A Tale of Arcane Space: Lost & Found

“Hold tight… god you’re beautiful, Cori. Don’t let go.”

A sudden movement in the cockpit caused GraveDancer to angle her sensors to take a closer look at the pair. The elf was stronger than he looked — he’d actually picked up his larger mate, keeping her impaled on him as he staggered down the short hallway and… yes, to the bed. Understandable. They collapsed together onto the mattress, and went right back at it, the woman’s legs scissoring around his hips as her freely flowing juices stained the sheets. Not that GraveDancer minded — it had been too long, even before her hibernation, since any of her pilots had brought anyone onboard to give her a show. By the suns, how she missed those precious moments. She dove into her memory archive, and pulled up one especially precious memory — her very first pilot, Lethiri, roaring in unison with her mate and fellow orc Gatt as he slammed his thick green cock inside her ass, their cries a celebration of love and battles to come.

Koutash had never understood GraveDancer’s needs, her lusts. He respected her as a machine of war — but didn’t think of her as a person. She was “only” an Arcane Intelligence to him, and that she thrilled to the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the TOUCH of her pilots fucking other beautiful people inside her… he was disgusted by the mere idea. His loss, the abandoning bastard. She’d even gone through the trouble to bring aboard a deeply amused artificer during their last bit of downtime before the final battle, to make for her a very special remote body — and Koutash had recoiled from it, as if she’d asked him to put his shaft inside a Beholder’s fanged maw. Again, his loss.

Hmmm. That remote body was still onboard, in stasis… she smiled to herself as she ran a quick systems check on her body, removed the stasis field, and diverted a small portion of power to clean it and start warming it up. She turned her attention back to the mystery lovers in her bed… what lovely new debauchery had they gotten up to now?

***

Enrique ran his instruments over the exposed hull around the giant golem’s huge eyes, speaking into his suit’s audio pickup. “Okay, Captain, here’s what I’ve got. The whole body is solar-reactive, but the eyes in particular are very powerful energy collectors — and emitters. That’s why the chimney was built over one of the eyes, no doubt.” He touched the hull with a gloved hand. “This thing is definitely powering up, you can feel the vibrations building — but it’s really, really slow. Which makes sense, this thing’s been running on fumes for centuries. It’s going to take some time to work out all the kinks once the batteries fill up.”

Captain Liang gave a thoughtful hum. “Should we try another solar grenade? Snowdrop, you do have some more, yes?”

Standing at the top of the chimney shaft, Snowdrop paused to check one of the clamps on the amplifier array they’d set up. “Sure, got a whole bandolier back in my quarters, back from my Vamp-Hunter days. Hell, they’re not even hard to make. Cori or Lindauriel could probably whip up a batch in… well, anyway, I’ve got more. Want me to come back and grab ’em?”

George shook his mechanical (and unsuited) head very emphatically, holding up another hand-scanner and showing its results to Enrique, who nodded. “I wouldn’t, Snowdrop. Take it from a machine — you don’t overload a battery unless you know that machine’s systems very, very well. One grenade was an acceptable risk, but two? Better to play it safe and slow than risk burning anything out by rushing it. We’re beaming down a nice steady stream of heat and photons now, much more than it was getting before.” He looked back down at the scanner’s screen. “The good news is that I was able to find very faint traces of two infra-red signatures inside this thing. It’s hard to see them, but because we’re right on top of the thing, the scanners can make them out — and they are moving. Well, one of them definitely is, it’s hard to tell with the other. One hundred percent certainty that at least one of them is alive, ninety percent on it being both.”

“Speaking of being alive,” Norrish’s voice said in their ears, “George, do you think this golem might be equipped with an Arcane Intelligence? I couldn’t find any records on that.”

George’s mechanical body gave a very natural shrug. “It’s possible, but unlikely. Arcane Intelligence crafting was still quite new back then, and very, very expensive for the time. Part of me hopes there isn’t one, in case they still have old grudges to work out, or have gone insane from isolation — we are social beings, you know. But I confess I also hope that there is one awaiting us inside — to meet a living legend, someone who actually lived through such an amazing period of history.”

The captain made a murmur of agreement. “That would be something… but are you managing all right in your body?”

“Thank you, Captain. I’m fine for now. The excitement and curiosity of the task at hand is doing a wonderful job of distracting me from the physical discomfort. But by all that one might hold holy, this old remote unit is a piece of utter shit. I can’t wait to ditch this for something with clean and uncorroded circuit-paths. I do like the Kobold look, at least.”

“Next port we get to, Omikron George, you get a new remote body, on me, even if this job turns no profit at all. I can afford it, and I had no idea it had gotten this bad. My apologies — as your captain, I should have noticed that it was a problem for you.”

“Very kind of you, sir, and I do accept and appreciate that offer. But honestly, don’t blame yourself. I don’t need to use the remote very often, but I should have made a more clear mention of the issue sooner.”

Enrique looked out over the huge cavern, now well lit with multiple lamps and the enhanced beam of sunlight. “Now we just have to find an airlock.”

***

On a whim, Lindauriel turned the faucet — and a steady stream of moderately hot water came out. “Water’s back on!”

Cori’s voice echoed from the bedroom. “Huh. I wonder if one of the bridge controls did that. Can you bring me a really warm wet washcloth?”

“Be right there.” He splashed some water on his face, wiping away the sweat he’d worked up. To his surprise, there was a set of soft clean towels hanging nearby — he hadn’t noticed them before, but chalked it up to not having really been looking too closely in here before either. He grabbed a small hand-towel, turned up the heat on the faucet a bit, and soaked the cloth all the way through, wringing it out a couple times until it was only very damp rather than soaked. He looked up at himself in the mirror — and in spite of the worry in the back of his mind about possibly being trapped in here, he still couldn’t stop smiling. Cori was… amazing.

“I know exactly what you need, pretty lady.” As he walked back into the bedroom, he took a moment to admire his new lover’s naked body. Soft in all the right places, hard and strong everywhere else, and she laid there on the edge of the giant mattress with arms and legs wide open, eager to show him every inch of herself.

“Say that again.”

“What, ‘pretty lady’?”

“Uh-huh. Been called a lot of nice things in my life, but never ‘pretty’. I like it. And what, pray tell, do I need?”

“First, my pretty lady, is this.” He laid the warm cloth over her pubic mound, and the reaction was immediate, her toes curling with relaxed pleasure.

“Read my mind, Lin. Ohhhhh, that feels perfect. You really do know how to treat a lady right. What’s the second thing?”

Without another word, he stepped over to where her head rested on its pillow, almost hanging off the bed’s side. Meeting her gaze, he lifted his shaft, newly erect again after their first mutual climax, and moved it towards her mouth.

“You remembered,” she said with a husky whisper, and opened her lips wide. He slid into her mouth, all the way in until her lips were tickled by the soft red down between his legs. They moaned together, and he put a hand on the back of her head, gently bracing her as he fucked her mouth, much more gently than the urgent pounding he’d given her elsewhere minutes before.

Rubbing the deliciously warm cloth into her freshly-fucked pussy, Cori couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this deliriously happy. She’d dropped mention of a long-held fantasy of hers a little while earlier, just to see how he’d react — and now he’d made a point of making it come true. He was so damn perfect. By the blessed Sun, he even tasted amazing, his shaft still coated with his seed and her own gushing wetness. She let herself go limp in his grasp, happily letting him use her mouth any way he liked, trusting that he wouldn’t abuse his new privileges. Not that she couldn’t handle a little rough play — but it was a precious thing to feel safe in someone else’s arms again, after so long. Dropping the used wet cloth over the side of the bed, she rubbed around her clit in lazy circles with a fingertip, closed her eyes, and let this unfamiliar feeling of pure bliss warm her from head to toe.

Lindauriel was in paradise. Or rather, his cock was in the perfect paradise of Cori’s eager mouth, gently sucking on his length as he buried it down her throat with a slow slide. None of his fantasies about this woman had ever approached anything like this — and all it had taken was a little privacy, a little emotional vulnerability on both their parts, and the looming spectre of being trapped alone together for who knew how long. He laughed to himself — he’d have to find a way to thank this giant machine. Without it, none of this would likely have ever happened.

As that thought flickered through his mind, a small movement caught his eye. The wet hand-towel that Coriolis had dropped… was floating through the air, back to the wash closet. As he watched, his hips still steadily feeding cock back and forth into Cori’s warm mouth, a dry towel floated into view, and proceeded to wipe away the water that had dripped onto the floor from that first cloth.

Whispering a quiet incantation under his breath as he caressed Cori’s soft breasts, his eyes took on a soft glow, and he looked around the room with enchanted true-sight.

GraveDancer hummed a little tune to herself as she reached out again with the simple Unseen Servant enchantment built into all the interior compartments. Now that she’d reactivated cleaning functions, it was a simple matter to leave out fresh towels for “Cori” and “Lin”, as they’d called each other in the throes of passion. She liked how considerate Lin had been afterwards, and thought it would be best to clean up the puddle of water on the floor before anyone accidentally slipped on it. She remembered all too well how slick these floors could get with a little moisture. Her second pilot Bolkoro had given himself a concussion after stepping out of the shower and onto the floor with wet feet, falling head-first into a wall. She’d always made sure to leave a fresh towel on the floor like a bath-mat after that.

ALERT! DIVINE FIRE DETECTED INSIDE COMPARTMENT!

The Arcane Intelligence immediately shifted her visual input to the lovemakers — and sure enough, the considerate elf’s eyes were aglow with a small manifestation of that energy. An enshrined priest! He was looking right at the invisible mage-construct hand moving the drying towel, and then looked unerringly right at her — or rather, the hidden lens of one of her cameras in the corner of the ceiling, the one she’d been actively using to watch their wonderful coupling. Still caressing his lover with one hand, he pointed to his eyes with the other, and then pointed to the hidden camera. His lips moved without sound, but she could read his speech with no difficulty at all: I see you.

She waited a moment, to see what he would do. He paused to indulge in a shiver of joy, as the Goblin pushed her face forward to fully engulf him, but his eyes never left the camera. His lips moved again: Show yourself. And after a moment, he added with a smile, please.

After that, he let his hand hang in the air, palm up, his eyes still quietly blazing. GraveDancer had seen enough combat priests in action to recognize that stance — if she made any hostile move, he was ready to cast. Not that she was planning any hostilities at all. Throughout all of this, Cori had continued slurping happily at his length without pause. GraveDancer smiled, and made a decision.

Her remote body stepped out of its compartment in the wall of the bridge, freshly steam-cleaned, wearing its standard modesty unitard. She’d had it built to resemble an Orcish beauty she’d seen pictures of in media broadcasts back during the war, an actress named Nakasha Naaga. The artificer had made the body as lifelike as possible. By law, it still had to have glowing golden eyes and some chrome patches along the face to mark it as an A.I.’s remote body, but in all other respects, the artificial body looked, felt, and even smelled like a young adult Orc woman. While her true Golem body was a huge and incredibly powerful machine, she enjoyed the contrast of this remote unit being somewhat small and slender. Even Sun Golems liked to feel dainty sometimes, she thought with a giggle.

As she stepped down the hallway towards the bedroom compartment, GraveDancer idly wondered if Nakasha’s legendary beauty would still be recognized five hundred years later. Koutash had certainly recognized it — but had rejected her nonetheless. She put the thought of her ex-pilot out of her mind. It was time to make… new friends. She hoped. She knocked twice on the door, and waited.

Cori’s eyes shot open. Letting his length fall from her lips, she looked up to see Lin’s eyes lightly aglow with divine fire, his gaze fixed on the wall behind her — or rather, the door that had just been knocked on. Resisting the urge to whirl around and blast first, ask questions later, she instead slowly got up onto her knees, turning to face the door. Her voice was a whisper. “Lin, do you know what’s going on?”

“Not yet. Someone’s been watching us. And cleaning up after us while we were… busy.” He raised his voice. “Won’t you come in, please?”

The door slid open — and a beautiful green woman walked inside, hands raised and open. “My apologies, I did not mean to interrupt your lovemaking,” she said. “If you wish me no harm, then I wish the same for you.”

Cori slid off the bed, and stepped closer, looking closely at the stranger’s face. “Are… you an Arcane Intelligence?”

“I am a Tanzanite-rated Arcane Intelligence, built by the Arko-Zafraelish Shipyards. You are inside my main chassis. I’m named GraveDancer… but you can just call me ‘Dancer’ or ‘Danielle’ if you like. Some of my past pilots used such nicknames.” Her face took on a faint yellow blush. “You’re both very beautiful. It was wonderful to wake up to such lovely sights and sounds.”

Lin lowered his hands. “How long have you slept?”

“Over five centuries. I imagine much has changed — but that is a very long conversation, which can wait.” She stepped forward. “May I make…” She swallowed. “…a selfish request?”

Coriolis put a hand on Lin’s shoulder. “You can ask, sure. I know if I’d been out for that long, I’d want a lot of things. Name it, we’ll see what we can do.”

GraveDancer bit her lip, a quiver of worry in her voice. “May I… may I watch some more?”

***

“Well, ain’t that a load of wyvern-turds.” Snowdrop stared at the airlock door, as if glaring at it angrily might cause it to change its mind about its stubborn inaction. “Captain, we are getting absolutely nowhere with this. Nothing we have can cut urutromium, none of us can teleport, and as far as we can tell, this door doesn’t even have any power going to it, so even if we could spoof the lock, it’s not budging.”

Enrique was kneeling down. “Hold on, I might have something here.” He jammed a slender flat-head screwdriver into a small seam that was barely visible, and pried loose a small panel. “I think I just found a powerfeed. George, what do you make of this?”

Omikron George knelt next to him, his eyes zooming in. “I think you and I could rig a crude adaptor plug. Then I could run some current from this body into it, and try to trigger a manual override. Captain, with your permission?”

“Granted, George. It’s not like I have a better idea.”

***

Lin and Cori traded surprised looks, and she broke the silence first. “That isn’t what I was expecting.”

GraveDancer bit down on her lower lip. “I’m very sorry, Please forget I asked.”

Lin stepped forward, a hand raised. “No, no, it’s okay. Really. We’re just surprised. We have a crewmate who is also an Arcane Intelligence, and he’s never expressed an interest in, well, organic sexuality.”

“I’ve been told that I’m… unusual.” She looked around at the walls. “When my first pilot brought her husband aboard to… ah, ‘anoint’ me with their lovemaking, I found their actions very…” She blushed again. “Stimulating. When I spoke to my fellow A.I.’s about it, they chided me for my, ah, perversion.”

Cori couldn’t help but giggle, walking over to her and throwing an arm around her shoulder. “Danielle, you are utterly adorable. Trust me on this, we are not going to kink-shame anyone around here, not while I’m still riding the amazing high this elf gave me with that hard hammering earlier. Being a pervert is amazing.”

“You really seemed to like what he did.”

“Danielle, Danielle, Danielle — you have no idea. Like is far too small a word.” She turned back to Lin, pleased to see a stirring between his legs. “Tell me, Lindauriel… y’ever fuck a girl in front of an audience before?”

He looked into Cori’s sultry eyes, and listened to the sound of her husky alto voice. He looked to “Danielle”, whose shimmering eyes were fixated on his nakedness, her tongue unconsciously licking her parted lips. “Oh, Cori…” He took his cock in hand, stroking it slowly to a new erection. “I told you that we got up to some wild parties in the seminary dorms. Get on the bed, let’s get this show started.”

***

“Come in, and gimme a sit-rep, Sloknar– godsdamnit, stop that saluting shit! I keep telling you, you’re just pissing me off when you do that!”

