“And that,” she continued breathlessly, “that looks like a big gun for shooting down hovercraft and stuff. But it’s too big for people to carry around. Maybe—oh, yeah—it’s like the one we destroyed at the front gate to the palace. I wonder if the people could set it up. It would be really good defense for the city. Especially if they set it at the very top of the palace instead of just guarding the gate. That way it could shoot down any enemy trying to fly in, you know?”
“Nyna,” I said right after she finished, in case she wanted to go over every single item in the room, “get an inventory going. We need to know what’s in this room. We need to leave everything we can for the citizens, but our next stop is Brazud, so if you see something useful that we can carry, set it aside. The more destructive, the better.”
“Like phase-grenades?” she asked.
“Is that a thing?” I asked.
She shrugged. “No idea, but I bet if it is, this is where it’ll be.”
She smiled like she’d won the Comedian of the Year award. Beatrix and I laughed.
“Yes, if you find a phase-grenade, we could use a couple dozen of those, I’m sure. We don’t have a lot of time, though, so please move quickly. It might already be too late, but I want to get to the space elevator as quickly as possible. Space elevators are usually used to place objects into orbit or to transfer troops or material between the surface and a spacecraft. If my crew are already at the other end or aboard a ship, I want to get to them before they’re taken away.”
“Will do,” Nyna said before she turned back to her favorite pretty things. Reaver stayed with her to help her move the heavier items while Timo-Ran still stood frozen with his mouth hanging open.
I was glad he was impressed. But the man would have to make some careful decisions on who he armed, and with what. Not everyone could be trusted, but the more guns he had pointed at his enemies, the better.
“It could already be too late,” I mused.
“You are correct,” Beatrix whispered into my ear. “Your crew may be gone already. But we will follow you anywhere, even out among the stars.”
“Thank you,” I whispered back.
Our lips were close, and I noticed the hunger in her eyes. So I looked intensely into her eyes, pulled back just an inch, and went back in to kiss her. She returned it hard and strong as she wrapped several more of her tentacles around my head, while two more gently stroked my ears. Her signal was loud and clear, so I decided to give her a little thrill. My tongue found her lips and parted them. I gently touched her teeth, her lips, and found her tongue. She gasped, her tentacles going rigid for a moment, and pressed her pelvis against mine. There was no way I could hide my erection from her, and she pulled away with a big smile as she ground her body against mine, reveling in the experience.
I gently separated myself from her and ran the back of my hand down her soft cheek. She tilted her head toward it and touched my arm with each of her tentacles, one at a time.
“I think I found the lock this key goes into,” I said as I held the Void-tech skeleton key between us.
Beatrix blinked like she was waking up from a dream and stared at the key for a moment. She was still breathing hard but was successfully fighting to regain her focus.
“Let’s try it,” she said.
I squatted down to inspect the lock and realized there was no keyhole. It was as if someone had welded the device into place as a permanent barrier rather than making it easy to access for someone who had the key.
I lifted the key and touched it to the black lock. There was a sensation in the room like a soft thump, and the lock vanished to reveal a regular doorknob. I placed the key back into my pocket, and stood up with a grin.
“Let’s see what’s inside,” I said.
Gather our artifacts. Bring them together. Bring peace to your world.
The Lakunae’s words kept repeating themselves in my mind as I opened the door. With this powerful lock to the door, no doubt this room was crucial. I wasn’t prepared for what I found, but I was delighted. The room was the smallest of the three and, based on how it was secured, served as a vault for the best items in the collection. Racks, most of which appeared to have been custom-made to accommodate the weapons and armor they held, were scattered throughout the room, unlike the rest of the armory, which was far more organized.
The experience of seeing Void-tech weaponry, armor, and various tools and equipment all gathered in one place was a bit overwhelming. I felt drunk with the power laid out before me, and I wondered again whether the Lakunae were intervening on my behalf. They knew where I was, and they were reminding me of the mission they expected me to complete; that was for certain. But whether they were guiding my actions and my decisions… I wasn’t sure. In any case, this room meant I could equip my entire team with Void-tech, and any problem we applied our massive force to would have a hard time resisting.
I heard the door close behind me and found Beatrix leaning against it. She looked at me and remained still for a while, her hip cocked, before she slowly started removing her clothes. She was breathing hard, and her tentacles danced on her head like she was caught outside in a storm. When she smiled, it was the smile of a determined feral cat closing in on her dinner. When she was completely naked her smile didn’t waver, she knew what she wanted and she knew
