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She looked at her father as he stood up from the dinner table to greet them. He looked both relieved and proud of her. For a moment, he not only looked like her father, but he felt like it. She instinctively grabbed Peter's hand, and he squeezed it, comforting her as her father hugged her.

“My daughter! You return safe and victorious. Please join us. Let's have a family dinner.” Then her father turned to Peter. You too. You're basically family.”

She looked at Peter sheepishly as Hando ushered them to the table where Kastu already sat. There was an empty seat next to him. Hando seemed in a great mood, while Katsu seemed nervous.

“Ah, something is wrong. Kiko has her fiancée with her, and you sit her all alone. We have to fix this.” Hando said as he lightly snapped his fingers, and the door opened.   Diaz stood there dressed in a conservative but beautiful dress, she had clearly been styled up for the evening.

“Don’t be shy, Miss Diaz. You have absolutely nothing to fear. I am delighted to have you here. It's my son who has something to explain.”

Katsu looked at her, then at his father. “Please. I don't want anything to happen to her.” As he spoke, Amilia Diaz came over, and a servant helped her to sit, not daring to look at the father who sat at the end of the table. She was clearly worried and looked at Kiko, then at  Katsu, who put his hand over hers, staring back at his father.

Kiko looked between them, then at Peter, who just seemed confused.

“Well, this looks delicious,“ he said, and they all looked at Peter, who looked at the food. “It's definitely nothing like mums Barbeque,” Hando looked at him, then started to laugh heartily. Then he looked at Kiko.

“You made a great choice,” he said as he turned his attention to Peter before she could reply. She knew her father was going to set him up.

“Tell me, Peter, how would your dad react if he found out one of his sons had been hiding his girlfriend from the family for months?”

Peter smiled. “he would call him smart, good knows how much my sister would torment the poor girls with embarrassing questions and horrible karaoke night.  I mean, your daughter was such a champ for not escaping the house when she started to sing. Family is complicated. And sometimes we want to feel secure before we take the huge step.” He was looking at Hando as he still held Kiko’s hand.

She looked at him and had to smile, it had been the second night at his sister's and one hell of a karaoke party, but she had rarely laughed so much as that night.

“Wait, did Kiko sing?” Katsu asked, the conflict forgotten for a moment, and Peter just grinned. “Oh yeah, she sang. A lot. My poor ears haven’t recovered yet.”

“Hey, you sang too.” She teasingly hit his shoulder, then leaned into him. His arm glided around her, and she just felt safe.”

Hando looked at them and back at Katsu. “Do I have to drag out the karaoke machine now?”

Her brother looked at their father, utterly confused. Amalia didn’t seem to understand anything, but she looked at her and Peter fondly, yet was confused at what was going on. And then Hando and Katsu both slowly began to laugh.

“Oh, good, we have to sing karaoke tonight!” Kiko whispered to Peter.  He laughed,

“Oh, I have heard you sing, Kiko. You're not as bad as Peter makes you out to be,”  Amilia said, and Kiko smiled at her.

“Thank you for the support, but you’re the real star among us. “Then she looked at her brother.  “You’re in for a treat.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”  He replied and then looked at his father. “And you? Are you going to sing?”

“Oh yes, I sang a lot when I was your age. The old crew and I used an old karaoke bar as a base. I have great memories from that place.” Her father said with a smile, clearly going down memory lane.

“Is the place still around?” Peter asked, and Hando got a little sad.

“No, somebody firebombed the place. Never found out who planted that bomb, but I have my suspicions. Anyway, our vengeance was swift and hard towards the guy who ordered it.  It put us in the sights of many gangs, but the more they tried to take us out, the more we defeated them and grew stronger. In a sense, that firebomb started my climb from a small boss to the head of the table.” He said, looking at Peter. 

Kiko felt ashamed. Peter's family was farmers and law-abiding citizens, and hers was criminals and worse.

“Oh, I thought you had always been the big boss,” Peter said, and Hando looked at Kiko.

“Selling your old man as more powerful than he was?” Then he laughed as he drank a glass of beer and turned his attention back to Peter.

“I was a small boss, I ruled a small section of the city. About thirty blocks, I had an illegal smuggling port. And a small casino. That’s too small to even have a seat at the table.  The old lord was a crazy bastard. I tossed him out the window when I took over.”

“I don’t think he needed to know how you like tossing your enemies out the window,” Kiko said, clearly embarrassed.

“I think it’s important that he knows who he is dealing with. You might want to pretend we are just a crime family, but he doesn’t know what it entails. When we had our chat, we didn’t talk about these things, but he is family now,” then her father looked at Amilia. “As is you. And it's important that you know what you’re getting yourself involved in.  But you already know this. Right, dear?”

“Yes, I do!”  she replied, and Hando smiled.

“Good, then you two have my blessing.” Then he turned to Kiko. “As do you two. And you will go with him. Leave this place and find a place where our enemies won’t find you. Start a family and hopefully never need to return or need us.”

