Space Battleship Yamato 5
Part 2: Turning Allies and Twisted Emotions
A Star Blazers alternate universe Tale by AMI MEITSU
Episode 9: Explanations
Part 1: Setsuna Takes Over
Space Battleship Argo
Wednesday, April 13th 2220
0800 Hours: Earth/Space Time
"Now remember, Setsuna. If anything goes wrong you can always use the manual," Derek said as he handed her a rule book.
"Dad, do I really need a manual?" Setsuna asked.
"Setsuna, even the best of captains still have to go back to the beginning sometimes..."
"Right."
"Hey," Astra said as she came up. "I just did a double check and all the repairs check out," She handed Derek a stack of papers.
"Thanks Astra. And, where'd you get that uniform?" Derek said, looking at Astra's black and yellow, skirted uniform.
"I gave it to her so she looked more professional and less princess-y," Setsuna explained.
"It works, I guess…"
"Come on Derek, It's cute…" Nova said as she came up. "In fact they're both cute, and I want a picture," She held up a camera.
Setsuna and Astra looked at each other.
"Um…Okay." Astra said. Then, she intertwined her arm with Setsuna's and they stood together.
"Perfect!" Nova said as she snapped the picture.
"Alright, enough fooling around, we have to leave," Derek said.
"Well then, have a safe trip," Astra said.
"We'll try, come on Arty, let's go," Derek said, motioning to Arty, who was on the other side of the hangar. He nodded and Setsuna and Astra left so that they could prepare for takeoff. For the trip, Arty would be flying his plane, while Derek and Nova traveled together in Derek's.
"Ready?" Derek asked Nova.
She nodded, as did Arty, and within minutes, they were ready for takeoff.
While they prepared to leave, Setsuna walked with Astra to the bridge.
"Hey, Setsuna?" Astra said.
"Hm?" Setsuna looked at her.
"Are you really okay with this captain thing?"
"You're not taking my job."
"I don't want it. I just want to know how you feel about it."
"Well, I wasn't expecting it, but it doesn't seem so bad. I do want to command a ship on my own one day, so it's good practice."
"Until something goes wrong."
"And what makes you think something will?"
"Well, you've got a ship full of useless cadets and mysterious Cometine attacks, something is bound to go wrong. It's only natural."
"You're just trying to curse me, aren't you?"
"No, at least, I don't think so."
"Setsuna!" Called a voice from behind.
Setsuna turned her head to find a young man in a black tiger uniform running toward her.
"Yes, Takeshi?" She asked.
"Well..." He started to speak, but stopped and stood straight with his hand over his heart when he noticed her attire. "I mean, Captain, I have a report for you."
"At ease," she said. "What's going on?"
Takeshi handed her a paper. "Hardy instructed me to give this to you; apparently two cadets have been causing trouble in the hanger."
"Tell Hardy to send them up to the captain's quarters directly after lunch at 1300 hours."
"Yes Ma'am," Takeshi gave the traditional salute and turned away.
"So, what exactly did they do?" Astra asked.
"It's not a matter of what they did once; it's a matter of what they've done five times over."
"Huh?"
"Well, here on this ship, there's level punishment for demerits. Once you get five, you're sent to the captain for a warning or minor punishment. Seven, you're on KP duty and ten you're on line for severe punishment and permanent KP, and more then ten, you're put on trial by the captain and officers and considered for expulsion from the ship and sent back to basic training."
"Wow…remind me never to piss Uncle Derek off…"
"That's not the point, but…whatever, just come on," Setsuna said as she walked off with Astra following.
Later,
Captain's Quarters
1302 Hours: Earth/Space Time
Two black tiger cadets stood across from the desk in the captain's quarters, facing a figure in a blue peacoat and white hat, all of their hair hidden.
"What do you think he's going to do to us?" One of them whispered.
"I don't know," the other whispered. "But it's going to be bad."
"Silence! I did not give you permission to speak!"
"Yes, sir!" They both stood straight up with their hands over their hearts.
"Good, now, what to do with you?" The chair turned.
"Setsuna!" They both exclaimed.
"That's Captain Wildstar to you," She said, taking off her hat and letting her hair fall down her back.
"Oh, come on Setsuna, you don't have to be so formal with us," One of them said casually.
"Yeah, you're one of us," the second clarified.
"Not this week boys, now according to this report from Hardy," Setsuna said as she picked up the paper from the desk. "You are being charged with two counts of excessive tardiness, two counts of reckless behavior and one count of lesson disruption level two. Explain."
