Valiant: Tales From The Drift

[Tails #35: I Dream of a Demon Goddess]

Log Date: 1/4/12765

Data Sources: Lysanne Arrignis, Jazel Jaskolka

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Dandelion Drift: Bridge

3:47pm LST

The forward screen is blank, but not dark, when I step onto the bridge of the Drift. Dandy is sitting at one of the consoles, and turns around when I step in. “Ms. Arrignis.”

“How’d the report to the Vaunted go?” I ask, walking past the captain’s chair on my way to her.

“They took it under advisement. They generally do not dispatch an HCD team unless they are certain there is a hypernatural causing a problem, and so far things have been quiet.” Dandy says as she sets aside the tunnelspace route she had been working on. “Whatever Azra is planning on doing, she is not doing it quickly, or she is doing it quietly.”

“That almost worries me more than her being loud about it.” I say, folding my arms as I come to a stop beside the console she’s at. “At least if she was making a mess, we’d know where she is and what she’s doing.” I pause for a moment, then shake my head. “…I don’t even know what we should be expecting, to be honest. I’m used to dealing with poachers, and traffickers, and wild animals. I’ve got no idea what you would expect from a demon goddess.”

“I must confess that I likewise am not sure what to expect from her.” Dandy says. “Creatures of a higher form of existence are, by their nature, difficult to predict.”

“Do you really think she’s a goddess?” I ask suddenly, turning towards her. “I mean, she was incredibly powerful, yeah, but… I dunno.”

“You do not believe in gods?” Dandy asks, looking up at me.

“Well, I mean… like… well, no. I didn’t. I mean, I feel like what most people point to as evidence of gods — like in the Ranter colonies, where they say that priests and clerics get certain powers from the gods they are ordained to — those populations have magic and I think it’s just different forms of magic being consolidated in a ritual manner. I don’t believe in gods; I don’t like the idea of gods. And religion generally; it’s been used to justify a lot of horrendous shit through multiple societies and across history.” I say, trying to find the best way to vocalize my views on the matter.

“But you do not have a ready explanation for Azra’s summoning, so you are questioning your beliefs.” Dandy guesses.

I sigh, glancing back at the blank screen. “Yeah. I want to believe she’s just a powerful creature from another world, or maybe something from tunnelspace. I dunno. I just don’t want to believe she’s a goddess.”

“Would it impact your perspective and worldview if she was?” Dandy asks.

“Yes, it would, and I do not want to adjust my worldview to accommodate deities.” I say, grinding the heel of my shoe against the floor a bit. “I think the concept of gods is problematic and if they’re real, I’ve got a bone to pick with them.” I glance at her. “What about you?”

Dandy doesn’t answer right away, seeming to sit on the question a bit before giving her thoughts. “I do believe there are higher-order entities in the universe. I also admit that people like us probably don’t know much about them. The same way ants look at us and cannot even begin to comprehend the totality of our existence, we would probably look at a higher-order entity and could only make sense of the parts of it that are visible to us.”

“You believe in something higher than us? Some higher power?” I ask, surprised.

“Perhaps not a higher power. A higher intelligence, certainly.” Dandy explains. “As far as I can reason, it is a statistical likelihood. On the scale of life, from microbes to small animals to humanoids, I doubt that humanoids are the end of the scale. While I do not have proof for this presumption, I think it is reasonable to assume that there may be something above humanoid society in terms of sentience. Perhaps several things.”

“Mm.” I’m reluctant to admit it, but Dandy has a point. “So if there are things like gods… you don’t think they’re divine or infallible. You think they’re just higher forms of life that we can’t understand.”

“Sophistication and complexity do not inherently confer perfection.” Dandy says. “To ants, we may be gods, but we are obviously not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, our sophistication makes us capable of flaws, mistakes, and atrocities that lower-order creatures never would or could be capable of. I assume one could logically take that fact and extrapolate it further upwards to any creatures that are on a higher order than we are. So, to answer your question — no, I don’t assume that any higher-order creatures would necessarily be infallible. Gods they may be, but perfect, they are probably not.”

I blow out a long breath. “…still don’t like the idea that there could be creatures out that can treat us the same way we treat ants.”

Dandy shrugs. “I imagine the ants would feel the same way about us if they had the neural capacity for comparative cognition.”

“Always a bigger fish.” I mutter. “Did CURSE have anything to say about a demon goddess getting loose?”

“It seems to have gotten their attention. Nazka asked some followup questions, then scheduled a check-in with the Administrator looped in.” Dandy says, pulling up the calendar on the main screen. “He wants to meet as soon as we drop out of tunnelspace in the Jesserkat System. The questions will likely be quite… probing and thorough.”

“Fantastic.” I grumble. “That’s just what we needed, getting our asses grilled after getting trounced by something way above our pay grade.”

Dandy presses her lips together, then makes a tentative reply. “Lysanne, perhaps it would be best if you did not attend that check-in. I can give the report just fine, and with only one member of our crew present, it will be easier to give tactical answers that limit the crew’s potential exposure to legal liability and cross-examination. I can tell the Administrator and Deputy Administrator that the rest of you are still recovering from the psychological strain of the event.”

That gets my attention. “Wait, what? Legal liability? What are you talking about? What would any of us be legally liable for?”

Dandy looks reticent to answer, but she does so anyway, lacing her fingers together as she launches into her explanation. “This entire chain of events… the Tinkerbelles, Kaya’s kidnapping, the Daughters of Azra, the ritual on Balmorrah… all of it occurred outside of the purview of CURSE. As far as accountability goes, CURSE did not sign off on any of this, and as a result, nothing that occurred in that chain of events falls on CURSE. The responsibility for that falls on us. And if anything negative results from this chain of events, then fault may be traced back to us. It’s true that there were many factors that we did not control in this chain of events, and things we could not have stopped. But there were some things which were within our control, and it’s possible we may be seen as the ones that let the first dominos fall.”

My mouth slowly drops open as she explains. “But— we told CURSE! After Kaya was kidnapped, we let them know what happened and asked for their help!”

“Which they declined, because Kaya’s kidnapping resulted from an independent project.” Dandy reminds me. “Ever since we tried to help the Tinkerbelles, they have studiously avoided giving us approval for anything we’ve requested in relation to that chain of events, presumably so they cannot be found liable for anything that results from it. I am not sure what to make of it, and we might never know the reasons for their refusal to engage on this chain of events. But from my role as the crew’s advocate, I have to consider the possibility that CURSE is not acting with our best interests in mind.”

While I understand what Dandy’s saying, I’m struggling to process it. “What do you mean? CURSE is our employer; why wouldn’t they… they wouldn’t throw us under the bus, would they?”

“I cannot say for sure, Lysanne. I can only look at the behavior of other organizations and make educated guesses about the motive behind CURSE’s current actions.” Dandy says. “That is why I think it might be better if you skipped that check-in. In case CURSE has undisclosed intentions, it would be best to limit our exposure—”

“No, I need to be present.” I say, shaking my head. “I need to know why they didn’t provide us any support, even when we told them what was happening. And especially when their support could’ve prevented what happened. Things wouldn’t have turned out this way if they’d gotten involved when they were supposed to.”

“Lysanne, I’m not sure that’s wise—” Dandy starts to warn me.

“That doesn’t matter! This shouldn’t have gotten to this point in the first place!” I say, still shaking my head. “I’m attending that check-in. The administration isn’t the only one that wants answers. I’ll have questions of my own for them.”

It’s clear that she doesn’t agree with that, but she’s not going to argue it with me. “Very well. I’ll plan on your attendance.” Then, perhaps seeking to pivot quickly from the topic, she asks “How are Jazel and Milor doing?”

I bite my lip, looking down. “Milor’s fine, he’s… he’s Milor. Not a lot that really bothers him, even after getting steamrolled by a demon goddess. Jazel, though…”

“Still hasn’t left his room?” Dandy guesses.

I nod. “At least that I can tell. He’s barely eating, either. Tried to talk with him earlier, but he’s just not having it.”

“And his injury?”

