“Lets see this connection in action then.” Tia swipes two fingers down, which Kat recognizes as the menu command.
Kat waits the short moment for the duel prompt to come up she’s assuming that Tia is looking for. The tiny box hangs in mid-air within arms length awaiting for Kat to accept or decline. She accepts.
The counter displays the number three replacing the prompt box as it shrinks into the growing number. Kat doesn’t do duels. At all. She has always felt they aren’t additive. One person always feels bad and the other always feels better. Of course she feels that way about all player versus player interactions in games. As long as it’s optional, she doesn’t do it.
The number two displays and Kat can feel her heart race. She’s been in plenty of battles before and they don’t normally make her this nervous. Then she might believe the bond she has with Evelyn is real but knows in this game no one is going to die. But here she is, adrenaline pumping through every part of her.
One. Kat takes her two fingers and pulls up the menu. The battle menu will pull up beside that but she wants to be prepared. She doesn’t want Tia to win. She wants to see that smug look on her face wiped clean when she buries that golden spring in the ground.
The number fades away and the two dragons go at each other. Kat has spent tons of hours messing with and tweaking the auto combat within Evelyn’s instinct commands. At any moment Kat can override it and control her manually or through voice. Kat liked to use the auto commands as much as she could because they would be able to act faster than her.
Tia says while staring up at the two dragons, “What are your intentions with my brother?”
Kat looks away from Evelyn wrapping her jaws around the neck of the golden dragon to see Tia looking directly at her. Kat doesn’t know how to answer that question other that with, duh he’s my husband.
She says, “He is my husband. In human terms I am going to assume you know what that means.”
Tia keeps her eyes on Kat and hits commands in her menus. Kat looks up to see the golden dragon wrapped around Evelyn. Kat breaks eye contact and hits a couple of commands allowing Evelyn to break free and land beside Kat. Evelyn takes in a deep breath and breaths purple flame from her lips. The golden dragon breaths out an orange flame that collides with Evelyn’s.
Tia repeats her question, “What are you intentions?”
Kat doesn’t want to see Evelyn hurt and Tia's eye’s feel like they are boring a whole into her soul.
Kat says, “I love him. He has been my husband for far longer than he has been your brother. So you can go fuck yourself.”
The heat of the flames on Kat’s face goes away and looks back to Evelyn. She is panting from the fire breathing but is still ok. Kat switches the auto commands over to the new one she has been working on she calls fire-bite. Evelyn will use her speed and agility to clamp down on it and then use her fire to cook whatever she has a hold of.
Tia says back in a sharp tone, “I want for all of my sisters to have the same thing. To be happy and safe. I once let a human trick me and steal my most precious possession. It’s called the Key and he took it right before the harvest started. It was my blindness that caused it to happen and I am not going to let any of my sisters go through that.”
Kat watches as Evelyn bites down on neck of the golden dragon and starts to breath fire on it.
Kat says, “I am not just some human, I am Graven’s wife. Graven then merged with your sister by accident. Then you tell me that I’m half Eydulan and start calling me a halfling. Why do you think I’m going to be anything like who ever it was that took your Key?”
“I don’t but you still hold on to the coin of an enemy to the Eydulan’s”
Of course this is about Mark’s coin, Kat thinks. “I have that because I can’t just let him be free in the human world. Plus if I give it back, what happens? He is in love with me right now. If humans fall out of love it is very nasty sometimes. We don’t need that right now and I have no feelings for him.”
“So you decided to keep him prisoner through keeping his heart. Who are you to decide what is best for him or humanity?”
“Because I am the only one there. I was the one who ran to rescue Terra to stop the Foremid from getting their hands on magi-tech secrets. I was the one who saved humanity and won’t get any credit for it and I’m ok with that. I don’t need someone who thinks they know my motivations to question me.”
“So you think you are doing right by letting someone love you without returning it because you think its best for the lives of all humans. You think that trying to force your mate to be more like his old self does anything for who he is now. And you think you’re some righteous savior because you did something you should have. You are as pathetic as your fighting ability in this game.”
Kat looks up to watch as the golden dragon tightens it grip around Evelyn’s neck. Kat’s heart stops. She wasn’t watching the fight and wasn’t paying attention to what Evelyn needed, only her own emotions. Kat hears the snap and cringes. Evelyn’s body falls to the ground and in a puff of purple smoke leaving behind a small box.
In the box is a purple heart crystal with all of Evelyn’s data. Kat can go to any healer and pay in game or real credits to resurrect her. She can feel her eyes well up with tears. Graven and her raised this dragon from a whelp for over eight months.
She looks up and Tia is gone along with the golden dragon. She looks back to Evelyn’s heart and holds it close to her chest and whispers, “I’m sorry.”
17
Opening her eyes she sees is Tia is no where to be seen. When she got her answer from Kat that must have been all Tia needed. There was no reason to kill off Evelyn in a duel like that. Then to disappear again is really frustrating. Kat can’t even vent now because she has to go find Graven and tell him the news.
Whisper’s voice comes over the speakers, “Kat we have one hour till we reach Gen’s ship.”
