“Your Grace, Lord Hroka and his entourage have arrived in port.”

  Caliban paled, swallowing as his tired eyes rested upon a solemn-faced Nikita gently touching his shoulder with her finger, and for a moment it was only them in the increasingly busy command center for the entire Terran Branch of the Blue Federation that had somehow transformed from property trust to full time invest bankers now financing the resurgence of a newly forged Barony with over 35 million citizens in just three territories alone. Not to mention a fully functioning railway system dreamed into pristine existence, and the desperate need to handle the logistics of what were now 8.57 million people reborn into existence in a fully restored Pre Apocalypse and somehow perfectly functional New York City with only a few days of food on hand.

  Normally, he logistics of arranging for the dwarven manufactured trains based off a century old steam engine model that nonetheless worked surprisingly well into a steady flow of foodstuffs and survivors in desperate need of pod access and training without risking bankrupting the entire kingdom with New Arcadia’s still exceedingly limited tax base and reserves would be an absolute logistical nightmare.

  It was a good thing that the Terran Branch of the Blue Corp S&L had access to an absolutely shocking amount of capital. Now, if a certain young headstrong hero and fool would just get here and sign a simple handful of documents…

  Caliban swallowed, the concerns of just minutes ago paling to insignificance before the significance of the threat now facing them.

  “Lord Hroka, the Silver-Tier Inquisitor.”

  Nikita, his lover and trusted confidant, dipped her head. “The very same, Your Grace.”

  Caliban bit back a curse.

  “And of course you know that Princess Irene has decided that now’s the perfect time to make a play for New York.”

  Caliban blinked, slowly turning to his second. “How long do we have?”

  She snorted. “You’re in luck. Elonia Silver is no fool. She’s maneuvered her opponents into a midnight gala, declaring that certain festivities must be observed before any speak of ‘trade negotiations’ or similar matters will be entertained.” She sighed. “What truly worries me is that the Terran Counsel is making a bid… and that it coincides so perfectly with Lord Hroka’s arrival.”

  Caliban took a steadying breath, easing his sore back. “It seems that our enemies have maneuvered their pieces in a most intricate—”

  That, of course, was the moment, his monitor flared to unexpected life, breaking at least a couple edicts, wards, and rules about electromana energy flow and conservation… but such trifling things as physics rarely seemed to hinder his unexpectedly successful business partner.

  Or his familiar.

  “Calibro and the main squeeze. Good to see you both!” A certain fluffy white bunny quipped, grinning far too wide for any rabbit.

  Nikita blanched, then dipped her head. “Your Grace, I’ll see to clearing command.”

  Before he could object, Nikita gave a sharp, piercing whistle.

  It said something remarkable about the disciplined focus of Caliban’s crew that despite the loud chaos and frantic management of a dozen simultaneous projects, that single sharp whistle froze everyone in their tracks… who immediately began filing out of the impressively vast chamber.

  Caliban sighed. “Lilly, where is your master? It’s urgent that we speak at… You’re fucking kidding me!”

  Caliban’s eyes widened in disbelief when the grinning familiar moved her mug away from the camera of the tablet she had so skillfully managed to nab from Admiral Reiza… only to reveal the sickly grey countenance of a quartet of men whose haunted eyes spoke a story of horror and despair Caliban so didn’t want to be distracted by, particularly when their was a hot Hyperion Core just barely being contained in the force cube the quartet surrounded upon the prow of a massive sailing ship covered in cannons and, from what he could tell, sailing a good half mile in the air.

  “What on Earth…”

  “No time! These boys are tired! We need to offload this core and do it now! The plus side is that, as far as I can tell, it’s just as pristine as all the other cores of torment that Malice Bane specialized in making! So, think we can offload it on the Jitan market?”

  It was all Caliban could do not to scream. “Lord Hroka, a Silver-tier Inquisitor, has just landed in Freetown’s starport!”

  Bunbun’s eyes widened. “We have a starport? Fuckin’ awesome! Can I go up in a spaceship? I wanna go up in a spaceship. Are we colonizing Mars yet? I want in!”

