EG 3 Ch 26 (Patreon)

In a dark room within Sage Shores, a woman whimpered while chains clinked. Few features were still recognizable as she hung in chains with her fluffy tail matted and motionless. But the color of her dress was still the same teal as when she had met a man traveling with unusual women.

"I offer so many of you a comfortable location to do your business without fear of oversight, without fear of authority. And I ask only a few very simple conditions," the sanguafae walked behind the tortured woman and ran a long nail along her neck. Despite the conditions she was wearing a form fitting velvet dress, and had managed not to get a drop of blood on it.

Battered and broken as the woman was, she flinched, fearful of that fingernail enough to overcome her exhaustion.

"Look into my eyes," the sanguafae demanded, and the Kikai woman looked up, meeting the bright eyes of the beautiful sanguafae, only for her own to dilate to impossible proportions. "Why did you do it?" the sanguafae asked.

"Connections," she squeezed out through her ruined throat. "There have been warrants and warnings about doing business with that ship. Big bounties and better connections." She wheezed, like answering the question was more important than the struggle of breathing.

The sanguafae dropped her chin as the woman's breathing became increasingly labored without the strength to hold her neck straight. "Such a shame. You nearly ruined my reputation. An example will be made. I haven’t had a toy in so long." The sanguafae traced her nail over the woman's throat and began peeling off a thin layer of her skin as the woman thrashed against her bonds, only cutting her wrists deeper as she tried to scream. The sound came out as a raw gurgle.

"Madam." One of the many servants of Sage Shores stepped through and deftly stepped over a puddle of blood, unperturbed by it in the slightest.

"Yes?" the sanguafae asked, licking a drop of blood off her nail with the tip of her tongue before frowning at the taste.

"We have received an odd request." He announced.

"We receive odd requests daily. What makes this one any different?" She pressed. Good help was so hard to train.

The man hesitated and glanced down at a tablet he was holding. Her people didn't usually hesitate. Admittedly, her curiosity was piqued. "The request says a client is bringing a lightly damaged battleship for sale, and wanted clearance from us ahead of time so they didn't startle anyone. Apparently it's a Kikai military vessel."

The sanguafae threw her head back. "Welcome them with open arms, and have someone value the battleship. Be generous." She smiled. "And I'll offer to pay for it if no one else wants it."

The servant's eyes flashed in surprise, likely not from her offer to buy it; that was easy enough for her. More likely it was the favor that it insinuated she was showing the seller.

"Of course." The servant bowed low and took his leave.

The sanguafae turned to the woman she had been set on flaying. "It's your lucky day. My mood has improved significantly. I cannot let my little domain come under any doubt, however. This is simply business. I'm sure you understand," the sanguafae bent down, fangs striking out and into the woman's neck. The woman’s eyes rolled up into the back of her head in pleasure for a moment before her body convulsed, shaking with an instinctual sense of preservation, only for her eyes to eventually close in eternal sleep.

The sanguafae stood and pulled out a pocket mirror to quickly adjust her lipstick before snapping the compact closed.

"It seems my newest project is having too much fun." Her eyes stared off into the far distance as her eyes sparkled like they suddenly reflected the stars beyond the walls. "And those Unity simply have no idea what is coming for them." She let out a laugh that made her curves shake as she stepped around the puddles of blood with heels in a way that spoke of many, many years of practice walking on slippery surfaces.

***

"I can't believe that worked," Brick stared at the screen as we dropped out of hyperspace with a battleship towed behind the cruiser and the Griffin.

"You were clenching the entire way, weren't you?" I asked Brick.

"Yes. Hyperspace tunnels are actually fairly fragile. If we were off by even an arcsecond, that thing could have crashed into the sidewall, shattered the hyperspace tunnel, and sent us all tumbling out who knows where."

"That's why you measure twice, cut once." I grinned at Brick. The grogax was not amused at my joke.

"There's always a margin of error," the doctor said, and somehow I found that the most disconcerting answer, coming from her.

"How much margin of error would you hazard there was when you were operating on me?" I asked with a frown. Melgara didn’t seem to care about the patient as much as the process.

The Stellari grinned. "As we can see, plenty. Besides, I've told you many times, I wasn't nominally a people doctor, and my bedside manner could use some work."

I shook my head and focused back forward, especially because comms were coming through.

"It's the station, Captain," Violet reported, and I leaned back in my captain’s chair, doing my best to put on a captain's grin.

"Patch it through," I said, near giddy every time I got to say captain phrases. "Let's see what they have to say."

My glove from last time appeared, and I smiled at the man. "Oh, good. I was worried that I had gotten you in some trouble when we had last visited."

"No trouble, sir. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We'd offer to let you park your battleship while we appraise it."

"Well, that's awfully kind of you," I said.

"It seems the owner of Sage Shores has taken a liking to you. In fact, she would love to have dinner with you and any one of your crew you would like to bring along. She would especially love if you brought Minnie."

