The Moz Lidule orbited the planet Erizza. It was a blue green orb with thick cloud cover over half the planet at any given time. Bethon was standing on the bridge in human form enjoying the panoramic view when Anakron joined him,

"Etaine has refused to come aboard my ship," Bethon said. "I'll have to go down to the planet."

"Maybe that's not a bad idea," Anakron said. "You must leave them here." He referred to the three beautiful companions who were pouting in the next room.

"I don't see any harm in it. Etaine told me I could bring a few guests," Bethon replied. "You see how unhappy they are to be away from me even for a moment."

"Yes, they've grown quite fond of your attentions," Anakron admitted. "Don't pretend you are not trying to make Etaine jealous."

"Why not? It could put a little spark back in our romance."

"I imagine Etaine will have stoked the fire already. You should concentrate on an alliance first and leave romance for later."

"The two are bound together, Anakron," Bethon said peering through a magnification lens at the towers of the capitol city of Matula, which pierced the clouds. "Her terms, not mine."

"Then go. Make amends with her, but I can't allow my subjects to be endangered by her very predictable reaction. I haven't transferred ownership to you yet."

"They want to come with me. You said if we got along... "

"And you promised not to harm them. That includes protecting them from danger,' Anakron reminded him. "Taking them down to Erizza is irresponsible."

"Etaine wouldn't harm anyone. She just likes to put on a show."

"You don't know that, Bethon. She is quite powerful now and can change moods in a heartbeat."

Greyla rushed into the room. "Lord Anakron, the Lady Devora just warped out. Did you know they were leaving?"

"They should have informed me first," Anakron said. He frowned and checked his communicator to see if it were functioning properly. "Who's on the ship?"

"Besides Colonel Munaci there's Lieutenant Cratus, Hal, Yoeke and Widhbo of course. I saw a transport go over a while ago, but I don't know who was on board." Greyla said.

"Munaci assembled his crew and left; nothing wrong there," Bethon said. "My apologies, Anakron. He's not one to bother with courtesies."

"So I've noticed."

"Hal did send a message, however," Greyla said. "They are requesting the BakoNaat set up an industrial mining colony once they've found a suitable planetoid."

"Make that the focus of your visit, Bethon," Anakron said.

"I'll go with you, Admiral," Greyla offered.

"That's not necessary. You just now escaped from her grasp," Bethon said.

"I know, but thanks to the generosity of your friend, Sag Leggan, I have the necessary insight to be our official ambassador to the BakoNaat."

"I see," Bethon said as he deduced the meaning of her words. "He's always generous to his guests."

"Isn't he just?" Greyla quipped.

"Not enough insight to avoid being held hostage, Greyla," Anakron reminded her.

Bethon gave Greyla a steamy look. "I trust you had a nice visit... "

"No need for details," Anakron interrupted. "It's done. Etaine has Kage and we've upheld our end of the bargain. Your presence has not been requested you, Greyla. You are under no obligation to go."

"What else am I good for, Lord Anakron? I can't just sit here and do nothing," Greyla said. "I was planning to go with Hal and the others."

"If you insist on coming along, your company is always welcome," Bethon said. "I wouldn't want to place one of Lord Anakron's subjects in danger of course." He looked sideways toward the adjacent room where the companions were relaxing."

"Well?" Greyla asked of Anakron.

"You may go," Anakron said. "Etaine should have no reason to to keep you once she has the admiral."

"Excellent.," Bethon said. "With my officers gone, I will ask you to take command of the Moz Lidule, Anakron. It will take some time to weaponize the planetoid. I may be gone for a while."

"Are there not other elders available?" Anakron was taken by surprise and looked about the bridge taking in the scope of command he was being offered.

"Yes, but they haven't commanded anything for centuries, if ever. Their idleness has dulled them into little more than observers."

"The experience might be good for them," Anakron countered. "Though i must admit this is not a vessel for an amateur to learn on."

"Put them to work then, but you're in charge. I'll make it official and place this ship under your authority until my return."

"Munaci will hate that," Greyla said with a smile of amusement.

* * *

Bethon and Greyla approached the capitol city with Greyla at the helm. She piloted the transport and docked on the special platform provided, a corporal interface.

"You're so talented, Greyla,' Bethon noted." When did you learn to be a pilot?"

"On Beldora. Hal taught me," she replied. "We had some experimental craft, short distances only,"

"You grew up on the island with with Hal, as well as Tajlon, then?" Bethon inquired.

"Hal was already grown and more than a decade older than me, the same age as Jejliard. I was mature for my years and a few years older than Tajlon. He developed so fast intellectually, Tajlon was teaching his own father new tricks."

