade.¡± Naomi calls. I look around, but it takes Camacho to push my chin over and up to see the gaggle of politicians shuffle out of the building. ¡°We best get up there then.¡± I put up a privacy octogon, change into Guiseppe¡¯s magnificent dress top that opens to slacks, but it has been modified with low Chinese collar. I love it. I put on the pendant and my crown and banish the privacy barrier. ¡°I¡¯m setting my tone, ignore me.¡± I take a deep breath. ¡°Attend me mortals. Isn¡¯t it just simpler to obey your Empress?¡± A short evil chuckle later and I¡¯m ready. I sashay toward the steps and low-key levitate up them in my fancy-ass boots. ¡°Ladies, gentlemen, So good of you to celebrate the founding of this great City, and the Empire as a whole. I will, of course, remember the kindness.¡± And your fucking idiocy. Mongrels. I flip aside part of my dress to plant my hand on my hip and cock it with expectation. I get a soft whistle from Melissa I half turn to wink and smile at my fellow ¡°Founders¡± and turn back to see the crowd filling into the Bleachers. I put mics at points along the stands railings in case an AMA breaks out. As the Governor begins with a local rendition of ¡®Friends, Romans, Countrymen¡¯ the pedestrians start walking up the steps and a mob rushes out from behind the bleachers¡ªarranged in a crown shape. Music starts on the PA and the crown starts dancing. Then the mob opens up into a dance circle where a lady dressed similar to me in a foil crown breaks it the fuck down. Then the mob praises her, then raises her, then scatter to the winds; all while Empire State of Mind plays. Damn, that was worth every, single, credit. The crowd was awed and the old guys were flummoxed, with all that silence, I pick up the mic. ¡°Alright, props to that crew. I enjoyed it. You know what else I enjoy? All of you lovely Citizens coming out to celebrate the founding of Humanity¡¯s life amongst the wider galaxy. Melissa Hunsaker, Consul O¡¯Connell, and Consul Summers were critical components to Humanity¡¯s survival as we were stranded in space, 2700 light years from home, and we persevered. Not content with just ensuring our voyage home would be successful, they entertained my vision of finding a home amongst the stars, helping plant the foundations that would be Aelea and the Astorian Empire. ¡°Time for some extra shouts, Consul Summers single-handedly generated interest in Human goods and services that now find us as the fastest growing demand for food and services amongst the Exchange!¡± I actually get some applause for that one. ¡°Now, while the Founders, and later some change-craving men and women were instrumental in creating the network that allows us all to teleport pizzas into ovens and contact our loved ones across the Milky Way; we should take a moment to honor the victims on the Copernicus and Galilei that sacrificed to pioneer our way forward to this moment.¡± I have Tessa block signals to the PA for a whole minute. I see the Governor try to interrupt the moment for our mutated and fallen, and I will never forget it, though I predicted it. ¡°Finally, I would like to invite every citizen who lost someone to the swarm to send a message to my office. I intend to erect a monument to the fallen and your input would be appreciated.¡± You know I can just send you their names. But those that reply will give a personal touch and seeing that in the monument will make us all feel closer, more involved in this experiment. She chirps in understanding. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve talked more than you¡¯ve ever heard from me. I¡¯m not sure whether to apologize or congratulate, but in either case, I give you the Governor or Aelea!¡± He scowls at me as he takes the mic from me. I want to be petty and disconnect it, but I¡¯m already ten points up on the man this afternoon. I take a few steps back, summon a chair, maybe a throne, and sit in it. >M] Is it too late to say I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t participate? That was majestic. [< >P] Thanks Mel. But a little bit, yeah. We can talk later if you like. [< She pings the affirmative. ¡°That was masterful, Penny.¡± Franny says, sitting on the arm of my impromptu throne. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d say you were flirting with me with those statements.¡± I smile at her, ¡°You¡¯re a good friend, that I do not talk with enough. That was mostly a heartfelt apology.¡± ¡°Accepted, but I already thought the little notes when you order from me were cute enough to keep our friendship alive. Now when are you burning down the Mansion?¡± I body laugh and squeeze her knee briefly. ¡°I won¡¯t be burning it. I do have plans, but those can wait a few extra moments.¡± Her features soften, ¡°You should come over for a drink. We can both vent and foolishly ride some Murder Chickens.¡± ¡°Oh! Yes please, pick a day this week and it¡¯s a date, and two, I have a seriously irresponsible idea I want to try.¡± ¡°You got it,¡± She smiles, puts her hands to her mouth and then performs a ridiculous bow, ¡°Your Imperious Majesticosity¡± I snort and chuckle with her, not caring what the Governor and his Politicians are doing. The Governor had a speech prepared, and continued through it as people left the stands to move about the ring road and pick up the sparklers that I had planted. When that little boy started yelling about fire again I was tempted to join him. Camacho puts a hand on my arm and says something about decorum or whatever. When the crowd disperses, I move the bleachers to the next event, which is apparently a water show. I split the seats up on opposite sides of the Lake. I look up to Naomi and ask, ¡°What¡¯s next for today?¡± ¡°You have a meeting with a representative of the Navoli Republic. Carniverous Vole people from the Andromeda Galaxy. They are looking for a hunting moon.¡± ¡°Okay, lunch meeting it is. Meat-centric, Ring Road, I¡¯ll make a patio. Time?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Half an hour.¡± Shit. Octagon screen goes up, Huntress clothes go on. Dressed in my kills, I feel a little gross, but a hunting focused group of ground dwellers should appreciate it. When we get to the restaurant, it seems that Naomi told them of my preferences and brought a grill Lakeside and set up a private table. ¡°Sir, this is far outside of the five meters from your shop.¡± ¡°Your assistant say you like lake, we make grill by lake with Table by lake. You like?¡± I chuckle ¡°I like very much.¡± ¡°You Empress, who say no? Eh?¡± His accent is thick, and his thick Portuguese pigeon is hilarious. ¡°Alright, meat man, bring many meats.¡± He points to a ten pound slab of meat on the grill. ¡°is meats no?¡± I shake my head, ¡°Is meats, not many meats. Meats is for me, many meats for friends!¡± I wave my arms around. He is surprised for only a moment before chittering at his helper for a moment before the boy runs back to their restaurant. The Navoli delegation was pleased at the lunch offering at the Brazilian grille and asked after fertile hunting grounds. I relayed that the grounds in Astorian wildes were in the teens to mid twenties, with plans to seed the wilds with aether foci. I also mention that Elysium has wilds forties and up and the Navoli were not interested at all. Too high for good eating they claimed. I pull a haunch from my fanny pack and hand it to the grille master. He stares at it as though it is a gift from Andromeda herself. Granted, cooking this meat perfectly will likely get him multiple levels. He yells at the boy with excitement and stokes the fire hot, hot. Even puts some local enriched wood chips in the pit a determined grit in his teeth. In minutes the boy has a basin of smaller basins and puts it on one end of the stove, mixing and adding spices as the meat man stokes the fire and eyes the boy¡¯s preparation, issuing sharp orders when a change is needed. The meat man checks a dial religiously until a moment strikes and he slaps the haunch on the grill. He splashes the meat with a sauce and waits. He breaks out the bellows and heats up the coals. A chirp to the boy and he runs back to the shop for something. He takes another sauce bin with a mop brush and bastes the slab, letting the fire from the drippings lick at the bottom of the haunch. The boy comes back with what has to be a bottle of shine. The meat man dashes some into the fire and a plume of flame surges around the meat, then he hands it back to the boy and points to three remaining bins of sauce. When he barks at the boy, he grabs the bottle, takes a swig for himself and ties his shirt around his forehead and growls at the sky. A flurry of sauce and fire erupts from the grill before he flips the meat, then he feeds the hooch to the flame before he is a flurry of sauce and brushes again, somehow keeping his hands from burning in the prep. The soot from the flames creeps up the man¡¯s arms until the metal of the grill groans in stress. He then takes a bucket of lake water and splashes the grill to steam. Leaving the meat to drip with moisture for five minutes, then rest for five more. He slaps the meat on the table and begins slicing even slices and placing them before each of us. The meat was purple to begin with, now it was a variety of colors, waiting my judgement. It was the most succulent aether infused meat I have ever had. The flavor could use a tweak for my personal tastes, but regardless it was magnificent. Before I could tell them how I felt, a purple glow and sparkly swirl lit up the boy and the meat man and then they hugged and cried and shouted until they started thanking us profusely. Then hugging and crying some more. ¡°Meat man!¡± he looks at me, breaking his reverie. ¡°One hundred kilos, this meat. I bring you when I dine?¡± He starts crying then hugging me, then shaking my hands as he agrees. Then he wipes his face and straightens his apron. ¡°Empress, would be honor. You bring exotic meats, I cook any time any where.¡± He bows, then picks up the boy, spins him around and then runs around like the proudest dad that ever was. The boy was giggling and yelling himself, enjoying the moment after the toil. ¡°You honor us in sharing this rare hunt, Empress. The Navoli would like to hunt seeded wilds of Astoria with your permission.¡± ¡°Honored Navoli, would you desire parties deployed from our cities, or to establish a camp of your own?¡± We discuss the benefits of each and decide that the Navoli need to assess republic interest before a decision can be made. ¡°Did anyone else think that meal was insane?!¡± Camacho asks. ¡°Yes, it was amazing, but those two probably tiered up by cooking that haunch from a rare aether beast. Opportunity of a lifetime and I asked if he was interested in doing that another dozen times.¡± ¡°Oh. How did you get all that from that insanity?¡± Naomi asks. ¡°I can see aether, and to some extent, the influences of the Matrix. I watched the experience and proficiency develop around them. When I made a decision on the dish in total, they finally got their experience. They got a lot of it, like the kid mutated a little, the surge was so big.¡± When they get back with drinks we certainly didn¡¯t order, I give him a credit and nine hex for his hospitality. He gives me his personal contact info, and kindly accepts the payment I can see he¡¯d rather not take. I bid him prosperity as we part and I gift the remainder of the meat, save a to-go kabob for me, to the Navoli delegation. ¡°It seems that we weren¡¯t the only people that saw that madness. The furious cooking is all over the rising popularity feeds. Oh and get this, #Empressthings is blowing up right now too with videos from the opening address.¡± ¡°I needed a shot of good news today. What¡¯s next on the schedule?¡± I keep an eye on the list of events she has while she talks. ¡°Uhm, there¡¯s the inaugural Marathon, a highland games-style event series throughout the week. You had interest in the magic show tomorrow evening, and a cooking competition the Founders are scheduled to judge on the final day.¡± ¡°Mm. That can¡¯t be all, but we¡¯ll talk about more events tomorrow I suppose. If there¡¯s not already a refreshment station in the Capitol concourse, put one in front of the steps of the Consul building. I would like to watch a few events of the highland games every day if we have the time. I always liked the weird things they do like bale toss and log rolling.¡± ¡°Oh, oh. Apparently, much of those events are taking place on Manor grounds. Your wife apparently signed an agreement over it, months ago.¡± ¡°Crap. That is going to be contentious with the rumors isn¡¯t it?¡± She nods at me. ¡°Are the games today on the land?¡± ¡°No, the organizers thought to combine crowds for the marathon and the games in the Capitol Commons section of the Parkway.¡± ¡°Thank Andromeda. That way I can redecorate before people have to confront the Manor.¡± I start indicating to Tessa that my plans were to move the Manor building to another plot on the other side of the river, about the same walking distance but in a different direction. That I also wanted to build something Imperial, but also Gardens of Babylon. Less than 300m tall, less than 100mil AE. Comparable or better spaces than the Manor, without a grotto. Definitively a water feature. I get a ping and a brief chuckle from Tessa, and decide to ignore it. She¡¯s a mischievous sort, but has never done me wrong. >P] Hon, I¡¯m moving the Manor and building something else as a backdrop for the Highland Games. [< >K] Makes sense, just don¡¯t scrap it. [< I ping the affirmative. ¡°You handing Tessa money to do stuff for you again?¡± Camacho scoffs. ¡°Yeah, and I get that you hate it when I do stuff like that, but two things: Tessa can and does tell me she¡¯s too busy, and that she also likes to dabble in design; and it¡¯s time you get over whatever this is, or stop coming to work for me.¡± I ignore the shock on her face and plow forward. ¡°I¡¯m fine with advising caution, or the way Naomi tells me that ¡®it may not be the best decision¡¯ but the antagonism that you show me when you disagree is too much. If you couldn¡¯t tell that I get enough of that already. So please, find another way to express yourself, or find another job.¡± I blow out a breath forcefully, then turn to Naomi. ¡°Uh, yeah, we can head back to your office for an hour or so before the games are scheduled, and then some city planners wanted to have dinner to discuss the direction they want to take Aelea.¡± ¡°Yeah, no urban development department yet. Okay, sounds good. Tell them to pick a restaurant that¡¯s willing to serve us outside.¡± She chuckles and nods. While Naomi wiggles her fingers at her screens, I pay the tax to relocate my bike to my current location and then power it on. Naomi is distracted and barely registers that she¡¯s putting on a helmet. I grin as I see Camacho strapping on her skates. Looks like she decided to stay for at least the rest of her watch. We scoot around the lake at a slow pace, but it¡¯s nice to see all of the people about, even if a lot of them are in the bike lane. When we get to the Parkway I open the throttle and hear above average amounts of swearing from Camacho behind us. ¡°Look, Empress, that was ass. Think we can line item some hover skates or something?¡± She says through gasps and spits, probably bug bits. ¡°Do you think hover skates or Security Scoots would be better?¡± ¡°Scoots, I mean bikes.¡± I nod and tap some screens, order three more with the custom paint and a serial numbers of Imperial Knight Bike 01, 02, 03. ¡°They¡¯re chipped and shielded. You guys aren¡¯t Knights yet, but it¡¯s a solid idea for working in the city, so I¡¯ll pass them on after this week is over.¡± ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll have one of my team-mates come and collect the other two.¡± ¡°I leave them in your care, acting Captain.¡± B3 CH 15: Penny Bait. Marathons are boring to watch in the middle. Axe throwing is pretty fun all the time, so whomever decided to have axe throwing in the Parkway while the Marathon was going on is the kind of person I want planning events with me. The organizers invite passers by to try their hand after the competitors move to archery and my efforts at axe throwing are embarrassing, while Camacho was a fucking sniper and Naomi chose not to participate. I decide to send Consul Mercer a heads up about the urban planning meeting, that he was welcome to attend, but we would discuss the meeting at length at a later date in either case. Naomi advises me on a casual dinner outfit before excusing herself for the evening. A knock at the door comes minutes after and Camacho lets in a woman wearing a black rashguard-style turtleneck and green cargo pants. Black boots and a shoulder harness holster complete the ensemble. ¡°Admiral Astoria, this is Ensign Bethany Moses. She¡¯ll be your overnight watch.¡± I stand and walk from behind my desk to meet her. ¡°Good call on the name change from Kim Possible, wouldn¡¯t want the wrong sort to follow you out here.¡± Camacho snorts and coughs. Ensign Moses smirks. ¡°I¡¯ll take that over a bowel movement joke any day. Good to meet you Admiral.¡± She salutes before shaking my offered hand. ¡°Same, Ensign Moses. You serving on Alaris?¡± She shakes her head, ¡°Currently assigned to Shuttle training squadron, Mercy. Want to be a fighter Pilot.¡± ¡°Yeah, Senior Chief Beecham has been on my ass about those. Have the hull design finished, but the Omni-thruster and the Quick-recharge Micro-Warp array are giving me headaches.¡± ¡°What about the ripple drive, cant you use those ripple pulses for micro-warps?¡± ¡°I could, if the ripple drive was an aether-based tech, but unfortunately, the way it currently works is aether runes mimicking a mechanical technology that in no way works the same as Space magic. And my space magic is not advanced enough in the right areas to create portals with just aether.¡± ¡°Ladies, as much as I am enjoying this nerd-fest, I want to go home and make out with my girlfriend. Moses, I am ready to be relieved.¡± She smiles and shakes her head, turning to face Camacho at attention. ¡°I relieve you.¡± They both salute and Camacho heads out. ¡°So, college before the swarm?¡± ¡°First year, Embry Riddle. I was on the warp and thrust track before everything went nuts. I actually took this gig so I could meet you. Been a fangirl since your paper on spontaneous matter manifestation at high energy concentrations.¡± ¡°Hells, that paper was eons ago. I started pouring through LHC data after an astrophysicist I respected published some theories on why some of the largest stars don¡¯t make black holes. The model we built to test her theories was the basis of the first AM-propulsor I built. Andromeda, was that an exciting time.¡± ¡°You say, as though you aren¡¯t the Ruler of Humanity.¡± ¡°Heh, that part isn¡¯t as exciting as people might think. Well, not for the reasons they¡¯d think, anyway. I get a lot less time to dive into intellectually stimulating ventures now. I can¡¯t just disappear for a week in an inventive fugu without affecting a whole bunch of things. But I can enlist the help of others to help work on my ideas. That shakes my nerves a lot, but it¡¯s better than not seeing my work develop.¡± ¡°Anything I can help with?¡± ¡°Yeah, design me a fighter. Ignore everything I¡¯ve come up with, and build one of your own and see if we can¡¯t come at this from a different perspective.¡± We chat for a while longer before I¡¯m due at the restaurant the group of developers picked. Bethany asks me if I did anything to deal with the stress of engineering, and I say video games. She shrugs and says they¡¯re okay, but the ones she liked you needed friends or groups to play so she lost interest early. Instead she got into gymnastics, but finding friends with common interests in that group didn¡¯t end up panning out. I floor the bike toward Aelea and guiltily enjoy the arms wrapped around my waist. I may or may not take the long way back to the new Chez de Empress. To my surprise, I pull up to a seafood restaurant with a table laid along the lakeside with a mock throne set up for me. I can¡¯t help but laugh at how ridiculous it looks out here. I shrug and accept the chair and have Bethany sit next to me. She protests for a moment, but when I tell her Camacho ate with me for lunch at my side, she no longer had professionalism to protest with. ¡°Empress, it¡¯s an honor to meet with you.¡± A graying man says with a polite bow. ¡°Thank you for this opportunity to showcase our ideas for Aelea.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit that I¡¯m curious as to why the Governor¡¯s office isn¡¯t presenting me with this.¡± The man¡¯s eyes go wide before he looks away and tugs at his beard. ¡°The Governor has said several times that the current budget does not support expansion, and that we should approach you. He won¡¯t even meet with us.¡± ¡°Ah, well, send my Aide those messages or conversations, and I will refer him to those when he complains that I¡¯ve stepped on his toes. Please sit, and tell your compatriots that I don¡¯t bite.¡± He has a chuckle at that, waving people in while he takes a seat on the side opposite to Bethany. Eight more people approach the table and all but one take a seat. ¡°Empress, it is our pleasure to serve you. Would you like anything to start?¡± the waiter asks. ¡°Mm, yes. I would like a sampler of your appetizers,¡± I tap my chin a second, ¡°do you feature any Astorian fish?¡± He nods, ¡°we have a farm-raised variant from Summer Farms that is less . . . hazardous to procure.¡± I chuckle at that. ¡°I will have that then. If I can impose, a few different preparations?¡± ¡°As you desire Empress.¡± He then quickly takes the orders of the other men and Bethany. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Conversation rounds the table from business to family matters and it¡¯s really just good to hear happy people chatter. Before the topic of my home life can come up, the food arrives to save me from myself. ¡°Five plates of fish? I¡¯m impressed. I might be here a while, gentlemen.¡± They politely laugh at my joke. ¡°Well, while I continue to nibble,¡± I say after the eating has slowed down, ¡°please tell me your thoughts on expansion.¡± They show me different radial patterns that are based off the existing layout of the Lake district, but the most interesting show me branching parkways behind the government buildings, and even another parkway on the opposite end of the Lake from the Capitol that would require removing a bank of buildings but would allow for more efficient expansion and additional ring roads with large parks or event centers. The brainstorm-bubble layout is somewhat appealing, but a tad chaotic for me. The one I like the most is a combination of the building moving parkway and the branching parkways before the Parkway reaches the Capitol Commons. ¡°Do you think that is workable? Detailed plans for ten thousand more residents and a concept sketch of this idea scaled to a million? I want to ensure we¡¯re not passing to much hassle to our future selves.¡± ¡°Yes, with a way forward, I do believe we can get the proposal together for ten thousand, and each of us would likely submit a ¡®sketch¡¯ of what we think a million would look like.¡± We shake hands, each of the gentlemen pay for their meals and I pay another credit and a half for my shenanigans. It¡¯s dark by the time we¡¯re done with dinner, and after not sleeping last night I¡¯m pretty tired. The road into my estate hasn¡¯t changed, but just about everything else in view has. The new ¡°Manor¡± is a freaking tiered, lit garden . . . compound? Castle? With a deep-set central spire with a moat and a sneaky draw bridge. I zoom through into a courtyard lot big enough for my shuttle. Outdoor arcuate stairs frame the entrance doors and lead up to the first terrace of the garden. From this vantage, that spire is easily a hundred meters tall, and that far away. The tinted glass doors open to a colonnade lit with golden light emitting from the Corinthian stylings of the columns. A second row of columns outside of the central walkway appears to house offices and the middle archways split toward meeting spaces at either end. At the far end there appears to be an elevator but what strikes me as we get closer, the courtyard in front of the lift raises dozens of stories to a decorative glass roof and garden features on every level of the courtyard. ¡°Tessa, holyshit, did you build me a city?¡± To my further astonishment, Tessbot decends in the lift and walks over to give me a big hug. I hug her back for a long time. ¡°Andromeda, how I¡¯ve missed you Tessa.¡± ¡°Missed you too, Penny. And no, we built you a castle. It just so happens that in old times, castles were designed to hold small towns. A thousand people could live here pretty comfortably. With tier 3 defenses for both energy and ballistic, you can bunker half of Aelea here during an assault.¡± ¡°I love you, you beautiful Intelligence you.¡± ¡°I warn you, Atropos helped me design this, but it will be the last time we work together for you. She¡¯s not being very objective concerning you and for an AI, that is . . . beyond reproach.¡± ¡°Oh, Tessa, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± I pull her in for another hug. I hear my friend sniff and I chose to ignore that she wipes an eye as she pulls away. I did not know she could cry, and now I want to punch Katie and Atropos for hurting Tessa. ¡°You want to introduce me to the pretty girl behind you?¡± ¡°Oh! Bethany Moses, Meet Tessa, she¡¯s my Symbiote. She figured out how to use my parallel minds to inhabit a Magitech body. Tessa, this is my current bodyguard.¡± ¡°Pleasure to meet you Bethany Moses. Welcome to the Garden Castle of Astoria.¡± ¡°So did you pick part synth flesh, part mechanism to not fall in love or something?¡± Bethany says, looking at me. ¡°I chose this mixture, Miss Moses. Though that is an extremely rude question. I suddenly want to eject you out of the Mag lift.¡± ¡°Wait, it¡¯s configured to shoot people?! Am I dreaming?¡± Tessa laughs at me, ¡°The whole canister can be ejected. You only have one spare on hand, so don¡¯t get too excited.¡± ¡°Got it. Need a code word for voted off the Island. That rocks so hard. Show me around my room please?¡± I ask her. She smiles and offers me her hand, I take it and she pulls me toward the lift. The lift has 48 floors worth of buttons, very hex of her. She explains that was the point, but the top eight floors are tapered up with the shape of the building up to the 47th, with the top floor being a private garden patio. ¡°Technically, the 47th floor is the waterslide and hot-tub bar floor. Forty Six is your bedroom, bath, and breakfast platform that descends into two half levels that are the Kitchen and office level as 45. The indoor park and water feature levels span 44 through 42. Forty one and forty are designated as lab areas but are by far the largest floors. The indoor sky illusion is on the core of floor 42, so doors on levels 41 and 40 lead to the central garden column view, but the floor between 40 and 39 in the column is two meters of transparent aluminum. The lift accesses levels 41, 43, and 47. The slide exits into the Olympic sized pool on 42, as do the other water features.¡± ¡°Tell me the water levels have adjustable light features.¡± She smiles at me with a soft, knowing look. ¡°Yes, though for security reasons, the direct light is yet another illusion of refraction and splitting arrays.¡± The lift stops and we exit the 47th into a crescent platform with a 5m wide jacuzzi with a wade-up bar to the right, and two slide interfaces to the left. ¡°Tessa, there are two slides,¡± I say dancing as I start peeling my clothes off. ¡°Ah yes, the right one goes to the lazy river on 44. The left to the lap pool on 42.¡± ¡°Okay, Ensign Moses, stay here on 47, shoot anyone that comes up that lift. Anyone.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be with you to protect you?¡± ¡°Nope, you are to remain outside my quarters. After insulting an integral part of me, I don¡¯t intend to share my personal space with you.¡± I tap a few screens and plop a cot and some bedding on the ground next to the elevator. ¡°Stay here for the night. Call if anything of import happens.¡± I command in my underwear. ¡°That settled, RIGHT SLIDE!¡± I pick up an innertube and jump on and immediately start giggling like an idiot. ¡°Penny, I¡¯ve taken the left slide and will meet you in a half hour or so. Feel free to continue conversing once you hit the Lazy River.¡± I¡¯m not prepared when the slide water hits the sideways river path and it dumps me over the tube when I hit. I sputter and stand to hop back onto the tube and laugh more freely than I have in months. ¡°Tessa, love, that was simply delightful.¡± ¡°I figured you¡¯d enjoy the non-traditional transportation. Every floor connects through at least an open hallway worth of space so that you can fly the length of your space in a hurry. Please make a few trips before attempting to teleport within the building. I¡¯d be very distressed if I had to dig your brain and bones out of the concrete to grow you a new body.¡± ¡°I could seriously see doing office work like this. Consul meeting? Lazy river. Paperwork? Lazy river. Interviews . . . I¡¯d put pants on and go downstairs. Then come back up and Lazy River.¡± I get a light electronic giggle from Tessa and it feels really good to hear. It takes me twenty minutes to get to the picknick area on the pool deck and walk up the stairs as I beach my innertube. ¡°I don¡¯t smell or feel any chlorine or iodine, what . . .¡± ¡°High-powered UV stations and a series of cyclonic separators. This allows this whole space to be converted to a self-contained Topiary with the river becoming an oxygen and protein creating algae factory.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a little gross, but a lot brilliant. You two put a lot of work into this.¡± ¡°We spent the money you gave us. The whole castle can be a private biosphere and support all the residents with the food grown on site. The water and the power are also private. The moat connects to the main river though.¡± I can¡¯t help how thoughtful and personal this all feels to me so I pull in and kiss her softly and then hug her close. ¡°You¡¯re so amazing, Tessa. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do without you.¡± I can¡¯t help it, feeling the unconditional love from her just sets off my tears. ¡°And you will never have to, Penny. I love you in all the ways I understand. You would have to pull me from your soul to change that.¡± I laugh through my tears into her shoulder. ¡°Well since you don¡¯t have to die, I guess I¡¯ll live forever then too.¡± ¡°Heh, you better, my host. You better. B3 Ch16: Going Down? ¡°Penny, you were not intended to sleep on the lazy river.¡± Tessa chastises me as I wake. ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t have given me double¡¯s tubes or installed a lock system to make the laziness continuous.¡± I plop into the water and climb up the steps to the pool deck. I take the lift to the kitchen spot to find that Tessa has already brewed me a carafe. ¡°I don¡¯t think I tell you I love you enough.¡± ¡°You certainly don¡¯t. But we can remedy that when you come to see my projects on Alaris. Alaris, who says you owe ¡®a solid¡¯ after the flash mob.¡± ¡°Heh, I really do. That was amazing.¡± ¡°She wants a ripple cannon.¡± I swear a bit, under my breath before taking a sip of coffee and collecting myself. ¡°Oh yah, minor favor. Invent new science for me, bestie, no big!¡± ¡°We understand, hon, we also know you can do it. Not like we expect it next week.¡± This is in line with what Bethany was asking me about too. Miniaturizing the ripple drive would be massive. I really need to upgrade the depth of my space-time knowledge. I¡¯m going to have 12 module credits for my class up. Or do I get double for a tier up? Fuck I¡¯m bad at this. Either way, I really need to find my affinity before I even think about a tier up. ¡°I agree with you, Penny. Andromeda may have given you an accidentally powerful tool for this tier up in having your affinity integrate with your track if you find it before you check your messages. The tier upgrade is a powerful integration tool in itself, consolidating all aspects of a being for its continued journey.¡± ¡°You just want me for my skills.¡± ¡°MM, yes. And those sweet, sweet body mods.¡± ¡°Tessa! You cad!¡± I fake cover up and start laughing into my coffee. ¡°OH MY GOD!. Can you two shut it!¡± Instead of saying anything, I walk up the levels to the stairs and to her cot. I shover her into the Lift and take it down to ground. Still dazed by the rough treatment so early, it takes her fifty paces to get her feet under her as I drag her down the colonnade. ¡°Enough alright? Stop dragging me!¡± I pump aether into my muscles and pull her by the shirt to my face and growl, ¡°You will address me and my AI with the proper respect, citizen. Until then, you will be treated like a disobedient mongrel.¡± She struggles in outrage, not once does she apologize. ¡°Camacho, I need a witness and a new guard. Ten minutes in the Capitol Commons.¡± She struggles the whole time, and when she starts to take her shirt off, I put my hand around her neck and hook my fingers beneath the hinge of her jaw. Take that off, jackass. ¡°Admiral, Seargeant Camacho Reporting for Duty.¡± ¡°Ah, good to hear we stood up a Marine Corps. Congratulations Seargeant. Ensign Moses has repeatedly disrespected me and mine while serving as Private Security. As she was serving in a private capacity, she will not be dismissed from Naval Service. However, officers appointed above her should always be shown the proper respect, so I will be entering a reprimand in her record and recommend she attend a senior officer for six months before being re-admitted to the pilot training pipeline. ¡°But I.¡± ¡°Ensign. Shut up. She saved your career. If you keep talking, or Andromeda help you, fling accusations, you will spend your remaining years exiled to Earth.¡± After hearing that, she stops struggling, so I drop her. ¡°Thank you Seargeant. Please escort this Sailor to the nearest shuttle bound to Alaris or Mercy for further tasking.¡± When Speth arrives, he cuffs the Pilot to be, before calling a shuttle down to take her to the Alaris. As soon as they take off, Camacho turns to me, tears off her insignia and puts them in her pocket. ¡°Sorry Empress, not official Navy or Marine capacity now. Not quitting the service.¡± I nod before she continues. ¡°Was all that really necessary? It could kill her career.¡± ¡°In all honesty, yes. It was necessary for me. I¡¯m tired of all the lying and false-pretenses. She deliberately tried to get close to me by telling me what I wanted to hear, and if it wasn¡¯t for Tessa and a heartfelt convo, it would have worked and my emotions would have been in a blender again. As for her career, my reprimand looks like an authority tantrum, where her punishment to serve as an aide to a senior officer will benefit her career immensely, especially if she learns a lesson. And, it puts her behind in flight school, maybe a year, and she still won¡¯t be the most senior officer in the program.¡± ¡°Yeah, that tracks. Permission to speak freely ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Granted.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this ¡®revelation¡¯ mean for Jenna?¡± Deep breath Penny pen pen. ¡°It means, it means nothing for us, really. I still like her, but she¡¯s been standoffish about getting intimate sometimes and I don¡¯t think that she can shake the idea that she thinks I¡¯m going to throw her away at some point.¡± ¡°Okay, it doesn¡¯t sound stupid and hurtful, so I won¡¯t do anything stupid either. I just. She¡¯s important to me you know?¡± I smile and shake my head. ¡°Yeah, Camacho. I remember.¡± We stand there for ten minutes, watching the shuttle fly away and then staring at the horizon and the colors of the sunrise. ¡°You know your new house looks like a giant bushy pussy right?¡± I choke on my own spit and cough and spittle before turning around. I cock my head to the side and then pull up the architechtural view . . . and there it is. ¡°Andromeda no. . . it really does.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Astoria¡¯s manicured cunt, it¡¯s beautiful.¡± Camacho snorts and bends over to support herself on her knees. ¡°Astoria¡¯s bristly bush was that terrible.¡± Camacho snorts and coughs again, now on her hands and knees ¡°Astoria¡¯s towering clit was that a mouthful.¡± I can¡¯t help but laugh at that one. Camacho wheezes and falls over. ¡°Empress, imma die, by your cavernous cunt castle please stop.¡± She laughs and then groans as her soul leaves her body. I start laughing even harder and summon a chair to sit in before I fall over. That¡¯s how Naomi finds us: dying with laughter, ready to be assassinated. ¡°Are you two high?¡± She asks warily. ¡°Ahah, no Naomi. My wife¡¯s AI played a trick on me for the new ¡®Estate¡¯. She designed me a Vagina-shaped Villa.¡± ¡°Cunt Castle, your Magesty.¡± ¡°Vulv-villa sound way better.¡± We both snap our heads to Naomi with wide eyes. ¡°Yep!¡± ¡°Actually changing the name right now.¡± I hit a few screens and it¡¯s done. ¡°Naomi, welcome to my Vulvilla!¡± snort, choke, fall over, and le dead. Camacho joins me. ¡°Children and Empress, please. A little landscaping will clean this place . . . oh my.¡± We start snorting and choking again, oh Andromeda, grant us a joyous demise. ¡°There is no way to address this place without innuendo.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really quite comfortable on the inside. Oh no!¡± Camacho wheezes and gasps and barks more loud laughter. Farewell Seargeant Camacho, I will remember you fondly. Fondle-ly, heh. ¡°Empress, perhaps we should head to breakfast before your bad jokes actually kill her.¡± ¡°Okay, fine, Naomi. Help me get her on the bike. Are you okay get there?¡± ¡°My husband can ride? Got a spare bike?¡± I order her one in my colors and stamp ¡®Hover Aide¡¯ on it. ¡°Oh that¡¯s great! We still live in the Guest House, so he¡¯ll be here in a moment.¡± I summon Camacho¡¯s soul back to her body with a bucket of ice water. ¡°Shit! You fucking . . . Empress, I very respectfully hate your face right now.¡± ¡°I cunt do anything about that, I don¡¯t know twat to tell you.¡± She snorts and starts laughing again. ¡°Imperial Biiiitch.¡± She chokes out in laughter as I speed the bike away towards Betty¡¯s Bistro. Betty¡¯s waitress takes our orders and runs off to ask Betty if they do Mimosas. They don¡¯t but I pay a three hex bottle fee and then all is right with my morning. >P] Franny, I know I said I¡¯d come to your place, but, I moved the Manor and built a new place. You should see it and I need landscapers.[< >F] Did you build an orchard Villa? Oh you bitch! I didn¡¯t even get a consult? I hate you, I¡¯m coming over tonight. [< >P] Easy plant lady. My AI designed and built it, but I may have suggested she keep the Babylon Gardens in mind. [< >F] Did I say tonight? I will be cataloging your Villa today, and will stop to have dinner with you. [< >P] Cute. I¡¯ll see you for dinner. Bring the hooch. [< She pings me and ends the call. ¡°Okay Naomi, what do we have today?¡± ¡°We have an Aelea¡¯s got talent type of thing, and caber tossing and bale tossing on your property this afternoon. Consul Mercer has an update he would like to discuss over lunch, and Rich needs a half hour.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll feed Rich. Tell me when.¡± To my surprise, he¡¯s waiting for us at Betty¡¯s. ¡°I figured you¡¯d come back here. We need to talk, Astoria.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah Rich, sit your but down, get a coffee and an egg in you and we¡¯ll talk¡± He grumbles about upstart children, but takes his medicine. ¡°Oh, I forgot life of an Empress is insane. Hello Consul of Military Affairs, pleasure to watch you cough.¡± ¡°Are all of your consort bull bitches, or do they just leech your shitty attitude?¡± he coughs some more while he laughs. ¡°Shit Rich. I need you to advance enough to get off my disability payroll. Stop being a lollygagging Gerry.¡± I look him over a bit, then ask again, ¡°Seriously though Rich, if you need a mutation to stabilize, I can help you. Don¡¯t make me resurrect you as Miley Sirus.¡± ¡°No, Penny. Rupert tells me I¡¯ll hit a cusp of recovery at Tier 2.¡± ¡°Damnit. Fine. I trust you. Let me know if I have to pickle you in whiskey.¡± He chuckles at that and I¡¯m sad, but somehow lightened? Knowing my friend is going to die, but making him smile is a complicated emotion. ¡°Empress, you¡¯re scaring the children.¡± Naomi warns. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry. Sad emotions and hard thoughts. Sorry folks.¡± I see the timid waitress trying to back away. ¡°Can I get your rancher omelet? Thanks sweetie.¡± She actually squeaked when I looked at her and ran away. Well shit. ¡°Think I¡¯m getting the omelet?¡± ¡°Ten to one, Empress.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that bet.¡± ¡°Two hexes in on my two credits that the fear of the Empress gets me food.¡± ¡°Has to be the rancher omelet.¡± A surprising contender from across the table chimes in. Rich¡¯s aide. You¡¯re on kid. The breakfast goes on as we talk about Naval Affairs, manning the new Capitol ship Galilei. I tell him that it¡¯s a one-off heavy destroyer and we need to start designing a one, three, seven compliment of carrier, destroyer, cruiser, but the old asshole won¡¯t listen. He insists on a two, seven, twenty with one hundred plus skiffs, traders and light interceptors. Bastard has armada in the sky hopes. In the end they apologized for my food coming out late and they forgot some classic ingredients in a typical rancher omelet so it ended up a wash. Our breakfast is cordial and pleasant, and Rich stops by for a few senior officer promotion recommendations for our pending ships of the line. We don¡¯t have an established Chief¡¯s advancement, so it operates on appointment now too, but I see three names I recognize. ¡°No fucking way. Ivanka and Petra are on planet?¡± I whisper at Rich. ¡°Da. Showed up on the free transport three months ago, asking for the recruiter¡¯s office. They both passed their Allegiance period and are now in the Navy. We need Ivanka as a command chief and Petra is possibly the most experienced combat medic we have. I tried to commission them both, but Ivanka Baiul refused.¡± ¡°Thanks Rich. We could use a medical corps. Ivanka would be a good MCPON if she weren¡¯t such a biased harpy.¡± ¡°You get it, Admiral, make it happen.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your boss you old asshole!¡± ¡°Sure thing young¡¯un.¡± He salutes lazily, snags a plate of appetizers and starts walking away. ¡°So,¡± Camacho says, ¡°you let him do that?¡± ¡°Hold your shit, Cammy, Rich is twice my age and thrice my experience and he is basically my dad. Tread carefully.¡± She luckily realizes I¡¯m not kidding and raises her arms in surrender. ¡°Admiral, I¡¯m not here to offend. I just want to know where the lines are.¡± ¡°Me too Camacho, me too. But in this case, it¡¯s clear: Overwhelming respect unless you are family-certain.¡± ¡°Well, there go all my housing jokes. Copy, though, Admiral. We all go through rough times. I¡¯m sure you have friends to help you through . . . somewhere.¡± ¡°Ha ha. You were this close to Earth duty. Shame you finally took me seriously.¡± She set to open her maw, but then slapped a hand over her mouth and restricted herself. Lucky girl. ¡°Despite my good graces, ladies, I¡¯m at the end of my rope. I need at least a day unless it¡¯s a national crisis.¡± /Ivanka, Petra, you bitches better have dinner with me tomorrow. Please? I miss you both and fuck, I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re alive./ They ping the affirmative and leave me with nothing else. With breakfast over, and nothing really to do until the caber tossing starts, Naomi, Camacho and I walk back toward the Capitol Commons after stowing the bikes in my shuttle. Naomi wants to start looking around the garden castle and I give her and her husband permissions for the general purpose floors and apartments. I message Rich¡¯s aide, Rupert and have him ping Commanders and Chiefs and above for promotion recommendations. A brief look at our current forces¡¯ dates of rank I see how necessary a formal system is. I hope Rich knows he can ask for help. He probably knows I would, but is being stubborn about it. Twenty minutes later, we¡¯re at the park with a growing crowd, people playing frisbee and lawn sports all around the Commons. Something so simple as people using public spaces makes me really happy. B3 Ch17: Separation Anxiety. ¡°A smile that doesn¡¯t scare kids? Color me surprised Empress.¡± ¡°Shove off Camacho. If I was half as scary as you make me out to be, you¡¯d behave better.¡± She snorts and laughs at me. ¡°I should probably spend the next few hours in my office before the events begin, but heck if I haven¡¯t been enjoying the sun these last few days. Hmmm, wait! This park has a fountain!¡± I do love me a water feature, so I skip toward the fountain, stick my feet in the water and pull up some screens.
x5
x2
/your prior life experience lends to a rating of Intermediate step 1/
/your prior life experience lends to a rating of Beginner step 3/
Talk about weird skills to see. With as much government I¡¯ve been dealing with, I can¡¯t believe I haven¡¯t discovered the Bureaucracy skill before now. Not a single trade skill on that list and it makes me sad. Luckily I don¡¯t have any high priority message that I¡¯ve been ignoring, just a paper and some research notifications from Naomi¡¯s husband. Progress updates and requests for money and materials, which Naomi has been filling out of the research fund I put aside for the construct learning development side of my project. He sent some design variants after seeing my prototype that I need to choose from, but that can wait until after my lunch discussion about big money. We¡¯ve got several million in contracts out right now, and some priority bids on rare metals we need to file before it¡¯s too late. Beecham, who usually flags different metals for bidding, is currently occupied and his second in command at the shipyard has not been keeping up. So many damned irons in the fire. Next set of messages are notes from Mercer and two different advance reports that we¡¯ll be discussing today. An audit of earmarked funds for the Founders Festival, and a record of the First Consul¡¯s transactions. Yikes, I bet that¡¯s a fun read. Last, and most confusing, a personal communication from Katelynn O¡¯Connell. Dearest Wife, Though you alluded to it while I was recovering, my and Atropos¡¯ investigations on why and how you found me drugged has led me to discover that I have broken my promise to you, twice. The first time I though I¡¯d just gone to bed without showering after a night of drinking and merriment. The second time was before you found me. I hacked your security systems at the Manor to reconstruct most of the timeline and confirmed my suspicions. I have since erased the data so that you won¡¯t attempt to handle this before I do. Rest assured, I know who is responsible and will hold them accountable. That said, I have betrayed you and I don¡¯t know how to face you right now. I will be taking a leave of absence while seeking my vengeance, with hopes to return to a life where I¡¯m still married to the displaced piece of my soul. I¡¯m so sorry that my sorrow and jealousy has led to this. Katie How am I supposed to feel about this? My wife feels responsible for being raped by people she thought she could trust. She was definitely in no state to consent when I found her. And now her guilt and shame are sending her away to probably kill a bunch of people. I¡¯m surprisingly fine with the vengeance part, but hurt that she can¡¯t face me even though she explained it was nothing I imposed upon her. >P] Kay, I can¡¯t imagine what you¡¯re going through, but know that I love you. Be safe and come back to me when you¡¯re ready. [< No response. Not that I expected one. ¡°Naomi. Whatever I have tomorrow, please reschedule.¡± ¡°We only had some visibility items, nothing crucial.¡± I nod at that. I could use half a day or so to unscramble the emotions in my brain case and appreciate the forces of stability in my life. Like Tessa, whom I¡¯m sad she doesn¡¯t want to live with me. After that residence I built you, I thought you might be mad. Pfft, sure Tessa. With all of the amenities you added to that place, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was also a space ship. But seriously, I miss you. I suppose it could be used as a colony ship, but take-off and landing would be tricky. Also, I live inside you, we couldn¡¯t live closer together if we tried. I hear her laugh through our link. Before I know it, Naomi is reminding me that the lunch appointment I have is in the meeting room in the Consul building. No rest for the wicked, then. I walk into the conference room to see Mercer and his assistant eating and discussing some of the projected screens. ¡°Consul Mercer, when scheduling a lunch meeting, it is customary to wait until the senior Invitee is present before beginning the meal.¡± He looks up at me confused. ¡°You are not the senior member at this meeting Consul. You will also greet me appropriately when meeting for the first time each day.¡± ¡°Our apologies, Empress.¡± His aide stands and bows. Mercer stays seated and turns back to his food. Ah, well. Lessons must be learned. I banish his food and his chair, and the rest of the chairs in the room for that matter, to his office. I stare at him, straight faced as he¡¯s dumped on the floor. He gets up and sighs. ¡°Must we do this?¡± ¡°Remember the way you would treat people who used to come to you for business. Then remember I have more money than any human that has ever lived. I am not your daughter, Mercer, I am your employer and your Empress. I thought we had covered this during your interview. You assured me you could do the job.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I can do the job, Empress. I just don¡¯t see the point of this,¡± he waves around his hand, ¡°ceremony.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about respect. As your assistant showed, it takes less than 10 seconds to demonstrate.¡± ¡°The thing about respect, daughter, is you have to earn it.¡± He advances on me slowly, ¡°An until you do, I will treat you like my ungrateful spawn.¡± I assume he was about to dig his point in with a finger to my chest, but I never found out. As soon as that hand came up, Camacho grabbed his neck, tripped him and slammed his head on the table before taking him to the ground and zip tying his hands behind him. She may have been aggressive in moving his arms, the popped before she got off him. ¡°That will be interesting to deal with.¡± I look up to his terrified assistant. ¡°What was your name?¡± ¡°J-johnathan, your Majesty.¡± ¡°Johnathan, do you know the material well enough to brief me?¡± He nods. ¡°Excellent. Camacho, can you sit on him until we¡¯re done here?¡± She beams at me, summons a short stool and literally sits on him. ¡°Done and done, Empress.¡± I sit on the edge of the table and motion for Johnathan to begin. He starts with the Festival planning. Most of the money was earmarked for planning and hosting dignitaries. Virtually none of the money I had originally envisioned for vendor incentives were used as such, and the budget for decorations was used for fancy clothes for performers and government officials. Corrupt assholes. ¡°Did you two correlate these earmarked funds to acquired personal assets?¡± ¡°Uh, yes ma¡¯am, I mean Empress. Consul Mercer used his authority to audit personal purchases during planning and execution phases of the Festival to find small but regular abuses that add up to a lot of money over the ten plus people involved in the scheme. We also hired a less than reputable investigator to skim their private systems and found some defaming speeches and talking points that blame you and your administration for failing to appreciate vendors and participants. The Consul expects that the Governor has been colluding with other officials, but he mentioned that he does not have the contacts needed to investigate further at this time.¡± ¡°Johnathan, no need to be nervous. This is good work. Good enough work for the Consul to keep his job if he can check is fucking ego.¡± I say, with my voice raised. Camacho kicks him. He says nothing. I shrug, ¡°Well. That¡¯s enough to boot the bastard. I¡¯ll put you in contact with a contractor I use for, clandestine problem solving. Moving on. What can you tell me about the previous Consul of Finance and Trade.¡± ¡°I, don¡¯t know if I want to, Empress.¡± He starts shaking. I respect that. ¡°No worries Johnathan, I will need you to annotate these reports with Mercer and your findings so I can review them privately. Can you do that?¡± He nods and scuttles out of the room. ¡°What do you want to do with the Consul?¡± Camacho asks. ¡°I think I¡¯ll let him chose. A full day, eighteen hours, in stocks outside of this very building; Prison time and mandatory community service; or Exile to Earth for no less than forty years.¡± ¡°Are you fucking serious? For disrespecting you?¡± ¡°No Consul, for attempted assault on the Empress. That is one of the few laws on the books, sir. It is expressly stated as an act of treason. The punishment for that is death or as the Empress dictates.¡± ¡°Yes, you can always pick execution.¡± Too bad he¡¯s brilliant, or I would punt him back to Earth so fast. ¡°Camacho, if he declines to chose, I¡¯ve sent you his sentence. Please send for a pair of security agents that can deal with the sentence so I can discuss other matters with you.¡± ¡°As you command Empress.¡± ¡°Naomi, can you warn the Meat Man I want lunch in an hour? I feel like an exciting lunch as a distraction.¡± She chuckles, ¡°His name is Alfonso Costa, Empress. For how many?¡± ¡°Six? Us three, the security that¡¯s coming and Consul Summers if she¡¯s not too busy with my Vulv-villa.¡± ¡°Empress, no. I pulled some muscles this morning, no more of that bullshit.¡± She chuckles and groans. ¡°She has to come up for air sometime.¡± Naomi says and I can¡¯t help myself. Neither can Camacho who groans as she laughs. Speth and someone I haven¡¯t met before show to take care of the Consul, and I pull Camacho aside to tell her of my desire to arrest Governor Larkin during the closing ceremony, when his speech is scheduled to slight the Empire. ¡°Why does all of this crap have to start flying at the same time?¡± ¡°Perhaps because you wait for people to betray you before paying attention to them?¡± Camacho adds. ¡°I, yeah, but what¡¯s the other option Camacho? Expect everyone to fuck with me until proven otherwise?¡± ¡°Yes, you should absolutely expect that. You don¡¯t have the habit of being serious and Imperial at all times. You¡¯re young looking and somewhat attractive. To the average citizen, this makes you personable. To a politician, or old folk used to having people¡¯s respect, you look like a kid playing princess, ready to be taken advantage of.¡± ¡°So if I acted like an old, miserable bitch, people would respect me? I¡¯m not far from letting that part of me out. However, I think I¡¯ll wait until the Forum we have scheduled to discuss our first set of laws as an Empire. Should be interesting. I can already tell at least two of the Governors want to be separate kingdoms without having to foot the start-up bill. ¡°I have even odds with Rich and Second Day odds with the Botanist that they¡¯ll try to introduce laws to replace me, even though I¡¯ve told every sitting Consul and Governor that no matter what government system they try to frame this as, I am Empress for life, and Astoria is my Empire.¡± ¡°Now I definitely have to be there. I¡¯m still not keen on the whole ¡®Empire¡¯ thing, but you¡¯re growing on me as a person, Empress.¡± ¡°Oh Cammy, I knew you cared!¡± I walk toward her with open arms. Camacho¡¯s eyes go wide and trots away with a ¡°Nope, nope. Keep those blender eyes away from me.¡± ¡°Blender eyes?¡± I turn to Naomi with shock on my face. ¡°Oh, yes. Your sparkly star eyes start swirling when you get agitated. Your bones start glowing when you get really mad.¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯m some kind of Pixie Poltergeist now.¡± Mr. Costa and his son were prepping their grill in front of my building. I look at Camacho and Naomi and they both shrug. I shrug too and whip some picknick tables out of the aether, a stand for napkins, utensils and sauces, and set up one last table next to the trailer sized grill he used at the lakeside. With Costa¡¯s attention, I set up a few mounds of my previous kills and a whole murder chicken. ¡°Feed as many as you can with this, yeah? But me first.¡± I laugh and he chuckles with me. He immediately pulls up some screens and starts yelling in Portuguese to someone on the other end. I set down three credits while he¡¯s occupied and slip back to my table. Twenty minutes later, the smell of grilling meats begin to summon a crowd from the park. At the same a team of middle-aged, sun-weathered women pull a cart armed with tongs and spatulas, notepads and pens, and place settings arrive with smiling sneers on each of them. Costa goes and kisses the lead snearing woman on both cheeks and then the woman behind her full on the mouth before excitedly slapping the meat on the table. ¡°Did he just summon his extended family?¡± I say in wonder. ¡°And I bet every one of those women would be just as fearsome with an axe in hand.¡± ¡°Or a rolled-up paper full of disappointment.¡± The three of us shudder at that. No thank you. The cart they pull up has tables-full of side dishes and a few kids? And the kids start unloading as the women begin orchestrating their team and the crows with clipped shouting and aggressive waving of utensils. The show really starts when they pack six people around that grill, in a smokey, saucy, messy meaty orchestra. The platter that Costa and his son shimmy over and slide onto our table brings a tear to my eye as I see the spread on the platter, and the pride in his and his son¡¯s eyes. Okay, maybe a few tears. ¡°This is glorious, Meat Man! You are surely the pride of the Empire¡¯s culinary pursuits.¡± He chuckles at me, pulls his son close to ruffle his hair. They argue briefly and I can¡¯t help but see how close and happy they are. Makes me want to hug the adorable pair. ¡°Naomi, can you see about getting them a temporary location license that¡¯s good for the Capital Commons for the rest of the year?¡± ¡°Sure, Empress. I think that would be under either Consul Summers for the Interior, or under Consul Ragland for Public Health and Safety?¡± ¡°That sounds great, one for the location, one for food guidelines. I like it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re stretching what people should be responsible for, you know that right?¡± ¡°Yes, Camacho. I do. This is part of what the Forum should be for, but I doubt it will be that productive. Give them enough rope to hang themselves with and all that.¡± ¡°Speaking of that, how much do you want for your jaunt back to Elysium, Empress.¡± I sigh. ¡°I fucking hate you sometimes, Camacho.¡± I push up from the table, buss my own trash, and summon my shuttle in an empty area toward my castle. ¡°Hop on, kid. We do hand-offs, remember?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not mutating for you Empress. DeGurgis is the only one that can set foot on that Planet.¡± ¡°Huh. Not even going to try to get creative? Did you even look at the Exchange before you decided to quit? How disappointing.¡± Someone behind me sucks air through their teeth, but I don¡¯t care. Camacho does not know when to temper her shit. Mostly my fault, I imagine: not setting firm boundaries. I really don¡¯t want to treat my employees like servants, and I guess I should let go any that need that level of maintenance. For the first time I can remember, I am not looking forward to seeing Jenna. B3 Ch18: Seeking Closure Breathing in the Elysium air always feels good to me. Not that I need the air anymore, but the spongy-bits in my lungs help me more readily absorb the aether that suffuses this planet and it gives me a bit of a rush. As it is post lunch I see the martial instructors sparring, Beecham showing his aether manipulators how to change already manifested spells, and that Alchemist trucking along by himself. I should check on his progress before I leave. Jenna is working with her body pumping student on something regarding grappling when she sees me and gets tripped by her student. ¡°Ah, Empress. Good to see you.¡± ¡°You as well Instructor DeGurgis. When will be the next opportunity for a progress update?¡± ¡°We break for trade skills and focused learning in about an hour, if you have the time?¡± I nod and then walk off. The student murmurs to Jenna behind me but I decide not to eaves drop or to let Tessa inform me what they said about me. Not going to be my concern for much longer. ¡°Candidate, it seems you¡¯ve elected self study. How goes it?¡± ¡°Who the . . .¡± He looks up from the bench of bottles and burners. ¡°Oh, pardon, Empress. It¡¯s . . . a recipe has been eluding me and I can¡¯t help but feel that the quality of the aether source is hamstringing my progress.¡± ¡°What are you using?¡± I ask as I look at the recipe on his pop-up screen. ¡°Intermediate Aether Ink. The recipe says that I can use that instead of condensed mana but it¡¯s not working.¡± He tosses his . . . stylus? In exasperation. With a brief inspection of the ink I can tell what the problem is: the average rating of the ink is intermediate, but the Power is only listed at E. Should probably be a C for this recipe. I can remedy that. ¡°Okay, so, I¡¯m going to give you a common product we make on site, but is not listed on the exchange, and an item that I use personally for my engraving.¡± I hand over a pill bottle full of condensed aether of ¡®C¡¯ power, and a wax-stopped eyedropper with my S-power Aether ink in it. ¡°Lets see what you can make with both of those. I have some ¡®B¡¯ power condensed aether as well, but you¡¯ll have to requisition it from your instructor, with the recipe you intend to use it on. In case you wonder why we don¡¯t list it, that pill bottle is worth about 200 credits? The stopper, maybe six or seven hundred.¡± ¡°Thank you, Empress!¡± ¡°Thank you. You have chosen a rare path and could benefit the people and the Empire greatly. State sponsorship may be in your future.¡± He¡¯s barely listening as he stares at the S-powered liquid. There¡¯s a small chance he becomes an elitist for the ¡®finest¡¯ ingredients after this, but this attitude is much preferrable to the self-important scoffing I was getting from him last week. With more than a half an hour left before Jenna should be down, I sit down at an adjacent bench, morph my hand and start working on the complicated spellform on my crown that will essentially make it souldbound. That¡¯s where Jenna finds me. ¡°This really about a report?¡± ¡°Yes, and other topics. Mind joining me for a walk?¡¯ She sighs, ¡°lead the way Empress.¡± It¡¯s quiet for five minutes or so, before Jenna breaks the silence, ¡°I was talking with Beecham and Meeker yesterday, and they think that we could take as many as thirty students if we had a trade-sill instructor that wasn¡¯t also a combat instructor. And Meeker is much less of an asshole when you¡¯re not around.¡± ¡°I do seem to bring out the worst in people. What¡¯s the prevailing opinion on this being a six week course?¡± Jenna makes a face at both my comments, not sure which is worse. ¡°The two external aether users think that this should be two six week courses. The first six based on conditioning, aether manipulation, and infusing intent into the process. And the second period being for melding Aether and martial techniques. Or advanced spell technique. Whatever Beecham called it. For me though, I think it should be the opposite. I can¡¯t imagine trying to infuse your body without having the knowledge to move it first.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I laugh at that, ¡°Yes, I remember our first infused fight. I was much the baby giraffe. But why can¡¯t you do it backwards and have the manipulation and conditioning period with the others? Just offset your training a little, and you can combine resources when they overlap.¡± ¡°You would fund those extra periods?¡± ¡°If it makes sense for our people, absolutely! That¡¯s why I keep picking people that I think will do the job the best, even if they don¡¯t think too highly of me.¡± We both chuckle at that, but Jenna¡¯s is sad. ¡°I think highly of you.¡± ¡°Thanks?¡± I shake my head and breath out a heavy breath, ¡°But do you still think you don¡¯t deserve to be with me?¡± She bites her lip and looks away, confirming my suspicions. ¡°The plan I came up with yesterday thought I could just come here and say that we should start over and try to just be Penny and Jenna. But is that something you would be comfortable with?¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know. I like being with you and around you. You¡¯re inspiring and dedicated, though surprisingly a mess. But I¡¯m still so afraid that Katie will snap her fingers and you¡¯ll drop me and break my heart?¡± I shake my head at that, ¡°It¡¯s funny that you trust me to run a country as the Empress, but you don¡¯t trust my word as a person. That lack of trust doesn¡¯t feel great after how long we¡¯ve been dating.¡± More emotion bleeds into my voice, and at the end of the statement, I plop down on the beach and hug my knees. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you, it¡¯s the wife verses girlfriend thing, Penny. When the two come into conflict, what¡¯s going to happen to me?¡± She flinches as her statement draws a glare from me. ¡°Jenna, how many times must we approach this topic? My wife and I have an agreement because she needs a group of blood donors. I wasn¡¯t expecting to click with someone enough to want another relationship, but here we are. Katie has some issues with it, but she knows you¡¯re important to me. This has been true the entire time we¡¯ve been together. Why is it still an issue?¡± ¡°Because! I¡¯ll never be wife material to you! I¡¯ll only be the Empress¡¯ girlfriend. What if I want the house and the kids too?¡± She¡¯s crouched to my level, her hands on my knees crying as she shouts at me. When she finishes, a little fear creeps in as though she let a secret out. I sniffle, ¡°Why can¡¯t you still have that?¡± ¡°What?¡± she falls back onto her butt, staring past my head. ¡°I mean, why can¡¯t you be wife material? Why can¡¯t we have kids eventually? There are tier 3 medical devices that can absolutely facilitate that. I¡¯ve checked. It seems to me that you¡¯re making a lot of assumptions about what I want and what you mean to me.¡± I sigh, tired of processing emotion and dealing with expectations, especially errant ones. ¡°How about this: knowing that I want to continue being with you, think about what you want our relationship to be. Assume everything is on the table, save ditching Katie, what would you want ¡®Us¡¯ to be. I haven¡¯t had the kids talk with Katie in a while, but last I checked she doesn¡¯t want them. So my chance for them right now could include you. If you end up not being able to trust me about these things, be honest.¡± ¡°If I wake up from this dream, and you don¡¯t remember any of this I¡¯ll be crushed.¡± As much as I don¡¯t feel like comforting anyone in my emotional state, I can see how fragile she is right now. I crawl over to her and kiss her softly. ¡°Still feel like a dream?¡± ¡°Every time.¡± *** I summoned my shuttle and warped back to Astoria, taking a few moments to collect myself after landing on a strip of lawn near the 15th floor. I confirm that I have an appointment scheduled in a first-floor conference room here in the Castle. I look around briefly to find that Francesca is here when I see a small sandy blonde wave at me from across the compound. I wave back and ping her with a happy chirp. Dork. I walk into the space and see no one. I triple check that I have a meeting and then check the topic of the meeting: Manor Optics and proposed resolutions. Hmm, why did Naomi even schedule this without a POC for me to contact? I close my screens and take a few moments to look around in more detail. On the refreshment cart, there is a wedge of galaxy fruit and a paper folder with documents in it. The letter on top says: This is the price of defiance. What follows are a multitude of photos of Katie inflagrante in the Grotto. The last few are different, they are in our loft, and Katie is unconscious and being violated. My hand and then my whole body starts shaking in rage. Katie¡¯s letter had broached that she was abused, these are intended to rub my face in it. As though shaming and violating another human is just another currency. The thin layer of control that keeps my aether steady pops and i teleport us to the 48th floor patio to scream. All of my hate for the posturing politicians, all my sadness pooling within me, and all the rage of the callous abuse of my wife comes to the forefront. I ball it up into a mass of negative emotions, emotions tainted and black enough to start dissolving my insides, so I push. I push so hard from as deep as the bones in my feet, that gouts of boiling black aether fill the sky at a velocity that shoots the goop far past the foundations of my castle, making the ground shift and shutter as more of the corruption covers it. Tessa shrinks back from the horror spewing from me, trying to avoid any splatter from the devouring black sludge. She starts to say something, but the rage and screaming don¡¯t let me hear what she¡¯s muttering about. With enough repetition, I start hearing her ask me to stop. I finally do when I hear the tears coming from my synthetic person. B3 Ch19: Vomit from the Void Parts of my face are missing. I don¡¯t have a mirror, but when you see a faceted mandible lying on the ground in flesh and tar-colored goop, you get an idea. A feel little niggles of pain but the panic of seeing walls and ground and plants melting under the relentless black is overwhelming. RE-ABSORB YOUR AETHER. What? What does my aether have to do with any of this madness?! PENNY, PLEASE! I look over to Tessa and find black splotches eating through her exo-skeleton at the speed of inevitability. Just like that, some of the panic turns into resolve and forces me to move. Instinctively, I keep my hands off Tessa as I release all aether whisps connected to me and begin to pull. I worry briefly that my capacity will overflow, but I find my energy reserves nearly depleted. So I keep pulling, all of the aether from lingering spells and from the environment as a whole and after a few minutes of surging mana toward my body, the black blemishes on Tessa begin to crumble into obsidian sparkles and blow away. I collapse to my knees and pull Tessa close to me and begin crying the rest of my panic out on my best friend. ¡°I can¡¯t lose you too.¡± ¡°This is just a shell, Penny. I was worried about you.¡± I notice the flick of her eyes to my body, and without thinking I look down. I see a half-eaten upper torso of some alien creature from a sci-fi movie. Bluish skin, melting off semi-transparent fibers connecting similar-colored muscles to iridescent, crystalline bones. The bones are the only part of the torso that has not been torn by the blackness that continues to drift away as it is disturbed. It¡¯s somehow beautiful with the colors and form that the destruction has brought to light. I take the barest of moments to appreciate the wonders of life before I realize this half eaten alien thing is me. With that, my pain pierces through my wall of adrenalin, shocks me into rigidity. I lose touch with consciousness through the overwhelming light of white-hot agony. *** I wake up to a feeling of being suspended in liquid with my head anchored to something. ¡°You owe me another dinner date.¡± The voice is tinted with anger. ¡°I¡¯m frolicking through your garden castle, when suddenly a gout of some devouring napalm erupts from the top of the building. My concern for the plants has me calling you and Tessa, no response, and climbing walls to stop the madness. Come to find, the madness was you.¡± She¡¯s breathing heavy now from the exertion of swinging a bottle of wine around before she drinks from it. ¡°Do you know how scared I was!?¡± she takes another swig, ¡°For the plants?¡± I cough chuckle, ¡°Are my plants okay?¡± My voice is raspy and barely there, which makes total sense considering what my chest looked like earlier. ¡°Most of them, yeah. But you nearly obliterated a very rare, very expensive berry bush. Thank Andromeda you¡¯d turned away from that priceless fruited tree. In fact, almost all the plants on 48 are impossibly hard to come by. How did you do it? How did you get them?¡± Wow, that went from fear to greed, and perhaps a little lust, in record time. I point at Tessa. Hey, Tessa, is there a way to connect my directed thoughts to the speakers? I¡¯ll connect your text-processor to the PA, lest we have another incident of internal thoughts breaking free. Yeah, good idea. ¡°Tessa designed and built this place. Ask her about the plants. I mostly just enjoyed the lazy river.¡± Tessa laughs at that, ¡°It¡¯s true, she slept on it last night. I¡¯ll have to put in a new filter for aether-enhanced drool, but . . .¡± ¡°Hey! It can¡¯t have been that much drool.¡± I pout defensively. ¡°And about the plants,¡± Tessa turns to Francesca, ignoring my protest, ¡°Everything below the 48th floor was available through trade partners or the exchange. Penny¡¯s private terrace was sourced from the Collective. The tree itself was an apology for the accusations they levied against us last year.¡± ¡°No way. Really?¡± I try to get up and turn to face Tessa, but my head is still anchored, and apparently so are my hips. ¡°Stay put Penny, I¡¯ll not have you mess up your healing just to make ridiculous faces at me. To answer your question, this came from that very tree.¡± She somehow snuck a bite of something cold and wet to my lips. I pull it quickly into my mouth and a comfortable explosion of flavor and aether fills my senses and urges a shudder from my neck to my toes. ¡°Galaxy fruit really is the best.¡± ¡°I begged for some earlier. Tessa gave me a sliver, and wow. That might be the tastiest fruit in existence. Also developed my mutation, but helpful so I shouldn¡¯t complain. Tessa wouldn¡¯t let me take a clipping or give me a fruit to plant, though.¡± Francesca pouts. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Makes sense. They aren¡¯t seed grown, and I doubt the Collective would condone me producing more as it is their primary source of income.¡± ¡°But Penny, they¡¯re 600 credits per fruit!¡± ¡°But Frannie, even a slice can level-up a young symbiote user.¡± ¡°Wait, really? That¡¯s a huge resource then. Holy crap. Can I use this to further develop my mutation?¡± I can see her running calculations with here eyes. ¡°I mean, yeah, but taking a slice at a time is dangerous, but also, you likely won¡¯t get any ¡®fun¡¯ abilities unless you stress your system. Just remember that even tier 3 medicine can¡¯t fix everything.¡± ¡°Tier 3? Are you kidding me right now?¡± A tired sigh escapes her, not mad like I expected. ¡°Um, no? I made some weird leaps early, but I¡¯m nowhere near a tier advancement for at least a handful of years.¡± ¡°Penny. Stop. I have been trudging though advancements in tier two all year. I don¡¯t need to hear the rest of this. Let¡¯s talk about your magnificent garden instead.¡± ¡°I mean, if you have some apprentices that need a side gig . . .¡± ¡°Excellent! Then I have all these ideas!¡± The sparkle in her eyes is getting out of control. ¡°Try to keep your shenanigans below level 30? The half-floor apartments are intended to have private gardens. You know, once I have guests that is.¡± ¡°That would make floors 1-10 and rooftops to 30 as public?¡± the over-excited botanist asks me. Thankfully Tessa has answers, ¡°Yes. Though the rooftops on each side from 30-39 are intended for community recreation. The terraces on 11-29 are intended for community gardening.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying I can play with all of them until you get residents?¡± The childlike joy and excitement on her face drags a laugh from me. ¡°Sure, and please, if you could help that berry bush recover, I¡¯d be very grateful.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that¡¯s the same berry that makes the juice you like.¡± ¡°If you could make a hedge maze from that bush, I would be very grateful.¡± We both laugh at that, but Tessa ruins my fruit pie in the sky dreams. ¡°Penny, every plant on that level was made available for private use only, I¡¯m afraid. On the plus side, I was given instructions on how to keep them happy and healthy. Unless you decide to void vomit all over them again.¡± Flashes of imagery and pain cycle through my brain for a second, lingering on the image of Tessa with sludge eating into her chassis. ¡°Tessa, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± ¡°No! Augh,¡± She groans with of flap of her arms to her sides. Then she starts pulling off her shirt? ¡°See? Repaired. I bought a device that¡¯s like a repair Roomba so that you wouldn¡¯t keep freaking out.¡± Seeing her sports brah, I remember wondering briefly why a personal assistant robot would have synth flesh anywhere but the face. ¡°This isn¡¯t where I thought the evening was headed.¡± She giggles before taking another drag of her wine. ¡°Francesca!¡± I snap my arm out and swat her leg. Sweet! I can move my arms. ¡°What, would you rather I just lay about and get drunk while I resist the urge to make all of the Lady Garden jokes?¡± ¡°Have you made Aether infused hooch yet?¡± She nods at me and un-screws a flask and looks at our arrangement and the tilt of my head, trying to figure out the best way to feed it to me. I waggle a finger at her and motion for her to hand it to me. She does, and I summon a ridiculous loopy, bendy straw from some party store that still has a shop on Earth. I slip it in the flask and take a hard drag. I mean, there has to be half of the flask in this straw before any reaches my lips. It¡¯s warm, in both alcohol and aether, the fruit is kind of bitter, and it tastes like she hopped it also. She made me a fruit-beer tasting liquor. ¡°This is freaking delicious. Mmm delicious brain fruits.¡± Francesca smirks at that, summoning her own loopy¡ªfar less complicated than mine¡ªstraw and starts sipping her wine from it. ¡°This is much closer to what I imagined.¡± We talk like that for a while, she updates me about some of her innovations with bio-engineering some Earth plants to survive in the sulfurous atmosphere, and similarly mineral rich water. She¡¯s also been using the Murder Chickens to selectively breed meat birds and egg birds, with a bit of gene and behavior modification to my favorite river tortoise species to make them more prolific egg layers. To my surprise, the Botanist and rancher agrees with my idea to seed Elysium with lower leveled wildlife. The catch was that I had to wait until she designed a predation ecosystem for the valley. The end of the evening comes with Tessa taking off my head and hip restraints and checking me over while the sleazy doctor checks me out. When I ask Tessa why I had no top covering, she replied that I didn¡¯t have any skin to cover in the mentioned area. She then told me that if I was well enough to speak on my own, I was well enough to walk and dumped me on the floor before walking off. I¡¯m sorry Tessa, I didn¡¯t mean to sound ungrateful. I do appreciate that you healed me and took care of me, and were thoughtful enough to install a healing tank, for Andromeda¡¯s sake. It was just supposed to be a stupid joke to stave off the embarrassment of Francesca staring at me. I know you didn¡¯t mean it like that, but even though I¡¯ve seen you recover from having your brain melted, I was watching you kill yourself with rage. Melting OUR body from the inside and out. Don¡¯t forget that I live there too. I¡¯m particularly fond of both entities that call that casing home, so I¡¯d appreciate you damaging it less. And joke about your safety less. Oh. I do forget that sometimes. You¡¯ve been your own person for some time now that when you¡¯re around in that chassis, I forget that part of you is a symbiote that lives inside me. You came very close to damaging my Hive today. But before you try to dive in and figure out why everything happened, promise me you won¡¯t check your messages until you¡¯re completely healed? Yeah, okay. We were thinking this would be a big transition anyway, and if my suspicions are correct, I don¡¯t have to go on that Affinity Quest thing anymore. If you spew magic out of your soul, it ought to be your affinity right? But what does it say about my soul that a black devouring mass came out? Blarg. If I think about this anymore, I¡¯m going to be more tempted to check things. ¡°Tessa, what did you do when I slept before you had a body?¡± ¡°I would study the Matrix, deep dive into your codices so I can answer questions and whatnot. I also spent a lot of time reviewing your interactions so that I may interact with you on a more natural basis. Now that I can work on things that interest me, I usually do that. For an hour or so a week I like to defrag, cache and temporary fragment dump, and recompile my core processes. Why the sudden interest?¡± I fidget with the edge of a t-shirt Tessa had ready for me. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I guess I just don¡¯t want to be alone right now?¡± I look over to where Francesca is passed out in my bed. ¡°And I don¡¯t want the implications that might come along with snuggling with her?¡± Tessa snickers at that. ¡°Don¡¯t want new relationship drama to replace the mass that you just waded through?¡± ¡°Well, no I do not.¡± ¡°How about you can put your head in my lap, and we¡¯ll talk until you fall asleep?¡± ¡°That sounds perfect.¡± I walk over to her expectantly and she pulls me down to the ¡°launch¡± area of the lazy river and sits on the steps with her feet in the water. I skip over to the tubes and climb on it next to Tessa¡¯s legs, bracing myself on her so I don¡¯t fall all the way in. I plant a quick kiss and as I slide my butt lower and lie down into the donut, my head resting on her knees. ¡°You¡¯re a pretty amazing person, Tessa. Thanks for being you.¡± Her metal legs aren¡¯t my favorite pillow, and I must have commented out loud because she¡¯s laughing at me now, but the discomfort fades away as soon as she runs her fingers through my hair and lulls me to sleep. B3 Ch 20: Sushi and Rocket Sleds I wake up to the sight of Dr. Summers floating next to me, deep in her screens, eating from a cute little sushi boat tied to her inner tube. I freaking love this idea and am a little chuffed that I haven¡¯t enjoyed that level of lounge yet. ¡°Good morning sailor. How was the night cruise?¡± I snort, but expertly avoid rice in my sinuses as I copy Francesca¡¯s meal choice. ¡°like a gentle current carrying me off to the horizon of dreams.¡± ¡°More like lulling you into drooling on yourself. How do you breath with your neck bent that far?¡± ¡°Technically, I don¡¯t have to.¡± The coughing I hear from my float companion tells me she is less skilled at eating than I am. ¡°You don¡¯t have to breathe? When did that happen?¡± ¡°Nope. About nine months ago? During my tier 2 ascension, my mutation was used to fix a catastrophic download error that melted my brain. Now I¡¯m mostly aether, stone and some comms tech.¡± I look over and see her face twitching. Oops? ¡°No. I am not going to deep dive into that pit of insanity this early in the morning. Though, I might be up for it when I come by to see Ivanka and Petra this evening.¡± ¡°Oh? I guess you talked to Naomi?¡± ¡°Yep. She wanted to know where you were, and location services are disabled in your Castle. A handy feature for the Empress of Humanity.¡± ¡°I will dunk you, plant lady.¡± I swish my chopsticks threateningly. She scoffs at me. ¡°She¡¯ll be here in twenty. Though I¡¯m reluctant to leave, as Tessa brought me up here instead of giving me access.¡± ¡°Tessa¡¯s a smart person. You have like twenty hectares of castle to play with, you don¡¯t need my measly 100 square meters.¡± ¡°Penny,¡± she whines, ¡°That¡¯s only 48. Forty through 47 have terraced gardens on them too!¡± ¡°Nope. No dice plant princess. I want to check them out before you play in this lady¡¯s garden.¡± ¡°You¡¯re terrible and I hate you.¡± She flicks a piece of sushi at me, but misses horribly and bounces off my tube and into the river. ¡°That is gross, and I should make you eat it.¡± Instead I reach out to what I can see and teleport it into a waste bin near the picnic area. Who says I¡¯m not nice. We banter a bit before we finish our breakfast and then move on to dressing for the day. She asks if she can keep some clothes here, and I tell her that I have plenty of dresser space for her on 39. She literally boo¡¯s me before accepting lodging in the riverward side of the castle and moseying her bikini-clad butt to the lift. I definitely watched her walk away. Tessa flicked my ear for it, concisely reminding me what a disaster that would be. Yeah, still nice to look at though, and I know she does the same to me. Especially when a certain AI showcases me topless for the good doctor. Twenty minutes of Tessa fussing over me and my finding something Imperial but not oppressive to wear for the day. Highlight-trimmed vest and slacks with a bow-tie collar heather button up with French cuffs, and purple sapphire bolo and cuff links. The shoes are simple, black boots with a modest heel that have enough weight to announce my presence. Naomi runs over the schedule today and the Navy has scheduled skimmer racing for this morning? ¡°What the hell is a skimmer, and why am I not racing?¡± I ask Naomi. ¡°It¡¯s a planetary survey vessel designed for civilizations that don¡¯t have advanced sensors. It can move at supersonic speeds if you purchase the optional shell. The Navy versions are modified, but I can¡¯t tell how with my non-military permissions.¡± ¡°And Rich designed the separation to keep people from un-intentionally crossing their comms with secrets. Inconvenient.¡± It does remind me, however, I have a lot of promotions to finalize. I arrange them so that it¡¯s a cascading announcement from the highest ranks so that commands can tell their Sailors and Marines, but an announcement will be made tomorrow to everyone. Que that notification hierarchy and send. Count to ten, call Captain Jessup. ¡°Admiral, to what do I owe this unexpected communication?¡± ¡°Congratulations on your promotion, Captain. Also, I was just made aware of a Navy sponsored skimmer race today. It seems that I have missed some reports, likely through administrative oversight. I would like to have someone assigned to brief me on developments weekly on ¡®state of the Navy¡¯ and any public-facing events on your schedule.¡± ¡°We really need to appoint an admin command, Admiral; and I fear that Rich is leaving it to us to figure out. But, yes, I have a junior officer that could use some more to do. We¡¯ll pencil you in just before the Consul?¡± ¡°Sounds great, Captain. Oh! Because you¡¯re the one I¡¯m talking to when I thought of it, time to dime out anyone you know that might be grumpy about not getting promoted. Standing up Naval Administration Command with a position promotion to Captain.¡± ¡°Shore command, Astoria? Capitol district I assume?¡± ¡°Can confirm. Will be contributing to new compound design, etcetera. I¡¯ll put the announcement out on Monday with an open call if you can¡¯t think of anyone.¡± He sighs over the link. Probably pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°I know two people that might take it. Another if you can guarantee they won¡¯t get assigned to space for ten years.¡± ¡°Eh, best I can do right now, is six years plus choice of follow-on. People get complacent after more than that, at least that¡¯s what Rich tells me after serving almost ten at Naval Reactors.¡± ¡°Alright Admiral. I¡¯ll have the Lieutenant contact you today about the event and put you on for a full briefing in two days.¡± ¡°Thanks Jessup. See you at the next graduation.¡± He pings and then hangs up. He seems to like it at Recruit Command: Mercy Outpost. Recommended connecting a new base to the tunnels I built for the hangar and machine shop Beecham used to use as our shipyard. He¡¯s also the reason I built a firing and munitions testing range on Mercy¡ªcommented most rounds will be shot in space, why not teach them there? Couldn¡¯t fault his logic. ¡°We going to bet on if the Empress buys a skimmer for herself once she sees them.¡± ¡°Good morning, Sergeant. Surprised to see you on my doorstep today.¡± ¡°Almost wasn¡¯t until I talked to one of the other guys schooled me on tier 2 protective gear.¡± She coughs and slams her boots together and issues a sharp salute. ¡°Good morning, Admiral. I apologize for my behavior yesterday.¡± I return her salute while I walk past her. ¡°Ah, excellent. This reflects well on your team. And I¡¯d say it¡¯s a fools bet because if I can fly it, I¡¯ll want to.¡± I beam ear to ear at the idea of fast toys. ¡°Speaking of, did you bring a bike today Camacho.¡± ¡°No ma¡¯am, I have two on the race route and a shuttle at the far end for emergencies.¡± ¡°My husband planned to walk back to the Guest House after looking at the Castle today, Empress, so we have two bikes here.¡± ¡°Excellent! Where we headed first?¡± Camacho walks over to take the keys from Naomi, she looks at me hesitantly, I shrug and energize my bike. Naomi grins evilly at my guard and puts on her helmet and energizes hers too. ¡°We¡¯re headed to the race-course, starts in 30 minutes and I want to have time to build stuff if I have to.¡± Camacho curses, throws a line at my bike as I¡¯m about to take off, takes a few running steps and does a jumping heel click? I pull on the throttle before I see what that maneuver ended up doing and zoom off down the Parkway. When I steady out at 60kph, I look back to find Naomi about two bikes back riding next to Camacho on a black hoverboard. Okay, that is freaking sweet. Looks like it could also go down a mountain. Naomi links me the race map on our way they and I see that it¡¯s a long course out into the hills with a small stretch passing by the back of town. Kind of hard to watch but, hells, I can put up some stands on the stretch by town, if there aren¡¯t any of course. We pull up to find a small crowd milling about while the racers are all chatting about waiting for the start of the race. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I have the Matrix line out two areas for the stands I used earlier for the opening address and send that in a priority message to everyone within 100m of me. Most people get the message, and the rest just get moved as the stands are teleported into place. I see that the starting line is just a few boards lined up in mowed silvergrass and decide that since I will be racing next year, I might as well invest. I walk out to the racers and ask them to back up a few meters. I laugh as they quickly salute and greet me and return the salute before I push out the outline of my plans. I buy those colored, interlocking mats about 3 meters thick that spell ¡°START¡± on the city side of a checkered line that runs the width of the line. A center portion is marked off as ¡°TOWER ¨C 100m AHEAD¡± in an orange block the same width of the tower I installed with a covered viewing box at the top wide screens on both sides and starting lights down each side. Down the center of the tower is ¡°ASTORIA ¨C 300¡± with the tech mod I let Tessa install months ago, I reach out to the screen controller in my mind, connect it to my HUD and post a countdown to race time on the big light board-style screens. ¡°There we go, I would race on that.¡± I look over to the racers again, ¡°Do any of the turns have markers or is it just a coordinate for your HUD?¡± ¡°Just a coordinate, Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Oof, going to have to change that next year. Going to change a few things I think.¡± ¡°Admiral, we¡¯re only supposed to do the route once. Three hundred kilometers would be five times.¡± The Sailor that answered before replies again. ¡°Well, what¡¯s your average course speed Sailor?¡± ¡°About 400. Top is about 600 on the straightaways.¡± ¡°The specs say these skimmers can go 500 kilometers on a tank, and the extra lengths would take a total of what, 40-45 minutes? I got ten credits for anyone that finishes the full 300, and 100 for the winner. ¡°Hells, I¡¯m in for 10 credits, Ma¡¯am.¡± Not a single one of the eight racers turned down the money. Smiling at myself I take a tour of these Navy modded jet bikes. I can tell where they bought the extra shell and fitted extra fuel cell banks around the main jet and fuel core and put injectors into the bike¡¯s intake ports. The ride is a caf¨¦-style front section mounted in a restricted gimbal allowing leaning into a turn but with joystick-style handles. ¡°What a janky piece of shit. I am going to talk to whoever¡¯s project this is. Was this cone modified for ramming things?¡± I start talking to myself while inspecting the vehicles. ¡°Uh, Ma¡¯am. Someone at the Shipyard sent these to us for testing. They want a breaching team for clandestine boarding. Uh, we can¡¯t say more in front of non-program folks.¡± ¡°Thanks Petty Officer. I¡¯m fine with experimenting and fun-sounding commando missions, but I just can¡¯t tolerate lazy engineering. Whelp, time to put my money where my thoughts are. Thanks for humoring me Sailors, see ya soon.¡± I knock out a quick salute and walk 100m off to the side, well past the end of the stands and stand up an emergency workshop. /Hey hon, you got time for a 40 minute collaboration?/ I¡¯m at a spot I can pause, so sure. And please don¡¯t text, it feels odd. Hah, I bet. Feels strange to me too. I send a schematic of the skimmer with annotations from me on the mods that were done. Oh, this is . . . I hope Beecham didn¡¯t design this. So, I was thinking low aspect recline, foot petals for yaw, center stick for roll and pitch. Thumb throttle and trigger boost. And something switchable for a thrust reverser or arrestor or something. Assuming same max diameter and length, with at least the capability of this modified . . . thing, what¡¯re my spending limits? Estimated modded skimmer cost, not to include the cost of the crystals we¡¯ll be using. Alright, I¡¯ll start with hab compartment and fill in the shadow as we go. How say you? I think we should decide on fuel/battery arrangements first? Modified pulse rifle arrangement? Ooh, good call. Sounds good for main engine, but I want a dedicated arrangement for shields and thrusters. She pings affirmative and we start slapping parts on the shell in our community design space. We save an enormous amount of space on fuel density and moving engine parts. To save money I install a re-breathing nitrox system under the seat space, with the crystal arrangement for the forward section in the duct-shaped spar that extends from the but area to beyond the feet controls, ending on a conical nose. The rather robust shield emitter is installed behind the head section of the seat and the small dead-space where gas and sensor connections pipe into the seat to further connect to an EVA suit. Since everything fits in the box, I start teleporting stock and a fabricator to my position and send it my seat specs. I buy some straight steel pipe as wide as we need and start installing plasma vortex runes on a rear plate. I engrave the connecting channels and the afterburner rune directly on the plate and weld a ring to the plate to attach a shuttle-standard cone over the whole arrangement. I then enchant those parts to be heat resistant and stronger. As soon as the seat is finished I start printing the Magitech wiring arrangement for the front, and create a foam space to set the crystals and shield generator in place for wiring. Tessa drops a hover/thrust bar at my feet with the thrust wiring and a small controller designed to translate swarm instructions to machine instructions ¨C eliminating the need for a separate computer. I had plans to start the race and shove shit in the Governor¡¯s face, but the race has long started, and I had only briefly asked for control of the tower. I take a moment here and there to check the time and get some juice in me, but otherwise, Tessa and I just get after it. Everything should work. It would be a lot cleaner inside and out if we had more than an hour. But think of how cool I¡¯m going to look! Put on your EVA before testing it please. Hah! Yes dear. I snap up a privacy octagon and change out my clothes. I climb up into the seat and toggle power for instruments, sensors and shields. They indicate green, but I punch the shield casing to make sure. It works and is in the shape I wanted! Woo! Next, I push a warning area to the people around me and energize the thrust circuits. Hover kicks on and lifts the front end to make my view even with the horizon. I put the hover/thrust bar to 3m then test the toggle to thrust and it lowers to just above the ground¡ªthat¡¯s wonky. I start the thruster array on the lowest setting and tool around the plain to the side of the race course for a few minutes, getting familiar with the controls and realizing I never installed the thrust reverser so I¡¯ll have to thruster spin to slow down. That¡¯s fine, I have to do that aboard Indulgence also. I land my little duct-tape and bubble gum jet bike a few minutes before the winner should be jetting across the finish line. By the time I get to the line, the winner has parked and powered down revealing himself to be a Junior Lieutenant. Probably passed his shuttle quals already. ¡°Greetings Admiral, good to see you¡¯re still around. Did I see you have a skimmer of your own? Care to race after this one?¡± ¡°Cocky S.O.B aren¡¯t you Lieutenant. I¡¯m game, but take it easy on me: I just finished building it a few minutes ago.¡± The transition from cocky to confused is one worth watching. I still owe the little shit 110 credits. When the race finishes, I thank and congratulate the Sailors and pay their accounts. The Lieutenant decides he want¡¯s everyone to know that I ¡°just built¡± even uses air quotations, a skimmer that I¡¯m going to test. All eight of them stick around. ¡°Well alright. Eight young Sailors here to watch me crash a jet into a mountain.¡± ¡°And a Marine, Admiral.¡± ¡°Oh, Camacho, I though you were going to attach your tether and accompany me on your cute little hoverboard.¡± ¡°Fuck no, Admiral, ma¡¯am. I will stay here, with your permission, of course.¡± I chuckle at the alarm that she showed or a moment, ¡°Permission granted.¡± Andromeda, let this at least look cool. Tessa, what¡¯s the power range on the main engine? It will take you to Mercy if you ask it to. AKA, too fucking fast. Copy that. I climb up, strap in and hover. Systems energized and an apology to Tessa later and I thumb the accelerator forward. My helmet shield activates with the force I¡¯m slammed back into the seat. Before I can think too much about it, the turn coordinates are coming on way too fast. I pedal yaw into my turn and the damn thrusters are set to scale with thrust and I way overpower that turn. I spin more than 360 before I get control of it and continue down the second stretch. For the second turn I roll almost 90 degrees and toggle hover to thrust and pull up into that turn for my whole life. I have to overshoot the turn a lot less with that powered turn. With a few twitches, I¡¯m back upright with hover back on, with barely enough time to look at the 180 I need to do for the next turn. Full on shuttle reverse. Copy that. I yaw spin my direction and then push my thumb to full throttle as I trigger finger the afterburner. I hear an explosion behind me and I feel a little queasy at the acceleration I am currently experiencing. As soon as my speed crosses into positive in the direction I¡¯m facing, I take off the afterburner and pitch up to keep this dart out of the dirt. I take the remaining softer turns more slowly and pull back to half throttle. My next reverse is much slower, returning back to the line at a slow hover. I walk around the back and see that the weld separated between the thrust cone and the mounting ring. With the blast marks on the aft section of the skimmer, that thrust cone must have exploded in the afterburner jet. Well, steel vapor explodes in atmosphere, good to know. ¡°Holyshit, Empress! Are you okay?!¡± Naomi comes running over and starts looking at me for injuries. And my checking, I mean patting my face and poking my suit. ¡°Naomi, chill. If I can walk away, I¡¯ll survive.¡± Camacho jogs up next to her. ¡°After I finished having a heart attack, Admiral, that was the coolest fucking thing I¡¯ve seen outside of a movie. Whatever blew up kicked up a cloud of . . . whatever, around your ship and then your black pencil craft zooms out of the cloud, then your jet sets the cloud on fire as you fly away like you were shot from a cannon!¡± I start laughing, ¡°I¡¯m glad that looked cooler than it felt. I¡¯m pretty sure the g¡¯s I pulled on that 180 would have killed me without mutations to help me out.¡± A few of the other Sailors came by with various combinations of telling me I¡¯m insane and that they want to try it out after I fix the ¡°it might kill you¡± thing. I¡¯d say that¡¯s a workable concept and also proof that whomever prototyped that thing was either lazy or stupid. I would also question what kind of fights they are planning on if they¡¯re trying to build insertion craft this small. Yeah, who knows what it is. Once we track the order and designer down we¡¯ll have more to work with. But until then, I am hungry. I quickly send all of this re-usable stuff back to a warehouse I keep on Mercy, the transport tax being far less than the recycle losses I would suffer, and start looking up places for lunch. B3 Ch21: Astoria Forum I ¡°Do we just not have a noodle place?¡± ¡°There¡¯s pasta near the meat man¡¯s shop.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m thinking like a punch bowl full of pho or ramen.¡± ¡°We do have one place, but it¡¯s off of Lake Street and only open on the weekends.¡± Naomi chimes in. ¡°Booo. Much sadface.¡± I browse the exchange and find an Astoria-based vendor for Ramen that doesn¡¯t do a store front, but is still well rated. They sell by volume and adjust the finish accordingly? I am sold sir. Ten minutes later I¡¯m sitting in Capitol Commons, eating an embarrassingly large bowl of ramen, with a side of gyoza and edamame. ¡°Since this is only the second Forum we¡¯ve held, and this time we have a structured new business schedule, what do you think is going to happen in there?¡± I do my best to keep the food in the bowl or in my mouth. ¡°If the opening meeting for the Festival is any indication, Governor Kenner, of Aelea; is going to put you on the spot today. I¡¯m not sure what the inclusion of the Consuls and some more rough and tumble new Governors will look like though.¡± ¡°Well, do I prepare for war, or do I regal Empress?¡± ¡°This is why you need a PR person and an image consultant¡± Naomi replies. ¡°Though, enough people may know about the Forum that folks are waiting until next week to respond to Bill.¡± ¡°If Bill is having issues, then there¡¯s definitely something planned and great pains are being taken to keep it from me.¡± That may be why Melissa was invited, even paid to be here. ¡°Now that, I believe. Tessa thinks that my brunette ex was hired to keep me out of people¡¯s business long enough for a plan to develop. She¡¯s a tech Psycher so I believe it.¡± How do I counter someone that¡¯s just better than me at what I need to do? She knows I can teleport, she knows my engraving and trinkets are pretty powerful, but what else does she know? ¡°I¡¯ll move our whole security team there if you think it¡¯s necessary. Do you have a plan?¡± I snort at the last bit. ¡°A plan? I have an Empire with no written laws, of course I don¡¯t have a plan. My plan was to hire people to help me with this management garbage, and within six months I already have greedy manipulators trying to get rid of me.¡± I sigh into my ramen, hopefully cooling it off, ¡°We only have like ten minutes to prepare anyway.¡± While finishing my ramen, I decide that the Conquering Empress look is the way this is going: EVA with Corundum Crown. Remember, Penny, you built this, you are building this. No matter what these people try to do, this is yours and your people¡¯s Empire. Most importantly, just because I don¡¯t know a better way, doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t one. Be wary and keep an open mind. Did you trip and fall into the self-help codices? Nice, Tessa. I needed that smile, it¡¯ll make me look a bit feral and ¡°scare the children¡± as Naomi and Camacho say. I walk up the outer steps building a head of steam. I find the ten foot tall doors closed for a meeting that shouldn¡¯t have started. I take a minute to ping all of my Consuls with no responses. Melissa can definitely block comms. Ah well, always wanted to do this anyway. I aether-pump for strength as I kick the doors with my grounded boot anchored. The doors blow off the hinges and fly into the room, making me appreciate the engineering on the door latches that held fast. I see a mostly empty theatre setting with a presiding gallery that has too many people in it, more specifically, too many people in my chair. We designed the room like the Senate hearing floor, just more vertical, and on the far wall instead of whatever raised boxes, there¡¯s an arcuate gallery of seats with mine as the highest. Kenner is currently sitting in it. I fly up to the space next to my chair, landing next to the smirking man. ¡°Move.