The warm breeze off the ocean sprayed Kat with salty mist as she walked across the creaking rope bridge connecting two islands of the Humbrass Atoll. A school of gleaming shoal fish swerved toward the ring of islands, cutting through the waves as they passed under the bridge. Beside her, Kaleek put his hands on the heavy ropes, leaning over the edge to watch them skim just beneath the waves.

The bridge creaked, swaying under the big otter’s weight. Kat half-stumbled before catching her balance. Behind her, Dorrik simply reached out with his lower pair of arms grabbing hold of the ropes to steady themselves.

Kaleek glanced back excitedly, the rotation of his body sending a tremor through the entirety of the bridge once again. A tall feathered and horned alien squawked in distress as they lost their balance, wobbling into the load bearing rope and sending the entire structure teetering precariously.

The desoph ignored the pendulous sway of the bridge and the multitude of other travelers as they threw themselves to the wooden planks or gripped onto the thick ropes for dear life.

“Are you sure we don’t have a minute or two for me to dive in and catch us dinner Dorrik?” He asked the big lizard. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen fish that plump, and there were at least four dozen of them.”

“Mass Arrest Momentum!” Dorrik shouted hurriedly, slumping visibly as a purple glow encompassed a number of the nearby commuters, freezing them in place as the entire structure swung back and forth. The ropes slapped into their still forms, slowing and then halting as Dorrik’s Psi ability held the creatures firm against the vibrating cables.

About five seconds later, Dorrik gasped for breath and the violet light surrounding the other avatars winked out of existence. A couple fell to their knees, or whatever passed for their knees, jolting the bridge further, but the Psi ability had been in time, catching the dangerous back and for wobble of the tenuous bridge before it got out of hand.

Shakily, the horned alien regained it’s taloned feet, nodding to Dorrik in appreciation. Silently, Kat shared the sentiment. Dorrik had described the area effect version of Arrest Momentum that they had earned once their skill reached the iron tier, but his recounting of its effects didn’t do the ability justice.

Evidently, using it on so many people at once had all but drained the lokkel’s stamina reserves, but at the same time, it demonstrated an impressive level of power. Dorrik would need more training in the skill, and ideally more than a couple more points of stamina, but the ability to freeze a large number of opponents for a handful of seconds opened intriguing possibilities.

“Dorrik, are you even paying attention?” Kaleek asked, taking a step toward the other side of the rope bridge to follow the school of fish with his eyes as it disappeared into the shallow central ‘lake’ of the atoll.

“Yes,” the lokkel ground out, one of their upper hands seizing Kaleek by the shoulder to prevent him from unsettling the bridge further. “We can talk more when we get to the next island. Right now you’re disturbing foot traffic.”

“Oh,” Kaleek’s whiskers twitched as he finally took in the devastation on the bridge as all sorts of avatars carefully climbed to their feet, trying their hardest to not send the entire structure swinging again.

“Sorry about that everyone!” He shouted, cupping his hands in front of his snout and drawing a fair amount of disgruntled mumbling from the rest of the travelers.

“Keep moving big guy,” Kat interjected with a chuckle as she slipped past him, playfulling planting a fist in his furry side. “You’re only drawing more attention, and the sooner we’re off of this rickety thing the better.”

“I still don’t see why the bridges here are so slipshod,” Kaleek grumbled as he hurried after her, Dorrik in tow. “There isn’t even all that big of a gap between the atoll’s islands.”

“Seriously,” he jerked his head toward the water below, “the gaps are barely even the size of a river. They only qualify as part of the ocean because they’re filled with saltwater. The builders easily could have made a sturdy plank bridge to connect everything together. Then none of this would have been a problem.”

“The wind and tropical storms tear the more rigid bridges apart,” Dorrik remarked evenly, practically sighing with relief as they stepped onto the worn cobblestones of the next island. “Rope bridges hang free and are a bit better at moving with the surrounding environment rather than trying to resist the gusts and heavy waves that tend to pound the atoll.”