“I wasn’t able to check, but he didn’t say anything about it, and it didn’t look like he was in any pain, so it seems like it’s fine, as far as I can tell. At the very least, it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse.” I say, leaning back against the adjacent console. “I don’t know what to do. He’s lost interest in everything, and doesn’t want to do anything. I don’t know what we’re gonna do with him.”

“If he has lost interest in everything, it may be that he’s in a state of grieving, and there may be nothing we can do for him.” Dandy points out. “We may simply have to let it run its course.”

“Yeah. I suppose.” I concede.

The conversation drifts to a halt with that. There’s really nothing more to be discussed on the topic; in the wake of Balmorrah, I feel lost. Kaya is gone, Jazel has withdrawn into himself, and our lives have been changed and upended. Nothing is the way it was before, and I’m not sure it’ll ever be the same again. I don’t know where to go from there, and the only direction we have at the moment is to get to a system with a proper hospital so we can have Jazel’s injury checked out. Past that, I don’t know what we’re going to do next.

I don’t like to admit it, but I don’t have the answers, and I don’t know where we go from here.

Event Log: Jazel Jaskolka

Dandelion Drift: Jazel’s Room

1/5/12765 11:31am LST

What do I do now?

I don’t know. I have no answers. After Balmorrah, I woke up on one of the Drift’s skippers, aching and with pain on my side, and it all hit home at that point.

We had lost.

Azra had escaped, and we had no way to track her.

And even if we could track her, she was far too powerful for us to fight her.

I’ve been drifting, lost, since then. I can barely bring myself to get out of bed, and I keep replaying that battle over and over and over again in my head. Trying to figure out where it went wrong. What we could’ve done differently that might’ve changed things. Wanting to have someone, something, to blame for our failure. And then I look forward, trying to figure out what we can do to find Azra and get Kaya back. But I can’t see any path forward. I don’t know what we can do to come back from this.

So I lie here in my room, unsure of what to do next. Thinking in circles and circles, until I can’t think any more, and sleep takes over.

When I dream, I am on a dark plateau, stretched out as far as the eye can see beneath a starlit sky.

I roam the dark expanse, the stone and dust black beneath my feet. I know I am looking for something, but I do not remember what it was. But I know that I need to find it. I cannot stop looking until I find it.

And so I roam. I hike along that dark plateau, the black dust beneath my feet glittering with the light of the stars overhead. It’s the night sky as seen on planets with civilization, a glowing, luminous, starfreckled expanse, and I trudge along beneath its light, searching and searching for something I cannot find.

Until I see something.

Standing there on a raised rock shelf is scarlet silhouette, a woman with nine tails. Watching from afar, imbued with the numinous red glow of divinity. There is something behind her on the shelf; spikes of dark crystal that form a thorny cage, reflecting the starsaddled sky above.

I have found what I was looking for.

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Dandelion Drift: Common Room

1/6/12765 9:54pm LST

“You said you saw him up and about?” I say, folding my arms. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, he was in the labs earlier. Downloading stuff onto a slate. It looked like stuff to do with Azra. Mythology texts, theology papers, anything academic or historical to do with her.” Ozzy says, wringing his hands nervously. “I didn’t know he was well enough to be up and about after that injury you said he got on Balmorrah, but he was there. Granted, I know that young people tend to just bounce right back from that sort of stuff, but what with losing Kaya and all, I didn’t think he’d be up and about so soon.”

“What was his demeanor like?” Milor asks, sipping from his whiskey at the counter. “Was he all murder-y and brooding like before, or…?”

“Well, he didn’t say anything. Just downloaded the research and left.” Ozzy shrugs. “His eyes looked kinda empty, y’know? Like he was running on autopilot. But I figure there must’ve been something going on in his noggin because you don’t go looking for research on autopilot, you have to figure out keywords and search parameters and figure out what you want to download and what you want to filter out.”

I turn to Dandy. “If he downloaded that information from one of the lab consoles, there should be history cached on the console, right? We can figure out what he was looking at and downloading?”

“I should be able to pull the history from the console unless he wiped it, yes.” Dandy confirms. “And if he’s accessing the galaxynet from a data slate, it still relies on the Drift’s comms array to make the connection, so I can monitor any incoming or outgoing traffic. If you would like, I can start doing both — pulling the history from the lab console and monitoring our galaxynet traffic for anything unusual.”

“Yes, please.” I say, rubbing my knuckles against my chin. “We should be arriving at the Jesserkat System in the next few days, and we can have him properly evaluated once we check him into the hospital. I don’t think he’ll do anything before then, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

“What exactly would he be doing?” Milor says, motioning a hand. “He hasn’t done much of anything over the past few days besides lie in bed and feel sorry for himself. Personally, I think it’s a good thing that he’s up and about; it’s a step up from this mopey-dopey multi-day pity party he’s been throwing.”

“You never know with Jazel, and I don’t want to be caught off guard.” I say. “Losing Kaya did a number on him, and the fact that he’s pulling research on Azra has me worried. I hope that he hasn’t gone off the deep end and is thinking of worshipping her, but the other likely explanation is that he’s trying to find ways to locate her and defeat her, which is almost as crazy. And Jazel being Jazel, he might just try it, even if the odds are impossible.”

“Well, I mean, it’s probably not impossible…” Ozzy murmurs off to the side.

Milor raises an eyebrow at Ozzy. “Is that so? You think the kid could have a chance against a demon goddess?”

“Milor, no.” I say, already seeing where this is going. “Ozzy, no. We are not entertaining this. The Vaunted have a special division specifically for this kind of situation. They are professionals and it is their job; we should let them do it.”

“Okay, sure, but aren’t you a little curious as to why Ozzy thinks our skinny little witchboy might stand a chance against a demon goddess?” Milor asks.

“No, I’m not! Because I want our skinny little witchling to stay alive!” I retort.

“Well, I’m interested.” Milor declares, taking another sip from his glass and turning to Ozzy. “Let’s hear it, Ozzy. Sounded like you had something interesting you wanted to tell us.”

Ozzy’s eyes dart around nervously before he starts talking. “W-well, this wouldn’t be the first time that Azra’s escaped from the Maelstrom. It’s actually kind of a thing that she’s known for doing, y’know? And, like, she’s done it several times before, even though it’s kind of, uhm, like a once-in-a-generation event, or honestly maybe a little rarer than that because it happens once every thousand years or so. I think. It’s not on a set cycle, sometimes it’s a few centuries between escapes, sometimes it’s a few millennia. Well, I suppose that latter one is still a once-in-a-generation event for wereckanan, since they live so—”

“Ozzy.” Dandy says quietly.

“Oh! Right, well, anyway, well, point is, this like, happens kinda frequently, relatively speaking.” Ozzy stammers on, scratching one of his ears. “And every time it does happen, her parents assemble a band of heroes to go stop her. Or at least that’s what always happens in the legends. Since she is released by mortal hands, she has to be returned by mortal hands. And the conditions of Azra’s release compel her to give them a fair battle, instead of simply snapping her fingers and turning them into dust.”

I stare for a moment, then shake my head. “That has got to be the stupidest, most roundabout way of fixing a problem that I’ve ever heard.”

Ozzy puts his hands up. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. That’s always how it goes down in the Ranter legends.”

“That makes no sense! Why can’t her parents just send her back to wherever she came from? Why do mortals have to do it?” I point out.

“Weren’t you listening, blondie? She was released by mortal hands, so she has to be returned by mortal hands.” Milor says.

“That is stupid! That is a dumb rule!” I exclaim. “That’s like saying the kids let the cows out of the barn, so only the kids can return them. That’s stupid! For one, it’s going to take forever because they’re kids, and two, the adults could do it a whole lot faster and with less risk of someone getting hurt. I don’t even know why I’m arguing about it, because this entire idea that there’s some sort of band of heroes chosen to stop Azra and send her back to where she came from is manifestly stupid, and even if it was true, Jazel is not hero material. He does not stand a chance against Azra, any more than the rest of us do. The only thing that’s going to happen if he runs off to fight her is that he’ll get himself killed and then I’ll have to explain to his mom why he got himself killed, unless one of you would like to take on that delightful responsibility. Mm?”

It’s quiet in the common room; neither Ozzy nor Milor look me in the eyes, and Milor defers by taking a sip of his whiskey.

