Boreas, 3,000 light-years from Earth
The dungeons of the Winter Castle are extremely quiet during the night, when there is no need to interrogate the prisoners.
They’re also quite empty: only a limited number of guards patrol it, more for intimidation purposes than out of a genuine fear of the prisoners escaping… after all, there are sensors on the prison bars and every corridor is equipped with cameras.
The first guard to notice that something is up doesn’t have the time to warn anybody: once the temperature rises above zero in a fraction of a second, the heat shock is too much to retain consciousness.
Doctor Catherine Kalama approaches the guard cautiously, trying to read his vitals; as far as she can tell he’s still alive, but she’s not familiar enough with Lar physiology to be sure.
<C’mon, we don’t have much time.> Bob Null tells his daughter Nalani: the 4 year old kid is on his shoulders, busy dismantling one of the cameras with her tiny hands.
<Don’t worry Daddy, that electromagnetic pulse should give us several minutes. Here, think this will be enough?> she asks, handing him a specific component extracted from the camera.
<I dunno, I’m making it up as I go along.> Bob admits, using the stolen parts to finish the jury-rigged handheld device he built in his cell.
<What do you mean you don’t know!? We could be ambushed any moment!> Dr. Kalama complains, searching the guard’s uniform to find anything that could be useful.
<Well, I’ve turned this thing into a radar, but this place is a maze… it’ll take us hours before we can find our way to the nearest exit!> Bob complains.
<Maybe this will help.> the doctor says with a smile, showing her companion a tablet the size of a pocket calculator that shows the layout of the castle.
<Looks like we’re not the only ones who get lost here! We’ll just need to read the instructions!>
<Uh, there’s a little problem there, Catherine… I don’t know what it says.>
<What do you mean you don’t know!?>
<I can’t read Lar.> Bob shrugs.
<Are you kidding me!? You’re smart enough to build gadgets out of junk but this new power stops at translating stuff!?>
<Technology is easy, anybody can figure that out! But languages are made up… I can’t translate Lar without a frame of reference, and apparently while the Nexus is boosting my intelligence it’s not providing me with any new information. I never even heard a single Lar word, ergo I can’t base my translation on anything.> he explains.
<Don’t look at me, Mommy, I don’t even know how to read!> Nalani adds.
<Why did I even agree to… nevermind. We can’t stay here in the open; let’s just take a guess and move to the nearest place that looks like an exit!> her mother replies.
<There’s no need to rush, like Nalani said we have plenty of time.> Bob reassures her.
Just in time to hear the sound of the alarm as soon as the cameras come back on line.
<So, uhm, I might’ve overestimated the efficacy of the EMP just a bit.> Nalani awkwardly comments.
Personal chambers of the Ice Queen
Leiko Tanaka doesn’t consider herself a vain person. She knows she’s an attractive woman and she’s always been proud of her looks, but she never gave much thought to it.
But ever since she convinced Hera to grant her eternal youth, she can’t stop looking into a mirror at any chance she gets.
She’s admiring herself wearing a rather risqué nightgown as she listens to the reports of her spies in the Mortal Republic, when she hears someone knocking on the door.
<Audio off. Come in, Vector.> she says, knowing well that it must be her cybernetic associates… she sent for him. And nobody can access her chambers uninvited.
<Your Majesty.> he greets her, more as a formality than out of genuine respect or fear.
Leiko knows that everything with him is transactional: he works for her because she indulges his need to find a challenge, nothing more. She also knows that she has little reason to cover up in his presence; his preferences lay elsewhere.
As much as the former Zenith agent presents himself as a pure being of logic, granting him access to the palace’s male concubines has been a useful incentive.
There is, obviously, no judgement on Leiko’s part: she’s also a transactional being. Everything has a price and everyone has a weakness to exploit.
<I have successfully modified one of the Shadow Network’s gates to serve as a sensor to track the energetic emissions of the last Key of Heaven.> he proudly reveals.
<I had no doubt you would succeed in that.> she lies. But feeding his ego serves her purposes.
<Unfortunately I could not find it, meaning it has not been activated in the past million years… at least in this galaxy. If I could boost the range of my…>
<Is this another attempt to ask me to access Amazon technology, Vector?>
<I could easily hack my way into their servers, if you revealed me the location of their planet.>
<Out of the question. I need Queen Tecmessa to trust me… for the moment at least… and as much as I trust your expertise in cybernetics, their computer science is vastly superior to yours.>
<Null did it.>
<You are not Null, Vector. Besides, I have another assignment for you: I believe there is a link between the Nexus and her blood relatives… the guards informed me that both Robert and his spawn showed signs of increased intelligence. It could be a way to find the Nexus.>
<Yes, that is plausible… the Nexus has powered two individuals at once before: both Null and her clone Viper shared access to it, albeit it wasn’t a stable connection.> Vector recalls.
<You studied her well.>
<The Zenith had a large dossier on her… Ulysses was personally interested in tracking every single movement of your daughter.>
Leiko doesn’t show signs of being surprised by Vector knowing about Noriko’s parentage, although she suspected it. Clearly a power move to assert his usefulness. But she can’t show weakness.