"Well…you see…"
"Do not stutter Cadet Amahara! Answer me!"
"Well…uh…" Amahara stuttered.
"We can not explain ourselves Ma'am," The second man, Cadet Neilson said.
"At least you're honest, but there is still a punishment," Setsuna said, then, she pondered for a moment, thinking of something suitable for the two disorderly cadets in front of her. 'It can't be anything too harsh or too soft. It should be something embarrassing, something that will never want to make them act up like this again…Hmm…I've got it!'
"The course," She said.
"The…course?"
"Yes, as established on this ship by my father, the course is a two lap run around the ship in your underwear. But instead of two, it's four."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Neilson gave her a shocked expression.
"Do I look like I'm kidding? You start at 1900 hours, right after dinner. Dismissed!"
Reluctantly both cadets gave the traditional salute, turned and left the room.
"I can't believe she gave us that," Neilson muttered as they headed down the corridor.
"Who knew? Maybe she's not as easy to break as we think…" Amahara replied.
"I know, I would have thought she's at least given us an easier, less embarrassing punishment…"
Amahara just nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, two Cometine officers sat staring at a large video panel, and, just as they were about to get up, two ships came into view.
"What do you think it is this time?" One asked.
"More Star Force ships," said the other while studying it closely. "Report this to the Princess."
"Right," the first officer nodded and promptly called Invidia to give her the details. She told them to allow the ships in and that she would be down to inspect the travelers themselves. The officers agreed, and, after the ships landed, confiscated Derek, Nova and Arty's belongings and made them stay in one spot.
"I wonder what they're going to do to us," Nova whispered.
Derek shrugged just as the guards snapped to attention and Invidia, wearing the same dress she had on during her phone call, entered the hangar. She stopped in her tracks when she saw who was in front of her.
"Arty?" She asked.
"Princess," Arty nodded.
"Arty!" Invidia exclaimed as she ran up to meet him. Arty picked her up and spun her around, then, he put her back down and gave her a deep, passionate kiss.
"Oh, Arty, I've missed you," Invidia hugged him.
"I know, I missed you too."
Invidia then looked over to her left and exclaimed, "Derek!" She then ran over and kissed him. "What are you doing here? Oh, hi Nova."
"What are you doing kissing my husband?" Nova asked as she tapped her foot against the deck.
"Aw, are you jealous?" Invidia teased.
"A little. How would you like it if I kissed Arty?"
"No!" Invidia snapped. "He's mine, so back off!"
"Then back off Derek!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
At that, both women turned away from each other with a 'humph.' Then men looked at each other with worry and were about to step in when both women started laughing and hugged.
"I'm glad you came, but why are you here?" Invidia asked Nova.
"Derek wants to ask you some questions, and, naturally, I came with him."
"But, if you're both here, then who's watching the ship?"
"Setsuna," Nova answered.
"You're kidding."
Derek shook his head. "It's a long story, why don't we sit down somewhere?"
"Oh, sure," Invidia said, then, she clapped her hands and a young servant girl came up to her.
"Lucia, have a fruit tray and water sent up to my suite as soon as possible."
"Yes ma'am," Lucia bowed, and then quickly turned to leave.
A few minutes later, Invidia set a fruit tray on the glass coffee table in her sitting room. In front of her Derek and Nova sat in two separate chairs and Arty on the couch.
"I'm really glad you came to visit me," Invidia said as she sat on the couch with Arty and laid her head in his lap.
Arty smiled and gently began to run his finger through her hair.
"This is a really nice room, Invidia," Nova complimented.
"Thanks, I re-designed it myself. The old ruler had no taste."
"Old…ruler? You overthrew someone?" Derek asked.
"Of course, this comet was built under my house, and is legally mine. So, I overthrew the old ruler and put him in jail. But that doesn't matter, I didn't know him anyway," Invidia lied.
"Invidia, that's not like you at all," Derek said. "At least, not anymore."
"You've never seen me be a ruler, have you?" Invidia asked.
'No, I haven't. I've thought about it, but haven't seen you act this mean in a long time.' Derek thought.
"Anyway…" Nova said as she set her glass down. "You never told us why you left."
"Nova, you know why I left. I have waited years to finally rule again, and I wasn't going to give up my only opportunity to take a throne."
"But, Princess, we miss you." Arty moved a strand of hair out of Invidia's face. "Can't you rule from a distance and come back to us?"
Invidia sat up and looked at him. "What?"
"You heard me."