“That’s what I thought.” I go on. “So no more of this delusion, of thinking that we could stand a chance against Azra, because we clearly can’t. We tried that and we got steamrolled. And if Jazel has that delusion, I better not catch either of you feeding it. Got it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” Ozzy says.

Milor shrugs. “I’m just sayin’, I don’t blame the kid for wanting to save his fox.”

“There’s no point in him trying to save her if he gets himself killed in the process.” I say firmly. “So we are not going to encourage this. If you see he’s gearing up to try something, you tell me and Dandy, is that understood?”

“Yeah yeah, we’ll tell you.” Milor says, draining the last of his whiskey, then turning to wash out the glass in the sink. “Anything else we need to cover, or can we wrap up this shindig and call it a night?”

“That’s all I’ve got. Dandy?” I say, looking to her.

Dandy shakes her head. “I have nothing to add.”

“Alright then. Let’s get to bed; we’ve got a lot to do once we get to Velennia, and we’ll need to be well-rested for it.” I say, dismissing them with a wave. Ozzy and Milor head off with that, and once they’re gone, I look to Dandy. “I’m not the only one, right? What Ozzy said sounds really stupid.”

“It does sound rather clichéd.” Dandy agrees, tucking her scarlet hair over one shoulder. “But with what has transpired so far, I would not rule anything out. The fact that Azra is real may, by extension, validate anything that is related to her as well.”

“Ugh. Even if it’s true, I want nothing to do with it. We’ve already been through enough shit so far.” I sigh, rubbing my brow. “If someone else could fix everything, that’d be great. I’d really appreciate it, because we are definitely not qualified for it.”

“Let’s go sleep, Lysanne.” Dandy says, reaching out to rest a hand on the nape of my neck. “You’re stressed. You need rest, and some time spent meditating and unwinding may be good for you as well.”

I press my lips together. I can’t say she’s wrong. “Yeah. A shower and bed would probably help.”

“They will.” Dandy says, starting to lead me towards the door of the common room, and I follow, quietly happy to relinquish control, even if it’s just to be led back to my room.

Event Log: Jazel Jaskolka

The Dreaming

1/7/12765 3:37pm LST

Here under the star-streaked sky of this plateau, I see my enemy clear.

“Well, aren’t you just a clever little thing.” Azra sneers as she tightens her grip around my throat, lofting me into the air. “And how did you weasel your way in here?”

My hands are on her arm, trying to break her grip. She is the glowing silhouette I saw two nights ago; she didn’t recognize me then, but she caught me trying to sneak back to that cage of crystal spikes on the shelf. I can’t choke because this is a dream, but her grip on my throat is still uncomfortable.

“Give me back my fox.” I growl at her.

“I think not. I still have work to do.” she says, reaching up with her other hand and hooking a finger into the neck of my shirt. She pulls it down, enough to expose the X scar just beneath my collarbone; here in the dream world, it glows with a soft blue light. “Ah, so that’s what it is. You made a pact with her, and sealed it with the blood of a spirit bloom. Man, that sucks. Didn’t know I’d be getting a package deal when I possessed her.”

“If you don’t like it, then give her back.” I snarl at her.

Azra stares at me for a little longer, then throws me to the ground off the edge of the shelf, which is a couple feet above the rest of the plateau. I land hard, though it doesn’t hurt as much as I expect it to. I feel the impact, or at least the thought of the impact, but here in a dream, it doesn’t hurt quite the same.

“You’re weak, and moreover, you’re annoying.” she says, staring down at me. “I can already tell you’re the kind of annoying that just won’t go away. I’ll have to put up with you until someone does me the favor of killing you. So what’s the motive? Lemme guess, you’re out here trying to get her back because you love her.”

I scowl at her. “Not like you’d understand that.”

She turns to motion to a near boulder, which lifts itself off the ground and floats over, dropping beside her. “It’s so painfully unoriginal that I’m bored to tears. Local man fights for the love of his life, more at seven. Next up is the weather! You are literally the most unoriginal variation of this theme that I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah? Well, what’s your motive?” I demand as I get to my knees, feeling both embarrassed and insulted. “What’s your big deal? Why you gotta come to the mortal plane and ruin everything? Lemme guess, you’re here because you want to rule over mortals, or bring forth a new dark age, or some clichéd bullshit like that.”

“Oh ho ho, look who’s got a personality!” Azra says, making little swiping motions with two of her fingers. Chunks of the boulder start getting carved away, gradually beginning to take the shape of a throne. “That’s more like it. If you must know, it is none of that. I mean, I could rule over mortals. I could bring forth a new dark age. But those projects wouldn’t go much of anywhere before I inevitably get shut down. I know better than anyone else that my time on the mortal plane is limited, so I’m going to get something meaningful done while I’m here.”

I stare warily at her; this conversation is going places I hadn’t expected it to. “Something… meaningful.” I say slowly.

“Yes. Something where the effects will be felt even long after I’ve been imprisoned again.” she says, putting a few finishing touches on the carving of her throne. “I’m going to right a wrong that happened a long time ago, and create a new paradise for my people. I’m going to reclaim something that was stolen from them hundreds of years ago. I figure you, as an Aurescuran, would understand what that’s like. An injustice that lingers in the cultural consciousness of your people, crying out to be remedied.”

My hands curl in the black sand on the plateau. “How did you know I was Aurescuran?”

Azra gives me a flat look as she sits down in her stone throne. “You’re really not that bright, are you? I’m a goddess. Just assume that I know everything, okay? It’ll make these conversations a lot easier for everyone involved.” She shuffles in her throne a little, leaning to one side, then the other. “Does this throne make my ass look fat?”

I give a confused squint at that question, then decide to move past it. “So you’re on the mortal plane to do something… to fix something that happened to your people. You’re a morphox, so I assume that means you’re talking about the vashaya’rei?”

“Well, the Ranters more generally. The vashies are part of that; they’re part of most Ranter colonies.” Azra says, waving a hand. “And before you go gettin’ all nosy, I’m not going to tell you what it is I’m doing. I don’t want to run the risk of you running off to warn someone that might actually listen to you. Let’s just say that you’ll know what I did when you hear about it.”

I glare at her. “And you expect me to just sit by and let you do whatever you’re going to do?”

“You don’t have a choice.” Azra says, examining her fingernails. “Because you don’t know what it is I’m going to do. All you know is that I’m going to do it. And all you can do is sit back and wait for it.”

“Why are you making me wait, then?” I demand. “If you can do it and you’re not going to tell me what it is, then just do it. You’re a goddess, right?”

Azra narrow her hot green eyes at me. “Don’t get smart with me, witch boy. I don’t work on the timetable of mortals. I do what I want, in the time that I want to do it.” She goes back to checking her fingernails. “Besides, I’ve got some toys I want to grab before I get started. Should make things go a little smoother when all’s said and done.”

I don’t respond right away, parsing that statement in my head. I doubt she actually means ‘toys’ in the traditional sense; she’s probably referring to objects that will be useful to her, or will help speed along whatever it is she’s planning to do. She’s obviously being vague on purpose, but if I can figure out what things she wants to go collect, I might be able to figure out where she’s going. The problem is getting her to divulge that information without making it seem like I’m trying to extract it from her.

“Oh.” I say after a moment. “Okay, I get it. You can’t actually do what you’re planning to do on your own; you need your ‘toys’ to help you with it. You’re not actually as powerful as you want us to think you are.”

Azra curls her hand shut, staring at me. “You think you’re being clever, don’t you.” With her other hand, she makes a lifting motion, and another nearby boulder rises off the ground some distance. “Well, you’re not. And you’ve pissed me off, on top of it. So enjoy waking up.”

With that she motions the boulder over to me with two fingers, and I can tell what’s coming. I scramble to get up, but it’s too late; as its shadow falls over me, she swings those two fingers downs, and the boulder follows it. Everything goes dark, and seconds later, I open my eyes to find myself in my bed, in the dim twilight of my room.

Grimacing, I start to roll over and sit up, wincing as my side twinges from where my arrow wound is still healing. After a moment to collect myself, I reach for the data slate on my bedside, turning it on as I lean back against my pillows. The screen opens to the translations of old Ranter texts I’d been reading through, books of legend and mythology that had been salvaged from the Diaspora’s fractured history.