  Caliban took a shuddering breath. “Technically the hypothetical object which you of course are only showing me a cleverly contrived illusion of is so shockingly and utterly outlawed and forbidden in its present unstable state that being caught exchanging such on the surface of a PLANET, will get us all…”

  Lilly winked. “Say no more. Let’s give Admiral Reiza a holler! We know she’ll play fast and loose!”

  Caliban’s nostrils flared, about to give the silly rabbit a sharp reminder about how the world really worked when— “Damn it, Lilly, I think that’s about our only option. Now hold this line! And ping me your coordinates.”

  “Caliban! Lord Hroka will touch down in less than five minutes!”

  “Thank you, Nikita!” Caliban snapped, before internalizing a groan and reaching out to a party he had hoped to be done with for a very, very long time.

  “Admiral Reiza of Tiger Fleet! This better be—Caliban?”

  Caliban blinked at the sight off the disheveled Admiral, realizing that he was reaching her in her private quarters console, and that there were at least three other people on the plush looking silk-lined bed in the center of her posh admiral’s quarters… and none of them looked older than Eric.

  Her expression turned from surprise, to bemusement, to a hard glare. “Unless this is an emergency, Caliban, I think it best we—”

  “How’d you like to purchase a fourth?

  Her eyes widened.

  She turned to the bed. “You three out. Now.”

  In very short order three beaming cadets gave their commander a salute before darting out the door, sans anything but silk bedsheets.

  Caliban’s professional gaze didn’t shift an inch.

  Admiral Reiza grinned. “Oh my dear, delicious Caliban! Eager to secure that favored trading status? Our queen sends her thanks, by the way, and has shifted an additional five percent of our kingdom’s purchases through Blue Federation contracts.”

  Caliban dipped his head, saying nothing.

  Reiza snorted. “Same quality as before?”

  “I believe so, yes.”

  This earned a curiously raised brow. “You do understand that items of this nature carry considerable sociopolitical risk these days, darling. However mutually convenient our last trade was, even with your favored trade status… we do have budgetary constraints to consider for what will, after all, only be a backup core for a dreadnought still many years away from being—”

  “Half a tril, Reiza. Same rate as before.”

  Reiza’s eyes bulged. Her features lit in a fierce grin. “Oh, such a choice offer. Of course I will be more than happy to—”

  “Immediate pickup, Reiza. Time is, sadly, of the essence here.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Her gaze narrowed. “If you’re where I think you are…”

  “Terra prime. Soul system.”

  Her eyes widened. “That many jumps out? It would cost us 30 million credits just to arrange the transport! Per person!”

  Caliban held her gaze. “One half trillion credits, Reiza. Last I checked, the Jitan spread on a pristine Core was—”

  “Done! Give me the coordinates, Caliban. Let’s get this… fuck me!” Her eyes bulged when the screen split once more, revealing a widely grinning rabbit, smiling at them both.

  “Hello!”

  “Impossible!” Reiza hissed. “Inter-System monitor screens don’t split three ways!”

  The rabbit shrugged. “I know. But I was bored, so… yeah! They do now. Right, Fearless Leader? My boss just said ‘right.’ He’s all about flexible physics, so beam me up, Scottie!”

  Reiza’s eyes widened. “You’re the same…” She burst out into laughter, eyes crinkling with delight. “Last I saw you, you were in a life pod orbiting an anomaly. Yet by the look of it, you managed to hop multiple sectors all by yourself!”

  The rabbit winked, pointing to her feet. “Very good for hopping.”

  This earned a snort. “Hundreds of light years per jump?”

  “It’s all in the technique.”

  She chuckled with mirth. “You truly are a prize!” Her sultry smile turned hard and cold. “And do you truly expect me to believe that no grudge, no vendetta has been enacted with our unorthodox parting?”

