"A well-devised idea," Prince Hallfar replied, totally dashing Rose's last hope. He wore a pleased smile as he crossed his suited arms. "The Altair won't be able to resist it."
"Even him?" Rose thought. After the Velgr incident, she'd hoped the Ectutai prince would be reluctant to send Cecilia into any further danger. No luck. While somewhat reluctant, even the general had agreed to use Cecilia as bait to lure Altair Beta into a trap. It seemed the adults' minds were set.
"She'll be okay." Sandage put a comforting hand on Rose's shoulder. "We'll minimize the danger to her as much as possible."
"Yes." Prince Hallfar said. "I will personally ensure no harm comes to Cecilia, you have my word."
"Okay." Rose surrendered, knowing further protest wouldn't do any good.
"Me and my stupid mouth," she thought.
"With one of Beta's cohorts, designated Altair 2, off in space, this is our best opportunity to strike." General Kuiper said.
"Two on one is definitely better odds." Though Rose wished it hadn't cost Prince Imrele his life. Still, she'd use this opportunity for some much-needed retribution—for the real Vera's sake.
"Where do you want me?" Cecilia's expression was stony. Since the Velgr incident, she barely smiled, despite Rose's best efforts. An inferno seemed to burn within her, barely contained.
"Have you decided the fight's location?" Rose asked.
"We have. Thankfully, Cecilia's involvement won't alter our plan much." General Kuiper pulled up a map on a monitor.
Rose recognized it as the outskirts of her town—a disused quarry. It would keep any innocents away from the fighting. He pointed to a dinky, rusty shack inside the quarry. "We've modified this into a makeshift bunker and safe house. We'd originally planned to use it for an emergency. We've decided it'd be the best location for our trap."
"A quarry would give Luyten V plenty of hiding spots," Rose said, considering. "I can dig underground and spring out when ready."
"Excellent suggestion, Miss Brahe." The general shot her an approving smile. "Our pretense is that it's a secret medical facility we'll use to dissect our Altair captive. There's a bomb attached to her neck if she attempts anything."
"Really?" Rose forced a smile. "Which could blow Cecilia to kingdom come?"
"We'll have to risk it," Cecilia said. "I'll be careful. What's my reason for being there?"
"To keep you safe," Sandage only offered a slight shrug. "It is all pretense, after all. We'll make sure Pyrite sees you and tells her boss through the hive mind. The Ectutai have already sedated her. They're bringing her to the planet now."
"May I suggest something?" a familiar feminine voice said, startling everyone, even the prince. A figure appeared on the screen with the map, giving everyone a friendly wave.
"Majayplay," Prince Hallfar said, his breath catching. "Not quite what I expected." He gave the cartoonish avatar a critical study. "Not an old woman this time?"
"Sorry?" Stella, also known as Macauley, said, blinking.
"You know what I'm talking about, Majayplay," Prince Hallfar replied. "It is the ancient name my people gave you."
"I've had many names. So many, I've lost track," Macauley said enigmatically. "Macauley is fine for now."
"You deny you've been to my planet, Ectutai?" Prince Hallfar pressed.
But Macauley only changed the subject, like Stella always did on her stream. She liked to make herself difficult to pin down. Straight questions often got tangled answers. "What's this I hear about you using Vera as bait? Mighty reckless, especially with poor, young Cecilia on the line. You should be ashamed! Using a child like that!"
"I can handle it," Cecilia's voice had some heat. "Like you're doing anything to stop the Altair!"
"You know that's not true, Cecilia," Sandage said. "You said you have an idea, Macauley?"
"I'm saddened you have so little faith in me, Cecilia," Macauley said, her avatar drooping. "I've worked so hard to help you guys, and you treat me so badly. Aren't we friends?" Tears stung her anime avatar's eyes.
"What do you have to say, alien?" Cecilia replied, her tone terse.
"We appreciate you, Stella," Rose said, trying to ease the tension. What was with her friend today? "Whatever you have planned, I'm sure it's super clever."
