Session 5 - Gifts

   Ian woke in the morning to the sound of Dog's barking and he rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Soon his face was being beaten by a long-haired tail. He stirred and retreated from the tail to see a big brown dog with his face burred in the pastry tray the left out the night before. Kira felt something lick her face and she scrambled to sit up, fumbling in the warm padded quilt for her gun. She wasn't at home and for a moment she panicked until she realized she was sitting in the alcove off the palace hall where she had dozed off and there was a big friendly black dog halfway onto her couch, wagging his tail excitedly. In the distance they could both hear the resonant voice of someone calling for "Laertes" and "Horace". The pair exchanged significant looks and searched around the alcove in hopes that Sakura hadn't abandoned them but they were alone with the Baron's dogs and the baron closing in.
   The Baron looked around the corner, surprised to find strange guests in his home "Pardon me, I wasn't expecting company." his tone a rich baritone of suspicion, his pretense so much more impressive than viewing him from afar. Ian cleared his throat and waved "Our apologies your lordship, we arrived late in the night with your daughter. She insisted we rest here. We'll be out of your way." Baron Ikeda Naganata smiled gracefully, over his veiled annoyance in a moment, "Nonsense, it's Lux Splendor, you are guests in my home, come to my table, tend to your business after a hot meal.". Ian and Kira saw no easy way out.
   They both dressed as best as they could and walked out into a set-table in the hall. Both Baron Ikeda and his son Hansu were seated and making plates. Laid out was a decadently sweet breakfast with spiced wine. Before Long Sakura arrived at the table in an informal Kimono, surprised to see everyone seated at the breakfast table. Ikeda gave his daughter a fair ration of shit for going out with her guilder friends rather than attending services at the temple with her family the night before. Sakura explained that she had some unpleasant business Ian and Kira were assisting with. Hansu seemed visible uncomfortable, seeming to understand Sakura's business was about his attempted kidnapping. The Baron quickly changed topics to keep the mood light asking if Ian and Kira had family in town they were visiting for the holiday, or if they were going to join the festivities that night in the square. Ian thoughtlessly said that they had work to take care of as their contracts were ending but the Baron gracefully glazed over the offense.
   As breakfast was awkwardly coming to an end Kira asked if they could check in on Aiko. Desperate for some relief from her Father talking to her murder squad, Sakura jumped at the chance to take them away from the table. She made a plate for her chambermaid and whisked Kira and Ian away. They were struck that once they left the main hall the palace decoration seemed rather plain, and inside of Aiko's tiny little chamber was a rich inner life they hadn't guessed at. The maid had hundreds of books on shelves and a fairly serious looking desk. Aiko herself was buried in lace-fringed blankets and more pillows than either guilder had seen in a single bed before. She smiled cheerfully as her visitors arrived and she assured them that her injuries were little more than a servant's laziness. She thanked everyone profusely for looking after her and wished them a "Lux filled with Light". Kira and Ian walked away a bit stunned, knowing that Aiko and been frozen bleeding and concussed when they went to bed and now was once more a cheerleader. Sakura offered Ian and Kira a ride home in her coach and they gladly accepted.
   Back at the Shuttle, Ian checked his flight clipboard and discovered that his flight to Avalonia had been cancelled twice while he was in the Mountains and now was scheduled for two days out. Hand-written on his flight order was "Come see me" signed Reeve's manager Haagen. Finding out anyone had an opinion about your flight plan was never good news to a Charioteer. Ian pulled on his flight jacket and hiked across town to meet with Haagen.
   Ian stopped at the Palace gates for another awkward encounter with the house guards that were planning to torture a confession out of him only to find out that Manager Haagen was out for the holiday. He got instructions to Haagen's Home. The anxious and easily flustered Reeve Manager was unusually calm and maybe a spiced-rum or two into the holiday. He let Ian into his home, dodging around his children and his fussy wife to take Ian to his study. He wasn't upset that Ian missed his launch windows but more concerned that he wouldn't see Ian before his final flight. He paid Ian out for the holiday and paid him the penalty on his contract and gave Ian a chocolate bar imported from Severus as a gift.
   Kira meanwhile had walked into a Lux party in the Engineer's hall. The usually serious engineers were mostly drunk and playing party games and singing songs. More than half of her compatriots were gone for the holiday but the few that remained were blowing through gift bottles of sake and whiskey that they'd not have a chance to enjoy while constantly on duty should something break-down. She noticed Apprentice Hume quietly sitting in around the table. She had just been talking with Ian about how they'll need a redemption engineer if they're going to try to recover that Rollick ship he saw up in Tikal. She grabbed one of the whiskey bottles and sat on Hume's bunk, squeezing as much charm as she can out of her dark and terrifying heart to try to convince him to come and work with her and Ian. Kira could sort of tell that she wasn't connecting with the impressionable engineer and she suspected she had somehow implied a more unprofessional interest in the young man. Kira made her polite excuse to slip out of the Engineer's hall and go find Ian.
   Kira wanted to put some distance between her and her awkward exchange with Hume so she dragged Ian out of the shuttle into the cold and made him walk with her into the square. There was a band singing on a stage and people gathered around doing folk dances. Food vendors surrounded the square serving warm fresh baked treats and hot drinks. Kira recognized some of the Knights of Yara she had seen at the Amalthean Temple walking among the celebrants and keeping order in the cold, brightly lit night. As the Temple mass let out a line of people filed in and Ian convinced Kira to come to Mass. They sat in the service, feeling a bit out of place as neither of them were especially religious but everyone was happy and it was the sort of sermon that didn't make you dislike the Church.
   They came home through empty streets in the late evening, realizing that nobody was watching the packing house and they were flying out to Avalonia the following day so they snuck into the packing house and worked together late into the night to produce another few liters of ichor an a kilo of powdered extract. Somewhere around midnight there was a knock at the door that made Kira and Ian jump. They opened the door to find Sakura standing there alone in the dark. She walking in and asked some questions about what was being done, her stoney features and inquisitive manner making them terrified that they had been caught. She instead just asked a series of questions about the machinery that made it clear she was sizing up the prospect of taking the processing machinery for some other purpose, somewhere they'd need to be powered by a very large bank of power cells. Eventually Sakura wished them a good night and headed out. Feeling rattled, both of them knocked off for the night and headed back to their bunks.
