Zellar Wilson looked once more at the screen of his phone. The fleet had hacked a communications satellite so command could send messages to their agents on earth. Their method of hacking had been to throw agents onto the minds of local telecom employees, but the result was the same as if they had done it themselves. By the time the agents wore off in a few years, they wouldn't need access to the satellite anymore.

The message read: UO reached surface at Mojave Desert - investigate with utmost caution. TH.

In other words, the unidentified object that the fleet had been tracking for the past several years had landed. The fact that the object had decelarated into the solar system meant it had to be manned. The fact that it had been out there for years and lacked the size for a self-contained biological loop meant that its pilot could survive without food for an unreasonable length of time. Wilson had some ideas on how to hack his biology short-term to get past the need for food and oxygen, inspired in part by the jump planetside Tyler Marius had made, but he couldn't conceive of anyone manipulating their cellular metabolism for years.

Well, he could imagine one person capable of such a thing. As, apparently, could Chief Executive Torrent Hafnym, who had sent the message to him urging utmost caution. Please let it not be him, Wilson thought. He had no desire to ever see his instructor again. Unlike the others, Wilson had never been certain of the man's mundane origins. Nallit certainly seemed demonic, after all. Maybe he was in truth the mythological demon who put hate into the hearts of men and drove humanity towards self-destruction.

"Mister Zellar," his assistant Shendi shouted as she flew low across the desert landscape towards him, "I found the impact site!"

"You didn't get too close, I hope."

Shendi waved the comment away. "There was no one there. Just the shattered vessel. It . . . was just a steel box with a single window. I don't see how anyone could have lived in there for years."

"I told you not to approach it," Wilson growled, stretching his corona out as wide as he could and looking about uneasily.

Shendi touched down beside him. "One more thing," she said.

"Out with it, you idiot."

Her hand withdrew a shard of metal from a pocket and she stabbed herself through the heart. Wilson staggered a step back from her as she withdrew and stabbed again, an expression of horror on her face.

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"Aw, shit," he said. At the edge of his corona, he felt the approach as a massive dead zone where his own kinetic talent could not reach. As Shendi murdered herself in gruesome fashion, weeping all the while, Wilson went to a knee before his approaching doom. He looked up as the man got close to confirm his identity, though that was hardly necessary. Black skin. Bald head. Lean, muscular build. Baleful sneer. It was him.

Wilson swallowed to clear the tightness of his throat. "Teacher, we took the Angelship as you commanded."

"Oh, I know, Zellar Wilson. I listened to the song on the radio. Help us, a group of locals have boarded the Angelship and are killing everyone! Even the children! Help! Please, someone, help! That song is my jam. Good job with the children. I assume that was you?"

They had all performed the distasteful act of cleansing any and all Chekowan life they came across, but Wilson saw no reason not to assume credit before this demon of a man. "Yes, teacher."

"Did you torture any of them?"

"Uh . . . ."

"Relax, Zellar Wilson. I'm just joking. I know everyone was in a rush. I know I like to say 'there's always time for a little torture', but sometimes other priotities get in the way. I'm a reasonable man, right?"

"Yes, teacher."

"Of course I am!" Nallit's smile never reached his eyes. "So a couple of things. First, your fleet left without me. What the fuck was that about?"

Wilson licked his lips. "We weren't sure you were still alive, teacher. After the asteroid fell, events were very chaotic."

"No shit. That's why tossing a big rock at a planet is considered a diversion."

"Yes, teacher."

"Did you think I was dead? Moi? I know I told you five that I can't be killed. I am very disappointed by your lack of faith."

"Sorry, teacher."

Nallit's eyes touched on the corpse of Shendi and he giggled. "Been a while since I got to have some fun. I wish I'd been close enough to see your face when she went all suicidal on you. Good times. Anywho . . . give me a report on your mission."

"We took the Angelship, teacher."

"No shit."

"Uh . . . Erral Quincy died in the fighting."

"Not surprising."

"We . . . we helped take out the crews on some of the minor vessels as well."

Nallit leaned over Wilson and spat onto the back of his head. "What about the answer to my question?"

"Uh . . . ."

"Who is the Angelship?"

"Teacher, the Navigator wouldn't answer our questions. It doesn't trust us after what we did."

"Well. I gave every student of mine one do-over. To the best of my perfect recollection, you never failed me."

"Yes! I never said no to any command of yours! Please, teacher, let me have my second chance!"

"Sure, why not. Consistency and all that. Can't play favorites."

Wilson looked up at his teacher. "What do you plan on doing on this world, teacher? Take more students?"

"For what purpose? I only ever trained you twats because I wanted to know which of my siblings got turned into the spaceship I'm following. Hey, Zellar Wilson, what's the name of the Angelship?"

"I . . . I don't know, teacher."

"Aw shucks. Was that your second chance you just blew?" Nallit's face turned ugly. "I guess it's torturin' time."