by Skyler Grant
Anna sat on her throne, securing herself in place with a crash belt. She hit the comm. "Doctor Batavius, I'm going to need you to take out one of the ships attacking us."
"We do not have the supplies to get the guns operational," Batavius said.
"You're mad scientists with a form who can fly. Figure it out," Anna said, before cutting her off. "Emma. Those bombs. Can you make any?"
"I'm not an arms factory. I can generate some spawn from the Power core, but we don't have the detonators," I said.
Anna hit keys again. "Mechos, I need detonators for some bombs. Impress me and I'll forgive your horrible taste in dating partners."
"Tempting, but I can't. Those are specialized parts and take time," Mechos said.
I did my best to try to keep us out of the line of fire, but the pirate vessels were far more maneuverable. Our remaining armor was slowly but surely getting stripped away.
Out of the gaping hole that had once been the Powerhungry’s ramp a swarm of massive bats emerged. They flapped towards the nearest pirate ship and set upon it with what looked to be plasma torches. The ship broke off the attack, wings rocking violently as it tried to dislodge them. That left us taking fire from just the one.
I didn't think we'd survive ramming it. Our hull was already too compromised and while I'd take a Pyrrhic win if I couldn't get anything better, I wasn't interested in dying.
"Okay," Anna said. "You're going to have to teleport me over to the hull. I'll figure it out from there."
"Don't go having delusions of adequacy. That is suicide," I said.
"We don't have a lot of options left."
We didn't. Then the Graven arrived, breaking off from an attack on the Righteous ship. It swooped over the top of the other remaining pirate and opened up with all cannons. The beam weapons tore through the weakest section of the pirate's hull. With smoke trailing from the engines it crashed into the jungle below.
"Think they want the prize all for themselves?" Anna asked, puzzled.
If they did, they wouldn't have called for reinforcements at all.
"This is Ophelia. I've taken control of the Graven. How can I assist?" Ophelia called.
"Thought we'd lost you. We've forces on the Righteous vessel that are going to need an evac," Anna said.
"Tell them to bring me back some Righteous," I said. Their power-dampening goop had proved to be incredibly useful in the past and I was completely out.
The Graven maneuvered to land on top of the Righteous ship. Anna barked orders to Wolfson and his team as the Righteous ship started to leak flames and angle towards the ground.
It took only a few minutes for the Graven to pull away and together we withdrew from the fight. No pirates followed us. We might be a tempting prize, but with the Graven to assist us we were a tempting prize with teeth. The Righteous vessel, on the other hand, was a tempting prize which was defenseless.
17
The Graven docked with us after I diverted some resources into forming a set of basic clamps. It was too valuable a ship to lose, and with it we actually had something approaching some offensive ability. I reconfigured the hull to allow for a hatch and Ophelia slipped through.
Whatever had happened on that ship had changed her. Her eyes had been a pale green with flecks of brown before. Now they were a deep blue and faintly luminescent. It was a familiar hue, the same shade as the light from the stability orb. In one hand she held the severed head of Captain Aldo, which she tossed to Anna.
"Severed body parts. You shouldn't have," Anna said, turning the head to study its features. "This our mark?"
"It is. He was torturing us and there is not much else left of him. We thought you'd appreciate some proof of the kill," Ophelia said.
"You're talking strangely, and you’ve got some... cosmetic alterations. Do I need to have Emma toss you in quarantine?" Anna asked.
"We wouldn't recommend it," Ophelia said with a shake of her head. "We are done with quarantines. We are done with grinders. We have brought you your prize and more besides, and now we are going to sleep."
Ophelia strolled off without another word as Anna stared pointedly at her back, then nodded to one of the Wolf guards accompanying her. "Search and secure the Graven."
It took them about half an hour. There wasn't much else left of the Captain, Ophelia had torn him apart. The fourth crew member was dead too. There was no sign of the stability orb. The crate was empty.
While they searched the ship I'd been scanning Ophelia’s biology. Her metabolism was even more altered now, faster than it had been. Her powers had gotten a boost, and interwoven with her system was a biocomputer link that looked an awful lot like me. If I were going to form a theory, it would be that somehow she had merged with the duplicate of myself and the stability orb.
Anna was less than pleased.
"I told you to leave her to die. Not to leave her with a miniaturized you," Anna said.
"If I hadn't, she wouldn't have taken the Graven and we likely wouldn't have survived the encounter. While I realize that you wish everyone to sink to your level of failure, some of us inevitably succeed," I said.
"This isn't a win, Emma. The Cataclysm brought a lot of new things to Earth and almost without exception they are bad. I've seen a lot and read the records of those who have seen a lot more, and I’ve never read of anything like the way Ophelia has changed. How do you think it happened?" Anna asked with a frown and shake of her head.
"When I left her, Ophelia was dying. She’d been shot multiple times and her healing was neutralized by the orb. If my duplicate was affected by the orb—as I was—it probably found Ophelia a wonderful person deserving of life and worth anything to save. You know the kind things I said about you, my logic was seriously compromised," I said. Just talking about how that orb had made me feel, I wanted to format my whole system.
"What could it have done?" Anna asked.
