Last Exile Fan Fiction ❯ Relative ❯ Relative ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Relative

A Last Exile fic by AZ.

Disclaimer: Not mine, but good in spite of that.

Note: This fic can be considered a side-story to the end of Soft Options, but it can just as easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone set post series.

On the outskirts of town sat a house surrounded by wheat fields, and backed by a small orchard of fruit-bearing trees. Apple, plumb and cherry trees formed a modest square, with a ring of pear trees surrounding them like a fence. At the edge of the wheat field were five strings of grape vines, and opposite the stone chimney towered a huge oak tree, ancient and solid. The main house was two stories tall, with a well situated not too far from the back door, a wood-and-stone storehouse and a large, comfortable porch on three sides. Diagonal and somewhat back was a barn, also two-story. While the loft of the barn held hay, grain sacks and other farm supplies, the center section of the ground floor was devoted to another discipline.

The homestead was famous. Not because of its size, nor because of its location. While large, it was not the largest farm by a fair measure, and while it sat on prime land close to the best road to the city, it was not on the best land for crops to be had. No, what made it so famous was who lived there; though, if one were to remark on this to the group, the most likely response would be a puzzled look and uncomprehending shrugs. Of course, that was assuming that one could find the time to talk to the strange family that operated the farm.

In the second-largest bedroom in the house, the first rays of sunlight lit the ceiling even as the occupants woke, sitting up in bed. Glancing at the military-issue clock on the rough bedside table, a lithe blonde yawned behind a hand. Beside them, a brunette sat up, stretching. “Morning, Tatiana,” the brunette addressed the blonde.

“Morning, Alis,” the blonde replied, sighing softly as she tossed back the cover and top sheet, swinging her legs over the side of the bed to rest on the cool, slightly-rough floor boards. Late spring meant the night time temperatures were still on the cold side, though the heat of afternoon was closer to summer. Sniffing the air, the blonde stood, pulling her hip-length, tissue-thin sleeping shift off. On the other side of the bed, her brunette partner did the same, absently combing her fingers through her lower-back-length hair. “Smells like Dunya is up,” noted Tatiana, swiftly straightening the cover and sheet. Once an Anatory fleet soldier, always a soldier, I guess, thought the blonde fleetingly.

“Yes,” agreed Alis. “I am surprised that Al didn't come wake us up as usual,” she added, picking up her brush. As if summoned by her name, the door to the room the two shared opened, a blonde head peeking around the corner.

“You're awake,” stated the girl, stepping into the room.

“Morning, Al,” smiled Alis, feeling the younger girl give her a hug before repeating the process with Tatiana.

“Everything ok, Al?” Tatiana asked. “You usually wake us up before sunrise,” she noted.

“Lavie said to let you sleep in, since you got home late last night. Oh, and she said she'd fix the vanship when she got back,” relayed the young girl. “I'll help you with your hair, Alis,” she eagerly offered, taking the silver-backed brush from Alister's hand and beginning to brush out the brunette's long hair. “Oh, the bath is still warm, if you want to take one this morning,” she said to Tatiana.

“Thanks, Al,” Tatiana said. We have class today, so I better, mused the former officer, reaching for her towel. “Is Mullin around?” she asked, frowning slightly.

“Dunya said he headed out before first light to help the old man who lives three farms over with some fence repairs,” reported Al. Tatiana nodded, tossing her towel over her shoulder as she picked up the bath basket the two women shared. “Breakfast shouldn't take too long to be ready,” noted Al, happily finishing up the brushing of Alis's hair before beginning to braid it into the normal large-strand plait that the girl favored.

“I'll be there,” promised Tatiana, exiting the room. Alis giggled.

“What about Claus?” she cooed after her partner. Tatiana shrugged.

“I'm not worried about Claus seeing me,” she replied easily. In fact, I hope he does see me… she thought, fighting a lecherous smile.

“He and Lavie left already,” reported Al, finishing up the braid and tying it off with a scrap of ribbon. Alis smiled at Al, turning the shorter, younger girl around and beginning to brush her ice blonde hair. Tatiana paused, frowning.

“Before sunrise?” she asked, surprised. “I didn't hear a thing,” she half-worried.

“She and Claus are covering for another team that had a family emergency come up, so they left early,” expanded Al. From down stairs, the three heard the youngest child of Dunya and Mullin start to fuss. It was definitely morning.

After breakfast, the two pilots found themselves in the hangar - the center ground-level section of the barn - looking at the vanship that everyone but they considered their ship. Silver colored by means of the aluminum fuselage, the ship was a single-engine model, sleek, lean and arguably more famous than the two aces that flew it. It was one of two identical vanships that operated out of the farm. Tatiana and Alis was one half of the flight teams. The other team owned this ship and the twin ship to it.

“Think we should see if we can repair it ourselves?” wondered Alister, absently caressing the cool skin of the ship.

“If it were anything obvious, we'd have found it when we checked it over before,” replied Tatiana. “We're not the mechanics that Lavie is,” she admitted, giving her partner a wry look.

“If she has her way, we will be,” smiled Alis, Both of them were military-trained, seasoned combat veterans of both the Anatory-Disith war and the Alliance-Guild war. Tatiana and she were, in fact, double aces and the most highly-decorated flight team of the Anatory military. But, as they had discovered to their shock and dismay, there was always someone better. Those some ones were the ones who were their partners and adopted family: Claus Valca and Lavie Head.

It was mostly because of those two that the farm was famous. They were the only vanship crew to ever fly the Grand Stream. They had won the final Horizon Cave Eight with a new course record, as well. Above all that, however, Claus had proven to be the best vanship pilot to ever grasp the control stick, while Lavie - his…well, everything - had proven to be one of the most gifted mechanics and navigators in the history of vanships. Through a bizarre sequence of events, the two had ended up crewing on the Silvana, a rogue light battle ship of the Anatory navy during the Anatory-Disith war, and a pivotal ship in the following Alliance-Guild war. The primary reason was Alvis Hamilton - Al to her friends - a girl who had proven to be very critical in both wars.

The relative quiet of the morning was broken by the faint - but growing - sounds of vanship engines. Emerging from the hanger, the two scanned the skies, swiftly spotting three vanships approaching from the direction of the city. Tatiana studied the ships intently. “I don't recognize the lead ship, but isn't that Hurricane Hawk on the starboard wing?” she asked her partner.

“Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that that's Mikhail's ship on the port wing. Wonder what's up?”

“Hope it isn't bad news,” Tatiana said, seeing the three ships begin to line up to land on the well-worn runway to the far side of the hangar from the house. Dunya had complained about the dust the vanships kicked up in summer getting the laundry dirty when the landing strip had run in front of the house, so Lavie and Claus had moved it to the far side of the barn, and all was well again. As the ships came in, Tatiana's experienced eye noticed that the lead ship was dipping and skidding as it came in for approach.

“Looks like a repair job,” she predicted, seeing the vanship finally stabilize just before the wheels hit the runway. The golden-colored ship of Hurricane Hawk settled down daintily, as did Mikhail's ship, blue and white paint flashing in the sunlight. All three taxied up to the side of the barn, cutting their engines. “Morning,” called Tatiana, approaching the ships as the crews climbed down. Seeing that Hurricane Hawk was in the lead ship, and his navigator was in the cockpit of his own ship, she frowned.

“Did you lose a bet, Hurricane Hawk?” smiled Alis, the large vanship racer easily hopping out of the cockpit of the strange vanship.

“Not exactly,” he laughed easily. “Where are Lavie and Claus?” he wondered, looking around.

“Took off before sunrise to cover for a team that had some sort of family emergency come up,” related Tatiana.

“Wasn't today their day off?” wondered Mikhail, fishing in his leather jacket for a moment before pulling out two lollipops. Removing the waxed wrapper of one, he tucked it in the corner of his mouth, holding the other one. “And where is Al?” he wondered.

“Knowing her, she'll be here any second,” smiled Alis. Al had a bit of a sweet tooth - which was encouraged by Mikhail, who always gave her a lollipop every time he saw her.

“You know those two - they'll fly on the flimsiest excuse,” Tatiana shook her head slightly. “So, what brings you here with a new ship?” she asked, her curiosity growing. “It looks like a repair job, given the way she was drifting in the approach,” noted the former lieutenant.

“That's one of the things I wanted to talk to Claus and Lavie about,” Hurricane Hawk replied.

“Mikhail! Hurricane Hawk!” came Al's voice, the girl herself appearing around the edge of the barn, ice blonde hair flowing behind her in a ponytail, the simple white cotton dress swaying it the soft breeze.

“Morning, Al,” smiled Hurricane Hawk, eyeing the girl. She had been a beautiful child when he first met her. Now, five years later, she was a stunningly-beautiful young woman. He had heard tales in the taverns about the attention she got whenever she came into town. More than a few young bucks had made fools of themselves because of her. Not that she ever even notices them, he thought.

Mikhail winked at her, handing the girl the other lollipop. Al happily unwrapped it and stuck it in her mouth. A moment later, she made a face. “New flavor they're trying out,” Mikhail explained, laughing softly. “Lemon grape, or so they claim. Too sour?” he asked her. Silently, she shook her head.

“One of the things you wanted to talk to them about?” prodded Tatiana. Hurricane Hawk nodded, fishing in his own leather flight jacket for a moment before pulling out a carefully-folded flyer. It was printed on the rough paper the city had just started making in sustainable batches. He handed it to the two.

“This might interest you two, as well,” he suggested. Unfolding the flyer, the two blinked.

“First Annual New Norkia Cup race,” read Alister, glancing at Tatiana. Hurricane Hawk nodded.

“Yep!” he confirmed. “We're finally on our feet enough here to have some fun! Can I presume to tell the organizers that you two are in as well?” he hinted.

“As well?” Tatiana asked. “Who else is competing?”

“Well, so far we have me, Mikhail, Sonny Boy, Fat Chicken, the Lorene brothers…pretty much all the usual suspects from Norkia,” he grinned. “Claus and Lavie, too, I would bet. What do you say? Given your position with them, it would be kind of hard to say no,” he prodded. “I'd feel cheated if I took the medal without Claus and Lavie there to make me work for it.”

“We got us a couple of first-timers, too,” Mikhail spoke up. “Couple of your former squadron mates are in, as well. Going to be flying their de-militarized vanships,” he shared.

“You are running twin-engine against single-engine ships?” Tatiana wondered. Hurricane Hawk nodded.

“It has always been the rules that whatever you can fly, you can race,” he said. “I wouldn't think that you two would be worried, considering that everyone knows Lavie tunes both your ships. That girl can get more power from one engine than most of the mechanics can get from two engines!”

It was true, of course. Lavie had not wasted her time working on the mechanic deck of the Silvana. Every last trick and technique that the military mechanics had known had been learned by her; and she had expanded on them, as well. Claus always insisted that it was Lavie's work on their ship that got them through the Grand Stream. Of course, Lavie always snorted and told everyone that Claus's flying was what got them through.

“They'll race,” stated Al, smiling around her lollipop. Tatiana and Alis both gave her a brief look, but said nothing. Al had the strangest knack for understanding the two, and so far, she had never been wrong about her predictions. “And this time, they'll win,” added the girl.

“I don't know, Al,” Hurricane Hawk said, shaking his head, “They're good, but so are the rest of us, you know?” he hinted. Al wasn't impressed.

“Claus and Lavie will win,” she repeated firmly. Seeing the look on Hurricane Hawk's face, Tatiana grinned at him.

“We could always bet on it,” she offered eagerly. Hurricane Hawk considered that for a moment before shaking his head.

“That's ok,” he declined the offer. Those two were good before, but after all that combat flying, and then the scouting…I'm good, yeah, but am I that good? “Anyway, how's the school coming along?” he asked the two.

“Pretty good,” Tatiana said, the group drifting toward the porch of the house. “We're about ready to start taking them up for live practice with the controls,” she shared.

“You planning on letting them learn with your ship?” asked Mikhail.

“Not much of a choice, really,” shrugged Alister, “we only have the two ships right now. Though I heard Lavie and Claus talking about getting another one just for the students to use,” she shared. “Apparently the Cave Eight got her thinking,” smiled the navigator.

“Well, tell you what,” Hurricane Hawk said, taking a seat on the edge of the porch, “why don't you all just keep that ship. I figure it won't hard for Lavie to fix it up, and I can't fly two ships at once, so just keep it for the school.”

“We couldn't do that…!” protested Tatiana.

“It isn't like that,” Mikhail spoke up. “That ship wasn't his to start with. We're just doing a job for the Queen…I mean, for the Council. We need more skilled vanship crews, and right now, there are more vanships than crews, so your school is considered a priority.”

“And how is my step-grandmother?” asked Dunya, emerging from the house with a tray of cups and a big pitcher of fresh, cool water.

“Dunya,” Hurricane Hawk nodded, taking a glass of water.

“She's doing well,” Mikhail added, accepting a glass of water as well. “Duke Mad-Thane and Vincent said that they are almost ready to step back and leave the Selectmen in charge,” he said.

“Most of her attention is on the proposal that Walker made last month, though,” Hurricane Hawk stepped back in.

“Walker? The black marketer?” Tatiana asked, surprised. “I heard he blew up his station before he left Prester.”

“He did,” confirmed Mikhail. “But now, he is pushing for the construction of another, similar station, to be used to expand the scouting and mapping project. Right now, we have only managed to map the area about a day and a half's flight time out from New Norkia, due to the limitations of the vanships,” he explained. “But, with a floating station to hold fuel, parts, repair space and crew resting space, the surveying runs can cover huge distances around us - make it a lot quicker to know what we're dealing with here,” he finished.

“But, do we have the resources for that?” wondered Alister. “We are only just now really getting on our feet, and building those stations takes a lot of time, skill and manpower,” she noted.

“Wouldn't know about that,” shrugged Mikhail, “but it would be smaller and simpler than his last one,” he paused. “And then there is the matter of Alex's bar tab…”

“A race?” asked Claus, sipping the cool apple juice in his mug. The sun was just touching the horizon as it fell, and he and Lavie were in the hanger area, having just finished up with Tatiana's and Alis's ship. The pair had returned two hours before, and even before they had taken a step away from their ship, Al had run up and told them about the race. Now, having found and fixed the problem with the twin ship to their own vanship - and Lavie having giving the gift vanship a brief check - the two were about to close the hanger. Al had brought them something to drink as they prepared to go in for supper. “Sounds fun,” Claus added, glancing at Lavie.

“More than fun!” declared Lavie, “it's our chance to take down Hurricane Hawk once and for all!”

“So, you two are in, then?” smiled Tatiana.

“Of course!” stated Lavie, grinning to herself. “You two are running as well, aren't you?” she glanced at the former military pilots. “No point letting all that work I did on the vanship go unused, now, is there?”

“Very well,” Tatiana agreed after a brief glance at her partner.

“What did you do for class today?” wondered Claus, helping Lavie close the doors to the hangar.

“Since we couldn't fly, we reviewed navigation and cartography with the students,” answered Alister.

“We also began to try to match up some flight crews, see who could and couldn't work together,” added Tatiana.

“But, we have an odd number of students right now,” Lavie noted.

“Oh, I evened it up - for today, anyway,” Al volunteered. Given her special connection to both pairs of instructors, Al was already a very good navigator and ever-improving pilot. She was also reminding Claus of Lavie before they lost their parents, with her growing interest in mechanics and vanships. Al's still a lot easier going than Lavie, though, he thought, fondly wrapping his arm around Al's waist. On his other side, neither he nor Lavie were even aware that they were holding hands.

“You going to pick a partner soon?” wondered Lavie, looking up at Al. At sixteen, the girl was taller than Lavie and Claus both, though not quite as tall as Sophia or Mullin. Al frowned.

“No,” she said after a moment. “They're not the right kind,” she added mysteriously.

“You have said that about everyone who has ever tried to get you to partner with them,” noted Tatiana. Al nodded.

“Of course - they aren't the right kind,” she repeated herself.

“You mean they aren't Claus,” Alister smiled at the younger girl.

Al shook her ice blonde head. “It's not just Claus,” she explained. “You, Lavie and Tatiana are the right ones, not them. Their eyes aren't right,” she said, a trace of petulance in her tone. None of the four really understood what Al meant, but then, they were used to her strange view of things.

“Hey!” came a yell from the road. Looking over, they saw Mullin approaching.

“Welcome back!” greeted Claus, waving at the other man. Mullin hurried up to the group.

“You two should have said you would be in town,” Mullin said to the two. “It would have saved me a trip,” he added. Claus and Lavie frowned at him.

“We weren't in town, Mullin,” Lavie said. “We picked up the run at the Union, then headed over to the timber camp northwest of here, got asked to do a survey of a timber section, then took a report from the camp back to the Union. We never even set foot in New Norkia.”

“You didn't?” frowned Mullin. “Are you sure? Because I saw you coming out of the general goods shop on Row Street when I was picking up more fencing wire today about an hour past noon. You had several packages in your hands, and had on a blue and white dress.”

“You're imagining things,” scoffed Lavie. “I don't even own any dresses but the white ones we all wear. And an hour past noon, Claus and I were mapping a valley nearly two hundred miles from New Norkia.”

“But it was you! I'm sure of it!” insisted Mullin. “I would recognize your mahogany hair and that short style anywhere!” pronounced the former musketeer.

“And why is that?” came the voice of Mullin's wife, Dunya. She was giving her husband a cool look, a wooden cooking spoon in one hand, both hands resting on her hips as she stood on the front porch. Lavie smiled, seeing the other girls suppressing their amusement. Claus didn't seem too concerned, but then, he rarely showed any concern. In any event, he was focused on Al and Lavie. “Wash up and come eat,” ordered Dunya.

“Yes, dear,” Mullin sighed. He knew that he hadn't heard the last of that from his wife. Well, I guess the odd relationship between Lavie and I still sort of makes her suspicious, he admitted to himself. Could have worded that better, too, he realized. The incident slipped from the minds of the hybrid family as they fell to eating, and then some relaxed time before hitting the bed. There was a race coming up, after all, and they would be ready for it.

“Lavie!” called out a voice, the girl turning to see one of the students at their school hurrying after her. Lavie stopped, Claus beside her, waiting for the young man to reach them. The two were on their way to the Vanship Courier Union office in New Norkia to confirm that they were participating in the race, and since they were in town, they were also going to stock up on some supplies they needed. Tatiana and Alister had come with them as well, but had paused to talk to some former crewmen from the Silvana. Once they had confirmed their participation and gotten the details of the race, they were headed for the Council Hall. Seems that Sophia wanted to see them.

“What's going on, Timmy?” asked Lavie as the young man stopped in front of her.

“My father wanted to meet you,” panted the young man. “And since you are here in town…” he began.

“I don't know,” Lavie began. Even though she and Claus were friendly, they had no interest in `pressing the flesh' as Godwin had once called meet-and-greet functions. Sophia had managed to rope them into a few of them, and ever since, the two had been very hard to catch off guard for any sort of social function.

“It's ok, Lavie,” the young man assured her earnestly, “he just wants to thank you for helping me with that sticking gearing in the mill. It's not far - just one street over,” he added. “Please?” Lavie glanced at Claus, sighing softly.

“Ok, I guess,” she said, following her student, Claus right beside her. Cutting through a small connecting alley between Row Street and Hamilton Street, the two emerged onto the street, seeing a man waving at them from a storefront not too far away and across the street from them.

Just as they neared the store, the two heard someone yelling “Miss! Miss! Wait!” Curious, Lavie turned to see a somewhat plump woman running up the street, waving something in her hand.

“Who is she looking for?” wondered Claus, not seeing anyone he would consider a `Miss' in the immediate area; well, aside from Lavie, of course. When the older woman stopped in front of Lavie, Claus blinked.

“So glad I found you,” panted the woman, absently mopping her face with a handkerchief. “You left this in the room last night,” she said, taking Lavie's hand in her own and dropping a locket in it. “Oh, and Michael wanted me to tell you thanks if I saw you before he did.”

“Sorry, ma'am, but I…” began Lavie, her tone mildly defensive and puzzled.

“It's no problem,” giggled the woman, waving her hand. “Your secrets are safe with me, sweetie,” she added, starting to turn away but then pausing, eyeing Claus. “But, I have to say,” she added, leaning closer to Lavie and whispering - but softly enough that Claus couldn't hear her - “I didn't know you had a new suitor already. What's his name?”

“Claus, of course,” Lavie replied automatically, frowning. “What…?”

“Well, he's handsome enough, I suppose,” the woman allowed, giving Claus a critical look. “And he does sort of make me want to mother him, so that's good, I guess. But don't forget that Michael is from a noble house,” cautioned the older woman. Lavie's expression darkened even as her hands closed into fists. One of the surest ways to anger the girl was to attack her Claus.

“Listen here…!” she began. The woman waved her hands, already moving down the street, back the way she had come.

“Fine, fine! I won't say a word!” cackled the woman. “I suspect that Michal will find out soon enough anyway!” she tittered.

“Who was that crazy woman?” growled Lavie, teeth bared.

“Her? She's Dowager Perkinson,” supplied her student. “She runs the hotel/boarding house down the street. I didn't know she knew you,” he added.

“She doesn't,” grunted Lavie, absently shoving the locket into her flight suit's pocket. As usual, Lavie had peeled her suit down to her waist, tying it around her slim waist and leaving her in her usual - if new - top. Her old one had been damaged beyond repair a year ago, and she had been forced to make a new one with the help of Sophia. She had chosen to make one of the same design, but a little smaller and of finer cloth. Claus liked how it looked on her. “Probably just senile,” she added, miffed. How dare she say something like that?! Claus is a Valca!

She was distracted from her thoughts by her student's father greeting her, and after almost ten minutes, the two managed to escape, heading back to Row Street and making their way to the Union offices. Greeting the other vanship pilots they confirmed their entry, paid the modest entry fee, and asked if Tatiana and Alister had been by yet. When they were told that they hadn't seen the two yet, Lavie and Claus debated if they should wait at the Union office or head for the Council Hall - where the two were supposed to see Sophia with them.

“Lavie,” came Tatiana's voice from behind them. Turning, the two saw Tatiana and Alis entering the Union office. “What were you…?” Seeing Lavie and Claus watching them expectantly, they froze for a second.

“What was I what?” Lavie wondered. Tatiana and Alister exchanged a glance.

“Never mind,” Tatiana waved her hand. “Just a bit of déjà vu,” she added. Lavie and Claus didn't bother pursuing the issue, returning to their talk with one of the other vanship crews they had worked with back in Norkia, on Prester as Tatiana and Alister confirmed their entry and paid their fee. As Lavie and Claus laughed with the older crew, Tatiana and Alister studied Lavie silently.

“I don't know,” Alister whispered to her partner, “I was sure that that was Lavie.”

“So was I, but Claus wasn't there, and she wasn't wearing her flight suit, so it couldn't have been her,” Tatiana sighed softly. “Besides, I've never seen that guy before, but he certainly was familiar with whoever that was,” added the platinum blonde pilot. Seeing Lavie and Claus wave to the other team, the two left the conversation there. Together, the four headed for the Council Hall to see what Sophia wanted with them.

It wasn't until that night, as she got ready for bed, that Lavie found the locket in her flight suit pocket. Sitting on the edge of the bed that she shared with Claus and Al, Lavie examined the locket. “What do you have, Lavie?” asked Al, leaning against Lavie's back as she looked over her shoulder.

“A locket some strange woman gave me in town today,” Lavie answered, absently patting Al's soft, fine, silky ice blonde hair as she felt Al's arms wrap around her from behind, the girl's legs settling around her own. Strange to think that I used to be bigger than her, Lavie thought fleetingly, smiling softly. “Looks like it's gold, too,” she added.

“What's inside?” wondered Al. Lavie shrugged, carefully opening it. Seeing the small picture in the locket, she frowned. “That looks like you, but who is the man and woman?” asked Al. Lavie frowned, peering at the locket closely.

“How should I know?” she murmured to Al unconsciously. “This isn't my locket.”

“But she looks like you do in the pictures you have,” insisted Al. Lavie had to admit that the girl in the picture looked uncannily like she did when she was about six or seven. And looking at the man, she found herself wondering if her father had any cousins. If he did, he never spoke of them, she thought, frowning as she combed her hazy memories of her father for anything he might ever had said about family. She couldn't recall him ever saying anything about family aside from her mother - and that was only how much he missed her and how sad he was that Lavie never got to meet her mother. But, it was ok, because Justine was there, she found herself thinking as she closed the locket and set it aside.

“Anyway, it's got nothing to do with me,” she said, standing and finishing undressing for bed. Al turned back the simple sheets and covers, climbing in before holding the sheets open for Lavie. “Claus still talking with Tatiana about the course?” she asked Al.

“Yes,” Al supplied. “Do you think he'll stay with them tonight?” she wondered. Lavie shrugged, getting comfortable with Al.

“He might,” she replied calmly. “Just means I'll have to go their room to wake him up in the morning,” smiled Lavie. A thought occurred to her. “Did you want him with you tonight?” she asked Al.

“Yes, but it's ok,” Al said, hugging Lavie close. Stroking Al's cheek, Lavie closed her eyes, falling asleep within minutes. Al joined her in sleep shortly after.

“You two made it!” came the jovial voice of Hurricane Hawk as Claus and Lavie's vanship settled in the designated starting area. Just behind them, Tatiana and Alister's ship likewise settled down.

“This is a first!” yelled Sonny Boy as he maneuvered his ship into place. “You two have never made it to the time trials,” he laughed.

“Which is the only way you have ever gotten good starting positions, Nose Hair!” yelled back Lavie, grinning.

“Well, well! The children are back racing again!” Fat Chicken called out. “You won't be able to use any cheap tricks this time - there aren't any canals here!” she warned them.

“Is it our fault that we aren't weighed down by excess weight?” asked Lavie innocently, getting a snicker from Fat Chicken's navigator. The big woman swatted at him.

“As the defending champion, I should get the first pole position,” complained Sonny Boy.

“You only have that medal because Hurricane Hawk and the kids were knocked out of the race by that other ship!” yelled Fat Chicken. “This year, you're going to have to fly for it!”

“It just so happens that I'm an even more amazing pilot than before!” he retorted.

“Yeah, it's amazing you haven't crashed into anything yet,” snickered Lavie wickedly. Sonny Boy scowled at the young woman. “The Cave Eight would have left you plastered to some stone,” Lavie heckled him. Hurricane Hawk laughed.

“This is almost like the old days,” he said. “Little name calling, some friendly insults and the gang all ready to race,” he nodded to himself. Looking at Tatiana and Alister, he watched the two, who were staying quiet for the most part. Though no longer strangers to the Vanship Union crews, they were still very much outsiders to this particular event. Hurricane Hawk wondered just how good the two were. “This is your first race, isn't it?” he called over to the two.

“Yes, it is,” agreed Tatiana. She didn't consider her running the Cave Eight to be a race; after all, she was there for a mission, and had no intention of winning anyway. This time, I'm going to fly to win, she told herself. While helping prepare the two for the race, Claus and Lavie had insisted that both she and Alister swear to them that they would compete without any reserve - even flying against them. “But I am not holding anything back!” she added, meeting Hurricane Hawk's gaze.

“That's the spirit!” approved the man. A couple of late vanships arrived, and the officials in charge of the race began to organize the time trial order, each crew selecting a random number from a bucket. Once that was done, the staff reviewed the race course, reminded the crews of the rules, and then dispatched their observers to the way points.

“Officiating for us on this inaugural race is Queen Sophia!” announced the head of the three-man race judge panel. Claus and Lavie blinked, seeing Sophia climb onto the basic stage. She was dressed in her Silvana uniform, but had her hair down and her uniform blouse's top button undone. Court finery just did not cut it here on the new old world, and she usually favored her military uniform or simple clothes for daily wear.

“Sophia didn't tell us she was officiating,” Lavie remarked to Claus, her voice low and soft.

“I guess it should have been pretty obvious,” shrugged Claus. Sophia gave a brief speech, which basically pronounced that this race would be an annual event and that she hoped that the participants did their best and that the citizens enjoyed the show. With the formalities over with, she smiled at Claus and Lavie and Tatiana and Alister - her crews - while mouthing `good luck'. Lavie gave her a thumbs-up, Claus waved, and the two former military pilots saluted her.

As always, this time attack determined the ship's starting position for the race. Back in Norkia, Claus and Lavie had never managed to make it in time for one reason or another, so this was actually their first time flying it. The night before, during their final strategy meeting with Tatiana and Alister, the four had decided to fly the time attack with more attention on getting the feel of the course than of trying for the best time. Lavie had confidently stated that their ships were faster than any of the others, so a starting position in the front of the middle rank was as good as a starting position in first place. With the amount of work that Lavie had put into both ships over the previous years, Tatiana and Alister believed her claim of their ships' speed and power.

Claus and Lavie were the third ship to take off, the ships staggered by two minutes. Tatiana and Alister were sixth off. Roaring away from the starting line, Claus kept their ship at almost full speed, though his attention was on the course as well. He knew that in the back seat, Lavie was jotting down notes and rough sketches of any part of the course she thought they might want to think about in between monitoring the engine and supporting him out of habit.

Even so, the two ran the third fastest time, with Tatiana and Alister in fourth. Hurricane Hawk had managed to run the fastest time - also as usual - though his margin was much slimmer than ever before. Mikhail managed second pole position, and Sonny Boy was less than two seconds behind Tatiana and Alister. After the usual trash talking and rough betting, the group broke up to finalize preparations for the race tomorrow mid-morning.

Since they were already in town, the group did some errands. Claus found himself talking with Sophia, Vincent, David and Walker. Lavie begged off, saying she had something she needed to do and that Claus could come find her when he was done talking with Sophia and the council heads. It was nearly an hour later when he was able to go looking for his partner. He started with the normal Lavie targets - machine shops, dry goods shops, tool vendors and a few places where the mechanic crews from the Silvana were known to hang out.

Not finding her, he finally spotted her talking to someone in front of a dress shop. Frowning, he wondered what she could be doing there. Shrugging it aside as unimportant, he headed down the street to meet up with his partner. Just as he was reaching her, the guy she had been talking to waved and turned away. Claus wrapped his arm around Lavie as he stopped beside her. “Who was that, Lavie?” he asked her.

It surprised him completely when Lavie slammed her elbow into his side and hit him in the face with her hand. “Hands off, jerk!” she yelled as Claus fell to the ground.

“What…?” groaned Claus, confused.

“You think you can just grab a girl on the street?!” demanded the woman. “Serves you right,” she added, marching away. Claus picked himself up, wondering what was going on. Some passer-bys were laughing and giggling, but he didn't care. He was worried something was wrong with Lavie.

“Claus?”

Looking at the door to the dress shop, he found himself looking at a familiar face. “Hi, Weena,” he greeted the former sonar operator of the Silvana. “How are you doing?”

“Never mind me,” she said, absently helping him brush the dirt off his flight suit, “what is wrong with Lavie? That was Lavie just now, wasn't it?” she asked.

“Yeah,” agreed Claus, wondering that same thing himself.

“Are you two fighting?” wondered Weena. Claus shook his head.

“Not that I am aware of,” he answered. “Something must be wrong,” he decided unilaterally. “I'm going to go after her,” he started to say.

“I think I better go as well,” murmured Weena, following Claus in the direction that Lavie had gone. Even during that time when they were fighting, Lavie never lashed out at him like that! Something's wrong, worried the girl.

Lavie, meanwhile, was looking for Claus. She had finished up her errands, tucked her goods into their vanship, and all that was left was to hook up with her partner and head home. She planned to give the ships one final tune-up before the race then get a good night's sleep. But, she needed Claus for that. And so far, Claus had somehow managed to avoid her.

Pausing in front of a bakery, she found herself eying a loaf of sweet bread. I am hungry, and it isn't like this is expensive, she thought to herself, slowly smiling. Turning toward the door to the shop, she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and lift her up before hurrying to the small alley between the bakery and the cobbler shop next to it. “Hey!” she protested.

“I like the new look,” a man breathed, his hands sliding up to cup her breasts through her thin top.

“Stop that,” growled Lavie, smacking his hands. Who the hell said he could touch me?!

“You know I like it when you play coy,” the man said, catching her wrists in his hands. “Just like I know you like it when I'm aggressive,” he added, licking her neck.

“Get the hell away from me, freak!” snarled Lavie, kicking back with her heel. She felt her heel make glancing contact with the assailant. Sure of where her target was, she kicked again - and scored.

“Argh!” grunted the man, his grip on her hands weakening. Teeth bared, Lavie wrenched her wrists free, lunging for the mouth of the alley a few paces away. She cried out as a hand grabbed her hair, jerking her back. “That hurt, bitch,” the man growled, turning her head to face him. She found herself looking at a man in a fancy shirt and expensive pants, a gold chain around his neck and a sword at his side. Noble, she thought. “But I could get to like it rough,” he added before slapping her. “Feel good?” he asked, grinning at her.

“Yeah, how about this?!” gritted out Lavie, kicking him in the nuts. The man bellowed in pain, collapsing to his knees. Lavie ran for the street. Just as she reached the sidewalk, she collided with a person just coming around the corner, the two of them landing in a tumble. Lavie swiftly managed to get to her feet.

“Hey, now!” protested the person she had collided with as he grabbed her arm. “Kids shouldn't run around…!” he began.

“Hold that wretch!” came the unsteady voice of the man who had attacked her. Turning to look at the alley, Lavie saw the man limping slowly into view, holding his crotch with one hand, his drawn sword in the other. “You dare to strike a noble?” he demanded, his voice still not stable.

“I'll kick anyone who tries to attack me,” shot back Lavie. It just wasn't in her nature to back down. The man stopped in front of her, furious.

“You do not speak so to nobles!” he declared, drawing back his hand to slap her.

“And you don't speak that way to friends of ours, fancy pants,” a deep, strong voice said from behind the man even as a huge, work-hardened hand seized the man's wrist; and squeezed hard enough to bring the man to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Godwin!” sighed Lavie, relieved to see friends. Godwin nodded at her, as did Ethan, Kostabi and Gale. Around the group, a circle of onlookers were watching.

“You OK, Lavie?” rumbled the big mechanic. “You're bleeding,” he added, scowling, as he indicated the corner of her mouth. Lavie wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, finding a small smear of blood.

“He do that?” Gale asked, jutting his chin at the man in Godwin's grip. Lavie nodded.

“Let's make him bleed,” suggested Kostabi, cracking his knuckles.

“I never liked nobles anyway,” nodded Ethan. Just then, four musketeers forced their way through the crowd.

“What passes here?” demanded the sergeant in charge of the group. A company of Musketeers had been retained to serve as peace troops and security personnel. They answered to the Council, and were charged with upholding the common law of the new world. It was almost a perfect mix of former Anatory and Disith troops, so there was little chance of favoritism in any dispute. While life in the new world was generally peaceful, there was the occasional disturbance for one reason or another.

“These commoners dared to attack me!” accused the man.

“You?! You attacked me first, jerk!” countered Lavie hotly. The sergeant sighed.

“Release him,” he said to Godwin. “The young lady as well,” he added. “Your name, sir?” he asked the noble.

“Michael Alzey, esquire,” he said, almost smirking. “I want these ruffians flogged…” he began.

“Quit down,” the sergeant said, holding his palm out. “And your name, lady?” he asked Lavie.

“Lavie Head,” answered the girl.

“She's lying!” accused the noble, “her name is Maggie and…!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” spat Lavie.

“She's Lavie Head, no doubt about it,” grinned Godwin.

“All right, quiet down,” repeated the head guardsman. “Who are you bunch?” he asked the four mechanics.

“We're former shipmates of Lavie, sergeant,” replied Kostabi, subtly nudging Godwin. “We served together on the Silvana,” he added, his voice cooling. The guardsman blinked.

“The Silvana, you say?” he asked, glancing at the four and then at Lavie. “We'll talk this over at the magistrate's office,” decided the guard. Godwin grinned.

“Be delighted to,” he snickered. The Magistrate's office was only a loud yell from Sophia's office, after all. And Godwin was sure he could cause enough ruckus to get their Queen down there to see what the fuss was about. And once she sees what this pansy-assed jerk did to Lavie, he might find himself swinging from a rope, thought the big man happily. It was no secret at all that Sophia had an intensely personal bond with Claus and Lavie and to a lesser extent everyone who had served under her on the Silvana.

“I have no intention of explaining myself to commoners,” declared the self-professed noble.

“Then perhaps you will explain yourself to me,” came a cold, authoritarian voice from the ring of people still watching. Turning to look, Lavie saw Duke David Mad-Thane push through the crowd. As the second highest ranking noble in the new world, he was known to be Sophia's right-hand man in many matters.

“M…my Lord,” the noble managed a rough bow. The sergeant of the squad saluted the Duke. From behind the father of Al's best friend emerged Claus and Weena. Claus hurried over to Lavie.

“Lavie, what happened?” he asked, spotting the bit of blood at the corner of Lavie's mouth. Lavie was thinking about something else, though.

“Claus! Did you get in a fight?” she asked, seeing his bruised cheek.

“What do you mean?” Weena asked. “You're the one that did that, Lavie,” she said. Lavie blinked.

“Weena, that's crazy! I'd never hit Claus,” she said.

“Well, it must have been your evil twin, then,” Weena said. “I saw the whole thing though the dress shop's front window,” explained the former officer. “You were talking to some guy, Claus came up, put his arm around you like he always does, and you hit him.”

“What guy?!” demanded Michael. “Have you been seeing other men behind my back, Maggie?!”

“Maggie?” Claus wondered.

“I already told you, I'm not this Maggie!” Lavie growled.

“Ridiculous,” scoffed the young man. “I know my betrothed as well as I know the back of my own hand!”

“Lord Valca, I think we should sort this out at the Magistrate office,” Duke Mad-Thane suggested. Claus nodded. The other noble gulped.

“Valca?” he breathed. Godwin chuckled darkly.

“Yeah, that's Claus Valca, of the Valca nobility.”

“Son of the hero of the Anatory-Disith war,” added Gale.

“Hero of the Alliance-Guild war,” Ethan added.

“And partner to Lavie Head - the girl you roughed up!” growled Kostabi.

“Michael? What…?” a woman's voice began, only to fall silent. Looking toward the voice, Claus gasped.

“There are…two Lavies,” breathed Weena. Looking at the scene was a girl who - aside from her clothes - was the spitting image of Lavie Head.

Sophia Forrester studied the two young women before her. “How remarkable,” she murmured. Lavie gave the Queen a sour look.

“You aren't the first to say something like that, Sophia,” she noted. Several of the nobles in the hall made sounds of disapproval at Lavie's informal - casual, even - mode of address with the Queen. Sophia didn't even notice the lack of any formality. Lavie Head was well known to her, after all.

“David,” Sophia said, looking to the Duke, “what occurred?”

“I must sadly say that I am not entirely sure,” admitted the former lord of Anatory. “That a physical altercation occurred between Mistress Head and the esquire of the Alzey house is obvious, but the situation is more complex than a minor noble assaulting the companion of Lord Valca.” Lavie rolled her eyes at the way the noble titled her.

