 
Elven Gambit

S T Xavier

Published 2014

Copyright 2014 S T Xavier

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 978-0-9906535-3-0

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed to the purchaser per the terms and conditions stated on the reseller site used to purchase this eBook.

### ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

[This space intentionally left blank.]

### ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PART 2

Ha! Sorry, but that easily has to be the most rude acknowledgements page ever in the history of books, and I had to run with it. I apologize for giving you an extra page to scroll through, but hopefully it made you laugh.

As for actual acknowledgements, I want to recognize and thank Andrew Marx for the very first review of Rylae's Storm, and Bobb B for the second review. Both of these folks left me nice reviews on Smashwords, and I appreciate them wholeheartedly. Reviews are like gold, and I'm going to have those two melted into a pendant so I can wear it around and tell others to look at my reviews.

Even my mother didn't bother to review my book, so I'm very thankful for those two random readers.

And, of course, I also thank all the rest of you who read Rylae's Storm and wanted to actually spend money on this book. That means a lot to me, too. I don't write to make money. I write because I want people to enjoy my stories. If you're reading this, I'm assuming that means you enjoy my stories.

Thank you.

# CONVERSION TABLES

AGE CONVERSION

Folk that have 300+ year life spans mature at a different rate than humans with much shorter life spans, but they still go through all the standard maturity levels. For convenience, here is a conversion chart:

ELF/DWARF/GOBLIN AGE EQUIVALENT HUMAN AGE

0-30 years Preteen (0-12 years)

30-50 years Young Teen (13-15 years)

50-80 years Midrange Teen (15-17 years)

80-100 years Young Adult (17-19 years)

100-160 years Early Adult (20-30 years)

160-220 years Midrange Adult (30-45 years)

220-250 years Older Adult (45-55 years)

250-280 years Early Retiree (55-65 years)

280-310 years Elder Retiree (65-75 years)

310+ years Elderly (75+ years)

Note: Conversion rates are approximate because each individual is different, and because no folk have ever met a human to scientifically determine the exact comparison.

MONEY CONVERSION

Trade Credits (colloquially: credits) are a standard currency used across all worlds. Currency was standardized prior to world colonization, and no races bothered to change anything when they split off.

Here are some simple exchange rates to common currencies to help you feel better about the numbers:

Credits USD EUR Pre-tech Coinage

1 $0.10 €0,07 1 Copper

10 $1.00 €0,75 1 Silver

100 $10.00 €7,50 1 Gold

1000 $100.00 €75,00 1 Platinum

Note: Conversion rates are approximate because... do I really need to explain it? Really?

# NOTES ON MAGIC USE

If you read Rylae's Storm, book one in this series about unattractive brownish-colored rectangular spacecraft, then you've already been introduced to a little bit of magic as it's used in the universe. However, there are some points of clarity that I want to make regarding true adepts vs the usage of 'common magic'.

Almost any elf, dwarf, or goblin can use 'common magic'. They all have the ability to channel mana into an outgoing force to create a spell effect. 'Common magic' is created through the use of a focus. Elves generally use spellsand drawings. Dwarves generally use runestones. Goblins generally use props to signify the target of the spell (e.g. a straw doll to represent a person).

Once a specific spell is created with one of those foci, any common user can create the same spell using the same foci, even if the user is of a different race. The mana is drawn through the focus to the user. For example, any user (elf, dwarf or goblin) can cast a cleaning spell as long as they know how to draw the spell using spellsand and have practiced with focusing the mana.

An adept, however, is an abnormally talented magic user who channels mana flows easily and directly, without necessarily needing a spell focus. Adepts usually have a main ability which they can perform without effort, such as creating fire or ice, but through training can learn to manipulate mana in any way. Powerful adepts are able to create their own spells, with or without a focus, by channeling it through themselves.

Only around 2% of all folk are adepts. They usually find their abilities as children and are trained from a young age to manage their talents. With directed training, they tend to take high-paying jobs in the UCST (engineering and science), in mana battery development, in technology creation, and as caregivers in hospitals. Occasionally an adept is found later in life and uses their untrained ability for different purposes, but these are rare.

# CHAPTER ONE

Commander Rylae Westiel, Terra, Admiralty City, Year 7401 (current day, age 124), Autumn

I love being right, even if I'm the only one who knows I'm right.

The UCST Corsari has been docked on Terra for almost three weeks since our last mission on Stenchstone, and it's been fairly busy. Being the Executive Officer of a starship is very detail-oriented on the best days, but even more so when we're docked. Finishing the tech inventory and creating detailed requisitions of everything we need to restock has filled a lot of my days, and sorting through personnel records has filled a lot more of them.

But I can't help laughing at the parchment sitting on the table in my on-ship quarters with a detailed light tag tournament bracket on it. I knew it was going to happen! Total lack of surprise from the XO!

While on the peaceful goblin world of Stenchstone, my Chief Science Officer, Zaxn Gloomfire, helped my engineering team recharge part of our mana batteries with Stenchstone's unused mana reserves, causing a bit of an overload. Stenchstone's mana doesn't have the same makeup as the mana from many other worlds, and it hadn't been tested for many years so no one actually knew what it would do. It seems that Stenchstone has a particularly overpowered version which caused all of our magical systems to push just that much harder for awhile.

Thankfully, Zaxn the nerdy science goblin was able to put a stint in place to help lower the power and get us home without trouble, but the battery still needs to be completely drained of power and recharged from zero to fix the problem. The adepts in Engineering, working with my best friend, Chief Engineer Tanna Aldamiel, have to do something to drain the mana that's in the battery. As expected, they opt for fun over boring, and thus the light tag tournament bracket.

Light tag is a game that adepts can play where they create balls of solid light and chase each other down with them. Adept children play it on every mana-rich world, using large balls of soft light which splash like water when they hit a target. There are even light tag spellshooters which non-adept kids can use to play with their adept friends. It's a harmless game that helps adept kids learn how to control magic.

When adults play it, however, it can get a little more cutthroat. I've seen balls thrown that are as large as boulders, as _solid_ as boulders, and infused with lightning to cause a debilitating shock to the player it hits. With Stenchstone's overcharged mana in play, I'm sure it's going to get ugly. They'll likely get some warehouse personnel to help with setting up a course of random objects as obstacles, giving the players places to dodge and hide.

I'm not technically supposed to sanction this kind of thing, so the short version is that I know nothing at all about it. Looking over the bracket, though, I see the names of some Admiralty adepts, including a couple Vice Admirals. I'm thinking this one might be more official than most, probably because of the overcharged mana. That thankfully puts it completely out of my hands. Some Admirals may not be happy with it, but they can take it up with the VAs playing the game.

I see a couple names that surprise me, though. Lieutenant Zaxn Gloomfire is on the bracket, and that just seems unfair. He's no longer the same nerdy science goblin that I met when he joined the ship, and hasn't been since the day on Stenchstone where I watched as he destroyed three flanks of attacking goblins with large walls of fire. I can only imagine he's going to be an unexpectedly difficult challenger for most players, especially since he's likely the only goblin on Terra with even a small understanding of Stenchstone mana. He's still not a physical threat, but he's become friends with a goblin platoon leader who saw him in action on Stenchstone and has likely received at least a little extra training in that area.

Lieutenant Commander Sen Foulmuck is another surprise, but not as much of one. Sen's an excellent Chief Caregiver in our ship hospital ward, but she's a rather evil-mannered goblin at heart. Some days it's weird trying to reconcile the difference between her personal evilness and her inherent goodness as a caregiver. But, as a caregiver, she's also a powerful adept focused on healing magic. I can see her as a force to be reckoned with in the tournament.

The biggest surprise of all, though, is Commander Tanna Aldamiel. In the thirty-some years we've been friends, I've never known her to play in a light tag tournament. Truthfully, I've never known her to be very active at all. She hates her training sessions with our Security Chief, Lieutenant Commander Lada Axesmith, and generally looks down on the two leaders of our battalion, Major Gimmir Giantbasher (whom she refers to as 'Sir Fights-a-lot') and Master Sergeant Simon Darkrender (whom she has unaffectionately nicknamed 'Sergeant Shoots-at-stuff').

Tanna's an exceptionally powerful adept, or she wouldn't be able to run my engineering department at all, but playing in the tournament? I scan through the rest of the parchment, finally getting to the bottom where I think I understand. One line at the very bottom – Bookmaker: Lieutenant Commander Aelon Onoviel. I'm sure he somehow talked her into joining the tournament, but I have no idea how.

Aelon is my Chief Tactical Officer in charge of our flight crew. He's a master pilot, and excellent with math, which explains why he's the bookmaker for the tournament. He's also an incredibly handsome elf currently dating Tanna, who's equally majestic in her beauty. The two of them together look like elves from fashion catalogs. However, outside of his very small realm of genius, Aelon's one of the dumbest elves I know. I don't know how Tanna can stand him in any way outside of his looks, but I know better than to ask questions.

Shaking my head, I roll the parchment and place it in my wardrobe. Vice Admirals or not, betting on a light tag tournament isn't exactly within the regulations, which is why it showed up in my quarters on parchment instead of in a terminal message. Tanna probably placed it in here while I was in some meeting or other. Regulations or not, I make a mental note to find out what odds Aelon is giving on Zaxn and Tanna. That bet would be worth a few credits. Maybe a few on Sen as well, since I'm sure she'll be one of the nastier players in the tournament.

Returning to my table, I sit, touching the charm as I speak my personal code to log into my holoterminal. A green glow spreads across the table, showing me an interface to write reports and messages, keep track of my calendar appointments, and view certain details of the ship. The terminal is powered by a flow of mana from our ship's secondary battery, which also serves as a magical router to connect mana flows between our ship and a router at the Admiralty, allowing us to pass information back and forth.

I check my messages and see one from Kesn. Ambassador Kesn Dreadthief is the newest member of my crew, replacing Ambassador Calgonnel Telathyr who was lost to the enemy while on Stenchstone. She's currently finishing her first month of training at the Admiralty so she can join our ship officially, but has at least five months left before she's fully ready. Being new to pretty much everything outside of the goblin world of Stenchstone doesn't help, but she's smart and eager, and just a really great goblin overall. I'm glad to have her eventually on my team, and she's quickly become a good friend as well.

The message isn't important, as she's just letting me know she has to ditch our dinner plans tomorrow. She's a bit evasive about the reason, so I'm guessing she's found herself a date. Kesn's one of the most attractive goblin women I've ever met, so it's no surprise that she's had men of all races – goblin, elf, dwarf – trying to get some of her time.

If Tanna wasn't so busy, I'd wonder if she had something to do with it. Tanna's been trying to hook me up with a man for the last thirty years, every time we're docked on Terra. I can easily see her doing the same for Kesn, although I truly don't see that Kesn needs any help in that area. Kesn's incredibly beautiful, with a perfect body and smooth green skin. If she wasn't so incredibly awesome, I'd hate her for her beauty as much as I hate Tanna for hers.

It's bad enough when Tanna makes me feel like a skinny flat-chested elven waif every time I go near her, but add in Kesn and I just can't compete. I guess it's good that I just don't try. Being a Commander on a starship makes it practically impossible to date anyone, regardless of how I feel about my looks, so I just live vicariously through my two attractive friends. I'll have to pry more details from Kesn about this new man of hers.

I scan through the rest of my messages, but nothing else seems important right now, until I get to the bottom of the list. I've left these messages in here for weeks – one happy, and one not-so-much.

The happy message is my congratulatory message on becoming a captain candidate. After finalizing our last mission, I was approved to be added to the Official List for Future Starship Command. Not only was I added, but I was added as position 6 out of 292. I'm in less of a state of shock now as I was when I received it, but it's still a bit crazy.

Vice Admiral Railmaker, the dwarf in charge of the list, offered me an immediate position on a message ship, but I declined it, passing it farther down the list. Message ships are good, but their only mission is to land on a world for a few days, connect the routers to collect and disseminate messages, then fly to the next world. They also carry a small number of travelers who need to world-hop. After spending years on an ambassadorial ship, and after my last mission, I feel that's a bit beneath me. I hate feeling like that, but I know I can do more important work on a different type of ship.

I was also offered a position as a Captain in the Office of Intelligence at the Admiralty, which was both endearing and amusing. I received the offer due to the intelligence work I did on our last mission, finding the details and source of the goblin rebellion on Stenchstone and stopping it before it happened. I was stunned that they thought so much of my mostly-accidental work that they'd offer me such a prestigious position.

At the same time, it was hilarious that they offered it to _me_ , considering I'm the reason the job was opened in the first place. Captain Grovr Darkmuck, the previous Intelligence captain, was actually the leader of the Stenchstone rebellion, and it was my work that captured him. It made me feel like I won some kind of game with the young elven XO outmaneuvering the goblin warlord who spent years in intelligence gathering and planning. But, as funny as it would be, I declined the offer. Sitting at the Admiralty for twenty years instead of being on a starship just doesn't appeal to me.

I look under that message to the other message I have saved. This is the not-so-happy message. It's from Mother on Tir Tairngire, the elven world where I was born. Over the past few weeks, we've exchanged a few messages, mostly about work and things. As Chief Caregiver at the Academy Hospital in the city of Corsari, which my ship is named after, Arlien Westiel is a rather important elf who works on managing the direct details of the hospital, communicating with the Admiralty on caregiver training status, and setting up trade agreements with other worlds for hospital and caregiver training needs. Due to that, and the close proximity of the two worlds, a message ship runs between Terra and Tir Tairngire every three days.

It's been nice to talk to Mother again, even if it is mostly about work. Since I spend years at a time off-world, it's difficult to stay in contact with family. Normally we send a few messages while docked for a month, but not many. This time, being docked for at least six months until the battery is drained and recharged, Kesn is trained, and the trial of Grovr Darkmuck is completed, there's been more time to send messages.

Even then, the first message I received from her is still bad news. We haven't talked about it since it arrived, but I know it's hanging out there. On one hand, it's good because I'll have to go home for awhile to deal with it. I haven't seen Mother and Father in years, and it'll be nice to spend time with them. With all the docking time we have right now, I should be able to get the time off with no problem. In fact, I have a meeting scheduled today to ask Cap about it.

But it's still bad news. The first message I received from Mother after I told her I was back simply told me that my childhood best friend, Saeralyn Gwalindiel, was staying at home with Mother and Father. It's been about two weeks since I received that message, and I've been trying to ignore it while at the same time working to free up my time to go out there. If Saeralyn is staying with my parents, it's because she's hiding out from something. If she's hiding out from something, it means she's in some kind of trouble. And if that trouble finds her while my parents are around...

I try not to think any farther than that. She'd already been at my parents' house for a month or more before I found out, so the threat obviously isn't immediate, but it still bothers me. Not just that, but the thought of dealing with Saeralyn again still bothers me, too. She was my best friend as a child, but so much has changed since then. I wasn't ready to see her again when our paths crossed two years ago, and I'm still not ready now, but it seems like I don't have a lot of options here. I need to rescue her from something again, and I have to protect my oblivious parents who have no idea she's in trouble.

I check the time, my calendar, and my messages again. I have some time before my meeting with Cap, and nothing else important right now, so I decide a nap is the best idea. I set a timer on my terminal to wake me, then slide over to my bed. Laying my hands behind my head, I drift off, thinking of Saeralyn.

# CHAPTER TWO

Tir Tairngire, City of Corsari, Year 7312 (age 35), Spring

"Can't you just buy a _new_ desk?"

Father turns and glances down at me. "A new desk is new. It has to be broken in and taught how to be a proper desk. An old desk has already lived a life and has stories to tell. It has character. It's more comfortable. It has experience and knows how to be the best desk it can be."

Mother chuckles. "Dear, if you just want a desk with character, you can grade papers on Rylae. She has plenty of character!"

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, like I want to help Father grade papers every day."

"That's another reason I want a desk that knows how to be a proper desk. It'll be happy to help me grade papers every day, unlike certain rebellious daughters with character." He ruffles my hair, which I quickly fix as soon as his hand is away. Someone could see me!

"Besides," he continues as he turns to Mother, "if I just wanted something comfortable, I could grade all my papers on you." He runs his fingertip from the top of her ear to the base of her neck as she closes her eyes.

"Ugh. Gross. I'm going to go look at something else while you two are being weird."

I turn and leave before those two get any more disgusting. I mean, seriously. We're in public! Adults are horrible. And they complain about me!

I turn a corner around two more 'desks with character' and see some chairs. These are all old, too. This whole shop is full of old stuff. I don't understand why he can't get new things, like a desk with a terminal in it. None of this old stuff is in style anymore!

Going past some of the chairs, I come to a row of rocking chairs. Okay, rocking chairs are at least sorta nice. They can be fun. I find a wooden one with a little padding and sit in it, slowly rocking back and forth while I look around the shop.

Father wanted to go 'antiquing' today, which is how we ended up here in the first place. I guess the other old folk wandering around the shop are also 'antiquing', whatever that means. Probably means 'buying old stuff because we're boring'. I don't understand why some elves are so obsessed with old junk.

"Because maybe some of it's not 'junk'."

Crap. Was I thinking out loud again? So embarrassing! I turn to the sound of the voice and see an elf girl about my age, wearing an orange shirt and jeans, walking up to me. "Sorry! I didn't mean to say that out loud! I just don't get why Father would rather come here than get a nice new desk."

The girl sits in a chair next to me and rocks slowly. "New furniture doesn't have a story. Everything in here has a story. That chair you're in was owned by the wife of Nithunien Aladiir, the adept who helped design small mana batteries. It's older than the entire city of Melithas."

I stop rocking to stand and take a good look at the chair. "Okay... I guess that's kinda cool. Probably as cool as history can get, though." I shrug and turn to the girl. "How do you know this chair is that old?"

She shrugs. "This is my shop. I know a lot about all of the things in it."

I look at her incredulously. "Your shop? I don't think so. You're like my age! They don't let 35-year-olds own shops!"

She gets out of the chair, straightens her shoulders, pushes her long red hair out of her face, and stares at me with orange eyes while clasping her hands in front of her. "When Momma and Poppa are away on business, it's _my_ shop! I help keep the place clean and educate stuck-up elf girls on why 'old junk' is cooler than new things!"

I laugh at her so hard I almost fall down. When I open my eyes again, she's looking at me with her eyes wide. "Sorry! You look so serious! It's funny!"

She tries to stay serious for another second, then she laughs too. Still laughing, she puts her fists on her hips. "I look serious because I _am_ serious! Antiques are serious! You should be serious, too!"

I keep laughing as I match her pose. "Yes, ma'am! So sorry, ma'am! Serious face starts now!"

She falls to the floor from laughing so hard. I offer her a hand to help her back up. Taking it, she stands and brushes herself off with her other hand. "You're fun. I'm Saeralyn Gwalindiel. My parents own the shop. What's your name?"

Still holding her hand, I shake it like we're conducting business. "Rylae Westiel. Mother is a caregiver at the hospital, and Father..."

Her eyes grow wide as she interrupts me. "You're Mr. Westiel's daughter! I love him! He's my favorite teacher! He knows so much about history! You're so lucky!"

I roll my eyes. "Of course you'd love Father. I guess someone must love his boring stories about things that already happened."

She cocks her head to the side as smiles. "I take it you don't like history?"

Shrugging, I answer, "I just get tired of Father always talking about things that already happened. I'm more interested in things that haven't happened yet."

She looks around the shop. "Is Mr. Westiel here with you?"

I laugh. "I sure wouldn't come here by myself! I'll go find them with you if you promise to quit fangirling! It's kinda embarrassing. For you, I mean."

She grins. "I can be good!"

I wave for her to follow me and walk back toward the desks. "They were over here somewhere when I last saw them, but they were being gross with each other."

Saeralyn's voice behind me replies, "Maybe we should look for them near the beds, then?"

I gasp and stop cold, causing her to walk right into my back, knocking both of us to the floor. Rolling over, I look at her with wide eyes. "That's terrible!"

She starts laughing so hard she can't breathe, and that makes me laugh again. I stand and look down at her. "You're gross, but you're funny. Let's go find my old gross parents."

"Maybe your 'old gross parents' will find you first. You're being loud enough that a faerie cat could find you." I turn to see Father coming closer, with Mother behind him. Saeralyn stands in the corner of my vision, and Father notices her. "Oh. Hello, Miss Gwalindiel! Good to see you!"

She curtsies. "Hello, Mr. Westiel. Thank you for coming to my family's shop!"

I elbow her in the side. "I thought earlier it was 'your' shop."

The embarrassment is immediately visible on her pale face. "It is. I mean, it's my family's. I mean, Momma and Poppa's. I mean..."

I start laughing and put my arm around her. "I'm just messing with you. Calm down, Saeralyn!"

Mother chuckles from behind Father. "Jakobian, maybe we should find one of Miss Gwalindiel's employees to help us with that desk and leave Rylae to finish her important negotiations with the owner."

Father smiles. "Good plan. I'll come find you in a bit, Rylae. Miss Gwalindiel, I'll see you in class tomorrow." He turns and walks off. Mother winks at me before she follows.

When they walk away, I turn to Saeralyn and wink sarcastically. "Good job on the whole 'not fangirling' thing. A little more practice and we might make you a presentable elf in the near future."

She grins and pushes me. "I doubt there's anything _you_ can teach _me_ about how to be presentable!"

ǂǂǂǂ

The beeping of my terminal wakes me from my memory and light sleep, and I sit up to touch the charm with a smile. That memory always makes me happy. The day we met was fun, and Saeralyn was my best friend from that day. We were so close for sixty years, and then we suddenly weren't. It's much nicer to think of the fun at the beginning than the pain at the end.

I check the time in my terminal and I have about fifteen minutes before my meeting with Cap. Perfect. I walk into my washroom and clean myself up a little. My short black hair is a little messed up from my nap, so I straighten it out to cover my ear points and lay a little more evenly on my shoulders. I put some blue color around my green eyes to make those stand out more than the red freckles across my nose and cheekbones, then use some face cream to even out my skin tone.

I decide to change into a clean uniform, just for looks. Stripping off the white-blue-and-gray jumpsuit uniform I'm currently wearing, I walk back out to my wardrobe and pull out the covered hanger with my dress uniform on it. Still white-blue-and-grey, the dress uniform is a shirt, jacket and slacks instead of a single jumpsuit. My meeting with Cap technically isn't formal, but looking good won't hurt.

I carefully pull the shirt over my head while making sure my hair stays straight, then make some adjustments to my small breasts under the fabric. Pulling the slacks on, I belt them around my shapeless waist, then pull the jacket on, adjusting it on my shoulders so it fits properly and looks good while hanging open at the front. There are buckles on the jacket to close it, but no one actually does that. I think the buckles are mostly for design now.

I finish looking over my reflection and decide that I'd be okay with giving this pretty young elf some time off to go visit home! Cap will probably still give me a difficult time, but anything's worth a shot.

I leave the quarters and walk the hallway to the stairs I can take down. The stairs are past the mess hall, so I stop inside quickly to grab two mugs of ale before I go down. If looking pretty doesn't completely work, maybe bringing a drink will help!

I take the stairs down to the 5th level where the command offices are and walk the halls to Cap's office. Getting there, I touch the charm at his door and wait a second. A gruff voice behind the doors coughs, then says "Well, c'mon then." I touch the charm again and speak the code to open the door, causing it to fade out of existence so I can walk through it, fading back in after a few seconds.

Captain Elthen Gravelhand, dwarven captain of the UCST Corsari, is sitting behind his desk, scratching his close-cropped beard while reading through some messages on his terminal. He looks up to see me walk over, glances at the mug of ale as I sit it by his hand, then looks back to me and gives me a look from head to toe. With a nod, he looks back at his terminal. "If ya take time off, yer gonna miss the tournament. I've got 500 credits on Zaxn to take the whole thing."

It's difficult to get anything at all past Cap. I shouldn't be surprised that he's figured out what I want just by looking at me, but I still am. I drop into the seat on the other side of his desk to give him a hard time in retaliation. "Zaxn's a dark horse, but Sen's still mad at him for no longer being her 'Pincushion'. I think if they both play each other, it's going to get ugly, and Sen's better at ugly than Zaxn."

He chuckles. "Side bet?"

I nod. "100 credits on Sen vs Zaxn. If they don't play each other, it's invalid."

He grins and reaches out to shake my hand. "It's a deal. Don't forget to get yer regular bets to Aelon before ya leave."

I shake his hand while also shaking my head. "Thanks, Cap, but how do you even know, and why aren't you asking me why? I spent all this time looking pretty to try to convince you and you just stole all my thunder."

He laughs. "Ya dumb elf. Ya titled the meetin' in my calendar as 'Vacation Request'."

My chin drops to my chest as I shake my head. My organization skills are automatic, and they managed to do the work for me. I wish I had realized that earlier instead of sitting here in my dress uniform looking silly. "Got me there, Cap. Although in my defense, I didn't expect you to actually read the meeting title."

He cocks his head as he looks back at me. "How do ya think I stay on top of everythin'? Captain's trick number one – trust yer XO to tell ya what ya need to know. Those meetin' titles let me prepare early for whatever fool things are happenin' each day. You'll understand once ya get yer own ship."

I nod, thankful for the tip. "That still doesn't explain why you aren't even asking me questions."

He shrugs and takes a sip from his mug. "Doesn't matter. The last mission was more than enough for ya to earn a vacation, and ya haven't taken one in awhile. With us stuck here for months while we're waitin' for the new Ambassador and the battery recharge, I can afford to let ya go for a bit. Just don't go tryin' to get yerself killed like ya did on Firefork."

My face must have visibly dropped when he said that, because Cap immediately sets down his mug and his joking manner disappears for a more serious tone. "Yer not goin' out to try to get yerself killed again, are ya?"

I shake my head as I shrug. "I don't think so, Cap, but the situation's remarkably similar."

He nods. "That mysterious friend o' yers?"

I nod. Cap's incredibly smart and perceptive. I'm not surprised he was able to pick out the details so quickly after his reference to the Firefork fiasco. "Saeralyn's staying with my parents on Tir Tairngire. I don't know why yet, but I don't feel good about it."

He nods. "I can give ya a couple months to sort that out, just send me messages to keep me updated. And if ya run into problems..." He leaves the statement open, but I can understand him easily.

I nod. "I'll let you know first. Thanks Cap."

He nods back and goes back to looking at his messages. "Well, that's settled then. Go finish whatever ya gotta finish and get to yer parents. And try not to set any more houses on fire, vacant or otherwise."

I smile as I walk to his door. "Thanks Cap. I'll try to limit the number of buildings I burn down. And I'll be happy to take your credits after Sen knocks Zaxn out of the tournament."

He chuckles. "Shame ya won't get to see it if it happens. That should be a fun match."

Carrying my mug in one hand, I leave Cap's office, turning to the Tactical office before I go back upstairs. I do need to make my bets before I leave, after all.

# CHAPTER THREE

The UCST Terra-Tairngire is specifically tasked with bouncing between Terra and Tir Tairngire every three days. It's on a perfect schedule, having never missed a launch or docking for years. It docks on one world, sits for around a day while messages transfer back and forth and its engineering department recharges, then launches again. The travel time between worlds is about one full day before it docks on the other world, again sitting for almost a day before launching again.

Captain Direclaw is a stodgy old goblin who's been on this route for a long time. Most of his crew regularly rotates in and out, flying non-stop for a few weeks before swapping with reserve crew and taking a few weeks off. This gives everyone a break, and allows the Admiralty to use his ship as a training pad for new ensigns.

I served on the ship as part of a reserve crew back in my Academy days. It's one reason why I was able to turn down the offer of being Captain of my own message ship. Message ships are good for what they are, but they're boring and routine. I'm not a 'boring and routine' kind of elf. I learned that quickly during my three weeks on the Terra-Tairngire.

Walking up to it, I take a good look. It's an Ugly Dirt Box just like the Corsari, but it's noticeably smaller. A message ship only has five levels, since it doesn't need much storage or room for a battalion. Engineering takes up most of the first level, along with a small storage area. The Mess Hall and Hospital Ward are on the 2nd level, on opposite sides of the main door to the docking stairway. Level 3 contains the command rooms, and the upper two levels are quarters for crew and travelers.

It looks like the painted name on the side has recently been redone, as the words 'UCST Terra-Tairngire' stand out in bright red paint. The colors of the paint are significant, too. UCST Corsari is done in blue paint to stand out as an ambassadorial ship. Trade ships are named in green paint, exploration ships are named in white, and chartered transport ships are named in gold. The regulations actually name other colors for types of ships that don't yet exist, but I never bothered to remember them all.

Looking around, I see some crew members moving stuff in and out of the bay doors so I decide to go over and watch. I'm a bit early for the trip, but I decided I didn't really want to get involved in something else, instead leaving it all for when I return. I really just changed my message router to Tir Tairngire, said goodbye to Tanna, sent a message to Kesn, and packed my stuff.

Oh, and put my bets in to Aelon for the tournament. Cap doesn't need to know, but I also have 500 on Zaxn to win the whole thing. The odds are decent on that. The odds on Tanna are really low, so I only had to put 100 on her to possibly win the same amount as I will if Zaxn wins. And I put another 100 on Sen because that woman really can be evil sometimes, and if she wins then I at least get all my initial bets back. It's a shame I'll miss it, but I asked Aelon to send me message updates.

I drag my wheeled bag over to the bay doors and take a look around. It looks like mostly food deliveries and some other basic stocks. Being such a small ship, and being on-world every three days like clockwork, the Terra-Tairngire doesn't need very many things. I still remember helping them inventory their stocks during my time on it. But since they need a little of everything, lots of different delivery folk from different warehouses are moving stuff around.

One of them notices me and snaps into a salute. The rest quickly follow suit. I salute back and wave them back to work. A problem with walking around in a ship uniform is being immediately recognized as UCST personnel, but that can also be a benefit if I have to work with any of them directly. Fortunately, from this distance, I don't have to go through the trouble of explaining to any of them that this isn't really my ship.

One delivery elf leaves the bay doors to walk back to his delivery craft, and as he walks past me he glances over for a second. Catching my eye, he turns back to his delivery before stopping completely. After a second, he turns and walks the ten-or-so strides it takes to come up to me. He looks handsome and familiar, but I can't quite place him.

Coming to a stop in front of me, he salutes again and smiles. "Commander, Ma'am. Need help with your bags again?"

I snap a quick salute, then drop my hand. Now I remember him! Dragons be damned, what was his name? Umm... "Thank you, but I think I have them this time. This one has wheels on it, after all."

He nods, still smiling. "This isn't your ship, though. You're on the Corsari. Taking a trip then?"

I nod back. "Visiting my parents on Tir Tairngire, and taking care of some work while I'm there." Think, Rylae. Think! You'd just had a crème puff, you were coming back to the ship, he was delivering the new secondary battery, the Senior Chief was being useless, he brought your bags in, and he said his name was... dragons be damned, it's in there somewhere!

He looks me over, then hears a sound behind him and turns around to look, turning back quickly. "I hope you have fun, Commander. I need to get back to my delivery, if you don't mind. It's been nice seeing you again."

Aha! "And you, Mr. Falanae. Maybe you can help me with my bags again when I return." Wait... what!? I was so proud of myself for remembering his name, and then that 'help me with my bags again' garbage comes out of nowhere? My mind be damned for that one!

He smiles and turns away without another word. He must have also thought that was ridiculous. Get yourself together, Rylae! No wonder your best friend tries so hard to find you a man when you just keep ruining it on your own! Ugh. I'm starting to think I should just give up on this one. I can at least enjoy watching him walk away, though. The little victories are important.

I watch the delivery work for a little longer before I notice a female dwarf in uniform walking over to me. I turn to her, smiling as she approaches. She's about the same height as Lada, but with long straight brown hair instead of Lada's blonde curls, and clean shaven instead of a close-cropped beard. When she's close enough, I snap a salute to her and look at her insignia as she salutes back.

She drops her hand but keeps a serious expression on her face. "Commander Westiel, by chance?" I nod, so she continues. "Excellent. Welcome to the Terra-Tairngire, Commander. I'm her XO, Commander Rubyhewer."

"Commander. It's wonderful to meet you. Is Captain Direclaw still in charge of her?"

She nods, expression never changing. "He is, but he won't be joining us for this round. He's not feeling well right now, and I forcefully drug him to Admiralty City Hospital for a few days. I'm going to manage things for now."

I nod, allowing some sadness to show. "I'm sorry to hear he's not feeling well. I was hoping to see him again. I did my Academy cruise on the Terra-Tairngire."

She shrugs. "Welcome back then, Commander. I'm sure he'll be okay, and I'll relay yer worry to him when I return. Might I walk you inside?"

We drop discussion as she walks me through the storage bay and up to the top level. While walking, I have a thought that Captain Direclaw must be incredibly old by now. I have a second thought that maybe the message ship that VA Railmaker offered me was actually the Terra-Tairngire for exactly that reason. That's a sad thought, and I don't really want to look into it just in case I'm right.

I then have a third thought that Commander Rubyhewer doesn't seem to like me much, as shown by walking me through the busy storage bay instead of the main staircase. I wonder if I inadvertently bumped her down on the official list, and whether or not that might affect her chances of getting the Terra-Tairngire for herself. Maybe she saw my name high on the official list then saw my travel request and assumed I was scouting her ship for my own command. Well, whatever reason, I think it's best if I stay away from her for the short trip.

She opens my quarters, we salute, and she walks off without another word. Definitely doesn't like me. I can live with that. After all, as Tanna tells me regularly, "no one likes you, girl, because your job is to say no to everyone". Adding one more dwarven commander to that list isn't going to hurt my pride.

Walking into my quarters, I drag my bag to the wardrobe and set it against the side, then walk to the table and log into the terminal. Since I changed my routing to Tir Tairngire already, new messages immediately come to the Terra-Tairngire, and will get transferred off when we arrive. Until then, I can still work with them.

I check a few small reports, fire off some quick responses to some messages, then write a short message to Mother and Father letting them know I'll be at their home shortly. The message won't get there until the ship I'm currently on also gets there, but the message will get to them slightly faster than I will, so it's still some kind of warning.

Once I do that, I walk down to grab something from the mess hall, realizing as I get to the stairs that it's on level 2 in this ship. I'm used to the Corsari's mess hall being on the same level as my quarters. Then when I get to my parents' house, I'll have an actual kitchen instead of a mess hall. Maybe I'll try cooking again. I haven't cooked anything in forever!

And now that I've thought that, maybe trying to cook again isn't the best idea after all. Cap would laugh if I burn my parents' house down after promising not to do exactly that, but Father would be decidedly unhappy if I destroy his kitchen. He's the chef in the family. I should just leave it to him.

As I walk into the mess hall, I see it's changed a bit from what I remember. Unlike the Corsari's mess hall, there's no stack of pre-made trays in the center. The line resembles a buffet, but with individual cooks at every station. It appears they've made the food service a little nicer for all the travelers that regularly use the ship.

I walk up to a station with a nice-looking elf girl behind it, her light blue hair tied behind her head as her dark blue eyes smile at me. "Welcome to the Terra-Tairngire, Ma'am. Can I make an omelette for you today?"

I look over the selection of meats, vegetables and cheeses at her station, picking a few that seem like they'd be good together. I haven't had an omelette in so long I really can't remember. We don't have them on the Corsari, which is probably good considering how much trouble my kitchen staff has with stews and sandwiches at times!

She throws the items into a pan, cracks some eggs, and starts cooking over a small fire as I realize another reason we don't have omelettes on the Corsari – we don't land every other day to take on new supplies. Eggs wouldn't last very long in our walk-in iceboxes. I have to admit that better food is not something I thought about when I turned down the message ship opportunity.

As she hands it to me, it smells delicious. I thank her, moving to another station to get a drink and utensils, as well as a tray and a lid so I can carry it to my quarters. As I walk up three levels, I realize that I'm just not a fancy-enough elf to care about having good food all the time. I'd rather have interesting missions than regularly eat omelettes. I nod to myself, accepting that as the correct answer.

I let myself into my quarters, set my tray on the table and dig in. It's easily as delicious as it smells. As I eat, I decide that I am actually on vacation, so I deserve good food and relaxation. I deserve to make time to visit with Mother and Father, go out to nice places with them, and have a good time for a little while.

I deserve to occasionally not think about whatever Saeralyn's problem could be and how it might affect my blissfully-unaware parents while she hides out at their home.

And yet, I still have to think about that a lot. Until I have some answers, it's an imminent threat. I don't know how imminent, and I won't until I investigate a bit, so I have to assume the worst at all times. I'll be walking around my own home armed while trying to hide it from Mother and Father.

The omelette becomes tasteless as I follow that train of thought, so I push it away. The thoughts aren't as easily removed, though. Standing from the table, I walk to the wardrobe and pick up my bag, laying it on my bed. I open it and look carefully at the items lying on top of my clothes.

My regular weapon belt lays there, a dagger in each of the two sheaths on the left side – one parrying and one throwing. A spellshooter holster on the right side holds a single spellshooter for spike shots. The belt used to have a second holster on it, but I've modified it to now have a pouch sitting at the center of my back which holds six darts, painted black and coated with sleeping poison.

The daggers are mine. I've used similar daggers since I learned how to fight as a younger elf, and keep a small box containing six of each in the armory for myself. I didn't bring more with me, but I should still have a box hidden at my parents' home, unless they found it and never told me. The spellshooter is borrowed from the armory. Simon let me sign it out once I told him what I was traveling for. He still remembers getting me out of the Firefork Overseer's office and didn't hesitate.

The darts are apparently a shared secret. They're not officially in the armory at all, and Simon swears he knows nothing about them, even though he gave them to me on the last mission. I don't requisition weapons, so I don't know how they got there either. We agreed that it must just be fortuitous circumstance then, and I should just keep them myself. Then we promptly agreed that neither of us remembered exactly what we were just discussing and parted ways. It makes me wonder what other secrets are hiding in our armory.

I close the bag with a sigh. I've been having a hard time forgiving Saeralyn anyway, but if I have to use weapons in my own home to protect my parents from a threat she introduces, I don't think we'll ever get back what we had. I really hope it doesn't come to that.

# CHAPTER FOUR

Tir Tairngire, City of Corsari, Year 7401 (current day, age 124), Early Spring

As I walk to the main door, I see a few other travelers, mostly elves, also leaving the ship. I didn't really associate with anyone during the short trip, except for a few bits of small-talk in the mess hall, so I don't really know who they are or what they're traveling for. I just file in with them as we prepare ourselves to leave the ship.

The door eventually fades out and Commander Rubyhewer walks in, slightly wet. She smiles at the group as a whole. "It appears to be raining in Corsari at the moment. If ya don't have a rain barrier, we do keep a few stocked in the mess hall for purchase."

I bend down to my bag, open a pocket, and pull out my rain barrier. Smaller than a communicator, it clips to my waistband easily, waiting to be activated. As I do so, I see a couple elves in nice suits double back to the mess hall. Most folk don't mind getting a little wet, but those suits look expensive.

The dwarven commander's all smiles as we slowly file out of the main door, but her expression seems to harden when she sees me. Commander Rubyhewer definitely doesn't like me, but at least I think I understand why. I checked the list, and she's at position 10. I _did_ bump her down, and she probably _was_ afraid I'd take her ship. I can try to fix that easily, though.

As I get to the door, I stop and salute quickly, which she returns. "Commander. Thank you for the ride. Please give the Captain my regards, and take care of your ship. She's a nice one. I hope you have her for a long time."

Her eyebrows raise as her expression softens a little. "Thank you, Commander. Enjoy yer time on Tir Tairngire, and I hope to see ya again when ya need to return to yer ship."

Good. I think those were the right words to let her know that I'm not interested in taking the Terra-Tairngire from her. With a smile, I step out onto the staircase. It's raining rather hard, so I quickly press the charm to activate my rain barrier. A small flash briefly happens at the top of my vision as the invisible dome appears above my head, causing rain to slide off the sides without hitting me. Now protected, I carefully walk down the rest of the wet stairs and onto the docking pad.

I walk to the edge of the docking pad and take a look around my home. It's been way too long since I've been in the city of Corsari, and returning is simultaneously calming and exciting. A grove of blue elm trees stretch out on the western side of the docking pad, their dark blue leaves rustling from the rain and wind, with the gray sky providing a beautiful backdrop for them. Interspersed with the trees are small copses of rabbitsbane bushes, their soft orange color hiding the carnivorous nature of the bush. Very pretty to look at from a distance, but don't get too close!

An elf in a driver outfit stands near a folk-mover landcraft not far from the staircase, offering a quick ride to the landcraft storage area for travelers. I decide I'm okay with the walk, so I pass him by and continue enjoying the scenery. After a few minutes, I see the landcraft pass by me, splashing a little water on my bag but not hitting me. I look behind me, and I'm apparently the only one walking. I shrug, still smiling about being home, and continue walking.

I pass a trade ship, the UCST TreasureBag, and an ambassadorial ship named after a major city on Andriennein, the UCST Esnathyr. Both are closed up tight, their crews either already off-ship or hiding inside from the rain. I'll never understand why some folk are so uptight about a little water from the sky. I spend so many weeks at a time on-ship that it's nice to get outside and see some actual weather once in awhile.

I'm walking rather slowly, so it takes me awhile to actually get to the landcraft storage area. I lose track of the time, but I generally don't care since I don't really have anywhere to be. I'm the only elf out walking in the rain of the docking area, so it's almost like I'm alone on my homeworld. It's relaxing. I needed something relaxing.

My relaxation is interrupted when my communicator beeps. I had changed it to the Tir Tairngire codes before leaving the ship, but only two folk here know that I'm on-world, so I smile as I answer it. A greenish outline of Mother's face appears in front of me. "Captain Rylae Westiel speaking."

She giggles. Her giggle is much more melodious than mine. I must have gotten mine from Father. "Excuse me, Captain, Ma'am. I didn't realize I had contacted Stenchstone by mistake. I'll attempt my call again. Have a wonderful day." Her face disappears as I laugh. While I'm still waiting for my UCST rank, I am technically already a Captain in the Stenchstone Palace Guard. King Damnation gave me the title on my last mission as a way to thank me for my work. I don't get paid for it, but it's still fun to use.

My communicator beeps again. I chuckle as I push the charm. "Commander Rylae Westiel, UCST. How may I direct your call?"

Mother laughs. "I'm glad I found you! Called the wrong Rylae the first time!" We laugh together for a minute before she speaks again. "Where are you right now? I just got your message so you can't be that far from the ship."

I smile. "Still on the docking pad, walking in the rain. I'm close to the landcraft, though."

She nods. "Excellent! Come to the hospital, then. I'm taking a dinner break soon, and your Father's already here. Can't wait to see you!"

"I'll be right there." I cut the call and finish the walk to the landcraft storage. The elf in the attendant's booth doesn't look too happy to see me, probably because he just finished with all the other travelers and went back in his nice dry building. I'm also not in my uniform, so he doesn't see a Commander walking up, instead seeing just some elf girl in a red sweater and jeans.

As I get closer to him, I pull my UCST identification card from my pocket. Since I almost never use it due to spending most of my time in a uniform, it still looks as fresh and new as the day they gave it to me eight years ago when I received my Commander rank. The picture of me inked on the front looks eight years younger, too, but I haven't exactly changed much.

Before he can say anything, I hold up the card. My name and rank are in large bold lettering at the top, so he can see them clearly enough to stand and snap into a salute before I get to the awning of his building. I return the salute as I come to a stop, checking his insignia. "Lieutenant. If you hand me a charm and point me to a standard landcraft, I won't make you come back out in the rain. It's no problem."

The junior-grade lieutenant grins sheepishly. "Thank you, Ma'am. That's kind of you." Pulling a key charm from a box, he quickly enters the required information into his terminal, then asks me for my authorization. After I enter it, he hands me the charm and gives me a few quick directions to the landcraft in question. Thanking him, I drag my bag behind me as I step back into the rain.

Finding my landcraft, I place my slightly wet bag in the back, thankful that a little water won't hurt anything about it or the craft, then step in the front as I turn off my rain barrier. I set the terminal for the Academy Hospital, then sit back as the landcraft pulls away from the storage area. It would normally take about ten minutes to get there, but the landcraft goes slower due to the rain it 'sees' with its proximity spell.

I try to look at the scenery while riding, but the rain and gray sky make everything blurry. Even in the rain, though, Corsari looks a lot like Admiralty City, just with many more trees between small areas of development. Given the choice, the elves of Tir Tairngire decided they'd rather walk further from one place to another, especially if there were small forests to walk through on the way.

Going as slowly as I am, I easily notice when I pass the Corsari Primary School on the left side of the road. Between my own schooling and Father working there, it's probably the building I spent the most time in across the entire world. As I pass it, I remember the story of how Father and Mother met there.

Jakobian Westiel has been a history teacher for longer than I've been alive. He was teaching at Corsari Primary during the 'explosion of 7265', 136 years ago. A giant mana battery explosion destroyed numerous buildings on this side of town. Many folk lost their lives, especially those near the center of the blast. The school was just on the edge of the blast radius, but still took major damage, collapsing four classrooms.

Lieutenant Commander Arlien Nimisin's ship, the ambassadorial ship UCST Ironspike, was docked on Tir Tairngire at the time of the explosion. As Chief Caregiver on-ship, she was able to get her team to mobilize quickly and respond to the disaster. They arrived at the school within minutes, seeing a number of teachers and other folk using their bare hands and whatever magic they possessed to dig survivors out of the rubble.

Father was one of the teachers working feverishly to rescue his students and other teachers from the collapsed building. When Mother arrived, she found him digging with one arm, his left arm broken and hanging at his side. She tried to get him to stop to let her heal his arm, but he refused any treatment until his students were safe and accounted for. Mother's team jumped right into the rescue effort, using magic to remove heavy stones and save as many folk as possible.

Hours later, when the last student was pulled out and identified, Father finally collapsed from exhaustion, his left arm badly mangled. Mother started work on him immediately, but was never able to get it fully healed. His forearm still twists a little oddly and he can't bend his elbow normally, but he wears the scars proudly as a reminder of that day and every student they saved or lost.

Mother stayed on-ship, but visited Father regularly. They married in 7271, and must have had a good reunion once while Mother was docked here because I was born on-ship in 7277. When the ship docked next, Mother took her leave from the UCST and stayed permanently on Tir Tairngire with Father. She quickly took a job at the Academy Hospital and spent a very short time working up to being Chief Caregiver at the hospital.

Father has always wanted me to follow Mother into the hospital or follow him into teaching and therefore blames my 'rebelliousness' on being attached to the idea of starships from birth. I like to think it's because I'm not adept at healing magic and have no skill at passing knowledge to children, but I'm certain Father just likes to argue the point with me. It's a bit too late for me to change careers, after all.

Academy Hospital appears slowly over the horizon as my landcraft gets closer, and at this speed the slow reveal is almost majestic. The hospital is only around 100 meters across by almost 50 meters back, but it's the 90 levels that really make it stand out. Being able to make buildings on a mana-based world is easy, and they're usually much higher than they are wide. Made from steel and glass, the hospital is one of the most noticeable buildings in Corsari, even in the dense rain.

My landcraft pulls into the storage area, which is also rather immense. There's easily another hundred personal landcraft here, along with a dozen or more caregiver wagons for transporting supplies and injured folk. The hardest part will be remembering exactly where my landcraft is when I come back! Thankfully, each storage space is carefully measured and marked with an identifier. Row 19, space 8. I commit that to memory as I get out and walk to the hospital building.

The storage area is covered and leads to a covered walkway into the building, so I don't have to worry about getting wet again. I walk through the main doors, and the first thing I notice is the smell. Everything smells so clean! Mother makes sure the folk that come to her hospital get the best and cleanest care on-world.

For a second, I worry about exactly how clean Sen keeps the hospital ward on-ship, but then I remember that Mother trained Sen personally and I shake the thought from my head. Evil goblin or not, Mother would tear Sen apart if she ever found out the UCST Corsari's hospital ward was dirty!

I check the directory and find Mother's office on the 47th level. I walk over to the portal area at my right and press the charm labeled 47. A blue circular portal appears on the white wall in front of me. Stepping through is no different than walking through a door, and I'm now on level 47, as the sign on the wall in front of me states. If I had any questions about that, the closer proximity of the rainclouds in the windows to my left would answer them for me.

