The star-filled sky between the planets seemed as different now as night was from day. It seemed almost paradoxically idyllic; crew chatting and joking, stars passing by, the monsters in the far distance seeming utterly unimportant. Those few that ventured closeby were destroyed with almost casual ease by the ship's gunners; every active gun on deck would strike their most vulnerable spots all but simultaneously. Half of the monsters didn't even live long enough for all of the projectiles to hit them. Most of the creatures were far smaller than the leviathans what they had fought before; while they were still many times larger than her, Annelique found herself thinking of them as almost childlike in size. Those few that were larger were deftly avoided or destroyed with the central deck gun.

Through this unexpected peace, Annelique found herself getting a good view of the interstellar landscape for the first time. It was unbelievably colorful; every star was a different hue, some burning bright red, some green, some purple. Every part of the rainbow was represented in stars both near and far, a thousand white lights wreathed in halos of color. Twisting and swirling throughout these firey gems were clouds of colored dust in just as many varieties, like glowing watercolors hanging frozen between the stars. Among all of this spun planets of more kinds than Annelique could describe. She was awed by just how much she saw; the sheer scale of what was apparently still only a tiny fraction of their universe.

Strangely, when she looked back in the direction of Scyther, she saw very little; it was as though they were at the very edge of the universe, just a stone's throw away from an infinite sea of nothingness.

For just a moment, she wondered what it would be like to step out into that realm...what would happen if she simply flew clean out of their galaxy and didn't look back.

Ultimately, she decided it would get very boring and turned back to the vistas abroad.

She didn't know how long she had been staring out at these passing wonders before she noticed something bright crowding the side of her vision. As she turned to look, she saw a blue-wreathed star, almost blindingly bright, filling her field of vision as the Starslicer bore down directly toward it. It was not uncomfortable to look at--her angelic eyes were well-equipped to percieve even the brightest of lights--but she couldn't help but wonder why they were moving toward it.

Padding over to Elvet, she asked "what's going on?"

"We're going through a star portal," Elvet said. "Many stars in our universe are linked to other stars. All you need to know is the names of both, and if you enter one, you will exit from the other."

"You fly into the star?" Annelique said.

"Yes."

"And that's it? All you have to do is know their names?"

"Yes."

"What if only some of you know their names?" Annelique asked nervously. "Because I don't know either of them."

"It doesn't matter," Elvet replied. "So long as the pilot or the navigator knows."

"What if they don't know, but somebody else on the ship does?"

Elvet smiled. "I believe it is more a matter of intent than anything, Annelique. I do not know this for certain, but I believe it is the mind of the star itself that transports you; if it believes you wish to go, it takes you, and anyone who is with you."

The star was very close now, and Annelique was still nervous.

"Stars have minds?"

Elvet smiled. "That much I do know for certain."

"How?" Annelique asked.

Elvet reached out and took Annelique's hand. "In a moment you will see for yourself."

The ship sped towards the surface of the star, it's glow practically enveloping it from all sides. Annelique, in spite of herself, clenched her eyes shut and held her breath. She felt something warm and tickling shoot over her skin, and...

Suddenly she was a thousand places at once.

Where moments ago she had been watching one vista of the universe, now she was seeing more than she could count, from more directions than she could comprehend. She felt as though her body was made of thousands of spheres, and any time she tried to orient herself her perception would just be thrown around. As she tried to collect her mind her perception of the spheres would change, as though her awareness was slipping on it's own feet or sliding along a pane of ice. Too much came at her too quickly; too many temperatures, too many sizes, too many scenes. The only stable force she felt was something she couldn't describe--a great thrum where she imagined her heart and spine would be, if she still had a body. The thrum felt like something--or more particularly, someone--else, some sort of entity that seemed to propel her mind forward through the maze of spheres and back out into...something.

She felt like she was being squirted into a sleeping bag, and suddenly found herself hitting the deck of the Starslicer.

She heard quiet laughter from behind her, and felt a pair of hands on her wrist and shoulder.

"Are you alright?" came Elvet's voice.

She realized her normal vision had returned; she could see her hands on the deck beneath her, and could feel her own body again. All of the strange sensations had vanished as quickly and suddenly as they had appeared, and she realized that--though it had seemed like quite a long time--the entire experience was probably barely a second long. The strange thing she had felt herself being squirted into was apparently her own body.

"Y...yes, I think so," she said, picking herself up.

"That felt even weirder than last time," Ishiar said from across the deck, where she was leaning back on the railing, her hand held to her forehead. Glanced over to another part of the ship, she muttered "looks like we lost Gairanda again..."

Gairanda was splayed out on the deck, looking thoroughly unconscious.

"What happened?" Annelique asked.

"You know that messed up thing that just happened?" Ishiar said.

"Yes..."

"She's still there."

"I shall attend to her," Elvet said, moving calmly over to where Gairanda lay.

Her intervention wasn't necessary, however; Gairanda slowly stirred, eventually propping herself up on her elbows.

Ishiar seemed unimpressed, but Elvet's eyes visibly widened. As Gairanda pulled herself to her feet--looking like she had just gotten in a drinking contest with an Ironbelly--Elvet simply stood there, apparently frozen in her surprise.

"What is it?" Annelique asked.

"Gairanda, you...found your way back on your own," Elvet said. "I am quite impressed."

Gairanda looked at them with pinched, glazed eyes, almost as if she didn't recognize them.

"Oh. Yeah." she muttered. She looked out at the stars, holding out her hand as though she were trying to block them out. "Mostly," she added. She grunted and waved her hands around her head, as if trying to disperse whatever was clouding her mind.

"Well, you'll have plenty of chances to get more practice, because we've got about five star portals to go," Cassandra said from the command deck.

"Which star was that?" Gairanda asked.

"Nurema," Cassandra replied.

Gairanda's eyes went out of focus. "That's what I thought." Her voice was wavering as though she were drunk or half-asleep. "I think we had some sort of conversation..." she said in a sardonic tone.

"You think?" Ishiar asked.

"Yeah," Gairanda said, looking back at the leaf-green star they had just emerged from. "With the first one. With Gamir, not so much."

"Who's Gamir?"

"The star we just came out of," Cassandra answered for her.

"Yeah. Gamir was confused." Gairanda said. "She wasn't the only one. But Nurema seemed to kinda figure out what was going on."

"So she--it--whatever--put you back in your body?" Annelique asked.

"Um...no. She, uh...didn't figure it out *that* much. I kinda, sorta..." Gairanda trailed off. "I'm not sure what I did. I just sorta felt it out. I guess. I'm gonna go to sleep now," she said, staggering towards the doors that led below deck.

"That was...quite remarkable," Elvet said after she had vanished beneath the wooden doors.

"Geez. The last time I was that confused, I had woken up naked in a glade with a naga's arms around me," Ishiar said.

"Was she pretty?" Cassandra asked with a smile.

Ishiar sighed. "Yes," she eventually said, as if ashamed to admit it.

