Futuristic The Darkness of Space (Supernatural Scifi)

[Reynarda]

Dmitri smiled slightly. We should have human food on the station. I will speak with the station commander.

Dmitri turned to Pyotr. “We must call a meeting at once. We must stop the war our actions have caused and aid these people. Fortunately, it seems their prince wants a peaceful solution.”

Pyotr eyed Dmitri. If the other vampire had his way, he knew, all the clans would be sending aid to these people from the rip. While Dmitri Zmey was not powerful, he was persuasive and tenacious. If he let Dmitri out of this room, any advantage Pyotr could gain from this situation would be lost. Power was easy to gain when one threatened the masses with something that clearly wanted to destroy their way of life. For ages, it had been the humans and their encroaching on vampire territory and wanting to explore. But now, there were creatures from another world that could mess with minds. The universe--or the philos, perhaps--had handed him Yasen on a silver platter.

Pyotr folded his hands into his sleeves. “I think that any attempts to convince the clans to send aid would be detrimental.”

“No, we would not send more than we can manage,” Dmitri said, and Pyotr rolled his eyes. Dmitri frowned. “You mean to me? Are you threatening me, Sylvestr?”

“Not you,” Pyotr assured him.

Dmitri blinked, and Pyotr wondered how he had gotten this far in politics if he was this slow on the uptake.

But Dmitri was trying to figure out which of his family was most vulnerable. "You won't. If you play your trump card, you will not have it to hold it over our heads anymore."

Pyotr sighed. Of course Dmitri would figure out what his daughter had not. "There are other--"

"Like what?" Dmitri demanded, his aggressive stance like Vanya's.

"Vanya is--"

"You won't compromise what she can do for you," Dmitri interrupted.

"I can make her life difficult."

Dmitri actually laughed. "You already do with your mere existence."

Pyotr stared at him, shocked that the smaller vampire had such venom in him.

"You could go after my son's contracts with various companies, maybe, or prohibit my daughters from getting into a good university. You could discredit my wife, perhaps, or make it difficult for my clan to resupply. Or, you can go after me. Dig up false evidence of bribery or claim I have been unfaithful to my clan head. But we can weather that. None of that is worth a war."

Pyotr set his jaw. If he couldn't make Dmitri fear his power, then he needed another tactic. Dmitri was fairly straight-laced, but he knew for a fact that he had a temper. One that flared when he was afraid for his family. There was only one person Pyotr could actually get at directly, and Dmitri knew it. Most likely, Dmitri had guessed what was really going on, but Vanya had shut him out. All he would need was a gentle nudge.

"Good to see at least some of your stalwart altruistic values did not translate to Vanya," Pyotr said evenly. "She thinks more like me. Willing to do what it takes."

Dmitri was slightly thrown by this change in topic. Pyotr Sylvestr often pointed out ways in which his child was nothing like him, so it wasn't unusual. Still. He eyed Pyotr warily.

"Willing to sacrifice for the ones she loves."

"She gets that from her mother," Dmitri said, his tone suspicious.

"Yes, which makes both of them so malleable."

Dmitri stiffened as he caught on to what Pyotr was implying. His eyes narrowed. "You thought that trick would work on me because you're already doing that to my child."

Pyotr rolled his eyes. "I wonder, with your level of insight, how did you get into politics?"

"You are blackmailing Vanya with something entirely our of her control! Because of choices made by other people--"

"Like yourself?"

Dmitri glared at him. He refused to regret marrying Yva or lying about Vanya. It had been the right thing to do. "You are putting her in danger! All for your selfish gain!"
He took a slight step forward as his voice rose, and Pyotr took a step back.

"She is a tool to be used. Exactly as I intended."

Dmitri felt his anger rising into his throat to choke him. He and Vanya had fought quite a bit when she was growing up. He had wanted to keep her safe, she had wanted to be her own person and reach her potential as a time philos. Letting go of the desire to keep her safe had been impossible, even if he did eventually come to terms with her independence. Maybe if he had been better--done a better job of being a father--she would have come to him with this, and he could have helped her.

"She is a person! She had dreams and you ripped that away from her!" Dmitri had taken several steps forward, backing Pyotr up against the cell opposite Morei's. "You let her go! You release her from your scheming!"

"Marines!" Pyotr called before putting on his best horrified expression.

The door slid open, and, to the marines on the other side, Dmitri Zmey did look very aggressive.

"He is threatening me!"

The marines did pull Dmitri away from Pyotr but looked uncertain what to do next. Over Dmitri's protests, Pyotr said, "The creature was mind controlling him, please be careful--he doesn't know what he's doing!"
The worry and concern for his fellow representative decided the captain of the marines. He nodded, and two of them grabbed Dmitri's arms, ignoring Dmitri's protests that he was not being mind-controlled and he needed to speak with the federation immediately.

"Maybe you should put him in a cell just until we can break the mind-control," suggested Pyotr in a concerned voice.

Two of the marines opened the cell opposite Morei while another asked after Pyotr's wellbeing. Pyotr was too interested in Dmitri getting pushed back towards the cell.

"And remove his communicator--just so he can't cause fear in Yasen," Pyotr humbly suggested.

"Representative, if you please," said the captain, not wanting to go digging in a representative's pocket's--mind-controlled or not.

Glaring at him, Dmitri pulled out his handheld. He pressed the button on the side three times in rapid succession before handing it over. Giving him an apologetic look, the marine captain took it.

"We will of course contact the doctors to inquire about freeing you from mind-control," he assured Dmitri.

"Quickly, please," Pyotr said, fairly confident the doctors would have no idea how to cure mind-control.

"Of course, Representative. Now, please, it is best if we leave lest the man try it on us, as well," the marine captain said, doing his best to herd Pyotr out of the brig.

Pyotr shot one last look at Dmitri before the door slid shut.

Dmitri cursed quietly under his breath and hovered his hand over the bars of his cell. Dampened. It would be impossible to use his meager matter sight on it. Looking over at Morei, he sighed and sat on the bench.

I am sorry. He is despicable, but I did not think he would want a war. Don't worry, I alerted friends that I was in trouble.

Actually, he had activated his distress signal Yva and Edwin had built into all the family devices. It would alert the clan. What could be done, he wasn't sure. He didn't think any philos--not even one as powerful as Vanya--could get through those bars, and none of his clan were good negotiators. Still, he didn't want Morei thinking this was the end and he had given up.

I'm going to think. Let me know if you have any ideas.





Kas nodded. Not killing Montrose would be difficult. But they were already doing the improbable, so why not shoot for the impossible. "If we can deal with his second, we may be able to neutralize him without permanent damage. Fenrick, what sort of sedatives work on your people. Er, um, medicine that knocks people out? Makes them sleep?" He glanced at Leese for help in translation.


Kas blinked at the revelation of Leese's connection to Montrose's second. "Is that going to be a problem?" he asked.

Kas didn't feel like he had gotten far enough with many of the people he had dated to consider them exes, but he knew what it was like to have someone mad at him over that sort of thing. He mostly felt bad about them as most of the reasons he had stopped seeing someone were his fault. A few had not been, but he barely remembered those. Still, if Leese felt guilty about the breakup, this could be a problem.

He finished his official report and sent it off to his mother as well as the head of special operations and looked up. "Could we take her down with a sedative as well?"

 

[Sakuma]

Morei watched the display, his eyes locked on Pyotr. Devious, this one. A sly predator - he brought to mind the weslin of home. Small, unassuming little things, but if you weren't careful, they could kill a grown Szarik warrior with ease. Morei had killed many in his time as the leader of the royal hunt.

He didn't yell or lash out as Dmitri was detained, nor did he try to escape. Instead he waited, watching the marines and taking stock of their weaponry. It was difficult to judge an animal's physical ability by sight alone, but he had a good feeling he could overpower one or two of these beings in this form if he had to fight. Their weapons were an unknown, and their numbers made a hasty escape unwise.

Once they were alone, Morei finally let out a bitter laugh.

Of course he wants war. Scared people are easy to control. Our prince displayed his power recklessly, and now that man is using it as a means to seize control.

He grinned, finding the irony amusing.

What do you think my lord planned to do to you? You are different, and strong, with unknown resources. You make an ideal scapegoat to unite the common folk.

While Morei knew that Montrose's anger was justified, he wasn't naiive enough to think that this campaign was all about paying back retribution for their losses. The king had gotten a taste of power and control beyond anything he could have imagined, and like all greedy men, he wanted more.

With a sigh, he stretched and popped his back. The fancy bars meant he had not been otherwise restrained - a foolish idea.

I could break these, but I would need to switch forms. Your building would be contaminated, he warned, sending gruesome images of what the contamination effect had wrought. Mutated creatures that looked like two different animals smushed together, plantlife and fauna that shouldn't exist, some of the samples from Fenrick's lab.

For a moment he thought of Fenrick's Kaltsrit, which made him give a contemplative hum. Right, he could stabilize contamination, if only on a small scale. He had explained the process to Morei once - how it required guiding an organism's mental processes to accept the changes and reach harmony rather than instinctual rejection. At the time, he had only been half listening. Environmental contamination was harder to contain, but he had a feeling that the secret to figuring that out lay with the priest.

It was all useless here. His ferens was only strong enough for communication - nothing strong enough to get them out.

The prince cannot be bothered until he has had time to depose his brother. My lord will not be easy to defeat - if the prince fails to eliminate him he will kill as many of your people as he can to take the resources of your planet, regardless of if we can use them. That man from before cannot interfere.

He paused for a moment, then tilted his head to the side.

I need the hybrid. I want to try something using him as a conduit. Where is the power source for this cage?



Leese frowned, considering the question.

"There aren't many things I can think of. Concentrated UV radiation makes us weak and tired, but that would affect Fenrick too. Most of the medications are from the other side of the rip, and aren't something we'd have access to. We also metabolize things quickly, so it would need to be something you have a lot of," she mused. Fenrick tilted his head back, scrunching up his nose.

"We could just use a shitton of ketamine," Hanabelle suggested, and Leese snorted.

"Yeah, but you'd need enough to knock out an elephant, and it would have to be administered constantly."

Her face turned pensive, and she gave Kas a weak smile.

"Well, I'd rather not kill her, if that's what you mean, but I will if I have to. Anika won't be happy that I'm alive, and we might not be able to take her down peacefully. I'm prepared for that."

 

[Reynarda]

Dmitri muttered mentally to himself that he knew that but he didn’t think Pyotr would want an all-out war, which he now realized was foolish.

He shook his head. He hadn’t missed that there was apparently someone above the “prince” power-wise. Wonderful to know that both our most powerful people have the same agenda. I suppose we are fortunate they oppose one another.

He let out a long sigh and tucked his hands into his sleeves. Trapping him with the accusation of mind-control was clever, and Dmitri couldn’t see a way out of it, beyond having someone he knew very well physically break them out.

He frowned across the brig at Morei. The images of the repercussions of his plan were sickening.

I think we should save that as a last resort.

However, it seemed like Morei had further ideas. Dmitri sighed, starting to wonder how old this prince was and if he actually had a fighting chance.

I do not mean any offense to your prince, but I do not think my people can afford to rely on him alone. What they should do about this power-hungry ruler, Dmitri wasn't sure.

He frowned again, not sure why Morei needed the prince. I believe he is resting, Dmitri said cautiously. But the power source is here, behind this wall.

