Calvin was standing in front of the console in the Filter underneath the Temple, tediously following along with Elliots directions as they carefully sifted through the computer’s history.

Well, according to this thing, Your buddy logged in, changed the password, set a new error message, dialed an outside line, then set the console to self-destruct.

“So why is the temple still here?”

Well, then he logged in with the new password, fumbled around for about half an hour, randomly flipping switches like a monkey with a typewriter, until he figured out how to turn off the self destruct.

“What are you thinking?” Calvin asked.

Well, from what I can tell, an expert logged in the first time. He knew exactly what he wanted and went straight for it without any confusion or dicking around. Then an amateur savant logged in the second time. He started out fumbling and slow but sped up rapidly over time, if these time-stamps are to be believed.

“So a Break.” Calvin said, nodding.

And a Harbinger.

“So where’d the harbinger go?” Calvin asked. If a seven-foot tall man with pebbly skin, a crest, and digitigrade legs had arrived in Calvin’s March, he would have heard about it.

Well, he didn’t enter, and he didn’t leave. Kala’s had people watching the hole since Tzen left. So either the guy’s been beaming information into Tzen’s head and tried using him as a Trojan horse, or Tzen was playing host to a talkative Harbinger soul, and the self-destruct was a target of opportunity.

“If the harbinger was beaming the instructions in from a distance, why would it need an outside line?”

I don’t know, but it does sound unlikely. Fits the profile of him being stuck in the kid’s head better.

“Outside line. Do we know what the Harbinger requested?”

Probably called for backup. Or bailed. Or both.

“More of those things!?” Calvin demanded. It was only with the interference of some of the most powerful people in the country that they’d been able to put the Harbinger down.

Backup? How many did that imply? Calvin’s still heart gave a single nervous thump.

Relax. We’re dealing with interstellar distances. The closest fleet is years away.

Are you telling me there’s an entire fleet of godlike monsters lurking somewhere in the cold empty space between the stars, waiting for me, specifically? And they just got contacted?

…Yes. I told you if you stay the course, you’d come into conflict with my enemies whether you wanted to or not.

Calvin felt if he were still alive, he’d be having a panic attack. As it stood, a Maculat’s Fight or Flight response was more of a Corrupt or Kidnap response.

Calvin practically itched with the urge to pervert a girl’s moral standards or whisk them away to his tower and feed.

Thankfully he was alone in the –

“Oh no, I seem to have gotten lost in this underground cave,” A lovely, exotic young woman said, her hair and clothes disheveled, cloth partially peeling away from smooth skin.

“Good sir, I’m princess Latosh from the Plainslands, and I seem to be lost. Do you know where I coul –“

Shaping.

With a wave of his hand, Calvin detonated that corner of the room, glassing the stone walls. A second later, a charred bulb-like creature slumped to the ground, smoking as the illusion disappeared.

“I hate lures,” Calvin muttered. “Back to what we were talking about.”

That was your deepest desire? Elliot scoffed. I thought we were talking about interstellar war.

Calvin shrugged. “You can’t read my mind?” Calvin asked.

I can read the thought you explicitly put words to. Feelings and vague concepts are much more difficult to grasp.

Huh.

“Anyway. You mentioned a self-destruct. That concerns me. Do we have anything to worry about?” Calvin asked.

No. it took the form of a lockdown of the filter, allowing pressure to build up and create a Warp explosion.

What’s a warp explosion look like?

Kronenburg world.

…You’re gonna have to be more specific.

Everything within a ten mile radius will mutate uncontrollably, including inanimate objects, which will also begin behaving in chaotic ways that don’t necessarily conform to our laws of physics.

Actually, while you don’t want to be at ground zero of a Warp explosion, cleaning up the site of one can be very lucrative, given the rare magical materials and warped monster parts you can come across.

“So that’s not going to happen.” Calvin clarified.

Nope, Tzen opened the Filter back up and lowered the Warp intake back to normal levels. As far as I can see, he didn’t leave any malicious software behind either.

“We’ll come back and check again later.” Calvin said. Uncontrollable mutation didn’t sound good for anyone.

