"Let me guess," Cyclonis said, "their sky knights knew about the operation and put a stop to it."
"That would be correct, M-Master Cyclonis," the captain managed to stay standing this time, unlike the last time when he fell to his knees begging for a second chance.
With a wave of her hand she dismissed the captain. The look of elation in his eyes when he realized he wouldn't be reprimanded pissed her off, but she needed to focus. When the captain was out of the room she waved over the Dark Ace who had been standing in the back waiting for any command she might have for him.
"Yes, Master?" He said with a bow. The pretensions used to be endearing in a way, but they grew more irritating as Cyclonis grew up. She wasn't a child anymore, and not an eager teenager either. She could see through his actions for what they were, bids for her good will, ones she was doubtful were even real.
"We have a leak," Cyclonis said, "that much is clear from how the Sky Knights have been foiling our plans more that usual lately. It can't be accounted to their luck."
"I agree. I can assure you-"
"I've already thought of a plan to sniff them out." Cyclonis interrupted.
Cyclonis waved her staff and a box from her worktable flew towards them. She opened the box to reveal an oddly shaped glass object, oddly colored and with an intricate pattern in the center. She pulled it out and placed a red crystal on the top of object where it sat snug in the grooves.
"This crystal," Cyclonis said, activating the crystal which fizzled out almost instantly, "Is dead. But," She took another crystal and inserted into the grooves on the side. Now activating the crystal it fired a blast into the wall.
"It saps the energy of one, and gives it to the other." Dark Ace was staring at the object now. Cyclonis had no doubt he was trying to think of useful ways of using it to his advantage, either in battle, or simply to enhance his ego.
"The ignorant are always amazed by the tiniest of things," Cyclonis chuckled, "Don't be a fool, it's worthless. Look." Cyclonis took out the crystal she placed on the side of the object, it's light having faded. "It's worthless now."
"This matrix is a prototype of something I was working on when I was younger. The problem is that normally crystals always retain some energy of their own, that's what keeps them from becoming useless junk when they're used. But this kills that, it takes everything out and leaves nothing behind, and the amount of power it can give is worthless."
"And this will help us find the leak?" Dark Ace asked.
"Yes. I made a few dozen of these matrices, each one is different, some in color, some in energy signature. You are to distribute one to every Talon squad, I will track which one goes to who. Every squad will have inspections randomly, check to see if they still have theirs."
"I see," Dark Ace smiled in understanding, "The one that doesn't have it will be where the leak is hiding."
"It's good to know you have something in that head of yours. It's grunt work, but you'll be doing inspections constantly for a while."
"Get it off! GET IT OFF!" Stork screamed.
"Ha, looks like it likes you." Finn said.
"I don't care!"
"Alright you crybaby, stand still."
Piper and Aerrow watched as Finn tried to peel the large snail off Stork.
"I'm sorry Stork, looks like it must have snuck in when we were parked," Aerrow said.
Stork made a noise that sounded like it was halfway to being a word and a fear response. "I asked you to watch the Condor for one hour! Did you watch it at all?!" Finn came up behind Stork and grabbed the shell, put a foot on his back and started to pull.
"Hey, we didn't expect one of those things to make it onto the ship, snails are usually slow," Piper said.
"I tried to warn you, the things that lived on Terra Merbia are larger, faster, and deadlier than on other terra's. You're just lucky this one," Stork pointed behind him, "isn't poisonous, or I would be paralyzed for three days."
"Merbia has poisonous snails?" Piper asked.
With a good yank and a wet popping sound, Finn flew backwards, holding onto the snail. "Got it."
"Thank you," Stork said, "Now if you would be so kind as to throw it out the window. I need to take a shower."
"But it's so cute," Piper said.
"Yeah! Can we keep it?" Finn hugged his face to the shell.
"Looks like you've been outvoted Stork. Guess we're going to have to make plans for a new pet," said Aerrow.
Stork looked at them all for a moment before screaming in frustration and storming off.
"Maybe that was a bit mean," Piper said.
"He's fine," Finn said, "think we can cook this thing?"
"Let's go ask Junko if he can," Aerrow said.
"You two go do that, I'm gonna clean up this mess." Piper gestured towards the slick floor and ceiling and maps strewn about the floor.
It didn't take long for Piper to get into her typical routine of cleaning up after the others. She was starting to have a good time, especially with her music. She knelt down to scratch at a particularly tough part of the mess when she noticed something taped to the bottom of the table.
It came off easily enough, a folded piece of paper with something held inside. She unfolded the paper, catching the small crystal that fell out, and read.
I'm leaving this in case you change your mind, use it if you want to hang out. Hope to see you soon, Piper. ~BFF
Piper reread the note, looked at the crystal, and thought about it.