“I see,” Sophia said, frowning at the young man. “Are you ok, Lavie?” asked the Queen.

“Nothing I can't handle,” replied Lavie. She was close beside Claus, glaring at the dark-haired man standing on the far side of David Mad-Thane. Sophia smiled a little. She knew full well how tough Lavie was from her time on the Silvana. But seeing the darkening bruise on Lavie's face - and another darkening bruise on Claus's face, her smile faded. “Claus, what happened to you?” she asked the young man.

“I got hit,” he replied indifferently.

“By him?” asked the Queen, an edge in her voice as she glanced at the esquire.

“Um, no, by her,” he said, poking his thumb toward the other Lavie. The second Lavie just sniffed and turned her nose up slightly. I see that these two are alike in more ways than just appearance, Sophia thought. The door to the hall opened and Vincent slipped in.

“Cousin Vincent!” Michael sounded relieved to see the former Captain of the Anatory Navy. Vincent gave the younger man a dark look.

“Sorry for being delayed, your majesty,” he said. “I came as quick as I could,” he added.

“Thank you for being so prompt, Vincent,” Sophia nodded. “Am I to understand that this person is known to you?” she asked, indicating Michael.

“It embarrasses me to say that he is my second cousin, an esquire of the family,” Vincent admitted as if he would rather kick himself in the nuts than confirm that the other dark-haired man was a relative to him. “What has he done this time?” asked Vincent unhappily.

“Assaulted Lavie,” supplied Godwin. A look from Sophia shut the big mechanic up. Vincent leaned forward slightly, looking intently at Lavie for a moment.

“I'm fine,” the girl insisted, flipping a hand. “Got a big race tomorrow,” she added. Vincent sighed.

“I am sorry that someone of my family harmed you, Lavie,” he apologized. Turning to his second cousin, he glared at the younger man. “As for you, cousin,” he bit out, “it is high time the family corrected your behavioral problems.”

“Lavie,” Sophia cut in, “do you wish to pursue this as the aggrieved party?” asked the Queen. Michael gasped.

“But she's a commoner!” protested Michael. “She has no right…!”

“Be silent,” snarled Vincent. “You have shamed our family enough already.”

“I don't care about him;” stated Lavie, “just keep him away from me, Sophia.” Sophia nodded.

“Very well,” she agreed. “Michal Alzey,” she addressed the young man directly, “you are forbidden to ever approach Mistress Head or Lord Valca again. Should you do so, we will not be so lenient,” warned the Queen. “As for your punishment for your attack on Mistress Head, we will let Vincent Alzey decided what is to be done. You are dismissed.”

“But she…!” Vincent grabbed his cousin by the front of his fancy shirt, just below his throat and jerked him toward the door.

“You are done talking,” muttered Vincent angrily.

When the second Lavie turned to leave, Sophia spoke up. “Not you,” she said firmly, yet calmly. “I would like to speak with you a moment longer,” said the Queen. The second Lavie turned back toward the Queen, hands on hips in a very Lavie-like manner.

“What about?” she challenged. “I'm already late for my job,” complained the girl.

“I think we can take care of that,” Sophia replied urbanely. “One of the things I would like to discuss with you is what happened between yourself and Claus,” suggested the Queen. “And I don't know your name yet, either,” she prompted.

“Magmira Lohften,” the young girl replied brashly, “but I hate that name, so everyone calls me Maggie. As for this guy,” she hiked a thumb at Claus, “when some stranger grabs me on the street, I hit them!” Lavie's eyes narrowed slightly at that proclamation.

“Claus isn't some stranger,” muttered Lavie. “And from the way your boyfriend acts, I would think you liked being fondled in the street!”

Maggie spun to face Lavie squarely. “Michael isn't my boyfriend, girl,” she said, her tone aggressive.

“He sure seems to think so!” shot back Lavie, stepping forward. “He kept calling me `Maggie' as he groped me!”

Maggie snorted. “I can't help what he thinks,” denied the girl. “Yeah, I dated the guy for a couple of weeks, but…”

“There was an old woman who runs an inn who thought I was you, too. Gave me a locket and told me that…” Maggie leapt forward, grabbing Lavie's shoulders in her hands.

“You have my locket?!” she demanded. “Thank god,” she sighed in relief when Lavie nodded. “I have been looking all over for that,” she said. “Well? Where is it?” she asked when Lavie made no move to hand it to her.

“On my dresser at home,” Lavie answered.

“Where do you live?” Maggie asked.

“In the country,” was Lavie's answer. “I'll bring it tomorrow; you can get it before the start of the race - or after,” added the girl.

“Thanks,” Maggie said, offering Lavie a smile. “That locket is very important to me,” she added, stretching her arms. “It's all I have left to remember mom and dad.” Claus and Lavie exchanged a brief look. They understood how that felt, after all. “So, where do you want to meet up at tomorrow? I have a job, but I will make time if you know where you will be watching the race from.”

“We're not watching it,” Lavie said, smiling. “We're in it.” Maggie gave them a second look.

“Vanship pilots, hmm?” she mused. “Well, that will make it easy to meet up with you,” added the girl.

“Didn't you say you had a job?” Claus wondered. Maggie smiled.

“I'm the flag girl,” she laughed.

“You mean those people who wave the flags at the finish line?” Lavie asked. Maggie nodded.

“This is my second time doing it,” she said, “I managed to get one of the two spots in the last Horizon Cave race, back on Prester. That was a wild race, too!” grinned the girl.

“We know,” Lavie grinned back. “We won it,” she bragged. Maggie gave an excited squeal.

“That was you two?! That was amazing! And the finish…!”

Sophia smiled as she heard Lavie, Claus and Maggie begin to talk excitedly together. David moved over to her. “You are a gifted politician, your majesty,” he offered. Sophia shook her head.

“I just know Lavie far better than she knows herself sometimes,” demurred the Queen. “This Maggie Lohften interests me. See what we can find out about her, will you?” requested the Queen.

“Because she could be Lavie's twin?” suggested the Duke, smiling. “I would have to look into that anyway, since Holly spends so much time with Al and her family,” he inclined his head. Sophia glanced at her former mechanic crew, watching them watch Lavie make a new friend.

“Ah! Good times,” sighed Lavie happily, climbing down from the rear seat of their vanship after helping Alvis down. Claus nodded, likewise climbing out of the cockpit. Two positions back, Tatiana and Alis were disembarking their vanship. Around the two were the rest of the contestants. As usual, the race was only part of the event, with at least an hour of mingling, trash talking, joking and socializing before the race was actually run. Afterward, there was usually a huge feast in the Vanship Union hall for the winner and the rest of the field. Lavie was certainly looking forward to that.

The two vanships had departed home after a detailed check of both ships by all four of them, though Lavie was the one doing the actual detail checking, since she was the best vanship mechanic in the new world. Dunya and Mullin had left for the city an hour earlier in the Claudia-engine-powered tractor and wagon that Lavie and the Silvana mechanic crew had come up with, using an engine from a wrecked vanship. The tractor was a sort of advertising prototype, being that once the other farmers and merchants got a look at it, they wanted one as well. Of course, the only ones who could make the versatile tractor was the Silvana mechanic crew, and it required a Claudia engine, so there was a very low supply and a high demand.

Lavie and Claus had managed to find a way to make the tractor so it could work the fields with various tools and yet still be adapted to carry the family in a fairly comfortable compartment that bolted up much like the plows, harrows and harvesting units did. Thanks to Lavie's and Claus's intuitive practicality, their farm was one of the most productive ones, and therefore, they were gaining wealth. It was a slow process, though, since they also had a much larger operating cost than other farms. Not that any of them cared.

Due to their large production of wheat and food supplies, they had sufficient reserve to supply a large sack of fresh-baked bread, several pies of different types, cookies and vegetables for the feast. That was the reason that Dunya and the others had left earlier - they needed to get the food to the Union hall, and then find a good spot to watch the race from. Al had remained behind, insisting on flying into town with Claus and Lavie. Neither of them minded.

Now, their ships were positioned and they could mingle for a while. Most of the town would find their way to vantage points to watch the race, since this was the biggest festival they had ever had. “Al!” called a familiar voice. Turning, the five saw Holly Mad-Thane hurrying toward them through the crowd.

“Hi, Holly,” greeted Al. The daughter of David Mad-Thane was dressed in a somewhat fancy dress; though it was far less intricate and ornate than the ones she had worn back on Prester. Al herself was in the simple white dress that the women of her family wore around the house. Her sturdy boots encased her feet, and a simple length of bright blue ribbon tied back her waist-length ice blonde tresses. Al was half a head taller than her best friend now.

“Al! I've got big news!” Holly exclaimed happily, tugging on Al's arm and whispering in her ear for a minute.

“Really? That's nice!” Al replied happily to whatever Holly had told her. Holly nodded eagerly.

“I can't wait!” she burbled. “But it's a secret, ok, Al?” Al looked at Claus and Lavie for a moment.

“Ok, Holly,” she answered after meeting both their gazes for a split second. “But how long is it going to stay a secret?” wondered the young woman.

“Not for too long, but Dad wants to wait to say anything until he's sure, so maybe a few months?” guessed Holly. Looking at Lavie and Claus, she pursed her lips. “Hey, Al? If you want to tell Claus and Lavie, I guess it's ok, as long as they don't tell anyone before the announcement. Same for Tatiana and Alister.” Al smiled.

“Thanks, Holly,” she replied.

“Claus! Lavie! You actually made it on time!” came the snarky voice of Hurricane Hawk. Lavie grinned as she turned to smile at the older racer.

“You didn't think we wouldn't, did you Hurricane?” she asked sweetly. “Not that it would make a difference. We're going to beat you this time,” she boasted. “I swear it on our figurehead!” Hurricane Hawk laughed.

“Now that worries me,” he said, shaking his head. “You two are dangerous when you talk like that.” Lavie leaned to the side, eyeing the man's golden-colored van ship.

“I see a booster on there,” she noted. “Looks like a Macairn model,” added the girl, recognizing the booster. “Straight burn type, definitely. I'd guess thirty to forty seconds with that size chamber. How am I doing so far?” she purred. Hurricane Hawk inclined his head.

“You certainly know your boosters, Lavie,” he replied. Lavie shrugged.

“And you have added a set of secondary Claudia lines and added a wider resonator on the boom, too,” she pronounced. Hurricane Hawk blinked.

“How could you possibly know that?” he asked, suspiciously. “I didn't even bolt them up until yesterday afternoon, and I know for a fact that you haven't looked under the cowling.”

“I can tell by the sound of the engine and the way your ship acts,” answered Lavie, sounding bored. “That was a pretty good plan, by the way. It might have even worked,” she giggled. Reaching up, she patted his cheek. “As it is now, it doesn't quite make our ships equal.”

“That is so unfair,” complained a voice from the side. Claus glanced at Sonny Boy, who was standing next to Fat Chicken.

“You tried to do the same thing, didn't you?” accused the heavy woman, smacking Sonny Boy across the back of the head fondly. “Besides, nothing in the rules says you can't modify your vanship, you know,” added the woman.

“Not that,” Sonny Boy disclaimed, “the fact that Lavie can tell everything we did to our ships just by looking at them and listening to the engines!”

“It isn't the ships that determine who wins, it's the crews,” pronounced Hurricane Hawk. Lavie and Claus nodded along with Tatiana and Alis.

“If you had run the Horizon Cave Eight, you would know that,” a new voice joined the conversation. Turning, the group found themselves looking at the `second Lavie' - Maggie Lohften. The girl was in a knee-length wrap-skirt and a tight top that left her midriff, shoulders and most of her back bare. “I'd bet on Claus and Lavie even if they were flying a crashed Vanship in the race.”

“You wouldn't be the only one,” came the voice of Mikhail Wednesday. The brother of Ralph Wednesday offered Al a wrapped lollipop. “This one is plumb-honey,” he winked at her. Seeing Holly next to the girl, he fished up another one from his jacket. “And one for you, miss Holly,” he smiled.

“So, did you bring it?” Maggie asked eagerly. Lavie nodded, digging in her flight suit pocket - once more peeled down to her waist and tied off like she always did - before pulling up the locket and handing it to Maggie. “Thanks so much!” breathed Maggie, clasping the locket to her chest for a long moment.

“Is that you and your parents in the picture?” asked Al, direct as always. Maggie nodded.

“Yeah, mom and dad and me when I was about six,” she confirmed.

“You look like Lavie,” stated Al. “Why?” Maggie shrugged.

“Well, they say everyone has twin, right? Oh, they're getting ready to start! Gotta run, Lavie! Want to meet up after the race?” she asked, already moving away toward a group of people near the rough stage.

“Come to the Vanship Union hall,” Lavie waved. Claus gently squeezed Lavie's shoulder, the girl grinning at her partner. “Guess we should start getting ready,” she said. Looking at Tatiana and Alister, she got nods in response. “Al, are you going to be ok?” she asked the girl.

“Come watch the race with me!” Holly nearly begged. “Daddy and Mom are sitting with the Queen, and…!”

“Sure,” agreed Al. Sophia Forester and Alvis Hamilton were very close friends, after all. “Be careful,” Al said, hugging Claus and Lavie before doing the same to Tatiana and Alister. Watching Al depart with Holly, the two crews climbed into their vanships, turning the engines over. In short order, the race was ready to start.

Maggie - standing on a somewhat wobbly stand to the side of the stage - waved the large green flag, and two dozen vanship engines screamed under full power. The first half-mile of the race was the most dangerous, since it was city streets and urban lanes. Nearly the entire course back in Prester was urban course, but here on the new world, only the start and finish of the course were urban.

Claus adroitly slipped through the crush at the start, the vanship more an extension of him than a machine he was merely piloting. Lavie smiled at the smooth ride and effortless maneuvers. No one flies like my Claus, she thought happily. Firmly belted into her seat, she glanced in the rearview mirrors tucked behind her windscreen and spotted the grill of Tatiana's and Alister's ship closing on them slowly. Good, stick behind us Tatiana, Alis, thought Lavie. “Tatiana and Alis are slipstreaming, Claus!” she called out to Claus.

“Ok,” he replied. “Hold on, Lavie,” he added, the vanship jumping up, around and over in a climbing wing-over, a yellow and black vanship tumbling along the street, having caught a wheel on something. Lavie spotted a glimpse of their second ship barrel-rolling over the wreck, the ship right behind Tatiana and Alis hitting the boom of the downed ship.

“Better luck next time!” called out Lavie, almost laughing. Her fast eyes caught a sign on a street they flashed past. “Open air in five, Claus!” she yelled.

“Roger!” he confirmed as the buildings suddenly fell away, leaving them facing an open field. Hurricane Hawk wasted no time, his golden-color vanship roaring forward.

“Stay on him, Claus!” yelled Lavie, opening up the engine regulator valve.

“Right!” confirmed Claus, throwing the throttle to the stops. Hurricane Hawk was not getting any leads on them this time. Acceleration pushed them back in their seats. Looking in her mirrors again, she saw Tatiana's ship begin to fall back, but then surge forward again. Lavie nodded in satisfaction. “Wood course in thirty seconds!” she warned her pilot.

“Ok, Lavie,” he acknowledged. In lieu of the canals and caverns of Prester, the course wound through the dense woods several miles from down, narrow tracks between thick, tall, old-growth hardwoods and evergreens presenting as much challenge as the stone canals and ruins of the old world. In places, there was barely enough room for a twin-engine vanship to pass between the massive boles of trees, and the thick branches overhead meant there was no climbing out of a bad situation. Lavie couldn't help feeling relaxed as Claus dogged Hurricane Hawk relentless. There was just no way that Claus would get them in a wreck.

One minute later, the lead ships cleared the woods. Until the final leg, it was all open air - gently-rolling fields with few obstacles, open sky and room to work. The course was marked by alternating flags on simple poles. As long as the vanships stayed between the markers, it was all good. Lavie's eyes slid over the gauges, one hand pressed to the frame of the vanship, assessing the condition of her obsessively-maintained and compulsively-tuned ship. She's purring like a kitten, smiled the girl.

Movement from the corner of her eye attracted her attention. Turning her head, she was just in time to see a twin-engine vanship muscle past Tatiana and Alister, nearly hitting the ship before moving past them as well. Lavie scowled. “Let it go for now, Claus - it can't keep that up!” she advised.

“Right!” Claus nodded. If Lavie said a vanship couldn't take it, then it couldn't. Hurricane Hawk cut off the other ship, forcing it to dance for an opening. Claus gave the two a ship-length space, patiently waiting. Right behind his ship - close enough to see the rivets on the boom - Tatiana flew tight formation with Claus while also blocking half-hearted attempts by Sonny Boy, Fat Chicken and another ship to get past. The speed of the two silver ships was as much a problem for the other racers as the maneuvering of the pair.

“He better do something fast - the final turn is coming up in fifty six seconds,” Alis said into her mic. She and her partner were using their military flight suits and headgear, Lavie having put in the circuitry to allow for them to use the intercom.

“I'm more worried about what Claus and Lavie are going to do,” Tatiana replied, her attention focused on staying tight to the other silver ship. “If they keep this up, I don't know if I can get past them,” she warned her navigator.

“They predicted that Hurricane Hawk will burn the booster right after the final turn,” Alis reminded her pilot. “There is a wide section just before the first farm, and another right at the parade ground. One or the other, Tatiana, if we can get an angle on them.”

“That's a big `if', Alis,” grunted Tatiana, once more cutting off Sonny Boy. “You know they plan to make their move then, too,” she reminded her partner.

“It's then or never, Tatiana,” was all Alis said. “Thirty seconds,” she warned, taking a firm grip on her controls.

“Moving inside,” Tatiana replied, tilting the ship and bringing it so close to the markers that Alis could see the stitching of the pennants. “On my mark,” she called.

“Roger,” Alis replied before licking her lips. I know Lavie's the best vanship mechanic out there, but I hope she didn't let her curiosity get the better of her this time! thought the navigator. Through the small circular viewport, she caught some blue. “Sonny Boy going under our belly, Tat!”

“It's too late for him now,” grunted Tatiana, using both hands to pull on the stick as she stood on the right pedal. “Ugh!” grunted the young woman, G-forces crushing down. Hope Lavie doesn't pass out, the thought flickered through her mind. Claus was flying much harder than his normal, bird-like style.

Out of the final turn, the ships snapped back level. Looking to the side, Alis spotted Sonny Boy - outside the course and picking wheat out of his grill. Looking in the rearview mirrors, she saw Fat Chicken had backed off from the turn, taking it at a safer, deeper angle than the first four ships. No way she can make up that ground, the navigator realized. Too much weight penalty and too little power.

Mere feet away, Claus glanced back, seeing Lavie give him a thumbs-up. Ahead of the pair, the black and red twin-engine vanship managed to get half a length ahead of Hurricane Hawk. “And there it goes,” Lavie said in satisfaction. Claus spotted the trail of Claudia fluid, and a moment later, he could hear one of the engines skipping. “They better shut that engine down before it's too late,” shared Lavie casually. A muffled, mechanical clang! could be heard over the roar of the engines. “Too late,” sighed the girl, seeing the twin-engine ship jerk, drift, then drop, skidding to a rough stop in the wheat field about a hundred yards off the course.

Smoke obscured their view. Lavie smiled a sharp smile. “Knew it!” she yelled, slapping a button on her instrument panel. “Stand on it, Claus!” howled the girl. Claus didn't answer, one hand depressing a button on the throttle stick. Both young people were pushed back hard as their secret weapon fired.

“Hammer down, Tatiana!” Alis yelled, arming their own booster. Tatiana jabbed the button on her throttle stick, feeling a kick as the booster fired. Their air-speed indicator dial spun. “Airspeed two sixty five!” she reported. Their ship was vibrating around them. “Chamber pressure in the red, stable!” she added a moment later. Tatiana was wrestling with the stick, too busy to answer. This is like flying in the Grand Stream, she thought.

“Go, Claus!” screamed Lavie, Hurricane Hawk's vanship slowly sliding away beside them. Her eyes were on her gauges, her hands pressed to the airframe. You can do it, she silently willed her ship. You flew the Grand Stream, you are my ship, and you will hold together! she ordered. The instrument panel was rattling so badly she could barely read the instruments; but then, she didn't really need to read the instruments. Her hands told her what she needed to know.

Back in New Norkia, the signals from the observers were being relayed by mirrors, passed by the speed of light to the gathering of race fans. On the large board, the ships were plotted as an announcer read off the events. “Hurricane Hawk, Claus and Tatiana have a commanding lead, and are three-wide coming into Vastory's farm!” The crowd gasped.

Right across the rough road from the farmhouse was the entrance to the final urban leg of the course - and it was barely wide enough for one vanship to enter. Sophia schooled her features to calmness, though she felt her heart miss a beat. Claus, Lavie, Tatiana, Alister - nothing is worth your lives! she silently reminded her friends. “All three ships are burning boosters!” the announcer yelled out.

“That's not good,” a man in the crowd below where Sophia was watching the race said. “You remember the next to last Norkia cup? When Hurricane Hawk went three wide in the corkscrew? The other two were scraped off the rocks with sponges. And once you light a booster, it has to go until it burns out, so they can't brake.”

“Yeah, but he's three-wide with Claus and Lavie! They'll pull up,” predicted his friend.

“I don't know,” disagreed a woman from a few feet away. “Lavie doesn't really know how to back down, you know?” Sophia's hands clenched into fists. Don't do anything stupid, Lavie, she silently begged the hot-tempered girl. She knew that Claus would follow Lavie's lead anywhere, so she could only hope that Lavie saw reason.

A hand came to rest on her fist. Blinking, she turned to see Al smiling at her. “It's ok, Sophia,” said the girl easily, patting Sophia's hand. “Claus and Lavie and Tatiana and Alis are going to be fine!”

“Hawk! We gotta punch it loose!” yelled Hurricane Hawk's navigator. “Panels are starting to come off and the vibrations have rattled two of my gauges out of the panel!”

“No way!” denied Hawk. “Racing is all about pushing it to the limit,” he muttered, seeing Claus and Lavie's ship inexorably pass them by on one side, Tatiana and Alister's ship on the other side. He could feel the stick in his hands begin to grow slack, and the pedals weren't responding predictably. With a screech of metal, one of the cowling covers tore loose, almost taking his head off as it skidded along the fuselage, sparking and gouging a line of ruin along the ship. “Damn it,” he muttered. Just then, he heard a bang, and almost immediately, he jerked against his belts.

“Thank god,” sighed his navigator. Looking forward, he caught a glimpse of Tatiana and Claus wing-to-wing, full bore toward the bottleneck. A tea-kettle whistle sound distracted him. “Hawk! The chamber is over-pressure!” he yelled, jerking back on the Claudia pump handle as he cut the impeller output and dumped pressure from the resonance chamber. For a sickening moment, the vanship shuddered, and then steadied before dipping to skip its tires on the street once.

“Easy girl,” Hawk murmured to the ship, “I know you're hurting, but just hang in there a few seconds more…!” Looking forward, he didn't see a sign of Claus or Tatiana's ships. What happened to them? he wondered. Looking in his mirrors, he saw Fat Chicken closing in on him. His lips curled into a thin smile. “One more push, old girl,” he said, giving his ship a bit more throttle.

“What are you doing?!” gaped his navigator.

“I'll be damned if Fat Chicken cross that line before I do!” he pronounced. “Even if I have to carry my ship across that line, we are beating Fat Chicken!” he yelled. His navigator exhaled, groaning, even as he tried to coax a little more from their battered ship.

“You two are certifiable!” yelled Mullin as Claus and Tatiana removed their headgear, their vanships' motors going silent. Lavie vaulted down out of her cockpit, Alister doing likewise. Claus frowned slightly.

“What?” he asked, sounding puzzled.

An ice blonde slithered through the crowd, grabbing him and Lavie in a hug. “You won!” squealed Al.

“Well, yeah,” Lavie agreed, giggling softly. “I swore on my figurehead that we would, didn't I?” she asked.

“Congratulations, Claus, Lavie,” Sophia said, smiling at them. Claus thought something was a bit strange about her smile. Showing amazing familiarity, Sophia pulled Claus and Lavie to her, her cheeks touching their cheeks. “If you two ever scare me like that again, I will have you confined to your home!” she murmured.

“What are you talking about?” Lavie wondered, lost as to why Sophia seemed so upset. Sophia growled softly in her throat before releasing the two, her fake smile back in place. She turned to Tatiana and Alis, who both flinched slightly, seeing her expression. She pulled them into a hug as well. Claus was pretty sure that she was telling the other flight crew much the same thing as she had told them, if Tatiana's expression was any indicator.

“What's up with her?” wondered Claus, looking at Lavie and Al. Both shrugged.

“I told her everything was going to be fine,” Al offered, dismissing the issue entirely.

“You two are stone-cold head cases, you know that?” Hurricane Hawk said, approaching the two. “Only a maniac would turn into another ship like that. What if you two had hit?” he asked Tatiana and Claus. Both blondes shrugged.

“We probably would have wrecked, then,” Claus shared, unconcerned. Hurricane Hawk groaned.

“Well, I seriously doubt anyone is crazy enough to beat you two,” he said. “Still, crazy or not, you two are kick-ass pilots,” he admitted. He hadn't seen what happened at the bottleneck, but he had heard people talking, and had swiftly figured out what had happened. Wing-to-wing, the two had both rolled to the inside, resulting in them going into the opening windscreen-to-windscreen, boosters roaring. He had heard that the pressure wave had broken the windows of the houses.

At the parade grounds - barely a half-mile from the line - Tatiana had rolled her ship over Claus's ship, putting the two neck in neck. Both boosters had burned out, but the throttles were wide open. In that final half mile, the marginal weight difference between the two air crews had proven to be enough to make the difference. Claus and Lavie had beaten Tatiana and Alister by one third of a vanship length.

Of course, crossing the line carrying more than two hundred knots of airspeed and facing a wall of buildings was a problem. Had it been any other set of crews, they might have been picking pieces of the vanship and crew out of the stores facing the Council hall. But, both pilots were combat proven, steely-nerved professionals. Claus stood his ship on its boom, turning his air speed into vertical climb, while Tatiana had broke high and right, rolling twice before curving into a vertical loop to kill off her extra speed even as Alis cut the engine to idle and popped the airbrakes. High overhead, sunlight glinted off the silver and polished chrome of Claus and Lavie's ship as they stalled out, spiraling back down before delicately settling into a perfect point landing.

“You two cleared those buildings by less than a foot,” noted a vanship pilot who hadn't entered the race. “And what would you have done if you couldn't climb fast enough, eh?” he challenged.

“Claus would have thought of something,” Lavie replied indifferently.

“I chose the right because the street was wider there, giving me more room,” Tatiana replied, sounding a bit insulted by the insinuation.

“Let's get our trophy and eat,” suggested Lavie. Claus smiled, nodding. Hurricane Hawk laughed.

“Sure! I could go for a mug of beer right now,” he agreed. As the group moved toward the stage, Lavie looked back at Hurricane Hawk.

“If you can get your vanship in air again, bring it by sometime tomorrow,” she said. “I'll see what I can do to get her fixed up,” promised the girl.

“She might be battered, but she isn't broken!” Hurricane Hawk boasted. Lavie grinned at him.

“Yeah, yeah,” she replied, flipping a hand, “just try to find all the parts she scattered along the street!”

After a short ceremony - and an even shorter speech by Claus and Lavie - the group headed for the Vanship Union office for the feast. Other events were occurring in the city and in the fields closest to the city - things like tests of strength, foot races, marksmanship matches, arm wrestling and some wrestling matches - but the New Norkia Cup race had been the main event.

Waiting by the door to the Vanship Union hall was Maggie, still in her flag girl outfit. “That was amazing!” she exclaimed as Claus and Lavie stopped by her. “You two passed so close to me that I could see the color of your eyes!” marveled the girl, color on her cheeks. Claus chuckled a little.

“Yeah, I almost forgot about that tower,” he admitted. Lavie rolled her eyes.

“You see what I have to put up with, Maggie?” she asked, though she didn't release Claus's hand. “Come on - I'm starving!” she pronounced, grabbing Maggie's hand and tugging her and Claus into the Vanship Union office, seeing that there was already a line moving along the table of food.

Ten minutes later, Lavie and Maggie were sitting with Claus, Al, Tatiana and Alister, eating the simple but hearty food. Nearly all of their fellow vanship crews came by to congratulate them, as well as many of the town folk. Neither of them really minded. “So,” Maggie said between visits, “you said that my dad looked like your dad?” she asked Lavie. Lavie nodded, working on a mouthful of Lavie Special sandwich.

“Yeah,” she said once she swallowed, “I thought for a minute that it was him when I looked in the locket,” she confirmed.

“How about my mom?” asked Maggie. “Did she look like your mom?”

“I wouldn't know,” Lavie said. “Mom died right after giving birth to me, and dad didn't have a camera, so I have no idea what she looked like. It wasn't until dad met Hamil that we got any pictures of us,” she shared.

“Hamil? You mean Hamil Valca of the Valca house?” pressed Maggie. Lavie nodded indifferently.

“Claus's dad,” she said simply.

“Can I see the pictures?” Maggie asked. Lavie glanced at Claus for a split second before answering.

“Sure,” she said. “Come by our house some time and I will show them to you,” she promised.

“So, your father was George Head,” Maggie mused thoughtfully, “What was your mother's name?” she asked. Lavie shrugged.

“Dad never said,” she said. “Every time I asked him, he got choked up, so I stopped asking. Besides, I had Justine, so you could say that Justine was my mom,” Lavie explained. Seeing Maggie's look, Claus stepped in.

“Justine was my mom. She raised Lavie and I like siblings.”

“Why the interest in her parents?” asked Tatiana, her tone ever so slightly cool. Maggie glanced at the platinum blonde girl, sizing her up.

“Because we look so much alike,” Maggie replied. “And why are you so interested in my interest in Lavie's family?” she challenged. “Who are you, anyway?”

“Tatiana Wisla,” replied the former officer. “She's Alister Agrew, my navigator. We're partners with Claus and Lavie and served with them on the Silvana.”

“Wisla,” mused Maggie. “You related to the Wisla family of fallen nobility?” she asked, a faint edge in her voice.

“Sole heir,” confirmed Tatiana evenly. Lavie giggled.

“Give her a chance, Maggie,” Lavie interjected. “She's a bit of a hard case, but once you get to know her, she's ok,” endorsed the girl. “Matter of fact, she and I got off to a rough start, too,” smiled the mahogany-haired girl.

“She was always so mad back then,” Al shared easily.

“Al!” protested Tatiana, blushing a little.

“She's a lot better now, though,” Al added, smiling warmly at Tatiana.

“What about your family, Maggie?” Alister asked, automatically supporting her partner.

“Oh, we lived in the Capital,” Maggie said. “Dad worked as a masonry and carpentry contractor, mom did some seamstress work on the side. We weren't rich, but we weren't poor, either.” She paused to take a pull from her big glass of crystal-clear, cool water. “Dad was conscripted for the military as a musketeer about six months before the Disith invaded the capital. They say he was killed in a battle somewhere near Norkia. During the fighting, a Disith ship crashed into our home, killing mom,” she continued. “I was working elsewhere in the capital, so I was spared. After that, Queen Sophia ascended the throne, and before I knew it, I was on Exile and on my way here.”

“You should come visit us,” pronounced Al, her tone certain.

“I think I will,” Maggie nodded.

“Did your parents ever say anything about having any relatives?” Alister wondered.

“I think that mom said she had a brother,” Maggie replied after a moment of thought, “or was it dad that had a sister? I can't really remember. But,” she paused, exhaling softly, “whichever it was, they wouldn't even say their name. Something about being a disgrace to the family or something like that,” she snorted. “I was too busy with other things to worry about it,” shrugged the girl, taking another bite of bread. After she finished chewing and swallowing, she turned her attention back to Lavie. “What about you?” she asked. “How'd you get involved with two nobles and how come you are on a first-name basis with the Queen?”

“Your Majesty?”

Sophia turned to see David Mad-Thane approaching her. It was almost night fall on race day, and the festivities were winding down, though she doubted that they would actually end before several hours after nightfall, since she had already seen the large bonfires outside the city and the congregation of those with musical abilities and instruments; and those who only thought they had either, as well. “What is it, David?” she asked him.

“It is about Maggie Lohften, your Majesty,” he replied.

“You found something?” Sophia asked, surprised. She had expected it to take a lot longer than it had.

“Yes and no,” her right-hand noble replied. “As you know, we took as many records as we could when we left Prester,” he prefaced his remarks, “but we were by no means able to take everything; there just wasn't enough time, manpower or space for that.”

“I am aware of that,” nodded Sophia. “That is why we agreed to have every last scribe and as many professional registrars as we could round up makes notes on the records - to save time and space.”

“Indeed,” agreed David. “And it is a good thing we concentrated on lineages, public records and legal documents while ignoring land patents, business licenses and such,” he continued. “But, there is a price for that.”

“How so?” Sophia asked.

“I was able to find a record for the birth of a girl named Magmira Lohften to a couple who worked in the capital. John and Estasia Lohften,” David began. Sophia waited. “Which is as far as I have been able to go,” he shrugged. “He was a mason and carpenter of some renown in the city, but more than that, I cannot determine. I tried checking the records for any relatives to either, but we neglected to copy or take the full records. Estasia's maiden name is unknown, because the marriage certificate can't be found. Apparently, John inherited the family business, which would make such a record part of the estate records.”

“And we did not bother with them,” nodded Sophia. “And the criminal records?” she asked.

“How did you know I had those checked as well?” David asked. Sophia glanced at him.

“You yourself said that Holly spent as much time with Claus and Lavie as at home. Of course you checked the criminal records,” she smiled. David grunted, shaking his head slightly.

“I found a few records that indicated that the Lohften family were occasionally short on taxes, and a few minor conduct complaints, but nothing major. Of more interest was a record I found that he had been involved in a duel at some point - in violation of the late Emperor's dictate against commoners dueling, I should add.”

Sophia snorted indelicately. “Idiocy,” she dismissed her late father's decree. “Who did he fight with?” she asked.

“I was unable to find that in the records,” admitted the former Duke. “All that I could find was that the watch took him under arrest for the fight, he paid the fine, and that was the end of the records.”

“So, no criminal history, then,” nodded Sophia. She had made a very concerted effort to keep criminals out of the pool going to the new world, but there was little way to be sure that no criminals got in; and even less cause to think that the hardships of the new world would not make some turn to crime. It was largely for that reason that she maintained the company of musketeers as police.

“Are you actually worried about her, your Majesty?” wondered David. Sophia shook her head.

“Not her,” she explained. “Lavie, however…” she left the rest unsaid.

“Mistress Head has proven to be an exceptional young lady,” David Mad-Thane observed. “I would wager it would take far more than having a double to influence her.”

“It isn't that,” Sophia said quietly. “I was hoping to find that Maggie and Lavie were, in fact, related,” she confided.

“Indeed? Why so?” wondered David, intrigued.

“Because if anyone needs family, it's her and Claus,” Sophia murmured.

“It isn't much, but it's home,” Lavie pronounced, leading Maggie into their home. It was nearly a week after the race, and only now had the two managed to get together to visit the house.

“Better than my boarding house room,” shrugged Maggie.

“Want some water?” Lavie asked, a little thirst herself. Maggie nodded.

“I've got it, Lavie,” Dunya said, emerging from the kitchen with a pitcher in one hand, and a two glasses in the other. Maggie froze for just a split second, seeing Dunya.

“Something wrong?” Lavie asked, catching the pause. “This is Dunya Scheer,” she introduced the two. “She and Mullin live with us. She was the granddaughter of the Disith king,” recalled Lavie.

“No, it's nice to meet you, Dunya,” Maggie said, though her tone was ever-so-slightly brittle.

“Likewise, Maggie,” smiled Dunya, pouring water for the two. Claus entered the house, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

“Lavie, I got that pump fitted to the ship,” he said. “All we have to do now is run the lines and test it,” he added, taking Lavie's glass when she offered it to him. Dunya refilled it. “Hi, Maggie,” he added.

“Claus,” the girl nodded her head. Claus was working in a torn, dirty pair of pants that were worn away below the knees, bare-chested in the heat of the day. Lavie absently licked her lips, eyeing his sweaty chest.

“Want to go to the lake for a swim?” asked Claus. Lavie nodded.

“Sure, in a bit,” she answered. “I want to show Maggie the pictures first,” she added. Claus nodded.

“Ok,” he agreed mildly.

“Claus, could you give me a hand pumping some water into the reserve?” Dunya asked him. He nodded, the two moving out the kitchen door. Unlike most farms, their well had a mechanical pump for their well. It was easier than hauling up buckets, but filling the large reserve took some pumping, and it was easier with someone to take turns with.

Even before Lavie had reached their room, Maggie had a question for her. “Lavie, what's the deal with Claus?” asked the other girl. Lavie frowned.

“What do you mean?” wondered Lavie. Claus was Claus - what more was there?

“I got the feeling you and he were together, but he acts like that with Al and that Disith girl, too,” noted Maggie. Lavie frowned slightly.

“Dunya,” she said firmly. “And yes, we are together. What about it? Dunya needed some help, and Claus was there…” she shrugged.

“You don't care that they're horning in on your man?” pressed Maggie. Lavie blinked at her.

“Horning in?” wondered the girl, opening the door to their room. “This is our room,” she explained, entering. Maggie glanced at the other rooms.

“Whose rooms are those?” wondered Maggie. “I'm guessing that one of them is Dunya and this Mullin guy's room,” she added.

“Tatiana and Alister are next to us, and past the stairs, Dunya and Mullin have their room. Next to them is the kids' room,” answered Lavie. Maggie frowned.

“Where does Al sleep?” she wondered.

“With us or Tatiana and Alister,” shrugged Lavie, pulling out the carefully-stored photos and sitting on the edge of their bed. Patting the bed beside her, she invited Maggie to sit. Dismissing the issue of beds, Maggie did so, the two leaning close together as they looked at the pictures. It shocked Maggie just how much like her father Lavie's father had looked.

“Look, it's Claus and Lavie,” Al called out, waving from the chest-deep water she was in. Tatiana and Alister looked up and in the direction she was pointing, seeing the familiar silver ship approaching. Holly and Al climbed out of the water, giggling even though they were shivering a little. Late spring was a transition period, with the days being hot enough to make one want to swim, but the water being nearly too cold. Still, the family had found that they could swim for a little, then get out and warm up on the soft grass or smooth boulders, letting the heat of the sun relax them.

“I hope they brought us some lunch,” Holly said, wringing water from her long hair. Al giggled.

“Of course they did; it's Lavie,” promised the girl, likewise wringing her own hair out.

“Come here, you two,” smiled Alister, the two younger girls sitting on the blanket in front of the older girls. Using a simple comb, the two older girls began to comb out the long tresses of their younger friends. Behind and to the side of the four, the silver vanship landed smoothly next to their own ship on the low finger of high land.

“They brought someone with them,” Tatiana said, spotting a third person climbing down from the ship.

“It looks like that Maggie girl,” Alister said. “Try to be pleasant, Tatiana,” Alister said, smiling softly at her partner. Tatiana gave her a slightly sour look.