 As he spoke, Drufus got a message and came over and showed Hando a message on a pad. He looked at the pad, his smile vanished, then at his children.

“Please excuse me and enjoy the dinner. Something came up.” Then Hando stood up and left.

Kiko looked after him and then to her brother, who simply shrugged as he turned his attention to Peter. “So, Peter, I heard you are a veteran? Damn, I heard so many horrible stories about it. Do you have any good ones?”

Kiko squeezed his hand, she had forgotten to tell her brother not to speak about the war.

“Kastu, I don’t think this is a proper theme for a dinner. Let’s just eat.”

“It’s okay, people always ask.“ Peter said and then turned to her brother. “I was a pilot. I mostly did a touchdown flight. Just land, fill up the ship, and fly back to the carrier. I didn’t see much action.”

He smiled at Kiko, and she felt embarrassed and worried. She knew what he had endured, she knew those touchdown flights were often for the immediate evacuation of civilians in the middle of battle zones. And he made it sound like he had been flying a taxi, at least he had not asked about his time in those slaughterhouses, the enemy called prison camps.

“Anyway, what about you? She barely spoke of you when we were stranded.” Peter asked Katsu.

“Well, it doesn’t surprise me. After our mother died, we had an argument. The house was never the same after that. Safer but not the same.”  He replied.

“Don’t start that again. You didn’t see what I saw!” Kiko replied as she felt the anger rise. Katsue had been in his room when she saw what their father did.

“I know I didn’t, but you didn’t see what I saw either.  Your mind is fixed on that moment, but I saw the bigger picture.” He replied.

“You believe Father's story, then? That Mom tried to kill us.” She said she was getting angry, and Kastu nodded.

“Yes, I saw the bomb Kiko! Carius was the one defusing them.  The whole damn system, she had the alarm set to right before the bombs would get up. She knew you would just snooze them, but be awake enough to know what would happen. Hell, you know how Dad became the Lord of the city. Mom was helping him, all those crazy firebombs that took out other crimelords. That was Mom. Mum was a pyromaniac and a psychopath.”

“No .. she wasn’t..”

“She wasn’t? When did she join us for family dinner? Remember your ninth-year birthday? She went on a spa day with Hotaru. You cried yourself to sleep, and who sat there with you the whole night?”

“Father. Look, I .. wait, we can check this easily. Father gave me the files, and in those, it says that Mum and Hotaru were made by some cartel, and I had that checked independently. But somebody I trust.”  She replied, taking out her pad as she looked at Peter. She opened it and saw a message from Jacob Black.  The title said family ties. She took a deep breath as everybody looked at her. Peter was trying to be as supportive as he could, but it didn’t matter. The world started to swirl, and then she felt dizzy and stumbled towards the bathroom.  Dad was right, but it was worse. She barely managed to get to the toilet as it all came up. She felt somebody holding her hair and a comforting hand on her back.   

When she finished, she sank down on the floor next to Peter, then leaned into him.

“Daddy was right.. me was one of those psychopaths made by the cartels.” She started to hyperventilate. She was working for the Celaya Cartel to help them take over Sanctuary.  It makes so much more sense now. Why he is so ruthless against those bastards.  Hotaru was even his, she was my half-sister. Her father was some guy named Kay Hong.”  She didn’t know why something was breaking in her. She had been hating her father for protecting her from a psychopathic murderer.  Jacob’s file had so much more on her mum than what Dad had given her.  Then it hit her, she was the daughter of a psychopath, was she a psychopath?  She grabbed  Peter's hand so hard that her nails dug into his hand.

“No. no no .. please don’t… I’m not a psychopath, right? Please..” she looked into Peter's eyes, and she only saw worry and love.

“No, you're definitely not a psychopath. Crazy, yes. But not a psychopath.” He replied, and she stared at him.

“c..cra..crazy?” Her mind went wild. Was she crazy? Crazy how? Yeah, she was planning to kill her father. Of course, she was crazy.

“Yeah, you fell for me. I mean, you have to be crazy to fall for such an idiot as me.”  The goofball said with a smile, she rolled up on his lap and put a finger on his chest.

“You are not an idiot, you are the crazy one. You keep staying with me and even claim you want to marry me!” she said.

There was a soft cough from the door, and Drufus knocked on the door.

“Your father has returned.”

She looked at the door, then got up, straightened her clothes, and rinsed her mouth. Peter checked himself in the mirror as well and then kissed her neck.

“Okay, we are both crazy and a little stupid.”  He whispered, and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He was just too good.

“I can live with that. Let’s go and finish this family dinner.” She said.

-            Cast –

Peter Fordhall

Kiko Lee

Hando Lee: Kiko, Lee’s father, the top mafia boss of Sanctuary

Kastu Lee: Kiko’s older brother runs the family's prostitution ring.

Amalia Diaz – her best friend and secret girlfriend to her brother

Drufus-  Hando Lees right hand man.

