What Happens in Orbit Pt. 26

And that was about when the cramping set in. Cora couldn't remember eating anything bad that day, but judging by her stomach's reaction and the pain, she'd eaten some kind of broken glass casserole.

"Heh. Glasserole," she chuckled weakly to herself as she collapsed to her knees in the empty hallway, breathing deeply. She was thankful for the lack of attendants. The stomach issues were embarrassing enough without panicked witnesses. After the pain began to fade, she stood, limping down the hall to their quarters. Jesus, why am I sweating so much? Did I-

"Ooh. Oh shit. Ray?"

Where the fuck is everyone? It was hard enough resisting the urge to waste time changing her clothes. Cora had kept track of the months, thinking forty weeks, but she hadn't considered how differently time passed on Takka.

By the time she made it to Ray's office, Cora knew that she was not going to maintain any sort of dignity in this process.

And his fucking office was empty.

Okay, stop panicking. This wasn't a process Cora had wanted to think about very much. Five years ago, she'd waved it off as some vague future thing, like owning a home or not having debt. The weather was gorgeous, dust-free, and most were out in the courtyard or across the way in the Crescent. It looked like there was some sort of operation going on in the spiral. She could see Della's hair, bright white in the sun, she could see the glint of metal as Mar tried to whack him with a crutch. Oh, yeah. I'm done for. This has gotta be karma. They'd even taken the kids outside. Mary was holding Mar's child while Mel led some kind of game with the other two, only one of whom had learned to walk yet.

Back to the quarters it is. At the last minute, she remembered the royal quarters. They were closer. Maybe she could lay down and it would pass. Like those weird contractions that only happened randomly, to keep a lady on her toes.

Cora did not make it to the bed. Another cramp hit, making breathing particularly difficult. She had the presence of mind to flail at the door, knocking it shut before inching towards the washroom. God, what are they called? It's just that. I'm just... getting ready. It's not happening yet. Looking down at her pants, Cora sighed. She hadn't been there when her mother's water broke, but she knew enough about the event to know that there weren't many other explanations. Yeah. I'll get some water.

Cora bent over the sink, breathing as deeply as she could before reaching to turn the faucet. The water wasn't particularly cold, but it felt nice to rinse away the sweat dripping off her face. She sat, assessing her situation while the pain abated. Okay. First, I'm stupid. Like, olympically stupid. Why did I come in here? Two, it's definitely happening. What do I do? That breathing. I remember the breathing. She made her best efforts at some huffing and puffing, and while it sounded right, it did nothing for her.

Cora laid on her side on the cold tile. "God, why am I like this?"

"You're just like me, dear."

She gave Koramin her strongest glare. "I asked God, not you. Fuck off."

Koramin laughed, settling next to her. "I birthed Tarina by myself in this very room."

"Good job. Now if only you'd remembered to die by yourself."

The former queen swatted half-heartedly in her direction. "Oh, please. You're all alone. Someone has to help you."

"I don't need help, and- ugh- definitely not from you!" Cora writhed as the cramping returned.

"I'd get those trousers off if I were you, Cora."

"I'd fuck off if I were you!" Cora snapped back, fighting with the tie around her hips. Koramin wasn't wrong, but Cora certainly didn't want a murder victim's ghost being her doula.

"Okay, now, up, up! Back on your knees." Koramin knelt in front of her, her yellow-purple irises just as bright as when Cora thought she had permanently shut them. Cora obeyed, hissing obscenities all the while.

"Now what?"

"You waited too long to look for help. Not long now at all."

Cora wasn't sure how long not long was, but it felt like an eternity. She eventually gave up on her vest and shirt, yanking them off in a moment of clarity as they became too uncomfortable.

"God, I don't think I've ever sweat this much."

"I certainly didn't. Must be a human tendency."

She had a sarcastic response for Koramin, but all she got out was a hoarse cry.

Cora found herself missing the concept of eggs as a whole. Sure, it was embarrassing, sure, it was weird, but it wasn't this. This was agony in a way that made her yearn for the aching joints and nausea.

"Why don't you try pushing now?"

"Why don't you try fucking OFF?" Cora wailed as she saw stars. The red-hot pain was worsening into white-hot pain.

"I will when you're done, dear. Push."

Cora didn't want to, but her body wasn't giving her a choice.

"Don't let the little one hit the tile, please!"

"Fuck you!" Cora nearly fell as she tried to get a hand under herself.

The tiny room was suddenly full of attendants, then came a deafening shout, leaving only two pairs of legs.

The pain was fading, but Cora felt an odd pulling sensation as it started to worsen again.

Ray was shouting from somewhere. Out in the hall, maybe?

The attendants weren't letting him in.

Milo was holding her, a blurry Tara was holding something... Blurry. A blurry shape. Oh. That's mine. I think.

There was crying. It was faint, but it was there. That's the normal thing. I think. Got to be crying. Lungs in there. Cora wheezed, lolling back against Milo's cool skin.

There was a thump, a cry like a chicken, and a distant clatter, like someone had physically thrown Ray out of the room.

"Wow. I'm fucking tired. No wonder Mama hated me so much. No, no. Lemme see. I know it's not her fault. I promise not to blame her," Cora rambled, reaching out with arms that felt like overcooked spaghetti.

"Yep. That's a baby." Somebody was supporting her arms as they rested the soggy, crying newborn on her chest. Cora couldn't quite remember what a human baby was supposed to look like, but this couldn't be too far off. Pearlescent skin, little webbed fingers, and tiny brown eyes.

"Yep... Yep. It's all there. Everything good? Feels like my damn, uh, organs fell out. Fuck me. What a day. I was supposed to talk to Tai later. Hope he's not mad at me."

Several hands were lifting her limbs, working something fabric over her stiff legs. Clothing. Robes?

"Mama said I tore the mess out of her when she had me. I'm good, yeah? Don't wanna look like the uh, ahah, Grand Canyon perhaps. Maybe I'm ok. Doesn't feel like I did much."

Truthfully, Cora could not feel a damn thing apart from a general burning ache from her chest down. They were picking her up now, a rainbow of hands braced around her, lovingly supporting her body.

