'That was quite the argument,' Jane ventured, treading lightly. They had been walking for over ten minutes, spending the time in total silence, with Onoelle angrily stomping around and dark clouds gathered around her face. Jane had a million questions she wanted to ask her friend, but knew better than to prod Leonne when she was this volatile. She had experience with the mood storms of the woman beside her.

Onoelle stopped, to her surprise, and began to laugh until tears ran down her cheeks, her anger deflating. 'If you mean to say that I made a complete idiot of myself in that argument, then yes, you could say that. Stars above, that's the fourth time I've debated that point and it's the first time it spiralled out of control to that extent.'

Jane's eyes went wide and Onoelle realised she maybe had said a bit too much. 'Fourth time?' she asked incredulously.

Onoelle sighed and rubbed her eyes. 'Yes. It's a returning subject. I don't see quite eye to eye with miss black box. Normally I argue my point better. Normally she doesn't stab back at me on my level either. It usually is a purely ethical debate. Ratio versus emotion. The cold equations versus the feelings that make us human.'

'While I'm damned grateful that you're not fully indoctrinated into loving the Empire,' Jade teased, earning her an immediate elbow to the side. 'I am more curious about how you met that woman,' she coughed, rubbing her sore skin.

'I...' Onoelle began, hesitating. There was no way to explain this, not without divulging what Mentuc would label as classified information, but she didn't want to lie to her friend. Luckily, she didn't have to.

Jane raised her hand. 'You can't say it, fair enough. I'll just do some conjecturing then and you can correct me where able,' she suggested.

Onoelle gave her friend a nod.

'Right. So this mysterious woman isn't stupid, has access to Imperial technology and history any Historian would murder for and is more than likely somehow related to an at least pro-Imperial group, making her possibly a terrorist, or at least an extremist,' her friend began.

She entertained the notion of Nightmare being a terrorist for half a second before bursting out into a laugh. The word terrorist seemed to fall so awfully short of what the once Genesis really was. Rampant AIs were more seen as sentient disasters of apocalyptic scale than anything else. As a Genesis, Nightmare had killed millions. As an AI controlling an Imperial Cruiser? Better don't answer that question, she thought to herself. Then she caught Jane staring at her. 'You're partially correct. I wouldn't use those words to describe her, though. Neither would I say she's really pro-Imperial. She seemed more intent on antagonising me than defending the Empire.' Which is weird, Onoelle quietly realised. Nightmare usually didn't raise her voice in turn, not like that at least.

'She's not pro-Imperial?' Jane asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

Onoelle gave her a knowing smile. 'No,' was all she said. She's just very pro-Mentuc. She'd have to ask the AI that question. Would she choose her superior over the Empire? As a Genesis, that was unthinkable, but Nightmare had made it abundantly clear that she didn't quite fit that niche description any longer.

'That's… hard to believe. Then again, so is the concept of people casually considering targeting civilians. Lord in heaven, what a mess.'

An idea popped into Onoelle's mind. 'Jane, about the concept of morality. In depth studies have found that a concept of good and bad is inherent to all humans. We form our opinions on it as we grow up, influenced by our family, friends, what we see, hear, watch, the sum of our surroundings and events that we encounter. In short, it's a very subjective thing.' She eyed her friend, who was pondering over the statement, before she received a nod. 'Still, we created laws. We needed those to survive as a society. Anarchy brings everything low and even in humanity's most dire time, rules would automatically come into existence, be they written or not. It is inherent to our very beings to form rules, laws and agreements based on an average taken from our subjective views of good and bad.'

Jane's eyed her friend sharply, her eyes sparkling at the discussion. This was a blast from the old days. 'Which is why some governments hold different laws,' she agreed. 'From minor differences such as the legal age for all sorts of things; from drinking to driving and from voting to sex, to major differences such as the legality of the death penalty, the status of slavery and the legal status of alien species.' Her friend gave her a telling smile, knowing where her mind went to. 'To extremities such as whether or not civilians can be viewed as a target in war.'