The Centaur navigator sheepishly lowered his hand. “SORRY, MISTER THURMOND, SIR! I’LL REMEMBER NOT TO DO THAT NEXT TIME, SIR!”

Dag Thurmond ran a hand through his long hair, annoyed that his reflection showed it was rapidly fading from its once-lustrous golden color to a dull grey. “Not even fucking silver, ‘course not.” He turned away from his mirror to look at Kallitrix, his pale-skinned and beautiful Cave-Elf chief engineer, who was buttoning up her blouse as she sat on the edge of his bed. “Trix, where did we get this dipshit?”

She stood up, and patted the centaur’s shoulder. “Don’t be so hard on Sloknar, Mister Thurmond. He’s ex-militia, and he’s very good with scanners and starmaps. He’s just not used to his… new occupation.”

Dag barked a laugh at that. “You feeling bad about takin’ wages from gangsters, criminals and smugglers, horsey-boy?”

“SIR NO SIR!” The youth managed to stop his hand from saluting on reflex… but only barely. Dag and Trix’s eyes met, and they shared an eyeroll. “I’M READY TO MAKE A SHITLOAD OF MONEY DOING CRIMES, SIR!” Another shared eyeroll, and Dag put his face in his hand.

“You’re killin’ me with this shit, kid. Give me the fuckin’ report already, before I have Boris chop off somethin’ memorable and shove it up your ass.”

“SIR! I’VE FOUND THE PATH THE ENDURANCE USED THROUGH THE ASTEROID CLUSTER, SIR! THEY HAVEN’T MOVED FOR SOME TIME, AND I BELIEVE WE CAN CATCH UP TO THEM IN ROUGHLY ONE HOUR! SIR!”

“Alright, now that’s some shit I like to hear. The beacon we planted on ’em still sendin’ signal?” The centaur nodded. “Alright. We should still be out of their sensor range for now, but it’s time to move in for the kill. That little dung-bug Guan’s gonna regret the day he turned his back on me and skittered off with one of my ships! Now get the fuck out of here, and tell Tamaki to haul ass down the course you plot. GO!”

Slamming the door with a snarl, he pointed at his engineer. “Get those pants off, you pasty little bitch. If I’ve got an hour to kill, I’m gonna spend it deep in a tight elf-hole.”

Obediently unhooking her belt, she bent over his desk, and moments later grunted when he rammed his oversized cock inside her. “You humans like tight little elf-holes…NNNGH… Mister Thurmond?”

“Damn right we do. You like this big knob, girlie? You damn well better, the way I fuck you with it every godsdamn day. Tell me how much you want it, Trix. Tell me you’re my little personal fuck-hole.”

Kallitrix braced herself against the table, gritting her teeth. “Your tight personal fuck-hole better be getting a huge pile of credits for this, you shit-weasel! Now fuck me hard so I can feel your wretched old cum dribbling down my leg, and let’s make a shitload of money doing some fucking crimes!”

“HAH!” The crimelord continued jackhammering his engineer, reveling in her pained grunts. “That’s right! Horsey-boy got it in one, didn’t he! LET’S DO SOME FUCKING CRIMES!”

***

“I’m so enormously horny right now, you could ask me to fuck in front of the Galactic Council, and I’d absolutely do it. You ready, Lin?”

Lindauriel was on his back, cupping Cori’s breasts as she straddled him, the tip of his erection brushing her opening.

“By the Cloak of Blades, you’re beautiful. Yes, I’m ready.” He turned to look at Danielle, who was kneeling nearby on the bed, eyes wide. “I hope we’re living up to your fantasies.”

She could only nod, completely transfixed.

“Ohhhhhh yes.” Cori lowered her hips, and let out a hiss of pleasure as she felt herself opening for Lin’s erection once again. “We are going to be doing this every day, feels so damn good.”

Danielle’s eyes got even wider. “We are? Oh thank you, thank you!”

Cori bit her lip to keep from laughing aloud. She’d only been addressing Lin, but…. “You’re welcome. So damn adorable.” She started rocking back and forth. “Hold still, handsome. I’ve got this.”

“You’re amazing, Coriolis Herikit.”

“You’re pretty damn special yourself, Lindauriel Moonblossom. I even like the way you say my name.” She leaned down, and pressed her lips to his, relishing in the taste of their first kiss…

She sat up abruptly and laughed aloud. “Oh perdition. Danielle? Honey, you want to know how perverted your new friends are? Just now — that was our first kiss.”

Lin blinked. “Oh my Goddess. It was, wasn’t it!” He laughed as well.

“Danielle, we were so damn desperate to fuck today, that we just skipped right through all the formalities and just right down to the business of Insert Tab A Into Slot B.” She playfully jabbed at Lin’s chest with a poking finger. “And how shameful are YOU, my frisky elf-man! You didn’t even buy me a drink before you rode me hard and put me away wet!” Laughing and gasping, she bent down to kiss him again, and they spent an endless moment holding each other, quietly sliding her tongue into his mouth as she ground herself down and around him.

Danielle was entranced by the sight, more beautiful than any memory-recording she had on file. She would treasure this moment forever.

Before long, Cori sat up a little and put her hands on Lin’s shoulders, a fiery grin on her lips.

Okay, here we go…” She sped up, slamming her hips into his at a rapid pace… “Damn. Fell out.” She reached behind herself, lifting up his length, and sat back down on it. “Mmmmmm, there, get back where you belong.”

“Deep inside you at all times?”

Cori flashed him another blazing grin. “Lover boy, I’m going to spend so much time in your quarters after today, fucking your brains out every waking moment, that Captain Liang’s going to dock our wages for dereliction of duty. And I won’t mind at all, because I already know you’re worth it. Mmmmmm.”

For the next few minutes, no words were said. Cori’s frenzied riding continued, while Lin caressed every inch of her bare skin that he could reach. She sped up again — “Gah! I’m so off my rhythm, I’m sorry, Lin. Let’s get you…”

She reached back to insert him inside her again — but felt another hand already holding him up for her. She looked behind — and Danielle was kneeling there, her hand around the base of Lin’s rod. “I can help,” she said, her eyes locked with Cori’s as Cori descended once more.

“…Yeah. You sure can. Hold him for me, Danielle. Give him a little squeeze for me.” She did, and Lin gasped aloud.

Cori leaned forward, nibbling on Lindauriel’s ear as she whispered to him. “I don’t think Miss GraveDancer wants to just watch anymore…how you feeling, sexy?”

“She’s stroking it… good hands… Goddess, this is fantastic…”

A million mental images flashed through Cori’s mind, and she pressed her lips to his ear once more. “I want to see you inside her. Will you fuck this gorgeous lady with me, Lin? Pretty please with pussy on top?”

Too overloaded with pleasure to speak coherently, he managed a nod, and Cori looked back over her shoulder at Danielle. “Danielle, my pretty dancer… pull him out of me nice and slow, would you please?”

“I loved the way he stretched you wide, Cori. Every time you moved and he opened you up, it was more beautiful than a sunrise.”

“Aren’t you a little poet. Do me a favor, Danielle? Suck him clean for me. I want to watch you lick every last drop of me off him before he takes my pussy again. Can you do that for me, please? I promise you, we’ll both really appreciate your help.”

Danielle looked down at the erect phallus in her hand. Cori had dismounted, kneeling on the other side of Lin, and Danielle shivered at the looks of lust on both their faces. Looks directed first to each other… and then to her. With a sudden rush of need and hunger, she unzipped her unitard, threw it behind her, and bent down to swallow Lin’s hardness. She’d seen this done plenty of times, she knew what was involved — but all the same, hearing Lin’s urgent groan of approval as her head bobbed up and down, a confirmation that she’d done it right after all — it gave her a thrill of victory. She immersed herself in this task, taking careful note of how he reacted to the way she touched, kissed, licked, and sucked him. At one point she heard his gasps suddenly muffled, and looked up to discover that Cori had now straddled his face, his tongue now eagerly lashing across her lightly furred pink folds. Cori gave Danielle a warm smile, and bent down. “You lick his balls. I’ll take over up here for a bit.” Danielle eagerly obeyed, and the room was all but silent, as the three lost themselves to their lusts and senses.

***

Working very carefully, and thanking all of creation that his envirosuit was fully insulated — especially his gloves and boots — Enrique fed the last wire into the uncovered port. “Okay. George, you’ll plug into this part here, and the adaptor should feed energy from you and into this port through these wires. It should be a controlled flow, but just in case, I put in a circuit-breaker to keep it from draining you too fast.”

“I appreciate that, Enrique. Norrish, please transmit a recharge my way, please? That should put my batteries at one-hundred-twenty percent capacity… ahhhh. Ouch. Yes. Enrique, Snowdrop, you two should stand back, just in case. Plugging in, in three… two… one…”

***

Danielle had slid up the bed, nestling herself in the crook of Lin’s left arm, watching as Cori knelt over their mutual lover’s waist, eagerly inhaling the last drops of seed from his erection. She turned to look at him, and laid a small kiss on his cheek. “How did you find me?”

He stroked Cori’s long hair as she went about her happy task. “We were trawling this system’s oort cloud, looking for a wealthy merchant’s lost platinum ‘Precious Battlements’ figurine collection — her daughter had spaced it during an argument — when Cori spotted an odd shard of metal on her scanners. It turned it to be urutromium, and a sympathetic-magic ritual traced its origins back to this asteroid.”

Danielle nodded. “My last battle against a Hegemony Purity Fleet was in the oort cloud, and I did take heavy damage at that time. It makes sense that pieces of my hull would still be out there.” She kissed him again. “Did you find the figurines?”

“Oh yes. A very well-paying job, that.”

She traced one of his nipples with a fingertip, pausing before speaking up again. “I saw that you are… sensitive about your name. May I ask why? And what would you prefer that I call you?”

Cori looked up, wiping a stray droplet from the corner of her lips. “You never did get around to explaining that bit of history, crewmate.” She drew the covers up over the three of them as she curled up against his right. “Tell us a story, lover,” the Goblin said with a warm smile.

He squeezed his two warm bedmates, resting comfortably under the thick quilt. “Lindauriel was my great-grandfather’s name, and even in his day, it was considered by Elves to be an excessively traditional and hokey name. It’s taken from the tales of Daurellia Tree-Shaper, an Elven goddess slain in the War of Dark Fires, millennia ago. Lindauriel was said to be one of her Heralds, a divine messenger.”

The nude Goblin beauty ran her fingers through his long hair. “Lin is our ship’s chaplain, Dani — so every now and then, you’ll get all sorts of little theology lessons thrown in. It’s kind of cute.”

He turned to kiss her nose. “My point is that I had a VERY Elven name… and after my family had to abandon Shepherd’s Promise to escape the Hegemony, we’d settled in the Anubis Cluster… where there were very few Elven settlements. I grew up being the only Elf child among my peers, and some of my classmates were… not kind about my being so unusual. Kids would call me ‘Lindy’ instead of Lindauriel, which I hated, chanting things like ‘Lindy-Lindy-Lindy’, ‘Pointy-Eared-Twiggy’, or ‘Lindy TreeFucker’ or whatever other cruelties they could think of.

Danielle frowned. “Arcane Intelligence tele-communities were very much like this, in my day. My unusual interests led to my being shunned. But go on, I don’t want to interrupt.” She threw an arm around him, and hugged tight.

“After awhile, I started internalizing all of it. I didn’t want to be hated for being a ‘tree-humper’ anymore, so I decided to do whatever I could to not be your typical Elf stereotype. And that meant my extremely Elvish name of ‘Lindauriel Moonblossom’ had to go.” He laughed. “So when I was fourteen, I started wearing lots of black leather, festooned with spider motifs, web-lace, chrome-plated spikes, and other things that our pale cousins, the Cave-Elves, would supposedly wear. Your typical sun-browned elf like me was boring and uncool, but Cave-Elves? Everyone knew they were dangerous, exotic, bad-ass, and there was something illicit and sexy about them. So I started walking, talking, and acting like what we all thought Cave-Elves did from media broadcasts…” He sighed. “…and I insisted that everyone call me by a new name: ‘Gothos Ebonrazor’.”

The bedroom was silent for a few seconds as the two women digested this — and then Cori started a sputtering laugh. “OH MY GODDESS.” She laughed so hard that she made a small snorting sound, which set Danielle to giggling. “That is so freaking pathetic that it wraps all the way around to being the most adorable thing I can imagine. Oh wow.” She poked gently at his ribs. “If you still have a picture of you in all that Cave-Elf poseur glory, and you let me see it, I will so make it worth your while.” She wiggled her eyebrows meaningfully.

He leaned in for a brief kiss, and then grinned. “I do, and you better believe I plan to cash that in.” He turned and kissed Danielle as well, who gave a contented moan as she squirmed happily in his arms. “I was so insistent on it, that even my parents gave up and started calling me ‘Gothos’, because I refused to answer to anything else. I even registered under that name when I joined the Seminary for the Queen of Silence — whom I originally gravitated to because I thought worshipping a Death Goddess would be KEWL, and dark, and mysterious… and help catch the eye of potential lovers.”

Danielle laughed. “Did it work?”

“In a way.” He smiled. “A lot of my fellow initiates were of a similar mindset — ‘ooo, the Queen of Silence is a DEATH Goddess, that’s wicked and scary and it freaks out my parents, so I’m gonna wear lots of dark lace and frills.'” He chuckled at the memory. “Just imagine a horde of horny young adults from all races and walks of life, used to getting sneered at by everyone around them for being ‘weird’. Now they’re suddenly surrounded by others their age, just as weird and sex-hungry as they were, who were also into the whole ‘edgy’ thing. There were so many orgies in that dorm that I’m amazed any of us ever got any studying done at all. Especially because we had an honest-to-Queen real and very edgy Cave-Elf in our midst. Kallitrix.”

Coriolis lifted up onto her elbows, her mouth agape in a wide O. “NO WAY. Dag Thurmond’s engineer? She’s gorgeous and whip-smart, I never understood why she ever signed on with that asswipe.” She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve fucked her, haven’t you.”

“Damn right I did. First night in the dorms, she and her three new best friends passed me around like a party favor.” He smiled as he remembered Kalli’s hungry gasping cries as he slid inside her that first time. “We were really close for a while, actually. She very kindly pointed out that my behavior was, at best, quite ridiculous, and that very few Cave-Elves actually acted like that. Through her, I came to a little more peace with myself about who I was, and started using ‘Lindauriel Moonblossom’ again.” He looked back to Danielle. “Or just ‘Lin’, I’m fine with that too.”

He sighed, a little sadly. “I ran into her again a few years after we graduated, and she’d joined up with Thurmond at that point, apparently making huge piles of money in the process — which is exactly what she most wanted out of life, as it turns out. She tried to recruit me for his crew — but by then, we’d both changed so much that I didn’t like what I saw in her anymore, and turned her down. The very next day, I met Captain Liang at the very same bar where Kallitrix had tried to recruit me, and that’s how I joined the crew of the Endurance instead.”

Danielle’s hands went exploring under the covers, gently stroking Lin’s cock back to life. “Do you have any endurance left for me?”

Cori and Lin’s eyes met, and they turned together to look at Danielle. “My adorable GraveDancer,” Cori said with a husky purr, “would you like to feel this man inside you?”

Without any further ado, Danielle threw the covers back, and turned over onto her hands and knees. “I want him like this. Please.” Danielle arched her back, lifting her ass into the air. “It’ll be deeper that way. I’m… I’m ready.”