Carius – Hando’s chief enforcers, a Shodalon

Hoshiko Lee: deceased wife of Hando, mother of Kiko, Kastu, and a pyromaniac and psychopath

Hotaru Lee: deceased half-sister of Kiko and Kastru, genetically engineered to be like her mother.

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The cold water splashed over her, and she felt the cold floor she was lying on, her hand handcuffed by a chain locked to the floor.  Around her, the Gyrran nobles stood watching her from their balcony boxes. She was on some sort of stage at the bottom of a square room, and at different levels, balcony boxes were inserted into the wall. She saw the nobles watching her with condemnation as they participated in excess pleasure of many forms. What surprised her was that she saw others here as well, guests of the nobles. All the balcony boxes had their separate entrances from the dark granite wall. The room was dark with blueish torches as the only light source. In front of her, holding a bucket of water, was an Alver slave who dropped the bucket in front of her and turned to leave.

“The traitor awakes!” a familiar voice said.  She looked around the room and spotted him. The bastard duke standing next to the Duchess Kimita Wuymsta was enjoying themselves as he looked down at her. Their large pod was only three or four meters above the ground level and lit up better than most.  The Duchess was wearing a military uniform. There was murmuring from the other pods.

“YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED HIM!” She shouted, and the Duke laughed, and the room followed for what seemed like an eternity; the room echoed the nobles' laughter. Then the duke clapped his hands, and the room fell silent.

“Your servant? Who cares about an overpaid smuggler?  He failed to deliver the gods, though he did deliver you here today. Yes... Maybe I should have rewarded him instead of killing you. Oh well. Done is done, and he was just a human anyway.” The duke replied.

She stood up and struggled against the chain. “I will kill you!” she said, as threatening as she could muster. However, as she struggled to stand, she almost fell over the bucket on her way up, and the crowd laughed. Her threat came out less threatening.

“Oh, she is amazing, you should keep her as a slave, a fool for your entertainment.  Naw. Her father is the true problem. You should just kill her and be done with it.” The duchess replied. The room found it amusing as she heard laughter echoing around the large room again. She felt so alone, and the despair started to fill her. She started to doubt herself, then she pushed it away. She had to do this for Peter. For all he had done for her.

“So you’re the bitch who was coming to audit this pathetic joke of a duke,” Kiko said while she glared at the duchess.

“Behave when you speak to your better. You, humans, think you're so much better than everybody else, yet the war was won by the Federation, not by humans. So save us from your speech. We have all heard it before. Nobody will come to save you. Your partner is dead, his crew took his ship, and left.  His mercenaries, yeah, we know of them, so eager to change sides for some coins. One of them was probably the one who pulled the trigger. Ironic, isn’t it?” Then she shook her head before continuing. “Your big plane is coming here to take my place and walk in here to kill the duke. Was pathetic, arrogant, and easily foiled. We have been monitoring you since you set foot on the planet.”

Kiko sighed and sank down on the ground. “So there was never a chance. I lost every…” she closed her eyes as two guards walked towards her. Mercenaries, by the look at it in full armor, by the way they moved, she would guess Shodalon.

“Is this it? You're just going to kill me?” She stared at them.

“Yes, I was planning to torture you to death, but now I have other matters to deal with. You’re a minor distraction.” The duke replied, and she chuckled.

“How's your hand? Did you get it replaced?” she said, glancing at the bucket, then a weak smile spread across her lips.

“What?” They were about to leave, but now they stopped and looked at her. The other nobles also looked at her.

“Wait. Don’t shoot her yet.” The two guards stopped beside her and waited for the command. Then the duke continued.

“What do you know about my would-be competition? That bastard still hides from my gaze. A coward.”

“A coward? He shot you twice, hold up your hand, and he will do it a third. Or are you afraid?” She replied calmly, she could hear the panic growing in his voice.

“So, you claim to be behind it? No! Wait, you think that bastard of your partner was behind it? Well, he is dead. His head had a big hole last time I saw him!” He was leaning both hands on the railing as he looked down at her. The room had turned eerily quiet as she spoke, as the noble’s attention was focused on the two.

She spat on the ground. “And your hand is still lowered!”

The duke looked at her and felt the stares from the other nobles in the room. Then he looked at the duchess, who stared back at him. Her bodyguard emerged from the hallway behind her and was about to whisper something to the duchess, but she stopped him.

The duke closed his eyes, slowly raised his hand, and waited.  Then he let out a relieved breath and turned to the duchess and tilted his head.  It took him a few seconds to realize what had happened. The duchess collapsed as her whole head had exploded. Then Kashun reached for his weapon only to lose his head as well.  At that moment, the whole room erupted into chaos. The duke turned to the guards and shouted, “KILL HER!” 

Kiko looked at the two as one bent down, unlocked her chain, and handed her a pistol. She immediately fired towards the duke, who barely managed to dodge and ran away, vanishing from her sight.