Stepping out of the portal area, I look down the hallway straight ahead, then the hallway to the right. The only problem with a hospital is that all the levels tend to look exactly the same unless you really know where you're going, and I haven't been here recently enough to remember exactly. I'm just about to give up and pick a direction at random when I see two elves step out of a doorway halfway down the straight-ahead hallway. The woman is wearing a blue hospital uniform, while the man is wearing tan pants with a brown sweater and holding his left arm at an odd angle.

I stop caring that I'm 124 years old. I run down the hallway like a child to get hugs from my parents.

# CHAPTER FIVE

"Ladies, it may be improper of me to say so, but even the children in my class know when to stop talking and eat their food."

Mother and I turn our heads to look at Father across the table, then look back at each other. With a shrug, I silently admit that he actually has a bit of a point there, and we smile as we turn back to the stew bowls on the table.

The stew in the hospital mess hall isn't half bad, but I realize I may be biased due to so many years eating mediocre stew from the ship's mess hall. The mess hall is on the 15th level of the hospital, and being the family of the Chief Caregiver definitely comes with perks like prime seating and instant service. Father complained that we should go somewhere nicer, but Mother kissed him on the cheek, explained to him again that she still has to work until late, and smiled until he stopped grumbling about it.

Aside from that small interlude, however, the time between hugs and food has almost completely been full of talking between me and Mother. We covered a lot of subjects, but I'm honestly not sure what they all were. I was just so happy to see her that I wanted to tell her everything, and I think she felt the same way. Father hasn't said much, but we may not have left him much of an opportunity to do so.

I take a good look at him across the table while we eat. He definitely looks older than what I remember, and I do the math to realize he's 268 this year. His black hair has turned almost completely silver, and there are more wrinkles at the corner of his eyes than there used to be, but his dark black eyes haven't changed. They still sparkle with laughter behind his serious visage.

I look over at Mother at my side to see if anything's changed about her in the last few years. At 255, she's not as old as Father but she's definitely old enough to have a daughter my age! Her face looks a lot like mine, including the freckles, but older. She has more wrinkles at the corner of her green eyes, too, just like Father does. Her wavy golden hair has obviously been cut recently, but still falls between her shoulders without a hint of any color changing.

I envy Mother's hair, because mine will likely change to a silver color like Father's. Adepts always seem to have the most beautiful hair in the most amazing colors that never changes when they get old. Tanna's hair will always be long, brown and shiny. Mother's will always be golden and wavy. I think back to the girl in the mess hall of the Terra-Tairngire with the long blue hair and know that she's probably an adept as well. Something about being an adept just does wonders for hair. It's not fair.

Mother catches me looking and grins at me from the corner of her mouth. Smiling back, I reach over to hug her quickly before going back to my stew. Finishing with it, I pick up my small bread roll and tear a piece off to pop in my mouth while I wait.

I see Father look at me as I rip another piece of bread. "So, you couldn't manage to give us more than a few minutes warning that you were coming home?"

I shrug. "I wasn't sure exactly when I was going to be able to leave, and once I could, the Terra-Tairngire was already preparing to launch, so I just went with it. Seemed like the best way to handle things." Nodding at him in what I think looks like a decisive way, I pop the piece of bread in my mouth and chew.

He shakes his head. "More rebelliousness from my daughter. I thought I taught you better time management than that." His expression appears scolding, but his eyes are still hiding laughter.

I hold back a giggle and try to keep a disinterested expression on my face as I respond, "Sorry, Father. I just had so many things to do for my ship after returning from saving a peaceful goblin civilization from a terrible warlord that planning my vacation properly simply didn't cross my mind. I'll endeavor to do better in the future."

He nods as he lifts his glass of wine. "Good. If I continue to see you slipping on these things, I'll have to give you some writing assignments on the importance of proper parental notification."

I smile as I raise mine. "If you do, I'll be sure to return them to you for grading the next time I visit home, which may be some years from now if the assignments properly enforce to me that failing to inform my parents is worse than not visiting at all."

We tap glasses and take a drink. With argument points scored on both sides, it's a shared victory that we can both enjoy. I missed these games with Father. Outwardly proper and gruff, as a good teacher should be, but such a softie deep down, he's fun to have silly arguments with.

Mother just shakes her head quietly through the entire conversation. She'll never admit it, but I know she loves to watch Father and I mess with each other. It's as fun for her to watch us as it is for us to have the argument.

Father sets down his glass. "How long are you staying?"

I rip another small piece of bread. "I'm not actually certain. My timetable is open-ended this trip, so I thought I'd enjoy it. At least a week, but maybe as long as a couple months."

Mother's eyes go wide. "The Corsari's docked for a couple months? What happened?"

I shake my head. "So much. With Calgonnel's death, we have to wait for our new ambassador to be up-to-speed, but I told you about Kesn in my messages. Tanna also has to completely drain the main battery and recharge it from scratch. We've already been docked for about a month, but there's still at least five more to go."

She nods, remembering some of the details that I've already told her. "And they don't need you?"

I take a drink and chuckle. "They're going to have a light tag tournament. They don't need me. I'm a bit sad that I won't get to see the tournament, but I'd rather see you two."

Mother nods, smiling. "We're glad you're able to be home for awhile. We're very happy to see you, and I know Saeralyn will be thrilled to know you're here!"

I pop another piece of bread in my mouth to stop myself from saying anything, but my expression must have given something away. Mother turns to me, concerned. "Are you two still not talking? When I got your first message that you were back on Terra, I let you know she was back at home. I assumed you'd send her a message, especially as much as you've been sending me messages."

I sigh. "It's complicated, Mother. We haven't talked since I left for Academy. That still hasn't changed."

Father leans across the table. "I thought she said you two saw each other just a couple years ago."

I roll my eyes in my mind without physically showing it and hold back a sigh as well. Of course she'd tell that to Mother and Father. She'd want them to think everything is fine. "We did see each other briefly, but we didn't talk. The trade ship she was traveling on and the Corsari just happened to be in the same place at the same time, but it wasn't even for a full day before the trade ship launched again. I don't count that." In actuality, Firefork was a lot more complicated, but they don't need to know that.

Mother sighs. "Well, she's staying in her old room at the house. Your room is still the same, like it always is. I hope you two will sort things out if you're both going to be home for awhile. I want both of my girls to get along again like they used to."

I hold back another sigh. I understand where their concern comes from, of course. Saeralyn was practically their daughter too, living with us after her parents died.

ǂǂǂǂ

Tir Tairngire, City of Corsari, Year 7328 (age 51), Autumn

"I've been coaching you on this stuff for _years_. How do you not know when Tir Tairngire was founded?"

I look up from my history notes. "How do _you_ not know how a landcraft works?"

She punches me lightly in the arm. "That's not fair! You use the same argument every time!"

Smiling, I shrug. "Make the argument more difficult and maybe I'll find a new one."

The door to my room opens and Father walks in. Saeralyn and I both look up from our desks as he takes a seat on my bed, facing us but with his head hung low and looking at his feet. He doesn't say anything for a minute, so we wait. Having a teacher as a parent causes you to follow school discipline even when you're at home.

Eventually, Father lifts his head and looks at us. "Saeralyn, do you enjoy staying with us?"

Saeralyn's parents are on the elven world Navasari collecting more antiques for their shop. They go off-world all the time for business. We're not expecting them back for another two weeks. Saeralyn's already been staying here for about that long this time. She doesn't live here, really, but she stays here often enough during a year that there are two beds and two desks in my room so she has her own stuff. Without any other family on Tir Tairngire, she's practically part of mine.

It's an odd question for Father to ask. I turn to look at Saeralyn, and she looks as confused as I do. I shrug, and she looks back at Father. "Of course I do! It's a lot better than staying at home with a nanny when Momma and Poppa are off-world. Especially since I can spend so much time with my best friend! And you and Missus Westiel are awesome too. Why? Do I have to leave? Are Momma and Poppa back already?"

His expression changes and he looks back at the floor. We wait again. He wrings his hands together. When he looks back up at us, his eyes are wet. "Saeralyn, we received a message today." He speaks haltingly and slow. "This is a very difficult thing to tell a young girl, and I'm sorry. The message said that your parents were in an accident on Navasari. Some kind of training accident. I don't have all the details yet. But... Saeralyn, I'm sorry. Your parents have died. They won't be coming home."

I... I don't... but... Shaking my head, I turn to Saeralyn, and her eyes are filled with tears. She tries to talk, but chokes on the words. "Momma?... Poppa?... died?" That's all she says before she starts crying uncontrollably and drops her head onto her arms on the desk.

I stare at her for a second, tears starting to run down my face. Should I go to her? Should I leave her alone? What should I do? What _can_ I do? I look back to Father, and he motions me over to the bed. I walk over and sit carefully down next to him. He puts his arm around my shoulder and we sit quietly for a minute watching Saeralyn cry.

As I sit there, I look at Father and see the streams of tears on his face matching mine. I realize there's nothing I can really do. There's nothing either of us can do. What happens now? My best friend's life was just destroyed!

Father turns to me and lowers his voice. "Saeralyn's going to stay with us from now on. The message I received was from the clerk at their shop. He said that they already had plans in place to ask us to take care of her if anything happened to them. She has no other family. We're going to be her family for awhile."

I nod, starting to cry harder. "Does Mother know?"

He nods. "She couldn't get away from the hospital to be here, but she knows. We've already agreed to keep Saeralyn here and make her part of our family."

I hug him. "Thank you, Father! I hope that will help her. She can stay here with me and maybe we can move her into the other bedroom sometime so she has her own space. We'll have to get all her stuff from her house and move it over here. And we can help run the antique shop! You know lots about history and stuff. And..."

He lays a hand on my shoulder. "It's just like you to think of all the things that need to be done. We'll get them all done, daughter. I promise. But now, Saeralyn needs her friend. You should go to her. I'll come find you when it's time to eat."

He leaves the room and I walk over to Saeralyn's desk. She's still sobbing uncontrollably on her arms. I move my chair closer to her, sit down, and lay my arm across her back. She immediately sits up, turns into me, throws her arms around me and puts her face in my chest, still crying. I wrap my arms around her and hug her tight, crying lightly as I lay my cheek against her head.

ǂǂǂǂ

I don't know how long we sat there like that. Hours, at least. We did eventually get through the list of things I knew needed to be done, with one notable exception – she didn't take the separate bedroom. Since mine was already set up for the two of us, we just kept it that way. She did eventually move to her own room, but that wasn't until almost 40 years later.

Knowing she's currently staying in _that_ room, and not in _my_ room – the room we shared as children for 40 years – makes me a little happier, but not much. I turn to Mother and smile. "I promise I'm going to try to patch things up with her. It's just been a long time."

Left unsaid is anything that may be in the way of patching things up, but Mother doesn't need to worry about that. She smiles and pats my shoulder, happy for what I said. That's good enough for now.

# CHAPTER SIX

As we walk back to Mother's office, I ask them what they're doing for the rest of the night. Mother says that she's working late on some budget reports that absolutely have to be done tomorrow, so she doesn't know when she'll be home. Father says he's staying to grade papers. With their house empty of rebellious daughters, Father moved a desk of his own into Mother's office so he can grade papers while she works late. I think it's adorable and love that they can spend time together like this.

Unfortunately, it does limit my options for the night. On the other hand, going back to the house and dealing with whatever has to be dealt with there will be easier by myself than with parental company.

I give them both hugs and leave them to their work, promising to see them tomorrow, then walk back to my landcraft. Row 19, space 8. Before I get in, I check the back to make sure my bag is still there, both to verify nothing happened to it and to double-check that this is in fact the right landcraft. Satisfied that I'm in the right place, I get in, attach my key charm, and input the directions for home.

As the craft pulls out of the storage area, I notice that the rain has mostly stopped, which is good, but the sky has become darker due to the hour. The landcraft should go faster without the rain, but I still won't really be able to see much during the ride. I'd rather sightsee than spend my time thinking about things, but I guess I'm not going to get that option for the twenty minutes it'll take to get home.

I don't really know what to say to Saeralyn this time. Our meeting on Firefork caught me by surprise, and then with the mission we didn't really discuss anything. When I finally got back to the ship and she was already gone, there wasn't anything more to say. Sure, she had sent me a message before she left, but it wasn't enough. Nothing's really changed since I joined Academy 32 years ago, except she now also owes me for the Firefork fiasco.

More importantly, though, I need to find out what she's doing here and why she's hiding. I know she's hiding. One thing I did learn from Firefork is that she's still doing the same kind of work she was doing when we stopped talking, so I know she's hiding from something. It's the only explanation. I'd like to think there was some kind of family reconnection thing happening, but she dropped out of _all_ of our lives thirty years ago. She wouldn't show up if she didn't have a good reason.

My landcraft reaches the edge of the 'densely-packed' area of the city and I start to ride through the residential areas. One thing I love about Tir Tairngire is the undeveloped space between everything. Every house has a lot of land separating it from every other house, giving us all a sense of living in the forest without really being far away. As I ride down the main road, I can't even see any houses behind the trees on either side. I pass branch roads into the trees, but otherwise it's just forest. It's calming.

Eventually, my landcraft turns left onto a branch road and I ride for another few minutes before making a right onto a smaller branch. The landcraft starts slowing as it reaches a much smaller turn onto my parents' land. The darkness isn't so bad that I can't see, and I remember everything clearly anyway, so it seems like my vision actually gets clearer as I get closer to the house.

The blue elm and green oak trees lining the road are just as beautiful as they were when I was younger. I can occasionally see a colorful bird fly across from one to another, or one of the fuzzy tree creatures jumping from branch to branch. I pass the small clearing to the right where a lightning strike caused a fire when I was really young, and it looks like the trees are finally starting to grow in it again. The patch on the left where we had to have someone destroy that huge creeper bush with magic, though, is still as empty and sad as anything.

I can see the dark brown wood of our house a few meters out as the landcraft crests a small rise in the road. Three levels high, twenty meters across and ten meters back, it's a really nice house, but not as fancy as some of the homes that elves with lots of money have. It sits in a large natural clearing within the trees, outlined by magic-infused stones to keep the trees from growing farther in. The grass and beautiful flowers are always well-kept by the forestry management company in our area, making our home a really inviting place.

The landcraft rolls to a stop by the beacon under the canopy on the side of our house, and I'm surprised to see no other craft sitting here. I know how much money Saeralyn has, and that was just from her trust before she started working, so there's no way she doesn't have her own landcraft. She must just not be here right now. My shoulders relax as I realize I've avoided that reunion for now.

I step out of the craft, grab my bag, and follow the packed-dirt pathway under the canopy to the door. Looking at the house, it seems like nothing at all has changed. The dark wood of the house is a little shiny from the rain, but still looks to be in good shape. The front door, adorned with a carving of a gardenia flower, is made of a lighter wood, as are the frames around the windows situated every few meters across the side.

I touch the door charm and prepare to speak my code to open it, but stop and wait instead. I remember two things at once. First, I remember that something is probably chasing Saeralyn so I can't assume safety even my own home. Second, I remember hiding behind a desk on Stenchstone when someone knocked on the door. I'm not stupid enough to answer the door if I'm not supposed to be somewhere, but some standard criminal might.

I quickly bend down to open my bag, pull out my weapon belt and strap it around my waist. I can't be too careful, after all. I'd rather not need it than need it and not have it.

After a couple minutes of nothing happening, I relax slightly and touch the charm again. "Rylae, seven-two-seven-seven-seven-two-seven-one." I'll never forget my code, since it's my birth year and the year Father and Mother were married, but it's just difficult enough that few other folk could guess it. All the sevens in it also make it tricky to say.

The door pops open, and I push it while stepping inside. Setting my bag to the side, I push the door closed until it seals again. It's not quite dark enough in here yet to require activating the light, and I want to do a quick walkthrough before I do that.

Most of the first level of the house is open and inviting. I walk through the main sitting room, with the same orange couches and chairs that have been here since I was small. The small wooden table in the center is where we've always played different games, but it's hard to beat Father at word games and hard to beat Mother at math games. I've always been the best at puzzle games, though.

I walk carefully across the wood floor into the kitchen, where the wooden counters give lots of space for preparing meals. The stove can create a fire under six pans at the same time, and has two ovens for baking. While walking around the counters, I habitually open the icebox to see what's inside. I'm not surprised to see the same types of juices and meats that Father always keeps in there. Aside from getting older, he really hasn't changed at all.

I walk past the large dining table, which was given to Father by his father, who received it from his father, and so on for something like ten generations. The table is large enough to seat eight elves, which was great any time we had visitors, but normally just held the four of us comfortably.

I check in the washroom, and it looks just like a standard washroom with no one hiding in it. As much as dwarves and goblins like to joke about it, elven homes do _not_ just have a tree in there. We have a regular modern disposal unit just like everyone else, along with a nice shower, a drying area, and a vanity with a reflective wall surface. Unlike the ship, however, everything in our home washrooms are made of the same dark wood as the walls and floor, giving them a very natural feeling.

Satisfied that the bottom level is clear, I walk back to the portal wall next to the front door and touch the charm twice. The portal blinks in and I step through it to the second level. This level is sectioned off into rooms, unlike the first level. I take the hallway in front of me, occasionally looking out the windows to my left to look at the yard. I still love that view.

Walking to the back, I reach for the door, taking a deep breath as I open it with my hand on my spellshooter. Saeralyn's room definitely looks like she's staying here, with clothes lying around and some scrolls on the desk, but otherwise looks exactly the same as it always has. I look around quickly and close the door, not wanting to think too much about it while there are still rooms to check.

The washroom on this level looks the same as it does on every level, so I check it quickly and move on. The laundry room is small, with only a simple clothes cleaner and a folding table inside. There's another small room that has only ever been used for storage and it only takes me a few seconds to check. The guest room is empty but clean, with just two beds and a small wardrobe in it. Nothing fancy, but still inviting if someone needs to stay with us for a short time.

My room is the last room to check on this level, so I pop inside quickly. Bed, side table, desk, wardrobe. My room has always been simple. I like it that way. It was obviously a little more full when Saeralyn and I were sharing it, but once it became 'just mine' I never bothered with doing anything fancy to it. It was only mine for a few years before I left for Academy anyway, and even a simple room is better than the bunk rooms I had to share with other ensigns and lieutenants for so many years.

Satisfied that nothing's going to jump out at me, I go back to the portal and tap the charm three times. Walking through, I'm on 'the parent level'. The top level of the house has always been just for them, with one large bedroom and an office they both shared for many years. I check the office first, and it's surprisingly empty. A small desk and some shelves with boxes of things still sit on one wall, but Father's antique desk is no longer here. That must be the desk he moved into Mother's office at the hospital. It makes me a little sad to see that, but I'm still happier that he's spending time with her instead of by himself at home.

Leaving that, I continue to their bedroom, which takes up most of the space on this level. They have a huge comfortable bed, multiple wardrobes (one of which only holds Mother's shoes), and a small sitting area with two green chairs facing a double-size window. A painting of the two of them on the day they were married hangs on a wall, next to a few paintings of me and Saeralyn as children. After checking the washroom quickly, I come back to the bed and sit on it, looking at the paintings.

After a few minutes, I feel my eyes start to tear up, so I stand and leave the room. Memories are all fine and good, but wishing for the past doesn't change anything. Things still are the way they are now no matter how much I wish they were different.

I take the portal back down, grab my bag and take it to my room. Tossing it on my bed, I pull out my clothes and set them in the wardrobe, dropping my previously-worn uniform in the basket next to it for cleaning later. I set my bag off to the side, then remove my weapon belt and hang it inside the wardrobe. Now that I know everything's clear, I'm a bit more relaxed.

As I close the wardrobe, I glance at the daggers and remember the box I should have hidden in here. I walk over to my desk and sit on the wooden chair to look at it. It's a simple wooden desk with five drawers – one above my legs and two on each side. Both sides have a smaller drawer on top and a larger drawer on the bottom. I open the bottom-right drawer and see a bunch of standard school supplies left over from when I was a kid.

Pulling the drawer more, it pops out of the desk completely. When I was really young, I realized the drawer was put together with the back panel in a slot between the side panels and could easily be removed. While messing with it, I noticed there were multiple slots the back panel could fit in. I could slide the back panel forward to a new slot and make a space behind the drawer to hide things.

With the drawer removed, I detach the small box I have stuck to the back of the drawer in the space between the side panels. Setting it on the desk, I open the latch and smile. Three parrying daggers and three throwing daggers lay underneath my old dagger sheaths. I remove the sheaths, a crossed pair made to attach to the inside back of my slacks so they can stay hidden, and one of each type of dagger for them, then replace the box behind the drawer.

When Father suggested I take self-defense classes, he only thought I'd be able to protect myself. He never realized how important fighting would end up being for me. He'd be shocked to know how well I can use these daggers, as well as the number of folk I've had to kill with them.

# CHAPTER SEVEN

Tir Tairngire, City of Corsari, Year 7350 (age 73), Spring

Father's probably going to be mad. We should have been home hours ago. But that band was really good and dancing was just so much fun! It's dark when we finally leave the dance club and head to the landcraft storage area.

It's a decent walk to the storage area, but we're not in a hurry. Saeralyn laughs when I try to sing properly and I laugh when she tries to dance properly. Occasionally, we stop to see who's more terrible.

We're not really paying attention to our surroundings, so we don't notice when we accidentally take a wrong corner. It takes us a few more minutes of walking to realize we don't actually know where we are, and we stop to take a good look around.

This part of town looks more run-down than where the club is, and definitely not like the buildings around the storage area. There's very little light and no one else on the road. I start looking for a road marker when two male elves turn a corner in front of us and come in our direction.

Saeralyn waves to them. "Excuse us, gentlefolk, but can you help point us in the right direction?"

The closer they get, the more uncomfortable I become. It's dark enough that I can't see them clearly, but I can see enough to know there's something off about them. Their pants are torn and dirty. Their jackets are covered with stains. One isn't wearing a shirt under his jacket, and it looks like he has rips across the skin of his chest, but I can't tell if they're actual scars or some kind of inked artwork. The one with a shirt has his head shaved clean of hair.

No-shirt stops in front of us. "I think these lovely girls are lost."

Baldy continues walking around to stop behind us. "They definitely seem lost. We should help them."

No-shirt steps forward, placing his hand on Saeralyn's hip. "We should definitely help them."

I feel a hand slide onto each of my shoulders. "Maybe they can help us, too."

Saeralyn takes a step backwards, away from No-shirt. "I think we should go, Rylae."

No-shirt's right hand disappears under his jacket and brings out a dagger. He points it at Saeralyn. "No, doll, I think you should stay."

The hand on my right shoulder disappears, and my self-defense classes kick in. Father insisted on self-defense classes once he found out I like dancing. He said they were basically the same thing, but dancing could help with fighting and fighting could help with dancing. He was right, and I've enjoyed both of them. I've never had to fight before, but I know how to do it. Knowing how doesn't make it less scary, though.

I drop my left shoulder, ball my fist and throw my left elbow backwards. I feel it connect with his groin, and he groans. I then stomp on his foot with my left heel, and he stumbles backwards. I hear a clatter on the ground.

Glancing down, I see a dagger by my right foot where Baldy must have dropped it when I attacked. I squat down, grab it, and spin to my right, holding the dagger out to slash. I catch Baldy's right leg with it as I slice across. Between that and his broken left foot, he falls on his rear.

Saeralyn hasn't taken any self-defense classes. I need to help her. Still crouched, I turn around to see Saeralyn stepping backwards, trying to avoid No-shirt's dagger. As I stand, I put my left foot behind her and my left arm in front of her, pushing her over my leg so she falls to the ground. I step to the left to stand in front of No-shirt.

With Saeralyn and Baldy on the ground behind me, I don't have anywhere to move, but I'm okay with that. No-shirt licks his lips and jabs at me with the dagger in his right hand. I twist out of the way of his jab and dig my dagger into his left side. He yelps, taking a step back and giving me room to maneuver.

I don't give him a chance to get away. I take a step forward, swinging my dagger again. He puts his left arm up to block me, snakes it around my arm and pulls me in close. "We were just going to have some fun, but now you've pissed me off. I'm going to enjoy hearing you scream."

He swings his dagger at my head, but I put my left arm up and catch his the way he caught mine. As I pull him close, I twist the dagger around in my trapped hand and jab it into his back. He screams and releases my right arm, so I pull the dagger out and swing it at his neck, burying it deep. His eyes go wide. His right-hand drops the dagger, so I let his arm go as he goes limp and drops to the ground.

I immediately crouch to pick up his dagger, then turn back to Baldy. He's recovered and has his right arm locked around Saeralyn's shoulders as they sit on the ground, her back against his chest. I look her in the eyes and make a biting motion with my teeth bared.

She picks up my meaning and bites into his jacketed arm with all the force she can. He screams and releases her. Stepping in, I pull his arm away from her and jab the dagger in the soft spot inside his elbow, leaving it there. He screams again as I pull Saeralyn up and start running with her hand in mine.

After a couple minutes of running, we come to an area with better lighting. We slow to catch our breath and I start checking Saeralyn for wounds. "Did either of them hurt you?"

She shakes her head. "No. I'm okay. Are you... Rylae! You have blood on you!"

I look down at my yellow shirt where she's pointing. There's a splash of blood by my right shoulder. I check, but it's not mine. "I'm okay. It must be from when I stabbed No-shirt in his neck or something."

Saeralyn looks at me, but it's a different kind of look. Like she's seeing me for the first time or something. Like I'm somehow different. "You stabbed him in his neck?"

I nod. "He was dangerous. I had to get us away."

She keeps looking at me. "But... you killed him."

Did I? I think about it. "Yeah, I guess I did. There's no way he'll live with a dagger in his neck. Baldy will be broken for awhile, but he probably won't die."

She continues looking at me. "Why did you kill him?"

I shrug. "He was threatening you, and he was going to hurt you. I had to get you out of there. When I realized he wasn't going to stop, I stopped him. Same with Baldy. I stopped him, and I got you out. It's that simple."

She looks like she wants to argue, but doesn't. Instead, she hugs me tight. "Thank you, Rylae! Maybe I should start going to those self-defense classes with you after all!"

I pat her on the back, then turn to look around. I recognize the area, and the storage area isn't far from here. I turn us to walk to it.

After a second, she grabs my hand and doesn't let go until we're home.

ǂǂǂǂ

She did, in fact, take those classes, eventually moving into more fighting classes and different training from what I was doing. From what little I saw of her on Firefork, she obviously became good at it. She never did get better at dancing, though.

I chuckle at the thought while twirling a dagger between my fingers. Growing up with Saeralyn was fun. She was my best friend, and I'd do anything to protect her. Anything. That was pretty much my motivation on Firefork as well, even though I couldn't really put words to it at the time. Even with everything we've been through, I still don't want anything to happen to her.

I sheath the daggers and attach the sheath to the inside of my slacks so they sit comfortably at my back. It's been awhile since I've had them sitting back there, so I practice reaching for them for a few minutes. I slowly remove the throwing dagger with my right hand, palming it so it's not noticeable, then slowly return it. I do the same with the parrying dagger, then practice with my left hand.

Once I'm comfortable with both, I practice faster. It's different than having them both on the left side of my weapon belt, but the movements come back to me quickly. I spent a long time practicing this before my Academy training, so it's just a simple task to remember the proper movements.

Satisfied with my reaction time, I leave my room and go down to check the landcraft area. Mine is still the only one there, so I decide it's time to start my investigation into what kind of trouble Saeralyn might have brought home with her. I go back up to the second level and walk to her room.

I look around slowly. Her room has the same layout as mine – desk, bed, side table and wardrobe, all in the same places. She has some clothes laid out on her bed, and I recognize the dark red top from the last time I saw her. Thinking about that top, I glance around the room quickly, but I don't see the backpack she had that time. I'm not sure if that's because she needed the weapons in it, or because she didn't want to leave them in the house where Mother or Father could find them. I'm hoping for the second one.

I open her wardrobe, and it's full of clothes. I know she's been here for a little over a month now, but she's obviously planning on staying for awhile. I guess that makes me feel better, because if there was an immediate threat she likely wouldn't be planning to stay, but it also makes me worry that she'll definitely just end up bringing the threat straight to our home if I can't stop it first.

I move the clothes around, but I don't see anything hidden in here, so I close it. I dig through the bags and stuff lying around on the floor, but it's mostly other clothes and cosmetics. Standard stuff an elf girl would keep in her bedroom. Satisfied that I've looked in all the obvious places, I look deeper into the not-so-obvious places, but there's nothing under her bed or side table, and nothing behind the wardrobe.

I look over at the desk with its scrolls and papers, knowing that's my next stop. I walk over and grab a scroll, open it, then close it quickly. I've seen scrolls like that before, and it just confirms she's still doing the same work I already knew she was doing. I check three or four of them, and they're all similar.

As I set them down, I get more and more irritated. Dragons be damned, she's just leaving these out on the desk! It's a good thing Mother and Father aren't nosy and inquisitive! I'm still going to give her hell about it when I see her, though. Even her father had kept his scrolls under a very serious lock. She should know better.

I flip through the naked papers, and they're a lot more innocuous. They're mostly business papers concerning an art shop in town. I wonder about them, then I remember another tidbit from Firefork. I wish I knew more about what she's been doing with the last thirty years than the bits and pieces I remember from the day we spent together on a goblin world, but it's all I have to work with right now.

I remember that she was picking up a piece of art on Firefork. I also remember that her father's scrolls all mentioned antiques. Her parents owned an antique shop. So maybe these papers about an art shop are a shop that Saeralyn owns. It wouldn't surprise me much, actually. She's followed her parents into their other work, so having a shop just fits the same pattern.

The bits and pieces are filling in the edges of the puzzle, but I'm still not seeing the whole thing. I open the drawers, but there's not really anything in them. Some spellsand, some ink pens, a pile of cosmetics that look like they've been here since we were young, a... umm... I remember that toy... why would she still have it, and why would she just leave it in a desk drawer? Has it been here all these years? Wow. That's embarrassing. I close the bottom left drawer, glad no one can see me right now considering how warm my cheeks feel.

I shake that off and open the bottom-right drawer. A pile of school supplies fills that drawer like it fills mine. I start to close it, then stop. Saeralyn and I would often reference things to each other simply by making similarities. The best code is the simplest one. She knows about my bottom-right drawer and the box hidden behind it. If she filled her bottom-right drawer with school supplies, just like mine...

I pull the drawer out of the desk, and sure enough, she's created a space behind it, just like mine. I find a folded piece of parchment stuck to the back. Pulling it off, I replace the drawer and unfold the parchment on the desk.

"Hey Rylae,

"If you found this, I guess we haven't run into each other yet. Hopefully that's just a coincidence and not because I'm captured or dead.

"I don't know how long it will be before you come home, but I'm sure you'll be here quickly once you find out from Mother that I'm here. However long, though, I'm setting some things up so you can find me, whatever happened. I probably need your help again.

"Talk to the clerk at my art shop. Melisand will give you whatever information he can. Just show him your UCST card. You're the only one he'll give any real details to.

"Sorry for pulling you into another mess. Maybe I'll learn this time. You'd think, as a history scholar, I'd be better at learning from the past. I guess I'm not.

"And I know I still owe you a talk and some explanations. If I'm not dead, we'll have it. I promise that.

"If Mother or Father has found this note instead... I'm sorry. Just get Rylae, please. She's the only one who can get more information, just like Momma and Poppa's clerk could only send you a short message when they died. It's safer for you this way.

"Whoever's reading this, know that I love you. Always have. Sometimes things just get in the way.

"Saeralyn"

I refold the parchment and lower my head to my chest while I think. I was right that she's hiding from something. I need to go to her art shop in the morning and see what I can find. But she obviously wrote this letter shortly after coming back to the house, and Mother would have told me if she had disappeared for more than a day or two, so I'm guessing she's still alive somewhere. I'm not surprised she would set this up for me to find, though. She takes after her parents in a lot of ways.

The tone of the note is what eventually gets to me, though. She sounds apologetic and sad. I've had so much disappointment building up for years when I thought she abandoned me, but it might be misplaced. Even when we saw each other on Firefork, I was distancing myself from her, not the other way around. She still owes me an explanation, but maybe I should rethink my anger over everything.

I place the note in my pocket and leave the room, heading back to mine. I decide there's nothing to do about anything until the morning, so I strip off my clothes and pull a nightgown from my wardrobe. I don't normally wear anything to bed, but I don't normally have parents that could just walk into my room, either.

I lie in bed and try to think through my anger, but I don't finish before falling asleep.

# CHAPTER EIGHT

I wake up to the warm blue light of Tir Tairngire's sun streaming through my bedroom windows. I open my eyes, then close them again as I decide to just stay in bed and enjoy the feeling for a few more minutes. There's nothing happening today that can't wait two more minutes.

After my extra minutes of warm happiness are up, I roll over and open my eyes to look for my side table. Finding it, I tap the charm on the side to bring up the story terminal, because it also has a time display in it. It's early enough that Father wouldn't have left for school yet, so I get out of bed and throw on the jeans and sweater from yesterday. With a yawn, I leave my room and take the portal to the bottom level.

I quickly look outside at the landcraft and see three of them there, which means Mother and Father are both home now. Mother's probably still asleep since she worked late, but the smells from the kitchen tell me where Father is. I walk back to see Father dressed for school and cooking something on the stove. I whistle as I walk to the icebox and pull out a container of cherry juice. I used to get in a lot of trouble as a child for startling Father while he was cooking, and it cost me a lot of breakfasts. The whistle was our solution to the problem.

I grab a small glass from the shelf and pour some juice, then replace the container in the icebox. If I'm going to be here awhile, I should really go to the food store with someone so we can restock. It's only fair, after all. I wonder what Saeralyn does to help out since she's staying here again. I'll have to ask her when I see her, along with the other things we need to discuss.

Walking over to the right side of the stove, I stand a few steps away from Father while I watch him cook two small venison steaks and some fluffy scrambled eggs with vegetables. I know he's not making all of that for himself, but this is another game we play. I stand and watch, taking a sip from my glass every so often, waiting patiently.

After a few minutes, he pulls two plates from the shelf and separates the food onto them. He picks up his plate and utensils and walks to the table. As soon as he's sitting, I pick up the other plate. He's not looking at me, but his voice immediately comes to me. "That's your mother's."

I grab some utensils and take the food with my glass over to the table. "I'm my mother's, too. Therefore it all works out in the end."

I sit across from him and taste a bit of the eggs, which are delicious. I've had eggs every day for the last three days now, twice on the Terra-Tairngire and now today. I forgot how much I missed having eggs. But now that I've had them, I should be good for awhile. If not, maybe I'll have more tomorrow.

I follow that up with a slice from the venison steak, and it's awesome as well. Father has never told me what he uses to season the steaks before cooking them, but it's always perfection when it's done. I hope he leaves that recipe to me in his will or something. It would be terrible to lose it.

I take a sip of juice and smile up at him. "Breakfast is wonderful, as usual. Thank you, Father."

He shrugs as he sips his juice. "Just don't tell your mother that you ate hers."

Still smiling, I nod. "I promise. I'll tell her instead that you didn't love her enough to make her any."

"Good. Maybe someday we'll be able to break her out of this fantasy world she lives in with a loving husband and a non-rebellious daughter."

I chuckle as we go back to eating. I wish I had counted how many times we've had that exact same conversation over breakfast. I'm sure the number would be ridiculously high, since it's pretty much been every morning where Mother has had to work late the night before while Father has still had to go to school that morning.

When we finish eating, I collect the dishes and take them over to the counter, then come back to the table. Father sits and looks at me, and I look back at him. Neither of us says anything for a few minutes. Finally, I decide to break the silence. "How are your students this year?"

"They're children, a lot like every year. I had a few adults who tried to join the class, but I had to refuse them for being too close-minded about history." He shrugs as he replies, but I can see the laughter in his eyes again.

I chuckle. "That's good. Old folk never seem to fully grasp exactly how much they've screwed everything up for the younger ones. Only children really understand it."

He nods. "Most children, at least. I have a few stubborn ones every year, but there's always one student that will stand out as the most stubborn of all my students over my entire career."

Shrugging, I take a sip of juice. "I can't help being the best at whatever I try to do, including being stubborn about history classes."

He stands and walks to the front door, where his black suit jacket sits on a hanger. I walk out to join him as he puts it on, completing his outfit. "Your mother didn't come home until just a few hours ago, so she'll be in bed for most of the day. She doesn't have to work tonight, though, so maybe we can have dinner somewhere nice this time."

"That sounds like a good plan. I'll even cover the cost. We're expecting a bounty for a load of smuggled spellshooters we returned to the Admiralty, so I should easily be able to cover a nice dinner for my parents. I'll see if Mother wants to go to the food store, too."

With a nod, Father walks to the door and opens it. He steps outside and starts to pull it closed, then stops and looks at me. "I'm glad you're home, Rylae. We've missed you." As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he closes the door and goes to his landcraft.

It's all I can do to stop myself from crying. I've known that old elf my entire life, and he just doesn't say things like that. He jokes around and dodges, but never comes right out and says things. It's all a part of the game he makes of it. Hearing him actually say it catches me completely off-guard.

As I wipe my eyes, I stop to think about it and wonder if that's exactly what he was trying to do. It's actually crafty in its reverse-craftiness. Then I shrug and realize he must just be getting old or something. These things happen to old folk. I shouldn't let it bother me.

Walking back to the kitchen, I look at the dirty dishes and decide to try to clean them. I don't remember how long it's been since I actually tried to cast magic on my own, but I should still know how to do it. I pull a bag of spellsand out from a lower cabinet and use a metal scoop which Mother keeps inside it to pour some on the counter. The scoop is just the right size, although I have no idea exactly what size it is. I swear she's had this scoop forever, and has always told me that it's 'just one scoop of spellsand'.

I push the sand around as I try to remember the exact design for cleaning. Let's see... what was the mnemonic again? "Bubbles under the water, a cat drinking from the river, the great owl watches from the tree above, the branch leads to a clean home." I say it aloud as I draw the design. Of course, I can't draw an actual cat or owl, but those images are just to help me remember where everything goes. A center line for water, five circles underneath the line, a small pile of sand at the right edge of the line, a line leading upwards to a larger circle of sand, and a line from that leading to the symbol of a house inside a circle.

I look over the design, and it looks to be okay, so I set my hands on the counter, palms down and fingers straight. Eyes open, I stare at the design for about thirty seconds, then shut my eyes quickly. An image of the design glows behind my eyelids. As soon as I see the image, I move my hands over the spellsand design and relax myself completely, focusing on the image in my mind.

After a few seconds, I feel my fingers start to tingle, then my entire hands tingle as the spell takes effect. I open my eyes and look at my hands, which are covered with a light blue glow. I smile, proud of myself for remembering how to do it. Then I notice my feet itching. My feet always itch when I cast a cleaning spell. I don't understand why, and I've never asked anyone about it. I just assume it's because I'm not an adept so it's some kind of side effect. That answer's good enough for me.

I pick up a plate with my left hand, bring it over the sand design and wipe my right hand over the top of it. My right hand tingles more as the leftover bits of food are erased from the plate, leaving it spotless. I do the same with the rest of the dishes, one at a time until everything's clean. Once they are, I break the spellsand line between the circled house and the 'tree', and the blue glow disappears from my hands. I brush them down the front of my sweater to try to make the tingling feeling stop, then sit down to scratch my feet until they stop itching.

I put the dishes back on the shelves where they belong, then go back up to my room to pick out clothes to wear today. If Mother's going to be asleep all day, I should go deal with the art shop this morning and see where that takes me. I figure the best option is to look business-like, so I choose a pair of black slacks, a blue blouse with short sleeves, and a black jacket. With that decided, I strip off my sweater and jeans, put on my robe, grab my cosmetics and leave my room to walk to the washroom.

As I put my hand on the door, I decide to quickly check Saeralyn's room again, mostly to satisfy my own curiosity. I walk further down the hallway and open her room, looking around inside. Everything's where I remember it being last night, and she hasn't been here to sleep. I hope that doesn't mean I have to stage some kind of rescue attempt today, but I guess I won't know more until I talk to her clerk.

I walk back to the washroom and start getting clean. It feels good to take a shower in my own house again, especially after finding Saeralyn's note. I feel slightly more relaxed, even though I still have a lot of work to do. I want to hope that everything will work out and I can actually enjoy my vacation, but deep down I'm still fairly sure that something's going to jump out at me before everything's finished.

Once I'm clean, my eyes are colored, my face cream is applied, and my hair is right, I put my robe back on and go back to my room to get dressed. While I'm buttoning the blouse, I look at the weapon belt hanging in my wardrobe. I again decide that I'd rather have it in case I need it than need it and wish I had it, so I pull it out and buckle it around my waist.

Once I put the jacket on, the weapons are completely covered... although the tan leather of the belt and the metal buckle totally clash with the blue and black outfit. I walk back to the washroom and look at my reflection, but even without seeing the weapons the belt is just too obvious. I should really buy a black leather weapon belt, if such a thing exists. I'll have to ask Saeralyn when I see her. With her line of work, I'm sure she knows.

My thought process totally stops after I think that, and I look at my stunned reflection for a moment before breaking out into laughter. All the years I've been mad at her, all the worry I've had for her, and all the disappointment I've had for her creating whatever this situation is that she's hiding from at our home... yet the first thing I think of when I need hidden weapon fashion advice is to ask Saeralyn.

Maybe things can be resolved between us after all. She still owes me some answers, and we still have to resolve whatever this situation is, but maybe, after that, we can actually be friends again. I'd like that.

Shaking my head, I go back to my room and trade the weapon belt for the crossed daggers, clipping them to the inside back of my slacks. I do a couple practice grabs under the jacket and head to my landcraft to visit Saeralyn's art shop. As the craft starts to pull away from the house, I think about the day Saeralyn found out exactly what her parents did for a living, which led into her eventually following in their footsteps.

# CHAPTER NINE

Tir Tairngire, City of Corsari, Year 7358 (age 81), Autumn

The storage building is very clean. I don't know what I expected it to be, but for some reason 'clean' just wasn't it.

The locked unit that belongs to Saeralyn is a larger space in the back, separated from everything else by a wide walkway in front. There are other units to either side of it, but there's easily ten meters of space between each of the two-and-a-half meter doors.

Inside this storage space is everything Saeralyn's parents left for her when they died, including the contents of their house and the remaining antiques from the shop. We don't know exactly what to expect when we open it, but we've been talking about it for months. She's been back and forth about looking in it, and finally decided that she wants to do it.

I hear footsteps behind me, and turn to see Saeralyn walking away. I move quickly to catch her arm. "Hey. Are you okay? I thought you said you'd be okay."

She turns to me, her red hair covering her face. I brush the hair away and look in her orange eyes. She looks sad and defeated. I pull her into a tight hug. "It's okay, babe. It's just a little bit more. If you give up now, it'll hurt more next time. Just push through that last little bit. Okay?"

Without speaking, she nods against my shoulder, then turns back toward the storage unit. I let her go and walk with her to the door. Back at the door, we stand there without moving. I turn to look at her as she stares at the door. Eventually she looks at the door charm, then looks at me.

I walk to the door charm and press it. "Gwalindiel, seven-two-seven-seven-seven-three-two-eight."

The door disappears as I walk back to Saeralyn. She's staring inside and not moving. I grab her hand, and as soon as I do she starts walking, taking me into the storage unit. She doesn't let go of me as we walk around inside it.

There isn't really much room to walk around, but there's enough. The folk who packed this away must be the same ones who worked in the store. All of the furniture is covered with blankets and carefully stacked, with just enough space between rows to walk. Most of the antique furniture from the store obviously came in first and is packed up against the far walls, moving toward the center. The items from Saeralyn's home are in the center closest to the door.

As we pass some of the antiques, Saeralyn's hand comes up and she runs her fingers against them, obviously remembering. Walking down a row of desks with rocking chairs sitting atop them, I see the chair that I met Saeralyn in, the one that belonged to Nithunien Aladiir's wife. I can't believe I remembered that. Saeralyn would be proud of me if she wasn't busy sifting through her own memories.

We walk in circles for a bit, then work our way towards the center area. As we pass certain things, I feel Saeralyn's hand squeeze mine tighter – a bed that obviously belonged to her parents, a worn couch, a large comfortable-looking chair. Eventually, we come to a large desk made of dark cherry-colored wood. The corners are inlaid with gold, as are the drawer pulls.

A single scratch mars the surface and Saeralyn smiles as she points to it. "I did that. Poppa was mad at me for days, until one day he suddenly wasn't anymore. He said that he'll now always know that it's his desk, because his little girl made it special." She turns to me and buries her face in my shoulder as she starts crying. I wrap my arms around her, holding her until she's done.

She stops crying, straightens her back and wipes her eyes. "Sorry."

I smile as I hand her a hankie. "Don't be sorry. I knew it was going to happen."

She punches me in the arm as she takes the hankie and wipes her face with it. "Thanks for being a jerk about it. Anyway, this is Poppa's desk. This is what the key should open."

She pulls a small metal key from the pocket of her jeans. She'd received the key in a package about a year ago. There were two packages that arrived within a day of each other. The first package contained a packet of information from the clerk her parents had retained to manage her trust, which became available to her when she turned 80. Aside from the storage unit, her parents had left Saeralyn a _lot_ of money. Some of it was from the sale of the house and antique shop, but there was a whole lot more.

She asked my parents about it, and they were as surprised as she was. They specifically made sure she understood that it was _her_ money, and that she didn't owe the Westiels anything for being a member of our family. She decided to leave the management of the money with the same clerk for the time being.

The next day, a smaller package appeared with the key inside. This one wasn't from the clerk's office, but the enclosed letter said that they knew the clerk had sent 'Miss Gwalindiel' a packet about her trust. The letter explained that it was from a 'business associate' of her parents, and they knew about the money because it mostly came from them. Her parents worked for them, but it didn't explain how.

The letter continued, requesting a favor from Saeralyn. In the locked drawer of her Poppa's desk were some papers. Those papers detailed some 'business deals' between the nameless letter sender and her parents. If she could kindly use the key to retrieve the papers from the desk and forward them to the enclosed address, then the 'business' would be happy to 'donate' some additional money to her trust.

Left unsaid was any detail as to what would happen if she decided to refuse. The letter was written very nicely, with professional language and flowery words, but it just didn't feel right. There was obviously more to this, and it felt like Saeralyn was being threatened even though it wasn't obvious.

Saeralyn never showed this letter to my parents, but we talked about it occasionally. A few months went by, but she never received another package. I assumed that leaving the papers in the storage unit was as good a solution for them as retrieving them, so they never bothered to contact her again. We still talked about it, though, and decided lots of times to come out to see the storage unit, but Saeralyn always had a last-second reason why we shouldn't.

Today, we're finally out here, and we're going to see what's inside the locked drawer. Saeralyn's happy to see old memories, but I have a bad feeling about what we're going to find in there.

The bottom drawer of the desk has a rather solid-looking lock on it, looped through the gold latch. Her Poppa definitely didn't want anyone to get in this drawer. She crouches down, places the key in the lock, and turns it. The lock pops open easily, so she slides it out of the latch and sets it on the floor.

Pulling the drawer open, we don't immediately see the papers. The first thing we see is a small gray statuette of a faerie cat perched haphazardly on top of a small house. The faerie cat is round with tiny butterfly-like wings, and long whiskers by its mouth full of sharp teeth. Its paws end with sharp talon-like claws gripping the edge of the roof of the small house below it.

Saeralyn laughs as she sets the statue on the desk. "Poppa always said a faerie cat would get me if I ever went into his desk. I can't believe he actually had a statue of one hidden in the drawer in case I ever did get into it!" The faerie cat is Tir Tairngire's mythological analogy to dragons, and children are warned that faerie cats will 'take them' if they don't listen to their parents.

We laugh at the statue for a minute before she looks back in the drawer. A pile of scrolls lived under the faerie cat, and she removes a couple of them carefully, handing me one while she unrolls one for herself. I unroll the one she handed me and read through it.