If Azra wanted to withhold information from me, then I’d just have to dig into her legends and find it myself.

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Dandelion Drift: Conference Room

1/8/12765 11:31pm SGT

“And this ‘Azra’ did not telegraph her future intentions during the brief exposure you had with her?” Nazka questions. He’s currently up on the big screen in the conference room, along with Tenji, who has spent most of this meeting listening while Nazka asks the questions. Evidently this is far more his area of expertise than it is hers.

“No. She kept saying that she had ‘work’ to do on the mortal plane, but wouldn’t elaborate on it.” I say.

“And there were no hints as to what that work was? No clues, no implications?” Nazka persists.

“Nothing that we could discern. The entity seemed impatient to move on from the compound, and we were not in a position or condition to press for answers.” Dandy says.

“Mr. Milor, were you able to glean anything from your interactions with this summoned entity?” Tenji asks.

Milor, who’s sitting at the conference table behind us with his boots kicked up on the table, is in the middle of pouring more Venusian vintage into a glass he brought with him. Upon hearing his name, he looks up at the screen. “About her intentions? Nah. She was playing coy with those. As far as personality goes, she’s a high-maintenance bitch. She thinks… well, I was gonna say she thinks she’s god’s gift to mortals, but she’s a goddess, so I suppose she thinks she’s doing us a favor just by blessing us with her presence or some shit like that.”

“Charming.” Nazka remarks drily. “And there was no indication of where she and her followers were heading after your ill-conceived attempt to foil the ceremony?”

“Nope.” Milor says, swirling his whiskey about in his glass. “Otherwise, we’d already be headed there ourselves.”

“No, we wouldn’t.” I say as Nazka raises an eyebrow. “It’s pretty obvious Azra is above our ability to handle.”

“If it was that obvious, why did you attempt it in the first place?” Nazka inquires.

“Well, we didn’t know she would be that powerful before the visit to Balmorrah. We didn’t even know if she existed.” I point out quickly. “We thought the Daughters of Azra were delusional, and while we knew they had a ritual planned, we didn’t expect anything to come of it. We just wanted to get Kaya back and make sure she wasn’t hurt during the ritual.”

“I’ve got a better question for you: where were you lot in all of this?” Milor interjects at this point. “Ain’t it CURSE’s job to prevent this kind of stuff? Or do y’all just sit on your hands until shit hits the fan?”

“Milor.” I hiss at him, even though he’s asking the exact thing that I wanted to ask. The problem is the way he’s asking it; he approaches the topic with all the subtlety of a demolition bot.

“We had reiterated our stance several times over the past two months.” Nazka replies tartly. “You crew embarked on this undertaking without the proper intelligence work, and we warned you multiple times that Citizens United would not be liable for the outcome of an independent project that had not been properly investigated or researched. Had you waited for us to—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know all about that part.” Milor interrupts, taking his boots off the table and setting his glass down, waving his hand about as he stands up. “Insurance. Liability. I get all that, that’s the typical company line. Problem is, CURSE ain’t a typical company.” Picking up his glass, he starts to saunter around to the front of the room. “Y’all were supposed to fill the void left behind by the Challengers. You were supposed to provide the security that the Challengers helped bring to the galaxy. CURSE talked a big game about only intervening when they were asked to, in order to respect the sov’reignty of whatever planet they’d be stickin’ their noses into. Well, here we been, asking for your help, and seems to me like y’all are doing the damnedest to avoid doing the job y’all claim you wanted to do.”

“We typically respond to requests for aid from government bodies.” Tenji points out. “Usually on matters that will have defined impact on large populations. We typically don’t act on rescue requests for single individuals, as we do not have the manpower or personnel to respond to each of those requests across the length and breadth of the galaxy.”

“Let’s set aside, for the moment, the fact that you have an obligation to those that are contracted with you as employees. I get turning down rescue requests from every Jack Daw and Jane Doe out there, but this specific rescue request did not come from a random person or group; it came from people that you have on payroll and that you are under contract with. But let’s set all that aside for a moment.” Milor says, gesturing with his glass. “You say you only act on matters which have impact on large populations. There is a sassy demon goddess on the loose. In what galaxy do you think that will not have an impact on a large population?”

“What you believe, and what you have been told, is a demon goddess.” Nazka says tersely. “Which, frankly, I am not sure I subscribe to. I will not deny that the entity you encountered was clearly very powerful, and obviously left an impression on all of you. But if you have reported it to the Vaunted, and they have elicited not to act on it for the time being, then I do not see what will be achieved acting contrary to the Vaunted assessment.”

“Well, for one, you’d be helping rescue the kid’s fox.” Milor says, taking a sip. “And who knows, maybe this time you’d actually get to the catastrophe before it happens. But hey, if you wanna wait until a bunch of people get hurt or killed before you get off your asses, don’t let me get in the way of company policy.” He turns and starts walking back to his chair, lifting his glass as he goes. “However, I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so’ when shit goes south somewhere in the galaxy. An ounce of prevention is cheaper than a pound of cure and all that shit.”

“Your opinion is noted.” Nazka says. “Unfortunately, we cannot be everywhere at once, fixing all of the galaxy’s problems. That is why we will defer to the Vaunted’s jurisdiction on this matter, and if they do not think it requires action, we will trust their judgement. If that assessment changes in the future, and we are in a position to make a salient contribution to the issue, then at that point we will coordinate with the Vaunted on what our response will be.”

“We are not without sympathy, either.” Tenji adds. “Insurance will cover the cost of your hospital visit on Velennia tomorrow. We know you have been through a lot, and you need time to recover; we do not mind giving you that time. While you are in the Jesserkat System, take a week to resupply and receive medical care. Afterwards, though, we want you to return to the HQ for an assessment and debriefing.”

“Understood. We will plan it into the schedule.” Dandy says before either Milor or myself can respond. “If you hear anything more with regards to Azra or her followers, will you keep us looped in?”

“That depends on what we hear.” Nazka answers curtly. “For now, you can consider the matter out of your hands. Even if we do receive further intelligence on this entity and her movements, it does not mean we will be acting on it. We will relay any information we have to the Vaunted, and if they request our aid, we will provide it, but otherwise, CURSE has no intention of getting involved. You would do well to keep that in mind.”

“Understood.” Dandy repeats.

“Good. If that is all, we will be closing this meeting now. There are other matters we need to tend to.” Nazka says, while Tenji nods. He reaches forward, and the screen goes blank, ending the call.

In the ensuing silence, I swivel my chair to face Milor. “Seriously?”

He’s in the middle of a sip, and shrugs as he sets his glass down. “I was just saying what neither of you were brave enough to say, blondie.”

“I mean yes, I had those questions to, but the way we ask those questions matters, Milor.” I say. “They can cut our contract if they want to. We shouldn’t just be running around implying that they’re being negligent. Or if we are, we should at least be polite about it.”

“There ain’t nothin’ to imply, blondie. The truth is out there for everyone to see!” Milor says, making a sweeping motion with his free hand. “Where were they when we were trying to rescue Jazel? Where were they when we were trying to rescue Kaya? And they’re still trying to wash their hands of this whole thing, trying to fob it off on the Vaunted. The record speaks for itself; they’re doin’ their damnedest to dodge this, and they don’t care if they have to throw us under the bus in the process. Only reason they’re agreeing to let the insurance to cover our hospital visit is to try and get us to settle and stop makin’ noise. They weren’t doin’ it out of the kindness of their hearts.”

I purse my lips at that, then look to Dandy. There’s a reluctance in her expression as she speaks. “I do not say this lightly, Lysanne, but the Deputy’s observation is valid. CURSE has gone out of their way to disengage from this issue. I cannot quite parse their rationale for doing so, but as you and I discussed earlier, I do not think CURSE has our best interests in mind, and to me, this meeting has only proved that.” Having said that, she turns her attention to Milor. “That being said, there is a tactical advantage to letting CURSE think we are ignorant of their designs, Deputy. Even if we do not believe they are acting in our best interests, we should not telegraph that to them. Lysanne’s point is also valid: as our employers, they hold the leverage, and if they feel we are a threat or a liability, they may act to neutralize it, either through corrective action or terminating the contract. You observed that they were trying to get us to ‘settle and stop making noise’ by offering to cover our hospital costs. I believe that for now, and with the week we have been afforded, we should give them the impression that we have settled, the better to stabilize our position, since we have been ordered back to the HQ afterwards.”

