Chapter 286: When opportunity comes knocking (Patreon)

“We captured one of Mara’s secret agents,” I elaborate when Trisha looks at me curiously.

The fact that I say that in front of Farouq is naturally no accident.

I carefully study his reaction. It’s hard to tell from his facetted face, but he definitely seems to startle for a moment, and the sand finally stops flowing up towards the palace he’s building with Trisha.

“Oh my!” Trisha says. “Well, I’ll let Goddess know first chance I get.”

And with that, she returns to sculpting her balcony.

It feels very incongruous with her statement, but that’s hiveminds for ya. Her drone in the floating palace Goddess calls home is probably already looking for an opportunity to surreptitiously flag the almighty ruler down.

“So,” Farouq says nonchalantly, as the sand resumes its inexorable flow into the tower he’s adding to their palace of sand. “I take it you rescued another one of your friends then, right? Does that mean their owner was the secret agent? Who was it, if you don’t mind telling me?”

I knew that would get his attention.

“It was Sudo,” Suri replies calmly.

“I see. Hiding in plain sight, I suppose,” he muses. “Kind of silly how well that worked; I really didn’t see it coming. Well, it’s impressive that you managed to get Jacob, but I still don’t see how you’re going to get to Dave. Got a plan yet?”

“Not yet,” I admit. “But hey, we only just finished executing our last one. We’ll come up with something.”

“I’m sure you will, dear,” Trisha says encouragingly.

Farouq grunts noncommittally, as if he’s not sure he believes her.

I fold my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes at what I believe is the back of his head. “You seem quite invested in what we’re up to, by the way. How come?”

He snorts. “You’re surprised I’m invested in the actions of my abductors? Yes, I wonder why.”

“Okay, fair point,” I concede, scratching my neck.

“No, he’s deflecting,” Suri states with certainty. “Go on, Farouq. Tell us why you’re so interested in what we’re doing.”

“You mean apart from this being the most intriguing situation that I’ve ever found myself in?” he asks dryly.

“Yes, apart from the obvious, please,” Suri replies as if that’s a normal, expected statement.

He’s silent for a moment. “Fine. If you must know... I’m not entirely unsympathetic to the plight of the humans. Or the Hoig, for that matter.”

I blink. That is... not what I expected.

After all, Farouq has been chained down by Goddess herself, and she definitely added a Command against lying. Which means he has to be telling the truth...

“Oh? Do elaborate, please,” Suri chimes.

“I suppose it started during my excavations on the Hoig home planet,” Farouq muses, still with his back to us, sand drifting ever up in a steady stream. “Many of the things I found begged questions, and the only ones with answers were the Hoig still living there. The ‘reserve’ of hosts, if you will. At first, I was rather indifferent to them, viewed them as inferior, funny little creatures like most Peilor do. But the more I spoke to them, the more I asked questions about their history, their art, the more that changed. I started to feel we weren’t giving them enough credit, to question whether the way we use them as hosts was truly... just. When the humans were discovered, I was shocked by their intelligence, and it seemed to me that using them as hosts was perhaps an even more blatantinjustice.”

“If you’re so sympathetic to us, then what’s with the creepy friggin’ art?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

Farouq lets out a sigh. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but open criticism of the Council’s policy is not exactly appreciated in our society. So I use the only tool I have. It’s kept me safe from reprisal, so far.”

“And the disformed humans?” I prompt. “What exactly did they mean?”

“They were meant as a warning to your people,” Farouq says. “That the intentions of your ‘predecessors’ were not as kind as you were led to believe. Not that I expected it to help you much, which is probably the only reason the producers allowed it. Well, that, and they probably thought I meant it as a cruel joke.”

Damn. I really hadn’t expected that.

“Ugh, I hate this Command,” Farouq mutters. “Please don’t ask me to explain my art again, it makes me very uncomfortable.”

“Sorry,” I say wryly. “I had to know.”

“Yes, well, I understand, but please leave it at this.”

“Farouq,” Suri suddenly starts. “Would you consider yourself opposed to Starmother’s rule?”

“Not openly,” he replies after a moment. “Lost too many friends that way.”

My mouth falls open, before I shut it with a click. Somehow, I still hadn’t seen that one coming.

“How did you lose them?” Suri asks, soft but intent.

“Suspicious accidents,” Farouq replies quietly. “Mysterious disappearances. False accusations of treason. Such things tend to happen to Peilor willing to openly question Peilinor’s policies regarding hosts—or any of its policies for that matter. As I’m sure you understand, I’m not all that saddened by your capture of one of Starmother’s agents.”