Onoelle nodded, her expression serious. 'Yes, yet no. There is a limit to what humans can do without breaking, in a way. Indoctrination can count for some, but at the end of the day the people committing genocide need to succeed in either completely dehumanising the others, lose all of their own emotions, or other, similar extremities.' She flashed her friend a grin. 'In theory, of course. There's no psychological studies on the aftereffects of genocide on the human psyche.' She let out a sigh. 'Even with studies my field is rather a pain in the ass to nail down anyhow.'

'Yes, yes, woe is you and your difficult job, get on with it,' Jane taunted.

'Right. That's my first point. Good, bad, purely subjective. Now, the next item I want to address is how no human views themselves or any action they take as inherently evil. There's always a good reason. Always an excuse that completely justifies any taken action.'

'Why Leonne, this is starting to sound like Imperial propaganda,' her friend mockingly said. 'Are you sure—OOF' This time the elbow lodged itself just under the rib cage. 'Mind your damned strength, monster woman,' Jane laughed between coughs.

'Then you mind your words,' she shot back with a grin. How I've missed this, she thought. Simple banter. Not something her darling husband was good at. 'To resume what I was saying, no person will think of themselves as bad. As a matter of fact, most people will see themselves as good, even if they make claims to the contrary. Even if their own actions go counter to their own morals. If another does it, it's hypocrisy, but if they do it, then it was necessary and unavoidable. So to sum up my two points, morality is subjective and any taken action will be viewed as positive by the person who took them.'

'Not to rain on your parade, but I do remember you eating my cake once and you felt really guilty about it afterwards,' Jane countered.

Onoelle frowned. 'When was that?'

'We'd gone out to Pillar's the night before, for my birthday, and you were absolutely gone by the time we decided to call it quits. I had to drag you home and clean you up after you practised the noble art of projectile vomiting, which you were, as ever, a true master at.' Jane nimbly stepped aside, dodging the incoming blow. 'Then you repaid me in the early morning by eating my birthday cake.'

She felt her cheeks begin to burn as she recalled the memory. 'I thought it was just a normal cake,' she said in a tiny voice.

'It said happy birthday on it in massive letters!'

'I was too hungover to see it,' Onoelle mumbled, looking at her feet.

'Which is proof that your earlier statement is false. You didn't see the action taken as good, even if you were the one who took it.'

'I...' Onoelle began, before sighing. 'You know what I mean. That's an alteration of an existing situation by applying additional information to it after the fact. Had you never told me it was your birthday cake, I'd have been damn happy with eating it.'

'Ah, now I get you!' shouted Jane. 'You mean that any action taken will be seen as right, at the time it is being taken.'

'Exactly! I thought going out with Rory was a good idea—' she began.

'Only to later change your mind when he tried to break into our apartment,' Jane finished.

'Yes, that's what I mean,' she admitted. 'So, you with me till now?' After Jane replied in the positive, Onoelle brought up the essence of the argument. 'Now, hypothetically, eliminate the concept of good and bad in a person. Implant a computer in their brain, alter their hormonal balance, magically brainwash them—' this time Onoelle was the one to receive a cuff on the head. '—whatever you like, and remove their moral compass entirely, as well as their ability to acquire one. Sentient computer programs, so to speak. If they help others, or if they hurt others, would that be good or bad'

'That's… A difficult question. It would depend on the societal context, I'd say,' replied Jane after mulling it over for a bit. 'If society judges their actions as good or bad and—'

'And could you hold them accountable?' Onoelle asked, her eyes shining brightly with delight. 'They do not know the book of laws by heart and many rules that are obvious to us, due to our morality, are alien to them. Do not steal, do not harm, we don't need a law to obey those rules. To people without a moral compass, this doesn't exist.'

'Okay, that's just cruel,' Jane laughed. 'That's like asking if a child can be held accountable for pulling the plug on someone's life support, because the damned thing looked interesting.'

'Exactly!'

'That's an interesting concept to ponder about.' Jane's eyes flashed towards her friend. 'Is this by any chance related to you describing your husband as someone who is suffering from a disassociation with his emotions?'

