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~*~ She tells herself it’s just stage fright. They wait, behind the curtain, like dolls on a shelf lined up in a row. The announcer’s magnified voice blares out of speakers in the ceiling and rumbles the stage beneath their feet. The older girls stand tall and dignified, ready for the show to begin. But she’s young, younger than any of them by four, five years, at least. The fear climbs up her limbs from the rumbling stage, trembles her knees and settles into her gut like a knot. The terror surges up her body and escapes through her throat, a mewl of fear halfway between a whimper and a sob. Half a dozen eyes meet hers in the dark, saying nothing, saying everything. Be strong, she reads in their eyes. Be strong. The announcer’s voice thunders through the auditorium. It shakes the stage, vibrates up her legs, rattles her bones. His words are just static to her ears. “Gentlemen, allow me to present your star for the evening- a young flower, just waiting to burst into bloom…” He throws open the curtain. She sees him for an instant- sharp black suit, blood-red tie- before a spotlight fills her eyes and she stumbles, blinking, into the radiant glare. “We have a treat for you tonight, folks- a born athlete, a dancer from an early age. Hers is a rare talent, believe you me. So, without further ado…” She gasps as his gavel hits the podium like a gunshot, terror blazing in her veins. “...Let’s start the bidding at one hundred thousand.” ~*~ Fifty storeys and almost ten years away, heiress Lila Chase sat glumly at the dinner table, her chin in her hands, gazing out through the floor-length windows of her gilded cage. The city sprawled out at her feet, a labyrinth of neon lights and shadowed alleys. Persephone’s twilight gloom stretched across the horizon, a skyline choked with smog and darkness. No moon. No sun. The sun never shone on Persephone. There was only the rain. A thunk of porcelain on wood stirred her from her melancholy. She glanced up and saw frizzy hair and warm, caramel eyes. “...I don’t want it,” Lila murmured, pouting like a child despite turning eighteen in less than a day. “I’m not hungry.” “You have to eat,” the older girl chided. “Otherwise, you’re never gonna get any taller.” Lila stuck her tongue out. Her companion smiled. She raised a hand, but caught herself, stopping short of ruffling Lila’s hair. A stern voice across the room cut through the air. “Thank you, Lilian,” the man said. “You’re dismissed for tonight.” “Yes, Mr. Chase,” Lily said. She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head, before striding out of the room. She paused in the doorway for just a moment, raising a hand as if to adjust her hair. Lily pointed up towards the roof. Lila nodded, and then she was gone. The well-dressed man at the head of the table glowered at Lily as she made her exit. He sniffed, haughty, and adjusted his vivid red tie. When he looked back at Lila, he was all smiles- sick, cloying things. Lila shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Happy birthday, sweetie,” Adrian Chase said through a toothy smile. “Did you like my gift?” Lila thought of the crimson dress hanging, sheathed in plastic, in her room. She looked up at the head of the long wooden table, meeting Adrian’s eyes past a dozen empty chairs. “...Yes, Daddy,” she said, with a practiced smile. “It’s beautiful.” “I trust you’ll wear it to the banquet tomorrow night? I want you to look your best when you receive the rest of your gifts.” “Will they all be as lovely as yours, Daddy?” Adrian smiled, his teeth glinting in the light. “Of course, Lila. Nothing but the best for my princess.” Lila took a deep breath and sighed. If Adrian noticed, he didn’t show it, digging into his dinner with one hand, the other flicking through a data-slate. As a CEO, there was always work to be done, there were always reports to be read. Across the sector, business was booming- whether out in the public eye, or in a hidden cellar, fifty floors below. Lila shuddered. She gasped at the crack of a gavel on the auction block- when she realized that it was only thunder. She sighed, gazing out from her fiftieth floor penthouse to the shrouded and gloomy twilight sky, wondering if she would ever see the sun. The sun never shone on Persephone. There was only rain, rain, rain... ~*~ Thunder cracked, high above, sending the memory of a cold cellar and a ringing gavel shivering through Lily’s limbs. She sighed, sitting with her back to a ventilation unit, chugging away behind her. Rain ran in rivulets off the tarp above her head. Neon lights glittered amidst the water cascading down, a shimmering curtain five meters square. Within that space stood a makeshift tent with a tarp roof, an empty storage crate used as a table, and a pair of mismatched chairs- a sanctuary, made by a child. Lily glanced over to the huge neon logo of Chase Security Solutions, shining like a beacon across the shadowed city. Even in a storm like this, there were still bugs flitting in the air, their wings glinting in the crystalline glitter of the falling rain. They flitted fruitlessly against the flanks of the sign, mindlessly drawn to its baleful red light. Lily heaved a sigh and glanced up at the clouds overhead, dark and swollen with rain. The sun never shone on Persephone. Lily had heard that on cloudless nights, Persephone’s skies filled with a beautiful, vivid aurora; but the idea of a cloudless night on this gloomy, rainy planet was already something to scoff at. A myth. A fantasy. But it was still a fantasy that stuck like a burr in Lily’s head. Maybe she was no better than those moths, she thought. Mindlessly chasing the light, no matter the odds of ever reaching it. Soon, though. Soon… “You’re thinking too hard.” Lily looked up, only to feel crossed arms and a chin plop down on top of her head. “You’re making that face,” Lila teased. “Y’know. That ‘oooh, look at me, I’m so mysterious and brooding’ face.” “I don’t ‘brood’,” Lily replied. Lila grinned. She looped her arms around Lily’s neck and squeezed, before pulling up her own chair and settling in with a satisfied sigh. “So, how’d you get away?” Lily asked. “The usual,” Lila said, affecting a cutesy, girlish voice. “‘I’m tired, Daddy. I think I’ll go to bed early tonight.’” Lila rolled her eyes, before playfully kicking Lily’s foot. “Some bodyguard you are, Lily,” Lila teased. “Leaving me unattended like this. Who knows what kind of trouble I could get into?” “What kind of trouble, indeed,” Lily smiled, kicking Lila back. “And on the eve of your big birthday banquet, too.” Lila groaned and rolled her eyes so far back into her skull she bonked her head against the ventilation unit behind her. “I don’t want to go to that stupid thing. Why? So I can play dress-up and Dad can show me off to the other dons?” Lila huffed, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. “It’s just gonna be four hours of boring, rich old guys talking to my dad, drinking champagne, and eating gold-plated truffles or whatever,” Lila sulked, her chin in her hands. She met Lily’s eyes. “I wish you could be there with me.” “I will be.”“Yeah, but you’ll be working,” Lila whined. “It won’t be the same.” They sat together for a long moment, surrounded by curtains of rain and haloed by the ominous red light of the billboard blazing atop Chase tower. Lila met Lily’s eyes in a conspiratorial, sidelong glance. “...Also, there’s going to be dancing,” Lila muttered scornfully. “I don’t dance.” Lily smiled. “I can teach you.” “You haven’t danced in years!” “Then we can learn!” They laughed, together, in the pouring rain, in their rooftop sanctuary made of tarps, mismatched chairs- and a promise, years ago. Mafia princess Lila Chase, and Lily, her sister from another world... ~*~ Lightning flashed, and a shadow leapt through the sky. It ran across the rooftops, each step kicking up dirty rainwater, darting past smokestacks and overflowing gutters. Thunder crashed in the distance. It leapt the span between buildings, briefly haloed by a flash of lightning. It kicked off of a rusty fire escape, rolled across a storefront awning, and landed on its feet in a spray of mud- a russet fox with shining crimson eyes. The fox shook the rain from its fur, suffused with a pale yellow gleam, almost like sunlight. But the sun never shone on Persephone- there was just Kit, emerging from the golden glow, running a hand through her rain-slicked hair, and flashing a devil-may-care grin up the sidewalk. “How’d you get here so fast?” “I took the Remora, like a normal person,” Aabha replied. She patted the hull of the skimmer she was leaning against, rocking gently on its anti-gravity field. “Don’t tell me you ran here in all this rain.” “You should try it sometime,” Kit grinned. She flicked rain out of her hair and onto Aabha’s clothes. Aabha jerked back with an indignant squeal. “Get some exercise, some fresh air, get the blood flowing…” “I’ll pass,” Aabha smiled. Kit nodded to the Remora, awkwardly wedged between two mundane cars. “And if it means you don’t have to parallel park…” “Jerk,” Aabha rolled her eyes. “Hate you.” “Bite me,” Kit murmured fondly, before ushering Aabha inside. When she’d had the money, Kit had been to her fair share of greasy spoons, and this one was certainly one of the greasiest. Pungent steam wafted through the air, mingling with the smoke of cigarettes and, Aabha suspected, rather more potent