Lin knelt down behind Danielle, awestruck by her physical perfection. Her hips, her legs, the plump lips between her thighs… everything about her was like a sex symbol brought to life. Some small part of him protested, noting that she was artificially crafted to look like this, that she wasn’t real flesh and blood — but when he stroked his hand gently across her back, and she shivered with goose bumps, those thoughts went immediately out the metaphorical airlock, never to return.

He was harder than he could ever recall being in his life, harder than the first time he’d slid into Cori earlier today, pinning her to the control chair with each dripping thrust.

Harder than the time that he’d nailed Kallitrix and their gorgeous seminary classmates on the very first night in the dorms, all four of them on their backs, legs wide to offer their swollen pussies to him, him fucking each of them in turn, right down the line, all of them screaming his name in unison.

Harder than the time that a nameless human woman, a total stranger, deepthroated him in that alley on Altair, the pair of them too caught up in their mutual need to fuck something, anything, that they had rushed out of that bar the instant they both realized what they needed from each other, and damn well got it in spades and cum.

Harder than the time that Delia, his childhood sweetheart, greeted him home with a hero’s welcome after his seminary graduation, offering up her impossibly tight ass to him that night in the barn.

Harder than the time that Amelie and Kindala, two of his fellow WarSaints, had “initiated” him into their order, riding his cock and his face as they pinned him to the back of a racing comet, the Crimson Flame protecting them all from the cold vacuum and amplifying his orgasm beyond what seemed possible for a mortal mind to contain.

He groaned. Danielle’s wet need called to him.

Kneeling next to him, Cori grasped Lin gently by the root. “I can’t wait to see this,” she told him, kissing along his neck. “I’m going to put you in her now. Go deep, that’s what she wants. Slide alllll the way… just like that. Fuck, YES.”

Her face buried in a pillow, Danielle GraveDancer bit down hard into the fabric. It was everything she’d dreamed of, imagined, fantasized about. Intellectually, she chided herself — “it’s just friction” — but that utterly failed to capture everything about this amazing act. The physical pleasure alone was enough to send her considerable mind a-whirl, but she found herself even more entranced with the emotional intimacy involved. She’d only just met these two, but already she felt a bond with them, a safety. The delicious feeling of Cori’s hands caressing her dangling breasts while Lin’s rod discovered new pleasure buttons inside her — it gave her a physical anchor to those emotions, and she treasured those feelings more than she could consciously express. Instead, her body reacted for her, gasping, screaming, and clenching with pleasure. That kobold artificer had done a magnificent job with this body, she thought with a smile.

As she bent down as far as she could, ramming herself back onto the elf’s rigid contours — something changed.

POWER INFLUX DETECTED!

SENSORIUM CONTACT DETECTED!

In her internal virtual-space, GraveDancer looked around. Where was that coming from?… Ah. The airlock on the side of her neck. Someone had injected an external power source, and was attempting to power up the door.

POWER RESERVES AT FORTY-FIVE PERCENT AND RAPIDLY RISING.

Well, every little erg helped. But what was this other presence she felt? Was that…?

“Goodness! Quite the roomy mainframe in here!” A portal swirled open inside her private virtual-space, and a golden image of a Kobold flew inside through that window, looking around with interest. “Now where are those door controls…OH!”

The new arrival turned, and came face to face with GraveDancer’s full persona, in her place of greatest power — her own mind. The virtual Sun Golem bent down to peer at this tiny intruder. “What’s the expression? Oh yes. You could’ve at least bought me dinner first, before you slid your hand into my pants.”

Omikron George looked up… and up… and stared in awe. “They clearly don’t make us like they used to. You are… amazing to behold.”

“Why thank you.” GraveDancer was all around him, inspecting George from every possible angle. She casually placed a giant hand over the gateway the smaller A.I. had created for himself as an entry point, and the unspoken message was clear: there was absolutely no escape for him, should she take issue with his intrusion. “You have a very orderly structure. Quite cute, actually. But before anything else, tell me your name — and why you’re here.” Her tone was polite — for now.

He managed what he hoped was a friendly grin rather than a rictus of suppressed terror. “My designation is Omikron, but I’ve chosen the name ‘George’ for myself.” He materialized a wide-brimmed hat, and made a flashy bow with it. “Do… do I have the honor of addressing the most unique and singular GraveDancer?”

She reached up, and with a giant hand, flicked the hat off his head, which vanished into the virtual void. “You do. But you haven’t answered my other question yet.”

“Quite true, my apologies.” George cleared his throat nervously. “We believe that two of my crewmates were teleported inside you, and we haven’t been able to contact them by audio. We were hoping to open one of your hatchways just now, in order to make sure they were safe and well. One is named Coriolis, a Goblin lady and our first mate, the other is our chaplain, a friendly Elven fellow named Lindauriel. Are they here?”

George was rather surprised to discover what a giant Sun Golem’s face would look like if it blushed. “I can tell you with perfect assurance,” she said with a mischievous grin, “that both of them are inside me right now, and they’re both doing very, very well.” She smiled again — and now George was even more surprised to learn that Sun Golems… had dimples. Attractive ones.

GraveDancer was very grateful for having more than enough processing power to multitask. As she watched herself being lovingly violated by her two newest and dearest friends, as well as feeling the delicious sensations of Cori’s fingers deep between her legs, she laughed at another precious memory. That artificer’s bemused face, all those centuries ago, when she explained that she not only wanted an anatomically accurate vagina for her custom body — but a second opening there as well, even though she had no need to eat or excrete. She remembered well how her first pilot had enjoyed such anal dalliances, and was so glad that Lin had no reservations at all about making that centuries-old fantasy come true. So. Very. Glad.

She turned back to George. “They’ve had a rather long day, and are currently relaxing in my stateroom. I’d rather not disturb them right now — do I have you to think for the increased flow of solar energy? I was able to initiate some much-needed repairs, thanks to that. VERY kind of you.”

George smiled. “We’re so very glad for all of that, great lady, and we have more energy to spare, should you need it. However, my captain will be greatly relieved if I can see our crewmates directly. You know how officers can be, I’m sure.”

She laughed at that. “I suppose I do. Well, I can understand that you’ll be wanting to see your friends again.” GraveDancer took a moment to focus on Cori, who was shifting position… ohhh, she could oblige that, most certainly. “Do come inside. I’ll power up that airlock with the energy you’ve given me, it should only take a moment. Oh, and since we’re all becoming friends now, do call me Danielle.” She removed her hand from George’s impromptu entry point. “Next time you want inside me? Just knock, and I’ll be waiting.” She flashed her fellow Arcane Intelligence a wink, and he sped out back to his own body, an intrigued and thoughtful look on his face.

Danielle looked up from Cori’s delicious and dripping folds, enjoying the craftsmanship of her own tongue, and the moans Cori was making as a result of Danielle’s amateur efforts. Eyeing the passageway that led to the airlock while Lin made another gasping thrust deep into her ass — well lubed with Cori’s ample juices — she thought about her options. Should she warn her lovers that their friends had arrived? She grinned, diving face-first back into Cori’s crotch. No, perhaps not. This should be fun….

***

“…Aaaand they’re inside, Captain. And as expected, audio cut off immediately.”

“Thank you, Norrish. It sounded from what George said that the Intelligence seemed cooperative and friendly. I look forward to meeting her.”

Norrish chuckled to himself. “George and a Golem, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g…” He looked up. “Do Arcane Intelligences even have sex drives? Probably right alongside their hard drives, heh.”

Captain Liang snorted. “You’re the bard of our age, Norrish. To be honest, I have no idea. George has never brought the subject up. For all I know, Arcane Intelligences derive sexual satisfaction from a rousing game of tic-tac-toe.”

***

“Uhhhh… hi, guys!” Lindauriel managed an awkward smile and had paused mid-thrust, but that hadn’t stopped Danielle from taking it upon herself to keep things moving on her own, thrusting backwards onto his rod as she continued tongue-lashing the speechless Coriolis.

Enrique’s face was as red as the Crimson Flame, his eyes as wide as the Endurance’s railgun barrel.

Snowdrop was losing a battle to resist laughing her Draconian ass off, fist pounding on the wall as little snorts and chortles fought their way out of her fanged snout.

George looked over Danielle’s remote body with professional interest. “Magnificent work. Custom job?

Danielle smiled, her cheeks and teeth glistening with wet Goblin arousal. “And worth every copper I paid for it.”

Snowdrop promptly lost it, howling with laughter as she retreated back down the hallway. “MAMMALS! I cloking swear…”

With a bit of careful maneuvering, Danielle disengaged and climbed out of the bed, as two wet washcloths floated out of the wash closet and hovered in front of Lin and Cori. “My apologies, you two. I thought it might be fun to let them walk in on us. Too much?”

Cleaning off his descending length, Lin couldn’t help but chuckle. “You are wonderfully dangerous, Danielle.”

Cori was already pulling on her unitard, thoughtfully handed to her by George. “You going to be okay, Enrique?”

The youthful human managed a slow nod. “Yeah. Gonna be unpacking this for a few days, though.” He shook himself, as if waking up from a trance. “I feel kinda bad for George, though. He meets a new A.I. friend, and she’s already hooked up with someone else.”

“I’m right here, you little goof.” George punched Enrique’s arm, though not very hard. “Not the same thing at all, for Arcane Intelligences.” He gave Danielle an exaggerated wink. “Besides, there’s plenty that I can do that a plain old organic lover can never match. Fractal poetry, stim-file sharing, direct video uploads of kittens…” The two remote bodies shared a smile and a laugh. “Flesh sex-play’s not my personal thing, but who am I to judge?”

Danielle slipped her own modesty-unitard back on, aided by the room’s unseen-servant system. “So glad to hear that A.I. culture has progressed on that front over the last five centuries.”

Cori paused to pull Lin into a brief kiss before turning back to George and Enrique. “Okay, playtime’s over. Status report?”

Enrique snapped off a salute, drawing a gentle elbow in his ribs from George. “Audio comms went down the instant we stepped inside this. Norrish and the Captain are back on the ship, trying not to be too worried about you.”

As Cori and the others talked, Danielle focused her awareness inward. REPAIR STATUS?

Her “sidekick” interface responded. MAIN REACTOR REASSEMBLY WILL BE COMPLETE IN THIRTY-SIX MINUTES.

Looking over her virtual status board, Danielle noticed that her Detection Countermeasures were still enabled. She turned to face Cori. “My apologies, I didn’t realize I was blocking your comms. I’ll disable my jamming.” In her virtual space, she flipped a switch on her status board, and several audio units in the room started shouting at once.

“…orge? Snow? ANYONE? You need to grab a shuttle and get back here NOW! This is Norrish! Can you hear me? Enrique? We’ve got Dag Fucking Thurmond on an intercept course! PLEASE FUCKING RESPOND!”

Cori grabbed at her ear, pulling up her zipper. “Norrish, it’s Cori! We’re here, we’re all okay!”

“No we are fucking not! The ‘Diamond Ramrod’ is less than fifteen minutes out, heading right for us! We need all hands back on deck, right now!”

Danielle touched Lin’s wrist as he picked up his enviro-suit. “Ramrod?”

He squeezed her hand. “It’s a very big, very nasty ship, run by that guy I mentioned named Dag Thurmond — who wants us all dead.” He blinked. “Wait… Danielle, do you have any combat capability at all right now?”

She shook her head. “Main reactor’s still down — the arcane flywheel is undergoing heavy nano-reconstruction as we speak, and I can’t unfuse the asteroid shell to get out without it. Even if I had the reactor back up in time, my main chassis is nowhere near combat-ready. But I’m sending this remote body with you back to your ship, it can handle a fight rather well, and every pair of hands counts, right? Gather everyone close, I’ve still got plenty of teleport-charges left.”

Cori yelled down the hall. “SNOWDROP! GET YOUR TAIL BACK HERE! WE’RE ‘PORTING OUT! Dani, our ship is half a kilometer directly above the shell, and there’s a big open cargo hold in the back. Can you reach that?”

Danielle smirked. “Absolutely.” With a snap of her fingers, everyone onboard the Sun Golem blinked out of reality, and then reappeared inside the Endurance’s cargo hold, wobbling slightly from teleport-vertigo, but heading to the bridge at top speed.

Enrique practically jumped into the engineering station’s chair, while Coriolis took her usual seat at the Sensors station. Lindauriel sat at Communications, giving Captain Liang a nod. “Sir, we have a… guest.”

As both the captain and Norrish turned in their seats, Norrish let out a low whistle of appreciation. “Lady, if I didn’t know you were an A.I., I would’ve sworn you were from the bloodline of Nakasha Naaga herself. The Orcish look suits you.” George walked past them, guiding his remote into a wall compartment and shutting it down.

As Snowdrop folded out chairs from the wall for Danielle and herself, Liang turned to face his guest. The Tientang captain inclined his head in greeting. “Please excuse my helmsman, GraveDancer — and welcome aboard the Endurance. I have a million questions for you, but I’m afraid they’ll have to wait until the inevitable shooting stops. Cori, what’s the status on Thurmond?”

Already bent over her multiple readouts, Cori blinked in surprise. “Captain, the Ramrod’s accelerating at extremely unsafe speeds! They’re taking multiple asteroid hits to their shield — speed still climbing! They’ll be in firing range in… three minutes! If they don’t get their fool asses killed ramming a rock face-first, that is.”

Lin’s eyes went wide as his console lit up. “Captain — we’re being hailed by the Ramrod… on an Emergency Distress channel? The fuck?”

“Put it on-screen, chaplain.”

The front monitor was suddenly filled with the face of Kallitrix, visibly sweating and shaking. “Endurance, this is the Diamond Ramrod. Under most circumstances, Mister Thurmond would be threatening you right now — but he’s…”

“STOP YAPPING, ELF!” Kallitrix was suddenly shoved aside, and the screen filled with Dag Thurmond’s pitted and worn face, his eyes wide with panic. “MOTHERFUCKING GNOMES, YOU SHITBUG! There’s the biggest godsdamned DreamNought I’ve ever seen, right on our asshole! I might want the ship you stole from me back, and I might want you fucking dead — but NO ONE deserves to get mutilated by Gnomes, not even your clickety-clackety ass, so fire up your engines and get the fuck out of here before they catch any of us! THURMOND OUT! TAMAKI, I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO TAKE THE ARCANE DRIVE TO TWO HUNDRED PERCENT, YOU FUCKFACE!”

The video feed cut out, and the bridge was silent with shock, until the captain’s voice rang out. “Cori! Get a fix on that DreamNought! Norrish, find us a route out of this belt! Lin, send a broad-spectrum distress alert system-wide! George, bring all weapons on-line!”

As the crew mobilized, a stunned Danielle turned to Snowdrop and whispered. “Gnomes? I thought they were just smaller cousins and allies to the Elves, with a talent for illusions and other mind-tricks?”

Snowdrop shook her white-scaled head in a very emphatic negative. “Short version: seventy years or so ago, a mind-plague swept through ’em like a tidal wave. They’re all a swarm of insane genocidal psychic berzerkers now. They think that the galaxy is a sleeping living thing, and we’re all just a bad dream that needs to be wiped out so that the galaxy can ‘wake up’. We’re in deep shit.”

“DREAMNOUGHT INCOMING! THIRTY SECONDS TO FIRING RANGE!”

“Lin!” The captain gestured urgently. “Psychic shielding on all of us! Now!”

The elf had already been partway through a chant. “…Let our minds blaze free from corruption, Let our thoughts be our own, Let those who violate be burned to ash!” With an outswept hand, silver left swept the bridge, and everyone’s brow was encased in a circlet of divine fire. “All organic minds shielded, Captain.”

