Eleanor:

The following week went by with a lot of planning. The foreign leaders all demanded to be maxed out in stats, but at least in return, they provided as much information and resources as they could. Eleanor attended many meetings. In her mind, the memories of most of the meetings started blurring into one another. But there were a few that stood out starkly.

Eleanor: Meeting with Frannie, Reggie and Hestia.

"Lena, hug me, please! I'm going to need it."

Lena hugged her with all her strength. Fortunately, Eleanor was not crushed.

"And, Eleanor, turn down your Emotional Control a bit, OK? If you’re going to ask them, then at least show that you are prepared to suffer also."

Eleanor grimaced but did as she was told.

Then, Eleanor took a deep breath, turned, and walked to the meeting room.

This meeting is going to be horrible.

The room had already been carefully set out. Seven chairs were set out in a semi-circle containing Frannie and Reggie, Hestia, and the Misfits. At the centre of the semi-circle was an eighth chair for Eleanor.

"I can only be brutally honest here since you deserve nothing else. You seven have volunteered to be in the front row of the fight. And you have all acknowledged that you will probably die during it. Meanwhile, most of the others and I will be, ah, not exactly safe, but safer."

Seven very sombre people nodded their heads in agreement.

"Perhaps if you could each briefly say something?"

There were some side glances before Frannie indicated that she would start.

"I've talked this over with Reggie. Now that we have met again, we have realised that we can't go back to what we were before we were enslaved. However, there is too much damage to allow anything in the future between us, so we might as well end it soon and go out doing something worthwhile."

A silence as everyone processed this. Then Hestia spoke.

"The Emperor raped and killed my sister. The only adult person apart from my mother that I have ever loved. It was only the constant compulsion of my collar that kept me from killing myself. And, now that the collar is gone, I see no reason to keep living. And, if I get to fight, maybe there is the slimmest chance of killing the Emperor before he or his fighters kill me. So I'm happy with this."

Now, the Misfits were the centre of attention. Bronsen, their designated leader, spoke.

"It's a real pain, but it appears that we are due to die, anyway. Because of the hero bullshit."

"So, fine, we're in!"

"We can only hope that, in doing so, we destroy this truly wretched slavery system."

Eleanor lifted a hand to her head and massaged her temple.

And I'm leading them into all of this.

If I win, there will be more deaths on my conscience.

Of course, I will probably lose. In which I'll be dead also.

What joy!

She stood up and bowed to them all.

"Thank you for your help. I, err, can't say anything more, can I?"

There were murmurs of consent from her audience.

"Oh, and also, if you three,"

Eleanor pointed to Frannie, Reggie and Hestia.

"Could you just call me by my name when we are private like this? All the others in my court do so already."

"Certainly, Eleanor," said Frannie and Reggie.

Hestia nodded her head in agreement.

"Now, I need to discuss some strategy - based on the fact that Frannie looks a lot like me."

"The idea is that Frannie impersonates me, which means that she will attract the full fury of the slavers. And, of course, probably die sooner rather than later."

"So, Frannie, are you happy with that?"

The answer came without any hesitation whatsoever. "Sure. Since I will die anyway, it makes no difference to me."

"Thanks for that."

What did I do to deserve such loyalty?

Or maybe it's loyalty to the Misfits?

Or, I suppose, she just wants to die.

"To make you a convincing Eleanor, we will have to have some extra training sessions just for you. Lena, Aragon, and Jane, who were all at the slaver attack at the beachside and knew what I looked like, will be guiding you on how to act. With input from me, of course. I suppose Reggie can attend too; maybe he can give you extra help impersonating me at the fight."

Both Frannie and Reggie signified their acceptance of this.

Eleanor: Meeting with all of the fighters

Another meeting soon after:

It was in the same room, with the same people, plus four more - Jane, Aragon, Aragon's brother Jacob, and Jacob's partner Adrian.

And this time, Eleanor stayed standing.

"I have been having some very exclusive meetings with the leaders from a dozen or so countries. I never knew that I would be moving in such exalted circles. But, anyway, some of them have shared some extremely interesting information about the slavery system, which they have been hiding away until now. Unfortunately, we have all agreed to keep it a deep, dark secret for the time being since it might make a colossal difference. Sorry about that."

Eleanor hesitated, giving anyone a chance to object. But, apart from a few frowns, nobody did.

"One of the things that was decided was the number of fighters to take with me. Considering the venue and our plans, the consensus was that using a small number was probably the best. If there were a large number, the space would be cramped, and because the Emperor will order his slaves to fight with complete disregard for their lives, even with matching numbers on both sides, his side will probably have a small advantage."

