by Skyler Grant
"We don't have it," Dela said, looking at the sky, "We've engines approaching. I don't think magical tigers and bears are going to be much use, if they bring in air support."
"The woods outside the city are relatively safe, if we need to go that route. If the problem is focusing your power, however, I can help. You are stronger linked than not," Ilsa said.
Quinn had seen that first-hand with other mages. Even between Chaos and Order he'd seen Jinx be able to draw a bit of extra power from Kalisa when needed, and vice-versa.
"That might work, but if so it means we'll be linked for the purposes of using my powers. If we go, Ilsa is coming with us," Quinn said.
"I assumed as much. I was the only Unshackled on this world, and for over a year now I have been the only living person I know of still on it. I have little desire to remain," Ilsa said.
Dela let out a frustrated breath. "I don't like it and you know why. But I like us getting shot even less. If you're asking for a second opinion I say bring her and we figure it out later."
Ilsa nodded briefly at Dela. "I am not your enemy. And I know that this is not my Quinn, for all that he might look the same."
Quinn reached out a hand to Ilsa's stomach where one of her runes glowed.
Red lightning cracked.
Flashes of things that might have been, that had been. An Imperium fighter crashing with Quinn at the controls. A tiger pulling him from the burning wreckage.
Quinn reached for his power. Linked with Ilsa the pain wasn't as overwhelming, although he felt her muscles tense. Perhaps she got some of it.
With a twist he returned them to their reality.
5
There were virtues to being on a clan world. In Imperium space, appearing in the middle of a crowd and with a small army of superpowered animals would have gotten the police called—as a quick prelude to the army showing up. Here, there were a few weapons drawn in surprise, but when it was clear no attack was coming the clansfolk largely greeted the appearance with good cheer.
Ilsa accompanied them back to the Centauri Bliss. She didn't have anywhere else to go and neither Quinn nor Dela felt right about leaving an unknown Unshackled loose after what had happened with Mahara.
Soon they had her and her beasts settled into the cargo hold and it wasn't long before Kalisa showed up to have a look.
"I don't know you. I should know you," Kalisa said flatly, her arms folded as she studied Ilsa.
"You did know me, in my universe. Head of Xenobiology," Ilsa said.
"That was Dalton Wiles," Kalisa said.
"Got gored by a Tourasque a week before mission. I was his replacement."
Kalisa turned her gaze towards the beasts filling the hold, "Dalton, the invisible hunter. His abilities help him to blend into almost any setting. Nothing at all like your abilities appear to be. I never thought that an Unshackled from another universe might have different abilities."
"They call me the tamer of beasts. I'm able to tame almost any animal and share my abilities with it, and share in its myself," Ilsa said, with a fond look over at the animals.
"I don't know of anyone with anything even remotely similar," Kalisa said, looking to Quinn. "What are we doing with her?"
"I'm not yours to do anything with. I came to your ship because we have nowhere else here and Quinn ..." Ilsa said, hesitating.
"My version in Ilsa's reality was married to her," Quinn said.
"Past tense?" Kalisa asked.
"He died when the Veldonak invaded, along with pretty much everyone else," Ilsa said.
"Veldonak?"
"Robots. I didn't like them," Dela said, rubbing at her eyes. "I've got lots of scans though. I figured you might like to have a look later."
"They land on a world and scavenge much of the local technology to build new versions of themselves. They're kind of wimps individually, but they never stay down for long. Knock one down, they just put them back together again and soon it's coming for you again," Ilsa said.
"And they were a problem on your side?" Kalisa asked.
"For us and the Imperium both."
"However much we might work for peace, I am increasingly reminded of just how unlikely ours was," Kalisa said, staring at Ilsa. "And you are a problem, although if anyone is on your side here it is me."
Quinn explained, "The last Unshackled I brought through from another universe was Mahara and she tried to completely exterminate all Order mages in the Imperium."
