"If you're [i]sure[/i]."

All around, mixed squads of Coherents and Alcedi worked together (by Imperial order; making them work together was the first step to making them want to work together, right?) to bring the shuttles onto the beach. Shuttles, plural. And there was the problem. Her words were falling on deaf ears; no, now she was the hero of the hour, champion of the Alcedi and Occluded Magistrix of the Coherent, and even if some of both contingents were going to be taking to the stars themselves, the lion's share of both were demanding the chance to serve her. And what could she do but let them? The crown demands.

"My teacher, Iskarot, Magos Iskarot, sorry, he's in charge of our Hermetic contingent by seniority and by my authority. And, frankly, Komninos? You might not have given the orders to abduct new initiates, but I'm not impressed with your judgment in carrying it out. 'The tool is nothing without the hand; yet the tool that fails the hand is nothing.' Am I right? Thank you, Magos. I'm taking you on, but part of that is trusting me when I make a decision. And I [i]have[/i] made it. Now, Lacedo, Emissary for the Alcedi-- everyone coming with us will be [i]Plousios[/i]-clan, but make [i]sure[/i] everyone knows that they're going on a voyage to the gates of the gods, and not everyone's going to be coming back. We need you, and there will be glory, but it's still dangerous. It's worth it. But you need to [i]know[/i] what you're deciding."

This is different than asking Bella to come with her and not expecting a refusal. She's been a guest of the Alcedi, and now they want to follow her[1]. She can bring the Hermetics along without batting an eye, given that they have some idea of what they're signing up for, but taking the Alcedi along is... now she knows a little better how she might have seemed, so eager to explore the unknown that she was heedless of its realities and dangers.

But she can't say no to them, and not just because they need a crew. If she says no to the Alcedi, if she tells them that they can't come with her, she might as well go back home right now. [i]Everyone deserves the sky[/i]. Human, Alcedi, Servitors; they all deserve to be able to make that choice for themselves, whether or not it ends up being the right choice.

When the shuttles begin to land, for a moment Redana is caught in a halo, and Lacedo can't tear her eyes away from the young woman: shoulders bare, eyepatch black against her fair skin, an omphalos that the world turns around. Then Redana turns, and shares the smile that kills maidens' hearts, Redana Acaceta in her glory. You can scheme against her, you can fight against her, but you can't be more charming than her, without artifice and unbowed by the weight of her phantom crown.

Redana is going to save the universe. And her magic is that you can [i]believe[/i].

***

[1]: or, as she's starting to pick up on, they want to follow [i]Redana Acaceta[/i][2], Gracious Redana. The shining hero who slips through time and saves the innocent, who dances between seconds and carries golden emptiness in her hand. Try not to think about living up to [i]that[/i], Dany!

[2]: Redana is blissfully unaware that the slang meaning of [i]Acaceta[/i] is "completely guileless; well-meaning ditz (affectionate)." Already the Denunciation of Hera is being relayed to the Coherents, and knowledge of what sort of mistress they have sworn loyalty to is spreading.