The bed they settled her into was extremely pleasant, much more pleasant than the cold, bloodstained tile in the suite's washroom. "Aw, hell. Somone apologize to whoever's on cleaning duty today for me puh-lease. Did not intend to do that." Cora felt like there was a rubber band around her jaw as she slurred her words, but she couldn't risk being rude. They were all so nice, bringing her a warm drink and giving her some kind of medicine.

The sudden cold on her chest made Cora gasp. Someone had taken the baby from her. It was Tara, with a bottle in hand. Oh, oh. That's okay, I think.

Cora sank into the bed, finally remembering how.

And then Mar was alone.

Well, that wasn't quite true. Leo sighed, approaching him.

"That was not fun to witness, I am not gonna lie."

Leo watched, concerned, as Mar's expression went from bitter to shocked.

"Yeah, you probably should apologize to her. That was a lot, especially for you."

"No, there's- Damn it, I need to get up!"

Della appeared behind them, Orra swinging from his arm and laughing. "What's going on? I heard Cora yelling."

Then came Tai, snatching his daughter off Della's arm just as Mar swung his crutch. "Hey! What are you doing? Damn it, somebody grab him!"

They could not.

After a lot of shouting and getting whacked, it took a belligerent Tarina, eyes blazing, to lift Mar to his feet and situate his crutches. "You are embarrassing yourself. Stop it."

It was then that Mar remembered why he'd started to flail in the first place. "Tai. What was that thing you were talking about, when Cora was trying to kill you?"

"What?" Tai shook his head, trying to stop Orra from crawling into his vest. "You mean the Mantle?"

"Yeah. Is that a constant?"

"Well, yes, in theory, but why?"

Mar started to limp out of the spiral, finding a quicker rhythm with the crutches. "I just got this horrible feeling, like I was going to die."

Tai was already vaulting over the hedge, Orra passed like a baton to the now very bewildered Tarina. She received her delicately, muttering under her breath before holding her close to her chest.

"Where's Cora?!"

She watched Ray sprint out of the Crescent and across the courtyard, followed by a line of attendants.

These Roshak are such interesting characters.

As drowsy Orra snuffled contentedly against Tarina's chest, it finally occurred to her why they were running. "Oh! Oh!"

Milo and Tara pulled ahead of the other attendants, shouting back and forth with Mary, who called out commands to the others. Several pairs of them peeled away from the procession of panic, charging back towards the Crescent or into different entrances of the compound.

They began to sweep the rooms, following the cries and swearing.

Ray found her first, then found himself being tossed back from the room.

"Hello! You need to let me in, I'm-" The crush of bodies in the washroom was too much. Tara bellowed a command, and he was swept once more back into the bedroom. At his fourth attempt to enter the washroom, a massive blue hand seized him from behind, lobbing him like a dodgeball into the hallway. Attendants leapt over him, arms laden with supplies bound for the medical hall.

He laid there, hoping nobody would step on him.

At one point, a body passed over him, terrifyingly Cora-shaped.

Ray tried to sit up, catching a foot to the head.

He flopped back down, resigning himself to crawl along the hall's edge. He could hear crying. That can't be normal. Babies don't cry like that.

The rest of the Roshak were outside Cora's room, Leo and Della supporting an exhausted-looking Mar.

"Is she okay?"

"How would I know, Della? I was too busy getting trampled." Ray leaned to the side, peeking into the room, only to meet Tara's fiery gaze. He yelped, throwing himself backwards. "She is likely doing excellently. Our strong, brave Cora."

They'd let Tai and Erie in. Erie was, unfortunately, not equipped to do the kind of medical translating that Tai needed done. Exasperated, Tai leaned over, shouting out of the doorway. "Ray! Why are you just standing out there? Aren't you the human baby expert?"

"Oh, sure, yes, now you need the expert," muttered Ray.

As he held the pale, stone-beetle-sized newborn, Ray was suddenly not-so-sure of his qualifications.

This was not a human baby. Not a Sheevae baby. They hadn't even really got to the point of creating hybrids for him to learn from. This was the real deal.

"Ah," he said, like he wasn't panicking.

"Well?"

"They're ah, healthy! Very healthy. Nice clear crying, well-developed proto-tail, teeEETH!"

Tai reached between Ray's arms, gently prying the tiny jaws apart. "I should have warned you."

"No, that's not necessary, I'm the expert, remember? Just, ah, testing jaw strength."

Tai had already started to bandage Ray's heavily bleeding hand and was now giving him a look that could have crumbled stone. "Yes. My mistake."

Cora woke at least a day later, surrounded by chairs facing away from her. The attendants were keeping watch. Tai was there, in the one chair facing her.

Searching for the time, Cora frowned. They'd taken the clock off the wall. It only showed what segment of the day they were in, nothing specific, but it still reminded her that she hadn't been able to keep her appointment with Tai.

And Mar was probably still not happy with her. She'd gone too far.

Tara's CD of Catholic nonsense was playing in the distance, Mel somehow having learned the Latin to sing along with it. She had such a pretty little voice.

Cora sighed.

Everyone sitting around her startled awake. Tai watched the attendants as they stood, methodically preparing supplies and bringing in a tray of food. They were being particularly careful, Cora noticed, not to make any noise. Hard surfaces were covered with toweling, trays were set down with fingers extended.

She rolled over, quickly seeing why.

And realized she'd been out of her mind when she'd first seen her, thinking this was a normal baby. It was not.

Even with the attendants' care, the motion in the room was still enough to rouse the tiny thing, who started kicking her feet and grunting. The crying would start shortly.

Tai looked to her.

Cora shook her head, recognizing the concern. Let's see. She pushed her elbows into the bed, carefully levering herself up onto her hands, scooting herself back to sit upright.

Oh, ouch.

She'd definitely got stitches. It did not feel pleasant.

Unlike when Mel came out, Cora felt a little less nervous about this one. She'd at least have the sense to holler when she needed something, instead of just needing it.

And though she felt guilty thinking about it, having attendants, many of whom clearly adored children, made it as easy as could be. All she'd have to do was heal and manage the guilt.

Easy.

Tai sidled up to the bed, leaning in to whisper. "You'll need to do this, uh, naming ritual today, after you eat. Tara has promised that it isn't dangerous, but she says it's very bad luck to let them go longer than two days without a name."

