“Yes, I can see that,” Evelyn replied, considering for a moment, then smiled. “Actually, I have an additional request for this, one which shouldn’t cost you nearly as much as it would me.”
“What is that?” Xalryx asked, her eyes narrowing in caution. Evelyn could understand, but in this case her caution was likely misplaced.
“I hired on two crew yesterday, ladies who’d been enslaved and taken far from their homes. I’d like to arrange passage aboard a draconic ship to their homeworld and back, on a schedule of their choosing,” Evelyn explained, a smile flitting across her lips. “While I could afford the thousand mythrite for the trip, plus the other expenses, for you the costs are far lower, are they not? I’ve heard there are special rates for those who’re performing work for dragons.”
Xalryx smiled warmly, nodding in agreement as she reached up, pursing her lips as she tapped them thoughtfully. “Yes, you are right about that. Only one tenth the cost is necessary for transit under those circumstances. If you are agreeable to reducing your payment by a hundred mythrite, I will make all the other necessary arrangements myself. Is that satisfactory?”
“Yes, it is,” Evelyn confirmed, smiling warmly. “If you’re willing to adjust the contract to reflect this, I’ll begin moving to Valath immediately. As a gesture of good faith.”
“I’ll revise the contract immediately. My one requirement is that they take the trips within the year, both ways,” Xalryx added quickly. “There are limits to the rates, after all.”
“Acceptable. I believe they’ll be pleased. Good day, Xalryx,” Evelyn said, and shut down the comm link. Then she looked at Control, who was sitting in the executive officer’s seat patiently, and spoke. “Control, you heard the discussion. Please plot a course and request permission to leave from Argon Control.”
“Acknowledged, Captain,” Control replied, smiling warmly in return as she bowed her head, already revealing some of the effects of her new emotion chip. “I believe we will be underway within half an hour.”
“Excellent. I’m going to let everyone else know what we’re doing,” Evelyn said, climbing to her feet and stretching. Then, before she could forget again, she reached out across the network and bought several magazines that went over the most recent weapons on the market. She didn’t want to get out of date, not when she might have to re-arm her new ship as well.
Then she headed toward the back, humming happily to herself. She wasn’t particularly looking forward to the work with the ley line, but the poachers? That would be nice, light work. No reason not to look forward to it.
Chapter 28
“It looks pretty,” Ilyra said, her nose practically pressed against the window, and Evelyn resisted the urge to laugh.
“That’s largely because we’re still high up. I suspect you’ll change your mind when we’re on the surface,” Evelyn said, glancing out the window again.
Valath was pretty enough, she agreed, though it was also an oddity of sorts. The planet likely would’ve been a relatively small planetoid if it hadn’t been for the immense amounts of water which had collected around it, and it had enough mass for the gravity to be just a bit below normal. Unfortunately for the aquana, who otherwise might have considered it an ideal home, the planet was too far from the local star for the vast oceans to remain liquid, and it didn’t have much in the way of internal heat. According to what she’d seen, there was barely even a water layer above the stone core of the planet, it was so cool.
What made up for that were the odd, beautiful elements that had formed in large areas of the ice, creating a beautiful bioluminescence that Evelyn had rarely seen in her life, as blue, green, and pink shimmered across fields of ice, as well as the native moss which created the oxygen so many species used to survive. That was what many of the native animals survived on, with a handful of predators preying on them, though from the report Xalryx had sent her, Evelyn had learned that the lack of drakes was causing the ecosystem to slowly unbalance. If it went too far, there might not be enough moss to sustain the enormous herds of herbivores, which would bring everything to an end.
Not that there was any danger of humans, elves, or just about any species not adapted to extreme cold choosing to live there permanently, assuming the planet could be saved. No, the only permanent structures on the planet were a handful of research centers and a single, stubborn group of miners the dragons hadn’t been able to buy out yet as they delved toward the core in search of riches. Well, and the bootlegger camp. Personally, Evelyn didn’t understand why someone would make alcohol from the native moss, but she wasn’t exactly a connoisseur of alcohol.
