Chapter 301: Jailhouse rock (Patreon)

Pre-chapter author's note:

Just a quick FYI: I've decided to name the organisation Sudo's a part of the Starshade Syndicate. I'll be editing that name in retroactively, as it doesn't make sense to reveal it this late, so I figured I'd give a heads-up. ;)

It takes a moment for Jacob’s words to filter through, to really start to make sense. The concept of Kaitlynn being arrested is so foreign for a second, so unreal... until it’s not.

“She was picked up by agents of the Starshade Syndicate,” Jacob continues softly. “I immediately asked Sudo if there was anything we could do, but... I’m so sorry, Emma.”

My throat constricts, my vision narrows, and a pit opens up in my stomach. I’d never wondered before whether I could even have a panic attack in spiritform, but right now the answer seems obvious.

“Kaitlynn was arrested?” I mumble numbly.

“Well, technically,” Sudo, whose spider-like spiritform hovers next to Jacob, whispers disdainfully, “Lyrackwas arrested, not Kaitlynn.”

At first, this seems like a totally inane statement and I’m about to say or perhaps even shout as much, but then my mind catches up. I take a deep breath, fight against my mounting panic, and turn to her. “You mean they haven’t realised she’s an impostor?”

Whatever’s visible in my eyes, it’s enough to cause Sudo to shrink back a little, but considering the Commands binding her, that’s about all she can do before she’s forced to answer. “As far as I can tell, my colleagues are none the wiser,” Sudo admits begrudgingly.

I forcibly push my anxiety deep, deep down, bringing back some clarity. She hasn’t been exposed... yet. Can I work with this? Think Emma, think!

“What, exactly, happened?” I demand.

“I’ve only read a copy of the report that Sudo was able to get her hands on,” Jacob replies, shaking his head. “It didn’t provide much detail. ‘Lyrack’ was lifted from his home in the Cove shortly after Twinset, and is being held in a secure facility, on the suspicion of treason. From what I understand, they only took his crystal, and put his host in stasis, meaning Loudmouth should be frozen in Boreum somewhere.”

Treason. The word makes my heart clench with worry for a moment, as I fear it means they’ve caught on to us after all. Then I remember Suri and Farouq telling us about Peilor being falsely accused and arrested for ‘treason’ when they badmouthed Starmother or the Council of Stars.

“Why though?” I ask, brushing a shaky hand through my hair. “Kaitlynn’s been keeping a low profile! She hasn’t done or said anything critical of Starmother, right? Wait, is this about something the actual Lyrack did, like, before?!”

That would be just our friggin’ luck.

Jacob shrugs helplessly. “The report didn’t say, and Sudo doesn’t know either.”

Cursing under my breath, I start to pace back and forth in the sand. “Shit. Shit! Why didn’t she just flee to the Realm of Imagination?!”

Jacob raises a brow at me, folding his arms over his chest. “You know why.”

I let out a defeated breath, clenching my fists as the answer comes to me. “You’re right. There’s no way she’d endanger the operation like that. Damnit!”

Jacob nods. “It’s too late now anyway; her anchor here has Faded. I’m guessing that holds true for the one in Trisha’s Teahouse as well.”

I swallow down the wave of dread that swells up at the fleeting thought that conjurations tend to Fade when someone’s been Erased. “She must’ve done that herself, right?” I reason. “To make sure they can’t trace the connections back to us?”

“I think so, yeah.”

By now, the commotion we’re causing has attracted onlookers, mostly worried-looking raptors, but I also spot one of Trisha’s drones amongst them, her eyes on stalks wide.

I stop in my tracks and call out to her. “Trisha, were you listening in?”

“Oh dear, yes—I’m so sor—”

“Good,” I reply, cutting off her irrelevant apology. “Get Yog to come in. And Farouq! Please.”

We’ve naturally come up with a system for communicating about our secret plans in the Yin-Yang Realm covertly. Actually, it’s pretty much the same system we’ve been using for a while. Anyone out in the field carries some simple, innocuous conjured objects, that have different meanings assigned to their disappearance.

Trisha is the one who maintains all of them by now, as she’s by far the best at multi-tasking, and almost suspiciously well-organised for a hive-mind.

Of course, Trisha’s Teahouse is still our primary meeting location, as that’s a less conspicuous place to visit for the beings living in this Realm, so Jacob, Sudo, and I warp over there through the Interstitial Space.