That was where I didn't have an answer. I hadn't seen any way out of that situation—and my clone shouldn't have been capable of brilliance greater than my own.
"I don't know. Do you want me to throw her into a containment cell?" I asked.
I really wanted to run some experiments.
"No, this crew is still getting used to me and to us. We aren't going to reward overwhelming success with imprisonment. Whatever she is now, we'll work with her."
I was disappointed, but it wasn't illogical. The complexities of crew morale were... well, complicated. In an ideal universe all would be resolved by the correct provision of cookies, but I'd already seen reality could be more difficult. I really would need to discover more cookie recipes, or perhaps the original theory needed refinement.
"I'll keep watch on her. It can't be any more unpleasant than keeping my sensors on you," I said.
"Good. Can you configure a proper hanger for the Graven?" Anna asked.
I couldn't create space out of nothing. Still, between the original Mist attack and battles since, the Wolves were down in some numbers. Downsizing their cabin space and equipment stores gave me some room on that deck.
"I can. Although it will mean decreasing the maximum number of Wolves we can support," I said. "Hardly a sacrifice. They pee on the floor nearly as much as you do."
"I don't do that anymore," Anna said primly. "And only ever did, because someone failed to build the proper facilities. Speaking of which, how are things on the backend? Can we support an increase in crew size?"
"We can. Due to some past choices I made, we actually have a surplus of food in spite of your appetite. Our limiting factor is cabin space, but with existing capacity we could hold another forty crew," I said.
"I'll give the departments leave to recruit when we get back to port," Anna said.
More humans, or some variation thereof. I'd never thought I would have quite so many of them to put up with.
On the plus side, with the capture of the Graven there were lots of new systems to research. The cannons on Scholar ships were massive, they had t
o be, but with those on the Graven being considerably more compact I had hopes they could shed light on some sort of portable beam weaponry. The acid guns were functional, but little use against something like energy shields.
We had a slow journey back to Reevesport. While the engines hadn't taken much damage pretty much every other system was barely functional. I didn't feel the need to mask our damage this time, we weren't defenseless.
18
"I thought you'd be competent enough not to destroy your ship with a simple job."
That was Cutout and he wasn't happy. We'd docked without incident, but upon receiving our updated list of supplies needed for repairs Anna was busy getting chewed out.
"With all these well-connected targets you want to shake up, what do you expect? We shook things up," Anna said. She had gone along with a Wolf and my human drone Candice to meet with Cutout at a local bar. The place looked as seedy as he did.
"Yes. Thank you for giving a Righteous warship to the Descari Cartel, that helps my position out considerably," Cutout said, dripping with sarcasm.
"It isn't usable. At best they’re getting salvage out of it and for that, instead of losing one ship, they've lost three. You should be giving us a bonus," Anna said.
Cutout grunted at that. "They got a good look at you, if as you carrying around the Graven wasn't clue enough. They'll be coming for you."
"Then I guess you'd better give us our supplies so you can still get some use out of us while you can," Anna said.
"Screw up again, little Queen, and I'll show you I'm a man to be feared," Cutout said, and he flickered out of existence.
Anna stared at his empty chair for several moments before saying. "Make sure we have a testing cell arranged for him."
At the ship we were starting to receive supplies. They weren't what I hoped for. There was enough for us to get the hull back in good order and repair the thrusters, but some of the specialized compounds to repair our main guns were lacking. So were the requested compounds so we could fix the dimensional drive.
"He's shorting us on our supplies again. It looks like he wants to keep us here and relatively helpless," I said.
Anna drummed her fingers on the tabletop. "He mentioned the Descari Cartel. I don't know them. Have you picked up anything about them from any broadcasts?"
"They're important locally. For a leadership structure, they've oddly enough chosen not to go with the beggar Queen model. The city is run by the head of five powerful interests. They're one of them," I said.
"I may come from nothing, but I don't beg," Anna said, folding her arms. "What do you think the odds are our other two targets have links to seats on this council?"
It would make sense if Cutout were trying to rile them up. Humans were always looking for an excuse to turn on each other.
"I'd say that is likely. Why?" I asked.
"Change of plans. We don't need three powerful enemies, and if Cutout is looking like he is going to betray us we need to betray him first. Have Mechos and Ophelia look into the Descari Cartel, especially their resources. We need to get the rest of your systems operational," Anna said.
"You want to rob them blind. You're right, you're a thief, not a beggar," I said.
"I never claimed to be anything else," Anna said with a thin smile.
"While we're being larcenous, I've identified a few Powered individuals in the city."
"Abduction or murder isn't actually larceny," Anna said.
Technical accuracy was the best sort. How very infuriating.
"Oh, look. The girl who never had a date studied the dictionary during all her lonely nights. Being a grammarian will surely drive the boys wild.” I changed the subject. We'd been focusing quite enough on the things the humans needed and not enough on me. If I wasn't going to get to study Ophelia, I needed something else. “I want test subjects."
"Fine. Find us some targets. We need to make sure you can actually, successfully hold targets in the airship anyways," Anna said.
"I've got one in mind. Goes by the name of Lotus."