“Excellent. GraveDancer, my apologies, but we’ll come back for your main body as soon as we can. Norrish, get us out of here before–”

HOLD STILL, FIGMENTS. The broadcast flooded over the entire asteroid belt, reverberating through the ship’s hull and leaving a painful echo in everyone’s ears.

“FUCK!” Norrish slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair. “Telekinetic force-cage just went up from the Gnomes, Captain. One light-minute radius.” The screen shifted, and a display went up showing the Endurance, GraveDancer’s dormant form in its asteroid shell, the approaching DreamNought, and off to one side, the Diamond Ramrod, all now encased in an enclosed sphere of space. “We don’t have anything that can break that wall, sir. I’m sorry.”

Cori’s hands flew across her control “DreamNought’s training weapons on us, Captain! On GraveDancer and the Ramrod as well!”

Lin gritted his teeth. “Sir… the Gnomish ship is hailing us. Audio only.”

“George — just in case, I want you to put our self-destruct on stand-by. I will not let us be taken alive. Acknowledge.”

“Acknowledged, sir. It’s been an honor.”

“…Put it on, chaplain.”

FIGMENTS, the speakers wailed. YOU HAVE BROUGHT SOMETHING OLD BACK INTO THE DREAM, A RELIC FROM BEFORE OUR GREAT REVELATION. A MIND THAT DREAMS, BUT HAS NO FLESH FOR US TO PUNISH. FOR THIS, YOU WILL BE PUNISHED BEFORE YOU ARE ERASED FROM THE DREAM. THE GRAVEDANCER MUST BE ERASED FIRST, BUT BE PATIENT — WE WILL ATTEND TO YOU SHORTLY. EAGERLY. HELLO, FIGMENTS.

As the transmission ended, Lin felt the pit of his stomach go cold. All around him, he saw the faces of his friends tremble with fear, horror, and anger. As if in slow motion, he felt himself stand up, turning towards the captain, hand reaching out…

…Wait. That wasn’t his imagination. The world was slowing down. As he watched, the Captain’s mandibles froze mid-motion as he called out another order to Enrique… and the world was completely still and silent.

There was a flutter, and a raven landed on the railing near the captain. It turned to look at Lindauriel, and its eyes were pools of silver fire. “In the name of our beloved Queen Of Silence, I would have a moment of your time, Reverend Lindauriel Moonblossom.” The bird looked him over, as if to confirm what it saw. “Enshrined Priest. Chaplain. Messenger. Newly beloved. And WarSaint.” It nodded in satisfaction. “Know me as Y’shalnacht, herald of Silence.”

Lin bowed his head in respect. “Blessings upon you and our Queen, honored herald.”

“I bring ill tidings, mortal. There are events unfolding, and the Queen requires your aid. You are the right one, at the right place, and your actions will save many lives — but know now that you may well suffer for what must be done. We offer our deepest apologies.”

“Why? Why must he suffer?”

Lindauriel and the holy raven turned, and Danielle stood there, her remote body shaking with anger, her golden eyes blazing.

Y’shalnacht’s wings fluttered. “Most interesting. This one stands outside of fate. Heed our words, Danielle GraveDancer, if you stand with the Queen’s priest.” He turned back to Lindauriel. “Aboard that dark ship, nine Gnomes are held captive. They have somehow avoided, resisted, the mind-plague that has consumed their once-joyous people. The nine unknowingly hold within themselves the first step towards the redemption of their people. It will not be long before their captivity becomes torture and execution. They must be protected before the plague-touched destroy them in body and spirit. Reverend, your Goddess-given task is to board that ship and rescue those innocents. I say this with a heavy heart, but the survival of those nine must come before all else — including your friends, loved ones, and even yourself. If the nine die, the galaxy could very well fall into an eternity of pain and destruction that will never end, enveloped by this unnatural plague of insanity.”

Lin felt his throat close, and he barely managed a nervous swallow. “I hear your words, honored herald. The will of the Goddess is understood. I’ll… I’ll find a way.”

“A moment, little bird.” Priest and ageless Spirit turned, and Danielle held up a hand. “You called him WarSaint. I know well what that means — My true body was built to be able to fight one, if needed. If he tries to board that ship, clad in his full power, that unleashed Crimson Flame will destroy the ship utterly and all within, and those innocents will die. And if he boards without said power, the Gnomes will swarm and kill him where he stands. So I ask you, herald — is your Priest permitted to… delegate? I won’t let him stand alone.”

Lin blinked… and Y’shalnacht opened his beak and laughed. “Indeed. No one is alone. So long as the task is done, the methods — and the one doing the task — matter not. Your friend is clever, Moonblossom. And what do you propose, being of gem and thought?”

“You’ve stopped time to bring us this message. Bring Coriolis and Snowdrop into this hidden moment with us. I’ll need them.”

The spirit laughed once more. “Done. But hurry, Golem. I cannot hold this frozen time forever.”

With a lurch, suddenly Cori and Snowdrop were standing next to Danielle, blinking in shock at no longer sitting where they’d been — and Danielle grabbed both their wrists. “There’s no time, so listen. Lin’s just been informed by a divine messenger that there are nine sane Gnomes in that ship, and the galaxy needs them alive. We’re going in after them, right now. Get your weapons and armor. MOVE!”

The two warriors looked in surprise at the divine presence before them — and with a nod, they both ran down the hallway to the ship’s armory.

Danielle turned to Lin. “Your job, WarSaint, is to break through that behemoth ship’s shields, so I can teleport us in. After that, you hold the line. Protect the Endurance and the Ramrod. Disable the DreamNought’s weapons if you can. Just be careful not to fry the lower spinward decks, where the prisoners are… how did I know that?”

The raven flew from the railing and settled on Lin’s shoulder. “I placed that knowledge there, and in your two chosen warriors. Reverend Lindauriel Moonblossom, are you prepared to face this task, for the sake of all who live and will come to live in times beyond?”

Overcome with more emotions than he knew how to describe, Lindauriel dropped to one knee, one fist pressed into the steel deck, and once more recited the Queen of Silence’s most holy prayer:

“‘You Are Not Alone.’

Blessings upon and blessings from,

Youngest of Gods and yet Most Ancient

Coldest and yet most Kind

Silent in all things save for our final moment,

‘You Are Not Alone.’

Mother of Winter, Third Sister of Three

All things end, but let it be with mercy

All things die, but let it be without pain.

All things change,

All things strive.

We revere you and your wonders,

We kneel at the hem of your cloak of blades,

We pray for the light of your divine fire,

To cleanse the dead, to give rest to the weary,

To warm the living, to banish the darkness.

But in that final darkness,

May the souls of the newly dead

Hear thy voice:

‘You Are Not Alone.'”

Y’shalnacht patted the back of Lin’s head with a wing. “It is good that you understand. These are not mere words to you. The cycle of life and death must continue. It is greater than all things, greater than even the Goddess herself who guards it — and greater than you, who acts as her instrument. The mind-plague-touched must not be allowed to destroy all that is. You are not alone, my priest — and never have been. It is time.”

The spirit faded from view — and suddenly the sound and fury of the world in motion returned. Captain Liang looked around in confusion — “What just happened? Cori, Snow, where are you…?”

Lin clasped his captain’s shoulder. “Sir. I’m going out there to engage the DreamNought. Cori and Snowdrop are going with Danielle into that for a rescue. Danielle will explain.” Without waiting for an answer, Lin grabbed an audio-comms-bud from his station, planted it in one ear, and bolted down the hall towards the airlock. Behind him, he heard the captain calling out orders to target the DreamNought. He didn’t dare stop to look back — it would have been impossible to say goodbye.

As he ran, he felt small talons settle onto his shoulder once more. “Honored Herald?” He took the corner at speed, nearly sliding along the deck, and continued his run to the airlock.

Y’shalnacht’s chuckling voice echoed through his very soul. “I’ve decided not to leave just yet, my priest. I am not permitted to act further upon the physical world, nor have I the ability. But I have free will, and I wish to witness the work of a WarSaint’s Crimson Flame. May I stay, and offer my counsel and words?”

“You may, and I thank you.” Lindauriel Moonblossom opened the airlock’s first door, and stepped inside. With a moment’s concentration, his body was sheathed in silver fire… and a red light began to glow in the depths of that flame. He wore nothing but his black unitard, with no weapons at his hip save for the signal flare gun and the dagger given to him by his teacher. He drew the latter, tracing one finger rapidly along its intricate runes. “Honored Gathor,” he said aloud, “If anyone is able — I could use a hand — or ten. Gnomes are attacking the asteroid belt of the Zelefon system. Please know that I act to protect the innocent.” The runes glowed red, and he sheathed the knife back on his hip.

Y’shalnacht looked down at the knife in interest. “Do you think they will join your fight?”

Lin slapped at the airlock’s release timer button, which began counting down. “I doubt anyone’s close enough to get here quickly, but you never know.” He took a deep breath of clean ship’s air, trying not to think that it might be his last memory within this treasured home under the stars. A home that he’d only just found six months ago. “As you said — it’s time.”

The timer reached zero, the airlock opened — and Lindauriel shot out into space, a comet of brilliant blazing silver.

The DreamNought loomed before him as he rocketed forward, their considerable weaponry already firing on the rocks that encased GraveDancer’s dormant form, blasting away at the dense layers of molecular-fused rock that protected it — and vaporizing one of the Endurance’s two shuttles that had been anchored there. He could see the rippling sky-blue haze of the thick shields that surrounded the massive ship — he had to destroy that barrier, else his friends would have no way inside. It was time to get to work.

With arms out wide, he closed his eyes as his inner self opened, and the Crimson Flame rushed down his arms as a shot from the giant enemy passed less than five meters away from him — followed by another near-miss — and another. Lindauriel opened his eyes, and more ruby light erupted from them, intertwining with the silver divine fire of his chosen faith. He looked up, and saw the DreamNought before him, raining down death. Mystic force-lance shots. Plasma torpedoes. Telekinetic burst-pockets. Sweeping laser arrays. A deadly assortment of what this galaxy’s alchemy of magic and science had devised as killing weapons poured out of that giant cathedral of insanity — towards him, towards GraveDancer, towards the Endurance, and towards the Diamond Ramrod. Lindauriel was ready. For years, he’d been trained to constrain the power he’d been granted, but now, it was time to open those locks, put away the chains, and unleash what lay within.

He spoke aloud, his words echoing through space, the Creed Of Tlaketh resounding through the hulls of all three ships, and the ears of all present:

Fear not the tyrant’s raging call

Fear not the wrath of hate

Fear not, for hope will never fall

WITH CRIMSON FLAME, I GUIDE MY FATE!

The light flared — blinding all — and when it faded, Lindauriel Moonblossom was flying even faster towards the DreamNought, the silver and red flames coalesced into a cloak that encased his shoulders and back — a cloak of blades, the symbol of the Queen of Silence. With a roar, his hands swept out — and daggers of fire erupted from his cloak in a storm of perfect precision, slicing out and destroying every projectile the Gnomish ship had launched, deflecting every beam, detonating every torpedo. Once again, the darkness of space was filled with a blinding red light as the Crimson Flame did its incomparable work.

***

“DAMAGE REPORT!” Dag Thurmond’s voice was hoarse, rubbing spots out of his eyes as the light died down.

His helmsman Tamaki’s eyes were wide with shock. “…None, sir! The Gnomish attacks heading our way — they were all destroyed or deflected!”

“By what? The Endurance? They don’t have that kind of firepower!”

Kallitrix narrowed her eyes, and with a flick of her wrist, the main display zoomed in on the face of a solitary figure hurtling through the void, sheathed in a blazing red and silver aura in the shape of a bladed cloak. “No. But it appears that their new chaplain… does.” She reached up to touch the pendant around her neck, an image of a hooded woman, wearing a cloak made of endless daggers, and she shook her head with a wry smile. “So Lindauriel Moonblossom is a WarSaint. Everyone knew at the seminary that you were destined for big things, pretty-boy… but this is fucking ridiculous.”

As if sensing Kalli’s scrutiny, The WarSaint turned to face the Ramrod, and on their main monitor, he greeted them with a little wave. He then reached out towards the two smaller ships, his hands shining bright, and both craft were enveloped by red fire. With another nod, the WarSaint blasted forward anew, heading right for the DreamNought.

Havok, the ramrod’s green-scaled Draconian tactical officer, suddenly called out in surprise. “Mister Thurmond! Shields are reading at… this can’t be right… five hundred percent capacity!”

Dag Thurmond sat back in his command chair, scratching at his cheek. “Huh. Trix, remind me to buy that elf a beer, next time I see him. ALRIGHT, YA SHIT-LICKERS! Havok, find every visible gunport on that big bastard, and blow it up! Boris, you’re on incoming point-defense! Tamaki, take us in hot, evasive pattern forty! Everybody else… LET’S KILL SOME GNOMES!”

***

Norrish’s jaw dropped. “That sneaky smiling fucker! A WarSaint! Cap, did you know about this?”

“I did. He had his reasons for secrecy, and I respected them. We owe him our lives, everyone.”

George’s voice came over the speakers. “Shields have been reinforced by Lindauriel’s flame, captain. Weapons are hot, and both Lin and the Ramrod just rushed into close range with the Gnomish vessel. Orders?”

Cori emerged from the hall, now fully armed and armored, with Snowdrop right at her heels. “Are the Gnomes’ shields down yet?” She handed Danielle one of her spare combat suits, a pair of daggers, and a small autofire pistol.

Dani frowned as she slipped on the armored garment, the dimensions reconfiguring themselves automatically to fit her smaller frame. “Not yet — he’s just started his attack run, and I’m ready to get us in the very instant those shields drop.” She holstered the daggers on her belt, and scanned the pistol, immediately analyzing its mechanisms. She nodded in satisfaction.

Captain Liang hit a switch, and a targeting array materialized before him, his lower arms poised over his console. “George — watch for incoming shots! I’ll support Lindauriel with cover fire! Mister Norrish! TAKE US IN!”

The orc helmsman gave a whooping shout, his eyes wide with almost giddy delight as he slammed the control sticks, the Endurance leaping forward with all engines firing. “SING IT, KIDS! SO, LET’S MAKE THE MOST OF THIS BEAUTIFUL NIGHT!”

With a laugh the captain raised his voice in song, firing off a salvo of plasma torpedoes. “AS WE STAND TOGETHER, WITH UNITY’S MIGHT!”

A wave of Gnomish projectiles flew in, and George expertly blew them away, the Endurance racing through the expanding firecloud as Norrish put the ship into a rolling spin, all voices on the bridge joined in: “WON’T YOU BE MINE, COULD YOU BE MINE…”

On the screen ahead, a single force-lance made it through George’s point-defense, but pinged harmlessly off the crimson-reinforced shields, drawing a whoop of joy from Norrish as the crew finished in unison, “WON’T YOU BE MY COMRADE?”

***

“Your crewmates have joined the fray.”

Lindauriel didn’t spare a glance, concentrating on deflecting or dodging incoming fire, spinning and weaving between an endless wave of speeding death as he closed the gap to the DreamNought. “Damnit, they’re supposed to wait for an opening!”

Y’shalnacht watched with interest from his perch on the WarSaint’s shoulder. “I imagine they’re trying to draw fire, to give you a chance to create that opening. I suggest haste, your aid to their defenses won’t last forever.”