And that was how Cora ended up in a pitch-black room, holding her newborn. She could still hear Mel.

It wasn't much of a ritual. She'd sit in the dark until a name came to her. Cora wasn't sure why she had to sit in this particular room to do that, but she certainly wasn't arguing.

She was still way too tired to argue.

The chair, however, was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second.

Maybe I should have argued. With my luck, I'll just- And there she was. Cora huffed, rolling her eyes. She'd slept well, so maybe stress was the reason she could now hear Koramin singing under her breath.

There was no scent in the room aside from the baby in her arms. Cora listened to a few of her breaths before turning her attention back to Koramin.

It was silent now. Maybe I was just listening too hard.

Cora tried to relax. She wasn't sure what it was about this room, but the darkness was thick and had a pressure to it, like a thunder cloud.

Suddenly, she wasn't sure if she still heard Koramin earlier, or if she'd imagined it. Hand shaking, she stroked the soft fins on her baby's head. God, this actually kind of sucks.

She spent a few minutes breathing deeply.

I feel like they all have these kind of Slavic names, Cora mused. But I don't know any off the top of my head that would just come to mind.

There was a weight on her leg, like a hand. "I have a name, if you wouldn't mind taking it."

Of course it hadn't been her imagination. "Koramin, can you just f-" She paused, realizing it was her ticket out of the darkness. "Okay, fine. What is it?"

The weight shifted. "Otylia. You can call her Tola for short."

"And how are you spelling that?"

Sometime later, Cora opened the door, squinting against the light.

She felt a little guilty, allowing the murdered queen to name her child.

For the first rotation, the first month, things went swimmingly. She had a simple, televised coronation, gave a simple speech to be translated across the planet, and the Yarlott emperor sent his regards.

He'd been unable to attend, offering a vague reason involving a minor crisis on the Earth's Yarlott outpost.

Her speech had been a collaboration with Tabitha, a lot of good stuff about unity and bravery, spelling out clearly what she expected to accomplish as queen.

She hoped it would stave off the assassination attempts for a while.

There was one thing, however, that was not going as swimmingly as everything else.

Mar.

He'd done nothing but avoid her, only speaking to her in strategy meetings.

Maybe after the mission departs.

Everyone else seemed to be doing better. It was only Mar.

She had a bad feeling that even if she managed to talk to him, he wouldn't want to hear her apologies.

Tor didn't seem to have any problems. Even Tai had calmed down considerably, happy to have a mission to throw himself into planning.

They would send a team to Roshak, containing everyone, including Tor.

Well, not everyone. Mar would remain behind, for obvious reasons that he didn't seem to mind.

Tor, Leo, and Erie were going for different reasons. Tor was taking advantage of the opportunity to visit his family with Mel. Leo and Erie would be going to the archives, Cora was told, to find the names of their parents.

This was all fine.

Cora refused to get nervous. They would come back once the mission was accomplished, within a month using one of the newer, lightning-fast Tau Sek Gei ships. It was all simple.

When Cora got into bed, surrounded by heartbeats, she tried to quiet her mind. Tor reached over, stroking her hair. She scooched closer to him, finally starting to relax.

And woke up alone.

The sun was still rising.

Cora stretched, groggily eyeing the time range showing on the clock.

An odd feeling began to build in her chest. She hadn't woken up enough to figure it out.

The bed was very cold.

They shouldn't have been gone until noon.

A small, kind voice spoke up in her head, advising against panic.

She knew what had happened, even if her brain hadn't fully parsed the situation.

There were too few heartbeats in the building. Way too few.

Cora opened the door slowly, listening to several pairs of frantic footsteps, harshly whispered orders.

"My Queen! You're awake!" Tara never called her that.

"Has Tola been fed this morning?"

Tara nodded, her hands clasped so hard that Cora could see the white of bone through skin.

"In the interest of not losing my goddamn mind, I will be sitting in the throne room. I want a clear explanation of the situation in ten marks. No maybe, no perhaps, only is and was. Is this clear?"

At Tara's nod, she strode past her.

Here were the doors. Cora opened them, feeling the metal pulley wheels grate against stone tracks as she slid them apart.

Judging by the wall-rattling roar, they'd tried explaining the situation to Tarina before Cora.

Cora approached the throne, swiping the dust off with her hand. They hadn't used this room in a while.

She was holding her jaw so carefully, consciously keeping her teeth parted. It would not win.

The doors slammed open.

"Tarina. Sit." Cora gestured to a pouf situated left of her. "Not yet."

Her words were crisply enunciated, tension like piano wire.

"What were they thinking?" She snarled, tendons standing at attention in her forearms.

Cora shook her head slowly. "Not yet, Tarina." If it took new pain to overcome old, useless pain, then this must have been new rage.

Mary entered, eyes ablaze. Cora found it reassuring to see no fear in her expression. She knew exactly who was to blame, too.

"My Queen. The mission departed four hundred and twenty-six marks before scheduled, during the night, last night. In addition to expected crew, Mar and all of the Roshak children were also on board. They have also taken all clothing, supplies, and food for the children. This seems to have been a concerted, pre-meditated effort involving the requisitioned crew members."

"Thank you, Mary. You may go."

When the door shut, Cora began to laugh.

Tarina turned slowly to face her. "Why... are you laughing right now?"

It didn't feel like laughing. It felt like something foul, sneering. Cora reclined slightly. "I'm sorry, Tarina. It's not because I think this is funny. It's because I know, any minute now, your mother is going to start trying to give me advice." Leaning over, Cora dragged a pouf to lay just to the right of her throne. "Whenever I'm suffering the most, she shows up to rub salt in my wounds."

Right on cue, Koramin sat down in the place Cora had made for her. "If that's what you want to believe, then I suppose it is true. You are queen now, after all. Someone has to do this."

Cora sighed. "There she is."

"I thought you were making some kind of human joke." Tarina shifted uncomfortably. "You are aware, Cora. There is no one there."

Cora tilted her head back and forth. "I wish."

"Ungrateful girl. I helped you when your mates abandoned you."

"She's calling me ungrateful now. Do you actually have any advice for me, Koramin, or are you just there to make Tarina think I'm losing my marbles?"

