Zory stepped into the old shop with much less trepidation as she had her first time inside. The shop had creaky boards, definitely not up to government standards, but she loved it all the same. The sign outside read “Historic Artifacts and Mini Museum.” The sign inside said, “Free Admission for Wanderers, all others pay cash.” Zory giggled as she walked to the back of the shop and through the thick curtains to the back room. Once she sat down in one of the old pod chairs, she put all silly thoughts away. In here, she wasn’t just some dumb kid. She was a co-conspirator, capable of great things and changing the world. Speaking of…

“Ah… Zory, so good of you to stop by.” The greeter was Brenno, shopkeeper and owner of the Museum, historian extraordinaire. Zory didn’t think there was anything about the planet that Brenno didn’t know. Every question she ever had, Brenno had something to say about it. On the occasion he didn’t know, they would consult one of his many historian friends.

“Brenno, hello. How are you?” Zory tentatively asked from her seat.

Brenno didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “Preparations are running smoothly. We are just waiting on Lara and her cohort to arrive so that our ranks are bolstered.”

Zory stood up. “I don’t see why we have to use gangs for today’s plan. If what we’re saying is right, then why should we compromise our message?”

Brenno motioned for Zory to sit. She took a deep breath and complied.

“The Scorpions are essential to what we need today. Just because someone does something illegal, it doesn’t mean they are exempt from standing for the truth. We didn’t just hire them because they were all we could afford, remember? We could have hired any group of people. Lara and the Scorpions believe in our cause. They volunteered, saving us money that we were able to spend on supplies and possible legal fees if anything were to go wrong. Not to mention the ever-present mortgage on this shop.”

Zory studied her hands. Why Lara? She doesn’t seem interested in education. She doesn’t even go to school!

Zory sat up straight and put on a blank face as Lara entered the back room flanked by two of her gang members, Mara and Vara. Lara was dressed in all grey and had padded armor covering her chest, shoulders, and upper arms beneath her clothing. Her boots were made of green leather and laced tightly with wire. In her hand was a modified stun ray.

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Stun rays were normally used for pests like the annoying derno which would sting you if you got too close to the food they were after. Dernos ate everything, so getting too close wasn’t too hard to do. They were about the size of your smallest finger but could fly, so the stun rays were a necessity whenever going outside. Lara’s stun ray could probably take down a menarg. Menargs were about the size of a baby person.

All the Scorpions wore a tiny black scorpion pin on their chest, right over their heart.

“What’s with the kid?” Lara inquired bluntly.

Brenno responded firmly, “You are not much more than children yourselves. Besides, she was instrumental in organizing our timetables thanks to her insider knowledge of today’s festivities. The kid stays.”

“Whatever.” Lara sat down comfortably in the pod chair next to Zory, and stuck her hand out in the formal greeting. “It’s good to have fresh blood.”

Zory was shocked at the sudden turnaround of judgement, but clocked it to Brenno’s logical repartee. She composed herself and decided to go for a joke.

“I should hope my blood isn’t stale… or even rotten!” Zory immediately knew it was a bad joke but was glad she made it. “I’m sorry. That was not a good joke.”

Lara smiled. “I insulted you and then you apologize? You’ve got to be tougher than that, kid.” Lara turned to Brenno. “Has anything changed from last meeting?”

“Nothing except that the contest winners are to be announced about 5 minutes earlier than last year. Apparently it’s to prevent the deign eating winners from being sick as they’re getting their medals.”

Zory perked up. “Lillia was so proud to have found that solution. It wasn’t that hardtop get her to talk about it.”

Lara tilted her head. “You know Lillia? Lillia Deshra?”

“Yes.” Zory replied simply.

“Could be useful later is all.” Lara said.

“It was useful for today, which is what we’re talking about. I’m sorry for distracting the conversation.”

Lara smiled again. “All right! So that five minutes means that we’ll have to make sure everyone is in position the moment that the deign eating contest starts instead of when it ends.”

Brenno nodded. “Precisely.”

Zory added, “The event right before that one is the traditional dance, so we should be able to use that to our advantage to get into position. People will be moving all over the place.”

“I’ll relay this information to my people immediately. I’ll be where we spoke about, when we spoke about, ready to act. Brenno?” Lara stood resolutely. “It has been a real honor. I hope we can do more of this work in the future, provided there is one to work towards.” Lara picked up Zory’s bag and maneuvered it onto her back.

Brenno stood as well, and went to hold open the curtain as Lara and her lackeys left. “For the future. See you out there.” He waited a few more moments, then turned to Zory, still holding the curtain. “Well? Are you coming? You know Lillia will be very dissapointed if she doesn’t see you there. Not to mention suspicious…”

Zory stood and ran to Brenno, impulsively hugging him briefly. “See you out there.” She waved towards the back as she sped out the door, filled with purpose and lighter without her bag.