by Skyler Grant
Dela announced, "As someone who didn't get invited on mini-vacation, I put together this briefing along with Mara. Let me first welcome the Renas. Neither of them have made us any commitments as of yet, but they wanted to see just what we're about."
"Is that smart? Letting them in on a planning meeting when they haven't joined up? Either could sell us out," Kara asked.
"If they're going to stick around, they at least need better names unless we're going with Rena one and two, or evil Rena, good Rena," Jinx said.
"I go by Silver in crime circles and I’m used to answering to it. I'll stick with that for the moment, and she can use Rena," said the Rena from their universe.
"Rena and Silver it is," Dela said. "And if either betrays us we make them regret it. They've both seen what we can do and neither is looking to make any enemies here today. They're just not sure if family is something they're looking for, especially with each other."
Quinn was honestly surprised they had shown up at all. They both had bad personal experiences with him in the past, and seemed reserved in their own ways in the present.
"So let’s gets started with Arkstone. Jinx thinks it is worth making a move and we do want to expand our criminal network. Have they made any overtures to us?" Quinn asked.
"Several of the families have reached out, but largely wanting us as a weapon to use against the others. After us leading to the downfall of one family they're looking for a repeat performance," Dela said.
"We might be willing to get rid of someone’s rival if it were worth it. But I doubt they're looking to crush the opposition just to pledge allegiance to us," Tamara said.
"I'm thinking we may not have to. Do you remember Duchess Alara? We met her briefly, and technically a whole section of space is under her control, but she's never had the resources to go toe to toe with the families," Dela said, and hit a few keys on a tablet that brought up a display. Security recordings.
There were multiples of them. The shots looked to be of an estate, a very nice one. Presumably from Arkstone, but all included something Quinn hadn't expected to see there. Clan ships, parked alongside vessels marked with the symbol of the Imperium.
"Alara has made herself an alliance?" Quinn asked.
"Or she's a prisoner," Jinx said.
"Ever since these ships arrived she's rarely been seen in public and has almost completely suspended her usual calendar. When she is seen, it is often in the presence of this man," Dela said, and brought up new images. Heavy armor, engraved with intricate rune-work, and it had been built for a large man. He was bald and the edge of a red rune could just be seen twirling up onto his chin.
Eyes on the table turned towards Kalisa.
"I don't know him, he isn't an Unshackled. That doesn't mean he isn't powerful, he appears to have at least one mark and might have more," Kalisa said.
Dela flipped through several more images. Three more men and one woman, all of whom wore similar armor and all showed a hint of a rune.
Kalisa leaned forward and said, "Now this is interesting. I still don't know any of them, but what I see here is unusual. All are going for a heavy armor approach, I've explained before that it is fairly uncommon among Chaosians as we don't enchant with the strength of Order mages."
Right, Quinn had learned that lesson. Most Chaosians with a rune would fight with it exposed as it gave them more magical sensitivity and the ability to draw on those powers. It made them look under-dressed on a battlefield, but with their powers at peak it was incredibly difficult to get a hit on them that would make them regret it. He was working hard to master that himself.
"I know her," said Silver, studying the image. "Apprentice to Otta. He once stole an entire garrison from us, and Mahara was furious. I killed the other one, she didn't have a mark yet."
"Otta," Kalisa said with her distaste clear. "That explains it. Back when we first attained our powers, well, I suppose you could say that he was something of a compliance officer. A bureaucrat designed to keep an eye on a ship of screw-ups."
"Seems he'd have become an Order mage if there was any logic to the selection," Quinn said.
"No, he wound up on the right side of things. Have you ever seen bureaucracy ruin everything it touches? The sort of paperwork that must be filed not only in triplicate, but then those copies sorted in exactly the proper order or else the entire process must be done again. He was a petty dictator of a man that thrived on Chaos," Kalisa said.
"What was he like when you got your powers?" Quinn asked.
"We were all monsters in different ways. I made terrible creations out of the joy of discovering the possibilities, but Otta didn't need that. If he showed up on a world, it would tear itself apart as greed and lust for power ran rampant," Kalisa said.
"Why the heavy armor?" Quinn asked.
"He doesn't fight himself. Otta is more comfortable with the shadows and like so many who are cowards feels more at ease surrounded by giant slabs of meat," Kalisa said.
"Alara is the key to Arkstone. Our technology and her fleet would let us make a powerful pitch to the families about picking the right side. This Otta may have had the same idea. Whether she's willing partner, or victim, we drive him out and show where her best interest lies," Jinx said.
25
Quinn guided the Tango in over the estate, carefully bringing it to rest atop a tower. Their stealth technology just kept getting better and now the ship could stay invisible to the naked eye on approach much like with Mara's stealth suit. Unlike her suit, it was short-lived.
They no more landed than the hatch was opening. That would be Mara and Rena, both in stealth suits. Sand had duplicated a version of Mara's for Rena. The two spies were gathering firsthand information while Sand remotely accessed their systems.
"How long is it going to take you to get anything?" Quinn asked her.