Koramin made an expression that would have involved raising an eyebrow, if she'd had any. "I do, actually."

"Hold on, the living are talking right now." Cora turned to Tarina. "What were you about to say?"

"May I have permission to pursue the ship?"

Koramin shook her head. "You need to wait."

Cora stretched her arms out in front of her, feeling the muscles pulling between her shoulder blades. "They're currently ahead of schedule. I'm not going to change that. I would like," she added, cutting off the suddenly furious Tarina. "To hunt them down myself. But I know the team they're with. They will complete the mission. I suppose I will have to supervise the formation of the new government myself."

Cora smiled, but it was more like a snarl, teeth bared.

Mar had done this, she knew it. The distance had grown so great, so quickly, that this had felt inevitable, even if Cora hadn't known how it would happen.

But what the hell were the others thinking?

The more Cora thought about it, the angrier she became.

Forcing herself to put a pin in her stewing, Cora stood. "I'm going to eat my morning meal, then I'm coming back here."

Though her blood sugar had risen, her mood had not. It was starting to sink in, that they really had abandoned her, even Tai and Della.

Even Tor.

Cora had a good idea of why, but it still filled her with a cold fury. Mar had been so loving, so kind, then...

Then they'd doomed him to a permanently altered life.

But what did that have to do with the kids? Cora eyed Tarina, visibly hurt under all the anger. This had probably been the first morning in months that someone other than Mel had woken her up.

Tarina and the attendants loved the little ones just as much as Cora and her mates did.

Cora sighed, exhaling through her nose. Mar hadn't been himself since he'd woken up. But I didn't make the call to revive him, so why make it a punishment for me? Why uproot the kids?

Her pulse shot up again. The self-important jackass had gone too far. He always thought he knew what was best.

She smoothed her hands over her hair. I have to be chill. Queenly. Not losing it over this nonsense. It would not be easy. Every few moments, Cora found her mind wandering to how much she wanted violence, revenge, to put the jackass in a headlock. He had to know how badly he'd fucked up. He would beg her for forgiveness, beg her to stop.

Then, like she'd done several times that morning, Cora took a steadying breath. She would deal with it like the queen she was supposed to be. And mother. She imagined them seeing her acting like an animal and shuddered.

Koramin was listing different torture methods as if she were listing ingredients to a cake, not caring if Cora was listening or not.

The doors opened, slowly, ominously.

The scent of blood hit Cora's nose before she could understand the mangled mess standing in front of her.

"Cora. Let me kill him. Please."

Some hours before.

Della found himself being shaken awake. It was light outside, but that didn't mean a damn thing.

"Come on. We're leaving early."

He grumbled, opening an eye as someone started to lift him out of the bed.

"Don't wake Cora up."

Huffing quietly, he stood, picking up his packed bag and walking out the door. He'd avoided saying a second goodbye to sleeping Orra, knowing she'd be able to tell how anxious he was.

Cora had been up late reviewing the plans. There was no way he'd risk waking her up now.

Della boarded the ship, stashing his crate away before picking a seat.

Something felt off.

He stretched, shaking his legs out.

This didn't feel like pre-mission jitters.

"Ugh." He would just have to ignore it. The bay doors were closing, the other crew members boarding and settling in.

Tai figured it out first.

Granted, it wasn't that hard to figure out, seeing as he'd been sitting there the whole time. Della watched wordlessly as Tai spun in his seat to face Mar.

"I thought the plan was for you to stay back with mission control?"

Mar gave him a cold look. "You would have preferred that, yeah?"

Tai shook his head. "No. No, I would never have a problem with- This wasn't in the plan. That's all. If the plan has changed, I need to know."

There was a scent in the air. Like kids. It stayed, even as the horizon started to sink. Oh.

Mel was buckled into a chair behind him, the belt as tight as it would go. She was supposed to be here. The other kids were not.

So why could he hear them?

Della gritted his teeth. The kids are here. Mar is here. We left early before Cora or her people woke up. There were a bunch of extra crates... I get it.

This was not a good situation. Tai was beginning to bristle.

He was unarmed, too.

Tor was just sitting there, looking bewildered, not saying anything. You too? No. There was no way he'd have signed off on something as stupid as this.

Tai unbuckled himself, standing as he bickered with the too-calm Mar.

"You know as well as I do that we're not needed. We've just been in her way. You want our children to grow up in a Sheevae royal court?"

"Do you not realize what you're doing?" Tai was trying and failing to not lose his temper. "We're not just abandoning her because you had a disagreement!"

Mar rubbed at his face, already tired of arguing. "And you. Tai, you've been a problem for too long. You're just as much of a danger to the kids as-"

Tai cut him off. "Give me a real reason, Mar."

At this, Della stopped listening. Several of his old crewmates were readying to draw their weapons, judging by the shifting in seats and flexing of arms. He looked out the window.

His mom had always been pretty shit, as far as mothers went. He'd spent his entire childhood between her and his younger siblings. Living shield. She never did figure out how to manage her temper.

Della wondered how she was doing now. At least I learned something from it all.

He unbuckled and stood, going to the airlock. They would be moving to kill Tai soon. That much was clear.

Override. Yes, override. Yes, he was sure he wanted to open the airlock mid-ascent. Absolutely positive. Beep, beep.

"Della, what-"

He spun around, rolling his shoulders before snatching Tai off his feet, dragging him towards the airlock, which had started to whoosh ominously as air flowed over the freshly broken seals.

"No! Della, what- You knew about this? Hey! We can't leave Cora!"

The door had opened, air rushing in and out, bringing sand with it. Before it could occur to Tai to fight back, Della shoved, hard.

"We were just going to shoot him. Now you've gotten sand everywhere."

"You wanted to open fire during ascent. Are you fucking stupid? The Zitarche will get him." Della sat back down, crossing his arms. "I gotta be the only professional here."

Tai woke up with a mouth full of sand, his ears ringing.

Sitting up, he realized his ears were not ringing. The sound had some other source. Skeletal figures surrounded him.

Zitarche.

He'd hit the ground hard.

But somehow, nothing was broken. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Della planned it that way. Groaning, Tai reached for a knife, only to find an empty sheath. "Shit!"

Maybe he hadn't saved him after all.