"Thank you, Rose. At least someone believes in me," Macauley replied, brightening somewhat. "It'll even the playing field. The Altair general is dangerous—much more powerful than his predecessor, with an ally to boot. I might have something to trip them up."
"What the heck?" Director Shapley said, eyeing the schematics flashing on the screen.
"A little gift. It might help you out," Macauley said, beaming.
"Is this some sort of weapon?" Rose replied, trying her best to understand the advanced diagrams before her.
"This is a modified ship grappler used for towing ships. Are you suggesting we give Luyten V one?" Prince Hallfar said, snorting in disbelief.
"Exactly!" Macauley said, beaming.
"You can't just give it a normal weapon," Cecilia said, glaring in displeasure. Had she forgotten that her Akashic visions gave Luyten V its drill weapon? Or was that why she was angry? Cecilia's moods were getting more unpredictable.
"Are you saying the ability to capture and restrain enemies won't be helpful? Besides, it's something the Ectutai scientists can make within your timeframe. Though Rose won't have time for any field tests, she's resourceful. She'll manage."
"I don't believe this." Cecilia wasn't happy with these explanations. She clearly wanted something that'd blow the Altair to kingdom come.
Rose, however, wasn't as picky. In fact, she thought the grapple attachment was rather cool. "I love it! Please, Prince Hallfar, get your tech people to work on this right away!"
"And she gives knowledge and technology that we couldn't eventually devise ourselves," Hallfar said, musing to himself. To this, Macauley only beamed at him. "Very well. Captain Plarel, get this to our designers on the flagship."
"Yes, sir!" the captain said, saluting. He'd been one of the Ectutai who'd joined the prince on Earth. Poor Imrele's guard captain hadn't survived.
"We'll accept this wisdom, Majayplay." Prince Hallfar gave a polite bow. "You're careful what you give. Wise, I imagine. There's a reason my people keep out of less advanced planets' business."
"This planet has seen firsthand the dangers of technology they can't control. I have one final piece of advice," Macauley replied.
"Oh?" Rose said, interested.
"Believe in Rose." Then the VTuber's avatar vanished from the screen.
"Thank you," Rose said, touched.
To this, Prince Hallfar actually smiled. "You heard her. Let's get to work. This operation will spell the end of Altair Beta. Is this clear?"
"Sir, yes, sir," the Ectutai guards and personnel said in unison.
"Believe in Rose, huh?" Cecilia said, lost in her thoughts. Rose wondered if Macauley had intended those words for Cecilia. With the death of Prince Imrele, her entire world was unraveling around her. Stella had reminded her they hadn't lost yet.
The whole command center seemed renewed with energy as people bustled about or discussed how to improve the battle plan. They might actually have a shot. If this group couldn't defeat Altair Beta, no one could.
///
"That's right?" Vera replayed Prince Imrele's strange conversation with Cecilia on the Velgr in her mind. It must be a mistake. Stella—no, Macauley—was some alien entity? Impossible. Of the information they'd absorbed from Prince Imrele, this seemed the most improbable.
"So this is the nature of the being holding Aquilia captive." General Tarazed replied in her mind. "Majayplay."
"No, impossible!" Tseen Foo raged through the link. "I've been hunting a proverbial ghost?" Try as he might, he'd never been able to track Stella. If she didn't have a physical body, it explained much. Wait, didn't she have a body in the older prince's story? It left Vera even more confused.
"It must be true," General Tarazed's simple, flat voice said. Despite the lack of any expression, it held absolute command.
"B-but how do we fight her?" In her cell, Vera paced. She appraised it with new eyes. It'd been a carefully designed lure—not from some human girl, but an ancient, unknowable entity. Their conversations made more sense, orchestrated to keep Vera off-kilter. A pit formed in her stomach as she wondered if she'd accidentally leaked anything to the enemy.
