Chapter 35
The Lost Boy
"You know what this place needs?" Kitara said, as they headed through the maze of corridors and passageways that made up the interior of the Pucelle. "Bikes. I mean, this ship is miles long! It's not as if a few bikes would be too much to ask for! They wouldn't even need to be motorbikes; folding bicycles would do the trick! Anything to reduce the amount of walking that was needed!"
"Quit moaning" Skuld said. "It's not like it's THAT big a ship. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be a heavy-duty Valkyrie".
"I am" she said huffily. "But that doesn't mean that it should take two damn hours to walk from one end of the ship to the other!"
"Well there IS a monorail system" Lamb said, "but it's not finished yet. We weren't expecting to be preparing for a launch so soon and as such, we haven't had time to complete it". Kitara humphed but said nothing, as they continued towards the bridge of the ship.
"So how does this work exactly?" Beregond asked. "I mean… do we just point it in the right direction and go?"
"I doubt it's that simple" Temeraire said, shaking her head. "If I were to make a guess, the ship has to be aimed across some clear path to wherever my dad is, so that we don't accidentally fly into anything that we can't break through. Other than that, I couldn't say… I don't even know where we'd start looking for him, once we get to the right time period.
"I do" Damascus said, as she floated over and perched on Temeraire's shoulder.
"You do?"
"Yes; I can find anyone, anywhere in the multiverse. It was me who tracked you down through Jotunheim, after all so tracking my Master… your dad, through space shouldn't be a problem".
"Oh…" She paused and couldn't help but grin.
"What?" Damascus said with a touch of annoyance.
"Nothing… it's just that…" She had to break off for a quick giggle. "Sorry, I just can't take you seriously when you're that small! You're adorable!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up…" Damascus said, glaring at her with annoyance.
"Perhaps you should dress her up as a doll and play with her?" Beregond suggested, earning him a withering look from the tiny devil.
"Do it and I'll make you dream that you're drowning".
"Is that it?" he asked, apparently unimpressed.
"AND make it so you can't wake up. We'll see just how tough you are, after you've spent a few hours with imagined burning lungs and having pissed the bed!" He gulped nervously but just then, there was a hiss from up ahead, as they finally reached the doors to the bridge and they slid open automatically, letting them inside.
"Ok, we're here" Skuld said.
"So now what do we do?" Kitara asked.
"Now we get to work" Skuld said. "Come on; anyone with any kind of engineering skills, come and give me a hand. The sooner we can get this monster running, the better".
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Of course, this mean that they were pretty much ALL dismissed, from that point onward. After all, Lamb and Kitara weren't much use here; one was a fighting Arch and the other was the host for one and while Kitara had some experience in mechanics, she had NO dealings is quantum physics. Beregond meanwhile, could barely tell a diesel engine from petrol and so kept well out of the way, while Temeraire had no experience, so in the end, it was just Skuld and Damascus, working together to get the ship ready. Not that they minded. Despite being smaller than a bat, Damascus's magic was still formidable and she was able to conjure up all kinds of tools and parts for Skuld, who was in turn, in her element. Once she started and the big, starry eyes came out, there was no stopping her. She gave an estimated departure time of six hours… and that's why Temeraire and Beregond had found the time to crawl into one of the unoccupied sleeping quarters and curl up in bed together. After all, it's not like they had anything better to do.
"So tell me" she said, as she lay cuddled up next to him, "did you ever finish reading Sun Tzu?"
"Yeah…" he said, stifling a yawn.
"And?"
"It made very little sense. I mean, I can understand some of the stuff, like supplies and logistics and drawing your enemy into terrain where you have the advantage, but… move like water? Fight your enemy where he's not? It's a load of baloney".
"If you think so" she said and sat up. "I thought it was useful personally. Especially considering what my mother was planning for me".
"What was that?" he asked, propping himself up on one elbow.
"She wanted me to succeed her as Almighty One one day" she said with a sigh and shook her head. "Well that's turned out great now, hasn't it?" There was a long silence.
"Do you think you could do it?"
"What's that?" she said.
"Become the Almighty One" Beregond asked. "I mean… you're pretty strong and you're more than smart enough for the job".
"But I'm the Seraph host" she said. "That's never been done before…"
"I'm a three-quarter god, via two of the most powerful and evil beings ever to have existed and I was raised by demons and an army of treacherous Praetorian Guard. That CERTAINLY hasn't been done before".
"You're cute" she said and kissed him gently. But then she sat back and frowned. "But it would mean giving up a lot… I would lose a lot of my freedom… I would rarely if ever get to come to Earth… and I would most likely have to give up you. I don't know how the Parliament would take their Almighty One, if she was dating an ex-Praetorian…"
"So that's a no?" he said.
"Yeah… and I'm not being all soppy and saying "I love you too much" or any of that crap. But the job isn't worth as much as you are… besides, I can't STAND the paperwork!"
"What's up with the paperwork? Don't like words of more than three letters?" She scoffed and threw a pillow at him.
"Cheek coming from the guy who couldn't read until he met me!" she said, grinning widely. He threw it back and she laughed, as they rolled into a playful wrestling match. Eventually, she pinned him, straddling him and smiled down at him. He smiled back but his smile faded, as her did so too.
"Temmy? What's wrong?"
"Beregond, can I tell you something? Something… important?"
"Yes?"
"I have to warn you, this is… well it's pretty big".
"Go on" he said and she took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Beregond… I'm pregnant". There was silence… broken only by his smile.
"You are?"
"Yes…" she said, blushing a little. "You're the father… you're the only one it COULD be".
"Are you sure?" She scowled at this.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped. "Are you implying that I sleep around or something?"
"What? NO!" he said, hurriedly shaking his head. "It's just… wow… I'm in shock".
"How do you think I feel?"
"Who else knows?" Temeraire shrugged.
"Just Kitara and Mere Wolf. They were the ones who discovered it".
"It?"
"At the moment" she said. "It's too early to tell if it's a boy, a girl or even if it's twins or whatever. All I know is that it's there…" Beregond paused and slowly raised a hand.
"May I?" he asked and she nodded, letting him press a hand to her belly, just then, his Bloody Thorn appeared behind him, hovering just over his shoulder, biting her lip in anticipation. After a few minutes, Beregond grinned. "I can feel it" he said and Temeraire hugged him tight. He hugged her back… and a little to the surprise of them both, so did Bloody Thorn.
"I'm going to be a mummy AND a daddy!" she said, chuckling a little but then paused. "Oh dear god, I'm a hermaphrodite!" That caused the other two to chuckle but that soon faded.