Kat sighs, “Thanks Whipser.”
She didn’t think that much time had passed in the game but doesn’t matter. When they go meet Gen, Tia will go and she can give her a death stare or a good yelling anger filled chat. Whatever suits her in the moment.
Graven is in the cockpit on the bridge. He always said how he liked being in it and it made him feel like he was a fighter pilot. Something he never got to do but always wanted to.
He turns to look at the door as Kat walks in and gets out of the chair. Kat tells him about Evelyn and her untimely demise by the hands of Tia. Kat is nearly in tears, and Graven hugs her while telling her it’s ok.
He says, “We can start over again, if you want. Make her just like she was and start over again from a whelp so she can get all the benefit of her battle.”
“I guess, but we spent so much time with her.”
“I know, but she didn't go anywhere. Everything she is, is still inside of her heartstone. All the time we spent with her, all of the fine tuning, it's still all there.”
“Are you going to keep helping me with her?”
“Of course I will. Tia went too far, she didn't have to kill her. I bet she was trying to prove a point, for what I'm not sure. That's just the way she is at times.”
“She's a real bitch, isn't she.”
Graven shrugs, “She does things on a different scale. To us it might seem that way, but to her it's a necessary action.” He kisses her on the forehead, “I've still got a few things to get ready before we arrive. Want to finish this conversation in game when we get back?”
Kat nods “I can watch the bridge for you.”
He kisses her forehead again. She watches him walk out and he looks back with a smile on his face. She wonders if everything is going to be ok between them. She can treat him differently and knows his answers and mannerisms will be different but its the feeling that he’s going to leave her lingering in her heart that makes her worry.
Jeeves takes this opportunity to talk with Kat about how much better she is and can navigate the electronic
space better than she could ever do in her physical body. Its like her mind is set free, after the initial shock wore off. Kat asks a few questions about what Jeeves wants. She knows she can’t leave the ship that it is just where her last vestige of physical self remains. Jeeves wants to stay with everyone else. She enjoys the company of Whisper and Fury and they seem to enjoy hers. There are things she can do with the ship that were impossible with her body.
Her powers still need to be in check and can’t just be used all the time but she can make those decisions now herself. She had a talk with Tia as well, who agrees - which is a miracle - that she is the one with the power to make her own choices now. That after the harvest all of the old rules are gone and survival of herself comes before the group. Because even if one is cored they can be resurrected or melded in the case of Graven and Terra and have a new body if someone is there to get their core. It is the first time that Kat has heard anything about Tia in a positive nature. Which could just mean that she is harder on family than on her subjects.
Whisper breaks in, “We’re here and no one is answering any hails but the dock request is green. Which is weird, but everything with the Eydulans so far is weird.”
Kat says, “Thanks Whisper, get everyone to the cargo hold.”
The bridge door opens with Mark standing in the door way, “You ready?”
“I was just about to be.”
Taking a side step against the wall and he makes a gesture with his arm allowing Kat to get out of the bridge.
“Ladies first.”
Kat walks past him, nearly bumping into him as she does and locks into his eyes. Mark has very pretty eyes. They look slightly robotic but there is a vibrance to them that is missing from any other she looks into. She could get lost in them if she let herself.
She takes a step away from him and says, “So do you know what you’re going to ask about this spaceship we’re going to be sent to?”
Mark shakes his head, “It will depend on what is said. There are so many variables it would be hard to generalize. Beyond the things like how powerful are its weapons, shields, and hull.”
“Then I’m glad that you are going to be there to ask those questions.”
Kat starts to head to the cargo bay where Graven and Tia should already be waiting. She’s already talked to everyone else and they are going to stay on the ship. Having too many people there might make Gen nervous to talk about herself as an Eydulan. Terra agreed when Kat brought that up to the group the day before and said she would feel that way even now. Being Eydulan is not a gift as of this moment, it is a burden, one that comes with fear of being caught, tortured, and having not only your physical body dissected to give someone magic powers but to have their core at risk. Which is the same thing as saying that someone would be using a human’s soul to the Eydulans.
Everyone is gathered near the cargo bay doors by the time that Kat gets there with Mark following closely behind. Tia shoots her a look that would have made her cringe a few days ago but it is now just par for the course. Kat is just about ready to accept that Tia is just never going to approve of her or like her. Which is just fine with Kat. One less stewardess hanging around her ship the better they are for it. The only thing that she’s done is cause trouble on this ship from the moment she stepped on board.
Kat pushes her personal feelings aside for the moment and addresses the group, “Alright everyone here is the deal. Graven, Tia, Mark and myself are going to go over and talk with Gen.”
Tia interrupts, “What do you mean that thing is coming?”
Everyones head turn from Tia back to Kat. She feels a twitch of heat start around her shoulders and up her neck. Its a valid question but not coming from her.
Kat says, “He’s going because he is the most technically inclined crew member. If there are any questions he might want to ask will help us secure the cores with less trouble.”
“Well I am not taking one of those things to meet with my kin to reveal herself. Genbu might not even talk with me if she finds out he’s Foremid. She is very skiddish.”
