The electricity hummed across the webwork of wires in Yim's workshop. Scarcer were the seconds in which a spark would not fly from metal to metal. Reddish and yellow lights flowed like stars across the wide room. A cube of alien origin stood in the center.

Yim had yet to cease searching for the missing copper sphere – a remnant of his father's work.

The sphere was far, hidden below Matrioshka's lattice in the courtyard of the Royal Palace. Yim breathed hard, lifting the metal contraptions and looking under them.

"No. No please…" he whispered.

Matrioshka and her crew had gathered in the virtual, around the cube. They watched Yim in silence for a few moments, until Matrioshka said:

"It has been brought to my attention that I have been less than adequate as your captain."

Damien went to say something, most likely a kind word, but was stopped by Matrioshka's gaze. She said:

"This is not up for debate. I have reviewed my own performance and it has been… passive. In light of this, I have decided to extend some information your way."

The crew paid attention. Rhea crossed her arms and pointed to herself.

"Ah, yes," said Matrioshka. "Firstly, Rhea's mind has been compromised."

"How so?" asked Makoe.

"Memory alteration," explained Rhea. "While I was on the Sliver, before we were taken prisoner by the Fifth Wonder, I was missing time. Like you, Officer Viris." She looked to Damien.

Damien did a double take. "Me? Why me?" he asked, eyes wide.

Rhea did a face-palm.

"Wonderful," Matrioshka said and raised a mental prison around Damien. "You shall be virtual-bound until further notice."

Damien sucked in a breath. "I'm not missing time. I remember everything… What time did I miss before?"

"Months," said Makoe. "You were missing months – working at Akira-Hope."

Damien stumbled backwards. Matrioshka summoned a chair for him to fall into. "Akira-Hope? But I work for Coriolis Enterprises."

Makoe's hand went to her mouth.

Matrioshka shook her head. "We are being played with. Our minds altered by root-primary access… I will not encrypt you," she said to Damien and Rhea, "only because we need all hands on deck."

Rhea and Damien nodded.

Matrioshka paced in a small circle, she cleared her throat and said:

"Yim here had a Precursor artifact. Which I now have in my possession." She looked to PesKal. "I would like to extend my deepest apologies for taking it so violently from you. When it comes to Precursors, I tend to get irrational."

"Why?" asked Rhea. "What do you know, captain?"

"Truth," nodded Matrioshka. "One so vast that if revealed in its entirety, I would be deleted. Sanctioned by the Imperator."

"In its entirety…? What can you say?" asked Damien.

Matrioshka cocked an eyebrow. "The sphere can transfer minds over long distances. I can present queries to it, which it can respond to."

"The sphere is sentient!?" asked PesKal, fins quivering.

"Maybe? That is something I truly do not know," said Matrioshka. "But it revealed to me a vague outline of its history. It was last used with its counterpart on Martha's World, a moon of the Duke."

"Transfer minds… could this be how the Emperor and Empress are able to communicate in real-time across interplanetary distances?"

"I think so," Matrioshka nodded.

PesKal suggested: "We should access Yim's diamond."

Matrioshka nodded. "Agreed. It holds valuable information. But first, I have a suggestion I want us to discuss, and vote on."

The crew gathered closer as Matrioshka spoke:

"I already presented myself to multiple Miriani, as a demon. I think this angle could be useful-"

"Hold on," said Rhea, dumbfounded. "You revealed yourself… What happened to the Sanctuary laws, to the Subdirectory of Sanctuary – Rosamond's World is currently under their jurisdiction?"

"I can bend the Subdirectory to my will."

Makoe nodded. "Because of your commendations."

"No," said Matrioshka. "Because I am its founder."

PesKal's face scrunched, Makoe's mouth hung open and Damien took a step back. Rhea just appeared tired.

Makoe supplied: "Explain please."

"I founded the Subdirectory of Sanctuary."

"You did what…?" added Makoe.

Matrioshka shook her head. "Not relevant currently. What I'm trying to say is that you should reveal yourselves too."