“Someone should tell that to her,” she retorted.

“She's a nice person,” Al said, turning to look at the young woman who often pretended to be her big sister when they were in town, “it's just that you and she are too much alike. Once you both get comfortable, you will be very good friends; just like you and Lavie are!” she pronounced, holding Tatiana's gaze.

“If you say so, Al,” Tatiana replied, unable to say much of anything to that statement. Moments later, the three stopped beside the first four. Holly smiled at Al as she saw the big basket in Lavie's hands, the two sharing a silent giggle.

“Wow, Lavie! This place is incredible!” breathed Maggie.

“It's our family's special place,” Lavie dismissed it casually. “Claus and I found it, and it's been ours ever since,” she said. Setting the basket down, Lavie stretched. “Come on, let's go for a dip,” she said, eyeing the lake.

“The water's really cold, but it feels good,” Holly said, Al nodding. Lavie was in her `house dress' - the same simple rough cotton dress that the girls usually wore. Maggie was in one of Lavie's dresses, as well. Tatiana noticed that the top of Maggie's dress seemed a bit tighter than the dress seemed on Lavie.

“Swim? You mean…?” blinked Maggie, seeing Lavie pull off her dress, her panties joining it a moment later. The dresses of the other four were neatly folded along the edge of the blanket, the four girls having been naked as usual. Claus was pulling off his shirt and pants as well.

“Sure. What else would I mean?” Lavie asked. “Come on Claus,” she said, grabbing her partner's hand and leading him down to the water. Maggie blinked at the display.

“What's the matter?” asked Tatiana, the faintest edge in her voice. “Feeling self-conscious?” she needled. God, I really am a bitch, aren't I? she thought fleetingly. Maggie turned to look at the platinum-blonde pilot, eyes narrowed slightly.

“It's ok,” Holly said, standing. “I was like that, too, the first couple of times,” she shared, Maggie's borrowed dress half off the girl before she realized what Holly was doing.

“Hey!” protested Maggie. Seeing the edge of Tatiana's lip curl ever so slightly, she pressed her lips together. “Thanks for the help,” she said to Holly. “I'm Maggie. Who are you?”

“Holly Mad-Thane,” smiled Holly, the honey blonde smiling up at her.

“The daughter of Duke Mad-Thane?” Maggie asked, surprised. Holly nodded.

“Hey! What's taking you so long?” called Lavie from the water, she and Claus already neck-deep in the water. “Hurry up!”

“Coming!” called Maggie, making her way toward the lake. Does the Duke know what his daughter is up to out here? she wondered, feeling like something was wrong with the world. His daughter is running around naked with… she paused, eyeing the group. Well, she might be the daughter of the Duke, but she's with Claus, who is Lord Valca, and that Tatiana Wisla bitch, who is also noble, so maybe he does know.

“Maggie is pretty,” Holly noted idly, watching the girl wade in, shivering slightly at the water temp.

“She's a bit bigger than Lavie,” Al nodded.

“Maybe three inches taller, and about twenty pounds heavier?” suggested Alister. Tatiana nodded.

“About that,” she confirmed. Accurate observations were a necessary skill for a navigator and a pilot, after all. “She's got more up top than Lavie, too,” Tatiana added.

“A third to one half more,” nodded Alister. Tatiana frowned. She knew that Alister had Maggie beat in that regard, but she was at best in a dead heat when it came to breast size with the new girl. Dunya, having three kids, was probably a bit bigger than Maggie, as well.

“Claus won't ignore you just because of that,” Al said, smiling up at Tatiana. The girl blinked, blushing. Al always seemed to know things she shouldn't know. Almost like she's a telepath or something, the girl thought. Even so, she fondly stroked the girl's head. When a stomach rumbled, the four laughed.

“We should feed you before your stomach attacks us,” Alister said playfully, patting Holly's belly.

“I can't help I'm hungry,” protested the girl - even though she was grinning. Without preamble, the four dove into the basket Lavie had brought.

“Hey! Leave some for us!” protested Lavie from the lake, splashing her way out, Claus and Maggie behind her.

“Uh oh, better eat fast,” whispered Tatiana to Holly, the girl giggling. Lavie was well known for her appetite, after all. Eyeing the naked girl, Tatiana wondered where Lavie put that much food. As the girl dropped to the blanket, still dripping, Maggie noticed something.

“God, Lavie! What happened to you?!” she asked.

“Huh?” wondered Lavie, mouth full of a cold cut meat sandwich. The cold water of the lake had made her skin pale a little - with the consequence being that her scars were much more visible.

“Your back and side…!” Maggie began, absently tracing some of the scars.

“Oh, that,” Lavie figured it out. “Just some old scars; nothing to worry about.”

“Were you abused or something?” wondered Maggie. Lavie gave her a blank look.

“Abused? What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Did your father beat you? Or maybe Hamil…” began Maggie.

“Watch your mouth, girl,” growled Tatiana, incensed at the suggestion. “That's George Head and Lord Hamil Valca you are slandering!”

“Calm down, Tatiana,” Al murmured, touching the girl's shoulder with a hand.

“Nah,” Lavie disagreed easily. “I got all these learning to fly our vanship with Claus. He's got a lot of them, too. Show her Claus,” ordered Lavie. Claus turned and raised his arms, Maggie seeing a lot of scars on him, too. “We had to patch each other up pretty often at first,” laughed Lavie. “But it was worth it,” she breathed, looking at Claus. The two shared some sort of intensely personal memory. Maggie saw more than scars, looking at Claus.

“Um, so,” Maggie tried to think of something to say, “I don't recall hearing how Dunya and Mullin ended up living with you all,” she said, feeling unusually warm. Lavie snickered.

“Oh, that is a funny story!” she chortled. “You heard we ended up on the Silvana, right? Well, we stopped off at Walkers for some supplies and repairs, and I went down to check out the ship. In the casino, I ran into this guy at the water bar and…”

Ten minutes later, Maggie was staring at the others as they laughed their asses off. My god, those weren't rumors after all! she thought faintly. Everyone had heard rumors of the `Kill `em all Silvana', but after what Lavie had just told her, she realized that the rumors weren't even close to the truth. “That was…interesting,” she managed. “So, where does Dunya fit in?”

Lavie shrugged. “Not sure, really,” she said. “Claus and Tatiana ran into her in the desert that time, but the next time we saw her, she was attached to Mullin, and shortly after that, she was pregnant. She's been with us ever since,” Lavie added.

“Mullin said that when he left the Silvana, he ended up in a musketeer squad with her,” Claus said, Al laying against one side of him, Lavie's head on his thigh, seemingly unaware of how close his mostly-relaxed dick was to her cheek.

“She says that when their squad rushed the Guild unit on their assigned ship, Mullin - the lovable oaf! - tripped her and rushed in first. Idiot got himself shot for acting like a chivalrous moron,” snorted Lavie. “Still, he's not the worst man I have ever met,” she allowed. “Anyway, you said you lived in a boarding house room?” she asked her new friend.

“Yeah, me and Chandra split the costs,” Maggie nodded.

“Chandra?” Alis wondered.

“Yeah, she and I have been friends for a while, actually. She was the one that got me the job as a flag girl in the Horizon Cave Eight race,” explained Maggie. “Next time you are in town, come meet her, Lavie,” she invited the navigator. “We can go shopping for some clothes, too,” added Maggie, grinning.

“Well, this is certainly a surprise!” Sophia smiled. Lavie flinched, turning her head to see the Queen behind her.

“This isn't what it looks like, Sophia,” Lavie disclaimed.

“It's not?” smiled Sophia. “Then what is it?”

“We're getting Lavie a dress,” Al shared eagerly.

“But she's being very picky,” Maggie added.

“I don't need a dress like these,” protested Lavie. “I have the ones for around the house, and the rest of the time…!”

“Yeah, yeah, you are flying so you wear a flight suit,” Tatiana finished her thought for her.

“Why don't you buy a dress, then?” Lavie challenged, her tone sour.

“We already have dresses,” Alister chimed in. Lavie scowled at her fellow navigator.

“And why do I need a fancy dress?” Lavie asked once more.

“Because the Summer Festival is only a week away,” Sophia stepped in, joining the other girls. The group was in one of the five clothing shops in New Norkia; and the only one that catered to women exclusively. Lavie usually went to the general clothing store, or to one of the half-dozen weaver shops for raw material, and she had to admit that she was feeling out of place and uncomfortable in the dress shop.

“Why would I need a fancy dress for the summer festival? I never needed one before,” argued the girl. Sophia smiled.

“Because you will,” she replied mysteriously. Lavie scowled at her in the mirror. The seamstress returned just then with another armload of cloth. Lavie groaned softly. Spotting Sophia, the woman curtseyed.

“Your majesty,” she greeted Sophia. “I didn't hear you come in. One moment and…” began the woman.

“Never mind me,” Sophia waved the woman off. “I was just passing by and spotted my dear friend Lavie and stopped to chat with her.”

“Of course, your Majesty,” the woman agreed enthusiastically. “Any friend you yours is our friend as well!”

“That color doesn't suit Lavie,” stated Al, spotting a faded teal-ish dress in the woman's arms.

“And the cut on this one is too conservative,” added Maggie, holding up another.

“What are you talking about, Maggie?” Lavie wondered, eyeing the dress.

“Lavie looks much better in a gown like this,” Sophia said, pulling a picture from her uniform blouse and showing it to the dressmaker. The woman gasped softly, looking at the picture, then at Lavie, then back at the picture.

“Hey! What's that picture of?!” demanded Lavie, starting toward Sophia. She had been trying on different dresses and gowns, so she was only wearing her panties. “And why would you be carrying it around if you just happened by?” she almost accused. Sophia smiled innocently as Lavie nearly snatched the photo from her. The woman who ran the dress shop gaped at the young girl's manners. This is the Queen, but she…! thought the woman, feeling feverish from the indignation. Sophia didn't even notice - Lavie was still Lavie, after all.

Looking at the photo, Lavie's eyes softened a little. “Our dad's funerals,” she murmured, absently touching the photo. It was a picture of her, Claus and Al in the fancy clothes that Sophia had arranged for them to wear at the palace function. She and Al had worn gowns like Lavie had never even seen, while Claus had ended up in the finery of a nobleman. Lavie grinned, studying Claus's face in the photo. He looks uncomfortable in those clothes, but he's smiling at Al and me, she thought happily.

“That's you, Lavie? Wow!” breathed Maggie, looking over Lavie's shoulder. “I couldn't get in,” she added, silently shrugging. “Claus looks very handsome in those clothes,” Maggie shared. Lavie frowned.

“Sleepy-head looked like an idiot in that get-up,” she scoffed. “And that gown was hard to move around in, too,” she pronounced.

“But you were really pretty, and men kept bumping into things because they were watching you,” Al disagreed. Lavie smirked.

“I guess,” she allowed. “It was the first time I ever wore a gown,” she thought aloud.

“You should grow your hair back out,” stated Maggie, nodding to herself. Sounds of interest came from Sophia and Al.

“Are you kidding?” Lavie asked, disbelievingly. “You know how much trouble long hair is when flying a vanship! Right, Alister?” she appealed the long-haired vanship crew woman. “And that's to say nothing how long it takes to care for it, too…”

“I think you should at least think about it,” Alister replied.

“There is a lot you can do with long hair,” Maggie began, smiling. “And you used to wear it long, too - I've seen the pictures,” she reminded Lavie.

“Yeah; back when I five!” scoffed Lavie. “After Justine died, it was too much trouble, so Claus and I cut it off, and I have worn it like this ever since,” she added, her tone going soft and reflective. “Besides, Claus likes my hair short,” she finished.

“Claus would like you hair any way you chose to wear it,” Al said, her tone absolutely certain.

“And hair your color is rare,” Sophia added, reaching out to gently stroke Lavie's mahogany-colored head. “In fact, you and Maggie are the only ones with this shade of hair,” she pointed out.

“I'll ask Claus, if you want,” Al volunteered. Lavie smiled at the younger girl.

“With the way you ask him things, you might as well just tell him,” she laughed. It was true - Al really didn't understand the concept of `ask' when it came to Claus and Lavie. I'll ask him myself if he has any opinion on the matter, she decided.

It wasn't until she felt herself being measured that she realized that she had been lost in thought. “What are you doing?” she asked the woman.

“Measuring you for your gown, of course,” the shop owner replied. Al and Sophia were helping her make measurements, Maggie having gone back into the main area of the shop. “We will have the gown ready for first fitting by tomorrow,” promised the woman.

“Fitting? What…?” began Lavie.

“That will be fine,” Sophia cut her question off. “As long as it is ready by the festival and is styled as we discussed it is not a problem. You will need to make a second one of the same style and color for the other one,” added the queen. The woman nodded. “Do you require her measurements as well?”

“Just have her stand beside this one for a few moments,” the woman answered. She could adjust the measurements for the second woman by eye. When Maggie reappeared, Sophia asked her to stand beside Lavie for a moment. The dress shop woman eyed both women critically then nodded.

Once she was back in her top and flight suit and headed for the street, Lavie had a question for Sophia. “So what is Claus going to wear if I'm being forced to wear a gown?” Sophia smiled at Lavie.

“I have made arrangements for that to be taken care of, Lavie,” she answered.

“We don't have the money to be wasting on frivolous clothes,” muttered Lavie. Just then, Lavie heard her name being called, and when she spotted the familiar face of a tool maker, she hurried over to his shop, leaving the other girls behind her.

“Al, I want you, Tatiana and Alister to come to the Council Hall tomorrow or the next day,” she said to the girl. Al looked at Sophia for a moment.

“Ok, Sophia,” agreed Al, Tatiana and Alister saluting by habit. Sophia turned to Maggie.

“You as well, Maggie,” she directed. “Bring your roommate, too,” added Sophia.

“What for?” Maggie asked, a little guardedly. Sophia smiled at her.

“You aren't in trouble,” she said. “Yet, anyway,” added the Queen after a heartbeat or two. Hearing the clock chime, she patted Al's head. “I have an appointment, so I will see you all later,” she excused herself. As the Queen moved off with a deliberate - yet swift - stride, Maggie watched her leave before turning to look at the other women.

“Ok, who wants to tell me what that woman is up to?”

Less than ten minutes later, Sophia stepped into her office at the Council Hall, seeing Claus half-asleep in the large, comfortable chair behind her desk. Smiling, she silently closed the door, turning the lock. Moving over to Claus, she studied him for a long moment.

“Huh? Oh, Sophia,” he said, shaking her out of her thoughts. “When did you get here?” he wondered. He had been told earlier that Sophia wanted to speak with him at two in the afternoon, so when Lavie was whisked off to the dress shop, he had gone to do the errands that needed doing, stopping by the Vanship Union, getting some parts from the machine shop, giving the larder supply list to the food shops so Dunya and Mullen could pick up the food the day after tomorrow when they came in to drop off a wagonload of fresh berries, and other such mundane tasks.

He had arrived at Sophia's office about ten minutes early, and - being himself - had started to feel a little sleepy, so he had sat down in the most comfortable chair there and nearly immediately started to doze off. For no reason he could place, he had woken up and found Sophia watching him, a soft smile on her lips, the woman leaning close enough to him so that he could feel her breath on his face. He also smelled her perfume. She's wearing that one that smells like mom's did, he realized. It was probably what had awoken him.

“Hello, Claus,” she greeted him, absently brushing her lips against his. “I have a favor to ask,” she murmured, her hands unconsciously caressing his cheeks before she leaned in and kissed him again, deeper this time. It took her almost an hour to get around to telling him what she wanted.

“So, you're Lavie Head.”

Lavie found herself looking at a young woman a little taller than her, with dark hair and grey-blue eyes. She was wearing a loose shirt that covered her from shoulders to upper thigh, though the shirt was slipping off one shoulder. Lavie noticed that - like Maggie - this woman had significantly more breast than she did. “Yeah, and you must be Chandra,” replied the young navigator. The woman smiled.

“I'll admit to that, but I deny everything else Maggie might have told you,” she snickered. “Come on in,” added the roommate of Maggie. Lavie entered, Al close behind her.

So, this is a boarding house room, she thought to herself, looking over the space. She saw that there was a main room, with two doors off to the end. One was a bedroom, she saw, while the other must be a washroom. It was several hours past sunrise, but from the look of things, Chandra was just waking up, while Lavie and Al had been up for hours. Lavie found herself wishing that Claus were with her.

Her partner was still at the Vanship Union, though - talking with Hurricane Hawk and the Union president about the new delivery charge chart and corresponding union dues. Claus was one of a small - but vocal - faction that opposed any changes to the vanship courier fees. Most vanship crews were on the fence - Hurricane Hawk being the unofficial leader of that group - while there was a third, small and extremely aggressive group who stood with the Union President and demanded increased fees and higher Union dues. Sonny Boy was in the President's faction. Claus and Lavie opposed this on a principal, not from any strong feelings about it either way. Al opposed it because she disliked the Union President after hearing Sophia say some less-than-flattering things about the man in private.

“Morning, Lavie,” greeted Maggie, exiting the washroom, still drying her face. “Al,” she greeted the taller blonde. “I expected Claus to be with you,” she added as she hung the towel over a small hook.

“He's wasting his time talking to a blockhead at the Union,” Lavie replied indifferently. Maggie yawned behind her hand as she made her way to the bedroom. Watching her, Lavie noticed that Maggie was only wearing a pair of short, baggy undershorts. Seeing the other girl's bare breasts, Lavie felt a tingle of jealously skitter through her. She's not that much bigger than me, but I'm still smaller, she thought unhappily. She had the smallest bust in her family, with Al and Dunya having passed her by a while back. Feeling a soft hand on her shoulder, she glanced up and to the side, seeing Al smiling at her warmly. Smiling back, she dismissed the issue. Claus has never complained, after all, she told herself.

“That guy still pushing for higher fees and dues?” Maggie asked, wiggling into a top before reaching for a knee-length skirt.

“How do you know about that?” Lavie wondered.

“You hear all kinds of things, working the kind of jobs we do,” shrugged Maggie, Chandra snickering from the small table, where she was sipping some coffee.

“What kind of jobs are those?” Al asked, direct as always, her clear, pale-grey eyes fixed on Maggie.

“Whatever kind we have to do to make the rent, cutie,” Chandra cut in smoothly. Lavie considered the roommate for a long moment, her grey-grey eyes thoughtful. “Speaking of that, I probably should get dressed and head on out,” sighed the young woman, standing and moving toward the bedroom as Maggie exited the small space, her hand brushing Maggie's cheek as the two passed each other. “Should I tell the boss that you'll be late?” Chandra asked.

“Uh, tell him I might be late,” hedged Maggie. Chandra nodded.

“What should I tell him after he throws his normal temper tantrum?” inquired Chandra. Maggie snorted.

“Tell him whatever will you think will make him burst a vessel,” laughed the girl. “Oh, yeah - the old woman at the bakery asked if we could pick up an extra shift this week, since she's got big order for trail bread and wheat flour crackers for the logging camp up north coming up first of next week. I told her I would ask you,” finished Maggie.

“Um, I think we can, but we might have to move some things around,” Chandra replied. “Remind me to go over our schedules for the week tonight and let's see if we can shift something around. If we have to scrub something, I'd rather work at the bakery than at…that other job,” she edited herself at the last moment, her eyes flickering over Lavie and Al.

“Me, too,” Maggie agreed fervently. “We'll do that tonight,” she nodded, nearly herding Lavie and Al out of the small space she and her roommate shared. “I'll tell the old woman we'll have an answer for her tomorrow, ok?”

“Ok,” called back Chandra as the door closed. “Have fun, kid!”

The three moved down the stairs to the ground floor, past the small sitting room/lobby and out the front door. Tossing her head, Maggie indicated the direction they should head. “So,” Lavie began as they walked, “your roommate is interesting.” Maggie laughed easily.

“Chandra is certainly that,” she agreed. “I met her nearly ten years ago, back on Prester, and we've been tight ever since. Sort of like you and Claus,” Maggie added. To her surprise, Lavie laughed softly; as did Al.

“I doubt that,” Lavie disagreed pleasantly. “Did you say that she was the other flag girl at the Horizon Cave Eight?” asked the navigator. Maggie nodded.

“I would never have gotten that job if not for her,” Maggie shared. “Another girl was supposed to work, but Chandra pulled some strings and did some stuff and got me in instead. It was a good break for me,” she added.

“Is she older than you?” Lavie asked, thinking about the parting remark from Chandra. Maggie nodded.

“Four years older than me,” she confirmed. “She lived in the Capital as well, about four blocks over and one down from where I lived, but we didn't know each other until we started working together.”

“What kind of jobs do you do that you don't like admitting to doing?” Al asked in her typical blunt style. Maggie glanced at the blonde, who was watching her intently, an ever-so-slight look of suspicion on her beautiful face. Looking down, she saw that Al had her arm around Lavie's waist, almost possessively. Peeking at Lavie, she wondered if Lavie was even aware of Al's arm around her waist.

“Like Chandra said, we do a lot of different kinds of jobs - whatever it takes to pay the bills,” she answered, glancing away from the two. “None of them are illegal, though - you can be sure of that!”

“You didn't answer the question,” observed Al, still watching her.

“What are you? A magistrate?” asked Maggie, sounding a bit peeved.

“Al's a bit blunt, but she's just curious,” Lavie interjected. “I am curious as well, Maggie,” she added.

“I don't ask what you and Claus do,” began Maggie.

“We fly vanships, teach vanship crews, farm and do mechanical work,” Lavie replied immediately. “All of us - Claus, myself, Tatiana, Alister, Al, Dunya and Mullin. What do you and Chandra do?” she asked.

Maggie was silent for a moment, thinking. “We do events like the New Norkia Cup, and sometimes work in dress shops, bakeries, weavers or taverns. We sometimes also dance and entertain,” she finished, her tone carefully bland.

“You dance?” Al asked, her face lighting up. “I like dancing! Where do you dance?” she asked. Maggie twitched.

“Um, just some places around town - sometimes!” she answered.

“Kita taught me how to dance, and I have been teaching Claus and Lavie,” Al shared. “Also Tatiana and Alis sometimes, too,” giggled Al. Of the entire family, she was the best dancer, though Tatiana and Alis weren't bad. Dunya could do the traditional dances of the Disith, but she claimed she wasn't that good at dancing. Lavie wondered if it wasn't more that the Disith dancing was hard on the knees. “I'd love to see you and Chandra dance,” Al suggested.

“Uh, maybe someday you'll see us dance, Al,” parried Maggie. “Here, let's take a look in this shop,” she said, indicating a shop. The three entered the shop, Al smiling eagerly at the large number of candies before her. Lavie had never been one for sweets, but she would have to admit that she did like lollipops on occasion - a habit that she blamed on Al and Tatiana. Every time those two go into town together, they come back with a bag full of lollipops, thought Lavie, smiling a little. And Mikhail is always giving her lollipops, too.

It was an hour or two later when the two entered the shop for their fittings. The shop owner recognized them, and before they knew it, they were stripped and being fitted for gowns. Al had been told that a gown had been prepared for her, and when Lavie saw the gowns, she sighed. “What's wrong, Lavie?” Maggie asked as an assistant seamstress pinned the gown in some places, and moved pins in others.

“I have to have a word with Sophia,” Lavie said, making Al giggle.

“Now you are the one wasting their time talking to someone who won't listen,” the blonde laughed. Lavie shook her head.

“You're right - she probably won't,” agreed Lavie. “But I'm going to tell her anyway,” finished the girl resolutely. After a half-hour, the shop owner was satisfied.

“I will have the finished gowns ready for a final fitting in three days - you'll be ready for the festival, I give you my word, girls!”

Adjusting her simple top, Lavie tugged on the sleeves of her flight suit, making sure it was securely tied around her waist. “So, how much are these things going to cost us?” she asked the shop owner.

“Oh, not a thing!” replied the owner immediately. “Queen Sophia has taken care of that for you!”

“Really?! Awesome!” Maggie smiled, seeing Al smiling happily as well as she finished dressing. Lavie, however, was scowling.

“Did she now?” murmured Lavie, hands absently making fists.

“Lavie,” Al said, wrapping her arms around Lavie's shoulders. “Sophia didn't mean it like that,” whispered Al in Lavie's ear. Al had learned that Claus and Lavie were touchy about certain things - and this was one of them. About the only thing worse than doing something that the two felt was patronizing to them was to touch their vanships - either of their ships.

“I want a bill prepared for the cost of my gown and Al's when we come in for the final fitting,” Lavie said firmly. “I'll pay you for the gowns then.”

“But…!” began the woman, only to see the look Al was giving her. “Very well, miss,” capitulated the owner.

“Thanks,” Lavie said, heading for the door. Maggie swiftly finished adjusting her own clothes and hurried after the two.

“What was that all about?” she asked them. “And where are you two off to?” she wondered, seeing how fast Lavie was moving. She wasn't even jogging, but it felt like she was running to keep up with the smaller girl.

“To straighten out Sophia!” spat Lavie, her feathers clearly ruffled.

“You're going to go yell at the Queen?” asked Maggie, sure that she had misunderstood the intentions of her volatile new friend. “For trying to buy you a fancy gown?! Are you nuts?” she demanded. “Do you have any idea how much those gowns will cost?!” she demanded, managing to get in front of Lavie, stopping the girl with a hand against her chest.

“No, but I know how much they'll cost if I don't buy them myself!” Lavie replied tightly.

“But Lavie…!” began Maggie, stupefied as to what Lavie could possibly be thinking. Free gowns like that, and she's mad?!

“How much does that boarding room cost you and Chandra, Maggie?” asked Lavie quietly. “Is it worth doing the kind of jobs you can't be proud of doing?”

Suddenly, Maggie understood Lavie.

“Your Majesty?”

“David, please come in,” Sophia called, seeing the former Duke enter her office. Sophia was smiling. Lavie, Al and their new friend Maggie had departed her office less than ten minutes before.

“Mistress Head has quite the pair of lungs,” David noted, a smile fighting to be seen on his lips. “And a most…extensive vocabulary, too,” he added, unable to keep the chuckle from escaping as he finished.

“Yes, she does, doesn't she?” agreed Sophia, also smiling. “I would not be surprised if they heard her on the street,” she observed. “Though our Maggie seemed torn between amazement and terror,” shared Sophia.

“It is not just anyone who would dare to speak to you so - and using such language!” David agreed.

“It is exactly as I suspected it would be,” Sophia nearly bragged. “Lavie Head is no one's lap dog,” she murmured. “She grew teeth early; by gravest necessity, too.”

“She and Lord Valca are quite the couple,” David nodded.

“Their pride in their work and their fathers' work sustained them,” Sophia replied. “I doubt that anyone else would have made it through what they lived through.”

“From what Holly tells me, I would agree,” rejoined the head of the Mad-Thane house. “For a commoner, Lavie Head acts more like a noble than most nobles I have ever met.” Sophia laughed.

“I suggest you never say that to her, David,” the queen laughed. “Lavie holds nobles in something of contempt.”

“And yet, she is perfectly matched to Lord Valca,” David noted. “There were numerous times, when we were on Prester, that I wished more nobles were like she and Claus,” he admitted. Sophia nodded.

“Did I ever tell you what I had originally planned for them? Before the situation on Prester came to light?” she asked her right-hand man.

“No, my queen, you did not,” David said, taking a seat before her desk.

“It had been my original intent to raise Lavie to peerage, perhaps a countess of the court, or maybe a baroness of Anatory. God knows there were plenty of titles empty or held by those ignorant enough as to be considered empty!” snorted Sophia.

“Lady Head of Anatory,” David tried out the proposed standing. “Hmm,” he mused thoughtfully, “it is difficult for me to picture that,” admitted the former Duke. “Countess Head? Duchess Head? For some reason, it just does not fit that young lady,” he concluded.

“Perhaps if you were to try `Lord and Lady Valca'?” hinted the queen. David blinked.

“I see,” he murmured, nodding. “Being of common birth, the court would never have allowed her to marry Claus, but if you raised her to peerage…” he gave her an abbreviated bow. “A most ingenuous plan, my queen,” he commended her.

“And the hardest part would have been to convince her,” smiled Sophia. “I sometimes think she takes too much pride in being of common birth for it to just be pride,” admitted the queen. “During the time she was on the Silvana, I sometimes wondered if…” Sophia abruptly broke off, shaking her head. “No, it is of no importance,” she cut off whatever she had been about to say.

“What do you plan to do about her protest over the gowns?” David wondered. Sophia grinned.

“I expected her to react this way,” she confided to her henchman, “so the owner of the dress shop will present her for a bill for three Royals and two silver.” David quirked an eyebrow.

“Gowns such as those are many times that amount,” he stated. Having a wife and daughter, he was fairly conversant on the price of fancy gowns. Sophia smiled evilly.

“I never said I would let her pay all the cost, did I?” she asked innocently. “The difference will be paid by me, and Lavie will never know.”

“A most prudent course, my Queen,” replied David.

“So, what brings you here, David? Aside from Lavie's lungs and vocabulary?” wondered Sophia.

“Two matters, I fear,” David answered. “First off, I have learned that the Vanship Union is in the midst of a fierce debate about fees. It is my understanding that the President wishes to raise the fees for services. I need not tell you that though we are doing better than we had expected to be at this time, we are by no means able to support such an increase in rates.”

“I know. The president is seeking to line his own pockets with higher Union dues,” Sophia replied, her tone sour. “However, he had not allowed for opposition in the ranks, nor for the greater part of the membership to be on the fence about the issue. Claus and Lavie have emerged as the head of the opposition, with Tatiana and Alister silently backing them. Hurricane Hawk is the official unofficial leader of the undecided faction. For now, they are talking, but I worry that the President might do something rash.”

David Mad-Thane ruefully shook his head. “I had forgotten that you have a direct pipeline into the Vanship Union, your Majesty,” he said.

“If I could, I would very much like to install Claus as the President of the Vanship Union, but I have not found a way to do so without it being obvious that I was behind it,” complained Sophia. “And by charter, leadership of the Union can only be decided by union members, so I can't even blatantly oust the oaf by force.”

“I do not know that Claus would even accept if that scenario were to occur,” David observed.

“He wouldn't,” sighed Sophia. “Neither would Lavie, who would make an excellent President of the Union as well. Tatiana or Alister would do so if I asked them to, but they are both still mostly outsiders, even with their close relationship with Claus and Lavie.”

“So, what then can we do?” David asked. Sophia flipped a hand.

“Honestly? Not much,” she admitted. “However, I have asked Vincent to see what he can do about the situation.”

“Ah, an excellent choice,” David concurred. “Young Captain Alzey has proven to be quite capable; and extremely loyal,” added the former Duke. “Some nobles have even remarked on occasion that he would make a most acceptable consort for you.”

“Indeed? Which nobles?” Sophia asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Not that I cannot guess,” added the woman. “But no. Vincent is…I just cannot bring myself to see him that way, David. And in any event, doing so would only serve to reinforce the notion that many nobles have that things will remain here as they were on Prester.”

“While I am in complete agreement with you about the course of action to take, I would be dishonest if I were to claim to have no reservations about the effect your plan will have, my queen,” David said slowly.

“That is understandable,” Sophia assured him, “I myself sometimes wonder if there might not be a better way to achieve our goal, but I have yet to find an alternative. If you have anything to offer, please do not hesitate to share it with me, David,” she encouraged him. He sighed.

“Sadly, my queen, I likewise have no better plan to suggest. Removing singular control in favor of a Council, and then the council being replaced by commoners elected by their peers for set periods of service seems the surest way to prevent the abuses of power that led to the Anatory-Disith war dragging on so long. And yet, it is just as possible for that system to fail. I feel…frustrated at times with the situation we are in, my queen.”

Silence fell in the office for several minutes. “You said you had another reason for visiting,” Sophia recalled. His memory nudged, David recalled.

“Yes,” he confirmed, swiftly organizing his thoughts. “I have found out more about our friend, Magmira Lohften.” Sophia's attention was immediately fixed on David.

“Indeed? How did you manage this?” wondered Sophia.

“In reviewing what records we have of her family, it occurred to me that other names were familiar. I asked my staff to compile a cross-reference on those names. Once I had them, I narrowed the list to four names, and then asked the staff to find out as much as they could about the four names. Three days ago, they gave me the information, and I went and spoke with each of them. That is how I learned more about her.”

Sophia shook her head. “I should have thought of that before,” she murmured. “So? What did you learn?” she asked him.

“Lavie! Enjoying the festival?” Maggie called out, approaching the navigator with a smirk on her face. Beside Maggie was Chandra. Both women were dressed in very nice gowns, if not quite as nice as the ones that Lavie and her group were wearing.

“It's ok,” Lavie replied before sipping her glass of water. Looking out at the central marshalling yard in front of the Council Hall, Lavie watched the dancing couples. Tables lined one side of the marshalling yard, holding massive casks of beer, dozens of smaller casks of wine, and huge barrels of crystal-clear, ice-cold water. Around the four edges of the marshalling yard, the citizens of New Norkia mingled, talking, laughing and enjoying themselves. The paved marshalling yard - large enough for monthly drills of the musketeers and volunteer minutemen - was filled with dancing couples, two full orchestras taking turns providing the music.

“So, did Claus dance with you?” Maggie asked playfully. Lavie nodded.

“Yeah, but neither of us are very good,” she replied, smiling a little. “Besides, I think I would rather be flying with Claus than dancing with him,” she mused.

“Speaking of Claus, where is he?” Chandra asked, not seeing the young man next to Lavie. She had gotten the impression that they were a set - never one without the other.

“He got bullied into dancing with Al,” smiled Lavie, inclining her head. The two looked, swiftly spotting the lithe ice blonde teenage girl and the wheat-blonde pilot. Al was very obviously enjoying herself while Claus looked like he was having fun in spite of obsessively watching his feet. Just then, the music paused, and Claus sighed in relief.

Lavie smirked behind her glass of water as Al stepped aside - and Tatiana took her place. Claus started to say something, but Tatiana leaned in, whispering to him, and a moment later, he nodded, taking her hand in his, his other hand moving to rest on her hip. Chandra watched this as Al approached Lavie. “Here, Al,” Lavie said, handing the taller blonde her mug of water. Al nodded, taking a few large swallows.

“Should you be doing that?” Chandra asked Lavie. Lavie frowned.

“Doing what?” she asked.

“Letting other girls dance with your man,” Maggie supplied. Lavie considered that for a moment.

“It's Al and Tatiana,” she said, as if that made any sort of sense.

“Alis and Sophia, too,” Al reminded Lavie. Lavie nodded, seeing the Queen not far off, dancing with Vincent, but watching Claus with a nearly predatory eye.

“You don't mind him dancing with other girls?” Chandra challenged, her tone strangely interested.

“Not with them,” Lavie answered indifferently.

“You two are together, aren't you?” Maggie asked her almost-sister bluntly.

“Of course we are,” came the immediate reply. “We've always been together,” she added.

“Ladies, might we have the next dance?” came a deep voice, surprising the girls. Lavie found herself looking at a fancily-dressed young man and what was likely his brother. Lavie's eyes flickered over the two of them, comparing them to her Claus. Beside her, Al's expression cooled a little.

“No, thank you,” Al said firmly.

“Pass,” Lavie dismissed them out of hand, her eyes back on Claus and Tatiana. The two young men blinked at the indifferent dismissal. Turning to the two women next to Lavie and Al, the two smiled again.

“Perhaps we could have the honor of a dance with you two?” he asked Maggie and Chandra. The two glanced at each other for a split second before nodding, following their new partners onto the marshalling yard turned dance floor.

As Maggie and her roommate departed, Alister arrived, having just finished a dance with a former squadron mate. “How are you doing, Lavie?” she asked her fellow navigator.

“I'm ok,” replied Lavie. “This gown is a bit warm, though, and I keep almost tripping on the hem,” she added, absently rustling the gown. “It is pretty, though,” admitted the girl.

“Claus certainly likes the gowns,” Alis smiled. When she had managed to get a turn dancing with Claus - Lavie had been neatly ambushed by Vincent - she had seen Claus splitting his time between watching his feet and watching her cleavage; not that she minded at all. If only he would do more than look, thought the older navigator. Well, ok, maybe not in front of the whole town, but dancing with him got me really worked up!

On the square, Tatiana and Claus parted, both smiling. Even as Tatiana stepped aside, Sophia slipped into her spot, cutting off a brunette who had been trying to step in. Lavie scowled slightly at the woman who had tried to step in. Tatiana reached the group, and before she could even say anything, Lavie was talking. “Who is that girl?” she asked, indicating the brunette woman Sophia had cut off so smoothly.

“Beats me,” shrugged Tatiana. “She tried to cut in twice while I was dancing with Claus, though,” she offered. A soft growl came from Lavie, her dark grey-green eyes narrowing as she watched the woman circle the two like a vulture. Tatiana and Alister exchanged looks, shaking their heads slightly. They felt a lot like Lavie did, but Lavie didn't bother to hide her feelings most of the time.

“You want me to go run her off, Lavie?” asked Tatiana, sounding vaguely amused.

“Run who off?” a man's voice asked. The group of women blinked, seeing Vincent sipping a glass of wine. “Surely you don't mean the Queen,” he added, smiling.

“Of course not,” Al confirmed. “That other woman is the problem.”

Vincent Agrew spotted the woman in question. “Ah,” he said. “Widow Markoom,” he indentified her. “Minor noble, lost her much-younger husband three years ago, has been on the prowl for a new husband ever since,” he reported. Lavie bared her teeth, fists clenching.

“Not for long, she won't be!” muttered the girl. Vincent noticed that Tatiana, Alister and Al were not looking any more pleased or amused than Lavie was. Sometimes I worry about these girls… Vincent thought.

“Calm down,” he urged the females. “Sophia is with him, so the good widow has no opening,” he pointed out. This seemed to calm the women a bit.

“Which house?” Tatiana asked softly, eyes on the widow. Vincent had to think for a moment.

“You mean which house is she minor noble from, right?” he asked, making sure he understood the former Lieutenant. God knows Tatiana could be wanting to know where the widow lives so she could burn it down or something, he thought. Sophia had said much about her favorite squadron leader from the Silvana, but it was what Sophia had not said that explained to Vincent what Tatiana could be like. “Caxon, I believe,” he answered.

“Forgotten noble,” nodded Tatiana. Her own house - Wisla - was in the same class as the other woman's house. “But you said she was a widow, so she married a man from the Markoom family,” Tatiana thought aloud. “She's the kind that climbs through marriage,” nodded the platinum-blonde.

“That isn't a nice thing to say,” chided Vincent. Lavie snorted.

“She's not nice,” Al stated, absolutely certain of herself.

“Well, no, I would have to agree, Al,” admitted Vincent. “She is rumored to have a temper, is known to be wasteful with money, and has been accused more than once of being `the other woman',” he delicately explained.

“Sounds like she thinks Valca would be a good last name for her,” Alister murmured, eyes narrowed and cold.