The once-cosy room where our respective anchors are kept in a display case is hard to recognise. It’s been spatially expanded into what’s essentially become a war room. Its various flat surfaces—both horizontal and vertical—are full of drawings and notes, any furniture built for comfort has been shoved to the edges, and a slowly rotating model of the Voidcannon hangs in the centre.

Our sudden appearance in his workspace seems to startle Dave quite a bit, but he quickly recovers his wits as we fill him in on the situation.

Seeing his face fall upon hearing the news makes my own emotions well up again, and I have to turn away from his sympathetic expression to keep a grip on myself.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any immediate insights to offer as I’d secretly hoped, so I resume pacing as we wait for the Peilor to show up. Farouq appears first, his mangled expression somehow turning even more cracked and awful as he listens to our explanation. Before he really has a chance to weigh in on the situation, however, Yog pops out of thin air.

I don’t waste any time rushing towards the Lustrous-tier windbag, and pointing an accusatory finger in his stupid, crystalline face. “What the hell happened? Did you know about this?!”

“Oh my, you mean that little stunt pulled by Lusette?” he replies in an obnoxious, amused tone. “I’m afraid I only just found out.”

My eyes practically bug out of my face. “It was her? The Peilor who owns Dominique? What, just because we excluded her during the friggin’ reunion?!”

“Yup,” he chimes happily. “I did warn you that she was vindictive, didn’t I?”

“Jesus...” Jacob mutters, a dark look on his face.

I purse my lips, trying hard not to give in to my urge to punch Yog’s spiritform. “What’s going to happen to her?”

“Probably what always happens,” Farouq chimes in grimly. “There’ll be a swift sham of a trial in a day or two, ‘Lyrack’ will be found guilty regardless of whether he’s done anything, and then he’ll be sent into the Starlight Palace, so Starmother can convert him into another clone for her hivemind.”

“Your sarcasm is a little ironic,” Yog chimes disdainfully, “seeing as ‘Lyrack’ is actually an enemy spy in this case, but yes, I reckon—hold on, a clone for her hivemind? What are you talking about?”

He sounds genuinely perplexed, which seems to confirm our hypothesis that the Council of Stars is unaware of Starmother’s true nature. Well, what we strongly suspect is her true nature, I suppose.

“Focus, Yog,” I bite out, snapping my fingers at him. “What can you do for us? Can you get her released?”

“I’m afraid that’s really not within my authority,” he replies curtly, seeming annoyed. “The Starshade Syndicate only answers to Starmother, not the Council of Stars, let alone its individual members.”

It’s quiet for a moment. I rub my temples, thinking furiously, fighting back the stubborn tears that keep wanting to well up, but Dave is the one who speaks up first. “Actually, we don’t really need her to be released, do we? We could just try to have her trial postponed until after the operation. It shouldn’t be too hard to rescue her after that, right?”

“Dave, you’re a genius!” I exclaim, even if my heart clenches a little at the thought of Kaitlynn spending days in a cell. Steeling myself, I turn to Yog with a predatory gaze. “Surely a member of the Council of Stars can achieve that much, right?”

“I may be able to pull some strings,” he chimes reluctantly. “Though I’m obligated by my Commands to warn you that I can’t guarantee results, and that even attempting it might bring undue attention to me from the Starshade Syndicate, which could endanger the operation.”

Dave shrugs. “That’s a risk we have to take. Frankly, even if Kaitlynn’s life weren’t on the line, letting her enter the Starlight Palace is much too risky. I can hardly imagine Starmother would not find out she’s an impostor in the conversion process.”

I’m about to agree, but something Dave said triggers me, and sets my gears spinning.

“Hold on,” I say, holding up a hand even as the pit in my stomach roils. “I... shit. I hate myself right now, but... I just had an idea.”

Despite the Commands I put on him, I can feel Alec’s limbs shaking lightly as a pair of Starshade Agents with burly Hoig for hosts lead us through the grey, nondescript hallways of their secret holding facility.

Honestly, if I had any limbs right now, they’d be shaking too, either from nerves, anger, or both.

These two agents—unlike Sudo—are public ones, meaning they don’t hide their role. In fact, they seem to relish in their special status.

The public agents aren’t really part of the tier system, existing more or less parallel to it. They don’t outrank anyone per se, but other Peilor are expected to comply with their instructions and show them a basic level of courtesy.

Their special, tier-less status is displayed by a combination of a particular shade of grey that adorns both their crystals as well as the clothing of their hosts, and a rather unique cut with a large hexagon-shaped facet at the front. Apparently, the hexagon is officially Starmother’s symbol.

