Valiant: Tales From The Drift

[Tails #29: S(Elf)less]

Log Date: 11/15/12764

Data Sources: Jazel Jaskolka, Lysanne Arrignis

Event Log: Jazel Jaskolka

Pallus: Tainnryst Research Institute

9:35am SGT

“So these liddl’ buggers are vampire fairies, eh?” Milor says, holding up a vial that’s got one of the specimens in it. “I’ll be honest with you, they’re kinda cute.”

“They ain’t so cute when they’ve got their teeth in you.” Lysanne says over her shoulder.  Both of us are meticulously checking the specimen vials that the Institute is giving us, to make sure all of the vampire fairies they’ve collected are in good condition. We’ll be taking these back to the Preserver Academy for study and analysis, so making sure that they’re in good health is critical to that future research project.

“Well, they sure got a temper.” Milor says, giving the vial a little shake. The vampire fairy within plants its hands against the glass to steady itself, snarling at Milor. “Feisty little things.”

I hold my hand out to him. “Why don’t you give me that. Don’t want to risk damaging one of the specimens.”

Milor hands the vial back to me. “Don’t see what all the fuss is. I saw at least a few of the buggers outside on the way here. Seems to me like they’ve got a pretty healthy population; if you lose one, you can just go back outside and grab another.”

“Just because there’s a lot of them doesn’t mean they’re easy to catch.” Lysanne says, slotting another vial back into the stasis crate we’ll be using to transport the specimens. “Problem with lesser fairies is that they’re small and fragile. And these ones, like you said, are feisty. The Institute has already done the hard work of capturing this specimen group for us; I’d prefer not to go through the hassle of doing it ourselves.”

“I’m honestly surprised.” I say, sizing up the vial Milor handed me. The fairy inside is wearing black leaves as clothes, with thin blue veins running through them; their skin is a dusky blue, while their eyes are a brighter shade of blue. “It’s been just over a year since they were released on Pallus, but their population has exploded since then. There’s already reports that they’ve been sighted on other continents.”

“Probably because they’ve been hitching rides on cross-continental flights.” Lysanne says as I slot the vial into the crate. “And besides that, they’re horny little shits that reproduce like crazy. A single female can lay up to fifty eggs in a single go, and once they hatch, they can reach maturity in two or three weeks. With the right weather and conditions, they can multiply like a plague.”

“Weren’t these things almost extinct before the witless wonder fumbled and set them loose last year?” Milor asks, roaming around the lab we’re in and peeking at one of the microscopes.

“Hey!” I protest. “I set them loose on purpose, thank you very much, to escape from Grimes when he tried to kidnap me.”

“Yeah, they were almost extinct. The last specimens were held here in the Tainnryst Institute.” Lysanne says as we get to the last row of vials. “They originally came from Rantecevang, but I hear Ranters hate them because vampire fairies don’t just suck blood; they suck life and energy. Ranters naturally have excess energy production as a part of the magical system that originated on their world, so for them, vampire fairies leech off the energy they use for their magic. They tried to exterminate all the vampire fairies on their worlds, and they mostly succeeded, except for this batch that the Institute kept for research purposes.”

“So here’s my question.” Milor says as he continues sauntering around the lab, checking out the equipment. “If these things have been hitching rides on cross-continental flights on this planet, it’s only a matter of time before they start hitching rides on interstellar flights, right? They’re gonna start spreading to other worlds eventually.”

“That’s why the Academy wants a sample batch, so they can study them and figure out containment methods.” I say, checking another vial and slotting it into the crate. “Since they’re a flying species that feeds by biting larger animals, they have huge potential as transmission vectors for disease, especially on planets that don’t have strong public health programs, or adequate funding for those programs.”

“Suppose these little buggers would be good mascots for the blue fever.” Milor says. “Now, far be it from me to infringe upon yer scientific expertise, but you said the Ranters almost drove these things extinct. Why doesn’t the Academy just ask the Ranters how they managed to handle the liddl’ buggers, instead of goin’ through all this hooplah with trying to reinvent the wheel?”

“Because the Rantecevang Diaspora isn’t part of the Colloquium, and so they don’t follow Colloquium rules and regulations when it comes to species and disease control.” Lysanne says, slotting the last of the vials into the crate. “And it’s possible that whatever methods they took to decimate the vampire fairy population wouldn’t fly on Colloquium worlds, and might also have a negative effect on the ecosystems of other worlds. Vampire fairies might be annoying, and they might be dangerous as far as disease transmission goes, but the goal is not to exterminate them, especially on worlds where they can be an important part of the ecosystem, as a source of food for other species.”

“They are technically an invasive species, though.” I admit as I fit the lid onto the crate, and start securing it.

“I’m just sayin’, if the Ranters didn’t want to deal with them, what makes you think that any other world in the galaxy wants to deal with them?” Milor says. “I mean, Ranters are pretty relaxed about their flora and fauna. These are the people that let gryffins and greatwolves just wander up and down the streets of their colonies.”

“That is a myth.” Lysanne says as we each grab one side of the crate, and carefully lower it onto the hovercart that’s waiting to the side of the lab bench. “Ranters do often bring Rantecevang’s ecosystem with them whenever they set up a new colony, but they don’t have giant predators roaming the streets in broad daylight. Just because they’re not part of the Colloquium doesn’t mean it’s complete anarchy. Each colony has laws and ordinances they use to keep society functioning.”

Milor reaches into his jacket, pulling out a toothpick. “I’m just sayin’. If the natives hate vampire fairies so much that they almost drove them extinct, doesn’t seem likely to me that anyone else is gonna like them.” He points the toothpick at the loaded hovercart. “We ready to hit the road, then?”

“Just about, yeah.” I say, moving around to grab the cart’s handle to I can start pushing it to the door. “Think we just need to check in with the department head before we leave, right?”

“Yeah. Just need to sign some forms for the authorized transfer of invasive species over system borders.” Lysanne says, moving ahead of me to open the door. “After that we can get lunch here in the city, then head back to the starport. Palladium’s got a lot of good places to eat, and I’ve got a craving for some Wereckwoods curry.”

