"Your majesties, we have an announcement," Biaku said. "Negotiations are underway regarding the succession of the Empire of the Lindorms. We expect to see a resolution shortly. Those who are not of the Mushroom Realms are free to leave. Lord Xaja, Lady Cerasa and the companions of Lady Meliboia are asked to do so."

"Well, that was a lot of nothing," Cerasa said as she rose with her husband.

"More than it appears," Xaja said. "We know that they have not caught Ajax."

"Yeah," his Lady said. "Wouldn't it have been fun to take him to the Dungeon for old time's sake?"

Meliboia stood before a display that showed a schematic of a ship identical to Ataraxes. "This is a standard Pisces-class troop transport, as much as `standard' exists," she said. The cutaways showed a central bridge and hold, two sub-fuselages on either side, and bays embedded in the wings. She ran a targeting laser along a passage that ran from one end to the other. "This is the main passageway. It connects every section of the ship." She pointed to an intsection where it met a cross-passage between the bays. "This is the the primary defense turret and the dorsal airlock. Just ahead is the main access hatch for the lower level of the bridge module, which is where one of the two Sfika parasite craft is moored."

She pointed again to the bays. "We can assume that one or both bays have been configured to hold prisoners," she said. "A number of security measures will be in place both in the cell blocks and the ship as a whole. First, every crew member wears a biometric gauntlet. The gauntlet recognizes the user's fingerprints and DNA, and in turn allows the wearer to interface with the ship's systems. In case you're thinking there's a way around it, every crewmember also has an implant that monitors their life signs. If an implant signals that life functions have ceased, the gauntlet will deactivate. Once you get to anything important, like a weapons bay or an external access point, there's going to be access codes that still have to be entered with the gauntlet on. And the codes will scramble if the system flags multiple incorrect codes, hostile weapons fire or personnel without implants. And there's bulkheads that will seal the main corridors if an access point is compromised by force. And if the commander's really paranoid, the bays just might be wired to dump their contents if someone tries to get in."

She looked back at her audience: Ajax, Hector, Pruna, and two Lindorm Guardsmen. "All right," Hector said with a sigh, "I volunteer to board the ship."

"No," Mel said. "I am telling you, that won't work. What we can do is disable the ship while it's on the ground, then make the crew open up. To do that, we will have to deal with these…" She brought up a picture of one of the smaller craft, one with wings extended and the other in travel position.

"This is a Sfika," she said. "They are called escorts, but they really don't have the muscle to mix it up with anything in the air that can fight back. What they are good for is zeroing in on ground targets and big, slow aerial craft and blasting them to mulch, which is exactly what we've got. They're vulnerable to standard antiaircraft missiles and concentrated heavy weapons fire. That just means that if they try to close in, we can get one or two before the rest go back to hit-and-run strafing. If we get the Amphion in the air, they'll scram fast. That's when we can expect these…"

She brought up an image of a three-winged fighter Ajax had seen once before. "This is a Trident-class interceptor, the standard escort fighter of the Myrmidon fleet," she said. Shown head-on, it made Ajax think of a peace sign. The overall form, however, was as sinister as a descending vulture. The profile revealed a bulbous trilobed hull, wings that each bore a long cannon, and a narrow neck that led to an ovoid cockpit bristling with sensors and secondary weapons, only heightening the predatory appearance. "It's not as well-armed as a Gemini or as durable as a Cygnus, but it's very fast and highly maneuverable. The one thing it can't do so well is reduce its profile. Get them to follow you into a tight turn, they just might wipe out. Normally, a two-transport formation will have four of them for an escort. If they're really cocky, they might send only two. Don't count on it."

"Hold on," Pruna said. "You said two transports. I already told them to send just the one that's already stripped down, with only the crew aboard. I would not trust them, but why would they think they can violate the terms without being found out?"

"If you hadn't been smart about your terms, they probably would only send one," Mel said. "They will send one as you specified, so you will see that they are complying if you check with magic. The second will come in low, fully armed, with an escort and a full strike team."

"Yes," the Empress said, "but would they not realize they cannot fool us?"

Ajax sighed. "They know that, too," he said. "They just don't care. We can figure out their plan. We can prepare ourselves. They do not believe it will matter. In all likelihood, they are right."

"Then what is the use?" Hector said. "Take the Amphion to the sky. Get the Empress far from here, or else fight them ship to ship. If they would take my Lady, make them pay."

"No," Pruna said. "They care about one thing: They need visual confirmation that I am here. Once they do that, they can destroy the Amphion or the Palace or the Island itself. But until then, we have a window to dictate our own terms. They will not play fair, but they will be playing our game."

"Yes," Meliboia said with a smile. "They will play indeed. And speaking of, here are the standard munitions of the Pisces…"

Daffodil was reading a provided book when Hylas entered. He looked drunk, but his movements were nothing but sober. "Hey," he said. "And before anything else, Marpessa can't hear you."

"I thought I was clear with you before," Daffy said curtly.