Cassandra chuckled to herself. "What was her name?"

"Hell if I know. I don't even know how I got there...all I remember is her waking up and blowing me a kiss as I was leaving."

"Sounds like you've led a very interesting life," Cassandra said.

"Too interesting, if you ask me..." Ishiar replied.

******

The daylight did not suit Liliandra to nearly the extent that the darkness had. Before, when the planet had been turned away from the two nearest stars, it had been quite dark; most of the city's light had been generated by torches or floodlights. Now that the Idjana and Oranos stars both hung high in the sky, she found herself clinging to the shadier areas. The touch of sunlight made her feel...dirty. Impure, in a way. Though there was much angel in her blood, her preference between light and darkness had clearly been decided by her demon mother.

There were only a few spots dark enough for her to step into now, and thus only a few dark enough to step out of. She found she had to walk most everywhere. She had yet to decide what she thought about the glances and stares she recieved from the passersby. She knew she was unusual in many ways, both mundane and major, but the most obvious was her body's reaction to light. It did not seem to catch as much light nor cast as many shadows as it should; it was as though the bright sunlight was being redistributed to make itself a little more even and a lot less intense. Her skin darkened as the light intensified; it had been pale in the dead of night but was ruddy and tan in bright light. Her hair, too, seemed to react in reverse; rather than reflecting it's normal, silky sheen, it seemed to grow darker and darker as more and more light hit it. By the time she was moving through direct sunlight, it was not only jet black, but seemed to emit dark, wispy smoke that lingered behind her for a second or two before vanishing. Her glassy talons were quite the reverse; they glinted with an almost supernatural sheen, as though they were siezing the light itself and holding it for some future strike against an enemy. Her eyes, too, seemed to catch light in a very strange way; though their bulk grew ever darker as the light brightened, they seemed to glitter with almost piercing highlights.

Most of the people in the city seemed to give her a broad berth; from their murmuring most seemed to assume she was some form of demonic nobility. The demons themselves were among the few who seemed willing to scrutinize her; the rest seemed to prefer to avert their eyes and hope not to be noticed. She scrutinized the demons in turn; many had talons, but they were of a pedestrian black, and many had horns, which seemed to Liliandra to be...ostentatious. They all wore weapons--whips, swords, crossbows, and even scythes--and most wore either armor or some form of alluring and shamelessly revealing leather. A few even had alluring and shamelessly revealing armor, which Liliandra simultaneously found appealing and appallingly illogical.

But as she looked over their weapons, she had to grudgingly admit that one of those might be useful.

She had passed several armories in her wandering, but she didn't imagine they had anything to her taste. She wanted to taste blood with her own claws, and if she was going to deny herself that, it would have to be with something refined...and preferably magical. Unfortunately, she had no money, and had not come across any unguarded caches of powerful magical weapons.

She was about to approach one of the demonesses about the matter when she felt something grabbing her shoulder.

She turned her head and looked into a pair of emerald green eyes set in a pale face, wreathed in snow-white hair that was streaked and rooted with royal blue. The newcomer's intruding hand was encased in a heavy, blue adamant gauntlet.

Liliandra simply stared at her wordlessly.

"We would like a word with you," the woman said.

"We?" Liliandra whispered. The woman took a step back, revealing a small phalanx of women in black iron armor, each brandishing spears or swords. One of them--probably their leader, judging by the gold crest on her chestplate--was holding a wickedly-sharp gladius made of a red, crystalline-looking substance.

Liliandra's face was placid. "You want more than a word," she said.

"There's no need for a fight," the woman said. "Just come with us."

That red sword...perhaps not exactly what she wanted, but it would do.

"That sword," she said, pointing at it with a glistening talon. "is it magical?"

The woman who was holding it tightened her grip and glared, and the whole group seemed to tense up, readying themselves for combat. The white-haired woman reached behind her back and wrapped her fingers around the handle of what appeared to be a broadsword made of solid emerald and edged in blue adamant. It was easily as long as Liliandra herself was and was almost a foot across at it's widest point--in short, it was a sharpened buick.

Liliandra's eyes wandered across the group before her. There were probably too many to fight, and the white-haired woman was armored from shoulder to toe in blue adamant and had what was doubtless a priceless weapon...she could only surmise that she had combat skills to match.

Perhaps negotiation was in order...after all, she had escaped from them once easily enough.

"In exchange for her sword I will come with you," Liliandra said, beckoning towards it while looking at the white-haired woman. "Or yours."

"I'm afraid not," the woman replied.

"Then I have nothing more to say," Liliandra said.

As she turned to leave, she saw the emerald sword being drawn from the corner of her eye.

"This isn't negotiable," the woman said. "And I'm sure you're aware it would be a bad idea to run."

Liliandra turned back towards her.

"But I don't need to run. All I need to do is devour you fast enough to cause your companions to retreat," she said calmly. "Then perhaps, as a courtesy, I might let you out...depending on how you taste."

She measured the looks on the guards' faces. A few seemed a little shaken, but if the rest were scared, they weren't showing it. As for the wielder of the great emerald sword, her expression was one neither of fear nor a mask of unfeeling; hers was a look of determination.

"If that is how it must be," she said. "Sargeant, stay back," she said towards the guards before hefting her sword.

Liliandra had to admit she was excited.

Her very first battle.

With the speed of a wild animal she crouched and hissed between barred teeth, her talons ready to strike. A split second later, she leapt towards her foe, throwing her whole body into a slash with her left hand.

The swipe hit nothing but empty air. Liliandra felt a hard impact against the back of her head, the woman apparently having struck her as she went past. She turned and blindly swiped again, this time hitting her foe's arm. The surprised woman took a twirling step back and suddenly Liliandra felt the emerald blade bite into her chest, cleaving just below her clavicle. The force of the strike was enough to spin her sideways and almost knocked her off her feet. She spun back almost instantly, but already felt another attack: a sharp pain in her leg that dragged it's way all through her body and up past her shoulder. She stumbled to the ground, her rear hitting the hard rock as she felt the throbbing pain of the two lines that had been carved across her. Before she had even looked up a point of blue adamant was being held just a few inches from her neck. She knocked it away with her arm and leapt forward, her right hand clawing straight for the woman's eyes.

A gauntleted hand siezed her by the neck just before she reached her mark. The woman twisted as Liliandra lunged forward, using her grip on her neck to force her lunge downward. Liliandra found herself twisting in the air. The emerald blade was raised into a stabbing position above her, and with one smooth, brutal motion, the woman smashed her to the ground and drove the emerald blade clean through her midsection and nearly a foot into a stone below.

For the first time in her young life, Liliandra screamed, but little could be drawn from it; her lungs were practically crushed against the ground by the enormous blade that had impaled her. She writhed and crumpled, unable to think of anything but the blade and the cold, merciless stone beneath.

Her foe gave her a pitiless glance. "They always want to do it the hard way..."

