Saketa wasted no time in the capital. People in the streets were openly discussing a potential takeoff ban, and so she headed straight for the spaceport. She got some looks for leading a bound man along with her, but there was only a single encounter with the local law and they didn’t put much energy into it. Vanaka followed behind her, virtually unnoticed.

The mercenary was pretty much entirely silent, and Saketa wondered if he was trying to make sense of what had happened. But he didn’t seem likely to succeed, and even if he did he had no way to cause trouble for either of them. She was about to see the last of him.

Mal waited for her outside of his ship, and his face lit up at the sight of both her and Usta. He called for some of his crew, and by the time she’d closed the distance they were ready to whisk him away into the ship without delay.

“Excellent!” Mal said to her as Usta vanished from sight. “Well done, Warden!”

Saketa acknowledged his compliment with a simple nod.

“I appreciate you still being here,” she said.

“I had faith that your people’s reputation was more than mere words,” he said. “Although it seems this took some doing,” he added, examining her condition in more detail.

“It did,” Saketa admitted. “Although the journey itself offered challenges as well.”

“I don’t doubt it. But who are you, young miss?” Mal asked Vanaka.

“She is simply an offworld girl I offered to escort home,” Saketa said. “You can take off without me. There is a commercial flight taking off in half an hour. We will be on it.”

“So will a lot of other people, by the look of things,” Mal said. “Are you sure?”

“I am sure. I would not ask you to delay for our sake. You have a very important message to deliver.”

She reached into her bag and took out a note.

“Here. These are the coordinates for the Fourth Fleet. I am unsure you will get Usta to say anything else useful.”

Mal took the note, looking happier by the moment.

“How did you manage it?” he asked.

“A bit of luck,” she said. “Now go.”

He tucked the note away in a shirt pocket.

“We are in your debt, Warden Saketa. And I will not forget it.”

“Just make sure good comes of this,” she told him.

“If the Fourth Fleet breaks, then yes. This war will turn around, and Volkan Vol will taste justice.”

They bid one another farewell, and Mal promptly took off with his prize, vanishing off into the sky to seek out his superiors.

# # #

Reaching Xivioth required a connecting flight, on a plain and sparsely occupied old ship. The two of them found themselves alone on the benches as the ship went through the docking procedures, and everyone else had gotten up to wait by the exits.

“I take it you will be going straight home?” Saketa said.

“Yes,” Vanaka said. “My father and I had talked about maybe spending two or three days here, just taking in the sights together. But after all this... I need normalcy.”

Saketa nodded.

“How is your arm?” she asked.

“Same as the last time you asked. It is fine.”

The girl moved her flechette-hit arm around with no signs of pain. Her people really were amazingly durable. Still, she patted the spot, looking thoughtful.

“This was all supposed to be a little test,” she mused, half to Saketa and half to herself. “I wanted to conquer my people’s fear of the wider galaxy; break that isolation a little. I just... well, I suppose this sounds childish but I wanted a bit of an adventure. And I got all of that.”

She looked disheartened, and it was a rather painful sight. Saketa held her hand out, and Vanaka seemed glad to grip it for support.

“There are negative energies running loose these days,” Saketa said. “But the high waves never last. And my general impression of the galaxy is that there is more good in it than bad. Left to their own devices most people are happy to simply live their lives, and tend to their loved ones. You have been through strife your upbringing did nor prepare you for, and it has left you shaken. When you calm down and recover I hope you will keep this in mind.”

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Vanaka squeezed the offered hand gently in appreciation.

“This wave will break,” Saketa assured her. “And if in the coming weeks you hear of the Fourth Fleet being destroyed, you will know that you had a hand in bringing it about.”

Vanaka nodded slowly, and seemed on the edge of getting emotional.

“Disembarking now,” sounded the intercom, cycling through various languages.

They got up and were among the last people to step out onto the platform. Saketa almost immediately spotted a man coming straight towards them, and Vanaka jogged to intercept him. He had the same dark hair and eyes as Vanaka, and a masculine version of her facial features. He looked rather young to be her father, but there was no mistaking the mutual love and relief as they embraced.

Saketa kept a bit of a distance, allowing them some privacy for these initial moments. She tried not to feel too proud, but it did feel good to have a hand in this little bit of positivity. In dark days, here was something unambiguously good, and ultimately that was her role as a Warden.

