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“ALL STATIONS, ALL PERSONNEL, we’ve arrived safely in Geneva. Perform post-fold checks, and report anomalies, and issues, including any medical issues. Personnel are free to move about. Command out.”
Q winced. Why did they make those announcements so loud? But she was happy they were here. Now Ruhger and Saree could go check on Lightwave and hopefully, quit worrying about everything so much.
“Are you okay, Saree?” Ruhger asked. Q couldn’t see his face, but he sounded concerned.
“Actually, I am. I feel a little... squeezed, but nothing like I’ve had in the past.”
“Good.”
Q stumbled a little getting up. She peered around Ruhger. “Why would you feel bad, Saree? It’s just fold.”
“Fold affects some beings negatively,” Saree said, slowly rolling up and out of the bunk. “I’m one of them. We think it might be a... well, never mind. Just know I’m not the only one.”
More secrets. But... Q thought she had imagined her reactions to fold, but maybe not. She had a chance to find out right now. “You know, sometimes I don’t feel very good after a fold either. It feels like my whole body got squished down into nothing, and I end up with bruises.” Q looked up, remembering the one time on Indomito when she woke up an hour later, feeling like someone ran her over. “I passed out once.”
“Really? Interesting.” Saree looked at her like a scientist examining unexpected results. “Are you good at y’ga?”
Q laughed. “No, I’m terrible. No coordination.” It used to be true, back at the Sisters. If Saree and Ruhger were keeping secrets from her, she’d keep some from them.
“No, I mean the meditation part. Have you ever found yourself in a place of peace and beauty?”
Q scowled. The only time she meditated was when she was totally bored or needed to sleep. “No. It’s boring. Like watching sand blow away.”
Ruhger huffed, the little puff of air sounding disgusted. “If you’re doing it wrong, that’s true.”
“I don’t do it wrong. I do it all right!” It’s still boring!
“Right,” Ruhger said, dryly. “That’s why you ended up with Familia.”
How was meditation connected to the Academy? The two of them were ridiculous sometimes. Q strode out of the compartment. She’d find something else to do, since they weren’t going to let her go to Lightwave.
“Q?” Lan stood there in his uniform shipsuit.
Ooh, scorching! “Hey, Lan. What are you doing here?”
He grinned. “Waiting for you. I’ve been detailed to give you a tour of the net support squadron. For once, I don’t mind being tour boy.”
Q laughed. “Aw. How sweet. But watching people work on holos isn’t exactly exciting.” But it was way better than watching Saree and Ruhger fly to Lightwave.
“What if you got to help a bit? Would that be more interesting?”
“Oh, yes.” Maybe she could figure a way around some of the restrictions.
“This way.” Lan tilted his head to her right. “You know, I don’t even know you, and I know that look is trouble. You’re a natural-born net breaker, aren’t you?”
Q wasn’t going to answer that. “Nah. I’m an angel.”
“Right. Well, just don’t get me in trouble, okay? I wouldn’t mind learning a few things from you, though.” He laughed and held both hands up, palms facing her. “Net tips and tricks, that’s all I meant.”
“Sure.” Maybe he meant that, maybe he didn’t. He was cute, so either way, she’d win.
#
AFTER THE TOUR AND a session with the flagship’s net techs, Lan took her to meet his boss.
“Well, Q, anytime you want a great career, message me,” Master Sergeant Bryang told her. “You’ll have to go through intake and basic like everyone else, but I’ll make sure you end up right here on the flagship. Depending on how you do with people, you could be in officer country in a couple of years.”
Q laughed. “No offense, Master Sergeant, but I grew up in a military-type environment. I’m not in a big hurry to return.”
He smiled but sobered quickly. “Sometimes, returning to your roots brings safety and peace of mind. Don’t lose my contact info.”
“Thank you. I won’t.” Since Bryang looked like he spoke from experience, it wasn’t a lie. He seemed like a nice person. She would keep his contact information close. “And thanks for the tour of the net. I appreciate the opportunity.”
“You’re welcome. Take care out there.” He turned to Lan and nodded. “You’re off duty. Go get some chow and play net games. I know you two are dying to duke it out.”
“Thank you, Master Sergeant! Come on, Q. Let’s go.” Lan led the way out of the maze of workstations.