Milor blows out a long breath, shaking his head. “Yeah, I get it, strawberry soda. You got fair points; I can’t argue with it. It just doesn’t feel right, though. I think we should be out there, looking for her. She’s part of the crew; I don’t think we should just sit back and leave this in the hands of others. In the hands of people that may not even be doing anything about it, no less.”

“You were there, Milor; you saw what Azra could do.” I remind him. “It’s not something we can handle.”

“Yeah. Well. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.” Milor says, starting to stand up, and grabbing his bottle of whiskey as he does so. “You know my opinion. And you know where to find me.”

With that, he heads for the door of the conference room, and neither of us stop him. As the door closes behind him, I push back from the table. “What do you think, Dandy?” I ask. “Where does this all lead?”

Dandy shakes her head. “I only wish I knew, Lysanne. I only wish I knew.”

Event Log: Jazel Jaskolka

The Dreaming

1/9/12765 3:39am SGT

The crystal spikes are cold against my skin as I press against their flat sides, reaching through the gaps and into the cage they form.

“Kaya! Kaya, are you in there?” Even though Azra isn’t here right now, I still say the words in a whisper, as if she might hear and arrive at any moment.

There’s the sound of scrambling over ground, and something rushing to the cage’s edge. Seconds later I feel fingers on my arm, wrapping around it, and a moment later, the glow of august eyes appears at one of the other gaps. “Little witch!”

I immediately move to that gap, pushing as far into it as I can go. It’s just enough room for Kaya and I to brush our noses together; I feel around in the spikes until I find another gap I can fit my arm through, squirming my hand inside until it wanders over her shoulder, and I trace from there up to her face. “Are you okay? This is the first time she hasn’t been here when I’ve been dreaming!”

“She’s awake right now. She can’t be here when she’s awake.” Kayenta says, her breathing rushed and excited. One of her hands fumbles through the spikes, finding my jaw and moving around around to run her fingers through my hair and around the back of my neck. “Right now she’s retrieving Aephero from Xalomerren. Once she has it—”

“Wait, wait wait— what’s Aephero?” I say, my relief blending into confusion. “Where’s Xalomerren? Is it a person or a place?”

“Aephero, it’s the quintessence of fire from Rantecevang. It’s a sword.” she says quickly, her fingers tightening around the back of my neck. “It’s in a grave on Xalomerren, which is a Ranter planet. It was buried with one of the heroes of the Diaspora. After she has it, she’s going to go to Tirsigal—”

“Goddammit!”

I let out a shout as someone grabs my hair from behind, and yanks me back from cage of crystal spits. Kayenta yells, trying to keep a hold on me, but Azra yanks me away from the crystal prison and throws me on the ground, stalking towards me. “I leave for two hours to rob a grave and you sneak in here again. What does it take to get you to give up?”

I roll over on my back, and when I see that she’s holding a red-bladed katana in one hand, I start scrambling backwards over the ground, only stopping when I feel myself back up against the throne she’d carved a couple nights ago. This is the first time I’ve seen her bring a weapon into the dream; until now, she had always been unarmed. “I’ve already told you, I don’t stop until I get my fox back.” I pant.

“Is that so?” Azra says as she strides up on me, raising the katana to plant the tip of it on my forehead, just above my left eyebrow, and using it to pin my head against the side of the throne. Up close, I can see that the crimson blade is translucent, almost as if it was made of red glass — and I realize that the the entirety of the blade is carved out of what must’ve been a titanic shard of exceptionally clear ruby. I can feel the heat emanating off the sword, warming my skin. “Then maybe I should just deal with you right here and now, and save myself the headache.”

“We’re in a dream. You can’t hurt me here.” I breathe, taking care to remain still. I know it’s only a half-truth — she can hurt me here, it just won’t translate over to the real world.

“True. If I kill you here, you just wake up.” she says, rotating the katana so that the edge is pointing down. “And in dreams, the pain is all in the mind. But there are some tools that will cut across both the Waking and the Dreaming.”

With that, she twitches the katana down, and I gasp and squeeze my eyes shut, feeling a quick, hot slash over my left eyebrow and the top of my cheek. I shove myself back against the throne even more, trying to get as far from the ruby blade as possible, and when I open my eyes, I’m relieved to find I still have vision in both of them, though I feel warm blood trickling down my eyelid and eyelashes. Gritting my teeth, I glare up at her, fighting past the pain. “I made a pact. I’m going to get her back, no matter how much you threaten me.”

“If you want her back, you’ll have to hurt her even more than you’d be hurting me.” Azra says, flicking the katana back around to sheath it at her side. “For now, I recommend you wake up, and think long and hard about how far you’re willing to take this.”

With that, she makes a lifting motion with one hand, and the throne behind me rises into the air, leaving me to fall onto my back. I realize, as I’m staring at the bottom of it, that I’m about to get sent back to the waking world.

Then she motions that hand back down, and the throne slams down on me, everything turning black.

I wake up suddenly, my heart pounding in my chest. Sitting up in my bed, I gasp for breath, then freeze when I feel something dripping down the left side of my face. Raising a hand, I touch my face; my fingers come away red with blood.

Fumbling my way out of bed, I stagger to my bathroom and turn the light, looking in the mirror. There, crossing over my left eye, is a cut that goes through my eyebrow and notching over the top of my cheek just beneath my eye, in the exact same spot where Azra had gashed me with her katana. It stings, and there’s enough blood coming out of it that it’s already run down to my jaw and is started to drip on the tile floor.

I’m gonna need to be careful whenever I sleep.

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Velennia: Atrugaia

1/10/12765 11:20am SGT

“So basically all they could do was stitch up the slash over his eye?” Milor asks, digging around in the pocket of his duster and coming up with a toothpick.

“They took scans, examined the arrow wound, and basically said that it had been treated pretty much perfectly.” I say, leaning on the overlook railing next to the hospital. From here, one can look out across the city of Atrugaia, established in a steep, heavily wooded and mountainous region. Like most Marshy cities, many of the taller or dominant buildings have a silver-and-glass sheen to them, gleaming in the patchy, cloudy afternoon light. It’s the later end of fall here, the weather getting colder, so I’m currently wearing a jacket and a toboggan. “They said the organ damage is healing just fine, the dermal wound should be completely sealed in another few days, and that you’d barely be able to tell he’d been shot there. Doctors didn’t even want to mess with it, except to take a sample of the material that was used to suture the injury. Said the molecular composition wasn’t anything they’d ever seen before and they wanted to get an analysis on it to see if they could replicate it for use with other patients.”

“Surprised they didn’t ask you who the supplier was.” Milor says, sticking the toothpick between his lips.

“Oh, they did.”

“Heh. What did you tell them?”

“Basically the same thing we told CURSE. We were rescued and treated by an unidentified party that left before we came to.”

“And did they believe you?”

“I doubt it, but they were too polite to push it.”

He folds his arms. “Well, at least they’ve got manners. Typically you expect curiosity to trump manners when it comes to Marshies.”

“You’ve watched too many movies where Marshies are the antagonists.” I say, picking at the sleeve of my jacket. “They’re normal people, just like anyone else.”

“We got the stereotypes for a reason, blondie.” he says, brushing back the edges of his duster and stuffing his hands in his pockets. “So if they’re not gonna do anything about his arrow wound, I assume they’re just going to stitch up that cut on his face and release him?”

“That and a few more scans, but yes.”

“And he’s still not budging on how he got it?”

“Still says he got it from Azra.”

“And do you believe him?”

“I’m not sure what I believe any more, Milor.” I say, looking away. “Jazel’s never been the type to harm himself. But the alternative is to believe that he’s somehow linked to Kaya, and by extension, to Azra, and has been encountering her in his dreams whenever he goes to sleep.”

“Is that really so hard to believe?”

“Do you believe it?” I challenge, looking at him.