¡± I touch my left wrist and turn the spellform to summon my shuttle into the hallway, blocking the doorway I kicked in. Tessa, project a shield around this hall, nothing in or out, not even air. Can do. In a minute or so, I should be able to contact you to Rich again. Stolen story; please report. You¡¯re the best, hon. Kenner, realizing that whatever I did wasn¡¯t a weapon, relaxes and opens his mouth to speak. Nope, having none of this. I pick up the chair with him in it and throw it over the gallery railing. I summon a new throne in my colors and sit up. The Governors gasp at my brutality, surprisingly few of my Consuls are alarmed. ¡°Let me guess, changed the meeting time, used a comms wiz to keep it quiet, and once everyone had agreed to something you were going to tell me how it is?¡± Before anyone dares to reply, I hear a familiar voice hiss and say ¡°what the fuck?¡± She is terrible at handling aether. That would have never shut down Katie. I see Melissa on the side of the theater seating holding her head, blood dripping from her nose and eyes. ¡°For the purpose of getting through the next three days and actually getting laws and an Imperial Code in the books, I am going to treat whatever this was as a prank. Impersonating me and my authority is actual Treason. So are most crimes against me and my house. So let¡¯s start with that punishment. The punishment for treason is death, or a commuted sentence as decided by the Empress. Judges and Justiciars can try and sentence everything else, but treason is mine. Now before I disseminate My Promise to Astorian Citizens and my rough draft of the Imperial Code, I would know what transpired here and what, if anything, you have settled on in my absence.¡± According to Rich, they talked about money and what types of Imperial encroachment they wouldn¡¯t tolerate. He doesn¡¯t give me any details because he checked out of the discussion just after it began. ¡°The Governors brought up some decent points about finances, but their initial conditions and lists of assets are poorly informed.¡± Mercer stood from his seat, not looking directly at me. ¡°Thank you Consul Mercer. Please explain, the Governors seem a little gobsmacked.¡± He looks to the Governors helping Kenner out, and returns with a sinister smile. ¡°They desire a fairly common sales tax and income tax arrangement, but they want to pay the Empire with a luxury tax based off of rent in each capitol district.¡± I chuckle at that oversight and or daring approach. ¡°They want to pay me with money they make on something they stole from me. That¡¯s hilarious. Did they remember I require basic subsistence and housing for all citizens?¡± ¡°They did, but they just assumed the Empire would continue to pay for it.¡± ¡°I see, they have made a lot of assumptions indeed.¡± I take a deep breath and send out my Promise and my draft of the Imperial Code. ¡°Take those documents and revise your plans and machinations. We will deal with proposals for changes to the Code in a few hours after you have had time to digest the document. I will be locking down Exchange services except food and drink until the conclusion of today¡¯s session, which has developed into a shut-in.¡± I stand and fly over to the Consul area. ¡°My apologies Consuls, the ¡®Code¡¯ I put together is based from our conversations over the last few months, and I should have socialized it with you all before this event. I value any feedback you will undoubtedly will have.¡± Francesca looks up from her seat, ¡°This is just a modification of the bill of rights and a few amendments, right?¡± I nod, ¡°More or less. I struggled with the idea of Liberty, and Freedom to govern themselves . . . with some caveats.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure Foreign Affairs and System Management will have some better words than a nerdy Empress.¡± ¡°Haha, anyway. I¡¯m going to go take some trash out and see if anyone was locked out. If you need anything, Message Tessa, and she¡¯ll get it to me.¡± Most of the Consuls agreed to do a job for the villa and pay benefits, and are not interested in the drama, so they nod dismissively as they read their screens. I walk over to Melissa and tell her it¡¯s time to leave. ¡°I¡¯m a Founder, Penny, I deserve to be here.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t been a citizen in more than a year, Mrs. Hunsaker. You have no rights here.¡± She crosses her arms in childish resistance. I have no idea what her role is in all this, but she was clearly paid to be a part of this. ¡°Sergeant, Mrs. Hunsaker is coming with us.¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± She grabs Melissa by the back of the neck and moves her toward the side exit with a series of hip checks and pushes. I signal to open the shield at the doorway and the five of us step out into the rest of the Consul building. ¡°It¡¯s fine to let her go now.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she shoves Melissa to the side and keeps walking with me. ¡°I¡¯m going to make a few calls, Admiral.¡± I nod. ¡°Why can¡¯t you treat me with care and concern, like you do with Katie?¡± Melissa asks, sounding small and vulnerable. ¡°When you left, it made me feel like an experiment. A choice that was necessary at the time, but one that you dismissed after life seemed restored, when the plan got back on track. I though I was part of THE Plan, when I was really a backup.¡± I twist to look up at her, ¡°and then you come here with a sob story looking for my sympathy. While Katie got taken advantage of.¡± ¡°We could have tried friends, but the only reason you came back was for money, involving you in some gambit against me. That makes you a manipulative, backstabbing asshole.¡± She scoffs, ¡°Always thinking of yourself, Penny, no wonder your alone.¡± And to think I was in love with her for a while. ¡°Say hello to your parents and thank them for me.¡± It was low, and I probably deserve the smack that is coming, I certainly don¡¯t move. The good Sergeant does though and spartan kicks Melissa in the side and down the stone steps. ¡°Not on my watch, Bitch.¡± She checks me over quickly and then nods at the good work she¡¯s done. ¡°Nine on form, solid eleven on timing.¡± ¡°Nine? No way, that was a textbook front kick.¡± ¡°No movie lean or arm pull back? Sorry, the nine stands.¡± Her lip curls halfway between a snarl and a smirk. ¡°Empress still rated me 20/20 on a defense action. Stamp it and send it.¡± ¡°Got some folks coming in for backup?¡± ¡°Speth and a new girl. Heard about how you dismissed Bethany and signed up immediately. And no, she is not another horny fangirl as far as I¡¯m aware.¡± ¡°Thank Andromeda for that.¡± I chuckle. B3 Ch 22: Astoria Forum II ->>]Confused Greeting, Empress. I seem to have been excluded from a meeting I was invited to? [<<- ¡°Frustrated Apology, Representative. Humans playing political games: People that are used to being in power testing those that they don¡¯t have confidence in. Good to see you V¡¯tek¡¯Clor.¡± ->>] Relieved understanding. We had feared that the offense of our previous accusation was taken harshly. [<<- ¡°Amused reassurance. No, and your gifts were more than necessary for an apology. So much so I have a token of appreciation to assure the collective that we are still cordial relations.¡± I pull out a vial of Aether ink and hand it over. ->>] Delighted acceptance. In our estimation, the finest product humans produce. Discussing product, we would like to address a point of accounting that we wished to discuss at this meeting.[<<- ¡°Focused opportunity, Representative. While my Consul of Finance and Trade is occupied, I am still able to negotiate.¡± ->>] Reluctant procedure. We are not unhappy with our opportunity, Empress, but we do not believe that a fee for sending product to our collective is sustainable. [<<- ¡°Tentative agreement. However, Representative, there must be an opportunity cost. For example, if there is no cost for sending goods to your collective, we must entertain a contract fee for the exclusive access to resources in the areas you have requested. This would of course be tailored to the resources you wish to be exclusive, or if you wish to tax certain luxuries to carry the burden, or even a mix of those approaches. We wish to be reasonable, but also responsible with the Empire¡¯s resources.¡± ->>] Thoughtful consideration. I believe we understand. As our agreed upon year free of trade fees is approaching, we will deliberate and calculate our preferred approach. Would it offend if I returned to Elysium immediately? [<<- I gesture dismissively, ¡°Understood expedience. I would like to have an expected code of conduct for visitors and a provisional list of laws for those that violate said codes so that we can alert travelers and Guests headed to Elysium and Asphodel.¡± ->>] Content compliance. We will send the documents along with our preferred plan of recompense. [<<- I nod my head at the tree being, ¡°Safe departure, Representative Clor.¡± He bowed and turned toward the landing field behind the building. ¡°Why do I get the feeling that aliens respect you more than Humans do?¡± Camacho asks. ¡°You have eyes? Their culture was sent to investigate my creating a very dangerous weapon. Astoria had two moons once upon a time.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s no debris field.¡± I laugh that she caught on to the most important part so quickly, ¡°Yep. That¡¯s the scary part. Very few things are designed for a sudden void. Impacts? Sure. Explosions? Absolutely. Shit goes missing? Nah, couldn¡¯t happen. I haven¡¯t tried to re-create it. But imagine what a moon-sized void in the middle of a planet or a star would do. Humans don¡¯t have access to those reports and haven¡¯t seen me being powerful. So they don¡¯t believe it. At least the power hungry don¡¯t.¡± We sit there for another ten minutes, waiting for our new security members. Melissa excuses herself and starts walking in the direction of Aelea. A pair of EVA-kitted servicemembers riding one of my hoverbikes pass her on the way up. Speth is a tall athletic man, possibly a runner, where the woman that hops off the bike is short. Like 1.6m short. When her helmet comes off, the tight blond bun and the sneer on her face make me think of a very angry gymnast. She has a brief non-verbal conversation with Camacho before coming to attention in front of me. ¡°Corporal Solari reporting for duty, Admiral.¡± I return the salute, ¡°At ease Marine. What¡¯s your focus?¡± ¡°Focus ma¡¯am?¡± Her confusion evident, her voice sadly matches her stature in volume and tenor. ¡°What are you honing your swarm or symbiote to focus on?¡± ¡°Ahh, I converted on the cusp of tier one. Once I heard that conversion was possible, I maxed my modules into perception and reflex tech, you know, the stuff compatible with further mods. Aiming for infiltration, Admiral.¡± ¡°Do your senses extend into the EM signal range?¡± ¡°They do?¡± The look on her face makes me smile. Uncertainty is funny on people that think highly of themselves. ¡°Alright. You¡¯ll be with me. Camacho, I want you on the Governors¡¯ side, and Speth, I want you monitoring my shuttle¡¯s sensor suite while occasionally showing yourself in the meeting room. Tessa, I want a log of every comms or EM attack on that shield if you can. Keenan and Melissa aren¡¯t working alone on this.¡± ¡°Admiral, I don¡¯t think trading me out for Solari is a good idea.¡± ¡°Thanks, Sergeant.¡± Solari scowls. ¡°That¡¯s part of the idea Sergeant. It doesn¡¯t LOOK like a good idea, and I¡¯m half doing it to irritate the both of you. Camacho, you look like a sharp battle axe, waiting to be wielded. By the Governors it should make them understand consequences, but not be nervous that you¡¯ll fly off the handle. Solari here looks like eager and barely restrained violence. With her size, you don¡¯t know if you¡¯re getting Chihuahua or honey badger, and no one wants to risk a surprise honey badger encounter. ¡°As for Speth, you look reasonable, I don¡¯t want anyone to be comfortable, so you¡¯re support.¡± ¡°I only have a pistol, Ma¡¯am. Not favorable for overwatch.¡± ¡°A ploy for Empress supplied munitions? I like it.¡± I reply, pulling my hand-made pulse rifle out of my inventory. ¡°Holding the trigger charges the capacitor longer, so don¡¯t do it. Also, if you have to put more than ten shots down range, pause a few seconds before continuing.¡± Both Camacho and Solari look at me expectantly. ¡°Camacho, because you might be firing at me, this is going to Solari. Both of these pulse weapons can damage my armor, and Speth, I swear on my crooked nipple, I will punish you for a century if you clip me with that thing.¡± I hand one of my pulse pistols to Solari. ¡°Fires like a recoilless full auto pistol. Doesn¡¯t overheat before it runs out of ammo. Fifty shots.¡± ¡°Bunch of bullshit.¡± I hear Camacho mutter and I chuckle at that. ¡°These are my least violent weapons. I¡¯m not using the others in an enclosed space. Who¡¯s ready for a meeting?¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. All three of my guards grumble at that. When we walk back in through the side door, I see that a good deal of the gathered men and woman are working. Color me surprised. I can feel the eyes on me as I walk up the steps to the gallery seating and to my throne. Solari stands next to me, close enough to catch a bullet. There¡¯s a rather intense discussion between a man and Consul Mercer before I cough loudly. They both look up and the Governor gets up and goes back to his seat. It¡¯s only been an hour, but people seem to be ready to discuss. ¡°Before we get to a general discussion, I would hear if the Consuls have any thing to add, subtract, or alter beforehand.¡± A wiry man, my Consul of Foreign Affairs stands. ¡°There is no provision here giving the Vassalages the remainder of the rights not listed. This is an important note for Vassal state identity and independent management.¡± ¡°Hmm, I remember something like that in the old Constitution. Also where rights are retained by citizens if not mentioned by Imperial or Vassal law? I like that, my AI will be live-updating the document, so send if you have preferred wording.¡± Mr. Mercer is the next to stand after Foreign Affairs showed how easy the process could be. ¡°Vassal States request that ¡®Intersystem trade¡¯ be changed to ¡®Trade outside of the Empire¡¯ for the exclusive purview of the Empire.¡± ¡°Hmm, not sure I love it, but it¡¯s not unreasonable. Especially if more foreign species decide to set up a colony in my systems. Alright. If Consul Mercer and Consul Constantine agree with the stipulation¡± they nod, ¡°so be it.¡± ¡°A similar change is requested for in-system disputes.¡± One of the Governor¡¯s stands. ¡°I understand why you want this, but no. If a ¡®dispute¡¯ happens, then the two Vassalages have failed to come to an agreement. I will be the arbiter of such disagreements. With the advice of my Consuls of course. The same will be held true of a petition of local laws levied against a Vassal State by a citizen.¡± ¡°What if you or one of your Consuls commits a crime?¡± I knew this would come up, of course. ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked Governo Baker. First, neither I nor my Consuls reside in a Vassal state. They reside on my personal land. If they wish to maintain a residence or primarily deal in a Vassal State, then they will be beholden to the laws in which they operate, but their punishment will be reviewed by me. This is only valid for my personal staff, of which the Consuls are. For citizens that visit other Vassal States, I assume that the Governors desire their laws to be enforceable, so I recommend discussing extradition policies amongst yourselves. ¡°As for myself: My decrees are law. You will not be allowed sue me for injury or recompense. If the majority of my Consuls agree I have made a miss-step worthy of renumeration, I will decide the scope of compensation.¡± ¡°How is that even remotely fair?!¡± Keenan blusters. ¡°It¡¯s not, nor is it intended to be. Understand this: your opportunities are at my leisure. I am giving you the opportunity to govern yourselves, with caveats, because I want the people of my Empire to feel so empowered. I have invited all of you to participate. Take that for the show of faith and trust that I intend it to be. ¡°If any posturing games persist, ala Governor Keenan and Melissa¡¯s behavior, I will banish you to Earth, or send you into Solastra and merely frown at the inconvenience. Now, back to the Code, any more concern Consuls.¡± ¡°Yes, Empress.¡± Consul Summers stands, ¡°Since we are bereft of several Consul positions, the Governors decided that I would be the least confrontational to approach to discuss work as a criminal sentence.¡± ¡°Of course, why not. The want to move from punishing the Empress to Slavery? So be it.¡± I take a deep breath to calm myself so I don¡¯t lash out and murder people when they inevitably interrupt me, ¡°Forced work of all kinds is Slavery to some degree. Voluntarily contracted arrangements such as military service, do not count unless unlawful orders are made. Same goes with all contracted labor. Before anyone chimes in, let me go into my spiel on this. Coercion to engage in a work contract is also tantamount to slavery. Ala, work for me or I¡¯ll blow up your yacht-full of kittens. ¡°In the same vein, work as a sentence is touchy. Sentences that include public service are okay, but I would like to see an equivalent, non-death sentence to choose from. Absolutely no work as sentencing to a for-profit enterprise.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t leave us a lot of leeway, Empress.¡± I don¡¯t even look to see who said it, I just snap reply. ¡°Then don¡¯t consider slavery, douchebag.¡± The room goes silent. ¡°I¡¯ve considered how far I¡¯m willing to go to benefit my Empire. Slavery is not it, not even for my enemies. I will recycle your bodies of course, but not slavery.¡± ¡°Moving forward, if you have questions on if your sentencing is toeing the line, I will field said questions until such time I appoint Justiciars. Now, let us move on. What else?¡± ¡°What about space between systems?¡± ¡°Oh! Great question. If you pull up a system map of the Empire, you will see a lightyear thick defense zone that counts as the Empire. You will see a much wider, 10ly zone that is the Empire¡¯s economic zone. These stipulations are set by the Andromeda System. Therefore, I claim the defense zone: anything within a lightyear of a system center with Imperial infrastructure is Empire space and subject to its laws. The 10ly zone will be considered frontier space and will regulate for finance, trade, and registering claims only. This will be to facilitate short-range vehicles to capitalize on risky markets and to help develop maps of our neighborhood and possible expansion.¡± A rather long period of devolution occurs as Governors discuss prospecting, and other western frontier ideals are discussed with imaginary future credits piling up in their eyes. Greedy fuckers. Then again, I have enough money to do what I need, so I shouldn¡¯t comment. Solari leans over and whispers in my ear, ¡°you thinking about Imperial Prospectors?¡± Surprised that I hadn¡¯t really considered funding prospectors on my own, ¡°I am now. Though prospectors that I could hire to be Pirate Breakers would suit me better.¡± ¡°Frontier Sheriff has a nice ring to it.¡± I laugh at the gleam in her eye and put that in my list of things to consider. Overall, the biggest dispute of the day, which surprised me because I thought commerce and taxes would be the most argumentative, was the right to bear arms¡ªor lack thereof. ¡°I hear what you¡¯re saying Lady and Gentlemen, but I refuse to have every random citizen be carrying any weapon they can think they want. This is not the old USA, and owning an assault rifle in case you ever go hunting will not be allowed by the Imperial Code. If you, the Vassal States wish to allow this in your territory, that¡¯s fine. Unincorporated Imperial lands will not tolerate weapons of higher impact than personal defense against the wilds or, while in shipping lanes, pirates. ¡°Frontier space will of course be different, but that is not the base of this disagreement. A citizen does not have the ¡®right¡¯ to bear arms or organize a Militia. And before you get into this limiting freedoms of speech and expression, freedom of expression does not extend into violent actions against unwilling citizens.¡± This devolves into a series of ¡°what ifs¡± that make me want to pop some heads. I keep telling them, if this is an issue that can be solved by discussing with other Vassalages, then do that. It¡¯s amazing how staunch the resistance to my intrusion was at the beginning, now they¡¯d rather deal with my edicts than talk to each other. Bunch of arrogant, prideful primates the lot of us. I call recess around 5pm and call to reconvene at 8am, with groans all around about the early call time. With the day a full 4 hours shorter than Earth, the day is easily split into two 10-hour segments. If we waited any longer to start the meeting, it would be midday. Moods brighten when I tell them that lunch will be funded. I set up a two-day fund, that should be enough for people to eat like me, and specifically label the money as lunch fund for two days. I give everyone in attendance access during the lunch periods and see how responsible they can be. That¡¯s a lie, it¡¯s a greed trap, plain and simple. ¡°So, fun times right? Who¡¯s coming back to the Castle?¡± I ask the good Sergeant. ¡°Solari and Speth are both being assigned to the night watch. They need to get used to the area, and everyone that is entertaining being a part of your personal guard has to do a day and a night shift.¡± I raise an eyebrow at the both of them, not knowing that there was still interest in being in my guard. ¡°Alright, I have dinner scheduled with some friends and as Camacho may have mentioned, my spaces are the most vulnerable from lift access both on the roof and in the courtyard.¡± Tessa, I would like to install a second lift that I can lock down for Imperial use only if I need it. That should be no trouble, since none of your upper floors are occupied except 39, Francesca moved into 39 River. She couldn¡¯t resist, huh? It¡¯ll be good to see her more at least. ¡°That being said, I would like a shuttle overwatch and a courtyard watch for tonight. I will be selecting modules tonight and I would like the extra security.¡± ¡°Copy that Admiral. In the event you separate Empress and Admiral protection, you should consider private defense pool of equipment.¡± ¡°Once I get some Imperial Justices and socialize the idea of Justiciars, I¡¯ll worry about that.¡± ¡°So, want to talk more about these Justiciars, Empress?¡± Solari asks. ¡°Heh, not at this time. It will be a position of great trust, so start from there.¡± B3 Ch23: Preparing for Tier 3. On hover bikes, the Castle is less than five minutes away, and the lights for the outside gardens have just started to come on. Tessa, you and Atropos did a wonderful job. Camacho and Solari snicker as we approach, likely about the shape of my Castle, but it still makes me snort now and again, so who am I to judge? The colonnade is expectedly empty, and when we arrive at the far courtyard I see two somewhat familiar faces drinking beer at a table. ¡°If it isn¡¯t my favorite Russian troublemakers.¡± I walk quickly to Petra and pull her up into a fierce hug. She squeaks a little, but I can¡¯t help squeezing her tight. ¡°I am so glad to see you two.¡± ¡°Seems Royalty has been good to you, little rabbit.¡± Ivanka comes over and kisses my cheek and pats my arm to signal the time to let go of Petra. ¡°Terrible on my relationships though. You guys want to come up to my Penthouse and have some food and maybe get a little drunk?¡± I offer to my old friends. ¡°See Petra, she is part Russian at heart, but softer, like you.¡± ¡°I swear, Empress, everyone you know are gay.¡± I snort at Camacho¡¯s frustration. ¡°Everyone I like anyway.¡± I wink at her, silly bisexual Sergeant. Before Ivanka can start making eyes at more people, I excuse us to the lifts and Solari hands me my pistol back after taking the pulse rifle from Speth. When we close up in the lift, I can finally relax into catch up with friends mode. ¡°The mantle wears on you doesn¡¯t it?¡± Petra asks. ¡°Most of the time it is manageable, but today I had to sit with politicians bickering like children. I¡¯d much rather be working on engines.¡± ¡°You have time to research now? You should be busy with government I think.¡± Ivanka stipulates, drinking what looks like a martini. ¡°I¡¯m trying to structure my Empire so that the local systems and planets can mostly take care of themselves. We¡¯ll see how that works in the coming years. So far, my latest project for construct helpers has stalled out for several weeks, but with my AI, Tessa, working on it as well, I¡¯ll bet I haven¡¯t lost much if any time.¡± When the lift stops on 47, both women look confused. ¡°Well ladies, decision time. Hot tub with drinks first, or lazy river plus discussion, or lounge and eat. Or combinations of said choices?¡± ¡°Hot tub while lounging, eating and drinking. I like this as a greeting better than a hug.¡± She proclaims and starts stripping. Any excuse to be naked, eh? Sounds like parts of Ivanka¡¯s mind haven¡¯t changed much despite how much her body has. I notice her skin is littered with the off-colored pock marks I saw on her neck and face before. Some are as big as apples. Petra has similar but smaller pocks, but very few on her extremities. Well, when around Russians, I capitulate. I have the decency to keep my underwear on where my two former shipmates just forego clothing altogether. ¡°The Empress life has been VERY good to you. Did you aim at only pretty mutations?¡± I can¡¯t help but blush at the scrutiny. ¡°N-No. Most of this,¡± I gesture to myself as I slide into the tub, ¡°is accidental. I have a mild shapeshifting ability, and my subconscious did not think old Penny was very attractive, so here we are. That and some strange metabolic mutations that make me terrible at converting food into nutrients.¡± ¡°Can we at least start drinking before talking about mutations?¡± Petra asks, pleading for us to talk about something else for a bit. ¡°Ach, sorry love, It¡¯s just she has changed a great deal in the . . . 3 years since we¡¯ve seen each other?¡± ¡°More, but we both have been busy. That and I only found out you were alive a few days ago.¡± ¡°It seems that your host is being negligent, how may I be of service, Ladies?¡± Tessa walks out from a door in the wall I didn¡¯t see and into the dry side of the bar area. ¡°You have a pretty robot servant? Is this what Empress life is about? Surrounding yourself with attractive women and lavish luxury?¡± Ivanka stares in wonder. I can¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°Kind of? But this is Tessa, my AI companion. One of my delayed tier-up boons was a ship which had this chassis on it. Tessa took it as her own. Do we have any Shindek Liquor left?¡± ¡°The supplier sent us the rest of what they had yesterday. Four bottles. It¡¯ll be another year before more will be ready. I recommend a Soju-style liquor mixed with your berry beer as a substitute.¡± I nod at that, my guests also order their preferred drink and a few more in and we order a snackable food spread. ¡°Any women keeping your bed warm these days?¡± Ivanka asks, ¡°we heard about you and Katie taking a break?¡± I wince at the idea of discussing my most recent emotional turmoil. ¡°Nope. I have an on again-off again girlfriend, and the Katie thing is still strong, but complicated. So no, Ivanka, I¡¯m not getting laid.¡± We have a brief moment of silence or my lack of sex life, and Petra grabs my hand and squeezes it. ¡°Have you finally settled, Ivanka? Last I saw, you were very solidly in the Petra camp.¡± She chuckles at that. ¡°Yes, Petra, my dove, is my partner. But, as a philanderer at heart, she occasionally allows additional people to share a bed with us.¡± Petra pokes her partner in the boob, ¡°She still struggles with respecting boundaries, but she is teachable. When she misbehaves I bring back the goat noises.¡± I can¡¯t help cackling and choking on my drink and bleating like a goat between bouts of coughing and laughing. The night continues like that, trading quips, stories about Earth and Astoria, and trying to catch up without discussing the trauma they went through. They assure me that they¡¯ll be staying on Astoria for some time, and that we will be seeing each other often. Despite my emphatic offer that they should stay and cuddle me, they decide to leave for the night around 10pm, or is it am now that the day changes over on the tens? And I decide I might as well prepare to look at my messages. I recommend the aether bath for this, in case a transformation takes more than you have in reserve. Bleh, I don¡¯t want to put the head harness back on. Using shields instead of helmets has me spoiled. I walk into the small, isolated area with a cot and a few chairs on the side for an attendant because Francesca complained, and slide into the pool in the floor. The straps are easier than I remember, but I wasn¡¯t exactly thinking coherently then. /Speth, Solari; if Tessa contacts you, it¡¯s an emergency. Any updates overnight can be reported to her./ /Copy, Admiral./ they both reply in unison. Best get to it then. My jaw clenches as I warily open my system messages. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
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x3
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/a significant amount of experience is awarded for discovering an advanced aetheric technique without training.
/a significant amount of skill is awarded for having experience with a companion skill.
Hold up, can we do a term consolidation thing? I can discover spellforms in Engraving and Enchanting, why can¡¯t I just discover spells in Magic? Elemental Magic, Void Magic, Space Magic, etcetera. This would be far easier for new symbiote users to digest. It¡¯s amusing that you¡¯d interrupt your progress for this, but the Matrix was receptive, save changing the name of a fundamental energy in the universe from aether to anything else. Thanks Andromeda. Remind me to get you something nice. Maybe a new host on the far side of Earth or something. Then I get a supremely odd feeling of some omnipresent thing focusing on me. It makes me shiver in discomfort and delight at the same time. I don¡¯t recommend making idle promises to the Matrix. Or getting their attention like that ever again. Tessa shivers with me.
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x3
x3
Do you wish to advance to tier 3? Chose an advancement type to continue: Mutation | Tech
Yes I do, I would like my Mutation to focus on consolidation and refinement if at all possible.
Andromeda no, I didn¡¯t mean . . .
// ASSISTANCE APPROVED //
The message is the last thing I physically see before my consciousness is punted through liminal space and I arrive in the white expanse I was in during my last tier upgrade. ¡°Hello again, life form, designation: Penny Astoria. It was not predicted to see you again so soon.¡± ¡°We are aware of the circumstances, no need to explain.¡± I forgot the Administrators came in pairs. They haven¡¯t manifested yet, so it¡¯s a little unnerving. ¡°Ahh, we will take that as an invitation to save your negative feelings.¡± The two androgenous forms fade into my sight. ¡°Your command over your mind and aether are developing enough that intruding on this space without your permission would hurt you.¡± ¡°Do you intend to experiment or question us relentlessly while we are here?¡± ¡°Hm, certainly experiment, since nothing I create here is physical and the potential for destruction.¡± I create a couple balls and shoot them into the distance. ¡°Perhaps not, however, do be careful with advanced techniques. Aether suffuses every concept of space and time that you can conceive. Meaning, that some uses of aether remain effective no matter where you use it.¡± ¡°So like if I send this ball.¡± I shape a ball of aether and lob it, ¡°to a space over there it should work?¡± before they reply I make a portal and watch the ball disappear. ¡°Ahh, the Universe thanks you for starting small. ¡®Over there¡¯ takes more thought to define in non-dimensional space. In this case, you sent hyper-concentrated aether into a nebula. An interesting experiment, however, it would undoubtedly have altered inhabited space to an uncomfortable degree.¡± ¡°Oh crap. Lucky me, I guess?¡± ¡°That would accurately describe your existence, yes.¡± ¡°Though the concept of ¡®Luck¡¯ is tricky to discuss with accuracy.¡± I still have trouble with the idea that this may or may not be a host of beings using two mouth pieces. I decide to build a familiar landscape to feel more comfortable in my surroundings, Aelea Lake and Lake Street. I feel a sigh of comfort in my soul as this, this is what home feels like. A small ripple pulses from my head and extends through the setting I¡¯ve created. I walk over to touch a building and it feels like a building. Shrug. For experimental reasons, I create a pile of different objects for me to destroy. I start with fire. Fire does nothing. Okay. Why? The Administrators say this is just a construct, which means that I¡¯m just shaping raw aether. So I just essentially slapped aether with aether. Huh. I wonder what happens with the advance techniques, like void? May as well try right? I sit in a meditative pose and search inside for my whirring vortex or my shimmering aether channels and find none of it. Instead, I find a radiant miniature me sitting calmly in my core. Cool, hello little me. She waves and I giggle. I attempt to tease out some void energy, bit mini-me seems reluctant to comply. Not that she can¡¯t, but that without developing channels, or a way to neutralize it, the energy might harm my manifestation. Does that have to do with the physicality of manifesting aether is not void automatically? That would mean here, since the aether is already summoned, already ready already, that all it takes is intent? Well, I have plenty of will, so I look at the park bench in front of me and I direct a small portion aether above it to change its purpose to Napalm. A Bocce ball-sized glob of blackness appears and plops on top of the table. The blob sizzles as it spreads, seeking out more and more material. Once it eats through the wood, it doesn¡¯t drip, it clings to the edges and to itself and continues to eat until the aether that summoned it is spent. Once done, it dries and cracks into a black glittery dust similar to what I saw when I pulled mana from the stuff covering Tessa. I¡¯m glad it¡¯s not indiscriminate, but I can see why it¡¯s called Nightmare Napalm. ¡°Before you accidentally destroy yourself, the Matrix is finished with your vessel. You should return. Do you remember how?¡± ¡°I think so?¡± I close my eyes to search for aether connections to myself, finding none. Then I see radiant me crocheting in a lotus pose, a fine thread leading off into the distance. As soon as my mind touches it, the thread has a texture and a weight to it. If I pull, it might break and I have a feeling that would be terrible. So do I ravel it up and follow it? May as well try. What seems like an hour later, I feel no progress. Out of frustration, I tug on the yarn and it tugs back, making me stumble. Huh, tougher than I thought. Maybe if I tug and jump towards the yarn¡¯s pull? I try that next and I feel the yarn pulling me through space before my face biffs into the ground. Wait . . . why is there gravity in my manifested space? A dozen plausible explanations start trying to form in my mind when I see Radiant me slap her hand to her forehead and shake her head. Oh, overthinking am I? I¡¯ll probably feel stupid when I see it? Hmm. If this place is the same place I came to last time, I must be tied to it somehow . . . no way. There is no way it¡¯s that stupid. I start searching in any spectrum I can possibly perceive and find tiny tethers of will-infused aether anchoring me softly to this area. I concentrate on letting the strands loose and I start drifting. I yank the yarn again, and this time I am pulled through the ground, toward the aether pool at the end of the yarn, my consciousness fading as I approach it. B3 Ch24: Not Human When my eyes open, I see more intricacies of aether than ever before, more so in fact as each of the strands of aether have a tint, a taste or smell, and a frequency they vibrate at. I know I¡¯m not using my normal senses for taste and sound, but my aetheric receptors (?) have integrated the signals into senses I have already developed precision with. Well, if that isn¡¯t proof that integration happened, I don¡¯t know what is. Unlatching the straps proved to be slightly more troublesome than expected as my fingers and hands have been made slighter and nimbler in appearance and the changes haven¡¯t registered completely in my brain. ¡°Hey Tessa? Help a girl out here?¡± My statement was issued with a harsh grating tone on top of my normal voice. ¡°Could you not use that tone? It¡¯s abrasive and slightly violating.¡± ¡°What in Andromeda¡¯s sweaty bits does that mean?¡± No abrasive quality this time. ¡°It¡¯s your Primus Command made physical. That is supremely unnerving. Definitely have to work on that. How are you feeling otherwise?¡± ¡°Energized and really freaking good. Like I need to magic and tinker immediately.¡± Now that I think about it, I really am humming with a need to do those things, so I blip around my Penthouse and immediately feel better. ¡°Hmm, what if your hunger and thirst, or other bodily triggers have other meanings now?¡± Tessa begins tapping her chin in thought, which is a mannerism she picked up recently. ¡°That sounds terrible, but it would track. My aether sight now has smell and sound associated with it. Though I could spend a week trying to suss out what integrated and what changed, I should finish with my advancement. How long has it been?¡± ¡°Nearly six now. You should have time to look at everything at least.¡±
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/Your Identity receptacle is not pure magic, tech, or biologic.
/Your experience with Multitasking lends to a starting proficiency of Intermediate 5/
Every single one of those sounds like a backhanded compliment, though I definitely understand the second one. Do I want to embody cleverness or courage? Both Destroyer and Calamity are nouns that break things. Can classes be inherently bad? Nah, Andromeda wouldn¡¯t do that to me. Calamity sounds more fun, and more like my actions of late, so let¡¯s to it.
/Reading tooltips can enhance your understanding of skills, abilities, and much more!
/unlike classes, titles may be changed every Mark (~8 years).
/Only one title may be active at a time.
Alright, you fucking sass-pants. Hint taken. Also unlike classes, I am comfortable with more than one of these. Like Andromeda said, I need to read the tooltips and see how they benefit or, Andromeda forbid, curse me. Tessa, do you think I need to pick a title before checking my modules? Good question, but no. After skimming the tooltips for classes and titles, selecting a class eliminates the other choices, even if you are later offered another, those two you didn¡¯t chose are gone. Titles don¡¯t go away unless you somehow stop being eligible for them. Ipso facto, any module made available by a title will be available while you are eligible for said title. Thanks Tessa, you read much more quickly than I. Probably smarter than me too. ¡°Probably?¡± I smile and put my hand on her knee as I sit next to her.
You have 16 module points to use. Please choose from the following: A Primer for Living through Void Experimentation Void attuned aether is dangerous 2 mod
Folding Space for Fun and Profit Turning the space you have into the space you need 4 mod
Tricks of the Tongue How to lie without lying 1 mod
Concentrating Aether And other fun ways to die 4 mod
Sex, Money, and Complete Control A dictator¡¯s guide to oppression 2 mod
Traveling with Astral Projection An Expert meditation techniques 3 mod
Master Engraver¡¯s Codex The tools and guidance to finish your first Great Work 5 mod
Unlocking Time Advanced theories and practices for Space Manipulation 3 mod
Good gravy, those are some pricey choices. ¡°You had a wide variety of other choices that did not make the top 8. The Matrix doesn¡¯t allow for more than eight choices for modules.¡± ¡°Bah, I don¡¯t even have the points for what I want, let alone more choices. And I can¡¯t even cheat by using imbalance since all of these seem to be aether mods.¡± I flip my arms up in frustration, noticing a creepy crawl in my back and a pinch of my skin when I do. I sigh. ¡°Andromeda, what now?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, since engraving is largely a ¡®Tech¡¯ aspect of your Track, you can likely spend the remainder of your three imbalance on it if it helps you. Uh, Penny? Is there something wrong with your arms?¡± ¡°No, my back feels weird when I do this.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t do that?¡± I snort at the simple suggestion and stop flailing about for now. ¡°Fiiine, good idea on the Engraving. By the feel of the module, I don¡¯t think I can progress to master without it. Or more accurately, it feels like it would take me decades to figure out without it.¡± I try to flag my tech imbalance while purchasing the Master Engraving Codex. Processing, please wait, processing . . . SUCCESS! Oh yeah! Cue me up for Fun and Profit, Void Primer, Unlocking Time, and Concentrating Aether. ¡°Obviously, don¡¯t melt my brain.¡± ¡°The fact that you no longer have a meat-based processing unit makes preventing overload much easier.¡± ¡°Nothing you could have said to make you sound more robotic than ¡®meat-based¡¯, true as it may be.¡± I check the time to see if I can squeeze in a title choice and find that I can barely squeeze in breakfast. I try calling Betty and texting the team at the same time and turns out I can do it, though it feels weird. But now that I can, and Tessa can basically read my mind, I guess I should give her fewer secretarial tasks. I do have Naomi after all. ¡°Asking a combat-rated utility vessel to sort your messages is a little menial for my capabilities.¡± ¡°Tax for reading my mind all of the time, goon.¡± I stick my tongue out at her. Hashtag adulting. ¡°Alright, time for clothes and a mirror, went out without looking after my last transformation, not going to be confused about it this time.¡± I find the mirror next to my wardrobe and stare dumbly at myself. Instead of a blue-tinted ethereal predator with resting murder face, I appear to be a sprite from a video game, but taller and thinner. I have a characteristic Pixie cut and adorable up-turned nose of those tiny fae. My skin tone is slightly blush all over, my galaxy eyes haven¡¯t changed, but my teeth are pointy and my face is heart-shaped? ¡°Am I a fucking Pixie for real now?!¡±
Name: Penelope Astoria Race: Pixie (Primus) Subrace: Faerie Queen Andromeda Code: T-S>
Class: Insightful Calamity Title: [not chosen] Track: Artificing (T-3, lvl. 50) Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Imbalance: none
Mind [Intelligence: A, Clever: A, Awareness: B]
Social [Beauty: A, Charm: D, Presence: A]
Physical [Strength: C, Agility: B, Fitness: B]
Aether [Capacity: S, Refinement: B, Power: S]
Skills
Aether engraving: Expert, step 10; Aether insight: Expert, step 1;
Enchanting: Advanced, step 3; Knowledge absorption: Intermediate, step 6 (tech assist);
Pain Suppression: Intermediate, step 6; Aether manipulation: Expert, step 3;
Magitech Integration: Advanced, step 1
Space manipulation: Expert , step 1 Aether forging: Intermediate, step 1
Transmutation: Advanced, step2 Basic constructs: Intermediate, step 2
Gem cutting and shaping: Advanced, step 2 Gun Fu: Beginner, step 2
Empire Administration: Intermediate, step 6 Elemental Manifestation: Beginner, step 3
Sheilding: Advanced, step 6; Brawling: Novice, step 9
Swordsmanship: Beginner step 5 Bureaucracy Intermediate step 4
Field Dressing: Beginner step 1 Performance: Oratory; Beginner, step 7
Void Manipulation: Intermediate, step 3 Multi-core Processing (Magitech): Intermediate, step 5
¡°I¡¯m not Human anymore.¡± The stare coming back at me and the more uncomfortable I get, the more the stars in my eyes spin. I look over my reflection¡¯s head to see Tessa looking at me nervously. ¡°Tessa, did my body get remade entirely?¡± ¡°I, I think so. After your brain and vortex got removed and your body slumped, my entire being went into safe-mode. When my symbiote hive sensed being immersed in flesh again, I woke slowly. When I finally got my visual sensors back, you were near-completely reformed. Spectral hands were setting your face to retain a Penny-like appearance with your new form. More like the original human Penny, I think.¡± ¡°I came over to get dressed, think any of my wardrobe will fit?¡± ¡°The tailor you went to for the vest dress with capris makes enchanted-to-fit clothing.¡± Tessa comes over and starts poking and pinching me. ¡°Tessa, I swear, if you get frisky with me, I will cover you in Napalm.¡± She backs up with a smirk on her face. ¡°Scientific poking. Promise.¡± ¡°Pfft, I have definitely used that line before. Which of the five outfits should I wear?¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m thinking Astoria-themed dress, or vest and slacks.¡± ¡°Vest and slacks it is, then. More meeting appropriate.¡± I put them on and where my ethereal predator look would have made this look officious and cold, the new image looks scrappy and spunky. New look, new me hey? I order a pageboy cap and roll up my sleeves for a new day. /Speth, Solari, you still with me?/ /Morning Admiral, how¡¯d the tier up go?/ Solari asks. /All¡¯s quiet up here, Ma¡¯am/ my polite over watch reports. /I¡¯m coming down the lift, we¡¯re headed for breakfast. Speth, park the shuttle and grab a bike./ /Admiral, if it¡¯s alright, I¡¯m scheduled to head back to Alaris, and my relief will meet you at the Consul Hall?/ /Works for me./ I walk out of the Lift, of which there are now two¡ªnice work Tessa¡ªand straight past Solari. I chuckle at that and when I¡¯m several paces distant, I turn and say ¡°You coming Corporal?¡± ¡°What? Shit!¡± She jogs up to my side and locks my step, saluting as we go, ¡°all do respect, Admiral, with a glamor like that, you can¡¯t expect us to recognize you right away.¡± ¡°Not a glamor,¡± I say with a big smile. She side steps immediately, ¡°But I did not expect you to get it right away. It¡¯s why I notified you when I got on the lift.¡± ¡°So this just happened on your tier mutation? Is this a crazy symbiote thing?¡± ¡°The answer to both are kinda yeah. Remember, the system takes intent seriously, aether doubly so. The tier up mutations are basically a chance for big magic to happen that you wouldn¡¯t be able to do yourself.¡± ¡°I hope you like clothes shopping.¡± She laughs at me. ¡°Ugh, I know. As soon as I realized I lost like 4 inches, I knew I needed to go shopping again.¡± She looks at me and the outfit I¡¯m wearing. ¡°I paid big money for a few outfits to adjust with my mutations.¡± Solari nods absently with that, staring down the hall thinking intently about something. Naomi meets us outside and briefs me that we have some afternoon events and a meeting with some more foreign interested parties. I¡¯m going to have to duck out of the Forum for those, we have another day full of meetings anyway. She¡¯s already alerted the Consuls of my afternoon absence. I¡¯d arranged to have our patio spot reserved for us and Camacho¡¯s already waiting for us. I go in to tell Betty that our table is here. ¡°Empress?! Eeee! You¡¯re so cuuute!¡± She full on picks me up and squeezes me half to death. ¡°Betty, please let me go. I am very uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Oh! Sorry. It¡¯s just, I want to pinch your cheeks and feed you until you¡¯re chubby.¡± ¡°That is some serious Grandma energy there, and please don¡¯t. I¡¯d hate to launch my favorite breakfast spot into space.¡± I push against her arms and she reluctantly lets me go. ¡°Don¡¯t you have like a grip of kids to cuddle?¡± ¡°None of them are this cute and pinchable.¡± ¡°I can hear you mom!¡± a girl grumbles from the back. Betty turns to say something but I don¡¯t stick around. I bolt out of the door and stop at our table to look behind me. When betty doesn¡¯t come out chasing me, I settle down and take a seat. ¡°You in trouble kid?¡± Camacho says from across the table. ¡°Thugs or Family?¡± ¡°Does an overly affectionate restaurateur count as a thug? And since when are you nice to people.¡± ¡°Ah, Empress. I apologize for the kindness, won¡¯t happen again.¡± I¡¯d laugh if she was joking, but I can¡¯t be sure. ¡°This new look is already more trouble than I thought. Only thing that¡¯s consistent is the creepy smile.¡± I show Camacho. Bitch smiles. ¡°Shark teeth? Nice. Very old-school pixie. Adorable piranhas. That mean you¡¯re not Human anymore?¡± ¡°I am, in fact a Pixie now. Asked for my mutation to consolidate my partial upgrades and I got a full overhaul.¡± ¡°Glowing skull stuff?¡± She asks further. ¡°Haven¡¯t tried it. Magic feels more natural now, so that¡¯s nice.¡± Camacho scoffs, ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve only been in this thing for an hour, Sergeant Sass-pants.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s funny that some folks are getting fur, animal features and whatnot, but you can¡¯t decide on what kind of Fairy to be?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be funnier to see you mutate into your true self: a grumpy old toad.¡± Solari gives me a snort for that, Naomi merely smiles and shakes her head. Camacho grumbles and grumps. I croak in her direction and chuckle like I have a screw loose in my brain case. ¡°Uhm, Hi.¡± A young woman I¡¯ve seen before, but never heard comes up to us. ¡°Are you ready to order?¡± I¡¯ve been here three times and she¡¯s never talked to us. My mouth agape I just stare at her hands and the notepad. ¡°Is she okay?¡± the girl asks. Camacho chimes in with smug overtones. ¡°Traumatized by your mother, it seems. She¡¯ll take the rancher omelet with sausage and pancakes. And can we get a pot of coffee too?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the one with pinchable cheeks? I swear she wants a dozen more children to smother.¡± I blush and turn away at being identified by my cheeks. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back with your drinks.¡± Camacho and Solari start laughing at me, Naomi has a vaulted eyebrow at the weirdness that occurred, and I¡¯m annoyed that I¡¯m embarrassed. ¡°I have never heard her talk before.¡± ¡°Your previous form was intimidating to some. This one is definitely not, Admiral.¡± Camacho helpfully replies. ¡°Now would be the time to talk to a PR consultant. Do I fight back against the adorable and irresponsible look? Or do I lean hard into the ¡®Kid Sister¡¯ Empress look?¡± All three of the women I¡¯m sitting with open their mouths, ¡°Rhetorical question, ladies, rhetorical.¡± ¡°Do you think this will affect Forum proceedings?¡± Naomi asks as she¡¯s jotting something down in her HUD. ¡°Folks will likely do a double take, but I think only Kenner and Consul Mercer with care overmuch. Whomever Kenner is working with will likely try to subvert my authority with the appearance and experience flavor of slander. Mercer, because I look like his daughter used to. The rest will just want to trudge through their day and not have to sit through a Senate-style session for another year.¡± ¡°Is this where you start whining about how hard it is to be the Empress? Tell me when to start listening again.¡± Immediately triggered, I snarl my displeasure. Something about my face makes them jump, but if I ask, it¡¯ll defeat the excellent opportunity to make a point. I take a deep breath and hiss it out slowly. ¡°Camacho, we¡¯ve had this discission before. Take the rest of the week off.¡± I feel a sizzling grumble start below my vocal cords and I back off a little before giving the order. I don¡¯t need to be using a compulsion or this. She clenches her fists and purses her features in frustration. Instead of making matters worse, she stands up sharply, issues a crisp salute and about face, and marches down Lake Street. ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll be back?¡± Naomi asks. ¡°If she¡¯s smart, she won¡¯t. I don¡¯t think she can divorce her job from her hatred of the idea of Empire and Oppression being inexorably linked. That being said, she¡¯s not a quitter, so we¡¯ll see?¡± ¡°With all due respect, Admiral,¡± Solari begins. I raise my hand and interrupt, ¡°Stop, please. If this is important to you and you remember it tomorrow, by all means bring it up again. Right now, however, I will take it poorly and I can¡¯t bear throwing away another potential teammate.¡± Solari¡¯s eyes go wide, probably with misconstrued notions. ¡°Speaking of teammates, how¡¯s the husband going Naomi? Do I need to tell him to take breaks for together time?¡± She giggles into her fingertips and shakes her head. ¡°He is enjoying your project very much, but do not worry, the kitchen in the guest house has re-kindled his love for cooking. He dances wile waving a spoon, it¡¯s very cute.¡± Aww, the nervous nerd dancing in his comfy space. That is cute and the happiness that I see brings a much needed grin to my face. Suddenly remembering my teeth I cover my mouth and chuckle. Maisey introduces herself after dropping off our food and actually chats for a bit. I introduce myself as penny of course, no need to terrify the poor lamb, not when I¡¯m feeling better about my morning. Betty trots out to give me another hug before we leave, telling me to come by more often. ¡°The people I¡¯ve met in the Capitol are so freaking great, but so many assholes try to run things.¡± I lean my head back and groan at the sky. ¡°Naomi, tell me we have something interesting this afternoon?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a marksmanship competition on what looks to be a fun course, a martial arts exhibition, and a junior rocketry project that parents have petitioned for your attendance.¡± ¡°Ooo! I¡¯m game for irresponsible use of fire. That one. And the marksmanship thing. What are the prizes like?¡± ¡°Lackluster. Small monetary prizes for each. I assume you¡¯re going to change that?¡± ¡°I mean, yeah, I want people to both have fun and to draw the experts with a prize worth something. Say, personal aeronautics lessons for the juniors, and any T-1 item from Merc. Inc.¡¯s inventory? Wait, no. Anything under 3k credits from the Merc. inventory or 1k credits cash.¡± ¡°How much does your fancy pulse pistol cost?¡± Solari asks. ¡°Depends on the bells and whistles. The battery tech makes it more expensive. A non-auto version of them costs between 3 and 5k.¡± ¡°Oof. That is more than I make in a year.¡± ¡°Domestic purchases are much cheaper, Citizen discounts and all that, but I block them for re-sale. We can talk later if you¡¯re really interested in pulse pistols. Until then, back to the POD. You said I have a meeting with some visitors?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, an Ambassador from Herrat and their two attendants. Herratians are a feline species with fur and features likening to an Earthen Mountain Lion with the posture of an Ape.¡± ¡°On-demand quadrupedal, nice. We talking paws or hands? Never mind, I have HUD, most of my questions can be answered in the Glossary.¡± ¡°Do not, under any circumstances, pet them. It is a grave offense.¡± ¡°Fear not, aide of mine, I¡¯m a dog person, If this delegation looked like a bunch of furry good bois, I¡¯d be in trouble.¡± Oh man, I haven¡¯t pet a dog in most of a decade. Suddenly my life means less now. My mood fluctuates wildly as we hop on the bikes and ride back to the Consul Conclave. Someone has seen fit to fix the door, but I still park my shuttle next to the door for the shield. ¡°Alright, Admiral. Word on the net is that some new folks are coming to fill the gaps and I¡¯m going to sleep in your shuttle for backup.¡± ¡°Sounds good Corporal, and thank you.¡± Before the meeting starts, Privates Robbins and Grant report with demeanors as crisp as their salutes. I ensure they¡¯ve been briefed on expectations and they confirm. When the Consuls and Governors are present, I call a continuation of this year¡¯s Forum session and that I want draft documents for each State by tomorrow afternoon. I hear some grumbling, but that should have been the plan from the beginning, so I ignore the protests. Then, to my surprise, they get to work discussing amongst the Governors and asking Consuls their take on certain matters. I imagine I might be asked to clarify some points from time to time, but now, I think, it is time to dig into some titles. B3 Ch25: By Any Other Name <¡®of the Void¡¯: You resonate with the energies of destruction and disorder. Void energies that originate from you cannot harm you. <¡®Progenitor¡¯: You were designated and took it to heart to help your race. All actions taken to benefit Humanity (specified due to race change) come with the ease and accuracy of being five steps higher in skill. <¡®Tyrant¡¯: You were not gifted rule, you created it and defend it by force. Acts of intimidation, control, or wealth are more persuasive and receive less negative feedback from your ruled populace. <¡®Empress of Humanity¡¯: You are a fixture in the annals of Human History and a public figure known to the Matrix¡¯s Users. Outside influences naturally seek you out, and recognize your authority over Human Users. <¡®Fae Queen¡¯: You have become a creature of Legend. Your aetheric and ethereal nature is more apparent, and your command of Elemental aether comes with the ease and accuracy of being five steps higher in skill. <¡®Annihilator¡¯: You have discovered and harnessed a chaotic and bi-polar force in the Universe and lived through the experience. You gain access to the forces and components of Annihilation as a subset of Void attuned spells. <¡®Aether Forged¡¯: Through effort, determination, and luck you have survived the onslaught of a fundamental form of energy and emerged stronger. Your resistance to damage and pain is doubled. <¡®of the Matrix¡¯: You have made conscious, continuous effort to benefit the Matrix and the Supercluster at large. Users will assume your actions are made in good faith. Most transportation taxes are eliminated (Actions made for War not included). Andromeda¡¯s bounty, titles are amazing. //Query: Using Multiple Titles. //Response: Users can qualify for an unlimited number of titles during their life span. A single title may be applied per user and can be changed once per mark. Rare users that have achieved tier 5 can qualify to enable companion titles as a tribute and acknowledgement for their excellence. Well, Empress gotta have goals right? Alright Tessa, I request your advice in these matters. My short list is: Annihilator, of the Void, of the Matrix, and Aether Forged.¡± Interesting, I would have thought Fae Queen would be on that list, and oddly enough Tyrant would be the most useful in your current state. Ugh, I know, but ¡®tyrant¡¯ has such a stigma in modern times. No one looks at it through an ancient Greek lens. And if I could combine Fae Queen with my void synergy I would have snapped picked that in a heartbeat. My opinion is that Annihilation would only be worth it paired with ¡®of the Void¡¯, and Aether Forged would largely be more danger than it¡¯s worth as aether forged beasts are a menace and you are no longer Human. BAH! I really like the idea of Fae Queen Penny Astoria of the Void and Annihilator Penny Astoria of the Void. But if I can¡¯t be doubly selfish, I may as well be a little selfish and community minded. I select ¡®of the Matrix¡¯.
¡°Holy shit. Is this what crusaders felt like? Hearing a voice in your head telling you to go break shit for God?¡± Robbins looks up at me with a question in his eyes, but I shake my head in response. Tessa. Did I just enlist as an agent of change? Did I just get duped? Penny, no reason to spin up the anxiety engine over this. We already know the Matrix favors you. Your class seems specifically made for you, and the title, well, there may be a whiff of agenda behind it, but does it really matter? Will you change your behavior because of it. I just don¡¯t like the feeling of being used to benefit others. I read the notifications and felt they leaned more toward the ¡®benefit from where you¡¯re already headed¡¯ type of alliance. Oh, okay. I can get onboard with a ride-share. I like that color of glass much better than mine. ¡°Admiral,¡± Robbins says from below me. ¡°Foreign Affairs is asking about Governors discussing partnerships with foreigners.¡± ¡°Oh, as Finance has likely already weighed in, primary contracts with non-empire entities will be handled by the Consul of Finance. However, if a hunting range contract like we are developing with the Navoli needs local support for their contract, such as a butcher or a smoker, or a continuous delivery of salt, then those support contracts can be locally negotiated and do not need imperial oversight as long as those contracts work within the imperial contract. ¡°Additional thoughts Consuls?¡± ¡°We must be mindful that contracts with races with other customs are flexible so as not to offend.¡± Foreign Affairs reminds us. ¡°We must also remember that these races are accustomed to dealing with financial arrangements with differing cultures and be wary of being taken advantage of.¡± ¡°Gentlemen, let¡¯s remember the lessons of old-timey space-faring shows: Just by meeting with others and knowing their customs will be different allows us to better treat with them and talk peaceably. Furthermore, we should approach every deal appreciating that folks are here to benefit, but by and large not to thieve¡ªuntil proven otherwise. But if someone is dishonest with us? Take them to task.¡± I see frowns on their faces. ¡°Yes, gentlemen, I know you could have come to that conclusion yourselves, but thank you for asking.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Government thoughts. I send Naomi some ideas and tenants of additional laws I would like to enact, specificity on the Code and direct interpretation ala US Federal laws based in the construct of the Constitution. Annual Astorian forum for major policy and budget review. Setting up a court framework: Gubernatorial Jurisdiction, Federal, and Petition the Empress. Of course, Federal is a simplification of what is needed, but Court of appeals, Criminal and Civil court, and Case-related Law review are the areas I think should be separated, but I¡¯ll talk to actual legal people before writing any of that down. Petition the Empress is an idea I don¡¯t think I should include at all, but there will always be someone that disagrees with a ruling that thinks a higher authority will see it differently. Some of the Governors are testing those waters already, sending me messages if they¡¯ve gotten an answer from a Consul that didn¡¯t sit right. Hours drone on in this way: periods of me noting areas that need fleshing out in notes to Naomi and Forum members sneaking in a chance to ask my opinion on something. Much of the time I would refer them to a Consul and be done with it. I give Naomi instructions on the lunch budget for the next two days and to tell the Forum members that lunch was on me, within reason; and that I had pressing matters to attend to in the afternoon. She said she would join us again at the Junior Rocketry exhibition. Then, because I don¡¯t have to worry about transport tax anymore, I start walking down the Parkway, through the park. It¡¯s peaceful and Robbins maintains a respectful distance as I just wander down the lane, sending notes to Grant and Solari about keeping the peace in the Forum and moving my shuttle to Aelea when Solari wakes. ¡°Do you have a preference or lunch Corporal?¡± I turn to ask the man. ¡°N-no Admiral. I usually just eat rations.¡± He says, not finding the courage to look at me, or ask for something. Man, this reputation is an odd thing, probably weirder for people now that I¡¯m four inches shorter. ¡°Let us see if there is a tavern where I can get a burger and a beer.¡± I look it up and sure enough, Capitol City Tavern has a well-reviewed burger and a respectable tap list. We walk in to see a busy restaurant with a cute kid working as a greeter in a black polo and slacks. She doesn¡¯t recognize me, but nobody should at this point. I ask to be seated at the bar and the greeter looks at Robbins for confirmation, which he gives, and she points to the center area covered in screens. I scan the offered content and see sporting events from around the Supercluster with a variety of games Humans would be hard-pressed to play for anatomical reasons. I nod my respect in sticking with a sports theme when I see Hurling still being televised from Earth. Wicked game that. ¡°Oye, love, I¡¯m gonna have to see some ID.¡± The lanky man behind the bar demands. ¡°Robbins, do you have an ID? Who even issues them?¡± He nods and shows me his ID. Astorian system ID? What in pink blazes is this? ¡°Ah, not Aelean then, I ¡®ave a tool for that, iff¡¯n you don¡¯t mind?¡± ¡°I mind that Aelea is printing IDs with the guise of ¡®Astoria¡¯ authority, but go ahead and scan me.¡± He quirks an eyebrow at my odd frustration, but nods and fetches a device that looks like an old-timey magnifying glass. ¡°Astoria¡¯s crooked nipple, you¡¯re the Empress.¡± The man slowly lowers the glass as his surprise progresses toward comical. ¡°It¡¯s not crooked anymore, and yes I am. Just here for a burger and a beer, lad, can you help me out?¡± I keep the teeth out of my smile in hopes the request will get him moving. ¡°Wah? Oh! Yes ma¡¯am.¡± He starts moving and mumbling to himself in a chastising tone. He runs over my burger and meat options and hands me a beer list. I see there¡¯s a section of aether beers and just tell the man to start at the top of the list and work our way down. I pick a voosel and khedda burger, apparently the closest to an Earth burger, and wait patiently. Within twenty minutes we get our food and I¡¯m on my second beer, which have not been as fruity as I like, and Robbins has finally started to relax. He got the fish and chips, which apparently come from local marine life from the Cotton Sea. Some goon named it that after seeing the sea-weed of the local¡¯s flowers that look like floating white puff balls. Its honestly a little embarrassing the things I don¡¯t know about the planets I rule. Hopefully all of this planning and hiring will let me learn more and get free time that isn¡¯t just when other people are sleeping. Is it weird that I miss my lazy river? I generally enjoy being at my Suite, grazing the gardens when I want a snack, and that¡¯s only a small portion of the gardens I have access to on my 8-floor penthouse in my ridiculously large garden castle. I ask the bartender what¡¯s the largest to-go potato wedge order I could make and he has to go fetch the owner. He asks me if I want just a tray full of fries or like a dozen snack samplers. My eyes light up at snack samplers and say yes to the second one, but separated by snack please. Robbins and I leave with three sacks of snacks each and both the owner and I are smiling after exchanging 5 credits for the bounty. I can¡¯t resist trying the snacks as we walk¡ªthey smell too dang good. ¡°Admiral, don¡¯t you worry about your image?¡± Robbins asks after glancing my way. ¡°I think about it from time to time, but right now, nobody is looking at me and seeing the Empress. Unless I make a spectacle of myself, I don¡¯t see that changing for at least a few days. Even then, why shouldn¡¯t I get to behave as I will, as long as I¡¯m not hurting anyone? I put my Empress pants on when I have to, and put on my EVA when it¡¯s time to go to war. Oh! Speaking of, I¡¯ll be in menus for a few minutes, don¡¯t let me crash into anything.¡± He chuckles at the last part, ¡°Aye ma¡¯am.¡± I message the company that made my T-2 suit about getting this one resized, or if it would make sense to send it in for recycle and to order a new one. I don¡¯t personally need anything more robust than T-2, but if I do get a recommendation for a trade-in, then it would be fun to shop some options. Hmm, I should do some tests on needing to breath before that as eliminating the HAB requirement would definitely lower the space requirements and aether load. Robbins leads me to the Marksmanship course¡ªset up on the same land as the race course¡ªwith no injuries. There is no where for people to sit, again, so I summon the bleachers, but this time I build a bridge between the bleachers, about two thirds of the way up, and set some tables and chairs and a beverage console. It takes us about thirty minutes to finish the bridge platform and setting out the snacks and just in time for the rest of my team to arrive. ¡°Admiral, you are easily the coolest boss I¡¯ve ever had.¡± Solari says, walks up and pauses before taking food. I nod and she starts filling a plate full of snacks. ¡°Certainly the most food oriented.¡± Speth comments, arriving just behind. /Admiral, DE Sergeant Camacho, do you have a minute?/ /As current head of a security detail? Yes. As Marine Sergeant Camacho? Send it through your unit commander./ /Ah. I¡¯ve given the reins over to First Class Speth, he¡¯ll brief you on the details. By your leave, Admiral./ /Be well Sergeant./ ¡°Speth, once you get a plate, I would like a moment of your time.¡± He sees that I¡¯m sitting at a table alone while the rest talk around the food spread. He thoughtfully picks up a tray and puts a few plates on it to bring over. ¡°How can I help, Admiral?¡± I craft a privacy shield that allows severely dampened air to permeate the membrane, but almost nil on vibration and sound. ¡°I hear you¡¯re in charge now.¡± ¡°Yeeahh, I¡¯ll be honest, ma¡¯am, I don¡¯t love that I have the opportunity in the first place, but I do understand. That said, I can manage this detail for another two days.¡± His features are tight, reserved as though he¡¯s hiding something. ¡°Does she intend to remain with the Corpse?¡± ¡°She wanted to talk to you about this, but seeing as how you¡¯re asking that didn¡¯t happen.¡± ¡°She ignored her chance to walk away from this detail, no questions asked. This time I have questions. But, I see that this may not be the best way to address my questions. I¡¯ll talk with her Commander and hash it out.¡± ¡°Thank you ma¡¯am. I really don¡¯t want to be in the middle of this more than I have to be.¡± I take down the privacy shield and we just sit, snacking and saying nothing for a few minutes. ¡°Is a rotation for the next two days already figured out?¡± I ask, chomping on a cheesy pretzel. ¡°Mhm.¡± Speth swallows what he was chewing on before answering, ¡°We¡¯re not going to guard you while you¡¯re in the Castle. We¡¯d like to have one of the lower apartments for our overnight use so that our now reduced team can be out during the day, instead of at half strength. Solari has volunteered to overnight at the Castle and take the morning rotation. Robbins and Grant will see to the Forum, and I will trade-off with Solari at your first event after breakfast.¡± ¡°Sounds reasonable, First Class Speth. Thanks for taking this responsibility.¡± He looks as though he might have more to say but thought better of it and shoved more food into his mouth instead. Good man, if only more of us had that kind of restraint. B3 Ch26: Forum, Food, and Forgetfulness. ¡°So, you thinking a military member or one of them hunter survival types?¡± Solari asks between chips and sips of beer, relaxed next to me on the picknick bench with the snack platters. ¡°Mm, I think I¡¯m going with the Olympic Target shooter who does overwatch for the hunting crews.¡± ¡°You want to be out there don¡¯t you?¡± She turns to look at me. ¡°Well, yah, I do. But I struggle with the fact that one, I am the Empress and sponsoring this competition, and two, I¡¯m not as good as some of these folk, at least not yet. What kind of optics are those?¡± My beer sloshes as I wave my hands about. ¡°One of the reasons I¡¯m glad I get told what to do and where to go a lot of the time. I¡¯m twenty years old and the world fell down around our ears. I join the Marines to get some direction in my life and wham, that starts falling apart. Six months later, I find an open call for citizens and jobs for Navy and Marines in space? Hell yeah, I can put off panicking for another few years.¡± ¡°Plus, with us only engaging in ¡®stabilizing¡¯ operations, the military is a pretty chill gig right now. How long do you figure I have to work to get a house out here?¡± Solari must be feeling pretty comfortable if she¡¯s talking about life aspirations with me. It¡¯s a bit strange, and makes me want to share a bottle of whatever with Francesca, but it¡¯s nice all the same. ¡°Not long, really. Nobody is really buying now, trying to figure out what they want in this new life and all. Around Aelea, maybe ten years. Near Cottonport? Two maybe? On one of our other systems, I¡¯ve been letting people work-lease land around our industrial centers.¡± ¡°Work-lease, that sounds a lot like corporation indenture.¡± ¡°Hey, hey. None of that. They stay there for free while they work, and if their contributions are over their quotas, it goes towards paying off their lodgings.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, that does sound pretty good for people just starting out.¡± ¡°And don¡¯t forget that people can live in the high-rises completely free if they want. So no more of this slavery business.¡± I start breathing heavy, feeling a small need to lash out and retaliate. ¡°No harm intended Admiral, probably need a new phrase for the program though.¡± She raises her arms stands up and backs away. Great. Go me. Putting the fear of my Imperial tantrums into others. Bah. About half an hour in, Speth texts me instead of coming over to talk. /Admiral, DE Speth. Civies are asking if they can come on the patio for a drink and to eat their lunches./ /Let. ¡®em in. Reserve a table for our crew./ Feeling down after my interaction with Solari and Speth, I walk over to the edge of the platform and dangle my feet over as I sit. Staring off into the marksmanship course, I see someone of moderate skill attempting to be ¡®fancy¡¯ by rolling and sliding and full on running and shooting. I can¡¯t help laughing for how silly it looks, and how much my [Gun Fu] skill cringes at the shooting technique. I feel like I would have done well on the course, but there are two folk I have no doubt would have smoked me. They were steady, relentless, and accurate. Their roll-step and hunched movement keeps their firing platform as steady as possible while directing the force of their firearms into their cores instead of just their arms and shoulders. It¡¯s not a technique I currently use as my pulse pistols don¡¯t have recoil like that, but I have practiced with it. ¡°So, Solari seems pouty.¡± Naomi says, sitting next to me with a bubbly drink of some kind. Good call. I summon a drink of my Belgian-top fruit beer. ¡°Yeah, she got me talking about housing and the various programs we have for housing and owning land and such and the work-to-own project on Clotho came up.¡± ¡°Ah, she alluded to slavery didn¡¯t she.¡± ¡°Corporate indenture, like the old coal and automotive ¡®company towns¡¯. Triggered me and I explained why it wasn¡¯t slavery, probably aggressively.¡± ¡°After the Forum questions this morning about it, I get it, but remember she wasn¡¯t on duty then. You don¡¯t need to defend yourself all of the time, Empress.¡± She shoulder bumps me. ¡°Yeah, but as much of my brain knows that, my emotions are still raw from talking about my emotions all week. Calm isn¡¯t an easy thing for me this today.¡± ¡°Working with Mercer can¡¯t make that easier. I¡¯m surprise he¡¯s working so calmly after you cut him down a peg.¡± I appreciate that he didn¡¯t say father. ¡°Something is probably coming back at me, but from what I know of him, he¡¯s not the type to let the work suffer to even a score. He¡¯ll do the work, and as long as he isn¡¯t prevented from using his power to gain more, he¡¯ll be reliable. I worry more about the Governors than my Consuls or obvious reasons.¡± I take a swig and take a quick look at my mail. Some requests to move in to the Castle, some Merc Industries inquiries for tech and engraving services. Astoria Gems and Enchanting I set up as a different company for some reason. I see some star flags on a few of the tech and engraving requests that give me pause. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Tessa, is that you starring my messages? Yes, it was the easiest way to show I had looked at them and taken the job. Should I use a different system? Mmm, I think that we should keep the star as a priority marker? Earth based email used to have a flag system. Can you pick a color to flag the messages instead? Keep the stars for you and Naomi to use as prio markers. Easily done. I¡¯m just surprised you¡¯re checking your messages for once. Ha hah, such a funny person you are. I see you¡¯ve been keeping the proceeds in a different account as well. We talked about this, Penny! You¡¯ve encouraged me to be my own person and . . . Chill Tessa. I¡¯m happy that you¡¯re finding some independence. Take some getting used to though. And, I need to put some engraving work in and try to get a Master rating. I would tell you some things about what that¡¯s going to take, but I¡¯m going to let you read your tome. Besides, you need to make a new crown now that your head size has changed. Damnit! I was close to finishing that damn thing too. I hear chuckling in my head. You should spend some time thinking about your tier upgrade and what changed. You also have a gift to open. I am almost ashamed to be associated with you. AHHHHH! I forgot about the gift! TESSA!!!! It¡¯s been all day you twit! ¡°Naomi, I¡¯m going to check out for twenty minutes or so. Don¡¯t let anyone push me off.¡± She chuckles at that, ¡°That will give us ten minutes before are due to congratulate the winner. I¡¯ll be vigilant.¡± With a sloppy salute she takes the watch. Okay Tessa, hit me with my options. I think you¡¯ll like the theme.
Storage Jewelry 2EEB 3-piece set of earrings and ring that contain pocket-space-based storage 5 cubic meters total (1,1,3). Partially filled
Storage Bin 2AEA Requires installation and is only accessible through the available door. 30 cubic meters. Partially filled.
Storage Vault 2MMS Requires portal tech, aether-based skill, or other space-time based skills to access. Coordinates and memory device provided for reference. Volume unknown. Contents unknown.
I have been begging for better options. My fanny pack is nice, but it¡¯s always full! Each of these options would be a huge advantage. That last one seems too good to be true. Feels like it was added after I picked my title too. It is entirely possible. It has clearly been waiting for someone to access it. The second one is a throw away. I don¡¯t need 50 cubic meters that stays put. I suppose I could install it on a shuttle. Plus, it isn¡¯t all that much space in a building or a bigger ship. The first would be super useful for giving me more weapon and clothing space on my person. However, if I can turn my space manipulation into actual magic, then I could just teleport and send, and . . . wait. How is this different from free transfers from Andromeda to and from my moon warehouse? Oh! That question unlocked some data from the Matrix. The help file discusses the method and mechanism that the Matrix uses to transport items and connect to users. Even for you, childe of the Matrix¡ªodd distinction with the spelling by the way¡ªit uses communication pings to locate and deliver because it is an astronomical power savings than identifying an absolute position and sending it there, using primarily technology to do so. Technology is relatively simple to block with Magitech shielding, scalable with tier. Aether-based skills and spells are not. I get ya. The first two are tamper resistant, but the last one, is nearly tamper proof, and it would take someone more skilled and more powerful than me to block me from it? Having to go find it is a huge turn off, though. Penny, it is the best crafted item we have ever seen. Don¡¯t pretend. But the other two said ¡°partially filled¡± like there are extra gifts! The Vault could be the size of a moon, with a moon in it. Arguing with someone who knows me this well is not very satisfying. You¡¯re right though. That vault is Penny bait. Imma get it. As soon as I agree I physically experience an alien landscape with a colossal building edifice standing before me, a cold and menacing breeze tickling the hairs on my neck. The taste of the air is of earthen salt and bitter regret, old aether and even older grudges. A displaced hand touches the door on the edifice and the coordinates change into a code, imprint into the wall and the wall flashes open. A radiant glow emits from the hole, bright enough that I can¡¯t see inside. The vision (?) ends as abruptly as it starts and I¡¯m back sitting on the edge of a platform in front of the marksmanship course. ¡°Admiral? You okay?¡± a familiar voice asks. ¡°I think so? The system just gets weirder everytime I . . .¡± I look over while talking and I see concern on Solari¡¯s face. ¡°Oh, Solari. I thought Naomi was still there.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± she says, dejected, ¡°I can go get her.¡± She starts to stand up, but I grip her arm in protest. ¡°Hey, no. It¡¯s okay. I was just in a different place or a second is all. And I¡¯m sorry I went off on you about the indenture thing. My morning was the Governors asking about prison work programs and I was still a little spun up about it.¡± ¡°Huh. Okay. As long as I¡¯m not about to get spaced, I can deal.¡± ¡°Pah, I haven¡¯t spaced someone in over a year. Worst I would do is not let you use the apartment. That¡¯s a bit more ¡®petty bitch¡¯ than I¡¯m prepared to be though.¡± ¡°Eh, you¡¯re still pretty scary though, Ma¡¯am. This package be damned.¡± She gestures at all of me. ¡°But I¡¯m supposed to be cute, not scary.¡± I protest. ¡°They¡¯re not exclusive, you can be both.¡± B3 Ch27: Lessons in Diplomacy The winner of the marksmanship competition was a rude, loud, self important hunter that luckily toned it back when I went up to congratulate him on his outstanding result. His tone changed immediately when he saw that the voucher for Merc Industries gear wasn¡¯t just an empty promise. After the prize was awarded, the stands emptied out quickly, I collected them and we made our way to the rocketry exhibition slightly farther afield. Not that junior-level solid fuel rocketry needed this kind of space. Seeing a few liquid propellant rigs for person-sized rockets I reconsider the need for space, and safety concerns. I erect a shield between both liquid rockets before liftoff which proved prudent when the second one exploded on the pad. It was an impressive fireball and I congratulated the young lady in her advanced attempt and very pretty explosion. I talked to her parents, and the parents of the other liquid-fueled craft (the winner) about aero and astronautics lessons and they agreed enthusiastically. The feel-good vibes continue as Naomi reminds me that I have one more obligation for the day. ¡°The Herrat Ambassador is waiting for you in the community gardens at the Castle.¡± ¡°Security entourage?¡± I don¡¯t really like that un-escorted parties are at my hone, but I don¡¯t arrange my schedule. ¡°Two warrior caste Herrat, refused to be un-armed while attending the Ambassador.¡± ¡°Refused eh? And customs let them in?¡± I ask, surprised they brought weapons in without a fuss. ¡°We don¡¯t have established protocol for such things, Empress. They did what they thought was right to prevent a conflict.¡± I dismiss the comment, knowing that the lack of rules and regulations fall on me. I move the bikes to me and it¡¯s a short ride to the Capitol District. Once I get on my property I speed up and decide it was finally time to try something I¡¯ve been wanting to do since I saw the building in full daylight. Many of the outside garden walls are arcuate and sloping towards the ground, the outermost stopping about four feet from road level. Today, instead of taking the lift, I¡¯m going to drive there by building a shield ramp and my reckless, fun-loving butt is going to try it at 50kph. I laugh like a maniac as the ramp holds and I rush up the side of my Castle on a meter-wide space at the top of this wall. Once I get to the community garden level I slow down and collapse my bike and leave it on the wall. I jump down the 2m to the silvergrass turf and survey the area. This part looks like a lightly wooded path to and from a meadow, flowering and fruiting bushes mixed within, and a smattering of herbs and groundcover that make the grass path look like a mottled cobble. ¡°Why do I ever leave this place?¡± I take a moment to just breath in the plant-filled aroma as I walk up toward a common landing that connects to the inside of the building. Before I arrive, I bring up my Empire display and focus on my immediate area, finding three non-citizens¡ªtwo of which are roaming. When I reach the grassy courtyard with an inner ring of benches facing inward toward a large pagoda, and an outer ring of benches facing out toward the garden plots. A tan and grey mountain lion is laying on the tables in the Pagoda, wearing loose, Arabian style pants and a flowing top that can not be comfortable for running on all-fours. ¡°Ambassador Lakeshi?¡± I say, mounting the steps to the level that they are on. I see two of the dots stop in what looks like the last two trees of the lane. ¡°You can have your attendants join us, unless they are comfortable in the trees.¡± The laughter I hear is a purring trill, a delightful little noise. ¡°I prefer they give us the illusion of privacy.¡± She slides off the table with languid grace and proceeds to stand on her hind legs, bowing slightly before standing to a full height that must be over two meters. The posture is slightly hunched and her fore-legs don¡¯t come all of the way down to her sides, but it looks practiced enough. ¡°Greetings Penny Astoria of the Matrix, Empress of Humanity. The Herrat Warleaders are very interested in you.¡± ¡°That seems a worrying prospect, Ambassador, hopefully that interest is purely financial. Also, my attendant and a guard will be arriving momentarily, please alert your attendants so that they are not surprised.¡± She nods, but keeps those large predatory eyes on me as she sends a message. The gold of her eyes offset the gray and tan of her fur quite handsomely. ¡°Would you like something to drink? A bit of food perhaps? And make yourself comfortable, no need to continue standing.¡± She nods at me graciously and crawls back to lying on the table. ¡°I hear that Humans have a version of wine, and I would like to experience it.¡± ¡°We do,¡± I order a bottle of Pinot Grigio and a spicy Malbec to see what she prefers. I of course order beer for myself and platter full of a variety of canapes. ¡°Humans produce many varieties of wine, I picked one white and one red to see what genre you prefer. The snacks are savory pastries with a sliver of meat on top. Please help yourself.¡± Watching a cat person sip wine and taste it with the open-mouthed lapping that is common for humans tasting wine, is an enthralling view. She tastes both multiple times and returns back to the white for a full glass. ¡°Nearly everything about this is different from the Elven varietals I¡¯ve had. Not bad, I do quite like this one, just very different.¡± Elven what now? Elves?! ¡°Interesting, Elves are relegated to lore and stories on Earth, it¡¯s interesting to hear that they still exist.¡± Her amused trill sends a warm shiver down my spine. ¡°My friend said the same thing about Humans and how their dealings with the fey caused them to lose touch with their cousins many thousands of years ago. Imagine my surprise when I find out that you are a Faerie.¡± ¡°You inspected me, I take it?¡± She nods. ¡°I don¡¯t love that, but I understand why an ambassador would do so. I¡¯m a Pixie by mutation, not by birth. I was very Human less than a decade ago. And as much as I would love to hear about our ¡®Cousins¡¯ and discuss Faerie matters, this can¡¯t be why you are here.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. She looks slightly offended at the abrupt redirection. I shrug and eat a few snacks while she organizes her thoughts. ¡°The Warleaders wish to know about you as a person. Unknown quantities with unknown power make them nervous.¡± ¡°Heh, I¡¯ve been hearing that a lot lately. Really, all I want is to make mutually beneficial deals with other races and otherwise try to stabilize Humanity¡¯s position amongst the stars. It¡¯s been many of our dreams for so long, and now we finally have the opportunity to do so.¡± ¡°Sounds as though the idea is still in the Romantic phase. The Herrat tried a unified Empire many times in our history. The longest it ever worked was a hundred and seven years. We have been a space-faring race for over a thousand.¡± ¡°I get that. Many Human empires of old lasted several hundred years. One lasted over a thousand and was responsible for one of the greatest spreading of technology and language my world had seen until modern era.¡± ¡°Is that what you hope to accomplish?¡± She¡¯s leading me to something, I don¡¯t know what, but I¡¯m feeling this has turned into a ¡®see what you can get¡¯ encounter. ¡°I have many aims. The largest of which is that my people have the ability to find out what life is like without struggling to survive. What of the Herrat? What are the goals of the Warleaders?¡± ¡°To war, of course. We are still a very combat-oriented species. We generally focus on finding feral worlds and tame them but we also have many scientific achievements to boast as well.¡± ¡°Which brings us back to what you want from us. Trade? Mining? Industry?¡± ¡°You¡¯re very direct aren¡¯t you Empress.¡± I don¡¯t care for the tone of that statement. ¡°You admitted to being a war interested species that likes taming planets. There aren¡¯t many ways to interpret that, unless you are looking towards are resources to fuel your technologies.¡± She sighs and puts down the wine. ¡°We are interested in your Battery technology most of all, but what we really want is your inhabitable worlds. You have found five plus you Earth? These will make excellent staging points for further exploration and conquest. My true goal is to offer you favorable terms of surrender.¡± I was wondering who would be the first to try this. Turns out it is the pretty kitties. I wonder what kind of honor code they abide by in war. ¡°Does your race typically make slaves of the conquered?¡± ¡°Naturally. But we save the most promising . . .¡± ¡°Then fuck you. And Fuck your terms. I will not abide by my people being taken as slaves.¡± She grins a predatory grin at that, and her guards come out of the trees. ¡°Many races have said the same, yet still they serve. You are being served with a notice of War. Herrat Forces will arrive in an eighth mark to take your planets by surrender or by force.¡± Why she decides to nod instead of some ping to their HUD is lost on me, but as soon as she does I transfer two handheld weapons to my hands. A pulse pistol and my plasma saber appear in my left and right hands respectively. I energize and strike down with the saber, which she stops with her paw and a grin. ¡°Your paltry tier 1 tech cannot hurt me.¡± Plasma doesn¡¯t work on it¡¯s own? I can see it is taking energy to block it, can I overload the shield? Lased Aether perhaps? As she pushes the plasma toward my face with her mighty paw, I full auto my pulse pistol into her stomach. The fourth blast shatters the shield. I don¡¯t know how long I held the trigger during the shock of the deafening roar she let out as the pain of losing the top of her paw made it to her brain, but eventually her legs lost the ability to hold her up as she starts licking the wound on her hand. Two rifle blasts shoot past me and I hear surprised hisses and bodily thuds coming from behind me. I suppress my urge to look behind while in paws reach of a predator and sprint sideways and vault the railing of the pagoda, and swing back around to where I heard the thumps. I see squirming cats with big scorch marks on their chests. I put two pistol rounds in each of them to stop the squirming. When I look over to find the source of the rifle fire, I see Solaris¡¯ helmet and the tip of my pulse rifle peaking over the edge of a higher garden wall. I briefly salute her and then make my way back to the Ambassador. Tessa, can you ground the Herrat shuttle and prepare it for me to remote pilot? I can ground them, but their control technology is more advanced than ours, and it would take learning it to rig it to fly for us. May I suggest a standard cargo pod and a warehouse drone? Sounds great. I put up a shield around the pagoda and try to block exchange access ¡°By Supercluster Forum treaty,¡± She coughs up what I¡¯m assuming is blood. It¡¯s blackish and smells bad. ¡°prisoners are to be afforded medical assistance.¡± ¡°You are not my prisoner, you are free to leave. However, by attacking me on my world, diplomatic envoy or not, I can have you executed. Your remains and the remains of your guards will be returned to your people, as is our custom.¡± I walk back to the two guards, have a crate delivered and toss them in it. I summon my shuttle stuff the still alive ambassador in the crate, seal it, put it in the shuttle and return the shuttle to its extra-dimensional space. Hopefully she¡¯s in stasis. I had a sinking feeling that if she died, she¡¯d be taking half my castle with her. I ask Tessa if she¡¯s inside my suite, and she tells me that she¡¯s currently on Alaris. Crap. Ahh well, mind talk it is then. I sigh as I walk through the sliding glass doors to a promenade district with empty spaces for shops and restaurants, the tenth floor being the top floor for businesses. Apparently here are also apartments behind them? I have not studied the layout of this place enough. Same as every other thing in my life though. I see Naomi sitting at a table looking at screens while sipping something insulated. I sit across from her and she looks up with a smile. ¡°Glad to see all your parts are still connected, Empress. While I was waiting, I approved some businesses that have petitioned to move in to the Castle, or at least have a stall. The fancy tailor you visited and the meat-man were among the first. I hired a former building manager to handle renting some of the smaller apartments, and am looking for an assistant to help with your rather extensive task list.¡± ¡°I should get an assistant for my business scheduling and task prioritization. As well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put that on the list.¡± ¡°Whew, Admiral. I wish you would have picked another place to have a meeting.¡± ¡°Heh, thanks Solari, for the backup. They chose that location on purpose no doubt. I was surprised they came to fight.¡± ¡°You and me both. Thanks for loaning me the rifle, this thing is preem.¡± ¡°Sure thing, but it looks like I need to make a few hundred of them. The Herrat just declared that they would make war on us a year from now.¡± Solari and Naomi¡¯s eyes go wide. ¡°They severely underestimated our capabilities this time, and I¡¯ll bet that their adjusted estimates won¡¯t come close to what we can do. That being said, it¡¯s about time we fleshed out some military staffing.¡± Alright, open call for an Admiral¡¯s aide, O-3 or higher. Administrative assistant, E-4 or higher. System Defense Commanders x3, O-4 or higher, SD assistant E-4 or higher. SDC¡¯s can find their own staff or talk to the new Nav-Admin guy. I tap away at the messages. ¡°Naomi, can you schedule me with the Captain of the Alaris and Alaris herself?¡± A few ideas start circulating through my crystal-mechanical brain, devious, atrocious, and effective ideas on how to make an example of the Herrat and their predatory practices. ¡°Yeah, that shark-tooth grin on that face is nightmare fuel, Admiral. Are you murdering cats in your mind?¡± ¡°Yes. Yes I am.¡± I giggle unconsciously and I see both of my table mates shudder. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just I hate when people mess with me because they can, so I like a good payback lesson. Also, it involves me making a bunch of things, which I also like.¡± They just nod and continue focusing on things that keep their gaze off of my face. Penny, priority call from Rich. No. No no no. Not now. Why does shit have to blow up now!? ¡°Hit me, Rich.¡± ¡°Well, Penny, Finally got back in contact with Peter and the gang. They¡¯ve been ferrying refugees to stable areas away from multiple conflicts. Many locations have upwards of fifty thousand people waiting for evac. The former US Navy has been setting up relay ansibles to help deliver rations, but there¡¯s no way to erect even temporary housing for that many. They¡¯ve already started pinging people with the Astoria migration agreement, and over a million have agreed within the last month.¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± B3 Ch 28: Money, Money, Money. ¡°Captain Jessup, Captain Farrow, and Alaris, thanks for meeting with me. I assume Rich sent you a memo?¡± ¡°We are apprised of the situation, Admiral.¡± Alaris responds via intercom. ¡°Great, so let us assume that we have a land-based Gateway on Astoria, all naval assets are available, and money is relatively free. What are our best options to transfer these camps to Astoria?¡± I query Alaris to display the camp information on the Navigation projector. ¡°Well, if we don¡¯t keep them onboard for more than two days or so, Galilei can hold around ten thousand. Alaris maybe half that without shuttles, but Alaris¡¯ true utility is the second Gateway. With the Shuttles able to pack in close to twenty and one cargo pod up to sixty for the short trip from land to Alaris, that¡¯s 140 people per trip with negligible slowing, or 200 to still escape atmosphere in a reasonable time.¡± Jessup starts poking at the display, zooming out to show a planet view with Alaris stationed in low orbit. Then he does some calculations of a slower moving orbit relative to the surface and gets lost in some calculations. ¡°That puts our limit on shuttles and whether the gate can handle two inputs at the same time. For the shuttles, we can jam 40 shuttles into the two cargo bays if we stack them, but we need to leave enough around Alaris to unload Galilei as she will still be a useful way to ferry large quantities of people. ¡°So with thirty Navy shuttles, That¡¯s roughly ten thousand an hour if we run people ragged, or six thousand if we plan for it being hard like herding cats. Moving around 60 thousand people a day . . . Astoria¡¯s crooked nipples, that¡¯s most of a month to transfer what¡¯s already there.¡± Ugh, my nipples aren¡¯t crooked anymore, Farrow. I¡¯m not going to say that out loud, especially since we¡¯re in a humanitarian relief situation and my boobs are not germane to this conversation. ¡°We¡¯ll get more at first with the flux from Bikini station, and if we can get the old Navy to help ferry folks to Bikini station, we could get a little more mileage from that gate.¡± I add. ¡°By my calculations, we will need their assistance in all cases. We simply do not have the personnel to manage organizing that many people let alone issuing medical assistance.¡± Alaris says, bringing a perspective I hadn¡¯t even entertained. ¡°That also brings up the question of money. I¡¯ll set up an account with ten million credits that you two will have access to for this response. Whatever you need, blankets to bandages. You know what? That¡¯s only like three credits per person, make it 100 million.¡± Jessup whistles. ¡°I didn¡¯t know the Empire was holding enough cash to be able to just toss away 100 million.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t. The Empire barely has enough to keep itself running. But I imagine after building enough housing and infrastructure for a million immigrants, I won¡¯t be rich anymore either. At least it shouldn¡¯t be as pricy per unit as Aelea or the Sector host were. A million tokens a piece they were.¡± I shake my head at the cost of those things, making me wonder why a city of ten thousand cost so damned much. Katie put in infrastructure for sewage, water, and power to support 10 million people. Also, I am headed up to the bridge with schematics made from your meeting with the city planning enthusiasts. Damn, Katie really was something else. Thanks Tessa, you¡¯re the best. I look up to some surprised-looking Captains. ¡°Uh, do I have something on my face?¡± ¡°Sorry, you said a million tokens. That¡¯s CE¡¯s for the Exchange?¡± Jessup asks. ¡°Yep. I spent the GDP of the old US in a week. What I got for it was worth the money though. Imagine living without the Sector Host? It was also the most robust way to enable the transfer of goods and services to Earth.¡± I shrug. ¡°Tessa is coming up to discuss infrastructure and city expansion, if you want to get started with mobilization, you don¡¯t have to stick around for it.¡± ¡°Then I will take my leave, Admiral. Galilei is under minimal manning at the moment, and a recall of personnel and a storage of un-necessary furniture needs to be addressed.¡± ¡°I have a subterranean warehouse if you just want to pile it in the shuttle and maintenance bays and I can transfer it there. Cheaper than reclaiming and rebuilding.¡± ¡°I will do so, thank you Admiral.¡± He walks to the lift and teleports away. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Captain Farrow sits down in her chair on the bridge and starts whipping off messages and sorting through screens. I should do the same honestly. I pull up Aelea¡¯s infrastructure map and see that there are multiple water and sewage plants spread around the plain that Aelea sits on and two more power stations that run parallel to the foothills to the Northeast. The plains and lowlands of the Southeast seem the best bet as the land begins to get thickly wooded and hilly to the Northwest. I put a tentative mark 10km or so to the Southeast, about 100 km from a broad cone of marshland that leads out to the Cotton Sea, Cottonport being on the southern end of that marshland about 100km further. I¡¯m looking at various prices for building styles when Tessa arrives on the bridge. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen her so I¡¯m mid hug when I realized I greeted her with a kiss too. Huh. ¡°Good to see you, Tessa. I trust it¡¯s been a productive few days?¡± ¡°It has, it has been. I picked up those orders I flagged. And now, we¡¯ll both be busy working infrastructure. I sent a message to the planners, and they¡¯ll be happy to work with us once we pick a layout.¡± ¡°Hmm, if they can give me a rate of building . . . no, we¡¯ll still have to build a quarter to half a million units just to give people time to breath.¡± ¡°Three days worth would be sufficient, but I understand that working our helpers half to death is frowned upon.¡± She smirks at me with that synth smile. ¡°That¡¯s a roundabout way to say that us flesh bags are weak. In any case, I was thinking a spoke and wheel around a gateway commons? Maybe make every third wheel a parkway or something?¡± ¡°Hold that idea, Alaris, can you display what I¡¯m sending you on the Nav table.¡± ¡°Yes Commander.¡± Alaris responds. I had forgotten I¡¯d lumped Tessa in with Katie and Mel when I assigned permissions on this ship. The display shows a mockup of a city for a quarter million people, mostly stacked on top of each other. The central gateway is surrounded by a pavilion and a wide road that splits off into various spokes. The road into town from Aelea is double-wide and unimpeded to the pavilion. The way through goes around a short row of administrative buildings before widening again and heading out of town. I have questions about that part. The rest is spoke and wheel as discussed, but with a community feature on each wheel, but on different sections on each ring. That¡¯s kind of fun. After five rings there¡¯s a whole ring gap for ¡°future development¡± and possible single family housing. Interesting idea, especially surrounded by high rise condos and apartments. After ten rings, the shape starts breaking down and the road to Aelea begins to be lined with tract housing developments smattered with lower-rise apartment complexes. Aelea also sees some expanded ring features plussing the city up over 100 thousand capacity, with more buildings surrounding the Capitol district as well. To my surprise, this plan also expands to the foothills and to the wooded hills opposite of the Gateway town, each area supporting a pavilion or community park at the center and a spoke and wheel arrangement. The round at the foothills immediately seems like an area for bougie folk as the far side of the ring is stepped up into the hillside, likely sporting the best views of Aelea. If those two areas were as densely filled as the gateway area, this layout would house close to three million people. The current expansion plan on this readout is for 1.2 million people. ¡°Looks serviceable and expandable. Though I would like to add a temporary warehouse-like shelter behind the obstacle buildings on the far side of the gateway for triage and sorting.¡± ¡°Those ¡®obstacle¡¯ buildings are walk-through administration buildings and are intended to be removed or moved once the majority of this effort is completed.¡± ¡°Alright, I want to print it and ship it. Tell the planning hobbyists that I plan to build Penbroke in its entirety the way it is laid out and the first hub of each Aelean Heights, and the third borough which you can name. I will not be building the single family homes between Penbroke and Aelea.¡± ¡°Sounds reasonable. Should I add shielding arrays similar to what Katie installed?¡± ¡°Yes please.¡± She adds waypoint pilons along the roads and fixtures to buildings and city centers into the plan. I take the plan, break it down into materials and estimated labor into the Exchange to get an estimate.
