by Skyler Grant
"I know! They seem to be crewing starships? Armor? Rifles? You'll want to figure out what happened," Astra said.
"We've got a target to hit, but a shipyard is a big goal. I think it is safe to say I know where the Orcs are getting their ships and equipment, but are they the manipulator or the manipulated?" Cleo searched Astra's expression.
"I don't know the answer to that. I can give some guesses," Astra said. She studied one of the other bean bag chairs. "Mind if I have a seat? I might burn it up, but I want to try."
"They're replaceable," Cleo said.
Astra half-closed her eyes and the flames around her largely dampened except for her fiery locks of hair. With a leap she sprawled out into the beanbag. It didn't immediately explode into flames, for all there seemed to be a faint scent of something burning.
"Everybody thinks the Fade was this big bad nothing that I made, but that is kind of a lie. The actual Fade regions? They suck life, they suck everything, and while that was kind of my thing I hid a lot more in it than anyone knew. Planets, fleets, armies. There were bubbles everywhere if you knew how to get to them. The Orc home world was one," Astra said.
"And you think someone did get to one? Shouldn't you know?" Cleo asked.
Astra gave her a wry look. "Okay, so here is the thing. I'm only sort of part Urania. I made the Amulet of Dusk and when I did, I put part of me into it. When Arya purified the amulet and made it into the Amulet of Dawn, that part became a part of her. I'm sort of a copy of a copy, and that copy is a few centuries away from the one that got defeated."
Banok felt quite a sense of relief at that. It was to be short-lived.
"So the real Urania is long dead?"
"It was her magic maintaining the Fade. No, you might have destroyed her body, but I doubt you got her. More than that, I think you and Banok here kind of brought her back to life. I guess that was the whole point," Astra said cheerfully.
"Excuse me?" Cleo asked.
Astra traced a finger along the amulet she wore. "This thing is nice, don't get me wrong, but you left the real prize behind. Arya through this amulet was closely bound to Urania, probably more than anyone else alive. Even after death it kept her body whole, despite that the Fade ate at the world of her tomb in an effort to get at her."
"Until we came along," Cleo said, deadpan.
"Yanked the protection right off her neck and carried it far, far, away," Astra said with a grin to Cleo. "I'm pretty sure you resurrected her, me, whatever."
Cleo's tail was starting to lash violently. "I've been a step behind this entire time."
"You believe this?" Banok asked.
"It never made sense to me why Klink would have the name of his real employer. And the fact was—he didn't. If the amulet ever reached its destination, it was going to be to taunt a rival. We're not dealing with one faction, we're dealing with at least two," Cleo said.
Astra said, "I think so. Someone wanted to resurrect Urania, so they used you for that and I think they succeeded. Another faction has been at work for some time to steal her power for themselves."
"But that faction did want the amulet," Cleo said.
"Well, of course they did. It is powerful. Whoever played these games, they underestimated, because they introduced a third faction. I and Banok are a power," Astra said, with a possessive look in Banok's direction.
"Now I don't know who the real enemy is," Cleo said.
Astra flashed a smile. "My agreement with Banok has him loving all variations of me. When he meets the real Urania, he'll be no more able to hurt her than you. You've only one enemy. We'll destroy them. And you have a very dear friend you haven't met yet. You'll meet her, one day."
Banok hadn't intended to agree to that, which didn't mean he hadn't. Either way it seemed to him that the real Lady of the Void was a problem for another day. Even if Astra was right, she had been out of commission for a very long time. Especially if another had been stealing away her power. It would be a long time until she was a threat.
The same wasn't true of whoever it was had found and upgraded the Orcs, and built them a fleet. That being the same person who had nuked the Druids. It was them Banok had to destroy to satisfy his agreement with Astra—who was owed the full brunt of his fury.
Cleo rose from her seat, tail still lashing as her hands went to her clothes and she began to strip down.
"I'd rather not think of what a fool I've been. I'm also more certain than ever I don't want you as an enemy, Astra. I'll have quarters set aside for you, even if you don't use them. Would you like to stay and watch?" Cleo asked.