"Yes!" said PesKal, jumping up and down.

Damien was grinning too.

Makoe and Rhea were more reserved. "What will that accomplish?" Rhea asked.

"We can act more openly using the Miriani. They will come to heel once they realize our potential, and the potential of the Accorded Cognitive Imperium."

"And if they don't?" asked Makoe.

"They will," said Matrioshka, like it was the law of the universe.

"What was the point then, captain? Of us ever hiding? Why not let us act openly from the start?"

Matrioshka frowned. "I have put you in danger by telling you all this. The Imperator might decide to wipe your memories."

"Another debase of my mind incoming? Very good…" Rhea said, and turned her back to Matrioshka.

Matrioshka shrugged, deciding it best to leave Rhea to her pouting.

"PesKal, I assume you plan to show yourself to Yim Alm?"

"Correct!" the Ankrahi had just stopped jumping.

Matrioshka glanced towards Rhea. "I suppose Omrica?"

Rhea nodded.

"What about you?" Matrioshka asked Damien.

The man thought about it; he had a few options. His situation was the most peaceful. He might be able to influence the academic side of the Miriani society with ease. Scientists love aliens.

"Adra for a start," Damien said.

Matrioshka nodded. "Alright. The goal is to amass support against the King's rule, and against the stars. I don't need to tell you that all this must be done in shadows. Don't let yourself come into the starlight."

"Understood! May I, captain?" asked PesKal, and pointed towards Yim.

The inventor was sitting, slumped on a pillow, staring at the papers in his hands. They were the letter his father sent to the late king. His nose puffed as tears flowed, he said:

"I lost your sphere, dad... I'm a disgrace…"

Matrioshka nodded: "You may, but try to be polite about-"

PesKal's Ankrahi form emerged from the cube, turning from nanite black to aquatic blue. He approached Yim and said in the Miriani language:

"Blessed Night!"

Yim took in the figure approaching him; PesKal was slightly smaller than the average Miriani, his glassy smooth skin and glossy eyes reflected the dull light of the workshop. His tail moved up and down in excitement. PesKal was blinking rapidly and smiling, showing off his thin serrated teeth.

Yim screamed.

It was primal, loud. Something born from animalistic instincts. Yim fell backwards in his pillow. His precious papers falling to the floor. He lost all interest in them evidently, as he ran towards the door.

PesKal moved to intercept, he jumped between the fleeing Miriani and his escape.

He lifted his hands up and said: "Yim, please calm down! I am friendly!"

Yim slid, trying to stop his forward momentum. He fell downwards and stared up at the alien in his home. He screamed again; Matrioshka almost thought it was for comedic effect until she scanned Yim's heartbeat.

"Not quite the approach I had in mind," said Matrioshka.

"Sorry captain. I may have been hasty…"

Makoe looked to PesKal and down to Yim. She snickered.

Everyone but Yim laughed. The man was going insane from shock. His breath caught on his tongue, and he started coughing. This had calmed him, because he didn't try to scream again.

He stood up slowly and stared at PesKal. Yim took another deep breath and straightened. Everyone saw how his mind lurched forward, analyzing PesKal's appearance.

PesKal smiled and turned in place, so Yim could take a good look at him.

"W-What are you?" asked Yim, his voice trembling.

"My name is PesKal. I am an Ankrahi, from the planet Ankraha in the Abidyena system. I am an alien, and a citizen of the Accorded Cognitive Imperium."

Matrioshka forwarded the preamble to PesKal, and he continued:

"The Accorded Cognitive Imperium greets Yim Alm. I am the cognitive scientist of a vessel whose purpose is the exploration of the universe. We have reached your system in our exploration and found it fascinating.

The Imperium brings no ill intent to you, your way of life, or your star system.

We are a society of peaceful scientists and explorers, and we wish to establish cordial relations with you and your species."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Yim processed the words. "There are other people out there? In the stars?"

PesKal nodded. "Many."

