Night fell on the Cyclonian fleet, and the ships in turn activated their various exterior and interior lights. The purple ship, holding the Empress and the Mistress, did not glow the same orange and warm white as the rest of the fleet. Rather, it glowed a dull blue, slowly worbling in intensity. The Empress busied herself with her crystal laden meditation, sat cross legged, eyes shut, and hands spread from the body.

In the room behind the bridge, two single beds were positioned. Each opposite the other, with a single bedside table beside each of them. One of the beds appear to not only be made, but seemingly never slept in either. The other bed had been occupied by the young Mistress, who was lead on her front. A book leant against her pillow, named 'Crystallography, An Atmosian encyclopedia; by the Terradon P.H. Bunsen'. The duvet for the bed covered both her and the book. To make the book readable, the Mistress kept a sol crystal under the cover. She gently held it in her weak hand, which let the stone emit a dim glow which she used as a reading light. The Mistress' strong hand was used to flick through the book, desperately searching until she finally stumbled upon the page she needed:

[Shield Crystal:

A seemingly uncommon sight in the Atmos, Shield crystals are able to immerse its bearer in a local field of low intensity energy. The purpose of which depending on the desired effect.

Common uses include:

Weather protection,

Force field protection,

Disguise based cloaking,

Short term invisibility.

These crystals, under correct training, may be an important tool in any crystal mage's collection due to its versatility. This comes at a cost of Shield crystals being fairly low tolerance in terms of protective power before burning out and losing potentiality. Researchers are convinced of there being a way to somehow enhancing the crystal's protective factor, however this conviction has yet to bear fruit.

Whilst its endemic Terra has yet to be found, those who bear Shield crystals claim them to be easy to find with correct knowledge. What this knowledge is, however, has not been shared in a verified manner.

Long term use and/or chronic side effects from using Shield crystals are still unknown]

Mistress Cyclonis studied the pages, decorated with diagrams of the crystal and its properties, with a wide eyed curiosity.

Suddenly, the Mistress heard the whoosh of the door between the dormitory and the bridge. In immediate instinct; she let go of the sol crystal, and pulled herself up on top of the book. Plunging the room into darkness.

'Given more pressing circumstances, I will forgive you for thinking me a fool' The Empress spoke with harsh pronounciation. The Mistress stayed silent and motionless. 'Since you have disregarded my direct instruction to put yourself to sleep, perhaps you shall be of better use on the bridge for a short while' She took her leave and let the door close as she backed away from it. The young Mistress, panic subsiding, slowly slid out of her bed, slipping on a dress akin to the one she wore earlier in the day over her pyjamas. She waddled for a little bit before returning to normal stride as she left to dormitory.

Entering the bridge, the Mistress saw her grandmother still dressed in her day's wear. She had often wondered whether or not her grandmother actually slept. The Mistress walked across the bridge to stand at her grandmother's side, facing the door seperating the bridge from the rest of the ship. 'You've yet to take a life. Correct?' The older woman asked, still looking ahead at the door.

'...correct' the young girl replied, making sure to be clear and concise. She too kept her gaze.

'Tonight should bear some important fruit for the future ruler of Cyclonia, then' Her grandmother chillingly and candidly alluded. The pair stood and waited for a little while longer, which gave the young Mistress time to ponder as to what it was that her often cruel matriarch was going to put her through. Soon, the bridge's door bolted open, and through it was a detained man dragged in by a Blizzarian guard to his left, and a human guard to his right. Behind all three, was Flight Officer Ravess.

The detained man was brought to his knees in front of the Empress and the young Mistress. His guards let go and stood at a distance, Ravess walked around the detained and stood the other side of the Empress. Each step Ravess walked sounded out a loud click as her heels dug into the floor. The rhythm, the Mistress thought of as reminiscent of a clock. Once still and in her position, Ravess started to speak. 'The following brought before you has been found guilty of sabotage by means of unauthorised modifications to the crystal conversion engines. Sentencing is to be at the Empress' discretion'

The Empress stared down at the accused, her cold, blank expression illiciting a silent terror within the core of his very being. She saw this unfold in front of her, and retaining her blank expression, spoke. 'Child'

The young Mistress stood with furthered and renewed concentration.