Cora.

They weren't strong, but they were fast, desperate, and hungry. He'd resorted to bludgeoning one with another. He found a good stone at one point. Things were looking up. And then one got hold of his arm.

Cora.

By the time Tai reached the boundary wall, it had stopped hurting.

It probably couldn't. Arms had to be attached in order to feel pain, last he'd checked.

Cora.

Nobody seemed interested in stopping him. This was good. They had to know it wasn't his fault.

Tai stumbled hopefully around a familiar corner, encountering an attendant. "Where's Cora?"

"Ehm... Throne room." The Sheevae pointed, looking quite nauseous.

"Thanks."

At least it was a secondary arm. He'd forgotten to get it out of the reach of needle teeth.

Casting a glance down at it, Tai realized that it was only the ragged remains of his sleeved shirt holding the arm in place. Vaguely annoyed, he tugged, pulling it free.

Mathematically speaking, the solution was simple.

After everything he'd done to avoid losing one of the ones he trusted most, Mar had done this in return.

"Cora. Let me kill him. Please."

Tai was trying not to fall over. It seemed his blood had finally remembered to be in a liquid state, pouring from his empty secondary shoulder socket.

A glance behind him and down the hall confirmed that he was wrong. "Ah."

As he started to lose consciousness, the only thing he could process was Cora's expression.

"Maybe I should let you handle him instead," mumbled Tai as he was raised onto a medical table.

"Cora," Ray spoke, his voice trembling slightly. He was peering in from the throne room door, some hours later.

"Yes?"

"The research and development teams are ready to meet with you."

Cora sighed. She had forgotten. "Right."

"I think you'll be pleased. Even with... everything else... happening."

All she'd given him was a neutral look, but Ray had nearly taken off running the moment their eyes met.

"Ray, quit worrying. It's fine."

"It doesn't seem fine," he whispered some time later as he opened the lift gate for her.

Cora was, in fact, pleased.

Summa Mater had loaned some of her research staff, who'd brought design plans for high-volume agricultural sprayers. Two researchers were suited up in front of her in prototype rubber suits and respirators, backpack sprayers being mounted.

In the containment cell was one of those. She hadn't seen one in a while, but they were hard to forget. In the bright light, it really was just a shambling collection of flesh and metal plates.

"Alright. Let's see."

Once they threw open the cell door, Cora began to count.

It took thirty seconds on the dot for it to stop moving.

Her sinuses began to sting. We need to improve these respirators.

"Is this sufficient?"

Cora nodded, waiting for them to finish cleaning up before removing her mask. "It is. But you shouldn't be able to smell anything at all when wearing these."

"Noted. Also... My Queen?"

Ray was desperately trying to act natural while the head researcher clasping their hands nervously.

"Yes?"

"We have something we developed, that we want to show you. And I- we know that we weren't supposed to be using our resources on this, but the Barja team-"

Cora waved a hand, cutting them off. "I'm not going to get angry. Just show me."

One of her assistants began donning what was definitely chainmail. Ray ran around the corner, reappearing with two others and a long, heavy crate.

Cora watched as they set up a machine in the center of the room, about the size of a mini-fridge. It was packed full of wire coils and copper pipes. She kept her distance, circling around to inspect it as they pulled what was definitely a sword out of the crate.

"Ah."

She could feel static crackling around her as the researcher squeezed a trigger. The sword had a cage-like end that braced along the user's arm, while the blade itself was simply a metal outline. It looked like a hot knife, but much bigger. It began to glow, blue-hot within seconds. Cora stepped back as the heat buffeted against her.

"Watch this, Cora," Ray murmured as the researcher nodded. They released the trigger, the blade cooling back to black in a blink.

"How heavy is it?" She approached slowly, tilting her head.

"That's one of its flaws. It puts out too much heat, and is too heavy for any of us to use long-term."

"And where'd the design come from?"

Ray piped up. "It was created for harvesting this crop they use for livestock feed and textiles. The stems are dense to the point that they're structurally metallic. This version is just larger and..."

Cora turned. He was checking his surroundings.

"I can guess. And this is where the power comes from?"

The researchers nodded, in varying stages of relief. She hummed, kneeling gently next to the generator and holding a hand near it. It was warm, an aura of electricity still around it.

"Does it need to be out in the open for it to function?"

"No. It won't broadcast through the exterior walls of a ship, but it be hidden. For, you know, maintenance purposes."

"Could it be mobile?" Cora didn't see any cords, hoses, or wires running from it.

"It could. It just can't be dropped while it's active. Impact could trigger, ehm, fission reaction."

She chewed at her lower lip. "Ooh. What would production of say, ten of them look like?"

Their response was stilted, pausing every few seconds to look back at the others. "Production... In an ideal development process, we could try to make it lighter. That would be an expensive process, however, because we need metals typically only mined from asteroids. Production."

Cora stepped forward. "May I?" She wasn't at her best, not yet, but she still wanted to see what heavy meant.

Ray rushed forward, securing the brace around her arm and holding his hands under it like he'd be any help.

It was heavy, sure, but heavy like a cast iron baseball bat. It would be so satisfying to swing. "You should see if any of the ladies would be interested in using this. Savannah, Autumn, Laura? They're built like me."

The lead researcher looked as giddy as a piscine Sheevae could look. "Should we refine the design with humans in mind?"

"Hm." She couldn't help but smile. It wasn't a happy smile. "At least one, yes."

Cora noticed quickly that she was being treated as if she would explode at any moment.

Yeah, she probably would.

But it wasn't the little one's fault. She had so looked forward to introducing her to the others, once she wasn't quite as fragile.

Cora sat in the nursery.

Tara and Milo orbited uncertainly, doing their best to hide their displeasure.

Cora watched as Tara picked up the CD wallet, setting it back down before whipping around to face Cora.

"You want to know why we're not chasing them down and why I'm not currently turning Mar into a fine mist."

Milo was gesturing at Tara to cut it out, but she wasn't having it. "I do! They threw your gray one off the ship, they nearly killed him, so now there's only the blue one that can care for them." She counted them off on her fingers. "One twitchy Roshak male for four young children is unheard of! I've worked with Roshak for years and have never known one to make such a selfish choice."