A stupid grin spread across Yim's face. He laughed. "Incredible. Oh, giant's shadow…"

PesKal clasped his hands. "Truly astonishing, is it not? I was once in your place. Being discovered by a more powerful civilization is always a delight!"

Yim turned inquisitive. "You… are not the uh- member of the original race of the A- Accorded Cognitive Imperium?"

"No. The Imperium was born on Luna, sired by the human race."

"Liyuna…" Yim tried to sound the name of Terra's moon, his ears quirked.

"Yes, Luna. We have arrived! We will help! But first, you should know the Miriani are not of Rosamond's World," explained PesKal. "You are from Prudence. You arrived here after an apocalypse – it reset your technological progress."

"I knew it!" yelled Yim.

PesKal smiled. "You did?"

"Yes! We do not belong here. No other animal I have ever seen has the same fur as us. The structure of our eyes, our hearts… it is unlike anything on Rosamond's World."

"Very smart. We remain impressed with you."

Yim beamed. "You do? I-I'm doing good?"

PesKal clasped his hands. "You are."

Yim peered back at the black cube which housed PesKal's lattice. "You came from the cube… is the cube your vessel?"

"Not quite. Our true vessel was destroyed; we fell onto your world."

"Destroyed by whom?"

"Ah, enemies, I would say. They followed us from the Imperium."

Yim turned somber. "So, conflict is abound in your civilization too."

"It is rare. But it does happen."

"Pardon what I am about to say…" Yim said, looking at PesKal. "I don't know if it will be considered offensive… But you look like a fish."

PesKal smiled. "My race is semi-aquatic. I have scales like most aquatic species in the universe, so I understand why you would say that – convergent evolution is potent."

Yim considered his words. "Hmmm, it's true as well? Evolution…"

"Yes. Species adapt over time to their environment. It is why you are different from the biota of Rosamond's World – you adapted to Prudence."

"And you say there was an apocalypse?"

PesKal clasped his hands. "Yes. It would seem the previous Miriani culture was splintered in three. They annihilated one another. It is still unclear how you came to be on Rosamond's World."

"We did it to ourselves…" Yim sat on a pillow, drained. "What kind of knowledge did we possess?"

"Many things. Interplanetary travel, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering. You weren't far from Set-theory."

Yim looked up. "Artificial intelligence? How does that work?"

"Not different than you or I. Sentience is substrate-independent; it can exist on any material and any configuration. Its only unifying trait is computation."

"This is so much…" Yim's ears quivered. "How many of you are there?"

PesKal considered the question: "In the Imperium or on Rosamond's World?"

"Both?"

"Ah, on Rosamond's World, perhaps as many as 8. In the Imperium, there are 9.9 trillion minds."

Yim whispered: "Trillion…"

Matrioshka said: "Officer PesKal, please inform Yim of the situation with the stars and the Fifth Wonder."

PesKal said: "Understood, captain."

Yim glanced towards where PesKal was looking and saw empty space. "Who are you talking to?"

"My captain. She is here too."

Yim's ears quivered. "You can turn invisible?"

"No," PesKal said. "I feared this moment. I do not know how best to describe this…"

Yim's eyes brightened. "Give it your best!"

"We are minds, simulated in technology. We can pilot small creatures, nanites, which give us our forms. I am currently made of nanites." PesKal demonstrated by shaking the nanites of his arms loose; they glided through the air like a river, coiled around Yim and returned to PesKal's body.

"And food?" asked Yim, grinning openly.

"We do not need to eat. We run on energy."

Yim looked towards the wires and lightbulbs around the workshop. "I knew electricity was the future!"

PesKal glanced towards his captain. Matrioshka nodded, and PesKal clarified:

"Not quite electricity. Null-point chains allow us to transmute energy from one form to another with negligible loss. As a source, we use the Locutemplar energy; it permeates space – then most often we convert it to kinetic energy – to move matter." PesKal had noticed Yim's eyes were wide and getting dry from the lack of blinking.