Hoping this ship was like most others, he pointed to the panel near the door. What do you intend to do?




Kaz sighed, rubbing his eyes. He had slept a full nine-hours--thanks so Vanya ignoring his requested wake-up call--but all of this was frustrating and exhaustion haunted the edges of his brain. He just wanted the solar system to be safe and not at war and all his friends to be safe and happy.

"Okay," he sighed, trying to perk himself up. So there was no way to just knock them out. This would be fine. They'd figure something out. "No killing Anika, right. Do we have access to disruptors, at least? That will dampen their ferens, right?"

His handheld vibrated, and he pulled it from his pocket. There was a message from his mother.

Glad to hear you're alright. I know at the start it was a lie--if any one had kidnapped anyone, my money was on Vanya. Kas frowned at this, and pictured his mother giggling at his indignant expression. I passed your report on to my superiors, but my fleet is the closest and therefore I am using my war-time discretion to gather my forces. Where are you now? I can offer our assistance if you and your friends have need of it. All my love, Mom.

Kas raised his eyebrows. His mom must be very concerned about his report if she was risking getting called before the government to get yelled at. His mom was a rule follower and only broke them if she saw no other way. This bending of the rules meant it was serious.

"Well, my mom is near the rip," Kas volunteered. "With her fleet. She's... well, she's bending the rules a bit and offering her help if we want it."

 

[Sakuma]

Morei huffed, but he understood Dmitri's reluctance. He would also be uneasy about resting the fate of his world on the shoulders of an alien stranger.

I used the hybrid - Renza - as a basis to make this form. His contamination is the reason why I'm able to communicate with you - but I've never been a particularly strong Ferensnik. He has raw power, but doesn't know how to use it. If I resonate with him, I may be able to overload the power source.

He said it nonchallantly enough, but he couldn't hide the current of unease - and anticipation - that he felt at the idea. Fenrick would have been shocked into silence if he heard such a suggestion. In fact, Morei imagined he would be scandalized, and imagining the look on his face eased his worries somewhat. Fenrick had likely never even resonated with anyone before, being mateless and far more powerful than his swordbrothers and sisters. At least Morei had experience.

One experience. Years ago, with Montrose, and he immediately stamped down on the memory to eliminate bleed. Sentimentality had no place in war. He could not hold back a possible advantage because of memories that were already tarnished.

I cannot do so without permission, he continued after a moment to collect himself. He's too far away to communicate with right now. He needs to be closer. Preferably close enough for physical contact.

Resonance was different from a mere mind meld. It was highly intimate, and to force it on someone without their permission was akin to rape. Morei may have been a self-acknowledged bastard, but he would never do that.

I have no other ideas. If you have an alternative, feel free to share.



Leese sighed, leaning back into the couch and staring at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not a plan, and it's not a lot to go on," she admitted, then allowed the faint ghost of a smile to cross her face. "I promise I can handle Anika. She's neverbeen able to beat me once."

She didn't mention that Anika had probably kept up on her training far more than Leese had, and that it had been almost twenty years since she'd seen her. Fenrick was worried enough, and Leese wanted to give him at least a little bit of hope.

"I have seven military grade disruptors," Hanabelle chimed in. "They're the personal ones rather than the ship mounted ones, and a few of them are out of date, but that should help. I'm assuming you guys need a place with an atmosphere to plan this fight, right? I can look up abandoned mining satelites and asteroid complexes within the area. Having a fleet nearby will help, but she shouldn't be too close. We don't want to spook our boy before he comes through. Speaking of, how do we lure him out?"

Fenrick frowned tapping a finger against his chin.

"We could use the radio," he suggested. "Jona and Rielle know about its existence. They could pass on a formal challenge.. But I don't want him to hurt them if he is angry. "

 

[Reynarda]

Dmitri frowned, not understanding how the priest was part interdimensional being but decided they had bigger things to worry about.

Dmitri was somewhat glad to learn that Morei needed permission to do—whatever he was going to do.

Well, my contacts should alert my child, who will doubtlessly bring him along.



Over a thousand miles away, deep in the mountains of the Carpathian region, a vampire was trying to get his sister out of the wall.

“We should get Mom!” fussed the sister not stuck in the wall.

Edwin ran a hand through his hair—it was a gesture he had picked up from Vanya. His hair was dark brown like his mother’s and his eyes were the same blue as his father’s. He was only two years younger than Vanya but had been much taller for nearly two decades, towering even over his father.

The sister stuck in the wall—Leksi--was perfectly calm. "Edwin used to help Vanya. He is more than capable."

Edwin knew that this was the wrong time to correct his sister that mostly Vanya had been the one helping him. "Let's do this. Iona, you go around to the other side, and I'll push."

"Okay," fretted Iona, running to the other room.

Once she was gone, Edwin looked at Leksi. "Alright, open your eyes."

Leksi nodded, some of her worry showing now that Iona was gone. She did her best to look at space as it moved around her brother. Edwin rested his hands on either side of her, warping the molecules of the wall. Leksi took a deep breath, and then she was gone.

"Shit!" Edwin said. "Leksi?"

"She's here!" Iona called, and Edwin let out a sigh. He had done it. He had gotten Leksi out of the wall. That was a story their elder sibling would find hilarious.

Coming around the doorway, he said, "Ok, no more practicing teleporting indoors."

Leksi rolled her eyes as if she had nod just been stuck in a wall.

"Edwin," came their mother's voice from the house intercom, and all three jumped. "Your dad's signal went off, can you check it?"

Yva sounded perfectly calm, but he knew she was probably freaking out.

Edwin pulled up his computer, trying to shoo away the nosy twins. "He was getting Vanya, right?"

"Right," Yva said.

Edwin sighed again as he pulled up his father's locator. "Looks like he's still on Drasil with Dickhead."

"Edwin, just because Vanya calls him that does not mean--"

"Dickhead," giggled Leksi and Iona in unison.

"Edwin."

Edwin winced at the accusation in his mother's voice. "Don't say that, it's rude," he said to the twins. To Yva he said, "Vanya is near by. I'm contacting her."



High above on Yasen’s moon, Vanya was having a very strange dream in which something was vibrating and she couldn’t figure out how to turn it off.

After several minutes, Vanya blinked and slapped at her com. It went blissfully still.

Several seconds later, it started vibrating again. Groaning, she rolled over and dragged it from her pocket. Scowling, she realized the call was from someone she knew.

“What.”

“Hello to you, too.”

“I haven’t slept in forever, jerk, and I was—”

“Blah, blah, blah. Dad’s distress signal went off.”

Vanya sat up. “What?”

“Is he with Dickhead?”

“Yes.” Vanya threw the blankets off and practically fell out of the bunk. “Send me his coordinates.”

“Way ahead of you,” Edwin said just as her handheld vibrated with a message.

Looking at the map on her handheld, she asked. “Can you hack the ship?”

“I’m trying, but he’s tripled his security. It’ll take me a while to get in—Leksi! I told you not to try to teleport in the house!” Edwin growled.

Smiling fondly, Vanya said, “Put me on speaker.” She waited until she heard a beep and then, in a voice that sounded startlingly like their mother, said, “Leksi, Iona. Let Edwin work so he can find Dad.”

The eldest sibling voice worked and both girls quieted.

“Thanks. And be careful. Kick Dickhead in the nuts for me if you get the chance.”

Vanya grinned. “I will.”

Grabbing her bag, she rolled out of bed. Climbing up on her bunk so she could see into Renza’s, she called, “Wake up, Father Richtail. Sylvestr has my dad and we’re going to get him.”





Kas nodded to himself. If Leese said she could beat Montrose’s second, then she could beat Montrose’s second. He knew he shouldn’t just trust people he had met just two days ago, but he got feelings about people. Leese was good people. He trusted her.

“Military grade disrupters?” Kas asked, impressed. He almost asked where she had gotten those but decided he didn’t want to know. “Yes, that would be helpful,” he agreed. “Do we have any asteroids that look good?”

Kas sighed. There were too many ways for innocent people to die. “Is there any other way to contact him without risking the safety of your friends?”

 

[Sakuma]

Morei nodded. He wasn't thrilled about this turn of events, but it was the only way to test his theory. Fenrick had spent years testing different approved methods and following ethical guidelines only to have a vague idea of how to fix contamination. They didn't have that now, and Morei's intuition said that the priest was important. He hadn't gotten to be where he was by distrusting his gut.



Renza had always been a light sleeper, and he stirred the moment Vanya answered her call. He was still exhausted - they'd barely managed an hour of sleep - but he was used to running on fumes. The ache in his stomach was still there, but muted, and he managed to crawl out of the bunk without falling on his face.

"Great," he murmured, but he did at least try to temper his bitterness. It wasn't Vanya's fault that this was the day from hell.

Slapping his cheeks to wake himself up more, he followed her lead.

"So, where are we going?" He asked, though he felt an irritating twinge in his head and his stomach as they walked. "It's the brig, isn't it."



Fenrick deflated, quietly shaking his head.

"I not know," he said softly. He wished that he had better answers - answers where nobody would be hurt - but he just didn't.

"Is Fangnir still on the royal guard?" Leese asked, hoping to lighten the mood. "You know he wouldn't let anyone hurt his little brother."

It worked, as Fenrick immediately brightened up.

"He is! Montrose not want to challenge him. That is good idea!" He exclaimed brightly. "Jona can relay message to Fangnir. I will use radio to send the challenge. He will be not happy with me, though."

He grimanced at the thought, because Jona would be so worried. But he was the only one Fenrick trusted enough for this, and Leese had a point. Fangnir was respected among the elders, and Montrose would not want to make an enemy of him. Somehow, it felt like they were getting a plan together. Hanabelle smiled indulgently at him, then pushed her chair back from the desk.

"Alright, now that we have a course of action..." She headed over to the bookshelf in the corner of the room, pulling out three books in succession. The shelf clicked and then swing outward, revealing a door with a retinal scanner. Hanabelle leaned in, and the scanner beeped affirmatively before the door swung open.

Behind the door was a small but impressive room. While the outer office was a mess of chaos, this place was in pristine order. Everything was neatly dusted, and while there were a lot of files and equipment, it was all tucked perfectly into place. At the back of the room was a large, old machine that looked at least 100 years old. It was well maintained, and Fenrick's face lit up as he scurried over to it.

"This is it?" he asked, and Leese was glad to see him excited.

"This is it," Hanabelle confirmed, patting him on the shoulder. "I know you basically built the one on your side using scrap, but this here's the original model. There's no physical typing input, so you adjust the frequencies according to the chart on the desk which the machine translates to text. When you're done, you choose the output frequency - your machine's is written down on the laminated sheet. What with the big wide open tear, we probably won't have any problems with timing or interference, so write as much as you need."

 

[Reynarda]

Vanya winced, realizing she was running on adrenaline and fear at what Pyotr was planning on doing to her dad, but Renza had no skin in the game. She hesitated, wondering if she should just trust the station and leave him there. But, in the end, she decided he would be safer with her--sleep deprived or no.

She grinned a little sheepishly when he guessed where they we going. In answer, she rested a hand on his arm and marched like she was absolutely supposed to be doing that and had very important things to take this human to. The vampires also headed to do important things didn't give them a second glance.