Kat wants to grab Tia by the neck and squeeze the life out of her. She’s fairly sure she could but then she’d have to deal with a dead body and the fallout of killing a queen of a nearly extinct race she’s in the middle of trying to save. Joking to herself she thinks, it wouldn't even permanently kill her as long as her core is intact.
Kat shakes away those thoughts before replying, “Fine. Mark you can go to the bridge and I’ll have Whisper open a com link to me so you can see and hear what is going on. If you have questions about the ship, I can ask them for you. Knox you and Jack stick with the engines. Hanna and Terra just wait by the doors here because I don’t know if there is anything else on this ship we need to worry about. Kill anything that doesn’t use the code word.”
Hanna asks, “What code word?”
“Bananas.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup, Whisper is going to stay plugged in and I’m taking Fury with me.” Patting Fury on her hip. “Any questions?”
Tia asks, “Why are you taking a firearm?”
“Because you never know, plus this is Fury’s housing. Having an A.I. around is always a good bet. Plus Fury is great with weapons, which I am going to guess this ship we are about to go off into has some.”
Terra says, “Please tell Gen that Rain, Wind, Kalie, Summer, and North said hi. They are a few of my former personalities that are friends with her.”
Kat smiles, “You got it Terra.”
Graven holds up the treasure chest of Hanna’s, “I’m bringing this with us because I bet that Gen is looking for her mate and we might have her core.”
Kat asks, “That is a good idea but Hanna are you ok with that?”
Hanna nods, “I am as long as it goes back to an Eydulan and not some Guild scumbag that is going to experiment on them.”
Kat asks, “Does anyone know who Gen’s mate is?”
Tia says, “That is normally not a question we ask. It is a very personal question, like asking a human what their ID number is for whatever government entity you might be with. It might seem weird to you but to us it is only something family knows or very close friends. Our powers can leave vulnerabilities we don’t want and our mates balance those out. So again we keep those secret.”
“Short answer is no, got it. Any other questions or concerns before we go in?” Kat looks over each face and everyone shakes their head. “Great, lets do this.”
18
The cargo bay door opens. Everyone goes to their positions as Kat had given them. She sees the iced over spot where she was just a moment before and things become clear, she needs to figure out her powers soon because it is getting out of hand.
There is probably no reason to be this cautious about meeting an informant but she’s been burned in the past. Specifically that time she boarded that informants ship near planet Carter. She still gets chills just thinking about it. Graven and Tia wait next to each other as the door slowly goes down, not talking. Which isn’t like the way they have been. Kat wonders if a fallout happened between them or are they just getting their game faces on.
Cold air billows in through the cracks of the door. Kat closes her eyes for a second and takes in the cool breeze that feels like heaven on her skin. The cold has become more and more a thing for Kat. More so in the last couple of months as with her emotional outbursts the cold seems to be getting more intense. With both her emotions and her preferences.
As the door reveals more of Gen’s ship interior, ice can be seen forming at the vents to either side of the large hallway they are peering into. Everything is lit with a dull yellow glow from overhead lights spaced far enough apart to where there is pitch black spots between them. In the distance Kat can see a brighter light past a bulkhead door. Reminding her of a bad horror movie set in space.
Graven had made her watch a ton of them. He found them funny and therapeutic which Kat still wasn’t sure what he meant by that. They hadn’
t watched movies like that in over a year now but she still has fond memories of it. Even if it is making her skin crawl right now just looking into this foreign ship.
Without hesitation Tia marches forward into the ship. Kat is not about to be upstaged here and makes it a point to catch up to and pass Tia. This is her crew and her mission. She isn’t going to let the client lead, even if it would be nice to let Tia get eaten by whatever is lurking in the shadows. If there is something lurking in the shadows.
Tia Gives Kat a look as she passes her, which is something that Kat expected but it was more of a glance than a lance. The bright light is getting closer and Kat can start to make out what is beyond it. Another hallway lined with tall glass walls that lead to tropical forest like environments. Looking into the windowed walls there are foot prints in the soft sand like ground. Kat leans in closely as she notices a shimmer around the footprint.
A heavy thud hits the glass wall. Kat jumps back and into Graven, almost knocking him over. The chest of spheres falls to the ground. Tia busts out laughing. Kat’s heart is racing but can’t help but calm down with Tia laughing as hard and as genuine as she is. Looking back at the windowed wall there is still a shimmer just past where she was starring into the enclosure. Enough of one to start making out an outline. Which is at least twice her size.
Kat has her mouth open wide as she points toward the invisible creature and Graven answers, “It’s an invisible predator from Etchten. There really isn’t a human word for it directly. The best thing I could tell you is its basically an invisible bear with a small mouth filled with razor sharp teeth.”
“How did you deal with them?”
“We caged a few and had to kill the rest. They breed rapidly, have huge appetites, and are filled with rage. Dying was never a real threat for eydulans back before the harvest. Getting maimed or eaten alive as slowly as possible, that was and is a huge fear. Sure you’re going to live but now you got these extra memories of getting eaten.” Graven shivers, “Yea no thanks.”
Starship Magic 4: Extraction Page 8