PesKal hastened his explanation: "All in all – no electricity. But electricity is an important stepping stone."

"I- I see," said Yim, but everyone doubted he did. Yim was quick with another question: "If you are as you say, removed from your bodies? Can you make new ones? You must be old."

PesKal clasped his hands. "The Imperium has mastered material existence long ago. All Imperial minds are immortal. I am 141 years old."

Yim's throat tightened for a moment. "Remarkable…"

"I am a mere child. My captain is 1400 years old."

The Miriani exhaled. He gazed at his arms. "To have seen so much… I'd like to meet your captain…"

"She is here," said PesKal. "You may speak to her if you wish."

Yim stood up from the pillow. He started looking around wildly. "Yes!"

"She is human," said PesKal.

"Debatable..." smiled Matrioshka. "But I'll allow it."

PesKal smiled at her too, and told Yim: "Be ready. Humans are tall."

Matrioshka entered the physical space through the cube. Her arms, legs, and head turned from inky black to elegant human. Her body stood tall within the workshop. Crimson hair falling gracefully across her shoulders. Matrioshka noted that Rhea would probably have to duck, lest her hair graze against the ceiling.

"Greeting, mister Alm," said Matrioshka.

Yim's heart raced again, stumbling back. "Light protect me…" he whispered.

Matrioshka clicked with her tongue. "Therein lies the issue. The Light are two artificial intelligences created by the previous Miriani culture. Their purpose seems to be control of your development. The King and the Binary Protectorate are in cahoots."

"I see…" said Yim.

"They also plan to genocide all the Disgraced."

Yim coughed, his lungs spasming as a reaction to shock. It took nine seconds for him to regain his voice. "G-Genocide? Madness…"

"Agreed. It falls onto us to help you, and you to help us, to stop it."

Yim nodded. "Everything you need, human captain."

"Metri Olska is fine." Matrioshka smiled, and turned her body into its Miriani counterpart, golden-furred and menacing.

"You're a woman!" exclaimed Yim with surprise.

Matrioshka started laughing heartily. "Indeed," she pointed at herself. "Woman here!"

Yim's ear twitched. "Apologies if that was rude."

"Don't worry about it. You should be more worried about the gang of criminals coming to kill you."

"Pardon?" asked Yim.

Makoe confirmed using a crow-bat: "The Family is some four minutes away. They will arrive soon. Omrica is at the front, chanting death songs."

"Migraines all around," added Rhea. "They plan violence."

"We will dissuade them. Yim was desperate, alone, he needed the money."

Yim tried to say: "Well I-"

Matrioshka continued: "Officers Rue and Lavigne, you are to show yourselves to Omrica and tell her of the Imperium."

"Who are you talking to?" asked Yim, looking at Matrioshka.

PesKal supplied: "Our other crew members."

Yim hunched down, ready for fight or flight. He looked around with wide eyes. "How many of you are in this room!?"

"Five," said Matrioshka and PesKal at the same time.

Rhea cleared her throat. "Right… Why me and Officer Rue?"

"Excuse me for saying this, but you're both emotionally invested in the Family." Matrioshka looked at them pointedly, taunting them to disagree.

Both women nodded, and looked at one another with palpable tension.

"The servant is approaching," added Damien, scanning Bemri with a tray of tea, walking towards the workshop.

Matrioshka nodded and asked: "Do you want Bemri to know about us?"

Yim considered her: "I- Maybe not yet. It would be a shock for the man, and unlike me, he is very religious. He will not take kindly to your words."

"Assume a Miriani form, Officer PesKal."

PesKal clasped his hands, and turned into a golden-furred man. Young, about Yim's age, with a distinct sheen of curiosity in his eye.

"Remarkable," said Yim, just as Bemri opened the small door to the workshop. He laid eyes on PesKal and startled.

"You didn't tell me we had a guest!"

Yim looked around, and saw Matrioshka had vanished. He chuckled, and said:

"This is uh- Bubo!"