Were it just her, she would pop out of time and bypass everyone and the cameras and everything else. But accidentally taking Kas along had been incredibly painful. And while she was pretty sure she could take Renza where situations dire enough, she decided she needed more sleep to be able to do that.

As it was, she left Renza's side and time just once to disable all the cameras between the station and the ship. She reappeared in time by his side and hurried him to the airlock. She did feel bad about dragging him here and there, but it wasn't to be helped.

When she tapped the screen to command the door to open, it flashed red.

"Dang it," Vanya hissed. She pulled out her handheld and checked the crew updates to see if anyone had posted the access code but found she was locked out. If this is what he was up to, it was surprising Pyotr hadn't dragged them both out of bed and forced them to go with him.

"Step back," she told Renza. She blinked, altering her gaze. Carefully, she reversed the time around the panel. Altering the time of an object was not nearly as difficult as altering the time of a living creature or leaving time altogether, but she still felt a pain start to creep from behind her eyes. Fortunately, not too long ago, someone had tapped the code in. Vanya memorized it and then released her grip on time. It snapped back, and she tapped in the code.

It flashed red, and Vanya stared at it for a few seconds before realizing her exhausted mistake. She reversed the order of the numbers and keyed them in. The panel flashed blue and the door slid back.

"Hang on," she said before blinking out of time. After disabling all the cameras in that particular corridor, she reappeared. "Ok, let's go."




Kas followed the conversation as best he could. One of Frenrick's friends had an elder brother Montrose wouldn't want to mess with. Good. They had a solution. He was about to ask where they had to go to contact Fenrick's friends when Hannabelle opened a secret compartment.

Kas stared at it. He was used to vampire stealth ships and vampires who could leave time, but he was not prepared for a secret room. He sighed, wanting to ask why Hannebelle hadn't thought to mention to the UHK that there was a whole other dimesion with people out there, but guessing her answer.

Still, he pushed himself to his feet to get a better look at the ancient machine. He had seen things sort of like this in museums.

"So after he issues the formal challenge, are we still planning to get Montrose to take on a human shape? I ask because, besides Hannabelle, I'm the only human, and if we want the advantage of Fenrick being a vampire, we can't use my DNA."

 

[Sakuma]

Renza was very good at following along and looking dumb, but he was still shocked when they managed to make it to the brig without issue. He was even more shocked that there was no heavy security around the door.

"Should we have not run into something by now?" He mumbled under his breath, then winced as they stepped into the brig itself. He could feel Morei in his mind again, and the instinctive urge to push him out was overwhelming. Morei, for his part, looked completely undisturbed.

"I am keeping them away," he said with a small shrug, clearly reading Renza's thoughts. It was annoying. Once this was over, Renza wanted at least one year completely free of mind-readers.

His stomach was tingling again, and he cast a nervous look to Vanya's father. Right. Was he supposed to be putting up a front, or--

"I've spoken to him already," Morei interjected again, making Renza's jaw twitch. "They say I am controlling his mind. As if I can do that."

The most he could do was broadcast a sense of dread that made people naturally want to stay away from him. It was far from mind control. These people were irrational and paranoid, and their leader was capitilizing on that. He snorted as he stretched out his legs and gave Renza a look.

I want to try something, he said mentally, turning away from Vanya and Dmitri so that they could have their little reunion. In all likeliness, his plan to resonate with Renza would not be necessary to solve the immediate problem of escape, but it was still an avenue worth pursuing. Fixing the issue of genetic instabiity would only help the both of them in the long run.

Renza was hesitant, and he cast a glance towards Vanya and her dad before he stepped in close to the cage. Vanya clearly needed to talk to her father, and the man seemed to more or less be on their side, so he didn't bother putting up a front of any kind. If Morei had been speaking with him, it was probably pointless anyways.

What's your plan? He asked, leaning against the wall next to the bars.

Morei grinned with sharp teeth as he explained through images and sensations exactly what his plan was, and Renza stumbled.

"You are not having sex with my brain in front of foreign politician!" He exclaimed aloud, not even bothering to try and hide his reaction. Morei rolled his eyes, not understanding the vehemency. It wasn't like he really wanted to do it either.

"It's not always sexual," he argued. "Resonance would give me the best understanding of your current contamination. I might be able to stabilize you, and myself in turn."

You're a better ferensnik than I am in terms of sheer power, he said mentally, trying his best to be convincing. That power would be helpful to the little prince.



Hanabelle held up one hand.

"That is the plan. I can't go with you - somebody needs to be backup on the ground. Nobody else knows the full situation, but I know of a few folks who are trustworthy and would be willing to help," she explained. Fenrick was already enamored with the machine, so she ushered Kas and Leese out of the hidden room.

"We don't have a lot of money to pay a merc, Belle," Leese warned, but Hanabelle waved her off.

"Consider it an advance on your next job. I can hook you up with someone by tonight. That'd give you enough time to issue your challenge and set the stage. We can go over the maps this afternoon to find an ideal location. I know Fenny wants to do this the right way, all on the up and up, but I also know that we need to be smart. The hghest chance we have of success is to rig the challenge and assassinate Montrose while he's human."

Leese glanced back at Fenrick, but he didn't seem to have heard them, too engrossed in his message.

"I'm not saying you're wrong," she ventured slowly, "but that would crush him."

Hanabelle shrugged, the skin around her mouth tight.

"Unfortunately, this is bigger than him. We have to face the facts that this probably won't turn out the way Fenny wants. The safety of two planets comes before the feelings of one man. We need to make contingencies and have snipers ready."

 

[Reynarda]

Deciding not to look the gift horse in the mouth, Vanya charged towards her father. "Dad!"

Dmitri stood, smiling at her. "I'm sorry to have disturbed your rest."

Vanya rolled her eyes and messaged Edwin a demand. She got a rude message back about how letting time to move at a normal pace would not kill her. Vanya rolled her eyes again and turned to the control panel.

"Vanya, I need you to--"

"Break you out, yeah, working on it."

Dmitri frowned at her. "No, I need you to get a message--"

Turning, she scowled at him. "And leave you in the clutches of Dickhead? Absolutely not."

Dmitri frowned back at her. "Do not call him--"

"I'll call him whatever the hell I want," she retorted, and he recognized her most stubborn expression--not realizing he was the original.

"So this is what you've been learning from that Jaager boy," he muttered with a sigh.

Vanya bristled. Her expression furious, but tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Dmitri cursed silently to himself. He hadn't meant to poke a sore spot. Usually she smirked and shot something snarky back. "Vanya--"

His apology was swallowed by Renza's exclamation. Both vampires stared at him.

"Absolutely not," Dmitri said at the same time Vanya said, "I don't care if this isn't my ship you still don't get to be disgusting."

"The man is a priest, they do not do that," Dmitri said firmly, and Vanya snickered. "He's not that priestly, Dad. He has already flirted with both me and Kas. And Fenrick, though he's really terrible at flirting with Fenrick. I think he likes him."

Dmitri was not sure what to do with this information. "Who is Fenrick? The prince?"

"Yup."

Dmitri frowned across the brig at Morei. "Is that what you were talking about? That cannot be your solution."

"We need a different solution. One that does not involve mental sex," Vanya agreed, turning to the panel again.

"Yes, which is why you need to contact--"

"Who, Dad? Who should I contact? He's painted me as a stressed prisoner of war. Everyone thinks you're mind-controlled, apparently."

Dmitri fell silent.

"We can pretend we kidnapped you. It'll all be fine once everyone realizes that Sylvestr is a slimy ball of lies and manipulation."

Dmitri sighed. "Vanya."

"I can call him what I want," Vanya repeated. She stretched out her hands towards the panel.

"Vanya! Don't--"

Dmitri was cut off when his child was shot back a few feet and landed on her back. As she groaned, he sighed. "It is protected against warping."

"Figured that out," Vanya groaned, pushing herself to sitting. "You didn't happen to see the passcode when they shut you in, did you? Otherwise I can fight it."

"I did not, and no, you will not fight it. You are going to knock yourself out and then you will be a problem." Dmitri guessed that Vanya could probably take on the resistor and win if she had a solid eight hours of sleep. But she did not.

Vanya knew it. She gave the panel a good glare for a few seconds before turning to Renza. "Alright, do you have any ideas that don't involve sex, or is that impossible for you, Holy Father?"





Kas was against this idea instantly. What mercenary could they possibly hire that would see this through. Kas didn't have a good opinion of mercenaries--present company excepted, of course--as they only ever did exactly what they were hired for, even if that was not what the employer had wanted. He didn't care that Hannabelle thought they were willing and trustworthy. He didn't know her that well--they had met just earlier that day.

He opened his mouth to protest but shut it at Hannabelle proceeded. And then she verbally punched him in the gut. Kas had to take a deep breath.

No, he was so tired of this. Why didn't what one personal wanted or needed not matter in the grand scheme of things? Isn't that all they were? Individuals? Why couldn't they just band together and weather whatever came instead of letting people sacrifice themselves? He knew it was considered noble and heroic, but he had learned that he didn't much care about that anymore. He just wanted everyone he cared about to be safe and happy in a healthy, not-contaminated solar system.

Kas glanced back at Fenrick. Poor kid had been through so much. Why couldn't they stop the war and also keep Montrose alive?

"I disagree," Kas said, suprising himself. He was an operative, not an orator, but he forged ahead. "The actions of one person can change the fate of the system, and Fenrick is the main player. It isn't bigger than him. It is him. I say if he wants to do it the fright way, then we do it the right way. Can you imagine the diplomatic nightmare if we kill the brother of the crown prince of the people who live in the rip without his knowledge? What if he never forgives us? Can you risk that? I can't."

 

[Sakuma]

Renza shot Vanya a glower.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea!" He grumbled, while Morei sighed heavily.

"It isn't sex," he said, and Renza could tell he was trying his best not to roll his eyes. "He has power, but no skill. I can't control minds, but if we resonate, I can... act as a guide," he said slowly, as if trying out the words.

Renza crossed his arms over his chest, a frown on his face.

"You want to get all up and nasty in my brain," he corrected. "Honestly it's not even the sex part I'm opposed to - I don't want you in my mind like that. It's weird."

Morei huffed, because this argument was stupid.

"For the sake of my lord, it isn't sex. I don't want to mate with you. You othersiders are so squishy and weak, it's highly unattractive. But you don't know how to short out the power source for those bars, and I do. I don't have the power to do so without shifting, but you do." His eyes narrowed, and he switched to speak the next part mentally.

Your body is unstable because you keep fighting and rejecting your abilities. If you keep going like this, you'll reach a breaking point, and it won't be pretty. Do you know what happens to a ferenden who loses control of their power?

He didn't send across any images, but judging from the way Renza stiffened, hand going to rest over his abdomen, he didn't have to. So he did know. Either Keleesa had told him, or he'd already experienced the side effects.

The priest chewed on his lower lip, pressing his nails into his skin. Thanks to Morei's memories, he had an idea of what would happen, and he wasn't sure he was prepared for it. To resonate, apparently, meant a complete melding of minds. To open himself completely to foreign influence. It was, apparently, an act of trust, and Morei offering wasn't coming lightly. Still.

Renza spent his entire life hiding behind countless masks. To take them all off for someone who was essentially a stranger felt like an antithesis of who he was. It felt dangerous.