narcotics. They managed to find two seats by the bar, squeezing in beside a factory worker catching a catnap on the table. His shift was either about to begin or had just ended; judging by the empty bottle precariously hanging from his slack fingers, it was likely the latter. “Hey, fun fact,” Kit said, nudging Aabha with her elbow. “You know what’s the best thing to eat when you’re hungover? Carbs.” “Oh,” Aabha said, though she suspected that wasn’t quite true. “I, um. I wouldn’t know.” Kit blinked. “Oh. Sorry.” Aabha smiled, and bumped an elbow against Kit’s. Kit lifted up her menu and started perusing the diner’s fare- sandwiches, soups, stews, simple, hearty meals, the cornerstones of the working man’s diet. But Aabha wasn’t looking at the menu. She was looking at Kit. Once she had officially joined the team, the first thing they did was go out and get Kit some new clothes. Gone were her ripped jeans and her ratty tank tops. She looked like a soldier, now, albeit a soldier that practiced parkour. A checkered yellow keffiyeh around her throat, a dark field jacket with her sleeves rolled up, khaki pants, half-gloves. The only remnants from her old wardrobe were her favorite, clunky black boots, the knife sheathed across the small of her back, and a daring smile that gave Aabha a funny feeling in her chest. “What are you looking at?” Kit teased. Aabha started. “Wh-What? What?” Kit rolled her eyes, smiling. “Weirdo…” Aabha looked away, clearing her throat. “S-Sorry, I was just thinking. This is… nice.” “You don’t sound too eager,” Kit said. “Come on, don’t knock it. Back on Hypnos, I used to go to places like this all the time. I know it doesn’t look like much, but here, right here? These are my kinda people.” Beside them, the man’s empty bottle finally fell out of his hand and thunked against the floor. He woke with a snort, taking a moment to remember where he was. He glanced up at the girls. “‘Scuse me,” he muttered. “No, it’s… okay…” Aabha said. The man stopped short, his eyes growing wide. Aabha watched as the man seemed to sober up in an instant, gathering his things and hurrying away. Aabha heard the scrape of chairs as several other patrons made themselves scarce, others shrinking into their booths and pointedly looking away. Half a dozen men filed into the diner, dressed to impress. Each of them wore a black vest over a white dress shirt and a crimson tie. It was a classic look, incongruous, even, though the girls didn’t blend in any better, what with Kit’s uniform or Aabha’s vivid red and gold shalwar kameez. “Is that your ride outside?” asked one of the men, stepping forward. “Nice parking job.” Kit stifled a laugh. Aabha sighed, turning to face the men. “Everyone’s making a fuss about my driving,” Aabha huffed. “Even, it seems, the mafia.” “We run this city, lady,” the gangster replied, adjusting his crimson tie. “It’s dangerous for women to walk these streets by themselves. And we don’t take kindly to some out-of-towners walking around in our colors.” “Please!” Kit scoffed. “Aabha looks way better in red than any of you chucklefucks.” “Really?” Aabha asked, her eyes lighting up. Kit blinked. “Well, yeah, I mean-” “You’ve got a smart mouth on you, girl,” the lead gangster smiled dangerously. “I think I’ll take it. And your ride. And everything else you’ve got to offer- market day’s only a day away.” “You will do no such thing,” Aabha said, her voice gaining an edge. “You will turn around, you will walk out of this diner, and you will all think long and hard about what you do for a living.” “What the fuck is this?” the gangster scoffed. “You tryin’ to hypnotize me, lady?” “I’m trying to save your life,” Aabha said. The man looked Aabha up and down appraisingly, taking in her slender, willowy form and Kit’s smaller, compact physique beside her. Confident, for a pair of girls that didn’t look anything but human. But if they were supers… He sniffed. He jerked his head towards the door, and turned to leave. A glass bottle shattered against his skull and dropped him face down on the floor. Aabha shot Kit a sharp look. Kit shrugged. “Oops?” A brawl erupted. Aabha yanked Kit aside as a fist smashed into the wall behind her. Aabha ducked down, got her arms around a man’s knee and yanked him off his feet. Kit gleefully shattered his nose with her heel. Aabha kicked out a man’s knees, before another got his arms around her from behind. A fist caught Kit in the face and snapped her around- before she jumped, and rode that momentum into a spinning kick that slammed a man face-first into the bar counter. Aabha dislodged the man grabbing her with a headbutt that sent him reeling, nursing a split lip. She kicked him down to one knee, flooring him with another kick to the face as he fell. She had a split-second to feel satisfied, before another mobster tackled her and hurled her off her feet. “Aabha!” Kit yelled, her eyes flashing. She chopped a gangster in the throat, punched him in the face, yanked him forward by his tie and punched him again. He crumpled to her feet, and she ran, bowling over the man looming over Aabha on the floor and sending the two of them crashing through chairs and upended tables. The gangster hit the ground with a grunt. He snarled, patting his coat pockets. Kit rolled into a crouch, reached behind her, and drew the knife sheathed across the small of her back. “Show me yours, tough guy,” Kit growled. “I bet mine’s bigger.” Kit lunged an instant before she saw him raise the gun. Kit flicked her wrist at the last second and slapped the pistol upwards. The pistol barked and spat a round into the ceiling. The man swore, and retrained his aim, as Kit’s dagger came flashing down- Aabha caught the blade on a prong of her chakram, turning the blade aside with a squeal of metal. Aabha hooked Kit’s wrist within the ring of her left-hand chakram, her right smashing the pistol out of the gangster’s hands. With practiced grace, Aabha curled her chakram around the gangster’s neck, turned, and leveraged him over her shoulder, pinning him in a choke-hold behind her while Kit was still sprawled at her feet. Aabha sharply twisted her left-hand chakram around Kit’s wrist. Kit barked out in pain and dropped her dagger. “Hey!” Kit snapped, fire in her eyes. Aabha fiercely met her gaze. “This badge does not give us the right to simply execute whoever we choose,” Aabha said through gritted teeth. “Not even scum like this.” Kit scowled, but said nothing. The gangster struggled and choked behind Aabha’s back. Long after they would have been useful, Persephone PDF burst into the bar, their weapons trained on Aabha. “Drop your weapons!” a trooper barked. Aabha gently unhooked Kit’s wrist from her chakram, unceremoniously dropping the gangster behind her onto a gasping heap on the floor. The ring-blades disappeared into curls of magical flame. Kit dusted herself off and got to her feet. “Shit,” she said, as if suddenly remembering something. “What is it?” Aabha asked. Kit pouted. “...We never got to eat.” Aabha sighed, raising her hands. “Get on the ground, now!” a PDF trooper ordered. “We have authority,” Aabha said levelly. “Oh, bullshit!” the trooper snapped. “Who are you to claim authority?” Aabha crossed her arms, PDF troopers warily following her every move. She touched the crest of the Order pinned to her left arm- the crescent, orb, and three diamonds- and pressed a fingertip against the central orb. Saffron light bathed the assembled group. Aabha emerged from the glow in full armor, a crimson sari draped across her shoulders, shining red and gold. The troopers hesitated, glancing between each other and the radiant form that stood before them. Aabha held her crest out flat on her palm. A luminous golden bust of herself shone up from her hand, as well as a stream of scrolling, encrypted data. “I am Junior Agent Aabha Puri of Order asset Sparrow,” Aabha said, her voice clear and commanding. “This is my partner, Junior Enforcer Himari Sato. We are here with the permission of your planetary government on a sanctioned operation, and we do have authority. So if I were you, I would choose your next words quite carefully.” ~*~ An hour later, Aabha and Kit found themselves sitting in a waiting room across from an old wall clock, watching the minutes tick by. Aabha sat with her hands primly folded in her lap, her eyes closed, deceptively serene. Kit fidgeted, rubbing at her wrist. “Hey,” Kit ventured. Aabha opened her eyes. “Hm?” “How do you do that?” Kit asked. Aabha blinked. “That what?” “That cool thing you do, where you press a button and get all glowy, and then bam, you’re wearing armor.” Aabha sat up. “You really think it’s cool?” Kit made a face. “Aabha.” “Sorry,” Aabha shrugged. She tapped at the Order crest pinned to her left arm. “My badge is linked to my armory locker aboard the Sparrow,” Aabha explained. “Pressing the orb activates a teleport beacon that warps my armor right onto my body. It’s a neat trick, but there’s no magic involved. I’m not conjuring a suit of armor out of nothing. It still needs to be cleaned, repaired, all that stuff.” “Huh,” Kit said. “So it’s not a henshin thing? You don’t have to yell a battlecry or strike a pose?” “You don’t have to,” Aabha smiled, sheepish. “I mean. I do. For funsies.” Their eyes met for a moment. Kit looked away, heaving a sigh. “Listen. I’m, uh. I’m sorry I brained that guy with a beer bottle and got us in a bar fight.” Aabha shrugged. “I’m sorry he almost shot you. How’s