Qamh, it turns out, will eat meat in any state. In fact, the only thing she can’t force herself to eat is a root native to Kepler 3 that people make into a mash. She looked at mashed potatoes like I was trying to poison her, then devoured it after I explained it was mostly butter.

  “Is that food from your storage or the Exchange?” she asks.

  “The meat is from a hunt my mate went on last month. The sides and the beer are from the Exchange.”

  “It’s cool you don’t need to go to an office or a station to access it.”

  We ended up on a picnic area at the Garden Palace instead of going into Aelea. I of course talked about Guiseppe’s but then she heard that I had the meat on me and opted for raw. I bought ramen and some sides. Qamh liked the sides as well, causing me to order another set of other things, that she also enjoyed. I get the feeling that she was taken advantage of before she was a prisoner.

  I immediately identified with the woman and want to be her friend.

  “So, Qamh, what do you want to do for the next two days?”

  She hisses with . . . a smile? “I don’t know if I’ve ever been asked that.” Yup, want to keep and protect her. “I hear things are fun. Can we do things?”

  “Fuck, if I didn’t fully identify with that, I’d be sad.” I waft of disbelief rolls off my new friend. “Don’t you judge me. I was an orphan in a war zone. I took care of anyone that wouldn’t or couldn’t fight because I am an angry, scrappy bitch. I used to scavenge and sell my salvage to the Exchange so I could buy food. Our greedy caretakers took our food budget and spent half on luxury bullshit for themselves.”

  “You ever kill anyone to eat?”

  “Nah, got a kid for raping one of my girls. Then a couple of goons that tried to get me because those caretakers were pissed off that I was going off to bigger and better things. Quite a few people after my initialization though. Never for food.”

  “No, I meant, to eat them. First camp I was put in, they wanted to see who had the drive to live.”

  Hungering, vengeful righteousness thunders through me and I must be glowing because Qamh flinches. “You tell me where to find them and they will wear there colon as a crown.”

  “It’s Herrati business, what can you do?”

  “I am the Empire’s furious justice. No matter what Herrati law says, if it violates Imperial mandate your laws and culture are fucking forfeit.” I snarl, shake my head and count through a few deep breaths. “Sorry about that. I have some repressed trauma that my . . . aspected aether flares up for. I won’t press you for info if you don’t want to tell me. But, I will seek retribution for these crimes against the Empire.”

  “Isn’t the Empire why we were starving?”

  I look into her eyes to see if she’s fucking with me. “No. The Empress funds rations and free housing for every citizen and pays non-citizen governments enough to fund rations for their populace. You should have been provided with food. The deaths of users are Imperial crimes, the death of citizens for greed is call for executions. Not only that, but my magic can find the depths of their crimes.”

  I’m breathing heavy, glowing, and I might be growling.

  “I’ll send you a list.”

  ***

  I’m learning new things today. When I get really angry, I leak divine aspected aether in an oppressive miasma. When I get angrier and covered in viscera, I manifest a sword. I keep a gun out so I don’t make an absolute fool of myself and use the one martial art I have some ranks in. Wait, fuck, I’m a higher rank in blades?! PIXIE DAMNIT!

  I’m already breathing heavy from the athletics required for slaughtering a dozen slave camp hosts and running to the next nearby camp a few clicks away. If it weren’t for the jamming field I asked Aria to deploy, it would have much more difficult. It also helps that I have a very motivated feline coming behind me to finish off idiots and rally the ‘captives’. I notified Penny that there were Talent affirmed slavers being murdered and the enabling fey sent ‘You’re the Empire’s Representative. Do law, order, and sentencing if you feel it’s necessary.’

  Andromeda, did I feel the necessity. This was the last of the camps that Qamh had been to, so I had no where left to assault for the moment. Shame because I am amped and my aether is slightly above half. This battery integration thing from my tier up is an awesome boon.

  “So where was the prison camp you were being sent to?”

  “A hundred or so miles south of here? Never been there, but the assignment is still in my System.”

  “Why did I think that one of these were that camp?”

  “The Pits take you, but you kind of went on a Psychoreap escapade. I didn’t dare interrupt. It also served my interests.” She wouldn’t look at me, but I can tell she isn’t sorry I lost track of what I was doing.

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  “Aria, buy or divert enough transportation for at least a whole camp.”

  \The Navy is sending a ship that will be here this afternoon. Or, some planetary transports are available for nine hundred credits a piece.\

  /Flight capable? Capacity?/

  \Yes, and thirty seats, ten more jump harnesses.\

  /Buy me two, please. Half now, half on delivery to . . . two miles city-ward./

  She chirps at me in affirmation.

  “Okay, so you’re going to corral these folks onto Aria, and she’s going to start shuttling people near the camp I was told I could reside at. I will send you with the new shuttles after I get them.”

  “Justicar, I’m not, I cant . . .”

  “Look, Qamh. Liaison was your job, but you aimed me at this mess, so now you are a crusader like me. I don’t know what your Track is, but maybe change it at tier 1?”

  “I want to argue, but you still look like the Wrath of Alhira, so I won’t.”