"So what the Hell are we going to do?" Beregond asked. "I mean… what are we going to tell your dad? And I don't want you putting yourself in danger if you're pregnant. I don't want my wife being put into any kind of dangerous situations".
"Wife?" Temeraire asked, with a raised eyebrow and he blushed. "Well… yes. If you'll have me".
"I'll think about it" she said, with a small smile. "But I should point something out; with the baby, my powers are tripled. I don't know if it's permanent or what but as it stands, I'm far stronger than I was even a few days ago".
"Strong enough to defeat Penitence?" She pouted.
"No…" she said. "But with my girl back…"
"You still haven't answered his second question" Bloody Thorn said, interrupting the pair. "What are you going to tell your father if and when we find him?"
"I don't know" Temeraire admitted with a sigh. "It's going to be difficult…" There was an awkward pause.
"Where's Astrakhan Lamb at the moment?" Bloody Thorn suddenly asked.
"Lamb? I think she went to find some food, so she can recharge herself a bit. Why?"
"Well she's your dad's angel" she said. "Perhaps if you break the news to her first, it might make it easier when you actually come to telling your real dad?"
"Well it's worth a try" Temeraire said, crawling out of bed and fumbling for her clothes.
"Do you want me to come?" Beregond asked, pulling away the covers and swinging his legs out of bed.
"Please" she said. "It might make things a little easier for the both of us, if we're together…"
"Ok, I'll come".
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In fact, Lamb wasn't eating when they found her. Instead, she was hovering above one of the tables in the canteen, her head bowed, eyes closed, legs crossed and hands in her lap, as she hovered about an inch from the surface.
"What's she doing?" Beregond whispered, as they watched her from the doorway.
"I think she's meditating" Temeraire said softly.
"Meditating?"
"Yes… focusing her energy and that sort of thing".
"And I'm also listening for people who might be whispering about me from across the room" the miniaturized angel said, not looking up. The other two started in surprise but she just sighed. "Come on, it's not like you were exactly being discreet there. I heard you coming from the other end of the ship. So what is it you want?"
"We came to talk to you" Temeraire said, entering the room and slowly making her way over to her. "I mean, if that's ok".
"Sure I can talk" Lamb said and fluttered to her feet. "Just give me a second". She started to stretch out, massaging her sore muscles from both being trapped in a tiny ball and from sitting still for so long. "So what's on your mind?" she asked.
"It's… something important" Temeraire said and blushed a little as she felt Beregond come up from behind her and slip a hand into hers. Lamb caught the gesture and frowned, cocking her head.
"You two engaged?" she asked but Temeraire shook her head.
"No it's not that" she said and took a deep breath. "Lamb…I'm pregnant". After a few seconds, the tiny angel shrugged.
"Is that all? I thought it was something important".
"What? Is that really all you have to say?!" Temeraire demanded and after a second's consideration, Lamb nodded.
"Yep, pretty much".
"But… Lamb, I'm having a BABY! It's generally considered a pretty big deal!"
"And in any other circumstances it would be" Lamb said. "It's just that under the current ones, it's not high on the list". Temeraire cocked her head, looking hurt.
"Explain".
"Very well" Lamb said. "Penitence has taken over Heaven, the Guardians are on the ropes, most of the world is under the control of humanists, your mother and aunts have all been captured, bar one and your father is trapped at the end of oblivion. In the grand scheme of things, the birth of one baby, even to a goddess, isn't that significant".
"Oh…" Temeraire said. She looked even more hurt than before and ran a sad hand across her belly. Lamb sighed and shook her head, feeling a little guilty.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that" she said. "It's just… I've got a bigger picture to look at. Like it or not, Damascus and I are going to have to be the ones to take Penitence down or at the very least, keep her occupied long enough for you to beat her down. I'm thrilled for you, I really am… it's just that I've got a lot to worry about".
"I understand…" Temeraire said sadly. Beregond gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and Lamb sighed.
"Is he the father?"
"Yes".
"Well it's a good thing that you came to me, rather than your father…"
"Why?"
"Why do you think? He's sworn to shoot whoever knocked you up, right in the gonads". Beregond paled, while Lamb chuckled and even Temeraire managed a little grin. "As it stands however, he's safe enough. So do you know the sex yet?"
"No" Temeraire said. She paused and cupped her belly with both hands. "I'm hoping for a girl".
"A girl?" Beregond asked and she frowned at him.
"Is that a problem?"
"No not at all" he said hastily. "It's just that I'm still getting used to the idea of being a dad…"
"Well you don't have to worry too much about that" Temeraire said with a giggle. "Because you've got twenty-two months to get used to it… and I'll be expecting you to give me back and foot massages and to keep me filled with snacks when I get cravings!"
"And if you don't" Lamb put in, "I'll personally feed you alive to a large and hungry saltwater crocodile. I'm sure Gustav won't mind a nice bit of raw people meat for a change". She and Lamb both giggled, while Beregond gave a weak smile.
"Y-you are joking, right Lamb?" he asked and instantly, her face became like stone.
"Oh no, I'm not joking. You break Temmy's heart and I WILL break your legs and feed you to a crocodile". She gave a faux smile. "So no pressure, ok?"
"Ok" he said nervously and Temeraire gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek.
"Don't worry" she said. "I won't let anything happen to you… and you'll be a great dad". He gave her a brief smile but then paused.
"Happen to me? What about you?"
"I'm the powerful one" she said with a grin. "I've got to look after my baby-daddy and make sure that nasty Lamb's don't have him fed to crocodiles". She chuckled at the look her gave her but just then, there was a crackle as the ship's intercom came to life with the sound of Kitara's voice.
"G-guys? You had better come and have a look at this!"
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Kitara had gone off to explore the ship after Skuld had dismissed them and out of curiosity, she had headed to the engine rooms, to see exactly what it was that the ship used as a power source. She knew well enough that the ship wasn't powered by a nuclear or fusion power plant or Skuld would have been able to fix it, so she resolved to at least have a look at the ship's power source. She wasn't sure what to expect or what exactly she could do but anything that would get them moving faster must surely be a bonus, right? At least that's what she had thought as the elevator reached the floor marked "Engine Room" and she stepped out… into confusion. She had expected to see some kind of reactors or turbine chambers. What she hadn't expected to see… was a box. It was large and cubed and made of what appeared to be reinforced glass, although it was hard to tell as it was shrouded in darkness, with pipes, tubes and wires leading to and from it. And from that box, there came a voice.
"A visitor? My but aren't I honoured. And one so young too… Jago's security must be becoming lax". Kitara shuddered a little at the sound of the voice. It was deep and sharp, cutting like glass and with all the warmth of a cold day in hell. Still, she steeled herself.