Liliandra felt her windpipe being abruptly crushed as the woman stomped down on it with her boot, using it as leverage to slowly drag her sword out of the ground. Liliandra's body flailed, but she could not scream. She could only look up at the painfully bright stars above her and claw uselessly at the leg that was now pinning her in place of the sword.

"Sargeant," the woman said, "restrain the prisoner."

Liliandra felt the grabbing of several hands and arms against her own. Soon they had been chained underneath her. Only when she was thoroughly bound did the boot come off of her neck, quickly replaced by a large iron manacle.

She clenched her eyes shut, not even sure if she wanted to start breathing again. She certainly didn't want to move, but they gave her little choice; the manacle around her neck meant she was either going to walk or be dragged all the way to wherever they were going. Grudgingly, she stood up, wincing and suddenly surprised she was even still conscious.

She had no idea who they were or where they were taking her. But she had already decided she wasn't going to like either.

*****

Though it heralded the end of a safe journey, Annelique couldn't help but feel a growing sense of dread as she saw her home world approaching. She suddenly realized a part of her didn't want to return; she knew the only things that awaited her there were strife, war, and destruction. She bit her lip as her hands braced against the railing, not wanting to look but unable to turn away.

"So where are we landing?" she heard Ishiar say.

"Ecilix," came Cassandra's response. "It's the main Mecki starport on the southern continent. It's probably the safest place."

Ecilix...another unfamiliar city filled with unfamiliar people. Another temporary holdout until their next violent enounter with Aerothi or her seemingly endless army.

Annelique suddenly felt distressed at her own pessimism. This wasn't how Angels were supposed to be--Daisy Angels least of all.

But Brightwind still felt so very far away.

Well...maybe the Meckis would turn out to be nice.

It wouldn't be long before she learned, at any rate. Within ten minutes they were well within their homeworld's atmosphere, and after twelve she saw that they were descending towards a city--a huge city. It even seemed to dwarf Eronmar, and was almost as strange as the forest she had seen in Phaesili--if not stranger. Tall buildings twisted in and out of each other, with gantries and platforms jutting out seemingly at random, sometimes connecting to two or three buildings, sometimes simply arcing out into the naked air. Some of the bigger platforms held buildings, some ships.

The ships she saw--at least, she could only assume they were ships--didn't seem to follow any theme at all. A few were like the Starslicer, looking like modified sailing vessels. A few looked like the boxy metal transports she had seen before. A few looked like metal insects with no legs and strange, straight-edged wings. Most of them were simply...things, made of every material she could imagine and then some. Most were symmetrical, but many were not. On one platform she even saw a massive silver dragon that appeared to have a complex, segmented gondola on it's back, complete with gun turrets. It was standing regally on all fours, glancing across the other "ships" with a keen eye.

Somewhat disturbingly, it seemed that the Starslicer was moving down to land on a platform adjacent to it. They were not directly connected, but they were close enough that their arrival warranted a glance by the great beast.

Annelique flinched inwardly as the creature made direct eye contact with her. Though there was no malice in it's eyes, it's gaze was very intimidating, made even moreso by the fact that it seemed to freeze on her. It had actually stopped looking around for the moment, simply locking it's gaze on the little angel. For her part, she couldn't tear her own eyes away.

Why was it looking at her? Why not some other member of the crew? She wasn't even the closest to it, but it seemed completely disinterested in the others.

Finally the dragon moved it's head and it's eyes wandered elsewhere. Annelique took a deep breath and almost jumped out of her skin when she heard Cassandra's voice from behind her.

"I think she likes you."

Annelique rubbed her hands against her abdomen--her nervousness had made her a bit queasy. "But like in what way? She might like me to be in her belly..."

"I'm sure she would, but that's true of just about anybody," Cassandra said with a smile. "Hell, I probably would if not for the fact that your buddies would kick my ass. Be glad you're immortal."

"It's not making me feel any better right now," Annelique shivered.

"What are you worried about? This is probably the first time in weeks that you *haven't* been in imminent danger of being eaten."

"I know...so these are the Meckis?"

"Well...this is just about everybody. This is the biggest starport on the planet. All kinds of people come here...pretty much anybody with a ship has been here at one point or another. Uh, speaking of which..." Cassandra's face suddenly blanched, "I should probably check out the local...um...authorities. They might recognize me." Biting her lower lip and raising her eyebrows, she hopped off towards the ramp leading off-ship. "Wouldn't want all of you to get arrested on some trumped-up charge of...well, a couple of things. Probably better if you don't know."

Cassandra was smiling, but she seemed a little bit nervous anyway as she left--a little too fast.

"Don't let them impound the ship while I'm gone!" she yelled as she ran off.

"Who was she talking to?" Annelique asked.

"Probably me..." Elvet said. "I believe I am the highest ranking of the survivors."

Survivors...not the most pleasant word to hear.

"That's a shame," Annelique replied. "I was hoping somebody could help me find my way around..."

Elvet nodded empathetically. "I'm sorry. It must be unpleasant to be uprooted and sent into so many unfamiliar places in such a short time."

"I wish I could say I was getting used to it."

The dragon was looking at her again. But as she turned, it averted it's eyes, seemingly feigning disinterest.

"What's with that dragon?" Annelique whispered.

"Dragons are often used for space travel," Elvet said simply. "In fact, I believe they are classified as a form of space monster--the dragons we know are but the smallest variety, which is why they can be found on land."

"I don't mean that--I mean why does it keep looking at us?" Annelique continued, making sure to keep her back turned to it.

"We are the newest arrival, and we landed in the berth adjacent to it. It has numerous possible reasons for being interested in us." Elvet had been speaking in a normal tone of voice, but now she too lowered her tone to a near whisper. "As for why it seems to be taking a particular interest in you, to the exception of the rest of us...that is something more of a mystery."

"Where is Gairanda?"

"I believe she is still below deck."

"I think I'll ask her..."

Annelique headed down below and found Gairanda asleep in one of the hallways, propped up in a corner in a sitting position. She looked as pale as ever.

Something strange caught Annelique's eye. The dark red Ironbelly icon that Gairanda wore was around her neck, as it always was, simply laying on her chest. Something about it caught her attention, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. She looked at it for a moment, then bent down and gently took it in her hand. It felt cold, and somewhat unsavory--she vaguely remembered that it was some sort of demonic icon, but not much more. She hadn't remembered seeing it for a while...Gairanda must have been hiding it under her clothes.

Eventually she let go and started gently trying to awaken Gairanda. This did not work. Neither did trying to awaken her not-so-gently; even shaking her and saying her name, which was about as violent as Annelique was willing to get, didn't seem to get the other woman's attention in the least.

Before long she felt Elvet's hand on her shoulder again. "I thought you might need help in rousing her," the dark angel said, gently leading Annelique aside before placing her hand on Gairanda's chest. After a moment her pale eyes fluttered open.

"Oh. Hi," was all she said.

"Gairanda," Annelique said hesitantly, "there's a dragon outside that's...creeping me out. Could you, you know...try to figure out what it's thinking?"

