The cavernous hangar echoed with the metallic clangs and whirrs of machines at work. Avery stood in the center, surrounded by half-assembled frames and dangling cable bundles. Her lithe form was a perpetual blur of motion as she darted between workstations, adjusting, tweaking, and calibrating.
Grease streaked her face like war paint, her overalls torn and singed from past mishaps. Yet she grinned maniacally, utterly in her element amidst the chaos. This was her temple, and she was the high priestess of creation.
Nearby, a massive hulking shape took form - the latest D.O.G. mech she had poured her heart and soul into constructing. Even in its unfinished state, it radiated an aura of lethal potential. This was Avery's masterpiece, pushing the boundaries of what was thought possible with reclaimed T.D.M. technology.
As she made a final adjustment, the hangar's massive doors parted with a groan. Avery glanced up, momentarily freezing as Lady Selene Ilagra glided in. The severe beauty moved with eerie, boneless grace, her porcelain features revealing nothing. Trailing behind was Charles, swaggering with arrogant entitlement.
Avery swallowed hard as the pair approached, feeling absurdly self-conscious of her grease-stained overalls and disheveled appearance. Charles's assessing gaze made her cheeks flush despite herself.
"Impressive," Selene stated flatly, circling the half-built D.O.G with eyes like shards of ice. "You've outdone yourself this time, Miss Livenston."
Avery couldn't help but puff up with pride at the rare praise from the inscrutable Lady Ilagra. "Thank you, my lady. I've pushed the TDM integration further than ever before."
Charles let out a low whistle, running an admiring hand along the mech's armored flank. "Just wait until I take this beast out for a spin."
His brazen assumption ignited a flash of indignation in Avery's chest. This was her creation, an extension of herself. But she bit back a retort, knowing antagonizing Charles or the formidable Selene would jeopardize everything.
"Do you think it will work?" Charles asked Selene, a challenge glinting in his hazel eyes.
The pale woman regarded him coolly for a long moment before replying. "To think your womanizing habits would one day actually benefit our empire."
Avery blinked in confusion at the cryptic remark, but Selene continued without elaborating. "Yes, it will work."
Relief washed over the mechanic. She had no illusions why the Ilagras were inspecting her work so meticulously. Likely it was being evaluated as a new weapon for their ongoing conflicts. Still, she tried not to dwell on the mech's potential for destruction. Her role was creation, shaping technology into something greater.
"I am happy Lady Selene and Lord Charles like my work," Avery said carefully, inclining her head in a show of deference.
She knew that showing weakness or vulnerability was anathema to the ruthless aristocracy. But a seed of desperation had taken root inside her after Aiden's disappearance. She would do whatever was required - make whatever bargains necessary - to gain access to their resources. No matter how it carved at her soul.
Straightening her shoulders, she met Selene's glacial gaze directly. "I'm happy to work for the esteemed Ilagras. I swear my utmost devotion and allegiance."
A delicate eyebrow arched as Selene approached, her movements liquid and predatory. Before Avery could react, slender fingers grasped her chin, gently but with unyielding force.
"Work you say?" The words slid like silk over steel. "Then, are you willing to give your life?"
Avery's breath caught in her throat as the floor seemed to drop away beneath her feet. What game was Selene playing? She searched the woman's crystalline eyes for any flicker of humor or humanity, finding only a vast, depthless intensity.
"Do you need to tease her like that?" Charles's amused rebuke cut through the tension. He chuckled indulgently as Selene released Avery with a cold laugh, as if toying with her victim had been mere sport.
Confusion and dread roiled in Avery's gut even as she struggled to maintain composure. Giving her life? Was that the price expected for gaining their resources and support in finding Aiden?
Trembling hands reflexively drifted to the precious earrings - one of the few keepsakes from her late father. She had cleaned herself meticulously before this meeting, donning the cherished jewelry in hopes of appearing more presentable before the Ilagra elite. Now they seemed hopelessly tarnished against the backdrop of depravity hinted at.