"You could always shoot the box with a gun," Morei said drily, and Renza glowered at him. As if any of them were armed.

He took in a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. Right. Well, if this was really the only option, he definitely didn't want Vanya in the room for it.

"Ok. Ok, fine, if we're doing this, you," he pointed to Vanya, "need to step outside for a minute. I'm only into voyeurism in very specific circumstances, and these are not those. Uh. Sorry, representative Zmey, for this whole... everything."

"For my lord's sake, you're acting like I'm going to put eggs in you," Morei said derisively, and Renza shot him an acidic look. Well, he hadn't been thinking of that, but he definitely was now.

"You shut up. I hate that this is the only thing that seems like a reasonable option at the moment, and you talking is making it worse."



Hanabelle pursed her lips, crossing her arms over her chest. She was about to make the compelling argument that Fenrick wouldn't be able to hold it against them if he didn't have a choice, but Leese put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

"You're right, Kas," she said quietly. "I know how important this is to Fenrick, and we can't disregard that. But..."

She glanced back at the hidden room, where Fenrick was very engrossed in the machine, pointedly not looking up at all. Part of her wanted to go to another room to spare him, but ultimately that would be pointless.

"I worked with Montrose for years. He's not the type of person who gives up power easily. If he's backed into a corner, he might not give us a choice in the matter."

 

[Reynarda]

Vanya looked like she had stepped in the leavings of some large creature. This almost sounded worse than physical sex. Gross. When Renza stiffened, Vanya turned a glare on Morei. "You leave him alone or I'll kick you again," she threatened.

Dmitri was a little concerned that his child was threatening someone twice her size. He was even more concerned about what Morei was asking of Renza. "I think we should look for another way."

Vanya eyed the panel, thinking that if Kas was there, they could shoot the box. But he wasn't.

"Or we could resolve this diplomatically," Dmitri said, more because he felt ike he should than really wanting to. Vanya's agitation was making him nervous.

Vanya didn't even bother to look back at her father. "And wait for Dickhead to 'accidentally' kill you off? Absolutely not."

Dmitri nodded, stopping himself from protesting that a fellow representative would not do that. He also hadn't thought a fellow representative would blackmail a young vampire with the threat of damaging her family, so here they were.

Vanya turned to Renza at his big sigh and pointed to herself as if there could have been any other person he could have pointed to. "Wait, why do I have to leave?" she demanded, annoyed. Not that she actually wanted to witness mental coitus, but she was indignant at being told to leave. "You already tried to get me in my bunk with you."

"Vanya," said her father, pinching the bridge of his nose between forefinger and thumb. "Please."

She huffed and then glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "What's 'voyeurism'?"

"I don't know, but I'm guessing it's some sort of human intercourse-thing." Dmitri was not sure if he should be pleased modern schooling did not include all the English words pertaining to sex.

"Gross."

Dmitri smiled apologetically at Renza. "I can turn around?" he offered, figuring that closing his eyes and putting his hand over his ears was a little too childish.

Vanya took her beanie off and passed it through the bars.

Dmitri took it and then pulled her into an awkward through-the-bars hug. "Be careful out there. And put your hood up. You're easy to spot."

Vanya pulled her hood over her hair. "Alright, alright."

Dmitri let out a long sigh, wishing that he could just stop fussing. He needed a better outlet for his worry, but he hadn't found one. "I love you."

The first genuine smile in quite a few hours slid across Vanya's face. "Love you, too."

As she slipped out, Dmitri fiddled with the settings so that the blockers in the beanie were at the highest setting possible. It wouldn't block everything, but it should dampen the worst of it. He gave Renza one last apologetic smile before pulling the beanie over his head and sitting with his back to the bars of his cell.





Kas could tell that Hannabelle disagreed most strongly, and he agreed with her that it wasn't the smartest move. But the person he really thought he to convince was Leese.

When she spoke, Kas nodded. He knew that was a real possibility. "Then we make that our contingency plan, not our main plan. We give Fenrick the chance to give his brother a chance to change. If Montrose refuses and is hellbent on destruction, we take our more drastic steps. But the right thing to do is give him the chance."

Kas wold normally have anxiously glanced at them to see if they agreed, but this time his gut was telling him it was the right thing to do. So he looked at them with confidence, waiting to see what argument they would bring up.

Curling his hands into fists, Kas said, "I say we do the original plan. Give him the chance to fight fair and change his ways. If not, we take him down. With prejudice. He's not hurting Fenrick and he's not hurting our solar sysem."

 

[Sakuma]

Renza huffed. Of course he had hit on Vanya. He hit on everyone. But that didn't mean that he wanted her listening to him have brain sex while her dad was in the room.

At least Dmitri turned around. He shook out his hands as he turned to Morei, steeling himself.

"Ok," he said, extending one hand through the bars of the cage. Morei eyed him for a moment, then took his hand, rubbing his thumb along the back of it. It was a little weird, and kind of uncomfortably intimate, but not nearly as bad as he was expecting. Renza opened his mouth to ask if that was it when he felt like the air was punched out of him.

He gasped, falling forward as his knees gave out. He barely caught himself on the bars, legs shaking as his entire world seemed to tilt on its axis. Morei made a small, reassuring sound - the sensation of his hand was the only thing keeping Renza grounded, and he clung to him as hard as he could.

He had called it sex because - just from the vague memories Morei had sent over - that had seemed to be the closest equivalent. In truth, it was so far removed from any normal sexual experience that the comparison might as well have been moot. Even with Morei in his brain, Renza hadn't been able to imagine the kind of intimacy that came from having another person's mind completely open to his. Every single thought, feeling and memory Morei had was open to him.

It was impossible to sort through everything. There was so much, even when he wasn't particularly looking. He saw memories of Montrose as a teenager, recognizing him without even trying. He was monstrous, as all Ferenden sort of were, but he couldn't deny the thoughts of 'handsome' and 'strong' associated with the image. He saw snippets of Fenrick as a small child, of Leese, Morei, and Anika playing card games in the guard barracks, of Morei visiting the hatching grounds to find that his and Montrose's children had passed away just a few days into their lives. It was so much, like he had ceased to exist as an individual, and it was overwhelming.

"Shhh. You're doing good," was whispered into his ear, and he barely realized that he had been lowered to the ground, one of Morei's hands stroking his hair through the bars. There were wet streaks down his cheeks, though he didn't remember when he had started crying.

The onslaught slowly eased, becoming less a flood and information and more a sense of perfect, open communication. Morei knew every part of him now. He had seen his past, his memories, all of his thoughts and emotions. It would have been violating if it wasn't a two way street. Renza had underestimated just what Morei was suggesting when he brought this up, or the conviction needed for such an exchange.

Words weren't really necessary, and Morei didn't speak again. Instead, Renza felt his thoughts guided, and the knowledge of his abilities slotted into place. He resisted for a moment - just a moment - but then it was like a dam had been removed, and the changes he had been resisting for years reached their natural conclusion.

He wasn't sure how long the experience lasted, but it felt like hours before he came back to himself. He was on the floor, legs splayed uselessly beneath him, and Morei was still stroking his hair. His vision was blurry, but soon cleared - he wiped his face to find his cheeks and eyelashes wet. He must have been crying more than he thought.

His stomach ached, and he slowly reached down to slide his hand under his shirt.

The chitonous growth that had been there before had solidified into a full natural chest plate. A twitch of muscles he had never known how to operate before had the armor sliding back under his skin. He could feel similar armored plates on other parts of his body, and it was bizarre how easily he knew how to control them, alien as they were.

"You seem to be Arak," Morei mused proudly, and Renza rolled his head to the side to look at him.

Right. Arak were the warrior class that looked like giant spider people, like Leese. That made sense, considering she was the source of his contamination. At least he seemed to have only gained a few traits, and his body hadn't completely become a giant bug. That was... good.

He blinked a few times, then struggled to get to his feet. Maybe he should have said something, but he wasn't sure what else there was left to say. In an instant, everything had changed, and he hadn't quite come to terms with it.

At least he had a better idea of his abilities now. It was like Morei had hard reset his brain and updated the os for the new hardware, and now things that were forein before seemed natural. He had mixed feelings about it, but it served their purpose. He could have an identity crisis after the world was safe.

Turning to the power source, he focused on the flow of energy around it, and with a few pops it overheated. Ferens was just different enough for a vampire's philos to be effective, it seemed.

Legs shaking, he finally pushed away from the bars of the cell, feeling too much like a baby deer for his tastes.

"There," he croaked, then cleared his throat to strengthen his voice. "It should open now."



Leese couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see someone so thoroughly in Fenrick's corner. He didn't have too many of those, and Kas was pleasntly surprising her. She hoped he would continue to support him once this was all over and the adrenaline wore off.

"I can say yes to that," she agreed. Hanabelle frowned, but after a moment of silent communication between the two, she sighed and threw up her hands.

"Fine, ok. We can do it that way. I don't exactly like it, but I can see your point. I won't make any moves you won't like unless we're sure that there's no other way. Is that satisfactory?"

 

[Reynarda]

Dmitri was doing his very best to picture his home and its soothing landscape. The beanie did a fairly good job of blocking out most of the sounds. But for reasons neither of them could know, he found this profoundly frustrating. Every part of his being told him to turn around and yell at Morei for forcing this on the priest. They really should have found another way. And maybe it wasn't like sex, but forced intimacy should never be allowed. No one should be forced into anything. And maybe he wasn't forced, but he felt at least that Renza had been cajoled into it and Dmitri really should not have allowed it.

One sound did cut through his attempts at calm, and Dmitri turned. He shot a glare at Morei, who wasn't even paying attention to him anyway. The priest was definitely crying. Renza seemed to be okay, but Dmitri still had to fight down the protective instincts that tensed his muscles. He resolved to keep his eyes averted and wait to make sure that the priest was okay. He shifted so that he was facing them, but closed his eyes and tried to breathe deeply.

Dmitri cracked an eye when they started speaking a language he did not recognize. He fully opened his eyes when Renza stood. At the popping sound, Dmitri removed Vanya's hat and stood. "Are you alright, Renza?"




Once outside, Vanya folded her arms across her chest. She felt a bit like she had been sent out so the adults could decide her fate. She felt weakness trembling her legs and slowly slid to the ground until she was seated. If she heard someone coming, she could just leave time, get behind them, and wait for them to pass. She yawned and rested her chin on her knees.

How long would this take? Was Renza alright? Were Kas, Leese, and Fenrick alright? What was going on out there? Had Montrose come through? Was he looking for Morei or Fenrick?

A hand grabbed her by her collar, and Vanya realized in horror that she had fallen asleep. She was dragged to her feet and came face-to-face with her least favorite person in the universe.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Pyotr Sylvestr demanded. He had come to do a bit of gloating and get Dmitri to talk to the creature, but here was Vanya, sleeping outside the brig.

"Waiting for my dad," Vanya said, which wasn't a lie. "I thought you and he were in there talking to the man from the other dimension."

Pyotr narrowed his eyes, trying to determine if she were lying. Her expression was mutinous, but it usually was.

"Let go of me you sorry excuse for sentience," she growled, trying to wriggle out of her jacket.

Pyotr gave her a little shake, momentarily halting her escape. "Where is the priest?"

"Resting in the infirmary because he's sick," Vanya growled.