your wrist?” Kit lifted up her arm, studying the angry red mark that Aabha’s chakram left around her wrist. “It’ll be fine,” Kit said lightly- though when Aabha’s hand closed around her wrist, her breath caught in her throat. “I’m sorry,” Aabha said quietly, absent-mindedly brushing her thumb across the mark. Kit looked up, and their eyes met for a long moment. Too long. “Hey, um.” Kit cleared her throat, looking away. “Personal space.” Aabha abruptly let go, embarrassed. “Right. Sorry.” A door banged open down the hall. Sylwyn came marching up like a goddess of war, her head held high, while a flustered PDF sergeant trailed anxiously at her heels. “S-Senior Telerian, once again, you and your team have my deepest apologies for our little, ah, m-misunderstanding…” Syl stopped short, and raised a hand for quiet. The sergeant shut up and shrank away, as if she might hit him. Sylwyn turned, regarding him with her ice-blue eyes, just a little too bright, too vivid to be human. The sergeant took a deep breath. “The Order thanks you for your cooperation,” Syl said firmly. “That will be all.” The sergeant nodded, and scurried away to his other duties. Syl watched him go, arms crossed, her lips pursed in thought. Aabha got to her feet and bowed her head, ready for a scolding. Kit lingered just behind. “In the future,” Syl said carefully, “we should aspire to more caution when dealing with Planetary Defense. We are, at least on paper, allies. We are not here to run roughshod over their authority. The Order only has so much sway. Are we clear?” “Yes, ma’am,” Aabha murmured, staring at the floor. “I take full responsibility.” Kit started forward, but Aabha held up a hand. She stopped short, working her jaw. Syl sighed, her stern expression softening. She began to walk, Aabha and Kit following obediently at her heels. “When we get back to the Sparrow, have Father Amaro look you over, just in case,” Syl said, as they marched through the halls of the PDF garrison. “I know you must be restless, going this long without a proper assignment. But you won’t have to wait much longer. As soon as Vincent finishes his work here, we’ll be off.” “Where is he?” Aabha asked, while Kit quietly tried to remember who Vincent was. “Meeting with an informant- and having a conversation best done in person,” Syl explained. “He says it’s just another routine handshake. But you know what they say about routine...” ~*~ The sun never shone on Persephone. Except that wasn’t quite true. The name Persephone belonged to two places- to the planet, and to the lone mega-city situated upon its surface. Persephone was tidally locked to its parent star, its orbit and rotational period lining up so perfectly that the sun shone on the same side of the planet at all times. What that meant was that the side facing the star was a scorched, sun-baked wasteland, and the side facing away a frigid, vast nothing, with only a thin strip of habitable land caught in between. All life on Persephone lived within the city of the same name, situated along that narrow band of perpetual twilight. The city, like the planet, was caught between the light and the dark- between the crowds trudging along through the shadows of the city streets, ducking their heads against the rain, and the flashes of brilliant lightning that briefly painted the world in garish black and white. Lily walked the streets of Persephone, just another shadow among hundreds, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her belted, dove-gray trenchcoat. The skyscrapers looming up on either side turned every street into a wind tunnel, and Lily grit her teeth, turning her collar up against the gale. She ducked into an adjoining alleyway, grateful for the reprieve against the howling wind. She stood, and watched the crowd go by, nobody sparing her so much as a passing glance. She exhaled and pulled up her sleeve, checking her chron. Lightning flashed overhead, haloing her silhouette in stark white. Then she caught the derringer that fell out of her sleeve and snapped her aim towards the darkness at the end of the alleyway. “Say it now and say it right,” Lily demanded. “Delphi,” said a voice in the dark. Lily paused, then slowly lowered her pistol. The shadow stepped out of the darkness and became a man- a boy, really, with olive skin, a rumpled suit, and a face full of stubble that couldn’t become a proper beard to save his life. “Vince,” Lily said, and smiled. “You look like shit.” “You’re not looking too hot yourself, princess,” Vincent grinned. They clasped hands. “You’re not wearing your tie,” Lily said. “That’s not me anymore,” Vincent nodded. “And it ain’t you, either. You ready to get outta this dump?” “Not yet,” Lily replied. “There’s a problem. I need to talk to your boss somewhere secure.” Vincent whistled, long and low. “...Alright. I’ve got a place…” ~*~ “Miss Chase,” Morgan began, as patiently as he could. “This is not what we agreed.” Lily took a deep breath. “I know.” “What you are proposing will put not only Lila at risk, but my team as well.” “I know,” Lily pressed. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. “I just…” Lily’s frustrated sigh was cut off by the hatch door whizzing open with a pneumatic hiss. Syl emerged into the Sparrow’s control room, Aabha and Kit at her heels. The crew was gathered around the loose circular dais of the holoterminal in the center of the room. There was the captain, in her wide-brimmed hat and rose sunglasses. There was the chief engineer, in grubby coveralls and with a drone hovering over her shoulder. There was the guy in the red tie who hit on Kit the moment they met. New names, new faces. Kit was still trying to remember them all. For some, like Vincent, she admittedly didn’t try very hard. “Syl,” Morgan nodded as they filed inside. “Aabha, Kit. This is our client, Lilian Chase. Miss Chase, this is my sister, Sylwyn, and junior agents Puri and Sato.” Lily relaxed slightly at the sight of the two juniors. “Hey.” “Hey,” Aabha smiled, and gave a little wave. “A pleasure,” Syl said curtly. “Do we get to hear this from the beginning?” Morgan stepped forward and slotted a data-tile into the console. The holoterminal winked to life, projecting the three-dimensional likeness of a sharply-dressed man with a slimy smile. “Adrian Chase,” Morgan said, cast in the pale, hololithic glow. “He is the CEO of Chase Security Solutions. On paper, he is a perfectly scrupulous individual running a legitimate security firm. In practice, Adrian Chase and CSS rule this city with an iron fist, kept safe by loopholes and legalese.” “Mr. Chase is a known and notorious member of the Dark Star Syndicate,” Morgan continued. “The Order has attempted to apprehend him in the past. Each time, he’s managed to slip through our grasp. There’s always someone to take the fall in his place, always some deniable asset. His influence with Persephone’s planetary government cannot be underestimated.” “He thinks he’s above the law,” Lily muttered acidly. “Untouchable.” “The law is only as strong as those who enforce it,” Syl said quietly. “What about Planetary Defense?” Aabha asked. “We, uh, we got a decent look at the local garrison. They seemed harmless enough.” “That’s the problem,” Kit chimed in. “They’re harmless. Toothless. They let the street gangs walk all over ‘em. That goes on long enough, sooner or later, people are gonna start looking for a change.” “And Adrian Chase might be looking at a brand new security contract…” Aabha murmured, her eyes wide. “If Adrian Chase and CSS win that contract, then they will control all of Persephone, from the gangs at street level all the way to the top of the administration,” Syl concluded darkly. “The law is only as strong as those who enforce it. With that contract, Adrian Chase wouldn’t be above the law- he would be the law. He’d be untouchable.” “Unless you had inside information,” Lily chimed in, “and you busted this thing wide open before he made it to the top.” All eyes in the room turned to Lily. She smiled, flashing them all an audacious grin. “Unless,” Lily said, “you had someone like me.” “That was the plan, at least,” Vincent muttered dryly from his corner of the room. “You made it out of Chase Tower without much fuss, and here you are, aboard the Sparrow. We could’ve shipped you off to Order Intelligence and called it a day- but it ain’t gonna be that simple, is it?” “No,” Lily said. She stepped forward, into the light cast by the hololithic bust of Adrian Chase floating above the dais. She glowered up at him, before reaching into the light and swiping it aside, scrolling through the Order’s dossier, searching for something. She frowned, and stepped back, meeting the eyes of the assembled crew. “My name is Lilian Chase,” Lily said. “Adrian Chase is my adoptive father. Your records don’t show it, but Adrian Chase also has a biological daughter- Delilah Chase. My sister, Lila.” Hushed surprise flicked across the group. Lily continued. “...I”m not surprised you don’t know about her. Adrian has kept her hidden within Chase Tower. She’s never left that tower, not once in her life. But all that changes tomorrow night.” “Why’s that?” Aabha asked. “It’s Lila’s birthday,” Lily explained. “Tomorrow, Lila turns eighteen years old. Our father is throwing her a party at a banquet hall uptown. There, he intends to unveil Lila to the world and announce her as heiress to Chase Security Solutions. But Lila has no intention of inheriting the company, or