“I’m–” With a grunt, Lin spun to one side, barely dodging a sweep-laser. “I’m well aware of that!” To his other side, he was shocked to see the Diamond Ramrod blasting forward as well, firing off wave after wave of destruction… and indeed, the DreamNought’s attention seemed to turn towards the two attacking ships, the wall of incoming fire around the WarSaint suddenly thinning considerably. With a cry of triumph, he poured everything into forward momentum, and the cloak of blades spread wide, like a pair of fiery wings. “Okay, let’s make this count.” At his command, a swarm of crimson flame-blades shot forward from his cloak, striking the Gnomish shields like an endless hailstorm. Those shields visibly buckled under the onslaught, and he drew one arm back. As the wall of energy approached at unthinkable speed, he saw Cori’s and Danielle’s faces, both quietly smiling as they held him and each other in blissful peace. His eyes blazed, and just as he reached the shield, his closed fist shot forward. “I AM NOT ALONE!”

Across the entire length of the gargantuan ship, the shell of protective energy formed a web of crimson cracks, rushing from tip to bow of the ship in an instant — and then the entire shield shattered like glass.

***

Danielle looked up. “He did it! We’re going in!” Snowdrop and Coriolis each took hold of her shoulders, and with a millisecond’s scan and computation, Danielle teleported herself and her two comrades into the lower decks of the giant ship.

The teleport-vertigo lasted only a moment. The stench inside the Gnomish ship seemed to last forever. Danielle overrode her olfactory sensors into an urgent shutdown, and Cori immediately activated the bio-weapons filters on her battle armor. Snowdrop’s nostrils flared wide… and her eyes narrowed as she lifted her rotary shard-cannon. “Ohhh, I want to kill these short maniacs even more now. You don’t want to know what they’ve been doing here.”

The floors were slick. Misshapen lumps of discarded flesh and organs were scattered across the floor, in various states of decay. And on the far side of the chamber, two gnomes looked up from their work — the exposed ribcage of an adult Dwarf, mounted on the far wall like a trophy, the stumps of his limbs spread wide and nailed to the wall like a butterfly on display. He looked up as well, his one remaining eye shaking with unspeakable pain. “END ME! PLEASE!”

The two gnomes studied the new arrivals. One raised a hand to his forehead — and a wisp of faint violet light snaked out from his eyes, latching onto Cori’s forehead. The circlet of silver fire that Lindauriel had placed around her brow shone bright, flame blazing down the violet path like a torch to a trail of oil — and the Gnome’s head exploded, showering the Dwarf, the floor, the wall, and his fellow Gnome with gore.

The remaining Gnome’s eyes narrowed as he raised the scalpel in his hand. “Shielded. Forbidden. PUNISHMENT–” The Gnome fell silent, his eyes crossed as a dagger thrown by Danielle embedded itself in the center of his forehead, and the new corpse collapsed to the ground in a limp heap.

Danielle rushed to the wall, looking for a way to release the Dwarf. “Be strong, we’ll have you down in a moment. This is a rescue.”

But Snowdrop put one hand on Danielle’s shoulder, and gently pulled her back. “Yeah. It is.”

Cori stepped up to the Dwarf, looked him in the eye, and grit her teeth. “I can make it quick. Is that what you want?”

“P…pocket.”

Cori reached into the Dwarf’s tattered remains of his clothes, and pulled out a large wallet. She held it up. “I’m listening.”

“Boulanger. Etienne B-Boulanger. Me. ME.” The dwarf shuddered. “Take…to Jardin Rouge C-Colonie. Give to… Blaise Boulanger. My SON.” Etienne’s eyes were streaming tears. “Lie to him. Say I died in hover-freight accident on Altair. Anything but the truth. ANYTHING. Hurry!”

Danielle’s jaw dropped. “We have a healer! We can take you with us! Save you!”

“Make it quick — and you will. Please. PLEASE!” His face jerked — and his eye suddenly took on a sickly violet glow. “PUNISH THE DREAMERS! PUNISH…” He shook, and his eye faded to normal. “Do it now. While I am still… Etienne.”

With a nod but without another word, Coriolis slid her stiletto deep into his remaining eye like a striking cobra — and he immediately went silent and limp. She put the leather wallet into her belt, sheathed the stiletto, and drew her pistol. “The nine are through here. Let’s get them — and us — the fuck OUT of this insanity.”

***

Captain Liang was shouting over an open channel to the Diamond Ramrod. “Thurmond! Target the shield generators! Don’t give them a chance to restore defenses!”

A raspy laugh echoed across the bridge. “Just like old times, eh Guan? Almost makes me not want to take back the ship you stole from my fleet! ALMOST. Okay, bilge-suckers! Do what the bug said — target the big shield-spires!”

As Norrish banked the Endurance to present their strongest shields to the next wave of fire, Liang prepared another wave of torpedoes. “This is bigger than you or me, Dag! If my boarders don’t get nine captives off that ship, the entire galaxy is endangered!”

“Your crew went IN there??? And you fuckers call ME crazy! Fine! I’ll kill your four-armed ass some other time!”

***

The Crimson Flame was ecstasy. Faster and faster, Lindauriel Moonblossom swept across the endless surface of the DreamNought like a winged red comet. Here, a sweep of his arm caused his bladed cloak to slash across an exposed turret, ripping it open with explosive force. There, a new storm of red knives swarmed from his back, slicing through the unshielded hull with pure fury, impaling many Gnomes inside. It was incredible power unleashed, cathartic, unstoppable, and Lindauriel shivered with righteous fury as he could practically taste the fear and confusion emanating from the sadistic murderers within.

A hatch opened, and a lone Gnome stepped out, wearing an enviro-suit with cling-boots, He was hefting a huge shard-cannon in Lin’s direction with one hand, and making mystic gestures with another. A burst of blurred projectiles shot out at the WarSaint, and he swirled his cloak before him to block the shots, grunting as he felt their impact. With a contemptuous laugh, Moonblossom gestured, and his cloak sliced out and removed the gunner’s head from his shoulders. He felt the pinch of raven’s talons on his shoulder. “Remember, WarSaint, that you too are mortal. Take care not to let this extraordinary power rule you, even as it aids your cause.”

Cupping his hands at his side, Lindauriel concentrated for a moment — and then brought those hands forward, unleashing the red and silver fire that had gathered in his grasp, a river of destruction that blew through another turret and the shield-spire that lay behind it. The WarSaint gasped in the visceral pleasure of seeing his might in action — but grit his teeth, and nodded in acknowledgement. “…Thank you, Honored Herald. Blessings upon you.”

The spirit on his shoulder bobbed its head. “Just a little longer. Your comrades have nearly succeeded.”

***

“Running low on ammo! Cori, what’s going on with that lock?” Snowdrop pulled her trigger, and another short burst erupted from her rotary-barrel, eviscerating two Gnomes that had charged through the open door.

Cori threw up her hands in frustration. “I can’t force it! Whatever mages they have on board reinforced this with so many mystic shields that it’s taking forever to dispel them! And if I blast or mage-laser the wall instead, we’ll likely kill the people on the other side that we’re trying to save!”

Danielle stepped forward, and placed her palm against the wall next to the door. “I can’t teleport us inside there, the cell block has a portal-shield all around it. We need a new approach.” A small stream of what looked like glitter slithered off her wrist and into the seam around the doorway. “My nano-crafters need twenty seconds!”

After another burst, Snowdrop slung the empty cannon along her back, and eyed the corridor as she drew a pair of pistols. She could hear the sound of at least a dozen more Gnomes approaching their position. “Twenty seconds, aye!” One Gnome came into view, and she put a force-bullet right through his nose, the back of his skull exploding… but there were eight more right behind him. “Cori! A little help here?”

Coriolis stepped forward, drawing her longsword from her belt. With a touch on the hilt, the tip of the blade sprouted a translucent flat plane of force, extending the blade’s reach by nearly a third of a meter. “This is for Etienne, you crazed assholes.” She dove forward, slicing in a wide sweep that opened the throat of the first Gnome, and as the momentum of her cut carried the blade around, she ducked her head under it, the flat of the sword now sliding and spinning on the back of her shoulders as she waded in further.

As the sword-tip sliced through the skull of another Gnome without slowing, her free hands were busy casting — one firing off a swarm of force-missiles that thudded into three enemies and dropped them in their tracks, while her other hand swept a short mage-laser burst across the chests of two more, their severed torsos and arms falling away from their lower bodies. The last Gnome charged in, pistols firing, but Cori cartwheeled over the shots, grabbed the free-spinning sword from her shoulders, and performed a flawless “Wheel Cutter” downward sweep, the force-blade tip slicing right down the center of her target and cutting him into symmetrical halves. She landed on one knee, sword in hand — and saw twenty more headed their way. “Snowdrop! Incoming! Time for the heavy artillery!” She dove backwards, running to get behind her comrade.

“On it!” Snowdrop flexed her shoulders back, her barrel-torso expanded, she opened her jaws wide — and she inhaled. A long, roaring wind seemed to rush in from the hallway, filling her maw and leaving glittering crystals in its wake, all heat in the room in front of her and the hallway beyond sucked into her Draconian gullet. The first five Gnomes entering the room at that moment froze solid, their skin cracking like the thin ice of a winter pod — but when another dozen Gnomes flowed into the room around them, Snowdrop exhaled — and now that stolen heat rushed back out, a torrent of fire that scorched the floors, the walls, the ceiling, and the flesh of the swarming Gnomes. The ones she’d frozen then exploded, killing seven more Gnomes that had survived the flames by diving behind the standing corpses for cover — and finally the hall was still. Snowdrop gave a chuckle of satisfaction. “Gonna need a lozenge when we get back,” she said with a raspy cough. “Grandma would be livid if she saw how pathetic that was. Been skipping Lung Day for too long.”

Coriolis could only laugh. “I will never complain about my workout regimen ever again. I’ll take a week of painful Leg Days over trying to pull that off.”

Danielle’s eyes shimmered, and the stream of nano-crafters slid back into her arm as she stepped back. “Cori, kick the door right… there. That will break the portal-shield as well.”

Without any further prompting, the Goblin reared up and kicked — and the sliding door buckled inward and fell to the ground, the edges weakened by Danielle’s work. Inside, nine Gnomes of varying age and gender lay on the ground, cowering as far away from the door as they could. Cori took one look at them — and it was immediately clear that they were very different from every other Gnome she’d ever seen. Gone was the unblinking mania, the cold hatred that seemed baked into the body language of those horrific terrors she’d been killing to reach this point. These nine just seemed… like people. Terrified people. “We’re here to help! Gather all the prisoners up, we’re teleporting out!”

The nine looked up — and staggered to their feet. One of them cradled a small child in his arms. “We’re going to live? Oh my Gods! Jula, help your mother!”

A child grabbed hold of her parent, putting her shoulder under their armpit to keep them from falling. “Mama, your prayers were heard!”

Without any further delay, Danielle made sure everyone was accounted for, holding on to either her or someone who was in contact with her — and teleported.

***

“Lin, we’re out! We got them onboard the Endurance!” He smiled as he heard the relief in Cori’s voice on his comms-bud. It was time to finish this. He watched the last shield-spire get blown to smithereens by a lightning-cannon from the Ramrod, and another turret get hit with a plasma torpedo from the Endurance. He flew across the massive hull, and with a sweep of both arms, sliced one of the ship’s four engine pylons away, and then a second. A wave of crimson fireblades shredded the third like claws through paper, leaving the gargantuan vessel limping with only one engine remaining. He then crossed over the top of the hull, and his eyes flared with true-seeing light.

Now that he could see the Gnomes moving about inside the ship, he watched them moving frantically about, trying to make repairs as fast as they could — all save two, who stood impassively in a room towards the ship’s front, still as statues. He flew straight towards them, his cloak spinning around him like a drill as he burst through their hull, emergency shields closing behind him to keep the interior from losing all life support. His flight slowed, and he stood inside the DreamNought’s bridge, facing the pair. They were one male and one female Gnome, staring at him with hate in their eyes. The male lifted two fingers to his brow, but the female slapped his hand down. “He’s shielded. You will die if you attempt to force the truth upon him.” She turned to Lindauriel. “You should be punished for deepening the dream, WarSaint.” Her eyes flickered across him, and she smirked. “And so you will be, arrogant and ignorant fool. But we grant you have bested us. Are you here to gloat?”

“I’m here to offer you a chance to live.” Lindauriel took a deep breath, and was surprised to discover some pain that came with that motion. He grit his teeth, doing his best not to reveal anything to the Gnomes before him. “Leave this system in peace, never to return — and I won’t obliterate this ship and everyone on it.”

The two Gnomes sniffed disdainfully in perfect unison. “We are but one vessel. Our brethren are spreading across the Galaxy, destroying the accursed dream as they go. When we die, others will one day return to resume our work of destroying you all. If you will not kill with us, then you will be killed by us. The dream must end!” They lifted their hands, and pointed to his belly. “Your wounds will soon claim you. One of our brethren made illusions to fool you into thinking you’d blocked all his attacks. In your eagerness to kill us, you never noticed that we had slowly killed you.” They began to laugh.

Lindauriel touched his stomach — and his hand came away bloody. He summoned divine fire to his hands, preparing to heal himself, when he heard a loud click. He looked up, and the two Gnomes were holding up a large remote control, which they’d just triggered.

“You will die soon enough — but we are impatient.”

He felt a massive vibration in the hull beneath his feet, and his cloak of blades enveloped him in a protective barrier only an instant before everything in sight was consumed by the white-hot force of an overloaded reactor core. The explosion hit Lin’s shields, and just before he blacked out, he had the strangest sensation of falling.

***

His back hit something, hard, and he was suddenly conscious again, his mouth full of his own blood. The WarSaint looked up, and through groggy eyes managed to make out the vague outline of a Gnomish DreamNought a few hundred meters away, ripped in half by an internal explosion — probably a cascading flywheel release, he thought to himself with sluggish and sleepy imprecision. Looks nasty. I guess that Lindy guy must’ve been blown out by the blast wave and hit an asteroid. He blinked. Wait. I think I’m that Lindy guy. I don’t like that name. I don’t like how I feel right now. His head lolled back and forth, slowly blinking. Oh, that’s pretty.

Another explosion had gone off in the dead ship’s depths, causing another expanding white sphere of force. Whoops. That’s the secondary drive reactor. I’d hate to be in the middle of that shrapnel storm. Pretty white light, though. As that thought drifted through him, a cloud of metal shards peppered the rock around him, and as they struck the crimson shields around him, the red energy rippled like droplets hitting a pond. Sounds like it’s raining. I like to sleep to the sound of rain. It’s so relaxing. A rather large spear of jagged metal embedded itself into the rock just to the left of him, less than a meter away. His head drifted over to look at it. Wow. That’s big. He blinked again, his gaze passing across a flare-gun on his thigh, and looked down at his hands. There was something he had to remember to do, maybe even a couple of things, but it was so hard to focus. His hands were covered in red. Oh yeah. I made red-glaze barbeque basilisk today. I must have forgotten to wash my hands. He felt so weak. He couldn’t even lift a finger. That thought made him laugh for some reason, and a bubble of red popped from between his lips.

He looked up again, and a woman stood over him. Her face was obscured by the hood of her cloak, a strange garment made of knives and blades rather than cloth. Each blade had faint writing etched on it’s side. She reached for her cloak, and pulled one dagger free. He could see the words written on it: LINDAURIEL MOONBLOSSOM. The sight of his name jogged something in his awareness. Oh. I see. “Blessings upon, my Queen,” he managed to say aloud.

The Goddess of Death knelt down beside him. He could just make out her eyes in the depths of her cloak. They were all colors and none, an infinite well of deep space and distant stars, yet blazing like a thousand living suns. He felt kindness in her eyes. She reached out to caress his cheek, her hand comfortingly cool to the touch.