Bethon's thoughts wandered with the mention of Beldora and Greyla picked up on his sentiment before he spoke.

"I wish I could have been there," Bethon mused.

"In retrospect, it was a beautiful life, even more wonderful than we appreciated at the time." Greyla said. She sent a transport request to the capitol. "How long has it been since you stepped foot on a planet, admiral?"

"A century or more. I suppose it would have been when I visited Sagor for the contests. I learned my lesson and have sworn off gambling. What do you know about the BakoNaat?"

"I was amazed to find the population on Erizza are fully aware of a magiton's true nature," Greyla said. "Whereas Sag Leggan has interfaced his entire capitol city to disguise himself from the majority of the inhabitants, Etaine rules without need of deception."

Bethon stood up and flexed his powerful muscles in eager anticipation. They could see the evening sky fading into night on the horizon where a bank of clouds was painted in soft colors.

"The BakoNaat had taken to piracy long before they learned to transcend their mortality," Bethon said. "Their ships and transports are all dual equipped to accommodate both mortal and immortals alike. They have forever been aware of the true nature of immortals. It seems natural to them."

Greyla gathered her bag in preparation to disembark. "They have accelerated Etaine and evolved her potential. This generation of BakoNaat embrace her digital existence and celebrate her immortality.' Greyla explained. "On my previous visit I learned they have stored copies of her files in several hidden vaults in the event of a catastrophe. Their royal lineage died out because they refused to upload."

"Why? Some sort of tribal taboo?"

"They feared imposters could be made, copies. That was before the ancients passed their ruling against duplication. At Etaine's request, the BakoNaat are now expanding their reality grid with the intent of eventually interfacing the entire planet."

"That's a rather expensive undertaking."

"They've learned to transmutate any substance into fuel and nothing's too good for Queen Etaine. They worship her." Greyla felt someone behind her and looked around to see one of Bethon's companions, a pretty blond with with long sleek hair peeking around the door. She had changed into a less revealing costume.

"What are you doing here?" Greyla asked.

"Don't blame her. I invited her along. She can hear you, but is unable to answer, she's mute," Bethon said.

"Admiral, this is in direct violation of Lord Anakron's wishes."

"I had to bring at least one of the girls along. What if I'm stuck here like you and Hal were?"

"Hello... It's Etaine we're dealing with. We'll need to leave the girl on the transport," Greyla insisted.

The girl shook her head violently side to side.

Bethon raised a hand to calm her. "That would be unkind. She's mortal. There's no food supplies or water on board."

"Mortal? Oh, that's just great," Greyla said and sighed with irritation. "We'll have to deal with it now. What's her name?"

"Valorah." The girl smiled sweetly at the mention of her name and nodded affirmative.

"Alright. Valorah, ground rules," Greyla said. "Your life may depend on following these rules. "Don't fuss over the admiral in front of Etaine. Even better stay away from him entirely and I'll pretend you're my assistant. Do you understand?"

The girl nodded, but doubt clouded her face and she looked to Bethon for confirmation.

"Do exactly as Greyla tells you, Valorah." Bethon said. He turned to Greyla. "You know Etaine will figure it out soon enough. She's still empathic and can read our emotions."

"Not necessarily. We may be able to escape her notice." Greyla looked at Valorah. "Let's put your hair up." She wound the long blond strands into a bun, fixing it in place with a couple of electrical clips she found in a toolbox.

"There. Now concentrate on thinking about anything but Admiral Bethon while we're in the presence of Etaine," Greyla instructed her. "Anything else at all. There is a lot of unusual things to see here and if that fails, there is always your own feet. Got it?"

Valorah nodded, but her lips pouted, and her smile disappeared.

"Get hold of yourself Valorah. I wouldn't need to be empathic to read your emotions when you plaster them on your face like that," Greyla scolded. "I know it's difficult, but you must not let Etaine perceive that you have any connection to Admiral Bethon. Pretend he doesn't exist."

They were interrupted by an encrypted communication from Lord Anakron to Admiral Bethon. After reading it, Bethon grimaced.

"What's wrong/" Greyla asked sensing a deep concern in the admiral.

"It's more bad news I'm afraid. There's been another incident. The demon destroyed another BakoNaat ship. It was caught off guard when picking up one of their fuel stations," Bethon said. "On further inspection, they discovered the demon had devoured several more and is making his way back toward us, one fuel station at a time."

"We're running out of time, admiral. He could soon grow too large for our plan to work." Greyla said. "Perhaps after losing yet another ship, Etaine will be more inclined to work with us."

"It would seem logical, but when has logic ever guided her?