“I, personally, could go for a burger.” Milor declares, following us out of the lab. “A proper Venusian burger, with all the fixin’s. And since we’re on a Venusian world, there’s no better place for that.”

“Yeah, why am I not surprised. What about you, Jazel? What are you feeling like?”

“Mmm… funnelcake.”

“…Jazel, funnelcake is only sold at fairs and holiday events.”

“Yeah, I know. Maybe donuts instead?”

“Okay then. Burgers, curry, and donuts. Guess we’re turning today’s trip into a Palladium food tour.”

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Pallus: Tainnryst Research Institute

10:18am SGT

“…and the sun goddess is a little desert fox with biiiiiig biiiiiiig ears like this!”

I slow to a halt near Dandy, who’s standing on the edge of the loose crowd in front of the steps of the Institute. Kayenta’s on those steps, casting up a massive construct of yellow light that takes the shape of what looks like a fennec fox, probably standing at about fifteen feet tall or so. While Milor, Jazel, and myself were inside packing the vampire fairies for transport, Ozzy, Kayenta, and Dandy were outside waiting for us. When Kayenta got bored, she started creating illusory constructs and piloting them around, then got the attention of some passersby and started telling stories with the constructs.

“She’s still at it, mm?” I say, folding my arms and watching as the fennec construct trots around in front of the steps of the Institute, crouching down to shove its nose at some of the watchers.

Dandy glances at me. “I thought you were taking the hovercart back to the van?”

“Milor said he could handle it. Sent me back to help wrangle the witchling and the fox, in his own words.” I say, watching the construct flatten itself against the ground and flit its ears up and down as its tail swiffs back and forth behind it. I’ve seen a couple videos of fennec fox behavior, and this seems to track with what I’ve seen. “What story is she telling now?”

“Radiance, the Rantheon goddess of the sun. Apparently she was once a wereckanan Vixili prior to her apotheosis with the rest of the Wildcat mercenaries.” Dandy explains.

I rub at an eye. “I do not have the xenohistory degree needed to understand half of what you’re saying.”

“In short, it’s one of the myths of Rantecevang. Not something you could be expected to know without being deeply steeped in the culture.” Dandy says. “If you would like to learn more, I believe Ozzy may be able to offer an academic perspective on the topic…”

“No, no. God, no.” I say immediately, prompting a small smile from Dandy. “Your sense of humor has come a long way.”

“Thank you.” she says, returning her attention to the stairs of the Institute, where Jazel and Ozzy are sitting and watching while Kayenta shows off her image-casting skills. “Are you ready to grab them so we can head on our little lunch circuit now?”

“I think we should, yeah. It looks like Kaya could keep going for a while if we don’t rein her in.” I say, starting to move towards the stairs.

“It seems she certainly has enough material for it.” Dandy remarks, following me.

“Kaya! It’s time to go, we finished what we came here to do!” I call to her as I reach the stairs. “We’re gonna go get lunch now. We have a bunch of different restaurants we’re going to be visiting, so you can pick which one you want to order from. We can explain in the van.”

Her silver ears perk as she looks at me, then at Jazel, who’s starting to get up. “We’re all done here.” he confirms to her as he helps Ozzy to his feet. “We’ll be grabbing lunch, then going back to the Drift.”

She lets her hands drop, and the fennec image she was casting collapses, fading away into nothing. “I gotta go now. Bye!” she calls, waving to the sparse crowd before skipping down the steps to join us at the same time that Jazel and Ozzy do. “We are eating? What sort of food will we be getting?”

“Well, that depends. What do you feel like eating?” Jazel asks. “Everyone wants to eat something different for lunch, so we’ll be visiting five or six different places.”

Kayenta mulls that over, then declares, “I want a little bit of everything.”

Ozzy chuckles at that. “She’s clever. Why choose when you can just choose everything?”

“That sounds to me like she wants to polish off our leftovers.” I say, starting to walk back to the streetside parking where our van is, with the others drifting along with me.

“No! I wanna try everyone’s food, and then I’ll figure out what I like and have more of that.” Kayenta insists. “I can’t know if I want something if I haven’t tasted it yet.”

“Actually, we can tell you the restaurants we’re planning to visit, and what kind of food they make.” Jazel points out. “That way you can order ahead of time, and the food will be ready for pickup when we get there.”

Kayenta wrinkles her nose. “Okay then. Well, what are you having?”

“Excuse me — are you all the Drifters?”

It takes a moment for me to realize that the question was directed at us, and I pause to look in the direction of the voice. A couple of women have peeled off the crowd that was gathered to watch Kayenta’s image-casting, and judging by the matching hair and the facial similarities between the two, I’d assume they’re related — either cousins or sisters. I slow to a stop, with the others doing the same. “I don’t know anyone that refers to us like that, but we work aboard the Dandelion Drift, yes.” I answer. “Can we help you with something?”

“We were hoping you’d be able to, yes.” the woman on the right says. They both look pretty young — late twenties, early thirties or so, like Jazel and myself. “My name is Tinker, and this is Amagi, my cousin. We’re Ranters from one of the colonies, and we work in the magical supplies market.”

“Oh. Okay, look, if you’re trying to sell us something—” I say quickly.

“No, no no no! It’s not that!” Amagi says just as quickly, putting her hands up. “We’re not trying to sell you anything; we want your help with finding someone, a friend of ours that has gone missing. We think we know where they are, but we’re not… we don’t have the skills to go in and get them.”

Dandy’s attention sharpens at this point. “What do you mean when you say you lack the skills to retrieve your friend?”

Amagi looks at Tinker, who takes a deep breath and shrugs. “I mean, what’s the point in hiding it? We might as well just be up front with it.” Tinker says, then looks to us. “We’re pretty certain our friend got taken by a parting ring when she was out on a supply run. She’s a lepidopteran.”

“Oh.” The soft sound comes from Ozzy, who immediately follows it up with “How long ago was this? When was she taken?”