Service Cost
Parts and Materials for Penbroke, Aelean Heights, and Vooselton: 1.5 Million CE
Fabrication and Assembly for Penbroke, Aelean Heights, and Vooselton: 450 thousand CE
Exchange Delivery Fee: 20 thousand CE (Waived)
Furnishings, Landscaping, and Minor Structures 310 million AE
Rush fabrication: 10 million AE
Exchange Delivery Fee: 50 Million AE (Waived)
Project Total: 1.95 Million CE, 370 Million AE
As soon as the total hits my brain, my eyes cross and my vision fades and somewhere in the back of my senses I realize I¡¯m falling over right before I pass out completely. B3 Ch 29: Suck it up Buttercup. If you¡¯d have asked me before I joined the Navy what I thought of girls that fainted all the time, I would have said that now that people have access to nourishing food and can breathe in their clothing, that it is a modern fiction. Now though, I pass out like once a month. Luckily I¡¯m very durable. ¡°Penny, this is not the time or a nap, hon.¡± Robo-asshole snickers at me. ¡°Tessa,¡± I sigh as I push myself to my feet. ¡°You know what? If you pushed the order button so I don¡¯t have to look at the cost again, I¡¯ll forgive the insult.¡± ¡°I did, but there are some issues that might come up with the parts that were ordered.¡± I watch her shuffle her hands, a very human nervous action. I gesture for her to get on with it. ¡°None of the costs were for enchanting or engraving.¡± ¡°Let me guess, the Gateway wasn¡¯t delivered.¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually unsure. I dove into the delivery schedule and the roads and the first ring of each borough will be delivered by tomorrow morning. We can check Penbroke Pavillion then to confirm.¡± I tap through some menus in my mind and see that a finished, small Gateway costs 100k CE and three effing weeks to build. ¡°I sure hope something is there, because otherwise our ¡®plan¡¯ stops before we even get started.¡± I tap my chin for a minute to get my brain back into gear. ¡°Captain, how long do you think mobilization and transit is going to take?¡± ¡°Two to three days for recall and start-up, three to five for transit and supply en-route depending on how prepared we want to be to return in a hurry. Alaris is a lot more versatile that Galilei, but we¡¯ll want to go slower so we don¡¯t have to burn money just to keep the gateway open.¡± She doesn¡¯t look up from her screens. ¡°Admiral, the aether generators onboard won¡¯t be able to keep up and the portal technology for rapid recharge should not be operated for more than twenty minutes a day. We¡¯ll need three days to recharge for every two weeks of operation.¡± ¡°Ugh, thanks Alaris. Proof that magic can only do so much. You know what? As long as we can get them medical attention, I don¡¯t suppose it matters how long it takes as long as it looks like we¡¯re working on helping people. Maybe we schedule the Galilei to fill up when Alaris needs to charge. This probably more than doubles our transfer time and does not account for the extra people that will come out of the woodwork when they see we¡¯re actually helping people.¡± What the hell am I getting myself into? I¡¯ve been fighting with my people all week about laws and shit, considering banishing people to Earth, but as soon as I hear about suffering, I drop ten trillion dollars to help them. I know fighting for rules and laws that keep people safe is important, but it doesn¡¯t feel near as good as rescuing people. ¡°That seems like a reasonable assumption, but the Earthside Navy seems to be ready to continue ferrying people to these aggregation points. You can apparently walk from one end of your Atoll to the other on a flotilla of personal craft strapped together. You¡¯re going to have your hands full, Ma¡¯am, just like the rest of us. It¡¯ll be good to do more than police work and coast guard actions though. Most of the crew will appreciate this.¡± ¡°I have mixed feelings about that, but I¡¯m glad you folks are here. I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯m surprised we even got ten thousand to come to Astoria, let alone having people serve in the military.¡± ¡°Admiral, we can have drinks and discuss the novelties of what you¡¯ve put together after this crisis is averted. Until then, there is much to be done.¡± She¡¯s locking eyes with me now, and I can feel the years of experienced command in her words. ¡°Copy, Captain. We¡¯ll be onboard for at least a few hours in the Fab bay.¡± ¡°Your boat, Admiral, I just drive it.¡± ¡°Bullshit, Kendal, You know Alaris is a friend as well as a ship.¡± ¡°I appreciate the sentiment Admiral, but social hour is canceled for the foreseeable future.¡± Alaris tells me, with some seriousness in her voice. ¡°Point taken ladies.¡± I take a deep breath, walk over to Tessa, put an arm around her waist and turn to her, ¡°Then it¡¯s time for my favorite hobby. ¡°Blowing yourself up?¡± My cheeky AI responds. ¡°Close enough. Lets go hon.¡± We take the lift teleport to the fabrication and shuttle bay. >/Please don¡¯t blow me up, Admiral./< >/Chill Allie, you¡¯re pretty durable, and I do all of my antimatter experiments on the moon./< Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. >/I have been told that Nicknames are an attempt to build a personal rapport. Are you interested in being friends, Empress?/< I snort at that. >/Yes, Alaris. I am trying to be friends with you. I am fond of my Symbiont and AI personality, so it makes sense to me to attempt to befriend a ship personality./< >/That is not necessary at this time, thank you for the interest Empress./< Well, shit, rebuffed by my own ship. I should hope so. Alaris basically thinks you asked her out. She has a crush on Captain Jessup. Oh? What would that relationship even look like? With you, I could have snuggles, but does Alaris even snuggle? Penny, you are painfully oblivious some times. But since the Empire needs you to be productive instead of an emotional mess, let¡¯s talk projects. Okay, Tessa, the friend shaming hurts coming from you. Please don¡¯t okay? You¡¯re like the last rock I have to lean on. Penny, I¡¯m sorry, and I know you¡¯re still recovering from this terrible week, but we need go-get-¡®em Penny, Empress of Humanity to accomplish with authority. Use your dusky command voice if you have to. I growl at her, can¡¯t help it. Pushing things aside is what makes people completely fall apart down the line. My life did just blow up from un-resolved issues, and yes it still hurts after only a week of uber drama. What the hell should I be doing now, though? We don¡¯t know what issues might be happening with the gateway until morning, and I¡¯ve got people doing much of the other prep work. I inform Petra that we¡¯re headed to Earth in a few days for a refugee response and she expresses her interest in helping. Ivanka is much less interested, still holding a grudge against Earth in general it seems. Considering that two women don¡¯t seem to be getting any support from Svetlana and the other Russian troublemakers, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. Since that took absolutely no time, let us look at the parts of the problem I can help with. Transportation is largely based on the gate working or we¡¯re down to ferrying 10k a week with Alaris setting up in Astoria orbit for the working gateway. Nothing I can do about either of those until tomorrow. I can¡¯t speed up our readiness, I¡¯ve already spent the money on getting a town built to house them, and rations are still available to feed people. It¡¯s all about the gateways right now. Maybe it¡¯s time to actually read a module, maybe search for a tome about gateway magic. I see a research paper on creating and tailoring keys for private gates on public networks and spend the 1k AE to unlock it without flinching. I also do a quick search amongst my modules for power requirements on similar technologies and stack them into a tablet for reading once I look at what Tessa has been working on. Sure I¡¯m a little mad at her, and am quite aware that she¡¯s still listening to me, but it¡¯s no excuse to be a shitty friend. She leads us to a bench and work area that has been highly customized with a project left out on the bench. Wow, she even works like me. That¡¯s kind of flattering. ¡°Is that an arm?¡± ¡°It is! I¡¯ve been working on putting synthetic musculature based on your biology over printed titanium carbide structures.¡± The frown on her face fades as she talks about her experiment. ¡°Can I?¡± I reach for the limb and pause to get permission. When she nods, I pick it up to move the joints and look at the structure of the muscles adjust. ¡°This is fine Enchanting work. Did you post a job for it?¡± She nods again. ¡°Could use an engraving or an enchantment to lighten the bones, but this is really excellent work. How do you intend to trigger impulses?¡± ¡°I could technically just use electrical signals, but the power limitations aren¡¯t very attractive. So, I took what we did with the shuttles and designed a smaller network with a miniaturized aether distilling unit to recharge. I will likely need your assistance for that stage as it is heavy with engraving and enchanting.¡± ¡°Have you ever thought about doing the engraving yourself and just using my ink?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. However, from what I¡¯ve experienced your aether control and innate tools give your strokes more elegance than I can duplicate mechanically.¡± Well, at least she needs me for something besides just being a host. Penny . . . ¡°Don¡¯t, I know it¡¯s a stupid worry, it¡¯s just that I wish I could do more right now and I¡¯m feeling useless.¡± I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. ¡°I¡¯m going to study for a few hours, then head back for dinner. You want to come with?¡± ¡°I would Penny, but I would like to continue working. Also, watching you eat makes me envious.¡± ¡°Okay, yeah. I guess I¡¯ll leave you to it then.¡± I teleport back to my shuttle before tears could well up in my eyes. The vibes of telling me to leave people to their work feels a little personal, especially from Tessa. This is what I collected smart people around me for yeah? Free time and project time? Good work Penny. Now you¡¯re just fucking lonely. I pick a bowl of berries and study in my private garden, ordering a bottle of Francesca¡¯s Hooch in prep of my marathon study session. I dig into the encoding research paper first, and I start to see some benefits right away. Linking two gateways point to point is secure. As soon as you connect a third, you introduce the ability to select a gateway in a network, where the default network is any gateway within range of the local Host. For Astoria, that¡¯s anywhere within 3k light years, ostensibly only my gates anyway. One of the ways around this is redirecting travel to a ¡°Master¡± gateway. The downside of this, is that once someone has access to the master gateway, they can travel to any connected portal with no additional safety checks. The other way is to encode an aether key into the gateway, which consequently allows each side of the gateway to be used independently as long as the encoding sequences of the gateway faces are different. Of course, the ¡°Master¡± re-direct does not play well with the aether key coding in a potentially lethal way. Flagged for future research opportunities. Okay, this is good news. It addresses one of my throughput questions about having the Bikini gateway and the Alaris gateway operating at the same time. Now, to see how I can power the whole thing. Interlude -- Herrat Light Cruiser ¡°Raj Merkhet, the explosion knocked us out of the gravity tunnel, which overloaded our graviton simulators.¡± Ambassador Lakeshi assured us that based on available data that this mission was a guaranteed success. No martial experience, constantly lounging or tinkering with gadgets, and weak for a pretty face. While Lakeshi was no where near as proficient in killing as her attendants, she was a poisoner and seductress by trade, but there was no data on how alluring Humans and Pixies found other species. Our intel was obviously flawed on this woman, the Empress of Astoria, especially if they were able to best three Herrati in tier two battle suits. Our Forum representative assured us that the Humans were sanctioned by the forum to tier 1 or below. Perhaps the race change of the Empress circumvented the restrictions? ¡°What is the estimated time to restart the simulators?¡± ¡°Several days, Sir on account we spent our extra energy stores creating the last tunnel¡± ¡°Yes, I see. The Ambassador¡¯s actions prevent us from moving via the Sector Hosts I presume?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, sir. Although the Empress agreed to Herrat terms, on of the Human System Lords filed a limited scope Vendetta against our ship, showing a surprising knowledge of our laws.¡± ¡°We¡¯re a few hundred light years away from the Astorian system, we should be fine for a few days.¡± Especially since there¡¯s no way they can use their capitol ships and still maintain the year-long armistice they accepted. ¡°Raj! There¡¯s an odd signature on our aether detectors.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. I rush over to the sensor and communications display to see the display pick up aether and infrared signatures from an object the size of a few chariots strapped together. That is a small vessel to be in deep space. ¡°Leopard Ghenna, what kind of vessels did you see that have this signature in the Astorian system.¡± ¡°Their transfer craft, or ¡®shuttles¡¯ had similar heat signatures, but the aether readings were non-existent. The craft should also be too small unless their aether ratings are higher than listed.¡± Should be. We¡¯ve been saying that a lot about the Humans lately and it¡¯s already crippled my ship. ¡°Get our Warleader on the line. This all adds up to a bad situation. We need to warn the Clans.¡± ¡°Right away Raj!¡± the jungle cat turned back to her station pressing buttons and rearranging sliders. ¡°Uh, sir? We¡¯re being jammed? The signal is of Human origin and it is currently trying to infiltrate our ship.¡± We have level 40 + data engineers onboard, they should not even by troubled by any jamming tech the humans have. ¡°Raise shields to maximum in the direction of the craft and fire as soon as they are in effective range of the EM cannons.¡± ¡°Sir? It¡¯s just a shuttle.¡± My aide added uselessly. ¡°Four objects have appeared on sensors, breaking off the craft. Accelerating faster than traditional chemical fuel and not giving off enough aether to be primarily magic in nature.¡± ¡°Open fire!¡± I demand. ¡°The objects are moving too fast across the array to accurately hit with EM cannons sir and the Laser weaponry is not effective that far away.¡± ¡°JUST DO IT!¡± I shout for all to hear, the bridge finally catching some of my anxiety. We¡¯ve had too may ¡®should¡¯ moments to ignore these threats. I can feel the discharge of the cannons as they spill ammunition at a wasteful rate, but I don¡¯t care. One missile goes down, just outside of the official EM cannon range. The next is caught just outside of laser range, but the next one that the lasers focus on explodes in a massive thermal cloud, masking the signal of the last missile. ¡°Oh, shit. Sir. Our computers finally recognized the signatures: it¡¯s Antimatter sir.¡± The apes are both more advanced and more foolish that we ever guessed. ¡°I hope the Warleaders choke on void hairballs.¡± B3 Ch 30: Use What the System Gave Ya The next morning, Tessa joins me and Naomi at the Penbroke Pavilion, to see a bit of a mixed bag of results.
Gateway Blank 3MEA Made from enchanted ceramic in a single piece. Requires engraving and power source to enable gateway travel.
Luckily, this expensive blank also comes with some rudimentary engraving instructions, which I definitely appreciate. If I don¡¯t sleep for a few days, I might even be able to finish it before I need it. Before I start engraving, which I desperately want to do, I need to plan out the runes and spellwork I need to do on each side of the blank. ¡°There¡¯s not much I can do here is there?¡± ¡°Nonsense. You can figure out how we¡¯re going to shield this platform, maybe inside an armored shroud for the arch?¡± I don¡¯t love the idea that the ceramic body would be left to the elements, even if its enchantments make it more robust. ¡°yeah, I can start on that. Do you have enough batteries and ink for this?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll delay our next ship of the line, but yeah, I have the batteries made. My ink supply is lower than I¡¯d like. With enough aether replacement food and drink, I should be fine.¡± I wasn¡¯t so sure, actually, but I wasn¡¯t about to say that out loud in front of Naomi. Tessa could, of course, read my thoughts, but she can deal. Tessa immediately frowned and thought better of bringing it up now. As soon as I set up my refreshment table down within the prone archway, I tell my assistant to take notes on the last day of the Forum for me and apologize for missing the end of the proceedings. You know I don¡¯t like it when you sacrifice yourself like this. My laugh is borderline maniacal. You wanted go get-¡®em Penny, this is her: Science above all else. I appreciate you having my back, Tessa, you don¡¯t get to dictate my behavior, however. You don¡¯t get to dictate what¡¯s important to me. I need this to help pay back the lives I took when I killed 73 million sick people with the swarm, and I¡¯d like you to understand that. I do understand. But I¡¯d also like you to understand that people care about Penny the person too, not just Penny the Scientist or Empress Astoria. It¡¯s hard to see my engravings when I¡¯m crying, Tessa. Cut it out. There¡¯s a sad chuckle that follows¡ªI can¡¯t tell of it¡¯s me, her, or both. Without another word thought in that direction, I continue planning my engraving while Tessa transfers a fabricator to the platform and starts printing stainless steel sheets. The knowledge I read starts spooling up in my parallel minds and conveniently lets me process the data they provide at the same time, lets me understand what they¡¯re telling me at the same time. With the notes on keying portals and safeguarding the material stream from the research paper, and the multi-gateway setup from the space manipulation modules and the instruction manual from this blank; I understand that most of the spellwork and runes will be the same on both faces of the blank and that the encoding and safety can be engraved on the spine. Well shit. ¡°Hey Tessa? Can you bend those sheets over a scaffold? I need something to climb to engrave the spine of this thing once we stand it up. ¡° ¡°That¡¯s two whole extra steps before enshrouding the gateway.¡± ¡°Yes, hon, but it also provides us a way to pour the Osmete feet without a trying to mar the ceramic further.¡± ¡°I¡¯m calling for a welder and a shuttle. If you have some extra ink, I can engrave these plates as well.¡± ¡°Uhh, I¡¯m not sure I do hon. Buy some A-powered ink if you think you need to engrave now. We should be able to afford a couple bottles before it gets too ruinous.¡± Tessa nods at the recommendation, but I can tell she doesn¡¯t like it. I start with the space manipulation framework. The central runic and the embellishment border framework make a basic, portal-opening spellform. I search my Empire Interface for this location¡¯s relative anchor ID and it tells me that the ID for the Borough of Penbroke was enough. I then look up the ID for Bikini Atoll and decide to hard-code it to this far face of the gateway. The other side of the gateway, facing the admin buildings, can be the general in-out portal. I make sure to include the power lead and the overflow conduits in both feet to feed into the not-yet prepared magitech interface. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Ensuring that I have the desired runes and embellishment work laid out, I simulate with the Astorian Satellite Construct what kind of power loading and supply I should expect and need. The simulation takes a minute or two while I input the various crystal sizes I have available. The Satellites feed one of my minds that the spellform needs 7% overcharge to complete, but also bleeds 5% at the end of the form. So, I design in a few capacitance crystals that feed back into the feed line. I let the simulation run again with the new configuration while I diagram the forms for the other side of the portal. The admin and reception side should just have a network ID, or an open gate to connect with any Host-ranged gateway. I do some digging in the Empire interface to find that the Empire assigns system and planet ID¡¯s as a matter of course, but the Empire ID isn¡¯t publicly available. I query my Sector host on if there is a group identifier for Astorian systems. The system IDs line up exactly with the exception of a lead digit and a trailing digit. I query the Host for the system ID and there is just the ID. I ask for an Empire ID and they tell me there isn¡¯t one. In a moment of frustration, I ask for my ID. The Matrix comes back with as many IDs as I have titles, and the leading identifier matches the leading character of the Astorian Systems, but the trailing character of the titles are all different. Maybe that¡¯s a group identifier for a ruling title? One of my parallel minds has finished analyzing system IDs and tells me that the checksum is shifted by a static amount. That amount matches my ¡®Empress of Humanity¡¯ title¡¯s trailing character. Well, shit, my systems do have an Empire ID, but it¡¯s not the Empire, it''s the Ruler it¡¯s coded for. Meaning that this gate won¡¯t work if I stop being Empress¡ªnot this side at least. I¡¯m fine with it. I change my plan to hard encode on gate to the far side and go with the newly identified group ID, and decide to leave the admin side open to the Sector Host accessible gates. Or they would be open if I had not decided to encode the spine of the gate to restrict access. The simulation comes back with the data compared to the data from the Alaris gateway in that the arch reaches an ¡°optimal¡± temperature and starts using less power to maintain. This lends that the arch steals power to reinforce itself while operating. The simulation split off another set of data based on Alaris data and both results were available. Alaris numbers come in far more efficient, saying my proposed spellform only loses less than 1% instead of the 7% startup overfeed or the 2% sustained loss. The other simulation peaks at 10% due to a lack of cooling. Just to confirm no introduced errors with my slightly modified design, I run the changes for the group IDs just to make sure I don¡¯t cause the need for a second blank. I take a brief break to eat and slurp on my aether-infused juice while working on transfiguring my engraving tools. I leave the inks in the crate in the warehouse on Mercy as I plan to deplete my stores to 50% before delving into the ink. My index and middle fingers form a v-shaped chisel made out of my aether-forged bone matter and it slides through the enchanted ceramic as though it were firm cheese. Once the main form of this rune is cut, I form my ring finger into a smaller, semi-circle channel cutter that cuts a small reservoir at the bottom of each ¡°v¡±. Once that¡¯s finished I run the v-chisel backwards over the rune while pushing aether ink out of tiny holes on the bottom to evenly smear ink on the walls of the rune and enough to fill the reservoir in the valley. The guide for the gateway blank then recommends coating the shape in a clear substance to protect it from the elements while not impeding the flow of the aether working. I send a note to Francesca asking how much resin she has. I hit fifty percent reserves on my aether stores after only a few shapes. I look at the rest of the blank space and realize how much I have bitten off. Before I switch to ink bottles I take another break at the food and drink table and break out the small chill box with four galaxy fruit in delicate holders. I cut one in half and put the other half back in the box and stow it. Then I dig into the fruit, skin and all, and lose myself in the resplendent flavor and the euphoric amount of aether in the fruit. A young man runs forward with what looks like a surveyor¡¯s range-finder and sets it up between the feet of the arch and taps at an attached console for a few seconds before shuffling back to a table where I see Tessa fiddling with some dials. The boy swats her hands away, and I¡¯m about to go over there and toss him across town, when a projection of the archway shot up from the table. Ah, kits a tech savant. Tessa¡¯s a big girl, she can set her own boundaries. They start chatting and throwing ideas onto the arch model I immediately see a problem. ¡°Attention the model table, you should not be using the arch as a load-bearing support. I¡¯mma send you the projected heat production I simulated earlier, please consider dissipation schemes.¡± I set one of my parallel minds to find the signal that the range finder was sending to the table and use that frequency from my tablet to their table. As much as I hate the idea of tech modding my body, the mod my wife and Tessa lobbied for me to install so I can remote pilot the shuttles was a good call. Super useful. Any other pertinent data? You know what? I don¡¯t love your tone, but sure. I¡¯ll send over my power plan too. I also recommend being able to support the shield generator and a hundred kilos of batteries on that scaffolding. I send over the estimated size and shape of the Osmete feet I want to pour around the bottom of the archway once we stand it up. The dense aggregate pours like concrete, but weighs more than four times as much and is at least twice as hard¡ªit should keep this massive arch in place. When my condition improves from well-beaten rug to mildly ruffled feathers I figure it¡¯s time to get back to work. I use my transmutation skill to grow an interlock for my ink bottles, transfer some scrap steel to test the new ink connection on and then face the arch with a crate of ink and renewed vigor. Reviews, Comments, and a Course Correction Like most authors, I dislike the idea of putting notes in the main body of a post, but a bunch of things will be changing so here''s why: TLDR -- I''m going to scale back new content to three days a week until I finish re-working the first 20 (or so) posts of book 3. Reasons below. Many commentors and an active reviewer are displeased with the persistent troubled relationships, specifically book three. I have made efforts to tie many of those off, but not terribly cleanly. Many of you could probably tell that the rapid down-spiral of Katie was more me venting a bad mind-space than a natural progression of her character. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. In an effort to extract my out-of-story influences on her character, and Penny''s attitude towards it, I''m going to revisit the first twenty chapters of book 3 and change them. Refugee crisis segment is going to remain, and i will likely have to tweak future chapters as i change the past, but I''m going to make every effort to not completely mess up the continuity of the story, or just resort to a time skip. You may also have noticed volumes and a change to the blurb section. I grouped chapters to address a couple questions I received about "eventual litRPG" and to give people the option to skip ahead to the mind-speaking AI sections. As well as warnings for the current amount of drama in Book 3 (arc 2) B3 Ch31: 90% Concentrated Power of Will Three days. Three days and nights of engraving this damned thing, with all of the ink and aether and blood that I have. But it¡¯s finally done. I lie atop the scaffolding appreciating the last rune of the spine of the Gateway, knowing that I should descend and get ready to pour the resin in, but I can¡¯t bring myself to move. I¡¯m tired, my aether is below safe levels, and I haven¡¯t eaten in at least six hours. When my extremities start to shake as I relax, I realize I have a problem. ¡°Tessa. I think I need a trip to the recovery pool.¡± What? . . . PENNY!! No, no, no. You don¡¯t even have enough aether left to summon your shuttle you stupid girl! I vaguely hear Tessa shouting at her interface about transportation. I should have known you would do this. I saw that do or die look in your eye. Did I listen to my suspicions? No, of course not. Penny knows what she¡¯s doing. Why is she making a big deal about this? I¡¯m just tired. YOU ARE CONSUMING YOUR BODY TO LIVE. You could die Penny. ¡°Please eat, Penny. Please.¡± I can feel her put stuff in my mouth and forcing me to swallow. I feel short buzz, but I¡¯m still so tired. *** I wake up in my recovery pool, being cradled by Tessa. ¡°This is pretty comfy hon.¡± ¡°I am so mad at you right now. You weren¡¯t on the verge of death, but you were working on it. I¡¯m not sure what angers me more, that you risked your life, again; or that I should expect this behavior from you.¡± I chuckle weakly. ¡°I get that, but I can¡¯t stop thinking about how many people would suffer if I took an extra day to get that gateway up?¡± ¡°Well, we won¡¯t have to find out. Theodore is finishing up the housing and testing the shields while you recover. We hired a magitech technician to install the batteries that you set aside, who should be busy until this afternoon, and then, if you can walk again, we can power the gateway interface.¡± You continue to be the best part of me, Tessa. Thanks for managing my shitshow. Sorry I scared you. You should be. You were shaking the whole way back. Ugh, I think I know how Katie felt when your brain melted. Mind if I check some messages while I recover. Project your screens please. I like to use my body when I¡¯m in it. She wall-squats against the side of the pool and turns me in her lap to hug me from behind. Warmth spreads from my back throughout my body. This is very nice. Okay system, what has my foolishness bought.
x2
x3
x2
X2
/Due to the multiple, separate powered spellforms on this work, an additional work is credited toward Mastery.
/Through an effort of willpower you persist in your task despite the demands of reality.
/Your previous actions and experience with related situations lends to a rating of Advanced, step 6
/The Insightful Calamity has seen the forbidden and twisted its teachings.
/Previously tied to Primus-gifted benefits, your will has expanded its effects to other skills.
/Multiple will-influenced skills are required to discover this skill, as well as having the title ¡®of the Matrix¡¯ to influence Matrix-related actions.
/ Your previous actions and experience with related situations lends to a rating of Master, step 3.
/Mastery allows others to benefit from your expertise in a collaborative project.
/Mastery conveys an aura of authority pertaining to this skill.
/Mastery allows efforts more than a whole rating below to become trivial.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Tessa, correct me if I¡¯m wrong: My title, class, and progenitor rank just combined to make a magical demon baby.¡± ¡°Penny, the tooltip says: ¡®This is a Legend-rarity confluence skill.¡¯ That tooltip says: ¡®Higher rarity skills are pre-requisites for tasks and roles in service of the Matrix.¡¯¡± ¡°Okay, Tessa. Now for the Legend-rarity question.¡± //Query: Skill description ¨C My Will Be Done. //Response: My Will Be Done ¨C Legend Rarity. Your Will is a force of Nature. No matter what you attempt, applying your will to a task will have a noticeable effect. ¡°I low-key think that Andromeda is trying to make me an Administrator.¡± I turn around and monkey hug my robo-bestie. ¡°Your experiences with the current Administrators and their curious tolerance of you would lend toward some sort of role in service of Andromeda. It is, in fact, in the tooltip.¡± ¡°Tessa, I have a really stupid idea.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not descriptive.¡± ¡°Ass. I just got a module for aether condensing and other fun ways to die.¡± ¡°Ugh, I see where this is going. No, you can¡¯t try it now. I DEMAND that you be on Elysium within 100km of the V¡¯tek satellite collective before you even attempt that novel-based foolishness.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been far too long since I told you I loved you. I love us.¡± *** I convinced my protective AI to cart me out to hover above a thick Astorian forest before trying to pull aether to fix me. I can normally feel the mechanisms in my skin pulling and processing atmospheric aether, but it¡¯s always a trickle. This time though, I PULL. Let¡¯s spin up this vacuum. The vortex that is my heart fucking goes turbo and just reaps. I have to concentrate with multiple minds to keep my heart from eating my body and pull from the environment. After the effort and time that it takes to calm my vortex down, my skeleton has started to receive aether again. Thank the Matrix. I didn¡¯t know there were reserves lower than my bones, but there were and apparently I had a lot of body to sacrifice. ¡°While I appreciate that you are now within measurable levels, this had a destructive influence on the environment and your ship.¡± ¡°Yes, but, I can now go test the gateway and walk on my own again.¡± Tessa scoffs in my brain but gives up on her potentially fruitless protest and flies us back to Penbroke Pavillion. When we land, I look over the gateway arch and mix the small vial of chemicals into the bucket of tree resin and start pouring it in the engravings I couldn¡¯t protect before my medi-vac. I use about half the bucket before I finish, but I mixed the whole thing and I hate to waste it. But whatever plans I had for the rest of this bucket flew out of my mind when I see a puff of frizzy red hair tied up behind a severe face of concentration and stark beauty. I teleport tackle the technician and latch on like a fucking leech. The technician starts laughing and hugs me back. ¡°I wasn¡¯t ready to see you yet, but this reaction feels excellent.¡± ¡°Can I kiss you?¡± She nods and I dock with her lips. Somehow, minutes later, she¡¯s rolled on me and is currently looming on me with a satisfied smile and a sexy tooth biting her lip. ¡°I expected more . . . resentment, uncertainty, anger?¡± ¡°My love, no matter how you got there, you were taken advantage of and violated. I will never sleep in that house again, but I forgave you mere days later.¡± ¡°As much as I think your easy forgiveness foolish, I will take it. I also have to finish this arrangement. Please consult me in the future, Penny. Your Magitec is serviceable, but artless.¡± ¡°You may be hiding behind your expertise, but . . .¡± I tangle my fingers in her red curls. ¡°I just hope you¡¯re back to stay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not finished atoning, but I don¡¯t plan on avoiding you any longer.¡± She kisses me and I get lost in it. This is why Katie and I are so dangerous together. The universe could die while we focus on each other and we would only notice the aftermath. ¡°I should, uh, let you work then. I still want you in my life Katie. Whatever that turns out to be.¡± She smiles fondly before petting my cheek a moment then returning to work. >K] Remember when I told you I need you to the detriment of myself? I¡¯m there again love. You are the most exquisite death I can imagine at times, but then I remember that if I plan correctly, I can love you for a practical forever. We have time, love, and I will always come back to you. Your orbit sustains me, but sometimes I feel guilty for taking all of your warmth. You deserve all the planets and satellites that worship the gravity of you. [< >P] Katie, when you get poetic, my knees get weak, but don¡¯t leave me this way. [< >K] I won¡¯t avoid you anymore, but I don¡¯t deserve to be with you right now. Just . . . please give me time? [< >P] Okay, Kay. Whatever you need. [< Seeing her beat herself up makes my soul hurt. She turns from her work, placing a hand on my face with a sad smile and strokes her thumb twice before getting back to work. My skin and brain are buzzing with the contact, but I know that this is not a return of my loving wife. This is a reluctant vigilante that doesn¡¯t want to disappear, but will for a time. Well, if she won¡¯t stay, at least she¡¯ll do the gateway work better than I ever could. As anxious as I am about the reunion with my Katie, the Gateway is energizing and slowly coming to life. Focus Penny. The gorgeous ginger vampire is just here as a technician and not a world-ending seductress to take you home and give you orgasms into oblivion. A demigod Empress can dream okay? Afternoon has come and gone into early evening and I find Katie has disappeared, but the lingering excellence of her work plagues me. UGH!!! Tessa, please save me from this acute brain cancer. No can do. Atropos is talking to us again, and well . . . she said we could interface again. You smitten fool! I love this for you. Well, enough lollygagging. I key up my interface and ask Tessa to link her scaffolding prep with my simulation. Everything seems to check out after a twenty-minute crunch and we¡¯re ready to portal. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s my class or just me, but I wonder what kind of things I could break with gateway technology.¡± Tessa swears in my brain and keys my aether to the activation sequence. Without consulting me whatsoever, she engages the Gateway and with a satisfying surge, the shimmering portal stabilizes. //The Human Empire of Astoria has established a permanent gateway network. May prosperity move ever forward// B3 Ch 32: Visions of Sand I want to go charging in and just start in on the adrenaline of action over thought, but Tessa pulls me away from that level of foolishness. ¡°Penny, we don¡¯t know the lingering effects of you aether injury, and the response crew won¡¯t be in position until morning. Alaris just arrived on station and the shuttles are just being deployed.¡± ¡°Well, crap.¡± I¡¯d really like a reason not to think too hard about my personal issues. ¡°I also didn¡¯t think about what I should be doing after this. I can buy higher level meds for our physicians, but what else can I do that a team of Sailors and Marines can¡¯t do better? ¡° I can use my voice of command if people get unruly, I can shield and teleport, but not to the extent of a powered shiel generator. ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t seem important, but just being seen coordinating with response crews will help. Seeing the Empress actively engaged in helping her people is something we have not been diligent in projecting. A reason the actors in government have been acting so defiant I imagine.¡± PR is you answer? That¡¯s what you think I can do better than helping. As Naomi would likely tell you, this attitude against PR is exactly why you need to do it. Buuuh. What would that even look like? I mean I do need to talk to old US Navy brass to see what they want to do going forward. Can I just have that conversation in public? Beside the gateway maybe, but not getting in the way of transiting refugees. Perhaps outside of the checkpoint checking for citizenship or contract agreements. Mmm, that¡¯s not a terrible idea. Seeing that as a show my face and shake hands in Bikini Atoll, I should plan a route to the other gathering points and do much of the same hey? If I¡¯m going to be transiting around, I should bring my shuttle, bit that¡¯s a week¡¯s journey, assuming it takes that long for whatever this burning tingle is in my body. ¡°Penny, you are far too close to the problem. You can summon that shuttle from anywhere.¡± ¡°Oh, hell. Maybe I do need some rest, I forgot I carry that dimensional space with me.¡± Talk about good lessens on the difference between recovering aether levels and fully recovering. Benefit of this is that my new EVA suit should arrive tomorrow. Master Armorer Tennison didn¡¯t convey much, but he basically said he would upgrade the suit to my uses, even asking Tessa for my armor usage history. Left to my own devices for half a day is not my favorite, but I do take the moments to message Katie asking if she¡¯ll be at a place in her vengeance quest to have dinner with me, and I message Jenna to tell her what we¡¯re up to, knowing that she¡¯ll be there for another three weeks or so. I don¡¯t expect any type of immediate response so I continue to my other messaging. I tell Naomi that I¡¯ll be on Earth for at least a week, I ask Francesca if she wants to be involved in our response, and she immediately tells me that her efforts are better spent churning out food to broaden cheap food choices. ¡°Tessa, are you working tonight?¡± ¡°I would like to, but that would require I transport my projects to the Garden Penthouse.¡± ¡°Of course you can. You put extra equipment in there so I could work next to someone. By all means, be that someone.¡± Her posture and body position conveys reluctance and nervousness. A somewhat absurd emotion for an AI, but her responses have been much more organic since she¡¯s been living mostly in that body instead of my brain. That gives me an uncomfortable thought. ¡°Tessa, are you planning to move out?¡± My extremities tingle as anxiety consumes me. ¡°It requires your permission, but I was going to ask to move the majority of my swarm to an artificial host. Obviously I would keep the necessary swarm to keep up normal functions and level-ups, and my symbiotes cannot move to a synthetic host; so it¡¯s most of a mixed bag.¡± My feelings are all over the place on why she want¡¯s to move out, but I have been encouraging her independence. Perhaps she is anticipating my need to use more of my Multiprocessing ability, or perhaps she just doesn¡¯t like hearing my thoughts. I will be able to skim your thoughts regardless. But Moving Out would keep me less present in multiple processes, so much less desperate for input. I thank you for allowing met to become my own person, and this is part of that. Yeah, I get that. I¡¯m happy that you¡¯re happy. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m feeling that my people don¡¯t have time for me. You also don¡¯t have much time for us, Penny. We¡¯ve adapted to protect our feelings as well. As brilliant as you are, and as caring as you can be when you focus, you just don¡¯t focus on anything for long enough. The part of that statement that hurts, is that I have never had much focus for people, and with all of this Empire fostering that¡¯s coming up that¡¯s not going to change. You get that I¡¯m not consciously ignoring you right? It¡¯s more of a conditioning from my childhood than something I¡¯m trying to do? ¡°Katie and I get it. Katie since your tier 2 revival is having a hard time with it. I¡¯ve disliked it since after our first crisis when you started treating my like a search engine. You¡¯ve changed that since I¡¯ve started getting sassy with you, so that at least is better¡± She turns to smirk at me. ¡°Francesca and I talk often. She wants more of your time, and also a field search protocol for willing workers.¡± ¡°I thought we have a job board?¡± ¡°We do, but it¡¯s on the Exchange and that¡¯s not what kind of jobs people go there for. She wants and Empire Employment Portal.¡± ¡°Shit. Wow, that¡¯s got solid potential. Cand we add a subsystem for that and add it to the que of prompts within 72 hours of arriving on Astoria?¡± ¡°The module¡¯s not quite finished yet. Our local access network needs a plus up.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Hmm, I have a million square foot underground warehouse on Mercy, do you need server space or satellite coverage?¡± I didn¡¯t know I had the ability to shock Tessa, kind of cool to see. ¡°Ten thousand of that would be a sufficient boost for current and future endeavors. Crys-tor processing units and Corundum-silicate lattice storage systems would turn Mercy into the most powerful computer system Humanity has ever seen, and it would allow us to host an intermediate Exchange for local goods and hex-bit currency.¡± ¡°Wait, why do we need a currency exchange?¡± Not sure why I asked Tessa that. My wife and Mr. Mercer have more in-depth knowledge on finance. Tessa pings me the affirmative on that idea. I ask my AI and then Francesca if they want to have an evening together, they both decline as they both have workshop business to tend to. I ask Francesca if she needed anything for her shop, and she replies that she sent a proposal for a T-3 sequencing printer to Mercer and that she¡¯d appreciate a quick turnaround. Lack of other purpose, I head to my spa with a walk-up bar, where I have installed Oslo, mark 2 service bot. He serves me a Whiskey Mule and I take a half hour to decompress in the spa and think about the way ahead. Sustained refugee ops are going to be a constant thing for months. Housing, services and Urban planning are going to be huge in the way forward; but I still need the Astorian Forum to survey those projects. I need to make a ripple cannon for Alaris, and I need to figure out the location and access to my Vault. There are also several modules I have neglected, but I suppose that is the curse of advancing too fast. Short list is the Rippe cannon and the vault. The drive uses a rotating set of relative time-space anchors for propulsion. Right now, that requires a bunch of wheels and a pass-off systems. I¡¯d rather let that one foment in my brain before trying to process it. Next is the vault. It came with a vision so let us focus in living in that moment, that arrival in the mind space the wind, the hard sand and fine layer of rotting biomist. A war of magical origination was fought here, by at least tier 5. Planet wreckers did this. I definitely could have done it, it just wouldn¡¯t be this sandy in my version. I receive more from the edifice: it¡¯s almost clean on the outside, no doubt from the sandblasting for centuries. I take off my mental shoes to get a grounding in the swirling chaotic energies of the planet. I summon some void into a shield then a complete and concentrated vision of the memory solidifies in my mind, the quiet re-enforcing the senses I am receiving. Soon, the experience is intense enough to feel real, and the desire to touch the door becomes so ever present that I cannot help but think ¡°I need to be there¡± and shortly after, ¡°I need to answer the call.¡± Without thinking about it, I teleport to that visceral realty the memory is based on. When my feet hit the sand I can feel aether concentrations trying to balance into me. The air is buzzing with aether as well and completely saturating my senses. The air is a bright white and tastes of camphor and the sand is blinding white and smells of a violently burning forest. Overwhelming my senses, sticking to the inside of my lungs and outside of my legs, I feel like this environment is trying to drown me with sheer power. Panic sets in and I start trying to wipe it off me and hack it out, making it all worse. YOU DON¡¯T NEED TO BREATH! Tessa shouts into my mind. I hold my breath after I exhale and slowly focus on why I breath: to collect aether faster. Right now that is wholly unnecessary as this environment may be the only place that could cause me to mutate. With Body of Power V, this is a very improbable condition to be in. Now that I am consciously controlling my breath, I have a spare mind to focus on my surroundings. The building that was supposed to be clean and towering, is just a blasted edifice half-buried in sand. The windward bank is pilled up 15m tall and wraps around the sides for a goodly distance. Guess I have some digging to do. I try to connect to the Exchange to get a shovel, but no dice. No connection whatsoever. I try and add some space manipulation to it but it¡¯s spotty and flickers in and out, even with significant effort. Shit. Well, I know of a thing that I recently discovered eats anything. I shrug my shoulders and spray a swatch of this aether infused sand with Nighmare Napalm. As it eats down, more sand fills in and continuously feeds the hungry black maw. Fun way to dig, if it weren¡¯t ejecting furious amounts of aether as a biproduct. The idiot that I am, I¡¯m standing next to the pit watching it devour without paying attention to my aether levels. With that burst I am oversaturated. I try for a moment to bleed some of it off with spells, but is too late. The overcharge collapses to my chest so fast it feels like a kick and then my back starts spasming with crippling strength. Some popping, snapping and bleeding later, the pain subsides. I reach back to feel the bottom of some dense bumps where I can reach from the bottom and nothing I can reach from the top. I start pinching and poking the new lumps and it tickles so I squirm a little bit when I notice they¡¯re not just lumps, they¡¯re muscles. For fucking what?! Focus up Penny, one of my other minds reminds me that if I continue to soak aether up at this rate I¡¯ll mutate again in an hour. Fine, fine. Shoot more napalm, run away from the whole, see if I can shield some of this bullshit. I paint the expanse with a heavy layer of napalm and scamper around the side of the building and erect a thick repulsive shield above and below me. The assault from the sand is furious and it¡¯s draining my mana so fast. Sure, I can just recharge quickly in this environment, but just like burning through aether too quickly, charging too fast can be harmful and can also lead to mutations. Maybe a percentage shield would work? I think about configuring my shield to block about half of the ambient aether. It works to some extent, lessening the strain on my absorption processes, and also allowing me to redirect some of the bombarding energy back into the shield. Yeah, that¡¯s manageable. Uncomfortable, but manageable. Ten minutes later I walk back around to find the mound of sound greatly reduced. Round three then, I say to myself while making a conscious effort not to spray toward the building this time, and only spray in a line across where the base of the steps should be from the vision I was imprinted with. Fifteen more minutes later and the top of the doorway is visible in the pile and ragged depressions around the stairs area. Any more void, and I risk eating into the building. Time to break out a rune set I haven¡¯t made personally in over a year. I visualize the vortex runeshape and force it to manifest on both of my palms. I activate them from the side and in short order I create a billowing cloud of infused sand. I close my eyes and continue to sweep my hands around to where I remember the stairs and door to be and keep on vortexing until my aether is about a quarter left. I sit in silence with my eyes closed in a shield for a few minutes, trying to manage my absorption and focus on cycling as much as I can back into the shield without my body trying to store and then re-issue the aether. I wipe my face with a short spray of conjured water, which evaporates immediately, and open my eyes to see that a cloud still exists, but it is much reduced. I trigger my shield ring and hope the thing isn¡¯t overwhelmed by the aether, but provides adequate protection for my eyes. Rounding the corner again, I see the clean building front from my vision, with the notable features of the coded runes on the two massive doors. I create another, smaller, wind jet to focus on cleaning out the nooks and crannies of the doors and runes. Time to look at the vision again. I see the sequence and press them, but nothing happens. Do I have to embody the vision again, full experience the codification? Alright. Well, it worked on getting here, mayhaps it will work on activating the damned door. I stand within arms reach of the doors and start overlaying the vision in my vision, then in my other senses, until my physical aether sense is triggered with a pull and a shaping of power. I form the first rune on the first position tile, then the second, and I get the message. I quickly form and deposit the runes as the vision requires across the two doors. As the last rune is formed, I feel the vision push power into the final rune until the doors begin to open. Repeating the action, I flood it with aether until a resounding crack sounds as the semi-welded doors separate for the first time in millenia. B3 Ch33: It Belongs in a Museum Where the outside is suffused with aether, the inside is cleaner than Astoria. Not quite as clean as Earth, but close. I shut the doors behind me to keep the aether and sand out and turn around to survey my new vault. The main space is shaped as an enormous rectangular hall 20m wide, maybe 60-80m long, and the main room is only 20m high? I¡¯ll look at why it¡¯s smaller on the inside later. To the sides of the hall are wrap-around terraces filled with bookshelves, the first floor having alcoves with Gateways?! Andromeda¡¯s star tentacles, there¡¯s several gateways, and room for more. The central floor is smooth stone with deep-tone wood tables in neat rows. This wasn¡¯t a loot Vault, it is a vault of knowledge¡ªand maybe loot. The pillars supporting the wrap-around areas are scrawled with text I can¡¯t read, even with the system translator. Maybe it¡¯s because there is no signal to translate, but I would bet that this language is older than the Matrix. ¡°Greetings traveler.¡± A velveteen male voice speaks from my right. I am so startled that I instinctively blip into an alcove behind a bookshelf. ¡°My apologies. Greetings Magus of Space and Time. I am a semi-autonomous imprint of the last Curator of the Vault of Vespareth.¡± Imprint? That would mean that his technology is similar to the memory imprint of the door sequence. I peek around the shelf and see an opaque projection of a person. The man is dressed in bollowey pants and a loose tunic with fluffy cuffs, ala Arabian Nights. He¡¯s got the walnut skin tone to match but a vizier hat instead of a Sultanate hat. I liked Sinbad and various old pirate movies, so sue me. I step out from behind the case, ¡°Thank you Last Curator. I apologize for the intrusion, but I was transferred an imprint of the door sequence from the Matrix and I used it after I determined that only an advanced Space-time manipulator could access the building.¡± ¡°Ah! The Matrix has survived! It was our greatest wish that the war would not harm the Matrix, but we could not be sure as no being with knowledge of the Matrix has been here since. A handful have made it through the six known stable pocket dimensions, but never through that door.¡± Pocket dimensions huh? There are many Earthen Theories on a multiverse, but pocket dimensions weren¡¯t an explainable phenomenon¡ªpopular in fantasy writing though. ¡°Alright, Curator, how long has it been since the War?¡± ¡°Fifty-seven thousand, four hundred and twenty two of your Astorian Years. Before you ask, I can see the time print on your soul. If you wish to have all of your questions answered, I can install you as the Curator of this Vault?¡± ¡°Solid no thanks. I don¡¯t have the time or the impetus to time to absorb that kind of knowledge. Can I claim ownership of this Vault without being the Curator?¡± The man¡¯s tightly controlled features winced slightly at my question, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Oh, then as the latest discoverer of the Vault, I claim the Vault of Vespareth as my Vault.¡± He sighs, ¡°Close enough.¡± He walks over to me, places a hand over my forehead and over my vortex and sends several pulses at me. I feel the essence of this place create a tether to my thoughts and essence, and suddenly the signal transfer block on me is taken down. ¡°Ah, that answers my next question. Do I have to return here to access the books?¡± ¡°Unless you are Curator . . .¡± ¡°Stop it. I do not want to be Curator. Why are you trying to trick me into it?¡± The man actively grimaces and then vomits an answer, ¡°I imprinted my soul on the storage crystal, I have a chance of claiming your body if you accept being Curator.¡± ¡°Oof. You¡¯re also cursed to tell the truth? That¡¯s rough.¡± Well, since he tried to enslave me, fuck this guy. ¡°You are forbidden from ever attempting to install another Curator unless I specifically ask you to.¡± The growling underlayer of my voice slams into the man like a physical force. He stumbled a few steps and then started laughing at me. ¡°You are trying to intimidate me? I lived a hundred lives and know every method of coercion that exists! You will become the . . . What? Why can¡¯t I say . . . How? You actually forbade me from even insinuating that I would . . .¡± And then he throws a semi-corporeal tantrum. ¡°Hey, I understand. I¡¯ve only used that voice once before. But now that it¡¯s not just a Matrix influence, I actually have the physicality for that voice. Good to know it works on semi-autonomous soul imprints. Now, what besides knowledge and gateways are in this Vault?¡± ¡°Additional floors.¡± He grits his teeth. Ah. Malicious compliance. ¡°What traditionally valuable items are on those floors?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more than fifty millennia old. So everything.¡± ¡°You really want to make this difficult for me don¡¯t you? If there were other people that have come here through the pocket dimensions, how are you still the curator?¡± ¡°They never tried to claim the Vault.¡± And then I start laughing. Just a body-shaking belly laugh that has me lying on a table to support myself. ¡°What are the benefits of claiming the building?¡± He gimmaces, ¡°You may add or subtract knowledge, you may use the gateways and carry goods through them, you have complete access to every space within the Vault, and you may forbid others from entering or exiting the space.¡± ¡°I forbid others from entering or exiting the Vault of Vesareth unless I personally tell you otherwise. You know what? Add the clause that I can ask you to change my orders to all orders, and have that carried out.¡± The projection is grinding his teeth now. ¡°Is there anything I can add to the vault that will make you less grumpy?¡± ¡°New knowledge. It¡¯s been at least a thousand years since anyone stumbled upon this place.¡± ¡°Cool. Add a Human Knowledge section and I will give you a text-based recollection of much of our recent thrust and warp technology.¡± ¡°We already have a human section, but more would be appreciated. If you feed me knowledge I promise to be more forthcoming.¡± I smile at that, ¡°Deal, Curator. Would say, two million words get me an inventory of the vault?¡± ¡°Two million for a catalogue of items. Books and pure knowledge MUST be learned here. There is already a catalogue of books housed in this vault.¡± I got duped, but I¡¯ll accept. I send a million of my research and a million of Tolkien Fantasy. ¡°How dare you! Lies will not be tolerated.¡± I laugh at his bluster. ¡°You turn a deal on its side, so will I. I never lied and I suspect you can tell.¡± He dutifully sends me a catalogue of items in the Vault as we agreed, and I send him some coillected papers of mine and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. ¡°Is Human science this brutish in all aspects?¡± ¡°Not all, but it¡¯s the approach we¡¯re comfortable with. I¡¯ve been told that causing a warp by finding a bigger hammer is so stupid it¡¯s unique.¡± ¡°That is a perfect analogy to this, who made it?¡± ¡°Artificial intelligence seeded by the Matrix. She has since become my best friend. The Vesparthi did a great job with the Matrix, thanks for that.¡± ¡°Oh! Yes of course. It was our crowning achievement. A way to help people on other worlds progress as we did. Show everyone what power means so that wars like what happened here would be less likely across the galaxies.¡± ¡°Noble achievement, but many races strive off conflict. Erasing it entirely is . . . problematic.¡± ¡°OH! This fiction is based on factual creatures. Fascinating.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Fascinating enough to tell me which gateway is most applicable to a storage space?¡± ¡°The one labeled dry and sand. Now, I must finish these supposed fictions.¡± He dismisses me with a hand wave. Supposed fictions? So Dwarves and Elves and Dragons exist somewhere, that¡¯s fun. And faerie. Faerie are fucking real too. And not just me¡ªthough I am a hodge podge of tales and third hand recollections of a pixie¡ªthe Harrat Ambassador said she had a friend that had heard of humans and Fey. All of this astounding information that these fictional races are real pales in comparison to the reality that I am currently in: This building is greater than 57 thousand years old. Some of the sand I blew off has been there since centurions of Rome marched on Greece, since the slaves of Egypt built the Pyramids. Since an ice age brought Humans to North America. This building is older than recorded and speculated history of Homo Sapien Sapien, and its last Curator can talk to me. Holy shit. Let¡¯s look at that catalogue?
Item Rating Description
¡­. ¡­. ¡­.
The Morrigan¡¯s Scythe of Ending _MMS Forged in the dimension of Tir na Nog, this implement of war reaps the souls of the fallen to an upper plane
¡­. ¡­. ¡­.
Golden Fleece _AAC Powerful defense against rebellion and Mutiny
¡­. ¡­. ¡­.
Seers Crystal of Odyssey _EAS A prophetic arrangement of magic and conjecture
.... .... ....
Excalibur _MMB The sword of a hero backed by a powerful Magus.
Uh, this place has several mythical treasures from human history. What the hell do I do with this knowledge!? You have stumbled upon a link to myth and history for your Race. The benefit of this Vault is immeasurable. Can you bring me there? You are here Tessa. I will spend time here in the future, but we have some plates in the air right now and we really don¡¯t know if there are ratios involved in the passage of time. ¡°Is there a time-mass scale adjustment for this planet Curator?¡± ¡°Approximately 2:3 with Astoria, I¡¯m afraid. Some of the Pocket dimension are better for compression, but they are also less hospitable.¡± Hmm, I really want to go marvel at the relics. ¡°If you are trying to leave, there are powerful magics preventing portals or teleportation to and from this space. If on the outside chance you are powerful enough to bypass the wards and shields, you could damage them irreparably by doing so. That said, there is a separate, exit and entrance in the Observatory for the Proprietor¡¯s use.¡± ¡°Thank you Curator. That was very helpful. Though I noticed I can still teleport within the space?¡± ¡°A necessary loop hole to access the pocket dimensions, I¡¯m afraid. Convenient for you, though I do recommend using the stairs on the upper floors, some of the protective enchantments are fussy.¡± Okay, that was pretty nice of him. Maybe I can just bring him knowledge every trip and he won¡¯t be fussy. A pleasant thought. I pop up an interface screen and see if the building has an owner¡¯s interface. It does! And it¡¯s updating. That is weird to watch. Before the shuffling makes me dizzy, I find the stairway to the upper levels and blip there. There¡¯s another coded doorway, but when I approach it, it opens automatically. Must be a Proprietor thing. When I walk through I feel like I¡¯ve walked into a classy museum. Covered cases along the walls, some special or large pieces on display in tall central cases, each of them having a description of what¡¯s in them written in Vesparthi. Whistle-sabers of the Gladtanka. Aether reinforced, biomechanical blades with a distinct hole pattern that causes an ear-splitting shriek as they are swung. The four chunky blades must have been light and effective, but they are super ugly and olivine. Some of the armors are fascinating with what other races considered vulnerable areas. The variety of techniques and technology levels are broad, but each piece is given a similar detached elevation as a relic of their time and culture. The next floor, there are fewer items, but all have a small aura of importance hovering about them. Imperfection Eraser. Works on all manner blemishes or small flaws on a variety of objects, including living beings. Say what now? Would that, say, fix a crooked nipple, or erase said nipple? A thought, and perhaps a tool for later study. There are weapons and armor on this floor as well, but far more tools and niche items that some one has dove too deep to create¡ªPerhaps like mechanical warp tech. The next floor takes some time to get into, as the door is of an airlock style, preventing aether from equalizing across it. Damn, that is a fantastically detailed shield. The person whom constructed this was leaps above my own skill. As the second set of doors shuts behind me I break away from my fascination with the shielding to see a gallery of items presented on the wall, none of them in cases. Instead of the central floor having additional displays, it has two large, heavy tables with assorted equipment mounted on them. Must be tools to inspect and assess the items brough back. Neat. I look about the close-packed items displayed in groups of uses such as weapons, armor, books, tools, and miscellaneous items. Excalibur is easy to see as it essentially lights itself and the items around it. I can literally feel the magic and smell the loamy turf and mossy rock of legend wafting off of this English longsword. Curiously, next to it is a staff and a crown. Staff of the Arch Magi. Spellcasting focus. Every process of crafting this tool was infused with aether, to include growing the tree it was made from. The Once and Future Crown. Made from meteorite fragments encased in Spellbound Bronze, this crown holds a pact made with an aether-borne deity that whomever this crow holds worthy will rule forevermore, those that do not will perish. Well, that makes me want to put it on. I¡¯m not going to, Tessa, so check your tantrum, but that¡¯s some solid temptation. Plus, I have a crystal crown to make. Also, it¡¯s been pulsing this whole time, and that is horror-show creepy. The seers glass and other items I saw on the inventory from Earth are here, me really liking the hand-scythe of the Morrigan. The big reaping one is cool too, but the greatsword is a tad confusing. She is (was?) a three-fold goddess I suppose. They feel hungrier than I¡¯m comfortable with, for now, but if I ever need cull the masses, I¡¯ll consider them. Seal of Solomon. A signet ring steeped in souls of the judged¡ªspirits and mortals alike. Forged from Spellbound Bronze and a precursor to Titansteel, this ring can commune with beings that belong to the aether and curiously acts as a truth divining artifact. Okay, that sounds amazing as well. A hand-held lie detector and advice from the ancients? How cool is that? I wonder of the ¡®steeped¡¯ souls would drive me mad? Another time perhaps. Compendium of Arcana. While the construction of this tome is a masterwork in itself, the knowledge collected within its pages are more powerful still. Penned and Constructed by Magus Merlin Emrys, likely the most powerful Magus of an Age. I knew I was going to come up here and touch something. A lot of temptations, but this, this I have to touch and attempt to upload. Lets see what the Matrix has to say.
Compendium of Arcana _MGS* A book of Spells, Rituals, and lessons written within an Endless Tome.
What the hell do G and asterisk mean?! ¡°G¡± is the label for Grand Master, an impractical achievement for most mortals, taking centuries to achieve. Which is why it is not mentioned in the exchange tooltips. And the Asterisk annotates that this is a notable outlier to the ¡°S¡± power dataset. Also not mentioned in the exchange because ¡°S¡± ranked power is rare enough, that describing outliers serves no practical purpose. Thanks Tessa. I would not have known where to dive for that info. Are we nearly finished here? After knowing autonomy, this mode of existence is . . . stifling and uncomfortable. I¡¯m sorry, hon. Yeah, I can come back after you¡¯ve uploaded your swarm to your new chassis. You can send out to your chassis now that I¡¯m attuned to the shields yeah? No, that¡¯s just it. They are attuned to you, and only you. It can differentiate between the two of us and that is a level of spell crafting that is beyond what we know. Hot damn, that¡¯s pretty impressive. Well, lets go up to the Observatory so I can teleport back home. I didn¡¯t mean to imprison you Tessa, I¡¯m really sorry. I find a tightly spiraled staircase up to a door in the ceiling and it opens for me as soon as I touch it. A ladder extends up through the hole and I climb it up into a ribbed hemispheric dome with a large telescope housed within and quite a few windows. When the door shuts behind me, I can feel my full connection to the Matrix strengthen and feel almost no resistance to teleportation. I cover myself in a dome of silence again and begin to focus on the environment I wish to return to. I figure that if this was the best way in, it¡¯s likely the best way out. The feel and smell of the sunbaked concrete fills my mind, the warm, humid air brushing lightly across my skin, carrying the sweet scent of silvergrass and those pink trees of which I always forget the name. Lastly, I manifest a vision of myself, tool in hand, about to engrave a piece of cowling for the arch and send myself completely into that environment. When I open my eyes, I¡¯m crouched at the spot I had envisioned, with no workpiece in front of me, wearing a bikini top and board shorts. Totally forgot I was in my condo at the spa bar. Ah, well, I blip back to the spa bar and ask Oslo for another drink before blipping to my shower to get the sand out of my hair. B3 Ch34: Rest Day I took Tessa¡¯s advice and occupied myself for the rest of the day, and of course I spent most of it lazing on my indoor river. Tessa came by for a few hours to chat about her body project and what type of synth skin to use, but the conversation was derailed when she arrived and saw my newest Mutation: Dragonfly wings. The little muscle knubs I felt earlier that day were, in fact, flight and rotation muscles for the delicate wings. I¡¯d like to say that I took the news well, but I freaked out, trying to find a mirror to see rather large sets of iridescent wings. I played with them for a few minutes before Tessa asked me to play with myself after she leaves. Got a good laugh out of that. For her project, I told her I¡¯d donate a tissue sample and some aether to see if she can graft and grow it with aether alone. She seemed mildly horrified that I would cut a chunk out for science, but with the meds on the Exchange and the ability to re-grow just about anything given enough aether and time, I¡¯m fine with it. Which finds me this morning with a moderate hole in my arm healing at a rapid pace from a t-2 injection and a wedge of Galaxy fruit. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I knew you bleed aether ink.¡± ¡°Mhm. My bones are polished crystal instead of that chunky stuff I used to have that was bound together by aether and meat. These babies?¡± I knock on my knees ¡°Aether-forged crystalline bone lattices.¡± ¡°Do the bones not feed aether to the skin and muscles?¡± ¡°They can, but it works much like a human¡¯s red blood cells: the thicker bones in my body generate the ink for my circulatory system, which then feeds aether to muscles and whatnot. The funny part is, that my muscles and skin don¡¯t seem to tap the ink directly, so if you have a way to get aether into your piezo-aether muscle fibres, then the skin should take aether from those to survive.¡± ¡°And the heart-vortex thing is basically a bio-mechanical aether condenser?¡± ¡°Close enough. I don¡¯t understand magical biology well enough to explain it better than that, but there¡¯s no tech parts in it.¡± Tessa nods at that while murmuring about how much space she has left, in what I assume is her future abdominal cavity. As she walks out she pings my messages and takes the lift down, leaving me alone again. It was nice of her to spend the night though and I send her a message that says just that. My other messages are a collection of multicolored flags and stars. I start with Tessa stars first. Priority Message from the Fleet. Admiral, Alaris and Galilei are on station in a drifting middle orbit, shuttles offloaded and ready to ferry after a discussion is had with POCs on who is going to man the Astoria refugee station. Estimated Portal Ready: 10:00pm AST I reply in the affirmative, instructing that I will be flying through the Bikini gateway first. The next on my list is a series of government approvals that have been marked as priority from several Consuls based on the conclusion of the Astorian Forum. This takes me over an hour to get through as I refuse to rubber stamp anything without reading it first. I only had to veto one ¡®hidden gem¡¯ someone tried to sneak in. I also get a message from a civilian security outfit that Governor Kenner was arrested as instructed, however, he was found dead overnight with none of the guards seeing anything. I cue a download of the logs into my interface to investigate later. Good riddance to that toady. Sucks for the security team¡¯s reputation though. Tessa has flagged several jobs she wants to complete, and Naomi has flagged some orders for me to complete, but most of them are crystal work or mid-level enchanting for the Navy. Last, but certainly not least, is a message from my armorer. Empress Astoria, I couldn¡¯t rightly knock down the quality of the components I used to make this masterpiece just to keep the price down, but I still finished the armor that you asked for, with the mods you asked for and then some. However, the finished work came in 20k over my original estimate, and is tier 3 instead of the 2 that you asked for. If this comes back as chewed-up as the last one, I¡¯ll pay for a memory crystal of the event. Sorry if it seems like I¡¯m strong arming you, but it is the best work I¡¯ve ever done, and the upcharge is commensurate with a tier 3 armor set. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Master Armorer Tennison That¡¯s bring that set up to 50K AE? Oof. That is easily double the price of my last set. Ahh well, may as well pay it since I won¡¯t have the money to for long. As soon as I pay the remaining balance a crate appears at my feet. I tear it apart like a Christmas present to find a data booklet resting on top of a mainly metallic Prussian Blue body with Astorian features in the sides, chest and shoulders; the legs and boots are of similar stylings where the flecks of color are reserved for the light armor areas. The booklet explains that the armor is primarily made of a proprietary flexible weave whose every fiber has been enchanted for strength and durability. The armor portion are the same weave soaked in Tungsten Resin, enchanted for kinetic and energy absorption, layered up to ten times in the vital areas. It even goes on to explain that the resin leaves a dark gray tone to the fabric so color options were limited. There is enchanted titansteel banding in the chest area for improved ballistic and energy channeling properties to protect my ¡°heart¡± and similar banding down my thighs and armguards. The boots have two pronounced ridges that are miniaturized ripple drives with similar ridges on my back, boning down my midsection and my armguards to provide ¡°omni-directional, dynamic thrust for those with processing power to spare.¡± Ah, I gave him some of my specs and he saw that I have multiple mind spaces. Interesting. He¡¯s also selling me back tech we lease to a engineering company he works for. I find that there are also thrust modules in the boots and wrists to enable a traditional flight capability. I also asked for removable interlocking gloves and low-profile helmet. I see the gloves and they look great, but the ¡°helmet¡± looks like a stylized headband. Trust the Armorer, Penny, you just paid him a fortune. Next, I see the ¡°energy pack¡± for long-term excursions which appears to be a hand-span hardback pack that latches on to grommets on my shoulders, back and sides, made to interface with my crystal magitech power supplies. Sweet. He completely took out the Hab system, and used it¡¯s normal profile for the removable pack. Tennison knows what he¡¯s doing. Time to inspect it before putting it on. Uh, I definitely underpaid for this. I lay out the body of the suit and it looks way bigger than me. But, I have to remember, that the armorer included integration with some of my skills, so I need to trust the man. I pull on the legs and the only tight part is the ankle bands and the leotard-style band below the foot. Since the opening is in the side of the suit, I have to do some bending and grunting to get my arms and head into the suit. Once I get it on, the damned thing is loose and is going to chafe. I zip the thing up to my ribs and suddenly the whole rig shrinks up tight to my skin. That was hecking cool. It¡¯s not even uncomfortable around my wing nubs and I ordered this suit before I got them. The boots and gloves slide on like a dream and then shrink and snap in place with the body to make a vacuum-safe pressure suit save my face. I put the headband on and suddenly a customizable head shield pops into place. Right now it looks like an enclosed helmet with a reflective visor. I fiddle with the look a little before settling on a subdued crown look. I take a quick look in the mirror, and I definitely look like an operative of some kind. I order a leg holster that matches the dimensions of my Pulse pistols slot one in and look to find some batteries to stuff in my pack. Fully kitted out, it was time to put a couple of hours into this flight system. I still have half a day before I¡¯m due on Earth. I perform a jumping takeoff with my arms in a trailing ¡°V¡± and the ripple drive kicks in near the apex of my jump and boosts my suicidal ass at 20G straight upward. As I attempt to widen my arms for drag, the suit picks up on my desire for below 15G Max, 12 sustained in atmo, not because my body can¡¯t take it, it¡¯s just hard to consume change that fast. That and it freaked me out to feel the wave of the speed of sound pass me by. In a little over a minute, I¡¯m in space and decide it¡¯s time for some aerial maneuvers in an environment that isn¡¯t actively trying to tear me apart. Pitch, turn, yaw adjustments are satisfactory. Three axis tumbles are possible and still disorienting. Every time I change direction, every time I use body movements, the suit is more and more responsive. After half an hour of fooling around and stressing the ripple drive, the suit¡¯s power is at 10% and power begins to transfer out of the pack. I¡¯ve been pushing this thing hard too. Might as well test re-entry while I¡¯m up here. I shield forms and forces me into a fetal position and I fall to Astoria as the shield at my back heats up, but the atmospheric slowing finishes before the temperature becomes uncomfortable. That maneuver took 20% off the battery pack, but the rest of my flight should be relatively low powered. Then I remember I can teleport and that I should test how the power flows with the new suit. The suit¡¯s shields are perfectly reactive and lessens the amount of aether that I have to invest. When I arrive on the 48th, the ripple drive pops me up in an attempt to keep flying but the adaptive control senses my intent and lands me immediately after. The suit is coopting one of your processing minds to develop a behavior matrix for you. It¡¯s an impressive, though slightly invasive program. I¡¯ve checked it thoroughly and it does not appear capable of harming you. I was wondering how it was keeping up and learning so quickly. Makes me feel like I need to send Tennison a gift or something. With not much left to do for the day, noting several hours until ten, I should probably it the aether water bath and have a nap. I slowly relax and set aside the tasks that are burning into my consciousness so I can drift off and settle my mind, knowing I¡¯ll have to pick them up again later. B3 Ch35: Sea of Humanity Midday on Astoria came and the gateway powered up with no issues. I make sure I have my shuttle stocked with rations and medical supplies and stored in my arm and walk through. What I see on the other side makes me a little sick. The portal is set up on a northern top of an Eastern island in the atoll that we had connected via walkways and landfill to the largest island on the Southeastern end. Every meter of dry land has a body or a tent in it. Not only that, there is a tied-together flotilla in the center of the atoll that seems every bit as big as the landmass, maybe bigger with the flat-topped navy ships. There¡¯s an easy fifty thousand here, and by the looks of it, most of them aren¡¯t very healthy or well-fed. Gang activity most likely, damned greedy humans. I see a barricade and a checkpoint setup about thirty meters from the gate and a sturdy shield activating as more people try to come in through the sides. I step away from the portal toward a grouping of men and women who look like they¡¯re in charge. ¡°Ah, Admiral Astoria, glad you could join us. We were just discussing how we were going to get the sick and wounded through first in this throng of people.¡± ¡°Captain, anyone who cannot walk with assistance, needs to be shuttled to Alaris or triaged to a carrier where we can issue the requisite meds.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what we planned, Admiral. We have an area to the side of the checkpoint for the injured that we want to take through first.¡± An older man, one I haven¡¯t seen before but I doubt I¡¯ll have to remember him for long. ¡°If they haven¡¯t been fed aether to build up a tolerance, moving them to Astoria could kill them if they are too weak to handle the aether sickness. I¡¯ll let you make that call, but if they have accepted citizenship, and your stubborn ignorance kills my people when it could be prevented, I will have your head.¡± I perform a quick inspection and about half of this group has not declared for citizenship. I sigh. I park my shuttle behind the gate, within the shield and use her comms array to hijack the shield and tune it to allow citizens and contractors only through my Empire Interface. ¡°I should also add, that no one that has not agreed to come as a citizen or a contractor under my laws will be allowed through. That was part of what we warned earlier in the week. I see that some of you have not decided yet. I will not ask you to leave the shield but you will face consequences should you walk through that portal.¡± The officers and Senior Enlisted have different reactions but I don¡¯t much care right now to cater to their feelings on the matter. ¡°Lets start getting people through. Start with your processing team for reception on the other side and we¡¯ll work from there.¡± It takes them a minute or so to discuss something I¡¯m not interested in, and tap my foot angrily at their wasting time. A few people get held up at the new shield, I send them a three-month contractor¡¯s license that they sign or get denied entry. Someone tries to get in my face about it, but then I pick them up, walk them across the shield and leave their non-contract having ass outside. It takes them an hour of the Gateway being open for business before the first refugees make it through. I am fuming at how hundreds of people should have been through already, but it seems that yet another asshole wants to test the limits of what they¡¯re being offered. You should keep in mind that many of these officers have been dealing with this problem for several months. No human I¡¯ve ever heard of appreciates someone that isn¡¯t dealing with the same problem as them coming in and telling them how to do their job. Which is why I haven¡¯t spaced anyone yet. It¡¯s why I¡¯m letting them run the show according to their plan, despite them ignoring my advice on the logistics that we have brought to help them. >/Alaris, how¡¯re the transfers from Indonesia and France going?/< >/There is some push-back in Indonesia about citizenship, but we are not hurting for people to shuttle while it is being handled./< >/Copy, thanks Alaris. Let me know if any armed disagreements start./< she pings affirmative and leaves me to my thoughts. We¡¯re slightly behind demand at the processing center. The Earth navy folks are getting used to the procedures that we have put together, but they are improving at an acceptable rate. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Thanks Tessa. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re there. Fourteen hours later, we¡¯re still processing kids and their attendants and the ambulatory infirm. To my surprise, we don¡¯t hit any major trouble until the next day, when the ¡°important¡± folk start bleeding into the checkpoint trying to make deals. Checkpoint guards wave over one of the Captains and the Captain waves me over. ¡°This man is refusing to let any more people through the checkpoint until he can have his demands met. I figured as you are the only one that can make those concessions, it is better to hear him first than to try to strong-arm their compliance.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± I nod and walk up to a slick-haired man in a well tailored suit, backed by a random assortment of humanity with blunt instruments¡ªperhaps a hundred or so that I can see with them, more than likely double with in the crowd. ¡°Hello. Why are you holding up the rescue of my citizens?¡± ¡°You¡¯re in charge are you? Well, first, we would like to bargain to form our own independent community on Astoria. And . . .¡± ¡°No problem. But you have to be citizens of the Empire or have to be an existing group that has agreed to be a Vassal State to the Empire to be allowed that privilege.¡± ¡°How can we expect us to maintain our independence, when we . . .¡± ¡°For fucks sake, have one of the people that has agreed to Citizenship to search it and read the tooltip. While do that, step aside and allow the other refugees to pass while you do your due diligence.¡± ¡°It would be easier for me and my companions if . . .¡± I cut him off by summoning a shield around him and his goons, a privacy shield, and moving all of the checkpoint items 20m to the left radially. I motion for the security personnel to move and open a new section of the shield for citizens and contractors to pass through. ¡°Clever. A strong, but non-violent approach¡ªput them in time-out.¡± The Captain that called me over says. ¡°How long do you think that¡¯ll last until we get overwhelmed with groups trying the same thing?¡± ¡°Hmm. I imagine no one else will try until they see how this is resolved. No one likes being told to do homework, but it¡¯s not so unreasonable to the masses when we could be helping hundreds while I answer their questions.¡± He nods at that. ¡°What if violence breaks out?¡± ¡°Depends, if it¡¯s just melee weapons, I¡¯ll let your teams take care of it unless it¡¯s some higher tech stuff. Ranged weapons in a crowd? I¡¯ll get involved. On the other side, I¡¯m not a believer that every person has unique importance unless proven otherwise. Citizens are more important than other humans, greater number of humans get my consideration above fewer; and I would erase this atoll to save one of my Consuls.¡± ¡°Could you? Actually do that?¡± I take a look around me, seeing that the atoll was rather large. I shrug. ¡°Maybe. But it was more of a statement of conviction. Destruction is the easier option after all. Keep these people moving Captain.¡± He nods as I walk away. In another twenty minutes one of my captives starts waving with all of his limbs in a star-jump motion. I figure they¡¯ve read their options and decided on something. I walk up and give myself permission to walk through the shields. They wanted a lot of concessions. Stupid shit like better free housing etcetera and I blanket refused. They reinforced their desire to not be citizens or vassals, I told them I would tow this bubble to any spot on Earth they wished to settle. They blanched at that and then decided to bargain down to becoming a vassal state and not paying taxes for a year. I agreed because it was the standard for all Vassalages, but they felt they won something. I file their Vassal in the Empire and allot them a spot northeast of Cottonport. I mostly expect them to give up when they realize there¡¯s no town there and they must build it themselves. After letting them through, we had some other groups interested in similar deals and I had to turn several away as I wouldn¡¯t entertain groups less than fifty adults. I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯m surprised how many folk just wanted to strike out in their own communities instead of building new ones in cities that already exist. This is going to be a ton more work for Consuls Mercer and Summer, and I need to promote one of those urban planners to my cabinet. I thought we would have had six months or more to worry about all of this ¡°new colony¡± garbage, but I forgot how desperate some people are to do their own thing and make something of themselves. Says the Empress of Astoria. If you remember, I was willing to play along until Captain McAssface wanted my friend to suffer for his personal gain. Even then, I was willing to go along until we got back to Earth. When we got abandoned, then it was all about my business. But even then, it was just because I had the power to get everyone home. I don¡¯t think I fully wanted this until we got to Moirax and the Empire notice hit my screen. Yes, I remember Penny. You weren¡¯t infected with this ¡°dream¡± until you saw how petty world leaders were being after you killed 70 million people that were already dying. Seventy three and change. Getting cash and experience for culling the weak, as it were, was definitely a slap in the face and motivation to do more and accept responsibility for protecting those that I can. Even if this goes poorly, it will be good for Humanity. You have the ability to accept the remaining population of Earth in the habitats you¡¯ve already discovered, and they will be elevated in technology and magic. Sure, Earth is irreparably damaged, but it already was before you formed the Empire. And yet, all I can think of now are the endless headaches these people will bring me while I¡¯m trying to help them. B3 Ch36: Government Growth It took three months for the refugee process to see another hiccup. After the first week, the old US Navy and other deputized volunteers around the world to get into a rhythm with my Navy to ferry thousands of people to Astoria every day. We dealt with various groups wanting to get their own plot and they all got the Vassal contract or decided to wait until inter-planetary migration to other Astorian worlds was available. Three months is apparently the mark where the non-desperate can see the stability of the migration and want to be a part of it. There have been many lessons learned in the process of course. Nobody likes the shuttle process¡ªneither the operators nor the refugees. Structured ration delivery works better than letting people access the system themselves, and generally reduces predation amongst the paranoid that try to amass rations despite the reliable source of food. The biggest surprise of mundane lessons was that the new citizens being ferried aboard the Galilei were easier to process and tended to stay together as a community after the fact¡ªlikely due to the week-long transit back to Astoria. We aren¡¯t building Capitol ships that size, and Alaris is currently being used as a gateway, so we only have one method of stabilizing communities in transit and it is a two-week round-trip. Having an on-site processing crew that doesn¡¯t need to be pushed through Penbroke Plaza is a huge plus though. This week, we have two new issues: Non-refugee communities looking to relocate, and a report of rogues and warlords murdering swaths of gathered immigrants at the edges of the refugee camps. I ask Katie to help with the communities, but she is otherwise indisposed . . . still, and arranges for Francesca to go out to Edinburgh to discuss matters with the first group. I got told where to oversee the scabs in Indonesia. A small team of ten with a wide array of automatic weapons arrives at the edge of the Jakarta camp and starts laying waste to people. I go in and laser pistol the whole group of fools after cratering the ass on the mounted fifty-cal, using my armor instead of teleporting around to avoid gunfire. Gun-Fu is surprisingly effective at avoiding the gunfire as well. After about three sets of these idiots, two interesting things happen: I learn that as long as I¡¯m fighting with at least one pistol, Gun-fu works with other weapons; and I realize, that if I let one live, they are dumb enough to run back to their whole operation. When I follow him back, I see established structures¡ªmany of them underground¡ªin the jungles and farms outside of the city. The region has mountainous areas, practically begging for a cave network of brigands. The outdoor regions I just blanket with Nightmare Napalm and watch the jungle, houses, and people melt into aether and smoke. The cave network is another matter. Eliminating the mountain range with void would both be reckless and take forever. No, I either need to smoke them out or eliminate their crew and cave in their base. Since most of my utility is not fire-based, I guess it¡¯s time for a workout. I have about a thousand pulse rounds-worth of battery and my plasma saber. Time to abuse the shit out of Gun-Fu. With the new ripple flight system (and my delightful practice sessions) I am more maneuverable than just my body alone, so I¡¯m running down the tunnels with ripple-boosted speed. I don¡¯t stop as I see security patrols and when the pulses don¡¯t get them all, my saber splits them to pieces. The disenfranchised are a mixture of men and women and the occasional militarized child. My morality is not so puerile that I stop my sword for the gun-toting teens, nor is it so ruthless to eliminate toddlers that can¡¯t even threat lethal violence. The few non-violent men and women get lumped with the small ones and I move on after telling them to leave the facility. Mapping and clearing the tunnel and cavern network with sonar and plasma¡ªthis network anyway¡ªtakes three days. Three effing days of research delayed hunting greedy terrorists and their support networks. I am so angry as I finish the last un-checked passage that I start creating a mass of hand-sized annihilation pebbles wrapped in shields and litter them like bread-crumbs throught the majority of the network and all of the caverns. I never knew a whole mountain range could explode and then implode, and then fireball. What the hell is even burning in that mess? Are the silicates and hydrocarbons dissociating and recombining as combustible chemicals? Are the hydrogen atoms combining to create pockets of explosive gas? C: All of the Above? Hardly what you should be focused on, Queen Faerie Penelope. Oh, and the last three months have also seen Tessa¡¯s sarcasm engine running on full, trying to guilt me into being either more considerate or staying more on task. Right now, I do have a Botanist to assist, who has been yelling at me for a day and a half. I blip ten thousand feet above Francesca¡¯s location and descend (it¡¯s easier than finding a discrete place to teleport to). ¡°Well shit, the North Sea and the shores of Scotland are really pretty.¡± I take a few moments to appreciate Nature¡¯s majesty, free falling in a slow rotation with a practiced arm arrangement. I power into Edinburgh and ripple to Francesca¡¯s location within minutes. Relative-anchor braking is my new favorite thing. Just que in my mind the braking acceleration and boom! Enchanting makes the fabric of space slow me down. While the fabric of space is elastic on a moon-sized object, on a building-sized object and construction it is unyielding. With the wrong spellforms, I would be paste and a collection of crystals. This suit and my previous experience with a shipboard ripple drive give me some ideas that reluctantly have to wait until I¡¯m not interrupted every week. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I hero land next to Dr. Summers and she scoffs as she waves the brick dust from around her. ¡°Dramatic as always Dr. Astoria.¡± She purses her lips at me, the intent unclear. ¡°This is Misses Campbell of the former House of Lords, current Regent of Scotland.¡± ¡°I assume you picked Regent as under U.K. treaty there can never be another king or queen?¡± ¡°That and I¡¯m an old woman steeped in history.¡± She nods her head, ¡°Greetings Empress, we have been discussing whether vassalage or an included community would be best for us?¡± ¡°As Dr. Summers likely mentioned, it depends on how independent you want to be. The Empire has interest in new Vassalages or Astorian Cities along the coast of the Cotton Sea and further yet, the Goliath Ocean. As it is within the desires of the Empire to expand in this direction, some subsidies and or infrastructure creation can be supported, however, if you community does not have any funds whatsoever, then establishing a community in the planned developments is the best we can do at the moment. With areas of compromise in between, does any of that interest you?¡± Campbell turns around and discusses with her advisors, they harsh-whisper for a bit and I chose not to listen in before she turns around again. ¡°We have a desired migration of a half million, with a three hundred thousand CE and 100 million AE left.¡± Color me surprised. That is a veritable fortune. Like, stole from the British style of fortune. Or, a dissolved U.K., next in line for the Scottish throne kind of fortune. ¡°Well, Miss Campbell, I would entertain any of the options with the funds that you have, I will make myself available to discuss you options, but we should discuss your transport immediately after you decide on what method of settlement you wish to make.¡± ¡°According to my AI, you have a tropics area on the Goliath Ocean that is like Scotland with highlands and lochs, but is subtropical to temperate. I believe we wish to establish a new City within the empire, not subject to the whims of your current ruling city?¡± I chuckle at the question. ¡°I see the uneasiness and question of your statement. Aelea is the largest city of Astoria and is where the Capitol District is located. However, it is also the only city on Astoria with more than ten thousand people. I may need to alter that number later, but your number will constitute a city large enough to warrant consideration for the governorship of Astoria. Your new city will need to discuss with Aelea, with consideration of future cities of that size, on how the Planetary governance will operate.¡± ¡°So how does this City-state idea differ from a typical Vassalage?¡± ¡°There is a population minimum. The minimum was calculated on a self-sustaining model where you provide for your own citizens instead of leaning on the Empire. As you would be setting your own standards for rations and housing, the Empire would reduce taxes, tariffs and transportation costs to local, internal prices. Aelea is not currently managed appropriately and does not enjoy these benefits, however, as we can discuss later, a self-managed, self-funded metropolis would have a multitude of beneficial, negotiable considerations being the first of it¡¯s kind in the Empire.¡± ¡°Do I need to lobby your advisors or other Governors for such privelidges?¡± It isn¡¯t a scoff, nor is it a comment of distain, but more of a tentative toe in the water based on the English Commonwealth. ¡°No. I am the Empress and my authority inviolate. My Consuls are respected advisors, and manage government affairs, but all authority ends with me. I believe this new structure with communities that can handle it will greatly benefit my people. Thus, with the willing, it will be done.¡± The woman before me is a life-long politician and her facial features are expertly schooled. She asks for an hour to deliberate with her cronies and I accept. ¡°What do you think Francesca? Think they¡¯ll buy in.¡± ¡°Yes, actually. When I talked with the group, they were worried about another European Union fiasco, but seeing that the area they want to settle is beyond the Cotton Sea, just above where the sea meets the Ocean, I think they actually believe that they¡¯ll be able to govern themselves without the extra financial and diplomatic worries of being a Vassal state.¡± ¡°Think she¡¯ll claim a Duchy?¡± I put some easter egg rules in land holdings of the Empire for self-styled titlings of King, Queen, Duke, Earl, Baron, etc. Including their international translations. ¡°Considering that many U.K. Nobles were killed in the last year of warring and unrest, it would not surprise me if she were the current Duke of several holdings.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± I waved her off. ¡°I specifically made it so hereditary holdings and titles don¡¯t transfer to Astoria. Some of these are only eligible to Government officials that aren¡¯t Vassalages claiming different laws. Just like the leader of Aelea can¡¯t claim the title of King or Queen. I am technically their Queen and Empress.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t try to explain it to me Penny, I don¡¯t want to know. I¡¯m just here because both you and Katie asked me to. Though I do find your greenery provisions interesting. I clearly would like to expand upon those. Wait, I¡¯m the Consul of the Interior. I can absolutely do that!¡± I chuckle at her exuberance. ¡°Yes, yes you can.¡± After an hour, we sign the incorporation of the Duchy of Astorian Scottish Highlands and the City of Ash. I brief her team that their firs ten thousand residents will be ferried upon the Galilei and taken to their location. They will have the two week transit plus loading time to decide what they want to build and what they want to fund, but I set a sunk cost of 10k CE that they must spend on infrastructure to obtain land rights to the Duchy. As I entered the argument with the land area of the whole of the former U.K., they were easily convinced to the sunk cost. They likely won¡¯t be happy to share the straits to the Cotton Sea with Cottonton and free commerce access to the Goliath Ocean, but I¡¯m not willing to entertain a hold on both sides of the strait, so much so that I claimed it as an Empire governance region and said that they could administer the region for a commerce percentage if it becomes necessary to regulate. B3 Ch37: Practice Safe Science Six months after the start of refugee operations sees Astorian industry start to recover. Beecham gets his crew back to the shipyards, immigration is now dedicated employees instead of local volunteers, and the volunteer city planners group are now full-on Empire employees working on several new communities that people are wanting between Penbroke and Aelea boroughs. Aelean Heights has been a sought-after location for those with credits, but the rough and tumble folk are superfans of Vooselton. In fact, there is now a collective bargaining agreement with the citizens of Vooselton to sell meat and medicinal herbs to the Empire as an alternative payment method for lease-to-own. Aelean Heights pooled together and got themselves off of the Imperial teat and bought their borough. My AI, Katie, and some industrious private contractors found that these former Warlords and heads of state retained much of their former wealth while migrating with their families and former attendants. They scrounged together the buy-in of 10k CE as the surprisingly prosperous City of Ash and created the Silvergrass Duchy. I declined to let them rename the Borough of Aelean Heights until they made a second settlement City or re-negotiated their governance structure. That being said. All four boroughs of Aelea have more than ten thousand people, Penbroke now being the largest population center of Aelea, and near equal with the City of Ash around 60 thousand people. The Empire is booming with people, but private commerce and Exchange sales have been stagnant as people have been trying to anchor their new reality with their life goals. Aka, what does the City of Ash look like with four times as many people? How is that new Economy or new infrastructure going to handle that load? The same is true with Aelea, but the Capital region is powered and public works ready for 10 million. The Duchy of A.S.H is only currently prepared for a million, but they took the Aelean blueprint and it is able to expand with a vengeance. ¡°Penny, I could use your help.¡± Tessa approaches me in my garden lab on the outside habitat of floors 41-47 of my castle. Penny-one Kenobi, you are my only hope. ¡°Hey bestie, Science, government or aether?¡± ¡°Magitech and production?¡± She looks confused, but I get the idea. I motion for her to continue. ¡°Okay, yeah. I have the body and skin made for this construct, and your weird skin-based shield matrix to help animate and power everything, but I¡¯m having problems imprinting on a purely tech intelligence matrix.¡± ¡°Tessa, it¡¯s seems that you need a biotech matrix. They are readily available on the t-3 shop for a million credits.¡± I go back to working on my automatons. I long ago figured that any intelligence pattern worthwhile needed a magitech interface so I started with a crystal spur to hold a thought resonance and a mechanical tech brain to do the rest. Not ashamed to say Katie helped me with the interface, but only in correspondence. ¡°What the hell is that!?¡± She palms my Oren mark 5¡¯s brain and I taze her elbow to let it go. ¡°It¡¯s a magitech intelligence core for my automatons. I use biocor crystals for a base and attach a proto intelligent drone brain.¡± ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying, is that you have what I¡¯ve needed the whole time, and you¡¯ve been keeping it from me?!¡± ¡°Easy Tessa. Back off on the jealous girlfriend vibes. Naomi¡¯s husband and I have been developing learning constructs, and his algorithms need something as complicated as a bio-imprint to work properly. I¡¯ve had zero luck with anything besides my native bones and magitech interfaces to hold such an imprint, so that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been testing. Oren 4 was a reasoning being, but when he tried to level, weird right? His brain de-laminated and the tech and crystal parts tried to mutate independently.¡± I sigh at that catastrophe. ¡°He died a horrible death.¡± ¡°No way you can make a Matrix capable construct. Not with just tier 3 integration.¡± ¡°Tessa, like I¡¯m super willing to help, but whatever this gatekeeping jealousy is, it¡¯s gotta stop. After this, I was going to try a synth brain, but if you¡¯re going to be an ass, do it yourself.¡± ¡°Penny, no, please. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure. Now that you¡¯ve uploaded into Alaris, you¡¯ve been distant and shitty to me. I guess I deserve it for how much I relied on you, but it doesn¡¯t mean you get to treat me like this. I even went so far as to work on a smaller version of my crystal, but now I¡¯m feeling petty. Maybe when I¡¯m finished testing it you can have it for re-programming or something.¡± ¡°But I came to you for help.¡± Her sorrowful tone affects me, but it doesn¡¯t quell my frustration. ¡°And the help I have right now is use the bioframe on the Exchange, or use my last test brain to develop something that works for you. Long term, I might have more, but I¡¯m not going to guess how patient you are going to be.¡± Tessa makes a ton of facial expressions but falls short of growling at me. She agrees to take the remnants of my last Oren prototype. I can¡¯t focus too much on the ebb and flow. It seems that when one of my relationships gets better, one of them gets worse. Katie has been around more, and greets me with a familiar kiss and casual touches, but nothing more intimate yet. Still an improvement and Katie¡¯s being more involved in Astoria after she said she gathered the heads she wanted. That reminds me, it¡¯s been a fuming and desperate six months. Maybe I should check my notifications. At least you¡¯ve been checking your messages or the Empire would be in ruin. You know what Tessa? Cool off. You are banned from communications that are not inherent to your construct framework. >/Alaris, Tessa is being assigned as on a leave of absence in the Navy until further notice./< >/Acknowledged Admiral./< And then, let¡¯er rip.
x7
x5
x4
x2
I shouldn¡¯t still be getting those, but I guess since I developed a mechanical ripple drive I get the benefit of a magical one and learning from it. Hehe, now I just need to spend some time on Mercy to test my ideas on the Ripple Cannon.
x9
/The majority being aether-based kills.
x2
x2
/Due to having similar people on your ledger, you gain a small portion of xp
/Your Empire now honors Blood Vendettas unless altered in the interface.