It was then that there was a pop on the other side of the wall. They both froze, and Pyotr saw the look of satisfaction that crossed her face before she hid it. He growled, and she swiftly escaped her jacket, but he saw it coming. He gabbed a fist-full of her hair just as she slipped into the inbetween, snatching her back into time. Vanya yelped and Pyotr hit the panel to open the door.

Pyotr dragged Vanya into the brig just as the bars powered down. He glared at all three of them. "You all stay where you are."

Dmitri's eyes widened. "Pyotr! Unhand her!"

"Don't listen to him! He can't hurt me!" Vanya said just as Pyotr proved her wrong.

Something--not energy, exactly, more like the reverse of it--trembled up and down her her body, and she cried out. Pyotr pulled her head back and hissed in her ear, "I gave you your time sight, and I can take it away."

Dmitri had been shouting at Pyotr to leave her alone, but now he just stared at her, once again feeling powerless to stop Pyotr Sylvestr from hurting someone he loved.

"Let her go," he repeated, watching his child blink dazedly into the distance. "Please."

"I will," Pyotr promised, just as the doors quietly unlocked. "Providing you all cooperate." He flicked his eyes to Renza. "Priest. Go to the panel and activate the bars again."





Kas caught Leese's smile, but wasn't sure what it meant. She seemed pleased, and he wasn't sure if she was pleased because of his insistence on doing this Fenrick's way or what.

Nodding, Kas glad that at least Hannabelle wouldn't fight him on it. He supposed that if she really did know his mom, she should have seen that coming. "Yes, thank you."

Kas stole another look at Fenrick before turing back to Leese and Hannabelle. "I suggest we also discuss this contingency with Fenrick. I know he's young, but unfortunately he needs to understand this. It wold be unfair to spring it on him if worse came to worse. He could even fight against us on it."

He glanced at Fenrick again. "How long does this communication usually take? Is it faster than light?"

 

[Sakuma]

Renza took a deep breath, trying to decide if he was alright. Physically, he was feeling better, even if it scared him. Mentally... He wasn't sure. Morei hadn't said anything about what he'd seen yet of his childhood, which was a blessing. Maybe he wouldn't bring it up. Renza had seen plenty of private moments in the other man's life as well, and he was in no hurry to pry into them.

"I'm good," he said after a moment's deliberation. Surprisingly, he meant it. The resonance had been overwhelming and done under strained circumstances, but it had reassured him of Morei's allegiances. Added to the fact that his body truly felt like his again after fifteen odd years.

Of course, everything went to hell in a hand basket when Pyotr came in holding Vanya hostage. Renza froze, his hands going up in surrender. He was really starting to hate this guy. Morei raised one eyebrow, then lounged back in his cell.

You know what I'm going to say, he said mentally, and the worst part was that Renza did know. He wasn't sure that giving away his newfound psychic powers by yanking Vanya out of the other vampire's arms was a good idea, though. Right now he had the advantage, and he needed to use it right.

"Ok, ok. You let her go, and I'll reset the bars," he promised as he walked up to the contraption. In all honesty, he doubted that he could reset the bars after more or less frying their power source. Just like he doubted that Pyotr would agree and let Vanya go at any point.

I don't understand why you don't just kill him, Morei whined, and it was only due to years of practice that Renza kept his face completely clear of reaction.

There's a reason you're not a politician, then, Renza shot back. Killing Pyotr without neutralizing his influence would be of no help.

Morei rolled his eyes, because this was all so overcomplicated. Killing the thing that was threatening him was usually a pretty good solution to life's problems. These othersiders had muddled things up far too much.

You could always bite him, Morei suggested. Renza was very glad he didn't physically flinch, because that suggestion had come completely out of left field.

What, he said flatly, but he knew what Morei was suggesting. He was aware of the venom glands developed at the roof of his mouth, just behind his sharpened front teeth. His venom almost certainly wasn't as strong as a full blown Arak, but it was still there... If they wanted to risk causing an interplanetary incident. Poisoning Pyotr was not much smarter than outright killing him. Unless...

They hadn't been foolish enough to let Renza keep his phone, but Vanya had hers on hand. He stepped up to the box, and then glanced back at the vampire with something between fear and anger. At the same time, he focused hard, using what Morei had taught him moments ago to start the recording app on Vanya's coms.

Pulling the box open, a whisp of smoke came out. He coughed, then glared back at Morei.

"You fucking smoked it," he said drily, along with a mental warning to play along. Morei tilted his head and shrugged.

Renza grimaced, then turned back to Pyotr.

"I don't think I can fix this, Representative Sylvestr. I'm not a mechanic. Can you let Vanya go now? Is she ok?"



Fenrick glanced up after hitting the last frequency he needed.

"Is hard to say," he said. "Speed is relative between two sides of rip. I think twelve hours should get a response? But I only ever been on other side."

Hanabelle nodded.

"It's around light speed, but time gets wonky for interdimensional communication. Sometimes it gets through right away, and sometimes there's a delay of hours. With how big the opening is right now, the message should deliver within an hour or two, give or take. Any response we get should be within a similar time frame. It's not the most efficient, but it's the ony way we have of communicating. It also gives us time to plan the minutiae of where we want this fight to take place."

Fenrick stepped back out to join them, a shaky smile on his face.

"I know Montrose will probably die," he admittedly, fidgeting with his hands clasped in front of him. It was what he had prepared for in the first place, as much as he hated to admit it. "And I know it probably safer to kill him. But I want help him. If it not work, it not work. I know he needs want to be helped, or nothing will work. But it means much to me that you are on my side, Kas. I don't have words for how it feels. I guess I'm just really happy that you care about my feelings in spite of everything. It's illogcal, but it makes me feel warm inside, and like things will be ok."

Leese smiled softly and squeezed his shoulder.

"He said he's glad you care about his feelings, even when there's so much risk involved. He feels valued," she translated loosely, and he nodded enthusiastically.

 

[Reynarda]

Dmitri flexed and relaxed his fists. He had been very tired of Pyotr Sylvestr since he was a much younger man. And now the man was actively physically hurting his daughter.

He watched Renza walk over to the panel, knowing full-well there was no fixing the bars. Dmitri had studied to be an analyst. He wasn't really a politician at heart. He knew the most prudent thing to do was try to talk to Pyotr Sylvestr like a calm and collected vampire being. But he wasn't feeling calm and collected.

Pyotr rolled his eyes at Renza. He was quite finished with the priest and was contemplating locking him in with the man from the other dimension in the hopes he ate the priest. "Oh, she's fine. I'll let her go once you back into that cell over there."

Vanya wasn't fine, exactly, but she was getting better. Somehow, Pyotr had made the world go black--not the way that Kas's weird brain made her sight harder to use. Somehow, it felt like he had reversed the direction of her sight. She couldn't see time at all.

"That's not true," Vanya choked out. She still couldn't see, and she felt like something had been stripped from her.

"You're lucky," Pyotr hissed, "that I'm such an agreeable man. I'll tell you what. I'll let you chose one of them to save."

Vanya grinned. "Morei."

Pyotr scowled. He had assumed she would pick her father, sparking a feeling of betrayal in the priest. She might be terrible at politics, but he had to admit she was slightly better at tactics.

"No," he said. "And for your insolence, they are all going to stay locked up."

Pyotr glared at Renza, Dmitri, and finally Morei. He could still spin this and get what he wanted and a few annoyances out of his way. Drawing himself up, he eyed the three of them down his nose. "So all the two of you are in cahoots with the dangerous people from the rip? And you've attacked a perfectly innocent vampire."

Dmitri was too furious to answer. He really couldn't care less about the accusations. But Pyotr Sylvestr had attacked his daughter for trying to do the right thing. He always went after good people.

Vanya, for her part, did not understand why no one had just jumped Pyotr, yet. Sure, he was a powerful man, etc., etc., but these were clearly extenuating circumstances. The world slowly swam back into view. As Vanya blinked, trying to find time, she did spot something coalescing above Pyotr's head. She couldn't be sure, but it appeared to be solidifying carbon dioxide. Realizing what was about to happen, Vanya slammed her elbow into Pyotr's ribs and tried to escape his grip.

Unfortunately, Pyotr only tightened his grip as he groaned, doubling over. Vanya got as far away from him as she could before yelling, "Dad!"

Dmitri's internal monologue of rage was cut short by the sound of her voice, and he snapped his attention to her. To his surprised and Vanya's delight, a block of dry ice fell from the sky and smacked in Pyotr's head.

Dmitri gasped and quickly pushed open the door of his cell and hurried to where his daughter was poised proudly over a dazed Pyotr Sylvestr. "Did I do that?"

"Nice shot," Vanya said, nodding proudly.

"That was an accident," Dmitri said, having never used his sight to hurt anyone since he got into a fight in secondary school. He saw Vanya rubbing her forehead out of the corner of his eye. "Let me look at you. Where did he hurt you?"

Vanya had the urge to point at her chest but ultimately decided they didn't have time. "We have to go. Where is your ship?"

The family ship was mostly used by the Zmeys to travel within Yasen's atmosphere. It could travel between planets, but she doubted there were much supplies beyond the twin's snacks. And it was not large. If Sylvestr's personal ship was a yacht, the Zmey ship was a little speed boat.

"A few docks down," Dmitri said. "Where are we going to go? We can't just leave him."

"Oh he's fine," Vanya said in a very poor imitation of Pyotr's voice. "Come on, we have to get out of here. If we stay near him any longer, he'll use us to start a war."




Kas raised his eyebrows, knowing Vanya would be all over the fact that speed and therefore time seemed different on the other side of the rip. He made a mental note to tell her about it.

"Well, let's hope it's soon," he said, mostly because he was getting antsy. He didn't mind the planning, but who knew what was happening to Renza and Vanya. "Let's get to it, then. We need the merc, I guess." He still wasn't overly happy about that one. "And an asteroid. And also those military-grade disrupters that you have."

He turned a smile on Fenrick as he approached. So. The little punk had been eavesdropping. He couldn't really fault him, so Kas just sighed. When he broke into his little speech, however, Kas rubbed the back of his head a little awkwardly.

With a smile, he dropped his hand to Fenrick's shoulder. "You have a good heart, Fenrick. In my opinion, that's the most important thing about you. You care. About your people and mine. That's what I value in a leader. So of course I value you and your feelings. Whatever happens, don't lose your heart. That is what will make you a great leader of your people in these difficult times."

 

[Sakuma]

Renza jumped when Dmitri promptly knocked Pyotr out, and Morei let out an undignified snort.

"See? We should have done that to start," he said dryly. He opened the door to the cell and stepped out. Renza glared at him, but there was no heat in it. Attacking the man was probably not the best idea, but it worked well enough.

"We're all going to be criminals now. This is what I was hoping to avoid, but oh well," he grumbled, running his fingers through his hair. This was not the ideal situation, but then, he had no idea what an ideal situation for the moment could possibly be. Shit had hit the fan hours ago.

Morei stood over Pyotr's body, a contemplative look on his face. A chill went down Renza's spine as the man pulled his hair up and ran his fingers along the back of his neck.

"Hey, woah, we can't kill him," Renza insisted, and Morei rolled his eyes. His fingers found the small gland on the back of his neck that replaced his stinger in this inferior form, and he gathered a small amount of venom on his fingers. If Renza didn't want to bite him and Morei wasn't allowed to kill him, this was the best alternative.

