Chương 247: Chapter 246 - Fandangled

Alexander led the others down the docking arm. The corridor stretched ahead, brushed steel and reinforced glass, with Astra Omnia's central hub visible through the windows. Earth hung in the distance on one side, a blue-white crescent against the black. Mars was a faint rust-colored point on the other. Annie and Talia flanked him a step behind. Augustus and Carmen brought up the rear, their footsteps falling into an easy rhythm on the deck plating. The rest of the crew had stayed aboard.

The jump into Jupiter's gravity well had stressed Sleipnir's frame, and the slingshot maneuver afterward hadn't been gentle. Alexander had told the Chief the ship was fine. He'd reached deep into the hull during the return trip, tracing every structural member, every weld, every seal. Everything was where it should be. The Chief had listened with his arms folded and his jaw set.

Then he'd said he trusted his eyes and his ears and his hands, not some fandangled mental mysticism, not even if it came from the blasted Machine God himself. The ship would be inspected properly or it wouldn't fly again. Alexander hadn't even known fandangled was a word. He'd liked the Chief before, but the man's refusal to let someone else certify the ship under his care had earned his respect. The first people they passed were dock workers. Two men in maintenance coveralls checking a conduit junction.

They looked up as Grimnir approached, and their conversation stopped. One of them straightened. The other gave a slow nod as Alexander passed. Normal enough. Grimnir drew attention wherever they went. Alexander had gotten used to the stares, the whispered conversations, the occasional request for a photo that Annie always intercepted. Even the odd ambush here and there. But something was different. They entered the main concourse.

The station's commercial district spread out ahead of them, shops and restaurants following the curve of the central hub. Foot traffic was moderate. Civilians, station personnel, a few superhumans, some in guild colors Alexander didn't recognize. Heads turned as they passed. That was expected. What caught his attention was how they turned. The wariness and suspicion were mostly gone. No mothers were pulling their children closer or finding a reason to head in another direction.

A woman at a cafe table met his eyes and smiled. A station security officer nodded from his post. One man in a work jacket saw Alexander looking at him and thumped a fist against his chest, once, before turning back to his companion. Alexander frowned.

"So," Annie said from his left, voice pitched just loud enough for the group.

"Merch sales are through the roof. I'm thinking we lean into it. New designs. Maybe a collab.

'Grimnir and the Throne of Scales: We Stole Dubai and All You Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.'" Augustus made a sound from behind them that could have been a cough or a laugh. Alexander didn't respond. He let his presence wash outward, just a fraction, and the station lit up. Golden threads. Dozens of them on this level alone, reaching toward him from people he'd never met. Faint, gossamer-thin, but unmistakable. He traced them further. More from the levels above. More from below.

Hundreds across the station, each one a connection he hadn't asked for and still didn't fully understand. He spread his reach further. Earth, hanging in the viewport to his right, glowed. The threads from that direction were beyond counting. A vast, diffuse web that must be stretching across the void between the station and the planet's surface. Behind him, in the opposite direction, a smaller but still significant cluster reached from Mars. Alexander pulled his senses back in. The concourse returned to normal.

Just people going about their day, some of them glancing at the group of superhumans walking through their station. Talia's voice came from his right, low enough that only he would hear.

"Are you getting anything from them?" He nodded once. Didn't elaborate. Talia accepted that with a slight dip of her chin and said nothing more. Behind him, Alexander sensed a familiar manifestation. Hyperawareness tracked Augustus's spellbook as it materialized in the air beside the old man, pages riffling in silence. Alexander didn't slow or turn, but his curiosity sharpened. A faint pulse of energy expanded outward from Augustus.

It washed over all five of them and settled into a translucent bubble that moved with the group, barely visible. Annie spun on her heel and started skipping backward, facing Augustus.

"What was that?"

"Privacy shield." The spellbook dissolved.

"Nobody outside can hear us." Annie raised an eyebrow but accepted it.

"I've been meaning to ask, Alex," Augustus said.

"Did something happen between you and Valerie?" Alexander winced. Between returning Dubai to Earth and racing off to hunt Santiago down before he escaped, sitting down to discuss that tiny little wrinkle with Auggy had slipped his mind. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He slowed his pace and let Augustus draw level with him. Then he sighed.

"Right. About that." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I, uh, might have done a little bit of threatening to murder Damien. King, I mean." A pause.

"While Valerie was there." Annie's mouth dropped open.

"You what?" Augustus blinked.

"I see." He was quiet for a few steps.

"I assume it was necessary?" Alexander nodded, then caught himself and shook his head.

"Yes and no. Probably not. But Max and I couldn't take any chances with what we learned after killing Bloody Dracula. I know you can't see the threads unless your Will is bound up with mine, but King can see them on his own. That meant he was either with us or a threat." He exhaled.

"They might have just agreed if I'd explained first, but..." Augustus nodded.

"You couldn't risk being wrong."

"Yeah." Alexander glanced sideways at him.