“Of course,” Dorrik shrugged. “Even if they do break, it’s a lot cheaper to replace a couple stretches of rope and some rickety boards. Only the major islands that engage in a lot of commerce with their neighbors bother with bridges for trade, and those are heavy affairs made from reinforced stone. They still break, but their maintenance and repair is a lot more than most of the smaller islands in the atoll can afford.”

Kaleek gazed longingly at the turquoise waves as they lapped up against the island’s rocky shores. A pair of fins cut through the surface as the vast ocean’s porpoise equivalent splashed playfully through the surf. Travelers glared at the three of them as they passed, but the big otter just ignored their baleful expressions.

“Are you sure we have to go to this thing?” He asked wistfully. “I really could use another swim. My pod has voted to switch to wartime production for the first time in six hundred years, and I expect the rest of the desoph to join us shortly. Everything has been so gloomy lately. Blowing off a little steam in the dreamscape would really hit the spot.”

“We’ve blown off enough steam,” Dorrik replied dryly, walking past the lounging otter and into the sun bleached streets of the new island. “The last couple of days have been nothing but us sitting on our hands while we waited for the scouts to come back with more information on this floor’s stallesp infestation. I feel like I’ve seen you drunk and singing songs in every major bar around the atoll.”

“How is the search going anyway?” Kat asked hurriedly, trying to cut off Kaleek before he could take umbrage with Dorrik’s description of his debauchery. “I know that scouts have been sent out and that a steady trickle of warriors and merchants have been traversing down from upper floors, but I haven’t heard much more than that.”

“Things have gone fairly well,” Dorrik perked up, their crest fluttering lightly in the sea breeze. “Sikka made her way up last sleeping period, and she brought a number of armaments and consumables with her. With her arrival, our forces are fully provisioned and it’s only a matter of finally locating the stallesp base.”

“Oh!” Kat responded happily. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Sikka. You should let me know where she’s staying so that we can catch up. The last we talked she said she still had a number of embarrassing stories to relate about your childhood.”

Dorrik groaned, hanging their head as their crest flattened. A trio of rock creatures ground by them, momentarily drowning out any conversation with the avalanche of noise that marked their passing.

“I never should have introduced the two of you,” the lokkel grumbled. “I should have known things would end up like this.”

“Don’t worry buddy,” Kaleek slapped Dorrik’s shoulder with a bright grin. “Sikka never made any attempt to turn me against you. In fact, I think she mostly just tolerates me.”

He winked at Kat, whiskers twitching before he continued. “That makes me your favorite party member, right?”

“I think we’re getting a little off track here,” Kat cut in, attempting to spare Dorrik from any more ribbing. “Is there any update on the scouts’ progress? The last I heard they’d managed to triangulate a target area where ships kept disappearing. I think there were some rumors of stallesp galleons being sighted, but nothing definite.”

“Oh, it’s definite,” Dorrik replied, carefully stepping around a pile of droppings where some variety of domesticated beast had done its business in the street. “The scouts have engaged a couple of smaller stallesp vessels. Usually, the raiders have managed to escape before our allies have been able to do decisive damage, but last night one of them grew careless. Now we have more than guesses, we have prisoners.”

“Have any of them cracked yet?” Kaleek asked, his former dreamy boredom evaporating at the prospect of striking back against the stallesp. “Tell me we know where their base is. As much as I’d like to relieve stress in the ocean, cutting my way through a crowd of the moles seems like a good time.”

“In fact,” he continued, clenching his hands into fists. “I saw Balee the other day. She just sat there, staring out at the ocean. She wouldn’t even speak unless someone addressed her directly. Screw swimming. I want to do to the stallesp what they did to her. Skin them alive while asking questions they can’t possibly answer, all the while promising to stop if only they give me the right answer.”

Kat recoiled. On one hand, she empathized with Kaleek. For what the stallesp had done to her world, they deserved nothing less that to be repaid in kind. Moreover, they were not a weak foe. She didn’t have the luxury of showing the stallesp any mercy.