“About a week back.” Amagi says. “Our colony police weren’t able to do anything about it since we think she got taken offworld. We went to the Vaunted, but since we’re from the colonies…”

“Their jurisdiction over colony affairs is limited.” Dandy deduces. “So you’re coming to the Preservers because the Vaunted and the colony police couldn’t help you.”

“Yeah. We don’t know who else to go to.” Tinker admits.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, and turn to see Jazel behind me. He tilts his head towards Ozzy, who’s nervously fidgeting a little ways behind us. “Ozzy has something he wants to tell us. I think you should hear what he has to say, since he’s worked in the arcane black market for a while.”

I glance at Dandy. “Would you mind talking to them and getting more information while we…?”

Dandy nods. “Go ahead.” She then turns to the pair. “We need a bit more information so we have a better grasp on the situation…”

I turn and make the short walk over to Ozzy, where he glances nervously at the two Ranters, then leans in towards me and Jazel. “Look, I don’t mean to be a downer or anything, but I, I, I think there’s a pretty good chance that lepidopteran is dead. And if she isn’t dead right now, she’s gonna be dead soon, probably before we can get to wherever she was taken to.”

“What makes you say that?” Jazel asks.

“You guys know what parting rings are, right?” Ozzy asks.

“Yeah, they’re poaching groups that hunt magical creatures for their parts, which can be used in arcane products.” I say. “We’re Preservers, Ozzy. We know what a parting ring is.”

“Alright, then do you know what lepidopterans are?” Ozzy follows up.

Jazel glances at me. “A little bit, I think? They’re one of Rantecevang’s humanoid species, right? I can’t keep track, there’s like seventeen of them.”

“Yes.” Ozzy says quickly. “Specifically, they’re a subspecies of the ectognathan line, which has four main subspecies, and technically you could divide it even further down into dozens of subgroups under each of those subspecies—”

“Ozzy. Stay on track.” I interrupt him. “Tell us what a lepidopteran is.”

“I mean, I mean, they’re, they’re butterfly people.” he stutters. “Th-th-that’s basically what they are. Like, take one of those vampire fairies in the crate, and just scale it up to human size, and that’s a lepidopteran. I mean, well, th-that’s not technically accurate, there’s major differences in biology, obviously—”

“So they’re people with butterfly wings.” Jazel says. “People-sized fairies, basically.”

“Yes, I mean, yeah, on a very reductive level, that pretty much sums it up.” Ozzy says.

“And why do you think this lepidopteran is dead?” I ask before Ozzy can start rambling again.

“Well, lepidopterans — honestly ectognathans generally, but lepidopterans especially, and maybe noctidopterans too — they’ve got really high, like, how would I put this? Magic density? Saturation? Production? Like, they’re very magical creatures; a lot of the myths of the fae or the fey or however you want to spell it, those myths spring from ectognathans, mostly from the lepi community.” Ozzy explains, his hands gesturing frenetically. “And on a side note — lepi raves? Stuff of legends. Almost impossible to get into. And the rave nectar? Oh my god, I’ve seen the stuff go for thousands of credits per bottle. It’s insane—”

“Ozzy. Focus.” Jazel interrupts. “You were saying — lepidopterans are very magical creatures. And so it follows that their parts are very valuable on the arcane black market. Is that what you’re trying to tell us?”

“I mean, well yes, basically, that’s what it boils down to, isn’t it?” Ozzy says. “Like, don’t judge me or anything, but lepis in the black market are like a zero-waste product, and that’s rare. You can put almost every part of them to use in something or another. Wings, eyes, heart, organs, bones, the chrysalis, even the muscles and skin. The whole package will sell if you part it out. There’s buyers for everything that comes out of a lepidopteran.”

“So the parting ring would probably prioritize parting out a lepidopteran.” I say, folding my arms and glancing back to where Dandy’s still getting information out of Tinker and Amagi. Kayenta’s over there as well, listening in curiously. “How do you propose we break it to them that their friend is probably already dead, or will be before the authorities get there?”

Ozzy shrugs. “I mean, not really a way to sugarcoat that, is there? Could tell it to them straight up. Probably won’t make them feel good, but honestly I don’t know how else you would do it. Someone’s gonna have to tell them eventually.”

“We don’t know that for sure, though.” Jazel says. “She might still be alive, and we are Preservers. Busting a parting ring, especially one that parts out magical creatures, is the kind of work that we’re supposed to do.”

I already know where he’s going with this. “You remember what happened last time we tried to bust a pelt mill?”

“That’s different. That was supposed to be handled by the Vaunted or the planetary police, and we were just doing it because CURSE told us to help out with it.” Jazel says. “This isn’t that. It’s actually relevant to the kind of work we do.”

“Yeah, but… it’s still dangerous.” I mutter, glancing back at Tinker and Amagi again. “Besides, we’d need to know where this parting ring is first, and get an idea of what we’d be going into. I wonder how those two were even able to find us. It’s not like we’re public figures; the only people that would recognize us on sight are friends and family. We’re not big names, even in the Preserver community.”

“Well, maybe not in the Preserver community. But y’all gave one of the Four Ravens a pretty thorough drubbing, and that kind of stuff doesn’t exactly fly under the radar when it happens.” Ozzy points out. “Word about that probably got around the arcane black market when it happened, and some of those ripples might’ve washed up in the gray market and the white market. At the very least, I’m pretty sure you guys made yourself an enemy.”

“Yeah, I don’t imagine Medukat was happy after we wrecked his joint.” I sigh. “I was hoping we wouldn’t get into this sort of stuff very soon again. Honestly, I’m not even sure we’re equipped for it. We don’t know the when, or the how, or the where yet, just the what. We might not be able to help, depending on what we find out.”

“Well, if we can’t help, we can’t help. But if we can help, then we should.” Jazel insists. “We’re Preservers. Protecting magical creatures and busting people that are poaching or trafficking them is what we do. Even if we can’t save the lepidopteran, we should at least bust the ring that was parting them out.”

