To Walk the Constellations Pt. 15

"And I did was find a crotchety old Liminal Knight," I said, quietly.

"And kill a god," Adoran said, tweaking my nose.

"Not a...god exactly..." I mumbled.

"With a sun," Adoran said. "A weaponized sun."

"Should we rename her Venn of San Diego?" Enriquah mumbled. "And paint her black and only let spooky people come inside her?"

My face went all red.

"To be fair," Meetra said, their voice entirely too amused. "Spooky people are the sexiest."

I clapped my hands over my face. "Auuh, stop!" I cried out.

Meetra sighed. "She raises a good point – we have a lot of work to do out there," Meetra said. "Most of the forces that turned on us have retreated. They're falling back to Hegemonic hardpoints across the chain."

Thale nodded.

"Turned on us?" I asked.

"Vorsoth had one last fucking present to offer us," Meetra said, their voice quiet. "He beamed the footage of you killing the Emperor to the entire fleet. Several ships flipped their colors midway through the battle. Others are more on our side than before. But with the scraps of Vorsoth's fleet escaping, they're going to be carrying the message to the entire Chain."

Thale sighed. "Let them," he said, his voice serious. "We have enough quantum coms left to tell our forces on Eudaimonia to liberate the planet – openly. Imprison every last criminal we hadn't replaced quietly, declare the planet to be the capital of the New Republique..." He smiled. "And we'll see how the Hegemony does when it's not being propped up." He looked at me. "I have a feeling...it'll be a lot easier going back down then coming up..."

I smiled back at him. Shyly.

REUNION, PART TWO

"Techne!" I squealed, running up to the bed. Unlike Mal and Rossck's bed, this one was surrounded by technical tools and spare parts. Techne's chest had been partially rebuilt and covered with patches that looked like silvery metal. She grinned at me with a cocky smile that got my tummy all a flutter. I looked pat her at Mal, who had huge bandages on his chest, and then at Rossck, whose leg was still elevated. Rossk chuckled.

"Well, well, well, look at Miss Venn Nova," he said.

"Oh god, is the rumor already spreading?" I whispered.

"I prefer Starkiller," Mal said, laughing. Rossck twitched and smacked his tail against his chest – causing Mal to wheeze in pain.

Techne, meanwhile, ruffled my hair. "How is it? Being normal like the rest of us?"

I smirked at her. "Techne...I'm a post apocalyptic scavenger who walked nine hundred and ninety nine worlds with a magic sword, a talking robot, a smart monkey, and an overgrown lizard. I'm in love with the prince regent of a space empire and his hunky noble friend. I've talked with gods, blown up stars, and met legends. Do you really think I'll let losing some powers make me anything but amazing?" I blushed and beamed at her – trying to sound brave and tough and not scared silly like I actually was.

Techne chuckled. "Well. When you put it like that." She ruffled my hair more, then drew me in for a soft, gentle, rubber-smooth kiss.

When I drew back, I grinned. "When are you getting back on your feet?" I asked.

"Once they finish fabbing spare parts for me," Techne said, her voice husky. "And maybe two days for these lazy boys." She jerked her chin to my friends. I smiled, then walked over and hugged Mal, burying my face against his fur, then went and hugged Rossck and rubbed against his smooth scales. His tail wrapped around my ankle and squeezed.

I stepped back – to where Thale, the big dork, was standing around all awkward and shy and stumbly, despite being a frigging prince or something. His tail lashed from side to side and his ears were half pinned back, in that worried nervous way of his. I stood beside him, then said: "Thale would also like to say something."

Thale nodded, then spoke, gruff: "Get well soon."

I elbowed him. "And."

Thale, his cheeks heating, stammered; "A-And, uh, the Tiamat II is being refitted and expanded. W-We're putting cargo space in and-"

I scowled. "Thale!"

"I..." Thale looked aside, then blushed even more. "Y-You should tell them."

"Tell us what?" Techne asked, her eyes narrowing.

Thale passing the buck made my cheeks explode with red. The whole reason why I'd wanted him to tell them was that he was a prince. He was used to giving big sweeping speeches. I looked at him and he grinned ever so slightly at me.

"Tell us what?" Techne asked.

I blushed even harder, then looked back at Techne. "I, um...uh...umumm..." I thrust out my hand then, forcing it almost into Techne's face. She blinked – her camera eyes whirring and clicking and focusing as she looked at my ring finger – and at the tiny platinum ring with a purple and blue gemstone set in the sockets. I grinned, sheepishly, mumbling. "H-His has blue and brown cause my eyes are brown a-and his eyes are purple and Adoran's are blue."

"Oh. My god." Techne put her hands to her mouth.

"I'm gonna be a princess," I whispered.

