A/N: Large portions of this (and subsequent) chapter(s) were written by DX. You can probably suss out which parts.

The street stood empty, save for two young men walking down the side of the road, occasionally having to detour around piles of debris that hadn’t quite been cleaned up yet. Eventually, they made it to a building that looked, like the rest of the surrounding area, like it had seen better days.

“It’s not much.” Nick said as he leaned on the door, pushing it open despite the debris piled up behind it. “But it’s available. Like a lot of places around here, it’s been abandoned.”

Eventually, he managed to get the door open enough for the two of them to slip inside. Alex followed behind silently. Nick watched, concerned, as the older man glanced around the room a grim look on his face as he leaned heavily on his cane.

“It’s not too bad, really.” Nick continued, desperate to fill the silence. “A bit of a fixer-upper, but it’s structurally sound, which is more than can be said for a lot of the buildings.”

Alex stared at the dust covered furniture, the dented and scratched bar top

“It’s fine.” Alex said simply.

“Sophia said you used to work in a bar… back on Earth.” Nick tried again. “This placed used to be a tavern, maybe it could be again?”

“Sure.” Alex muttered. “We’ll have to see.”

Inwardly, Nick groaned in frustration. Alex had probably said less than two-dozen words to anybody since they’d taken him out of suspended animation. Nick had heard the story of what had happened to Alex, but all the same it was disconcerting to see him act so… not-Alex.

“Well, um” Nick looked around for inspiration. “The living quarters are upstairs… I know that’s going to be tough to negotiate for you. If you like, we can have a bed made for you, and you can fix up one of the storage areas as a temporary bedroom, at least until your leg finishes healing…”

“That sounds fine.”

Nick rubbed the back of his neck. Well, it was better than nothing. He leaned over to pick up Alex’s bag and sling it over his shoulder. “Good, well, that’s sorted out then. Let’s get you settled in and we can take another look at that leg while I’m here.”

“If you want.”

*.*.*

The 82nd floor of the Isuliu Building had been empty just a month ago. Today, it would have been called a beehive of activity, if bees existed in the Archavian Empire. Delivery people were still moving office furniture and tablets and security equipment into the building, much to the delight of attorneys who’d been trying to work off of folding tables for the past few weeks.

“I hate to even hint at how many billable hours this is going to end up being,” Hurassen Bass said, directing his client through the organized chaos. “This is just the part of the operation we have working here in New Trantor. We’ve got five times this many working in Tuaut, and twice that in Tannhauser Gate. And that doesn’t even factor in the attorneys in we’ve sent to Vorsha City, Azatlia, Senedj, Naesavarna….”

“Does this mean I’ll have to cut back on dresses?” Pryvani said. “Oh, that would be awful.”

Hurassen chuckled, and directed her into his office. His furniture currently consisted of two basic printed chairs, a table, a couch, and a small vidscreen propped up in the corner which was tuned to one of the Imperial news networks. It was clear that Hurassen hadn’t made furnishing the office a priority.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t working. The table had four monitors: three were displaying tomes of dense legalese, and the fourth was open to his netfeed. Hurassen gestured to a chair for Pryvani, and took the other one. “I’m sorry, I wanted to make sure the rest of the office was furnished. My comfy chairs show up next week, I’m told.”

“It’s quite fine. And don’t worry, Hurassen, I am under no illusion that this will be inexpensive. In fact, I’ve already identified the companies I intend to sell to pay for it, assuming we’re successful.”

“I am impressed at how smoothly you flip that switch,” Hurassen said.

“I’ve had a good deal of practice,” Pryvani replied. “Incidentally, I don’t doubt you’ve figured this out, but….”

“Yeah, you learned this from your mother. Don’t worry. I’m not underestimating Lady Fand.”

Hurassen tapped his pad, causing the glass walls of his office to turn opaque. “Pryvani, I’m not going to lie – the more we dig, the more complex this case gets. I’m not saying Syon has a leg to stand on, but the Tarsuss Corporation might be the most complex legal entity in the history of the Empire. You’ve reorganized no less than six hundred and ninety-three times, and the original charter was signed in 814. I’ve got twelve attorneys simply going through and looking for any weak spots, any place that might give her a way to get after you.”

“There shouldn’t be any. We litigated this after she…well, after my father died.”

“Died. Yeah, you have every right to be suspicious, you know,” Hurassen said, shaking his head. “But that’s just the thing – she wasn’t expecting you to fight back. I can tell. Yvenna Mirendy’s work was extraordinarily sloppy, at least for her, and Syon’s claim was not especially thorough. She clearly wasn’t counting on your attorneys to hit back so hard – incidentally, thank Coran, Chymar, & Phemo next time you’re in to see them, they’ve been tremendous. At any rate, she was doing a smash and grab back in ’97. You messed that up. But she’s had five years to fix those mistakes.”