"We don't know that he made it on his own. He had help."

Tara sniffed, putting the wallet on a shelf with the player. "The others never would have agreed to such a thing. Certainly not your, ah, Tor."

Cora pursed her lips. She'd remembered his name. "I suppose we'll have to ask. I won't interrupt their mission. I'm pretty sure that I know where they'll go, and we risk the little ones getting hurt if we chase them down. We'll make a plan, but right now I'm focusing on what we still have."

Milo sat quietly in front of an old wooden crate.

"How do you know they'll complete the mission?"

"They'd complete it even if we weren't paying them."

It was easy to pretend nothing was wrong. At times, Cora felt guilty for not being more worried about her kids. She just couldn't stop being angry for long enough. Tara was right. Mar completely lost the fucking plot.

But there was so much to do. Tai was up and moving, practically mummified in wide, supportive bandages.

Miedzna was in the compound today, too. Cora could hear their voice through the door as she passed Ray's office.

They were terrible at whispering. Cora laughed.

Tai rounded the corner, trying and failing to hide a limp. "The Force Coordinator is here."

"Oh, hi, Danger. I didn't know that was your official title."

Danger sighed harshly, watching as Tai stumbled. "Koramin liked to send me on errands more than she liked to let me do my job. However, in all honesty, we... didn't have much of a force to coordinate. This is meaning, it didn't matter."

"What about now?"

"Now we have several sizeable groups and more enlisting every day. They really liked your coronation speech."

Cora shrugged. She'd felt like an imposter, a terrified one at that, standing in front of a camera broadcasting to at least three billion people.

She still didn't even really feel like a queen. This felt like any other job. Shit training, everything falling apart, and the last person to have the job was apparently fucking insane.

Just like Wal-Mart. Easy stuff.

At least the pay was better.

She heard Ray's office door crack open as their talk cut off. Someone peeked out.

They'll bring it to me later if it's that important. Cora moved on, following Danger and Tai down the hall.

As Takka shrank from Tor's view, he began to feel a deep sense of dread. Cora would be furious, Mar was clearly unwell, but his dread had a different cause.

Della.

He was always chatty, even when nervous or actively at risk of dying. Now, he said nothing. Tor had never known silence to be pressurized.

Now felt like a terrible time to ask why.

Mel wriggled out of her seat, stumbling over to Tor. He scooped her up, holding her tight as the gravity drive output peaked.

Della unbuckled himself, white-knuckling his seat to avoid being flung across the ship before pulling his way to the smallest cargo hold. Tor felt locked in place under Mar's uncaring expression.

He reappeared moments later, three small bodies clinging furiously to his vest, his arms wrapped carefully around them.

"They were safer in there."

Della inhaled sharply, exhaling slowly over several moments. Tor could hear his throat closing around the air, dragging out his breath even further. He didn't respond.

The others started to grow uncomfortable. This was Della's old team. They had to know, too.

Tor hoped they regretted helping Mar.

He wasn't even sure what he regretted. By the time he'd realized what he'd been brought into, he wasn't in a position to do anything about it. He hated it, but all Tor could do was let it continue.

Mar looked up to meet Della's gaze, but Della let it go.

Shar shifted in his seat, leaning forward to give the old captain a pointed look. The captain bit the inside of his cheek, looking away.

Mel's tiny hands were gripping his vest so tightly. Tor felt sick. Tears were pouring down her face, but she wasn't making a sound.

He looked up at Della.

That was a mistake.

Covering his mouth, Tor took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He wasn't sure specifically how, but he'd really fucked up.

Cora was fine as long as she didn't stop.

Like, at all.

She'd spent time with Tola in the darkened, quiet nursery, listening to Tara sing a lullaby to herself. She wasn't taking it well at all. Tarina was doing what Cora was, but with a little more ferocity than necessary.

As Cora headed to Kalejeyin's library, she passed the window overlooking the courtyard. She was meeting with the training coordinators for what would become Takka's strike forces.

Cora paused at the window, watching as Tarina squared off with Danger. It looked like a demonstration. She would let it be.

The library took advantage of the compound's hidden depths, the floor dropping just after the doorway, dusty purple metal railing the only thing between Cora and the well-organized book pit.

She took a headlamp, stepping out onto the metal platform that would take her down.

Kalejeyin had been a hoarder, to put it lightly. She'd apparently learned at least fifty languages, and collected books in all of them. The cool, dusty air whooshed around Cora's face as she descended to the English section.

She'd done this daily, trying and failing to pace herself. The Takkan days were long, it was easy to get lost in them.

The shelves spiraled down into a pitch-black hole, the platform moving along a track that followed the spirals. It looked like Koramin had been keeping up the tradition. Some of these books were new.

She'd started with the dry basics, plodding through Machiavelli's Discourses and of course, the Art of War. Not much had changed since she'd read them in college.

Cora's mind felt like a hurricane. Everything was sucked in, swirling around violently as she tried to place its usefulness. She would get better. Of this Cora was certain. She would do whatever it took.

By the time the Emperor's faction was aware of what was happening in the Roshak capital, it was way too late. The matriarch and her family fell like dominos. Cora felt a pang of regret, but only for Ray's sake. It was his family after all.

He didn't seem to care.

Cora stood at the helm as they locked into the complex orbit. The view was beautiful, the Coalescence shimmering on the horizon.

Ray was seated at one of the control stations, watching planetary network news feeds and tapped communication lines. He would advise Cora on the public's response, letting her decide her next move.

"Do we have Leo or Erie?"

One of her officers nodded. "They both signed in. They were successful at the Archive and are now en route to an unspecified meeting point."

A meeting point? "Ah. Ok. Can we access any civilian communication lines?"

When she got a yes, Cora slid into the seat by Dicembre. "Southwestern region, Sundak. Under Mmm- Merimeli- yep, that's it."

It was midday. Tor's mother was likely asleep.

However, Meri was not. Tor's sister picked up the call, her face slowly lighting up as she recognized Cora. "Mom said you might call!"

Cora laughed. "Yeah, I thought I would check in. Is Tor there?"

She leaned back, then leaned towards the camera conspiratorially. "He... Yeah. Bee says they had a huge fight, like he's never seen before. Said Mom almost hurt Tor. She had to leave the house and calm down."