“Lady, please get to safety. We will deal with this room!” One of the guards said. She looked up at him and recognized the mark on his shoulder. The silver company, a rough mercenary company made up of war veterans.  

She got up and ran towards the open door as the two opened fire up towards the pods. Several other mercenaries emerged from different upper gateways and joined the fray. All dressed in the same combat suit.

As she reached the hallway, an Alv stood waiting with a small, hovering lockbox.

“He told me to give you this. He is on channel eight!”

She looked at the box and pressed the bottom to open it. It hissed open, and she grinned as she saw the red helmet. She quickly changed and put on the helmet.

“Damn, that was too close. I’m not letting him shoot me again.” Peter said, and she let out a relieved breath.

“It was your stupid Idea.” She replied as she checked her pistols, then looked at the Alv. 

“Get to safety and get everybody out of here.”  The Alver winked and nodded, then ran away.

“Now, let's find the bastard.” She told Peter.

“He is predictable. I tell you that, straight to his safe room.”  Peter tells her, and she moves down the corridor.

“Give me direction.”  She asks, and Peter starts giving her directions, and soon she turns a corner and finds another man in the same red uniform and helmet.

“There you are. How’s your head?” She asked, and Peter chuckled.

“The headache is killing me. But Carmen is a hell of a shoot.”  He replied, and she embraced him, their helmets bumped.

“Don’t do stupid things like that ever again.” She says.

“I promise. That is two things I will never do again.”  He says, and it makes her smile.

“Yes, no more getting eaten by giant snakes or being shot in the head!” She replied, and she slowly broke the embrace. ”So where is the old bastard?”

Peter points at the large metallic door down the hallway. “In there, his panic room.”

They walked towards the door and stopped outside. They looked around and saw a panel, and Peter walked over and pressed the call button.

“Hey, can you open the door? We want to talk with you.” He said, and she chuckled as they waited for a reply that didn’t come.

Peter pressed it again. “Last warning. You either open it for us or we come in.” Then he took out a remote and tossed it to her.

“Good luck in breaching this door. It's made by the best Gyrran craftsmen! You will die of old age befo…” The door hissed open as Kiko pressed the remote.

“Gyrran tech versus Nalos hacking. It's not really a competition.”  Kiko said, and Peter looked at him, with his rifle aimed at him.

“If you're going to build something that lasts, then get Ruudurs to do it.”

The Duke just looked at them in shock as they walked inside the room and closed the door. The room had huge screens showing chaos as the guards hopelessly fought against the mercenaries.

“I've got to hand it to her. She is great at making plans. The contract I made with the mercs was that they would let themselves be bought.  She knew you would try to outbid them and use them to show us we failed. But you forgot one thing. They are veterans and they really hate Caren sympathizers.  I only had to show them the evidence and  promise them they could loot your castle.” Peter said, and the Duke stared at him, then looked at Kiko and cried out before lunging at her. She jumped to the side while firing at him. Peter shot as well, and the Duke collapsed on the floor.

“That was anti-climactic.” She said as Peter helped her up.

“Yeah, I had more to say,” He replied, and she walked over to the console.

“Don’t tell me you're going to monologue. Nobody does that.” She said as she looked over the consoles and found what she was looking for, and tried to open a channel

“They do in the movies,” Peter replied, and she laughed as she looked over at him.

 He had removed his helmet and looked at her with that same goofy grin. She removed her helmet, walked over, pulled him close, and kissed him. Damn that fool.

“Who are you?” A voice said, and  Kiko turned to the screen where a middle-aged Gyrran noble was staring back at them. He was dressed as a noble. She loosened her grip on Peter and addressed the man.

“Evening, Lord. You must be Lord Fravila. My name is Kiko Lee, daughter of Hando Lee of Sanctuary, as you are well aware. The former Duke Kango Jangion has had a blood feud that was finished tonight. I have claimed his life and his fortune, but I do not claim his business. I leave that to his son.  We will leave the city tonight and let you deal with the aftermath.”

“And why should I respect this? You are human! And where is the duchess? Where is our auditor?” the man replied.

“She and her guard are dead as well, they got involved in the feud and did not just observe. I believe the punishment for that is also death? She allowed him to use her as bait to bring me to his sanctuary.  And I would like to inform you that both she and the duke were still loyal to the Caren Dominion, evidence of this has already been presented to the federation and will be sent to you. Your best bet is to follow the code and law and let us leave and never come after us again.”

 The man looked at them, looked off-screen, and then nodded.

“The royal house agrees, this feud is over. And we thank you for revealing and dealing with these traitors. We will grant you all 24 hours to leave our systems and ask you to never return.”

She looked at Peter, who nodded. “I can live with that,”

“Deal, now call off the security forces that are waiting outside the sanctuary.” She replied, and the man simply nodded and cut the feed.