   The following day Kira woke with very little sleep along with all the other hungover Engineers and went to work packing up the packing house for the season. The last of the batches were run or sent off to be burnt. For Kira it was a short day. At the end of it she was paid out her last month of her contract and signed out of the job. Ian went into town to pick up the bandoleer he had made for Aiko, then he checked the Shuttle for it's flight the next day.
   Early in the morning Kira and Ian warmed up the shuttle and waited on delivery of their shipment to Avalonia. When the Muster Autowagon rolled up it was already raining and cold. They let the peasants in the truck haul freight to the overhang of the shuttle's bay and they arranged it in the little cargo space. As the Muster rolled away they hurried down under the platform and grabbed their ill-gotten manifest of stolen late-harvest botanicals and a bag of gear they brought back from their fight with the Church Knights in Tikal. Kira was packed into the little crew chair so tightly she could barely get the door closed. Ian had radioed ahead for weather reports so the flight was simple and by early afternoon they had landed. Within a few hours the buyer showed up, signed for the cargo and packed it onto a ox wagon.
  Kira walked down to the Spaceport Gates and looked for a taxi to haul their loot to the market. She was rushed by a pack of drivers who tried to convince her their ride was the best. She had agreed to one when a smart-dressed Scraver named Edo told her she wanted to use his truck because none of the other losers had a port pass and they were going to make you shlep your cargo down to the curb like a peasant. Kira agreed to pay a little more and Edo drove up to the shuttle pad and helped them load up his truck, then drove them to the Botanicals market in his heated cab. Edo even introduced them to the more legitimate Scravers in the market and they got a fair price for their smuggled bounty. It was going to take a few hours for the merchant to get funds for the buy so Kira and Ian wandered into the Agora. They both had a pile of firebirds and a bill of credit for a pawn shop down the street so they went crazy spending money all afternoon. Kira bought a big brown hunting dog for Ian for a late Lux gift. Her name was "Porkchop" but Kira didn't think it was very feminine so she named her "Pork Rind". The swooped back into the market to collect the last of their pay without an issue and grabbed a petty cab back to the starport.
   When they returned to the shuttle the cargo ramp was down and the shuttle had been ransacked. Nothing had been taken except the shuttle's think machine, in it's hollow case was a note the read "You should have told us you were coming to town. Boss Harmon would love to see you.  You should drop by the furniture shop and say hello." signed Maez. Kira was pissed she went outside and just started swearing at the sky. Ian conversely became very quiet, he took stock of what he had with him, tucking his Hazat rifle and newly purchased ammunition away, without license it would only get him thrown in a dungeon. They agreed that there was no way out of this but to deal with Boss Harmon. They put their excess gear and Pork Rind in the back of the shuttle and flagged down a peticab to drive them into the carpenter's district.
Harmon Furniture was the same as the last time they were there. Same sketchy open warehouse, same three Scraver punks standing outside. As Ian and Kira climbed out of the cramped carriage the punks came forward. When they asked for Boss Harmon the punks feigned ignorance of who that could be but when they told them who they were and that they were expected the punks jumped to get out of their way and escorted them inside. Up in the office Harmon was behind his desk and Maev was laughing himself hoarse over something they were talking about. the mood changed as Ian and Kira came in.
"Where the fuck is my Aeronautics Box" Ian demanded. "Taken in payment for services not rendered" said Boss Harmon cooly. Kira handled the hilt of her rapier "That's Bullshit! We did what you wanted!". Harmon glared at her "I wanted.. you to murder the jeweler's wife. I asked you if it was done, you said yes..". Kira scoffed unconvincingly "Well we killed her". "If you think you killed her you're piss poor assassins, thankfully I need someone who can't kill someone..". Ian felt his hand flexing near his gun, he wanted to kill the fat greasy Scraver boss but he didn't know if his shuttle's think machine was in the office or even in the city, "Look, we didn't do the job, take the gun but taking my boss's shuttle is too much.". Kira was already thinking about how she would hide the bodies. Harmon leaned his girth back in his chair and gestured at Ian "This isn't about hurt feelings, this is about consequences, you ripped me off. I can't let that slide or it starts to become business as usual.. You're going to suck it up and do something for me." He pulled a folder from his desk and flipped it open showing a publicity portrait of a clean-cut young man "His name is Lord Ken Okemo, he's attending a Magic Lantern premier at the Grande Royal tomorrow at 2 o'clock. I want him shot and if possible not killed. Once the deed is done there will be an autowagon waiting two blocks up the boulevard, if you get there without drawing down the constables they will drive you to your shuttle where the Think Machine will be installed and you can get out of my city.. Maev is going to get you a place to sleep tonight. That's it..". Kira was furious, after everything she sacrificed to get away from this kind of work. "No." she barked, "We're not doing shit for you!". Boss Harmon shrugged and sighed as he gestured across to the factory doors "You know the way out, do be careful, it's a rough neighborhood at night..". Ian fumed, the Scraver Boss knew this wasn't a negotiation but he wasn't going to let that stop him "What's in it for us?". The fat Scraver trained his composure to keep from laughing at the angry Charioteer. Harmon gestured with merchant's flare "How about a working Shuttle..?". Ian looked to Kira as if checking for her approval before he counter-offered "How about you get us title and letters of marquee for a reclaimed starship.". Boss Harmon was stunned for several seconds, rolling back in his big creaking chair, he gestured to Maev "Haha! fucking Chariteers, that's why they own half the League, balls and brains.. Ok flyboy, you settle your account with this job and I can make that happen for a price.". Ian nodded resolutely "Fine, we'll do it, but then we're square..". Harmon rolled himself onto his feet by grabbing at his desk and extended a chubby hand at Ian, who shook it with a disgusted expression. Kira crossed her arms and stared at the offered hand, but for the Scraver Boss the handshake was more of a gesture than a formality.
   Maev pulled on his jacket and lead the pair out of Harmon's office and down the industrial streets of the workman's district. Along the walk he commented that he likes working with Harmon because he's a reasonable man, he gives people chances, it makes things easier for a Genin to keep his hands clean, but there are things even a Boss can't let go of. The Scraver tough lead them up into a testament block to an apartment that turned out to be a flop house for lotus-heads. Maev introduced Ian and Kira to a ditzy middle-aged woman with the Eye of Ben Hadir tattooed on her belly, named Apollonia. He explained they duo was staying the night and should be left alone.