It appears to be a detailed account of a dwarf, one Renmod Granitecutter – his job, family, itinerary, a description of his house, and a list of his assets. Included are some handwritten notes – "use Terran accent", "shell game con", "secure lock code before termination", "purchase circa 3500 desk during estate sale", "not in front of his kids".

I sometimes wish my mind didn't immediately jump to terrible conclusions. Mother always says that my analytical mind is a skill I can use as a captain, but sometimes I wish I could just turn it off. I turn to Saeralyn, who's still reading her scroll with a confused look on her face. "I think we maybe shouldn't read these."

She looks up at me. "Why? They're my Poppa's records."

I look back over the notes on the scroll in my hands. "Because I'm thinking these may not be about things you want to know."

She stands up and turns the scroll she's reading to me. It looks remarkably like mine, with similar notes written on it – "use Andriennein accent", "lost tourist con", "terminate in secret", "destroy records relating to transit operation", "acquire circa 1200 vase"

She points to the note about the vase. "I know this vase. I remember its story. It belonged to a goblin king on Terra, King Caverndweller. He kept the toes of killed enemy generals inside it. When he fell, the vase was found by an adventuring party and eventually ended up in the hands of a starship engineer who sold it to my Poppa."

She points to the name at the top. "This is not the name of that starship engineer. I don't know who this is. I don't know why a note about this vase is on this scroll. I don't know why there is a note in Poppa's handwriting about destroying records or terminating something. I don't know why Poppa would be using a fake accent. I don't understand this."

I push the scroll down and look at her. "Do you want to know what I think? It's not a pretty answer." She nods, so I continue, "I think your parents might have been assassins."

A voice comes from the doorway of the storage unit, on the opposite side of the desk from us. "Not just assassins. That's undervaluing their skills greatly. Mister and Missus Gwalindiel were two of the best thieves, con artists, assassins, and overall manipulation experts I've ever worked with. In the business, we call them 'cleaners'."

We look over to see a short, slightly round older female elf standing in the doorway, with two large-shouldered men in black suits standing at her sides, spellshooters in hand.

I slowly move my right hand behind my back and lift my shirt, feeling for my daggers. I keep two daggers in sheaths attached to the inside back waistband of my jeans – one with a parrying crosspiece and one flat throwing dagger. I promised myself I'd never be unprepared again, and I'm glad for them. I palm the throwing dagger and slowly move my hand back to my side.

The female elf speaks again. "Miss Gwalindiel. Miss Westiel. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. It's been a long time since I sent you that key. I'm glad you finally decided to use it."

My eyes narrow. "How did you know we were coming here?" As I say this, I notice the heavy lock on the floor between my feet and Saeralyn's and give it a nudge with my toe, hoping she'll notice it.

She smiles. "Miss Westiel. So observant and analytical, and yet not entirely aware of her surroundings. I've had an elf following each of you since the day I found out where you were and sent you that key. You see, I wasn't sure which of you Miss Gwalindiel was. I couldn't risk her finding my papers without me knowing. I eventually learned the difference, but as you two are so close, I continued to have you both followed. I'm sure you understand."

I nod. "I do understand. You didn't know where the storage unit was. You didn't know what was in the papers from the clerk, but you knew that the clerk sent them. You got the address and sent Saeralyn the key so she could lead you to it."

Her eyes light up. "Well done, Miss Westiel. You truly are as good as the reports I've been receiving say you are. That's exactly right."

Saeralyn looks between us. "But how did you get the key? Poppa always kept it on him."

The old woman looks to her. "Your parents weren't the only agents I had on Navasari that day. They weren't the only agents I lost that day, either. My agents were targeted by another contractor. It was a slaughter. I'm actually very sorry I couldn't bring them home that day. But, my agents collected sensitive items from the fallen agents and brought them to me. The key was one."

Saeralyn looks at me. "At least I know the whole story now." As she says this, she moves her foot over the lock on the ground, telling me she got my hint.

The old woman nods. "Now, girls, this can be very easy for you. I simply want those papers. If you bring them to me, I stop having agents follow you and you get to leave. If you don't, I have my men burn down this entire storage building with you in it."

Saeralyn nods. "You can have the papers. Rylae, hand me that scroll." I hand it to her, and she squats down to place the scrolls back in the drawer. As she does, she grabs the lock and palms it in her left hand.

Standing again, she motions to me with her right hand. "Back over there to give them room to get the papers. I'll stand on this side. Ma'am, you can send your men to get the scrolls. I don't want to accidentally miss anything or read something else I shouldn't. It's better for all of us if you can account for them."

She smiles. "Smart girl. Much like your parents. Thank you for being reasonable." She gestures with her left hand, and the two men walk toward us. They split up to go around the desk and the items on the other side of it, walking directly in front of me and Saeralyn with their backs to us as they turn toward the desk.

They're both holding spellshooters in their right hands, which is perfect for me. I swing the throwing dagger in my right hand and bury it in the side of his elbow, causing him to drop the weapon. As I do that, I pull my other dagger with my left hand and bring it around. Kicking his left knee, he drops and I bring my left arm around to hold the blade at his throat.

I look across to see Saeralyn standing over the body of the other elf, who she bludgeoned with the heavy lock. Her left hand is covered in blood, and the side of his head looks like a mess. She's holding his spellshooter in her right hand, pointing it at the old woman. Seeing that, the man at the point of my dagger stops struggling.

Incredulously, the old woman actually claps while smiling. "Outstanding! I knew you two were trained, but the reports never give the whole story! That was brilliant! I especially like the way you set them up with your acquiescence! Miss Gwalindiel, your parents would be proud! Miss Westiel... well, your Mother would be more proud than your Father, I'm guessing."

I keep the surprise in my mind from affecting my grip on the dagger, but just barely. I look over to Saeralyn, who looks back at me. She shrugs and turns back to the woman. "Ma'am, would you mind explaining exactly what's going on here?"

The old woman crosses her arms across her breast. "Plans within plans, Miss Gwalindiel. Layers to everything. Everything I told you is accurate. I would like those papers. I would have been happy with just that. However, I was also hoping for a demonstration of your abilities. I can always use more cleaners, you see. As I'm sure you can reason, it's not an easy business to recruit for."

She turns her attention to me. "Miss Westiel, please release my agent. He will not trouble you."

As I release him, I quickly squat to grab his spellshooter and point it at him, but he completely ignores me as he moves over to the fallen elf. After checking him over, he stands and looks at the old woman, shaking his head.

She shakes her head slowly. "A shame. He was a good bodyguard. But his death just makes me want Miss Gwalindiel more. Ladies, I appear to have a mess to clean. If you would please leave us, I will take care of the papers and my agents, and leave things in here exactly as they were when you arrived. I'll also place that additional donation in your trust, Miss Gwalindiel."

Saeralyn turns to me. I think it's a good idea, as she seems trustworthy enough at this point, so I nod and we walk to the door. As we reach the old woman, she smiles again and hands a small card to Saeralyn. "If you decide to go into the same line of work as your parents, please contact me. Miss Westiel as well. You would both be excellent agents."

Saeralyn takes the card and places it in her pocket. We take two more steps away from the door before the old woman's voice behind us stops us. "Excuse me, ladies. You may want to leave those here."

We look at each other, then down at our hands. We're still holding the spellshooters. I set mine on the floor and Saeralyn follows suit. I remember I left my throwing dagger in the one bodyguard's arm, but I'll just replace it from my stash later. Without turning back, we walk out of the storage building to our landcraft and set it to go home.

ǂǂǂǂ

# CHAPTER TEN

Tir Tairngire, City of Corsari, Year 7401 (current day, age 124), Early Spring

We never talked about that day again. Saeralyn never brought it up, and I never questioned her. Ten years later, when she got a 'new job' that 'took her off-world a lot', I was able to piece everything together and figure out that she had called the old woman and took the job to become a cleaner, but by then it was too late. I never found out why she did it. She didn't need the money.

I didn't get to ask her on Firefork. Maybe I'll get to ask her soon. If she hasn't gotten herself killed already, that is.

That dark turn of thoughts happens right before the landcraft comes to a stop in the parking area of a shopping complex. I look around at the stores before getting out. A large food store is here, which is certainly convenient for the other shopping I need to do. There's also a large home furnishing store, a clothing store, a tech store, a landcraft maintenance center, a small day spa, two restaurants, a general clerk's office, and 'Saelihn's Art Gallery'.

I exit the landcraft and walk to the art gallery door, fairly surprised at the location. This is a really good part of town, and the storefront in the center of the shopping area is prime real estate. 'Saelihn' is also an obvious play on Saeralyn's name, but still different enough and a common-enough name to fool anyone who might be looking for her. Between the two, the phrase 'hiding in plain sight' comes to mind. I'm kinda proud of her for it.

Opening the glass door carefully, I walk into the shop and look around. There are some beautiful paintings on the walls, some larger inked pieces on easels, and some shelves with vases, pottery, and other small aesthetic pieces. Overall, I'm quite surprised that she'd be so deep into art like this. All the time she spent with her parents' antiques and her history lessons, I always assumed she'd do something like that. She never really showed any kind of appreciation for art when we were younger.

I'm busy looking at a beautiful piece of work showing an Andriennein sunset when a presence to my left gets my attention. I turn to look at another beautiful piece of work, this one a chiseled sculpture of a young elven male. Tanna would be drooling, but I'm able to keep my composure. I scan him starting at his messy pure white hair, then downward to his pale eyes, his well-defined face, his wide shoulders, his solid chest and arms behind a well-tailored striped shirt...

He clears his throat before I can look any lower. Sad, but I'll finish looking later. I look back up at his eyes, and he smiles. "Can I help you find something, ma'am?"

Saeralyn would be disappointed in me if I didn't attempt to play with the merchandise in her store. Especially the pieces I know she wouldn't play with herself. "Yes, sir. I was looking for a price tag just now, but I couldn't seem to find one." I reach out and touch the collar of his shirt playfully. "This piece really is exquisite and I'd love to take it home with me."

He chuckles and playfully swats my hand away. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but this piece isn't in your particular price range. It requires someone with a thicker..." he glances down at my pants, then back up at my eyes with a grin, "wallet."

I laugh. "Well done! How many women do you have to turn down every day to come up with lines that suave?"

He grins with a wink. "All of them."

That only makes me laugh harder. "I can see why she would hire you. Well done, babe." I realize I said this out loud when he looks at me with a questioning eyebrow raised. "Sorry! Thinking out loud again. I'm a friend of the owner. I was wondering if she was around today."

He shakes his head. "Sorry. Miss Saelihn spends a lot of time away on business. I only see her every few weeks when she brings new pieces into the shop."

I nod. "Let me guess. When you do see her, she sits you down with every piece and gives you a small history lecture on all the details of the piece."

A small chuckle escapes him. "It's not that bad, since I'm a history scholar myself. That's why Miss Saelihn hired me, actually. We both loved the same history teacher at Corsari Primary."

Oh no. "Let me guess again. Mr. Westiel?"

His smile gets a little wider, and his eyes crinkle at the edges. "You had him too? Isn't he just the best? I love the way he tells the stories like he was actually there the entire time! All those little details he knows that they never put in the reading material!"

I've never seen a boy start fangirling before. I think he actually swoons a little bit. Considering his proclivities towards 'fatter wallets', I guess I'm not really surprised, but it is a bit embarrassing. For him, I mean. At least he doesn't know that the teacher he's swooning over is the father of the girl standing in front of him. That would only make this experience more uncomfortable than it already is.

I smile. "I remember Miss Saelihn saying something similar when I first met her. Well, since she isn't here, there's someone else I'm looking for. You wouldn't happen to be Melisand, would you?"

He shakes his head. "Not me. That's the old clerk in the storefront next door. We do a lot of work with him, but he's actually independent."

"Thank you, then. After I'm done talking to him, I'll come back in and check out your pieces again." I give him a quick roving eye followed by a wink.

He chuckles. "Just remember, ma'am. You can look all you want, but you can't touch without more in your wallet." He winks and gracefully turns away with a bit of a sashay to his movements. I'm not too proud to stop watching this new angle, though. I wait until he takes his merchandise around a corner before I leave.

The clerk's office has a heavy wooden door sealing him away from the outside world. That doesn't really surprise me, given the often-confidential ways which clerks operate, but it does make the visit a bit intimidating. The door itself is sealed, so I touch the charm on the side and wait. Above the charm is a small sign that reads, "No new clients accepted."

After a minute, the door opens to reveal an older elf in a gray business suit. He's shorter than I am, with silvery white hair and a hooked nose on his wrinkled face. He looks me over with tired eyes, but says nothing. I put on my nicest smile for him. "Excuse me, sir. I'm looking for Melisand. I was asked to speak with him."

His eyes harden and he gives me another once-over. When he speaks, his voice comes out like gravel. "Your benefactor?"

That's an interesting question. I think for a second and decide to take a chance on an interesting answer. "Miss Gwalindiel."

His eyebrows rise briefly before he turns and walks away, leaving the door open for me to follow. I walk into the office and push the door shut behind me. When it seals, my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness in the room. He doesn't have any windows or a powerful light spell in here, instead using only a small lamp sitting on a table in the back.

Once my eyes adjust, I can start to make out some of the details of the room, but only barely. Some small couches and tables, shelves full of scrolls, bound parchment, and boxes likely full of the same. It looks a lot like a clerk's office, but less friendly. I'm not sure why he'd bother keeping a storefront in this location if he doesn't really want anyone visiting.

A small cough directs my eyes to the light, where I can see the old elf sitting at the desk. I walk to the back and take a seat on the 'customer' side of the desk in an old wooden chair. He looks at me across the desk, again without speaking. I'm thinking the folk he normally works for have more of a habit of telling him exactly what they need him to do without him asking questions.

I pull my UCST identification card from my pocket and pass it to him. He reads over it, then carefully looks at it under the light. He then briefly turns the light toward my face, blinding me momentarily while he compares me to my picture. When he moves the light back, I have to wait another minute for my eyes to readjust. I can hear the pages of a book turning, but I can't see it.

When I can see again, he sets my card down in front of me on the desk, and I pick it back up. He looks at me closely. "Whose chair was it?"

Good validation question. I'm the only elf besides Saeralyn who would know the answer to that question and the context surrounding it. "The wife of Nithunien Aladiir."

He nods, seeming to be satisfied with my answer. "Miss Westiel. I'm surprised to see you. Has something happened to Miss Gwalindiel that I'm not aware of?"

I shake my head. "I don't think so. I only arrived on-world yesterday, but I haven't seen her yet, and she doesn't appear to have been gone for long. I found a note she left telling me to come see you for information. Since I don't know where she is, I thought I would start with you and go from there."

He nods and pulls a book of bound parchment sheets from under his desk. As he flips through it, I realize I can't read the lettering in the book. I don't know what language it is, but it's either very old or entirely unique to the clerk. Hiding things in plain sight again. He stops on a page and reads through it quickly before turning back to me.

"My instructions are clear. If Miss Gwalindiel is still alive, then she has to provide you with most of the information she left with me. Unless she misses her check-in with me for more than a week or other proof is provided, I have to assume she's still alive.

"However, I can tell you these facts. Miss Gwalindiel was last in here for an update four days ago, on a job to scout a particular set of buildings in the area of eastern Corsari. These buildings belong to the opposing contractor, but I cannot provide more details. Miss Gwalindiel is expected to return tomorrow to provide another update."

Interesting. That provides me some details, but definitely not all of them. I'll have to get more out of Saeralyn for certain. However, I wonder exactly how far I can stretch the puzzle pieces he's already given me.

"Thank you for the information. If you're expecting her tomorrow, then I'll keep an eye out for her between now and then. I'd like to ask a couple of follow-up questions, if I may."

His eyes close to slits. "You may, but understand that my instructions are clear."

I nod. "Can you tell me the name of the opposing contractor?"

He shakes his head. "That information is privileged. I apologize."

I nod again. I didn't expect it to be that easy. "I assume you also can't tell me the name of your contractor, but can you tell me if I'm correct that she's an older elf woman with a slightly round shape?"

He cocks his head. "I'm surprised that you knew her, but your assumption is incorrect. I work for many folk, including Miss Gwalindiel. The woman you describe was not my contractor. Also, she was killed by the opposing contractor quite a few years ago during the major fighting."

I had hope for that question, but I guess none of my questions with this clerk will be simple. "I'm sorry to hear that. She tried to recruit me a long time ago. I'm assuming her agents were acquired by another contractor then?" He nods, so I progress further. "Is the opposing contractor at war with the acquiring contractor?"

He furrows his brow as he thinks for a few seconds, then responds slowly. "I can't share that information specifically, but I can tell you that you are not entirely accurate in your assumption."

Interesting. One more attempt at that one. "Am I more accurate about the war, or about the participants?"

He taps his finger against his cheek as he looks at me. "I'm impressed with your questions. Your assumption is more accurate about the war than the participants."

So, Saeralyn is currently scouting a compound of an enemy contractor, who is waging a war against a faction which includes Saeralyn but does not include her contractor. That explains why she's still working, but also why she's in hiding. I'll need to get more details from Saeralyn, but at least I understand the fringes of the puzzle better.

I stand to leave and extend my hand to the older elf. "Thank you, Melisand. Your assistance has been incredibly helpful to me. If I do not hear from Miss Gwalindiel before her expected check-in time, I'll return to speak with you."

He stands, shakes my hand, and leads me to the door. Before he opens it, I decide to ask him one more question. "If I may make one additional assumption, am I correct in assuming that you have worked with the Gwalindiel family for a long time? Did you work for Miss Gwalindiel's parents as well?"

He stops. I can't see his face in the darkness as he turns to me, but he seems smaller somehow. "I did indeed work for Mister and Missus Gwalindiel. They were wonderful elves. Managing the sale of their home and antique shop was one of the saddest things I have had to do in my career."

He stands straighter and takes my hand in his. "There actually is one more piece of information I can give to you, because it is in the Westiel name. This may be bending my instructions slightly, but thinking about Mister and Missus Gwalindiel has made me want to tell you this. I currently manage a trust for the Westiel family. I cannot divulge the details, but I can inform you that it exists."

My eyebrows rise at that information. "Thank you, Melisand. I'm going to attempt to bend your instructions one more time. Am I correct in my assumption that this trust was created before the sale of the Gwalindiels' antique shop?"

He pats my hand and turns to open the door. As the light shines into the dark room, I see a smile on the old elf's face. He holds the door while I exit, then looks at me from inside. "Your assumption is incorrect. Have an excellent day, Miss Westiel." He closes the door gently as I watch.

I stare at the door for a long time, thinking about that answer. Finally, I turn and walk to the food store. Perhaps some shopping will help clear my head.

# CHAPTER ELEVEN

The problem with food shopping is that it not only fails to clear your head, but it gives you way too much time to think while you're simply walking up and down the aisles. Since Mother isn't with me, I'm not planning to buy much, but I don't know the layout of this store so I still have to visit every section, meaning an hour or so of nothing but thinking.

I don't know everything that's going on by a long shot, but I know the basics now. I know Saeralyn's in the middle of something big. Definitely bigger than the small job she had me help her with on Firefork. I wonder if there is anything else I can remember about that job that can help me with the problem today.

Firefork, City of Burnmire, Year 7399 (2 years ago, age 122), Autumn

Our mission this trip is to act as protection to the UCST trade ship DragonsHoard. Firefork has become quite a hotbed of activity recently due to some power struggle between warlords, and there's a large chance of the DragonsHoard being attacked. Since trade ships don't have battalions, we were sent out to 'discourage' any potential attacks.

As I walk into Cap's office, he looks at me. "Rylae, do we have a com connection to the 'Hoard yet?"

I nod as I take a seat. "It's ready. Nub created a second connection as soon as we were close enough to get a solid position on them"

Cap pulls out his communicator. "Imildir Tallinos"

After a second, the elven face of DragonsHoard's captain appears, facing Cap. "Captain Gravelhand. It's a pleasure to work with you and the Corsari."

Cap smiles. "The same for you and the 'Hoard, Captain Tallinos. What's yer docking situation?"

Captain Tallinos goes quiet while he looks away to get an update, then turns back. "We're at full stop now, with about an hour required to dock."

Cap nods. "Excellent. We're about two hours out and movin' closer. Our plan is to land first, deploy the battalion to create a perimeter, then have yer folks land as close to our east side as ya can. How good is yer Science crew? Ground Control is bein' a mite squirrelly with us so we're workin' around 'em."

A smile crosses Captain Tallinos' face. "Ground Control's been really helpful with us. Sometimes it pays to have a few extra crates of Vendarim whiskey on board. It always seems to make a lot of folk just a bit more helpful."

Cap's eyes grow wide. "What year?"

Captain Tallinos chuckles. "6974. Over four hundred years old."

Cap's eyes narrow down. "Ya best have a crate left over after greasin' the palms of the goblins in Ground Control. I can think of a certain Battalion Major and Master Sergeant that might be willin' to go above and beyond if they thought there was a chance at gettin' a crate of four-hundred-plus dwarven whiskey."

The DragonsHoard's Captain laughs out loud. "It's funny how many times I hear something like that once folk realize I have it. Don't worry, Captain. If we get out of this alive, I plan to grease some Corsari palms as well. And I'll still have some left over for the next trip."

Cap whistles. "Damn. That must be a lot of whiskey. Well, don't worry, Captain. We'll get down there and keep yer ship protected."

Captain Tallinos nods. "Thank you, Captain Gravelhand... but I have one additional favor I need to ask for. You see, my ship isn't the only thing that needs to be protected this trip. I have a passenger who has to perform some important work on-world. That passenger could use a small escort, if you can provide one. In fact, while researching your ship, she specifically requested your XO as an escort."

What? That doesn't make any sense. Who would request _me_ as a security escort on a goblin world? Cap turns to me. "Elf? Does that make any sense to you? This is somethin' where I'd rather send Lada."

I shrug. "Lada makes more sense. It's not only her job, but she's more dangerous than I am. She's a security escort. I'm an XO. I can fight, but not like Lada."

Cap turns back to the floating head. "Captain, I'd rather send my Chief of Security, Lada Axesmith. A more dangerous dwarven lady doesn't exist. If yer passenger needs security, Lada's the best choice."

Captain Tallinos nods. "I understand, Captain. I'll tell Miss Gwalindiel that her request is denied."

Gwalindiel? "Cap, wait!"

««»»

Now docked with the battalion deployed, we're waiting for the DragonsHoard to dock when Cap calls me back into his office. When I walk in, he's alone at his desk and gestures to a chair. As I sit, he takes a drink from his mug and looks at me.

"I don't like this, elf. I really don't like this. Doesn't feel right."

Sighing, I nod. "I know. But... there's just a lot of pieces that I can't explain to you. If Saeralyn's here and specifically asking for my help, I know she needs it, and I have to go. And I can guess her purpose, which is why I'm asking you to forget her name ever came up. The UCST accepts a lot of things, but I don't think they'd like this all that much."

He looks at me carefully. "Ya know I trust ya, Rylae. I have to. Yer my XO. And ya haven't screwed me over yet. If ya say ya need to do this, then I trust ya. But, I don't know this other girl. I don't trust her to bring ya back in one piece, and yer not givin' me much to work with."

I nod again. "I know. And I'm sorry. But all I can really tell you is that Saeralyn was a close friend of mine. We grew up together. I'm one of the few folk she can trust with her secrets, and I can't throw that away. I can't guarantee that I'll come back in one piece, but I have to go."

Cap takes another drink and is quiet for a minute while he looks at me. Finally, he closes his eyes. "I won't ask any more questions. Do what ya gotta do. Just try to come back. And if ya get in any trouble, call Lada. But ya owe me one for agreein' to this foolish errand."

I try to smile, but it comes out awkward. "Understood, Cap. Thanks. And for the one I owe ya... if it helps, Saeralyn's going to owe me one as well. I'm doing this because I have to, not because I particularly want to."

He nods and waves me off. I leave his office and go up to my quarters on level 6. After removing my uniform, I dig a bag out from the back of my wardrobe. I keep all my non-uniform clothes in here. I rarely wear them so they permanently live in the bag. A UCST uniform will stand out like a sore thumb, though, especially if I'm wearing a weapon belt. I need something else.

I finally decide on a pair of jeans, a tight black shirt (which happens to have a deep V in the front... purely coincidental, that), and a leather jacket. It's an ensemble I've worn out to some dance clubs, but definitely not something I wear often. I put everything on and start walking down to the armory.

As I walk past some crew members, I get a few additional glances and a grin or two. One elf ensign walks right into a wall while staring at me. That makes me smile a bit, but I'm too worried about the mission to really enjoy it.

In the armory, I take out the weapons Simon and I put together earlier – a weapon belt with two dagger sheaths on the left, a spellshooter holster on the right, and an additional spellshooter holster at my lower back. When I put it on, the leather jacket covers it completely, so I don't look armed. In the dagger holsters I place two 10 cm blades, one with a curved parrying crosspiece and the other with a flat hilt made for throwing. In the right-hand holster I place a spike shot spellshooter, and a fireball spellshooter sits in the holster at my back.

As I walk to the bay doors, I think again about what I'm doing. I haven't seen Saeralyn for thirty years, and the last time was when she was leaving for a job, probably just like whatever she's doing here. She never spoke to me again, never replied to my messages, never tried to find me. She disappeared and left me alone. And yet, when she inexplicably shows up and asks for my help, it never even crosses my mind to refuse.

Why am I doing this? Am I trying to fix what we had? Am I apologizing for hurting her all those years ago? Am I accepting an apology that she never actually gave? Am I still trying to protect my childhood best friend like I always did? Am I just taking a mission request from another Captain as part of our current mission? No matter what I ask myself, the answer is always the same – I have no idea why I'm doing this. No idea at all.

As I walk through the door to the staging area, I see a platoon of soldiers standing inside, as a last line of defense between the outside and the inside of the ship. Simon stands with them, talking to Lada. When they see me, they wave me over.

Lada looks me up and down. "Damn, girl. You clean up nice." Simon just shrugs.

I smile. "Thanks. Has the DragonsHoard docked?"

She nods. "Yep. Their Ugly Dirt Box is directly to the side of the Corsari. I'm gonna walk ya over there and give it a good look before I let ya go."

I lay my hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Lada. Cap said I should call you if I get into trouble. I'm hoping I don't."

She grins. "I'll be here waiting for ya. Don't worry about it. For now, let's get you over there."

Simon nods and turns back to the platoon. I follow Lada through the bay doors and take a look around. Everything on Firefork is a gray stone color, which makes it weird when trying to focus on the battalion members in steel armor set up in a circle around the docking area.

We come to the DragonsHoard, and they have a large bay door already open. Stepping up to it, a tall elf with silver hair wearing a dress uniform waves us over. Once inside, we stop and salute.

Captain Tallinos salutes us back. "Ladies, welcome to the DragonsHoard. Commander Westiel and Lieutenant Commander Axesmith, correct?" We nod, and he smiles. "Excellent. LC, I have a crate I need you to return to your captain, if you don't mind."

As he points out the crate, Lada grins. "Is he expectin' it? If not, I might just have to deliver it straight to my quarters instead."

The Captain laughs. "He's expecting it. Sorry. He'll probably try to take off your head if you don't get it to him."

Lada chuckles. "I'd love to see 'im try. But I'll get it there. No problem. Thank you, Captain." She lifts the heavy crate onto her head and holds it there with one hand as she walks out of the ship.

Captain Tallinos looks at her stunned. "That crate weighs 40 kilos. Unless your Captain is a lot stronger than I think he is, he might have trouble getting it back from her."

I smile at him. "Cap's not easily reckoned with, even for Lada. I think she'll challenge him for it, but I don't think she'll win. He'll probably cut a deal with her."

He looks back at me and smiles. "I must say, Miss Gwalindiel said you were beautiful thirty years ago, but either her memory is bad or you've far surpassed what she remembers about you."

I blush a little and turn away. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate the compliment."

He lays a hand on my shoulder and turns me back. "Well, enough of this old man flirting with an elf my daughter's age! I'll take you to Miss Gwalindiel and she can explain more about what she needs help with. I know she's bringing some artwork onto the ship, but I don't know the specific details."

I nod. "Thank you, sir."

I follow him through the ship. A trade ship is set up differently than an ambassadorial ship since there's no need for a battalion. Engineering is on the fifth level, the hospital ward and mess hall are on the sixth, Command is on the seventh, and quarters are on the eighth, ninth and tenth. The first four levels are all storage areas for tradable goods, and instead of a battalion of 400 there's a compliment of around 50 warehouse workers. Less need for quarters converts to more space for goods.

Trade ships are often used secondarily as transport ships for folk who need to world-hop. There are passenger quarters on the eighth level specifically for that purpose, similar to the admiral quarters on the Corsari – larger, more comfortable, and more private. The Captain leads me to a door and touches the charm. "Miss Gwalindiel. It's the Captain. I have your guest with me."

"I'll be with her in a second. Thank you, Captain. I appreciate your help."

I haven't heard Saeralyn's voice for thirty years. I thought I was prepared for it. As my eyes get watery, I realize I absolutely was not prepared enough for it.

Captain Tallinos turns to me and salutes. I return his salute, and he walks off, leaving me alone at the door.

I wipe my eyes, straighten my shoulders, and wait. I'm Commander Rylae Westiel. I can handle this.

After what seems like forever, the door fades out, and I see her standing there, wearing a tight dark red top, dark slacks, and dark flat shoes. Her fiery red hair flows freely past her shoulders, and her orange eyes are locked on mine.

I take a deep breath. "Saeralyn."

She smiles. "Rylae. Hello."

# CHAPTER TWELVE

Firefork, City of Burnmire, Year 7399, Autumn

Neither of us moves for a minute. We just look at each other, taking in all the details. She's similar but different all at the same time. Her hair is a little longer than I remember, her breasts a little fuller, her hips a little curvier. But her eyes haven't changed. They haven't changed at all.

Eventually, she reaches out, grabs my hand, and pulls me into a hug. I hug her lightly, trying to keep some distance between us. I'm still not sure how I feel about this. It's only been a few hours since my best friend reappeared in my life after thirty years. I need more time to process it.

As her hands slide down my back, they come into contact with my weapon belt. She stops and pulls away, then moves aside the edges of my jacket. "Well. You came prepared, I see. Good. I was hoping you would."

The reminder of the mission helps solidify my thoughts and darkens my voice. "Yes, I'm prepared. What am I prepared for this time? What are you planning to steal?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "I was hoping this would go differently, but I guess it makes sense to just get right to it. The opposition warlord, Stend Ironkiller, has two things that need to be removed from his possession – an elven painting and a gold pendant with a magic charm in it. We need to break into the warlord's home and acquire them for my client."

I shake my head. "You know I don't like you doing this. Time hasn't changed that. Why can't you do this alone? Why do you need me?"

She sighs and her head droops. "I have to be quiet and stealthy. The fighting out there right now isn't quiet _or_ stealthy. If I get into trouble, I need help getting out of it quickly. I'm sorry, Rylae. I don't want to drag you into this, but you're the only one I can trust to help me while still keeping my secrets."

I nod. "Fine. I'll help you get where you're going and back. The rest is on you."

She hugs me again and kisses my cheek. "Thank you. That's all I can really ask."

As I feel her lips on my cheek, I want to tell her she can ask for more, but I don't. Regardless of everything else, she never contacted me after I left for Academy. She didn't have to disappear, but she _did_. That's all on _her_. I'm allowed to be distant because of it.

She moves away from me and picks up a backpack with pockets and loops on the sides. From out of the backpack she pulls two sais, placing one in a loop on each side. Once they're aligned, she shrugs the backpack onto her shoulders and tests how easily she can reach the weapons.

She smiles, apparently happy with her setup, and turns back to me. "What do you think? No longer the helpless girl you had to protect from thugs, right?"

I nod. "I'll be impressed if you can prove you know how to use them. I'll be happy if you don't need to show me."

Her smile disappears. "I was hoping for a happier reunion."

Sighing, I look at the floor for a second, then look back at her. "Saeralyn... we'll talk about it later. Right now, you have a job, and I have a mission. The reunion, happy or not, can happen when we're done. We need to talk. A lot. But right now isn't the time. Let's get in and get out before they realize we exist. Deal?"

Her eyes are still sad, but she nods her acceptance. I follow her through the ship to the bottom level. Captain Tallinos is there directing warehouse workers on what goods are going out. We walk closer, and I stop to salute.

He returns the salute. "Commander. Miss Gwalindiel. You know where you're going?"

Saeralyn nods and points to her head. "I have a map. Thanks, Imildir. We'll be back soon."

He smiles. "You better be. You know the drill. We're out in 48 hours, with or without you." He glances at me before he continues, "Although it will be difficult to leave if you lose the Corsari's XO, so please bring her back with you. Ok?"

She lays a hand on my shoulder. "I lost her once, Imildir. Not planning on doing it twice."

With a nod, he steps out of the way and lets us pass. I follow Saeralyn to the perimeter of battalion soldiers, who turn to us. Noticing an insignia, I step forward. "Lieutenant."

He stops, looking me over. "Commander?"

I nod. "The Major should have informed you about a particular package I'm delivering."

He nods and looks past me to Saeralyn. "Aye. This is the package?"

I nod. He steps back to let us pass. "Be careful out there, Commander."

I salute and take Saeralyn through the line. About twenty meters out, she steps past me to be in front again, smiling. "Wow. Finally found a good use for your bossy streak. I'm proud."

"Speaking of a bossy streak... what was all that with Captain Tallinos? Does he know what you're doing?"

She shrugs. "I travel on the 'Hoard a lot. We know each other well. I sold him a rocking chair once. The one with the padding that you liked."

My step stutters in surprise. "Nithunien Aladiir's wife's chair?"

"The one older than Melithas. Yep. I'm glad you remembered."

I smile at the memory, then remember my original topic. "That still doesn't answer my question. He said you 'know the drill'. A real trade ship captain would wait for a passenger he knew was coming back. If he's not waiting, then it's because he knows you might not come back. He knows, doesn't he?"

She shrugs again. "We may work through the same contractor. You don't really want to know, so you might want to just stop asking."

I follow her in silence for a few minutes, but I'm the first to talk again. "I never said I didn't want to know."

She stops and turns to me. "What?"

I look at her carefully. "I've always wanted to know what you're up to, how you're doing, and whether or not you were in trouble. Always. I've never said otherwise."

Her orange eyes lock on mine for a minute before she turns and continues walking without saying anything. We walk in silence for the rest of the trip.

About four kilometers from the docking pad, we come up to a road. Saeralyn turns left and we follow along the road until we reach a small village on the edge of Burnmire. Staying along the road, we quickly come to the center of the village, where a number of buildings are erected.

Firefork is predominately goblin, but does have occasional elves or dwarves wandering around. They might be UCST transfers, or just working with a company that does business here, but there's enough that we don't look entirely conspicuous. The village is small, but there are still four dwarves sitting on a bench outside of one of the buildings, and an elf I can see through the window of a small shop. There are also a number of goblins walking around the area, but not enough to make it feel crowded.

I worry about Saeralyn's weapons being out in the open, but then I see a pair of goblins walking down a road with pikes and naked swords on their belts. With the warlords fighting, I suppose everyone has some kind of weapons out right now.

We come to a small intersection of roads and stop on the corner. Saeralyn looks around, then turns and follows a road away from the village center. After an hour or so, we leave the buildings far behind us. When we're alone, she stops and turns to me. "Okay. The house we're going to is about thirty more minutes in this direction. It belongs to one of his goblin mistresses, so it'll be guarded.

"You're my wild card. If I get stuck, you get me out. Otherwise, stay hidden and keep an eye out for anything important."

I nod. "Got it."

We walk for about ten more minutes before we start to see small roads and walkways branching off to lead to houses and quarters buildings. The farther we walk into the residential neighborhood, the more homes we find.

Finally, Saeralyn takes a side road that curves down a hill. It's impossible to see very far down the hill from the main road, and I'm sure it's just as difficult to look back up. Leaving the road at an angle, we follow the hill downward to a small area with just a few houses in it. A small brick wall surrounds the houses, with a metal gate at the road to allow traffic in and out. Two goblins stand guard at the gate.

I follow her around the north side of the wall, well away from the gate guards. We walk for another minute or so before she stops. "Okay, this is the entry point. I'm going over. Guards don't patrol the outside of the wall, so you should be fine. I'll be back as quickly as possible. If you hear an alarm or a commotion, pop over and see what I screwed up. Good?"

I nod. She jumps to grab the top edge of the wall, swings over and disappears. I put my back to the wall and watch in both directions, looking for anything out of the ordinary, but nothing happens. After maybe twenty minutes, I hear a noise above me and reach for a dagger as someone lands right in front of me, but it's only Saeralyn.

She turns to me and smiles. "Got 'em both. We're done. But we may want to move out quick. I had to kill a guard."

I notice the dark red spot on the point of one of her sais. With a nod, I follow her as she jogs off toward the hill we came down. When we almost reach the top, I take a second to look behind me. From here I can see the two guards at the front gate. I can also see a third guard inside the gate talking to them. One of them looks around, and looks directly at me.

I jog the rest of the way up the hill to where Saeralyn is standing. "We've been spotted."

Her shoulders slump. "Damn. We'll never make it all the way to the ship. We'll need to hide out somewhere nearby. Follow me."

We jog down the road, back toward the beginning of the residential neighborhood. Before we leave it, Saeralyn turns off the road and jogs down toward a house about a hundred meters back. A red "for sale" sign is posted in the window and it definitely looks like no one is home. We jog around the small house looking for an entry point, when Saeralyn stops and points at a shed in the yard.

I look at her incredulously. "If they find us there, we're dead."

She grins. "It's a choke point. One way in. We can defend it if they find us."

I shake my head. "I don't like it. There's no room to fight in there and it limits my options. I'd rather fight in this yard!"

A voice from the side of the house replies, "If that's what you choose, we're happy to help."

We turn to the voice and see five goblins round the corner. They were obviously a lot closer than we had hoped. Two with pikes, two with swords, and one with a crossbow.

The one with the crossbow is the biggest threat. I pull my spike shot spellshooter, aim quickly and fire. A ten cm spike appears and flies at him, catching him in the face.

The other goblins weren't expecting us to attack first, but they're prepared to attack second. They run at us, closing the gap quickly.

Suddenly, a blast of fire appears between us and them. It's so bright and hot that I have to shield my face with my arm and turn away. It lasts for a couple seconds before the heat dissipates and I can remove my arm. When I look again, all five goblins are piles of ash, including the crossbow goblin I shot. Because they were so close to the building, the house is also spectacularly on fire.

Saeralyn is standing slightly in front of me with both arms out, palms of her hands toward the piles of ash. For a second I swear I can see a flicker of flame on her fingers.

She turns to me, and I can see her orange eyes are sparkling. She's smiling that sheepish grin I remember from when we were younger. "So, yeah... there may be some things about me that we didn't know when we were kids."

My jaw drops. "You're a fire adept?"

She nods, then points at the burning house. "Yeah, but I'm not very controlled. Case in point right there. That's going to attract attention I didn't really want. Sorry, Rylae."

I look around, and my eyes alight on the shed. I look between the shed and the house for a second, then back to Saeralyn. "Go. Run. Get out of here. You can't be caught. I can take care of this."

She looks back at me, stunned. "What? You're serious?"

I nod. "Go now. I'll tell you later. You still owe me a talk anyway, right?"

She smiles. "Thanks, babe. I owe you a big one for this."

I point. "Yeah, you do. Now go!"

As she runs off, I walk to the shed and break the metal lock on it with the hilt of my dagger. The door swings inward, which is perfect. I sit on the ground outside of it, pull my fireball spellshooter from my back, set it on the ground in front of me, and wait. Eventually, a group of goblin enforcers shows up.

# CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Firefork, City of Burnmire, Year 7399, Autumn

It's the next day when I finally get out of the Overseer's office after explaining things for the twentieth time. Diplomatic immunity is a great thing, but when you _really_ have to use it, the spectacular mess still needs to be explained.

I told them that I was at that house because I was considering buying it. I was looking for a vacation house. The driver that took me there knew the neighborhood and wanted to show it to me. I don't remember what the driver looked like or his name and he obviously didn't stick around when a group of armed goblins showed up to find me.

I told them that I didn't know who the goblins were or why they were hunting me. There were no remains for them to search, so they couldn't identify them. I told them what I remembered – two with pikes, two with swords, one with a crossbow – but that didn't narrow it down enough. I've never been in the neighborhood before, so no, I don't know anything about larger gated compounds farther in.

While I was checking out the shed in the back, I heard some angry voices coming around the side of the building. When I looked out, I saw the five armed goblins. When they saw me in the doorway of the shed, they charged. I drew my fireball spellshooter and pulled the trigger. I pulled the trigger a lot. I don't know how many times. Enough times to make them stop coming after me. Obviously too many times considering I set the house aflame.

Why was I armed? I'm a UCST Commander specifically on-world to protect a trade ship from reported fighting between two goblin warlords trying to take over each other's assets. I'd be more worried if I _wasn't_ armed.

They contact the ship, and Cap sends Simon to collect me. He has a certain experience and finesse when dealing with goblin enforcers. Basically, he threatens them until one of them decides to challenge him, requiring the challenger to have his broken and battered goblin body removed from the room when Simon's done with him. After that, they let me go rather quickly.

When we arrive back at the docking pad, the UCST DragonsHoard is gone, along with Saeralyn. Part of me is disappointed, but a larger part of me just isn't surprised. She avoided me for thirty years until circumstances accidentally brought us together. Avoiding me again just fits with the pattern.

I suppose it's okay, though. I was able to protect her again. If not for me, she wouldn't have known they had seen her and were chasing. She'd have been caught, either before the house fire or after. My being there changed the situation. I can be okay with that, if not with the rest of our relationship.

When I get back to my quarters, Cap is waiting for me at my table. I close the door and sit down across from him, waiting. After a minute of looking at me, he rubs his eyes with his hands and sighs. "I didn't let the 'Hoard leave until after the Overseer called the ship. Captain Tallinos wanted to leave in a hurry after yer friend came back without ya. I had Lada stand on his ship and dared 'im to launch with her aboard. Told 'im if I didn't get my XO back I was gonna leave his ship here and take 'im back to Terra in the battalion cells. We may not be friends, but I already got my whiskey, so I'm okay with that."

I chuckle. "Thanks, Cap. I'm glad you could get a crate of good drink out of it."

He sighs. "Since ya ended up in jail and I had to send Simon, I need an official report from ya. I'm guessin' it'll match what ya told the Overseer, but neither of 'em will match what actually happened. How close is my guessin'?"

I smile a sad, defeated smile. "You're pretty close, boss. Pretty close."

He nods and stands. "That's what I was figurin'. Tell me one thing, though. Was it worth it?"

I think about it for a second, then shrug. "Whether or not it _should have_ happened doesn't change that it _did_ happen, so I'm okay with it." I suddenly remember saying almost those exact words to Saeralyn once before, and that makes me smile a bit.

He shakes his head and walks to my door. "I'm glad yer not dead, elf. I was worried for a bit. Try not to do that kind of thing again, aye?"

I stand and salute. "Aye, boss."

With a nod, he leaves and I'm alone in my quarters. I strip off my clothes and go to the washroom to clean up. I think about Saeralyn the whole time, and maybe end up spending a bit more time than usual in there. When I finally finish, I have a smile on my face and feel a little more relaxed.

I put on a clean uniform and sit down to write the official report. I decide to change a few details. It doesn't seem good to tell the admirals that I "pulled the trigger until everything was most certainly dead and the house was set aflame". I decide to change that to say I rigged the shed door with the spellshooter, which caused the trigger to overcharge the blast. The admirals won't know that the hit squad never actually made it as far as that, or that I was never actually inside it. Those little details will be lost overall. My report's the only thing that matters.

When I finish the report, I check my messages to see what I've missed. A few down from the top, I'm surprised to see one from Saeralyn. The time mark says it's from late last night, before anyone found out I was alive and at the Overseer's office. I look for a newer one, but there isn't a newer one. Only one. I suppose I should be glad for one. One message in thirty years. I should be glad, right?

I open the message:

"Rylae,

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it. But I'm especially sorry that I still owe you a talk. I promise to hold up my end of that deal. We'll talk soon. I promise.

"If not for you, I don't know what would have happened out there. You saved my ass today. Again. You didn't even hesitate. I feel like I owe you for that, too. But, for now, all I can say is 'Thank you'. I'll try to figure out a way to make it up to you.

"And... you looked really good in that shirt. I don't know if you did that for me on purpose, but I should thank you for that, too.

"I don't know when our schedules will work out, but hopefully it's not another thirty years. I'd like to be friends again before we're too old to enjoy it.

"Yours always,

"Saeralyn"

I close the message, move to my bed, and lay down so I can stare at the ceiling. Again she manages to give me something important to think about. I don't entirely know what to make of it yet. But I will. I just need to think about it for awhile. Maybe I'll find another answer she doesn't realize exists.

ǂǂǂǂ

I thought about that for awhile, and all that day did was make me angrier and more disappointed in my best friend than ever. I felt used, and hurt, and left behind all over again. I felt like Saeralyn was specifically hiding all the answers from me and pushing me away again. I didn't know then even half of the things I know now.

I can now recognize the places where she tried to be close to me again. Where she tried to be the girl I used to know and not the dissociative stranger I had built her up to be in my head. Where she moved toward me, but I still moved away. I understand why I was angry and distant, but now that I have more information than I had previously, I can see where I was wrong. Not completely wrong, but still wrong.

Pushing aside the feelings, I try to analyze deeper into the memories and pull out the important details. Every detail looks a little different through the new information I have, and I know some of them will be important to me.

Captain Tallinos, for instance. She said they worked for the same contractor. That's obviously the new contractor, and not the old round woman. Is he a part of this war as well, or is he simply helping other agents to complete their jobs? I need to know more about Saeralyn's side in this conflict and what resources she has available.

Also, was the job itself part of the conflict somehow? Stealing from a goblin warlord is a bad idea under a lot of circumstances, but if the magical pendant was something she could use for herself, that could change things. Then again, the job was probably for the pendant and the art was her reward. I probably shouldn't put much thought into this one. I don't think it's what I'm looking for.

Saeralyn memorizing how to get to the target of the job was never a surprise. As well as she remembers history stories, I never considered that odd. But now that I know she's actively scouting an enemy compound, I think about our escape plan. I didn't question her, just followed as she led me straight to the vacant house quite a ways from the main road. She couldn't have seen it on our way past the first time. She had to have already known it was there. It was always part of her escape plan. These jobs may be more detailed than I've ever given her credit for.

Saeralyn's fire powers are definitely something I've thought about, but only she can give me any help there. It does explain her fiery red hair, though. It's only really when I started traveling with the UCST that I realized the connection between adepts and their hair. If I had known that when we were younger, maybe we'd have found her ability sooner and she'd be more controlled now.

As I reach the cash stand with my groceries, I dig deeper into my memory. I feel like I'm reanalyzing things I've already thought about a thousand times. I need to find pieces that feel different.

The girl at the cash stand gives me a total, so I reach into my pocket for my small cash purse. I don't carry much money on me, but I always have enough to get whatever I might need while I'm out. Unless I walk into an expensive art shop, that is. Not nearly enough in my 'wallet' for that purchase!

I hand the girl three hundred-credit bills and she hands me a twenty-credit coin for the difference. I place it in my cash purse and stick the purse back in my pocket. It gets stuck on something, so I pull everything out of my pocket to put the purse back in. As I look at what's in my hand, I see the note from Saeralyn, still folded but a little more wrinkled from getting my cash purse stuck on it.

I take my bag of groceries and leave the store while thinking about the note, and something clicks in my mind. The parchment note is the second real message she's written to me. Yes, it was hidden, but it was hand-written. All of the clerk's notes were hand-written, and in a different language at that. A hand-written note is harder to intercept than a terminal message. I learned how easy terminal message routing can be tampered with during the capture of Grovr Darkmuck.

If this contractor war has been going on for as long as I know it has, then maybe she _couldn't_ send me messages. Maybe I've been mad at her for years for something completely out of her control.

So how was she able to send me that message on Firefork? That's actually an easy one. Our ships were connected directly thanks to Nub's communication spell. The message went straight from her ship to mine with no possibility of interception. Captain Tallinos must have given her that detail so she could send me what she needed to send me.

