She had aged somewhat, but nowhere near enough for the time that had passed. As she approached, she stared at my face, and recognition slowly dawned.

“It really is you,” she whispered. “Where have you been all this time?”

I shrugged and rubbed my wrists. “Well, Sleem, but I wasn’t there by choice. Really glad to see you’re still around.”

Terna shook her head and turned away, motioning for me to follow her. “We cannot stay, the cameras will only be down for minutes. Come, I will take you somewhere safe.”

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It was honestly tempting. I had to give the monopoly that — they definitely picked the right advertisement for the occasion. The problem was, I knew how these systems worked and I had no doubt that no matter what protection I bought, Axel would buy one more expensive and counter it.

I couldn’t compete with him morty-to-morty, so I’d have to do it Terna’s way instead.

“Sure,” I said, and followed her through the garage. We approached a fuel pump at the back, rusty and non-functional. It had an aged sign on it that said it was out of order, but Terna pushed it out of the way with ease. Behind the hidden door was an ancient-looking maintenance tunnel.

The pipes were rusted, the grates covering the walkway were pitted and decayed, and the walls themselves leaked with greasy moisture. Terna guided me through a maze of ruined tunnels, turning back on itself and winding around seemingly aimlessly before we arrived at a terrifyingly old elevator car.

It was narrow inside, and with the two of us it felt quite cramped. Terna pushed against me and flipped a lever, before crossing her arms and staring at me. “You haven’t aged a day,” she finally said. The car clanked and screamed as it went into motion, taking us down at a rapid pace.

“You’re one to talk,” I replied. “I was frozen with my head blown off, floating around Sleem’s star. What’s your excuse?”

She chuckled. “Regular stat shots. The fortitude line with some regularity. It keeps you young and healthy. Says so right on the packaging. Also the intellect shot, very occasionally, to keep my brain from aging out.”

I nodded. “Heard those things can do that. But I have to wonder why you took ‘em,” I said, leaning against the small elevator’s rear wall.

Terna sighed. “My people insisted, at first. Then it became necessary to fight the war, and finally the occupation. We make most ourselves. But some come from the BuyMort.” She said this last part sheepishly, her eyes flickering downwards.

“Yeah, I’ve been seeing some of that. So I guess the cops that arrested me were on your side after all?” I asked.

The hobb woman shrugged. “Loyal to the world ship. Not everyone in the precinct is, of course, but a key few were. My resistance has people everywhere. It helps; particularly at times like this.”

“Hang on, they told me you’re still in charge of the world ship. How are you running a resistance and working for Axle?” I asked, eyes narrowed.

Terna snorted a laugh. “Very carefully, I probably shouldn’t have come to get you myself. You could be a plant, for all I know.”

“Well, I’m not,” I replied. “I don’t work for anybody but myself.”

“That’s not encouraging. What about Silken Sands?” she asked. “What about our deal?”

I raised my eyebrows and exhaled hard, nodding my head. “I’m surprised you remember that deal,” I said.

“Like it was yesterday,” she replied at once. “Never before have I had hope that the BuyMort could be defeated, and I’ve clung to that hope ever since. Now that you have returned, it burns fresh, and bright”

“Well,” I said. “I think we have a long road ahead of us in order to get there, but I’m still on board if you are.”

Terna nearly grinned. “I am. Of course I am. Who cares about the road? I’m already living forever until my people let me die, so I may as well make use of my time here wisely.”

“First thing we need to do is get me back my affiliate, somehow,” I said, as the elevator clunked to a stop.

Terna grunted as she raised the door. Then she gestured over her shoulder for me to follow. “Come,” she said. “I’m taking you somewhere safe, where we can talk. Talk, plan, and scheme.”

I pushed off the elevator wall and stepped out to follow her. “I do love a good scheme,” I said.

She led me down maintenance tunnels that were in pristine shape. Everything was shiny, new, and thrumming with energy. Terna was quiet as we walked, and the walk took over an hour. We arced around another habitation unit, this one considerably smaller.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Grimms seemed to be the primary residents, the mole-men were in great numbers below us as we walked. The dome was darkened, only lit by the reddish glow of magma channels. Their screen wall featured an underground volcano, with rivulets of magma continually running down the slopes and toward the village.

The screen wall connected with the magma channels in the hab block, which ran through their dome shaped homes. The houses were buried in hillocks spread throughout the habitation unit. Bridges of shaped earth tiled with obsidian were scattered around the area as well, providing a means for the Grimms to walk around easily.

Terna noticed me staring into the dome, mostly because I had fallen behind, and she returned to my side. “The Grimms use the magma to heat their homes,” she said. “As well as cooking food and getting rid of any waste.”

“They really do come from a strange planet, huh?” I asked idly, still looking down into the dome.

Terna smiled gently. “Yes, to us.”

“So, tell me how you’re walking the fine line of being enslaved to Axle’s whims, and running a resistance against his affiliate,” I said, still watching the Grimms.

“It’s a poorly concealed secret, buttressed by leverage that Axle cannot overcome without significant damages,” she said. “Everyone who matters knows I’m both but can’t really do anything about it. If I was killed, I would become a martyr overnight, and I actually do control the resistance. I primarily just keep the attacks off critical infrastructure.”

“You still feed the solar system, huh?” I asked, leaning on the window.

Terna chuckled and shook her head. “I feed the multiverse. You’ve missed so much.”

“How can one moon-sized world ship feed the entire multiverse?” I asked.

She raised her knobbed eyebrows and sighed. “The multiverse is . . . significantly smaller than you remember.”

I frowned. “How small?” I asked.