My first instinct is to point out that we’re arcanologists first, and enforcers second. Perhaps not even second, but third or fourth. But after what happened to Jazel at the start of this year, getting kidnapped by a morally bankrupt sorcerer that made a business out of harvesting people’s souls, I can understand why he’s pushing on this so hard. He knows what it’s like to be taken and used for someone else’s capitalistic greed, and hearing about it happening to someone else probably hits a nerve with him.

“If it’s within our power and within reason, we’ll see what we can do.” I say. “But for now, we need more information. We can’t commit to something without knowing what we’re dealing with first. Let’s find out what we can, and then we can make an informed decision. Together.” I emphasize the last part, because I know Jazel’s got a stronger instinct to go it alone when he feels he needs to.

“Together, yes. Best way to do it. Dangerous to fly solo on things like this.” Ozzy agrees quickly. “It’ll take you a lot further than trying to bust a ring on your own.”

“Let’s go see what Dandy’s found out, then.” Jazel says, motioning to where the others are. “If we can’t help, the least we could do is see if we could call in a favor at the Academy.”

I nod, starting back in that direction. Jazel and Ozzy follow, and Kayenta tugs at Dandy’s sleeve when she notices we’re coming. Dandy asks Tinker and Amagi to wait for a moment, then she and Kayenta move to meet us halfway.

“So what are we looking at?” I ask Dandy.

“I’ve only had a few minutes, but from what I can tell, the information is actionable.” she says. “We’ll need a proper sit-down to gather as much detail as possible, but they’ve provided names, locations, and a timeline up to this point. We will have to do research of our own, but the request does not appear, at the moment, to be outside the realm of possibility. The general parameters and travel required seem like they are within our means.”

I bite back a sigh at that. I think I’d been hoping, deep down, that it wouldn’t be something we could help with; last time we had to deal with something like this, it had been a difficult experience for everyone involved. But if Dandy thought it was possible… “Alright. Can we bring them back to the ship and have a proper talk about all this? If we end up helping them, we’re going to need to loop in CURSE.”

“I can arrange guest clearances.” Dandy says. “There are also plenty of spare quarters aboard the Drift if they end up traveling with us.”

I nod, then move past her. “Tinker? Amagi?”

The two Ranters turn towards us, Tinker looking uncertain and Amagi looking hopeful.

“We’ll need you to tell us more about how your friend got kidnapped.” I say. “But we think we might be able to help you.”

Event Log: Jazel Jaskolka

Dandelion Drift: Common Room

2:44pm SGT

“A couple of elves, huh?” Milor says, walking around the counter and moving towards the wide window that overlooks the Drift’s biosphere. “Well, I’m not exactly opposed…”

I look up from my data slate, giving Milor a flat look. “You know Lysanne’s gonna have your head on a plate if you try to flirt with them, Milor.”

He places a hand to his chest in a fit of faux indignation. “Me? Flirt? With two damsels in distress? Well I never! I’ll have you know I am a veritable Venusian gentleman, thank you very much, and I would never take advantage of a woman’s distress in such a lascivious and churlish manner.” A sip of whiskey, and he goes on. “Tinker and Amagi, right? Amagi sounds like a properly elvish name, but Tinker’s a little strange.”

“I think Tinker might be a nickname. A shortening for something longer.” I say, shifting on the couch as I go back to skimming the file on my slate. “Amagi’s half wood elf, so that’s probably where her name comes from.”

“Oh?” Milor says, his curiosity piqued by that. “Suppose that explains why she’s so tall. I was wondering.”

“Yeah, wood elf biology strays slightly from standard humanoid limb proportions.” I say, waving a hand. “Their arms, legs, fingers, and toes are all just a touch longer than you usually see with normal humanoids. You’d probably notice it more if she was full-blooded.”

“Mmm.” Another sip of his whiskey. “And Tinker, she’s… high elf?”

“Full-blooded high elf, yeah.”

“Nice.”

I glance up from my slate. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing.” he says quickly, glancing back to the window. “So where’s this organ harvesting ring that we’re supposed to be bustin’?”

“Soiruxia. Eplekaker System.” I say, setting my slate down on the coffee table and pushing it over to him. I’d been skimming the wiki information on the planet.

“Soiruxia? That’s a mining planet.” Milor says, brows furrowing as he reaches down to pick up the slate and look it over. “Surface is cracked and riddled with volcanic canyons and giant magma chambers; the whole planet’s a bubbling cauldron of lava. Didn’t strike me as place to run an organ-harvesting outfit.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. But it’s in Mercurial space.” I point out, leaning my forearms on my knees.

“Ah. Yeah, I suppose that makes sense.” Milor concedes with a grimace. “Easier to run illegal outfits when the government is a bunch of corporations that only care about removing regulations and increasing profits. So long as the money keeps flowing…”

“Is it really that bad?” I ask as Milor hands the data slate back to me.

“Eh. I mean, it’s not like it’s a complete free-for-all.” Milor says. “The corporations that make up the Mercurial Consortium still need some form of order and control. On the surface, the Consortium follows the rules and regulations of the Colloquium, because being a Colloquium member means having access to a ton of markets where they can sell their product. But I’d say they do only what they’re required to, and nothing more. It’s an open secret that the Consortium is not very proactive about ferreting out criminal enterprises that operate on the down-low in their territory, especially if those enterprises are kicking some of the profits to the right people.”

“So they’re willing to let the crime slide so long as it’s profitable, and being done quietly.” I surmise.

“Right on.” Milor says, taking another sip. “And before you ask, the Colloquium can’t put very much pressure on them because the Consortium’s mining corporations provide a huge chunk of the refined materials that power the rest of the galaxy. Mostly metals, which goes into everything from starships to skyscrapers to spoons.” He lifts the hand with the glass, motioning to the common room around us. “The very metals that make up the frame of this room probably came from one of two places: a Mercurial mining world, or a Cyber mining world. A lot of nations do have their own mining industries, but the Mercurials and the Cybers do it better, faster, and cheaper than anybody else. Hard to compete with that unless you want to pay a premium for locally-sourced metals.”