dad’s criminal empire. Lila and I are both privy to operational secrets that can help The Order bring the Syndicate- and my father- to their knees. But if you want them, first, you’re going to have to do something for me.” Aabha and Kit exchanged glances. Syl lifted her head, intrigued. “Miss Chase,” Syl began, “what exactly are you proposing?” Lily smiled. “I want you to kidnap my sister.” ~*~ Night came and went, with no light in the sky to mark its passing. No sun, no moon, just gray clouds overhead and the baleful crimson glow of the CSS logo atop Chase Tower. Lila sat in her sanctuary, draped across the arm of her chair, gazing glumly out across the city. The ruddy glow of the sign before her painted her pale skin crimson, to match her dress. Lily sat beside her, clutching a holocomm in her hands. “Today’s the day,” Lily said softly. “Yeah,” Lila sighed. She turned, meeting Lily’s eyes over her shoulder. “How do I look?” Tired was the first thing that came to mind. Burdened. Haunted, even. “Great,” Lily lied. “Kiss-up,” Lila smiled, and shook her head. Lila wrung her hands, restless. She stood, and began pacing around the CSS sign, a small, slim silhouette haloed by its eerie crimson light. “What are you thinking about?” Lily asked. Lila paused at the edge of the roof, leaning over the chest-high partition. “Her,” she said. “Who?” Lila barked out a bitter laugh. “‘Who’, indeed.” Lily appeared beside her, her eyes soft with concern. Lila exhaled, and slumped down to her knees, leaning against the wall as if in prayer. She sank down, cradling her head in her arms. “...Who wore this dress before me?” Lila asked no one in particular. “Where are they now? Are they afraid? Are they alive? Are they on their way to market? Or have they already been sold?” Lily swallowed hard. “Lila.” “Eighteen years,” Lila spat, choking down the knot in her throat. “Eighteen years of market days. And for what? S-So I can… so I can eat foie gras, and… wear pearls…? How many have passed through that basement? What have they bought me, huh? What is it- one girl for a week of fine dining? Two for a necklace? Five for a ballroom? How long have I worn dead girls’ clothes?” “Lila, stop,” Lily urged. “Eighteen years,” Lila echoed, balling her fists. “And what have I done about it? Nothing. What could I do…?” Lila looked out over the city, her lips pressed into a line. She extended her arm, reaching out over the edge of the roof. Her fingertips brushed against a force field that shimmered to life at her touch. Lily snatched Lila’s hand away and held it in her own, a fierce look in her eyes. “Don’t ever say that,” Lily said sharply. “Not ever.” Lila stared up into Lily’s eyes, a knot of guilt in her chest. She squeezed Lily’s hand, shivering and fighting tears. “Lily,” Lila whispered, “how long has it been since-” Lila’s question went unfinished into Lily’s chest, Lily drawing her into a fierce hug. “That wasn’t your fault,” Lily said, with a quiet conviction. “None of this was your fault. And I have a plan- a way to get us both out of here for good. You just have to trust me. You trust me, don’t you?” Lila hiccuped, and nodded into Lily’s chest. “More than anyone.” “It’ll be your birthday gift, from me,” Lily murmured, holding Lila close. “Just chin up, okay? Keep it together for just one more night. One more night, and then we’ll put all of this behind us. I promise. Okay?” Lila took a deep breath, and nodded. “Okay.” Lily pulled a handkerchief from her uniform coat and dabbed at Lila’s eyes. Lila almost laughed, despite everything, smiling wearily through the fuss. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” Lily said. “You have a party to attend…” ~*~ The banquet hall was a lavish, upscale affair- nothing but the best for the heir to an empire. Men in finely-tailored suits sipped champagne by the light of chandeliers, the faux-firelight casting everything in a golden glow. Kit lingered in a side corridor, taking in the view. This place was just about the most bourgeoisie thing she’d ever seen- plush carpets, paintings on the walls, silverware that might have been made from actual silver. Kit gazed appreciatively at the buffet line. It’d been a full day, but she was still sour about her and Aabha getting interrupted by Syndicate goons before they’d had a chance to eat. But more than that, her eyes were drawn to the parade of old money, sauntering through the crowd with glassy-eyed young women hanging on their arms. This gala was a thief’s paradise. If only she’d had a coat. Or a bag. Or, really, any pockets at all. “Remind me again why I had to wear a dress?” Kit muttered. “What, you don’t like it?” Aabha chirped into her ear. “I think you look great! Besides, we have to try to blend in.” Kit shrugged, casually adjusting the micro-bead commlink she was wearing disguised as an earring. “Why do I have to wear a dress? Syl’s not wearing a dress.” “She’s a senior agent. She can wear pants if she wants.” “So Syl wears the pants?” Kit smirked. “There’s a joke in there, somewhere, about getting screwed by your-” “Please don’t joke about me getting topped by my boss when we’re supposed to be undercover and she’s on this channel!” “Ladies!” Syl hissed into their ears. “If you’re quite finished…” Kit scrunched up her face so she wouldn’t break into laughter. She caught Syl’s eyes across the banquet hall, offering her a sheepish smile. Syl exhaled, standing primly behind the buffet with her hands clasped behind her back. Even in a catering uniform, she was the picture of dignity and poise. She surveyed the room with a watchful eye, taking in points of entry, lines of sight, the men lining the room who dressed well enough but were still unmistakably Chase mercenaries. Syl’s lips twitched into the slightest frown. Her micro-bead chirped. “This is Sparrow to away team,” Morgan said. “All signs, check in.” “Mirage, standing by,” Syl said. “Firefly, standing by!” Aabha. “Ferret, standing by.” Vincent. “Jackal, standing by.” Jaki. “Wait, do I get a codename?” Kit asked. “I call ‘Fox’! Oh, or ‘Vixen’. Is ‘Vixen’ too much?” Giggles on the line, mostly Aabha’s. Syl’s lips twitched into a hint of a smile. “Jackal, how does it look out there?” Syl asked, trying to hold the team to some pretense of being professionals. Father Amaro was at a table across the street, taking in the evening air. He crossed his legs and leaned back in his seat, studying the lines of corporate executives and wealthy socialites emerging from a queue of glossy black staff cars. Not one of the gathered crowd gave him so much as a passing glance. Compared to this humble outdoor cafe, the banquet hall might as well have been on another planet. “Oh, it’s a party out here,” Jaki said lightly, taking a sip of coffee and taking care not to spill a drop on his stark white thobe. “I can only imagine what it looks like inside.” “Care to join us, then?” Aabha asked. “If this were a case concerning the occult, then I would be happy to take point,” Jaki said, somber. “But I’m afraid the evil we face today is all too human.” “Ferret,” Morgan said, from the control room aboard the Sparrow. “Are you in position?” “Yeah,” Vincent replied, lying in wait just outside the back door that led to the electrical room in the banquet hall’s basement. He slipped a hand into his pocket, curling his fingers around the sleek metal case of an EMP grenade. “I’ve got one diversion, ready to go whenever you need it.” “Understood,” Morgan said, cast in the pale blue glow of the control room holoterminal. A three dimensional map of the banquet hall and surrounding streets floated before him on a bed of solidified light. There were five markers on the display- one for Jaki on perimeter watch, one for Vincent covering the back entrance, and three for Aabha, Kit, and Syl inside the ballroom, each marker linked to their badges and comms. Morgan tapped Syl’s icon, and the display zoomed in to show Syl’s shining silhouette among a throng of shifting shadows. “Syl?” Morgan asked. “Everything’s set,” Syl murmured, reaching into the pocket of her apron and closing her fingers around the crest of the Order- a crescent, an orb, and three diamonds. “All we have to do is wait…” ~*~ For a supposed guest of honor, Lila was doing a lot of moping in the shadows of the banquet hall. She lingered on the fringes of the crowd, wholly uninterested in the company of businessmen, idly sipping from a flute of champagne she wished she had a taste for. “Shouldn’t you be mingling?” Lila looked up. Lily was lurking nearby, wearing a knowing smile. “Probably,” Lila shrugged. “This isn’t really my kind of crowd.” “Why? You don’t care for older men?” “Nope,” Lila giggled. If anyone could coax a smile out of her, even at a droll banquet like this, it was Lily. And if Lily had her way, this would be the last stuffy corporate party the two of them would ever attend. “Come on,” Lily said. “Let’s get you something to eat, at least.” The duo picked their way through the chatting crowd and made for the buffet line, Lily taking a moment to whisper in Lila’s ear. “I have a plan,” Lily said. “There’s a ship waiting to get us off Persephone. When we get a chance, we’re gonna slip out of here and take my car to the starport. Just stay close to me, okay?” “Okay,” Lila said, swallowing hard. “Lily?” “Yeah?” “I love you.” “I know.” “I’m scared…” “I know,” Lily murmured. “It’s going to be okay. Trust me.” Lila nodded, anxiously clutching her plate to her chest