--Cast--

Kango Jangion – Gyrran, Kiko’s father-in-law, Crime -Count of Kaduna prime

Harrun – male Gyrran, of the Hadynat nation of the Gyrran people, brother of Kishan

Duchess Kimita Wuymsta – elusive noble of the Gyrran noble, widow of a Navy captain, ruler of a small duchy on one of Gyrran's prime systems' moons

 Kashun – bodyguard and servant to the Duchess Kimita Wuymsta

Lord Fravila – Gyrran, represent for the Gyrran royal house

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Kiko looked out the window as the shuttle rose into the atmosphere; below, the Arctic poles slowly shrank, and then the shuttle began to dive toward the tropical zone and the planet's capital. Outside, the planet turned from white to blue and lush green, then they entered the dark side, and the colors vanished. Only a few cities were visible, as the major Gyrran cities were all located underground in vast cave systems. Last time she had been here, she had traveled to get a break from her father and get drunk in one of the many casinos. It had been one of many stops. It was here she had met her ex-husband, Mungo Jangion. For a moment, she wondered if he was involved in all of this and how he would react to her plan to kill his father. Then she pushed the thought away and tried to avoid looking at the stoic Gyrran sitting next to her. She knew it was Peter, yet looking at him now, she only saw Kashun. He played his part perfectly as the silent bodyguard and servant of the Duchess.

She would have to play this part and not show him any affection; it was killing her. Even when she was studying the Duchess, she could still lean on him. The transport flew toward the capital, a large mountain called Jasu’da f’dus, or, roughly translated, ebony trident castle. The massive mountain was formed by three dead volcanoes that had been hollowed out and turned into a megacity filled with all the desires a Gyrran would want. It was also where most other species were found.

When the ship docked in the massive hangar, she waited patiently until the pilot let her know it was time to leave. She stood up and, without looking at Peter, just waited for him to open the door and walk out first. Then she stepped outside and took a deep breath as if she were smelling the air. The hall was just as she remembered it, dark with low light and Supervisors barking orders at the alver slaves. In front of her stood the welcome committee, whose names and positions were displayed in her eyes, along with the usual greeting. She kept it safe and followed the script the AI in her mudmask provided her with. Peter followed behind.

The welcome committee was not of any importance. No Gyrran noble would humble themselves to meet another noble of equal rank as a common servant. Instead, she let them guide them to their new lodging. At one of the large hotels hanging from the inner wall of the major volcanoes. Below them, they could see the shimmering light of the city's lower level. She stopped at the door, sniffed the air before entering, and then followed the same behavior as the duchess. When they were alone, Peter spoke to her in a friendlier tone and took the time to admire the view while also scanning the room. He found several cameras and spyware; he only noted them, and she gave him a quick nod, then they watched a few episodes of Starship Nightengale while waiting to be summoned. It took longer than expected, but a servant came and brought them to the local lord, an old, fat Gyrran named Hyrma Husdion, with silvery streaks in the fur like hair. When she entered his large office, filled with alien art and a large window showing the casino floor, she paused to scent the air and then walked to the center, where he was waiting. When she was close enough, he spoke.

“Greeting Your Grace,”  as he opened both his palms to her and lowered his head.

“Greetings, Lord Hyrma, I am grateful for your hospitality.”  She said, as she, too, opened her palms, but did not lower her head.

“Thank you, Your Grace, you honor us with your presence. I know you're not much of a gambler, but I’m sure my humble domain will be suitable for you.” He replied, and she smiled at him.

“It is adequate, it is far from the worst place I have been lodged. And thank you for having my little guilty pleasure available, as for the gambling, yes. I am not much of a gambler.”

“That was my pleasure, Your grace. Perhaps I can interest you with a glass of wine? It's from the royal wineyard while we discuss the matter you brought up in your message.” As he spoke, an Alver servant came in, and Hyrma smiled at the servant.

“Thank you, Sig-gy.” He said as it sat down the wine on a table overlooking the casino floor. A table had risen from the floor with two chairs. She joined him as she studied him. Hyrma was not in her files as anything more than a baron who lost four of his five children in the war, he had sent the last one away to study in a Jobar academy.  Hyrma started talking to her as if he were selling her a trade deal within the Jobar trade hub. The deal was quite good, so he poured her a glass, then his own, and took a sip. His eyes lingered on her as he drank. She took the glass, lifted it, and put it to her lips, and an alarm immediately went off.  The drink contained Neotame, which was lethal for Gyrran. She had to smile; the wine was a little sweeter than she expected.

“Hmm, the wine is sweeter than I remember. Was it a gift or did you acquire it?”

“It's from my own private stock, Your Grace.” Then he took out a pen, pressed it against his skin, and just looked at her.

She took another sip and kept eye contact with the man who had successfully killed the Duchess, giving her a long, prolonged, and painful death. Unfortunately for him, she was human, and the only effect of the wine was to make it sweeter.

“You know it won't work right. Kashun will kill you, and we will get the antidote.”

“I don’t worry about him, my servant offered him a glass as custom is, and he took a sip too. I took the only antidote.”