None of them were as nice as Familia’s, but they came with less commitment. You might get shot at or end up in a dangerous situation, but at least it wasn’t just for money and power. Q sniffed. Or maybe the money and power were just better hidden. And you could leave. No one left Familia.
“Do you mind if I change first?” Lan asked.
“No problem. Do I get to see your compartment?”
“My compartment? You realize I’m still a basic recruit, right? I’m in a big compartment with eleven of my closest friends.” He led her to a float tube, down a few levels, then through a maze of passageways and a couple more stairways down. “The only reason they don’t shove more into a compartment is that we need room for emergency gear in case we... become less than space worthy for some reason.”
“You don’t have to worry about scaring me, Lan. I know I’m on a warship floating in a vacuum. I keep track of emergency stuff as we go.” Like the bod-pods right there, clearly labeled for emergency use.
“Oh, good.” He shrugged. “Sometimes civilians are weird about planning for the worst case.”
“Yeah, they are. But not me.”
He glanced at her. “Yeah, I get the feeling you’ve seen a lot of bad stuff in your short life.” An ironic smile flashed. “Don’t worry, I won’t ask. I’ve been told your group is classified, need to know stuff.”
“Sorry.” Q shrugged. “Believe me, I wish it wasn’t.”
Another side glance. “I bet.”
They entered a long, narrow passage with nothing but hatches to either side.
“This is the first tour dorm. If you do okay and come back for a second, you get a little more room but not a lot. Each compartment is airtight.” Lan stopped in front of a hatch halfway down. “Hold here for a sec, okay? When I let you in, just look and go back out. Somebody’s probably sleeping.”
Q nodded.
Lan entered, looked around, then motioned her inside. The compartment seemed claustrophobic. Clustered in the middle, bunks stood three high, with some sort of folding partition to block the bunk off—several were closed. Tall, narrow secured compartments lined the outside of the space. Q entered and walked around the stack of bunks. Four sets of three-high bunks surrounded by a very narrow walkway, then storage compartments, all in bland beige and gray plas, and that was it.
Q left the compartment and leaned against the passageway wall. Wow, that was tiny. This huge ship and all these people shoved in these tiny spaces. No wonder the recreation compartments were always crowded. She checked her messages. Ruhger and Saree made it onboard Lightwave, and the crew was all there, safe. Her body sagged in relief, then stiffened again. Now they had Lightwave back, what would they do with her? Would they let her work with them? With Familia looking for her, Q was a huge risk to take on. Next to Katryn and Tyron, her skills were nothing. Definitely not enough to make up for the danger of her presence.
Lan exited, the hatch sliding closed behind him. “Come on, we’ll go back up to rec ten.”
“That’s all the room you get?”
A bark of laughter. “Yep, that’s it. A bunk and a storage compartment with just enough room for your soft armor and three sets of uniforms.” Lan shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ve lived with worse.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. The world I came from? It’s crowded. There, once you’re working age, which is fourteen standard years, you get less room than that, and you only get the bunk for twelve hours. Someone else gets it for the other twelve.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Having a bunk to myself is a luxury. And it could be worse than that, even. Some of these guys come from worlds where you share a bunk that size with three people, and you only get it for eight hours. Or less.”
“Wow. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to grow up on—” sand and sun, she couldn’t tell him which world “—a frontier world.”
“Was it dangerous?” Lan asked.
“It could be.” Q shrugged. “You have to be cautious because there’s always some big animal trying to eat you, and there’s more animals trying to eat your food. It’s a lot of hard work to stay alive.”
“It’s hard work to stay alive on my world too, but it’s not animals, it’s your fellow humans preying on you.” Lan shook his head. “People will kill for very little. This,” he motioned at the fold transport around them, “is luxury on a scale I couldn’t imagine as a kid. Oh, sure, there’s rich people with whole buildings to themselves and even some empty space, and the planet has some nature preserves, but my chances of seeing any of that were next to nothing. I was so excited to get accepted into the Fleet, even knowing I’d never see my family or friends again. I knew this was a chance at safety I’d never have there.” He shrugged. “It’s not truly safe. There are still plenty of bad people, and I’m on a warship, but it’s way safer than my homeworld.”
They entered the rec compartment, and Lan stepped in and stopped, looking around. Then, he pointed to the big vid console, with a bunch of first-termers standing around it, cheering and jeering. “Come on, let’s go play.”