Ilsa offered a wry smile. "If I'm supposed to react in horror at that, you're looking at the wrong girl. I've no love for the Empress and her lackies."
"Empress?" Quinn asked.
"Teliana," Ilsa said.
"That was Opalia's daughter. Did her line not lose their magic in your reality?" Kalisa asked.
"Opalia herself did, when she saved us. But no, it didn't carry through to her line."
Subtle differences between the realities, minor things that all led to things being quite a bit different. It sounded as if their Empress never formed the Divide and continued the war on the Chaosians, perhaps at the expense of fending off threats elsewhere.
"Another one," Tamara said, walking into the cargo bay. Jinx was at her side and ready for a fight. Dressed in her Queen of Thieves outfit the runes were visible on her pale flesh, and from the brilliance of their glow she was freshly charged with mana.
A massive tiger and bear rose and moved to flank Ilsa, eyes warily focused on the arriving pair.
"I made a mistake going there. I shouldn't have. We stirred up a mess of a fight and she came to investigate," Quinn said.
"And you couldn't leave a complete stranger who is probably some kind of sociopath to die?" Tamara said.
"That isn't right. We know now all Unshackled are bad," Jinx said.
"We know of no such thing. However, just because we needed a mad scientist doesn't mean she isn't bad. Just useful," Tamara said, with a long look towards Kalisa.
"I don't actually disagree. All Chaosians tend towards Chaos, but none so much as us Unshackled. We may not be evil, but we are destructive, and whatever relationship your other Quinn might have had to this woman, she is as well," Kalisa said.
"Is it something we have to decide right now? We can't figure this all out later?" Dela asked.
"No," Jinx said, shaking her head. "Whatever we decide, we can't put it off. If we're friends or enemies, we need to decide it now."
"You're of her line. I can feel it," Ilsa said, and she didn't sound pleased.
"This is Jinx, my wife. Tamara, the head of our family and another wife," Quinn said.
"You're in a Centauri? You?" Ilsa asked with a sharp look to Quinn, "Huh. You must be less stuck-up in this universe."
"It took some convincing," Tamara said wryly.
"If we play nice, can you do the same?" Jinx asked.
Ilsa gave an almost helpless shrug."I was not exaggerating when I said I had nowhere else to go. This is not my Quinn, but I wish him well and want to trust him all the same. I would rather not be your enemy."
Jinx and Tamara exchanged a few quiet words.
"Friends it is then," Tamara said. "Dela can get you a cabin."
"I'd prefer to stay with my companions, if that is acceptable," Ilsa said.
"Not like we're hauling much cargo these days anyways, being the fancy outlaws we've become," Quinn said.
"We'll see you get some bedding and clothes then," Tamara said.
"Does this mean I get to make a fur bikini?" Dela asked hopefully.
Costumes, always with the costumes. Still, Quinn found the banter a much nicer end to this than bloodshed. Now that the tension had dropped, Quinn noticed he could see flashes of his alter-ego's life—the Quinn from Ilsa's reality, fading imprints on Ilsa's memory—and he experienced momentary senses of what the other Quinn felt. While fragmentary, from what he remembered, Ilsa had saved a wounded enemy fighter pilot from dying.
She nursed him back to health instead of killing him.
6
The Centauri Bliss never really had a doctor. Back in the old days they relied on automated medical kits, if anything, and these days most of their healing was being done by Jinx with her magic.
Recently, however, they had a few situations that had gotten truly complicated involving both biology and magic. As such Sand and Kalisa were now sharing the duty of looking after the health of the crew.
Quinn had arranged a meeting with them along with Jinx. They had matters they needed to discuss.
They'd claimed a side room. It had chairs, if not much privacy, but then privacy was hard to find on a ship as crowded as theirs.
Kalisa didn't change her attire much. Well-armed and barely concealing black leather was her thing. Sand had at least gone to some pains to look like a doctor, although Quinn had no clue where she'd found the white labcoat. Perhaps she'd created it herself, her nanites were able to do that.