"Jago had nothing to do with this. I am here on my own free will… in fact, I was looking for the engine room".
"Well you came to the right place" the voice in the box said and she could've sworn she saw something moving in the shadows within. "I am the engines or so I'm told".
"What are you?" she asked nervously, trying and failing to keep the tremor from her voice. "I mean… who are you?"
"Why not come closer?" the voice said. "It's bright where you are and the light hurts my eyes…" Kitara hesitated for a second but then slowly stepped forward, heading for the shadowed box. "Stop!" the voice said after a few paces. "That's far enough…" She frowned and peered into the darkness… and could just make out a shape in the gloom. It was human… or at least humanoid and appeared to be wearing some kind of black leather, edged in white, reclining in a chair within the box. The face however, was hidden in shadows and it was making her nervous. "Your face… it is familiar but it some ways strange…" the being in the box said. There was a note of confusion in the voice but this did nothing to ease Kitara's nerves… especially when she saw a flash of smile. "You aren't by any chance related to the goddess Peorth, are you?" he asked.
"I am" she said, trying to steel herself against this unknown creature, even as it gave a chuckle. "I'm her eldest daughter" she went on.
"So old Bramble Britches is still alive and getting herself knocked up, huh?" the being said with a half-hidden smirk. "Why am I not surprised?"
"EXCUSE ME!" Kitara snapped, glaring at him through the darkness. "But that's my MOTHER you're talking about! You should show some respect!"
"I will show respect to that woman, the day she learns that dropping her draws is NOT the way to attract a man of any calibre".
"And don't you dare disrespect my father either!" she snarled and felt a touch of hurt pride. "MY father is Jeiko Sukaru, the most honourable, powerful man anyone could ever wish to know!"
"Sukaru?" the being asked, again confused, as if it were trying to place the name. "Sukaru… Sukaru… where do I know that name- OHHHHHH! Now I remember! You mean the Earth spirit Lord…"
"Yes, that's him" she said cautiously, wishing now that she hadn't mentioned him.
"I know… knew him well. He was always a nuisance… forever attached to my friend Lind. I can remember when he used to follow her around like a puppy…"
"Your friend?" Kitara asked sceptically. "What Almighty One would allow a true friend to be trapped in a box, on a floating space hulk?"
"A question I have long been asking myself" he said quietly. Kitara scowled at this; she had had enough of whoever this was and she turned to leave. "And where do you think you're going?" the being demanded.
"Away from you" she said. "Who… or whatever you are, you're clearing not something that I would want to be around, so I'm going to seek some more wholesome company".
"But if you leave now, Skuld will never get this ship moving". This made the girl pause and glance back at him.
"How did you-"
"I sensed her the moment she came aboard" he said. "As well as those two foolish Archs and the hybrids… as well as yourself. And don't look so shocked girl; I could sense your half-blood nature from miles off. That and that half-grown Arch of your own. I suppose she's a fighter like Lamb? That would certainly explain the uniform… unless the Valkyries have all taken to dressing like sluts these days".
"Who or WHAT are you?!" she demanded, turning back to face him, folding her arms across her chest while choosing to ignore the insult. "You know far too much for one who has been trapped in a ship for… well however long you have been".
"Thirty years" he said. "More or less. Or so I have been told by my captors".
"Thirty years?" she said, a sudden spark of fear. "You mean since… the Kronos War?"
"Is that what they call it now? I would hardly have called one battle and a skirmish between two generals a war…" And he stood, coming forward just a few paces, into the light… and Kitara paled. For stood before her… was a true monster. The most devastating force the world had seen since its creation, made solid. "Then again… that may just be my point of view". Kitara just stared, like a rabbit before a weasel, mesmerised by the being before her. It was several seconds before she had recovered enough to stumble back and slap the intercom into life.
"G-guys? You had better come and have a look at this!"
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Skuld sighed, as the door to the elevator hissed open and she stepped out, followed by the others, her own angel included. Noble Scarlet was still giggling to herself about being bigger than either Lamb or Damascus and currently had the tiny devil perched on her shoulder, while Lamb fluttered along behind, with Temeraire and Beregond bringing up the rear.
"Ok Kitara, what is it you wanted?" Skuld asked, frowning at her step-niece, who was hovering by the door.
"It's… well it's… gah! You'd better just go and see!" She pointed towards the box and with a frown, Skuld headed towards it… to be greeted by the thing inside.
"Why if it isn't little Skuld! I haven't seen you for donkey's years! I sensed that you were around here somewhere but I didn't think that I would ever get to see you".
"It can't be!" Skuld cried, taking and involuntary step backward. "THIS is where Jago has been keeping you for all this time?!"
"Surprise!" the man said. "Did you miss me?"
"What is it Aunt Skuld?" Temeraire asked nervously. "Who's in there?" Then she glanced at Beregond and realised that he was shaking. "And what's up with you?"
"It can't be him…" he hissed softly, just under his breath. "There's no way…"
"And I see you've brought friends too. How… nice…" The dark figure within the box seemed to stand and come forward, until only his face was still in shadows. "And who might you be?" he asked. "I can sense the reek of human on that one… so I'm guessing that she must be Temeraire. But this other one? I can't say… have we met before?"
"Of course we've met before!" Beregond hissed and the others glanced at him nervously. "You were the one who left me to be raised by the Praetorians, after you killed my mother!" At this, Temeraire's eyes went wide and she glanced from Beregond to the man in the box.
"Oh, so you're the bastard child!" the man said. "Or should I call you… my bastard son?"
"Call me what you wish but I am no son of yours… father…"
"Then why not call me by my real name boy?" Beregond gulped and steeled himself but even so, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"Deaderuss…"
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"That's LORD Deaderuss to you boy" he said, coming forth from the shadows. "And I would thank you to remember that".
"You're really Lord Deaderuss?" Temeraire asked sceptically. "You're not at all like the pictures I've seen… well, aside from the goatee".
"While you look like the hybrid you are" he said in a bored way, as he inspected her critically. "Angel's eyes, devil's teeth, your father's hair and your mother's body… not bad for a half-breed". Temeraire scowled hard at him and was about to say something, when Lamb fluttered up between them.
"Ok, that's enough!" she said. "Temeraire, try not to antagonize him too much please…"
"Lamb…" Deaderuss said. "You're shorter than I remember. Have you been on a diet of some kind?" Lamb glared at him and crossed her arms across her tiny chest.
"Well I'm not the one who's stuck in a twenty foot by twenty foot, by ten foot box".
"Touché" he said.
"But WHAT is he doing HERE?" Kitara demanded, waving frantically to get their attention. "Shouldn't he be… oh, I don't know… in the lunar dungeon or some such place!?"
