Anali

“What the fuck was that?” I asked Zen after the silence got to be too much. “Why was she even here?”

“I warned you to stay away. You should have listened.”

“You told me to be scarce for a few days, not that the bitch who’s hunting me suddenly became a regular at your damn bar. And what the fuck, man? You told her about the meeting with Maymi? Why’d you sell me out like that?”

“Because I ordered him to.” A chill ran down my spine as a woman wearing a white dress stepped into the room. I had never met Captain Aoyama in person before, but I recognized her immediately. Despite that, I still found myself reaching for my missing gun. “So, this is the one who started it all?”

Zen nodded with a tired sounding sigh. “Yeah, this is Anali. She walked right up to Captain Virra’s devil without even realizing it. She should be dead.”

“Why is she not?” The captain sat down across from us and I kept my mouth shut.

“Virra ordered one of her companions to heal her. The male devil, Suriel, you probably saw him on your way in.”

“I saw him, but did not learn his name. How much damage was caused by the attack?”

“To me or the bar?” My question earned me a chuckle from the captain. Which was good, because I hadn’t actually meant to ask it out loud and the alternative was terrifying.

“The bar, or rather the bar’s reputation, and by extension, my own. You seem to have made it out of the exchange mostly unscathed. Although, I cannot say the same for your outfit, nor the couch you so mercilessly chose to sit on.” I cursed as I looked down at my armor. It was going to take forever to get all the blood out. “Zen, be certain to include both of those when you send Virra a list. Now answer my question, how much harm was caused?”

“It wasn’t as bad as it could've been. We don't get that many customers this early, and Captain Virra made sure to order Anali healed in front the ones we had. On top of that, she had Thea clean up the blood herself, and made it clear that the devil was the one paying for the damages.” Zen leaned back into the couch and shook his head. “She doesn’t treat her devils like you do your demons. They’re crew, not servants. As much as I hate to admit it, I can’t find any fault in how she handled it. Well, so long as she actually pays up.”

“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you just going to let her walk away after she almost killed me in your territory?” It felt like I was the only sane person left on the whole station. “She threatened me with blood magic, gods dammit. If you don’t do something to stop her, then she’s just going to kill me the moment she has ten minutes and a room to herself.”

“Is she actually capable of blood magic?” Captain Aoyama asked, but Zen and I just kind of looked at each other.

“We don’t know,” he finally answered, and I explained.

“Virra was just a run-of-the-mill college professor until she suddenly decided she wanted to become a god and killed forty-thousand people to make it happen. Nobody knew what she was capable of thirty years ago, and we sure as fuck don’t know what she can do now.”

“Fifty-thousand,” Zen corrected, then continued when I gave him a confused look. “The official story was just below thirty-nine thousand, but it didn’t take much digging to figure out the corp who owned Para Vista was low balling during the trial.”

“Why low ball it, though? Wouldn’t they want to make it seem worse if she’s on trial?”

He shook his head. “The trial was a sham. The Federation threw Virra into solitary and rushed a verdict before she got a chance to testify. Which meant they didn't have time to do a full investigation and were forced to use old census records instead.”

“Damn, that sucks for her.” I swatted Zen’s shoulder. “See? This is why I don’t pay taxes.”

“Yes, I am sure that is the reason,” Captain Aoyama muttered as she tapped a perfectly manicured nail on the arm of the couch, and we waited for her to continue. “Anali, you are to meet with Captain Virra in Maymi’s sector tomorrow morning. Be there before her and facilitate negotiations. However, if a resolution can not be reached, then be certain to remind the captain that she still needs a territory and Maymi is not under council protection.”

“No fucking way. She’ll kill me on sight, and even if she doesn’t, there’s no way either of them would trust me to facilitate shit. Send Zen or one of your toys instead. I'm the worst person to do it.”

“I believe the captain already proved that she will not kill you on sight. Besides, if she does practice blood magic, then sight will have very little to do with how she kills you. I suggest you use this as an opportunity to demonstrate your value to her.”

I wasn't at all convinced that was a good idea, but I also wasn't nearly dumb enough to keep fighting her on it. “Alright, fine, I’ll do it, but you have to know that if Virra gets her way, then the Syndicate isn’t going to let it go. It’ll mean war.”