“I mean, isn’t part of that due to the fact that Mercurials and Cybers don’t mind ruining a planet to get at the metals in it?” I point out. “They’ll strip a planet down to the mantle if they find it’s got rare elements in it.”

“Eh. I wouldn’t say they ruin planets.” Milor shrugs. “Colloquium rules. Habitable planets with extensive biological ecosystems are just straight-up off limits to planetary strip mining. Mercurials usually tear up dirtball planets that haven’t got much going for them, and Cybers mine out planets that don’t have atmospheres. Plus, it takes them millennia to strip out a planet’s crust and get down to the mantle, so. There’s that.”

“Mm.” I say, starting to scroll through pictures of Soiruxia’s magma superchambers, and the little districts built on the cooled sides of the massive caverns. “Bit of a tangent. Anyhow, Dandy’s getting more information from Tinker and Amagi, hopefully so we can narrow down where the parting ring is, and what we’d be up against.”

“Well, I’m down for it. Bustin’ traffickers and organ harvesters is my idea of a good deed.” he says, draining the last of the whiskey in his glass. “It’s the sort of thing I would’ve done in my old job; I don’t mind doin’ it again. Especially now that Dandy managed to get me on payroll.”

I look up at that. “Wait, CURSE agreed to add you to our contract? But you used to be a Challenger; I figured…”

Milor shrugs, pushing off the window. “I took the resettlement agreement back when the program collapsed, and I stuck to it. Didn’t break any of the rules. So they don’t got anything they can peg me on, and besides, I figure they don’t think I’m smart enough to be a threat to them anyhow. Fer better or worse, the redneck reputation precedes me. Plus I don’t got any powers, no magic, no special tech, no bio advantages… I ain’t nothin’ special to them.”

That silences me for a moment as I process that. “…that is a good point. How did you end up becoming a Challenger if you didn’t have anything special?”

Milor shrugs again as he walks back to the counter to wash out his glass. “I’m good at throwin’ hands, making connections, and shootin’ people. You didn’t need to have the sparklefingers razzmatazz to be a Challenger, y’know. Common sense, good work ethic, and a steady hand are all things a Challenger needed back in the day. We had plenty o’ people in the program that didn’t have powers and were still worth their salt. Hell, some of ‘em were more useful than the ones that did have powers.”

“Really?” I say, turning on the couch to face him properly. “I didn’t know that. I thought you had to have powers or be really good at something to be a Challenger.”

“You had to have powers or be really good at something to have a codename.” he corrects me, rinsing out his glass in the sink. “Only the elite Challengers got codenames. Those were the ones that went above and beyond, the ones that earned it. You went by your number until you earned a codename.”

“So did you have a codename?” I ask.

“Eh. I guess.” he says, starting to dry out his glass so he can put it back in the cabinet. “They called me Trickshot. I earned my codename because I was quick on the draw and pretty handy with a gun, but I was never famous like the other ones were. Jackrabbit, Nova, Songbird, Echo, Gossamer… alla those. I was never a big name, and I was okay with that. Never much liked the spotlight, anyhow.”

“Huh.” I say, racking my brain. Seems like he’s right, because I don’t ever recall hearing about a Trickshot from the Challenger program. “So why’d you join?”

“Justice or heroics or something like that.” he says, closing the cabinet. “It was… mm, lemme think. Almost two decades ago now? When I joined, that is. Man, it’s been a long time. But yeah, I was just a little past twenny. I was a young hotshot that wanted to leave his mark on the galaxy, and I figured the best way to do that was sign up with the most famous peacekeeping group in the galaxy. Thinkin’ back on it, I’m surprised I made it in.” He hangs the handtowel back on the rung, turning around. “I suppose I’ve always been pretty good at talkin’ my way into things, but if I’m being honest with myself, those were the program’s last years, and the recruiting department’s quality control was probably slipping as well. They ended up hirin’ a lot of folks they shouldn’t have hired, and I might’ve been one of them. Take that how you will, but for better or worse, I got in, and I was a Challenger, if only for a few years.”

I’m quiet for a bit, soaking that in. “Interesting. I’d never heard you talk about it before.”

He chuckles at that, leaning on the counter. “Yeah, no, I don’t talk about it with most people. It is a big part of me, but… it just wasn’t something I could discuss with people. Like in job interviews? People hear you’re a former Challenger, it tanks the whole thing. Out on the street, or in the bar… you never know how people are gonna react. After the program’s corruption was exposed, a lot of people hated Challengers, even though most of the corruption was at the higher levels. But that doesn’t matter to normal people. Challengers were the face of the program. The part of it that people could see and could recognize. So we took the flak, even if we weren’t guilty of anything personally.”

“Is that why you ended up working a cop job out on the edge of frontier space?” I ask, resting my arm on the back of the couch.

“Pretty much. People out on the frontier don’t care as much. So long as you can do the job, they’re willing to overlook a lot of stuff.” He straightens back up with a deep breath. “ ‘Sides, everyone out on the frontier has a past. It’s usually where people to go to get away from their past… and I guess I was just another one of those people, lookin’ for a fresh start.”

“So why did you leave with us when we came to Vissengard?” I ask, furrowing my brow.

He shrugs. “I’unno. You were the only guy on a ship with two sexy ladies and Fluffy McFoxtails, so I figured I’d tag along to balance things out and make sure you didn’t end up building a harem.”

I give him a flat look. “Har har, very funny. You know Lysanne’s basically my sister and Dandy is… Dandy.”

“Yeah, I’m just messin’.” he smirks. “But I guess… if you really want to know… I figured fifteen years was long enough and it was time to come in from the cold. Figured no one would remember me this far down the line, and I might get the chance to do a little bit of good here and there. May not be the big fancy heroics I was hoping for twenny years ago, but I’m okay with that. Means I can work on the small stuff. Like what our two elven ladies are asking for help with. Since the Vaunted won’t help them and their planet’s police can’t do anything, it’s a perfect place for people like us to fill the gap. Make a difference where nobody else can or wants to.”