I glance at Suri, who’s gone quiet, probably at the ‘false accusations’ bit. Seems like her suspicions about her friend were correct.

“So I stopped speaking out,” Farouq continues unbidden, his tower beginning to grow crooked as he keeps talking. “I turned my rebellion quiet, removed all meaning from my art, to keep it ambiguous. It was all I could do.”

He says it with conviction, but there are spikes growing out of his tower now, nasty, jagged things.

Trisha clears her throat. “Now now, straight and pretty lines, dear, you promised.”

“Right. My apologies,” he says with a sigh, before collapsing the tower, and finally turning around to face us. “I’ll pick it back up later. I have the feeling they’re not quite done interrogating me yet.”

I shrug. “I really have only one important question left, Farouq. Would you like to actively help us take down Starmother?”

He’s quiet for a moment. “If I believed you could do it, I would. But to be honest, it seems like a pipedream. If you ask me, you should collect your last friend and run. Or perhaps just run now.”

“And if we weren’t willing to run,” Suri asks. “Then what would you advise us?”

He snorts. “Hide? Look, I’ve seen too many failed rebellions, and most of them never even got to start. You may have caught a few Peilor off-guard, but Mara cannot be overthrown. Her power is incomprehensible, inexplicable, and her stranglehold on Peilinor is stronger than ever. You’re like ants fighting a mountain.”

“Perhaps,” I drawl. “But you’re forgetting that we have something that none of those previous movements had.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?”

“We’ve got our own mountain, goes by the name of Goddess.”

That shuts him up for a moment.

“Fine. I may be willing to help you. Do you have a plan yet?”

I shake my head. “We have some have inklings... but we really need to get Dave first. He’s our best strategist.”

Farouq is silent for a moment, then he lets out a sigh. “Well, I don’t suppose I have much to lose, do I? Fine. I may have an idea of how you could get to Dave.”

I try not to shift too much on the couch in our room at Trisha’s Teahouse, worried that my nerves are showing as we face the full Cinnamon Circle.

It took Goddess a few hours to convene them all, which is a good thing, because we had a lot to discuss with Farouq, and it still left me with time for a chat with Kirri before Suri and I had to leave her and Alec to head to the meeting.

Our new method of moving from Herman’s Haven to Trisha’s Teahouse is an interesting one. It starts with us pulling ourselves out of the Realm and into the interstitial space by our mortal tethers. From there, we use our connection to our anchors to re-enter the Realm at a different location. It requires some setup, but it’s certainly an excellent way to get around the Realm fast, and more importantly, discreetly.

“I don’t like it,” Marty glubs, finally breaking the silence.

I raise a brow at him. “What’s not to like? It’s a good plan! I mean we haven’t hammered out all of the details yet, but the basis is solid.”

“A cast reunion, though?” he asks with a note of scepticism.

I shrug. “Why not? Sudo already has an invite, and Farouq says he should be able to swing one through some contacts, as he was nominally on the season with his art being featured, so we have access. Moreover, a reunion like this is the one place where it’s not suspicious for the Blue Dragons to all come together. The Peilor love symbolic, sentimental shit like that. It’s perfect!”

“It’s public,” Marty argues, smacking his lips.

“While that may be true,” Suri states calmly, “considering the difficulty of gaining an audience with a Lustrous-tier Peilor, it is likely the only opportunity for us to act within the frame of time we have; a frame that is now limited not only by the arrival of Earth, mind you, but the check on Sudo’s Core as well.”

“Exactly!” I quickly cut in. “And don’t forget, just getting an audience with Yog wouldn’t necessarily mean getting to see Dave. But this is a cast reunion, which means Yog is guaranteed to bring him; since I killed Avalan, it’s the only host from the show he owns! This really is our best shot.”

Goddess sighs. “We do not doubt that it is your best opportunity, Emma,” she intones slowly. “However, it being your best opportunity, does not yet make it a good opportunity.”

My stomach sinks.

Meanwhile, Agath is taking in Suri with a crease in her slick silvery brows and a shudder passing through her abs. “One thing I don’t understand yet is how you will be attending this event. Unless I’m mistaken, Emma only spoke of invitations for one Yin and one Yang Peilor.”

“The invitations each come with a plus one,” Suri replies. “I can thaw out one of Farouq’s spare host bodies and attend alongside Emma, as an attendant. We’re actually considering bringing Kaitlynn masquerading as Lyrack, and having the real Sudo along, as she and Jacob make a good team. Together, I believe we stand a good chance to successfully take down Yog.”

