Bayleaf Bristlebranch, combat medic and a leader of the Empress’ elite fighting force the Imperial Harriers, stared at the strange device in her hand as Tessa, the Imperial Harrier’s hacking expert blabbed about the true nature of the alien marvel.

  “It’s something akin to a genetic sequencer, like that one device our captain built into the ship recently. It’s meant to store the genes of whatever it captures and preserve it, albeit for a few days at most.” Tessa motioned towards the massive deep wyrm behind them.

  Monga, as the men and women took to calling the massive thing, was already beginning the disgusting process of decay, the rock hard appendages and skin giving way to rot. It was helped by the fact that Bayleaf herself was responsible, having drowned the massive beast using the ship’s tractor beam.

  Akin to a worm that wore a rocky carapace with the mouth pieces of a nightmare, Monga was something of an ancient monster on the moon, dead for an incredibly long time before the Verdant Hood found a way to bring the beast back to life. Whether it was the moon’s living energy, or something else, Bay would have preferred they leave the beast alive to know for certain.

  Though, had she and the ship’s dryad core not succeeded in drowning the creature, the moon and the forge city Anvilage would likely be destroyed.

  “I assume you already tapped into the device?” Bayleaf motioned back to the fist-sized device.

  Her hacker smirked, “couldn’t help myself, Crypta was as obsessed as I was to break into it.” Tessa motioned to her elaborate staff that floated nearby, seemingly levitating on its own power.

  Bay had heard from the High General Lysandra about the real reason for Tessa’s deployment into the Harrier’s despite the woman’s non-noble and non-military background. The staff that floated near its paired partner was the culprit.

  It was something that Bay herself once wished to attempt before learning the penalty for such actions was usually death of the individual and most of their family line. The pairing of a dryad core into a staff, a practice that granted immense power and response time to an Elfari’s casting, not to mention the protection of the Mother Tree, an exclusive privilege meant only for the royal family.

  The fact that Tessa was still alive likely had to do with her non-noble background and the lack of family, but Bay liked to think it was actually because of the brillant hacker’s skill with her paired partner.

  “Crypta already analyzed the data. Once we pair up with Meras aboard the ship, I can get you more details about what the Hood wanted.”

  “I’m sure the High General and the Captain will be pleased by it.” Bayleaf nodded back as said general approached.

  Lysandra Elderbloom, the High General of the Imperial Harriers and sister to the Empress of the Elfari was a veritable giant among her kin. Though not as tall as the half giant leader of Anvilage, Lysa was a head or two taller than Bayleaf herself with long flowing white hair that was braided.

  Compared to Bay’s green and Tessa’s brown, white was usually reserved for nobles like the High General, but the toned body and massive sword staff she wieded were exclusively a product of her imperial heritage.

  Bayleaf would have once been oggling the impressive specimen before her had she not undergone her own transformative encounter. Unlike the men and women of the ship, or even the pairing bond that Tessa had with her staff, Bayleaf had the unique privilege, if you could call it that, of pairing and being remade by an ancient monster.

  Was it cruel to refer to her Captain as an ancient monster? Probably, but it wasn’t inaccurate. Yet, the Terasi, the ancient beings that her people had only read about in legends, did indeed exist. Even more terrifying, in a technical sort of way, Bayleaf was one of those ancient monsters now.

  All thanks to her own curiosity and paranoia about her alien captain’s origins.

  Though she wore her bodily disguise well, Bayleaf’s true form was now that of a gelatinous blob-like entity, with the power to graft and incorporate ‘DNA’ as Mera called it, into her body. This allowed her to take abilities, powers, and genetic anomalies, and used them as if they were a part of her own flesh.

  It also left her mostly immune to things that would affect any normal Elfari, like the Imperial bloodline’s unique pheromone signature.

  Bayleaf signed deeply at the thought, as it was likely this very thing that endangered the Elfari race at this time.

  “Dr. Bayleaf, did you receive any reports from the Captain?” her High General spoke as she peered between Bay and Tessa.

  “Vice Captain Ironwood did relay that he was able to contact the Captain and is sending a shuttle to her location. She also relayed orders to begin a quarantine check of the crew.” Bay motioned to Tessa as she spoke.

  Tessa, noting that it was her turn to speak tilted her head toward Lysa, her tone not showing a bit of the respect of the High General’s station.

  “The samples are all catalogued, the device Miss Medic is currently holding is all set for data extraction once we get aboard, and the area’s secured, you royal ass.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Bay almost, almost, couldn’t hold back a bark of laughter as she watched her High General’s eye twitch at the last comment.

  “I could have you doing drills for that flippant tongue Tessa.” the venom in the general’s voice was almost sizzling.

  Tessa however was not cowed, “hmm, and who would help with the rest of the data extraction for the hundred of pounds of equipment we were able to obtain from the Hood’s hideout? Certainly not our royal butt of a High General, no no no! That would fall on this humble servant of the Empire, yes?”