“Hell yeah, I believe it.” he scoffs. “Ten days ago we watched Fluffy McFoxtails get possessed by a demon goddess. Now I ain’t the type to believe in miracles, and I’ve got some serious doubts about the goodwill of gods, Christling or otherwise. But I’ve also got a working brain and common goddamn sense, and common sense tells me that if you can summon a demon goddess over here with the rest of us, then it ain’t impossible to have a run-in with her in your dreams. Especially when she’s possessed your girlfriend.” After a moment, he takes his toothpick out and points at me. “You don’t wanna believe it because you don’t wanna acknowledge the existence of higher powers. Believing Jazel means accepting that, and you don’t like that.”

I scowl and look away. “Well, excuse me for growing up on a world that hates deities, and rightfully so.”

“Yeah, well. I got news for you, blondie: Aurescura ain’t the only world in the galaxy. It’s a big universe out there.” he says, tucking the toothpick back between his lips. “There’s gonna be some things out there you don’t like. Doesn’t mean you should ignore them. I doubt you need to hear it from a redneck like me, but willful ignorance is the antithesis o’ the scientific method. We actually got a word for that out on the frontier. You know what it is?”

I give him the side-eye. “No. What do you call it?”

“We call it stupid.”

I wrinkle my nose at that. “I hate you.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger, sweetheart.” Reaching up, he holds his widebrimmed hat in place against a sudden gust of wind blowing up the mountainside. “I been meanin’ to ask, blondie. There a reason you don’t want to save Fluffy McFoxtails? I get that it’s dangerous and everything, and I understand you might be scared. But Grimes and his elf gang were dangerous and arguably scary, and that didn’t stop you from rescuing Jazel.”

“Yeah, well, Grimes wasn’t a higher-order power!” I retort, pushing off the railing. “Grimes was a man. A human man. That had lived for longer than he was supposed to, because he was sipping on souls, but he was a man. You could hurt him. You could kill him. Dealing with Grimes felt possible. But dealing with Azra? Like, how the hell are we supposed to deal with her? With Grimes we could just kill him, but can we even do that with Azra? Could we even do that to Azra without also killing Kaya? And if killing Azra would kill Kaya, how do we get Azra out of Kaya without killing her? We have no answers to any of these questions, Milor; we’re not equipped to deal with it, and Azra is magnitudes more powerful than all of us combined. It is out of our league; we cannot handle this. We could handle Grimes, but this? We can’t handle this, Milor.”

He works his toothpick around in his mouth a bit before responding. “I see where you’re comin’ from; I get that. I’ll grant you the fact that we tried to handle it, and got our asses handed to us. But I still feel like we should try. We’ve all put time and effort into the fox. Jazel’s put in the most, but we’ve all been part of the process of teaching her, socializing her, making her into a civil creature. And I’ll be honest, I’ll be pretty put out if it all goes to waste. We put a lot o’ work into that fox, blondie. Made a lot of memories. Taught her a lot of stuff. I was looking forward to seeing who she’d become.” Looking down, he scuffs the sole of his book against the cold concrete. “I know the odds are long. I know it’s dangerous. I know we might not succeed. But I think we owe it to her to try. I’m not ready to admit defeat and call it quits just yet; I think we still got one more college try in us.”

I fold my arms, feeling a little uncomfortable at that. It’s not often that Milor gets sincere like this, and some of the things he’s just said resonate with me. I want to agree with him, to give it one last go and try to rescue Kaya. But the trauma of our recent defeat hasn’t faded away yet, and I besides that… “Doesn’t really matter. CURSE has ordered us back to HQ in less than a week. We can’t flaunt that; we’re already on thin ice with them as it is.” I mutter.

He puffs a deep sigh. “And you wouldn’t consider insubordination for the sake of a friend? We’ve gotten away with it so far…”

“That’s what makes it risky. The longer we try to get away with it, the more we try to push the limits of CURSE’s patience, the higher the chance that they’re gonna yank on our leash.” I say, rubbing my cheek. “After that last meeting with the administration, I… I think we’re running out our goodwill. Nazka was not happy with us. And Tenji sat back and let him take point on that meeting. And you didn’t make things any better, getting up on your soapbox like you did.”

“Eh.” he says, looking down and kicking a boot against the overlook railing. “Someone had to call them out on their shit, blondie. Wasn’t gonna be you or strawberry soda. I wasn’t expecting it to change anything, but didn’t want them to think that they were getting away with it, or that we’re ignorant of what they’re doing. Sometimes if you let someone know that you’re watching, it’ll make them tighten up their behavior. Makes them less likely to try and pull a fast one when they have eyes on them.”

“Yeah, or they’ll cut you loose if they think you’re more trouble than you’re worth.” I point out. “I ain’t happy with CURSE either, Milor, but for the sake of everyone else that’s on the contract, just… be a little more careful. They can’t fire single individuals on the contract, so their only recourse, if they want to get rid of someone, is to cut the entire contract, which is basically fires everyone on it.”

“Being fired might not be the worst thing in the world, considering who the employer is.” he mutters. “But I see your point. I’ll try to avoid telling the truth next time I’m in the same room as the top brass. Maybe that’ll preserve their delicate sensibilities.” He works his toothpick around in his mouth, then asks “You still won’t budge on taking a last swing at rescuing Kaya?”

I shake my head. “It’s too risky, Milor. Both for our jobs, and for our lives.”

He nods. “Fair ‘nuff. If that’s what you believe.” Turning about, he starts heading back to the hospital doors. “But you gotta be the one to break the news to Jazel. If this is the decision you’re going to make, you need to take responsibility for it. Don’t try to fob it off on Dandy or Ozzy.”

He doesn’t wait for my reply, and I don’t have one to give to him. The underlying principle in his words makes sense and I agree with it, but I don’t like how it applies to me. Having that conversation with Jazel would be difficult, and I’d been hoping that someone else would do it.

But since I was the one calling this shot, it looked like the responsibility for that would fall on me.

Event Log: Jazel Jaskolka

The Dreaming

1/11/12765 11:41pm SGT

I’m back here again, just the same as I am every night.

“You are just a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?” Azra says as she stalks up on me with her red-bladed katana out. I’ve got my back to the crystal cage, where I was trying to sneak a conversation with Kayenta before Azra could get back. Kayenta’s got her arms shoved through gaps in the crystal spikes, wrapped around my chest, as if she could keep Azra from yanking me away again. “I’ve seen people young and in love before, but this is just ridiculous. You have absolutely no sense of self-preservation.”

“I don’t know how many times I need to tell you.” I say, my breathing coming a little shallow. “I don’t stop until I get my fox back.”

“I’ll give you points for consistency. It’s more than I usually see from most other people.” she says, bringing the katana around to press the flat of the blade against my cheek. The surface is smooth and warm, almost silky, as she uses it to tilt my head enough to expose my neck. “It is aggravating, though. Perhaps I should just slash your neck so you bleed out when you wake up.”

“You cannot!” Kayenta hisses from the cage behind me, her arms constricting around my chest. “The witchling is mine! He is not yours to take. I will bite your tails off if you kill him, I will tell Mother and Father what you have done and they will punish you!”

Azra’s green eyes focus on some point behind my head, likely a gap in the cage that Kayenta is glaring through. “I can’t make heads or tails of your obsession with this human. I could understand the dedication if he was another morphox, or vashaya’rei, or even wereckanan. But he’s just a human.” She lowers the katana, poking the tip of it against my shoulder. “And a weak one, at that.”

My temper spikes, and I bare my teeth at her. “I’m not weak.”

“He is my human. My witch. I claimed him and you can’t have him.” Kayenta adds, growling at Azra.

Azra smirks. “That’s where you’re wrong, little sister. He keeps visiting my dreams, and whether he realizes it or not, that forms a bridge between him and I whenever he does it. I haven’t bothered to try and cross it because he’s weak and it wouldn’t be worth my time, but if he’s going to keep hassling me, maybe I can return the favor.”

I go very still, carefully watching Azra’s face. “What do you mean by that?”

“Just that I’m going to give you exactly what you wanted for a little while.” Azra says, the tip of the katana lifting away from my shoulder as she flips it back around and sheathes it. “You want your fox so bad, why don’t you spend some time with her in the playpen while big sister goes for a walk around the neighborhood.”

