A Sinner's Eden

***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***

***Magnus***

“So what did you want to talk about?” I asked while taking a seat. Gunnar's private office was as large as it got on Aerie's flagship, but it was already filled to the brim with documents and reports. It was proof of how involved the organisation's top spymaster and agent had gotten in this conflict.

I still had some reservations about my uncle, but I did my best not to let our strained relationship cloud my judgment. As long as Gunnar did his best to be professional about it, I could do the same.

Maybe it was best to think of him as the Agent Crowford I had gotten to know over my years with the organisation.

“You are late!” Gunnar complained.

“I have a wife who demands my attention in the morning, a slightly depressed boy whose pet died not long ago, and twin daughters who just discovered the joy of asking 'what?', 'what?', 'what?' till you get to the point you no longer know what answers to give.” I shrugged. “Beat me. I got here as soon as I could. And as long as there is no emergency, I see no reason to speed around causing havoc.”

“Hmpf.” Gunnar aligned a stash of documents against the desk surface and handed it to me.

“What's that?” I asked while taking a look at the front sheet. “Operation Trade Exchange?”

“It's a proposal to retrieve Evanna. At least it is the best plan I could come up with so far,” Gunnar explained while I began rifling through the pages.

“I believe the recently announced strike against the Caravaner traitors is a unique opportunity. If we can convince the others to go through with this plan, there is a real chance to rescue your sister. The plan is to not wipe out their caravan entirely, but to take it over and use it as a means to infiltrate Thich City.” He stopped for a moment and massaged his chin thoughtfully before he continued.

“There is no doubt that trying to take over the caravan with the animals and their cargo mostly intact poses additional risks. Like losing more of our forces than necessary. If us holding back means they get a message out the plan is also busted. But the potential reward is not only to get a chance at rescuing Evanne but to have a small group of our people right inside Thich's defences.”

He shook his head before continuing, “We haven't seen the defences at their fortress city yet, but judging by all the reports I have gotten till now, I fear no matter how many resources the clans have at their disposal, and even if we get those Aerie reinforcements, the true problem will be breaking Thich's defences before the coming winter. It was explained to me that there would be no fighting once the snow comes and buries everything beneath it. The wormgate allows us to bring in resources far easier than the enemy would expect, theoretically expanding our ability to wage war to the winter months, but the airships won't be able to withstand the winter storms.”

Having already witnessed the seemingly endless layer of snow covering this continent during the winter months, I could only agree. If the airships were left out in the open, they would suffer. Not to mention, I had no clue whether the glow moss would survive the cold. It was pivotal in providing the necessary hydrogen gas to provide lift. The caves of Mount Aerie provided a constant climate and hadn’t Juliana mentioned the moss needed very specific conditions to grow?

I put the neatly organized proposal back on the table. “I agree.”

Gunnar scoffed. “You haven't even read it yet. Just leafed through it.”

There was no way I could hold back the smug expression which stole itself onto my face as I tapped a finger against my temple. “You forget my mutations. I have read the entire document. Though I might suggest instead of using only elite forces, we recruit some of the Caravaners who are loyal to us. I believe the Northroutes are as loyal as it gets. They would have the easiest time impersonating their traitorous relatives. Otherwise, I am afraid the ruse would be up very quickly. While I was with them I saw them getting up to some quite ritualistic quirks. They have their way of wording things and some traditions which even the other clans are not privy to. They are quite insular. If there is only one attentive Thich guard, our replacements would be easily spotted.

“Another thing to point out is that we have to make sure taking over a saherna is as easy as you believe it is. I never witnessed how those monsters are persuaded to go where they are supposed to, but I imagine if everyone knew the trick to tame those things, the great clans would likely run their own trading expeditions. The thing I am not quite as enthusiastic about is what comes after.

“Let’s say we manage to take the caravan intact and use it to infiltrate Thich City. How do we proceed from there? I know you are good, Gunnar, but this is a different culture. They have all those little idiosyncrasies like cursing on Gaia or one animal or the other. If I thought I could just walk into Thich City and get Evanne out, I would have already done it. As I see it, the real problem is not getting into the city, it is finding her. Once I know her whereabouts, I can grab her and jaunt out of there. Whether she likes it or not is a problem to be dealt with afterwards.”

Gunnar nodded. “I think you may overestimate the problem, or underestimate my abilities. Earth has countless cultures and I pride myself in the fact that I managed to operate all over the planet with relative ease. The clans have indeed evolved their little quirks, but they are far from insurmountable and I have decades of experience. I have been hard at work to settle in ever since I arrived. As for finding Evanne, given my particular skill set, I have yet to encounter a problem I haven’t been able to solve within a few days.”

“Days?” I asked. “Even if you can infiltrate the city, I doubt the rest of could pretend to be Thich’s Caravaning family for that long. There will doubtlessly be people who know who is supposed to be on those sahernas.”

“A worst-case scenario. As long as Evanne is within the city, I expect to find her within a few hours. It’s not like back on Earth where I had to search an entire country for the target,” Gunnar replied with absolute confidence.