So what are you gonna do about the Tzen kid? I vote murder. Less chance of things going pear-shaped down the road.

“I’m gonna become his backer.” Calvin said.

Why!? He obviously is in bed with the Harbingers.

“Which means he’s got information about them that we can use,” Calvin said. “Not to mention, he’s a ‘legitimate’ prince we can put on the throne of Boles in exchange for political favoritism.”

And what if he stabs you in the back!? Elliot demanded.

“Do you know of some kind of saint we could put on the throne of Boles who would never betray me under any circumstances?” Calvin asked. “Tzen is the only one we have. He’s loyal to his ambition, and that is predictable.”

He’s gonna be your best friend until the Harbingers show up, isn’t he?

“If we know his behavior in advance, as well as the timing,” Calvin shrugged. “What do I have to fear? You know the saying, ‘Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.’”

Elliot cackled. You play a dangerous game, and I fucking love it. I should have taken more social Skills. Also, that quote is from a piece of cinema and not actually good advice for how to handle your enemies.

Time to head back to the surface.

***

Calvin drew himself up and out of the pit and closed the grate behind him, nodding to the Veteran guards as he left the innermost area of the Temple.

Calvin met Kala outside the temple.

“Where’s he at?” Calvin asked.

“The kebob stall over there, decompressing after his lecture.” Kala said with a grin. “I told him we’d give him a ride to take him closer to Boles. I didn’t mention it would be you.”

Calvin kissed his wife before the two went about their duties.

Tzen was absentmindedly chewing on a piece of grilled meat. The Bolesian prince had sunken cheeks, lifeless eyes and slumped shoulders, as if some horrifying creature had latched onto him and drained his life-force.

In this case, Calvin already knew exactly what monsters were responsible for the prince’s awful state: Preteen girls. Calvin knew of nothing that could erode a man’s will to resist faster.

“Two for me,” Calvin said, pulling out a couple dust and putting them on the counter as he sat on the bench beside Tzen.

The olive skinned young man did a double take, eyes widening as Calvin greeted him with a sunny smile.

“Good evening Prince Tzen, I’m your ride back to your home country,” Calvin said.

“That’s not necessary –“

“I insist,” Calvin said with an amiable grin. “I would have to be a heartless monster to let you brave the jungles between Juntai and Boles alone. Imagine how pleased your family will be upon seeing you safely delivered to your home.”

“See me delivered by you.” Tzen said, peering at him critically.

Calvin’s smile grew wider.

Calvin could feel a riot of emotions in the prince’s gaze, at war with each other. He felt an overwhelming mixture of pride, ambition, caution and fear, with an undercurrent of anxiety.

The young man wasn’t the calm collected façade he portrayed.

After a heartbeat, a knife of logical practicality seemed to cut through the man’s emotions, weighing choices based on their effect rather than how he felt about them.

“You wish to be seen as my benefactor.” he said. “I would need more than a trip home to justify allowing that.”

“I suppose you would. I’m willing to negotiate quite a bit of aid in exchange for some small concessions.”

“I suppose you want some kind of exclusive trade route that favors you? I’m sorry to say the emperor’s authority in the far west is token, at best.”

“No, I was thinking something more along the lines of information,” Calvin said.

“Like what?” Tzen asked.

“Like your plan for when the Harbingers you called arrive.”

Tzen stiffened.

“But we can put a pin in that one for now,” Calvin said with a shrug. “I’m actually more interested in Bolesian princesses. I’d be willing to give you a huge bounty for each one you help me identify and kidnap.”

The Bolesian prince blinked.

“Are you serious?” he whispered.

“Of course. I have a medical condition that requires Princess Extract to keep me in tip-top shape. None of the princesses are harmed in the process, of course, but I can’t use them more than once. Waste not, want not as far as princesses are concerned, am I right?” Calvin said.

“You are truly a strange man,” Tzen said with a hint of a smile. “But it’s not like I can afford to be picky about where my aid comes from now. I agree, conditionally. Let’s shake on it, in the Gadveran tradition.”

He grasped Calvin’s scarred hands with his pristine one.