Q grinned and happily followed him into the fray. But she couldn’t help but think about Lan’s expression at the end of his speech. Gov Human Military advertised itself as the ultimate safety for all humanity. But obviously, it was only as good as the humans in it. A structure like the military, where the higher-ranking individuals held all the power, could easily be abused. And it would be hard to prove because, unlike Familia, military people would have to be good at hiding their abuse. She’d already seen it—those two sergeants trying to coerce her into some sort of group sex thing.
People like Lan, used to a kill-or-be-killed world, wouldn’t believe the notices for alternative reporting procedures and anonymous reports for abuse of power. Those procedures were probably well-meaning, but in reality, would they really be anonymous? Probably not entirely. The combination of those factors would make it easier for the abusers to hide what they were doing.
So, the usual survival rules still applied. Be aware of your surroundings at all times, and never let yourself be cornered.
Maybe she could do more than just ride along, waiting for Ruhger and Saree to finish whatever it was they were doing. Maybe she could be part of the solution. Q smiled. If she could get to the right people, she could help Gov Human crackdown on these horrible abusers and send the predators someplace where they’d experience being prey for once. Or at least away from all these vulnerable first-tour kids, unwilling to trust their lives to a system that might fail them.
“Hey, Lan.”
He smiled down at her.
“Got a message. I’ll be right back.” At least, she hoped she’d be right back, but Saree wanted to talk to her.
Lan winked. “Hurry. Got to have someone guarding my six.”
“I will.” And she would, in more ways than one.
#
“YOU NEED TO DO WHAT?” Q asked. That tour of the flagship’s net work area seemed like eons ago, not just a couple of days. But Saree’s statement made the boredom fade away.
Saree smiled at her. “I need to return to my normal body. This,” she swept a hand from her head to her thigh, “isn’t me. I’m not a blonde, nor am I built like this. Fortunately, I have the DNA code for my as-born appearance. Since I’m doing it, you may as well get your tattoo removed and a full health check now. Grant is here, and he’ll watch over both of us.”
Interesting that Saree didn’t fully trust Gov Human either. Both Saree and Ruhger seemed much happier reunited with Lightwave—maybe it was more than finding them safe and the crew intact? Maybe they needed a way to escape Gov Human? Or just the backup for negotiations on whatever it was they were talking about?
“It would be my pleasure,” Grant said with a little bow and a big smirk. Q remembered Grant well from Lightwave—growing up in a compound with all women, the tall, graceful, almost pretty blond man with the flirty manners and cheerful smile stood out, even when she wasn’t old enough to understand why all the older girls were giggling. As Q grew up, Lightwave folded in occasionally, bringing supplies. Grant was one of the people who always flew down to see them, bringing fun stories with the trade goods. He was both annoying and useful—his skills as a negotiator got them better accommodations and the use of the officer’s mess, but he was one more person treating Q like a kid.
Saree retorted, “Of course it would.”
“It’s a strategic move too,” Grant said soberly. “We’re not making any progress with Gov Human, so we need to step back from the negotiations, let everyone cool off and think. This will give everyone a full day to do just that.” He snorted. “It might even work.”
“Maybe,” Saree said. “I’m not holding my breath.”
Grant shrugged. “Shall we go, Gentles? I’ve made the arrangements with the medicos already.” He opened their sleeping compartment hatch and waved them to go out first.
Q snorted. “Got my life all planned out for me too?”
“Of course not. That’s entirely up to you.” He stepped up to her side. “You should think about joining Gov Human’s military, though. You should be safe from, hmm, those people, and you’d put your skills to good use.”
“Why is everyone trying to convince me the military is the right thing for me?” Q scowled up at him. “You realize ‘those people’ have a lot of power here, don’t you? And it’s not that safe here. I’ve already escaped a couple of sand vipers here, and I know there are plenty of recruits who aren’t so lucky.”
Saree turned so fast Q almost ran into her. “What? What kind of sand viper and who, exactly?”
If looks could kill... Q almost smiled. Someone actually cared. But...people were staring at Saree’s outburst.