“Maybe. But from up here it’s pretty,” Ilyra said, shifting a little as she frowned, asking. “You’re sure we need the armor? You’re the one going to visit the poachers, right?”
“Your armor will protect you from the temperature for up to a week, more if you get into a warmer area. While I don’t expect you to end up in the open, I’d rather not take chances,” Evelyn replied, looking at the young woman critically. She couldn’t account for the taste of others, unfortunately.
As Ilyra was a mage, she’d chosen to take a suit of armor which was lightweight and flexible, little more than a bodysuit with a slight bulge where the backpack and shield generator were. She, like Evelyn herself, had her helmet with her, considering the environment. Even Evelyn wasn’t going to risk her ears freezing off, or spend the energy heating the air around her head in this type of environment. However, the first thing Ilyra had done was use the integrated systems of the armor to change the primary color of the suit to a sky blue, with pink as the secondary color. Evelyn couldn’t think of much more obvious colors in most environments, though she had to admit that at least Ilyra would likely survive the resulting fusillade. The armor was good enough to keep her alive.
Vaneryth was in the cockpit with a Doll pilot, designation P2, who was ready to take over if the angel managed to screw up undocking, reentry, or the landing. While Evelyn had noticed how inexpert their departure was, it seemed that the last two days in simulations and using the training program had kept Vaneryth from doing anything too egregious. Though the shuttle’s safety systems and autopilot were likely helping as well.
“I don’t know, but I’ll trust you,” Ilyra said, smiling more as she added. “Thank you for letting me come down with you.”
“You wanted to see the worlds other than Brightdawn. This isn’t what I’d call a shining example, but it’s a start,” Evelyn replied, bracing herself as the turbulence indicator turned on. “Hold on tight. The winds on Valath are particularly nasty.”
Ilyra did so, and moments later the shuttle began rocking violently as immensely powerful gusts hit it. They didn’t drift too much off course, Evelyn noticed, though it seemed the autopilot was taking care of most of the course corrections. It was a few minutes later, when Ilyra was looking fairly green, that Vaneryth’s voice came over the intercom.
“We’re coming in for a landing now! Sorry, but the wind is apparently really bad this cycle,” the angel said, sounding a touch stressed.
“Cycle?” Ilyra asked softly, then gagged. “Ugh…”
“Valath is far enough from the star that it has a very long orbital period, and it doesn’t have much of a spin to begin with. A single day here is closer to two years elsewhere.” Evelyn explained, watching as they came in for a landing on a pad that had ice riming its edges.
“O-oh. So a cycle is… a day elsewhere?” Ilyra asked, and Evelyn nodded, just as they slowed over the pad, then drifted down onto it.
“Correct,” Evelyn said, waiting until they were in place, then raised her voice. “P2, please maintain the shuttle and ensure it’s ready for launch when we return.”
“Yes, Captain.” P2 replied, the human-like Doll’s voice annoyingly attractive. Evelyn found that… a touch frustrating, really, but she shoved it aside to focus.
“Vaneryth? You coming with us, or staying aboard?” Evelyn asked, reaching up to ensure he
r hair was still gathered in a bun, then nodded and donned her helmet. There was a soft hiss as it sealed in place, connecting to the armor’s systems and her implants before bringing up the HUD.
“I’d rather not be stuck on here for who knows how long. I’ve had enough sitting and staring at walls for a few decades,” Vaneryth replied firmly, and a moment later the door to the cockpit slid open, revealing the angel. She’d chosen slightly heavier armor than Ilyra, though it was still lighter than Evelyn’s armor, and the angel had debated for a while before choosing to go with light and dark blue for her colors. It was more obvious than Evelyn would’ve preferred, but less eye-catching than the celestine’s armor. She spoke a moment later, this time not over the intercom. “Though I took one look at the temperature outside and wondered why any mortal would want to come here. It’s enough to freeze most angels solid in short order.”