"It won't kill him," he said, moving over and shoving his fingers into the older man's mouth. "Just paralyze him for a bit. If he can't talk or move, he can't come after us."

Renza watched in morbid fascination as Morei pulled his fingers back, then wiped them on his borrowed pants. That was... kind of evil, but also pretty smart. He glanced at Dmitri and Vanya helplessly, then shrugged. This might cause issues down the line, but they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

"Right. Ok. Let's get out of here before someone finds him, then."



"Who did you have in mind, anyways?" Leese asked. She understood Kas' reluctance about the merc, but it was an unfortunate necessity. At least Hanabelle was in a position where pissing her off could destroy any planet-side criminal's career.

"I was thinking either Claire or Jordie. They're both reliable, fairly honest, and terrified of me. Claire's a bit more level-headed, but I don't know how your bug lord would feel about taking DNA from a woman," she admitted.

Fenrick blinked slowly, tilting his head to the side.

"Why would he care?" He asked innocently, and Leese huffed out a laugh.

"While Ferenden has a lot of problems, misogyny is not one of them. We don't really do gender the way humans and vampires do anyways. Technically Fenrick and I are the same gender in our real forms. Pronouns are chosen based on personal preference, and they don't work exactly the same way as english pronouns either," she explained, then winced. "That being said, I've lived here for a long time, so I do prefer to be called a woman."

Fenrick looked mostly confused by this conversation, but he nodded slowly. Right, Vanya changed her personal pronouns a lot too, didn't she? Vampires and humans alike seemed to have some very confusing norms when it came to gender.

"Ok, if you're sure," Hanabelle said, jumping straight over the gender issue. They didn't have time to unpack all of that, interesting as it was. "I've got few spots picked out, but one in particular is ideal. I can circumvent traffic away from it if you give me an hour, and I'll contact Claire to get her up to speed. The disrupters I'll need two hours to retrieve. Anything else?"

Fenrick listened to Kas' speech seriously, taking the words to heart. Right. His heart had often been a weakness back home, where caring too much only caused repeated pain. It was strange but validating to hear that his feelings were a strength for once.

 

[Reynarda]

"That was an accident!" Dmitri repeated.

"That never worked in the Zmey clan, so why would that work here?" Vanya asked sagely and Dmitri aimed a playful kick at her.

"I think I should make a statement. Get ahead of Sylvestr's propaganda," Dmitri said as Vanya opened the door and peaked into the corridor.

"He probably already said you've been mind-controled," Vanya said.

"No, do not kill him," Dmitri agreed. "This will be much easier to explain without a body on our hands."

Vanya pulled herself back in the brig and turned just in time to see Morei stick his fingers in Pyotr's mouth. "Oh that's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen," she said, making fake retching noises. "I'm never going to be able to unsee that."

Dmitri rolled his eyes. Just because she hated him didn't mean she had to be so dramatic about it. "We need to go if we are going to."

Leaning closer to her father, she whispered, "I can't use my sight to take out the cameras."

Dmitri looked her up and down. He had seen her use her sight when far more exhausted than this during some of her schooling.

At his expression, Vanya shrugged her shoulders. "He took it from me. I can barely see it."

Dmitri knew they didn't have time to figure that out. They needed to get moving. "We are going to have to literally run," he decided.

"We can go into space--I know some decent hiding places."

"No, Vanya, leaving Yasen will make us look guilty." He glanced at Renza and Morei. "We can go to my clan. We'll be safe there. He doesn't have any jurisdiction there and cannot set foot on our territory unless my wife agrees to let him."

Vanya's eyes widened. "Dad! No, we can't! It'll put everyone else in danger. We can't risk--"

Heart twisting at the look of shear panic on his child's face, he rested his hands on Vanya's shoulders. "Your family is strong enough to weather whatever Pyotr Sylvestr throws at us." She looked about to protest, but he interrupted, "We have always been able to withstand him, regardless of what he's told you."

Vanya's eyes filled with tears, but she squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. "This corridor is long due for someone on duty to walk by. We'd better run."

"To the right, second berth," Dmitri told the others, before Vanya ran from the brig, and he followed.





Kas nodded. Right. Vampires didn't do pronouns based on gender, either, which was why Vanya had been so confused the first time he had asked "him or her".

"Good to know we can cross misogyny off the list of things that make him unpleasant," Kas said. "If Claire is more level-headed, I would prefer her," he agreed.

He nodded as Hannabelle listed off all the items he had requested. Tilting his head, he crossed his arms over his chest. He had most of his weapons still on the Nocturne, but he wasn't sure how well Vanya had stocked it with human food.

"We could do with a bit of restocking. I should probably check the CO2 scrubbers since it's not used to having so many occupants."

 

[Sakuma]

Morei huffed. Vanya was definitely overreacting.

"If I was in my true form, I would sting him. Unfortunately, human bodies don't have stingers or venomous barbs," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. You would think that the dominant species propagating an entire planet would have at least some kind of defensive measures, but no. If it wasn't for Renza's hybrid DNA, Morei would be defenceless. The thought made him shudder.

Renza rolled his eyes, but decided not to comment. Instead he watched Vanya and Dmitri's exchange, a frown on his lips.

Retreating to space would be the smarter option, in his opinion, but it was true that it would make them look guilty and just start a manhunt. He wanted to get back to Fenrick and Leese as soon as possible, but it would do nobody any good if they weren't smart about it.

At least Vanya didn't give them any time to think about it before taking off. Renza jerked his head after her, and then followed her lead. Morei scrunched up his nose, but followed obediently. He didn't like running, but he knew when it was strategically prudent.

There was a shout behind them as they took off, and Renza couldn't help but smirk as he reached out with his new abilities and tripped the soldier who was gaining on them.

It was strange how ten minutes of resonance had completely changed his outlook on his condition. Before, he was terrified to give into the part of him that was no longer human. The idea of having ferens was horrifying. Now, it felt like it had always been a part of him, and the cognitive dissonance was odd. He was pretty sure he would freak out about that later, but for now, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.


"Right, then. I'll call her up and get her clued in," Hanabelle agreed, then placed one finger to her chin. "If you want to stock up, your best bet is to take one of the cars and head into town. It's about a thirty minute drive each way, but they have more supplies than we do here."

Leese nodded. Restocking was a good idea, and it was something that Kas could probably do on his own...

She paused when she saw the way Fenrick's face lit up in excitement. Right. The satelite had been new enough, but an actual town was something completely different. Once things were settled, no matter which way it went, he wouldn't be able to go sightseeing for quite a while. Maybe it would be good to give him one last chance to experience normal life before things changed forever.

"Why don't you and Fenrick go?" Leese suggested. "I want to stay here and meet up with a few contacts, maybe see if I can hear some chatter regarding what's going on with Yasen. The port's cars all have the navigation route programmed into the GPS, so it's easy to find."

 

[Reynarda]

Dmitri had to hitch up his representative robes, but he was surprisingly fast. It was hard to tell with the robes, but he actually worked out each morning. When he was a much younger vampire, he had been slightly self-conscious about his height and so had started working out. Now, he kept up the routine because he enjoyed it.

So when Vanya stumbled over the lip of the airlock, he hooked one arm around her ribs and practically dragged her down the docking tube without even slowing. Vanya pulled out her comms and unlocked the clan ship as they burst from the docking tube and Dmitri dragged her to the right. She had a brief second to notice she was apparently recording before her father dragged her through the airlock of their ship.

The Dragon was smaller than the Nocturne, with one deck split in two. Near the airlock was a small living area with bunks, couches, a refrigerator, and a head. Beyond that, separated by a sliding door, was the bridge.

Vanya hurried past all that and dropped into the pilot's chair and immediately woke up the idling reactor. Her father clearly had not intended to be there long.

Dmitri sat in executive operations, which could pull function from all the other stations. "Setting a course for home."

"Are you sure?"

Dmitri was not actually sure. But there was no were else they could go that would keep them safe from Pyotr without making them look guilty for whatever he would accuse them of. He checked the list of communications he had received in his absence. Most were Yva checking on him, but a few of his allies had returned the messages he had sent on his way to the moon.

Vanya had released from the station and was using the maneuvering thrusters to push off from the dock at a far faster pace than was sanctioned. Already station control was screaming at them over the comms for casting off without permission and the speed at which Vanya was turning the ship planetward.

Dmitri couldn't help the little bubble of pride that filled his chest. It was a fairly impressive maneuver, and he had been the one to teach Vanya to fly. It had always been a secret love of his, and sharing it with his eldest child had been everything he had hope it would be.

As they burned towards the planet faster than was strictly legal, Dmitri answered her question. "I know you want to get back to you friend."

Vanya turned in the pilot's chair to eye him.

"Eyes on the sky."

She engaged autopilot without looking and kept her eyes on him. "Since when is he my 'friend'?"

Dmitri sighed. "I saw your goodbye."

At Vanya's confusion and mild horror, he explained, "I saw it through Morei. He shared his memories so I knew he was on our side."

"Traitor," she grumbled, turning back around and disengaging the autopilot. "Yeah, well, it doesn't matter now anyway."

Dmitri didn't know what that meant, but he forged onward regardless. "Once we can get a statement out and you rest and recuperate, you can join your friends and the prince. But you all need rest and a chance to get this under control before you do anything else."

He didn't add that he needed a lot more information from her about what was going on. That could wait until after the rest and recuperation bit.

Dmitri turned to Morei and Renza and smiled. "I'm sure neither of you have ever been to a vampire clan before, but ours is not like most. We are small, and I will take you to my home, but some of our relatives may be nosy. Oh, and I have three other children. Two of whom will be fascinated by you both."

Dmitri glanced out the viewscreen. The blues of the oceans soared by. They had entered the atmosphere, and Vanya was chatting with Yasen air traffic control about how their opinions of safe flight-speeds differed.

"It will take us a little while to reach my home as it is on the other side of the planet at the moment. In the meantime, I would like to prepare something to say to the other clans of the federation to explain our cause. If either of you have anything you would like to add from for perspective peoples, I would appreciate it."





Kas gave a nod. "I assume that means you have a car I can borrow? I appreciate you not subjecting me to public transport from here."

If there even was public transport from Summerfield. He had no idea.

Catching Fenrick's excitement, he smiled. "I take it you want to come along? Alright, one thing, though. This is human territory. There's not that many vampires around, so keep your hat over your ears and your mouth closed. Oh, and it's going to be really bright during the day, so you may want to darken those glasses."

Kas nodded to Leese. Good, because he didn't trust himself to find the city without preprogrammed navigation. He hesitated. "If you get the chance, you you see if you can find anything out about Vanya? I mean, Renza, too," he rushed to add. "I'm just... y'know. Worried. About them."

Feeling his face heating up, he turned from her. "Alright. We're going. Anything we can grab for you? Favorite brand of ration bar?"

 

[Sakuma]

Morei's eyebrows rose.

Yes, he knew that humans reproduced differently from his own kind. He understood, in an academic way, that children were plentiful here. Renza collected orphans, even, because there were more children than families to raise them. However, knowing and understanding in a vague sense was different than hearing it said aloud.