"Not secure enough" Skuld said, with a frown. "Seeing him is bringing back my memory now; the lunar dungeon can be hacked by anyone of sufficient rank and considering how far up the chain of command the last lot of traitors ran, it's no surprise that Jago chose a more secure prison".
"That's right" Damarcus said and rapped her knuckles against the walls of the box, causing them to flash with a dull, blue light. "The most secure prison we could build; time locked, matter locked, deadlock sealed, null void devices, booby-traps and even a good, old-fashioned Jupiter Shield, designed to get stronger, the harder you hit it… all coming together to keep the nastiest of nasties trapped".
"But for what?" Temeraire asked. "I mean… why not just kill him?"
"I AM stood right here you know" Deaderuss said, leaning against the shield. "And you would do well to remember who you are speaking about Little Pig. I almost DESTROYED your father it just a precious few minutes. Do you really think that death is enough to stop me?" Temeraire gulped a little, as he glared directly at her, with a set of dead eyes. "And besides… your father needed me alive".
"It's true" Lamb said sourly. "We needed him for the ship".
"FOR the ship?" Kitara asked.
"That's right" said Skuld. "A ship this big needs a monster sized power source… something more powerful even than a cold fusion reactor. And what could be more powerful than a half god, half Titan mattercrisis?"
"A what?"
"To put it bluntly, he's no longer one or the other but a mix of the two".
"That is true…" Deaderuss said and raised a gloved hand, as if inspecting it for the first time in his life. "The anthropomorphic personification of a humanoid god… the true form of shadow and flame…" And as if on cue, his hand disappeared in a flash of fire. For a second, all that could be seen of it, was a colossal claw, composed of fire cinders and smoke… but then an alarm blared and he cried aloud, as several thousand gallons of clear liquid filled the chamber, which quickly disappeared into a white vapour. It was a few minutes before Deaderuss appeared once more, shaking a little. "I'd forgotten about that" he said with obvious disdain.
"Liquid nitrogen bath" Lamb whispered to the onlookers. "Nothing better for stopping the bastard if he tried to go completely loopy".
"So what do you want with me?" Deaderuss said, as the last few drops of nitrogen finally evaporated. "Have you come to stare at a conquered tyrant? Or do you have another motive?"
"We've come to get this ship moving" Noble Scarlet said, speaking for the first time since the conversation began.
"So it's finally time, is it? Jago's grand mission into the unknown?"
"What's that?" Kitara asked, perplexed.
"Am I wrong?" Deaderuss asked coldly. "This ship was built for two purposes; to mine the Oort Cloud and to travel to well beyond the Sol system… or at least, that's what I believe humans call it (*1)".
"He had an expedition planned?"
"Apparently…" the dark god said but then shrugged. "But for now, that matters little. I cannot sense Jago aboard and as those foolish Archs are now small enough to fit into the palm of my hand, I can assume that something has happened to… incapacitate him".
"Your assumptions are correct" Damascus said icily, flicking her wings at him.
"Then why not pray tell me what happened?" he asked, ignoring the tiny demon's ire.
"Your damned pet happened!" she snarled back at him. "We went to fight her but she outflanked us and managed to detach us both from our Master". She gestured to herself and Lamb.
"Just how did she manage that?" Deaderuss asked, amused. "I would have thought that Gracious Penitence would have been caught years ago".
"She escaped into Jotunheim" Lamb said. "Once there, she managed to find a… renegade and from there, she built up a sizable force that was nonetheless considered more trouble than it was worth to remove".
"So what changed?"
"She killed Ansuz".
"Ah…" he said and his smile faded. "Now that I'm sorry for. I liked her... her and her angel".
"It was her angel that she was killed for" Temeraire said. "And now, I'm the one who's replaced her as the host of the Seraph".
"You are?" he asked in surprise but then shrugged. "Well I shouldn't really be surprised. They say that the new Seraph is always born to the most powerful angel, with the most powerful new goddess of the generation…"
"Well thank yo- WAIT A MINUTE!" she said. "Stop trying to sweet talk me, you bastard!"
"Keep your pants on girl…" he said with a sigh. "It's not like I can do anything to hurt you… and it's not because of this box".
"Then why?" she asked, creasing her brow in confusion.
"Because we are ALL linked to the Seraph. Even myself… I felt Alpha and Omega's death, just like the rest of you".
"But how? You have no true angel" Skuld said with a frown.
"What can I say?" he said with a shrug. "I may have lost her but I still have a connection to her. On top of that, I have a TV".
"You do?"
"Of course" he said. "How do you think I would have remained sane for the last thirty years? Well… relatively sane that is" he said, as they gave him a disbelieving look. "And so what happened next?"
"Now Penitence has taken over Heaven" Lamb said. "She also has an army golems on her side to enforce her will… plus Humanist allies, who have taken over much of the world".
"And so you're going to try and fix things?" Deaderuss asked scornfully. "Just like that?"
"No… but getting our Master back will be a start" Lamb said. "And that's where you come in".
"That's right" Skuld said. "You're the battery that'll keep this ship running, at least until we can get to wherever he's being kept". She rolled up her sleeves once more. "And so, I'm going to plumb your box in".
"Well get on with it" he said, taking a seat once more and flicking on his television once more. "It's not like I'm going anywhere… not while I've got the new series of Baywatch".
"You'd better go" Noble Scarlet whispered to Temeraire and Kitara, as Skuld's eyes lit up. "Unless you can help at all…"
"We'll go" Temeraire said. "Beregond, are you coming?" she asked, looking for him… but it was too late. He had been gone for a while now…
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Beregond growled to himself as he prowled the ship's passages and corridors. His head was a whir; it felt like he had a swarm of bees buzzing around inside his skull.
"Hey Beregond!" Temeraire called out, having finally caught up with him. "Hey wait up!"
"Go away Temeraire" he said, not turning around as he continued up the corridor. "I don't want to talk…"
"Well you don't really have much choice" she said, as she came up beside him. "You can't run away from me and I'm not going to leave you alone until you talk to me. So what's up?" He paused for a second… then turned suddenly and punched the reinforced steel of one of the ship's bulkheads.
"Bastard!" he snarled.
"Me?" Temeraire asked sceptically.
"No, not you… your father… and mine. Why couldn't Deaderuss just have died when he was meant to?!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Temeraire asked, frowning at him.
"It means exactly what it means" he said. "Your father should've killed mine when he had the chance! The bastard should never have been allowed to live!" He punched the bulkhead again and Temeraire winced.
"Well if I could offer a little advice to start with? Stop punching the wall. Not only will you hurt yourself but I'm pretty sure that that bit leads to space…"
"So?" he demanded.