“Like hell,” snarled Lavie. Just then, the music paused and Sophia skillfully guided Claus away from the widow and toward the group at the edge of the yard. Lavie spotted Maggie and Chandra moving their way as well, having shed their suitors. Sophia and Claus stopped before the group; Sophia smiling as she nearly embraced Claus. “You look thirsty, Claus,” Lavie stated, handing him the last of her water. “I'll go get some more,” she added, heading for the nearest table with a water cask on it as soon as Claus had drained the water.

“Are you enjoying the festival?” Sophia smiled at the group before her.

“Yes!” chirped Al, all smiles.

“How about you two?” Sophia asked Maggie and her roommate.

“The festival is very nice,” replied Chandra immediately; and very smoothly. “I enjoy dancing,” she added.

“Then, perhaps I could ask you for a dance?” Vincent stepped in smoothly. Chandra smiled, nodding.

“Certainly, sir…?” she hinted.

“Vincent,” replied the former Captain, “Vincent Alzey.” Chandra's smiled grew a little.

“Very well, Vincent, I am happy to dance with you. I am Chandra. Chandra Mougren,” she introduced herself, the two moving onto the paved dance area.

“Maggie, you lived in the capital before coming to the new world, didn't you?” Sophia asked casually. Maggie nodded.

“Yes, but I doubt we ever met, your majesty,” she demurred.

“No, I am sure we didn't,” agreed Sophia, “but I was wondering if we might know some of the same people,” Sophia suggested.

“I can't imagine how we would, my queen,” Maggie replied, “I am but a commoner, and you are of the foremost noble house.”

“Noble,” scoffed Lavie, returning with the water, “like that matters!” Maggie blinked at Lavie's tone and words. “Hey, Sophia,” Lavie moved right on, “can you do anything to keep that widow away from Claus?” asked the navigator. “She's trouble,” growled the girl.

“And she's not nice,” added Al. Sophia considered Al for a moment.

“Well,” Sophia said, “there isn't much I can do about her being after Claus at the festival - it is a social function, after all,” she reminded the group of Claus groupies. “But,” she murmured, leaning closer to Lavie, the other girls instinctively huddling closer as well, “I think we could encourage her to look elsewhere,” suggested Sophia.

“Who do you have in mind?” Lavie asked, evil delight in her eyes.

“You aren't a bad dancer, Claus,” Maggie said, the two moving carefully on the dance area. Claus was more relaxed now, having danced with the other girls a few times without any major mistakes by this point. In particular, Al and Sophia had managed to get several dances from him, though all of his girls had managed at least two dances with him.

“If you say so, Maggie,” Claus replied, “I just hope I don't step on your toes or trip,” he admitted candidly. Maggie giggled softly.

“Don't worry - I'll make sure you don't,” she assured him. Maggie was a practiced dancer and very nimble, so it wasn't much of a challenge for her to insure that any mistake Claus might make didn't interfere with their dance. She had never danced in a gown as fancy as the one she had on, but it wasn't much of an issue. And she had to admit that any difficulty the gown might cause was a trifling cost to pay for the attention the gown got her.

I am surprised that Lavie didn't say anything when I asked Claus for a dance, Maggie thought. She got pretty pissed about that widow, and any time a woman not in her group approached Claus, you could feel her bristle! The other girls, too! thought the mahogany-haired girl. Definitely something going on there, she nodded to herself. Spotting a couple a short distance away, she grinned over Claus's shoulder. Speaking of things going on…

Chandra and Vincent were dancing yet again. After that first dance, Maggie had seen the look in her roommate's eyes, and had expected Chandra to focus her attention on the handsome man of the Alzey line. She always did a have a weakness for those officer-type nobles, Maggie thought. From what she was seeing, she wondered if she might not need to find a place to stay for the night.

Her own dancing was subtly different from how the other girls danced. She held Claus much closer, and her movements were more sinuous and intimate than usual, but not so much as to draw unwanted attention. Doing a turn, she spotted Lavie talking with four rough-looking men, smiling and laughing. Al, Tatiana and Alis were obviously part of the conversation as well. Looking over the men, Maggie realized that she had seen them before. Those are the ones that were there when Lavie and Michael got into it, she identified them.

Assessing the four, she found herself cataloging them as ruffians. Military veterans or not, they had been common soldiers, and it showed. She didn't mind common soldiers, exactly - it was just that they tended to be rambunctious and sometimes coarser than she liked. Watching them talk with Lavie, she smiled. Lavie seems very comfortable with them, though, she thought. “What is it, Maggie?” Claus asked her, interrupting her thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, just saw your girls talking with some men,” she teased him. To her surprise, Claus didn't react beyond a glance to the side.

“It's just the mechanic crew from the Silvana,” he dismissed the insinuation. “They can be a bit rough-and-tumble, but they're ok,” he assured her. Maggie considered that for a moment.

“So it really doesn't bother you at all that Lavie and the others are talking with other men, and even dancing with them?” she pressed. What kind of relationship do they have? wondered the young woman.

“Godwin and the others are dancing?” Claus asked, sounding surprised. He turned to look at the group again. “This should be interesting,” he smiled.

“I didn't say they were dancing,” clarified Maggie, “but Lavie and Al have danced with several other men, as have Tatiana and Alister,” she prodded.

“You mean Vincent and David and those other guys, right?” Claus replied. His tone was still calm and relaxed. “Why wouldn't they? Vincent is a much better dancer than I am, and David is the father of Holly and a close friend of Sophia's, so it's not like he's some stranger,” Claus explained. “The other guys were people Sophia or Vincent knew; well, one of them was a friend of Mullen's from the war,” he clarified.

During another turn, Maggie saw the shortest of the four mechanics leading Alis onto the dance floor, while behind those two, Al was smiling as she nearly dragged the biggest of the four onto the dance floor. From the look on the big tough-guy's face, he looked ready to break and run for it. She saw Tatiana and Lavie exchange a shrug before the last two men escorted them onto the dancing area. “Looks like you will get to see something good after all,” Maggie giggled softly, her lips near to Claus's ear. Claus spotted the situation, chuckling.

“Poor Godwin,” he murmured. “Al is going to embarrass him by making him dance with her,” he predicted.

“Does that brute even know how to dance?” wondered Maggie, subtly tightening her half-hold on Claus. Claus shrugged.

“I really don't know,” the young lord answered her. “But it doesn't matter; Godwin can't say no to Al when she wants something,” he laughed softly. Seeing Kostabi clasp hands with Lavie, his other hand resting on her waist, Claus thought that Godwin might not be alone in that. The shaved-headed mechanic was not well known by anyone - even his fellow mechanics from the Silvana. Still, Claus was surprised to see that the man moved easily and confidently. Close to other couples, Gale and Tatiana were dancing as well.

“You know, Claus,” Maggie said, leaning closer to him, her cleavage nearly touching his mouth, “you seem to have a very interesting relationship with Lavie.” Claus frowned.

“You think so? What's interesting about it?” he wondered. Maggie blinked. Is he really that dense, or are he and Lavie toying with me? wondered the girl.

“Well, you two are always together, and Lavie has said that you and she are involved, but you don't even care when other guys dance with her - just like she doesn't care if you are with other women.”

“And that's interesting?” Claus wondered. Lavie and I have always been together, and the others are our friends and lovers, so what is so interesting about it?

“Perhaps not by itself,” conceded Maggie, “but when you consider that any time a woman not in your group gets near you, the other girls get possessive, then it begins to get interesting.”

“You think so? Lavie's not upset that we're dancing,” Claus pointed out, “and you aren't living with us.”

“Hmm,” Maggie considered. “Ok, you have a point there, though I think that I am a friend of Lavie's, you know? And how can you tell that Lavie isn't upset from this distance?” wondered the girl.

“I can always tell when Lavie is upset,” shrugged Claus. “I don't always know why, but I can always tell when she's mad,” he shared. Further conversation was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. Turning, Claus saw a young man give him a half-bow.

“May I?” he asked.

“May you what?” wondered Claus. Maggie knew what he was doing.

“No, you may not!” declined the girl forcefully. “Lord Valca and I are busy,” she added frostily. The man blinked, eyeing Claus.

“My apologies, my lord,” he bowed again, moving off. Claus looked puzzled.

“What was that about?” he wondered. Maggie couldn't help giggling.

“Claus, what am I going to do with you?” she purred. Pressing closer to him, she sighed happily. I think I'm beginning to get it, thought the young woman. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Chandra and Vincent. Catching her roommate's eye, she saw Chandra wink at her. Great, Maggie thought, though not surprised. Guess I can find a bed somewhere.

Not far from the two, Lavie was watching Maggie and Claus. “Sure you don't want to go over there and claim Claus?” Kostabi asked, smiling wickedly. Lavie shrugged.

“Claus is fine for now,” she declined, but her eyes stayed on the pair. Kostabi smiled. This is more entertaining than I thought, he silently laughed. He had come to like and respect Lavie and Claus during their stint on the Silvana, but liking and respecting someone had nothing at all to do with finding entertainment at their expense. It is sort of like a seven-ring circus, the man silently snickered. He felt a shoulder graze him as he and Lavie spun.

“Careful, Godwin,” he murmured, knowing who had clipped him.

“Shut up,” grunted the big man, nearly sweating as he focused on not stepping on Al's feet or knocking her down with an ill-timed move. Al was smiling and giggling happily. Godwin sometimes wondered if Al had a hidden sadistic streak in her.

Lavie was not the only one watching Claus and Maggie. Tatiana and Alis were watching the two as well, though they were less focused on doing so. Off the dance area, Sophia stood with David and his wife, watching the group. Sipping her wine, she glanced at David. “Where is your daughter, David?” she asked.

“She was asked to dance by a young man from the Bassianus family,” David replied before sipping some wine. Sophia mentally flipped through her memory for a moment.

“Peter Bassianus?” she asked, recalling that her second cousin was roughly Holly's age. David nodded.

“He has asked to pay court to Holly,” Lady Mad-Thane added. Sophia barely kept from snickering. She had heard of that request - from Al.

“And what did you tell my second cousin?” asked Sophia pleasantly, fighting to smile instead of smirk.

“I have not yet decided what to tell him,” David answered. “I have heard that he has asked another girl of noble standing if he could pay court to her.”

“Indeed?” Sophia asked coyly.

“Indeed,” replied David. “I have heard that the young lady of which I speak was…dismissive of his request.”

“Heavens,” Sophia managed with a straight face.

“It is my suspicion that the young man seeks to pay court to my daughter because of her close friendship with this other lady of noble standing,” David stated dryly. “As the lady in question has no blood family and is the ward of the Queen, young Peter perhaps seeks to use my daughter as a bridge to court her. I would find such a move - if it is indeed as I think it might be - to be distasteful and insulting to my daughter and myself.”

“Such a shame,” Sophia commiserated. David gave his Queen a look.

“I sometimes wonder if you have not been overly influenced by your close association with a certain common-born young woman and her lordly consort,” he suggested.

“Would that not be the other way around, Duke Mad-Thane?” Sophia smiled back playfully.

“Were it any other commoner and any other noble, perhaps,” David smiled in return. “We, however, both know what roles each plays,” he added.

“If that were so, David,” Sophia nearly purred, “would it not put your own daughter at risk, given her own association with the common-born lady and her lordly consort?”

“There are times I fear that,” David sighed. “But I cannot say with honesty that Holly has not profited from that association. And for that reason, I would not take it lightly if young Peter is doing what I think he is doing in asking to court Holly,” he finished.

“Has Holly shown any interest in him?” Sophia wondered. It was the Duke's wife that answered.

“Sir Peter is a fine young man, with good standing and a bright future, but our daughter seems mostly indifferent to him in that regard. It is as if she has her eye on another man,” the wife added, glancing at Sophia. Sophia was smiling behind her glass of wine.

“Perhaps she does,” murmured Sophia.

“Indeed,” nodded the wife. “However, I worry that the young lord she has her eye on is already…committed,” she edited herself, “which makes it impractical for our daughter to ignore hopeful suitors.”

“Perhaps,” Sophia murmured, eyes on the dancing couples. Claus is certainly committed, thought Sophia, but I doubt that Lady Mad-Thane even grasps the situation around those two. Lavie and Claus are special - different, she mused. She spotted the honey-blonde Holly heading toward them, a dark-haired young man following her almost desperately. “Speaking of young sir Peter,” Sophia inclined her head toward the approaching young man. The music stopped as Holly smiled at her parents and greeted the Queen.

Minutes later, Sophia found herself once more surrounded by her friends and former shipmates, the festival closing. Holly and her parents headed back to their home after paying their respects, Al inviting Holly to come to her house later that week to help her make some venison jerky and to make some bread. Sophia's second cousin had not managed to get an answer from David about his request to pay court to Holly before the Mad-Thanes had departed for home, and he had been spooked by the group around the Queen, which numbered several lords of noble houses - as well as four rough men giving him the hairy eyeball ever since he asked Al if she would take a walk with him. Al had not hesitated to dismiss his offer, never taking her attention off Lord Valca as she did so. Peter Bassianus had beaten a hasty retreat.

Sophia had spotted Vincent and Chandra heading off together, and before Maggie knew it, she had been offered a room in the Council Hall next to Sophia's own rooms. She had wondered if it was ok to accept the offer, but Lavie and Claus had told her to go ahead and take the offer; or she could stay with them if she didn't want to go to her room that night. So, Magmira Lohften had found herself all but trapped with Sophia Forrester, the Queen - who apparently wanted to chat with her a bit before letting her get some sleep.

Midsummer had arrived again, and everyone was busy. The first graduating class of Claus's and Lavie's flight school began their careers as vanship pilots and navigators, while new students were beginning the training cycles. Mornings started either before dawn or at dawn in their home, depending on who it was. Dunya and Mullen were usually up first, though it was not much earlier than Al would awaken. If there were numerous flights to be made or a testing cycle at the school, then Tatiana and Alis and Lavie would wake up when Al got up. Claus would be awakened shortly after by either Lavie or Al - the only two who could reliably get him to wake up that early.

After breakfast, the two flight crews flew their missions or administered the tests while Al typically helped Dunya and her two youngest picking berries in the relative cool of the morning. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries were all found on their land or on farms close by, and it was normal for most of the neighboring women and younger kids to join up to harvest the berries. Since they had the tractor, most of the neighbors would meet up at their farm with stacks of simple baskets, jugs of water and some simple sandwiches, Al driving the tractor to wherever they had decided to pick for the day. Sometimes the men and older boys joined in, but usually they had their own work to do.

Expanding farmhouses, barns, building new houses or barns, cutting trees for the saw mill, making building stones at the quarry or tending to fields were the normal day for the men. Mullen was surprisingly good at most of the jobs to be done, and as with the picking of berries, the men tended to group together for tasks that needed more hands, working one project after another. Lavie and the mechanics from the Silvana had taught a second group of skilled mechanics how to make the `Silvana Tractor' as they officially named the invention, with the understanding that a percent of the profit of every tractor sold was paid as a royalty to the inventors.

In town, people were busy as well. Canners and preservers were working nearly non-stop on the tons of berries being picked and brought in for preserving, as well as the refining of those crops into other forms of food - such as lollipops, jams, preserves and dried stock. The foundry was busy making nails, saw blades, pots and pans and other necessary goods, while the sawmill near the river ran from dawn to dusk, making boards out of the trees cut by the timber crews. Weavers and other trades also ran most if not all of the long, hot days.

Sophia found that being stuck dealing with administrative issues all day, every day, was wearing on her nerves. She managed to sneak some trips out of her office on a semi-regular basis and out of the town at least twice a month. Even so, she was a little jealous of the freedom Claus and Lavie and their family enjoyed. A knock on her office door interrupted her thoughts. “Yes?” she called out, stepping away from the open windows of her office to sit at her desk.

“Sophia,” greeted Vincent, entering her office. Just behind him came David.

“Your majesty,” David greeted her.

“Vincent, David, please, be seated,” she invited her henchmen. Glancing at Vincent, she took a closer look. “Why, Vincent, you have lipstick on your collar,” she purred playfully. Vincent blinked, craning his head to check his collar. After a moment, he scowled.

“That wasn't very nice, Sophia,” he chided her. Sophia shrugged. She was in her normal `work clothes' of the dark grey skirt and blouse of her Anatory naval uniform, though the blouse's top two buttons were unbuttoned, and her long chestnut hair was tied back in a high ponytail, leaving her neck bare to help with the heat.

“But it was fun,” the Queen replied unrepentantly. “And for the record, you do have lipstick on your shirt - just not the collar,” added the woman. Vincent frowned, covertly checking. “A small bit on the right shoulder,” helped out Sophia, “right about where Chandra probably nipped you.”

“How did you arrive at the conclusion that it was Chandra?” challenged Vincent.

“She wears that light purple color more often than not, and if you hadn't stayed at her place the other night, you would have changed your shirt,” smiled Sophia. “You must really be taken with her, to be spending so many nights at her place.”

“My apologies, Sophia,” Vincent replied blandly, “I will make sure to change my shirt before seeing you from here on,” he added. Sophia flipped her hand dismissively.

“Oh, don't go out of your way on my account over something so minor,” she insisted sweetly.

“You know,” Vincent said, a grin forming on his lips, “I did happen to notice that your meetings with Claus run long every single time you meet with him,” he suggested. Sophia ignored that with dignity.

“Now that the customary greetings are done,” she moved ahead, “have we any new issues that require attention?” she asked her two.

“A small one, perhaps,” Vincent said. “There have been some problems with wild animals at the northern-most logging camp, and several people have asked about assistance establishing a new settlement on the other side of the mountains.”

“Wild animals?” Sophia asked. The presence of a substantial number of game animals had been part of what had helped them the first couple of years. But, with game animals, came predators. Deer, goats, beavers, chickens, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits, boars and wild cattle and horses meant easy hunting for the newly-returned people, but also run-ins with the native hunters: bears, foxes, wolves and big cats were the main predators and they didn't take too kindly to new competition. In the first year, there had been several run-ins with the predators, with a dozen people killed and a couple dozen injured from the clashes.

It had been a bit of an adjustment period for the returning people. On Prester, there were no major predators of any sort, just goats, some oxen and a few horses. But here, the natural order was the rule, with predator and prey locked in a fierce battle. Generations of living on Prester and its incomplete ecological cycle had made the people forget many skills that they suddenly had to relearn. Fortunately for them, technology shielded them to a small degree.

One of the things that Sophia had decided after the advance party had reported back was that everyone over the age of fourteen - man or woman - would be taught how to handle a rifle. There were a huge surplus of military arms with the fighting over, and it wasn't going to be military training, but basic safety and marksmanship. Each home had at least one rifle in it; many had several. She knew that Mullen and Dunya had their military rifles, Tatiana and Alister had rifles they had bought before leaving Prester, as well as their military-issue sidearms. Claus and Lavie had been given a rifle and a submachine gun, and they taken them, keeping the rifle in the house and the sub machinegun in their vanship.

Hunting was a popular and encouraged pastime for nearly everyone - especially former soldiers. A musket or rifle could take any of the local game with a decently-placed shot, and though not entirely quiet, they were quiet enough that the game wasn't spooked to the point of running more than a short distance. Feeding a family was much easier when deer, goat, boar and cattle were close to hand and easy enough to take and eat. All the farms had drying rooms by the end of the second year on the new world, and some farms were as known for their dried meats and jerky as for their crops. In town, butchers and sausage makers were never short on material.

It was the same in the lakes, streams and oceans. Fish were plentiful and usually not that difficult to catch. Many people were becoming experts at fishing beyond sight of land, catching big, heavy open-ocean fish, thought they were having to re-learn forgotten skills since Prester had never had anything close to an ocean or even saltwater. As with the land, the plentiful game meant plentiful predators. The humans had found giant, armor-plated fish with jaws like an alligator in several rivers along with alligators, snapping turtles the size of washtubs, and a type of toothed fish in the big, deep lakes that was aggressive and fearless. In the ocean, sharks bigger than a vanship were common, though they seemed more curious about the boats than aggressive. Several times, huge black and white whales with massive teeth had been seen feeding in the winter when the water was colder, and there were dozens of dangerous fish and creatures in the water, though most of them were more painful than deadly.

Vincent explained that three times in the last two months, bears had been shot and killed after either charging or attacking lumberjacks. One man had been injured pretty badly, and another moderately injured, though both had pulled through with the care of the camp doctor. “As you know, these camps are well outside the normal settlements, and sustain themselves mostly on fresh game and heavy bread and trail crackers. I think that the constant smell of fresh meat around the camps is probably attracting the bears,” Vincent finished up. “I would suggest that either dedicated curing facilities be established or that a small contingent of riflemen be sent to each lumber camp with the task of keeping the dangerous predators away from the camp at all times.”

“I see,” murmured Sophia, considering the issue. “How much resources would be necessary to set up a hunting and curing facility close enough to supply the camps with the volume of cured meat they would need? And have you thought about the cost of getting the cured to meats to the camps on a timely and continuous basis?” asked the Queen.

“I have looked into the matter, yes,” nodded Vincent. “The cost of using dried or cured meats is somewhat high. It is not that building a curing station sufficient to supply the camps is overly expensive, it is that the most efficient and reliable means of supplying the camp with the dried or cured meats is by vanship; and that means a lot of flying at Union rates. On the other hand, putting four riflemen at each camp is much cheaper, but has the drawback that the root of the problem is not addressed and that there would be four more mouths to feed. I honestly can't say that either approach is better or worse than the other, but if it were me making the decision, I would have four riflemen assigned to each camp while I built one or two curing stations. Once the curing stations were up and running, I would see about bringing in large amounts of cured meats once a month or every other month by river or by vanship, if a contract could be negotiated with the Union at something approaching reasonable rates.”

Sophia pursed her lips slightly. “Perhaps best would be to cut the Union out completely,” she mused. Vincent looked interested.

“I like that idea, Sophia, but how would you do that, exactly?” he asked her. Sophia gave him a small smile.

“Something occurred to me,” she said, opening a drawer in her desk and pulling out a few sheets of paper after a moment of searching. Slipping on her thin reading half-glasses, she scanned the pages for a few moments, slowly nodding. “As I thought,” she smiled, tucking the papers back away. “What have you heard about people wanting to make a new settlement on the western side of the mountains?” she asked, ignoring the looks of interest from both Vincent and David.

“For nearly a year now,” began Vincent, “ever since the western side of the mountain was mapped by the mapping teams, people have been asking to make a settlement there. At first, it was mostly young men, but in the last couple of months, several newly-weds have been asking as well.”

“You know that no settlements will be made with only men,” Sophia began. “That is just stupid and doomed to failure, but if couples are asking, then maybe it is time to think about a new settlement. But, before we do that, we need better maps, as well as determining if there is a land route through the mountains,” she thought to herself. “How many couples?” she asked Vincent.

“I have personally spoken with more than a dozen couples,” Vincent replied. “A few of them have young children, even. By and large they are younger sons or daughters, or former military veterans; just looking for new challenges or new lands.”

“Any nobles?” David asked, more curious than concerned.

“As a matter of fact, there was the youngest son of the Knowles family and his new wife, as well as the step son of Admiral Vitellius, whom I am sure you remember,” Vincent answered. David frowned.

“That madman almost single-handedly doomed us all,” muttered the Duke. “Attacking the Disith fleet without declaration of intent - and from behind, no less! Such a savage fool, the admiral.”

“Fortunately, his step-son takes after his mother, and is of far more sober judgment and greater moral fortitude,” Vincent rejoined. “His wife is a relative of our fearless helmsman, Author Campbell, as well,” he said to Sophia. Sophia nodded slightly. “The rest I have spoken with are commoners with backgrounds as varied as any trade we have here,” finished Vincent.

“I trust there is a good pool of skills in there for a new settlement?” Sophia asked. Vincent nodded.

“Yes. Carpentry, masonry, farming, military service, some medical, some mechanical - all in all, a good pool of skills with sufficient overlap to cover if there is an unfortunate accident.”

“I see,” Sophia acknowledged. “And how would you judge our supply levels, David?” she asked her other henchman. David considered that.

“We are well above the projected levels we had hoped to have by this time, my Queen,” he answered. “We have large stockpiles of nearly every material we need, and our foundries and other heavy industries have reached production status faster than we thought they would,” he added. “However, we are having some small issues with a few critical supplies. We have not yet found any significant sources of aluminum, nor have we found any Claudia to date. Thanks to Claus and Lavie's experience in Claudia recovery, as well as the new technologies we took from the Guild, we have a large supply of Claudia, and can recycle it for an extended period, but, unless and until a new source of Claudia is found, what we have is all we have. Additionally, we have not yet found what our experts would consider a sufficient source for copper, nickel or tin. Again, we took every last scrap of copper and nickel we could from Prester, but without a new source…” he left the rest unsaid.

“So planning settlements with land access or river or sea access is critical,” translated Sophia. “As well as trying to find a source of the few items we need but cannot find.” David nodded.

“How about manpower?” she asked both her henchmen.

“Sufficient for the settlement,” Vincent said. “In fact, I would say that there will be about two men to every woman, if the settlement were approved today. Not exactly bad, considering what our experience has been and the number who have expressed interest in establishing a new settlement.”

“And overall? Are we losing more lives than we are gaining?” Sophia asked. With less than fourteen thousand people total - Anatory and Disith both - and a significant percentage of that either permanently injured during the wars or past their prime, resettling their home world was a throw of the dice that had had little choice about making. Sophia privately estimated that only about seven thousand of them were prime settlement material - young men with all their limbs and young women with the best chance of bearing children. Fertility had been declining for generations on Prester, and Sophia had prayed that it would not continue on this world.

David Mad-Thane had been tasked with heading up the small team whose job it was to keep as accurate as possible records of deaths and births. “During the first two years, we lost slightly more people than we gained,” David answered, smiling slightly. “But for the last three, the number of births has been constantly growing, while the number of deaths has been declining. The first two years were the worst in terms of death. A lot of older people and the more seriously injured from the wars died during those years, but starting in the spring of year three, the birth rate has just taken off.”

“Dunya is proof of that, is she not?” Vincent smiled. Three children in five years would have been a record on Prester, but here, she was not the only young woman with such a record.

“Incidentally, David,” Sophia favored the older Duke with a smile, “I think that I will be lightening your load for the next while,” she said. David found himself smiling back.

“Why? What is going on?” Vincent asked. Sophia was not known for playing favorites when it came to delegating responsibilities, and there was as much to be done as there always had been.

“I suppose I should tell you, now that we are sure,” David said, turning to face Vincent. “My wife is six months pregnant.” Vincent blinked.

“Congratulations, my lord!” Vincent responded, giving David's hand a vigorous shake. “I had wondered why your wife had been staying home more of late,” he noted. “Holly must be excited,” he added a moment later, reminded that the Duke already had a daughter.

“Holly is very excited, yes,” David confirmed, “but even so, she is spending as much time at Claus and Lavie's as ever,” chuckled the noble. He glanced at Sophia. “I presume you heard of this from Al?” he asked the Queen. Sophia smiled, shaking her head.

“No,” denied the young queen. “In point of fact, Al didn't tell me. Your wife did.” David nodded, as if he should have realized it earlier. “Holly told Al, but also told her not to tell anyone but Claus, Lavie, Tatiana or Alis on the condition that they not tell anyone else. And they didn't.”

“My wife is likely the most excited of us all,” David admitted.

“Is she hoping for another daughter?” asked Vincent. David shook his head.

“No, she actually hoped for a son the first time, and she is hoping for a son this time, too,” he replied.

“I suspect you share that hope with your wife,” smiled Sophia. “Holly is a fine young woman, and a credit to your family name, no doubt, but she would be unlikely to carry the family name forward, after all.”

“I would love a son, yes,” nodded David, “but if I find that I have another daughter, I would love her no less for being a daughter.” Sophia gave him a soft smile.

“I am sure you would not, Duke,” she agreed. “Even so, we join in you wishing for a son for your family,” she said formally. A thought occurred to Sophia. “Perhaps you should ask Al which one it will be,” she suggested. “She has properly predicted every child Dunya has had, and a couple of others.” David blinked.

“I will think about it, your majesty,” he replied. “Though, honestly, I am not sure that knowing would be any more calming than not knowing.” Sophia inclined her head.

“So,” Vincent said, turning the topic, “should I start the settlement planning process?”

“Not just yet,” Sophia said. “I want to get a plan in place about the lumber camps before we turn our attention to the settlement planning. And in any event, it will be next spring before we are ready to launch the settlement attempt,” she pointed out. “To that ends, I would like to speak with Claus, Lavie, Tatiana and Alister as soon as possible,” directed Sophia.

“I will contact the Union, then,” Vincent said.

“No, not through the Union,” Sophia corrected him. Vincent raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. “Come with me,” Sophia directed, standing and heading for the door. David and Vincent obeyed, their curiosity raised.

A half hour later, they were looking at a tightly-parked group of twin-engine military fighter vanships. Next to the group were stacks of crates containing ammo cartridges for the twin machineguns, bombs and the new torpedoes that were developed for the fight for Exile. All the ships were securely locked down and in long-term storage mode - no Claudia in their engines, systems powered down and at rest, controls locked. No one could just walk in and fly off with an armed fighter. The warehouse they were in was surrounded by a stone wall and iron fencing, a pair of riflemen stationed outside the warehouse, and two more inside the warehouse.

“Sophia, how did you manage this?” Vincent asked. He had been under the impression that the military vanships had all been disarmed and demilitarized before the move to the old world. Sophia glanced at her close friend.

“Say what you want about Alex, but he was a shrewd man and a very effective captain,” said the Queen. “And I learned a lot from him,” the woman said firmly. “I kept these for the same reason we kept the company of Musketeers. In another warehouse, I have spare Claudia engines and parts squirreled away. Now, Vincent,” ordered the Queen, “tell me what you don't see.”

“Pilots,” Vincent answered without the slightest hesitation.

“There are plenty of surplus military pilots,” David interjected. “Could you not use them if the need arises?” he asked.

“If we find ourselves in a war, yes,” Sophia replied, “but if we aren't at war, I can't use them.”

“Why not?” Vincent wondered.

“Because they are all members of the Vanship Union now,” Sophia answered. “And therefore, jobs must come through the Union - at Union rates!” carped the Queen. “But I have an idea about that…” the Queen suddenly smiled. “My point in showing you two this is so that you both understand what a few of my contingency plans are. Also, in Exile's hold are one dozen Guild Claudia power plants. They were taken from Guild warships, and are in perfect order. I am holding them in reserve for any emergency that might require their power.”

Claudia units from warships had been used as the core energy source for New Norkia. It had taken a lot of work and some mechanical know-how to convert the output of the large-format engines into mechanical energy and electrical energy, but they had managed it. The survivors of the Guild were tasked primarily with maintaining all Claudia engines with the exception of vanship engines. The care and maintenance of the large-format warship engines was too technical for non-Guild personnel. Unlike before, however, the Guild was no longer allowed to keep secrets about the engines.

“Are you planning to use some of those warship engines to build Walker's station?” Vincent asked his Queen.

“No,” Sophia replied. “As far as anyone but the three of us are concerned, there are no large-format Claudia engines aboard Exile, nor does this warehouse contain anything but spare parts for the power station, foundry and sawmill. Are we clear?” she asked. David and Vincent nodded. “As for your question, I am going to use two of the engines from the bone yard to power Walker's station.”

The `bone yard' was what the administrators called the massive semi-enclosed storage depot on the edge of town, which held what was believed to be all of the technology units they had. It had taken the advanced teams two full years to build it and the basic town next to it. It covered nearly forty acres under a basic tin roof, with another twenty acres or so of fenced-in area for stockpiles and transit items. The entire area was walled by a stone and iron fence ten feet tall, with military barbwire atop the iron spikes. Guards were stationed there constantly, but their main focus was the large-format Claudia engines, the vanships and the vanship engines. Most of the rest was not worth dedicated guards, but did need to be secured. Also, the bone yard contained a reinforced inner room where arms and ammunition were stored. The armory was build of stone, reinforced with iron, and only three people had keys to the heavy-duty access door: Sophia, David and Vincent.

“I was thinking of using the engine from the Silvana as the primary engine in Walker's station,” Sophia shared. Vincent smiled.

“I can see the symmetry, Sophia,” he replied as the group exited the warehouse. “I think Alex would smirk, if he were here to hear that,” added the young man.

“It should at least cover some of his bar tab,” retorted Sophia dryly.

“So, that is what I wanted to talk to you four about,” Sophia was saying to `her' flight crews five days later. Claus and Lavie were looking at each other, obviously thinking about what Sophia had told them. Tatiana and Alister traded a look then turned their heads to look at Claus and Lavie.

“I don't know, Sophia,” Lavie said slowly. “The Union was established to insure fair pay for fair work and to give vanship crews a means to challenge nobles or businesses who try to skip out on a contract. And if people start going independent…”

“I agree that the Union was necessary - on Prester,” Sophia nodded. “However, things have changed. I know that you were opposed to the rate increases, and the higher union dues are doing nothing to help the rank and file crews,” pointed out Sophia. “More to the point, nobility is going to be a thing of the past very quickly,” she said quietly. “Within five to ten years, there will be no such thing as `noble' or `common'. What does the Union do for you in that case? For that matter,” Sophia asked them, “what does the Union do for you right now?”

“We've always been members of the Vanship Union,” Claus said slowly.

“That doesn't mean that you need always be a member,” Sophia countered calmly.

“The bigger issue is that not everyone owns their vanships outright like we do,” Lavie said, her hand taking Claus's hand. “We're a special case, you know. We joined already owning a vanship. The former military pilots and a few others own their ships - like Hurricane Hawk - but the rank and file of most of the crews used Union funds to purchase their ships, and the Union therefore owns a percentage of the ship. To quit the union means that anyone who doesn't outright own their own ship has to pay off the Union share of their ship plus the interest on the Union share over the time they have operated the ship. For someone like Sonny Boy - hell, for nearly all the old guard - that's a lot of years. For the new crews we graduated this spring, it would be impossible!”

“What if you tell your current class that if they want to own their own ships, they should come ask me about obtaining a de-militarized twin-engine in exchange for some work?” suggested Sophia. “All I would ask is that they agree to fly the supply missions on a regular basis. The rest of the time, they could take Union jobs if they wish to join the Union.”

“That won't work…” began Tatiana. Sophia raised a finger, pulling out some papers from her desk drawer.

“Actually, the way that the charter is written, it will,” smiled Sophia. “Note the sections with an arrow by them,” suggested the Queen, handing the papers to Tatiana. The other three leaned in close, reading the sections. “As a pre-existing contract and with a vanship obtained without Union funds, there is nothing the Union can do to tank the deal,” explained Sophia. “Also, note the last clause under the qualifier for membership. Given the standing of yourself and Lavie, you could argue that rule and quit the Union without penalty.”

Seeing that the two were wavering, Sophia pressed carefully ahead. “Ever since the war, the Union has been changing into a top-down company. What the President of the Union is doing now has nothing to do with improving the earnings of the members, and everything with solidifying his own authority and wealth. I know that you two have been looking beyond that since before the end of the war,” she said softly. “I am not asking you to do anything you don't want to, but will you at least think about it?”

Lavie and Claus were silent for a long moment. Tatiana and Alis waited. “We don't necessarily need jobs from the Union,” Claus murmured. “We have other skills, too,” he noted.

“Yeah,” Lavie agreed.

“I don't like the current President,” Alis stated.

“Yeah,” Lavie breathed.

“We have the flight school, and surveying work, and vanship repair,” Tatiana pointed out.

“Yeah.”

“And if you want, I can guarantee you spots on Walker's surveying runs,” Sophia pledged. “Or, if you prefer, I can find enough flying work here to keep you happy,” smiled the woman. Lavie looked at Claus, gently squeezing his hand.

“Yeah?” she asked. Claus smiled.

“Yeah,” he answered. Tatiana and Alis exhaled hearing that.

“You talked us into it,” Lavie said to Sophia, giving the Queen a half-smile. “Al will be glad to hear we're ditching the Union,” observed the girl. “We might as well tell them right now…” began Lavie.

“I think it would be in all our best interests to hold off on telling them anything,” Sophia interjected. “It would probably be better for everyone if we did this carefully. I want to wait to tell the Union until the last second,” explained the Queen. “Also, I want everyone in the Union to know why and how you are quitting it - to give everyone equal opportunity, of course,” she piously declared.

“The fact that at least a third of the crews will quit when Claus and I do has nothing to do with that, right?” snorted Lavie.

“Nor does the fact that once the others understand the situation, the President of the Union will be in a nasty spot,” Tatiana added.

“And the fact that with non-Union crews and ships having the record Claus and Lavie have willing to work on a per-contract basis, there will be virtually no work for the Union, which will mean that the Union will go bankrupt in very short order also has no bearing on not telling them right now, correct?” Alis smiled.

“The vote was split three times,” Claus pointed out. “If more than half the members cancel their membership, and there are no new crews coming in, the President will be left responsible for the balance of the Union debts. You are looking to crush him.”

“An unintended side-effect,” insisted Sophia. “What I want most is for you all to be free to make your own agreements, without having interference from some Union that no longer serves any purpose. I want you to be happy.”

“Lavie!”

Lavie Head turned her head, recognizing the voice. Spotting the owner of the voice, she waved an arm. “Over here!” called Lavie, the other person making their way to where Lavie was.

“Man this place is a maze!” complained the other, stopping and looking at Lavie under the indirect sunlight and some strategically-placed work lamps. “And you are a mess!”

Lavie shrugged. She was wearing a pair of military coveralls - rolled up, tucked in and secured with a belt to fit her small frame - and was nearly completely covered with oil, grease, dirt, rust, cobwebs and other unidentifiable detritus. The Silvana service cap on her head protected her face a little, as did the bandana that she had tied over her hair before putting on the cap and the one she wore across the lower half of her face. Pulling off her work-soiled gloves, Lavie tugged the bandana over her nose and mouth down to hang around her neck before pushing back the cap and bandana covering her hair. Her face was shiny with sweat, small drops of it slipping down her neck and under her coveralls. “Just working on vanships,” dismissed Lavie.

“You know, I have never been in this place before,” noted Maggie. “Thanks for getting us the job of secretaries,” added the other near-Lavie.

“No problem,” shrugged the shorter girl, unzipping her coveralls and peeling it down to her waist before tucking the sleeves into the belt she used to keep the over-sized coveralls from getting caught in the mechanical systems of the vanship. It was the smallest pair of coveralls she could find, and it was still about three or four sizes too big for her. Maggie saw that Lavie wasn't wearing her normal small, thin top, but instead had a length of soft cloth tied around her chest in a sort of tube top. “Let's get some water and a little air,” suggested Lavie, tossing her head.

“Sure,” agreed Maggie.

“Claus! Al! Break time!” she called. From the ship two over, Claus's dirty-blonde head popped up.

“Ok, Lavie,” he said, climbing down. A moment later, Claus came into view, once more working bare-chested in the work shorts he had worn when working on their personal vanships. A taller figure emerged right behind Claus. Maggie understood that this was Al, but it wasn't immediately noticeable since the younger girl was dressed like Lavie had been: coveralls, bandanas and a Silvana service cap.