Lord Tarazed read her thoughts. "It matters not. You revealed nothing important. And we will deal with Majayplay. Energy beings aren't anything unique. We will call Alshain. He has abilities suited to destroying entities like her."
"The last general," Vera said. It was ridiculous that one once-simple planet required all three Altair generals to attend to it. What next, the Grand Intelligence itself? "Pardon me for asking, but how?"
"He can devour the ethereal, the intangible. We have fought aliens like the Majayplay before. They died, all of them. We, the Altair, devour all."
This earned a smile from Vera, reassured. Like humanity, Stella had been a fool trying to fight them. The Altair were inevitable. All would fall.
Distracted by her conversation, she didn't notice the gas entering her chamber until it was already gathering around her head. Vera gasped, her head spinning from whatever drug the humans were filling her with. No! Was this it? Had they decided they'd learned enough from her? No, not yet. She was only a child. There was so much Vera yearned to experience! Lord Tarazed tried encouraging her, but consciousness blurred the words until she blacked out.
///
"Where… am I…" Chains rattled as Vera regained consciousness. The ground beneath her rumbled, a constant hum of some engine. Her sluggish mind registered it was human. A truck?
"Seems she's awake," a gruff voice said.
Through blurry eyes, Vera saw soldiers sitting beside her. Each wore a heavy-duty weapon. It was a laughable threat. A familiar voice spoke.
"I wouldn't try anything," Sandage said. "There's a bomb attached to your collar. Any funny business and it'll explode."
"Stupid humans!" Tseen Foo said in her mind. "Why can't they just die already?"
"Calm. You're on Earth again," Lord Tarazed said. "The bomb matters not. We will rescue you. Hold on."
Vera held her head up in defiance. "You realize it'd take you too?"
"I'm willing to take that risk. Every person on this transport is ready to sacrifice themselves to save our planet. It's what separates us from you," Sandage replied.
"Whatever," What fake nobility. But lesser races like humanity liked to puff themselves up, pretending they were something important. "Where are we going?"
"To a new facility." Sandage's smile wasn't pleasant. "A medical one. You can work out the details yourself. We have a certain test for you in two hours."
"What?" What did that mean? Vera's mind turned to the worst conclusions. Did they plan to dissect her?
"Interesting," Lord Tarazed said, considering.
"Like they can fool us," Tseen Foo said with a sneer. "With Denebokab gone, they think we're easy prey. What fools."
"Ask questions," Lord Tarazed said. "Learn anything you can."
"Why Earth?" From the gravity, it was obvious they'd taken her planetside. "Can't your Ectutai friends do it?"
"We have facilities they don't," Sandage replied simply. "And here we are."
Vera craned her neck. It seemed they'd parked in a field somewhere. The quarry nearby seemed somewhat familiar. Were they on the outskirts of Vera's hometown? As if it weren't more obvious, this was an Altair trap. But her eyes bulged as a familiar face watched them as they dragged Vera out of the army truck.
Cecilia?
But her classmate seemed different from before. Her eyes seemed colder. The girl's steely gaze followed them as they directed Vera to a nearby shack. An Arab woman followed behind her before directing her away from the scene. Other soldiers milled about, unloading things—highly scientific equipment, from Vera's estimate.
"She's here?" Tseen Foo said, giving a mental smirk. "They are just asking for us to destroy them. If we get her, humanity is doomed with her power on our side."
"Scan everything, Aquilia." Lord Tarazed commanded. It'd help the attack later. Vera realized she knew exactly where they were. The human Vera had gone here as a younger child to explore. Rose had accompanied her. She studied numbers and what weapons they had available, but Vera saw no sign of the Ectutai—not even a parked spaceship. The only thing visible was a metal shack, rusted by age.
"They're being careful, letting you see what they want you to see," Lord Tarazed said.