"Well I'm known for being kinda reckless but weakening the only thing that is keeping me from being sucked into a frozen, airless void? Now that's just plain stupid". Beregond paused for a second and slowly removed his fist from the wall… where he had left a perfect indent of his fist in the hardened steel.
"Sorry…"
"Don't be" she said. "I get it…"
"I don't think you do" he said.
"I do; you hate your father because he left you abandoned in a strange place, with people who either didn't trust you or were openly hostile and with a mother who was too busy with her career to raise you". There was a long pause.
"That's actually a fairly accurate summing up of the situation" he said with a scowl. "But you missed one crucial detail".
"That being?"
"He KILLED my mother".
"There is that…" Temeraire admitted and then sighed. "But what would you suggest my father should've done? Killed Deaderuss? He's too dangerous to be killed; he could've come back".
"I doubt it" Beregond said.
"It happened to Cool Mint… and to my father. We had Hild to thank for that but the concept remains the same. It could well have been that your father had some plan to bring himself back from the dead. Borrowed Time, a Devil's Pact… heck, I heard a rumour that a Seraph has the power to command Death himself and revive the dead".
"So you think that Ansuz would've brought him back?"
"Not likely… but it might've been possible". She sighed. "Still, I think my point is that you shouldn't wish that your father was dead…"
"You're right of course" he said reluctantly.
"Of course I am" she said with a thin smile. "Women are always right…"
8888
"So that was my son? He's even more pathetic than I thought he would be" Deaderuss said, as Skuld and Noble Scarlet worked to connect his cell to the ship's main drive systems.
"Will you be quiet?" Skuld said with a tired sigh. "I'm trying to concentrate".
"Cut the red wire" he said helpfully and Skuld scowled but he ignored her and went back to his television.
"So you think this will work?" Noble Scarlet asked, nodding towards the mass of wires in her Mistress's hand.
"Should do" Skuld said, wiping her brow with her sleeve. "I've run the power connectors through the dynamo, which converts it into electricity and then it's run through the step-down transformer to lower the voltage to a safe level".
"And then it goes to the warp drives?"
"Exactly".
"Well if you think this will work…" the Arch said.
"You should listen to your Mistress" Deaderuss said, looking up from the tube. "It's what an angel is supposed to do".
"Says the one who banished his angel" Noble Scarlet quipped back and Deaderuss scowled at her.
"I disposed of her because she no longer functioned as I needed her to".
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" she snapped at him, fluttering her wings, as her ire rose. "Was that all she was to you? A TOOL?"
"Yes" he said simply and without care. "Gracious Penitence was nothing more than a tool. And when that tool broke, I disposed of it, as you are supposed to do".
"But she was you're ANGEL!" Noble Scarlet cried. "Your living soul!"
"She was an Empty; the shell of an angel, without emotions… and when they returned, she lost her connection to me. I could not support such a being, so I disposed of her".
"BUT SHE WAS-" Noble Scarlet started to say but then stopped herself. "You know what, forget it. I keep forgetting that I'm talking to a fucking psychopath…"
"Call me what you will but I still stand by my decision" he said with a shrug. Noble Scarlet growled but Skuld shook her head at her.
"Don't bother" she said. "What he says may be horrifying but we can't assign normal emotions and thought processes to this guy. Remember; he was crazy long before he ever met Penitence".
"I was never crazy" Deaderuss said with frown. "I was always perfectly sane and only ever had two goals in mind; to have both an angel and Lind for my own…"
"And it looks like you've failed on both counts" Noble Scarlet said, with a note of triumph.
"It would do well for you to not antagonize me" he said darkly, shooting her a warning glance. "Not if you want my help".
"We're getting your help, whether you want to give it or not" Noble Scarlet said and turned away.
"Flutterbird…" The angel growled and snapped her fingers. There was a snap and a hiss of sparks, as Deaderuss's TV short circuited and he sighed. "I was watching that…"
"Oh really? I hadn't noticed". Noble Scarlet went back to work, while Deaderuss sat, staring at his broken television, his chin resting on one hand.
"So tell me…" Deaderuss said after a while, "are Temeraire and my son… involved?"
"What's it to you?" Skuld asked, glancing up from her work.
"Curiosity" the ex-god said. "I sense that she and he care for one another and I wondered if my hunch was correct".
"Well they are" she said, scowling at him. "And I'm happy for them. Your son is decent enough, as they go and certainly more honourable than you ever were".
"And what would you know of honour?" he demanded coldly. "I know your reputation… you spent the better part of four Earth years trying to keep your sister and her lover apart, for no other reason than for petty jealousy".
"What can I say?" she said. "I was a jealous kid. I thought that I was going to lose my sister but in the end, I was wrong. Instead I gained a brother". She paused for a second. "At least I never banished my own angel".
"You're a cruel bitch Skuld Anzus-daughter" he said darkly.
"I'm not the only on" she countered and they both went silent. "I just remembered something… one of those sealed memories. Is it true what Jago offered you in return for your services?"
"Yes" he said. "If I play my part and do my duty, then I will get what I have been promised".
"And that is?" Skuld asked, hoping for full confirmation.
"You KNOW what it is…. It's what every being desires". Skuld sighed and then she and Noble Scarlet shared a fearful look. It was then that they heard a boom…
8888
The whole ship rocked and a klaxon blared as Kitara slid to a halt at the ship's bridge.
"What the Hell was that?" she said, spotting Lamb as the tiny angel hovered above one of the console banks, by the primary viewport.
"Trouble" she said simply and pointed out of the window, as Kitara hurried up to her. "Outside, she could see flames licking at the manufactory, fuelled and fanned by the pressurized air that was roaring from the compound.
"What happened?" Kitara asked. "Some kind of meteor strike?"
"No; that bases is shielded against meteors. You would have to actually hit the main one meteor itself for that. No… this is far worse". Just then, there was a blinding flash and the entire ship was rocked once more, as a pulsating beam of energy hammered into the plant".
"Was that…?"
"Gungnir" Lamb said darkly and then flitted downward to tap the intercom button. "Skuld, you'd better get a wiggle on… we're under fire here".
"What do you mean?" the engineer goddess crackled back, over the radio. "There's nothing out here to fire at us!"
"Penitence has found us; she's firing on the factory with the orbital gun, as we speak!" Dead silence.
"Shit… give me three minutes".
"I don't think we HAVE three minutes…"
8888
The entire facility lurched as another monstrous blast pounded it. Already the force of the attack had knocked the asteroid on which the base was situated on out of its orbit and the whole thing was now spinning erratically through the ether, crushing smaller asteroids in its path and dragging the Pucelle with it. The ship was still secured to the base by a series of holdfasts and docking ports and as such, it was being dragged in a slow, spinning orbit around the much larger asteroid that it was attached to… but not for much longer.