“And my mother, with five years to plan, will be dangerous,” Pryvani said. “Anything to worry about?”

“Nothing yet, but the rules of succession for the Tarsuss Corporation are where the danger lies. They hew closely to the rules of succession for the Seventy-Nine Families today, but they didn’t always. If she’s going to take you out, she needs to demonstrate not only that you’re incompetent, but that she’s the proper successor.”

“My second cousin, Larinius Tarsuss. He is the proper successor,” Pryvani said. “At least by the rules of succession. If she was trying to take this from my father, it would be different.”

“Correct. And that makes her case more challenging. But I have to believe she knows this. Which is why I have to believe that she’s found something to base her claim on.”

Hurassen leaned back just a bit. “I won’t lie. Litigating this is going to cost a fortune, and while I’ll take the money, I’ve never been in this for the money. You may be better off trying to settle. Give her a quarter of the empire and be done with it.”

Pryvani looked out at the vast metropolis of New Trantor. “Hurassen, you know your sister’s boyfriend better than I do, but you’ll agree with me – he’s as intelligent as any Titan, correct?”

“As intelligent? No. More intelligent. Pryvani, the only Titans I would put in his category are my father and you. My sister comes close, but I refuse to admit that my baby sister’s smarter than me, so don’t ever tell her I told you that.”

“We’ll call it client-attorney privilege,” Pryvani said with a tight smile. “Hurassen, Avalon is a sanctuary for hundreds of thousands of humans. They are free, though protected. My mother…if she gets control of Avalon, she will not hesitate to eliminate them all, as much to hurt me as anything.”

Hurassen blinked. “That would have horrified me even before I met Niall,” he said, slowly. “But now…dear Emperor.”

Pryvani nodded. “She cannot be allowed to win,” she said, quietly. “Whatever can be done to stop her, must be done.”

“Even if it means Larinius ends up with your fortune?” Hurassen asked.

“Whatever can be done to stop her,” Pryvani repeated emphatically, “Must be done.”

*.*.*

In one of the buildings attached to the Imperial Jewel hotel, a little girl gaily skipped down the hall, a well-worn but obviously loved stuffed toy hanging limply from her grip. She looked to be about five years old, and had any adults come across her, they likely would have wondered what a little girl was doing wandering around on her own. Most would have probably stopped and tried to help her find her parents.

Of course, Thyllia Fand was tragically well aware that her parents didn’t particularly care what happened to her. Or at least her mother didn’t. Thyllia had never met her father, and was thus unaware of his opinion of her. Maybe he did care about her, wherever he was. She liked to think so.

But as it was, her mother paid little attention to what Thyllia did, and rather preferred that the little girl stayed out of her hair as much as possible. In this case Thyllia was more than happy to oblige her. Fand was getting set to move them elsewhere, so was busy setting her affairs in order, leaving Thyllia with free reign to explore as much as she dared.

“Are you lost, little girl?” A gentle voice spoke out from behind her.

Thyllia spun around and saw a young woman, though obviously older than Thyllia, was short black hair and matching colored eyes. She wore a gentle smile as she squatted down to bring herself to the young girl’s level. Thyllia saw that she was wearing a short black apron and the uniform of a waitress.

“Nope.” The little girl said matter-of-factly, clutching her toy to her chest. “I know exactly where I’m going.”

“Okay.” The young lady said with an amused smile. “Let me rephrase that. Do your parents know where you are?”

“Probably not.” Thyllia shrugged. “My mommy doesn’t really care what I do.”

The older woman’s brow creased with concern. “Now, I doubt that very much. I’m sure she’s very worried about you right now. What’s your name?”

“Thyllia Fand.”

The waitress’s eyes widened in shock and she gulped nervously. Fand. She was talking to Syon Fand’s daughter. Her employer.

“W-Well… it’s nice to meet you, Thyllia… My name’s Renna.” Renna gulped nervously and held out a hand that she desperately tried to keep from trembling. “I was just heading to work. Why don’t you come with me and we’ll sort this all out, okay?”

Thyllia eyed the offered hand suspiciously. “You’re gonna call my mom, aren’t you?”

“I’m afraid so.” Despite herself, Renna couldn’t help but chuckle at the little girl’s reaction.

Thyllia sighed and took Renna’s hand, accepting defeat. “Okay, fine.”

Renna stood up and the two of them resumed walking towards the restaurant where Renna worked. When they arrived, Renna sat the little girl down on one of the tables near the wall and gave her a handful of colored pens and some spare bits of paper.