"Anyway, we have produced a basic plan outline that hopefully caters to our strengths and may give us an edge. As you all know by now, our front line will be these seven, and they are not expected to survive."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Eleanor caught her breath and then continued.

"The second line is Jane, Aragon, Jacob and Adrian. It's hard to say, but I'm ordering you four not to risk your lives to save the seven in the front line. You four have a life in front of you, assuming we win. The seven either won't survive anyway or don't want to survive. So, they fight like hell to protect you and to kill as many slaves as possible. Furthermore, if you four are overpowered and are in imminent danger of being collared, don't fight to the death; allow yourself to be collared. It's better than dying, and we might just be able to win. Or maybe one of the Misfits will be able to free you."

"Is that OK?"

Her audience nodded their heads, but nobody bothered to say anything.

"There is a complication. While the Misfits are not expected to survive in any circumstances, it could be useful if they survive long enough to touch the Emperor somehow, thus removing his collar. So, if you could not fight quite to death, maybe let yourself be captured if there is no purpose in fighting to death; ah, sorry about all this."

Bronsen nodded his head.

"And, of course, I, plus my entourage stuck to me, will be way in the back. With some protection. The plans for this protection are being finalised, so I'll update you shortly."

"But one detail I can discuss now: Esther will be there with me. And she will be using her Switch Of Language skill. Naturally, she'll be using it on every slave that comes within range. She will also, beforehand, use it on you lot, except for the Misfits."

"What?"/"Sorry?" said Jacob and Adrian.

"Because, think, what if you are collared?"

"Oh," said Jacob.

"Yeah, a Blue or Green could order you to get up and fight on their side. But if you don't have any language comprehension, they can't order you, can they?"

"That's - rather sneaky, actually," said Adrian.

"It is possible that the Emperor doesn't know about that skill. But I'm reasonably sure he knows about Evereena's skill since it was obvious."

"For those that don't know, she can [Insta-Death] someone, but only if they are within her range. Sadly, the range isn't all that great. But, every little thing helps."

"If I can ask a question?" said Hestia.

"You certainly can."

"Ah, who else besides you and Esther and Evereena will be with you in your 'protected' position."

"You three probably haven't heard it yet, but due to various 100% vows, Lena has to be with me in such circumstances. Furthermore, this is extremely painful, but Becky and Mason must be with Lena. These absolute vows are a real pain, sometimes."

"I'll say," said Jane.

"Doesn't that make them a bit like absolute orders?" said Reggie.

"I suppose so? Except, I suppose we have voluntarily taken on these vows, unlike your old collar-compelled absolute orders."

"Any more questions?" said Eleanor, "Remember, you can find me any time if you think of something extra to say or to ask."

Nobody replied.

"Well, that brings me to the last point - over to you, Jane."

Jane stood up. She smiled at the group. The guards looked interested. The Misfits already knew what was coming, and the three freed slaves looked apprehensive.

"Now that you all have maxed out strengths and physical abilities, I think it is time to get stuck into some training. Compared to our normal recruits with measly physical strengths, you should be able to take a lot of punishment and acquire some impressive sword fighting skills. Remember, your skill is not just determined by the numbers in your stats; it is also helped by practice. But don't worry, new people, the Misfits have already started this training, and they love it! Don't you?"

The Misfits tepidly nodded their heads in agreement.

"So, if you can follow me now, we will start. Of course, Aragon, Jacob, Adrian, and I will also fully participate. Won't we, boys?"

The guards were no longer looking quite so enthusiastic. But they couldn't complain.

"And if we work real hard, both Reggie and Hestia should be able to get the bonded sword ability. Which I'm sure they are both excited at the possibility."

Strangely, no doubt thinking about the real hard, Reggie and Hestia didn't look as enthused as they should have. But they didn't complain.

They all went off to the training grounds.

Eleanor watched them go off, then sagged.

I will find Lena and make her feed me some more cookies.

The Misfits:

After these two meetings, their training and the evening meal, the Misfits discussed a few things at their very own committee meeting.

"Say, you lot. I've been thinking, the Felixian society is lacking in technology, isn't it?" said Drayden.

"Yeah. Although they do have flush toilets, so there is that." Cassy said.

"They must have possessed a very high level of technology when they created this ringworld," said Bronsen.

"Presumably, it declined sometime in the ensuing three thousand years, perhaps because they didn't need it?" said Drayden.