"Look, we can talk, can't we?" the Myrmidon said. He sat down, leaning against the frame that held the transparent barrier. "I do understand you better. Lots of people would think you're faking, because that's what it usually is. But you're the real deal, I can see that now. True love, one man, one woman, till death do you part. We don't do that, but we don't knock it, either." She knelt to look at him. "But that doesn't matter now. You're here. I'm what you've got. Why not take a walk in the wild?"

"You have nothing to offer me, or hold over me," Daffy said. "We have gone over this. Either you will release me, or the Kings will rescue me. If they find you have harmed me, you will pay with blood and pain."

"You really think that?" he said. He looked at her with real curiosity. "Yeah, I suppose you do. It doesn't matter. You don't matter. They don't matter. I don't matter."

"We are on our way to a prisoner exchange," she said. "You will have to produce me, or my sister will not come to you."

"No," the Myrmidon said. "We don't. That's how they think this is going to go. It's not."

"Why would you tell me this?" she said warily. "Who would tell you?"

"I'm telling you because I like you," he said. "Well. Anyway, you interest me. The rest… nobody needs to say. I've been around enough to see how it goes down." He shrugged. "Sure, we've done it the way you're used to. Take a prisoner, let someone buy 'em back or give them a chance to take 'em back. This is not that kind of deal. This is high stakes. Nobody's taking a bet they might lose."

She looked directly into his eyes. "Did you think telling me this would change my mind?"

"Maybe, maybe not," he said. "I figured, maybe, you could start to see things our way. Live today, see if you die tomorrow. Take what you can tonight."

"Okay," Daffy said. "Maybe. Maybe we can try something." She looked toward the far end of the cell. "But you would have to let me out, or come in here."

He actually laughed. "You think they would give me authorization to do that?" he said. He pointed to a slot just big enough for a food tray. "That is what we have to work with."

"I see," she said. "Yes, I can see… possibilities. Sometimes, my King and I work through small spaces, when I am Blooming and I do not wish to tempt him."

"All Hells," her captor said. "You native folks can get really hard core…" That was when a scaly fist punched straight through the glass to seize his wrist.

"Now," Meliboia said, "it's time to take a look at my wedding present." The Gold Lorica was already mounted in the recharging alcove. "This is nice, but the pods are what matter." She waved at the cartons that held the accessories and ammunition. "I hate pods."

The first contained what looked like a larger version of her rifle, configured to attach to a pod's armature. "7.5mm with a 100-round magazine," she said. She attached a spare trigger and grip. "I'm keeping this." She opened another box. "Now this is promising." She held up a sealed tube three Thumbs in diameter and a Cubit and a half long, one of two in the box. "Typhon medium-range anti-aircraft missile. These will even the odds." She opened another box. It held a launcher with five tubes in a boxy housing, each two Digits wide. Underneath it were two rows of additional ammunition. "And a Hephaestus light multi-purpose infantry rocket launcher, with two reloads. The standard rounds are anti-armor, air-burst antipersonnel and incendiary; you can mix and match for mission parameters. That will make them keep their distance, for a while."

She opened a final pod. "And this is very nice," she said. She held up what looked like a cannon. "2.5cm selective-fire grenade launcher with a dual feed." She held up two clips and a larger drum. "It can fire from a pod mount, with a grip or as an autonomous sentry unit. This one will be a lot of fun."

"Anything for us?" Ajax asked.

"You bet," Mel said. She opened one last case. It held two components that together assembled into a singularly crude weapon as long as she was tall. "15mm Tactical Interdiction Rifle. Standard rounds are Armor Piercing Incendiary and AP Fin-Stabilized Subcaliber Rocket Assisted. It's practically recoilless, easy to learn. It uses the same sight as my rifle."

"I see," Ajax said, hefting the weapon. "And what does it do?"

"It penetrates any known body armor at 100 meters," Mel said. "At longer ranges, you might have to aim. Try it."

"Yes, certainly," he said. "When we are outside. There is one more thing… Should we not show Lady Pruna what we brought with us?"

Mel opened a cover in the floor. "This is where I keep the good stuff," she said. "Ajax asked to move a few items from the Royal Storehouse in here." They descended into a compartment just big enough to stand in. Storage racks on either side held cases that were bolted in place. One held the luminous Star Gem. Another held a cube very similar to the Gadget the Mirror Cerasa had wielded. They came to the end. Meliboia opened a case. From it, she took the Wishing Mirror. As Pruna looked into the Mirror, the same luminous silhouette formed around her, now only a faint sheen.

"I do not know what to do with it," Ajax said. "Could we not consult it to learn of the Myrmidons' plans?"

The Empress shook her head. "It would not be prudent," she said. "It could cause temporal interference, cause and effect looping in on themselves. The powers of the Mirror are unpredictable as it is. But I can give you a gift."

She found a fixture to hang the Mirror on. "Wishing Mirror, I wish to see," she said, "when I fell in love with Naam."

Below the bridge of the Ataraxes, a hatch opened. Small, bare feet descended softly to the lower level of the bridge module. Ahead lay the hatch to the parasite craft. Lady Daffodil stooped over the access panel. The hatch opened… and Marpessa stepped out. "I told you," she said sadly, "we don't do nice."

Then a flash lit up the ball cockpit of the parasite craft.