“You can leave, Councilman Whittaker,” Tatiana set her teacup down on the table and gave the repulsive man a sharp glance. The Councilman’s first response was to stroke his beard and snort, but the silence that followed allowed the news that Tatiana meant every word to penetrate through his skull.

The corner of his mouth quirked upward. His lined face stiffened. “I don’t think that would be appropriate-”

“I must say that I agree with the Mayor,” Mr. Stanley, the walking avatar of the Hemlock Corporation in a tightly-fitted tailored suit, added. His head was shaved, his smooth skin was dark. His eyes were heavy and brown. He remained in the same position he had assumed when he sat down, straight-backed in his chair with his hands folded in front of him. There was a gathering force about his person, as though his act of sitting so still actually built-up potential energy within his body, with the promise that in some approaching moment that energy would be unleashed.

Despite the fact that she didn’t trust this strange man at all, Tatiana felt a flash of satisfaction to feel all that potent energy being directed toward her dog-turd of a councilman.

Birds chirped happily outside of the window, bringing an unasked for levity to the early morning meeting in preparation for the Kharon University Auction. Councilman Whittaker looked from Tatiana to Mr. Stanley, then back again. Slowly, his face twisted into a sneer of derision. She could see his rat brain scrabbling for purchase upon this news that it could grip. “Oh, so this is how it is. You acted so self-righteously, looking down on me for helping introduce corporations into Kharon’s business district. Yet it turns out the holy Tatiana’s asking price was only a little higher than-”

“Your problem, Councilman Whittaker,” Tatiana interrupted his tirade without a drop of remorse. “Is that you don’t realize that your many conflicting beliefs are entirely divisible. You seem to think your brand of politics is take it all or leave it. In terms of corporations… I have no problems with them, aside from the innate weaknesses of the form. And I’m sure Mr. Stanley shares my belief that his basic organization isn’t perfection.”

Mr. Stanley, without needing any further prompting, nodded gravely.

Tatiana continued to speak. “No, my problem with you, Thomas, is that you were willing to hold the guardians of Kharon Academy attendees hostage to accomplish your political ends. We are not so large and divided a city that we need to play political hardball with each other.”

“If you make me leave this room-” Thomas Whittaker began, but Tatiana interrupted.

“You sound like a child, Thomas,” Tatiana just stared at him like he was a dead rat rotting on its side in one of her very expensive conference room chairs. “And as I anticipated, an anonymous donor stepped forward to provide the necessary funds without bringing the issue to council. So your assistance on this matter is no longer necessary. I hope you enjoy the rest of your term.”

Again, Councilman Whittaker looked between the two other individuals present in the room. Then he pushed himself up out of his chair with his hands and staggered from the room.

When he was gone, Mr. Stanley twisted his neck and looked at Tatiana. “...madam Mayor, am I this anonymous doner?”

“You are not,” Tatiana favored him with a pointed smile. She wouldn’t so easily owe the Hemlock Corporation a favor. In an entirely different manner than his usual domineering displays, the Ghosthound still had enough juice to maintain the city’s independence.

“How shocking,” Mr. Stanley said mildly, with the rest of his body still frozen while his head pivoted to look at her. “To my understanding, such a program is likely at least ten million dollars in deficit. To have such a donor step out of the shadows right when you need it… Kharon is just as formidable as advertised.”

“Well anyway, let’s skip the pleasantries,” Tatiana said. “What I said about having no problems with corporations generally is true. But in the case of Kharon, corporations pose several unique challenges to integrating with the Wandering City.”

Mr. Stanley cleared his throat. “Madam Mayor, my particular set of Skills puts me in the unique position to see all the opportunities available for Kharon’s partnership with us. Should you allow the Hemlock Corporation to set up a permanent headquarters in the city, the amount of currency flowing through Kharon will-”

Tatiana held up a hand. “Please. We both know that money isn’t Kharon’s current problem.”

When she didn’t proceed further, Mr. Stanley studied Tatiana with his heavy brown eyes. Then he spoke ponderously. “You are worried about the speed of growth of Kharon Academy. You need both resources, distribution channels, and population to make sure that the Academy doesn’t become the city’s entire identity.”