  Caliban’s brow furrowed, but all Bunbun did was smirk and wave away the concern with her paw. “Petty vendetta’s for suckers. Only a fool let’s a chip on their shoulder get between them and sweet, sweet profit. You understand what I’m saying, Admiral?”

  Bunbun’s eyes flashed. “Momma didn’t raise no fools. I’d far rather be a rich rabbit than a poor fool, and this Bunz is ALL about that fast cash. So, how about you beam me up and we both come up a half-tril in the profit zone with plenty of Negotiation skill rank boons for both of us.”

  Reiza’s serpentine eyes bored into Lilly’s own. She smirked. “For some reason, I actually believe you.”

  “It’s probably all your skill perk boons and former Contender status.”

  Her eyes widened. “How the hell would you actually—” She blanched, then roared with laughter. “Clever one, aren’t you, familiar? I’m guessing your master is a powerful Contender indeed, to Recall you from half a galaxy away.”

  Bunbun grinned. “Yup!” She freely admitted. “Only thing he likes as much as power is slaughtering the fuckwads who underestimate him. But do you know what he likes even more than that?”

  Reiza’s ruthless gaze matched her own. “Why don’t you tell me.”

  “He likes rich friends and fat fucking profits. So let’s make some money, Admiral. If you want to tell your boss you paid full price and square away the difference? I sure as fuck won’t be telling anyone, because I’ll be half a galaxy away, and you’re putting the cost of that first class ticket onto my personal account!” She winked. “And that’s my cut of the action. So, shall we do this?”

  ***

  “Come home.”

  Eric’s whisper echoed oddly across the masts of his ships before bouncing off basalt grey cliffs in a purgatory of jagged cliffs and howling winds… then fading into the star-filled night sky, strikingly beautiful and so very alive with magic and wonder as he flew just over Freetown where fresh enemies had ported in and on to New Arcadia. What was now New York’s crown jewel and the heart of a living, breathing realm of magic and wonder.

  Where twisted serpents even now readied themselves to strike, and a weakened Eric had to stand eternal vigil.

  But not alone, he realized when anxiety turned to sweetest relief as his familiar hopped into existence in his arms.

  “How’s it going, Fearless—oof!”

  She said when Eric choked back a sob, holding her close, rubbing his stinging eyes with her soft, soft fur.

  “You okay, Bun?”

  Bun snorted. “Better than okay. Why don’t you look at your balance, fearless leader?”

  A frowning Alex picked up the tablet that his familiar had so skillfully pilfered the last time she had raided that high magitech realm, noting that it was displaying his personal net worth in his Imperial sub-account, his main account now intimately tied to the Terran Branch of the Blue Federation Savings and Loan.

  His eyes bulged. “So many zeroes, Bun. So many fucking zeroes.”

  His familiar chortled. “Yup! You’re worth almost exactly 2,006,500,000,000. That’s a lot of cash!”

  Eric blinked. “Wait, I know this is going to sound incredibly petty, but shouldn’t the last few digits be flying with all the interest I’m earning?”

  “Nope!” Bunbun cheerfully declared. “Remember, this is the Imperium’s bank account. This isn’t the half Trillion you have locked away in a long term bond which DOES have sweet interest accruing. This is a highly flexible account you can optionally use to fund the entire Terran Branch of the Blue Corp bank… but it’s YOUR personal sub-account that not even Caliban can access, nor his slimy slithery two-faced cousin Arlen Ort. Is he even around in this timeline? Anyway, not even that turd can get to it. Your personal account is one that no one can touch and no one has been able to stop you from actually investing in Earth! And if the cost for the empire’s silence equaling implied consent when so many fucking enemies want nothing more than to cripple you and rob you blind…”

  “Is worth far more than a few zeroes spinning with interest. I agree completely.”

  “Good.”

  Eric winked. “So, how did our favorite admiral take it when you snuck right through the Freeport Gate and onto the bridge of her ship?”

  His familiar grinned. “Reiza just about pooped her pants. Clearly, she had absolutely no idea just how powerful Underlords are when returning to previous summon points, and she made sure to show me all the juicy secrets of her ship when she thought I was utterly under her power.”