"I should have told you beforehand. I'm sorry if I've made things difficult between you two." Augustus smiled.

"Nothing a fancy night out won't solve." Alexander looked at him.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Teach me your ways, old one."

"Ugh." Annie had turned back around.

"You guys are lame." Alexander chuckled. He'd gotten lucky this time. Augustus had only been willing to absorb the fallout because he cared about him. Because they were friends. Which was exactly why something like that couldn't happen again. Not with Auggy. Not with any of them. Happiness was already hard to find, what with them being supervillains racing toward the end of the world. He shouldn't add to that. They rounded the corner into the administrative district, and Alexander stopped.

The Fort filled the end of the corridor. The construction teams had gone with his original vision. The building centered on a gatehouse-style entry framed by heavy pillars, the doors themselves a pair of armored slabs that looked like they belonged on a medieval keep rather than a space station. The walls on either side were smooth and windowless, every opening sealed during construction, giving the entire facade a blunt, fortified weight. It would look even better with a moat. He'd need to run that by Valerie.

Though given recent events, he expected she'd say no. Four armed guards flanked the entrance in pairs, wearing the security company's standard kit. They straightened as Grimnir approached, but didn't challenge them. One touched his earpiece and murmured something. Augustus let out a low whistle.

"Going up fast." Talia nodded.

"The exterior walls are mostly complete. Everything inside is still under construction, apart from a few barracks areas for the security teams and some of the construction crews."

"It'll get there," Alexander said. Augustus glanced down the intersecting corridor that led toward the Queen's administrative hub. Alexander could sense Valerie, Paul the truth-seeker, and her guards stationed throughout the wing. Augustus adjusted his cuffs.

"Well. This is where I part ways. I have some bridges to unburn." Alexander turned to him.

"Don't do anything I would do." He paused.

"And if it comes up, please convey my apologies. For what little they're worth right now." Augustus clapped him on the shoulder, held it for a moment, then headed down the corridor without looking back. Talia watched him go, then turned to Alexander.

"I'm heading off as well. I need to speak with Jasmine about the recruitment offer." Annie grinned.

"Among other things, I'm sure." Talia gave her a cool look. Then she nodded to Alexander and left. Annie laced her fingers behind her head, elbows splayed wide, and rocked back on her heels.

"Well, I'm off too. To the, uh... arenas...?" Alexander's cybernetic hand snapped out and pinched her earlobe between two fingers.

"Ow! What the—""Not so fast." He held her in place with minimal effort while she grabbed at his wrist.

"Why am I sensing an army of kids filled with what I can only describe as excitement waiting to ambush us up ahead?"

"Ow ow ow. Leggo! I don't know anything! I'm innocent!"

"You are many things, Annette Sheridan. Innocent is not one of them."

"Blegh. Now you sound like my dad." He released her. She rubbed her ear and glared at him, but the grin was already creeping back.

"Fine. Maybe I mentioned you were coming back today. And maybe Ash wanted to meet you. And maybe a few of the others got excited." She shrugged.

"It's not my fault the kids want to meet you." Alexander sighed. Carmen, who had been silent throughout, cleared her throat.

"I'll be in the operations office. I suddenly have calls to make." She gave Alexander a pointed look, then slipped through the entrance with a nod to the guards. Alexander watched her go. Then he turned back to Annie.

"After you." They stepped through the gatehouse entrance into the Fort's interior. The contrast with the finished exterior was immediate. Bare walls. Exposed conduit. Construction materials stacked along corridors. The smell of fresh concrete and sawdust. Temporary lighting rigs cast harsh white light across unfinished floors. A reception desk had been set up to the right, just inside the entrance. Behind it, feet propped up on the desk, a portable holo-screen floating in front of his face, sat Bill.

The young man was hunched forward in his chair, thumbs working a controller, completely absorbed. He'd filled out since New York. The scrappy guy who'd pointed a rifle at Alexander had put on muscle, cut his hair, and was wearing a uniform with what looked like genuine pride. He was also very clearly not working. Alexander stopped in front of the desk. Bill didn't notice. Annie leaned against the wall and watched with undisguised delight. Alexander cleared his throat. Bill's eyes flicked up. The controller froze.

The color drained from his face in stages as recognition arrived, followed by horror, followed by a desperate scramble to stand that sent the chair spinning backward into the wall.

"Mr. Rooke! Sir! I was just—" He looked at the floating screen, then back at Alexander.

"I wasn't—" Alexander held up a hand. Bill's mouth closed. He leaned forward and glanced at the game. He didn't recognize it, but that was no surprise, being almost a year behind the gaming scene. Something that was unlikely to change anytime soon. At least he wasn't watching Barkforce.

"You're not in trouble. I don't expect you to make busywork when there's nothing to be done." Bill stared at him.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"It's just Alexander. We've been over this."

"Yes, sir. Alexander. Sir." Annie snorted. Alexander shook his head and kept walking. It was time to deal with a delinquent ambush.