"You have four living children, and you would accept strangers into their space?" He asked in shock. When his own children were born, he had guarded them ruthlessly, and it still wasn't enough to keep them alive. Willingly introducing an unknown danger into their environment was unheard of. He found himself narrowing his eyes at Dmitri, but grunted when Renza smacked the back of his head.

Do not tell the man who is sheltering us how easy it would be for you to kill his kids, the priest mentally scolded. He knew where Morei's thoughts were going, and he didn't want to alienate the vampire clan before they even arrived.

It would be pathetically easy, Morei grumbled back. If vampire children were anything like the human children from Renza's memories, Morei was fairly certain he could crush their skulls with one hand. He couldn't fathom allowing something as dangerous as him into the same home as children. The idea was completely foreign.

"I don't think the infant mortality rate with vampire children is as high as you're used to," Renza said aloud, hoping to shed light on the other man's concerns.

"Clearly, if four children have survived into the larval stage," Morei huffed. It was rare enough for Ferenden to have genetic siblings in the first placem rather than clutchmates. It happened sometimes, when a powerful sire had access to a private nesting ground, but Morei had never known one sire to have more than three adult children.

He found himself staring as they made their way into the atmosphere, his eyes glued to the windows.

Again, he understood that oceans were a thing. He had seen them in Renza's memories. But that was nothing compared to actually seeing it himself.

He had never seen so much water in his life. It stretched far beyond his sight, past the horizon and into the distance. Not even the largest nesting pool would compre to this.

He found himself unbuckling his seatbelt and walking over to the viewscreen, staring at it. He wanted to reach out and touch, even though he knew it was imossible. Vanya and Dmitri and Renza faded into the background, and he felt a fathomless emotion he couldn't describe.

These people really did have resources far beyond their wildest dreams. It was no wonder Montrose sought to conquer them.


Renza frowned, but he didn't interfere. He had a feeling that it would be pointless, and clearly Morei was overwhelmed. He had felt much the same, seeing the ocean for the first tim as a child after being born off planet.

"They don't have that much water where he's from," he explained to Dmitri, a small grimace on his face. "I think this might be more overwhelming for him than he's let on so far. I can help you come up with a statement, but honestly, I won't have a full grasp of the situation until I get into contact with my associates of Albaque. I can tell you, though, that I've seen what Ferenden can do when cornered, both through Morei's memories and first hand. If this escalates to all out war, there will be a lot of casualties on all sides."


Hanabelle nodded, heading back over to her desk and pulling out a keyfob.

"'Public transportation', that's cute. Pretty sure the only public transportation around these parts are cabs, and there's a 50/50 chance on the cabbie beng a scammer or an organ trafficker. Nah, we keep a collection of SUVs for supply runs and shuttle purposes. I live on base, but not everyone who works here does," she explained as she handed Kas the keys.

Leese nodded along with Kas' assessment, honestly having forgotten that Fenrick's vessel wasn't human.

"Right. People around here tend to mind their own business, especially if you're using a station car, but it doesn't hurt to be careful," she agreed, while Hanabelle scribbled out a list of supplies on a scrap sheet of paper. She handed it to Kas along with a credit card.

"Here, this is what all we need. You get these things and I'll keep an ear out for news about your lady friend," she teased.

"Vanya is only sometimes a lady," Fenrick pointed out helpfully, and Hanabelle winked.

"We don't judge here. I've got a few contacts I can tap on Yasen, but it takes longer for coms to go through. In the meantime, Leese'll show you to the garage, and I'll get in touch with that merc."

 

[Reynarda]

Dmitri glanced at Morei with his eyebrows raised. He remembered the image he had shared of the hatching grounds, and winced. "Four children is fairly unusual for vampires. My wife and I are very fortunate."

"And horny," Vanya muttered under her breath.

"Yes, well, you can thank the fact that I love your mother very much or you wouldn't be here," Dmitri shot back with a small smirk.

Vanya made fake gagging noises. She glanced at Morei. "They're also not larval. They're more..." Vanya searched her memory for the English word. "Nymphs."

Dmitri arched an eyebrow at her. "Nymphs?"

"That is the sexually immature stage that still looks like the adult," Vanya said wisely, and Dmitri wondered what sort of conversations she had been having to know the English word.

Done arguing with the air traffic control, Vanya set the autopilot and stretched her legs. She walked over to Morei and stood next to him, eyeing her planet.

Dmitri nodded at Renza. "Trust me, a war is the last thing most people on Yasen want. Pyotr is..." He glanced at Vanya's back and sighed. "He's a tad on the narcissistic side."

Vanya pressed her lips together but gave no other indication she was listening. She knew why her father tried to never speak ill of Sylvestr, but she wished he would. He was a despicable person, and that was that.

Focusing her eyes on Morei's reflection in the window, she said, "Not that I think you're stupid enough to hurt any of my siblings, but just know that I will always protect them before anyone else. I know you don't think much of us, but I can do some pretty terrible things with my Ferens, given the reason. Got it?"

Dmitri was trying not to keep an eye on Vanya and Morei out of his eye. She had that stubborn look about her and was probably saying things she shouldn't. Forcing his attention back to Renza, he said, "I have enough allies who will contact those who are on the fence. Sylvestr has power to act independently only as long as his allies turn a blind eye. If we can sway enough of them, we can halt him in his tracks." After a pause, he asked, "Who are your associates? Anyone I would have met?"





Kas immediately reddened. "She's not my--I wasn't just--" He knew Hannabelle was teasing him, but he couldn't help the knee-jerk reaction. He gave Fenrick a wry smile. "I don't think Vanya has been a lady a day in her life." Ruffling the kid's beanie, he clarified, "That's a joke on the word 'lady'. You are correct."

He took the credit card and list from Hannabelle and tucked them in one of his many pockets. Twirling the key on his finger, he tapped Fenrick's shoulder and gestured him after Leese. Glancing back at Hannabelle, he added, "And keep people away from my lady friend's ship."

Flushing slightly, he nodded to Fenrick. "I think we should have enough food for you on the Nocturne, but is there anything you need?"

Once in the garage, he tapped the keys, and a sleek SUV flashed its lights at him. He opened the passenger door for Fenrick. Once he was inside, he closed it and gave Leese a firm nod. "Don't you worry. I'll look out for him. Can I grab you anything special?"

 

[Sakuma]

Vanya's apparent disgust with her parents' copulation made Morei roll his eyes. Fertility was a very precious gift, and it wasn't something to make be grossed out by. Unfortunately, he had also seen such sentiments often in Renza's memories. Perhaps it was just a mammal thing.

He met Vanya's eyes through the window and smirked. At least somebody understood the potential danger here, at least.

"You are smart to see me as a threat, but luckily I have no intentions of harming children," he drawled, thinking back to when they had fake fought. It was true that she was capable of more than what he initially thought. However...

He reached out and lightly tapped the back of her head.

"You are quite fast and hard to catch, but you let your guard down too easily. Should I have wanted to, I could have poisoned you just now. You only have my word that I am not going to hurt you - you shouldn't trust that so much. Even with allies, you should be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times."

He smiled slightly, folding his hands behind his back. In truth, he was a bit ashamed of his fascination with the water, as it was the only time that he had truly turned his back on Dmitri and Vanya since their meeting. He still made sure to stand just outside of her reach, legs slightly apart so he could react quickly. He hadn't lived for as long as he had by being careless.

"Regardless of the strength of your ferens, you don't have a warrior's mindset or experiences. You're more like Fenrick - a thinker. Although I haven't seen you in actual combat, so you could surprise me yet."


Renza decided that ignoring Morei and Vanya was probably the best bet for the moment. He knew Morei had good enough intentions, and he clearly liked Vanya well enough if he was giving her advice.

"That depends. My foster sister has been working on expanding her network of connections in Yasen, but we primarily work on Albaque. I believe we have relations with three clans through the Acher Intergalactic Aid and Research foundation, but I can't recall the names off the top of my head."



Fenrick squinted, then smiled.

"Ah. I get it," he said. Vanya wasn't a lady because she wasn't the proper noble lady of a house, despite being female. He didn't really understand the joke part of it, but he was proud that he at least got the meaning.

"Yeah, yeah, she's super safe here," Hanabelle called out after them, and Leese chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure Bell is way too interested in that tech to risk pissing Vanya off by snooping," she pointed out. Hanabelle may have been a scoundrel, but she wasn't stupid. She knew when to bend the rules and when it was better to suck up and make connections.

Fenrick startled when Kas asked him if there was anything he needed, his eyes wide.

"Uhm. I do not know?" His voice pitched up as a question. He had a vague understanding of his body, and he knew he was well-rested, well-fed and in reasonably good condition. Was there anything else he needed? He didn't think so. He shook his head as he climbed into the SUV, deciding to go with his gut.

Leese headed over to the wall and hit a button, causing the garage door to slide up.

"Curry flavour protein bars, if you can get them. Otherwise, what's on the list is fine."

Once they pulled out of the garage, the doors closed behind them, and Fenrick found himself staring out the window in fascination.

"There are many plants here, and it is very bright," he said wistfully.

 

[Reynarda]

Vanya was glad she and Morei were on the same page concerning her siblings. Until he tapped her head anyway. Vanya reflexively flickered out of and back into time in surprise more than anything else. Well. Her sight was back. Touching the back of her head, she scowled up at him.

The frustrating thing was that she knew he was right. She was not a fighter. Vanya had gotten away with her special operative work largely on luck and the fact that Kas had never shot to kill when aiming at her. She had gotten better, but she was still terrible at fighting. Every fight with Kas had resulted in him pinning her if she hadn't managed to escape his grip in the first two seconds.

But Morei was lecturing her about keeping her guard up. This was almost worse than when Kas had tried to improve her marksmanship. At least Morei wasn't having a conniption about the likelihood of her getting killed.

The memory sparked an ache in her chest, and she shoved it away.

"I got a good kick in earlier," she muttered at him, though she knew the fight hadn't been serious. Vanya shoved her hands in her pockets. "So I can't trust you, and you seem to think I can't beat you. So, really, the smart thing would be to kill you now rather than risk you breaking your promise not to hurt children," she said, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye. She paused, sliding her eyes back to the planet as the ocean shifted into the greens of a forest and mountains. "My dad seems to like you. What did you tell him to convince him?"

Dmitri sighed. "I am not familiar," he admitted. "Let us hope a few of them are allies with Sylvestr."

He glanced at the holo dancing above the pilot seat. There was still some time before they approached his and Vanya's home.

"I intend to tell my people the truth," Dmitri said. There was no reason to lie, and the representatives would be able to make informed decisions. "Once I learn what the truth is," he clarified with a small smile. "Is there anything I need to exclude for your sake or your friend's?"

Or Vanya's went without saying. If he could leave her out altogether, he would.




Kas arched an eyebrow at Leese. Surely Hannabelle didn't think she was going to be able to sweet-talk Vanya into talking about her ship. He knew she had insisted her mother explain the ins and outs, despite the fact the knowledge could make her even more of a target. He hadn't coaxed anything about the ship out of her, and he was pretty sure she liked him. She would probably distrust Hannabelle on sight. But maybe watching her try to chat Vanya up would be amusing.

"You got it," Kas told Leese as he swung into the SUV. Giving her a little wave, he pulled out of the garage. He tapped the screen into life, and it showed him the route into town.