That didn't seem like Cleo, not really. She had never given Banok any exhibitionist vibe. Of course, this wasn't for her benefit or even for his. Cleo was working a plan, Cleo was manipulating Astra.
Astra was clearly bright enough to understand what was happening. It also didn't seem to make a difference. Her eyes darted between them as a flush suddenly rose in her cheeks, and the tip of her tongue lashed out to flick at her lips. "Oh yes."
Astra was a creature of passion, just as Banok was to some degree now.
Cleo was a creature of pure predatory calculation.
Banok loved them both. Cleo's tail continued to lash as she approached Banok, leaning in to press a kiss against his lips before pushing him back forcefully onto the sleeping platform. Instantly she was on top of him, all tongue and claws and lean muscle.
They didn't come near matching the marathon session that Banok and Astra had managed, but with the panther spirit within Cleo she didn't need to sleep at all. By the time morning came Banok's back had been torn to bloody ribbons.
As Astra watched the whole thing, spellbound.
25
Night gave way into day and Astra eventually took Cleo's place. Unlike the elemental, Cleo only spared part of her attention to watching, instead keeping no less than a dozen holographic displays going.
Banok again lost track of time. At least it didn't take Vanwyn to separate them this time.
"Enough, you two. I've got something," Cleo said. The interruption was rather perfectly timed.
Astra gave a satisfied smirk. "Good for you. I'll skip the lecture though." The elemental vanished in a puff of flame.
Cleo had gotten dressed at some point. Banok did the same, feeling a bit awkward about the whole thing. His love for Cleo hadn't changed and he knew it to be true, he only wished he could feel a bit of difference between it and his newfound love of Astra. Despite knowing in his head that one was born of a contract, his heart seemed to feel no difference.
Cleo looked subtly different to Banok's magical sight. Vanwyn hadn't been wrong. The jaguar spirit within her was stronger now and with more points of connection to Cleo. Whatever he was, Banok had entangled Cleo with that spirit a little more.
"Sorry for interrupting. I just woke up with dozens of new ideas. Maybe we should have done that months ago, I feel so clear-headed," Cleo said as she began to pace around the bed.
"We'll just have to keep doing it from this point on. Did you figure out something more about the Orcs?" Banok asked.
"Not the Orcs. The Orcs are ... a side-effect. I mean they're a kick-ass side-effect with a giant fleet of ships, but ... well, you? You're kind of like a magic bullet. Not an army. We shoot you at something it is going to die, but we can't realistically shoot you at a million things," Cleo said.
That may or may not be true. Powerful magic was powerful magic. The Lady of the Void at her prime had created the Fade which stymied fleets to this day. That being said, Banok didn't have the slightest clue how to do anything similar. The magic he had dealt with all his life was on an individual level. As one man, did he think he was now an almost indestructible, unstoppable force? Probably. Would he have the slightest idea how to save, or destroy, something like a city? Not a clue. It might be within his power, but it wasn't within his capabilities.
"So what brilliance did you come up with as a solution?" Banok asked.
"Nyxa Prime," Cleo said.
"
We doing some shopping?"
Nyxa Prime was a city world, the entire planet given over to one great metropolis. It had slums that were legendary for their breakdown of order, and wealthy that lived in a luxury difficult to match elsewhere.
"No—well, probably," Cleo said with a shake of her head. "I'm more interested in it being the home and headquarters of the Caspi Banking Conglomerate. How do you feel about pulling off the biggest bank robbery of all time?"
"Oh, I'm into it," Banok said, taking a seat in one of the bean bags. Why couldn't Cleo have any real furniture in her room? "I take it this is where Baxtech does their banking?"
"They do, and most of their suppliers, to keep things easy. Their data vault is going to be as well-secured as anything you'll ever find. A private army, magical safeguards, and things we probably can't even imagine, but ultimately it is a vault."
"Getting in is one thing. I'm really strong now. But won't they just kill the systems if I get in there?"