As Maggie watched, Al pulled her bandana off her face, pushing back her cap and hair bandana before reaching for the zipper of her coveralls. The taller girl's ice-blonde hair fell out from under the cap and bandana, swishing as Al tossed her head. Maggie spotted a bit of bright blue ribbon and determined that Al had tied her hair up in a pony tail before tucking it under her cap. As with Lavie, the girl unzipped her coveralls to below her bellybutton before wiggling out of the top and tying it around her waist. Unlike Lavie, Al's coveralls fit much better. And like the mahogany-haired mechanic and navigator, she had a length of cloth tied around her chest instead of the top she usually wore.

“How's it looking on your ship, Claus? Al?” Lavie asked.

“We can get her up again, no problem,” Claus said. “But when you get a minute, I want you to take a look at the control cables on the port aileron. I can't get it working right, but I don't see anything wrong, either.”

Lavie nodded. “I'll take a look after the break,” she said. “Tat! Alis! Water break!” she called, passing another ship three down from the ones she and her two had been working on.

“Ok!” called back Tatiana, a pair of feet wiggling from above the cockpit edge. “Alis! How about now?”

“Still nothing, Tatiana,” came the muffled voice of Alis from somewhere inside the fuselage; or possibly the engine compartment. Muffled cursing could be heard as Tatiana Wisla worked her way out of the cockpit, where she had been wedged under the control group head-first, apparently working on a problem with the controls. “Give me a minute, and I'll help you get out, Alis,” Tatiana said, wiping her dripping face with a somewhat dirty towel that had been draped over the sill of the cockpit. Sighing, Tatiana jumped down, moving to the other side of the ship and helping her partner out of the engine bay service space, where Alis had been jammed in as the two tried to fix a broken connection in the throttle panel wires.

As with the other two girls, the former military pilots were wearing coveralls, but unlike Al and Lavie, they didn't have the bandanas on their head or over their faces. Both did have on caps, and Alis had her braid tucked under her coveralls so it didn't get caught in anything. Seeing Lavie and Al, the two swiftly copied them though unlike the first two, the girls were wearing thin black tops under their coveralls.

As a group, they moved to the edge of the covered but not enclosed area of the bone yard, where several large barrels of clean water waited on some stands. Picking up a small basin, Lavie filled it half full of water, then took a small hand-towel off a nail, soaking it in the water before using the dripping towel to wipe her face, neck and chest free of sweat. Wringing the towel out, she soaked it again and handed it to Al. Maggie was finding it hard to keep her eyes off Claus's bare chest. He's no muscle man, but damn if he isn't cute! she thought, blushing slightly as she filled large cups with water for the group.

As Claus wiped off his sweaty torso, the girls were drinking. It was late summer, and the sun pounded down. Under the shade of the tin roof, there was a light, more-or-less constant breeze and protection from the direct sunlight, so it was nearly comfortable at the edges of the bone yard. In the center, though - with less breeze and more walls - it was distinctly hot. Maggie spotted a thermometer secured to the post near the water barrels. Ninety four degrees? Doesn't feel that hot in the shade, but it feels hotter in the sun, thought the girl. August was a warm month, but the peaches and apples made up for it. Also, the wheat harvest was in full swing.

Officially, Maggie was working as a secretary under Vincent - as was Chandra - who was overseeing several projects for Sophia. One of those projects involved preparing status reports once a week for Vincent to pass along to Sophia about the progress on getting some of the mothballed demilitarized twin-engine vanships back in flying trim. For some strange reason, Lavie was in charge of the work, with the four Silvana mechanics attached to her, and eight assistants split up between the mechanics. For whatever reason, though, Lavie only ever worked with Claus, Al, Tatiana or Alis on any sort of regular basis, and the four former Silvana mechanics ran the eight assistant mechanics into the dirt. “So, are those guys giving you any problems about working under you?” asked Maggie of Lavie.

“You mean Godwin, Ethan, Kostabi and Gale? Why would they?” Lavie asked, surprised that Maggie was asking something ridiculous like that.

“Well, most guys don't like being bossed by a woman,” Maggie pointed out. Lavie gave her a puzzled look.

“What are you talking about?” she wondered. Maggie studied Lavie for a long moment.

“Nothing, Lavie,” she dismissed it. Has Lavie never worked a regular job before? Maggie wondered. Having worked several different jobs both on Prester and on the new world, Maggie knew that a lot of times, men - especially if they were older or in a job that was usually done by men - resented working under a woman, or even being supervised by a woman. Mechanical work was damn near exclusively male-oriented, but Lavie was widely known for her skills and abilities, which was a novel thing to Maggie.

“How are you and Chandra doing working under Vincent?” Tatiana asked, her pale grey eyes on the young woman.

“He's not too bad,” shrugged Maggie. “He certainly keeps us busy, though,” she noted.

“Captain Alzey is an excellent officer,” Alis noted. “You should be glad you are working for him and not for some other boss.”

“She means she thinks I'm a slave driver,” grinned Lavie, amused. Alis blushed a little.

“I never said that, Lavie,” protested the navigator.

“It's true, though,” came a voice from back among the ships. “Lavie is a perfectionist and she doesn't let anyone else do a job less than perfectly,” chuckled Godwin.

“You want me to really start getting picky, Godwin?” mock-threatened Lavie. “You think I don't know about that small jug you and Gale keep passing back and forth? Or about Ethan only putting on every other nut on the cowling mounts of vanships we aren't working on?”

“See what I mean?” Godwin laughed, filling a large cup with water. “She's got sharp eyes and she picked up the worst traits from Tatiana and the Vice Captain - I mean, Queen,” he corrected himself. Lavie snorted.

“Since I am such a slave driver, have you gotten your ship ready for a trial flight?” she asked the big man.

“Found a leaking pressure cuff in the Claudia booster line,” grunted the man, sighing. “Gonna take two more hours to tear down the fitting, replace the cuff and reassemble the damn thing,” he carped. “And then we have get the air back out of the line, check the pump for any air pockets inside the pressurization chamber, and bleed the output lines to make sure that no particles get caught in the accelerator chamber. Call it tomorrow at the earliest, boss,” he finished, absently patting Lavie's head.

“Yeah, I thought that might happen,” Lavie said, draining her third cup of water and going for a forth. “So I told Maggie to tell Vincent to tell Sophia it would be tomorrow,” smiled the girl. “Depending on how busy things are at her office, it might be the day after tomorrow when she gets that message,” grinned Lavie.

Godwin rumbled with laughter. “I could get to like working for you, Lavie,” he grinned at her. Lavie rolled her eyes.

“Please,” she scoffed. “I only agreed to put up with you goons because I knew I wouldn't have to tell you how to do every little job,” she shot back. “By the way, has that assistant messed up again? I saw him running around like Fat Chicken chasing a waiter earlier.”

“Him,” snorted Godwin. “I swear, if that kid were any dumber, I'd have to plant him in a turnip patch!”

“So tell him to get the hell out of our way already,” suggested Lavie. She had no patience for idiots in any form. “Or I will,” she added darkly. Godwin held up his hand.

“Give him `til the end of the week, Lavie,” requested the big man. “He is sort of figuring things out; kind of,” allowed the former military man. “When I told him to get me a pair of left-handed pliers this morning, he actually figured it out before he had gone more than a dozen steps,” Godwin shared.

“At that learning rate, he might make a semi-competent mechanic by the time he's fifty,” snorted Lavie, unimpressed. From back in the ranks of vanships, a male voice could be heard yelling Godwin's name. “Your idiot is calling you,” noted Lavie. “Let's hope he hasn't done something to destroy the ship,” she noted as Godwin set his cup down on top of the water barrel with a smack!

“Yeah,” he said, shaking his head as he hurried off.

Maggie watched this. She was intrigued by the odd sort of family that Lavie had. It was nothing at all like her family had been; nor was it like any family she had ever seen, either. Blinking, she realized her eyes were back on Claus's bare chest, the young man talking with Al about something or other they were working on with the vanship. The younger girl was smiling and nodding eagerly. “Want to trade jobs?” asked Tatiana, watching Maggie watch Claus. “Or do you prefer working under Vincent?” added the blonde, a faint edge in her voice.

“It's Chandra who works under Vincent,” Al's clear voice interjected, making both Maggie and Tatiana flinch. “Maggie just works for him,” added the girl. Maggie was sometimes a little spooked by Al and her strange insights.

“H…how did you know about that?” Maggie gasped.

“It was pretty obvious,” Alis offered.

“And Chandra isn't that careful, either,” noted Lavie.

“Don't you like Vincent, too?” Tatiana nearly heckled. Maggie frowned.

“Vincent is an ok guy, I guess,” she said slowly, “but he's more Chandra's type than mine.”

“Your type is Claus,” stated Al. Maggie flushed a little, feeling the gaze of the women on her skin - almost like needles.

“I don't know about that, Al,” she tried to play it off. “I mean, I'm not really sure what my type is, and…!”

“For not being sure, you spend a lot of time staring at Claus and blushing,” muttered Tatiana.

“Is it that surprising, though, Tatiana?” smiled Alister playfully.

“Given the other choices, it's not like there's any competition,” Lavie opinioned, setting her cup down and stretching. “Ok, break's over. Let's see if we can get at least one vanship ready for a test flight before sundown.”

“So, anything in particular I need to put in the report, Lavie?” asked Maggie. Lavie thought about it as she slowly settled her clothes again.

“No, not really,” said the girl. “Though you might want to tell Vincent to ask Sophia to come talk to me about something sort of related sometime this week or next,” said the girl. “Verbally, Maggie - verbally,” she cautioned. Maggie nodded. “Oh, yeah!” recalled Lavie. “You've never been up with Claus before, have you?” she asked, smiling. Maggie shook her head. “Well, you're going to fly back-seat with him when we get a ship up for testing,” declared the girl.

“Uh, shouldn't you or Alister do that? I mean, I don't know a thing about vanships…!” protested Maggie. She would love to try flying with Claus, but on a ship that was being tested after being repaired was not necessarily her first choice. Lavie waved the protest aside.

“It's fine!” she insisted. “Claus is just going to test them for flight worthiness. He doesn't need a navigator for the test run - and I can teach you what you need to watch for in two minutes flat!” bragged the girl. Before Maggie knew it, she was committed.

“It's really simple,” Lavie was saying that evening, as the sun was just about to touch the horizon, “you just need to watch three sets of gauges,” the navigator said.

“And don't do some things, too,” Alister added. Lavie and Alister were clinging to the side of the rear-seat compartment as the white and blue twin-engine vanship idled just outside the bone yard. Maggie was in the navigator's seat, feeling nervous and a bit intimidated. “Don't touch this, this or that,” Alister said, point to a few sticks in a control bracket on her right, a pair of switches at the upper center of the panel, and two toggles on the left corner of the panel. “The mixture controls are locked, but try not to mess with them. If you accidentally flip the engine emergency shut-off switches, the vanship will probably crash before Claus can tell you how to restart the engines, and the Claudia emergency purge switches will dump the Claudia from the resonance chambers, which will make controlling the ship nearly impossible. So don't touch them, whatever you do.”

“Unless Claus tells you to,” qualified Lavie. “Now, every so often, look at this pair of indicators. If the needle goes past this point,” Lavie used a red grease pencil to make a tic on the side of the dial, “you need to yell `pressure warning' and the engine to Claus. He'll know what to do, but just be sure to tell him if the needles go past, ok? The gauge on this side is port or engine one, and the one on Alis's side is starboard or engine two, got it?” Lavie asked. Maggie swallowed.

“If the needle of either indicator goes past the mark, yell `pressure warning' and the engine, left is port or one, right is starboard or two. Got it,” she repeated back.

“Perfect!” praised Lavie. “Now, this pair should never drop below here,” she made another mark between two vertical vial indicators. “If it does, yell `stall' and which engine it is. Can you guess which is which?” Lavie asked.

“Um, is it the same as the other gauges? Left for port or one, right for starboard or two?” guessed Maggie.

“Excellent,” praised Alister. “So if the left gauge drops below that mark, what would you yell to Claus?” she asked.

“Stall port engine or engine one,” answered Maggie.

“See? Simple!” pronounced Lavie. “And if both of the gauges go down, yell `full stall', ok?”

Maggie nodded. “Got it,” she said. “What do I do after that?” she wondered. Alister smiled.

“See these bars on the sides of the panel?” she asked, indicating two grab-bars bolted to the frame of the vanship. Maggie nodded. “Once you yell `full stall', grab these and hold on tight,” smiled Alister. “Claus will be very busy, so try not to distract him by screaming while he lands without any power, ok?”

“I really think one of you two should be back here,” Maggie protested weakly.

“It's fine, Maggie,” Lavie dismissed the suggestion. “No one - and I mean no one - flies better than my Claus!” stated Lavie, leaning in close to Maggie. “He won't let you get hurt even if the plan falls apart around him or blows up.” Maggie gulped. “Anyway, the final set of indicators you need to watch are these two over here,” she continued, tapping a pair of dim bulbs, one over the other. “These should stay green like they are now, but if they go out - the red ones next to them will light up if the greens go out - then you need to yell `instruments down' to Claus.”

“Do I need to say which one?” Maggie wondered. Lavie shook her head.

“No,” she replied. “If the avionics go, it doesn't really matter which part are gone - Claus will land the ship.”

“Don't forget to grab the grab bars and make sure your belts are secure and locked,” added Alister. She and Lavie checked the girl's belts once more. “Ok, you're set,” smiled Alister. “Enjoy your flight,” she added, patting Maggie's head.

“Shouldn't I be wearing a flight suit?” wondered Maggie.

“No need for one on a simple test run,” Lavie replied, shaking her head. “You aren't going high or far, and Claus won't be pushing the vanship, so just enjoy it!” and with that - and a fond pat on her head - Lavie was gone as well.

In front of her, Tatiana and Al were standing on the stub wings, heads close to Claus, apparently talking with him. Maggie couldn't hear what they were saying, but a moment later, both of the blondes hopped off and Claus turned to look at her. “Ready, Maggie?” he called. Swallowing roughly, Maggie nodded. Claus gave her a thumbs-up and nudged the throttles.

Watching from the side of the make-shift landing strip inside the bone yard fence, Godwin glanced at Tatiana. “You wouldn't have happened to of asked Claus to make her black out, would you, Lieutenant?” he suggested.

“No, of course not,” denied Tatiana.

“Claus wouldn't do that even if she had of,” Lavie interjected.

“Claus is nicer than you,” Al opinioned candidly. Godwin winced.

“I thought you liked me, Al,” he protested. Al gave him a sweet smile.

“I do like you, Godwin,” she assured him. “But Claus is nicer than you are,” she repeated. Gale snickered at that, only to have Godwin lunge past Ethan to grab him with an arm.

“Shut your mouth, Gale!” he growled, giving Gale a noogie. As this was happening, the white and blue twin-engine smoothly climbed and turned.

“Claus is the smoothest pilot I have ever seen fly,” Kostabi noted, watching the ship critically from Lavie's far side.

“Yeah,” purred Lavie, smiling warmly, even as she, too, critically watched the ship turn and maneuver, climb and dive.

“You saying I fly rough?” Tatiana asked the shaven-headed man.

“No, you don't fly rough, Lieutenant,” Kostabi replied, not taking his eyes off the vanship, “you just don't fly as smoothly as Claus does.”

“I know,” sighed Tatiana, feeling Alister give her shoulder a gentle squeeze. She had flown with Claus enough times to know she was no match for his flying skills. She and Alis had the highest marks in piloting, navigation, and maneuvering in the history of the Anatory Military Academy, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Claus was a better pilot than she could ever be.

“Claus understands the sky,” Al said happily, one arm around Lavie's waist.

“Yeah, he does, Al,” murmured Lavie, smiling. Al turned to Lavie, leaning down a little to whisper in her ear.

“And you understand Claus, Lavie.”

Meanwhile, Maggie was getting her first solo ride with Claus. As the quiet, calm young man danced the vanship though the darkening sky, Maggie found herself gasping and squealing in excitement and pleasure. She barely remembered to check her gauges. “We're going to climb,” Claus called back, opening the throttle and standing the vanship on its ass.

“Wee!” shrieked Maggie as the vanship climbed. At eleven thousand feet, Claus leveled out, the air now colder, but not unbearable, and the sunlight stronger.

“Look down,” Claus said, turning the vanship slightly to the side with a deft touch of the stick. Maggie did so, gasping as she saw the huge panorama spread out beneath here.

“Amazing,” she breathed, “it looks so small down there,” whispered the girl. “And it is so quiet up here, too!” she added, realizing that the engines were idling now. In the cockpit, Claus smiled. He knew exactly how she felt. He and Lavie had felt that way the first time their fathers had taken them up; and they had felt that way again when they flew their ship solo for the first time after losing their parents. They still felt it every time they went up.

“How are you feeling, Maggie?” Claus asked her.

“I feel great!” chirped Maggie.

“Your stomach is feeling ok? You're not feeling nauseous or queasy or anything?” he pressed. Maggie shook her head. “Not dizzy, are you?” he asked.

“No! This is great!” Maggie said.

“Did the maneuvering bother you any?” he asked, scanning the gauges in the cockpit. Getting low on Claudia, he noted. They had, of course, put a very small amount of Claudia in the plane - in case it had major problems or crashed for mechanical reasons.

“It was exciting,” Maggie said. “Why? Are you going to do some more?” she asked.

“Well, we're about of out Claudia, so we need to get back down pretty quick,” Claus said, tugging on his belts, “but if you want, I could make it a bit of a ride back down - maybe do a few moves as we go, you know?” he suggested.

“Let's do it, Claus!” Maggie yelled happily. Claus chuckled. She really is so much like Lavie it's crazy, he thought fondly.

“Grab the crash bars, then, Maggie - here we go!”

On the ground, the group saw the tiny spec suddenly start growing. “Did he find a Starfish up there or something?” Lavie wondered, realizing what she was seeing.

“Hope not,” Alister said, “that ship is unarmed.”

“Even unarmed, Claus could win,” Tatiana assured the group. “Whoa! What is he doing?”

“Looks like a split S into an inverted roll,” grunted Kostabi.

“He's going for a partner-less scissors,” Tatiana identified the movement pattern. “Starting a rolling pattern scissors,” noted the girl.

“Wing-over with a breaking turn,” Lavie called.

“Power Immelmann with an outside snap-roll,” Al burbled happily. She loved it when Claus flew fast and tight.

“He's about out of Claudia,” Ethan reminded them. “I hope he remembers that.”

Lavie snorted. “You're talking about Claus, Ethan,” she reminded him. He shook his head.

“Yeah, I hear you, Lavie,” he capitulated.

“Wheel and cross and here he comes,” Tatiana said, the twin-engine vanship roaring by barely above the roof of the bone yard. The people watching could hear a scream over the sound of the engines.

“Well, she hasn't passed out yet,” noted Alister.

“And it sounds like she's enjoying it,” noted Al.

“Holy shit! He's nuts!” yelled Gale as Claus flipped the fighter like a coin, twisting it into a reverse in such a short space that Tatiana winced in sympathy. Well, if the airframe is weakened, we should be able to see the cracks after that little stunt! she thought. The landing lights of the vanship came on as the engines screamed at full throttle for a moment, the ship slewing to the side before lining up and dropping fastidiously onto the short runway, the engines spinning down even before the ship had fully settled. It came to a stop just short of the group.

The ground crew swarmed the ship, seeing Claus yawning as he climbed out of the cockpit. In the rear seat, Maggie was panting, face flushed and slick with sweat, a smile nearly ear-to-ear. “You OK, Maggie?” Lavie asked.

“Great,” breathed the girl, still panting heavily. “Just great,” she murmured, licking her lips.

“You feel up to getting out of the ship now?” Alister asked.

“Ten crowns says she hurls,” grinned Gale.

“You're on,” Lavie shot back immediately. She knew the look on Maggie's face. Hurling is the last thing on her mind, Lavie thought smugly. “Come on, Maggie,” she said, getting the girl unstrapped with Alister's help. Carefully, she got Maggie on the ground, Tatiana and Al steadying the girl - who seemed to have some trouble getting her legs to cooperate.

“Take slow, deep breaths,” Tatiana suggested.

“She'll be fine,” Al said.

“Claus wasn't too rough with you, was he?” Alister asked.

“God, no!” breathed Maggie. “He's amazing!” she grinned sloppily. My under shorts are soaked - and not with pee! she realized. Her eyes focused on Claus, talking with Lavie and Al. Lavie flies with him every day, she thought, her mind not quite working right just yet. And the others have, too. How can they survive flying with him that much?!

“That's good,” smiled Alis. “He's usually so smooth and relaxed that when he started flying hard and fast, we thought you might not like it that rough.”

“Rough's fine!” Maggie blurted out. “But so is smooth and steady,” she added in the same breath.

“Well, that's a day, anyway,” Lavie announced. “See you all tomorrow,” she said, starting toward the gate to the bone yard with Claus and Al. Tatiana and Alister gave Maggie a final pat before heading after the three.

“Claus!” Maggie called out, nearly tripping as her legs still refused to be steady. Claus turned to look at her. “Um, can I fly with you again?” she asked.

“Sure, Maggie,” he replied easily.

“Soon?” asked Maggie hopefully. Claus nodded. Maggie saw Lavie give her a thoughtful look, and blushed hard.

Yeah, she wants another ride with my Claus, all right! Lavie thought, smirking a little. “Oh, and have my money for me tomorrow morning, Gale!” Lavie called back to the mechanic. Gale groaned as his fellow mechanics made fun of him.

“So, it's getting pretty serious, then?” asked Lavie.

“Yeah, looks that way,” Maggie nodded. The two were sitting at a small table on the street in front of a deli near the Council Hall. The early autumn weather was still warm, but the breeze was cool. “Chandra hasn't been to our room in a week! Most of her clothes are over at Vincent's house, too.”

“Isn't that a good thing?” Lavie wondered, taking a bite of a sandwich. The bread was a new type of thick, hearty wheat and rye mix, fresh from the bakery just that morning, and piled high with thin slices of roasted venison and turkey complimented by cool slices of vegetables. It wasn't much of a sandwich in Lavie's opinion, but then, she hadn't made it, either.

“I guess, yeah,” shrugged Maggie.

“So, what's the problem?” wondered Lavie. The day before, the last of the dozen twin-engine de-militarized vanships had been repaired, and just this morning, the final test-flights had been made. Since the work had been done between Union jobs, it had taken a good amount of the summer to get done; not that there was a rush.

“I guess I just don't like being on my own,” Maggie said softly. Lavie gave her an assessing look.

“Why do you think you'd be alone?” wondered Lavie. Maggie looked at her for a moment before answering.

“Because unless I am completely misreading Chandra, she is looking at marrying Vincent,” said the other girl. Lavie waited.

“And?” she prompted when Maggie didn't continue.

“And that means I would be left trying to make it on my own,” Maggie replied, as if that should have been obvious.

“Why? Chandra would only be changing her last name,” pointed out Lavie.

“Yeah, and moving in with Vincent,” reminded Maggie. Lavie drained some water from her glass.

“So go with her,” suggested Lavie. Maggie frowned at that suggestion.

“I'd rather not get in the way,” she said after a moment of awkward silence. “And without a family…”

“You can stay with us, if you like,” Lavie offered. “Claus and I can teach you to fly a vanship, or navigate for a pilot if you prefer. I think you might be an OK mechanic, so I could help you learn that. And there is always farming,” grinned Lavie.

“I'm not really cut out for farming,” declined Maggie. “And what possessed you to suggest that I become a vanship pilot or navigator?” she wondered.

“Next spring, Walker's new station will be launched,” Lavie said. “Claus and I are going to do survey runs from it. So are Tatiana and Alister. Al wants to come, too, but she doesn't have a partner. She turned them all down again this class, too,” smiled Lavie. As always, nearly all the boys - and two of the girls in the class - had asked Al to partner with them. Al had turned them all down.

“She'd turn me down, too,” predicted Maggie. Lavie hummed.

“I don't know,” replied Lavie, “Al likes you. And you like flying, so why not get paid for it? It isn't that hard, once you get the hang of it,” assured the girl. “A couple of weeks and I can even teach you cartography!” bragged the girl. “If you want to be a navi, of course,” she qualified.

“Doesn't Al usually navigate?” Maggie asked, recalling seeing the ice blonde doing just that more than once. Lavie shrugged easily.

“She's like Claus and I: either cockpit is fine,” she answered. Maggie had gone for a ride with Lavie at the controls four days before, and she had been shocked at how good Lavie was with the stick and peddles. She wasn't a match for Claus, but she was damn good in her own right. In fact, she had heard that Tatiana was teaching Alister how to pilot as well. “And honestly, neither Claus nor I really trust anyone else with her but us or Tatiana and Alister,” added Lavie. “If you learned to fly or navi, though, we'd feel better about sending her up.”

“You trust me that much?” smiled Maggie. She had long since realized how protective everyone in Lavie's strange family was of the sometimes-odd ice blonde Alvis Hamilton. “How about Holly Mad-Thane?”

“Holly is a good girl,” Lavie replied, burping softly, “but she's just not vanship material. She's ok flying as long as it isn't too high or too rough. When it begins to be hard to see the house, she begins to get nervous, and once, she was up with Tatiana, and Tatiana did a basic little maneuver, and Holly nearly threw up. No, much as I like Holly, I wouldn't want her flying or navigating with Al.”

“I'm sure her father will be pleased to hear that,” came an amused voice from the side of the two. Turning, they saw Sophia standing next to their table. “David is a fine father, but he gets nervous when Holly tells him about any of your more interesting adventures,” laughed Sophia. “Why, Lavie,” Sophia asked in mock surprise, “what in heaven's name are you wearing?”

“Funny, Sophia,” Lavie replied, a touch of sourness in her voice. Lavie was wearing a medium-crimson top with a black band at the top, and a white-and-rust large-pattern red skirt. The top tied behind her back, with a neck line that knotted behind her neck, leaving a lot of smooth, soft Lavie skin visible. The skirt had a black semi-sash that tied just below her cute bellybutton and covered her to her knees. Lavie's boots covered her feet. “This is one of Maggie's dresses,” she added.

“It's the one I wore during the Cave Eight,” supplied Maggie, smiling widely. “She looks awesome in it, doesn't she?” bragged the girl.

“Yes, she does,” agreed Sophia. The Queen was in a dress herself, though her dress was a little more conservative than Lavie's. It did, however, accent her cleavage and show off her neck and shoulders.

“And where are you off to, dressed up like that?” Lavie wondered, never one to take and not give in return.

“Just an errand,” Sophia replied easily.

“Claus is somewhere with Al, Sophia,” Lavie grinned at the Queen insolently. Sophia gave her a brief fake-smile in return. Lavie snickered.

“Anyway, I have an errand I need Maggie to do, and since you are here, I think you will find it very interesting to accompany her as she does it,” Sophia said, pulling a small sheet of paper from her dress, glancing at it, then handing it to Maggie. “Go there and find out what you can about the persons listed on the paper.”

“Ok, but what do I do after I find out if they know anything?” Maggie asked, slowly standing.

“You'll know what to do when you get the answers,” Sophia smiled, moving off. Lavie gave the retreating woman a curious look, and as she did, she saw four armed Musketeers waiting for the queen.

“Well, want to see what is so mysterious?” Maggie asked Lavie. Lavie considered for a second.

“Sure, why not?” she asked, stretching her arms. “We should be able to finish up before Claus gets too worried, right?” smiled Lavie. Together, the two headed for the address on the page the Queen had given them.

The two found themselves looking at a row house in quiet part of town. Knocking on the door, they were greeted - after a fairly long pause - by an old man, nearly bald save for a half-circle of white hair around the back of his head and sporting a somewhat ragged beard. “Yes? What do you children want?” he asked, making some noises in his throat. Lavie and Maggie frowned at each other. Children? they thought in unison.

“I'm Magmira Lohften, and she's Lavie Head,” began Maggie, forcing politeness. “We are here by request of Queen Sophia to gather some information about some people.”

“Does this look like a social hall?” grumbled the old man, turning away from the door and moving down a hall. “Well, don't just stand there wetting your nappies!” he barked, coughing once at the end. Lavie's lips peeled back from her teeth.

“Why that old fart…!” snarled the girl softly. Maggie touched her shoulder.

“Easy,” she murmured, “we need to get the information for the Queen before we hurt him,” she added. Moving into the house, they found that they were looking at nearly-endless bookshelves of books. “What is this place?” Maggie wondered.

“Isn't it obvious?” the old man brayed, “it's a library, of course! Now who is it you two are looking for? Your mother or your father?” he asked. The girls blinked.

“Excuse me?” Lavie wondered. The old man mumbled and grumbled under his breath, extending a bony hand.

“Never mind! Just give me the names the Queen wants to know about!” he huffed. Maggie handed him the sheet of paper. “Hmm, I see,” nodded the old man, before coughing a time or two.

“You aren't going to keel over dead before you give us the information, are you, old man?” Lavie asked suspiciously.

“Old?! I'm only fifty eight, little girl! Plenty of good years in me…” the wrinkled old man insisted, but had to pause to catch his breath. Maggie and Lavie exchanged eye-rolls. Silently, they followed the old man deeper in the house.

“Grandfather?” came a woman's voice from the back door. The two not-sisters were just in time to see a woman a little older than they were enter, a basket of herbs under her arm. “Oh, we have guests,” she gave the two an abbreviated curtsey.

“They're no guests of mine,” complained the old. “That child Sophia sent them!” he complained.

“Now grandfather,” began the young woman. He muttered and mumbled under his breath, pulling a few books off the shelf. Turning to Lavie and Maggie, she sized them up for a moment. “Please excuse my grandfather,” she said. “His arthritis has been acting up for the last several months, and it makes him cranky.”

“I feel fine!” insisted the old man, setting the books on a small table. “I could run a lap around the city with a leg tied behind my back!”

“And how many years would it take you, grandfather?” replied the young woman sweetly. He mumbled and muttered again, opening the book.

“Would you care for some water? Or maybe some tea or coffee?” asked the woman, eyeing the two. “Sisters?” she guessed.

“No, no relation,” Maggie answered. “She's a Head, and I am a Lohften.” The woman nodded.

“My apologies. Cousins,” she corrected herself. Maggie blinked, Lavie doing the same.

“What do you mean, cousins?” Lavie asked. The woman looked between the two.

“Isn't that why you are here? To pick up the papers for the Queen?” asked the granddaughter of the old man.

“What papers?” Lavie asked, suspicious. “Just what kind of library is this place?”

“Library? What makes you…?” began the woman, only to stop, giving her old relative a stare. “Grandfather,” she said icily, “I thought we had agreed about that,” she said, her tone tight and clipped.

“I never agreed to anything!” denied the old man. “Now if you're only going to chatter like magpies, go somewhere else!”

“What is going on here?” demanded Maggie. “Who is this old fart and why would Queen Sophia have papers here?”

“Shut your yaps or leave!” yelled the old man, only to start coughing.

“Calm down, grandfather,” sighed the woman, taking a cup of tea to him. “We'll be on the patio if you need us,” she added.

“What I need is some quiet!” he declared, sipping the tea.

On the patio, the woman invited the two to sit. “If I may, you said your last name was Lohften, and her last name was Head, correct?” the dark-haired woman asked.

“Yeah, what of it?” Lavie retorted.

“If you would, what were your fathers' names?” the woman asked, unfolding a piece of paper from a large book she had left on a small table on the patio.

“John Lohften,” Maggie replied, her tone a little guarded.

“George Head,” Lavie replied quietly, eyes intent. The woman's eyes and one finger moves along the page, her head nodding.

“Your mother's name was Estasia, was it not?” she asked Maggie. “You lived in the Capital, correct?”

“Yes,” Maggie replied.

“So, it was your family, after all,” mused the woman.

“It was my family what?” Maggie demanded.

“Did you parents ever say anything about brothers or sisters?” the woman asked, curious.

“Not really.” Maggie denied. “I think one or the other might have had a brother or a sister - maybe,” she allowed. The woman looked at Lavie.

“You used to live in Norkia, back on Prester, correct?” she asked.

“Yeah,” confirmed Lavie. “Enough with the questions! What is this about?!” demanded the girl, fists balled.

“What was your mother's name?” she asked Lavie. Lavie's face darkened, the girl standing.

“Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you,” she growled. The woman blinked, seeing the raw anger on Lavie's face. Maggie stood, putting both hands on Lavie's shoulders.

“Easy, Lavie,” Maggie murmured. She had figured out a long time ago that Lavie was oddly sensitive about her past, and this woman seemed determined to push her buttons about a very sensitive topic. “I think you better start explaining some things to us,” suggested Maggie. “Or I will have to report this harassment to the Queen.”

“But the Queen asked us to find out this information, and I am just attempting to verify the facts we uncovered,” explained the woman. Lavie's eyes narrowed.

“Sophia had you checking up on me?” she asked.

“No, we were asked to try to find the linage of both your houses,” the woman answered. “Didn't grandfather tell you? He was the head of the Royal Lineage Academy in Anatory back on Prester.”

“Well, we're both common-born,” Maggie declared.

“The Lineage Academy keeps more than just the records of nobles, you know,” the woman answered. Lavie and Maggie blinked.

“Um, actually, we didn't know,” admitted Lavie.

“It has taken us months to find what we can of your lineage,” the woman said. “You two are cousins twice over. George Lohften was the older brother of John Lohften, your father, Magmira,” explained the woman. “Estasia Head had a little sister named Laetia Head. Laetia Head was Lavie's mother.”

“So…” breathed Maggie, staring at Lavie, who was staring back, wide eyed.

“It took so long to find that connection because the only record relative to those two was a marriage certificate between John and Estasia, filed as part of the inheritance process for the family business in the Capital. It wasn't until interviews with some older officials were concluded that we learned of the connection between George Lohften and Laetia Head.”

“What happened?” Lavie breathed, sinking back down, anger forgotten.

“I don't know for sure,” began the woman, “but word of mouth was that George - the elder brother - refused to marry a woman his parents had picked for him, which was the final straw in a string of incidents. His father disowned him, naming John the heir. John already had a wife - Estasia - but when word got out that George had been seeing the younger sister of Estasia, it caused a fight in the family. Records indicate that John fought a duel with someone, against the law, and it is quite likely that it was with George. George fled the capital, taking his lover with him. The next records we could find indicate that George took his wife's last name - Head - and started flying vanships with a nobleman.”

“Hamil Valca,” smiled Lavie softly. Maggie was holding her hand tightly. “Claus's father.”

“Correct,” nodded the woman. “They had quite the reputation,” she added. Lavie flipped her hand.

“I know all about them,” she said softly. “I was there for all of it,” murmured Lavie.

“Indeed?” the woman asked eagerly. “If I may, I would ask if you are seeing anyone, or have married; you as well, Magmira,” the woman pulled a pen out of a small pocket on her dress, fishing up a piece of paper. “Accurate records are very important, you know,” she added. “I found that Lord Valca left behind a son, who would be about your age…” the woman eagerly shared.

“Of course Claus and I are together,” snorted Lavie. The woman's pen skittered down the page.

“Children?” asked the woman.

“Not yet, but maybe Tat…” Lavie's jaw snapped closed, her mind back in working order.

“Tat? Who is Tat?” the woman asked. Lavie shook her head.

“It doesn't matter,” insisted the young woman. She stood, pulling Maggie with her. “We have to go now,” said Lavie firmly, leading Maggie out of the house.

“What about the names you gave grandfather?!” called out the woman.

“Never mind that!” Lavie called back, nearly running. Maggie kept up with her.

“You're looking for Claus, aren't you?” Maggie guessed, even though it was far from a guess. Mutely, Lavie nodded. “If you want, I can leave you two…” began Maggie, only to yelp as Lavie nearly crushed her hand in her own.

“No,” whispered Lavie, running through the streets of New Norkia. It surprised Maggie to realize that Lavie's hand was trembling even as it clutched her own. Rounding a corner, Maggie spotted a familiar dirty blonde head next to an ice blonde head.

“By the candy store, Lavie!” she called out to Lavie. Lavie changed directions immediately, knocking over a guy who was slouched against a lamp post, talking up a young woman. “Sorry!” called back Maggie.

Claus turned to see Lavie bearing down on him. He barely had time to brace himself before she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face against his shoulder. “Lavie, what…?” he began, only to feel her shake his head. He realized that he could feel tears against his shoulder. Al studied Lavie, then Maggie for a long moment.

“What did you learn?” she asked directly, stroking Lavie's head. Maggie gulped a few times.

“We learned what Lavie's mother's name was,” she whispered. “Her mother was the younger sister of my mother.”

“Laetia,” whispered Lavie. Claus stroked her cheek, but knew she wasn't talking to him.

The four of them - Lavie, Claus, Al and Maggie - were in Maggie's room, having been uncomfortable with the amount of attention they were getting on the street. Now, Lavie was still clinging to Claus as the two sat on Maggie's bed, Maggie and Al not far from them. Maggie didn't know when she had started shaking so badly, but Al had helped her up to her room, and was now holding her gently, calmly. Maggie's shaking had subsided to an occasional tremor in her hands.

“Dad was never able to say anything about her - not even her name,” Lavie whispered. He always got choked up, and I think I know why now, mused the girl. She pressed her face against Claus's chest for a moment, soaking up the familiar feel and scent of her Claus. Claus caressed her cheek, neck and shoulders soothingly. Taking a deep breath, Lavie pulled away from Claus a little. Claus was looking at her face intently, concern easily seen. Unwillingly, Lavie giggled softly. “I'll be fine, Claus,” she assured him, patting his cheek. “It was just such a shock…” she silently shook her head, dismissing whatever else she had initially thought to say. Leaning into Claus, she kissed him deeply.

When the two broke the kiss, Lavie sighed happily. “Thanks, Claus,” she murmured. “You're always there for me, and you always know just how to make me feel better,” she said, giving him a stronger smile. Claus blinked at her, not sure what he had done to make her feel better. “I need to wash my face,” said Lavie firmly, standing up and moving toward the door to the bedroom.

“Um, Lavie?” Claus said, the girl stopping and giving him an attentive look. “Uh, that dress looks pretty on you,” he offered. Lavie stared at him for a split second before bursting out laughing.

“Thanks, Claus,” she laughed, making her way to the washroom next door. Claus scratched his head, wondering what that was supposed to mean. A small, soft hand touched his cheek. Turning his head, he saw Al smiling warmly at him.

“It's ok,” Al said, one arm still holding Maggie secure. Leaning over, Al kissed him as well. Maggie's jaw dropped open, seeing how Al kissed Claus. From the washroom, she could hear water splashing. Carefully, she stood.

“I think I need to wash my face as well,” she mumbled, hurrying out of the bedroom. Before she knew it, she was standing beside Lavie in the washroom, looking at her face next to Lavie's in the small mirror. She was blushing badly.

“What's wrong, Maggie?” Lavie wondered, sounding much more like her normal self.

“I…it's nothing,” she hastily replied, nudging Lavie's hip with her own. Lavie stepped over so her cousin could splash her face with the cool water like she had already done. Accepting the small hand towel from Lavie, she patted her face dry.