Onoelle merely grinned. Jane had perfectly picked up what she had put down.

'Fine, I'll humour you', smiled Jane. She let her mind run along that train of thought.

Onoelle waited patiently. They had been walking in circles for a good while now, but that didn't bother her. Stars above, she had missed Jane. Mentuc was a delightful person to be around, but he wasn't a great conversationalist and until now, she had never realised just how badly she had needed someone to talk to. About her life, about him… Everyone needed a person to vent to, in the end.

'Personally I don't think they can be really held accountable,' Jane reasoned. 'If they are genuinely not in the possession of a moral compass, then it's not a matter of claiming ignorance, but one of being simply incapable of grasping the broader concepts at play. Kind of like blaming a blind man for walking into a tree. You just can't hold it against them.' Her friend focused her attention on her and Onoelle saw the intellect glittering menacingly behind her eyes. She had expected that. Jane only played the fool. 'Yet, given the fact that you asked me this question in the first place worries me. Hypothetical, my butt. I'm not yet putting the dots together, but given that those dots consists out of a person with more access to Imperial history and hardware than should be feasible, me being brainwashed, me being unbrainwashed with whatever the hell that entailed,' she summed up, unable to suppress a shiver, one that Onoelle shared. Then Jane ran her hand across her neck and fear flashed across her face. 'An Imperial shock device being lodged in my neck, my best friend's husband nearly ripping me limb from limb and me being a prisoner, you would think I'd be entitled to some fucking concern.' The last words came out as a furious hiss and her friend's glare made her wish the ground would swallow her.

'But,' she sighed, the anger from before dissipating, 'I've met up with my best friend again and we'll hang out for a good long while, I got her husband to build me a neat little house, I'm up to my ears in the type of adventure most Historians can only dream about!' she laughed, throwing her arms wide and twirling around. That was the Jane Onoelle knew and loved. Unable to be brought low by anything. 'And,' she added with a coy smile, 'I'm being paid all the while.' The smile faded and was replaced by worry. 'I am getting paid, right? I still got bills.'

Onoelle burst out in a fit of giggles and took her friend in a crushingly tight embrace.

'Just for the record, I think you're insane,' Verloff dryly commented. He was leaning against a bulkhead as he watched the NavInt Admiral wurm her way into the massive power armour. When no response was forthcoming, he didn't lose heart and simply continued. 'You don't have anywhere near the combat training of a frontline soldier, you'll be nothing but a hindrance to the Battalion and the less we think about your chances of being blown up on the way down, the better.'

'You're worried for me,' came Cindy's warbled voice through the suit's speakers. 'How touching.'

Verloff shrugged. 'More concerned about you getting the rest of Genesis killed, to be fair. Not to mention the paperwork I'll have to deal with if you manage to get yourself killed.' He plucked an imagine bit of dust from his shoulder pad. 'I'll admit, though, this is by far the most creative way to commit suicide I've ever watched.'

The suit's servos whirred into action as the final backplate slid shut. The stomped over to him, towering over the unarmed Admiral. 'Aren't officers supposed to wish soldiers well before they drop down into battle?' she asked, her face hidden from view by the large helmet.

'We're a week out from the actual battle and I've not yet given up on you changing your mind.'

'You are better off hoping the Kra'lagh will crawl back under the rock they came from.'

'I think that is indeed more feasible,' he dryly remarked, before sighing deeply. 'Come off it, Cindy. This is insane.'

She flashed him a smirk, even if he couldn't see it. 'Isn't that par for the course for you Special Forces? No, don't answer that. I know what I'm doing, Verloff. You trust the Genesis, don't you? Well, then trust them to see me through it alive.'

'Dammit, Cindy! You're a liability to them! I don't want you getting them killed! And if the Novicans shoot your bird out of the air before you hit the ground—'

'Your worry is noted. And dismissed. I pulled rank, Verloff. Be a good soldier, salute me and get on with it.'