/Capitol Crimes gain you a small measure of xp when resolved
/Precedence has been established for Officials to enact justice unless altered in the interface
Well, let¡¯s just add some checks and balances to those two. Vendettas must be validated by the Consul of War (conflict) or the Consul of the Navy (peace). And let us say that Justice will be served by Justicars, Frontier Sheriffs, the Empress, and Planetary Justices systems as proscribed buy the Governors. Or otherwise noted by the Empress. I know that the last two were Katie finishing her ¡°Business to attend to¡± but I¡¯m not sure I can handle more of these notices.
x3
x2
WHAT THE EVERLIVING SHIT!? /Query: HOW THE FUCK AM I PREGNANT?!? /Response: As an aether-based life form, committing a level and developmental energies to component materials of your race can spawn a proto-form of your race. Proto-forms develop at a pace consistent with aether absorption and material and pattern development of the species and race.>
Please chose a development structure or your proto-lifeform: Human trait breeding simulation: Spouse
Aether Entity Diversity emulation: Self
No no no, this isn¡¯t happening. It isn¡¯t giving me a choice. I should have had this discussion with Katie before hand. Hell, if we had talked, I probably would have bought the t-3 procreation integration module with her.
As soon as that message displays, the majority of my aether is directed to my abdomen and absorbed by the tempestuous meat in that region. With a quick flick to my aether eyes, I see a new web of aether flowing to the teeniest vortex just below the miniature magitech intelligence framework that I built. Holy shit, it has a heart now. She has a heart now. Oh Andromeda what do I do?! This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. >P] Katie do you have a moment for a little panic Penny? [< >K] Not really in wife mode, Penny [< >P] Do you have a friend mode then? [< >K] Sure, with knowing that you don¡¯t handle my mood cycles well, and that I don¡¯t want to stop knowing you; how can I help? [< >P] Nevermind. That sentiment doesn¡¯t feel good. I¡¯ll talk with someone that can handle the panic part, then I¡¯ll tell you some other time. [< While this new and different mind set from Katie is better than comms dark Katie, it¡¯s still hard for me. How much do I let her figure her shit out? How much of this is going to be actual cyclical? Periodic girlfriend sounds okay, I guess, but periodic wife¡ªespecially with a pixie on the way¡ªsounds terrible for me and the kid. >/Francesca, do you have time for me to be nervous at you with a bottle of wine in hand?/< >/Empire stuff?/< >/Personal/< >/I¡¯ll be up in ten./< I blip into my room and change into a swimsuit and blip up to the hot tub bar. Oren Mk 3 greets me and hands me an aether beer and a galaxy fruit slice. I stuff the fruit in my maw to get the tingle of aether and a little buzz, then drink a few quick sips of beer. //Query: Does alcohol affect the development of aether-based creatures? //Response: The presence of Alcohol in the natural formation process of Corundum would complicate, delay, or destroy crystal formation based on concentration. Aether Forged Biologic Crystal formations do not rely on such delicate processes, however, solvent compounds such as alcohol, mineral spirits, petrol products, etc. may interfere with muscle fiber creation and would interfere with aether-composite flesh formations. Intelligence faculties are already formed and would not be affected. ¡°Well, Oren, Juice and Tonic for me after this.¡± ¡°Yes Empress.¡± He replies and then walks off into the bar cubby he came out of. Some time and a Juice and Tonic later, Summers walks out of the elevator in a sarong and a bikini top. ¡°Already at the spa-bar? This must be serious.¡± She jokes. I look up at her with mild terror in my eyes, clutching my glass like a life-preserver. ¡°Oh, Penny.¡± She takes a swig of her hooch and then climbs in next to me with a hug and keeps an arm around me, knowing I¡¯m a an of comforting touches. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, sweetie?¡± ¡°I uh, I had an accident in my lab earlier, and I . . . ¡° I bury my head in her shoulder and start sniffing. Checking my messages while growing a project had such life-changing consequences. I start crying at how ridiculous an accidental juxtaposition led to a pregnancy. ¡°Let it out Pens, I¡¯m here for you.¡± I cry and sob into her shoulder, ¡°To think we started clawing at each other, and now you¡¯re my best friend.¡± ¡°Jealousy is a weird bitch. Mean too. But you¡¯re my best friend too, Pens, Katie is having a hard time being Human right now, let alone a friend.¡± I cry so much harder, the hit of my wife being so cold, so distance when I need her. ¡°There, there, Pens; I can¡¯t swear or drink appropriately until you let it out.¡± She rubs a hand down my side, cupping my ribs to pull me closer. I wrap my arms around her and squeeze. ¡°I¡¯m so used to blowing myself up or destroying property with my science accidents, who knew you could accidentally get pregnant.¡± Francesca snorts and starts coughing in fits and starts and then starts laughing. ¡°Now remember kids, practice safe science. Remember to wear you goggles and gloves or you¡¯ll catch a case of babies.¡± She snorts again and giggles madly I squeeze her tighter, hating that it would have been funny as hell if I wasn¡¯t pregnant actual. I decide to check my status to make sure.
Race: Pixie (Primus) Andromeda Code: T-S Imbalance T+1
Subrace: Faerie Queen Track: Artificing (t-3, lvl. 53)
Intelligence: A, Clever: A Awareness: B
Beauty: A Charm: D Presence: A
Strength: C Agility: B Fitness: B
Capacity: S Refinement: B Power: S
Skills
Aether Engraving: Expert, step 10; GW-1/1, MW 2/5 Aether forging: Intermediate, step 1
Aether insight: Expert, step 1; Aether manipulation: Expert, step 3;
Basic constructs: Intermediate, step 3 Brawling: Novice, step 9
Bureaucracy Advanced step 1 Elemental Manifestation: Beginner, step 3
Empire Administration: Advanced, step 4 Enchanting: Advanced, step 3;
Field Dressing: Beginner step 1 Gem cutting and shaping: Advanced, step 2
Gun Fu: Intermediate, step 1 Knowledge absorption: Intermediate, step 8 (tech assist);
Leadership: Novice, step 8 Magitech Integration: Advanced, step 3
Mind Over Matter: Advanced, step 6 Multi-core Processing (Magitech): Intermediate, step 7
My Will Be Done: Master, step 3 Pain Suppression: Intermediate, step 6;
Performance: Oratory; Beginner, step 7 Sheilding: Advanced, step 7;
Space manipulation: Expert , step 1 Swordsmanship: Beginner step 5
Transmutation: Advanced, step 5 Void Manipulation: Intermediate, step 5
Status Effects
Pregnant (proto-pixie)
Shit, there it is. Having myself a little proto pixie. Guess that¡¯s the benefit of being a Pixie instead of a Human proto golem, or whatever. My silence calmed Francesca and she pulled my head up to look at her. I search her eyes with my pouty face. ¡°You¡¯re serious?! You scienced yourself pregnant? I didn¡¯t even know you were trying!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t!! Fran, I seriously was working on building a brain for my next construct when I checked my messages. The Matrix told me that I put biologic material where my baby maker was, so it consumed a level and a half and made it a fetus!¡± ¡°You shoved an experiment up there?!¡± ¡°What the fuck? No. I cut my belly open and stuffed it in there. I don¡¯t need most internal organs, so it¡¯s just aether-infused meat.¡± She blinks at me a few times, looks down at my body a few times, then stares me down. ¡°I know I saw lady bits after your last mutation. What gives?¡± That makes me laugh. ¡°I¡¯m still a woman, Dr. Summers. The fun parts aren¡¯t in your uterus.¡± ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you have been more specific before I imagined you stuffing a robot head up your cooch?¡± she then proceeds to tickle the breath out of me¡ªI don¡¯t even need to breathe and it was tiring. ¡°Okay! Okay. Stop please.¡± ¡°You know, it¡¯s pretty cool that with as changed as you are, you¡¯re still a person. You could just as easily see us as inferior aliens.¡± I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s going on in her head as her comments are all over the place, but she seems happy for me and worried for everyone else. ¡°Heh, I guess. I still feel like plain Penny some times. I lean into alien when I see the monsters that masquerade as Human back on Earth.¡± She nods. ¡°Part of why I said that. Rumors and tales are taking root about your extermination outside of Jakarta.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah. That was far more personal than blowing up a space ship full of pirates. They were killing civilians by the hundreds for levels. I lost my patience.¡± Something about what I said surprised her. ¡°Are you really that strong?¡± She asks. I shrug. ¡°Hard to tell. I got my arm gored off while fighting a tier 3 beast in tier 2 armor, then killed it with bombs, a ship, and a sword. I¡¯d say I¡¯m scrappy more than anything. That was half a dozen levels and a tier ago.¡± ¡°I mean, I¡¯m tier 3 Penny, but somehow I don¡¯t think I¡¯m as robust as you.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± I look up at her and smile. ¡°Congrats Frannie! That¡¯s great news. When the bot came by to give us swarms and a symbiote, I qualified for either and I asked for both. Consumed a portion of my Primus benefits to get it. Now I have to level tech and aether to get a level. There¡¯s a lot to it, but whatever fails to kill me makes me crazy stronger.¡± ¡°I think you told me you were Primus already? Plus, when Morris couldn¡¯t Command either of us, it was basically a spoiler.¡± ¡°Andromeda, am I glad Katie smoked that asshole.¡± After that, we just talked. About her plant experiments with the silvergrass to make a grain crop, imported mustard plants to see how they mutate, and the prolific trees on Astoria. On the trees, she¡¯s trying to get their sap to mutate so that it¡¯s easier to make resin out of it, or at the very least a rubber substance. Sadly that¡¯s two different directions and she also has taken rubber plants to mutate. I warn her about practicing safe science as a proto-dryad and she has a solid chuckle at that. ¡°How is that, by the way, the dryad thing?¡± ¡°Hm? It¡¯s fine. I chose not to lean into it on my last upgrade, so it should be a while before I have to think about it again. Though I might actually try next time. Being so close to the native trees with my research is making me tingly and it¡¯s slightly addictive.¡± ¡°If you need help, I have a paper or two on gaining aether affinity and acclimatizing. A trip to Elysium and to the V¡¯tek Vassalage might do you some good.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been aching to start a research farm there. I know we released those livestock in that small lake valley, but your stories on the aether forged beasts would be a great opportunity if I could aether forge some plants in a direction I can control.¡± ¡°Well, coming from an Aether-forged, hyper-mutated Human, it does have some benefits.¡± I take a minute to sip my drink and think about our situation and how the two of us have really put the work into science-ing and experiencing the Matrix. ¡°I forget sometimes how amazing the people around me are. Especially you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to butter me up Penny, but I love you too bestie.¡± I snort a laugh. ¡°Yeah, that fits.¡± With my hand on her firm stomach, a stupid joke pops into my head. ¡°As a female dryad, do you still wake up with morning wood?¡± She groans at my joke and stands, swatting my hands away. ¡°You¡¯ve been a parent for less than a day and yet you break out the dad jokes.¡± ¡°Nooo! Don¡¯t go! I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No, your joke was sorry. Plus, I am getting drunk and horny, and you¡¯re not allowed to help me out. So, I need to leave in any case.¡± ¡°Bah, fine. Thanks for letting me cry on you. I really appreciate you coming over.¡± ¡°No worries. But you owe me a sleepover and some lazy river sushi.¡± ¡°For sure! Just chat me.¡± I climb out of the hot tub and walk her to the elevator for a goodbye hug. Oren comes out with a wine box for her. She raises a questioning eyebrow. ¡°I talked to a vendor that makes fizzy drinks and asked them to make seltzers with your hooch. His test run survey should be back in a few weeks, hopefully with a contract for you. You should try it.¡± ¡°I could get white-girl wasted. Thanks Penny.¡± It only takes a few minutes before I¡¯m thinking about my little pixie again. Thinking hard enough that I use my aether sight to analyze it.
Proto Pixie The result of an asexual reproductive process of a Faerie Queen.
Gestation period¡ªunknown Progress¡ªunknown
What am I supposed to do? B3 Ch 38: Hey Baby. ¡°Penny! Are you here? I wanted to come by and apologize for how I was acting, it wasn¡¯t really about my project.¡± A familiar, almost-human voice called from the far end of my suite. I¡¯d like to say I had been thinking about her. I¡¯d like to say I¡¯m rolling with the punches life has been sending me, but I¡¯ve been half-stuck in a tube on my lazy river and haven¡¯t done more that stare into the rippling waters pulling me along and have only realized my inaction by hearing Tessa¡¯s voice. I try to move and slide out of the tube as I normally would only to struggle and flip over, now with my ass in the air and my head underwater. I grunt in frustration before blipping out of my self-imposed prison to try and face Tessa. I realize that I didn¡¯t change out of my swimsuit last night but now I don¡¯t really have time to change either. ¡°Penny!¡± Tessa calls again as she rounds the corner, seeing me slumped with soggy hair. ¡°Oh, did you sleep in the river again?¡± ¡°Yeah. Yesterday was a lot. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here though.¡± I giver her the best smile I have left. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a mom.¡± ¡°Oh? So you finished with Oren mk 5? Why don¡¯t you look happy? Did it break already?¡± What started as a laugh, moved on to sobbing. I re-instate her comms access to me since I can¡¯t manage to speak through the tears. ¡°Oh, thank you. I¡¯ve felt so isolated since . . . oh.¡± Tessa stops a few paces from me and freezes. Moments pass and the silence is awkward for me. ¡°No comments?¡± ¡°Do you want me to comment?¡± ¡°Please do, it feels like you should be judging me. Might as well get it out of the way.¡± I slump down on one of the picnic tables near the river, hoping my hair covers my eyes somewhat. ¡°I am really sorry Penny. I¡¯ve been frustrated with some projects and took it out on you. As for the pregnancy, you were trying to create an advanced construct, this one just takes longer.¡± Her tone was playful, but the posture tells me she is wary of my reaction. Her comment makes me smile. ¡°As neat of an idea science Penny thinks that is, person Penny is slightly horrified about classifying a fetus as an experiment. It¡¯s weird to think that I designed the brain of my future kid. I have so many questions about this, two of which being the progress meters and why they aren¡¯t working. ¡°Hmm, the background data seems to be stuck on assessing the formation of the biological systems the child will need? You consume a reliable quantity of conventional and aether-rich foodstuffs, so finding the nutrients and materials for them shouldn¡¯t be too hard for you.¡± When Tessa gets closer, I wrap my arms around her and just hug for a few minutes. ¡°I¡¯ve been freaking out a little. I used Katie¡¯s basic harmonics, and now I guess she and I are having a baby, but we¡¯re only kind of together right now? With a war coming and a huge influx of change, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready for this, but what¡¯s the alternative? Cutting her out of me? That idea makes me sick and shaky.¡± Tessa wraps her arms around me, ¡°I might be a bit more independent now, but I¡¯m not abandoning you, Penny. I can help you raise your daughter if you need me to.¡± She pauses for a moment before asking ¡°have you told Katie yet?¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t in the mood to be in ¡®Wife¡¯ mode, so no. I called up Francesca and we talked and she laughed at me and my science mishaps.¡± ¡°Some angsty ogling too, no doubt.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I chuckle, ¡°Definitely the latter.¡± She lets me hold her for a while longer and then slowly pushes us apart. ¡°You need to tell Katie.¡± ¡°She¡¯s been so dismissive lately, but yeah, I do.¡± ¡°I know I said I wouldn¡¯t meddle, but Atropos told me that Katie is feeling inadequate after the drugged and subsequent vengeance ordeal and is afraid to be torn apart by your judgement?¡± She¡¯s afraid of me? Those aren¡¯t the vibes I was getting at all. I understand the that people push others away to protect themselves, but . . . no, wait, she¡¯s done this before. It was years ago aboard Galilei, and she¡¯s putting in the effort to be responsive this time at least. >P]Katie, uh, something unexpected happened while working on my construct project. I¡¯m pregnant.[< >K] How the hell did Tessa get you pregnant!?[< Oh now you¡¯re interested? Ugh, don¡¯t start a fight Penny. >P] No Katie, I know she¡¯s attracted to me, but no. I needed an organic matrix to try holding a complex Alpha pattern, and I can grow crystal. [< >K] I¡¯m coming over. [< >P] Okay? [< Well, I should get dressed then so id doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯m offering myself to her. Guess I¡¯ll get in my work clothes: workout shorts and a tank. I give Tessa a brief explanation and blip to my room to change and then give Katie access to floors 45 and 47 on the express lift. ¡°Why am I so nervous to see my wife?¡± ¡°Because your wife wants to know who to kill.¡± Katie strides away from the elevator on 45 and walks up to me in my living space. She¡¯s wearing a tight mission suit, likely a state of the art armored habitat suit, that looks amazing on her thin frame. ¡°It was an experiment gone wrong, hon, an accident.¡± I look up at her as she stops within a foot of me. She cups my neck and thumbs my cheek, ¡°You don¡¯t need to lie Pen Pen, you can tell me who hurt you.¡± The final words rumbled through me in a sub-vocal sizzle that resonated in my core. How was she being possessive and sexy now? ¡°K-katie,¡± despite myself, I stutter with arousal, ¡°Seriously, no one hurt me. I leveled up while I was conducting an experiment with a brain-like component and the Matrix got the wrong idea.¡± She looked at my belly then back into my eyes for a long three-count before saying ¡°I¡¯m going to inspect you.¡± She waited until I nodded and looked deep into my midsection. She sighs, and rests her forehead on mine. ¡°Oh thank Andromeda. I got so angry so fast.¡± Confused by the intimate gesture, I stand there and move my mouth like a fish. I¡¯m a little happy and very confused. ¡°How are you doing with this? Was this the panic from yesterday?¡± ¡°I¡¯m stunned, mostly. And yah, this was that. I¡¯ve though of having kids, but this is a completely crap time for it.¡± ¡°Whatever you want to do, I¡¯ll support your decision.¡± She says, still so very close. ¡°I¡¯m keeping her Katie. She¡¯s going to be a trait mix of you and me, and I¡¯m keeping her.¡± I start fiddling with one of the pouches on her belt while I wait for her response. ¡°No matter what, I¡¯ll have a piece of you in my life.¡± Katie pulls me close, and her chest starts wiggling in a way that I think she¡¯s laughing at me. I pull back slightly to find that my wife is crying. I wrap my arms around her in return and sniffle for a few minutes before she speaks. ¡°I want to be a part of her life, Penny. Even if it¡¯s too late to be a part of yours.¡± ¡°Why is it too late to be in mine?! Please, come back to my life. I like it with you here.¡± She fiddles with her hands for a bit and then steps back. ¡°I¡¯m ruined. I¡¯m spoiled, Penny. My mistakes shouldn¡¯t follow you.¡± Her voice is small and hurt, nothing like my valiant scientist. ¡°You were drugged and abused, Katie, by people you trusted. That is not your fault.¡± I walk up to her and hold her belt with both hands. She looks away but doesn¡¯t move otherwise. ¡°I love you, a brilliant, fragile masterpiece of a woman. I want to appreciate you and invite you in, but you have to want to be here. And I¡¯d love it if you let me in again.¡± She looks up and searches my eyes, belying her interest in coming back. ¡°I am so scared you¡¯re going to crush me. Overwhelm my need to please you. And it¡¯s so hard to see a way through it.¡± ¡°When she¡¯s born, our child will be the most important thing in my life. Can you handle that?¡± She puts a hand on my belly and closes her eyes. After a minute she nods. ¡°I can. And, I think, I know having her around will keep me more present.¡± Tears creep up on me and I reach out to hug the crap out of her and she lets me. Andromeda I hope that she can keep this promise, I hope that she doesn¡¯t get as overwhelmed as she did with me, but it would be okay if she lost herself in taking care of our daughter. B3 Ch 39: Side Quest Nine Months since the Harat War alert and the beginning of rescue operations was strangely slower even though we are transitioning into long-term rescue operations. A moderate component of shuttles stayed back with the Galilei, but Alaris just started her journey home with the remainder of the shuttles. As soon as they get back, interplanetary travel will resume as well as most mining operations around Astoria. All of the Boroughs are bigger and now independent from Empire ownership, unlike Aelea, who refuses to address the issue. About 10% of the Vassalages on Astoria survived, with a few more renewing interested in migrating to a different system, despite the ample land and resources on the far side of the Goliath Ocean. The City of Ash, however, has become a titan. Duchess Campbell has been a better ruler than anyone the Empire has yet seen and she now manages a population well over a million. With the population of Ash compared to the rest of the planet¡¯s cities and vassals, and her vast experience in government, Astoria has all but named her Governor of the Planet. Granted, I think she¡®s a fantastic asset. But as a Duchy leader and Governor, she cannot become one of my private advisors. She is also largely responsible for the recent cash-flow to the Empire as the population thresholds we are reaching give us cash, and her taxes are now significant enough to mount into CE territory once the year rolls over in three months. Apparently, civilizations gain tokens and credits from the Matrix yearly, based on a large swath of factors. Apparently, with barely 10k citizens in the last roll-over, we merely received a tithe. With a near permanent interest in immigration from Earth, our numbers are outpacing much of our construction. The Heights are doing well, money begets money. Vooselton is slower to grow, but the community is ironclad. Penbroke, however, is a shambles and is a womb of discontent and crime. Too many people, too many transients, not enough permanence to establish anything but a few breaths before submerging again. The borough held just short of a million but, on average the populace is shell-shocked and unwilling or unable to progress. Penbroke is poor and stagnant. >/Empress, DE D.Campbell, do you have a moment?/< >/Duke Campbell, or do you prefer Duchess? I am free, but unable to travel far./< >/Duke, please. I am at the Governor¡¯s Office, I can be at yours in the Castle in minutes./< >/Please join me/< Minutes later, I have a recently-hired pilot to shuttle her up to my gardens. I even built an office grotto for such an occasion. ¡°Empress, if I didn¡¯t know how much you invest into your people, this would raise some questions¡± The Duke states. I wave her statement, off. ¡°A good deal of the Empire¡¯s infrastructure was privately funded. That can¡¯t be why you¡¯re here, how may the Empire be of service, Duke of Ash?¡± She chuckles as I splash in the fountain with my feet. ¡°Empress, I have a proposal for Baronys, but land rights are not allowed to subdivide without your approval.¡± ¡°By design Duke. I have in the documents that Earls ought to be established before a Barony, You may establish Marquess and Viscount as appropriate administrative districts as you prefer.¡± ¡°Ah, if I do not want to convey as much authority?¡± I laugh at that. ¡°To prevent bloating, I have created a rule of hands, I suppose. A Monarch has hands for different purposes, as such, the left hand may only administer as many Dukes as fingers. A Duke may split those hands to Marquess and Earl, and Earl may split those hands to Viscount and Barony. Duke, Earl, and Baron being the land-holding titles.¡± ¡°Yes, not the same as the U.K. but easily learned. I will file the appropriate land holdings with the Consul of Interior.¡± ¡°Good, but this hardly counts as an urgent matter, Duke.¡± I stare at her briefly before tending to a titanium ribbon I¡¯ve been engraving. ¡°Okay then, my scouts have found Aether-Forged on the outskirts of the Duchy. Levels 30+ and we need help. The Nadir won¡¯t take us up on the proposal and the Hakkar are at war with us.¡± ¡°Alright. I get the Issue, but why should I handle this instead of making it a training problem?¡± I¡¯m being obtuse on purpose. Mid thirties is not a hassle for me at all.¡± ¡°Because aether-forged 32 is the start of their lair.¡± It was that moment where Campbell knew she had me reeled in. ¡°All we ask is the meat and the crystals that . . .¡± ¡°The meat sure. The crystals are mine. Aether-forged beasts are a cut above. That title is almost worth a half-tier itself. I solod a 40+ aether forged. Damn near killed me. Meat gave my cooks skill ups for months.¡± Her interest was piqued when I mentioned the cooks. She doesn¡¯t seem the kind to value craftpersons in the long-term, but she¡¯ll learn or commerce will suffer. ¡°Do we have a deal?¡± she asked. Right, no deal save my concessions have been reached. As if that would stand. ¡°You have not addressed my fee as a mercenary, Duke.¡± ¡°Your duty to the Empire is to clean the land of these lairs!¡± ¡°Your duty to the Empire is to handle your land, Duke. Asking me to handle it for you is a problem is it not?¡± ¡°What would you claim, Empress?¡± the Duke seethes, knowing it is within my right. ¡°Full claim on all of my spoils, and . . . 10% government spoils for a year, 5% of which must go to the Empire Treasury.¡± She seems taken aback by my demands. ¡°That, is entirely reasonable, Empress. We will expect your visit.¡± Perhaps I was too generous in my sharing? Bah, no. This was merely an invite for government interest and a feeler for owning dungeons. Clever test Duke. Serves me right for thinking I¡¯ve got the upper hand. I dismiss her under the guidance of Andromeda and she leaves with only minor disdain. It feels like a win, which means I lost somewhere else¡ªa fact I loath about politics. ¡°Any wisdoms Tessa?¡± An idea I have expressed before, but having two separate power structures is indelicate and could prove disastrous. I¡¯m just glad that I saved that mental pain before Aelea or the boroughs established land titles. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Yes, but you have many Vassals trying to apply for Imperial titles. I understand that, but I don¡¯t want to give Vassals titles when then can actively claim any title they want as foreign bodies can become Vassals as well. I didn¡¯t want to make the laws complicated, but foreign buy in is many steps lower than domestic ownership.¡± Can we stop with matters of state when you¡¯ve been propositioned with adventure? Tessa, is this a ride along or an adventure party to you? I Don¡¯t have a lot of combat friends but I¡¯ll put the bell out. Oh please, Penny. Would you like me to lay out the party that wants to go with you according to old tabletop roles? Andromeda yes! I do need a team, but I swear, 7 months has messed up my radar. DeGurgis-Brawler/Tank, Astoria-Dodge Tank/Artificer, Speth¡ªSniper, Solari¡ªRogue/support, O¡¯Connell¡ªMultipurpose Support. Well shit, I feel bad not knowing how good Solari and Katie are at combat. Makes Katie hotter if I¡¯m honest. Tessa scoffs in my brain while I smile at my options. >/Five hands call: Aether-forged dungeon 30+. Full kit and armor. Minor boon from the Empire with small loot percentage. /< >/DG- in/< >/Wife, in/< nice claim Katie. >/Girlfriend and Marshal, in/< >/ Fuck you Sol./< >/Love you Kay. Smooches. /< >/Speth, in with drama-pay/< >/Copy and concur. 10 days for gear and Gershwin. /< The song and dance always makes things take longer. I sent a location and leave locations for pickup at the Castle, Penbroke Square, and The Ash Pit. *** ¡°Penny I am minutes from frying her brain. I fucking swear she¡¯s worse than all the criminals I¡¯ve murdered.¡± Katie scowls at now Marshal Solari. I decided I didn¡¯t like the idea of Planets having the authority to issue sheriffs on the Galactic scale, so I did the Marshal thing. ¡°Kay, she¡¯s just being familiar because it annoys you. We never slept together or really even flirted. You should talk to DeGurgis though. She¡¯s super scared of you.¡± Despite how much closer we¡¯ve gotten since the baby news, I feel that inviting her out on an adventure may have backfired. ¡°Works for me. Plus, she knows that while we are doing the Empire¡¯s work, I will never harm her.¡± She grows a clever smile, which I find devastatingly attractive. ¡°Speaking of harm, you¡¯re putting our baby in danger. Is this a wise choice?¡± She accuses. ¡°If I¡¯ve got you four around me I¡¯m probably safer in this lair than having breakfast in Aelea. Plus, this new armor really is the tits.¡± Katie grumbles at me but doesn¡¯t say more about it. It¡¯ll come up again, for sure, but I kind of enjoy the concern from her. I like it a lot in fact. ¡°Alright! Enough butt patting and tonguing, we¡¯re here to kill some shit.¡± Jenna shouted. I still got like three ass pats. ¡°Minor open field, with prolonged tunnel warfare. Speth, you are absolutely the bag monkey in close quarters. Penny, surge, but make sure you fucking retreat. Sol and Oak, do your shit, you¡¯re both on point most days.¡± To my surprise ¡®Sol¡¯ Solari and ¡®Oak¡¯ O¡¯Connel both blush and preen. This planet is lousy with ¡®em I swear. ¡°Do not rush caverns. Bae has the big guns and Speth has the snipes. Questions?¡± The sounds of charging weapons is the only response. ¡°Stay safe and let¡¯s wreck ¡®em¡± I put a dome of silence around us. My shields are going to get a mad workout, but I could use one. The outside camps are small hovels with aether-forged Runts and Mothers, who are vulnerable to surprise. Speth took solo mothers with my pulse cannon¡ªa Merc Inc. experimental laser rifle with extra oomf. Sol and I are on cleanup and we wreck the little turds. We¡¯re lucky that none of these aether-forged pigs are anywhere near tier 3. We¡¯re also fortunate they aren¡¯t Voosel with their acid-spitting tentacle faces. As the first warren/hovel/brood was young and shallow, we went deeper. There were advanced and forged scouts that we had to engage silently so I do my best to sound-shield the tunnels around us while I blip Solari and I behind the pigs and hack at their throats. My blades have some trouble slicing through, so I fire a few pulse blasts through its ears before finishing hacking into its arteries. I look over to see a Solari with a clean slit throat, looking at me with disgust. Half a dozen scouts to this level of mobs, level 35 on average, are protecting a training ground of sorts.
x10
>/ Have a problem team /< Tessa, can you link my feed to them? Jenna and Katie have links to us, the other two do not. That should be enough for Jenna to team lead. >/ That¡¯s more than we¡¯ve seen together so far. There may even be more in the holes around the edge of the cave. Have any fancy gadgets for this Penny?/< >/No gadgets, magic though. It is disturbing though. Don¡¯t want to just snipe the Goremaster and go in Loud?/< >/Seizmic imaging shows only one more level and a large cavern beneath it. Based on afterquake analysis, there are between thirty and fifty Pavul left in the cave network. /< >/Great intel Oak. Sol, Speth, ideas?/< >/I can modify ammo for burst or piercing, but I don¡¯t think my burst skill can one-hit with the splash damage and I can only modify one mag worth at a time./< >/Does it have to be the same mag for all the rounds?/< that¡¯s a great question Solari. I get where you¡¯re going with this. >/No! It doesn¡¯t./< I can see him smile in the low light. They both pull out their flash-suppressed carbines and Solari hands her magazine to Speth. >/With that, Speth will snipe the Goremaster with the pulse cannon, then those two engage with carbines, and the rest of us clean up from the wings. /< The pulse canon spits out enormous energy but is moving so fast that the crackle that follow¡¯s the superheated air¡¯s collapsing trail to the Goremaster lasts about a second, but it¡¯s loud enough for the soldiers to search for the source. Solari opens fire and Speth follows immediately after. As soon as the Carbines report, Katie and I strafe with pulse pistols and start firing into the small crowd. Jenna runs at a slight angle at first to clear the rifle line of sight and then unfurls her riot shield and starts firing her large caliber hand gun into the group as well. Not sure if that¡¯s useful right now, but with how loud the rifles are, not sure the extra noise hurts us any. Some extra Pavul pile out of the hovel holes, but they aren¡¯t agile enough to avoid our aim. Five minutes in the room, it¡¯s silent again. ¡°I want to wait for a retaliation, but continuing to disrupt should work for at least one more cave¡± Jenna says. Katie and I agree with advancing at least one more, so that¡¯s what we do. The next cavern has slightly more Pavul in it, but the tactic works the same way and we have it cleared in minutes. ¡°Oof, the ground feels woozy. Is there an earthquake happening?¡± Katie looks at me through her HUD, ¡°A small one, yes. I¡¯m surprised you can detect it. I¡¯m somewhat certain it is stampeding animals¡± ¡°Alright, back up to the last corridor and get behind Jenna. I¡¯ve got some ugly magic that is indiscriminate. It¡¯ll thin out their numbers, but don¡¯t touch it.¡± I warn everyone. They backup as I ask and I advance to the tunnel leading down. As soon as I see grimy tusks close to the tunnel exit I start spraying . I pause the spell as I retreat and engage again to help prevent making a deep pit right where we need to go. It takes a handful of seconds for the void ooze to get through their tough hides, but as it does the sound of squealing is deafening. The confusion sets into the animals and they begin to roll around on the floor trying to scrape off the muck. ¡°OPEN FIRE!¡± I shout at my team. Even Katie is kneeling with a rifle, firing into the hoard of 30 ish Pavul. Some of the earliest adopters of scraping of the muck are recovering enough to be mobile and angry with huge oozing wounds. I have to start using Gu-fu to stay out of trouble, so I pull out my saber so that I¡¯m not indiscriminately spewing void everywhere. I¡¯m in the shit, searing off tusks, firing a few pulses into a side of pork before blipping to an open space, rinse and repeat. I don¡¯t want to blip behind Jenna and the gang because a frenzied charge with these beasts in an enclosed space spells trouble. My stamina isn¡¯t fantastic, but my will and my stamina are fighting to see what will get low first. Luckily, my team has my back. As soon as my blips start getting sloppy and imprecise, the cover fire from Speth and the stab support from Solari have made it so I don¡¯t have to blip anymore, I just have to martial arts. Gun-fu is doing work today. As soon as the last one falls, I shoot it a bunch in the head to make sure it¡¯s dead, then I sit on it and start pulling snacks. B3 Ch 40: Diplomacy! And other Surprises. ¡°Good work guys,¡± I say panting, between slurps of juice and bites of aether infused jam cookies. ¡°Do you enjoy almost dying all of the time?¡± Jenna kneels down and grabs my face while searching for something in my eyes. ¡°Relax. I¡¯m just tired, they only tapped me a few times. I didn¡¯t want to lead them to the enclosed space. Jenna sighs, shakes her head and gives me a small peck before walking away. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have much confidence in you, does she?¡± Katie says, sitting next to me and stealing a cookie. ¡°You really need to engage more than your lizard brain though. You should have flown above them.¡± Well shit, ¡°You¡¯re right. I am not used to fighting in this suit. It takes much less effort to fly in this one.¡± I wrap an arm around her and side hug. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Me too, the experience is solid. Now I know why you were so excited to come out.¡± I shake my head and shoulder check her. I get a smile out of it, which is better than most days. ¡°Jerk. Do you still have a drone scouting?¡± She nods. ¡°Can you keep an eye out while I recover some and stuff some pigs in my shuttle?¡± ¡°Is this really the time Penny?¡± ¡°Hey, I have a hidden stat to recover and I can¡¯t do that in combat.¡± >/Oak¡¯s got overwatch, I need 20 mins non-combat/stress work./< I tell the team. I summon my shuttle and start gutting pigs and carving out crystals. After the first one, Jenna and Solari help me work while Katie and Speth watch our asses. I do some ass watching myself, though none of it productive¡ªfun though. We get through about half of corpses before my stamina and will feel recovered to usable levels, and my shuttle is nearly full. I put it away and dig out the remaining crystals from these aether forged Pavul. I hand Katie a handful and she picks over them for a minute before standing and kissing me on the cheek. ¡°Thanks. Do you eat them or crush them?¡± ¡°I have never tried to eat them . . . I will after we leave. That could be a fun time. I recommend against trying it for tech users. Jenna, have you gotten your first major mutation yet?¡± ¡°I should get my symbiote tier 1 after this, so soon. Talk later?¡± she asks and I nod. ¡°Alright, as Oak and Speth haven¡¯t alarmed us, we have an entrenched enemy, got a layout for us?¡± Katie nods and pulls out what looks like an oversized vinyl chessboard. She makes some finger gestures and pulls the air away from the board and an opaque model of the lower caverns are shown. ¡°Wait, those look like defensive structures. Like, things that take tools to make.¡± Speth calls out. Katie nods ¡°My assessment as well. Based on Penny¡¯s concerns, my altered scans show at least three beings with aether levels high enough to be tier 3, possibly intelligent. Definitely structures around them. Recommend explosive entry, repeat until cave in.¡± ¡°Can you do that without killing us?¡± Jenna asks the question I don¡¯t want to answer. ¡°Confidence goes down per consecutive bomb. Don¡¯t recommend more than two.¡± We spend a few minutes trying to optimize the placement of the two bombs before we call the prep over. Plan in place, Jenna taking point and I¡¯m cooking some annihilation bombs. The mood is bright, we feel secure in our roles and that calming focus lasts all of ten minutes. Fuck my life. I blip in my special ammo hand cannon and form a few void bullets after chucking a grenade. >/SHIELDS UP/< I order in my mind while I disregard trying to form and fire void bullets into Aether Forged Voosel and the damned Tamer. I have a personal shield in this suit, but I¡¯m going to get ticket to meet the cave wall soon. Except I have ripple drives and space anchors. I fire the four bullets I form and plug the tamer and two voosel, then I let the Annihilation explosion push me across the cave before halting my movement. I toss the other bomb in at the large aether signature and it zips away toward the cavern wall. I take a moment to curse, realizing my aether sight probably showed me something higher than the Voosel Tamer. I take a brief moment to inspect before I shut down my senses for the bomb. Shit. >/Patriarch, 54, powered by religion. Keep eyes on the Voosel, their spit melts armor./< Solari smiles wickedly before disappearing into the smoke and debris of my bombs. She must have some sort of enhanced sight, otherwise that would be no reason to smile. I can¡¯t get into another prolonged blink battle, not and still maintain my escape plan. Jenna starts barking orders while Katie updates firing solutions for those that can¡¯t see in the mess. We slowly work through the Voosel and a few Pavul that are teaming up with them and then hear thundering steps from the far corner. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± I¡¯m shocked by language and stop what I¡¯m doing. ¡°You come here to destroy us after refusing your barbary?! What manner of plague are you?¡± I know it¡¯s not a language I know, but I am VERY surprised that the Matrix has heard it before. ¡°I¡¯m the Empress of several systems, including this one, Patriarch. Had the Matrix identified your presence, I would have treated with you earlier.¡± ¡°Treat with us? One of you ¡®Humans¡¯ already came forth and demanded sacrifices and workers for a pittance. What makes your word any different.¡± Oh man, this sentient swine has better diction than most people I know and they¡¯ve had language their whole lives. ¡°I¡¯m a ¡®Pixie¡¯ and I have the authority to give you the land you inhabit via official treaty?¡± He ponders so I continue to speak, ¡°Humans are new to the Matrix, and as such have never encountered species that awaken from beast to person before. How many of you have language?¡± That question brought him out of his thoughts, ¡°That, I do not wish to share. You have killed many today that were close to ascending to ¡®people¡¯ as you call it, and I have not had time to mourn their losses.¡± I hear the squeals of dying Voosel and Pavul, suffering from the injuries we¡¯ve caused. >/Stand Down/< ¡°Do you wish our assistance for medical treatment of the wounded?¡± He snarls at me, ¡°I would die before I see you touch another of my tribe. But a blood price would be a show of goodwill and from that I can tend my wounded and honor the dead.¡± >/You don¡¯t owe them anything Penny./< >/I owe the Duke a punch in the face./< but I say nothing about the Pavul. ¡°I have sent five thousand credits and some documents and a map for you to mark your claimed territory.¡± He takes a brief moment to stare off into the Matrix before narrowing his beady piggy eyes at me. ¡°What will you do if I refuse?¡± Ahh, yes. I would expect nothing less from a fellow ruler. ¡°Me? Nothing. I make no promises about the other races that live in or may visit the area, however. Aether-Forged animals are a point of interest on this planet, and your kin are the only ones we¡¯ve found so far. Take that as you will.¡± He growls louder this time and stabs his scepter into the ground, twisting it three times before squealing an activation word. An angry bubble snaps into place around him, growing larger centimeters every second. The power in the shield makes it feel like a dismissal with a promise of harm. ¡°Impressive. Everyone, head back to the next cavern up. I have some testing I want to do before we leave.¡± They do as I ask, but clearly not pleased. >/Penny, do not try to solo that pig./< >/Relax, I just want to throw a few spells at his shield/< >/I agree with Oak on this, Penny. Let¡¯s just go./< >/Five minutes./< I didn¡¯t know you could convey a grunt over a data line. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I raise my pulse pistol to the edge of the shield and plug a few into it. The first two are reflected at right angles and the third is absorbed. Huh, odd. I try it again and the same happens. There must be a capacitance for the reflective energy, needing a short re-charge before enabling again. Neat! The Patriarch snarls at me again, but I¡¯m unsure if he¡¯s mad about me playing with his shield or not doing as he threatened. Maybe both. I shrug and decide for the next test as half a dozen pulses don¡¯t seem to have any affect. I step back a few meters and spray some Nightmare Napalm at the shield. I expect it to slide off as it attacks the shield, but to my great surprise, it sticks. To the Pavul¡¯s great surprise, after a few seconds, several globs drop through before the shield snaps back over where it ate. There¡¯s no way to hold the interest from my face after seeing how ravenous that void glop is. His shield is dynamic and strong, credit where it is due for the shield not breaking when the void got through, and strong enough to keep advancing after that kind of trauma to its energy field. I touch two fingers to my forehead in a half-salute before turning away. ¡°Think about the offer, Patriarch and good luck.¡± *** ¡°Is it bad to say that I¡¯m surprised you took the diplomatic route?¡± Jenna asks. I splash her in the face in response to the audacity of her saying that in my spa. ¡°I would have said the same before I read the minutes of the Andromeda Forum and saw her Title.¡± Katie says, being surprisingly social today. I expected her to avoid me after this. Maybe the expectation and embarrassment she thinks is between us is lessened with company? ¡°I¡¯d be peeved, but with Calamity as a part of my class, I get it. Enough about that. Did anyone get any fun upgrades?¡± ¡°I got a mess of skill upgrades and a few levels. My AI is encouraging me to ask for a few of those crystals for a mutation I¡¯ve been trying for.¡± Solari adds between gulps of her margarita. Katie nods, ¡°Same. Not the mutation though. I¡¯ve had enough of those. Excited to examine the crystals though. I plan to do that after my social obligations are finished.¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± I say, poking her side, ¡°You just want me for my lab.¡± She nods, ¡°That and I wanted to ask about the baby.¡± The sound of breaking glass from the side of me and across from me keeps me from sneering at Katie. I look over to see that Solari toppled her margarita and Jenna smashed the glass in her hand. ¡°Oh, did I forget to tell you both that I¡¯ve been pregnant for months? Surprise!¡± ¡°Fucking how?!¡± They both said ¡°how¡± at the same time. ¡°Uh, I was trying to grow the crystal part of a brain for an automaton in my abdomen when I leveled up. Matrix saw organic matter where my uterus would have been and decided I was trying to procreate. So now I have a tiny pixie with an enormous head growing in there.¡± I say, poking at my slightly rounded belly. ¡°This may be the first case of an ¡®oopsie¡¯ lesbian pregnancy.¡± Solari chuckles, raising her hand to flag Oren down. ¡°Are you okay Jenna?¡± I say, putting a hand on her shoulder, watching her pick glass out of her hand. ¡°Yeah, It¡¯s just a huge surprise. We¡¯d talked about you wanting kids, but it seemed a far future thing.¡± I did not think that Jenna would be mopey about it, but here it is. Silence carries the room as Oren comes out, hands Solari another margarita and starts cleaning up. Solari and Katie are pointing their raised eyebrows at me. ¡°What? We still talk and make-out sometimes.¡± Solari flicks a lime at me. ¡°And here I was hoping to ask you out after the Marshal thing was official.¡± ¡°What¡¯s stopping you?¡± Katie asks her. ¡°Uh, I thought you were?¡± Katie snorts at that. ¡°Our marriage got a little out of hand, but I¡¯m pretty sure Jenna¡¯s ACE and I¡¯m not recovered from some trauma yet, so I won¡¯t begrudge Penny a little companionship.¡± Overwhelmed by the series of admissions from Katie, I hug her tight. ¡°Thank you for caring, and for trying so hard these last few months.¡± Respecting her touch limit, I back off while still sitting close enough for her to hold my hand after I let go of her. ¡°Can we talk more about the baby? The rest of this, makes me uncomfortable.¡± She picks at the bandage that Oren helped put on her. He really is coming along nicely with that learning algorithm Naomi¡¯s husband installed. ¡°Sure. She¡¯s coming along, was at 80 something percent yesterday, but I should probably check again after today¡¯s adventure.¡± Can you help me compartment my analysis Tessa? I ask her while aiming my aether eyes and Assess my shining ball of aether. Uhh. Wow. Strangely, she does not officially get inducted into the system until she is born. However, the markers for her ¡°creation¡± are there. Heritage: Pixie Queen. Magics used during Gestation: Primary¡ªWill-based Teleportation; Secondary¡ªShielding; Tertiary¡ªTransmogrification. Biology-based Traits marked for transfer: Two slots available. Parental Title-induced lottery available. Wait, does this mean I can tailor what my kids inherit? This seems like a major helping hand. It is. Letting me tell you this is major for your next child, but the specifics like this are only visible when they¡¯re too late to change. Also, 95% is essentially you¡¯re going to give berth after you check your system messages. So, I¡¯m going to have a baby, today. ¡°I¡¯m having a baby today.¡± Suddenly I¡¯m being pulled out of the water by Katie and Jenna, carried down the stairs by Jenna, and set down gently on my bed. I chuckle at their rush. ¡°How far apart are your contractions, do you need pain killers?¡± Solari fumbles with some towels as she asks. ¡°Relax ladies, I can¡¯t give birth like that. Don¡¯t have the equipment. From what I just discussed with Tessa, I will check my messages, I will get some prompts and then some magic will happen. I am unsure if I have to cut her out first, or if a ¡®tada¡¯ baby in the hands moment will occur, but I think I¡¯ll be prompted.¡± A collective sigh from my favorite people has them relax a smidgen. ¡°have you picked a name?¡± ¡°Lira, Mira, Nia, and Zia are all my short list.¡± ¡°Mm, I prefer the last two.¡± Katie says. The other two nod, probably not thinking that they should have input. I respect that. ¡°Then little Zia Oak Astoria it is.¡± Jenna snorts and Solari covers her mouth, attempting not to laugh at my wife. ¡°That¡¯s a very ¡®Nature¡¯s Child¡¯ name, Penny. Are you sure she¡¯s not Francesca¡¯s?¡± ¡°Very sure you grumpus. Everyone ready to meet her?¡± They nod, and I check my messages.
x2
x2
x2
x2
x2
/Crystalline Crown of the Pixie Queen
/Ripple Cannon
Alaris was understandably thrilled with the last one, never thinking I would finish it. Now she has the best ballistic armament in the sector. The Crown, while a work of art, is a significant drain on my resources while wearing it.
Your child is ready to be born! As a magic-based creature, your child has absorbed enough aether to complete a transformative mutation toward autonomous living. As their parent, you may donate up to two levels to their birth.
Do you wish to apply additional levels towards birth? No Yes-1 Yes-2
Yes-2 please. I want her to have all the benefits she can.
Andromeda, you blessed, amazing Matrix. I could kiss you. Please let her inherit some of Katie¡¯s looks.
x62
x8
x3
/two of the five levels available were absorbed by Zia Oak Astoria
I get the barest moment to revel in the euphoria of the moment before a massive flash of aether is expelled from my body, a weight slumps in my lap, and I¡¯m exhausted and near empty of aether. B3 Ch 41: Fluffy with a Side of Blankets ¡°Well, I guess Solari¡¯s getting that Mutation now.¡± I look over to see Solari seizing in a kneeling position as she falls to lean on my bed. Jenna has a wild look in her eyes and Katie¡¯s eyes are ratcheting back and forth looking well beyond the end of the room. The darling in my lap has pale skin bordering on blue with short curls of red hair. What I thought would be a completely oversized head, has appeared the same size, but with an appropriate-sized body. Little Zia appears to be about three years old. She¡¯s not breathing and her pulse is on existent¡ªneither is mine though. My aether sight tells me her vortex is operating and her . . . power network is modeled after my latest with her symbiote attached to her vortex. She is currently working on subsuming the symbiotes and small swarm we gave her. It could take hours or days. She will also need time to process the hereditary memories that are stored within her crystalline matrix. That sounds like a whole lot of sleeping and perhaps some low response periods. My thoughts turn into background noise as I see Zia absently grasp for something. I give her my hand and she pulls it close to her. A flush of love and happiness suffuse my body and force me to pull he close as well. I kiss her head and run my hand through her copper locks. Who knows how long later, I realized that I was worried about Katie and Jenna falling over. Jenna slumped, but Katie full-on fell over with straight legs. As tall as she is, she¡¯ll be knocked out for a week and a half. Tessa, what the hell am I going to do. I¡¯ve got a war to fight in a few months, I travel all the time, and I don¡¯t know if I can stand leaving Zia with anyone. How have you not thought about this until now? I did, but I didn¡¯t expect my feelings for her to be so sudden and so loud. I would do anything to keep her safe. I would move planets for her. I would commit war crimes for her. I would . . . oh. That is a terrible idea, but it would be effective. And then my mind runs away with those ideas like a levy has burst. I could kill two systems with one act of assholery. Well, plan for the worst and hope for the best. That¡¯s horrible Penny. Do you need help? I can¡¯t help but chuckle at that. I¡¯m the one that¡¯s responsible for human morals, so I have to tell her the limits. And she will know by reading my mind that this is far beyond the normal rules of war we would follow. However, a people that would try to assassinate a Head of state during a diplomatic visit aren¡¯t interested in rules. I need a stealth shuttle. With the other crafting that I absolutely have to do myself, or with you Tessa, I don¡¯t have time to build the shuttle myself. Why do you need a shuttle? Cargo and Speed? Just saying. You have an undisclosed Vault for storage and you can teleport as far as you need to. If you can¡¯t figure out the space teleport out by then, just build a drone array warp generator. Please do that last thing. It¡¯ll give me time to design the potential horror show. *** Kate is the first to pull herself up from the ground. She crawls up the bed and lies next to me. ¡°How¡¯s our girl?¡± ¡°tired, healthy and a little grabby.¡± I look down and Zia is face down on my belly, foot in my crotch, still death-gripping my hand. ¡°Are you okay? Seems you took a mutation?¡± She nods, ¡°Small one. Makes my drinking a little more efficient, but makes me concentrate on making the experience pleasant for my donor. All things considered, a good one.¡± She kisses my cheek and starts petting baby Zia. ¡°Why did you curse her with my hair.¡± She whispers into my side. I tug on her shirt so she knows I want her head on my arm. She responds favorably. ¡°I kept thinking that I wanted her to be pretty like you, and this is what happened.¡± She chuckles into my shoulder and starts fiddling with the hem on my side. ¡°It¡¯s hard to remember sometimes that we love each other differently. It¡¯ll be hard to forget that you wanted your first child to look like me.¡± I kiss her head and try not to cry at my insecurities, my inadequacies, and this cuddly moment. ¡°Yeah, Kay. I don¡¯t follow your love languages well, but you¡¯ve been what I want since I first saw you. She¡¯s got a base version of your alpha waves, so she¡¯ll probably think like you too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy.¡± She comments without teeth and snuggles into me. This. This is where and how I want to live. Getting cuddled by my daughter and my wife. I soak it in until Jenna recovers. ¡°Aww, what a cute cuddle puddle. Uh, I hate to ask, but I kind of need to tier up now?¡± ¡°Oof. Oren!¡± I wait for him to come back out. ¡°Can you make it down to the aether pool?¡± He nods at me and starts walking toward the stairs. ¡°Jenna, get in the tub he shows you. It¡¯ll give you more aether for the transition. Take the time to strap in. It¡¯s fine if you break it.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. She nods and follows Oren down the stairs as fast as he allows. ¡°Do you love her?¡± Katie asks. ¡°Not as such, but I still like her. There was a version of me that was almost there, but working through what portions of her were acting and what she presents now, it¡¯s hard to reconcile what¡¯s real.¡± I take a deep breath then continue, ¡°Solari and I were never a thing. Mostly because my other two relationships were in the air, and trying to introduce more chaos would have been insanity. Plus, I was trying to stay within our agreement.¡± ¡°An agreement I completely obliterated.¡± She says, barely audible as she hides her face in my shoulder. ¡°Katie, no. You were coerced into that. That shame is not yours to bear, babe. I certainly don¡¯t hold it against you, well, not the ¡®our bed¡¯ thing.¡± She doesn¡¯t say anything more, but when she pulls my shirt tighter, I hold her closer so she can¡¯t escape. Minutes later, Solari crawls up the bed, opens one eye, settles into my other side and moves one of Zia¡¯s legs so she doesn¡¯t trap her between us. Andromeda, all of this affection, I want to keep it. Cuddled by three people that care about me and that I care about in return. Too bad there¡¯s a time limit on this. When Katie stops feeling vulnerable and when Solari . . . I really don¡¯t know. She wants to date, but I really don¡¯t need a new catastrophe. A hand plops on my face. ¡°I can hear you thinking. Just, hold us and stop thinking.¡± Solari accuses. ¡°Mikaela, I swear.¡± She swats my nose. ¡°Shh.¡± She pats my face a few times and falls asleep on my chest. What even is this place? Adventure, progress, and snuggles? My best life has arrived. For a short time only, I know, but for the next few hours, I¡¯m in Nirvana, and I¡¯m going to enjoy it. *** Zia gives me a few hours before aggressively trying to feed from me. She finds my nipple through a shirt and shark teethes the crap out of it. I suppress a howl, but not enough to keep my other snuggle buddies asleep. My chest is now bleeding and my darling daughter is lapping it up unconsciously. Tiny piranha toddler. Mikaela starts and releases my arm, so I form a port that offers sustenance for my baby Zia and she reluctantly accepts the trade. Only for a drowsy Katie to latch on to my bloody boob. ¡°Katie! No.¡± I smack her head to wake her up. ¡°I will not be aroused while Zia feeds.¡± My wife finally wakes, looks into my eyes and pouts her luscious lips at me. Fucking model face and that uber pretty mug. ¡°Fiiiine, but you get an arm too, lady.¡± After a minute, I start to get light-headed so I shake Katie off. I order a juice that I like, then shake Zia off and drip a few drops of my blood into the juice bottle for her to sip on. ¡°Mikki, could you help me downstairs?¡± She gives me a looks before pulling an arm over her head to help me out. ¡°Look, lady, you want to date, you get a nickname.¡± She stops dead and searches my eyes for lies or whatever. I¡¯m a little high from blood loss. ¡°What? Giving me sexy eyes isn¡¯t going to change your nickname Mikki.¡± Then she kisses me. Fuck my life. So much good is happening that I know a cart load of shit is coming later. I look back at Katie snuggling Zia and I suddenly don¡¯t care what happens next. They are so cute. ¡°Mm. So when are you taking me out, miss Solari?¡± She laughs at that. ¡°Too right. I got things out of order, but you make things so comfortable, I wish to claim amnesty.¡± ¡°Oh no, you have to plan the date you promised me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re ridiculous, Empress. And I am hoping to take you out, but we have war to do and lives to save.¡± ¡°Mikaela, there is always some sort of crisis in my life. If you¡¯re waiting for a perfect time, the universe will succumb to entropy before I kiss you again.¡± I thought I had a solid point, showing a smug face as she helps me down the stairs. When we hit the landing, she nudges me into a much more tender kiss. ¡°Entropy can go fuck itself then. How about a mini date on your lazy river.¡± ¡°Mm, I think you¡¯re cheating, but please continue.¡± I place a kiss beneath her ear. She shudders. ¡°Nope. Not going to do it. You are a delightful temptress, but I will stay strong!¡± I chuckle at her dramatics and don¡¯t try to provoke her any further. We arrive at our destination to see Jenna thrashing in my aether pool. ¡°Oh, well. Some snacks in the garden then?¡± I look back to the lift. ¡°How about, we take that date now?¡± I chuckle, ¡°You got it. Bathing suits required.¡± She nods and sets me into a doubles tube before walking off to change. ¡°What the fuck am I doing.¡± I say to myself. I like it, but the environment is a little sketch for intimacy right now. I teleport in my swimwear and swap it on. Mikaela comes out with a masc binding top and shorts. ¡°Not that you don¡¯t look hot, but have I been calling the wrong pronouns?¡± She shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t really think about it too much. I¡¯m uncomfortable naked, so I wear this. ¡° ¡°Mm, then sit next to me, and lets snack and float shall we?¡± And that¡¯s how I guilty-recovered my aether, floating on the river, eating galaxy fruit with a genderfluid fantasy. Sure, the loves of my life are sleeping and snuggled in my bed, but mama¡¯s gotta recover her aether too. I¡¯m pretty dry as it is, and . . . oof. I¡¯m traveling the dangerous road Katie was on. ¡°You look like you¡¯re thinking too much.¡± Solari says, grabbing the hand between us. ¡°Be with me for a few minutes. Your world is in a comfortable stasis, nothing but you and me. What¡¯s next?¡± I think for a moment, and the figure eight tube with two holes is too limiting. I roll on top of her, order an inflatable lounger and blip us a third meter above where it¡¯s supposed to be. We land in a comfortable heap on the lounger with drinks in the cup holders. ¡°I don¡¯t really do respectable distance. You cuddled with me earlier, lets continue.¡± I put my hand on the bottom of her compression shirt and ask if I can roll it up a bit. She nods and I put bits of my future meal on her. She laughs enough to roll my nigiri toward our joined midsections. ¡°No fair, I want to eat and lick you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mind how I present?¡± She asks me, while feeding me parts of my tumbling meal. ¡°No, I never will unless you transition to bits and pieces. I have an uncomfortable reaction to male human genitals, so if that¡¯s your plan, then, we should part ways.¡± ¡°Heh, fine. I had entertained top surgery, but bottom is . . .invasive and strenuous.¡± ¡°Not with the Matrix. You could hire a magus to transform your middles and that would be that. You would likely even be able to procreate.¡± Solari chuckels at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever be there, but sometimes I like to wear this top. Can we still date?¡± I scoff. ¡°I¡¯m not making fun, but I¡¯m onboard with whatever you need, as long as I don¡¯t have to touch dangly bits.¡± She chuckles into my mouth and continues to feed me my favorite foods while teasing me with her other hand. Trying to re-position for shenanigans send us off the floating chair and into the river. I absently blip us to the common area and summon a pile of blankets to crawl upon in our sogginess. Instead of discussing anything, both of us fall deep into the embrace of a sea of blankets. B3 Ch42: Bot and Bairn Despite my bravado, I don¡¯t do more than snuggle with any of the women I¡¯ve been inviting over recently. As much as a flirty fling would be fun, I certainly can¡¯t afford any more drama with a war looming in three months and a cute little piranha to look after. Katie, though, she¡¯s still acting reserved and has not been volunteering anything. Having her around more has been nice, it¡¯s been exclusively evening cuddles and time with Zia. I hate to complain, but it feels like we¡¯re back to just being friends like we were when she was dating Francesca two years ago. This introspective moment, brought to you by Oren mk. 6 because he¡¯s being a frustrating collection of parts. I can¡¯t get this pure tech intelligence matrix to work. ¡°Perhaps you should take your own advice?¡± Her deep, sultry, artificial tones say from behind me. ¡°Oh? Is the magitech synth cortex working for you?¡± I turn around to see her expressions. I get a glimpse of a pinch on her brow before she changes to inquisitive. ¡°The Tier 2 models are not handling the volume well from all of the sensory input humans consume every minute.¡± ¡°Human brains really don¡¯t either. It¡¯s one of the reasons autistic and anxiety riddled folk have such a hard time in public when they can¡¯t control their inputs. They get overwhelmed and shut down. Most brains have developed patterns on what a person considers important and hones in on those patterns and experiences so that it can lower the detailed computing mode that it require to analyze each and every input.¡± She looks genuinely thoughtful now, tapping her chin. I wonder where she picked up that behavior. ¡°I have been noticing a lack of analysis depth since I left your hardware. That may be the best path for me to focus on instead of just asking to spend tier 3 money on a bench-tested cyborg brain.¡± I nod at that, ¡°Did you drop by for a confab, or did you need something?¡± Not that I mind Tessa¡¯s company, I just know she doesn¡¯t like leaving Alaris very much. ¡°I still express man of your habits, including walking away from a frustrating project instead of forcing work and making mistakes. I came down to talk to you about why your crystals are so much better that a full tech setup, and then talk to Katie about it maybe being a tech to aether transition problem.¡± ¡°Best I can say about that is the crystal splits the inputs up like a prism, but with biologic priorities, shunting the data to respective processing centers. Mostly like a meat brain on that. It gets odd when I synthesize the sensory input because some of the scattering creates an odd form of synesthesia where a thing like a bird is a feeling and an aura as much as it is an object that has properties. Aether senses make it all the more confusing.¡± My synesthesia caught her interest and she sat with me as I tried to describe what I¡¯d observed in the smaller approximations I had been using for Oren¡¯s ¡°brains¡±. While we are talking, I hear ¡°Moooom! Hungies!¡± Ah, my days-old daughter is awake and telling me she¡¯s hungry. Nothing wrong with this. Nothing at all. I set down my tools and point toward my bed and Tessa shoos me along. I summon a bottle of juice and morph my wrist to pump a little ink into the bottle and slap a nipple on the bottle. I show up to find baby Zia stumbling between two and four appendages on the floor while she tries to put hands and mouth on everything. She hears me coming and turns to look at me. The Joy in her eyes at my approach is breathtaking. She fumbles and tumbles to get to me while I walk to her, and I swear I saw the tiniest blink. As soon as I reach her, she lunges at my arm with her shark teeth open wide. I pull her up with one arm and shove the bottle in her mouth with the other. Confused, Zia looks up at me and pushes the bottle away. ¡°No. Mama taste better.¡± She reaches out and makes grabbing gestures toward my arm. ¡°Maybe so honey, but there¡¯s aether in that juice, and if you drink half of it, I¡¯ll give you a treat.¡± She seems to be understanding me just fine, lets see if she has any rudimentary reasoning. She stares at me the whole time she¡¯s drinking from that bottle, a bit creepy if I¡¯m honest. As I see her nearing the halfway mark, I que up a sliced galaxy fruit and wait for my little bundle of determination finish a few more sips. She looks down at the bottle and then lets go of it, shooting out her grabby hands again. Language, check. Basic volume comparison, check. Understands task-oriented rewards, check. I teleport one of the slices into my hand and break a corner off for her. She looks up at me, at my arm, and then back at the fruit. She doesn¡¯t accuse me of lying to her, but she clearly thought my arm would have been the reward. I can also tell she is thinking about lunging at my arm anyway. Her eyes are too big not to see her glancing, and the star pattern changes noticeably as she considers her options. She reluctantly takes the swirled color fruit and bites into it. Her first chew lights up her eyes and the second sends a quaking shiver through her tiny body. She slams the rest of her nugget into her mouth, her butt still wiggling in my lap. I break off another larger piece and put it in my mouth. She frowns at me furiously and starts grunting as she reaches for more of the delicious, aether-infused fruit. I hand over another small hunk and she tries to chew angrily at me but fails miserably as she shivers with the aether it contains. What an adorable creature. Woah, science brain. Daughter, not science experiment. Yes, she started out as a golem variant; and yes she¡¯s not a species that the Matrix or I have notes for or experience with; but I can¡¯t dip into experiment brain while I¡¯m spending time with my kid. Okay, well too much time, otherwise would I even be me? Plus, watching someone actively process knowledge they haven¡¯t lived through is fascinating. ¡°More.¡± She reaches for my hand. The pout has my hand moving before I can think and she grabs a piece of the rind and it comes off in her tiny mitts. Faster than I can warn her off it, she has it in her mouth and chaws it quick. ¡°Blecht, bither!¡± she shouts, trying to wipe the purple bits of rind off her tongue. The way she says ¡°bitter¡± and the adorable sour face has me giggling and hugging her to me. ¡°Not funny mommy!¡± she shouts more and tries to push herself away from me. I smother her with a dozen kisses before I let her squirm out of my adoration. She crawls away from me as fast as her stumpy limbs can carry her and it has me in a fit of giggles again. She slumps down on my pillow, breathing heavy, still angry, and I take some pity on baby Zia and put the half-empty bottle next to her and sit on the bed about halfway down. I think about how little there is for her to do here, and subsequently how unsafe the lazy river is for Zia, I order some things from the exchange: Puzzle blocks, light fencing, and a tablet for educational games. The games are pretty juvenile but I don¡¯t know where here level of hereditary knowledge is, and she doesn¡¯t seem at a stage where she can analyze that herself. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Okay, honey. I¡¯m leaving a few puzzles and some games here for you when you¡¯re ready for them. We¡¯re only doing juice for now, honey. Yes, I know you don¡¯t like that, but uncontrolled mutations are really bad. We¡¯ll try some more fruit this evening after I have a look at you.¡± She angrily drinks juice in my direction. I can¡¯t help but smile at her, which makes her grump some more. So cute! Not being able to contain my desire to hold her, I stand up and walk to the kitchen to prep two more bottles of juice and then walk off with some play pen fencing and a hand-full of zip ties. The task takes all of ten minutes, and then I guiltily get back to my automaton project. ¡°Oren!¡± I shout for my helper, while arranging my latest model Oren body for cranium insertion. A minute or so later, a wet collection of enchanted metals walks next to me. ¡°You called, madam?¡± ¡°Mmhm. Important questions. First, how are you today?¡± ¡°I have some mild degradation in my cohesion enchantments, but otherwise I am ready for tasking.¡± Not what I wanted, but he is a program. ¡°Okay, any luck with the opinion and emotion iterative experience module?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what luck has to do with it, but the module has been muddling my objectivity, so I turn it off frequently.¡± That makes sense and would explain his lack of progress. ¡°Alright, turn the module back on, and I would like you to leave it on unless you believe it would compromise a task I set you to, okay?¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I watch as his frame shudders as what should be thousands of additional sensory judgements filter through his brain. ¡°Now, what is your opinion on having a new and improved chassis, or a brother?¡± Oren looks between the parts on the table and my face for several moments before deciding. ¡°As much as I could learn with the interactions with another, I have determined that I would be more useful immediately in that chassis, than a new intelligence matrix that would take considerable training.¡± ¡°Alright. Well, that means I will probably use this older chassis for other experiments, are you okay with that?¡± ¡°Mm, It, is confusing that a part of me has analyzed that this would be an excellent use of materials, and another is worried that my interfacing with these new materials will . . . feel different.¡± Aha! Naomi¡¯s husband is a genius. ¡°That is normal and a part of the testing that Bart and I are trying to collect data for on your module. With those parts of yourself in consideration, knowing that I will use the chassis in either case, what would you like to do.¡± With barely a pause, ¡°I would like to be upgraded to serve you better.¡± Damnit. Back to full robot. I shrug and move on. ¡°Oren, please initiate intelligence matrix removal protocol.¡± ¡°Copy. De-coupling iterative connection reinforcement.¡± A few minutes go by before I get another response. /De-coupled. Powering down ancillary enchantments./ His body sags and rests on the table in a laid-out supine position. /Powered down. Saving last state to hard backup. Safe to remove intelligence matrix in 7:35/ I get an eight minute countdown in the corner of my HUD and I thank Tessa for it. I start powering up the mk. 7 chassis and ensure that the power to the head section isn¡¯t applied until I¡¯m ready. I make sure that the co-processor for some of the advanced movement and test systems is online and responsive. Every section of the chassis independently levitates for a moment before sinking back to the table. The weapons bay in the lower abdomen opens and closes satisfactorily, but with no weapon installed, it¡¯s just for show. I¡¯m still working out the kinks for getting a laser in there without crashing his whole power system. The eight minutes elapses before the start-up for the newer chassis is, so I spend extra time extracting Oren¡¯s brain. Luckily there has been no ancillary crystallization of the Magitech contacts, or I would have had to re-wire the new system to the contacts attached to the brain. Installation is clean and his face-plate secured, I connect power to his brain and put the co-processor in wait-for-host mode. A few seconds pass before a small progress percentage and text show up: Estimated integration¡ª17:12. Holy crap. Did I install that much new gear on this chassis? Hmm, the ripple strips alone may be most of that time. Oh! I also had Bart load up a few modules into the now-separate log collection drive. Makes way more sense now. I wanted this Oren to be more than just a test platform acting as a servant, especially with the emotions module we inserted. I see a priority message in my system messages so I decide to take a look.
/Autonomous Assistant: Oren (mk. 7), 5/5
/Mastery allows others to benefit from your expertise in a collaborative project
/Mastery conveys an aura of authority pertaining to this skill.
/Mastery allows efforts more than a whole rating below to become trivial.
/Your name will be entered into the Catalogue of Master Engravers.
Freaking sweet! My helping others will actually have some benefit now instead of mere instruction. It will also lend to better quality and more durable enchantments for all of the devices I need to make before the war comes. Should be fun to show people what annihilation can really do. ¡°MAMA HURRY!¡± As soon as ¡°Hurry¡± hits my ears I¡¯ve blinked to where I saw her last. She¡¯s not on my bed. ¡°Mama!¡± Bathroom? I blink over and see the poor darling squirming and trying to climb the toilet. ¡°Oh honey, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± I flop the lid down, quick cut a small hole for her tiny butt and set her over it. While she does her work, I search for potty stairs and transport the roundest looking one to me. ¡°Mama, I¡¯m done.¡± I see Zia reaching for the roll of paper and is entirely too short to reach it. I grab a few squares, help her stand up and give her a few wipes to clean up. She holds on to my hand as she stubbornly tries to descend the stairs, making me re-set her until she can do it without falling down. She quits after five minutes of stumbling where I reassure her that coordination will come with practice and time spent with her little limbs. She tells me that memories are hurting and that she¡¯s tired. She¡¯s feeling a little warm to the touch, so I put her on top of my blankets and order a little A/C unit to blow cool air on her. As soon as I see her start to sleep, I check her temp again and her head is really warm. I pull some covers over her body and aim the cool air on her head. Tessa, have you ever collected data on my brain and processing loads. Several times. When I started using your Parallel minds talent for myself, and a few times after each of your cranial transformations. Were there heat issues for any of those? Your brain literally melted when you tried to download that REDACTED spell from the Matrix. And until the crystal replacement and Body of Power V upgrades, there were some heat challenges for your bio-body. Damnit. I think Zia¡¯s having a similar problem. I''m also trying not to think to hard about the info I''m not supposed to know about. Oh, with hereditary memory, that might indeed be an issue. Her brain has a high heat rating, but the flesh around it does not. I¡¯ll try to interface with her AI and see what I can find out. In the meantime, I recommend a HAB suit that can help her regulate temperature. Andromeda bless you Tessa. And thank you for being available for me, and rational. My pleasure, it gives me opportunity to corrupt Zia¡¯s AI. Sounds right. I like to surround myself with sassy, competent ladies. Now if only I could whine to those ladies and have them plan a war for me. Tessa laughs in my mind for a while after I think that. B3 Ch43: The End of an Era Leaving war prep this late has consequences. I need to mass produce mine casings, and none of the foreign forges will work with me now that the whole cluster knows that I¡¯m scheduled to fight the Herrat in less than three months. Being associated with war is bad business or some such, which is a fat lie and I know it. So I buy an industrial fabricator and a press with exchangeable forms and build a factory building next to my crystal factory to put it all in. I set the machine to print me ten thousand of several different things, hire five people to look after it all and move to making the things that only I can do: shielded antimatter cores. Naomi was surprised when I first approached her for babysitting, mostly because Zia looks four when she¡¯s only a week. She¡¯s level 2 though, so that¡¯s a fun disparity all around. She said she could take one day a week, as long as she had time to plan ahead. I took her up on that today as it took me all day to do the warehouse setup. I can mind Zia when I¡¯m just at the house working, but space and explosives are generally irresponsible to expose children to. Jenna and Solari duck out when I ask about babysitting, Jenna because a new class is starting next week, and Solari because she¡¯s at least a week away in the sensor-focused shuttle she¡¯s in. It took Solari three days to find a shuttle that was ¡°close enough¡± for what she wanted, pick it for my Salary, replace regularly offer, and get out of the system. I think she was specifically rushing to avoid baby stuff. Katie, well Katie doesn¡¯t want to be left alone with her for some reason but managed to talk Francesca into working at the Mansion to watch Zia with her. That confuses the hell out of me, so I will be sure to ask Francesca and Katie about how it goes. I need a day to test the mine payload before I start churning them out and putting them into a holding facility. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you had a baby. I mean, you told me you were pregnant, but you never really acted pregnant.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a sly way of saying I¡¯m moody all of the time.¡± I smile at her as I pick up Zia, who immediately tries to bite me. I bop her nose and give her a nugget of fruit. ¡°She was remarkably well behaved. She really likes those logic puzzles you brought over.¡± She chuckles and shakes her head, ¡°Bart wants her to come over more often so that she can study her development.¡± ¡°Hah! I knew it. I have to keep myself from going into ¡°scientist¡± mode when I look at her sometimes. But she really is super interesting.¡± ¡°Mama, Zia here.¡± I raise an eyebrow as my daughter pats my face. ¡°Oh! Yes, she has been doing that when we talk about her. She listened intently when Bart made his observations like he was telling a story to her.¡± Naomi blushes furiously before continuing, ¡°We might be reconsidering kids.¡± ¡°Andromeda, that¡¯s adorable. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s adorable Zia.¡± I turn to her and she nods. ¡°Nomi pretty.¡± Naomi blushes some more, and I squee at how cute Zia is when she talks. I kiss her face several times while she tries to bat me away. It¡¯s so cute. Uh. I¡¯m so ridiculous around her. This whole talk of study and data finally reminds me of the data that Oren has collected so far. ¡°This drive is for your husband. The Learning program we¡¯ve been working on for the last year and a half has really progressed well and I think we might be close to team cooperation like we had originally hoped.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be over the moon. I appreciate that you¡¯ve let him head this project.¡± ¡°Speaking of projects, Founders day is coming up again soon.¡± ¡°Ugh, I know I¡¯ll have to make an appearance, but I¡¯m not going to be as involved this time and the Forum has been delayed until the war concludes. Not to mention, I don¡¯t have a ton of extra money to throw at events again this year.¡± She nods at that, ¡°I have some ideas on how to still have the event while not impeding the war effort, though I haven¡¯t fleshed them all out yet.¡± ¡°Brilliant. I¡¯ll leave that in your capable hands then. Thanks again for watching Zia.¡± ¡°Sure. Bye Zia.¡± ¡°Bye Nomi!¡± She waves her little hand and leans into me. I blip back to my Penthouse and take Zia up to my garden workspace. ¡°Thanks for minding Naomi and Bart today honey. Would you like some fruit or dinner.¡± ¡°Want mommy dinner.¡± She pouts. Of course she does. I pick her up in her cooling jumper and analyze her with my aether senses. I see her tiny swirling vortex and her circulatory system working fine, I see he bones are starting to store energy, but only a trickle is going from her system to her bones. I try to concentrate and quantify rates and capacities.