I walk to my landcraft, place my groceries in the back, then climb in and check the time. Even though I started early, I spent a long time with Melisand, and another long time walking around the food store. It's past midday already. I input the directions for home and sit back with one thought in my mind.

Saeralyn doesn't owe me an apology any longer, but I definitely owe one to her.

# CHAPTER FOURTEEN

When I come to a stop at home, it's next to two other landcraft. I check the time again, and it's too early for Father to be home, so either Saeralyn is back already, or Mother's in trouble.

I carry my bag of groceries to the door, set it aside, then press the charm and speak my code. The door pops open. I push the door open slowly and stick my head in the crack. From here, I can't see anything out of the ordinary. I step inside and close the door, ready to grab one of my daggers if I need it. I quickly walk through the sitting room and kitchen, then pop my head in the washroom. Nothing amiss.

I take the portal straight to the third level to check on Mother. Moving quietly, I walk down the hallway and open the bedroom door. She's still sound asleep in bed, definitely not being held hostage by some crazy intruder. I close the door quietly and walk back to the portal.

On the second floor, I check my room quickly, then walk back to Saeralyn's room. As I reach for the door, I decide to listen through it instead. I don't hear anything moving inside, so there's a good chance it really is just Saeralyn, and she's taking a nap. I consider waking her up, but then remember the groceries still sitting outside the door. Turning around, I go back down to get them and put them away.

As I'm placing things in the icebox, I realize just how paranoid I've become over this whole situation. Saeralyn wouldn't be hiding out here if she wasn't hiding from something dangerous, but she also wouldn't be hiding out here if there was a strong chance of her being found. She wouldn't put Mother and Father in that kind of danger. Knowing what I know now, I think I can say that with certainty. That last piece of information from Melisand really helped me reconcile that in my mind.

"Business Girl Rylae is a great look for you. It would be better with a skirt, though."

I almost drop the eggs when I hear her voice. Taking a deep breath, I try to center myself and decide to play 'the rebellious daughter' for a little while. It's a good way to play with her while still holding some of the emotions back, like Father does.

"I haven't worn a skirt in years. It would get in the way during my training, and Lada kicks my ass enough without giving her that kind of advantage."

I finish putting things away as she speaks again. "Maybe you just need to wear a shorter skirt, then. Flash her a bit and see if that distracts her enough to win."

I laugh hard as I grab a container of juice and close the door. "Lada's very much into dwarven men that like to hit her back. Flashing her with my scrawny ass would only get it kicked that much harder."

I grab two glasses, fill them both and put the juice away. Picking them up, I turn and offer one to my childhood best friend.

Saeralyn stands next to the table, three strides away from me. She's wearing tight dark brown slacks and a dark green shirt, likely what she was wearing when she came home. Her hair is much shorter than it was on Firefork. It's even shorter than mine now, barely coming down to her neck. Still a fiery red, though. Her orange eyes don't seem to be as happy to see me as they were two years ago, and her expression is very neutral, but I can understand that. Firefork wasn't exactly a happy reunion.

When I notice she's not going to come to me, I walk over to her and press the glass into her hand. She accepts it, watching my every move. I take a seat at the table and motion for her to take a chair. She sits across from me and sips her juice. "I've been out for a few days. When did you get home?"

I take a sip of mine. "Just yesterday. I left the Terra-Tairngire, met Mother and Father at the hospital for dinner, then came home and slept. I went out again this morning shortly after Father left for school." I stop to think. A lot can change in one day. I know that well enough, but it always surprises me.

She looks at me with a calculating stare. "That's a long time to be at the food store."

Part of me wants to chuckle at the situation being the exact reverse of when we saw each other last. On Firefork, I was the untrusting one. But I don't laugh, because I understand her apprehension well. "I stopped at a few other places before the food store. I had to gather some information first."

One of her eyebrows rises as she hears this. "Did you, now? And what did you find out, exactly?"

I look around the kitchen, then stand. "Mother might be awake soon. Maybe we can talk in the gazebo?" I pull her note from my pocket and set it in front of her on the table, then walk to the back door. I don't look to see if she follows.

Opening the door, I walk out into our yard. The white wooden gazebo stands out against the yellows and oranges of the flowers surrounding it and the greens and blues of the trees surrounding our house. I follow the stone path to it, about thirty meters away from the house. The gazebo has a waist-high mesh barrier between the supports with a bench circling the inside. I walk through the opening to the far side and take a seat on the bench, facing the back of the house.

Saeralyn is still a few steps away, moving slowly. I can see the parchment in her hand, and assume she looked at it to see what it is. She gets to the gazebo and steps inside, but just looks at me. She doesn't sit on the bench. With a nod, I stand and walk over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Saeralyn. You still owe me a talk. We still have a lot of things to discuss. But... I learned a lot of things today and pieced together a few things you never told me. Things you weren't _able_ to tell me. And..."

With a sigh, I pull her into a hug. She tries to resist, but I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. "I'm sorry, Saeralyn. I was angry, and I was hurt, and I didn't understand. I understand better now, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't understand before. I'm sorry our last reunion wasn't happy. I'm sorry you're disappointed in me. I'm sorry I didn't trust you the way you trusted me."

She softens in my grasp, slowly wrapping her arms around me as I hear her start to cry softly. I hold her quietly, letting her cry while I cry a little with her. Eventually, we both stop crying and sit on the bench while holding hands.

She turns to me with a small smile, tear marks on her face. "I was so worried when you told me to run. Your captain was _furious_ when I didn't bring you back! I thought that dwarf woman was going to stuff Imildir in one of those whiskey crates! When the call came from the Overseer's office that you were in jail, I was so happy you were okay that I didn't stop crying through the entire launch. You need to tell me what happened and how you got out of there."

I shrug. "Diplomatic immunity can be a useful thing sometimes. I'll give you all the details later." I reach up with a thumb to wipe the tear marks from her face, and her smile brightens.

She holds up the note I gave back to her. "Not even here a day and successfully finding all my secrets. So what did Melisand tell you, exactly? I'm still alive, so it couldn't have been much. Then again, it is _you_ , so I'm sure you somehow got more out of him than I'd expect."

I smile. "Well, the first thing I learned is that I don't have a thick-enough wallet to purchase some of the things in your shop."

She chuckles at that. "Orfindan is something else."

"That he is. Very nice to look at, but inconveniently out of my 'price range'. It was fun to watch him go into total fangirl mode over Father, though. A lot like a young elf girl I met a long time ago."

She laughs a lot harder. "You didn't tell him that you're a Westiel, did you? I can only imagine how his head would have exploded at that reveal!"

"I didn't have to. We ended up on the subject about why you hired him. I assumed it was just because he liked boys and history, but then it went straight into that shared realm of fangirling you two have for Father. It was weird, but funny. I like him. You should keep him."

She grins. "He makes me a lot of money selling art to lonely widowed elf ladies. I plan to keep him for as long as I can!"

We share a laugh. After a second, she catches her breath and brings the topic back around. "Enough avoiding the subject. What did you learn from Melisand?"

I shrug. "His instructions are very clear."

She nods. "Yes, they are. And yet, you're Rylae Westiel. There's no way that stopped you from finding a way around them."

I chuckle. "It seems his instructions have a loophole in that I can make certain assumptions and he can verify their correctness."

Her head cocks to the side as she looks at me. "So tell me exactly what he told you first, then tell me what conclusions you came to from that and your 'assumptions'."

I give her the details of the discussion with the old elf clerk, stopping at the point where I stood up from the desk. No need to give away what I learned on the walk to the door just yet. I do tell her the things I deduced during my food shopping, though. She seems especially impressed that I reasoned out why I never received any messages from her.

She squeezes my hand. "I'm sorry I was never able to reply to your messages. I received them all, but I didn't have a way to write back to you. I wanted to send you a package, but I was so busy in those early years of the job that I never had a chance to. When the jobs started to settle down, the war that killed my parents started back up, and things just spiraled from there. I do actually have an alias we can use now to keep in touch via messages, but it may surprise you a little."

I hold my finger up to stop her and give myself a second to think. The pieces are easy to put together, and I have her alias rather quickly, but I want to give the impression of taking longer to put it together than it really takes. No point in shattering all of her perceptions today. "Your alias is Saelihn Westiel."

She punches my leg. "That's entirely not fair! How did you figure it out so quickly?"

I just shrug and grin, not saying anything. I have to keep some of my secrets, after all.

Her expression grows wistful as she watches me grin. She moves her hand toward my face, but a sound from the house distracts her.

"Girls! There you are!"

We turn to see Mother come outside in a pink robe. She walks out to the gazebo and looks at us, her expression questioning.

Saeralyn and I turn away to look at each other. I'm not sure which of us smiles first, but we're both smiling. We turn back, and Saeralyn speaks first. "We're good. We still need to sort some things out, but we're good. Rylae's sorry for being a jerk."

I gasp and pinch her leg. "Saeralyn's sorry for making me think she was a jerk first!"

She jerks her leg back, then stops as we both laugh. Mother smiles. "I'm glad. Your father and I were worried. It's been so long since we've all been together, and you're both going to be here for awhile, so I was hoping we could be a happy family again."

I look at Saeralyn, and we share an understanding glance. There are still details we need to worry about and things to discuss, but right now, we can be a family again. I smile as I stand. "Well, as happy as we've ever been, at least. Speaking of, Father didn't make you breakfast again this morning."

Saeralyn gasps behind me. "Does he still not love Mother?"

I shrug. "Seems that way."

We all laugh as we walk back into the house. Even with the threat of Saeralyn's war hanging over us, I still feel happier than I've felt in years. It's nice. Maybe this trip will have some similarities to an actual vacation after all.

# CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The rest of the day is nice, if a little expensive. I decide to keep my promise to take us all to a nice restaurant for dinner, and Saeralyn recommends Mithladren's Gourmet Foods. It's near her art shop and is _very_ fancy. We all dress up a bit. Father wears a dark blue suit and tie with a light blue shirt. Mother wears a long white dress with a multi-colored floral pattern. Saeralyn wears a light green sleeveless top with thin straps under a darker green jacket with black slacks. I dig out a knee-length brown skirt that I haven't worn in ages and pair it with a cute purple sweater that has a low neckline.

We have a really good time at dinner, joking and laughing like we always used to. I share some of the stories from my last few years of missions, which seems to impress Saeralyn a lot. She discusses her art shop, which I didn't realize has been open for almost fifteen years now. It really is a lot like her parents' antique shop, just a bit more specialized and with items that are easier to carry in a backpack. I'm careful not to say that thought out loud, but she'll find it funny when I tell her later.

The food is amazing, but in my opinion it's not as good as House of Ryvvik back in Admiralty City. Costs about as much, though. That isn't so bad when I only have to pay for myself, but when I offer to pay for all four of us? Yeah, 2200 credits for dinner for four elves is a lot of money. I shrug and pay the server. It may be a lot, but I don't really spend much of my paycheck while I'm out on missions. Being cheap for so many years leaves me a lot of money to play with when I want to.

When we get back to the house, Father and Mother change their clothes into something more comfortable to work in and leave to go to the hospital. Mother doesn't have to work, but Father has to prepare some test papers. Since his desk is at her office, they decide to go together.

Saeralyn and I spend the time while they're changing chatting about ridiculous things that don't really mean much. I tell her about Tanna and the Aldamiel family. Her interest perks up when I describe Tanna's 'assets', but falls again when I describe Aelon's. I switch to tell her about my new friend Kesn, which leads me into the story about Rosa on Stenchstone and her 'list of men'.

Once my parents leave, we relax on the orange couch in the sitting room and stare at the wall for a minute in silence. It's not that we didn't enjoy chatting like best friends again, but we know about all the other things hanging above us right now. That weight comes crashing down again as soon as we don't have to pretend everything is perfect for my parents.

Neither of us wants to talk about anything, but I know we need to. I decide to just jump right into the worst of it. "So, exactly how immediate is your trouble? Is everything going to explode tomorrow, or is there some time?"

I hear her sigh from her spot on the couch, an arm's length to my right. "There's some time. I'm still scouting. Not ready to attack yet."

"Are they going to come after you here?"

I feel the couch shift under her weight as she changes her position. "No. The connection between Saeralyn Gwalindiel and the Westiel family disappeared when the Old Gray Mare was killed. She was the only one that knew, and she only knew once my trust became available to me. Momma and Poppa made sure there was no link between us, and I've kept it that way."

I chuckle without meaning to. "The 'Old Gray Mare'?"

I hear her chuckle, closer than she was before. "That's what everyone called her. Every contractor has a code name. That was hers. It fit her well."

From the little I remember of her, it actually does seem to fit her well. "Who do you work for now?"

"He's called The Professor. Stodgy old elf, always wears sweater vests and glasses. He looks a lot like Father during testing days."

I giggle at that one. I can't imagine Father sending out assassins and thieves.

I feel a hand on my right shoulder. "Do that again."

I turn to see Saeralyn sitting right next to me, looking at me closely. "Do what?"

The left corner of her mouth goes up. "Giggle."

Thinking about how she wants to hear me giggle makes me giggle again. "Dragons be damned! That's not fair! Stop making me giggle!"

She leans closer and tickles my side. "Giggle again."

Between the tickling and the request, I can't help it. I giggle for a bit until she stops tickling, then for a bit longer until I catch my breath. When I open my eyes again, her face is right in front of mine.

I look deep into her orange eyes as I feel her breath on my lips. "I missed that giggle. I missed it a lot."

Her lips press gently against mine as we both close our eyes.

ǂǂǂǂ

Tir Tairngire, City of Corsari, Year 7366 (age 89), Winter

I push the main door shut behind me and stomp through the house. Opening the door to our shared room, I see Saeralyn lying in bed, reading a story on the story terminal in her nightstand. She looks up as I slam the door and drop onto my bed.

"Hey, Rylae. You're home early. Weren't you out with Lianthorn tonight?"

I grab the stuffed werecat toy on my nightstand and throw it across the room. "Lianthorn Tsornsin can die in a forest fire for all I care! I'm never seeing him again!"

She turns off her story and walks over, sitting next to me. "What happened?"

In a huff, I turn to her. "After dinner, we went to his friend Authion's place for a party. It was just a few of us, like three or four couples. I was talking with Authion and his girlfriend when I realized I hadn't seen Lianthorn for a while. When I went looking for him, I found him in a back room removing Aethwen Ondoel's shirt while they were stuck in a lip-lock! I grabbed his landcraft key and came home."

She puts an arm around me so I lay my head on her shoulder. "Sorry to hear that, babe. He's definitely an ass."

I chuckle a bit. "I guess they deserve each other, then, because Aethwen's a huge ass herself!"

That makes her chuckle. "That sure is the truth!"

I wrap my arm around her waist and give her a light squeeze. "Thanks, dear. That makes me feel a little better. At least I never did anything with him I would regret now!"

Her arm tightens around my shoulders. "No kidding. Just let it go. He's not worth your anger or heartache. He's slime."

I snuggle into her shoulder a bit. "Be glad you don't have a boyfriend. Boys are a total pain in the ass and I wonder why we bother with them."

I feel her fingers tense on my shoulder. "Yeah, they are."

Something doesn't quite sound right in her voice, so I turn my head and look up at her. Her orange eyes look sad, but only for a second. Before I can register anything else, I feel her lips on mine as she pulls me closer. I turn slightly and move into her, enjoying the feeling. She wraps her other arm around me as I wrap my other arm around her, and the kiss grows deeper.

After an indeterminate amount of time, she pulls away. I look into her orange eyes and I'm not quite sure what I see there. As my heartbeat slows a bit, I'm not quite sure exactly what she sees in mine, either.

She takes a deep breath and smiles. "So, yeah... there's a reason I've never had a boyfriend."

I blink and put my finger to my lips. I can still taste her there, and it's not a bad thing at all. "I can see that. When did you know?"

She shrugs. "Awhile now. Five years, at least. Boys just don't interest me, but there were a few girls that did." She smiles awkwardly as she looks at me. "And you. You've had my interest for awhile."

I smile shyly and look down at my legs, which are halfway on top of hers now. "I can see that, too."

As I look back up, she sighs and looks away. "I'm sorry, Rylae. I know you like boys. I shouldn't have kissed you. Things are going to be weird now. I'm sorry."

I start to say something, then stop and think instead. I do like boys. I know that much. But... I've noticed girls, too. I've never really thought about it, but I've noticed girls at least as much as I've noticed boys. Maybe I _need_ to think about it.

I put my hand on her face to turn her back to look at me. "Saeralyn, don't be sorry for who you are. Things aren't going to be weird. That was... well, nice doesn't seem like enough of a word for it. Much better than nice, but the word definitely isn't 'weird'. Whether or not it _should have_ happened doesn't change that it _did_ happen, and it's given me something to think about. Give me the time to think it through, and I'll come back to you when I answer my own questions. But it doesn't change anything. You're still my best friend. I just won't come to you for dating advice anymore."

She giggles and smiles. I pull her into a tight hug, then let her go. "You should go back to your story. I'm going to get something to drink and get ready for bed." I push myself away from her and walk to the kitchen. When I return, she's back in her bed, wrapped in a blanket and asleep, but she looks happy. If nothing else happens, she got that off her chest. It's probably been bugging her for awhile.

I think about it for a few weeks. Saeralyn never brings it up again, and things go back to normal between us, but I think hard about it. I consider my feelings every time I look at another elf. There are plenty that I'm not interested in at all, but I notice I have the same level of interest in an attractive female elf as I do in an attractive male elf. I consider the same things. I stare for the same amount of time. I have the same desire to touch both of them.

Eventually, a night comes where Saeralyn and I go out to dinner together after school. We end up at a round table in the corner with a round bench seat at it, so we can sit closer together and look at the rest of the folk in the restaurant. After we finish eating, we sit with glasses of wine and comment on the other elves. Suddenly, an attractive blonde elf girl with a great ass stands up from a table and walks to the washroom. I'm definitely looking.

I turn to Saeralyn on my left, and I catch her 'definitely looking' as well. I lean over and whisper in her ear, "Nice ass on that girl, huh?"

She grins and whispers back, "Oh yeah. The things I could do to that elf!"

It takes her a second, but eventually she shakes with a jolt and turns to me. I grin and take a drink of my wine, not saying anything. She stares at me for a second, then her brow creases. She looks like she has a question but doesn't really know how to ask it.

Since I've been asking myself that question for weeks, I know how hard it is to phrase, so I decide to just answer it. "I've finished thinking about it. The answer is," I shrug, "I like both."

Saeralyn looks away from me and seems to think about it. I take another drink while I wait. After a minute or so, she turns back to me. "Both? I didn't realize that was an option."

I shrug. "I didn't either, until I really thought about it. But I did, so now I know. I like both."

She nods. "Leave it to you to find an answer I didn't even know existed! But..." She stops, then turns away again, looking out at the restaurant folk.

I tap her on the shoulder to get her attention back. "I thought about _that_ , too. And I think we can give things a chance, on one condition. You have to move into the other bedroom. Sharing a bedroom with my girlfriend is a bit odd."

She smiles. "I think that sounds fair! Thanks, Rylae!"

I lean forward and kiss her lightly on the lips. "You're welcome. Thanks to you, too, for giving me something important to think about."

ǂǂǂǂ

Saeralyn was the first girl I dated, from that moment until I left for Academy and our hearts were broken. There were other girls I dated at Academy, and some guys, and more of both on-ship while I was an ensign and lieutenant. I never really had a preference for one over the other, and I have yet to find whatever one I'm going to be with for any real length of time.

Tanna still only tries to hook me up with men, which is fine even though I don't really like her type of men (although they can sometimes be fun for a few nights), but I don't think she truly understands me in that way. It seems to confuse a lot of folk who don't realize 'both' is an option.

As for Tanna... even if she was interested in girls, I'm not interested in her that way. Even though she's beautiful and has a stunning body, I've always seen her as a sister, with her family as my family. I've never seen her like I see Saeralyn, which is decidedly _not_ as a sister. And even if I might have thought about Tanna in that way when I first met her, she's totally out of my league so it's pointless to consider.

As for anyone else... command is just lonely. Now that I'm an XO, I just can't date. Being in command of everyone on-ship makes it difficult, if not impossible. It's been a long time since I've touched or kissed another elf.

If Saeralyn is willing to forget about things for awhile, then so am I. I push my lips against her, making sure she gets the hint. As her lips part slightly, I can feel her tongue and know she gets it.

After a few minutes, I take her hand and pull her to the portal. The couch is comfortable, but my room has a lock on the door.

# CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I wake to the sun in my windows again to find I'm using Saeralyn's breasts as a pillow. They're definitely a little fuller than I remember from when we were younger, but they're still not much larger than mine. Nicer to sleep on than my pillow, though.

Smiling, I look up to see her start to wake up from my light movements. As her eyes open, she looks down at me on her arm and grins. "Hey there."

I slide up the bed to kiss her. "Good morning."

We lay there for a minute, looking at each other. I run my fingers through her hair. "Why did you cut your hair? It's cute, but it was longer on Firefork. Much longer."

She sighs and her eyes drift away from my face. "I miss my hair, but I didn't have a choice. Once I burned down my house, I had to cut it really short so I wasn't recognized."

That's news. "You burned down your house?"

Her fingers unconsciously play against the skin of my bare back as she stares at the ceiling. "Yeah. Earlier this year they found out I was still alive, and they attacked me at home. There were too many of them to handle on my own, but they didn't expect me to explode like I did on Firefork. Thankfully, my fires don't burn me, so I could calmly walk through it even as the house and all the attackers burned around me. Once it was burning so hot that no one outside believed anyone was still alive inside, I slipped out a hole that used to be a window and hid in the forest for awhile."

I lift her head slightly to look at me. "I'm sorry. I wish I could have been there to help."

She shakes her head. "You couldn't be. You were working, out saving someone's world or something. You can't always be here to save me. Sometimes I just have to save myself. And it was just a house, anyway. I can get another one if I want one."

I smile as I kiss her again. "I'm here to help now."

She sighs and slides her fingers up my side. "Yeah, you are. I'm glad you are. Doing this alone has been difficult."

I giggle. "It couldn't have been _that_ difficult. I saw the toy in your desk."

She gasps and pushes me. "That's not what I meant, and you know it! Damn little brat!"

I shrug, which is surprisingly difficult when my shoulder is wedged between her arm and body. "You know you love it."

She grins as her hand moves to my breast. "Yes, I do."

I smack it away. "Nope. Sorry. Not right now. You still have to check in with Melisand today. And we have to start getting me up-to-speed on the details. Work today, play later."

She grins. "There's that bossy streak again. Your crew must adore you."

I chuckle. "Most of them do. The rest of them hate me because I always tell them no."

Her hand moves again. "So stop telling everyone no."

I laugh and stand up. "No! Sometimes no is an important word. Like now! Get to work, fire demon!"

She grins as she lays there, naked and inviting, almost daring me. I scan over every centimeter of her skin and start reconsidering the importance of working today. Then I realize I'm standing here naked while _she's_ looking at _me_ , which doesn't help my resolve much. It takes all of my willpower to turn to my wardrobe and grab my robe.

As I pull it on, I hear her grumble. With a grin, I tug it shut and tie the strap around my waist. "There. Temptation averted. Get up and get cleaned. I'll use the washroom on the bottom level to avoid any more distractions."

She chuckles as she sits up. "Yes, ma'am. Right away, ma'am. Whatever you say, ma'am."

I squat down to pick up her green shirt from last night and throw it at her head. She laughs as she gathers the rest of her clothes and leaves the room.

I tap the story terminal in my side table to check the time. Father doesn't have school today, and both of them were out rather late last night while he was working, so I don't expect them to be awake right now. I grab my bag of cosmetics, a pair of jeans and the black v-neck shirt I last wore on Firefork, then go to the portal to use the washroom on the bottom level.

It's impossible to not be in a good mood while cleaning myself, so I just enjoy it. I find one 'indecent mark in an indecent place', as Tanna would call it, and it makes me chuckle. Eventually, I finish getting clean and dressed and looking pretty, and take my robe and cosmetics back to my room.

Saeralyn is standing in front of my wardrobe, dressed in the dark red top and dark slacks I remember from Firefork. I chuckle as I realize we match what we were wearing the last time we went out to 'work' together. She turns around and sees my outfit, which causes her to chuckle as well.

She steps forward and kisses me. "Now I _know_ you're wearing that top just for me!"

I bat my eyes innocently. "Purely a coincidence. These things happen."

She shakes her head and goes back to my wardrobe, pulling out my weapon belt. "Still as prepared as you were two years ago, I see."

I take it from her and buckle it on. "Absolutely. A couple new tricks, but I don't exactly need a fireball spellshooter anymore with you around." I pat the pouch at my back as I say this.

She smiles as she hands me my leather jacket. "Speaking of that, how exactly did you explain away the burning vacant house on Firefork?"

I give her both the version of the story that I gave to the Overseer and the one I put in my report, and she laughs. "And you figured that out in the five seconds between when you saw the house on fire and told me to run, didn't you?"

I shrug. "I always was the smart one out of the two of us."

She lightly flicks the tip of my nose with her finger as she smiles. "Thank you, Rylae. You saved my ass that day. I knew you would. You always do. I wish that reunion had gone a lot more like this one, but I'm still glad I brought your ship out there with us."

I smile with her, accepting the compliments, until the last words out of her mouth stop me cold. "Excuse me? Care to explain that last comment? How did _you_ cause the Corsari to be assigned the mission to Firefork?"

She shrugs as she turns to her backpack which is sitting on my bed. "I didn't have any other backup agents available that I could trust, and I didn't like going into that job alone. Too much potential for something to go ass-up on me. A rather valid worry, as it turned out. So I made a request to The Professor. He has a surprising amount of pull within the UCST. Aside from Imildir Tallenos and the DragonsHoard, he can occasionally shift around missions for other ships. He saw the Corsari was available and made it happen. I don't know how and don't want to ask. All I know is that the prize was worth enough to the client that he could pay to make it happen."

That leaves me with a bunch of new unanswered questions, but one particular thought makes me feel horrible all over again. "You didn't just request me because circumstance put our ships together. You specifically requested the Corsari so you could have me help you. No wonder you were so disappointed when I was so distant to you."

She picks up her backpack, leaving the weapons inside, and shifts it onto her shoulders. "Yeah, that didn't go at all like I hoped it would. And yet, you were still there to cover my back when I needed you. That was all that mattered to me. You didn't have to, but you did anyway. I appreciate that."

I take her face in my hands. "I was really angry and disappointed for a long time, but you've always been one of the most important elves in my life. I was never so angry that I wanted you hurt. I'm just sorry that it took thirty years to get everything sorted out between us."

She smiles and kisses the tip of my nose. "Me too."

We go out to the landcraft and argue pointlessly over which one to take – hers or my borrowed one. Eventually, we agree that they're both exactly the same so it just saves her some spell wear if we take the borrowed one. I let her take the navigator seat while I sit in the other side, her backpack in the back.

While we ride, I glance at her backpack. "What exactly do you keep in there?"

She shrugs. "My sais, four daggers, tools for opening doors and windows, a coil of rope with a hook, some money, a pen and parchment, some grease, a vial of poison..."

I laugh to interrupt her. "Okay! I get it! You're a walking thievery factory! Prepared for every eventuality!"

She chuckles. "Not _every_ eventuality, but most of them. Oh, and a couple sandwiches, because you never know when you're going to be hiding under a pile of leaves for two days and need something to eat."

I shake my head. "That's actually rather amazing. I never bothered to understand what your job really was when you took it. I was too busy preparing for the Academy and wondering if you were making a huge mistake. I'm sorry for that, too."

She places her right hand on my left leg. "Back then, I couldn't have told you if I was going to be good at it or not. I got into it to learn more about Momma and Poppa, then just got sucked in. I became good at it, but it was a long time before I got to where I am now. Just like pre-Academy Rylae couldn't have told me how she would be good at saving her friend's ass on Firefork thirty years later."

I nod, conceding the point, as I lay my hand on hers. "I'm still sorry I never asked before."

She smiles. "I know. We're both sorry for a lot of things over a lot of years. It's going to be a long time before we get them all out."

We sit in silence for the rest of the ride to Melisand's office. Once we arrive, Saeralyn grabs her backpack and we go to his door. A minute after pressing the charm, his face appears. "Ah, Miss Westiel. I see you found your benefactor. Please, come in."

We enter the office and it goes back into darkness as he closes the door. I don't understand how he can manage in here with just that small light, but as I look at him again, he has to be rather old. Old enough to have worked with Saeralyn's parents and known them well. He must be older than Father. His eyesight might be going, so maybe that little bit of light is all he really needs.

We walk to the back and take the chairs at his desk. Saeralyn pulls some parchment out of her bag and sets it down for him as he pulls his unreadable book out from under his desk and opens it to a page. As he looks over the parchment, he scribbles some notes in his book in that same strange language.

I glance at the parchment, and I can at least read that. It looks like Saeralyn's been drawing a map of the compound she's scouting and making notes about the surroundings. I'll need a better look at it, but on first glance it appears to be six buildings, with one marked as a guard barracks and one marked as the 'castle'. Some notes along the edge describe the surrounding area, which is mostly forested with a number of blastfruit trees and rabbitsbane bushes. Some areas are trapped with snares, and there's mention of at least one pit trap.

If the amount of detail on the map didn't amaze me enough, the fact that it's all in Saeralyn's handwriting certainly does the trick. She made every single note on this parchment, which means she likely scouted every one of those traps and carnivorous bushes. I look up at the side of her face and smile. She's obviously more than just a history nerd these days.

When Melisand finishes taking notes, he looks up at Saeralyn. "Miss, there has been a request." He stops as he looks at me.

Saeralyn smiles. "Miss Westiel is my partner for all future jobs and requests. Any job details can be discussed freely with her. Please update the instructions with that."

He flips to another page and makes a new notation. "It is done. Thank you, Miss. Now, there has been a request from The Professor. He would like to know if you are available for a job on Hallowforge."

She thinks. "Hallowforge? Two weeks in each direction." She turns to me. "How long can you stay?"

I shake my head. "Two months at the outside, but I'd rather not get sidetracked, if possible. I'd rather use that time for what we need to do."

She nods and turns back to Melisand. "Please deny the request, with a note that I can take it in two months if it's still required."

He makes a notation. "Thank you, Miss. In that case, would you like me to make a notation about your timeline regarding the opposing contractor?"

She looks at the parchment carefully for a minute, then turns to me. She doesn't say anything, but I understand what she's asking. I nod. I'm in for whatever she needs me for.

She smiles and returns my nod, then turns back to the clerk. "Four weeks to zero."

He makes a notation. "Thank you, Miss. I will pass the information along to your associates at their next update times."

"Thanks, Melisand. Have there been updates from any associates since I was here last?"

"No, Miss."

"I didn't think there would be. Thank you, Melisand. I'll come back for another update in four days."

She places the parchment back in her pack and shoulders it as she stands. We leave the office and return to the landcraft. As we get in, she inputs an address and the craft starts moving.

Turning to me, she smiles. "Since you're already dressed for work, I figure I should go show you my current office. I think you'll like it. It's very... flowery."

# CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

There's one particular thing about Tir Tairngire that is both good and bad. Once you're out of the city, everything looks the same.

For elves like this 'opposing contractor', it's definitely a benefit. This part of town doesn't look any different from any other part of town. There's no reason to be concerned that you might be living next to some sort of criminal compound, even if, in fact, you live just one clearing over from a criminal compound. The forest is perfect at masking everything.

For non-forestry-type elves like me, though, it can be bad. Unless I know a place well, I can't always figure out my directions when every tree looks like every other tree. The farther we walk, the less likely I am to find my way home on my own.

We left our landcraft about thirty minutes worth of walking in 'that' direction, whatever direction that is, at a forestry management location. Our vehicle won't look out of place there, and it's a safe-enough point to start walking from. Saeralyn did warn me that there'd be a lot of walking, but I'll admit to not thinking about how much 'a lot' would really end up being.

It takes us over an hour to get to her 'office'. At a tree that looks just like any other tree, she finally stops and silently points up. I look up to see a place where the branches are close enough to each other that she was able to lay wooden planks between them, creating a small area that looks stable enough to sit or stand on. It looks about seven or eight meters from the ground.

I follow her as she walks around the large trunk to the back side, where she points out spots that look like carved places to use as hand and foot holds. Satisfied that I know what to look for, she moves up the tree like a spider, following her carved spots perfectly and gracefully.

I shake my head and laugh in the back of my mind as I look at the carved spaces. I haven't climbed a tree in a long time, but I suppose I already agreed to everything relating to this mission, so I take a deep breath and reach for a high carving. Thankfully, since Saeralyn and I are just about the same height, all of the carvings are in perfect spots for me to reach. I'm not nearly as graceful as she was, but I eventually get to the top and climb onto the platform between the branches.

Once I'm seated on the platform, I take a look around and it really is a beautiful view. The trees are dense enough that I can't see very far, but I can see through all of the branches into a forest that looks much more leafy and colorful than it does from the ground. I'm closer to the small fuzzy creatures of the forest up here, too, and can see them scurrying back and forth along the branches. A nest of baby red birds isn't far from us, which I notice when one of the parent birds comes back with food.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to look at Saeralyn as smiling at me. She keeps her voice low as she speaks. "Well? What do you think?"

I shrug, keeping my reply quiet as well. "I suppose it'll do for an office. It's at least better than mine, considering I don't actually have one."

She pokes me in the ribs as she quietly chuckles. "Be nice! I spent a lot of time building this, and I'm rather proud of it. We're a few minutes outside of the regular patrol routes here, so it's a good place to retreat to when I need some rest."

I take a good look around at the platform itself, and it's actually put together rather well. There are no spaces between the planks of wood we're sitting on, and a lot of care was used in picking planks the proper size. The office is about two meters wide and three meters long, which is more than enough space for two elves to sit and work or lay out and rest.

I cross my legs and sit comfortably. "Okay. It's actually very nice. I'm impressed again."

Saeralyn slides up next to me, close enough that our shoulders are overlapping, as she brings over the parchment she showed Melisand earlier. I can read it much easier in the light of the forest, even while being up in the dense branches.

She looks intently at the parchment as she speaks. "I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning. You did a good job getting some information out of Melisand, but there's obviously a lot more to it than that.

"Momma and Poppa worked for The Old Gray Mare. You knew that already. You also know they died on a job for her. At that time, there were five contractors on Tir Tairngire – three in Corsari and two in Melithas. The Old Gray Mare, The Professor, and this insufferable prick," she pokes the buildings on her map angrily, "ran their jobs from Corsari, while Eagle-Eye and Dreamcatcher are based in Melithas."

I put my hand on hers, stopping her. "Does 'this insufferable prick' have a name?"

She chuckles softly. "I guess that's important. He calls himself The Supervisor. Incredibly arrogant. In most of our details, we just call him the opposing contractor."

I pat her hand. "Thanks, babe."

She nods. "Okay. Each contractor usually has around ten cleaners working for them at any time, and twenty to thirty guards and fighters. A contractor is an independent operation. Some clients, especially the ones with difficult jobs, find a good contractor and stick with them loyally. Others solicit bids from every contractor for the particular job. The bidding war can get very serious, depending on the job.

"I'm sure you remember what The Old Gray Mare said about Momma and Poppa. The fact is, finding two agents with their particular mix of skills working for the same contractor is incredibly rare, and a team like they were is practically non-existent. Most cleaners are good at thieving _or_ fighting _or_ con artistry _or_ misdirection _or_ assassination, but almost never more than two of those skills at once. Combined, Momma and Poppa were good at everything. I'm actually good at three of those, but I'm terrible at accents and too noticeable to get away with cons. I don't know how Poppa did it.

"Since The Old Gray Mare had both Momma and Poppa working for her, along with her other cleaners, she received a much larger share of the jobs than the other contractors. That eventually pissed off The Supervisor, who decided to 'purge' her assets. The massacre on Navasari was the first strike, killing my parents, two more cleaners, and a handful of the Mare's guards."

She stops to take a breath and collect herself. I wrap my left arm around her, holding her lightly. After a minute or so, she continues.

"For the next few years, before The Old Gray Mare tried to recruit us, there were a number of battles between the two contractors, and both of their businesses took a dive. The Professor, not one to miss out on an opportunity, kept the clients satisfied while his competitors fought, but stayed away from their battle entirely.

"Eventually, they agreed to a cease-fire, which allowed them both to rebuild. It was during that rebuilding phase when The Old Gray Mare gave me her card. When I eventually joined up with her, I was one of the last cleaners she needed to reach capacity.

"You know how much I was gone for those first two years, and the next seven weren't any better. During most of your time in the UCST Academy, I was doing my own kind of training, taking simple jobs and building my skills. I was off-world all the time, but I was getting good at my work."

She sighs. "It was before my fifteenth year as a cleaner when The Supervisor broke the cease-fire and attacked again. The Mare didn't see it coming. He hit her compound directly when half of her cleaners were off-world, including me. They destroyed her guards, killed two cleaners at her compound, and killed her as well.

"I was approached by an agent of The Professor on the docking pad when I returned to Tir Tairngire. He took me to meet with his boss, who explained everything to me. I agreed to work for him, along with some of the Mare's remaining agents. A few went to work for the opposing contractor, obviously determining his side was the 'winning' side. A few others went to Melithas to the other contractors."

She turns to me with an evil grin and a sparkle in her orange eyes. "At that point, I decided enough was enough. I kept doing jobs for The Professor, but I now had a goal of my own: revenge. I started connecting with other agents that used to work for the Mare. A few of them were interested in helping, but mostly only so they can clean up the spoils after the war is over.

"The Professor wanted nothing to do with it, saying that another contractor will eventually appear to fill the void, and this is just the 'natural way of things'. The best offer of support he could give to me was that he would stay out of my way. That's better than the opposite, so I accepted it.

"Finally, I decided to do the smart thing. I looked at my finances. Momma and Poppa left me a _lot_ of money, and I've made quite a bit of my own over the last thirty years. I made contact with Eagle-Eye and Dreamcatcher, and they agreed to accept my jobs."

She taps the map in front of her. "This is my job now. I've been scouting The Supervisor's compound for years, in-between jobs for The Professor. I've been keeping an updated timetable with Melisand, which he's been sharing with agents for Eagle-Eye and Dreamcatcher. Once the timetable hits zero, a rented army from the two Melithas contractors will descend upon The Supervisor, hopefully wiping him out."

I nod, following along. Melisand was right that my assumption was wrong. The war is between The Supervisor and _Saeralyn_ , not her contractor. "You told Melisand today that the timetable is four weeks. That means you need my help to finish scouting the compound as best we can so the agents have the best data to work with."

She smiles. "Got it in one, as usual. We need to go over what I've already done and still have left to map out and split that effort between us. I've been out here a lot, but things have slowed down more than I like. I can't be out here every day, especially since they've already found me once this year."

I frown. "What happened?"

Her head drops, but I can see a hint of a smile on her face. "Would you believe a guard relieved himself on me?"

I hold back a chuckle. "You can't be serious."

She looks up at me with a tight-lipped smile. "Oh, but I am. I was scouting an area when a group of four guards came too close to me. I jumped into a bush to hide. While sitting in the bush, one of the male guards broke off from the group, walked straight to my bush, dropped his pants and emptied himself right on me."

Bits of the chuckle escape through my nose. "What did you do?"

She looks embarrassed as she shrugs. "I may have stuck the point of my sai in his male bits, hoping it would stop him. It just made him scream, and his buddies came running. I killed two of them, but then left a wall of fire for them to deal with and ran."

It's very hard to hold back the laughter, but I know we're still trying to be quiet. If I open my mouth, there's no way I'll keep it in. The only response I can make is to pat her leg.

She smiles. "So, I guess they went back with my description, and were able to find Saeralyn Gwalindiel, the cleaner who used to work with The Old Gray Mare. As far as I can tell from there, they followed me around for awhile, then attacked me at home shortly after I returned from a job. They never tied Saeralyn Gwalindiel to Saelihn Westiel, so I pretended to be dead and asked your parents if I could move back home for awhile.

"It's worked so far, but it made me want to speed up the timetable. I don't think they know _why_ I was here, but they know I was here. I need to finish scouting the entire compound and get the information back to the other contractors so they can prepare."

I take her hand. "Well, you have me here to help now. I'm not sure what I can do, but we'll go through everything and figure out the best solution. I am a planning genius, after all."

She chuckles and leans in to kiss me. "Thank you. I've been worried about everything falling apart, but with your help, we should be able to finish everything off in time."

I kiss her back with a little more force as I work my hand under her shirt to touch her skin. "I'm very good at finishing things off. Allow me to demonstrate."

She giggles as we use her office for a few unplanned purposes.

# CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Waking up in my bed the next day, I stretch out with a smile on my face. Being home is enjoyable enough on its own, but reconciling with Saeralyn is obviously quite a bit more enjoyment added in. When I also add in the work we need to do, it actually makes me just that much happier. The problem with vacation time is trying to fill all your days with things to do. I definitely won't have to worry about that problem during this trip.

I think about what day it is and realize the Terra-Tairngire should be arriving on-world tomorrow for messages. I figure now's as good a time as any to send Cap an update, so I put on my robe and walk to my old desk, touching the charm and speaking my code to log into the terminal.

It's a bit weird to see the UCST terminal interface appear on my old school desk instead of a homework interface. It actually takes up more space than the top of the desk itself, making the bits farthest from me stick out over the edge and hover in air. That area is mostly just for reports and graphs, though, so I don't really care, but it is kinda funny.

I look through my messages again out of habit, but I know nothing's been updated since I left Terra. Once my habitual curiosity is satisfied, I open a new message to Cap and think about what to write. I want to let him know I'm okay, but I also don't think it would be a bad idea to ask for some help. I'm way outside of the UCST regulations on this one, and it's really hard to justify on anything more than personal reasons, but maybe some members of the crew would be interested in an 'unofficial' visit. Everyone has a lot of downtime, after all.

At the same time, I remember that I can't just put any old details in the message. I don't know who might be monitoring my messages anymore, and it wouldn't surprise me if The Supervisor has some kind of searching spell set up to monitor messaging mana flows for certain words. With the pull Saeralyn's contractor has over ship missions, I can't easily rule anything out with these folk.

I decide to use a similar code to what Saeralyn and I always used growing up – references by similarities. It's not too difficult to tie most of what I'm doing to things which have happened on the Cosari's recent missions. It's just a matter of using the proper wording.

"Dear Captain Gravelhand." Using his full name should tip him off that this isn't just a friendly message.

"I've arrived at my parents' home without incident. My friend from Firefork is here, and everything is going well." I let him know immediately that I'm not in trouble, but referencing Saeralyn right at the top of the message should also help get the point across that something isn't quite right.

"We are having a surprise party here in four weeks, similar to the five parties we had on Stenchstone." That flat out tells him that I'm going to be involved in an assault on some kind of compound, as well as when it's happening. The five-prong assault we led on Stenchstone to destroy the Black Tongues gang hideouts is a major giveaway for that piece of information.

"My friend and I would like to invite any of our friends who are interested in getting away to attend our unofficial celebration. Attendance is not required." Asking for volunteers from the crew, in case anyone wants to join in the assault, while making sure it's clear that this is entirely off-the-record.

"Anyone attending should bring some of our bounty of party supplies. Comfortable clothing suggested, no noisemakers." By referencing the bounty on the spellshooters we brought back, I hope he understands I'm basically saying 'bring your own weapons', and I hope the 'no noisemakers' line helps get the point across that no one should show up in heavy armor.

"Please RSVP if anyone is interested in attending. Best wishes, Rylae Westiel." I decide to ignore my rank to again help make the point that this is entirely unofficial.

I read through the message a few more times before I trigger the command to send it. The message disappears from my terminal as it goes through the nearest router battery on its way to the docking pad storage router, where it will wait for the Terra-Tairngire to connect.

As I log out of the terminal and walk to my wardrobe, I decide not to tell Saeralyn about my request to Cap. I don't know if anyone's going to accept my invitation, after all, so I have to assume that no one is coming and I can only work with the resources she already has available. Besides, it could be as long as two weeks before I receive a reply. If I was still there, it wouldn't be a day before I had an answer. But since I'm not and everyone's enamored with the tournament, I don't expect to hear anything for awhile.

I pick out a light blue top and jeans, then look over at the basket of clothes on the floor. I'll fully admit to being spoiled with Halder always cleaning my clothes on-ship. It's nice to just throw them in the basket and have them magically reappear in my wardrobe later. Since I'm home, though, I guess I'll have to clean them after I clean myself.

Once I'm done in the washroom, I grab the basket of clothes and walk back to the laundry room. I set the basket on the folding table and touch the charm on the clothes cleaner to activate it. It's a simple device with two metal bars a few centimeters apart suspended by metal legs that let it sit on the floor above another empty basket. Activating it starts a blue glow between the bars.

One piece at a time, I straighten the clothes and lower them through the cleaner. The magic in the device takes care of the rest. It doesn't take long before all of my clothes are clean and in the lower basket. I touch the charm to deactivate the cleaner, then swap the baskets and use the folding table to fold everything.

Done with my laundry, I go back to my room and put it away. As I'm doing that, I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning my head, I see Saeralyn standing there in black slacks and an orange top. I smile at her over my shoulder. "Hey. You look like you were up early."

She shrugs. "Yeah. I ate Mother's breakfast while you slept. Thankfully, Father had made two breakfasts for her, so it didn't devastate her like we feared."

I chuckle. "That's good. She's getting old. It would be rough on her to have her whole life destroyed."

I finish putting my clothes away and turn to face her. With a sheepish expression on her face, she pulls a small bag from behind her back. "I went out and got you something this morning. You made a big deal over your weapon belt last night when we got home, and I wanted to fix it."

When we pulled up last night, Mother and Father were already home. I didn't want to wear the tan weapon belt inside, since it was just noticeable enough that one of them might see it. I then laughed as I told Saeralyn about how I had thought honestly that she'd know where to buy a black leather one.

I look at her. "You didn't. That was supposed to be a joke. I didn't actually think you'd know where to find one. You didn't really, did you?"

She presses the bag into my hand, and sure enough there's a black leather belt inside it. I pull it out to see it has a holster on the right, a small pouch at the center, and two dagger sheaths on the left. Giggling, I throw my arms around her neck, plant a big kiss on her and hug her tight. "Thank you! That's awesome! I can't believe you actually knew where to get one! And in only a single morning, too!"

She hugs me back. "I know an elf who deals in this kind of stuff. He keeps trying to get me to buy something more subtle for myself, but he doesn't understand that I sneak for a living. If they see me, it's already too late, so it doesn't matter if my weapons are exposed."

I pull my head back to look at her while my arms stay wrapped around her neck. "What if they don't see you but decide to relieve themselves on you anyway?"

She tickles me to make me let go. I deserved that, but it was still funny. I smile and rest my hands on my hips. "What's the plan for today? Since Mother and Father are both out working, I figured we could sit comfortably here and talk about the details of your plan."

She looks slyly at me from the side of her eyes as she sits on my bed. "You didn't like my office? It seemed like you were enjoying yourself up there."

I cross my arms on my chest. "You scared the birds with your noises!"

She chuckles, kicking her feet up and laying on the bed. "Technically, that was _your_ fault."

I shrug and leave the room, walking to hers. Opening the door, I walk in and kick some of her clothes out of my way until I find her backpack. Once I have it, I take it to her bed and sit next to it, waiting.

A few minutes pass before Saeralyn walks in. "You know, this whole 'work ethic' thing you have going on isn't always cute."

I cock my head to the side as I look up at her. "I know. But I'm here to help you with your work, not just to be your girlfriend again. We have to meet your timeline, remember? That's more important."

A sad expression creeps over her face for a second, then disappears. "Whether the work is more important than fun with you is debatable, but of course you're right about the timeline. Let's take a small table out to the gazebo. I can't properly think about the job while I'm inside."

She takes her backpack from me and I follow her down to the kitchen where I grab a small folding table from a cabinet and carry it outside. I set it up while she collects a few rocks from the garden around the gazebo. Once the table's ready, she fishes the map from her pack and lays it out, using the rocks to hold down the corners against the light wind blowing through our clearing.