Anyway, while I’m not convinced Sudo is right about the public agents being ‘inferior’ to the secret ones, I do get the impression the agents flanking us on both sides barely pay us any attention as we respectively march and hop through the halls.

And thank goodness. It was hard enough just to arrange this visit, we really can’t afford anything to go wrong.

Apparently, Sudo had to claim Farouq and Lyrack had a ‘special’ friendship for it to get approved. Romance still exists among the Peilor, apparently, though it’s relatively rare.

Well, at least it makes for a good cover. Judging by the strange faces the receptionist pulled, I guess he believed this is some kind of ‘conjugal’ visit, for as much as that’s possible for a crystalline species. The agents don’t seem to find it funny, however—or anything, for that matter. Their silence is unnerving.

After what feels like an endless series of hallways, the twosome finally come to a halt in front of an unlabelled Darksteel door, which quietly swings open, revealing a dark room.

I pause for a split second, waiting for instructions. When none appear forthcoming, I direct Alec to step forward, through the door.

The second we’re through, the door slams shut behind us. For a brief moment I think we’ve been made and just willingly walked into a cell, but then a couple of crystals in the ceiling light up, revealing that we’re in a short stretch of hallway, leading to another Darksteel door.

Oh, is this like an airlock? Then, beyond that door...

I barely manage to refrain myself from getting Alec to speed up, instead instructing him to maintain a steady pace forward. He honestly didn’t need to risk coming with me, as I could’ve easily brought another host, but Alec insisted. Said he wanted Kaitlynn to see a friendly face.

Shit, keep it together, Emma. This is a mission, not a goodbye.

As we approach the second Darksteel door, it quietly swings open, revealing a grey, hexagonal room that’s empty except for a single yellow crystal that’s held within a spherical barrier.

Kaitlynn!

While the room is a decent size, the barrier she’s confined in—a grid of tiny hexagons of Inverse Gravitational Energy—has a diameter of only three feet or so, which somehow really pisses me off.

Of course, there’s no way to vent my anger in here, so I push it deep down. “Oh, Lyrack...” I chime instead, in a pained tone of voice.

“Farouq?” the reply comes after a moment, thankfully in Lyrack’s voice. “What are you—”

“As this visit is classified as a ‘lovers parting,’ ” a dour voice starts, seeming to come from a red crystal in the wall, “I’m going to power down the Gravity Cage now, per protocol. You have ten minutes, then the prisoner will re-enter the restraining zone, and the visitor will leave. Do not attempt to exceed the time limit, or there will be consequences for both of you. Your time starts now.”

The grid of Inverse Gravitational Energy silently bursts outwards, sending Alec stumbling back a step. The yellow crystal containing Kaitlynn’s spirit falls about a foot before she catches herself with her own field of gravity.

Impatient, I send Alec another barrage of image instructions, though he already knows what to do. Without saying a word, he steps forward, holding a cupped hand beneath Kaitlynn for her to land in. After a moment’s hesitation, she does, and he gently lifts her to his forehead, where he touches her against me.

This was a second reason we had to go with a ‘conjugal’ visit of sorts. It was the only way I’d be able to make contact with Kaitlynn like this without arousing suspicion.

The moment Kaitlynn’s crystal lattice lands upon mine, I stretch out a tendril of Devouring Energy. She seems to have anticipated it, as I pass through her spiritform with little to no resistance, and quickly touch upon her Core.

Once more, I find myself standing on top of her sea of Essence, facing her avatar. The glowing, towering figure of light seems to light up even more upon spotting me, but then freezes, its expression shifting to a mixture of happiness and profound sadness as Kaitlynn’s consciousness descends as well.

I grow my form in here—which is essentially a miniature offshoot of my spiritform, sans core—to the same size as her avatar, and gently take her in my arms. For a moment, we just cling to each other, but then I steel myself and pull back.

After all, we don’t have much time.

I open my mouth to speak, but Kaitlynn beats me to it.

“Before you say anything,” she says. “I have no intention of revealing myself. If it comes to it... I’ll find a way to end it. Starmother won’t get anything out of me.”

I swallow, then take a deep breath. “That’s really brave of you, hon, but I—we—have no intention of letting it come that far. I’ve actually come... to offer you a choice.”

Author's note:

Any guesses as to what choice Emma is going to offer Kaitlynn? ^^

Post 'em in the comments, or on Discord in the story discussion thread!