   As soon as Maev was out of sight Ian dragged Kira out into the night. He was convinced Harmon was going to betrey them and leave them hanging for the attempted murder of a Noble. They caught a cab down to the Grande Royal in the middle of the night and sat in a little bar across the street. Dressed in finery the didn't stand out at all in the quiet drinking establishment. They mapped the street and checked their route. The wandered through the dark streets of the Agora until they found a shop that would sell them cheap clothes they could throw over their Sythsilks and they got a big bag of fireworks. While they were in the market they found a trustworthy non-Scraver cabbie and paid him to pick them up at 2p exactly in the alley behind the theater. The plan was Kira would throw some fireworks to distract the crowd and Ian would shoot the target from the other direction with Kira's suppressed pistol, Ian would get in the cab while people were still confused and go pick up Kira down the block. Kira didn't like the idea of someone else shooting "baby" but it did take her finger off the trigger for this shitshow. The returned to Apollonia's flophouse and got some rest until the following afternoon.
  The following day they woke with plenty of time to make the premier showing. They went and waited in the bar across the way from the theater for a bit, watching the constables. They're were so many more around during the day and the streets were more crowded than expected. Kira was sure she saw a pattern but she wasn't sure if there would be constables around when the movie let out. They got into position with whisper pins on and hoped for the best.
   At 2p the doors to the Grand Royal hadn't opened and Ian didn't see the cab they had hired to help them escape. He figured they could still trust the scravers if they had to. Kira was waiting near a trash can with her bag of firecrackers but she felt exposed and conspicuous. Three minutes later ushers opened the doors and slowly the crowd emerged towards waiting autocoaches across the parkway. Kira spotted a pair of constables coming her way. Ian through he saw the target in the crowd talking with a young boy but he wasn't sure. Kira felt if she waited any longer the constables would catch her so she lit the fireworks and began to hurry across the street. As just as the fireworks began to go off Ian spotted Ken Okemo in the crowd looking around. He lifted Kira's "baby" and fired three shots at him. The noble didn't have a shield and he collapsed in little sprays of blood. Ian slipped the gun under his coat and walked towards the alleyway. Kira was being hailed by the constables who were ignoring the fireworks and clearly through she was doing something. Ian reached the alley just as the cabbie turned in, apologizing about the traffic on the bridge. He quickly got inside and told the driver to head to the next block. As the constables began to shout for Kira to stop she broke into a run, chased down the street. Ian threw the door open as the cab slowed down and pulled Kira into the passing autowagon and they raced to the spaceport.
   Arriving at the shuttle they found the cargo door down once more and two Scravers working on connecting the think machine. They tipped their cap driver a pile of firebirds to keep his mouth shut. The shuttle booted up without a problem and they got the Hell out of Avalonia. The flight back wasn't planned so they ran into some bad weather. The late start combined with changing routes got them home late at night, both of them exhausted. They fell asleep quickly, Pork Rind curled up under Ian's hammock.
   The following day they woke early and originally planned to get breakfast in town to talk about plans going forward but with firebirds sloshing in their pockets they decided to go to Carllion instead. They got bus tickets and napped on the ride in. Ian dropped off the duraplast armor they got from the church knight to have it sized to his frame. They looked at the other shops but didn't find anything they really liked. They decided over drinks that they would need Sakura's wealth and influences if they were going to get control of the ship they spotted up in Tikal. As the sun set they prepared for their ride home with a bit of amusement speculating what would go wrong next.
   As the bus arrived excited students piled in but as Ian and Kira boarded they saw the scowling face of Lula Blue in the back of the bus with her arms draped over the seats. She motioned them to the  back by rapping on the seats with her fingers. As they moved towards the rear the driver explained that there was a mix-up and passengers going to Lawton would be picked up by another bus. Boss Blue waited for Ian and Kira to sit before she motioned for the driver to take them out of town. Kira contemplated how easy it would be to put her rapier through the old woman, which in her mind meant it was much more hazardous than she believed.
    Boss blue opened the conversation "You're going to cut me in on your starship recovery..". Both Kira and Ian were stunned that the blue-haired scraver boss had found out their little secret. Ian glanced at his partner and spoke out first "We have no idea what you're talking about.". Lula just laughed at him and shook her head "You are rubbish at lying, you made a trip up to Tikal and suddenly you're asking around about licensing a starship. You don't have to admit you've found one but the conversation is going to just go forward regardless..". Kira spoke up "We don't know what's up there, it may not be a starship. We just want to know what would be involved it it is..". Boss Blue smiled wide "Scravers would be involved my dear... Scravers.." she glanced between the two "If you're going to dig an ancient starship out of a mountain you're going to need The Guild, and unless your dance card has changed recently you know a Scraver that made you pull some sort of seedy job in Avalonia and a Scraver who's nephew you killed..". Ian began to object but Lula blue cut him off with a wave of her hand and a "Tetch!" then she continued "I don't socialize with nephew-killers but business is business. This is me putting aside petty misunderstandings. My men know the area and have the tools. They're an asset you need working for you and not people you can afford to have working against you. It profits me either way. There's a smart road and a foolish road ahead of you now. I'm not going to insult you by telling you I'm not here to tell you which one to choose.". Boss Blue looked between Ian and Kira's tense faces before she muttered "I'll leave you to chit-chat it around.." and she pulled herself up and walked to the front of the tiny bus to sit next to the driver. Neither Kira no Ian wanted to talk on the bus but both of them were beginning to hate the Scravers more and more. An hour later they were deposited in front of Blue Tours and talked on the walk back to their homes, most about the fact that Ian was going to lose his home in two days.