"Have you two had a chance to look things over?" Quinn asked.
"Can I just say that our choice in doctors is really weird?" Jinx said.
"I can build people from scratch," Sand said.
Kalisa said with a feral grin, "And I'm really good at taking them apart. Put us together you've got all eventualities covered."
"We've had a chance to study your respective cases and come to some conclusions. Who do you want to start with?" Sand asked.
"The baby," Quinn and Jinx said in unison.
"Your child seems in surprisingly good health. Jinx very nearly died in her fight with Selina. In a situation like that, losing the baby wouldn't have been a surprise," Sand said, impersonal.
"But you didn't," Kalisa said. "Mahara and those who share in her power can't have children, but as you know Selina is no longer a bearer of destruction magic. Physically she now bears all the markers of one who had been pregnant for some time."
"But the baby is still ..." Quinn said.
"The progeny of you two. Selina doesn't bear the genetic markers for Order magic, but the baby does," Kalisa said.
"What are we going to do about Selina?" Quinn asked.
"For now we're keeping her tranquilized. We already have one prisoner we have to watch, and that is one too many," Kalisa said.
That was Bravo, Mara's sister. She was still aboard. They didn't want to kill her, but they also didn't want to let her go.
"Is that going to effect the baby's health?" Jinx asked.
"Versus being in a mother that might attempt to do it harm? It is the healthier choice," Sand said.
"So Selina is powerless. The baby is fine. What about me?" Jinx asked.
"The runes that you stole from her appear to be fully functional. In terms of raw power you are now one of the greatest mages in human space," Kalisa said.
"Strong enough to kick your ass?"
Kalisa chuckled. "You're definitely stronger than I am, apprentice. In terms of skill you are far behind me and any of the Unshackled. Remember that Selina, weaker than you in both power and will, fought you to your death because she had a years more training. Imagine someone with centuries more."
"And what about me?" Quinn asked.
"You're the strangest case. Your fusion of Chaos magic and Order magic is something that both I and Kalisa have attempted in our experiments and failed," Sand said.
"But it can't be that impossible. You have both told me in the past that Chaos and Order in terms of magic are human constructs," Quinn said.
"Human or not, it is the paradigm with which your race's magic now operates," Sand said.
"Your condition is terminal. If you want the nightmares, I can describe what is happening inside your body at this very moment. If not, I will simply assure you it is fatal. Jinx has been fixing you, and she'll need to continue to do so. Without a regular strengthening of your biological pattern you'll die quickly and painfully," Kalisa said.
"Define regular," Jinx said.
"Roughly every thirteen hours."
Quinn felt sick to his stomach at the thought. Freedom was always something he'd valued, and now it was clear he couldn't have much of it at all. He was bound to Jinx in a very real way. He might be able to leave her side, but never for long.
"You are an Order mage as well. Could you heal him?" Jinx asked Sand.
Sand shook her head. "I gave myself the Imperial powers just as you have them, but I don't have your raw strength."
"I'd rather know than not. What is happening inside of me?" Quinn asked.
"When Chaos magic first enters a host it can be incredibly disruptive until it equalizes with the Order inherent in them. You saw Ilinar's wraithspawn first-hand, you have seen how some infected by own abilities have animal features," Kalisa said.
"The Order magic inside of you is hyper-stimulating the Chaos. You are in a constant process of mutation. Think of it as a highly magical cancer that begins growing inside of you, starting again the moment Jinx is done healing you," Sand said.
"Is there any sort of cure?" Quinn asked.
"I'm hopeful the process will be self-terminating at some point. That just like any normal Chaosian you will, eventually, equalize. Your cells finally mutate into just the right configuration where you can maintain both Chaos and Order magic inside of them," Kalisa said.
"Like building up an immunity to a disease," Jinx said.
"Will I still be human if that happens?" Quinn asked.
"As much as any Order mage is. All have been mutated by magic, their genome holding secrets that the genomes of their ancestors did not," Kalisa said.