On the other hand, Kaleek’s sudden change took her aback. She’d seen in him a number of emotional states, from cheerful and drunk to gleefully bloodthirsty, but in all that time, Kat wasn’t sure she’d actually seen the desoph in such a dark state. He didn’t want to fight to let off steam, this was personal.

“Perhaps it will cheer you to know that you have more or less described the fate of the prisoners,” Dorrik inclined their head as they kept walking. “They have been forced to drink draughts of slumber, preventing them from leaving the dreamscape for some time. Right now they are being put to the question. Unfortunately for them, those asking the questions don’t have access to a modern pharmacy. Without truth serums, the interrogations have become quite messy and painful.”

“Draught of slumber?” Kat asked, hurrying a little to catch up to Dorrik so that she could walk shoulder to shoulder with the massive lokkel. “That’s not anything I’m familiar with.”

“Not many at these levels are,” they responded. “Most of the draught’s ingredients are from floor thirty six and above. Even there, they are terrifically expensive to procure. Still, the draught is one of the few things that can influence a person’s body through their avatar. It prevents them from waking, leaving them at the mercy of their captors. Their use is generally considered poor taste, but to be frank, Clan Ahn has grown sick of the glacial speed and the selective appeals to custom that we are seeing out of the Consensus.”

“If they want to censure us,” the lokkel’s crest expanded to its full height as Dorrik grinned, a feral and toothy expression, “perhaps they should send the fact finding expedition that is on its way to Earth. They certainly appear to be struggling in that process, what with the number of times they needed to stop to refuel and repair their engines. Maybe they will get around to investigating our actions on this floor sometime in the next decade.”

“So?” Kaleek turned the word into a question, raising an eyebrow as he wriggled his whispers.

“The ships sail in two nights,” Dorrik concluded. “We will have the answers to our questions tonight, and unless there is a monsoon, we will have our justice shortly thereafter. After our visit to the Snarled Net, we should make sure to meet up with Sikka. The upcoming battle won’t be easy even with our level advantage. She will make sure that we have enough consumables to give us an edge. It will still be a terrible risk, but-”

“But there’s no glory in sitting around in our beds all day,” Kaleek interrupted. “We could just wait for someone else to solve all of our problems for us. Who knows, it might even happen. It’s just the path of a coward, one all too many members of the Consensus are taking right now. Everyone knows that the stallesp problem is going to explode, but only a couple races are actually willing to stand up to them.”

“Later,” Dorrik cautioned him. “We are in public. Politics will have to wait until we are amongst those we trust.”

“It’s not like they can’t see what’s on the horizon,” Kaleek snorted. “You’d have to be in an absolute backwater not to know that tensions have reached a boil and that the Consensus is too busy wringing its hands, claws, tentacles and graspers together to do anything about it. We’ve had almost weekly clashes between racial armadas and ‘pirates’ that are clearly a faction’s ships with their transponders off. The stallesp might have started it, but the gortogg haven’t exactly been leaving them alone.”

“Gortogg?” Kat asked, glancing around at the various entities milling about. More and more humans were filling out their numbers, leaning against walls and drinking unidentifiable substances from cheap ceramic jugs. Kat wasn’t entirely sure what they were passing around, but she suspected it wasn’t health or mana potions.

“A newer race in the Consensus,” Dorrik eyed up the clusters of loitering beings. A trio of humans and some sort of avian were shooting dice out front of a heavily stained brick building, but at least one of their companions was staring sullenly back, a hand on the small axe strapped to his waist. “The gortogg only have four habitable planets spread out amongst a dozen systems, but they’ve done an admirable job developing them. When they first stepped onto the galactic stage, the stallesp offered them an unequal partnership which they turned down, instead gravitating toward the traditionalist faction.”

They walked past the dice game only to find a cluster of humans and unsavory looking aliens forming a circle near the edge of the island. In the center of their group was a waist high ring filled with sand. Two burly and scarred men held hissing and snapping lizards, each about the length of Kat’s forearm, on opposite ends of the arena.