"Sure," Gairanda replied flatly.

The three wandered outside. Not showing the least bit of subtlety, Gairanda simply stared at the dragon for a few moments. It glanced at her momentarily as it's eyes wandered the starport, but it didn't seem to care that the valkyrie was eyeballing it.

"So?" Annlique said.

"I have no idea," Gairanda replied. "Either it isn't thinking about anything important or I just can't tell."

The dragon turned it's head towards the Starslicer. Once again, Annelique found it's gaze was right on her.

After a moment, it's mouth moved slightly.

Had it just...grinned?

"Or..." Gairanda started to say.

"Or what?" Annelique said, still looking unflinchingly into the dragon's eyes.

Gairanda suddenly called out to the dragon. "What do you want?"

Annelique was mortified, suddenly terrified of what the dragon might do.

But all it did was give that slight grin again before turning it's head away, closing it's eyes and lowering itself to the ground as though getting ready to take a nap.

"Do you think it can talk?" Annelique whispered.

"All true dragons can speak," Elvet said. "Only their lesser wyvern cousins cannot, and even then, a few are still capable."

"Is that a true dragon?"

"Almost certainly," Elvet said. "I sense a great intelligence about it."

"Is that true of all dragons too?" Annelique asked.

"No," Elvet said simply. "Not of common dragons."

"There's nothing common about that thing," Gairanda said.

"Want me to go kill it?" Ishiar said, suddenly injecting herself into the conversation.

"Yeah, I bet we could take it," Kaboom added, following behind.

"If you truly want to find out what motivates the dragon," Elvet said, "Perhaps you could speak to it's captain. Assuming it is not the captain itself."

"How would we find her?" Annelique asked.

"Often in life it is enough to simply ask," Elvet replied. "I would suggest starting in one of the nearby taverns."

"Taverns...booze." Kaboom's eyes suddenly went as wide as dinner plates. She suddenly grabbed Annelique by both shoulders. "BOOZE!"

"Ok-okay!" Annelique replied. "We'll see..."

"Cassandra may only work for coin, but my heart is driven by other things," Elvet said. "If you require any assistance, simply return to me. I will do my best to help you."

"Thank you, Elvet," Annelique said.

"Alright, let's go see what Kaboom is like when she's drunk," Ishiar said.

"Probably very dangerous," Gairanda said.

"Booze!" Kaboom cried ecstatically as they walked down the ramp.

The large platform seemed to have one exit--or entrance, rather. It was a large archway that led into the building that the platform was attached to. The inside looked like a giant patchwork shopping mall; stores, taverns, inns, elevators and stairs all lined the walls, half of which were uneven and built at slightly different heights. Occaisionally a giant patch of cables could be seen running along a wall or hanging from a vent. There were countless people of every description and seemingly every race. What surprised Annelique was how easy it was to pick out the Meckis from the rest of the humans. Of all the people from all the clans, they stood out the most. While some girls had clan mons or wore obvious clan colors, the Meckis were so outlandishly dressed that it would be impossible to mistake them. Most had tools, potions and small magical charms all over them, and at least half of them were wearing firearms. Bandoliers, sunglasses and goggles, and even strange metal contraptions that seemed built into their very skin were common. Altogether the typical Mecki outstripped Blast and Kaboom combined. Interestingly, this meant Blast and Kaboom blended in perfectly--or would, if not for the fact that Kaboom was a faerie.

Many of the passersby were Meckis, but even more of them seemed to be visitors. She saw almost every kind of creature she could think of and then some. Her heart even ached a little as she saw that there were other angels here, most of whom just walked by without a glance at her. They almost all seemed to be much taller than she was, though not nearly as tall as Miss Sara. She was guessing most of them were Lotus Angels; many of them had four wings, and most were wearing armor and weaponry.

She saw very few monsters, however. Those few she saw were almost invariably Naga.

"BOOZE!"

Annelique was violently brought back into the present by Kaboom's urgent proclaimation.

"Over here. Booze." Kaboom said in a surprisingly commanding tone, motioning towards a bar with a gigantic lighted sign.

No way--that couldn't be the bar's name.

"Battlemech Nipples?" Ishiar said incredulously. "What's a Battlemech?"

"Big robot blows shit up BOOZE!" Kaboom said as she hurriedly dragged the rest of the group inside with her.

The place was crowded--very crowded. It had a spacious interior with two floors, over a dozen tables, and a huge central bar. Dozens of servers were shuttling back and forth with mugs, bottles and cups.

"I think they're full--" Annelique said, but she was cut off by Kaboom's triumphant cry of "BOOOOOOZE!"

"What is the deal, Kaboom?" Ishiar asked.

Kaboom ignored her. "Give me ten of everything that can knock you on your ass!" she yelled out after knuckling her way to one of the bartenders and throwing a huge fistfull of coins on the bar.

Annelique noticed that Blast had buried her head in her hand.

"LIQUIDY THINGS TO PUT INSIDE ME! QUICK! LIKE IT'S THEM OR YOU!"

They started putting drinks in front of the boisterouis faerie and she started hammering them back like she was at a contest.

"Well, I guess she's taken care of..." Annelique said. "Should we start asking around?"

"Well, I doubt it's safe for us to leave, considering she'll probably need somebody to haul her plastered ass out of here before she passes out and some pissed off server drags her into the bathroom to eat her..." Ishiar said.

"I doubt that will be a problem," Gairanda said, noting that Kaboom was constantly throwing coins and saying "moremoremore!" Anyone who was throwing around that much money could pretty much get away with anything. Annelique didn't bother to speculate on where she got all the cash; she had learned to expect the unexpected when it came to the two strange sisters.

After glancing around, she walked over to a table filled with patrons who seemed a bit calmer--and weren't among the majority that were staring at Kaboom.

"Excuse me, do any of you know who...um...I guess who 'captains' the big dragon outside?"

They shook their heads.

She walked over to the next closest table.

"Do any of you know who captains the silver dragon outside?"

A redhead in a leather bodice answered her. "Yeah, I think those gals are from that crew," she said, motioning towards a table on the other side of the bar where only three girls were sitting. Unlike most of the patrons, who seemed content with chatting and drinking, these three seemed to be talking intently about something written on a piece of paper in front of them.

Annelique walked over to the table. The three women were all dressed fairly similarly; they all wore dark colors, primarily indigo. One of them had a gauntlet made of transparent blue crystal over her right hand that went all the way up to her forearm and a large, goldren dragon amulet over a set of clothes that covered practically every other part of her body. The second was bedecked in black lacquered armor, complete with a helmet shaped like a dragon's head that covered everything above her crimson lips. The third--the one who was gesturing over the strange piece of paper--was wearing some sort of dark blue military uniform. All three were very light skinned and had raven black hair.

"E-Excuse me," Annelique stuttered for a moment, "do you girls know the dragon outside?"

The three looked up at her. She noticed the third woman's hand moving subtly to cover the paper they had been examining.

