《Star Captain Annie》 Prologue The Nightingale drifted through space, orbiting a blue sun. They called her a light frigate. Larger than the majority of ships that traveled the stars, but tiny compared to a real warship or shipping vessel. Her design was sleek, aerodynamic even. The Nightingale was the largest class of ship capable of entering a planet¡¯s atmosphere, the largest ship designed to need to ride the wind as well as the void. While ships larger than her were bulky and square, not needing to compensate for air resistance, she was full of soft curves of black metal. She was beautiful. But she was dying. Fragments of black metal were near invisible as they floated along next to the wounded ship they came from. A hole from a great weapon gaped in the metal hull and exposed the decks to the void. In the silence of space, one could be fooled into finding the sight relaxing. Yet inside the broken ship was anything but. All across the empty laser scarred halls a red light pulsed, warning a crew that was no longer there of the danger that they had already succumbed to. Only in the bridge did one crew member still struggle to save the Nightingale. He was a droid, a robotic body that could be controlled by any authorized artificial intelligence. His face was a solid lime light behind a glass screen. His metallic outer skin seemed to be clean and polished, despite the ash that clung to near every other surface. The droid wore a blue naval officer uniform, adorned in medals and awards from a career of excellent service. The droid gripped an ancient wooden ship wheel with one hand while the other tapped away efficiently at a control panel. Nearby there was a loud cracking sound that captured his attention. A panel crashed to the floor and a mass of sparking wires fell through the new gap in the ceiling. ¡°That¡¯s not urgent.¡± The droid remarked before returning to his task. His voice, though metallic, was as gruff and authoritarian as any naval officer. He raised his robotic hand up to his collar, pressing the button on a small communication device. His voice rang out across the ship.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Crew, this is the Nav Computer speaking, I have the damaged sections of the ship contained. It¡¯s once again safe to leave your bunks and enter the hallways. We have a lot of repairs to do.¡± He returned his hand to the wheel and steered in silence for a time, awaiting a response that didn¡¯t come. He waited longer than a human would, before moving his hand to his collar. ¡°Captain?¡± He waited for a much shorter time before he looked to the door, then back to the steering wheel. ¡°Split processing.¡± A dull lime light began to glow on the wheel, while the light in the droid dimmed slightly. He looked with satisfaction as the wheel began to turn of its own accord. With efficient militaristic movements, the Navigator marched out into the bridge. He wandered the halls, listening, calling out for survivors, but finding none. In time he arrived at the last place he had wanted to look and saw the thing he had hoped not to see. All eight of the bays flashed the red words on their windows ¡°Emergency pod: Launched.¡± He was alone. An automated voice added insult to injury. ¡°All pods launched.¡± The lime light beneath his visor flickered and dimmed just a little. The droid stepped up to a small panel by one of the launched pods and pressed a single button. ¡°Captain, is your pod still in the area? The Nightingale is safe.¡± The only answer came from the ship itself. ¡°All pods launched.¡± The lonely droid stared at the intercom. His light flickered and grew even dimmer. ¡°All pods launched.¡± Hours went by as he stood perfectly still, his light growing ever dimmer. ¡°All pods launched.¡± A loud clattering in a nearby room shocked the Navigator out of his stupor. His light powered back to full as he realized:someone¡¯s still on the ship! He clutched at the communicator on his collar and his voice crackled out across the Nightingale¡¯s intercom. ¡°Attention, whoever is still aboard the Nightingale, please report in. According to galactic law, you are now acting captain until Captain Constantine arrives back on the ship.¡± There was no response asides from another nearby clatter. He decided the response was unlikely to come and set out into the hallway, eager to seek out his new captain. She wasn¡¯t far away, only a few rooms over in the medical bay. The little baby reached once more from her crib, knocking another surgical tray to the floor. Her giggles of delight were largely drowned out by the clattering metal. The droid stared at the laughing baby from the doorway, unsure of what to think. ¡°This could be a problem,¡± he stated to no one in particular. The little captain grinned and grabbed another tray. 1.01 Nearly a decade after the accident, the Navigator stood on the bridge of the ship, staring out the window at a large rust-colored world. Even from orbit, the planet looked lumpy, with deep scars cut all across the surface. Flawlessly polished black boots marched their way into the bridge. The doors whooshed open, catching Nav¡¯s attention. The droid turned to see his captain standing on the bridge in all her glory. Although she was still small and young, Annie was a stern captain, everything about her was as steely and iron cast as the ship itself. Her blue uniform was kept impeccably tidy, and her peaked cap sat atop a tightly bound bun of straight blonde hair. The robot saluted the star captain. ¡°Captain on deck!¡± He announced with a salute. She returned his salute. ¡°At ease Mr. Navigator.¡± He took a relaxed stance and nodded his appreciation. ¡°Aye, Captain.¡± Annie made her way up to the window, maintaining the formality she allowed the droid to break. She sniffed at the great brown world before them. ¡°We¡¯ve been everywhere worth going in the Orion Spur mister Navigator,¡± she spoke without making eye contact. ¡°And yet we haven¡¯t been to Scrappis IV. Why is that?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a dump, Captain.¡± She shot a surprised look at the Navigator. ¡°Let¡¯s not be judgemental Nav-¡± He cut her off. ¡°No Captain, it¡¯s literally an entire planet-sized trash dump.¡± For just a moment a smile played at Annie¡¯s lips before she forced them straight again. ¡°An interesting place to meet our trader. Is it not?¡± ¡°He lives here, Captain.¡± Annie nodded thoughtfully. Who would be desperate enough to live on a world like that? She wondered silently. Far below, in one of the deepest trenches on Scrappis IV, was one such desperate girl. Kaori Amani stood atop a broken police vehicle, tapping her foot restlessly and looking out over the trash piles. She was a scraggly waif-like girl; stick thin with starvation. If her hair was ever anything but black, the oil and grease had removed any trace of it. Her left arm was gone, replaced with an ugly mechanical prosthetic, built from scrap. Her stance was more than defeated, it was the posture of one who kept living only out of habit. Around her was a massive chasm, impossibly tall and at least a kilometer wide. Great machines at the top spewed rubbish into the gorge, like hideous waterfalls. Immense swarms of strange fat birds fly lazily through the sky, they dripped with oil as they screamed with delight at the trash banquet that Scrappis Five offered them. Kaori''s gaze studied a distant sight, a massive circular space station, wedged between the edges of the chasm. Despite its size, the station still stubbornly refused to touch the ground. Something approaching a smirk took hold of Kaori''s soot-covered lips. Silently, she pulled a pair of goggles over her eyes. With surprising speed, she leaped from the car and ran full sprint towards the station, still miles away. Kaori found it to be a difficult climb up the cliffside, but one she was well practiced with. Her first year in the gorge she learned to climb, hoping against all hope that she could escape the pit. She could never reach the top, it was simply too high without quality climbing gear, and the trashgulls were far more vicious the higher you went. Still, she was more than up to the task of climbing up to a small open hatch she spotted on the station right next to the cliffside. Her strong, if lanky arms soon pulled her close enough that she was confident she could make the leap from cliff to hatch. Kaori let herself dangle from the cliff with only her robotic arm while the other made an adjustment to it, turning on the high powered magnets in her palm. Perhaps too high powered, for her hand immediately tore away from the cliffs towards the station itself, dragging the panicked girl through the open air towards the metal station. She collided painfully with the wall with a shockingly loud clang. She let herself breath, trying to forget the fact that she was magnetized to a flat surface nearly half a mile off the ground. Kaori resolved to tinker with the magnet setting on her arm later, but for now, she focused on dragging herself to the open hatch with her free hand. She let out a tired sigh as she realized she was out of reach of anything she could take hold of. She shoved all her body weight to the right, towards the hatch, and felt the magnet move about an inch towards the open door. It was a disappointing result, but it was helpful. She tried it again, to a similar effect. And then, she did it again. After a half hour of shuffling herself closer, she finally reached the door with her free hand. She had been alone for too long to bother expressing her joy aloud, but her cheering was certainly deafening inside her own head. Now all she needed to do was deactivate the magnet- but she would need her hand for that. Recognizing her conundrum she spent a few more frustrated minutes shuffling closer until both her feet reached the ledge. Only then did she finally deactivate the troublesome magnet. Kaori was tired, but still far too excited at the prospect of plundering the station¡¯s riches to let it stop her. The interior of the station was surprisingly sterile, having been sealed shut, save for the small doorway. Yet, every edge looked worn, and every surface scratched, though nothing was terribly dirty. In truth, it was the cleanest and best-kept place Kaori had seen in years. she might have been tempted to move in if it was in a more convenient location. Though that was the lesser problem about the station. It was tilted at a troubling angle, causing her to lose her balance as she entered, nearly sliding down the slanted floor several times. The flip of a makeshift switch on her arm activated a dirty industrial lamp, messily welded to the top of her wrist. Cautiously she shone it into the darkened structure, hoping to reveal areas the sun didn¡¯t reach. A small sign caught Kaori¡¯s eye. Engineering ¡ú Kaori¡¯s eye followed the direction of the arrow, seeing that it led deep down into the cavernous depths of the station. She stood up straight, yet angled compared to the rest of the station. She was hesitating, but not for long. The scavenger was reminded of her days before the gorge as she sat down on the station''s floor. She felt like a child about to go down a slide. She had liked slides, so she felt she knew what to do, and pushed herself downwards. Yet, she didn''t slide. Remaining more or less stationary instead. She pursed her lips and returned to her feet. The friction seemed to be a problem. With both her fleshy and metal hand she searched her countless filthy pockets until she found what she needed, pulling a small metal vial out of her tattered coat. Kaori unscrewed the top and doused the floor in front of her with greasy black oil. With great care, she screwed the top back on and idly placed it back in her coat, though not the same pocket. Kaori found it more fun to have to search her pockets everytime she needed something. It was boring to already know. She began to wonder if the oil would really solve her friction problem, and so she tested it with the toe of her foot. Which caused her to completely wipe out. Kaori spat up the black oil that now covered her from head to toe as she went sliding down the angled hallway at a higher velocity than she was entirely comfortable with. After the initial panic wore off, Kaori found it to be a fairly entertaining means of travel. It was quick too, certainly faster than walking would have been. Countless rooms flew past. It wasn¡¯t easy to tell, but it certainly didn¡¯t look like any of them were labeled ¡°Engineering.¡± But the one ahead of her certainly was. Her scrap arm reached out and clutched at a small safety rail, stopping her descent and nearly tearing the arm off completely as the rest of her body tried to ignore the sudden stop. The oil made it difficult to stand, so Kaori was forced to wipe the bottom of her boots on the sleeve of her coat before entering the room. Her eyes scanned the engineering room. There was a great deal to see, but little looked salvageable to her. A mess of cables here, worthless gears there and more old workbenches than she would ever need. Shelves lined the walls, filled with spare parts, tools as well as various greases and oils. Eventually, her eyes caught what she''s was there for; a small radio system, partially assembled on a dirty work table. She grinned and greedily snatched up the little box, stuffing it unceremoniously into her pack. Triumphantly, she stepped out of the room as quickly as she came, taking a deep and confident breath. She took her first step back up the slope, hating herself less than a moment later as the grease swept her off her feet and sent her sliding further back down. It was going to be a long trip home. The door slammed wide open to Kaori¡¯s little metal shack hours later. Improvised lights with sparking wires flickered to life automatically as Kaori returned. Her shack wasn¡¯t much to look at, even by the standards of a trash world. Dozens of filthy and mismatched drawers overflowed with machine parts and tools. Here and there were attempted touches of things Kaori had a lifetime ago - a fridge, nearly brown with dirt and grime, a bed, or at least an imitation of one, crafted from a bus seat with rags as blankets. Kaori practically dragged herself inside, exhausted and still covered in grease. Despite her state, she was possessed with excitement, and couldn¡¯t shake the smile from her dirty face. Her Greasy fingers rummaged through her pack and retrieved the radio system. She wasted no time, throwing the pack away dismissively and placing the radio on her workbench. With a sweep of her arm, Kaori shoved a plethora of unfinished inventions clattering to the floor, revealing a large improvised rig with a slot exactly the size of the radio box. She inserted the box into the rig with an audible click, then flipped a switch on the side of the device. Radio static filled the hut. Kaori scrubbed her face with a filthy rag and took a seat on a diner stool in front of the radio. Her lips approached the worn microphone, unsure what to say. ¡°I-Is anyone out there?¡± She spoke with a voice that was not used to talking, but the nervous excitement still shone through. ¡°My name is Kaori Amani. I''m seventeen - I- I think. I''ve been stuck in Scrapyard Theta for as long as I can remember.¡± She paused, waiting for a response that didn''t come. ¡°I remember from when I was little that there were people outside the gorge. Can anyone help me?¡± Her face softened as she began to realize that no one was listening.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Pl-please, I have- I had parents on the surface. They must be looking for me!¡± The radio began to smoke and spark as the static cut out all at once. Her quivering hands pulled the radio from the rig and threw it in the pile of dozens of identical non-functional devices. Kaori threw herself into her bed, tears washing lines of grime from her face. A question she didn¡¯t want the answer to formed in her mind. Is anyone looking for me? The Nightingale drifted far above the crying girl in a controlled orbit around the scrap planet. It''s avian elegance and beauty was at odds with the ugly world below. A second ship approached, it was some form of an old junker or a scrap hauler. Annie found the ships mismatched parts and junkyard grime matched the planet perfectly. The junker pulled up beside the Nightingale. Annie observed from the airlock as the Nightingale¡¯s landing ramp lowered to form a bridge between the vessels. The severe little captain was only distracted by the sight of the ship for a moment before she returned her attention to the task at hand. Annie finished zipping up her miniature space suit. The suit was equal to her clothes in terms of ornateness, being covered in badges and golden tassels, as befitting a great captain like herself. Beside her, Nav stood at attention. ¡°Tell me again about this dealer.¡± She asked calmly. ¡°Yes, Ma''am. His name is Ashur. He''s an akkadar.¡± Annie nodded at that, then held up her hand expectantly. ¡°And he''s religious?¡± She questioned. The droid bent down and retrieved a small little glass helmet, adorned with a built-in captains hat, handing it to Annie. ¡°Like most akkadari, he''s obsessed with the relics of the Elders who inhabited the galaxy before us.¡± The young captain placed the helmet on her head. A pressure lock sealed it with her suit with a quick swishing noise. ¡°Then it''s a good thing he doesn''t know what he''s found.¡± She stated before stepping up to the airlock and slamming a little fist into a big red button. The door opened up, violently throwing air into the void and revealing the walkway between the two vessels. ¡°You understand he''s going to double cross you, captain?¡± Annie shot him a look as though he was stupid. ¡°Obviously.¡± Annie shook her head and picked up a large sealed case from beside the door. Without another word, she stepped through the airlock. The doors swished shut behind her. And just like that, she was alone. Annie stepped out into the open void, magnetic boots keeping her attached to the grated bridge. The only noise she could hear in the openness of space was her own breathing, muffled inside her helmet. After reaching the halfway point between the ships, she stopped and looked to the planet for a long few moments. Even an ugly planet like Scrappis Five could look beautiful with the sun setting behind it like that. She liked that about space. Every planet had a different sunset. The far doors opened, and out stepped the akkadar merchant. He was a tall and thin alien creature, having to stoop down to pass through the improvised airlock of his ship. Beneath his crude scrap suit, the akkadar looked a little like an Egyptian statue of Anubis, jackal head and all. Most of his skin was protected by a thin shell, resembling polished black marble. The shell still left gaps for joints where his skin could be seen, withered and purple. White face paint, reminiscent of Egyptian makeup, swirled across his face. A dozen tiny robots crawled across the outside of his suit, resembling different animals and insects. The jackal-headed creature loomed over the little Captain and smiled fiercely, baring long and sharp teeth. ¡°Star Captain Annie. Your reputation precedes you. The tales are¡­¡± He feigned a look of thinking deeply. ¡°mixed.¡± Annie was used to big spacers trying to scare her to get a better deal. It never worked. ¡°Trust your eyes, not your ears Ashur. This is an honest deal.¡± She thought it best to cut straight to the chase and opened the case, revealing another small but inactive robot, resembling a vulture. Unlike Ashur¡¯s little junk bots, Annie knew that the vulture was a masterpiece. Ashur whistled but looked at it with the same malicious grin he had kept on his stony face thus far. ¡°You didn''t lie. It''s a thing of beauty.¡± Annie nodded slightly and hoped the Akkadar had lived up to his end of the bargain. Ashur poked at a small mechanical spider which crawled on his shoulder. The little robot scurried down to a pouch on Ashur''s suit, retrieving a worn handheld computer. He stretched out his empty hand to Annie, the spider quickly ran up Ashur¡¯s arm and placed the device in his palm. Annie looked at him with bored eyes, doing her best to mask her excitement. There would be time for that later, for now, she had to make sure she didn¡¯t blow this deal. ¡°Now this is the part where you tell me there''s a catch.¡± She remarked, already knowing there would be one. Ashur''s eyes narrowed, and he pulled his outstretched hand back to his waist. ¡°You''re a clever child, aren''t you? There is a catch.¡± Ashur turned to the railing and leaned out into open space. ¡°You''re worried that I''m a cheat, yes? A swindler? A con? Well, I worry the same about you, little Captainling.¡± He looks to the little device in his hand. A miniature robotic chimp dangled from it with one arm, silently showing off for other little robots on Ashur''s cuff. With a sudden motion, Ashur thrust the object back in front of Annie''s face. The chimp whirled off of the gadget but caught the railing before it could be flung off into open space. ¡°I don''t know what this is, little captain. I''ve hacked it, disassembled it, I''ve even tried turning it off an on, but I haven''t a clue what it does. It could be the most valuable item in the spur. I have no way of knowing.¡± He looked thoughtfully at the little computer. ¡°But you know, Captain Annabelle. You know what this is. Tell me.¡± A moment of silence passed between them. Annie was worried it would come to this. ¡°Tell me what it is or I walk right now.¡± Ashur hissed. Annie closed her eyes, frustrated, and thought of a convenient lie. ¡°It''s the expedition logs of the former captain of my ship. My father''s logs. Sentimental value, nothing more.¡± Ashur scowled and bared his teeth at her. ¡°I''ve known you for less than five minutes, but I can already tell you''re not a sentimental person. Last chance.¡± A lime light shone on Annie''s face from one side of her helmet as Nav spoke to her. ¡°Don''t-¡± Nav called out, but Annie ignored him. She knew she had no choice. ¡°He was on an expedition to find the elder crown when he went missing. I believe his logs will show me how to find it.¡± Ashur''s eyes grew wide at Annie¡¯s words, he stood there, stunned. ¡°The elder crown.¡± He looked to the object in awe. ¡°I have to keep this.¡± He turned and began to stumble back to his ship. Annie knew she had lost, but gritted her teeth and shouted after him. ¡°You''ll never open it without me!¡± He barely seemed to notice her. ¡°I''ll find a way.¡± The green light switched on in her helmet again as the Navigator yelled in her ear. ¡°What are you doing, stop him! Shoot him!¡± The light switched off. Annie calmly touched her thumb to a communicator at the base of her helmet. ¡°We don''t do that anymore Nav, we''ll find another way.¡± ¡°Wait! Captain! We have another problem!¡± Both Annie and Ashur stumbled across the walkway as a small kinetic weapon crashed into Ashur''s ship. They both watched in horror as the device slipped from Ashur''s hands, sending it plummeting to the planet below. Ashur sent a terrified glance to Annie. ¡°It''s going to break up in the atmosphere!¡± He shouted, no longer so predatory. Not wasting a second, Annie pulled a small pistol from her hip and adjusted the settings. She barely needed to aim before firing a small blue shot at the falling gadget. A blue bubble caught onto the little computer and swallowed it, protecting it as it fell. Annie holstered her pistol wordlessly as Ashur sprinted back into his own ship. She calmly made her way back to the Nightingale in long aggressive strides, stopping only to collect the little vulture bot. A scant minute later saw her in the bridge, having rushed through the ship, wasting no time. The Navigator came rushing towards the door as she entered. Annie quickly removed her space helmet and handed it to the droid as she began to remove the rest of her suit. ¡°Give me a report, who opened fire?¡± She asked, doing what she could to restrain her rage. She unzipped her suit but did not feel the usual joy she found upon seeing the spaceship patterned pajamas she wore underneath. Annie was a captain through and through and was aware they were childish, but she felt that more captains should take advantage of the confidence space jammies gave you. ¡°We received a warning message. They haven''t fired a shot beyond the first one.¡± The last of her space suit came off and she handed it in a crumpled mess to Nav. The little captain scowled, moving to the window to see a small black warship, far tinier than the Nightingale, a skull and crossbones was neatly painted on the hull. Pirates. No one was supposed to know about this meeting, she told no one, and she suspected Ashur was too paranoid to have mentioned the deal to anyone who could have interfered. So, was it just a coincidence that the pirates were raiding them? ¡°Put it on screen, mister Navigator.¡± She ordered, preferring not to speculate. A holographic video screen flickered to life on the glass window. A ship bridge appeared on screen, it was fuzzy, clearly shot with a low-quality camera. The bridge was dark, covered in shadows and Annie¡¯s quick eyes were unable to spot any identifying features of the ship itself. Except for one. All the furniture was made of bone. Atop a throne-like chair, sat someone who could only be a pirate. He wore a blood red Jacket, adorned with dozens of straps which connected guns, knives, and explosives to his body. His face was hidden by a mask that seemed to be made from the skull of some form of elk-like creature. A black hat decorated with a skull and crossbones completed the look. ¡°You only get one warning. Everything you have I am here to take, everything you are, I am here to unmake. Surrender unconditionally and your pitiful lives will be spared.¡± The pirate¡¯s voice was terrifying, deep and textured. His tone was refined, yet Annie didn¡¯t have a hint of doubt that this man was capable of savage deeds. ¡°I am Captain Scarheart, scourge of Avalon, the breaker of ships and the taker of souls and I will not ask again.¡± Annie frowned with concern. ¡°Scarheart. He¡¯s supposed to be a fairy tale.¡± The robotic navigator remained motionless. ¡°I never thought it could be true. They say he''s destroyed a thousand ships.¡± Annie pursed her lips at that. Captain Scarheart had too many legends surrounding him to sort out the fact and the fiction. Yet all tales agreed that Scarheart was the greatest and most ruthless pirate in the Orion Spur. It could be possible that it was a bluff, she had faced off against many pirates over the years who had claimed to be Scarheart, but each of them had been found lacking. No, she thought, looking to the pirate on her screen, this man was the real thing. Everything about him screamed ¡°danger!¡± from his movements to his choice of words. But there was something odd about the video. She decided at once that this pirate simply looked scarier than he actually was. He spoke and moved with a level of precision that made Annie suspect that the video was rehearsed. ¡°Just because the pirate is real doesn''t mean the legends are, Mister Navigator. Prep an E.M.P.¡± There was a thump as the Navigator dropped Annie¡¯s spacesuit and helmet as he saluted. Without delay, the droid flipped several switches on a control panel. Annie moved a small wooden chair in front of the steering wheel and climbed up, allowing her to see over the top. Her authoritative little hands grasped the wooden handles as she angled the Nightingale towards Captain Scarheart¡¯s warship. ¡°E.M.P. ready captain.¡± She grinned and pulled a trigger on the wheel. ¡°Firing.¡± A blue light washed over the bridge as the E.M.P. was launched. The blue bolt hurtled towards the black ship. ¡°Then I guess we will see.¡± the Navigator said, simply. ¡°I guess we will.¡± Annie responded, turning back to the Navigator. Her eyes caught something on the floor of her bridge that troubled her far more than Captain Scarheart. ¡±Mister Navigator, why is my spacesuit on the floor? I expect this tidied up immediately.¡± The droid snapped to attention. ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am!¡± Captain Scarheart sat in his chair minutes earlier. ¡°-I am Captain Scarheart, scourge of Avalon, the breaker of ships and the taker of souls and I will not ask again.¡± He sat in silence for a time, glaring straight ahead. ¡°Cut!¡± Yelled a synthesized woman¡¯s voice coming from a small cluster of five floating spherical drones. The globes were covered in circuitry and lit in various places by a glowing lavender light. The largest orb in the flock had a camera mounted inside, which was currently facing Scarheart. The pirate stood up and stretched. He hated that chair. Scarheart pulled off his bony helmet. Under it all, he was just Nate, a dashing (if currently sweaty) teenager with a flair for the dramatic. ¡°Do we need another take Milah? That one didn¡¯t feel right.¡± From a small compartment on one of the drones popped a little metal hand, which gave him a thumbs up. ¡°No darling, that was fab, you were an absolute delight!¡± The drones responded in the woman¡¯s voice. Nate grinned, proud of himself. He stepped away from the intimidating looking set they were filming on and took a bottle of water from a stylish metal table. ¡°Thanks! So, you really think they have anything valuable? I mean, they¡¯re orbiting a junk world.¡± Two of Milahs drones swooped over to Nate, the first wiped away much of the dirt and sweat on his face with a towel while the other fussed over his hair with a small comb. ¡°I don''t know for sure hun'', but according to messages I''ve intercepted, that nice ship came all the way from Alpha Centauri for this trade, so it must be something good!¡± Nate gently pushed the drones away from his head and messed up his newly brushed hair with his fingers. ¡°I sure hope so. That was our last cannon shot we fired at them!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Nate! Have I ever led you astray? You just keep using your talents, and I¡¯ll keep being the best manager in the galaxy. Besides, no one¡¯s ever called our bluff befo-¡± Nate felt the ship rock violently as a blue flash of electricity surrounded every surface on his ship. His feet were painfully shocked and he found himself on the floor, confused at what just happened. The lights were all out, but he could see a little thanks to a window letting in starlight. ¡°Milah?! What just happened?¡± He shouted from the floor. There was no response. He felt one of Milah¡¯s drones roll up against his leg. Milah generally floated, so he was certainly worried that she was grounded, but he was far more worried about the fact that none of the drones shone their usual lavender color. He was no robotics expert, but he knew what that meant. No light meant no Milah. No Milah meant Nate was very much out of his depth. ¡°This is very very bad.¡± He stated plainly to himself. It was an understatement. Annie''s steely gaze was fixed on Scarheart''s ship, which was motionless and dark. ¡°A competent crew would have had that sorted out minutes ago.¡± Annie whispered under her breath. The doors whooshed open behind her as Nav re-entered the bridge. Annie held her eyes on the black ship. ¡°They''re bluffing. They don''t even know how their ship works.¡± She informed her Navigator. Nav pointed instead to the side of the window, as Ashur''s junker began racing to the surface of the planet. ¡°Captain!¡± Annie''s eyes went wide as she saw it. ¡°He''s trying to beat us to the artifact!¡± Nav took a few hasty strides to the wheel. ¡°Orders, Captain?¡± Annie chewed on her lip for a long moment. All at once she had the plan, and stepped away from the wheel, allowing the navigator to take control instead. ¡°Scan the planet, see where the device landed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have results ready within three minutes Captain!¡± Annie nodded and headed to the door. ¡°The very second you know where the device is, get us there ASAP. If we don''t beat Ashur''s Junker there, you''re on tea party duty for a month.¡± Nav stood up straight, surprised at the strict punishment. ¡°Yes, Ma''am. And what will you be doing?¡± Annie stepped through the open doors, not bothering to turn to face her navigator as she marched out. ¡°I''m going to fetch a really big gun.¡± Kaori pulled herself on top of yet another pile of scrap and waste. Asides from a few heating coils, she hadn¡¯t found much of worth. Falls of scrap flowed out from the edge of the chasm. Here and there larger machines poked out from the endless piles and trash dunes, yet none of it had anything of value to her. Kaori''s tired eyes caught something unfamiliar. A blue ball of energy came hurtling down from the sky at an immense speed. Her gaze followed it as it came violently crashing down somewhere far off, yet, she was pleased to note, still close enough for her to investigate. Somehow she knew, instinctually; it was her ticket out of here. Without taking her eyes off the distant smoking crater, Kaori lowered her goggles back down over her grease-stained eyes. 1.02 Kaori stared at the little glowing ball amongst the worthless scrap heap. Perhaps calling it a ball was inaccurate, she knew enough to identify it as a protective force bubble of some sort. The real object of value was inside, an electronic device from what she could see. Throughout the outer part of the field countless pieces of scrap, dust and even a few bugs were suspended just below the surface. She had broken through several similar force fields and barriers in the past, and there was always good salvage on the other side. After searching five different pockets, Kaori pulled a small electronic device from her coat and plugged it into her bionic arm. Kaori¡¯s palm touched the bubble and she began to type away at on little tool. When she was young she thought force fields were a physical object that stopped things in the same way that something like metal would. She had been forced to reevaluate that opinion down here in the pits, and after careful study she had learned a little more. A forcefield was more like a cloud of something, she didn¡¯t know what, that drained kinetic energy. In an odd way, it doesn¡¯t actually stop anything from getting in, it just eliminates the ability of most things to move inside of the field. Of course, since energy can¡¯t actually be lost completely, that means that the field absorbs the energy that it leeches and stores it somewhere. Kaori wasn¡¯t sure exactly how that worked, but she knew how to override the storage battery. Fortunately, most force fields would deactivate when they couldn¡¯t store the energy rather than short circuit and vent raw electricity. Kaori had only seen that happen once, but it wasn¡¯t pretty. After being sure she had the settings right, she activated her arm tool and sent a current of electricity into the field. She didn¡¯t need a physical wire or a radio signal to connect to the device, the constant current flowing between her arm and the battery let her interface with the field generator directly. In mere moments she had the battery shut down and the force field disabled. Kaori had the little device in her hand before it could even hit the floor. Unfortunately, Kaori didn¡¯t get the chance the celebrate her victory. ¡°A fine day for tribute, isn¡¯t it?¡± Remarked the voice of the Scrap King from somewhere behind her. She turned and saw him. Zaia, the Scrap King stood there in his gigantic suit of makeshift armour. He had multiple suits, but it looked like he went for the big one today. Zaia must have been expecting trouble. She had seen him change suits before, and he was remarkably scrawny outside the armour, but in this suit he was over eight feet tall and bulging with bionic muscle. He was a sleazy looking man with a greasy mullet, pimply skin and buck teeth. He wasn¡¯t cruel per se, but he was as greedy as they came and constantly exploited the denizens of the Theta Trench. In many ways he was just like everyone else, just trying to carve out a life in a hopeless situation. Unlike the other scattered scavengers, Zaia was the king, and he liked it down here. Kaori felt her optimism fade, but she bowed to Zaia. She was one of his subjects after all. ¡°King Zaia.¡± She acknowledged. Some of the other lost souls in the trench used fancy phrases when they spoke to him, but Kaori was too young when she fell in to have known such words, so she spoke plainly. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Ah, young Ms. Amani,¡± He said in a nasally voice ¡°you have ever been the most talented of my subjects. I thank you for retrieving this device, and I graciously accept it as a gift.¡± Kaori gritted her teeth and slapped the little computer into his hand. He collected it with a hand nearly the size of her torso. She didn¡¯t like it one bit, but there wasn¡¯t much she could do against Zaia. He always took the best salvage from the scattered trench survivors, but there was no resistance. Even down here in the trench, scrap-worlders understood authority. It was ingrained into them at a cultural level. He was her king, and Kaori was just a scavenger. Even if she could have fought back, she would not have, for she didn¡¯t even understand the concept of rebelling against Zaia. Obeying the Scrap King was like breathing. Wordlessly the king lumbered away with her spoils, taking with him what little hope she had. Instinctually, she knew she wouldn¡¯t get a chance like this again, but there was nothing she could do. Kaori looked instead to what he had not taken, the little marble sized force field generator. Perhaps this salvage run wouldn¡¯t be a total waste after all. The trenches of Scappis IV were widely considered to be the worst part of the worst planet in the spur. But now, landing in one, Ashur started to wonder why he hadn¡¯t visited sooner. There was a treasure trove of junk down here, and he¡¯d wager at least a few forgotten wonders. He resolved to come back another time. Well, not him personally, but he would send a few expendable scrap diggers to see what they could find. His ship shuddered dangerously as it landed. Ashur felt that the best use of resources was to keep everything nearly broken, but not quite broken yet. It was a fine line, but one he was talented at walking. He guessed he could land two more times before he really would be forced to replace the stabilizers. He had plenty of spare stabilizers of course, but it was best to milk every part for every bit of use he could get from it before discarding it. That was the way of the Akkadar after all, and he should know. After all, the Akkadar had discarded him. He put the past out f his mind and stepped out onto the surface of the planet. He had changed out of his makeshift space suit, which he thought he could get four more uses out of, and into what used to be the robes of the Akkadar Order. The robes had been patched so many times that it was doubtful any part of the original garment remained. He had set down near where the artifact fell, but he couldn¡¯t be sure of exactly where it was. ¡°Little children.