"Going somewhere?" Aerrow asked, "Need anyone to come with you?"
"I just wanna get dinner on my own tonight, you know. It'll be nice to get out of the Condor, maybe meet some new people."
"Piper," Aerrow stopped her, "I understand. I wouldn't want to eat Junko's cooking most nights either."
"Thanks for understanding."
And she was off.
That was easier than I thought, she thought to herself. She expected a bit more of an interrogation, but she was lucky to not have to spill the beans on where she was going.
Once she was on her bike and out of the Condor she pulled the crystal with it's note out. She read it one more time, wondering just how long this note had gone unnoticed. She cleaned the table plenty of times in the past, what was in now, almost a decade? Radarr was always looking up to them surely he would have noticed it at some point?
She shook her head, chalking it up to just one of life's massive coincidences. She put the note in her pocket and activated the crystal. She had a bit of hope that it wouldn't work, or that it would point directly to Cyclonia. If it had she would have an excuse not to follow through with this plan. But it didn't, the pull guided her nowhere near Cyclonia. Steeling herself, she raced to its destination.
Lark walked through the streets of the run down Terra with determination. She used her robe to cover her face as she passed the stalls. She knew the pattern, and the signal. She walked a block, pulled down her hood, looked up. The man saw her face, nodded, she pulled the hood back up and continued walking. She only had an hour to go until the event started. She walked back into the better parts of the town and walked into a decent looking restaurant.
Lark pulled up a chair, couldn't read the sign, and asked for something sweet.
Lark kept looking forward even though she sensed someone sit down next to her, and continued to do so when she felt a crystal being poked into her side. It hadn't happened in a while, and it felt so cliché, but a bar brawl to stretch the limbs might be fun.
"Don't try anything."
The voice wasn't the deep idiotic tone of someone that thought she looked like easy money. In fact she knew that voice.
With a start, Lark whipped her head to see that intelligent smirk she knew very well. It was etched into her brain since she first saw it.
Stunned only for a moment, for a reason she didn't want to admit, she regained her composure.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I need an excuse to see my BFF?" Piper held up the note between two fingers.
Lark looked at the note, a beat of confusion, then of recognition. It all came rushing back to her. The time she spent with Piper, the offer she made, the failed attempt at her life, the offer she made. The proposal.
The memory of her younger self's eagerness was shameful. She had always remembered that day as the day she met an equal, the first time she was honestly defeated. She tried her best to forget how stupid she also was.
Something about it though didn't seem so stupid, especially looking at Piper now.
"Well, what are we gonna do?" Piper asked.
Piper looked at Lark, watching for those subtle movements of facial features she had taught herself to watch for. Even through the Shielding crystal everything looked like it was coming through one to one. Which made it kind of amusing to watch the blush form on Lark's face. It brought back old memories.
When Lark spoke again, it was quiet and dry. "Does this mean, you changed your mind?" Piper raised an eyebrow. "About, what I offered you?"
"No, I just felt like hanging out," Piper said.
"Oh."
Piper felt a bit of pity at hearing Lark's disappointment. She hadn't expected Cyclonis to still be holding onto what was probably only a childhood crush, puppy love. The idea that even with her status she was still holding on to her was a bit flattering though.
"What made you come out today then?" Lark asked. The waiter came by and gave them both what looked like a milkshake. "I only ordered one."
"T'son the house, you's's look cute together," the waiter said before walking off.
"You try it, tell me if it's poisoned," Lark said.
"I don't get it, this place looks run down," Cyclonis said, "If they're hurting for cash then why would they give anything away for free?"
"Finally, someone who looks at the bigger picture," Lark said with a sigh, "Do you know how many oafs I deal with on a daily basis that would have downed this the moment they got it. I swear some days I feel like lobotomizing myself."
"I'm sure the Atmos would praise you for that." Piper lowered the crystal she had at Larks side.
"I'm sure they would, I'm sure they would." Lark took a crystal out and held it to the glasses. "Not poisoned."
"Thanks for that."
"Don't mention it. So why now? Why today?" Lark asked. "After all these years of barely seeing each other, and usually during a fight, why tonight?"
"Oh, no reason. Well, nothing too important. I just wanted to get out of eating a snail," Piper said. Lark gave her a look. "It was a big one." Lark made a face of recognition and drank some of her somethingshake. "Honestly though, I found the note earlier today."
"Today?" Lark asked, "I left that note years ago. You didn't find it until today?"
"Yep."
"And you came to find me the same day."
Piper was going to answer, but the giddy smile that forced its way onto Lark's face told her to hold off on that. It was clear Lark didn't even know she was smiling, or what she looked like when she did.