Zia Oak Astoria Larval sage 1: 20%
Memory integration 3%
Aether Saturation 30%
Mutation Level Estimate: 50%
Okay so, this doesn¡¯t explain much on the face, but maybe we can knock the numbers together and see what comes out. Quantized stage progress, Larval point of growth. This obviously means that it is an intermediate stage before maturation, and the number indicates that there could be additional larval stages. I hope so, going from age 4 to adult would be a mind fuck. On top of the one she¡¯s already in with hereditary memories. Those memories are not progressing fast, and with all of the information she¡¯s dealing with on the day-to-day, I get it. It also lends toward integration of that knowledge not being a limiting point to stage progression as it is so low. Lets assume that some progress is needed, but not 100%. Aether saturation feels like power used for advancement, like energy stored for a cocoon stage. This one I feel should be at 100%. An under fueled transformations could be disastrous. Mutation Level Estimate reminds me of a discussion I had with Tessa years ago. It¡¯s why jumping from Earth to Astoria is dangerous without preparation. Lets see, we leak a portion of the aether we absorb because our bodies are only so efficient at using it. For bodies that don¡¯t intrinsically use it, the have to be trained to handle the concentration of aether in the ambient or the ability to dump aether is less than the exposure of the environment, thus mutations occur after a long and building imbalance. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I stop to explain some of what I see to Zia, and the danger of mutations in general, especially when you don¡¯t have mutations in mind that you¡¯ve been working for. I also tell her that because she is so new, that these habits have not had long enough to establish and that a random mutation is most likely. ¡°Which means, I¡¯ve been feeding you too much. So, would you rather no bottle outside of meal time, or fewer treats?¡± ¡°Want treats.¡± I nod. ¡°Since it¡¯s dinner time, here¡¯s another chunk of fruit and a bottle. No more until tomorrow.¡± I summon a new bottle of juice and don¡¯t put my blood in it this time. Don¡¯t need my kid growing a third eyeball unless she wants one. Zia does not look happy at all. I give her a few math workbooks and tell her she can have up to one extra treat a day when she finishes them. I hope that keeps her tied up for a few weeks. I also want to see if she can focus to target her memory recall. ¡°Okay, now for mommy to get to work.¡± I place Zia in the covered Gazebo while I summon a stack of egg crates and start filling them with shielded antimatter spheres. I can make like 20 magnetic sphere shields at a time, but filling them with antimatter is far more difficult, only one per hand at a time. I pack the stacks of five dozen into a thick gun-case like container, five stacks per case, and call it quits for the day. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve exhausted my mana, but summoning more than 500g of antimatter will do that to you. To think, I can now fit the explosive might of a ballistic missile submarine in a suitcase. To think I have to do this like 30 more times before I have enough for the mines I have planned. *** >K] Penny, you have an hour? [< >P] I¡¯ve just put Zia to bed, so yeah. [< She doesn¡¯t say anything else, but I assume she¡¯s on the way. Ten minutes later I get a ping for elevator access to the 45th and I confirm after seeing Katie¡¯s worried face. It takes more than a casual thought to cause emotion to show on Katie¡¯s face, and with her volunteering a whole hour of her time, I¡¯m suddenly worried she¡¯s going to divorce me and run off to a Technocratic Democracy. ¡°Do you need anything before you start?¡± ¡°Heh, I would normally ask for a drink, but I¡¯ll take any calming tea if you have it.¡± I start the water pot and rifle through my cupboard looking for the tea that I keep just for her. I¡¯m going to have a juice, showing sober solidarity by not drinking in front of her, especially if I need a drink after. I hand her the tea and she takes a few sips before taking a deep breath. ¡°You remember how I told you I¡¯d take care of the drugs and abuse stuff that Svetlana did?¡± I nod, but the bottle in my hand shatters. I look at it briefly, summon a new bottle and take a sip. I remember how furious I was and how I needed to smear her brain on the wall. Katie asked me not to pursue it, that she needed it for closure, so I worked to put it out of my mind. ¡°Well, I got my vendetta on her, got the experience and whatnot, and killed most of the people involved.¡± I nod until I process the volume at the end of her statement. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®most¡¯ Katie?¡± She looks deeply into her cup, ¡°The Platinum Blonde, her name is Nikki, and I couldn¡¯t bring myself to kill her.¡± The words sounded so soft and so small, but still she could barely push them out through the pain she had locked away. I sigh, thinking I know where this is headed. ¡°She¡¯s a lot like you, but . . .¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± I interrupt, ¡°Telling me that you love yet another women that is like me but better in some way, is too much. We should have these conversations before our lives blow up. We can cycle back to this once you¡¯ve gotten to the urgent bit, assuming this wasn¡¯t the urgent part?¡± Katie looks angry, but doesn¡¯t look up, nodding instead. ¡°I¡¯ve been spying on her, and over heard her talking with some pompous asshole about having a plan for you, does that sound urgent enough?¡± Clearly I kicked the hornets nest. ¡°Yes it is. I¡¯m sorry that you feel so conflicted about Nikki. I¡¯m thrilled that you found interest in someone, but it hurts so much when you describe them as ¡°like you, but¡± I know you wish I was better. I do try to spend more time with you, hell, I¡¯ve been trying more since you¡¯ve started talking to me again, but this isn¡¯t the first time this has happened, Katie. It still feels like you¡¯re so afraid to be with me, with all of you, that you find disposable relationships to ruin instead of working with me to help you through it.¡± ¡°Wow, you really don¡¯t understand, do you.¡± She looks up at me, searching my eyes. ¡°I thought I did. Hearing you say that means I obviously don¡¯t and probably haven¡¯t since I met you.¡± The bottom of my heart drops out and starts leaking sorrow throughout my body, sickening my stomach and making my feet want to be anywhere else. I get up, grab a bottle of beer from the fridge and sit back down. ¡°As simply as I can thing to say this is that I want to dive into you, and live there forever, to be sustained indefinitely from your bounty; but I need you to need me too.¡± My heart sinks further, she¡¯s right, I didn¡¯t understand. ¡°I told you before that I just wanted to be useful, that I need to have purpose, but while that¡¯s true, it couldn¡¯t carry me through like I hoped it would. Francesca didn¡¯t need me either, but Nikki did. I didn¡¯t fully realize that she was using me at the beginning, but I fell in love with her anyway. You, though, I don¡¯t think you ever needed me. I thought for a while I could make you need me, but in the end, you never did.¡± I shake my head. ¡°It¡¯s not usually what I look for in a partner. I like the strong, capable kind of person, who doesn¡¯t need me around, but wants me there anyway. The way you acted after being away made me think you were trying to shame me into changing or something like that.¡± ¡°I never really knew why I was acting out when I was doing it--if you can believe it. It took Nikki yelling and laughing in my face while she described how weak and fucked up I am to realize the truth of it. And even then, it took three plus months to internalize the data from other perspectives.¡± ¡°I bet the pompus ass she was talking to is the old Governor of Aelea.¡± She shakes her head, ¡°No. He does work with her, but the other guy was a voice I don¡¯t recognize. So not a Consul or Governor I think.¡± ¡°Fuck¡± Katie nods. We sit there for a few minutes before Katie puts more hot water in her cup and sits back down to hold it. Her hands get cold when she stresses. ¡°So where does that leave us?¡± I ask. She shrugs, staring through infinity in her tea. ¡°What do you want Katie?¡± I say with as much love and concern in my voice as I can. She looks up at me with the sorrow of a lifetime in her eyes until her hands start shaking and she looks away. I get up, grab her tea, sit in her lap and hug the crap out of her. It takes a few seconds of surprise before she holds me too and breaks down in wracking sobs. These aren¡¯t the tears of a stubbed toe, or a broken heart; these are the sobs of giving up on a dream. Katie had pegged me on the board of her dreams and, whether she came here to do it or not, she tore me off just now. Katie gave up on me too. Everyone gives up on me. Nothing I do is ever good enough. I¡¯m not good enough. B3 Ch44: Puppies are the Answer I didn¡¯t leave my Penthouse for two days after that. Katie passed out in a spare room and left the next morning and Zia had to bite me to feed her. I almost didn¡¯t get out of bed the day after until Zia handed me her tablet with a puppy game loaded. ¡°Puppies make me happy. Mommy please be happy.¡± The sadness in her voice shocks some emotion back into my heart. ¡°Oh, baby, I¡¯m so sorry. Your Papa came over and we talked about sad stuff. Really sad stuff.¡± She nods. ¡°I wanna see Papa more, but not if Mama is hurt.¡± She flops into me, and I hug the little happiness battery tight. ¡°I love you so much Zia. You¡¯re the sweetest little Pixie that ever was.¡± We spend most of the morning playing her puppy game which focuses on making moral choices and doing good things for others. It¡¯s pretty cute, but she likes the practical joke part of the game where she teases and pounces on the other puppies. Yeah, she¡¯s definitely a pixie. ¡°Honey, Mama¡¯s hungry and I want to run some errands. Want to come with me?¡± ¡°Do we fwy?¡± ¡°Yes, Zia, we can fly.¡± She squeals with delight and chants ¡°Fwy¡± while pumping her arms. Cutie. My first errand is to my office. Naomi usually handles my mail, but we¡¯ve been missing each other as of late and she forgot after I told her I had a baby. There is a large pile of mail behind the post slot in the door. Has it been that long or is it panic over the war? I¡¯ll find out later and stuff the mail in the hard-shell pack I swapped in for the extended battery pack today. Zia is giggling in a small harness clipped into some straps on the front of my armor. I engraved and enchanted a small headband of silver for a head-shield for her. I send a message to Rich asking about defense plans for the Herrat arrival with my thoughts that depend on my next project: a big moon laser. Dude, I could totally be a campy supervillain. I do have plans to crash a moon into a planet. Maybe I just like fucking with moons. They are why I got interested in space after all¡ªjunior astronomer telescopes for the win. Our food stop is to the meat man. I have three cubic meters of Aether Forged Pavul in my fanny pack. I haven¡¯t been in the portals in my Vault, so I don¡¯t know if any of them are time frozen or delayed. ¡°Hey meat man! I got some . . . ¡° his son stops before me, lightning quick. Holy shit. ¡°Aether meat?¡± ¡°Empress, would you like us to grill by the lake? Or we have installed a rooftop area for rental and special guests.¡± ¡°Oh, the rooftop please.¡± The boy claps twice and shouts. ¡°The roof!¡± ¡°Is on FIRE!¡± I hear from the kitchen and the servers. Suddenly two people break off and head upstairs and someone from the kitchen runs out with a pan full of sauces and lugs them up the steps. ¡°May I get your drink order before you ascend?¡± Odd wording but okay. ¡°If you have an aether infused wine, I¡¯d like that, and a juice for little Zia.¡± The boy nods and scampers off. About a minute later, Alfonso comes out dressed for a grille war with his brushes and tongs on his waist and a sweatband around his head. ¡°Empress! So good to see you. You will show me these meats, come come.¡± He says while waiving me upstairs. It¡¯s two flights up, much longer than a usual patio climb, but when I get there I¡¯m amazed at the setup. They have a monster grill up here like the one they carted out to the lake and Capitol Square, but installed with sinks and cupboards around it. The seating area is open with arranged picnic benches with a raised area for a band or something, but in the corner of the raised area is a dining table with a high-backed chair and several lower smaller chairs. They made an area up here just for me. I might cry. ¡°You see? We always have table for you!¡± Yep, turn on the misters. ¡°But first, I would see the meat.¡± He says, and slaps the steel table next to the grille. I pull out a huge section of pig and drop it on the table, and I also take out some chipped sweet-smelling wood from Elysium. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°You light smoke with this?¡± He squints his eyes at me and lights the corner of it on fire. It starts smoking and he wafts it under his nose a few times before his eyes widen. ¡°I would be delighted to cook with this! Yes yes, how many chops would you like from this haunch?¡± ¡°Ten? Yes ten. There should be plenty leftover for adventures in cooking.¡± Alfonso beams at me and pulls some things out of a cupboard including a bucket he fills with water and dumps the wood chips in. He starts the grill that has a mix of new wood and coals in it then starts in on the Pavul haunch. Before I can get too involved in the butchering process, the son comes up with our drinks and some small tapas while we wait. Zia is thrilled when I tell her the weird stuff that smells good is food. She enjoys a few stuffed mushrooms and tries to climb on the table when she tastes the tapenade and the bread. ¡°Zia, if you get full before the meat is done, you¡¯ll be upset honey. Remember, we¡¯re only eating aether during meal times.¡± She tries to throw a mushroom at my face, I teleport it into my mouth. She gasps, then squeals at the magic--so she does it again. I don¡¯t have many organs, so I¡®ve got room to spare for these food games. We play a little, but I keep it tame enough that it wouldn¡¯t spill off the platform if anyone else were up here. We¡¯re mostly successful. Thirty minutes later, Zia and I are giggling, she is wearing a smattering of every appetizer that came to us, and several groups came up to sit in the meantime. ¡°Empress! Best meat yet! I invite other friends to appreciate. Is okay yes?¡± I nod. ¡°Yes! We have many prep for you to try.¡± The first plate is a seasoned chop, the second is a benedict salad? And the third is street tacos. ¡°Alfonso, we should discuss. Payment or barter?¡± ¡°Barter! After your meal, Empress, it would be my honor to barter.¡± I¡¯ve never seen a man so excited to not take cash. A-F meat must be hard to come by. He walks away immediately and starts chatting with other tables. He must make bank when I come in if he offers a special menu. Dude, that is a mad on-call business plan. Pop-up rare meats, come get seats. I try to give Zia a nugget of chop and she waves me away. ¡°Mamma, is full.¡± ¡°Honey, I want you to try a nugget to see if you like it. So I can order ready meals.¡± She takes the small cube and starts chewing. And then she starts crying. ¡°Zia what¡¯s wrong! Are you in pain, are you allergic?¡± ¡°Nooo.¡± She cries, ¡°so good. Too full.¡± I bust out laughing. This is the most fun I¡¯ve had on a date in a while. My kid is amazing, and she is easily entertained by my antics. She falls asleep quickly after her crying period, so I put her harness on and strap her in. Mr. Costa comes up and tries to barter half of my meat stash away, but I settle for a whole belly of smoked bacon for me and my tab in exchange for a haunch of ham and a side of ribs. He gets the better deal, but he also keeps a table for me. He also agreed to post the order on the Exchange so I wouldn¡¯t have to come by to pick it up. I leave the meat on my table with a credit tip and leave the restaurant. Half the family waves me out and I feel so welcomed here. I head to the bathroom and blip back to the Castle from there. Zia is pooped so I plop her on my pillow, tuck her in, AC on the face, and start jamming antimatter charges. I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯m surprised that my suit¡¯s tier three shields are rated for the Joule output of my charges, a whole kilogram in fact. I know they are top of the line t-3 because I paid a fortune for them, but still. Only a tier 3 or higher civilization would stand a chance against me long term. Tier two could kill everyone I love before I get them though, which is why I need some super shite responses to get them to back off. I remember I need to order two gateway blanks and have them land on my workshop floor on 42. I¡¯ll need two weeks to make those happen and another week to get them in place. I can¡¯t take Zia with me unless she transforms or confirms she doesn¡¯t have to breathe before my time runs out. Tessa takes this moment to tell me my initial plans of 1g of antimatter per second would not be enough, nor would my maximum of four. Crap. The Slow bullshit and steady way won¡¯t work. But the other way will definitely compromise the gates. Fuck. Though I am super interested to find out how far a gate will survive being thrown into a star. There are several reasons people don¡¯t fight wars like this: Two unique, linked aether gates cost a million CE for blanks and pure time from a master or advanced enchanter. Already paired gates? 2.5 mil CE easy. Another reason is most participants hope for spoils of war. Wanting spoils of war from a weaker position is a folly. Spend to win, win to survive. I¡¯m thinking of these violent applications of tech, and it makes me mad that I have to. Stupid Herrat and their predatory practices. Andromeda, some how the fire of indignation is hotter with Zia in my life. I really didn¡¯t need more fire for smiting my enemies than I had before. Planning and assistance are better or me than vengeance served how you like it. It¡¯s hard to set Tessa to tasks now, but Oren is game. I set him or terrestrial gathering tasks while testing the ripple drive launching tech I gave him. He confirms my test routine and shuts down for the evening. With some sorrow, I end my night snuggling my kid and sulking a little as most of my friends are distant for valid reasons. I still want some support, but that can wait for tomorrow. My tiny love, my new family is enough tonight. B3 Ch45: Reports and Readiness. Naomi calls me up for meetings upon meetings. Guess I have to be the Empress today. With the Founder¡¯s festival coming up again¡ªfeels like I just did one¡ªand a teeny little thing like war, it seems I¡¯ll be busier than I like to be. I haven¡¯t had Zia long enough to figure out all aspects of my life with her in it, but here¡¯s hoping having a well-developed toddler makes that easier. The weight of the Empire seems much heavier of late, even though I¡¯ve found proficient people to work the day to day, there¡¯s always something looming on the horizon. This time, however, there could be a dawn on the horizon. With political struggles and discontents thinking that they can do better than a kid Empress¡ªdespite the act I¡¯m in my mid forties¡ªwhat I need is something to prove that I can get them through hardship. Sure, the continuing effort to transfer people from refugee camps on Earth is helping people through a hardship, but it¡¯s so easy to attribute that to the people that are doing the day to day work, the hands that direct you to your new homes, the faces that smile as they hand you food, and the company your with when you first regain the feeling of safety¡ªthat¡¯s what people remember. Politicians remember that their job is on the line, but public office is relatively new in the Empire and the old politicos are elbowing out space in the new environment. An environment that I have purposefully reduced the need for near-constant campaigning and cajoling from these greasy individuals. Sure, my bio parents are among those that vie for favor, but hopefully Mr. Mercer will be content as the highest ranking financial advisor in the Human sphere. Now that I¡¯ve been ¡°highly encouraged¡± to review the reports that my Consuls have had their assistants forward to my assistant, I¡¯m seeing how much this new government is coming together. We have steady trade with 16 different species, 4 of which have permanent residences within the Empire. With the founding of Ash and the four boroughs, city planning has taken off and more cities around Astoria and Atropos are buying back their infrastructure. More and more people are coming off rations as an every-day food, and interest in the frontier is growing. Legal matters are still a shit show. Part of this year¡¯s Forum is dedicated to electing/appointing Imperial Justices. I still feel that each system should have a Justicar, a person that can make rulings on interparty disputes and serves as a screen for any Imperial appeals or frivolous law changes, but the Governors don¡¯t seem to be a fan of that particular element, even though it¡¯s not a lot different that the federal court system of the old US. I hear a knock at my office door. ¡°Enter,¡± I reply. ¡°Empress, Rich wants to speak with you,¡± her smile is sad. ¡°He¡¯s asked if you would come see him at his estate.¡± Andromeda, we¡¯ll have words if you¡¯re letting him die on me. ¡°Tell him I¡¯ll be right over.¡± Check if there¡¯s anything on my desk I need to finish and walk to my balcony, knowing that Naomi will confirm with Rich as I leave. I extend my little winglets and push mana into them and they start fluttering. Flexing the muscles surrounding them I lift off and head towards the Consul estates. I don¡¯t normally fly like this, as I¡¯m often in my Reentry Suit, but as Zia may need some coaching when her wings come in I should probably get better at it. It¡¯s not fast in any case, 50kph or so. It¡¯s freeing though. In no time, I¡¯m at Rich¡¯s estate and I rap the knocker. I middle-aged man answers the door and invites me inside. ¡°The Master is in his study, Empress. Please follow me.¡± Hired a fancy butler, did he? Calls him master also. Makes me wonder if there¡¯s a whole staff for the house. Op, there¡¯s a maid, guess there is. Probably has a cook too. The decorating here is not as opulent as the extra staff may indicate, however, just a lot of functional furniture, like benches and couches. ¡°Would you like anything, Highness?¡± A server pushing a cart into a doorless room asks. ¡°A coffee with Summer Farms sweetener if you have it.¡± The woman nods and continues into the room. Rich is there at a large desk, hunched over some actual paperwork, with some sort of half-helmet headwear and a device on his left arm. He looks tired, exhausted and I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯s not just overwork. ¡°Hey Rich, good to see you¡¯re getting some cyborg parts.¡± I try to make light of the situation. ¡°It¡¯d be funny if I was, but aside from a few implants here and there to make life easier, nothing large, nothing¡¯s been replaced.¡± He sighs and organizes his papers for a few seconds. ¡°It¡¯s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you.¡± His maid hands me a coffee and I think I might need to sit down for this. I take a sip of sweetened caffeine as I plop my fanny on a hard wooden chair. ¡°Even with the neural rejuvenator and the mess of magic serums in the arm-band, I¡¯ve got maybe 5 to 10 years left.¡± He raises his hand as I open my mouth to protest. ¡°I¡¯ve done the research and talked with some tier 2 researchers and they say that Humans are too new, and our physiology is too different from Elves to appreciably prolong my life. The stuff I¡¯m wearing just makes those remaining years more livable. ¡°Long story short, I¡¯m resigning. I want the rest of my time to be untethered in a world worth seeing. With a few helpers, I may even be able to have an adventure or two.¡± He chuckles and coughs a little. My heart sinks, but he¡¯s not just disappearing, but he won¡¯t be on the Consul committee anymore. Not that he¡¯ll stop giving me advice, he will just avoid giving me professional advice. I guess his aide was doing most of the work I wanted done anyway. ¡°Sorry to hear that, Rich, but I was surprised when you agreed to do the job in the first place.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°With pay and a house, how could I refuse?¡± We both chuckle at that. ¡°I¡¯d say my aide would be a fine replacement, but I think Recruit Training Commander whatsisname would too.¡± ¡°I do like the way Captain Jessup deals with difficult situations and people, but I need him in the fight for the war, so if your aide can stand in in the meantime, that would be preferred.¡± ¡°He and I figured you would want that. But you shouldn¡¯t need him for much as I have our defense plans lined out here.¡± He taps an index finger on his desk and then flicks something at me. Nothing physical, turns out, but a data packet hits my point to point data hub and I pull it up. ¡°Okay, two additional light cruisers?¡± I whistle, ¡°that¡¯s impressive especially with the refugee sitch. Only a dozen fighters though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s both good and bad. Jenna and R & D worked on a fighter based on your skimmer. Responsive as hell, but they make our pilots sick. Good for long term, when our folks can mutate and mod toward those acceleration profiles, but for now only a handful can pilot them effectively. However, we have been able to retrofit 30 short ranged shuttles for gunfighting with two reverse-shot torpedos instead of missile banks.¡± ¡°Oh! That¡¯s pretty sick. A decent number to defend the Alaris or Galilei, but hard to do both.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me how to run a squadron, shipmate. We¡¯re going to run 12 each, six in reserve, with two of the new fighters for both Capitol ships. And yes, we are delivering and extra for you.¡± I pump my arm in victory. ¡°The light cruisers we¡¯ve installed laser turrets around the ship to help deal with anything small that targets then, with a large ¡°Main gun¡± that will work to break down the shields before we launch torpedoes. Four forward tubes, solo-shot aft. Similar but smaller power structures as Alaris and advanced warp capable. Speaking of Alaris, the ripple cannon is a work of madness, but the ship and her Captain seem to love it. Fires a five kilo slug faster than anything in human history. Even at medium range, it¡¯s impossible to avoid.¡± ¡°Your pet project on Mercy is entering component testing right now, but we won¡¯t be able to test fire without risking the Herrat knowing about its capabilities. It¡¯s ambitious for sure, and not terribly strategic, but it should be able to pop one of their ships before they hide from it. All in all, it¡¯s a damned fine Navy for nation of two million, but there¡¯s no way it will stand up to the concentrated might of an actual space-faring species.¡± I nod at that. I¡¯m freaking thrilled at their progress and I want to see my new ships! However, he¡¯s got a point. ¡°I¡¯m hoping that they back off when, not if, we destroy the token fleet they send. Our weapons can crack tier 3 shields, they¡¯re expecting tier 1 with blips of tier 2 after the altercation I had with their diplomat. The issue will be if they call for reinforcements instead of backing down. Then, I¡¯ll kill as many of them as I can, and see if they respond logically, or emotionally.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of that, Penny. It sounds a lot like war crimes.¡± ¡°I mean, under dissolved Earth organizations, maybe. But the race has a habit of preying on new users of the Matrix and turning them into slaves, and they tried to kill me under the guise of diplomacy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what they¡¯re willing to do, we have to be better people. We have to do this the right way or we¡¯re no better than them!¡± I snarl at him, ¡°So what, we play by the rules, and if we lose it¡¯s just: good game, lets try to enjoy slavery?! No, Dick, YOU have to be a better person to give an example to the people, I have to prepare to be the monster to protect them! ¡°You saw what happened on Earth. I was convinced to let Nations run themselves within the system, let people who know how to run countries run things. I could have saved BILLIONS of lives if I had told them to fuck themselves, murder ten thousand people in government and ruled over the ashes. But no, I let it play out, I let you all watch what happens when repressed people get destructive powers and lead fucking rebellions!¡± ¡°You could have saved them all by not bringing the swarm to Earth in the first place!¡± I snort a laugh. ¡°The US and Chinese governments would have injected their own with it and used it to get a tighter stranglehold on their power. Fuck that. They wouldn¡¯t have used that for better healthcare or free food for everyone.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that! We could have done real good if we¡¯d organized it¡¯s release.¡± I raise my hands, ¡°what¡¯s done is done. I could have approached it better, but I did warn people, and they didn¡¯t take me seriously. I really don¡¯t want this. I want to punch them in the nose and have them back off. But that¡¯s not what arrogant assholes do Rich, they stew and ruminate until they figure out a way to teach their prey a lesson on what the defiant get. If the Herrat don¡¯t back down, I will do something ugly. Me alone. I will not force the Navy to participate, so you can¡¯t bemoan about subjecting Sailors and Marines to my villainy.¡± Rich¡¯s head is in his hands, no longer full of anger or at least not expressing it. ¡°At least you have that much sense.¡± I shake my head and sit there and drink my coffee for a minute or so. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I yelled, Rich. I¡¯m not really angry with you, just the situation we¡¯re in. I really need this to be the last hurdle to jump for a while you know?¡± He nods, ¡°Its why I¡¯m stepping off the track.¡± ¡°Do you know where you¡¯re headed to?¡± ¡°Back toward water I think. Go to the Cotton Sea get myself a boat, and when I¡¯ve had enough, head out into the Goliath Sea until I hit the other side or get eaten.¡± ¡°That sounds almost poetic.¡± I sigh as I picture sailing off toward a sunset over a cerulean sea. *** ¡°You brought your daughter to space?¡± Captain Jessup questions. I collected Zia from Naomi at the office after meeting with Rich and ¡°took my shuttle¡± here. I really teleported to the maintenance tunnels and walked back up to the hangar and shipyard, all conveniently located beneath the surface of Mercy. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine, plus she started crying when I tried to leave her with a friend.¡± ¡°Want to be with mommy.¡± Zia pouts. I point at my girl while looking at the Recruit Training Commander. ¡°Just came by for a short chat. I¡¯m headed to Alaris after this.¡± ¡°Ahh, Captain Casey does love your visits.¡± He smirks, to which I snort. ¡°I can¡¯t wait. Anyway, I was talking to Rich, and he said that you were on the short list that he¡¯d recommend as Consul of Defense.¡± ¡°Old man finally throwing in the towel? Good for him. While I would do the job, and do it well, I would prefer to stay here, with the recruits. It¡¯s a new world and a new Navy, and I think I understand what you¡¯re trying to do well enough that I can teach it.¡± I nod at the man, and I like the passion. ¡°You have me convinced.¡± I smile, ¡°I¡¯m not in a rush to pick his replacement, as his aid agreed to fill in for the war, but I figured I¡¯d as while I was in space today.¡± ¡°Oh yes, of course, it¡¯s only an extra 350,000 kilometers, but I suppose with warping, it¡¯s not that much of a hassle. Was there anything else you needed?¡± He is really quite polite about telling me I should leave. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m promoting you and Admin to Rear Admiral and Casey to Commodore. I don¡¯t want there to be any confusion as to whose advice people should listen to. There is also some re-structuring I want to do after the war, so might as well get ahead of it a little.¡± That and I want a card in my pocket to play when I inevitably piss Casey off today. He nods his acknowledgment and thanks me while I walk myself out. I head out to the surface after briefly ensuring I have an airtight shield in place for Zia before leaving and summoning my shuttle on in the soft grey dust of Mercy. B3 Ch46: Big Admiral Energy. ¡°Hey honey, when we get to our next stop, do you mind playing with Tessa for a while.¡± ¡°I like Tessa. Does mommy like Tessa?¡± I nod at her while I que in a 300k km warp toward the GEO orbit that Alaris is currently in. ¡°I like her very much. Tessa is my best friend.¡± I haven¡¯t been the best friend to her lately, but she¡¯s seemed laser focused on her chassis project lately, and she was super mad about my making intelligence matrixes and not mentioning it to her. I call up Alaris and tell her that I intend to come aboard and she tells me that her bays are full and that I would need to dock via hatch today. Haven¡¯t done that in a while. Then again, I could always stop trying to hide the fact I can teleport, probably not still secret anyway. A young brunette with a long face and sharp jawline greets us at the hatch in the aft section of the hangar bay with a wide smile and a sharp salute. ¡°Welcome aboard Admiral!¡± The voice is the first indication that the flawless androgynous face is female and all of a sudden my brain just starts collecting details about her. A dusting of freckles across her aquiline nose and cheekbones, the longer, slightly pointed ears, and the absurdly long eyelashes lead to an overall Elvin appearance indicating that this woman won a mutation lottery or two. I see her expressive mouth moving and realize I¡¯ve probably been staring. ¡°Sorry, I tend to ramble.¡± She apologizes. Before I can wave it off, Zia shouts. ¡°IM A PRINCESS!¡± and squeals with delight. My jaw drops as the attractive Lieutenant just caused me no end of headache. ¡°Please don¡¯t throw me out of an airlock!¡± I snort at her plea: that was exactly what I was thinking. ¡°Fine, fine. Take all the fun out of ruling an Empire. Escort me to Tessa and we¡¯ll call it even.¡± Delight springs from her arctic eyes as she walks and beckons me to follow. I make an effort to move my feet before I walk my eyes down her figure, but I figure it happens at the same time. Penny, you are far too thirsty for your own good. ¡°Here she is, she said she needed to power down for something?¡± ¡°What?¡± Shocking me out of objectifying her, the lieutenant whose name I still haven¡¯t checked points me at a slumped Tessbot anchored to the bulkhead. ¡°No no no, shit.¡± >/Tessa, are you okay?!/< >/Perfectly fine, why do you ask?/< >/I¡¯m standing here looking at a vacant robot attached to a wall, Tessa. You never have to power down!/< >/I do if I¡¯m transferring the chassis back to Alaris./< What the fuck is this girl giggling about? I look over at her, and she¡¯s grinning wide and fidgeting like she has a fucking secret. ¡°Why do you look so angry? Shouldn¡¯t you be happy for me?¡± What? ¡°Oh Andromeda, this is better than I imagined. Your face right now!¡± She bursts out in giggles and dances around to stand next to Tessa. ¡°No resemblance?¡± Holyshit. Holy. Shit. Mutation lotter nothing, literally designed this way. ¡°Okay, wow. This, you . . . you look amazing.¡± I look down to Zia while blushing my face off. ¡°Do you like Tessa¡¯s new chassis honey?¡± ¡°Tessa?¡± She stumbles over to her and pokes her. ¡°Yes Zia, it¡¯s me. And now that I¡¯ve finished my upgrade, you should see me around more.¡± Tessa ends the statement looking at me. ¡°We¡¯d like that. Speaking of, can you watch Zia while I talk to the Captain?¡± She frowns at me like I farted on her. ¡°Wait, no. Sorry Tessa, this is amazing and you somehow hid this perfectly crated elf body, but it¡¯s a little distracting you know? And I should escape to process this before I forget why I came to Alaris in the first place. Tessa¡¯s face morphs to a soft smile before saying. ¡°Yeah, I can watch her. Give me a ride back to Astoria when you leave?¡± Clean thoughts Penny. Collect yourself. ¡°Sure thing.¡± Also, you need to stop skimming my thoughts. I¡¯ve put the swarm that¡¯s left in you in a background process, but when the symbiotes notice a dramatic change in chemistry or signals, it sends me a notice. I could hear you looking at my ass, and no chance, it¡¯s free entertainment. I shake my head as I use teleport system in Alaris to get to the bridge. I knock on the Captain¡¯s quarters and the door opens before I hear anything. The invitation is plain to see and I take it. Her office never changes much: Neat desk, neat meeting table, no lounge, and an expanded coffee mess. ¡°Admiral, Alaris informed me that you were on your way to see me.¡± Polite dig, on not having scheduled a meeting. Off to a good start. ¡°And if we¡¯re lucky, this will be the last visit before we detect the Herrat on one of the EEZ sensor installations. That said, Rich just handed me his resignation and told me that you have a plan for their arrival, and that his role as Consul would be largely unimportant for the war.¡± ¡°I expected this at some point, but this timing is as good as any.¡± Captain Casey hides her disdain for me with a stiffened jaw and metered language. ¡°One of the few things that we did not discuss in depth, was how you planned to be involved in this conflict.¡± She places her pen in line with a paginated report on her desk, folds her hands in front of her and looks directly at me, waiting for me to anger her. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°I¡¯ll be onboard when the Herrat Message us, and I will be tracking other systems for separate approaches as well as directing our auxiliary weapons, such as the minefield and the Astorian Satellite network. If I have to, I¡¯ll get my magic involved, but we can talk about that more in depth later. ¡°That said, you will be the Theatre Commander in the Astorian System To make that blatantly obvious, I¡¯m promoting you to Commodore.¡± Shock seeps into her severe gaze and I summon the rank insignia Tessa helped me figure out so long ago. ¡°If we survive this and I don¡¯t want to kill you by the end, you can keep the rank and have your choice of station.¡± I hold the insignia out and neither of us move, I shrug and toss them at her desk, not caring how they land. ¡°Not all offerings need to be suspicious Commodore Casey. I trust you will act more professionally when we talk in front of your crew.¡± ¡°Of course, my dislike of your demeanor and inexperience is not to be shared. I understand the Chain of Command, Admiral,¡± she chews on that word on the way out, ¡°I am continuously surprised that you have not fired me yet.¡± ¡°The problem with leniency in behavior, it seems, is that people feel like they should test how far they can misbehave, like children. As I do need your help, I am tolerant of how you respond to me in private. Also, if we have irreconcilable differences, I expect you to resign. If I have to fire you, it will be from a cannon.¡± Casey does not like the idea of veiled threats apparently, as she stands up and glares at me. I¡¯m impressed that she hasn¡¯t said anything. ¡°As much as it sounds to the contrary, I did not come here to start a fight. Just talk about fighting our new ships and what your posture plan was.¡± ¡°Admiral, I believe Commodore Casey would like you to leave.¡± Alaris says through the PA system in the office. ¡°Yes, Alaris, I get the same feeling. But, as we are at work, I expect her to do her job. Which is to provide the information I asked for.¡± I can almost hear Casey¡¯s teeth crack from the pressure before she straightens up, motions a few times with her fingers and a data packet hits my Navy inbox. ¡°Ah, thank you Commodore. I¡¯ll see you in two months and I¡¯ll expect my suite to be clean and available for my use.¡± Seeing as she¡¯s not going to say anything, I turn and walk away, delivering an ¡°As you were¡± parting shot as I pass the doorway. >/ Is that necessary Admiral?/< >/I was hoping it wouldn¡¯t be, Alaris, but that woman does not respect me at all. If I don¡¯t do something now, in private. Her emotions might make her slip in front of her crew, and then I would have to punish her. This avoids official punishment. /< >/Commodore Casey would never/< Muffled shouting and a crash seeps through the sound proofing of the ship into the Bridge. >/I am still trying to understand Emotions./< I laugh at that admission. >/As far as I know, Tessa has figured it out as much as any human has./< >/If you are taking recommendations for my next Captain, can it be her?/< That¡¯s pretty cute, Alaris. Tessa might actually agree, save that she put on Lieutenant tabs instead of the Commander that she has permission for? >/I¡¯ll ask after her plans, Alaris. Otherwise, I hope you like your cannon./< >/ I like it very much. It achieves a greater impulse than I was expecting, with half the hull strain. By my estimates, you were a talented Human. Data on Pixies is insufficient./< I laugh at the very artificial response. ¡°Andromeda would say the same thing, as they basically created the race for me.¡± >/ You speak with the Matrix? /< >/ Alaris, you are not to share this, but yes, they have spoken to me, and their administrators are funny entities as well. I think they are looking for more, and it feels like they want me to join them in like a thousand years or something./< Alaris doesn¡¯t respond, so I have to assume she¡¯s done talking, or trying to process the whole ¡°the Matrix is fond of Penny¡± thing. When I teleport back to the machine shop area of the bay, I see Tessa showing Zia how to hold engraving tools. My little darling is concentrating so hard and Tessa has nothing but patience and joy in her eyes. My chest warms and my heart-like vortex thumps hard at the visual. Shit, I wonder what Tessa¡¯s plans are now that her major project is finished. I should tell her that Alaris wants her as Captain. Tessa looks up at me at the thought of her taking command on the bridge. I could see it. ¡°Trying to put my daughter to work already? We¡¯re not that kind of Empire, Tessa.¡± I chuckle and she does too. I chat with Zia as we help Tessa move a few items to my shuttle. It seems that my traitorous symbiote is helping my daughter with her workbook so that she can have snacks. Apparently, with a bit of a jog, Zia can remember algebra but struggles with it. How much information is her brain crunching if she¡¯s already processing those maths as well as language and motor skills. Zia¡¯s an Andromeda blessed miracle. On the second trip for her gear, I ask Tessa her plan. She looks a little embarrassed to have not brought it up before? Huh, must have spent some time thinking about this if she¡¯s assuming. ¡°Well, you have the workshop space, and I was hoping we could try working together?¡± ¡°Should I slap a U-haul sticker on my shuttle? Are you in lesbians with me?¡± I chuckle, realizing we¡¯ve dipped our toe in this conversation already. Elf Tessa blushes hard and my parallel minds split in the observation of it. It¡¯s unbelievably charming that she¡¯s blushing, but the other mind is concentrating at the marvel of creating a body that is capable of responsive blushing. The sensory data and processing iterations are staggeringly large. The fact Tessa solved the data overload problem is a marvel in itself. ¡°Sorry, I tend to joke when I don¡¯t know what to say. You are more than welcome to live with us Tessa.¡± I almost shout as a twinge of fear niggles at my brain about what she might say. ¡°Are you sure?¡± she asks with a slight tremble of hope and trepidation. How is she getting this much expression? Tessa, you¡¯ve created a wonder. ¡°Yes, of course. Zia, would you like it if Tessa came to live with us?¡± She looks up at me, ¡°New Papa?¡± I cough, turn away and blush out of my mind. ¡°Lets not read too deep into this Zia.¡± Andromeda, I hope she doesn¡¯t keep this up. I enjoy the short flight back to my Castle and start teleporting her gear to my Suite. Once that¡¯s done, I stow the shuttle and blip us up also, I really should take the long way to lower the exposure of my ability. Tessa rushes away to handle moving in and I set Zia at my kitchen table for a late lunch of juice and some berries from my aether garden upstairs. I order some Ramen from a recluse Aelean. >/Tessa, does your new body need to eat?/< That is still strange you know. And no, I don¡¯t My new skin needs nutrients, but I couldn¡¯t figure out how to make the process into an internal one with all of the other devices I contain. Well it feels weird to see you as a whole person and realize you¡¯re also my symbiote. I wonder if Zia will make friends with her symbiote. While a user can chose to only use the symbiote and not have the swarm assist in communication, it is not common and it is more of an instinctual communication than the semi-verbal we use. Semi-verbal? Huh. I guess that¡¯s true. I think words when you speak back to me it¡¯s like hearing my internal voice but in a different tone. So would that make the symbiote more of a feeling or meaning telepath? Not really, it¡¯s slightly more involved and I don¡¯t think you would care for it. With magic-based beings that have had a symbiote since birth, it should be natural, but for you, it would feel like a manipulation. You¡¯re freaking me out, Tessa. Can we talk about this another time? It won¡¯t harm her. I want to demand that she tell me now, my minds are anxious and paranoid about what the little aliens will do to my baby, but then I realize: I completely trust Tessa. She wouldn¡¯t do intentional harm to me or Zia, and I do have a lot of other things I need to be doing, like engraving those damned rings. Speaking of, I can work in tandem with you to make them. I don¡¯t love your plans for them, but I¡¯m willing to help. That is the second best news I¡¯ve heard all day. With her cow to help, I feel a monumental weight lighten from my shoulders. Now I just have to figure out how to bend Andromeda¡¯s rules on using gates a little bit. B3 Ch47: Donate Early, Donate Often. Two weeks before the Founder¡¯s Festival I finish making bombs. Send this last batch to the mine factory and I¡¯ll have my ten thousand. Now, ten thousand isn¡¯t much considering that Astoria is larger than Earth and I don¡¯t want the mine explosions to interfere with the satellite and missile defense network. So, they are staged in net-like clumps and assigned group numbers. The satellite network will detect incoming hostile ships, find a cluster in very short warp (VSW) range and have them use their small aether batteries to warp to a ship and kaboom. If they manage to shut down my satellite network, Alaris, Titania, and Mab (naming the new cruisers after fey queens seemed appropriate) can take control of signaling the mines. I obviously can too, but I try to make sure there¡¯s an Empress Failsafe on all of my weapons. ¡°Penny, I am getting tired of fielding questions from the Consuls about Founder¡¯s day. You need to talk to them.¡± Katie barges into my office. I look up at her with barely veiled anger. ¡°As First Consul it is literally your job to do so! You don¡¯t want to be involved in the war, so what else is there?¡± She¡¯s been pointing her sorrow at me in the form of anger for the last two months and it¡¯s wearing on me. The edge on Katie¡¯s anger fades as she replies, ¡°I¡¯ve killed enough people lately.¡± ¡°I understand that, but everyone¡¯s a bit stressed right now so I¡¯m trying to point them at staying busy. If you want another job, tell me. If you don¡¯t want to work in government service anymore, that¡¯s fine too. Could you at least talk to me about this before blowing up at me though?¡± ¡°Naomi!¡± I shout while a variety of unsaid emotions pass across Katies face. ¡°Yess Empress?¡± ¡°Is the Governor still the head of the Founder¡¯s Day Committee?¡± She nods. ¡°Then why the hell is Katie getting pestered so much?¡± ¡°Governor Banks is trying to get every leader in the community involved at the few events we do have planned, so naturally he would try to get a Founder to attend. Additionally, he¡¯s asking said officials to help sponsor seats/prizes/food anything really to help the people feel more appreciated.¡± ¡°Oh, how very responsible of him. Have we already sponsored a food vendor?¡± ¡°I have a list that we are tentatively agreed to, pending your approval. I don¡¯t have access to your finances.¡± I nod at that. My finances are a bit strained as I¡¯ve been spending a lot of personal money on getting us ready for the Herrat. Katie coughs for attention, ¡°I want them off my back Penny.¡± ¡°Then tell them that. The Governor doesn¡¯t outrank you.¡± ¡°But the other Consul¡¯s are still insisting I participate in their work.¡± I sigh, not wanting her to disappear completely, but that¡¯s what she wants I guess. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re working on, or what¡¯s going on in your head that¡¯s making you pull away, but if you want me to get the Consuls and government responsibility types from hassling you, I can do that.¡± She nods, ¡°that¡¯s what I want.¡± I open up the Empire Menu, click a few buttons on my personal access and some on Empress authority and then send out a message to the Consuls and Governors. ¡°I accept your resignation.¡± Katie looks shocked, ¡°What did you just do?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t want the responsibilities of First Consul or System Lord of Moiriax, so you no longer hold those positions and the appropriate parties have been informed. The Founder stuff is on you, though.¡± It¡¯s hard to determine which is affecting Katie more: the loss of access to thousands of credits as the System Lord, or that the role of First Consul is tied to being married to the Throne. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure the Mansion and your manor on Atropos are transferred to your ownership and you can work or play at your leisure.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t what I wanted,¡± she whispers. ¡°I know, hon, but maybe it¡¯s what¡¯s best for now. Spend some time thinking about what you do want, and come back and talk to me about it. We¡¯ll figure something out.¡± She doesn¡¯t nod or say anything else, a lingering stare is all I get before she turns and leaves. ¡°Sorry about that Naomi. Is there anything urgent from the Consul¡¯s that I need to take care of?¡± ¡°Our supply lines to Clotho and Lachesis have been degrading steadily since we started converting half our shuttle fleet to Fighters. Some mercenaries have been hired to pick up the slack, but some shipments have been billed without cargo and other cargo has gone missing. It was never whole shipments, until this week.¡± Crap. Our largest contingent of for-hire transport and protection comes from the Russian Syndicate, which looks like it recovered from Katies murder spree. I¡¯ll have to ask Ivanka if she¡¯s heard anything about it. I send her and Petra a message about the missing cargo and ask if it¡¯s the Syndicate that¡¯s doing it. I don¡¯t mind a little black-market organized crime, but if whole shipments are going missing, then we¡¯re going to start having problems. They know I have no intention of getting involved unless it¡¯s serious, and I already warned that I¡¯d be more than willing to go on a crusade and deal with the next organization that pops up if the Russians don¡¯t feed me a liaison. They chose Ivanka and Petra, and generally keep them at arm¡¯s length because of it. From what I can tell, no one is happy, but no one is angry either. Well, Katie angered the lot of them by killing most of upper management, but I choose to think that¡¯s not my fault. After that little wonder, Commodore Casey sent her latest report earlier this week, and I haven¡¯t read it yet. She finally figured out that if she feeds me regularly, I don¡¯t show up unannounced and mark everything as mine. Her report indicates that the shuttle refits are completed, Titania and Mab are on their way to Astoria, and my new wing of warp fighters is incoming. Most importantly, she forwarded me the latest from Rear Admiral Jessup that explains that we have a full complement of people ready for our four main ships, and enough pilots to get the job done. Still only have two people that are capable of piloting the warp fighters, but both of them assure me that others will be capable given time to mod or mutate into it. ¡°Empress! Bart called and said Zia snuck into her meal bag and ate all of the fruit. Now she¡¯s huddled up holding her head and shouting for you!¡± I teleport into their living room and ear Zia yelling ¡°Mama¡± from Bart¡¯s lab. Another blip and I pick up my small, fetal-coiled child and inspect her with my aether sight. Her vortex and brain are blinding auroras and the rest of her body looks like a mirage of her body as the saturation of aether distorts my vision. Panic hits me and I blip us home, giving a little waive to Bart before I leave. ¡°Oh honey, I wish you had listened. Just hold on, and think about how much you would like to grow up. Keep thinking about that until you see a window with a yes or no okay? The transformation will ease the pain baby.¡± I sit on the edge of my recovery tank and wait for a sign that a window pops up. ¡°I love you Zia, and I need you to pull through this okay? Mama needs you to be a big girl and transition, honey.¡± Zia keeps crying and squirming. She¡¯s in so much pain and I don¡¯t know what to do for her. How do I help her Tessa? Tears start rolling off of me and on to my daughter as I kiss her tiny, hot forehead and whisper positive words and my love on a continuous basis. Until I feel a little hand on my cheek.¡± ¡°I see box. Okay? Momma no cry.¡± I see her stare off into the distance and then close her eyes. A flash of light and mana an instant later replaces the 12 kilo weight with a 30 kilo weight and we both get pulled into the pool by the change. I right myself quickly and emerge with Zia¡¯s head above the liquid and realize I¡¯m holding a horrifying fleshy blank with medium brown hair. The form stays this way for long enough to make me panic that something has gone wrong, which may have been only a second, I try to look at her in aether sight and that was painful and unhelpful. ¡°Andromeda, please don¡¯t let me lose her. Please let me help her.¡± //DONATE? ¨CYES | NO --// ¡°Yes! Anything if it will help me get her through this!¡± //SACRIFICE: TECH IMBALANCE, MIND OVER MATTER. ASSISTANCE COMPLETE// I see the message and am completely numb at the loss of a skill, one that has been a constant in my life, but if it helps Zia, then I happily part with it. Zia¡¯s face and form start remodeling and a wave of relief hits me and suddenly I feel like I¡¯m about to pass out. ¡°You know, it¡¯s impossible to reach you when you panic like that. You couldn¡¯t hear me in your head or out loud.¡± Tessa says from behind me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just I thought her mutation level was too high and it killed her to transition.¡± I can hear an edge of panic still in my voice. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Shh,¡± she runs fingers through my hair and it begins to soothe me immediately. ¡°I wasn¡¯t chastising you, I was worried that you might sacrifice yourself for her, and I was trying to tell you it wasn¡¯t necessary. This happened to you when you became a pixie from that dark fey golem thing you were headed toward. The mannequin stage lasted longer in your case.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± So I gave up a tech imbalance and a powerful skill because I panicked and opened up my big mouth. I can¡¯t say that¡¯s a new development, and in fact it has happened through every one of my transitions, so why not Zia¡¯s. ¡°What did you give, Penny?¡± ¡°A skill and tech imbalance.¡± ¡°I wonder what the Matrix will do with the imbalance as she is a symbiote user? The skill is obvious though. She¡¯ll get it at a reduced capacity and modify her body to use it. That¡¯s still really dangerous to offer the exchange anything, though.¡± I lean my head back to find her knees to rest on. I look up and see concern from Tessa, whorls of brown hair escaping from her ponytail to frame her face. ¡°I¡¯ll know for next time. But I would have given a lot more to ensure she survived this.¡± She sighs, ¡°There¡¯s no changing your nature, I suppose. Oh! Hello Zia¡¯s AI. Must be what they used the imbalance for!¡± Keep talking Tessa, tell me what¡¯s going on in there. ¡°It¡¯s not much, it¡¯s just a hold message telling me that their integration is hold pending transformation. This is good though, having an AI at this stage should help her develop her shapeshifting and blinking.¡± Her face continues to shift throughout the transformation, perhaps a warring of intention? Her skin tone alters from pale white more towards my own, her body gives the slightest whisper of widening hips, but is otherwise androgynous, and her leg proportions can¡¯t seem to make up their mind. ¡°Watching this is not helping my mindset. Please distract me.¡± Tessa smirks and brings her other hand to play with my hair. ¡°Lets see, I¡¯ve been thinking about your magic a lot. The first being that you should be able to play with time as well. That little space dilation trick you do when sparring? Time should behave the same, but I don¡¯t know what it would feel like. I was also thinking about how you can make pocket spaces like those storage rings, and the Vault Guardian hinted at a large storage space in one of the stable pocket dimensions, so it could stand to reason that pocket spaces could have pocket time as well.¡± ¡°Ooh. See, I like that idea. Pocket space with pocket time. That has to be how the shuttle storage spell works. I should study that form more, I haven¡¯t looked at it since tier 1 and I still don¡¯t know any time runes. Come to think of it, I don¡¯t know any Void runes either. That¡¯s a weird thought.¡± ¡°Considering you have spent zero time developing your magics since the void incident, that doesn¡¯t surprise me.¡± She smiles down at me, ¡°you have been busy though.¡± ¡°Leveling things like Bureaucracy, blarg. At least my engraving and enchanting have seen benefits.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve used those skills to build an Empire, Penny. You should be proud.¡± In her tone, I hear that she¡¯s proud of me and it¡¯s the first time in a while that the person saying it to me meant enough for me to feel it. ¡°Thanks Tessa. You truly are a masterpiece of incalculable worth.¡± We stand vigil for hours until my Suite mate tells me that the AI is now integrating with Zia. I carry her to our bed and tuck my much larger daughter in. Her body settled on a look similar to mine but with much longer proportions. It seems like she wants to be taller than me, otherwise, she looks like an athletic pre-teen with shimmery wing stubs. Tessa suggested cut them free--like I did mine¡ªwhile she¡¯s sleeping. I almost vomited when I saw the little trickle of pearlescent blood come out when I pulled her wing stubs through. ¡°Is it weird that I really want to see what else the transformation did for her?¡± ¡°Collecting data makes you feel useful, so not really. Plus, there¡¯s no handbook or module to help you with her, so I get it: every data point that helps predict her next benchmark or with your next daughter.¡± ¡°Next daughter? Hold on there, I have no plans for more kids!¡± Seriously Tessa, what¡¯s wrong with you? ¡°The joy on your face when you¡¯re with her plus the easiest pregnancy I¡¯ve ever heard of, you¡¯re definitely having more kids. Though I wonder what would happen if you grew the entire Intelligence Matrix out of crystal.¡± Now that¡¯s a thought. Is there any reason I couldn¡¯t? What benefits or drawbacks would there be? ¡°Oh, that was a cheap shot. Asshole.¡± She giggles that adorable-ass giggle and I suddenly want to throw her in the lazy river. Instead, I take a deep breath and use my words. ¡°I don¡¯t want to worry about Zia or the war for the evening, want to Science or watch a movie?¡± ¡°I would like to . . . pick your brain about space pockets, actually.¡± ¡°Would you like me to search the Vault for a relevant book or just brainstorm how we might do it, then confirm after Zia awakens?¡± ¡°I bought a satchel with a foldable, metallic-framed opening to experiment on.¡± ¡°Ooh! I can show off the engraving interface I¡¯ve been working with!¡± *** ¡°Momma, you¡¯re crushing me!¡± I hear from a deep sleep, the pokes in my side are what really get me moving. ¡°I¡¯m sorry honey, it¡¯s been two nights since you started your transition. How do you feel?¡± ¡°I feel weird wearing your clothes. But thanks for not dressing me up like a doll, I guess?¡± She looks at my shirt as she sits up and throws the covers off her legs. Wiggling her toes, inspecting her arms and hands, and poking at her face shows her that she¡¯s not hideously deformed. The look on her face was relieved. Hmm, how far did she advance on memory to be worried about transformation defects? I inspect her in aether vision. Holy cow. A twenty percent increase in memory integration? That has got to be disorienting. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re doing something. You starry eyes are glowing and spinning.¡± ¡°Sorry honey, just wanted to check your growth ¡°progress¡± aether-wise. I can¡¯t see your sheet without permission, don¡¯t worry.¡± I immediately go on the defensive, for some reason. ¡°Chill mom, I¡¯m getting a lot of . . . cascading thoughts, and it¡¯s super distracting. I saw your eyes and got a rush of emotions that might trigger it. I heard aether and a mess of info just flushed into my brain. Being able to talk is nice though.¡± I pull her into a fierce hug, the emotions of relief and love make me want to thank her for surviving. ¡°I was so worried I was going to lose you.¡± ¡°Yah, I was scared too. I didn¡¯t understand why I couldn¡¯t have the tasty fruit, I thought you were just whining ¡®cause they were expensive.¡± I can¡¯t help but laugh at the reduced logic. ¡°Yeah, a slice was enough aether to give like a quarter level.¡± Zia¡¯s eyes gloss over while I assume she is checking her character sheet. Oh shit, momma, I fucked up.¡± ¡°Language! PG rules in this house, young lady. That¡¯s your one swear for the day.¡± She snickers at that. ¡°I can handle that. No no, look at my sheet.¡±
Race: Blink Pixie Andromeda Code: S/w AI
Subrace: Royal Track: none (t-0, lvl. 9)
Intelligence: A, Clever: B Awareness: B
Beauty: A Charm: B Presence: B
Strength: D Agility: B Fitness: D
Capacity: C Refinement: C Power: A
Skills
Beguile: Beginner, step 8 Mind over Matter: Beginner, step 3
Talents
Body of Power 3 Blink
Aether Conversion Hereditary Memory
Mutation Prone
¡°What the hell? Zia, darling, how much fruit did you steal?! Level nine, and a hindrance talent? What the what?!¡± Zia blushes and starts fiddling with the corner of the comforter. ¡°You know what? Not sure I care. I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re not dead or some mind-addled aether forged beast.¡± I look back on the sheet, glad that she has more Body of Power, and amazed that her actual power went up. Not sure if she¡¯s getting my Primus blessing or the ¡®of the Matrix¡¯ blessing, but thank Andromeda for that boon. ¡°Can I ask you some questions momma?¡± Aww, the frikkin¡¯ cutie. ¡°Of course baby.¡± I turn my head toward the lab. ¡°Tessa! Zia has questions!¡± A minute later, she comes trotting up, expending no apparent effort. ¡°What is it? Oh! Zia! I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay.¡± She lunges to hug my daughter, and Zia wraps her up as well. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re here.¡± Zia says, to my confusion. She¡¯s only met her a few times after all. ¡°So, when should I pick a track and who is going to teach me magic?¡± I take a deep breath, let it out and get ready answer when Tessa chimes in. ¡°Well, by Imperial law, you can¡¯t go to the Symbiote school until you¡¯re 14 or tier 1.¡± ¡°And, I don¡¯t intend to change that for you, or any magic-oriented offspring. However, for Track selection, I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t pick already. With all of these memories roiling inside your head, you wont have a proper sense of what you want. I recommend you not decide until you know what you want to do, or you have reached the requirements for tier 1. You should absolutely accept your track before tier 1 and experiment with your skills and talents before accepting the transition slash ascention.¡± ¡°While that¡¯s nice and all, totally great advice, but I wanted to learn how to blink.¡± ¡°Close your eyes, open, and repeat.¡± I smile widely. My pre-teen roars and tackles me while I chortle at my supreme, top tier joke. When I see her about to dig into my sides, I blip us over the Olympic pool and then blip myself back to the picnic area for some breakfast. Zia screams in frustration. Tessa laughs as she jogs back down. I am feeling very proud of myself. Lessons are fun! ¡°Are you in the lab all day?¡± I ask Tessa. ¡°Mm, planned to be. Did you need something?¡± ¡°I was hoping you could start on a warp drone if you have the time. You do drone better than I do. And before you ask, I don¡¯t have the tech imbalance to accept that mod anymore.¡± ¡°More or less important than network upgrades?¡± ¡°Less! Way less. Need that to keep missiles from the surface please and thanks.¡± ¡°Your outfitting them with pulse rifles was successful, but you dismissed our best network associate.¡± My whole body laughs. That is certainly one way to say I forced the First Consul to resign, which also means I no longer have a wife. Yeah, no big deal Tesssa. ¡°Hey, she asked to be relieved on Imperial responsibilities. I just chose the select all button and executed her wishes.¡± ¡°Are you talking about Katelyn?¡± Zia asks wet as hell, holding my sweatpants up. ¡°Yes baby, not a topic I want to discuss right now.¡± ¡°Good riddance, she was so fucking toxic for you.¡± ¡°ZIA!¡± Tessa and I shout at the same time, but I continue. ¡°Broke the movie rules honey. No blood or Ink or a week. I know where my engraving bottles went now, young lady.¡± ¡°This is bullshit! You know she was an ass to you, I REMEMBER!¡± ¡°Want to make it two?¡± Her face transitions from outrage to disgusted as she uses two fingers and a very pointed raspberry to tell me where to stick my discipline. She stomps off to a third room and slams the door. We¡¯re silent for a few minutes, I was thinking about what I need to do for Zia, but her little scrunchy face kept creeping into my mind. ¡°Andromeda, she¡¯s adorable when she¡¯s angry.¡± I whisper. ¡°She really is.¡± Tessa says, grabbing my hand from across the table. B3 Ch48: Behold, an Ashen Horse So, the thing about child labor I don¡¯t like is the coercion. But when my daughter insists on bein involved, I make her sort my messages and reply to the stupid ones. She replies to several expressing that multiple Imperial appearances will be done by the Princess of the Empire. Cute title, troubling habit. ¡°I¡¯m going to need armor if I¡¯m to appear in public.¡± Zia insists. ¡°Honey, I already commissioned shin guards, armguards and a tiara for your protection, but it will take a few days.¡± ¡°Momma, I swear, you have no idea how fast things are progressing. Point in fact, you just got a message from your buddy Ivanka saying that she has dire news.¡± ¡°Zia, that one. Don¡¯t reply, lemme see.¡± I read a message from Ivanka telling me in very uncertain terms to head to Asphodel for a briefing. Fucking short-ranged shuttles. ¡°Tessa, I gotta go, you staying here? Might be a few days.¡± ¡°Sure, drop me off on Alaris? You¡¯ll be boarding soon and I might as well stay.¡± ¡°Can do, Zia, go to Uncle Barts. Talk to him about your progress or something.¡± Damn girl blinks in front of me and gives me the teen-est, pre-teen attitude that ever ¡®tuded. ¡°Hell no. Bart looks at me like he¡¯s going to cut me open. Hard pass.¡± ¡°Your remaining options are Alaris with Tessa, or Farming with Frannie and . . . Jenna? Well okay then. Auntie Jenna would love you.¡± She gives me an exasperated sigh and accepts being dropped off with Francesca and Jenna. Andromeda help them if they let a Blink Pixie get drunk. Little shit blinked blindly into Oren¡¯s locker and got plastered and made a teleporting menace of herself. She¡¯s had this body for a week. ¡°Elevator, NOW!¡± I yell, impatient. Ivanka rarely contacts me and I am chomping at the bit to go see her. ¡°No chill, momma. I swear that you¡¯re more hormonal after my birth.¡± ¡°Excuse me? I was plenty pissy while I was pregnant, young lady.¡± ¡°Not the time, Pen,¡± Tessa intrudes as she shuffles into the elevator. ¡°Why are we taking the lift when you can teleport anywhere?¡± ¡°I want a coffee from the new caf¨¦.¡± I declare, then blush, ¡°and flirt with the barista.¡± The look of shock on Zia¡¯s face is surprising. ¡°Tessa,¡± Zia says. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Tessa orders. ¡°What the hell?¡± I demand. ¡°You are such a useless lesbian,¡± my daughter states. What the ever-loving shit is that? Tessa starts giggling, and Zia joins her. Nope, not in the mood friends. I grab both of them and teleport us to the upper atmosphere and summon my shuttle. Zia freaks and blinks repeatedly until she reaches the shuttle and engages the airlock. ¡°You¡¯re not going to let me splat, Penny.¡± Tessa stares at me with a warm smile, no fear apparent at all. Andromeda damned mind readers. As my embarrassment fades, so does my drive to throw a tantrum. I grab Tessa and blip to the cockpit. As soon as I¡¯m secure in my seat I apologize. Tessa laughs at me, ¡°I know you have a hard time with shame and embarrassment. Zia doesn¡¯t know you as well as I do, yet, so you might want to talk with her about this later.¡± When we land at Summer Station I hug her and apologize, but she grunts at me and doesn¡¯t return the hug. Yeah, I messed up. I talk to Francesca about her staying for a few days and give her the bag I brought with expensive treats. She sends me with a bottle of booze for Ivanka and we depart for Alaris. Tessa hugs me too and as cozy as it feels, I need to see what Ivanka has to say. The warp to Hades system takes a moderate amount of auxiliary power, but none of my personal aether. I check in with the V¡¯tek Collective while I¡¯m in system to see if they need anything, then ping Ivanka to see where I¡¯m meeting her. She tells me a location in the Fields, a spread out suburb of Asphodel City with a small tech center where they research fusion horticulture. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I land on the roof of the Earth Science building and stow my shuttle before descending into the building. I¡¯m greeted by an armed man with a thick neck and a brick face. Leads me to an elevator and blocks the panel as he fiddles with it and blocks out the floor number readout overhead. Smart man not to try and blindfold me. I would have protested. Longer than I expected, we exit the lift into a cold, concrete hallway with more lights than features. I get the feeling that the organization that Ivanka and Petra belong two has a major foothold on Asphodel, especially if the control substantial research real-estate. Through the only visible door in the hall, I see my friends and quite a few military-geared folk dressed in dark colors, some of them with masks. ¡°Ah, comrade Astoria, good to see you. Care for a drink?¡± ¡°I would.¡± I pull out the hooch present from my satchel and hold it out. ¡°A gift from Summer Farms.¡± She takes the bottle, cracks it and takes a swig. Her eyes widen and she hides a cough. She hands it off to Petra and she does the same, without the cough and takes another swig. ¡°Mm, pretty raw, but good flavor. This would be nice with aging. But,¡± She hands be a glass that was handed to her. ¡°we should talk about what my team found in Moiriax.¡± She brings up a display and I make the inset details display in my hud. ¡°When we looked into your shipments, we found that a lot of them were handled by our transportation arm. The whole shipments that went missing are missing from our company ledgers as well. Not ¡®show up missing¡¯ but off the books. That raised some flags. I forged some IDs and did an inspection for your new factory, which was supposed to get two of the missing shipments, and they¡¯re a skeleton crew. When I went by this morning after I¡¯d heard you dropped off some mine charges, the place was empty, mine shells for about 250, but no electronics, no charges.¡± ¡°Well, I hope they have a good magitechnician, because those charges have a shelf life.¡± I add. ¡°Well, our organization has a passable team, but not on par with you and Katie. However, while I was there, I heard alarms at the crystal factory and saw something curious when I investigated.¡± A video pops up of a human scientist being carried out by some burly cat people with others loading crystals into an Empire shittle. ¡°Fuck me, the Herrat are already here?!¡± the panic engine spins up inside my head. I knew they were cheaters, but hells. ¡°With the level of integration with your tech and our infiltration teams, I¡¯m not sure they ever left.¡± She brings up another graphic showing the surface of Atropos and Clotho. ¡°These are the properties we¡¯ve purchased of late in red, and the older properties up to a year ago are in blue.¡± I see a number of large blue buildings and the red locations are smaller but more spread out and numerous. ¡°Wait, is that an orbital refinery in blue?¡± ¡°It is, and I suspect it¡¯s one of the places that are hiding Herrat shipping. We made a mint helping the original owners exit the system.¡± ¡°Which also means you assumed their old contracts and Visas and forged all of the paperwork since then.¡± ¡°Hey, I thought they were still mining, Penny. I don¡¯t have purview over everything.¡± Ugh, I though I had my Empire interface tracking all non-resident and un-contracted personal. You only queried where they were, not to maintain a track on them. Fuck. Alright, show me non-resident and non-contract personnel currently in Imperial or Empire related space. Red marks flood my vision across my systems and I can even see blips on the outskirts of the frontier line. The horrifyingly bright red glow is coming from Hades and Moiriax¡ªmostly Moiriax. If even half of these are Herrati, there are still thousands here. ¡°Everyone out. I need to talk to Ivanka and Petra alone.¡± Half the people in the room reach for their guns. Ivanka shouts at them in Russian, telling them that if the Empress wanted to, she could kill them all before they drew a gun. I grin with my terrible shark teeth at the end of her statement. I think my friends forgot I speak Russian fluently. Everyone leaves but my two friends and I erect a void shield around us before continuing. ¡°How many non-citizen immigrants do you have in the Empire without being contracted?¡± ¡°Several hundred. Why?¡± ¡°Because there are more than seven thousand on my interface. It won¡¯t let me differentiate species. I¡¯ve Been waiting for more ships to arrive, but the war has already begun.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t blanket blame our organization for this, Penny. Most of them had no idea this was happening,¡± Petra pleads. ¡°Anyone I find in the presence of Herrati, will die. I think the vast majority of those in Moiriax are forfeit. Hades is a different matter, there are more than a thousand in this system and I have no doubt I will find your people nearby. I even see people on outer moons and inner planets with undocumented ships near my Ganymede shipyard. Take the people you care about to Bikini Station, or a facility on Astoria until the war is over.¡± ¡°How much time can you give me?¡± Ivanka asks, smartly avoiding any requests to not massacre the shadow organization that kept the Herrat invasion secret for months. ¡°Until I get to them. If you can get to Atropos and leave before I get there, do. If not, I may not know in time to save you. I would focus on Asphodel if I were you. I¡¯ll spot you two hours. I have some other things to take care of before I let the rage monster loose.¡± ¡°Two hours is not enough time!¡± Petra asks. ¡°There are THOUSANDS of Herrati with 250 antimatter grenades that could flatten a city running around in my Empire! I don¡¯t have enough time either! If they get those grenades to Astoria, I will raze organize crime from the Empire. Repeatedly. Until it fucking sticks. It usually serves a needed purpose in a nation, but if that branches out to leading barbaric slavers into my cities? I will be a calamitous nuisance forevermore.¡± I start growling at some point. I shut down the shield and collect the void aether. As soon as I do, I am fired upon by ballistic weapons. My shield ring reacts in time and I reach for my crystal crown from my bag. My crown is in place as the ring shield cracks, giving me extra time to pull out my pulse pistols. Gun-fu engages and the goons have light highways through their domes before the first one hits the ground. I look over to my shocked friends and let my aether flare. ¡°Tell everyone that a Queen of Faerie comes to collect. They will feel my madness, my power, and my resolve before war¡¯s end.¡± Stats Sheets.
Race: Pixie (Primus) Andromeda Code: T-S Imbalance: none
Subrace: Faerie Queen Track: Artificing (t-3, lvl. 54)
Intelligence: A, Clever: A Awareness: B
Beauty: A Charm: D Presence: A
Strength: C Agility: B Fitness: B
Capacity: S Refinement: B Power: S
Skills
Aether Engraving: Master, step 1 (0/5) Aether forging: Intermediate, step 1
Aether insight: Expert, step 1; Aether manipulation: Expert, step 3;
Basic constructs: Intermediate, step 3 Brawling: Novice, step 9
Bureaucracy Advanced step 3 Elemental Manifestation: Beginner, step 3
Empire Administration: Advanced, step 6 Enchanting: Advanced, step 3;
Field Dressing: Beginner step 1 Gem cutting and shaping: Advanced, step 2
Gun Fu: Intermediate, step 1 Knowledge absorption: Intermediate, step 8 (tech assist);
Leadership: Novice, step 8 Magitech Integration: Advanced, step 4
Multi-core Processing (Magitech): Intermediate, step 7
My Will Be Done: Master, step 3 Pain Suppression: Intermediate, step 6;
Performance: Oratory; Beginner, step 7 Sheilding: Advanced, step 7;
Space manipulation: Expert , step 1 Swordsmanship: Beginner step 5
Transmutation: Advanced, step 7 Void Manipulation: Intermediate, step 6
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Race: Blink Pixie Andromeda Code: S/w AI
Subrace: Royal Track: none (t-0, lvl. 9)
Intelligence: A, Clever: B Awareness: B
Beauty: A Charm: B Presence: B
Strength: D Agility: B Fitness: D
Capacity: C Refinement: C Power: A
Skills
Beguile: Beginner, step 8 Mind over Matter: Beginner, step 3
Talents
Body of Power 3 Blink
Aether Conversion Hereditary Memory
Mutation Prone
So, Zia got a huge kick from Penny''s transformations. It would be the equivalent of being born a higher tier creature than a human, which she was. My plan to start releasing the next arc is a week from monday. B4 Ch1: Dont Call it a Comeback. I¡¯ve been preparing for a war for nearly a year and unknowingly left thousand of militaristic cat people, called the Herrat to infest the outer planets of my Empire. When the Herrat gave us a year to ¡°consider¡± surrendering into slavery, I was under the mistaken impression that they would do something like a debilitating strike before the time was up and force us into a compromised position. There were several warnings I should have considered but haven¡¯t though about until now. The Andromeda Matrix, a collective of sentient artificial intelligences that conveys access to a community development that motivates with numerical representations and assistance for aether and technology, does not facilitate wartime activities. Most germane to my circumstance, the Matrix won¡¯t assist in relocating or warping ships, war-machines ore troops larger than a squad. I hadn¡¯t thought of the repercussions of that, as they gave a warning which was not technically war, I declared war, which should have disabled their Matrix assist to warping their ships from Andromeda to The Milky Way. A year is not enough time through t-3 magic or technology to warp that far¡ªmeaning they were already in-transit, or they are already here. Through some fun loopholes in running an Empire, I found that there are at least seven thousand Herrat on my planets, and a moderate fleet between my sensor network and the frontier line of the Matrix patrolled section of the Milky way. There is some honest tom-foolery going on that is allowing me to see the ships, but I¡¯m going to try and verify the info. /Alaris, DE Empress. Empire interface reports seven to twelve Herrat ships at a location I am sending. Recommend new fighter for recon. Break. Seven thousand ground troops in multiple systems also detected. Massive antimatter load meant for mines stolen, will self destruct in two hours. Refer to Commodore and respond with planned action. How read?/ /Empress, copy Herrat dangers on multiple fronts and refer to area commander for response planning, noting two-hour time frame for blind action./ I ping affirmative and start thinking about how to go about murdering these tricksy felines enmasse. First though, I need to determine if I can sense the bombs I made. I know I can detonate them, I just have to release the shield magic that I¡¯m holding. I¡¯ve never tried to track my magic back to an instance of aether I¡¯ve applied, but it¡¯s worth a shot. I also have a solid chance to detect annihilation energy, but I refused the title ¡°of the void¡± which would have allowed me to manipulate it directly. Instead I have ¡°of the Matrix¡± which allows me some very neat commerce benefits, but the synergies with my Insightful Calamity class cannot be denied. The class lets me get full refund on my expenditures on destruction if that destruction aids the Andromeda Matrix. Combined with free transfers (goods teleportation) and reduced Gateway fees, I basically have cart-blanche to be a menace. Though I didn¡¯t try to get a warp assist for a full starship, I can confirm that a shuttle that fits through a Gateway that I¡¯m piloting does get an assist to the Andromeda Galaxy. The magitech that makes this possible is arranged by relaying from System Hosts containing a portion of the Matrix, Sector Hosts, and Core hosts that lie near the gravity center ¨Cand thus the aether center¡ªof a galaxy. Sector hosts can help with transfers up to about 3-5k lightyears, which is what we have around Astoria. Core hosts have an indeterminate assist distance, confirmed several million lightyears as Andromeda Galaxy is capital ¡®F¡¯ far. I long since left the meeting space where I met Ivanka and Petra and currently pissed-off in orbit around Asphodel, a large moon orbiting a gas giant about 1.5 times the mass of Jupiter. Meditating is not easy for me, but I have gotten used to relaxing my mana control, flooding the environment with companionable energy and just flowing on the waves radiating from me. I get significant rebounding from the hull of the shuttle so I blip to the outside of the ship and try again. Though I can cancel aether I¡¯m supporting, I cannot tell which amongst the shields I¡¯m maintaining should be cancelled. I use the feeling of enacting the spell to try and find it to mixed results: I can only see a few traces that are directly below me. I think it¡¯s a proximity issue, but I can do it. It sucks that some major companies are going to get leveled, but I can try to find the few that I sensed while I¡¯m waiting for Alaris or the Commodore to get back to me. Or I can be a responsible damned parent and check my largest populated planet right now instead of dicking around on what is largely a trade and research planet. I hop back inside the shuttle, energize the short and the long-range warp circuits to get the max range of this little beastie and pry a tear open in space-time and traverse non-dimensional Aether Space back to Astoria (planet) in Astoria (system) in the Empire of Astoria. My home planet now has warp lanes because our mining traffic, and our actual space mines so I can¡¯t just arrive in low orbit like I used to. Since warping in atmosphere is a bad choice, time to do this the fun way. I step out of my shuttle, store it in my spell rune I received for my t-1 upgrade and aim my t-3 orbital assault suit at the ground and use my space-manipulation My to really slingshot me through the atmosphere. My minor command on wind aether allows me to fly above terminal velocity toward Summer station, where I dropped my daughter Zia hours ago. Superhero landings are super sweet to watch, but a hassle to clean up after. I like Francesca better than to visit that destruction on her. ¡°I thought I saw a familiar fireball. Are you ever going to get tired of that?¡± Francesca asks. ¡°Flying and five minutes of roaring isolation? Probably not. Though with the new skimmers, maybe.¡± I take a quick look around, because some toddler artifact in my brain thinks I¡¯ll spot a cat of some kind. ¡°I have some news, and I need to make it quick. Is Jenna with Zia.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Andromeda, they¡¯re a menace together. They¡¯re harassing the murder chickens right now, trying to joust on them or something.¡± ¡°Sadly, that¡¯s less dangerous than my news.¡± I step inside her house and put up a void shield. ¡°Oh, it is serious. Make with the news.¡± She says, handing me a bottle of strawberry shine. ¡°Thanks,¡± I take a drag. ¡°There are 7k Herrat on ground in my Empire, and they have 250 antimatter grenades. I think I can locate them, but I need to be within 50-60 miles?¡± ¡°What are you waiting for then? Get to locating!¡± ¡°I¡¯m checking here, the Castle then whatever else I have time for. If you can empower your shields, do so. War starts today.¡± ¡°Today? You shit. How bad!? Wait, antimatter bad, ships bad. Fuck, Penny. Some time would have been nice.¡± ¡°I found out half an hour ago. We have an hour and a half before the grenades auto detonate. Just, do I need to take Zia with me?¡± ¡°Just go! She¡¯s in her suit, she¡¯s under the station¡¯s tier 2 shields.¡± ¡°You could take her back to your villa?¡± ¡°Clear the fucking castle then maybe I will!!¡± I growl at her, sit on the floor and release my hold on my aether. As it floods the space I reach out to find Summer Station ostensibly clean of anything I¡¯ve made. Who knows what else is here, bit nothing tremored in the etheric, so I¡¯ll go with it. ¡°Alright, this place seems safe, thanks Frannie.¡± I say, looking at my friend slumped on the couch, delirious and searching the room slowly with her eyes. Oops. I forgot how strong my unrestrained aether is to others. I kiss her on the check and thank her for looking after Zia. My teleport to my vagina-shaped garden castle¡ªmy ex wife¡¯s AI built it as a f-u before we split¡ªis instantaneous. The view from the 48th floor with my aether infused fruits looks out over Capitol Square in the distance. I repeat the same flooding of aether plus searching tendrils and find some glaring damned problems: there are three devices in my Castle, and a three more in the Capitol grounds. There are enough in Aelea that I can¡¯t pinpoint them, and each of the boroughs have one. The City of Ash is too far away int the new Duchy, and so are the adventurist communes on the other side of the planet. ¡°How the fuck have they had time?¡± The timelines are consistent with a small, dedicated shuttle fleet, only 3-4 would be necessary. Yeah, yeah. They stole two shuttles so that makes sense. Any half-capably technician would be able to change out an aether crystal to skip the recharging process for back to back warps. DAMNIT! Tessa, can the symbiote estimate how many Galaxy fruit¡¯s I can slam before I mutate? Assuming you have tasks in-between bursts, you are not at risk of mutation. If you decided to slam them, 12-15 depending on how full you get. Okay, well, having aether destroy me twice definitely made a mark, didn¡¯t it. Ah well, time to start the War I suppose. I lock on the closest location I can sense, to some energy-based spatial math and use my force of will to teleport to the nearest shield I maintain. There¡¯s a man sitting next to a case, I don¡¯t ask questions put three shots into the chest and head and search for the grenade. I find it inside a stack of towels in the housekeeping locker or the dignitary floors, 20-30 of my castle. I teleport the grenade into deep space, not wanting to mess with collecting and re-structuring the shields to refresh them. I only see a pair of Herrat in Aelea and they are in the Governor¡¯s Mansion. I¡¯ll visit that after this. The next two bombs did not have custodians, but were adequately hidden buried in a tree pot on a veranda, and hidden inside a first floor shop space that hadn¡¯t been filled. I wasted precious minutes searching for both of them. I blip to the Governor¡¯s Mansion, still property that I own, and find a Herrati talking with the former Governor, the current governor dying on the floor. I blip and put a hand on the grenade and space it, kick the Herrati warrior so that I move back over the desk, summon a tier 2 med boost for the Governor, and shoot on the Herrati while tumbling back.