“Being able to take him down would certainly be a necessity,” Marty glubs calmly, “however, it’s really the bare minimum. You’d have to be able to pull it off at a public event, in secret. Look, you’ve already collected three of your friends. I hate to say it, but can we really afford to take this big a risk for the last one? I understand how this must feel emotionally, but this is war. Sacrifices are a part of that.”

“Yeah, but Dave is our best strategist,” I argue. “We need him!”

Marty raises a bushy brow over a monocle. “Is that so? And what do you think he’d say about this plan? Would he agree with your assessment that a single strategist is worth risking the discovery of several field agents of incredible strategic value?”

My mouth slams shut with an audible click, as part of me knows he’s right, and that Dave would probably disapprove of us taking this big a risk to get him.

I really do believe we need to take these kinds of risks, however, if we’re to have any chance to save Earth. Of course, that’s not their main concern...

“Perhaps not,” Suri chimes after a moment. “However, if we succeed, we’ll not only have liberated an excellent strategist, we’ll also have captured a Lustrous-tier Peilor. One who’s been on the Council of Stars for an exceedingly long time, and probably has access to classified information on a scale second only to Starmother herself. Now that, sounds like it might be worth risking some field agents, does it not?”

Marty eyes her silently, considering.

Agath takes a deep breath, that has her suit straining at the seams. “All right, I’m on board. I believe we’ve been passive in this conflict for too long, and we need to start taking some risks if we’re going to win. The time frame is on the short side, but sometimes you need to hammer the iron while it’s hot. But what say you, My Lady?”

We all turn to Goddess, who ultimately has the final say, in the same way that trucks, rather than personal vehicles, ultimately decide whether they have right of way or not.

The white feathers adorning her dark brow crinkle slightly. “Emma, Suri, your team has accomplished much in a very short period. It seems to me that the wise thing to do right now would be to consolidate our gains, see what we can learn from your latest capture.”

My stomach sinks, but she’s not done.

“However, I understand your plight as well. The countdown clock is ticking. With that in mind, and considering your track record... I’m willing to sign off on this plan.”

Marty blows out some bubbles, but inclines his head, showing his acquiescence.

I let out a breath of relief. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Many fates are riding on this operation,” she intones gravely. “If your covers are blown, so be it, but do not get yourself caught.”

A moment later, before I can even react, she’s gone, and her council with her, leaving us behind with only those ominous parting words.

Well, that, and Trisha, who holds a platter of lemon squares under my nose with a hopeful look on her aquamarine face.

With a sigh, I give in to temptation, and snatch one.

Who knows, it might be my last chance to eat one...

***

“So, we have two weeks until the cast reunion,” I state firmly, floating in the centre of Loudmouth’s shack. “And we have a lot of ground to cover. Alec, you—”

“And Farouq need to take a trip to his place,” Alec interrupts quickly. “To get his invitation sorted, right? Got it, Emma.”

“Right, that first,” I concede. “But after that we definitely need to—”

“Fill in Jacob and Sudo on their next scheduled visit?” Kaitlynn asks innocently, her eyes sparkling.

“Well, yeah,” I admit, glaring at her, “but then we need to—”

“Pick up a host for me at Sudo’s place, I concur,” Suri chimes in.

I let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yes, that too,” I say through gritted teeth. “But then, we are going to—”

“Come up with mission name?” Loudmouth croaks happily.

I fold my arms across my chest and pout. “You guuuys, I’m serious. Stop laughing!”

Alec wipes a tear from the corner of his eye. “Aaah, I’m sorry Nonya, but you should’ve seen your face! Look, we all know what you’re trying to say, and yes... we’re going to train. We’re going to train our butts off. For Dave. Hell, we could even try our hand at mind-melding, if you think it’s worthwhile.”

“Well, all right then,” I say, mollified, though I’m not too sure about the mind-melding thing. “I’m holding you to that.”

“Loudmouth and I will be joining you for training,” Kaitlynn adds. “Right, Loudmouth?”

Loudmouth, who’s in the middle of a big bite of some kind of paella that Alec has whipped up, nods rapidly as he swallows. “Loudmouth will work hard to save Friend Dave. Again! Man, Friend Dave sure need a lot of saving,” he mutters to himself. “Good thing Loudmouth such a hero.”

“You sure are, buddy,” Alec replies happily. “But of course, true heroes like you and I know better than to fight on an empty stomach, so first, let’s dig in! Well... for those of us who can eat. Sorry ladies.”

His grin as he says it is just a bit too wide, and his moan as he takes his first bite a bit too exaggerated, so I mentally add a couple of push-ups to his training routine.

We’ll see who has the last laugh.

Please let it be us, and not Starmother...

Author's note:

This chapter's been through a relatively extensive editing process, but I like how it turned out! ^^

Thanks for reading!