  The fact that Tessa’ wasn’t wrong only seemed to piss off the general more, and Bay took that as her chance to escape.

  “Hold it doctor! What was the reason behind the quarantine? Did the Captain mention why?”

  Bay sighed, so close to freedom.

  Turning to address her High General, because unlike her hacking expert she did not have a death wish, Bay confirmed the suspicion Chimera had sent her about a possible sabotuer.

  She was going to be more subtle about it, but Bay already confirmed that there was no issue with the two in front of her. Tessa was obviously immune to the pheromones the Verdant Hood used, as the High General was giving off the stuff and Tessa clearly wasn’t showing enraptured awe or anything of the like, and the royal family was obviously immune on principle, as they generated the stuff.

  “I see, it would be possible if what you say is true.” The High General nodded.

  “I’ll start getting the other’s in groups, it should be simple since who knows if Monga was carrying some virus or something. It’ll be believable at least.” Tessa spoke as her staff bobbed up and down at her.

  “Crypta says she can perform the tests if she has a sample of the pheromone too.”

  The High General shook her head, “it is an imperial secret for a reason, civilian. Faith in the Empress can’t be subjected to scrutiny during a time of war, or we’ll have traitors popping left and right along with opportunists. Keep the reasons quiet and give our people no reason to assume this isn’t anything more than the enemy's biological weapon.”

  Bay understood the reasoning enough, but she also felt like this wasn’t the best way to go about it.

  But it was true that this was an imperial secret, and she wasn’t about to fight her commander regarding the means of distributing that information.

  Bay just had to make sure that this damn secret didn’t bite them in the ass.

  “Did the Captain mention finding anyhting… suspicious near her location medic Bayleaf?”

  Bayleaf knew a loaded question when she heard one.

  Oh, do you mean the fact that apparently our dear leader has been using pawns to keep these moons alive and essentially bound in order to mine for resources? Or the fact no one but the Empress was supposed to know and that the Verdant Hood knowing is about as scary as it sounds?

  Being tied to Chimera via their mind palace, Bay already knew the truth behind the secret of the Elementalists. She also knew that no one was supposed to know this terrible secret.

  So she bullshitted accordingly, “nothing as of yet, your highness.”

  It seemed to placate her, but Bay wasn’t going to stick around to allow the paranoia to set in.

  “I’ll begin the tests at once, High General. If you would join me, Harrier Tessa?” Bay raised an eyebrow at the hacker, who took it as her queue to join.

  “Yep, lets get this over with so I can get back to more tech diving.”

  The High General dismissed them both as she turned to walk towards Monga’s bloated corpse, the stench of the thing wafting in the wind around them.

  I’ll be glad if I never have to smell that smell ever again. Damn nose, damn Mera!

  Enhanced didn’t always mean better, and as Bayleaf and Tessa rounded up the crews working on the deep wyrm for the inspection, she was almost running back towards the ship and the recycled air that awaited her there.

  …

  Chimera watched as the shuttle touched down on the plateau, a few Elfari commandos dropping out to secure their still breathing prisoners. She was resting as she took in the view from the veritable crown of the moon’s highest point, watching the rolling red earth and splotches of jungle that dotted the various places.

  To think it was all being held together by one spell, it boggled her mind at how flimsy that all sounded.

  Still, she was glad she figured out that nonsense with the terraformation spell. Now this place and all that lush green that was dotted around might one day become a permanent fixture as opposed to a temporary structure.

  Sitting next to her was the one that was responsible for keeping it all going just a few hours ago, and now Iaos was watching it all with new eyes.

  Seeing as the spell made her blind in the first place, Mera decided it was only right to give her sight back so she could see what her work had done.

  “It’s… beautiful.”

  “Right? All thanks to you. One day it’s gonna be even more full of life as well. Once this is all over, you should come back and check it out then.”

  Iaos shook her head, “as amazing as that sounds, I think I will refrain. Duty compelled me to remain here, but…”

  Chimera nodded, “it still feels like you might be trapped, right?”

  Iaos turned to her and nodded, “I wish to see the other moons, my brothers and sisters. I want to know them, and free them as well.”

  Mera sighed, “then we got a lot of work to do.”

  Determination settled between the two as Chimera took one last look at the scenery before she hoisted both herself and Iaos up. Bargo and Arrose were already wrangling the last of the prisoners into the shuttle along with the crew, so Chimera and her new friend simply took a seat.

  Strapping Iaos in first, who seemed lost in what she was supposed to do, Chimera did the same as her crew loaded up and closed the doors. The soft hum of the spherical vessel launched shortly after, granting Mera one last look at Highmount as they moved to meet back up with the Meras.

  Closing her eyes, she allowed herself a nap that went well with the humming of the shuttle’s engine in the background.