"The big silver one, with the thing on it's back?" Annelique continued.

"Perhaps," the woman in the military uniform said. "Who are you?"

"My name's Anne--" Annelique stopped, suddenly realizing it might not be a good idea to let them know who she was, but she wasn't about to lie, and she had already started, so... "Annelique."

"That doesn't tell us much," the other woman replied.

"Well...what do you want to know?"

"What ship did you come from?"

"Uh..." Annelique hesitated. She didn't know who Cassandra was worried about running into here, and didn't want to bring anyone down on her. "I'd rather not say. Er, actually, the captain would rather I didn't say. It doesn't matter anyway; she was only hired to take us somewhere and back, so we're not really on that ship anymore."

"Alright," the woman said slowly. "And what is your interest in the dragon?"

"It...seemed interested in me, actually," Annelique said plainly. "I want to know why."

Annelique noticed the other two women exchange glances, but the uniformed woman's gaze never flinched. Finally, she shrugged. "I couldn't tell you why it might be interested in you...do you know why it might be?"

"No...I haven't seen many dragons. Especially not...spaceship dragons. Or whatever you'd call them. Are you guys part of her crew?"

Her question was met with stony silence that lasted only for a few moments before it was interrupted by the sound of Kaboom yelling.

"What!? They're nice boobs! You can touch mine if you want! Okay, okay, I won't do it again...but only if you bring me more booze!"

Annelique whimpered silently to herself.

"Friend of yours?" the woman asked.

"Yes..." Annelique said. "Though this is a side of her I hadn't seen up until now."

"Then you should be in for an entertaining evening. If you don't mind, we have important matters to discuss."

"Wait! You never answered my question!"

"They probably won't, either," Ishiar suddenly said from behind her. "Darkswallows are a suspicious lot. Aren't you?" she said, bearing down on the uniformed woman with a glare.

"Is there a problem?" the woman replied, a hint of menace visible in her face.

"Are you Aerothi's lackeys too? Or did she fire the whole clan when Shannon decided she didn't like following orders?"

"If you are trying to provoke us, I would warn you that succeeding will prove to be both easy and excruciating."

"Ah, threats. At least you're more forthright than she was."

"Excuse me," came a voice from behind them, belonging to one of the servers. "If you guys are going to fight, take it outside."

"We were merely attempting to have a private conversation," the woman said, "until it was intruded upon."

"Just answer me, yes or no," Ishiar said. "Do you work for Aerothi?"

The uniformed woman was scowling, but said nothing. The woman with the draconic helmet was seething--though her stern expression was being held in place like stone, the skin of her face had turned red. The final woman, however, seemed perfectly calm.

In the end, it was the armored woman who answered. "Allow me," she said, rising slowly from her chair and walking over to Ishiar.

In one sudden, blurred motion, she slapped her hard in the face.

As Ishiar reeled from the sudden blow, the woman answered. "Put simply: we will never work for Aerothi."

"BITCH!" came Kaboom's voice. Everyone looked over just in time to see the faerie trying to lunge at the armored woman, being held back (barely) by Blast and several serving girls. Most of them were struggling to contain her, but Blast merely had a resigned look on her face, holding Kaboom's flailing limbs like she had done it a hundred times before.

"LEMME GO!" Kaboom was screaming. "I'LL SWALLOW YOUR EYES AND SHIT 'EM IN YOUR EARS!"

The woman went for her sword.

"Wait! Wait! Nobody is going to shit in anybody!" Annelique yelled. "Miss, that wasn't very nice. Ishiar, I don't know what you're thinking, but you could stand to be nicer too. Kaboom, you need to stop drinking."

"Not gonna happen!"

"Then at least stop groping and threatening people."

"I will take your suggestion under consideration!"

"EEP!" came a voice from next to her.

"Sorry. One for the road, so to speak."

"If you don't work for Aerothi then there's no reason for us to be angry at one another," Annelique said.

"IF," Ishiar said loudly. "Sorry, Annie, but I might be nicer if I hadn't seen that exact same uniform in Aerothi's command center," Ishiar said, gesturing at the woman before them. "The Darkswallows are on her side."

"Admiral Shannon Kaleta was on her side," the uniformed woman said. "We were not. And now neither is she."

"How do you know?"

"Because once she was dismissed by Aerothi she sought employment here among the Meckis, who foolishly accepted."

Ishiar stopped short. "They hired her? After she worked for Aerothi?"

"Yes. They decided her tactical skills were worth the expense and the risk that her 'defection' was merely a ploy."

"But if you're Darkswallows yourselves, why don't you like her?" Annelique asked.

"Would you like an angel who decided to conquer the world for the sole purpose of destroying it?" the woman retorted.

"I guess not..."

"So obviously the dragon is yours," Ishiar said.

"Obviously?" the woman said.

"You're being evasive enough that it must be. Not to mention you've all got dragon bling on."

The woman glared at her for a moment. "Yes, Silavas is ours. And you still have yet to explain what your relationship with her is."

"We don't know! That's just it! She just kept...looking at me," Annelique said, suddenly realizing how foolish she must sound.

"You came in here and started all this because Silavas was 'looking at you'?"

"Well, it's not like we had anything better to do!" Kaboom yelled.

The woman sighed. "If you want to know what Silavas is after, ask her. She might have just thought you looked appetizing."

Annelique winced inwardly at the thought. And with that, she found herself no longer wanting to know.

"Okay, let's call this a learning experience in social encounters," Annelique said. "Rule #1: No booze for Kaboom."

"Rule #2: Kaboom will destroy anyone attempting to enforce rule #1," Kaboom said between shots.

"Rule #3: Let's fucking go," Ishiar said. She was rubbing her face where the other woman had slapped it--it had turned bright red.

"Not just yet, my friends, because I have a question for you," the uniformed woman said, suddenly standing from her chair. It was only then that they saw she was carrying a very large pistol at her hip, also identical to the one Shannon had.

The group turned towards her.

"Why were *you* in Aerothi's company when Shannon Kaleta was still in her employ?" the woman asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was her prisoner at the time," Ishiar said. "I can tell you that basically everyone that works for her is a total bitch, except for maybe one, and she obeys whenever they tell her to be a bitch anyway so it doesn't really matter."

"She took a personal enough interest in you to hold you prisoner in her command center?"

"Apparently."

"And why do you think that would be?"

"That's DEFINATELY none of your business."

"So you do know why, then."

"God, you even talk like Shannon. This stupid verbal sparring..."

"If you wish to remain physically intact, I would not suggest comparing the Captain to Admiral Shannon again," came a new voice. It was the robed woman with the dragon crest and crystal guantlet, who until this point had been utterly silent--they hadn't even noticed when she stood up. Her voice, unlike that of her companions, was calm and composed.

"So, wait--you guys don't like Shannon?" Annelique said.

"They hate her," Gairanda suddenly said. "And they work for her."

"And just who the hell are you?" the uniformed woman asked.