“Hey, Maggie?” Lavie said quietly, looking in the mirror.

“Yeah, Lavie?” answered her cousin.

“I've never had any family but Dad and Claus and his parents - and later, Al and the others - so I don't know what I am supposed to do or how I am supposed to treat you,” admitted the girl, peeking at the door to make sure they were alone. “But…well, I'm glad we're related,” managed the girl. Maggie slowly nodded.

“Yeah, Lavie,” she said, hugging the smaller girl, “me, too.”

Their quiet moment was interrupted by the door to the boarding room opening, and Chandra and Vincent entering, both very much busy with each other. Chandra's somewhat skimpy dress was already around her ankles and Vincent's hard dick was in her hand before they realized that they were not alone.

“Maggie,” breathed Chandra, spotting the two. “What are you and Lavie doing here? And why are you two hugging like that?” From the bedroom, the sound of the bed shifting revealed that Maggie and Lavie were not alone in the room. “Never mind that,” Chandra blinked, grinning evilly, “who's the guy with the hot blonde in our bed?”

“Oh, hi Vincent,” Al chirped, carefree and happy. Vincent had never felt so awkward in his life.

“Hi, Al,” he managed. He didn't notice that his dick was still hard - thanks in part to Chandra's absent stroking - and Chandra was still standing there all but naked.

“What am I doing here?” Maggie asked, “I live here, you know?” she replied, snorting.

“I meant, what are you doing here right now,” clarified Chandra. “Aren't you usually working at this hour?” she pressed.

“I could say the same thing to you,” grinned Maggie, “and Vincent, too,” she added.

“Or were you about to get to work together?” Lavie suggested with evil delight.

“Ah, well, you see…” Vincent began. Chandra giggled.

“As a matter of fact,” she began.

“Come on, Claus,” Lavie called. “I'm feeling better, and we're interrupting here. Might as well come with us, cousin,” she added, patting Maggie's shoulder as the group headed for the door.

“Bye, Vincent,” Al smiled sweetly, her hand holding Claus's hand. The door closed behind the four. Vincent sighed in relief.

“What did Lavie mean, cousin?” he asked himself aloud. A warm, wet heat engulfing his semi-hard member knocked that question clear out of his mind. Looking down, he saw Chandra looking up at him, her lips wrapped around his tip, her eyes glinting hungrily. Sucking in a breath through her nose, Chandra swallowed him to the root, the tip of her tongue just managing to tickle the base of his nut sack. “God,” groaned the man, forgetting all about the embarrassing scene before and the question of Lavie's strange statement to Maggie; exactly as Chandra had planned.

“Your Majesty? Do you have a moment?” Maggie asked, seeing Sophia sitting on the small window seat, looking through the glass as the rapidly-darkening late fall scenery. Sophia blinked, having been lost in thought.

“What is it, Maggie?” asked Sophia. Below, in the streets, wagon-loads of pumpkins were being hauled to bakeries, breweries and the marshalling yard, where the third annual pumpkin contest was to be held in an hour. The farm that grew the largest pumpkin was honored with a fancy ribbon and a small prize purse. There were also minor prizes for other things like most popular pumpkin carving, and best looking pumpkin. Everyone who cared to do so would vote during the voting period, then - while the fresh-baked pumpkin pies and beer were enjoyed by the citizens - a panel of judges would tally the votes and make sure no one had voted twice before announcing the winners. Voting was very basic, with small wood tokens on which the voter would write their first initial and last name then put it in a large basket in front of their choice. Not fool-proof, of course, but easy and quick.

“Can we talk, my Queen? Privately?” asked the younger woman.

“Of course, Maggie,” Sophia replied, interested in what the young woman might wish to discuss. Maggie closed the door and locked it before sitting in one of the two chairs before the Queen's desk. “What do you want to talk about?” asked Sophia, taking her seat behind her desk.

“I want to talk about Claus and Lavie,” Maggie said quietly, glancing at the door. Sophia's expression barely changed, but Maggie could see that the Queen was on guard.

“What about them?” questioned Sophia.

“Do you know their exact relationship is?” Maggie asked quietly, carefully.

“They are partners, among other things,” Sophia replied carefully. Maggie gave the older brunette a long look.

“That `other things' includes being lovers, too, right?” pressed the cousin. Sophia didn't say anything for a long moment.

“Perhaps you should be discussing this with Lavie and Claus directly,” she suggested.

“I'm not going after dirt on them,” Maggie replied, slightly indignant. “I'm just trying to figure out what's what with them so I know what I should be aware of!”

“Interesting choice of words,” noted Sophia. Maggie took a deep breath, her eyes hardening slightly. Her relationship to Lavie was easy for Sophia to see.

“Lavie and Claus are lovers,” she stated. “But he's also involved with Al, too. I've seen them,” she added. “And unless I am completely imagining things, Tatiana and Alis are sleeping with him, too. I want to know what Lavie and Claus's relationship is, exactly,” she stated firmly.

She and Lavie really know how to get to the point when they're annoyed, noted Sophia. “Why would I know?” she asked. Maggie leaned forward.

“Because two days ago, Claus bent you over this desk and fucked you, too,” she murmured. Sophia fought hard not to blush. It was supposed to be a simple enough meeting about the deteriorating Vanship Union and the newest batch of trainees in the school her two favorite vanship crews ran, but it had somehow ended up with her moaning happily as Claus fucked her over her own desk. She felt her pussy tingle at the memory. Still, she did her best to fix Maggie with a frosty look.

“Spying, are you, Magmira?”

“No, but you should really lock the door,” Maggie replied, her face heating up in a blush. “Like I said, I am not after dirt or gossip. I just want to know where I should stand so I don't hurt Lavie,” reminded Maggie.

“Is this about Lavie, or Claus?” challenged Sophia. Maggie gave her a sly smile.

“Both,” answered Maggie. “I can't figure out what is going on with them, and that is making it hard to figure out how to be her only blood relative.” Sophia considered that.

“I could help explain some things, I suppose,” Sophia suggested. “But believe me, you should just ask Lavie directly. She dislikes it when people do things that seem like they are going behind her back, you know.”

“Like having both of us washed through the Lineage Academy?” asked Maggie. Lavie had called Sophia on the carpet over that, but not with any real outrage. After all, she suddenly knew her mother's name and had a blood relative.

“That was more about you than her,” Sophia calmly answered. “The circumstances were suspicious, you must admit, and the very first time you two met, it was in a fight.” Sophia paused. “Maggie, I am extremely fond of those two - and not just because of what you witnessed in this office, either! During their time on the Silvana, Lavie and Claus proved to be more than worthy of their names, and I came to love both of them. Remember that.”

Maggie considered that information for a long moment. “Can you tell me about where Al fits into the picture?” asked Maggie.

Sophia smiled. “When I figure out where Al fits, you will be the first to know,” she answered, amused at some thought. “For now, you can consider Al, Tatiana and Alis to be as related to Lavie and Claus as you can get without blood between them; and they love each other, as well.”

“You mean…?” blinked Maggie.

“Magmira,” Sophia cut her off, “You and you alone are a blood relative of Lavie's. You have the chance to find a connection with her that not even Claus can have. And I believe with all my heart that Lavie - and even you - would be the better for having a connection like that.” Silence allowed the Queen's remarks to sink in.

Minutes later, Sophia spoke again. “Since we are talking so candidly,” Sophia said, “perhaps you can answer a few questions I have.” Maggie blinked.

“About what?” wondered the girl. She had figured out a while back that Sophia had had her investigated as best as she could be.

“About Chandra,” Sophia replied. “Vincent is my closest surviving friend. He is like a brother to me,” stated the Queen. “And I do not want to see him hurt.”

“Chandra wouldn't hurt him,” Maggie assured the Queen. “She can be a bit…wild,” hastened Maggie, “but she is not a bad person or anything like that!”

“Though I love him like a brother, he can handle himself in that regard,” Sophia responded wryly. “What worries me is her past, and how it could come back to make trouble for both of them. You understand what I mean, don't you.” It was not a question.

And Magmira Lohften instantly knew that the Queen had found them out.

The leaves of fall were very pretty.

Though the mornings saw frost and the days were cool in spite of bright sunshine, Maggie found that she loved fall for the riot of colors that exploded across the woods. Red, gold, brown, yellow, green and silver carpeted the hills beyond town. The ocean to the east of the city was getting rougher, but it was somehow peaceful to watch the sea crash against the rocks below Memorial Point. Very soon, it would be snowing, but for the immediate future, the new old world was all about colors.

“So, what is the occasion?” asked Maggie from the rear seat of a twin-engine vanship belonging to the school Claus and his girls ran. The ship had been a dull green color, but during the repair and upgrade cycles, it had become a brilliant crimson red and white, with a deep blue chevron across the cowlings. In the front seat, Al guided the craft through the valleys of the hills beyond town.

On either side were the silver vanships that Claus and Lavie owned, piloted by the two teams that ran the school. The group was heading for an unknown destination to the southwest of New Norkia. “We have something to show you,” Al answered back. Maggie enjoyed the colors of the leaves below as they ships flew about one hundred feet above the trees.

Crossing a low finger of a hill she found herself looking at a more or less open field, recently cleared. In the middle of the field, she could see a vanship engine hooked up to a generator, the power and electricity feeding some tools. In the upper one third of the cleared area, the foundations of a manor house were already complete, and the crews were working on framing the two-story building. Sheds and a few large tents provided storage for materials and workers. “What is this place?” Maggie wondered as the vanships settled on the simple landing strip beyond the generators.

“This is Vincent Alzey's house,” Al explained. Maggie blinked.

“The carpenters are racing to finish the frame and dry in the house before winter,” Claus added, standing beside the two.

“They have maybe three weeks before the snows start,” Tatiana contributed.

“Once the first snow falls, we're going to be taking them all back to New Norkia for the winter,” Alister continued.

“But by summer of next year, the house will be complete, and Vincent will be ready to move here,” finished Lavie. “With Chandra, of course.”

Maggie looked around the construction site. She saw that the house would be large and nice without being a mansion or ornate. From the stakes in the ground, she suspected that there would be a fence around the house proper, with room for an orchard, vegetable garden and maybe some out buildings on the back of the property. On Prester, this would be the sort of `summer residence' a noble of Anatory would have. “This is a ways away from town,” Maggie noted.

“Yeah, but that's not really a problem,” Lavie agreed. “A road will be cut this spring from the nearest farm, and Vincent has put in an order for a tractor, so they will be able to visit town without too much trouble.”

“The real question, though,” Tatiana said, looking right at Maggie, “is why Vincent is suddenly needing a summer house past the last farm.”

“Why ask me?” Maggie retorted.

“Because we think it has to do with Chandra,” Al answered her, direct as always.

“So why not ask her?” suggested Maggie. Lavie studied her cousin for a long moment.

“Because it isn't really Chandra we're worried about,” Lavie said quietly. Maggie considered that for a moment.

“Did the Queen say anything?” Maggie asked. Lavie shook her head.

“No, but then, we didn't ask her,” replied the girl, her hand absently holding Claus's hand.

“We're asking you,” Tatiana clarified unnecessarily. Maggie looked away from the former Anatory officer, not meeting the gaze of any of the others.

“Chandra and you have some sort of bond,” Al stated, touching Maggie's shoulder through the sweater the girl wore. “You have never said anything about it, but once Chandra got together with Vincent, things suddenly got nervous around Sophia's office. Why is that?”

“We aren't looking to judge you or anything,” Claus said softly. “We just want to know what is going on. You're family, after all,” he reminded her, Lavie nodding.

“Ok,” Maggie said, looking Lavie in the eyes, “but I have a question for you all, too,” warned the girl. “I already told you that Chandra and I met up at the Capital. Everything I have told you is true - just simplified. Due to the war, taxes were going up, mom and dad were fighting, and I was tired of putting up with it. So, one day, I ran away from home.”

The five listened, silent and attentive. “I thought it would be easy enough to support myself. I was young and pretty and had - or so I thought - a good understanding of the world. It didn't take long for me to find out I didn't understand things as well as I had thought,” she smiled ruefully. “I met this guy the second or third day. He seemed pretty sympathetic, and bought me dinner, and encouraged me to see a courtier about work. I did, thinking it would be like a maid or a secretary or maybe a kitchen worker.”

“The guy was some high official in the King's court, and he asked me a lot of questions before hiring me. It was pretty fun at first. He sent me to learn how to dance at a private studio, and bought me new gowns, and had people teach me how to get information out of people without them knowing it. But after a month or two of that, he sent me to talk with an older woman. She started teaching me about different ways to seduce men.”

Tatiana and Alister were listening, their eyes narrowed slightly in thought. Al, Lavie and Claus were listening, though they didn't seem overly interested in what Maggie was saying. “When I asked the man about this, he said that it was part of my job. I was a virgin then,” Maggie admitted, glancing at the others, “and didn't really feel comfortable with what was happening, so I slipped out and ran. For a while, I thought I had gotten away. Then, I ran into the man from before. Before I knew it, I had told him about everything. He seemed really surprised, saying that the courtier was worried about me. He bought me dinner again, promising to talk to the man about it.”

“I woke up in a room with no windows, tied up and naked,” Maggie shook her head. “The guy had drugged me and taken me back. The courtier was furious with me, and called me a bunch of things. He also said that he wouldn't waste his investment in me just because I was scared of a little sex. The guy I had thought was so nice raped me while the courtier watched and made suggestions to the man. After he was done, another guy came in and raped me, too.”

Lavie was scowling darkly, Claus not looking happy either. Tatiana and Alister shared a glance. “I don't know how long it was or how many men had sex with me, but eventually, they let me out of the room. I took a bath then was taken to the see the courtier. He warned me that if I tried to run away again or if I said anything that he would kill me and my parents. After that, he told me to get dressed in my best gown, because I was to go with him to a palace function. When we got there, he pointed out a young officer and told me to seduce him, get the details of the Anatory fleet disposition and report back when I had the information.”

Maggie paused, looking at the brightly-colored woods around the clearing. “I managed to get him alone, pretended to be interested in military men and matters, slept with him and then returned to the courtier's house. This went on for several months, being given tasks and men. It is surprising how easy it is for something like that to become normal; I even began to take a sort of pride in my work. One day, though, I was told to get close to the king's minister of finance, only to find another woman in my way. It was Chandra.”

“It turned out that the old man liked watching two girls being intimate, so I went for it. To my surprise, Chandra was just as enthusiastic. Maybe we were a bit too enthusiastic; the old man had a heart attack at the climax of our little show,” a cold smirk crossed Maggie's lips. “Chandra and I got the hell out of there - fast. We ended up talking, and I found out that she was in a position not unlike mine. We agreed to `help' each other out.”

“The next time we were both at a social function together, Chandra went after the courtier, and I went after her handler. Her handler was a merchant in Norkia, looking to gain wealth and power from the war. I slept with him then smothered him in his sleep. Chandra pretended to be into rough sex and crushed the courtier's windpipe during sex. She had to burn his house down as she left, too, because the doorman and senior maid had seen her go into his bedroom. They both died that night, along with the merchant and courtier, but we were free.”

Maggie paused. “We found a place to hole up while things cooled down. To eat and get by, we did jobs. One of them was the Horizon Cave Eight race. Chandra knew the organizer, seduced him and got me hired to replace the other flag girl. After the race, I started to think about going home and talking to mom and dad. I decided to do that the night before the Disith seized the capital. I already told you the rest.”

Tatiana and Alister were watching her carefully. “You were a spy,” Tatiana said. Maggie nodded.

“And you killed the Chamberlain,” Alister stated. Maggie nodded again.

“Does Sophia know?” Lavie asked.

“She does,” Al answered for Maggie.

“Well, I don't care!” Lavie stated. “He got what was coming to him,” she added, baring her teeth.

“What was the merchant's name? The one from Norkia?” Claus wondered.

“Master Jean de Sevigne, if I recall it correctly,” Maggie supplied. “He said something about being a banker,” she added after a moment of thought. Claus frowned.

“Didn't Dunya say that the Disith had an agent who helped them plan the invasion of Norkia and the Capital?” he asked his partner. Lavie nodded.

“Which would make a lot of sense,” Tatiana mused.

“Who did your boss work for?” Alister asked Maggie. Maggie shrugged.

“Don't know, but I sort of doubt it was the Disith,” she said. “It looked to me like he was after personal gain, or maybe political leverage, but I don't know for sure, and now we will never know.”

“You said you did dancing and entertaining,” Tatiana came back to an earlier thought. “Do you mean like that?” she suggested. Maggie's expression hardened a little.

“Sometimes,” she replied, “but Chandra and I prefer normal work,” she added frostily. “What about you, Wisla?” Maggie counter-attacked. “Does Lavie know about you and Claus?”

“Of course she does,” Tatiana smiled easily, glancing at Lavie. Lavie nodded. Maggie looked at her cousin.

“And you are ok with that, Lavie?” Magmira asked.

“Yeah,” nodded Lavie. “And it isn't just Tatiana, either,” added the girl, still holding Claus's hand. Maggie considered that for a moment.

“You know about him and the Queen, then,” stated Maggie. Lavie nodded.

“And he knows about Mullen and I,” she replied. Maggie blinked.

“You and Mullen…?!” she gaped. Lavie shrugged.

“It was just a short affair back on the Silvana,” dismissed the girl. “He was such a pathetic guy…”

“He still is,” snorted Tatiana. Lavie nodded.

“Yes, I guess he is,” she agreed calmly, Al giggling. “Dunya has him under control, though.”

“Is Dunya…” began Maggie, jaw hanging open. Lavie shook her head.

“No,” she said simply.

“You look confused,” Al noted. Maggie blinked. “Maybe I should explain some things to you,” offered the ice blonde.

“Let me do it,” Lavie said, giving Claus's hand a squeeze before releasing his hand and pulling her cousin away from the others, talking softly with her as they moved to the other side of the vanships.

“So, that is why Vincent has to have a manor in the country,” Tatiana murmured.

“Why?” Claus wondered. The two turned to look at him.

“Claus, what do you mean, `why'?” Tatiana asked him, wondering how he could be so dense.

“It wasn't like Maggie did anything wrong,” Claus shrugged. “And Anatory and Disith no longer exist, so why the big fuss?” Tatiana and Alister exchanged a brief look; and a smile.

“A lot of people lost a lot of loved ones in the war, Claus,” Tatiana said softly, hugging him, “and even if Magmira didn't do anything you consider wrong, not everyone will see it that way.”

“Right now, they are ok because no one knows,” continued Alister, “or more accurately, the ones who know see it like you do. But,” cautioned the former military navigator, “there is no telling when someone will find out who will see her as a criminal or a traitor - and then, things will get nasty.”

“Sophia won't say anything,” Claus stated with absolute conviction. “And I know Lavie and I won't…”

“Neither will we,” Al spoke for herself and the other vanship pair. “But anyone could find out the same way that Sophia did, right?” she pointed out. Claus frowned.

“I'll talk with Sophia, ask her to destroy or alter those records,” Claus responded after a moment of thought.

“She figured it out by talking to people,” Al revealed. “Sooner or later, people will be talking and put it together on their own.”

“Maybe not,” Tatiana suggested. “After all, Sophia was looking for information about Magmira specifically, and only in the cross-checking did this come to light,” she pointed out. “If they have no reason to compare her past with Chandra's, then there is no obvious connection between the two.”

“Maybe,” frowned Claus, “but I would still feel better if…”

“You what?!” came the shocked voice of Magmira from the other side of the twin-engine vanship. Al smiled.

“Looks like we better go give Lavie a hand explaining things,” she suggested, catching Claus's hand in one of hers, and Tatiana's in the other. Alister followed as well, finding a stunned Magmira Lohften staring at her amused cousin, Lavie Head.

“I look ridiculous in this thing!” complained Lavie, plucking at the top of the fancy gown she had on.

“No, you look beautiful!” Al disagreed, smoothing the lace and brocade that cupped Lavie's modest chest and accented her curves. Al herself was sporting a gown that matched Lavie's in cut and color, though with different accenting colors.

“Why do I have to be a bridesmaid anyway?” Lavie continued her complaints.

“Because there is no way in hell I am being one by myself!” Maggie stated as Tatiana carefully snugged up the lacing on the back of her gown.

“If I trip and fall in this thing…!” began Lavie.

“You won't,” Al said with perfect certainty.

“At least let me wear my boots,” muttered Lavie, seeing the fancy slippers that would be on her feet instead of the sturdy, comfortable boots she usually wore. “I don't want to catch a cold.”

“You aren't going to be outside, Lavie,” smiled Alister, buttoning the last of the tiny horn buttons on her own gown. “And the closest you will come to being outside will be walking to the church from the chapel - and that is a covered walkway!”

“Besides, you are probably the healthiest girl I have ever met,” Holly Mad-Thane contributed. She had a new gown as well - one that was exactly the same as Al's gown. Both young women sported hair ornaments and earrings in addition to chokers of lace and silk.

“Doesn't mean I can't catch a cold from doing stupid things,” Lavie stubbornly insisted. “I look like a bell, for god's sake!” insisted the girl, emphasizing the complaint by rustling the gown's floor-length skirt. The skirt was floor-length, pleated and layered, but the top of the gown was as skimpy as the bottom was concealing. Aside from two thin, narrow straps that curved around her shoulders, there was nothing holding the top up save for cleavage. And as little as I have, it'd probably fall off me if it weren't for those straps, Lavie thought, scowling at her reflection in the full-length mirror.

“I wonder if you will complain this much when it's your turn to be married,” Dunya laughed. She was dressed in a crimson and black outfit, not unlike the one she had worn while a soldier of Disith. The skirt was mid-thigh, with black stockings that ended just below the hem of the skirt. A black sash wrapped around her waist, and the red wool top was close-fitted at the waist and chest, but loose around the shoulders and arms - the better for musket handling, or so Dunya had said. The Disith woman was helping the others into the fancy gowns, since it was much more cumbersome to try to get into the things unassisted.

“Why would I get married, Dunya?” Lavie wondered. Dunya sighed, shaking her head.

“Yeah, yeah,” she waved the argument away.

“Claus better be just as dressed up as I am,” muttered Lavie, absently tugging on the top of her gown. Al gently slapped her hand.

“Leave that alone, Lavie,” chided the girl, “unless you are planning to show everyone your breasts,” added the girl. Lavie sent Al an annoyed look; which rolled off Al like water off a duck's back.

“Misery loves company, Lavie?” Maggie snickered.

“I'll remember you said that, cousin,” Lavie grunted. A knock at the door made all the women turn to look. “What?” called out Lavie, her annoyance clearly heard in her tone. The door opened, Sophia sticking her head in.

“I wish I had a camera,” smiled the Queen, slipping into the room. She herself was in an exquisite royal gown. Lavie sent the Queen a look that would cripple most people. Sophia smiled wider as she stepped to Lavie and fussily straightened the gown and Lavie's soft, almost-glowing mahogany hair.

“Quit it already, Sophia,” Lavie complained. “Al's bad enough, but both of you…” she shook her head.

“Chandra in her wedding dress?” asked Maggie, tying a very neat bow in the lace ribbon that secured her slippers. Sophia nodded.

“Yes,” she confirmed. She had more or less pre-empted the position of `assisting' Chandra into her wedding gown, going so far as to dismiss any and all attempts by others to help her. Lavie suspected that Sophia wanted to have some final private words with the woman marrying Vincent Alzey. “And I have been told that Claus and Mullen are dressed, as well.”

Lavie looked out the window of the chapel's second-floor meeting room - where the women were getting ready for the wedding. Through the glass, she saw the snow gently falling, electric lights and lamps creating halos of light in the silent blanket of snow. Even though it was barely five hours past noon, night had fallen. It was three days past winter solstice. “Who gets married at night in a snowstorm?” she murmured.

“I can't think of a better time to get married,” Dunya offered. Lavie glanced at the Disith woman, but said nothing.

“Yeah, well, you're from Disith,” Tatiana replied for Lavie.

“I think it is sort of romantic,” Maggie said, moving beside Lavie and looking out the window. “Everything is quiet, and covered in pure white snow, and the light of the candles soften everything…”

“I guess,” Lavie murmured. “But navigating a vanship is much harder in the snow, and piloting it when it's snowing is hard because the snow covers your goggles…”

“Enough about vanships, Lavie,” sighed Sophia. “You aren't navigating a vanship, and Claus isn't flying one. You are just being a bridesmaid for the wedding of a friend.” Even as she said it, Sophia was smiling fondly at Lavie. There is no question where her heart and mind are at, thought the Queen.

From the clock in the corner of the room came a chime, marking the hour. Sophia surveyed the young women in the room. She was the oldest, but even she was barely twenty five. “Are we ready?” she asked the group at large. They all nodded. “Then, let us be about this,” directed the Queen, slipping into her royal persona.

The wedding was a very involved one, compared to most weddings in New Norkia. With winter full upon them, there was little to be done in town, so the wedding of Vincent Alzey to Chandra Mougren had become the social event of the season. It had been moved three times due to ever-increasing requests for attendance, and had gone from a simple ceremony into a nearly state-wedding in terms of complexity. Sophia would be presiding as the Queen, and would be doing the customary rites of a wedding of nobility, but there were also some Disith customs mixed in, as well as the commoner-standard post-ceremony feast and celebration. All in all, it would likely be midnight before the couple could escape to Vincent's house.

Certain roles and positions had to be improvised due to the situation. David Mad-Thane found himself nominated to give away Chandra by his daughter; who had won the argument by telling him he should practice for when he had to give her away. Vincent had some relatives, but due to the trouble between Michael Alzey and Lavie Head, he had asked Claus to be his best man. Claus had been hesitant to do so, but Vincent had assured him that he wasn't asking for any political reason, but rather because he considered Claus to be his close, trusted friend; and because Claus always went with Lavie. Chandra - of course - demanded Maggie be her maid of honor. Maggie had, in turn, demanded that Lavie be a bridesmaid with her.

Because there were suddenly two women with Chandra, Claus would need company on his side. David had almost happy declined, citing his being charged with giving away the bride. Vincent had demonstrated his administrative skills by delegating Claus to find another man to balance the girls' side. For a while, Claus couldn't go anywhere without guys - usually fellow vanship pilots - volunteering to back him up. Claus, however, asked Mullen to be his wingman. Mullen started to say no before he saw his wife's expression, and reversed himself, thanking Claus for the invitation. It was only weeks later that Claus had discovered that Al had spoken to Dunya about Mullen being his wingman. And when Al wanted something, she pretty much always got it.

And so, months later, Claus and Mullen stood with Vincent, waiting on the girls. Claus was dressed in a nobleman's finery again, and Mullen was in his old uniform, clean and brushed and gleaming in the light of dozens of candles, which lit the inside of the church. The church was the largest enclosed area in the city, and it was filled to absolute capacity, every seat taken - sometimes twice - and every standing spot filled. Claus found himself fighting a yawn. I wish Lavie were here already, he thought. Catching a bit of movement from the corner of his eye, he glanced at Vincent.

“Something wrong, Vincent?” he asked quietly. The normally calm, cool and collected Vincent seemed to be having some trouble remaining still.

“No,” Vincent murmured back. At least, nothing you would understand, Claus, he left unsaid. Looking at the young Lord of the Valca house, Vincent wondered if Claus would fall asleep before the girls arrived. How can he be so calm?! wondered Vincent.

“It's normal for the groom to be nervous, Claus,” Mullen helpfully suggested. “I know I was,” he explained. Claus gave him a puzzled look.

“Why would you be nervous, Mullen?” Mullen leaned forward just enough to catch Vincent's eye. The two shared a look.

“If you ever get married, you will know why,” Mullen took the coward's way out. Claus considered that suggestion. Why would I be nervous? I know Lavie better than anyone else, and even if it were Tatiana or Al or Alister or even Sophia, what possible reason could there be to be nervous? He loved his girls, after all, and just could not understand how being with them would make someone as cool and calm as Vincent nervous.

His musing was interrupted by the arrival of the women, starting with Sophia. Claus smiled at her as she met his gaze. He had almost forgotten how much he liked her state gowns - and the cleavage it showed off. After Sophia had taken her place, Maggie and Lavie made their entrance, the two causing a considerable stir as they walked down the aisle to their spots opposite Claus and Mullen. Claus found himself barely able to take his eyes off Lavie. Seeing this, Lavie had rolled her eyes; but she had also been smiling warmly. Maggie found herself blushing as she noticed Claus looking at her as well.

And then, the bride made her big entrance, Duke David Mad-Thane escorting her in the position of father-of-the-bride. Chandra was dressed in a wedding dress that had taken the dress shop five weeks to make and fit. Claus thought the dress looked very nice on Chandra. Sophia hid a snicker as she wondered if Vincent could afford the wedding. Then, the ceremony began, and time dilated.

Eventually, though, it was done and Lavie was leading him toward the feast in the Council Hall, the rest of his girls with her. Lavie had wanted to change out of the gown, but had been vetoed by Maggie. The reason for that became clear when the group found a man with a camera getting pictures of the couple. “No,” groaned Lavie as Maggie grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the newly-weds. Lavie lunged and managed to grab Claus's hand, pulling him along to. Seeing his expression, she had growled that if she had to have her picture taken in the gown, then he was going to be standing right next to her.

As soon as humanly possibly, Lavie broke free and headed for the food; because Lavie never passed up food. Hugging the wall to avoid the small dance floor that had formed around Vincent and Chandra Alzey, the two ate as they watched the proceedings. This was the first wedding they had actually seen first-hand. Dunya and Mullen had been married while they were preparing to make the first trip to the New World, and the two had missed it because they were flying for Sophia and preparing their own affairs. Likewise, the weddings of what few other people they were close to had been missed for one reason or another. This time, though, they had gotten a very close look at a wedding.

“What's the big deal about weddings?” Lavie wondered.

“I don't know, Lavie,” shrugged Claus. “But they seem popular,” he offered.

“I wonder if our parents' weddings were like this.” Lavie mused aloud. “I just can't see mom and dad having something like this, and Justine and your dad didn't have any pictures of their wedding, did they?”

Claus shook his head. “Not that I ever saw,” he confirmed. “Mom did say, though, that they had been married in a church, so maybe their wedding was like this?” Lavie shrugged.

“Seems like a waste of time and effort to me,” she pronounced.

“As I recall, you two are sort of skeptical about the entire concept of marriage,” interjected a familiar voice. Turning, the two saw that Sophia had slipped up on them.

“I don't know that I would say we are skeptical,” disagreed Lavie, “so much as it just seems stupid.”

“Which part seems stupid?” came a voice from the other side of the small group. Maggie had returned from a trip to the dance floor with Vincent.

“All of it,” Lavie answered, snorting softly.

“Well, I don't get what it has to do with loving someone,” offered Claus.

“When you love someone, you marry them,” Holly Mad-Thane stated with great confidence as she and Al arrived. The two had nearly had to physically push Henry Bassianus away from them, the love-struck - or possibly just irrationally horny - young man having been following them like a lost puppy. “That way, you can be with them forever,” sighed the girl dreamily.

“What about the other ones you love, though?” Al pointed out. “Sophia once told Claus that married couples weren't supposed to love anyone else but each other. If Claus married Lavie and stopped loving me and the others, it would make me unhappy.” Holly gave her friend a long-suffering sigh.

“Like I said, Al,” she slowly repeated what must be a common argument, “your situation is very different.”

“What's different about us?” Al asked. Holly looked at the others briefly, seeking help. Finding none, she shook her honey-blonde head.

“Never mind, Al,” she smiled. “It doesn't matter in your case, I guess.”

“And for the record, Al,” Sophia smiled behind her wine glass, “I said `make love', not love.”

Al cocked her head to the side slightly, considering what Sophia had said. “What is the difference between them?” asked the ice blonde. Sophia, having a clear understanding of how the odd relationship between Claus and Lavie worked, just shook her head.

“As far as you are concerned, Al, there is no difference,” she assured the girl. “To other people, however, there is a big difference.”

“That's weird,” Al dismissed the notion. “And stupid,” she added.

“So, no wedding in your future, Al?” Maggie asked. Al shook her head.

“No, why would I get married?” asked the puzzled girl. “Are you planning to get married, Maggie?”

Maggie turned her eyes toward Vincent and Chandra, still dancing slowly. “I don't know, Al,” Maggie murmured. “Sometimes I think I might enjoy getting married, but…never mind,” she dismissed whatever she had been about to say. “I have time, yet,” she said firmly.

“Time? For what?” Lavie asked her cousin. Maggie glanced at the slightly shorter girl.

“I'll tell you some other time - in private, Lavie,” she demurred.

“Well, well!” came a deep, almost-loud voice, “there you are, my Queen.” Lavie spotted the one-eyed Walker moving through the crowd. “And might I add you are looking lovely, as always,” added the man with a roguish smile.

“What are you trying to weasel out of now, Walker?” Sophia asked evenly in response. The former black marketer gave the woman a hurt look.

“Me? Weasel out of something? I'm hurt, Sophia! I pay you an honest compliment and you accuse me of trying to pull something.”

“Don't forget that I know you well, Walker,” shot back Sophia. “Your aerial station will be ready to go by late spring, so what could you possibly be after now?”

“Well,” began Walker, sidling closer to the Queen, “I was just going to see if you might have a few minutes sometime soon to listen to an idea I had the other day…”

“With you, a few minutes somehow becomes hours of drinking,” grimaced Sophia. “I am not Alex, Walker,” she added. “And I do not have the time to spend hours drinking a bottle of liquor while you spin some unlikely yarn or pitch a proposition.”

“Touché,” he gave her an abbreviated bow. “However, I likewise am not young Lord Valca here, who seems to have some difficulty escaping meetings with you,” he smiled. Sophia's eyes narrowed slightly.

“My private affairs are my own, Walker,” she cautioned the man.

“Indeed,” Walker replied. “I am merely making suggesting some parallels between similar occurrences - nothing more.”

“Do I need to remind you that antagonizing your potential patron is not good business sense?” Sophia asked. “I will see if I can find some time later this week; or month,” she added. “Of what sort of nature is this idea you claim to have had?” she asked after a sip of wine. Walker grinned at her.

“Just a suggestion, nothing more,” he assured her with false innocence.

It was early spring, and Claus and Lavie were working with Tatiana and Alister to train up some of the civilian vanship teams on carrier operations. Walker's new station had finished flight testing the week before, and was now being provisioned and getting final fittings and adjustments before it was supposed to start the first of seven planned survey circuits, which would - Sophia and the Council hoped - give them working maps of the land around them out to a few thousand miles. The station was based on an unarmed (mostly) version of the Urbonis-class Anatory cruiser, but set up for survey work instead of combat. To that ends, it didn't have the saw arms, and the configuration of the deck was like the Silvana had had: an upper unprotected flight deck for normal air operations, a smaller semi-protected flight deck at the bottom, and the working and living quarters sandwiched between the upper deck and the large-format Claudia engine, with the mechanic deck and workspace below the Claudia engine.

As Sophia had planned, the main engine in the station - the one that would lift and maneuver the ship - was the one from the Silvana. Another large-format engine would provide redundant control and power the ship's non-flight needs. Without the need for cannon turrets, massive armor to withstand bombardment and a magazine to hold the shells for the cannons, the ship had about the same displacement as the Silvana had had, but was roughly one third larger overall, with more comfortable appointment and less cramped layout. Thanks to being a twin-engine design, the ship could go faster than the Silvana and carried two full squadrons of vanships. Lescius Dagobert, the former engineer on the Silvana and a former member of the Guild before his house was purged by Maestro Delphine, had assured Sophia that the ship was as well-engineered and built as he could manage.

Being given a VIP tour of the station right after it completed engine trials, Claus and his group had marveled at the station. Walker had bemoaned the lack of a casino, large bar and black market storehouse, but Claus couldn't help but notice he was smiling like a kid in a candy shop. The staterooms were larger and more comfortably appointed than they had been on the Silvana, and the passages and access ladders were likewise wider and more like a hotel than a warship. Some things, however, remained. Lavie pointed out that the compartmentalizing doors remained, as did securing gear and dogs on all critical passage hatches. The girl also spotted four concealed cannon positions - two front, two rear - and a strange track system mid-ship that she suspected was a second-gen form of the infamous rocket-propelled armor-piercing array that had been mounted in the bow of the Silvana.

The VIP tour was conducted by Lescius and two former Guild members who had worked under his supervision to oversee the construction of the ship. Among the people given first look at the ship was Sophia, Claus, Lavie, Tatiana, Alister, Al, Weena, Godwin, Gale, Kostabi, Ethan, Vincent and David. After the full tour, the group found themselves on bridge, which was arranged in a linear layout instead of a box layout like the Silvana had been, with large windows instead of the relatively small portholes of the warship. A row of them overlooked the flight deck, and there were the front and rear windows, as well as some to look over the side of the ship, being that the bridge was mounted to the port side of the flight deck. “Well, what do you think, Sophia?” Dagobert asked, smiling.

“It is quite impressive, Lescius,” the Queen replied. “This is not quite the kind of ship I had envisioned, but I am very pleased with what I am seeing,” she added.

“What classification is this ship?” Vincent wondered. “Displacement would make it a cruiser, but mass would make it a battleship. By output power, it would be a station. In practice, it is all those classes and more. So, what is this ship's classification?”

“We have been calling it an aerial carrier,” one of Dagobert's underlings supplied. “Carrier for short.” Vincent considered that.

“I like it,” he offered a moment later. “I don't know if I would want to Captain one in a fight with ships of the line, but if accompanied by cruiser or battleships, the vanship squadrons could make this a powerful weapon.”

“Yes, it could be a weapon, but that is not its intended purpose, Vincent,” Sophia reminded him.

“Why is the bridge all the way on the port side of the superstructure?” Weena asked, curious.

“We thought about several possible placements,” explained the head engineer, “but after accounting for as many scenarios as we could, we found that putting it all the way over here gave us the most safety margin for the vanship operations, as well as providing the best observational position for the Captain and bridge crew. Additionally, we were able to re-balance the ship for this position by putting the stores and elevators on the opposite side, which gave us an additional eleven percent surface area for vanship operations.”

“As big as that flight deck is, an amateur could land a vanship on it,” Lavie scoffed.

“When it's calm like this, or the vanship is running correctly, or the visibility is good, yes,” Claus agreed.

“But you know that sometimes the conditions are bad, or the visibility is low, or a vanship has damage,” Tatiana reminded the girl, “and when that is the case, things are much trickier. Even this big of a deck can seem a tiny, elusive target in certain circumstances.”

“And for that reason,” Sophia smoothly slipped into the conversation, “I would like to ask if you two could train the vanship crews.”

“Train them?” blinked Claus. Sophia nodded.

“We have decided that we are going to ask for volunteers who have experience with surveying to fly off this station. Most of the best survey teams - with the exception of you two - are civilian vanship crews who have never flown off a carrier. You know how tricky that can be, Claus. I would feel a lot better about the volunteers if they were trained by you and Tatiana on flying from an aerial station. Also, virtually none of them have experience navigating course intercept problems. The military ones can, but they are not the best survey teams.”