¡± He said, curling his lip impatiently. Nearly two dozen little scrap bots in various shapes and sizes scurried off of him and stood at a messy and careless attention stance. ¡°Spread out, find the artifact. Don¡¯t get distracted.¡± He ordered but was aware that the hopeless little creatures would be inattentive regardless of what he told them. They scurried off in every direction, leaving Ashur to wait impatiently, alone with his disbelief at what he was seeking. A clue to the whereabouts of the elder crown. The Akkadar had been here for eight years searching for signs of the elders, but none had expected something this incredible might be hiding in this underdeveloped region of the galaxy. They would surely want to take him back once he retrieved the device. Only, Ashur wasn¡¯t so sure he wanted to go back. Thousands of lightyears away from the Orion Spur, on the desert world Ashur was born to, there was a small scurrying creature called a nepth. Nepths, like most life on that world, had a reflective black shell which was effective at both reflecting the intense sun and also blending in with the plant life, which unlike other worlds, were also largely black in colour. Little tufts of short snow white fur poked out through the gaps in the shell. They were a unique creature in that they were one of the few on that world, or any world, in fact, to possess three legs. The legs formed a tripod around the nepth¡¯s torso and were remarkable for their ability to quickly change direction. A nepth generally walked with two of its legs acting as rear legs while the remaining leg acted as a front leg. Rather than turning, the nepth generally just switched which legs it was using as its front or back, allowing it a surprising amount of maneuverability. Its three armed torso was similarly triangular, while its head was capable of turning completely around to keep up with the body. In contrast with its bizarre torso, nepths had a tiny little nose that seemed to sneeze endlessly, two eyes that constantly appeared helpless and large furry white ears. Ashur found them adorable. It was little wonder that he commissioned a little robotic nepth to be made, with course wire fur and a metal shell that was spray painted black. It was made of junk of course, like all his other bots and so the shell was mostly discarded washers and little fragments of steel. The paint had mostly faded and was covered in scratches in the few places where it did remain. The metal nepth scurried through the scrap heaps on Scrappis IV. She was the pride of the children, the greatest of them all. She was sure of it. She knew it would be her that found the device, none of the other scrapbots were so well built or as elegant of form. However, she was stumped. She had looked under a small sheet of metal, inside a bucket and even on top of a ruined car. Those were her three ideas, and while she was sure they were flawless, they hadn¡¯t succeeded at finding the device. This troubled her greatly. She resolved that her idea was sound, and she simply hadn¡¯t looked under the right metal, inside the right bucket or on top of the right car. The second and third bucket yielded no results, but she was undeterred. On her way to the next ruined car, she began to wonder if her sensors were off, as she seemed to be getting farther from the vehicle, not closer to it. After nearly two minutes of thinking and assessing the situation, she came to the conclusion that she had been taken hostage by some form of a predatory bird. It certainly explained the talons digging into her shoulder. And the bird over top of her. The trashgull, like all trashgulls, seemed to be dripping with oil. The nepth bot was aware that oil was flammable, and in absence of any other idea decided she would light the trashgull on fire and then try to think of a way to get down from here. Kaori had barely moved from where she found the force bubble and was eagerly integrating the little force generator into her arm. It was clearly designed to only work once, but Kaori wasn¡¯t one to let something as simple as hardware limitations stop her. A little tinkering with the tools she traveled with, and a few old parts from around the area and she was ready for testing. She held out her palm, facing up, and turned on the little device. She felt some of her hair stand on end as her body became charged with static. A little circular sheet of blue energy formed on the palm of her hand. It was about two inches thick and as wide as a dinner plate. It was small but likely useful for something. She didn¡¯t know what yet, but a scavenger could never have enough gadgets. She barely noticed when the small scrap bot landed in her force field and found itself stuck head first in the movement-inhibiting field. She felt no impact as the little robot landed, but truth be told, that wasn¡¯t what stopped her from noticing the robot. No, the thing that caught her attention was the fact that a large flaming trashgull had landed next to her. It squawked in pain and desperation. Trashgulls weren¡¯t the nicest creatures, but she wasn¡¯t unsympathetic. Burning seemed like a bad way to go, at least in Kaori¡¯s opinion.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. She released the field, ignoring the little robot as it crashed to the ground and searched through several pockets. She pulled out a trio of small cartridges and read them: Class A- Ordinary Combustibles Class B- Flammable Liquids Class C- Electrical Fires She slotted the ¡®B¡¯ cartridge into a slot in her arm and stuffed the others in another pocket at random. A small hose poked out from the tip of her thumb. She pointed it to the burning gull and sprayed it with a short blast of chalky foam, smothering the flames. The foamy and ungrateful gull got to its feet and glared at her, as if blaming her for the fact it had been set on fire, before flying clumsily away to nurse its wounds. She unplugged the empty cartridge from her arm and discarded it somewhere in the scrap pile. Free of distraction, only then did Kaori really take notice the little robot tugging at the side of her boot. Kaori had seen the occasional scrap bot, some salvagers liked to make them, but Kaori had never seen the point. She didn¡¯t see much of a difference between building a scrapbot and having an imaginary friend. Weren¡¯t most scrapbots shaped like animals? She had never seen anything shaped like this weird little robot. The strangely shaped thing was desperately pointing at her arm and bouncing up and down. ¡°My arm? You want my arm?¡± The scrapbot shook its head. It searched around itself and found a small metal plate. It held out one of its palms and placed the metal on top. It pointed at it and then back at Kaori¡¯s arm. ¡°The force field?¡± She held out her palm and activated the blue field. The robot nodded enthusiastically. It grabbed hold of one of her bootstrings and attempted to drag her somewhere. She could tell it was putting in all of its efforts to move her but simply didn¡¯t have the mechanical muscle required to do so. Where had this little scrapbot come from? It likely belonged to another scavver, or it could have been discarded and thrown into the pits. Perhaps it found something? Kaori stared at the tireless and determined little bot for several minutes before deciding that she might as well see what it wanted. It might be leading her to something useful after all. She picked up the little bot, lowered her goggles and ran towards where the little robot wanted to go. Ashur saw the girl stand on a nearby ridge with his nepth on her shoulder. She could clearly see him, and it was obvious that he could see her. She stood perfectly still, yet to Ashur, her stance was too relaxed to indicate that she was afraid. No, she was thinking. Ashur waved at her, but she remained still. The least she could do was acknowledge him, right? In a flash, the girl seemed to have made up her mind and she sprinted towards Ashur in a flurry of movement. He blinked. This human was fast. He found intimidation to be the best approach in most negotiations, but he doubted it would work on a girl who could easily escape. He tried a different technique. ¡°Nice day isn¡¯t it?¡± Being friendly wasn¡¯t his strong suit. The girl didn¡¯t answer. ¡°I¡¯m Ashur, I see my nepth bot found you.¡± There was no reply, the girl just stared blankly at him. Why had his scrapbot brought her here? Did she have the device? Her coat had a lot of pockets, it could easily swallow the little computer and he¡¯d be none the wiser. If he was quick he could grab her. She may be fast, but she didn¡¯t look strong. Although if she didn¡¯t have the device, but instead simply knew where it was, then she¡¯d be unlikely to cooperate if he kidnapped her. Before he could even register what was happening the girl was pointing at his ship. ¡°Not that nice of a day, I¡¯m Kaori, you have a ship, can you get me out of this trench?¡± She was still pointing at the ship and looking expectantly at him. She was as still as a statue. She was one of the stranger scavengers he had ever met. Still, she had just given him the negotiation power he needed. He smiled like a wolf spotting a rabbit. ¡°Good to meet you, Ms. Kaori. I can indeed get you out of this trench. How long have you been down here?¡± He asked, uncaring for the answer. She just stayed, frozen in place asides from her breathing. Staring at him. He decided to continue. ¡°But fuel is expensive, isn¡¯t it? Do you have anything to offer me in trade?¡± He knew he had her now. But she just stayed completely still without answering. ¡°Hello?¡± her silence was beginning to bother him. She lowered her arm to her side and simply stared up at him. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯ve been stuck here for six years, I didn¡¯t know fuel was expensive, I can trade a dozen heating coils, right now or my entire scrap collection if we go to my hut, hello.¡± Ashur was aware that he had the leverage in this negotiation, but somehow this scavenger was creeping him out. Still though, her offer was a good one, a dozen heating coils for a quick trip up the cliff was a great deal. And her entire scrap collection? Judging by her homemade arm, she likely had quite the assortment. But Ashur was only greedy for one thing today. ¡°A poor offer, none of that could pay for the flight up the ledge.¡± He lied, baring his sharp teeth. ¡°But I¡¯m looking for something that fell here in a blue ball. It''s mine, I lost it and I¡¯d like it back. If you could get it for me, I¡¯d happily rescue you.¡± To his surprise, Kaori responded immediately this time. ¡°Can¡¯t get it, Scrap King Zaia has it.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Well,¡± said Ashur, smiling wider, ¡°If you¡¯ll bring me to him, I¡¯ll get you out of this trench.¡± He waited patiently when the girl didn¡¯t answer. He began to simply take it as fact that the girl would take between five to ten seconds to respond to anything he said. ¡°Okay.¡± She answered with a smile. Kaori hadn¡¯t known many people, but she knew she didn¡¯t like Ashur. He refused to run with her and insisted they walk, even though that meant it would take an hour to get to Zaia¡¯s palace. Yet her instincts told her to trust Ashur. He was certainly the sort to try to take advantage of a deal and to try to take her for everything she had, but the truth was that there was nothing she wouldn¡¯t gladly give to get out of the trench. She trusted Ashur enough to honor his end of the bargain and didn¡¯t mind that she would get ripped off. But how did he talk so fast? Did he not have to think about what to say? Did he not think of the ramifications of every response? ¡°How much further is it?¡± He asked. There were a number of possible responses and outcomes. She could say ten minutes and be optimistic. It might make him move faster, in which case her estimate would be true. On the other hand, if he didn¡¯t speed up then it was going to be much longer, and he might be annoyed. The reverse was true if she said twenty minutes. He would likely slow down, thus making them take the full twenty minutes, but he¡¯d be happy if they arrived early. Or she could give the accurate estimate of fifteen minutes, but there weren¡¯t any pros or cons to that. After five minutes of thinking she needed to reevaluate her estimates, and just gave him the optimistic answer, which had now turned realistic. ¡°Ten minutes.¡± ¡°What?¡± He asked, no longer remembering that he had asked a question. Should she clarify? What were the pros and cons? ¡°Forget it.¡± He mumbled a minute later while she was still thinking. She took this as evidence that he spoke recklessly. Why would he ask a question he didn¡¯t want the answer to? Clearly he hadn¡¯t thought about it enough before he spoke. Reckless. They arrived exactly ten minutes later near Zaia¡¯s palace. It was one of the more impressive structures that any scavenger had built. The keep was built from the top half of a cruise ship flipped on its end. It was surrounded by small tents and shacks that were inhabited by the king¡¯s servants and any scavengers who had business with him. An ugly statue of the king loomed over the tents. The statue presented him in his winged armor, and he cut an intimidating figure. The entire complex was ringed by a three-meter tall scrap wall, scattered makeshift towers made from tilted shipping containers held guards armed with crude taser-staffs. ¡°What will you say to him?¡± She asked the tall alien. ¡°Say? You have the wrong idea little scrap girl. I¡¯m just going to take my device. It''s mine.¡± Kaori¡¯s jaw fell slack, and for once she spoke without thinking. ¡°But- he¡¯s¡­ the king?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s not. He¡¯s a scavenger stuck in a trench. He¡¯s just like you.¡± This was the first time Kaori had even encountered the notion of not respecting authority. Her mind was reeling. Ashur can¡¯t disobey the king! But he said that the king isn¡¯t a king? But the king says he¡¯s a king? How did he get to be king? Who are you to question a king? A free woman! She took a moment to consider that last one. She was stuck in a trench. She mostly ate mold and trashgull. She suspected she smelled horrific. But she was free. She must have been twitching, because Ashur smiled devilishly and leaned close, speaking directly in her ear. ¡°The words you are looking for are ¡®Viva la revolu?ion.¡¯¡± She stared questioningly at him, her eyes wide. ¡°Long live the revolution.¡± He clarified. ¡°Viva la revolu?ion.¡± Kaori said quietly to herself, considering the words. A full minute passed as she stood still, zeal building inside of her. ¡°Viva la revolu?ion!¡± She repeated forcefully. ¡°Any good idea is worth sharing, isn¡¯t it? So why not spread the word?¡± Ashur pointed to the servants and guards in the palace. More new ideas flashed in Kaori¡¯s mind. I should run. I should take my freedom while I have the chance! But the other scavengers still toil under the monarchist boots! Zaia is too strong! Lowly scavengers have no chance! Tear down the palace! Free the scavenging class! Seize the means of salvage! Her jaw was clenched as she vibrated with revolutionary fervor. The normally silent and collected girl could barely contain her rage. ¡°Viva la Revolu?ion!¡± She roared, lowering her goggles and running recklessly towards the palace. ¡°Libert¨¦, ¨¦galit¨¦, fraternit¨¦!¡± Ashur shouted after her. There¡¯s one born every minute. Ashur had lived on Scrappis IV long enough to be aware of the complete lack of knowledge the locals had about freedom, but he honestly didn¡¯t think that would work as well as it did. Ashur still didn¡¯t have a plan yet, but any good plan begins with a distraction. He had no clue how mighty this king actually was, but he suspected that Zaia¡¯s security would defeat the little revolution, but that didn¡¯t bother him, so long as he could get the relic before the fledgling revolutionary republic was quashed. He had left his scrap bots back about his ship, the Pale Rider. He activated a small radio device on his sleeve. ¡°Bring the ship, prepare the droids.¡± He was feeling good about today. The guards were innately trusting of other scavengers in the Theta trench. No one had even conceived of rebelling against the king or even stealing from him, so they let Kaori in without a second thought. She had so many ideas but wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to express them. She let her fury cool and her natural tendencies take over. She stared blankly at the dozen or so occupants of the fort and took a moment to think. There are two groups of people here. Guards and servants. She changed her assessment as she spotted a pair of scavengers preparing a tribute for the king. Three groups, but the scavvers could likely be lumped in with the servants. Who to approach first? The guards could be useful in a fight if it came down to it. That¡¯s a pro. Zaia treated the guards better than most servants and scavvers, so they¡¯d be much less receptive to the revolution. That¡¯s a con. The scavengers and servants were like her, oppressed and desperate. Her words would spread like wildfire. The downside was that they might not be enough to defeat Zaia and his guards. Still, some revolutionaries were better than none. She made her move, jogging up to the base of the statue of Zaia. The fire returned and she channeled the fury into her words. ¡°People of the trench, scavengers, Comrades!¡± She shouted, waiting until the majority of the people were looking at her. ¡°He¡¯s not a king! He¡¯s not our king!¡± She pointed to the statue. The confusion was evident in the people, but they were intrigued and began to form a crowd. ¡°You mean like, he¡¯s an imposter?¡± One voice yelled. ¡°The statue that isn¡¯t our king?¡± another laughed. She chose her words carefully. ¡°No, we are the free people of Scrapyard Theta!¡± She paused for emphasis ¡°We don¡¯t have to do what Zaia says!¡± The crowd looked stunned. ¡°Yeah, we do! He¡¯s the king!¡± said an old woman in the back. ¡°Well who made him king? How did he get to be a king? What would happen if we stopped obeying?¡± It wasn¡¯t a great speech, but it didn¡¯t need to be, she simply needed to get the new idea in their heads. It was working. The crowd looked flabbergasted. She gave them the words they needed. ¡°Viva la Revolu?ion!¡± Kaori raised a mechanical fist into the air. ¡°Long live the revolution!¡± The crowd was silent, in awe. The old woman spoke out, croaking over the crowd. ¡°He¡¯s only a king because he says he is! Viva la Revolu?ion! Down with the monarchy!¡± The crowd erupted in roars of fury and cries of ¡°Viva la Revolu?ion!¡± and ¡°Down with Zaia!¡± Kaori was lost in the same rage that filled the crowd. Years of exploitation suddenly being realized. In the red haze she didn¡¯t know where she got the rope, but before she knew it she had climbed to the top of the statue and tied a loop around Zaia¡¯s head. She found her way to the base of the statue and looked to the crowd. They were desperate for something to lash out against. ¡°Rise up! The salvagers have nothing to lose but their chains!¡± She threw the loose end of the rope into the crowd. As one, they counted to three and pulled. Kaori didn¡¯t feel better as the statue shifted, but somehow she felt energized. On three they pulled again, the statue shook dangerously but didn¡¯t fall. Her muscles strained, but somehow she felt better than she had in years. The last time they reached three, the scrap statue came crashing to the ground. ¡°Not so mighty now!¡± She yelled as the crowd cheered. But another cry sounded that silenced the crowd. ¡°What are you doing?!!¡± Yelled a guard captain, he was honestly asking and didn¡¯t seem upset. He was incapable of even understanding what he was seeing. Kaori hoped she chose the right initial audience. A tense silence followed as neither group moved. Eventually, the captain made his decision. ¡°Stop them!¡± The captain ordered. The guards pointed their spears at the revolutionaries and moved to disperse the crowd with their tasers. ¡°Long live the revolution!¡± Shouted a voice, and Kaori found herself charging at the guards with her fellow revolutionaries. 1.03 Reading by starlight might be something that sounds beautiful or soothing, but Nate certainly wasn¡¯t enjoying it. He didn¡¯t read much, he simply didn¡¯t like it. But he wasn¡¯t reading for fun today, he was reading to prevent his own death. ¡°Okay, Skykea Air Swarm 2800s model. Table of contents.¡± He said aloud. He waited a moment instinctively. This was usually the time when Milah would hear him attempting something difficult and help him. That wasn¡¯t really an option right now, so he continued and turned to the page marked ¡°r?seyt.¡± Who wrote this? He had only heard of the Skykea company in passing and knew they were from Earth. Before Earth disappeared of course, which he suspected was bad for business. There were pictures and diagrams in the manual, but they were almost harder to understand than the actual writing. According to the manual, he should be looking for the ¡°t?rtiary¡± drone which should contain Milah¡¯s ¡°pers?nalitie matriks¡±. He had never really looked closely at each of Milah¡¯s individual spheres before and felt uncomfortable picking them up. It was like picking up your unconscious parent. He held the drone with the camera in his hands and did his best to read the engraved label in the dim light. Primarie. Okay, next. He retrieved the smallest one, which looked pretty t?rtiary to him. This was the sphere that generally did his makeup before he performed, though he couldn¡¯t remember what else he had seen it do. ?tility. Not that one either. He moved on to the two identical orbs that Nate had seen Milah use for most tasks. Auksilli?ry. Both were labeled the same. By process of elimination, Nate picked up the last drone. He had always felt this one was lazy, but now he understood it was just protecting Milah¡¯s pers?nalitie matriks. Sure enough, the engraving confirmed it as t?rtiary. The drone itself looked fairly solid to him and he couldn¡¯t find an actual seam to open it up to get at the electronics inside. He consulted the manual. T? oopen the t?rtiary dr?n yoo m¨¹st sp?k yoor securitie w?rd into the mikr?fon. He was growing tired of whatever nonsense this manual was spouting, but he located the mikr?fon on the back of the dr?n. ¡°Hepbern.¡± He said aloud. There was a satisfying click, and part of the metal shell popped off, revealing the wires and batteries inside. There were a few buttons, each marked with strange pseudo-words like in the manual, but he saw one labeled ¡°r?seyt¡±. The little drone abruptly lifted into the air as he hit the button. To his dismay, the lights didn¡¯t glow with Milah¡¯s lavender. ¡°V?lj ditt spr?k: Svenska, Kvant eller Orion-Dialekt?¡± it asked robotically, but incomprehensibly. ¡°Uh, Orion-Dialect please.¡± Slowly the lights on the little drone flickered to life, glowing lavender. ¡°Sorry darling, just a little beauty sleep. What did I miss?¡± Nate¡¯s eyes went wide, he was saved! He had done it! Him! Nate the actor just repaired his robot! He was a genius! ¡°The ship is- There was a light- then there was no light- and you fell- and then they- but you- and I had to r?seyt you-¡± He babbled, feeling his moment of genius pass the second he opened his mouth. ¡°I understand completely dear, let me fetch you some lemon water while I reset the ship.¡± Nate nodded and sat down, exhausted from all the work he had just done. Annie was sorting through her armoury. She was searching for a big gun. A VERY big gun to be specific. Unfortunately, she had three such guns that matched that description. The first, the Behemoth, was the absolute biggest, far too large for her to carry naturally, which is why she had paid a gunsmith to weld a small anti-gravity device to it. It was bigger than her, but no more heavy than a boot. The Behemoth was an experimental riot gun she had bought from a merchant she knew back on Phyr. It was capable of shooting a high-pressure stream of a quick-drying cement-like substance. Victims of the Behemoth would find themselves launched backwards and cemented to the ground or nearby objects. The second very big gun was the Halberdier, the smallest of the three. It was a straightforward laser weapon. She had tuned it just right to instantly burn her targets with the worst sunburn they¡¯ve ever had without actually killing them. The galaxy is full of tough guys, but few tough enough to try to fight with burns that painful. Annie also enjoyed the aspect that made the gun so large: a bayonet that was nearly the length of a spear. She liked a weapon that could wear a few different hats. Last, and certainly not least, was the Fuerza Imponible, which was an ancient rifle, the last model of heavy weapon from an ancient earth culture before they joined the Orion Pact. It was a beautiful looking gun, covered in polished mahogany and golden trim. Collectors liked them for their connections to history. Annie liked it because of its ability to fire gigantic cannonballs that could crack through armoured vehicles. She didn¡¯t take it out much these days though for two reasons. First, the cannon balls were impractically heavy, meaning she could only bring about three shots with her, which was prohibitive if she was going to be shooting a lot of targets. Secondly, she had to be very careful with it if she didn¡¯t want to seriously hurt her target, Annie didn¡¯t mind knocking her enemies in a medical bay for a while, but she tried to avoid anything worse than that. She wasn¡¯t a monster after all. Annie was a decisive person in general, but her armoury was the exception to that rule. She tapped her foot, annoyed that she couldn¡¯t decide. The metal footsteps of her Navigator entering the room interrupted her thoughts. ¡°Ms. Constantine. We are approaching the location of the device. ETA five minutes.¡± She nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°Which is the best gun for today, Mister Nav?¡± ¡°Any would do Captain.¡± That was the wrong answer, but the navigator had been with the captain long enough to know that there was no right answer in this situation, the little girl was far too stubborn to take advice when it came to her armaments. ¡°Unacceptable.¡± The droid stared at her with his bright green light. ¡°I advise choosing quickly ma¡¯am, we should suit up and prepare to land, Mr. Ashur already has a head start on us.¡± ¡°No.¡± If the droid could have blinked, he would have. ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not choosing a gun before I know what we¡¯re getting into. Get the ship''s cameras focused on what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°But if we delay and Ashur takes the device-¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll choose the best gun for dealing with Ashur.¡± The droid stared at the Star Captain, his light flickering slightly, unknowable thoughts running through his mechanical mind. ¡°Yes, Captain.¡± The Navigator¡¯s light dimmed slightly as he controlled the ship cameras. A small screen by the doorway flickered to life. Annie stared stone-faced at the image of a young woman, (though Annie was of the opinion she was more grime than she was woman,) leading a crowd of civilians in a clash with what appeared to be a crude police force. The charge of the revolutionaries stopped dead on the shock pikes. Kaori heard her fellows cry out in pain as the tasers sent loud cracks of electricity through their bodies. Kaori ejected the knife she kept in her bionic arm and quickly cut the shocking device off of the spear in front of her. She looked into the eyes of the fearful guard who was now fully aware of the reality that his spear had just been demoted to being a staff. Kaori didn¡¯t really want to hurt the poor man, so she let her knife slide back into its socket and charged him with her bare fists instead. A trio of spears from nearby guards thrust dangerously in her direction and forced her to reconsider. The guards weren¡¯t advancing so Kaori decided to withdraw with the other revolutionaries. ¡°This crowd will disperse immediately!¡± Shouted the guard captain. The protesters ignored him and helped the taser victims to their feet. Since the guards seemed to be content staying in one place for now. ¡°Frontal charge isn¡¯t going to work.¡± Stated a mustachioed cook that Kaori recognized. She suspected his name was Liang, but wasn¡¯t completely sure. ¡°I have a few explosives-¡± offered a salvager, but the man who was probably named Liang shook his head. ¡°Keep them away for now, I don¡¯t know that we want to escalate this.¡± ¡°I need time to think.¡± stated Kaori plainly. Liang nodded and with a few others began hurling blunt objects and insults at the guards. They were kind enough to miss most of the time with their bricks and scraps of junk metal, but not with their insults. Kaori watched and thought about what it was she was viewing. She had fought before, there was no shortage of nearly feral scavengers and violently malfunctioning droids in scrapyard theta, but fighting in a mob was certainly different. In a normal fight, she didn¡¯t need to hold back and could just attack until her foe had been defeated or had fled. Or sometimes Kaori fled. That happened a lot actually. But the objective wasn¡¯t so clear right now. She could fight the guards, and maybe she could defeat them, but that might alienate them and eliminate any chance that they would join the revolution. On the other hand, they couldn¡¯t back down and let their revolution be squashed. She wasn¡¯t the only one who had come to that conclusion; it was obvious that the rioters were holding back while fighting the guards. Anything they threw intentionally missed or hit the guards in their armoured chest piece, the salvager threatened to throw his bombs, but never actually did it, and a few burly individuals contented themselves with trying to yank the spears from the guard¡¯s grips - often being shocked repeatedly as they did so. But Kaori began to notice that the opposite was true as well. The guards stood shoulder to shoulder in their pike line but didn¡¯t advance. They skirmished with any rioter that got close but allowed the protesters to retreat and collect themselves after being tased. Kaori reasoned that the guards likely had friends and family in the crowd. Even the Captain seemed reluctant to actually do anything, he had shouted around three last warnings to the protesters. Unfortunately, it seemed like he was out of options. ¡°Advance! Push the traitors back!¡± he yelled firmly, but with a hint of regret. Kaori needed a plan, and she needed it now. Fortunately, she thought she had found the guards weakness. Although it was mostly the young who had been clashing with the guards, Kaori had seen a far greater diversity of people in the initial crowd. As she looked about, Kaori noticed they hadn¡¯t left. Children and the elderly were scattered about, cheering for the protesters, deriding the guards and taking care of anyone who was hurt. She made up her mind and began to put her plan into action. Annie wasn¡¯t the only one watching the events as they unfolded. Zaiah looked out over the trench from the highest balcony in his castle. He, like the other scrap worlders, didn¡¯t have any notion of rebellion, so he didn¡¯t fully understand what was happening down there. But he didn¡¯t like it one bit. His guards began to advance, finally. He had been moments away from radioing down and giving that order personally, but at least Captain Benad¨¬vez was finally making the smart decision. His guards took two steps towards the protesters and paused. ¡°Urra!¡± the men and women in the guard shouted as one. Two more steps. ¡°Urra!¡± One of the rioters found herself standing too close to the pike line and fell to the ground, spasming as the electricity coursed through her. She was trampled under foot by the advancing guards. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.¡°Urra!¡± They shouted victoriously. Zaiah¡¯s confusion grew as a line of protesters formed opposite to his guards, made up of the weak, the old and the young. They linked arms and glared at the approaching soldiers. Zaiah snorted. They¡¯d need more than the dregs of society to halt a pike charge. And yet his pikes had halted. There was no advance, no ¡®Urra¡¯ no throng of fleeing peasants. Everyone stopped. Was there something he wasn¡¯t seeing? He clutched his radio from the railing of his balcony. ¡°Captain Benad¨¬vez, why did you stop? Now is the time to crush them.¡± ¡°Your majesty, the children and our elders have formed a line. We can¡¯t-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. Take them down. Now.¡± There was a pause before the little radio crackled to life again. ¡°King Zaiah, my nephew is out there. There are children out there-¡± ¡°Charge Benad¨¬vez, that¡¯s a direct order.¡± Zaiah switched his radio off and watched eagerly. What he saw instead was an old woman step forward towards the soldiers. ¡°We need no king. We are the workers and salvagers. We are united.¡± She said, loudly enough that even Zaiah could hear, even way up in his palace. He couldn¡¯t believe his ears. You don¡¯t NEED kings, you just HAVE kings, and you need to obey them! He was overcome with the horrific realization that he needed the salvagers far more than they needed him. The line of children and elders broke and walked towards the pikes. One by one the guards dropped their spears and let the revolutionaries pass. The guards and revolutionaries merged together, united once more. United against him. A call shouted out from the crowd. Kaori held her mechanical fist defiantly in the air. She stared directly at Zaiah, high up in his palace. Even from here he could see the fury in her eyes. ¡°Viva la Revolu?ion!¡± She shouted. ¡°Viva la Revolu?ion!¡± Cried both rioters and guards alike. Zaiah felt his blood turn cold. His head pounded with fear. He was terrified. But he was not defenseless. Nate was polishing off his third glass of lemon water by the time Milah was finished with repairs. Several of her drones still busied themselves across the ship, but the largest one briefed Nate. ¡°Now listen Nathan darling, that ugly craft landed in one of the scrap yards while the gorgeous one is hovering nearby.¡± A little metal claw emerged from the drone¡¯s outer casing and retrieved his mask ¡°So you¡¯ll need to be a big scary man so they¡¯ll hand us whatever wonderful baubles they¡¯ve decided to hide from us!¡± Nate took the fake skull mask in hand but hesitated before putting it on. ¡°But didn¡¯t they already call us out on their bluff once?¡± ¡°Well certainly, but they weren¡¯t looking at you at the time! Your performance is so terribly enthralling they¡¯d never be able to think while you¡¯re there stomping your feet and growling.¡± There was no arguing with Milah once she had her mind set on something, so Nate put on the mask like he was told. ¡°Vocal practice dear, vocal practice! I¡¯ll have us there by the time you¡¯re done. Red Leather, yellow leather.¡± she enunciated. ¡°Red leather yellow leather.¡± He repeated. The king had only his armour and a pair of large scrap bots he called his royal guard. They resembled a human covered in scrap metal armour, a perfect match with Zaia¡¯s own armour. Each carried a gigantic riot shield and a mallet capable of bludgeoning the senses out of any revolutionary. Still, it was just three of them against dozens of rioters. Would it be enough? As if answering his question there was a knock on the palace¡¯s front door. Zaia hesitated. Every person who was in the compound was with the rioters, and the rioters were all busy celebrating in the market. So who was at his palace door? A royal guard looked to him expectantly and Zaia nodded, giving permission to investigate. The door cracked open and in came an eerily tall alien. Zaia had never seen anything like this black shelled jackal creature before. Behind him was a small team of droids, humanoid, except for the head. The heads seemed to be glass balls where smaller animal-like scrapbots fiddled with the controls as they piloted the metallic bodies. ¡°Seems like you could use a mercenary.¡± The alien grinned, his eyes flashing with malevolence. ¡°I take cash or any particular valuable scrap you might have.¡± Zaia knew instinctively that they could do business. The celebration was over as suddenly as the doors to the palace crashed open, releasing a swarm of scrapbots in riot busting gear, a pair of royal guard bots, and of course, the gigantic king Zaiah himself. They formed ranks in front of the palace but waited patiently for the protesters to form up as well. Kaori stepped out of the crowd, her fists clenched tight and her face defiant. She couldn¡¯t feel fear, not right now, for the rage burned too hot. ¡°You can¡¯t stop us Zaiah.¡± The king¡¯s thin lips curled into a smile. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I¡¯m a king, I can do anything I want.¡± He turned his head to the crowd and shouted in his nasally voice ¡°You trash-drunk fools decided that I¡¯m only the king because I say so. You¡¯re right. I do say I¡¯m the king. I say it proudly, and it is true because none of you plebeians can stop me. I am king because I am the strongest.¡± His words made some sense to the scrap worlders, but they were far too drunk on freedom and rage to submit now. ¡°Prove it!¡± yelled a voice from the crowd. An improvised explosive flew through the air, a long burning trail of fire from the fuse arced over the silent crowd. It was a moment that could last forever. The moment before war. The bomb crashed into the shield of a royal guard, fragments of metal and screws from the explosive flew in all directions but didn¡¯t harm the robotic forces. ¡°F-zz-or the k-i-i-i-i-ing!