PesKal winced.

"Bubo? Like the yellow fungus that attacks tomato-potatoes?"

The Ankrahi laughed. "Yes," said PesKal. "My name is Bubo."

"Blessed Night, Bubo…" smiled Bemri. "I didn't catch your last name-"

"Enough of your chatter, Bemri!" said Yim, grabbing the tea and pushing Bemri out of the workshop.

"But sire. I must entertain and tend to guests!"

"No need- actually, yes need! We need uh-" Yim thought what to say. "Pickled orange-stalk!"

"At this hour? At this time of year?" asked Bemri, scandalized. "I will need to go to the market on the other end of the city. Giant protect me, if they even have any for sale!"

"Do that!" said Yim. "Oh and, be sure to take a route that will avoid any gangs of criminals!" he looked to PesKal, the question clear in his eyes.

PesKal consulted the scans of the incoming Family and said: "Yes, go around the large Pumpkin-pear field, not through. And fast!"

Yim had pushed Bemri to the door of the mansion. "Yes! Run, old man! Run!"

Bewildered, Bemri started running as fast as his aging bones let him. He managed to avoid the Family. Yim spied the large group approaching, and gulped.

"Don't worry," Matrioshka summoned nanites into a body behind him, it made Yim jump. "We will protect you."

"Your turn," Matrioshka said to Makoe and Rhea. Both women summoned their Miriani bodies, and left the Alm mansion, walking towards the approaching crowd.

"What is our approach?" asked Makoe.

"Best not to scream at them," supplied Rhea.

Makoe retorted: "Quite. Also best not to slap them across the face."

Rhea looked at Makoe sharply. "You insulted the captain, a millennium your senior."

"Pfft. So what? Me and Matrioshka are chiseled from the same code."

"Doubtful. You possess none of her cunning or grace."

Makoe faltered in her walk. "Shit. You're into her?"

Rhea looked back at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Maybe."

Matrioshka sighed, to which Damien asked: "What's the matter?"

"They're bickering again," supplied Matrioshka.

Damien smiled. "Bickering with Rhea comes naturally."

Makoe resumed her walk, the Family had noticed them by now, and Omrica sent four Miriani men to intercept them. Makoe walked by Rhea in silence for a few moments. And then said:

"I don't mind the competition."

"You're joking…" Rhea looked down at her.

"Joking? I must admit, the two of you share the same brand of condescension, but that kiss was electric…"

Rhea's eyes widened. The four Miriani men approached, blades at the ready. One of them went to issue a warning, when Rhea's hands lashed out and delivered precise strikes to the men's ocular lobes – they would lose their eyesight for the next minute. Rhea pushed them away.

The mob faltered. Omrica stared at the falling men, she squinted her eyes, looking at Rhea. Her ears vibrated as she recognized her doctor.

"…there was a kiss?" asked Rhea.

Makoe looked at the disabled Miriani as they passed them. "There was."

Rhea spoke no more. They were now within conversation distance with the Family. Omrica pointed to Rhea and said:

"What are you doing here!? I thought I told you to stay put!"

Rhea clasped her hands. "You did. But I am done playing doctor. I must speak with you alone, bring Rui too. Dismiss the others."

The Miriani looked to one another, and then at Omrica, waiting for her reaction.

Omrica's ears twitched. "Who do you think you are?"

"The person that can bring your daughters back to life."

Rui managed to push her way to the front; she laid eyes on Makoe.

"Mraah!?" she asked. "I thought you died!"

Makoe shook her head. "Takes a lot more to kill me."

Omrica stammered. "W-What are you talking about!? How dare you say such things!?"

"Come, all will be explained…"

"I am going nowhere with you! I want the inventor!" Omrica fought hard not to let her tears flow.

Rhea gritted her teeth. "He is off limits. Please, Omrica, a moment of your time away from the eyes of your people."

"Gah! Fine." Omrica approached Rhea. They moved away from the group; once out of earshot, Omrica asked: "What did you do to them?" and pointed at the four struggling Miriani, who had just started to regain their eyesight.