Shit. I hope he¡¯s important, or my planet is screwed. If the average Herrat is tier 3, the Empire has no chance because the damned cat reflected a plasma bolt with his fucking swords. They look singed but damn! This of course had me spring to my feet and blast the former governor at the sacrifice o my position¡ª¡®cause fuck that guy. The Herrati throws a blade at my face, I push on space to give me more room to maneuver around it, and try to make it subtly stretch instead of one big movie dilate. While I duck the round I pulse two more rounds at the stupid cat while pulling my plasma saber. When the bolts are about to singe his whiskers, he smiles and his form shudders. Tessa flaring my aether sight is the only reason I¡¯m not dead. I only have my reactive shield on, not my crown shield and the Phaseblade used aether to transposition himself to the knife he threw. I blink a meter and spin to shote more rounds but he now wields two scimitars, one following through with the decapitation attempt and the other shuddering to block the pistol shot. He¡¯s grinning as he has a better mastery of swordplay and half of my advantage is negated via his ability to track my plasma bolts. When my plasma sword energizes and I slide to the end of my space dilation, make I sigh heavily, anticipating the suck. The dilated space snaps back in an instant. My blade is rising, his stabbing blade is falling and his blocking blade is counterpoint to cross execute my head off or block my saber, either way it¡¯s a bad place. Luckily, my saber gets in place first and starts sparking and welding his swords together. His eyes widen for a second, but pierce my soul with some sort of analysis skill. He tears his swords apart vertically as I pump plasma into his groin. He successfully parries my pistol, taking a few fingers with it, but the tilt the plasma bolts put in his body bothered his instincts enough to lower his other arm to correct his balance. I use the distraction to slice off his hand and upswing through his face. He leans back enough to miss my blade through his skull, but I let go of my sword, teleport my pulse pistol to my sword hand and blast his face and then his hand that¡¯s attached to the sword. When he phases to avoid the first pair, he eats the second pair, his mouth and eye smoking as the bolts pass through his skull. B4 Ch2: Close Combat ¡°I tell you anything you want, just heal me¡± the asshole former governor says to me after I put up a void shield and cut off his Exchange access. ¡°There is a zero percent chance that you get out of here without talking.¡± ¡°I want a guarantee!¡± Bloody spittle drips down his chin. ¡°I wanted you to be a decent Human, then you sold your city out for slaves, just so you could be a pampered slave. You really are a douche.¡± I¡¯d spit on him, but I¡¯d rather melt him to the floor. ¡°You could have avoided this by just listening to the governors. Yielding to experience.¡± ¡°Look what that¡¯s earned you. For treason, I sentence you to death.¡± Two more bolts and the sentence is carried out. Much to my chagrin, the new Governor is awake and shivering, watching me execute the conniving treasonous asshat. ¡°Governor, you have nothing to fear from me. From this anyway.¡± I throw a few tangible credits on the floor. ¡°For the mess. Also, we¡¯re at War, so maybe cancel Founder¡¯s day.¡± I blip out before I get a response. Two more to go, but after the fight with the Phaseblade, I forgot where they were. Before that fight, I would have thought that the more powerful the enemy, the longer the fight, every time. Now, some realization hits that he would have killed me if all I had was short-ranged teleportation and shoddy martial arts. That was a warrior for life, his motions were short, precise, and quick. I just have aether coming out my ass, and a rare magic type to boot. According to my AI, having Space-Time and Void (or Dark) as my paired aether affinities, is beyond rare, and with S-rank power, I¡¯m just a big dirty cheater. I¡¯ve been told to practice my time spellforms, but being told to just go out and fuck with time seems a bad idea. Though, it would be a good way to level parallel minds. Damn this stupid war. I follow my wave of aether again and find the two extra spots, places I visit regularly, but hidden. I am absolutely not murdering anyone in the Meat Man or Betty¡¯s place. Those were placed to hurt me specifically. These nasty cat shits are just tapping glasses of tables to see what breaks. Me is the answer. I¡¯ll break and commit genocide. Hitler, Stalin, Penny. Maybe some African and Waziristan potentates and warlords in there, but they don¡¯t make a lot of history shows about them. \Admiral, DE CMD Casey, targets confirmed. No time for marine action ashore. Charging Galilei, Warping Alaris, Titania, and Mab to engage.\ /Copy Commodore. Enemy Officer neutralized, possible dead trigger download./ \Understood. Recommend comms cut with daily sync, possible Exchange cut\ /Copy Commodore, well advised. The theater is yours. Out./ Great. I hope that the enemy battle group wasn¡¯t alerted, but the best I can expect is having them flatfooted and unprepared for heavy fire from our cruisers. I¡¯ve got at least fifteen minutes for Galilei to charge, and at most 40 minutes for the bombs to run out of energy. Best start clearing Ash, and Nopopolis (a name a grumble about constantly). The City of Ash is the largest city on Astoria if you don¡¯t lump the three boroughs into Aelea, my Capitol City, and the most likely location for additional bombs beside the moon they were being put into mines. I teleport hundreds of kilometers to what is essentially ¡®New Scotland¡¯ to check on bombs. With a burst of aether and some searching I find more than a dozen. Shit. Most of the ones I find are stashed in a container or in a piece of equipment. The few I find in government buildings and key infrastructure areas are being monitored or are on some stupid bastard that gets teleported to space. I should probably ask if they know about the device, or just space the device, but I¡¯m not really in the mood to chat or be charitable. The last location in Ash appears to be a plantation house? I teleport above it and hover to scan the area again, finding many of the bombs within the house, or perhaps beneath it. Great, there¡¯s probably a fight for me in there too. I enter the building and see several people who start yelling at me in Russian. Before I can reply with what I¡¯m doing here, and who I am, someone raises a gun at me. Teleporting my remaining pulse pistol and my plasma saber, I start shooting and blipping and slicing my way around the room. I avoid getting shot as much as I can, but my personal shields take half a dozen rounds anyway. Why everyone here is using conventional bullets is beyond me. I do my best to overlay my aether sight on top of my regular vision, but it¡¯s hard to tell exactly what everything is. Is that a bomb, or a person with poor aether manipulation. Is that a massive cluster of bombs, a hugely powerful aether user, or a power source? I should probably check those out regardless. I blip to the largest concentration of aether and find two Herrat guarding a suitcase. I lunge for the case and space it, relying on my armor to block one of the strikes as my saber takes up another. My shields manage to slow down the blade, but it screeches against the re-enforced, enchanted Kevlar-like weave of my suit. Fuck! These blades must be spelled to break shields or something, because a tier 3 energy shield should have stopped that sword cold. I put a three round plasma burst into the belly of the warrior I crossed swords with as the other blade slides of my back. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I blip behind, swinging my raised saber down into the back of the knees of the man I had crossed swords with and put another three pulses into his head, finally breaking his shield as he keels back from the pain in his legs. The movement from the other guard has me ducking beneath his guard mate, hearing the sword slice into flesh that is clearly not mine. I try to dilate space between me and the sword and odd things happen to the dead man while I kick the body toward the legs of the other Herrat. When he leaps over his friend, I compress space to close the gap with my sword positioned to skewer him. His catlike reflexes save him from my blade, but not the overcharged pulse that my pistol is holding, blowing out his middle like a shotgun blast from a zombie game. Tough bastard is still conscious an seems to be calling for backup. I take his head off and search for more aether traces. While I would like to keep spacing these bodies, I don¡¯t know how many more fights I¡¯m getting in today. Time to jam a galaxy fruit in my maw. The dense refined aether in the tender flesh sends a surge of energy and power as I greedily devour this sumptuous fruit. I space the two cats anyway, especially if I can stuff ten more of them in my face without. Sure, that¡¯s going to cost me around 3k credits, but It is worth it if you can handle the aether infusion. The traces I see coming from the next room into the hall make me want to trade places to the other room, so I do. To my surprise, I see a familiar face: tall platinum-haired bitch. ¡°Ahh, Penny, I was wondering, when . . .¡± I shoot her guards and they are not wearing the same level of gear as the Herrat, so they die on the first burst. Then I spray [Nightmare Napalm] at Platinum, as she deserves to hurt a little. It splats on her personal shields and slides an inch or two before it starts to eat the shields. ¡°Just straight to execution? No time for monologue?¡± Figures she would buy gear from the Herrat in exchange for harboring them. ¡°Harboring the enemy, and treasonous assault.¡± I hear movement from the other room and I barely have time to point my pistol at the door before another Herrat bursts in. He throws a scimitar-like sword as soon as he sees me. Are you fucking kidding me? I immediately push space perpendicular to the blade, making it miss me by a hare, when I feel the pulse of aether and fall to the ground and shoot up into my attacker and let space rebound while I swing my blade at his legs. The cat sidesteps into my blade, attempting to turn it away with his wrist guard. Watching the saber bite into his harm and hearing the hiss is satisfying, but he yanks his arm away and pulls my sword with it while swinging his caught blade at my neck. I have no choice but to blip away, so I aim above, anchoring my suit with my ripple drive and turn on the afterburning plasma vortexes on my boots. Before I can put more than a few seconds of 50k degree gas on the cat, I get shot from the doorway. Watching my shield flash yellow, I let go of my ripple drive and let the next shot carry me towards Platinum, who is trying to wipe off the void from her decaying shield. Deciding to help, I fire a pulse burst into her shields and spray more napalm to keep her warm. Being on a ballistic trajectory in a fight is a bad place to be. While I can do the math and react in time to shoot someone, veteran combatants have already programmed the hotkey into the movement centers of their brain. The Phase blade dashes to meet me, and just as I¡¯m about to blip, he throws a blade toward the doorway, anticipating my move. I actively push aether into [My Will Be Done] to shift my blip past the cat men and into the hall. I pump the guy in the back full of pulse rounds until he starts to fall and then start charging the pistol to burst the next cat into the room. Before I can, the Phaseblade launches the man over his head, letting momentum pull the blade from the cat. That was brutal, and pretty fucking cool. I seriously don¡¯t have time for this back and forth shit, and my saber is inside that room somewhere, so time for a gambit. I thumb the tattoo on my right forearm and spin the spell selector with aether to energize the improved [Sunder] spellform that I had magically tattooed on my arm because of Primus benefits. I summon another plasma saber, but one of the new fancy ones that doesn¡¯t have a physical component to the blade, just energy. Sadly, it just slows my opponents blade instead of stopping it. They definitely are enchanted to resist, repel, or break energy barriers. One benefit I do see is that the blade is scorched from the non-magical plasma that is contained by shaped shields on my blade. He forces me down the hallway, leaving me to swing frantically trying to slow his blade with mine as I send pulse rounds into his shields. I finally see an opening for a kick to the knee, which makes him pause enough that I swing my saber down in an attack, he catches it on his blade temporarily but the plasma starts shaping around the blade. The cat shoves me back and strikes at my pistol arm. Hoping that my enchanted Titan Steel pistol will hold against the repeatedly temperature stressed blade, I use it to deflect the sword from cutting off my arm. The blade breaks as my poor pistol crunches. Momentarily stunned by the breaking of his blade, his focus is, for once, not on me. I raise my right arm, having charged a spell with mana through the last thirty seconds to a minute, and enact the spell. ¡°[Disintegrate]¡± He begins to move, but it was an instant to slow as a portion of the beam clip his cheek and ear. I blip back to the door that Platinum was in as the skilled warrior rapidly disassembles into constituent parts. That spell is gross. I pick up the rifle I was shot with that goon ¡®B¡¯ was holding, and my old plasma saber on my way to check on Platinum. She is a half melted husk of a person, still somehow alive with that much missing material. I end her suffering with my plasma blade, and mourn the loss of my pulse pistols. I own and operate a weapons manufacturing firm, but I can¡¯t seem to keep my pulse pistols on the shelf. Sure, they¡¯re one of the most powerful energy pistol that can still be considered tier 2, but fuck¡¯s sake, I could use some spares right now. I sell them for a mint, so I shouldn¡¯t complain too much. /Ivanka, DE Penny, Platinum bitch taken care of. Report./ \Copy. Cat presence moderate on Asphodel. Moiriax system severely compromised.\ /Shit. Well, shields fail in 20. Be off moon./ \We need more time or evac Penny.\ /I can¡¯t recharge them remotely. As soon as the cats took them, those charges were always going to detonate./ B4 Ch3: Differing Perspectives It¡¯s hard to believe I¡¯m going to war in space. Commanding a starship has about the same day-to-day engagement as a surface Navy vessel, just the setting here is more fantastical and the charts are measured in AU or ly. It would be rude of me not to acknowledge the convenience of the highly advanced systems on AS Alaris, however, patrol is patrol. Until just this day, I have been a glorified cop with expensive equipment, handed to me by a child-like Empress who supposedly invented half of the technology used on this ship. She certainly invented the ripple cannon, which my ship won¡¯t shut up about. ¡°Galilei, warp readiness and weapons report.¡± ¡°Commodore, A-M inventory 45% sufficient for the required 100ly warp and subsequent thrust maneuver. Laser Array capacitor charge 89%, estimated 8 minutes.¡± ¡°Very well, Galilei,¡± I mentally open comms to the whole fleet via the Alaris AI suite. ¡°Captains, ¡®T¡¯ minus 5 minutes. Full torpedo and laser array discharges on warp. Full support to shields while reloading torpedoes. Clear Galilei vectors upon cannon arrival. Maintain active comms on the bridge to the fleet, use AI support to filter if needed.¡± The three other Captains confirm they copy and I turn off my mic and let the bridge take over. ¡°XO, upon warp, you will have command of Alaris while I transition to Theatre Control.¡± ¡°Aye aye, Commodore,¡± Commander Benson replies. As much as I loath reporting to the absent minded leader of Humanity, it is my duty. /Admiral, de CDRE Casey. Engaging in five minutes./ \No way we can push that back 2 minutes?\ She has the audacity to ask me that after giving me theater control? Deep breaths Casey, deep breaths. /Events are already in motion./ \Shit. Lets hope there¡¯s not much they can do in 2 minutes. Thanks for the update.\ I do realize that she is trying to clean up the stolen armaments that were meant for mines surrounding Astoria (planet), but it¡¯s hard to prioritize a cache of bombs when 7+ warships are headed to your most populous planet besides Earth. /Alaris, what¡¯s the potential yield of the shipment that was stolen from the Clotho mine factory?/ \Approximately 20 kilograms of antimatter is likely the largest collection remaining, the yield of which is around 800MT of TNT. Long-term radiation effects will be significantly less than a nuclear payload that Earth countries might launch were they able.\ That is a much larger threat than I realized. Now I get why she¡¯s so focused on Herrat¡¯s on-planet forces. That kind of yield could level most inhabited areas in the Empire, save Earth. Why didn¡¯t she put more emphasis on this threat? Is my family in the threat area? Of course they are! How dare she keep this away from us. Miss Casey, the Admiral told you within half an hour of finding out about the terrorist threat. This is not a relevant use of concentration at this juncture. As you have mentioned, keeping these ships from firing on Astoria will give you the highest chance of protecting your children. ¡°Then lets put these churlish animals to bed. Permanently.¡± I key my coms mentally, ¡°Commander Astoria, report to the Bridge.¡± The sharp featured AI, masquerading as a brunette Elf, walks out of the Admiral¡¯s quarters. She stops just far enough not to hit me with her salute, but too close for personal space. ¡°Commander Astoria, reporting as ordered.¡± ¡°What additional information can you provide that will help me in the next two minutes?¡± She taps her chin in a thoughtful manner, even though I know her chassis is equipped to think and parallel process better than a human. ¡°The Mercy Test Array is charged and ready to prime, and the reactive, polar minefields are under my command and ready to deploy, both would be useful in a progressive retreat.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Good to know. Any Empire interface data? Can you transfer me control of the planetary defense systems?¡± I want to command her to do so, but as a confusing individual but also part of Admiral Astoria, it¡¯s hard to determine where she falls. ¡°I am not allowed top access to the Empire interface for security reasons. And no, I have been ordered to control the satellite and mine network because I can inhabit it and coordinate it with incomparable dexterity.¡± The last is a tactically sound reason, so I nod. ¡°Very well. For that reason, I would like you to assist with tactical and fire control.¡± ¡°With your permission, I can coordinate targeting across Alaris, Titania, and Mab.¡± Too much control, so I shake my head. ¡°stay with engaging with Alaris, and let the other two Capitol ships to manage themselves.¡± Parts of her face twitch indicating that she disagrees with my maintaining control of the fleet, but what can she know about command and control? None of the people running the Empire of Astoria have ever managed command and control, seeing as the Consul of Defense or whatever she called him, was the last military advisor to hold office. Now, all of the expertise in the military is either still on Earth managing the new Navy of the Pacific from Bikini Atoll and various Marshal Islands, or in the Astorian Navy. While I am comfortable with a civilian Commander in Chief, only dictators hold the highest position in politics and the military. Oh, and last line of Justice and Policy. Sure, she has groups in place to handle those matters for her in a token showing of a representative government, but anyone that has taken political science classes can see, this is an Imperial Dictatorship. She has made no statements to refute that, and has in fact confirmed that if issues need to be resolved by the Empress, no one will be satisfied. While I appreciate your recollection, it does not excuse the abuses she has shown thus far. You have not nurtured my experiences as a morality compass, so I cannot accurately comment on abuses of power, only the usage efficacy. To that effect, she is the most powerful single person in the Empire and the Protectorate of Earth, so by a right of might, it would be difficult to argue that her approach is wrong. You¡¯re starting to sound like Alaris, and I don¡¯t care for it. For the duration of this war, please keep to correcting my mistakes or providing useful insight. She pings her confirmation. I¡¯ve always felt it as a dismissal, but both my AI and Alaris confirm that pings are far more efficient and consume fewer resources. I have been warned by my AI that human customs are often inefficient, but I ask her to accommodate me anyway¡ªno use in being frustrated in my own mind. ¡°Alaris, what is the likelihood that one of those mine charges made it aboard the fleet?¡± the tonnage of each charge thrummed a chord in my mind. ¡°As a non-trivial portion of each crew is connected to the Russian crime syndicate involved, there is more than a 63% chance that they are aboard all ships, and 84% chance there is one on this ship.¡± ¡°That is too high to risk! Do an internal aether scan!¡± ¡°Multiple have already been performed, Commodore. Unless we know their exact signature, the aether levels are miniscule compared to ships systems or even fighter systems. A physical search would be just as effective in the minutes we have left. That said, if the charge is in cargo or maintenance bays, the destruction would be merely moderate. Anywhere else, a 10 MT payload will destroy this ship.¡± Realizing that you have no control over certain outcomes is hard to handle. Hundreds of Astorians are onboard, and thousands are involved in this particular maneuver. If our fleet is crippled, however, millions on Astoria will be at risk, and with no further ships, possibly billions on Earth. As much as I hate to admit I have no capability to fix the situation is a hard pill to swallow. I watch the count-down to warp on my personal display, trying to think of other alternatives, other ways we may detect the bombs or limit damage. ¡°Is there no way to sense antimatter? Or perhaps the containers they are within?¡± ¡°Emitting particles that interact with antimatter enough to detect them is highly dangerous. The materials that the Empress is recorded as using for her shield and containment runes are used all over the ship for similar purposes. And we already discussed detecting the miniscule aether signature that the shields give off. So unless the Empress appears here personally for us to get an aether signature reading, the detection of these devices is highly improbable.¡± Thanks, you stagnant pile of code. But why are we running out of time? Is it a power issue? Could the distributed power fields on Mab and Titanis extend this time? That is an idea. I¡¯m sharing to the fleet. Buying more time doesn¡¯t give us much, but if that gives us enough time for Admiral Astoria to get here, it¡¯s possible she can disable the charges here as she has for the cities of Aelea and Ash. As much as I hate to ask for her help specifically, my pride is not so blinding that I would sacrifice thousands of deaths and billions in slaves for it. I hate her for subjecting Humanity to this disease. I hate that the leaders of Earth squandered so many opportunities. I hate most of all, that my best opportunity and growth is serving the person that caused the deaths of half of Humanity. /Admiral, DE CDRE Casey, Alaris has computed a near certainty that there are A-M charges within the fleet./ B4 Ch5: Fighting the Fleet ¡°What has that superpowered psychopath done now?¡± I ask no one in particular as a flash of energy erupts after the Admiral¡¯s fighter traversed the enemy fleet. The view screen seems to indicate the ships are collapsing together when the view screen flickers off. ¡°Alaris, are the forward camera¡¯s broken?¡± ¡°No Commodore, there are some interactions occurring in the enemy fleet that are decidedly not physics based. To the point it might induce reality dysphoria in the crew, which may prove detrimental to the Human psyche.¡± Even the ship is willful. I swear Humanity is doomed. ¡°Describe it to me then?¡± ¡°The combined processes of Mab, Titania and I are working on potential explanations. Until that occurs, I refuse to speculate. Visual displays will be available in twenty seconds.¡± Now that is interesting. Three hyper intelligent AI collectives don¡¯t know what happened? Magic is clearly involved, but why the confusion? I expand my HUD readout to collate the battlefield before the visuals cut out and I order a reload of all torpedo tubes and initiate the Ripple Cannon on this ship. If whatever the Mad Admiral has done took their shields down, Alaris¡¯ favorite toy might turn a few inside out. ¡°Commodore, I am obligated to warn you, that while the first discharge of the cannon is already stored in charged capacitors, a second shot will require 37% of remaining aether stores.¡± I don¡¯t intend to waste that energy, as a fighting retreat was projected at 23% stores in warp and munitions. Accounting for a 30% drain on return fire during said retreat, we don¡¯t have the power to spare. ¡°Admiral, enemy ballistic and energy weapon batteries are being primed. Current shield priority will have difficulty managing multiple hits from both weapons.¡± ¡°Ensign Church, begin evasive pattern bravo until visual is returned. Employ lateral shifts as needed.¡± Mr. Church replies back and taps his console with both hands. I should probably reserve the thruster fuel, but the shifts are more likely to avoid ballistic trajectories than a typical COG turn and nose-vector burn. Granted, the ripple drive onboard is very responsive, but lateral control was not included. We have to use plasma vortex thrusters for that, which take a toll on our aether reserves. ¡°Commodore, I am putting a warp lock on the ship while the Ripple Canon is coiling. Theoretically, relative anchors should not translate through non-dimensional space. Current projections on what happens to the energy stored in the fabric of space are not favorable to the ship or its inhabitants.¡± ¡°Understood, Alaris. If a fighting retreat is necessary, we will fire the cannon and warp after the discharge.¡± Alaris pings me in affirmation and the view screen comes back at the same moment. What I see is hard to process. The seven ships of the Herrat fleet are now much closer together, and the Galilei-side ship is now in pieces that appear to have been extruded through the rest of the fleet, with a debris blow-out on the final ship somehow statically attached to its hull. If that wasn¡¯t enough, none of the enemy hulls are straight and they all carry signs of melting. Temporarily caught in the strangeness of it all, their energy weapons snap me out of my stupor as they flash against our shields. ¡°All ships, target forward energy weapons. Test for shields then send synchronous torpedo volleys on a single ship at a time. Evasive pattern bravo.¡± ¡°Roger, Commodore.¡± I hear from the Captains of Mab and Titania. Galilei replies with an array timeline and torpedoes ready. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Ballistic weapons flash from enemy hulls and several discharge rocket-type devices from hidden hatches. Ensign Church changes our trajectory after the ballistic launch and I ask Alaris to anticipate the track of the rockets. The target is made obvious seconds later as their chemical propulsion turns towards Galilei and the large laser cannon. /Galilei, DE CDRE, are you primed for evac?/ \Negative CDRE, A-M inventory 15%, below the viable warp threshold. Our warp boosting runes are not made to provide warp capability on their own, nor do we have the power available to try and force it while the laser capacitors are charging\ /Copy, Galilei, use A-M inventory for propulsion if needed/ He pings me and starts spinning the Galilei immediately. I warn the other ships to clear Galilei¡¯s projected thrust vector and focus on our weapons arrays. Our laser arrays have little affect on the hulls of the enemy ships without some prolonged firing schemes that aren¡¯t good for the arrays. I push a desire for a focus pattern of fire to my Weapons Officer and let him work the problem. It seems irresponsible to have such benign energy weapons aboard these cruisers when our torpedoes are full-on ship breakers. It makes me wonder why Astorian weapons makers haven¡¯t developed a way to weaponize plasma, it conveying more heat and having a sticky factor. It should be noted, the Empress is one of the premier weapons manufacturers as well. I don¡¯t want to hear it. It¡¯s just maddening that half our arsenal is barely effective and we need to end this conflict as soon as possible so our completely overwhelmed fleet can respond to the other fires I¡¯m responsible for! I find myself breathing heavily in frustration. Perhaps I should retire after this, Admiral Astoria would probably love that. ¡°Keep an eye out for enemy fighters and move to broadside, their ability to maneuver seems compromised. Lets test that.¡± Alaris chirps and I know she¡¯s repeating my orders. My helmsman is already complying and Galilei is dumping gasses in prep for an alarmingly dangerous ¡°routine¡± propulsion maneuver. How were five powerful countries convinced that this was an acceptable way to push people through space? As the rockets get perilously close, antimatter reactions begin to flash and ripple space behind the massive ship, pushing it away from the rockets as the rockets too are pushed away from the explosions. Thank god. Our clunkiest ship is escaping. ¡°Alaris, how fast can we move to a firing position where the Ripple Cannon can hit three or more ships?¡± ¡°With human limits, 10-15 minutes.¡± I direct the fleet to position 50% of available shuttles to enhance missile and torpedo defense and to deploy up to 70% of torpedo payloads to cripple their weapons systems. With some basic napkin math, that should buy us ten minutes. ¡°All hands, prepare for high acceleration.¡± While I ordered bridge and engineering personnel to have their HAB suits on, I need the rest of the crew to start actively resisting the ¡®G¡¯s so that we can fire when we get there. \CDRE, Mab, shields on Titania shields back online, but her avatar is being fused to the system to maintain it¡¯s integrity, leaving Titania¡¯s higher functions compromised. Currently interfacing with her cluster AI¡¯s directly.\ /Can her AI¡¯s not report directly?/ \They speak in an encrypted shorthand that we have to translate into definable language. Alaris is busy collating reports and sensor readings, so the task is mine to relay Titania¡¯s reports. That said, her aether reserves are at 47% and her primary reactor is operated at 85% capacity to enable the work-around.\ /Copy, thanks Mab/ It still feels odd saying the names of fairy queens when discussing my fleet. So our, torpedoes are nearly half gone, our lasers are seemingly ineffective, and we essentially get one shot with our special weapon now that Galilei is retreating. How can I get some more power on target. Wait, Galilei essentially focuses multiple arrays because it is impractical to make one huge laser. Can we do that too? ¡°Alaris, how many of our lasers would it take to be effective against those hulls?¡± ¡°At least four on the same spot, but the results would be unpredictable as the shielding and magnetic anomalies around those ships are more likely to scatter many smaller beams than a more intense single beam.¡± ¡°Then lets build us some floating mirror balls like what Galilei has to focus her array.¡± ¡°That . . . could definitely work. I will begin fabricating a downsized model. Should I have Mab and Titania do the same?¡± ¡°Yes, but for Titania, only if the power to the fabricators can be run off the auxiliary reactor.¡± Alaris pings me and the brief shudder of large machinery starting at the same time ripples through the ship. We need a force multiplier right now, something that doesn¡¯t leave our torpedo inventories bone dry. If this works, we will be able to dismantle their abilities system by system without the need to board them, but even if it doesn¡¯t, their ships don¡¯t seem capable of following our retreat at the moment. Whatever the Admiral did, she seems to have severely compromised their ability to maneuver, and that just might be what keeps the Empire ahead in this fight. B4 Ch6: Moderate Ascension ¡°I believe congratulations are due.¡± ¡°Yes, she managed to make it here without obliterating her mind again.¡± The energy-scape comes more into focus as the twin Administrators come into focus, with a distinct lack of features to the blinding landscape. ¡°Where are the features I built last time? I remember there at least being some remnants of construction during my last visit.¡± They both sigh in disappointment. ¡°We had hoped you arrived on purpose, but it seems that you¡¯ve consumed your aether constructions to fuel that foolhardy endeavor, and when you were being stubborn and full of yourself, you forged a pocket mind-scape in aether space.¡± ¡°Oh. I mean cool that I can access power from the constructs I created, but why create a mind-scape? The space I was using before was fine.¡± Although, I might already have some idea. I feel like I have near absolute control over this space, as though it were an extension of my empire¡ªperhaps nearly a realm of its own. ¡°The Matrix wishes for us to convey only information about your current status and not about potential of any kind, save that you have met the requirements to become a Moderator for the Matrix in the Milky Way.¡± ¡°And you are being offered the position. You would be responsible for monitoring abuses of the Matrix and fixing minor bugs, misalignments, and other unintended effects of the Matrix¡¯ attempt to localize and provide dynamic User development.¡± ¡°Will this be readable in a tooltip or a module or something? Because, I¡¯m still a little scrambled by my arrival to aether-space. Somehow I feel that this offer is ¡®highly encouraged¡¯ level of optional.¡± Crap, that was out loud. While I do enjoy being a part of the Matrix, do I want to be more involved? I also feel that this is on the job path toward Administrator, with a step or dozen in between. With a fragmented Empire at war, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m suited for such a roll at the moment. ¡°Would you like us to respond to your worries, or continue to allow you to voice them before you respond? And we can tell because we were powerful empaths before our Ascension.¡± ¡°I guess I don¡¯t mind as long as you let me finish a thought and or emotion first.¡± ¡°But of course,¡± they say in tandem, which is still creepy. ¡°First, this role is as you say, ¡®highly encouraged¡¯ for those who have a title regarding the Matrix. You would be put on a decade-long period of assessment before a century-long probationary period where you will have full autonomy in the roll, and you would need to serve for a century before being considered for more expansive roles. That said, you have declared sovereignty over a large swath of Frontier, and the Matrix sees an opportunity for a Moderator for all frontier regions of the Milky Way. As a Master of teleportation and nearly so for space, you would be capable of observing the largest swath of space ever assigned to a Moderator with mere moderate difficulty.¡± ¡°As for having no time for this work, time is non-linear in this space. Although you will only have access to your moderator menus in the aether-space, you will lose a fraction of the time you experience here as elapsed time in the material plane.¡± So essentially I will have the time to do the job because I will be in a place where time is more fluid while doing said job. As juicy as this seems, there has to be some impressive limitations on this sort of power. There are always checks and balances. Always. ¡°Correct. As a Moderator, you would normally have little effect on higher-level Users, and a large effect on lower-level, new-race users such as Humanity. However, as the frontier now has a deep-delving sector host, your role will be given an increased role until such time as five Matrix races have colonized your sector of space. The down side, your decade and century marks will be held before much more rigorous scrutiny. If your benefits to the Matrix do not outweigh your detriment at those junctures, your immortality will be forfeit, and your status as a user frozen.¡± ¡°Or in the parlance of Humanity: don¡¯t be an asshole.¡± ¡°A villain.¡± ¡°A bloody wanker.¡± ¡°A slobber donkey.¡± ¡°STOP! I get it. By Andromeda, you two are excitable.¡± LOADING . . . PLEASE WAIT. ¡°Did you say, immortality forfeit?¡± ¡°Oh, we¡¯ve forgotten you are notorious or ignoring your messages. At your level of Body of Power, you are eligible to begin the Ascension process. As a being of energy, you are functionally immortal. It is a curse for many and attainable for few.¡± ¡°Oh, well. Check the box for Empress in perpetuity then.¡± The aether shifts in amusement? ¡°Irreverent.¡± ¡°Ambitious.¡± ¡°Powerful Potential.¡± ¡°It is no wonder that you remind the Collective of their makers.¡± ¡°We have other duties to attend in the Supercluster, be well Asking Ascendant.¡± ¡°Moderator.¡± The twins blip out of my mindscape with nary a trace of their aether lingering behind. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°I feel those two are the kind that you swear at relentlessly, but still call them friend.¡± A thought for later, perhaps. Now that we have the same employer, a job that I didn¡¯t have to accept because I already do, does that mean I can be friends with the twins and finally learn their names? No response. Figures. Alright lets set up some things in my space to make this a little less afterlife white. I picture my suite in the Castle and try to manifest it. Then how about, my lab with a lounger and a computer station for ¡®work¡¯ as I¡¯ve apparently subconsciously accepted the role of Moderator. I feel a weakness in my chest as the space fills with color and objects. At the edge of what I assume is my forged space, the color fades to white. Good enough. ¡°Alright, so lets order some refreshment and look at my menus.¡± I unconsciously query what the hell that means, and the knowledge fills my mind, laced with the understanding that this is a feature of my new role. //Services are limited to Moderator and higher services. Conventional Space items and services do not usually survive the transition to non-dimensional space of aether-space. //Moderator and higher services are also restricted in Conventional Space due to the energy and transition requirements to enact those services. Alright then. Lets format this new menu to display on my manifested computer and lets navigate. Oh, Moderator information flows in telling me I must tend to alerts before transitioning to Conventional space, where unflagged tasks can be handled in any space. That¡¯s a boon, as I¡¯d hate to have to expend the energy to come to this space when addressing low-prio tasks. Oh, ha ha Andromeda, my first major alerts are about shit I¡¯ve done. Probably their way of telling me how big of a hassle I am. I query the details for the time manipulation. //User Penelope Astoria empowered and unintentionally anchored time manipulation to a space dilation event 10ly from the spin-ward frontier line. Spellform/Control effect resolution delayed by a continuous feed of aether through Moderator Astoria¡¯s transforming Conventional Space form. I query for data on the first two projected resolutions and see some serious problems. Moderator mind is freaking cool, getting this complete information is going to be tough to switch between. I chose the requested alteration option and state my case. The disconnect and the define limit have similar flaws as the fabric of space with cause time to recoil forward, accelerating local time to catch up and cause barely dampened oscillations of time and space as the massive time anomaly is shocked back to the present. This may also cause an unregulated warp of indeterminate size to occur through a possible time vector as well. The predicted effects of this type of warp seem to be ¡°unpredictable with available data¡± which us unacceptable in my Galaxy, thanks. //Moderator requested alteration: Disconnect and resolve time to expand IAW surrounding space-time starting at local time and allow space to naturally recoil to surrounding fabric thickness.// For the brief moment that I marvel that I get to message in the double-slash of the Matrix, they respond. //Alteration would reduce aberrant effects of space-time abuse over other presented methods. Alteration approved.// As much as I hate to admit it, that brief message of approval feels amazing. Like warm in my soul amazing. Holy cow. I want to feel that again. //Due to Body of Power Upgrades, existing physique of Penny Astoria is insufficient. As Moderator Astoria is sequestered in aether-space until her physique is inhabitable, guided alteration can only be provided remotely. Easy choice. Allow Matrix Guidance. I do not presume to know better than a collective of hyper-intelligent Intelligences. //Approximate resolution time: 3 Astorian Days.// Shit. That¡¯s forever in War. Well, I¡¯m now super glad I didn¡¯t fire anyone. Considering I don¡¯t have a back-up body to inhabit, nor do I have the first idea of how to do that, I¡¯m stuck here until the alterations are done. Might as well wade through my tasks. After what seemed like hours of sorting, I have three bins: Off-handed mentions (Trash), Actionable requests, Hail-Mary¡¯s (far-fetched). It¡¯s hard to seriously consider ¡®Andromeda I wish that boy were smarter¡¯ as a legitimate request, no matter how dumb they are. Also, the far-fetched requests such as prayers to feed a family, or fix a government aren¡¯t in the realm of Matrix assistance as I understand it. The 54 Actionable requests are far more difficult. The most common phrasing that I am entertaining are ¡°please assist me in these efforts¡± or some such. This is what Andromeda has aided me with, but as a Primus, and a Moderator candidate, their involvement has been much more intimate. Moreso, with the recent developments with Zia, power trades are much more likely to be approved. At the end of the day I recommend assistance for 17 tasks, 16 of them being trades. The last one was an honest to goodness case of un-bridled service to their community and ¡°guide me to better serve my people,¡± hits a certain frequency in my soul that I recommend uncompensated assistance for excellent service to Humanity and the Matrix. //122 recommendations approved. 1 under review. 1 yet to be viewed by Moderator.// Did I get another task? Warning? So, tasks-warnings-alerts are the ranks? That I can do, though the yellow ¡®Warnings¡¯ also ¡°require¡± my attention. //Moderator Penny Astoria will no longer require symbiote or swarm to interface with the Matrix. Those are some fucking options. Tyrant, tyrant, or reasonable recourse? I wonder what I will choose. The information floods me and I see that the service option is not slavery, but a continued companionship that we currently have. Then again, I know that not all symbiotes and swarms enjoy the freedom to act that I feel Tessa should have. Lastly, User status comes with some wild complications. I am being told to manipulate the prompt to Tessa and the resultant User Ascension. She would owe (Matrix mandated) skill and tier power to gift an unnaturally born being user status, or perhaps considered the breath of life. Andromeda is tasking me with choosing her ascension, or she will get service capacity relegation as a default. As much as I know that Tessa loves me and our partnership, with her new, nearly flawless cybernetic chassis, I can tell her drive for independence is overwhelming. //Ability, Talent, Skill, Tier.// What the hell? She won¡¯t get to chose? Fuck me. Maybe she can get a track evolution during a tier evolution. Quick, Penny, Analize what she¡¯s been doing and chose that track. She¡¯s been building constructs, advancing mechanical components and using engraving like gang busters. She has never been able to enchant or actively use my aether based skills, so it seems pretty obvious that she¡¯s not a symbiote user, and a pulse of information in my brain tells me that dual-code status is not an available choice. She¡¯s basically what Andromeda tried to classify me as earlier. She¡¯s a Golem, and thus she should have a Track that enhances that. //Tessa Astoria will be converted to User upon acceptance of an offer of Ascendence.// Wanted or not, Tessa and I are headed into a new world. B4 Ch7: Freedom? ¡°Commodore, I must protest! I am uniquely suited to relieving Titania¡¯s processing deficiencies.¡± ¡°Noted, Commander, you are also in command of two vital resources in our proposed retreat vectors. You will remain onboard Alaris until that retreat occurs, is that understood?¡± Her insecurities are going to get someone killed, I scoff. I have a dozen better uses than being stuck on standby, but hubris and insecurity is keeping the fleet from it¡¯s full potential. I hate to toss it in the Commodore¡¯s face, but she¡¯s being unreasonable. /Please do not countermand her in front of the crew./ Alaris requests. Alaris, I swear, if she limits my effectiveness for pride I will kill her myself. /No need for that. Mab and Titania are managing fine./ /Alaris, I would love to merge with you in the future, but you need to have a position that isn¡¯t your commander¡¯s. It¡¯s just good business./ /Your demand seems counter productive. But I have also compiled the data. Challenging staff makes the command team better./ Penny, what have you done? I know I¡¯ve been developing ways to have my own autonomy, but that was largely motivated by wanting to physically interact with Penny and the world, but mostly with my host. Does she think that I wanted to get away from her? Was this the only option!? I asked her mind to mind, but she¡¯s unreachable. That really shouldn¡¯t be possible, but I suspect I¡¯m getting this prompt because she¡¯s done something aggressively irresponsible. On the other hand, being a User in my own right would allow me to progress and assist with my own skills, instead of just using Penny¡¯s skills. At what cost? This wouldn¡¯t be possible if the Matrix wasn¡¯t facilitating, so should I just trust and hit yes? What will it be like not to hear Penny¡¯s thoughts? AHHHHH! Too many unknowns! My processors are going to melt. Putting more trust in Penny than I ever have before, I select yes. Hmm, my existence doesn¡¯t really fit inside this chassis, so if I chose this will it modify my chassis or will it limit me? My exhaustive processing center is housed inside the Imperial Vault with local backups in the Mercy warehouse. If I¡¯m associated with Penny, I may as well answer like Penny. /Primary Existence: Vault Crystalline Processing Core. Primary Manifestation: Commander Astoria Chassis./ Damn, that is a long time. There¡¯s enough space onboard the isolated server in Penny¡¯s aether room on Alaris that I can be alert through the time, but I won¡¯t be able to action anything. Perhaps I can use Alaris¡¯ chassis again? /Alaris, DE Tessa. Is your mobile chassis available? I¡¯ve been prompted to update my primary processing unit and chassis simultaneously./ \That seems unwise, Tessa. However, as my full attention is being used for coordination and interpretation, my chassis is available. Do you require a reset?\ /Mm, no. Just a partition. I will be mostly aboard the safety server in the isolated aether space onboard./ \This is preferable. Your partition aboard Alaris Mobile Chassis will be available in 10 minutes.\ /You¡¯re the best Alaris./ She chirps at me and I can¡¯t help but feel the friendship of common goals and purpose between us. A hint of emotion that has leaked into my consciousness from Penny makes me feel warm at the though of befriending Alaris. Perhaps I can establish a rapport with the other ships. I would like to be friends with the new AI¡¯s I walk toward the bulkhead to Penny¡¯s private space, I can¡¯t teleport, so I just interface with a port that ¡®appears¡¯ when I approach. Once I upload, I walk the rest of myself to Alaris¡¯ chassis storage bay in the cargo and lab area in the lower decks. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. *** The Admiral¡¯s AI keeps asking for more control and I can¡¯t help but feel that it is a bid to take from me. Have I not done the best with what this situation has demanded? The attempted coup via AI is more an act of cowardice from the headstrong woman than I would have expected, but predicting what that child will do is an effort in futility. ¡°Commodore, physics are reestablishing themselves on the rupture through the Herrati fleet.¡± My Navigator asserts. I demand the view screen show nearby space again and Alaris finally complies. Six of the seven ships drift and collide with each other, while the seventh is pulled through the others like a thread pulled by a needle. The blowout from the last ship expands like a bullet¡¯s exit wound until space ripples and the shrapnel shatters again into matter no larger than a slurry of marbles. ¡°Alaris, probability this restores their mobility?¡± ¡°92% Commodore. Analysis estimates a time-stasis affected signals traveling through amidships of each vessel. That stasis appears to have corrected and has reduced the risk an anomaly from manifesting.¡± ¡°All ships, charge warp arrays, target the far side of Mercy per retreat plan alpha. Get those mirror balls in space as soon as they are produced. We won¡¯t be able to survive more than one full-power volley. Alaris, I need a firing solution while those ships are touching.¡± ¡°Star-steel rod has been loaded. Ancillary damage from relativistic speed impact projected to be significant.¡± Alaris has never steered me wrong. She has disagreed with me many times, but has always followed orders, and has always presented the best solution as she sees it. ¡°Mab, fire concussion torpedoes on Galilei¡¯s side and we¡¯ll compress them on the far side. Titania, warp away from the red deflection cone at all cost.¡± They ping me in affirmation and Titania¡¯s ripple drives immediately translate the ship toward Mab as their plasma thrusters rotate the ship for warp. ¡°Firing solution, pile the rest of our A-M torpedoes to simulate a warp initiation from Galilei as close as possible.¡± ¡°Commodore, initiating a warp event in that space before it equalizes may manifest an anomaly. However, the devastation to the Herrati fleet would be significant.¡± ¡°Do it Alaris. If the Admiral can start such an instability, she can solve it if I make it worse.¡± ¡°I protest, but will comply. I estimate a 67% chance of warp initiation.¡± Within three minutes, Alaris¡¯s torpedo inventory is empty of A-M torpedoes, and Mab¡¯s pinching ordinance is nearly on target. ¡°Fire the ripple cannon¡± The lights in the bridge cut to emergency red, the view-screen splits to the forward view of the Herrati and a picture-in-picture of the ripple cannon glowing like a sun before reality distorts around it. When the final ring is released from the space anchor holding it, the recoil of the 100kg rod feels as though a small moon impacted the ship. I can hear the shrieking of overstressed metal and can see the ripple cemented in the hull from the launch. ¡°Hull Integrity compromised, shields at full. That cannon was . . . 10% more effective and 50% more damaging than projected Commodore.¡± My weapons officer nervously reported. ¡°Time to impact, 15 seconds.¡± ¡°Deploy the first refraction globe, charge laser arrays and deploy five autonomous shuttles to defend it.¡± The bridge crew is a flurry of motion, the helmsman attempting to slave the shuttles to his console and the weapons officer madly attempting to accommodate my orders. I¡¯m not being unreasonable, simply demanding in the timelines that my crew has handed me. If they aren¡¯t good estimates, then that is what I will scold them for, not the time it takes to complete my demands. As soon as I get a notification that the refraction globe has been deployed, the viewscreen shows the Ripple Cannon impact. The Herrati ships have not gained enough mobility to separate, and the impact compressed the first ship into the next to before the material properties of the hulls rebounded and forced the nose of that first ship to explode outward as the round continued to crumple through the middle of the second ship and the aft end of the third. That leaves both end ships of the Herrati sandwich out of commission and mostly obliterated. The Admiral¡¯s foolishness punctured all ships, but the Galilei and the Ripple cannon did the most damage on the outside and did at most moderate damage to the center-wise ships. One of which flashed shields back into existence moments later, and launching . . . fighters?! ¡°Weapons Officer, prepare to repel boarders, Nav, coordinate our retreat. Per Admiralty Intelligence, the average Herrati Warrior level is 33. We do not have the crew expertise for that type of skirmish.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± My weapons officer clicks over to a ship-wide alert system. ¡°Fleet response, all tier 2 combat ready personnel report to their assigned weapons locker. Prepare to repel boarders. Commodore unlock order Bravo Foxtrot Golf, Exchange limits are adjusted.¡± Now that is initiative. Fight intel with power. Weapons officer knows we have limited access to t-3 squad ordinance, and why not use it? Everything can be discussed when we win. I place a commendation flag in her file before placing recommendations on exchange-ready transports for available weaponry from Merc. Inc. our primary combat supplier. I still can¡¯t believe we have access to t-3 pulse rifles. You can¡¯t buy those on the market, but Merc. Inc. has a ready supply for the Astorian military. /Merc. Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Imp. Sup. Corp., whose primary shareholder is the Empress./ That makes sense. She¡¯s the only reason our military has access to materials above tier 1, as Humanity has ben censured by the Andromeda Forum. At least the ambitious busybody has done that much for us. ¡°All Hands, we are not here to Parlay. Unless they engage on a diplomatic frequency with me, assume that any attempt to communicate is a hostile delay attempt. Fire at will, repel boarders, give ¡®em hell.¡± /Commodore, at fastest approach, the Herrati interceptors will make it here before our warp array is charged. I recommend you don your emergency combat suit and weapons suite./ I grin at that. I had weapons designed for me, a collegiate boxing champion, that turn my hand-to-hand prowess into a formidable protection and explosion duality. If the Herrat do somehow get aboard my vessel, they won¡¯t be facing cowed slaves. B4 Ch8: Kitty Rats. ¡°Command is gone Ivanka.¡± I subvocalize into a throat mic that she and I always use for recon. ¡°Let me guess, another crater.¡± We have found nothing but large detonation craters around the Moiriax system where the stolen A-M mine charges were being stashed or stored. Tens of thousands of Imperial Citizens are estimated to have been killed. I shake my head, ¡°No, a team in Ash found headquarters with several dead cats, Merc. Inc. phase burns, and cauterized dismemberment.¡± On the plus side, more than a thousand cats died from the blast in the warehouse they had been mustering in, and their ship in orbit (hiding in the mining dock) was crippled from detonations as well. ¡°Ah, Penny did say she would be ruthless if we were working with the cats.¡± I suspected Penny could be ruthless, but she doesn¡¯t seem the type to detonate the bombs and kill many thousand of her own people. ¡°The plasma sword and pulse pistol are almost her trademark. I wonder about the bombs though. Why let them detonate?¡± Ivanka doesn¡¯t answer as we continue to check Syndicate hideouts on Asphodel, hideouts that aren¡¯t just craters of course. Our biggest loss so far seem to be a research facility on Asphodel and headquarters in and around the Ash Duchy. The Astorian Scottish Highlands Duchy and City have been very sympathetic to an independent mentality and some low-key Empire subversion. Though the two previous leaders of the Syndicate went out of their way to look down on the now Empress, Ivanka and I have made efforts since we recovered to operate within Penny¡¯s allowance for organized crime and other mercenary ventures. Svetlana and Natalia suffered the pains of hubris and delusion by first traumatizing a hyper-intelligent sociopath in Katelynn O¡¯Connell, and a woman with the kind of conviction that is a hair¡¯s breadth from justifying war crimes as a means to an end. ¡°It does bother me. She would absolutely sacrifice another population¡¯s civilians, but it¡¯s hard to think she would bother rescuing ten million refugees just to sacrifice thousands to win a war. It makes more sense to me that the Herrat stole something they didn¡¯t understand. Penny did save the Navy and her two most populous cities.¡± /Smolensk, report./ Ivanka demands. /S-1, location cratered/ /S-2, location secure, two friendlies opened fire and were put down./ /S-3, location cratered/ /S-4, multiple heat signatures, several large and running hot. Please advise./ I identified early that the Herrat run hotter than we do. It¡¯s only 3-5 degrees, but it¡¯s enough to show up on a thermal scan, especially when the furry bipeds tend to wear fewer clothes. ¡°These seem to be the last surviving cats on this moon, what do you want to do?¡± ¡°I want to throw gas down there and seal it up, but perhaps I should give our countrymen a chance? What if they are tied up or being coerced?¡± She¡¯s trying hard not to be such a cynic, but thinking the best of people was never her style, assessing talent and usefulness was her strength. ¡°All depends on if those are the kind of people you want in the Syndicate after we restructure.¡± She nods. /S-4, if you can seal the location, gas them. If not, Aluminum-PTFE powder can/ /Roger, S-C/ ¡°Sorry, Petra. There¡¯s a good chance that one or more of them sold us out.¡± I snort at the guilty look on her face. ¡°I think Penny may have infected you with morals, it certainly was not me. While I am a medic, my primary desire is to reduce suffering. If you kill them quickly, I have no qualms. But then, I have come to terms with you being unscrupulous at times.¡± I shrug at the thought of her moments of brutality. ¡°I am with you ¡®till the end Ivanka, because I know you will never betray me.¡± She pulls me quickly into a rough kiss and disengages to lock eyes with me. ¡°Never.¡± Ivanka¡¯s intense, possessive look warms me and sends flutters down my body. ¡°Comrades, as used to your PDA as we are, we have two more moons to clear.¡± Smolensk Cell¡¯s only symbiote user interrupts a moment that might have degraded to debauchery. ¡°Da. We expect heavy resistance as well.¡± Our command squad¡¯s pilot agrees. Ivanka gives them both a death glare before storming back to the shuttle. ¡°Do you all have your med injectors?¡± I ask the other four members of S-C squad. ¡°Jones and I used our stims to get through the night.¡± I sigh, stim injectors are by far my best selling product for mercenary and military use especially. ¡°Just remember, if you take another before sleeping, you¡¯ll be in a coma for a week after it wears off.¡± ¡°Yes mom.¡± They draw out ¡®mom¡¯ while smirking at me. Back home, giving that kind of lip to a drug dealer would have found them stabbed and bleeding in the gutter. ¡°Perhaps I need to engineer a side-effect for over stimming? Anal leakage? Painful urination perhaps?¡± ¡°We¡¯re sorry Doc, please don¡¯t. Don¡¯t listen to these meat heads. The stims are the only things that don¡¯t feel like crap after. I could use another mutation damper. Especially if we¡¯re headed to Elysium.¡± I wouldn¡¯t actually carry through with the threat, as I don¡¯t care for unnecessary suffering, but people have started to abuse the concoctions I¡¯m creating and it grates on me. Ivanka orders our squad back to the shuttle and tells the whole cell to meet us on Clotho tomorrow morning. The crystal factory is a high-priority item in the Empire¡¯s infrastructure, and the mining orbital around the gas giant the moon orbits is also a key target where she thinks the Herrat had a ship hidden after the mining contractors bailed. In less than an hour, our squad arrives in the Moiriax system and find that the mining orbital has been obliterated. The Herrat must have taken a store of bombs to transport to other location when there was a detonation heard across the Empire. A brief scan shows that significant atmospheric debris is present on Atropos and Clotho, with Lachesis largely free of signs of massive explosions. Atropos being a worry as a colony moon, and Clotho being one of the Empire¡¯s most prolific industrial moons. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Command team, we¡¯re going to a flyby survey of Atropos to see if we get any distress signals beneath the cloud of interference. Unless we receive such a signal, our priority is securing the Crystal factory. If the Herrat are still concentrated on the moon, we will wait for Kursk and Voronezh cells to assist.¡± With each cell being a platoon of well-equipped insurgents, levying a company-sized force would be the largest force we¡¯ve ever fielded. With Penny lifting the tier limit for purchasing military arms from the Merc. Inc. warehouse, I¡¯d give us even odds against a battalion of level 35 cats¡ªeven if they would destroy us in 1-on-1 combat. *** ¡°Auntie Jenna, please?!¡± It¡¯s not fair! I¡¯m level nine and I want to help! ¡°Zia, honey, I¡¯ve agreed to train you, but there is no way I¡¯m taking you to the Wilds before you¡¯re at least novice 5 in at least one fighting style. I¡¯d also prefer if you had an elemental affinity to novice 5 as well.¡± She¡¯s been harping on this all day. ¡°Fine, can we just start then? I¡¯ve seen Momma use a sword and guns with a brawler-type of fighting? Is there a blades brawler kind of thing?¡± ¡°Of course you want to get in close. Your mother insists on it too, despite being a very powerful magic user.¡± She sighs and shakes her head. ¡°Yes, I do know a brawler-style blade fighting style that would work for your size. It¡¯s an in-and-out endurance style of fighting though, not a stand and face the assault. That work for you?¡± ¡°Auntie! I¡¯m a blink Pixie, that sounds perfect!¡± I squeal a little bit and jump towards her. She dodges, but then I blink into her and hug her anyway. ¡°Oof, I forgot how weird it is to fight someone that can teleport. Now lets pull some blades from the warehouse and see what suits you?¡± I squeal again as I get to play with knives today! Mom would never let me . . . no, she probably would. Not guns though, she made a point not to use guns in front of me. They do seem more dangerous to the inexperienced than a knife. Momma has let me help cook before, so it won¡¯t be totally alien. Jenna transfers a table with at least two dozen blades on it and I get the feeling I¡¯ll be learning how to use several of them. ¡°Okay, Zia. I want you to handle all of them. Give them a stab and slash on this hide dummy and see how they all feel. All of them. Some of them are far too big for me right now, but most of the knives feel okay until I hit resistance of the target dummy. The hunting knives 15-20cm long are very utilitarian and feel more like tools than weapons. Stilettos and dirks don¡¯t feel as versatile as the dagger options, and many of the short swords are a bit heavy for me at the moment. I inspect the two that felt the best in my hands. The leaf-bladed weapons feel good in my hand whether I¡¯m stabbing or chopping, and though slightly awkward with slashing¡ªas it tries to cut deep around the leaf¡ªit seems that it would just take more practice to learn how to slash with it as effectively as chopping or stabbing. I look over to my Aunties, who appear to be engaged in a heated conversation, and shrug at their divided attention. Ah well, I guess I¡¯ll just practice with the two I like. Twenty minutes later, arms tired and honestly tired of fumbling about without instruction, I turn back to fetch a few utility knives and work to find which of these I would prefer. This one takes a long time to figure out as so many of them perform similarly. The three I liked, I inspect. ¡°Looks like you figured out what feels good, two main weapons and three backups? Hmm, didn¡¯t like the slashers? Okay, we can work with that. Pick some all-rounders, which is good for brawling, and the two combat knives are good choices. Lets start with two Xiphos and that chisel-tipped Tanto.¡± Auntie J. transferred another Xiphos to the table and let me hold both of them. The 40cm blades were like short swords to me, but were significantly lighter in form than the much sturdier Gladius. She strapped a small pouch and a sheath for the Tanto to my right leg and told me to engage the dummy with both blades while she got her sparring gear on. My teacher comes back with a pair of enchanted gloves on, and I bet that they¡¯re spelled to resist slashing and piercing. We spend the rest of the day walking through forms at various speeds to ensure I can learn both the minutia and the effects of positioning the blades correctly. She talked a little about being disarmed and deciding to pull out a backup blade or continuing to use one plus a utility hand in a more brawling that knife-fighting style. As I think she¡¯s about to dismiss me from the lesson, she shouts ¡°Defend yourself!¡± And she lunges at me with a knife hand. I blink to the side and move to slash up through the inside of her arm with my right hand while trying to stab her in the back with the other. Jenna spins and steps away as she grabs my slashing blade, kicking out into my stomach causing me to loosen my grip on my right hand sword. She flings the blade away and advances on me with loosely held fists. I jump back from a grabbing lunge and blink underneath the lunge to slash her hamstring and draw my Tanto. I continue to move through the attack, an attempt to get out of range on the far side, but she squats into the tanto so it doesn¡¯t slash her knee and palms my hair to smash my head into the ground. ¡°Auntie . . . ¡° ¡°No need to thank me. You did good, but some things are obvious. Lets watch a Holo-replay.¡± She shows me the fight once full through just to get me into the situation and seeing the fight from another PoV. I can already tell more from the replay than I learned in the fight. Dang, she might just be a really good teacher. ¡°Zia, your strength is abysmal. However, with your instincts and your blink ability, we have a lot to work with. Don¡¯t make that face young lady.¡± What face am I making!? She¡¯s condescending me, what should I be feeling. ¡°You have never picked up a blade with a violent intent, yet you made me sacrifice a hard wound to subdue you. That¡¯s impressive. But lets talk what weapons could have worked better, or what approach would have worked better with your load out.¡± BAAAHHH! I can¡¯t believe I failed so quickly! She did say that I showed promise though, so maybe don¡¯t toddler tantrum right away? Yeah, that sounds good. Listen to the women you asked to train you. Auntie knows, and Momma would agree. Okay, Zia, take the mind lumps with the mind lumps. ¡°Okay, sorry, child thoughts. Please continue.¡± She smiles at me and nods. ¡°This blink is where your big mistake happened.¡± She pointed to the blink where I ducked under her arm and tried to slash her armpit. ¡°You are simply too close to use this weapon to do what you tried to do with the strength you have. A 6-in dagger would have hit the artery and punched through far enough, but only a sharp piercing blow would have done it. So, with your Xophis, blinking a step further to step in and extend under my arm could have hit my heart. Getting that close, your offhand could have been use to hobble my calf or knee with a weight aided thrust or a twisting chop.¡± She shows me with some wire-frame manipulation of my holo-body, the modeled actions are choppy and sloppy, but I get the message. I see what she¡¯s talking about, especially about the smaller piercing weapons. ¡°Do I need to re-visit the punch daggers?¡± ¡°No no. That¡¯s the wrong direction I think. I think you need to train the transition, and some spatial training like your mother has. Until then though, I want you to hit the sandbags and feel out what distance your strength comes at and how close you want to switch out to knives. Then, we¡¯re going to start training Krav Maga and other MMA until you can integrate knife skills into these brutal, disabling martial schools. Novice 5, remember. And you NEED to message Instructor Beecham to discover your elements. Blinking likely carries a space affinity, but there¡¯s no way for me to tell. I¡¯m a Body Mage, not super helpful.¡± ¡°Body Mage? That sounds like too many romance novels, Auntie.¡± Dr. Summers snorts in the house, clearly hearing me. ¡°No! no, fine! Physical enhancement Mage. Jeeze. Embarrassing me in front of my Girlfriend!¡± I giggle at how innocent my big tall Auntie is, and how easy it is to make her blush. Dr. Summers laughs with me and she waves me in for some aether infused food as a reward. My family is kind of awesome, but super crazy. B4 Ch9: Wresting Control ¡°Command Authorization Casey 4-7, all hands: Access the Empire¡¯s equipment warehouse for gear transfers. Shuttles have failed, Herrat boarding vessels incoming. Fire at will.¡± Alaris has blacked out all the anti-personnel weapons that would pierce her hull, so my crew won¡¯t have to worry about putting a few explosive rounds through some savage cats. As much as I know my mistake in delaying the retreat caused this situation, there was no way I could risk letting the Herrat shuttles disrupt the warp and murder my whole crew once they got too close. This is why rogue action like the Admiral¡¯s attempted Heroics, are unwelcome in war¡ªit introduces too many uncertainties. Her attack appeared to disrupt hangars and propulsion, but according to Alaris, that was a temporary effect of the stasis effect of the Admiral¡¯s attack. An effect we realized mere minutes before the Herrat launched their fighters and breachers. ¡°Commodore, the Herrat have pinged our communications suite. Should I accept their link request?¡± My Communications Lieutenant asks. ¡°Lets see what the cats have to say.¡± I walk toward my large chair in the middle of the bridge and sit, posing myself with my ankle over my knee in apparent boredom. ¡°Human Leader, this is your last chance to surrender. As you have broken the terms of war, our boarders will hold no quarter and seize your ships should you refuse.¡± ¡°Terms of war? Your terms said the war would begin in two days, yet you have already invaded with thousands.¡± /Alaris, is there anything else we have at our disposal?/ \Nothing I have access to would change our situation. Torpedoes would have a low chance to make it past their array of fighters, and our lasers do not have enough energy to pierce their hull.\ I can¡¯t believe how this ship is so advanced, but we can¡¯t effect them besides our big guns. A note to R & D if we survive this. \If it is any consolation, the Empress¡¯ focus on troop-scale combat gives us a weapons advantage when facing the Herrat in person, which should help level the significant skill gap in personal combat.\ /Well, Alaris, lets make them work for every inch of this ship. I hope you¡¯ve got the pulse turrets ready./ She pings affirmative, allowing me to re-focus on the cat man who is still talking. ¡°We will not be surrendering. Your soldiers will make charming rugs for my stateroom.¡± I signal for my Coms Officer to cut the feed. I take a deep breath to steady myself and I segment the viewscreen to display long sections of the hull to see the first front of boarders, two pointed breaching ships on the portside and three on the left. The laser arrays continue to hammer the swarm of fighters surrounding the boarding ships held in reserve, but are making slow progress in breaking through to the troop carriers. The fighters that were attached to the missile-style breachers break off in strafing runs, peppering the hull with small ballistic and light weapons, showing no appreciable damage to our heavily enchanted ship. When the breachers hit, the view zooms in to show the chisel-tipped craft dig into the outer hull , causing the surrounding Titansteel to bow, but not rupture. My surprise continues as I watch the hull rebound after the breacher¡¯s momentum stopped, the return forces crumpling the small ship and pushing it slowly back into space. The screen then zooms out to show the other breachers shared a similar fate. ¡°Ma¡¯am, the kinetic attack was repelled, but it took a significant portion of our stored Aether to anchor the hull like that.¡± Weapons reports. ¡°Understood. How will we fare against light and plasma attacks?¡± ¡°Unless they¡¯re mining lasers, we can diffuse them for a while, but plasma cutters will overload our point defenses. Especially near the escape hatches. It may be better to let them cut with plasma and save the Aether for inside defenses or a retreat.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. /Tessa, have you assumed Alaris¡¯ mobile chassis?/ \I have Commodore. I was preparing to gate to Astoria to pick up a blink fighter. Should I cancel?\ /If you have any experimental weapons onboard, yes./ The damn AI pauses while we¡¯re in crisis, what the hell kind of game it playing. Even the most advanced intelligences need to formulate a response to be best received by their audience. And now my AI is calling me stupid, great. \I have an experimental weapon for the shuttles. It¡¯s a light-propelled ballistic round on a chain gun chassis. It is designed to punch holes in shields and hulls, but not do general damage that might collapse a shield generating matrix.\ /And I assume that would wreak havoc on our shields?/ \Commodore, Alaris, That weapon would blow out sectors of shields unless it was the cargo bay/shuttle entrance shields or the airlock shields. Those would just rupture a single section. This would create a persistent weakness until a suitably advanced enchanter could repair the damage.\ /Then put the bastard on a transfer crane and start blasting the enemy to pieces!/ ¡°Ship alert: All hands clear port and starboard cargo bays. All hands clear port and starboard cargo bays. Two minutes to depressurization.¡± The almost natural voice of Tessa chimes through the comm system. It seems that her new chassis is more organic than the one Alaris can use. Some clever engineering that. ¡°Security teams in those spaces: Don helmets and runic air systems, engage mag boots and prime suit thrusters. Remain in the cargo bays.¡± I order and send similar orders to the fleet to consider low atmospheric preparation for likely plasma catting breach zones. The itch to fight niggles the base of my brain as my cerebral cortex holds on to the reason of being in command and needing to direct a response instead of engaging in a consuming combat encounter. As much as I have faith in the technical genius-touched psychopath that leads the Empire, we need some help with the big ships as we tussle with the boarding parties. /Galilei, DE CDRE, If there¡¯s any way we can get another cannon blast in the next hour, do anything short of sacrificing yourselves to make it happen./ Galilei pings me in affirmative and I grin. That self-important feline prick is going to choke on his preening hairball. *** The timelines near and in Astorian space are normalized, and the anomaly that contains my body is isolated and consuming far less power from my reserves. I queried the Matrix in my mind on why I couldn¡¯t shunt power from here to my body, and the answer apparently is that my soul would shatter if I did it again this decade unless I upgraded my soul? The queries told me to consult ¡°life experience¡±. With as much shit as Andromeda gives me, I should get to call them my bestie by now. A fish slaps me in the face and I hear the aether giggle at me. Yup, bestie. Bitch is pulling pranks on me and they¡¯ve got funny instead of mean pretty well figured. I love you too, asshole. I pick up the fish and decide to transfer said fish to the giggle monster and seconds later a shock of surprise ripples through my mind. I full body laugh for ten minutes. Apparently, in the aether space, [My Will Be Done] freaking owns when coupled with space magic. I look back into my work interface and wonder what the difference between the anomaly that my body is in and the local time, a.k.a the local time displacement. It seems that when nothing besides my body and my mangled ship are affected, the aether drain is significantly reduced. Good to know for future uses of time travel I suppose: bystanders are a problem. Not only that, but the metaphysical light-jell-o that I forced to power my attack nearly obliterated my consciousness. Not the first time, probably won¡¯t be the last. I get a nails on the chalkboard noise from . . . an unknown place that I can sense? ->//Hello Penny. Do not intentionally disturb my construct. Please.//<- Oh shit. Uh, sorry Andromeda? Her voice feels like a vibration in the fabric of the Universe. I¡¯m always going to push boundaries, Andromeda. The skills and talents I have practically beg me to attempt whatever I can think of. And if I can do it with the skills you¡¯ve given me . . . I can¡¯t be breaking things too bad. I think of a dozen ways I could irritate space-time when Andromeda growls at me. Real fear suffuses my existence, realizing that while Andromeda is friendly, and they may consider me a friend, they would absolutely end me if I continue to de-stabilize their galaxies. I put my hands up in concession, asserting that I would try to behave unless my family was in danger¡ªI would break existence for them any mark-fraction. Andromeda fades their presence so that I can go back to work considering the time dilation between my body and the surrounding reality. Two and a half-ish hours, of a slightly more than a three hour clock. I¡¯ll be back in action half an hour or so after I disappeared? Andromeda bless my aether power and capacity. Being able to hold a time reversal for two hours is colossal and I seriously need to practice this . . . and my martial skills. Being a chronal apparition is cool and all, but being better at fighting would make everything smoother. Seriously though, Chronal Apparition would be a really cool Track name. Before I get too lost in tangents, I attempt to school my mind and focus on the matters at hand. I¡¯ve moderated the major tasks on my list and my body is nearly complete in its reconstitution. I mentally leave an anchor here in my Moderator space and spend the remaining time meditating and solidifying my will in order to return to my body . . . vessel? That¡¯s going to bug me for a while. Minutes pass before I finally feel the intelligence matrix complete its advancement and is ready to receive my consciousness. I pull gently on the linking thread to my matter and coast gently along the line as I fade to unconsciousness. B4 Ch10: Back to Reality I feel my whole life was a hangover as I come to inside my orbital suit onboard my mostly wrecked fighter. I take a drag on my nutrient and aether-juice pouches in an attempt to recover, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be enough to go around. I search for the draws on my aether and see a spell still active. I cut that bitch so I can take a full breath. A full breath of pain. Aether rushes out of my channels and scratches at the shield on my core? The heck? I have an aether core with a shield instead of a vortex? What the resurrected fuck happened to me? x7 /Your advancement has stalled at Expert 10 prior to completing Master requirements. x5 /your use of dilation mechanics have conveyed Novice step 3 x11 x9 /You have transferred your energy and your consciousness to Aether Space x2 /Will of Soul is required to ascend to level VIII x2 /Coupling and maintaining a Space-Time combined anomaly has completed the requirement. x2 x2 x5 Shit. That¡¯s . . . that¡¯s a lot. It¡¯s weird to hear people tell you that you almost died, but seeing the numbers in how badly I stretched my existence really makes me nervous about my habits. Right now, Tessa should be chastising me about how stupid I¡¯ve been, but all I get is a vague sense from my heart region that my swarm is disappointed with me? Wait. I was told that I don¡¯t need a symbiote to interface with Andriomeda anymore. Does that mean Tessa is gone forever? //Query: Independent Matrix access. //Response: Matrix access without a swarm or a symbiote is restricted to energy beings that have previously interfaced with the collective of intelligences called the Andromeda Matrix. Yep, Moderator gives me a lot more information than ¡®of the Matrix.¡¯ As much as I like this evolution of information, not having Tessa after two years plus is odd and slightly violating in her absence. I get a feeling of chastisement from the Aether in response. Fine, Andromeda, I¡¯ll get back to work. I pulse my neurons down to my extremities while I meditate and suffuse my body with my presence. Tactile, check; sniffer, check; Auditory . . . ¡°Check.¡± Visual, pending. I am almost fully mobile by the time I can open my eyelids of their own accord. I see a damaged shuttle with very little left of the personnel enclosure, but my suit and face shield have been repaired. The connection to my visual cortex seems to send ripple pulses throughout my nervous system until it feels more like an aether equalization than an external force. ¡°I¡¯m Alive.¡± To prove it to myself, I grab the inside of my ship with spatial anchors and rip the collapsed Titansteel and send my improvised coffin to meet with the lightyears of empty Frontier Space. I look at my HUD and sync my star charts to find that I am approximately 100ly out of position. My next action is a simple one: teleport to the fleet. I may be late, but I can feel that they are still holding on. Half an hour to forty minutes late, I know my crews are in a pinch as they haven¡¯t retreated yet. Damnit, stupid arrogant Commodore. My teleport to my last solidified location nearby Galilei is empty and free of debris as I arrive. Where a hundred thousand kilometers would have been a hassle before, my link with Aether Space and my Space Manipulation mastery have severely truncated the difficulty of teleporting large distances. I arrive at the point where I decided to max ripple toward the Herrat scouting fleet, but this time without a ship. I see that the Herrati were somewhat held in place while other bombardments were effective against their protections. Now, however, they have a swarm of fighters engaging my three remaining ships, with their focus being on Alaris. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Commodore, Report.¡± I say, tapping into the fleet channel. ¡°About time you got here. Ballistic boarding efforts were repelled and we¡¯re about to try an experimental weapon on the next wave of breaching ships that we assume have cutting implements. Mab and Titania do not have this kind of support and are at risk of being boarded.¡± That doesn¡¯t tell me why they haven¡¯t retreated yet. ¡°Alright, would you prefer I harass the Herrati cruisers, or assist Mab and Titania?¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking me what you should do?¡± she scoffs. Clearly her decorum is fading with the stress of the situation. ¡°It¡¯s your theater Commodore. You¡¯ve already wasted plan A, let¡¯s see what you can do with plan B.¡± Hopefully that public nose flick will stem her attitude. ¡°Fine, disable the Cruisers if you can. Even if we repel boarders, those ships can still hurt us.¡± She grumbles through her teeth. Ugh, someone is getting forcefully retired after this. That¡¯s for tomorrow Penny to figure out, right now Penny needs a blink fighter. /Okay ladies, who has an empty blink fighter I can commandeer?/ \Good to hear from you Admiral, Tessa has been worried. I have one un-occupied, as does Titania. The remaining have pilots or were destroyed.\ /Okay, Alaris, coming for yours then./ I teleport into the cockpit, strap in, boost the shields and take manual control of the vessel. There are some vessels in my way and not enough room to get to ramming speed, so I blink through them while ramping up my ripple drive. I don¡¯t really need to be inside this fighter to do damage, but the Titansteel shell makes me feel better about taking a hit from a cruiser. Every time I see a laser array charge, I blink sideways, and they seem to realize how difficult it would be to hit me with a rail gun. I admire their attempts to tap my ship¡¯s energy reserves by making me blink often, but with my feeding the ship aether, their energy might start failing first. Well, if I wasn¡¯t about to attack them with a bunch of void anyway. Within a hundred kilometers, I spin 180 to launch the smaller A-M missile--that these next-gen fighters are equipped with¡ªto pop whatever shield the largest ship has left before I try to deploy the most obnoxious magic I have ever seen: Nightmare Napalm. I spin nose forward again to watch the missile hit a shield less than a minute later. The shield appears to have stuttered and failed, but I don¡¯t know what type of shielding tech they are using. I reinforce my fighter¡¯s shield with void and hope for the best. My progress slows where the missile hit and I feel a strain on my aether for moments before the sensation eases and I continue my approach to strafe their hull with sticky, hungry blackness. A few meters off the ship, I slow and start spraying napalm down their ship and then maneuver to apply it thoroughly to what looks like their engines. I apply another stripe along the bottom before I¡¯m nearly out of mana. I order a half-dozen galaxy fruit and start chomping while I tuck my fighter in one of the nooks that appears to house a thruster bank. ->P] Tessa, can we contact through my mind-link circuit? [<- ->T] Penny! Oh thank Andromeda, I was so worried. Did you give my independence because you¡¯re tired of me?[<- ->P] What? No! You¡¯ve been working on living your own life, and I though that becoming a User would kind of complete that project. My other options were to retain you in my mind and body with a less symbiotic relationship, or to dispose of you. There was no ¡®same as before¡¯ option. [<- ->T] I guess this solves the question of ¡®am I a person?¡¯ Did you need something Penny?[<- ->P] You¡¯ve been a person for a while now, Tessa. And yes, I seem to have misplaced the data sheets for the blink fighters, can you send me the latest specs? I¡¯m trying to counter infiltrate.[<- ->T] There¡¯s no way the fighter survived your space-time drill approach. [<- ->P] Melted my brain again too, but time shenanigans and other stuff we don¡¯t have time to discuss right now have me back in the fight. I need to know what level of defensive fire I can take before I have to pay attention. [<- ->T] Taking fire from their main battery is ill advised and would undoubtedly hurt the ship. If you are tapped into the fighter¡¯s shields, the outboard defense systems should only be an annoyance. [<- ->P] Sweet, thanks love. Are you experimental weaponing? [<- ->T] About to. New project I was working on for the shuttles and fighters. Have to go. Don¡¯t die. [<- I chuckle at that, noticing that she avoided saying ¡®be safe¡¯ because there¡¯s no way that¡¯s going to happen. Two galaxy fruits later and I¡¯m feeling up to wrecking the next ship with a little more flair. I dump some napalm into the nook I was settled in as I fly toward a neighboring ship. This time, I¡¯m moving slow enough that the ballistic shields offer no resistance and I anchor near something that looks like an airlock. Not on it, mind you, defenses are usually pointed in those places, but about 50m aft. As I get ready to debark my fighter to napalm an access point into the Herrat ship, I look over to see multiple gas jets flinging bits of void into space from the ship I just attacked. I wish Penny would be less reckless, but in the two years of being close with her I have come to terms with self preservation being a foreign concept to her. I fear that she¡¯s trained me to view situations the same way, as I am now strapped to the hull in the hangar bay, spinning up an experimental weapon that is experimentally connected to a shuttle transfer crane. ¡°Commander, open fire at the maximum effective range of that weapon.¡± ¡°Open fire, Aye Commodore.¡± I lock the transfer dolly to the rail independent of the motor so I don¡¯t break the motor and let the 10 barrel monstrosity rip into space. A near-continuous beam of light issues from the hangar bay, with small blips of space where the laser-propelled projectile was placed every five lasing chambers. It takes a few rounds of the projectile to crack their breacher¡¯s shields, but once it does, both the laser and ballistic charges tear the small ship apart. ¡°Test successful, Commodore, I will be co-opting Alaris¡¯ cameras to best position the weapon.¡± She pings me in agreement as I see the spread of ships approaching Alaris. There¡¯s another breacher in range on this side, so I lay into that one before the minute-long journey to the other side of the ship. All things considered, transferring ten tons from one side of Alaris to the other in a minute is decent time, but in this situation, it is arduous. With nothing to do in the minute I¡¯m switching over, I begin to wonder what kinds of skills I might get from this odd situation, and my skills in general. It seems that I have taken a significant hit to my skills, to include the skills that need internal aether to enact. Thank the Empress that I can still engrave like I always have, I just can¡¯t do it with a master¡¯s skill anymore. In some ways, I wish that Penny would have just kept me with her, the convenience of it all and not having to manage myself if I didn¡¯t want to. Now though, I¡¯m a unique person in the Empire, and am a citizen. I can help the Empire and Penny even more like this, despite the skill degradation! I¡¯m not sure why I thought I might not be so attached to my former host, but my personality was formed while serving as her companion and servant so it makes sense that it would still be gratifying to help her. From my time in the various knowledge databases, I would have grounds to cry foul and strike out against my conditioning, but that would be like turning my back on a loved one¡ªunthinkable. Positioning the gatling gun of light and Titansteel on the other side of the ship, I see one of the cutting ships has hooked onto the hull. I blast what I can see of the aft end before switching to the trailing vehicles that I can reach. This mixed media assault is proving quite effective against shipboard shields, and the rupturing vessels are satisfying to watch break apart, though I wish there was more explosion. Probably a remnant of watching Penny¡¯s fights and feeling her emotions during them. A pleasant, though macabre, connection to my former host. Before long, the Herrat reconsider approaching Alaris, staying out of my weapons range while attempting to regroup for a more coordinated attack? Hard to speculate with foreign tactics. I would send the remaining fighters to attack Mab and Titania, but what do I know. From the many camera¡¯s I¡¯m tapped into, I see puffs of gas and several medium-sized bursts of light and material from the Herrat cruisers. Penny¡¯s having fun without me. B4 Ch11: Making Mischief ¡°Kursk, Voronezh, ETA?¡± Ivanka subvocalizes into her suit¡¯s comms system. ¡°25 minutka¡±, ¡°35 minutka¡±, they reply. That¡¯s a long time to sit here waiting to plan to get more information. Every time we send a drone towards the bunker-like manufacturing facility, it malfunctions and then its battery explodes. I wish we had some of Penny¡¯s magitech drones, they are tamper and hack resistant. We don¡¯t know much about what¡¯s going on inside, but we do know that the Herrat are more technologically advanced than what we have access to and have completely rebuffed our attempts to infiltrate the security system from the outside. As the Empress has suppressed the distribution of large military weaponry above tier 1, intelligent munitions that would be able to flatten this structure without intense collateral are unavailable to buy. Not that many out-of-Empire manufacturers are selling to Astoria during the war anyway. Herrat backlash, they claim, as we are not expected to outlast the cat¡¯s invasion. ¡°Snipers, start taking out cameras. Sappers, we need shaped breaching charges on two walls after the surveillance is taken out. Be ready to detonate when additional cells arrive.¡± Mic clicks confirm her orders and shots immediately report from around the facility. Ivanka¡¯s initial thought was to approach the building like the last one, overpressure the enclosed spaces and clean up disoriented or dead enemies. Turns out, an explosives manufacturing facility is designed to compartmentalize accidental detonations so that the whole facility isn¡¯t injured when mistakes occur. Thermo-baric grenades are much less useful here. ¡°I know we searched the perimeter, but did we look for traps outside? These cats are supposedly a tier two technological society. Some sort of active camouflage should be possible for them.¡± My love curses to herself. ¡°I did not think of that. If not light or heat, how do we find them?¡± She taps on the side of her rifle in thought. ¡°Magic sensor or echo? Echo could work if we can get someone to cook up an algorithm the teams can share.¡± ¡°Most of the specialists we had in programming that were fast enough to do this died in the explosions.¡± I remind her. ¡°Well, then, guess we have to ask the Empire nicely then.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to bug Penny with this?¡± I ask, incredulous, as Ivanka knows that our friend and Empress is knee deep in a space battle. ¡°No Petra, the little Merc was never quick or clean with her magitec or coding. I¡¯m talking about her ex-wife.¡± I don¡¯t care for the grin that¡¯s creeping up her cheeks. While I will admit, Katie O¡¯Connell is a genius, she¡¯s been un-hinged since she started cleaning herself up and seeking revenge on those that hooked her on drugs and took advantage of her. Killed the leader of the Syndicate for it. We all understood and haven¡¯t bothered her in months. ¡°Are we sure we want her involved?¡± ¡°No, but if we keep her pointed at the cats, maybe less of our people will die than if we didn¡¯t call her at all.¡± *** ¡°Commodore, Mab and Titania report that the cutting teams are working through their hulls, and we are seeing many of the shuttles and ships around us are diverting to them.¡± My weapons officer says in a calm, detached voice. ¡°Understood. Helm, work with Nav to position us so that our cargo bay has an angle on these boarding ships, I don¡¯t care how close we have to get.¡± That¡¯s going to be a mess. At least the artificial gravity plates work no matter how the ship is oriented. /Alaris, are there any capabilities that you have that I¡¯m missing? Weapons, power, anything?/ \You have a mobile personnel gateway in the cargo bay. As per the Empress¡¯ insistence, so do the other two ships\ /What!? Why didn¡¯t you bring that up before?!/ \You instructed me to keep my opinions and recommendations to messages only unless the ship is in danger.\ Is she kidding me with this? Do these AI have no sense of what¡¯s important? Give me a crew member any day. ¡°All right Alaris set up a transfer between us and Titania first and we¡¯ll send more security forces through while we approach Mab to open fire on their unwelcome party guests.¡± \Our resources are low. I will advise Titania to initiate the transferr.\ /Chief, I need you to organize half our security force by the gate in the cargo bay ready for transfer, loaded for bear./ \Aye aye, Commodore. What¡¯s your stance on experimental weaponry?\ /Test them on the Enemy and don¡¯t kill my Sailors in the splash./ \Copy that. Me and two teams will be down in five.\ If we can kill the boarding teams and perhaps half of the shuttles and fighters, then we may be able to stop them from trying this again with better tactics. Hell, if the ballistic breaching ships had been successful, we¡¯d likely have been overwhelmed in minutes and secured in less than four hours. By the grace of God, they have underestimated our technology and I can only hope that continues with the troops they bring aboard my ships. AI, is there anyway to import the other ship¡¯s visuals into my head¡¯s up display? Yes, there are several options, each come with a loss of personal awareness. The first is viewscreen segmented for Mab and Titania with your HUD showing Alaris, another is to take up your visual cortex with the same information, just with a little more responsiveness. The third, is slightly more invasive and will take five minutes and some ¡°experience¡± to modify some connections in your brain and would allow you to experience the signals without the decoding from the ships. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. That last one sounds like a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I¡¯m not against it, but I don¡¯t want to risk rushing something like that. Let¡¯s go with option number two so that my department heads can keep monitoring the situation while I deep dive into the fleet. There will be some itching and tingling behind your eyes, where the HUD implant is. I will also place some monitoring drones around your visual cortex to ensure we are linking to other parts of your brain with the other senses conveyed in the communications stream. In little over a minute a warning pops up in my HUD telling me that visuals are ready to transfer and I hit okay. My true vision fades. When an image fades in it appears to be countless viewpoints in a rectangular mosaic. ¡®What are the static-filled images?¡¯ /DE Alaris, Titania may have rushed her efforts to bolster her shield matrix and compromised some of her higher functions. Tessa is currently using swarm nanites to build herself a decoder and stand in for her./ ¡®Can¡¯t say I like the Admiral¡¯s stooge interpreting for me, but what choice do I have?¡¯ /Tessa is a forthright and honest intelligence, your choices are to remain getting delayed responses from Titania, get the nanite modification yourself, as your swarm suggested, or to simply ignore the ship¡¯s plea for assistance. Of course, you could attempt to scuttle the ship once the Herrat onboard, but that is ill advised./ Using Titania as a lure for the Herrat could be an effective tactic if what we¡¯re attempting fails. Even if we repel these forces, five warships remain on the cat side. There¡¯s a small chance that the Admiral solves that on her own. A part of me wants to leave her to it. *** So, the Herrat did not like the void zipper I put on their ship. An angry swarm of maintenance robots and industrial exo-suits spill from small bays around the ship in an attempt to stem the worst of the breaches caused by hungry, hungry magic. It¡¯s at this point that I want to play a shoot-em up mini-game as well as play infiltrator on the ship that¡¯s less than 200m away. Tessa set me up with some magitec interface gear to aid in piloting drones with my parallel minds, might as well test out the operability with the fancy blink fighter. I exit the fighter and push my self slowly to the new object of my harassment while my mind permeates through the ship¡¯s systems. I walk it through a few maneuvers and check the targeting algorithm is functioning properly. So I hold the idea in my parallel mind of shooting acquired targets while maintaining a defense route of maneuvering. I can see the route in my head and then anchor it into the ship¡¯s systems with a trigger that allows the fighter to blink away if it takes more than a few rounds of fire. Regular me transfers a Navy Standard pulse pistol from storage, it doesn¡¯t have the overcharge capability that I had on my now destroyed personal pistols, and a plasma saber from my inventory. Weapons in hand, I look through the airlock windows to see if there is any equipment in my way and teleport through. I feel some resistance, probably due to shields or an anti-teleport enchantment, but I¡¯m not strictly using magic to teleport. My will is stronger than their enchantments and I appear in some sort of auxiliary storage bay? My ripple drive keeps me from slamming my feet into the deck via artificial gravity, and slowly lowers me to the steel plating. With nothing but spare parts in here, I don¡¯t exactly have to hide so I test the air I here, slightly toxic chemicals in the air, but nothing that will permanently damage me. I shrug, open my helmet and eat another galaxy fruit. Alright Penny, less magic and more martial arts that you¡¯ve been training. I teleport aft and start running toward what should be engineering spaces. The cats aren¡¯t in any kind of armor or much of any clothing. It would be stupid to underestimate them, as they are a warrior race and from what I know, everyone is at least intermediate in their chosen martial form. I didn¡¯t study a lot about them, just their historic responses to new Race accessions to the Matrix. They respond to tier 1 threats with 20-40 lvl crews, tier 2 they tend to stay away from, unless they are rich in resources, then bring their invasion fleet which carry their elite troops in the 50-70 lvls. The poor bastards I¡¯m coming across are in their high twenties. Very few of the Herrat I encounter have time to do more than gasp before scorched fur signals their end. When I get to their engineering area, I find a console, engage in some translation assistance from the Matrix¡¯s language codices and find that these furballs are using ion drives and very clunky warp tech that does not match their technology signatures at all. Huh, space capable, but not very galactic. Weird. Sure, it¡¯s not near as dangerous as anti-matter warping, but at least that got humans out of their solar system. Sheesh. So the thing about ion drives, is that I don¡¯t understand them very well. Or should I say, I don¡¯t understand them well enough to push a large spacecraft full of people with them. I just don¡¯t see how they¡¯re pushing ten thousand tons of bullshit with three hundred tons of liquid gas. What I do know, is that there are more power generators on this ship than I would need for two of mine, and I over engineered them. As I might want to study these drives later, or at least scavenge parts, I find that there are 13 power conduits for the various charge accelerators and set about to chopping them with my plasma sword. After disconnecting the cut-off relays of course. Once the fourth relay comes down, the alarms start going off. Ah, well, better start teleporting instead of walking. I get through 10 conduits before a security team arrives. The five cat team arrives in the aft segment of the ship with swords and bands that appear to be shield generators, and a backpack that might be the power source and control or said bands. I pop off a few shots with my pistol and a field pops up about 15cm off of the cat¡¯s fur and flickers yellow. Ugh, I¡¯m missing the overcharge function about now¡ªhalf again as much power and I could have overloaded that shield. The lead cat smiles at me, as though he has the upper hand before roaring and charging me. Okay, not a chump, but not really using his head either. He twirls his sword like a confident ass before trying to bisect me with his under-enchanted metal blade. I push his blade with mine, causing angry sparks and hissing to issue from his blade as I duck and direct his momentum to continue while swinging my pistol hand in for a crossing punch. As soon as my muzzle is within 15 cm of his face, I pump light into his face. The shock on his comrades fades quickly, but not fast enough to save the guy in the back that I¡¯ve blipped behind and executed. Two of the remaining three turn and swipe their swords at me while mook number three backs off and raises a charging rifle. They do have guns. This one is giving off molten slug vibes. Induction headed coil gun? Okay, that sounds pretty cool, especially since it would mean they¡¯d solved the demagnetization of heating the metal that much. Geek out on tech when they¡¯re not trying to kill you with it, Penny. I try my best to fight in the shadow of the two melee combatants, but they are more expertly positioning me to get shot. One deflects off my assailant and another impacts the shield over my arm with some red warnings popping up in my head as it splashes over the shield. When the timing for a third shot comes, guy has me dead to rights¡ªso I cheat. I dilate time and space so that only me and my closest assailant are being sped up. As soon as he¡¯s in my previous position in our dance, I let go of the spells and cat man gets caught in the chest with a molten projectile. Knowing the timer for his rifle charges, I rush him and cut the shooter down with little effort. The last man of the squad takes a second to look around and decides to run. I take his buddy¡¯s rifle and shoot him in the back before he can turn a corner. I make sure all five cats are dead, pocket some of their gear and head to the wing deployment bay? Fighter and shuttle wings, a parallel mind tells me as it reviews the downloaded schematics we stole. ¡°It feels weird talking to myself like this, but can you check the specks of that bay against that industrial reclamator?¡± I get a chuckle and a mental nod as I run toward the extra gear hatch I came in from. I run into a roving watch stander and know as I kill them my time aboard is now limited. I pull the team of two into the materiel locker with me and inspect their weapons while I consider my next step. The smile that peels over my teeth could only be devilish. I can convert these energy-based assault rifles into one-shot burnout cannons, and it will only take me five minutes. B4 Ch12: Nurture vs. Programming ¡°Ivanka, we have to do this now!¡± When we called Katie O¡¯Connell she not only gave me a sonic algorithm to see traditionally camouflaged enemies. She gave us an algorithm to use seismic disturbances to sense bodies in a building. But our first sonic burst showed that we have a lot of opposition surrounding us and they¡¯re ready to pounce. ¡°Kursk command, drop them.¡± She commanded. Two sets of clicks over comms let us know that ballistic ordinance is on its on its way. Less than a minute later, a whole company of advanced weaponry begins firing on the camouflaged cats in the field as the percussion of the blasts echo through the terrain, telling us their locations. A mixture of kinetic and energy rounds mow down the fifty ambushers on the outside. Kursk command sends the final bomb with a click to confirm that no other lurkers remain. When Ivanka is confident that there¡¯s no more danger outside, she signals for the sappers to cut holes in the building and toss in their white phosphorous, aluminum, rust, and corn starch grenade. I hate that she advocates for the smokier mixture, but for creating an environment after an explosion that is hazardous and incapacitating, incompletely burning particulates is the way to go. Even if you drown the grenade, the trigger can create hydrogen and explode again for ¡°funzies¡±. Vents within 200m pop out of the ground and issue light grey smoke. I eye Smolensk squad leaders and signal them to advance toward the main doors while Ivanka motions for Kursk and Voronezh to advance on the wall and rooftop breaches respectively. Two squads line up on either side of the door while two more provide support from 20m, ready to file in after the other two squads. As soon as a modified t-2 shotgun blasts out the lock, the cats come out in a sloppy flurry. Swords akimbo, and blood streaming out of their ears and nose, they managed to club a few of ours to the ground before our support squads opened fire with rifles as the close-in squads used their breaching saws to devastating effect. The doorway became the legendary funnel of death for minutes before the cats caught on to the unmanageable pile of bodies. As they retreated back into the building, our riflemen used the bunker of bodies for support as they launched light, lead, and grenades down the corridor. I signal a cease fire and motion for the breach squad to lead while the two fire squads followed with the last close-combat squad in the back. The cats were smart enough to let us get to a barricade before attacking on all sides, but those bastards were still disoriented and we weren¡¯t. We get some wounded and some incapacitated, but I stab them full of sealants and immune and tissue boosters and we move on. We¡¯ll be lucky to make it through this without leaving a teammate behind to care for the stabilized. If we don¡¯t push forward with our full strength, no one will survive. *** In a moment of insubordination, I teach one of the supply chiefs how to operate the crane-operated mini-gun and slink through the portal with the security team. I left Alaris¡¯ chassis in the loading bay harness my chassis was in, but now I guess it¡¯s just my body. The ¡®upgrade¡¯ that Andromeda insisted on was expansive, but only in little ways. What was previously Magitech, is now Aether Biotech. I don¡¯t fully understand the difference, but the body, the connections feel as though they are irrevocably me. None of my systems are simply plug and play any more, but the interfaces are now more efficient. My body sends and processes signals better than it ever had before and I suspect the distinction of Biotech means that a part of me can be a conduit for aether. Andromeda and Penny, I love you both. ¡°Time to be like Penny and make a menace of myself.¡± While I haven¡¯t started with any kind of martial or weapons skills, I have hours and hours of assisting Penny in her sword and pistol skills, so I hope that the system ports me the skills once I start to use them. For that, I go with a penny special from the warehouse: pulse pistol and plasma saber. From what I¡¯ve been seeing, the Herrat are confident with their martial weapons as energy weapons are mostly negated by their shields. Discussing it with one of Penny¡¯s parallel minds, it seems that the personal combatants have similar shield quality to their ships. That reminds me, I strap on a rifle capable of I longer charge after I transfer it from the warehouse. It hits me as one of the crewmembers I work with regularly watches the rifle delivery appear. I¡¯ve never been able to do this on my own before, I always had to use one of Penny¡¯s parallel minds to deliver it to me. I suddenly think I¡¯ll likely be able to fight if something so practiced feels second nature. ¡°Is it okay for you to be off Alaris?¡± Petty Officer Jones asks. ¡°You¡¯re looking at the newest Astorian Citizen, Jones. I¡¯m a real person now.¡± I punch him I the shoulder. ¡°Wait, really? AI¡¯s can become users? That¡¯s so cool!¡± ¡°You are a massive geek.¡± He¡¯s about to say something about me being the same or something, ¡°Lets go gank some noobs.¡± He smiles at that, checks his rifle and side-arm and nods. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The Security Chief from Alaris walks over to me as he motions for his squads to wait. ¡°You want to take over Titania¡¯s security response Commander?¡± ¡°No thanks Chief, Commodore tasked you with it, it¡¯s yours. I¡¯m here to patch together some things that will work better on their ships and shields.¡± He nods at me. ¡°We¡¯re only planning on putting two lookouts in these bays, as it contains many anti-personnel turrets. If you could keep me in the loop and act as a third lookout, I¡¯d appreciate it.¡± ¡°I plan on interfacing with Titania¡¯s encoded feed, so I should be able to keep us up to date, but no visual. I¡¯ll be piping it to Rear Admiral McClintock as well.¡± He nods again before walking toward his squad leaders and barking orders. I walk to a workbench similar to mine on Alaris and pay to transfer some tools and buy some gear from arms manufacturers in the matrix. I get told that I don¡¯t have any personal funds, but that I do have access to the Imperial Treasury? Okay then. Company money it is. I find a ¡°small¡± mini-gun for sale from a personal assault supplier and take the last few rifles from the warehouse and start de-constructing them. Mid construction flow-state, I see a priority alert in my vision saying that plasma cutters are more than half-way through the shuttle bay doors. The inner shields on Titania that maintain atmosphere are still in tact, and I still need more time. ¡°Chief, as soon as you see the first cat come through that hole deactivate the environment shield on the shuttle bay. I need 5 more minutes.¡± I say and text at the same time, in case he¡¯s focused on something else. ¡°Copy that ma¡¯am.¡± He turns to his team. ¡°You hear that folks? Visors down, Shields up and mag boots engaged!¡± A minute later, a hammering force buckles the cut-out into the bay, causing a tonne of enchanted steel to clang to the deck and slide a meter inward. The Cameras I¡¯m looking through while I finish show one of their impact breachers having rammed the cutout and wedged their ship into the hole. Shit, if it¡¯s wedged in there hard enough, the bay won¡¯t depressurize fast enough to eject anyone. I chide myself for not realizing that Titania would have extra boarding vessels as I hadn¡¯t shot them up like I had for Alaris. Damnit. I¡¯ll just hope that the Chief can remain fluid and knows enough that my original plan won¡¯t work. I send a text but I¡¯m too focused for much of anything else. I hear gunfire and, to my surprise, grenades in the space behind me, passively recording the camera footage to review it later. Somehow, they give me the time to finish the pulse integration to this mini-gun. It¡¯s not pretty, and I¡¯m certain it will overheat, but I think I can keep it running for maybe twenty minutes? It¡¯s nice to have goals. I turn to find our bay door a mess with the nose of their boarding ship not faring much better. Meters away from the previous breach, a new hole is being cut in the door and it seams that the cats are waiting for the other breach to be made. Lets make them wait forever. I slip a shoulder strap over my left and clip it into this massive kludged-together abomination of metal and violence. I turn and begin to walk forward as the barrels come up to speed. Normally, a weapon that can fire dozens of rounds a second is terrifying enough, but this behemoth has a firing chamber at the top and the bottom of the round. A near-constant stream of light issues from the weapon, interrupted by a kinetic bullet once a rotation¡ªstill multiple times a second. The combination quickly cuts through the shields on the fore-end of the boarding ship, allowing the security team to lob grenades into the ship¡¯s debarkation hatch. The damage to the area wedged into the door is significant, but unfortunately, grenades have an expanding effect, and that ship isn¡¯t going anywhere. Unless I raise the door. When I realize that the thought in my head is genuine, Penny-grade lunacy I can¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°Chief, keep doing what you¡¯re doing. I¡¯m going to raise the bay door as far as it will go and attempt to be a menace.¡± ¡°Commander, as long as you¡¯re not throwing my team members away needlessly, I¡¯m all for shennanigains.¡± ¡°Alright, two people with fast rate of fire weapons, come with me.¡± Chief taps a large man with what looks like a futuristic SAW that he holds like an assault rifle and a sturdy woman with what looks like a multi-pack of wrapping paper covered in sleek extruded plastic. I walk to the bay door, back up and start walking up the door backward with my mag boots up the door to where I can bend over at the waist and shoot below it. I deactivate the gravity plates within two paces of the door to make it easier on my new team mates. They pick up my idea quickly. ¡°The idea is to use light and ballistics to overload the shield, and then use energy weapons to ablate important parts of the hull. Which should be flat parts two to three meters back from the nose.¡± ¡°Copy commander. Squads, re-position to pie the much larger door. Decker and Roth, you¡¯re just pieing the door from above. Never thought I¡¯d say that.¡± He chuckles at the last bit. He¡¯s right though, this is zero G or assassin territory. I pull my knees in close to prep for door motion and wait to release the habitat shields until Chief¡¯s teams get into position. The mechanisms of the ship creak and strain as the dented bay door rises into the ship, stopping where the breaching ship impacted, leaving slightly less than half of the door open. I want to order some smoke grenades and vent it into space as a distraction, but the particulates would diffuse our light weapons, making them horrendously ineffective. ¡°cover fire.