The father looked up at her, seeming surprised at the sight of her suit. Moreover, he looked concerned. Perhaps he could smell his daughter’s venom on her. Perhaps it was something in Saketa’s bearing. Either way, clearly he knew.

He went back to appreciating his daughter for a little while longer. The two of them spoke in low tones, utterly swallowed up by the general bustle of a significant spaceport, and she didn’t understand their language anyway.

Eventually they separated a bit, looked to an empty part of the platform, and then to her. The message was silent but clear enough, and she walked over to join them there. Her suit got some looks from people, but traffic was rapid and high-strung and no one approached her.

They stopped over by a handrail, with a few steps between them. Father and daughter remained in contact, each with one arm around the other. Vanaka looked a mixture of happy and nervous. He, Fineal, hesitated with a slight air of awkwardness before speaking.

“Greetings, Warden,” the man said, in a thicker version of Vanaka’s accent. “I understand I have you to thank for this.”

“Your daughter got me to help her,” Saketa said diplomatically.

“Yes,” he replied, and glanced at Vanaka. He was far too relieved for anger, but Saketa still got the feeling he didn’t know what to make of this pairing.

“Do you have children?” he asked.

“No. Wardens my age typically do not.”

“Then I do not think you understand what you have done for me. Done for us. I would seek to repay you if I had any idea how.”

“Repay the universe,” Saketa said. “I have sent positive energy your way. Send it further out in turn. Be kind. Be helpful.”

He nodded, looked at his daughter, then turned back to Saketa.

“Will you be coming home with us?” he asked hesitantly.

Saketa didn’t respond immediately. Her eyes travelled to Vanaka’s. The girl beheld her warmly.

“You do make a great protector,” Vanaka said. “It would be wonderful to have you around.”

This hadn’t even occurred to Saketa, and for a very strange-feeling moment the possibility washed over her. Might she go along with them if the girl asked firmly enough? That spot on her neck seemed to tingle faintly, although that might have been her imagination.

Whichever it was, she wanted to. She felt the effect move her like the current of a river. The relaxing helplessness of Vanaka’s embrace returned to the forefront of her mind. She could just go with them and ease into a simpler existence, away from mankind’s wider troubles. But her upbringing demanded clarity in decisions, and she fought the current with will as her only weapon.

“My people draw attention,” she said before the effect could seize her again. “And your people’s best protection is secrecy, it seems to me. And I am needed elsewhere.”

Fineal looked relieved. Vanaka didn’t look surprised, but in spite of a polite effort she could not entirely hide disappointment.

“I understand,” the girl said. “And yes, you probably are needed. So this is farewell, then.”

She approached for a hug and Saketa opted to trust her, while also priming her reflexes. The girl wrapped her arms around her, and though it met with a wall of discipline Saketa again felt how easy it would be to just give in.

“Thank you,” Vanaka said. “For everything. You are wonderful.”

“I am glad to have helped,” Saketa replied, stroking the girl’s back.

They separated and Vanaka joined her father.

“But before we part...” Saketa said.

Father and daughter both seemed to realise she had something serious to say, and listened intently.

“That venom of yours is a very potent and insidious tool,” Saketa said. “Very easily abused. Your needs... your way of life... it does not fit neatly on either side of my understanding of right and wrong. I cannot fault you for simply surviving as your nature demands. Predators are not evil, and I am not about to put your families, your children, at possible risk by blabbing your secrets. Nevertheless, if I ever catch one of you bringing someone into the fold by force or otherwise making illicit use of that venom, then I will intervene. Because that is my nature.”

The older Vylak nodded seriously.

“We do not make a habit out of getting caught, Warden,” he replied. “But your concerns are valid. And we do police our own.”

“Just so we are clear,” she said.

“I think we are,” Fineal replied. “Now, if the two of you are finished I wish to be off.”

They were finished, and the two Vylak each thanked her one more time before walking off. Saketa stayed where she was as the two of them left the platform to join two people waiting for them. Given the subtle air of deference they showed to Fineal, she suspected she understood the nature of their relationship.

Anyway, they and Vanaka were clearly happy to see each other. The girl turned and gave her one last look before vanishing off into the spaceport crowds.

Saketa rubbed her neck.

This had been a strange outing, and challenging in unique ways. She would have plenty to reflect on in the evening’s meditation. But she supposed it was a good thing. New experiences, new challenges, meant new strengths. And she would need plenty of strengths in the days to come.