Renna’s earpiece buzzed with the voice of her supervisor, bringing along with it an electric whine and a sharp pain in her eardrum. With a wince, Renna reached to the control pack at her hip and turned the volume down slightly, irritably wondering whether the person who used the equipment before her had cranked it all the way up out of spite.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” She spoke into the small mic at her lapel.

“I said that one of the suites just called down and requested more towels. I was wondering if you could run up there and take care of that.”

Renna looked over her shoulder at the supply cart she was lugging behind her. She judged she had more than enough to finish her cleaning and take care of this request.

“Yeah.” She responded. “I have plenty. Which room is it?”

Her supervisor gave her the room number, which was on the other side of the hotel, of course. With a weary sigh Renna wheeled her cart around pulled it down the hallway behind her.

After a trip across the hotel, Renna found herself walking down the corridor that led to the high-end suites. She mentally counted off the room numbers until she reached the one she was looking for.

Renna pressed the call button beside the door and waited.

A moment later the door slid open. Before Renna could even begin to explain what she was doing there, a pair of hands snaked out of the doorway, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into the room.

The door slid shut behind her.

The young maid found herself facing two women. With a start she realized that they were Tannith Ley and her assistant.

“Wh-what’s going on here?” She stuttered nervously, eyeing the imposing women in front of her and wondering if she’d done something wrong.

“You’re Renna?” Tannith asked, and Renna realized there was a strange undertone to her voice.

“Y-yes.” Renna responded. “What’s going on?”

The two women glanced at each other before Tannith let out a sigh.

“Sit down Renna.” The young woman’s voice buzzed. “There’s something we need to show you.”

Swallowing nervously, Renna allowed herself to be led to the center of the room where a couch waited for her. She quickly sat and drew her legs in close to her body, and hunched her shoulders protectively.

“Oh relax girl.” The assistant sighed. “We’re not going to eat you or anything!”

Renna thought the woman calling her a ‘girl’ was a bit rich, considering she was only a few years younger, if that… but nevertheless the young woman allowed herself to relax.

“You know the human, Sam?” Tannith asked as she seated herself in the chair across from the couch where Renna sat.

“Oh, uh, yes… he belongs to one of the owners or something. He’s very sweet…” Renna muttered evasively.

“And you’ve been betting on him, haven’t you?” The tall woman continued.

“Well… yeah. They have the humans compete in something… races maybe? I don’t know…”

Tannith bit her lip. “No, Renna… I hate to tell you this… but they don’t have the humans race or anything like that… they force them to fight each other…”

Renna’s eyes widened and her mouth went dry. “N-no… that can’t be true… nobody could possibly…” Her sentence faded out as Tannith’s assistant pressed a data pad into her hands. On the screen was a slightly blurry video clip, that looked like it had been filmed surreptitiously. In it she could clearly see a holographic projection of two humans fighting each other… and one of them was definitely Sam…

Renna thought she might be sick.

“Oh…” The young woman muttered, shocked. “N… this has to be a trick… a hologram or something.”

Tannith shook her head. “It isn’t. I’ve talked to Sam myself. He admitted that this is what they make him do.”

“But… why didn’t he tell me? Why did he tell me to bet on him?”

“Because he wanted to help you.” Tannith’s assistant said gently, lowering herself to the couch next to Renna. “You were kind to him, so he wanted to return the favor.”

“This is horrible… I’m horrible.” Renna felt tears welling in her eyes, but she didn’t seem to have the strength to wipe them away.

“You didn’t know.” Tannith whispered kindly. “But I need you to do something for me. I need you to convince him to stop. It’s the only way I can save him.”

“Of course!” Renna nodded vigorously. “Of course I want him to stop. It’s not worth this… I’M not worth this…”

Tannith smiled. “Good. I want to get him away from this.”

Renna blinked. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“You’re a wealthy fashion designer.” Renna’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you care about the fate of one human? Or any human?”

“Because I’m not actually who I say I am.” The other woman sighed. “I suppose I’m going to have to trust you on this. My name isn’t Tannith Ley. Strictly speaking, Tannith Ley doesn’t exist.”

“What?”

“My real name is Rixie Tam. I’m an Imperator. She’s not my assistant, her name is Zhalem Ro.”

“Hoplites?”