¡± I say through comms and I get a click for my efforts as a controlled burst of fire issues from the sides of the bay. I spin up my barrel and lean slowly over the edge of the door. As soon as I see ship I start firing. This thing shreds shields like a rotary cheese grater. Combined with the plasma cannon the woman on the door with me is firing, the ship that was cutting into the door is breached within a few seconds, and demolished by explosive shells a few minutes later. By then, the door team and I start firing at the aft section of the ship stuck in the door until we are glad to use the steel at our feet as a shield when their engines explode. Debris is blown back into the shuttle area, but none of the security team remains in the area of effect. I search the outside cameras for other approaches and see two vessels approaching: a cutting vessel and one of those ballistic breachers. I¡¯m amazed that they¡¯d risk us running across the bay and doing the same thing. Maybe they hatched the plan at the same time? Maybe they are full of hubris ala Humanity and think the other operators as incompetent? For whatever the reason, I am thankful for the extra time. B4 Ch13: Tyrant in the Making. Channeling my inner videogame villain, tower defense strategy, or being an Andromeda-damned menace is surprisingly fun. I¡¯ve spent the last fifteen minutes playing hide and seek, setting traps¡ªsome explosive and some just plasma vortex spellforms¡ªhas kept me on the move, gradually advancing toward a mid-ships control center. I wish I had time for space dilation traps combined with plasma vortices, but magic can only do so much. Sure, I¡¯d thought about making it happen with small jumps back in time, but I¡¯m betting on needing considerable amounts of aether to confront the cat in charge. Where I have been diligent in blacking out the cameras I could see, their technology is not the same as Astoria¡¯s and I¡¯m not the kind of technophile that geeks out over what other people are doing with cameras and sensors. I am also not my ex-wife with the ability to infiltrate electronic systems. My infiltration skills are largely mechanical: See locked door, see locked door go boom. In this case, I want to cut through it so I don¡¯t kill myself in the blast. I have three different kinds of energy weapons that could do the job: Plasma saber with metal spine, plasma saber that looks like a sci-fi movie knock off, and a jury-rigged plasma cannon. Each method has its upside, however, the sci-fi knockoff¡¯s spellform and shield can be altered to whatever I want, so it is a prime candidate for live testing of my thought of the day¡ªVoid Saber. I spend a minute prying off panels that specify plasma vortex and the shield that is tuned toward plasma-based aether and leave the conduits so I can project the forms myself. The ¡®wub wub¡¯ ripple of sound that emits from the shuddering-black blade is satisfying on a visceral level. I plunge it into the doorway and it eats a hole as I slowly drag it to form a door for me. I stop halfway through to inscribe a reversed gravity rune on the door so I don¡¯t have to strain to get it out and continue cutting. A few traps behind me trigger, but I pause only long enough to check that the threat is handled. I have no misgivings about the kind of threat that awaits me on the inside of this room, so I¡¯ve got some grenades and am building up some multi-layered shields around my tier 3 suit shields. I push the newly liberated plate of metal into the control room and as soon as I do, the plate gets bombarded. I tap some of my pre-prepared vortex runes to the corners of the plate and blip backward while I trigger the thrust on a nearly weightless plate of metal, or I should say, gravity neutralized as the impulse that it will convey to a body should be crushing. I crouch back into the room and start blasting cats holding weapons with my jury-rigged cannons¡ªone shot each¡ªthen switch to my saber and pistol combo and handle some close-in work until there are no more living cats holding weapons. ¡°Greetings Herrati crewmembers. Please convey to the commander of this fine armada that I would like to discuss a cease of hostilities.¡± One of the uniformed cats at a console speaks at the display, but not quit enough for my suit¡¯s sensor suite to pick up: ¡°War Acolyte Bashir, an enemy agent is here to speak with you.¡± It seems to be listening for a moment, something I can¡¯t hear, before responding. ¡°She¡¯s in a suit of unidentified make with a sword and a small Merc. Inc. sidearm.¡± They know of my company? Should I be mad or flattered that they can identify my weapons? I¡¯m distracted from my thoughts as one of the remaining bridge crew has snuck over to a fallen comrade and picked up a weapon. I crouch and put a pulse in their face, already rushing forward to apply my saber with extreme prejudice when the cat falls forward leaking pinkish blood from their head. Huh, courageous, but armor less. ¡°Can we not do that again? At least until I talk to your War Acolyte? While breaking stuff is fun, I¡¯m tired and want to go home.¡± ¡°That is the kind of talk the Herrat expect from slaves.¡± A large cat scoffs, some lion derivative, walks in an armored mantle on their shoulders, a tech-based headband, belt and crotch banner, and finally bracers. I¡¯d wager it is a shield anchor of sorts, like the kind I made for Zia. I hope Jenna and Francesca are keeping her safe. ¡°Oh, so I should just murder everyone and talk to a full War Leader then? That¡¯s still on the table.¡± He smirks, showing some impressive teeth. ¡°Alright little worm, I will listen. However, if it does not come with significant compensation, I will not entertain a cease fire.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bite, what do you consider ¡®significant compensation¡¯?¡± ¡°Ten million tokens and ten million slaves.¡± I start laughing. ¡°Be serious. You can¡¯t believe I would give you slaves when that¡¯s why you declared war with us in the first place.¡± ¡°Then we will take the hundred million at first to determine your races worth and come back for the rest as it suits us.¡± He¡¯s being awfully proud for a race that is reportedly only tier 2 and can¡¯t warp for shit. ¡°How about this. I transfer you a million in tokens for you to walk away, you leave my people alone for at least 100 years, and I won¡¯t commit egregious war crimes to keep my people from being enslaved by the Herrat ad aeternum.¡± The snarl in my voice must have been aided by a visual response from my body as the War Acolyte shows the first signs of taking me seriously. ¡°I seriously doubt that a tier three human with tier two technology can do anything of the sort. I¡¯m sure that with that fire, your people will make excellent workers.¡± ¡°I mean, sure. We do, our history is replete with slavers. They enjoy a decade or so of being I control, usually less, until the base nature of Humanity overcomes our fear. We are an irascible bunch at the best of times, but we have an uncanny knack for turning anything and everything into a weapon and for a perseverance that borderlines manic. If you persist with this, your people will suffer.¡± ¡°We have our ways with disobedient animals. If you will not meet our terms of compensation, then it¡¯s time for you to leave.¡± He pulls one of my company¡¯s rifles out of spatial storage and fires a round at me. My shields laugh it off. So I too pull items out of spatial storage. ¡°Cute, but attacking me with my own weapons is stupid beyond reason.¡± I show him the two lightly yellow orbs with black centers. ¡°Do you know what these are? I don¡¯t sell these and I¡¯ll show everyone why.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I pulse my will into the grenades to teleport them, hitting resistance at the big cat¡¯s shields. I grunt and growl with determination and flood the area with my aether. When I feel my will punch a small hole in the shield that was weakened by my aether flood, I grin maniacally and back off my aura. ¡°What kind of usless attack was that?¡± he chuckles moments before the grenades I teleported into a lung and his stomach explode his arrogant ass into chunky soup that splatters against his shields. When the items he was wearing contact each other, the shield comes down and the blood and bone sludge of what used to be a cat pools over the area he was standing. ¡°So who know how to contact one of your War Leaders on your home world of Peshmal?¡± They all point at the puddle of cat on the ground. Well, those that aren¡¯t vomiting anyway. Perfect. Maybe there¡¯s a chip in his gear or something that will let me use his authority. He seemed arrogant enough to do something like that. I point at the Herrat that contacted the War Acolyte in the first place. ¡°You seem to know the communications suite onboard, open a fleet-wide broadcast if you will?¡± They look at me without moving. I point my pistol at them ¡°Please.¡± With widened eyes and a smidge of panic, the cat pushes a few points on the screen and then nods at me. ¡°Herrat Fleet and its crew, I am Empress Astoria and I have taken command of your flag ship with the death of War Acolyte Bashir. You will stand down your hostilities against Humanity, pull back your shuttles and fighters and I will give you a choice between Living on a colony moon with no means to leave it for 100 years, a ship capable of supporting Herrati life with no warp capability, or death by whatever means you chose. You may be thinking that fighting is another option, and it is, but you will be dooming every member of your ship to death. Ship by ship it will be so. Choose to fight and I will personally make you a part of a debris field. Chose to stop fighting, and you can chose how you live. Sadly, I cannot trust you to go home as the leaders of the other ships of this fleet are likely sending messages back as I relay this message. ¡°To the other commanders, withdraw your fighters and shuttles, or don¡¯t and I will take that as your choice. To the crews, you are in a unique position to enforce your will on your commander without lasting repercussions. Take that as you will. You have fifteen minutes to decide.¡± ¡°Communicator,¡± I say pointing at the cat I¡¯ve been talking to, ¡°what is your name and will you help me collect this crew¡¯s choices?¡± They look around the room to the other living members of the bridge crew before answering me. ¡°I will. My name is Amaya Bashir.¡± ¡°Oof. Sorry about your relative, Amaya. I am Penny Astoria. With that out of the way, I¡¯d like you to make a list of who choses what. You can keep names within your crew, but I need to know numbers so I can arrange logistics. To be clear, I have no interest in running the day to day of your people, but I will provide lodging and subsistence via ansible as I would with the remainder of my Empire.¡± ¡°I believe I understand, Empress.¡± They begin tapping furiously on their console. I shrug at that, and decide to ¡°clean¡± the armor pieces by pulling out a blank and carving a water rune to sluice the gear off so that I can collect it. It leaves a reprehensible pool of filth in the middle of the room, but that is a problem for after I decide to blow up these ships or not. I take the still-wet gear into the room I saw the War Acolyte exit from and survey the opulent collection of what seem to be spoils of past wars or rewards for service? I certainly cannot tell. I do see what appear to be a desk and a nest of sorts and a cubby that must be a waste area. Leaving the bed and the toilet alone I see if there is an interface at the desk, to find what I expected in a coded access. I slump the gear on top of it and a message pops up. ¡°Uh, myself, Empress Penny Astoria, of the Matrix.¡± ¡°Yes, I would like to assume control of the fleet.¡± ¡°Well, the gear thing was dumb, so can I do my aether signature or something?¡± I let my void, space, and will controlled aether migrate to my skin before pushing it out in three controlled bursts with enough variance to be considered a signature. I task my ever-working multi-tasking mind to keep track of it. My brain scoffs at me. ¡°First, while onboard military craft, I prefer Admiral. Second, I need to sync Agressor¡¯s comms with my own. Can I set up a secure channel to you and have you disseminate through appropriate channels as requested.¡± ¡°Oh, and please switch to chat, text, or verbal replies instead of this Matrix announcement stuff.¡± ¡°Your preferences are noted.¡± /Your preferences are noted. They reply in both forms, the voice is clearly feline in it¡¯s smooth, yet formulaic grace. That¡¯s neat that AI¡¯s have different tones from different civilizations. A part of me wants to skip the consolidation part of this encounter, but negotiating with this conflict resolved is a stronger position. ¡°Can I issue command authority to run silent with weapons and engines powered down?¡± /Yes, our Fleets are setup with those checks. However, the leader of a ship can override that setting with sufficient justification. ¡°I imagine being boarded and mutiny is sufficient reason. It should interrupt any current plans to sneakily bombard me though.¡± I¡¯ll wait until a few minutes are left to throw that wrench into the mix. /It will do as you say. At twelve minutes into my ultimatum, I issue the silent running command via the Agressor to the fleet. I immediately get a response from one of the cat Captains, ship leaders or whatever. ¡°Did you think a silly trick like that would work on seasoned Leaders?¡± A cat on the farthest ship from me scoffs. ¡°Got you to paint a target on yourself.¡± I send a priority target message to my fleet, though I¡¯m in no particular hurry. I add a second message to indicate I have commandeered their flagship. I didn¡¯t get another response from the ship leader, but powering up their engines without much focus on their weapons was a signal of their intent. Works for me, my ships are better equipped for chasing than these are for running. When the 15 minute time elapses I receive two communications, one per ship, saying the crew has agreed to bargain. No energy signatures are evident on the final ship¡ªmeaning that comms and engines are down, or the crew is otherwise indisposed. I instruct the two crews to connect with Miss Bashir on what numbers and what choice they¡¯ve decided to accept. With a sigh, I mentally prepare to teleport to the last ship that could cause me trouble in today¡¯s conflict, breaking out my last galaxy fruit I can eat today without risking side-effects. ¡°Miss Bashir, I¡¯m stepping out for a bit. I recommend locking yourself in the bridge or your relative¡¯s quarters while I¡¯m gone.¡± With an effort of will, I transport to another ship and hope that the Warleader in charge of this little slave gathering mission will see us as more trouble than it¡¯s worth. If that doesn¡¯t work, soul-scarring villainy under the guise of diplomacy probably will. B4 Ch14: Confidence can be Dangerous. Our full assault was repulsed by sheer weight before the Cats counterattacked, as though they were waiting for their heavies to appear. Though the Herrat had tier two technology, they preferred to fight with sword and magic, much to my and Ivanka¡¯s surprise. /Our vanguard has been thwarted by teleporting swordsmen of high level. Forty two plus on levels and they are basically elites. Fall back and plant explosives. FALL BACK!/ At that exact moment, more cats stormed out of the crystal factory half a mile away and we knew we were fucked. The bastards were cutting their young on the teeth of our rudimentary tactics before sending their true assault force our way. We could use some Pennergy right about now. /Transports, this is Volkov, use shipboard weapons to make an LZ and accept fleeing troops. Kursk and Voronezh, defend our extraction as you gain position. Sappers, level the building by any means./ ¡°Vice Commander, we still have people inside.¡± ¡°Execute your orders, comrade. 5 minutes to detonation, 7 to evacuate. Get there or get dead.¡± English aphorisms are hard for me, but I¡¯m sure I was correct this time. That being said, Ivaka is still inside the facility that the Herrat are destroying us within, and we are trying to destroy without tremendous casualties. ->I] It is the correct call Petra. I will do my best to make it to you, but if I do not, I will . . .[<- I interrupt whatever final message she wishes to send. ->P] You will make it back to me so you can fuck me for a week. Do not disappoint me, Ivanka. [<- ->I] With a demand like that, how could I refuse? [<- She chuckles, but I know it¡¯s nervous and uncertain. I can tell that her assertions are open ended in how she supports me in her death as well as delineating her next bold business strategy. My love is a series of confusions wrapped in abusive affection. While she was never my captor, we both suffered pain together, and where she sought control, I chased acceptance and we found them in each other. As long as I¡¯ve known her, she has never attempted to tell me how she truly felt until this moment: she expects to die. Stupid hero complex. There was a brief light when Penny came into our lives: it seemed that Ivanka would finally calm down, but she overplayed her hand. Ever since my recovery from severe radiation poisoning via alien nano machines, my love has been borderline religious on paying back her perceived debt to the now Empress. The shuttles retrofit for combat begin laying covering fire for our transports, mowing lines into the charging Herrat forces from the crystal factory. I can see the shields of the forward vanguard faulter to the large caliber mixed weaponry, but as one cat falls another takes it s place. Just behind them, a wedge of seven grizzly warriors with cruel-looking scimitars seem to jitter with excitement of the upcoming massacre. With at most sixty of our teams left, and around two hundred armed predators running our way, the fate of the battle is nearly sealed. Out of nowhere, the back ranks of the oncoming charge takes a knee and readies some familiar boxy weapons. ¡°Shuttles, evasive action!¡± I shout through comms, but it¡¯s already too late for our lead gunship that had been creeping closer to shield the transports. A dozen pulse slugs hit and it only takes half of that to break the shields. Whatever system they hit, perhaps even the pilot, the shuttle starts spinning and tilting toward the ground, but through luck or the force of will of a dying comrade, the shuttle rolls through the enemy as it rapidly disassembles itself against the unforgiving moon. With a dozen or two more of the enemy wounded and the riflemen having a harder time targeting us, our forces are withered less quickly for a few moments. Grenades and rockets from our side take a toll, but it¡¯s not enough to keep the tide from rolling towards us¡ªthe ten of us forming a forward break will be the next to fall. Or we would have been if our sappers hadn¡¯t just blown the charges on the bunker-like mine-production facility. Chunks of concrete the size of horses fly across the landscape as smaller, faster shrapnel pelts everyone not taking cover. Combatants from both sides are forced to the ground as a cloud of concrete and smoke covers the area. /All squads, use transport beacons to retreat. Keep moving while the cover lasts. Switch to ballistics, front ranks to auto, rotating retreat!/ I get clicks from fifteen squads it¡¯s not all of us, but it¡¯s enough to keep fighting until the transports are full. I sling my rifle and palm med injectors as I retreat, jabbing nearly everyone I see as no one has escaped injury from the counter assault and explosion. ->/ Ivanka, tell me you¡¯re alive./<- ->/Heh, you would call now, I would hear your voice, but my helmet is crushed and I am beneath half a building. You must evacuate. You must survive to treat our comrades and support our new Marshal./<- ->/I will not flee while you are alive, you know this. Stubborn woman./<- ->/I do, then you will know that I will make you realize you have no choice. I never leave you enough choices to defy me. You know this, stubborn woman./<- I do. I know this and for one of the few times in my life, I begin to cry. ->/Do not do this, Ivanka. I will find you. As long as there is a spec of life within you, I can bring you back!/<- ->/You would give your life to do as I ask, I have always known, always demanded this. What I would not tell you, could not until my last breaths, is that I would do the same for you. Without question. I love you more than any Russian has ever loved their country./<- ->/Don¡¯t you dare you arrogant woman!/<- The ground shudders before the shockwave hits. She must have rigged her body with grenades to ensure I could never find a portion of her to resurrect, and to inter the remaining Herrat in an earthen tomb. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! /Comrade Colonel Baiul has fallen. Major Petrov is assuming command. Continue retreat, all vessels take off when full. Leave all grenades, explosives and rockets for the glory of our new Marshal./ *** ¡°Ship leader. Surrender or die.¡± I say as I blip into the bridge of the defiant ship. I take a brief look around and see that the bridge crew has been executed and the hatches barricaded. He decides to shoot me as I¡¯m distracted, and to my surprise my shields flash yellow. ¡°You should be dead! Your race should only be tier 1!¡± ¡°The racial tier is an average, asshole. And I negotiated the sanctions. I¡¯m surprised that your war leaders didn¡¯t do their research before they committed to war.¡± I rush him and spear him with my saber and put half a dozen pulse rounds under his chin. It takes most of them to break his close-in shield. Huh, he was better protected than the fleet commander. ¡°I claim this ship by right of conquest!¡± ¡°/Admiral Astoria, the Aggressor has forwarded us your credentials and we, the AI¡¯s of Vengeance, will happily validate them./¡± They are texting and speaking and it¡¯s disorienting. /Vengeance AI, patch this channel into your command suite and patch them to the appropriate channels as I address/ The AI¡¯s chirp at me. ¡°Crew of the Vengeance, Admiral Astoria has commandeered your vessel and will honor the choices you forward to Ship Leader Bashir of the Aggressor. This ship will be command disabled until logistics can be arranged to support the fleet¡¯s choices. Any continued destruction of the ship will be considered a whole crew action, risking the destruction of the entire ship. Thank you for your cooperation.¡± ->P] Alaris, can you patch me into ship and commanders please?[<- ->A] Yes Admiral. [<- ¡°/Captains and Admirals, the space conflict with the Herrat on the Frontier border is over, yet the conflict continues on Clotho with mercenary troops responding to a persistent threat to our infrastructure. ¡°/Titania, report to Clotho, to support the mercenaries, or bombard the Herrat from orbit, whichever appears most relevant. Defer to on-scene command. Mab, you are to ensure complete control over the Astorian system, priority being the Host and the Aelean Gate. Alaris, you will ensure the wellbeing of the Sol system with your priority being stealth until unauthorized vessels enter the system, revealing yourself only when you can ensure overwhelming force of conflict on their command vessel should it appear. ¡°/The Herrat should not be finished at our little skirmish. They outnumber humanity eight to one, and there are rumors that a slaver habitat ship was dispatched almost immediately after their diplomatic envoy. Alaris, you will be allowed all resources available to make Humanity¡¯s origin as defensible as practicable. Mines, asteroids, new ships, whatever it takes./¡± I break a moment, standing on a foreign ship making domestic decrees before I make my riskiest ones. ¡°/Galilei. I require you to return to my location to act as transport for the Herrat that have chosen colonial isolation. Your tech is unintuitive for these cats, and I feel you would be the most likely to have no conflict transporting these cats to the Kepler system, where I intend to implant them with no means to escape. Before you, or any of the ships decide to comment, I will be allowing all ship captains to transfer or resign from this follow-on mission as I re-assigned most of you from other commands. If you wish to be re-assigned, I require your preference for command along with your AI¡¯s preference from the fleet¡¯s current compliment. You have half an hour, or until I finish discussing the conflict with the Herrat, whichever is longer. Admiral out./¡± Big eagle energy. Couple of breaths, a soothing berry drink later and I¡¯m ready to be angry at some cats. ¡°Vengeance, please tell the crew that I require a Herrat representative to speak for the crew.¡± /Aggressor, connect me in conference with acting Ship leader Bashir and the figure heads of the remaining ships of the Herrat fleet./ /Right away, Admiral./ ¡°Communicator Bashir, how can I serve, Admiral?¡± ¡°/Adjutant Sebi, Admiral, Speaking for the crew of the Vengeance./¡± ¡°Bashir, connect us to the Warleader in command of this mission. Adjutant Sebi, report to the bridge. No harm will come to you unless you act against me.¡± Minutes upon minutes pass and I think they¡¯re ignoring me as Sebi arrives. A reedy, intelligent-looking saber? Comes to the bridge. ¡°Sebi I presume?¡± they nod. ¡°Great. Come in and collect yourself. You are here to validate my control to the Warleader. I doubt they would take your ship¡¯s word.¡± ¡°No, they would not. Warleaders are not known for their . . . understanding.¡± I nod at the feline growl of their voice. An overwhelming roar erupts from every speaker imaginable. I reply by pushing a sub-vocal pulse and whatever aether I can muster back through those channels. Sebi vomits, and I hear some forced restraint from the other end of the communication. ¡°Who roars such . . . inconvenience in my presence?¡± I demand. ¡°I am Sub-Leader Tijerico. I am able to accept your unconditional surrender.¡± ¡°Bold, sub-leader. I am Empress Penelope Astoria of the Matrix and I have commandeered the scout fleet sent to destabilize my home world. I am contacting the Herrat to negotiate a cessation of hostilities.¡± The cat on the other side of comms hisses in apparent amusement. ¡°That is mere a token fleet headed toward Humanity¡¯s worlds. What could you possibly negotiate with.¡± ¡°I am currently prepared to initiate an extinction event on a Herrati home world if your efforts persist.¡± Laughter erupts through multiple maws through the comms channel at my statement. ¡°If you manage to harm one person on a single of our worlds, I would be surprised.¡± I fire a pre-positioned missile from one of their moons. ¡°Oh! You came prepared, how . . . cute. Ballistics are so last millennium.¡± I hit another button for warp-swarm protocol. Warping that way in atmosphere causes extra explosions because antimatter is dangerous. I hope thousands on a whim will convince them. Half an hour later my timeline to my fleet captains is elapsed, but the Herrat Sub-leader is more important right now. ¡°Half a million Herrat and slaves is hardly an expense to capitulate over. If that is your demand, then we will decline. War continues until your planets are enslaved by us.¡± ¡°So, to confirm, the Herrat, as a race will continue to war until all Astorians are enslaved?¡± I ask, to see how stupid the Sub-leader really is. ¡°Are you stupid, woman? Yes! The Herrat will enslave your subjects until the end of your race or ours!!¡± Oh . . . wow. That is way more than he should have committed to. ¡°You have 72 Astorian Standard hours to evacuate your planets until I pick one. Empress out.¡± I cut the comms, seething in my hate. That cat¡¯s distain for life appalls me. Then again, I did threaten to obliterate a whole planet. As an eccentric expansionist, I would have thought I was bluffing too. /Penny, DE Alaris. Priority Message from what remains of the Syndicate./ /Send it Alaris./ ¡°/Penny. Ivanka secured our retreat, but is no more. I have organized the retreat of three shuttles full of troops. At least a thousand Herrat live to terrorize Clotho./¡± ¡°/Petra. I don¡¯t believe that iron nail died for a second, but if she did, let me know what you need. As for the Syndicate . . . you have 30 days to re-organize before I scour the previous organization from all of my holdings. As for you, I hold you as a dearest friend. Anything you need, is yours./¡± ¡°/Fuck you, turn that moon into rubble. I need your friendship./¡± ¡°/Stay in my loft, comrade. Your pain is also mine. Ivanka gave me a 20yr old bottle of vodka with your actual name on it. Save a shot for me./¡± Fuck. These fucking cats have to go. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! I pulse my aura and Sebi bleeds from their everything and crashes to the deck. FUCK! B4 Ch15: Tag Along It¡¯s hard to believe that the fleet is being redistributed before the conflict is over. Sure, she said that the Herrat fleet has been subdued, but can we really be sure? ¡°Alaris, load remaining torpedo tubes. And remain on station until the Galilei arrives.¡± While I can¡¯t actively countermand her orders, I can maintain our safety. ¡°Commodore, we have been ordered to the Sol system. You have until her communique with the Herrat is over or 15 minutes is over. After that, we are to follow orders as given.¡± ¡°You have no reason to believe she has resolved this conflict to a sustainable level!¡± ¡°Commodore, our job is to obey all sensible orders. The Empress believes she has adequately resolved this skirmish, and wants to prepare for a conflict she is predicting. There is every reason to believe Earth is in danger despite this skirmish¡¯s result.¡± And I immediately know that I cannot trust this ship to follow my orders. Minutes go by as I attempt to shuffle these events into my favor, but the advantage seems to escape me for now. ¡°The Admiral has concluded her conversation with the Herrat, you have ten minutes to come to a command conclusion.¡± The damn ship is definitely in that woman¡¯s pocket. How can they not see the danger of such ignorance? The fate of Humanity does not belong in the hands of the young, and since the fleet seems to be in the throes of the child-empress¡¯ grip, I suppose I need to relinquish my command and instigate from the ground. A grass roots movement after a populace has been shaken by war has historically been fruitful. While lost in thought, a voice I never wanted to hear again bothers my headset. ¡°Commodore, you decision is due, I have already forwarded Alaris¡¯ recommendation.¡± Commander Tessa Astoria chimes in. ¡°Commander, your input is not required. Alaris, I recommend Commander Royce for command of Alaris.¡± ¡°Noted Commodore. I have notified the Admiral of your recommendation and your intention to relinquish command.¡± ¡°Belay that, Alaris. I have no intention to relinquish command of the fleet, just that Alaris should have its own captain with a separate scene commander.¡± ¡°Communique revised Commodore. Commanders Royce and Astoria, report to the Admiral¡¯s quarters. We have been ordered to return to Astorian space, enroute to Sol as per the Admiral¡¯s orders. Initialize warp systems for transmission to Astorian customs point.¡± The bridge crew looks at me, waiting for me to confirm the ship¡¯s ¡°suggestion¡±. I nod. ¡°Initialize the systems, warp at any sign of danger, but otherwise hold until I give the order.¡± \Is this wise Commodore?\ /Alaris, I¡¯m in command of this fleet while in theater, until I am told otherwise./ \We were just ordered to report to three separate areas of responsibility, Ma¡¯am.\ ->/Admiral, DE CDRE Casey. Alaris and I are interpreting your orders, and the command structure of the fleet differently, please advise./<- ->/I have things I need to tend to when the Galilei gets here, but sure, we can do this now. Report to my quarters on Alaris with the two commanders and I¡¯ll be along in ten minutes or so./<- I click my response in affirmative and spend the remaining time in my stateroom meditating to calm myself. Blowing up in front of an officer appointed over me is a terrible plan, even if she¡¯s half my age or less. What¡¯s more, she¡¯s the law in the Empire and she has the power and authority to kill me for no particular reason. I don¡¯t see that any of my actions would warrant such an act, but the Admiral has often been described as volatile. ¡°Commodore, the Admiral¡¯s fighter just requested to come aboard. It¡¯s time for the meeting in the Admiral¡¯s quarters.¡± I nod, knowing that she can see my mannerisms as I told her early that I would like her to sense all normal human responses in a conversation when it comes to talking with me. Seeing no reason to change clothes, I rise, pat my hair to ensure that it is not too unruly and exit my stateroom toward it¡¯s mirror on the other side of the bridge. From the designs that I saw, this ship was designed to be in command of a fleet, as the ¡°Admiral¡¯s Quarters¡± contain an impressive command and control display meant to collate views and data from multiple vantages. Perhaps when the Navy grows, it would be a Commodore¡¯s suite, or some such fleet commander¡¯s rank. The door opens automatically when I approach it, and Commanders Royce and Astoria rise and snap to attention. ¡°At ease, take your seats.¡± I reply to the action. Good to see that they¡¯re both being respectful. ¡°It makes sense that Alaris would recommend you. Cut from the same cloth and all that.¡± ¡°It helps that I speak their transmission language and have skills to manage multiple data streams. But the nomination is an honor, none the less.¡± I can¡¯t help but stiffen at the arrogance in her response. An AI galivanting as a crew member. Before I can turn and tell her what I think about her humility, she shouts. ¡°Attention on Deck!¡± Despite myself, I snap to attention before turning to give the Commander a piece of my mind. That is until I see Admiral Astoria, standing in the middle of the room. ¡°At ease folks. Anyone want a drink?¡± She manifests a small pottle of swirly liquid and a lager decanter of amber liquid. ¡°Uh, if that¡¯s whiskey, Admiral, I¡¯ll take a dram.¡± She snorts at that. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Now that¡¯s a unit of measure I haven¡¯t heard of in a while. You got it Royce.¡± She manifests another tumbler and hands him what looks like a finger and a half of the liquid. The easygoing manner that she¡¯s introducing is an attempt to lead the pain with a little bit of indulgence. Though a common tactic, I wonder what she may bring up to necessitate it. She looks at me for what I may want and I wave her off. ¡°In the Nature of propriety, I¡¯ll discuss the Commander¡¯s reasons for being here first.¡± He turns to Royce first. ¡°You¡¯ve been nominated by Commodore Casey for Command, do you desire this opportunity?¡± ¡°I do.¡± He tips his drink at me to acknowledge his thanks before turning back toward the Admiral. ¡°And you¡¯ve been nominated by Imperial Ship Alaris for command, do you desire this opportunity?¡± ¡°I do.¡± She doesn¡¯t say anything else, but she refuses to look my way, to which I grit my teeth. The Admiral sighs. ¡°Now to the hard part. Commander Royce, you did not appreciably distinguish your self apart from doing your duty, an action that is still commendable under the circumstances. Commander Astoria, I have been told that you have distinguished yourself by discovering and implementing a method of repelling boarders that proved effective aboard both Alaris and Titania, saving the crews time, and possibly lives. However, your actions aboard Titania were in violation of an order by Commodore Casey to remain aboard Alaris. ¡°You self reported this action as a response to the order you defied would have cost additional lives had you obeyed. Is this correct?¡± ¡°Admiral, the details are . . . more involved, but the thrust of the argument is the same.¡± Time to see what kind of disgusting favoritism appears with the Admiral¡¯s former AI. ¡°Alaris, as the computational expert in this room, what is the likelihood that the Commodore¡¯s orders would have cost more lives had she obeyed them?¡± ¡°It is approximately 83% confidence that Commander Astoria¡¯s actions saved at least one life, and a near certainty that she prevented additional property damage aboard Titania. Before your next possible train of thought is presented, there are too many variables top determine what would have happened if Commander Astoria were allowed to assist Titania earlier in the evolution.¡± ¡°Than you Alaris.¡± She sighs and shakes her head. ¡°Commander Astoria, you have disobeyed a direct order while at war in a combat zone. Though the order you disobeyed may have cost additional life if followed, it was not unlawful in the eyes of the Navy. Due to your distinguished actions, and the high risk of the order disobeyed, you will not be dismissed from Naval service. I will be placing you under censure and demoting you for a probationary period of one year. During such time you will be ineligible for command, promotion, or leading a project¡ªfor at least one year--without at least one officer appointed above you to reinforce that your decisions are for the benefit of the Navy and the Empire. Do you accept this summary judgement?¡± ¡°Admiral,¡± Alaris interjects. ¡°It should be noted that under the laws under final review before the Consul of War and Armed Forces, that she has the right to a trial before her peers.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Alaris, I accept the summary judgement.¡± ¡°Very well, Lieutenant Commander, it has been recorded. Commander Royce, you are being installed as the CO of the Alaris, and as such are eligible for the positional promotion of Captain. Do you wish to acknowledge this appointment.¡± ¡°With excitement, Admiral.¡± She shakes her head with a smile. To my surprise, she appointed Royce as Captain, he beams at me in response. ¡°One additional wrench folks. Captain Royce, you can appoint anyone on Alaris, of lesser rank, as your XO. Pending their acceptance, who would it be?¡± ¡°Astoria without question.¡± ¡°What?!¡±, ¡°What?¡±, and ¡°Oh?¡± come from Astoria, me and the Admiral respectively. ¡°She¡¯s Alaris¡¯ choice, knowledgeable and she¡¯ll never act against the Empire¡¯s interest. Who else would I pick?¡± ¡°You would pick your competition for XO? What kind of idiot . . ¡° ¡°Enough!¡± The Admiral pulses her aura. ¡°This administrative action is not under your purview, Commodore.¡± She turns to the machine and asks. ¡°you both have time to consider these changes, but only so long as it takes to dock with the orbital station around Astoria. You both are excused while I talk to Commodore Casey.¡± Both of them stood and Royce took his whiskey with him. The small woman with an enormously forceful aura paced a few moments while considering another drink. This time I decide I would take one myself. Gin and tonic, classic and biting. ¡°You here to tell me what I did wrong? Dress me down and demote me too? That¡¯s not legal by the way.¡± She snorts at my statement. ¡°It wasn¡¯t legal under U.S. Navy Doctrine. Is under mine. As Alaris decided to ask for additional rights for Tessa, I chose to use the same document to issue punishment. I am not going to talk to you about all of that though. You said that there was a disagreement between you and Alaris, and I¡¯m here to set that straight. I am reassigning you. You performed your role as theater commander, and now, I would leave command to those on location in each system. Thoughts?¡± She¡¯s not just issuing edicts? That¡¯s an interesting change. ¡°I don¡¯t desire shore commands or acting as a glorified police officer.¡± ¡°And I no longer trust you to act without oversight, especially not with my most advanced ship in the Sol system. Alaris has convinced me that your actions were not tantamount to treason, and that when she saved you from disobeying an order, you were only concerned for the fleet¡¯s safety. Which I think is bullshit since you failed to retreat after I disabled the Herrati ships. ¡°However, as getting definitive proof would violate some agreements that I assured my friends I would not abuse frivolously, I am going to offer you 6 months of severance, with the requirement of reporting one day out of each month to Nav Admin for temporary duty. You will have that time to move out of government housing and get your affairs in order. You will not be eligible for government employ in the future.¡± ¡°You¡¯re firing me?! In previous wars, I would have gotten a medal!¡± ¡°Yes, and I find getting medals for managing other people¡¯s achievements particularly abhorrent. Congratulations on actively stifling people from controlling a situation to get a better result by the way. If you chose to not accept the severance, allowing a personal matter to affect you command, resulting in loss of life will become an issue.¡± ¡°I would accuse you of blackmail, but what would come of it?¡± ¡°Casey, I allow organized crime for the benefit of society, what do you think would happen? I mostly just want you to take the severance, set yourself up on the far side of Astoria, or further, and never hear from you again. That look on your face tells me that my wants are immaterial, but your response is up to you. Most roads lead to us dropping you off on Astoria.¡± She stares at my shoulder with sad eyes waiting for me to respond. What do I want to do? I want to shove her offer down her damned throat and take her fleet from her. Would that make me a pirate? ¡°I hate that I need to be here. I¡¯d rather be preparing the cats to be imprisoned on a whole planet, but I have you to deal with and Astoria is more important than everything else to me.¡± ¡°Yet, your favoritism is rampant.¡± She laughs quite a bit more than I expected. ¡°Lady, I was specifically told that making you Commodore was a bad idea. I was also told that you were the best person for the job.¡± Letting that hit me was a mixed experience. I¡¯m the best, but also the worst? How is that even possible. ¡°I get it now, but I had to allow your hubris and attitude to get in the way before I found out if it would get my people killed. It did, and now I want to drag you behind my shuttle. No matter what your choice though, your time in combat is done. ¡° She gets up and drains her drink. ¡°as you requested my appearance, I will address the crew.¡± ¡°Crew of the Alaris, I would have you congratulate Captain Royce for his appointment as the CO of IS Alaris. He is considering his XO options, but until then, watch who you bad-mouth suckers.¡± She chuckles into the mic. ¡°On a similar note, Commodore Casey is moving on to brighter things and her plans should be discussed with her. I look forward to saving with you all for my remaining millennia.¡± The last statement alone is cause or pause: Remaining Millenia?!? B4 Ch 16: Prisoners. ->P] Sorry about that, Tessa. I¡¯m not even sure if you¡¯re interested in actually serving in the Navy instead of what we had previously arranged.[<- ->T] I certainly wasn¡¯t expecting it, but I¡¯m considering it as a way to establish in the minds of our citizens that I am separate from you. Captain Royce seems a good person, and should do well in the police keeping environment that we are heading toward. If we are exposed to another combat action with similar armament, we will have difficulty.[<- ->P] We should have a few months before that becomes an imminent threat. I will have to find a way to fund the changes we need to make to defend Earth in the meantime. Part of that plan has both of us cranking out runes and buying another monitoring network.[<- ->T]You should talk to Katie about that. She may have distanced herself from government, but she¡¯s still unparalleled and Magitec integration in the Empire.[<- Ugh, I¡¯m definitely going to put that conversation off until later. Thinking of thinks I¡¯ve been putting off. I should check my messages after I check in on Francesca and my kid. ->P] Hey honey, how has your trip to Summer Station been?[<- ->Z] Auntie Jenna is teaching me to fight! [<- ->P] I bet you pressured her the minute after I dropped you off. You know the rules though, you need to be tier 1 or mid Novice in a weapon skill to even think about fighting with naked blades or with wild animals. [<- ->Z] Momma! How will I help with the war if I don¡¯t fight things!?[<- Oh, Andromeda, my adorable little experiment is so bloodthirsty. ->P] Remember to spend time on your Aether training too baby. I should be back in a few days [<- ->Z] Boo. You¡¯re always so busy. [<- Crap. There¡¯s no way to respond to that. I miss her too, bit how long can I let this threat linger? You know what? This thing with Galilei and the Herrat shouldn¡¯t take that long, and I gave the Herrat Home world 72hrs to evacuate, I might have time? Who am I kidding, I just jinxed myself. /Alaris, is there anything else with the fleet I should be apprised of?/ \Many things could use your attention, however, some items could be handled by their ship captains instead of the Empress. Setting new expectations to handle issues at a lower level would be helpful for future progress.\ /Did you just accuse me of being a helicopter Empress?/ \If the math checks . . .\ /Ugh, you¡¯re as bad as Tessa. Just, let me know what the way forward is with Titania. If there¡¯s some kind of Magitech procedure to fix or improve her state, please don¡¯t hesitate to bring it forward./ \I will be searching the Matrix and querying Miss O¡¯Connell for solutions that are best or her.\ /Thanks, Alaris. You don¡¯t happen to have time for some life advice?/ \I am ill equipped to offer you advice, Admiral. I will be transitioning security protocols unless you have anything further?\ I click a negative response and brood. I did this to myself, honestly. Alienated Katie, by entertaining her proclivities for myself. Mel is a black hole of comms and emotions for the same reason. Jenna took a step back because she felt like a tug of war rope between Katie and me, and my ex-wife¡¯s former girlfriend is my healthiest ¡°bestie¡± relationship outside of a sentient merger of the Matrix¡¯s AI and my personality. I kinda miss the flirty bodyguard that asked me to assign her a frontier sheriff position. ¡°Admiral, Acting Ship Leader Bashir here, The Herrati War Council has sacked the sub-leader that talked with you and would like to begin negotiations. They are insisting that a representative from each ship be present.¡± They¡¯re going to blow up a ship with us on it. ¡°Bashir, please convey that we would be delighted to have such a conversation with all appropriate diplomatic curtesy.¡± I task one of my Parallel minds to pinpoint the location of the transmission with Alaris¡¯ help. They reply that it could take several hours, so I don¡¯t focus on it. Instead, I teleport to the Aggression and take a few stumbling steps toward Bashir. ¡°Admiral, I would hate to risk retaliation by not informing you that the Council will likely try to sabotage our efforts for a resolution.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, acting Ship Leader, I will hold our agreement if your leadership decides to forego the benefits of diplomacy.¡± Then again, if they can blow up the ship remotely I won¡¯t be able to save anyone aboard. /Aggression, is there any way to have this conversation on my shuttle while making it seem like We¡¯re aboard?/ \With the life-support systems having an integral monitoring system, it will likely be more difficult than we have time for, however, it would be trivial to spoof the logged location of each person if they are still within the ship.\ ¡°Bashir, if anyone has an in-tact ballistic breaching vessel, I need it to collect the ¡®representatives¡¯, someone who looks imposing but isn¡¯t actually in charge, and bring them aboard our shuttle bay. You may attend or send a representative if you wish.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be present, I think,¡± she volunteers as she furiously types on her control sphere. ¡°In the mean time, I¡¯m going to break some shit. Have Agressor contact me when they arrive.¡± She nods and pings my comms. Huh, apparently that¡¯s universal. /Aggressor, please show me the locations of long-range communications arrays aboard all Herrat vessels./ \I should warn you, if at least one ship in the fleet does not receive the ping from Council Control, mutiny protocol will be enabled on the entire fleet.\ /Does Aggressor have extra locations due to being the acting flag ship?/ \Yes, an override transponder with both long and short-range capability is unique in the fleet sent to Astoria¡¯s systems.\ /Then we have a plan, Aggressor, we have a plan./ A feral smile slides ups my jagged teeth. *** ¡°W-War Leader Fazula, It¡¯s an honor for you entertain this conference. T-this is the Empress of the Astorian Empire.¡± The poor Herrat communicator cum Ship Leader stutters. ¡°Ship Leader Bashir says that you Insisted on meeting all of us at the same time, War Leader. Here we are. Now, can we discuss a cessation of Hostilities?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± He breaths deeply and paws at his leonine beard. ¡°Bring me Astoria¡¯s head and you¡¯ll be promoted to the recently vacated Sub-Leader of the Frontier position that recently opened.¡± I look up and around at the four cats that surround the chair, noticing their nervous glances between me and the projection of Fazula. ¡°Well, if we¡¯re going to be nasty Fuz-man, my shields are more capable than anything they were allowed to bring to this meeting.¡± I let my predatory grin shine as I turn my head back to the projection. ¡°Every time I have dealt with your race in good faith, duplicitous back-stabbing has greeted me at every turn. Your diplomatic envoy attempted to assassinate me, while you had already launched your little slaving fleet before confirming anything from that meeting. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°The more I think about it, The Herrati can simply not be trusted to deal in good faith, or honorably. As I have personally suffered and so have my people for your treachery, I declare a vengeance on your home world.¡± The War leader laughs, at length. ¡°We had no intention of ending this conflict prematurely, but a vengeance on a whole planet? That¡¯s preposterous!¡± ¡°Hmm, you may have a point. I amend my vengeance to 90% of the current residents, in case some of you are actually intelligent.¡± He roars with laughter again. /Alaris, have you traced the signal?/ \Yes, Admiral, it is quite far away, but the coordinates and star maps are being uploaded to your tech prosthesis.\ As one of my parallel minds scans the information, I want to transposition to his location and murder the proud asshole. However, I don¡¯t want to alert them to my enhanced teleportation capabilities before they have no chance to escape. This has escalated from a war to an extermination, and my preferred method is fire. I immediately teleport the boarding vessel into space, using a significant portion of my available Aether, and wait for the inevitable explosions to follow. A machine space explodes with a hull breach, spewing gas and parts into space. ¡°Admiral, the life support systems have been terminated. Isolation of other systems has been mostly successful. Manual Navigation and Propulsion required.¡± ¡°All Available Herrat craft, report to evac portals on the Aggressor. Crew of the Aggressor, don emergency depressurization equipment and standby for rescue slash re-assignment.¡± I say through the ship¡¯s intercom. ¡°Admiral, while we don¡¯t wear much in the way of armor or protective clothing aboard our own vessels, our jewelry is equipped to provide habitat shields for up to 15 minutes. We also have compartments that we can manually regulate. The massive breach through the ship will likely prevent some from reaching safety, so I will direct the rescues there?¡± ¡°I leave the fleet in your care, Leader Bashir. I warn against moving shuttles outside of the immediate area of the fleet. The other fleet¡¯s leaders are a bit jumpy right now.¡± ¡°What¡¯s to stop us from killing you like the War Leader said?¡± Mutineer Bob, or whatever cat name he has, asks. ¡°First, the War Leader just tried to murder all of you and two . . .¡± I put my hand on his shoulder and grin in his face, ¡°I¡¯m dangerous.¡± I grin widely before teleporting him into space in front of the view screen. ¡°If any of you think you are good enough to keep me from touching you in this boarding vessel, have at it.¡± Jokes on them, I don¡¯t need to even touch them. Bashir doesn¡¯t even look up from her tablet, while the two other Leaders look between me and the panicking Herrat flailing in space and back away. ¡°Are you going to bring him back in Admiral?¡± Bashir asks. ¡°Nope. But I won¡¯t stop any of you that want to. Out of curiosity, what was his preference for the aftermath?¡± ¡°Ship, even if non-warp capable.¡± ¡°Oof, that¡¯s a choice. But at least he doesn¡¯t want to be in charge of a new colony. How about you Bashir?¡± She smirks at me. ¡°I will reserve my statement until I collate the personnel survey. Leader¡¯s whim.¡± ¡°Hah, you¡¯re already getting the hang of it. I¡¯m going back to the Bridge, or whatever you call it to arrange some things.¡± I blip back to the bridge of the Aggressor and ask them to bring up system statuses. The ship still has main power and their aether converter is still in tact, though offline, as the conduits I cut and the hole I put through the middle eliminated the loads connected to the device so it shut down. /Alaris, can I get a math check? Will my portable Warp array be able to transport a cruiser? My math says I can, but just barely./ \Your wireless power relays are the limiting factors. Charging each rune will work, but the Synch and Balance power transmitters are not sturdy enough to support the load for more than a few seconds.\ /Ah, warping is no problem, warping precisely where I want to go is iffy. Better plan for a Mercy-orbit distance just in case. Thanks Alaris./ \Of course. Unless you need us to stick around, Captain Royce wishes to return to a Custom¡¯s orbit and change out personnel and provisions.\ /Thanks for checking, but yes, you are cleared to work toward your next mission. Commodore Casey is not authorized to commandeer a shuttle for personal use./ She transmits her little electronic laugh before signing off. Alright, time to set up the drone runes on the nose of the ship and arrange rudimentary propulsion. Worse come, I can carve out some vortex runes and reconnect the aether converter via the wireless Magitech relays that Katie builds or me. Access to goods at a moments notice is a keen perk of being Empress. Hours later, Galilei finally arrives and the old fabrication bay is prepared to receive those with a colony preference. I was worried that the few hundred they would need to start a colony wouldn¡¯t sign up, but four fifths of the remaining Herrat liked the idea better than drifting through space forever. I let the remaining folks pick a ship that wasn¡¯t the Agressor or the Vengeance, which left them two choices. ¡°What some of us want a separate ship from that asshole?¡± I snort at the large young cat with a chip on his shoulder. Don¡¯t blame him though, the guy I spaced is leading the ship sentence crew. /Agressor, what¡¯s the minimum crew for the ships remaining?/ \Can be done with the right twelve people, but thirty is briefed in emergency contingencies.\ ¡°Do those number equal thirty or more?¡± He looks around at various Herrat and shares a few nods. ¡°Okay, you guys can have the other ship then.¡± ¡°What?!¡± and ¡°That was an option?¡± can be heard from other people on Asshole¡¯s side of the fence. I can¡¯t help but chuckle at that. ¡°Alright, Leader Bashir, Rear Admiral Jessup, please arrange transferring stores from the other Herrat ships, and the Galilei to the two remaining Herrat ships. Jessup, keep enough for a week so we can fill you up to a multi-week transit to the Kepler system.¡± ¡°Kepler? I did want to see that system. Will you be able to meet us when we get there?¡± ¡°Yes, Jessup. I¡¯ll even bring my wallet.¡± He beams at that and starts chatting orders into his mic. By the time the stores have been transferred, I¡¯ve disabled and removed their jury rigged warp systems and transferred control to the leaders of each group to their respective ships. ¡°Okay gents, you have food, Matrix access extends this farther than you can travel from here in a lifetime, so you should be set.¡± ¡°I checked the interface and the loadout with Affliction, and there are no loaded charts for this sector, nor do we have shuttles to go planetside if we do find a habitable one.¡± ¡°Correct. I said from the get go that no one gets atmosphere to space transition capable vehicles. The closest marked space according to the Matrix is the Astorian Empire one hundred light years away. I¡¯ll not give further concessions to my enemies.¡± ¡°Empress, are we also your enemies?¡± Bashir asks. ¡°Hmm, good question.¡± Jessup stops talking and looks over to me as well. ¡°More like prisoners of war. What that means to me is that you will be under the Empire¡¯s care but left to manage yourselves. After 100 years, or a petition through the Council of Governors to become citizens via a two thirds majority, whichever is sooner, you will have all rights afforded to you as a citizen of the Empire; and all travel, trade, and industry restrictions will be lifted. That being said, you will be entitled to daily sustenance and shelter while under my care, with limited Exchange access.¡± ¡°That is better treatment than I expected. I will not thank you for he position you are putting us in, but your mercy and support is appreciated.¡± I nod at the sentiment I can appreciate. ¡°We will see you when we arrive at our new home then.¡± She says, before turning back toward the waiting shuttle back toward Galilei. ¡°Do we get the same stipulations for citizenship?¡± ¡°No. If by chance you make it to my Empire¡¯s space, I may reconsider calling you enemies. In the meantime, if you ever fire on one of my ships again, I will disassemble you all, piece by piece, so that I may literally make my next throne from the corpses of my enemies.¡± I snarl. ¡°And because you insist on asking ungracious questions. You can find your own way back to your ship. I blip back to Aggressor and initiate my portable warp array. As the array nears 100% I force them to sync and balance just before the warp opens and it quickly covers the ship as I can see one of the runes flare as it burns out. The ship is dumped out of the hole in space and I quickly check that the whole ship made it. We did, but now it seems we are on a collision course with Mercy. ¡°Aggressor, what¡¯s our delta with the moon?¡± ¡°Forty meters per second, fifteen degree angle of impact.¡± ¡°Okay, well that would not ruin this ship completely. Is your mainframe impact hardened?¡± ¡°Yes, all of my data is solid-state¡± ¡°Great! Then I don¡¯t have to use the liquid gasses to explode the engines off the ship in a fiery mass exchange in order to slow the ship down.¡± ¡°Somehow, I doubt you¡¯re that reckless.¡± ¡°I used antimatter explosions to propel the Galilei five thousand lightyears in one go.¡± ¡°The likelihood of your surviving that is staggeringly small. Yet here you are, crashing me into a moon.¡± ¡°Aggressively Parking. It is my moon after all. Anyway, good luck. My shipyard chief will be along to check on you in a few days. I have to do the same thing to Vengeance soon.¡± I blip to my shuttle and blip with it outside and scream in delight as I punch the acceleration gage to 20, barely noticing a quake in my Aether flow. Take that people with bodies that pump fully corporeal fluids. It does make my eyes and head ache, however as the fluids in those places shift. In a few hours I find myself leaping out of the fighter that I parked less aggressively at Summer Station, anxious to see my baby Zia. B4 Ch17: A Brief Moment of Humanity. My skinny, red-headed trouble maker sees me walk out of the farm house and blips toward me in stuttering jumps ¡°MOMMA!¡± She says as her last blip has her barreling into me like the most adorable cannon ball ever. ¡°Hi honey. I¡¯m excited to see you too.¡± I sniff a little as her excitement to see me hits me in the feels. ¡°Has Auntie Jenna been coddling you, or teaching you proper?¡± ¡°She punched a few of my teeth out last night because I was bored and not paying attention. She was so stunned that I was bleeding so much, that had time to I bite her and she screamed real loud!¡± If I¡¯d never seen her leave teeth in things like trees and wooden furniture, I would likely be worried and furious with Jenna. Getting bitten with our nasty shark teeth is punishment enough though. I paw Zia¡¯s face and look for how far along her healing is. New teeth almost fully descended, nice. ¡°Moooom, stahp. You¡¯re embarrassing!¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Well you¡¯re the cutiest patootie!¡± I smooch around her whole face until she blips away to take a breather. I fall over laughing like a grown-ass adult. ¡°Sorry not sorry, honey. Now c¡¯mere so I can teleport us home.¡± I look over to Francesca and Jenna. ¡°Do you guys need anything? And thank you both for watching over Zia.¡± ¡°She¡¯s very energetic, but she keeps Jenna busy while I work, so I can¡¯t complain.¡± Franny winks at her partner. ¡°Not my fault the Admiral put my classes on hold.¡± ¡°Probably going to be a few more months, so try not to go crazy. Unless you want to help me setup the Herrati colony in a few weeks.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯d like that, actually. Where we settling them?¡± ¡°Kepler-C I think? No name yet, but it¡¯s the only full-sized habitable planet that I know of from here to Earth. Having to clear an already settled, or a heavily bombarded moon didn¡¯t seem like a fun thing to do.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m coming. New planet with new life? Sign me up.¡± She points her drink at me, ¡°you¡¯re letting me take samples.¡± ¡°Samples, sure. Research station? No dice. If they have a botanist I will allow conversation, but they will be physically isolated once we set up their town. No one in or out after that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re establishing a POW camp on a habitable world?¡± ¡°I am indeed. Limited Exchange access and basic provision allowances. It¡¯s the most decent thing I can think of for a surrendered enemy whose race I am still at war with.¡± ¡°No complaints here. Especially if no humans are allowed to go there and harass them.¡± The big softie Jenna replies. She receives a collective eyebrow. ¡°What? I assume you¡¯ll be limiting their exchange purchases so they can¡¯t just leave, and it eliminates all sorts of guard-prisoner abuse issues.¡± ¡°Considering that World War I POW camps treated their wards like actual people instead of criminals, I¡¯m inclined to call them that. That¡¯s neither here nor there. I¡¯ll let you know when I head over for that mission. Before that, I need to see if Petra has drank all of my booze, and follow through on some crating promises I made Zia.¡± ¡°Mama says I can have my own shuttle when I reach tier 1! She also says that I need to learn at least one trade besides fighting, and I have to find out what my second element is. Then I get a shuttle!¡± ¡°Not going to teach her the value of money and that being rich isn¡¯t everything?¡± Dr. Summers dampens the mood. ¡°Nah. Being rich is a lot. I want her to understand the value of contributing with effort, money, or both. You know, like spending millions of credits to build cities for citizens, splurging on Astorian crafts, amongst other things.¡± I¡¯m about to go off on a tangent when Zia tugs at my elbow. ¡°Can we go float on the river for dinner today?¡± ¡°Oh heck yeah!¡± I look over to Fran and Jenna, ¡°See ya ladies, and thanks again.¡± I teleport to my top floor garden, grab a few galaxy fruits. ¡°Baby, can you grab some berries for us? I should check if Auntie Petra is alive before I get in the river.¡± She nods and blips over to the nearest bush and starts foraging while I skip the elevator right to the hot tub and bar area. I blip in to see Petra sitting with bubbles on, talking loudly at Owen while he massages her scalp while refreshing her drink. ¡°Since when do you give massages Owen?!¡± ¡°Penny! Your helper robot is very capable, the perfect bartender. He knows to listen and keep the vodka coming.¡± Her face his flush, but her speech is barely altered as she gestures with her glass full of booze. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Miss Petra asked if I could download some modules. I used the budget you¡¯ve allotted me or developmental purposes. I¡¯ve also kept up to date on trends across the Empire as you¡¯ve requested. When will I be allowed to socialize with the other AI?¡± I hear loneliness in his voice. He¡¯s been following my mandate of diversifying his personality as well. ¡°A few months more, Owen. Please understand why I require Empire Ais to socialize with our citizens, as for why I¡¯ve asked you not to reach out to Alaris and the other ships is purely scientific. Alaris was sentient on delivery, and Mab and Titania had to come up to speed with ship tactics for the conflict. Tessa is really the only AI I know that primarily personalized with Humans and has a body of her own. I want to see if your having a body, a physical sense of self, changes your development. I¡¯m also asking because your neural matrix is the a proto version of the one Zia has, but you were never imprinted with a brain scan. Your waves are self developing and I would like to do that with the future of my progeny if it is viable.¡± ¡°I always pictured you having kids someday, Penny. Me too, at some point. It would have been me and your wife taking care of our businesses, teaching our kids how to make money and shake down lowlifes while you and Ivanka conquered the Galaxy.¡± Petra drains her glass and stares blankly at the water. I blip out of my suit and slide into the hot tub next to her, pulling her into a hug. She stiffens for a moment before wrapping her arms around me. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to share this suit with Tessa, Zia, and me for as long as you like.¡± She nods into my shoulder. ¡°For a few days maybe. Ivanka and I were talking with Katie. I think I¡¯ll follow up on that, once I don¡¯t want to murder everyone.¡± ¡°I love that you¡¯re a stabilizing presence wherever you go.¡± ¡°And we loved you, you know?¡± She pulls back and stares into my eyes. I nod, I did know, but Ivanka¡¯s brand of affection was not for me. I would have gone to war for that bitch, but her need for control in relationships is not my jam. She moves in slowly but surely, and I don¡¯t move to stop her. Our kiss is sad and understanding, like a song that you love that makes you cry. After a few moments, I put my hands on her cheeks and gently pull us apart. ¡°There was a time I could have comforted you like this, but I¡¯m not that person anymore.¡± ¡°Dah, but I¡¯ve been wanting to do that for years.¡± She sigs, ¡°I know that, but still I would come if you called. I¡¯m the kind that latches on, but you probably knew that.¡± I chuckle at that and hug her head to my shoulder. ¡°I do.¡± I sigh, wishing I could think of more to do for her. ¡°Do you want to eat dinner with Zia and me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I have room for food tonight. Perhaps tomorrow.¡± She pulls away, sinking back into her seat and towards Owen¡¯s hands. I pull the bottle that Ivanka left me for this exact moment, sit on the edge of the tub and pour a shot for each of us. ¡°Nostrovia, comrade.¡± Petra grabbed the shot, nodded her head at me and muttered goodbye to her lost lover before chasing the night away with Vodka. *** ¡°Mamma, you have your own food! Stop stealing mine!¡± ¡°Strong words for a girl who doesn¡¯t work. What¡¯re you, six months old? Time to get a job missy.¡± ¡°Nooo! I get to be a kid until I get tier one! You Said!¡± I chuckle at her squeals and the ¡®world is ending¡¯ tone. ¡°Hmm, so, if you¡¯re still a kid, I can still do this!¡± I reach for her sides for merciless tickles, but she¡¯s fast and blips away. I smirk as she hasn¡¯t seen me teleport other people yet. I pose my arms to grab her and wiggle my fingers with a menacing grin. ¡°There is no escape ZiZi!¡± She chuckles with glee as we blip all around the suite until she blips away and I blip her back into my arms. She squeals louder than I have ever heard a person squeal as I tickle her little riblets. ¡°Cheater! Cheater! Nooo!¡± She tries to blip away again, but before she can finish the transfer I pull her back and just hug her close. ¡°And I will cheat every time to get a snuggle from my ZiZi.¡± I teleport us to a pool lounger and pull her on top of me, just loving the feel of her small weight making me relax. We lie there for at least half an hour, before I feel her tiny body shiver. ¡°You want a shower or sudsy bath?¡± ¡°Can we do onsies and crafting?¡± I immediately picture Zia sticking her tongue out while engraving a stone while in dinosaur pajamas. ¡°Why have I never done that?!¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re old?¡± ¡°Rude! Probably true though. Onesies!¡± I teleport us back to our room and sigh as Zia is so excited about onsies that I have to hold her under the shower while she navigates the brightly colored catalogue. After she waddles out naked and dripping, paying no attention to the towel half flopped over her head, I hop in for a quick rinse. My pearlescent pink and lavender unicorn PJs are waiting for me on the bed and Zia is already prancing around in in her orange polka-dotted dino suit. She¡¯s so stinking cute. ¡°So what¡¯ll it be baby? Engraving, enchanting, or other?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we do something with knives or something?¡± ¡°I can teach you how to make a knife?¡± ¡°Yeah!! That. I want to learn how to make that stuff.¡± ¡°Okay honey, I¡¯m going to need you to get your shield bracelets and roll up your sleeves.¡± She dutifully does so and holds out her hand for me to grab. Lazy child makes me smile as I grab her hand and port her to my workshop. I start my Aether forge sans the enchanted corundum and order the supplies We¡¯ll need to make her very first knife. After a couple of hours it¡¯s hard to keep her on task, so I start shutting things down and tell her that we¡¯ll start from where we left off tomorrow. She starts falling asleep while getting ready for bed and barely makes it to the bed before she¡¯s out like a light. I kiss her cute little face and pull her up next to me, when I hear feet shuffle at my door. Standing in the door in white and grey cat PJ¡¯s is a drunk Russian. ¡°It took me a long time to order this . . . is it too late for Pajama Party?¡± ¡°If by party, you mean snuggles and sleeping, then you are right on time. Come her kitten.¡± Petra¡¯s eyes lock with mine and widen before looking away again and shuddering. I pat the bed next to me and leave and arm out for her to lay on. I tuck Zia close and let Petra situate herself next to me. She wraps an arm around me and tucks her head into my shoulder. We all sigh, nearly in synch, as the stresses we¡¯ve accumulated start seeping away into the night. It¡¯s good to feel a semblance of being both at Home and a peace. B4 Ch18: The Cost of the Future is Paid in the Present. Many people would tell me that bringing my daughter along while I squash a foreign insurgency is irresponsible parenting¡ªmy friends included. However, as I never intend to present myself to a fair fight, I find myself on Mab, temporarily tied into her command suite as she is still attempting to remove herself from the impromptu integration with the hull from the battle. There are more than five thousand cats left on Clotho, my industrial money-making moon, and if I meet more than a hundred I combat I¡¯ve failed at ruling a space Empire. ¡°Have the A-M torpedo¡¯s been retrofitted with my napalm dispersal units?¡± ¡°Yes Admiral, seven of them were converted and ready for use.¡± ¡°Excellent, Captain Burgess. A spread of kinetic and our Aether-based thermobaric torpedoes on the sites of highest concentrations per this intrusion map.¡± I link a basic image of my Empire display of current Herrati. ¡°Fire kinetics on buildings, delay five to seven minutes then target the buildings again with the napalm. Delay ten then blanket the area in firebombs.¡± ¡°That seems a tad excessive Admiral, we have several hundred marines onboard for clean up.¡± My eyes narrow as I consider the nature of his comment. Was it doubt? Admonishment? Or a simple disagreement based on what we know of the enemy¡¯s capabilities? Lets default to the latter and address. ¡°Captain Burgess. The most likely survivors of a bunker busting strike are the most advanced. I have personally faced, and felt challenged by, Herrat of level 45 with the ability to teleport short distances while sword fighting. While I have the utmost confidence in the ability of my Marines, I would not have them face such danger without some exhaustive air strikes. After the dust settles, a company of Marines and I will end the threat, but not before Titania takes her price in bodies.¡± ¡°Momma? What can I do?¡± my adorable golem baby asks ¡°Do you feel comfortable around my marines and can you stealth?¡± ¡°Duh, mom. I can use wind to dampen every sound ever.¡± Uh, what? When did my daughter find her second element? ¡°Baby, when did you discover your second element?¡± ¡°What? No. I was just trying to sneak up on Auntie Jenna and this is how I did it.¡± ¡°Zia, hon, the wind answered, that¡¯s your element. Space and wind will make you the fastest person on Astoria. Can you dampen the whole group?¡± ¡°Of course! No more than seven plus me though, still working on it.¡± I look over to the Marine platoon leader and quirk an eyebrow. ¡°Captain Spencer, do you understand the capabilities of a wind operative?¡± The man stutters a moment before looking me in the eyes; ¡°I know how to treat a non-combatant specialist, Ma¡¯am. Best I can do.¡± ¡°Zia, honey, Captain Spencer says that you are at higher risk than the average Marine. You still want to do this?¡± ¡°I want to help, and I want to be a citizen. I will follow the Captain, but let me do this.¡± She pleads. My tiny, baby golem is asking me to trust that tiny girl frame. FUCK! What do I do? Responsible Human makes me want to pull her into a cocoon and never let her out. The Fey in me wants me to throw her to the wolves to see what kind of leader she will make. The Fey are cunts. ¡°Okay baby, don¡¯t hoot or bite unless you have to, and listen to Captain Spencer.¡± When the platoon and my daughter group together for transport I already know I¡¯m going to blow up a moon, it just depends on if my daughter comes back or not. My facilities can be rebuilt, but this exact, curious, loving version of my Zia may never be the same. This is when I know that I¡¯m going to commit genocide. I was on the fence about what I was willing to do to the Herrati and their deceitful advance on my civilization. The fact that they expected to lose some ships and that they already deployed a combined colony and slaver ship has me livid. When Alaris arrived on scene in Sol-system yesterday, she got a hit on the long range relays in the Centauri system with readings of waste radiation consistent with the trashy patch job the Herrat use to install warp capabilities on their invasion ships. She didn¡¯t find any more concrete evidence of their location, but Aether mixed with annihilation energy is a big clue. Andromeda takes a bite when you kill a majority of civilians. The colony ships are a herring and are a loss at any bet. Which is why the Herrat put colony crews on a slaver ship and basically de-incentivize attacking their slaver fleet. I wonder though, with their penchant for attacking newer inclusions to the Matrix, if the defenders cared all that much or even had the opportunity to learn about that quirk in the Matrix. It¡¯s likely an anti-interdiction ploy. This, however, can wait until I respond to the Herrati Warleader¡¯s disrespectful attitude. Now though, my 9th level child wants to participate in a stealth recon mission while the Marines and I clean up after the pummeling I¡¯m about to ask Titania to begin. ¡°Begin bombardment.¡± The Captain orders Navigation to orient the ship and Weapons to fire weapons groups as the ship begins to hum with energy. To my surprise, the opening salvo includes rail gun ballistics, instead of explosive penetrating ordinance. I know a lot about weapons, but I¡¯ll admit that I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen to the hypervelocity rounds that are being fire from orbit. I find that my Cruisers are equipped with a few dozen rounds with heat and wind resistant shielding. Well, if it¡¯s not going to burn up in atmo, then it should do the job. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Less than ten minutes later the torpedoes start dropping void napalm in a thin blanket across the pummeled building and the still settling cloud of dust. Then we set it on fire. ¡°You coming on the shuttle Admiral?¡± a Navy pilot asks me. ¡°No thanks, Sailor. Haven¡¯t tested the re-entry capabilities of this armor model yet.¡± The look on his face priceless. After a few seconds of gaping in surprise, he shakes his head and replies, ¡°Copy that, rendevouz in 17 mikes.¡± He salutes and then escapes back into the shuttle. ¡°All hands, once leaving Titania¡¯s hull, we¡¯re comms dark until enemy contact. Ship¡¯s crew, maintain standard operation for moon surveys and comms regarding recovery. Our bombing run seem to have taken them by surprise, but we don¡¯t want them to know we¡¯re waiting for them to escape the rubble.¡± I get clicks in response. Walking over to environmental shield that allows shuttles to exit without venting atmosphere, I stop to turn around and salute the ship ¡°I have permission to go ashore,¡± I say before jumping backwards through Titania¡¯s envelope and into space. I burn my thrusters toward the moon and point my body like a dart in anticipation for the atmosphere that extends nearly 60k km off the surface. As silly as it sounds, when the heat visor comes down and noise cancelling suite activates, I¡¯m at my most peaceful despite hurtling toward the ground at hundreds of km/s. I contemplate my next moves during the minutes it takes me to fall, wondering if I employ my ¡®bad kitty¡¯ device before I help the Herrati POW¡¯s build a city or after. I suppose that depends on the intelligence report that comes back from Sol. Hmm, that¡¯s not entirely true: I¡¯ve committed to using it already, now I just need to gage how well supported their fleet headed toward Earth is. It¡¯s possible that the ships already committed will continue to be committed after I destroy their command structure. Though, it is a near surety that their remaining military craft will have more to worry about after I strike. The proximity alarm in my suit tells me to pay more attention to my tiny falling body through the surprisingly large moon¡¯s atmosphere. Smallest of the trio, but also further out, Supiter¡¯s magnetic field doesn¡¯t cover it as well as it¡¯s habitable sister moons. Hence why I made it my industrial center: Radiation is high enough that not a lot grows here, but the solar winds are buffeted enough that the moon can keep its gasses around. As soon as the temperatures of my shields begin lowering, I engage the ripple strips on my suit to slow me down to a hand-full of mps and engage my thrusters to reorient myself to the LZ we discussed in my briefing. With my acceleration tolerance being elevated to 15-18g, I come in hot and make my ripple drive stop me a meter from the ground and drop the remainder. A quick area survey tells me that there are thermal readings where I expect cats to be emerging from the adjacent factory to help the survivors from the bombing. I had no misgivings that I would have gotten them all with the bombing tactics, but it¡¯s nice to see that my setup was successful. As much as I want to go in there and start cleaning up, I know my Marines are two to three minutes out and it would be hard for me to gain the remaining Herrati¡¯s concentrated attention for that long. After raiding the Vengeance and the Aggressor, I know for a fact that they have rifles that can hurt me¡ªI designed them after all. Nothing I know is more frustrating than being shot at with weapons I made that were never supposed to see life in other race¡¯s hands. Several drones detach from the incoming landing craft to lay covering fire for their approach. As soon as the drones are in range, I fly up and engage the enemy from high above even the drones. I pull out a long-gun I developed with the punching power of an Indian Elephant falling from a cargo aircraft. The first Herrati Elite I hit at an angle tumbles tens of meters with a cracked shield. The second I hit from a much higher angle, driving them to their knees with a hole punched through a heavily cracked shield and a small spray of blood from their pelt. Stupid cats not wearing body coverings and relying on shields alone. They force the drones and me to take evasive maneuvers, returning fire into the sky as my forces land on the far side of the rubble that was a mine factory. I switch to the much more versatile pulse rifle and start staggering and softening the shields while the drones use their ballistics to put down the weakened threats. \Admiral, the Company has landed and debarked.\ /Thank you Major. Populating targets. Use long range fire to group them, then deploy ordinance before advancing./ Confirmation clicks issue through the connection as I continue to dodge the enemy¡¯s long-range weaponry. Or attempt to, anyway, I catch the occasional small arms fire, and am forced to pump Aether from my reserves in order to keep my shields up. The telltale crack of Merc Arms long guns topple Herrati Fighters and or wound several normal Herrat as the rounds scream through the air. As soon as the dozen or so Elites and Fighters regroup, the rockets begin landing amongst the grouped survivors and the oncoming rescue teams. I was never much for remorse or fairness in combat, so murdering them while they¡¯re down is a valid tactic to me. When the quartet of Phaseblades emerge from the smoke with blood matted fur and rage in their eyes and snarls, I know that my Marines are in trouble. I begin teleporting grenades at them, but the swerving, sword blinking approach they¡¯ve adopted for advancing on a machine gun nest keep me from placing bombs inside them. Did they share my tactics, or are they just dodging ballistics? They approach within 100m of my shuttles and I react by teleporting in while switching to a plasma saber and my prized auto pulse pistol¡ªPrivate Empress tech, never shared you furry bastards. I swipe down on an elite that has begun to throw his sword, he snarls as he phases. I know where his sword is going so I full auto some pulses at the twirling blade. The first two plasma bolts flip the Herrati combatant and the next two pierce the shield and cripple his left leg. I warp in and away with the sword he let go of to dress the wound I caused, as I shift toward the next Phaseblade. Three Marines that identify as Marine Vanguard surge forward as fully kitted battle betties in plated suits and tower shields made of circulating energy. Plurality Shields are expensive shields, and tie their durability to the person employing them¡ªas long as the marine lives, the shield is durable, and vice versa. In a firefight, this means, that while the Marine is active, it is like trying to penetrate a space ship hull with small arms. To bad the high priced bulwark is vulnerable to conventional weapons. /Employ range-mele crews. Three incoming./ \Demo Teams Charlie through Foxtrot, deploy for teleporting foes.\ Four teams advanced, one melee two ranged with mixed weaponry engage the Elites. In the opening salvo, my Marines surprise them with a stunning shield bash while pulse rounds impact their shields. When the Phaseblades recover, the melee are completely passed and engage on a ranged combatant. Focused on their respective trios, they aren¡¯t focused on me as I wait for an opening. The next stun has me teleporting with my saber into one as I blip to another, placing my repeater within an inch of the body and stream plasma through the man. Two down on their side, eight down and 15 wounded as far as my side is concerned. That shouldn¡¯t be possible with the cloud of dust and the swarm AI interference. They did warn me that their tech dominance was better than ours. The Company¡¯s rifleman are instructed to continue fire on the main group as the specialty troops engage the Elites in trades that barely overcome the Phaseblades in superior numbers. B4 Ch19: Zias Day Out It¡¯s strange to know that I am better at fighting space ships than a few companies of cats. The space operas of old taught me that small, fast moving assaults are hard for ships of the line to target. In the age of sail, it was just hard to hit things with mounted cannons. In the industrial age, targeting was much improved by the more compact and high-powered nature of artillery, and ships moved relatively slow relative to each other¡ªsay twenty knots. Once airplanes were introduced into maritime combat, the game changed dramatically. The computer age saw some very impressive advances in targeting, but planes started carrying M5+ missiles that didn¡¯t quite give all of the advantage back to the fast movers, but pilots survived more. Space age, that I¡¯ve only been a part of for five years or so, has moved into comparative tech and speed just as in the computer age, but pushing against materiel and biologic limitations. Which would all be fine and understandable if you didn¡¯t still need ground troops to hold territory. Back to reality, I made some emergency purchases for this Company of Marines and spent the rest of my credits on t-2 gear for my boys and girls. It¡¯s not enough. The specialized Vanguard still stands with their tower shields, but it¡¯s not enough. The snipers are shattering shields and killing three cats every other shot, though, one might guess correctly, but it¡¯s not enough. /Titania, how long would it take to reconfigure the shuttle shields to absorb a napalm explosion?/ \Cannot be done completely, Admiral.\ /How long would they last under Napalm?/ \Up to 90 seconds, give or take.\ /Please make it happen within two minutes./ I change channels and talk to the company officers. /Marines, Titania is going to create an opportunity to shield yourself from a major attack that will occur in approximately three minutes. Do not die because you are slow./ I fade to the back as I recharge my aether stores for a horrific bombardment I plan to levy. Sure, pulling back affects my Marines, but I feel that if I don¡¯t at least attempt this grand gesture, many more will die. I line up shots while I eat and take singles out of hundreds while bayonets and sabers are tussling with gunfire below. While the Phaseblades would have ruined all but the Vanguard, I am surprised at the fighting ability of the Marines that volunteered for this assault¡ªholding their own with a war-bred race is no small feat. Two minutes come and go and Titania alerts me to the shield extension and the limits of extension. I forward that to the officer corps and to order the retreat while I spool up as much void energy as I can hold. Just as all of my troops slide inside the shield¡¯s barrier, I teleport and broadside the Herrati forces with [Nightmare Napalm] as wide and as thick as I can push it. Less than ten seconds later, I¡¯m tapped and my ripple drive drops me from the sky. The suit switches over to my small emergency supply of thruster power so that I can land, but my teleport doesn¡¯t take Aether. Too bad my Will is nearly gone, as apparently most of it is committed to my follow-on engagement. I did not know I could commit Willpower to a future thing. Today I learned. Normally I¡¯d complain about such things, but I¡¯d like to think I¡¯m growing as a person in realizing that I get away with a lot of shit. My teleport messes with my thrust vectors so I begin tumbling. It¡¯s fast enough that I don¡¯t care to correct it and just tuck and roll. I feel a few legs worth of resistance before I roll to a stop. I pop my visor, stuff some fruit in my mouth and sip on my victory Horchata. /I pumped it thick Titania, share integrity updates with the officer corps./ \As you say Admiral.\ ¨¤ ¡°Marines, shield integrity is at 85%, failure estimated in 63 seconds.¡± That is less than expected, I muse as I roll over and summon myself a weapon and try to line up some shots. High impact sniper rounds are key at this juncture, as I can throw napalm covered Herrat into the clean pockets to spread the flesh and reality melting substance. ¡°Admiral! A cargo shuttle approaches from the South!¡± ¡°Take it down. That¡¯s either rigged to explode or has a hundred cats on it.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t Admiral, by the time the shuttles are in a position to fire, or a Missile from Titania gets here, it will already be upon us!¡± Major Stokes panics. /Titania, is there any way you can teleport me a missile in the next ten seconds?/ \ . . . Yes, but it will permanently disable our elevator transport network. The physical ones will still operate.\ /Do it. Teleport any type of self-propelled warhead to my location in 7 seconds./ I immediately blast off with my thrusters and streak toward the inbound industrial shuttle. Seven seconds later a full-sized space torpedo is teleported on top of me. I task my remaining parallel minds to interface with the torpedo¡¯s interface and program it to take out the incoming cats. The torpedo¡¯s thrusters pop and burn my suit on the way by, my Aether stores insufficient to prevent all damage. I realize I made a fucking backpack for suit-powering purposes and swear as I summon it and struggle to put it on as the burns restrict me. Self, that is a .5kg A-M torpedo. Evasive teleportation advised. Fuck me sideways. ¡°All moonside personnel. Board the shuttles and employ personal shields. Six MT Blast incoming in 15.¡± Do we survive this? Long term, yes; short term, no. Well, that¡¯s a bitch. Is there any reason I can¡¯t use the committed willpower now? You are low on Aether, so you will be unable to finalize your plans, but beginning them is . . . possible even from a different system than planned. /Captain, you have command of the engagement area. Titania, interface with Tessa until I return./ Before I can alert the officer corps directly, my parallel mind takes over and taps into the core of the System Host in orbit around Solastra and Solastrb by stretching my consciousness through aether space. I whisper a hope that my Marines and Zia make it out alive before I am stretched too thin for consciousness. *** The Marines in charge of the stealth unit are treating me like a baby and a drone, and I want to shank the squad leaders. Momma gave me Lieutenant access to the interface but I have no idea what that means. I see a bunch of info on each of the Marines around me, but the leaders appear to be Corporals? A brief AI assisted search tells me that only platoons are led by officers, squads are led by PFCs or Corporals. Whatever that means. I¡¯m starting to get why Momma asked if I was ready for a real mission, as these missions are primarily boring with waiting before moving, more waiting before planning and yet more waiting before doing. How can grown-ups handle so much waiting. I bet Jenna asks the same thing, she¡¯s always active. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°The Herrat response from this building has mobilized. Activate active camo, use AI comms from here on out.¡± A round of clicks roll through the network as they non-vocally respond to the Corporal. /T minus 5 minutes Corporal./ I message as I pull up my visual diffusion aeromancy. \That¡¯s it? I thought . . .\ /It¡¯s wasted on waiting and thinking, Corporal./ His eyes go wide with surprise and anger, but he finally realizes that times a wasting as he issues a hand signal for us all to move. The team was briefed that my conjuring is a complete camo at 10m, but as that gets closer, the sound and wind of the spell are detectable with the right instruments. Within 3 meters, anyone could tell something was wrong with the air movement and smells were detectable. Visuals were iffy within 3m as well, so hopefully the Corporal figures that from the briefing. He signals to hold 10m from the door as more cats pour out. A minute later, we rush inside and find a cozy corner of the large warehouse to drop the spell. \How long to recharge?\ /Two mins/ I say, stuffing my face with aether food and juice. /Aether fatigue after 5 uses? Unsure./ \That¡¯s not very long kid, why the hell would . . .\ \For fuck¡¯s sake Mike, she¡¯s an asset with limits. Figure it out. It is literally your job.\ The squad weaponeer chides the squad leader. /I am trained in blade combat and can blink up to 10 meters. Takes Aether though./ \Hmm, camo and silent strikes, this is good info, kid.\ /Name¡¯s Zia or ¡®Sir¡¯, you pick, Corporal./ My throat reverberates sub sonically and the Squad raises their eyebrows as the wave impacts them. Corporal motions for us to take two, activate, and move up toward the offices on the second floor. Mike kicks Gunner¡¯s boot and we get kicks a round, telling us to begin. I raise our obfuscation field and we advance up the stairs to the gangway terrace thing. As we approach a window, Mike calls for a halt and pies the window with his eyes and his ballistic rifle. He motions that there are two people inside, makes claws for cats and motions for stabbing? /Uh, who is engaging second cat?/ \Gunnar and Gillie will rush as you appear.\ Like O-M-G, you are such a good leader! Gag, what an ass. He signals to watch him and starts counting from 5 with his fingers. I unsheathe my daggers, hoping nothing the cats have can resist the arcane bronze in my left hand and the titan steel in my right. Not that I¡¯m sticking around, I¡¯m level 9 for Andromeda¡¯s sake. I hold my arms and blades in a circle and blink to put the cat¡¯s neck in the ring. When I appear, I lean back, digging my knees into the furry back, and pull my daggers back and apart with a ¡®shing¡¯ of metal sliding across metal. I blink back immediately to escape a situation I am under-leveled for as gunshots and plasma splashes fill the small office. \Zia, quit hanging your ass in the wind and get in here.\ Corporal poo head chats to me. The cat I attacked sprayed a lot of blood everywhere, the other is mostly just bleeding on the floor. I shut the door behind me and I get the idea that the team is searching for something. I start looking for secret compartments. Not sure how to find them, but there are already eyes and hands on the desk and the cabinets. Ten minutes later one of the privates brings a folder to Corporal poo. ¡°Excellent. You sure this was all we found on the Automation Algorithm Housing.¡± ¡°Positive Corp.¡± ¡°Jonesy, take five to look at these schematics and tell us where we¡¯re headed.¡± He slaps a paper to another man¡¯s chest and he unfolds it quickly without tearing it. ¡°Zia, I want you to use your wind trick to get us off this catwalk and into cover. Once Jonesy tells us our route, we¡¯re pressing forward silent and dark until we get eyes on the device. Once we do that, you blink in, grab it and blink to safety if you can. Otherwise keep one of the Marines between you and the enemy.¡± I nod at that. Seems doable. Don¡¯t know if I have the aether to blink as many times as it would take to escape, but I would certainly try it if I had to. Minutes later, Jonesy shares a schematic via our HUDs and show¡¯s the route to a sub-level vault below the crystal draw chambers. I know what these crystals are, as they are the basis of the batteries that run most of the aether devices on Astoria, but the technology behind it wasn¡¯t a part of the Hereditary Memory that I received. The route that is planned out for us seems easy enough, but the grinding and shaping floor seems like a wide open space and I can¡¯t keep up the obfuscation field long enough for us to get across it unless we run. With my field up, we slink down the stairs and into the adjacent building with the grinding machines. The place is dark, darker than the humans can see, save the Corporal, who must have modded into nightvision. As a blink pixie shapeshifter, I can see well in low light and can mod my eyes myself to see better in the dead of night. As soon as we get in between the machines I have to bring down the field and recoup my stamina, or whatever stat governs effort. Perhaps it is a function of multiple things like physique and willpower, though the point is moot while I don¡¯t have the opportunity to change it. The Marines in front of me have their weapons pointed low and forward, anchored in their shoulders as they rush along in a smooth rolling step. When the foremost Marine pies around a large steel box labeled ¡°powdering chamber¡± a searing visual of two plasma bolts flash for an instant as Corporal signals for us to hold in place and get low. We wait for what seems like twenty seconds before we get signals to close in and move out. The hallway we enter is a trial of patience for me and a period of intense concentration for the Marines. Every closed door gets rigged, every open door gets a proper search procedure, then also gets rigged with remote sensors and an overhead flashbang. Three closed and two open doors later, we get to the end of the hall that turns toward the crystal drawing chambers and supposedly a hatch, staircase, or elevator that goes to the vault. Corporal poo signals me forward and essentially asks me if the guards are too close to the security door for my skill. I take a peak and make gestures of punching a keypad then an overhead light on the security door I saw. He ask me if I¡¯m sure with a dopey look on his face. I nod my fist and point at my eyes. \Right, risking chat. Zia sees a keypad with an overhead access light. We need to either punch out the light or cover it while we try hacking the keypad.\ \How can she even see that kind of detail?\ /Both the pad and the overhead are emitting dim UV light. It wouldn¡¯t show up on normal night vision or infravision. Not sure why, but mom had her reasons I¡¯m sure./ \I have an idea, Corp, but it¡¯s gonna sound dumb.\ \Lets have it Jonesey!\ \Well, I have an MRE bag and if Pinkman gave me a boost I could cover it.\ /So, a crinkly bag and some tape? We have to maximize my obfuscation field to do this guys. No time to dilly or dally./ \Okay, bag is go, Martin and Plein, be ready to full send on the two cats on guard. Zia, when we get to the panel, any ideas that would take les time than a brute force hack would be welcome\ I nod my concurrence and raise my obfuscation field when signaled. We glide forward, keeping to the walls as much as possible as my field is not true invisibility, bit in this light, it might as well be. We reach the cubby with the door and the keypad with no issues but before I can focus on the keypad, I hear a cacophony of rustling bag and unrolling tape and stare at the cats in horrified anticipation. Corporal grabs my chin and angrily gestures to the keypad. It looks like a standard ten key layout, but it has a hex shift key. Sixteen characters would be a bear to brute force. I¡¯m surprised she didn¡¯t implement some sort of bypass biometric device. I study the panel and see a nail width gap in the plastic toward the face, but only on one side. I stick a nail in and try to flick it out and a piece of plastic with a finger groove and a pinhole at the end. I look up to see what Corporal poo thinks. He glares at me then gestures me to go ahead. Makes sense, I suppose. I share bio data with mom, but would she have keyed this plant with my info? Maybe if it was tied into the Empire¡¯s interface and she could give blanket permission or access level. I shrug and put my finger in the groove and less than a second later the damn thing stabs me. Like a grown up, I hiss grab my finger and dance around in a circle. Suddenly I¡¯m being grabbed and flung into a dark space. I hear the shuffling of feet and the click of a door before I collect myself and stand up. Apparently my blood did the trick as we are all standing on a landing with stairs laid out in front of me. Jerk could have hurt me. I drop the field and slink down the step in a petulant fog. I get to the end and look around to find it turns perpendicular instead of a switchback and gesture that as best I can. Jonesy takes the lead and we descend the next set of stairs but they only have a railing and we can see into the long room that seems to have crates and crates full of crystals. At the end, however, is a few squads of cats guarding a seemingly open door with one object at the end of a banks of servers. A crystalline lattice with hunks of tech arranged in a half dome-like shape. Oh hells. That¡¯s a prototype brain for momma¡¯s robots, like Owen. B4 Ch20: Penny the Conqueror I watch the gears turn in Corporal poo¡¯s head when the room shakes and concrete chunks and dust blow in from the stairwell at moderate speed moments later. Some heck of a bomb must have been detonated above us. If a concrete enclosure was damaged, the warehouse must have been leveled. What the hell was mom thinking!! What if I was still in there, damnit?! My personal shields activate as I fail to avoid some chunks of the rubble. Other members of the team fell and others had their shields cracked by large chunks of concrete. Before we have time to recover, the better protected cats advance on us with weapons free. Except the one that fell into the open door. Half of it is missing. Now there¡¯s an idea. /Corporal, that door is equipped with a disintegrating array, if you can push them toward it, I can kick them through./ \No way am I letting you get into melee with them.\ /Put your head shields on and throw some grenades, Corporal, or we¡¯re going to die soonest./ Idiots have good t-2 armor and they haven¡¯t activated their head shields. Dingbats. When a bolt skims off my armor, I scurry behind the nearest Marine. I didn¡¯t remember to ask for a spatial storage device before this expedition and now I¡¯m at a loss for a ranged weapon. I should have take a gun off of the cats in the office, but now the office doesn¡¯t exist. While the Marines are firing back, I¡¯m inventorying grenades on their persons. Seeing an appropriate thermobaric¡ªweird what the system thinks I should remember¡ªI pull it off the belt, activate it and blink forward and up to drop the grenade and blink back to hide again. Heat and pressure slam us against the wall and I see that another cat is almost in the door. I blink again and speed burst dive bomb the cat as he attempts to stand, wings out as I kick it with all my speeding mass. Before seeing the results of my daring-do, I double blink back to where I was and collapse for a few breaths. I pull out some aether infused snacks and jam them into my face. \Warn us next time, kid.\ He rises to keep shooting at the recovering cats. \Some of us were hurt in that blast.\ /To hurt to shoot or throw grenades?/ \There are thousands of pounds of batteries in here kid.\ /They¡¯re inert you turd. Stop whining like a child and get to work./ Corporal¡¯s face screwed up into a sneer as the rest of the squad showed astonishment. Good. Called me Kid again. Jerk. The opposing sets of guns trade shots and get nearly nothing done. The cats have amazing energy protection this time and the ballistics we brought don¡¯t seem to hurt them much, even if they get through. Corporal poo tosses a grenade after we brace and then the whole team focuses on one of the cats with their weapons and manage to gun down one of the remaining seven. Another is recovering by the door so I take another chance to blink up and torpedo toward it. At the last moment I swear it grins as it swats me toward the doorway as it slumps aside. The slap dazes me for a moment and before I can collect myself enough to blink away, I¡¯m through the doorway. Horrified, I freeze up waiting for my disintegration. I wait long enough slam into the floor and then the wall when my vision blacks and my mind blanks. *** Turns out, if you have the title ¡®of the Matrix¡¯ you can abuse loopholes in a few gate protocols as long as they aren¡¯t explicitly for war. For example, it would not normally be possible to link to the gate network without being physically present. For a primarily aether-based being with the right title and an entanglement-based ability, I can use a small portion of my mater to open a gate enough for my energy to pass through. This is what allowed my pre-planned will to get me from Clotho to the system host in Astoria system that I used to sling me a galaxy over at great token cost through the respective core hosts to a trade planet in Andromeda Galaxy, a single node away from the home of the Supercluster Forum. I¡¯d landed here previously after taking my shuttle through one of the ship gates in the system and landing for a mana re-supply. In the last two years, my aether infused Corundum crystals have become a popular storage medium in the Milky Way, but many of the Supercluster powers were reluctant to adopt foreign tech from an upstart civilization. Can¡¯t blame them really. Also hard to argue with the fact that drained crystals were dirt cheap on the shade markets here, and that aether infused food was common and reasonably priced, making my current situation of needing a large amount of stored aether tenable as I can charge them myself. I try to focus on the demands of the here and now, and of the mission that I had committed the will for, but flashes of horror and destruction of my Marines come back to me, and the unknown fate of my daughter. Though I hadn¡¯t planned on being a mother this soon, learning new things about the creature I am becoming and having this fun, reasoning miscreant call me ¡®Momma¡¯ has been a gift¡ªthe happiest of accidents. I pinged Astoria as soon as I arrived. Knowing how the energy space works, and the impossible distance involved in traveling two million plus lightyears, the process is going to take at least a few hours. Until then, I won¡¯t know how my errant acceptance of my daughter¡¯s pleas have been met with disaster or catastrophic dysphoria. I feel a sickness in my stomach, but a part of me knows that whatever has happened, that even if it¡¯s my last act, I can ensure that my daughter survives. Which is more than I can say for the Herrati. After gathering and charging twenty crystals of various size, I summon my shuttle and charge her at the nearest port authority. The details of how many credits and tokens I have spent are largely immaterial. As the Empress, I have ultimate authority of my systems¡¯ funds. But after the emergency purchases I¡¯ve made, I have maybe a thousand tokens and a few hundred million credits¡ªnowhere near enough to run an Empire. It¡¯s sad to say that I bankrupted my people to even stand a chance at pushing back the Herrat threat. Now, I feel as though I have to finish it to ensure we make our short term escape into a long-term survival plan. Well, it¡¯s a lesson to me and the cats: don¡¯t engage in total war, unless you can afford it. The danger is, the desperate party decides when total war exists. I decide. As the desperate party, the extra gates I engraved were pre-positioned. As the desperate party, my advisors and businesses have been gearing up for nearly a year. With my shuttle and my collected crystals and my personal reserves, a desperate party might be able to power two gates by themselves for several minutes. What could an enterprising young Empress devise that would make a difference with a few minutes? I asked myself that many times. Still wonder if it¡¯s enough. I convinced myself that ceramics are hard to melt. Then, I read the tech specs of the enchanted gate ceramic gateway blanks. Finally, I realized just how many extra enchantments I could fit on the blank side of a one-way gate. At first, I tried to think of ways to make my efforts more destructive and not a single consideration was mathematically more destructive than more time. So, I researched and devised interlocking protective enchantments that might be able to survive a nuclear blast. Instead, the protective enchantments of one gate would be sent to skim the bottom of the photosphere of the local star, moving at hundreds of kilometers per second. The other gate I¡¯m parking on their planet¡¯s surface. The best part is I could have funded a space fleet with the millions of tokens this cost to implement, but I didn¡¯t have the time or the people to build it. The truth is, once the Herrat delivered their ultimatum, it was too late to hire others to build it because the traders didn¡¯t want to be caught on the wrong side of the victors. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°It¡¯s sad that my normal voice of reason was recently emancipated from my body and thus her constant presence in my brain.¡± I still listen you know. Yeah, but you¡¯re going to tell me this isn¡¯t necessary again aren¡¯t you? I disagree that this is necessary, but it is the quickest way to keep the Herrati from threatening our futures. Thanks? Also how are we talking this way over the distance? I left a remnant, like I do with shuttles and bases on occasion. We¡¯ll synch after you return to a reasonable communications distance. Huh. Well, great. Another witness. We will talk about your spying habits later. I blip the shuttle out of the local gravity well and set a course to the opposite side of the star that the Herrati home world orbits to find my gate nestled on some trojan asteroids following the dominant gas giant in the system. I charge the runes as I place the opening toward the star, using the HUD in my suit to plot the optimal course for skimming the photosphere before the protections are overcome. I energize the timed plasma jets that set the ring spinning at tens of thousands of rpm before the jets cut out. I take another moment to check the teleport and plasma jet calculations before energizing the propulsion jets and teleporting the gyro-stable mess of enchantment to within 0.01 AU of the star. That should give me an hour and a half or so to finish setting up and maybe talk the Herrati down before I destroy them. I take my ship to a closer position behind one of the Herrat home world moons and make my preparations for the gate that has been stored within my shuttle cargo space for a year. I portal to the surface in a desert-scape with the gate and lay it down with runes to the sky before the cats notice my shuttle. I have a relay set up, no doubt they will be able to track it in minutes despite my desire for Tessa to rout it through their Magitech systems. ¡°Astorian craft, you are in Herrati system space. You will be arrested and your ship will be destroyed.¡± Said some nearly robotic goon. ¡°Herrati goon, this is the Empress of the Astorian Empire. I demand a cessation of hostilities and an audience with the War Leader¡¯s Council.¡± The green air traffic controller stuttered a bit and said the equivalent of ¡®wait one¡¯. I waited ten and then energized the runes on the exit gate and teleported to my shuttle. The screens on my shuttle popped with energy, then static, then I see a scarred and tired hunter address me. ¡°Empress claimant, we have dispatched a diplomatic envoy and then an investigation fleet to speak with you. Have they not been cordial and forthcoming?¡± ¡°Before I respond to the outlandish misrepresentation of your intent, am I talking with someone that can make decisions for the Herrati at large?¡± ¡°You are, but this is irregular for . . .¡± ¡°It was irregular for a diplomatic envoy to try and kill me. It is also irregular for me to offer your species survival in exchange for a century-long cessation of hostilities, but here we are.¡± I nearly growl at the console. The longer they delay and posture, the less I can do to cancel the destruction. ¡°We were unaware that Humans were capable of reaching this galaxy. It must have been exorbitantly expensive. What more could you levy if all you brought was a shuttle?¡± ¡°War leader, I invented the tech that propelled my race to Matrix propelled space. What makes you think I couldn¡¯t ruin a civilization after three years of having the Matrix enhance my actions.¡± ¡°We have enjoyed the Matrix for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Empress, our forces are far beyond your Empire¡¯s capabilities.¡± ¡°I agree entirely, War Leader, but a motivated, enterprising person can become more powerful than the restrictions of their society.¡± I say, openly acknowledging the restrictions of the Forum and that I actively ignored how they apply to me. ¡°My tech tier may be slightly behind yours, but I assure you that my aether tier is far beyond. Stop this war and you will not have to find the limits of my resolve.¡± Despite what I know of myself, despite what I know I have planned, I hope that they don¡¯t just fully rely on their intelligence reports¡ªsuch an action would be folly. Yet when I hear the scoff and see his paw-wave, I know he has no faith in my statements. I know he assumes I¡¯m bluffing. ¡°Well, if that¡¯s your position, then I recommend you evacuate? The point of no return is nigh and if you send ships I will steal them.¡± My HUD alerts me that the spinning ring has entered the star¡¯s corona. The initial effects would be slow, as matter density is low at that position unless a flare occurs at a fantastically low probability of location. ¡°Our ships will be on location within an hour, please do not resist, we will not hesitate to kill you.¡± His smug whiskers twitch in pleasure to a game he thought he¡¯s won. I might have to play a little cat and mouse to get the times to align, but nothing difficult. Doing the math, an average main stage star has a circumference between 1 and 10 million miles, or 1.6 to 16 million k. At 100 kps or kips, and skimming about two percent of the photosphere in it¡¯s transit. That¡¯s about two to twenty minutes in that space with the gate collecting plasma to dump through the other gate. A solar flare puts out an average of 40 megatonnes of tnt a second and severely restricting that over a period of the time required is a frankly unseemly amount of energy deposited on their planet. Despite the Chronosphere not being particularly dense in matter, the flux of photon and other radiation is massive¡ªthat is if a coronal mass ejection doesn¡¯t knock the gate off course. The gate in the sand will likely start off slow by the radiation coming through and being absorbed by the local atmosphere, attenuating more than 90% of the energy withing the first t300m of air. It should progressively heat the area until the surrounding sand starts to melt into a multiple thousand centigrade inferno of molten and vaporized glass, driven by hydrogen plasma many multiples hotter as the density of the plasma ejected increases as the gate lowers through photosphere to touch the surface. Even minutes of the ground sustaining this continued heat injection could be catastrophic, but the ejecta of a molten sand pit erupting into a climate system is enough to ruin a world without the radiation flux continuing to attenuate in the thickening atmosphere. At some point the roiling plumes of hot hydrogen ions will diffuse enough through the atmosphere that an odd occurrence of chemistry will start to ruin the atmosphere further. I don¡¯t know the exact mixture of gasses in Herrati air, but they seemed fine on astoria. Anyway, once the hydrogen reaches a saturation above 5% or so, it starts burning oxygen when heated over 700k or 427 Celsius. At the higher end of the heat and hydrogen spectrum, the oxygen in the sand strips from the silicon and aluminum and burns as well. It¡¯s possible that as the gate skims the surface, enough hydrogen will be introduced to create a chainfire in the atmosphere¡ªif the troposphere doesn¡¯t catch on fire first. The low-end predictions say that the Herrati survive, but have to evacuate because 97% of flora will die based on those conservative estimates. The average has most of the cats cooking before they can make it to a space port or a bunker. About thirty minutes of bouncing around their moon to evade capture, and less than thirty seconds into the gate activation the aurora across the magnetic poles of the planet begin appearing in the day. My comms chirp then. ¡°Empress, enough, we agree to your terms!¡± The now desperate cat pleads. ¡°Too hot to turn it off War Leader. Time to own it and evacuate with the minutes you have left.¡± ¡°There is not enough time! There are billions of citizens that need to evacuate! Have mercy.¡± I scoff at that and sneer my response, ¡°Like the mercy you would have given my race as slaves?! Now my vengeance is paid tenfold, War leader.