“Does she actually think it’s possible?” Nick asked in an awestruck tone. 

Brinn shrugged. “Kharee seems to think so. The biology of it is sound enough, I suppose, although I don’t quite understand a lot of the mathematical aspects of it.” 

“Imagine… me a titan.” Nick whispered, a smile forming on his face. “I could finally tell Dr. Kezwic off properly.” 

“You already did remember?” Brinn reminded him, with a good natured chuckle. “And you were magnificent.” 

“Well, okay that’s true. I did.” Nick shrugged. “But this time, she might actually listen.” 

“I just don’t want you getting your hopes up, is all.” Brinn muttered, gently ruffling Nick’s hair. “What Kharee is saying makes sense, theoretically, but there’s still a lot about the insectoids we don’t understand. Especially when it comes to their biology. There could still be a lot of unforeseen issues to this procedure. Weird side effects, maybe.” 

Nick was silent for a moment, and Brinn peered down at him, concerned. 

“I know Brinn.” He said, idly putting his hair back into place. “I know that this is probably a longshot. I won’t get my hopes up too much, okay?” 

“Promise?” 

“I promise.” 

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Taron dropped his toolkit onto the workbench in front of him with a loud thump. A moment later, a large metallic object landed right next to it. The young titan considered the strange device for a moment before reaching into his toolkit. 

He’d decided that the best thing for him to be doing at that particular moment was to take Trell’s bomb apart and see just what they were dealing with. Perhaps, if he were lucky, he could find some way to trace the device’s origin. 

Of course, if nothing else, dismantling the hateful device would make him feel much better. 

With a grunt he jammed a long thin metal rod into the space between the plates that made up the outer casing. After a few tries he managed to pop it loose. Once he’d removed one, the rest of the job was easy. Soon he’d gained access into the bomb’s inner workings. 

Now it was time to discover the machine’s secrets. 

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

“The city’s in shambles. Half of it has been leveled; the other half has been looted. What do we do now?” 

Leyta, who had suddenly found herself nominally ‘in charge’ of the city after the death of high priest Dhantnee, chewed her lip nervously. 

“I don’t know.” The young woman sighed, looking across her desk at Captain Xanthopolous, who was sitting with her arms crossed over her chest. “I wish I had some brilliant insight, or suggestion, but the fact of the matter is I didn’t ask for this and I’m not terribly sure I’m qualified for it.” 

“None of us ‘asked for this,’ Leyta.” Lysis responded, frowning. “But the fact is it’s the reality we’ve found ourselves in.” 

The two of them were sitting in what had once been the High Priest’s office, but Leyta had lately taken to use for her own. Since Dhantnee had died, the young woman had found herself thrust to the top of the hierarchy in the city, and she wasn’t entirely sure how she’d ended up there. 

Nevertheless, she’d elected to shoulder the mantle until a more suitable candidate could be found. 

She just hoped they’d be found very very soon.

Leyta sighed and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “It’s just too much; I don’t know where to start.” 

There was a moment’s silence as the two women became lost in their own thoughts. 

“Maybe we need to ask Pryvani.” Lysis suggested hesitantly. 

“You think she’d be willing to go back to being our goddess and everything can go back to normal?” Leyta asked, only half-joking. 

“No.” Lysis almost cracked a smile. “But maybe she has some advice for us, a first step we can take. Despite what she did to us, I believe she really does care about what happens to us as a people, and she’s willing to help us. Why not use that?” 

“There are some who won’t like it.” Leyta reminded her. 

“That’s true.” Lysis replied with a nod. “And as long as those people are willing to remain peaceful on the subject, I don’t believe we need to ignore that perspective.” 

Another moment of silence fell as they racked their brains to come up with an idea. 

“This isn’t working.” Leyta finally admitted with a sigh. “What we need are more people trying to come up with a solution. I’ll call together the leaders of the city guilds and the masters of the law and see if we can’t think of a plan of action that will satisfy everybody, or failing that one that will at least get us moving in the right direction.

“Good.” Lysis nodded and pulled herself to her feet. “In the meantime, I’ve got several dozen ex-cultists to handle.” 

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Pryvani smiled to herself as she closed the computer window. She had been spying on the meeting between Lysis and Leyta, which was probably not entirely ethical but it paid to stay informed. 

She was inordinately pleased at their conclusion. While she certainly would have helped had they asked, the fact that they’d worked out a plan of action (and a good one at that) without her, or any other titan’s, help was an encouraging sign. 

Also, it meant that she was free to turn her full attention to one of the other things that threatened Avalon’s future. 

She typed a few keys on the pad in front of her, and after a moment’s pause the face of middle aged man appeared on her screen. 

“Pryvani!” The man’s face split into a charming grin. “I’ve been hoping to hear from you, what can I do for you?” 

Pryvani smiled and leaned back in her chair, folding her hands in her lap. “Hurassen, I believe it’s time we decide just what to do about my troublesome mother.”