After making sure the child wouldn’t suddenly bolt, she quickly walked over to the bar and arranged for someone to notify management that the owner’s daughter was running around unsupervised. After doing that, she ducked into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she reemerged carrying a dish of iced fruit and placed it in front of the girl.

“Is that for me?” The child asked, eyeing the dessert suspiciously.

“No.” Renna responded with gentle sarcasm. “I’m going to sit here and eat it in front of you because I enjoy torturing small children.”

The wide eyed look of confusion informed Renna that she’d made a misstep.

“I’m kidding!” Renna told her, suddenly feeling concerned. “Of course it’s for you, dig in.”

Hesitatingly, Thyllia picked up the spoon and scooped a piece of fruit into her mouth. A look of surprised delight appeared on her face.

“it’s good!” She informed Renna.

“Well yeah…” Renna responded, startled by the reaction. “Haven’t you ever had this before?”

“Nope.” Thyllia shrugged and took another bite. “My mom never lets me have sweet stuff. Says it rots your brain.”

“I see…” Renna muttered. “Well, I have to get to work, but I’ll check on you again in a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

Renna quickly got to work, but always keeping the corner table in sight as much as possible. Thyllia sat hunched over the table, alternating between drawing with the pens and taking bites from the dessert.

Eventually, a regal looking woman with dark hair and expensive looking clothing appeared at the entrance to the restaurant. She looked around for a moment, before finally spotting the hostess. The two of them had a quick conversation, before the hostess led her over to where Thyllia was seated.

Renna watched, as the elder seemed to argue with the younger, before the child grudgingly climbed down from her seat. The woman, who Renna assumed was Syon Fand, gave the hostess an exasperated but grateful smile, and seemingly thanked her; before taking Thyllia by the hand and dragging the young girl out of the restaurant.

Renna sighed in relief. Thyllia was safe back with her mother, she could now finish her shift in peace.

That is, until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and found herself face-to-face with Jex, her supervisor.

“You realize that dessert is coming out of your pay, right?”

*.*.*

Rixie stared at the ceiling above the bed in her cabin. She was on her way back to Grelau and trying to figure out her next move. Despite what she’d told Pryvani; or rather what Pryvani had assumed Rixie had said to her, Rixie had no intention of leaving the situation with Zakrov alone. She might not be willing to go on a murdering spree for the sake of revenge, anymore, but that didn’t mean Rixie was going to sit around twiddling her thumbs until the universe sorted itself out.

Of course, first she had to figure out exactly what she was going to do.

With a sigh, Rixie pulled herself to her feet and trudged across the cabin to the small computer setup in the corner. She booted up the system and waited for the machine to finish coming online.

When the ancient piece of machinery was finally ready, Rixie entered a string of command prompts into the communication program that would allow her to contact someone on a secure channel. She doubted anybody would be listening in on her on the ship, she was after all a mere passenger on this voyage, but one couldn’t be too careful.

She initiated the program and a moment later, the image of a handsome young man appeared on the screen.

Vanser Nix arched his brow when he saw who had contacted him. “Rixie.” He greeted. “You called me on a secure line. I have to assume this isn’t a social call.”

“Nice to see you too Vans.” Rixie chuckled, this first sign of mirth she’d felt in days.

“Rixie, you know I’m always happy to hear from you.” Vanser continued sincerely. “But let’s not kid ourselves, if this was about merely checking in to see how I’m doing, you wouldn’t have gone through the trouble to reroute the call. So. What’s up?”

Rixie nodded. Straight and to the point, she could deal with that. “I need a favor.”

“I figured.”

“I need my access codes reinstated.” Rixie began, and held up a hand to forestall the protest she saw coming. “But I know you’re not in any sort of position to do that. So, instead of that, I’d like you do a little digging on my behalf.”

There was a bit of a pause as Vanser scrutinized her over the video feed. “Rixie, are you in some kind of trouble?”

“No.” Rixie shook her head. “But there’s a terrible crime being committed as we speak. Actually, likely several crimes. But I need proof in order to stop what’s going on, and I need your help to get that proof because you have access that I don’t anymore.”

Vanser bit his lip and considered the situation. “Okay, Rix.” He finally said, nodding. “I’m going to trust you on this, as I’d say you’ve earned it. What do you need me to do?”

Rixie let loose a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. If Vanser had refused to help her, she really didn’t know what she could have done. Nevertheless, she’d secured his help.

Unfortunately, that was the easy part.

“I need you to look up some information for me,” Rixie finally said. “But first, I need to borrow something…”