"Arty, I can't do that and you know it! If I'm not here to defend myself then the empire could fall back into the older ruler's hands. And I've worked so hard for this, don't make me give it up…" Invidia looked up at him and gave him her 'sad eyes.'
"But, Princess…Stop that!"
"Why?"
"Because, you…you're just…cute!" Arty took her in his arms and kissed her.
"Arty…" Invidia blushed.
"What? You are."
"Can we stop being cute for a minute and do what we came here to do?" Derek asked.
"Why? You don't love me anymore?" Invidia went over and began to tease him with the sad eyes.
"Invidia, knock it off."
Invidia ignored him and added in a whimper for effect.
"Alright, come here," Derek said as he hugged her.
Invidia smiled and cuddled up to him; she was just getting comfortable when the door opened.
"Yes, Miss D'Avena?" Invidia asked.
"I have the report from the officers' meeting, and the schedule for tomorrow," Victoria said.
"About the schedule, tell them to re-do it. I'm taking the day off."
"What? Princess, you can't!"
"Yes I can. I'm in charge and if I want a day off I should get one! So I'm taking off to spend some time with my husband and friends and you're going to re-arrange the meeting schedule, understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Victoria grumbled, while she thought. 'I don't know why you're letting your husband overpower your royal duties! You just want to spend the day in bed with him, don't you?' She scowled as she walked down the hallway.
"Now that you've traveled all this way, how about some dinner?" Invidia looked at everyone.
"That depends, what's for dinner?" Derek asked.
"It's a surprise. All I'm going to tell you is that you have to dress up for it. You did bring formal clothes, right?"
Nova and Derek nodded.
"I brought a dress, just incase," Nova said.
"And I have my EDF blues and coat," Derek said.
"That'll do, what about you?" Invidia turned to Arty.
Arty shook his head. "I didn't think about it, sorry."
"No problem," Invidia picked up her phone. "Lucia? Can you do me a favor?" She said as she left the room.
"Well, she seems pretty happy," Arty sighed.
"And you wish she wasn't?" Nova asked.
"A little, I miss her and I want her to come back to us. It's hard having her so far away; it's always been that way, even when I had to leave her on Earth."
Nova walked over and hugged him. "I know how it feels, to be away from someone you love…"
"I walk away for five minutes and you hook up with Nova? Maybe I should come back just to keep an eye on you!" Invidia said as she re-entered the room. "Lucia will be up in an hour or so with something for you to wear," she said to Arty. "And you two will get ready as soon as she arrives."
"And just where are we supposed to do this?" Derek asked.
"Come with me," Invidia stood up and left with everyone following. She led them out of her sitting room and down the hall to a bedroom, "this will be your room," She said to Derek and Nova.
"What about me?" Arty asked.
"You're staying with me of course, right here." Invidia threw open the doors to her suite and watched Arty's eyes go wide. In front of him was a huge bedroom with cream colored walls, a gold strip along the bottom of said walls, dark red curtains that framed a huge picture of the night sky, a dark, wooden night stand that sat next to a huge bed that was covered with dark red sheets, pillows and a comforter. The bedroom was cozy, elegant, and utterly Invidia.
Invidia looked at their faces and said, "I take it that you like my room."
"Invidia, it's…you," Nova said. "Did you design this?"
"Of course, I did have to take it back from the old ruler, and the old design was just atrocious, would you like to see the closet?"
Nova nodded and followed her in while Derek and Arty looked at each other and thought, 'Women…'
Part 2: A Day Off
Space Battleship Argo
Wednesday, April 13, 2220
1845 Hours, Earth-Space Time
Setsuna looked up at the sound of a knock and saw Astra standing in the doorway of the Captain's quarters.
"Hey," She said, "What are you up to?"
"Filing reports for these cadet's files," Setsuna said as she wrote. In front of her were Neilson and Amahara's folders and two incident report write-ups. "I'm going to be doing stuff like this for a while, so can you do me a favor?" She turned to Astra.
"As long as it's legal."
Setsuna rolled her eyes and dug out a camera. "I want you to take a picture of these two during their run so I can include it with the file for proof of punishment completion."
Astra nodded and took the camera. "Are you sure you don't want to do it?"
"I do, but it's more efficient to have you take care of it," Setsuna explained as she picked up another file and made her way to a small filing cabinet that held folders for every crew member, organized in alphabetical order. She placed the file in its proper place, and was about to close the drawer when Astra came over.
"Hey, what's my file say?"
"You don't have one, because you're not a registered crew member, not yet anyway. And even if you were I can't let you look at it because it's confidential."