As she gets comfortable on the bench next to me, I turn to her. "What exactly do Mother and Father think you do with your time when you're gone for days?"

She shrugs. "You know how they are. With Father spending so much time at school and Mother spending so much time at the hospital, they have their own things to worry about. They're happy that I'm here, but they don't ask me much about what I'm up to. When they do, I just say it's art shop stuff."

I nod. "Just checking. Needed to know if I had to come up with a cover story for why I was spending so much time with you."

The left corner of her mouth goes up into a half-smile. "We could always just tell them we're dating."

_There's_ a flashback to a conversation we had a dozen times thirty years ago. So many times where we debated whether to tell them, how to tell them, and what they'd think about it. Sometimes I'd be the one saying we should tell them, and sometimes Saeralyn would have that side. In the end, though, we always decided to just keep it to ourselves.

The worst part is that I don't think my parents are stupid, and I don't think they're oblivious to everything that happens around them. But, just like with the question about Saeralyn's disappearances, I think they just have too much of their own stuff happening and trust the two of us to manage ourselves. Now that we're adults, I really don't think they'll care, but I can still see all the sides to that discussion and still want to just avoid it.

I shrug. "It's only been two days. I think that's a conversation we can have later. So, tell me what's going on with this map."

I can see the sigh in her eyes as I change the subject, but as she looks at the map I can see her expression change as her mind switches to the new topic. She points to the notes as she explains the details of the map to me. She's been scouting the area for years, and knows a lot of the map by heart. There are still a few holes in her details, though, and she wants to fill them quickly. With a timeline of four weeks, she needs to have the map completed in three.

She points to the buildings. "I have two big things that need to be completed. The first is scouting these buildings more closely. I know this one," she jabs the parchment with a finger, "is definitely the guard barracks, and this one," she jabs the one labeled 'castle', "is where the insufferable prick's office is, but I don't entirely know what these other four are."

"Do you have an internal layout of either of those buildings?"

She shakes her head. "I haven't been able to get inside yet. I don't really _want_ to get inside the guard barracks, and I haven't spent enough time scouting closely enough to get into the 'castle'. I need to do that, especially since I'm a bit worried about escape tunnels."

I hadn't even thought about escape tunnels, but this kind of work is much more Saeralyn's thing than it is mine. "Okay, so it sounds like your main focus needs to be on the buildings. That's much more in your expertise than mine. Knowing that, what's the other big thing you need?"

She jabs a finger at the guard barracks again. "Most of my information about guard strength and patrol route timing is stale. Waiting for patrols to walk around is boring, and I hate doing it, so I've been putting it off."

Nodding, I smile. "I can do that, then. Hand me another piece of parchment and a pen, and explain your notes to me so I can rewrite them to myself. Since you know the area, you can take me to a stakeout point, and I can monitor their movements while you're scouting deeper."

A small smile appears on her face. "And you can watch my back while I'm in there, just like on Firefork."

That makes me smile, too. "That's a nice extra benefit."

We talk a bit longer about the timing, and decide to go out for two days at a time with a day off in-between. That way we should get a good solid ten or twelve days of scouting done, even if we steal a few extra days off. With both of us working on it, that should be more than enough time to finish those tasks.

Satisfied with our planning session, we go back inside to grab some lunch and find something to do with the rest of our day. The second part of that equation doesn't turn out to be difficult to fulfill.

# CHAPTER NINETEEN

We prepare to leave before sunrise the next morning. Saeralyn dresses in black, with a black belt that has some loops sitting near her back on either side to hold her sais. I offer her my sleep darts, which immediately catches her interest, but once she finds out I only have six of them she insists I keep them.

I go through my clothes, but don't really have anything that would be good camouflage for sitting in the trees and watching. Saeralyn lends me a pair of dark brown slacks and a dark green shirt, which I remember her wearing when I first saw her a few days ago. She hasn't cleaned her laundry in awhile, so they still smell like her, which, in my opinion, only makes them better.

We make four sandwiches and put them in her backpack. I also fill two small bottles with water to take with us. Satisfied that we're ready, we take her landcraft to the forestry management building and set off through the trees to her office.

This time through, I try to pay more attention to my surroundings and the exact path we take. I recognize that anything could happen when Saeralyn scouts deeper into the buildings, and it would be ridiculous if I couldn't find my way out without her. I did this all the time as a child, but I'm severely out of practice. After a minute, I decide to give myself landmarks I would have used as a child – the 'odd looking' tree, the 'weird' bush, the flower with the 'funny color'. It seems to work for awhile, so I go with it, but I like to hope I'm enough of an adult to eventually progress past 'bush shaped like a cat'.

We come to the office and climb up. Saeralyn leaves her backpack, testing the sais in her belt a few times to feel comfortable. I check all the weapons in my new belt, making sure they move easily and can be pulled quickly, and put a piece of parchment and pen in my pocket. We go over the map again, and she shows me approximately where I'm going to be today in relation to where the office is.

When we're ready, we slip out of the tree and start off into the forest. Again, I spend my time making note of my surroundings so I can find my way back. We move quietly, but at a certain point Saeralyn stops, turns to me and holds a finger up to her lips before continuing. I take this to mean we've crossed the invisible line into enemy territory so I try to watch my steps more carefully.

We're forced to stop and hide once as a guard patrol appears to our left. Saeralyn drops to a crouch behind a bush while I put my back against a tree. Thankfully, the patrol isn't quiet with the three elves constantly chatting to each other as they walk through the forest. I may not be a battalion leader, but the lack of professionalism disgusts me. On the other hand, it tells me that the guards here aren't as tightly maintained as our battalion, so they should be easier to break through when the attack happens.

When they pass to our right, Saeralyn nods to me and we continue on our way. In a short time, we come to the edge of a clearing and duck behind some bushes to look through. I can see the buildings from Saeralyn's map at different spots throughout the large clearing, with the guard barracks building directly in front of us. A fair number of elves are walking around the clearing, all wearing leather armor and carrying weapons. The guards obviously feel comfortable in their compound, and the atmosphere seems light and unconcerned.

Saeralyn taps me to get my attention and points to a tree behind us. She points up as we reach it, telling me this is where I need to be. I walk around the tree and find some low branches I can grab. Reaching up, I pull myself onto the first branch, trying to move quickly as I climb higher. It's been a long time since I climbed trees like this, and with our current situation it's not nearly as fun as it was as a child.

When I get to a decent height, I slide out onto a larger branch to make sure it can hold my weight and that I can see the barracks building clearly. I look down, but Saeralyn's already gone, off on her own part of the mission. I find the most comfortable position I can make for myself and settle in to watch the front of the barracks.

My goal for the day is simply to count, so I set myself to it. As the elven guards come and go throughout the day, I make note of their differences so I can keep an accurate count. Being as organized as I am, that includes a count of male vs female, a listing of visible weapons, and any identifying marks I can notice. While I can admit that this is definitely a little boring, it's not quite as boring to someone like me as it would be to someone like Saeralyn. I set up more difficult counting games for myself when I get bored, and make additional notes reorganizing my numbers.

When the sun starts to go down, I look over the numbers on my parchment. I haven't counted the overnight shift guards yet, but so far I have 15 total guards – 9 male, 6 female; eight short swords, two crossbows, five long bows with quivers of arrows; all wearing leather armor. One male commander has a scar across his face and short brown hair. One female commander with blonde hair to her shoulders has a limp favoring her left side. The other obvious commander is a bald male with a red band around his right arm who loves to yell.

Satisfied, I settle myself in to see what happens after nightfall. I'm getting a little hungry by now, but I know I'll be fine once I focus back on the task at hand. We didn't discuss a particular time to meet back at the office beyond 'sunset tomorrow'. Since we're out here for two days, it was decided it's best to each manage ourselves during that time. Less chance of failure that way.

Shift change happens about an hour after sunset, and it couldn't be more obvious. Ten guards file out of the barracks building and stand in lines next to it, waiting. The formation makes it easy to count them and add them to my list – 7 male, 3 female; six short swords and four long bows; still all in leather armor. No obvious commanders in the group as they all stand and wait, but they seem more organized than the daylight shift.

Finally, as the other guards start to file back into the barracks house, the commander with the red band on his arm goes over and yells at the ten guards on the late shift. Gesticulating wildly with both arms, he splits them into squads and gives them directions. After a few minutes, he walks away into the barracks, leaving the ten elves behind. They talk amongst themselves for awhile before splitting up and starting their patrols.

I wait another hour or so, but with the darkness comes a complete lack of activity in the camp. None of the guards who went into the barracks come back out, obviously eating, cleaning and sleeping while inside. The groups of late-shift guards occasionally move in and out of the compound as they pass through on their patrol routes.

Satisfied that I've gained all the knowledge I can gain for today, I put my pen and parchment back in my pocket and slowly make my way back through the branches to the bottom of the tree. As I get to the bottom, I hear a sound nearby and crouch at the base of the tree, waiting.

I'm not far from the edge of the clearing, so it's not a surprise when an elf steps out from the clearing and walks through the trees. He doesn't walk directly toward me, but angles for a bush a few meters away. At the bush, he opens his pants and empties himself into it.

I marvel at the total lack of discipline of the guards in this compound. Maybe it's just me, but if a buddy of mine gets his male bits stabbed by a fire demon while taking a leak in a bush, the last thing I'm going to do is take a leak in a bush. With the number of rabbitsbane bushes around here, relieving yourself in a bush seems like a bad idea anyway, but especially after what's already happened... I just shake my head as I watch him finish his business, close his pants and retreat back to the clearing.

Once he's gone, I look around for my landmarks to see if I can make my way back to the office. The forest always looks different in the darkness, but I fall back on my memories of growing up in the forest to help me recognize what I'm looking for. After a second, I see the 'strangely-bent branch' and make my way to it.

I walk slowly and quietly through the forest for awhile. For one, I'm not sure exactly where the patrol line is, so I can't pass that invisible marker and worry less about the sounds I make. For another, getting around is just generally not very easy in darkness. I eventually find each of my landmarks and get back to the proper tree before I'm completely demoralized.

I find the office and search for the handholds. The carvings are harder to see in the darkness, so I move slowly up the tree but eventually get there. When I do, I see I'm alone and I try not to let that bother me. I know Saeralyn's doing her part of the mission, and I know she's better at this kind of thing than I am, so I remind myself to trust her to be okay while she's doing it.

I pull a sandwich and water bottle from the backpack and eat slowly. Overall, my first day as a scout didn't go too badly. I got good numbers and a lot of details. I can't say it was fun, but I didn't hate it. It amazes me that Saeralyn's been scouting this area for years. Sure, she's been doing it in-between other jobs, but a huge part of her time has been spent in trees and bushes around this compound.

I lay back on the wooden planks, thinking about her and everything she's done for her mission while drifting off to sleep.

««»»

I wake to a bird chirping nearby. It's still dark, which is good. I didn't want to sleep very long, hoping to get back to my position before the shifts change again. With a stretch, I look around. Still no sign of Saeralyn, and I again remind myself that it's not yet a problem. I drink some water, then make my way back down the tree and start to work my way back to my scouting position.

I don't have any trouble getting back and climbing up into my perch. The sun starts to rise as I get myself comfortable, so I pull my parchment out and prepare to take notes again.

The late shift appears to be at least slightly more organized than the day shift, which surprises me. As light starts to filter into the clearing, the late shift patrols return, checking with each other as they do. There still doesn't seem to be an obvious commander among them, and they seem tired, but they still coordinate well with each other. Once they've all returned, they get back into their formation at the side of the barracks building and wait.

A few minutes pass before the red-banded elf comes out. He yells for a bit, then appears to ask for reports. He listens to them speak, then sends them away. They file back inside the barracks without hesitation.

Once they're gone, another few minutes pass before the daily guards start appearing from the building in groups of one or two. There doesn't seem to be a lot of cohesion or order to them as they mill around, chatting loudly with each other. I notice the two commanders from yesterday emerge from the barracks together. They find Mr. Red-band and hold a quiet discussion with him before separating to collect the other guards.

I notice the differences in their interactions. The female commander seems friendlier with her team – patting an arm here and there, laying a hand on a shoulder, and ruffling the short hair of one of the other female guards. It also seems like her team listens better when she organizes them into patrols and sends them off. There's no battalion-level precision to them, but they seem more willing to listen to what she tells them to do.

The male commander, on the other hand, just doesn't seem to care. He finds a handful of his guards, says something to them with a dismissive gesture, then continues on. The guards form up into a group and walk away while looking behind them at the commander. Once he's out of view, their formation breaks and they lazily walk off on their patrol route. This happens three or four times as he sets up his patrols for the day.

I make detailed notes about how each of the commanders manages their teams. Red-band is obviously in charge, and also directly in charge of the late shift as shown by the way he yells at them and ignores the day shift. The female seems friendly, but her team listens to her and that can be dangerous. The male appears useless, and that's definitely something we can exploit.

I spend the day tracking the movements of the patrols as they go in and out of the clearing. I notice definite patterns of difference between the groups of each commander and continue making notes about them. As the light starts to fade, I decide there's no reason to wait for the next shift change and start to move through the branches.

I'm on the second branch from the bottom when I hear a sound directly below me and stop. I look down to see a guard walk right up to my tree, look around, then lean up against it and slide to a sitting position on the ground.

# CHAPTER TWENTY

Time seems to stop as I look down at the elf guard below me. He pulls a small rolled parchment from under his armor, opens it to reveal some ground tobacco, and pops a pinch of it in his mouth. He's obviously comfortable and has decided not to go anywhere.

I consider my options. I have one more branch before I can quietly drop to the bottom, but stepping to that branch will put my feet within his range of vision. Dropping from here will make noise, but I'll be right on top of him so it's not like the noise matters all that much. Regardless, this branch won't hold me forever. It's large enough that it doesn't bend under my weight while I'm still holding the branch above me, but I don't trust it to hold my full weight.

I could always move back up to my perch and wait until he leaves, but he's so close that I'm afraid he'll hear me moving back up through the branches.

He spits from the side of his mouth as I make my decision. I reach my right hand behind me and pull a sleep dart from my pouch. Bringing my hand back around, I release the upper branch and step backwards off of the branch I'm standing on.

I land hard, dropping to a squat directly to the left side of the seated guard, who bounces as a jolt of surprise rips through him. I don't give him enough time to react as I bring my right hand around and jab the point of the dart in an exposed part of his arm. He opens his mouth to say something, but the tobacco fills his lip and makes him stumble. After a couple seconds, he drops to the side, asleep.

I hold back a sigh. That was a lot closer than I wanted it to be, but at least it could have gone worse. I'm hoping that the sleeping guard doesn't arouse any suspicions, especially since he seems like a pretty lazy one anyway. The most I have to worry about is if he tells them he saw a female elf that dropped from a tree and jabbed him in the arm, but I have a feeling no one's going to believe that to be anything more than an excuse to sleep for two days. They're more likely to believe his tobacco was tainted.

Whether anyone else, does, though, isn't the problem. This guy will believe it. I pull out my pen and parchment to make a quick note about his facial features, rip off a small piece of parchment to cover the tip of the used dart, then put everything in my pocket and look for my landmarks to get back.

I find the office without a problem and climb up to see Saeralyn napping. I pull another sandwich out of her pack and munch on it while watching her sleep. After not seeing her last night when I came back, I'm decidedly happy to see her now. When I finish eating, I lie down next to her and snuggle up against her back.

The contact wakes her immediately, and I feel her tense up next to me. It's then that I realize that she's used to being out here alone. I speak quickly and softly. "Dragons be damned. I'm sorry, babe. I didn't think. It's just Rylae. Nothing to worry about."

She relaxes into me. "Scared the hell out of me."

I kiss the back of her head gently. "I know. I'm sorry. Entirely my fault."

She sighs and I can hear the smile on her face. "It's okay. Are you ready to go home for awhile?"

I snuggle up against her for another quick second before sitting up. "Yeah. I already had one close call today. I'm ready for a break."

That gets her immediate attention, so I tell her about the guard I knocked out. When I'm done, she smiles and touches my face. "Good to know those darts work so well. I'm glad I don't have to worry about you while we're out there. It's nice having a backup agent who can take care of herself."

I try to shrug the compliment off, but I feel a stupid grin on my face that won't go away. We climb down from the office and hike back to the landcraft. It's fully dark when we get back to it and start the ride home. Once we're moving, Saeralyn turns to me. "How was your part of the job?"

"Rather successful. I have detailed notes about the number of guards, their shift structure, their command structure, and some notes about their patrol timing. I can sort it all out for you later."

She leans forward and gives me a kiss while grinning. "Well done. I'm impressed."

With rewards like that, I have no problem working hard on this mission! I smile. "What about you? I noticed that you didn't get back to the office last night."

She shrugs. "I got one of the unknown buildings fully scouted. Once I got in there, I decided just to stay there until I had it finished. That involved a few hours hiding under a counter, but it all worked out. The building I picked is his administration office, where three elves manage and compile the reports from the agents. Once they left for the day, I was able to spend quite a few hours digging through it."

"We'll need to be careful to mark it as a non-combat area so no one on our side busts the door down and kills the elves inside."

She nods. "Yeah, those administration elves will have most of the details of how he runs his contracts. We'll need them later."

I think about that for a minute. I haven't thought about 'later', but I guess that's because it doesn't affect me. After the mission's done, Saeralyn will have to help clean everything up, and probably help relocate the employment of the agents to The Professor.

I wonder what her plans are for that, so I ask. "What's your goal for the assault? It sounds like you don't want to completely destroy his business like he did with The Old Gray Mare."

She shakes her head. "No, I don't. Those of us left after he killed the Mare and destroyed her business had to restructure ourselves when we were acquired by other contractors. I don't want to do that to the agents working for The Supervisor. I know we'll have to cleave through his guard to get to him, but once he's dead, I'm done. I don't want to destroy anyone's life but his."

I smile. "Got it. We take prisoners and accept surrender, but we take out the guy at the top of the pyramid. That seems doable. It may be entirely up to the two of us to get to him, though."

She smiles back as she nods. "I didn't plan on doing it any other way. I want to be the one to get him, and I can prepare to sneak in during the frontal assault while everything's in chaos. It's what I do for a living, after all."

With a smile and a shrug, I give that one to her, then fight back a yawn. She wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer, laying my head on her shoulder. I must have immediately fallen asleep, because the next thing I know is her lightly shaking me awake to see that we're home. All of the landcraft are here, so I take off my weapon belt and stick it in Saeralyn's pack before we go inside.

I follow her up to her room where we strip off our dirty clothes and curl up together in her bed. I barely register hearing her tell me to sleep well before I'm asleep again.

««»»

As I wake, I'm confronted with one of the worst perils of being attached to someone – having your arm trapped under them and really having to use the washroom. I specifically didn't drink a lot of water during my two days in the forest, but it eventually catches up anyway and mine just found me. And, of course, Saeralyn is so wiped out from her two days of work that she's not waking up from my movement like she normally would.

I sigh and cross my legs tight as I work to free my trapped right arm. Little by little I manage to wiggle it until it pops out from behind her shoulders and moves behind her neck. That's much easier, so I gently move her head away and pull my arm out. It's tingly and feels twice as heavy, but it's free! Climbing out of bed, I jog to the washroom.

I leave the washroom with a feeling of relief and duck into my room to grab some clean clothes and my cosmetics before heading right back in to clean up. Two days in a tree didn't do much for the softness of my hair, and it takes a little longer to get it back to its normal silky consistency. Once I'm clean and looking pretty again, I head down to the kitchen to get something to eat.

I'm surprised to see Mother in her hospital uniform sitting at the table with a plate of fruit. She looks up as she hears me. "Good morning, Rylae! How are things going with you?"

I smile and give her a kiss on the cheek as I walk past. "Pretty good, actually. First vacation I've had in way too long, so it's nice to just enjoy my time for awhile."

From the corner of my vision I can see her nod and watch me as I pour some juice and grab some fruit. "I'm glad to hear it. How are you and Saeralyn getting along?"

My smile grows a little bigger, but I try to keep it under control. "We're getting along great. Once we sorted out the problems between us, everything just went right back to what it was like thirty years ago."

She nods again. "Just like thirty years ago? So you two are dating again?"

Every muscle in my body comes to a complete halt. I stop thinking. I stop breathing. I don't blink. I lose track of how long I stand there frozen, unable to comprehend what I just heard. Eventually, I'm able to lift my gaze from my plate of fruit and look at her from across the room, but I have no response.

She takes a drink from her glass and gives me a look that can only really be considered a smirk, but I've never seen my mother smirk before. "Really, daughter. Do you think your parents are that dense?"

I don't really have a response to that, either. I pick up my plate and glass and slowly walk to the table, taking the seat across from Mother. I spend a few seconds trying to compose myself, but the shock just hasn't worn off yet.

She giggles at me. "Apparently you've regressed to a ninety-year-old again in more than just your relationship! You look like I just caught you sneaking in after a curfew!"

Her giggling is what finally snaps me back to normal. I'm being absolutely ridiculous, and Mother laughing at me proves it. I sigh and shake my head. "I never thought you were dense, but I never thought you knew. Neither of us thought you knew."

She giggles again. "You _must_ be joking. Your father and I knew as soon as she moved into her own room! You dated boys for years while sharing the same room. Then, suddenly and without any apparent change in your outward manner to each other, you both decide she needs to get her own room? Maybe if one of you had started bringing someone home, it would have made sense to need the space. But neither of you ever did. So, yes. We knew."

Dragons be damned! My parents beat me at a logic puzzle! All I can do is shake my head and chuckle at myself for being ridiculous. I look back up at her, smiling. "I assume that means you don't mind, then?"

She shrugs. "We love Saeralyn. She's been your best friend forever. We weren't really surprised when it happened, and we can think of lots of worse elves for you to end up with. I'm mostly worried about what's going to happen to you two if you split up again. Last time, you didn't speak to each other for thirty years and Saeralyn stopped talking to us, too. I don't want to see that happen again."

Oh. Dragons be damned. How do I get out of this one without telling them about her job and why she couldn't send messages? Think fast, Rylae! "It won't. Regardless of whether or not we can make things work this time, we won't lose touch with each other. Some stuff had been in the way before, but we know how to work around that now. We should be able to stay in contact with each other."

She giggles as she takes another sip from her glass. "Your father owes me a hundred credits. Fifty because he thought you'd deny it entirely, and another fifty because he thought you'd avoid the 'what if' scenario with some promise that you'd never split up again so it couldn't happen. I'll also have to come up with some other punishment for him thinking he knows our daughter better than I do."

I sigh and shake my head. "And now I find out my parents are wagering with each other about my love life. I think I just need to completely give up on today and go back to bed. I don't want to see what happens when a day like this gets worse!"

A noise from the sitting room catches my attention, and I turn to see Saeralyn walk into the kitchen wearing a robe. Her hair is a mess and she looks like she hasn't completely awoken yet. She walks over to the icebox, pours herself a drink, then comes over to the table and takes the chair next to me.

I watch as Mother looks back and forth between the two of us for a few seconds before she can't hold it in any longer and the laughter bursts out of her. She laughs so hard she almost knocks herself out of her chair. And in that instant, I suddenly see _exactly_ what happens when a day like this gets worse.

As I drop my head into my arms on the table with a sigh, I hear Saeralyn's tired voice beside me. "What's so funny?"

# CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I suppose I should feel bad about abandoning Saeralyn to Mother's mercy, but I don't. If everything up to that point wasn't bad enough, hearing the question, "And what exactly are your intentions with my daughter?" was well and truly the last bit I could take. I'm glad Mother's enjoying herself, but I'd rather catch up on reports and messages. Paperwork seems like a much better way to spend my time than helping feed Mother's hysteria.

I poke at the messages without really reading most of them. Thankfully, there aren't many. Everything on the ship is either already complete or waiting to be completed, so nothing is currently in-progress and requiring messages to be sent around. The general ship status update informs me that there was a new quarters fire, and once again I wonder exactly how the folk on my ship manage to regularly set their quarters on fire when there's nothing in most rooms that would even create a fire.

Aelon sent me an update on the end of the first round of the tournament, and Tanna is surprisingly still in it after winning her first match. Now I'm actually sorry that I'm missing it. It would have been sad and depressing to watch Tanna lose instantly, but it would have been awesome to watch her win. I wonder how she did it, and I can't wait to hear the story.

Sen and Zaxn are both still playing as well, and it looks like my side bet with Cap is active for the second round. With the time lag between messages, I wonder if they've already played each other or not. I'll just have to patiently wait for the next update.

A short message from Cap tries to remind me that he'd like regular updates so he knows whether or not to start interviewing new executive officers. Then he reminds me about our side bet on the tournament in some kind of opening volley of trash-talking. I just shrug it off. There's no point in replying now, since a message from me today won't get to Cap for another five or so. Besides, I already sent him the 'invitation' to our 'party'. I can't wait to see the reply from that one.

Logging out of the terminal, I decide to go to Saeralyn's room and clean her laundry. Until Mother's done with her, I don't have anything better to do anyway. We need to update the map, update Melisand, and plan for tomorrow, but I can't do any of that alone. Plus, Saeralyn hasn't cleaned any of her laundry since I've been home. It just needs to be done.

I walk into her room and start collecting all the clothes lying on her floor, tossing them into her basket. The girl was never completely organized growing up, but living alone for so long seems to have destroyed her ability to keep a room clean. No wonder she has so many clothes in her wardrobe. The more clothes she has, the more she can wear before she has to clean them all.

As I go into the laundry room, I realize I'm trying to keep myself busy so I don't have to think about the things that are pushing at the edges of my mind which Mother's comments caused to push harder. I'm avoiding the obvious questions about my relationship with Saeralyn. That's not like me, and I don't like it. I normally attack things like this head-on. Maybe I should stop avoiding the questions and start really thinking about them.

It's only been a week since we got back together. But on the other hand, it really is like we just picked up where we left off thirty years ago. It's like the three years we were together were put in a box, and once we resolved the things keeping us apart we just opened the box again and started from there.

The problem, of course, is that things _did_ end. They ended badly, and without any real closure.

ǂǂǂǂ

Tir Tairngire, City of Corsari, Year 7369 (age 92), Autumn

"Just... just stay until I get back. Please." Those were the last words Saeralyn Gwalindiel said to me as my girlfriend, as she boarded the trade ship UCST HiddenLoot heading to Andriennein.

The reality of it was that I knew she was leaving for a thieving job. I knew her employer required the item by a certain time. And I knew that I had to leave for Terra and the Academy a week before she returned. I knew I wasn't going to see her when she came back, and she knew I wasn't going to be here waiting.

The reality of it was that we were both heartbroken.

She was entrenched in her work, just like her parents were. She bounced around for the last two years of our relationship. The first year we were together, it was just us all the time. Then she started 'working' and it got in the way of our time. I was also trying to get accepted to the Academy to continue _my_ work. I had things I needed to do and ambitions of my own to fill.

We tried to work around her being off-world so much. I wasn't seeing anyone else, and neither was she. But once my Academy acceptance came in, even if neither of us wanted to talk about it, we both knew it was the nail in the casket that held our relationship. It wasn't her job, and it wasn't the Academy. It was both, and the fact that neither of us could give up on either of them for our relationship.

As time passed, I was learning that our relationship had completely replaced our old friendship. I knew it was right to have her move into her own room, but that closeness we used to have growing up in the same room was replaced by the occasional rendezvous in her room or mine and a lot of alone time in-between. We had a lot of fun together, but the style of our fun changed. We went from friends to lovers, but we lost a lot of what we had as friends.

I spent more time at the Academy Hospital with Mother, talking to UCST folk and learning what I could about the Academy. I got close to a few of them as colleagues. I never really replaced Saeralyn as a friend, but the time I could have spent on our friendship was spent absorbing what I needed to know to be the best Academy cadet I could be. I don't know what she did with her time, but it was probably spent making contacts for her job, finding connections to folk that wanted certain items, and practicing her ability to obtain those items. Her work was more important than her friendship with me.

I didn't know what was going to become of us, but I kept moving on. Either things would work out or they wouldn't. Those were the options. I could only do the best that I could do and see what happened.

Once I got to the Academy, I sent her messages. I tried to rekindle the friendship. Originally I sent a message every week. Then I sent one every other week. After six months without a response, I stopped sending them. Whatever unbroken heart pieces I still had after I lost my girlfriend were completely destroyed after I became certain that I had lost my best friend.

About eight months after I left home, I received a message from Mother that Saeralyn had moved out to her own house. Not long after that, I stopped hearing about Saeralyn entirely. Occasionally Mother would ask in one of her messages if I'd heard from her. The answer was always no.

ǂǂǂǂ

I eventually moved on, dated again, and met Tanna to fill the 'best friend' job I had open, but never were any of those a replacement for Saeralyn. I love Tanna as a sister and a best friend, but never the way I had loved Saeralyn as a best friend. I enjoyed my time with the boys and girls I dated throughout the years, but I never thought about any kind of future with them or missed them when they were gone. None of them filled the Saeralyn-sized hole in my heart.

I recognize how young Rylae and young Saeralyn both made mistakes in how they managed their relationship. They didn't talk about things. They stopped sharing their lives with each other as they each were working on building individual lives for themselves. They never discussed a future together, secretly hoping it would just work itself out.

To an extent, I see how I'm doing the same thing today. Admittedly, we do talk a lot more now about what's important in our lives than we did then. After all, I'm currently helping her depose the contractor that killed her parents and destroyed her previous boss. But what happens after that? I'm going to have to go back to my ship, and I'm on the list to receive a ship of my own. Does Saeralyn have any plans after we're done with the opposing contractor? I don't know. I haven't asked.

I keep telling myself that it's only been a week, but it hasn't. It's been sixty years of friendship and three years as lovers with an added thirty years of distance. I can either treat it as 'just a week' and pretend it doesn't matter like I've done with all my relationships since Academy, or I can treat it as a much longer relationship with my best friend that deserves more attention than either of us are giving it.

As I drop the last of Saeralyn's shirts through the cleaner, my thoughts suddenly run headlong into my actions and I realize I'm cleaning my girlfriend's laundry. I've never done that for anyone. Even before I had Halder's services, I've always only cleaned my own. Hell, if I found something left behind after a night with someone, I either took it back to them or left it for them to collect, but it stayed dirty.

As I swap the basket of clean clothes onto the folding table, I realize I've unconsciously decided how I consider this relationship. It's definitely not 'just a week'. That means we can only put off talking about it for so long before we have no choice. I don't want a repeat of our breakup from thirty years ago.

Unfortunately, we still have weeks of dangerous scouting to do, and a dangerous assault on a dangerous enemy compound to carry out. The last thing we need to have is some kind of emotional falling-out before the work is done. I think this is another thing I need to keep to myself for awhile, or maybe just poke at the edges of until we have the time to do something more with it.

I see Saeralyn pass by the laundry room door while I'm folding. I hear her open her door, then nothing for a few seconds before she appears in the laundry room door looking at me. I keep folding her clothes and try not to look at her.

"Did you pick up and clean all of my dirty clothes?" She sounds like she can't believe it. In the back of my mind I hear an incredulous chuckle, because I can't really believe I did it either.

"Yeah." I don't really have a better response for her, and I can't manage any happiness in my voice.

A few seconds of silence stretches between us before she responds again. "Wow. Thanks, Rylae. I don't really know what to say except thank you."

I fold the last pair of pants and place them in the basket, which I pick up and pass to Saeralyn with a shrug. "Don't worry about it. It was nothing. You need to get cleaned so we can update the map and get an update to Melisand."

She takes the basket with a nod, but without a smile, and walks back into her room. I'm guessing Mother gave her plenty to think about as well.

I decide to risk going back to the kitchen to see if Mother's still there. She is, as is the remaining fruit I didn't eat earlier. I sit back down to finish it, waiting for her to say something. She looks calmer, but there's no telling what happened with Saeralyn earlier.

After a minute, she clears her throat. "Rylae. I'm sorry I teased you. I obviously put you in a bad mood, and I'm sorry for that. I just wanted to make sure you remembered what happened last time and didn't ignore it. You're allowed to be happy and have fun. You just have to also know where you're going. Right, Captain?"

A small chuckle escapes me at that, so I look up at her. "I know, Mother. And I appreciate the reminder. I just can't do anything with it right now. Before I leave, though, I promise I'll have the answers I need. One way or another."

She smiles. "Good. I need to get to the hospital, so we can talk more later. Your father's meeting me at the hospital for dinner, so we won't be home until late tonight. I'm sorry we're all running around during your vacation and can't spend more time together."

I get up as she does and give her a hug. "Me too, but we'll find time. Have fun at work today."

After she leaves, I go back to quietly munching my fruit until Saeralyn is ready to start working.

# CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

It takes us some time to update the map, first with Saeralyn's details about the administration office, then with my details about the guard strength. My notes are a lot more detailed than her original notes were, so it takes a bit of work to replace them.

From there, we discuss our plans for the next days. She picks another of the buildings to scout, then we look over the map for a place where I can watch patrols. After giving me a few options, I eventually decide on a perch which should give me a view of the building she's planning to scout. I didn't enjoy worrying about where she was last time, and I'd like to avoid that again if possible.

We pack up and take a landcraft out to Melisand's office. When we get there, Saeralyn hands me the map. "Can you give the update to Melisand? You've seen that it's not difficult. He knows what to do."

I take the map from her. "Sure, but what are you going to be doing?"

She turns away, not looking at me. "I'm just going to check on Orfindan for a bit. Nothing to worry about."

I can tell she's up to something, but after the morning we had I don't really feel like chasing it down with her. I shrug as I agree, getting out of the landcraft and walking to Melisand's door.

I touch the charm and wait. The old clerk comes to the door after a minute. "Miss Westiel. Please come in."

I follow him to his desk, then pull out the map and lay it in front of him. "I'm providing Miss Gwalindiel's update while she's doing business with her art shop."

He nods and pulls out his unreadable book, updating his notes as he scrutinizes the page. We sit in silence for awhile as he notices all the changes and makes updates in his book across multiple pages. I find myself watching him and wondering what his filing system is like, or if it exists only in his head as one more defense against someone finding out his secrets.

When he finishes, he flips to another page in his book and checks something before looking back at me. "Miss, would you like to update the timeline?"

I shake my head. "No. The timeline is still accurate."

"Thank you, Miss." He nods, then turns to another page. "Miss, there has been an update from your associates. They have received the last update from you, including the new timeline. Dreamcatcher may not be able to provide all of the requested agents at that time, and estimates fifty percent. The initial request will be attempted, but the price will be reduced if the full number cannot be provided."

I nod. "Thank you, Melisand. Is there more?"

"Yes, Miss. Eagle-Eye should have an additional top-tier agent available at that time, and has made an offer to add them to the request at a ten percent increase in price."

I store the numbers in the back of my mind to relay to Saeralyn. "Thank you."

"Additionally, there is an update to the request from The Professor. Two months is acceptable, and the request will be put on hold. However, a bonus can be made available if the request can be completed in less time. The client is specifically requesting Miss Gwalindiel."

I smile and speak without thinking. "Sounds like Saeralyn's rather popular."

Melisand leans his head to the left. "Indeed, Miss. Miss Gwalindiel is a very popular agent, much like Mister and Missus Gwalindiel were in their time. In fact, I have seen many requests from clients who previously would request Mister and Missus Gwalindiel and are now requesting Miss Gwalindiel."

Wow. The Gwalindiel name is obviously a valued one in this business. That must be why it was so easy for The Supervisor to find her once he had her description earlier this year. That also must be why The Professor snatched her up so quickly. "That's interesting information, Melisand. Thank you. I guess that means Saeralyn's going to be in this business for quite some time."

He nods. "Indeed, that is my hope as well, Miss. I expect to hear of her success in her operation against the opposing contractor. It will be good to have Miss Gwalindiel in a position of importance."

Position of importance? "Can you explain what you mean by that?"

He thinks for a second, then flips open his book and carefully reads a page. "My instructions are clear, Miss. As this is not related to a job or a request, I cannot."

That makes me chuckle. "It's obvious that you've been doing this for a long time, Melisand. You're very good with your instructions."

He smiles, causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle in an adorable 'old elf' sort of way. "Thank you, Miss. That's kind of you to say. Indeed, it has been quite a long time, but I enjoy my work and my clients take very good care of me. I hope Miss Gwalindiel will continue to work with me after her successful operation."

There's that hint of change again. "Why wouldn't she? You've been with her family for years."

He looks saddened. "If her operation is successful, she will have other resources to use, and I am getting old. She may wish to transfer my instructions to another clerk."

I reach across the desk and lightly touch his hand. "If that happens, I will personally ensure that you retain a position with her, even if she does transfer your instructions. But I don't think you need to worry. Saeralyn is very attached to family, and you've been attached to her family for some time."

He smiles and slowly turns the pages of his book. "Thank you, Miss. Time is passing. Would you care to provide a time for your next update?"

So stoic about his work! Saeralyn may have said my work ethic wasn't always cute, but I think Melisand's is adorable. "Miss Gwalindiel or I will provide an update within four days."

He makes a notation. "Thank you, Miss. I will escort you to the door."

I rise and follow him through the darkness. As we reach the door, he stops and turns to me. "I appreciate your time and your comments, Miss Westiel. Few of my clients talk with me the way you do. I hope that I can continue to work with you for however long I am able."

The compliment is surprising, and it makes me smile as he continues. "I could not answer your question earlier, and am not able to bend my instructions to do so, but there is nothing in my instructions that forbids me from asking questions of you."

He pauses for a moment as that comment captures my full attention, then asks, "Do you know how each contractor came to be?"

I look at him through the darkness. "I don't. I don't know much about the business and very little about contractors in general."

I see the faint outline of his head as it nods. "I suggest you think on that question. I believe there are answers there which can help you." As he says that, he opens the door, causing me to blink as the late day sun shines directly inside.

I step out and turn back to him. "Thank you, Melisand. It's a pleasure to work with you."

He smiles that adorable 'old elf' smile again. "You as well, Miss Westiel." He closes the door as I turn to the landcraft. Saeralyn is leaning against it while waiting for me.

When I get close enough, she gets inside without a word, so I follow. She inputs the directions and the vehicle starts its path home. "You sure were in there for awhile. Did Melisand have any updates?"

I tell her what he told me about the lowered number of agents from Dreamcatcher, and she sighs. "That's not good. We agreed on fifteen fighters originally. Dropping that below ten will hurt, but I guess I can deal with it."

The update from Eagle-Eye brings her smile back in full force, though. "A top-tier for only ten percent more? That doesn't quite make up for the loss of Dreamcatcher's fighters, but the costs should balance out well, and a top-tier... nice!"

I shake my head. "Obviously that means something to you, but it doesn't mean anything to me. What's a top-tier agent?"

Her smile turns into an embarrassed grin as she turns to look out the window. "Remember when I told you that most agents can only do one or two skills well?"

I chuckle. "You're a top-tier agent, aren't you? That's why you're excited, because you'll get someone as good as you!"

I can see the hints of redness on her cheeks. "Yeah. Something like that."

Her embarrassment makes me giggle, then reminds me of the last update. "That explains why The Professor accepted your two-month delay for that request, and offered you a bonus if you can do it faster. I guess there are benefits to being top-tier!"

She shrugs and looks back at me with a grin. "There are. We get all the best concubines."

Crossing my arms, I give her a challenging look. "I'm doubting that. Just a couple months ago, I was a concubine to a goblin king. I know the business. They wouldn't lower themselves to work for you."

She laughs as she leans in to kiss me. I kiss her back happily, then pull away. "So how's the art shop going?"

She shrugs. "I found a price tag on Orfindan today. He was right. You can't afford him. As a connoisseur of fine art, though, I suggested that he might be overvaluing himself. Then again, as long as I get the profit from the sale, I guess I don't mind."

The landcraft pulls up to the house. When we get out, Saeralyn starts pulling some bags from the back that I hadn't noticed. "If you were in the art shop the whole time, what are those?"

She shrugs again and smiles at me. "I never said I was only in the art shop."

She carries the bags to the door and lets herself in. I follow along behind her as she goes through the portal and walks into my room, where she drops the bags on my bed before turning to me. "You didn't have the right clothes for the job and had to borrow mine. I figured the smart thing to do was to get you some of your own."

I look at the bags on the bed, then back to her. "You bought me clothes?"

A chuckle escapes her as she grins. "Does it help to know that they match your new belt?"

I go through the bags and find five or six outfits worth of clothes. Everything's either black, dark brown, dark green, or dark blue, which are all colors that are seriously lacking in my tiny selection of non-uniform clothing. In fact, I think this almost doubles the amount of non-uniform clothing I own. I turn and wrap my arms around her. "Thank you! This is quite a surprise."

She shrugs. "It's all work-related expenses. Don't worry about it. But..." A sly smile crosses her face. "Maybe you should try everything on to make sure I got the right sizes."

We're practically the same size. If it fits her, it fits me. I was just wearing her clothes yesterday! But I can see right through that, of course, and I know where 'trying everything on' will lead. I shake my head. "Maybe we get something for dinner first? I haven't had much to eat for the last few days, you know. Something about being stuck in a tree watching useless elves pretending to be guards."

I can see the disappointment cross her face, but it's not there long. "Dinner sounds like a good idea. I know a place. Let's go back out."

We go back to the landcraft and she inputs a destination. It looks familiar, but I can't quite place it. When we start moving, I turn to her. "So, Melisand asked me an interesting question today, and I wanted to see if you can help me with it. It's in your particular realm of fangirlism, after all."

She cocks her head. "Melisand asked _you_ a question? That's different. What was it?"

"He asked me if I know how each contractor came to be. I barely know anything about your work, and nothing at all about the history of the contractors. But he said the answers might be important to me."

She thinks for a second. "I wonder why he'd ask you that instead of just giving you the information."

I giggle. "His instructions are clear."

She laughs. "Yeah, I guess they are. Okay, so I told you before that there used to be five contractors. For quite some time, there were always five contractors. In fact, right now is one of the few times there have been only four, since no one has replaced the Old Gray Mare.

"Obviously, elves live and die, so no contractor can be around longer than a life span. Sometimes it seems like they are, if multiple generations of contractors share a code name, but most of the time each contractor takes a new code name when they take over.

"The Supervisor is one of those code names that has been around forever. Technically, I can't say for certain that he's the same Supervisor that was in power when my parents were killed, but he's still the one who killed the Old Gray Mare. And he's still an insufferable prick, so I don't care. He needs to go.

"The Old Gray Mare's contractor line went back for generations. Her father was the contractor before her, and his mother before him, and so on. They kept the business in the family, which made it difficult after she was gone. As far as I know, she had no children, so her assets ended up dispersed instead of being passed on. I don't know how anyone will rebuild what she had.

"Before The Professor, there was an adept who went by the name Ice Shield. He specialized in protection jobs. When he was killed during a job, The Professor stepped in to take over, remaking the business to be more general. I think he was one of the administration elves for Ice Shield, but that's before my time so I only know what I've heard.

"Dreamcatcher is new, but she's ruthless. She takes on a lot of different jobs and stretches her resources to the limit, which is why I'm not surprised she had to cut back the number of fighters I requested. She took over for Falling Star. Folk say they were sisters, and they seem to have the same ruthless streak, so I believe it.

"Eagle-Eye used to be an agent himself. It's unclear exactly how it happened, but I tend to believe the story that the previous contractor, The Dagger, sent him on a suicide mission. When he managed to actually live through it, he came back and killed his boss, taking over The Dagger's entire business."

I nod as I follow along. I've never been a fan of history, but this stuff is actually kinda cool. I want to ask more questions, but the landcraft comes to a stop and I look around. I know where we are! This is the restaurant where I agreed to become Saeralyn's girlfriend. Technically, I guess it was our first date.

She grins as I turn to her. "I thought it might be fun to sit in a corner booth, drink some wine, and look at the other elves. What do you think?"

I grab her in a hug with a laugh. I love this girl.

# CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Three scouting trips go by without any incidents. Two days in the tree, one day at home, three times in a row. It's getting easier, which is good, but there's still nothing really fun about it.

Our map notes now include the detail of his warehouse, which contains a lot of weapons, stolen items, and other things clients have asked for but haven't yet received. A team of four elves keeps it running. Another non-combat area.

Saeralyn also scouted an agent training building. Any agents that aren't on jobs use the building to practice their skills against guards or administration/warehouse elves borrowed from the other areas. We debated for a bit over whether or not it should be considered a combat area, and eventually decided it should be guarded but not occupied. If anyone comes out shooting, we deal with them, but we don't break down the door and attack everyone inside.

The third trip, Saeralyn decided to actually scout the inside of the guard barracks. By then, my notes about their patrol routes were incredibly detailed (although, with the lax nature of the guards in general, there's a huge margin for error), so she felt confident in scouting the building. She entered when the late shift came out and got into formation, before the early shift straggled back in, then left in the middle of the night at a time when no patrols were in the clearing.

I'm glad for the detail, if not the hours I spent perched in my tree worried out of my mind that something was going to go wrong. I'm prepared to rush into the compound if she gets in trouble, but doing that for one of the unimportant buildings is a lot different than rushing into a guard barracks full of sleeping fighters. I insisted we take some extra downtime after that, just so I can calm myself.

There are still two buildings left to scout – one unknown, and the 'castle'. If we can get those done in the next two trips, we'll actually be ahead of schedule, which can give our associate contractors a little more time to prepare. It'll give us a little more downtime to prepare ourselves for the assault as well.

Not much is happening back at the ship, which is a relief. The number of messages I receive every time the Terra-Tairngire docks has been getting smaller and smaller. Tanna was eliminated from the tournament, which is sad but not unexpected. I won my side bet with Cap when Sen eliminated Zaxn from the game. As of the last update, Sen was in the final four players, and is scheduled to play one of the vice admirals next. One of the other two remaining players is actually Vanwen Neltasyr, a lieutenant in my science department. She's a bookish elf, but has a bit of a vindictive streak. I wouldn't be surprised to find out her and Sen are in the final match.

I did receive a reply from Cap about my 'party invitation'. First, I simply received an acknowledgement of the invitation, and a promise to speak with my 'friends', by which I figure he meant the senior staff. The most recent message, though, was interesting. He titled it 'Partial RSVP'. Opening the message surprised me a little bit.

Simon is definitely coming. That's not much of a shock. Simon loves to fight things, and is incredibly dangerous. He can single-handedly make up for the missing half of the fighters Dreamcatcher won't be able to provide.

Gimmir and Lada are also both coming. I'm a bit surprised by that, but I figure they must be bored. They are also 'requesting' if they can bring 'some of their friends', which they describe as 'nine or eighteen folk'. They want to bring a squad or two of elites with them. It's a total shock that they'd want to do that for an off-the-record raid they basically have no details for.

The bigger shock, though, are the three other friends who want to come visit. Zaxn, Tanna, and Sen all want to come as well. Three adepts, fresh from a physically taxing light tag tournament, want to come help me. I can only imagine their reasons. I'm guessing Zaxn wants to help pay me back for Stenchstone and all the support I've given him over the years he's worked for me. I think Tanna wants to make sure I'm okay, but having her out there will make me worry. Sen might just have been enjoying the tournament and sees another rare opportunity to let out some more of her trademark evilness. But I don't know for sure until they get here and I can talk to them.

With that information, I leave my room to find Saeralyn. With only about two weeks left before the operation, and only one or two more planned scouting trips, she's been spending a lot of time in the gazebo looking over her notes. I find her out there, pen in hand, as she stares at the parchment on the folding table in front of her.

She doesn't react to me when I walk up, so I slide onto the bench next to her and kiss her cheek. She smiles, but doesn't take her eyes off the map. I tap her on the shoulder. "Hey, pretty girl. I have some things we need to talk about."

"Work?" I can tell from the tone of the question that if it's not about work, she probably doesn't want to talk about it right now. She's getting more and more focused on the job, and it's starting to worry me a bit, but I'm trying to tell myself that it's fine.

I smile. "Absolutely. I want to ask about what resources we'll have for the assault. We haven't really talked about it yet, and I have some good news that may change things a bit."