"They will, but we'll be doing a two-pronged strike. Nyx will go with you. Instead of worrying about stealing anything specific with Baxtech, you'll be stealing the encrypted currency tokens."
Anonymous currency was only as valuable as it was secure. In the past it had come in thousands of strains, but these days most of the major banks backed a single currency. Banok didn't pretend to understand the technology behind it. Fortunately you didn't have to in order to steal it. Even a standard data drive could hold a fortune in currency tokens.
"That won't hurt Baxtech," Banok said.
"It probably will. A lot of what they're doing is under the table, and a lot of those tokens are probably theirs. The Caspi Conglomerate started as a collection of crime families and others are now their clients. We have no idea how large that store is going to be, but we can guess there is a lot there for the taking," Cleo said.
"We're going to make a lot of enemies," Banok said.
Cleo shrugged. "Probably, but it's big theft. You steal a hundred credits, someone is knocking down your door to bash your skull in. Steal a million, and you've got people bashing down your door to be your friends."
Banok gave her a flat look as he scrunched about in the chair, feeling a little lost in it. "That sounds nice, but you know the reality."
"We're not getting out of this without enemies, Banok. Bigger and worse than any we've ever had. This way we've at least got some money too, stuff that didn't come from my family," Cleo said.
"You said a two-pronged strike. You are the other prong?"
"Once you rob them blind I want you to destroy their vault, completely. I figure if Astra helps you out that shouldn't be a problem."
"Mass destruction is my specialty," Astra said inside Banok's mind.
"I think she likes the idea. Why am I blowing up a lot of money? I assume whatever we can't steal?"
"I don't care about the money. Because that is also their hard data store. The permanent records, engraved on data crystals. The ultimate backup, secure but slow. So for day to day functions they use a temporary data store elsewhere that regularly gets synced back," Cleo said with a feral grin. "Not nearly as secure because it doesn't need to be. Normally."
"But, if the primary data store had something unthinkable happen to it ..." Banok said.
"Then suddenly this temporary store becomes the real one. Even as you and Nyx are breaking into the vault, I'll take Vanwyn and we'll crack the secondary data store. By the time we're done Baxtech will have a mountain of debt and not enough in the bank to buy lunch," Cleo said, her tail lashing violently. "No more supplies to build and maintain those ships. No more fuel. We weaken our enemy and strengthen ourselves."
"We fight smarter," Banok said. "This still won't hit the heart of the problem."
"Would destroying the shipyards, even if we could? It's just like if we were going after anyone else. If we don't know who the real boss is, we hit their operations and we hit their pocketbook. We keep hitting them until they poke their head out," Cleo said.
"Then we shoot them in the face," Banok said.
"Damned straight. We have a winning formula and maybe we've gotten all turned around lately, but we're good at stealing and we're good at killing. We're going to steal and kill our way into saving this galaxy," Cleo said confidently.
This was a good idea. Him, her. Maybe Cleo would never fall in love with him now, if she ever was going to. But this was her doing what she loved, and doing it better than ever. This was who Cleo wanted to be, and who he fell in love with.
Cleo almost seemed to read his mind. "Do you like the new, refocused me?"
"It's good to see you doing what you're great at—hunting prey, going in for the kill," Banok said.
"You exhausted, or have time for a few more rounds?" Cleo asked.
Cleo, then Astra. Banok didn't know just how many times the past twelve hours had been, but it was approaching the absurd. Despite that, the thought of another go had him excited.
"Oh, I think I could manage a dozen more if you're that eager," Banok said.
Cleo laughed. "Not me. It doesn't make sense to go at this with anything less than everyone at full power, and if you're now some magically buffing sex battery there is one member of the crew left."
"You're really saying that you want me to go have sex with the Elf?"
"Makes sense," Cleo said.
Well, if Banok wanted her totally devoted to the win and whatever it took to get there, he'd certainly achieved that. He did wish the thought did a little something to make him less turned on.