"Oh, no."

"What happened? He was supposed to visit, but Mom was surprised when he brought all the kids, too."

Cora wasn't sure how much it would help to tell the truth. "Mar and I had a fight. He took all the kids back to Roshak without telling me."

That was probably not a good idea, telling her this. Her cheerful expression darkened rapidly. "He did?"

Cora nodded. "I mean, all the little ones are okay, yeah? I know Della is there-"

"Della is not here. Tor came alone with all these kids. Dumped them on me and Mom. Now, I don't mind, but... Cora, I can't tell you. I can't tell you how much I- that's one of the worst things to do in a family. You never just take the kids somewhere without Mom. I know Tor never woulda signed off on that. So that means he did it alone. Like without colony input. That's the biggest fuck you in our world, both to you as the matriarch and to your little ones."

Cora sighed. "I know. But they're all there, right? And ok?"

Meri crossed her arms, an impressive feat with the amount of muscle she had. "Your little gray one, Mai, keeps crying herself to sleep. Won't let anyone hold her."

Cora gritted her teeth. "Once we get the ship ready, we'll come down. I can't take them right now, it's not safe, but I can come visit and see if we can help."

Cora could tell the others were unhappy with her changing the schedule. She was also unhappy, but this was too important an opportunity to pass up. While her staff maneuvered the landing ship into the lakeside cave, Cora made a beeline for Meli's house, Tai right on her heels.

"And what will we not be doing if Mar or Tor are there?" asked Cora, shooting a glance over her shoulder.

Tai kicked off a branch, propelling himself forward to run alongside her. "It's nothing to me if Tor is there. We know he had no real part in this. But if Mar is there, and you sure you want him to go unpunished-"

Cora slammed her feet into one of the stoney trunks, cutting him off with her sudden stop. "Tai, we've talked about this. I don't want him dead. If we confront him now, and he's still acting smug like he's done what's best, it won't be about punishment. It'll be about revenge, about- Ugh. You of everyone knows how bad my temper's gotten lately."

He sighed, waiting for her to start moving again before he spoke. "I know. You did the same for me, and I'm still grateful. But I feel like- I hate feeling like this. Like the kids are thinking we abandoned them."

"That's why we're here. But no fighting, no kidnapping. Going off the intel Ray put together, Mar and the rest of the team should be days away in the Capitol." She came to a stop again.

Tai did his best not to become irritated with her. His arm had only just healed, making sudden stops especially taxing.

"I'm sorry, I need something."

"What is it?" He looked around, barely catching a branch in time to steady himself as Cora dove into his arms.

"Sorry. Just real quick. I, um, I was trying to pretend I didn't need it but I really do. Can you just... Hold me? For a little while. I know we have a schedule to keep."

"Oh," he sighed. She'd seemed to be doing so well as queen that he'd almost forgotten about little Cora, the human.

Their intel was right. Meri answered the door, pulling Cora into a particularly chiropractic hug. "Oh. You're okay. I thought about you every day after Arch said they handed you over." She released Cora, giving Tai a nod and letting them in. "Mom just called. Tor is really sick. Like, really sick. She found him passed out this morning in the kid's room. Took him to the clinic, they're running diagnostics."

Cora's stomach turned. He'd been off for a while, but she'd chalked it up to stress.

Tai looked especially concerned. "Sick could mean anything, especially with all the interplanetary travel. Do we have time to go see him?"

Her strike team would be initiating the western test operation at sundown. Cora grimaced. "Let's go there first then spend whatever time we have left with the kids. I'm sorry, Meli. Tell Bee we'll be back."

Tai had barely opened the clinic door before Tor's mother was there, snatching him through the opening.

"Come on, Cora, you too. I'm happy to see you, but get in here. We need blood samples from all of you. I wish I'd caught you sooner, Meri and Bee are bringing the kids in."

"Samples for what?"

The clinic was abuzz. It looked like they'd called in the night shift early.

"It didn't even occur to me until Bon said something. Do you know what it rains on Takka?"

Cora shook her head. She looked pissed. "It's iron oxide, right?"

She pointed to a chair for Cora, pushing Tai through the doorway and into the chair next to it. "Which arm? And no, Cora. It doesn't. Well, I mean, yes, but that's not the only metal in the rain there."

Tai leaned back, looking vaguely nauseous as she prepped the crook of his elbow and lined up the needle. "Shit. I never even thought about it, Cora. There's cadmium in the atmosphere."

"And lead. It doesn't bother the Takkans, they have massive kidneys that make short work of it. But we do not, Cora. You took those kids to a planet with a poison atmosphere!"

"Meli, stop." Bon put a hand on her arm. "You'll put that clean through his elbow if you don't calm down."

Tai had started turning colors. "Yeah."

"Oh my God." Cora rubbed at her temples. "That's it. That explains so much. Is it possible to have poisoning and not show any symptoms, though? The kids have been totally fine."

Meli shook her head. "No. You'll have all kinds of symptoms. Torn-up stomach, extreme reactivity, lung irritation, you name it. The only way you have no symptoms if you aren't affected."

"Extreme reactivity?" She looked over at Tai. "Oh. Damn, I'm glad we kept the little ones inside."

Meli's eye twitched. "You better have. If I were you, I'd be kicking myself for how stupid-"

"Meli! I said that's enough! Do I need to take you off duty?" Bon stood there, arms crossed.

Meli huffed, setting the last vial down. "That would be best. Let me know when these are processed, please."

Bon was right. They had heavy metal poisoning.

Well, everyone except for Cora and her kids.

Mar had spent his every waking moment walking around outside, feet uncovered like all the other Roshak. Of course, the kids had their shoes, special little pairs commissioned by Tara, who had simply said 'One has to wear shoes outside'. Cora made a mental note to thank her. The kids only registered tiny amounts of cadmium, resolved with time and a recommendation to never return to Takka.

Tarina would be upset. Mary would never approve the funding needed for her to visit so often.

They could probably return for limited periods, but Mel's grandmother would throw a fit. Cora chewed at her lip, deep in thought. Maybe, once his body recovered, Mar would come to his senses.