"Come one, you can not sit there and honestly say that you've never looked at yours."
"Yes I can. I had never even seen the folder until recently, and haven't read it because I know I'm not allowed to."
"You can be too honest sometimes," Astra sighed.
"It helps in the long run, trust me. Now go take your pictures," Setsuna ordered in a tone that sounded close to her mother's 'go do this now' voice.
"Yes Mom," Astra teased.
Setsuna threw a throw pillow at her.
"Now, captain, I don't think that's very professional."
Setsuna threw another one at her.
"Okay, I get the point, see you later." Astra gave a small wave and headed out. She then made her way down several hallways before positioning herself in front of a few other cadets who had come to watch the punishment as if it was a play. She stood, camera ready, and got the shot in one take when they came around.
"Hey!" Amahara stopped. "What was that for?"
"Your records," Astra replied.
"Yeah right, you're probably just going to…"
"Why would I have any use for this? The captain wants it for your records, okay? And if you don't get moving I'll report you and make sure you get a worse punishment."
"You can't do that," Neilson pointed out.
"You forget, I'm her cousin, I have connections."
The two stepped back, thought for a minute, and then kept on running.
Astra smirked and headed in the opposite direction, thinking, 'I wonder how long it'll take them to figure out that I can't do shit…'
Later
1930 Hours
In an elegant dining room, Derek and Nova sat across the table from Arty, waiting for Invidia. Derek sat in his EDF blues and peacoat, while next to him, Nova wore a long, strapless sky blue evening gown and across from them Arty sat in a black suit that Lucia, Invidia's servant, had found for him.
'It's already been fifteen minutes…how much longer are we going to have to wait?' Arty thought, just as the door open and Invidia stepped in.
For that night's dinner she had chosen a strapless, black dress that laced up the middle of her back, with it she wore a pair of black peep-toe pumps with a black rose on the front of the shoe.
"Princess, you look beautiful," Arty said as he approached her.
"So do you," She complimented.
Then, they kissed and Arty led her to the table.
"So, Invidia, what is for dinner tonight?" Nova asked.
"It's a surprise that I requested for you."
"Well then, while we're waiting why don't you tell us more about your work here?" Derek said.
"What do you mean?" Invidia asked.
"Tell us how this came to be, what you're working on, your ruling style…things of that nature."
"Oh, well, it started when I first arrived here…" Invidia started, then, she went through the whole story of how she arrived and overthrew the old leader, brought some officers up in ranks, and new guidelines she had implied. She was in the middle of retelling a meeting when a server came out with the salad.
"This is your big surprise?" Arty asked.
"No, this is just the first course," Invidia said, then she nodded to the server, who left. She then carefully considered her choices before picking up a bottle of dressing from the tray in the middle of the table. Everyone then settled down and spent the rest of the meal talking about ordinary things rather than interrogating Invidia.
"Alright," Derek said at the end of the meal. "You've put us in elegant suites, given us an excellent steak dinner, and have started to tie up some loose ends, what's next?"
"Desert," Invidia replied just as a servant came into the dining room and placed desert glasses in front of them.
"Invidia, what is this?" Nova asked.
"Sugar free, chocolate pudding with whipped cream and a cherry. I wanted something simple, but elegant," Invidia explained as she picked up her spoon and took a small bite of it.
Arty looked at her and then repeated the movement, but before he did, he scooped the cherry off and gently placed in on top on Invidia's desert. It was not that he did not like cherries, he just knew that Invidia loved them.
Invidia smiled at him, gently scooped up the cherry he had placed the glass and ate it with a smile.
Arty then gave her a sneaky smile, scooped up some of his pudding and offered it to her.
Invidia smiled at him, leaned over a bit and accepted his offering, then she gave him a loving look as they moved closer together.
"Princess?" A servant interrupted.
Invidia snapped back into position, and turned to him. "Yes?" She asked.
"There's a meeting down the hall and Ms. D'Avena is looking for you."
"Tell her to go on without me, she knows I have company," Invidia replied as she smiled at the group.
"Very well then." The servant bowed and walked away, leaving the group by themselves.
They continued eating and when they finished, Invidia pushed her chair back, stood up and said, "It's still early, why don't I give you a small tour of the place?"
Nova and Derek looked at each other and shook their heads.
"Actually we're going to turn in early," Derek said. "You can give us a tour tomorrow."
Invidia nodded. "Alright, Arty?"
"I'm with them. I know it's only eight thirty, but I think we should turn in."