Reaching down, she grabs me by the shirtfront, and the crystal spikes behind me retreat into the ground without warning, creating an opening in the cage. She lifts and shoves me into it, Kayenta letting go of me and scrambling backwards as I suddenly join her in the crystal prison. As soon as Azra lets go of me, the crystal spikes shoot back up into place, and Kayenta leaps over me and slams into them just a half a second too late.

“Let us out, you fluffy harlot!” Kayenta shouts through the spikes as she yanks on them. “You are not meant to be on the mortal plane! Give my body back and let us go back to our lives!”

Azra’s already turned away, her crimson tails swaying as she saunters off towards the dark plateau beyond the raised shelf. “Still got work to do, little sister. You can have your body back when I’m done avenging our people and reclaiming what was taken from us.”

“Azra!” I shout, crawling to the prison’s edge with Kayenta. “Azra! Where are you going?!”

Her only response is to smirk back at us, slowly growing smaller and dimmer as she heads out onto the dark plateau beneath the starry sky.

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Dandelion Drift: Kitchen

1/12/12765 3:52am SGT

“God… dammit… never gonna get a proper night’s rest on this stupid ship…” I mumble, staggering down the hallways on my way to the kitchen. Dandy had called me and woke me up, asking me to come to the kitchen, and her phrasing and tone made it clear that whatever the reason was, it was at least decently urgent. So here I was, staggering through the halls in my pajamas, trying to wake up and comb my hair out of my eyes.

Reaching the kitchen, I wave the door open and stagger inside to find that Milor and Dandy are already there. Milor’s in his boxers and a ratty old t-shirt, while Dandy is in her pajamas, like me. Both of them are staring across the kitchen, where the freezer is open and there’s a naked woman rummaging through it.

“I… whuh?” I mumble, straightening up and rubbing my eyes.

The sound prompts her to look around. She reminds me of a fairy — petite and delicate, with long, glossy black hair that falls down her back in loose waves and curls until it reaches the backs of her ankles. Poking through that cascade of black hair are wings — thin, translucent and gossamer, like dragonfly wings, in a set of four. She’s got deep red irises, and there’s something that resembles a crown over her head — drifting slivers of stone sometimes linked by flickers of electricity or a swirl of flame. Her skin is a marble white, entirely leached of color, and despite having no clothes, she has no genitalia — almost like an extremely realistic mannequin or a doll that was brought to life.

After a full moment of staring, I glance at Dandy, then at Milor, and smack his arm when I find him staring unabashedly. “Milor!”

He glances at me and shrugs. “What? She doesn’t seem to mind running around in the buff, so clearly she doesn’t have an issue with people starin’.”

“You’re unbelievable.” I grumble, then look to Dandy. “Dandy, do you…?”

Dandy gives a small shake of her head. “I have nothing. I have no idea how she got on the ship or how long she has been here; there is nothing on sensors or logs that indicates any recent ingress by other parties, either known or unknown. The only reason I realized she was here is because I started getting a preponderance of automated notifications for movement during quiet hours, and apparently she has been exploring the ship while we were sleeping.” She pauses at this point, then amends. “Well, perhaps it, not she. It looks feminine, but as you can tell…”

“Yeah, I noticed.” I murmur as the fairy thing pulls a tray of fruit popsicles out of the freezer and works one loose, looking it over before sticking out a tongue and licking the tip of it. “Has it said or done anything that might explain why it’s here…?”

“All it’s been doing since we’ve gotten here is raiding our freezer.” Milor says at the thing starts gnawing on the popsicle. “Like, it knows we’re here. It’s looked at us, watched us, has clearly acknowledged our presence. It just hasn’t said anything to us.”

“And we don’t know what it is?” I ask, directing the question to Dandy.

“I’ve been trawling the galaxynet while waiting for you to get here, searching for something that matches this description, but I’m not finding anything exactly like it.” Dandy answers. “I thought it might be an ectognathan, but even those have genitalia. Beyond that, there are no other close matches for what it might be among the humanoid races.”

There’s a crack as the fairy thing snaps the popsicle in half between its teeth, then starts chewing on it while staring at us. Once it’s mulched the chunk of popsicle down into slush, it licks its lips and speaks. “Where are the witch and the necromancer?” The voice, like the creature, is feminine.

“The witch and the… you’re talking about Jazel and Ozzy?” I say slowly.

“Yes. I require the entire group, not just three-fifths of it.” she says, sticking the rest of the popsicle in her mouth and tugging until it comes off the metal popsicle stick. “Wake them up and bring them forth. They must be here for the delivery of the summons.”

“Delivery of the summons?” I repeat. “What are you talking about? Who are you? What are you? And why are you stealing food out of our freezer?”

The fairy creature continues chewing the bottom half of the popsicle, soon swallowing it as it flicks the metal popsicle stick into the sink. “I am Sång, one of the Faroea of Rantecevang, herald of the sun, storm, and shadow. I have journeyed from far abroad, and my soul hungers.”

“It hungers for fruit popsicles?” Milor says as Sång leans back into the freezer.

“It hungers for…” She leans back out of the freezer with a small pint of ice cream; turning it over in her hands, she squints at the branding, slowly reading it out. “…Jaeger Stills’ Authentic Hand-Churned Marshy Rum Raisin Ice Cream.”

“Whoa whoa whoa hey hey hey put that back, put that back!” I say, moving forward a couple steps and lifting a hand. “That’s my ice cream, you can’t…”

“You are a mythological figure.” Dandy says suddenly, lifting her head as if she’d just completed a search on the galaxynet. “One of the original body templates that was used to guide the design of Rantecevang’s mortal races.”

Sång pauses in prying open the lid of the ice cream, looking at Dandy. “Yes. That is what I was. I now serve as an emissary of the god of storm and shadow, and the goddess of the sun.”

Milor starts snapping his fingers. “Oh, wait wait wait, I remember Ozzy talking about this! Weren’t Azra’s parents some sort of sky gods or something? I can’t remember the names.”

“No, the god of the sky is someone else. Maelstrom rules over the storm and the shadow, and Radiance rules over the sun.” Sång says, peeling the lid off the ice cream and licking the residue on the interior of the lid. “I have been sent to deliver a summons to your group. Wake the witch and the necromancer, and bring them forth, so that they may receive the summons along with the rest of you.”

“If that summons is what I think it is, I would prefer not to wake them up.” I reply, folding my arms. “We are not going to be your designated heroes—”

“Blondie, seriously?” Milor sighs, looking at me. “We’re literally being visited by an angel, or the equivalent of it—”

“That ‘angel’ is eating my ice cream!”

“You heard her earlier, she had to travel a long way to get here!”

“What sort of angel sneaks into your house, steals your ice cream at four in the morning, and eats it in front of you?! What if she’d snuck in here and started drinking your whiskey?”

“Then I’d say she clearly has good taste!”

“Is it possible that you could simply tell us the content of the summons?” Dandy asks Sång, cutting through the bickering between me and Milor. “Then we can make an informed decision about why you are here, and what you may be asking us to do.”

“The summons is to be given to the entire group. If all members are not present, it cannot be delivered.” Sång says, carving a finger scoop of ice cream out of the tub and sticking it in her mouth. “Wake the witchling and the necromancer, and bring them forth.”

Dandy looks to me, and I shake my head. “No. No. I don’t need them here to know what she’s going to tell us to do. She’s going to tell us to go hunt down Azra. We don’t have the means, we don’t have the time, and CURSE has already told us to report back to HQ at the end of the week.”

“I think we should hear her out.” Milor says. “Doesn’t hurt to see what the summons is, and if it’s not something we’re comfortable with, we can politely decline. I think.” He pauses a moment, then looks at Sång. “What happens if we don’t accept the summons?”

Sång stares at him, then looks down at the ice cream, then back up at him. “If you refuse the summons, then I will eat all your ice cream and drink all your whiskey.”

Milor scrunches up his nose at that. “Mmmm.” he mutters to me. “She really knows how to twist a person’s arm.”

“Milor, we talked about this a couple days ago! We’re already on thin ice with CURSE and we don’t want them to cut the contract!” I hiss. “We can’t just go gallivanting off because some nudist with wings showed up and started raiding our freezer!”