8888
"I feel weird" Beregond said, as her and Temeraire sprinted along the passageway. "I know that I'm on the floor but I feel like I'm running on the wall".
"I've noticed it too… and that wall has just become the ceiling" Temeraire said. "I think it's got something to do with artificial gravity and inertia because we're spinning but I can't be sure". Beregond gave her a dumb look but she never saw it, as she slid to a halt in front of one of the ship's airlocks. Already, she could see that the pressurized tube between the ship and the station was starting to warp and twist under the force of having to drag the ship around the axis of the asteroid and was threatening to tear clear of the Pucelle entirely, sucking them all out into oblivion.
"Are you two there yet?" said Skuld's voice from over the intercom.
"We're at the first door" Temeraire said and nodded at Beregond, who continued up the passageway, disappearing around a bend in the corridor. "Beregond's going for the second one".
"Good" Skuld said. "We need to get these doors sealed NOW!"
"Ok, so what do I need to do?"
"There should be a panel by the door; a keypad. Run your hand across it and it'll read your handprint and seal the door".
"Ok" Temeraire said and looked down at her palm. Quickly she ran it over the panel by the door, causing a green light to flash and with that, the door slammed shut. There was a clunk as reinforced steel bolts shot into position and she gave a sigh of relief. "Ok, I'm done. The door's sealed".
"What about the other one? I'm still reading that as being open".
"Well maybe he's not there yet" Temeraire said.
"No… wait a minute… I'm seeing an attempt to seal the door by an unregistered party… SHIT! Beregond must not be registered to use this ship! Fuck this overpowered security system!"
"I'm on it" Temeraire said and set off at a sprint up the passageway, going as fast as she could. Just then, there was a shriek of tortured metal and a sudden roar of air and she suddenly felt herself being swept from her feet and being carried end over end, down the passageway. The sound was deafening, drowning out Skuld's frantic calls, as she was swept along in the explosive decompression. She was battered against a wall… or possibly the ceiling, she couldn't be sure and made a frantic grab for something, ANYTHING, to grab hold of. She slammed against a section of exposed pipes, grasped at them, let go with a yelp as she touched something hot, was sucked onward and with one final effort, she threw out her arms and managed to grasp some exposed cabling. She hung there, panting in the gale which threatened to steal her breath away completely and for the first time, looked towards the source of the wind. She had rounded the corner and was now looking down the corridor to the unsealed airlock. Beregond was there, holding on grimly, as the rush of escaping air threatened to tear him away from his precarious handhold. She tried to call out to him but she could barely even hear herself and so, she tried to work out what to do next. From the looks of it, the connecting passageway between the ship and the station had snapped and was in the process of sucking the ship dry. She had to do something or the whole ship risked imploding.
Gaging the distance carefully, she swung herself out and managed to grab hold of the other wall, swinging herself over. She released her grip and was sucked towards the gaping doorway, only to grab another handhold, as Beregond looked over at her. He tried calling out to her but she couldn't hear him and with a final heave, she launched herself towards the hatch. It almost worked… almost. But then, almost never won a bucket of squid at a game of dwarf roulette. What she hadn't expected… was for the pipe she grabbed hold of to give way under her grip and send her sailing towards the hole in the ship's hole, as her cry of surprise was lost in the shriek of the wind.
8888
He wasn't sure what had gone wrong… one minute, he had been trying to seal the door and all that had happened was a red light had flashed up beside it. The next moment, there had been and bang and a hiss and it had taken all of his strength to just keep hold of the wall, as the boarding tube had been torn away from the ship. The suction was immense, like being trapped in the biggest ever hoover and he could barely hear at all. He was sure that the change in pressure had caused his eardrums to explode and that they were leaking blood down the sides of his head but that wasn't his biggest concern… no, his biggest concern was the fact that Temeraire was bouncing painfully down the corridor towards him, being battered across the passageway as she fought for a handhold. He saw her grab something, release, grab again and then finally dragged herself to a halt, clinging on for dear life to a dangling bunch of cables. He watched her and tried to call out but his words fell on deaf ears. She looked back at him and then, with a massive effort, she started to swing herself down towards him… no, not towards him; towards the hole in the hull. Of course! The ship must have some clever trick security system, so that he would never have been able to seal the door; it needed someone who the ship's computer or whatever recognized to seal it! All she had to do was swing herself lower and a bit closer and just a little lower and… not come tumbling towards him, as the pipe under her hand gave way. There was no time for him to think, only to act. In a split second, her had thrown himself into the middle of the corridor, grabbing Temeraire by the wrist and clinging onto it for dear life… as a powerful hand clasped his other hand like vice, clinging on with all the stubborn determination of a wave-battered limpet.
"Bloody idiot!" Bloody Thorn hissed through their mental link. "I should let the pair of you be sucked out!"
"Glad to know you still care" he said and tried pulling Temeraire up with him… but then felt the sensation of an unfamiliar conscience pressing against his own. "Hello?" he said, cautiously making contact with it.
"Thanks for catching me" came Temeraire's voice, somehow reaching the inside of his head, without needing to pass through his ears. "Now let me go! I need to hit that button!"
"But… what? How? What's going on here? Are you-"
"Just shut up and swing me towards the door!" He grunted and with an effort, he swung her hard, towards the gaping hole in the ship's hull. Temeraire flailed for the locking panel but missed; it was too far out of reach. "Drop me lower!"
"I can't!" he called back. "Thorn! Can you help?"
"No!" the angel called back. "You're too heavy! I can't do anything!" Beregond glanced back down at Temeraire and she saw him shake his head.
"Then let me go" she said.
"What?"
"I said let me go; I'm gonna try something".
"ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU'LL BE SUCKED OUT!"
"I won't, trust me". He gave her a pained look but her face was set like stone and so he nodded… and let her go.
8888
Temeraire spun as she was sucked towards the door and concentrated her mind. She had just one shot at this; one shot and that was it. Fuck this up and she would either be sucked out, into the black void of space or be cut in half by several tons of steel door, as it snapped shut, with her in the way. But she was the Seraph host… and it was about time she started to act like it.