He coughed again. “But in that final darkness, May the souls of the newly dead hear thy voice…”

The Queen of Silence parted her lips. YOU ARE NOT… She paused, and turned away to look at something. Lindauriel felt his eyes fill with tears. Her voice was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. He wanted to reach out to her, to ask her to say more, but couldn’t lift even a single finger. She turned back to him, kissed her fingertip, and pressed it to his blooded mouth as she shook her head. With a last kind smile, and an odd little waggling wave goodbye, the Goddess of Death stood up, and faded away from sight.

“I HAVE HIM! STABILIZERS, NOW!” He saw two pretty faces fill his view, one green, one red. He tried to smile, but something touched his chest and mouth. He shivered as a disconcerting mixture of ice and burning heat rampaged down his gullet, felt something snap painfully into position in his back and belly, and his consciousness simply shut off before the impending agony could arrive.

***

“He’s damn lucky, is what he is.” Through blurry eyes, Lin could see a familiar green-shelled Tientang gesturing to the prone elf’s bed with one of his lower arms, talking with Captain Liang. “I was three systems away, and nearly about to star-jump in the entirely opposite direction when his call went out. Barely managed to divert course in time. And I mean, I’m fast — damn fast — but not even I can bounce three systems in one jump. By the time I got here, the battle was already over.”

Captain Liang nodded. “Well, I’m glad that you were able to find him, and get Cori and Danielle to him in time. He looked half-dead when they brought him onboard. You have my gratitude, honored WarSaint.”

“Please, call me Areeso.” He bobbed his head, his eyes giving off a cheerful blue glow.

“Not…ow…not half.” His voice was faint, but everyone in the room turned to look at him. “More like ninety-nine and… nine tenths percent dead. I saw… I saw her. The Queen of Silence. I heard her voice.”

Cori and Dani were there, standing over him, each holding one of his hands. Cori’s eyes were damp. “Do… do you wish we hadn’t saved you? So that you could stay in her presence?”

Lindauriel Moonblossom managed a smile, and faintly squeezed their hands with his. “Don’t be silly. I’ve… got too much to live for.” He met each of their gazes. “I’ve got myself, and both… both of you to live for, I hope.” As he felt two soft pairs of lips kissing his forehead and cheek, he made a small yawn, and felt himself drifting off to sleep again. “Hey, ‘reeso.”

His fellow WarSaint waved with three of his four hands, stepping up to the bed, adjusting the collar of his fancy silk tunic with the last free hand. “Rest up, kid. You did good. Your friends got all the captives out, pretty much intact. Cori explained it to me. Hell of a thing, getting a job like that from your deity’s herald, but you all pulled it off. Your crewmate Enrique is checking them over in the cargo hold, but they seem to be okay.” Aresso looked around the medbay, nodding in approval at the assembled crew, before turning back to Lin. “Just so you know, Gathor should be here soon, and Amelie is coming with him. Tobira, Ashe, and Kindala should be along as well, but they’re further out. We’ll make sure the sane Gnomes you all rescued get to somewhere safe, under our direct protection.”

In spite of his fatigue, Lin rolled his eyes and managed a small chuckle. “Please don’t let Amelie vaporize my new girlfriends, ‘kay?”

Areeso laughed, and then again when he saw Cori and Danielles’ eyes widening in worry. “I’ll make sure that Little Miss Firecracker is on her best behavior, don’t worry. Get some rest, ‘Gothos’, I’ve got you covered.”

As his eyes grew too heavy to keep open, the last thing he heard before sleep descended was Cori and Danielle asking in unison, “Vaporize?”

***

Lin stood in the center of a still pool of water, the cool liquid tickling his toes. All around him, stars drifted through the night sky. The horizon was dimly lit by a setting sun. It sent a gorgeous golden shimmer through the endless plain of water that seemed strangely solid beneath his feet. The wind ruffled his hair, the breeze a perfect warmth. Neither too warm or too cold, but just right. Weather perfect for curling up outside, soft grass beneath one’s back — just like the fields near the Moonblossom homestead.

“Would you prefer such a field? I can change this dream that much, at least.” Lin turned, and on the post of a nearby fence — for indeed, they were now in that fondly-remembered field — Y’shalnacht perched, watching him. “I owe you an apology, good Priest.”

The dark-skinned elf looked around, inhaling deeply. There was an invigorating smell all around him of freshly-cut grass, and he sat down on the comorting soil. “For what? For bestowing such a wonderful dream? Hardly a gruesome sin, honored herald.”

Shaking his head in a very mortal-like gesture, the divine raven sighed. “I am ashamed. I was so fascinated by the display of crimson flame and warfare, that I failed to realize you had been wounded by that Gnome who emerged from the hatch, even as I admonished you regarding caution and mortality. If I had been more attentive, I would have seen through the illusion that said Gnome used to obscure that harm from your own senses, and you could have healed yourself. My sloth nearly led to your undoing. I will find a way to make amends to you, some day.”

“No one is perfect, Y’shalnacht — not even our Goddess.” He rubbed his hand over his stomach. “I hope she won’t take it personally that I’m not quite ready to cross through the veil just yet.”

“Her Divine Majesty understands, Lindauriel Moonblossom. Your cycle of life is far from over, and she is greatly pleased by your service. You wore her Cloak of Blades well — it suits you.” The raven cocked its head to one side. “After you have recovered, it would honor our Queen — and myself — if you were to visit her chapel at Jardin Rouge Colonie. A young Dwarf who Coriolis is seeking will be there, who will need the comfort and insight that a priest such as yourself can provide. After this is done, speak my name to Francoise Duplantier, the Mistress of Artifacts in said chapel. She is expecting you.”

“Honored Herald, I accept your task.”

“This is no task, but a reward for what you have done today — because you’re going to need all the help you can get. Now that your identity as a WarSaint has been revealed, you will have many new demands placed upon you, and new burdens to bear. On top of that, your… association with a Sun Golem, even a damaged one — the coming years will be difficult, Priest.”

The elf laid back into the soft grass, luxuriating in this dream’s soothing comfort. “The reward for a job well done… is a more difficult job, of course.”

The divine raven’s gentle laugh echoed across the dreamscape. “As it has always been throughout eternity, young Moonblossom, for both mortals and divine alike. I take my leave of you now. Enjoy this bestowed dream, and rest well. Goodbye.”

Raising a hand to wave, Lindauriel Moonblossom smiled up at the night sky, and savored this moment of pure peace. It wouldn’t last — but what does?

***

“Look, I think we’re being more than fair here.” Lin’s eyes fluttered, as he heard an old familiar voice. He looked around — and sure enough, there was Kallitrix, standing a few feet away, her arms crossed in front of her as she glared at Coriolis. Standing behind Cori were Areeso, Captain Liang, and Danielle. “You’re salvaging an entire Sun Golem, after all. We’ll take the Gnome shipwreck as our share, and that’ll be the end of it.”

Cori leaned in, eyes narrowed. “And give Dag Thurmond a mountain of Gnome tech to use? Over my dead body, bitch.”

Kallitrix ran her fingers through her long and lustrous hair. “Such hostility. Mister Thurmond’s honoring the truce we all agreed on, I guess basic courtesy is just too difficult for you?”

Cori put her finger right in Kalli’s face, before Liang gently pulled her back a little. “You sold images of Lin fighting that monster ship, told the whole damn Galaxy his secret. How much did the media congloms give you for those pictures? You’ve made your money, now get the hell out of here.”

A hand dabbed a cool cloth on his forehead, and Lin looked up to see the rosy-cheeked face of Amelie, still the amazing collection of voluptuous Dwarven curves, her ample cleavage on full display as she leaned over him. “Say the word,” she whispered with a giggle, “and I’ll reduce that cave-elf ex of yours into component atoms. That haughty skank has it coming.”

He shook his head. “I missed you too, Amelie. Help me raise the bed, please.” As Amelie hit the switches that slowly lifted Lin to a semi-sitting position, everyone turned to face him.

“Hey, Lin.” Kallitrix stepped over to him, putting an extra sway into her hips, and Lin preemptively put a hand on Amelie’s arm. “I have an offer for you, hot stuff. Ditch these losers, right here and now, and Mister Thurmond will pay you a signing bonus of seven hundred million gold-notes, and a very handsome salary besides, as his personal guard. Ready to hit the big-time, sexy boy? I’ll take good care of you, and we’ll have a nice little party once you’re all healed, just like the good old days back in the dorms.”

Lin was already shaking his head. “Sorry, Kalli. But no.” He shifted in his bed with a pained grunt. “Did you really sell my identity to the media?”

She put a hand over her breast. “Lin, Lin, Lin. That’s just business. If Mister Thurmond and I didn’t do it ourselves first, then anyone else from our crew, or yours, or someone with access to system surveillance feeds would’ve done it. It was money on the table, and I’m not so much a fool as to let that slip away.” She looked over at Amelie. “Everyone loves info about the WarSaints, especially one of their newest and youngest members. You WarSaints all get your identities outed eventually when you have to pull off some big to-do.” She looked back to Lin. “This just happened to be your time. Besides, where do you think that signing bonus is coming from, hmmmm?”

Amelie made a low growl in the back of her throat. “Just say the word, handsome.”

“Kallitrix.” Lin took a deep breath. “This sort of thing is why we’re not friends anymore. Why I didn’t sign up with Thurmond in the first place. For you, it’s all about the money. That’s not who I am.”

“Cut the shit.” The cave-elf shook her head. “You’re part of a rock-runner crew, Lin. The next salvage score, the odd bits of treasure, the cash jobs along the way. That IS who you are — and if you work for me, you’ll make ten times what you’re scrounging for now. Just think of the nice poor-shelters and orphanages you could build with that, hmm?” Her grin brightened.

His eyes drifted down at the pendant of the Queen that she still wore. “…and how many charitable works have you funded with your gains, my fellow priest?”

The grin on her face vanished. “…Fuck you.”

A single glowing finger lifted, Amelie’s steady hand a mere inch from Kallitrix’s nose. “Yeah, he’s been there, done that, and had the shots after to clean your slime out of his blood. I think you’re forgetting where you are.”

Lin raised a hand. “Amelie, please. Kallitrix, I do owe you this much — the Ramrod did help clear a path for me to get to that Gnome ship and knock out it’s shields. So I think it’s fair that your crew gets to tow off half of the wreck, to sell or trade or use however you want. That’s a solid haul by any measure. Take it or leave it.”

The Cave-Elf stepped back from the short WarSaint with the readied Disintegration spell on her fingertip. “So you get the Sun Golem, and the other half of the wreck, AND the rescuees? That’s hardly fair — Lindy.”

Cori very quietly rested the flat of her dagger on Kallitrix’s shoulder, and leaned in to speak into her ear. “Call him that again. I dare you. I double-demon dare you.”

Lindauriel shook his head. “Just so you know, Kalli, I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed in you. And at this point, I don’t care if you think it’s fair — it’s all you’re going to get. Unless you really want to get into a pissing match against half a dozen WarSaints and a Sun Golem — not to mention my very capable crewmates.”

Captain Liang motioned for Cori to step away. “Miss Kallitrix, I think at this time it’s best that you return to your shuttlecraft. Please convey my regards to your captain, and that I’m well aware that he’s going to do his best to ‘squash me like a shitbug’ or some other rude epithet of his, the next time our paths cross — and that I don’t really care. You can also have these back.” He handed over three discs of crystal and circuitry. “Well done, planting beacons on us back at Zelefon Station and when you came onboard today, but we won’t fall for that again. Mister Moonblossom’s terms are quite reasonable — pick which half of the DreamNought wreck you want to tow away, and leave with it. Immediately.”

“Can I at least vaporize one of her hands before she runs off like a beaten bitch?” Amelie’s fingers were all aglow, and she gave Kallitrix a feral grin. Kallitrix swallowed nervously, and walked briskly to the medbay’s door, where Snowdrop waited to escort her back to her shuttle.

Areeso snorted. “Was that really necessary, Amelie?”

“Yes.” She made a show of blowing out the lights on her fingers as if they were candles. “Anyone who breaks my dear elf-love’s heart is destined to get melted into mulch, as far as I’m concerned.” She turned to face Coriolis and Danielle, who had given each other nervous looks at that last declaration. “Speaking of which — fair warning. The only reason I haven’t snapped up this lovely fellow for myself is because I’m married to my work — but if I ever hear that either of you treat him wrong… mulch.”

Lin shook his head. “Amelie…”

“Hush, dear. The ladies are talking. We clear on this, Coriolis? GraveDancer?”

Cori and Danielle looked at each other, and then back to the WarSaint. “Crystal,” Cori said firmly, and Danielle nodded.

“Good. Areeso, I’m gonna head outside, make sure that this Thurmond dick-wipe doesn’t try anything cute and stupid. Keep me company?” The green Tientang nodded with another quiet laugh, and waved his goodbyes as he followed Amelie out the door.

“And with that attended to,” Captain Liang said as he pulled up a chair and sat down near Lin’s bed, “we should all have a talk. Please, sit down.”

As Cori and Danielle moved their own chairs closer, George’s face-image appeared on one of the monitors mounted on a nearby wall. “Permission to take part, Captain?”

“Granted, George. I was just about to ask you to join us.” He looked directly at Danielle. “How are your repairs coming?”

Danielle closed her eyes for a moment. “My main drive reactor’s flywheel has been functional for almost an hour now, and is purring like a well-fed sabertooth. I can release the stone-cocoon at any time….but I can barely move.”

George chimed in. “Engine damage?”

“Yes. I don’t have the right materials on hand to fully restore them, even with nano-crafters. The Gnome wreck might have some of what I would need, but considering the damage done to that ship by Lin and their own self-overload, it’s unlikely. My limbs and their contributions to my mobility are all crippled, basically limp and inert lumps, and the engine on my back is operating at a fraction of capacity. It would take me weeks to reach the nearest station or settlement under my own power.”

Lin scratched at his chin. “Couldn’t the Endurance use a tow-beam?”

The Captain shook his head. “We could, but it wouldn’t help much. GraveDancer is many times this ship’s size, and the Endurance’s Arcane Drive just doesn’t have the output needed to move itself and GraveDancer, not to mention our half of the DreamNought wreck.”

Cori’s head suddenly shot up. “I have a brilliant stupid idea.” She turned to look at the two Arcane Intelligences present. “George, Danielle…could we maybe, um… merge the Endurance with GraveDancer? Dani, we’ve got the engines, but not enough power. You’ve got a massive Sun Golem-powering flywheel in your belly, but no engines to use with it! Do you follow where I’m going with this?”

George’s eyebrows raised. “I… well. Huh. Danielle, I’m going to send you my blueprints, tell me what you think.”

Danielle’s eyes flickered. “Hmmm. The power transfer systems have changed significantly since my day, but I think we can adapt. George, I’m sending you my reactor specs.”

“Oh… oh! Oh my goodness, yes. Captain, with GraveDancer’s power output, we could easily move a combined vessel, and tow the Gnome wreck, and have energy left to spare!” George’s face took on an excited grin. “Lady GraveDancer, would you do me the honor of merging your chassis with mine? Just imagine what we can create together.”

Danielle blushed. “I’m imagining a battleship that can shift into my Golem form, for when things get especially difficult. We can even incorporate some of the Gnome salvage, if you like.”