Had she gravely misjudged how far she would need to go? Even as doubts assailed her, the memory of Aiden's warm smile sharpened Avery's resolve into cold steel. She would do whatever was required, no matter how sordid or unspeakable. Her obsession was total and unshakable.
With a fortifying breath, Avery met Selene's predatory stare. Her voice was steady despite the maelstrom within. "I'll do whatever it takes to serve House Ilagra. Whatever is asked."
The ghost of a smile played across Selene's crimson lips as she exchanged an indecipherable look with Charles. "Devotion is to be rewarded, not taken lightly. We shall see if your conviction proves...true."
It was neither acceptance nor rejection, but Avery clutched that tenuous thread of potential like a lifeline. She had no other choice but to barrel forward, no matter how abyssal the depths she found herself descending into.
***
Victoria's eyes narrowed as the hulking form of Octavian Ilagra strode into her cell, the viceroy's footfalls echoing heavily on the duranium floor. Her gaze flicked briefly to Jacob, the arrogant spy whose infiltration skills were unmatched - even by the Ilagran Empire that now employed him as a double agent.
"A fair point," Octavian rumbled, his deep voice reverberating like tectonic plates grinding together. He fixed Jacob with a reptilian stare. "Which is why, despite your...unorthodox methods, I've decided your skills are too valuable."
Victoria tensed, muscles coiled like an angered serpent ready to strike. Her hatred for the Ilagran prince burned hotter than the twin suns of Cethea. "You cannot be serious," she spat, the words dripping with venom. "This arrogant lout works for both of us?"
Jacob adopted an exaggerated pout, throwing his hands up in mock hurt as he sidled up to the cell bars. "Aww, c'mon, little leader. After I came all this way just to bust you out?" His cocky grin returned, white teeth flashing. "Though I gotta admit, I'm kinda digging this whole 'captured rebel' look you've got going."
He raked his gaze over Victoria in a way that made her skin crawl. Anger broiled in her gut like a volcano about to erupt. Before she could unleash her fury, Octavian spoke again.
"Enough games." His tone brokered no argument. "I've authorized Nihility's..." He paused, distaste twisting his features. "Extravagant payment demands because his skills are vital for the mission I have in mind."
The viceroy fixed each of them with a pointed look. "You're both going to infiltrate Cethea's southern pole - the forbidden territory, intelligences say there's a manned outpost there. Even though we have no outpost in that region. I'm assuming you both know what to expect."
A startled silence fell, weighty as an asteroid slamming into the planet's surface. Jacob was the first to regain his composure, that damnable smirk returning.
"Well, well," he mused, leaning insolently against the cell bars as he propped muddy combat boots on Victoria's cot. "Looks like little leader and I are going for a field trip to the 'droids' place." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Should be a hell of a time."
"You repulsive cretin!" Victoria fumed, knuckles whitening as she clenched her fists. Every fiber of her being screamed to wipe that arrogant look off Jacob's face. Only the thought of the danger he could potentially put them in stayed her hand.
How could Ana have ever trusted this varglodyte? Her second-in-command's judgment must have slipped. Victoria forced herself to take a steadying breath and met Octavian's gaze levelly.
"And if we refuse?" she asked, putting steel into her words. "You know the androids' territory is a deathtrap, even for Nova Arcadian citizens. Sending anything short of an entire dog squad would be foolish and suicide."
The viceroy's lip curled in a cruel smile that failed to reach his eyes - obsidian spheres devoid of warmth or humor. "Then I will have you both summarily executed for treason."
His hand fell meaningfully to the holstered blaster at his hip. "And have no doubts, such charges could easily be...fabricated for rabble-rousing scum like yourselves." He let the thinly veiled threat hang in the air like the cloying humidity of Cethea's toxic jungles. "The choice is yours."
Victoria's jaw clenched hard enough to grind her teeth into powder. Of course they had no real choice. Though her rebel heart railed against it, the pragmatic side of her knew the stakes were too high to refuse outright. At least with this unsanctioned mission, perhaps an opportunity would present itself.