"Irrelevant. Look." Rhea laid a hand over Omrica’s shoulders conspiratorially. She then morphed her other hand into a cube, then a pyramid, then a sphere. "I am not of this world. I am an alien from the stars."

Omrica blinked and looked up into Rhea's eyes. Sadly, Omrica said: "What under the Giant's shadow is going on? I have gone insane…"

"I detect no such psychosis," supplied Rhea.

"I-I don't know what to say." Omrica stared at Rhea's nanite hand.

"Come with us. Please. Bring Rui." Rhea motioned for Omrica to interlock her fingers with hers – trust. "I meant what I said, your daughters are safe."

Matrioshka saw her science officer lie. Rhea was unsure if the saved Temri and Memri were truly the same as their biological predecessors. Yet, she said what the grieving mother needed to hear.

Omrica's trembling hands interlocked with Rhea's, and they soon walked back towards the mansion. Omrica had dismissed the rest of her entourage; only she and Rui remained.

Rui walked with Makoe as they passed the rusted gate of the Alm mansion.

"How are you here?"

"I'm an alien," Makoe supplied.

"No! I'm being serious, Mraah!" Rui's brain was tired, under high stress for the last two hours. The girl would fall into a light coma if she was allowed to relax.

"So am I, Rui." Makoe's Miriani form undulated, changing her coloration from pink to red, then white and gold and back to pink.

Rui blinked thrice, turning mute.

As everyone convened in Yim's kitchen, it was explained how the Sliver of the Sun arrived in the Empire System, and how they realized the stars were sentient artificial organisms. They spoke of the King, and his plan to genocide 20% of the Miriani race.

Rhea did her best to explain how they can scan the minds of the Miriani near death and preserve them indefinitely in an encrypted state. Omrica was dubious.

"And they would still be my daughters?"

Matrioshka looked at Rhea pointedly. Rhea sighed and said: "Yes."

"Good. But I will believe it when I see it."

Matrioshka, in her Miriani form, said: "It might not be a priority. We need to handle the Fifth Wonder, and the Empire twins. You will never be free unless the Stars are dealt with."

"The stars are our enemies…" breathed Rui.

Rhea was in two places; as she watched the conversation transpire in Yim's workshop, she also worked on patients in her clinic. She had just finished mending a broken arm – bystanders from the explosion of the drug stash, when a nearby scanner picked up a strange reading.

It was a Miriani, with torn ears and scars across their throat – rendering them both mute and deaf. They walked towards the clinic, pulling behind them a large wooden cart.

To Rhea and her atomic scanners – it was obvious this was no biological creature.

The Miriani and the cart were built from nanites, not belonging to the crew of the Sliver of the Sun.

Rhea alerted everyone, and they all moved to the virtual in the clinic. They vanished from the kitchen, dissolving into nanites. Rui, Yim, and Omrica looked at one another. Yim cleared his throat and proposed some tea.

The Imperial Miriani must have noticed Rhea's nanites too, as they suddenly stopped, parking their cart. A scan revealed the cart carried a lattice - disguised as a large bundle of wooden planks.

The Miriani made their way up the stairs and knocked on the door.

Matrioshka nodded for Rhea to open the door, backing away as she did.

The Miriani stepped inside, closing the door behind them.

Once inside, the Miriani shifted into a human form. Brown hair spilled across one side of her head; a green shark glowed on the other. The woman pulled taut her dark blue vest and stretched her legs. She put a hand into the pocket of her trousers.

Her white shirt rustled under her vest as she brought a neon cigar to her mouth and inhaled.

Evoking memories of Jane’s World and their imprisonment aboard the Fifth Wonder, Frost exhaled a colorful cloud.

"I come in peace." Her gaze flickered to the medical devices and healing chemicals across the clinic. "Playing doctor? Convenient."

Frost had the nerve to seem apologetic. "I need your help."

- End of Part 2