as if it were a shield. They moved up in line. “Baked ziti, miss?” asked a uniformed server. Lila nodded mutely, offering her plate. Syl served Lila a scoop of pasta, meeting Lily’s eyes over Lila’s shoulder. Lily caught her gaze and dipped her chin- a fraction of an inch. Across the room, Kit was keeping an eye on them- not that Kit needed an excuse to keep an eye on a buffet line. She saw Lily, in a dark, three-piece suit, and a girl in a stark red dress- Lila, she presumed. Now, Kit hadn’t known Lila very long, but Lila had already endeared herself to Kit with her body language alone. Kit didn’t attend many parties, but Kit knew well the struggle of going to a party where you don’t know anybody except the person who brought you. And she knew, even better, that when all else fails, you can always enjoy the food. “Why don’t we just grab ‘em now?” Kit murmured into her micro-bead. “No,” Morgan said over the link. “We don’t move until Lily gives us the signal.” “But they’re right there!” “Be patient,” Syl said. “Enjoy the party.” Kit had a feeling that by “enjoy the party”, Syl didn’t mean “pickpocket the shit out of the bourgeoisie”. But before Kit could think too hard about whether she could still pull off a good fleecing, lack-of-pockets-be-damned, Aabha’s voice crackled over her link. “Hey, Kit.” “Excuse me…?” Aabha giggled. “Sorry. ‘Fox’, then. Or are we going with ‘Vixen’?” Kit smiled. “What is it, Aabha? And where have you been this whole time?” “Covering the second floor, and waiting for the opportunity to do something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a kid. Do me a favor, Kit?” “What?” “Look up.” “What?” Kit blinked, before doing as she was told- -and stopping right in her tracks. Aabha was standing on the second floor balcony, resplendent in red and gold. She descended the steps, poised and regal, the gilt embroidery along the edges of her vivid red skirt and sari glimmering magnificently by the light of chandeliers. Aabha folded one arm behind her back and clasped the other over her chest, dipping her head in a formal bow. “May I have this dance?” Kit stared, transfixed, momentarily forgetting how these things called ‘words’ worked. So she took Aabha’s hand, pulled her close- -and they danced, a bloom of red and black across the polished marble floor. “So much for ‘blending in’,” Kit murmured into Aabha’s chest. Her cheeks were burning, and she couldn’t look Aabha in the eye. “Sorry,” Aabha smiled, sheepish. “I couldn’t resist. I’ve always wanted to have a moment like that, a princess at the top of the ballroom stairs. And it’s not often I get invited to any ballrooms, so… I thought I’d take the chance.” Kit fondly shook her head, the duo swaying and gliding through the crowd. “I’ll be honest,” Aabha murmured, “I don’t really know how to dance. We’re kind of just spinning in circles…” “It’s okay,” Kit said. “I mean, I don’t either.” “What are they doing?” Morgan wondered over the link. Syl watched them go past, her lips curling into a faint, warm smile. “They’re having a moment.” Aabha and Kit spun through the throng of partygoers, just one pair among many- but to them, they were the whole world, as if the boundaries of all creation had become a clasped hand, a hand on a hip, the gentle rustling of silk against satin. There was a warmth in Kit’s chest that she was wholly unprepared to experience tonight. She lifted her head, and flashed Aabha a smile. “So how does it feel?” Kit asked. “What?” “To be princess for a day.” Their eyes met- Aabha’s warm amber and Kit’s stark crimson. Even in their eyes, they only saw each other. “...Magical,” Aabha breathed. ~*~ “Wow…” Lila murmured dreamily, watching Aabha and Kit on the dance floor. “God, just look at them.” “Like something out of a fairy tale,” Lily mused. “Do you think I’ll ever have a dance like that…?” Lila asked. Lily scoffed, and smiled. “I think we’d both have a better chance of becoming space pirates than finding a decent date in this crowd.” Lila giggled. “Being a pirate doesn’t sound too bad.” A hand clapped onto Lila’s shoulder and all the mirth drained from her face in an instant. She hitched her shoulders, her breath caught in her throat. “Don’t they look lovely?” Adrian Chase smiled thinly, sipping from a flute of champagne. “Of course, they don’t hold a candle to you, princess.” Lila straightened her shoulders, and slipped on a practiced smile. “...Of course not, Daddy.” Lily bit down a surge of anger at the way Lila retreated into her little princess persona. Soon, Lily thought as she briefly caught Lila’s eyes, neither of us will have to pretend anymore. Soon… “That dress looks stunning on you, my dear, just like I knew it would,” Adrian said. He brushed his fingers past Lila’s earrings and lifted up the crescent moon on a chain around her neck. “This, though. This is new.” “It was a gift, Daddy,” Lila said, in a sickeningly sweet, childish voice. “From Lily.” Adrian’s eyes flicked over to Lily. “Was it, now?” Lily forced herself to bow her head in deference. Adrian studied her for a long moment, before turning and patting Lila on the shoulder. “Well, then. I have some business to attend to, but I do hope you enjoy the party, princess,” Adrian said sweetly. That mask of affection abruptly fell away as soon as he glanced Lily’s way. “Lilian?” “Yes, Mr. Chase?” “A word.” Lily nodded, and caught Lila’s eyes one last time before Adrian ushered her away. Lila exhaled and watched her go, anxiously clutching the golden crescent hanging from her neck, her red diamond earrings twinkling in the light… ~*~ Adrian led Lily to a small side room that the banquet hall was letting him use as an impromptu office. As soon as Adrian clicked the door shut behind her, his expression went grim- as if a light had gone out in his eyes. “How long have you served this family, Lilian?” Adrian asked. Lily swallowed, standing straight and still. “...Nine years. Almost ten, now, sir.” “When you first joined the company, you were… what? Fifteen? Sixteen?” Lily fought to keep a straight face. ‘Joining the company’ was such a polite way to put it. “Thirteen, sir.” “You were young,” Adrian mused. “Too young, I suspected, to be of much use. But Delilah saw something in you. She saw some promise. Some potential, I suppose. And she just had to have you.” Lily exhaled, but said nothing. Adrian watched her carefully before continuing. “For the past decade or so, you and my daughter have been practically joined at the hip,” Adrian said, pointedly not including Lily as his daughter. “You’ve been working hard. I think you deserve a break, wouldn’t you agree? A little time off.” “That’s… generous, Mr. Chase,” Lily said carefully, “but I don’t think-” The door clicked open. Lily closed her eyes and breathed out a curse as half a dozen uniformed Chase mercenaries filed into the room. “No, Lilian,” Adrian said. “I insist.” ~*~ There’s a rule, when it comes to breaking into buildings: fancy places have fancy locks. Or at least, they should- or else the basement levels of a high-brow banquet hall can be broken into with little more than a pair of wire hairpins. Vincent pushed the door open a crack and then slipped inside, easing the door shut behind him. He crept through the shadows of the basement, knowing better than to turn on the lights and let the world know he was there. In the dim light, he made out the blocky silhouette of the banquet hall’s fuse box mounted on the wall, a cube of dull, unpainted metal. Vincent pulled out a wire hairpin. He twisted it into a simple loop, eased it into the lock, twisted, and pulled. There was a click, and he pulled open the cover of the fuse box, exposing the array of switches beneath. He grinned. “This is Ferret,” Vincent whispered into his micro-bead. “I’m-” Vincent gagged as a meaty arm clamped around his throat. A shadow yanked him away from the fuse box and lifted him off the floor, his feet kicking uselessly. His partner, another uniformed Chase mercenary, melted out of the shadows, joining the one pinning Vincent in a chokehold. “‘Ferret’, huh?” The merc grinned. “I’d say you look more like a rat.” ~*~ Aabha and Kit abruptly stopped in the middle of the dance floor, an island of stillness among a sea of swaying bodies. “Vince?” Aabha hissed into her link. “Vincent, what’s going on?” Their micro-beads crackled- just grunts and the sounds of a struggle. Aabha and Kit shared a glance, before both scanning the room. They found Lila, sitting glumly at a table in the corner, picking half-heartedly at her food. But… “Where’s Lily?” Kit wondered. Aabha shook her head. “Something’s wrong…” Lila pushed pasta around on her plate, her chin in her hands, her mind elsewhere. She almost didn’t notice when a uniformed server arrived to take her plate. “Are you finished with that, miss?” she asked. “Huh?” Lila blinked. “...Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I’m, um, I’m not very hungry…” She leaned forward to pick up Lila’s plate and slide it onto a large silver serving platter, lingering over Lila’s shoulder to whisper in her ear. “Delilah Chase?” Syl asked. Lila went stiff. “...Yes.” “My name is Sylwyn Telerian. I’m working with your sister, Lilian Chase.” “You know Lily?” “Yes. I need you to come with me.” Lila swallowed, hesitating. “I… I don’t know. Lily told me to stay with her...” “Please, Miss Chase, there isn’t time,” Syl pleaded. “I am an Agent of the Order. I need you to trust me.” Lila stared at Syl. Her hands were shaking. “I… I don’t know-” “Excuse me.” Syl froze as a Chase mercenary, a shaved-headed brute in a dark suit and red tie, crept up behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pack of guards closing in around her. “Step away from Miss Chase,” the man rumbled. Syl stood up straight. She took a deep breath, and sighed. There was no turning back now. “I said step back,” the merc growled. He reached forward to close a meaty fist around Syl’s arm. Lila’s plate shattered against the man’s skull, sending a jolt of pain through his whole body. An instant later, a silver serving tray broke his nose and smashed him off his feet. The man cried out as he hit the ground, covered with shattered ceramic and spitting blood. “Stay here,” Syl said, pushing Lila under a table. She pulled the crest of the Order out of her apron pocket and pinned it to her breast. She rose, crossing her arms across her chest, pressing a fingertip to the orb in the center of her badge. A leaf-green aura engulfed Syl’s form. Undeterred, a pack of Chase mercenaries charged, brandishing collapsible batons. Syl coiled ribbons of leaf-green light between her fingers, and raised her hands. There was the rush of an otherworldly spring breeze, and the crunch of metal against metal. Syl lifted her head, clad in white and leaf-green, her ocean-blue eyes glinting dangerously in the light. “So much for stealth,” Syl muttered, six batons braced against her shield. She shoved them all back, her sword materializing in her hands. The men shouted and charged. Syl turned aside their batons, slashing open hamstrings, wrists, chests, throats. Syl painted the air with arcs of blood from the scything of her blade, dropping mercenaries onto the polished marble. Syl slashed open a man’s thigh and crunched her knee into his face as he doubled over, breaking his nose. She turned, and punched her shield into a man’s chest, breaking his sternum and leaving him a gasping heap on the floor. Party guests recoiled from the mayhem erupting in their midst, crowding towards the banquet hall doors. As they fled, more of Chase’s men streamed in, pushing through the stampeding crowd and making a beeline for Syl and Lila at its heart. Another wave of mercenaries broke through the press of bodies and charged. Two of them cried out and fell, their weapons skittering out of their grasp and across the tile floor. They seethed and gasped, clutching gashes in their legs. Aabha raised her hands and plucked her flying chakrams out of the air. She strode through the fleeing crowd, looking, for all the world, like a goddess of war. Kit was at her side, her own angel of death in a little black dress, clutching the dagger she’d worn sheathed against her hip. Chase mercenaries kept streaming in. Together, Aabha and Kit laid waste to them. Lila cowered beneath her table, one hand over her mouth. As the daughter of crime lord Adrian Chase, she’d seen a lot of things to turn the stomach. But this fighting, being this close… Adrenaline spiked in her system. For a moment, Lila thought she might vomit. The sight of Aabha, Kit, and Syl tearing through her father’s men was one of the most terrifying things she’d ever seen- yet she couldn’t look away. That was when she saw it- when the fight had gone beyond batons and blades and became something much, much worse. “Agents!” Lila cried. She saw him raise the gun- ~*~ Vincent smashed his skull into the face of the merc behind him. He dropped into a crouch, his ears ringing, just as the second merc shot where he was an instant ago and blew a trio of holes in his partner’s chest. Vincent threw something at him before he could re-train his aim. The mercenary caught it without thinking. The EMP grenade exploded in his hands, flooding the trooper’s body with azure lightning. In the twitching, flickering light, Vincent spun towards the fuse box, drew his pistol, and fired. ~*~ Darkness. Then, like lightning, the bright flare of muzzle flash. Aabha yanked Kit into her arms and activated her crest, engulfing them both in the warm saffron glow of her armor materializing around her body. The remnants of the crowd were in a panic, fleeing in every direction, wailing in fear and alarm. Ahead, shots cracked against Syl’s shield and armor in flurries of sparks. Syl sheathed her sword and drew her sidearm, searching for targets in the darkness. She exhaled, magic thrumming through her fingers. Phantoms coalesced out of leaf-green mist, and charged their assailants. Chase mercenaries reflexively fired at the decoys, their muzzle flash giving them away. Syl took aim, and fired- one, two, three down without a sweat. The bark of automatic fire drowned out Syl’s measured pace. Shadows moved in the gloom- Chase mercs not in tailored suits and red ties, but in full battledress, gleaming black chestplates and pauldrons over gray fatigues, bringing heavier weapons to bear. Syl huffed an irritated sigh. “Time to leave,” Syl murmured, turning to the table Lila was hiding under. Syl swore. “Miss Chase!” Syl called out into the shadowed hall. “Miss Chase!” ~*~ Lila fled the banquet hall, carried along by the tidal wave of bodies. She broke out of the claustrophobic press into the parking lot, her head swimming with fear. Muzzle flash burned itself into the backs of her eyelids. Her head swam, flooded with adrenaline. Lily flashed across her mind’s eye. Lila took a deep breath. Just focus. Focus. Where did Lily say we were supposed to meet…? Lila pushed through the pack of fleeing party guests and made it out to the parking lot. Blurts of gunfire echoed from within the banquet hall. Gunfire tore through the air and Lila instinctively dropped, scraping her knees on the pavement. That was closer, much closer. Lila swallowed hard, fear burning in her veins. She crawled behind a car and then warily rose to a crouch. She peeked over the side- Lily’s car was just a little ways away. Another blurt of gunfire. Lila ducked, shuddering. She rose, slowly making her way down the lane. There was a crunch of glass, and a hole appeared in Lily’s driver-side window. An instant later, the rifle grenade demolished Lily’s car in a curl of flame. The blast threw Lila off her feet and peppered her and the cars around her with shrapnel. “Lily…” Lila gasped. She screamed as someone took her by the hair and yanked her to her feet. “There you are, princess,” Adrian spat. ~*~ A withering hail of gunfire chased Aabha and Kit down the hall. They turned the corner, and Kit dove into a sideroom, rolling under a desk. Aabha bounced her chakrams off the wall and back around the corner. Two cries of pain, and the gunfire abated. Aabha flexed her fingers, recalling her chakrams to her waiting hands. She took a deep breath and sighed, her armor chipped and stippled with deflecting rounds. “You have armor,” Kit complained, still in her little black dress. “Can I get some armor?” “Maybe once we get out of here,” Aabha murmured. She looked up sharply. “Oh!” “What?” Kit blinked, following Aabha’s gaze. “Oh, shit!” Tucked under the desk Kit had rolled under for cover, Lily was waiting, bound in duct tape and gagged with a handkerchief. Kit drew her dagger and started working the blade against Lily’s bonds, while Aabha untied the gag around her mouth. “Jesus, Lily, what happened to you?” Kit balked, as Lily spat the handkerchief out. “Forget about me,” she urged. “Where’s my sister?” Their answer came a moment later, when an engine revved outside... ~*~ “Get in,” Adrian snapped. Lila nodded meekly and slid into the back seat of Adrian’s gleaming black staff car, glancing warily at the rifle in his hands. Adrian slapped the door shut and reached for the passenger door, a mercenary at the wheel. A window shattered up the block. Something skittered down the sidewalk, faster than any human- a fox, trailing a golden aura like a comet. It sprinted across the lot, coiled its legs, and pounced. A rifle grenade blasted the fox out of the air and skipped it down the pavement like a stone across a pond. Adrian sneered with contempt, tossing his rifle into the car. Kit rolled over, reverting to her human form, trailing soot and wisps of golden light. She coughed, rising to one knee as Adrian’s staff car pulled away. “Get back here, asshole!” Kit cried, before grimacing, clutching her aching ribs. A storm of gunfire crashed into the car beside her, and Kit dove for cover. She cringed, sparks flying as solid rounds smacked into the metal just above her head. Abruptly, the sound changed- not the shriek of metal against metal, but a strange whistling hiss. Kit blinked, and warily lifted her head. A company of Chase mercenaries were filling the parking lot with gunfire. But the shots nearest Kit’s position were disappearing- swallowed up by inky swirls of darkness that drifted through the air like painting in watercolor. Jaki offered a hand, and Kit took it, letting him pull her to her feet. Syl had appeared, alongside Vincent, both of them trading fire with the encroaching mercenaries from the shelter of Jaki’s barrier. Syl knelt, bracing her pistol on the edge of her shield. “Go!” Syl barked. Kit nodded. The Remora glided up behind her, rocking gently on its anti-gravity field. Lily and Aabha were waiting, riding with the top down. Kit took Lily’s hand and climbed aboard. She glanced at Aabha. “You’re driving?” she teased. Aabha rolled her eyes. “Don’t you start.” Chase mercenaries were streaming out of the banquet hall, clambering