Chương 152: Returning Home

Alexander stepped through the doorway onto the terrace, the small birdcage hanging from a finger on his cybernetic hand. The door whispered shut behind him. Night had fallen over the island. The Mediterranean stretched dark and endless to his left, waves murmuring against the beach below. He breathed in deeply. Salt air mixed with the sweet scent of overripe figs, the sharp green of wild herbs, and something warmer carried on the breeze. Cooking. It felt like home.

The glass-walled ground floor glowed against the cliff face. Through the windows, he could make out movement inside. Alexander crossed the terrace toward the mansion. The crew had come through over an hour earlier with the rest of Grimnir. After his meeting with the Queen of Hearts, he'd stayed to track down Annie's bird, which had taken considerably longer than expected. The old woman who'd agreed to watch Chilli turned out to be one of Annie's arena fans.

She'd spent twenty minutes talking at him about her great-grandson's dreams of becoming a superhero, somehow having confused Alexander for one himself. He hadn't corrected her. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, he spotted Annie sprawled on the massive sectional couch. Several crew members sat around her. The television played what could only be Barkforce. The scene triggered a flash of memory.

Annie surrounded by aliens all those months ago, making strangers into family through nothing more than shared enthusiasm for a psychic dog out to save the universe. They laughed at something on screen. Annie gestured wildly, nearly hitting Petra in the face. In the open-plan kitchen beyond, Augustus and Dan worked. Multiple dishes spread across the counter in various stages of preparation. A feast, from the looks of it.

"You fold the dough," Augustus was saying as Alexander approached the door.

"Don't knead it."

"Ship kitchens are about efficiency," Dan replied.

"Feed sixty people in ninety minutes with what you've got."

"This is about making it look good."

"Waste of time when everyone's hungry."

"It's my kitchen."

"Fair point." Alexander stepped inside. The warmth hit him first, then the competing smells from whatever Augustus and Dan were creating. Chilli broke the silence between them with a sharp squawk.

"Chilli home. Pretty Chilli." Annie's head snapped around. She launched herself over the couch and rushed over. Alexander raised the cage with Metallokinesis, floating it forward before she could collide with him. She scooped it up mid-air.

"Chilli! I missed you so much!" Her hands fumbled with the latch. The cage door swung open and Chilli immediately shot out, wings beating hard as he flew across the living room. He landed on top of the large decorative cage where Chilli slept at night and promptly turned his back to Annie.

"Chilli?" Annie circled around the cage. The bird strutted to the opposite side, maintaining maximum distance. She tried again. Chilli moved again.

"Guess he's mad you left him behind?" Davis called from the couch. Annie shot him a look.

"He's not mad. He's adjusting." Chilli deliberately fluffed his feathers and tucked his head under one wing.

"Yeah," Petra said.

"Definitely not mad." Alexander left them to it. He looked towards the kitchen.

"Where are Talia and Carmen?" Augustus glanced up from the dough he was working.

"Talia went to lay down. Unlike the rest of us, she expected the time shift. We get to suffer for a few days until we adjust." He gestured toward the ceiling with a flour-dusted hand.

"Carmen claimed one of the ensuite rooms on the second floor. Said she had work to do."

"And Felix? Gilly?"

"Headed straight for the beach, last I saw. Gilly was thrilled to see water again. Don't think he likes space that much." Augustus studied him for a moment.

"How did it go with Valerie?"

"Got everything we needed and more." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Relief flashed across Augustus's face.

"Good. That's good."

"Still needs to be written up and signed, of course." Alexander paused.

"I think we need a lawyer. Someone skilled."

"Talia can probably handle it."

"I'm sure she can, but it's work that takes her away from other priorities. This won't be the only time we need a contract drawn up."

"Can't argue with that." Alexander nodded a greeting to Dan, then headed for the stairs. The second floor hallway stretched in both directions, doors closed except for one at the far end where light spilled into the corridor. The room inside was chaos, though organized chaos. The first thing he took in was the printer sitting on the desk. An actual paper printer. He'd never seen one used, though plenty had found their way to Frank's store over the years.

The second thing was the carefully aligned stacks of printouts covering the desk, the bed, and parts of the floor. Carmen stood in the middle of it all, studying something in her hands. Alexander knocked on the doorframe. She looked up, surprise crossing her face.