Grant made a little half-circle with his finger, then pointed toward the float tube. “Not here, not now, Saree. Keep going.” He wrapped an arm around Q’s shoulders, following Saree’s cerimetal spine, marching along the corridor. In a low voice, he said, “After your procedure, I expect to hear all the details. I’ll get the right people, so you only have to tell the story once. You said ‘escaped,’ right? You’re okay?”
Q waved a hand. “I’m fine. Amateur hour, comparatively. But others aren’t so lucky.”
Grant snorted. “I hear you. I’ll see what I can do.” He chuckled a little. “This might even be fun. At least compared to negotiating with General Kerr’s staff.”
They walked into the medico bay, where two women waited. “Q?” the older woman, with skin the color of milky coffee, asked.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Come with me. I’m Medico Joannam.” She turned and headed off into a passageway, then into a small compartment with a med float. “I understand you were born on a frontier world, correct? No real medico stations or care?”
“Yes, Medico,” Q replied.
“Okay, a complete checkup with a full DNA check and cleaning, tattoo removal on your stomach, and what else?”
“Can we put my hair color back? It’s normally almost black. It’s just a dye job, not a body-mod.”
She tilted her head and tapped her chin. “I’ll make sure you get an appointment with the closest Styler.” Medico Joannam smiled. “That’s an easy fix.”
“Thanks! That would be awesome.”
“You’re welcome. Now, when I leave, take all your clothes off, hop on the med float, lie back, and say, ‘begin examination,’ loud and clear. If there’s a problem, just yell my name or poke that big, red button on the side of the med float, okay? If you’ve never been in one of these, it will seem a little weird, but there’s a holo that will tell you exactly what it’s doing. Don’t worry about all the arms and straps. They’re for safety only, and you can stop at any time by yelling, ‘stop examination!’ loud and clear. I’ll come running.” She raised both brows. “Got it? Begin examination, Medico, or stop examination, that’s all you need to say.”
“Got it. Thank you, Medico Joannam.” Q bowed a little.
“You’re welcome. Lie back and relax.” She left the compartment, the light on the hatch turning red to show it was locked, so Q did as the medico instructed.
Q looked down at her belly. She’d finally be rid of this ugly, horrible thing. She couldn’t wait. “Begin examination!”
A holo appeared above her head, a stilted voice said, “Beginning examination, please lie still,” and appendages popped out around her. Q smiled at the buzz of a medical stunner on her arm, where they’d take blood samples. Not only would she get rid of the ugly mark but anything else Familia might have left in her and anything caused by her lack of medical care early in life. Plus, she didn’t have to join the Fleet. It was a pretty good deal.
#
“YOU READY FOR THIS? You can say no,” Saree said. “Or wait until after we come back from Cygnus Secundus.” Even though Saree no longer looked like the woman Q knew from the escape from Indomito, she sounded the same. Not only was her voice the same, but so were most of her mannerisms and her attitudes. Saree was clearly worried about the lack of contact with the Sisters. Saree’s new appearance was so strange—it was easier to pay attention if Q didn’t directly at Saree, otherwise, the short dark hair, darker skin, and less curvy figure were all too distracting. Q vaguely recalled the new-old-look Saree from Lightwave and the Cygnus Gliese escape—mostly, she remembered Saree singing and trying to teach guitar. But Saree was a Scholar back then; Q remembered the robes. The name “Saree” didn’t sound right either. Maybe she’d been called something else? But none of that mattered right now.
Q was tired of doing nothing but worrying—the days passed too slowly. This was one little thing she could do and make a big difference for a lot of people. “I got this. These people are nothing.” Q waved Saree’s concern away. Next to Familia? These people were sand fleas. Besides, this might be her only chance. There was no guarantee they’d return to the Fleet. Depending on what they found at the Sisters’ compound, she might have to stay there, go somewhere else forever, or any number of other possibilities. Dread sent icy shivers down her spine.
“Q will be fine. We’ll be watching very closely,” Major McFar assured them. As the head of undercover operations for General Kerr’s Special Investigations Squadron, Q was sure he’d seen far worse. He had a quiet competence that was very reassuring. “And Shawnso will be in the compartment with a stunner, just in case.” He pointed at the dark-haired woman next to him. “She’s done plenty of undercover ops, just not on the flagship. She’s usually playing your part, Q. She’ll be near you, but she won’t step in unless she has to. We don’t want to give away her real job.”