The veteran Admiral let out another sigh. 'Yeah, I figured our conversation would go like this.' He gave her a look that worried her. The old coot was up to something. Again. 'You were planning on running some combat trials, see how well your skills hold up, right?' She didn't answer. It was a rhetoric question anyone. Every Imperial soldier was a rifleman first, another ancient tradition that had held true. Not even admirals could excuse themselves from the mandatory recycling courses for power armour and weapon systems. Cindy knew she'd never be great at combat, but that didn't mean she was bad at it either. It was impossible to end basic with anything less than a satisfactory score, or the trainers simply wouldn't let you go. Seeing Verloff grin at her like that, made her think back of the drill instructors that had taken care of her. It wasn't reassuring.

He motioned to someone behind her and something sprinted towards her, the ground shaking as it approached. She turned around, the power armour enhancing her movements, and she brought up her training weapon. She didn't even get halfway before an enormous gauntlet enclosed itself around her rifle. Her mind briefly registered the mountain in front of her as a soldier in power armour before the wearer pushed her back. She lost her balance and tumbled to the ground. Instincts screamed at her and she rolled through, getting up whilst simultaneously drawing her back up pistol. She forced herself to focus despite being disoriented, but found no foe. Then the heavy bastard landed on top of her and slammed her into the deck plating and her bio-signs flatlined.

She switched off her coms and let out a steady string of vitriolic curses as the training program listed her as dead. The Genesis soldier —who else could it be?— got off of her and walked back to his starting point, moving with surprising grace for a man cased in more metal than some tank drivers. Behind her, she could feel the smugness radiating of Verloff. 'So I took the liberty of pairing you up with the people you'll be running the OP with.' He gave her a broad, toothy grin and a taunting wave. 'Have fun.'

Cindy stopped herself from glaring at him, instead shifting her full focus on the very real threat in front of her. She already felt bruises well up on her skin, as being encased in power armour did little to blunt physical blows when you got slammed into the damned floor. She glanced at her rifle, then back at her training partner. She jumped forward, rolled across the floor and snapped it up in a clean, efficient movement. The Genesis hadn't moved. Was he waiting for her? Taunting her? Giving her a chance? She didn't know. Didn't care. She pulled the trigger, intending on hosing the big bastard down with an indiscriminate amount of fire.

Stolen story; please report.

He moved instantly, the moment her finger began flexing, he threw himself to the side and the barrage went wide. She moved her weapon, chasing him, but was caught off guard when he suddenly reversed direction. A few shots harmlessly bounced off the massive armour and then her legs were decimated. She understood that it was likely to be a simple sweep, but the sheer weight behind the move made it feel as if a tank had run over them. She crashed into the ground, her fall hastened by another shove on her head. Once again, her bio-signs flatlined. Once again, the Genesis retreated to his starting point. She growled and ordered him to move back further. If she wanted to have a chance at beating him, she'd need more distance, to get more shots off and maybe a grenade. The soldier obliged. She raised her weapon and—

She blinked, reeling back from a massive impact as her suit was telling her she had died again and that there was a sizeable hole in the armour plates just to the left of her heart. She lost her balance and fell over. 'What the hell happened?' she mumbled.

'I shot you, sir,' came the cold, dead voice of the Genesis in front of her. She looked at him, saw how he was holding what looked to be a ridiculously oversized pistol, one that clearly didn't use training munitions.

'With real ammunition, soldier?' she asked, barely curbing her anger.

'Yes, sir,' came the answer. The soldier seemed to tilt his head slightly, indicating that he didn't understand the point. Her mind flashed back to the training session she had witnessed. Of course the bastards train with live ammo, she realised. She climbed back to her feet, fingering the large hole in her suit. He hadn't wounded her. He had reacted faster than she had been able to follow and put a single round in her suit and knocked her clean on her ass. She looked at the pistol again and re-evaluated the weapon. It had one hell of a punch. Probably meant he was limited on ammo, though she'd likely run out of suit before the supersoldier would run out of shots. She sighed and climbed back to her feet, unwilling to back down. This had been her decision and she'd own up to it.