Claus and Lavie exchanged looks. Sophia knew that they still were uncomfortable with their inadvertent role in creating aerial attack vanship squadrons. More than a few of the casualties during the Guild war had been vanship crews they knew. Even if it wasn't their fault, they still felt at least partially responsible for those deaths because it had been their actions that gave David Mad-Thane the idea.

“It wouldn't be combat,” Claus murmured to Lavie.

“And they would need to know how to do it without killing themselves,” Lavie whispered. After a moment, the two nodded. Sophia smiled at them warmly.

“Thank you,” she said, hugging the two.

“Since we are on the subject, who is going to be crewing this thing?” Godwin asked.

“I'm the Captain,” Walker said immediately, “but I don't know much about how to run a ship as opposed to a station. So, I was hoping I could recruit some experienced crewmen - or crewwomen,” he added, grinning at Weena. “At the very minimum for a couple of cruises, or until I can find a permanent crew and get them properly trained,” qualified the man. “And I will also be needing a good mechanical team, too,” he grinned.

Godwin and his three cohorts grinned back. “Well, just so happens that we are between work orders right now,” he said, “and for the right price, you can hire us!”

Walker gave them a hurt look. “You mean you won't do it for old time's sake?”

“No,” said Gale flatly.

“Not even for a friend?” Walker asked.

“Friendships are such…negotiable things when it comes to certain people,” smiled Kostabi.

“Even as a final farewell to Alex?” tried the man.

“Alex and you had a cash-on-delivery relationship,” Ethan replied. “We'd be delighted to continue that in memory of Alex.”

“Sophia, help out an old friend?” he appealed to the Queen.

“Sure,” she smiled. Turning to Godwin, she said “be sure to get the agreement in writing, or he'll try to short-change you. And before you sign anything he puts in front of you, read both sides of the document.”

“Sophia!” protested Walker.

“What?” she asked innocently. “You asked me to help an old friend out, and that is exactly what I am doing. Alex told me these very things himself.” Walker scowled.

“You're no fun,” he muttered, pulling a flask from his pocket and taking a swig. “How about you, Lavie? I could use a good mechanical supervisor,” he offered.

“I'm flying with Claus,” was all Lavie said.

“Weena? I wouldn't have a problem naming you first officer,” he enticed.

“How much does that pay?” asked the former sonar operator. Walker sighed.

“What is it with you all and money?” he asked rhetorically. “I thought this would be a great chance for high adventure and brave new challenges…!”

“High adventure doesn't pay very well,” Tatiana replied deadpan.

“And new challenges tend to be painful,” Claus added.

“You don't work for free, so why should we?” Al asked, direct and blunt as a club to the forehead.

The haggling had gone on for hours, but when it was done, Dagobert was signed on for two cruises as the chief engineer, the four mechanics were signed on for two cruises as head mechanics, Weena had been talked into being the First Officer and both vanship crews were in for a training cycle. Most surprisingly, Sophia had finally given in and taken the position of Vice Captain and flight deck operations officer.

That had surprised most of the party. When Claus had managed to ask Sophia about why she had done that, she had explained that the Council would need to begin taking over the administration of the city, and what better way to start the process than by going away for a couple of months at a time? She also all but begged him to come with her. Claus told her that he would think about it. Sophia knew that that meant talking to Lavie about the issue.

Now, with only a few weeks before the first survey trip would depart, Lavie was sitting with Maggie at a small table in a deli in New Norkia. The sun was bright, but the wind was still a little cold for sitting outdoors, so they were sitting inside, enjoying some warm drinks and sweet pastries. Lavie was telling Maggie that she and the others had decided to go with Sophia on the survey run, as flight leaders for the surveying runs. “So, how about coming with us?” Lavie asked her cousin.

“You mean, going on the ship with you?” Maggie asked. Lavie nodded. “But, I don't really have any skills that would be useful,” she began.

“Who cares?” Lavie shrugged. “You can always help out in the kitchen, or I can ask Weena or Sophia to train you to be a bridge officer. Al still needs a partner, too - we can teach you what you would need to know,” urged Lavie.

“But, what about my room…?” Maggie wondered.

“That boarding house room you are paying through the nose for?” Lavie asked. Maggie nodded. “What about it? Let them rent it out to someone else,” declared Lavie. “You aren't planning to live there the rest of your life, are you?” she challenged. Mutely, Maggie shook her head.

“What about you all, though?” Maggie asked as Lavie stuffed a pastry in her mouth. “If you all go, what are Mullen and Dunya going to do?”

“Farm,” shrugged Lavie. “That's what they are doing mostly anyway. Dunya's oldest is already helping around the house, and Mullen has a couple of older boys from neighboring farms helping him in exchange for part of the harvest, so it isn't like they are going to be helpless without us,” explained Lavie. “Besides, things are getting a bit crowded in the house, since Dunya is due again in two months.”

“Again?” asked Maggie, shaking her head. “I wonder about Disith women…” she murmured.

“Chandra is pregnant, too, isn't she?” Lavie asked. Maggie nodded.

“Due mid-summer,” confirmed Lavie's cousin. Lavie gave her cousin a grin.

“That isn't nine months from the wedding,” she teased. Maggie shrugged.

“I somehow can't really see you of all people being uptight about that,” she replied drolly. Lavie shrugged.

“Honestly, that is sort of something we've been talking about more often lately,” Lavie confided. “Some of us have been thinking it's about time to make a house of our own.” Maggie frowned.

“You mean, leave Dunya and Mullen in the house you have now and build one for yourselves?” she asked.

Lavie nodded. “Exactly. Besides, as fast as Dunya is having kids, they'll have a full house in no time,” she snickered. “And Tatiana and I have been thinking about a different way of teaching vanship crews, as well as Claus and I doing more mechanical work. Al is turning into a good mechanic herself, and she pilots and navigates, too, so…” Lavie shrugged. “A house for us, with a purpose-built school and workshop area would be better for everyone in the long run.”

“I see,” Maggie nodded. Lavie touched her hand.

“I include you in `us', cousin,” she said quietly, but intently. “You are part of our family, too, you know.”

Maggie wasn't sure what to say. “I…um, thank you, Lavie,” she managed.

“Our family might be a little strange to most people, but we are family. We always will be, too,” added Lavie.

“So, uh, where were you thinking of building your house?” Maggie asked, groping for a topic.

“Probably south of here,” shrugged Lavie. “But nothing is set in stone yet. Doing the survey runs will help us firm up our decision. Who knows what we might find out there, you know?”

When Walker Station departed New Norkia on its inaugural survey run, Maggie was on the ship with the rest of her family.

Three months went by fast. With twelve vanships aboard, Walker Station ran survey runs in a half-circle ahead and to the sides as it made a curving cruise along the far edge of the surveyed areas. Survey runs were typically done in four or six vanship formations, and typically ran from sunrise to sunset, with the station using the night time hours to move to the far edge of the surveyed area covered that day.

Claus and Lavie were the section leaders for First Flight, and Tatiana and Alister were the section leaders for Second Flight. Typically, each flight flew half a day, either dawn to noon or noon to dusk, depending, relieving each other so the constant flying didn't wear our crews or vanships. Once every five days, the station would slow to dead slow and give the entire flight group an entire day off to relax, work on their ships or maintain gear or self. Once every fifteen days, the station would take an entire day off and just relax, visit and enjoy the scenery.

And what scenery they found, too. Mountains, rivers, lakes, valleys, bays and coves were all found and surveyed. Occasionally, they would see barely-distinguishable ruins of what they assumed were their original civilization on this planet. Time had destroyed it, of course, and there was virtually nothing to see in the ruins, but traces of them could sometimes be found. Crumbling concrete forms were most common, partially hidden under the vegetation of centuries.

The surveying the group was doing was not precision surveying - which could take quite a while and a lot of time per section, but a more large-scale mapping of the area, as well as notes on terrain and distances. Later, the details of each area deemed suitable would be precision mapped and surveyed, but for now, it was all about exploring and getting the large picture. The air wing covered a path nearly one hundred miles wide each day, working outward from New Norkia in re-curved arcs. For the time being, the ocean was left alone, though there was no doubt that in time, it, too, would be crossed, mapped and explored.

Walker Station usually flew five thousand feet above the ground, to see better and make it easier for the vanships to find it. Sometimes, it would descend to only a few hundred feet above the trees, while other times, it would climb until the air got uncomfortably thin. Claus remarked more than once that this sky truly had no limit - unlike the skies of Prester. Once, he and Lavie climbed their vanship as high as they could, and told the others that the sky just kept on going, blue and clear and endless. Sophia had been irate when she found out that they had gone so high that their vanship was covered in ice and they had started to pass out from lack of oxygen. Forthwith, such flying was prohibited by her order.

In addition to the vanships, there were three heavy transports aboard. Occasionally, while the station was creeping along, Sophia would authorize some of the riflemen aboard to land and hunt up fresh meat for the galley. To crew the transports, she favored military crews, since the transports were very different from anything the civilian crews had ever piloted. The exception for this was Claus and Lavie.

Living aboard Walker Station was pretty comfortable. Unlike a warship such as the Silvana had been, Walker Station had larger staterooms, with wood floors, painted wood and steel walls, large portholes that could open - usually two or four per stateroom - full beds instead of military bunks, and actual furniture. Of course, because it was a flying station, the furniture and beds were all bolted to the floor, and the doors were all metal-edged and equipped with dogs. The light fixtures were simple and durable, but much better than the single bulb the Silvana had had to light their cabin.

Large or not, there was still not an endless amount of staterooms. Each stateroom had either two or four beds in it, depending on the rank of the occupant. Most of the crew was in four-bed staterooms, though some were in two-bed staterooms because the bridge crew and flight officers took up fewer staterooms than anticipated. Tatiana and Alister settled in the same two-bed stateroom as Claus and Lavie, claiming that it would be perfectly fine, given their current living arrangements. Sophia found herself rooming with Al and Maggie, though it was hardly unusual to find one of the others in the room instead of her official roommates. She herself often ended up in the stateroom of the flight officers.

Weena shared a twin-bed with the Second Mate, a Disith woman who had served aboard the flagship of King Scheer of Disith during the wars. She was known to Sophia and Dunya, and had made quick friends with Weena. The two found out that their ships had faced each other three times during the Anatory-Disith war, and been formation-mates in both major battles of the Alliance-Guild war. Her ship, unlike the Silvana, had been destroyed by Exile's tentacles during the final fight by a direct hit to the Claudia engine and by the tentacles crushing the keel of her ship. Even so, she had survived. She was only two years older than Weena, but had been in combat twice as long as the sonar specialist.

Maggie split her time between flying with Al and learning the jobs of Sophia and Weena. It was sort of odd, but she found she enjoyed all of it - the flying and the bridge work. Claus, Lavie, Tatiana and Alister gave her the same attention they gave Al, teaching her everything they knew as well and as fast as they could. Following their lead, Sophia and Weena did the same, cramming as much as they could into her brain. Sophia went a step farther, giving her books to read one after the other, about a range of topics. Maggie had observed that from the marks, notes and general wear on the books, Sophia must have spent a lot of time with those books as well. Lavie and Claus had looked over the books as Maggie cycled through them. They were about things like logistical planning and execution, tactical assessment, strategic theory and history, command and control administration, history, politics and business. There were also a few on logic and philosophy.

The mess hall was more like a dining room than the mess on the Silvana had been. Walker had mandated actual tables - complete with table cloths - and a larger, more versatile kitchen, which meant that the meals were more than mere military ration cooking; though perhaps not quite top-grade restaurant eating in New Norkia. Of particular improvement were the breads and meats. Al still occasionally spent time in the galley, but not as much as she used to when she was on the Silvana. What happened most often was that she would spend a shift in there making something special for her friends or family. Each meal was hearty, good and well-rounded with meat, vegetables, grains, breads and nuts. Dried fruit was also served periodically in a number of fashions. Though beer, ale and whiskey were stocked, most of the crew preferred the clean, cool water their engines provided for meals.

Each section of staterooms had a shared shower and bathroom unit - much like the military ships had. As before, the Claudia engine produced enormous amounts of steam and hot water, which was appreciated by the crew. While most of the cycle was closed for re-capture into the engine system, some was piped off to use for hot showers or to condense back into the super-clean drinking water. The Officer block had one such bathroom to itself, and it was a favorite place for the group to relax after a long day. The women in particular liked to take leisurely warm showers as they chatted; not that Claus minded at all. More than once, he would have fallen asleep in the shower if not for Lavie or Al or one of his other girls prodding him.

“You know,” Lavie said one day as she stood under the shower head, “I wouldn't mind doing this for a bit longer.”

“What? Showering?” Claus asked, washing his hair. Lavie rolled her eyes.

“No,” she replied, fondly giving her partner a slap that was closer to a caress than a slap, “doing surveying work on this ship. It's actually pretty comfortable, occasional thunderstorm aside.”

“It's a lot of fun,” Al agreed, washing her hip-length ice blonde hair.

“And it's a lot easier to take long, hot showers here than at home,” Tatiana agreed.

“Do you want to sign on for a few more runs, Lavie?” asked Claus.

“Do you want to?” countered Lavie, looking Claus in the eyes. He shrugged.

“Whatever you all want to do is fine with me,” he replied indifferently. Lavie groaned.

“Would it kill you to have an opinion every once in a while, Claus?” she complained idly. She was smiling though.

“It probably would,” snickered Maggie. Claus was, she had swiftly figured out, the sort of man who took everything in stride; or half-asleep, either way.

“Claus has opinions on some things,” Sophia disagreed, “and on those things, his opinions are very, very firm,” she added, smiling to herself.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Lavie allowed. Al and staying on the Silvana were two such cases, she thought, eyeing the now-grown girl thoughtfully. But it wasn't like I would have left Al on that ship, either!

“You two are perfect for each other,” Maggie observed. Claus gave her a curious look, letting the warm water wash soap suds from his back.

“Why do you say that?” he wondered. “We grew up together, so we're just really used to each other. Right Lavie?” he sought her support. Lavie nodded.

“No, it's different with you two,” Al sided with Lavie's cousin.

“She's right, you know,” Weena opinion, entering the shower area. “I have known a few childhood friends who were friends their entire life, but they are nothing even close to you and Lavie,” noted the First Mate.

“They probably just didn't grow up with only each other,” scoffed the mahogany-haired girl.

“You and Claus have the same heart,” insisted Al. “Sometimes, it is hard to tell you two apart.”

“It's easy to tell us apart,” Lavie countered. “The one sleeping is Claus, and the one fixing the vanship is me,” she smiled at her lover. He smiled back, amused.

“She has a point,” Sophia giggled softly with the other girls. Claus was well known within their group as `Sleepy-head'.

“I fix the vanship too, sometimes,” protested Claus mildly.

“You certainly did that time in the desert,” murmured Tatiana, giving Claus a warm look.

Claus shrugged. “Lavie could probably have fixed it enough to fly back to the ship within a couple of hours,” he insisted. He had no illusions about which of them was better with mechanical work. Lavie snorted.

“Maybe, but I probably would have killed us trying to land that ship with only the controls in the navigator seat,” insisted the girl. Tatiana felt a tiny prick of guilt, hearing that. She had frozen up, which had put the entire weight of saving their lives squarely on Claus's shoulders.

“You're a better pilot than that, Lavie,” Claus replied quietly, touching her shoulder gently. Lavie gave him a small smile.

“See? You two are perfect together,” Maggie repeated herself. “You really should get married,” added the cousin.

“No thanks,” Lavie and Claus declined the suggestion - in perfect unison. The others laughed.

“Why are you so dead set against it, anyway?” Weena wondered. “It can't just be that you don't see the point,” she insisted.

“It really is because marriage seems like a useless gesture that only makes people unhappy,” Lavie denied any other motive.

“It might also be because Claus is noble and you aren't, though, right?” Maggie insinuated. Claus frowned.

“What does it matter if someone is noble or not?” he almost challenged, moving a little closer to Lavie.

“It is against the law for a commoner to marry a noble, isn't it?” suggested Weena. “Or, it was, anyway,” she added.

“It is still seen that way by most people,” Sophia said softly. “Though, I could always raise Lavie to peerage,” she offered, looking at the two.

“No way! Forget it, Sophia!” Lavie nearly yelled. “I'm no noble, and Claus and I aren't getting married, so just forget it,” she added defiantly.

“I could just quit being nobility,” suggested Claus, unconsciously wrapping his arm around Lavie, the girl turning into his embrace so the water from his shower nozzle sprayed over them both.

Tatiana clucked her tongue. “It doesn't work like that,” she chided him. “No matter how much easier it would be if it did,” she added. Her own family was nobility, but as Abandoned Nobles, they would have had it much easier if they could just renounce their nobility.

“Don't even think of doing that, Claus,” Lavie said quietly. “You are the sole heir of your family - and your family has a lot to be proud of; especially you and your father.”

“You are the sole heir of your family as well, cousin,” Maggie reminded the girl.

“So what?” Lavie replied pugnaciously. “I'm just a commoner; and aside from my dad flying with Claus's dad, there isn't any great family legacy for me to uphold. I am already upholding that legacy, so what does it matter that I am the sole heir of the Head line? The same goes for you and the Lohften line, right?” she countered.

“Well, I haven't found any other Lohftens, no,” Maggie agreed, “but I do have a cousin,” smiled the girl.

“If nobles can only marry other nobles, then Tatiana or Sophia could marry Claus,” suggested Weena. “Both are noble.”

“You forgot Al, Weena,” noted Sophia. “She is from the Hamilton house, which is third behind Forester and Bassianus in standing.”

Weena blinked, looking at Al. “You're right,” realized the girl. “I keep forgetting her last name,” she admitted.

“It's ok,” Al dismissed it easily. “Lavie, why do you resent nobles so much?” asked Al.

“I don't resent nobles,” denied Lavie. “I'm with Claus, aren't I? And there's you and Tat and Sophia, too. Dunya, even, on the Disith side.”

“No, you don't resent nobles,” Maggie cut in drolly, “you'd just rather kill yourself than be made one.”

“And you vehemently oppose any suggestion that Claus not be recognized as Lord Valca,” observed Weena, smiling.

“You also do not miss an opportunity to make fun of any noble except us - even Vincent,” Alister reminded the group.

“While at the same time you will go out of your way to remind someone what our last names are if they irritate you,” Sophia smiled, reaching out to tap Lavie on the forehead.

“What's your point?” Lavie muttered. Claus stroked her back comfortingly.

“Have you ever wondered what it might be like to be Lady Lavie Valca?” asked Tatiana gently.

“No,” denied the girl immediately. “Besides, that sounds really stupid,” she added. “I'm Lavie Head,” she said, craning her neck a little to look Claus in the eyes, “daughter of George and Laetia Head, partner of Claus Valca, Lord Sleepy-Head,” grinned the girl, Claus chuckling softly. “I always have been, and always will be,” she finished softly, pressing her face against Claus's neck for a moment.

“Lavie,” whispered Claus, hugging the smaller girl gently.

“Whoever Lady Valca might be, she isn't me,” Lavie said firmly, touching Claus's chest for a moment before moving back under her own shower. “I wonder what's for supper.”

Walker Station settled into its yard just outside New Norkia ninety four days after it headed out on its maiden voyage. Great thought had been put into this when designing the ship, and unlike the warships of Prester, Walker Station had a hull configuration that allowed it to settle into a basic cradle while at berth, though it could also remain airborne and just moor itself to a mast or docking block. Being able to settle onto yard blocks, however, allowed for much easier and far more efficient refit and servicing. Large doors on the lowest level could be retracted, allowing for supplies or parts to be rolled right into the mechanical deck, and from there, moved to the correct spot internally.

With the carrier due to remain docked for at least two weeks while some minor re-fitting was done and the ship was resupplied, the crew departed to catch up with friends and family. Sophia had barely managed to clear the carrier when she found herself confronted with Vincent and David. “Welcome back, Sophia,” smiled Vincent.

“Your majesty,” David smiled as well. Sophia bit back a sigh.

“Vincent, David,” she returned their greetings. “I trust things have run smoothly in my absence,” she suggested.

“Tolerably,” David replied. “A few small issues have come up, however, that we really should discuss,” the former Duke said quietly. Sophia saw Claus and the others emerging, obviously looking for her.

“Give me an hour then meet me in my office,” she said, waving to Claus and his group.

“Perhaps you need two hours?” Vincent suggested, smiling. Sophia gave him a frosty look.

“Perhaps I should make your wife suspicious by giving you a sloppy kiss?” she asked sweetly, inclining her head. Vincent turned his head, seeing his pregnant wife waiting at the foot of the loading ramp. Chandra was watching the group, one hand absently rubbing her swollen stomach. Vincent turned back to Sophia.

“Sure you aren't just looking for an excuse to kiss me, Sophia?” he grinned. Sophia snorted softly.

“Quite sure,” she replied. Maggie spotted Chandra waiting by the ramp, and hurried down to the older woman, the two hugging briefly before beginning to talk softly between themselves even as Maggie steered Chandra away from the ramp. “Two hours,” Sophia amended her initial order, “in my office.”

“Yes, my Queen,” David inclined his head as Sophia moved to join Claus and the rest, the group descending the ramp. At the bottom of the ramp, Holly Mad-Thane was waiting for her best friend, the family tractor not far from her.

“You think that Claus and the others are going to head home right away?” Vincent asked his co-worker. David watched the group.

“I think that they will be delayed,” smiled the noble. “Though I am surprised that they did not fly their vanship off the carrier,” he noted.

“Yes, somewhat surprising,” Vincent agreed. “If you will excuse me, I think my wife wishes to talk to me,” he excused himself, moving to where his wife and Maggie were waiting with his own tractor.

Vincent's tractor was a bit different from the rest of the ones that Lavie and company had produced. Doubtlessly, it was because it was for him and Chandra, but his tractor was less optimized for farming and more so for conveyance. Vincent had also learned that the engine and gearing were different from the rest. As he approached, Maggie and Chandra were sitting in the comfortable passenger area behind the driving station. “So, how did you like your first cruise?” Vincent smiled at Maggie.

“It was nice,” Maggie replied. Chandra touched Maggie's hand.

“I am hungry, Vince,” Chandra said, smiling at her husband. “How about we find somewhere to eat?”

“Yes, dear,” Vincent agreed. Even though she ate not two hours ago, he thought but didn't say. Seeing her add dried grapes, apples and pickled eggplant rings to beef stew had done a number on his appetite; though she had devoured it all and had seconds. He had often heard of pregnant women eating strange things, but seeing it was another matter. “Are any of the others going to be joining us?” he asked, glancing over to Claus's group.

“Um, I think they are going to be pretty busy for a while,” Maggie offered. “I'll catch up with them later,” she added, waving to the group. Vincent fired up the engine, shifted the machine into gear, and headed for the nearest restaurant.

“Vince, dear,” Chandra spoke up, “somewhere where we can talk privately would be best.” Vincent glanced back at his wife for a moment before nodding.

“Your wish is my command,” he grinned. After all the nice things she has done for me… he thought, almost having to wipe his chin, a little accommodation is nothing I can't live with. Chandra had done a lot of very nice things for her husband.

As Maggie drove off with Chandra and Vincent, the rest were listening to Holly fill in her friend on everything that had happened while she was gone. Holly Mad-Thane proved to be surprisingly well-informed. Claus did notice, however, that most of her news was about how difficult it was to get to the lake with Al and the rest gone. Summer was full upon them and Holly had come to enjoy the lake very much.

Al, for her part, told Holly about the things that they had seen while on the carrier. Holly listened, wide-eyed as Al talked. Al suggested that Holly should sign up for a surveying cruise; which make her father uncomfortable. Holly had also had a lot to say about her new little brother, who was nearing a half year old now. Lady Mad-Thane had stayed home to care for their son, whom Holly had said was healthy and adorable.

“Peter asked if I had heard from you nearly every day,” Holly shared, frowning.

“Did you ever get around to deciding if he could pay court to you or not?” Sophia wondered.

“He's an idiot,” Al dismissed the young lord.

“I told him I wasn't interested,” Holly answered, her tone somewhat annoyed. “Besides, I have been helping out Doctor Morgan lately!” she added happily. “He thinks I could make a fine nurse,” smiled the young noblewoman.

“That's great, Holly!” Al exclaimed. “I've been flying with Maggie, and she could make a good partner for me, though I think she prefers working on the bridge with Sophia,” shared the young woman.

“Claus! Lavie!” boomed a voice. The whole group turned to see Hurricane Hawk approaching them. “Rumor had it you were back in town today,” grinned the man. “How about we hoist a few?” he offered, hiking his thumb toward New Norkia.

“Sure, sounds great,” Lavie agreed for both of them. “You been busy?” asked the girl.

“Can't complain,” the man replied. “My partner broke his leg last week, so I in between partners right now,” he shared.

“How did he break his leg?” wondered Claus. Hurricane Hawk laughed.

“He and his girlfriend got into a fight, and in the course of the fight, she threw an iron skillet at him. Wouldn't you know it, it hit his leg just right and broke the bone,” laughed the bachelor.

“So, what are you doing about flying?” Tatiana asked.

“Well, unlike you, I don't have a reserve navigator,” he smiled, fondly patting Al's head. The girl beamed a smile at him. “But, I do have plenty of money saved, and the ship needs some work, so I am going to take a three week vacation and see where we stand at that time,” explained the man. “Don't suppose you two are going to be around for the rest of the summer?” he asked Lavie and Claus.

“Sorry, no,” Claus answered. “We're going back out on another survey run in two weeks.”

“I guess doing that appeals to you all,” Hurricane Hawk said, eyeing the group. “You missed the second New Norkia Cup race, you know,” he reminded them. Lavie and Claus exchanged looks.

“That's ok,” Lavie said. “We accomplished what we wanted to, so it's ok.”

“And they needed to give the others a chance,” Sophia smiled. She understood why Claus and Lavie were no longer fixated on the race. They had beat Hurricane Hawk straight up, and now, there were other - new - goals before them. “Who won?” she asked, mildly curious.

“I did,” grinned the man. “But I still haven't beaten your course record,” he added. “I swear by my figurehead, I will keep trying until I do beat it!”

“Then we'll just have to make a new record,” Claus shrugged.

“Your ship almost fell apart last time,” noted Lavie. “You sure your gear can keep up with your mouth?” smiled the small woman evilly.

“It better,” replied Hurricane Hawk.

“Where are Mullen and Dunya?” Alister wondered. The group had been pretty sure that the couple would be there to greet them.

“Don't know,” shrugged Hurricane Hawk. “Haven't been going by the farm much with you all out of town, but I think they're pretty busy right now. Crops have been crazy good this year,” he added.

“I heard that their daughter came down with something,” Holly mused. “It might have hit them all,” she added. “Several families have had some sort of illness work through them this spring,” she noted. “It lasts about a week, more or less, and hasn't killed anyone but the very old, the sickly and a few newborns.”

“Have you gotten it?” wondered Sophia. Holly nodded.

“Yeah, but it only lasted three or four days with me,” grinned the girl. “It's not too bad.”

“We'll fly there this evening and check on them,” Claus said, glancing at Lavie, who nodded.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” asked Sophia. “If you get this illness…”

“Then we will be better by the time we launch for the second run,” Lavie dismissed her concerns. “Besides, we've always been healthy. Only the very worst illnesses ever got either of us.”

“You are definitely healthy,” smiled Alister. Lavie gave her a curious look.

“What do you mean, Alis?” she asked, suspicious. Alister smiled sweetly.

“Oh, nothing at all, Lavie,” she denied. As a group, they made their way into New Norkia, finding spots at a favorite watering hole as they enjoyed being back in port after three months of surveying.

“Make this brief, gentlemen,” Sophia said, sitting down at her desk. “I am tired, and have a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Very well,” David agreed, he and Vincent taking the chairs before her desk. “To begin, we are all set to establish the new colony on the western side of the mountains, but we're having some trouble with arranging the necessary vanship services.”

“How so?” Sophia asked intently.

“The leaders of the colony group want Union fliers, but don't want to pay for them. We had originally thought that having free agent crews would negate this issue, but there has been some developments while you have been gone that have put us in a bit of a bind.”

“The Union should have collapsed by now,” noted Sophia. “Fully three quarters of the membership quit the Union, and they were operating at a loss when I left. What happened?”

“We're not sure, exactly,” David admitted. “It could be as simple as market demand, but I think that someone cut a deal with the Union president. The outstanding debts he had are now paid, and the number of contracts he has been committing to has grown.”

“What about the free agents?” Sophia asked.

“There is still plenty of work, yes,” David said, “but something is wrong, because a growing number of businesses have been shifting back to the Union for their courier needs.”

“Back to the Union?” questioned Sophia. “Even though the rates are higher and the service no better? That is suspicious.” David nodded. “Any idea why?” David shook his head.

“The best I can offer is that perhaps taking all the lead crews on the carrier was not the best move,” he offered helplessly.

“We need the best on the survey runs,” stated Sophia flatly. An idea occurred to her. “Has the Union tried to get a contract for that as well?” she asked. David shook his head.

“I have heard of some attempts, but Walker seems to have a personal dislike of the Union,” shared David.

“Doubtlessly because they are cutting in on his action,” chuckled Vincent. Sophia's lips curled slightly upward.

“Doubtlessly,” she agreed blandly. “We need to find out what is occurring, and why,” she directed her henchmen. “I will see if my crews can find out anything.” Both men smiled at her unintentional possessive statement. “What else?” asked the Queen.

“It might be wise to formalize some sort of property law,” Vincent said. “Five times now, I have had to mediate in property disputes. For some reason, the Council is as likely to show bias as to not care in this matter, but it must be addressed. A common law would give the courts a consistent standard for rulings.”

“Agreed. I suppose we are ready for land titles,” sighed Sophia. “Another new office,” she complained.

“On the bright side, our population continued to expand rapidly,” David shared. “For the third year in a row, the birth rate has increased above projections, while the deaths have run below or right at projections. We will have the people to work the new office,” he assured her.

“Also good, our resources have again exceeded projections, so we are flush with materials and manpower,” Vincent seconded. Sophia hummed.

“How is married life, Vincent?” Sophia asked her friend.

“Not bad,” Vincent managed with an almost-straight face. “You should try it yourself, Sophia,” he baited her.

“I was married,” Sophia reminded him. “I am, in fact, a widow,” she mused, shaking her head.

“With all due respect,” Vincent replied, “that bore as much resemblance to marriage as a bachelor does to a husband.”

“Funny,” Sophia replied. “When is Chandra due?” she asked.

“Any day now,” shrugged Vincent.

“And there hasn't been any trouble?” Sophia asked, catching his eye. Vincent knew she wasn't talking about the pregnancy.

“No, not that I am aware of,” he replied. “And what of our dear Magmira?” he asked in turn.

“She would make a fine bridge officer, navigator or pilot,” Sophia answered. “She is as capable as her cousin, it would seem.” Vincent nodded.

“Everyone could use two Lavies,” he grinned insolently. “Especially Claus.”

“Never confuse Maggie for Lavie, Vincent,” Sophia replied, her tone strangely introspective. “Tell me, how are things running under the council system?” she asked her two, turning the topic of conversation.

“What do you think Dunya and Mullen would like?” Lavie asked, surveying the goods in the general store. It was nearly night fall and they were heading back to the carrier to get their vanship - or maybe borrow a transport - but had stopped to pick up some gifts for their friends.

“Clothes pens,” stated Al, very certain of herself.

“Also salt, sugar and yeast,” Alister recalled. Dunya was always burning through those consumables with the cooking she did.

“Better add cooking oil,” Tatiana advised.

“If they haven't started on the drying barn yet, a pail of nails would be useful,” Claus suggested. Lavie nodded. “All of that,” she said to the shopkeeper.

“Of course,” he nodded, beginning to pull the goods and put them on the counter. As the group waited, other small items found their way into the stack. A comb for Al, some leather cream for Tatiana and Alister's flight harnesses, a new pair of heavy leather gloves for Claus, and a stack of rough shop rags for Lavie. While the shopkeeper was gone to get the pail of nails from the large storage area behind his shop, a couple of townswomen came into the shop, ringing the small bell on the counter.

As they waited for the proprietor or one of his assistants to attend to them, the two began to gossip about people and events around town. Lavie didn't really pay them any attention until she heard the word `vanship'. Her attention was immediately gained. She snapped her fingers softly, getting the attention of the rest. With an almost-curt gesture, she directed them to pay attention to the housewives.

“It's a shame, I say,” one of the women was saying to the other. “With a newborn to care for and the wife ill, to have to sell their vanship because some noble wouldn't honor an agreement with them…”

“Well, I say that's about what they should have expected!” sneered the other woman. “If they had stayed in the Union, it wouldn't have happened. Did they think that they would be better off following the lead of those show-offs? Ridiculous. The only way to make nobles obey the law is to have a Union behind you. Why, my husband told me the day that all those crews left the Vanship Union that it would never work; and he should know, being the president of the whitesmith guild!” bragged the woman proudly. “Nobles are the same here as on Prester,” pronounced the woman.

“Excuse me, but I couldn't help hearing you two talk,” Alister began before Lavie could rip into the woman for the insult to Claus and Tatiana's birthright. “What is this about a noble not honoring an agreement with an independent vanship crew?”

“Where have you been, girl?” asked the first, eyes lighting up as she focused on Alister. “It's been the talk of the town for more than a month now!”

“I have been flying survey off Walker Station,” Alister replied calmly. The second woman gave the navigator a narrow look.

“One of those, are you,” she snorted haughtily. Lavie's frown deepened.

“Now, Petrucia,” chided the first, talkative, woman. “Seems that one of the independent crews had an agreement with a company owned by a nobleman to fly finished goods from here to the settlement to the north, and bring raw material back to his shop. Well, after a couple of months, the noble just voids the contract, saying that he doesn't have to pay because he isn't satisfied with the work done by the crew. The next week, a Union crew is running the route. The poor young man had worked hard, never missing a delivery, and had been counting on the contract to pay for upkeep on his vanship and to support his family. Now, he has to sell the vanship because he can't get work and his commitments are due.”

“Which wouldn't have happened if he had stayed in the Union,” noted the other woman spitefully.

“Do you know which noble it was?” Claus asked quietly.

“Oh, there is a lot of talk, but no one is sure which one,” gossiped the talkative woman. The shopkeeper returned with the pail of nails. “Good afternoon,” the woman directed her attention to the shopkeeper, ending the conversation with Alister and Claus.

Before the man started to get the items the women wanted, he told Lavie and Claus how much their stuff was, and Lavie paid the man without comment, her mind elsewhere. “Thank you for your business, Claus, Lavie,” the man said, waving to them.

“Have a good day,” Al smiled back, as she exited the shop. The two women glanced at each other.

“Excuse me,” the first said to the shopkeeper, “would those two…?”

“Why, yes!” beamed the man. “Lord Valca and Mistress Head, along with Lady Wisla and Mistress Agrew, the legendary vanship crews. The younger blonde was Lady Hamilton.”

The first woman gave the second a hard look. “You just had to share your opinion, didn't you, Petrucia?” she asked sourly.

“How was I to know?” protested the second woman, affronted. “Besides, what sort of nobility would go around dressed like that?” she argued.

Claus and Lavie brought the transport in easy and clean on the runway by the barn. In the cargo area, the rest of their party stood as soon as the vanship settled and the engines spun down. They stepped out of the interior as Claus and Lavie stepped down from the cockpits. “Looks like they're having a party,” noted Claus, seeing the lights were on and hearing the sound of laughter and music from inside the house.

“Guess Dunya and the rest are feeling better,” Lavie suggested, the group moving toward the house.

“There's hay in the hanger,” Al noted, pointing to the open doors of the hanger.

“That's ok,” shrugged Claus. “We won't be back here for another several months.”

“Well, they at least covered all my tools with tarps,” Lavie noted approvingly.

“Mullen will probably never forget that lesson,” giggled Tatiana softly. No one touched Lavie's tools or her ships without permission; at least, not if they valued their life.

“Where is the school vanship?” wondered Alister, not seeing the twin-engine ship the school had had before they left.

“Good question,” Lavie murmured, not seeing it.

“It isn't in the barn,” Maggie noted.

“And I don't see it anywhere around the yard,” Sophia added.

“Let's find out,” Claus suggested, mounting the steps and opening the screen door in preparation to open the front door. “We're back!” he called out, opening the door.

The music and laughter stopped cold. Lavie gave Sophia a puzzled look. What is with that reaction? wondered the woman. Mullen's head poked around the corner from the living room. “Claus? Hey! Welcome back!” he smiled.

“Something wrong, Mullen?” Lavie asked. “We walk in and everything stops,” pointed out the partner of Claus.

“It's nothing like that,” Mullen assured them. “We just didn't hear your ships come in, so you caught us off guard,” he explained. “Dunya, they're back!” he called out.

“Welcome back, everyone,” Dunya called from the kitchen. “Thirsty?” asked the Disith woman.

“Sure,” Claus replied. “Some water would be nice.”

“What's going on here?” Tatiana asked, hearing conversation resume in the living room.

“Oh, we're having a get-together with our old musketeer comrades,” Mullen explained. “Most of us turned up at the New Norkia Cup race, and we panned this gathering. You're welcome to join in,” he added.

Looking into the living room, the group found a mix of Anatory and Disith musketeers crammed into the room, all drinking heartily and having a great time. Dunya appeared, a pitcher of water and cups in hand. “So, are you all back already?” Dunya wondered.

“Only from the first cruise,” Tatiana replied. “We're going to be heading back out in a couple of weeks for the second.”

“Thank you,” Maggie said, accepting the cup and water.

“I see,” Dunya answered Tatiana. “I had thought that you would be staying on the ship,” she noted quietly, glancing at the five who normally lived in the house. “I put some guests in your rooms,” she murmured.

“It's no problem,” Maggie said, seeing the others glance at her. “Vincent and Chandra invited us to stay with them, so we'll just slip over there for a few days,” she offered. None of the other opposed, which was a relief for both Maggie and Dunya.

“Hey, Dunya, where is the school's vanship?” Lavie asked. Again, there was a momentary freeze in conversation.

“Ah, well…” began Mullen. Lavie gave the former musketeer-turned-farmer a steady look.

“We loaned it out, Lavie,” Dunya answered. “Hello, grandma Sophia,” she greeted the queen.

“Dunya,” Sophia replied. It mildly annoyed her to be called that, but it was technically true, after all.

“What do you mean by `loaned it out', exactly?” Tatiana asked.

“Well, none us know how to fly one, and with all of you gone, it was just sitting there…” began Mullen.

“Who did you loan it to, Mullen?” Lavie asked firmly, eyes cool. Lavie was very particular about her tools - and the school twin-engine fell into that category.

“A crew from town, said that their own vanship was down for repairs, but they had a contract to fly, so…” began Mullen.

“It's ok,” Dunya said, “we got their Union membership numbers and took a security deposit on it,” the woman explained.

“You loaned our school vanship to the Union?” demanded Maggie. Dunya blinked.

“Yes,” she replied. “Is something wrong?” wondered the girl. She knew full well that all of the flyers had been Union members until the previous fall, and that virtually everyone who flew vanships was or had been a Union member. Lavie and Claus were looking at each other, their expressions unreadable.