“Basically correct. Which is why I scheduled this meeting.” Tatiana uncrossed and recrossed her legs as she leaned back in her chair. “You have Skills that give you insight into business and I have Skills relating to understanding Kharon. And just as surely as yours guide you to profit, mine are telling me that the presence of any Corporation in Kharon will have a very divisive long-term effect. I assume you are familiar with Kharon’s spirit?”

“If you are worried that our representatives won’t try to stick to the tenets of your city, you are wrong,” Mr. Stanley rumbled. “We can discuss certain… extrinsic requirements-”

“A corporation is effective because it is so sensitive to opportunities, profit, and loss,” Tatiana said. “Necessarily, it is designed to be less vulnerable to other factors. And often employees at corporations experience empathy through the filter of the larger corporation and corporate culture around them. Now, we have fewer data points about how this will work in the post-System Expira, but I have some hunches on how it will play out.”

Mr. Stanley frowned, the slightest downturn at the edges of his mouth.

Tatiana shrugged lightly. “I just want you to understand my stance. Corporations seem like they are a necessary evil to spur commercial growth to a sufficient extent to match the population of students flowing into the city. I’m not after your money, nor do I particularly want you to relocate your headquarters to your city, which I assume you were instructed to offer-”

Mr. Stanley’s frown grew in intensity. His heavy features ground into a new formation, like a time-lapse of a rock face being eroded by rainwater.

“-no, what I want is your understanding,” Tatiana concluded. She met the heavy eyes of this potential-filled man and didn’t flinch. “Your presence here is contingent on your ability to work Kharon’s spirit into your members. I’d like your most radical and innovative talent to be stationed here. Everyone the current upper management fears them due to their ambition… why not station them in Kharon?”

That earned a chuckle from Mr. Stanley. He eased his bulging suit backward and leaned against the cushioned chair. “Heh. So it seems that you’ve done your research into our internal situation.”

Tatiana smiled briefly. “The Order Ducis is a small toolbox, but each is particularly effective.”

Mr. Stanley unfolded his steepled fingers. “I believe Madam Mayor, that we can definitely come to an agreement..”

*****

Delilah read the letter without much change in her expression. In the end, the news she had expected to hear was there, right at the beginning.

Hullo D,

Miss your mommy?

The Void Jungle Danger Zone has been a particularly thorny problem; who knew that alien lifeforms could have so many rules for harvesting their trees? I killed a couple, but wouldn’t you know it, that just ended up complicating things. So now we are in reconciliation talks and daddy and I can’t leave without deeply offending our hosts and completely salting away any chance of a peaceful resolution.

It’s a real prick in the ass, if you know what I mean. (Oh, and don’t tell daddy that you and I are swear buddies. You know how grumpy he gets.)

Anyway, I’ve sent a message to Vye to give you some spending money for the Kharon Academy Auction. Spend it all in one place if you want, you’re worth it. (And if you see anything daddy might like, maybe see if you can borrow some money from Vye. Our anniversary is coming up and I’m stuck in this horrid void forrest. And you know how shite I am at gift-giving.)

I love you, honey. When I get back, let’s go playing in the woods again, like we did when you were younger.

Annie

P.S. Take a closer look at the courier who delivered this letter.

By the end of her read through, Delilah had shivered and frowned. Shivered because her mother had the most sadistic idea of ‘playing’ that Delilah had ever encountered. Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. Even worse than her mother was Randidly Ghosthound, who had played hide and seek with her and left Delilah completely mortified. The man was truly more horrifying than monsters. Her mind still had those memories from her five-year-old self perfectly preserved.

And then that final line…

Delilah sprung off her bed and threw open the door to her room. There, sitting with Vye, was an individual in a heavy brown cloak. Without her impatience to read the letter blinding her, Delilah’s eyes widened in recognition. “Uncle T!!”

The vine-y, thorn-y incarnation of one of Randidly Ghosthound’s Soulseed stood and swept Delilah up into a hug. She was happy to note that he had become much more proficient at controlling the bloodsucking tips of his thorns, making the embrace seem entirely normal.

Delilah beamed at Thorn when he set her down. “What are you doing here? Are you staying for the Auction?!?!”

Thorn nodded its head. The fleshy pink and grey core that had split off from its main body was unable to speak, but it had learned Kharon Academy’s hand signals which it used now to communicate. But very quickly, Delilah went pale as she understood the meaning of its message.

Yes! Also, I plan on going to visit father while I’m here. Would you like to come to meet him?