<Still, you’ve had those prisoners for a while. Why didn’t you ask me sooner?>
<I studied them on my own first. After all, they’re just regular people… they are no threat to me.>
A red holographic square appears next to her. It’s a priority message, which plays out when she lightly taps the symbol.
<Maximum Alert. Human prisoners escaped. Warning: temperature at dangerous levels.>
<Hm. Not so regular after all.> Vector snarks.
The Ice Queen reacts by halving the room’s temperature; her veins glow blue as she orders:
<Go down there and apprehend them. NOW.>
<You would waste the intellect of the greatest cyberneticist in the Galaxy for a task suited for any of your regular guards?>
<None of my guards can survive above freezing temperatures. You can.>
<But… you’re the Ice Queen. You could freeze the entire planet in…>
<Are you QUESTIONING my orders?> she asks. And her icy stare makes Vector’s heart skip beat.
<No, Your Majesty. I shall capture them at once.> Vector replies, hurrying towards the exit without failing to bow down before leaving.
She knows he’s right. She could kill Null’s family in the blink of an eye… but everyone has a weakness, and Leiko Tanaka is no exception.
And her weakness is a pathological need to show off her power over others.
Takama, 45,000 light-years from Earth
Jane Blake has learned to accept many weird things… red-skinned Demons, people who create multiple bodies, surviving on another planet during a civil war… but she’s still creeped out when a blue-skinned alien hugs her by extending one of her wings around her.
<Well, what do you think?> Lily Elosia asks her, pointing at the starship in front of them. It’s smaller than the Ragnarok, and while Jane is by no means an expert in alien vehicles she immediately picks up that it must be a second hand vehicle.
<As long as it works. Did it cost much?>
<A couple billion obols. Kind of a rip-off if you ask me, but since we’re doing this in secret… especially since I had to appropriate some funds from my government… we can’t be picky.>
<Shinobu thought we should’ve stolen it.> Jane admits.
<Ha! So did my kids. But trust a former spy, going legit tends to attract less attention.>
<Max didn’t tell me you had children. He wouldn’t happen to be, uhm…>
<The father? No, both parents are Lampyrian.>
<How does that work? I thought all Lampyrians were female…>
<Sorry, I haven’t spoken English in so long that I forgot it’s more complicated… Lampyrians have a les, which can be translated more or less as “egg-mother” and is the one who gives birth, to use a human term, and a leshi, or “fertilizer-mother”, who is kind of like a human father. I laid Leela’s egg so I’m her les but Layla hatched from my partner’s egg, so I’m her leshi. Clear now?>
<I guess. But was talking with them about the mission a good idea? I mean, involving children…>
<Are you kidding me? I had to talk them out of involving their kids as well!>
<You have grandchildren?> Jane asks. She knew Lampyrians age quickly but still…
<Well I’m 5 years old, I’m practically middle-aged! I have five granddaughters; seven next week, Layla told me this morning she and her wife are both pregnant again. Speaking of children, have you and Max talked about it?>
<That’s, uhm, that’s a little early for that.>
<Ah, yes. Sometimes I forgot how slowly things move for humans.> Lily admits.
No Mind’s Land
Noriko Null is sitting on a mass of books that extends beyond the horizon, with her eyes closed and her legs crossed. Roxiana is in front of her, mimicking the same exact position.
At the same time, ghostly copies of the two women are floating above them.
<This is so weird.> Noriko comments, looking at her semitransparent hands.
<Wait until you’re able to manifest more than one Wraith. That’s when things get interesting.> Roxiana comments with a smirk.
<And you had this ability when you were still alive?>
<Oh no, what we can do in the Mindscape is just a shadow of the applications of the Nexus in the real world. Don’t look so surprised! Drylon technology is capable of operating at galactic distances, you must know that.>
<I’ve been wondering about that since the first time I saw Kari use her powers outside Myridia.>
<“Kari”. You found love in Myridia, of all places?>
<Just a friend. You know Myridia, Roxiana?>
<Been there twice. Nice people, outstanding beaches. Dreadful food, though.>
<You know… it just occurred to me that I don’t know anything about you, Roxiana, other than you claim to have been a historian.>
<“Claim”, uh? I apologize for misjudging you, Noriko. You’re not as naïve as I thought.>
<Diomedes told me to never trust another Nexus user. I took his suggestion to heart… right before I deleted him from the Mindscape. So if you’re planning something shady by being so friendly to me, you’d better be…>
<Wait a second. You deleted Diomedes?> Roxiana interrupts her.
<Uhm, yes? Why?>
<We should still be able to access his corner of the Mindscape and use it to escape. Follow me!> she says, floating higher in the air and stopping when she sees that Noriko isn’t moving.
<How do I know you’re not luring me into some sort of trap?>
<You don’t. But what’s the alternative?> Roxiana shrugs, continuing her flight.
As much as she hates to admit she has a point, Noriko has no chance but to follow her.
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