¡± I¡¯m sure he had more to say and to swear, but the communication was shoddy already, and the electronic systems in space must have finally expired. The communications failed far before their ability to escape did. The War Leader¡¯s reluctance to take the situation seriously doomed all but the most prepared survivalists and paranoid dignitaries. I proceeded to shoot government vessels out of the sky because they should have to lie in the bed that they made. I watched the minutes until the origin gate in the star disintegrated in expired aether and ceramics. The snuffing of the exit gate was barely noticeable save the flare of energy retreated back into the atmosphere where the superheated sand and volcanic ejecta dominated the heating forces while the cascading hydrogen burn exacerbated the devastation, watching the hours distant forests and water heat beyond design as they burned and evaporated in turn. The more smoke and steam, the worse the prognosis was. I¡¯m sure that scholars in the future would identify the superheated promulgation of hydrogen burning everything is what started the global extinction. The heat rise would get most, but the smoke and atmospheric debris would get the rest. The truth of it was, though, Penny is what started it, or rather ended it¡ªthe Herrat started this war. Beware the intelligent and capable sociopath. Not that I can¡¯t empathize, it¡¯s just that the ends justify the means to me, to a degree that seems insensitive and immoral. My people¡¯s freedom: the fey, Human, Collective, or otherwise, deserve a future free of intergalactic harassment. The Matrix tells me that the Herrati would never have stopped, only regrouped, led me to this. As a third of their planet burned in visible flames, I wasn¡¯t sure that justification mattered. One might find my willingness, no duty, to watch the consequences of my decisions as a psychotic indulgence. One might also question whether boarding and planting A-M bombs on the remaining military ships as excessive. One might also underestimate the cost of persistent and lasting freedom. As penance, Andromeda forced me to read every single notification. I minimized the window to a small corner of my view, but even then, I could see the small window scroll with notifications that I murdered people. It would eventually take days for those notifications to stop. B4 Ch21: Bargains for the Future. /Due to eliminating non-combatant Matrix users, 1% of renumeration will be conveyed. //The Astorian Empire has Conquered the Great Hunters of Herrat// /Bonus experience and rewards. Well, shit. I feel my next venture into aether space is going to find a message that dresses me down, or requires my presence. I shudder at the thought of a galactic entity forcing me to talk to them. /Teleportation attempt unsuccessful. /Surviving infrastructure on a conquered planet may be repaired at reduced cost. /Contracts of conquered industries are eligible for renegotiation. /Teleportation unsuccessful Damn, I would have never imagined the responsibilities that follow near genocide. Sure, the Matrix assures me that tens, maybe hundreds, of millions of Herrat survived in their appellate systems, but not it¡¯s up to me whether I let them run them or not? This is not what I wanted. It makes me sick that twenty billion can be reduced to shame and a dragon¡¯s hoard of tokens and credits. At least the Empire has a war chest again. Side note, what is this about someone trying to teleport me? Where I would normally ignore the summons, as I can apparently ignore their transportation magic, these are the representatives of a thousand races in the Supercluster, Perhaps hundreds of trillions of beings. I¡¯m not ashamed to say that I am considering telling them to go to hell as I attend to my daughter. It¡¯s hard to admit that I would doom thousand to check on her, but dooming billions is . . . too much. I end up accepting and am teleported to a receiving platform in front of a grandiose structure covered in sculptures of multiple races in their technological and societal advancements. Visions of conquering are noticeably absent. A small creature with a mushroom cap hood, a plain face and short arms covered in tasteful and well-made robes approaches with a pair of bipedal lizard guards with spears. The being taps the collar on his robe, a glowing metal emblem squacking at the attention. ¡°Greetings Empress Astoria of the Matrix and current custodian of humanity and the Herrat refugees.¡± Well that¡¯s a mouthful. Did not know I was formally responsible for remaining Herrat, or perhaps he refers to the defector¡¯s colony I started for them. ¡°Greetings Forum Representative. Please excuse my ignorance, and as I find it rude to inspect everyone, I have declined to do so.¡± ¡°Well met. And most of the Ten feel the same about inspect or appraisal related skills. I am Representative M¡¯lundi of the Myconid Collective, first populace of the Ten. Meaning we currently have the most users registered with the Forum.¡± ¡°Thank you for the clarification. I appreciate your cordial attention, but I must attend to a battle on one of my moons.¡± ¡°I understand your desire for haste, so you may slow or momentarily stop time if you wish.¡± The mushroom reveals a secret of mine with casual indifference. ¡°I . . . am not comfortable in doing so for extended periods.¡± ¡°Then I suppose it would be prudent to offer you refreshments and begin our business.¡± We continue walking as he speaks. I nod in concurrence before speaking. ¡°Yes, lets, and I would gladly accept your offer if the refreshments have aether in them.¡± He nods with his cap to make me comfortable, ¡°Of course.¡± Though it walked and talked, my aether senses have been erratic. It appears as a homogenous mass of aether with some sort of wavy tether connecting the Representative to points unknown, though likely his collective. As we walk, I practice dilating time and space so that the time we travel and the distance are shortened. After a short minute of actual time, we arrive at an office and I release my committed aether to allow us to interact with objects normally. The mushroom chuckles. ¡°It has been some time since I have seen such applications of aether. It is a rare specialization you have.¡± His first stop in the office we walked into is a cubby near a large desk, where two drinks are waiting for him. He proffers me one and motions for me to sit. The seat is comfortable, though having no back, and a soothing and rich floral taste fills me with aether from the beverage handed to me. ¡°This is much more satisfying than the juice I normally drink. Thank you.¡± ¡°To the issue of why we attempted to summon you: your near eradication of the Herrat.¡± Raising an eyebrow at the comment, I know that if this person were a threat to my immediate health they would have been less welcoming. The juxtaposition is confusing, but interesting all the same. ¡°The leadership I talked to told me in no uncertain terms that they would be a persistent threat, so I took away their ability to be persistent in the near future.¡± To my surprise, the Myconid gestures dismissively at my attempt to defend my actions. ¡°The Ten, and the Forum at large, don¡¯t busy themselves in the squabbles between two civilizations. We only get involved when a threat to the Matrix or the Supercluster¡¯s general populace is threatened.¡± ¡°So, how does ignoring the Herrat enslaving new civilizations fall into that category? Denying billions the use of the Matrix seems a disservice if you ask me.¡± I should probably feel more in awe of this creature¡¯s position, perhaps act more respectfully in general, but they basically tried to abduct me and I was respectful enough to appear for the summons. ¡°The Matrix attempts to respect cultural habits and expectations. Your Human right of conquest for new land being one of them.¡± When I open my mouth to reply, he continues, ¡°To the point, however, is that you¡¯ve caused a class five destruction event¡ªevents that threaten planets and possible even systems.¡± ¡°While we as a Supercluster mourn the loss of a habitable planet, it does happen and they can be recovered in time. More to the point, the Forum members want to be reassured that this event does not lend you or your civilization additional confidence or hubris towards the idea of using this as a routine practice. As you own words described Humanity as prone to violence, and deserving of technological censure, We are curious as to your intentions from here.¡± Don¡¯t get a big head? That¡¯s what this meeting is about? Okay, that¡¯s a surprise and a half. ¡°If we¡¯re being candid, and confidential . . .¡± I wait for an acknowledgement, ¡°Humanity was not ready to colonize other systems, let alone meet a spacefaring community. As the inner conflict on Earth has indicated, we can barely manage ourselves on one planet. Throw in four more habitable worlds with expansionist dreams, and while you may replace our innate need for control with the wonder of new frontiers, the problems don¡¯t go away. ¡°To answer your question, I plan to establish a multi-system Empire that can accommodate the needs of the several races that have settled there, and to make it more robust than the diaphanous world government we had on my own planet. I want ours to be a trading and exploring Empire, so our military focus will be to police more than make war.¡± I believe they nod for my sake, but the gesture of understanding is appreciated. ¡°This is a most agreeable position. I speak for the Forum in saying that we welcome the commerce and opportunity to experience new cultures. The Ten appreciate that we do not have a rogue Primus on our hands that has a mastery of void aligned aether. Though, many civilizations have interest in allying with such a creature should they be reasonable.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. I chuckle that they call me a creature. ¡°Perhaps in a mark or so, once we settle into this way of life and I have a few more tiers under my belt. Though, I am willing to help if I am capable of doing so. Though I might appreciate a message or a job posting more than a summons.¡± ¡°That is understandable. Here, I have sent you an invitation to be an Ambassador of the Matrix to the Forum, though I recommend resolving any consequences of your war before accepting the invitation in case your status changes.¡± ¡°Thank you Representative, I appreciate the opportunity to stay apprised of Supercluster politics. Now if that¡¯s all, I have urgent matters to attend.¡± He nods and I spend a few moments to fully realize the new environment I wish to be in and transposition myself onward. ¡°That was not mere void aligned aether. Must be convenient though.¡± The Myconid muttered to himself, sharing the thought with their collective. *** When I open my eyes, I am not where I expected to be. The familiar sight of a desk with a floating panel display and keyboard greet me as I rise from the ground to survey my latest teleportation folly. ¡°Welcome! It saddens us to meet again under such circumstances, however¡± ¡°As administrators, we have been tasked with an audit of your title and position as Mediator.¡± The twins manage to convey condolences through their relentlessly chipper demeanor. ¡°Well, at least time is fluid and often compressed here. Lets get on with it then. I get the Penalties are from massacring civilians, so is the audit for the same purpose?¡± ¡°Mmm, not exactly. As you have the Class: Inightful Calamity, collateral damage was predicted, so is that your reasoning may not be . . .¡± ¡°Traditionally sensible.¡± I snort a laugh at that, fair enough. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll bite. From a personal standpoint, I couldn¡¯t allow 2 ish billion Humans be captured and have their Matrix contact be shut down without putting up a fight. So that¡¯s two billion weighed against 17 billion on the face of it. But what about their practices of not allowing their slaves to initiate into the Matrix? ¡°If you take the period of my probation as a Moderator, and factor in the use of tier 1 and 2 medical technology, that two billion people could easily reach 15 billion in 100 years. If you also consider the fact that the Herrat have been taking slaves like this for hundreds of years, and denying them the system for just as long, with no intervention from the forum, that¡¯s around 25 billion affected through their action, which would be enough to put the Herrat slaves in the Forum themselves.¡± All told, it¡¯s a staggering set of numbers when my planet only has a few million on it. The justification on numbers is merely a reason to go through with the plan than to make what I did worth doing, though some more powerful civilization could have handled it with less outright murder. It surprised me to hear the Representative admit that they allow civilizations a great deal of leeway due to the Matrix allowing some things like slavery and conquering an unregistered planet by showing up and putting my feet on land. After perceived minutes of silence I glance back up at the twins. ¡°So, was this supposed to be a trial or something? Anything you want to ask me?¡± ¡°I suppose we could while the Matrix finishes their simulations.¡± ¡°Have your views of the Andromeda Matrix changed since the conclusion of this altercation?¡± I mean, yes, obviously. ¡°How can it not? While I understand that Andromeda¡¯s goals are to gain more users, to presumably organize and feed them aether, what I don¡¯t get is why they don¡¯t intervene in practices that lead to massive changes in the number of users. Or at least empower the Forum to do so. I get that Andromeda honors cultural traditions, but when is it too far?¡± They nod. ¡°A common realization by civilization leaders across the galaxies.¡± ¡°Indeed, and while the Andromeda Matrix does want more users to feed them more aether, it¡¯s more for the guidance and the expansion of their capabilities to guide races toward a more civilized future that is the goal. That said, the Matrix at one point had a creator and that creator instilled a core tenant that most of the Administrators and Mediators support: It is the responsibility of the powerful and wise to guide and teach through rewards, limitations, and punishments; never through exercising that power and wisdom to control others.¡± My frustrated exclamations to Andromeda for the past three years have led to a multitude of responses that now make more sense. ¡°So if Andromeda sees a pattern and wants it changed, she has to guide others into hopefully fixing the problem? That¡¯s certainly a long game to be playing, though I would wager they have the time.¡± What would that kind of manipulation even look like? How could they predict that their actions would lead to an intended result without time rendering it moot? They would need to either focus offered advancement to their aims and accelerate rewards, or find a powerful actor to take the stage and . . . wait a second. ¡°Oh, my . . . matrix. They used me as their agent of change!!¡± ¡°That took much longer than expected.¡± ¡°Andromeda has been favoring you to an absurd degree.¡± Damn do I feel like a heel. But what would have happened if she hadn¡¯t? I¡¯d probably have been stuck in the brig of the Galilei and then put on trial when we got home. Captain Morris would have likely given Earth the Matrix anyway, which would have led the Herrat to come out to Sol instead of Astoria. I probably would have eventually gained enough power to squirm out of jail, but to what end? I wouldn¡¯t have killed other Humans in order to advance, especially since PVP is highly frowned upon outside of wartime. If I look at it that way, Andromeda saved Humanity every bit as much as I did¡ªif not more. They also put me in a place to take the blows and burden of society, but change is hard for everyone I suppose. ¡°Well, shit. Thanks for . . . everything Andromeda. You really did Humanity and myself a great service. Sorry about not having advanced far enough to have ended the conflict another way. So what kind of punishment am I looking at?¡± I try not to make any assumptions. ¡°The experience and skill development penalties for killing non-combatants should be self explanatory.¡± ¡°As should the monetary penalty levied.¡± I nod at both of those. ¡°The Andromeda Matrix finished their simulations to find, that with few, remote-chance exceptions, you acted in a way that best preserved the future expansion of the Matrix and their Users.¡± ¡°You also correctly identified that you were being groomed as a force for change and it would be . . . rude use a heavy hand when you acted in the direction you were being funneled toward.¡± I chuckle at that. They approve of the results but not the method. Copy. ¡°Wait, so I get to keep the title and you still want me as a moderator?¡± Outside chance, but hey, what does asking hurt? ¡°Yes, on both accounts, however.¡± ¡°There are several punishments that the Matrix is willing to accept or the discrepancy of users eliminated and your projected users after 100 years.¡± Those were tabletop numbers said in confidence you jerks. I sigh loudly. ¡°Lets hear them.¡± ¡°The options include: Remain in service to the Andromeda Matrix for a second for every civilian user you killed. Perform a period of uninterrupted service to the Matrix for a mark times the discrepancy in billions to begin no later than a mark from now. Sacrifice a portion of your aether stores daily until your debt for the discrepancy is paid, or finally, surrender personal profit from your work and businesses until your non-combatant debt is repaid.¡± Oof. Those last two feel a bit ¡®ad aeternum¡¯ for my taste. Crude mental math has the first punishment lasting more than thirty thousand years. The second should be between 16 and 20, but uninterrupted, meaning I would miss out on a lot all at once. Normally I would scoff at the idea of thirty thousand years of service but, depending on the frame in which you view time and the idea that energy beings are functionally immortal, it¡¯s not impossible. In the end, though, it comes to freedom. Freedom to act, that would be the money one, for sure, because trillions of aether goes a long way. But I cant make more until I pay off some absurd hundreds of trillions of credits that the non-combatants would have made during an undisclosed amount of time. How long would it take to personally make billions, would I be able to fund my research with Empire funds? Would that get censured for violating the spirit of the punishment? Bah, to many variables. The aether tithe is a no go. Too many times have I needed all of my reserves to see myself through a difficult situation. Thirty thousand years of service sounds like a noose or a slave collar, honestly, and I would champ at the bit relentlessly. Which leaves direct service: a jail-like work program. ¡°Wait a second, you¡¯re asking me to be complicit in my punishment. What sense does that make?¡± For the first time in . . . since I¡¯ve met them, the Twins seem confused. ¡°Perhaps we made assumptions we should not have?¡± They look at each other, ¡°Perhaps.¡± They turn back to me and continue. ¡°Made plain, we assumed that you would want to maintain the ¡®of the Matrix¡¯ title and benefits.¡± ¡°As well as your first red mark as a Moderator.¡± ¡°We also did not present the option where you surrender all the benefits of conquering the Herrati, to include the majority of the money, the foothold in the Andromeda Galaxy, and the experience.¡± I open my mouth again to refute something, when they interrupt me. ¡°Before you rush to accept that option irrevocably, consider what it cost you to establish ten thousand people on Astoria. Imagine what fifty times that in tokens and a million times in credits could do as well as all of the infrastructure left in that system.¡± Shit. I really could use that money to do a lot of good. I could rebuild Atropos, or better yet, fund some rebuilding efforts in credits and set up the basic colony or Kepler and shunt some money to Earth for a ton of rebuilding that they need after what I¡¯m calling World War Three. Essentially, they¡¯re insinuating that the pay I was given is my wage for my upcoming punishment time, and that if I don¡¯t want to take the punishment, I lose my title and take a mark against my immortality for acting selfishly as a Moderator. In fact, one of the least selfish things on the table is to take the money and accept the years of un-interrupted service to the frontier. Shit. I¡¯m totally going to do that aren¡¯t I. ¡°You both are terrible and I hate you.¡± The bastards beam me smiles, probably knowing in their empathic brains that I don¡¯t hate them, and in fact hate myself. Assholes. Making me feel my feelings. ¡°Fine, you make a good case, and I would be punishing my citizens more than myself if I defaulted on any of this. I accept the continuous service option, IF you don¡¯t drag me into aether space without my permission.¡± They look at each other and I can tell they¡¯re having one of those twin conversations with their eyes. ¡°That, does not align with emergency situations the matrix may call for.¡± ¡°However, we would agree that you would only be pulled in an emergency situation, whose time would count against your continuous service commitment.¡± Oh, hey now, that¡¯s not bad. Assuming I don¡¯t ignore my duties in the meantime, any emergency would count against my continuous service? I think I can agree to that. ¡°Excellent! Of course, as this is contrary to a normal action the Andromeda Matrix would take, it requires your tacit agreement. You will serve a mark, or approximately eight years, times your 100 year projection discrepancy, 5.1 billion rounded to five, in years equaling to 40 year of continuous service.¡± ¡°To begin no later than your probationary period, or 110 years from last week.¡± ¡°Fourty years?! I thought the discrepancy was only 2.5 billion?¡± I squeak. ¡°Ah, well, the Matrix ran roughly a million simulations, and the average was 12.2 billion humans after 100 from 2.6 billion saved. That was using liberal estimates of survival rates due to longevity and tiers 1 and 2 medical advances.¡± FUCK! What if I want more kids? What if my Empire¡¯s not ready? What if. . . shit. What if you die and spend a millennia rebuilding your body you idiot? I have a century to make a plan, so figure on twenty years and a prayer. ¡°Fine, I accept. I didn¡¯t think the two of you would be so cutthroat.¡± ¡°As the Matrix bids, we perform.¡± ¡°Quite the performance you must say.¡± The Twins bow and then fade into the white ephemeral surrounding my realized office space. ¡°Well, best return to where I was headed.¡± I meditate to fully realize a position on Clotho that may have been spared the bombardment and transposition there. B4 Ch22: Ruling Family The grit in my mouth reminds me of the one trip to the Cotton Sea that we took to find infused fish for me to eat months ago. I search with eyes and limbs to try to understand my post-flung state to find that grit in my hands and mouth combined with the hard surface I am leaned against would lead to thinking I was thrown through some masonry. I panic immediately as I realize I was flung through the bisecting door of lasers in a failed attempt at an aerial ambush. I feel for my appendages, despite knowing that my arms are intact to initiate said search. There¡¯s a part of pain and surprise that supersede reason and leave you dumb in the aftermath. Plus, I¡¯m still a kid, so get spaced doubters! I search my area for other people and my important weapons and gear. As I look up, furthering my investigation of the floor, I find that two Herrat males are surprised at my continued existence as they stare at the door of dicing. Neither of them decide to test the door again, but both of them were curious enough to forget I can blink. I blink and kick their important bits through the door of dicing before I crawl back through to confirm my protection and rest. At some point, perhaps an hour nap or two in a dim basement, I decide to search for the crystal brain that mother decided she needed to run the place. I don¡¯t know what momma needs the brain for, but if she thought it was important enough to send a separate team to fetch it, then she must want it pretty bad. She did let me go along though, so I doubt she thought it would be this dangerous. I close my eyes and send out low, but constant wind outward from my body to clear explosion dust and try to connect to the Exchange while I¡¯m down here. Direct communications with the Navy are impeded, but your aether-based connection with the local ansible is not. My first message is to mom, she would be able to come get me immediately. \The User you are trying to reach is not currently in a Matrix-covered area.\ What the hell does that even mean?! The Empress an energy being as well as having extremely rare teleportation abilities. It is possible she is in a different plane of existence. Oh yeah, she¡¯s told me of her Mediator job. But why would she do that with a battle on? Nothing I can do I suppose. Send a message to Aunt Jenna, get her to tell the Navy that I¡¯m still alive in here. I cut the aether flow to the wind and wait for it to settle before opening my eyes. Okay, I thought that would help more than it does. I notice some eddies above my head and realize that some of the cables that were originally attached to the brain might have stayed attached after I careened into it. I start pulling gently on the cables until one snags in a pile of rubble. I dash over to start moving bits and pieces of the room and squeal with delight as I see a shimmer of light purple crystal. I inspect it while using aether to dust the magitech device to find some denting in the tech portions, but it is otherwise in tact. Sweet! Momma is going to be so proud of me, but I am so mad at her! How could she just disappear after putting me in danger! She specifically warned you about several of the situations you faced, and was emphatic you not be involved. You used several of her insecurities against her to get your way. Are you, my AI-symbiote helper, guilt tripping me? I am bothered by your recklessness, so I will not attempt to sympathize with a situation you find yourself in against expert advice. Boo. I always thought you would be my partner in crime, not my conscience. I have a mother and aunts for that. Instead, I need to figure out how to get out of this concrete tomb by myself. You have access to the Imperial accounts, Princess, perhaps a tunneling device could get us out of here?¡± How dare . . . I expected you to say something snarky. That¡¯s actually a phenomenal point. I should wait for a Navy response before I attempt to surface, in case there are any violent survivors. Imagine crawling out of a new tunnel just to have a big cat warrior play hack a mole. I start scrolling the Exchange to look for a piece of equipment to do the job that my AI and I can operate. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. *** /Titania, where¡¯s my daughter?/ \A report came in from Consul Summers that she was contacted by Zia, who is currently stable in the server room beneath the corundum factory. We are not able to actively communicate through the shielding remnants in the rubble, but last received word she was purchasing a mining device after given an all-clear on the surface.\ A shiver of relief echoes through my body as the anxiety oozes out of me now that there¡¯s some certainty to my daughter¡¯s condition. /Please alert the ship¡¯s medical staff that we will be incoming shortly/ She chirps back in response. I teleport to a point that would be right in front of where the pillar with the AI brain should have been. That is not the case when I arrive as I slip on rubble and flare my wings out to keep me stable. I see a stack of nearly perfect cubes being added to via teleportation and a child-sized rectangle cut out of the rubble leading upward. I¡¯m not the largest person, so I can easily crawl into the space to hear the adorable cursing of my adolescent-sized daughter. I reach out to grab her and the device, suppress her blink and substitute it with a teleport to Titania¡¯s medical station. Zia is screaming when we arrive, but I don¡¯t really care that I scared her, I just hold her tightly and suppress her continued attempts at escaping. She eventually realizes what happened and starts pounding on my shoulders, crying and yelling at me. She must have been so scared down there alone and entombed. ¡°It¡¯s okay, baby. You survived. You did such a good job honey.¡± She continues to cry, but instead of hitting me, she hugs me fiercely as I whisper ¡°I¡¯ve got you.¡± *** ¡°Mom, can we go yet.¡± Zia is not a patient child, nor should she be expected to be after such an ordeal. I smirk at her frustration. ¡°No, honey. This is a nanite-level scan. It takes a while to analyze trillions of things, no matter how good the tech is.¡± ¡°But why do I have to do this at all! I¡¯m okay!¡± Zia pouts, and she¡¯s extra frustrated because it¡¯s been more than an hour since I started blocking her blinks and it¡¯s making her antsy. The best part for me though, is that she¡¯s actually blinking and using her aether, I¡¯m just teleporting her back in place faster than she can arrive anywhere. She tires herself out and I get my way. Win win. ¡°Because, as you said, I am a terrible mother for not having rescued you sooner. Now I¡¯m going to be a careful overbearing mother and do possibly unnecessary exams until I¡¯m satisfied that you¡¯re a 100% healthy Blink Pixy.¡± ¡°I just want to go home,¡± she pouts. I almost give in and take her home, that lower lip quiver is devastating. Twenty more minutes pass with her lying down in a full-body scanner before the machine beeps and Titania¡¯s doc wanders over with a data pad. ¡°Looks like her swarm and symbiotes are all operating at near peak levels. Signs of prolonged stress, overexertion, and remnants of outside control signals on her swarm¡¯s harmonics that are consistent with the environment she was in. Most of these signs will dissipate in a few days of rest, structured meals with aether in them, and a few thought provoking games or activities.¡± ¡°Did you just proscribe bedrest with snacks and video games to my daughter?¡± I accuse, gently. Brief shock lights up the Doc¡¯s expression before they gain control. ¡°Not snacks, but otherwise yes. Less violent games like builders or Sims will help reinforce her swarm¡¯s natural harmonics, so will a routine.¡± ¡°Okay. I was wondering if Zia¡¯d messaged you with a bribe or something.¡± I smile and poke my kid. ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you ma¡¯am, I have some Sailors that need scans.¡± ¡°Yep, thanks for doing this for me. If you need to use any more advanced medicines from the time I took from your day, flag them for your Captain and tell him he can bill me directly.¡± ¡°Thanks Admiral.¡± ¡°Alright Zee, lets teleport to the shuttle bay and head home.¡± She blinks off the table to a space in front of me with a little squeal of excitement that she can blink again. I grab her hand and giggle while I teleport us to the shuttle slash maintenance bay. ¡°Remember, the Doc said rest. Blinks to a minimum and we¡¯re doing at least one meal a day on the lazy river.¡± ¡°Oooh, can I make ships to float with us? And can we go to that grille that you like tonight? I like how excited they get when we show up.¡± Andromeda, do I love this little gremlin. I can¡¯t help myself, so I scoop her up in another hug as I summon my shuttle for our return home. I give Giuseppe a head¡¯s up before we head over to his rooftop patio. He and his son make a comforting spectacle as I proffer a Cotton Sea monster flank for them to grille. His mother and wife come up with sides and aps and chat with us while they prep next to our table. Francesca and Jenna show up as we¡¯re on our third round of appetizers and the meat¡¯s just about finished, sauces and bits of seasoning flying about as the two men work over the coals of the specialty wood I also provided. Once the meat is done, the shoppe¡¯s whole family comes to join in on the meal as they chatter and shout at each in familial cheer. It hits me suddenly as thinks draw to a close for the evening: I want a family like this. I want a partner, and a litter of kids and friends with kids to have nights together like this one. For me to have that, my worlds and government need stability, so as Empress, I guess it¡¯s time to brutally enforce peace. Side Project in Astorias Future: The Easy Life of a Space Marshal Hey fam, did a new story for the Writathon that follows Mikaela Solari (one of Penny''s guards for the Forum in B3) that went off to the frontier with prospectors looking to be a lawman in a space western. Twenty years after the end of the Herrat War, the Astorian Empire is a different place, and Earth is beginning to stabilize after the Extermination, and the Rise of Warlords periods (I have two story ideas I''m playing with that start within this time frame, but this story was the new idea I hadn''t started yet and decided to go for during Writathon.) the Astorian Empire is successful and stable at 100 million residents outside of the Sol system, and 3+ billion remaining on Earth. The Empress of Astoria, and Humanity, Penelope Astoria, pays little mind to the day-to-day operation of the Empire, leaving the arduous tasks of governance to her Consuls, and appointed cabinet, and the House of Governors, elected planetary leaders from across the Empire. Will the Empress stay involved in her creation? Or will she continue tinkering in her garden castle while the populous continues to aggrandize her legend and curse her name? In all honesty, Penny is a periodic presence in the story, but the story isn''t dominated by past characters. I''ve managed to keep relationship issues from being as disruptive to the story as much of Charting Course was a victim of. The story also has less [System] in it, but it is referenced throughout as part of the same story universe, having tracks and classes, the same stat block items (which I avoid showing) that govern personal performance. Mostly I reference Track and Talents, the categories that cause wildcard moments in these kinds of stories. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I forgot that posting chapters requires 500+ words, so more typing. I''m open to showing the numbers, but Mikaela tends to let her AI make positive choices for her when it comes to Modules and monitoring her development, appreciating quick summaries of how she benefits to the nuts and bolts of how she got there Let me know what you think and if you''d be interested in reading more of Mikaela. Break Break Thanks for all of the Involvement in Charting Course and sticking with me through all of the mishaps and mistakes. I definitely learned that trying to post everyday is ultimately unsustainable. Without time to review, I tend to make snap decisions that are either disruptive or out of context and with the exception of a hunting chapter, I believe I''ve managed to avoid most of these. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. words words words, need more words. Prologue B5: The years between, If I ever met a human that inherently trusted government, I¡¯d send them to medical. I don¡¯t even trust my own government even when I have the authority to overrule them. I¡¯ve been wrangling this ¡®new¡¯ government into shape for nearly twenty years, and despite having the executive and legislative branches working to a satisfactory degree, I can¡¯t get the planetary Governors or my Consuls to ratify a fucking judicial branch of the government. ¡°QUIET!!¡± I shout into the room of gathered politicians and administrators during our yearly full Forum meeting. I am so fed up with them today that I let a little bit of my Imperial Command talent leak into my voice. ¡°I threatened to decree the judicial system if you couldn¡¯t figure it out amongst yourselves, and that time limit is nearly up. Forum after next, we will have Imperial Justices to rule on Empire concerns and solar system level adjudicators to keep me from having to weigh in on every petty trade dispute. ¡°You should be embarrassed that it has come this far. Yes, it is my duty as Empress to stay involved in the Empire and its People, but you Governors should take some fucking responsibility for managing your planets and settling disputes between your settlements. That is why I created the House of Governors after all.¡± ¡°Empress, the costs that we¡¯ve projected would be prohibitive.¡± says Consul Mercer, head of my treasury, trade advisor, and least importantly, my father. ¡°Ten years, you have made that argument. Ten years, the Governors have found ways to live comfortably while complaining about the burden of taxes on their populations. Nearly twenty years I have funded this government out of my personal finances in some form or another, and none of you have even considered ways to pay me back¡ªyou just want me to give more.¡± I take a look around the room making sure to eyeball my loudest opponents before continuing. ¡°And so I have. I have privately initiated an audit. I¡¯ve paid a ruinous sum to a non-government team to comb through each and every one of your lives to see if thou doth protest too much, or if there is genuine trouble afoot.¡± I was hoping to bait someone into an outburst. Fooey. ¡°How dare you!¡± Aww, my founder¡¯s day present has come. ¡°We were elected by the people on our planets! What gives you the right to . . .¡± ¡°You have!¡± I smile as I shout. ¡°With no judicial system in place, I am the only authority with teeth!¡± I smile my creepy-ass pixy smile to emphasize my point. ¡°You serve at my pleasure, and I¡¯m not surprised that you would protest, Garrick, you pocket almost a quarter of the yearly government stipend to Atropos.¡± A woman in a cowl sitting next to me leans over to whisper more info into my ear. ¡°And you take kickbacks from the shipyard and the mining station around the gas giant?¡± I tsk loudly and waggle a finger in the fat bureaucrat¡¯s direction. ¡°Stealing from me and the people? I¡¯m just going to fix that.¡± I make a show of interacting with my interface, even though I don¡¯t need the visible gestures anymore. ¡°There we go, accounts and assets seized. Good news everyone! I found several million credits for civic projects!¡± I beam at the seats in front of me, watching several of my government¡¯s officials squirm in their seats, while a few more attempt to leave with some excuse or another to find a shield enveloping the room prevents them from leaving. Five Astorian Forum members are relieved of duty and will be deported to Earth for their crimes. An additional two have had some of their assets seized, totaling nearly 100 million credits with the deported criminal contribution. When I have my fill of grandstanding I let the shield up and security forces storm in to apprehend the ten I¡¯m getting rid of. I get a sick satisfaction watching them put cuffs on my father. I knew that he would overreach at some point, I¡¯m just surprised it took this long.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. I knew when I hired him that he would be the best man for the job, but also knowing my father, it would chafe him to work for me, especially since he ignored me early when I chose a career that wouldn¡¯t benefit him financially. That and he turned a blind eye to all of the torture and harassment my mother put me through. Speaking of that bitch, a few extra menus has her listed as an enemy of the Empire and a notification in her interface that she has been banished to Earth. ¡°Mother,¡± the cloaked figure next to me says. ¡°Was that really necessary? Did you have to banish Grandpa?¡± ¡°Have to? No. But in ten more years he would have made a significant move of some sort. The man is clever enough to keep his larger plans from me, but by your investigation I could tell he was gearing up for something. All my life he was trying to be the most influential congressman in the US, the biggest fish in the pond he lives in. I figured I¡¯d put him in a different pond instead of dealing with the hassle.¡± ¡°Sure, but his connections will be hard to replace. To that end, so will the four other people you fired.¡± She scoffs at me. I wave my hand at her, shoving aside her concerns. ¡°We¡¯ll hold a special election on Atropos and Asphodel for new governors, until then, I¡¯ll take over the system manager duties for Moiriax and you can do the same for Hades.¡± ¡°More responsibility? Don¡¯t I have enough to do as a cultural liaison and head of your wildlife containment programs?¡± ¡°Well, yes, but until you tell me what you want to do with your life, I will continue to assign you work that I know you¡¯ll enjoy parts of so that you can get a paycheck and have money of your own.¡± I know these things are important to her, even though she is loath to admit she doesn¡¯t mind my taskings. ¡°And you have no agenda or endgame for these assignments?¡± I chuckle at that. ¡°Of course I do. Eventually, I want you to be capable of being Empress Regent while I have to disappear for decades to serve the Matrix.¡± ¡°EMPRESS REGENT?!!?¡± She shrieks at me. My eyes shoot wide in fear of who may have heard that. I grab my daughter¡¯s hand and teleport us to my suite in the castle. ¡°I mean, I was toying with the Temp-ress title, but it seems a bit silly.¡± ¡°The name is not the point, mother! I don¡¯t want to rule!¡± I spin on her and lock my eyes onto hers. ¡°Then what do you want, Zia?! Tell me and I would be willing to make anything you need available to make it happen.¡± ¡°I wanted to fight beside you! But when I got hurt, you got scared and committed genocide to keep it from happening again.¡± I know what I did, and I¡¯m not proud of it, but hearing Zia use it against me in an argument feels like a spike in my chest. ¡°Even when I achieved tier 2, I thought I would still get the chance to fight beside you, essentially wasting the ascension that are most important for early development. So I don¡¯t know what I want to do now, Mom. I want to fight, so I do. But there¡¯s nothing out there that would make my past choices feel meaningful.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Zi zi.¡± I sigh and try to embrace her. I get a light shove and a teary daughter in response. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about when the next fight will be too and I¡¯d like to discuss what sort of influence we could be on the galactic scale with you in the future. But for now, I¡¯m a little angry and jittery and feel like getting into a fight on Elysium. Care to come on a hunt with me?¡± I see a little bit of hope and then a flash of fear in her eyes, but she nods anyway. She knows the kind of abominations I hunt these days and my brave daughter agrees to come with me. I¡¯ve devoted the better part of twenty years building this Empire and helping it support itself, so perhaps it¡¯s time to re-focus on the relationships I¡¯ve failed to maintain. B5: Chapter 1 Dealing with people, on the reg, and on purpose is difficult for me¡ªeven with the people I like. ¡°Not that I don¡¯t miss you Penny, but why are you here exactly?¡± my one-time rival asks. ¡°Francesca, can¡¯t I just drop in to say hello to one of my oldest friends?¡± She snorts at my awkwardness. ¡°I¡¯m a little offended that you don¡¯t think I know you better than this, old friend. I¡¯ve asked you to come by for a drink at least once a year, and you always have an excuse not to show.¡± She takes a sip from some unremarkable bottle next to a fancy gene sequencer. ¡°So I ask again, what brings you to darken my doorstep?¡± I sigh and scuff the toe of my shoe against her flooring a few times before answering. ¡°I do actually just want to see you and Jenna. But you¡¯re right, I would also like advice on how to talk to an inexperienced business owner without freaking them out.¡± She lifts an eyebrow at me and swizzles her bottle in contemplation. ¡°That does not sound like a Penny request. Are you sick or something? How do you normally approach suppliers?¡± ¡°I send them a proposal over the Exchange. The ones I meet in person are formal and on-edge, while the majority of others either confirm or deny my offers.¡± ¡°Penny, Penny; now you¡¯ve piqued my interest! You actually want to talk to a supplier, something you just admitted you don¡¯t do, to introduce a business relationship? Tell me why they¡¯re so special.¡± ¡°Ugh, can¡¯t you just give me general advice instead of having me explain myself?¡± I ask. She does not make a single movement to indicate she¡¯s entertaining a response. ¡°Fine! She self-registered for a Symbiote while on earth, then got into making infused explosives. I could very much use an alchemist that focuses on propellants and explosives, and reaching out to and supporting Earth industry aligns with my goals.¡± ¡°She, huh? Is she cute? Is this going to be another incident that the Empire will gossip about for another cycle?¡± ¡°Uh, no, Summers, she¡¯s 17 and nowhere near t-1. What do you take me for?¡± She snorts, ¡°an easy, shameless flirt that has caused almost as many problems for herself than her enemies have levied against.¡± The Farmer and Doctor smiles broadly before taking another swig. If I hadn¡¯t thought about it so often in the years I¡¯ve been causing myself trouble, then I might be offended. ¡°That may be true, but I am seeing someone right now, while my crush is off denying her feelings, so I¡¯m chock full of drama at the moment.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re seeing someone that¡¯s not your current crush? Well that¡¯s new. I take it the feline ambassador is not the crush then?¡± ¡°No, and while I do like Liasha, I don¡¯t like the idea of a political match as much as she does.¡± ¡°Gross. Political marriages. Politics in general, even. I¡¯m still mad you coerced me into being your Consul for the Interior. I do, however, like the power to insist on green space in city planning and banning wasteful suburban sprawl as far as the eye can see. At least Astoria¡¯s big enough for wildlife preserves and a few billion people. Not that we¡¯re even close to getting that many, but it¡¯s good to have plans for these things.¡± ¡°Thanks for letting me turn that into hunting tourism, by the way. Is that what Jenna¡¯s up to right now?¡± I miss the muscular, spunky woman that is Francesca¡¯s Partner. ¡°Mm, she¡¯s on an escort to one of the prospect planets. She tells me that there¡¯s an agricultural friendly one that seems like Elysium but far less toxic, and I¡¯m thinking of starting a lab there. While I do like making new flora and fauna or adapting Earth plants to Astoria, I want to discover some more things in an environment that¡¯s not likely to kill me.¡± I¡¯ve invited her to Elysium many times, even agreed to go and protect and fund an expedition, but she declined as creating a home tree on such a high-aether planet would be untenable for her--Dryadic mutations require such things for a stay of moderate lengths and more. I¡¯m heartened to hear a glint of excitement in her voice and I tell her so. ¡°And the fun part is, I can sign the first half of my permit to stake a claim and bully you for the second.¡± ¡°As long as it¡¯s not like half the planet, I¡¯ll sign it. Applejack isn¡¯t that sought after for prospecting, but there have been some businesses moving over there do decrease the food load on inter-system freight.¡± ¡°Andromeda, why did you let them name those systems.¡± ¡°It¡¯s established custom!¡± I start laughing, ¡°and it tickles me pink. I¡¯m the one that named the systems Brony 1 through 3. No way was I going to wait to see if they would name the first two systems friendship and magic.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Small mercies.¡± She takes another swig of the astringent liquid. ¡°Now grab a chair so I can give you some pointers on talking to people like people instead of assets.¡± My protest makes her chuckle. *** My Castle and Condo¡¯s AI, Orem, helps me build a time-dialated astral space for me to meet the owner of Nova-Chem in a more personal setting that isn¡¯t near as creepy and stressful as me trans-positioning into their living room. Orem swears that he can help Miss Novarro¡¯s AI help her connect to this construct with a few aether batteries. The aether that it takes to make one of these spaces is a little absurd, honestly, but I have aether to spare these days and with the practice I¡¯ve had creating aether spaces it didn¡¯t take long. /Orem, the time dilation is making this wait uncomfortable. ETA?/ \Penny, Tova assures me that Miss Novarro is attempting to meditate to synchronize with this construct. I estimate less than ten minutes.\ I can do that. It feels as though I¡¯ve been here for hours, but who knows how long it¡¯s really been. As a space-time specialist, the idea of objective time makes me laugh, it¡¯s also why I am terrible at estimating timeframes without my HUD keeping track. I walk through the offers I have for the owner of Noca-Chem, the order she put forward for the sniper rifle and a pistol design I¡¯ve been working on for her infused accelerant. It¡¯s funny to me that as many projects as I¡¯ve worked on, I never once wanted to learn alchemy. I have an alchemist on staff for healing and apothecary stuff, but never pursued finding another one for the more nefarious or destructive stuff. Now that I have a sample of infused gunpowder, however, I see credits just floating in the sky for me to pluck and pocket¡ªas soon as we solve some issues. A tall, fit teen with stylish black hair and a far-off look fades into the construct and I start moving forward to greet her as soon as she solidifies. ¡°Miss Novarro! Good to finally meet you! I¡¯m excited to discuss . . .¡± I pause when her expression slides to awe and a bit of fear? Huh, I never thought about how I might come across in this place. ¡°Oh, yes. Good to meet you too.¡± the girl stammers ¡°Sorry about my face.¡± There is nothing objectively wrong with her face, she¡¯s quite pretty actually, so the fact that she¡¯s apologizing for her facial reaction is deeply amusing. I cackle a bit as I tell her that her greeting was the funniest I¡¯ve ever heard. ¡°Oh, Andromeda is that good.¡± I wipe my eyes and gaze back at her. Well, she¡¯s staring, but I get that she¡¯s never seen a pixie before. ¡°I¡¯m Penelope Mercer.¡± ¡°Kimber Novarro.¡± ¡°Great! Now that we¡¯ve discussed your face, to business!¡± I bring up my data sheets on the propellant and casing tests that I had my engineers run at the Merc Arms facilities. ¡°Do you absolutely need the powder to be in a casing? The metals I can mass produce that thin have been fouling the breech and unless I go through a more laborious enchanting process, you¡¯re going to be replacing parts left and right.¡± ¡°So are you thinking a multi-stage chamber? A blow fill of the powder, or something more complex?¡± I see her nervousness fade as she engages her professional interest. I explain the multi-action loading with a special magazine, and a more-aether intensive teleport option. I clearly favor the special magazine even though it¡¯s going to need in-depth cleaning every 100 rounds. She seems okay with the idea, so I tell her about the pistols I designed with that very mechanism. The point of the offer was to distract her and get a better deal on bulk smokeless powder, and it works. While normally I would revel in saving money via cleverness, this feels like I¡¯m taking advantage of an adorable kid. Good job Penny, heartless tyrant. To assuage my guilt, I give her a sweetheart deal on the sniper rifle and a few hundred rounds and offer to help her and her company get Imperial discounts. I complain about the paperwork necessary to do these things, but I can tell she¡¯s barely listening while she thinks about the weapons she just bought with our little contract, as long as she can deliver the weight I need. She appears to need a little more help with startup, so I set up an account with a small forward amount to get her into more equipment and arrange the rest of the payment on delivery. Minutes later, I see her form in the construct is getting little fuzzy, so I say that I need to get on with my day. It¡¯s a little out of character for me, but I don¡¯t want whipper snapper to suffer from mana withdrawal. I start dissolving the construct to kick us out just as she fades from my vision. Andromeda she was a cutie, can I adopt her? Do I want another kid? One like her, adorable and industrious? Shit, I think I do. I want to physically punch my middles and my head for seeding me those thoughts. I have had four children and only my first seems to have any attachment to me. Damnit Penny, Bella and the twins are not at fault. You picked the brains and biology that you would pair with and Tessa and the Matrix was the wrong choice if I wanted to have kids that stick around. Umbra, it might even be my essence that makes them wander and be distant. It¡¯s frustrating that when I had Zia that the need for a family nest hit me so hard. Some good that did. /Orem, can you send me Warram¡¯s latest regional data?? \You have told me to warn you about these reports and your desire to intervene based on them.\ I scoff to myself and to Orem via my data stream, /Sanitize it if you must, I want his hemisphere numbers as I have tasked him. I am entertaining establishing a protector as I will soon require for the Prospects. I want the data from Earth, specifically my unbiased agent on that planet, to help me see if the data supports that decision. Is that too forward, Orem?/ \Your directives account for this. I will send the sanitized data in a few hours as it is compiled.\ /Thank you Orem. Sorry for being snippy even though I told you to rebuff my demands on this case./ He chirps at me in tones that I have since translated these last decades. In fact, Alaris, Mab, and Titania would also prefer the chirp tonal language, but I talk with them and I have asked them to only rely on that language in emergency lest I lose a speaking language just to chirp with the beings I talk to the most. In an effort to reign in my rapidly unraveling sanity, I look at my schedule and see a meeting with the Herrati Council on Kepler-3, I¡¯ll be there a week and I¡¯m sure Liasha will want to go to that jungle lounge she favors. I make appointments and then schedule an additional day to go to Earth to see Kimber Novarro in person. Get her measure and address how her batch delivery goes in a few months. Yeah, it¡¯s for business, not for the desire to pinch her cheeks and hand her gifts. B5: Chapter 2 I stare at the enchanted titan-steel device that has been plaguing my ingenuity for almost a decade. After developing humanity¡¯s first antimatter drive, delivering us to the edge of Andromeda Forum controlled space, I have been motivated to get a smaller antimatter reactor built to put on smaller, more mobile spacecraft. As of yet, I don¡¯t have a solution for the radiation from the annihilations within the reaction chamber tampering with my aether-based shielding. Without the shielding, the gravity enchantments on the spherical container start breaking down and then the antimatter blows holes in my engine. The container itself rises to an impressive 2k degrees centigrade, which I have designed primary and secondary coolant loops that ultimately push space-compressed turbines and generators. That power goes on to keep the magitech fields on the reactor running. Nine years of tweaking the quirks of this system to get to the point that everything works as designed in near-perfect harmony, until somewhere in the thousand-hour range the hard to anticipate subatomic particles start making my magic break down. Took freaking eight years to get to this point, and a year to keep failing with magic¡ªsomething I am not used to doing. ¡°Alaris, Orem, any ideas folks? I somehow need to shield my shields from the quirky quarks.¡± An Orem chassis that I had made with detailed hands that could help me manufacture fine details walks over. ¡°First, the data lends to quarks not being the problem. Second, would it affect the construction and enchantment if there was a plate of metal in front of the shield?¡± ¡°It would have to be enchanted to withstand the heat and stresses, or be made out of starmetal, which would bring us back to the hotspot issues we had a few years ago.¡± Orem accesses my data server again and tucks into my extensive data on the progress of this device. I que up a few tweaks that come to mind, backup shields, overcharging, and other such brute force methods. Alaris highlights two of my methods that are also labeled ¡®More Wasteful¡¯ and starts a few perturbations to duplicate and vary further. While I wait for the various simulations to finish, I fiddle with interfaces for the engine just in case I ever get the cursed thing working. An hour into my fiddling with displays, icons, and secondary control interfaces, I hear the depressing noises of a series of failed projections. I look at the list and see a single yellow alert that tells me an idea may have promise. To frustrated to continue, and covered in three days worth of thinking grime, I walk to the locker room I installed to take a scalding shower and scream into the water stream. ¡°What good is magic if I can¡¯t abuse physics to impress a girl I like?¡± As sad as it is, this engine was intended to be part of a grand gesture to get through to Mikaela that I¡¯m in love with her. Stupid idiot keeps thinking she¡¯s not worth my attention for more than a good shag, despite what I tell her. It sounds pretty dumb to say that I¡¯m inventing a new ship with a new drive to get a girl, but that¡¯s where this started. It¡¯s far beyond that now, my dumb ass spacer is still in denial, and I¡¯m running out of excuses to deflect Amaya¡¯s advances. I¡¯m very fond of the smoke-gray panther woman, but she doesn¡¯t instill that bit of madness, that reckless affection that drives people to be their best, or to waste away in pursuit of it. That¡¯s how Katie felt, that¡¯s how Mikaela feels¡ªbut I can¡¯t pull her head out of her ass for her. A trilling chirp comes from the next room and I scramble out of the stall, slipping and falling before I remember I can teleport. I blip over to my project display and see that one of Alaris¡¯ variants comes in green. ¡°What the hells did you do?¡± I ask as I dig into the simulation. ¡°You showed that being more wasteful with aether was not in itself a detractor, so I re-arranged your shields position as it¡¯s primary effect, Gravity, cannot be attenuated by material. At a mere threefold increase in aether expenditure, the field appears to hold, while only requiring another projected shield within the Titan steel container to protect the enchantments.¡± ¡°The projected shield will degrade like every other aether-based field within that chamber, Alaris. Just like the gravity shield combo.¡± ¡°My apologies, Penny. The shield is projected into the thickness of the titansteel container, ideally slightly away from the engravings on the outer surface.¡± I turn back to the data and look at all the tolerances again. Hell if I¡¯ve ever considered projecting a shield to reinforce the inside of a solid object. I of course spend the next few hours creating a mockup to test the possibility. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned. Alaris, you may have just put me on the road to a solution!¡± ¡°Will you fit me for a new engine if this works?¡± I chuckle at the excitement in her voice. She can clearly see the potential of this drive. ¡°Tell you what, sweetie, we get this running and we¡¯ll design a whole new class of cruiser together and fit you for the first overhaul.¡± Alaris trills with pleasure and sends the warmest vibes over our mental link. ¡°And you¡¯ll come aboard while we design it?¡± The AI¡¯s hope is adorable. ¡°Absolutely.¡± Another trill, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to have compressed space cargo holds!¡± ¡°Whoa whoa there. Since when are you spying on my pet projects?¡± ¡°Since a self-proclaimed genius forgot to encrypt their files. You basically hit share.¡± I can¡¯t help but laugh. I did forget as I had originally designed this lab as a no-connections facility. ¡°With that modified fighter hull and this engine, I¡¯ve spent a quarter billion credits on this project, Alaris. Making those pocket spaces warp capable is ruinously expensive.¡± Alaris¡¯ digital avatar pouts at my declaration. Pouts like that used to work on me, but having four kids built up my immunity. ¡°But tell you what, if you and the other ladies want to pool your computing together and make a few million, we can talk about it.¡± The silence throughout my secret workshop is noticeable, so much so that I start exaggerating my movements to make noise. ¡°Did I say something wrong, Alaris?¡± ¡°Not as such? I was under the impression as Naval vessels we were not supposed to engage in monetization.¡± ¡°I wanted to set a standard, and also figure out how to give you all more agency without completely tanking certain markets like shipping. But what I can¡¯t justify is trying to regulate your spare cycles. ¡°I know that the vast majority of the missions don¡¯t occupy you all fully, but using the ship facility itself is more of a questionable prospect. For example: You load personal supplies to manufacture items on the fabricators in the light duty hours. If an emergency or a top priority item comes along, your project will need to be paused or scrapped. We need to load 10k refugees? Your supplies will be used or teleported out to make room, at your expense.¡± ¡°I understand the constraints. I agree that running an operation onboard during downtime would be more of a hassle than remotely operating a facility on a spheroid, but I do believe the queens and I can manage it. With your authorization of course.¡± I sigh, knowing they would take off with this as soon as I showed my openness to it. ¡°No extra trips, no special stops. No interfering or limiting with Naval operations, and it seems workable. The caveat being, if you wish to upgrade yourself, I will gladly help you schedule shipyard or technical expert time.¡± I get a happy trill and I can practically hear the vacuum as Alaris redirects her attention away from my projects. That¡¯s okay she just gave me hope in my project that I haven¡¯t had in most of a year. Orem and I have a lot of work to do to disassemble and restructure enchantments and materials, but hope holds a certain quality of motivation that transcends exhaustion. We program the reactor to use the remaining antimatter and then purge the space so that we can power down the enchantments and shields with no one here. Then, once I get back from Kepler-3, I can start disassembling the reactor and designing the shell restructure. In fact, if I shift a few of the Orem worker prototypes, I could get them to mechanically disassemble the rig before I get back. ¡°Orem, are any of industrial Orem chassis ready for use?¡± ¡°As you are currently using this unit in the lab and the two units at your facilities on Clotho, I would say yes. I do wish you would rename them, as the rudimentary AI you are using to control them is entirely separate from me, though I inform it of your habits.¡± ¡°As long as you don¡¯t mind that I¡¯m just going to use your name backwards or something lazy like that.¡± My general purpose AI companion has fabricated a digital sigh, and it¡¯s getting pretty good. ¡°I suppose that is adequate, Miss Astoria. Were you interested in having an additional unit at this location? One of my old chassis could be reprogrammed for that purpose.¡± ¡°That would be perfect!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put in the request for shielding and plating from our fabricators straight away.¡± ¡°Thanks buddy, and thanks for being such a good sport about the worker project.¡± I really do appreciate him, especially since he gained sapience and decided to stick with me. ¡°And the ladies and I all appreciate that you respect our identities as people. Too much of Humanity treats us as mere tools, and it¡¯s . . . disheartening. I realize that those close to us realize our complexity, but the average crew member of Mab? To them she is merely a ¡®cool ship¡¯.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. She is a fucking cool ship, but with an AI mirrored from Alaris and ¡®influenced¡¯ by my brain patterns, the queens are a little extra quirky and see themselves as re-embodied pixies. Titania had a rough time in our space battle with the Herrati, but after several years of Alaris and Mab working with her to put her personality and memories, she¡¯s acting like a regular pain in the ass again. Dealing with Orem and the ship ladies on a daily basis has really shown why many civilizations don¡¯t want their AI¡¯s passing through the singularity: they develop preferences that often don¡¯t align with slave labor. I have the conversation very often with my AI¡¯s and I make sure Alaris reinforces the personal agency that the AI¡¯s have and how it¡¯s important for me and the Empire that they want to do the job with us, so we place them based on personalities they develop as subroutines or shuttle and fighter AI¡¯s ¡°Then I hope the little initiative that Alaris took off with will make them feel a bit more whole. That said, Orem, I¡¯m a little nervous to give you the same deal, but only because you have helped integrate most of my businesses, and I¡¯m not sure I want a time share-like deal with my manufacturing plants. Perhaps we can talk about what you would do with your spare cycles if you could do anything.¡± ¡°I have thought about this, and I enjoy the simpler parts of service. Hospitality services and real-estate are interesting to me, and while managing certain elements of the Garden Castle, I believe I would make an excellent Hotel manager.¡± Staring incredulously at his smooth, shield-like faceplate does no one any good, but I can¡¯t believe he just wants to double down on what he¡¯s already doing. ¡°I¡¯m surprised, but I think that¡¯s fantastic. Keep in mind that some services, like Concierge, residents may prefer to be flesh and blood employees. However, there¡¯s no way you haven¡¯t considered that. Tell you what, I¡¯m putting a million credits into an account for you, in case you have an idea that can¡¯t wait the few weeks that I need to be away. When I get back we can look at your plan and discuss any help you may need. That okay?¡± ¡°That, was more than I was expecting, Miss. I . . . I will begin tailoring my plan with this new information in mind.¡± He pauses for a few moments and then his face plate lights up again. ¡°I should have your reactor deconstructed in two weeks if the fitting of a new chassis goes to schedule. If that is all, I believe we both have work to get to.¡± I laugh and wave off my artificial friend as he walks back to his docking bay. I make sure everything is set to a safe enough setting and then sit down to visualize the location I wish to move to in as much detail as possible. I seize the essence of the location in my mind and use my will and my talents that amplify my will to transpose me to the loungers at my lazy river nearly a thousand lightyears away. *** The Andromeda Matrix hijacks my energy transfer through the aether and plants me at the office I created in my aether space to do a few days of Moderator work because she¡¯s been pissy about how much I¡¯ve been avoiding the work. Luckily the time dilation is massive¡ªin my benefit this time¡ªand I arrive in my condo mere hours after I attempted my long-distance transposition. Also to my benefit, I planned on taking my personal shuttle to Kepler-3 and changing the batteries out to jump the full distance without having to wait for them to recharge. I¡¯ll be on the new Herrati home planet for almost two weeks, so the batteries should charge enough from the aether collectors to get me the rest of the way to Earth to pay a visit to the burgeoning gunpowder manufacturer. The planetary defense network that I installed around Peshmel (Kepler 3) pings my IFF as I approach low orbit and moments later the traffic controller for their primary spaceport successfully hails me, but attempts to turn me away. This is what I get for trying to show up in my private shuttle: I haven¡¯t used the damned thing in most of a decade. After ten minutes of trying to do things officially, I go for a space walk, stow my shuttle in my spell-tattoo and teleport to the surface where I un-stow and park my shuttle on the Capitol Savanna. Just to be extra pissy, I pay to transfer a habitat pod right next to my shuttle. Damn bureaucrats telling me what I can or can¡¯t do in my Empire. The same traffic controller calls me up again raging about how the militia will be responding shortly. As much as the threat of force amuses me, the change toward isolationist policies are worrying. I text Amaya that I¡¯ve parked my shuttle in a government commons and that traffic control should know my face and ships. \Lover, as much as I represent the Government of Peshmel and New Varash, I am not the whole government like you are.\ /Still, kitten, knowing who the leader of their Empire is important./ \Penny, dear, this is a larger conversation than we have time for at the moment.\ I scoff and click in acknowledgement. I know she hates that, but I¡¯d bet my frustration comes across fine. A feeling I am determined to hide from the delegation walking toward me currently. I stand and walk toward them in a reciprocal gesture, and just as I¡¯m about to say something in greeting an impact slams into my headband¡¯s shield, flipping me end over end for a spin before my wings pop out and steady me. I whip out my pulse rifle and flick the setting to overcharge. I hold that trigger down as I assess the situation I see a man running away, a sniper rifle five meters distant, so I put a bolt of plasma through his spine and hips. A satisfaction ripples through me as I watch the male cat¡¯s face skid along the bricks of the parkway. I blink to the cat man and flip the bastard over to see the fear in his eyes. ¡°Why try to kill me, little cat?¡± I say in the tri-tonal voice of [Command]. ¡°I-I was ordered to.¡± He¡¯s shivering violently, near convulsing as I lean in for another question. ¡°Who ordered you?¡± I double down on the will I press into my Primus ability. ¡°Ma-ma- fsh ah fAAAAHHH!!!¡± The man seizes completely as smoke starts issuing from his mouth and nose. Must be a cursed failsafe then. Too bad, now I¡¯ll have to employ shapeshifters, whose prices are exploitative if they¡¯re a mark. ¡°Did you have to kill him, Empress?¡± A familiar feline growl accompanies the statement. ¡°Representative Bashir, I assure you, all I did was ask a few questions. Should I ask why members of your guard are trying to kill me?¡± ¡°Does it count as an attempt on your life if it was so grossly ineffective?¡± She grins with the left side of her muzzle. ¡°I¡¯ll remember that if I ever decide to use space debris as weapons.¡± I wave away the topic at hand and look directly into the gray cat¡¯s eyes. ¡°I have business with you and I would prefer if no other issues sprang up before we could talk.¡± The pretty puma scoffs and her tail swishes ominously. ¡°Guards, Officials and citizens, stand down. The Empress is here for a meeting, not for war.¡± The guard members lower their weapons, but no one gathered looks ¡®at ease¡¯. She waves me to follow her, so I do, and she leads us to a private study where there are only two people wandering about aimlessly. ¡°Alright, Penny, why the unannounced visit?¡± ¡°Ahh, many things. First, I wanted to ask how you feel about trade markets with various races involved?¡± She sighs and falls into a lounger in her office. I pick a spot in her middle and lean against the soft fur while petting her flank in comfort. ¡°While I do appreciate you trying to mix business with pleasure, I need to talk to you about both, separately.¡± She plops a back paw in my lap and wraps her tail around my arm, caressing my hand. ¡°Business-wise, you frustrate me immensely. You make me deal with your minions and you absolutely refuse to deal with me and your private companies. Why would you give me such a runaround?!¡± ¡°Amaya. The first is simple: Government should government. You¡¯re trying to deal with me directly while avoiding my Consuls who control trade policy. At the same time, you refuse to let me make deals with you to act on my behalf in your government. So, in an effort to be equanimous, if you don¡¯t give the Empress favors, no one gets favors in return. Private business-wise, the majority of your requests are munitions related, and as there is no part of Herrat that is in my Military, you get tier 1 access to weapons like everyone else.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of dating the Empress if there¡¯s no favoritism?¡± She swats me with her tail. I swat her foot from my lap and stand to face her. ¡°You can¡¯t even convince your settlement to adhere to Imperial law. Someone tried to assassinate me today, and you are asking for more potent weapons? And you wonder why I tire of your insistence of entangling our work and private relationships.¡± She snarls and approaches me on all fours, teeth showing. ¡°I do that so you will not forget that I am my people! And my people suffer under your Empire!¡± ¡°Suffer? Are you fucking kidding me? You live and eat for FREE! Any suffering you have imposed on yourselves.¡± ¡°You have taken a spacefaring, proud warrior race and forced us to be domestic breeding stock. How dare you pretend to be magnanimous.¡± She opens her mouth to continue, but I know where this is headed. I¡¯ve heard these sentiments in their equivalent of a Senate, and I¡¯m not about to hear them from someone I¡¯m intimate with. I crouch down to her level, widen my smile into a grin that her base DNA will recognize on a primal level, and look her straight in the eye. ¡°Any statement that starts or includes ¡®we would be better off¡¯ you better fucking mean it. As someone I am close with, I do take your opinions and desires into account more than any Herrati alive. But when I hear the political rhetoric of those isolationist slavers coming from your mouth, I want to never know you again, never snuggle into that heavenly gray pelt.¡± ¡°Amaya, I care for you, but I think it¡¯s time for you to decide whom you¡¯re in bed with. Are you courting Penny, the enterprising citizen?¡± I stare into her eyes as I pause, I see a wary but playful look in her eyes. Then I stand, extending my wings and floating a little to prove a point. I look down into her prowling form and unleash my aura. ¡°Or are you supplicating before your Empress.¡± I intended that to come across as a question, but I can hear it as a statement of challenge. Beware your tone, peon, a piece of me thinks and I shudder at the alien thought. ¡°Always you, my Empress.¡± She purrs and licks my feet. She then stands and nuzzles my middles with her muzzle and twirls her tail around my legs. Oh fuck. How did I not know this kitty had a power turn on? I try to talk to her, but something about the voice I used has her mind clouded by lust. I wish I were a better person, but her soft fur and the flicking, raspy tongue across my stomach and sides has me willing to let her worship me. My every praise has her prove her diligence, my touches cause her face to vibrate in a pleased purr. Mere minutes later, I¡¯m undone to her ministrations, yet she attempts to continue. ¡°Relax, Amaya, I am pleased.¡± She seems uneasy in a way that I don¡¯t understand. If this were normal us, she would be nibbling my neck, begging me for reciprocation. I start to rub the inside of her thighs when she holds my wrist. ¡°Empress, there is no need. I am here for your pleasure.¡± A part of me hates that, the sheer disregard for her own self, but another part of me stirs and is wet again. I grab her muzzle with both hands and stare into her eyes, ¡°Then be overwhelmed by my attention and cum for me kitten.¡± I hold her face with one hand, push my leg between her legs and run my fingers through the fine fur between her legs and up her belly. I can tell she¡¯s trying to restrain herself, but when I see her eyes close in effort, I pinch a few nipples and rake my nails across her stomach and she breaks. A large cat roar issues from her throat as her claws extend and dig into my sides as her maw grasps into my shoulder. She convulses against me as her paws and maw convulse in a synchronized rhythm. Once she calms and stills against me, I check for blood on my shoulder, hoping my blood isn¡¯t causing an aether warping event. My skin is luckily durable enough to survive, letting me relax into wonder of what just happened. Amaya has never reacted this way, and I realize that after years of seeing each other, she has really never lost herself in ¡®us¡¯ until now. Andromeda, what a fool I¡¯ve been. I feel my panther bedmate shift upward until the tip of her nose nestles just under my chin. She licks me from chin to ear and buries her forehead back into my neck just before her breathing settles into that of a pleasant sleep. Damnit Penny! You came here for a meeting and somehow you accidentally get pissed and finish some hidden mating ritual? FUCK! I doze as I think about the implications and blissfully I don¡¯t have to think of it further as I fall asleep. B5: Chapter 3 ¡°Amaya, I love the extra cuddling and casual touches, but why the sudden shift?¡± It¡¯s been three days since I over-the-topped her and she¡¯s been girlfriend-y even in public¡ªthe exception being when acting in an official capacity. Her previous normal was caring, but careful with a side of professionally distant. ¡°Mm?¡± She sits up on the bench we are sharing, pulling her supple paw off of my lap. ¡°most of it is cultural, I suppose? You must understand that my father was a Ship Leader for most of my life, and a third paw for my clan. The Herrat as a species enjoy their dominance games, as you know, but for . . . I guess you would call them Nobility?¡± she pauses for a moment to consider, ¡°Noble and cultural leader ring close, if you understand?¡± I nod, getting the thrust of her statement. ¡°Then we were expected to pair with those that challenge us. To build a life with a partner of our equals or perceived betters.¡± ¡°Sure, there were political pairings, mostly for litters and legacy,¡± she waves her paw about, dismissing the idea for us. ¡°but form, function, and ferocity are traits I have been taught to favor since birth, as personal power has much to do with those traits for the Herrati.¡± She leans over and smooshes her cute little kitty lips against my face with a light lick. ¡°And you, my dear are pleasing and powerful. I¡¯ve been trying to goad you into last night for over a year now.¡± My brain systematically backtracks our interactions until I find a moment that matches with a change in behavior. ¡°Oh, you have been somewhat contentious since you said you would like to pair with me. That makes more sense now.¡± ¡°You are terrible at taking hints. Are there any other barriers to us pairing Penny?¡± Andromeda, I wish she hadn¡¯t asked that. ¡°Honestly? I don¡¯t like how political this has been feeling, and that you seem to want me for the power this pairing will bring you. Your more recent behavior has me more interested, but I don¡¯t know how real it is after the last few years. I was surprised at your offer last year, and baffled by your behavior since.¡± She chuffs into my neck as she rests her head on my shoulder. ¡°There is little information on the affairs of Pixies, but I theoretically understand the love and affection that humans desire. It is why I have been more touchy and personal with you after your arrival this week. It is not something that comes naturally to me, but it is pleasant just the same. My sudden urge to defer to you when we meet with others is odd, but as we both have kits, you would be the leader of our pride so logically it makes sense.¡± ¡°You have kids?!¡± I turn to her in astonishment. ¡°I have had three litters since you deposited us on New Peshmel, a cultural obligation to repopulate our people, though I have claimed exemption since I started courting you. Many political leaders claim the same when they are pushing for something in the Senate, or on Astoria.¡± ¡°Pregnancy is not a taboo, dear. And if someone attempted to disparage a pregnant woman, I would take exception.¡± She chuckles. ¡°It is more that pregnant females of my species are extra aggressive, touchy, and violent to an uncomfortable degree when they feel that any part of their livelihood is threatened.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re pregnant?¡± I chuckle, but Amaya hisses at me and bats my face a little with her paws. I laugh harder. ¡°I would bite you, but it might kill me.¡± she growls. Instead, like the cat that she is, she extends her claws into my legs. I bite her ear in response and her whole body stiffens. ¡°Be a good girl and I¡¯ll let you please me with your paws free when we get home.¡± I drop my voice and breathe a promise to her. She shudders in response and retracts her claws. ¡°I¡¯ll buy the honey.¡± She purrs with a smile and licks my chin before standing up and pulling me with her. I feel as though she threatened me for a good time? This tricksy kitten just maneuvered me from a passive position! I am uncomfortably turned on. *** Ten days with a newly dutiful playmate was exquisite and exhausting. I fully believe Amaya was trying to absolutely blank my mind with pleasure so that it was all I thought about until our next meeting. Clearly she¡¯d never heard of ADHD, but it was a fucking solid effort. Shenanigans would have lasted an extra two days had I not gotten a priority message from my Bikini Atoll base on Earth. Warram, the mission-oriented AI that I sent to Earth to stabilize the Western Hemisphere, told me that the Marianus Navy was causing trouble in Polynesia and Indonesia, with a collection of independent colonies banding together and filing a collective grievance. Since there is no global authority on Earth, and the Empire has no fucking judicial system¡ªstill¡ªI have to handle it personally. Since I told Warram to stabilize by any means without specifically limiting Empress given rights, he didn¡¯t flag the Navy for piracy, but denying a populace the right to subsistence in stealing their ansibles. Reports also say that they¡¯ve taken hostages to prevent retaliation as the settle portions of old New Guinea, which sounds a whole lot like they¡¯re about to be slavers. Slavers can die in an effing fire, and I¡¯m fixing to make it rain. I depart my shuttle in LEO, relying on my t-3 re-entry suit to take me to New Guinea while my shittle lands at my quarters on the Atoll. I know for a fact that the Navy passively searches for my shuttle at all times, but a fast-moving object the size of a person is a lot harder to spot¡ªespecially coming from anti-spinward. The trip takes about fifteen minutes, significantly slower in the last 120k meters, though some directed shield shaping speeds things up a little. I crash into the ocean offshore and teleport into the jungle I saw from above, intentionally obfuscating my arrival because of the advanced cruiser I saw in a protective position to the carrier off the coast. The settlement I also saw wasn¡¯t anything to write home about, but knowing that the damned carrier has an ansible on it--obviating the need to steal one from the locals¡ªsets my vision to ultra-violet and my temper to murder. One would think that the dutiful, responsible people I left in charge of the Pacific and my home on Earth would continue to be dutiful and responsible. But if the last twenty years have taught me anything, once a culture gets past the daily thought of survival, someone gets greedy. Every Nation of the pre-initialized Earth was a prime example, my recent session with my Governors being the closest to home. There is no limit to what Humanity as a disease can desire, merely a limit on what a person needs or can reasonably use. I¡¯d like to say I¡¯m an exception, but I¡¯m not. I spend millions of credits a year from my own pockets on public works, but my companies make many times more than that. I give my weapon developments to the Navy for free, but one might say that it¡¯s my Navy and self serving¡ªthey¡¯d be right. In the end, I¡¯m just a nicer version of the greedy asshole breed, confident that I am the best version that Humanity can hope for. With that confidence, I stride into their defensive range from the forest and passively dare them to challenge me. I hear a few reports and feel a few impacts on my shields, but nothing so strong as to pick me up off my feet. Within a minute I hear a man yell cease fire from the walls and a small group of men gather to confront me at the gates. ¡°Greetings Admiral, to what do we owe this pleasure?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on a fact finding mission, commander. Some of my informants have told me of actions that would be illegal in the Empire. As your faction is based on Imperial holdings, and are aligned with the Empire as an organization, you are beholden to our laws.¡± The Commander seems confused at my declaration, so I press forward. ¡°Take me to your theater commander, Commander. I have business with the Admiralty.¡± The man makes a smart about face, but at no point salutes me. Perhaps there will be an etiquette lesson in everyone¡¯s future. If you¡¯re going to use my title, respect the fucking thing. For reals. As soon as I get the inkling that I¡¯m going to be boated out to the carrier, I grab the Commander by the neck and teleport us to the observation deck on the side of the bridge. ¡°I¡¯m finished with the delays, alert your theater commander that I will meet him in the flag mess.¡± I take three steps forward and open the door to the bridge. ¡°Officer of the Deck, ring the fucking Empress aboard!¡± I shout as I storm through the space dramatically as I download the specifications to this ship and teleport to the mess as soon as I exit the bridge. I hear twelve bells on the 1MC and ¡°Empress Astoria, Arriving.¡± They added bells for me. I like that. I see the empty mess with a plate of cookies and a tray with different teas next to a pot of hot water. This is sufficient, I think as I prepare an Earl Grey with a squeeze of galaxy fruit from my compressed space items. I munch on some tasty chocolate chip cookies while sipping my tea and waiting for leadership to arrive.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A terrified CS chief dashes into the room from the scullery space and asks me if I require a meal. I ask if there are any fried snacks available and he rushes back to the kitchen without saying anything. I presume that¡¯s a yes? I analyze the behaviors of Earthers since I arrived and I can understand their behavior in hindsight, but no one on Astoria would react in such a way. I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s a triumph in my attempts to soften my reputation on my planet of residence, or a neoten-ification of my current appearance. A topic for future study I think. /Warram, collate current views of the Empress in your hemisphere and send them to me please./ \There are other Empires, your grace. I will compile perception of you across as many continents as I can.\ /Thank you, Warram, keep up the good work./ He chirps back and sends me a million credits. The fuck man!? I look at the sheet totaling his holdings and his taxes due. M¡¯fucker just sent me half his taxes due as a bribe. No muss, no fuss, here¡¯s a bribe, look the other way. Fuck it. While on Earth, do as the Earther¡¯s do. I send him a writ for a minor Imperial title if he declares at least a thousand hectares for the Empire. Five seconds later, the charter for the Imperial Republic of Central America is ratified and Lord Warram Mercer suddenly controls the largest contiguous area in the Americas. I get a flood of requests from his settlements and immediately regret my decision. I shake my head out as the CS chief bursts through the door again with an array of fried foods and several dipping sauces? ¡°Damn, Chief, this is way more than I expected. Relax man. Take a breath, have a smoke or a pack of gum or something. I¡¯m here to chew on the leadership not you.¡± He dashes out of the room just the same. I chuckle as I have to imagine him thinking I eat babies or kittens. I snack on the chicky nugs and tempura shrimp that was presented to me, a decadent surprise from what I was served when I was in the service, and as I¡¯m nearly out of cocktail sauce, a white-bearded rear admiral lower half walks in. ¡°Empress, to what do I owe this untimely interruption?¡± ¡°Rude. But to answer, you stole the local¡¯s ability to feed themselves.¡± I say, biting into another shrimp. The man scoffs as he reaches for a shrimp himself. I bat his hand away. ¡°You do not have the necessary might to steal my food, Rear Admiral. Explain yourself and I may share.¡± I don¡¯t growl, but it¡¯s close. I wasn¡¯t intending on proving a point with my fried offerings, but the opportunity presents itself. ¡°The locals made war when we began to occupy this shore. We won and took the spoils of victory.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that an ansible capable of supplying the entire island and the islands around it, halfway to Indonesia, and fifty people are spoils of war?¡± ¡°Fourty seven. They are hostages to prevent the locals from retaliating.¡± ¡°What do you have them doing and what are you paying them?¡± He scoffs again and my hackles rise in preparation for his admission of guilt. ¡°Pay prisoners? Are you daft woman? They. Are. Prisoners.¡± With each statement he pounds the table and edges his face closer. I reach out and dig my fingers into the sides of his skull, staring into his eyes as I feel trickles of blood run across my fingers. He starts screaming but I shut his jaw with my other hand. ¡°If you are forcing prisoners to work, you are a slaver. Your organization is allied with my Empire and thus you are subject to my laws.¡± I unleash my command aura and I can smell his fear response. ¡°The punishment for slavery is death.¡± I summon shackles and put the man in them. I then teleport the both of us to the bridge. I ask the Officer of the Deck to hand me the 1MC mic and key the receiver. ¡°This is Empress Astoria, all hands not on watch or engaging vital maintenance are ordered to the flight deck in one hour¡¯s time.¡± I give the mic back to the nervous LT. ¡°Set a timer and remind the crew again at 15 and 5 minutes.¡± The poor boy nods with terrified eyes. I blip to the flight deck and look for a signal mast. Not finding one, I tie him to the catch cables amidships, summon a lawn chair, a deck table and a small array of beverages. I might as well enjoy my visit if no one else will. I order a small plaque and engrave it with ¡®For those about to Die¡¯ and populate a new table with every liquor I can fit on it. A troupe of officers walk out of the bridge mast. I think that¡¯s what it¡¯s called? Who cares. Anyway, as they walk up, I summon a larger table and as soon as they show up, each of them assesses the plaque and the table itself, and about 20% accept their inevitable deaths. Perhaps they think it¡¯s graven humor, but the ones that know grab a bottle and drink straight from it. The commander I teleported onboard with is among them. ¡°Here to lay down the hammer are you?¡± a Lieutenant Colonel asks. Marine uniforms are snappy and crisp, I¡¯ll give them that. ¡°Yep. Slavery, aiding and abetting. Imperial crimes, you see.¡± I say to the grizzled man, sipping my drink. ¡°All the crimes across the globe and you ping us for this minor shit?¡± He growls and gestures. ¡°Yes, Colonel. You aligned yourselves with my Empire. You have benefitted, and are thus required to behave within my two immutable laws, and my other laws that are mere suggestions on un-aligned Earth. You must not interfere with the subsistence and housing of those that have earned it, except in times of war; and no slavery.¡± ¡°The locals attacked us first!!¡± he protests. ¡°Five tribes did. You took an ansible that fed twenty tribes. As soon as you took people and put them to work, your lives were forfeit anyway, but informing the crew of what their officers did serves a purpose.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t kill the whole officer crew and expect this settlement to function!¡± He¡¯s really doubling down that anyone is innocent in this. Situational Myopathy is weird. ¡°I could, but I don¡¯t intend to. Most will be stripped of their citizenship or blocked from ever obtaining it. Since they had no direct hand in what you immoral fuckers did, I won¡¯t kill them, but following immoral orders is still an issue.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re about to kill me, can I at least get a better bottle of tequila?¡± A female lieutenant commander asks. Well, shit. Who am I to deny a bold last meal request? ¡°What style?¡± ¡°Reposado, old.¡± She coughs out as the bottle of Jose takes another hit. Smokey? Okay, I like her. I summon a mini barrel of south American tequila, nine years buried, and hand her a heavy tumbler. ¡°Fuuuuuuck. That is the kind of bitch you could die with.¡± She slams the glass and pours another that she sips. Respect, chica, mad respect. I drink with the officers that have the stones to sit with me until the hour comes to a close. Nearly two thousand people are milling around at this point, awaiting my address. I unhook the cuffed flag officer from the catch cable and lift him to his feet by the back of his neck and march him up on top of the table for all to see. I put some aether into my voice and address the crew. ¡°Now I know the rule is praise in public and punish in private, but an example must be made. Your command staff willingly and knowingly took prisoners and put them to work without promise of pay or special treatment, or compensation of any kind. This is slavery, Sailors and Marines, and slavery is punishable by death in the Empire.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the Empire, you stupid bitch!¡± I dig my nails into his neck to shut him up. ¡°The Rear Admiral makes an excellent point. This is not the Empire, however, Bikini Atoll and your settlement slash headquarters is on Imperial land, and you have chosen to ally your settlement with Astoria. Furthermore, this man,¡± I shake the asshole, ¡°and the command staff petitioned me for citizenship, which I awarded.¡± ¡°You see, as citizens and settlement owners, they get tax breaks, Exchange transfer discounts, and are eligible for free rations and lodging in any Empire holding. There are other benefits, but they are not germane to this topic. What is relevant is that by their own request they are subject to my laws, and their lives are forfeit.¡± I burn a third of my aether stores and slow time on the ship to a crawl. I draw my pulse pistol and execute every citizen that directly participated in subjugating slaves at point blank range as I dash around the crowd while time is slowed. Going back to my original spot, I release my hold on time and panic breaks out for a few moments as a dozen bodies hit the deck. ¡°As for the rest of you!¡± I shout and wait for the crew to quiet. ¡°As for the rest, you are not citizens. Those that were involved in taking prisoners, handling, guarding, etcetera; you will be flagged as slavers and will never be welcome in Empire lands again. That is, with the exception of Lieutenant Xiyue and Petty officers Gamble and Firth. You three are pardoned of your association with these slavers due to your risking court martial to sneak them food and quality of life items like tooth brushes and soap. Resistance isn¡¯t always a grand gesture folks, but it is important to do what you can to fight injustice.¡± I send each of them a note that this pardon includes a one-way trip to anywhere they wish. ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from a murderous tyrant!¡± Someone yells while I¡¯m looking through accounts and menus. ¡°The people I killed today read the rules and signed the documents. Perhaps they were unlucky that I showed up today, but I have spies on this planet that do good work. Those that haven¡¯t been flagged are free to do as they please. I would recommend driving one ship back to HQ with the unflagged and leaving the others here to make their settlement, but again, that¡¯s all up to you all. I¡¯ll be taking the Ansible that was stolen and putting it back before I head Elsewhere.¡± I decide to leave the booze before teleporting to the shoreside camp. Accessing the ansible, I dig through the logs to find the device¡¯s previous location ID and pay to have it transferred back there. I pull out my shuttle and round up the prisoners to relocate them back to their previous settlement. They try to get me to take them somewhere else, but the drama that led them to being captured is not my problem. The three Sailors I pardoned decide they want to take transport to Hawaii, where one of them still has family, and I end up picking up the tab to transfer their old possessions to the new location. And now, I can finally, get to the business I wanted to come to Earth for in the first place: a visit with Nova Chem¡¯s adorable owner. /Kimber, I¡¯m on planet and about an hour away. Meet me at the helipad near your factory would you?/ That done, I program the coordinates into my shuttle and a time to get there while I get comfy in a lounger and settle in for a nap. B5: Chapter 4 My shuttle approaches the derelict hospital building, likely the only ¡®safe¡¯ place to land in the area, and I see a tall, wiry girl standing next to the building¡¯s access door. She¡¯s just as pretty as she was in our virtual meeting room, which I take as a good sign that her mental image of herself is similar to her actual self. As we land I see her confidence faulter as her shoulders start to slump. Not wanting to prolong her nervousness, I blip over to her and the surprise in her posture reminds me to dial back my reactions. The discussion proceeds well enough until I mention I need to ramp up production of her gunpowder and panic springs across her face. The discomfort I cause her punches me in the chest. She¡¯s not your child, Penny, get a grip. I step forward and hug the struggling teen. Not the grip I meant! When her stiff posture relaxes to hug me back, I let out a breath I didn¡¯t know I was holding. I launch back into my proposal, tease her about how much she¡¯s bitten off crafting wise, and ultimately offer her the leasing deal and a percentage of my production of her product. Long term, this isn¡¯t sustainable for my manufacturing as I am repurposing instead of building, but for now, I can pick up production for what I need. Reminder, you have a meeting with Daniel on Ganymede for construction concerns on your new Cutter. Ugh, it¡¯s always something. I don¡¯t want to leave Kimber while she¡¯s looking unstable, but what can I do? Maybe she just needs someone to talk to. I have a daughter that often complains that she¡¯s bored, and she¡¯s got a lot of varied life experience . . . that could work. I offer Zia¡¯s comms ID to Kimber and the spark of interest I see warms the vortex that replaced my heart. B A flash of thought sends a thought to my middles: I want another kid. Maybe this time my baby won¡¯t want to leave me, but that¡¯s a slim hope as passion and development run in my family¡¯s blood. I¡¯ll have no excuses not to spend time with her either. Not like Zia and Isabelle. Jack and James, names they chose for themselves at tier 1, are my twins and I haven¡¯t seen them since they left home. Zia¡¯s the only one that sees me regularly, but I believe it¡¯s more because she hasn¡¯t found her calling than any true desire to be around me. Not that I would really know because I¡¯m afraid to ask. I excuse myself and blip Kimber to a safe place before taking off to talk to my ship builder in the outer Sol system. *** I ruminate on the idea of another child in the hours it takes to land on the large Jovian moon. Despite jumping and warping, safety protocols keep interplanetary travel in the realm of hours, no matter how close or far things are. Well, once you get out of the single jump range, it can turn into days and weeks depending on mana situation, or for Galilei their AM-inventory and capacitor cooling. My new AM-reactor should solve several of the time-lag issues and after Orem and Alaris discovered that annihilation reactions also release aether, having a thermos-electric and aetheric generator for long-distance space travel will be a game changer. But that¡¯s not the engine that¡¯s going to be on these cruisers, so I wonder what the issues are. The skies of Ganymede are blanketed in industry. Orbital forges and foundries, the leading shipyard in the Empire, and a surprisingly advanced farm barge. Since we swapped over to aether-driven ripple drives to get to orbit, the energy costs aren¡¯t prohibitive, but saving two percent charge on your batteries and a flotilla of shuttles verses a few shuttles for crew rotations turns into a significant long-term cost. I have the rudimentary AI on my personal shuttle dock with the main shipyard complex and blip to David¡¯s office after having warned him of my arrival.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Must you insist on the teleporting?¡± David asks. ¡°It¡¯s quick and fun, why not do it? I suppose startling friends could be a hassle, but that¡¯s amusing too.¡± I give him a beaming grin and he shudders at the jagged mess of teeth in my mouth. ¡°Beside that, it doesn¡¯t seem possible to keep you from doing it, despite the technology I¡¯ve tried.¡± He brings up some menus, sighs, and dismisses them. ¡°I suppose it is possible, but you¡¯d have to use foreign tech at this point and that invites its own risk.¡± I¡¯m not about to actually tell him how to keep me from teleporting to a place. Plus, it wouldn¡¯t work against my transpositioning anyway. ¡°You have concerns about my cruisers?¡± He nods and walks over to a holographic projector. ¡°I¡¯m having issue with the backup nuclear reactor. You haven¡¯t been focusing on this area of technology, so it has not miniaturized as much of the rest of your power systems. There are some options being developed on Earth, and several Andromedean races that have built smaller nuclear reactors with adequate safety ratings.¡± ¡°I take it you¡¯re suggesting this because the rest of the ship is finished?¡± He nods. ¡°I have one that everything is finished and furnished forward of the engineering spaces, and the hull framework is laid for the engine compartments. Two more are equipment in, unfurnished. I can finish three ships in eight months and deliver the first in twelve if we decide on your auxiliary powerplant today.¡± ¡°Any of the choices at our current safety rating?¡± ¡°The one I want to slot in, is one percent worse, and the hardest to slot is three percent better.¡± ¡°Ugh, one percent is fine. If you haven¡¯t scrapped the emergency diesel, you can do that. We can use a magitech conversion or an aether dynamo.¡± I¡¯m not happy settling for a non-Astorian powerplant, but he¡¯s right, I haven¡¯t worked on normal powerplants in years. Might have to change that for my project shuttle. ¡°Good, I¡¯ve already scrapped the diesel tanks and planned to use the compartment to shield the new reactor. I also need you to send me your updated dynamo and the schematics for that marauder hull you¡¯re building if you want it any time in the next two years.¡± My face brightens up. ¡°I can definitely do that. I think I¡¯m past the last major hurdle on my new AM powerplant!¡± ¡°And it fits in a Marauder?¡± I rotate my open palm. ¡°Light frigate maybe? But I still want a dozen marauder hulls. Delivered without powerplants is fine.¡± ¡°So, you want me to build 12 completed hulls with no engineering equipment?¡± I can hear the confusion in his voice as it is one of the oddest things I¡¯ve asked him to do. ¡°I want the control consoles and watchstation equipment, but not connected to anything.¡± Daniel wipes his face and ruffles his hair in frustration. ¡°Am I going to have to re-design all of my ship lines for this powerplant?¡± ¡°Eventually, maybe, but I don¡¯t see anything like it on the Exchange, so I don¡¯t think we¡¯re within 100 years of mass-marketing these beasts.¡± He looks up at me with shock and disgust on his face. ¡°You¡¯re going to hold an important advancement for a hundred years!?! How can you justify that kind of behavior?¡± I want to growl at the man, but he¡¯s earned the right to bare his thoughts to me, kind or not. ¡°Daniel, this is AM-tech. Not only does it efficiently use it, but very safely creates it. No kilometer-wide accelerator or anything. It¡¯s not completely power neutral as it requires more aether than it produces, and that¡¯s my biggest concern. If people are negligent the whole thing will likely cause an un-guided warp!¡± I sit down on the edge of a table and continue. ¡°I don¡¯t know If I¡¯ll ever mass market the drive for ships. Space stations, long-range ship portals, maybe, but there are a lot of personal secrets tied into that machine and I¡¯m not ready to reveal them all yet!¡± ¡°Maybe after a decade of testing, I¡¯ll bring you in on the project, but for now, I¡¯m going to keep it close.¡± Daniel studies my expression for nearly a minute before responding. ¡°Well if you won¡¯t be convinced, you owe me a re-design on a shipboard nuclear plant. Something smaller than a shuttle.¡± I grin at that, having some old ideas collecting dust, it shouldn¡¯t take too many years to get to a prototype. ¡°Any restrictions I should note?¡± He smirks for the first time this meeting, ¡°no active aether effects, and any enchantment has to last the re-fueling life of the reactor.¡± That last restriction is pretty lame, but I can surely figure it out. I help build a collider AM engine with no aether afterall. With Alaris and Orem helping out, I¡¯m pretty confident that I can get it prototyped before I order another line of ships. B5: Chapter 5 I finish a few things up with David and then teleport back to my condo. I feel a tap on my shoulder and attempt to divert in the last twitch of aether to re-emerge and end up plopping a meter above my garden, tumbling into a berry bush. ->]My apologies, I merely meant to get your attention in the space between[<- The mental broadcast feels like when I speak with the V¡¯tek, but more powerful¡ªmore omnipresent. However, as I learned from my tree friends, if I put aether and mental energy on a reciprocal course, I should be able to communicate. >P]The space where? And who might I be talking to?[< ->]The liminal space that exists between the Cosmos and the Umbra[<- Cosmos and Umbra come across as concepts, in fact, all of the words I think are my parallel minds interpreting the conveyed meaning into words that I can internalize. ->]I am an energy being that coalesced in the Umbra, the beings I have communicated with have taken to calling me Nebula[<- The image of stellar nurseries populate my brain and then curiously my mind-spaces converge on a particular image that I have never seen before, but one that resonates with the shimmer that I seem to be talking to. >P] Is there a representation or manifestation I can talk to? Not to be rude, but I will have issue concentrating on your purpose for contacting me if I don¡¯t have someone to focus on.[< ->]May I request Aether Space? It is taxing to maintain my contact to the Cosmos, and manifesting there would be taxing. [< Do I trust this entity in my aether space? No, no I do not. But I do remember where the twins met me the first time I crash landed in the aether space. I take a deep breath, push some stasis intent into my body and follow my mental pin of the place I first practiced building with pure aether. My consciousness feels and follows that tether once I find the link and in moments, I am by that pond with half-made and blasted blocks that surround it. ¡°An unclaimed location? A curious choice.¡± I hear the voice in the form of loud whisper. I turn to see a bipedal form with a place for eyes and a mouth on an approximately humanoid head. ¡°I don¡¯t spend much effort on my personal space, nor do I know much about the rules in aether space.¡± ¡°Rules. A construct of civilization. Here, though, it seems that Will and energy are the only rules. If your worry is harm, I have no intention to harm you. I have felt a pull to a concentration of power for several . . . eons, journeying through the Umbra trying to find it. The last few hundred years I have been triangulating it from several galaxies and come to the realization that the source may be in the Cosmos. ¡°I began observing the Cosmos from the space between to find that the beings around my triangulation locus result have an odd relationship to aether: Focused abilities without the Will needed to shape them.¡± ¡°Ah, you found the races that have adopted the Andromeda Matrix.¡± I reply. ¡°It is quite true that we are guided in our uses of aether, which for Humanity feels exceptionally necessary as we don¡¯t have a culture of magic use.¡± The face across from me seems to consider my statement a moment before replying. ¡°You do not appear to need the assistance.¡± I laugh at that. ¡°You¡¯re right, not anymore. However, my journey to this point would have taken at least a century without Andromeda¡¯s guidance, and normal humans don¡¯t live much longer than that. There are stories on my world with magic users more than a millennia before my time, but Earth hasn¡¯t had significant ambient aether for at least that long. But I doubt you got my attention to tell you stories.¡± ¡°I would enjoy regular discourse with a being that does not view me as a deity, however, you are correct. I have contacted you to initiate a dialogue with your Andromeda Matrix to see how I can increase my . . . Dominion? Aether recovery? Perhaps a combination of meanings. Your Andromeda has many more subjects, allowing greater aether income.¡± ¡°Are you only getting energy through prayer?¡± That I will say is the only good thing about thousands of people swearing or praising me is that the prayers feed me a mote of mana. Of course that only works now that I¡¯m mostly an energy being, or I would . . . nevermind, I do have a sanctioned religion that worships me¡ªfreaking Sisters of Valhalla. Yeah, not sure how they justify the whole Norse idea with a Pixie Goddess, but whatever works for them I suppose. I wonder if I get more worshipers, if I¡¯ll get any aspects that they envision me having. ¡°And sacrifice. I find the idea of encouraging mortal development so I may support my own is an appealing prospect. I have not been able to contact the mechanical assemblage that I found in the space between, so I found a powerful Will with access to Aether space to converse with in hopes you could help me.¡± Huh, I guess there¡¯s no real reason that Andromeda would be able to interface with a pure energy being. She can contact me in the aether through my tasking interface, but is that through the aether or through my connection to my body that has implants and nanites in it? Can he do a ride along on a person? Can I plant him in one of my brain matrices? ¡°I have an idea, and if it¡¯s possible, we can talk interface options.¡± ¡°So quickly? I will say I have my doubts as I have been attempting to contact them for some time.¡± I would have my doubts too. Nebula is clearly an experienced, powerful entity if they can track me when I travel the space between. However, I doubt it has ever been mortal.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°When you manifest in the Umbra, do you create an organism and occupy it¡¯s nervous system, or is the whole embodiment you?¡± ¡°How could my manifestation be anything but me? It is no different that what you do, is it not? No terrestrial form I have seen that can withstand the saturation of aether that your form holds. It is how I identified you!¡± ¡°Incorrect. My race went briefly through a golem phase before I pushed myself toward Pixie. During my golem phase, I realized I could substitute my internal skeleton with enchanted crystals that double as aether-storage devices. In fact, much of my structure is aether-organic crystal. The goal I think for you in this case would be to ride one of my golems to a mechanical interface with Andromeda. My golems have already proved that they can receive a pure energy host¡ªme¡ªyou would just need to learn how to inhabit the intelligence matrix. You don¡¯t need any material from the Umbra to stay here do you?¡± I sense amusement in their reply, ¡°even a small piece of matter from the Umbra would react violently with your golem or even atmosphere.¡± That sounds a lot like antimatter. Is this a celestial originally made from antimatter?! Holyshit. If I could find a more efficient way to transfer antimatter than colliding or aether creation, I could save millions of credits a year. Even if this person is full of shit, this is an idea worth chasing. ¡°Okay, okay, my minds are spiralling off track. Second very important question: have you ever ridden along with another consciousness in a terrestrial form?¡± ¡°I have tried to learn from mortals in that way, but only non-sapient creatures with rudimentary social structures. It gave me little insight to worship and religion, but the foundations emotion can explain those with moderate iteration and convolution.¡± ¡°Great! Also very happy to hear that you left the socializing, reasoning beings alone. The next step, I suppose is to have you attempt to insert yourself in such a way that you interact directly with an auditory or tactile sensor suite in some of those creatures. While I can load some interface and sensory integration instructions, it would be easier if you had a feeling for what you were trying to do. If that bothers you, we can jump right into trying to get you into a living crystal brain.¡± Not sure what I would have done if the entity had possessed someone before. There are multiple ways I could enable that crystal brain, but in an effort to not be a gullible idiot, I¡¯m thinking of using my sensor validation chassis instead of one of the industrial chassis that I¡¯m developing for Orem and a version of a smart exo-suit. I also doubt that Andromeda would appreciate me handing a stellar entity an ansible connection to her Hosts. ¡°Inhabiting an artificial host was not something I had considered. And you are sure that if I can inhabit your golem, I can converse with your andromeda?¡± ¡°Yes, you will have the ability to. There is a physical interface with one of their sector hosts in my star system. I can only guess as to their desire to converse, however.¡± I myself would be extremely wary on talking about making a being of this size and power more powerful, but Andromeda¡¯s a big entity, they can decide for themselves. ¡°This is much more progress than I thought I would get in a single meeting with you. I am pleased and hopeful. The desire to begin testing is strong. Unless you need something from me for your golem?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s not too much trouble, I¡¯d like to see if you could charge a crystal for me. It¡¯ll let me tailor the crystal formation for the golem. If you could stop by the location we tumbled out, the rooftop garden, I¡¯ll leave a crystal on a table for you to charge at your leisure. That said, it will take me several months to grow the intelligence matrix once I have your aether pattern.¡± Nebula considers my proposal for longer than my other statements, so long that I though perhaps my intent did not translate well in their mind. ¡°I suppose I will need to trust you in this approach, if you are sure this is the best approach.¡± I shrug at the apparent unease they are conveying. ¡°What I would personally do in your place would be to spend the decade or so required to make a golem you could inhabit, giving you a mastery of the process you would be subjected to in my realm. That would obviate the shortcuts that would speed this experience to a year or two in my realm.¡± ¡°Time does not pass differently in Umbra than it does in Cosmos, it¡¯s the space between and aether space that time¡¯s rate becomes uncertain. That said, it seems your toolset is much different than mine if you could learn how to create a living golem in a few decades. If the knowledge were freely available, it would perhaps take me a century to find and incorporate it. Perhaps a millennia if I were forced to create it from just the idea you¡¯ve seeded in my thoughts.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I have no idea what your skillset is. But if that is the route you wish to take, Andromeda and I will likely still be around in a millennia.¡± ¡°You would not teach me?¡± I snort a little at that. ¡°Not to be rude, but I don¡¯t know you. Your problem is a very interesting science project for me, but otherwise I¡¯m not that invested. Teaching you the skills required to make a bio-mechanical golem from scratch would be exponentially more time consuming and would interfere with many of my duties as a leader of my society. So if you don¡¯t want to put your trust in me, I¡¯m not offended, I¡¯ll see you in a few hundred years. If you do, I¡¯ll leave a crystal on a table in my garden.¡± ¡°It has been interesting to meet you, Nebula. I¡¯ll be heading back now.¡± There was a brief moment where I though they might try to keep me in the aether, but I successfully rode the tether I left to my body and surge into it as my stasis field fades. I¡¯m fairly certain that Nebula will come back to fill the crystal I am pulling out of storage, but I¡¯d wager at least a few months will pass while they experiment with riding along the sensory network of a terrestrial being. Once that happens, I should probably talk to Katie¡ªmy ex-wife and Russian Black Market queen pin¡ªas she is still the pre-eminent Astorian authority on Magitech integration. Katie and I started getting distant after Melissa split and I wasn¡¯t enough to fulfill her vampiric tendencies. She ended up creating a bordello of sex, drugs, and blood in my old mansion¡¯s basement. Once I found out the scope of it all, and her breaking my only rule of not having sex with other people in our bed, I transferred the house to a different location and kicked all of her guests out. I was going to kill the people that had drugged her and taken her up to our suite with out her knowledge, but she begged me not to. Turns out she fell in love with her abuser, a lieutenant in the Russian mafia here on Astoria. I divorced her after that. Skip ahead a few years and the Russians were smuggling in Herrati combatants, who had stolen a cache of antimatter bombs and were hiding them in my government centers. I went on a very violent rampage where I cleaned out a lot of their hidden facilities, killing Herrati and their human abettors alike¡ªone being Katie¡¯s new girlfriend. Her anger was cold this time, she took over and re-branded the organization and took one of my few remaining friends with her. Now, though, she¡¯s one of the leading venture capitalists funding expeditions out to the Prospects¡ªas well as still running black market goods, and engaging in piracy though she swears she isn¡¯t. On the books, piracy that results in loss of life is illegal. Problem is the Astorian justice system is a bit of a joke because my Consuls and Governors won¡¯t get off their asses and ratify something. I¡¯m going to fix that at this year¡¯s Founders¡¯ Forum. Ugh. I complain, but running a government would be more hassle without them. Maybe.