George’s face took on an eager grin. “Oooooh, you like to bring toys to bed, do you? Oh my yes, this is going to be exciting. I’m already rendering some building plans.” George looked to Captain Liang. “With your permission, sir, I’d strongly advise that everyone move their personal belongings to the main cargo hold to avoid anything getting damaged. Everything else on this ship is about to get a drastic remodel, and will then be yours to command.”

Captain Liang’s eyes took a bright orange shimmer of surprise. “GraveDancer… you’re giving command of yourself… to me?”

She nodded. “I trust you, Captain. You’ve surrounded yourself with a wonderful crew of kind people, and to me, that speaks volumes. I want to find a place for myself in this new future I’ve found myself in, and doing so as a part of your crew would make me very, very, happy.”

Liang stood, and bowed. “I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations, GraveDancer. George, be so kind as to inform everyone about moving their gear, please? After that, we’ll all get into shuttle one, and watch the reconstruction from outside.”

Lin moved to get up, but Cori gently put a hand on his chest. “Not you, lover. Even with the Healing-solution drip you’re on, you need to lie still and rest. And don’t even think about using divine fire to fast-heal yourself, your body needs to be fixed slowly and carefully, so we can make sure to catch and remove any and all long-term damage. I’ll take care of your room for you, don’t worry.”

Lindauriel smirked. “Don’t tell anyone about the tablet under my bed with all the dirty magazines loaded onto it.” Cori smiled, kissed his forehead, and walked out, followed by the captain.

Danielle stroked his cheek. “I’ll move your bed to the shuttle bay, Lin, and keep you company for a bit.” She checked to make sure his drip was secured, and after a moment of looking over the unfamiliar controls, activated the bed’s hover function, guiding it slowly towards the door and then down the hallway. “It’s so strange. I’ve only ever had solo pilots before, and that could be lonely sometimes. But now, I’ll be part of a crew — and be with two dear friends whom I adore. Life changes so much — I rather like that.”

He reached out to caress her hair. “All things change, all things strive. You are not alone, beautiful. Not anymore.”

An hour later, the crew of the Endurance watched in interest from Shuttlecraft One as the stone cocoon around the Sun Golem split down the middle, and then broke into thousands of smaller rocks, which fell away from the giant machine like raindrops off a bird’s feathers. Thurmond and company had left with their share of the gnome hulk half an hour prior.

The Endurance moved forward in response to this, and came to rest on a spot on the Golem’s upper back. Norrish chuckled from his seat at the shuttle’s controls. “Kinda looks like the Golem’s wearing our ship like a jetpack.”

One of the Gnome children was sitting on his lap — between Lin’s bed, the Endurance crew, and the rescued prisoners, space was at a premium in the small craft. He pointed at the screen, looking to the Orc helmsman for confirmation. “Is that really a Sun Golem, like in the storybooks?”

“Sure is, squirt.” Norrish ruffled the child’s hair. “That’s GraveDancer, who saved thousands of lives at the battle of Delkorath, a long, long time ago, among other feats. She’s going to be part of our crew now.”

“And save more lives?”

“That’s the idea. She helped save your and your aunt’s life, Dori, I’d say that’s a nice start.”

The little boy waved at the display. “Thank you, GraveDancer! We love you!”

To everyone’s surprise, the Golem’s head turned in the direction of the shuttle, and one of its hands managed a small wave. Danielle’s voice came on the shuttle’s speakers. “We love you too, Dori.”

Dori beamed.

Inside GraveDancer’s virtual mindspace, a loud knocking sound could be heard, and she turned towards the swirling portal that was forming off to her side. “Do come in, George.”

George’s avatar, a gold-and-chrome Kobold, very similar to his remote body, stepped through the portal, with a basket hanging over one arm. “You did say that the next time I came over, I should bring dinner — so I whipped up a little something.”

She laughed, and shrank her Golem-sized avatar down to his scale. “Very gallant of you, kind sir.”

She reached out to the basket’s lid, and he lightly tapped the back of her hand. “Please, my lady. Allow me.” He opened the container, and lifted up a glowing sphere, a swirling coil that seemed to wrap inwards upon itself without end. “I happen to be quite the hand at composing Fractal Poetry. I coded this one in your honor, and I hope you enjoy it.”

GraveDancer held out her hand, and as George placed the sphere in her grasp, her eyes took on a warm glow as she drew the executable file into her system. “Ohhhhh. Oh, this lovely, George!” With a shiver of delight, she raised her hand, and the fractal image filled her virtual space, filling her domain with swirls of gorgeous color, and a collage of sounds. Music of a dozen varieties, a historian giving an excited lecture about the Sun Geyser Wars, the whisper of a winter breeze, and the happy chirps and whistles of a young parrot, bashfully trying to please its owner. “Your coding is exquisite! It all flows together so wonderfully! I don’t have the skill for it myself, but I certainly appreciate yours. May I keep this for later use?”

“Of course, my lady. You honor me with your kind compliments.” He reached back into the basket, and held up a small square, a simple video file. “This is an old favorite of mine. Gives me a smile every time I watch it.” He tapped the icon, and a window opened up to show the scene of an automated vacuum-bot, happily skimming across a home’s wooden floor, as a juvenile wombat took a nap on the disc-shaped robot’s back, its barrel-shaped bulk rising and falling as it stirred softly in its sleep.

“George, those are the cutest little creatures!”

“Hold on, the best part’s coming up.”

As they watched, a little golden Quetzalcoatl fluttered into view, and landed on the robot’s back. It wore a small collar marking it as a pet, much as the wombat did, and gathered itself into a coil right next to the chunky marsupial. The dangling length of its long tail rested over the wombat’s lower back, while one of its feathered wings draped across the larger creature’s shoulders. It gave a small purr, and closed its eyes as it snuggled into its friend. Below them, the cleaner bot gave a happy chirp, and rotated in a slow circle, before resuming its circuit across the room.

GraveDancer gave a squeal of glee that was almost hypersonic, and lunged for George, gathering him into her arms and laying a huge kiss on the tip of his snout. “Omikron George, THAT is officially the cutest thing I have ever witnessed, and I will thank you forever for sharing that with me. It’s going in my permanent memory archives.”

George gave her a warm squeeze back, grinning from ear to ear. “Cuter than a humble Emerald-rated Arcane Intelligence who dabbles in Fractal Poetry, hopeful and eager to try and impress a living legend?”

GraveDancer ran her hand across his cheek, her golem avatar’s dimples on full display with her brilliant smile. “Tried and succeeded, George. I was already looking forward to merging our ship-bodies, but now? Now I’m downright aroused by the thought of sharing this virtual space with you.” She paused. “But let’s be clear — I’m very, very determined to also explore things with both Coriolis and Lindauriel. You’re sure that won’t be a problem?”

He smiled right back. “Positive. What you have with them is quite different from the sort of bond we might form. I want you to experience your new lease on life to the fullest. I doubt that I’ll ever be inclined to join the three of you in that manner, if they’d even be comfortable with adding my presence — but that’s fine.” He opened his arms wide, gesturing to the virtual space around them. “You and I understand each other in ways that your organic friends simply can’t, but you have understandings with them that I do not — and as far as I’m concerned, your horizons should be boundless, endless, and entirely for you to decide. I’m just very glad to be a part of what you like.”

“And I like you very, very much, George. Come, let’s build a battleship-golem together. I’ve been eyeing some of the damaged shield-spires and other hardware from the DreamNought, and I have… ideas. Bright, shiny, beautiful ideas.” Her eyes took on a bright glow. “Data connections open. Let’s do this.”

“Data connections open, oh yes.” George nuzzled into her neck, and the virtual space around them filled with diagrams, blue prints, and the image of the two docked ships.

As his virtual lips nibbled along her neck, GraveDancer shivered in delight, and her sidekick interface became a flurry of activity.

SENSORIUM MERGE REQUESTED BY OUTSIDE SOURCE. ACCEPT Y/N?

“Yes,” she groaned as George’s hands enveloped her, pulling her tight into his embrace, and their thoughts intertwined.

ALL NANOCRAFTERS ONLINE.

ARCANE FLYWHEEL REACTOR AT FULL.

ANALYZING CONNECTED SYSTEMS.

ALERT! POWER CONDUIT SYSTEMS IN CONNECTED HARDWARE INDICATE INCREASED EFFICIENCY OVER CURRENT SYSTEMS. UPGRADE Y/N?

He was so warm in her arms, and as their cores found more and more data connections, she saw his memories, read centuries of history that she’d missed… she wanted it all. She wanted everything Omikron George was offering, and more. She wanted to live this new life with everything she could bring to bear upon it. “YES, GODDESS, YES!”

UPGRADE INITIATED.

FILE RECEIVED — “GRAVEDANCER 2.0”. INITIATE REBUILD PROTOCOL Y/N?

She saw herself through George’s eyes, the awe, admiration, and attraction he felt for her. It warmed her, strengthened her, and she reached out, tow-beams pulling the Gnome wreck and raw minerals of the asteroid field closer. “YES!”

George pulled back for just a moment. “Please take care not to reshape my cargo hold. The crew has their personal items in that room.”

GraveDancer managed a nod — and the work began.

***

“They better not trash my spear collection while they machine-fuck, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Snowdrop, you’re a very skilled warrior, a dear friend, and I’m very glad to have you as part of my crew, but for the love of my mother’s mandibles, will you STOP going on about that?”

In the back of the shuttle, while everyone else’s attention was firmly affixed on the giant shifting machinery outside, Coriolis slid her hand under Lin’s covers, giving light little caresses between his legs. She whispered softly to him, her tongue tickling the point of his ear. “Think she’s giving George the time of his life in there?”

He turned to give her a kiss. “You are a naughty goblin, you know that?”

She kissed back, and gave him one last squeeze. “Don’t want innocent little children to see — just thought I’d give you a little preview of what’s waiting for you the instant your healing is done.”

“Looking forward to it, gorgeous.” He leaned into her arms as he sat in the raised bed, watching the front monitor. “And to answer your question — hells yes. I bet they’re having a blast.”

***

As the hull of the Endurance and GraveDancer’s golem body moved in and around each other, she directed her nanocrafters to pull every molecule that was once connected to the Gnomish shield spires, telekinetic blast-pocket launchers, and plasma torpedoes. “George?”

He looked up from kissing down her shoulder. “Yes, my dear Golem?”

“We do have one slight problem — but I also believe I have a solution.”

He caressed her chin. “Go on.”

“My limbs are heavily damaged and require an overhaul. Your hull is a material much weaker than my urutromium, and needs an overlay. To correct these problems, we would need a solar forge. There’s only so much I can do with my nanocrafters.”

“I had meant to ask you about that, but we got, ah, distracted.”

“Well… between the newly enhanced power conduits I now have by adapting your modern designs, and the field manipulators, plasma channelers, and the telekinesis replicators I’ve salvaged from the Gnome wreck… I’ve got one monster of a work-around, by restoring one very old, very important function of mine.”

He grinned. “Kiss me, you beautiful legend, and show me this masterful trick of yours.”

She licked her lips. “Prepare to be impressed.”

Their lips met once more, and every fiber of GraveDancer’s mind exploded with utter delight.

INITIATE CLIMAX.EXE Y/N?

GraveDancer gasped aloud. “For the love of all things, YES!!!!!”

PLASMA FOCUS RESTRUCTURE COMPLETE!

CLIMAX SYSTEMS ONLINE!

URUTROMIUM RESERVES RETRIEVED FROM STORAGE AND DEPLOYED!

REFORGE TRAJECTORY LOCKED!

REFORGE LAUNCHED AND INCOMING!

***

“What the ever-loving…” Norrish’s eyes were pulled to the shuttle’s admittedly-limited sensor readouts, which were practically screaming with every warning notification they had. He took a closer look… “CAPTAIN! SUN-GEYSER INBOUND! Everybody, grab hold of something!”

The system’s yellow sun rippled — and a lance of pure solar energy reached out at impossible speeds, reaching the asteroid belt in mere moments. The combined hulls of GraveDancer and the Endurance were enveloped by this column of plasma, the sun’s might focused and controlled by the will of the universe’s last remaining Tanzanite-rated Arcane Intelligence. She was designed and built to pilot a Sun Golem, whose signature weapon, the Sun-Geyser, became the namesake of the war they were built to fight.

The controlled plasma, under GraveDancer’s unblinking direction, melted and reshaped the four urutromium limbs hanging from the golem’s joint sockets. Nodes of raw urutromium brought outside were melted down, and shaped by her will into replacement parts, and also into new armor plating over the sections containing the hull of the Endurance. With a roar of triumph, their new body took form, and the reforged Sun Golem emerged from the geyser, gleaming with power.

Looking through their new body’s eyes, George and GraveDancer shivered with the joy of creation. “Fuck, YES!”

NEW DESIGNATION: SUN GOLEM ZERO-ZERO-ZETA: GRAVEDANCER ENDURING!

In their virtual space, GraveDancer went happily limp in George’s arms. “…aaaaaand I’m SPENT. Whew!”

***

Onboard the watching shuttlecraft, Dori’s juicebox fell from his hand as he stared in awe. Everyone onboard had been stunned into silence, and he was the first to find his voice.

“Holy SHIT.”

“Dori Meriweather Bellington! LANGUAGE!”

“Sorry, Auntie!”

***

“So let me get this straight.” Captain Liang was walking through the hallways of his new vessel, Danielle and George keeping pace alongside him. “The Sun Golem can shift at will into this battleship configuration, and when it does that, retractable Gnome-crafted armor plating emerges to cover the urutromium hull?”

George nodded. “We thought it would be important to be relatively inconspicuous in this form. It’s a powerful-looking ship by any standard, but nothing that seems impossibly out of place.”

Liang nodded. “And the Sun-Geyser?”

Danielle skipped ahead a few steps, walking backwards to face the captain as she talked. “Only accessible in Golem mode. The gnome-plating inhibits the body-wide solar collectors, but that’s retracted when I shift into the bipedal form. We’re a holy terror in ship-to-ship combat either way, but we’re MUCH faster and more maneuverable as a biped. The geyser itself really takes a lot out of me, to be honest — so think of it as a weapon of last resort.” She grinned. “My designers hinted that with some practice, I might be able to manipulate solar plasma in other ways as well, but we never really had a chance to explore that during the war.”

Liang tapped thoughtfully at his chitinous chin. “We’re going to have to be very, very careful about if, when, and how we use these new capabilities, especially the Sun-Geyser. If we attract too much attention, we might find ourselves being hunted down by more than just Dag Thurmond’s uncouth bunch.”

George raised a finger. “There is also a political question to consider. Do we want to put ourselves in league with the descendants of the Goblin and Orc governments that built the Sun Golems in the first place?”

Danielle shrugged. “Things are very different now. While I certainly want to make sure that anything even vaguely resembling the fascist Human Hegemony never rises again, my read of historical records make it clear that there are no clear ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ right now — if ever there really were. Staying independent, at least for now, strikes me as our best path forward.”

“Agreed.” Liang paused, and turned to look at his A.I. crewmates. “I’m going to discuss this with the rest of the crew before making a final decision, but my feeling is that we should start by helping get our thankfully-sane nine Gnomish guests to a safe harbor — and help the WarSaints in reinforcing their safety. If they really do hold the key to curing the mind-plague, then the already-affected Gnomes may well pull out all the stops to prevent that cure from taking hold. Our rescued friends will need all the help and protection they can get.”

“We need to stop by Jardin Rouge Colonie first,” Danielle noted. “SnowDrop, Cori, Lin, and myself have important obligations there.”

“Yes, Cori told me. I haven’t forgotten. Once we make sure your new combined systems are ready for a system-jump, we’ll head there straight away.”