“So, how long will this take?” she said as she looked over at Kashun, who was standing still; he had not drunk anything. Peter was apparently smarter than Kashun. On her eye visor, a message came up.

‘How do we play this?’

‘Play along,’ she replied,

“It will start now, and when it starts, it's already too late; your organs will shut down one by one. I will have you found in your room later with the bottle. I will add another so it will appear you were poisoned by an enemy who gave you a farewell gift.”

“Oh. No need to do that, we already have a bottle, “ she said as she took another sip, and Hyrma looked at her.

“You're very calm for somebody about to die.”

“We are all going to die one day. Tell me what I did to you to deserve this?” She asked.

“You and the nobles did this. You supported the nobles as they left the faith for this foreign religion. You cost me, my family, for what? For some bug-loving bastards. We worship the night, we never cared about the one ethnicity crap you kind spew. Surface and cave do not matter for Sud-ky; to him, we are all children of the night.

She chuckled and leaned back in her chair. “So you target me for not following your faith?”

“Your faith cost a million Gyrran lives, your war made it impossible for us to live peacefully with our neighbor. Your faith destroyed us, made us something we are not.”

Kiko looked at Peter and back at Hyrma. “We are done here, as for your gift.” She stood up and finished the glass. “I’m immune, and he never drank.”

Hyrma looked at her and then at Peter, who shrugged slightly. “Do I kill him, My Grace?”

“No, let us hold this over him.” Then she turned to him. “Tell anybody, and my full wrath will fall on you and your kin, no matter where they might hide, no night, no shadow will be safe from me. Do you understand me?”

Hyrma agreed, as he was trying to wrap his mind around it. Then they walked out of the room,

‘Why not kill him? He is a liability?’ Peter sent it to her.

‘He is also a potential ally, a wild card we can use. Can you have him checked out? Use your blue sources.’ She replied, and Peter simply gave a weak nod as they stepped into the elevators.

‘Sure, they should be able to find something, on that note. Your dad's birthday gift was delivered and is waiting for you.’ Peter replied, and she glanced out the glass window of the elevator.  The city below, for humans, was a constant night with bars and casinos to enjoy. The illusion made many want to use this place for a party.  When she was younger, she had spent time here, not knowing she was walking among a nest of vipers.

Peter looks down at the base. “It would be a shame if the whole thing erupted while we are visiting.”

“Don’t be foolish, Kashun, it's been dormant for thousands of years and will be for thousands more.” She replied, and Peter turned to her. “My apologies, my Grace. I spoke out of turn.”

‘He is watching.’ He sent, and she looked at it and hid a smile.

“Let's just get this meeting of the council done and go home. I am growing tired of the politics of short-sighted men.” She replied, and Peter nodded

“As the Grace wishes,” he replied, and she looked at the window inside the elevator. In the reflection, she saw Duchess Kimita Wuymsta and her servant, slash bodyguard Kashun,  but under that horrible face was Peter, the man who was now going into this viper's nest with her, risking it all to exact revenge.  She could not wait for this all to be over and for them to return to the planet.  To see only his face, not some hideous mask. The elevator reached the lobby and walked out. Peter followed a step behind her calmly as she almost stopped. Entering the lobby was a Gyrran she knew, Mungo Jangio, her ex-husband, who was escorted by two impressive Gyrran bodyguards, and he did not look happy as he was escorted past them. He saw her and did the formal greeting, which she returned as they passed each other.  As he passed her, he whispered one word in Japanese’s

“Machibuse,” she turned her head slightly as his bodyguards showed him to keep moving. She ignored them and walked out where a vehicle was waiting. According to her official plans, she was invited to a personal dinner with the lord of the Docks.   The driver stood by the car and let them both in before getting behind the wheel.

‘Was that your ex? What did he whisper?’  Peter asked.

‘Ambush, he recognized me immediately, be ready.’ She replied.

‘Earlier than expected, I guess his father is an impatient man.’  The vehicle made it towards the docking area, then turned off and landed near an impressive doorway, a regular Gyrran plaza. They stepped outside, and she looked around.

“Driver, I think you have taken us to the wrong destination.”

“Your grace, this is where I was instructed to drive you. Your Host is expecting you.” As he spoke, the door opened, and a grand hall came into view.  Flanked by several armed guards, she saw the man they truly were here to visit.

“Kiko, my dear, you can drop those cute masks. There is no escape from here. You can walk in on your own accord or be dragged in.”

Count Kango Jangion stood smug in the doorway, and behind him they saw Harrun in his full uniform.

“Oh, and somebody kill the pilot! We have no more need for him.”  As he finished, a shot rang out from a hidden sniper, and Peter collapsed. Kiko screamed and then everything went black.