“Claus, Lavie,” Sophia spoke up quietly, touching their shoulders, “I will personally guarantee your ship,” she murmured.

“It isn't the ship, exactly,” Claus replied quietly.

“Lavie, did you upgrade anything on that ship?” Sophia asked. Lavie shrugged.

“Not really,” she said. “It was for students to learn on, so I actually detuned the engines some, and softened the control ratios a bit - to compensate for less experienced movements and for better forgiveness,” explained the girl. But it is our ship, damn it! she didn't say.

“So even if they tried to pick up any mechanical tricks, they'd just come up empty,” smiled Sophia. Well, that was a fortunate coincidence, she thought to herself happily.

“What is going on?” Dunya wondered, sensing something odd from the group.

“Just a few administrative hiccups; nothing to worry about,” Sophia assured the Disith wife. “So, how about you introduce your friends?” she turned the topic away from themselves and vanships and the Union. Dunya smiled.

“Sure!” she smiled. For the next two hours, the group enjoyed themselves with Mullen and Dunya's former comrades in arms. Most of them were settled down or in the process of settling down, with wives or husbands - depending on the gender of the veteran - and a few were even signed up for the new settlement, just waiting for the last hitches to be cleared.

As the night darkened, the group excused themselves, citing that they didn't want to awaken Vincent and Chandra when they arrived, and headed for the vanship. Alister checked her luminescent navigation watch - Anatory Military issue - as Lavie checked her own battered watch - a simple, single-chronometer model her father had used for his watch - the two automatically calculating times and positions. Claus looked at his aircrew watch - civilian, single chronometer and a keepsake of his father's - before glancing at Tatiana, who was just looking up from her own watch - Anatory Military issue aircrew model - as she set the bezel.

In spite of their very best efforts, Tatiana and Alister had never convinced Claus and Lavie to use the extra watches they had from the Anatory Naval Service. Their watches were custom built for vanship work, with three separate chronometers, bezel, stop watch and lap cycles, the controls oversized for use when wearing flight gloves. Claus and Lavie used the battered, simple watches they had always used, having not the slightest interest in the fancy watches Tatiana and Alister used. Their watches were single chronometer, with adjustable bezel and nothing else. Even showing the two how much easier the military-style watches made navigation failed to convince the two. They were so used to their watches that they didn't even have to think about anything when using them, so any new gear would only make things harder for them.

Teaching their students, the four started them with basic watches in the navigation course, but every last single student they had so far taught had ended up buying surplus watches like Tat and Alis wore because they did make things easier - provided that the person had not learned on and spend years flying with the simple watches that Claus and Lavie favored. It was often debated behind the backs of the two - and behind Al's back - if their use of such simple time pieces might not be an indication of just how good they really were. After all, anyone could stumble from point A to point B if you put enough machines in their hands, but only high-caliber crews could do it with only the barest of tools to work with; and Claus and Lavie had flown the Grand Stream with nothing but those watches and their personally-maintained vanship. The common consensus of the other vanship crews was that Claus was part bird and Lavie had a huge, hairy pair of solid brass ones. Lavie had once heard that comment about her, but had only rolled her eyes, snorted and said `oh, please!'

“We'll fly, if you want, Claus,” Tatiana offered. Claus smiled, shaking his head.

“That's ok, Tatiana,” he declined. Lavie was already climbing into the rear cockpit of the transport, “we have this.” Tatiana had not expected anything different, after all - Claus and Lavie loved to fly, and would do so on the flimsiest excuse. Seconds later, the engines spun up, and less than a minute later, the transport smoothly, almost delicately, rose into the dark sky, turning and accelerating toward Vincent's house, many miles away as the crow flew. Behind them, the house gradually faded into the darkness.

“I understand you have a vanship for sale.”

“Yes, I do,” replied the young father who opened the door at the address written on the slip of paper. He frowned, seeing two young ladies standing in front of his door, dressed in somewhat short skirts and thin tops. One was an ice blonde, her mid-thigh-length hair tied up in twin ponytails. The other one was a mahogany-haired young woman, her shoulder-blade-length hair braided and held by a spring clasp.

“How much and where is it?” asked the ice blonde, smiling at him sweetly.

“I have it parked in a lean-to hangar two blocks down,” replied the young man, frowning. He couldn't be more than five or at most six years older than the two. From behind him, the two heard a baby begin to fuss, the man turning to look behind him.

“You have a baby?” the mahogany-haired girl smiled. “Could we see him or her?” she asked. Unwillingly smiling, the man nodded.

“Sure!” he agreed, standing aside and motioning them into the house. He was very proud of his son, after all, and couldn't resist showing him off; especially to two young women. “Honey, we have some visitors,” he called a warning.

“Oh, I look dreadful,” came a woman's voice. The young father led the two to a small room off what was likely the only bedroom in the small tract home on the outskirts of New Norkia. In the room, a woman in a sleeping sift was coddling a baby. Looking at the two young women, she offered them a smile. “Forgive me for my appearance,” the woman said quietly.

“It's ok,” the blonde smiled easily. “Your son is adorable,” she added. The woman beamed.

“Thank you, sweetie!” she happily responded. “What brings two nice young women to our home so early?” she wondered, glancing at her husband. The mahogany-haired girl glanced at the man, seeing his expression as he answered.

“They're here about the vanship,” he said quietly. The young wife gave her husband a brief, sympathetic look.

“I see,” she murmured, shifting the baby enough to bare a breast. “Please, forgive my forwardness, but you two look a little young to be looking at buying a vanship,” said the woman, eyeing the two. “And you certainly don't look to be dressed to fly it, either,” added the woman slowly.

“We're not too young,” the blonde kept smiling.

“And money isn't a problem,” assured the darker-haired girl. “Unless, of course,” she added, “you are asking a ridiculous price far above market value.”

“You two know the market value of vanships?” the man asked, before blinking. “Not that I am saying you were being untruthful, of course!”

“We like to think we have a very good idea of market value for any vanship,” the shorter-haired girl giggled, glancing at her taller blonde companion, who also giggled softly.

“Will you and the baby be ok while I show them the vanship, honey?” asked the young man. His wife nodded.

“I will put some water on to boil, so tea should be ready when you get back,” she said, gently rocking the baby as it fed. After bidding the woman and her child goodbye, the two followed the young man to where his vanship was resting under a lean-to hanger. The blonde eyed the ship appraisingly for a moment before nimbly climbing up and checking the cockpits.

“It's an older one,” she said casually, “single chamber engine, no boom trim unit. Circle stick and treadle pedal setup.” The girl hopped off the stub-wing, squatting and looking up at the oscillation apparatus, pressure chamber and accelerator pump housing. “I see a little Claudia reside by the high pressure lines - probably needs a chamber job; maybe a pump rebuild,” continued the blonde, the darker-haired girl nodding quietly. Ducking under the tail, the blonde worked her way along the side, rapping her knuckles against the panels. “Bushings are worn down, and some rivets have popped. Sounds like there might be rust in the control guide-ways for the throttles and instruments,” noted the blonde.

“Serious?” wondered the other girl.

“Probably nothing a good cleaning and lube wouldn't fix,” the blonde replied after a moment of thought. The owner was staring, slack-jawed, as the blonde casually opened the cowling with an ease he had never seen let alone possessed. “Engine assembly is pretty clean. But I can see rust on the back sides of the primary inducer lines, and the thermal exchanger is dented - probably causing some cooling issues and making the engine run rich.”

“Overall?” wondered the darker-haired woman. The blonde closed the cowling and easily hopped up to stand on the stub-wing, reaching into the cockpit and working the controls.

“Let's see how the avionics and electrical look,” the taller woman demurred, running lights coming on, then off as she worked switches. “Engine startup,” warned the girl, turning the engine over. After it sputtered to a rough idle, the girl pulled a strange vial with Claudia fluid and a glass ball out of her outfit, holding it next to the base of the boom.

“What is that?” wondered the young man, having seen vials like that a time or two, but never known what they were for.

“Reaction vial,” shrugged the dark-haired girl. “Tells us if the pressure and charge of Claudia is good or not,” explained the young woman briefly.

“That's the kind of thing a vanship mechanic would use,” he murmured. The blonde, nodded at whatever she was seeing before shutting down the engine and jumping off the stub-wing.

“How much are you asking?” she asked, dusting off her hands, a soft smile on her lips.

The clearly-flustered young man suggested that they talk back at his home, and the two agreed easily. When they were sitting at the small table, tea cups in hand, the young man had a question of his own before he would commit to a price for the ship. “If I might, ladies, what are your names?” he wondered.

“I'm Al,” smiled the blonde. “Alvis Hamilton. Hi!” The young man blinked at the ice blonde.

“Al…the Al?” he breathed, eyes shifting to the mahogany-haired girl next to the blonde, “then you're Lavie Head!” he exclaimed.

“Close, but no,” the girl denied shaking her head. “I'm her cousin, Maggie. Magmira Lohften. Pleased to meet you!” smiled the other woman.

“But you two are connected to Lord Valca and Lavie Head, right?!” he asked, leaning forward a bit.

“Uh huh,” nodded Al, smiling brighter. “So, what are you asking for the vanship?” Al asked before sipping the tea. It was not her favorite kind of tea, but it was pretty good; and she had had worse.

“Well, I…” he hemmed a little, flustered to find out that the two young girls were related in some way to the living legends of vanship crews.

“If you sold the vanship at open auction, you would realistically gain about one thousand Royals and a little silver for it, given its age, configuration and condition,” Al said casually.

“But I think you have found that trying to auction it won't yield honest prices because the vanship auctions are moderated by the Guild, right?” Maggie hinted. The man sighed, nodding. “We heard that you were a member of the Guild before you quit. Did you buy out the Guild share of your ship to get out?” asked the young woman. The man nodded.

“Yes, I thought it would be better for my family for me and my navigator to fly for ourselves,” he said quietly. “And it was, until that nobleman broke contract with us and my wife took ill,” he grimaced.

“What is your navigator doing now?” Al asked, a small frown on her face.

“He re-joined the Union,” the man said. Al frowned a little more.

“He wasn't a good match for you,” she said quietly, her tone dead certain. The man gave her a strange look. “He didn't see the sky like you did,” was all Al said. Maggie had learned enough about Al to tell when she was making those strange comments again.

“Getting back to the issue,” Maggie distracted the man from Al's strange remarks, “which noble was it that broke contract with you?” The man looked at the two for a long moment. Maggie knew from the look in his eyes what was going through his mind. He obviously recognizes Al's last name, and since I told him I am Lavie's cousin, and everyone knows Lavie is `Lord Valca's partner, he is trying to figure out which side of the issue we are really on.

“We don't like nobles who break their word,” Al said firmly.

“And neither does the Queen,” added Maggie, crossing her fingers. If he knows Lavie and Claus's reputation, then he must have heard about the close relationship they share with Sophia, as well, reasoned the girl.

“I don't know which noble owns the company,” the man said quietly, “but I was contracted with a printer's shop that is owned by one of the noble families. It is the printing shop that does the newspapers, commissioned book printings and official documents,” he supplied. Maggie nodded.

“I know the one,” she said quietly. There was something about that shop that I can't quite recall, but I remember thinking that there was something of interest about it when I took things there while working in the Council Hall last summer. Maybe Chandra will remember what it was; I think I told her about it in passing.

“Do you have another navigator? One that can see the same sky you do?” Al asked the man, a curious look on her beautiful face. Maggie shook off the introspection and memory-mining exercise, focusing back on the task at hand.

The man blinked. “Um, well, I know of the son of a friend of my uncle's who learned vanship flying at Lord Valca's school last year,” he said slowly. Al perked up.

“What's his name?” asked the girl. She knew every last student her family had ever taught.

“Timothy…” began the man.

“Timmy!” giggled Al. “Yes, he'll be a better navigator for you,” nodded the girl happily. Timmy - like nearly every male who had gone to the school - had a crush on Al. And, like everyone who had asked her out, had been shot down by Al.

“But, he isn't sure he wants to fly, with what is happening lately…” the man started, only to have Al cut him off.

“Tell him that I said he should. He'll agree,” Al promised him. Looking at Al, the man was pretty certain that any young man would do nearly anything a girl as pretty as Al asked them to.

“But, what about the vanship?” he wondered.

“We're buying it, of course,” Maggie replied immediately. “But, you know,” she said, giving him a sly smile, “we're kind of busy with other things right now, so we would need to hire a crew to fly it for us,” she said, her tone measured and even. “We have some work that needs to be done for some companies, and have a few contracts with the Council that needs doing, so the crew that we hire to fly our ship would be pretty busy; though not so busy that they wouldn't be able to spend virtually every night at home. Would you happen to know a pilot and navigator who would fly for us?” she asked, winking at him playfully.

“I think I might,” the young man said, sounding both dazed and hopeful, while also uncertain and vaguely suspicious. “But, what if the contracts are broken again?” he wondered.

“These contracts won't be broken,” Maggie said flatly. “You have my word and the word of the Queen on that,” she assured him. “Also, if the crew we hire to fly our ship should happen to take on some smaller side-jobs, well, that's fine with us, too; provided that they do not interfere with the contracts, of course.”

“Of course,” the man breathed. Maggie nodded.

“So, done then?” she asked, giving him an enquiring look. The man blinked.

“Uh, yes, I guess so,” he blinked again. Maggie pulled a somewhat fat purse from her skirt, tossing it on the table. It chinked! with the distinct sound of gold Royals. “There are twelve, one hundred Royal gold coins in there. That covers the purchase of the vanship and the first two months' wages for the crew. We aren't satisfied with the condition of the ship, so tomorrow, you need to take it to the mechanic shop down on Silvana Road - you know the place?” Maggie asked. The man nodded, slowly pulling the purse toward him, eyes wide. “When you get there, you are to ask for the acting manager. When you see him, tell him that our ship needs a full service done - be sure to tell him who owns the ship. He will tell you when to come back to pick it up. After you drop it off, go to the Council Hall and see the secretary. In the purse is a sealed license - give that to the secretary, and she will give you your route maps and schedules. Do not be late, and do not be sloppy. Each month, you will turn in your mission log for your salary at the office of Lord Vincent Alzey at the Council Hall. Vincent is acting as our agent, so go to him with any problems and do whatever he instructs you to do. Any questions?” asked Maggie, wrapping up crisply.

The man shook his head numbly, staring - transfixed - at the shiny gold 100-Royal coins in his hands. Hearing a soft sob from the doorway, the two turned to see the wife, tears streaming down her cheeks but a smile on her face. Maggie glanced at Al, who just smiled serenely. “Thank you,” hiccupped the woman, rushing over to the two and hugging them tightly. “Thank you so much! We can't express how thankful we are to you and Lord Valca!” gushed the woman. Al patted her head.

“It's ok,” Al said.

“Please tell Lord Valca and Lady Head that I won't let them down,” the man said, struggling to keep his voice even. Al turned to smile at him.

“They know,” she said easily. Just then, there was a knock on the front door. Taking a few quick breaths, the man went to answer it. The wife had regained some measure of control and offered them refills of their tea. The two kindly declined, saying that they had errands to run, but that they had enjoyed the tea and thanked her for the offer.

From the front door, they heard the husband's voice. “I told you, the vanship is sold! And I am not rejoining the Union!” Maggie quietly stood, moving to the corner of the shallow hall that faced the front door. Al sighed, her lips turning down into a frown as she stood, too.

“You should think it over,” came the hard, rough voice of whoever was at the door. “It should be obvious that only by being in the Union can you support your wife and kid. What if another contract gets canceled on you?” he asked, almost growling.

“I'll worry about that if it happens,” the man said firmly.

“We heard your wife's medicine bill is still outstanding,” another voice came from the door. “We just hate to think of collection agents coming after you.”

“Those bills will all be paid by this afternoon,” the man replied coldly. “And as we have no more business, kindly leave,” he said.

“You know where to find us,” the first man said, “if you ever need anything, the door's open.”

“And we know where to find you,” the second man added, his tone threatening.

“What about that, boys?” Maggie asked, stepping into view. The two men - dressed in flight suits with the Vanship Union's new logo on the breast - eyed the girl. The second leaned closer to his partner, murmuring to him. Maggie heard one word, though: `Head'. So, they think I'm Lavie? Maggie thought, smiling to herself.

“Jon, Jake,” Al's voice came from behind Maggie. So that is why they think I am Lavie, Maggie realized. If you see Al, then the mahogany-haired girl with her is always Lavie. Cute, she thought. “You are bothering this family.”

“We were just talking with our good buddy, Alvis,” the one called Jake replied, eyes narrowed and a sneer on his lips.

“And you are sure looking hot in that outfit, too,” Jon added, eyeing the two in a way that Maggie had seen far too often. “It'd be terrible if something bad happened to you some dark night,” he grunted, licking his lips.

“And it would be horrible if something bad happened to “You are bothering this family.”

“We were just talking with our good buddy, Alvis,” the one called Jake replied, eyes narrowed and a sneer on his lips.

“And it would be terrible if something bad happened to you two clowns some dark night,” growled Maggie, stepping forward. “Or even some bright, sunny day,” Maggie added, her implications clear.

“No need to be so forward, Lavie,” Jake raised his hands mockingly. “We're all friends here,” he added.

“You are not my friends,” Al stated coldly. It was very clear that Al had never liked these two.

“Beat it,” Maggie ordered, locking gazes with the two. Slowly, the two moved back from the door, across the small stone path that cross the shallow flower garden between the street and the row house, and - after a final look at the man and the two vanship fliers - moved down the street. The man closed the door, sighing softly.

“That sort of thing has been going on a lot?” Maggie wondered, mind busy. The man nodded.

“For the last couple of months, yes,” he answered. “Several people who were independent have rejoined the Union because of that and the problem with the broken contracts.”

“One crew even had their house and vanship burned to the ground,” the wife added.

“We don't know that the Union did that,” the man chided his wife. Maggie scowled.

“But it's pretty obvious that they did,” muttered the girl. “Look, I'll talk with some people, get a little pressure put on the Union about that sort of thing,” promised the girl. Better talk with Vincent and Sophia about this, she thought grimly. “Well, be sure to be on time,” she said, opening the door.

“I will be,” he promised.

“We have things to do, so have a good day,” smiled Al happily. The wife exchanged a brief look with her husband.

“Are you two going to be ok alone?” asked the wife, worry in her voice. “There have been some people beaten up in the last few weeks, too,” she cautioned. Maggie gave the woman a lazy smile.

“We'll be fine,” she promised. “We're not the sort of people they can take lightly,” she explained, winking at the two as the girls turned and moved down the street.

Five days after Walker Station had returned to New Norkia from her maiden voyage, Chandra gave birth to a healthy baby boy with Dunya playing midwife. Vincent was as proud as a peacock, practically strutting around outside the bedroom once he had been told that the baby was healthy and his wife was in good shape. Downstairs, a conference was taking place. Chandra had been at the conference until her water broke and she went into labor. Claus and Lavie had flown to their home to pick up Dunya, who had been all too happy to play midwife to the first-time mother.

Now, with that situation resolved, it was back to business as Chandra rested. Dunya came back down, drying her hands on a damp towel about a half hour after the baby had stopped crying, reporting that Chandra was asleep, as was the baby. “Chandra had an easy birth,” Dunya observed casually. “Nice wide hips,” smiled the Disith girl, “and her labor was only a few hours, too.”

“Thank you for coming, Dunya,” Vincent said, grinning from ear to ear. Dunya shrugged.

“Not a problem,” she said, taking a seat as Lavie gave her a large glass of water. “What is going on with you all?” she wondered. “I haven't seen much more than a glimpse of any of you since you got back.”

“Sorry, but we've had some things that need to be taken care of,” Claus apologized.

“It's ok,” the Disith girl assured him. “Mullen and I are making use of the extra hands around the farm to tackle some large projects that we have been putting off, but if you want, the ones staying in your rooms have volunteered to sleep in the hay loft,” she added.

“That's ok,” Maggie replied, “it's just as well that we're staying with Vincent, since we are spending so much time in meetings with him,” explained the girl.

“Meetings about what?” Dunya asked. The others glanced at each other.

“Just some small issues with vanships,” Sophia spoke up. “Tell me, Dunya, has anyone from the Union come by about the school's vanship yet?”

“No, not that I have heard. Is there a problem?” asked the granddaughter of Sophia's late state husband.

“There is a little disagreement between the independents and the Union right now, that's all,” Lavie said, her eyes cool.

“If you want, I'll have Mullen and some of our friends go get that vanship back - by whatever means it might take,” hinted Dunya. Sophia smiled. Dunya would do just that, too. “We all kept our muskets and rifles, and you know I keep in practice; so do they,” noted the Disith mother. Indeed, Dunya and Mullen practiced with their muskets and rifles every other week, keeping their skills sharp. Tatiana and Alister also practiced with their service side arms every month.

“How many friends do you have over?” Sophia asked, glancing at Vincent.

“About a dozen,” shrugged Dunya. “Most of them are from my group - which is mostly made of up members of my clan. The rest are from Anatory and were part of Mullen's group or served with him on Mad-Thane's ship.”

Lavie recalled the battle she and Claus had seen between the Mad-Thane fleet and a Disith fleet over Minagese. “It didn't look like there were many survivors beside Mullen,” she murmured.

“Our fleet took worse casualties,” Dunya answered, “but no, there weren't a lot of musketeers from either side left standing. Aside from Mullen, there were twelve others left of his company at the time of that battle.”

“Unlucky thirteen,” mused Tatiana. Her ship - the Silvana had been a hit-and-run participant in that battle; and it was the first time she had ever seen Claus and Lavie - even if she didn't know who they were at the time.

“You aren't thinking…” began Vincent, watching Sophia closely. Seeing her expression, he sighed. “Of course you are.”

“Tell me, Dunya dear,” Sophia smiled at the smaller Disith woman, “would you and your comrades be willing to help your step-grandmother out with something?”

“Yes, I remember you talking to me about the shop. It's owned by Michael's part of the family,” Chandra said to Maggie two days later. “Vincent is from the military side of the Alzey family, but Michael's side is businessmen and the like,” smiled the new mother. “The military side is much better,” she purred suggestively to her long-time friend.

“It'd have to be,” Maggie snorted. The two were sitting on the stone patio behind the house, cool water close to hand as the early afternoon sun shone down on them. Marcus - her son - was sleeping quietly in his crib just inside the door, the two women taking the opportunity to enjoy some sun and fresh air.

“So, why the interest? And do we need to speak to Vinny about it?” Chandra asked, her affectionate nickname for her husband slipping in unnoticed by her.

“Not just yet,” Maggie replied, thinking. “But we will probably end up butting heads with that idiot once more,” sighed the cousin.

“What is going on, exactly?” wondered Chandra. Maggie swiftly described the situation to her, Chandra having been mostly pre-occupied with her impending birth. Now that she had delivered, her attention was once more available; as much as a new mother's could be, anyway.

“The Queen is certainly less squeamish than I had thought,” Chandra noted after hearing what Sophia had put her step-granddaughter and her comrades up to days before.

“I never really thought about her before, but I think I like Sophia,” Maggie said quietly, thoughtfully.

“You are sounding more like your cousin every day, Maggie,” Chandra noted. Maggie glanced at her closest friend and companion in her darkest days.

“I guess I am,” she admitted. “But, that's a good thing,” added the girl, her lips twitching. “Chandra, are you happy?” asked Maggie. Chandra slowly nodded.

“I am,” she confirmed, frowning slightly. “But why does that question worry me? You aren't going to do something stupid, are you, Maggie?” challenged the dark-haired woman.

“Who? Me?” smiled Maggie. Chandra gave her a familiar look. “Honestly, I don't know yet,” Maggie got a little more serious. “But, even if I am, it will be my choice - like you made yours.”

Chandra sighed. “I'm not in any sort of position to be judging you, Maggie,” began the older woman, “but I also know that you don't always think things through all the way. Tell me that you have at least thought about whatever is on your mind.”

“For months now,” nodded Maggie, sipping her water. Chandra studied the mahogany-haired girl intently for a long moment.

“I see,” she said at last. “For what it is worth, Lavie is family,” she offered, taking Maggie's hand in her own and giving it a squeeze. Maggie smiled in return, leaning over to hug her friend.

“Yes, she is,” agreed Maggie. And if Lavie is family, then her family is my family, too.

“Getting back to this other issue,” Chandra quietly closed out the previous thread in their discussion, “do you know if Michael is the one who did it?”

“If it wasn't him, it was someone close to him,” Maggie replied, “but either way, he didn't act alone. The Union is probably in collusion with him.”

“So, why doesn't Sophia just disband the Union - by force, if necessary?” Chandra wondered.

“Because she can't, politically anyway, due to the Union's charter and her own maneuvering to dissolve the nobility. It would take time, but acting as the Queen to disband the Union will kill her plan to dissolve the Nobility caste system, but if she doesn't destroy the Union, then the caste system probably will never fade away, and we will be right back where we were on Prester.”

“Is that really such a bad thing? The system works, after all,” Chandra noted. Maggie shrugged.

“I guess, but I really want to see this world that Sophia and the others are looking at. One without endless wars, without castes and without limits to what a person can achieve. A world like the sky that Claus and Lavie fly in,” she murmured, remembering how it felt to fly with Claus and his family. Chandra watched Maggie's face for a long moment.

“Then the choice is clear,” Chandra said quietly, smiling at Maggie once more. Before she could continue, Marcus awoke, announcing his desire for his mother's attention. Laughing easily, Chandra rose and moved toward her son, Maggie remaining at the simple marble and steel table for a moment longer, eyes on the high, thin clouds over head, a smile on her lips.

Walker Station was due to depart on her second surveying run in two days. Supplies were being loaded steadily and the crew was moving back aboard. But key personnel were not yet aboard. Most noticeably, both flight section leaders, the vice-captain and the flight operations officer were nowhere to be found. Weena wondered where the hell Claus and his group were; well, when she had time to wonder. With all of them unavailable, she found herself covering for all their duties. The thing that really annoyed her, however, was the knowledge that they were somewhere close by - their bags were in their rooms, and they had been seen around the carrier several times in the last three or four days.

“I wish they would at least see to their own duties before doing whatever they have been up to for the last two weeks,” muttered the first officer.

“Ma'am?” came a voice from behind her.

“What?” Weena growled, turning to almost glare at a civilian flight crew.

“Are you the first officer?” he asked.

“Yes. What is it?” Weena replied, her tone tight and somewhat curt. The man nodded, rolling the lollipop from one corner or his mouth to the other.

“Message for you, ma'am,” he said, pulling out his mission cylinder and log. Weena took the log, almost-angrily scrawling her name before taking the mission tube. Weena broke the seal and pulled out a rolled and sealed piece of paper from inside the tube. Handing the tube back to the vanship pilot, she cracked the second seal and unrolled the piece of paper. Reading it, she frowned. Then she scowled. Finally, she growled.

“Peter! You have the bridge!” she snarled, stomping off before the second officer could even respond. The Disith naval officer stared after her. I wonder if all female former officers of the Anatory Navy are so grouchy, the Disith man thought to himself. Certainly, he had seen the resemblance between Weena and Sophia during his first duty with them. Shrugging, he turned back to his own duties.

Meanwhile, Claus and company were taking care of some last-minute details. One detail in particular. Standing a little behind Vincent, Claus watched the former captain of the Anatory Navy knock on the door of a large house on the northern edge of New Norkia. All around them were larger houses, with fences enclosing modest-sized yards and separate buildings for storage and personal conveyances. It was clear that this part of town was filled with wealthy people. In fact, David Mad-Thane's house was less than a mile from this one.

With Claus were Lavie, Maggie, Tatiana, Alister, Al, David Mad-Thane and Sophia. Discreetly waiting a half block away were eight riflemen, watching silently. They all wore the coats of the constabulary. After a few moments, a servant answered the door. “Yes, sir?” asked the stuffy-sounding middle-aged man.

“I will see Michael now, Eustace,” Vincent said firmly, though not harshly.

“Ah. I see, Master Vincent,” the doorman bowed slightly, standing aside. Vincent led the group into the house. From the drawing room, the group heard feminine giggles and gasps. Vincent's lips turned down slightly as he turned the corner to look into the drawing room.

“Michael,” he said, his tone pitched to catch the attention of anyone in the room. In a large, over-stuffed chair, Michael was holding a young lady on his lap, one hand working on getting the top of her dress off. The cousin blinked, seeing Vincent standing in the doorway to the drawing room, a frown on his face.

“Cousin Vincent,” he answered, standing. As he did so, he dumped the giggling girl on her ass. “I was not told you were here,” he noted, sounding both unsure and annoyed.

“Obviously,” Vincent replied. “Miss, you will have to excuse us,” he added as the girl got to her face, a pout on her lips.

“But…!” she began, he voice nasal and whiny.

“Now,” repeated Vincent firmly, gesturing toward the front door with one arm. Vincent was wearing dark pants and a close-fitting shirt, his sword and pistol on his belt. Blinking the woman hurried past him and the others before darting out the door.

“What is this about, Vincent?” Michael asked petulantly. Vincent moved into the room, the other following him. “And what are they doing here?” he asked, before spotting the queen. “Your majesty,” he managed, giving her a rough bow and scrape.

“Michael, you just cannot learn, can you?” Vincent asked him, anger seeping into his words.

“What…?” the cousin tried again, only to have Vincent cut him off.

“You broke a contract, Michael, as well as conspiring with others to violate the laws of this land!” Vincent bit out. Michael froze for just a second.

“I don't know what you mean, cousin,” he said carefully.

“You broke the contract you had with the independent vanship crew, then turned around and hired a Union crew at the same rate,” Claus interjected.

“The service provided by the independent crew was not up to the agreement, and since when is hiring a Union crew illegal?” countered Michael.

Vincent pulled a folded paper from his belt. “The contract you signed has no provision for quality of service - only for missed deliveries; and I checked with the shop and the colony. There were no missed or even late deliveries. You had no right to break the contract, Michael,” Vincent said, throwing the paper on the floor.

“Since when is it not a noble's right to end a contract with a commoner?” Michael insisted.

“Since I took the throne, and more so since we came to this world,” Sophia answered.

“Even worse than that, though, is that you conspired with the president of the Union to use a Union crew for the same price - a violation of the Union charter,” Maggie spoke up. Michael curled his lip at the girl.

“Magmira,” he sneered. “since when does the law interest you?” he asked. Maggie didn't flinch.

“Because of your actions, Michael,” Vincent went on, “you are to be placed under arrest.”

“And what proof do you have of any of this?” demanded the man, his face flushing.

“We have sworn statements from several Union members, as well as the testimony of the independent you broke contract with,” Sophia answered. “You can choose to behave as a noble for the first time in your life and come quietly, or you can force me to have you dragged in chains to the Council Hall. Which is it to be?” asked the Queen.

“The president of the Union chose to be dragged in chains down the streets,” Lavie offered helpfully. Michael's face turned red.

“I am a noble, not some common rabble,” he snarled. “I have been personally insulted and I demand my right to redress! Claus Valca, I say you are a liar, thief and coward and I challenge you to a dual!” he yelled, pointing at Claus. Claus glanced at Lavie, then at Sophia.

“I accept your challenge,” replied the laid-back young man. “I choose armed vanships in aerial combat tomorrow at noon, east of Exile's moorings.” Michael's face went from beet read to chalk white. “I name David Mad-Thane as my second.”

Seeing Michael's reaction, Sophia smiled nostalgically. “Just like the time with the Goliath,” she murmured. Lavie snickered as well, fully aware of what Sophia was talking about.

“But, I don't know how to fly a vanship, let alone…!” began Michael.

“That is not my problem,” Claus replied indifferently.

“I refuse those terms,” Michael began. Hell yes, I refuse! Michael thought, wondering what had just happened. Valca is a double ace! That fool swore to me that nothing could go wrong, and that Valca wouldn't make any problems so long as we didn't threaten any of his friends. Damned fool. I should never have trusted a commoner…!

“You cannot refuse, Michael,” Vincent said, shaking his head. “You challenged Lord Valca, and as such, he gets to name the weapons. Because you are of lesser nobility than he, you forfeit the right to refuse the terms of the dual. You should know that very well!”

“My Queen, I must ask for you to grant me reprieve, since I cannot even fly a vanship…” he appealed to the Queen.

“You challenged a higher noble to a duel of honor, but now wish to be released from the dual?” Sophia asked, her tone icy. “We will not even hear such a cowardly plea.” Michael wobbled a little. “However,” Sophia added after a moment, “we will allow Lord Valca to choose if he wishes to allow you to name a champion to fight in your place.”

Claus glanced at Lavie, then Sophia once more. Shrugging, he said “I don't see why I should; you called me out. But, if you aren't going to stand up to your words because of me, I will pick someone else to fight in my place - in the interests of being fair.”

“Something you obviously have no understanding of yourself,” Tatiana commented.

“Who would you…?” began Michael, daring to hope. I should be able to purchase the skills of a military vanship crew if they are not facing Valca, he plotted.

“Tatiana Wisla can be my champion, if that would make you feel better,” Claus cut in smoothly. Michael twitched. Wisla. Abandoned Noble, but her house is higher than mine, too, damn it all! And she's a double-ace as well!

“If you conceded the dual before it starts, you can avoid having to die,” David noted calmly.

“Of course, by conceding the dual, you reveal yourself as a coward and liar,” Alister added.

“Better a living mouse than a dead lion,” suggested Maggie. Michael focused on her.

“Such a thing could be very damaging to the Alzey name,” he said slowly, his color returning. “But it could prove to be even worse to continue this farce,” suggested the man, seeming to gather himself.

“I doubt you understand the position you are in,” David began.

“No, I am fully aware of my position,” Michal cut off the Duke. “But if I am be humiliated by this coarse mockery of nobility,” he nearly spat at Claus - who, to his irritation, didn't even react - “then I promise you all I will not be the only one humiliated.”

“What are you saying, Michael?” Vincent asked.

“How would the town react to finding out that you married a spy and a whore?” Michael asked. An instant later, he was tumbled on the floor, Vincent towering over him, hand on sword hilt.

“Watch your mouth, cousin,” seethed Vincent, “before I call you out!” Michael picked himself up, holding the side of his face where Vincent had punched him.

“I know about your pasts, Maggie,” he said, his voice slightly muffled. “And I know that Valca is having an affair with you, Queen Sophia,” he added. Sophia's expression didn't change. Claus glanced at Lavie.

“What do you think an affair is?” he murmured. Lavie shrugged.

“Who knows?” she murmured back.

“Careful, Michael,” David warned him, “Lord Valca has not released you from the dual yet. Ill-spoken words may very well prove your death.”

“What of the words the town will have about you if they were to find out that your daughter has been consorting with Valca and his group? I can't see the standing of the Mad-Thane house improving were that to get around,” Michael continued. Claus sighed.

“Sophia, do you have two armed, ready-to-fly vanships right now?” he asked.

“Two armed twin-engine vanships are ready and fueled at your leisure, Claus,” replied the queen. Claus looked Michael right in the eye.

“I have decided that if you have the time to gossip, you have the time to face me today, now, in the skies,” he said firmly.

“I won't commit suicide by fighting you in a vanship, Valca,” snorted Michael. “Instead, I have a proposal for you all,” he continued, dropping back into the over-stuffed chair. “Since no one not in this room knows about the proposed dual, I suggest we forget this ever happened, and go our separate ways.”

“That works fine for you, but I see no reason to agree,” Claus observed.

“So, you are a nobleman after all,” sneered Michael. “Very well,” he agreed. “What would you consider reason to agree to my proposal?”

“You forget everything you think you know about Maggie and Chandra,” Claus began. “Also, you swear out a statement of your dealings with the president of the Union.” Michael considered this carefully for a moment, his face swelling where Vincent had punched him.

“Very well,” he agreed.

“Because your word isn't worth anything anymore,” Claus cut in, “I will only hold the duel in abeyance. If you break your agreement, or even if I have cause to think you have, it will be my turn to have satisfaction.”

“Is this clear to you, Michael Alzey?” Sophia asked firmly. Seeing the people staring at him, Michael knew he wasn't really being asked for his opinion.

“Yes, I think it very clear where we all stand on this,” he said stiffly. After another moment staring at him, the group turned to leave. Vincent remained behind a moment longer.

“Oh, and cousin,” he murmured, leaning closer to the other man, “if you ever insult my wife like that again, I'll kill you where you stand.” And with that, Vincent was gone, leaving Michael shaken, sore and broken. After a good ten minutes, he managed to stand, making his way to the small side table on which sat a bottle of brandy. Pouring himself a glass, he took a calming sip.

“Better a live mouse than a dead lion,” he muttered sourly.

Meanwhile, the group was heading for the Union, the eight riflemen with them. “Why was all that necessary, Sophia?” Claus wondered. “It seemed really complicated just to get what we needed from him,” he noted.

“Claus, let me just say that it was necessary in order to fulfill my dreams of a free world for us and our descendants,” Sophia replied, putting her arm around Claus's shoulders.

“It's sort of like this,” Maggie picked up the explanation. “By handling it by ourselves, we get rid of the Union without damaging the process of transition from a monarchy to a democracy - like in chess, when you sacrifice pawns and take losses in order to maneuver the enemy into checkmate.”

Claus shrugged, giving Maggie a vaguely apologetic look. “I don't play chess,” he replied.

Maggie gave him a surprised look before smiling just like Lavie smiled when she had some scheme in her head. “You will shortly!” promised the young woman.

“I'll help!” Al offered brightly. Maggie glanced at her blonde friend.

“You play chess, Al?” wondered the girl. Al nodded.

“Kita taught me,” she answered. “And I played some with Dio, too,” added the girl.

“Dio? Really?” Sophia asked. The strange younger brother to the mad Maestro Delphine was something of an uncomfortable topic with several of the group, given what had happened. “Did you win?”

“Every time,” smiled the girl happily. Sophia's expression grew thoughtful.

“I still don't like that that arrogant bastard got away with it, though,” Lavie complained, turning the topic back to where it had been before the side trip. “We should have just dealt with him permanently,” she opinioned.

“Unfortunately, Mistress Head,” David answered her proposal, “doing so in the manner you suggest would not have advanced our goals any. It was - strange as it might sound to you - best to do it this way.”

“Politics,” muttered Lavie, disgusted.

“Claus, would you have actually fought a dual with him?” Maggie asked.

“Yes,” was all Claus said. No hesitation, no uncertainty.

“Why?” Maggie asked.

“Because I won't let him threaten my family, that's why,” Claus replied quietly. He was once more unconsciously holding Lavie's hand.

“Don't forget that Claus was a fighter pilot during the war,” Tatiana said just as quietly. “For those he loves, he will do whatever it takes to protect them.”

“Speaking of loved ones,” Sophia turned the conversation, “did you tell them?” she asked Claus. Claus nodded.

“Yes.”

“What did they say?” wondered Sophia. Claus smiled at Lavie.

“They said `good luck',” he answered.

“I see,” smiled Sophia.

“What is this about, if I might ask?” David enquired.

“It's about family,” answered Lavie, smiling at Claus and the others. “And the future.”

END