“Yes. We’ve been investigating Syon Fand and Vasha Zakrov for criminal activities and we discovered this… human fighting they’ve been doing. We’re attempting to stop it but we need proof.”

Renna nodded. “How are you going to accomplish that?”

Rixie hesitated for a moment, but then continued with a shrug. “We have intel from Vasha’s sister that she tends to keep important documents rather… close to her heart. If we can get ahold of these documents, my hope is that one or more of them will be the proof we need to stop her and Fand both.”

Renna’s heart thumped in her chest. How could he possibly do this for her? What had she actually done for him that would warrant… All she had done was talk to him. She couldn’t imagine being so bereft of kindness that something as simple as that would warrant Sam putting himself in danger like this.

More to the point, Renna was ashamed that she hadn’t realized something like this was going on in the first place. Now that she was able to look back on it, there were several red flags on the whole situation. The way the workers in the casinos had avoided her questions about what was going on, the fact that she never got to actually witness the “contests” …just the results.

She hadn’t wanted to see. That was the problem. Things had been going well for her, for once, why would she want to look any closer than that?

Her throat closed and her hands trembled. She hung her head.

“Please…” Renna whispered softly. “I’ll do whatever I can to help… I should have realized what was going on, but I didn’t want to look any closer…”

Rixie smiled gently. “Renna… this isn’t your fault.”

“It is.” Renna muttered miserably. “But I want to make it right.”

Rixie nodded. “Good. I’ve arranged some time with Sam here later this evening… can you come by after your shift is over?”

Renna stood up from the couch. “I will. I…I guess I should get back to my shift now…”

“Okay.” Rixie rose and walked the young woman to the door. “Please don’t beat yourself up about this Renna, whatever mistakes you might have made… you’re doing the right thing now…”

Renna nodded but didn’t respond further. Instead, she just walked through the door, which Rixie closed behind her.

Rixie sighed and shook her head. She’d had plenty of guilt, both for how she’d personally treated Alex and how Titans treated humans in general… but she couldn’t imagine the weight that Renna must be carrying.

“Are you going to be okay here by yourself for a few hours?” She asked, turning to Zhalem.

“Of course. Why? Where are you going?”

“There’s something I need to do…”

* * *

“So what do you recommend?”

Alex’s head cocked and he slowly turned from where he was straightening the row of bottles behind the counter. Eyes wide with surprise beheld a familiar-yet-unfamiliar form sitting in the stool at the far end of his bar.

She was an attractive woman, with long hair that fell to the small of her back. Blonde, except for a wisp of orange and red on her bangs. Her skin was pale and her lips were painted with blue lipstick… which was really unusual for Avalon.

It wasn’t until he got to the eyes that recognition set in. Her coloring was completely wrong… but those eyes were definitely Rixie’s.

Rixie had her elbow leaned against the bar with her chin resting in the palm of her hand. The familiar smile on her face was at odds with the tears on her cheek.

“I um…” Alex suddenly found himself at a loss for words. “How about a beer?”

Rixie chuckled and sat back in the chair. “I wish I could, but they haven’t figured out how to make these things eat or drink yet.” She smiled and indicated the hard-light holographic avatar she was using.

“Rixie… I can’t believe you’re here.”

There was a twitch on Rixie’s face and her smile faded a bit. “It’s not a problem is it?” She asked quietly. “I don’t want to cause any-”

“Of course it’s not a problem.” Alex rolled his eyes and made his way around the bar to where Rixie was sitting. The holographic titan stood and Alex was surprised to find that Rixie only came as high as his chin.

“Why are you so tiny?” Alex wondered, even as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug.

“Isn’t that just a matter of degree at this point?” Rixie chuckled, nestling in against his chest. “I didn’t want to accidentally cause another panic attack, so I thought if you were taller it would be easier on you.”

“Well. I’m not sure you really needed to go that far…” Alex buried his face in her hair. “But I appreciate it anyway.”

He felt Rixie stiffen and pull away.

“I’m not hurting you am I?” She asked with a panicked tone.

“Geez Rix, relax.” Alex chuckled, shaking his head ruefully. “You’re not a hundred feet tall right now. You don’t have to treat me like I’m made of glass.”