'Take care of this' The Empress instructed. She passed a glare at the pilot, who was facing in at the group rather than out to the open skies. The pilot quickly and nonchalantly grabbed a metal staff from its holder next to the controls and held it in his hands and across his body. He paced from the front of the bridge to between the accused and the Empress, bowing down and presenting the staff.

The staff was fairly short in length, had a maroon body with black diamond shapes near its head, and at the head sat a recepticle for a crystal, with a couple of dozen metal fingers, currently unfolded from its lack of preparation. The Empress stared at the staff, stepped back, and pulled the young Mistress into where she had just stood. The Mistress looked at the staff pensively, slowly reaching her hand out to touch it. As her hand touched, and wrapped itself around the staff, the pilot slowly lifted his face.

The pilot wore a black bandana with his uniform, but as he looked up just a little bit, one could notice a small band of green hair that would be hiding either side of his head. As he lifted his head, the pipes carrying steam in the ship whistled a quiet tune, rising and falling down a scale before trilling around one of the lower notes. The pilot pulled a smirk as the young Mistress took control of the staff. With it outside of his hands, he stood up, revealing the true extent of his build, being a fair bit taller than average, and an impressive mix of muscular and skinny. The Empress hissed at him a command to fix the pipes, to which he nodded and stepped away, watching the young girl.

The Mistress held the staff for a second, before the Empress pulled a deep purple crystal from her pocket. She grabbed the tip of the staff whilst the Mistress held it, and put the crystal onto the recepticle. The small metallic fingers around the tip all slowly, and without order, wrapped around the crystal. The Empress let go, and fixed her gaze onto the young girl.

The young girl had a panicked look on her face. If she remembered correctly, her grandmother had just loaded an oblivion crystal into the staff. Her wide eyes darted between the staff and her grandmother, although after her grandmother's serious look seemed to not be fading, the young Mistress Cyclonis took a deep breath, and started to point the staff toward the accused, whose face showed an elevated level of dread. Her own face began to recoil, knowing exactly what was going to happen, and that there was no avoiding the matter.

The pilot, watching the silent horror show, rubbed his fingers against his thumb. His fingertips started to glow a navy blue colour. Crystal dust. Stuck to and glowing not only to his fingers, but on the staff as well, directly underneath the Mistress' hands. The young girl's breaths became rattled in panic, her eyes squinted, and she tensed up, as if to fire a bolt at the accused.

No such bolt came.

The Empress grew tired of waiting, snatching the staff out of the young Mistress' hands and pointing the staff at the condemned. The Empress rubbed the crystal dust off of the staff. The young girl's head bounced between looking at her grandmother and the one sentenced to perish.

'Wait!' The girl shouted, causing her grandmother to halt the coming bolt. 'We shouldn't kill him' The Mistress insisted.

'Excuse me, Child?' The Empress sternly asked, trying to remind the young girl her place.

'We should have him alive, and strung up between to the front tips of our cargo bays. You said yourself that we have people who curse us, what if they're amongst the crew? It's best to deter them, is it not?' The Mistress' new found confidence surprised the older and harsher Empress. She looked at the young girl with a sharp, and dissatisfied gaze, before pulling the staff straight up and clicking the bottom of it onto the floor.

'Very well. You have me convinced. Ravess!' She barked.

'Yes, your highness?'

'String this man up, let him be an example to all who wish to step in the path of Cyclonia'

'Yes, your highness' Ravess affirmed, nodding to the guards who dragged the condemned into the bridge in the first place. The guards dragged the man, who lost all words or resistance, out of the bridge and away from the regal presence of the Empress and the young Mistress.

The Empress approached the young girl with silent threat. Standing practically on the young girl's toes, the Empress loomed over her and quietly spoke. 'Were it not for your brilliant idea of deterence...' She leaned down to close the gap between hers and the Mistress' face 'I would have openly broken your disobedience out of you' She said, each syllable enunciated painfully clear and without any kind of ambiguity. 'Go to bed' She commanded. The young Mistress drooped her head a small amount and started to walk past her grandmother, who clasped her wrist with a heartstopping, vice grip. 'Make sure you sleep this time. Understood?'

'Yes, Grandmother' The young girl quietly answered. The Empress let her go, and the Mistress continued walking to her room as her grandmother let out a long sigh.