Her brow furrows as she looks at me for a second, then looks back at the map. "Okay. You know I have agents coming from both Dreamcatcher and Eagle-Eye. Dreamcatcher is sending some-amount-of-fighters-less-than-fifteen. One of those is supposed to be a top-tier fighter, and I'm hoping we still get him. Eagle-Eye is sending me five fighters, one infiltration expert, and one assassin. I haven't heard back yet on what skills the additional top-tier agent he offered me possesses.

"The ten-to-fifteen fighters are our main show of force. They're going to go right up against the guards. The assassin is going to sneak through and take out the guard commanders you've identified, with the help of the infiltration expert. They'll do that _before_ the assault so the guards are disorganized. I've worked with both of them before and have total faith in their skills.

"You and I are going for the main target. Then I still need to find a place to use the additional top-tier, once I find out who she is and what her skills are."

She shrugs. "It's really straightforward. I'm not a master battle planner, but the compound isn't prepared for a major defensive, either. My plan should be enough, if I have the right folk helping us."

I nod. "Okay. Then let me share my good news. It seems some of my friends are coming to help us."

Her head snaps up so fast I fear she might have hurt her neck. "What!? Who did you tell!?"

I hold up my hands, palms out. "Calm down, babe. I was careful. I didn't release any details. I asked my captain to 'invite' my crew to a 'party' we're having. I explained the entire thing using mission references, so they know there's an assault, but they don't know anything more than that."

She sighs. "Okay. Good job, then. What did they say?"

I can't hold back a grin. "Some of my senior officers want to come. Two of them are the leaders of my battalion, and a third is my security chief. You remember Lada from Firefork."

Her eyes grow wide. "The angry dwarf woman who wouldn't let Imildir launch?"

"That's the one! And she's probably not the most dangerous of the three of them. Simon by himself could likely take out all of the guards in the compound without breaking a sweat. And Gimmir is my Battalion Major. He can help refine your battle plan."

She nods to herself. "That's actually really awesome. Some agents with that kind of fighting skill would be great to have on our side."

I chuckle. "That's not all. They want to bring, as they put it, 'nine or eighteen friends', which means they want to know if we need a squad or two from the elite soldiers in the battalion to come with them."

She immediately shakes her head. "No. Definitely not. The bastard will see them coming before they even board the ship to get over here. Three or four folk we can hide. Two squads of battalion members, we definitely can't. As much as I'd love the force, it'll be too showy and give us away."

I hadn't thought of that, but this is Saeralyn's plan and she understands what to look for. "Got it. I'll tell them they can't bring their friends, so it will just be the six of them."

She nods, then stops. "Six? I know you're better at math than I am, but even I can count to three."

I shrug while grinning at her. "Oh, did I forget to mention the three adepts that are coming?"

Her jaw drops. It's not often you can surprise someone so well that their mouth actually pops open. It's a funny thing to watch.

I laugh and continue. "Zaxn's a fire adept, like you. He might even be able to give you some pointers on how to control your skills. He's a genius, and very dangerous. I watched him single-handedly destroy three flanks of enemies on Stenchstone with walls of fire. You'll like him.

"Sen's my Chief Caregiver, but she's also incredibly dangerous in her own way. She could easily be a combat medic, and I wouldn't worry about her in battle for a second. The third adept..." I stumble for a second, because it's still just weird, "is my friend Tanna."

Her eyes narrow for a second while she thinks, then pop back open. "The hot elf girl?"

_Of course_ that's the part she latched on to when I was describing Tanna to her. I nod. "Yeah, that's her. I'm not really sure why she's coming or what she hopes to accomplish. She's not a fighter. Powerful adept, but not a fighter. I'm not sure I want her near the battle. But she's my best friend, so I don't want to tell her no, either."

A cloud seems to pass over Saeralyn's face for a second, then she turns back to the map speaking a little more quickly than before. "Excellent. Having a combat medic may actually save me some money on my contracts with Dreamcatcher and Eagle-Eye since it lowers their risk. And, of course, having someone who can heal any casualties among the non-combat elves would be wonderful. I really want to meet this fire adept, too. We might be able to use him to keep the non-combat elves away from the fight with his fire walls. I guess I'll have to see what your Battalion Major thinks about that plan."

I'm glad she's excited for the help, but what she _didn't_ say is also painfully obvious. She's not happy that Tanna's coming. I can think of at least a half-dozen obvious reasons why, most of which are some form of unnecessary jealousy, but I really don't want to think about it right now. We can talk about it after Tanna gets here and Saeralyn realizes she doesn't have anything to worry about with her. For now, I want to solidify plans before we go back out to scout tomorrow.

I kiss her on the cheek. "I'm glad you like my surprise. I'll go back in and send a message to Cap telling him we just don't have the room to host the extra guests Gimmir wants to bring, but the rest are welcome. Then I'll set up some on-world quarters in the UCST compound for them so they can come whenever they want and have a place to stay."

She nods, still looking at her map, and I can tell she's just stopped listening to me. I sigh as I get up from the bench and walk back in the house. It seems like every time something good happens with us, something else takes some of that happiness away. There's nothing to really be done with it right now, though. We only have two scouting trips left, and one of them is the castle. I can't afford to break her focus on the mission any more than I already have.

I write the reply to Cap, then check the schedule for the Terra-Tairngire. It's actually still on-world right now, so Cap will get my reply quickly. They could be here in as little as a week. With two weeks left, that's just about perfect. I add in a note in the message about them coming sooner if they want to, then send it.

Setting up on-world quarters for them will be a little more difficult, so I grab my communicator from my wardrobe. I haven't been taking it with me when we go scouting, for obvious reasons, and only Mother or Father would ever call me on it, so it's just been sitting here. I need it now, though, as I have to negotiate six rooms with the UCST quartermaster. At least dealing with this will allow me to get rid of some of my irritation at Saeralyn's reaction to Tanna's name.

# CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Saeralyn decides to tackle the last unknown building before the castle, just to finish off our map and know what everything is. There's a lot that can go wrong while scouting the castle, and Saeralyn doesn't want to risk it while there's still an unknown. Saeralyn knows a good location for backup agent Rylae to keep an eye on the entire building to cover Saeralyn's entrance and exit.

Rylae doesn't have any input into the planning phase this time around. Rylae's just the backup agent, after all, and Saeralyn's the top-tier agent with the years of experience. Rylae's job is to cover Saeralyn's back and make sure Saeralyn stays safe so Saeralyn can complete the job while Rylae watches.

Yes, I'm bitter and angry now. After our conversation about my senior officers coming to help, I've been almost completely ignored. The only time she's even thought to talk to me was to give me the handful of sentences detailing our plan for the scouting trip, and then she left without even waiting to see if I had anything to say.

I understand that this is her job – her borderline obsession, even. I understand that I'm her backup, and that my job is to follow her lead on everything. I've been an executive officer for a long time. I know how to follow someone else's orders. I have no problem with sitting in a tree and watching her back, because that's what she needs me to do.

But I'm not just a backup agent on a job. I'm supposed to be her partner for this job. For _all_ future jobs, if her instructions to Melisand are any indication. I also don't have to be here. I'm not getting paid to do this, and I have no prize waiting for me as part of the completion. I'm not sitting in this blastfruit tree watching ineffective guards mill about because it's fun and exciting. In fact, Cap would probably prefer if I just go back to the ship and quit risking my life every time he's not watching me.

I'm here because I love Saeralyn and want to protect her. I'm here because she has a goal to accomplish and needs the help of someone who she can rely on. I'm here because she supposedly wants me to be here. So, dragons be damned, she could at least show a little gratitude and not shut me out because my other best friend is coming to visit!

I stab my dagger into the rotting blastfruit again. It makes me feel slightly better every time I stab it, but not enough. I'd feel a _lot_ better if I could stab one of the ripe ones, but I'm not really interested in being blown out of the tree. Blastfruit look delicious – a lot like oranges on Terra – but through some fluke of nature they build up super-compressed gasses under their thin skin which cause them to explode when the skin is ruptured. The explosion is loud and the acid inside the fruit lightly burns skin. Every child on Tir Tairngire has been burned by a blastfruit while playing with them.

The fruit grow constantly, likely because they don't have a very long lifespan. A blastfruit goes from bud to rotten in three weeks. Once a fruit goes rotten, its skin melts away letting the gasses inside release slowly into the air. It's thankfully a pleasant smell, unlike most other rotted fruits, but that's about the only good thing I can see from the whole blastfruit experience. I'm not a forestry expert, so I don't know if they know why blastfruit even exist. Maybe something in the gas is required for the air, or maybe there's some creature that can actually eat the things. Whatever the reason for their existence, there are lots of them on Tir Tairngire and we try to stay away from them – except when we're kids, because kids are kinda dumb and like to play with things that explode. I know I did.

I stab the rotting fruit again and continue sulking. I'm not proud of it, but I'm secretly hoping something happens today. Maybe it's just another guard who decides my tree is a good place to chew tobacco. I'd be okay with that. I just want something to take out my frustration on. I haven't been in a training session with Lada for weeks, and today would be a _great_ day for one.

As the sun goes down, I look at the tree line for Saeralyn. She's been crouched behind a particularly dense patch of bushes for hours, watching the building. We learned from the other buildings and my notes about the guards that the best time to get in is right after sundown, when the night shift comes out and the day shift slowly filters back in. No one's paying any attention. Additionally, the patrols are much more coordinated at night, making it easier to properly time when to get back out.

The light fades to almost nothing, and I can see Saeralyn's outline as she darts out from her cover of bushes and runs to the back corner of the building. She looks through a window as she carefully plans her entrance to make sure no one inside notices her.

She's still looking when I hear voices coming up from a side path. I turn and see a group of three day-shift guards slowly walking back to camp – two with swords and one with a long bow and arrows. I look ahead of them, and their path is going to walk straight into Saeralyn. If they get close enough, they won't be able to miss seeing her.

A grin spreads across my face. I guess my secret hopes for something to happen decided to come true. Before I get stupid about it, though, I shake it off and look around. I can't kill them, or everything we've already scouted might be wasted once they're found. I can't incapacitate all three of them with sleep darts without getting into a fight that I'm not sure I could win with sleep darts alone. I need to distract them and make them change their route.

I glance over at the blastfruit hanging from the tree. I see three ripe ones that I can reach easily. Hopefully that'll be enough. I grab the first one and use my dagger to slice it from its stem. Throwing it while I'm in the tree won't be easy with all the other branches around, but I can try. I toss the fruit, aiming for a spot about two meters behind the group.

I miss horribly and the fruit explodes halfway up a tree about four meters away from me, still between the group and the compound. The three guards stop and look around. They know the sound of a blastfruit explosion, of course, but it's rare to hear one since they rot while still in the tree. I watch them signal to each other as they move closer to the tree to investigate.

When they're halfway to the tree, I throw the second fruit. It lands a lot closer to them, exploding just a meter or so in front of them. The elf in front yelps as some of the acid hits him, but it's not enough to seriously hurt him. They stop moving and look around at the area to figure out why blastfruit are exploding around them.

The third and final fruit is a total screw-up. It barely leaves my hand before it hits a clump of leaves in my blastfruit tree, causing it to stutter and fall. It explodes on a branch below me, and all three elves look toward my tree.

For a second, I sit very still and silently hope that they can't see me. That lasts until I see the elf with the bow pull an arrow from his quiver. There's only one reason he'd want to shoot right now, and that's because he sees a target. I drop from my perch and climb quickly down the branches.

I hear a shout from the area of the group, and that confirms that they saw me. As soon as I hit the ground, I start running away from the clearing, knowing they'll chase me. I have a much better grasp of the forest now that I've been in here for so long, so I'm not really worried about getting lost as I run in a zigzag pattern through the trees.

I stop for a second every so often to listen, and I can still hear the crashing of their boots through the bushes, so I keep running. I don't know how far back they are, but they obviously still know what direction I'm going in.

I pass a couple trees I recognize and try to use that to create some kind of plan I can use to shake them, when I feel something slam into my left shoulder and throw me forward, knocking me off my feet. I land hard at an angle, skidding to a stop. That's when the pain hits me, and I gasp at the fire in my shoulder. Reaching my right hand behind me, I feel a long stick protruding from my back, right below my shoulder.

Dragons be damned! I was just shot with an arrow!

I check my left arm and it appears to still work fine, which is good because I can hear the sounds of boots crashing through bushes a lot closer than they were a few seconds ago. Realizing I have to stand my ground, I shake off the pain and get to my feet, pulling my parrying dagger with my left hand and my throwing dagger with my right.

I see the elf with the bow come around a tree about a meter away, and I don't wait. Twisting my right arm, I flick the throwing dagger at him. It hits him in the top of his right arm and sinks in. He yelps and drops the arrow in his hand. That should take care of him for a bit.

As the two elves with swords come up behind him, I pull my spellshooter and fire at the closest one. He sidesteps the spike and rushes in swinging. I duck to the side of the first swing, then take a step backwards away from the second one. As I step back, I fire the spellshooter again at his midsection. He's so close to me that he can't avoid it, and the ten cm spike easily punctures through his leather armor, lodging inside him.

He staggers backwards and out of the fight as the second guard with a sword replaces him. She swings haphazardly at my head, making it easy to parry with my dagger. I catch her sword in the crosspiece of my dagger and push it out to my left while taking a step closer. Pressing the spellshooter to her chest, I pull the trigger. With a surprised cough, she drops.

The elf with the bow has removed my dagger and fished another arrow from his quiver. His arm is bleeding badly, but he ignores it as he slowly pulls back on the bowstring, taking aim.

This bastard already hit me once. I'm not letting him do it again. I charge him, rushing straight into his arrow line. His damaged arm can't work the bowstring quickly enough, and I get to him without him loosing the arrow. A swing of my dagger deflects his bow, and my spellshooter takes out his knee. As he drops to the ground in a yelp, I aim and fire at his neck, silencing him.

I walk back over and check the other two elves, and they're definitely dead. As I'm checking them, I feel the pain in my shoulder come back twice as bad as it was originally. I let out a small gasp as I stumble back over to the elf with the bow and pick up an arrow from his quiver. I look it over and it appears to have a flat tip, which is good. A barbed tip would hurt a lot more coming out.

Reaching my right arm around, though, doesn't get me a decent-enough grip on the arrow shaft to pull it out. I probe the wound with the tips of my fingers and it doesn't appear to be bleeding very badly. Moving aside my shirt to check the front of my shoulder, I don't see any marks or anything. I'm guessing the arrow hit the bone in my shoulder and stopped. Overall, it could have been a lot worse. That being said, though... _dragons be damned_ this hurts!

Gritting my teeth through the pain, I look at the area around the fight, trying to find a familiar tree. I eventually see one I think I know and look around, trying to place it in my mind. Walking around it, I recognize another tree and put the two together to realize I'm not only out of the standard patrol area, but I'm past the office and on the way back to the landcraft at the forestry building.

I try to think back at how long I was running, but I don't really know. I know the office is six minutes from the patrol line, and then another five minutes or so to the clearing, but that's all based on walking slowly and quietly, not running like a werecat through the bushes!

The pain is starting to be distracting and I can't quite think clearly enough to figure out what I should do about it. I decide to follow the trees back to the office and wait for Saeralyn. She'll know what to do, and I need her help to get the arrow out of my shoulder, anyway. That'll probably be one more thing she'll be angry at me about, but whatever. I did it to save her, after all. I deserve some gratitude for this one.

Finding the tree, I climb up slowly. My left arm is starting to hurt a lot more now, and it's hard to grip the carved handholds with it. I manage, but it takes more time. Once I get to the top, I pull myself up, take off my weapon belt and lay out on my chest to wait for Saeralyn.

As I lay there, I start to think that maybe Cap has a point about how I tend to go out and attempt to get myself killed. I should look into that.

# CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

"Rylae? Damnit, Rylae! You're not allowed to be dead! Please don't be dead!"

I open my eyes to see Saeralyn kneeling next to me in the office. "I'm not dead. It doesn't even hurt that bad anymore. I just can't really do much with an arrow sticking out of my shoulder like that."

She bends down to the floor and kisses me. "You're not allowed to scare me like that ever again! What happened?"

I give her the story of how I saved her ass from the patrol, was shot in the shoulder, then had to kill the three guards when I stumbled. She still looks concerned, so I tell her where the fight happened and that the dead guards aren't likely to be found for awhile, if anyone even notices they're missing.

She _still_ looks concerned, which causes me to sigh. "Yes, I know I screwed up, okay? I'm sorry. Quit giving me the stink-eye."

Her expression changes to anger. "Stop that! You didn't screw up! You probably saved my life again! And got shot with an arrow while doing it! I shouldn't have let you get shot! I'm a horrible girlfriend!"

I roll my eyes. "Fine. Whatever. If you're done yelling at me about how you don't have to yell at me, can you do anything for this arrow that's obviously still in me?"

She takes a breath and looks at me. "I remember from first-aid training that taking an arrow out of a wound can be bad. It could rip the skin or make the wound bleed more. I should take you to the hospital."

I shake my head. "If I go to the hospital with an arrow wound, Mother's going to want an explanation. Can we do anything else? I checked, and it's not a barbed-tip arrow, so it shouldn't rip skin when it comes out. Maybe we can just stop the bleeding and _then_ go to the hospital? Tell them I fell on a rock or something?"

As I watch her think, I see something flash in her orange eyes. She focuses back on me. "I'm going to try something. If it doesn't work, we can use a shirt to try to stop the bleeding while we get to the hospital, but it's a long walk back to the landcraft. If it bleeds a lot, we could be in a lot of trouble."

I nod. "Do it."

I feel sharp pains as she pokes at the wound, looking at it. "This is going to hurt." I feel a stabbing, ripping pain. "Sorry, I had to cut the skin again to get the arrow out." I can feel the shaft of the arrow as she moves it around in the wound. "Sorry again, but it doesn't seem to be stuck. I think I can get it out." She twists and moves the arrow gently, and I can feel the head of the arrow pulling back against the meat and skin. It occasionally causes a ripping pain and seems to get stuck, but Saeralyn stops and twists it around at those times to free it up.

After about a minute, I feel it pop free and gasp with the pain, which immediately changes as Saeralyn brings her hand down flat on the wound. I bite my lip to stop from crying out. Her hand starts getting incredibly hot, and I gasp again at that new pain. As I do, she pulls her hand back. "Sorry! Too much. Trying again."

This time, instead of her whole hand, I feel just a finger touch the edge of the wound. It burns, and I bite my lip. She moves her finger down the wound, leaving a burning trail behind it. After a few seconds, she takes her hand away. The pain slowly dissipates, eventually leaving me with only a dull burning sensation in that spot.

I roll over and sit up to face her. "Did you just burn me?"

She nods and tries to speak, stumbling over the words. "Another thing I learned in first-aid. You can cauterize a bleeding wound with fire. I make fire. It seemed like it would work. It doesn't look very pretty, but it worked. We can get you to the hospital now."

I move my arm and it feels okay aside from a little soreness. "So it's not bleeding now? That's good. When did you learn first-aid?"

She shrugs as she puts her pack together. "It was one of the classes I took with the self-defense fighting when we were younger. And I learned more when I started working, just in case I was on a job and needed to do something. I haven't had to use it much, though. And it's the first time I've ever done that with my fire. But I was scared and I had to try."

I crawl over to her and kiss her cheek. "Thank you for trying."

She nods and finishes packing. We climb down the tree, which only hurts a little bit, then start the hike back to the landcraft. When we get to the spot with the dead guards, I stop and ask Saeralyn to get my original notes from her pack. She digs them out and hands them to me. I check my comments about guard features and compare them to the dead bodies, then compare those to my notes about which guards are under which command.

Satisfied, I turn to hand the parchment back to Saeralyn. "I think these three belong to the male commander, so they might not even be missed. Even if they are, I doubt he'll send any of his guards out this far to look for them. Probably just think they deserted and forget about them."

Saeralyn is crouched over the elf with the bow, looking at him angrily. After a second, she pulls an arrow from his quiver and walks back to her pack, taking the notes from me as she goes. She puts them both in her pack and shrugs it back onto her shoulders. Without any comment, she continues walking back to the landcraft.

I look from her to the dead elf and back for a second before jogging to catch up. "What was that all about?"

She shrugs. "Bastard shot the girl I love. I wanted a souvenir to remind me of that."

I grab her arm to stop her and turn her toward me. "So you're not mad at me anymore?"

She wraps her arms around me in a tight hug, which hurts a little but I don't care. "You got shot protecting me! I'm sorry I was _ever_ mad at you! I love you and I'm sorry!"

We hold each other tight for a minute before I push her away and look at her. "I love you too. But we still need to get my shoulder checked."

She rolls her eyes with a chuckle, then turns and starts walking again. "There's that damn work ethic again. Fine! Let's go then, boss!" I giggle as I follow her.

During the ride to the hospital, she gives me the details of her scouting. She heard the blastfruit explosions and figured that was some kind of warning from me, so she opened the window and climbed through, hiding somewhere on the inside. When she finally started scouting, she realized she was in a residential cabin with multiple rooms – a temporary place for agents to live between jobs.

Satisfied that she had the building scouted, she came to find me as soon as she could sneak through the patrols, which wasn't very long. There's still a lot of night left, which is fine with me. I want to get my shoulder checked, get something to eat, and go to sleep for a day and a half.

Every few minutes, she makes me turn so she can check my shoulder. Every time she's satisfied that it hasn't changed or started bleeding or fallen off, she kisses me. I want to tell her to quit worrying about it so much, but I can't deny that her concern makes me kinda happy.

We get to the hospital and walk in, going to the clinic on the second level. The clinic looks a lot like the hospital ward on-ship, with a lot of chairs and some desks where caregivers sit. There's only a few elves sitting and waiting, so it's not long before a male caregiver in a blue uniform comes to us. I explain that I fell on a sharp rock while hiking and my girlfriend burned the wound closed.

The caregiver nods and takes me to an area with a hanging curtain. Saeralyn follows. Once inside, he pulls the curtain. "This won't take more than a couple minutes. Please remove your shirt and lay on the table."

As I do, Saeralyn's voice surprises me. "Can you explain to me what you're doing as you do it? I've never done a healing spell before, and I'm curious."

He chuckles. "From the look of the wound, you can do fire pretty well, though. Sure, I'll walk you through it. This is a simple one anyway."

He explains the spell to her as he puts his hands over my wound. I feel a cool spot appear on my skin, and the soreness immediately disappears. The cool spot feels like it pulses a few times, then settles farther into my shoulder so I can feel it down to the bone. The spot sits there for a few minutes, then disappears.

I feel his hand touch my shoulder. "You can put your shirt back on. You'll have a little scar from the burning. I couldn't do anything about that. But the rest of the wound is cleaned and healed. You shouldn't have any pain from it anymore."

I sit up and flex my shoulder, and it feels good. I reach out to shake his hand before I realize I still don't have a shirt on. Grabbing it, I pull it on quickly _then_ reach my hand back out to shake his. "Thank you. What's your name?"

He chuckles as he shakes it. "Neladan Cromlond. And I need yours as well, for the records."

I grin. "Rylae Westiel. A pleasure to meet you, Caregiver Cromlond."

"You as well, Miss..." he stumbles as he realizes my last name. "Miss Westiel."

That causes me to chuckle. "Yes, _that_ Westiel. I do appreciate your help, Caregiver Cromlond, and I will be sure to mention it to Mother. Thank you, sir."

To his credit, he smiles as he pulls the curtain aside. "Happy to provide my service, Miss Westiel. Have a good night."

Saeralyn and I walk back to the landcraft and get in. When we start moving, she takes another look at my shoulder. "It does look at lot better, but there is a little scar there. A thin red line. When he was explaining it to me, he said there might be, because I used magical fire. Sorry about that."

Turning, I grab her face in my hands and kiss her. "Don't be sorry. I took an arrow for you, and you had to burn me to save me. We're even. It's a reminder of the day we saved each other. I like it."

She wraps me in a hug. "Thank you. I still feel like I owe you a lot. You've saved my ass multiple times, you've protected me, you've helped me when you didn't have to, and today you got shot for me. How am I supposed to repay all of that?"

I chuckle in her ear. "Did you mean it when you said you love me?"

"Of course!"

"Then we're okay. You don't owe me anything. Except, maybe we need to actually have a talk about some relationship things now."

She squeezes tighter. "We can do that."

# CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Saeralyn decides that we've done enough scouting and gives a final update to Melisand, giving him the exact day of the assault to pass along to the contractors in Melithas. Every few days, she disappears to quickly go out and scout by herself for changes, but nothing seems different. As far as she can tell, the elves I killed were never found and never missed.

Checking my messages gives me something to do for one day, but it's not much. The final tournament match was, in fact, Sen against Vanwen, with Sen defeating the bookish science elf. If the odds never changed, then I won back all the credits I lost on my bets for Zaxn and Tanna, basically breaking even. I'm okay with that....and Cap owes me a hundred credits for our side bet, so I actually come out ahead!

Cap replied and said that Gimmir was sad that he can't bring his friends, but the six senior officers will be here on the next trip, putting them on-world a week before the assault. I'm excited to see them, but I still don't know what we'll do with Tanna yet. I'm going to have to sit her down for a talk and find out what she's thinking. Maybe she already has some kind of plan for herself, even though she has no details about our assault.

I spend some time outside practicing with weapons when no one's home, but otherwise fill the remaining time reading stories, going shopping, spending time with my parents, and other vacation-type things. It's nice to relax for awhile, especially knowing my vacation is quickly coming to a close. I try not to spend any of it thinking about what's going to happen after that.

Eventually, the time disappears and the Terra-Tairngire is scheduled to dock again. Spring is quickly disappearing into summer, so I decide to wear one of the new short-sleeved dark blue shirts that Saeralyn bought for me, along with a pair of jeans. Saeralyn wears a simple dark green shirt and a pair of short black pants which stop at her knees, along with her backpack. We take my borrowed landcraft to the storage area near the docking pad, where I check it in with the attendant and tell him that we'll need to change to a couple larger ones when we return from picking up other UCST personnel.

Once that's sorted, Saeralyn and I walk hand-in-hand to the docking area reserved for the Terra-Tairngire. It's not here yet, so we stand back near the tree line to stay out of the way. I turn my head to her with a grin. "Promise you're not going to get all jealous and mad when Tanna runs at me for hugs?"

She shrugs, pointedly not looking at me. "Of course I'll get jealous. If she's as hot as you described her to be, then I'm going to want to hug her, too."

I release her hand to playfully punch her in the arm. "You're lucky you need your eyes for your job, or I'd poke them out so you can't look at her!"

She shrugs again. "Then I'd just have to feel my way around."

I punch her again and pretend to be mad, but it's only a few seconds before I start laughing, which finally brings out the smile she's been hiding. I hug her arm tight as we wait, then direct her attention to the sky when I see the Terra-Tairngire dropping from it.

It's been awhile since I've watched a ship dock, since I'm normally inside it at the time or busy elsewhere when other ships are docking, but I saw plenty of docking maneuvers in Academy and it generally looks the same every time. An Ugly Dirt Box appears in the sky, surrounded by the light-green Bubble, starting as a small spot but growing quickly as it drops toward the ground. A few meters from the ground, it comes to a complete stop, giving Ground Control time to estimate the remaining distance. Eventually, the bubble-surrounded ship slowly lowers to the ground with a soft thump. Another minute passes before the bubble blinks out of existence, leaving just the ship behind.

A couple minutes after docking, a large folk-mover landcraft drives up, coming to a stop near us to pick up the passengers. It has a staircase attached to the back of it, which the elf driver removes and pushes up to the ship. We wait for another few minutes more before the bay door at the back opens and Commander Rubyhewer comes out. I walk up to her and salute. It takes her a second to recognize me before she returns the salute. As we salute, I notice her insignia changed.

"Captain Rubyhewer! Congratulations!" A second after I say that, I realize the deeper meaning behind that. "Oh. Dragons be damned. I guess that means Captain Direclaw wasn't able to retake command after his hospital time?"

She shakes her head sadly. "Unfortunately not. The Captain died about a week ago. He was a really old goblin, after all. I'm happy that I was able to get the Terra-Tairngire, but I'm going to miss the grumpy old bastard who used to be in charge of her."

I smile as I reach out and pat her on the shoulder. "You're the right dwarf for the job. If you weren't, I'm sure Captain Direclaw wouldn't have kept you around. He went through officers like candy! He'll be missed, but I'm glad to see you with her now."

She nods, smiling. "Thank you, Commander. And thank you for turning down her command so I could have her. I appreciate that." She salutes again, which I return, and walks away to the staircase. I take a few steps back to Saeralyn to wait for my team to come out.

As expected, Lada is the first one to walk out of the door. What isn't expected is the light blue dress she's wearing. I never expected Lada to wear dresses. She's never really seemed to me to be girly enough to wear a dress. I watch her as she checks the perimeter, seeing us and the landcraft, then motions behind her for everyone else to follow as she walks down the stairs.

Gimmir follows her out, with Simon right behind him. They're both in UCST shirts and jeans, but even out of uniform they look like two folk you just don't want to get on the wrong side of. None of the three are dragging bags with them, so I'm assuming they have larger bags or crates inside the bay door. My guess is confirmed when all three of them turn to the back of the ship as they touch the ground.

Sen and Zaxn follow behind them, chatting with each other. I'm glad to see they've reconciled and are getting along again. Zaxn's dressed like Gimmir and Simon in a UCST shirt, but Sen's wearing a white blouse with short sleeves and a black ankle-length skirt. She's another one I've never seen out of uniform, and I'm a bit surprised. I expected her to be a little more evil-looking, somehow.

Tanna steps out next, and I hear Saeralyn choke a bit when she sees her. I can't really blame her for it, since Tanna's wearing that pink corset top and short skirt combo she loves to flaunt her body with. I still poke Saeralyn in the ribs, though. She doesn't have to get _that_ excited about it!

They get to the bottom of the stairs as Gimmir and Simon come back around with a float unit carrying a couple crates with bags stacked on top. Lada follows them out, waving to the crew inside the ship as she does. As they get closer to the landcraft, the elf driver steps over to help them attach the float unit to the back.

I tug Saeralyn's hand and walk us closer to the group, who stop and salute when I get closer. That's unexpected, but I stop and salute back, then take Saeralyn's hand again. "Welcome to Tir Tairngire. This is Saeralyn Gwalindiel, my girlfriend and leader of the party you were invited to. We'll give you more details later on. For now, let's get you all to the quarters I've already set up for you."

They nod as I wave them to the landcraft, naming them for Saeralyn so she knows who's who. Tanna comes over to us, though, looking Saeralyn over. "Did you say girlfriend? As in, well... girlfriend?"

I giggle a little bit. "That's what I said. I've told you about Saeralyn before. We've sorted everything out and we're together now."

She looks us over again and seems to come to a conclusion as she turns and picks me up in a hug. "I'm so happy! It's about time you ended up with someone! I never gave up hope, but I was getting tired of constantly trying to find you a man everywhere we docked!"

I chuckle at that as she lets me go and turns to Saeralyn. "And you!" She sweeps Saeralyn up in a tight hug, too. "You be good to my friend Rylae! She deserves all the good things!"

I cough as I touch Tanna's arm. "Um. Excuse me, Commander Aldamiel, but could you please take your breasts off of my girlfriend?"

She gasps and lets go. "I'm so sorry!"

At that, Saeralyn chuckles. "I'm not. Not sorry at all."

I smack Saeralyn's arm as I grab Tanna in another hug. "I'm just messing with you, girl! Let's go."

We climb into the landcraft to sit with the others. Once all the passengers are on, the driver climbs in and takes us to the landcraft storage area. I get off quickly and lead everyone over to the attendant, who gives me key charms and points to two larger landcraft. Gimmir and Simon remove the float unit from the back and push it over to us to unload into the vehicles.

Once everything's loaded, we take the landcraft to the quarters building, which is a short ride. I flash my UCST card to the quartermaster, and we go through the routine of establishing everyone's identity and assigning them quarters. Saeralyn seems surprised when I get one as well, but I just nod to her and give her a look that I hope she understands is telling her that we'll talk about it in a minute.

The quarters building is six levels, with room for sixty occupants total. Most of the rooms we're using are scattered across the levels, with only two of them next to each other. Lada and Gimmir ask if they can have those, and everyone agrees without wanting to ask any questions. Carrying the crates and bags to rooms takes a bit, but it's generally not a difficult task. Once everyone has their quarters, I tell them to meet me and Saeralyn in my quarters in five minutes, leaving them to walk to ours.

Our quarters is the only one of our group on the top level. I open the door with the code I was given, pull Saeralyn inside, then push the door shut until it seals.

She sits on the bed and looks at me. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why do we have a room here?"

I smile as I sit next to her. "Because we need a planning location. We can't use the house because of Mother and Father. With my officers here, it made sense to have a room here as well."

She sneaks her hand under the back of my shirt. "Is that the only reason?"

I giggle and turn to smack her hand. "Right now, yes, it is! We only have a few minutes before they get here, so keep your hands to yourself!"

The door chimes at just that second, proving my point. I give her a smug look as I open the door. Tanna walks in, followed quickly by everyone else. I wave them to the bed and chairs to sit wherever they want. As I do, I wave Saeralyn to stand with me.

Once everyone's sitting and the door's closed, Gimmir looks at me. "Alright. Ya got us out here with the promise of a party like we had on Stenchstone, but didn't want me to bring my elites. We'll get to the rest, but I'm guessin' there's a reason why ya have to be sneaky and secretive, so I'd like to start there."

I nod. "That's fair. The attack has to be a surprise. We know messages can be compromised, and we think the contractor we're going to assault might have a searching spell designed to read messages. That's why we couldn't give you any details before now. We also figure he'd notice two squads of heavily-armed elites boarding a small message ship, and that didn't seem like a good idea."

Gimmir looks between me and Saeralyn, then turns to Simon. Simon turns from him to look at us, then turns back to Gimmir and nods. Gimmir accepts that with a sigh. "Blasted contractors. I understand now. Not entirely happy to be mixed up in contractor business, ya understand, but I'm assumin' there's a good reason. Let's have that next, if ya don't mind."

I turn to Saeralyn and watch her eyes narrow as she looks at Gimmir. "Revenge for having my parents murdered seventy years ago."

Gimmir looks back to Simon, and they share a matching grin and a nod before he turns back and gives us a thumbs-up gesture with both hands. "Revenge is a good reason! We're in! Just had to make sure it was worth dealin' with a contractor."

I cock my head to the side. "You know contractors?"

Gimmir nods. "Yep. Elves ain't the only ones with 'em! There's five dwarf contractors on Halyer. Goblins got their warlords, which ain't much different but are a damn sight nastier and much more obvious about it. More of 'em, too, but they kill each other more often." Simon nods in agreement.

Saeralyn shrugs. "I didn't know that. I assumed, since I was always bouncing around between worlds for jobs, that maybe we were the only ones."

Gimmir looks a bit smug about knowing something we didn't. I'll let him have this one. "Ok. Saeralyn's going to go over the basic details of the plan. She's in charge of everything on the assault, and we've already talked about ways to use each of you, but please offer up any suggestions you have."

With that, Saeralyn starts into the top-level details. She immediately has the attention of the dwarves and goblins, but I notice Tanna's eyes bouncing back and forth between us. I walk over and squat next to the chair she's sitting on, talking quietly. "Hey. You okay?"

She nods and replies quietly. "Yeah. Just trying to learn what's going on so I can find out what your plans are for us."

I put my hand on her knee. "Tanna, I love you, but I know you don't fight. I was surprised you were even in the light tag tournament! Why did you come?"

She sighs. "I was worried about you and I want to help. Cap read the message to us and we knew you were in something dangerous. I don't know how I can help, but I wanted to make sure you're okay."

I give her a hug. "I'm okay, but thank you for worrying! We'll figure out how you can help, if you want to, but I also understand if you don't want to. Ok?"

She nods and we turn back to listen to Saeralyn. She finishes describing the forces at the compound and gives brief details on the force she's getting from the other contractors. As she gets to the end of that, she looks pointedly at the group in front of her. "Some of those agents are good and worth the money, but Rylae's told me about each of your skills, and you're each better in a lot of ways. That means you're worth the money as well. I want to pay each of you 250,000 credits for the job."

My jaw drops. We never talked about that! And that's a _lot_ of money! Everyone in the rooms looks at each other, then turns and looks at me squatting next to Tanna. As they do, I hear Saeralyn start laughing. I just shrug, holding my hands up. "I didn't know anything about that! I thought you guys would just be bored and want to come play with us for awhile!"

Simon's the first one to reply. "I was. But, if the offer's legitimate, I'm not going to turn it down."

Saeralyn's laughter drops to a chuckle. "That's why I want to pay you all. You weren't helping for the money. You came to help Rylae. That makes you worth more to me than the agents I hired. It's only fair that I show you how much that means to me. The offer's absolutely legitimate. Rylae can vouch for my finances."

Tanna drops her head to my ear and whispers, "So she's a beautiful elf with money that listens to you and trusts your friends? I guess I trained you right after all!"

It takes every ounce of my effort to keep myself from laughing.

# CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

For the next few days, the group splits off into two groups. The three skilled fighters – Gimmir, Simon and Lada – sit down with Saeralyn's map and notes and work up a much more detailed plan of attack. The three adepts – Tanna, Sen and Zaxn – take Saeralyn aside and try to give her some basic pointers about being an adept. I end up bouncing between the two groups.

The fighters pull together a good workable plan in just a couple of days. Considering Saeralyn's desire to keep from destroying everything and everyone, they decide that the main force is simply to be a distraction that allows me and Saeralyn to sneak into the castle and take out the Supervisor. Simon suggests we keep her idea to have the assassin eliminate the guard commanders early, which should cause chaos that can be used to force surrenders. Saeralyn gets excited when she hears the details, and offers to buy them all drinks if it works. The negotiations then shift to how much drink and what kinds to buy for the victory party.

Simon takes me aside and shows me what they brought in the crates. Each one of the six of them has a set of leather armor and appropriate weapons. Extra spellshooters sit at the bottom. We decide that we can share them with some of the hired agents, since none of the guards appeared to have any. It gives us a tremendous advantage. I also notice a familiar non-existent box in the crate, but Simon doesn't mention it since we've already both agreed that it doesn't exist.

The adepts work surprisingly hard with Saeralyn. When Sen learns about how she closed my wounded shoulder with her fire, and when Zaxn learns about how she blasted the goblins on Firefork, the two argue about whether to push her to healing or destruction. It's fun to watch Zaxn arguing with other folk these days, but especially with Sen. The nerdy goblin boy from before never would have done that!

While they're arguing, Tanna steps in and starts giving Saeralyn some basic mana manipulation techniques that they use in Engineering. She masters those so quickly that the three adepts are stunned. They huddle for a bit, then come back to her with a training plan that will bring her up on both healing and destruction spells in a short time, while also giving her a lot of fundamentals so she can do more on her own. She hugs all of them, which seems to confuse Sen a bit but puts a nice grin on Zaxn's face, then digs into the training.

Father calls on the third day after their arrival, insisting that I bring everyone to the house for dinner. He doesn't have school, so he wants to spend the entire day cooking. Everyone in the group immediately accepts. When we arrive, I can smell the venison steaks from the door. In the kitchen I also find a large pot of rabbit stew, bowls full of seasoned vegetables, at least eight different wines and a keg of ale. Father must have really wanted to host a party!

Mother is super happy to see both Tanna and Sen and starts talking with them non-stop. Sen seems like a different goblin around the woman who trained her to be a caregiver, and it's funny to watch. Lada breaks rank from the boys and wanders over to their girl group to chat. Simon and Gimmir both jump in to help Father with the cooking, and Zaxn hangs around the edge of their group watching and chatting.

Within just a few minutes, Saeralyn and I are alone while all of the officers from my ship are completely entertained with my parents. I watch them in a stunned silence for a bit, which is broken when Saeralyn puts an arm around me and leans in closer. "No wonder you like to work on that ship. You have good folk here, and they care about you. I'm incredibly proud of my girlfriend right now. Well done, babe." She kisses my ear and turns back to watch the gathering.

Her words make me smile for a bit, but I eventually remember what we're going to do in a few days. There's a chance of someone getting hurt in any fight, and this one's going to have five good friends, one best friend, and one girlfriend in it. I trust all of them, but it scares me a little.

At one point, Gimmir loudly announces that he needs to use the tree in the washroom, which makes everyone laugh, but not quite as loudly as we do when he comes back out and is completely astonished to have found modern equipment in an elf house. Later on, Lada goes into the washroom without announcing it, but has the same astonished look Gimmir was wearing earlier when she comes out. Stopping in the middle of the room, she looks around and says, "It's true, fellas. I saw it myself. Modern elves! It's not a myth!" That gets everyone laughing again.

We take our dinner outside to the gazebo, which has enough room for all of us to stand around and use the mesh barrier as a type of table. We eat, chat, joke around, and have a really good time. Tanna and Sen offer to do the cleaning, which Mother gladly accepts. With two adepts of their skills working together, it doesn't surprise me when they come back out after less than five minutes, and I'm sure the kitchen is spotless.

Once dinner is finished and everything is cleaned out except the wine and ale, Father starts telling a story about an old war between the dwarves and elves. He tells it from a neutral perspective which keeps his entire audience occupied – although I'm sure he's adding some of the more evil bits specifically for the goblins. I'm spending my time with a glass of wine when I feel a tapping on my shoulder.

I turn to see Tanna giving me a look which tells me she wants to talk, so I follow her into the house and take her up to my bedroom. We sit on the edge of my bed, turned slightly so we can face each other, our knees slightly touching. She takes a drink from the glass of wine she carried with her, then sets it on the floor and looks at me.

"Your parents don't know about Saeralyn and the contractors, do they?"

The question catches me completely off-guard. Of all the things I could have thought of Tanna needing to talk about, that wasn't even close to anything on the list of options. I open my mouth to say something, then close it again as I realize I don't really know what to say. She looks at me, waiting for an answer, so I decide to talk it out as I think about it.

"I don't think they do, but they surprise me sometimes. I didn't think they knew about us dating when we were younger, but they did. They know Saeralyn's parents left her a lot of money with no idea of where it came from, and they know Saeralyn goes off-world for work. They know a lot of things, and they may have a suspicion, but neither of us has ever told them specifically that she's a cleaner for a contractor and has been since she found out her parents were the best cleaners in the business."

She nods and takes another drink. I guess she was expecting an answer like that. I wait and watch her as she thinks through what she wants to say next. After a few seconds, she looks at me with a serious expression.

"How did you get involved in this? Are you trying to protect your parents? Are they in danger?"

I shake my head. "I've been down that path already. There's no connection between Saeralyn and my family that the contractors know about. Her parents made sure of that and she's kept it that way. Mother and Father are safe. That's not why I'm doing this."

I stop, taking a breath and a sip of wine from my glass before continuing. "I'm involved because Saeralyn needs my help. It's always been that simple. Ever since we were little, I've protected her. Even now, when she's a professional thief and assassin, she still needs my help and my protection. So, I'm protecting her again. I'm involved because she needs me, and because I love her. I always have."

She nods again and looks away. I've seen this from her before and can tell she's thinking about something important, so I leave her to it for a few minutes. Finally, she turns back to me, looking sad.

"I know why Lada, Sir Fights-a-lot and Sergeant Shoots-at-stuff are involved. They want to fight, and they're bored being docked for so long. They feel useless and see an opportunity to have some fun with this. I even know why Sen and Zaxn are here. Zaxn flat out told us during the flight over that he wants to help you for helping him get revenge for his father. Sen feels good after winning the tournament and wants to get out some more of her particular style of aggression.

"But, really, all of us came because we trust you and we want to help you. It's one of those things about you that will make you a great captain soon. You're not just my boss. You're my best friend and my sister and I love you dearly. So, please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think I can help you with this. If it had been for you or your parents, I'd have been right there for you. But it's Saeralyn's fight, and you've made it your fight... but I can't make it mine. I'm sorry."

I reach over and grab her in a big hug. "I would never take that the wrong way! I completely understand! The fact that you came at all is more than enough for me! I'd never be mad at you for telling me honestly that you can't stand behind my choice. I'd be madder at myself if you followed me into something and regretted it, or if something happened to you when you didn't want to be there to begin with!"

She sighs and hugs me back. "Thanks, Rylae. I was worried you'd be mad at me."

That makes me hug her tighter. "Never! I'm sure I can still find you work to do while you're here, though, so don't think this gets you out of everything!"

She laughs. "Thanks, boss. I'm sure I appreciate that."

We hold each other for awhile, only stopping when the door opens and I hear Saeralyn's voice from the doorway. "Well, damn. Any chance I can get in on some of that?"

I roll my eyes, give Tanna another quick squeeze, then let her go. Turning to my girlfriend, I give her a nasty look. "Do you have to ruin every important moment between two friends? Or just the ones I'm involved in?"

She pointedly looks at Tanna's breasts, then back at me. "I think there were a _couple_ important moments between you, and I'd ruin them in an instant."

I don't laugh, but Tanna does, although it doesn't sound like she really finds the comment funny. Still chuckling oddly, she stands up and walks to Saeralyn at the door, standing as close as possible without touching her. Dropping her voice, she speaks to Saeralyn. I can't see her face, but I can still hear her. "You bring Rylae back alive and unharmed, and I'll let you see them. Hell, I'll let you put your face in them." Her voice takes on a dangerous tone as she continues, "But, if anything happens to her during your quest for revenge, I'll kill you in your sleep. That girl is my sister, and she loves you. Don't abuse that, or I'll abuse you."

She turns to me, smiles and waves, then pushes past Saeralyn and leaves the room. Saeralyn looks at me, stunned. I shrug and turn away from her. "You completely deserved that, and you know it."

I hear her sigh behind me. "Yeah, I know. And she's right, too. I know you can take care of yourself, and I know you've protected me a lot of times over the years, but I'm still scared to take you into this one with me. I already got you shot once. If anything else happens to you, she won't have to wait until I'm asleep. I'll just stand there and let her do whatever she has to. I'm going to have to pay special attention to you to be sure nothing bad happens."

I stand up and walk over to her, poking my finger at her chest. "Simon taught me a very simple way to sort things like this out on missions, so pay attention. Saeralyn's job is to complete the mission. Rylae's job is to protect Saeralyn and make sure Saeralyn can complete the mission. It is _not_ Saeralyn's job to protect Rylae. Understood?"

She looks like she's about to argue, but instead snaps into an attention posture with her back straight and her heels together. "Yes, Ma'am."

I poke her in the chest a final time. "Good. This may be your fight, but if I have to take charge to make sure it gets done, then that's what I'll do. None of it is worth anything if you do something against the goal of the mission."

My anger wears off and I lean into her chest. She wraps her arms around me and kisses the top of my head. "I get it. I'm still going to worry, but I get it. You know what you're doing, and I'll follow your directions."

"Good. Now, let's go back down to our guests. We can talk more about this later."

I take her hand and lead her back outside, where everyone looks to be relaxing and chatting quietly. We join the group for a while longer before the late hour brings everything to a close. Mother and Father wish everyone goodnight and see us all to the door.

As the group starts to get into the landcraft, Saeralyn walks up to Tanna and taps her shoulder to get her attention. When she turns, Saeralyn holds out her hand with a serious look on her face. It only takes Tanna a second to realize Saeralyn's intent, and she smiles before wrapping the fire-haired elf in a huge hug. After a second, she lets go and climbs into the landcraft. The senior officers roll away, leaving me and Saeralyn standing and watching.

When they're out of sight, my girlfriend turns to me with a grin. "I think she likes me." She chuckles as I punch her in the arm and walk inside.

# CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The agents from the Melithas contractors arrive the day before the planned assault. We meet up with them at a vacant house in the western part of Corsari which is apparently regularly used for this purpose. All of the senior officers come with us (except for Tanna, who's staying with my parents) so we can perform introductions and get everyone up-to-speed on the plan for tomorrow morning.

A total of twelve fighters arrive, with one commander who introduces himself as Emmyth. Although the fighters technically belong to two different contractors, they all seem to follow Emmyth's 'suggestions', making him the de-facto leader of the group. This must be the top-tier fighter Saeralyn was expecting.