   The next morning they caught up on sleep and took advantage of a day off from work to visit the palace to check in with Mistress Aiko and try to speak with Sakura about funding their starship scheme. Aiko was grateful for the visit and she was doing much better, sitting in bed, hemming her lady's clothes. When Ian and Kira gave her a bandoleer full of shotgun shells for her Lux Spendor gift her reaction was a mix of effortless enthusiastic politeness and hunting personal horror and yet she thanked them graciously for the thoughtful gesture. On the way out of the Palace Kira quietly asked Sakura if she'd meet with them to talk about business. Sakura seemed wary but suggested that they drive to Leng Po for lunch. Later in a private tea room Ian admitted to spotting the lost ship and suggested that with financing they could make Sakura a part owner in a Starship, but they would have to act quickly or others would move on the ship. Sakura's expression was difficult to read as she contemplated the offer for a pregnant moment, finally she agreed on the condition that her maid Aiko would also be 1% owner. Ian was a bit nervous letting House Li-Halan have the largest share in the ship but he figured Aiko had taken her knocks on the mission that found the vessel and certainly earned a share. They each shook hands on their enterprise. Afterwards Ian returned to the shuttle pad to check over preparations for his early morning launch and Kira returned to the guild hall with a napkin full of leftover tea treats to try to sweeten things with Apprentice Hume.
   Early the next morning Ian woke to his alarm, suited up and packed his bunk. A truck full of botanical arrived from the warehouse and Ian quickly loaded it. He radio'd the ship he was intercepting in orbit to conform their position and he took off. Ian hadn't been in space in a while and it reaffirmed that wanderlust that made him a pilot. He docked up with a freighter named "Reversal" and quickly unloaded his cargo, received the signed paperwork and returned back to Rampart. When he stepped out of the shuttle Manager Haagen was there to collect his Key. He pulled all of his belongings from the shuttle, plucking his St. Paulus medal from the control panel and saying goodbye to her. He spent the rest of the day meeting with renters and looking at houses to rent. With the botanical's business leaving Bloom Barony there were a ton of good places to rent that were just coming on to the market.
   Kira woke early as well. She couldn't sleep and found herself wandering the streets of Lawton. Soon she found herself walking back to The Temple of Soft Lessons. She smiled as she saw a familiar huge man in priests robes standing outside "Um, hey.. I've seen you training people to fight inside.". The Church knight nodded sagely "It is our sacred vow to give people the tools to defend themselves, are you ready to learn?". Kira smiled "Yeah.. I'm ready.."

Session 4 - And then came the snow.

   Ian and Kira staggered home, still a bit sore from their long day in the city. Ian climbed into his hammock, planning to sleep in. Kira staggered in to a busy hall of Engineers talking and decorating for the impending holiday. There was a bit of grousing about the end of contracts and talk of where fellows were going to go, and a bit of rumor about a daring daylight robbery in the local market square, most assumed it was Muster. Kira spent some precious sleeping time speculating how anyone got automatic weapons in Lawton? She could barely get ammunition.
   In the morning Kira dressed in uncomfortable work clothes and left her beautiful kimono behind and made he way off to the packing house for the end days of her contract. Chief Bak was struggling not to loose his shit as piles of agriculture was stacking up in the testing tables. He came into Kira's cubicle to gently chew her out for falling behind then rolled up the sleeves of his lab coat and went to work on the line pulping and pressing roots.
   Ian woke lazily and pulled on his flight suit over his Synthsilk bodysuit. He had three days until the big holiday and no shopping done. He wandered into the market with his remaining firebirds. The market was a madhouse with anyone who still had two Talons to run together looking for last minute deals. Everyone seemed especially nervous and a lot of people were armed. Even the shop clerks seemed to be hovering around that one spot of counter with their hand on something out of sight. Ian dodged into a charm store and got a silk lanyard with a Bloom heraldry charm for Lady Sakura and then the leather shop for a tooled leather gun belt for Mistress Aiko and her ridiculous shotgun. He wanted to get a decent bottle of Sake for the Engineer that maintains the shuttle but the brewery in the market was closed after some sort of shoot out the day before. On his way between shops he bumped into Kira struggling through the thick crowds impatiently, trying to get some shopping done on her lunch. Ian waved her down to take shelter in a cheap noodle shop Ian liked.
   Before they could reach the safety of lunch there was some noise up the street, metallic clanks followed by big muffled pops and big white clouds of gas filled the street and people on edge began to panic and run. Kira's sharp eye caught sight of someone in a second floor window firing a grenade launcher into the street. Ian, being an idiot, plunged into the gas, dodging between people. Kira tried to follow him but within five paces she was blinded by tears and choking on her tongue, going down fast. Ian stopped and pulled off his own breathing mask to put on Kira, letting her cough herself back to life. Through the smoke he could see a melee in the smoke and and armored figure dragging someone through the smoke.
   Once he was sure Kira could breathe he drew his vibrosaber and charged in. He closed in on the man dragging the kid. The kidnapper had some sort of club in his hand and as he closed in the assailant lit it up and swung on Ian with a frap stick. The rubbery head sparked and sputtered against his vibrosword as he parried and Ian sliced into the thick armoplast covering the man's chest. Kira came out of the smoke firing rounds at the kidnapper's accomplice, a tall man with a curved sword. The rounds dug into his heavy armor and seemed to have little impact as well. The Kidnapper continued to struggle to drag his prey into a passageway between buildings and the man with the swords, face hiding behind a gas mask, leaned into Ian with a flurry of blows. Ian parried and dodged in alarm wooden splinters flying where is excited blade skipped off the man's wood boken. Kira was shot in the back by the heavy canister of a grenade, her Synthsilk hardening against the impact but still getting her a nasty bruise. The kidnapper lashed the back of Ian's skull with the frapstick but the charge dissipated through his Synthsilk hood. Ian advanced on the swordsman with a slice that crippled his hand, knocking his sword down and for good measure Kira took aim on the swordsman's face and put him down with a single shoot. From up above three shots rang out and Kira was hit, the shot pushed through her Synth and it's hollowpoint head nearly put her down before her auto-injector kicked in and flooded her system with Autocoag. The kidnapper hugged his captive close and backed into the alley, keeping his frap-stick in motion for a strike. Kira staggered out of the streets towards the overhang where she was shot from, diving for cover. Ian pushed a bit close to the kidnapper and caught another glancing blow from the frap-stick before swinging wild at the kidnapper and having his blow parried. Ian took three shots to the back, none of which managed to penetrate his synthsilk and Changed hide. However the shot from his side from the swordsman he assumed was dead punctured his armor deep and sit of his own autoinjecter, giving him a dose of Elyxir. Kira had dived into the building across the street and began to try to hunt down the 2nd story gunner while the Kidnapper carefully retreated with a child that Ian recognized as The Baron's heir, Lord Hansu, and behind him the swordsman was getting to his feet once more.