A large, three armed and furry being shouted encouragement, to the observers, adopting the air of a carnival barker as it promoted what would apparently be a battle to the death amongst the struggling reptiles. What looked like a jellyfish floated around the crowd, glowing pleasantly as it gathered bets from the onlookers, brushing its long and wispy tentacles up against humans to hold onto their marks pending the outcome of the upcoming fight.

“Recently,” Dorrik continued after the crowd was safely behind them, “stallesp pirates have begun striking gortogg commerce. This included scuttling a habitat with at least six hundred thousand beings on it. Allegedly, the ‘pirates’ did this to raid the stores of a refinery attached to the habitat, but after that incident, the gortogg weren’t exactly shy about things. They don’t have nearly as many or as advanced of ships as the stellasp, but you don’t need all that advanced of technology to target civilian centers. One gravity drive attached to a large asteroid was all it took to crack the crust on a fairly large stellasp hive world.”

“You’re missing the best part,” Kaleek growled as the three of them stepped onto a decaying rope bridge that looked like it hadn’t been repaired in years. “The stallesp tried to bring the issue before the Consensus only for the gortogg to give a speech about how the same blue ribbon commission ‘investigating’ the pirates that attacked them should handle inquest into the attack on Jakell. The surly little buggers looked the moles in the eyes and suggested that it might even be the same pirate group that had attacked both civilian targets ‘because it was in the same area.”

“Holy shit,” Kat muttered, hurrying across the bridge as the half rotted boards groaned under her feet. “It sounds like the situation is spiraling out of control.”

“In all likelihood our actions on this floor will be the final push the galaxy needs to erupt into open war,” Dorrik agreed solemnly.

“Good,” Kaleek replied darkly, “I’ve had enough of this cloak and dagger nonsense. The stallesp have spat in the face of the Galactic Consensus’ traditions for close to a decade. It’s high time that the rest of us actually engaged with the reality we live in, rather than invent some other universe of candy dreams and well wishes.”

They paused out front of the Snarled Net. The bar had hardly changed from Kat’s last visit there on the eve of the attack that had cost Xander’s life. That wasn’t a positive thing. The walls were bleached by the sun and constant spray of saltwater, meaning that the numerous stains were on full display.

“I forgot how much I loved this place,” Kaleek chimed in, whiskers twitching as he returned to his usual cheerful demeanor as soon as the stallesp were out of mind. “It’s such an absolute shithole.”

Kat shot him a glance of bemusement before pushing open the door. The general drunken murmur of the establishment halted as natural light stabbed into the murky interior. Dozens of humans glanced up from their drinks to eye up the three interlopers, but after observing Kat’s athletic build and the hulking forms of her companions, the bar’s patrons turned back to their tables.

She wove her way through the obstacle course that was the Snarled Net’s ground floor, taking note of the twisting paths out of the building. Silently, Kat thanked whatever power oversaw the Tower that there hadn’t been a fire in the tavern. The treacherous and obstructed escape routes didn’t lend themselves to anything approaching safe egress.

The bartender watched their approach silently, drying off a chipped glass mug with a rag that looked like it was more dirt than cloth. He grunted noncommittally as Kat arrived at bar itself, a chipped plane of barely treated wood. Despite the low light, she was fairly sure she could make out almost as many divots in its surface from weapons and barfights as stains from sloppy drinkers. A worrying sign.

“Jacques,” Kat acknowledged the big man. “Is the meeting room upstairs ready for us?”

He didn’t answer verbally, just nodding before flicking his head toward the partially concealed staircase. With a quick wave her hand, Kat was mounting the steps, leaving Kaleek behind to order a mug of whatever borderline toxic brew the Snarled Net had on tap.

She paused for a second outside the conference room, hand hovering above the door. Kat took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a second to center herself. She opened them as Kaleek ambled up behind Dorrik and her, a mug of something that vaguely resembled beer in his hand and a smile on his furry muzzle.