"Sounds like a stripper. Don't tell me she goes around naked and covered in vines?"
"This isn't your fantasy life. Lotus makes plants grow exceptionally quickly and far healthier than usual," I said.
Anna said wryly, "Take away the plants and it sounds like a fantasy life to me. Really, that has to be the lamest ability ever. You're hoping to use it with the plants you've gotten from the jungle?"
That was exactly what I had in mind. With my defenses and systems increasingly integrating biological components, and with some of those botanical, it made sense to be able to enhance them.
"Exactly. I didn't think we'd be able to get at Lotus, but if your endless bloodlust and bestial savagery wants to go to war with the Descari Cartel anyways, then for once your flaws can work to our advantage," I said.
"Wait? They have Lotus? Why?" Anna asked.
"Drugs. They have a rather extensive operation for growing and refining them. Unlike you, thievery is actually something of a sideline for them. Their major income comes from pharmaceuticals," I said.
Anna gave a smile that looked suddenly feral. "Perfect. You'll get her. If we can hit them where it hurts, it won't just weaken their ability to strike at us. It’s going to force them to divert their security to those assets."
Anna did have something of a gift when it came to crime. I wasn't certain this was entirely Queenly but then, I was her partner and not her subject. It suited my ends well.
"The others are recruiting. I hope you don't mind, but I enhanced Hot Stuff a bit so she'll be a bit less fatal to her partners," I said.
Anna frowned. "What kind of percentages was she running?"
"Around fifteen percent survived," I said.
"Worst lay ever," Anna said. Hot Stuff's particular ability was passed on via sexual contact.
"I'm sure if you had any former partners they'd disagree."
"What is up to, and how?" Anna asked.
"Sixty-five percent. I harvested some hyper-aggressive viruses from Ophelia's system and adapted them," I said.
"How do the rest of the crew transfer their conditions into the recruits?" Anna asked.
"Mechos makes more Mechanites by implanting a mechanical control engine at the base of their spine. Doctor Batavius can make more of her kind with a bite. The Rats and the Wolves both seem to utilize scratches. We haven't figured out Ophelia yet," I said.
"Not by way of her blood or I'd have been infected," Anna said.
"Possibly. Now that I've already given you the weakened version of her ability, you should be protected from it," I said.
Anna pushed herself up from the table. "Good talk. Get me a location on Lotus and those supplies. We need to be ready for a fight."
19
"Every step of an operation like this should be planned out in advance," Baron Wolfson said. I'd rushed repairs to the hull, but otherwise not been able to do much but load supplies before we were pulling away from the dock again on our mission to capture Lotus.
The Descari Cartel kept their operations in the jungle a few miles from the city. While the wildlife made this exceptionally hazardous, the beam weapons they had placed on top of a large dome helped to discourage the animals from becoming too much of an issue. It also made things tough for executing any sort of assault.
"I'm a fan of quick plans. If we think too much it rarely turns out okay," Anna said, looking out at the dome. We were hovering perhaps a half mile away.
Doctor Batavius, Candice, Anna, Ophelia, Mechos, Ratticus the leader of the Rats and Baron Wolfson had gathered to discuss plans.
"That is because you're a terrible leader," I said.
"You shouldn't let her talk to you that way," Wolfson said.
Ratticus said, "Indeed! You are a brilliant leader and an endless source of delight and bliss to your humble subjects who praise your gentle and caring nature and lack of destructive instincts."
Wolfson growled deep in his throat an
d the Rat moved to hide behind Anna.
"Emma and I have an understanding. If anyone else tries it, we'll have words. I need solutions on this assault and not advice on dealing with my partner," Anna said.
"We can assault with the Graven. A maneuverable weapons platform is superior to a fixed one," Ophelia said.
"Spoken like someone whose only understanding of the science of things is from being a science experiment herself. Those cannons hold a lot more charge than those on the Graven and if they deal with the wildlife, we know they must have a wide range of fire," Batavius said.
"Can we teleport?" Anna asked.
"They're shielded against sensors to some distance out from the dome," I said.
"Not close enough," Anna said. "Can we get Hot Stuff close?"
"If they were projectile cannons they wouldn't be able to hurt her. Beam weaponry of that intensity might be able to overload her system at best—and slice her in half at worse," I said.
"Can we soak the hits for her or the Graven, and get close?" Anna asked.
That was a more challenging question to answer.
"Shields are operational and they add a lot to our defensive power, but without the ability to get a proper scan of their weaponry we just don't know what kind of force they can throw at us," Batavius said.
Anna took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Fine. Let’s do this differently. I'm not going to keep throwing out ideas and getting shot down. Someone give me a solution that might work in the next thirty seconds or I start really shooting."
"I'd think you would be accustomed to being shot down," I said.
"Not now, Emma," Anna said, staring at the crew.
"Oh, she of most destructive and splendorous beauty whose presence makes the heavens quake and rain down magnificent showers of happiness. If we but move fast enough our defenses need not be as strong," said Ratticus, wringing his hands.
"If you would like me to eat him, it would be my pleasure," Wolfson said.
"I make a better engineer than spy," Mechos said.