   Ian Lunged at the Kidnapper slicing at his foot. The man struggling with the boy didn't dodge and Ian split his boot open like a roast, making him scream in his gas mask. Almost instantly Ian was grappled from behind blood pouring on him from the hole in the swordsman's mask and finally the choke-gas began to overcome his Changed lungs making hims gasp and struggle to breathe. Kira burst through a china shop without wobbling a teacup and burst into a tiny dirty courtyard between the shops. She raced up a set of rickety stars and turned to find two doors. Ian fought for breath and freedom, hearing the shouts of constables and rifle shots ringing through the streets. The man holding him was not just strong but a skilled technical fighter. He watched the kidnapper gain his footing once more and retreat. Ian huffed big breaths of the toxic gas and found enough oxygen to breathe, breaking his hold on the man crushing him as more shots rang out. Kira shouldered in the door on the right to find an empty apartment full of boxes of folded clothing. Ian whirled around to find the swordsman unconscious in the street from blood loss and the Kidnapper gone with the young lord left laying in the street. He hoisted young Hansu into his arms and walked out into the streets shouting "Don't shoot!". Kira shouldered at the other door but it wouldn't give, she fired rounds through the lock wildly and kicked until it buckled but she round only an empty window in a crowded apartment and a grenade launcher discarded on the floor. She snatched up the artillery piece and made her move to get out, stashing it clumsily in a garbage can before she drifted out the other side of the block through a pudding shop.
   Ian staggered out towards the constables through the heavy smoke, stepping over bodies. The constables began shooting at him again and he ducked screaming "Damnit don't shoot!". "Show us your hands" they demanded and Ian waved his hands daintily from under the unconscious noble in his fireman's carry. As he moved far enough out of the thick of the gas constables grabbed him and dragged him to the ground where they put irons him hims and loaded him bleeding into the back of an autowagon. Someone came and saw to his wounds as he coughed and tried to explain the situation but everyone was listening to their squawkers, not him. Two assailants, driving rapidly from the scene in an autowagon, headed East. The constables threatened him with a baton to give up where his accomplices were headed and he profusely denied any connection to them. In the end the drove him off to the dungeon, riding past Kira in the crowd.
   Kira wasn't bleeding out but she was very torn up from the shot through her chest and somewhere in there was a bullet. She had just scene the town's physik driving towards the palace with a dozen constables. She knew there were Amaltheans in the town but had previously not had a reason to spend time with churchers. So she walked to the poor side of town holding her bullet wound until she reached the House of Soft Lessons. She strode armed up to the tall muscular armored man at the door "Look I'm not one of your people but I'm wounded and nobody else will help me..". The large man leaned closer with an amused smile on his scarred lips "Will you fight for your redemption?". Kira's answer was the wordlessly quickdraw her automatic pistol without any change in her expression. The big man advanced on her in a flash and held her weapon from taking aim "It's a yes/no question.. you don't have to prove you can fight..". Kira shrugged as she slipped her Riproarer back in it's holster "Yes, I have a little more fight in me..". The door guard gave her a worried look and gestured for her follow him into the old stone temple.
   Instead of isles of prayer she found fighting circles with people from all walks of life were battling against one another, in the courtyard there were women learning fighting stances. She recognized someone fighting in the Cadivus school and saw many other fighting styles she had never seen. She was led down a narrow hall to a crowded cell where an old man was napping. The guard interrupted his sleep "Brother Barton, this woman was injured and needs our aid.." The old man blinked awake and looked at Kira "Mmmm gun shot.. you've had a big day.. come an sit down" as he began to draw out trays of tools. The guard left Kira with the old Amalthean as he coaxed her to show him the wound. He wasn't a theurgist but his hands worked with the skill of a physik, anesthetizing her injury and talking to her conversationally as he removed the bullet. At the end he commented that her cyberneurotics weren't adjusting to the pain very well if she could feel him remove the bullet. She tried to deny his accusation but he just seemed so uninterested in being proven wrong, chuckling at her until she let him calibrate her nervous system while he lectured her on wound care and rest. She had to admit she did feel a lot less rattled after the adjustment. And just like that someone with a broken arm was brought to his infirmary and he asked her for some privacy, letting her wander out.
   Ian's afternoon was not so fun. His belongings were taken and he was marched, bloody and tired, down into the dark halls under the Baronial Palace. He was given his own cell by a house guard and assured him his stay would be short if the young lord didn't survive. Ian just stared wide-eyed and shrugged at the guard, at the householders who came in to gawk, at the other dungeon residents. "Why hadn't they rounded up Kira?" he though. After a long wait of feeling gross and tired armed house guard showed a physik to his cell and watched over him as his wounds were treated. The physik exited Ian's cell and said he'd fetch some cream for the prisoner, letting the guards return to their boredom. When the physic returned with a tube of medicinal cream he leaned in close to Ian "I've seen marks like those before, so have these men, confess to me now and they'll only find out about one of your crimes.." Ian threw up his hands "I'm not guilty of anything more than saving the Baron's son.. I'm not with those jerks..". The physik walked out of the cells, hovering near the guards and talking softly to them.
  About ten minutes later some more house guard came into the dungeon and a mob of five armed and armored men came to Ian's cell with irons and the Sargent explained to Ian "I'm going to open this door and I'm going to come in and put you in restraints and we're going to go have a quiet talk. If you fight me, if you struggle, if you so much as give me a look I don't like, you're going to have an accident in custody and we'll study your corpse for clues. Am I understood." Ian was honestly a little impressed by the threat, he was used to much less. He nodded and turned around with hands folded behind his back for them. The guards came in, held him and chained him up tight then roughly led him out of the cells towards a reinforced door, which Ian rationed, was soundproofed for good reason. Before they crossed the guard room the door to the dungeons was shoved open by Lady Sakura "Guard's release that man promptly" she barked, clearly not in a good mood. The gang of guards held Ian tight and froze, the Sgt stammering "My Lady.. this man is wanted for assault on your brother.. we can't release him...". Sakura's eyes tightened like the glint off of a blade and she growled at the guard "Sargent, you lost this argument the moment your mind allowed to to hold an opinion contrary to mine, if you want to disagree with me further take off my Father's livery so the man that replaces you won't have to wear your blood on it.." The guard room went icily quiet followed by the sound of Ian's irons being undone. Sakura took the charioteer by the arm, snatching his belongings from the guard room table and dragging him up out of the dungeon. In seconds he was led out into the courtyard of the Baronial Palace. Sakura apologizing to him red-faced with rage as she hustled him away, depositing him into her Autocoach and having her driver take him home.
