RavensDagger

  Chapter Eighty-Seven - Tippy-Tap Sanctuary

  Ivil was in the sanctuary provided by her captain's quarters, alone except for Sonic Spectre who stood at attention a step and a half away from the door.

  She was carrying herself with all of the poise and dignity afforded to her by being the Empress of Mars.

  That is to say... Ivil squealed and did a tippy-tap dan the middle of her room. "I did it! I did it! We kissed, Sonic Spectre! Lips on lips! We traded saliva!"

  "Very well done, ma'am."

  "Oh! The look in her eyes! I bet she wanted more. I want more. Should I go bad give her more? Wait, no, that's too much too fast. 't e on too quickly. I should respect her and give her space. Unless she doesn't want respeo, I think she'd appreciate that."

  "I'm sure she would, ma'am."

  Ivil squealed a little more. She felt like what she imagined a school girl would on disc her first crush. She could dance from here to Mars and back. She could crush a sor system with her glee alo was all she could do to tain herself and not light up this part of the Jovian system like firewoing off at a festival.

  She felt lighter. She was lighter. In fact, things were starting to float around the ship in general until she put a stop to that.

  "Sonic!" Ivil snapped.

  "Yes?"

  "I believe I am in love and I don't know what to do about it," Ivil said. "When I wahings previously, I'd merely burn, kill, aroy my way to having what I wanted, but this is far more plex than that."

  "I imagi is," Sonic replied. "But I think you're doing... well, so far, iraining yourself. I imagihat this will reflect well in the eyes of the women ied in you iurn."

  Ivil sidered it, then nodded. "You're right, of course. The secret is all but out now. I don't o make as much of an effort to disguise myself, a if I allow myself to just go wild I'll destroy what trust I've built so far. They believe me to be the sexy, hot, all-powerful Empress of Mars who has a cool head and who is fident and powerful and attractive. All things which I am."

  "Of course."

  "But which will be blemished if I 't trol myself and tio be... more human around them." She nodded. She'd known this already, of course, but it was good to put into words. "Thank you, Sonic Spectre. You've been exceptionally useful to me. I'll be certain to reward you for your assistance."

  The Tech Maid of Mars bowed. "It is both my duty and my pleasure, your Majesty."

  "Of course," Ivil replied, repeating the maid's ptitude back to her. "Obviously, if you tell anyone about my st outburst in a way that reflects poorly upon me, I will i a new kind of suffering. Something so wretched and vile that the universe itself will recoil at its creation, then I will subject you to it for literal aaphorical eternities."

  Sonic bowed a little lower. "I would never."

  Ivil eyed her for a moment, then ambled over to her bed and sat down. She crossed her legs one over the other and leaned against the air. "Now, I'm quite excited, obviously and food reason, about my curreionship growth, but that doesn't mean that I'm not izant of the greater... let's call it political issue at hand."

  "You mentioo Pepper that you wished to get in touch with the Emperor of Jupiter?" Sonic asked.

  "Yes, but now I'm w if it's worth the trouble," Ivil said. "He's... very annoying to deal with. Perhaps the only person whom I 't bully into doing as I wish. He's not more powerful than I in most respects, but a battle between us would st weeks at the least and might well leave the Jovian system as something of a mess."

  "I believe it would be in everyone's best i if you didn't fight him, yes," Sonic replied.

  "Exactly." Ivil uncrossed her legs then leao the side. "What kind of asset do we have at our disposal for this?"

  "There is a Tech Maid cruiser nearby," Sonic replied. "It would e to the call, if you asked it to."

  "Hmm, I suppose. That could be a small threat. So many core-welders in one small ship. I suppose I could call in the Martian Navy as well."

  "All of it, ma'am?" Sonic asked.

  "Well, they could leave some ships behind for defence," Ivil demurred. "Ah, but no. This is a situation that's in the hands of the League of Free Moons..." Ivil sat up straighter.

  "Ma'am?" Sonic asked at the sudden motion.