“Scientists, wealth-seekers, and dragons,” Evelyn replied, shrugging as she glanced between the two. “Put on your helmets, I don’t want your ears freezing off before we even get into the facility.”
Ilyra nodded and quickly slid her helmet on, then had to remove it when some stray hair kept it from sealing properly. She fumbled with her hair, getting it pinned back in place before putting on her helmet. In that time Vaneryth managed to get her own into place, though seeing the angel caused Evelyn to smile in amusement. The halo was still outside the helmet, so even if the angel had chosen a perfectly mundane armor color, she’d still draw attention.
“Ready!” Ilyra chirped, her face obscured by the faceplate, and Evelyn nodded, leading the way to the hatch.
Fortunately, Daggerhound had come with a pair of shuttles, both of them with small airlocks that could fit up to four people at once. It was cramped, but she wasn’t going to tell the two to wait. No, she waited until they were in, then cycled the airlock. As it began cycling, she spoke.
“You will not be accompanying me when I go to deal with the poachers. While you’re beginning to learn about combat, or relearn, protecting you would cause more harm than good if it comes to combat,” Evelyn said calmly, glancing at them. “I expect that it will, and I don’t want to deal with that. These are poachers hired by a dragon to harass their rival, I fully expect them to be belligerent and skilled. Beyond which, three women approaching is no better than one, and will make them overconfident. I doubt they’ll believe me when I tell them who I am.”
“That… seems suicidal,” Vaneryth replied quietly.
The outer doors slid open, and a blast of wind strong enough to stagger the other two hit them, carrying flakes of ice with it. The flakes bounced off their armor, though Evelyn took note that most environmental suits might have had a harder time with it. Ilyra and Vaneryth regained their balance after a moment, while Evelyn examined the landing pad. It was dark metal with patches of ice here and there across its surface. Barely any light allowed them to see, the illumination mostly coming from the glowing moss that covered about a quarter of the landscape around them. That backlit the stubby tower ahead of them, where she could see dim lights next to the entryway, along with a pair of people in bright orange suits trudging toward them.
“It is,” Evelyn agreed, raising her voice so they’d be able to hear her over the wind’s howling. “Do you truly think that they’d believe someone like me would show up out of nowhere in front of them, though? People can be incredibly stupid. They are stupid, and often deny reality even when it’s in front of them.”
She made her way down the ramp, activating the enhanced traction systems on her boots as she did so, and Evelyn paused, waiting for the two to reach the bottom of the ramp before sending a command to the shuttle, which retracted the ramp to form a solid seal against its side. She didn’t want that covered in ice when they came back.
Moving to meet the two coming out to meet them, Evelyn examined their suits critically. The suits were thicker than the ones she and her… employees? Was that the term she wanted to use, Evelyn wondered. She shrugged it off after a second, as it really didn’t matter right now. The important thing was that the suits were designed for this sort of environment, with what she suspected was advanced insulation and lots of life support for dealing with the temperatures of Valath. You couldn’t tell the gender of the people in the hardsuits, but that wasn’t necessary, not on a planet like this.
“Hello! You’re the agent Lady Xalryx hired, I presume?” a man called out as he came closer, almost shouting.
“I am,” Evelyn replied, a smile playing across her lips. “I’m surprised you came out to meet me, rather than using comms.”
“Yes, well, the last big gust ripped off the primary antennae for in-atmosphere comms,” the other person replied, her voice filled with disgust. “Our skimmer is out looking for the one we lost while Dann gets our replacement ready. Every time we think we know the maximum gust we’re going to get hit by, the planet throws a nastier one at us.”
“Ah, that would do it. Personally, I’d recommend putting it inside a protective housing that can deal with gusts more easily. However, I should introduce myself. I am Evelyn, and these are Ilyra and Vaneryth. They work for me and are currently in training. They wished to see your work, so they accompanied me to the surface.”
Evelyn had drawn closer to them as she spoke, so they didn’t have to shout nearly as loudly, and she had to wonder internally, why was a facility Xalryx was in charge of using what looked like below-average equipment? It really wasn’t her problem, but it made her wonder.