Q could see why Shawnso was normally the bait. She was beautiful, with dark skin, long black hair, a heart-shaped face, and big brown eyes. “I’d rather be doing this than my cover job,” she whispered to Q with a wink.
“If you’re ready, go,” Major McFar said. “And thank you again.”
Saree put a gentle hand on her arm. “Be careful, Q. We don’t want to lose you.”
Q smirked at Saree and McFar but squeezed Saree’s hand for a moment, gratefully. “I got this.” Then she walked out with her new best friend, Shawnso, more than ready to get started. Maybe she couldn’t do anything about Familia or Saree’s problem, but she could do this. “So, what do you do?”
Shawnso laughed. “Oh, my last ‘duty as assigned’ was so nasty! I had to clean and oil the plas shredders. Brush shreds of oily gunk out of giant machines, replace dull teeth, then make sure the oilers were working right. So boring. So messy and dirty.” She snorted as they entered rec ten. “But it could be worse. I could be mucking out stalls.”
“You are so right.” Q shuddered. “I’m so happy I never have to do that again.” She hoped that was true. “Hey, I need a drink. I’ll be right there.”
Shawnso shrugged. “Sure. I’ll be playing.”
Q hung out and played net games like she usually did, but no one approached her. Did the word get out already that she was someone special? But she looked different now and had a standard recruit e-torc and identity, so unless it was the same two sergeants who approached her earlier, it shouldn’t be an issue. But it couldn’t be them. Major McFar said that, with her help, they’d gotten enough evidence against those two, and they were in the brig. Unless they got the chance to talk to others?
At the end of the day, they all met over a secure e-torc connection. “Good job out there today,” McFar said. “Don’t worry, this may take a couple of days. The smart ones will wait and watch. Just keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll have a different safety person in the compartment tomorrow. We can’t risk sending Shawnso more than one day at a time. The only reason we can use you more than once is the medico profile we’ve got on your fake identity. Don’t come to our compartment tomorrow. Just go to the rec room, looking bored.”
Q nodded. “Okay. Thanks for hanging out, Shawnso.”
“You’re welcome.” She winked. “You’re a natural. Have fun.”
Q swept off the connection and got ready for bed. Tomorrow was another day. Saree said they’d be folding from system to system while she and Grant negotiated with Gov Human, but they wouldn’t tell her what they were negotiating.
Even if playing bait took weeks, it was better than simply flying along as a free-loading oxy breather.
#
Q FILLED HER BEV-TAINER. She was so bored. She never thought she’d get tired of playing net games, but she was. She plopped down in a chair at the side of the compartment and brought up her messages. Nothing from the Sisters. She was really worried. If they weren’t responding to Gov Human Military messages, it couldn’t be good.
Someone sat next to her, and Q glanced over, then smiled. “Lan! They’ve been keeping you busy.”
“They have.” Lan grinned at her. “But I’m here now. Let’s go destroy some alien machines!”
“Oh, look, the new kids are so cute together. We’ll have lots of fun with these two.”
Q looked up to see two men and a woman surrounding them. Q had noticed all three of these sand vipers watching her and some of the others yesterday. She’d tried to find out who they were, but their identities were blocked, which probably meant they had someone on the inside of security. It might mean they were officers. Good thing her vid was running constantly, and those special investigation people were watching. She hoped so, anyway, because sitting in a soft chair was not her favorite place to start a confrontation. Although she had a straight shot at one of the men, right between the legs. He must not be very smart. Chosen fall guy or just muscle?
“Yeah, Lan knows what kind of fun we like,” the woman said. “But he doesn’t seem to have as much fun as we do.” They all laughed.
Q risked a glance at Lan. His jaw was tight, his fists clenched on the armrests of his chair, and his expression was half terror, half fury. Well then, that made this easy. Two testimonies for the price of one. And if she had to act, she was going for maximum damage.
“You don’t want to start something with me,” Q told them, trying to put regretful sincerity in her tone.
They all smirked or snorted. “What you gonna do, baby?”
“Nothing the cutie can do.” The guy in front of her bent down, with his lips millimeters from hers, and clamped his hands around her waist. “Doesn’t even know who we are,” he whispered in her ear, then bit the lobe, hard.