“Yeah.” I nod softly. “I think Dandy and Lysanne are hesitant about it, but I think we should do it. It’s just… after—”

“You don’t have to convince me, kid. I get it.” Milor says, coming out from behind the counter. “Same thing happened to you and you want to make sure it doesn’t happen to someone else. I understand. And I agree. We can’t save everyone, but I don’t think there’s any harm in going out of your way to do some good in the galaxy every now and then.”

I smile. “Thanks. I’m glad you understand.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it.” he says. “Speaking of which, I think we should be getting on to the conference room with the others. I heard we were supposed to be making our case for a detour.”

“Yeah. We have to get permission for that sort of stuff ever since Vissengard.” I say, pushing off the couch and standing up. “Not that I think we need it, but… y’know.”

“Atta’boy. Stick it to the man.” Milor says, gesturing to the door. “After you.”

“You say ‘stick it to the man’, but you’re taking a paycheck from the people that forced you out of your job fifteen years ago.”

“If my revenge is that I get to leech off their resources while babysitting you lot, I’ll take it. As much as I’d like to be their mortal nemesis, sometimes ya just gotta settle for being a minor annoyance.”

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Dandelion Drift: Conference Room

3:30pm SGT

“The Eplekaker system would be a bit of a detour, but nothing too drastic. It’d tack on maybe a few dozen lightyears onto the route, but it still takes us in the general direction of the Academy so we can make the specimen dropoff later.” Dandy explains. “The two Ranters understand that once we arrive in the Jesserkat system, they will be responsible for finding their own way home from there.”

SCION, who’s up on the big screen on the wall of the conference room, doesn’t give much response beyond tilting his head slightly. His expression remains neutral, and for once, I actually wish that I was dealing with Nazka instead. At least with Nazka, he telegraphed emotions (mostly disdain and aloofness) and readable responses. SCION, on the other had, had all the feeling of a machine that was trying to mimic organic mannerisms, like a mechanical wolf trying to blend in among dogs.

“We also have a fairly good idea of what district the parting ring is in.” I add from my seat on the side of the conference table. Dandy’s sitting beside me, while Kayenta, Jazel, and Milor are seated on the other side. “Narrowing down the location shouldn’t take too long, and we might have it pinpointed before we even arrive. If things go well, we’d be in Eplekaker for less than a week before moving on.”

“And you’re sure you’re adequately equipped to handle this kind of challenge?” SCION asks, his fingers neatly laced together on his desk. “They may be armed. Mercurial and Venusian systems are known for being more lax about armament regulations.”

“We did this before in the Primsex, and made out with all our limbs intact. Doing it again on a Colloquium member world will be a cakewalk by comparison.” Milor says. “The kids are capable, and we’ve got an ace up our sleeve. We’ll be fine.”

“Do the others in your group share your optimism?” SCION asks, turning his head towards Milor.

“We do. We expect there’ll be some resistance, but we have the tools we need, we’ll come prepared, and there’s not a lot that will be able to compete with Kaya.” Jazel says. “All we need is permission from CURSE to take action on the matter, so that Soiruxia’s government doesn’t get huffy about it.”

“I will review the request.” SCION says. “The Mercurial Consortium’s relationship with CURSE has cooled somewhat, and so we are taking care in how we interact with them right now.”

“With respect, sir, this is not something where we can afford to wait for a formal review.” I speak up. “The request is time-sensitive. The parting ring will probably prioritize the kidnapped individual once they arrive, and begin processing as soon as it’s feasible to do so. We need to be able to get underway in the next day or so.”

“While I appreciate the urgency, I cannot approve a mission request without first reviewing the risks and parameters—” SCION begins.

“You know we’re going to go anyway, right?” Jazel interrupts. “Last time we waited for you to help us with something like this, I spent three weeks having my soul siphoned and bottled by a sorcerer who was fixated on profit margins.”

“Jazel.” I hiss. While he’s raising a valid point, getting combative won’t help get us what we’re asking for.

“Why can’t we just go?” Kayenta asks. “This is what CURSE is supposed to do, yes? They are supposed to replace the Challengers and protect people.”

“Kaya!” I hiss. I swear, between her and Jazel, diplomacy doesn’t stand a chance of making it out of the room alive.

“I suppose that is technically true, while largely reductive.” SCION say, appearing none too ruffled by Jazel and Kayenta’s statements. “I understand, given the context and background of the request, why you are pushing for immediate approval; however, that does not change the fact that I cannot grant full approval without a thorough departmental review of the request. That being said, if you would like to undertake this mission without approval, CURSE will allow it; simply be aware that we can provide no resources in the absence of approval, and are likewise not liable for any adverse outcomes resulting from the undertaking.”

“So basically, if we chase this, we’re on our own.” Milor surmises. “CURSE won’t stop us, but they won’t help us either, and if there’s a bad outcome, y’all are gonna wash your hands of it.”

“That is the cost of shortcutting the process. These procedures and protocols are in place for a reason, to protect both you and CURSE.” SCION says calmly. “If you are willing to accept the risks that come with shortcutting the process, you are free to pursue this… side project of yours.”

I glance at Dandy, then at the others across the table. It’s pretty clear that this is the best that we can get at the moment — a compromise that frees us up to do what we want while releasing CURSE from being responsible for our actions.

“Well, I’m down with it.” Milor says. “We’ve got the tools needed to handle it, so I don’t see any problem with it.”

“If it’s a choice between this and having to wait, I think we should take this route.” Jazel says as Kayenta nods along with him. “It’s not ideal, but it seems like it’s the best we’re gonna get at the moment.”

I look back at Dandy, who speaks almost as soon as I look at her. “It seems to be the only feasible option for making this work, but perhaps we should take a couple hours to think about it, discuss it, and come to a decision.” she advises. “There may be things we haven’t considered, things that we would miss if we made an immediate decision. We can always transmit our decision to SCION later; we do not need a face-to-face meeting to tell him what our course of action is.”

I nod; that’s reassuring to me. I can always rely on Dandy for a measured, reasonable perspective. “I agree with that. Let’s take a couple hours, mull it over, see if there’s anything we’ve missed, then we can meet and make a final decision.” I look at the wallscreen that SCION is on. “We’ll let you know once we’ve decided.”