"Now let me see…" she said to herself, inside her head, "the door must have some kind of motor, so…" She concentrated harder, screwing her eyes tight shut as she was drawn inexorably towards the gaping hole in the hull. She could see something in the air, behind her eyes and the harder she concentrated, the clearer it became. It was… light. A sharp, white light that pulsed so fast that it almost looked like it wasn't moving at all. But she could sense it and she knew instantly what it was. Inside her mind… she was sensing the ship's electrical currents. She could SEE the flow of power, through the ship's lines and to the hull… and from the hull, to the door motors. With a flick of her fingers, she directed a surge of power into them. Their circuit breakers held for just a second and then gave way but it was enough and the massive door slammed shut, with a deep boom. The roar of escaping air ended instantly and she, Beregond and Bloody Thorn dropped to the deck.
"That… was… awesome!" Beregond said and Temeraire smiled, though his voice sounded faint and far away. "What did you do?" She grinned for a second and went to take a breath… but couldn't. Her face was suddenly lined with panic and her hands went to her throat, as she tried to breath but couldn't bring anything in. Beregond was now finding the same, gasping desperately but to no avail; when the breach had occurred, the main blast doors had sealed to prevent the entire ship from suffering from an explosive decompression. Unfortunately that meant that now, there was no air left for them to breath. Temeraire clawed at her throat, trying desperately to suck something breathable in, gouging bloody furrows in her skin with her nails. Beregond was on the floor, writhing but she could barely see him, as a red mist began to cover her sight. She could hear the sound of her heart hammering in her ears, as she collapsed to her knees and the red in her vision started to fade to black, her head swimming and thoughts becoming dim and hard to reach. But then she heard the sound of a computerized female voice; a voice of salvation.
"EMERGANCY REPRESSURIZATION COMMENSING" it said and with a hiss, the room was flooded with breathable air. Temeraire took a great gasp and breathed deeply, her head starting to clear. "PRESSURE STABLE. UNLOCKING BLAST DOORS". There was a hiss and deep thump from far off, as the main blast doors unlocked and Temeraire slowly pulled herself to her feet.
"You ok?" she asked wheezily.
"I'll live…" Beregond said and winced. "You?"
"Nothing I can't handle…"
"So… what just happened? What did you do?"
"I used magic and tricked the doors into locking. Long story, not very interesting".
"Ok, if you say so" he said and groaned. "Now what?"
"Now we get moving" Temeraire said. "Come on; we've got an orbital gun to deal with".
8888
"The final door is sealed!" Skuld called out from her console on the ship's bridge. "Ok Red! Hit it!" Noble Scarlet grinned and with a thump, she brought her fist down on the ship's engine start button. There was a groan… a rumble… a cough… then nothing.
"Oh come on!" the angel snarled and kicked the console hard, under the desk. And then there was a whir… than built into a roar, as the engines came to life, in a blaze of roar plasma.
"SHE LIVES!"
8888
Deaderuss snarled, as he felt the probes in his cell start to drain away his power. The energy needed to start the ship's main drives was immense; it was almost like trying to kick-start a sun. But even so, it took only a tiny fraction of his strength to get the ship moving.
"So then Skuld…" he muttered out loud, "you've got this beast moving. So now what's the plan?"
8888
From her seat, atop her throne in Heaven, Penitence watched the fight between the ship and Gungnir unfold through a floating energy ball, while Yukio sat beside her, frowning slightly.
"We should've fired on the ship first…" the girl said, rubbing her chin with a knuckle. "If we could've disabled it-"
"IF WE HAD DONE SO, THEN THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT IT WOULD HAVE KILLED THEM AND IN DOING SO, SPARKED A MUTINY AMONGST OUR "SERVING STAFF". She glanced down pointedly from her throne and Yukio followed her gaze. They were in the central palace's great hall and there was a feast going on; the victorious Praetorian Guards, newly restored to their rightful place, were feasting for the first time in thirty years, while around them, disgraced and scantily clad goddesses, mostly Valkyries, were hurrying between the tables, carrying food and great jugs of ale. Penitence felt a flicker of a smile, as she watched her troops enjoying themselves, booth with their feasting and tormenting the prisoners. Only one was not involved; blue haired and stern, she may have been dressed like the rest but THIS Valkyrie was stood just to one side of Penitence's throne, head down, eyes closed and arms folded. "WHAT'S THE MATTER LIND? NOT ENJOYING THE FESTIVITIES?"
"As much as I enjoy seeing Peorth being molested by a bunch of grubby Praetorians, I am only here because you won't let me sleep" Lind said, not looking up. "You're keeping me here as a weapon, so a weapon on standby I am".
"WHAT A SOURPUSS YOUR AUNT IS!" Penitence said, turning to Yukio. "SHE NEEDS TO LEARN TO ENJOY HERSELF A LITTLE… PERHAPS WE SHOULD GIVE HER TO THE INCCUBI TO PLAY WITH?" Lind gave an involuntary twitch of disgust at the thought and Penitence chuckled. "I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT GET YOUR ATTENTION. NOW COME! WE STILL NEED TO SEE HOW DEAR TEMMY AND CO ARE GOING TO GET OUT OF THEIR PREDICERMENT!"
8888
The Pucelle gave a lurch, as its thrusters roared into life, carrying it away from the wreckage of the manufactory. The asteroid was careening wildly through space, annihilating anything in its path, as it spun away from the ship… that was until a final shot from Gungnir came screaming through and hammered into the base. With a colossal groan, the beam carved through the hard stone of the asteroid, punching through and shattering the rock into a million pieces.
"Well there goes a trillion dollar-pounds" Skuld said bitterly, as she watched the Oort Cloud base being vaporised.
"I guess now it's our turn then!" Noble Scarlet said with a grin. "Let's barbecue this bully!" Skuld grinned in turn and flicked the ship's controls. The thrusters fired and the Pucelle rumbled forward, in a great, wide arch. It may have looked slow but in fact, it was traveling at a speed close to that of sound on Earth and the debris of the base was bouncing off of the hull, as it manoeuvred around the clumps, aiming for its target. Just then, Gungnir fired once more and the pulse slammed into the hull of the ship… to no avail; for all its power, the cannon could not penetrate the ship's heavy armour and protective shields.
"Remind me to ask Jago what we made this thing out of" Skuld said, as they forced the ship into a sharp turn. "I want some of it for our armour project!" Noble Scarlet didn't answer; she was concentrating on power-sliding ten-million tons of flying battleship. They were aiming for the spot that the shot had come from… and then they spotted it, as another shot came hammering through, to glance harmlessly off of the Pucelle's hull. It was a tiny patch of blue amongst the black, a direct portal to Gungnir, as it hovered in another world… and now, they had a line of fire on the weapon itself. Then came Skuld's last order: "Charge the MAC… prepare to fire…"
8888
Penitence frowned, as she watched the ship manoeuvre around, to face the portal.
"AN INTERESTING DESIGN… PROOF AGAISNT GUNGNIR? NOW THAT'S A RARITY".