When even Meli's shadow was out of sight, Tai leaned over. "Everyone on Takka wears those foot-things, shoes. And the veils. I just didn't think about it. I was never there long enough for it to be a problem."

She leaned back in her chair, watching as Bon passed another tray of vials to Jino, who immediately turned and left the room. "What I don't get is, why are the kids and I not affected? I was out all the time, walking between the Crescent and the main compound. And Ray- Oh. Yeah. He was wearing those shoes. I thought they looked silly. Now I get it."

Tai scoffed. "I'm going to have some words with him when we get back. He never said anything about this."

"So you'll come back?"

Slowly, he turned to her, leaning close. "You think that I would let you go back by yourself? I love them." He hesitated for a moment. "But... This isn't the first time I've had to choose."

Cora sighed. There was some way around this, but Mary, the overseer of internal budget, would not like it. She'd have to come up with some twisted reasoning to spend the required funds. "I think introducing the indoor decon protocol to the courtyard would help. Those shades have needed replaced for at least a journey now. Enclose it, or something bigger. Or just better outfits for going out." It doesn't rain up north, Cora mused. Having the children elsewhere on Takka felt safer than letting them stay here, where they were just a falling satellite's distance away from a Foshar infestation.

After routing a message to the team about getting treated for heavy metal poisoning, Cora sat for a light dinner while the kids played. Mel seemed to have no problem with being considerably older than the others, directing a very confusing game of catch.

"So, Cora, what's next?"

"There's tons of Roshak on Takka that live just fine with certain adjustments. We'll see what they do and see if the kids can do it, too."

Meri shook her head. "No, I meant about the mission. Tor told me a little, said you had something you were coming here to do."

"Oh. Oh, yeah." She'd meant to tell them a lot more, but fine-tuning the armor and training had taken too much time. "It's nothing crazy. We're gonna do some armor and weapons testing. It's nothing too exciting, I swear. All in the early stages, but it'll be pretty cool when it's finished. I think," she added, taking her last bite. "Tonight is our first round. I actually need to head out now, but I'll be back. Tai is staying here."

He was already in the living area, holding Mai and looking particularly content.

"Oh. Well, have fun!"

"I hope I will."

A sudden cacophony jolted Della awake. It sounded like somebody whacking the life out of a metal pipe.

"Shit! What is that?"

Mar was at the window, fighting to get his arms seated in his crutches. "That's the alarm. Noxis."

Throwing himself out of bed, Della grabbed an ion rifle. It wouldn't kill them, but it would slow them down. If Cora or Tai were here, he wouldn't even bother. They could easily handle a Noxis without him.

He shot a bitter look at Mar as he opened the door.

Mar missed it. His eyes were glued to the window. "Oh, fuck."

He followed Della out the door, much to Della's irritation. "I don't know what you think you'll do against a- Against. Against some... Against- Oh, fuck is right." Della had finally looked up, in the direction of that sickening ammoniac scent.

He'd never seen this many Noxis in his life.

"Why are they congregating here?"

Della backed towards Mar, eyeing him with dread. There was no way he was running. And Della wasn't sure he could carry him, if he even had the want to.

Della might have panicked, but it seemed like a waste of his last moments. Overhead, countless Noxis of every shape and size clung to the trees above the western mountain colony, stumbling between branches like wasps in autumn.

As he cranked up the output level on his rifle, Della noticed something odd; They weren't paying attention to the two potential meals below them at all. They'd definitely seen the both of them, but not one showed interest.

They seemed to be moving backwards, gazes glued evening sunwise.

Mar whispered. "Are they... running from something?"

Della looked to his right. The sun was setting, heavy night creeping towards them between the branches. "I fucking hope not. Whatever could make this many Noxis this scared means, uh, fuck. What's Cora say? We're fucked. Get back. Get back." He hissed at Mar, backing him further down the path. He raised his rifle, finger resolutely on the trigger.

Something else was coming their way.

In that moment, the air itself seemed to come alive, even the fibers of his shirt standing at attention.

Della looked back to Mar.

There was a crackling noise coming from his crutches.

They were sparking, tiny pinpoints of white light flickering around the metal brackets. Della reached out, a tiny arc zapping his fingertip.

"This isn't normal, is it?"

Mar's eyes were fixed on the horizon. "Here it comes."

Heavy footsteps thudded against the branches. Three black-clad figures peeled out from the shadows, lightning arcing between them as they lunged for the fleeing Noxis.

The air filled with the scent of burning flesh.

The blades they carried were bright enough to burn faint impressions into his vision, but Della kept his eyes trained on them, straining to listen. There was a faint jingling that he couldn't place, a frantic tango of tiny metal rings.

And then there were none.

As the shredded rain of Noxis limbs ceased, three figures dropped to the path, landing as gently as they could. The resulting thump still echoed through the now-silent forest.

Della lowered his rifle. Feeling useless, he cast an irritated glance back towards the homes. It was obvious that there wouldn't be any help coming.

"That's the Sunbearer crest," muttered Mar. "See it? On the belt? Think they're Sheevae?"

"Too short," he hissed back.

The three figures stood about the same height, their bulky hourglass silhouettes mostly due to layers of armor. Their dress was completely unfamiliar, visored helms with featureless masks, three evenly-spaced antennae still sparking in the gloom of dusk. And there was the source of the jingling- matte gray chainmail.

They wore thick metal chest plates over high-collared metallic vests, the collar standing tall enough that it covered the masks' lowest quarter. Ion rifles would do nothing against these, either.

Mar tilted his head. He could tell. These were tailor-made for hunting Noxis.

His heart thudded once in his chest. Oh. They weren't supposed to be here.

The central figure had shuffled her feet, tapping her right foot against the ground like she'd done thousands of times before.

Mar briefly considered throwing himself off the pathway to the forest floor. Facing a Targ seemed better than this.

She shook her head before making a crisp, one-handed motion, gesturing precisely even with the attached sword. They moved forward on the pathway, not acknowledging Della or Mar.

Mar couldn't decide if that was worse or better. He'd been thinking for a weeks what he'd say to Cora when she finally came for him.

But she hadn't come for him.

They moved down the pathway, sweeping the area before crouching down where the catwalk ended. Mar watched, heart pounding as they launched themselves back into the trees.

They were continuing the hunt.