Techne and I bust into tears and squeals.

MEETING THE INLAWS

It was a slog, crawling down the chain to Elthas. But it was worth it. Along the way, our fleet smashed up several Hegemonic battle groups – helped by the fact that more than a few Hegemonic fleets had fired on other Hegemonic fleets, each one claiming to be the true leader of the Hegemony. We took it slow, though, allowing the fleet time to rest between each jump, to effect repairs on the ships as we stopped in ships with technical planets.

And I got fucked.

A lot.

I don't know if it was because we didn't have dreams anymore, or if it was because engagement rings make girls crazy horny, but I was literally not on Thale's cock for maybe two hours of the entire flight down. That's only a tiny exaggeration – cause when I wasn't being slammed silly, Adoran was screwing me. Adoran, the big goof, was a little shy about it in real life. So, I whispered in his ear that he was hot even without six eyes and a greyhound's body, and he was more than willing to fuck me up royal.

We tried every permutation we could, and were left sprawled and happy and giggly.

Because...I loved Thale. I loved Adoran.

I didn't know how much of it was the Machine, tweaking us at the get go. But...

Fuck it.

Fuck that idea.

The Machine tried to make our lives interesting – it set up traps and pitfalls, coincidence and prophecy. It even tweaked hormones – and buzzed my bits when I had first met Thale. But...he was still hot when I nuzzled him. His scars still were eminently traceable with my lips. And he was still the gentle, deeply emotional man that I had been loving since I started climbing the chain. No. He was better.

Because he felt, finally, at peace.

And then we came to the gorgeous, exotic hues of Elthas, with it's vast crystal forests and its shimmering cliff palaces. There, I was dressed in the simstim dress that Adoran had dreamed up for me, but for real: Glittering nanoweave tumbling down my shoulders, while Techne did my makeup and cleaned off my smudges. Me with my gleaming cybernetic arm and cheeks with just the right amount of blush and lips turned a brilliant ruby red – walking with Thale to the left and Adoran to the right, both snappy in their Alliance suits. Since, well. Alliance uniforms were all the rage, now that the Republique was forming again.

There, I met the twin queens of Elthas – Adriata Gideal, with her gleaming cybernetic wings and Lalune Midnight, whose skin matched her name and whose hair was dyed a thousand different shades of glorious blue. Adriata cupped my cheeks, while Lalune eyed Thale skeptically as Adoran looked as if he was about to die of fright. But...something stuck in my craw as Adriata crooned about what a lovely set of freckles I had – whatever those were.

It was what the herald had sang out as we entered the airy, open balcony that served as the throne room.

"Introducing Lady Venn – Starkiller and the Last of the Liminal Knights."

My titles. My new titles.

"As Queen of Elthas, I believe you shall make an excellent wife to my son," Adriata said, her wings smoothly sliding up and clasping behind her back. "Do you know the tradition of a dowry, young Venn?"

I shook my head so fast I nearly got dizzy.

Adriata chuckled. "When a new child is taken into a royal house, as the royal house has so much more wealth and power than most new children, they are given a dowry," she said. "A single boon, in effect, which we shall provide. Most ask for new houses, but..." She chuckled. "We're running out of asteroids to turn into palatial estates."

My tongue darted along my lips. And then I squared my shoulder.

"I have one boon?" I asked.

"Yes," Adriata said.

"And it can be anything?" I asked, my voice husky.

"Yes," Adraita said, giggling.

"Within reason!" Lalune said, her voice as stern as granite.

I gulped, then nodded. "I got...I has...I have one boon I wish, uh, King. Er. Miss. Uh. Queens!" I flushed as Adriata covered her lips with her hand and Adoran looked on nervously. I looked up into the taller woman's eyes.

"Name it," she said.

***

Tiar Junkar waddled out of his home and rubbed absently at his forehead. Even almost a cycle and a half after that crazy Liminal Knight had jammed his threshold blade into his head and extracted secrets from his head, it still sometimes pained him. He tended to take this pain out on anyone who crossed his way, which did explain why there was almost no one on the streets of Junker Port. He glowered at the buildings as he waddled forward, his bulk meaning that every footfall let out a loud crunch crunch crunch.

He came, at last, to the pier. A ship was docked there, heaping with crates of foodstuffs from Agrisland. The foodstuffs were being unloaded by a sweating team of hardy looking scrapmen, their muscles straining as they hauled the cheap, heavy grain from the boat. Agrisland was actually making more food now than it used to – something that made Junkar grumble. It was driving the costs of his food down, making his river of mana less valuable.