Glancing at Fenrick to make sure he was buckled in, Kas reached over and tapped his glasses to darken them. It was in the middle of the day for this part of Albaques. "Don't look directly at the sun," he instructed, remembering Leese said something about them not having a sun.

Kas smiled at his wonder. "Yeah, welcome to my home--well, here is not my home. My mom and I have a house to the south on a different continent, but welcome to my planet."

After a few minutes, the trees shifted into fields, and Kas glanced at Fenrick again. "So. How are you doing? With all of this? How do you feel about the plan?"

 

[Sakuma]

Morei nodded. She seemed to get it.

"That would be the smart thing to do. But you othersiders are strangely compassionate, so I'm not surprised by this turn of events," he said dryly. There was no way that the humans or vampires would have had the same reception in Ferenden.

He hesitated for a moment, turning his gaze to the oceans again.

"I don't know. The motivations of your species are strange to me. I showed him why the king was angry, and how the radiation beam shot by your people affected our hatching grounds. At the least, neither of us want war."

He had been prepared for it, at first. If the circumstances were not exactly as they were, he likely would have agreed with Montrose on anything. But fighting a war for an irrational king, high on power and anger, would only destroy their people in the long run.

He licked his lips as he stared out at the ocean again.

"We don't have this back home," he mused. "I've never seen so much water in one place before."



Renza hesitated for a moment. He did not think that telling the truth was a good idea.

The threat of an outside people from another planet was enough to cause panic if not administered correctly to the public. There was a very real risk that telling the truth could accelerate any war that was already in the works. He was, at least, certain that Dmitri was genuine in his desire to help.

"I think we should come up with a statement together," he hedged instead. "This is a delicate situation, and I have a little more knowledge of the Ferenden side. At the very least, I'd like a bit of time before explaining everything. Fenrick - the prince - is trying to ursup his brother to avoid war altogether. If we reveal that Ferenden is hostile, and then his attempts succeed, it would be obvious that he's a new and unseasoned leader. People like Representative Sylvestr would jump on an opportunity like that to take advantage of him."

Really, Fenrick wasn't suited to be a leader to his people at all. He was naiive, and he lacked a proper understanding of how to appeal to his opponents. He was well-liked among the lower class, but he'd already made an enemy of most elders and traditionalists during his last fight against his brother. Adding scheming foreign powers into the mix would be setting him up to fail immediately. Renza may have had an issue with the way the kid thought, but he wouldn't wish that on anyone.



Fenrick marveled at the scenery, nodding wisely to Kas' instructions.

"Right. The sun is big bright ball," he said, more for his own clarification than anything. "Is much brighter than Ferenden. Back home, light comes from ground. From... er... bioluminescant moss. I do not know english word. Grows on rocks and walls. Is one of our only plants. Legend say if you go high enough, you get to ceiling of everything, and it grows there too. Nobody has flown so high in many hundred years, so nobody know if truth or not."

He stared at the trees lining the road as they drove, clearly fascinated. When Kas asked how he was doing, his shoulders stiffened slightly.

"I am... ok with," he said slowly. "It is what I expected. Montrose is not more important than your people. If he not want help, I cannot help him, and I cannot let him start war. He.... Not see me like I see him. If things backwards, if I am putting our people in danger, he would get rid of me. No thinking or waiting."

He turned back to Kas, giving him a small smile.

"You wanted to try, and that means much to me. Even if he not saveable, I feel better about it."

 

[Reynarda]

Vanya watched Morei in her peripheral vision. He wasn't supposed to agree with her that she should kill him to be safe. "It's logical," she said with a huff. "But you just don't end a life because it's logical."

Vanya frowned when he said he didn't know why her dad trusted him. Her dad perhaps thought better of people than was often deserved, but even he had to draw the line at strange man from another dimension. But then he mentioned the hatching grounds. Their laser had hit hatching grounds? Morei said "affected" but even though she wasn't an energy philos, she could guess what that meant. Guilt settled deep in her stomach.

Vanya had been one of the first people to verbalize the idea of poking it with a stick--they had all been thinking it, but they had all been following some sort of meandering script Vanya hadn't had time for. She had only been allowed on the team because the Philos Committee had petitioned Special Operations and Sylvetr wanted to know what was going on. But Pyotr had only given her a week to work on it, so she had bypassed cultural protocol and pushed the project forward. She had wanted to go look at it closer, but no one wanted to join her and the safety review board wouldn't allow just her to go. A laser had been the second best option. Though it hadn't been her idea, she had voted to move forward with it.

They hadn't known there were people in there.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. What else could she say? There was no way they could fix the damage. The humans were going to have a field day with this, she realized. Who knew, maybe they would team up with Montrose to wipe out the population of Yassen. It needed to stay a secret, as horrible as it was.

Vanya kept her eyes on the landscape as the ocean became land again. "It's the ocean. Well, one of them. We technically have two. We know very little about it. Part of it is very deep."

Dmitri considered what Renza said. After several seconds, he nodded. "You're right. But we do need to get ahead of this. Figure out some things we can explain--get the people on our side before Sylvestr works them into a mob."

The pilot's station flashed a warning, and Vanya returned to her seat. "There's not a bicycle on the landing pad again is there?" she asked dryly.

Dmitri rolled his eyes. "You really need to let that go."

The land climbed into mountains as Vanya slowed the family ship. The trees grew tall and thick, their leaves a deep green. As they slowed, buildings began to dot the mountains. A small town dotted a valley, but Vanya aimed the ship for the tallest mountain nearby. There was a house that looked part castle, part flat reserach lab with a landing pad near the top.

"My wife may be in her lab in the mountain, so do not be insulted if she is not here to great you," Dmitri said.

"What did you tell her?" Vanya asked.

"Just that I had you and would explain all when I returned," her father said, tucking his arms in his sleeves. Vanya gave him a look, which he ignored. "Eyes on the sky."

Vanya landed the ship in the center of the pad and cut the drive. Before she could even start running landing checks, someone was banging on the airlock and yelling to open up.

Vanya rolled her eyes. She was about to turn on the intercom just to tell them off, but a young vampire popped into existance right next to her. Vanya, nerves frayed, jumped out of and then back into time.

"Leksi!" Vanya scolded as her younger sister threw her arms around her.

Leksi had the black hair of her father, but the same strange dark eyes of her older sister, and was just barely to Vanya's shoulder. "You've been gone for ten billion years! We had to play tag with Ed and he cheats."

"Using your sight is part of tag," Vanya said, trying to escape Leski's iron grip.

"Yeah, but it's not fair. Did you kick Dickhead in the nuts?"

"Leksi!" Dmitri scolded, though he glared at Vanya.

"I didn't teach her that!" Vanya said, holding her hands up in surrender.

Leksi turned and noticed the two non-family members. She eyed Morei, and then turned to Renza. "Is he Kas?"

Vanya felt heat rushing her face. "No!"

"You said Kas was taller than Edwin and he's taller than Edwin."

"Kas has red hair, stupid," said another voice.

"Dad! Iona called me stupid!"

Dmitri let out a long sigh as a young girl who looked exactly like Leksi stepped onto the bridge. "Girls, let's get our guests inside without arguing, ok?"

"Who are they, Dad?" Iona asked.

Vanya crouched so Leksi could hop up on her back. "Sorry, their English isn't very good. They can understand, but they're still practicing speaking."

"What is your name?" Iona asked Renza in accented English. She glanced at Vanya, who gave her a tiny nod.

"Let them get inside, little one," Dmitri said, leading the way through the airlock.

The air was cool, and wind whipped at Dmitri's representative robes. A taller vampire leaned against the door frame of the home. As the approached, he pushed off and walked over.

"Good to see you're not dead," Edwin said, giving Vanya a one-armed hug. He glanced at the two humans. "Which of these guys is Kas?"

"Neither of them are Kas!" Iona huffed before Vanya could protest. "Kas had red hair and broad shoulders and is very handsome."

Vanya was about to insist she never said Kas was handsome but Edwin glanced at Renza and then Morei again. "You finally bring someone home and neither of them are Kas?"

Vanya shifted Leksi on her back to she could jab Edwin in the side. He grinned. Worth it.

"Welcome to our home," Dmitri said, ignoring the talk about the Jaager boy. Vanya had only spoken about him in passing a few times, but as she spoke about no one else, the twins had quickly decided they must be in love and going to get married. Vanya's human cullenary endeavors only solidified that theory.

Inside the home was a small foyer and a woman wiping grease from her hands. She was short, with dark brown hair and dark eyes. Vanya clearly got her cheekbones and eyes from her, but not her smile. Yva's smile lit up the room, though now the smile was polite and accented with an arched eyebrow.

"You did not tell me we would have guests."

Dmitri gave his wife a chaste kiss on the cheek. "My love, this is Father Renza Richtail and Morei. Both of them were with our eldest and I am afraid Representative Sylvestr wanted to keep them close."

Yva's eyes narrowed, understanding the implications. "I am sure he did." She smiled at both men and inclined her head. "Welcome to the Zmey clan. I am Yva, the clan head. You know my eldest already, but this is Edwin, my second, and Iona and Leksi, my thirds. Telling them apart is easy. If you call them the wrong name, they will correct you."

"Mom," both twins groaned. The family could often tell them apart as Leksi's face was slightly rounder and Iona had higher cheekbones, but even other clan members had trouble.

Vanya set her sister down, and Yva held her arm out to her. Vanya looped an arm through her mother's.

Her mother pulled her to the family room. "Please, come into the family room and have a seat. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"




Kas frowned. Light came from the ground? He was picturing light shining through cracks in the ground. That didn't seem right. But when he explained it grew, Kas asked, "Some kind of plant? Mushroom?" He thought way back to his science classes in secondary school. "Lichen?"

But the next thing Fenrick said was confusing at best. "The ceiling? Your planet has a ceiling? And we're not talking about the atmosphere, right?"

Talking with Fenrick was a lot like talking with Vanya. Kas kept finding himself trying to remember what he learned in secondary school and the single course he took in university to round out his studies. He wished someone had told him he would somehow end up spending untold amounts of time with two scientists. Alas.

As the city approached, Kas glanced at him. "Just because he's not more important in the grand scheme of things does not mean he's not more important to you," he said. He winced. "Yes, well, some people don't see us the way we are because of things in them. That's on them, not on you."

He shook his head. How had Fenrick gone through all this and still ended up so... soft wasn't the right word. But how had he not become harsh and angry and vengeful?

"Personally, I'm impressed by you. You remain so kind and warm even though you've been through so much. That is a strength few people ever have."

Skyscrapers appeared through a break in the trees, tall windmill turbines turning in the breeze atop each one. Instead of approaching the city center, Kas turned the vehicle down towards the shopping districts.

"I always think you should at least try to help people." He paused but decided to just tell Fenrick. "When I first met Vanya... I could tell something was wrong. She wasn't trained. She was--is--a terrible spy--she's not like you, she's not a scientist and a warrior. I could have just killed her and been done with it. But my gut told me something was off. If I hadn't listened to it, I would never have gotten to know her. And if I hadn't gotten to know her... well." He gave Fenrick a small smile back. "There are no other people than I would want to be doing this with than you and Vanya. I'll just put it that way. I'm not saying the same thing will happen for Montrose. But people can't change if you don't give them the chance."

Turning into a parking lot, he pulled into a space. "Alright, this is the place to get food. Let's go see what we need."