¡± cried a royal guard through a glitchy voice box. Zaiah rushed forwards, and the crowd surged forward to meet him. Several ex-guards attempted to fend him off with their pikes, but Kaori was simply too busy to see if it worked. Her arm blade ripped its way through the center of one of the robots. The robot was not bound by human anatomy and so a stomach wound did remarkably little to slow it down. The world spun as a mallet connected with her head, but she didn¡¯t fall, instead grabbing onto the bot with both hands to steady herself. There was blood in her eye¡¯s, so she opted to do the one thing she could do without her vision. She activated her arm¡¯s electrical current, sending a violent jolt of disruptive energy through the bot. It crashed to the floor, taking her with it. She saw only red, so she slammed her arm blade into the robot repeatedly until she was certain it wasn¡¯t moving. Her organic arm wiped the sticky blood from her eyes. The glass ball the robot had instead of a head and shattered. A small squirrel-shaped scrap bot scurried out, stopping to make an angry chirping noise at Kaori before scurrying off. She forced herself to her feet, struggling against humans and robots alike who stumbled over her. She took a moment to collect herself and survey the situation. The battle had only been raging for a few moments, but already it was going poorly. Shock pikes had nearly no effect whatsoever on the robots and the other improvised revolutionary weapons were similarly ineffectual. The scrap soldiers were the least of their worries, however. Zaiah¡¯s powerful arms knocked swathes of people into the air with every swing, and no one seemed to have an answer to him yet. One thing at a time. She saw the man who might have been named Liang break through the glass orb of a scrap bot with a pipe wrench though. A little spider droid crawled out and beat a hasty retreat as its body fell limp. Right, so the glass was the weak point, that seemed easy enough. She noticed that the royal guards hadn¡¯t begun fighting yet and she put them out of her mind for now. Kaori didn¡¯t have a plan yet, it was more like a strategy. It seemed like the other revolutionaries had no chance against Zaiah or the other robots, so she expected to see them all knocked out sooner rather than later. For now, they were doing a reasonable enough job at keeping the enemies busy, so she resolved to take out all the scrapbots while there were still revolutionaries left to distract them. She still needed time to decide how to crack the King¡¯s mechanical suit, so she resigned herself to the lesser task of breaking the glass heads of the robots. Her fist crashed through the fourth such robotic head before Zaia finally found her. He looked up from the trio of ex-guards he had just pummelled and saw her. She gulped as the king rushed forwards, arcing a gigantic fist at her. She hit the floor as quickly as she could, avoiding the fist, but winding up lying prone on the floor. This wasn¡¯t how she wanted to do this. She knew plans didn¡¯t work when going into a fight, but she always made a strategy, she always thought of tactics she could use. But that¡¯s only when she had a moment or two to think. Kaori might have had quick reactions, but she certainly wasn¡¯t a quick thinker. If she only had a moment- she had to roll to avoid Zaia¡¯s fist. It sent up a shower of dust and trash where it impacted. Normally she would just flee until she could come up with ideas, but with his suit, the king was much much faster than her. Perhaps she would be able to- She somersaulted backward as Zaia¡¯s boot crashed next to her. She quickly scrambled to her feet. No, she really couldn¡¯t think and act at the same time. She just wasn¡¯t any good at it. Fortunately for her, the revolutionaries gave her the moment she needed to think. The scavenger with the bombs apparently had a trick up his sleeve. As Zaiah prepared to launch himself at the outmatched Kaori, a small sticky blue device was thrown at Zaiah. Blue electricity pulsed through the mechanical suit and Zaiah spasmed. Only for a few seconds, five at most, but it gave Kaori the time she needed to think. And just like that, she had her tactic. She threw herself at the newly recovered King, dodging and weaving around his gigantic attacks, waiting for exactly the moment she could see an opening. Finally, Zaiah tried a simple jab at her, which she sidestepped to the left. It was time. Her mechanical arm grasped the Kings greasy face - and activated the force field. Zaiah perked up, shocked by the sudden development. He said nothing. His mouth couldn¡¯t move. He also wasn¡¯t getting any air. The king tried to pull his face from the field, but movement was impossible inside the barrier. Kaori had worried that Zaia¡¯s movements would drag her about like a rag doll, but, no matter how much Zaiah pulled, Kaori didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of movement. That seemed odd to her, but she wasn¡¯t in a place to argue with the fundamental nature of the universe. She couldn¡¯t really tell if he was turning blue. His head was stuck in a barrier of blue light, so it was hard to tell. Kaori was reasonably sure that it took a while to go from unconscious from lack of air to being dead from it. She decided to wait until he stopped struggling and then count to three. That should mean he¡¯s alive, but very thoroughly knocked out. It was taking longer than she thought. Kaori wanted to check her clock, but of course, it was on the arm that was currently holding Zaiah¡¯s head. There was a metallic flash in the air in front of her and her force field dissipated. She couldn¡¯t understand why until she put together the clues. Clue #1 A royal guard was standing nearby her with a large makeshift ax. Clue #2 An arm was currently on the ground in front of her. Clue #2 She seemed to have misplaced her arm from the elbow down. It didn¡¯t take a genius to solve the mystery of why she only had a tangle of sparking wires from her wrist down. She felt weak again. Without that arm, she was just four-fifths of a girl on a pile of trash. Zaiah roared with fury as the air returned to his lungs. His fist connected with her face, but she barely felt it. The world was ringing as she dragged herself towards her severed metal arm. She held it tight against her chest and didn¡¯t fight as the royal guard picked her up and carried her towards the palace. 1.04 Nate had watched the fight from the top of a nearby pile of trash. Even ignoring the rotten stench, this was one of the least dignified stages he¡¯d ever performed on. Oh, the things we do for fame. The trash girl was being carried away now, but the remaining rioters continued the struggle. He was quite amazed at the talent of these fighters, especially the one-armed girl and the king. He was certain he would lose any single fight he would ever find himself in. But that simply reaffirmed his belief that he should avoid them at all costs. Still, he had a job to do and couldn¡¯t leave until he had scared the daylights out of everyone. Nate did his best not to be seen as he approached, which wasn¡¯t hard since there was a revolution going on. The gates were wide open and no one stopped him from entering. It took him a surprising amount of time to find a structure he was willing to climb, most looked unstable, or simply too filthy to be worth risking his boots, which were made of fine Rimward leather. He chose a large stone pedestal that seemed quite solid. The ugly fallen statue nearby suggested the slab was built for a far heavier object than Nate. Still, he hadn''t been noticed yet. A few men with taser spears were futility attempting to hold off the gigantic scrap king. He figured he had time to consider his speech. Milah had written tons of these for him, and he decided to use an old one he hadn''t delivered in a while. ¡°Gravity and entropy.¡± he remarked in a booming and controlled voice. All eyes fell upon him, staring in confusion. Even the king ceased his assault to look at the disturbance. He was glad that they heard him. It always ruined the mood when he had to repeat himself. ¡°Opposing forces, constantly in conflict. Gravity pulls things together, binds them in place, whereas entropy scatters things apart, spreading everything across the void.¡± Or was it the other way around? H really didn¡¯t have a clue what any of that meant. No, he must have gotten it right, they looked scared, which was probably a good thing. ¡°You have spent your lives in gravity; clustered close with your friends, your family, your sad little lives and your pathetic wealth. No more. I am entropy. Here to scatter your worthless souls to the wind.¡± Why on earth was his face so itchy? Did he not clean his mask? Wasn¡¯t that Milah¡¯s job? There was no way he could scratch with the crowd watching him so intently, plus he¡¯d need to take off the mask, and that wasn¡¯t an option. He decided to try not to think about it. ¡°You have one chance only to escape your fate. Give me the treasure that fell from the clouds, it¡¯s wasted on you pitiful scavengers. Give it to me or you will be annihilated.¡± He was thinking of the itch again. It was maddening. Also, did he need to pee now? He should have gone on the ship. ¡°I swear there will be nothing left by the time I¡¯m done with you deplorable wretches, for I am Captain Scarheart, and I leave every destitute piece of space rock a less crowded place than when I entered.¡± Yep. He definitely needed to pee. But at least the crowd seemed as shaken as he hoped. Especially the king, he noted, while trying to think of anything that wasn¡¯t bladder or itch related. ¡°C-captain Scarheart?¡± The King asked, his words catching in his throat from fear. There was a moment of stunned silence before a man in the crowd finally piped up: ¡°I been down here twenty years. Captain who?¡± The rest of the crowd nodded. Evidently, none of them had any clue who he was, but that didn¡¯t stop the King, who fled as quickly as his bionic assisted limbs could carry him towards his palace, his remaining royal guard following him closely. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask again. Who has the treasure?¡± He lied. He absolutely would ask again if needed, there wasn¡¯t a lot else that he could do. An old woman stepped through the crowd and Nate began to feel like his day was going to get a lot worse. ¡°We¡¯ve given away everything for years. No more. I don¡¯t care who you are, you¡¯ll take nothing from us.¡± Nate was happy to see that no one else was stepping forwards. Maybe he could still salvage this? He felt a heavy object hit him in the shoulder painfully. It looked like a small piece of piping as it clattered to the floor. Where had that come from? A second object hit him, bouncing off his mask and leaving a large crack in the fake skull. Was he just hit with an old doll? He realized with a great deal of terror that the crowd had found its courage, and were now searching for any object they could possibly throw at him, regardless of how implausible. One man was dead set on throwing a ruined bicycle at him. He retreated backward as a wrench hit him in the stomach, causing him to fall back first off the pedestal. He landed badly and twisted his ankle on the pile of condensed scrap that passed for a floor down here. He heard the crowd roaring and cheering as they rounded the stone slab in his direction. Nate forced himself to his feet and found himself fleeing an angry mob. But at least he didn¡¯t need to pee anymore. The little Nepth bot was in her element. Ashur had led her to a big door inside the castle. The biggest door in the castle. Maybe the biggest door anywhere for all she knew. And she was given the honor of breaking through the lock. She didn¡¯t exactly know why they needed to get through the door, but she did know she was the right scrapbot for the job. The lock was a large and chunky iron sort of thing, maybe steel. She took a few moments to scan. Definitely iron. It sat in the center of an iron bar, or was it steel? No, that one was steel. She scanned it to be sure. Ashur was nearby, tapping his foot impatiently. ¡°Stop wasting time.¡± He ordered bluntly. Didn¡¯t he know you couldn¡¯t rush art? Still, she was forced to obey and canceled her scan of the material that the door hinges were made of. They were probably brass. Maybe bronze. She turned her attention to the keyhole at the center of the lock. It was old fashioned, her memory banks told her that this particular type of lock was a [MODEL NUMBER NOT FOUND] dating back all the way back to [DATA SET NOT FOUND]. As far as she knew, that was a very good year. She was certain there was a trick to this type of lock, so she consulted her data once again. [DATA SET NOT FOUND]. Ah, so that was the trick. It wouldn¡¯t be easy, but she was certain she could pull it off. ¡°Can you get it?¡± Ashur asked after her five minutes of processing the information was complete. She nodded eagerly. Of course, she could get it. She was the finest piece of scrap engineering anyone had ever put together! She held practically infinite knowledge in her processors! She took a hard look at the lock and prepared herself mentally for the difficult task of cracking this lock. She slammed her head into the iron lock three times in rapid succession. Ashur looked on with his eyes and mouth incredibly wide. The Nepth supposed he was shocked at her cunning strategy, so she smashed her cranium into the door several more times until she heard a loud bell ringing across the building. Her logic processor determined that it must be an alarm, but she couldn¡¯t imagine what it would be for? It was likely the alarm to inform her that it was working, it was simply not possible that it could be anything else. ¡°What are you doing! You were programmed to be able to do this!¡± Ashure yelled, seeming oddly panicked. She thought she understood. His exclamation must be a metaphor, but she wasn¡¯t programmed to understand metaphors so she just kept going. Cracks were appearing in the lenses on her eye cameras. Or were they cracks in the lock? Probably in the lock. She was indestructible. She tuned her panicked master out. She didn¡¯t have time to acknowledge his shouts of ¡°Why aren¡¯t you working correctly?!¡± and ¡°Stop doing that and pick the lock!¡±, she was far too busy bashing the lock with her rusty metal skull. A large man in a metal suit came rushing around the corner, he looked angry. It was probably fine, so she continued her stratagem of assaulting her iron foe with her noggin. It was with some surprise that she realized she had been bashing against empty air for several minutes. That was odd. She reassessed. The man in the armor appeared to be dragging both her and her master somewhere down a hall. That was inconvenient. Still, though, she had done her job, she couldn¡¯t possibly imagine what had gone wrong. Annie finally took her gaze off the computer monitor. It seemed that the others had made quite a mess of things. She felt she had made her decision, but in the name of being thorough, she consulted the Navigator. ¡°First Mate Nav.¡± She stated, turning towards the uniformed droid. ¡°What¡¯s your assessment of the situation?¡± Nav puffed out his chest. ¡°A complete mess ma¡¯am. This ¡®scrap king¡¯ appears to be nearly unbeatable in that armor. From that alarm, it sounds like simply sneaking in didn¡¯t work for Mister Ashur either. As if that wasn¡¯t enough to deal with, there¡¯s also an anarcho-communist revolution compromising the grounds around the palace. Bad business ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Bad business indeed.¡± she repeated, turning her gaze back to her very large guns. ¡°I think the Halbardier is right out. The laser can¡¯t get through this petty king¡¯s armor and it just won¡¯t fire fast enough to help with the revolutionaries.¡± ¡°As you say, Captain.¡± ¡°The Behemoth could quickly and harmlessly knock the crowd out of action and have them cemented against the ground for later retrieval. But on the other hand it will be utterly useless against Zaiah.¡± She scowled ¡°On the other hand I have the Fuerza. It¡¯s the only thing I have with even a chance of breaking through that scrap suit Zaiah wears, and even then I¡¯m not confident that it could do it. I also can¡¯t use it on the crowd without seriously hurting or maiming them.¡± ¡°It seems to me then that it¡¯s no choice at all. We can deal with the anarchists in many ways, but the Fuerza is the only weapon we have that can beat Zaiah.¡± Annie smiled. ¡°Quite right Mister Navigator. Good to see you can still keep up.¡± She hefted the large varnished wood and metal gun onto her shoulder and packed three gigantic canon balls into her bag. It was a great deal of work for the little girl to maintain her balance with the ammunition pulling on her back, but she was used to it. She marched her way past the Navigator. ¡°You have a plan, Miss Annabelle?¡± ¡°I have the first half of a plan, and I plan to have the second half of that plan when the time comes.¡± The droid looked uncomfortable. ¡°Forgive my insubordination, but I hope your plan isn¡¯t simply to bring ¡®a really big gun.¡¯¡± ¡°Of course not Mister Nav. I¡¯m going to try something none of those three fools thought of.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Working together.¡± Stated the little captain as she left the room, giant gun in tow. Any good actor maintained their bodies, it helped them look good, maintain a stage presence and gave them the required energy and stamina they needed for long days of recital, rehearsal and filming. Nate was not just a good actor, he was an incredible actor and so he was in incredible shape. It therefore surprised him then that he was having trouble keeping ahead of the pursuing scavengers. Perhaps it was the uneven ground? He could barely stay upright running on all this trash, but his pursuers were clearly used to it. His ankle was likely part of the problem too. It was probably sprained, but he felt he was limping at a reasonable pace. He couldn¡¯t believe how much it hurt and desperately wished Milah was here to make it all better. If she were here she¡¯d be icing it and telling him how well he did, and probably serving him some cucumber water or something. He really wanted some cucumber water. Actually, he mostly just wanted to stop being chased by the mob! Cucumber water was probably at the number two spot on his list though. He threw off his mask and lifted his communicator up to his mouth. ¡°Milah! Come on! I need help! Where have you been?!¡± ¡°You simply must stay calm Nathan, we¡¯ve discussed this, don¡¯t stress or you¡¯ll get wrinkles. Makeup can only do so much darling!¡± ¡°Milah!¡± He shouted. He would feel bad about it later though. He really didn¡¯t want wrinkles. ¡°Yes yes, I told you before, I¡¯m nearly there. I¡¯ll only need a few more minutes, you simply can¡¯t rush a lady like that.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure he had a few more minutes, but he put his communicator away. Talking and running at the same time was horrifically tiring. Nate dared a glance over his shoulder. They were getting closer. They chased him with various improvised weapons, but one of them had a taser pike hybrid of some sort. If he didn¡¯t increase his speed then he was moments away from being in the range of the pike. He kept his eyes ahead of him. If he spent his time thinking of what would happen to him in around thirty seconds then he was absolutely going to get wrinkles. Best to die beautiful. When he turned though, he saw something in the sky that gave him far more hope. A ship. He thought for a moment that it might be his ship, but as it loomed close his hopes were dashed. It was less than a quarter second of hope, but he was crushed nonetheless. It was one of the ships he had attempted to steal from earlier, the pretty one from Alpha Centauri. It seemed like such a good idea a few hours ago. Just as the ship reached him it changed course, keeping pace just ahead of him. He felt the warm blast of the ships jets warming the air he sprinted through. A small loading ramp lowered and two figures stepped out, one very small, the other much larger. They threw down a long rope ladder, which dangled just in front of him. Nate guessed that Milah wasn¡¯t going to be able to save him, and the strangers were certainly offering him a nicer alternative than the scavengers behind him, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to take to the ladder. The ship began to lift and Nate was taken with it, flying away to safety. Or at least he hoped it was to safety. Best not to think about it. Wrinkles after all. Annie kept the Fuerza aimed at the top of the ladder while she waited for Scarheart to reach the top. She had observed this captain in action now, and she wasn¡¯t impressed, but it seemed prudent to be ready in case he had any tricks up her sleeve. A finely made, if a little tattered, glove was the first thing aboard her ship. The hand clutched the edge of the loading bay as Scarheart pulled himself up. He seemed to have lost his mask, revealing him to be a dark-skinned and incredibly well put together young man. Were Annie a few years older, she might have thought him handsome. Fortunately, the nine-year-old captain still professed the opinion that boys were icky and would be immune to any charms that Scarheart might possess. Upon seeing the gun, Scarheart paused. Eventually, he thought to see who was actually holding the gun, causing him to pause for even longer. ¡°Rest of the way Scarheart. No sudden moves.¡± The pirate sighed and climbed up onto the ship. He put his hands into the air. ¡°You seem a little young to be using a gun like that, little girl.¡± He still spoke with that dreadful voice that sent shivers down her spine earlier. It didn¡¯t have the same effect now that she could see it didn¡¯t match the pirate at all. ¡°And you seem a little young for a voice like that.¡± His eyes went wide as he put his hand to his face, only now realizing that he wasn¡¯t wearing his mask. ¡°Th-this is bad.¡± He stuttered in a pleasant and far more natural sounding voice. ¡°Well, it¡¯s certainly not good.¡± She scowled. It was an act, of course, Annie had no intention of harming the boy, but he would likely be more pliable if he was scared. ¡°I-is your captain around? I can explain everything! I saw there was a big person up here earlier. Can I speak to them?¡± Annie said nothing but tipped her captain''s hat to Scarheart. ¡°S-sorry, uh, Captain. I¡¯m sure we can talk this through.¡± ¡°I agree. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Natha- erm, Captain Nathan Regal of the Void Knave.¡± She lowered her gun. He was clearly ready to negotiate, with any luck the others were too. ¡°I¡¯m Captain Annabelle Constantine. Welcome to the Nightingale.¡± Nathan seemed hesitant at that. ¡°Annabelle Constantine? Like, the pirate?¡± She scowled at him. ¡°No. Not like the pirate.¡± Nate was still making up his mind about his savior, but he knew he liked the Nightingale immediately. It was beautiful, not cutting edge, but certainly, a luxury craft back in it¡¯s day, which didn¡¯t seem to be long in the past. It didn¡¯t have quite the same decorative qualities that he had back on the Void Knave of course, but few ships could really match Milah¡¯s instinct for interior design. The actual walls and flooring of the Nightingale where remarkably well maintained and artfully designed however and offset the rather spartan furniture spread throughout. He was jealous of the size, with his own ship being a cramped affair of only a few rooms, while the Nightingale seemed to be big enough to fit dozens of crew members and a sizeable amount of cargo. She led him into a simple round meeting room with a polished wood table in the center. The walls were mostly unadorned, being taken up primarily by several doors. Only a trio of short wall segments were in use. The first held a small writing area with a few papers and fine looking quills, likely for contracts. The second hosted a large and high tech looking screen, which Nate supposed was for video calls. He¡¯d love to watch a movie on that beautiful high definition device, maybe Casablanca? But he doubted the serious young girl would give him the chance. Upon the final wall was an ornate painting of a dashing looking captain in an old-fashioned uniform that he recognized as belonging to the old Terran Star Armada, back when it still existed. He was an intrepid looking fellow, with long but well kept blond hair and a short beard which was finely trimmed. Nate recognized his dangerous blue eyes, the new captain had them too. His host took a seat and pulled a small lever, which raised her chair up to a level that allowed her to sit eye to eye with any at the table. Nate took it as his cue to sit down, so he chose one of the identical looking leather conference chairs and sat. ¡°Did you know what you were looking for when you attacked my ship?¡± Annie said, not betraying any emotion whatsoever. He swallowed and simply did what he always did during negotiations. What he did during most situations actually. He handed the problem over to someone more qualified. ¡°I¡¯m contractually bound not to negotiate without my manager, sorry.¡± She stared at him, not angrily, but like she was trying to get a good read on him. Nate liked kids, and kids tended to like him, but this little captain was the farthest thing from a child. Looking at her while she judged him was like staring at the sun and he had to look away. Eventually, she made up her mind and slid an electronic keyboard from the top of the table over to him. ¡°Call them.¡± Nate was happy to do so. Milah would work this whole thing out and then he¡¯d be safe. He¡¯d still be broke, but that was a problem for later. He was bad with numbers as a general rule but he ensured that the fifteen-digit code that could put him in contact with Milah was well memorized. Fifteen digits that seemed to solve all his problems. The video screen flashed to life and Milah¡¯s main drone faced the camera. The image quality was everything Nate had hoped it would be and somehow Milah looked more real than real. ¡°It¡¯s not polite to stand people up, Nate darling, it¡¯s simply gruesome. I found those dreadful people shaking their fists at the sky, but there was no handsome young man for me to rescue.¡± It was hard to tell where Milah was looking, being that she hadn¡¯t any eyes, but Nate was certain that she could see Captain Annabelle and was simply playing coy. ¡°Uh, yeah, sorry Milah, I ended up getting a ride elsewhere. This is-¡± ¡°I see. Well, you seem like a delightful little girl. You can call me Auntie Milah.¡± Nate winced, but the captain maintained her composure. ¡°I¡¯ll be brief, Miss Milah the manager. I need Nate for a task. There will be treasure at the end of said task. You both will receive a share of the profits. Speak down to me again and you¡¯ll get nothing. You and your amatuer captain need me a lot more than I need you. I won¡¯t ask again.¡± It was hard to intimidate an artificial intelligence, but Captain Annabelle clearly knew how to do it. It was a decent deal too, they hadn¡¯t had a good haul in months and had barely a penny to their names. He didn¡¯t know what it was that the captain had in mind, but they simply couldn¡¯t afford to refuse. ¡°What kind of job?¡± Asked Milah, slipping for just a moment out of her sophisticated voice routine. Milah wasn¡¯t usually keen on sharing any form of authority position with someone else and it showed. ¡°One that¡¯s well suited to his talents.¡± the captain smiled. Ashur was livid. How in Orion had that stupid Nepth-bot managed to mess up this badly? It was the one he had ordered specifically to pick locks! He resolved to wring the neck of the scav-mechanic who built it next time he saw them. He thought Zaiah was a little rougher than necessary when the time came to throw him in a prison cell, but he imagined that the King didn¡¯t have much control over his strength in that suit. Still, that didn¡¯t stop him from shouting expletives after the King in his native language as Zaiah lumbered away. ¡°Emeru Biza d¡¯gila!¡± He yelled angrily at the back of the King¡¯s mullet. He slumped into the cell beside the Nepth which had been thrown in with him. He could see one of the massive royal guard bots outside the cell standing guard, so there was clearly not going to be a way out for the foreseeable future. How had it gone so badly? He was so close to the map to the elder crown only a few minutes ago and now he was locked in a damp and moldy cell block. He was stuck here alone with his terrible little scrapbot. Except he wasn¡¯t really alone at all, he only noticed then, but that odd scavenger girl was trapped there with him. She clutched a metal object as she sobbed quietly. Ashur quickly realized that it was her arm. Her fate was his fault of course, but he couldn¡¯t really bring himself to feel bad about it, that just wasn¡¯t his way. ¡°I take it the revolution went well?¡± He remarked snidely as he slumped back against the wall. To his surprise, the girl responded immediately. ¡°Shut up.¡± She snapped. Ashur saw no benefit to pushing her any further, so he stayed his tongue, glaring instead at his faulty scrapbot. ¡°What went wrong with you? You¡¯re supposed to be able to do things like this!¡± Kaori looked up, seeming interested, despite her tears. ¡°What happened?¡± Well, that was interesting. The girl seemed to be eager to be distracted from her current armless predicament. Perhaps he could still wring a little more use out of her yet. ¡°The little creature decided the best way to pick a lock was to bash her stupid head against it until the alarm went off.¡± He snorted. She perked up a little more. ¡°Can I see?¡± Ashur motioned the little robot to go to her and the Nepth¡¯s awkwardly shaped legs tapped along the metal floor towards her. Ashur was surprised at how adeptly the girl handled the robot with only her right arm, but he didn¡¯t let it show. After a typical amount of silence, Kaori simply stated. ¡°It¡¯s too stupid.¡± The Nepth squirmed indignantly. ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s a real revelation.¡± The girl scrunched her brows and tried again a few moments later. ¡°It¡¯s using a blank memory drive. It doesn¡¯t know anything. Did you not upload any information?¡± Ashur frowned, he didn¡¯t even know that was a thing he was supposed to have done, nor would he have known how even if he had. ¡°I did, but I think it walked too close to a magnet or something.¡± Before he knew it, Kaori had pulled a small digital tablet from a pocket and had plugged it into the head of the furious little robot. ¡°I¡¯ll upload my old research notes on the locks I found during my early scavenging days.¡± The Nepth twitched before scurrying back to Ashur, tablet, and chord still in tow. Kaori quickly grabbed her tablet before it got out of reach. She yanked the chord out of the Nepth and stuffed it back into her coat. The Nepth chirped with delight as it returned to Ashur and pointed at the lock on the cage. ¡°Thanks, but it¡¯s no use with the guard still there.¡± He muttered to both the Nepth and the girl. The royal guard ignored the comment and remained still. They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours. The Nepth in power saving mode, Kaori in quiet melancholy, and Ashur ignoring his shame and frustration, like he always did. In time the second royal guard entered the room. ¡°H-i-i-i-is maje-ZZZZZ-ty wants you to-to-to-to-to charge.¡± The royal guard didn¡¯t move as it responded to the newcomer. ¡°Ba-ZZZZZZ-terries remain at seventy-eight-eight-eight-eight percent.¡± ¡°His Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-jestey w-an-an-ants us at f-ZZZZZZ-ull in case of ZZZZZZZZ further attacks.¡± The first royal guard seemed to consider this for a moment, before wordlessly making its way down the hallway. The replacement took a nearly identical guard position to the old one. Ashur shook his head at the silent figure. ¡°You seem like better company than the last guard.¡± The robot turned to the cage, and to Ashur¡¯s surprise, yanked off its own head, revealing it to be a mask. Underneath was a black skinned human boy with sparkling brown eyes and a bright white smile. ¡°Thanks.¡± The boy said simply. He didn¡¯t need to say anymore. Ashur knew he had been rescued, even if he couldn¡¯t figure out why. ¡°Go.¡± He said simply to the Nepth, who had the lock open in no time at all. ¡°Where are we going?¡± he asked his rescuer. ¡°Off to make a better plan, just us captains.¡± he waved a hand over to the huddled shape of Kaori in the corner. ¡°And whoever she is, if they want.¡± Kaori made no move to join Ashur as he left the cell. Ashur hardly cared if the girl wasted away here in her misery, but it seemed a waste to leave a skilled mechanic down here. ¡°You¡¯re more than just your arm you know.¡± He stated kindly. It was a calculated compliment. She looked at him, teary-eyed, but said nothing. Ashur followed his rescuer down the hall and was glad to hear the sound of Kaori catching up behind him a minute later. 1.05 Kaori felt the kind of fear that only comes when you¡¯ve found a life-changing opportunity and now need to try not to mess it all up. She was on board a spaceship. It was nicer than Ashur¡¯s to be sure, but she¡¯d happily settle for any ship that could get her out of the trench. TheNightingale,she had heard it called. Was that a type of bird? It sounded nice, but the only birds she knew were the shrieking oil-drenched trashgulls. She certainly wouldn¡¯t compare the elegant ship to those ugly creatures. It was hard to keep herself still with her nerves, but she did her best to focus on the meeting taking place around the wide table. She hadn¡¯t zoned out for long, and they were still giving their names. ¡°Captain Annabelle Constantine of the Nightingale.¡± stated the young blonde captain. She was everything Kaori had imagined in a space captain, but she wasn¡¯t entirely sure that captains were supposed to be¡­ children. ¡°First mate and Navigator aboard the Nightingale. Just Nav if you prefer.¡± presented a tall uniformed droid. The pair looked to Ashur next. The tall alien licked his lips, grinning wide as he often did. ¡°Merchant-Captain Ashur Shabbas of the Unfamiliar Guest, formerly an adept provisioner of the Akkadar order.¡± Ashur stated the last part as if challenging the others to ask him more, but none did. The Akkadar order wasn¡¯t something Kaori could remember much about from her childhood, but it conjured memories of holy wars and great archeological disasters. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Captain Nathan Regal of the Void Knave. Happy to be here!¡± The last captain chimed in. He was older than Annie but seemed at most a year younger than Kaori. Perhaps young captains were actually the norm after all? His smile made her¡­ Uncomfortable? She didn¡¯t really know what that particular emotion was, so she made a mental note to investigate later and returned her focus to the meeting. ¡°You may call me Milah, darlings. I¡¯m Nathan¡¯s agent and manager.¡± stated a small swarm of drones demurely. She spoke with rich and well-rounded tones that somehow seemed too sophisticated to possibly be anyone¡¯s natural manner of speaking. ¡°Shall we get down to business then?¡± Ashur said, being the first to take his seat. Nav, the first mate robot coughed. Robots didn¡¯t need to cough, so it was likely just to make a point. ¡°I believe there¡¯s another. Miss¡­?¡± He gestured openly to Kaori. All at once the group looked at her. She felt very small. They seemed so dignified and soclean!Kaori felt like she could scrub herself for years and still be far dirtier than these pristine beauties. But that was only part of what made her feel so tiny next to all these people. She was in a room full of people from across the Orion spur, and she was just a girl who no one even bothered to look for. Their voices and accents seemed so incredible and exotic to her, and all so much grander than her rough scrap world accent. Kaori was way out of her league. ¡°Miss?¡± The Navigator asked again after Kaori didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Give her a moment. She answers slow, but she¡¯s not stupid.¡± Stated Ashur, excusing her. She still felt like she couldn¡¯t trust him all the way, but she found it getting harder to dislike the manipulative trader. Should she lie and make herself sound important? No, that was clearly not going to work. Best to be honest, humble even. ¡°I¡¯m Kaori. I¡¯ve been trapped in a hole for six years.¡± That seemed to satiate them, and they took their seats. The little blonde captain spoke authoritatively to the room. ¡°I¡¯ll not mince my words people. We all want the device that Zaiah stole.¡± Kaori didn¡¯t, but it hardly mattered. ¡°You¡¯ve all tried and all failed. I propose we pool our resources and work together. We can split the profits.¡± ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re not old enough to know math, but we can¡¯t split one electronic device between three ship crews.¡± Ashur interjected. Annie nodded and took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m not proposing that we work together to find the device, Merchant-Captain. I propose that we work together to decode the device and follow the map together.¡± Ashur seemed stunned at the prospect, as though unable to comprehend. ¡°-And for those of us who haven¡¯t had the pleasure of knowing what it¡¯s a map to?¡± Asked Milah, inserting herself into the conversation. Annie was silent for a time. ¡°Mr. Navigator, please disable your ability to lie for this next question. I don¡¯t want them to doubt what I¡¯m about to say.¡± ¡°Ay, Ma¡¯am.¡± She cleared her throat. ¡°Navigator, to the best of our knowledge, what information is stored on the device we are seeking?¡± The Navigator puffed his broad chest out even wider. ¡°The device contains the research notes of Captain Arthur Constantine and, according to our sources, contains a map to the last known location of the Elder Crown.¡± Milah went silent, and Nate¡¯s jaw dropped. Kaori had no clue what any of this meant but suspected it was some form of valuable treasure by the reactions she was seeing. Milah took only a second to recuperate. ¡°We¡¯ll do it for one-third of the profits.¡± Annie shook her head. ¡°Take half of any miscellaneous treasure we find. Ashur, you take the other half. I get the crown. Non-negotiable.¡± Ashur snorted. ¡°You can¡¯t own the crown, fool girl. You don¡¯t even have a clue what it is, do you?¡± Captain Annabelle scowled at the Akkadar. ¡°And you do?¡± ¡°I have some ideas.¡± Ashur bared his teeth. ¡°But that¡¯s order business.