"If they hadn't changed the codes since my time as Empress, I'd already be in. Unfortunately, they have installed a layer of new data security. I have problems with Chaosian technology," Sand admitted.
"Why is that?" Quinn asked. Sand didn't need to use anything as crude as a physical interface, she just seemed to be lounging back in the chair and talking. There wasn't even the distant look that Tamara got when using her implants.
"I am not the program that I originally was. I was created by the Emperor, refined by his power. Made more of what I am. It has left me incredibly attuned to the Order side of things, and systems built upon Chaosian principles are maddeningly frustrating to me."
There wasn't much to do right now apart from waiting. To do anything they needed information. They all knew this was a situation they shouldn't enter guns blazing.
At least they had basic access to the surveillance system, that was something Mara had accessed the day before. Furthermore, as Mara and Rena moved they were adding new cameras to the compromised system.
They made quick work and within ten minutes they had their first sights inside the manor itself. Alanna looked to be eating breakfast, what there was of it. A bowl of porridge served by a terrified-looking maid under the watchful gaze of two armored figures.
If Quinn's instincts were telling him anything, it was that Alanna didn't look like a woman who was cooperating. The Duchess looked exhausted and had the fading marks of a bruise along one cheek. There was no reason for her staff to look so terrified, or that she wouldn't make use of a medical patch if this were all willing.
"This is boring," Quinn said, after the scene didn’t change for some minutes.
"I'd challenge you to a game, but I'd win anything involving skill and see little point to games of chance," Sand said. "Or we could consummate our marriage. It wouldn't distract me, but you should probably be at the controls in case something goes wrong."
Quinn still hadn't thought of how he was going to handle that. Technically nobody in the Centauri had to have sex with anyone, and so far they'd been sleeping with everyone who suited their sexual preferences. Given they hadn't had a lesbian in
the bunch that meant Quinn had quite the harem situation going on.
His further consideration of that fact was interrupted as the shuttle shook violently and a nearby explosion could be heard.
Quinn raced his fingers over the controls as he scanned the readouts. It was the house landing pad. It had just exploded taking out all the ships there.
"Explosion at the dock. Nothing on any of the surveillance," Quinn said into the comm.
It was important in a situation like this to let Mara and Rena know what was going on. For security reasons they probably wouldn't reply. That risked compromising their position, but nothing stopped them from receiving.
The surveillance should have picked up what had happened, if this was an attack. There were no ships in the air though, and they'd picked a quiet hour of the morning to do this infiltration. Mara had assured them it was the best time. At night they put out extra patrols, but in the morning everybody was a little bit groggy and most of the guards from the night before were off shift while the new crew hadn't really gotten into gear yet.
It could be an accident, but Quinn didn't like the timing.
On one of the screens the guards watching over Alanna died. Whatever marks they had didn't protect them as two women uncloaked and enchanted blades were driven with perfect lunges through their throats, bypassing the armor.
"Abort. Mara, your family is here," Quinn said into the comm.
"More than you know," a voice whispered in his ear, and Quinn felt a blade against his throat. It said to Sand, "Stand down, machine. There is a high-yield magically enhanced nuclear bomb right beneath this shuttle. We like our odds of it killing you, if it has to come for that."
Penny shimmered and came into view. Quinn could only see her reflection in his view screen.
Quinn hadn't seen the possibility of her, and he wasn't sure why. With his awareness of the immediate future he should have had some warning. Perhaps their stealth suits had gotten an upgrade as well, enough to somehow guard them even against magical vision.
Sand said, "This body will be alive when the rest of your race is dust. It will watch as the last star goes out. It might even breed a new species of humanity when the universe is born again, should I will it. You don't scare me with your bombs and your knives."
Quinn said quickly, "I'm pretty scared of both, really. Not sure which the more—the bomb is all very intimidating but the knife is right here."
"You're more scared of the knife," Penny said conversationally. "Really, we've done studies. The immediate threat takes precedent. We know Mara is here somewhere. Tell her the situation we're in and that we're all going to have a little family-to-family meeting—or we'll be holding some funerals."
Mara, but no mention of Rena. They couldn't track the new suits. They'd only seen the hatch open and knew what it meant.
Quinn hit the comm. "Mara, Penny is here and she knows you are too. She's got a blade to my throat and a bomb under the Tango somewhere. She wants to talk."
That was as much as he could give with Penny listening in. He just had to hope that it would be enough.
"No, she doesn't just walk in on her own. Tell her to get somewhere safe, decloak and activate her transponder," Penny said.
Quinn relayed this information.
"Acknowledged," Mara said after a silence.
Quinn was having trouble making sense of the possibilities. Things with Mara's family were never simple, never uncomplicated. Spies always loved their games, their threats, and bluffs, and double bluffs ... and the deceptions.
26
"I thought we were all friends now," Quinn said, keeping his hands very still. "That bomb? Those swords. They're our work, aren't they?"
"That was before you stole away the Empress you were supposed to kill," Penny said. "New face, but she can't hide what she is, not from us. She’s now Kathryn Jade, deceased wife of Quinn Jade. Was it her idea or yours to wear that face?"