“Psychics?” Those were another big problem. I threw in my concerns, not because I was against the plan, but because poor execution could mean as much of a risk to Evanne as not trying it at all. If Zacharias got the idea that she might be an important political hostage, he would try to use her without a doubt. The fact that he hadn’t already done so could only mean he underestimated how much political pull I had in this conflict.

I wasn’t completely sure of my political weight at this point. But Aerie’s ancestor was practically an in-law grandma and the elders listened to what I had to say. Hochberg’s matriarch owed me her life and I had some connections to the Northroute Caravaners.

There was no doubt Evanne would be in grave danger if Zacharias got wind of that.

Gunnar gave a surprising reply, “I convinced Vanya to give me an hour of training every day. Last time we spoke, she thought I could shield myself as long as I stay away from any big shots.”

“I thought you were chasing after Mary in your free time?” I joked.

“That too, boy. You have a lot to learn when it comes to women who don’t reciprocate your feelings immediately. You have to let them relax for a time and make sure to spread some bait so they don’t forget you. Then, once they are on the hook, you can slowly reel them in.”

“Just make sure Mary never hears that. The woman might fry you to a crisp if you compare her to a fish.” I puffed up my cheeks, not convinced. “I don’t know, Gunnar. If you run into a good psychic by accident, the whole operation would be over. They are not that numerous, but I ran into enough of them to be concerned about your chances. And given Thich’s social tendencies, I expect their psychics to do as they please.”

“It’s a risk I am willing to take,” Gunnar stated stoically. “You are not the only one who would move heaven and earth to get the girls back. I promised my brother to look out for the kids if something happened to him, and I utterly failed him so far. Let me do this.”

I drew in a long breath and let it out slowly as I made up my mind. “Okay. Then let’s see what our supermind thinks about this and check with the Caravaners is feasible at all. If we can’t control the sahernas, there is no point in any theory planning.”

***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Astra***

“It can go more quickly than anyone would believe. Two days at home and you are already a housewife,” Thalia teased while I used my filaments to hand out tea for everyone. I still had to be mindful of my broken arm.

Iv took a careful sniff of the fruit mix I had chosen while Constella and Aurora played with Iv’s symbiont. The slime was bouncing around the living room like a rubber ball while the sisters chased after it as fast as they could. They were fast for children, but they hadn’t mastered flash step yet – thankfully. Their brother had adopted the ability instinctively, which was the main cause for all the trouble he got himself into.

Isaac was at the crib, so the boy was hopefully not a concern till midday when I had to go and get him.

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” I replied dryly. “Just wait till the cast is off. The moment it is, I will be out there again.”

“I fear I have to take a back seat for now. Had an argument with Mark and the most he allows me is to visit the flagship through the wormgate as long as there are no active combat operations.” Thalia patted her belly. She wasn’t showing yet, but we knew what she meant.

Iv let out a sigh while glaring at Thalia’s belly. “I wonder why it isn’t working with Hector and me. I partnered up before you and you got to the finish line before me. Not that I am complaining. Every month I am spared that particular fate is another good month in my book. But seeing how quickly it worked out with your partners is vexing nonetheless!”

I giggled. “And Hector gets to live that much longer.”

Thalia nodded, trying her best to look serious. “Magnus assuredly threatened to cut off something important, should he dare to knock up his little sister.”

Iv’s expression went blank. “You mean that’s why Hector is holding back!? I thought he might not find me physically attractive enough to go all the way. That’s why I went with you to that embarrassing shop, buying all the fancy underwear.”

I blinked, not understanding. “Holding back?”

“You know…” Iv played with the tips of her index fingers. “He is pulling out before…”

“Oh.” Thalia nodded sagely. “Then it is no wonder that it isn’t working out. What do you think, Astra?”

Suddenly, both of them looked at me.

“Don’t bring me into a conversation like that,” I rebutted them. “Magnus and I never had that problem. If I want him to jump me, he jumps me. Besides, haven’t I already allowed you two to use my designs? What more help would you need?”

Thalia blinked innocently. “And they worked so very well for me. I was just wondering whether our master seductress had any advice?”

I blew them a raspberry. “How should I know what advice to give if I don’t know where the problem lies?”

Thalia turned on Iv. “Do you have an idea?”

She shook her head. “We have a nice evening, I dress up, and then we go to bed together. It’s not rocket science you know?”

“Well…” Thalia looked thoughtful.

I facepalmed. “Iv, you have to get them worked up or they think way too much about it when there is nothing to think about!”

“What?”

I looked at the ceiling, beseeching the heavens. “How do I put this? Do you know what a cat is Iv? I had a cat while I was still on Earth and it’s the closest comparison I can come up with.”

“Of course, I know what a cat is!”

“Good. Then men are like cats, Iv! It’s not enough to crumple a piece of paper into a ball and have it dangle on a string right in front of them. That alone is not interesting – although it gets their attention if done right. If it doesn’t behave right, they go right back to being bored. The whole thing is about the chase. It has to move and twitch in just the right way and once it does, they lose their marbles and there is no holding back. Maybe we should also work on the noises while we are at it.”

Iv’s expression went blank. “Move and twitch? Noises?”