"Very well," she bit out through gritted teeth. "We'll go to this...android outpost and scout it out on your behalf, O' Mighty prince." The sarcasm dripped from her words like acidic honey.
Jacob barked out a laugh, slapping his knee heartily. "That's the spirit, Vic! Leave the recon to me - I'll have us scoping those bucket of bolts' digs out no problem." His confident smirk widened as he rocked back on his heels. "Though you might wanna work on that blasphemous tongue of yours 'fore it gets you in trouble one of these days."
Heat rushed to Victoria's cheeks as her temper flared. "Do not call me Vic, you grating miscreant!"
Before she could unleash the full force of her wrath, Octavian cut her off with an impatient growl. "Enough bickering. You depart at dawn's first light to give you cover of darkness in enemy territory, thought I doubt it will help." His expression hardened like ferrocrete. "And I expect progress reports daily, or you'll both be counting every second that remains in your worthless lives. Am I clear?"
Jacob straightened, all traces of levity vanishing in an instant as he gave a mocking half-bow. "Crystal, boss-man. Don't get your skivvies in a twist - Vic and I have got this."
"Victoria!" the rebel leader shouted, enraged at his refusal to use her proper title. She took a menacing step forward, only to be stopped short by the bars. Her glare could have melted through solid duranium. "I swear by the Cerulean Twins, the second this mission is over, I'll..."
"You'll what?" Jacob countered, his own expression darkening as he leaned in so close she could smell the smoke and ozone tang of blaster fire that clung to his clothes. "Take a piece outta me like Octavian here?"
He bared his teeth in a savage grin utterly devoid of humor. "Don't threaten what you can't back up...princess. I don't just outclass you in the field - I can snap that scrawny little neck of yours like a twig whenever I please."
The air itself seemed to grow heavier, charged with the sudden tension thrumming between them like a force-field about to rupture. Victoria trembled with ill-suppressed rage, struggling against the urge to lash out in that moment. Attacking him now would be suicide, but she swore she would make Jacob pay dearly for this insult once they were off-world and don't with this mission.
Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the darkness bled from Jacob's expression. His cavalier grin resurfaced as he rocked back on his heels once more. "But hey, no need to get all riled up about it! We're pals now, right?" He shot Victoria a wink before sauntering towards the exit, swagger in every step. "Just make sure you keep that prim and proper rebel rear nice and clear behind me down in the 'droid territory. Last thing I need is you lagging and getting us both smoked."
Victoria felt her cheeks flush scarlet with impotent fury, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly but unable to find words venomous enough. In that moment, she hated Jacob with every fiber of her being.
Octavian watched the proceedings impassively. With a derisive snort at Victoria's spluttering, he turned and followed his new agent out of the cell. His final words before the door hissed shut behind him fell like the death knell for Victoria's barely contained rage.
"Try not to kill each other before the mission begins. I expect results, not mutinous incompetence."
Alone once more in the stifling confines of her cell, Victoria forcefully unclenched her fists and willed her anger to subside. The throbbing ache in her palms from where her nails had dug crescents into the skin was a painful reminder to rein in her temper.
Treacherous thoughts of taking vengeance on Jacob swirled through her mind, backed by years of rebel tactics and combat training. He couldn't possibly be as skilled as the reputation that preceded him. With the element of surprise on a recon op, she could neutralize the threat Jacob posed to her rebel forces.
But the pragmatic side of Victoria's mind prevailed yet again, smothering the flare of violence. No matter how grating Jacob's insufferable arrogance, they needed to work together for now if there was any hope of sabotaging Octavian plans from the inside. And after they infiltrated the android city, who knew what opportunities might present themselves to turn the tables?
Quelling her anger into a simmering kernel of resolve, Victoria squared her shoulders and began plotting in earnest. The arrogant double agent would soon learn to never underestimate the rebels' tenacity - starting with her.