“I will look forward to hearing from you, then.” SCION says. Aside from his head, his entire body has remained almost motionless during the entirety of the conversation. “Is there anything further to discuss while we are on this call?”

“That should be all.” I say. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with us, SCION.”

He gives a nod, and with that, the screen goes blank. As soon as the call’s over, I look over at Jazel and Kaya. “You both need to work on your diplomacy skills. If that had been Nazka, he would’ve shut down our request the second we gave him backsass.” I look at Milor after that. “And I know you know better.”

Milor leans back in his chair, giving a lazy shrug. “You know me, blondie. I’m a straight shooter. If the red machine slaps a slab of jargon down on the table, I’m gonna shave it down until the bones are visible and everybody can see it for what it is.”

Jazel pushes back from the table without a word, standing up and heading for the door. Kayenta’s quick to follow him, and I call after them. “Jazel, we’re gonna have to meet back here in two hours, so take some time and think about what SCION said.”

“I don’t need to think about it. My answer’s not gonna change, and we don’t need CURSE’s help. They’re next to useless anyway.” he says as the door spirals open for him. Both he and Kaya are gone within a moment.

I frown at that, then look at Milor. “You know what’s going on with him?”

Milor shrugs again, sticking a toothpick in his mouth. “I’unno. Probably has something to do with how CURSE was, as he so elegantly put it, ‘next to useless’ when we were trying to find and rescue him from Grimes.”

I can’t help but grimace at that. I can’t argue with it, because I know it’s objectively true, and I know it firsthand — this is the same room where I threw a chair when CURSE told us they were too busy to help track down Jazel after he was kidnapped. “Sure, but he could at least pretend to be civil.” I mutter, pushing back from the table. “Alright. I’ll see you all back here in two hours; I’m going to take a walk and gather my thoughts.”

“Could you do me a favor and gather mine while you’re at it?” Milor calls over his shoulder at me.

“Given how dirty your mind is, I ain’t touchin’ your thoughts with a ten-foot pole if I see any of them lying around.”

“Slander and libel, I say! I am a veritable bastion of virtue and purity!”

Event Log: Jazel Jaskolka

Dandelion Drift: Guest Quarters

6:55pm SGT

“…and here’s your rooms.” I say as the door to the room spirals open, revealing a sparse room with two beds and an attached bathroom. “I know it’s not much, but we rarely have guests on the ship.”

“Oh, no worries. We have slept in worse before.” Amagi assures us as she steps into the room and looks around.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you again for helping us.” Tinker says, taking me by the shoulders and giving me a kiss on each cheek, then doing the same with Kayenta. I know it’s a custom among certain groups of elves, but still, it catches me a little off guard. “It means a lot to us. People usually do not like helping Ranters because we are not part of your Colloquium.”

“Well, something similar happened to us a while back.” I say modestly. “I figured the right thing to do would be to help someone in a similar situation.”

“Yes, we know. We heard.” Amagi says, setting her travel bag down on one of the beds. “There were rumors that Preservers had killed a soul stealer in the black market. That is why we came to you.”

“Yes, that was us.” Kayenta says quickly, brushing up against my side. “My witchling killed the sorcerer. With his bare hands.”

“With his bare hands, really?” Tinker repeats, looking at me with wide eyes.

“Oh, it’s— it’s a long story. Complicated.” I say hastily. “I normally don’t do that. Kill people with my bare hands, that is. It was just— I’d had a long month, and was really stressed out, and y’know how it goes. And most of my friends did the rest of the work; they broke into the facility and took down the guards.”

“So this should be easy for you, then?” Tinker says, stepping into the room to set her backpack down on her bed. “Since you all have done it before.”

“We have some experience with it, so that should make it easier.” I say, glancing at Kayenta, who gives a supportive nod. “It’s going to take a while to reach the Eplekaker System, but that’ll give us time to plan, prepare, and conduct research. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to find the parting ring and raid it within a couple days of arriving at Soiruxia. If everything goes well, we’ll be in the system for less than a week before leaving for the Jesserkat System.”

“We can go with you, help you find the parting ring.” Amagi offers. “We know what to look for, since we’ve seen them in certain areas of the arcane market before.”

“Only find it, though.” Tinker says quickly. “We’re not fighters, and we can’t really help with that kind of thing.”

“I mean, I know how to hunt and use a bow and arrow.” Amagi points out. “I am not completely helpless.”

“Yeah, well I am, at least when it comes to things like this.” Tinker says to her. “I am happy to brew potions, but I cannot throw punches.”

“That’s fine.” I add. “We wouldn’t want to put you two in danger. If you can help us track down the building where the parting ring is, we can take it from there. I’ll let Dandy and Lysanne know that you’re willing to help us with the finding part.”

“Thank you again.” Tinker says, moving back across the room to give me a quick hug before she steps back. “If you ever need anything — potions, materials, components, elements, talismans — you are welcome at our shop. Lifetime discount, any time you want to visit. We can’t thank you enough.”

“Our shop carries things you cannot find in the markets of Colloquium nations.” Amagi adds with a sly grin, sharptoothed grin. “We are not bound by the Colloquium’s regulations, so we can carry the good stuff.”

“Oh! Thank you, that’s very generous.” I say, pleasantly surprised by that. “Maybe once this is all over, we can come visit.”

“We would be happy to have you.” Tinker says. “And we would be happy to show you to the other wonders of a Ranter colony.”

I smile at the offer. “For now, we’ll focus on rescuing your friend. Once we’ve got her back, we can plan celebrations after.” I step back and out of the room, giving the pair a respectful nod. “I figure it’s been a long day for both of you, so we’ll let you have some space and time to rest. If you need anything, just step out into the hall and call Dandy’s name, and she’ll be able to give you direction.”

The pair of them nod in return, murmuring their appreciation before the door spirals closed. In the quiet of the hall, I turn to Kayenta, and let out a breath. “That was very nice of them, offering us to visit.” I remark as we start walking.

“It was.” she agrees, although she looks a little confused. “But what is a discount, and why were they giving you one for life?”