  "Where is the Emperor located?" she asked.

  "Of Jupiter? Generally, he resides in a station in Ganymede's orbit," Sonic said. "It's a retively rge station, built out of the crust of one of Jupiter's smallest moons and relocated into Ganymede's orbit some ten years ago."

  "And where is the League of Free Moons based out of?"

  "Ganymede," Sonic Spectre said. "Did you realize something, ma'am?"

  "I think so," she said. Ivil hen adjusted her outfit before making for the door. "We're heading to Ganymede."

  "Now, ma'am?"

  "Well, within the few hours. tact Pepper, let her know. If you happen to enter Twenty-Six or Pixie, let them know as well. I'll let Aurora know myself."

  Sonic curtsied, tugging her skirts up from the ih hidden arms while her more humanoid hands folded themselves over her waist. "As you say, ma'am. I'll inform the crew of our immi departure."

  "Thank you," Ivil said before slipping out of the room. Now she just had to find Aurora. Which was easy, seeing as how she had several cores keeping track of the woman and could pin-point her location to the millimetre.

  Ivil navigated her way across the corridor and to the door into Aurora's room. She knocked.

  "Yes?" Aurora asked.

  Ivil took that as permission to open the door and step in. "Five the intrusion," she said as she tried to make the fact that she was breathing in the st of Aurora less obvious.

  "Evelyn," Aurora said. She was dressed down a little, ipants and a loose shirt. She was fully covered, a still somehow seemed deeply intimate when Aurora wasn't dressed formally. "Is something the matter?"

  "Yes," Ivil said. "We'll be departing in a few."

  "Departing?" Aurora asked. "I thought we had time."

  "Very little. And perhaps less than I'd thought," Ivil said.

  "So, to Uranus?"

  Ivil shook her head. "To Ganymede."

  Aurora was far from stupid. She put two and two together iime than it would take some to blink stupidly. "The Emperor or the League?" she asked.

  "The Emperor," Ivil said. "I should say hello while I'm so close to his throne. And in any case, he'll want to know about the Emperor of Earth's idioti. He's at much greater risk. Or would be. The Emperor of Earth could use this power up to finally overtake the Emperor of Jupiter, and a decisive fight betweewo could end in the Emperor of Earth tipping the bance all the way to his side."

  "Ah," Aurora said. She frowhen reached over for a tablet, only to put it back down. "Would he assist you?"

  "The Emperor of Jupiter? Doubtful. He's fat and zy," Ivil said with an uned shrug.

  "You would say that," Aurora said. "Well, if we're going to Ganymede, I'll have to insist on stopping at the League headquarters. I would have to go there at some point."

  "I might not be able to escort you," Ivil said.

  "I handle myself," Aurora said. "Perhaps not against someone of your calibre, but... I'm not defenceless. I hire help."

  Ivil perked an eyebrow at that. "There's a cruiser of the Tech Maids of Mars here. I suspect that if you asked kindly, they'd gdly provide an escort."

  "They're affiliated with Mars."

  "Barely," Ivil replied. "And isn't Phobos the same?"

  Aurora pursed her lips cutely, then puffed her cheeks out. "Okay, fine," she said. "Miss Pendergast has been quite kind and professional, and I hope that the rest of her... religious order is simirly kind and professional."

  "You know, that's not her actual name, I don't think," Ivil said.

  Aurora's expressio ft. "Do we want to start talking about fake names, Miss E. Ville?"

  "A discussion for ter, perhaps," Ivil aowledged.

  "That's what I thought," Aurora said with a small, self-satisfied nod.

  "I really want to kiss you," Ivil admitted.

  Aurora blinked, and suddenly her smugness was repced by flushing and a fair bit of fusion. Ivil ehe sudden ge immensely.

  "Y-yes, well, we have a lot of politically sensitive work to do. Now shoo, I o get ged."

  "Later, then," Ivil replied with a grin.

  She did aippy-tap dan the privacy of the corridor.

  ***

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