Ten seconds later she was down again and staring numbly at the ceiling, her on board system helpfully informing her that the armour plate on her lower left leg was damaged.

This was going to be a long day.

Onoelle was enjoying herself and, to her surprise, so was Jane. Her friend had raised some very valid points. The thing she had experienced in the last few days would have been enough to break most people, but somehow the Historian had taken it all in stride. Whether it was because Jane was simply naturally inclined to be impossibly cheerful or because it was due to chance at uncovering hidden parts of Imperial history, she couldn't say, but it was good to have her friend back and the two of them spend the rest of the walk happily chatting about past memories and how their lives had gone since they had left university. For Onoelle, this was quite straightforward. She had returned home and been placed under a sort of house arrest, limited to the area, helping out her parents and others in the village with administrative work when there was some and by and large trekking around the surrounding area while being mopey about it all. Her parents hadn't quite cared about her argument that she was wasting her degrees in the village. To them it had been preferable over the risk of losing their daughter.

'So you were sit there, like a captive little princess until Mentuc arrived and came in like the gallant prince on his white horse to save you?' Jane giggled.

'Pretty much,' smiled Onoelle, recalling the memories of her chasing after her prospective husband with fondness. 'What about you? I half expected you to rush off planet and more towards civilised sectors, close to the old Imperial borders. I can't imagine that your job was in high demand on Litash.'

Jane let out a deep sigh that spoke of her frustration. 'No, there wasn't. I work as a freelance journalist and part time administrative clerk. I get to work from home and choose my own hours, so that's nice, but it's so damnably boring! I tried applying to expeditions and universities, try and get myself out there. Published another thesis and a bunch of articles in the hopes of catching the eye of a more established Historian, but nothing worked.' She pulled a face. 'We thank you for the interest shown, but at present we have no openings available. If this were to change, rest assured we will contact you as soon as possible,' she mockingly repeated. 'Dozens upon dozens of time. You know Lisha? The one who narrowly got through the course without earning the rank of Historian? She managed to get herself off planet! Rumour has it she slept with at least a dozen guys for it.' Jane snorted. 'Personally I'm thinking at least two dozen. And I'm pretty sure that's how she got through uni in the first place.'

'Lisha...' Onoelle mumbled. 'Wasn't she the one who got chased out of Eisel's class for showing up with a see through shirt?'

Jane burst out laughing. 'That's the bitch. God, I miss that professor. I tried contacting him to write me a letter of referral, but he transferred out to a different uni and didn't tell anyone where he went.' She sighed. 'Wish I had his skill set. Reckon he's not stuck with shitty jobs like I am. So yeah, there you have it. Parents told me to move out shortly after graduating and I managed to land myself a cheap flat. Stopped going out to save money, went on a few stupid date and started a few investment portfolios that don't make nearly as much as I'd like. So after a few years of that I decided that everything could go to hell and tried to get into contact with you. Only to hear that you'd gotten yourself married and hadn't even told me.' Her friend gave her a grin. 'First I thought you had just been completely harebrained about it, then I started worrying you'd gotten yourself into trouble again.' She looked up at the sky, a rueful smile on her lips. 'I guess in a way, you did. Then again, I was constantly wishing for an exciting adventure in my field. Reckon there's something in there about being careful what you wish for.'

Onoelle gave her friend a gentle tap to the shoulder. 'It genuinely was me being harebrained, Jane. I genuinely, stupidly forgot. I would have invited you.'

'You might have. Still, I'm beginning to understand how you might have been a bit distracted at the time.' One of her eyebrows shot up. 'In more ways than one. You looked terribly flush when you came out of the shower,' she teased.

'I won't deny it,' Onoelle replied, holding her ground despite the fierce burning of her cheeks. 'Mentuc doesn't exactly hold back in anything he does. He either goes at things full tilt, or doesn't do them at all. No in between.'

'Surprises me that you don't have a mini you running around then,' Jane dryly remarked.

