[b]Skotos![/b]

"She is not yours, Skotos," snapped Hera, dropping you to the ground and drawing herself up to her full, regal height. "You have no claim on her location. I have no desire to tell you. Direct the craving in your voice to Aphrodite, for I do not answer the prayers of the heartbroken and desperate. I have no desire to empower the impulses that have bought you to this place."

"I do," said Aphrodite, lighting a cigarette in the corner. His lined face is a mess of creases that might be a smile. Hera casts him an irritated and disdainful look.

"It seems, then, you have a choice to make," she said, stepping back until she was equidistant between you and Aphrodite. "Never say you were never offered one."

[b]Alexa![/b]

You are in a study; opulently appointed, heavy with books. The fading paper smell has soaked into everything. From the outside you can hear reverent prayers of prospective students; not just Azura voices, but servitor-kith the galaxy over who have come here to beg the aged masters for education.

"We had a deal, serpent," said the voice of Cronus, thick with the blood of children.

"We had no such thing," creaked the ancient voice of the Azura Shahrak. "You dictated terms to me. I laughed them off."

"You did no such thing!"

"Did I not? Oh, my, tragic little warrior king," said the Shahrak. "You do need some lessons on polite society, don't you?"

You can feel the hatred pouring from Liu Ban. It doesn't need to be a big hatred, really, it just needs to be big enough to drown every positive impulse, moral or scruple that might check it. And for your father that does not need much hate at all.

Did you know he never fought the Azura? It's a mark of deep shame for him, the perfect Athenean Emperor. His intention was to win his own civil war first and then, once society was perfected, reforged into a weapon, he would at last destroy the Eternal Enemy. But instead he lost the war, lost his head, and is now being disrespected by an Azura technologist who clearly sees him as an item barely more notable than his treacherous daughter. This is his nightmare, the ultimate crushing humiliation. He'd burn the galaxy to avoid specifically this moment. He'll burn the galaxy to avenge it.

The withered Azura Shahrak examines the Command Seal upon the back of his left palm with rheumy eyes. You can feel the power, the threat. They are as Molech designed them, the secret encoding techniques that contain the key to your unhesitating loyalty. If he could not control you himself he sold you to one who could, one who now looks at you through magnifying lens goggles. 

"You are... the Pallas Rex?" he asked. "Tragically so, if true. It looks like you have had post-period modifications made to your mouth that [i]sharply[/i] reduce your value as a museum piece. In better condition you might have stood as an eloquent symbol of humanity's warlike folly, but as you are... perhaps it is for the best. The Skies have use for you."

[b]Vasilia and Dolce![/b]

The cards match. Border, calligraphy. THELIS THIST, EATER OF THE DEAD. 

You turn the card over. Upon the back of Thist's card is written the word TUNGUSKA, the same as the one you carry. Hers is stamped though; she has used hers already. 

"Of course," said Thist magnanimously. Her version of polite laughter is more on the devil grin side of things. "I can sate a little of your appetite. I got my first taste of what was coming when I met their advance scout, XIII. Some sort of feline assassin - oh, I see you [i]know[/i] her. Well, you might not know they've unleashed their Ikarani adept. I haven't met her but she," Thist took a deep breath of her cigar, "is a data addict. An intellect enough to snatch fire from the gods, who will then inevitably burn in that same fire. Deadly threats, ordinarily, but this one is fighting blindfolded - Sagakhan has not told her about [i]me[/i]. Poor girl imagines she's fighting unopposed. If she realizes that she's been made I imagine she'll burn your ship and butcher your crew in a panic. Who else? I suspect but haven't confirmed they might have an Oratus. You've heard a little of my humble speechcrafting," she flashes another grin; only she is in on this joke, "but she is convincing enough to be literally hypnotizing, right up to the point where she loses track of her body and becomes a deadly disease. Of course there's Sagakhan herself, who keeps her capabilities closer to her chest. I've picked up that she's got the eye of Demeter, though, so... hmm, I'd skip any raw salads, put it like that."

"It's Sagakhan you really need to watch out for, though," said Thist. "Any of the assassins might get you, of course, but I've whittled down her elites over the years. Now all that's left are children barely out of basic training and she's evidently setting them up to fail. I'm happy to take the prey, but your co-operation would make it a more... controlled process."

[b]Bella![/b]

Redana takes your hand. She was always distracted during her dance lessons. She is not distracted now. This is the dance of someone who values the dance above her partner. All eyes on you, and that is perfect, for in the distance you can hear Beljani's voice leading the Azura musicians. Her voice is transcendent, and its notes are the reassurance that the clock is on your side.

"You follow me still," said Redana, voice steeled with conviction. She's so restrained, as predictable as sunshine. "It makes me wonder why you did not simply accompany me when I asked. Do you know that it was you alone whom I invited? You alone whom I trusted? And you betrayed me, just to follow me anyway?"