But then his mood brightened as he saw Miss Giddy, the owner of the local whorehouse, watching the men work. She was dressed in a dress that showed as much skin as someone could without worrying about the biting wind. She had a parasol that protected her from the worst of it and was waving at the men, grinning as she caught their eyes. Junkar waddled over, then smacked her on the ass with one warty hand. Miss Giddy glanced down at him and pursed her lips.

"For the last time, Tiar, you can't get it for free," she said. "From me, at least."

"It's that new girl I'm interested in," Tiar said, licking his lips.

Giddy sighed. Then she frowned, shaking her hand. "What is that?" She asked.

Tiar looked out – and saw, past the ugly, brown ocean which was nearly boiling hot in the brilliant, smudgy light of Stumble's primary – that a boat was approaching. It looked like a vast metal brick, but it still floated, parting the waves without sails. It had to be using some kind of...agrav engine. Tiar's eyes widened and when the ship drew closer, he saw that there was a name emblazoned on the hull: Tiamat II.

The Tiamat II came slowly to a stop, dwarfing the ship from Agrisland. Tiar felt his stomach turn slowly over in his gut while a crowd began to gather. Junkers and scrappers both, drawn to the sight of something new. As if expecting some new horror, Tiar's temple started to pound. He reached up to rub his forehead gingerly.

A nearly invisible door in the side of the Tiamat II opened.

A moment later, a cloaked figure sprang from it. They hung in the air, catlike, for a moment, before dropping to the pier. The cloak they wore rippled about their shoulders, and they stood to their full, imperious height a moment later. Tiar's eyes widened – the figure was a mutant. He had cat ears. And purple eyes. And a sleek, black cat's tail. His fingertips were clawed, and he brushed his impeccable black shirt down as he slowly swept his gaze about the crowd.

A moment later, another figure emerged – this one a bit more awkwardly and carefully.

It was a woman. A breathtakingly beautiful one – with brown hair done in a wavy pattern, dressed in a white tunic and white leggings. She flung out one arm, wobbling as she tried to carefully step from the door to the deck – before a voice called from within: "Uh, need the gangplank extended, m'lady?"

"Y-Yeah, that'd be nice, Sergeant Matoi," the woman said.

Tiar's brow furrowed.

That voice...

A gangplank extended and the woman walked down – followed after by three Alliance marines, their rifles slung over their backs. She stood beside the mutant, who was eying Tiar with a skeptical expression. Tiar looked back at the woman, who was looking around herself, her brow furrowing. She shook her head slowly. "Wow..." She whispered. "It's...all the same."

The crowd, in stunned silence, kept watching.

Tiar, though.

Tiar gaped. Goggled. His eyes bugged and his jaw hung so wide open that it nearly unhinged. "Scrapper 908-101.G?" He asked.

Scrapper 908-101.G glared at him.

The mutant scowled. "That is Princess Venn of Stumble," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Your new governor."

"My new what?" Tiar exclaimed.

"Would it be petty to put my house there?" Scrapper...Princess Venn asked, pointing at Tiar's mansion.

"Yes," the mutant murmured.

"Still gonna do it," Venn said, grinning.

"You...w-what are you talking about?" Tiar stammered.

Venn giggled. "Don't worry, Junker. You'll get a new house. And it'll even be as big as mine," she said, shaking her head – as, overhead, a rumbling sound filled the air. Screams split the air as the clouds began to part, the crowd backing up. Tiar gaped – and he thought his eyes couldn't get any wider.

Worldkillers hung over his world. Not one. Not two. Dozens of them. They were huge and oddly graceful, despite being merely kilometer long cones. Tiar tried to compare them to the size of the worldkiller that had visited here years ago – and saw that they came up short. They also lacked the bristling weapons. But there were so many, and they moved with an ominous, stately grace. As they flew overhead, they started to launch shuttles by the hundreds. As the shuttles roared outwards, Venn smiled.

"We've got a lot of work to do," she said.

One of the shuttles landed in the center of the port city. Pushed from the back by a woman with long, purple hair that wriggled and twitched erratically, came a large rectangular shape that Tiar recognized – but most of the citizens of Junker Port didn't. The woman grinned and slapped the side of the rectangle. "One certified, top of the line, Eudaimonia model River of Mana. Formatted for foodstuffs, tools, uh, clean air." She grinned, slightly. "Shipment one of, um, like, three hundred?"

Venn nodded. "But we can do it." She squeezed her mutant – her slave? Tiar thought. "It'll be easier once Adoran comes with the ecotechs."

"Yeah," the mutant said.

And there, without a thought for the crowds, he swept Venn of Stumble, Princess and founder of the Wardens of Life – an organization with as long and as vaunted history as the Liminal Knights ever had, down into a deep, deep kiss.

Open a dictionary.

Look up terraforming.

You'll find Stumble there. In ink and hologram foil print.

THE END