aboard staff cars and troop vans to give pursuit. Engines revved, and they peeled out of the parking lot- -only to sink into a shifting mass of shadows, trapped in a sea of clinging darkness as if it were a pit of tar. Chase mercenaries swore and honked their horns in frustration. Some fought to open their doors, half-sunk in the muck. One hapless trooper climbed out the window and fell face-first into the ooze, disappearing into the shifting shadows. Jaki stood, clutching his staff at the edge of the rift where the pavement became an abyss. “Go, child,” he whispered, raising a hand in benediction, as Aabha, Kit, and Lily shot ahead into the dark. ~*~ Their pursuit could only ever lead to one place- Chase Tower, corporate headquarters of Chase Security Solutions and positively teeming with Adrian’s men. A squad of CSS troopers were already waiting when Adrian’s staff car came barreling down the street. They parted to let him through, before snapping back into formation, a double-file line of men with rifles at the ready. The Remora rounded the corner, Aabha flicking up the top hull an instant before gunfire slammed into them. The skimmer shot down the street like a silver bullet- only to bank sharply at the last second, thrown into a drift that angled the skimmer’s underbelly towards the ranks of troopers. The anti-gravity field slammed into the assembled mercs like a freight train, flattening them with invisible force. Aabha took a moment to cut the engines and study the two dozen mercs slammed into unconsciousness by the kinetic shockwave. “Sorry!” Aabha chirped. “I’m not a very good driver!” Aabha brandished her chakrams and ran, Lily and Kit at her side… ~*~ The sub-level’s hatch doors slammed open with an angry metal shriek, casting the shadowed market in the garish light of the parking garage. Adrian and his driver hustled Lila through the stunned crowd, gaping like fish. “Mr. Chase?” The auctioneer wondered, stepping down from his podium. The sound of gunshots spurred the crowd into action. The buyers fled, a sea of shadows cast out into the light. Aabha, Kit, and Lily burst into the sub-basement, the fleeing crowd parting around them like the sea around a stone. Aabha and Kit stared at the cages lining the room, shrouded in tarps as if they were curtains- and the frightened, desperate eyes, glinting in the dark, gazing from behind the bars. “What the hell is this?” Kit hissed, her eyes wide. “No matter what happens,” Aabha whispered, fighting down her horror and disgust. “No matter what else happens tonight, we’re shutting this place down.” Lily shuddered, her head swimming. A knot of terror welled up in her gut, fraying her focus, echoes of a night almost ten years ago... “Lily!” Lila’s voice snapped Lily back to the present. She looked up, and spotted her across the room, disappearing behind the doors of a service elevator along with Adrian- -and a CSS mercenary taking aim. Aabha pulled Lily into an embrace as the shot cracked against Aabha’s shoulder. Aabha let the force of the shot carry her into a spinning throw. Her chakram flew through the air and sliced open the trooper’s throat. Lila screamed and recoiled from the ghastly spray of blood. Adrian just grimaced and punched the button for the top floor. The doors began to close. Aabha flexed her fingers, recalling her chakram. It caught fast between the elevator doors, wedging them open, as Lily pushed her way through the crowd. Adrian growled and heaved on the blade with all his weight. Aabha’s chakram shrieked against the metal as it came free and clattered to the floor. Lily reached the doors just as they slid shut, pounding a fist against them in frustration. Kit ran up, jostled by the fleeing crowd. She scowled. If they’d had the full might of Persephone Planetary Defense behind them, every one of these buyers would be getting what they had coming- but it was just the three of them, and they were going after bigger fish. There was one, however, who wasn’t going to get away. Kit saw the auctioneer, in his dark suit and red tie, reaching into his coat. Kit hurled her dagger through his palm. He cried out, and Kit yanked his arms around behind his back, his holdout pistol skittering across the floor. He struggled in her grasp, to no avail. “What are you?” he asked, frantic. “Who are you?” “Karma,” Kit spat. She took him by the wrists and kicked him square between his shoulder blades, dislocating both his arms, and leaving him in a crumbled, simpering heap. ~*~ Lila curled up in a ball in the corner of the elevator, breathing hard, trying her best not to look at the corpse of the soldier whose blood was coating the elevator car. Somehow, none of his blood had gotten on her- but the sight was haunting enough. Adrian, his fine suit absolutely drenched in the ghastly spray, simply adjusted his tie and disdainfully flicked blood off his cheek. On the wall panel, the floor indicator was steadily rising- twenty, twenty-five, thirty. “If you’re going to act like a child,” Adrian muttered, “then I shall treat you like a child. You’re going to do as you’re told, Delilah. You are going to go to your room. And you are going to stay there, for however long it takes for this all to blow over.” Adrian sniffed, clamping a hand around Lila’s arm. “...That might be a very long time, indeed. How unfortunate for you.” Lila swallowed hard, and glanced up at the floor indicator. Forty… forty-five- Lila jabbed her elbow into Adrian’s gut and slammed the emergency stop button. The elevator screeched to a halt just before reaching Adrian’s penthouse, caught between the forty-ninth and fiftieth floors. Adrian grabbed for her, but Lila kicked him away. He tripped over the corpse of his driver, sprawled on the floor. Lila keyed the doors open and wriggled through the gap up onto the fiftieth floor, too narrow for Adrian to follow. Adrian growled, fighting with the wall panel and glowering at Lila’s retreating form. “This is my world, Delilah!” Adrian called after her. “Just where do you think you can go?!” Lila made it to the service stairwell at the end of the corridor just as Adrian managed to get the elevator working again. She burst through the door, tripping the fire alarm, the siren matching the pounding in her chest. Adrian was just moments behind. Fear flooded her senses. Gunfire echoed below her. No going down. There was only one place left to go- the one place she ever felt truly safe. Lila swallowed hard, and began to climb. ~*~ Hard rounds shot down the stairwell and spanked against handrails, trailing sparks down below. With the elevators locked down, Aabha, Kit, and Lily had been obliged to climb. Climbing fifty storeys’ worth of stairs would be a daunting task on its own. Imagine their frustration, then, when they started getting shot. The bare metal walkways offered no real cover to speak of. Aabha took the lead, her armor weathering the barrage. Kit and Lily followed at a distance, relying on Aabha and the angles of the staircase itself to shield them from harm. Aabha’s chakrams flew from her grasp and sliced apart mercenaries two by two on the floors above, weaving around the curling stairs and returning faithfully to her hands. Slowly but surely, they were pushing forward- but their advance had slowed to a crawl. “This is taking too long,” Lily murmured anxiously. “I don’t want to leave Lila alone with that bastard any longer than I have to.” “I’m sorry,” Aabha said, her chakrams flitting back into her grasp. “I’m doing the best I can.” “I know,” Lily fretted, “I- I just-” Aabha nodded. “There must be some other way…” Kit looked up suddenly, as if remembering. “Aabha.” “What?” “Your badge.” Aabha glanced down at the crest of the Order mounted over her heart. She clicked it off of her armor, and held it up, the crescent, orb, and diamonds glinting in the light. She met Kit’s eyes, and nodded. “Firefly to Sparrow,” Aabha said into her micro-bead. “I have a plan…” Lily took a deep breath, gazing up towards the roof. “Lila…” ~*~ “Delilah!” Adrian called out. “Where are you, princess?” Lila peeked around the side of the ventilation unit, catching the barest glimpse of Adrian silhouetted against the hellish red light of the Chase billboard atop the tower. She ducked back into cover, her heart pounding, her fingertips brushing against her necklace. “Where are you, Lila?” Adrian called. “Playing hide and seek, are we?” Lila took a deep breath. She curled a hand around her pendant, and snapped the chain. “You could have had it all. The whole world at your feet. All you had to do was sit still, keep your head down, and trust that Daddy knew what was best for you. But no- you had to play games. You had to act like a child. You had the audacious thought to run away from home.” Adrian paced the roof, hunting, a sleek, compact pistol in his hand. “Why, princess?” Adrian asked. “Why, when I’ve given you everything you could possibly want? This is the thanks I get for feeding you, clothing you, raising you? Is it too much to ask for a little obedience?” Adrian nudged something with his foot. He paused, and took in the little alcove- two mismatched chairs, a storage crate table, all wrapped up in a tarp. He barked out a laugh. “Is this where you did it?” Adrian sneered. “Is this where you plotted against me with that little bitch Lilian? Is this where she filled your head with fairy tales?” Lila exhaled, reaching up and taking out her earrings- three red diamonds in her