"Fine. You remember where your rooms are located, right?"
Everyone looked at each other with unsure expressions.
"Follow me," Invidia sighed. She then led them upstairs to the hallway where her suite was located, led Derek and Nova to their room across the hall and brought Arty into her suite.
"Stay," She ordered when he sat on the bed. "I'm going to take my shower."
"I thought you took baths at night," Arty said.
"This will be quicker, baths here normally take up to two hours, including set up. So, I'll be back," Invidia said as she walked into her small bathroom.
Arty watched her until she left, and then leaned back and picked up the book lying on her nightstand.
'I can't even read this,' He thought as he looked at the Cometine print. 'Well, there goes my entertainment…' Arty sighed, and then got up and started wandering around the room.
"Arty, what are you doing?" Invidia asked when she came out and found him flipping through a magazine.
"Nothing."
Invidia smiled. "You can have the shower now, I already put your things in the bathroom."
Arty nodded and went into the bathroom, leaving Invidia to shed her robe, get dressed, and climb into bed. She leaned against her pillows, picked up the book and read until Arty came out of the shower and started talking to her.
"Invidia, I've been thinking…everything you have here, your set up…"
"Yes?"
"How on Earth did you manage this? Didn't the old ruler struggle?"
Invidia shook her head. "He tried, but with all the guards against him, I guess he gave up. But enough about that, you look tired, you need to rest," She said as she patted the empty spot next to her.
Arty sighed and climbed into bed next to her.
Invidia clapped her hands for the lights, and cuddled up next to him.
Arty pulled her close to him, feeling silk, rather than the satin fabric of her usual pajamas. He didn't want to admit, but feeling her through the silk was becoming a turn on as he ran a hand along her side. "Invidia, what are you wearing?" He asked.
She pulled close to him. "Why don't you pull off the covers and find out?"
"But…Princess…we can't."
"Arty, when was the last time we were in bed together?"
"Our anniversary."
"And that was near a month ago." Invidia purred. "How could you possibly know how much I've been thinking about you since then? And how long I've been waiting for and wanting you…" She then pulled as close as she could get and gave him a deep, hot, passionate kiss.
Arty quickly put his hands up and tried to push her back, but she gripped his shirt and moved in closer.
"Invidia…" Arty muttered. "You can't…I can't…stop it!" He pushed her back, breaking the hold she had on him.
"Why?" She asked, giving him one of her many sexy-eye looks.
Arty said nothing and tried to look away from her and those eyes.
"Arty, look at me," She demanded. "Arty," she repeated when he stayed in the same position.
Arty did as he was told and looked at her.
"Please," She begged. "Who knows when we'll have this time together again?" She said, then, she moved in and gave him another deep kiss.
Arty tried to push her off again, but she once again gripped his shirt and deepened the kiss, then she kissed him again. He tried to pull back, but realized it was no use, he liked this-and her-too much. Arty pulled her as close as she would get and gently lowered the blanket down to her waist, pleased to see that underneath of it she wore a short, silk, lacy, black slip. Then, he slid his hand between her legs, making her moan and earning himself another hot kiss. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and moved over onto her back, allowing him to climb on top of her.
And then…
Back on the Argo Setsuna sat up in bed and put a hand to her head before shaking it and the nasty dream she had off. 'Why am I thinking these things?' She asked herself as she got up, slipped her feet into her slippers, pulled on Derek's peacoat and headed to the observation deck. It was a place that she had known since she was a baby, and she had never outgrown the action of just watching the stars go by, it calmed her for some reason. She placed her hands on the railing, looked up and let her mind wander.
"Setsuna?" A voice said.
"Huh?" Setsuna immediately snapped out of her dreams and turned to see Takeshi staring at her.
"Or should that be Captain?" He asked with a salute.
Setsuna laughed and said "At ease. And you don't have to call me captain, not now anyway."
Takeshi walked over and stood next to her. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked.
Setsuna shook her head. "And I'm trying to shake off a horrible dream, you?"
"I just can't sleep, coming up here helps."
"Ditto."
They stood in silence for a few minutes before Takeshi asked, "How'd you find this place anyway? A lot of cadets don't bother to look for it."
"I've always loved it here, ever since I was little. Dad says that this was the first place Mom took me during my first "mission" when I was just a few months old. I've always liked the stars."
"You were on the ship as a baby?"
"Of course, a lot of my life is here, why do you think I joined the force?"
"I don't know, I always thought you wanted to follow in your parents' footsteps."