Kat exhaled, setting her face into a steely mask before pushing the door open. At the other end of the room, Belle sat at the table, quietly reading something from a small paperback book as a guard stood behind her.

Upon Kat’s entrance, the other woman snapped her book shut and flashed her a frosty smile. The book disappeared onto Belle’s person as the other woman began to speak.

“Miss Debs, it’s always a good day when I can get an information update from you and your colorful companions.”

“I wish the information I had for you was something pleasant,” Kat took a seat opposite Belle. “The good news is that our team has made progress in our investigation into NeoSyne, but the bad news is that things are worse than we thought.”

“When have they ever been better than expected?” Belle asked sardonically, quirking an eyebrow at Kat. “Honestly, if you ever brought me good news, I’d suspect that you’d thrown in with one of my rivals and were conspiring against me.”

Kat winced. Belle had a point. In the time since she’d graduated from being a runner, there she hadn’t had many chances to report positive developments.

“Oh don’t worry dear,” Belle continued with an empty, almost predatory smile. “It’s the same story everywhere. After you crushed the stallesp safe-house, we’ve seen an uptick in activity. NeoSyne has been pressing some of our subsidiaries near the border, and my men have caught a couple of their agents sniffing around. Nothing so explicit that we can call for arbitration, but enough that the shareholders are worried and paying closer attention to my reports than usual.”

“Even if it’s bad.” The older woman leaned back in her chair, eyes never leaving Kat, “they want progress. Something tangible I can bring back to them.”

“If they want bad news,” Kat replied with a grimace, “I can provide plenty of that.”

She took a deep breath, puffing out her cheeks and exhaling it as she ran a hand through her hair. Finally she looked back up to Belle and hardened her expression.

“Although the stallesp faction of NeoSyne hasn’t completely taken over their leadership, it’s only a matter of time. There are still some internal struggles, but things have slipped into an uneasy peace. Both sides are resting and rearming, but I doubt the old guard is going to prevail.”

“Any particular reason? Belle asked carefully, folding her hands in front of her.

“We managed to seize a flash clone working for a NeoSyne subsidiary,” Kat answered, her focus on keeping her voice steady while Belle’s gaze bored into her. “Unfortunately, they’re incredibly resistant to questioning. We had limited time to clear the site, and we weren’t able to get anything useful out of the prisoner. Luckily, we managed to catch them with an intact database detailing their activities and research which was quite useful.”

“Research?” Belle’s eyes lit up as she leaned forward ever so slightly. “That sounds like something I can bundle and sell for a couple credits.”

“Only if you’re interested in extracting and activating dormant parts of mammalian genetic code,” Kat responded. “I’m sure there are techniques buried in there that your scientists can use, but there aren’t any breakthroughs that will change the face of the field.”

“That still has some value,” Belle riposited, eyes not leaving Kat’s face. “GroCorp is in the business of genetic engineering. Even minor upgrades will be useful. Eighty thousand credits if the data is useful.”

Kat shivered slightly under the executive’s gaze. Even fully prepared for the meeting, there was something off-putting about the woman’s intensity. She vastly preferred meeting with Belle via her smart panel, but as deep as she was in enemy territory, any unsecured communications would be intercepted and any secure communications would be detected and investigated. A request for a meeting in The Tower of Somnus via a dead drop was the best she could do.

“Eighty thousand is acceptable,” she agreed after taking a moment to regain her thoughts. “So long as I can use it to purchase some heavy infiltration gear at corporate discounted rates.”

“Oh?” Belle drew the word out. “That certainly seems doable so long as you can give me some hint as to what use this heavy equipment will be put. We can’t have autocannons purchased without my authorization being used to shoot up GroCorp subsidiaries. Certainly not without an appropriate layer of black market laundering and some plausible deniability.”

“We’ve located a NeoSyne factory that needs to be taken down.” Kat replied grimly. “The NeoSyne forces that have allied with the stallesp have spread through their territory like a disease over the last five or so years. The research facility we raided is only the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of them in NeoSyne territory, all working at integrating stallesp and terrestrial technology. They are largely working on commercial applications of the alien technology, ones that would give them an almost insurmountable advantage in the global marketplace.”