I frowned at the use of her nickname which was several steps more friendly than the usual ‘Dragon of the Void’ they usually used. "Oh, is she familiar with Minnie?" I asked.

"The two of them do appear to have history, although I can't be certain of the details," the glove answered.

I looked around the room. "I'll bring several guests. I assume if she's aware of Minnie, she might be aware of divine Kikai. There is one with me as well." I told him.

"Of course. I've been instructed to inform you that the purple-haired divine aboard your ship is welcome too." He nodded.

I blinked, because they should not have already known about Violet’s presence. But more interestingly, they didn't call her by her name or any reference to her master, simply her appearance. I nodded slowly, only slightly discomfited by their show of knowledge.

"I'll bring Violet as well. I do look forward to dinner. Though I am also hoping to continue trading on the station," I said.

"If you would come over on the battleship, we would happily show you through any section you would like to see and allow you to continue your trades as usual." He gave a gesture of his hand, as if inviting me, and I nodded.

"Well then, that's easy enough." I had expected a little more pushback in some regards, but then again, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. This was literally a business established to make off-market and black-market deals. Perhaps selling the battleship wasn't anything new after all.

***

"Welcome, welcome." Our glove met us outside the airlock as we dropped off the battleship. "The owner of the station is quite excited about some of your exploits," he explained.

"Well, it isn't too much to brag about, if I'm honest. It was easier than it might have seemed." I said walking over and taking his hand in mine. Once again we were dressed up for Sage Shores, though Lily was carrying a bag as we might be spending the night.

The glove chuckled. "Somehow that only makes it more braggadocious. If you put a gun to my head, I doubt I could steal a battleship, even if it is slightly damaged."

He stared out the airlock, where there was a crater in the hull section before he came to his senses and with a wave of a hand two more gloves appeared and took Lily’s bags.

"It got a little scratched when we moved it." I cleared my throat and looked away.

"But it's still most of a battleship, and the cost to repair this would be much less than building a new one. Not to mention, it is almost impossible to acquire a battleship. There are very few private dealers that have a dock big enough to build one. Of course, that's where a significant amount of the value will come from," the glove nodded. "I'm certain you'll find a fair few people ready to trade for this beauty."

"The owner of the station would like it?" I asked hesitantly. If they came down into the bidding, I was worried they’d scare away competition and potentially get it for far cheaper than it was really worth.

"As a last resort, if no one else offers you what you're looking for, she's simply willing to take it off your hands." He told me.

"How generous," I said, and then gestured behind me. "You've met Minnie and Lily. Let me introduce you to Violet. We'll be accepting the station owner's invitation."

"Of course, right this way." He dipped and gestured for me to follow.

"So, this owner. I don't suppose there's any information you could give me before we reach dinner?" I asked conspiratorially.

"Not as much as you may hope. I have worked for her—" He glanced up, as if the answer might come out of thin air. "Let's say a considerable time. In all of that, there are only a handful of instances in which someone has been asked to dine with her."

"I should be honored for the opportunity," I said, trying but failing to keep a slight mocking from my tone.

"I know it sounds garish that way, but she is a power unto herself in much of the universe, with the kinds of connections that could make any business prosperous on her involvement alone. But I need not explain too much. I think meeting her is the best way to fully understand."

"Perhaps a name," I asked as we grew close, "that would be pertinent?"

He chuckled. "Her name is Lady Asteria Zilov, and she claims the right of the third order."

I smiled, having no idea what that meant, but it seemed important. Minnie, however, had a reaction to those words, and that was perhaps the most telling thing.

"Old friend?" I asked Minnie.

"No, but I am familiar with her." Minnie answered.

I raised an eyebrow to see if Minnie was going to explain further, but instead my hopes were completely dashed with her response. "I see she has not yet joined the Void."

I smiled. "Yes, I think that is the first thing I will say when I greet her. Hello. So glad to see that you haven't died yet." I chuckled as we walked, only for a velvety smooth voice to curl inside my ear and send tingles down my spine.

A woman with shoulder length straight black hair and bright blue eyes stepped into view with a velvet dress that poured around her curves down to the floor and a pair of long black gloves over her hands. She had been entirely silent in her approach.

"Why, I'm so honored, Captain Valcrest. Or do you prefer Rayden? Baron, perhaps?" A woman swayed into the walkway we had been using, the grin on her face showing her apparent amusement at me pausing mid-step in surprise as well as a pair of fangs.

"You would be the madam of the third order," I said, smiling.

She turned to Minnie and then managed to, I believe correctly, pronounce her name. "Mini’gl’a’h’grashmuarrrraa, so pleasant to see you. I've heard the name but never had the honor of meeting you in person before. We're both part of that rare club." The beautiful woman smiled wide enough that I saw her fangs, and I immediately corrected myself. She was a sanguafae, not a woman, which meant she could be any age and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Lily beside me bristled, and the sanguafae must have noticed based on the way she turned her full attention to Lily. There was an intensity of focus that made it clear she was a predator. "Worry not, young helivore. I dare say one day you might join Minnie and me in our austere club."