“I didn’t mean that!” Rixie groused, dropping back into her seat. “I was talking about your injuries. You’re walking with a cane after all.”

“True.” Alex shrugged, seating himself in the chair next to her. “But it’s not as bad as it was. Doc Archer figures I’ll be able to get along without it in a week or so.”

“Good.”

“Now… enough about me…” Alex’s eyes narrowed in suspicion and he fingered a lock of her golden hair. “What exactly have you been up to?”

Rixie bit her lip and shifted uncomfortably. She briefly considered coming up with some story to account for her appearance, but then she rejected that idea out of hand. She didn’t want to lie to Alex.

So, instead she sighed and looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. “I’m currently undercover trying to find some proof of what Vasha Zakrov is doing.”

Alex’s eyebrow raised, but if he was surprised by her honesty, he didn’t show it beyond that. “I see.”

Rixie smirked. “Is that all you have to say about it? ‘I see’?”

“What else am I supposed to say?” Alex asked with a shrug. “Do you want me to get mad? Forbid you from doing it?”

“Well of course not…” Rixie muttered.

“Don’t think I’m not worried about you, of course I am, Rix.” Alex shook his head. “There’s a knot in my stomach the size of a baseball.”

“What’s a base-?”

“My fist. The size of my fist.” Alex amended. “The point is, I know you’ll do what you need to do. I know you’ve done this sort of thing before. And I know you can take care of yourself. You don’t need to answer to me, Rixie.” He laughed wryly. “You aren’t my pet, after all.”

Rixie sighed and nodded. “Thank you for that, Alex. I promise- I’ll be careful. Really, I’m so close to nailing that bitch to a wall.”

“Don’t do anything to get yourself in trouble, Rixie.” Alex warned. “I’ll be pretty pissed if you land yourself in a penal colony or something.”

Rixie chuckled, her mind flashing back to the conversation with Pryvani when she had said the same thing. “I won’t.” The former Imperator promised. “I’ll be sure to come back to you.”

“I just hope I’ll be able to hold it together when you do…” Alex sighed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Remembering the panic attack he’d had at the sight of her real size stilled filled him with embarrassment and shame.

“Don’t.” Rixie shook her head, grabbing his chin and gently tilting his head up to meet her gaze. “I’ve told you before: it wasn’t your fault, and whatever happens we’ll find a way to get you through this. Even if it means I can only see you in a holosuite…”

Alex winced and bit his lip.

“I’m sure it won’t come to that though.” Rixie chuckled ruefully. “I do have a few ideas…”

Suddenly, the holographic titan’s face brightened and she jumped up from her chair.

“But enough of that depressing crap.” She grabbed a hold of Alex’s hand, squeezing it gently with her fingers. “I don’t have a lot of time left in this thing, so why not give me a tour of your new place here?”

Alex smiled and squeezed her hand back. “Okay.”

* * *

It was late in the evening, and Pryvani had just wanted to stay with Zhan, but Hurassen had been insistent that she come at once. She looked down at the dozing human, planted a kiss on him, and headed out into the night, arriving at her destination not long after. She wasn’t dressed like “Pryvani Tarsuss” – she wore simple breeches and a basic t-shirt. She didn’t intend to stay long.

“So what’s so important, Hurassen?” she asked, striding through the empty office. Hurassen was sitting on a desk of an associate, holding a pad. He looked rattled – or at least as rattled as he got.

“Two things. First – we got the genealogist’s report; Mirendy had put it into evidence already. I found something in it…I thought you’d want to see this.”

He handed Pryvani the pad; it was open to Syon Fand’s record, showing her husband, Chyuri Tarsuss (deceased), daughter, Pryvani Tarsuss, daughter, Thyllia….

Outwardly, Pryvani remained placid, though her eyes widened just a bit. Yet her mind raced down several different tracks simultaneously.

Part of her was annoyed – she should have known this. This wouldn’t be something that Syon could hide. She hadn’t thought to look. She had assumed that Syon wouldn’t want another heir; she didn’t want the one she already had.

Part of her was angry – not that her mother was “replacing” her, but because of the date of Thyllia’s birth. She had been conceived before Pryvani’s father had died – but Thyllia was pointedly listed with no father. If Thyllia was Chiyuri’s daughter, Syon wouldn’t have bothered to bribe Laurinius. She would have used Thyllia, and made the claim on her behalf. No, Syon had conceived Thyllia with another man. Pryvani wondered if it had happened before or after she decided to kill her father – and if Thyllia’s father had met a similar fate.