Banok had always found the ancient Elves cold, arrogant, and generally irritating as could be. Vanwyn had proved that she could be useful, but she wasn't lacking any of those other unfortunate qualities. Nyx was endlessly abrasive, but somehow he'd never doubted she came from a good place.
"Guess I'll go knock on her door," Banok said.
"Thanks," Cleo called out as he walked out.
Life had gotten very strange—again.
26
Banok tapped on Vanwyn's door. The Catspaw wasn't a huge ship, but the compartments were so advanced they still had more interior room than the average vessel this size. It meant they had guest suites on hand ready to turn into new crew quarters. Vanwyn had gotten one. Another was already marked with Astra's name. Cute lettering with stylized flames, he wondered if she was actually using the room.
The door hissed open. Vanwyn was wearing a set of loose and flowing robes in shades of green and red, a dueling sword at her hip.
"I thought you preferred a gun," Banok said, glancing down at the weapon.
"I do, which doesn't mean I don't practice the blade. It is part of my morning ritual. Did you need something?"
This really wasn't the way Banok had planned on things working out. It already felt confrontational.
"Cleo has a new plan. She thought it would be helpful if we had a sexual relationship before we executed it," Banok said.
Vanwyn stared at him for a long moment and wrinkled her nose. "And let me guess. You decided on this after spending the night with her. You haven't even bathed, have you?"
No, this definitely wasn’t how he'd planned on this working out.
"And Astra ... so maybe I should go do that," Banok said.
Vanwyn stepped back from the doorway. "You can use my shower. Do scrub thoroughly."
Right, this was getting him past the condescending Elf bit no problem. Banok entered, he'd be damned if he was going to run away.
The quarters were much less spartan than he'd been expecting. Ever since Vanwyn had come aboard they hadn't made any stops allowing shopping. Yet the walls were lined with Elven art, sculpture and paintings.
"Your clothes ... and all of this?" Banok asked, glancing back at Vanwyn.
"You have fabricators on the ship," Vanwyn said.
They did, of course. You never knew what you were going to need for a job. They required skill to use however.
"You're quite the crafter," Banok said.
&nbs
p; "I was alive before my people took to the stars. I remember when all we would have is what we made with our own two hands. I have been a weaver of cloth, a singer of steel and stone," Vanwyn said with a look around. "It was nice in a way to come back to it for a time."
It was easy sometimes to forget just what immortality meant. Just how long a creature like Vanwyn had been alive. Banok headed into the bath, shedding his robes and stepping into the shower. The soaps Vanwyn had on hand had a strong aroma of flowers.
"Do you ever find it all overwhelming?" Banok asked.
"Daily. We all do, it is why so many leave this realm behind entirely. Ascend, hoping for the old in a new universe, away from what has grown all too unfamiliar for us," Vanwyn said.
"But not you? We found you risking your life. Consorting with the Dabo," Banok said, as he scrubbed himself clean.
"I am a fighter. Whatever I have done, I have always thrown myself where the action is. It is ludicrous I still live when so many wiser than myself are dead. I still throw myself at action, no matter how foolish. At this point I almost don't know how to do anything else," Vanwyn said, her voice thoughtful from the next room.
Banok's skin was being rubbed raw by the coarse brush in the tub, but it was soothing as well. The steam rising and his muscles relaxing made him realize just how short of sleep he really was, how long now he had been at this.
"Do you hate it? Your immortality?" Banok asked.
It was one of the gifts of his arrangement with Astra—as if it were something he should definitely want. Immortality. Certainly, humans enough had pursued the goal, killed for it, yet most of the immortals Banok had known didn't seem to have happy lives.
"Wondering if you made a mistake? The more years you add, the heavier the load they are to carry. If you should live long enough, you will probably regret the fact," Vanwyn said.
Banok was clean enough. He stopped the flow of water and took a moment to towel himself dry. There was really no point in changing back into a dirty robe, and a towel felt like it was missing the point. Besides, it wasn't as if he had anything Vanwyn hadn't seen—she was the one who separated him and Astra.