   Kira didn't feel like running back to work with a freshly plucked bullet wound so she returned to the Engineer's hall to sleep. Later that evening Ian came around to check on her. She was genuinely happy to see her friend not rotting in a dungeon and gave him a fair ration of shit for dragging her into a fight that nobody appreciated. They shared a beer and stories of their adventures before each one lumbered back to their bunks.
  In the morning Kira found a liveried messenger boy awaiting outside the Engineer's hall with a summons to the palace, she didn't really want to look at bins full of stock anyway. Minutes later the same boy was knocking at the shuttle where Ian slept, Kira waited while Ian made himself presentable and they walked across town to the Palace gates. Ian felt a sense of dread as they were searched by some of the same guards that had planned to torture a confession out of him last night. they were escorted to the small vestibule at the side of the walled manor. They waited on lavishly decorative couches waiting to be recieved until the outer doors opened once more to a cheerful Mistress Aiko greeting them both "Have you both had a chance to eat breakfast?". "No" responded Kira with a spiteful tone. "Good!" cheered Aiko as she lead them outside and across the courtyard to the horse stables where they found a rough-looking injured man hanging from the rafters from irons and Sakura laying out torture tools methodically on a nearby table. Kira couldn't help but smile disturbingly. She had never gotten the chance to torture someone. She busily set about convincing Lady Sakura that as a skilled workman with professional training she should be allowed to operate the hand drill.
   Ian noticed the wound to the man's face was the same bullet hole that Kira put in the masked swordsman who was kidnapping Hansu. He saw the look of tightly wound rage in Sakura's face as she questioned the nearly unconscious man and he knew he didn't want to be in the stables. He stepped outside for some fresh air. Kira delighted in the torture, not with any true sadism but understanding a man's breaking point was something new for her to try and she got to be clever finding ways to shield the noble lady from sprays of blood coming off her drill as she attentively worked on and broke the soldier. Through repetition and literally drilling of the suspect Sakura uncovered that the man was a Knight of Lexitus sent to kidnap her younger brother by none other than the Archbishop of , and she uncovered shortly before the knight died that the knight's fellow soldiers were hiding out in the nearby mountain town of Tikal, waiting for him to escape. Sakura instructed her guard to have the man buried in an unmarked grave and she'd arrange for his last rights.
  Sakura emerged from the stables where the dead knight hung, cleaning blood from her delicate pink hands "I once again have need of resolute assistants not tied to my family. I'm going after the men that threatened my family. Close to the holidays as we are and close to the end of your contracts I understand..". "I'm in." Ian said plainly. Sakura seemed to swallow the interruption awkwardly, not caring for people speaking over her but also not expecting this to end without a discussion of compensation for the guilders. Kira came out, miscellaneously splattered with the church knight's blood "I'll need a change of clothes and my weapons, and we should really get some armor for this if your family can afford it, could we get a ride my Lady?" Sakura looked between them and at her chambermaid who was desperate not to be left with the take of putting away the tortured knight's body "Aiko-san.. please take our friends home to gather what they need and return here to collect me at the gates. Aiko sprang into action gesturing Ian and Kira to the Autocoach "Yes my Lady.".
   The ride back to the guildhalls was quick. Both Ian and Kira geared up then drove back to collect Lady Sakura, changed into pants and a light jacket, armed and standing with servants holding the chain hauberks she promised to Ian and Kira. In a minute they here crossing down then back out the Easterly road, Sakura's Autocoach getting stuck in the wheel ruts in the soft earth very near the old ruined house the stopped at before. But this time their path was to take them high up the inhospitable snow-capped mountain to Tikal. As the found the trail up the mountain the first flakes of snow began to drift to the ground, looking up it would be a harrowing climb if they didn't get high quickly.
   The climb took hours, slower and longer at the end as the foursome struggled with packed snow and ice along narrow switchback paths. Along the way Sakura explained that Tikal wasn't any Lord's property. It was on a border between fiefdoms and it served no resourceful benefit. It was widely known that the tiny mountain town was a haven for Dikang Yungdong insurgents but sending troops into the town only led to costly fights with dug-in rebels that would scatter only to return when troops left. The only thing more dangerous than the rebels were the Changed that lived in the mountains. It was effectively a freeman town, but not a town most freemen would live in. The arduous path ended where a walkway had been bored into the mountain face and as the climbers walked through the gates they found themselves in a large town dug into the shoulders between two mountains, mostly in frozen ruins but clearly once beautiful. High above them dug into the mountainside was a large maxcrete industrial building, it's heraldry fallen upside down, however Ian recognized the inverted R logo as the heraldry of the Rollick corporation, a 2nd republic freighter manufacturer. Freezing cold with temperatures dropping fast and nobody property prepared for high mountain weather the foursome forced their way into a half-collapsed home and began building a fire from destroyed furniture.
  Once the shivering subsided, Mistress Aiko created an impressive contraption and began brewing a bottle of warm tea. There was talk about going out into the freezing weather to scout out where the other knights were held up. Nobody liked this idea much but they agreed it's better to know where the enemy was than to be caught by surprise. They gave Ian a ratty blanket they found and a bottle of warm tea to help him fight the below-freezing temperatures and agreed to make radio contact every 30 minutes. He snuck out into the town in the dark in the blizzard. Unbeknownst to the others Ian was quite comfortable and barely even needed a coat. His Traveler genes were comfortable in freezing weather and the village he grew up in was much like Tikal. The streets were icy but crenelated from ice freezing on ice. The town was beautiful with sturdy old buildings and snow-covered roofs. Moving from neighborhood to neighborhood stealthily he happened upon a cluster of buildings with a smoking chimney. As he crept closer he was suddenly aware of the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow. He held his position and listened to the wind, he turned slowly and saw nothing but swirling white snow swallowing the dark shadows of the neighborhood.