"Gairanda," she replied. "Ironbelly liaison to the Kikagon court of the Blood Fane."

A wave of understanding seemed to cross the woman's fortress. "Of course. So you all must have been there when the fortress fell."

"Yes," Gairanda said.

"Wait--back up. You hate Shannon and you work for her but you never worked for Aerothi? I'm seeing holes here," Ishiar said.

"We are currently within the Mecki chain of command. We were assigned to her when she was given dominion over the bulk of the Mecki's forces."

"Fuuuuuuuuuun," Ishiar said. "Well, at least now we've got some things in common. We both hate Aerothi AND Shannon, yet are doomed to deal with both until either they're dead or we are. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between you and I."

"Don't get your panties moist just yet. Just because we share hatreds doesn't make us friends. Especially after your very rude introduction."

"I do tend to make bad first impressions. Gairanda here told some demons to eat me when we first met."

The woman half-smiled at Gairanda. "Do you regret changing your mind?"

If Gairanda detected any hint of humor, she didn't include it in her response. "No," she said simply. "And neither would you, if you had fought alongside her as I have."

The Darkswallow's expression seemed to soften. After a moment, she spoke again, but her voice was devoid of the anger it had held before. "Silavas is a dragon of exceptional wisdom and insight. It is almost by pure conceit that I can call myself her captain. If she took an interest in you," she looked at Annelique, "there was a reason, and it wasn't because she was hungry." She looked back at the others. "I am curious to find out myself."

She started walking towards the exit.

"Shall we ask her?" she said over her shoulder.

"I guess," Annelique replied. She had to admit she would be slightly more comfortable if the dragon's captain was there...though in retrospect she wasn't sure why. If the Darkswallow woman gave so much as a gesture, the dragon would probably snatch her off the landing deck and have her down it's throat in the blink of an eye.

"Don't wait up for me," Kaboom said. "Unless you're going to have sex. Sex is better than booze. Sometimes."

Annelique noticed she was leaning awkwardly against the bar. Every so often she would tip and Blast would raise her arm and gently push her back into an upright position. Though it had only been a few minutes, Kaboom already seemed to be having trouble grabbing the shotglasses in front of her, often snatching at thin air several times before getting ahold of her target.

The Darkswallow woman said nothing--she simply turned and continued walking. Annelique followed, as did Ishiar and Gairanda.

It was a very short walk to the landing deck where Silavas was; it was more a matter of backtracking than anything else. They stepped out to find the dragon looking at them again, it's long neck craned around it's shoulder.

The woman simply walked to it's side, turning expectantly to Annelique.

She was almost sure the dragon was smiling now.

"Well well, this is unexpected," it said in a clear, strong voice. "You must be Annelique."

It was all Annelique could do not to take a step back. "Wait--how do you know who I am!?"

It chuckled softly. "Please, don't fear for yourself on my account. You are quite a hero in my eyes."

"I knew that name sounded familiar," the captain added. "I'm surprised I didn't remember."

"Wait--you're *that* Annelique?" the armored woman asked.

"Wh--well, I..." Annelique stumbled on her words. "Which...what?"

"Few people get Aerothi's personal attention as many times as you have. Word gets around," the robed woman said.

"Masalla protect me..." Annelique said, placing her hand over her fluttering heart. As if things weren't bad enough--now she had to contend with the fact that everybody knew who she was.

"And her companions..." Silavas continued, "the swordswoman, Ishiar, I recognize," it said with a nod towards Ishiar, "but what of noble Gairanda or the Sudvana the sorceress? Or the silent alchemist? I don't see them with you."

"Sudvana's dead," Ishiar said.

"I'm Gairanda," Gairanda said.

"Blast is...attending to her sister, trying to keep her from destroying the bar," Annelique said in a helpless tone.

"Oh..." Silavas said. "I'm sorry. You have my condolences for your lost companion. Word reached my ears that the child of Faneglut suffered a similar fate."

"Ushan..." Annelique said. "Yes. She was eaten by...a monster. But not a literal monster. This woman, that's just..." Annelique stumbled on her words. "I just can't understand how someone could be so..."

She stopped, utterly at a loss for words.

"Ruthless," Silavas said for her.

"...Yes."

"Above all things, Aerothi seeks three traits in her champions: cunning, strength, and brutal efficiency. Mercy is not something she values."

Annelique found herself staring down at the deck. "I...don't understand her either. She...she's just not...it's like she's not anything. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like she's evil. Have you seen her? She's just a little girl."

"Many have underestimated her based on her appearance, to their mortal peril," Silavas said. "I have not seen her myself, but her description is all but legendary, as is yours. There are rumors of many heros opposing Aerothi, but none that she has taken a personal interest in...with the exception of four. Annelique, Gairanda, Ishiar, and Sudvana. Step with care, Annelique. You are hunted." He glanced over to the Starslicer. "As is your hostess."

"You mean Cassandra?"

The dragon looked back at Annelique, it's expression deadly serious. "Her name was infamous before Aerothi's was ever even uttered on this world. She is a betrayer and a murderess."

"She's not that bad..." Gairanda said, to Annelique's great surprise. "She's...impulsive." Gairanda's expression was one of sadness, or...pity?

"That's not what you said before," Annelique said.

"All I had before were her thoughts of the nights you spent with her, and her memories of Rea," she said. "I've had some time to think about it...she's dangerous. That's the only thing that's always true about her. Not even she knows what she's going to do. She--"

Gairanda stopped, suddenly looking over to the Starslicer. In that same instant, Cassandra came quickly out of the archway leading to the deck it was parked on. She wasn't walking, however--she was sidestepping. Her sword was out and she actually appeared to be fighting someone--a girl in form-fitting hard leather armor with a golden-bladed scimitar. Annelique realized with a start that it was the same redheaded woman she had momentarily talked to in the bar.

"Well, speak of the devil," Gairanda said.

Though they were on a separate platform, they could just make out what the two were saying, if only because they were practically yelling over the clamor of their own blades. "This really isn't the place for this," Cassandra called out. She didn't sound concerned at all--if anything, her voice was condescending. It wasn't entirely surprising--she was deflecting the other woman's attacks effortlessly.

"I don't care!" the other woman screamed, momentarily halting her attacks. "You're a monster! The least you can do is die!"

She lunged again.

"I would think that would be the *most* I could do," Cassandra said, turning aside her attack with a simple, short motion.

"I may have spoken too soon," Gairanda said. "That woman...I...shit."

She collapsed. Silavas suddenly looked down at her, a look of concern on her draconic face.

"She can read minds and it knocks her out when she does it...it's a long story..." Annelique said.

"Look, you can't beat me," Cassandra said. "Besides the fact that I kicked your whole family's ass practically by myself, I've got my whole crew all of twenty feet behind me."

The other woman's face was desperate. Annelique could only conclude that she agreed, but wouldn't let herself turn away or surrender.

Neither could Annelique stand by and watch yet another tragedy unfold in front of her. She lept from the deck, flying to the other in seconds. Landing only a few feet from the two combatants, she quickly interposed herself between them.