¡± ¡°Fine. One third to each ship crew.¡± Annie concluded, ¡°And we will deal with the crown when the time comes.¡± ¡°And me?¡± Kaori asked, meekly. ¡°You have a decision to make Ms. Amaris,¡± Annie stated evenly. ¡°Help us get the device and I¡¯ll personally pay you with a one-way trip back to the surface of your planet. If it¡¯s what you want, you¡¯re free to live out your days in a peaceful dumpster world life.¡± She paused. ¡°Or you can come with us. I can offer you a place in my crew, a portion of the Nightingale¡¯s share of the treasure and a journey greater than anything you could ever imagine.¡± Kaori blinked. This was nothing she had expected. She could be someone. Out there; swashbuckling through the stars. For once she could do something incredible, and then- well, and then she¡¯d never be forgotten again. She saw a version of herself, standing proudly in a ship¡¯s uniform. Not filthy, but clean, for once in her life. She had a new arm, filled with advanced tools and ancient wonders from across the galaxy. And she was rich, richer than she could ever have imagined. She could experience luxuries she hadn¡¯t even conceived of. It was a dream come true. But it was someone else¡¯s dream. Her dream was much smaller. But she wanted it with every cell in her body. ¡°I¡¯ll help get the device, then I want to go home.¡± Kaori stated firmly. Annie nodded sadly. ¡°It¡¯s a mistake. But it¡¯s yours to make.¡± It was only then that Kaori noticed that Nav had been transcribing the deal on a piece of high-quality parchment. He presented it to Annie, who signed in a strict and precise cursive. Then, Annie offered it to the table. The ¡®Eternal Crown¡¯ Charter The captaincies of the ships: Nightingale Void Knave Unfamiliar Guest each agrees to embark together on an expedition to find the Elder Crown. All treasure to be found will be split evenly between the charter members. Drafted in low orbit above Scrappis IV at 15:48 PM on October 24th, 2431. Signatories: Annabelle Constantine ¨C TDF Nightingale Nathan meekly took the treaty but looked to Milah for guidance. Her largest drone shifted slightly, which Kaori assumed was a nod. He added his messy signature before handing the charter to Ashur. Ashur looked at it reluctantly. Several of his little scrapbots lined up on his shoulder and stared intently at the document. ¡°None of you have a clue what it is you¡¯re digging into.¡± He ground his teeth together. ¡°You fools are going to get yourselves killed trying to delve into the ruins of a civilization so great that they ascended into godhood.¡±He closed his eyes, but opened them up a moment later, bringing his predatory grin to bare. ¡°So it¡¯s good that you¡¯re bringing an Akkadar along.¡± Ashur¡¯s black-shelled hand grasped the quill and signed the charter without hesitation. The first half of a smile reached Annie¡¯s lips before she spoke to the newly formed expedition.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Let the crown expedition commence.¡± ¡°This plan is dreadful.¡± Milah said, to no one in particular. ¡°No.¡± said Annie, who was already getting sick of the wanna-be sophisticate drone. ¡°It¡¯s just simple and straightforward. Which is a good thing, simple and straightforward means that everyone can follow it without problems.¡± Annie was grateful that her other companion, the scavenger girl, was fairly silent. Truth be told, Annie didn¡¯t even know why Milah insisted on joining them, there wasn¡¯t a lot she could do to help. There weren¡¯t weapon systems in any of the drone spheres. At least, there probably weren¡¯t. ¡°Ah, but it¡¯s just so dreadfully ordinary.¡± she complained. ¡°Perhaps you should explain it again.¡± The three of them were hiding behind a large ridge of compressed scrap. Annie peered overtop to view the castle. Zaia was still likely skulking about inside his castle while the revolutionaries built fortifications around the keep to ensure they were well defended from the King¡¯s attack. She ducked back down. It didn¡¯t seem like they were in any danger of being overheard. ¡°Fine. The objective is to get the device. We have to get through the revolutionaries, the gigantic door on the keep and that nerd in the armour.¡± Annie explained. ¡°But can¡¯t we talk our way through those poor people outside? We even have their hero out here with us.¡± She pointed a dainty metal finger at Kaori, who still had nothing to add. ¡°Indeed we could Ms. Milah, but Zaiah would see and keep his gate locked tight.¡± ¡°And my poor dear Nathan covering himself in filth helps how?¡± Annie sighed. They had been over this before. But apparently, they were going to do so one more time. Nate actually thought that the dirt was a nice touch, even if Milah was a bit prissy when she had applied it. Combined with the red sashes and cut up clothes, he looked like he had come straight from a war zone. He didn¡¯t think there were any warzones nearby right now, but the effect mattered far more than the logic behind it all. He stood aboard the Nightingale¡¯s bridge, prepared to give his speech. Nav was nearby, focused on flipping switches that seemed nonsensical to Nate. Kaori and Ashur had pooled their resources together to create a crude disguise for the Nightingale as well since it had previously been seen rescuing captain Scarheart. Now the ship was covered in fake damage, with a large painted red star on the front. The navigator claimed it was an old revolutionary symbol, and Nate had no reason to argue. The navigator seemed in high spirits, so Nate decided to see if he could sneak out a little info from him about the strange child captain. ¡°So, I bet your captain¡¯s parents are proud, huh?¡± Nav didn¡¯t look up from his tasks. ¡°Ms. Constantine¡¯s parents would likely be proud if they ever met Annie again, yes.¡± Nate was a bit of a gossip hound and was very much encouraged that he had struck gold right away. ¡°So they aren¡¯t on good terms then? ¡°They are missing, Mister Regal. Since Ms. Constantine was a baby in fact.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t have parents? Who raised her?¡± ¡°The captain raised herself, with my help.¡± Nathan was floored. The droid had raised Annie? Was that why she acted so much like a robot? ¡°So if you raised her¡­ doesn¡¯t that kinda make you her dad or something?¡± ¡°No.¡± Said the navigator, making the final few adjustments. ¡°No? What? How does it not?¡± Nav pointed to the front of the ship. ¡°Stay on task. We¡¯ve reached the castle. Show us what you can do, Mister Regal.¡± Bah, how bloody convenient. But he was right, it was time to get ready. Nate liked old movies. He liked REALLY old movies. Breakfast at Tiffany¡¯s, the Maltese Falcon, Transformers 3, really anything from the Hollywood golden age. He had seen a few movies by Sylvester Stallone, and while he was certainly no Humphrey Bogart, he felt like the right man to channel for his current role. ¡°Red Leather yellow leather. I am the law.¡± His voice felt like gravel in his throat and his words were slurred. He was ready. ¡°-so it¡¯s not just to distract the revolutionaries, but also to draw Zaiah out. After Nate is done-¡± Milah perked up all at once. ¡°Shush darling, he¡¯s starting, oh he¡¯s spectacular!¡± The disguised Nightingale finished its approach, like an unwelcome guest. A small cannon-like device lowered from a port on the ships surface, but instead of firing a weapon, it projected Nate¡¯s image into the air for all to see. Annie could hardly believe how convincing the disguise was, he really did look like he had just been fighting in a jungle on the way here. A big red star stood behind him. It was just a scrap piece of metal Kaori had, but it somehow looked convincing with the lighting that Milah and Nate had set up. ¡°Listen up you royal idiot. They call me Gregor Diachev, the red nightmare.¡± What was with that voice? It was somehow intimidating and oafish at the same time? Perhaps that¡¯s why it was working so well. It sounded imperfect, and somehow more real because of that. ¡°On Valencia, I burned the Grand Duke¡¯s palace for his crimes against the common worker. On Wheatstone, I led the farmers to rebellion and war.¡± He turned his gaze to the revolutionaries. ¡°Comrades of the Theta trench! I have heard your call! Retreat now while I reduce yet another tyrant¡¯s palace to rubble.¡± The crowd was stunned. It was working. Annie was certain none of those events Nathan had referenced had actually happened, but it¡¯s not like the isolated trench scavengers were likely to have known that. Gregor raised his fist to the sky. ¡°Long live the revolution!¡± The gigantic sky screen cut to black, filled only with a digital clock counting down from five. The effect was immediate. The revolutionaries didn¡¯t even stop to retrieve their things, they just fled as quickly as possible, all shouting excitedly. ¡°Oh he did marvelously, didn¡¯t he?¡± Asked the drone, full of pride. ¡°Aye, he did.¡± Conceded Annie. The gates didn¡¯t open immediately, they knew it would take Zaiah a few minutes. Annie took the initiative and continued from where she had left off before. ¡°So as I was saying, once Zaiah comes out then it will be time for Ashur to play his part.¡± It wasn¡¯t easy to blend in when you¡¯re a large alien on a human world, but somehow Ashur managed it, having kept to the shadows thus far. He no longer needed to bother anymore as the humans fled. Ashur¡¯s long legs brought him quickly beside the gate, stopping only to loot a few nice pieces of scrap that the poor dupes had left behind. He reached a hiding spot just in time as the doors slammed open, King Zaiah charging out, full of fury. Ashur didn¡¯t bother to take a good look at him, instead, diving through the door behind the king, who was too busy glaring at the gigantic spaceship that was theoretically about to turn his castle into a crater. Which meant that Ashur had the castle all to himself. He skulked merrily down the hallway, humming an Akkadarian hymn along the way, and swiping anything valuable he came across. There was no reason he shouldn¡¯t maximize his profits from this after all. And at last, he saw what he came here for. The vault. The plan was going swimmingly. Of course, the two royal guards weren¡¯t supposed to be standing outside the vault. That was certainly not part of the plan. Ashur darted around the corner, but from the repeated clack of metal against stone that was getting closer to him, Ashur was keenly aware that he had been spotted. Ashur was a religious man first, a stingy thrift master second and a con third, but he was a fighter last. A distant last, actually. But he was also no fool and was prepared for situations like this. His little scrapbots scurried along his body, as they always did. ¡°Hey, kids?¡± He said, flashing his sharp teeth. ¡°Kill.¡± A dozen tiny creatures rushed to the floor and brandished their small but potent defenses. A taser from the mouth of the spider, a whirring buzzsaw on the mechanical squirrels tail, and so forth. They scurried towards the royal guards, who were about to learn that bigger doesn¡¯t mean better. Ashur snatched up his little nepth bot, which was preparing to charge down the hallway armed with a tiny pair of scissors. ¡°Not you. I can¡¯t have you breaking down until we¡¯re through the door.¡± The little Nepth went limp with disappointment. ¡°Miss Amaris.¡± Annie began, cordially. ¡°According to what we discussed, Zaiah¡¯s heavy suit would be too strong for the Fuerza, correct?¡± The girl seemed to think hard about Annie¡¯s statement. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°And from what you told me if we attacked with the ship, Zaiah was likely going to change to what you called his ¡®gripper suit¡¯ which would allow him to climb to the top to try to fend off the Nightingale. We felt this was desirable as the gripper suit¡¯s thin armour could be easily cracked by my gigantic gun that I¡¯ve been extremely excited to use all day. Is that right?¡± Another pause. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°So then, I¡¯ll point you to the current situation and ask why I wasn¡¯t informed that the king would not, in fact, be climbing up the keep in his gripper suit, and is insteadwearing armour with wings and flying around my ship like some sort of pimple-faced wasp?!¡± Kaori thought about it and shrugged. ¡°Didn¡¯t know he had that suit.¡± The King puttered through the air on ugly wings, leaving a trail of dark black smoke behind him as the suit guzzled cheap and noxious fuel. He slapped at her ship with a gigantic hammer, leaving massive, but mostly harmless dents. Even from here they could hear his nasally cackling. Annie rubbed her temples. She was a good shot, but she had next to no chance of hitting Zaiah while he was flying so erratically. Still, she wasn¡¯t about to give up that easily. She hefted her heavy gun at the sky and waited for her opportunity. Zaiah stuck himself to one of the ship¡¯s walls a moment later. Annie took her shot. It hit exactly where she had aimed, but Zaiah had long since zipped away. Annie grimaced as her shot left an even larger dent in her ship than Zaiah had. ¡°None can defeat my flapper suit!¡± taunted the king of garbage from up high. And of course, she brought the gun that could only fire three shots. Of course. She had been so excited, the wood and brass on the gun were so pretty and the cannonball was so satisfying to shoot. This was supposed to have been fun. Still, now wasn¡¯t the time to be angry, and so she calmly loaded the second shot into the Fuerza. ¡°Surely your ship has some defenses against such things?¡± Milah asked, letting her nerves show under her flowery language. Annie shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s a frigate, it relies on smaller ships to defend it from small fighter craft. I have my own fighter inside the Nightingale, but my Navigator can¡¯t leave the bridge during combat and I doubt your protege can pilot it, can he?¡± Milah¡¯s silence was her answer. Annie saw the king flying towards them, which was a perfect opportunity to hit him as he wasn¡¯t veering all over the place. She rushed to finish reloading and took a hasty shot. And missed. She cursed at herself. Rushing was never the answer, even in situations like this. ¡°I need to get closer.¡± She grumbled. She scowled as she reloaded her gun. ¡°Captain, how much metal is in your ship?¡± Kaori asked absentmindedly. Annie blinked at the odd question. ¡°It¡¯s around ninety-five thousand pounds and ninety-eight percent void-grade steel, why?¡± Kaori nodded slowly and seemed to be doing math in her head. She handed her severed metal arm to Annie, who took it in one hand, confused. ¡°Well, since the ground is mostly rubber and plastic, and the metal ship that forms Ashur¡¯s keep is badly corroded, that makes the Nightingale the largest and most concentrated piece of metal in the area, assuming there isn¡¯t something even bigger down below, but it would be badly rusted as well.¡± Annie hadn¡¯t a clue what the girl was getting at, but knew better than to stop someone mid-idea. ¡°Hold on tightly to this,¡± Kaori said, beginning to pull at a few wires on her broken arm with her remaining hand. ¡°Hold onreallytight.¡± She said simply, before pushing a button on the arm. Annie found herself hurtling through the air, propelled by the magnetic attraction between Kaori¡¯s arm and her ship. Countless pieces of metal rushed through the air below her, attracted to the magnet. Even Milah came rushing with her, with a great deal of protest. Annie felt her respect for the mind of the scavenger. This was simultaneously the most brilliant and idiotic idea she¡¯d ever heard. She held on as tightly as she could, nearly letting go as she impacted with the Nightingale. Only Annie¡¯s quick reactions saved her from the swarm of scrap metal that followed her on the way up. She dodged the bullet-like shrapnel as best she could as it attached itself to the arm, but she felt dozens of small painful wounds as metal cut through her or embedded itself in her body. What¡¯s worse, it felt like the metal was trying to dig itself deeper into her on it¡¯s way to the magnet. She was in agony but maintained her iron grip on Kaori¡¯s arm. ¡°What a horrific turn of events.¡± Remarked Milah dully. All five of her drones were clustered in with the chunks of metal. Unfortunately, so was Annie¡¯s gun, and that was going to be a problem. ¡°Stop it!¡± yelled Zaiah¡¯s obnoxious voice. Annie took her mind off the pain to see Zaiah, his own metal suit dragging him slowly towards Annie, even as he beat his wings in the opposite direction. Now was her chance. But the Fuerza was stuck to the magnet! Even if she could angle it right, the magnet might interfere with the path of the cannonball. And Annie understood exactly what idiotic thing she needed to do next. Having no free hands, she angled her nose towards the button Kaori used to activate the magnet. ¡°You can¡¯t do this! I¡¯m the King!¡± Annie yelled back. ¡°No, you aren¡¯t! You¡¯re a nerd in a garbage suit!¡± She pressed her nose into the button. As suddenly as she flew into the sky, Annie went falling back down. She angled the Fuerza with one hand towards Zaiah, who was still close to her, even as she fell. The cannon exploded with all of Annie¡¯s fury. The ball cracked Zaiah¡¯s suit in two, and he went plummeting to the ground, screaming bloody murder. Annie herself was launched backward from the shot, propelled far away from the shrapnel as well as Milah, who was beginning to stabilize herself with her thrusters. Annie let the Fuerza drop from her hand and slammed her gloved fist into the magnet button. She hurled back towards the ship, this time thankfully without all the metal fragments coming with her, though she took care to avoid the Fuerza, which had come to rejoin her and the magnet. She collided with the ship. She was battered, hanging a hundred or more of feet in the air by only a severed metal arm, her uniform was in tatters and she was in more pain than she ever had been in her life. But she had won. Since there was no one around to see, she smiled bloodily. 1.06 Ashur stepped gingerly across the wreckage of the royal guards, humming to himself over the grinding, scraping and sawing noises his little scrapbots were causing as they continued to break the big robots into increasingly small pieces. At last, he reached the great vault door, smiling in satisfaction that he was finally going to reap the rewards he had long deserved. His little nepth bot poked at his leg, and Ashur crouched down to see the odd little creature. It was pointing questioningly with its crude wire finger. Ashur nodded. ¡°No screw ups this time. Got it?¡± The Nepth climbed eagerly over to the lock and stared intently at it, just like before. It looked back nervously to Ashur, who was beginning to feel like he shouldn¡¯t place so much of his trust in robots made of literal garbage. He nodded his encouragement, hoping that the inept little machine would actually function correctly this time. The Nepth looked back to the lock and stared hard. A metal tool entered the lock and there was a satisfying click only moments later. Ashur felt the tension that he didn¡¯t know he had been holding all leave him in a wave of relief. He whistled slightly to the nepth to show he was impressed, then entered the vault without waiting on ceremony. It was a massive room, likely the mess hall back when Zaiah¡¯ castle had been a boat. Of course, now that the ship was on its side, that meant that the room was extremely tall, but not terribly wide. Countless treasures and lost pieces of technology lined the high walls. It¡¯s amazing what people will throw away. And near the top, there it was. The device. The map to the elder crown. A pity none of the other crews on the expedition were here to stop him from taking it for himself. He bared his jagged canines and whistled loudly to his scrapbots. They had a lot to carry away before the poor fools outside got here. The Navigator supposed he should be thankful that his Captain was a child. Had she weighed a little more, it simply wouldn¡¯t have been feasible for her to dangle from the mechanical arm for as long as she had. It was a pain in Nav¡¯s mechanical neck to lower the ship down just far enough for Annie to safely get down. He and Mr. Regal rejoined their fellow expeditionaries shortly thereafter. His captain was furiously massaging her shoulder. From what he understood of human anatomy, dangling from one arm for the roughly eight minutes she had done it would have hurt severely, but she didn¡¯t complain. ¡°That was crazy cool!¡± Nate cried out. Annie ignored the compliment. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have been necessary in the first place.¡± she dismissed, ¡°Mr. Navigator, we¡¯re all here, yes?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, all crew of the Nightingale, the Void knave, as well as ms. Amaris, are accounted for!¡± Nav paused, feeling he should point out a remaining detail ¡°Though Merchant-Captain Ashur and his ¡®crew¡¯ are likely still waiting to meet us in the vault.¡± ¡°Sorry darling, but did I just hear you say that we¡¯ve left that rogue, Mr. Ashur, alone with our treasure?¡± Kaori and Nate¡¯s eyes went wide as dinner plates. ¡°He¡¯s not going to double-cross us.¡± Stated Annie, with confidence. The others clearly didn¡¯t agree as they were already sprinting towards the keep. Nav felt it was quite unprofessional to disregard his captain¡¯s statement, but humans acted strangely when frightened. Nate was in such a rush to reach the vault door that he simply didn¡¯t bother to slow down in order to stop himself, falling onto his back instead in a desperate effort to not slide past the door. Kaori had beaten him there of course and had no such difficulty stopping. He was a little jealous from his comfy position on the floor. He peered into the room and was greeted with the sight of Ashur, leaning against a wall, clutching the device they had all worked so hard for. His jackal-like face filled with the ¡®I¡¯ve got you right where I want you¡¯ grin that seemed to be his favourite expression. He casually tossed the device to Kaori, who caught it without thinking. ¡°Did you think I was going to abandon you? I¡¯m hurt.¡± Annie¡¯s voice rang out from down the hall. ¡°Like I said, he isn¡¯t going to double-cross us.¡± Annie marched at a leisurely pace down the hall, ¡°Not while he can¡¯t figure out to decode the device. He needs us for that.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Sharp as a Khad-snake, little captain.¡± Nate picked himself off the ground and brushed himself off. ¡°Uh, yeah. Obviously.¡± He said, as casually as he could manage. He took a moment to observe the vast empty room. ¡°Hmm, shame the king didn¡¯t have any treasure.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Ashur somehow grinned even harder. ¡°A real shame.¡± Below Annie¡¯s ship, just a single step out from the hatchway was a polycrete landing pad. Polycrete. Not condensed garbage, not the ruined metal flooring of the rusted out husks of gigantic vehicles, but actual, honest, polycrete. And Kaori wasn¡¯t sure she wanted to step onto its rocky surface. It was too beautiful. Too clean. Somehow, Kaori was painfully aware of herself. The world up here was dirty too, it was a trash world after all, but it was like pure untouched snow compared to the trench. But Kaori wasn¡¯t like the surface. She was like the trench. Dirty, empty and disorganized. ¡°Your bag, miss Amaris?¡± Nav reached out to help Kaori with her belongings. He was already on the tarmac. Somehow it seemed like he didn¡¯t fit here either, none of the spacefarers she had met did. She wordlessly handed him her bag and at last, took her step onto the surface of Scrappis IV. It was solid. Flat. But that was it. She expected more. Nav escorted her through the city. She remembered her address; 109 Rubble Road. She had been sure to keep it memorized in her years spent down in the depths of the planet. It would be stupid to finally make it up top and not be able to find her way home. Most droids of the model that Nav was currently using as a body were equipped with a built-in GPS that could interface with the satellites around the majority of human worlds, at least that¡¯s what a soiled manual she had scavenged a few years ago told her. So she let Nav direct them. They walked through the city of pristine buildings, surrounded by small scrap yards of junk on their way to the trenches. Great trucks ferried thousands of tons of the scrap materials across the streets. But Kaori barely noticed. She was in a daze. She was home. She hadn¡¯t really thought about home much down there, beyond merely the concept of somewhere she wanted to go back to. She remembered a warm bed and a fireplace. She remembered fresh jill-root pies on Sunday and a bowl of porridge with raisins every morning. She always picked out the raisins. She had been so picky back then. She had lost that trait quickly living in the trench, having to survive on things that make a human vomit, before they¡¯ve spent months getting used to eating them. And then she saw her house. Well, not a house. A mansion, she supposed. With large hedges forming a fence surrounding the garden and protecting the old brick house within. It didn¡¯t feel big when she was younger. She never felt like she was rich. The rich never feel rich she supposed, not until they understand what it¡¯s like to have nothing. Kaori saw a gate of elegantly curled iron bars, like vines. Beside the gate was a small intercom and a golden plaque. 109 Amaris estate She remembered passing through that door every day. She remembered passing through it on her way to school in the mornings. She remembered passing through the door in a bright yellow jacket when it was raining, and a puffy pink one when it was cold. But she also remembered passing through it the day she lost her arm. And she remembered when the butler carried four-fifths of an Amaris girl back through those gates from seeing an expensive doctor. She remembered that bionic arms were ugly and bulky. She remembered being told that they were not appropriate for a girl of her station. She remembered being a freak with a stump instead of an arm. She remembered being kept at home to avoid embarrassing her family. She remembered running away in the night, knowing that she could be more than what they told her. And then she remembered falling. She remembered that her family, with all their money, all their resources, never looked for her. And now here she was. A greasy one-armed girl standing in front of an intercom, willing herself to push the button. With a small movement, she¡¯d be eating porridge with raisins and Jill-root pie on Sundays. She¡¯d have a warm bed and colorful jackets like she¡¯d had in the past. But she¡¯d be a cripple. That¡¯s all she would be to them. Someone they had to take care of. So she turned her back on the gate and decided she¡¯d be something more. She looked to the Navigator. If he noticed her distress, he was too polite to say so. ¡°Is the Nightingale a good home?¡± She asked with a strong voice, despite her current distress. ¡°The very best, miss.¡± Kaori nodded. And made her way back with the navigator to her new home. Ashur sat atop a scrap heap near the castle, enjoying the site of the newly founded Theta Republic flag being raised over the castle. A red mechanical fist raised up high, in defiance to oppression. It was stupid and pointless of course, but at least it was something to watch while he waited. At last, a little turkey shaped scrap-bot waddled its way over. ¡®Gobble.¡± said a bored male voice through a scratchy voice box. They had found what they were looking for. Ashur was on his feet at once, following behind the little chicken whose enthusiastic body did not match its unenthusiastic voice. The other scrapbots were standing in a circle, poking at their find. ¡°Thtop it! Yelled Zaiah, as the monkey scrapbot was yanking playfully at Zaiah¡¯s tongue while the others egged him on silently or with whatever noises they were equipped to make. He was up to his neck in the trash, leaving only his greasy face above ground. Ashur slowly crouched down in front of the former King, he gently pushed the monkey away and made eye contact with Zaiah. ¡°Rough fall, huh?¡± Ashur pouted, mockingly. The King tried to avoid eye contact, but he couldn¡¯t move terribly well. ¡°Sorry about your kingdom. Looks like you¡¯re just a common man now.¡± Zaiah glared, his dark green eyes ablaze as he stared into Ashur¡¯s orange, cat-like alien pupils. ¡°You ruined everything!¡± ¡°Yep.¡± said Ashur, self-satisfied. ¡°So listen, I have a question, may I?¡± ¡°Just go away! Leave me here! My life is over!¡± Ashur tutted at the angry ex-monarchs words. ¡°Life goes on. It¡¯s a new chapter in your life. This is an exciting time for you!¡± Zaiah snorted but said nothing more. ¡°Listen,misterZaiah, us common folk need to work for a living. You need money.¡± Ashur bared his teeth and his eyes sparkled with malevolence, ¡°And I¡¯d sure love it if you built me a few of those suits.¡± Zaiah¡¯s eyes went wide with understanding. 1.07 ¡°I¡¯ll escort you to your new quarters, Ms. Amaris.¡± the Navigator¡¯s robotic voice stated kindly. If he had a mouth, Kaori suspected it would be smiling politely. But she wasn¡¯t ready yet. They were leaving her rusty planet behind soon, and there was certainly no way she wasn¡¯t going to watch their ascension to the stars. ¡°Not yet.¡± She stated simply, staring out the window at the world they were about to leave. They were a few kilometers up, preparing to begin their journey. She could see the pirate-like Void Knave and the rough scrap ship the Unfamiliar Guest nearby, likely performing the same pre-space checks as the Nightingale. ¡°There is a viewing portal in your quarters that would be more suitable for watching our ascent.¡± Kaori nodded. The little porthole she was currently peering through wasn¡¯t a great view anyways. She followed the stiff robotic ship officer down a pair of hallways that led to the far end of the ship. It was about a three-minute walk. The interior of the Nightingale was a very long rectangle of four narrow hallways, wide enough only for two walking side by side, and a large number of doors. The conference room she had seen earlier was clearly marked in the center of the ship. She passed a few ladders and hatches on the way to her quarters that assured her that this was likely not the only floor. The doors to ¡®Crew Quarters Section B¡¯ whooshed open, blasting Kaori with a gush of air that caused her greasy black hair to flutter in the breeze. The section was fairly compact, containing a small common room with a refrigerated cabinet, a table with benches that seemed to be able to fold up into the wall if needed, a small couch with enough space for two and a half to watch a wall-mounted television, and a door leading to a tiny bathroom. There were also four half-lockers mounted on the wall. It was more luxury than Kaori had experienced in years. She also noticed four hatches on the far wall, two on the roof and two on the floor. The Navigator marched over to one of the floor hatches and pulled, revealing a small bunk underneath the floor. ¡°This compartment will serve as your bed and personal space, but you have free use of the common room alongside other crew currently assigned to these quarters, of which there are currently none. In your bunk, you have shelf space for half a square meter worth of personal belongings. Any belongings that you may acquire above and beyond your storage space will be jettisoned. You¡¯ll be expected to keep both your bunk and these quarters tidy. Inspections will take place twice monthly and infractions will be punished with disciplinary action.¡± Seemed straightforward to Kaori, plus, it seemed pretty sweet that she got this whole place to herself!. The robot approached the lockers, he opened one of the top ones, revealing a blue naval uniform. It matched the ones that Nav and Annie were wearing, if a little less ornate. ¡°This is your locker, I already scanned your body mass and have assigned you these uniforms. You will keep these, as well as any tools, weapons, documents, electronics or miscellaneous items that are required for your work in here. No personal items of any kind are to be in your locker. You are permitted to fix photographs, posters, or other two dimensional decorations on the inside of the front panel. Understood?¡± Kaori nodded. She didn¡¯t have decorations but was already dreaming up places to find them. ¡°You have until the morning to settle in. At o-five hundred you are to report for duty, in uniform and with as much of that filth you¡¯re covered in washed off as possible.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She said, already beginning to explore. She turned from the television that she was disassembling in her mind in time to see Nav slip away down the hall, pausing for a short salute before he went. ¡°Pleasant dreams, Miss Scavenger.¡± Kaori found herself thinking harder than she ought to have on her response, and she suspected Nav was out of earshot by the time she shouted ¡°Night!¡± down the hallway. It was then that Kaori realized that she didn¡¯t see a window like Nav had promised. The wall was a big opaque slab of angled metal, and clearly not a viewing portal. Perhaps it could be raised to reveal a window? Windows were a weakness in a ship''s structure, so it made sense to keep it covered. There was likely a control panel for the room. She scurried about, still clutching her mechanical arm which she hadn¡¯t really put down since the Captain gave it back to her. Kaori¡¯s scavenger instincts kicked in, and she soon found a small data point behind the couch. She had seen things like this before on larger structures and vehicles. The data point was generally for monitoring the systems in the room so that the central computer could adjust the temperature and airflow as needed. But it was certainly not a switch for the window. Still, she could likely hack through to the central computer, download the ship''s blueprints and open the window or figure out where it was. That sounded entirely reasonable to her, so she instinctively stabbed into it with the hacking tool on her arm. Of course, she didn¡¯t have that arm anymore. She had forgotten. Her stump swished pointlessly through the air. That wasn¡¯t going to work. She¡¯d have to hack into the Nightingale another time, for now, she¡¯d just need to find another way. She decided to put her arm into the personal storage Nav had mentioned so that she could search the room unencumbered.. Kaori pushed the couch back into position and then made her way over to her new bunk. From outside of the hatch it looked mostly like a bed hiding in a hole in the floor. She climbed in, confirming that it was exactly as it looked. The cot was comfortable at least, and she had enough room to sit up so long as she ducked her head. To her left was a small amount of shelving and a little storage chest. She threw her arm messily onto a shelf and continued to explore the tiny space that was now hers. There were air filtration and heating ducts she was able to see near the foot of the cot. The hatch to her bunk looked air-tight, and Kaori made a mental note that her bunk could be retreated to in case of emergencies. There also was a little hatch to her right, which she wasted no time in opening. And there it was. The entire right wall of her room pulled back, revealing a window of clear glass, looking out over the dirty world where she¡¯d felt so trapped only yesterday. She knew she wouldn¡¯t miss it, but that didn¡¯t stop a little pang of sadness from developing in her stomach. She laid her head down on the pillow and just watched the planet. She tried not to think as she just stared out at the surface of Scrappis IV. Kaori didn¡¯t remember falling asleep, but she also didn¡¯t remember taking off, and she was now staring at the dull glow of starlight in the void of space. It looked like night, but Kaori was very aware that this was misleading when in space. She snatched up her arm from the shelf beside her and checked the watch that was attached to it. Hmm. Four thirty. Which left- not very long at all to clean herself and meet Nav. Well, that wasn¡¯t good at all. She scrambled out of the cot, leaving her arm behind and dragging herself into the common room Generally speaking, Kaori only took off her clothes when they were ruined and she found new ones she wanted instead. So she found the precise actions of disrobing for a shower to be difficult to do with any real speed. She was a mess of limbs as she threw her filthy rags to the floor and turned the knobs on the shower. She remembered from her childhood that you were supposed to wait until the water was warm, so she waited, and peered curiously around the bathroom. It was then that Kaori saw herself in the mirror. She was disgusting. Not in a low-self esteem way, but in a hasn¡¯t-showered-for-years kind of way. There was some form of a dried orange substance in her hair, and she couldn¡¯t even begin to guess what it was. Now that she thought about it, was her hair always black? Or was that the oil? She was strangely excited at the idea that a new hair colour might be waiting for her once she was clean. The shower was steaming, so it seemed like it was time to start. She stood frozen in place after entering the shower, her eyes wide with awe. The warm water hitting her felt like some long-lost luxury that she had forgotten about. Had it always felt this good? The moment she was done today''s work shift she intended to shower for as many hours as she could get away with. It felt so good! Kaori saw black water splash down onto the shower floor. She really was dirty. There was a brand new bar of soap in there with her, so she snatched it up and scrubbed everywhere she could reach until the bar of soap had turned completely black. Kaori hadn¡¯t used soap in years, but this seemed to her like the way to know when it was used up. She opened the door a little and threw the filthy bar into a small waste bin. There seemed to be two more new bars on the toilet, so she took one and scrubbed until it was equally black. She deposited that one into the bin as well. She still thought she looked dirty, but she didn¡¯t have time to really fix that for now, plus, there were a surprising number of places you can¡¯t reach when you only have one arm. There was also a bottle of something she remembered to be ¡®shampoo.