Onoelle was spared of having to reply to that by frighteningly loud mooing coming from behind them. The two turned around, quick as lightning, and saw Nicolle approaching them at high speed, with Cassy on top of the beast. Jane, unused as she was to farm animals, screamed at the sight of the cow sprinting towards them at a speed that belied its size. Onoelle, perfectly accommodated to such things and to the antics of her sister alike, remained in place. She arched an eyebrow at Cassy in a disapproving manner, which did little to keep the girl from grinning as she pulled the cow to a stop in front of them. 'Hi!' she greeted the two.

'Cassy, if Nicolle ends up giving sour cream because of you, I'll personally kick you from here all the way to home,' she told her off.

Her younger sister just rolled her eyes, grinned and patted Nicolle on the head, scratching the fur between her horns. 'Please, like it's the first time I've done this. She's fine,' she smiled and Onoelle had to admit that the cow did indeed look remarkably unperturbed. Which shouldn't have come as a surprise, given that Mentuc had wrestled the formerly wild animal into submission before dragging it home. And then had thwarted her multiple escape attempts.

What was surprising was the addition of a saddle. Clearly custom made. 'Cassy? Where did you get that saddle from?'

That got a clear reaction from the teen, as she started looking everywhere but her. Very suspicious. 'I bought it.'

Onoelle let out the type of disapproving sigh unique to older sisters who were too wise to fall for their younger sibling's stories. 'It's hand made out of leather, crafted to Nicolle's sizes, it can strap around her with ease and the stirrups are at the perfect height for you. That's a custom job and you can't afford it.' She gave the saddle another look over and spotted something she had overlooked at first glance. Her face contorted in an angry frown as she ran her hand over the intricate details that had been cut into the thick leather. 'Mentuc made this,' she growled, her eyes filled with thunder as she glared at her sister, who withered under the furious gaze.

'Yes,' the girl squeaked, realising she was in trouble.

When no more answer was forthcoming, Onoelle pulled her sister off Nicolle, who bore the sudden shock with grace. 'Explain,' she demanded, squeezing the girl's neck.

'It was a trade!' she shouted, flinching under the assault. 'That's all I can say! I promised!'

With a disgusted growl she pushed the girl away. She knew better than to try and get an answer out of Cassy after hearing that. The girl took her promises seriously. 'Fine, I'll ask him directly then.'

'No!' Cassy shouted with surprising volume. 'You can't! You're not allowed! He'd—' The girl shut up as she saw the look on Onoelle's face and realised she was digging her own grave.

'Oh really,' she asked, her voice having turned to ice. 'And why's that then?'

Jane, to whom the lure of witnessing the delightful sibling drama from up close outweighed that of the posed threat by the cow, approached the bickering pair. She let out a soft chuckle. 'Mentuc keeping a secret from you? How naughty,' she teased, only to recoil when she saw the storm raging on Onoelle's face and promptly decided that keeping quiet might be the better option. The Historian didn't understand why she was this livid about it. Her previous boyfriends had done worse stuff to her and she hadn't batted an eye at that.

She forced herself to calm down. Cassy was clearly hardlining this, for whatever reason and Mentuc had, somehow, made that saddle without telling her. That wasn't normal for him. That wasn't something he'd ever done before. Combine that with Nightmare's change in behaviour, it was a damned good cause for concern. In the three odd years they'd known one another, Mentuc had never omitted anything from her. Well, no, he had, but that had been related to security clearances and not wanting to tip people off that he was Imperial. Since he had opened up about that, there was nothing he had kept from her. This wasn't just a minor thing, this was a major shift in his character. Voids be damned, she thought. Of all the human habits he could pick up...

'Don't be angry, Leonne!' Cassy plead.

Onoelle instantly rounded on her sister. 'And why not? Why wouldn't I be angry about you and my own damned husband keeping secrets from me?' she bellowed.

'Okay, Leonne?' Jane said, stepping firmly in front of her. 'Cut the crap. So they hid a little thing from you, so what?'

'You don't—' she began, but Jane gave her a firm shove.