"Stop it!" she yelled.

"Get OUT OF MY WAY!" the redhead screamed, ramming Annelique with her elbow. The force of the blow caught her by surprise--it launched her off her feet and before she knew it she had painfully hit the ground.

"Uh, I don't suggest you get involved, Annie," she heard Cassandra say.

Annelique pulled herself up off of the ground and faced them again. "Look, I don't know what you two did to each other, but I'm sick of everybody I know getting killed!"

"I'm not going to get killed, Annie," Cassandra said, in a tone that implied it was silly to even suggest. The look on her face was almost lazy as she twirled the other woman's attacks away. "This is the one who got away because she wasn't dangerous enough to bother with."

"Shut UP!" the woman screamed, charging headlong towards Cassandra. Cassandra stepped nimbly to the side and kicked the woman's leg out from under her just as she put her weight on it, causing her to fall facefirst to the deck. Cassandra simply watched as she scrambled to get up, holding her blade casually at her side. She didn't even bother to deflect the woman's next attack; she simply bent sideways and let the swipe go past her before stepping in, grabbing the woman's armor by the neckline, headbutting her, and subsequently shoving her to the ground with one hand.

"This really isn't getting you anywhere, Nira."

The woman started to get up, but as she reached her hands and knees, she seemed to stop. Tears were suddenly streaming down her face. She just remained there, hanging her head as she started to sob.

Cassandra gulped. For the first time since the fight had started, her face was starting to show some level of concern.

"You can't do this, Cassandra," Annelique said.

"I'm not doing anything!" Cassandra said defensively. "I'm just defending myself!"

The other woman stood up, not bothering to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I don't care if you kill me," she said. "I can never forgive you for what you did."

"Martyrdom is not a life goal that smart people choose," Cassandra said. "You could at least go and get better at this whole sword-fighting thing before coming back and trying again."

"You're despicable. I would sell my soul to Kamaruga if it meant I could punish you."

"You keep acting like this was my fault," Cassandra said flatly. "It's your bitch of a sister that you should be cursing. Usually when I partake in wholesale slaughter, it's strictly business. I dispatch who I have to and leave everybody else alone. But she had to go and make it personal."

"Don't you DARE call her a bitch!" the woman said, her fist clenching down hard on her scimitar.

"Well, I figure if you're gonna kill yourself over this, I may as well set the record straight for you first."

"You're the one who made it personal! She thought you were her friend!"

"Well, that was her first mistake," Cassandra said sarcastically.

The redhead lunged and again there was a clanging of blades as her frantic, desperate attacks were effortlessly countered. Tears were flying off of her face as she lunged back and forth, only to be knocked down, kicked, thrown, or otherwise humiliated. Cassandra seemed to be avoiding doing anything that would actually harm her.

Whether it was out of mercy or simply to humiliate her opponent, Annelique didn't care--she couldn't take it anymore. All of her angelic senses were screaming at her--it was like all of the rage and despair and guilt were hers, and they were searing her inside. She took a deep breath, and in a voice so loud that it hurt her lungs, she screamed "STOP IT!"

The two combatants actually stopped, both turning to look at her. Her face was already buried in her hands, and she was taking deep, rapid breaths like she had just run a marathon.

"Just...stop it..." she said.

Cassandra and Nira glanced back and forth between each other and the seemingly panicked angel before them.

"Uh..." Cassandra said.

Nira's expression steeled and she once again tightened her grip on her scimitar, but she did not attack.

"What do you suggest, then, Annelique?" Cassandra said.

Annelique put her hands down. Her eyes were still closed. She was no longer panting--in fact, she seemed to be holding her breath.

Angels were always supposed to know how to make things right. But how could this possibly be made right? She didn't even know what it was, but presumably it was something horrible that Cassandra did.

She found it was difficult to even start breathing again.

Brightwind was so far away.

Eventually, she said the only thing she could think of--the thing she imagined Miss Sara would say.

"You need to forgive each other," Annelique said quietly. "*You* need to say you're sorry," she said, finally opening her eyes and pointing her finger at Cassandra.

"You're joking, right?" Cassandra said before giving a resigned sigh. "No, of course you're not joking, you're an angel..."

She turned to Nira. "Nira, I'm sorry I slaughtered your whole family and fed them to crocodiles," she said in a very unconvincing tone.

Nira's face began to turn red.

"Cassandra!" Annelique said.

"LOOK, I..." Cassandra said, "Look, that's all I can say. I actually am. Does that matter?" she turned to Nira. "What difference does it make if I'm sorry? She's not gonna care."

"You're not sorry," Nira said.

"Well, I didn't expect you'd believe it either. I sure as hell wouldn't."

"You need to acknowledge that you've done something to hurt this person," Annelique said before turning to Nira. "And you really don't have any choice but to forgive her."

"You're not the one who gets to decide!" Nira yelled. "I will never forgive her, and neither would you, if you saw the things she did."

"What did she do?" Annelique asked simply.

"Like I said," Cassandra answered for her, "I killed her family and fed them to crocodiles. And most of her friends, too. Well, sort of. It's more that we were fighting in a swamp and after we fainted them all, we pretty much just watched while the crocodiles did their thing."

"Twelve people," Nira said, "and why? Because Cassandra wanted to keep that stupid sword. Which she's not even using anymore."

"Hey, there was a lot more to it than that--"

"You mean like how you murdered Maura?"

"Hey, that--"

Cassandra stopped.

"That...was...probably a mistake," she finished.

"Well, Goddesses be praised, a breakthrough," Nira said. "The great Cassandra the Corsair making a mistake and actually admitting it? The world must be coming to an end."

"Last I heard, Nira, it is."

A silence followed--a silence that was equally awkward, tense, and uncertain.

"Okay," Cassandra finally said. "Here's the whole sordid story in a nutshell. Me and Nira's sister went on this treasure hunting thing. Wasn't even any piracy involved; we were pretty much just pillaging this old castle that had been abandoned because it was full of giant snakes. Anyway, I wanted this cool sword that--technically--was part of the loot she was supposed to get. I wanted to trade her for it, but she said no. I was a way better swordfighter--she fought with katars, for Kamaruga's sake--but she wouldn't listen to reason. So I pilfered it."

"Tell her the rest," Nira said.

"I plan to," Cassandra said with a tinge of annoyance. "She knew I pilfered it, so she stole a substantial chunk of my haul to get back at me. So to get back at *her,* I stole her entire share of the treasure, along with pretty much everything else she had, including her bed and all of her clothing. It was basically just to make a point. I had expected her to try to steal it back again, but instead she stole Elvet."

"Stole her?" Annelique asked.