Cast

Mungo Jangion – Gyrran, Kiko’s Gyrran ex-husband

Kango Jangion – Gyrran, Kiko’s father-in-law, Crime -Count of Kaduna prime

Harrun – male Gyrran, of the Hadynat nation of the Gyrran people, brother of Kishan

Duchess Kimita Wuymsta – elusive noble of the Gyrran noble, widow of a Navy captain, ruler of a small duchy on one of Gyrran's prime systems' moons

 Kashun – bodyguard and servant to the Duchess Kimita Wuymsta

Hyrma Husdion – Gyrran lord, casino owner

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First / Previous /

It was almost midnight before the duchess, and her servant, who had left the cave, was picked up and flown to the main hall. She was unaware that her entire trip was being filmed and that all her small gestures and behavior were being studied. As the duchess entered the main hall, she sniffed the air again and, this time, gave a weak smile. When she was introduced around the room to the various guests, she appeared pleasant, almost like a grand old lady with a good sense of humor.

Harun was introduced as a community police officer. She asked him a question that slightly shocked him, and then he smiled and feigned confusion. Peter contacted Kishan about the interaction. She explained that the duchess asked him if he was a member of the secret police; his reply was that of a member of the secret police would give in public. He thanked her, and it was clear that Kishan was also watching the feed. The duchess seemed to warm up to Harun after this, insisting he should guide them around. Throughout the dinner, the duchess seemed to keep an eye on what the duchess was eating. She was clearly a meat-eater who disliked vegetarians and made a few god-hearted jokes about it. She seemed very interested in galactic politics and ignored local stuff. She mentioned that she was on her way to a conclave where they would discuss new trade routes with the eastern part of the galaxy. She was interested in joining the human trade network but was hoping to be traded all the way to the Shodalon capital. Such a deal would connect the entire southern galaxy and, with Earth's insistence on a trade to the north, would finally unite the entire galaxy, though she was worried about rumors of a religious war in the north.

When asked about religious war, as many of the guests had bad memories of the last war and seemed to consider it too a religious war. Peter and Kiko looked at each other. This was actually interesting. For the Gyrran, the Bug war had been a religious war.

The duchess replied that a human had traveled north and started a cult; apparently, he was good for business but bad for the peace. The conversation was then turned back to the conclave, as what had happened in the north was several thousand light-years away, and all news was probably months, if not years, old.

Harrun seemed to be an expert at getting the old lady to talk, and several times tried to stop her, as if he were trying to keep certain things secret from the public. It seemed to please the duchess, and at the end of the night, the duchess invited Harrun to her lodgings in two days' time for a more private conversation.

When the duchess returned to her cave lodging, she stopped at the door and sniffed the air. It was more than just a ritual; she was sniffing for intruders as she looked at her servant and casually mentioned the cleaning ladies had been here, so some things might have been moved. Then she got ready for bed.

“So are we sleeping too?” Peter asked

‎” Let's wait a little; your target is still awake.” She replied.

“You mean Kashun? They finally found his background, ex-military intelligence. He had Harrun checked out.” Peter replied, and she looked back at him.

“What did they find out?”

“That he is from the secret police. The rebellion has people at all levels of society.” He replied, and Kiko looked at him

“You're working the Gyrran with the secret police? How do you know we are safe?” She asked, and Peter chuckled.

“Because I did that trick you taught me, he came out clean. We are safe. Everything is going as planned. You made the plan after all.”

She looked at him and took a deep breath. Was he able to follow the plan and complete each step correctly?

“Yeah, I did. Well, Piety about the Duchess, she is such a nice old lady.”

Peter yawned as he looked at the screen. “Please go to bed so I can sleep.”

About thirty minutes later, he got his wish as Kashun fell asleep.

“Finally, I’m going to take a nap, the motion alarm should wake us when we wake up. Are you coming?”

“Soon, I just want to check a few files and how she sleeps.” She replied.

Peter came over and kissed her. She lingered a little, tempted to join him, but pushed the urge away and looked back at the screen. “Just a little bit longer.”

The cup of coffee magically manifested in front of her, and she grabbed it absentmindedly as she watched the Duchess praying before she ate her breakfast.

“Did you sleep at all?” Peter asked as he sat down next to her.

“Not much, a few short naps. She speaks in her sleep, has nightmares about being attacked or losing somebody. She seems like such a nice old lady. Why did you pick her?”

“Oh, that nice old lady ran a Prison camp during the war. She belongs to the royalist faction, the last one to surrender. So for two years, she ran a camp for them. Mostly dissidents and unwanted.” Peter said as he sipped his coffee.

“That old lady? She seems so nice.”

“She is a bureaucrat; she probably never walked or saw the torture and killing she signed off on. For her, it was probably just a normal day's work. Her late husband was a pretty decent captain, and he gained the duchy as a reward for his service during the war. When he died in the battle of Plexion, she inherited the title and land, just in time to leave the prisoner camp and not be dragged down because of it,” he explained as he looked at the screen.

“And here I thought she was just a nice old lady. So now it makes more sense why your friends want us to use her.” She said, as she replayed the prayer the Duchess had muttered.