“What conditions?”

“I will only accept aid in the form of money and personal favors from you. I will not allow anyone with any loyalty to you into my county.” Tzen said.

“You don’t want me importing my own soldiers and making you into a puppet,” Calvin said.

Tzen tilted his head and shrugged. The closest thing to agreement that Calvin thought he was going to get.

“Alright,” Calvin said, nodding as he shook the prince’s hand.

“Five years,” Tzen said, letting go of his hand.

“Five years, what?” Calvin asked.

“That’s how long you have to live,” the prince said with a shrug. “The Harbinger was talkative. At that time, you would be doing me a great service if you declared me your bitterest enemy.”

Tzen obviously wanted to benefit from Calvin’s assistance, but he also wanted to be spared from the eventual fallout when the Harbingers arrived.

Have your cake and eat it too.

“Plausible deniability, huh?”

“Indeed.”

“So you backstab me, and we declare war on each other in say…four years? The fall sometime?” Calvin asked.

“Acceptable.”

“Deal, we’ll have our people slaughter the shit out of each other then, with winter putting an early end to the violence.”

“That would be ideal.”

Calvin glanced up at the pale vendor behind the grill, watching their conversation with horror.

“Can I get some more sauce?” Calvin asked.

***Later***

“I want to come too,” Learner said, carrying two massive trunks, each one was at least six feet long and four feet wide, one hanging from each hand. She was approaching the egg-shaped lump of metal Calvin was planning on travelling in.

“What’cha got in there?” Calvin asked eyeing the oversized trunks curiously.

“I’ve begun to run low on novel things to study, and I heard that Boles has some of the most exotic species in the world. This trunk has a great deal of my workstation’s tools in it,” She said, raising her right hand.

“It’s got things like microscopes, writing material, a primitive camera, various chemistry equipment, a folding desk and reference materials.”

“Wow.”

“This one’s got pretty clothes.” She said, lifting the one in her left hand.

“Ah.” Calvin glanced over at Tzen, who shook his head.

“Sorry, Learner, I promised I wouldn’t take anyone else with us. Political reasons.” Calvin said.

Learner seemingly deflated, her body slumping.

“Aww…I understand.” She said, sulking off into the distance.

He felt a tiny twang of guilt in his still heart, and he resolved to bring Learner back some kind of strange specimen as an apology. In the meantime, he had to finish getting ready to leave.

Calvin’s Knick-knacks finished loading the last pallet of gold and Nem into the massive egg of abyssal steel, then Calvin and Tzen got aboard.

A moment later, the building-sized wasp picked them up and took off, accelerating so rapidly that Calvin and Tzen were pushed roughly into their chairs. Thankfully they were secured to the floor.

Last trip, Calvin had been in an open-sided palanquin because he’d wanted to see the sights.

This time they were going for speed. There were no windows, and the entire thing was as aerodynamic as possible. Calvin didn’t want to leave Ella alone in Boles any longer than he absolutely had to.

Worst case scenario, somebody pissed her off and she murdered them, resulting in a chain reaction that got her killed.

Probably not. She’s not stupid. Calvin had just gotten a lesson about managing his emotions from her after all.

It only took a couple short hours to arrive at Jianshin, and Calvin’s worries about Ella’s situation were proven to be completely unfounded.

The first thing Calvin’s gaze met upon opening the door of the metal egg was Ella waving with a brilliant smile, wearing a new dress.

She pointed to the right.

Calvin glanced that direction and spotted Learner detaching her luggage from the back of the egg, secured with some kind of biological adhesive.

“Son of a bitch,” Calvin muttered.

“A rocky start to our arrangement,” Tzen added, his expression neutral as he glanced over.

“Kala told me it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission!” Learner shouted down at them with a smile. Don’t worry, I’ll be out of your hair soon. Besides, I came under my own power, you only carried my luggage, so you didn’t break your agreement.”

Calvin glanced at Tzen, who met his gaze.

“Learner’s more of an independent party, anyway.” Calvin said with a shrug.

“So I’ve seen.” Tzen said, giving the eldritch creature a sour look.