¡¯ She squeezed a healthy squirt onto her hair and spread it around with her hand. She rinsed, but the water never turned clear. That would have to be good enough for now, she was going to be late if she washed up for much longer. She stepped out into the open air and grabbed a nice white towel.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Well, it was a nice white towel. It was an ugly grey by the time Kaori was finished drying. Like the soap, Kaori assumed that meant that the towel was used up, so she binned it. She checked in the mirror. She was certainly still dirty, and she worried that her skin may actually be permanently stained in some places, but it was better than it was. She was vexed to note that her hair was still black. Perhaps it was always black? She remembered all of her family had black hair. That made sense, but she had already gotten her hopes up that it would be green or silver or something neat. Maybe she could dye it later? Yep. She made up her mind on the spot, she was going to dye her hair as soon as she could think of the best colour. Kaori bundled up her clothes and stepped into the common room to access her locker. The blue uniform looked so clean, and it excited her. She was also happy to know that she had been assigned several pairs of new underwear. She hadn¡¯t had new underwear in at least a year! But she wasn¡¯t sure why she would need more than one pair? That seemed excessive to her. She wasted no time in changing into her uniform. She could hear footsteps down the hallway, so she knew that she was running out of time. Her new uniform consisted of long grey socks, of which she was given five pairs as well as a pair of chunky black leather boots. Two pairs of narrow-legged blue trousers with a gold stripe running up the side, plus an alternate long blue skirt with the same golden stripe. She decided right away that she was sticking with the pants. She was given seven clean white shirts with frilly collars that looked fun to play with. Lastly, she was given a single blue vest, covered in gold trim and various symbols. She noticed that a small big-eyed bird had been stitched into the collar. She recognized the symbol from Annie and Nav¡¯s uniforms too. The well-pressed uniform was comfortable beyond her imagination. It wasn¡¯t even sticky or smelly! It had every single button and no patches at all! Still, something was missing. She had two pockets only on her new trousers and only one in her vest. That just wasn¡¯t going to cut it. She pulled her thick quilted grey coat from her bundle of rags and put it on just in time as the door whooshed open. Captain Annabelle and the Navigator paraded into her room and inspected her. Annie silently looked her up and down and circled around Kaori. She reached the front of Kaori and stood stiff-backed in front of the slouching scavenger girl. ¡°Still dirty.¡± She concluded. ¡°That¡¯s unlikely to change for a few days, however. Miss Amaris, you are hereby ordered to shower no less than twice daily for the next ten days.¡± It was the first order Kaori had been given so far, and she couldn¡¯t be happier with it. ¡°Your uniform seems to fit well, but your coat doesn¡¯t meet regulations. Remove it.¡± Kaori stood still for a long moment. Considering whether or not it was a good idea to argue. ¡°I need it for work.¡± She said finally. Annie raised an eyebrow. ¡°Work? Explain.¡± ¡°Pockets.¡± Kaori stated simply. Annie nodded before turning to Nav. ¡°Have her coat washed this evening Mr. Navigator. It¡¯s disgusting.¡± ¡°Aye, Ma¡¯am.¡± The droid saluted. The child-captain returned to the task at hand. ¡°Ms. Amaris, fix that posture when officers are present. It¡¯s disrespectful to slouch.¡± Kaori wasn¡¯t sure exactly who qualified as an officer, but probably the Captain and First Mate. She tried to replicate Nav¡¯s puffed out and back-straight stance. It was uncomfortable, but not unduly so. ¡°Secondly. Hair in a bun, a ponytail or cut it off completely.¡± Annie ran Kaori down an increasingly long list of small mistakes in her uniform, appearance, stance, and etiquette, forcing Kaori to correct each one. Kaori¡¯s mind began to drift. The captain had nice hair, she thought. Blonde hair was pretty. Kaori wondered if she should dye her own hair blonde? Somehow that felt too much like copying. Maybe yellow? No, that would be ugly. Gold? No that was basically the same as blonde. ¡°-And lastly, you¡¯ve already managed to scuff your boots. You¡¯ll polish them this evening immediately after your shift. Understood?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± said Kaori after a longer pause than was necessary. ¡°¡®Yep¡¯ what?¡± sneered the little girl. Kaori thought about it. ¡°Yep Annie.¡± That seemed to be the wrong answer, and the Navigator grimaced painfully, despite his lack of a face. Annie¡¯s lip curled back aggressively. ¡°That¡¯s Captain Annie to you, that or Ma¡¯am. After you bathe this evening I¡¯m assigning you to tea party duty this evening to help you remember that.¡± That sounded bizarre but oddly pleasant. ¡°Ma¡¯am, with all due respect, isn¡¯t that a little harsh?¡± Nav seemed abnormally distraught. ¡°No, mister Navigator, I do not. In fact, you¡¯ll be joining her for tea this evening.¡± The lime coloured light that served as Nav¡¯s face flickered. ¡°Aye. Ma¡¯am.¡± He said obediently. ¡°Now, take her old clothing. I¡¯ll begin her orientation.¡± ¡°My clothing?¡± Kaori asked, startled. ¡°We¡¯re incinerating them. There¡¯s no saving them.¡± Annie said in a voice that told Kaori that this was not up for debate. Still, that didn¡¯t stop Kaori from plotting an argument in her head. Sadly, the droid had long since left with her tattered clothing by the time Kaori had figured out what to say, so she let the matter drop, instead, following Annie as she left the room. ¡°The Nightingale is a Nova Halifax class light frigate, first launched out of the Terra-Luna spaceport on March nineteenth of the year 2298 for service under Captain Arthur Constantine in the Terran Defence Fleet, an organization that ceased to exist three years later with the disappearance of earth, as I¡¯m certain you know.¡± Annie orated, her arms folded behind her back as she marched down the hallway. ¡°The Nightingale suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of an unknown ship on January third of 2304, leading to the disappearance of the former Captain and his crew. Full restoration of the vessel to its current state was completed on March thirteenth two years later. Any questions so far?¡± Annie stopped at the end of the first hallway and looked expectantly to Kaori. ¡°Can I see the engine?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be working in the engine core later today. For now, let¡¯s continue the tour.¡± Kaori didn¡¯t have much interest in the many engagements that the captain claimed her ship had taken part in. Nor did she care about most of the mundane rooms she had been shown. A mess hall here, a laundry room there, but there were two sights along the tour that caught Kaori¡¯s interest. ¡°As you can see, the kitchen is well maintained and up to the health codes of all eight human worlds. Food will be served at-¡± Kaori found something far more interesting in the kitchen than any of the rather spartan appliances. There, stirring a bowl of batter, was a droid, identical to the one that Nav piloted. It wore a uniform similar to her own, but with a white apron overtop, along with a chef hat. If that weren¡¯t strange enough, a curly mustache seemed to be crookedly glued onto the droids glass face. The face was glowing the same light green that Kaori understood to mean that the body was being piloted by the Navigator. ¡°Is that Nav?¡± She asked, stunned. ¡°As in first mate Nav?¡± the captain asked idly. ¡°Non. Je suis Chef Navigateur.¡± said the robot in a strange language. ¡°As he says. That¡¯s Chef Nav.¡± ¡°Ne me confondez pas avec ce sale second.¡± The chef stated indignantly, turning up a nose that he didn¡¯t have at Kaori. Kaori thought of what to say about that for a very long time but never did find a response. The second odd thing she found, was remarkably similar to the first. As they passed by a doorway marked ¡°Captain¡¯s Quarters¡± Kaori noticed the door was ajar. Inside was a large and immaculately clean room that was nevertheless full to the top with children''s toys and rocketship posters. Sitting on an armchair, reading a newspaper in a fuzzy blue housecoat and slippers, was yet another droid, also glowing with lime green light. It looked up, a little surprised to see Kaori through a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. He stepped up to the doorway and looked around the corner to ensure that Annie wasn¡¯t looking his way. Kaori said nothing but blinked in confusion. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later, you need to go!¡± He whispered back in a folksy-sounding American accent. ¡°Miss Amaris?¡± Called Annie from the end of the hallway. Her scowl could be seen from here. ¡°Like I said, sport,¡± Nav said, covering for them both, ¡°First Mate Nav¡¯s a different guy. I¡¯m Pappa Nav.¡± He closed the door, leaving Kaori with her confusion. Her first work shift on the Nightingale wasn¡¯t overly difficult, but Kaori was reasonably certain that it was going to be back-breaking over the next few days. She¡¯d never worked with a starship before, but years of tinkering with unfamiliar machines meant that she was a quick study. To the outside observer, Kaori appeared to be darting about the engineering deck, staring at things for up to an hour, then rushing off to stare blankly at the next thing. Her mind was whirring about though. Her official orders were to familiarize herself with the engine system and to run her first daily check on the mechanics. The first part took most of her day, while the second took no time at all. It was running completely fine. No problems. Still, Kaori didn¡¯t like how a great deal of the ship was designed. It looked very pretty and had a lot of fancy parts, but most of them were far less reliable than they could be. Maintenance of her arm taught her that it was better to have a basic and easily replaceable part than a complex and high-functioning piece of technology that would leave you high and dry when they eventually broke. And they would break. Everything breaks eventually. There were a few places where any potential breakage would be a disaster, so she planned to implement redundant backup parts into the massive engine core in the name of better reliability. She began taking notes on a filthy pad she had in her coat. Elsewhere, the small, iron-blooded Captain had a horrible feeling that the tidiness of her ship was in jeopardy. Kaori found a distraught looking Nav in the common room when she returned. He was wearing his ordinary uniform, so Kaori was relatively certain that she was seeing First Mate Nav, and not one of the strange offshoots she had seen earlier. He sat at a small plastic dining table that had been placed on the floor. A pot of tea with a number of porcelain teacups were placed in a circle around the table. A stuffed gopher and a plush cat sat on chairs, wearing ill-fitting flowered dresses. In the corner was a scowling Captain Annabelle. ¡°Sit.¡± Kaori did so without hesitation, she was starving, and tea with biscuits sounded amazing. Though she did wonder why the stuffed animals were there. ¡°Why are we doing this?¡± She asked, shoving a piece of shortbread that tasted like heaven into her mouth. ¡°Because tea-time with your animals is important.¡± Remarked Annie, clearly appalled at Kaori¡¯s table manners. ¡°Yeah, but why?¡± Kaori was still chewing as she spoke. ¡°It¡¯s important because Miss Becca says it¡¯s important.¡± The captain shook her head and left the room. ¡°I expect you to make sure that Void-Cat and Star-Mole have finished their tea by the time I get back.¡± Kaori remembered tea from when she was little. She always had to wear an uncomfortable dress and sit up straight when her mother had important ladies over for tea. She always felt it was worth it for the sweets. She poured herself a cup of tea and shoved another cookie into her mouth while stirring a cube of sugar into the cup. She looked up at Nav, who seemed to be in a state of unrelenting despair. ¡°Who¡¯s Becca?¡± Nav did his best to compose himself. He daintily picked up a small teacup in his large metal hand. ¡°Miss Becca is Captain Constantine¡¯s best friend. They are the same age. We¡¯ll be seeing her when we dock next week, actually.¡± Kaori nodded. ¡°So is Becca a normal child then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand the question.¡± Nav tilted the cup up to his visor where a mouth should have been. The tea trickled down the glass and onto his uniform. ¡°Tea. Awful invention.¡± Kaori downed hers quickly. It was as good as she remembered! ¡°I can have yours.¡± She offered, already leaning across the table to snatch up his cup. The First Mate perked up. ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough Miss Amaris.¡± He said, already beginning to pour cups of tea for the stuffed animals. ¡°Enjoy your tea Mister Void-Cat. And you, Miss Star-Mole¡± He muttered sadly. ¡°Why were you wearing disguises earlier?¡± ¡°Ah. That.¡± He messily shoved a cookie into his face and looked with regret at the shower of crumbs it left on his uniform. ¡°In her early years, I had a difficult time teaching young Miss Annie how to be Captain. I tried everything.¡± He wiped at the crumbs on his face with a handkerchief. ¡°And for some reason, it helped her for me to act like I was not simply one computerized navigation program, and was instead a number of different crew members and personalities.¡± ¡°Why does she still have you do it?¡± Kaori asked after giving it some thought. ¡°To be honest, Miss Amaris, I¡¯m not actually certain she¡¯s figured out it¡¯s not real yet.¡± Kaori couldn¡¯t wrap her head around that. It was obvious! How was it that the stern little girl who seemed so sharp and disciplined, still couldn¡¯t figure out that Nav was playing the roles of all her imaginary friends? ¡°Why not?¡± Nav placed a pair of cookies down in front of each stuffed animal. ¡°Because she¡¯s nine, Miss Amaris. You mustn¡¯t forget that.¡± 1.08 Nate placed one foot out of the Void Knave and onto the surface of the planet. He, Milah, and the Knave travelled across the stars; they had been to nearly every human planet but somehow it always led them back here, Terra Secundus. Where he was born. The first human star colony, and now the beating heart of human culture. Here, humanity lived in great floating metropolises, safe from the toxic gasses spat out by the flora living on the surface. And, as everyone man, woman and alien in the Orion Spur knew, there was no metropolis greater than the Eight Spires. eight great towers of glittering glass and flashing lights that housed nearly three hundred million souls when they were built. Of course, the number wasn¡¯t quite true anymore. Everyone wanted to live in the Spires these days, and so more had to be built. There were eleven currently, with six more under construction. The name stuck though. From the docks of Chrysanthemum spire, Nate could see the megastructures being built off in the distance. They were taller than mountains and were massive beyond what most could comprehend. The surface of each half-built spire seemed to be moving, as though they were covered with ants. In truth, tens of thousands of builder bots were scrambling atop each other as they constructed the great complexes. ¡°At least looking is free, darling.¡± Milah commented as she floated down from the landing platform. Nate frowned. According to Milah, the docking fees had cost them the absolute last of their cash, give or take a few measly Republican units. To make matters worse, the fuel tank was bone dry. ¡°The other captains probably won¡¯t give us a loan, will they?¡± ¡°Doubtful.¡± She intoned. Well then, it sounded to Nate like finding his way to cash and supplies was going to be a priority while they were here. As if it was just that easy. Money takes time, and they just didn¡¯t have any. Milah had been warning him all week that they couldn¡¯t trust the other captains. He was beginning to suspect that the other crews would happily leave him and Milah behind if they knew they were having money trouble. It was, after all, better to split the profit two ways instead of three. So that meant getting money, getting it quickly, and getting it quietly. Milah whirred off towards the docking master to negotiate, while Nate did his best to brainstorm. The landing ramp of the Unfamiliar Guest lowered down nearby and out came Ashur, stretching like he just woke up from a nap. Little scrap bots crawled across him, several of them mirroring the tall alien¡¯s stretch. He smiled slightly at Nate, though not in the untrustworthy way he normally did. He trudged over to Nate and clapped a hand on his shoulder a little too hard for Nate¡¯s taste. ¡°First to the ground, are you? Like the fresh air?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. I guess.¡± Ashur looked out at the planet and whistled. He seemed like he was in an uncharacteristically good mood. ¡°Nice to be on a real planet again. Haven¡¯t been off Scrappis IV for years.¡± Nate couldn¡¯t quite tell if the alien was being genuine. He doubted it. Nate smiled back, non-committedly. ¡°Yep.¡± Nate wasn¡¯t terribly interested in talking to an alien that seemed like he¡¯d be more than happy to crush Nate like a bug if it seemed convenient. Fortunately, he was saved from an unwanted conversation as the Crew of the Nightingale finally left their craft. ¡°Why would I let you downgrade our sub-light thrust computer? We¡¯d be slower.¡± Captain Annabelle asked, reading from a soot-stained list. ¡°Not much slower.¡± Insisted Kaori, ¡°Much simpler. And we won¡¯t get stranded in spa-¡± The girl¡¯s eyes went wide as she saw the Spires for the first time. Annie sighed. ¡°Go take a look. You¡¯re on shore leave after all. Stay in the area for now though.¡± Nate was surprised to see Kaori perform a grateful military salute before scrambling to the ledge with Nate and Ashur. She was different from the last time he had seen her. For one thing, she was certainly cleaner. Her complexion somehow still seemed pale and ashy, but she was no longer grey and black with grease and dirt. Her clothes were different too, not looking quite like a scavenger anymore, but an actual uniformed crew member. It was a spiffy outfit too. Nate hated the idea of uniforms since he¡¯d never willingly force himself to wear only one outfit all the time, but he had to admit, the blue clothes that his fellow expeditionaries were wearing had a certain appeal. But perhaps the biggest difference in Kaori was in her eyes. Or were they always that bright? No, Nate was sure he would have remembered those sparkling brown eyes if she had them before. Gone was the gloomy scavenger girl, a wide-eyed explorer in her place. Though she was still certainly no less odd of a person. Her eyes were wide while she stared at the spires, yet her jaw hadn¡¯t dropped. She stood perfectly still as she stared. Nate wasn¡¯t sure he was even capable of standing that still. It was bizarre. ¡°Better than our home, isn¡¯t it girl?¡± Ashur stated, leaning over the railing. It didn¡¯t seem like she had actually heard the alien until eventually, she nodded a long moment later. Perhaps Nate had lost some of the wonder from being here so frequently since his companions were spellbound by the horizon. Nate felt an unexpected pang of jealousy that he couldn¡¯t take in the sights in the same way as the garbage girl. Still, knowing the place already did give him some advantages. ¡°See those strange things blowing through the air?¡± Nate casually leaned up against the railing. Both Ashur and Kaori looked beyond the structures and saw what looked like pieces of tan coloured cloth riding the breeze. Most of them appeared to have frayed, as though their edges were messily torn from another piece of cloth. There were thousands of them in the sky, tens of thousands. ¡°The sheets.¡± Stated Ashur appreciatively. ¡°That¡¯s right. The sheets. They¡¯re not paper though. They¡¯re alive. You¡¯ll see a few of them caught on buildings in the Spires. Up close you can even see the veins.¡± He directed his comment mostly to Kaori since Ashur already seemed to already know a thing or two about the topic. ¡°Birds?¡± Kaori asked. ¡°Uh. N-no.¡± Nate blinked a few times at the odd question ¡°They¡¯re more like fleshy plants. They float around convert all the poisoned air into oxygen we can breathe.¡± She scrunched her brow and looked to Nate. ¡°Did we make them?¡± Nate honestly didn¡¯t know. The sheets were the only reason that humans could survive on the toxic world of Terra Secundus so it would make sense if humans made them. His gut told him otherwise though. ¡°I think they were already here when we found it.¡± ¡°But I think we all know who put them here.¡± Ashur said calmly out into the open air. ¡°Who?¡± Kaori asked naively. ¡°The Elders.¡± He spoke reverently, and Nate felt for the first time like Ashur wasn¡¯t trying to con anyone with his words. Still, that only meant Ashur believed them. Nathan did not. He didn¡¯t believe in the creepy aliens from the distant past. ¡°Who were they?¡± She asked, perking up, ¡°There were stories from when I was young. I don¡¯t remember them.¡± ¡°They¡¯re just a myth. There are plenty of extinct aliens, not one all-knowing dead elder race like people say.¡± Nate said. ¡°Of course there were others.¡± Dismissed Ashur, ¡°But only two that mattered. Only two that spanned the galaxy.¡± ¡°Who was the other?¡± Kaori asked, her interest peaked. ¡°Just that.¡± said Ashur, ¡°The Other.¡± Nate saw Kaori shiver. She was clearly formulating a question in her head to learn more about Ashur¡¯s ridiculous fairy tales. Nate was relieved to hear Nav approach and call out to them. ¡°Docking¡¯s complete. We¡¯ll need to leave immediately if we want to make our meeting with the engineer.¡± And so they went. Walking through humanities most bustling metropolis. All around them were grand structures, built on the inside of the spires. They passed agricultural blocks, with rolling fields of golden grains that rivaled the great fields of Wheatstone. They passed the impossibly majestic corporate buildings of dozens of alien megacorps. They passed through markets filled with skilled traders and mechanists, capable of trading, building or fixing anything imaginable. As far as Nate could see, Kaori took each slice of spires life with the same wide-eyed silence. She never asked questions though, so Nate stuck close and explained what he could. He pointed to an odd looking reddish-brown alien with leathery and hairless skin. The creature stood like a human on two legs, though it was a little hunched. It was short and seemed to have a small frame when compared to the almost unnatural amount of muscle it was boasting. It wore a simple human t-shirt and a pair of jeans that were likely custom made for his odd alien proportions. It had a relatively flat and featureless head, which it corrected with extremely well-applied makeup that gave the illusion of an angular face with a healthy amount of bone structure. ¡°See over there, that guy is an Ontillian, one of the four citizen species in the Coreward Republic.¡± Kaori made no move to acknowledge him. She rarely did. Nate supposed that years of talking to no one must have left her with that particular quirk. ¡°They uh¡­ they come here a lot. Ontillians like to travel. Only the young ones though, they get pretty boring as they get older.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Is he selling hats?¡± she asked, cocking her head slightly. It was always hard to know what she would be interested in. Here he was showing her an alien from twelve-thousand light-years away - and she was just interested in the hats. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, he is.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Cause people like hats I guess.¡± This time she seemed to be the confused one, scrunching her brow as she talked. ¡°But hats aren''t useful, why would anyone buy them?¡± Nate felt butterflies from the excitement. He was being asked to teach fashion to the garbage girl! Now he was in his element. He wasn¡¯t a makeover kind of guy, but he was still thrilled to be consulted. The others weren¡¯t far ahead, and he felt confident that he could catch them after a quick two-minute lesson on looking sharp. ¡°Because, my fine scrapworlder, they look sweet. If you wear them right at least. For example-¡± He scanned the racks until he found a fancy looking old fedora, ¡°-that hat there would make me look like a try-hard. Unless-¡± He wheeled about, looking at a rack full of coats they had passed earlier. He found a camel coloured overcoat and put it on, tossing the last of his units to the shopkeeper. Nate returned to the Ontillians shop-stall and flipped the hat on his head. ¡°-Unless I had the right accessory for the job.¡± He shot a finger gun at Kaori, ¡°Here¡¯s looking at you kid.¡± She looked at him, completely deadpan. He couldn¡¯t see what was wrong. Nate liked the detective look. ¡°Come on, who doesn¡¯t like Humphrey Bogart?¡± Kaori¡¯s next question nearly caused him to faint. ¡°Who?¡± He was incredulous. ¡°You know, Humphrey Bogart? One of the all-time greats?! Detective Philip Marlowe?¡± Kaori shook her head. ¡°How do you not know Humphrey Bogart?! Have you been living in a-¡± Nate stopped himself. ¡°Oh. Yeah.¡± Kaori didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. She stared carefully at the hat racks before making a choice. She picked up an old-fashioned motorcycle helmet, with goggles of course. She stuck it onto her head and looked to Nate with a big toothy smile. ¡°Do I have the right accessories?¡± It was a bit of a dumpy looking helmet, but it actually did match her worn out charcoal-coloured coat. Plus, it was hard to argue with the enthusiasm behind that smile. He found himself smiling too. ¡°Looking sweet.¡± He had to borrow a few of Kaori¡¯s units that she had been paid on her first week on the Nightingale, but Nate chose to buy the hat. Bogart was a good look. They caught up with the other expeditionaries a minute later. Only Ashur seemed to have noticed their absence. He grinned evilly at Nate, before making a mock kissy face at him. Nate gave him a mean look. He was just being polite to the poor garbage girl. Why on earth would clean and glamorous Nate want to make a move on a girl who was roughly two-thirds dirt? Although, she was cleaner now. He shook his head to dismiss the thought. Before he knew it, they had arrived at an old manor house. It was old and everything seemed outdated. It was still well maintained though. Most significantly, it was huge. Nate knew that this engineer would have to be absurdly wealthy to afford a place like this. Out front was a spectacled and intellectual sort of man, likely in his fifties. His eyes were perpetually squinted, and at times it was difficult to tell if they were even open. He wore an old tweed vest with brown trousers, but more significantly, he wore a long threadbare Terran Star Armada officer¡¯s coat that any reasonable man would have thrown out long ago. In one hand he held a cane, in the other he held the hand of his young daughter. She was a freckle-faced little girl with frizzy red hair. The girl seemed to be roughly Annie¡¯s age, but unlike Annie, she actually looked the part. She was clothed in a crumpled pink dress and was crowned with a plastic tiara on her brow. In her other hand was a teddy bear that seemed like it had been through a sticky warzone. She grinned with the force of a raging star, despite numerous missing teeth. She looked excitedly up at the older man, who nodded his approval. Immediately the little girl surged forward, seemingly without any control of her limbs which seemed to be flying out of control as she ran. ¡°Annie!¡± She cried out, colliding into a hug with the little captain. The normally stiff girl loosened up. She didn¡¯t return the hug but seemed comfortable in it. She patted the other girls back affectionately. ¡°We meet again, Miss Becca.¡± ¡°What did you see in space?!¡± Miss Becca seemed to have no volume control, but Annie didn¡¯t seem bothered in the slightest. ¡°A great deal, shall we have tea with your bear? I can catch you up.¡± The two little girls went their own way, oblivious to the other expeditionaries who were standing aimlessly at the gate. The older man gave them an amused smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go after them. Those two don¡¯t seem to be able to notice anyone else is in the room until they¡¯ve had a few hours to play.¡± He bowed to them curtly, ¡°I¡¯m Mark Whitley, an engineer, and likely the closest thing little Annie has to a father.¡± He looked deliberately to Nav. ¡°Well, I suppose I¡¯m the second closest.¡± The Navigator saluted. ¡°Artificial Intelligences are not designed to have a family, Major Whitley.¡± Mark saluted back with humour in his eyes. ¡°Stubborn as always. And it¡¯s just Mark, the war¡¯s over Nav; we lost.¡± ¡°As you say, Major.¡± Mark shook his head good-naturedly before looking to the others. ¡°And you all must be the other expeditionaries.¡± He adjusted his glasses and looked at each of them before stopping at the scavenger among them. ¡°You must be Kaori, I¡¯m told you¡¯re quite a talented mechanic.¡± She considered his words. He smiled and sarcastically checked his pocket watch. ¡°Not a mechanic, just a scavenger.¡± ¡°Ah, but one quickly becomes the other with practice. I think you and I will have a lot to discuss.¡± He switched his gaze to Milah. ¡°And is this a Skykea Air Swarm twenty-eight-hundred? Very good model!¡± Milah¡¯s main drone tilted slightly. ¡°Oh you dear man, it just won¡¯t do to comment on a ladies chassis like that!¡± She purred. A metal flap opened and she extended a frail metal utility arm. ¡°Milah.¡± Mark took the hand and kissed the top. Nate seemed to be next. ¡°And you¡¯re a handsome young lad, Annie called you Nate in her message, is that correct?¡± Nate nodded appreciatively. Mark winked at him. ¡°I have a daughter your age. Stay away from her please.¡± Nate felt a chuckle build inside himself. He took off his hat and held it to his chest, he bowed slightly. ¡°I¡¯m a perfect gentleman, Mister Whitley.¡± The engineer shook his head sadly. ¡°I believe you, but I¡¯m afraid my daughter won''t be a perfect gentlewoman in return.¡± Nate couldn¡¯t bring himself to say he would stay away, she sounded interesting already. He put his hat back on and broke eye contact. Lastly, Mark cast his eyes on Ashur. ¡°An Akkadar.¡± There was clearly bitterness in his voice. Ashur bared his teeth. ¡°The Akkadar weren¡¯t involved in your war, human.¡± Mark sighed. ¡°Of course not. You¡¯ll just have to forgive an old veteran¡¯s prejudice.¡± He forced a smile back on his face. ¡°Now, let¡¯s have a cup of coffee and some lunch, shall we? We¡¯ll hold off on discussing your device until Annie and Rebecca are done catching up, yes?¡± The food was delicious, though it was hardly a meal. More like an array of refreshments. Tiny sandwiches, fine cheeses, and mini pastries littered the table. Nate savoured each bite but minded his table manners. Milah had taught him civility after all. Milah had not, however, taught the same to Kaori, whose single hand seemed to be retrieving more food than Nate had thought possible for the wirey scavenger to be able to eat. It was hard to watch, so Nate looked at anything else. Ashur and Nav had no use for the food, the first being incapable of digesting it, and the second being a robot. They were deep into a conversation about supplies that would be needed for the expedition. Nate had nothing to contribute and found it to be the dullest exchange he had heard all day. Meanwhile, Milah was shamelessly flirting with Mark. She swirled a glass of wine that she had no ability to drink in her extendable arm and laughed enthusiastically at nearly everything Mark said. Apparently, Nate would have to start his own conversation. ¡°So, uh, Mister Whitley, how did a star armada engineer manage to afford a place like this in the Spires?¡± Milah shot him what he supposed was a mean look. It was difficult to tell since she didn¡¯t have a face. ¡°Nathan, that¡¯s a terribly rude thing to-¡± Mark raised a hand to halt the controversy. ¡°No no, it¡¯s quite alright.¡± He smiled. ¡°I built it.¡± ¡°You built the manor? The land still must have cost a fortune though!¡± ¡°No no, I didn¡¯t build the manor.¡± He smiled as he paused for dramatic effect. ¡°I built the Spire. Or at least, I designed it.¡± Nate¡¯s jaw dropped. This guy was way more important than he expected. If he designed the Chrysanthemum Spire, he must be one of the richest men in the Spur. He couldn¡¯t imagine the incredible intelligence he must have to have built one of the Orion Spurs few mega-structures. ¡°This was thirty years ago of course. That¡¯s how Arthur found me. Ah, the funding I had back in those days with the Star Armada. We were doing great things.¡± He smiled dreamily. ¡°All good things come to an end.¡± Ashur interjected. Mark¡¯s face turned sad. ¡°I suppose they do.¡± He slowly rose to his feet. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, I do need to check on a project I¡¯ve been tinkering with. I¡¯ll be back in just a moment.¡± Nate stood up too, he had drunk far more coffee than he had intended to. ¡°Before you go, the bathroom?¡± ¡°Left of the entrance where you came in.¡± He nodded his thanks and exited. Already he could hear Milah attempting to scold Ashur for his behaviour and Kaori for her dining habits. He reached the grand entrance hall. It was classy and old in a way that Nathan loved. He had seen old movies with similar buildings. Victorian, he thought it was called, though he didn¡¯t know who Victoria was. Something about the old-fashioned building made him feel the urge to be old-fashioned too. He took his coat and hat from their hook beside the double doorway and put them on. He knew it wasn¡¯t exactly the same era, but he didn¡¯t mind; Bogart was a good look. He didn¡¯t need the bathroom quite as urgently as he thought and he found himself staring at an old portrait on the wall. It was Mark, when he was younger of course. He had the same uniform that he still did now, only it was new and fresh. With him, was a young and beautiful red-haired woman. She wore a lab coat with a cream coloured cable-knit sweater underneath. The two clutched at each other in a way that could only be love. Mark¡¯s smile was so big and vibrant that Nate understood that Mark¡¯s current smiles were just a pale imitation of a happier time. ¡°Friend of my father, are you?¡± said a sultry voice from behind him. Nate turned to see a woman whose appearance enthralled him, even as his instincts screamed ¡®danger.¡¯ A teenager who could only be the daughter of the woman in the portrait stood by the doorway, watching him. At first, he restrained himself from looking her up and down, but she was clearly doing it to him, so he let himself look. She had the same red hair that all the Whitley women seemed to have had in common. This one, however, kept hers in a cascade of curls that tumbled dangerously down her shoulders. Her families freckles were there too, but Nate hardly noticed them, his gaze being drawn to her smokey blue eyes and her dark red lipstick. She wore a short red dress that could only be described as slinky. Her polished black heels lent to the effect, giving her legs that seemed to stretch on forever. A voice in the back of his mind yelled that he needed to run, he needed to get away while he still could, that he needed to escape before she had him hooked. But then she spoke again, and it was too late. ¡°Jenna Whitley. My father doesn¡¯t usually have such young friends.¡± Nate was a charming guy, but what can you say to a girl like that? He fell back on what he knew. He was wearing the hat and the jacket. And it didn¡¯t matter what a detective said, as long as he said it mysteriously. ¡°More of a colleague, actually. Nathan Regal.¡± He took off his hat, politely. ¡°Are you a detective, Mister Regal?¡± She smirked and the butterflies in his stomach twisted with her every word. ¡°I¡¯m known to be. When the need arises.¡± She walked towards him. He couldn¡¯t bare how close she was getting with every click of those heels against the stone floor. She stopped right in front of him, too close to deny the terrible attraction that flowed between them. ¡°You know who you look like?¡± She smelled nice. Like cinnamon. He swallowed. ¡°I was going for Humphrey Bogart.¡± She leaned in close and whispered with hot breath right in his ear. ¡°You look a little more like Glenn Ford to me.¡± He did his most charming shrug as she pulled away. ¡°Know any good Rita Hayworths?¡± ¡°I have one in mind, but I¡¯ll keep an eye out.¡± Either the spell only went one way, or she had far more willpower than he did. She walked away. She made it to the double doors without looking at him. Jenna took her first step outside. ¡°Tell my father I¡¯m going out.¡± The door shut conclusively behind her and left Nate alone in a room still filled with whatever tainted electricity had just been generated. Whatever that was he didn¡¯t like it. But he needed more of it. Nate found himself wondering what one is supposed to do after such an encounter. He decided to pee. It was why he came here after all. Nate did not pee in peace, however. A ferocious roar of pain rang out through the old halls, followed by the footsteps of every last individual in the house to investigate. Except for Nate, who was fumbling with his zipper. He would get there eventually, but no matter the emergency, it was worth washing his hands first. He did finally arrive in Mark¡¯s workshop several minutes later to the sight of a smashed window and countless broken pieces of a technology. There had been a struggle here. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He asked cooly, trying not to be inappropriately excited. ¡°I¡¯m afraid Major Mark has gone missing.¡± Nav said in a quiet voice, hoping not to upset Becca, who already seemed to be on the verge of tears. It was perfect. ¡°No one touch anything!¡± Nate ordered the room. Everyone froze, even Annie and Ashur. It sounded like they needed a detective. And Bogart was a good look. Or Glenn Ford. Or whoever. 