“Ah, good! I’m Elric, and this is Doris,” the man said, then gestured toward the doors. “Why don’t we go inside, where we can talk more easily? I don’t know what Lady Xalryx told you about the situation, so we can explain anything she didn’t.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Evelyn agreed.
“Great,” Doris said, turning and moving a bit more quickly. Evelyn did notice that her boots didn’t seem to have as good of traction as her own, but she followed Elric as they made their way toward the building.
Chapter 29
The doors opened to a double airlock, which startled Evelyn slightly, but she shrugged it off, waiting through each cycle before they reached a room where they could unsuit, not that she would fully. Doris’s helmet came off first, revealing a mop of short, curly brown hair and a mundane face only marred by a sweeping set of scars along one cheek, ones that looked like they came from claws. Elric had short, sandy-brown hair, as well as spectacles over brown eyes, which surprised her. Not many people needed those these days, not when corrective surgery was so inexpensive. Still, he had a round, friendly face that Evelyn thought she liked.
“Welcome to Site Claw, so named because I swear every one of us has been gashed a dozen times or more,” Elric said cheerfully, pulling off the rest of the suit and hooking it up to its mounts on one wall. “I suspect that Lady Xalryx told you that our job is to breed frost drakes, but I doubt she added that we’re also cloning them and adding genetic diversity by using some DNA extracted from the bodies of those that have been killed. We find a lot of bodies, and most of them have at least some viable material, given the weather outside.”
“She said something of the sort, yes,” Evelyn agreed, removing her helmet, and both of them froze in place, staring at her. “Not about the latter part, but the first. She also mentioned that the poachers are killing the drakes before most of them can reach adulthood.”
Neither responded immediately, then Doris stammered. “Y-you… are you Evelyn Tarth?”
Evelyn raised an eyebrow as she looked at her, then replied slowly, with exaggerated patience. “Yes, that’s correct. Did Xalryx not tell you? She knew when she hired me to deal with your… issues.”
“I… well, um, this is a surprise,” Elric said, wiping his forehead nervously, and glanced at the two behind Evelyn carefully, both of whom had removed their helmets. “Err…”
“No, they’re not my proteges in the way you’re thinking they are,” Evelyn told him, rollin
g her eyes. “Ilyra and Vaneryth were captured by slavers, and I freed them. They’re currently working for me to earn money and learn how to defend themselves. I also won’t hurt any of you as long as you don’t do anything stupid. Like attack me, betray me, or do that to either of them. Xalryx trusts me to deal with your problems. Is that perfectly clear?”
“Ah… yes, yes, of course,” Elric said quickly, looking at Doris, who nodded, her anxiety obvious. It was amazing how quickly they’d gone from relaxed to frightened half out of their minds, and Evelyn resisted the urge to sigh. Civilians, really.
“Good. Now, what problems are we looking at? Xalryx said that bootleggers were draining a major ley line to create alcohol, and that it needed to be adjusted so the eggs you’re tending are viable, and that there were poachers,” Evelyn said briskly. “Specifics would be preferred.”
“I… well, the problem is that the bootleggers decided to use an old, abandoned mining outpost that was near the main ley line traveling between the north and south pole of Valath,” Elric said, reaching for the button to open the door nervously, but missed on the first try. “The idea is to either adjust it so that it isn’t useful for their purposes or just… move it, so they’d have to build a new base. That would be hard, and not worth it, I don’t think.”
The door opened to show a hallway lined with a great deal of insulating material, as well as dim yellow lights along the ceiling. There was an odd tang to the air, and Evelyn glanced around. It was cooler than she preferred, but not unlivable by any means.
“Um, so you know, Evelyn really isn’t that bad. Most of the time she’s easy to get along with,” Ilyra interjected earnestly. “You can do what you normally do, and I think she’d be fine with it.”
Chosen of Chaos (Eve of Destruction Book 1) Page 18