"What are we going to do about it?" Yukio asked. "Something like that is bound to put heart into the rebels, unless we deal with it immediately".
"PERHAPS YOU'RE RIGHT…" Penitence said and glanced across the hall. "LIND, I HAVE A JOB FOR YOU…"
"Yes Mistress?" Lind asked, filling the word with as much venom as she was able.
"I'VE GOT A JOB FOR YOU. GO OUT AND DISABLE THAT SHIP, BEFORE THEY CAN LAUNCH IT. I DON'T WANT IT DESTORY, JUST CRIPPLED SO… BE A GOOD GIRL NOW OK?"
"As you wish Mistress…"
8888
There was a deep rumble and a whir, as the massive electromagnets located in the ship's lower hull began to crackle into life. The charge soon began to build, as the first shell was dropped into place, at the rear of the cannon. The shell resembled a tank shell in design but was far more massive; nearly fifty feet across and hundreds of feet long, it was the biggest explosive ever constructed. The gun itself was little more than an oversized rail gun, using magnets to accelerate the shell to close to the speed of light… no small task, considering that the gun ran almost the entire length of the ship and each shell weighed more than the average building.
"Ready to fire!" Noble Scarlet said, glancing up at her Mistress, who was occupying the Captain's chair.
"So? Do we fire yet?" Temeraire asked. She and the others had all made it to the bridge and were watching as the glowing portal through space flickered before them. She and Beregond looked pretty battered, following the incident with the airlock but even so, they were ready for whatever was to come. They could just make out the faint, distant shape of the Gungnir platform on the other side, hovering menacingly in space, its barrel trained on them and Skuld licked her lips nervously. All eyes were on her. This was her call.
"Hold fire for now" she said. "Call up the loadstone resonator".
"What frequency?" Noble Scarlet asked.
"Every frequency… I want Penitence to get this message".
"What are you planning?" Kitara asked, as she watched the angel key into every available frequency.
"A chance for surrender".
"Ours?"
"Theirs" Skuld said and then there was high-pitched whine, as the loadstone resonator connected.
"Ok we're in Mistress" Noble Scarlet said, glancing at Skuld. "Just speak out and it'll pick it up".
"Thank you Little Red" Skuld said and took a deep breath before she began. "This is former Almighty One Skuld Anzus-daughter, hailing on all frequencies. I want to talk to Gracious Penitence". There was a long moment of silence, before a crackled response came through.
"THIS IS GRACIOUS PENITENCE, CURRENT ALMIGHTY ONE AND RULER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. TO WHAT DO WE OWE THIS PLEASURE ?"
"I've decided to discuss terms of surrender" Skuld said. "Yours that is".
"OH? AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT I'LL SURRENDER?"
"Because if you don't I WILL destroy the Gungnir station".
"AND HOW DO YOU PLAN TO DO THAT?"
"With the push of a button; I have access to a massive gun of my own and currently loaded within it… is a ten GIGATON nuclear weapon; enough to knock a small planet out of orbit. You surrender now or I WILL be forced to deploy this weapon". There was a long pause.
"YOU'RE BLUFFING" Penitence said finally. "YOU WOULD NEVER DESTROY GUNGNIR, EVEN IF YOU COULD. IT WOULD BE A MAJOR LOSS TO YOUR SIDE IF YOU DID SO AND REGAINED POWER; TO HAVE LOST ONE OF YOUR MOST POWERFUL ASSETS TO FRIENDLY FIRE".
"That may be true…" Skuld said, "but I am willing to do so. I can always rebuild after all…"
"I DON'T THINK YOU CAN?"
"Haven't you heard? I'm Skuld! I once built a working battlecruiser out of asparagus! You think I can't build a new Gungnir?" She paused and allowed herself a sly grin. "Besides, you are the one who has more to lose here".
"WHAT MAKES YOU SO SURE?"
"It's simply really; you may have forced my sister Lind's loyalty but you still need Gungnir if you're going to complete whatever you're planning. She cannot be everywhere at once and while the gun can destroy a target instantly, she requires time to complete a mission. Without her, you could still hold the line… but without Gungnir, you wouldn't stand a chance".
"WELL IF THAT IS TRULY WHAT YOU BELIEVE THEN I SUPPOSE THAT I HAD BETTER HEAR YOUR TERMS" Penitence said, setting metaphorical alarm bells clanging.
"She's up to something" Beregond said. "I can recognize it in her voice…"
"Agreed" Temeraire said. "She's got something nasty planned and is stalling for time".
"I'll see what I can find" Damascus said, as she drifted down to the consoles.
"I thought you didn't know how to use this stuff" Noble Scarlet whispered to her.
"No, I can't MAKE this stuff like you can" the tiny devil said. "All I can do is use it…" She started tapping on a tiny screen, pulling up a set of long range scans, while Skuld started listing her terms to Penitence.
"Our terms are this; you will release all prisoners to us. In return, we will not destroy your orbital gun".
"I THOUGHT THESE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TERMS OF SURRENDER?" the Almighty One said.
"Consider it a hostage situation instead" Skuld said. "So what do you say? Release the prisoners? Or lose your most powerful weapon?"
"GIVE ME A MINUTE TO CONSIDER PLEASE".
"You have a second". Slightly more than a second later, the reply came.
"AFTER BRIEF BUT DUE CONSIDERATION, I HAVE DECIDED… TO REJECT YOUR REQUEST" Penitence said. "DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT YOU CAN THREATEN ME WITH SUCH TRIVIA? YOUR VERY EXISTANCE INSULTS ME!"
"Well I guess we'll just have to see" Skuld said, through gritted teeth. "Noble Scarlett! Prime the shell! Prepare to fire!"
"WAIT!" Lamb suddenly cried out. "I'VE GOT A CONTACT APPROACHING FAST! ORGANIC!"
"IT SOUNDS LIKE MY LITTLE PARTING GIFT HAS ARRIVED" Penitence said gleefully. "DON'T WORRY, SHE WON'T HURT YOU… BUT SHE WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE STUCK OUT THERE IN SPACE FOR A VERY LONG TIME. TTFN!" With that, the radio went dead.
"TTFN?" Beregond asked.
"Ta-ta for now…" Temeraire said, before turning her attention to Lamb, as Skuld crossed to her.
"What have you got?"
"One fast moving organic" Lamb said. "It's heading our way at a massive rate of knots… and it looks like it means business".
"What makes you say that?" Kitara asked, a little slow on the uptake.
"Simple" Temeraire said, frowning. "I can sense it… it's my mother".
*1 On an interplanetary scale, our planet is known as Tera and the solar system is known as Sol. Technically speaking, this means that our planet is known as Sol-3