1.09 The room was frozen. Nate may not have been the most assertive guy in the world, but he absolutely could be when he was in character. Right now, he wasn¡¯t Nathan Regal the distinguished actor. Right now he was Detective Regal, a man straight out of the silver screen. Detective Regal was a man who felt most at home prowling through smoky alleys. Detective Regal was a man who didn¡¯t drink cucumber water, he drank barrel-aged whiskey. At least in theory. Milah said it was bad publicity to drink booze while underaged, so he hadn¡¯t tried it. But whiskey sure sounded like something Detective Regal would like. ¡°Stand back and let me work.¡± He murmured, his voice gravelly and tough. ¡°You don¡¯t seem terribly qualified.¡± Ashur grinned, toying with him. ¡°Let him try.¡± ordered Annie. The detective tilted his hat to the little girl. Nate pointed to Becca before she could leave. ¡°I need you to stay here for a minute, okay girly?¡± She nodded, though still crying. He felt for her. The kid had it rough, but he needed to keep her focused. He looked to Kaori. ¡°You have tape in those pockets miss?¡± Kaori nodded and searched her coat. It was like a dance as her hands darted in and out of a dozen pockets. Eventually, she found a roll of yellow electrical tape and tossed it to him. Nate caught it and then knelt down to look Becca in the eyes. ¡°Now listen. Every detective needs an assistant, are you interested in helping out?¡± Becca¡¯s eyes lit up, though her tears didn¡¯t stop immediately. ¡°Can¡¯t someone else do it?¡± He shook his head. ¡°No can do, doll. You¡¯re the only one here I know for sure didn¡¯t take your father.¡± She nodded and put on a determined face. She almost looked like Annie when she did that. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Then here¡¯s what I need. This whole room is a crime scene now. I need you to make a line across each doorway with tape, just like the police do.¡± Nate offered the tape to the little girl, whose little fingers snatched it up immediately. ¡°Once you''re done, I¡¯ll need you to take statements from all the servants. Ask them what they were doing, if they knew of your dad having any enemies or any other questions you can think of to help the investigation. Miss Annabelle can help you with that. Okay?¡± She nodded and wasted no time getting started. Kids are like that, he thought, give them a task and they forget they ever had a problem to begin with. If only it was as simple for the rest of us. It was his turn now, he turned to examine the scene. Nate didn¡¯t know the first thing about crime scenes, but he hoped Detective Regal did. The workshop was a mess, probably was long before the Major went missing. Everywhere were bits of half-assembled or broken machinery; scattered like the thoughts of an ill-disciplined mind. Some might have been broken in a struggle, others were likely just projects that were half done. Still, a few tools were scattered across the cold stone floor. He thought it unlikely that they found their way there just from a messy lifestyle. But then there was the window. Glass was strewn about inside the room, jagged like harsh words. He slid his hands into the pocket of the old jacket as he investigated further. There was something in there that he hadn¡¯t noticed before. He pulled it out. A small leather notebook that had likely belonged to the previous owner of the jacket. He tore out the first few pages, which were mostly shopping lists, and began to write his observations with a pen he had to borrow from Kaori. Signs of struggle, likely quick and decisive. No more than a punch or two. Window was broken from the outside, likely how the suspect entered the building. Suspect would have needed a blunt object to break through. If the window shattered with the Major in the room, why didn¡¯t he run? Theory: he knew the attacker. He found his final clue quite accidentally. He stepped on it as he paced back and forth. Amongst the broken glass was a small torn piece of silky blue cloth. He bent down and retrieved it. It had a tasteful paisley pattern etched in gold stitch. The cloth was thicker than he expected it would be. Not thin like a shirt, but thick like a formal jacket, or maybe a tie. He nodded to himself and decided to call it quits. He didn¡¯t have the training or the toolkit to find anything more. He¡¯d leave dusting for prints to the actual police. Regal stashed the little fabric swatch into his pocket and went in search of his assistant. How long had he been investigating? It must have been longer than he thought because the hallway had cleared, save for Milah and the two little girls. Annie was very much her normal self, save that she had actually taken her hair out of a bun and had curled it in a classical femme-fatale style. Judging by her glare, she wasn¡¯t a fan. Becca had completely transformed, however. Gone was the crinkly pink dress and replaced by a small and professional looking tweed suit and skirt. She wore the same hair as Annie, but with significantly more enthusiasm. Already red strands were frizzing up and breaking away from her new hairstyle. Milah¡¯s drones were buzzing around with a comb, a curler, and hairspray, fighting a losing battle against the girl''s natural hair shape. ¡°Don¡¯t these dear girls look marvelous, Detective?¡± Milah asked proudly. He hadn¡¯t expected Milah to take the initiative of dressing up his co-star, but he was grateful. ¡°I look pretty!¡± Shouted Becca excitedly. ¡°Like a golden age actress in the flesh!¡± Nate answered back. Though one thing did surprise him. He turned to Annie. ¡°You let Milah do your hair?¡± She really didn¡¯t seem like the type to put up with, well, with any part of this whole thing. She sighed. ¡°Miss Becca said it¡¯s important.¡± ¡°It is important!¡± Becca exclaimed. ¡°Finishing touch, hold still.¡± Milah applied dark red lipstick to the little girl who was barely holding herself in place with how much fun she was having. Milah turned to apply the lipstick to Annie but was greeted by a look so cold that Nate made a mental note to try to master that facial expression for various roles later on. ¡°The hair is as far as this goes.¡± She gritted her teeth. ¡°Captain Regal, I aided Miss Becca in taking statements from the house staff. No one seemed suspicious.¡± She handed a few papers back to Nate. Annie¡¯s handwriting was odd. Nine-year-olds couldn¡¯t help but have clumsy fingers, and so Annie¡¯s letters were certainly messier than an adult. Even so, her printing was easy to read. Every single letter was shaped completely uniform to its fellows. There were no loops or swirls or anything fancy. It was like a computer font if a little messy. Nate was chiefly interested in the penmanship since he¡¯d already decided where he was taking the investigation. After pretending to read, he made his suspicions known. Someone who was outside the house, and was known to Mark, had kidnapped him. Obviously, Nate didn¡¯t know everyone, but he certainly knew one person already who fit that description. ¡°Miss Becca, your sister said she was going out, do you know where she might have gone to?¡± ¡°Dancing!¡± Becca offered. ¡°Anywhere specific?¡± ¡°Club Horizon.¡± Annie answered. The hottest new club in the spires. Nate had been hoping for an excuse to check it out. Pity it wasn¡¯t an occasion to celebrate. Small droplets of rain started pattering on the windows as Regal was preparing to leave. By the time he stopped arguing and agreed to let Becca and Annie come along, the drops had become a downpour. Nate liked the idea of popping his collar and walking through the streets like a brooding detective, but Milah made it very clear that he would be thrown out into open space if he put Becca¡¯s painstakingly done hair-style at risk. So they took a cab. Nate still did his best to brood, staring out the window at the rain. ¡°Do you think You¡¯re gonna find him?¡± Becca asked. He turned his attention to the little girl. Tears were forming in her eyes, and Nathan was pretty sure Milah would be equally as furious as the whole hair thing if Nate allowed the child¡¯s eyeliner to smudge. It had taken Milah ages to apply it since the little ball of energy wouldn¡¯t quit squirming. It was her fault for putting makeup on a child. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll find him.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°People like your dad don¡¯t just go missing for no reason. Someone wants something. My gut tells me they don¡¯t have it yet. We have time.¡± That seemed to satisfy her, so Nate looked back through the glass. Water streamed down the window, making the bright lights inside the spire look like a painting. The spires looked nice from outside, but indoors they had all the grime and dirt as everywhere else. The spires were like that. They had a mean heart, and if you weren¡¯t smart, they¡¯d break you without a thought. Nate hoped he was smart, but as his excitement grew at the thought of seeing Jenna again, he doubted it. ¡°Give the man a dollar.¡± Nate said to Annie as he stepped from the cab and walked towards the big neon club. It wasn¡¯t just to look cool. He spent the last unit he had on the jacket. As his shoes sloshed through the rapidly growing puddles, he heard Becca speak behind him. ¡°What¡¯s a dollar?¡± ¡°Old money.¡± Annie answered back, paying the driver. Old money. Wasn¡¯t much of that these days. In Nathan¡¯s early years you couldn¡¯t go two feet in the Spires without tripping over a corporation run by a guy whose family had been rich for a hundred years. Now it was all new alien trade syndicates from the republic, squashing the old movers and shakers like ants. Sure, there were a few old folks with decaying treasuries, but they had lost the only thing that mattered. Control. The Spires were full of teeming masses of men and women who spend their whole lives without control.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. But places like this were where they went to forget. Club Horizon. It didn¡¯t look like much. The walls were a white plastic, the kind that everyone thought looked futuristic thirty years ago when the space age had first started. Well, it seemed the future that they wanted back then had long since sailed. Now, the old buildings were choking on dust and were largely a filthy grey or brown. Here and there were bits of graffiti, sprayed on in daring colors of glow-paint. Throw out the alien! The Armada Still Flies! As if. The aliens were here to stay, and they weren¡¯t so bad thus far. The club itself had a glowing blue sign that declared its name in neon. Club Horizon. Nate had heard it was a palace of lights and song on the inside. He must not have been the only one who heard that rumour, as a line of thousands stretched down the road, most were turned away at the doorway by a pair of gigantic men with genetically enhanced muscles. Even if he wanted to wait in the line that long, Nate was underaged, so the front door was a bust. ¡°I¡¯ll be out soon. Wait here.¡± Annie and Becca agreed and huddled together under an umbrella. Spire management should really cool it on the rain, Nate thought that the thick drops that were drenching the street were a bit much. ¡°I suppose you have to simulate bad weather too, not just the good stuff.¡± He muttered, secretly liking the mood it set. He made his way down a side alley, soon spotting a half dozen workers unloading boxes from a truck and into the club. It wasn¡¯t hard to slip inside. He waited at the base of the truck and a worker passed him a big aluminum box. It was big enough that he didn¡¯t raise suspicion when he used it to conceal his face on his way inside. Passing through the door was like entering another world. The club must have been equipped with alien grade soundproofing because the incredible pulsing sound of music shook his entire body the moment he entered. He stacked the box in a large pile with the others and investigated his surroundings. It was a remarkably small backroom compared to the gigantic club, being largely a single dirty hallway with just enough room to stack boxes. A few doorways led to a kitchen, a staff room, the electrical room and whatever else. Nate was mostly interested in the door at the end of the hall, marked ¡°Dance Floor.¡± That door opened, and a young woman walked through, carrying a stack of dirty glasses. But what Nate found interesting wasn¡¯t what she was carrying, but what she was wearing. She wore black dress pants, a white collared shirt and a blue paisley vest with a gold stitch. Nate didn¡¯t need to pull out the scrap of fabric he had taken to know that it was a match. Still, he restrained himself from grabbing the poor girl, it was clearly a uniform. Which meant there were likely dozens of people here who could be his suspect. He¡¯d need to keep an eye out for a staff member with a torn vest. One thing at a time though. He stepped out into the dance floor. He¡¯d heard it was like a palace in here, but it wasn¡¯t. It was a jungle. Gigantic multi-colored spotlights rotated across the room, flashing a hundred colours, even some that only alien eyes could pick up. The music was louder here, and Nate couldn¡¯t hear his own thoughts. The air was hot, the byproduct of ten thousand bodies moving and rubbing up against each other; it was nearly unbreathable with the stench of sweat and perfume. He no longer knew why he had thought this was a place he wanted to visit. This was hell. But he dove in; Jenna Whitley wasn¡¯t going to find herself. He squeezed through the mass of wriggling limbs. He didn¡¯t know where he was going, so he moved anywhere he could. He tried not to think about the various sticky drinks that were spilled on him as he pressed through. Milah would get it all out eventually. He wandered through the forest of limbs for what seemed like an hour. He was losing hope. He couldn¡¯t even see the people he was pushing through, so how on lost-earth was he going to find her? But then he caught a glimpse of smokey blue eyes. Eyes that said ¡®I know something you don¡¯t.¡¯ Eyes that threatened to sear Regal¡¯s common sense right out of his body. She saw him too, across the crowd, and she smiled. It was only a smile, but the meaning was unmistakable. Come and get me. He pressed through the crowd, twisting his way through narrow spaces between bodies, all while refusing to take his eyes off of her. She was walking away from him, making it look easy as she pushed through. Now and then she turned to flash him a glamourous grin, just to show how much fun she was having. A dozen times he thought he lost her, but a malignant magnetism always dragged him back onto her trail. She reached the end of the crowd long before he did. She whispered into the ear of a bouncer as she entered a VIP room. She turned and blew him a kiss, before disappearing around the corner. Nate knew he had been licked. There was no way he was getting past that bouncer. He didn¡¯t know how to fight, and embracing his detective fantasies wasn¡¯t going to correct that. Still, Nate pushed on through the last part of the crowd, glaring at the door to a room that might as well have been a fortress. The bouncer nodded to him. ¡°Miss Whitley said to let the detective through.¡± Well, that was easier than expected. He entered into a far less crowded room with a floor made of flashing blue and purple lights. Jenna¡¯s blue eyes cut through him from across the room. She sat at a table full of rich looking youth, clearly all other teenagers who snuck in with the aid of money and connections. Nate cut a brisk pace through the room and was at last standing before her. He was sure he looked ridiculous next to the glamorous rich kids; his coat was covered in more types of booze than he could name. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what to say now that he was here. What could he say with words that their eyes hadn¡¯t already communicated? She winked playfully at him and turned to a darkly handsome boy beside her. ¡°Johnny, I¡¯d like to dance.¡± She and Johnny got to their feet, ignoring the detective entirely. ¡°Jenna-¡± Nate started, grabbing her arm. Johnny¡¯s fist collided with Nate¡¯s mouth, and he fell backward. Nate hadn¡¯t been punched before but found it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as expected. He had split his lip a little, and it sure stung, but it didn¡¯t hurt any more than tripping, or any other accidental injury he had taken over the years. Plus, it turned out that anger made it very easy to overlook the pain. Jenna slapped Johnny¡¯s shoulder playfully. ¡°Harsh.¡± she said, before smiling at the battered detective. Johnny took her onto the floor and the two danced. Jenna pressed herself up against Johnny, holding him tight in her arms. She paid Johnny very little attention, however, staring at Nate over her partner''s shoulder with mischief in her eyes. It was Detective Regal, not Nate, who got to his feet a moment later, and stumbled over to Johnny. He didn¡¯t surprise him, however, and Johnny was quickly wheeling around for a second punch. ¡°Can¡¯t you see the lady doesn¡¯t want to talk to you?¡± Nate wouldn¡¯t have had the nerve to let himself get punched a second time, but Regal did. Johnny¡¯s knuckles cracked across his cheek. It hurt like mad, but it was just pain. He didn¡¯t raise his fists in retaliation. He just stood there, standing tall after the hit, just glaring at Johnny, daring him to do it again. So he did. The next punch was to his ear, but Nate was finding himself oddly empowered by the experience of getting beaten to a pulp. He stayed on his feet. He didn¡¯t intend to fight, he was a talker, a performer. Fighting wasn¡¯t who he was. He could probably break Johnny¡¯s nose, but if he did that it would mean he lost. Not the fist fight, but he would have lost as a person. So he took the fourth hit, and the fifth. By the time he finally went to the ground, he was fairly certain he¡¯d won. Jenna was pulling the angry boy back, shouting at him with equal anger. Eventually, the boy ran off in a huff. Jenna looked at him. There was a flash of concern in her eyes, but she concealed it quickly. She knelt down and looked Regal in the eyes. ¡°For a detective, you sure aren¡¯t that smart.¡± Nate grinned with bloody teeth. ¡°Yeah, but I got other qualities.¡± ¡°What do you want anyway?¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t have just asked that to start with?¡± He sat up, still a little dizzy. ¡°Geeze, Jenna, your father¡¯s gone missing. Only an hour or so ago.¡± This time she failed to conceal the concern. Jenna dragged his from the floor and pulled him out the nearest exit. Nate stumbled out into an alley. It was mostly empty, they shared it only with a stray cat and the dumpsters. Nate felt like he could breathe again out here, free from the oppressive booming of the music. Out here they could hear the empty streets, though it sounded like a manager was reaming out one of his employees nearby. ¡°What happened?!¡± She asked, clearly distraught. Nate found it to be a very good performance. ¡°As if you don¡¯t know.¡± He pulled a small tissue from his pocket and began wiping away the blood from his mouth. She didn¡¯t like that one bit. Nate didn¡¯t mind, it felt good to finally be one step ahead of her. ¡°What do you mean? You think I had something to do with it?¡± ¡°I have my suspicions.¡± Nate said. His gut told him it couldn¡¯t be anyone else, but somehow he hated that. More than anything, he didn¡¯t want it to be her. He pulled the fabric sample from his pocket. ¡°Look, Jenna, it doesn¡¯t look good. I found this at the crime scene. Convenient that you happen to be at the exact club where they wear uniforms that match our perps outfit, isn¡¯t it?¡± She went pale. ¡°Plus,¡± Nate continued, ¡°It¡¯s more than a little suspicious that you ran from me, then sicced your boyfriend on me.¡± She took a step back, not bothering to play it cool anymore. ¡°Boyfriend? He¡¯s not my- I was a jerk and I¡¯m sorry, okay? You just seemed to be really into that whole noir detective thing, so I just thought if I played hard to get like in those old movies then you¡¯d-¡± She stopped mid-sentence. ¡°I¡¯d what?!¡± ¡°Listen!¡± She hissed. What was there to hear? Just the sounds of the cold night. That and- And the manager yelling at a worker. ¡°-come to work with a torn up uniform? I hired you because I thought you¡¯d clean up your act you stupid-¡± Torn up uniform. Sounded like Regal had his man. He sprinted down the alley, Jenna tried to follow, but there was little she could do to keep up in heels. He rounded the corner and saw his perp. Time froze while he memorized his appearance. Male, early twenties, wavy blonde hair, tall. They made eye contact, and without wasting a moment to think, he raced away from Nate at full speed down the road. Nate pursued immediately, hearing Jenna¡¯s clicking heels behind him as well. He felt bad about it, but he shoved the manager out of the way as he ran; there wasn¡¯t time to go around. There were only two ways to go on a road in the Spire, up the spiral ramp, or down. The guy in the vest ran down, beelining to a parked motorbike across the road. Nate picked up his pace. He wasn¡¯t quite fast enough and the guy was on his bike and revving the engine before Nate could get his hands on him. The speedy bike roared away. But that wasn¡¯t the only engine Nate heard. A shiny blue Neo-Lynx Convertible pulled up next to Nathan and Jenna, who wasn¡¯t far behind. Annie shouted from the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Get in the back!¡± Nate hesitated. ¡°Sh-should I drive?¡± ¡°Now!¡± the little girl commanded, making no move to leave the driver''s seat. Nate didn¡¯t have quite the backbone to argue, so he jumped into the backseat, Jenna joining him. ¡°We stole a car!¡± shouted Becca, slamming down on the gas. The convertible growled angrily as it ripped down the ramp after the bike. ¡°You brought my sister?! Shouted Jenna. ¡°More like I failed to leave her behind!¡± Annie swerved through what traffic there was until they were in sight of the bike, it¡¯s driver still unaware that he hadn¡¯t made a clean escape. That didn¡¯t last long. The roar of the Neo-Lynx was impossible to miss and the bike was soon accelerating away. ¡°Becca?¡± Annie began. ¡°Ya?¡± ¡°Floor it.¡± Whiplash knocked Nate¡¯s head back as wind battered his face. He slid around the backseat, failing to find a seatbelt. They weren¡¯t quite keeping pace, but also they weren¡¯t far off. Annie frowned. ¡°Nathan, take the wheel.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for Nathan to acknowledge before she had climbed over to the passenger seat and began firing blue bolts of electricity at their suspect with her sidearm. Regal dove through the gaps between the seats, grabbing the wheel. He needed both hands to steer, so he had to leave his legs sticking out into the backseat. ¡°Not a scratch Nathan! We¡¯re returning this car in perfect condition!¡± Annie ordered. The Lynx swerved in Nate¡¯s less skillful hands, narrowly avoiding the cars around them. ¡°Becca! Slow down!¡± He shouted! ¡°Disregard that.¡± Annie countered. ¡°Drive better!¡± So he took a deep breath and did it. The bike was weaving across the road to avoid the gunshots, which meant they were finally able to get beside him. ¡°Hey, Annie? I¡¯m going to do something really stupid. Take the wheel and get us close.¡± One little hand grasped the wheel while the other continued shooting. Nate crawled into the backseat. He climbed across Jenna¡¯s lap to get to the closest side to the biker. He looked to the flustered teenager beside him. ¡°You like old movies?¡± He asked. She nodded. ¡°Yeah, Dad has a collection.¡± ¡°You think any of those stunts they do would work in real life?¡± ¡°Not a chance!¡± ¡°Hold my hat.¡± He pressed it into her chest before he leaped out of the convertible and pounced on the biker. They swerved hard to the right. Too hard. They ran out of road, plummeting off the ledge. It was a long drop down to the next sub-level of the spire from there, a very long drop. ¡°Regal!¡± Jenna shrieked after him. Nate was glad that the spire authorities weren¡¯t reckless with their infrastructure. Two humans and a roaring motorbike ceased their freefall, caught by a thick nylon net. They bounced high into the air. The blondie grabbed Nathan¡¯s jacket collar as they fell, delivering a punch that only hit open air. Nate grappled with him, trying to pin him down, but the man was far stronger and squirmed free. They both stumbled to their feet as the bouncing ceased. They waddled across the net towards the nearby safety ladder. The guy slid down first, with Nate in hot pursuit. Regal turned to pursue the boy, but it was the end of the line. They were back on the road. He could run all he wanted, but actually losing Nate wasn¡¯t possible anymore outside of a battle of endurance running, and they both knew it. The guy was holding a revolver trained right on Nate¡¯s chest. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you have just left me alone?¡± He was shaking. They both knew what had to happen next. Nate¡¯s blood filled with frost. He shouldn¡¯t have gotten so caught up in the performance. This was real life, and he certainly wasn¡¯t an unstoppable movie detective. That bullet was going to kill him. He looked into the guy''s eyes. It was oddly intimate. There was a closeness. Neither of them wanted that gun to fire. Even though both understood it needed to. ¡°Becca! Brake!¡± Shouted Annie. The Lynx slammed into the side of the blonde guy, sending him flying. He fell into an unconscious heap on the floor. Nate took it all back. He was an action hero! He could do anything! He was the greatest! The adrenaline and joy that he was still alive kept him unable to sit still while Annie tied up the unconscious kidnapper. Jenna made eye contact and seemed similarly antsy. Somehow the two of them dropped the act. For a few short moments, they stopped pretending there was nothing between them. They laughed. A little at first, and then hysterically. Somehow she ended up in his arms. Nate liked this girl. He liked her a lot. A part of him still told him to run, told him that this girl was a python in human skin. But when she kissed him, he stopped listening. 1.10 The first thing Sam Lincoln noticed as he journeyed along the shadowy road to consciousness, was the pain. It was dull at first, like a headache that seemed a few hours off. It didn¡¯t take long before the subtle ache became intolerable agony. It was like being struck with hammers, all over his body. Sam screamed into the blackness, shouting his torment into the void. But then there was a cold feeling through his veins and his body went numb; he slept. His eyes fluttered open after a blessed eternity of silence and stillness. He was lying down in a bed, a hospital bed. But this was no hospital. The room was dark, almost unnaturally so. A set of window blinds were barely open, sending small slashes of light across his bed. He saw his body, covered in bandages and casts. His limbs felt numb all over. He hoped against all odds that he wasn¡¯t paralyzed. ¡°Thanks for joining us, Blondie, we love having you here.¡± There, looking like a nightmare from a long-gone era, was the detective. That reckless madman who tackled him off the ramp. Sam groaned. How did everything go so wrong so fast? The plan looked so straightforward this morning. Or had a day already passed? Sam had no clue how long he had been asleep. But he had to stay strong. This was bigger than Sam, and he knew it. Besides, this whole setup seemed cheesy to him. Like it was set up by someone who had only ever seen this sort of thing on TV. Of course, Sam also had only seen this sort of thing on TV. ¡°Nice room you set up here, detective. You see this in a movie or something?¡± ¡°Nope. I saw it in a lot of movies.¡± He leaned back in his chair, seeming to bask in the harsh shadows in the room. He was flipping through Sam¡¯s wallet. ¡°Samuel Lincoln. Good name. You go by Sam?¡± ¡°Can I ask for a lawyer?¡± ¡°Sorry blondie. I¡¯m afraid the real cops are out on this one. Did a sweep, found nothing. They gave up pretty quick though, you know how the Republican police are. Humans go missing every day.¡± Well, wasn¡¯t that ignorant. It seemed to Sam that this detective was yet another bitter bastard who was lashing out at the republic. ¡°They¡¯re trying their best detective. You have a problem with aliens?¡± The detective smirked. ¡°Nope. I like em just fine. You know what¡¯s odd though? You seem to be fairly fond of the law, for a criminal.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a-¡± He stopped himself. He supposed he was now, wasn¡¯t he. But the detective was getting the better of him already. Best to stay quiet. ¡°So,¡± said the detective after noticing Sam¡¯s silence. ¡°We¡¯ve got a detective, a criminal, and a nice shady room. What¡¯s missing from our little Noir flick?¡± Sam sighed. The detective clearly wasn¡¯t taking this seriously. ¡°Beats me.¡± ¡°Normally our lawman is smoking. Adds a nice effect. Textured lighting and all that.¡± He pulled an old matchbook from his coat pocket. Who in their right mind had matches anymore? He struck a little sulfur stick against the book, causing a miniature flame to hiss into existence. ¡°Of course, those things''ll kill ya.¡± He lowered the match down towards Sam¡¯s body. Was this crazy cinephile planning to light him on fire? He wriggled desperately but found himself unable to move in his bandages. The detective laughed huskily. ¡°Let¡¯s not get the wrong idea blondie, I ain''t lighting you up.¡± The match connected with a small candle beside the bed, causing a lazy string of smoke to waft through the room. The detective smiled cheerfully. ¡°Isn¡¯t that better? Hard to beat classic cinematography.¡± Sam clenched up. He was being toyed with and hated it. The anticipation was worse than anything this fedora-wearing psycho could do to him. ¡°Just ask me where the damned Major is.¡± ¡°Nah. You won¡¯t tell me unless I hurt you, and that¡¯s not my style.¡± Sam¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Then what are you going to do to me?¡± ¡°Nothing at all actually. I¡¯m not going to do anything to you.¡± The detective stood up off his chair and opened the door, causing light to pour in. ¡°Of course, that means I won¡¯t be giving you another dose of painkillers either. Far as I know, you¡¯ve got a half hour before the current ones wear off. Just shout when you¡¯ve decided you want more!¡± He shut the door behind him. Sam felt a cold splash of fear hit him. If the agony was anything like what he suffered in his dreams, it was only a matter of time before he talked. Annie, Becca, Jenna, and Nav were waiting for Nate in the study. It was a big room, full of well-stocked bookcases and comfortable looking armchairs. Annie and Becca were chatting away about their new hairstyles - Becca was for it, while Annie was strongly against. Nav crouched beside the fireplace, staring deeply into it as he contemplated stocking another log. Jenna sat in a leather loveseat, trying to focus herself on a book. The nervous tap of her foot signaled to Nate that it wasn¡¯t working. The book practically fell out of her hands as Nate entered the room. Her big eyes pleaded with him for answers. ¡°The poor lads screaming seems to have stopped,¡± Nav said, still staring at the fire. ¡°Yeah well, it worked. He gave me an address, so I gave him something for the pain.¡± Nate said. ¡°Did he¡­ did he say anything else?¡± Asked Jenna. Nate shook his head. ¡°Blondie was delirious by the time he was ready to sing. I only got the address.¡± Jenna was already walking to the door, failing to suppress her nerves. ¡°Well, what are we waiting for?¡± She asked. ¡°We can¡¯t all go,¡± Nate said. ¡°My gut still tells me there¡¯s more to this.¡± Annie nodded at that. ¡°Mister Navigator, find where Kaori went and guard the mansion until we return. If Ashur will cooperate, have him help.¡± Nav looked reluctantly at the fire. He tossed the log he was holding into the flames with far less artistry than he clearly wanted, and got to his feet. ¡°Aye, ma¡¯am.¡± He saluted. ¡°You¡¯re coming with me?¡± Nate asked, a little surprised. ¡°Captain Regal, I doubt you could win a fight against Becca, let alone what is no doubt a team of kidnappers.¡± Annie unholstered her stun-pistol and joined Jenna and Nate at the door. ¡°Annie, I know you¡¯re tough, but I really think we should bring Nav as well. We can¡¯t know how many there are.¡± Jenna said, putting on a thick fur coat. ¡°Let¡¯s bring uncle Nav!¡± Shouted Becca, only really understanding that it meant more time with her favourite robotic plaything. Annie¡¯s eyebrows scrunched together as she thought. ¡°Fine, Navigator, tell Kaori she¡¯s on guard duty instead, then meet us out front.¡± Nav saluted, and jogged out to complete his orders. ¡°Miss Becca, you¡¯ll be staying here.¡± ¡°No! I wanna come fight bad guys!¡± She was already turning red with fury. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you to shoot when you¡¯re older. Now isn¡¯t the time and you¡¯ll be safe here.¡± ¡°But you already said I could beat up Regal! Why can¡¯t I go?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s important that you stay alive.¡± Becca¡¯s protest ceased as suddenly as it started, but she still seemed flustered. She sat there, thinking as the others made their final plans. As the rescuers filed out of the room, Becca called after them. ¡°Annie, come back safe! That¡¯s important too.¡± Annie¡¯s face hardened, and she nodded resolutely to her friend. On one hand, Nate was happy to see that it was Nav who was driving, rather than Annie. On the other, it seemed anti-climactic for the detective to be in the back seat. At least Jenna was there with him. They were exchanging furtive glances. They hadn¡¯t really spoken much since they kissed. Nate wanted to get close, but still somehow felt frightened by the girl. Something seemed to be holding her back too. She seemed to be actively restraining herself from touching him. Outside, the rain continued to flow across the artificial streets. ¡°The two of us seem to go together like bad luck and gamblers, don¡¯t we?¡± Nate said. ¡°You¡¯re still doing the detective thing?¡± ¡°Have to, at least till the case is done.¡± He looked into her smoky gaze. ¡°You still playing it mysterious and sultry?¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. She crossed her legs and straightened out her posture. Her lips twisted into a smirk. ¡°I think I can keep it up another hour or two.¡± Nate loved it, the whole persona, but he was far more excited at the idea of learning who she really was. Old movie tropes were just characters, after all, he wondered who she was underneath. But what if he didn¡¯t like what he saw? ¡°So who are you when you aren¡¯t Detective Regal.¡± She beat him to the punch. ¡°I¡¯m an actor.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of you.¡± It wasn¡¯t dismissive, it was an invitation to brag. Nate didn¡¯t bite. ¡°I don¡¯t take many roles anymore. I¡¯ve been traveling.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a pirate, Jenna,¡± Annie warned. Jenna¡¯s gaze focused far more intently on Nathan. Nate shrunk into his seat. ¡°Kind of. Not really,¡± he said. Jenna revealed her teeth in a friendly grin. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Annie likes to treat me like she¡¯s my big sister, but-¡± She stuck a tongue out playfully at the little girl in the front seat, ¡°-she¡¯s neither of those things. So, why is an actor playing the part of a pirate instead of taking real roles? I¡¯m sure you could do great things in the Gold Spire.¡± ¡°Yeah. Maybe.¡± Jenna wouldn¡¯t let him just back out that easily. ¡°So? What¡¯s stopping you.¡± ¡°The Gold Spire is amazing and all¡­ but,¡± he swallowed, ¡°It¡¯s not Hollywood.¡± She softened. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re looking for lost-earth?¡± ¡°I guess it does.¡± The words were true, but the severity was a lie. He wasn¡¯t looking for earth ¡®I guess.¡¯ He wanted to find it more than he had wanted anything. It was all-consuming. But he couldn¡¯t say it out loud. Somehow it always felt stupid. Jenna leaned her head against his shoulder. Apparently, Jenna didn¡¯t think it was so stupid. The warehouse was full of boxes and shelves, but the absence of people made Nate uneasy. He had expected guards, but they went unopposed. Corner after corner they rounded, Annie and Nav aiming their pistols warily, yet they found no one. It took ages for them to pick up on a loud mumbling noise, which was nearly drowned out by the aggressive hum of the industrial lights. They followed their ears and soon found Mark, gagged and tied to a chair. ¡°Dad!¡± shouted Jenna, running forwards. Nate felt his stomach drop to the floor. His instincts told him something was very, very wrong. Jenna pulled the gag from Mark¡¯s mouth. ¡°They weren¡¯t after me!¡± He shouted in a panic, the moment he could speak. ¡°Mister Whitley?¡± Annie asked cautiously. ¡°They only grabbed me because they couldn¡¯t find it! They¡¯re after your father¡¯s logs!¡± Nate felt sweat beginning to bead on his skin. ¡°Annie, who has the logs right now?¡± ¡°I left them with Miss Becca.¡± Kaori wasn¡¯t entirely sure what guard duty entailed, so she just wandered the manor and tried to pay attention. Which was a losing battle against her thoughts. What was the best hair colour? There had to be an objective best. Nate had black hair, and she liked Nate¡¯s hair a lot. It looked good to her in a way she couldn¡¯t quite describe. Still, she was bored of her own black hair, so that wouldn¡¯t work. Nate certainly seemed to like the hair of that girl in the dress, he kept looking at it. Does that mean that red is the best hair colour? Somehow Kaori couldn¡¯t stomach the thought of dying her hair to look more like Jenna¡¯s, so red was out. Nearby, Milah drifted down the hallway, humming quietly to herself. ¡°Milah!¡± Kaori called after her. The drones spun around lazily. ¡°What do you need dear girl?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the best hair colour?¡± Milah thought about it for a moment. ¡°A nice rich brown tone.¡± That seemed boring. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°A blonde woman must be glamorous, a woman with black hair must be exotic. A brown haired-woman however, may be anyone they want.¡± That didn¡¯t seem particularly helpful. Kaori supposed that a drone who seemed to be a rip-off of three hundred-year-old movies might not be offering the most modern advice. Still, she didn¡¯t have anyone else she could ask. ¡°What about blue?