Milor gives me a look. “Blondie, you remember when you showed up at my house, drunk off your ass, with half a bottle of whiskey and a suicide mission?”

“Uuuugghhh.” I groan, dragging a hand down my face. “Don’t do this to me, Milor.”

“Yeah, we’re goin’ there. What if I had told you ‘no’ when you showed up? Trust me, I had a lot of good reasons to say no.”

“I hate you.”

“But I didn’t say no. I decided to help you, even though it was inconvenient and possibly life-threatening. And because of that, Jazel is alive. So maybe you should consider—”

“She’s here.” The words cut into Milor’s lecture, and we all look to see that Sång has suddenly straightened up, looking alert as her wings rise and angle away from her back. Closing the tub of ice cream, she shoves it back in the freezer and closes the door as her wings start to vibrate, quickly ramping up to a speed where they’re little more than a thrumming blur that lifts her off the ground about half a foot. “I can sense her. She’s not fully here, but there’s an echo somewhere.”

Milor looks mystified by that. “Did I miss something?”

“Nothing that I could tell.” I say, shifting out of the way as Sång glides around the kitchen table and towards the door. It spirals open for her, and she plants her hands on the doorframe, pulling herself out into the hall with the ease of someone that usually gets around by flying. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

“She is here on your ship. Only an echo of her, but that likely means she intends some mischief.” Sång says, turning about in the hall. “We must find her.”

“What are you talking abo—” Milor begins.

“Jazel’s trying to access the core vault.” Dandy says suddenly, cutting him off, her pupils narrowing to pinpoints as she stares off into nowhere, likely accessing different parts of the Drift’s security systems. “But I don’t think it’s actually him. His appearance is abnormal and his readings are coming back anomalous.” Stepping out into the hall, she points in the direction leading to the elevator. “This way. I’ve locked and shielded the core vault, but he needs to be apprehended and examined.”

Milor and I hurry to keep up with them as they rush out into the hall. “Wait, Dandy, what do mean that Jazel looks abnormal?” I call after them.

“He is emitting energy far above the standard for his profile, to the point that it’s on the visible spectrum. It is hard to explain, but you will understand it when you see him.” Dandy answers over her shoulder.

I look at Milor, but he just gives a shrug; apparently he has no clue what that’s supposed to mean either. We all pile into the elevator without further ado, and it isn’t long before we’re on the deck where the core vault is located, sprinting along the curving hallway until the vault door comes into view — and standing there in front of it is Jazel. I can tell, in an instant, what Dandy was talking about — there’s a crimson, shimmering ghost of a fox tail behind him, and a likewise a pair of ghostly fox ears on his head.

“Ah, of course.” Milor says as we slow to a halt in the hall. “You could’ve just told us that the kid was being possessed by the sassy fox goddess.”

That grabs Jazel’s attention, and he turns to look at us, pulling his hand away from where it was starting to heat up the vault door. The moment he does, I can see that the scars lining his cheeks — the ones that Kayenta gave him over a year ago — are glowing red, and his eyes have taken on a hot green iridescence. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t my old babysitter. Seems like Mom and Dad were pretty quick on the draw this time around.”

Sång’s wings slow down, becoming visible again as she lights back on the ground. “Azra Guile, you relinquish that boy right now! And you will return to the Maelstrom if you know what’s good for you.”

Jazel — or technically Azra? Jazra? Gods, that sounds cursed — Jazra rolls her eyes. “Or what, you’ll spank me? You can’t send me to my room anymore, you joyless mosquito. Those days are long gone.”

“That is true. But I can still vacate you from places you are not supposed to be.” Sång says, lifting a hand. A seal of white light flares to life around her wrist, and luminous chains spring from the walls, floors, and ceiling, snaring Jazra’s ankles, wrists, and neck, jerking her away from the vault door. “And you are not supposed to be possessing that boy. You can leave, or I can force you out of him.”

Jazra hisses as she’s suddenly restrained, yanking back against the chains, but there’s almost no give in them. “The boy’s the one that’s been troubling me. I wouldn’t have possessed him if he would’ve just left me alone, but no, he’s been sticking his nose into my dreams every night. He had it coming.”

“Then perhaps you should’ve picked a host that didn’t have a lover, and a pact with said lover.” Sång replies, cold and unsympathetic as she starts to rotate her raised hand. A searing white light starts at Jazra’s extremities, progressing along her arms and legs as it starts to burn away the crimson outline coating her. “You chose poorly this time around, and I imagine it will lead to you being evicted from the mortal plane much more quickly on this particular excursion.”

“Stupid package deal.” Jazra seethes as the white light begins to progress onto her torso, working its way up towards her head. “You better hope he doesn’t stick his nose into my dreams again. Next time I possess him, I’ll use him to deal with the rest of you, instead of just trying to break your stupid ship.”

“Begone, rebellious child.” Sång orders as she finishes rotating her hand. The searing white light rises up Jazra’s neck and over her head, burning away the ghostly fox ears, and the chains evaporate after that, leaving Jazel to collapse on the floor of the hallway.

Dandy and I rush around Milor and Sång, getting down to Jazel and flipping him over on the floor. Dandy places a hand to his neck, checking his vitals, and while she’s doing that, I check the stitched cut on his face and pat the rest of him down, feeling for any injuries. It doesn’t look like he’s been hurt, and the scars on his cheeks are no longer have a crimson glow, which is reassuring.

“His vital metrics are within acceptable parameters. Elevated on some counts, but not dangerously so.” Dandy says after a moment, taking her hand away from his neck. “Physically, he is fine. But I cannot account for the effect that possession will have on his psyche.”

“I don’t imagine most people would take it well.” Milor drawls. “O’ course, the question is: how did she manage it in the first place? Far as I can tell, we’re nowhere near her.”

“He formed a pact with the Silvertail morphox.” Sång says. She’s folded her arms behind her back, standing straight and narrow with shoulders squared, as she stares down at Jazel with something approaching aloofness and disinterest. “That magic binds them together, and because Azra has possessed the Silvertail morphox, the transitive effect is that the boy is essentially linked to Azra.”

“How do we break it?” I demand. “We can’t have him linked to Azra; she might possess him again!”

“You cannot break it. A pact can only be broken by those that made it, and only by willingly transgressing the terms of the pact, which may have consequences beyond simply breaking the bond between the two of them.” Sång says. “If the boy does not want to break the pact, then you cannot force him to.”

“Well, if we can’t break the pact, there’s gotta be a way to keep this from happening again.” Milor says, scratching at his scruff. “We can’t risk having the kid get possessed by this sassy foxbitch again. At best, she might damage the ship or sabotage something else. At the worst, she’s gonna kill us all in our sleep next time she gets control over him.”

“I agree with the Deputy.” Dandy says. “If Jazel chooses not to break the pact, and we cannot find a way to prevent Jazel from being possessed again, other preventative measures will have to be taken, and he will not like any of them.”

I look to Sång. “Is there a way to keep Azra from possessing him again if he chooses not to break his pact with Kaya?”

Sång raises her chin slightly. “There is.”

There’s a moment of silence where we wait for her to elaborate on that, but she doesn’t. As the silence stretches longer, Milor clears his throat. “Well, are you gonna tell us what it is?”

Sång takes one of her hands out from behind her back, idly examining her nails. “I may.” she says nonchalantly. “If your group will accept the summons.”

My mouth drops open, and the hall falls into stunned silence as the three of us realize we’re being extorted by an angel.

“Oh… man.” Milor says, breaking the silence as he wipes a hand over his mouth, then looks at me and Dandy. “She’s… good. She’s clever. I told you earlier, didn’t I? She knows how to twist a person’s arm.”

“Oh, that’s just… mmm. You.” I seethe, glaring at Sång. “That’s a real scummy thing to do, you know that?”

Sång’s lips just curl a little at that the corners. There’s a smugness there, like a cat that’s all too pleased with itself, made all the worse by the absence of a spoken reply. She knows what she’s doing, and she knows that with the situation we’re currently in, we don’t have a choice.

Whether we want to or not, we’re gonna have to play the heroes to Azra’s villain.