"Alex! Come in. Sorry, I was thinking." He moved inside, glancing around.

"I can see that. Also, it's my first time seeing someone actually use a paper printer." Carmen looked embarrassed.

"It's mine. I find it easier to work through my thoughts when I can see everything laid out like this." Alexander's gaze swept across the nearest stacks. Information about construction companies. A list of architects available through Astra Omnia with names crossed out in pen. On the floor, smaller stacks representing different mercenary and security organizations.

"You're allowed to settle in first, you know," he said. She laughed.

"I like to keep busy. It's… it keeps me focused." There was a hidden meaning behind the words, but Alexander didn't press. He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Now I feel bad because I'm about to add to your workload, but I need you to find me a lawyer before anything else." Carmen blinked.

"A lawyer?"

"Negotiations with the Queen of Hearts went well, but we need to hammer out the details, draw up a contract, and then get it signed. Quickly, so we can set everything else in motion." She nodded slowly.

"Preferences? I'm sure there are plenty of law firms that would jump at the chance to take Grimnir on as a client." Alexander made a face.

"Law isn't my area of expertise. Maybe someone specialized in contract law and superhuman law, if that's possible. I'd prefer to hire someone directly rather than a firm. Someone we might bring into the guild, assuming they're the right fit." He paused.

"But I trust your judgment." Carmen had already picked up her tablet, fingers moving across the screen. Without looking up, she said, "I'll let you know once I've gathered some options." He almost laughed. Her way of dismissing the world and focusing on the tablet with such intensity reminded him of Talia. But what really struck him was the departure from formality now that they were off the ship. She'd stepped outside the role of a ship's captain as easily as she'd changed out of the uniform.

"Thank you." Alexander returned to the hallway, leaving her to it. He made his way down to the basement, where his workshop waited. He stopped at the foot of the stairs and took it all in. Much of the smaller machinery and equipment was back on the Sleipnir, having been transported via Augustus's Storage Closet. Either they would need to return everything here, or he'd have to purchase replacements. The latter made more sense, allowing him to have a mobile workshop on the ship should it ever be required.

And it wasn't like they lacked the funds anymore. Something he still needed to discuss with the others. Alexander pulled the cultivator's storage ring from his pocket and examined the simple band. He did not know how to work it, or even if he could without qi, but he intended to try. Possessing his own spatial pocket to store equipment or drones would be invaluable. Time passed quickly as he experimented. The ring proved stubborn, unresponsive to physical manipulation or any direct application of his powers.

Then he had an idea. He didn't know how qi felt or flowed, but perhaps mimicking the concept would be enough. Alexander channeled Electrokinesis through his Core first, before directing the power at the ring. Electricity danced across the band. Most of it arced over the surface without penetrating deeper, as if something were holding it back. But then he felt what he could only call an entrance, and the flow changed. Electricity poured into metal. The current traced out a labyrinth twisting through the metal.

Or perhaps a maze would be more accurate, given the branching pathways and dead ends. Curious, Alexander swept the ring with Metallokinesis again. The surface was perfectly smooth. The interior was solid throughout, with no etchings or physical structures carved into the metal. Which meant the patterns had to be something akin to pure energy, stored through some mechanism he didn't understand. Augustus's voice carried down the stairs.

"Food's ready!" Alexander reluctantly withdrew his power from the curious, innocuous band of metal, and set it aside. Stretching, Alexander stood, then headed up to the ground floor. The dining room table had been set. Most of the crew sat around it already, plates being filled and passed. Talia's chair sat empty. Carmen hadn't come down either, probably still buried in her work. Ryan and Yuki were on the ship for the first rostered duty.

The meal was loud and chaotic in the way that came from people who'd been through combat together and survived. Annie dominated one end of the table, telling some story that had half the crew laughing. Augustus played host, making sure everyone's drinks were topped off. Gilly sat between Felix and Petra, looking more relaxed than Alexander had seen him in weeks. It felt right. After the meal ended, and people began to disperse, Alexander made his way upstairs.

He wasn't that tired, but he knew adjusting back to their island's time zone was going to take a few days. Jet lag, just with a starship. He considered whether it would be worth hitting up a pharmacy and borrowing some sleep meds for everyone. Instead, he entered his room, happy to find it exactly as he'd left it, and closed the door behind him. He stripped down and climbed into bed. Sleep came easier than expected.