  “And that’s when you did it?”

  His familiar solemnly nodded, before miming dizziness, spinning around, and flopping on her back. “Oh! Nooz! I’m spiraling into the evil rift my frenemies led me into. I’m going to explood!” She snorted with laughter. “You should have seen the looks on their faces when I started to glow! Or the way the lazer battery scattered over my nice and glossy fur like laser lights, as if that was going to do jack shit. At that point, Admiral Reiza really did poop her pants!”

  The pair of them roared with laughter on the prow of Eric’s flying ship.

  “Ah, that was fun,” Bunbun said with a playful sigh. “Then I patted her poor pleading head while she dribbled such salty tears… why are purple-eyed tears so salty? Fuck if I know. Anyway, I then said ‘gotcha! Now that fun time’s over, let’s take a look at the shiny!’ And they were shocked as shit when I went over to that Faraday Cage of a force field in the engine room, poked the apoplectic scientists into triggering their field, and plopping the core it right in. All happy and sparkly because, thanks to my answering the summons my way, we were NOT at the perfect zero pressure orbit. But it didn’t make a damned bit of difference. You know why?”

  “896 Elemental Resistance and our shared Hyperion Blazer Perk?”

  “Damn straight!”

  Eric leaned back, a goofy smile on his face. “Oh, that’s sweet. If only I could have seen the look on her face.”

  “You can!” Bunbun said brightly. “See? Her tablet comes with a camera option. I took lots of cool pics.”

  Eric frowned. “But I thought even Blue Corp Tech…”

  “This is Tiger Fleet Tech from the other side of the galaxy. Literally. I won’t ask questions if you won’t.”

  Eric gazed longingly at the tablet. “I should so soul bind it.”

  “You should. You really, really should.”

  “Yeah, but if it’s magnitudes more complex than what I can handle, like a certain Deathblaze plasma rifle that claimed a year of my life when I was Level 9…”

  “Ooh. Good point. How about a few resilience runes instead?”

  Eric smiled, and with a few gentle strokes of iridescent crimson that no earthly weapon could part from his flesh… yet he could shed at will… it was done.

  “Sweet. Now she’s sturdy. Thanks, Fearless Leader. Now take a look at these picks!”

  Eric blinked. “Oh my. If all the cadets are this cute, I definitely want to Captain Kirk my way across the galaxy. And hey, wow! Look at that. She really DID poop her pants!”

  The pair broke out in fresh laughter.

  “Hmm… she probably hates us now. Another elite wanting our heads.” Eric smirked. “So worth it, though.”

  Bunbun grinned. “Actually, she forgave me so fast it’s disgusting. What did she say? That’s right. ‘Ha ha. That’s a good one! She got us, didn’t she? Laugh, you fuckers. Laugh out loud for the crazy bunny. There! Now we’re even! Now, is there any way we can hire you and your shockingly powerful Deep Silver master to teleport onto enemy fleets and take them over? We’ll give you sweet, sweet finder’s fees! Half the value of every ship you manage to capture, even if it amounts to a shockingly absurd fortune!’”

  His familiar sighed into her master’s scritches. “She says her queen’s also totally cool with us doing Jitan-brokered sales, with proceeds split to separate imperial accounts. We could easily earn billions for high quality coreless ships that we capture for them, and upwards of a trillion as our cut of the action for every cored capital ship we claim!”

  Eric blinked. “Absolutely outrageous. They’ll use us as their vanguard to take over all their neighbors. Monstrous! As in… we’ll make a monstrous fortune!! Now tell me more!”

  “I know! Right? But first we have to, you know…”

  Eric grinned. “Do the same thing that we do every weekend?”

  “That’s right. Take over the world! Or at least take out the assholes trying to squeeze your sister for all she’s worth, without you crumbling with absolutely zero Spiritual Energy. Because we might have gotten the Admiral of Tiger Fleet to poop her pants… but odds are, we’re still royally screwed.”