"Not just the face. I am Kathryn Jade," Kat said from the back. "I mean, I'm not just her, but I am. She raised me from the dead, sort of."
Penny let out a long and low sigh, and a hand slapped Quinn upside the head. "Idiot. That thing is not your wife however much it might pretend it is. Even if there is some faint echo of her in there, it is skin-deep. A convenient mask to manipulate a man not willing to give up on his past."
"I really don't like this lady. Let me guess, you’re going to marry her too after getting jerked off while you think of her tits?" Kat asked.
"Is that the sort of thing you do?" Penny asked.
"Not often—well, once. I mean, it might happen again, but not about you, probably," Quinn said.
Right. This wasn't helping matters. Trust Kat to make a hostage situation even more tense and uncomfortable.
"We've actually all found the thing with Mara a little romantic. We're all looking for a little escape from this life. To be accepted despite what we are, and the fact we're never really anybody at all," Penny said, then her voice turned hard. "I think it is a lot of the reason we've given you as many chances as we have. We wanted this to be a happy ending."
Mara entered up the ramp, her hands held high. Behind her was a blonde Quinn didn't recognize, holding a gun on her from a safe distance back.
A second explosion shook the shuttle, a rumble from further off.
"Just how many people are you killing today?" Quinn asked.
"In addition to these people who abducted the Duchess, there was also a group that had arrived for an arms sale. That was the one which forced our hand, and the infection was quickly spreading. That was a nuke going off—at some distance," Penny said.
"You aren't going to be able to stop Chaos from spreading. The clan are just getting started," Quinn said.
"The Triumvirate has two members of the new royal line. It seems to be enough. Even now as they consolidate their grip on the Core, and those who swear loyalty are gaining immunity. It will be enough if they are bought some time," Penny said.
"Time for what? Genocide? I know you and the others don't want that anymore than I do," Mara said.
"What we want and what we'll settle for are increasingly different things. It turns out the Sands weren't the only backup plan the Emperor had. This war will be far worse than the last one," Penny said.
"How does killing us help?" Quinn asked.
Mara said, "It doesn't. You know them, Quinn, and you know me. If they were convinced killing us was the best option, we'd already be dead."
"Something about a knife at the throat that makes me feel pretty damned like the preferred option," Quinn said.
"The last time I thought you were going to behave, you threw off the effects of a compulsion dose and punched me. Consider the knife at your throat a compliment," Penny said.
Right, absolutely. They'd brought a knife for him, and of course they'd brought a nuclear bomb for Sand, which made his compliment seem kind of puny in comparison.
"What do you want?" Mara asked.
"A certain world—it doesn't have a name. I'm sure it did, but it was removed from official records and the Runestone network leading there destroyed. Even in the sealed records we have no history of where it was located, but the system is the one from which the Emperor created the Divide. We want you to repeat his work," Penny said.
"With information like that how could we possibly fail?" Mara asked wryly. "If this is the best you can provide, standards are slipping with me gone."
"This isn't a joke, Mara. The Sands weren't the Emperor's only backup plan and when they failed to carry out its intended purpose, the others were unlocked. Kadello is building horrors, and we all know what the Unshackled are capable of," Penny said, pulling the knife away.
"And you think we might do what nobody else is willing to do?" Mara said.
"This isn't forgiveness. This isn't understanding. If you do restore the Divide we recommend you stay far away. Find a new home beyond the Imperium, settle down. We don't want to hunt you, but as today proves, if we
had we would have won," Penny said.
"Clear," came a voice through the comm. Rena.
Mara was almost a blur as she ducked low, Sand exhaling a silver cloud that drifted over her head and crumbled the gun the blonde held.
Penny still had her knife in hand and lunged at Quinn. Seizing a might-be the blade just missed him and his punch to the back of her skull as she passed sent her slamming face-first into the console. By carefully chosen chance, the blow was enough to knock out even her enhanced body.
Mara closed her eyes for a moment. "I've told them to pick up their people. We've heard their terms and accepted. Don't hurt them, but take their weapons and dump them out the back. Sand, Rena could use your help transporting the nuke. I'm going to go retrieve the duchess."
As wins go, this one had barely made a point. Penny might have been about to make an exit anyway, but she was otherwise going to do it with the upper hand. Maybe next time she'd think twice before trying something like this. Of course, next time she might just bring a bigger knife.
27
"This is the best present ever. You are getting so much sex for this. We'll do weird stuff," Kara said, staring wide-eyed at the nuke as she unloaded it from the Tango.
"We're completely different species. I'm pretty sure we're always doing the weird stuff, and the nuke is not a present,” Quinn told her.
"We're not keeping it?" Kara asked, crestfallen.
"I mean, we're not getting rid of it."
Kara perked right back up. "Then present! This is even better than a new gun. Nobody has ever cared about me enough to bring me a really scary bomb before."
Duchess Alanna stepped out beside Kara. She was still covered in the blood that had splurted out rather liberally from those who were with her. Her eyes had that look of one who really wasn't okay and wasn't getting over things.