right ear, a single clear orb in her left. “Lilian is a bad influence,” Adrian continued. “I knew she’d be trouble. Filling your head with all this… dissent. Scoffing at the thought of you being locked away in this tower as if that was such a bad thing. Why would you ever want to leave? Where would you go? What would you do? I have everything you need, right here.” Adrian saw it- a shadow, peeking out from behind a ventilation unit. He smiled. “Why do you spend all your time with Lilian, princess?” Adrian said. “You should spend time with me. I’m your father. You’re my blood.” Adrian lunged. Lila spun away from his grasp and slashed him across the face. “No,” Lila said, mustering her courage. “This is your blood.” Adrian gingerly dabbed at the bloody welt across his cheek, wondering where Lila got herself a blade. He snarled, and grabbed her by the wrist- -when the reassembled Order crest shone in her hand. ~*~ On the holoterminal aboard the Sparrow, a sixth marker blinked into existence on the roof of Chase Tower. “Coordinates locked,” Morgan announced. ~*~ Adrian recoiled as a brilliant blue light shot out of the Order crest in Lila’s hand, briefly drowning out the red glow of the Chase logo. The teleport flare died away, and a figure coalesced from the sapphire light. Adrian looked up, baffled. “Get away from my sister,” Lily spat, and punched Adrian in the face. Adrian staggered back, raising his pistol. Lily screamed and slammed his arm back against a ventilator unit, jarring the pistol from his grip. Lily laid into him, breaking his nose, cutting her knuckles on his teeth. She punched him in the face, once, twice, three times, before his knee drove into her stomach and he grabbed a fistful of her hair. “This is the thanks I get?!” Adrian bellowed, yanking Lily off of him and cracking her in the jaw. “After I raised you up from nothing?! Ungrateful wretch! I gave you everything you have!” Adrian wheezed as Lily drove her knee between his legs. She cracked her knee into his sternum, and slammed his face off her knee, sending him sprawling. “A cage is a cage no matter how you dress it up!” Lily hissed. She snapped her heel across Adrian’s face. Adrian caught her by the ankle and yanked, pulling her off balance. She cried out and fell, Adrian clamping his arm around her throat. “I don’t like the effect you have on my daughter,” Adrian snarled, rising to his feet with Lily still in a chokehold. “You think I’m so bad? You’re fighting for the life of the girl who bought you off that auction block!” Lily smashed her head backwards into Adrian’s face, and pushed off the ground, running them backwards. They rammed into the Chase logo atop the tower with an explosion of sparks. Adrian hit the ground amid a flurry of shattered glass, dazed, wisping smoke. Lily dragged herself to her feet. “Lila saved my life,” Lily declared. “She was a kid. Just like me. She did the only thing she could’ve done. But she’s not a kid anymore- and neither am I!” Adrian rose to one knee, covered in chipped glass, the Chase logo flickering above him. Lily uttered a savage curse and floored him with a straight punch. Adrian hit the ground, spitting blood. Lily was on him in an instant, her knees pinning his arms at his sides. Adrian lifted his head, only for Lily’s fist to smash into him and crack the back of his skull against the concrete. “It’s different when they can fight back, isn’t it? Isn’t it?!” Lily screamed. She drew her arm back, silhouetted by the flickering crimson glow, and brought her fist down. Her fist collided with Adrian’s face with a wet, meaty smack. She rained blows down upon him, into him, screaming her fury into the night, until her whole world became the metronome of her fists against flesh and red, red, red… Aabha and Kit burst onto the roof, searching. They found Lily straddling a corpse, screaming and crying, her fists caked in gore. “Lily! Lily, stop!” Kit said, throwing her arms around Lily from behind. Lily paused and shuddered, her eyes unfocused. She snarled like an animal and shoved Kit aside, prowling across the roof. She found the collapsed roof of her little sanctuary and threw the tarp aside. Lila gasped, and threw her arms around Lily’s neck, bawling into her throat. “What did you do?” Lila cried, frantic. “What did you do?!” “Shhh,” Lily said, as Lila hiccuped into her chest. She looked up at Aabha and Kit, surveying the grisly scene. Kit met her eyes and nodded. “It’s over,” Lily whispered, as Lila mewled and sobbed in her arms, her hands streaking blood through her sister’s hair. “It’s over.” ~*~ Lily watched, from the hall, as Lila spoke with Persephone PDF. She was in a dark suit, modest, nothing fancy. Her hair was pinned up. She had bags under her eyes. She stepped out, escorted by an agent Lily didn’t recognize. Lila caught Lily’s eyes, gave her companion a polite nod, and slipped away. “So what happens now?” Lily asked. “Now?” Lila sighed. “...Now, I tell them everything. Everything I know about Dad’s company, his business partners, anyone with Syndicate connections. Full disclosure. Full cooperation. The Order, hopefully, uses that info to do some good. And since that’s gonna piss off a whole lot of guys with guns, well… Order Intelligence is going to take me into protective custody. Somewhere top secret. I'm probably not allowed to talk about it.” “So you’re just trading one cage for another,” Lily said softly. “Maybe,” Lila said. “But it won’t be forever. And it’s one that I chose.” Lily nodded mutely. Lila glanced at her sidelong, biting her lip. “...Under the circumstances… I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to see me again.” Lily looked at her. “What? Why?” Lila shrugged. “...Bad memories. I mean… I was stuck in that tower all my life. But I’m the reason you were stuck right there with me.” “It was there or somewhere else,” Lily said. “Maybe somewhere worse.” Lila exhaled. “Maybe.” Lila leaned against the wall, a distant expression on her face. Lily gave her an odd look. Lila blinked. “What?” “Now who’s brooding?” Lily teased. “Shut up,” Lila rolled her eyes. She sighed. “I love you,” Lily whispered. “I know,” Lila said. She smiled. “Hey.” “What?” “I wonder if they get comm reception at top-secret Order facilities…?” Lily laughed, drawing an arm around Lila and holding her close. ~*~ “Sorry about this,” Kit murmured, squeezing in through the hatch and trying to find space on the floor to set Lily’s bags. Finding none, she shrugged, and tossed them on top of her own bed. “The captain will figure out how to move some stuff around, and get you settled properly. Until then…” “It’s alright,” Lily murmured. “You sure?” Kit wondered. “It’ll be a tight fit, with three of us…” “It’s alright,” Lily echoed. She gave Kit a small smile. “I could use the company.” Kit grinned at her new roommate, laying back on her bed. Lily’s smile faded, and she rose, restless, wandering out into the corridor. The Sparrow’s interior was something she would have to get used to. She’d only been on a starship once before. Unlike that one, almost a decade ago, the Sparrow wasn’t confined. It wasn’t claustrophobic. It was small, sure. But it was free. “You’re not wearing your suit,” Aabha said, coming up behind her. “Black and red not your color?” Lily looked down at her belted, dove-gray trenchcoat. She shrugged. “I look better in gray.” Aabha nodded. “Are you okay?” Lily exhaled. “...You know, Lila and I used to dream of doing something like this. Running away. Boarding a ship, leaving Adrian, Persephone, and all the bad memories behind. But, it’s funny… I always thought…” “You’d do it together?” Aabha finished. Lily’s lip quivered. She looked away, and nodded. “You’ll see her again,” Aabha said. “I know you will.” “How?” “Karma,” Aabha said. Lily nodded. She glanced at Aabha, lingering behind. “So, what about you?” “Me?” “What’s got you all pouty?” Aabha’s eyes flicked guiltily towards the door to their room, where Kit was still waiting. “It’s- It’s nothing. It’s just um…” Aabha smiled, her cheeks flushing. “...Kit and I, we um..." Aabha sheepishly tugged at her braid. "...We never finished our dance." Lily gave Aabha a knowing grin- so knowing, Aabha shoved her in the arm in embarrassment. “I wasn’t going to say anything,” Lily protested. There was a shudder through the deck. Lily wobbled, Aabha catching her in her arms. Lily stammered, caught off guard. “What- What was-” “The engines,” Aabha explained. “We’re taking off.” Lily nodded. Her comm chirped. She reached into her pocket, and sent it to her earpiece. “What’s up?” “Lily!” Lila squealed into her ear. “Look at the sky!” Lily lifted her head towards a porthole, her eyes growing wide… It had been a week since that fateful night at Lila’s banquet, and the clean-up in the wake of Chase Security Solutions’ collapse would take much, much longer. Nobody could tell, because there was no sun or moon to mark the passing of time. The sun never shone on Persephone. But tonight, the aurora shone in its stead. Ribbons of vivid, violet light streamed across the vast expanse of the starry sky beyond. Lily clutched her comm to her chest, knowing somewhere, out there, Lila was watching the same sky. Kit emerged from the room and joined Aabha at Lily’s side. Lily felt a thrill of anxiety- no, of anticipation, of adventure- flutter in her chest. The clouds parted around them, like the curtain to a stage. Basking in the aurora, the Sparrow soared into the light. ~*~