Korsha woke up, once more within her own body. With a flick of her intent the meditation pod cracked open with a soft hiss. Climbing out, she crossed her room, climbed up the ladder and entered the bridge. She turned to Koklan as she headed towards the command console.

"Status report."

"Astral navigation package installation is at eighty-seven percent. Estimated time before navigation systems are online is fifteen minutes."

Korsha nodded. That gave her fifteen minutes to figure out where she was going. She tapped the command console and brought up a map of the system. It wasn't heavily trafficked but there were still more people around then she would've liked otherwise. She dared not check the network to see if there was any news about her. She needed to buy yourself a little more time. She highlighted a route and plotted a short jump out of the system. It would put the ship three light years away. Just enough to be lingering out in the dark space.

Worst case scenario she could make an emergency jump back into the system and use her authorization codes to force the Stargate to open a portal for her. She shifted her weight, as she eyed Koklan. Her master had had the acrena customized with several layered security features to ensure that her cyber security couldn't be compromised by just any old hacker. Yet there were override features that no legal security measures could prevent. She was a mage afterall and that meant that she had to be held on a tight leash. There was no way he was going to just let her run around risk free.

There were stories about even the most loyal of mages going mad. Azaelah’s wicked eyes fixed themselves upon a the corrupted seed within them. Her malevolent presence seeping in and encouraging growth, both in the seed and in its bitter fruits. Visions of grandeur would fill their minds, overtaking them until they were a zealot ready to perform any act to achieve their believed mission.

The thought of such a thing sent a shiver down her spine. Her fingers tighten on the edges of the console, white knuckling them against the tremors that traced up her arms. Fear stole the breath from her lungs. Was that what she was becoming? She was on the run, believing she was the only one who could save her master. Wasn’t that a delusion of grandeur? Was Azaelah’s eyes upon her? Her insides ran cold.

The consul rang and she flinched at the sound. The tension in her fled as she read the corresponder code. It was Tal. With a thankful sigh she placed her hands over the keypad, ready to accept but then hesitated. Why was he calling? Was he calling to try and help her find Deidra or would he try to convince her to surrender herself. Either way, if she picked up that phone call, it could possibly put him in the sights of his fellow technomancers. Chewing the inside of her lip, she remembered what her master's daemon had said to her. It had instructed her to speak with Tal. How else was she going to find Deidra? She tapped the button.

For better or worse, she had to use him.

"Korsha, what happened? The inqnet lit up with your image."

"Now everyone wants me." Korsha muttered under her breath, "line secure?"

"You doubt my abilities?"

Korsha grunted. Once more she hesitated. This was the last possible moment he'd have before the consequences became severe. She could hang up right now and keep from dragging him further into this mess. Her thoughts drifted back to Deidra. Her jaw clenched and she sucked in a deep breath.

"What's wrong?"

"You want in?"

“What?”

“If I tell you, they could see you as an accomplice. Do you want to know?”

She'd rephrase the last bit on purpose, remembering the young man she knew back at the Academy. She was hoping his lust for knowing was still as insatiable as ever.

“In for a chit...”

Korsha grinned. It felt good to finally have someone who was willing to watch her back. She licked her lips as she sorted her thoughts. She needed to say as little as possible just in case this message was intercepted.

"I found her. She was at the Academy… Waiting for me."

"That's ominous."

"I think she knew I'd come back for her." Korsha said, then sighed. A mixture of emotions, both light and oily stirred within her. Now was time to tell the unfortunate truth, "I lost her... again."

"Technomancer crash the party?"

Korsha's head snapped up, her eyes fixing on the hologram Tal's face. How had he known? Her eyes narrowed as that sense of relief at having found an ally dissolved. Tal, seeming to take the hint, frowned.

"Oh, come on. Why would I screw you over now? We’re this close to finding Deidra. The backstabbing and all that can come later after she safely returned home."

Home. Korsha thought. What a strange word. What did it mean? Would Tal accept that home might mean kneeling before her master? She pushed the thought aside. There was a playfulness in his tone that helped smooth out the rough lines on Korsha's face. Her shoulders, which had been knotted together, relaxed. She rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. She'd forgotten how his witty banter had always made her feel better.

"Besides, I'm a technomancer. We all got the alert."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"So just talking to me landed you a federal offense."

"I could ask you to surrender."

There is a quiet moment between them and for the first time in a long time Korsha felt as though she had a friend. Someone who understood her. It was something different than what she and her master had. That relationship was utilitarian by necessity. He could never be her friend. He would always have to be the one who led her, showed her the right path. That required a degree of separation.Yet this was different, the camaraderie she felt made her chest warm. It felt good. So good.

"See," he said with a sly wink, "now we're in this together."

"Any ideas where she could be?"

Tal huffed. His hand came to view as he brushed his hair. He glanced from side to side and Korsha wondered where he was.

"I have an idea. It's a long shot. Sending you the coordinates."

A moment later the consul beeped. Korsha scanned the coordinates and sent them over to the map. It rearranged itself to show a black nebula. No planets or installations were marked. She blinked, double checked that she had somehow input an extra code or had fat fingered one of the keys. No, they lined up.

"What am I looking at?"