When we introduce the fighters to Gimmir, Simon and Lada, things get interesting for a couple minutes. Gimmir and Emmyth silently walk toward each other. No words are exchanged as they stare at each other. After a minute, Simon walks up behind Gimmir. He also says nothing, but looks at Emmyth's fighters instead of Emmyth. Lada doesn't walk over, but catches Emmyth's eye when he looks at her. A few seconds later, Emmyth salutes. Gimmir salutes back, and everything appears settled.

The infiltration expert is a rather attractive blonde man named Maeral. I really, really, _really_ want to ask him if his main skill is infiltrating the pants of female elves, but I don't. This whole 'having a girlfriend now' thing really cuts into my flirting. Maybe I'll have Tanna ask, if she gets to meet him. Maeral hangs back, seemingly more interested in protecting the girl next to him than being friendly with our group.

The assassin is a cute little girl named Tishani. She doesn't look older than 80 and is only a few centimeters taller than a dwarf. Her slight frame makes _me_ look full-figured, and her face is adorable with dark green eyes and wavy pink hair. When she sees Saeralyn, she runs over for hugs, with Maeral following behind slowly. Saeralyn has told me they've worked multiple jobs together over the years. The tiny innocent-looking Tishani is incredibly skilled and no one ever suspects her to be an assassin.

The other top-tier agent is a tall elf wearing a flowing white blouse, long blue slacks, a brown belt with a rapier attached to it, a pair of brown boots, a blue cape (yes, a _cape_!),and a large brown hat on his long white hair. He walks over to me, drops to a low bow and removes his hat from his head with a dramatic flourish. "M'lady. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hope I perform admirably and meet whatever standards for greatness you have for me."

Saeralyn sees this, walks away from Tishani to come over to us, and literally kicks the elf in his ass as he's bowing there. "Volo, quit bowing to my girlfriend. Rylae, don't believe a thing this cad tells you. Not a single word. I don't think he's ever told the truth in his entire life."

He stands and turns to her, looking sad. "Saeralyn, my love, I'm sorry you feel that way. I apologize for affronting your..." He trails off as she walks past him to me, not even listening to him.

She points between us. "Rylae, this is Volodan. He's an expert con artist, thief and 'swashbuckling swordsman', whatever the hell that means. Volo, this is Commander Rylae Westiel of the UCST ship Corsari. She's my girlfriend and my second-in-command for this job. You _won't_ attempt to woo her, and _will_ listen when she tells you something. Got that, you flouncy cad?"

He starts to bow to her, but the look on her face stops him. Coughing to cover his embarrassment, he smiles. "Indeed. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Rylae. I look forward to working with you. Any friend of Saeralyn's..."

He trails off again as he watches Saeralyn walk away, then shrugs and shakes his head slowly as he drops his act. "Tough crowd. She's never understood me, and I've never understood why." He looks back at me with an appraising eye, glances back at Saeralyn, then turns to me and winks. "Well, maybe _now_ I understand why." I chuckle at him and smile. I can't help it. He's completely ridiculous, but also extremely likable.

Once the introductions are made, Saeralyn leads everyone into the house. Earlier, after we verified the house was still vacant, we brought in supplies for tons of sandwiches and set out some drinks. Everyone grabs something to eat from the kitchen and moves to the sitting room, where lots of couches and chairs are set up to accommodate the group. Saeralyn turns to an easel she borrowed from her art shop and points to a piece of canvas on which she's copied over the details from her map.

"The plan is simple. The first phase starts tonight, while the late shift guards are on patrol and the commanders are sleeping. Maeral will create a path into the guard barracks for Tishani, who will eliminate the three guard commanders."

As she says this, I pass a piece of parchment to Tishani containing the details and features of each of the commanders. Tishani looks it over, nods to me, then nods and smiles at Saeralyn. Saeralyn nods back. "Once complete, they will reconvene with the fighters for a status update before the next phase.

"The fighters will enter the clearing from the south at daybreak. The late shift guard patrols will have reconvened by the barracks and the day shift guards will be just waking up. The entire area is vulnerable. Major Giantbasher will lead the fighters, with Emmyth as his secondary." Gimmir and Emmyth exchange a glance and a nod.

Saeralyn looks at Sen, Zaxn and Volo. "During the frontal assault, Zaxn will be creating walls of fire to discourage agents in the other buildings from interfering. Volo will be assisting as his backup agent. Sen will be performing the duty of combat medic. If anyone takes a hit, yell for Sen. She promises not to hurt you more, unless she really feels like it." Saeralyn smiles at Sen, who smiles back with her evilest grin.

"We do _not_ want to destroy the lives of the agents if at all possible, but you are of course permitted to defend yourselves against any aggressive agents. Phase two's purpose is to confuse, frighten, intimidate, cause chaos and accept surrenders. Your goal is to provide an opening for phase three – me, with Rylae as my backup agent. We will infiltrate the main residence of the Supervisor and eliminate him. Once eliminated, we will attempt to stop the fighting."

She looks around the room. "That's the overview of the job. The dwarves and goblins in the room have been here longer and have the details already for each of their sections. Elves, connect with the agents in your assigned areas to gather more details. Please bring any questions to me or Rylae."

With that, the folk in the room break off into their groups and start discussing their own details. Saeralyn and I start to take some seats near the easel when we're interrupted by a tiny elf girl running up to us with a very attractive yet silent male elf protector following behind.

Saeralyn sits in a chair and scoops Tishani up into the chair next to her. "Are you okay with your assignment, pretty girl?"

Tishani giggles and smiles. She just seems so childlike! Until she speaks, that is. Her voice is melodious, but her comments are very much those of a professional. "Absolutely. This Red-band guy looks to be the worst, and I'll target him first, but I want your opinion on which of the other two is the most important to target second, in case there are any interruptions. The useless male seems the most aggressive, but the friendly female could be dangerous if her guards are more coordinated. On the other hand, she also seems to be somewhat nice and might be a valuable asset to leave alive."

Saeralyn giggles at the comments and runs a hand through Tishani's hair. "I guess Rylae made some damn good notes after all, if you got all that from just that one sheet of parchment." She turns to me. "You were the one scouting them. What's your opinion?"

My mind halts as I realize what they're asking me. They want me to determine, based only on what I saw, in which order the two commanders should be killed. I try to come to a solution, but I can't bring my mind to calculate it. I don't really want to have _anyone_ assassinated! If only there was a way to just keep them... completely... out of the battle... for like two days. I smile as the answer comes to me.

"I think you're right that Red-band is dangerous. As much as I don't like saying it, he probably won't be much of an asset worth keeping around. The other two, though... I don't feel comfortable killing them. I just don't. Instead, if I gave you some darts coated with sleeping poison, could you use those on the other commanders?"

Saeralyn smiles at me, apparently pleased with my answer, but it's Tishani's reaction that blows me away. Her eyes fly open at the mention of my darts and she jumps off her chair to run over to me. "You have _sleep_ _darts_? Those are _so rare_! Where did you get them? How many do you have? Those would be _perfect_! I don't really want to kill the female. She seems nice. And the male just seems useless. If that was a reason to kill him, then I'd have to kill most males, and that would make Maeral sad."

I shake my head as a laugh at her. "I'm not actually sure how many I have. I have a box of them, but I've never counted them. I don't know where I got it, though. I found it one day and I've used a few of them myself. I can give you a couple for the job and maybe a couple more if you want them."

She laughs and jumps up in my lap to hug me. "You're my best new friend ever! I can use the sleep darts on the two commanders after I eliminate Red-band. That'll be perfect! Thank you!"

I give her a hug back as Maeral watches me. I feel like he's making sure I don't stab something into the girl's back. Maybe he is. It's just difficult to reconcile how delicious he looks with how silent he is and how easily he'd probably kill me if I do anything bad to Tishani. I wonder what the story is with them.

She jumps off my lap and I take her to a room on the second level which we're using as a makeshift armory. We moved in the crates Gimmir and Simon brought with them and separated everything out for easier access. I find the box where I put it – inside the wardrobe where no one would look for it – and move it to a desk where Tishani sits next to me, her complete attention focused on the box of darts.

Maeral and Saeralyn watch from just inside the doorway as I open the box and count out the darts. There are still 32 darts in the box. I think about how many I've used and have on my belt, and realize I must have started with 40. That's more than enough to share a few of them. I count out eight darts, then close the box and push it aside.

Tishani's eyes grow to the size of lakes as I slide them over to her. She stares at them for a bit, then looks at me like she's afraid I'm going to take them away. I chuckle and nod while gesturing to them with my hand, causing her to squeal in delight and hug me again. As I hug her back, I notice Maeral pull a small pouch from his belt, which he sets on the desk next to us. Tishani sees it and slowly places the darts inside, grinning and giggling the whole time.

The smile on Saeralyn's face as she watches this entire exchange is priceless. I need to remember to ask her later to tell me more about Tishani and Maeral. I didn't expect to actually meet other likable agents during this mission. I figured Saeralyn was an anomaly. But Tishani and Volo are nothing at all like I expected, and I like them quite a bit.

With her new darts in the pouch, Tishani hugs me again. "Thank you, Rylae! These are the best gift ever!" She pulls away and her expression looks thoughtful. "I wonder if I can just use one of them on the two commanders, even if it lowers the potency of the poison to cause the second target to sleep less. Maybe I should try it."

I look at her and shake my head. "I can see why you want to try, but it's better if we're certain they're both asleep." I reach into the box and pull out another dart, sliding it across the desk. "I'd rather give you another dart so you don't feel bad about using two of yours for the job. Now you're using one of yours and one of mine. Is that okay?"

She grins and wraps her arms around my neck. "You give the best presents! I promise to use two darts during the job. Thank you!" She releases me, collects her extra dart, lovingly places it in the pouch, then runs off to the portal with Maeral following behind.

Saeralyn laughs as she watches them go. "That girl is something else entirely. I'm so glad to work with her again!"

I chuckle. "Yeah, she's fun. Exactly how old is she? I can't really figure it out. She looks young and is so bouncy and happy, but she talks with the seriousness of a professional who's been doing this forever."

She turns slightly and looks at me from the side of her eyes. "Ask me later. I don't want her to know I'm giving away her secrets. You won't believe me when I tell you anyway."

That's an interesting answer. I take the box to the wardrobe, hide it inside, then walk over to Saeralyn, pressing up against her back while wrapping my arms around her. "I'm just surprised to see how much you like her. I'm surprised that I like her too."

She grabs my hands, pulls them to her mouth and kisses my fingers. "I think a lot about my contractors and agents would surprise you. If we live through this tomorrow, maybe we'll find some time to let me tell you about them. I want you to know more about the world I live and work in."

I grin against her shoulder. "I'd like that."

# CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

We wait until a few hours after nightfall to take all of our landcraft to the forestry management building. It was one thing to hide one standard landcraft there, but there's no way we're going to be able to hide the larger folk-movers that we have now. I'm not really comfortable with the idea, but Saeralyn says she took care of it and I shouldn't worry. I'm still trying to figure out how when we get to the building and it's completely deserted. Not a single landcraft at the location. I wonder how she pulled that off.

The fighters are armored with black leather and carrying swords, pikes, and bows. Emmyth wears a bandolier of daggers across his chest along with two short swords at his sides. Gimmir and Lada each carry a double-bladed battleaxe and spellshooter, while Simon has a small arsenal of sword, flail, mace, and spellshooter attached to his belt.

Zaxn and Sen are both wearing black leather and each carrying a single spellshooter. They walk together, with Zaxn watching in all directions. Volo follows behind him in his blue-and-brown 'swashbuckling swordsman' outfit, which is apparently made of stitched leather and doubles as armor. He looks silly but is obviously not hindered by it at all. He moves like a cat, light on his feet and prepared to strike at any time.

The four unarmored elves lead the group, with Saeralyn and I at the front and Tishani with Maeral following behind, all of us in black. Saeralyn has her pack on her back with her sais while I have my weapon belt. Tishani has a small belt with multiple pouches, but no visible weapons. Maeral has multiple daggers strapped to his chest and pouches full of tools on his belt.

We walk through the forest quietly, but the two dwarves keep it from being anywhere near silent. The elf agents keep looking at Lada and Gimmir like they're going to bring the whole forest crashing down on us, but no one asks them to try to move more quietly. Saeralyn slides up next to me with a smile and whispers in my ear, "And he says there are dwarf contractors on Halyer. I don't think I believe him anymore." I laugh silently.

We get to the area by the office and Saeralyn brings us to a stop. With a whisper to Maeral and Emmyth, she passes along the information of where we are, how far in what direction the compound is, and how far away the patrol routes start. They pass the information back through the other agents while I take the information to my officers.

Once everyone understands where we are, we get comfortable as Maeral and Tishani disappear into the trees. Saeralyn and I go up to the office, where we can look down at the group and talk quietly about our plan for the castle. I sit close to her and lay my head on her shoulder.

She puts her arm around me. "Nervous?"

I shrug. "A little. This is different from anything I've helped you with before."

I feel her kiss the top of my head where it rests on her shoulder. "I know. I owe you big for this one. I seem to keep owing you for a lot of things."

I shrug again. "So what exactly is our plan?"

"Well... we sneak into the castle, find our way around, find the insufferable prick's office, then kill him."

I sit up and look at her. "That's the whole plan?"

She shrugs with a smile on her face. "I didn't scout the castle, so I can't tell you what it looks like inside. We'll have to figure it out as we go. But that's okay. I'm good at figuring things out as I go."

I shake my head and sigh. "I love you, but that does nothing at all for my nervousness."

She leans in to kiss me. "Trust me. It'll be fine. You watch the back and sides, and I'll get us in and through the building."

With nothing more to say, we sit in silence while waiting for Tishani and Maeral to return. Almost two hours pass before a tapping sound on the wooden planks of the office gets our attention. We turn to see Tishani's head just over the side. Once she sees us notice her, she swarms the rest of the way up and sits in front of us.

Saeralyn smiles while speaking quietly. "Welcome back, pretty girl. What's the status?"

Her dark green eyes flash in the darkness as she smiles back. "Red-band is eliminated. He even wears the band when he sleeps. It wasn't difficult to find him at all. It was clean, so no one will realize he's not just sleeping. The other two commanders..." She giggles a bit. "Apparently they're sleeping together, so they were also easy to find. Two sleep darts at the same time made that easy. After I stuck them, I shook each of them and they didn't wake. I love my new presents!"

I chuckle at her quietly as Saeralyn leans over to hug her tight. "Good job, little one. Thank you for your help. You two are done if you want to go back to the house." When they finish hugging, Tishani turns and hugs me tightly, then disappears over the side of the platform as she goes back down the tree.

Saeralyn takes a deep breath and smiles at me. "That means we're up. Let's go."

We leave the tree and go to Gimmir and Emmyth, letting them know we're leaving. They confirm their readiness and plan to be there at daybreak, so we leave them to it. I follow Saeralyn quietly through the forest, passing into the patrol route area after a few minutes.

On the way, we have to twice duck behind some trees to avoid a patrol. The night shift guards are better at their jobs, but are still complacent enough to chat with each other while they walk. Both times we hear their voices with plenty of time to hide before they get to us, then wait until their voices fade away before we leave again.

We come to the edge of the clearing near the last building Saeralyn scouted before I was shot – the residential building. The castle is farther into the clearing with a fair amount of open space between here and there, but instead of aiming right for it, Saeralyn slides to the side and against the wall of the residential building.

I give her a questioning look as I slide up next to her, and she makes some gestures toward the window that I take to mean she wants to check something in here first before we move to the castle. I nod and look around as she pulls a slim tool from a pouch on the side of her pack and slides it into space around the window. She makes a few quick movements, then puts the tool away and pushes the window open, slipping inside quietly. I check around a final time before climbing through the window behind her.

The room we're in is dark, but looks like a very well-furnished bedroom. I follow Saeralyn slowly from room to room as we sneak into every bedroom on this level, finding no one in any of them. We go to the portal up to the second level, and sneak into each bedroom. A female elf is asleep in one of the rooms, and Saeralyn makes a motion toward her as she passes. I sneak up to the sleeping elf, pull a dart and stick her with it. She doesn't move, and should stay down for awhile now. I leave the used dart on the table beside the bed, hopefully as a notice to anyone who finds her that she isn't dead.

We take the portal to the top level, and I understand why Saeralyn wanted to check in here first. The top level only has one bedroom that takes up the entire space. Opening the door quietly, Saeralyn slides into the room while I follow. The room has one gigantic bed in the center, with two naked female elves asleep on it. We walk along the wall to the washroom, which she checks quickly before turning to me and shaking her head.

I follow her to the bed, and she gestures for me to go around. Once I'm on the other side, she points to the female closest to me and jabs with her finger. I take another sleep dart and poke the elf with it, making sure she stays asleep. Another gesture tells me to come back to Saeralyn's side, so I do.

After a few seconds, Saeralyn reaches out to the other female and gently runs her fingers down the girl's arm, then up her side. Her arm twitches, and a small smile appears on her face, but she doesn't wake. Saeralyn moves her hand to slide up the girl's front, just barely touching her breasts, then back down to her stomach. The girl's smile grows as starts to wake, turning over and opening her eyes. Saeralyn moves her hand to the girls mouth and lays her fingers on it, keeping her quiet when she finally realizes we're not who she was expecting us to be.

Saeralyn leans closer to her. "We're not going to hurt you, I promise. You know who we're looking for. If he's not here, where is he? In the main building?" The girl nods. "Does he have another bedroom there, or is he in his office?" The girl shakes her head at the bedroom, then nods at the office. "Which level is the office on?" The girl holds up three fingers. "Does he have any bodyguards?" The girl holds up four fingers. "Thank you. I will talk with you again when you wake up." With her other hand, she gestures to me, and I stick the girl with another sleep dart. The girl blinks, then her eyes drop closed and her breathing gets heavy again.

I walk over to Saeralyn and whisper in her ear. "Four guards, but I only have three darts left."

She shrugs and whispers back. "That's okay. I expect to have to kill the guards unless we get lucky."

I follow her out of the room, then whisper to her as we reach the portal. "Did you have to run your hand all over her?"

She turns to me and grins, but says nothing as she walks through the portal. I follow her through and back to the window we used to enter the residence building. Checking outside, she opens the window and climbs out. I quickly follow, crouching near her behind the building.

She looks around the corner while I check around us. None of the guards seem to be anywhere nearby, which is good. These late shift guards actually patrol properly, so I don't have to worry about one randomly showing up to relieve himself or sit behind the building to chew tobacco. Unfortunately for them, they patrol _so properly_ that walking through their coverage is pretty easy, too.

I feel Saeralyn's hand touch my knee, so I turn to look at her. She gestures with a closed fist, then points around the corner, then three fingers. I accept that to mean "hold here and wait, because there are three guards around the corner". I nod that I understand and go back to checking our sides. Saeralyn's gestures are much easier to understand than the random shrugs and head movements we make in command, likely because the context is so much more specific here than in a meeting room.

It feels like forever before Saeralyn touches me again and gestures with an open hand movement that tells me the way is clear. She leans around the corner and taps her fingers against her heel, telling me to stay close. I touch her back to let her know I understand, and she takes off. I jog closely behind her as we move through the open clearing for a few seconds, checking our sides as best I can.

We reach the back of the main building and duck behind some barrels stored here. If not for the barrels, we'd be completely exposed to the entire north area of the clearing. We watch as a few groups of guards pass through the north area on their patrols, but none of them notice us or even look in our direction. I let out a sigh of relief when they pass, which Saeralyn must have heard. She lays a hand on my shoulder and smiles at me.

I notice the sky starting to get lighter and point Saeralyn's attention to it. She looks, nods, and starts checking her side of the wall for a way in. I look up and down the wall, but there don't seem to be any windows on the bottom level. That's smart, if you're on the proper side of that security decision, but seems like it makes things more difficult for us.

There is a door, however, very close to my side of the barrels. Not quite close enough to reach without breaking cover, but close. I look between the door and the barrels for a second before looking closer at the barrels. Eventually, I find some residue around the seam at the top of one barrel and sniff it.

It smells exactly like the oils from a salted fish, telling me exactly what these barrels are used for. A fish barrel would be kept far enough outside of a kitchen to stop any smells from entering the building. I tap Saeralyn on the shoulder and point to the residue, then to my nose. She sniffs it, then looks at me. I point to the door to my side and watch as she understands my meaning and a smile crosses her face. She nods and we switch spaces behind the barrels so she's closer to the door.

She can't reach the door from the barrels, so she points at my spellshooter, then at the north area. I pull the weapon and slide over to her space to keep watch as she darts out to the door and pulls tools from a different pouch on the side of her pack. A patrol walks by at a distance, but doesn't look in our direction at all while Saeralyn works on the door. A few seconds after they pass to the side, I see Saeralyn pop the door open and wave me over. I move over quickly, ducking inside the room as Saeralyn comes in behind me and shuts the door.

# CHAPTER THIRTY

The kitchen has a few lights active, so we quickly duck behind some counters as we look around. Twice the size of the one at home, the kitchen is very metallic where it's not pure white. Four elves move back and forth, obviously preparing food. They're not talking to each other, but are making a bit of noise with their pans and utensils which we can use to cover any noise we might make.

Saeralyn pops her head up and around the counter to get a layout of the room, then points out directions to the door she wants to take. She slides out from behind the counter and crouch-walks slowly across the floor. I follow her, keeping an eye on the elves cooking. When we reach the door, she looks out into the hallway, then slips out with me on her heels.

We're in a dark room which seems to be both a dining room and a conference room. Two long tables with nice chairs are parallel to each other, with a third table connecting them both at one end. The third table only has one chair, which is much nicer than the others and obviously for the Supervisor to feel superior even during meals. There are windows on the opposite side, letting us see out into the clearing. The sunlight is getting stronger, so the attack should be starting soon.

There's only one door at the side of the room. We move toward it and stand against the side of the wall. Saeralyn slowly opens it inward and looks out. She makes some gestures telling me there are two guards outside and to the right, which I'm thinking must be the front door. She gestures two more elves on the left, but not as firmly as she pointed out the guards. Those might be workers or something.

After another minute of looking, she silently closes the door and turns to me. "The portal wall must be on the left. I can't get a good look at it past the walls. We might be exposed if we make a run for it."

Just then, a commotion happens outside. Saeralyn cracks open the door again as I move quickly to a window. Looking out carefully, I see Gimmir and Lada at the front of the group of elves stomping loudly into the clearing. He gestures to an elf at his side who fires a lightning ball at a group of guards. Just then, I see a wall of fire appear behind the attackers, blocking them in the clearing. That should easily scare some guards who realize the attackers are so confident that they basically blocked themselves in.

The guards don't seem to be putting up any kind of defense yet, likely because of both the changing shifts and the missing guard commanders. I see a few elves running around, but no one seems to be attacking. Gimmir has the elf fire off another lightning ball, but the attackers are advancing slowly instead of pressing their advantage.

Having seen enough, I run back over to the door and whisper in Saeralyn's ear. "That's our cue."

She nods, opens the door more and ducks out to the left. I follow her, noticing the elf guards at the door looking outside and not anywhere in our direction. She jogs around a corner, and we bump into the two elves she pointed out earlier. They're definitely not guards. We each grab one around the shoulders as I pull a sleep dart and jab the one in my arms. When he drops, I pull another dart and jab the other one. We drag them behind a corner and continue across the area, eventually coming to a portal wall. Tapping the charm three times, the portal opens. She looks through it, then taps the charm to close it again.

"Two guards, about ten meters down. Leads straight to a door. Guards are looking at the portal. They would have noticed it open. Prepare."

We each stand on one side of the portal wall and wait. Saeralyn pulls her sais, holding them with her fingers tight around the crosspiece and the center spike extending from her fist. I grab my parrying dagger and spellshooter. It only takes a few seconds before the portal opens and a guard steps through. Saeralyn wraps her right arm through the guard's left arm and pulls him close, stabbing with her left-hand sai.

As soon as the portal is clear, I lean into it and spot the second guard still by the door. I jump through the portal and run down the hallway, firing the spellshooter at his midsection. The spike hits him hard, sticking halfway through his leather armor. He's surprised enough that he doesn't have a chance to pull a weapon or defend against me as I reach him and stab him in the neck. He gurgles and drops to the floor.

I turn to see Saeralyn jog up to me, blood on her sais. I wipe my dagger on my pants and stand at the side of the door. Saeralyn stands at the other side and we look at each other as we hear a male voice yelling from behind the door. "What the hell is happening out there? Limion! Naradol!"

I get Saeralyn's attention and point my dagger at the body near my feet. "He's calling for his guards. I don't think we should disappoint him." Saeralyn opens the door and steps inside as I follow.

A male elf, maybe around 200 years old, sits at a desk looking through some papers. I step to the side and aim my spellshooter at him as Saeralyn walks up to the desk. "Supervisor, it appears you're being attacked."

He shakes his head. "Impossible. Tathanion's fighters would take care of it. Whatever is _actually_ happening out there, go down there and stop it!"

She slams a bloody sai on top of his papers. "I believe I said you're being attacked, you insufferable prick."

That finally gets his attention and he looks up at Saeralyn. His eyes narrow. "Who in the Holy Names of the Dragons are you?" Great. He's a Dragon Purist on top of being an insufferable prick. Or maybe the two are directly related by cause and effect. Either way, I'm not happy to make his acquaintance.

She leans across the desk and presses her other sai against his throat. "Saeralyn Gwalindiel."

He actually has the nerve to laugh. "Gwalindiel? The little brat of those two..."

He stops with a gurgle as she pushes the point of the sai into his neck. "I think I've heard enough. This isn't an adventure story. I'm not here to listen to the villain talk. I'm here to kill him. Goodbye, Supervisor. I win."

She pushes the sai further, crawling up onto the desk to cross it as she pushes him back in his chair. She continues to push until she crosses the desk and knocks his chair backwards to the floor with the sai stuck in his neck. His eyes dart around as he realizes he has no way out. Saralyn crouches down over his chest and slowly presses the other sai up under his chin toward the top of his head. After a final push, he stops moving entirely.

She removes the sais and wipes them off on his shirt. "It's done."

I walk over to her, still covering the door. "Good. You're in charge now, contractor, so get out there and stop the fighting. I recommend the code name Fire Demon."

She nods, then stops. "What?"

I shake my head. "Melisand gave me the hints before he asked me where contractors come from. When you then told me their stories, I understood. Eagle-Eye killed his contractor to get his job. You just somewhat did the same thing. You're the contractor now. These folk are yours. Stop them."

She nods again. "I know that much. I'm surprised you figured it out. Well, I guess I'm not _really_ that surprised. But... 'Fire Demon'?"

I shrug and chuckle. "I'm assuming you don't want to be The Supervisor again, so what's better than 'Fire Demon'?"

She grins. "I like it. Fire Demon it is. Help me carry this insufferable prick's body to the front door. Be careful of the guards at the door. They should surrender immediately, but might not."

We each grab an arm of The Supervisor and walk to the portal. Opening the portal, we step through it, turning to the front door. The two guards are watching the door carefully, so I pull my spellshooter and fire a spike at the center of the door. It sticks hard in the wood and gets the attention of both elves. They turn and reach for weapons before they see the dead body between us. Looking back at each other, they nod, pull their weapons, and lay them on the floor before taking three steps away from the weapons and the door.

We finish the walk to the door. Saeralyn pulls it open and we step out into the daylight. Three steps from the house, the two guards from inside come out and sit on the ground outside of the door. Saeralyn releases the body, so I do as well allowing it to fall to the ground.

No one has noticed us yet. I glance to Saeralyn as she looks at her hands, then raises them with her palms toward the sky. Orange flame flickers along her fingers for a second before a huge blast of fire leaves her hands and shoots into the sky.

I look around as I notice the sounds around the clearing totally cease. All folk in the area stop and turn in our direction. I turn to look back at Saeralyn as she brings her hands down in front of her, flames still flickering on her fingers and a glint in her orange eyes.

"The Supervisor is dead! This compound now belongs to Fire Demon! All agents will lay down their weapons and surrender!"

A brief moment of silence spreads across the clearing before every elf in the area that we didn't bring with us drops their weapons and sits on the ground, surrendering. I take the opportunity to jog over to Gimmir. By the time I get there, though, he and Emmyth are already directing the fighters to round up the surrendered fighters and clear the buildings. I quickly tell them about the three elves in the residential building and the two workers in the main building which I stuck with sleep darts. I also remind them of the guard commanders that Tishani put to sleep instead of killing.

Looking around more, I see Sen tending to a couple elves against a wall so I jog over to her. "How are things over here?"

Sen chuckles. "I haven't had to remove any limbs, Commander. No one on our side is dead. These two just took some arrows from that elf over there." She points at an elf lying on the ground in the middle of a bloody mess near a dropped bow and arrows. I look back at her questioningly, and she shrugs. "He wasn't expecting me to put up a shield and crush his head with a particularly nasty light tag ball. I thought it would be funny to kill him with a toy from a children's game."

I shake my head slowly. "I don't know why I'm surprised. I shouldn't be, but I am. Good job, Caregiver. I can see I was right to bet on you for the tournament."

She grins. "I heard Cap cursing when I kicked Pincushion's ass and found out about your side bet. I can't believe that old dwarf idiot would bet against me. Aelon said you were one of the few who bet on me to win, too. I figured coming to help you was a good way to thank you for that."

I laugh, clap her on the shoulder, then look around for 'Pincushion'. I notice Volo's cape before anything else, so I jog over to see him sitting on a bench and chatting with Zaxn like they weren't surrounded by a group of surrendered guards in the middle of a battle. Volo gestures wildly as he speaks. "You have to understand, my friend, that women appreciate an outgoing personality! They appreciate a rugged handsomeness combined with a sense of style and flair as you rescue them from the clutches of evil!"

I shake my head as I sit down with them. "Zaxn, buddy, a close friend of mine told me not to listen to a single word from this... what did Saeralyn call you, Volo? Oh, right! 'Flouncy cad!' Additionally, as a woman, I can tell you he's kilometers from the mark of what women appreciate."

Volo looks affronted. "Miss Rylae! I'm insulted by your callous comments! Besides, you have experience with an entirely different type of woman than the kind my good friend Zaxn is looking for!"

Zaxn laughs at that. "I think he has a mistaken view of Sen. Seems to think she's wholesome or something."

Volo shakes his head. "That beautiful caregiver is a healer! She appreciates the finer things in a man!"

I lay my hand on Volo's. "She crushed an archer's head with a light tag ball because she thought it was funny. Sorry, friend, but you're kilometers away and going in the wrong direction!" He stammers for a second but has absolutely no reply, which makes me laugh.

"Besides, I think Zaxn will do just fine when he gets back home. I think he should ask his mother's sister about the new ambassador on Stenchstone." Turning to Zaxn, I wink at him. "Tell Rosa I recommended you. She'll at least add you to her list."

Zaxn blushes a bit and looks at the ground, a hint of the nerdy goblin boy coming back. I pat him on the shoulder as I get up. "By the way, nice work with the fire walls today. I saw them from inside, and they were glorious. And thanks for taking care of him, Volo. Good job."

Zaxn thanks me softly while Volo stands and performs a sweeping bow to me. I chuckle as I walk back to the main group.

Saeralyn is talking with Emmyth and Gimmir when I get to them. "I think we should be fine with our initial plan, Emmyth. Four days should be more than enough."

I step up next to her. "Four days?"

She nods and looks at me. "I knew I'd need some of my own folk here to help keep things in line during the transition. Emmyth's fighters are staying for another four days to keep an eye on things. It's still less time than if they had to travel off-world, so he's trying to negotiate more."

Emmyth shrugs. "It's always worth the effort to try. If you'll excuse me, I'll check on my fighters. I believe your medic was working with a couple of them."

I nod. "She is, and they're doing fine. Sen told me there were no losses on our side."

Saeralyn smiles. "That's excellent news! Go ahead, Emmyth. You know what needs to be done." He nods as he walks away, and Saeralyn turns back to Gimmir. "Major, you have my sincere thanks. Your plan was brilliant and worked perfectly. You're welcome to stay here, or Rylae can show you back to the landcraft so you can go back to your UCST quarters. Whichever you prefer."

He salutes her. "Thank ya, ma'am. It was fun. I'm glad ya needed our help. I think Simon, Lada and I might head on back and do some drinkin', if ya don't mind. But we still have a few days before the ship comes back, and maybe we might just miss that one and stay here for another round. Either way, we'll stop back by to see how yer doin' with everythin'."

She shakes his hand. "Thank you, Major. Per our agreement, I already had drinks sent to your quarters to find when you get there." He grins as he gives her hand a final shake. When he turns to me, I gesture with my head to have him leave me alone with Saeralyn for a minute, so he walks away.

She smiles and walks up to me, placing her hands on my waist. "Couldn't have done it without your help, babe. I avenged my parents because of you." She kisses me, and I lose track of time before she pulls away. "Take your folk home, then come back out here. I have a lot of work to do, and could really use your help with it. If you want to, that is."

I smile and kiss her again. "Of course I want to. I'll see you in a few hours."

I turn around and start to walk away, running directly into Lada who was standing just a few steps behind me. As I start to apologize, I see her grinning at me. My eyebrows rise questioningly and she chuckles. "You two are so cute! All that after-battle kissing! I'm gonna tell Tanna all about it!"

I laugh as we walk around to collect the rest of the officers.

# CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

While dropping off my officers at the quarters building, I check Tanna's quarters. She's not here, so she must still be with Mother and Father. My communicator is still in my room at the house along with my clothes, so I decide to just go over there. When the landcraft pulls up, I notice three others are already here, so Mother and Father must both be here along with Tanna. I get out, walk to the door, and go inside. Hearing voices from the kitchen, I walk in to see what's going on.

It's not until I step into the kitchen that I remember I'm still wearing my weapon belt and my black clothes have noticeable streaks of blood on them from where I wiped off my dagger. It's a little too late to worry about, though, as my parents and Tanna all turn to look at me.

No one says anything for a second, then Father nods and turns back to the women sitting across from him. "I told you she's not dead. Are you two done worrying now?"

Mother and Tanna both look like they want to jump up and hug me, but neither of them do. They just sit and stare at me. It's quite uncomfortable, but not nearly as uncomfortable as realizing that Father just basically said that they know where I was and what I was doing. With a sigh, I walk over to the table and sit next to Father.

A few more seconds of silence pass before Mother looks at me and asks one word, "Saeralyn?"

I nod. "We won. She's fine. None of our folk were hurt."

She nods and releases a slow sigh, but says nothing else. We sit quietly at the table for a few minutes before I can't take the silence anymore and have to know what they know. I look over at Tanna. "So, what did you tell them?"

She shakes her head. "I didn't tell them anything. They already knew. Well, they didn't know about the attack, but they guessed it when I came here without you."

I shake my head slowly. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. My parents seem to know a lot of things they never told me they knew."

Father chuckles. "Of course we do. We knew Saeralyn's parents. They wouldn't have trusted us with their daughter if we didn't. They trusted us to know what they did for a living. But that's not exactly something you can easily share with children. We were surprised when Saeralyn started working, and don't know exactly how you two found out about it, but we knew what she was doing."

Mother nods. "When she came to stay here a couple months ago, we knew she was in something, but we didn't know what. When you showed up and started spending more time with her, we were happy because we knew you two would be together while doing whatever she was doing. Once Tanna and the rest of your officers showed up... that's when we knew something big was going to happen."

I just shake my head. "I'm starting to wonder if you just _let me_ win all those puzzle games when I was younger."

Father chuckles again. "You're good, daughter, but remember where you get that intelligence from. Your parents are a highly-respected teacher and a hospital's Chief Caregiver. We're not dumb, you know. We just trusted you both to manage yourselves."

Mother nods. "We've spent plenty of time worrying, but we've trusted you. So, now you can trust us and tell us exactly what's going on. What happened today? Tanna wouldn't tell us."

I give them the whole story, starting as far back as when we met the Old Gray Mare and found out about Saeralyn's parents, and continuing through her mission for revenge against the Supervisor. I tell them as much about today's attack as I feel they need to know, skipping over some of the uglier details, and ending with Saeralyn's takeover of the compound.

When I finish, Father's the first one to speak. "So she's a contractor now? That's interesting. I wonder how many children she's going to try to get in my classes."

That makes me laugh. "Of course the first thing you'd worry about is her accepting jobs to put students in Mister Westiel's history classes! I'm going to tell her to charge a lot for it and accept every offer!"

He shrugs and takes another drink from his glass. We sit in silence again for a bit, which is broken when I yawn. The long night and battle are starting to catch up to me. I push away from the table and stand as they all look at me.

"I'm sorry I never trusted you two with everything. I thought I was protecting you from the truth, and I won't make that mistake again. Tanna, thank you for staying with them. Everyone else is back at the quarters building if you want to go over there. I'm going to go get cleaned and get some sleep if no one has a problem with that."

I get hugs from everyone, then go up to my room to grab some clothes before cleaning myself.

««»»

I wake in the early evening, thinking about the conversation earlier with Mother and Father. I'm not happy with the way things went. I never would have held back that kind of information from Cap or my officers. I've had to be secretive a few times based on the situation, but I've never purposely pretended that something wasn't happening in hopes that they wouldn't be affected by it.

As I grab my weapon belt and communicator, I have the painful thought that I haven't been the only one withholding information from my parents. Saeralyn hasn't told them anything, either. Even worse, some of the comments she made after she killed The Supervisor make me think that they weren't the only ones she's been withholding information from.

I stop in the kitchen to pick up some fruit to eat, then walk to my landcraft to head back to the compound. Mine is the only landcraft here, so I assume my parents are working and Tanna's at her quarters, which is okay with me. I think I need to find some answers to my new questions.

I realize I don't actually know a direct route to the compound, so I put in the directions to the forestry building. I try to clear my head as I ride, but I don't have a lot of success with it. I don't want to jump to conclusions without more information, but I'm not entirely satisfied with the direction my puzzle pieces seem to be leading me in.

The more I think about what she said after the battle, and how she acted during the battle, the more I feel that she lied to me, by omission if not directly. She knew that killing The Supervisor would give her control of his compound. She knew the agents would surrender as soon as The Supervisor was killed. She had already planned for the rented fighters to stay for a few days to help sort everything out. She knew she was going to be a contractor, but she never told me that was part of her plan. Even Melisand wasn't able to tell me, because she didn't change enough of his instructions to allow it.

Even worse are the other details which came up since my arrival. She has the ability to get me personally involved in her jobs, but never gives me all the information. Her request moved my ship to Firefork, where she knew I'd help her but she kept avoiding details. She came back to the Westiel home knowing I'd immediately show up to find out why, then she wrote and hid a letter to me specifically to get me involved.

As the landcraft comes to a stop at the forestry building, I get out and start my walk through the forest with a feeling that I can't shake. I feel like I've been used. That feeling, of course, leads me to question everything about our relationship since we restarted it. Was everything that happened between us simply part of her plan to use me?

I come to the office and climb up to take a good look at it. The boards are perfectly cut and laid across the branches to make a perch. There are no gaps between them. Sitting on the boards, I look out across the forest toward the compound. I can't see anything through the trees, and I know it's a six-minute slow walk to the patrol line, but it's not actually that far away.

When that patrol chased me through the trees, I couldn't have been running for more than a couple minutes and I ended up way past here. I know the guards in this compound are terrible, but why wasn't it found after Saeralyn was caught scouting? If they found her, and she ran, they would have searched the forest for her. They were supposedly able to find her at her house based on a brief description of a 'fire-haired adept' but they never found this well-designed tree perch?

As I'm thinking that, a half-finished sentence comes back to me. The Supervisor was an idiot, so it's no surprise he wouldn't have recognized her with shorter hair, but he didn't recognize her name at all as belonging to anyone except 'the little brat of those two' popular cleaners. For one, if she had really been found at this compound earlier this year, and would have been attacked by his agents, wouldn't he have remembered that? For another, Melisand said she's a popular agent who gets lots of requests from clients that used to use her parents. _Everyone_ in the business knows the Gwalindiel name.

Things aren't adding up, and the less they do, the more hurt I feel. Earlier I felt she was just lying by omission. Now I think she's just plain lying to me.

I climb down from the tree and slowly make my way through the forest. When I come to the patrol line, I instinctively look around, but I don't see or hear anyone patrolling. I continue in as straight a line as possible to the edge of the clearing. When I get there, I come upon a pair of guards that I recognize as rented fighters from Melithas. They pull their swords when they see me, but put them away and step aside to let me pass when they recognize me. I quickly salute them as I keep walking.

I'm not really walking with any particular purpose, so I'm surprised when the first building I come upon is the guard barracks. Two more of the rented fighters are guarding the door. They don't pull weapons when I approach, but look at me questioningly. I stop in front of them and look at the door. They trip over themselves to open it for me, stepping out of the way so I can pass by.

I'm not sure why I walk in. I think my feet must have decided something before I was consciously aware of it. Once I'm inside, I see Emmyth sitting at a table, looking at the two sleeping guard commanders. I walk up and sit down next to him, startling him.

"Miss Westiel. Is there something I can help you with?"

I look around the room. The guards are all in their beds sleeping, eating, or chatting quietly. This doesn't appear anything like a captured enemy unit.

"Emmyth. Is Saeralyn still at the compound?"

I see him nod from the corner of my vision. "She's currently asleep in the master bedroom."

My thoughts briefly go to the naked elves that were up there when we arrived, and I start to get angrier before I remember that both of them will still be asleep for more than a day. Just like those two. I gesture my head toward the sleeping commanders. "Do you know them?"

His head shakes at my side. "Not personally. The Supervisor's agents rarely worked with the rest of us. I just recognize how easily they could have been killed during this job, but you made sure they weren't. That seems to be a common theme with a _lot_ of agents who could have been killed on this job."

I continue looking at the room as I speak. "Can you tell me exactly what you were hired to do? What were the terms of the job, and what were your expectations?"

I see him turn to look at the side of my face. After a second, he nods. "I think I can share that information with you. You and your officers were a huge value to our team, and the Major specifically told me that they were working for _you_ , not for Miss Gwalin... Fire Demon."

I turn to face him as he continues. "We were specifically hired to lead an assault against The Supervisor, with the intent to place Saeralyn Gwalindiel in his place. My contractor, Dreamcatcher, had a request submitted for fifteen fighters, including a fighter captain." He points to himself as he says this.

"I knew additional fighters were requested from Eagle-Eye and I was to be their captain as well. Our job was to hold off the guard at the compound while The Supervisor was assassinated. Acceptable losses on our side were expected, but your officers helped us avoid that. After the elimination of the target by the assassins, we are to stay for four days to assist in the transition of the agents and assets to the new contractor. As we expected at least fifty percent losses, we were not intended to be more than a token show of force for the transition."

He chuckles softly. "Then again, it's not like even a 'token' show of force is really required during a transition. Everyone knows the agents are loyal to the paycheck, not the contractor. Once The Supervisor was killed, surrender was the unwritten rule. If Dreamcatcher was killed while I was on-duty, I'd immediately drop my sword and sit down. That's just the way things work around here. Sacrificing yourself for the job is one thing, but dying after there's no one left to pay you is pointless."

I cock my head. "You were expecting _fifty percent_ _losses_? Is that why Dreamcatcher didn't send the entire promised force?"

He shrugs with a sad smile. "Dreamcatcher is a ruthless planner, but she doesn't take unnecessary risks. Honestly, she had no faith in Miss Gwalindiel's ability to take the compound with the force she requested from both her and Eagle-Eye. If not for your team, I don't think any of my fighters would have survived. Dreamcatcher knew that."

He chuckles softly again. "She'll receive my report when I return, and I'll be sure to mention the work of your officers. The Major and his woman are two dangerous dwarves, and I wouldn't want to meet the Master Sergeant in a dark alleyway if I had a full platoon of fighters with me. I wouldn't be surprised if she wants to contact them directly. They'd be excellent agents."

I nod. "I'll pass that praise along. They're some of the best folk I know, and quite dangerous." I'm replying, but my mind is filtering and processing all the details he just gave me about the job. 'If not for your team,' he said. Why am I flashing back to Firefork?

I spend a few more seconds processing the information in silence, then ask one final question. "Emmyth, did Saeralyn specifically request for you to join the assault?"

He nods. "Yes. I've worked with her before on previous jobs. Contractors are competitive, but there is a lot of sub-contracted work which goes around. If one contractor takes a job that requires a top-tier fighter and they don't have one, they'll hire from another contractor and a lot of those requests are for a specific agent. I've been a backup agent and bodyguard for Miss Gwalindiel a handful of times." He chuckles softly. "I believe she specifically requested everyone who joined this job, except Volo. I don't think anyone ever really expects Volo until he shows up."

I nod and smile. I think that fills in enough of the holes in my mind to see everything more clearly. "Thank you, Emmyth. I appreciate your help with my questions, and I'm glad to see you have everything under control here. It's been a pleasure to work with you."

I stand, and he stands with me to shake my hand. "Likewise, Miss Westiel. May we never meet on opposite sides of a contract."

I shake his hand and leave the barracks, heading to the residential building.

# CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

I've watched Saeralyn sleep many times over the last few weeks. Some nights I watched her with lust. Some nights I watched her with love. Some nights I watched her with sadness at all the time we spent apart. Some nights I watched her with happiness at all the time we still had to spend together.

This is the first time I've watched her with anger and confusion.

After about ten minutes, I realize that I don't really want to talk to her. I don't want to ask her the questions that I think I already know the answers to. I don't want to give her the opportunity to look at me, tell me she loves me, and once again skip around the truth. I slowly leave the room and quietly close the door behind me.

As I walk away from the door, I realize that was probably the last time I would watch her sleep.

I leave the residential building and go to the 'castle'. The guards at the door again recognize me and let me in, up to the third level and into Fire Demon's office. The desk has been cleared and someone ran a cleaning spell to take care of any blood from the assassination and the guard I killed outside the door, but the room otherwise hasn't changed from when I was last in here this morning.

I sit in the chair behind the desk, and it's a really nice chair. Definitely the kind of chair an insufferable prick would use at his desk. I fish around in the drawers to find a pen and piece of clean parchment and set them on the desk. Staring at them for a few minutes doesn't make the letter write itself, so I pick up the pen and start writing.

"Fire Demon,

"I regretfully resign from your service, as partner and team leader, effective immediately. I remind you of the payment promised to members of my assault team and request that you manage the delivery of the payment at your earliest convenience.

"I ask that you please retain your current family clerk in an advisor position within your new organization. He has been a valued member of your family since he worked for your parents and should be treated as such. You may use any payment in my name to secure his future employment.

"I wish you the best in your future work.

"Sincerely,

"Commander Rylae Westiel, UCST"

As far as resignation letters go, it's easily the best one I've written. Technically, it's also the _only_ one I've written, but I've read quite a few from crew members so it's not exactly new to me. I tap the pen against the corner of the parchment while I think for a minute, leaving a small mark on it, then flip it over to the blank side and start writing again.

"Saeralyn,

"I have so many questions to ask, but I think I already know enough of the answers. I have so many things to say, but I don't think I'm going to say them all.

"When I apologized to you after thirty years, I apologized for not trusting you the way you trusted me. I believed that everything between us fell apart because of my failure. Now, though, I believe I was wrong. I believe I _did_ trust you _exactly_ the way you trusted me. I believe I was right to question you.

"You've kept a lot of things from me, and I don't think I can trust your intentions anymore. I think you might be wrong about not being a good con artist, if you were actually being honest about that. You might even honestly love me the way I want you to, but I don't know how easily I can believe that now.

"I love you, and I'm going to miss you more now than when we were younger, but I'm not going to stay. My ship and my crew, folk I can trust without reservation, need me.

"I'll look for messages from you. If you need something, please ask for it. You already know I'd do anything to help you if you need it, and I'm glad I was able to help you get what you wanted this time as well. I just wish it felt like it had actually been _my choice_ to do it.

"And, thank you for the trust I know you set up for my family. I don't know anything about it except that it exists and you created it, but I assume it was to go to Mother and Father if something happened to you. They both love you very much. Please don't disappear from their life like you did thirty years ago.

"I love you. Be careful, and may we never meet on opposite sides of a contract.