Lark looked back over to Piper and saw a clock on the wall behind her. Jumping up Lark said, "We need to go."
Piper took the crystal back out and jabbed it back into Lark, "Hold on, I didn't say I was going anywhere with you."
"You said you came to hang out, well we're hanging out, do you have a cloak?"
Piper grumbled but resigned and hopped out of her seat. "Yes I have a cloak."
"You still haven't told me what you're doing here," Piper whispered as they waited in line on some steps leading underground.
"Wait till we're inside, and keep your hood up."
They reached the bottom of the stairs where a girl who looked fifteen with knuckle busters stood. Lark took off her hood and the slit on the door opened. A pair of eyes squinted at her.
"You're good, but what about her?" The eyes asked.
"She's my plus one," Lark said, "That wont be a problem."
The eyes waited a moment for the, will it, they were so used to hearing. Realizing it wasn't coming they sighed. "Only because you're a good customer." And the door opened.
Guiding the way through Lark started talking. "It's not exactly the black market, but it has a bit of overlap. The black Market is more about weapons and shiny things that the rich want. Think of this more like-"
"A flea market?" Piper asked.
"I suppose that works."
"No, look." Piper directed Larks attention over to a table that had a glass case with a fake store inside it, the glass box filled with fleas.
"I'm going to be honest, I've never seen that before," Lark said.
"So if it's not all illegal contraband, and things like, that, are sold here. What else gets sold here?"
Piper looked around as they walked through the room. She was noticing, unlike some black markets she had raided before, no one was wearing masks. Well a few were but they were just for fun, not for hiding their identity. Piper was about to take her hood off when she felt Lark's hand stop her.
"I really don't think you'll want to be seen around here," Lark said, "These people are more like, collectors."
"I can handle myself."
"That, I believe. But it'll be bad socially. If they recognize you they might try to hire you and bother you all night. They're people with deep pockets but not deep connections. They'll think if they have you around that they might move up in the world, they wont pass up the chance."
"Oh my gosh."
"What?"
Piper rushed over to a table and picked up a book. "They have a third edition Atmosian translation of the collected essays of Joseph Dietzgendorf. I thought the only surviving editions were fifth and more recent. This book is like five hundred years old!" Piper gently opened the book and leafed through the pages. Being even more gentle when she felt how stiff and fragile the pages were.
"Sorry Miss," the person behind the table said as he just as gently took the book back, eliciting a whimper from piper, "You got a good eye, but this is being saved for, oh. Here you go Lark, just like I promised."
Lark took the book out of his hands and handed it back to Piper. "Thanks for not lying about having something that old," Piper listened as Lark arranged some other deal for a book. They talked for a while until Lark pulled out a bag of something and passed it on.
When they were walking away Piper asked, "What was it you paid him with, that wasn't just coins was it?"
"No, the books he gets his hands on are worth a bit more than money can buy. He insists on rare powerful crystals," Lark said, "He's probably a bigger drain on the military power of Cyclonia than any of the Talons."
"I can understand that." Piper admired the book as they walked.
"It's still mine by the way, I paid a lot for it," Lark said, "It'll be going into my library for preservation."
"Just, let me read a little bit of it before we leave." Piper opened the book and started reading as fast as she could.
"Oh, hello," Lark said as she approached another table.
Resting front and center was a very familiar glass Matrix. Lark picked it up and tossed it twice before she was certain.
"Excuse me, where did you get this?" She asked the woman behind the table.
"Oh like that do you?" The woman asked, "A friend of mine gave it to me as a gift, I guess he thought it looked pretty, said it was dangerous for him to give it to me, that it was really special. I bet he thought he was gonna win my heart with it, but the thing is a piece of junk, I don't even know what it's supposed to be. I put it by the window and the thing damn near started a fire."
Lark raised her hand, "I think I get it, how much?"
"Take it, I don't care," the woman said as she sat down.
"It looks like it's mechanical," Piper said, prying her eyes away from the book.
Piper watched Lark think for a minute before handing her the glass.
"You can keep this, consider it a gift."
"Uh," Piper looked at the glass from a few angles, confused, "Thanks?"
"Ravess." Cyclonis called.
"Yes, my Master," Ravess said as she approached, and then bowed.
Something about the way Ravess acted told her Ravess was being honest. That she was really so frightening to her that she was inspired to bow. She always felt like she could trust Ravess more than anyone else in Cyclonia. For now.
"I want you to bring Talon Squad 72 to the courtyard, and make sure no one other squad is there," Cyclonis said.
"Yes."
"And one other thing, tell the cooks that they should prepare an extra plate for me, I plan to lock myself in the library and study for a few hours."