'No, you don't understand. Heaven above, girl. You're terrifying your younger sister and I really can't imagine that husband of yours doing anything to harm you.' Given how he almost took my head off for the mere implication that I would do you harm, Jane conveyed with a single look. 'Good Lord girl, you're about as nutty as I was a couple of days ago.' Jane had crossed her arms and stood in between the two siblings like a wall, one that had no intention of moving until the older sister had regained her senses, at least. The indignant huff was a little over the top, but it helped convey the message.

That hit home and Onoelle felt herself deflating. Voids, she didn't even know why that had enraged her as much as it did. Sure, she couldn't explain Mentuc's strange behaviour, but that was hardly the first time he did things for reasons she couldn't fathom. She had still married him despite everything that he was. Or perhaps because. The one thing she could be sure of was that he loved her. She knew him well enough for that. That meant she could be reasonably certain that he wasn't planning on pulling anything bad on her. Especially if it was related to Cassy. A prank then? Unlikely, Mentuc didn't do pranks, aside his continuous habit of showing up from where you least expected him. She looked back at her sister, who, she now realised, was trembling and looking miserable, but at the same time the girl clearly wasn't planning on backing down. She shook her head. 'So you don't want to tell me, you don't want me to ask him, you just want me to keep quiet about it all while I know you two are up to no good—' A telling look flashed across her sister's face and Onoelle grinned. She had been about to start protesting. Her sister would have made a miserable poker player. 'Aha, so it's something beneficial then?'

Cassy, realising she'd been had by a sister who was no longer angry, started scowling at her sibling. Then she blew her a raspberry for good measure, earning her a laugh from Jane.

'Right then. Entrapped and ambushed by my own family. What a tough life I lead,' she began, earning her an immediate thump to the head from her friend. She threw Jane a smile. 'Thanks for that.'

'Any time, brainfart,' she said. 'And here I thought psychiatrists were supposed to be able to keep a cool head at all times.'

Onoelle gave Cassy a gentle shove and the girl scampered up her grazing steed in a heartbeat. 'You try that around this little ball of energy. Or the bigger one at home. Besides, I'm off work.' She turned towards Cassy. 'Bring Nicolle back to her stable. We'll be heading home for dinner after this.' She wasn't worried about Cassy's reaction to the changed interior of the house. The girl had gone through worse than that with Mentuc.

Cassy let out a loud sight. 'But I like riding her!' she protested. 'Can't I ride her back?'

'No,' Onoelle held firm.

'Mentuc would let me,' the girl grumbled, earning her a teasing slap against the cheek. Cassy, durable as ever, took it in good graces and opened her mouth to argue more, but one look at her sister's face immediately persuaded her otherwise and she set Nicolle into a quick gallop.

'You know,' Jane began, causing Onoelle to loudly groan. Her friend grinned, taking delight in her dismay. 'It's clear as day that you're sisters. She is the spitting image of you when you had a few drinks in you.'

'Don't make me hit you as well,' she warned.

Jane snickered. 'Anyway, what's the plan for the rest of tonight and tomorrow?' she asked.

Onoelle let out a loud yawn. 'For me? I'm going to bed. Mentuc and I will be sleeping outside. Tomorrow he'll take Cassy and continue building your house. Concrete should be all settled now and knowing Sam, he'll be done with the logs as well, so I expect he'll deliver them at some point tomorrow as well. In the meantime we'll be free to chat with our jolly mystery woman.' If she leaves me alone during the night, that is. Somehow she doubted it. Mentuc had cut their original argument short, but knowing Nightmare, that wouldn't deter the AI overmuch.

'That's fine with me. I could use an evening of quiet to finish up my notes. Will I have to worry about the black box talking while Cassy is around?'

'Nah, it won't be giving a single peep, I can guarantee that. Knowing my sister, she'll be out like a light shortly after dinner as well, so you can go be a nerd all you want again.' She gave her friend a wink.

'Yeah, yeah,' Jane replied, pretending to be hurt. 'You have fun laying awake thinking about what it is your sister and husband are hiding from you,' she shot back.

Apparently the face she pulled must have been quite the sight, because Jane burst out in an uncontrollable fit of giggles.