“Oh, oof, that’s… right. You still don’t know a ton about shopping and finance. Okay, uhm, how to I explain this…”

“Is it like politics?”

“No, no, it’s simpler than that, thankfully…”

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Dandelion Drift: Lysanne’s Quarters

11:06pm SGT

“I feel like I should be more supportive of it.” I say, standing in front of the mirror in my room and taking stock of the length of my hay-yellow hair. It’s past my shoulders now, and I’ve never been much of a long-hair person. It’s going to need a trim soon; it’s just a matter of deciding how much gets trimmed off. “I want to be more supportive of it. Just on principle, y’know? I mean, we literally went through the same thing with Jazel being kidnapped ten months ago, so of all people, I feel like I should be more sympathetic to it. But I just… I can’t bring myself to want to help very much.”

“Well, you are in a different position now.” Dandy points out. In the mirror, I can see her on my bed behind me, methodically sorting through my clothes that just came out of the dryer. “You’re a degree removed from the situation, instead of being in the group of people immediately affected by the kidnapping. As such, it probably feels less urgent to you. Easier to write off as someone else’s problem.”

“I mean yes, but, it’s not quite that?” I say, pulling a lock of hair around to the front so I can check the ends. “It’s like, I get it, I understand all of that. I know why this is important to Tinker and Amagi; I know very well what they’re feeling right now. All the worry and the concern and the anxiety and the feeling of racing against time. I think the problem is that I don’t look forward to the rescue. Like, when we went to rescue Jazel… yes, we succeeded, but it was hard, Dandy. It was dangerous. People got killed. Almost all of us got hurt. There were a couple points where I wasn’t sure we were going to make it out alive. And that’s even when we came prepared, and we had Kaya with us. Jazel had the worst of it because of how long they’d been holding him captive, but all of us needed time to recover after that. It was rough.” I go quiet for a bit, then continue. “I guess it’s just… I don’t want to repeat that experience again. I know helping them is the right thing to do, but… god, I don’t look forward to it.”

Dandy pauses in sorting my clothes, looking at me. “That’s understandable. Rescuing Jazel was a stressful experience, and probably one that most people wouldn’t want to repeat. If it helps, I believe this will be different — the conditions are not the same as they were during our experience ten months ago. Instead of conducting this raid in lawless territory swarming with smugglers, traffickers, pirates, and criminals, we will be on a Colloquium world, where the law has power. There is less chance of this parting ring receiving reinforcements as a result, which in turn makes it more likely for them to flee during a raid, rather than stand and fight. The conditions should be more in our favor than they were during our raid in the Primsex.”

I drop the lock of hair I’m holding, smiling at her in the mirror. “I suppose I should trust you, shouldn’t I? You’ve got it down to the numbers.”

“Probabilities are not guarantees. But statistically speaking, we are more likely to find this rescue easier than the last one.” Dandy says as she finishes sorting my pants from my shirts, then begins folding the shirts.

“That possibility of something going wrong, though… it’s still going to bug me.” I say, reaching back to bundle my hair at the back of my neck, and see how that looks. “I suppose I do feel a little better knowing that we won’t be doing this rescue in hostile territory. Also, you don’t have to fold my laundry — I was planning on getting to it, it’s just… today’s been a lot, and I haven’t had the time.”

“I know. That’s why I was doing it.” she says, looking at me. “Are you thinking of getting your hair cut soon?”

“Yeah. Although the thought of figuring out what kind of cut to get is just making me tired. Maybe I’ll just chop it instead…” I sigh, opening my hand and letting the bundle fall loose.

Dandy puts down the shirt she was folding, slipping off my bed; a moment later, I feel her arms wrap around my waist. “I could cut it for you.” she offers, resting her chin on my shoulder.

I feel some of the tension bleed out of my body with her pressed up against my back, and I let out another long exhale, tilting my head back some. “You’re really too good to us sometimes.” I mumble, closing my eyes. “Adjutant, navigator, pilot, logistics, risk management, scheduler, accountant, and now barber. You really can do it all.”

“Well, I’m no expert at cutting hair. Not yet.” she admits. “I would have to do some research, and see if there are any downloadable skill modules available for it. I’m sure there are, it’s just a question of whether they’re compatible with my OS. But I would be willing to learn, for you.”

For you.

Something about that strikes a chord. The simple, uncomplicated sincerity of it; the fact that it’s been a while since I’ve had anyone profess something like that to me. It felt nice to be the focus of someone else’s love and attention. Opening my eyes, I raise a hand and run my fingers through the rich, strawberry locks along the side of her head, my palm coming to rest on her cheek as I tilt my head towards her, ever so slightly. “You really are too selfless for your own good.” I murmur.

Her digital blue eyes linger on me for a long moment. Her silent reply is to turn her head to meet mine, peeling a small, brief kiss off my mouth. Her lips are soft, and warm, and the kiss is over all too soon; that brief moment is not enough for me.

I need more.

I drop my hand, turning about in her embrace; she loosens her hold just enough so I can do so. She doesn’t move away either, staying close as I trace a thumb over her lips, then kiss her again, this time more intently. Her fingers snare in the back of my nightshirt as she holds me tight, and I don’t break away until I start to run out of air. Catching my breath as I rest my head against hers, not wanting to pull away. “Dandy—”

My panted question gets lost in her lips, another wordless answer as she presses back in with a reckless, fiery kiss.

This isn’t how we usually do things; it’s usually more delicate, a tentative dance, but tonight is different. Tonight we feel like two planets locked in tidal resonance with each other, drawn together in an orbit that accelerates as it shrinks, and I don’t want to let go. I don’t want to think after the day I’ve had. I just want to do what I’m doing now: Tangling a hand in her hair, holding her close, breathing in her scent as she pulls me back to the bed, losing our balance and ending up among the piles of warm clothes, fresh out of the dryer, clothes that are almost as warm and soft as Dandy is. Tonight, here and now, in this moment, I just want to lose myself in her, and never let go.

And as far as I can tell, she feels the same way.