"That's part of the reason, but the other part…I just love being here and working with everyone, and I guess some of the action is a plus."
Takeshi laughed. "You're an interesting one, you know that Wildstar?"
"So I've been told," Setsuna replied with a smile.
Part 3: Secrets
New Comet-Invidia's Suite
Thursday, April 14, 2220
0845 Hours, Earth-Space Time
The next morning, Invidia sat in bed, perfectly contented as Arty gave her a shoulder and back massage, saying, "What have you been doing that you're so tense, Princess?"
"Working," She said. "It's hard being royal."
"I thought all you did was sit on your ass and give orders."
Invidia glared at him and slapped his shoulder. "I do more than that, I'll have you know!"
"Just checking…"
Invidia laughed and turned to kiss him. "I love you," She said.
"I love you too," Arty replied.
Invidia smiled and turned again with the intention to kiss him, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Princess?" Lucia's voice said. "Breakfast will be ready soon, are you coming down or would you like it served in bed?"
"I'll come down," Invidia replied, then she turned to Arty and said. "We better get dressed, your things are in my closet."
Arty nodded and got up, while, in Derek and Nova's suite, they did the same thing.
"I plan to get some more information out of her today," Derek said as he pulled a light coat on.
"Why can't you just leave her be? Invidia's made it clear that she's only here to live out a long-lost dream, it's not like she going to be fighting us or anything."
"Not that we know of," Derek said.
"Derek, stop it. She may be stupid, but she's not that stupid."
And, she wasn't, but that didn't mean someone else was that smart. While they talked, Victoria D'Avena sat in her quarters working on several more strategic diagrams.
'If we enter in from this side, we'll have the element of surprise and hopefully be able to do some major damage, and cause a few tragedies...' She thought as she laughed evilly. 'Then I'll have the planes move in here and surround them, if all works out well we should be able to take out their main guns and continue on our way to destroying that antiqued wreck!'
"Miss. D'Avena?" A voice outside the door interrupted.
"Come in," Victoria said, hiding the diagrams within a magazine.
"I've brought your breakfast," A young servant girl said.
"Thank you, what's the other tray for?" Victoria asked, noticing that the girl was carrying two trays instead of one.
"It's for Leader Desslok down in prison, I was told by one of his generals that even though he's been overthrown he should still be treated like a leader."
"Uh-huh…Leave that here, I'll take it down."
"You don't have to, it's…"
"No, leave it. It's not a big deal and it'll save you some time."
"Okay, thank you," The girl bowed and headed off.
Victoria waited until she left to star eating, and, when she finished, she grabbed the second tray and made her way down to the palace's prison, where Desslok at in a cell bored out of his mind.
'When I get out of here I'm going after her first…what is her grudge with me anyway?' He thought as Victoria stepped in.
"Desslok?" She said.
"Miss. D'Avena? Why are you here? I see Invidia gave you your rank back."
"She did, but I have some information for you. So I figured I'd convince the servants into letting me bring breakfast."
"You are manipulative, I'll give you that. Now, what kind of information do you have?"
"Invidia's husband is here, along with Derek and Nova Wildstar, I believe you mentioned them more than once."
"Why would they be here?"
Victoria shrugged. "I guess Invidia invited them, she had mentioned wanting to see her husband once before."
"I remember him," Desslok said. "Him and his cousin who need haircuts…I always wondered why any sane man would marry someone like Invidia."
Victoria shrugged again. "Maybe he's just using her for sex."
"If that was true they'd have divorced a long time ago. And, even though it sickens me to say so, I can tell he loves her. Why else would they have stayed together for so long?" Desslok pointed out.
"True," Victoria nodded and continued on, "Derek's here to find out why Invidia left them, and possibly take her back, but I know she won't buy into it. And she fired all of the Gamilon staff and threw Talan in jail a little ways down from here."
"Bitch…" Desslok muttered. "Anyway, do Derek and Nova know about me?"
Victoria shook her head. "I don't think so, whenever they ask about her aquision of the comet, she refers to you as "the old ruler.""
"Of course she does, the little, lying slut."
"What do you propose we do about her?" Victoria asked.
"For now, nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Yes. I want you to sit back and watch, and if possible, give me regular reports, it'll help me decide when to get out of here and how to go about bringing her down."
"I always knew you were sneaky, but it's kind of interesting to see it in action," Victoria commented.
"And it will get even better as time goes on. I have plans…" Desslok said with a smile.
"I like the way you think…" Victoria replied.
To Be Continued with Episode 10…