If they really wanted this location hidden, the humans would have blindfolded her. They led her to an elevator in the shack that lowered into a bunker, freshly made by Vera's reckoning. She didn't protest as they guided her into a cell, bulletproof glass locking her from freedom. It'd be trivial to escape. But Vera only sat down on a hard stool and waited. If the humans wanted a fight, they'd get it.
Whatever their enemy had planned would never be enough. Lord Tarazed would destroy them all. And giving them Cecilia would spell doom for their species. It was inevitable.
///
"I'm in position," Rose said, leaning back in her seat. It'd taken more effort than she'd expected to dig a proper hole for Luyten V in the quarry, but she'd finally managed it. From a distance, her robot looked indistinguishable from the gravel and rocks covering her. Her new grapple attachment sat across her robot's chest, ready for use.
Now she only needed to wait. Rose pulled out a tablet she'd brought to play games while she waited. There was no telling when Beta or his buddy would appear.
Of course, Beta might just stay low and wait until their guard was down. To add urgency, they created a fake lab that would dissect Pyrite. The scientists had made it clear to the Altair that they planned to start work within the hour.
When pressed by Cecilia on what they'd do if the Altair called their bluff, Prince Hallfar had given a chilly response: they would kill Pyrite, regardless. He didn't mess around. It left Rose with mixed feelings, but she couldn't deny that the fake Vera was a threat. She could cause serious damage if she ever escaped.
There was also Cecilia's vision with Pyrite. It'd shown the pair in a strange, warped dimension. Her friend had been trying to ignore it, but Rose wasn't so forgetful. They were putting Cecilia in considerable danger with this stunt. Yet Cecilia's vision left many questions. Where had Pyrite taken her friend? Why hadn't the Altair just killed her? Part of Rose wondered if some part of Vera still existed in her somewhere. Was that why she'd been so reluctant to destroy Pyrite?
"Oh, Vera…" What would her friend say? Would she say to forgive Pyrite? Rose's heart panged for her friend. Luyten V responded to her anguish. Waves of comfort and calm seeped through the control console into her fingers.
"Thanks, bud," Rose said, wearing a slight smile. No matter how difficult things got, Luyten V would always stand behind her. As she considered this, her comm unit buzzed.
"Yes?" Rose checked her readings, still finding nothing amiss. Only four minutes remained until Pyrite's scheduled fake autopsy. "There's nothing on my end, Control."
"Ours either." Rose heard Sandage's frown. "It seems they didn't fall for it." They should have detected something by now.
"We'll figure out some other way to draw Beta out," Rose said, scowling. If they didn't bite with their fellow Altair on the line, she wondered if anything could act as adequate bait. "Should I return to base?"
"No, we'll wait," Prince Hallfar said, cutting in. "Pyrite's death might cause some sort of reaction. They might think we're bluffing. They'll learn otherwise."
"Sorry, Vera," Rose's conflicting feelings about Pyrite aside, she'd be unable to avenge her friend.
"Good idea," Sandage said. "Hold still for now, Rose. We'll contact you if there's any change."
"Okay." Rose noticed on her dashboard that the allotted time had passed. "Over and—"
Her control console went mad as it detected sudden seismic readings. From her seat, Rose sensed the quake, almost losing her seat. "What the—Control?"
But she got no response, and the tremors worsened. "Control! Dang it!" Rose made a decision and activated the piloting controls. Dirt rained down Luyten V's carapace as she emerged from the pile her robot had been hiding in. She gasped as her view screen cleared.
A writhing tentacle was emerging from the ground where the bunker had been situated. Its emergence had created a giant sinkhole, swallowing the bunker and everyone in it. Rose realized, to her horror, that she hadn't been the only one hiding. Instead of striking from the surface, Beta had struck from underneath. His digging must have been so subtle that they hadn't detected it. Likely, he'd used a smaller form before transforming into his real one.
He'd done it again. Rose realized it with dread. Beta had outplayed them—again. Their mistake might have cost them everything.
"Sandage! Cecilia!" Rose didn't hesitate. Her robot charged toward the bunker that had become a death trap for her friends.