"Yes. As in kidnapping. But...you know how I am about Elvet. She's the only person on my whole damn boat who isn't a scumbag. Involving her in this kind of shit is crossing the line. So I figured I would demonstrate that. I kidnapped all of Maura's friends and family, including young Nira here...though I suppose at this point she isn't really young anymore...neither am I...but anyway, I basically said 'give me Elvet back or everyone you know and love is gonna take a trip down acid canyon.' It just kept going like that--one retaliation led to another until people started to die. Long story short--I lost two crew and Nira lost everybody. And before she points it out, I'll do it myself--Nira did not do anything to me. She just got caught up in the shitstorm between me and Maura. Sometimes you're just in the wrong place at the wong time and you've got to deal with it."

"And now I'm here for you to deal with," Nira said. "Welcome to the wonderful world of consequences."

"So what am I supposed to do, kill you?" Cassandra said. "You think that will make either of us feel better? You think that would make Maura feel better?"

Nira just glared, but a defeated expression was beginning to creep into her tear-stained face.

"You know that's what's going to happen if we fight," Cassandra continued. "I've been fighting sword masters and beating them for longer than you've been alive. I have better equipment. I have *backup,*" she said, gesturing towards her ship. "And I'm not desperate and exhausted and irrational and--"

She stopped. As the three women had looked towards the Starslicer, they saw Elvet standing at the top of the landing ramp. Seeing that they had noticed her, she started silently descending towards the landing platform.

"Elvet, while this may technically contradict what I just said, you don't need to get involved in this," Cassandra said.

"Neither did Annelique, but she chose to do so, and it seems she has found herself outnumbered," Elvet replied. "Nira," she said, "I know that we parted company on the most awful of terms. But what you fail to see is that Cassandra does not wish to hurt you any more than she already has."

Nira's voice was equal parts angry, hollow and hopeless when she replied. "Then what am I supposed to do? Just walk away?"

"We both know that you cannot simply walk away, nor can you defeat Cassandra in combat. You have no options, save one," Elvet said. "That which the angel has implored you to do."

"You mean forgive her?" Nira said cynically.

"Or hold the pain of Maura's death in your heart for the rest of your life, along with the hatred it has borne, for however long that life may be," Elvet said. "It is up to you."

Annelique suddenly found herself wishing she had Elvet's eloquence. She made it seem so easy.

"How am I supposed to forgive her, then?" Nira said quietly. "How is it even possible?"

Her only answer was silence--it seemed even Elvet could not answer this question.

"I mean..." Nira eventually continued, "she's not even sorry."

"I told you already--yes I am," Cassandra said flatly. "I'm sorry if I can't put on some theatrical display of lament and melancholy to prove it to you, but I'm really not keen on the fact that it happened. And it sucked that you had to get the ass end of it. That's really all I got. I can't just--" she suddenly stuttered for a moment, "--get down and start bawling, even if I wanted to."

The way she stumbled over her last few words seemed strange.

"I'm just not the crying type, okay?" she continued. "If I was, I'd...well, I'd probably be crying right now."

The two women looked at each other, seemingly non-hostile for the first time. Both of their blades were lowered, both of their faces heavy with regret.

"If you really want me to spill my guts, I'd...say I kinda miss Maura," Cassandra said.

Though her face mostly seemed calm, Annelique had seen her this way before. The animated, cocky woman was once again absent, replaced by someone who looked so burdened that she could barely carry the weight of her own blade.

In fact, in the end, she didn't.

Without a word, without a gesture or even a glance, Cassandra's sword clattered to the ground as though her hand had simply forgotten about it. She made no attempt to pick it up; her eyes seemed to fall and glaze over as she took a deep breath and exhaled. She started fidgeting with the fingers on one hand.

"I guess it's been kind of a shitty day for both of us," she said, still staring down at nothing in particular. It wasn't for several moments that she raised her glance to meet Nira's once more.

"I...guess it has," Nira said. She turned towards Annelique. "Angel girl, have you ever been hurt like this before?"

"More times than ever should have been, for an innocent of her delicate age," Elvet answered for her. "Though she would not say it, the world has conspired to take everything she cares for, and it has succeeded far too many times. Like you, she has had those most precious to her taken away."

"Then tell me honestly," Nira said. "Did you forgive them? The people who did it?"

"I...never really had the chance," Annelique admitted, but it suddenly set her to thinking. Would she, if she did have the chance? Would she forgive Rea? Would she forgive the space monster that took Sudvana?

Could she forgive Aerothi?

She realized it was easy for her to sit and preach to this stranger about forgiveness...she had never been asked to forgive herself. But as she thought about it, she realized she didn't really hate Rea...she almost pitied her. Rea was the way she was because she, like Nira, had lost everything. The space monster that took Sudvana, on the other hand, was merely doing what was in it's nature...it couldn't possibly fathom the greater consequences of it's actions. And as for Aerothi...

...Annelique just didn't understand her.

"If you were in my position, do you really think you could forgive Cassandra?" Nira continued. "Could you even convince yourself that this wasn't another one of her scams?"

"If it was a scam, she'd be happy," Annelique said simply.

Cassandra gave Annelique a surprised, almost hurt look, but withdrew it almost as quickly.

Nira's face relaxed and she shrugged. "You're right." She tossed her own sword to the ground. "If she was hurting someone she'd be happy," she said pitilessly. "I guess that means she is sorry."

With that, she simply walked away.

"Wait," Cassandra said.

"You can keep the sword," Nira said without bothering to slow down.

"No I can't!" Cassandra yelled after her.

Nira stopped, slowly turning on her heel.

"Just...give me a few minutes. I'll be right back," Cassandra said before jogging over to the ship, still leaving her own sword on the platform.

A minute later, she came back with a new one--a shorter blade in a jade-green scabbard, with an elaborate handle and crosspiece that looked like they had been meticulously carved out of polished wood. A few small emeralds ran along the hilt and one large one was inset into a wooden frame on the scabbard.

Nira bit her lip when she saw it; from her reaction, there could be no doubt in anyone's mind as to what sword this was.

When she got back to the group, Cassandra gingerly offered it to Nira.

"Here, consider it a token of..." she hesitated, "...fuck, I don't know. Just take it."

Nira just stared at it, seemingly frozen in place.

"Look, just take it! I never should have had it anyway," Cassandra said loudly. "It's..." she said as her tone calmed, "it's all the Maura I have to give back."

This last statement seemed to have broken the dam. A single tear escaped from each of Cassandra's eyes, despite her determination to stop them.

Nira slowly reached out and took it from Cassandra's outstretched hands.

"Then I guess..." she said quietly, "...that's all I really needed..."

Nira cradled the sword like a baby for a moment. When she left, it was in total silence. Tears flowed down her face as she walked away, and Annelique realized that at some point she had started crying herself. The only person who still seemed composed was Elvet.

When she finally vanished beneath the archway, Cassandra quickly flicked the tears from her face and looked back at the Starslicer, hoping not to find any spectators. If there were any, they had the decency to stay out of sight.

After a few deep breaths and a few more nearly frantic swats at the tears that were cooling against her rapidly reddening face, Cassandra spoke again.

"Yeah," she said flatly, "some days it sucks to be me."