Belle’s expression soured, but Kat plowed on.

“The factory in question is where they apply those commercial upgrades militarily. These aren’t minor changes either. As best we can understand, it looks like hover tanks, improved weaponry, upgraded reactive armor, and biological augmentations for their infantry.”

“Why have I not heard about any military buildup on NeoSyne’s part?” Donnst stiffened, her lips tightened into a thin, crimson line. “All of the mega corporations keep a close eye on the others’ available military forces so that we can escalate to match.”

“The facility is buried deep in a mesa below a cultural site,” Kat replied. Beside her, Dorrik perked up, but the big lokkel didn’ say anything. “They’ve kidnapped workers from the surrounding nomad populations and they’re keeping them trapped onsite along with all of the material they’re producing. The only people in or out are camouflage stallesp or clones, and it looks like they are siphoning money and resources from the R&D centers.”

“In short,” she finished helplessly, “you don’t know Ms. Donnst because most of NeoSyne doesn’t know. Only their co-opted shareholders have any idea what is going on. What is clear is that their faction is building up an army and equipping them with technology that no megacorp can match. The only real question is their targets.”

“GroCorp and Tri Holdings are the only two companies that share a border with Neosyne,” Belle responded dryly. “I’m not sure I like those odds.”

“You have my approval to proceed.” Belle stood up, nodding curtly to Kat. “You will have my corporate discount for whatever you buy, and I will talk to the shareholders about… surreptitiously realigning our security division. We aren’t necessarily NeoSyne’s target, but GroCorp has some special projects of our own that we can use to make them think twice about an overt attack.”

The other woman began to exit the room, flanked by her guard, only to stop at the exit. She turned back, shooting Kat a cold smile.

“And if you can manage to get your hands on any of that alien technology Ms. Debs,” Belle said, her voice saccharine but without any real warmth, “do be in touch if you manage to seize any working examples of alien technology. Obviously, the pay would be… substantial, but it has come to my attention that GroCorp’s security forces are woefully insufficient. I’m sure a fairly lucrative internship of sorts could be arranged.”

“I’m not fetching anyone’s coffee,” Kat replied with a chuckle.

“We will simply make that your code phrase for off the books wet-work. Fetching Coffee.” Belle inclined her head fractionally before disappearing from the room with her guard.

For a second Kat just sat there, a half frown on her face. Finally she turned to Dorrik and Kaleek. Dorrik sat still, crest flared out with a contemplative expression on their muzzle while Kaleek cheerfully finished off the last of his beer.

“Did…” Kat glanced uncertainly back and forth between her companions. “Did Belle Donnst just tell a joke?”

“Elder’s know I love dealing with that woman,” Kaleek giggled. “Seeing her smile is like staring down the maw of a megalodon without half the warmth. She’s just so polite for a consummate predator.”

Before Kat could reply, Dorrik reached out with one of their claws, resting it gently on her forearm to grab her attention.

“Miss Kat?” They asked. “This factory you’re discussing, it is inside a flat topped mountain near the large valley where you are staying, correct?”

“Mesa Verde isn’t that far to the East of us,” Kat replied. “Why?”

“I urge you to be careful Miss Kat,” Dorrik said, worry in their voice. “My ship has captured distressing readings from that location. We have not been able to confirm them, but they appear to be some of the more exotic types of radiation unique to modern technology. I cannot say for sure, but it is very possible that the factory has a functioning antimatter breeder reactor.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Kat responded slowly. “I have no idea what that means, but I suspect that learning the answer won’t make me happy.”

“You’ll be fine,” Kaleek barged in, slapping her on the back as he hiccuped loudly between words. “Just be careful what you shoot. If you break containment on one of those things it’ll irradiate half a continent and punch a hole through your planet’s crust. Nasty business. Expensive to clean up.”