   From overhead Ian heard a voice "Don't move.. they see you better when you move..". Ian frozen, glancing at the roof with his eyes but he could see nothing. He could hear something breathing hard, sniffing at the air. This time when the voice spoke Ian could recognize the sound of a voice speaking through an old tin stove pipe "I can't tell how many there are but he knows you're there, when I count to three run for the door..". Ian felt icy panic grip him as something in the corner of his eye was moving out of the dark, something big and bestial.. them. From above he hear the count "One, two three" a door about 10 feet away was thrown open and he heard the crack of a crossbow bolt behind him as something shot the beast in the dark. His feel slipped on the crusty ice as he scrambled in a panic, barely holding his footing. The beast charged him and rushed past as he dove into the doorway. The door slammed shut behind him and two figures in padded coats crushed agianst the door and barred it. The monster outside roared and pounded the door and walls but the house was sturdy. Ian gulped breaths and fished his pistol from the holster, looking around a cozy small home wild-eyed and scared. One of the figured turned around and smiled, a young man with curly hair and dusky features "Hey...you're safe now.. probably.. I'm Weary, this my mother Nona..", the older woman turning to eyes Ian disapprovingly as she checked shutters and stepped softly.
   Ian sat on the couch next to a little stove in the house, listening to the kid explain that the changed that live up in the mountains are big aggressive fox-beasts, they're very aggressive but not very good hunters. The more he described them the more Ian recognized stories of the Vulpin, a changed breed created by House Hawkwood during the war. It seemed so strange they'd be found here so far from Hawkwood space. Ian made small talk asking about how the boy and his mother got on so far up. Ian explained they were brass workers and he showed Ian their workshop, full of decorative boxes, hinges and cheap jewelry, the sort of peasantcraft freeman go broke trying to do. Weary told him the shuttles come in to trade with them up at the parade ground for the factory. Ian asked more about the old Rollick factory and the boy explained that it was mostly gutted except the parts that were flooded but that he knew his way around. Ian asked weary about any strangers around and Weary told him that there were some soldiers who had shown up weeks ago that were pretty sketchy, they had camped out in the factory and everyone has been avoiding them. Nona brought Ian some porridge and he explained to Weary's mom that his friends were still out in the storm hiding and he needed to keep them safe, he could pay her but he had to get them inside. Nona didn't like the idea of even more people in her home but she agreed. Weary said that this close to morning it should be safe but they should hurry.
   Ian radio'd back to Sakura and the others about what he'd found and he told them to be ready to go, they were moving to a more secure location. He moved quietly across town with is gun in hand, really afraid of the possibility that the Vulpin were still around. He made it back to the decapitated hovel where Kira and the others were hiding, huddled together for warmth and he quickly hurried them back to Weary's home. As the feeling of warmth and safety set in they each found a corner of the little house and fell asleep.
   In the morning the house had yet another occupant, a muscular man with eyes tattooed into his cheeks, his hair shorn short for a helmet but not even cut like a muster, more like a militiaman Ian surmised. Sakura seemed to recognize him, drawing her vibrosaber, which quickly woke up Ian and Kira, drawing their blades as well. The Tatoo'd man raised his hands to ward them back but didn't look especially worried about being outnumbered "These are good people, they don't deserve misfortune in their lives.. please.." Gradually Sakura lowered her blade and sheathed it, followed by the others. Kira, feeling like she missed something whispered to Sakura "Who is he? Some kind of criminal?". Sakura eyed the big man as she laced up her boots "His eye tattoos, he's Dikang Yungdong - Watchmen of the people, anti Li-Halan insurgency." The Dikang soldier spoke in hushed tones with Nona and Ian walked over to Weary "Hey, maybe we can help each other, if I paid you, could you draw me a map of the factory and the parade ground up there?". Weary smiled crookedly "I can do better, pay me and I'll show you a way in those soldiers don't know about.". Nona was handing out bowls with little portions of oatmeal when she overheard her son "No Weary, it's too dangerous..". Weary stood up and got between his mother and Ian as if to protect him from her anger "Mama, these men will pay us well, they'll get what they want without shooting up the town and they'll be gone faster.. it's a good plan.". Ian rested his hand on the boy's shoulder "Your son isn't going to be in danger and it would mean a lot to House Li-halan, would 20 Firebirds help you?". Sakura stood, adjusting her belt "100 Firebirds.". Kira suddenly realized that this child was getting paid what she was to risk her life. The Dikang soldier sneered "These people aren't fruits in a market, you cannot just buy them". Sakura squared off against him with Mistress Aiko backing her up behind her shoulder "You want us gone and this is the safest and wisest solution. If you'd prefer we can fill this town with house troops to hunt these fugitives..". The man with the eye tattoos moved to the door and looked across each of the foursome "We're not looking for a war, you have the day to deal with your business. If you're still in Tikal when the first Star of Lux lights in the sky, Pancreator only knows what might happen to you." and with that he departed the home. Aiko looked around at the hard cold expressions of everyone in the house and smiles brightly, exclaiming "Well then there's no time like the present.. let's begin!"
   Weary drew a map of the factory. It was three stories but didn't penetrate the mountain very deeply. Most of the facility was underground and flooded. The Parade ground was large, and icy about a kilometer long and the stairs that led up the mountain to it were about 60 feet of climb with very little obstruction. Weary explains there's a back stairs that leads up into the building that he can show them. they all armed up and the boy carefully led them all closer to the factory. As they drew nearer the buildings looked less maintained, more like factory barns than homes. All the while they kept their eyes sharp for Changed and tried to stay in the shadow of anything that blocked sight from the factory above. Weary led them further down, through an archway to what must have once been a shuttle landing right against the foundation of the factory. He led them into an old lean-to on the wall and they found the frozen ruined residence was set deep into the maxcrete foundation. Weary explained that the hermitage was built into a stairwell and behind the back wall is a stairwell that goes all the way up to the factory. Ian lit up his vibrosaber and carefully sliced into the back wall, revealing dark stairs leading up. They cut a doorway into the back of the hovel and cautiously climbed up the narrow maxcrete stairs in the dark.