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious, blue isn¡¯t even a natural tone. It¡¯s wretchedly-¡± A brutal blast rocked the building, causing Kaori¡¯s feet to fall out from under her and her ears to ring violently. Debris and dust were everywhere, the manor had turned into a war zone in a single instant. She took a moment to finish her thought before reacting. She was definitely going to dye her hair blue. Now that it was settled, she needed to decide what to do about the task at hand. Nav said to stop any intruders and to protect Becca. Whoever had just bombed the manor had likely not gotten far inside. If she found them and subdued them quickly then that would mean Becca was protected. Sounded simple enough. She left the shrieking drone swarm behind and charged down the stairs towards the lobby. Five men with big rifles that had flashlights on them were spreading out. Flashlights on rifles? That sounded like the kind of dual-purpose invention she liked, although the flashlight certainly sounded more useful than the gun. The men were mostly wearing street clothes, with bandanas and sunglasses to hide their identity. Each bandana was a different colour, and Kaori found it to be an easy way to identify them. Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, and White. She could see them reasonably well, but the invaders'' flashlights turned the dusty air in front of them opaque. They would soon realise that it was better to turn them off, but until then, Kaori would be functionally invisible to them. A smart scavenger never rushed in when she had the choice, so Kaori planned her attack as best she could. If she had her bionic arm then this would be easy, but as a one-armed flesh-only girl, she had to limit her expectations. She reckoned she could break and steal three of those rifles before getting overwhelmed. That simply meant that she¡¯d settle for two rifles then retreat as quickly as possible. She leaped from the banister on top of the stairs she was on, tackling Yellow, who was the closest of the invaders to her. They collapsed to the floor, a struggling mass of aggressive punches and kicks. She aimed a purposeful punch on his sunglasses, feeling them crunch under her knuckles. It hurt her hand, but with any luck, it had hurt his eyes too, and that felt like a good trade. She rolled off of him and yanked the rifle from his hands, tossing it into a mass of exposed wiring that was sparking dangerously. She spied her next target, Red. He was isolated now, nearby a hallway and far away from the others. They were all shouting and waving their guns all over as they searched for their assailant. Kaori wasted no time and charged at the gunman. ¡°Over here!¡± Red fired a messy stream of rifle shots in Kaori¡¯s direction, but she was prepared, diving underneath and sweeping out Red¡¯s legs. His arms flailed as he fell, causing his gun to clatter to the floor. Kaori snatched it up and darted down the hallway, only narrowly getting around the corner before a hail of bullets thundered down after her. ¡°Ah! My friggin¡¯ arm!¡± Shouted Red. Kaori took an educated guess that a stray round must have hit Red. Probably in his friggin¡¯ arm. The plan was going well so far, but now it was time for a second plan. She looked at the rifle in her hands. Kaori felt it was quite a stupid weapon, likely to kill someone if the wielder wasn¡¯t careful. It wasn¡¯t much good to her anyways with only one arm. Still, a scavenger had to make use of any available supplies. She pulled out a few tools from her jacket and made some light-speed alterations. She left the gun on the floor in an obvious place before continuing down the hallway towards the kitchen. Kaori looked through the kitchen supplies and got to work on her next contraption. She was halfway through building her frying pan catapult when she heard the sabotaged gun go off in the other room. One man was screaming bloody murder, while another was content to just shout a few expletives of pain. Kaori was aware that the screaming guy probably lost a few fingers from the exploding gun, but it was hard to feel too bad for a guy who was trying to kill you. Besides, bionic fingers were pretty commonplace as far as she had seen. ¡°Forget her! Find the device! Find the little girl!¡± Well, that wasn¡¯t good. She was really quite excited to fling catapults at them. She saved the design in her mind for later, the pan flinger would just have to be built another time. Or perhaps she could make it portable? Ashur rushed out to the top of the lobby stairs in time to see Kaori¡¯s wild attack. The Akkadar felt proud of her. She was like him in a way, discarded, left behind, but of so much more value than anyone knew. He banished the thought from his mind. He had no use for it. He had no idea what they were here for, but as far as he cared they could have it. All save the only thing in this building he cared about, the log device. Becca had it. Ashur had sneered his disgust as a piece of technology that could lead to the uncovering of the Spur¡¯s holiest treasure was handed over to a disgusting humanling. And now he had to protect the drooling little creature. Perfect. He plucked his spider-bot and his squirrel-bot from off of him. ¡°Slow them down then come to Becca¡¯s room.¡± He went to find the child while his psychotic miniature robots activated their tiny buzzsaws and charged down the stairs. ¡°Girl thing?¡± He called as he opened the door. The room resembled many of the scrap heaps on Scrappis IV, though made almost entirely of toys and various pink items. Under the bed cover was a lump of scared human. ¡°Make them leave us alone!¡± Shouted the sobbing thing. He wouldn¡¯t get far trying to drag Becca to safety, it would be far more effective to get her on his side. Ashur didn¡¯t have a lot to work with, so he sat down on the bed next to her. He clutched at an odd yellow rubber toy. It had some form of beak and various feathers all over its body. He wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but he resolved to have a scrap-bot made of it first chance he got. Perhaps Kaori could build him one? ¡°Why are you scared?¡± He asked softly. ¡°Bad men are breaking my home.¡± she whimpered back. ¡°Do you think you deserve it?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Why not?¡± The little girl seemed to think about it. Ashur hoped she thought fast, he could already hear the shouting and gunshots mixed with whirring mechanical saws. ¡°Because my family has always been nice.¡± ¡°Is your friend Annie nice?¡± Becca peaked her head out of the covers. ¡°The nicest.¡± ¡°Things like this happen to her every day. Do you know what she does?¡± Ashur was talking up the infuriating little captain more than he¡¯d like, but he knew how to play to his audience. ¡°She shoots stuff?¡± ¡°She stays brave. Can you stay brave Becca?¡± She nodded slowly, wiping away her tears. ¡°We need to get somewhere safe. Can you tell me the safest place in the house?¡± She thought about it. ¡°Dad¡¯s armoury?¡± Ashur grinned with malevolence. Nav and Mark were the first to rush into the burning building, Jenna and Nate close behind, while Annie¡¯s young legs made her lag far behind the rest. Inside was chaos beyond what they had expected. Four men, one with a handgun, three with rifles, and two injured men were pressed up against a wall, including Blondie. It seemed like the attackers took the time to retrieve their lost companion. Ashur was struggling to figure out how to use a Storm-era infantry rifle, while Becca was laughing like a maniac firing countless bolts of inaccurate laser blasts all over the room with a crude crank gun. It was doubtful she had hit anything, but it was enough to keep the attacker''s heads down. One of the assailants felt brave enough to peak around the wall to take a few shots. The room rang out with a clang as a frying pan smashed into his face. Kaori was intent on loading another frying pan into a bizarre ramshackle catapult. It was an odd talent that scavenger had, but it was undeniable talent. By the time Nav and Annie opened fire, the attackers had already made their decision to flee, dragging their wounded with them. They poured out a gap in the wall, crying for mercy. ¡°You didn¡¯t need our help?¡± Nate asked. ¡°I did it!¡± Yelled Becca, still in hysterical laughter. ¡°By the Lost Earth, are you okay?¡± Mark rushed forwards, sweeping up his little girl. ¡°Did they get the device?¡± Asked Jenna. ¡°I protected it!¡± said Becca, tossing it to her sister. A mysterious dread poured through Nate as the device flew through the air. That same bad feeling that had been haunting him all day. He rushed ahead and caught it ahead of Jenna. Only then was he certain it was over. Whoever those men were, they had failed. They were safe. Then Nate felt a gun press against his back. It clicked as Jenna cocked the revolver. ¡°Give it to me.¡± Nate had never felt anything like it. No injury hurts quite like a betrayal. And he had no one to blame but himself. He saw the signs, but he ignored them all. Even now, with a gun aimed at him, he just wanted to forgive her, to tell her that it would all be okay if she just put down the gun. ¡°Isn¡¯t this how the movie always ends?¡± He asked instead. ¡°Regal, I¡¯m sorry. None of this was supposed to happen, but you need to give me the logs.¡± ¡°Jenna?!¡± asked Mark, disbelieving his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the movies, Jenna, you told me you did. You know this doesn¡¯t go your way.¡± Nav had a gun trained on them now. ¡°This isn¡¯t a movie Nate. You can¡¯t let them take the crown. You don¡¯t have a clue what you¡¯re getting yourself into.¡± ¡°I thought we had something, Jenna. I really did. What have those clowns been telling you that would turn you against your own family?¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± she sobbed. ¡°They were just supposed to destroy the device, not¡­ not any of this.¡± Nate shut his eyes. Thinking hard through the sorrow that weighed him down like a thick blanket. ¡°I-I would have liked to go to Hollywood with you.¡± She whispered into his ear. Nate felt tears fall from his eyes. That never happened in the movies. But like she said, this wasn¡¯t a movie. He tossed the device through the air to Annie. The gun exploded into his back, ripping through his chest. He rolled as he fell. Despite it all, he wanted to see her one last time. She was horrified, her eyeliner streaked with tears and her face contorted in shock and grief. The gun slipped from her fingers in slow motion and she cupped her hands over her mouth. They stared into each other''s eyes in a moment that felt to Nate like an eternity. There was betrayal in his eyes, but not hatred. He didn¡¯t think he could hate her, not even now. A blast of blue electricity from Nav¡¯s gun flew past Jenna¡¯s shoulder. She was forced to look away from Nate¡¯s fading eyes. She fled into the night. As his world turned black, Nate hoped no one chased her. It would have been nice to run away with her, instead of watching her from the cold stone floor. That would have been nice. 1.11 Nate wished he had died that night. At the very least, he hated the idea of waking up. For an eternity he thought nothing, content in the dreamless night of his mind. He was aware of nothing, which was better than the alternative. Several times he felt the pull of consciousness dragging him back into the world. His blurry eyes saw doctors rushing about, or his friends checking on him. Then the pain would return. Not physical pain, although there was plenty of that, but mental. He would remember sad blue eyes. He would remember a gun. His mind recoiled each time, and he returned to the safety of sleep. The darkness was nice. But as his eyes fluttered open again, he couldn¡¯t fight it. He tried, but the horrible grinding noise that filled the room was impossible to shut out. His chest was tight and his breath shallow, as though someone sat on him, causing a shock of pain to course through his body with each laboured breath. Worse, the bright hospital light blinded him. None of it hurt worse than the mechanical grinding noise, which seemed to burrow into his skull. He scanned the room, searching for the source of his torment. Aqua blue plaster walls, trimmed with a cheap looking pink flower wallpaper hosted his body. A few flowers and cards were beside his bed, signs that at least someone had cared. Someone had cared, but it was clearly not Kaori who was currently using his hospital bed as a workbench. She sat on a cheap plastic chair, leaning over the bed, using some form of miserably loud drill-like device to grind a small metal disc into shape. All around his body were fragments of tech and discarded tools which lay in every direction. ¡°Ung,¡± said Nate in annoyance. It wasn¡¯t what he meant to say, but it wasn¡¯t like his real words would have been intelligent anyway. Kaori glanced slightly his way, but chose to finish her task before acknowledging him. A few more moments of that horrible drilling sound passed before Kaori at last looked satisfied. She switched off the drill and tossed it haphazardly onto his foot. ¡°Hi,¡± she said. ¡°Hi?¡± he grumbled to himself. ¡°No ¡®thank goodness you¡¯re awake,¡¯ no ¡®we were so worried!¡¯¡± ¡°Hello,¡± she corrected. He had to hand it to her, he¡¯d never watched a hospital scene in a movie play out quite like this. Nate groaned. Speaking was hard with his chest being what it was. Five drones roared into the room in a panic. ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re awake darling, we were so worried about you!¡± said Milah, already fussing over Nate. Two drones buzzed around and hurriedly removed junk from the bed and shoved the pieces into the pockets of a protesting Kaori. The remaining drones were pouring cucumber water into a glass, combing his hair, and checking his temperature. ¡°Such a gruesome state to wake up to, I can¡¯t apologize enough dear!¡± ¡°Why is this all here?¡± ¡°She was half broken after the explosion,¡± Kaori said. ¡°An exaggeration of course. Merely a few loose bolts.¡± Nate shook his head, still not sure he could understand. ¡°So why did you fix her here?¡± Kaori tilted her head, as though confused at the question. ¡°Where else could I have fixed her? She wouldn¡¯t leave your room.¡± Nate looked to the drones which had gone still, waiting for judgement. ¡°How long was I gone?¡± ¡°Three very scary days, darling,¡± said Milah. Nate nodded. Milah was pushy, but he could always count on her. He was lucky to have her, and he knew it. He and his mother hadn¡¯t left on the best of terms and somehow Milah felt like a good stand in. There was a warmth in him as he thought of how well taken care of he was. But then a cold memory touched his mind like icy feet on warm skin. He cleared his throat. ¡°Did Jenna get away?¡± Milah seemed to stiffen at the question, which was an impressive feat considering she was already made of metal.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°We weren¡¯t able to find Ms. Whitley.¡± Nate was of two minds about the news. He wanted answers from her, he needed answers from her. She took a part of him with him, and he knew he wouldn¡¯t get it back until he could look into her eyes and ask why. But a part of him, a shamefully large part, was happy she escaped. Because that meant she was free. And that meant he might see her again. ¡°You¡¯re better off, dear,¡± Said Milah. When Nate said nothing, she continued. ¡°I know these things seem so big when you¡¯re young, but-¡± Nate closed his eyes, not ready or willing to hear it. ¡°I think I just need to rest, if that¡¯s okay.¡± Milah¡¯s prime drone stared at him. The lavender lights flickered weakly. ¡°Fine. I suppose I need to solve our money problems before we leave.¡± The drones buzzed out of the room. Nate looked to Kaori who was making no move to leave. Instead, she was fiddling with a wall mounted television. She shoved an old looking slot-drive into the front. ¡°Kaori, I really should rest.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± said Kaori, while making no move whatsoever to leave. ¡°That means you should go.¡± She seemed confused again. ¡°You don¡¯t want to watch a movie?¡± Nate sat in silent incredulity. Honestly he was just in the mood to sit and feel sorry for himself, but curiosity was getting the better of him. ¡°What movie?¡± ¡°It was that one you were talking about. Humphrey Bogart, Ashur helped me buy a copy.¡± If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that she thought there was an actual movie called Humphrey Bogart, he would have applauded her listening skills. ¡°Okay. Sure,¡± he sighed. Kaori plopped down beside him in bed and turned on the screen. She picked one of his worst movies of course; The Oklahoma Kid. It wasn¡¯t a noir either, it was a western, Bogart didn¡¯t even star in it. He did his best to educate her over the movies run time. He didn¡¯t think about Jenna even once while he scolded the garbage girl about the fine art of cinema. Annie tapped her fingers on the plump leather sofa she sat on next to Miss Becca. She had waited for far too long for this moment. Her whole life really, searching for a lead. The device sat in the center of the room, already decoded. Mark sat quietly across the room. The device had already been decoded, but they hadn¡¯t yet accessed the files. They would momentarily once everyone was assembled. Becca was the only one talking and was currently officiating a wedding between one of her dolls and Ashur¡¯s little monkey scrap bot. Ashur seemed amused at the whole affair, and was playing along as the monkey¡¯s best man. Annie kept a close eye on him. Becca didn¡¯t realize that he was a python, a weasel that could strike at any time. But Annie knew, and she would protect her friend at all costs. Still, play time was harmless. Mark on the other hand, had said very little for three days. Losing Jenna must have been hard on him; he had dark circles under his eyes and was far more disheveled than normal. Annie was having a hard time understanding what happened. Jenna was almost like family. The older girl had a passion for charities and humanitarian causes. Shooting a teenage boy was beyond out of character for her. But the crown was in reach, and Annie knew that things would only get worse the closer they got to their prize. The wooden doorway at the end of the old lounge opened up. Her Navigator pushed Nate on a wheelchair, while Milah followed along. ¡°But all he does is look serious,¡± said Kaori, walking beside him. ¡°How dare you! Humphrey Bogart had unprecedented on screen chemistry with every woman in the business! His co-star could be a literal octopus and it would still be silver-screen magic!¡± Annie stood up and saluted. ¡°Captain Regal. Happy to see you alive.¡± She was indeed happy at the news, but it was two days ago that they received the news he would live. She was happy then, now she was just impatient. ¡°Detective!¡± Shouted Becca. She rushed towards him, doll in hand and practically jumped into his lap. The little monkey bot stood there awkwardly in his tiny tie and coat, disappointed that he had just been left at the altar. Ashur patted the scrapbot sympathetically. Nate gave his charming grin to the room. ¡°No big deal guys, any detective who can¡¯t take a bullet isn¡¯t worth the title.¡± Mark¡¯s eyes turned slowly to Nate. ¡°I warned you to stay away from my daughter, Mister Regal.¡± The room was silent. Annie knew Nate would do well to choose his words carefully. Mark was a very powerful man, one who had just lost his daughter. For his part, Nate had gone still. His expression turned dead in a single moment. ¡°Mister Whitley, I wish I never met your daughter.¡± Mark shook his head. ¡°But you-¡± ¡°-I¡¯m not finished. I wish I never met her, but it¡¯s too late for that. I¡¯m going to find her Mister Whitley, I¡¯ll get our answers, and, if I can, I¡¯ll bring her back.¡± Mark was still for a long moment, pondering his words. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that, detective. And I hear you¡¯re to thank for rescuing me. I¡¯ll transfer you a five thousand unit reward. And, if you¡¯re serious about finding Jenna, I¡¯ll transfer another ten thousand to you to help you search. Nate shot Milah a knowing smile before turning back to Mark. ¡°I will find her. I promise.¡± Annie believed it. Nate wasn¡¯t her number one choice of travelling companion, but something about his words told her he would stop at nothing. She decided to help, if she could. But they had a far bigger item on their agenda. She cleared her throat. ¡°Gentlemen, may I return your attention to the device?¡± Annie¡¯s voice was commanding. Not a request, but an order. Ashur stood to his feet, keenly interested in what came next. Nav wheeled Nate to a spot by the fire with a good view before taking a seat beside Annie. Mark fiddled with the device. ¡°I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-C-E,¡± he spelled aloud as he tapped at the little keypad. He looked at the screen intently as a small confirmation beep filled the room. ¡°Two files. An audio file and a star chart.¡± This was it. After years of looking, years of not knowing if she was chasing a myth. ¡°The audio log first please,¡± she said quietly. Mark nodded and pushed a key. A clear and golden male voice filled the room. ¡°My name is Arthur Constantine, former captain of the Nightingale. This is to be my final log. I¡¯ll be erasing all previous entries after recording in case this device falls into the wrong hands.¡± Annie felt goosebumps raise up on her flesh. All this time she¡¯d been chasing her father¡¯s memories, but she¡¯d never heard his voice. ¡°I¡¯m being called away from my expedition by high command. It seems that they have lost faith in my plan. Little Annabelle, I hope this journal reaches you. It breaks my heart to know you¡¯ve been alone all these years, but your mother and I can¡¯t see you yet, not until phase two begins. Until then, I need you to finish what I started.¡± Annie hadn¡¯t expected sentiment. She was unmoved. ¡°There is a rogue planet that we¡¯ve begun to call ¡®relic¡¯ that is currently passing Barnard¡¯s Star. It orbits no sun, holds no life. You will find a vault within the planet. Go to it, but be careful. You have no idea what lurks between the stars. The coordinates are held within this device. Good luck daughter, I can¡¯t wait to meet you.¡± ¡°A rogue planet. How did he even detect it?¡± Nav shook his head in disbelief. ¡°The Elder¡¯s will it.¡± Ashur grinned. Somehow, Annie doubted that. 1.12 Nathan Regal was dead and Jenna couldn¡¯t make herself forget. All she could do was run. She stumbled down the dark alleys of Chrysanthemum, throwing away her high heels. Through the tears and the bitter shame, she couldn¡¯t know if anyone chased her. She was a mess when she reached the hideout. They told her to sit down, they told her they could hide her. She did as they asked, but the memories were always there, like a ringing bell in her ear. Why did that lame kid playing detective have to be with the expeditionaries? Why did he have to look at her like that? Why couldn¡¯t they have met differently? But Nathan Regal was dead, and she couldn¡¯t hide. So she ran instead. She threw herself into her work with the organization. She retrieved dead drops, planted listening devices, extracted operatives; nothing helped. But the espionage taught her things, made her strong and crafty. But Nathan Regal was dead. So she ran again, requesting a transfer far away. Jenna fled into the dark night sky hoping against all odds she could get away from an inescapable truth: Nathan Regal was dead. She fled to a city on a distant world and made her way to it¡¯s deepest depths. Then she went deeper, fleeing into the dark places far below. She found a great city there. An under city. She felt at home among the monsters and madmen. Nate bolted awake in a cold sweat. They were a week into their voyage to Relic and he had woken up the same each morning. He couldn¡¯t remember his dreams, but he remembered her eyes. Smokey eyes in the dark. Somehow he knew a terrifying reality. She was far out of his reach, in a place he couldn¡¯t follow. He knew he couldn¡¯t chase her like he wanted, and that left him empty. Milah entered his room to comfort him, to nurse his wound, and to tell him that everything would be okay. She said she would handle everything, so he let her. Annie was growing frustrated with her toys. They were stubbornly refusing to be like they used to. There was something missing, some spark of energy that they used to have. Miss Star Mole and Mister Void Cat were little more than pieces of fabric filled with clumps of Mars-fiber right now. She frowned, this had been happening more and more lately. When she was with Becca though, it was different; the stuffed animals came alive just like they did when she was younger. Now that she was alone, however, the magic wasn¡¯t there. She decided to try it again. Annie¡¯s hand guided the stuffed mole towards a plastic rocket ship. Her other hand forced Void Cat to follow. ¡°Don¡¯t leave,¡± she said in monotone, shaking void cat to indicate that he was speaking. ¡°I have to go. I¡¯m very busy.¡± Annie shook the little Mole. ¡°Why can¡¯t you stay?¡± The cat flopped back and forth. ¡°I¡¯ll come back when I¡¯m done.¡± She scrunched the two creatures together in a hug. She felt¡­ nothing. Annie scowled. She felt like throwing the childish things against a wall, but Becca had told her that your dolls and animals should be your friends, and you can¡¯t be mean to your friends. Annie liked talking to Becca. Some days she wanted to just stay in the spires forever, just so that she and Becca could have more time.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. But, though she loved Becca more than anyone else, Annie could never resist the pull of space. She was born for a life in the stars. Literally, as her first mate liked to tell her. But there was the matter too of her family. Something in her heart told her that she needed to find where they went and what they were doing. The ships records had all been destroyed nine years ago when the Nightingale was nearly destroyed. Nav seemed to know more, but he had behavioral locks on what he could say about previous captains and their missions. The Armada had been paranoid like that since earth went missing. Information was a dangerous thing. The Nightingale was an Armada ship, and Annie supposed that made her a member of the Terran Star Armada due to her role as captain. They had never contacted her, however, and she was unsure if she would obey if they ever did. Annie had suspected the Armada to be mere myth made up by desperate freedom fighters hoping that the earth fleet had survived the Contact-Blitz. The recording from her father had told her differently, however. That was why she needed to find him, and the crown. That was why she needed to leave Becca behind. But Becca was the only one who could ever pull Annie back from the stars, if only for a few short days. It hurt Annie to leave her behind each time she traveled out into the sky, but it hurt worse to stay. She decided it was worth a final try with the dolls. The little mole tread on heavy feet towards her spacecraft. Her little boots splashed in the puddles. ¡°I wish you didn¡¯t have to leave,¡± a voice called behind her. She turned, looking Void Cat straight in the eyes. The rain matted the cat¡¯s fur, but he stood firm. ¡°You know I can¡¯t stay,¡± said the mole. ¡°I have something to- there¡¯s something I need to do.¡± There was a silence. For a long moment, there was only the pitter-pattering of the rain against the concrete tarmac. Star Cat broke the gaze first. ¡°Why is this so important to you? Why can¡¯t you stay here with¡­ with...¡± his words trailed off. There was so much the mole wanted to say, but she couldn¡¯t do it. How could she possibly tell her friend how much they meant to her? How could she tell the cat that she needed to go in order to feel whole? She didn¡¯t have the words she needed. ¡°I¡¯ll always come back,¡± she said instead. And she meant it. She would always come back. The little Mole turned away reluctantly and boarded her ship, not daring to turn around, lest the Cat change her mind. That was more vivid than usual, but it didn¡¯t make Annie feel any better. The dolls weren¡¯t what she needed right now. There was a knock on her door. She wasn¡¯t terribly perturbed; it felt like playtime was over. She gently placed her dolls on a shelf and then answered the door. Her engineer stood there, looking nervous. The girl had convinced Nate¡¯s robotic manager to dye her hair a wild mess of blue, green, pink, orange and red. Annie didn¡¯t have a problem with it provided that it was properly tied back. It was not. ¡°Ponytail, bun, or chop it off.¡± She stated firmly to the scavenger. ¡°The ship is-¡± She started. ¡°Ponytail. Bun. Or cut it off.¡± Kaori took a moment to decide what to do before pulling a filthy looking elastic from a coat pocket and securing her tangled hair into a messy tail. She seemed to be bouncing like she had something important to say. ¡°Speak,¡± Annie ordered. ¡°The ship might have been sabotaged.¡± Annie¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°Sabotaged?! What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°Fuel¡¯s been emptying really fast. I checked the engines and someone set up a siphon on our fuel cells.¡± Annie scowled. ¡°Tell me you fixed it?¡± ¡°Yep, Captain.¡± ¡°Where were they siphoning the energy? Can we get it back?¡± Kaori seemed hesitant to answer. ¡°Out into space, it¡¯s all gone now.¡± Annie sighed. ¡°Well at least you caught it, we should still have enough spare cells to get us to Relic and-¡± Kaori shook her head vigorously. ¡°Gone.¡± ¡°What do you mean gone?¡± ¡°All stolen. Gone.¡± Annie kept herself calm as best she could as she arrived on the bridge. They had all paid extra to have their ships in a private dock. No one could have gotten inside except for the other expeditionaries. Annie had no doubt in her mind which expeditionary was crafty enough to sabotage her ship. ¡°Ashur, you bastard, get on the comms,¡± She said, speaking at the large communications screen she had in the bridge. It flickered to life and the jackal creature came into view, grinning terribly. ¡°Little humanling! To what do I owe the pleasure?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play coy Ashur. What did you do to my ship? Where did you take my fuel cells?¡± Ashur¡¯s eyes twinkled dangerously. ¡°Well isn¡¯t that unfortunate? Little girl can¡¯t keep track of her things.¡± His eyes were glowing with joy. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ll be calling the Spires for a rescue barge won''t you? You¡¯ll be rescued and on your way in, oh, maybe three weeks? We¡¯ll miss you on Relic!¡± Annie¡¯s fists clenched as she stared at the smug alien. She¡¯d kill him. ¡°You smug son of a-¡± Ashur¡¯s screen flickered as an explosion rocked his ship. The Akkadar stumbled until he caught a railing. Smoke filled the room. ¡°Put out the fires! Find the cause,¡± he shouted to his little robots. They scurried off his body and frantically raced across the bridge. ¡°You didn¡¯t sabotage the Nightingale, did you?¡± Annie said into the screen. Ashur stared daggers into the monitor. ¡°No, I did not. You didn¡¯t happen to plant a bomb on my ship, did you, girl-thing?¡± ¡°No, but it doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out who did.¡± 1.13 ¡°Now repeat it back to me, what is your mission?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ashur¡¯s mechanic now,¡± Kaori said. Annie tapped her foot, beginning to lose patience. ¡°No, you are my mechanic.¡± She took a deep breath. ¡°Now, what is your mission, as my mechanic?¡± The scavenger took a while to answer. Annie wasn¡¯t really sure why this was so hard. ¡°To get Ashur¡¯s spare energy cells for the Nightingale.¡± ¡°Good, and how are you going to get them?¡± ¡°By being Ashur¡¯s mechanic.¡± Annie couldn¡¯t understand how Kaori could be so thick when it came to anything non-mechanical in nature. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to be Ashur¡¯s engineer. You are my engineer, you¡¯re just going to fix Ashur¡¯s ship.¡± ¡°But how do I fix his ship without being his mechanic?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whose mechanic you are! Fix his ship and he¡¯ll give us the energy cells we need in exchange!¡± Kaori looked like she wanted to say something but simply nodded instead. It didn¡¯t inspire a lot of confidence. Annie turned to Nav. ¡°Are you ready?¡± The droid nodded. ¡°Aye captain.¡± He positioned himself into a small droid sized slot in the wall. ¡°You¡¯ll only be powered down for a few days, Kaori will be finished on the Unfamiliar Guest in three days time. We have about six days worth of energy for the life support with you active, eight with you and the crew powered down.¡± ¡°Aye Miss, better to be safe rather than sorry.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be back in no time. Sleep well Mister Navigator.¡± The droid¡¯s light began to fade, nearly powering down completely, before flickering to life again. ¡°Uh, Captain?¡± ¡°Navigator?¡± ¡°I had chef Nav prepare meals for you, they¡¯re all in the cryo-bin.¡± Annie nodded her thanks. ¡°You can cook them all in the micro-zapper, I, I mean, he left a note on each meal with how long to zap it.¡± Just when it seemed like he was finished, he spoke up again. ¡°And I had him make you cheesecake the way you like it, with the pistachios mixed right in. Make sure you have it after dinner, not before, or you¡¯ll-¡± This was growing excessive. She wasn¡¯t alone often, but she was the captain of a starship, and at nine years old, she was practically already an adult. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine mister Navigator, thank you for your concern.¡± He seemed tempted to keep speaking, but to Annie¡¯s relief, he seemed to think better of it. ¡°Yes, of course. Sorry, Captain. Goodnight Annie.¡± ¡°Good night Nav.¡± The lime green light in Nav¡¯s visor reluctantly faded away completely. ¡°You have a pretty good Dad,¡± Kaori said happily. Annie wasn¡¯t sure what she meant. ¡°Probably, but we¡¯ll have to find him first,¡± Annie said, gesturing for Kaori to follow her. Annie watched as Kaori finished putting on her pressure suit. She was glad that one of the suits form the old crew seemed to fit the stunted teenager reasonably well. It was an Armada issue suit, bearing the formal blue and gold colouring of the Nightingale uniform. Technically it was the Armada uniform, but with the Armada not being present, it always seemed pragmatic to simply reuse them. Though now that Annie knew they were still out there, perhaps it was a good idea to look for a replacement. She decided to put a pin in that for now. Most of the old pressure suits had been thrown away due to damage or sold off during particularly lean periods. The one Kaori wore, however, had been flawlessly maintained. The name tag was still attached. Penelope Constantine. Annie knew less about that name than she did about her father¡¯s. She¡¯d find the crown, and then she¡¯d have her answers. She was sure of it.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°But what happens if-¡± Kaori finished latching the glass helmet onto the suit. Her words were completely silent from within the small air pocket. Annie poked at a small communicator on her coat. ¡°You need to push the button on your collar if you want to speak. The left button is to talk on the Nightingale channel, the right broadcasts to everyone in the area.¡± Kaori seemed to memorize that information before pushing the left button. ¡°What happens if we can¡¯t trust Ashur?¡± ¡°Mis Amaris, we can¡¯t trust Ashur. As part of the deal, he¡¯ll be transferring half the power cells before you get aboard. It will be enough to get us to Relic, even if he double crosses us.¡± Kaori thought about it. ¡°But not back?¡± Annie looked her in the eyes. ¡°Be alert while you¡¯re there. We need the other half of the cells.¡± Kaori was perfectly still as she processed her orders. Eventually, she nodded her affirmation and picked up her toolbox with her only arm. Annie cocked her head slightly. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you reattached your other arm?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t, it¡¯s too broken.¡± Annie wished Kaori had spoken up about it back when they were in the Spires. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything earlier? We could have bought you a good prosthetic, or order you a vat-grown arm.¡± Kaori shook her head stubbornly. ¡°No, I have to build it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± She looked like she was having a hard time finding the words she was looking for. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be my arm if I didn¡¯t.¡± Annie didn¡¯t understand the sentiment, but she could at least respect it. Still, it wasn¡¯t optimal to have a crippled crew member. ¡°We could have at least got you something temporarily, you¡¯re far less useful like this.¡± A wave of anger entered Kaori¡¯s eyes that Annie had never seen before. ¡°Just as useful like this.¡± She knew not to push any farther. She sighed. ¡°We should have bought you the parts to start building.¡± Kaori¡¯s glare seemed to deepen. ¡°No more scrap. Am not a junk girl anymore.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have bought junk Miss Amaris. There were plenty of good pieces of machinery on Scrappis.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Good parts. Not good enough to be me.¡± Well, look at that. Her mechanic had developed a self-esteem. Despite what Kaori said, she knew that the scavenger would be far less useful in a fight until she had another arm full of gadgets. At least now Annie knew what to do about it. She would be on the lookout for exceptional parts. Ashur led the scavenger through his ship. He could see her looks of distaste, his ship was filthy with rubbish and technological scrap. From her facial expression, she was deeply uncomfortable to be aboard a piece of scrap-engineering. He suspected it reminded her of the trench. She said little, however, as that just wasn¡¯t her way. That made it hard for him. It was easy to twist a person¡¯s words to your advantage, but much harder when they kept their mouth shut. ¡°The hair looks good,¡± Ashur said as they approached the bridge. Kaori had clearly been zoned out. She shook the daydreams out of her head and looked to him. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The hair looks good.¡± Akkadar were colour blind, but she didn¡¯t need to know that. To him, it looked greyish instead of the black it used to be. ¡°Thanks for helping in the market!¡± He winked at her in a way he suspected was a roguish ¡®you¡¯re welcome.¡¯ He had seen Nate do it once, and Ashur was keeping a keen eye on the boy¡¯s mannerisms. He¡¯d be a master manipulator if he wasn¡¯t so naive. The doorway to the bridge clunked open, revealing the blast site. It was currently the cleanest room on the entire ship, if only because most of the clutter had exploded. The girl stared out at it for a long time. Ashur let the girl think, she would speak when she was ready. ¡°I need a lot of parts.¡± That wouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¡°I have enough scrap on my ship to build a second one.¡± He let the girl wander in, she seemed aimless, but he knew better. She stared calculatingly at various holes and damaged pieces of tech as though she was doing math. ¡°One more thing before you start.¡± She looked to him keenly. He reached around the corner and pulled out a large dirty burlap tarp. He tossed the oversized rag into the room with her. ¡°I don¡¯t have a spare bunk. Sleep where you work.¡± He shut the door with the push of a button. He wandered off, it was getting late after all, and he like any upstanding Akkadar, it was time for evening prayer. Kaori had found the little scrap bots to be poor helpers, and it was putting her far behind schedule. Ashur seemed to be wholly uninterested in helping, and she had barely seen him in the two days she had been working. That meant she had spent an unacceptable amount of time rummaging around for parts with no help from Ashur. Eventually, she started recruiting the scrapbots to search for parts, but the critters were simply too stupid to ever bring back what she asked for. She had decided the first night that it would be worth taking a few hours to upgrade a few of them to be adequate helpers. It put her far behind schedule, but things began moving much more smoothly after that. The tiny monkey had grown especially useful, while the Nepth had grown smarter, but also more hostile towards her as it got closer to sentience. She could impart new information and better processing speed, but an attitude adjustment was not in Kaori¡¯s skillset. The food the robots brought her was horrible of course. The barely edible Akkadar diet was compounded by the fact that Kaori didn¡¯t have the required knowledge to turn the little bots into better chefs. Combined with the fact that she was sleeping on a floor made of crudely welded metal panels, it was a miserable experience. She wasn¡¯t one for anger, but it was slowly building. How could this Merchant-Captain treat a mechanic so badly? She was there for his benefit. She never used to talk to herself, but she found herself grumbling under her breath. She had seen others speak like that, and it was oddly satisfying. Despite the terrible work conditions, however, she finished the last of the repairs on the fourth day, far behind schedule. Still, it was a job well done, and she was happy to pack up her tools. She sent a little scrap otter to fetch Ashur and let him know she was finished. He found her a few moments later, grinning at his newly fixed bridge. ¡°Everything works now?¡± She nodded. ¡°Upgraded a few things. Better controls, guns actually work now.¡± Ashur whistled. ¡°Worth every penny.¡± ¡°Can I go now?¡± He seemed like he was thinking about that, but he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you by the airlock in a few moments.¡± Kaori was just happy to get off this junker. She had missed the Nightingale more than she ever imagined. The door clunked behind him as the girl let herself out. Everything was going perfectly. He smiled to himself, before starting the space drive and leaving the Nightingale far behind. He decided to call up the Captain to gloat. ¡°Captainling! Thank you for the engineer, she¡¯s a great gift!¡± Annabelle was furious, on the monitor, nearly growling at him with fury. ¡°You¡¯re not going to get away with this! I¡¯ll see you on Relic you bastard.¡± Ashur tutted. ¡°But how will you get there without fuel cells?¡± She was silent. ¡°Oh, were you planning to use the ones I sent you? Convincing fakes, aren¡¯t they? They sure fooled me when I bought them. It would take a real mechanic to tell the difference, of course, your mechanic was on my ship at the time. Sloppy planning Captainling, I had expected more.¡± She put an end to his fun and terminated the call. No matter, Ashur was in a very good mood now, even as Kaori pounded on the door, begging to be allowed to go home. Now all he had to do was beat that treacherous robot and her idiot protege to the crown, and he liked his odds. All told, it was a very good day for Ashur. 1.14 Annie wasted little time getting to work as Ashur¡¯s ship raced away. She knew she had been betrayed and there was no use being angry about the situation now. To get out of this mess, Annie would need ideas, and for that, she would need to think hard. She calmly disrobed from her captains uniform, hanging it neatly in her locker. She checked around the room, knowing she was alone, but wanting to confirm that it was the case. From under her bed, she pulled out her secret weapon. The starship pajamas were a little small since she seemed to have grown, but they hadn¡¯t served her wrong yet. They were the perfect tool to help her sort out the problem. Four days until her power shut down completely, and that was only if the ship stayed perfectly still. By the time a rescue ship could get to here, she¡¯d be long dead from the lack of life support systems. She needed a solution, and she¡¯d need to be economical with her time and the ship¡¯s energy. First things first, she would have to shut down all non-essential resources on her ship. The problem was determining how many things could actually be considered non-essential. It could take her hours to work it all out, and those were hours she could be spending trying to find a real solution. Still, she knew a few things that weren¡¯t required without having to think about it. So she¡¯d start there. It took about a half hour to power everything down, but it was difficult to know how much time that really bought her. It was time to admit that she was out of her depth. She needed to call in the experts. Unfortunately, each of them would cost power, some more than others. Nav could possibly give her information, but his big robotic body would guzzle up several hours worth of energy within minutes. She could contact Mark, but she was nearly a lightyear from Terra Secundus at this point and the energy costs to send a message that far was quite astonishing. She could try to flag down a passing ship, but she¡¯d have to start scanning to find one or send out a message that would scatter all around her. Both of those things, of course, cost power. That left only one more option. Kaori. Annie doubted that Kaori was in cahoots with Ashur, more likely she had been kidnapped. Kaori¡¯s suit had a short range communicator. With Ashur speeding away, she was likely out of range. Annie supposed she could boost the signal somehow. Unfortunately, she had no clue how to make that happen. It seemed the lesser evil was to wake up Nav, have him quickly teach her how to boost it, then put him back asleep before he burned through too much electricity. It wasn¡¯t a good plan, but it was the only one she had. Annie stared intently at the inactive droid. Once she hit the switch he would have only two minutes to give her the life-saving information that she would need, any longer and it would take an unacceptable amount of electricity. This consultation was already costing around an hour of life support. It costs energy to make energy, apparently. Annie took a deep breath and switched her first mate¡¯s power switch and a stopwatch at the same moment.. Nav¡¯s face lit up with green light, immediately the body stiffened up and saluted. ¡°Glad to see you ma-¡± he started. ¡°We don¡¯t have time,¡± said Annie. ¡°Ashur took Kaori, additionally, the cells he gave us were fake. I need to find an improvised way of generating enough energy to get us to Relic. How did you sustain the ship¡¯s systems when we were stranded nine years ago? You have one minutes and fourty eight seconds, so speak quickly.¡± The Navigator hesitated for only a second as he processed the information. He handled the situation like the professional Annie knew he was. ¡°I saved the working fuel cells for the actual journey back to port, the repairs, life support, and my own energy needs were largely solar paneled.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t do me much good mister Navigator. We¡¯re nowhere near an active star. Plan B, I need to get in contact with Kaori. Can you find me a way to boost the ship¡¯s transmitter? Kaori may have a theory on the creation of a makeshift power source.¡± Nav nodded, but said nothing, immediately pushing past her to grab a data book. He began tapping keys at lightning speed. ¡°The transmitter should be simple enough, it¡¯s just a matter of rerouting the short-range transmission into our long-range system. A bit of rewiring and some coding in the ship systems.¡± ¡°Is that what you¡¯re doing right now?¡± ¡°The coding yes, but the wiring will take time that I don¡¯t have. I¡¯m leaving you instructions.¡± He typed with inhuman speed. ¡°Be aware that it¡¯s going to cost you more power as she gets further away. You should be able to consult her for a few hours today if you go quickly with minimal energy loss, tomorrow or the next day will cost you a great deal more.¡± Annie nodded. ¡°Any way I can find out exactly how much power is remaining?¡± Nav glanced slightly at the bridges monitor. ¡°Split processing.¡± The screen lit up with a set of numbers written in a lime green hue. 93:12:48 93:12:47 93:12:46 ¡°I¡¯ll keep a fraction of my intelligence online to monitor the power levels.¡± A countdown to the end of her life. Wonderful. ¡°Is it possible for you to keep any more of your systems online?¡± He shook his head as he worked. ¡°Only my subconscious and most basic functionality, it will be enough to help you control the ship with voice commands, but no more than that. It will cost about six hours worth of power.¡± ¡°Will you be able to help me any more than that?¡± ¡°It would be like talking to sleeping man and hoping it will affect his dreams. It¡¯s a long shot.¡± Annie¡¯s eye twitched, six hours was a lot of time. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s worth it?¡± she asked him. Nav froze in place, as though unsure if he should speak his mind. The urgency of the situation forced him to say it anyway. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll do it.¡± 87:11:09 Nav took barely a second more before he placed the databook decisively down beside the ship wheel. ¡°Finished.¡± Annie checked her stopwatch, only a few seconds to spare.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Anything else I need to know?¡± He looked her right in the eyes. His light flickered as he thought. If he was designed as a sentient AI, Annie supposed he would have looked concerned. Nav was, however, a simple ship interface, and she knew such things were beyond his programming. ¡°I-¡± BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP Her alarm tore through Nav¡¯s words. She didn¡¯t hesitate, flipping a switch to deactivate it. Whatever he was going to say couldn¡¯t have been worth the extra energy. Annie had work to do and a lot of it. She took the databook in hand and got reading. Step one, make your way to the engine room. Easy enough. She left the room with determination. The Nightingale would not be her tomb. Inside the bridge, the monitor continued to count down to the end. 87:10:33 87:10:32 *7:10:32 I7:W/:30 I7:WI:3P No matter what she did, Ashur would not open the door. She pounded on it, she pleaded with him, she even threatened to hurt him once she got desperate. Nothing helped. At first she thought she could hack into the controls, but of course, they were all on the other side of the magnetically sealed door. It wasn¡¯t fair, just when she started building a life for herself, Ashur took it from her. Hours ago she was a mechanic on a starship, the most beautiful piece of technology she had ever seen. Now, Kaori had returned to what she always used to be; a lonely junk girl in a filthy home. She couldn¡¯t handle it. Kaori was never one to wail when she cried, for that behavior was a sign that someone was crying for help. No one had been there to save Kaori in the trench, and she expected no one to save her now. When she was a quiet and broken mess, curled up by the doorway, that was when Ashur finally opened the door. She had thought to see him with a big evil grin, but instead, he looked grim, as though he took no pleasure in what he had done. ¡°Why?¡± was all she asked. ¡°Partnerships are temporary. You need to learn.¡± He looked at her, trying to make eye contact, but Kaori wouldn¡¯t cooperate. With two clawed fingers, he picked up his spider bot from off of his shoulder. ¡°You. Take control of the bridge. If Kaori attempts to enter, shut down everything and activate security.¡± The mechanical spider chirped in acknowledgment, but Kaori knew the words were meant for her. Little robotic legs skittered into the bridge and out of sight. Ashur looked at her with alien eyes and Kaori forced herself to look away. She didn¡¯t know how long he stared at her before leaving, she didn¡¯t care. The clanging and grinding of the ship had bothered her before, but not today. She let the horrible reality around her fade away as she began trying to revert her mind back to the way it had been a month ago. There was some scrap scattered about the hallway. Kaori could use an arm. Hours passed as she drafted a blueprint and gathered parts. The old arm had been made from the best parts she could find over weeks of searching. It had been built as an act of defiance, she built that arm to show that she mattered. It reflected who she was, small, tough and full of tricks. Her new arm would be crude, built from pieces she found on the floor or in shelves. The creation would be bigger than her old arm, junkier too. She felt a rage inside her as she worked, a cold fire she had never felt before. So she designed an arm full of rage, full of strength. She felt sheets of shame at what she was, and the arm showed it. It would be ugly, but it would be unbreakable. That suited her just fine. She was so busy sketching the final touches of her plan that she barely heard a voice in the room with her. ¡°Kaori?¡± It wasn¡¯t Ashur. It was a girls voice. A child¡¯s voice. ¡°Captain?¡± ¡°Kaori, if you can hear me, I need your help.¡± She looked about before her eyes settled on her pressure suit. ¡°Kaori? Damnit, did this not work?¡± The communicator! She rushed to the suit and scrambled to press the button. ¡°Captain!¡± ¡°Glad to hear your voice, Ms. Amaris. Are you okay?¡± Kaori wanted to say yes, but glancing at the blueprint she had written out, she knew it would be a lie. ¡°Ashur didn¡¯t hurt me,¡± she said instead. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be able to arrange a rescue once we get to Relic, but I need your help getting there.¡± ¡°You need my help?¡± ¡°Yes Kaori, I need an improvised generator and you¡¯re the biggest genius I know when it comes to improvised technology.¡± A genius? She had never had that word applied to her before. It meant smart. She didn¡¯t feel smart, her only real talent was reassembling trash. Except that no one else could do it quite like she could. Looking back she supposed she was even exceptional at it in the trench. Zaiah was perhaps her only peer with his gigantic scrap suits, but even he needed a team of a dozen scavengers to help him. She might be a worthless scavenger, but she was the best one there was. Still, the task wouldn¡¯t be easy, even for her. ¡°Kaori?¡± ¡°Thinking.¡± She remembered grimy old manuals and books she found in the trench, it was some of the most useful knowledge she had learned down there. Fundamentally there were only three ways to generate electricity. Kinetic motion was the most common, but there was also the possibility of creating a charge from chemical reactions or converting light energy from a star directly into electricity. Due to the lack of a sun or a large supply of reactive chemicals, that left kinetic energy as the only option. At first Kaori had assumed that kinetic energy meant turning a crank with your bare hands or running on a treadmill. The truth was very different. The goal was to turn water into high-pressure steam so that it would turn a crank far faster than any human could. It was a bit complicated, but she was sure she could make a working design. ¡°I¡¯ll design. Most things are easy, but four hard parts. Get them while I plan.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°Big magnet, really really big, make sure it¡¯s flat.¡± ¡°Kaori we don¡¯t have that on the ship.¡± ¡°Some asteroids magnetic.¡± ¡°How would I even find one?¡± ¡°Nightingale has magnetic sensors in the survey equipment, will have to angle all over space until you find one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to cost me a lot of power. Is there another way?¡± ¡°No. Kinetic power only made with magnets and copper wire, no other efficient way.¡± ¡°Do we have copper wire?¡± ¡°Yes, engineering room has lots, that¡¯s second thing to get. Will need to turn wire into gigantic coil two meters wide and twenty meters long.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to tell you that there¡¯s nowhere in the ship big enough for that, do I?¡± ¡°Make coil in space, small generator wouldn¡¯t work, has to be external to ship.¡± ¡°Fine, what¡¯s next?¡± ¡°More water, much more. Find a comet, same as the magnetic asteroid, use survey equipment.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t leave me with much power left Kaori.¡± ¡°Have to work fast.¡± ¡°Fine, what¡¯s the last thing?¡± ¡°Nightingale has missiles, yes?¡± Her captain was silent for a time, not liking where this was going. ¡°The Nightingale is equipped with a payload of four space-based torpedoes suitable for ship to ship combat.¡± ¡°Nuclear?¡± This time she didn¡¯t respond at all. Kaori thought it was a brilliant solution to the problem. ¡°Will need uranium core from torpedoes, keep in the shielding for now and save other missile parts.¡± ¡°Miss Amaris, are you saying we build a nuclear reactor in my ship?¡± ¡°Small one, outside of ship.¡± ¡°How on lost Earth did you learn how to design a nuclear reactor?¡± ¡°Nuclear technology old, replaced by fusion power now. Lots of outdated fission technology in the trench. Old textbooks had information too.¡± ¡°You learned nuclear science by sorting through the trash and reading a few books?¡± Well, when she said it like that it sounded ridiculous, but Kaori had mastered a great number of technologies that way. Plus, with modern materials, nuclear power was far easier to work with than two hundred years ago. Kaori heard the little captain growling with frustration on the other end of the call. ¡°Is there really no other way?¡± ¡°Other power solutions only enough for life support, powering light-drive takes too much energy for anything less.¡± ¡°So I have the choice of building a small generator that can save my life but won¡¯t get me to Relic, or build a nuclear reactor out of scavenged technology and space rocks like an absolute madwoman?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well then, do you have any advice on how to safely handle uranium?¡± 1.15 72:49:02 72:49:01 72:&9:00 The airlock wouldn¡¯t open, even when she flipped the lever. Annie suppressed her urge to yell in anger, this just wasn¡¯t the time. She had spent four hours worth of power on the scanner just to find a magnetic asteroid, nine hours on the sub-light thrusters just to get to it and none of that was including the two actual hours of time the entire endeavor had taken. Her life was fifteen hours shorter in exchange for an oversized magnetic rock. And now the airlock wouldn¡¯t open. Her little hands pulled down the steel lever yet again. Thunk. She let go when nothing happened. She had shut down non-essential systems, but the airlock shouldn¡¯t be affected as far as she knew. ¡°Voice command: Open airlock.¡± Nothing. The clock was ticking. ¡°Navigator?¡± She knew she was talking to a dreamer, but it was the best she had. Her lips felt dry as he spoke, ¡°I need to get into the airlock. I won¡¯t make it if I can¡¯t get that asteroid.¡± Nothing. Well, it was worth a shot- The doors flung open, rapid decompression flinging her out the airlock in an uncontrolled spasm. The cold vacuum of space tore at the skin of her face, already she felt the fluids under her skin begin to revolt, the human body was not made for this. The saliva in her mouth began to bubble as it boiled away inside her mouth. Knowing she only had seconds to live, Annie desperately shoved her helmet onto her head, scrambling with the seals as she tumbled end over end through the open void. Her little fingers slipped over the latches one by one, desperately hoping to close them fast enough to save her life. Once the task was done, she slammed two fingers on the suits pressure button. Her ears burst with pain as they made an unnaturally abrupt transition between pressures. She gulped down air in a frenzy of terrified breathing and yelps of pain. The agony was incredible, more than anything that she had felt before. The tough little captain¡¯s tears spattered the helmet as she fell uncontrolled through the void. Her vision began to fade as she felt the pull of unconsciousness pulling her away from the pain and the panic. But she couldn¡¯t let that happen. Focus or you¡¯re dead, she told herself. The pain was her friend, she focused on it. The red-hot needles were the only company she needed. She had come so near to death. If her helmet hadn¡¯t been in her hand¡­ But this wasn¡¯t Annie¡¯s first brush with near death, nor would it be her last. Annie had far more to deal with than just the one crisis. She hadn¡¯t clipped in, that was meant to be done inside the airlock. Which meant she was currently getting farther and farther away from the ship as she tumbled into the interstellar blackness. There is no air resistance in space, nothing to grab, no way to stop yourself or turns yourself around. Fortunately, most pressure suits had a few small thrusters that allowed the wearer to maneuver. She activated hers and used the little blasts of fire to right herself. This wasn¡¯t the plan at all, she was supposed to do this carefully with a prepared approach to the asteroid to prevent being smashed to pieces by the gigantic chunk of metal that was hurtling through space. Apparently, caution wasn¡¯t how her day was going to work. She was disoriented, it wasn¡¯t easy to tell exactly where she had gone, so all she had to work with were the visuals. The Nightingale was as dark as anything else without sunlight, but the airlock still seemed to be open, leaving a small beacon of light that let her see where she was going. It would have been lost among the lights of millions of stars, were it not for the fact that she was still just close enough to see that it was roughly square in shape. She was nearly a quarter of a kilometer away by her count, which meant that she had flown out at a terrifying velocity that she decided not to calculate. Space was a bit odd, there was no air resistance, which meant that once you were moving in a direction you would not be able to stop unless you applied an equal amount of force in the opposite direction. Unless you hit something of course. That meant that Annie only had to pulse her little jets for a few short moments in order to send herself drifting back towards the ship. The thrusters didn¡¯t have much battery power, so any more than that was a waste.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Her suit was pressurized, her tumbling had been controlled and she was on course to connect to the Nightingale. If only that was the end of her problems. The asteroid she had found was actually heading roughly toward the Nightingale, she had planned to snare it as it passed by. Unfortunately, that meant that she had a very limited window of time to pull this off before the big magnet passed them by. Sure, the Nightingale could chase after it, but that would waste even more power that she just couldn¡¯t afford. She pushed the comms button on her helmet. ¡°Spotlight on the asteroid if you please Mister Navi- uh.¡± She was so used to performing tasks like this while Nav was at the control panel that she felt vulnerable now without the big metal robot. ¡°Voice Command: Spotlight projected at the passing asteroid.¡± The ship light turned on, highlighting the rough-shaped magnet that was tearing its way through space. It was smaller than she thought, maybe half as large as the Nightingale. Of course, that still made it gigantic compared to her, so she¡¯d need to be very careful not to collide with the thing. Not that that was the plan. Reaching the ship, she opened up a small hatch near the outside of the airlock, largely full of tools and items that were only useful outside the vessel. First, she pulled a long chord out from a reel and hooked it onto her harness. She didn¡¯t fancy a repeat incident of the last few minutes after all. Then she retrieved a large harpoon gun with a metal rope. The Harpoon was a military design, meant for use while forcibly boarding enemy ships. The tip was capable of piercing ship grade alloys, which were orders of magnitude stronger than most natural metals. The rope was equally as strong, having been built to drag other ships if necessary. If anything could catch an asteroid, it was this thing. She didn¡¯t have time to waste, so she kicked herself off from the surface and into the path of the asteroid. For a space object, it was travelling quite slow, maybe a hundred and fifty kilometers an hour, but that was enough to make it a nearly impossible target if Annie tried to shoot it with the harpoon as it rushed past. No, Annie would need to be in front of it when she fired. And then she¡¯d need to get the heck out of the way before she became a very flat little girl. She was in position, and let the thrusters bring her to a stop. For the first time since this whole debacle had started, she had a moment to rest and to think. About two minutes until the magnet was close enough actually. Why didn¡¯t the door open? And when it eventually did, why did it open both doors at once? She had just had it checked before they left port, and Kaori even claimed that it was one of the ships more reliable systems. Would this have been more sabotage from Milah and Nate? She doubted it, they didn¡¯t seem to want her dead, they just wanted the treasure. For that matter, Nate really didn¡¯t seem the treacherous type, was he really in on this? She doubted it. He really seemed like the type to just do whatever an authority figure told him to do, so this was most likely Milah¡¯s doing. Although he did act way differently while they were in Chrysanthemum. He wasn¡¯t at all like the weak-willed kid she had seen on Scrappis IV. Plus, the kid had just gotten his heart broken. In Annie¡¯s experience that usually went one of two ways. People who were abused, betrayed or hurt either vow to never do that to someone else, or they find themselves becoming more and more like the ones who hurt them. Was it possible Nate had just been a little faster on the second path? Either way, Nate was going to go down just the same as that wannabe-movie-star robot once Annie got to Relic. No one double crosses Captain Annabelle Constantine and gets away with it. The asteroid was closer now, close enough to see the rough pockmarks on the surface. It was now or never. She hefted the harpoon up onto her shoulder and took aim. Annie didn¡¯t really like space guns, she loved the look of a spout of fire emerging from the barrel of the gun when fired. Since there wasn¡¯t air in space, that meant that guns designed to work in a zero pressure environment didn¡¯t do that. The harpoon launched from the gun, making no sound in the void. Space guns were terribly anti-climactic. The spear drove right into the center of the oncoming asteroid, sending metallic fragments rocketing out into space, fated to drift endlessly. The recoil of the gun caused her to be pushed backward, but she compensated with a little blast of her jets. Or at least she meant to, the jets were unresponsive. She searched for the cause and found a low battery notification on the suits heads-up display. How was that possible? She had barely used it! She checked the battery, painfully aware of the space rock that was rapidly approaching. The answer was obvious once she looked. A screwdriver had impaled the battery, likely in the opening moments after she as well as any unsecured contents of her locker room had flown out from the airlock. Kaori must have left it out, neither Nav or Annie would have been so sloppy. What a stupid reason to die. Without her jets, there was no way she could get out of the way of the looming space rock, she couldn¡¯t even use the communicator to order herself to be reeled in. But Annie wasn¡¯t one to give up in the face of impossible odds. She tossed the harpoon towards the ship for later retrieval, and then snatched at her safety line, pulling herself as quickly as she could back towards the ship. It was futile of course. Maybe if she was older she would have been fast enough, but her tiny frame was just not up to the task. But Annie would not go quietly. Aching muscles dragged her closer, her ragged breathing overcoming the intense ringing in her ears. And then something odd happened. The ship started reeling her in. She hadn¡¯t ordered it. No one could have ordered it. Unless someone was on her ship. The Asteroid rushed past her, soon growing taut on its line. Well, that was a success at least. Now to find out who the trespasser was to had saved her life. She yanked the screwdriver out of the battery pack and held it like a dagger. She entered into the airlock, her boots clanging on the metal floor. Her fist hammered the door closed, finally sealing the ship. She saw the figure immediately. It was standing there, staring at a control panel that was connected to the ships outer tools. The figure was unnaturally still. And Annie didn¡¯t expect it to move, the more obvious question was how it got there in the first place. The empty husk of a droid stared at the controls, motionless. There was no light behind the robotic face. It was one of the spares that wasn¡¯t being used by any of the crew members. But all ai had been shut down aboard the ship, so how did an empty robotic body save her life? ;2:4?:06 72:41:<| I2:WI:0L 1.16 Ashur had a very particular problem, a problem he didn¡¯t fully know how to overcome. The unfortunate reality was that his captive scavenger was smarter than he was. Credit where it was due, Ashur knew he was certainly more cunning than the girl-thing, but over the long run, there was little chance of him coming out ahead in a battle of wits. So, he did what he always did before approaching a tough mark. He did his recon. Kaori was far too absorbed in her misery to notice Ashur skulking around, watching and sometimes listening to her. He saw her build a new arm as quick as a blink. It was a big ugly thing, perfectly sized to crush Ashur like an Akkadarian beetle. He had grown worried, but as she worked she seemed to grow more miserable and less motivated. He wrote down the odd behaviour, hoping to decode and possibly exploit it later. It was then that the little Captain contacted Kaori to ask for help. His captive seemed reinvigorated, leaping to action to solve Annie¡¯s conundrum. This was a precarious balance on the scale of good and bad. On one hand, It was bad that Kaori was motivated, worse that she was helping his rival, but on the other, it was excellent that her attention was focused on something other than mutiny. He was certain Kaori didn¡¯t realize it, but she had all the power. He couldn¡¯t stop her from altering the ship and taking control from him, nor could he defeat her in an actual fight. His scrap-bots might slow her from accessing the bridge, but no more than that. Her correspondence with the little star child meant that he had time to think. He would need Kaori to change her mind about him before she could realize her place of strength. It was a tricky thing to force someone to go from foe to friend, but Ashur had done it before. In the past, he had either focused the two of them at a mutual enemy or otherwise redirected the anger. Trapped alone on a ship with no one else in sight, that option wasn¡¯t available to him. He would need another idea, an idea that should be alien to him. A human idea. Ashur was grateful that the Akkadar were far more pragmatic than the other species of the galaxy. Other sentients let their fiction, their histories, and their media be studied and enjoyed by the galaxy at large. Cultural exchange they called it. Only the Akkadar saw art for what it was, a weapon. A species write about what is important to them, they write about their virtues, their weaknesses and everything they found important. Literature was a goldmine for people like Ashur who were probing for weak points in a creatures psychology. ¡°You.¡± He ordered his scrap monkey to his feet. The creature looked at him curiously. ¡°Open your human fiction archive.¡± The creature stiffened up like it was no longer in control of its own body. A pleasant Akkadari voice answered him from the unwilling lips of the scrapbot ¡°four thousand eight hundred and sixty-three works found.¡± He¡¯d need to find something pertinent to the situation. Something that could construe it as uplifting. Nothing remotely to do with being a prisoner, he needed something she could focus on. ¡°Find something about treasure.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°One thousand seven hundred and thirty-two results found relating to ¡®treasure¡¯¡± Well, that number told him quite a lot already. Humans nearly a third of human fiction seemed to involve the acquisition of wealth or treasure. Still, that was likely too vague of a search. ¡°Narrow the search to ¡®treasure hunts¡¯ and give me the three most popular books. Read me the top three.¡± The tiny processor clicked and clacked inside the monkeys head. ¡°The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is a story set in the fantastical world of Middle Earth. Bilbo Baggins is an ordinary Hobbit, plenty satisfied with spending his life at home. Against his better judgment, he is whisked away by the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves in a plot to steal the dwarven treasure back from the great dragon Smaug.¡± Ashur wasn¡¯t entirely certain what hobbits, dwarves or wizards were, but the Akkadar had the word dragon in their language as well, They were small annoying little creatures that liked to bury themselves between the cracks of your shell and take infuriatingly itchy bits from your skin. He was relatively certain that it must not be the same thing in the Terran dialect, as there was no chance that a pesky insect like a dragon would be capable of stealing anything unless hobbits, wizards, and dwarves were an even smaller breed of insect. Best not to overthink it. He could see a few similarities between this ¡®Bilbo¡¯ and Kaori. Both seem to have been dragged off on a treasure hunt they apparently hadn¡¯t meant to go on but based on that synopsis the similarity ended there. ¡°What¡¯s the next one?¡± ¡°The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown tells the story of Robert Langdon, a cryptographer, as he unravels a two thousand-year-old mystery. He follows a series of clues left by the famed medieval artist Leonardo Da Vinci about shadow secrets in the Catholic church, going back all the way to the life of Christ.¡± Ashur did know about Christ, he had made a point of learning the basics of human religions when he came to the spur. Originally it was hoped by the Akkadar missionaries that they could find common ground and begin converting them. Sadly, the most influential human prophet, Christ, had preached opposite virtues to Akkadarianism. The humans as a whole focused their beliefs on the sentiment that the strong should protect the weak. A devout Akkadar believed the opposing philosophy, however, society should strive to make everyone strong. No one should need a guardian to get through life, everyone should be able to fend for themselves and to deal with adversity. Anything else was humiliating. He supposed that there wasn¡¯t going to be much of value in this book, nothing about it seemed relevant to Kaori. ¡°Give me one more,¡± he said. ¡°Treasure Island, written by Robert Louis Stevenson is the tale of a boys search for treasure, and his complex relationship with the enigmatic pirate; Long John Silver.¡± Now that sounded like what he was after. It was about a boy rather than a girl, but based off of his current observations, there wasn¡¯t a big enough difference between the two to think that would be a problem. Kaori already had a grudge against him as sure as the boy in this book would have had a stigma against pirates. It would serve him well to see how this John Silver, who was apparently long in some way, befriended his youthful hero. Ashur might easily find a way to do the same. ¡°Give me the audio version.¡± He barely even noticed the smile that grew on his face as he pulled a pair of bulky green headphones over his ears. ¡°Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about treasure island,¡± spoke the narrator. Humans were so reckless, just leaving their fiction out in the galactic market. Why anyone could get their hands on them. Update I¡¯m very sorry to have to say so, but I need to go on a one-month hiatus. Frankly, I¡¯m getting a little burned out on the project. Every single week it takes longer and longer for me to write and I give myself a headache every time. This is a hobby for me and I¡¯m having a hard time keeping up the pace alongside my main gig.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. My hope is that taking a month off will help put the passion for the project back into me, therefore making sure that I can write in a reasonable amount of time. Thank you all so much for understanding and I¡¯ll see you all next month.