“Ow! Let go, or you’ll regret it.” Idiot. Q clenched her fists to keep from punching this idiot right in the nose. But she wanted cerimetal-strong evidence, so they’d be stopped for good.
“Right. Like you or the little boy can stop us.” The man ran his nose down her neck and one hand up to her breast, squeezing hard.
“I said no! Take your hands off me.” Q shot a glance at Lan. Hands clamped on his shoulders, pushing him down and back in his seat, the woman mirrored what the man was doing with her.
“You’ll do just what we say when we say it, or you’ll have a terrible accident. Those airlocks are tricky,” the standing man said in a low tone. “It’s happened before.”
Perfect. Now she had proof, and she could hit back. A wave of silence drew her attention to the rec room’s main hatch. “No, I don’t think I’ll be having any accidents. But you might.” She tilted her head at the armored military police marching in. Sand scooter scat. All hope of getting a few shots in on these idiots was gone now.
“Black holes!” All three took a step back.
“You three, let’s go,” the fully armored man in front with officer’s insignia motioned to the three.
“Hey, it was—”
“Save it. Identity blockers in a rec room? That’s enough to put you and your security friends in the brig.” The officer, Captain D’Baker, slashed a hand. “Go.” His forefinger pointed, and when the one who stayed standing tried to step back into the crowd, one of the security members grabbed his wrist, pulled it up behind his back, and marched him out of the compartment. The other two followed, blustering about how they hadn’t done anything. The officer remained, looking down at them. “Recruit, Caplan, your presence is required.”
“Really?” Q got up and scowled. “It’s all on vid.” She gestured at her e-torc. She’d been briefed they’d insist on her presence as a Recruit, so her identity wasn’t risked, but a protest was expected.
“Yes. But personal testimony is still required.” He lowered his voice. “And he needs some support.” He tilted his head toward Lan, still sitting in the chair.
Q shot a startled look at Lan. He was shaking. Sand vipers. Q offered her hand, palm up. “Hey Lan, I could use some company.”
Lan looked up at her hand and then her face. Q tried to smile but gave up. He took her hand and rose, following her out of the compartment. The security officer took the lead, but not to security. They went to the medico compartments. There, Medico Joannam and Major McFar waited. Medico Joannam asked Lan to follow her. Q squeezed his hand and let go. Lan followed the medico down a passageway and into a compartment. Captain D’Baker trailed them, standing outside at the hatch.
Major McFar led her off to the side. “Thank you for helping. We appreciate it.”
Q scowled. “My pleasure. I just wish you’d waited a minute so I could get a few hits in.” She glanced at the hatch Lan entered. “But too bad you didn’t catch on sooner.”
The officer’s lips flattened. “Yes. My fault entirely. I had no idea anyone was capable to the point of targeted identity blockers without alerting security overall. On. The. Flagship!” He scowled at the decking. “That means a real organization, which means widespread problems. It’s not just those three.” McFar looked at Q, red flags of fury blazing on his cheeks. “We’ll get them. All of them. I promise.”
“I’m sure you will do your best.” Q didn’t think McFar could keep that promise; he didn’t know who was involved or how far up it went.
“I will. Unfortunately, word has already spread.” McFar scowled into the distance. “More signs this is an organized group.” His gaze returned to hers. “As a result, you are now confined to General Kerr’s level. We’re having your things moved now. You can keep the e-torc; a conference room is being converted to a small rec room.”
“I can’t hang out with Windby and Lan in the rec compartments?”
“No, sorry, too risky.”
“This sucks like the giant black hole of Andromeda!” Some reward.
“It does. Sorry. But it could be worse.” McFar shot a glance toward D’Baker.
He was right. “Yes, of course.” Q sighed. “If Lan wants to see me, will you let me know?”
“Of course. We are very grateful for your help.” He stood. “Come on, I want the medicos to check you—you may have bruises. Then I’ll show you to your new billeting.”
Q followed along, aware that she was fortunate in so many ways. But helping others should result in a reward, not a punishment. Being restricted to the general’s level meant she’d be all by herself, bored out of her skull. And have nothing to distract her from worrying about the Sisters. She had to get Saree and Grant to talk the fleet into going to Cygnus Secundus. She had to know if Nat, Brin, Sister Ani, and even Sister Lashtar were okay.
Or who she had to kill if they weren’t.