"When in doubt, ask System-san!" said Cassy.

Ding! Due to various factors which will not be conveyed to you, the total population of Felixerra has declined to extremely low levels at least once before now. Also, the Ringworld inhabitants have reset the origin year to zero more than once.

"Aha! Too few people to maintain the science and high technology, so it all got lost," said Drayden, "Although I suppose that leaves the question of why the population declined. Which, apparently, the System is not telling us. And the Ringworld is far older than we thought."

He thought about this for a moment.

"That makes sense. It takes considerable time to travel out from the galaxy to where we are now; we must be over a hundred thousand lightyears out..."

"But, never mind that. I'm proposing that I discuss possible technological and scientific advances that they may find useful. Eleanor should be able to find a group of people with a sufficiently high level of intelligence and knowledge and who will thus be able to take advantage of what I say."

"Might as well," said Bronsen, "Although you still have to attend all of our training sessions."

Drayden grimaced. "I haven't forgotten about them at all. Nor forgotten all the bruises I picked up this afternoon."

The conversation faded out; they sat in silence for a while.

"This is getting real, isn't it?" said Alice.

All she got was more glum silence.

"So real, I'm almost forgetting my jealousy," she said.

"Almost?" said Bronsen.

"It takes more than a little thing like our encroaching deaths to stop my jealousy. My jealousy is industrial strength!"

Cassy wrapped her arms around Alice.

"Never mind, my dear. How about you take your pick and then go to your room and try to assuage your jealousy with some, shall we say, active exercise?" said Cassy.

"Hmm, don't mind if I do!"

Bronsen and Drayden were an appreciative audience of this hug.

"Shame they aren't naked," said Drayden.

The boys got withering stares from the girls, but they managed to survive. Alice grabbed Drayden's hand.

"I'll tell you what, how about you come to my room? You can see me naked then," she said.

"No problems! No problems!" said Drayden.

The Treasurer also makes a vow.

The Treasurer was in his office in the castle. He hadn't bothered turning on his fireball light, so he sat in darkness.

His thoughts were also dark.

Can I escape? The trouble is that the visitors and the remaining nobles have grabbed all available transport. I don't have enough money to buy or bribe my way onto a carriage. My stats are weak; if I started walking, I wouldn't get far, and without shelter, it would be a miserable experience.

But, if I stay here and the Emperor wins, I'll be either killed or enslaved.

All of those others who have gotten maxed out stats; how I envy them. What if I ask Eleanor to max me out also?

Huh, I don't think she would be interested in doing that.

All those going with her to the duel have maxed-out stats. But, what use am I in the fight?

However, I have all of this information neatly compiled into reports with cross-references. Plus, there are the full details of the plans for the fight, with a myriad of different options depending on how things go. So, what if I pitch myself as the information analyst? I sit next to Eleanor, ready to get any detail from the reports she requires as she directs the battle.

He thought this through.

It probably won't be all that useful, but you never know.

If we fail, I still get killed or enslaved. So, no change there.

But, if we succeed, well, I suppose I will get a small amount of credit. And, if I'm to be at the battle site, I can naturally expect to have my stats increased.

I'll have maxed-out stats for the rest of my life.

If I live.

But, if the Emperor wins, it doesn't make any difference where I am; I'll still be enslaved or killed.

This is terrible.

I wanted to rule from behind the throne. I wanted to never be in danger but enjoy a certain amount of power.

Bloody hell, there's no hope of any behind-the-throne ruling with Eleanor. She is far too strong. Certainly far stronger than the stupid Kalitrain, the previous king. Also, one hell of a lot stronger than Eleanor's father, another stupid former king.

What to do, what to do.

If I escape - I won't be able to make it very far before the slaves catch up to me. Or Eleanor wins, and I'm just some anonymous person in some strange country.

If I stay but don't fight - I'm still dead or enslaved if the Emperor wins. Or I'm just another commoner.

Suppose I go and fight with them - Dead or enslaved. Or I'll probably remain the Treasurer and have maxed-out stats.

I'm a coward, aren't I?

But, it looks like the best thing to do is -

Ding! The Treasurer has made a public vow, 100%. I pledge my loyalty to Queen Eleanor, and if need be, I can be next to her during the fight with all of my information ready. This message has been sent to Eleanor and the other fighters accompanying her.

Eleanor:

Well, that was surprising. It could be helpful to have someone flip through the reports and plans on hand, just in case.

OK, I'll accept his offer.

I had better get the Misfits to max him out.

He's a lot more courageous and loyal than I thought.