"And the pain I feel?"
"A natural reaction to your body tearing itself apart. If you are ever cured I suspect that would go away."
It was something to hope for. Until then he had to make sure to never stray too far from Jinx.
7
They still had a lot on their plates and needed to figure out their priorities. That called for a family dinner. Their recent time in clan space meant they had resupplied there and the meal was some kind of meat already marinated with strong and pungent spices.
"We've talked about this for awhile and we're getting close. We're too big, too loud, too much a target. Whatever we do next, we need to keep our activities on the galactic stage limited," Tamara said.
"Do we even have a plan for what we do after? What is our endgame?" Dela asked.
Tamara shifted her stance as Tourmaline took over. "I'm a survivor, everybody knows that. I know you put a lot of work into the colony and the Clan. We can't settle though. We've too many enemies who are too strong. We stay still, they'll come for us."
"It is that way for spies as well. It is hard to leave the game when you are done playing," Mara said.
Quinn understood the concepts. It was the same for criminals. Make the big score and you couldn't stick around home, you had to go far—far enough where nobody knew you, and you had to become someone new altogether.
"We've talked about clan space before," Jinx said.
"It could work," Kalisa said.
"I was thinking something different. There is more than the Imperium and the clans out there. With the runic sphere we can go anywhere. We go, we find out what's out there," Tourmaline said.
"And leave everything behind?" Jinx asked.
"We don't have to stay gone. My family are masters at jumping into a system only long enough to receive a data burst or pick up a probe," Mara said.
"Return to top up our fuel. Handle pressing business, and then back to a new frontier? I ... like that," Quinn said.
Quinn loved his family, he also loved his ship. The thought that the two might diverge at some point had bothered him quite a bit.
"I love the idea of being an explorer. Of seeing the ruins out there first-hand," Dela said.
"Of encountering mysteries no human has encountered before," Kalisa said.
"Punching things no Vex has punched before," Kara said.
"Any objections to the plan?" Quinn asked.
"Is that any way to raise a kid?" Jin
x asked.
"Kids are flexible, more than you'd think. Yours is going to have a big family to look after them no matter where we go or what we do," Tourmaline said.
"Sounds like we have an exit strategy. Now for unfinished business," Taki said.
"Shocktroopers The visions I've had say they're really bad, if allowed to continue. We need to put a stop to their creation," Quinn said.
"I'm up for stopping the xenocide," Kara said.
"If we're going to go really far away afterwards, we need to stop their runic sphere program. Imperium ships that can go anywhere are a threat to us," Jinx said.
"That would be two big blows against an Imperium we've spent a lot of time trying to buff up in case a war happens. We sure we want to do that?" Dela asked.
"Speaking only for myself I don't want the Imperium destroyed, but the Imperium has always had its good parts and its bad parts. If it is going to survive by embodying those bad, it doesn't deserve to continue," Quinn said.
"That comes from the head. At least two members of the Triumverate are completely ruthless. You want to change what the Imperium is becoming, it means more than just stopping projects. It means regime change and assassination," Mara said.
"They're only in power at all because we killed so many others. More blood doesn't promise a good result," Jinx said.
"Let's table the regime change for now. Seems to me that without knowing there is good leadership in the wings, it won't achieve much," Quinn said.
Tourmaline shifted back into Tamara, who stared in dismay for a moment at the pile of meat atop her plate. "In other news, we've received an unusual transmission. A request for a meeting, bearing the seal of our dead Emperor."
"Curious," Sand said.
"So a trap by the Triumverate," Quinn said.
"No. I'm reviewing the data. The Emperor's seal requires independent one-time keys from over thirty-seven constantly shifting, databases. Even I would have a hard time forging it," Sand said.
"The Emperor is dead. His powers scattered, and the Imperium he spent a lifetime building has fallen apart. We all know there is no way he could still be alive, so who sent it? Who would have the ability to send it?" Jinx asked.