But one emotion slowly eclipsed all others, until it was all she could bear. It was horror. Horror that there was another little girl having to live as the daughter of Syon Fand – without even a decent father around to help her through it.

“She didn’t register the father, but the genetic records wouldn’t be hard to find if you wanted to.” Hurassen was saying to her “Do you think this is why she’s fighting this? To give it to Thyllia?”

Pryvani couldn’t help it. She laughed out loud. “Oh – oh dear me – no. Definitely not. Poor kid has nothing to do with this lawsuit.”

“You’re sure? It would explain why she was fighting so hard, if she wanted to get control of the company for Thyllia.”

Pryvani looked at Hurassen, and shook her head. “My mother cares for one person and one person only. My…my sister isn’t it. I hope she has someone – anyone – to love her. It won’t be Syon.”

Hurassen nodded.

“What’s the second thing?” Pryvani asked.

Hurassen sighed. “Yvenna submitted this into evidence after close of business. I just had a chance to look at it,” he said, hitting a button on his pad.

She looked at the exhibits carefully, trying to figure out why she was looking at it. They were pictures of her, obviously recent. There were many like them – paparazzi, maybe private detective. Nothing scandalous. Her eating, her checking in at Vasha’s hotel, sitting on her balcony ….

No. Not just her.

There was someone else. In every photo. Hard to make out, exactly. But clearly there, by her side.

It was the picture where she planted a kiss on his head that would seal it.

“Oh, Gods,” she said. “They’re going to go after Zhan.”

“Not Zhan. You. This will push you from eccentric to eccentric-with-a-human-lover. I’ve seen what my sister has to put up with. The press will eat you alive.”

Pryvani sighed, and then stiffened. “Naskia has put up with a great deal, that’s true. But Niall is worth it, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes, I would,” Hurassen said. “She’s saner now than I’ve ever seen her. He’s been good for her. But Pryvani…she isn’t risking trillions of credits for him.”

“Only because she doesn’t have it,” Pryvani said. “She would if she did. I do. And I will.”

Hurassen smiled. “All right. Well, then, I should tell you I got a message, from Mirendy. Ex parte communication, I could bring it to the Judicator, but I’ll bring it to you first. It’s a personal message. From your mother.”

Pryvani laughed bitterly, and looked at the message Hurassen had forwarded to her, ignoring the not-so-veiled threats. “So that’s how we’re playing it,” she muttered under her breath. “All right.”

“I strongly advise you not to go meet with her, at least without me there.”

Pryvani smiled. “Thank you, Hurassen. You are absolutely right, and she is my mother. So I have to go.”

“I know,” Hurassen said, evenly. “Just…wait to make any decisions, okay? If she makes an offer, bring it back to me first.”

“I will,” Pryvani said. “I will.”

* * *

“You know, my attorney said I shouldn’t meet with you,” Pryvani said, settling into a chair.

“Mine said the same thing. Would you care for a drink?” Syon purred.

“Hells, no. I’m not an idiot.”

“I know. You’re my daughter. You couldn’t be an idiot.”

“Not your only daughter, I see. Working to screw up Thyllia the way you messed me up?”

“Pryvani, that’s just silly. You’re quite successful. Really, I’m proud of you.”

Pryvani’s fingernails dug into the armrest of her chair. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that her mother was not proud of her. Pryvani was not Syon. Syon couldn’t be proud of her.

“Mother, I’m not interested in pleasantries. Get to the point.”

“You know, those images with you and your friend…they could swing this case to me,” Syon said, simply.

“Not likely.”

“True, if it were just the pictures,” Syon sneered. “But between that and your unhealthy obsession with humans, your spending on them, doting on them…loving them…well, that will create a scandal. Investors will worry about investing with the girl who’s frakking a klipkaer. Especially right before a trial to determine her competence. Very reckless, dear, you must admit. Why would you do something that stupid?”

Pryvani smiled, in spite of herself. “I love him.”