"And what club would that be?" I asked.

"The one that counts their life in star-lives rather than years." She answered as if she wasn’t announcing she was older than dirt.

"Oh," I said quickly. "Sounds like a rather exclusive club."

"So it is. Though it can be filled with a rather boring sort. I'd hoped more of the divine Kikai would have joined us, but alas, it seems that their era of history has passed. No offense," she added politely to Violet.

"None taken." She sounded more confused than sure of herself as she answered.

"Most of the long-lived divine Kikai have perished in the last decade or so. The few that remain are in captivity or hidden so deep that they’ll never surface," the sanguafae explained.

"I wasn't aware," Violet blinked.

That was news to all of us. I had imagined that this was some sort of power play amongst Akari’s opponents, but most of them dying meant something else. This was a paradigm shift.

"Your master was far from alone in her demise." She shook her head. "But please, come with me." Asteria gestured for us to join her. "I'm quite impressed that you've managed to steal a battleship, and you didn't even use Minnie here to acquire it.” She smiled, clearly pleased to be able to insinuate that she'd been watching us the whole time.

"Well, you seem to know so much about us. Mind if I ask a few questions?" It felt like a bold approach was the right play for the moment.

"Ask away," Asteria said, stepping into a room and pouring herself a glass of deep red wine. I paused, staring at the liquid and realizing that it might not be wine.

"What does the third order mean?" I asked before I stared at her drink a little too long and made everything awkward.

"Ah, that takes a small amount of explaining, so pardon me if I don't answer straight away." She told me.

I rolled my hand for her to continue.

"A desperately long time ago, my people were born. First there was one, and she alone lays claim to the first order of succession for my people. Then came the second order, which led to the third. The third order slew the second. The first, in her misery, hid away from the universe. And from the thirteen of the third order spawned the entire race of the sanguafae." She sipped at the glass, and I was mostly trying to determine if it was blood or not, though it was pretty watery.

"So you're sanguafae ancient royalty," I summarized.

"Yes," she smiled, not at all insulted at my truncating of her title. "Others of the third would not take quite so kindly to your phrasing, but I must say, over these last several weeks of observing you, I've found your bluntness to be quite endearing."

"So you're my new stalker?" I asked, and she laughed.

"Forgive an old woman her hobbies. I don't have much to do these days." She didn’t deny it and instead waved at her surroundings with the glass and managed to keep the liquid entirely still in the glass.

"Ruling a black market station doesn't keep you busy enough?" I asked, unsure what she meant.

"It mostly runs itself," she whispered conspiratorially. “No, this is my prison.”

"I would think someone as ancient and powerful as you wouldn't have many people that could keep you pinned down." I kept the compliments flowing.

"I do like you," she grinned, showing off those fangs again behind her bright red lipstick. It was very strange she was gorgeous, an eleven out of ten. But everytime she flashed those fangs a part of my caveman brain screamed to run.

"Asteria isn't actually that powerful," Minnie said. "Some of the sanguafae are true galactic terrors. But her line has always been more gifted with their vision," Minnie stated cryptically.

I went to pour myself some of the red liquid. "Am I going to like this, or is it going to taste like blood?"

"It's going to taste like blood. But it is synthetic," she told me, as if that somehow made it better.

I decided to pass.

"All right. So you've been watching us, and you have super stalker powers." I picked a different bottle that looked like a regular whiskey and poured myself two fingers in a ball glass. I was tempted to use ice, but some people were oddly religious about watering down good liquor, and I wasn't sure I wanted to get into a religious whiskey argument instead of focusing on some of the rather important aspects before us. "Why me? Why the invitation?"

"I've been stuck here in this sector for a while, but your recent presence has stirred the hive enough to provide me plenty of entertainment." She told me.

"I'm just putting on a good show?" I asked.

"Do I need a better reason?" Asteria asked. She seemed to be teasing me rather than taking this seriously, which I suppose was where you wanted to be with an ancient female-only vampire race and apparently a very important figure within said race.

"So," I said, leaning forward, "if you're able to spy so well, I don't suppose you already know what we're doing and have something to offer us?"

"By your actions, I gather you're trying to pick a fight with the Unity." She watched me, her entire body going into a relaxed stillness while her eyes pinned me.

"I'd argue I'm trying to win a fight, but I suppose we'll call that a difference of opinion."

"Hmm. Feisty." The sanguafae said it over her drink.

I don't know if it was just a sanguafae thing, but everyone that I had met thus far was stupidly pretty and had a teasing, seductive edge. And that edge was definitely sharp enough to get me in trouble, which Lily must have noticed based on her current glare.

"I suppose I could answer a few questions. Though I might have significant knowledge of events happening near and far, I would warn you I am not all-knowing." She told me.

"If you were truly all-knowing, you probably wouldn't be stuck here," I shrugged, earning a sharp glare from nearly every woman in the room except for the one that I had apparently insulted.