“Yeah, they will take care of the two when we move in. They need a week to secure themselves. And we only have a week to do what we need to do.” Peter said.

“Wait? What?” She looked at him. “What are they going to do?”

“Oh, I don’t know much, but they are the resistance to the nobility here. They will definitely interrogate and kill her, but I don’t know what they are actually planning. Just that you cant reveal yourself and vanish after a week.”

“So we have one week to take her place, then kill the auditor without anybody suspecting us and leave undetected?” She said, and Peter nodded.

“That was your plan. I just wanted to shoot him, remember.” He replied, and she sighed.

“Yeah, we should have gone with your plan. Naw, I’m right this way, we get the government to either reveal themselves to be in support of the remnant of the Caren Dominion or kill him for us.”

Peter looked at her, “If they protect him, we've got a new war.”

“Or your rebel friends will get a hell of a lot of help.” She replied. “I don’t think Earth wants a new war now.”

The duchess's prayer played in the background, and Peter looked at the translation. “Shitt..”

“What?” Then she turned to the screen and grabbed his hand. “What the fu…”

“ …. And give my pleasure in the death of others and the domain of the weak.

Grant me the pleasure and strength to break the unwilling,

And may your children swarm the unbelievers, destroy them, breed inside them, and eat away their piety.

May all the worlds turn to the pleasantness of your darkness and freedom to linger in the pleasure of your embrace.

Blessed Lumushta. May her return be swift.”

“Did she just pray to a Caren goddess?” Kiko asked, and Peter simply nodded.

“Oh shitt, and that’s what I have to play. Well, at least she is not into the lustful stuff.”

“Yeah, but I’m starting to have a suspicion she is into the violence stuff.” He replied worriedly, and she took a deep breath. And turned her attention back to the lady on the screen. Her mind more focused, what other important details had they missed?

By nightfall, they had picked up many of her small traits. Outwardly, she appeared as a nice old grandma, but she also performed rituals and, when contacted by her duchy’s administration, made decisions like a cold, sadistic bureaucrat. After the midday meal, she went over a list of new prisoner and rearranged their sentence to slavery or death. She seemed to take pleasure in killing those of low cast and Gyrran of other ethnic groups, using descriptive words they quickly realized were slurs with an uncomfortable ease. The difference between last night's dinner and her behavior behind closed doors was like night and day.

On the last day, they cleaned the room for the future and tested the mud masks and gloves while following the feed on the wall screens. It was early to see Peter vanish behind the mask, and for a second, she felt panic rise as he spoke to her in Kashun's creaky voice. It was only when the message came up on the eye visor that she calmed down. She didn’t know why, just seeing him vanish in front of her. She looked at the message.

‘Wow, you really look like her.’

‘So do you! I hate to say it, but we should probably start wearing them from now on.’ she replied, testing out the communication system. Writing with her eyes was not as easy as she thought it would be.

Peter sighed. “I’m going to be glad when this is over.”

Kiko chuckled; the voice that came out was in the local dialect of the Gyrran duchy of the Duchess. He even sounded like him. It was eerie.

“Well, I can tell you one thing, no sex before we are over. They can all smell it on us, and that will give us away.” She listened to her own voice; it wasn’t her voice but the duchess's.

“You take all the fun out of it.” He replied, looking at the screen as Harrun entered the cave lodging. Kashun silently greeted him; he rarely spoke. Most people at last night’s party thought he was mute. They watched and listened as they discussed the upcoming meeting, which faction she belonged to, and her view of the duke. The seriousness of the accountant that the crown had sent. The duchess seemed a little out of her comfort zone on that matter and again seemed more interested in matters involving the trade routes.

At the end, Harrun left with a parting gift, a bottle of wine from the royal winery. They thanked him, and he left.

“Tomorrow we step into their place,” Peter said, and she looked at the screen as the two looked at the wine, then opened it to share a glass of wine while watching a few more episodes of Starship Nightengale. They watched as the booth drifted into sleep halfway through the second episode. And then Harrun came in, looked at the two, and smiled, then towards one of the hidden cameras and gave a clawed thumbs up. Behind him, a crew came in and removed the two. A message popped up on the screen.

‘Get some sleep, we'll pick you up in 6 standard hours.’

Peter looked at Kiko, and she chuckled and shook her head.

“No, it's tempting, but they will smell it on us. I’ll make it up to you later. I promise.”

He walked over and embraced her. “I know. Let's get some sleep. I'll take the couch just to be safe, and we don't fall for temptation.”

Cast

Kishan – a pregnant female Gyrran, of the Hadynat nation of the Gyrran people

Harrun – male Gyrran, of the Hadynat nation of the Gyrran people, brother of Kishan

Duchess Kimita Wuymsta – elusive noble of the Gyrran noble, widow of a Navy captain, ruler of a small duchy on one of Gyrran's prime systems' moons

Kashun – bodyguard and servant to the Dutchess Kimita Wuymsta