“Sentimental foolishness. Well, you know what will happen once this gets out. Investors and partners will panic. Revolt. It will cause the damage to the company you have thus far managed to avoid. And that will be the proof that we lack – the proof that you are unfit to run this company. I have contacts who will push this in the media, in boardrooms, throughout the Empire.

“Shortly after tomorrow, I will request a short recess – a couple of weeks at most. Oh, Hurassen will object, because you’ll tell him to, but the judicator will grant it. When we return to court, the Tarsuss Corporation will be in freefall, and my victory will be assured. And when I win, you know what I will do to Avalon.”

Pryvani stared Syon down. “Yes,” she said. “I do.”

“I know you do. However, my victory will take time,” Syon continued. “Time to engineer this crisis, time to push this through trial. You will certainly appeal a loss, try to argue that it’s my fault for sharing this. The case will wind its way through the courts for years. It might be a decade or more before I could take full control.”

“Or sooner, if I turn up missing or dead,” Pryvani said.

Syon smirked. “Oh, you’re so dramatic, dear.”

“Am I? What happened to Thyllia’s father? I have a strong suspicion what happened to mine.”

Syon’s expression did not waver. “Irrelevant details. Didn’t I teach you to pay attention to the matter at hand?”

“Yes you did, mother. Yes you did. So what is the matter at hand? You want to gloat? Cut a deal? Cut my throat?”

“No, no. Pryvani, you want to protect Avalon. I want this matter settled. And so I’m prepared to make you an offer. You give me three-quarters of your holdings and the title of president. I let you keep a quarter, keep the primacy of the Tarsuss family, keep your senate seat. I drop the suit, those pictures go away…and most important, I let you keep Avalon.”

Pryvani leaned back. She had to admit, this was a very generous offer from Syon. Too generous.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t care about Avalon. I never did. You and I both know that. You do care about them. Silly, of course, but that’s your problem. I’ll let you play with your toys, Pryvani, especially your favorite. I’ll even leave you with trillions of credits to buy them clothes and doll houses. And when I die, you’ll get the rest of the company back, intact – indeed, better than ever. You and I both know that I can run the company capably.”

“Not giving it to Thyllia?”

Syon chuckled. “Hells, no. She’s even more of a dreamer than you were. It’s pathetic, really. So, do we have a deal?”

Pryvani looked carefully at her mother. She knew this would preserve Avalon; Syon would keep her word on that. She really didn’t care about the humans one way or another. They were leverage. As long as Pryvani left Syon alone, Syon would leave the humans alone.

Syon didn’t waste time on things that didn’t affect her.

Pryvani would still be a trillionaire – still one of the richest women in the Empire. She’d still be a Senator. Still head of the family. She could strike out on her own, build a new Tarsuss Corporation. Hell, she could break clean from Syon, once and for all.

All this was true, but one thing bothered her. Just one little thing.

The one thing she was most certain of.

And it was the one thing that made her say, “No, mother. I don’t think so.”

Syon continued to smirk. “And why not?”

“Because you’re the one making this offer,” Pryvani said, rising. “You wouldn’t be making it if you thought victory was assured. You don’t know how the investors and partners will react. I can cite Niall Freeman, push a pro-human rights argument that is, gorram it, right. It may not make the investors happy politically, but I won’t look insane.

“I might be right, or you might be, but I’m going to bet that you’re a lot more worried than you’re letting on. I know you think you’re going to lose, because you would never give up anything you didn’t have to.”

“Perhaps I just want to see my daughter taken care of,” Syon said. That drew a bitter laugh from said daughter.

“You don’t care if I live or die, mother. And I feel very sorry for my sister. She’s probably just starting to figure out what I learned long ago – that her mother couldn’t care less about her, or anyone that isn’t Syon Fand. You say I view the humans on Avalon as toys? No, mother. They’re people. But to you, there’s no distinction, is there?”

“This offer expires at the start of court tomorrow.”

“I won’t take it, mother. I’m not going to turn the company over to you. You see, you made a big mistake.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“You didn’t get rid of me when you killed my father.” Pryvani stood up, and straightened her jacket. “Maybe I win this case. Maybe I lose. But it will be a cold day on Hadia before I make a deal with you.”

Pryvani walked toward the door.

“Say hello to your human boyfriend for me,” Syon said.

“Kiss my arse,” Pryvani replied, looking straight ahead.