   The stairwell was short and icy in places with gear-tooth railing that ran down both sides. About 4 feet up they reached a landing with a sliding door, it's door box unlit and unresponsive. On either side of the door were big iron rail cars that ran on the track. They searched around and found that the metal floor of the platform could be opened to access the hydraulics of the door and there was a manual crank. Both Ian and Kira worked at the ice-cold crank, pounding at it and dousing it with hot tea to try to break it's freeze. Eventually they forced the crank and levered the door open, letting a spray of ice-cold water to shower the stairwell from the door frame. They levered it open more and water began to rush from the whole length of the door. Everyone scrambled into the mining cart as a river of frozen water splashed down the stairs. The way in was flooded. Kira suggested they should just drain the flooded area and sneak up, but after an hour of draining the door it showed no sign of slowing and the stairwell behind them was flooding, trapping them in with frozen water. Ian volunteered to push into the freezing stream of water and shut the door. Kira and Sakura held him steady as he leaned into the rushing water and began to crank it shut. When the door was fully shut the water froze on the stairs and Ian was blue from being submerged. They wrapped him in a blanket and hoped for the best. Kira and Lady Sakura waded into the ruins of the hermitage below as the water receded and threw out the debris that was clogging the water and causing the flooding.
   Once more they got everyone out of the path of the water and opened the doors wide enough that the water flowed like a geyser, spraying everyone damp and freezing and nearly knocking Kira down the stairs before she was caught and dragged up on the cart, but draining the underground are in minutes. Soon the water was just lazy stream and they stepped through the door into an underground area. they could see through an open doorway a massive workbay that must be beneath the parade ground. Through the dim light of ice that had covered the opening above Ian could make out the profile of what must be a starship. There was no time to investigate now but he'd have to come back.
  Above they could hear a man speaking. Everyone pressed themselves into the shadows of the stairwell that continued up to daylight and listened. "I don't know.. it's just gone" said the man's voice "I'm not an engineer, it looks like there was a leak? An infiltrating leak? No, just a leak leak.. I don't see anyone anywhere. No I'm not going down... Because I don't know where the water went and I don't want to be soaked in freezing water like an idiot.. Well you can go down if you want.." and soon the voice was fading as it walked away. Lady Sakura and the others crept up the steps towards daylight once more, peering up over the edge of the stairs. They could see a massive flat maxicrete field covered in ice and snow. At the head of the stairs was a pitched tent about halfway between was a little table with a squawker and some supplies. Looming above them was the edifice of the factory, smoke drifting out of a broken second story window. Ian stealthed out to the table and shut off the squawker before creeping back towards the building. They decided that the distance to the tent outpost was too far and they quietly stalked to the doors of the factory one at a time across the open parade. As Kira stepped through the broken glass doors she nearly tripped over a wire stretched across the hallway. She alerted the others to it as she traced the tripwire to grenade behind a doorway that was wired up to serve as a mine. They carefully stepped over the tripwire, whispering to one another. Ian, being a fool, took the lead. That's when they could hear the clanking of a bouncing object clattering towards them and a loud explosion as a fragmentation grenade went off just a few yards away.
   Ian and Kira were mostly protected by the chainmail and heavy cladding they borrowed from Lady Sakura, but Sakura's energy shield was crushed and Mistress Aiko went down against the wall. Both Ian and Kira found their footing again quickly and a calm voice called out over the ringing in their ears "If you're still alive, this is a good time to surrender. I have all of.." and Kira whirled around the corner firing wild up the staircase at the gloating church knight. The knight opened up on Kira with a burst of automatic fire, two bullets connected and penetrated her armor but the wounds were mostly superficial. Ian swept around the corner of the stairs and rushed the knight with his vibrosword unexpectedly and sliced into him through his armoplast breastplate, then beheaded the church knight after he collapsed. Sakura stayed with her battered chambermaid, looking after her while she watched the door in. Above Ian and Kira searched the upper floor, finding spartan camping and cooking supplies. As they hunted around the gutted building there was a boom as a flitter passed overhead and spun over the parade field to land. Kira stared at the tent far across the open field and could see movement, the last church knight was out there. She bolted down the stairs and pushed past her compatriots in the hall below running free into the open just as the flitter swung back to land. She could see someone behind the tent getting ready to evacuate and she sprinted faster. She heard gunshots through the tent as the last remaining Church knight fired wild at her but she continued to struggle over the frozen ground. In the end the flitter with Orthodoxy livery landed, someone boarded and it blasted off in a flurry of snow, leaving them alone in the factory.
   Ian performed first aid on Mistress Aiko and they picked over what was left behind, finding weapons and camp supplies and a pair of good blankets to ward off the freezing weather. The sun was setting on Lux Eve, down below in Lawton the lit decorations made the distant town glow and the stars shone softly in the twilight as they made their way to the trail down the mountain, stopping often for a mildly concussed Aiko. All four of them were exhausted from strain, wounded and so cold they could barely feel the ground under their feet. They arrived at the bottom of the hill late in the knight, the rolling fields blanketed in snow. The found Lady Sakura's coach waiting on the road, it's lights coming on as they approached. Inside the driver had more warm blankets and drove them back to town quickly. Ian and Kira were mostly out cold as they drove through Lawton lit up with thousands of lights. As they arrived at the palace Sakura led everyone inside and got big tumblers of brandy to warm their cold bones. She took Mistress Aiko to her room to rest and left Ian and Kira to wander around the grand hall and look at all of the lavishly wrapped gifts and decorations for the holiday.
   Sakura returned in a dressing gown with her hair down, with tired servants carrying quilts and trays of fresh baked pastries. She pulled two small presents from the table of gifts and handed one to Kira and one to Ian expressing a tired "Thank you for all you've done for me my friends.. Please share my light on this long night.." The guilders took their gifts into an alcove off the hall where a little fireplace was being stoked and tea heated by servants, there were trays of jellied treats and frosted cookies and candied bits of chicken in a hot pot. Kira's gift was an ordinary brown scarf but as she stroked it she could feel the tickle of smartweave fibers licking her hands clean. Ian got a data crystal. As Lady Sakura sat on the floor at the low table they both explained they had gotten her gifts but hadn't had time to pick them up. Sakura graciously claimed that their friendship was the gift, anything else is only a token. They sat and laughed in the drafty hall until the guilders eventually fell asleep just after sunrise on Lux Morning.