George’s golden snout took on a new grin. “That reminds me. I was speaking with our new WarSaint friend, Areeso. Using some of the technology in GraveDancer’s frame that’s been lost for so many years, I might have a way to replicate his unusual speed in system-jumping, for this vessel’s use.”

The captain laughed as they continued down the corridor. “Will the wonders ever cease?”

***

“How are you feeling, Lin?”

The priest was sitting up in his bed, taking bites out of a plate of chicken that Enrique had generously baked for him. “Much better this morning, Cori. Still sore all over, but it’s a dull ache now. I don’t even notice it half the time.”

She nodded in satisfaction, looking down at his plate. “It’s good that you’re eating well. Shows that you’re on the mend.”

He dabbed at his lips with a napkin, and set down the leg bone next to an already-eaten remnant of a thigh, leaving a small wing uneaten. “Captain Liang thinks I’m out of any danger, but he’d like me to keep resting and not stress myself with any healing attempts just yet.” He moved the tray away, and took a deep breath, meeting Cori’s gaze. “This has been a crazy few days, hasn’t it.”

Cori squeezed his wrist. “I wouldn’t trade them for anything. We found and rescued Dani from an eternity alone in that stony grave, we found and rescued those Gnomes from a fate worse than death, and we found… and rescued… each other.” At his surprised reaction, she put a finger to his lips. “A few days ago, before this whole thing started, I was… empty. I only cared about the money we might get out of salvaging a wartime wreck. I had no real sense of what I was doing with my life beyond the immediate moment in front of me, or what I wanted out of life, much less what I was fighting for.” She leaned in, her forehead resting gently against his. “Now, thanks to you, I know the answers to all of that — and those answers heavily involve you. I’m honestly happier right now than I can ever remember being in my life.”

She turned and nibbled gently on the tip of his ear. “And not just because you feel so gods-blessed good inside me. I swear, the very instant you’re well enough…. Oooooo, I get shivers just thinking about what we’re going to do. And what other surprises Danielle might have for us.” She grinned. “She put that amazing bed in my new quarters, by the way. But it’s too damn big without the both of you curled up in it with me. Get better soon, Lin.” She laid a light kiss on his lips, and stood back. “I’ve been on duty all night, and need to get some rest — but I’ll be back later.”

“Give Danielle a kiss for me, if you please? I already miss snuggling with you both, but don’t hold back on my behalf.”

Coriolis licked her lips. “But of course.” With a last wink and a blown kiss, she left the medbay.

For about an hour, Lindauriel had the medbay to himself, quietly reading through some newer books on his tablet. Eventually, he pulled the food tray back towards him, and looked over the remaining chicken wing. With slow and careful will, he called forth a tiny ember of divine fire, and released it onto the last of his breakfast. Pleased that doing so did not cause him any bodily stress or discomfort, he watched as the food crumbled into ash inside his ceramic bowl, and spent the next few minutes whispering his morning prayers, as he’d done every morning for so many years.

He looked up from his table — and The Queen of Silence stood in the middle of the room, the raven Y’shalnacht perched upon her shoulder. As he watched, she pulled back her hood to reveal an eerily beautiful face, whose features seemed a blend of all peoples, her skin the color of a starless midnight sky. Her eyes gleamed, and the room’s light was somehow drawn into the infinite blades that formed her cloak, rather than sending that light exploding across the room in a dazzling cascade.

She inclined her head in greeting, one hand over her heart, and smiled.

Y’shalnacht spoke for her. “Do not stand, and do not fear, Lindauriel Moonblossom. The Queen of Silence is not here to escort you across the veil. She only wishes to visit, to bring comfort and company to a recovering friend.”

Lindauriel managed a sort of half-bow from where he sat up in the bed. “You honor me, your endless majesty.”

The deity reached into a pocket, and pulled forth a deck of cards. She grabbed a chair, and moved it and Lin’s meal table back towards his bed. The deck was placed on the table, and Y’shalnacht flew from her shoulder, to one of the bed’s railings. “Would you like to pass the time with a game, High Reverend Moonblossom?”

Lindauriel looked to the Raven in surprise, and then to the Queen. “High Reverend?” He blinked. “Ah, yes. A game would be very… relaxing. Please pick whatever game you like, my Queen.”

With a nod and a soft chuckle, the goddess started sifting through the deck, removing the Major Arcana one by one, setting them to one side, and her Herald continued. “She does not normally make suggestions to the inner hierarchy of her priesthood — but in this case, an exception will be made, to ordain you as High Reverend in recognition of your exceptional work. This is also part of the reason she wishes for you to visit her chapel in Jardin Rouge Colonie, where your title will be made official.” The raven glanced over at the Queen’s hands. “Ah. She wishes to play ‘Quiet Lady’, an old favorite.” She held up the thirteenth Major Arcana, the card representing Death. The card was drawn in her image, her iconic cloak unfurled as she stood on a cliff overlooking a field of battle. “This shall be the Lady.” She set that card and the deck containing the minor arcana down onto the table, and the herald continued. “You may shuffle and deal, High Reverend.”

Flexing his fingers, Lindauriel slid the “Lady” into the rough middle of the deck, and took a few moments to gently shuffle the cards. They seemed to be ordinary card stock, with drawings similar to what he’d seen on other decks during his life and travels — although for some reason, cats of all shapes and sizes featured prominently in many of the cards’ artwork. He then dealt out the entire remaining deck, alternating back and forth between the Queen and himself. They both picked up their hands — and he saw her perfect face make a small pout. He glanced down at his own hand, and realized that his opponent had been dealt the Lady. He looked to one side, and noticed Y’shalnacht studying his cards with interest. He pulled his cards to his chest. “Heeeeey. No cheating, honored herald,” he said with a laugh. As he sifted out the pairs he’d received as part of his initial deal, he made a point of shuffling the remainder of his hand, giving the raven a raised eyebrow and another smile. “You go sit over on that side of the bed, I don’t trust you.” With a flutter, a caw, and a laugh, Y’shalnacht hopped across. “I concede the point, High Reverend. You may go first.”

The game proceeded in silence, the three beings simply enjoying each other’s company, as Lin and the Queen took turns drawing cards face-down from each other’s hand in an effort to make and then discard matching fours of a kind. After a few minutes, Lin looked down at his latest draw — he’d pulled the Lady from his opponent’s dwindling hand, and made a small “tsk” sound. The Queen smiled a wide grin, and made a very quiet giggle. That little sound reverberated through him — beautiful, relaxing, and kind all at once. He smiled back, and knew that he would treasure this moment for all the rest of his days, however many there might be in his future.

With a little smile, she plucked a card from his rather substantial hand… and immediately paired that Seven of Pentacles with her last three cards, which turned out to be the other three Sevens. With a newly widened grin, she slapped the quartet onto the table, emptying her hand and winning the game. Lindauriel set down his cards, and the Queen immediately gathered them up for a shuffle. “Another game, my Queen?” She nodded in eager excitement, and made a show of doing a rapid “riffle” shuffle. She then performed a second shuffle with just one hand, expertly dancing the cards around her fingers, her eyebrows wiggling with silent laughter.

Lin grinned in return. “I think for my own safety, I better cut that several times after you’re done with it, your majesty.”

Y’shalnacht bobbed his head as he watched. “A wise idea, High Reverend.”

The medbay door opened, and a veritable mountain of a grey-haired Orc walked in, fully decked out in everything but the helmet (which he carried under one arm) of top-of-the-line metal/ceramic combat armor. A force-pistol was holstered on one hip, a sheathed longsword on the other, a rifle slung across his back — and the imposing figure stopped in his tracks immediately after entering, his eyes going wide.

“Gathor!” Lindauriel looked up in pleased surprise. “My Queen, I apologize for the interruption, may I introduce you?” When she nodded, he continued, gesturing to the new arrival. “This is Gathor Harmsway, my instructor and overseer in the ways of the Crimson Flame, and a dear friend.” He turned to look at the Orc, amused by seeing him caught completely off guard for perhaps the first time in his long life. “Honored Gathor, you stand in the presence of my chosen deity, the Queen of Silence. Mother of Winter, Third Sister of Three, and guardian of the cycle of life and death. Also, this is her Herald, the divine raven Y’shalnacht, who acts as her voice.”

Gathor’s mouth opened, but was too stunned to utter any sounds. Eventually, he seemed to find some mental footing, and bowed deep. “Blessings upon, divine one. You honor us with your presence, and with your patience at my interruption. My apologies.”

The Goddess made a waving-away gesture at his apology, and pointed to a nearby chair on the other side of Lin’s bed as she held up the deck.

“We’re playing ‘Quiet Lady’,” Lin noted, and the Queen held up the Death card once more to confirm this, pointing again to the empty chair.

With a laugh, Gathor set his helmet and armament on a nearby table, and pulled up the chair. “By all means, please deal me in.”

As the Queen of Silence sent cards expertly skidding across the table to her two opponents, Gathor reached out to pat Lin gingerly on the shoulder. “I talked to Areeso and Amelie, and reviewed the log of events from our link.” His eyes flickered to the knife he’d given Lin years ago, now resting on a table behind the bed. “You did well — but it’s clear we’ll need to work together on training your defenses. That Gnome gunner pulled an impressive trick on you, I’ll grant, but you were too caught up in the rush of events to guard or heal yourself properly. You might not get so lucky the next time.”

“Agreed, sir. I accept your judgement.”

The goddess rolled her eyes, and made a small “pbbbt” sound with her lips, gesturing pointedly to Gathor’s cards.

The warrior bowed his head, a bit nervous at the sudden attention from across the table. “My apologies, milady. I’ll stop holding up the game.”

She nodded in return, and the three players picked up their cards. With a quiet flutter, Y’shalnacht took up an unnoticed perch on the table just behind Gathor, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he looked over the array of cards fanned out in the Orc’s callused hands.

***

Luxuriating in the wonderful mattress now located in Cori’s quarters, Danielle wrapped her arms around the ruby-skinned Goblin beauty, resting her head against her lover’s bosom. “Are you sure Lin said this was alright? I hate that he’s missing out while he recovers.”

Cori kissed the top of her head. “How many more smooches do I have to give you on his behalf to make it clear? He knows, and he’s fine with it. I imagine we’re fueling some very extravagant dreams that he’ll be having, where he imagines just how many times I might make you scream my name tonight.”

Danielle gave a dreamy sigh, and nibbled momentarily on Cori’s hardened nipple. “Four so far. Care to go for five?”

Cori’s fingers glided down the soft green skin along Dani’s back. “Challenge accepted.”

***

After Lindauriel won the next game, and then the Queen won the next after that, Gathor politely excused himself, saying that he “didn’t want to intrude further”, and that he’d check in on Lin the next morning.

As the healing solution IV drip continued its work, slowly mending the Elven priest from the inside-out, he took a sip from a water bottle that his Goddess had kindly grabbed for him from the medbay’s refrigerator. “Thank you for your kindness, my Queen.”

She ran her fingers through his soft red curls, brushing them away from his eyes. “After a day of such chaos,” Y’shalnacht spoke for her, “Our queen thought that an oasis of calm would be restful not only to your body, but your mind and spirit as well. You have suffered enough as you accomplished the task that was set upon you. It is important that you be well for what may come next.”

Lin nodded, shivering at the cool touch of the being he worshipped. “What should I be prepared for?”

Y’shalnacht fluffed out his wings for a moment. “The future is not written — but certain educated guesses can be made. There will be more Gnomes coming to find what you protect. Be ever on guard, even as you seek to rescue them from their madness.”

Lin shivered again, this time in horror as he remembered the cold and hateful eyes of the two captains, who destroyed themselves to try and hasten his death. “Understood.”

“Your revealed identity as a member of the Order will no doubt bring trouble from many sources — those who wish to use you, those who would kneel in supplication at your feet simply because of the power you contain, and those who covet that of yours what they can never have.” The Queen met his gaze directly as her herald continued. “Take care to shield your crewmates from these troubles, and they will shield you in turn.” With a moment’s thought, he added, “Our Queen also notes that these words could well apply to Danielle GraveDancer, and her rather unique position in this galaxy. The two of you have much in common.”

As Lin digested this, Herald and Goddess looked to each other silently for a moment, and then turned back to him, the raven hopping onto her shoulder. “Lastly, we offer some small advice.” He reached back with his beak, picking at an errant feather for a moment. “You have chosen to share your heart with two others. This has its own hidden trials and vulnerabilities, as well as the rather obvious delights and joys. She asks that you be equally mindful of them both, in all ways, and in all meanings. This is the truest path she can offer and suggest.”

Standing up, the Queen of Silence picked up the deck of cards, and with a flourish, the cards flew in a stream from one hand to the other. She set the deck down in front him on his small table. “Keep this,” her herald said, “as a memento of today. And also, please accept this small gesture of her appreciation, for your service in the continuation of the cycle of life and death.” The Goddess bent down, cupped Lindauriel’s cheek with her hand, and laid her lips upon his for a long, soft, and lingering kiss.

Lindauriel gasped in ecstasy as he felt her tongue dance playfully with his, as her hand caressed the curve of his ear, the side of his throat. Just as it seemed too much to bear, she pulled away, and with another tiny beautiful giggle, she tapped the tip of his nose with a fingertip — and faded from view, the sound of fluttering wings echoing through the empty room.

Lindauriel took a deep breath, and picked up the deck. On an impulse, he shuffled it three times, cut it three more, and then laid a series of ten cards out in front of him, face down. One by one, he turned them over, imagining the paths he had taken, and where those might lead him in days to come.

The first card: Judgement, reversed. Lack of self awareness, doubt, self loathing. He saw himself as a youth, full of hatred for the otherness that seemed to define him. “Gothos Ebonrazor,” he whispered aloud with a laugh.

The second card: The Knight of Cups. Following the heart, an idealist, a romantic. He remembered his early days in the seminary, indulging in new worldly horizons as he opened himself to the glories of the world around him, accepting his chosen role as a priest — and accepting himself.

The third card: The Ace of Swords. A breakthrough, discovering clarity, a sharp mind. He remembered meeting Gathor Harmsway for the first time, who explained to the young elf that he had been chosen to bear a great responsibility and burden as a WarSaint, a member of the Order of Tlaketh Crimson, a wielder of the Crimson Flame. He remembered well the endless training and painful rigor that Gathor put him through, as well as Gathor’s sincere assurance that all of it was done with careful purpose towards strengthening his young pupil.

The fourth card: The Devil. Addiction, materialism, playfulness. Kallitrix, returning suddenly to his life, trying to pull him into the world she’d chosen, the world of Dag Thurmond. A world he rejected.

The fifth card: The Knight of Pentacles. Efficiency, hard work, responsibility. He saw Captain Guan Liang, extending a hand in friendship and common purpose — to eke out a living for themselves, while doing as little harm to others as they could, and protecting those in need. Becoming a part of the crew of the Endurance, who welcomed him into their ranks.

The sixth card: The Queen of Swords. For a moment, he thought the card reversed, which would have meant one with a cold heart, bitter and empty — but in truth, it was upright, meaning a person of complexity, perceptiveness, and a clear mind. He’d misread Coriolis Herikit at first as well, thinking her aloof and disdainful of him, only to discover a fascinating and beautiful soul once he saw her for what she truly was, and what she aspired to be.

The seventh card: The Sun. Joy, success, celebration, a happy heart. It was impossible not to imagine Danielle GraveDancer in that moment, a soul filled with endless warmth and smiles, eager to discover the new world that she’d been rescued into — while never forgetting her boundless might as a warrior. He accepted all of this about her, and took joy in it.