"Black ops facility. Highly restricted. This is the last place I was able to track her to." He shook his head and Korsha could see his jaw clenching, "after this the trail runs icy."

Somewhere in the back of Korsha's mind she saw Deidra being dragged away. She heard her sister's muffled shouts as she desperately tried to break free. This was where she'd ended up? She'd always hoped that her master had sent her somewhere where he could reeducate her. That hope was attached to the larger one. The fantasy that one day Deidra would return and they’d be together once more. Servants and sisters to a single cause.

She couldn't imagine the things a black program would do to a child. The Academy had been brutal but it had been regimented, restrained by regulations. Everything there had been made to toughen her. But she heard rumors. Those who went into those programs were broken and then reassembled, piece by jagged piece, until they were only weapons.

Thinking back to their fight she remembered that strange difference in style. Had this been what had happened to her? Had she been sent to this facility to be broken down and re-forged? She couldn't imagine it. Yet if Deidra had resisted, had refused to give up, then she would have been a tool that refused to serve its purpose. The thought made her shiver.

"Who owns it?"

"I suspect Anadrov does."

Korsha's eyes widened, "You think this is one of his facilities?"

"He’s been working diligently to strengthen his house over the last decade. Why not? He’s more than enough to bankroll such an operation. I’d lay credits on it.”

"That makes getting inside easier."

"I don't think that's the smartest play. You need to infiltrate. Get in, get the data and get out. Once you have it you send it to me. All things being equal, I might even have another location for you before you even get out of the system. Barring if I'm in a meeting or not. I am quite busy nowadays."

That made Korsha chortle. A part of her jumped back inside her, head titled as she wondered when was the last time she'd ever made such a noise?

"All right. I'll contact you when I have the data."

"Excellent. I’m sending you an encryption to create a spike. It’ll break through the encryption. Make sure you don't put this in any other computer other than the central core. And don't send the data anywhere else but to me.” He turned away but then hesitated. He looked back at her, "stay frosty. There's no telling what's in there."

Korsha nodded. The hologram disappeared, leaving her once more alone. For a long moment she lingered there. She brought up the map and checked their current position. They were a good distance away from any of the major hyper lanes. She checked her coordinates and was pleased to see that they only needed a minor course correction to make the jump to the black ops facility.

With the new course laid in, Korsha sat back and relaxed. She gazed out the viewport to the stars that glittered like candles in the darkness. It reminded her of the altar room at the Academy during a power outage. They had had Deidra light hundreds of candles. Her sister had seen it as a challenge on how to light all of them once. The thought made her smile. She’d always marveled at the way that Deidra’s alien mind worked. She watched as the stars shimmered and then streaked into the lines of hyperspace.

She sighed in relief.

She was gone, beyond anyone’s reach.

There was a sudden jolt, and she was thrown to the floor. She shouted, throwing her arms out to catch her. Her palms and wrists groaned as pained forks of lighting shot up them. She groaned as she shoved herself up. She gazed out at the viewport and saw that the stars were normal. She spun around and saw Koklan’s eyes glowing red.

"This ship is under lockdown. Please proceed to the nearest seat and strap yourself in. Authorities have been notified. The ship is…"

“Shite!”

Korsha raced forward as she listened to the looping message. Somehow they had forced Koklan to access the network. Reaching the acrena she reached back and grabbed at the thick power cord. She pulled but she didn't have enough room. Koklan's torso moved, pinning her arm to the wall. His mechanical head jerked, snapped down, and faced her. His red eyes bored her into her own.

"Resistance is futile."

Korsha ground her teeth together as she stared into those baleful soulless eyes. Her eyes widened. They weren't soulless. There was a spirit in there. Koklan was an acrena. A mortal spirit bound to a metallic shell. The command console chirped announcing a ship was approaching. She gazed at the display and saw that it was Ina’s ship.

With her free hand she reached up to Koklan’s face. She focused all of her will as she worked to bind the spirit. His spirit resisted her. His will collided against her like a crashing ocean wave. She groaned under the effort as she pushed back. Her fingers flexed, becoming clawed as they scraped along the acrena’s face. Then all at once Koklan reared back. Korsha stumbled back, her arm no longer pinned. Her back slammed into the command console and she let out a sharp grunt. Her head snapped up to the viewport. She cheered as the stars became lines.

Her cheers were cut off by a sudden explosion behind her. She turned just in time to see Koklan's metal body tear itself apart. There was a brilliant flash of light and Korsha had to shield her eyes. There was a whaling scream. And then it was cut short.

Silence.

The air was thick and heavy with a presence that felt both alien and familiar to Korsha. She saw shadows creeping along the walls, gathering like vultures around the broken remains of Koklan. His spirit oozed from the shattered fragments of his head and chest like a faint teal miasma. Sparks leapt into the air as the shadows descended and purged the acrena of any remnant spirit that remained. Koklan was no more. His second body, the shell of an acrena was cold and lifeless metal once more.

The shadows dissipated.

"No, no, no, no." She chanted over and over, hoping that what had just happened was a horrible hallucination.

She ran over to the command console and checked the route. They were in hyperspace, and they were following her predetermined route. They'd even come out somewhere just outside the black nebula. She was going to make it there but with Koklan destroyed she had no way she was going to be able to leave.

For now, this was a one-way ticket.