“Fourteen worlds, across ten universes. Terna’s World is the only one dedicated to food exports. We overproduce by a huge magnitude, if our growing operations were significantly disrupted the entire multiverse would feel the effects,” Terna explained. “Part of why Axle levies sanctions against us, to remind everyone how powerful he can truly be if he feels threatened.”

“So you run the world as Axle’s proxy, but fight against his control over it,” I said.

“Not precisely. I just rein in the resistance from exacting their worst impulses,” she said.

“I saw people executed on my way in,” I told her. “It looked like the entire hab unit was getting ready to riot.”

Terna nodded. “That happens now. I’m not happy about it, obviously, but I cannot control BlueCleave. Axle cracks down on us regularly. I think he sees it as some kind of balance.”

“Keeping your resistance in check?” I asked.

“I believe that is how he views it, yes,” she replied. “I have heard the BlueCleave soldiers referring to their offensive actions against us as ‘mowing the lawn.’ Of course, the resistance grows with every crackdown. It honestly makes my job much harder. I’ve been trying to restrain my people for over a decade at this point, and things just keep getting worse for them.”

“Well, maybe I can help,” I offered.

“Not right away, you’re a secret right now and I want to keep it that way as long as I can,” Terna replied.

“What about your police?” I asked. “I did tell at least two of them who I was.”

“Their precinct was destroyed in the riot you saw forming,” she said. “No survivors.”

My eyes went wide. “Shit, Terna. Remind me not to cross you.”

She looked down and shook her head. “I just did. Know that I do not relish these acts. The times we live in simply require them. I will ensure their sacrifice has meaning, as will you.”

I nodded somberly.

After a moment of staring at the hab block below, she gestured for me to follow her and we started walking again.

“Hey,” I said. “How did the multiverse get so small? I mean, I think I know the answer, but I need to know for sure.”

“War,” Terna said. “War never changes. It does come in waves though, and after you vanished, the machine you had created rolled over us all. The fighting hasn’t stopped, just endless war across the multiverse. Eventually the worst hit planets became so damaged they were determined to be not viable by the BuyMort and their gates were shut down. Septillions of lives were lost, cut off from the rest of the network and left to languish in their own universes.”

“Wait, so BuyMort just abandoned them?” I asked.

“The BuyMort only cares about profit,” she answered. “Never lives. Once it shuts off, the people are left to certain doom, having grown reliant on a multiversal trade system.”

“Still,” I started. “I think that tells us something important.”

“Your key to removing the BuyMort from us all?” Terna asked with a slight snort. “It would destroy us as we are now. Utter ruin would be the result.”

I nodded and kept walking.

The next section of the world ship we entered was full of grow-houses. I saw them from above, as we walked across a catwalk in the ceiling. Water pipes and electrical cabling jutted from the walls, weaving through the entire cavernous area, providing necessary infrastructure to the grow-houses.

Glass walls and ceilings soaked in light from a false sun embedded in the ceiling. A multi-species army of workers filed in and out of various structures, and boarded railcars that took them out of the area, presumably to habitation blocks.

Terna directed me through the network of catwalks in the ceiling toward the central artificial sun. We passed several smaller orbs embedded in the roof, glowing down on the grow-houses below.

“How many growing blocks like this do you have?” I asked.

“One hundred thousand thirty-seven on the surface. Another eight hundred thousand and some below. The world ship creates water from its core, the reactor produces it as a side effect. We gather hydrogen atoms from Sol, and import oxygen, as well as gathering it from the very breath of our people. Grimms produce oxygen naturally, the way your people produce carbon dioxide,” she explained. “And much of the world ship is populated by Grimms.”

“Quite the operation,” I commented.

“It keeps us alive,” she replied. “We do not normally operate so many grow-blocks, especially while moving from one permanent location to the next, but Axle has made it impossible for us to leave.”

“Using my military,” I added.

Terna nodded. “The safehouse I want you to stay in is right up ahead,” she said, handing me a pair of dark goggles. “You will need these to approach. Put them on now.”

I did as she said, and we continued walking directly toward the main artificial sun. When we were near enough to feel its heat, we diverted up a staircase into the ceiling, where heavy electrical cables ran. She took me through a few more maintenance tunnel turns, until we stopped before an oversized metal door. It slid up, into the ceiling, and revealed a comfortable-looking room behind it.

The safehouse was furnished, and spacious enough to hold several people. It was even heated from below, combatting the chill of the world-ship’s depths. There was a kitchen, a cushioned couch, dining table, and king-sized bed. It even had a bar.

“You are not my prisoner, Tyson Dawes,” Terna said.

“But?” I asked.

“But I would respectfully ask that you remain here, out of sight, until I return,” she said.

“Where ya’ going?” I asked.

“I must meet with certain key members of my staff. Inform them of your return, and presence here on the world-ship, and then return once a plan has been formed,” Terna explained. “You must have questions. I would also help you find answers to those questions, if you will accept my help.”

“Oh, very much yes, thank you,” I started. “I need to know what happened to my mate, Molls. Her full story, please.”

Terna nodded. “I know some of this story, but will find an expert to relay the rest, as best we can.”

“Can you also find out what happened to my dog, Doofus?” I asked.

Terna nodded curtly. “I will try, though I am not familiar with that name.”

“Thank you, I’ll sit tight,” I told her.

“I will return as soon as I am able, but it will likely be some time. Please, rest and eat. I am sure you have been through much on your road to my world-ship,” she told me.

I nodded as I walked into the kitchen and looked at the bar. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Ha! You even have Morbin’s blue tequila.”

Terna scowled but nodded. Then she turned and left.