"Rylae"

The letter became harder to write as more and more tears filled my eyes, but I was able to finish it. I wipe my eyes and flip the parchment over so the resignation letter side is up. I don't think anyone will walk in the office and read it, but it's better to make it look professional. Standing, I unsheathe both of my daggers and lay them in an X on the parchment. There's no way she can deny the authenticity of the letter with that symbol on it.

It's dark when I walk back outside, but I know my way through the forest now. I walk slowly back to the landcraft, not really paying attention to my surroundings through the tears in my eyes. When I get to the vehicle, I input the directions for home and call Tanna on my communicator. She answers after a second and I let her know I'm going to pack my things at home and come out to the quarters building. She wants to ask me more questions, but I disconnect the call and finish the ride with only my tears to keep me company.

No one is at home when I get there. Father's probably keeping Mother company at the hospital again. That's okay with me right now. I go up to my room, pull out my bag and pack my clothes. I set all the new clothes Saeralyn bought for me on my bed. I don't exactly have much need for forest-colored camouflage in my day-to-day life, so it's best if it stays here. She can have it all back if she wants it.

With my bag packed, I take off my black weapon belt and set it inside with my tan one. I think for a second, then get the box of daggers from inside my desk and pack that as well. Closing my bag, I walk back down to the landcraft and get in, setting the destination for the quarters building.

Tanna's standing outside, waiting for me. By the time I get out of the landcraft and grab my bag, she's right next to me. "What happened? What's wrong?"

I look up at her and try to smile, but I'm sure it looks wrong. "I'm going back to the ship with you and the rest of the team in two days. Gimmir, Simon, Lada and I will have to go back to the vacant house to pack our equipment tomorrow, but there's nothing more for us to do at the compound. I'll probably have dinner with my parents tomorrow if you and Sen want to come and see them before we go."

She shakes her head. "I wasn't talking to my boss just then. I was talking to my best friend. Rylae... what's wrong?"

I feel the tears start to run down my face as I shake my head. I can't open my mouth to make words come out, so I just point to the door of the quarters building then point up. She nods and follows me as I walk to my quarters on the top level.

Once inside with the door closed, we sit on the bed and I cry onto Tanna's shoulder for awhile as I tell her what I found out about everything. I tell her about being manipulated to help Saeralyn on Firefork. I tell her about being manipulated to help Saeralyn with her revenge. I tell her about Saeralyn knowing she was going to take over as contractor and not telling me. I tell her about all the things Saeralyn never told me, and all the things I can't believe anymore. I tell her about the notes I left. I tell her about how much more the heartbreak hurts this time.

Tanna says nothing. She just holds me and lets me cry.

I eventually run out of tears and sit up, wiping my eyes with my shirt. Tanna watches me sadly. "I'm sorry, girl. You don't deserve to hurt like this. Love sucks, especially when we give everything to someone and then find out we can't trust them with it. I was really hoping for you. I've never seen you so much in love. I wish she had deserved you."

I shake my head. "Maybe she will one day. Maybe she never will. I wanted so much for her to be the same orange-eyed girl I knew before, but I don't think she can ever be that girl anymore. I think I just had to learn that the hard way again. Dragons be damned, I seem to do _everything_ the hard way."

Tanna chuckles. "Of course you do. You're an XO. If it was easy, any commander could do it!" I laugh a little, then she continues more seriously. "But love is never easy. Everything about it is 'the hard way'. Whatever choices you make with love are always hard and rarely correct. And you both have to work for it. If she wants to deserve you, she'll work to get you back. She'll have to earn your trust again."

I sigh and lean into her shoulder again. "Thanks, Big Sister. I appreciate you."

She hugs me tight. "You know I'm always here for you. You're my best friend and my Little Sister. I'd do anything for you. And sometimes use you to kick the crap out of Srindin, but that's what little brothers are for, right?"

I laugh as I hug her back. "I'll do anything to help you make your brother's life miserable for a few seconds. I don't think it always works, though. He seems to enjoy when I knock him down. I think he has a crush on me."

Tanna almost hurts herself from laughing so hard. "I didn't know you knew about that! He's had a thing for you for years! You can do so much better, though. We'll still have time to find you someone on Terra before we launch again. Want me to find a girl or two to keep you company when we get back?"

My eyes go wide as I process the offer, then I hug her tight. "No, but asking means a lot to me. I don't think it's really a realm you'd be comfortable looking in anyway. Stick with what you know. Besides, I think I'm done for awhile. I'll just stay on the ship with my friends. That'll be enough for me."

We hug for another minute before I pull away. "I think I'm going to send some messages quickly to Mother and the rest of the team here then go to bed for awhile. Thanks for being here. It wasn't for the original reason I asked the team to come out, but you being here was important right now."

She shrugs. "I'll always be here. I'll still be here tomorrow. Get some sleep. Love ya, girl."

A smile just about splits my face open. "Love ya back."

She grins and leaves. I send a quick message to Mother about dinner tomorrow, then one to Gimmir, Simon, Lada, Sen and Zaxn telling them not to go back to the compound and that we'll collect the weapons and armor from the vacant house in the morning. I tell them I'm going back to Terra on the next ship the day after tomorrow, but they can of course stay for as long as they want.

Once the messages are sent, I lie in bed and try not to think about anything. It's almost impossible, and I lay there for a long time remembering the last few weeks. Eventually, I fall asleep feeling both incredibly lonely and satisfyingly surrounded by friends all at the same time.

# CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

"Hey Simon, have you seen that box? You know, the one that doesn't exist?"

He looks up from the crate he's packing and gives me a look that can only be described as 'disappointed'. "Commander, how could I possibly have seen a box that doesn't exist?"

I drop my chin to my chest and bring my hands to my face. "Fine. Yes, you're absolutely correct, Master Sergeant. You can't have seen a box that doesn't exist. That's my mistake. If the box did exist, however, would you have seen it?"

I look back up at him as he glances through his crate, then walks over to the other crate we filled earlier. His face changes to concern as he walks back to me. "It's not still in the wardrobe?"

I shake my head. "Nope. If you don't have it, and it's not still there, then I think I know what happened to it. That sneaky little elf girl was the only other one who knew about it. She must have taken it after the mission yesterday. She was enamored with them because they were 'so rare'."

Simon nods and goes back to his crate. "Could be worse. Those two guard commanders are still alive because of it. Maybe her having that box isn't so bad. Besides, they're not so rare that I can't get you another one." He stops, looks back at me, then looks back at the crate. "If they existed, that is."

I chuckle as I pick up some spellshooters and carry them over to him. "It's comments like that which make me want to read further into your personnel file, Mr. Darkrender."

He looks up at me with an evil goblin grin as he takes the spellshooters from me. "Go ahead. There's nothing in my file about any boxes which don't exist. Just like there's nothing in there about the number of contacts I have inside goblin Overseers' offices."

I walk away to carry over some more weapons. "By 'contacts', do you mean 'enforcers who got in the way of Simon Darkrender and ended up slightly broken'?"

A sinister chuckle is the only response I receive, which makes me laugh. We finish crating up the weapons, do a final check of our temporary armory, then seal the crates. With a nod, Simon leaves to find Gimmir and Lada to help him carry the crates to the landcraft.

I look around the room, then decide to walk around the rest of the level. Saeralyn and I spent a little time in the house when we were setting up for the planning meeting, but I really only saw the bottom level and this one bedroom we turned into an armory. I was busy at the time, so it didn't really hit me as weird then, but when we came back in today I realized the layout of the house is almost the same as my parents' house. Our temporary armory is in the same place as my bedroom at home.

I walk down the hallway, opening doors as I go. There's another bedroom where our guest bedroom is, right next to a laundry room which is exactly the same with a cleaner and folding table. Another small room here is empty, but at home we use it for storage. When I get to the back, I find another bedroom door and open it.

I'm not entirely surprised to see the room is a copy of Saeralyn's room at home. The bed, wardrobe and desk in here might as well belong to the same elf. Stepping inside, I open the wardrobe with certain expectations which are immediately met. The wardrobe is full of clothes. I pull out a green shirt and hold it up to myself, not at all surprised that it would fit me well. I fold it quickly and return it to the shelf, closing the wardrobe door.

It would almost be a funny thing to find if it didn't hurt so much to confirm that all of the details of her story were a lie. I don't have to look any deeper to know who owns this house even though I was told she burned it to the ground. XO Westiel is satisfied with the find, but is nice enough to not be smug about it in front of heartbroken Rylae.

I leave the room and go back to the front of the level just in time to see Gimmir and Simon carrying a crate to the portal. I considered offering to help, but I know I'm not strong enough to even lift one side of those crates. Better to let the stronger folk handle it. I glance into the room to see that it's the last crate, so I follow them down to the landcraft and watch them load it.

Lada walks up next to me. "Looks like we got it all, Commander."

I nod. "Excellent. I was afraid some things might end up missing. Thanks for all the help, Lada. I appreciate it."

She smiles. "It was fun! It's not often we get to go on vacation to an elf world and still get into a fight!" She grins and pokes my arm. "And it was fun to see my Commander get all girly and mushy with that other elf, too. I didn't think my boss could get all girly and mushy like that!"

I chuckle and poke her arm back. "What about that blue dress I saw my Security Chief in when she arrived? I didn't think that dwarf was girly enough for a blue dress! How can she fight off an attacker in a skirt?"

She laughs. "Easy! Hike it up to my waist and flash 'em! Works every time!"

I laugh so hard I fall against the side of the wall. At least now I know I was right about that technique not working against Lada! She uses it too!

When I finish laughing and compose myself, she's still standing there looking at me. "We're gonna pick up those weird magic folk from quarters and do a little shopping. Get some rest. When we get back to the ship ya have some training to catch up on." She winks with a smile.

I chuckle and shrug. "I have some things to do today, but I'll be ready for you. I have a lot of frustration I need to work off, so don't be surprised if I come a lot closer to kicking your ass than I normally do."

She gives me a thumbs-up and walks to the large landcraft. Gimmir waves to me, so I wave back. Simon just nods. Once they're in the landcraft and pull away, I check back in the house one more time before closing the door and walking to my standard landcraft. I input the directions and don't look back as I drive away from Saeralyn Gwalindiel's house.

It doesn't take long to reach my destination. Leaving the landcraft, I walk up to Saelihn's Art Gallery. Pulling the door open, I walk inside. It doesn't look much different than when I came in the first time, which doesn't surprise me since Saeralyn hasn't been out on any jobs to get any new pieces.

Orfindan walks around the back corner and comes up to me. "Hello again, ma'am. Can I help you find something?"

I shake my head. "No, thank you, Orfindan." He seems surprised that I know his name, and I smile. "The owner and I had a fun chat about you the other day. She really likes having you here. I'm not sure how often she tells you that, so I wanted to tell you myself."

He smiles. "Thank you, ma'am. Miss Saelihn does smile and ruffle my hair when she leaves, which I assume means she likes me."

I chuckle. "Yeah, that sounds like her. Anyway, have you seen her in the last few days?"

He shakes his head. "No, ma'am, but as you know, she goes away on business a lot."

I nod. "I do know that. I'm worried that she may be away on business a lot more these days. Do you have a good stock of pieces that aren't out on display? How long can you keep the store open if she doesn't come back for awhile?"

He looks up at the ceiling as he thinks for a few seconds. "I don't sell much each day, you understand, so even just the items on display could keep the store going for a few months. But with the pieces in the back which I'm still researching values on, I think I have at least a full year of sales."

I nod. "Good. I was worried. I don't think she's going to be getting out much more to collect more pieces and I don't know when or if she'd ever get around to telling you that. What are your plans after you leave the shop? I don't think you're planning to stay here forever."

He shrugs. "I really like the history. I thought about maybe going into teaching like Mister Westiel. I'd never be that good, but it would be fun to be an exciting teacher like he is!"

I nod with a smile. "I had a feeling you'd say that. I think I'll talk to Father tonight at dinner and see what I can do. I can't make any promises, but he's getting old and might be interested in an apprentice. I think he'd at least be interested in talking with you about it."

His brow furrows as he looks at me, confused and not saying anything. I grin and hold out my hand. "Oh, that's right. I never introduced myself. I'm Commander Rylae Westiel, UCST. My father is Jakobian Westiel."

I hold back a giggle as I watch Orfindan's brain melt. He takes my hand and shakes it. "Oh. Oh! Oh my! You're...! And your father is...! Oh my! And you're going to...! OH MY!"

I pat his hand and let it go. "I'll talk with him. Knowing you work for Saeralyn and have my approval will give him something to think about. I can't promise anything, but we'll see. Until then, keep up the good work here selling art to old widowed elf ladies!"

Calming down, he smiles. "It's been a pleasure, Miss Westiel! Thank you for offering to talk to your father about me! Maybe we can keep in touch! I've never had a friend in the UCST before!"

I laugh. "We definitely can. I need to go now, but I'll let you know what happens with Father."

He shakes my hand again before I leave. I probably just made his entire week better. I hope Father is understanding about the request. I think it would do him good to have an excited apprentice!

Leaving the shop, I stop at the next door and touch the charm. After a minute, an old elf face looks out, smiling when he sees me.

"Miss Westiel. It's good to see you again. Please come in." I follow him inside and to his desk, where he looks at me closely. "I have not seen Miss Gwalindiel or any of her associates yet. Are you here to provide an update?"

I nod. "When Orfindan told me she hadn't been by, I knew she hadn't told you. The operation was successful. The Supervisor has been deposed, and has been replaced by Fire Demon. There were no losses on our side of the operation."

He pulls out his book and makes some notations. "Fire Demon is Miss Gwalindiel?"

I nod. "She is. Her associates are helping her with the transition, but should be leaving to return to their contractors in three days or so."

He looks at me. "That is excellent news. Are you going to be working closely with her in her new position?"

I shake my head. "I will not. In fact, you can update your instructions to remove any authorizations in my name."

He nods and flips through his book, making additional notations. "The instructions have been updated. I'm sorry to hear this news."

"I'm not entirely happy about it myself, Melisand. However, when I left my resignation letter with her, I did make sure to inform her to keep you employed with her new assets. If she gives you any backtalk about it, remind her of the favors she owes me for this job and for Firefork. You can tell her that I have authorized you to cash those favors in however you wish."

He looks at me. "Are those official instructions, Miss?"

I chuckle. "Sorry. I don't know all of the formalities surrounding your job. I should be better about these things. Yes, those are official instructions. The new contractor, Fire Demon, currently owes Commander Rylae Westiel a favor for working as an unpaid and slightly unwilling backup agent during a job on Firefork, and another favor for working as an unpaid backup agent and assault team leader during the job against the opposing contractor. Commander Rylae Westiel transfers those favors to Melisand to use as he deems best."

He flips to a page in his book and writes two lines of notations in that weird language. When he finishes, he looks at me. "Miss... do you fully understand what these instructions mean?"

I smile. "I believe I do, Melisand. You now have full control of two favors with a new contractor. I will never use them. I trust you to use them well."

He shakes his head with a smile. "You have my thanks, Miss Westiel. This is more than I could ever ask for. You are truly unlike my other clients. In fact, you remind me of Missus Gwalindiel. She was a lovely elf with a huge heart. Miss Gwalindiel is much more like her father, but you are much like her mother."

I smile. "Thank you, Melisand. I have been friends with Miss Gwalindiel since we were thirty-five, but rarely met her parents. It's an honor to be compared to them by someone who knew them well."

As he closes his book, I stand from the chair. He stands and leads me to the door, opening it so I can walk out. I turn back to see him smile. "It has been a pleasure, Miss Westiel. I hope to work with you again."

I nod and shake his hand, then walk back to my landcraft. I need to get cleaned and changed for dinner, then make sure I'm fully ready to leave for Terra tomorrow.

# CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Sen, Tanna and I meet up with Mother and Father at a restaurant close to the hospital. We have a good time, although all of us are a little sad about leaving. I talk with Father about Orfindan, which actually goes a little better than I expected. He promises to go out and talk to the elf and evaluate his ability. Maybe even Father recognizes that he's starting to get a little old.

We avoid the subject of Saeralyn. Once they know I'm leaving Tir Tairngire and never mention Saeralyn once, I think they realize what that means. Instead of talking about it, we enjoy our dinner as a family with close friends and have a good time.

When we're leaving, I hug both of them and start to walk away, but turn back. We may have avoided the subject, but there's still something I need them to know. "I did tell her to keep in touch with you. She has an alias now – Saelihn Westiel. Yell at her if she doesn't contact you first. She deserves it."

Mother smiles at me. "Thank you, Rylae."

I just shrug. "She's still practically your daughter. Maybe she'll remember that this time around. Maybe she'll remember a lot of things." I wave and turn away. "Love you both."

As I walk to catch up with Sen and Tanna at the landcraft, I'm amazed at how much it still hurts. It didn't hurt all day while I avoided it, but even that small exchange was painful. I don't say anything during the ride back to the quarters building, and neither of them tries to talk to me. I think they can see my pain.

Tanna's quarters is on the lowest level of the three of us, so she goes through the portal first. Sen taps the charm to close it, then taps the charm for her level. The portal opens, but before she walks through it, she turns back to me. "She didn't deserve you, Commander. Don't think too much about it. But if you ever want to kill her in a really funny way, I'll help you come up with ideas." She grins her evil grin, winks, and walks through the portal.

I tap the charm to close the portal, then start laughing. I'm glad that goblin is on _my_ side! As I tap the charm for the top level and walk to my quarters, my laughter turns into a rather solid smile. I'm glad _all of them_ are on my side.

I walk in my quarters and drop on the bed, falling asleep to thoughts of how so many members of my officer team are also good friends.

««»»

Packing and getting to the docking pad isn't too difficult. The hard part is unloading the crates and bags onto a float unit and walking it down to the ship. Unlike when we arrived, there isn't a driver with a folk-mover we can attach the float unit to, so we just slowly walk it past the other docked ships to the Terra-Tairngire.

After around twenty minutes of slowly walking, we get to the ship and take the float unit to the bay door. Lada steps inside and whistles to someone, and three workers come out to help with the float unit. I guess they made friends during the trip out out.

Captain Rubyhewer meets us a few minutes later and introduces us to her new XO, Commander Simarron Elenarin. He's a rather attractive male elf, with long blonde hair, well-defined shoulders, and an expression that looks like a permanent smirk. He's as tall as Tanna, who jabs me in the side with her elbow a few times during the introductions. I can't tell if she's excited for herself, or if she's trying to get me excited for him. Either way, I'm not really in the mood to be excited, but I exchange niceties with him as he shows us all to quarters on-ship.

Shortly after the Terra-Tairngire launches, Gimmir and Lada insist we all sit in the mess hall and drink for awhile. We spend a few hours drinking, chatting, and otherwise having a good time. I ask for details from the light tag tournament, and they all stumble and trip over each other to give them to me from their own perspectives.

Tanna apparently got through the first round by using her opponent's weakness against him. She was up against a younger elf from the Admiralty, and he was being obnoxiously nice with her. He'd yell out when he was throwing a ball to give her time to move. He'd lob the balls up and over to make them move slower. Finally, Tanna got tired of the patronizing and decided to use it against him. She 'fell' in the center of the game area and started crying. The dumb kid came out to find out if she was okay, and took a light ball right to the face. Of course that didn't work for her in the second round against Vanwen, and the bookish science elf took her out rather easily.

It seems the match between Sen and Zaxn is why they're friends again. I really wish I had seen it, because it apparently started really brutal. Each of them was trying to seriously hurt the other one. After an hour, Zaxn finally decided it was enough and walked out to the center and called for her. He stood there while she ran out and pummeled him with a dozen hard light balls. She accepted that as his apology and they started talking again.

Sen's the only one who wants to talk about the final match against Vanwen. Everyone else seems to want to change the subject to _anything but that_. From the way she giggles and grins about it, I can imagine it probably wasn't very clean or nice, so I limit myself to asking if Vanwen survived. She did, but from the looks on some of their faces, I'm guessing it was close. Gimmir and Lada won't even look at Sen while we're talking about it! I'm suddenly reminded of the poor archer who dared to shoot at her.

We sit there chatting for a long time. One of the weird parts of being back on a ship after spending so much time on-world is that I can't look out a window to see what time it is anymore. I didn't realize how much I'd grown re-accustomed to that over the last five weeks. I only realize it's getting late when Tanna excuses herself to go to bed. Simon follows her out, and Sen follows him. Gimmir and Lada don't look like they're quite done drinking yet, and Zaxn is just staring into his.

I grab another glass of wine from the service counter and sit back down with them, nudging Zaxn with my elbow. "What's wrong?"

He glances over at the dwarves, but they don't seem to be paying us any attention. In fact, they seem to be paying each other a lot more attention than I'm used to seeing from them, and we both turn away.

Zaxn takes a drink from his mug and looks at me. "Do you think I'm making a mistake with Sen?"

Sigh. I don't mind the question, but the wording really makes it difficult to answer easily. I take a drink of my wine, think for a second, then look back at him. "That depends on what you're trying to do. If you're trying to be her friend again, then I don't think you're making a mistake at all. I think that's the right thing to do, and I think it was nice of you to let her win the light tag match."

I can see in his eyes that isn't exactly what he meant, so I keep going. "I think you might be making a mistake trying to make it more than that, though. You're both in different places now. You've changed, and you shouldn't discount that just to make her happy. Once you get back home to Stenchstone, I think you'll find what you're looking for."

He shrugs and takes another drink. "Did you find what you were looking for when you went home?"

With a sigh, I finish my glass of wine with three quick swallows. "That's almost a trick question. I did find what I was looking for, then I realized there were things wrong with it that I didn't initially see. I wanted it to be right, and I tried really hard, but when I realized it wasn't, I walked away from it. Sometimes that's just what you have to do."

Zaxn finishes off his mug, then takes my glass and returns with a new glass of wine for me and mug of ale for himself. He holds his mug up, so I tap my glass against it before we take a drink. Setting it down, he looks at me. "Thanks, Rylae. I think that was what I needed to hear."

I lean over and give him a quick hug. "You'll be fine. I really think you should talk to Rosa when you get home. She's adorable! Plus, she's young enough that she hasn't been totally corrupted yet like some ship caregivers I could name!"

He chuckles. "I'll call her when I get there. She probably doesn't hit as hard as Sen does!"

We both laugh and take another drink, then another thought hits me. "Has Admiral Shockpaw determined when you're going back yet?"

He shakes his head. "Not as far as I know. He's been working with the Admiralty scientists to put together a team, but there's no final day yet."

I smile. "Good. That means I still have time to interview for your replacement! I hate losing you on the team, but I'm glad you're getting to work on your world."

He nods sadly. "I'm going to miss the ship, but it's nice to be able to finish my father's research." He looks up at me and smiles. "My next boss likely won't be as nice as you are, though. Probably not as pretty, either."

Before I can respond, he leans in and kisses me. It's a quick kiss, with him almost bouncing lightly off of my lips and back into his seat, but it's definitely a kiss. The wine slows me just enough that I don't have any reaction for a second. I blink a few times and look at him. He looks at me without saying anything, which gives me time to put my thoughts together.

With a small smile, I lower my eyes and shake my head. "That's sweet, Zaxn, but I think you know that's not going to happen, for quite a few reasons." Lifting my head, I give him a better smile. "I'm proud of you for trying, though. The Zaxn Gloomfire I knew last year wouldn't have. I think you'll have a good shot with Rosa, and if not she should know a few girls who would love to get to know you."

He shrugs and turns away, taking another drink from his mug, obviously embarrassed. I recognize there's not much I can do to help him with that, so I turn my attention to the dwarves, who are starting to get a little rowdy with each other. Quiet, but rowdy.

"Major. LC." My voice is quiet, but steady, and it catches their attention immediately. They turn to look at me, and I smile. "Maybe you two want to head to your quarters?"

They both stand and salute. "Yes, ma'am!" they say in unison, then march out of the mess hall. I chuckle as I watch them go, then turn to Zaxn. "Maybe it's your time as well, Lieutenant?" He shrugs, then nods and finishes his mug of ale before leaving the mess hall.

I collect the leftover mugs and glasses from the table and take them over to the dish area, then grab another glass of wine for myself and sit back down. I sip it slowly, thinking about the last few days. It always amazes me how sometimes you can have weeks go by with nothing important happening, and then other times everything can change quickly. Just a few days ago, I was happy with Saeralyn, planning an assault with my senior officers, and just generally happy.

Then everything changed. Now I'm going back to my ship weeks before I originally planned to, I'm single once again, my Chief Science Officer just kissed me, and I had to send two of my officers to their room before they did likely-embarrassing things in public. All I can do is laugh at all of it.

"Something funny, Commander? Or have you just had a little too much to drink?"

I twist my head to see Commander Elenarin standing near my table. I take a sip from my glass and shrug. "My last few weeks have been rather amusing, actually, in that weird way that things are sometimes funny even when they're not. And I haven't had nearly as much to drink as some of my officers have. I had to send them to bed just a few minutes ago."

He chuckles. "Yeah. I heard the dwarves going up the stairs past the command level, so I thought I should come down and check out the damage. I'm surprised to see there isn't any."

I take another sip of wine. "I'm pretty good at keeping my officers in line. Sometimes they're a bit of a handful, but I wouldn't trade them for anyone."

A smile crosses his face as he nods. "I'm glad to hear that. I'm actually off-shift right now and grabbing something to eat. Are you going to be here awhile? Maybe I can sit with you."

I shrug and finish my glass of wine. "That could be fun. I don't get to sit and talk with other XOs often. If you bring me another glass of wine, I'll sit here with you for a bit."

One glass of wine quickly turns into multiple glasses as we chat about work. I've been an executive officer for a lot longer than Simarron, so I share a few tips on different aspects of the job to solve some of his problems. He mentions seeing my name on the Official List and congratulates me on my ranking. That leads into a short discussion of why I didn't take the Terra-Tairngire, which leads into his plans for his career, which leads into a discussion of plans for the future.

The discussion of the future leads into our shared lack of significant others and the common lament among command officers that dating is practically impossible – all the folk you normally spend time with are under your command and therefore completely off-limits. I finish my current glass of wine with a comment about how the only way you can effectively date at our level is to find someone on another ship.

I feel a hand on my leg as my table partner responds with, "I know."

Thanks to the wine, my mental reaction time is well and truly slowed, so I can't stop my physical training from kicking in. I smack the hand away, slide out of my chair on the opposite side, crouch and reach for a dagger. When my hand grasps nothing at my side, my brain finally catches up and I stop, shaking my head and blinking.

When I focus again, Commander Elenarin is standing and looking at me. I can't tell what his expression means and start thinking maybe it's time I walk away from whatever this now is. I carefully stand tall, brushing myself off. "Dragons be damned. I'm sorry for that, Commander. That wasn't exactly the nicest reaction. I think maybe it's time I head up to my quarters."

He reaches for me with a smile. "I'm happy to help you get there."

I push his hand away. "No thank you, Commander. I appreciate the offer, but I'd prefer to go on my own."

His eyebrows go up, then drop as he looks at me differently, almost with disgust. "I see. I thought you were going to be fun. Well, we'll return you to your ship as soon as possible, Commander. Have a pleasant trip." He turns on his heel and walks away.

I watch him as he leaves, thinking The Supervisor was far from the only insufferable prick I've had the pleasure to be acquainted with on this trip. I check again for my daggers, wishing just a bit that they'll actually be there this time, then relaxing with a sigh when they're not. I test my balance, and think I can walk and carry stuff without problem, so I collect the empty glasses and dishes onto a tray and carry it over to the dish area.

A head of light blue hair appears to my side and helps me with the dishes. I look over and recognize the pretty little elf girl from behind one of the stations. I smile at her and thank her for the help. After the dishes are sorted, she turns to me with a sad smile that almost looks apologetic, then turns and goes back to her station.

Something in my mind makes a note to remember this after I wake up and the wine has worn off.

# CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

When I'm finally able to get up the next day, I check the schedule to see that we only have about ten hours before we land. I clean myself and put on a uniform, then go down to the mess hall. A few of the ship's crew members are eating, and they stand and salute when they see me. I salute back and wave them back to their meals.

I see Tanna in a corner sitting with Sen and Simon, all wearing normal clothes. My uniform felt strange enough to wear after so many weeks, but being the only one wearing it makes me feel a little bit like I stand out, so I decide to get something to eat before I go over there.

I walk through the line for some fruit and juice, then stop and look everyone over as my memory from last night clicks back into focus. A young dwarf with thick red hair tied up behind his head sees me looking. "Can I help you with something, ma'am?"

I nod. "Yes. There's a young elf girl that works here. Blue hair. Is she off-shift right now?"

He smiles. "Romara. She's a cutie. Yeah, she's off-shift. Should be back on in..." He glances at a terminal clock near a wall behind him. "Five hours or so, I think."

I thank him and head over to the corner. Simon nods to me, which causes the women to notice me. They both smile, and Tanna happily waves me over. A small chuckle escapes me as I think about what Sen would look like if she ever waved happily to someone.

Tanna turns immediately to me. "So what did we miss after we left? Anything indecent?"

I roll my eyes. "Between Gimmir and Lada? Yeah, you missed a lot of indecent things. I finally had to order them to their quarters."

Simon chuckles. "I bet they followed _that_ order immediately." Tanna and Sen giggle, but I just shake my head and sigh.

Tanna pokes me in the shoulder. "What about you? You're awfully late today. I'm guessing you were up much later than the rest of us. So what were you doing?"

I give a brief account of my encounter with the XO and how it ended. The women look at each other for a second, then turn back to me. Sen's the first to speak. "Sounds like the XO's a bit of an ass."

I shrug. "Maybe. My immediate reaction of 'defensive stance' wasn't exactly the most flattering thing ever, though. I've been a bit on-edge with the assault and Saeralyn and everything. It might be at least partially my fault." That sounds believable, but Romara's reaction last night makes me think there's more to it. I won't say anything to anyone, even my own officers, until I can verify that, though. I did overreact to his touch, after all.

They seem to accept that answer and we go on to talk about other things while we sit there. I lose track of the conversation for awhile and scan the folk in the mess hall. I think our group might be the only travelers, as the only other folk are in uniform and seem to be ship crew. After awhile, Gimmir shows up with an obvious black eye and other bruising, grabs enough food for two and leaves again without acknowledging us.

Zaxn pokes into the mess hall to grab something to eat and starts to immediately leave as well, but I get up to corner him before he gets out. "Zaxn. Hang on a second."

He turns to me but doesn't look me in the eye. "Commander."

I shake my head. Nerdy goblin boy is back in full force today. "I just wanted to tell you that we're okay. I'm not going to pretend it didn't happen, because it did happen, but I'm not going to focus on it. It'll stay between us, and I'm not upset about it, so you shouldn't be, either. Deal?"

He shrugs. "I'll try. Thanks, Commander." With that, he turns and leaves. There's not much more I can do about it, so I let him go.

I'm about halfway back to the corner table when I hear a voice say my name. "Commander Westiel, do ya have a moment?"

I turn to see Captain Rubyhewer. "Of course, Captain. What do you need?"

She waves for me to follow her, so I do. She takes me up to the command level and into her office, gesturing to a seat at her table. She takes a seat next to me and sighs. "It's funny sometimes how the problems at the XO level don't really go away at the Captain level. They just get bigger."

I had a feeling that's what this was about, so I sit and wait respectfully while she starts talking. "Commander, I was told that you and some of yer folk got a little drunk last night."

I nod. "I can't and won't deny that. A few of my officers specifically might have gone a little overboard, but I sent them back to quarters before anything got out-of-hand. I haven't heard that anything happened with them, so I'm hoping you don't have any bad news for me."

She looks at me with her brow furrowed. "Yer officers were fine. The problem that was brought to my attention specifically was about you."

My eyes go wide. "Excuse me, Captain?"

She nods. "My XO told me that you were drunk last night and came onto him, but when he tried to deny ya, you attacked him."

Dragons be damned! That elf bastard! This at least confirms what I think the blue-haired elf, Romara, was trying to convey to me through her look last night. My eyes squint as I consider the information. I think through some of my possible responses quickly and come to the realization that this isn't the right way or place to handle this. I need to get my own foothold on the situation, which means getting out of the Captain's office with as little offense as possible.

I nod. "Captain, I'm distressed to hear this. If I can be frank with you, I can tell you that the information you heard is not completely correct, but I know the danger of creating a situation where it's entirely one officer's word against another's. This is especially true when one of them is an officer that you implicitly have to trust. You and I don't know each other except in passing. Your XO is quite new to you as well, but he's your XO and you have to trust him."

I stand. "For now, I will promise you that I do not intend to speak with the Commander again while aboard your ship. However, I believe there's a larger problem here, and I'm going to investigate it."

She stands and looks at me. "Commander, I hope ya can understand how I can take those comments as a threat against me and my ship. I'd like to understand what ya exactly mean by them."

I nod. "I understand, and I'm sorry, but until I know more I would prefer to not discuss the details. As I said, I don't want to create a bad situation – I want to try to avoid one in the future. In the meantime, all I can do is deny the situation as reported, promise to stay away from the Commander, and offer to share any additional details I can find to help you make an informed decision."

She shakes her head. "I wonder what Gravelhand does to his folk to make them so different and difficult." She stops shaking her head and looks at me. "I don't pretend to understand what yer trying to tell me, but I get that yer gonna stay away from my XO. For now, that's good enough for me."

I nod and salute. "Thank you, Captain. For the remainder of the trip, I will remain at the side of my officers unless I am alone in my quarters."

She salutes back and nods. "Thank you, Commander. You may go."

I leave her office without another word and walk to the stairs. Before I go down, I have a thought and go up to my quarters instead. I fish through my bag for my UCST identification card and stick it in my pocket, then go back down to the mess hall. Tanna and Sen are still there, although Simon has left. I walk over and sit down with them.

Tanna asks what happened, but I just shake my head. I don't want to talk about it while we're still on the ship. She gives me a look, then shrugs and goes back to a conversation with Sen. I spend some time watching the crew of the ship moving through the mess hall.

After awhile, I notice a splash of blue moving behind the service counters. I walk over to see the blue-haired elf girl starting to set up a station for making different rice-based meals. I smile and softly say her name, "Romara."

She turns to my voice and stops in surprise when she sees me. "Ma'am! Um... Can I help you?"

I nod. "I wanted to thank you for your help last night."

She smiles sadly. "I'm just sorry you had to be a target."

That was pretty much what I was expecting her to say. I pull my UCST card from my pocket and reach across the counter to touch her arm with it. She takes it from my hand and looks at it, then at me. I look at her seriously. "I want to talk more about this, but not on the ship. Find me when you get your next few weeks on Terra."

She looks at my card, then back at me with a worried frown. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, ma'am."

I nod. "I think I can help. But, for now, just think about it. I'll hopefully hear from you soon."

She nods and places my card in her pocket, then goes back to work. I leave and go back up to my quarters for the remainder of the trip. I poke at my messages for awhile, but there's still nothing new since the last time I looked so it's mostly just to keep myself busy.

The five hours before docking pass slowly, but eventually pass. I take my bag and meet up with my officers to leave the ship. We get in line, with Lada in front, followed by Gimmir and Simon, then Sen and Zaxn, and finally me and Tanna. Captain Rubyhewer opens the door for us, and we salute before slowly filing down the stairs.

Lada and the battalion leaders go to the back to get the crates and bags while the rest of us walk to a folk-mover and climb in to wait. A few minutes pass before they bring a float unit with our stuff on it and attach it to the back. As they're working, I notice a tall elf with long blonde hair watching us from the bay door. I turn away and ignore his attention.

The trip back to the Corsari is quick and uneventful. I leave my officers at the door as I go in and work my way to my quarters to drop off my bag and use my terminal to reset my router details so my messages don't get sent away with the Terra-Tairngire. Once that's done, I check Cap's calendar and set up a meeting with him for tomorrow, then strip my uniform off and walk into the washroom. I feel a bit more dirty than I did when I first woke up.

# CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

"I see ya didn't get yerself killed. Good job, elf. I'm not really up for trainin' a new XO right now."

I roll my eyes, sigh and shake my head. "Thanks, Cap. I'm glad my ability to stay alive has kept your schedule from being inconvenienced."

He shrugs and sits back in his desk chair. "So are ya gonna tell me what happened? How was the 'party'?" He raises his hands to make quote marks in the air as he says the last word.

I go through the entire story with him, including my friendship with Saeralyn, why I was keeping things secret, how Firefork was involved, how I got involved in the contractor mess, and how the assault went. He nods along with my story, but occasionally throws out comments:

"Contractors? We have those on Halyer, ya know."

"So ya went off on Firefork because ya were sleepin' with a hot elf chick? I've known some folk who've done stupider things for that same reason!"

"Heh... she really was a 'hot' elf chick then, wasn't she?"

"Ya got yerself shot. I knew ya were out to get yerself killed. I'm tellin' ya, Rylae, them hot elf chicks are nothin' but trouble. That's why dwarves avoid 'em like goblin card games. They seem fun at first, but someone's gonna lose a finger before the night's over!"

"Do ya really expect me to believe that? A child assassin with a silent protector and an elf in a cape? Yer full o' elf droppins, Rylae, and not just in the regular 'because yer an elf' way!"

"I knew it. I knew sneakin' into a goblin king's castle wasn't gonna be enough for ya. Now yer sneakin' into contractor offices and assassinatin' 'em! Heh... I guess Firefork wasn't the only stupid thing ya've done because o' sleepin' with a hot elf chick!"

"Sen did what?!? That poor archer! I never should'a had that side bet with ya. That goblin's obviously more nutty than I thought she was."

"Nice touch with the daggers. Kinda makes yer point better. Daggers. Point. Laugh, ya damn elf!"

"Ya gave away two contractor favors!? I swear I trained ya better than that! I guess it was a nice thing to do for the old clerk, though. But... damn, Rylae. Ya know how much those favors are worth?"

I finish the story at the point where we board the Terra-Tairngire. He nods quietly for a few seconds, then looks at me. "Well, I'm glad yer back, and I'm glad ya brought all my officers back in the same condition they were in when I sent 'em to ya. I'm glad ya decided to ask fer help in the first place. It sounds like things could've been a lot worse if ya hadn't."

I nod. "Definitely. They're good folk to have at my back. I'm glad for them."

He grins. "I'm glad ya think so. Yer stuck with 'em, after all."

I shrug. "Only until I get my own ship. Then I can pick my own crew and get some that you haven't corrupted yet."

He laughs hard enough to almost fall out of his chair. "Ya wouldn't be happy with crew that I haven't corrupted! I've corrupted ya just as much as them! That's how the whole system works!"

I laugh with him. "I suppose you have a point there, boss."

He sits up proudly and smiles. "I always do, elf. Always."

I stand and salute his comment, which makes him laugh again. When he's done, he smiles at me. "Glad to have ya back, Rylae. Now go get some work done. Ya had enough vacation time!"

I shrug with a grin. "Technically, you gave me two months. I still have a few weeks left. I could just sit around and watch you do the work for awhile."

He shrugs back. "I suppose ya could. I suppose I could also just not do any and watch as yer pretty little elf head explodes from knowin' the work just isn't gettin' done."

Sighing, I lower my head and walk to the door. "Dragons be damned, Cap. That's entirely not fair." I hear him laughing again behind me as I leave his office.

I settle back into the day-to-day grind of work, and it's not so bad. After so many weeks of sitting in trees and getting shot with arrows, doing paperwork and having meetings is a nice change back to what can be considered 'normal' in my life.

Around ten days after my return, I get called to the Admiralty to be a witness in the trial of Grovr Darkmuck, so I sit in the High Admiral's Council room for a few hours to answer their questions. The former Captain Darkmuck isn't in the room, so it's not as stressful as it could have been. While I'm there, they decide to also ask me questions about Rekhi Ironhammer for the trial about the smuggled spellshooters. It's nice to get both of them out of the way in one trip.

Once my answers are recorded, they let me leave. Tanna's mom, Admiral Maeralya Aldamiel, follows me out and insists we get together for dinner soon as a family so I can explain all these things Tanna was telling her about my girlfriend. I agree to dinner, but let her know that I no longer have a girlfriend, due to reasons I don't really want to talk about. She nods and gives me a hug, but still insists she wants to know the whole story. I also get a message from Kesn wanting to get together for dinner so I can tell her all about this 'hot mystery elf' she's been hearing about.

For that matter, the fact that Commander Rylae Westiel has a girlfriend back on Tir Tairngire started making the gossip rounds rather quickly. I figure Lada has to be the one to blame for it. Tanna and Sen both know things didn't work out, but the last thing Lada knew was the 'after-battle kissing'. I just sigh and shake my head whenever I hear it. It's impossible to stop a rumor like that, and it's not like it's hurting my non-existent love life.

I lose track of how many times I end up answering questions about it. The answers become simple and routine. Yes, Saeralyn was my best friend growing up. Yes, we had a thing before I left for Academy. Yes, we spent thirty years not speaking to each other. Yes, as soon as we were alone together we picked up right where we left off. No, it only lasted about a month and ended before I left Tir Tairngire. No, I haven't spoken with her since and don't expect to.

The good part of repeating the story is that it hurts less and less as I keep having to repeat it. Eventually the rumors die down and things seem to go back to normal except for the handful of folk I notice whispering around me. I generally don't care and let them say whatever they want. None of it's going to hurt me, after all.

About a month after I return to the ship, while going through some numbers from Engineering concerning the battery recharge progress, I get a new message. I glance at the message list and lose track of how long I end up staring at the name on the message – Saelihn Westiel. I reach to tap it and open it, then pull my hand back.

After six or seven times of that, I look away from it with a sigh. The message ship goes back and forth every three days. There's no way she didn't get my letter on the desk the same day I left it there. Beyond that, even if she waited until Emmyth and his fighters left, I still should have had a reply after only six days or so. A month is a long time. Not as long as thirty years, but still a long time.

Finally I make a decision and check Tanna's schedule. I find a blank spot about two hours from now and place a meeting in there, asking her to come to my quarters. Once that's done, I go back to my battery recharge report and try to focus again on the numbers.

I know I've failed at accomplishing anything when Tanna walks in and I'm still looking at the same number. I check the clock, and it's been two hours. I spent two hours looking at one number. I definitely need to focus again.

Tanna sees the look on my face and stops. "What's wrong?"

I get up from the table and move over to sit on my bed, then wave Tanna to my table. "I need you to check something for me."

She walks to my vacated chair and sits, looking at my terminal. "Okay. Do you want to give me a little idea of what I'm checking?"

I lay on the bed and stare at the ceiling. "In my messages. I want you to read it first and tell me if I should read it or not."

She looks at me, then turns to the terminal. "In your messages? Okay, in your... oh. I see it. Hang on."

The room goes quiet for a few minutes while Tanna reads and I stare at the ceiling. After a bit, I hear her sigh in a way that sounds disappointed, but nothing else. Finally, I hear her get up from the table and sit up to look at her. She walks to the door and turns back to me. "I think you need to read it. I don't think you'll like everything in it, but I think you need to read it."

She looks angry, but not at me. I force a smile for her. "Thanks, Tanna. You're the best."

She nods and leaves, so I move back to my chair and start reading at the top of the message.

"Dearest Rylae,

"I'm sorry it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to say to you. Getting that note destroyed me for awhile. I went from winning the fight and kissing my girlfriend to suddenly finding out she left without wanting to see me. It took me time to get past that.

"I know I wasn't always completely clear about everything I got you involved in. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it really upset you. I guess that was my mistake. I know you well enough to know you'd have found out the details eventually, but I still thought I could keep things from you.

"Obviously, this was about more than revenge. The revenge was nice, and I still couldn't have done it without your help, but it was always about more. I wanted what my parents never did. They were the best, but they never wanted to be in charge. I wanted to change that for myself.

"I also wanted you back. I thought that you'd stay if I got you involved in my work. I couldn't get you to stay the first time, but I wasn't good enough back then. I was hoping you'd stay once I became a contractor. I was hoping you'd decide I was finally good enough for you to stay. I was hoping you'd decide that working with me was something you wanted to do.

"I guess I was wrong. I guess I don't know you as well as I thought I did.

"I suppose I was wrong for manipulating you the way I did to get you to help me, but I'm not really sorry for that. I thought it would all work out in the end and one day we'd laugh about it. From the way you left your daggers on the note, I guess you aren't laughing.

"I do love you, and I have for a long time. I'm sorry if you don't believe that. I don't know a better way to show you. I'm sorry you're gone. I miss you. Again.

"I suppose all I can do from here is promise to give you all of the details if I need you to help with something. Since we likely won't ever work together on the same job again, I'd have to do that anyway. But I don't plan to ask you for much. You're good, but the way you transferred those favors to Melisand tells me that I can't necessarily trust you to complete a job for pay with no questions asked.

"Speaking of Melisand, I did hire him to lead my administration building. He cashed in one of your favors for it. He was right to be worried, because he is getting old and never helped my parents get to this level, but he's here now. You don't have to worry about him.

"I also heard that Father started working with Orfindan to make him a history teacher. I'm guessing that's your doing as well. That was a good idea, and you have my thanks for that. I'm probably going to close the art shop once he's ready to teach, since I won't be using it to sell stolen art any longer.

"I'm working on processing the payment I promised to your officers. It'll pass through their normal UCST paychecks shortly after you receive this message. I got all six of them. Please let them know I appreciate all their help, and to contact me if they want more work.

"Since you transferred your favors to Melisand, I'm assuming you didn't want me to include you on those payments, so I didn't. I did, however, have Melisand release the trust to Mother and Father. It's half of the money that Momma and Poppa left me. I wanted them to have it if something happened to me, but I don't exactly need it anymore so they have it now.

"I know you probably don't think any of this fixes anything between us. Maybe we can't be lovers again. Maybe we can't even be friends again. But maybe we can still be work associates. Maybe that's all I can do for you. Thank you for your help, and for our time together.

"With love,

"Saeralyn"

Tanna was right. I didn't really want to read most of it, but I did need to read it. She's not really sorry for anything that happened. She got what she wanted, and that's all that mattered. Except, she didn't get me, and that seems to be her only regret. I'm the one thing she wanted and couldn't get.

I consider just closing the message and not replying to it, but I know I won't get past it if I don't say something back. Not much, but something. I start writing a reply without thinking about it too much.

"Saeralyn,

"Thank you for the message. I'm happy to know you've been able to sort things out for my officers and Melisand, and that Orfindan is working with Father. I appreciate that I no longer need to worry about those items.

"As I said before, you can always contact me if you need something. However, I will _always_ reserve the right to say no. This includes any time you want to divert me or my ship without my knowledge and hoping I'll just do whatever you need once I arrive. I don't like being manipulated, and that's all you've done since Firefork. I'll forever be disappointed that you didn't trust me.

"I think you're right that we won't be friends or lovers again. I'm sad to agree to that, but it seems like we're too far apart right now and have always had trouble communicating. But we can be work associates. I will gladly communicate with you on work-related details. If I ever find out any information you need, I'll send it along and hope you will do the same.

"Good luck with everything.

"Rylae."

I send the message without rereading it, then go back to my bed and lie down. I'm surprised I'm not crying, but I figure I must have cried everything out by now. This was just closure. I need to treat it as that and not dig into it any further.

I fall asleep while thinking about the message and how everything ended. After an unknown amount of time, my terminal beeps and wakes me. I look over and touch the charm, then get up to look at why it beeped. Looks like another meeting. I sure do schedule a lot of those. Oh well. The work won't get done otherwise, and I still have a ship to get mission-ready. Time to go kick some crew members around to get things done. Politely, of course!

### End – Elven Gambit, Ugly Dirt Box Universe Book 2

### About the Author

S T Xavier is a new writer whose desire to combine his favorite things - stories, magic, spaceships, and the voices in his head - has coalesced into his first novel in the fantasy/sci-fi realm. His characters have a story to tell, and he's obligated to tell it until that contract with the red horned guy expires. He is a practicing computer geek, avid collector of fantasy art, amateur player of decent video games, and voracious devourer of stories. He currently lives in Charleston, SC with his two cats and the numerous voices that occasionally let him sleep.

You can learn more about the Ugly Dirt Box Universe at www.uglydirtbox.com