“That is something that I am counting on.” The captain grinned at me in a way that made my blood run cold, and I had to stop myself from darting out of the room. “Now, leave us and prepare yourself for tomorrow. It seems as if you will need to find yourself a new gun.”

~~~~~

And that’s how I ended up in the middle of an empty street surrounded by more than two dozen pirates, all waiting for me to introduce a woman who didn’t like me to a woman who wanted me dead. It wasn’t one of my finer moments.

“She’s late,” Maymi, the half dragon, complained. She was supposedly a bit taller than me, but personally, I thought she added extra padding to her boots. Plus, the white power-armor she wore, which absolutely clashed with her bronze scales, added a bit to her height even if she said it didn’t. So, it really wasn’t a contest. I was the taller one.

“She’s not late, we’re early.” I adjusted my backup belt for the millionth time. It didn’t fit right, and I didn't have a chance to get all the adjustments I wanted done last night. Not with everything else I had going on. “Would you relax already? If you or your boys start getting trigger-happy, then we’re both fucked.”

“I’m only here because you got in over your head and Captain Aoyama asked me personally to step in. If this ‘meeting’ turns into a shootout, then you’ll be the first one taking a bullet. I’ll make sure of it.” Maymi continued to stare forward as she adjusted the settings on her rifle to be more effective at close range.

I chuckled. “Well, they say the third time’s the charm. Who knows? Maybe it’ll actually stick.”

“Look sharp,” Maymi snapped to attention. “Virra just left the transit station, and she brought her devil with her.”

“Just the one?” My mind immediately went to the threat she made about not bringing a healer next time, and I started to get a little anxious. “I don’t suppose it’s the guy she brought with her, is it?”

“No, it’s a woman, and she looks like a real bitch,” Maymi said, before turning around to address her crew. “Spread out and keep the elf down range, but focus fire on the devil if it comes to a fight. Remember, we’re just here to politely decline Captain Virra’s request, but if she insists, then we’ll just have to show her exactly how much a seat on the council costs these days.” There was a chorus of chuckles, which seemed to only bolster Maymi’s confidence. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get into position and make sure she’ll be able to see you.”

There was some chatter as the crew spread out, and I double checked all my weapons.

Virra finally showed up after I finished checking all my equipment for the eighth time. She was wearing some basic body armor and looked dressed for a fight, but didn’t have any weapons I could see. The lack of weapons was surprising, but her companion was the most surprising of all. She was taller than Thea and had much longer hair. I didn’t recognize her. Which made me wonder exactly how many devils the captain had on her crew.

“Anali, I was expecting to have to track you down when all this is done. It’s kind of you to save me the trouble.” Captain Virra smiled at me and I took a step back.

“Zen didn’t tell you that I was going to be here? Captain Aoyama asked me to help facilitate as a show of good faith.” I held up my hands and remembered what she had said about her devils last night. “You can tell if I’m lying, right? I promise, I’m only here to help things go smoothly. I have absolutely no interest in standing in your way.”

“Leila? Your thoughts?” Virra turned to the devil, who gave a half-shrug.

“Well, she’s not lying, but she is a coward. I can see why Thea doesn’t like her.”

I flinched back. “Okay, ouch. Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?”

Maymi cleared her throat to draw everyone’s attention. “We can discuss Anali’s cowardice later. I think it’s about time we talked about why you’re here.”

“Very well, I’ll make this simple. Return Ithnaa to us immediately, or I’ll kill you and every last member of your crew.”

Maymi shook her head with a resigned grin. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option. I’ve already contacted the Syndicate and I’m going to meet Mother in three days so that she can pick up her ‘wayward child’ and teach her the ‘importance of obedience.' I don’t envy your friend, and I sure as the hells am not looking to replace her. I suggest you cut your losses here, for everyone’s sake.”

“What do you mean ‘everyone’?” Leila, the devil, asked. “It sounds to me like it’s just your ass on the line here. I don’t see how that’s our problem.”

Maymi tilted her head to the side. “You surely can’t be that short sighted. Paradise has a tenuous relationship with the Syndicate in the best of times and it's all over the moment Mother decides we aren’t worth keeping around. It’s not worth risking annihilation just to protect one of her own lords.”

The devil smiled in amusement. “Still not seeing how that’s our problem.”

Maymi was about to respond when Virra interrupted her. “Anali, do you know where she’s keeping Ithnaa?”

“On her flagship. It’s docked near the center of her sector, about half a kilometer from here.”

“Bullshit, I moved her.”

“She’s lying.”

“Maymi, this is your last chance. I’m not going to ask again.”

“I’m sorry, captain, but that’s not going to happen.” Maymi stood her ground and Captain Virra shook her head with a sigh.

“Well, we tried. Kill anyone who gets in our way. Leave the rest.”

I immediately activated my personal shield and dodged backwards. Which put me in the perfect position to watch Thea appear behind Maymi and pull her onto the ground. She then punched through the chest of her power armor as if it wasn’t even there.

That’s when shit really hit the fan. Two dozen rifles unloaded into the shorter devil, and it was all I could do just to dive out of the way to avoid the crossfire. Thea, on the other hand, just fucking disappeared, then reappeared in six different places at the same damn time.

Sora even decided to make an appearance in order to kill a pair of pirates who had the misfortune of standing too close to each other.

It was all over a few seconds later, and I found myself lying on the ground, surrounded by the dead.

“Well, that was underwhelming,” a new, unknown devil appeared a few meters away from me, and I just lifted my hands above my head in surrender.