  “Works for me. When Aria sets you down, scout a spot for a building. I’m sleeping in a fucking bed tonight.”

  “I’d complain about my job description, but it doesn’t say ‘prisoner’ so you got it boss.”

  I throw bread at her face. She catches it and eats it. I remember the other captives and I drop three hundred count rations on the deck and hand my friend a machete.

  “Feed your people. I’ll be back.” She doesn’t answer while she’s ripping into a package and feeding the beast that’s trying to eat her from the inside out.

  I use a moderate amount of aether to fuel my wings and fly the miles to the landing zone that Aria agreed to. Forty minutes later, the shuttles arrive with a third hover car, which I hope that is to take the pilots back to the city.

  “Miss Novarro. Your shuttles are here, so I hope the remaining payment is as well?”

  “Sure, but you men and pilots need to step five meters from the vehicles before I pay you.”

  “I’m afraid that that level of trust is not present between us.” A small man with a greedy smile says.

  I sigh. “Listen, I am Justicar Novarro. Official Representative of the Empire. I will ‘appropriate’ these vehicles and have the Empires negotiators re-engage in negotiations, or your pilots and thugs can leave the ships step away five meters and you will get paid our agreed price.”

  The cat man looks disgusted but signals his men anyway. As soon as they are five meters out, I order a shield around the ships, pay the sister, and walk toward my purchases.

  “I’m afraid you’ve forgotten the foreigner tax.” The beady bastard grins.

  I start assembling my rifle.

  They stand and watch me.

  I climb on a shuttle and they do nothing.

  “Guys, I am the Empire’s Justice on this planet. Extorting me is a dangerous prospect as murdering you in my defense is my word against nobody.”

  This is a Dark Road Kimber.

  The Herrati are fucking slavers and ruthless opportunists. They can suck my rifle muzzle.

  “I’m not looking for a fight lads. I want my goods for the price we agreed.”

  “No. We didn’t know you were Human.”

  I crease three foreheads. “I’m not Human, Cat. Care to keep going?”

  “You filthy . . .” I blow off his buddies leg and his arm. He screams and rolls around like an idiot. I file the incident in what is becoming my justice blog and ask Tova to hijack the shuttles for me. I would normally feel terrible for negotiating with violence but they are just trying to extort me.

  “Yeah, I paid you. I’m leaving. Good luck with your

  . . . no, fuck you and your extortionist policies.” Lucky for them, left words unsaid and let me leave without having to murder them

  Tova, days like today I feel like a terrible person.

  Not to prey on a bad situation, but you don’t switch gears well, so you are more hostile after dealing with Imperial crimes.

  Blarg. I know you’re right, but I didn’t kill them, I just maimed them.

  Kimber.

  I know! Tova, I didn’t know this angel garbage would come with its own emotions! I’m trying but it’s hard to realize when I’m in it. I’m not trying to be a huge bitch Tova! I think I get where Zia is coming from though. This overwhelming, righteous fury is something else.

  When you settle into this camp you have yet to visit, would you consider using the Talent that Isabelle taught you? Like on yourself or on this situation if you can.

  Huh, do you think it’s a cross between Pass Judgement and a sense motive skill? That seems very useful for assessing people that might want to work with me or don’t seem to be dirty scumbags. Using Pass Judgement and having to judge people for minor shit feels like a waste of magic, and unnecessary trauma.

  Thinking why wait, I look back at the men and the shuttle and enact [Weigh the Balance].

  A flicker of the men’s typical actions flit across my mind, and a fractal of my actions had I not ascended into a race change plays afterward. Oof, I am being quite a bit more brutal, for no other reason than I can. Energy bold would have done the job without the risk of death. I see that some of the men are looking bad, and now I feel sorry for them, so I inject them with tier 1 meds and a blood stabilizer. Some try to fight me, and this time I taze them with my finger guns.

  I think Isabelle borrowed from the future to keep me from becoming a righteous disaster. I’ll have to thank her at the wedding—she said she’d be there.

  Tova helps me synch the shuttles to Aria, but I take manual control of the one I’m riding in. Something about the way things have being going recently that I feel the need to have control. Through some decidedly questionable information access that Tova just so happens to have programs for, she tells me the coordinates of the work camp that the Governor had originally intended to send Qamh to and when I need to make some changes and requisitions.

  I briefly consider if I can afford to drop a bunch of stuff ‘in place’ and considered that the only ridiculous costs were the one that I did in Humboldt where I transferred a building and a park, and the sections of the Square in Elsewhere as the weight associated with that building was truly impressive. Also, I have a 35M credit bonus coming if Billy makes good on his promise to get my coca leaves to my factory on time.

  I float some ideas to Tova and Aria and ask them to mill it over while I meet with the locals after sending a lend-lease request to Consul of the Interior and Planetary Assets. This is going to be a nightmare of paperwork and meetings—possibly fights—but what should I expect when I drop in and start laying waste to their work camps and commandeer their work-slash-slave camps.

  If I didn’t know what my next project was going to be, I do now.